My Valentine Mini Album

So, what are you all working on today??

I am spending the day in my creative room.

We are to get another 6" of snow, sleet and rain today...oh goody, I can hardly wait!!

I am working on my guest design project for Paper Sweeties...

my projects for Classy Cards 'n Such.....

and a few challenges I want to enter!!

But, I wanted to share (I know Valentines is over) my mini heart album I made...

I don't have any of the photos added yet, I need to order some in a smaller size,

and I will add  "more" embellishments once the photos are added....

A few weeks ago I ordered some Fancy Pants "Be Loved" ephemera and papers

to work with...I chose this set as it has pink~red~turquoise~gray colors..LOVE!!

I covered a $1 Michael's heart chipboard album....

all the edges were sanded and inked with SU  "Going Gray" ink.

It is rather picture heavy, ten pages and all...

I love the last page..it just fits, don't you think??

I will be back with another Fancy Pants project I made that was Pinterest inspired later this week!

I am entering this in the following challenges:

Eclectic Ellapu anything goes~anything but a card

and

Scribble and Scrap anything goes

and

The Squirrel and the Fox "Love"

Wishin and Hopin

Remember that song "wishin and hopin"....

well that is what I am, Wishing and Hoping for SPRING!!

Which brings me to my card....a bit of Springtime!!

This week the challenge at "Shopping Our Stash" is "shiney.....

I love this challenge as it makes me dig into  my monster "pile"  "stash"

 and use some things up!!

I pulled out this long ago stamped image, maybe 3 or 4 years ago....

so simple, but so pretty!

I added  a "vellum" overlay   which I think has been in my stash for at least a year!!

The pine branch is an IO die, one I cut for Christmas but didn't use..

The bow is made with ribbon I just won from Craft-Dee BowZ

it is one of my "shiney" items along with the gems on my branch!!

It came together rather quickly with all the supplies right at my finger tips!!

Entering this into the following challenges:

Shopping Our Stash "shiney"

and

Feeling Crafty Challenge "dies/punches"

and

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge "add a gem, glitter or bling"

Birthday "Pocket"

It's a "sunshiney" day here today...yah...I LOVE the sun..

it makes me happy, (well except it shows me all the dusting I need to do)

How do you pick a challenge to do??

do you make a project, then find a place to enter?

Or, do you pick a challenge, then make a project for that challenge??

Me, I find a challenge that right away grabs my attention...

then, I might find a few more places to enter it after it is done!!

So this morning I found this fun challenge at "a little red wagon" for "pockets"!

It just so happens, when I was pulling things out of my stash, that one was an

already stamped and cut pocket!

As I mentioned in a few posts back, I have these clear bags with things I cut,

stamped, colored, etc...just bits and pieces of things that I have sorted by

color in the bags....the pocket and flower came from the "blue" bag.....

I am making myself use some of these up here and there.

The pocket was stamped on watercolor paper for a white denim look...

It is a Unity stamp...the flower is an SU, stamped and punched.

I made my cute birthday tag with a bit of embossing at the top and

stamped with another SU stamp...

The background designer paper, I picked up an entire 4 12/ x 6 1/2 pad at a

garage sale last Spring.  There is this girl that has a sale every Spring and

I have not missed it for years.  She sells lots of paper, stamps, Sizzix dies for

so cheap that I buy lots...this little pad of Die Cuts With A View has 72 sheets

and it was only $1.25!!!!!

Well, that's it for me today...I have to head out while the weather is good!!!

Challenges entered:

Little Red Wagon "pockets"

Debut With The Sisterhood of Crafters

I have wonderful, exciting news to share!!!

I was asked to join "The Sisterhood of Crafters" challenge blog as part of the DT !!!

I am so looking forward to working with the other wonderful sisters

Darlene ~ Lisa ~ Miki ~ and Terri

and I  know I will have tons of fun with the "sisters"

Today's fun challenge is "Love You"

What does "love" mean to you?

will you create a wedding card, an anniversary card,
a card to show a friend you love her, or maybe a

Valentine card...whatever you decide, I can't wait to see it!!

Here is my card for the challenge, put together with bits and pieces

of goodies I had on hand

Now head on over to "The Sisterhood" and take a peek

at what the DT has created.....

hope to see you there!!

