A Knight at the Castle

Aren't these castles just the cutest things??? You can find Claire Brennan's tutorial for them here. They are about 12" in height including the flag pole!

I made this one using the fun Basic Grey Lime Rickey/Liquid Candy designer paper for the castle panels. The base is a green Bazzill card stock. The knight is from Lizzie Anne Designs and the trees and sentiment are from two different Cornish Heritage Farms sets - Making the Grade and Forest Friendzy. I adhered a tree on each side of the castle as well as a hedgehog or mushroom.

These are all the stampings I used on the castle and the card below.

Here is a card I made to go along with the castle - using the same stamps. I used the Forest Branches Cuttlebug folder on the back panel and a Labels Four Nestability to cut the piece of designer paper. All the images are colored with Copics. I used the small oval Stampin Up punch for the sentiment on the castle. For the card sentiment I juse used the corner rounder on one end and cut out a triangle on the other end. Everything is popped up on foam dimensionals.

I made this second castle a little more sedate. I thought it would be a fun Welcome to your New Home gift with some treats tucked inside. The sentiment is from Amuse and says "May your house always be too small to hold all your friends." Irish Proverb

This designer paper is Basic Grey Porcelain/bellamy. The base of the castle is Certainly Celery by Stampin Up. The chipboard trees are from Maya Road.

On this castle I used the Distressed Stripes Cuttlebug folder on the roof piece and inked it with white chalk ink as suggested by Claire in her tutorial. The flag is just a strip of designer paper curled and glued around a toothpick with a triangle cut out of the end.

And here is the coordinating card I made for this castle.
The uses for this cute castle are limitless - wouldn't it be fun in pink and purples with a princess stamp for a little girls b'day? And they aren't as hard to make as they look - Claire goes through each step with pictures and written descriptions. I made one up with computer paper first just to be sure I understood each step - that way I didn't waste good card stock in the learning process!
Thought you might like to see a few pics of our vacation: Here is a side view of my SIL's cottage in the woods from the driveway.
and here is the front view - we can see a little bit of Merry Meeting Lake through the trees - which is behind me as I'm taking this pic - the cottage is across the street from the lake but we have a right-of-way where we can access it. Here is Kent on the lake - and you can see the front of my kayak - we were out for two hours on this day - and just after we got back and up to the cottage we had a downpour! Rain can come quickly when you are in between the mountains here.And here's me! The water was pretty calm going down but on our way back we were heading into the wind - and we really had to paddle!

This is one of our cats, Boo, sitting on the favorite pet sofa by the picture window - watching Kent as he makes his way to the door!

Thanks for coming by today!

Dustin Pike Release...

Hello everyone! Today is supposed to be release day at Dustin Pike's. I'll show you the samples I have done up anyway. Dustin told us that his site is hosting malicious software, so he doesn't want to add any new art for sale until he gets it fixed. Be sure to keep checking back for the cuties though! :O)

Dustin Pike FREEBIE!

OK everyone...here is the post where I tell you it's FREEBIE day at Dustin Pike's! We're continuing all month with the Christmas in July theme. Here's one for all you dragon lovers!
Be sure to get over to his blog and pick up your copy of this cutie and color away! :O) Have a wonderful night!

Flutter By Wednesday #68!

Hello all and Happy Hump Day! Today is time for Flutter By Wednesday at Danni's Dreams! This week your challenge is to use absolutely NO designer or patterned paper on your project...of course you MUST use a butterfly or faerie. This is a hard challenge for me...I love my DP! I made a mini pizza box that I plan to give to my DD, Ariel with some lip glosses inside. :O)
I thought all of you would especially love this digi stamp...it's a digi called Pretty Pixie that will be released this Saturday at Sassy Studio Designs Masquerade Ball! We're having a huge party, so be sure to stop by!

I hope you enjoy my project this week! Be sure to check out the rest of the design team's creations! Ann, Cassie, Chris, Christine, Danni, Harriet, Heather, Jodi, Kim, Michelle, Nancy, Nicola, Stef & Taylor.

Follies Theater Card

I wanted to share a Theater Stage card that I made for my friend, Bill, at work. His friend had just been in a production of The Follies in London (May 2009) and he wanted to send a congratulations card. Bill found a copy of the poster for the play on line - so I sized it down to fit on my 'stage' below.

You can find the template for a circus tent card on Melyssa's blog. I just altered it a little bit to make it a theater stage. Basically I made the stage square and cut the top straight across instead of pointed like a tent.


Here is the inside of my card. I used two velcro tabs on the top corners to hold the card shut. I used brown lined designer paper for the bottom half to look like a stage floor. The image is a computer clip art from Microsoft Word and the sentimtent is computer generated.


Bill's friend was thrilled to receive this personalized card that documents his part in the Follies - and he has it proudly displayed on his mantel. It certainly is a one of a kind card! You can see another Theater card I made for my girlfriend's daughter's graduation here.

