Country Cardinals

Hi there! Today is a Serendipity Stamps DT challenge day, and today we were challenged to create a country themed card and to combine the technique of watercoloring.

I went for a homespun, cozy look using the Cardinals image.

I watercolored my image using Stampin' Up! inks and an Aqua Painter. After the image dried, I inked the edges with Antique Linen Distress Ink and stitched it to a postage stamp die cut from Spellbinders. Once it was all assembled, I added some glue to the snow area and covered it with glitter.

The patterned paper is the Nordic Holiday collection from Basic Grey, and I thought it lent itself well to the country theme.

I love this cute pair. Cardinals in the snow are one of my favorite sights. Thanks for stopping by today. Please be sure to visit the other Design Team members playing along today to see their take on this challenge!

Amy
Jenny
Kathie
Lynda
Miriam

Have a great day!

Anya

Recipe
STAMPS: Cardinals (952E) - Serendipity Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Rustic White - Papertrey Ink
PATTERNED PAPER: Nordic Holiday - Basic Grey
INK: Tuxedo Black Memento - Tsukineko; Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke, Peach Parfait, Close to Cocoa, Soft Sky - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Classic Squares Large, Postage Stamps - Spellbinders Paper Arts; Silk ribbon - May Arts; Crystal Fine Glitter - Martha Stewart Crafts; Aqua Painter; Sewing machine

Get Well

Hi there!

In the midst of all the red and green I have something a little different to share with you today. I had a request for a get well card, and get well cards should all have cheery color combinations, don't you think?

The colors for this card came from that pretty floral patterned paper tape. I included a little snippet of it on the card just to bring it all together.

I used Hope Seed Co., still running strong as a favorite of mine, to create my Get Well seed packet. I seriously love adding all the little bits like the 'Hope Seed Co.' and the price to the front of these. Fun!

My flower was colored with Copic markers, and highlighted with a clear Spica glitter pen. I think this is a happy little card - I hope it cheers up its recipient!

Have a great day!

Anya

Recipe
STAMPS: Hope Seed Co. - Wplus9
CARDSTOCK: Cool Caribbean, Ruby Red - Stampin' Up!; Lemon Tart, Sweet Blush, White - Papertrey Ink
INK: Cool Caribbean, Going Gray, Ruby Red - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Polka Dots Embossing Folder - ProvoCraft; Copic Markers (Y11, Y21, YR61, YG11, G00) - Imagination International, Inc.; Vintage Girl Paper Tape - Martha Stewart Crafts; Sewing machine

November Friends of WMS Waltz

Good morning, Waltzers! Welcome to the November Friends of WMS Blog Waltz. Today we're waltzing with a Winter/Christmas theme.

Here are the details: if you want to waltz along with us and you haven't yet linked up your project, head to the link list 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. This month a random waltz participant will be chosen to receive a prize.

I will admit, I have Christmas on the brain. Like so many of you, I plan to try and be more prepared this year and soak as much in as I can. Being card makers, we spend a lot of time thinking about our Christmas cards. I am always striving for something unique and lovely, but without exponential effort. Here are a few cards that are quick, easily mass-produced, mailable, and cute!

Nothing easier than a few strips of coordinating patterned paper featuring a festive color combination. It would be easy to put a set of these together with a variety of sentiments from Say It Loud - Winter Holiday. This design was topped off with a simple felt embellishment that would still easily fit into a regular envelope. Replace this with a punched snowflake, the smallest ornament from 2011 Holiday Ornaments... you're set!

Another simple design, this one featuring Festive Foliage and a sentiment from Compliments of the Season. The punched and popped up berries help to add a little somethin'. Glitter these babies up and you have a touch of snazz!

I just hope I can keep these things in mind when I finally sit myself down to make my cards! ;) Glad you could stop in today, have fun waltzing!

