BLOG CANDY

Go and check out the blog candy available here until November 23rd EST. Its pretty yummy candy so don't miss out!

http://thechroniclesoforange.blogspot.com/2009/11/blog-candy-scroll-down-for-new-humble.html

Hugz,

NEW CREATIONS FOR CYSD

DESIGN TEAM POST FOR CRAFTING YOUR SPECIAL DELIVERY

Good morning all! It has been ages since I posted anything and for that I do apologize! I decided a while back that it would be interesting to take a Tax Course to get myself out of the house 3 days a week. Well, I really didn't think it would impact my schedule as much as it has! Unfortunately my design time has been cut somewhat and my ability or willingness to cut into my time with hubby has just not been there. I will get it all sorted out soon, so bear with me while I get my schedule rescheduled! LOL!!

Today is my post for my good friend Gina over at Crafting at Your Special Delivery . We have been challenged to make adorable pop up cards...of course Gina was terrific and gave us written instructions as to how these worked...but being a see it and learn it kinda gal...the instructions were too simple...and nothing can be that simple...so....I made it way more difficult than need be! LOL!! I ended up making a couple of variations on the theme until Gina kindly sent me a pic of what she meant...which of course jived PERFECTLY with her written instructions!! So I am going to show you all the whole works because...well because I made them and I think you will enjoy them.

The images are The Night Before Christmas, Chilly Penguin and Snowman and they are just sweet.

First let me show you Chilly Penguin in a two sided fold card that allows Chilly to stand up straight when laid out flat on the table.

I coloured this little guy using my Bic's and Sharpie's and a couple of Prisma Colour Markers as well. He has Snow Writer snow on the ice to give it some sparkle and lots of snowflakes. I used first,second and third generation stamping on the sentiment die cut with my snowflake stamps from Artful Inkables to create different intensities of snowflakes.

If you aren't sure what I mean...First generation stamping is simply stamping your impression after you have inked your stamp up. Second generation is inking your stamp and stamping it on scrap paper and then stamping it on your project creating a slightly faded impression, third generation is when you stamp your stamp on your project creating a significantly faded impression. This creates interest and depth of field in your background. I find it really effective with flowers and snowflakes. Give it a try...I bet you'll like it as much as I do.

This image if of the front of the card, with the sentiment, which is also from Artful Inkables. This image is the back of the card and features a giant acrylic snowflake on the base.

The Joy stamp on Chilly's belly is from Artful Inkables as well. I just love this versatile set at Christmas. I don't own very many Christmas stamps and those I do were purchased for their versatility.

The second pop up card I made features Gina's adorable snowman. For this one I created a card that folds and when you open it, the snowman inside pops out on his own little box hinge. I used the same image on the inside and outside of the card. On the outside I coloured the image with my Prismacolour markers and then covered the entire image in a sheet of clear adhesive which I then covered in microfine glitter. The effect is just sweet. The snowman's eye's and buttons are embellished with black adhesive rhinestones I picked up at the Dollar Store.

I embellished the rest of the card front with coordinating ribbon and foam snowflakes. The dp is from my Christmas stash from last year when I didn't know any better to keep the information on the maker!! So..it's a mystery!! LOL!! The cs is all Bazzill and the rhinestone in the centre of the snowflake is from the Dollar Store as well.

Inside the card I used first, second and third generation stamping and embossed the works of the snowflakes with clear embossing powder to give the inside of the card extra detail since it has been designed to be propped open to show off the snowman inside.

I have used Snow Tex on the hat and base of the snowman for a 2D effect and layered on snowflakes in silver, white and blue. The Season's Greetings sentiment and the Holiday's sentiment are both from Michael's. Once again I used Dollar Store adhesive rhinestones for the snowman's eyes and buttons.

Now for what I was SUPPOSED to make...well...kinda!! LOL!! I can never keep anything super simple...I have to alter it in some way. Gina's images came all neatly boxed in frames she created and all we had to do was use our Xacto knives to cut the upper portion of the image free and fold the bit that was left back to make the support for the card! Easy Peasy...right?! WRONG! I decided I wanted to add space for a sentiment to a couple of the images so I added card stock to their bases and embellished them. The first one though is created the way Gina's instructions indicated.