Diane

Sketch by Jenn Challenge At Classy Cards 'n Such

Here is the card I have featured today at Classy Cards 'n Such
promoting the sketch challenge below!
I hope you can find the time to join us,
there is a lovely prize awarded to the winner!!




It's time for another fun challenge at "Classy Cards 'n Such.....

I hope you can join us this week for challenge #19

"A sketch by our own DT member Jenn"

For my project today I  took one look at the sketch

and knew right away I wanted to use the Spellbinders "Heart Circles" die

for my focal point to add my flowers to.

I used Cheery Lynn Designs "Gardenia Strip" to make my flowers.

The color was added using "Permanent Red" from the 

Susan's Garden PanPastels Flower Coloring Kit.

The PanPastels go on so smoothly, and depending on the pressure you use,

you can get the light to dark tones on your flower..

To apply the color I used PanPastels Sofft Covers with a quick, soft sweep

on the petals.  

All the petals were "conditioned" with a Stylus from Paper Blossoms Tool Kit

The leaves underneath were cut with Cheery Lynn Designs "Judy's Blooms"

and water colored with TH Distress Marker Peeled Paint.

The panel on the side is Cheery Lynn Designs "Mesh Border" cut from 

KaiserCrafts 12 x 12 paper "Key To My Heart".

The sentiment  "Adore" is from JustRite stamp set 

"Just The Right Words"...

I finished my card by rounding off the 2 right corners, for a softer look.

This was a fun sketch and I can't wait to see what "YOU" create.

Entering in the following challenges:
Love To Create "use red and/or pink"
and
Craft-Dee BowZ "anything goes"

Guest Designing At The Shabby Tea Room

I am excited to once again be a "guest designer" at The Shabby Tea Room"!!!!

This weeks challenge is a sketch designed by Lesley Croghan.

I decided to do a combination Spring/Valentine card using the 

gorgeous new Graphic 45 Sweet Sentiments papers

I just love how these sweet papers fit into the Marianne book die...

like a real book page!  

As soon as I looked at the sketch the book die came to mind...

as did the papers...I am just impressed I remembered I had both...lol

When I was a little girl, my bedroom used to be lilac and pink....

it was my favorite color, and for some reason this card reminds me of those

"long ago" childhood days...

I remember I had a pink ruffled bedspread with roses on it, right out of the

Speigals  catalog!! 

Now that sure ages me....but it was our big mail order at that time!!!!

Products used on my card are:

Marianne Designs:  book die

Cheery Lynn Designs:  Carnivale Border die, Pretty Pretty Bow die, Tiny Flower kit

Memory Box:  Woven basket die

Papers :  Graphic 45 Sweet Sentiments

Card Stock"  SU Very Vanilla, Orchard Opulence

SU:  Heart Punch

I am entering this in the following challenges:
Simon Says Blog "work it Wednesday" to use something new
my new is the gorgeous Graphic 45 Sweet Sentiments papers

Layers of Creamy Goodness!!

Here is my blog post on the Classy Cards 'n Such blog today!!
Don't forget to join in our weekly challenges,
we would love to see you there!!

Hello Friends,

Diane here with you today on the Classy Cards 'n Such blog.

Today I have a gorgeous card showing you how well all the dies from various companies

work together.

I started my card base by cutting a frame from
Marianne Creatable Die Anja's Large Oval

I scored my cardstock, folded it in half, and overlapped the die, so as not to cut

entirely through the fold side, allowing the card to be "one piece".  I cut a second "single

Large Oval and covered the card front with it, giving me a complete die cut.....

a wonderful and easy way to create a "shaped card"!

Using another die from the same set of Marianne Creatable Die Anja's Large Oval,
 I made the next, intricate, beautiful layer, 
which has been slightly "popped" up using Joy Foam pads.

The next layer was created using the Cheery Lynn Designs Lattice Hearts & Vines die.

It, too was "popped" up by cutting the small Joy Foam pads in half

.  On top of the heart, I placed the word"Love", also a Cheery Lynn Designs die.

To finish my card, I added 3 rolled roses using a Memory Box Pinwheel Posie die.

I added a bit of "Mercury Glass" stickles to my flower "petals".

I think this would be a beautiful card for an anniversary, wedding, or Valentines Day!!

Challenges entered:

Feeling Crafty Challenge Blog Use Dies and/or Punches