Paper Transformer

Merry Christmas

To everyone!!!

Have a very

 

Merry

 

Christmas

 

Ornaments galore

WOW, only 3 days until Christmas. Hard to believe that it is upon us and 2009 is almost over! As I wrote about in this post, we will be celebrating Christmas in January. Therefore, we decided to put up the tree Christmas day, LOL.

I made some ornament this year to hang on this tree during our unusual holiday season. These ornament will always remind me of the unusual but truly blessed Christmas of 2009 (2010).

   

You can click on any of the photos to see more detail.

A few are unusual for a Christmas tree, the dragonfly, butterfly and birds. They certainly represent Christmas this year, LOL.

I made these by adding about 20 drops of Stampin' Up re-inkers inside, swirled around until the inside was covered, then put upside down over a paper cup to let the excess drip out.

I then added some fine glitter (I found the chunky does not give good coverage), covered the hole with my thumb and shook until the inside was completely covered. Finally shaking the excess glitter out and let dry a bit before replacing the top.

I used rub-ons I found in the home decor section of the big box craft store. These are really thick rub-ons and difficult to adhere. I would definitely suggest using good quality glass ornaments as the cheaper ones broke in my hand as I rubbed. This was the most difficult part of the process, UNTIL...I found that heating the bulb first with my heat gun helps the rub-on adhere quicker and easier. If there was a stubborn section, I simply heated that section and voila...no problem.

These will make a lovely last minute gift or a gift for folks like the mailman, UPS guy...we love our UPS guy right, LOL, hairdresser, etc.

Have you made any home made gifts this year. I would love to hear what you have done. Perhaps using your ideas for next year {{{wink}}}

Again, thank you for stopping by my blog today! hugs, Sandy O

A Challenging Day

Well, here in NH, just like much of the east coast, we had a snowy day. How pretty. I love the way it sparkles in the light before the plows come around. As I am not much of a TV watcher, especially during the day, I decided to do some challenges.

With the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I've been low on mojo, so have been seeking out some challenges to get my "spark" back. I have been using the site Daily Dare, which lists blogs with challenges for that particular day. It has been such a blessing to me. I like being able to choose the type of challenges I prefer, such as use a certain item challenge over a theme challenge.

Today I found a cute blog by a 10 year old stamper named Aly. She posts a sketch she made every other week. You can find the current sketch here. Though sketches are not among my favorite challenges, this one was to cute to pass up!

 
I kept the card simple since the sketch was fairly simple. I must say, I really enjoyed making this card.

The dragonfly is from the SU set Nature's Nest. The flowers are Prima.

The next card I made was actually for 2 different challenges.

You know I adore the Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenges, which are posted each Sunday.  This week, being a busy holiday week, the challenge is a sketch. I combined this challenge with the one from a site called Pile It On. I am so glad I found the Daily Dare. Through them I have found some wonderful challenge sites that I will be visiting weekly, which works out really well with some only posting every other week.

The Pile It On challenge is to use chipboard. I was torn as to what to do since chipboard is a medium that has the potential to become just about anything! I decided to combine it with the Stampin' Sisters sketch.

Armed with the 2 challenges, off I went. I was only sure of 1 thing, to use the SU butterfly big shot die with the chipboard. After cutting those cuties out, I decided to use my wonderful Jolie Chocolat paper, YUM. Of course I had to use the Paper Temptress Sparkle paper as a layer! I also used her paper as a base, such incredibley DELICIOUS paper she has!! Then the card just seemed to take on a life of it's own, LOL

Here is the final result. As always, you can click on any of these photos to get a larger picture to view more details.

 Isn't this little charm cute. This is not the first time I have used the shrink paper, but I have to admit I saw a blog this week where the person used this set with it. It seemed to be a good idea for this particular card. I can not remember whose site it was, so if you know, could you drop me the name in a comment? Thanks so much!

EDIT: Found the site with the tutuial for the charm. Here is the link charm.

