Happy 8th Blogaversary to Me (with Prizes for You!)

Do you believe it has been 8 years since I started this blog? Happy Blogaversary to me:) I sure have had fun sharing ideas with all of you these last 8 years and now on my new YouTube channel!  To celebrate this anniversary, I am giving away this prize package of dies, stencils, stamps and Nuvo products valued at almost $150 to one lucky follower here who comments on this blog post before January 31st!

All you need to do to win is:

1. Be a follower on my blog.
2. Be a subscriber on my YouTube channel here.
3. Leave a comment on this blog post before January 31st at midnight.
4. Have a mailing address in the United States.

It is that easy- and I guess you need to be lucky too:) If your name is drawn and you qualify per these four simple rules, I will mail you this prize package worth almost $150!

Please share this opportunity with all the crafters you know, and thanks for helping me share the joy of creativity!

My Favorite Cards of 2017 Part Four

I had so much fun creating and sharing cards with you in 2017 here on my blog and on my new YouTube channel, it was hard to pick just three per month to highlight! If you missed parts one, two or three, be sure to scroll down for those. Here are my favorites from the fourth quarter of the year (for details on supplies and more pictures, just click on the links below the pictures):

Oct. 2 Folded Christmas Tree Revisited

YouTube Video Tutorial Folded Christmas Tree

Oct. 17 Masculine Double Embossed Card 

Oct. 23 Modified Tri-Shutter with Therm O Web & Gina K

YouTube Tutorial Modified Tri-Shutter Foiled Card

Nov. 17 Joy Eclipse Card

Nov. 20 Quietfire Designs Peace Ornament Card

YouTube Tutorial How to Make Peace Ornament Card

Nov. 30 Penguin Inner Stairstep Card

Dec. 4 Night Before Christmas Box Card

YouTube Tutorial How to Make a Box Card

Dec. 14 Friends Tri-Shutter Card

Dec. 26 Karen Burniston Pop-Up Snowman Card

YouTube Tutorial Video Pop-Up Snowman Card

2017 was a great creative year for me and I hope it was for you too. My favorite new techniques and products of the year are highlighted in these blogposts and YouTube videos so be sure to click on the links and see if you agree. Or if you have a different favorite technique or product, please share them in the comments  below with links so I can see. I love finding new techniques, fun folds and products, then playing with them and sharing them! Thanks for helping me share the joy of creativity in 2017 and into the New Year! Wishing you and yours a happy, healthy and creative 2018!

My Favorite Cards of 2017 Part Three

I had so much fun creating and sharing cards with you in 2017 here on my blog and on my new YouTube channel, it was hard to pick just three per month to highlight! If you missed parts two and one, be sure to scroll down for those. Here are my favorites from the third quarter of the year (for details on supplies and more pictures, just click on the links below the pictures):

July 5 Glitter and Sparkle with Quietfire Designs

July 12 Prayers Duo Eclipse Technique 

YouTube Video Tutorial for Prayers Cards

July 17 My Favorite of the Altenew Layered Floral Series

August 2 Love Puppy Slider

YouTube Video Tutorial for Love Puppy Slider

August 25 Handmade Hugs

August 30 Spooktacular Bridge Card Fun Fold

YouTube Video Tutorial Spooktacular Bridge Card

Sept. 5 Peace, Love & Joy Foiled Beauty

Sept. 19 Watercolor with Bisters Halloween Card

Part of the Watercolor Comparison YouTube Video here

September 29 Cracked Foiled Christmas Card

Thanks for your support this year on my blog and my new YouTube channel! Part 4 of my favorite cards is tomorrow, so be sure to stop back. And thanks for helping me share the joy of creativity in 2017 and into the New Year!

My Favorite Cards of 2017 Part Two

I had such fun in 2017 making and sharing cards with you here on my blog and then on my new YouTube channel.   I have chosen three favorite cards from each month to highlight and below the pictures are the dates and links if you want to check out specifics on how the cards were made or to see more pictures of any of the cards.

April 7 Foxy Lady Double Slider

April 8 Masculine Birthday w/Metallic Tissue

April 13 Beautiful Ballerina with Uchi's Animated Stamps

May 3 Altenew Layered Floral Card

May 11 Best Wishes Butterfly Glitter Card

May 26 Karen Burniston Pop Up Flower Pot Card (click on link to see pretty front of the card)

June 12 Karen Burniston Pop Up Sunshine Card (click on link to see pop up center of card)

June 21 Foiled Layered Floral Card

June 30 Christmas Retiform Grid Card

Be sure to check back for the 3rd and 4th parts of this series and thanks for helping me share the joy of creativity in 2017 and into the new year!

My Favorite Cards of 2017 Part One

I had such fun in 2017 making and sharing cards with you here on my blog and then on my new YouTube channel. I have chosen three favorite cards from each month to highlight and below the pictures are the dates and links if you want to check out specifics on how the cards were made or to see more pictures of any of the cards.

Jan. 8  Big Hugs Snowman    

Jan. 19 Z-Fold Pop Up Love Card

Jan. 15 CAS Stenciled Card  

Feb. 12 Best Friend's Valentine

Feb. 14 Inspirational Pop Up Card (click link to see pop up center)

Feb. 26 Stencil and Foil Masculine Card

March 2 Fruity Hugs

March 14 Feather Pop Up Card (click link for pop up center)

March 23 Twist & Pop Kitty Card (click link for pretty front)

Be sure to check back for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th parts of this series and thanks for helping me share the joy of creativity in 2017 and into the new year!