If you click on the image and it gets bigger you will clearly be able to see the snow writer glitter glue that I used on the chimney and roof top for interest and the Diamond Glaze on this nose and boots. He has been coloured with an assortment of Bic`s, Sharpies and Prismacolour Markers. Hope you like him...I envision him made in mass quantities for the kinder to take to school for sharing with their buddies.

Next up we have Chilly and the Snowman. Both were created similarly. I extended their bases to allow room for a sentiment and some embellishment...c'mon! There HAS to be room for embellishment!!!

The Holiday's sentiment is from my TAC Collection. The cs is all Bazzill and the papers were from a mini 5X7 pad of textured papers and coordinating papers from Momenta. The adhesive rhinestones are from my Dollar Store stash. I used my white gel pen on Chilly's laces and to create the snowflake on the snowman's hat.

I am imagining these adorable cards a place holders on my Christmas table! What would you do with them? They are simple to make and the images are just as quick to colour up to play with! Hop on over to Crafting at Your Special Delivery to check out Gina's images and have some great fun playing along with her challenges!

Here is a final shot of all three similar pop up cards together. It's really nice to give cards of different shapes and dimensions as it allows the recipient the opportunity to display their cards in an interesting fashion!

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope your found something interesting and motivating in today's post. I am working on a couple of cool projects that I hope to post soon...final touches need to be completed...so stay tuned!

Hugz to one and all!

PLATE #2 FINISHED

Plate #2 is Blue!!

For the second in my 8 piece set of Christmas Dinnerware I have used Sunshine's Stamps new Snowman with Tree image and "In the Meadow" sentiment to decorate this plate! I am thinking my sister-in-law will be falling for this plate heavily!! It's kinda her fave colour!!

Here are the deets on how I made this one. I coloured the images with my Prismacolour Markers and then I separated the tree's from the snowmen. All the images have been stripped down to the thinnest layer to provide as little bulk at the bottom of the plate as possible. The centre image and sentiment have been torn and frayed around the edges and inked with my Versafine Lagoon Blue ink pad and sponge daubers. To soften the effect I also sponged some Martha Stewart white over everything as well.

I used Mod Podge to adhere the images to the back of the plate. Once they were adhered in the correct positions I covered the entire back of the plate with a good layer of Mod Podge and sprinkled microfine blue glitter all over the back of the plate. After I let it dry I applied another coat of Mod Podge and glitter to the back of the plate to fill in the thin area's. Once dry the back of the plate was covered with a good layer of clear water based acrylic.

I really hope you like this one as much as I do!! Thanks for stopping by! I am off to start plate #3 before I head to bed!

Hugz,

LOOK WHAT I MADE!

Robbie and I went for a drive the afternoon of Remembrance Day. We ended up in Portage le Prairie. There is not a whole lot in Portage, let me tell you! There is however a huge Dollar Store!! {{Otherwise known as my Mother Ship}} we went in for a gander around. I was truly disappointed in their craft section! Either there are some serious crafters in Portage le Prairie or they just don't keep their craft section very well stocked.

I did however stumble across these glass plates. They are plain and simple and I thought "I can do something with those" so I bought some of them!

This is the first in a series of 8 plates I am making featuring our Christmas images. No two plates will be the same! I am pretty excited about the whole thing.

Here is plate number 1 featuring our Poinsettia image. What do you think?

I took a couple of pictures so you could see the shine as well as the images clearly. Not easy to do with glass!

The images are are coloured using my Prismacolour markers and then cut out. I then stripped the layers of paper until I was left with the thinnest layer of paper with the image on it. I Mod Podge'd everything and added gold damask napkins on the back of it all. The entire works has a couple of coats of clear water based acrylic over it all. The plates will never be able to go through the dish washer, but will withstand hand washing with a little soak.

Plate #2 is in the works. Its totally different from this one!! I can't wait to show it to you!! But...no taking pics of wet glue! Not so appealing when its in that stage, really! Stop by tomorrow for plate #2 of 8!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugz and friendship from a very sticky fingered

AMAZING BLOG CANDY ALERT

Click on the image to hop to Annabelle Stamps for a chance to win!

Good luck everyone! I will be posting some cards later this afternoon!