Since just the right charm is difficult for me to find on hand (no matter how many I seem to have, LOL) I am sure I will be doing many more of this type in the future!

I would love to know what you think :o) REALLY...who doesn't like to read comments, tee he he

Thank you for stopping by my little blog on this busy week. Hugs, Sandy O

Delightful Challenge

As I searched for some fun challenges to do, I happened upon the wonderful Delightful Inspiration blog/store. What a wonderful array of digital stamps she carries. If you have not jumped on the bandwagon of digi stamps, the monthly challenge on this site is a great way to start.

The monthly challenge is not only fun, but the image you need to use is given to you free! YUP...that's right...FREE. And everyone is a winner. As long as you participate, you will receive a free digi stamp the next week. Repeat the process and you will receive another free digi!! Doing this you will receive a free digi each week!

Also, if you always desired to be on a design team, this is your time. Everyone who plays is considered a member of the design team and you even will get a fun blinky for your blog! NICE. You can read all about it here.

To see all the wonderful digi stamps that you can buy...and digi stamps come to you right way with not shipping! YEAH...Check them out at Designed2Delight Digital Stamps.

Here is my entry

Isn't he adorable! You can resize him and even change the color of the outlines. She has a tutorial here.

Thank you for stopping by again today, LOL...Sandy O

Packaging

Today I would like to share some of the packaging I made for my home made Christmas gifts.

I love the Timeless Templates designed by Lauren Meader which are sold by Papertrey Ink. 

Two fo the templates were perfect for the gifts.

The Around Town Tote (large)

Small Around Town Tote attached to the back

Get A Handle On It  

I made the 2 template to match since they will be going to the same recipients.

These template are so easy to down load and make.

Tomorrow I will share some of the items I put in these packages.

Thanks so much for stopping by, hugs, Sandy O

 

Gift Bundle

Today I have a short post, but not a small project to share. I made this bundle for this weeks Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge.

You can read all about the challenge here, which is based on the bible verses Matthew 6:19-20 "Do not store up for yourself treasures on earth..." 

The challenge is to use up some of the crafting items we have been hoarding...which is usually accessories...bling.

For me, the first thing I thought of was the beautiful hand made chinese paper, matching swede paper and German made gold paper butterflies I purchased a LONG time ago. I would often think of using them...but...once I did, that was it...it would be gone. I would no longer have those sheets of paper since they are very difficult, if at all able to be replaced.

So I pulled out my treasured paper and butterflies, gold ribbon I have been saving for when just the right project came, my charm I bought at an egg craft conventions, a wonderfully thick jewelry box that I have had for so long I don't know where I got it, LOL, and my misc. other supplies.

Here are some individual pictures for you. Just click on the photo to see the detail.

Since the egg fits inside the box, I cut the remaining swede paper to cushion the bottom. Yes...it hurt, LOL

This is a 2 1/2 x 3" note card. Inside I stamped "for you" leaving lots of room for a personal note.

This is a real chicken egg shell wrapped in the same paper as the box and card. After adhering the paper, I coated it with 3 layers of mod podge. I then applied one final coat and rolled it in transparent ultra fine glitter. I purchaed this glitter from Scor-Pal when they very first opened. She no longer sells it, so I have very rarely used it.

The box seems as though it was made for the egg to fit!

Over the next few posts I will be sharing some of the projects I have completed for Christmas. Many have already been wrapped, so I think it is safe to post them.

Thank you for stopping by :o) hugs, Sandy O

Nesting

Have another quick card for you. I can hardly wait until I can share all the projects I have been working on for Christmas. Maybe I will sneak a couple in, tee he he, I am not good at waiting.

Anyway...I love this new set from Stampin' Up called Nature's Nest. I decided to make a card using the nest, to cute. A nice reminder that spring will be here again!

The feather and and nest are from the set, while the sentiment is from a retired set called Country Charm.

As always, you can click on the picture to get a closer look at the details. The nest is a nicely detailed image that makes it so easy to color...YEAH!

