LAD Winter Stamp Release, Day 2

Hi! Thank you for joining me again for more Lizzie Anne Designs sneak peeks! The new releases will be available tomorrow in the Lizzie Anne Store.

Today I am sharing a peek of another new Sixlets set called Timeless Textures. You know how I love backgrounds, and I jumped all over this one.

I used a bunch of different colored inks and stamped the patterns in the set onto some scrap cardstock. Then I used a one-inch circle punch to punch out 9 different circles. I adhered them to my card with foam dimensionals. Easy, peasy and really great for any occasion. I paired it with another sentiment from Perfect Phrases. This makes me smile!

Tomorrow this set, along with the five others being released, will be available for purchase in the Lizzie Anne Designs Store. To see some more previews, stroll on over to the Lizzie Anne Designs Blog to see what the other Design Team members have been up to!

Thanks for stopping by!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Timeless Textures, Perfect Phrases - Lizzie Anne Designs
Cardstock: Wild Wasabi - Stampin' Up!; Kraft, Rustic White - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Wild Wasabi, Poppy Parade, Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Pacific Point, Peach Parfait, Concord Crush - Stampin' Up!; Jet Black Archival Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: 1" Circle punch - EK Success; Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers; Sewing machine

Lizzie Anne Designs Winter Stamp Release

Hi there!

Today I am pleased to help share previews of the new Lizzie Anne Designs release. Six new sets will be released on February 1!

Let's get started!

I used Perfect Phrases (a new Sixlets set) for my first card.

This set contains six different phrases in a fantastic font combination! I paired this one with a big felt flower - I also love the color combination of burgundy and melon.

This next set speaks to my shabby-loving heart. Bonjour is the perfect mix of French vintage and chic, with a great variety of images.

Don't you love my 'wax' seal? I layered embossing powder until it was nice and thick and then while it was still warm and soft, I stamped the fleur-de-lis. I love the oomph it adds!

So what do you think so far? Good stuff, no? Stop by the Lizzie Anne Designs Blog for more sneak peeks from the rest of the Design Team.

Have a great day!

Anya

Recipe
Thinking of You Card
Stamps: Perfect Phrases - Lizzie Anne Designs
Cardstock: Rustic White, Melon Berry - Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: Pretty Pastels Collection - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Scarlet Jewel - Papertrey Ink; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Petite Oval Small, Scalloped Petite Oval, Blossom Nestabilities - Spellbinders; Scarlet Jewel Felt, Vintage Cream button - Papertrey Ink

Bonjour Card
Stamps: Bonjour - Lizzie Anne Designs
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette - Stampin' Up!; Rustic Cream - Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: Unknown (sorry!)
Ink: Pink Pirouette - Stampin' Up!; Coffee Archival Ink, Antique Linen, Vintage Photo Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Labels Eleven - Spellbinders; Filigree Gold Embossing Powder - Stewart Superior; Roses - Perfectly Pretty Etsy Store; Crocheted lace - JoAnn Stores

Blast Off!

Popping in quickly today to share a card I made a while ago for my cutie patootie nephew Jake.

Half Pint Heroes is my go-to set for the little guys in my family. What kiddo doesn't love rocket ships?

Thanks for visiting!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Half Pint Heroes, Roses in Bloom (I used the raindrop image to create the moon craters - really!) - Waltzingmouse Stamps
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Pear Pizzazz - Stampin' Up!; White - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Pear Pizzazz - Stampin' Up!; Tuxedo Black Memento - Tsukineko
Other: Copic markers

Birthday Blog Hop

Hi there, friends!

It is an honorary holiday here at WMS as it is our dear Claire's birthday! I have never met a kinder, sweeter, more encouraging person than Claire and I am so glad to call her my friend! Won't you join the DT for a little birthday waltz?

Happy Birthday, chickie - I think you're the best!


I was inspired by an article I saw in Country Living Magazine about decorating with white. I really liked the different shades of white together and wanted to try bringing these neutrals all together on a card. I particularly liked this image:

My card uses the rose images from Roses in Bloom and a bit of Musical Backgrounds on the bottom.

Claire, I hope you have a fantastic birthday!

I am your last stop, so head over to the Waltzingmouse Blog to say a little hello to Claire. I am sure she will be thrilled!