Anya

Recipe
Merry Christmas Card
STAMPS: Say It Loud - Winter Holiday - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Handsome Hunter - Stampin' Up!; Rustic White - Papertrey Ink
PATTERNED PAPER: Dear Mr. Claus - Cosmo Cricket
INK: Poppy Parade - Stampin' Up!
OTHER: Holly Jolly Die, Pinefeather Felt, Pure Poppy Felt - Papertrey Ink

Merry Christmas to You Card
STAMPS: Festive Foliage, Compliments of the Season - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Always Artichoke, Read Red - Stampin' Up!; Fine Linen - Papertrey Ink
PATTERNED PAPER: Wonder Collection - Authentique
INK: Always Artichoke - Stampin' Up!
OTHER: 5/8-inch Circle Punch - EK Success

Grateful Greetings

Good morning, my dears. How are you today?

I am in a good mood, feeling upbeat and excited about some things coming down the pike. It is good to sit down and make something you love, too, you know? The card I want to share with you today, which I made for this week's Play Date Cafe Challenge, is one of those things. :)

Here is the color story for this week - it is time for another color splash!

I will admit, when I first saw these colors I thought this would have made a great Halloween challenge. These are still great colors for fall, though, and here is how I used them.

Happiness.

A beautiful leaf silhouette stamped in black from Woodgrain Silhouettes Additions. Patterned paper strips and a few well-placed rhinestones colored to match with a Copic marker. The finishing touch is a sentiment from Season of Thanks.

Yay for color splash week! Did you play along, too?

I hope your day is great, and I'll see you back here tomorrow!

Anya

Recipe
STAMPS: Woodgrain Silhouettes Additions, Season of Thanks - Wplus9
CARDSTOCK: Basic Black - Stampin' Up!; Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink
PATTERNED PAPER: Norm's News - October Afternoon; Vintage Moon - Pink Paislee
INK: Onyx Black Versafine - Tsukineko; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Pinking Blade - Fiskars; Adhesive rhinestones - Recollections; YR68 Copic Marker - Imagination International, Inc.

WMS November SOAP Winner!

Good morning!

Today I wanted to pop in and announce the winner for the WMS November SOAP CASE competition. If you remember, at the end of our SOAP event on November 4th, we invited you to participate in a CASE (Copy and Share Everything) Competition. We asked that you choose a project from any of the 4 days of the Stamp of Approval Parade (SOAP) held November 1-4th, and CASE a project from one of the Design Team members’ projects.

We are happy to announce that we have a winner! Today we are highlighting these two fantastic tags created by Charmaine Stack!!



Aren't these just so gorgeous? I love them! Charmaine took her inspiration from Tosha Leyendekker's Day 3 SOAP project.

The constant between Tosha and Charmaine's projects are the lovely snowflake, each peeking out from the side of the tag. Charmaine added lots of sparkle and shine; using glitter and lovely crystals on both of her tags. Moving from the bright hues of turquoise to the earthy muted colors of the second tag, she shows how easy it is to elicit different feelings with just a change of color.

A special thank you, also, to everyone who participated in the competition. Your projects were amazingly creative and inventive! You can see ALL the competitors here on the WMS Blog.

Please be sure to leave some love for Charmaine and the other participants if you have some time. Next Thursday, Nov. 17th is the Friends of WMS Blog Waltz, and we hope you will participate in that also! Details for that and the thread to sign up are on the WMS Forum!

Have a great day chickies!

Anya

Festive Fall

Hi there! Today is a Serendipity Stamps DT challenge day, and today we were challenged to create a shaped card. After a lot of brainstorming, a bit of grumbling (squares and rectangles are shapes!), this one came to me.

I've seen layered-oval pumpkins before, but just little ones.. so I created a supersized one for my card. I used the largest of the Petite Ovals Small from Spellbinders, cut three of them from Pumpkin Pie (of course) cardstock, and layered them. The Scarecrow Boy image was stamped onto cream cardstock and colored with Copics. The Festive Fall (on sale at Serendipity for $0.25!) sentiment was stamped, colored, and die cut and both were added to the card front.