Have a fantastic day!!! Hugs

 

Quick Fix and a Quick card

Did you ever make a card that just did not look right to you? Perhaps you adhered part a bit crooked or realized that an accessory really did look better the other way. That would have been OK, but the adhesive you used suddenly decided to dry like cement and there is not way of fixing it this time. Uggg...and it was one of the best cards you had ever made!?!

Well, yesterday I posted a card just like that. I was unhappy with the coloring of just one small part. That area really ruined the entire card for me. It bothered me all afternoon. I could not erase it, nor could I remove the image without destroying the under layer. {{{sniff}}} and I simply did not want to redo the entire card...call me lazy, LOL

I finally decided to try a quick fix before I set my laziness aside and remade the entire card. What did I do? Well, I thought perhaps I could cut the ball off of one of the "not so great" stamped images I tossed and apply it on top of the "bad" one. Worth a try, right?

No more than 5 minutes later I my elaborate plan was complete. Not to bad I thought. Actually looks pretty good. I could barely notice it and I knew it was there. The final test would be showing my wonderfully honest {{{mean look from me here}}} husband.

When he came home from work I showed him the card. He said it was really cute...better than the "OH Yeah" I sometimes get! When he went to hand it back to me, I asked "do you see anything odd about the image?" Boy, did he scrutinize the thing. I think the little girl started to get uncomfortable, LOL. He handed it back and said, "no, I don't see anything odd at all". That was until I showed him and actually had him run a finger over the edge of the ball. Now I got the "OH Yeah!", LOL

So....the quick fix had passed, YEAH!!! Now to photograph it, edit it...sigh...all the boring stuff that goes with posting your creation somewhere. Here is the "fixed" card.

So what do you think? I think the soft colors look so much better. If you did not see the before card, just scroll down to yesterdays post. Here are a couple of close ups for you:

   

Now, you can click on any of the photos, as you can in all my posts and see it in its original size.

I am shamefully admitting that I posted the original for a challenge {blush}. I am also going to post this one as a redo, LOL.  I hope that is allowed!!! Otherwise I will feel really weird, tee he he he and will most likely blush {{{eyes rolling here}}}.

Since that did not take to long and I already had dinner made (isn't that nice :o) almost as nice as my DH saying "don't cook tonight, I will take you out!" {{{Big huge ROTF LOL goes here}}}.

What would I ever do with all the spare time I had? Well, play some more, TEE HE HE HE! So I made a couple of simple cards. Here is the first one, the second one I will save for tomorrows post.

I decided to try the Dew Drops that I bought a looooong time ago and never used. I did not realize that they came in different sizes in the same container. This worked out great over the lace I used. LOVE LACE!!! LOL. Talk about super quick. I am finding that quick can be just as fun as "not quick" cards. And....I can make more of them which gives me a feeling of "WOW, I did good today" LOL

I tend to go with the "not so quick" cards. Which ones do you seem to do most often?

Thanks for stopping by...hugs

Sarah Kay and Prayers

It is snowing like crazy here in Southern NH. How pretty and so peaceful. Not a sound when it is snowing. Well....except the plows and dogs barking at them, LOL. That is few and far between though. What a perfect day to stay in and stamp. Talking about that...lookie what I found...

Can you believe I forgot I had this stamp! I set it aside and forgot it, the poor little one. I have a couple, one I did use once. But it was a turtle, much easier to color than a person. Boy was I intimidated, especially since I lent my copics to a friend. I used my primsa pencils. With the blender pencil, they worked pretty well, YEAH!

As I posted yesterday, I made another card for the Stampin' Sisters in Christ weekly challenge. I did not think, though, that I had a "people" stamp that matched the challenge. Racking my brain all evening, I remembered this stamp. Hoping that I really had ordered it and not just remembering that I wanted to order it, KWIM, LOL! Or am I the only one that happens too {wink}

Here is my "person" prayer card:

Isn't she so cute! She looks like she is praying with her much loved Teddy, or would that be Teddi with the "i" since it is a girl? LOL, either way they really look adorable that way.