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Roses in Bloom, Musical Backgrounds - Waltzingmouse Stamps
Cardstock: White, Rustic White - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Sahara Sand - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Doily - Wilton; Vintage Cream felt - Papertrey Ink; Adhesive pearls - Recollections; sewing machine

WMS Grand Calibur Event, Day Two

Good morning!

Welcome to day two of the Waltzingmouse Stamps Grand Calibur event! I will warn you that I've pre-scheduled this post and may not be as up-to-date on some of the event information. So be sure to stop by the Waltzingmouse Blog for all the information about the shopping opportunities and other fun stuff that is happening along with this event!

I am honored to have received a Grand Calibur from Spellbinders, and have enjoyed creating with it. I have three projects to share with you today.

I have always admired my dear friend Julia Aston's embossed frame cards. For this card, I embossed a Labels Eleven die onto a Kraft base. I kept the rest of the design simple, using a small heart from Nestie Eggs to decorate my Teeny Tree.

One of the features I have always liked about the Nesties is the ability to create frames. I kept coming back to the idea of creating a little shadowbox, but wanted it to be a bit more than just that, so I thought why not a shadowbox card?

I know it is a little difficult to tell from the picture, but this card actually combines the Labels One Nestabilities and the Grand Labels One Nestabilities! Seamless coordination, it is fantastic! While these larger-sized dies would be great for scrapbook pages, don't discount the uses for them if you aren't a scrapper!

I created my little forest using images from Teeny Trees again. I die-cut the blue cardstock with the second Grand Labels One die (4-3/4") for my base and assembled my trees. I used one of the more abstract foliage images to make the clouds, and made sure my trees were full of little birdies.

The frame was created by cutting that second Grand Labels One die again along with the largest of the original Labels One. (I know, a picture would be helpful, but you'll have to just visualize this one!) Look at how fantastic that is - and the embossing! Love it. I layered some foam dimensionals and adhered the frame to the card front. I can't wait to try this with some different materials - wouldn't embossed metal look amazing?

I switched gears for my last card, because I couldn't leave without sharing some of the fantastic stamp sets WMS has that coordinate with the Nesties. This Very Vintage Labels No. 5 set just arrived on my doorstep and I cracked it open without hesitation.

The fancy label image was embossed in gold and die-cut using the coordinating Labels Five dies and my Grand Calibur. I combined images from Sweethearts to finish off an elegant Valentine!

Did you notice the bottom edge of the card? I used the third largest Grand Labels One die (5-1/4") to die-cut a fancy edge to my card.. this seems to be popping up in lots of places right now! Its the perfect finishing touch to my lovey dovey card!

That's all for me, but Bonnie and Julia are sharing projects today, too. I know those ladies will create something fabulous! Don't forget to stop at the Waltzingmouse Blog to get all the details on the rest of our Grand Calibur Event. Have a great day!

Anya

The One You Love

Hi there!

I'm working on scheduling some blog posts for while I'm away, but thought you might like to see some goodies now! I know that I have not been exactly the most consistent blogger recently, but for good reason! I am looking forward to getting back into a regular schedule once I return from my trip.

This fun little card features some of the new images from Lucky in Love, the Lizzie Anne Winter Mix set.

The background was stamped with each of the 'fortunes' in the set. Then I used a black marker and my spritzer to add the splotches to the background. Dropping your black ink pad onto your stamped cardstock after you've finished lining up all those little phrases is optional - oops! The fortune cookie was stamped onto patterned paper and cut out. I stamped one of the fortunes onto regular typing paper and slid it behind the fortune cookie, just like the real deal.

Cute!

Things are winding down here, our flight leaves early Thursday morning. I hope you'll bear with me while I'm gone, I worked hard to be able to still share some goodies with you! ;) Amazingly, we'll have internet access halfway across the world on our remote little island, so I'll see if I can pop in and say hello. Until then, take care my dears!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Lucky in Love - Lizzie Anne Designs
Cardstock: True Black, White - Papertrey Ink; Riding Hood Red - Stampin' Up!
Ink: Jet Black Archival Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Color Spritzer - Stampin' Up!; sewing machine

January WMS Blog Waltz

Good morning, waltzers! Welcome to the January Friends of WMS Blog Waltz.

If you want to waltz along with us and you haven't yet linked up your project, head to this thread in the WMS Forum to link up your creation and view the other participants. There is also a thread for chatting about what you've seen and participating in our little contest! The DT members are each hiding an image (or not!) on their cards. Keep track of their count and a correct guess could win you a stamp set of your choice!

