A Change in Direction - and some challenges

Happy New Year!

We are having a quiet evening at home after going to church tonight. The "plan" was to play games tonight and let the kids stay up late and watch the ball drop --- but they are all sucked into an episode of Bones, so I'm stealing some bloggie time. 8-) Nerd smiley!   We are SUUUUCH homebodies. Staying at home and doing just what we want is IDEAL. Couldn't think of a better scenario.

I wanted to share a couple of cards I made this afternoon playing along with some challenges, including the current Runway Inspired Challenge.

 

 

For my first card, I used PTI's Wet Paint II and embossed it in white on watercolor cardstock. I then brushed over the cardstock with watered down gelatos and a small paintbrush. I added the shadow effect by stamping the sentiment again, slightly offset, using Slate ink (CTMH). I just added a few little stitching and sequin embellies before adhering it to a Kraft base.

 

 

 

 

For my next card, I also used watercolor cardstock and stamped these heart balloons from Mama Elephant's Party Kit stamp set. The sentiment is from Paper Smooches Lots of Love stamp set. I added a sponged ink background using Tim Holtz Broken China Distress Ink all layered onto a Goldrush cardstock base (CTMH). Very simple and fast to make!

 

 

 

 

I am also playing along with Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes, the current Inkspirational challenge:

, and PDE's Linky Party: .

 

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

 

God Bless and Happy New Year,

Mandy

 







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Paper Smooches December Guest Designer -- Last Week

Hello!

I'm so excited to have another card included on the Paper Smooches blog as the December Guest Designer. Sadly, it is my last week. I hate for it to end, it's been such fun. I've really enjoyed it and send warm thanks to Ms. Kim for the opportunity to participate. I love PS products!






For my last card, I have used the Icognito stamp set from the December release:

 

 

My layout was inspired by the sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch:

 

 

After stamping the mustaches ? (is that plural? It doesn't sound right. ha!), I white embossed the sentiment on a black cardstock strip and added a line with a white gel pen and ruler. This strip is adhered using foam tape for dimension. And, for another layer of dimension, I colored each 'stache with (CTMH) Liquid Glass. It gives it a little extra sumpin-sumpin.

 

For a little fun walk down memory lane, I've made a collage of all my GDT projects from this month. Here you go!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

 

God Bless and Happy New Year,

Mandy



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More Christmas card shares and a few challenges

Hello!

I know, I know. I can't seem to stop making Christmas cards. I'm saying this is the beginning for next year and that I will work on them all year, but who am I kidding? I will do this until about mid-January, lose interest, and go back to other occasions. Ha!

I'm playing along with some challenges today, too.

Colour Q color inspiration:

 

I used my Avery Elle Winter Wreath stamp set and my SSS Candy Cane Christmas stamp set in Sorbet, Sunflower, and Tulip CTMH colors. I also used Simply Chartreuse from PTI. My CTMH Olive was too olive.

 

 

The elements on the wreath were stamped and fussy cut. I was lucky enough to have a circle punch that perfectly fit the peppermints. Phew! I can't cut a circle to save my life. They look AWFUL. :) The embossed/die cut panel is from my Lil Inker Designs Rounded Rectangle die set. (Christmas gift, whooohooo!).

 

I am also playing along with the weekly Christmas Card Challenges for Anything Goes week.



 

 

 

The next one I want to share was a lot of fun to make, as well. I used the CAS(E) This Sketch challenge for my layout inspiration. Along with CASology's "LIGHT" Cue card. A perfect pairing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used my Paper Smooches "Freezy Fellas" stamp set to stamp the little light bulbs on strings. I first traced a shape of a container I had on my desk with a pencil to use as a guide for my bulbs. I then stamped them repeatedly along the strings before tracing the string with a  black journaling pen. I colored each bulb with Spectrum Noir Markers (also used to draw the light "beams") and stamped the sentiment from PTI's 'Tis The Season set. Lastly, I added a coat of CTMH Liquid Glass to each bulb. Voila!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

 

God Bless and Happy New Year,

Mandy

 

 

 



 

 



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Publication Share

I'm popping in to say "hello" and share another card that was published in PaperCrafts & Scrapbooking Magazine. After I recovered from the news that our beloved MotherShip was leaving us, I decided to share my published cards from the past 2 years as my own good-bye therapy and to pay homage to her.

