Happy New Year

"One day at a time"... that's how I'm going to take 2013.  I love New Year's day for some reason... even more then New Years Eve actually.  It's like fresh fallen snow and leaving your footprints in whatever road you choose to take in this brand new year ahead. 

It's a new sheet... a clean slate... a new beginning. 

It seems like ages since I've made a card and so today I really didn't know where to begin.  I dug out my Verve stock and got lucky with sentiments for both the inside and out.  I've staggered the Spellbinders Marvelous Squares dies... didn't feel like being all neat and tidy.  Button die from Memory Box.

Here's the inside:

I haven`t announced this yet, but I`ve decided to step down from the amazing Stamping Bella design team.  I`ve had a change of priorities just recently and I`ve had to move crafting down the list a wee bit... I`m just needing more time to grow & develop in other areas of my life.  I have big ambitions for this coming year... but will not giving up stamping completely!!

Wishing you all things wonderful in 2013.

Carla
xox

Happy Friday!

Hey Crafty Peeps - welcome back for another Bellariffic Friday.  This is for Sketch Challenge 25 and I inked up Door with Wreath by Mo Manning. 

This Stamping Bella sketch challenge gave me the idea of snow drifts... and of course another excuse to use glitter - lol.  Love this Wonderland paper from Studio Calico and the white cardstock is simply Whisper White from SU.  Cranberry Crisp bow is made with the Lil Inker Designs mini bow die - great size for cards.  Sentiment from Verve.

I love the Christmas feel of this card. It's just simple and a teeny bit rustic.  I added a little tulle and a few pearls... not a lot of fussing.  Haven't finished the inside just yet... I'm looking for just the right sentiment.

Have a great weekend all!!  Grab a coffee & treat yourself to a little browse of all the gorgeous cards on Bloggabella.

Bismarck's Christmas

Love this little guy... but hate what I've done to his poor eyes... looks like he's been up for days... LOL.  This is Bismarck from Stamping Bella. 

I think I've had this paper as long as I've been making cards... called Paper Pizazz.  It must have been on sale because I've got an endless supply.  I coloured up Bismarck with my Copics and added a little glitter, some sheer ribbon & a gem stone.  His sleepness-nights-look was courtesy of my black glaze pen. 

Love the Marvelous Squares die from Spellbinders!  Endless possibilities.  I've sewn down a couple of layers and then propped the main image up with double sided foam tape.

Sentiment is from a Verve set and that little snowflake is a die from MFT.  Off to work on my Bellariffic Friday card... see you back here then!!

Carla.

Speak the Truth

Not a crafty weekend for me... took a little break (no mojo!).  So I've decided to post a card a made a few weeks back:

This is another sentiment from the Verve set "Words of Wisdom"... love it.  Love stamping with white ink lately too...

I have had that little pink metal flower for YEARS... hoarding it away... well I finally broke down and put it to use.

Finished the inside as well:

Stamps:

Verve - Words of Wisdom
Just Rite - Classic Lace Edges Two
Waltzingmouse Stamps - Vintage Labels 2

Paper:
SU's Whisper White & Crumb Cake, Basic Grey Basics, Pebbles "Country Picnic"

Dies:
SB - classic edges 2 & labels 2
MFT - squiggle

Ink: SU Mauve Mist, Colour Box frost white

Extras:
adhesive pearls, sewing, Martha Stewart craft seam binding, metal flower

Enjoy your week!!
Carla.

Feelin Frilly...

...well... more "flourish-y" (if that's a word - and I doubt it is, lol), but I just had a hankerin' to go all flourishes & pearls on this one. 

I used the exact same stamp as with this card... and even some of the same paper; guess I should clean up my craft desk a little more often.  8)

I love this Verve stamp of a Winnie the Pooh quote because it reminds me of my two little sweet nieces... not that they are things... but you know what I mean.

I took a side pic of all the layers... what the heck did we do before foam tape?!! 

I sponged the edges of the paper (with Memento Grey Flannel) after distressing and then rolled up the 4 corners.  I once again used the Vintage Labels 10 stamps from Waltzing Mouse as two of my layers.  Love love love adding subtle colour with these stamps!!

Feeling a bit out of touch at the moment - I'm missing my e-mail at home which is still down and now my phone is out.  It's funny how much we rely on these things.  Thank goodness for blogs & facebook!  LOL

Thanks for stopping by again today and I do love hearing what you think of my cards - especially today since I'm certainly not hearing from anyone else!  haha

Stamps:

Verve - Smallest Things
Waltzingmouse Stamps - Vintage Labels 10

Paper:
Bella's Bestest paper, SU's Whisper White & Basic Grey, Basic Grey "Basics", Pebbles "Country Picnic"

Dies:
SB - labels 10 & floral flourishes

Ink: SU Mauve Mist, Memento Tuxedo Black & Grey Flannel

Extras:
adhesive pearls, sewing, SU basic grey ribbon

Bye for now! Carla.

WMSC113

Hello!  I'm back to try another Waltzingmouse Challenge again today.  I used one of my favorite sets that coordinates beautifully with Spellbinders... Vintage Labels 10.