Our theme for this month's waltz is Valentines/Love. I saw the pattern for this adorable paper cone on A Field Journal blog. It is included with some other cute ornaments as well.

I started by stamping the unassembled paper cone with one of the script texts from Text It. I also added the smallest heart from Sweethearts. I love to layer background patterns like this.

The label is from Holiday Lables No. 14, which of course is compatible with Spellbinders Lables 14. I added more small hearts, some glitter and rhinestones and some fancy red tinsel ribbon. The finished product sits about 5 inches high and was really easy to assemble. Wouldn't it be cute as a little carrot for Easter?

I'm so glad that you stopped in today and I hope you have fun waltzing! Make sure to head back to the WMS Forum to chat and join the contest.

Have a great day!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Text It, Sweethearts, Holiday Lables No. 14 - Waltzingmouse Stamps
Cardstock: Rustic White - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Going Gray, Pink Pirouette - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Antique Silver Glitter - Martha Stewart Crafts; Labels 14 - Spellbinders; Tinsel Garland - My Minds Eye; Adhesive Rhinestones - Recollections; Paper Cone Template - A Field Journal

LAD January DT Challenge

Good morning!

I am here today to share the January Design Team Challenge from Lizzie Anne Designs. This month we were challenged to create a card based on a New Years resolution. One of my goals for this year is to make a better use of my time and to plan and work ahead as much as possible. No more last minute creating!

What better way to convey how valuable time is but this sentiment (Wise Man's Treasure) from the January singles release. I took the treasure theme and ran with it, distressing my stamped image to look like a worn, faded treasure map. I stamped it onto my cardstock and then crumpled it up, flattened it back out, curled some corners and tore some edges. Then I went over it with a few different Distress Inks. The finished result is pretty old treasure map-ish, don't you think?

Thanks for stopping to visit me today, be sure to head over to the Lizzie Anne Designs blog to see what the other DT members created for this challenge. Have a great day!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Wise Man's Treasure - Lizzie Anne Designs
Cardstock: Soft Suede - Stampin' Up!; Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: Snow Day - Crate Paper
Ink: Coffee Archival Ink, Old Paper, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Tiny Attacher - Tim Holtz Idea-ology; Maraschino Baker's Twine - The Twinery; Vintage wood button; Sewing machine

Christmas Thank You

Hello friends.

An after Christmas thank you card for today. Sometimes it is just all about stamping my own patterns.

The Scandinavian snowflake image is from Santa Was Here. This is a favorite of mine, and I created a pattern in dark green, then filled in the empty spots with sand. The pine boughs and cone are from Around Christmastime. Like Festive Foliage, there are still lots of images in this set that can be used after Christmas.

So glad you could take the time to visit today. Tomorrow the Lizzie Anne DT is sharing our challenge creations for this month. I hope you can stop back!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Santa Was Here, Around Christmastime, Rescue Remedies Additions
Cardstock: Handsome Hunter - Stampin' Up!; Rustic Cream - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Handsome Hunter, Sahara Sand, Close to Cocoa - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Sewing Machine

Made With Love

Hi there!

How are you? Things going well? I've been thinking of you!

I am excited to share today's project with you - I think they are super cute!

I used this cute apron image (don't you just love it?) and coordinating sentiment from Lucky in Love, the Lizzie Anne Winter 2011 Mix Set, to create some fun tags. These little guys will come in handy for Valentine's Day.

I started by die-cutting the tags, each in a different color. I stamped the apron image onto coordinating patterned paper and then cut each of them out. I also cut out a few blocks of solid color. I had fun laying all the bits out and picking what pieces to put together. I like how cohesive they all are, they make a fun set. The final touch was a bit of glitter on the apron bow.

Cute, cute, cute! These will look great on a little bag of cookies or some chocolate dipped pretzels! Yum!

Thanks for visiting today, I'll see you soon!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Lucky in Love - Lizzie Anne Designs
Cardstock: White, Hibiscus Burst, Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: Simple Valentine - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Jet Black Archival Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Tag Sale #1 Die - Papertrey Ink; Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers; Glitter, Baker's Twine - Martha Stewart Crafts

Emergency Hugs

Hi there. I apologize for being absent, my blog friends. No matter how hard I try, I seem to be running about 3 hours behind today. Work is really busy, and I'm sneaking in here to post for today.