Hugz,

Sunshine ; ^)

A LOT TO BE GRATEFUL FOR

As Remembrance Day rolls near I am always taken to that place in my mind and heart where those members of our military, present and past, hold a place of honour. It is so easy to forget the sacrifices that were made so that we can live freely. Here is a little reminder that might put it in perspective for you and your children....please...share it with your children...make them understand and pay heed. LEST WE FORGET...

A lesson that should be taught in all schools . . And colleges

Back in September, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School, did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom.

When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks.

'Ms.. Cothren, where're our desks?'

She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.'

They thought, 'Well, maybe it's our grades.'

'No,' she said.

'Maybe it's our behavior.'

She told them, 'No, it's not even your behavior.'

And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom.

By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in Ms.Cothren's classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.

The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the deskless classroom, Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.'

At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it.

Twenty-seven (27) War Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall... By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned..

Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget it.'

By the way, this is a true story.

Please consider telling this to others so they won't forget that the freedoms we have in this great country were earned by War Veterans.

LEST WE FORGET - Wear a Poppy to show your respect on Remembrance (Vetrans) Day

God Bless,

Sunshine:)

I'M ON A NEW DESIGN TEAM

CRAFTING YOUR SPECIAL DELIVERY

This is my first chance to play with Gina's images and boy I have had some fun with Studious Duck. I dug into my new block of 12X12 Martha Stewart little boy papers. Isn't it just so sweet?! The light blue card stock is from Gemstones and has a great sheen. I had some great fun decking out the this card! I used buttons and bows and even a flower! Its a little boy card through and through! I sewed my layers and used paper piecing to pop the Studious Duck out of the frame.

The details that are hard to see in the photograph are that the little duckies below the frame have Diamond glaze on them and I used my Sakura Jelly Roll Pen on the book and Studious Duck's beak.

The inside of the card is finished with the same ribbon and dp as the front of the card. I used a sentiment from All Night Media. I used my Martha Stewart heart punch to jazz it up a bit and finished the line between the two papers.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my first card as a CYSD DT member! Thanks for stopping by!! Hugz, Sunshine ; ^)

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS 2009

HAPPY HALLOWEEN...ER...MERRY CHRISTMAS?

It's that time of year again! Time to get ready for Christmas. We live in Winnipeg also known as Winterpeg! Last year was our first year in Winterpeg and we "thought" we were prepared for our first winter...NOT!

On Halloween last year we actually wore shorts and tee shirts. Its was so nice and warm. Our neighbours were outside putting up their Christmas lights. We had a good laugh at this early planning on the behalf of our neighbours. How wrong we were. Later that week the temperatures plummeted well below normal temps and we had our first snow storm that weekend! No Christmas lights were put up by us last year. We kept thinking about the new neighbours...did they think we were apposed to Christmas? Were we just Grinches?

We were not going to let that happen this year! So on Halloween Day we put our Christmas lights up in the big blue spruce in our front yard! Now this tree is a little high and we had never put lights in a tree that big before. I suggested that Robbie should just go into the center of the tree and just climb up the branches...nope...he got the ladder out. The tree is very full and it held the ladder in place. Our neighbours, Charlie and Doreen, came over and offered a hand. Heck Charlie is 17 feet tall - he could almost put the lights up standing on the ground!! LOL!! OK - maybe I exaggerate a smidgen about Charlie's height....he is really tall though!! We had to get another roll of lights to complete the tree. We also added some bird seed bells for our feathered friends this winter. It looks great and with the exception of the tree fighting back a bit...Robbie survived with just some needle pokes from the tree. Phew!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope this made you chuckle a bit and brightened your day! I will be posting a few new items tonight and tomorrow. Check back later to see what I have been up to!

Sunshine ; ^)

THREE'S A CHARM BLOG HOP

SAVE THE DATE- NOVEMBER 7TH for the THREE'S A CHARM BLOG HOP sponsored by:

Sunshine's Stamps

The Stamping Boutique

Ildico

Our three digital stamp businesses have come together to promote digital stamp images and to promote the versatility, functionality and fun of digital stamp images! We will be releasing our Christmas images during the blog hop, so save the date, November 7th for some fun and a chance to win some prizes!! Tracey, from The Stamping Boutique has generously provided a set of 12 COPIC MARKERS as a prize to one of our lucky winners!! We hope to see you there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunshine; ^)