This card is actually in the January 2015 issue (out now). The next to the last issue to be published and the last for my own published work. Sniffle. I had a few picked up to be in forthcoming issues that were cancelled before they were even put to print. Double sniffle. I plan to share those here, as well, in another post.

My card is featured in the Creating With Texture article and can be found highlighted in the Table of Contents (page 4)...

 

I loved the cheerful colors of this card. The patterns at the bottom are laminate fabric, scraps so generously passed down to me by my sister from her "Splash Bag" business this summer. (Water proof cell phone cases/wallets to have at the beach, pool, water park, etc.) I drew a scallop pattern on each strip with a ball point pen, then cut them out and adhered to the card base, which is covered in the chevron paper. I stamped the HELLO from my CTMH Hopscotch alphabet onto cork paper and trimmed each letter individually. I added the twine and enamel dots in matching colors to finish it all off. It looks SO MUCH prettier in the magazine thanks to their rock star professional photography. Please go check it out!

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit.

 

God Bless,

Mandy

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Snow Globe Shaker

Hello!

Another "restful" day at the LaCroix household. Thankfully! I played in my room some this morning and late this afternoon we actually dared to venture out into The Land of the Living. It was a scary place. I wanted to come back home immediately. :) We did manage to make a couple of small returns with virtually no headache so I can't complain. But, my beloved Target, was busy enough to get on my nerves a little bit. I'm so spoiled; I shop in there during mid-morning weekdays and that's how I'm used to it! Yikes.

I'm sharing a card I made this morning (actually today was a corrected effort from yesterday and I'm much happier with it now!) 8-)   I've been itching to make a little snow globe shaker with these snowmen. (Found in the Paper Smooches store.)

 

I used Spellbinders circle dies and craft foam to make my shaker. The Freezy Fellas are stamped and colored using Spectrum Noir Markers. I stamped the tophat on scrap paper, trimmed and glued it on the larger snowman. I sponged ink around the edges and lightly into the middle of the background before using my SSS Falling Snow stencil and lightweight spackle (works great as embossing paste!). I filled my shaker with Darice iridescent sequins and one snowflake sequin. (Lawn Fawn, the paper is from my Snow Day 6x6 pad from Lawn Fawn). Lastly I stamped the sentiment from my Sentiment Sampler set.

 

I am playing along with Paper Smooches SPARKS "Anything Goes" challenge and DiesRUs "Anything Goes Challenge".

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

 

God Bless,

Mandy

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December 2014 PaperTrey Ink Blog Hop

Hello! I hope everyone has been able to get some much needed R&R after the holidays has wiped us all out! I've actually had a nap today and think I could squeeze in another! Yikes. We are all SO tired!

I did manage to play along with PTI's Monthly Blog Hop today. First time I've had a chance in several months. I'm not totally happy with my card, but I still like the *idea* of it. I think it's the sentiment I'm not liking? Or the sentiment stamped in black is throwing me? Anyway, here it is!

Inspiration photos:

(Silver & Gold)


I used the O'Tannenbaum set and a piece of gold cardstock I had from a Christmas Card kit.

I embossed the tree in gold and the "leaves" in silver. The sentiment is from Boutique Borders: Thanks. I added a silver washi and sequin from my CTMH stash. This one was very simple and quick! In fact, I made it while on the phone with my sister! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

God Bless,
Mandy Pin It

Merry Christmas Post – Tag Share

Hello and Merry Christmas!

I wanted to share the tags I made this year for our Christmas gifts and thought that would be fitting for my Christmas Day post. J

These were so much fun to make and maybe that was because I’ve never really made very many tags. I used the paper tags in Lawn Fawn’s Snow Day Petite Pad. I am so in love with all of this paper and I really fell hard after cutting up these tags. Most of them I trimmed and added to my die cut using PTI’s Tag Sale # 3, a few of them I left as the shape that came in the paper stack. To these I still added part of the die cut tag in a contrasting color before tying on the ribbon. It’s all so cute! I loved seeing them on my packages under the tree. (Even if it was only for a day or two. I got behind – please don’t judge.) I used the Winter Penguin stamp and die set (also Lawn Fawn) along with Spectrum Noir Markers to accent most of these.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am playing along with Lawnscaping's Merry Christmas challenge and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, Anything Goes.