This adorable image is a digital stamp, available as part of a huge bundle of images put together by Jak Heath to help raise funds for Katie Renz. You may have heard Katie's story - if not, please stop by her blog and say hello, she's a real sweetie. WMS has contributed a few images to the event, along with oodles of other companies. This is a fantastic offer and a fantastic cause! Jak has all the details on her blog, we'd be so grateful if you'd be willing to purchase the bundle!

I couldn't resist the cute fire truck, drawn in the likeness of Half Pint Heroes! He's speeding off to deliver some emergency hugs!

Please go check out what Jak has to offer and help us spread the word!

Have a great day, my dears.

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Digital Images available at Jakheath.com
Cardstock: Kraft, White - Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: 2008 Bitty Box Basics collection - Papertrey Ink
Other: Copic Markers - Imagination International

Treats for Your Tea

Good morning!

I am back this morning to bring you the first Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge of 2011! It is good to get back in the swing of things, and I hope you will play along with us.

Here is this week's sketch - nothing like starting things off easy, eh? ;)

This was one of those sketches that I looked at then put away, looked at then put away... finally I turned to the tutorials on Splitcoast to find a template to use. I picked the Gable box to make a little treat carrier. I like how it turned out!

The image and sentiment are from Afternoon Tea and Afternoon Tea Sentiments. The patterned paper is from October Afternoon.

I hope you will play along with us this week and stop back often. Waltzingmouse has some big things in the works and we can't wait to share them with you!

The sketch challenge will remain open until Thursday, 11:59 EST. You can link up your entry on the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge Blog. Top Mice will be announced along with the new sketch next Saturday! Be sure to visit the blog and check out what the other DT members and Mischief Makers have created for the sketch challenge!

Have a great day!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Afternoon Tea, Afternoon Tea Sentiments - Waltzingmouse Stamps
Cardstock: Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: The Thrift Shop - October Afternoon
Ink: Coffee Archival Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Lacey Circles, Ovals Small Nestabilities - Spellbinders; Crinkle Ribbon - MemrieMare

Love You a Latte Packet

Hi there! How is your day going?

I have a little gifty idea for you today. This idea is certainly not something new, but it came together so cute using some new Lizzie Anne stamps.

I started with a 3-1/2 by 8-1/2 piece of Kraft cardstock and scored it at 2-1/2, 2-3/4, 6-3/4, and 7 inches. You can easily adjust this depending on what you're putting inside. I stamped the fancy heart from the Lucky in Love mix set onto the two front flaps. The Love you a Latte single was stamped onto some cream cardstock and colored with colored pencils. This little panel is adhered with foam dots to the top only. The baker's twine keeps the little package closed, and here's the open view.

I tucked some cappucino mix in there, but you could just as easily use hot chocolate mix, cider mulling spices, or tea! It is easy and fun to make, and something cute to give a friend. The hot chocolate mug and little marshmallow guy images from the Warmest Wishes mix set would be great to use to. I think I'll give them a try!

Thanks for your visit today!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Heart from Lucky in Love, Love you a Latte - Lizzie Anne Designs
Cardstock: Kraft, Rustic White, Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Crumb Cake - Stampin' Up!; Coffee Archival Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Maraschino baker's twine - The Twinery; Colored pencils - Crayola; Cappucino mix

Daily Dare Challenge

Good morning my friends! Today is the 11th day of Christmas over on the Daily Dare Blog and today Waltzingmouse Stamps is sponsoring the challenge.

Our challenge to you is to use snowflakes on your card or project. Here is the card that I made.

I have enjoyed using the emboss-resist technique recently. For this card, I started with a piece of Rustic White cardstock and stamped the different snowflake images from Very Vintage Christmas and Seasons of Love - Tags in VersaMark ink and then clear embossed them. Then I pulled out a few different blue shades of Distress Ink and inked up my background.

I finished it off by spritzing the cardstock with silver metallic spray and adding some Stickles to the center of my snowflakes. The sentiment is from Half Baked Gingerbread Joy and was embossed in silver.

So head on over to The Daily Dare Blog to check out all the details of the challenge. Did I mention that you could win a free Waltzingmouse stamp set of your choice? ;)

There's more WMS DT eye candy over on the Waltzingmouse Blog. Enjoy!

