Christmas Countdown - Christmas Layouts

Win a Gypsy!

Head on over to the Gypsy Spot! They are giving away a brand new Gypsy... Click on the picture below: The winner will be selected Dec 1st!

Merci!!

I made this card a few days ago for a friend of mine. Making this card was kind of interesting! I found this argyle-type paper and thought it would be cute with the little french birdie.... At first I cut the brown paper out with my Nestabilities and added the image. I just didn't like it! It needed some sparkle! I looked everywhere--no brown glitter!! ACK! So I found my old copper embossing powder from Stampin Up... Well... I was trying to figure out how to apply it only to the edges to make a frame for the piece... Then I got the bright idea!!! I put the brown die cut into my Xyron machine and added the adhesive. I added the image to the top and then added the copper EP. After dumping the excess off and embossing over the adhesive, this is what it looked like! It was not at all what I anticipated but it turned out so cool!! It reminds me of a metal belt buckle. It just turned out different! And I think I like it!

For Cricut Lovers...

I found some really cool links for different ways to use the Cricut!

Cricut Tips: Includes cutting fabric, cutting chipboard, and many others...

Making Embossing Folders

Sure Cuts Alot Tutorial : Multi Layer Cuts

SVG Cuts for SCAL

I also found this useful little tip sheet.... If you click on it it will take you to the thread on Cricut.com that has the larger version

Halloween Treat Boxes

It's been a LONG TIME since have stamped!! I wish I had 4 of me so I could have one working on my paper crafts, one working on my quilts, one doing housework, and the other spending good quality time with all the people in my life... oh yeah, and another one to go out and work!!! So make that 5! Anyway, here are a couple of treat boxes I made with a Bigz die that I bought...

The eyes on this one were sprinkled with Glow In The Dark glitter by Martha Stewart! I tried to take a picture in the dark but it didn't turn out... bummer! But they really do glow in the dark!!! Very cool stuff!The skull is also sprinkled with Glow In The Dark glitter by Martha Stewart... The stamp I used on this one came from Gina K Designs

I love these gummy eyeballs!! They are so fun! I happened to find them in a little candy shop about a week ago...

Fun Halloween ideas

I was surfing around today and found some fun sites!!
Here are a few on caramel apples:

Tricked Out Caramel Apples

Adam's Scary Apples

Creepy Halloween Fun Food This one has tons of fun halloween edibles including Mummy Rolls, Eyeball Cupcakes, Bloody Brain Cupcakes and they even have (so disgusting!) a link to buy a REAL oven baked tarantula!!!! NASTY!!! Aside from that last one, they all look so fun!

Happy Halloween!

This is a little bread cloth I cross-stitched several years back. I haven 't stitched in years! I quit cross stitching when I was introduced to stamping... I switched because I got instant gratification with stamping. Cross stitching took wayyyy too long! Although I still love it, finding the time to actually do it just doesn't happen... I've been working on a few quilts too... You can see them on my other quilting blog Lovin My Quilts...

Wipe off calendar..

I found the goods to make this sweet framed calendar at one of my local craft shops. The supplies included a plexiglass calendar insert, bistro pen, scrapbook paper, metal sheet and black frame. I love this! I just changed it for the 2nd time and I can put any scrapbook paper behind the plexiglass and I made magnets to use on it. It's so fun! With some circular magnets, shankless buttons, prima flowers and glue you can come up with some pretty fun themes!

Origami Lotus

Newest project

Although this is still in the sewing arena, I thought I would post the link here because my project could easily be adapted to scrapbooking or paper piecing. I am working on a quilt with zoo animal in it and created my own design for the animals. You can view it here. Here is a one of the sketches of the animals I created:

Busy, Busy

Well summer is always busy for everyone. I have been spending alot of time with my quilting lately. Although it is not quilted yet, the top is done. You can see it here: Lovin My Quilts

A Little Inspiration....

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Nick Vujicec today. If you have never heard of Nick, he is an inspiration to all!! He has no arms and no legs and speaks internationally to millions. I first saw Nick on YouTube ( I posted the links on the right side bar). When I got to work (my daughter's middle school) today I opened my email only to find an attached letter about Nick and his presentation at the school today. I couldn't believe it!

Here is a little message from Nick:
"If I fail, I try again, and again, and again..."
"If YOU fail, are YOU going to try again?"

It Matters how you're going to FINISH
Are you going to finish STRONG?

We are put in situations to build our character.. not destroy us

The tensions in our life are there to strengthen our convictions... not to run over us...

Think you've got it bad?
Need some encouragement?
Fallen Down?
Can't find the STRENGTH to get back up?
Watch this video and then share it with others....

Happy Mother's Day!!

Watch CBS Videos Online

Quick card

This was just a really quick card I made using the Embrace Life set from stampin up. I haven't done much in the way of stamping lately. I used prismacolor pencils and gamsol. I shaded the background in several different colors and lightly blended them. I masked the flowers to make 3. I used Lasting Impressions pearl brads and sheer white swiss dot ribbon. The lighter shade of blue CS and purple CS are made by Bazzill. I also used Ballet Blue CS from SU.