YouTube Video: How to Make a Pop-Up Interactive Snowman Card

Happy Winter everyone! I shared this fun pop up snowman card using Karen Burniston's Katherine Label Pop Up Die and her Twist Circle Snowman Die Set earlier on my blog and briefly in an earlier video here when I gave the card away to a lucky winner. It was so popular, I decided to do a new video on how to make it from start to finish and you can watch the new video here. You may have noticed these last two weeks, my new videos were posted on Tuesday instead of Monday. When there is a major holiday on Monday, I am changing my posting day to Tuesday.

(By the way, there is still time to comment and subscribe to win all three cards in my December class on Karen Burniston's Pop Up Tree for all Seasons shown here in this video. I will pick a winner from the comments when I share my January class video January 8th.)

So be sure to check out how easy it is to make the pop up element on the inside of your card pop up into a hole in the front of the card using Karen Burniston's brilliant dies here in my new video and thanks for helping me share the joy of creativity!

One last Christmas Card Before Santa Comes

I think this is my last new Christmas card not blogged this year. I created this card using a sketch for my monthly stamping club using some favorite stitched dies. Here is a peak at the center of the card: 

Season's Greetings to you and yours for a wonderful love filled holiday and new year!

CASED Stencil Christmas Cards

I found a card on Pinterest that I just loved and clicked over to the blog and found the original which was a couple years old here. As you can see if you click the link, I CASED the idea but of course used my own stamps and a red cardbase. I loved Ingrid's so much I had to go to Stamplorations and order the same stencil she used (Artplorations Christmas Trees stencil.) I followed her directions and stamped a background musical joy stamp from Hero Arts through the stencil, then sponged with Lucky Clover and Peeled Paint Distress Oxide inks before removing the stencil. I added a Gina K Merry Christmas to the bottom of the card front. 

The stencil from Stamplorations also has a Christmas tree made out of circles so I stamped and sponged through that one too. Both cards have the same stamped inside- a pretty ornament from the Gina K set and a perfect sentiment from Verve and here are pictures of the other card front and the inside of the cards:

Since it is the most wonderful time of the year, I am wishing you and yours Happy Holidays and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

Christmas Love Eclipse Card

Posting a Christmas Love card with my favorite technique of 2017- called the Eclipse technique by many where stamping from the background is continued in die cut words which are raised for dimension as shown here: 

I used a layered poinsettia stamp set from Gina K and the LOVE letters are from My Favorite Things. 

Wishing you and yours much love this Christmas season and New Year!

Peaceful Fireplace Christmas Card

I love creating personalized special Christmas cards for loved ones and this is one I did this year using an embossing folder and die I got in a magazine. 

I am getting to the end of the holiday cards I created this year and shared on my blog. Good thing- it is almost time for Santa to come! Merry Christmas!

Stretching Your Dies Series on YouTube- Exploring Positive and Negative Uses

In my latest Youtube video here, I show some ways to stretch your diecut dollars by using the same dies in different ways. I created this shaker card using the snowflake die several ways and used the pieces cut from Frantic Stamper's Modern Greetings on this card:

Here are a few more pictures of the card I make step by step in the video: 

To see how to use the negative from the Gina K Therm O Web Foil-mate for even more sparkle then shown here, as well as some great tips on easy ways to make a shaker card, come watch here.  

I have been having fun posting new videos every Monday since I started a few months ago. The only exception to that Monday posting will be when Monday is a holiday, so next week I will post a new video on Tuesday. Thanks for watching, commenting, sharing and subscribing and supporting me here and on my YouTube channel! And Happy Holidays to you and yours!

HB to You Ballerina Card

I had an opportunity to play recently with some NBUS (never before used schtuff) to make some birthday cards that kids would like and am happy with how this one turned out. I wanted the CAS-ual Fridays Tutu stamp set ever since it came out, but resisted until recently when they came out with matching dies and Christmas Tutu stamp set. I stamped the sweet tutu ballerina with black ink on some plaid dp. I die cut the piece out with a new Cut-plorations double stitched rectangle die from Stamplorations and then die cut the Happy HB sentiment from Simon Says Stamp. I added some pink gems to the ballerina to finish the CAS card. 

I am entering this card in the Stitch It challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday. Thanks for helping me #share the joy of creativity!

Friends are the Sweetest Gift of All Tri-Shutter Card

I made this fun fold shutter Christmas card for a dear friend and she should have received it by now so I can share here. I started with a red pre-cut pre-scored tri-shutter or Funky Fold Accordion cardbase from The Paper Cut. Then I simply decorated with the Retro Merry Christmas die from Tim Holtz  Sizzix, several presents made with the Taylored Expressions All Wrapped Up Die, an old border punch from Martha Stewart, The Ton Holiday Bows stamp set and matching dies and Tim Holtz's Peppermint Layering Stencil. The perfect stamp sentiment is an older one from Great Impressions. Here are some more pictures: 

The card folds and fits into an A2 envelope for mailing. I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at Scrapy Land and the Christmas/Winter Holidays challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday. Merry Christmas everyone!

Siblings Christmas Card

The minute I saw a version of this z-fold card with a stairstep decorated for Christmas here, I knew I wanted to make them for my brothers and sisters and place Christmas stockings on the stairsteps just like my Mom did for all of us. There were 8 of us kids and then she added a stocking for each spouse and grandchild, so there was a lot of love and memories each Christmas there. Just seeing the scene puts a smile on my face and I am sure it will for each of my siblings too. Here are a few more pictures:

I had to choose several different patterned cardstocks since I didn't have enough for all six to be the same. I added the perfect "Family" die from Quietfire Designs and Elizabeth Crafts for the wall and added a window diecut with a Poppy Stamps die with a Clear Views Transparency picture behind it. The card lies flat to mail. 

I am entering this card in the Christmas/Winter Holidays challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday. Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas season!