Anya

Recipe
Stamps: Very Vintage Christmas, Seasons of Love - Tags, Half Baked Gingerbread Joy - Waltzingmouse Stamps
Cardstock: Enchanted Evening, Rustic White - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Faded Jeans, Weathered Wood, Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Filigree Clear, Silver Embossing Powder - Stewart Superior; Star Dust Stickles - Ranger Industries; Silver Metallic Spray - Tsukineko

Explore

Explore (verb): to traverse or range over for the purpose of discovery; to look into closely; scrutinize; examine: to search for; search out.

Some of you may be familiar with Ali Edwards' One Little Word. Last year I 'informally' participated, choosing the word balance, and tried to strive for more of that in what was a very emotionally stressful and hectic year. Balance is a great word, and one that I think will always be something I try to get better at. Better at balancing tasks, balancing time, and balancing effort.

This year, my word chose me. I don't want to seem overly cheesy about this, but there are lots of things converging for me right now that make this exercise seem valuable. To each his own, but I like having something to focus on and be accountable for, and hope that along the way the experience makes me a better person.

This year, I will explore.

- I will explore the day-to-day, spending more time enjoying simple acts.

- I will explore my options, trying to inject a little more adventure and spontaneity into life.

- I will explore possibilities, and not limit myself by things I am afraid to try.

- I will explore my creativity, and dabble in this and that. (As a sidenote, I have been reading Eat Pray Love - which I do love - and came across the Italian expression l'arte d'arrangiarsi. To create something out of nothing. How delicious a phrase to describe something that is so important to me.)

- I will explore my emotions, and invest them where it is worth it.

- And finally, I will explore the world. Bill and I are kicking off our 2011 with a trip to Indonesia. In a little over two weeks, we leave for Wakatobi, a dive resort on a small island in Southeast Sulawesi. We will travel there via Bali, where we will spend a few days adjusting to the time change in the southern hemisphere. After three days in Bali, we travel to Wakatobi, where we will spend the next week diving in some of the most pristine and diverse reefs in the world. I have no doubt that this will be one of the most fantastic experiences I have ever had (well worth the 14 months we've saved up for it).

I decided that I wanted to sign up for Ali's One Little Word online workshop from Big Picture Classes. I belive that I can benefit from the projects and gentle prompts from the class and look forward to incorporating my word into my creative process.

I hope to continue to share more about my word and my progress through the year. I encourage you to check out Ali's blog if you think this exercise would be something you would be interested in participating in also. It is as little or as much as you make it!

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

Have a fantastic day,

Anya

Welcome, 2011!

Happy New Year!! I hope 2011 is your best year yet. I am getting quite excited about a big trip that Bill and I are taking, which is coming up very soon! I'll share more about that later - for now I am going to hit the ground running here in the New Year.. I was a little lazy for the past week, but we're back in business!

Today Lizzie Anne is releasing two new Simply Singles for January.

The first is called Love You a Latte, and it is so cute for Valentine's Day!

I paired this image with some patterned paper from Cosmo Cricket's Chemistry collection, which is one of my favorites. I stamped the cup and saucer on the index sheet of the Crafting Kit to get the smaller scale pattern - a trick I learned from Debbie Olson!

My next card uses the second Single to be released, called Wise Man's Treasure. So appropriate for welcoming a new year!

I stamped the image onto my cardstock and embossed it with clear embossing powder. Then I used a few different Distress Inks to create the gradient background. I paired it with a card base that I had 'messy-stitched' with my sewing machine. I adhered the image to the card with my Tiny Attacher (love this) and then added a few buttons. I really like the layout of this card, in addition to the message!

I'm so glad you stopped by today. Be sure to head over to the Lizzie Anne Blog to check out the other previews of the new singles.

Happy New Year! Hopefully we'll be watching the Winter Classic today!

Anya

Recipe
Love You a Latte Card
Stamps: Love You a Latte - Lizzie Anne Designs
Cardstock: Berry Sorbet, Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: Chemistry - Cosmo Cricket
Ink: Jet Black Archival, Antique Linen, Vintage Photo Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers; R11 Copic Marker - Imagination International; Stardust Gel Pen - Sakura; Sewing machine; Crochet thread

Wise Man's Treasure Card
Stamps: Wise Man's Treasure - Lizzie Anne Designs
Cardstock: Not Quite Navy - Stampin' Up!; Soft Stone, White - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Pine Needles, Tumbled Glass, Faded Jeans Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
Other: Filigree Clear Embossing Powder - Stewart Superior; Tiny Attacher - Tim Holtz Idea-ology; Paper piercer; Sewing machine; Buttons