Tonight we went out to the movie theater and saw 17 Again. If you get a chance go see it!! We loved it! Zac Effron is awesome! And Matt Perry is getting old! :) I guess I shouldn't speak... I'm almost the same age!

Tragedy Strikes Close to Home

Our town is mourning the death of two teens killed last night. The accident happened less than 1/4 mile from my home on the train tracks. You can see the news story HERE and HERE. My son was friends with these kids. Our town is a very small town so all the kids here are pretty tight. Last night I heard the sounds of the train blaring--quite a bit more than usual, and even louder than normal. The kids were standing on the double-line railroad tracks on the northbound track. Apparently (according to the local kids) they were waiting for the freight train heading south on the southbound tracks to go by and were watching the end of the train while waiting for it to go by.. They think they didn't hear the oncoming Amtrak train (going northbound) because the freight train was so loud. The Amtrak train blared his horns for a long time, and the teens did not move. It has just been a hard hit on this community. There are piles of flowers and balloons around their memorial. Tragedies like this never make sense.... My condolences go out to these families and friends.

Hatchling

Here is the card I made for the baby shower. It took me a while to post--been busy with spring break! Anyway, this cute little guy is from Whipper Snapper. It was perfect since she is having a boy! The CS colors include Baja Breeze, C Celery, Handsome Hunter, W White. Image is colored in with prismacolor. The sentiment is from Paper Trey.

Baby Shower Gift

I had THE MOST FUN creating this! I made it for my niece who is due to have her baby soon. It's a boy and she is naming him Dash. I thought this turned out so cute! I have to mail it to her so I'm hoping that it doesn't get ruined en route!! I used my Cricut for the letters from the Storybook cartridge. I love this cartridge! I ran the letters through my xyron and then dipped them in glitter. It took a little bit of time but the end result is just fab!

The little jungle animals came in a package that had the palm tree attached to the lid. I thought it was perfect for the top of the cake! There are onesies at the base of the tree and washcloths underneath the leaves. The vines and the alligator were cut with the Cricut using Zoobaloo. The decorative paper I found was just awesome and totally fit the theme!

Just for fun..

This is one of my daughter's favorite movies... I found this on another fellow quilter's blog... The most memorable part of the movie!

Umbrella Card

I think this umbrella card is perfect for this time of the year! I made this one as a New Baby card. This is relatively simple to make. The tools I used with this card include: a circle cutter, the Cricut (using the Storybook cartridge), Cuttlebug dies and embossing folders, paper trimmer with scoring blade, scallop scissors, and scalloped circle nestabilities. Also used on this card: Bazzill and SU CS, Stampendous and Paper Trey stamps, Swiss Dots embossing folder, prismacolor pencils and gamsol, Lasting Impressions buttons, ribbon, cording, vellum and SU inks.

1. To begin, cut out a circle of any size. This one is appx 8 inches. I used my Making Memories circle cutter.

2. Next score your circle. On the cutting mat shown, I lined the edge of the mat with the circle and found the center. Once you find the center, I usually make a small crease with my finger nail on both the top and the bottom and then score. Next place the circle back on the mat with the scored line laying horizontally, matching the score to the lines on the mat. Find the center again and score again, making the new score line perpendicular to the first line. The next score line is centered between the first two score lines as shown. This last score line is a valley fold. The first two are mountain folds. Bring the two sides of the valley fold in toward the center and your card should look like this:

3. To make the handle I used my Cricut and the Storybook cartridge. I cut out the 'J' in the alpha to make my umbrella handle. If you don't have a die cutting machine, making on by freehand is just as good!

4. This picture here shows the underneath side of the front of the card. To make the ruffle I used vellum. I cut a quarter piece of the vellum (from a full 8.5 x 11) and ran it through my Cuttlebug with the Swiss dots embossing folder. Then I matched corner of the paper to the backside (this piece of the umbrella should be perpendicular). Holding the paper in place, I used the scalloped scissors to create the ruffle-type edge. Then I added the umbrella handle.

5. The opposite side of the circle was stamped with this sentiment:

6. Decorate the front of the card and you are done! *** If you would like to share this tutorial please be kind and provide a link back to this page! ***

Four Leaf Clover

I love Changito. I love the saying on this card! The inside says "hard to find and lucky to have!" .. So sweet! I like that it is not necessarily a St Patty's day card, since I hardly ever send any St Patty's cards out.. Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ok, so it's not a card, but it should be on a card!!!! I found this at work and had to share.. This article was found HERE.

Nam Choke, an 8-year-old bull elephant (L), and Boonrawd, a 7-year-old cow elephant, form a heart shape with their trunks while the sun sets in the background at an elephant camp in the former Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya, 70 km (44 miles) north of Bangkok. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang

Over The Rainbow Challenge

Here is another challenge card from Nichole Heady's blog. The Challenge was to use 4 colors similar to the ones she displayed on her blog

From SU I used Wasabi, Caribbean Blue, Saffron CS. Also used are the same color inks including Ruby Red. The background was cuttlebug'd with swiss dots. I used Guava for the heart punch in the middle. The sentiment was stamped using Baja Breeze and a stamp cut out of the set So Many Saying from SU... These were some tough colors to use!