I do wish I colored the ball a bit differently, now that I am looking at it here, sheesh...oh well, toy balls are usually bight colored, right?

Again I used the lovely Shimmer paper from Paper Temptress. I just can't seem to get away from it. It adds so much to a project! The ribbon is from Papertrey Ink. Such pretty ribbon, it goes great with the shimmer paper. I also used the Brilliance ink for the sentiment, which shines brilliantly (ha ha). I really think it is a must have ink!

Here is a side view where you can see some of the shimmer as well as the dimension from the pop dots:

 

Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to stop by. Hugs, Sandy O

Prayer Tin

Stampin' Sisters in Christ had another challenge this week. The challenge:

To make a card to let someone know you are praying for them, using images of people (men, women and/or children...angles are OK too)

I looked through all my stamps and was surprised to find I have very few stamps depicting people. The few I have did not seem to match the prayer part of the challenge, which I felt was more important than the image of a person. Perhaps the SUN could be considered the SON, who is a person though unseen to us until we are called home.

Though I won't win using this image, I thought it was appropriate to the verse.

I do not know anyone who does not know Thomas Kinkade. His paintings are magnificent. Cornish Heritage Farms has had the blessing of being able to transform these paintings into marvelous rubber stamps that, as you can see, create a marvelous image.

I colored only the sunrise, leaving the sea, mountains and cross plain. I also made rays coming from the sun with my Sukora glitter gel pen. LOVE those pens!!! This is to represent the beauty of our Lord and the dull world that we now reside in. I also used some Sparkle paper from the Paper Temptress as my goldish layer. Again larger and brighter than the black (darkness/sin of this world).

Here is a close up of the front. If you click on it to get a larger picture of it, you can see the sparkle of the paper though the shimmer of the sun rays does not show. 

The verse is adhered with dimensionals with a magnet attached between them. This is to hold the card closed when the tin is open.

Here is the inside of the card:

I used one of Stampin' Up's thin hinged tins to make the prayer card holder, in which I attached the actual card to using Scor Tape.

 

Inside the tin I put 4 prayer cards, on which I hand wrote verses about prayer. This is to represent the fact that I am praying for her. I also added 4 blank prayer cards and a fine tipped mini marker. On these she can write verses that encourage or remind her that the Lord is always with her.

Well, I hope you like the card. Perhaps I will find a digital image I can use to have a card that matches the actual challenge.

Thank you for stopping by my blog. I would love to hear what you think of this card/gift, so leave me a comment if you have the time :o)

Hugs, Sandy O
 

I Love Chocolate

Yummy, chocolate in any form is my second favorite treat. My first favorite is salad but....that takes a lot of time out of my stamping, LOL.

I have some terrific chocolate that goes perfect with stamping to share with you. It is the Chocolat paper from SEI. Yummy...the glitter paper is so pretty. I have used this paper on many cards and am in need of more, LOL

Here is my most recent card:

On the right of the card is a book mark that is perforated to easily remove. The ribbon (held up here with a tiny paper clip since the charm kept making the card fall, LOL) and cute charm add a really pretty touch.  Here is a close up:

See that glitter, it is already on the paper and butterfly sticker! Less work for me and no glitter clean up LOL. What is not showing, unless you click on the photo, is the pretty shimmery card stock I used from Paper Temptress as well as the shimmer of the Brilliance ink I used. Can you say SHIMMER!

I am so addicted to these papers that I am having a hard time using plain old card stock. It looks so flat and unfinished compared to Paper Temptress and the Chocolat.

Ha ha ha...I was just thinking how weird it is to brag about my own cards {blush} Doing a blog it does not seem so weird, BUT.....it does feels a bit odd. Do any of you have the same trouble, LOL???

And...did you see the pretty white lace! LOVE it!

I hope you liked the chocolat!

hugs

Blog Candy Galore

WOW, it has been quite a while since I posted my own blog candy or candy offered by another blogger. But.....today I have a treat for you!