Thanks for coming by to visit today! It's a beautiful hot sunny day and we're off to go kayaking on the lake! I'll hopefully have some pics to share later!

Here Ye! Here Ye!


You are all cordially invited to....................




Once Upon a Time Masquerade Ball


online blog party in celebration of our August 1st release!!! We are going to have challenges and games with lots of prizes. We hope you will join our Ball and chat with our sassy seven, our 3 guest designers as well as Lindsay Dyer, the fabulous artist!


When:

UK London time - August 1st 6pm - Midnight
USA EST - August 1st 1pm - 7pm

USA PST - August 1st 10am - 4pm (this is my time and when I refer to times this is what I go by)

Hawaii - August 1st 7am - 1pm

Melbourn Victoria Australila - August 2nd 2 am - 8 am


(We have a very international following and we definitely want to try and allow as many of them to join us as possible so there would be as little confusion as possible I tried to post as many of their time zones as possible.)




This is a 6 hour event and we know not everyone can join us for that whole time so we will announce the challenges at 10am PST, 11am PST, 1pm PST and 2pm PST. All challenge entries will have to be submitted by 3:30pm PST on the dot. Winners will be selected and announced at the end (4pm PST). The game will run through the whole Ball and the winner will also be announced at 4pm PST.



All of the images will be available in the store at the end of the Ball. So mark your calendars and be sure to find out what time it is in your own time zone so you don't miss any of the fun! We can't wait to see all of you at our Masquerade Ball!

I Was Published on About.com!

Hi everyone! Monday is almost over...you did it! ;O) I just wanted to share my excitement and tell you that I was published over at About.com! Is that exciting, or what? HERE is the link to see the article. It's all about Mo Manning and her digi stamp company, Digital Pencil Too. :O)

Mo has some wonderful digis including this B-A-D Chihuahua, Spike! I love him and his 'tude! He has the same thing my little Griff has...BDS. AKA {Big Dog Syndrome}!!!

Be sure to stop by DPT and show Mo some love!

Another Sassy Image Sneak!!!

Hi all! I'm back with yet another of Lindsay's beautiful digi stamps...being released on August 1st! Later today we'll have the announcement of our huge release day par-tay!!! Be sure to check in at Sassy Studio Designs to be the first to know!
This new image is "My Knight in Shining Armor." I love it! The sentiment is from a set of sentiment sheets that will also be available for purchase! :O)

Don't forget that we have a challenge going on too! You have until midnight PST Friday July 31st! Head over to the blog and get the masquerade ball mask freebie and enter! There's a wonderful prize awaiting the winner!!!

Three Awards and an Inspiring Fireplace

I am so late in acknowledging these wonderful awards bestowed upon me by some of my blogging friends - there just aren't enough hours in the day!

I received this "I Like Your Style" award from my good friend Anne Harada

This Honest Scrap award was given to me by Krazykropper


the rules for this award are:
1) Acknowledge the person who gave you the award
2) List 10 honest things about yourself
3) Put the Honest logo on your blog
4) select 7 other worthy bloggers to receive the award and list their links.
So I can at least tell you 10 honest things about myself:

1. I'm tall - I was 5'8" in 7th grade and hated it as I was taller then most of the boys at that age. Now that I've finally accepted my height - I'm shrinking - due to #2 below.
2. I'm getting old! I remember when the Miss America's were all WAY older than me - now they are younger than my son!
3. I am totally addicted to stamping - I'd rather stamp than go out to a movie, visit friends, or go for a walk on a sunny day - I'm currently seeking therapy for this addiciton LOL!!!
4. I love my DH and I'm so thankful that I met and married him 12 years ago after being a single mum for 20 years.
5. I'm thankful that God loves me and I find the older I get - the more I seek knowledge of Him and what he wants to teach me - and for that I am very grateful.
6. Contrary to my statement in #3 - I do love to be out in the yard gardening, or on the river kayaking, or in the woods snowshoeing!
7. I am always trying to practice good eating habits (ie dieting!) and sometimes I do better than others.
8. I love cutting flowers from my gardens and having them all over my house. This goes along with #6 above.
9. I love pizza and chips - and hot fudge Sundaes which is in direct contradiction with #7 above.
10. I am so thankful that I have met all of you wonderful blogging friends and I appreciate all I learn from your creative efforts!

I received this fun Lemonade Award from My Muse way back in April (I'm so bad!)


I'm afraid I'm just going to post these here for now - most of my blogging friends have already gotten awards from their other friends! Everyone that comes here to visit me deserves these - so please feel free to take one for yourself!!