For the largest of the label 10 dies, I used white ink on craft paper and then the next two layers both use SU Mauve Mist.  Love the soft vintage designs of these stamps!!  Of the sentiment sets that I have from WMS, I didn't have anything that would fit inside of the smallest dies, so I went with one I had from Verve.

Because I used Pebbles "new arrival" paper with birds, I thought I would just complete the card with a bird theme and so added the Poppystamps dies (vintage bird cage & nestled bird).

I stuck to the sketch as much as possible - I'm terrible for never getting them exact.  But I'm happy with the turn out.  Here's the inside with the little birdcage:

Stamps:

Waltzingmouse Stamps - Vintage Labels 10
Verve - Smallest Things
Just Rite - Classic Lace Edges Two

Paper:
Bella's Bestest paper, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Basic Grey "basics", Pebbles "new arrival" & "country picnic"

Dies:
SB - classic edges 2, labels 10, floral flourishes
MFT - rolled rose, squiggle border
Memory Box - meridian border
Poppystamps - vintage bird cage & nestled bird

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & SU Mauve Mist, Colorbox frost white

Extras:
adhesive pearls, sewing, pink ric rack

Well that's it for me.  Back tomorrow for Bellariffic Friday!!  If you'd like to enter, be sure to e-mail your card to Emily tonight.  See you then!!

Carla.

You Matter

Morning!  Just tried another card with my new Verve set "Words of Wisdom".  Love the simple but important messages in this set.

I felt like getting a little "frilly with it" so out came the Fleur de Lis Spellbinder die.  I remember when this die first came out - I couldn't sleep!  LOL!!  I just had to have it with every fiber of my being.  Crazy, eh?!  Now I still love it... but I have to laugh at myself sometimes.

Once again I used the Spellbinder Fancy Tags 2 die & Just Rite coordinating stamps (stamped in SU Mauve Mist).  I also finished inside with another stamp from the set.

SUPPLIES USED:


Stamps:
Verve - Words of Wisdom
Just Rite - Classic Lace Edges Two

Paper:
Bella's Bestest paper, Basic Grey "Little Black Dress", Whisper White, Basic Grey

Dies:
SB - blossom tags, parisian accents, fleur de lis pendant & classic edges 2
MFT - rolled rose

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & SU Mauve Mist, Memento Grey Flannel (sponged)

Extras:
adhesive pearls, sewing, SU 1/2" basic grey ribbon, felt, pin

Love reading your comments, so thank you for leaving them.  Hope you enjoy your day... that's "hump day" for you worker bees... which will be me again next week. 

But for now, I'm still "va-cay-ing"....  8)

Till next time,
Carla.

Verve - Words of Wisdom

Well I guess it took a few days off work for me to crack open my new Verve set "Words of Wisdom" - omg love it!.  I seem to make more and more of these inspiring and encouraging cards lately... maybe I secretly make them for me because I love the messages (and need to hear it).

I wanted to do something soft & pretty and take a break from colouring.  I stamped the sentiment in Color Box frost white onto SU Crumb Cake cardstock and then lightly sponged around the edges.

The lacy edges were added using Spellbinders Classic Edges Two dies & Just Rite coordinating stamps.  Again stamped in white.  Love making different lace borders from these sets.  Endless possibilities.  Added a bit of real lace and of course lots of pearls.  I love the soft & pretty look so much.

I finished the inside with a bit more of the patterned paper & another bit of the "lace paper".  I made up a bunch so I have it on hand for future cards.  8)

SUPPLIES USED:


Stamps:
Verve - Words of Wisdom
Just Rite - Classic Lace Edges Two

Paper:
Bella's Bestest paper, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, MME "On the bright side"

Dies:
SB - fancy tags 2 & classic edges 2
MFT - vertical greetings

Copics:
omg..........none!!

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Colour Box frost white

Extras:
lace, hero arts flowers, pearls, sewing, linen thread x 2
Well it's a vacation week for me and it's rainy and gloomy today.  But a rainy gloomy day at home is always better then a rainy gloomy day at work. Am I right?!   Until next time, Carla.

Mother's Day Cards in my Etsy Store...

Actually made 5 Mother's Day cards this weekend and just added all of them to my Etsy Store.  Here's the first one:

Now I need to do one for my Mom................

Sweet Sarah Turns Five

My little niece Sarah turns 5 today and she is in full birthday mode.  Birthday breakfast with presents, then birthday fun at the Mall, followed by The Lorax (Dr. Suess) at the movies... then birthday cake and more presents after supper.  Then a nap... for me, not Sarah...lol.

I thought this sweet image by Mo Manning went well the the Verve sentiment "Big Wish" that I placed on the inside:

DP is all American Crafts.  Die cuts are from Spellbinders & MFT.  Love that #5 from MFT !!  She's extremely proud of her age today - so fun to see.  The pink sparkle flourish I found at the Dollar Store.

Gotta Run........... can't be late for Dr. Seuss! 

Sunshine

This little Lily of the Valley stamp just steals my heart!  Isn't she adoreable?!  She's coloured up with Copics and I've cut her out with my circle SB just slightly to the left so I could add the Verve sentiment under the flowers.