Check out the blog candy here from Scrapmaster's Paradise. There is so much being offered I could not even begin to tell you. Just click on the link and see for yourself. You won't be disappointed!

Good luck...hugs 

Another challenge

I am in love with the Stampin' Sisters challenges. This week the challenge is to make a card with a gift somewhere on it. How fun. Here is my submission for this week:

 

I am sure you can guess what the gift is. I was instantly reminded of the olden days when people would bring lovely smelling home made gifts to the house of friends and family which they visited. No Glade back then, LOL. What wonderful gifts I think they were.

I used the Outlines minis stamps to make the wreath and popped up the edges just a bit by gently bending them. The card is simple, like the wonderful old fashioned gift it represents.

Short and few posts until the Holidays are over. I love making home made gifts, but usually don't give them. Strange I know but I tend to think they are just not good enough for gift giving. Not this year though, for two reasons. One, I am running out of room to keep all my un-given creations and two, money is tight this year, LOL

We are going to celebrate Christmas in January this year! Don't think me weird. The reasoning is well worth the delay. My daughter Alicia is due for her first baby and our first grandchild on Dec. 20th. Since it is so close to Christmas, we really don't know if she will even be home for it. Also, Patrick is in Iraq and his 2 week trip home will be sometime in January :o) YEAH!!! and Peter is working at the power plant that day. Sigh...

Such is the dilemma of having adult children, LOL. We, Paul and I, will be celebrating the holiday on the 25th with extended family though, which is nice. 

I keep thinking of all the after Christmas sales that will help the finance this year. I so love the hunt of finding awesome deals those few days after the Holidays. I wonder if this is the start of a new family tradition with Camden's birthday so close to Christmas, tee he he. Yup, that is my family...the unusual is our norm.

Thanks for taking the time to visit on thise busy preholiday week. 

Until next time...hugs
 

Favorites

I must admit that I struggle with keeping accessories to a minimum on cards, scrapbook pages and altered media. I love to accessorize and bling anything. My all time favorite accessory, though, is lace.  I find it difficult to find, so I look for it everywhere I go.  Lots of ribbons to choose from, but not lace! When I do have lace, I plan out my cards specifically for using it.

A few months ago, I attended an Egg Art convention. Of course, there were lots of vendors ready to sell you egg accessories and bling, LOL.  Being a paper crafter, I did not see how to use them on eggs. I did, however, readily see how to apply them to MY crafts. 

Looking and looking at all the new to me items, I quickly spied rolls of LACE!! Not only that, but the rolls were in a clearance section of this particular table...YES!!! I scooped those up really quickly. I promised myself I would look at every thing before deciding to buy anything. No impulse shopping on this trip. RIGHT! LOL. These were impulse all right, but one I do not regret.

After making the Thanksgiving card in yesterdays post, I went right back to making Christmas cards. I have only 15 more to make...YEAH!!!

Also, I had just traded for the Stampin' Up Tree Trimmings set. I have to admit that it was not a set I would have chosen out of the catalog. It really is not my style. I have, however, seen many cards made with the set that I absolutely loved.

Deciding to utilize this set and my treasured lace on my next 5 Christmas cards was easy.  Here is the card I came up with:

I also used my favorite paper of all, white diamonds from Paper Temptress. Bling is really not needed with this paper, as it is the bling itself. Just beautiful! I am not sure how well you can see the shimmer in the picture, so you may want to shoot over to Paper Temptress and see. You can even order up to 5 free samples! Patricia is fabulous to deal with.

Here is a close up of my pretty lace and the embossed ornaments from the Tree Trimmings set:

As always, you can click on any picture to see it in full size. Isn't that ribbon pretty. Sadly, I only have a little left. I am pretty sure I saw some at Joann's last time I was there. It probably will be more money, but since I used the white so much it will be worth it. I still have my whole spool of vanilla, LOL. So my next Christmas card will be designed around that, LOL

Is there an accessory that you love to use. Maybe even design cards around like I did here? Leave a comment and let me know. I would LOVE to hear of the different items that are much loved.

Till next time, hugs