Thanks for stopping by today. Please be sure to visit the other Design Team members playing along today to see their take on this challenge!

Amy
Jenny
Kathie
Lynda
Miriam

Have a great day!

Anya

Recipe
STAMPS: Scarecrow Boy, Festive Fall - Serendipity Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Pumpkin Pie, Kiwi Kiss - Stampin' Up!; Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink
INK: Rich Cocoa Memento - Tsukineko; Antique Linen, Walnut Stain Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Copic Markers - Imagination International Inc.; Petite Oval Small Nestabilities - Spellbinders; Leaves #2 Die - Sizzix; Label Layers 3 Die - Wplus9

Magical Day

Hi-ya friends!

How is your weekend going? We spent some time this afternoon cleaning up our outside patio in preparation for winter. A little sad to put my beloved patio swing to bed, but it was a project we've been meaning to complete, and luckily we had nice weather to do it.

Before I share my card with you today, I want to first say thank you for taking the time to stop and visit me, as well as leave such sweet comments, during the Waltzingmouse SOAP. It means so much to me that you share your feedback!

For Day 1 of the SOAP, I shared a matchbox gift box for packaging holiday treats. Many of you asked for the pattern, and I am happy to say it is ready!

Here is a link to the pattern and instructions for the box. Please note this is not a template and is not scaled to print directly onto your cardstock. It is just a visual to help you make the box, which is super easy, by the way!

Also, here is a link to the Pretzel Shortbread Recipe that I used. I drizzled chocolate on top when I was done to make them extra yummy! If you have any problems or questions, please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. Please be sure to let me know if you make a box yourself - I'd love to see them!

Ok! On to my card for today. This is my creation for this week's Play Date Cafe Challenge. Here is the lovely color story.

This month at Wplus9, Dawn is focusing on some behind-the-scenes stuff instead of releasing new stamps, and I for one, was pretty excited about that! It allowed me to choose some things from my wish list that I have been eyeing for a while. My goodies arrived Friday and I sat down to create.

Isn't that peacock just beautiful? You'll find that image along with the sentiment and background stamp in the Magical Moments set. I'm really pleased with this one, which will be sent off to one of my girlies for her birthday later this month.

Glad to see you here today, later gators!

Anya

Recipe
STAMPS: Magical Moments, Mehndi Medallions - Wplus9
CARDSTOCK: Going Gray, Barely Banana - Stampin' Up!; Soft Stone - Papertrey Ink
PATTERNED PAPER: Hazel "Mother" Meadow (Stella & Rose) - My Mind's Eye
INK: Slate, Lemon Whip - Amuse|Studio
OTHER: Light Pink Rhinestones - Kaisercraft; Buttercream Baker's Twine - The Twinery; Mother of Pearl Button; Sewing machine

WMS November SOAP - Day 4

Hi there. Thank you for joining me for the past few days of the November SOAP at Waltzingmouse Stamps. Today concludes our festivities, and I hope you have been inspired.

I'm starting today off with another card made using Candy Jar Christmas Fillers. I've had this card in my head for a while now, and I love how it turned out on paper.

This card is larger than normal (8" x 4.5") to make room for those delicious jars. They are resting on their own fancy doilies and some plaid patterned paper created using Off Beat Backgrounds.

My last project for this month's SOAP is another home decor or gift item. It started out as a desk organizer / photo cube and turned into a cute decoration for just about anywhere!

I started by removing the glass from the frames and spray painting the piece white (it was originally black, purchased from Kohl's). Then I decorated each panel, putting holiday sentiments in two and images in the others. I combined elements from Nutcracker Sweet, Holiday Labels No. 14, and Compliments of the Season for the frames. Here are shots of each side.