And now I'll share a card I made Saturday for the Inspiration challenge on Split Coast. We were getting packed for vacation and I just 'took a peek' at the challenge and of course, got hooked and just had to make a card before leaving (Yes honey - I'm almost done packing - I'll be right there!!!) LOL!!
I used this fireplace view of the Better Homes and Gardens living room that Lori showed us for my inspiration.

I thought the tree Basic Grey Designer paper could represent the tile surround and I used PTI polka dot designer paper for the firebox itself. I stamped the potted flowers by Inkadinkado twice, cut out the blooms on one and layered it over the first stamping with foam dimensionals.

I have two gray kitties and I just love this tiny cat that's part of the new PTI set On My Couch Additions - so I just added that onto the sentiment with a foam dimensional.

Thanks so much for checking in with me today - hope you are inspired to go make a card too!

Stamps: Flower: Inkadinkado, Sentiment: In Bloom: PTI, Cat - On my couch additions: PTI
Paper: White: PTI, DP Bitty Dot basics - PTI, Basic Grey Off Beat
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Smokey Shadow: PTI
Accessories: tags 5 Spellbinders, foam dimensionals, copics: R32, YG63, Y06, RV06, E34

I'm Bringin Sassy Back!

Hello all you lovelies! I'm back with another sneak peek of Sassy Studio Designs upcoming release! Don't forget that digi stamps are wonderful for both card making and scrapbooking. See my post last night for a look at a digital layout I did using this same image. ;O)
Be sure to go to the Sassy Studio Designs blog on Monday for the announcement of the huge release day event we have planned! Have a wonderful weekend!

Christmas Crackers

I'm on vacation and don't have any stamping stuff with me (gasp!!!) but I will be posting a few fun stamped crafts that I've made recently so be sure to check back!

I found a great tutorial for these cute Animal Cracker boxes on Tracy Harp's blog. She shows several different samples to inspire you! I made mine with PTI Berry Sorbet card stock and Christmasey Amuse papers.

I filled them with frosted candy cane sugar cookies that I made from a mix and colored with red food coloring. I used a giant brad from American Crafts that you slip the cover behind to hold it closed.

I used my oval Coluzzle to cut the window and then used the cut out oval for the tag. A piece of acetate is attached behind the cut out. I hung my tag around the ribbon handle using a chain by Tandy Leather that I got at Michaels in the jewelry section. I stamped the tag with an Amuse stamp called "Santa's Cookies" of a fun plate of cookies and a mug with a note that says 'For Santa' on it. I couldn't find it on the AMUSE site so it may be last years stamp (?). I doodled around the edges of the tag with a black Micro marker.

Note: I think you could use an oval punch for the window instead of the Coluzzle if it's strong enough to go through 2 layers of paper - but the box panel is too wide to use a Nestability oval with the Cuttlebug.

My handles are made with PTI Twill in Berry Sorbet and Vintage Cream. You punch a hole in the side panels - add eyelets and knot the ribbon on each end on the inside.

Wouldn't this be a fun way to leave cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve? Actually - it's a fun box to give treats to anyone for the holidays or any time!!

Thanks for coming by today!

Sassy Studio Designs Challenge #2 with a {peek}!

Hi all...I almost didn't get this posted today...really late is better than never, eh? LOL! Today is Sassy Studio Designs second challenge! You won't want to miss it! Here are the deets:



The Challenge - create something romantic and whimsical or fairytale using any SSD image
The Deadline - you must leave a comment on this post with a link directly to your creation posted by midnight PST Friday July 31st!
The Prize - winner will get 4 of the new fairytale images form our august 1st release, as well as a bundle of cut outs from die cut dreams yep we are being sponsored! she is giving a bundle of shoe dies and scallop circles which are great so it's a bunus prize!
Online Galleries - If you load to PCP or SCS please be sure to tag your creations sassystudio (singular, one word, no caps) and SSDC#002




If you head on over there, Lindsay was sweet enough to include another freebie for all of you to use. It's a masquerade ball mask! Too cute! Here is a digi layout that I made using some of my wedding photos and a new image called "The Princess and the Frog". The new images will be released on August 1...we have a huge fun-filled event planned too! Stay tuned for the details on that!

Be sure to hop back tomorrow and see yet another sneaky peek! You'll love it!

Blog Candy Winner - and The Key to Good Manners

First - I'm happy to announce the winner of my blog candy - http://www.random.org/ chose #5 for me and that comment was from Crystal:

Crystal said...
Awesome card Julia wow girl you aced this ic!!! Wonderful candy...I have a sweet tooth!!! :)

Crystal happens to be one of my Split Coast friends so I'm thrilled that you won Crystal!! Please send your mailing address to julia.aston@comcast.net and I'll get your 'candy' right out to you!
And now onto my card -



I made this card for the sketch challenge on Split Coast this week as well as the DoubleDog Dare Challenge I do on Tuesdays with a group of SCS friends. Charlene (LilLuvsStampin) was the hostess this week and her challenge was to make a Mr. Do Bee card (from Romper Room fame for those of you old enough to remember that kids show!)- something teaching a child about manners - and to include a bee!