 

 

 

I am also playing along with Crazy for CAS: Anything Goes, CAS On Sunday Challenge, and the Dies R Us "Anything Goes" challenge.

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

God Bless and Merry Christmas,

Mandy

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December Paper Smooches Guest Designer – Week 4

Merry Christmas Eve! I am so happy to be sharing another card for this month’s Guest Designer spot with Paper Smooches. I have had “the most fun” this month.

For this card, I used some masking and triple die-cutting and just played. I used the Lots of Love stamp set and the Love & Cherish dies.

 

I used the bold flourished heart from this set and stamped it repeatedly around a circle, masking with each overlap. I then colored them using Spectrum Noir Markers in a pseudo-rainbow pattern. (I don’t want to talk about it.)

For the sentiment, I die-cut the love three times and layered it to make it thicker and have some dimension. I masked the LOVE YOU stamp to use only the “YOU”. I layered a piece of black glitter paper underneath for a little extra pizzazz. The heart in the top corner is also die cut from the Love and Cherish die set.

Be sure to check out the new goodies offered in the Paper Smooches Store here.

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

God Bless and Merry Christmas,

Mandy

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Wicked Cool Christmas

Good evening! We are getting close – it’s Christmas Eve Eve, as we called it when we were kids. J I am ready! I made a couple of gifts today and have one left to try to make Thursday afternoon. If it doesn’t work out, it’s not the end of the world – it’s a little “bonus” gift. Nothing like waiting til the last minute, huh? Oh – and that’s not the best part. We are headed to spend Christmas Eve with my family, only to return to our house that night. (A 3 hour drive across TN.) We have wrapped NONE of The Piglets’ gifts. Ha! We were all excited they are “big” enough now not the have Santa gifts we have to spend all night putting together and staging and now we have procrastinated wrapping all their gifts til that night after a 3 hour drive. That, my friends, is what you call “Poor Planning”! I am making my resolutions NOW about next Christmas! J

 

This card was SO fun to make. I was FINALLY done with my own Christmas cards and really enjoyed getting to “play”. BD had a co-worker out of the office so he didn’t get to partake of all the candy goodness we sent to share. I insisted he get a card. (They are pretty close; I’m not that obsessed.)

I’m playing along this week with the Retro Sketches challenge. I so love this sketch! I have already used it again on a card going in a “gift set” for someone. (I will share later this week.)

 

 

 

 

I used my PaperSmooches Freezy Fellas stamp set (the only thing I have used other than a few pieces of paper from my WCMD prize box! Aaack! I haven’t had time to properly dig in!) and some DCWV patterned paper for this one. I colored the snowman and the light bulbs (stamped repeatedly) with Spectrum Noir Markers. The line holding the lights is hand-drawn with a journaling pen. That’s a big deal for me because I can’t draw a straight line with a ruler! I’m very cautious about doing anything hand-drawn on my cards for this reason. Lastly, I added a few stitched lines with my sewing machine. I haven’t had it out in a while. I was so glad to see it out again!

I am also entering this in this week’s Paper Smooches SPARKS “Anything Goes” challenge.

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

 

Merry Christmas and God Bless,

Mandy

 

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Curtain Call Revisited

Hello again! It's another stop on my Christmas card parade. Since they are my all-time, absolute, most favorite cards to make, I've not tired of making them yet! (But have vowed that I'm doing them differently next year! See prior post. Ugh.)

I'm sharing another Candy Cane inspired card, brought to you by the SSS Candy Cane stamp set/Limited Edition Christmas card set and Curtain Call's fabulous inspiration.

 

It's odd; I've never considered candy canes or really been "into" their colors, images, etc. but this year, I can't get enough. I've even bought some for myself and been eating them. (The small classic kind. The Piglets {heart} the modern flavors such as Sweet Tarts and Dum-Dums for theirs. It's adorable, so I buy them to hang on the tree.)

 

Here is my card:

 

 

It turned out so cute! I stamped and trimmed the candy canes with the intentions of laying them criss-cross on one another but didn't like how it looked. After flipping them the other direction, I was in lerve. The tee-ninny bow made it work. Stamped that super fun sentiment and added just a little bit of banners, button, and twine to balance it out and called it a day. This card has been one of my faves I made all season. Along with the pinecone tag below.....