I filled my cube with candy canes, which would make a great table centerpiece or be a fun thing to put by the front door. You could also use the cube to present a gift.. fill it with some bath wash and lotion, or some hot chocolate packets and cookies.. lots of options! What is great then is that the packaging is easily incorporated into the recipient's home decor.

Well that is it for me today! We hope that you have enjoyed and have been inspired by this month's Stamp of Approval Parade, highlighting Claire's lovely Christmas and holiday sets. Now it’s time for you to get your craftiness on as we invite you to participate in a CASE (Copy and Share Everything) competition.

Find a card or project from any of the projects posted over the past few days by the WMS Design Team, CASE that project using Waltzingmouse Stamp images, and link it using the Inlinkz on Claire’s blog. At the end of the competition, one project will be randomly selected to be highlighted with a Parade of its own on several of the Design Team blogs.

We hope you will enjoy this competition and that it will inspire you be creative. You have one week to complete and link your project as the competition will close at 8:00 AM Claire’s time on November 10th, which is 3 AM Eastern, 2 AM Central and Midnight, Pacific time. The winner will be announced on Claire’s blog on November 11th.

Here are the other ladies sharing projects today:

Anya Schrier - you're here!
Becca Feeken
Clare Buswell
Julia Aston
Jennifer Holmes
Kate Whelan
Kelly Schirmer
Laurie Schmidlin
Lynn Mercurio
Mona Pendleton
Sandie Dunne
Tosha Leyendekker
Claire Brennan (Owner)

Thanks for visiting!

Anya

Recipe
Christmas Candy Jar Card
STAMPS: Candy Jar Christmas Fillers, Off Beat Backgrounds - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Real Red - Stampin' Up!; White - Papertrey Ink
INK: Onyx Black VersaFine - Tsukineko; Real Red, Pool Party - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Pure Poppy Twill - Papertrey Ink; Die Cut Lace Tags, Baker's Twine - Martha Stewart Crafts; Copic Markers (R29, R46, BG11, E35) - Imagination International, Inc.

Holiday Altered Photo Cube
STAMPS: Nutcracker Sweet, Holiday Labels No. 14, Compliments of the Season - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink
PATTERNED PAPER: Oh Joy Collection - Cosmo Cricket
INK: Rich Cocoa Memento - Tsukineko; Latte, Lemon Whip - Amuse|Studio; Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Labels 14 - Spellbinders Paper Arts; Alpine, Arctic Snowflake Punch - Martha Stewart Crafts; Copic Markers - Imagination International, Inc.; Adhesive Rhinestones

WMS November SOAP - Day 3

Good morning!

Thank you for joining me here for Day 3 of the November SOAP for Waltzingmouse Stamps. In case you're just dropping by, non-release months at Waltzingmouse Stamps are a time for us to take another look at previously released sets and share some inspiration, now that your orders have probably arrived! This month we are using any of the WMS Christmas sets to help you get a jump start on the holidays.

The card I would like to share with you today was made using Nordic Winter. I've seen a lot of these particular patterns in the colors red, blue, and gray and wanted to create my own interpretation for this card.

I have really been loving using different cardstock strips for my card fronts lately. Fun to combine different patterns and widths. I will never get tired of using this set.

Today I also have a home decor project to share with you. I love to make these, but always struggle with photographing them. Bill helped me this time and did a fantastic job, but I wish you could see how this project looks in real life.

Using 2011 Holiday Ornaments and last year's Vintage Ornaments, I created a holiday garland.

I alternated ornaments from each set (die cut with their coordinating dies) and stuck with a traditional color combination of red, green, and tan.

The Vintage Ornaments were embellished with a little paper rosette. Recently I picked up Martha's Scoring Board and used it here to create my own mini rosettes. Each of the ornaments were finished off with a healthy dose of glitter and strung together on a length of baker's twine.

I really love how this turned out and the length was perfect to go across my fireplace mantle.