Bitty Dot Sketch Challenge

Here's the card I made for this challenge. I have so much decorative paper and I never use it all... The DP is from 3 bugs in a rug. The stamp is from the set Friendship Blooms. The border dots are from Paper Trey's Faux Ribbon set. From SU I used Pretty in Pink and Choc Chip CS...

Monkey Love

I love this monkey from Whipper Snapper! I dug out my cuttlebug folders and found this vine-like one. I don't know the name!! Anyway, I thought it turned out cute. The ribbon is from May ARts. It is so pretty in person. It is variegated and has gold strands throughout.

Also used are SU CS--Wasabi, Celery, Cocoa, White. Bazzill CS, LI brads, Cuttlebug Folder, and corner rounder. I suppose you could use it for V-day, but that was not my intention! Hope you like!

I put together this card yesterday for my Sister-in-law's birthday. This one is really different from anything I normally make, but I thought it was cute! I love this cupcake set from Stampendous. It was a limited edition set I believe. You can put whatever face you want on it and this one fit perfectly for my SIL. I think the only thing from Stampin Up on this card is the CS (Elegant Eggplant), and orange ink. Other supplies I used include: Lasting Impressions paper, Sizzix candle dies, prismacolor pencils, stickles, Cricut Embossing Folders, White gel pen...

I Chews U

I got to play with my Bubs The Beaver set from The Craft Lounge. I had to purchase this set.. mostly because of my last name.... Bevard... It seems that everyone loves to mispronounce this name! I always get Bee-vard, Brev-ard, Bev-erd. Ber-vard.. Anyway, with all of this our name reminds me of Beavers.. In fact, my husband's nickname for us is The Beaves. LOL So I had to get it because of the beavers... By the way, it is pronounced Bev-ard. :) Anyway here are a few things I used for this card:

• Bubs The Beaver with copics
• LI brads
• SU regal rose, pink pirouette, whisper white CS
• Cuttlebug dies and embossing folders
• word window punch
• SU ribbons
• iridescent cord
  

Laugh for the day..

Valentine Tin

I put this tin together with the intention of filling it with valentines. I thought it turned out pretty cute! I used an alterable bandaid tin. I used my CC Designs stamps and colored images using my Copics. I also used SU DP from a couple of years ago (gotta use it up sometime!) I had to take several pictures of the ribbons so you can get a better idea of what they really look like. Most of the ribbons on the tin are pink with iridescent trim, and a couple of them organza with sparkles. The darker picture kind of gives you the impression that the ribbons are iridescent. Anyway, just use your imagination! LOL I believe I used about 7 different ribbons on the top...

Miniature Valentines

I made these sweet little valentines to go into the valentine tin. I broke out my CC Designs stamps and whipped 'em together... I bought them last year and I finally got a chance to use them! These are all trading card size and fit perfectly in the tin. I probably would have made more but a few of these are a bit bulky. Another thing I used on these are my Copics. I think I'm starting to get the hang of how to blend them! I guess it just takes patience and time... On these I used SU and Bazzill CS, several Cuttlebug dies and embossing folders, some Quickutz dies and brads from Makng Memories and Bazzill, SU eyelets, and various ribbons and punches...

Selling Retired Stamp Sets

Just wanted to put a bug in your ear that I am selling many of my Stampin Up stamp sets... Please take a look! I have them listed on the right side bar... I have over 80 more Stampin Up sets up for grabs. I am also posting some retired SU accessories and wheels that match some of the sets I will be posting. I will be posting as time permits--lots of stuff going on in life right now... Thanks for looking!

Scary Times!

After the terrential down-pours and much melting of snow my home town and surrounding areas are flooding!! My home is not in a flood plain and we are not affected by this--yet... But here are some links and photos of the outlying areas...

Video of Merwin Dam Here in Woodland, we live right off of a fork of the Lewis River. Merwin Dam is approximately 20 miles to the east of us and drains into this river. This is the site at the dam, showing how much water is coming out of the dam. This water has come down to our town and flooded much of the east side next to the river.

This photo was taken up by the dam in another area--Cougar, WA.. The strange part about this picture is that the flooding is from melted snow. THIS SNOW HAS NOT EVEN MELTED!!! Some areas in and around Cougar had over 5 feet of snow during Dec. The flooding happened so fast! They had over 9 inches of rain between Jan 6-7....This area sits in a mountainous region... This pic was snagged from KATU news

Just to the north of us (where we recently moved from) is some of the other smaller tributaries. This video is just off of Rose Valley Road on the south end of Kelso... There were many mudslides in the Kelso area yesterday--left alot of people without power...


On the north end of Kelso (very close to our other house) is Ostrander road. My friend Shelley lives up this road. This is what it looks like on the way to her house... YIKES!