I was finally able to get my hands on this new MME "Dilly Dally" - love it!  My local stamp store got a portion of their order in, so I wasn't able to get it all (yet).  Love the wood grain.  The rolled flowers were made from an MFT die, leaves were made with a MS punch. 

Off to do my nieces birthday card - she's going to be 5 and she's beyond adoreable... so I'm going to have to UP the cuteness level on that one.  lol

Monday = Holiday

This is certainly not how I feel about winter... but it is how I feel about having a Monday off work!  LOL

I can't get over the cuteness of Mo Mannings adoreable baby image.  Sentiment is from a small Verve set and I thought they went well together.

The inside:

Happy Monday all!

Where Dreams May Go

I think this was one of the first Mo Manning images that I tried... and of course loved. 

DP is Scenic Route, SB's used are Circle & Nested Heart Circles and of course my addicition to MFT mini rose die continues........

The inside (Sentiment is from Verve):

Happy Sunday one & all!

How Sweet of You

Stamping Bella's Uptown Girl strikes again...

DP from a cute 6x6 pad of MME Lime Twist, Spellbinders Label 8, MS border punch, ric rac, machine stitching, coloured with Copics, adhesive pearls, sheer ribbon, Verve sentiment... all with a sprinkle of glitter on top!

I've made the executive decision to leave my craft room a mess and just head straight to bed.  I've got the weekend to clean it up... or at least make a bigger mess.  ;)

A Warm Hello

And a Warm Hello to you...

A quick post from me tonight - eyes are half shut - but I just finished this and wanted to post quickly before hitting the sack.

Another Uptown Girl from Stamping Bella.  Sentiment from Verve.  I guess this is my "apology" for not doing one Christmas card this year - LOL. 

Anyway, I had fun with this one..........

I used the MFT flourish die to try and make a swirling wind.  Whether it works or not - I don't know... either way, I'm off to bed.  Night!  ;)

Thanks for checking in!!

An Early Valentine

A creatively-slow weekend, but I've been on a Copic-Colouring-Kick and haven't moved the images into cards as yet.  With Valentines around the corner, I thought this Verve quote would be nice in a card.  I picked up some of the new Jillibean "Hearty Barley" line - love the craft paper look, although I never think to use it.  Next time I'll dig out my white ink pad...

The roses were an afterthought but I'm glad I went with it:

The little silver "love" heart charm is left over from a wedding invitation package I made for a friend a while ago.  I have lots left so with the season of Love just around the corner I guess I'll get to use a few more.

I kept the inside pretty simple... again the sentiment is from Verve:

Speaking of Love & Romance...... I'm off to watch tonights episode of Batchelor... can't help myself - lol.

Missed My Copics

I'm certainly not the best at adding colour, but I've missed the relaxation I get from sitting with my Coffee & Copics.  Admittedly I like to colour up the smaller images and the blending probably takes me longer then most... but I love it.  

Here's a baby card I made for a friend at work:

I love this sweet Mo Manning image.  Designer paper is from a K&Company 12x12 pad combined with a bit of Whisper White and Barely Banana.  Used a combination of Spellbinders & MFT dies (what the heck did we do before dies?). 

And the inside:

Love this sentiment from Verve.

Just working on a few Valentine cards now and glad I finally broke the seal on getting back to card making.  Happy to be back blogging too.  ;)

Night all.

A quote on "Courage"

I love that special quotes have become so popular.  Everyone uses them on Facebook, on t-shirts, notepads and picture frames.  Before computers changed our lives, I used to write them down on scraps of paper (I still find them in old purses).  Since then, I've always collected my favorites and would keep them in a folder on my computer - I accumulated hundreds that either made me laugh or touched my heart in one way or another.  I always thought, "that will make a great card".  I obviously didn't have a good quote about "backing up your computer" because I lost them all last January when my computer crashed.   Thank goodness for Verve and their beautiful quote stamp sets.  I love this one about courage.

Paper is Fancy Pants Honeysuckle.  Dies are Spellbinder & MFT.  Love the cordoroy brads from SU!

Cutting this short - off to watch Big Brother.  Rachel has got to go!!  =)

For Another Happy Couple

And yet ANOTHER happy couple this summer.  Love making wedding cards!

I had to use more of this gorgeous Pebbles designer paper (glad I bought lots!) It's just so elegant and perfect for this kind of card.  Sentiment is Verve and I used my Spellbinder & MFT dies once again, dew drops, lace & seam binding... and of course a little glitter.  (What's a wedding without a little glitter?)

I went to this particular wedding and it was one of the nicest weddings I've ever attended.  Such a beautiful couple... inside and out.

Okay folks - that's it for wedding cards for a bit.  I'm missing my Copics and need to do a little colouring....... back soon.

Wedding Post - Part Deux

I promised I'd be back shortly with another wedding card so here it is:

This was fun - I went with cream instead of white and it matched so nice with this American Crafts paper.  Sentiment is Verve and the usual combination of Spellbinder & MFT dies (love my dies!). 

Here's the inside:

Enjoy your weekend all!  Hope you're staying cool...I personally love the veggie section at Costco........ so wonderfully cold!!