 

I made a couple of tags for the candy bowls Big Daddy is taking to work tomorrow. The kids and I spent most of the day yesterday in the kitchen and I was back at it again this afternoon. He even got in there tonight and made his own recipe he wanted to try. (After I gave him "The Look" in Publix today when he picked up ingredients and wanted to "try" these candies he told me about. My response was "sounds good. If YOU want to make them." That joker put them back on the shelf! I laughed and then he picked them up again. He did make them. Ha. ....I wasn't about to do it - I had my last assignment and I was DONE! I was already doing a second batch of something he loved and wished for more. I volunteered and didn't mind so couldn't complain. But him throwing more recipes at me? That involved dipping???? No thank you!

 

 

 

These two bowls are actual gifts going to someone. We put the bulk of what was made in large containers that he will put in his office and share with "his guys"during their staff meeting and throughout the day. We also sent a similar gift bowl to our next door neighbor and I made mini-loaves of bread or small candy packages for Sunday School teachers and tonight's Kid's Church teachers. The Piglets love doing deliveries. (After their initial bashfulness and "what do I say?" --- Oh brother!)

Thanks SO much for stopping by to visit! I love being able to share my creations with you. It's such a great mental outlet and "stress relief" at the end of my hectic days!

God Bless!!!
Mandy Pin It

More Christmas and some challenges

I've been having fun (cough) -- ok, mostly fun, playing around with Christmas cards. It hasn't felt as much like playing while feeling the pressure of needing them in the mail PRONTO. I am swearing to myself that I will handle this differently next year! (Someone please be a lamb and shoot me a note next year on Nov. 1 reminding me of this vow.) It has just been so crazy busy lately, but I can't for the life of me figure out why! I've even had less gifts to buy as we have paired down some of our family swaps. AND as usual, I had all that shopping finished before Thanksgiving and only lacked our Piglets and Big Daddy. So weird. But, nonetheless, here I am. Scrambling to finish things up and yet to have wrapped a thing!!! Aaaaccckkkk!

Today, we had some fun in the kitchen making some Christmas candy goodies. We are going to make some little gift packages for Big Daddy to take and share with his work pals. And, I squeezed in a few cards to get those finalized (FINALLY), as well.

I played along with a few challenges to make it fun. 8-) (nerd smiley!)

The first card I'm sharing was inspired by the Curtain Call Candy Cane inspiration challenge. I have this years Simon Says Stamp Candy Cane Christmas stamp set and have stained it ALL up. It has been a fun addition to my stash!

 

 

All of the images are stamped from that stamp set. The patterned paper and bow came in the Limited Edition Christmas Card kit from SSS in December. I added dabs of Liquid Glass to my candy canes for some extra dimension and a little shine.

 

 

The next card is based on this weeks CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge. (FUN sketch by Ms. Leigh Penner! LOVE her style!)

 

 

 

I used a piece of PTI Pure Poppy cardstock for my card base and the patterned paper is from the SSS card kit I mentioned. I heat embossed the sentiment using CTMH's Magical Moments stamp set. (love that font!). I added a button (Teresa Collins, also provided in SSS kit) and tied on some red twine.

 

 

One more card and I'll stop - I promise!

This one I combined inspiration from Colour Q and this week's Muse challenge. (I was looking everywhere to get inspired!) 8-)

 



 



I used more of the SSS Candy Cane stamp set to make these lollipops in the Colour Q colors.

 

I used CTMH Olive and Lagoon and SSS Lipstick red for the lollipops, CTMH Desert Sand for the sticks. The sentiment and bow (Jolee's) are also part of the SSS Christmas kit.

 

Ok that's it! If you hung with me for the whole post, thank you! Thanks so much for stopping by to visit! Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas from TN!

 

God Bless,

Mandy

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Paper Smooches Guest Designer and A Challenge

Hello!

I am included on the Paper Smooches blog today as the December Guest Designer. I have SO enjoyed playing along with PS this month. What fun!

This week, I made a fun little shaker card using the Bee Mine stamps and dies.

 

I used a Tim Holtz Honeycomb/Hexagon Embossing Folder on my card base to give it a little something extra and then inked the edges with Desert Sand ink and a sponge tool. I colored my bee hive and bee (He's SO Cute!) with Spectrum Noir Markers.

 

I am also playing along today with the Freshly Made Sketches weekly challenge.

 

 

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!!!

 

God Bless,

Mandy

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