I love this Petite Cherub DP by Rusty Pickle - the little kids on it are so cute! I zig zag stitched around the edge and inked the edges with PTI Chai and Chamomile Dye inks. The key is Tim Holtz grunge board that I inked with Chai dye ink and Gold pigment ink.

You can join in on the DDC challenge just add DDC to the keyword when you post your card.

Thanks to everyone that commented on my blog candy post - I'm sorry you couldn't all win!

Stamps: PTI: Honey Bee
Paper: Vintage cream: PTI, Close to Cocoa: SU, DP Rusty Pickle Petite Cherub
Ink: Color Box Gold Pigment, Chai & Chamomile Dye Ink:, Dark ChocolatePTI
Accessories: foam dimensionals, computer generated sentiment CK Plain Jane Font, dark chocolate satin ribbon: PTI, sewing machine, Twine; PTI, Vintage buttons: PTI, creative Memories square punches, Key: Tim Holtz Grungeboard elements, Spica gold pen

Flutter By Wednesday & Scrappy Frog's Challenge

Good morning and Happy Wednesday to you! It's Flutter By Wednesday over at Danni's Dreams! This week's challenge is from DT member Heather...create a scene and use little or no DP along with a faerie or butterfly. Fun! Be sure to join in too!

I hope you enjoy my card this week! Be sure to check out the rest of the design team's creations! Ann, Cassie, Chris, Christine, Danni, Harriet, Heather, Jodi, Kim, Michelle, Nancy, Nicola, Stef & Taylor.

I am also using this card for the challenge at Scrappy Frogs Challenge Blog. Your challenge there is to use a Magnolia stamp. No challenge there for me! I LOVE Magnolias!!! :O) We would love for you all to play along!! Have a wonderful day!

A Jealous God

I participate in a biweekly Bible Study Challenge on Split Coast - it's called His Holy Name and Patter gives us a different attribute of God every other Sunday. We are to look up passages in the Bible using this attribute and chose one that speaks to us and either make a card or a page. I make 6x6 pages for mine.

I let it get away from me a bit and I'm 3 lessons behind - but now it's only two! For Week 13 Patter gave us God's attribute: Jealous.

When I think of the word jealous I think of things like anger, power and punishment and that is what many of the passages talk about. In the passage I chose from Joshua - disaster happens if you forsake the Lord. We definately don't want to provoke God's jealousy!

Come join us in these challenges -you can see week 13 here I used Archaic DP on this, chipboard letters by Basic Grey and a grungeboard element by Tim Holtz. I used the MOJO96 sketch for my card.

My dear husband made this beautiful wooden stand to hold all my pages - actually he made two for me - since there will be 26 pages done by the end of the year. This page 13 marks the halfway mark - so my next page will go on the 2nd stand! This stand sits on my entertainment center so I can flip through the pages to review and remember each of God's attributes.

If you'd like to see my other pages -you can see them here

Stamps: Karen Foster Snap Stamps
Paper: Vintage Cream: PTI, Always Artichoke: SU, DP Pattern Paper Archaic: Basic Grey
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copics, Tim Holtz Grunge Board Harlequin Elements, Circle Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, Vintage buttons: PTI, Basic Grey Mild Choc Chip Letters, Spring Moss double stitched ribbon: PTI, foam dimensionals, glue dots

A Summer Tweet

The Clean and Simple challenge on Split Coast this week was to use the summer colors of turquoise, orange and blue. And as luck would have it - the DoubleDog Dare Challenge a few weeks ago made by Joanne (Sleepyinseattle) (which I hadn't gotten to yet!) - was to use orange, yellow and blue - so I'm hitting two birds with one card so to speak!!

The bird is cut from the small and medium Shapeability Nested Birds and mounted with foam dimensionals on the card. I scored three lines above and below for a little depth on the card. Pretty clean and simple! The sentiment is from the Amuse stamp set called Nature.



We'd love to have you join along with the weekly Doubledog Dare challenges - just load your challenge card in your SCS gallery and use the keyword DDC - you can see all the DDC cards here.

Reminder: check here for info on winning my blog candy!

Stamps: Amuse: Nature Set
Paper: Tempting Turquoise: SU, Lemon Tart: PTI, DP Little Yellow Bicycle Geometric Orange
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: brad: Making Memories, foam dimensionals, shapeabilities: Nested Birds, ScorPal

The Digi Shack Challenge 14

Hi all. Here is my take on the Theme Challenge over at The Digi Shack...use clouds on your project! You have until Wednesday to join in! We'd love to see what you're working on!
I used Surfing Lani on this layout...perfect for the photos of my sweet daughter boogie boarding!