Lucky 37

Well, the older of my two little sisters is pushing 40. I've tried to avoid pondering exactly how messed up that is (Wasn't she just, like, 10? And if she's 37, that makes me... oh, good Heavens!) and to have a little fun with it.

I whipped up this set for her. It was a blast to do!
It's also for the challenges at:
CCEE Stampers - Use three embellishments. (The card has ribbon, pearls, and die cuts.)
Paper Sundaes - Anything Goes
Stamptacular Sunday Challenge - Freebie Week = Anything Goes
MFT Wednesday Stamp Club - Use this sketch:


I got the idea and learned to make the felt fortune cookies - the box has a half-dozen of them in it - from this video by Jody Morrow. Here's a detail shot of them:

I even found a website that listed sentiments to type up for fortunes. :)

... and a better shot of the card.
The recipe:
Stamps: MFT Pure Innocence - Good Fortune
Dies - MFT Die-namics- I used By the Numbers, Mini Monarch Border, and Vintage Flourish.
Papers - Red is Piccadilly from Basic Grey, others are Echo Park - Yours Truly.
Pearls and ribbon from the stash.
Used my Bow Easy for the bow. It is easy, but I can't get the second tail to stay put! Grrr.

Thanks so much for dropping by today! I wish Good Fortune to you, too!

Elizabeth

More Sunny Days

... wish we could get a few more! The temperatures have been warm all winter (A friend's friend called it "June-uary" on a Facebook post.) but we've had more than our share of the dreary greys.  Since winter's been cancelled, I'm ready for some of those Carolina blue skies!

So, maybe that's why sunny days are on my mind.

Another reason to look forward to spring - longer days. I'm having a hard time shooting cards after dinner - usually when I get them done - and the light's gone. Using PSE helps, but then the color gets distorted. Any ideas?

Anyway, this one's for the Viva la Verve sketch challenge at Splitcoast and also for:
2 Sisters Challenge Blog - Use Stitching.
Crazy 4 Challenges - Use Stripes and Polka Dots
Pile It On - Sending Happiness
Flutterby Wednesday - Anything with Wings

The recipe:
All images are Verve - Sunny Days and All Aflutter
Papers are My Minds Eye - Lost and Found (I think this one's Madison Ave.)
A bit of lace from Really Reasonable Ribbon
Scalloped circle die is an MFT die-namic.
Odds and ends from the stash.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Here's hoping for sunny days (literal and metaphoric) for all of us!
Elizabeth

Stay There Forever

I love this Pooh-Bear quote. It sounds like the original Pooh, not the made-to-sell-lots-of-stuff one. A boxed set of A.A. Milne stories and poetry is among the first books I remember owning. :)

This fun set is Verve's Hundred Hearts. The card is for The Viva La Verve sketch challenge at Splitcoast and a few others:

Cupcake Craft Challenge - Pink and Red

Paperplay Challenges - Love Letters

Totally Gorjuss - Lurve - Y'all snuggle up and stay warm over there!

Catered Crop - Hearts

... and, of course, use this sketch:

The rest of the recipe:

Paper is Echo Park's Yours Truly. Dies are Verve, as are the other images. Pink stamping is Memento; silver stamping is Brilliance.

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope everyone enjoys their Valentine's Day (and, many, a Winter Wonderland to go with it! I am a bit jealous.)

Warm Fuzzies,

Elizabeth

Carpe Diem

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend! It seems that Old Man Winter finally decided, now that my daffodils are up and confused, to make an appearance. I know that the girls in Europe would LOVE to trade places with me - it will be 60F here by mid-week, so I won't whine. I'll just enjoy some time inside. :)

This is my entry for the Viva La Verve sketch challenge that's at Splitcoast every Friday:

It's also for the challenges at:
The Pink Elephant - Use Pink. It's Ella's third birthday! Way to go - you've built a blog that has really endured. No small accomplishment.
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
... and VLV - use this sketch:

The recipe:
Paper is Echo Park - Victoria's Garden. Images are Verve (I'm in looove with that 'fly!) stamped with Momento. I used a seam ripper to distress the edges of layers. Ribbons are from Really  Reasonable Ribbon. That's a Nestie in the center, touched up with Rose colored Distress Ink.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop over today. Please leave a comment - I learn quite a lot from them!
Stay warm!
Elizabeth

Just! Like! You!

   Did your parents ever yell that at you when they were just that fed up? This, my dad's favorite curse, came at the end of many a stern lecture. "I hope you have five kids! Just! Like! You!"
    Well, whoever's the Patron Saint of Parents Driven Insane by Teenagers must've heard, because between the two of us, my sister and I have four of them. Just. Like. Us.
     For the record, I find that endearing.
     Here's the Valentine that's going to my sister's house:

It's also for the challenges at:
4 Crafty Chicks - Love Is in the Air
Fab 'n' Funky Challenges - Love Is in the Air (Man, that stuff is going around!)
I {heart} 2 Stamp - This month's Sketch for You to Try:

   
What's the recipe?
Images are all My Favorite Things - Pure Innocence. Rolled roses are made using MFT's Die-namics Medium Rolled Rose. The little flags and pole are also Die-namics. Circles are all Nesties. Paper is Echo Park - Yours Truly. She's colored using Copics, and her little dress is paper-pieced.

Here's a better look at the roses. This die makes them easy-peasy!

That's a dark grey in the left panel. It didn't photograph well. I need to learn to better use the color editing on my PSE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day!
Elizabeth

... and a Fail

I really liked the inspiration sample at CASE study challenges:

Isn't this fab? I love the bright colors underneath!

So, I wanted to try a sample with negative die cutting myself. Ran into problems - this is the biggest one.

See the tiny holes? They're the dots that let you line up the dies and stamps (which I'm not using.) I just couldn't come up with anything that would keep the guide dots from cutting. Grrrr.

 Here's my solution:

I covered them with random itty-bitty, glittery hearts. Ups the cute factor a bit, but really screws up the balance, knowwhutimean? My 12-year old thinks it's great, so that makes me happy, but as far as challenges go, this one's a fail.

Still, it was fun to try. :)

Recipe:

Dies - Verve

Papers - Echo Park

Hearts - K & Co.

Thanks for stopping by. Please come again soon. I'll do better, I promise.

XX

elizabeth

It Don't Mean a Thing...

... if it ain't got that bling! Which is difficult when doing cards for sons, husbands, etc. That's where I am now. How to give a card enough oomph without it going girly? That's a bit of a challenge. Especially since Valentine's is, basically, girly.

So, finding this sketch gave me a case of the happies. I think it's just what I needed to turn out a masculine-enough card that's still all about V-Day. I used some red Stickles to bling up the 'flower'.

... and here's the sketch:

It's from Iwona Palomountains's Sketchbook Saturday challenge.
It's also for:
One Stop Craft Challenge - On the Spot and Ribbon
The Pink Elephant - Favorite color combo - In winter, I love red, white, and black!
Paper Issues - All We Need Is Love
Paper Sundaes - Choose your favorite challenge from the past. I'm going with #90, favorite colors.

The recipe:
All images are Verve, all paper is Echo Park - Yours Truly. Scallop die is MFT. Label die is also Verve. Picked up the seam binding on Etsy.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I appreciate your taking the time. I hope you've had a lovely weekend!
Elizabeth