I hope you enjoyed my projects for today, here is the list of the other Design Team members sharing inspiration!

Anya Schrier - you are here!
Becca Feeken
Clare Buswell
Julia Aston
Jennifer Holmes
Kelly Schirmer
Lynn Mercurio
Mona Pendleton
Sandie Dunne
Tosha Leyendekker
Claire Brennan (Owner)

See you tomorrow!

Anya

Recipe
Nordic Merry Christmas Card
STAMPS: Nordic Winter - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Night of Navy, Going Gray - Stampin' Up!; Rustic Cream, Fine Linen - Papertrey Ink
INK: Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy - Stampin' Up!; Slate - Amuse|Studio
OTHER: Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers; Rustic Cream Button Twine - Papertrey Ink; Red Button

Holiday Ornament Garland
STAMPS: 2011 Holiday Ornaments, Vintage Ornaments, Candy Jar Christmas Fillers - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Rustic Cream - Papertrey Ink
PATTERNED PAPER: For the Record Collection - Echo Park Paper Co.
INK: Poppy Parade, Wild Wasabi, Crumb Cake - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Dazzling Diamonds Glitter - Stampin' Up!; 2010, 2011 Heirloom Ornament Dies - Spellbinders Paper Arts; Baker's Twine - Martha Stewart Crafts

WMS November SOAP - Day 2

Morning, all!

Welcome to Day 2 of the November Waltzingmouse SOAP. Back today with more Christmas creations!

Leading things off today is a card inspired by this week's Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge (have you played along?).

I know I've said this before, but nothing brings me more pleasure than pulling out a bunch of WMS sets and combining little bits from each. That, my friends, is versatility!

For this card, I used images from Festive Foliage (one of my most favorite sets ever), 2011 Holiday Ornaments, Gingham & Co., and then topped it off with a big, bold sentiment from Say It Loud - Winter Holiday. Stamping happiness!

For my second project, I made a little shadowbox ornament perfect for the tree, to decorate a present - whatever!

I started by creating and assembling a little box, and then I lined it with patterned paper. All the images I used to create my little Christmas scene are from A Cottage Christmas. There are lots of layers and lots of glitter on this one!

A ribbon is threaded through the top so the shadowbox can be hung up. A bit of batting was added to the front of the shadowbox to resemble snow. This was a fun project, and one that would be great with kiddos! I can think of oodles of other Waltzingmouse sets that would be great for this project.

So that's me for today - as always, thank you so much for stopping by and leaving such lovely comments. I am working on the pattern for the box I shared yesterday, so I will make sure to let you know when that is ready. Thank you for requesting it!

Here are the other Design Team members that will wow you today:

Anya Schrier - you are here!
Becca Feeken
Julia Aston
Jennifer Holmes
Kelly Schirmer
Laurie Schmidlin
Lynn Mercurio
Mona Pendleton
Sandie Dunne
Tosha Leyendekker
Claire Brennan (Owner)

Have a great day!

Anya

Recipe
Holiday Joy Card
STAMPS: Festive Foliage, 2011 Holiday Ornaments, Gingham & Co., Say It Loud - Winter Holiday - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Scarlet Jewel, Rustic White - Papertrey Ink
INK: Currant, Latte - Amuse|Studio; Handsome Hunter, Early Espresso - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Buttercream Baker's Twine - The Twinery; Apron Lace Punch - Fiskars; Swiss Dots Embossing Folder - Provo Craft; Smoky Quartz Glitter - Martha Stewart Crafts; Sewing machine

Christmas Cottage Shadowbox
STAMPS: A Cottage Christmas - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink
PATTERNED PAPER: Peppermint Collection - Crate Paper
INK: Tuxedo Black Memento - Tsukineko; Real Red - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Simple Scallop Punch - Martha Stewart Crafts; Dazzling Diamonds Glitter - Stampin' Up!; Copic Markers - Imagination International, Inc.; Red Satin Ribbon