Catching up!

Hello everyone! It's been quite a while since I have been able to post anything...I have 2 days left to work at Smith and Hawken and then our doors will be closed after 16 years at that location. I have worked there for 6+ years. It has been a sad time for me and my fellow colleagues, but we are ready to move onto the next chapter in our lives, whatever that may be.

I thought I would show you a couple of pictures taken last week (before I packed these into boxes) of the goods that I made for my show at a little country club. I made a lot of my chocolate books and almost sold out! That is a first and it felt really good to not have to pack a lot of it back up and take home. This is the Halloween side of the seed rack that I purchased and the next pic is the other Christmas side. I counted 154 little "books" and only came back with 30 of them!
Here is the Christmas side. It looked really good all filled up and I striped the product vertically. This rack seems like it was made especially for these little chocolate books. My customers at the show even noticed the new rack. I also made some calendars and cards, of course. People are buying and appreciating hand-made cards!

I just found out an hour ago that I have been accepted into another show on the 11th and 12th. I am thrilled, but also have to make a ton 'o stuff...

Thanks for checking in!

Chriss

Some new calendars

Here are some calendars I have been working on for a craft fair that I will be at this coming Saturday.  My favourite one is this first one made with these oh so pretty Cosmo Cricket Early Bird papers.  I really love this little mini deck of goodness!  I used an EK Success wavy border punch and a MS loop punch.  I like how they look layered together.  This next pink one is made with K and Co. Wild Raspberry pack and these are really nice papers too.  I used a nice narrow lucsious velvet ribbon with this one.

The other two are made with the Sabrina line from MM and I like the pink and black combo.  I used some PaperTrey buttons with this one and threaded with embroidery thread ion a darker pink shade.  The next pink one is also from the same paper pack and I used some MS border punches and some cute Sabrina flower brads and clear rhinestones.  Thanks for taking a peek today and have a wonderful Sunday!

Th

Time to blossom

Hello everyone!  Hope everyone has had a good week and a good Saturday.  I have been busy crafting cards for a craft show I will be a vendor at in less than 2 weeks!  I have to get quicker at making cards and gifties.  I did take time out yesterday to make this card for Julee's Mojo 107 sketch challenge and contest.  I chose the Plain Jane quote as the focal point and stamped it in Memento London Fog ink onto white.  I used my Nestabilitiy circles and scallops to cut and emboss.  I also used the Verve image from Budding Blossoms in the left hand panel that I stamped in Always Artichoke and coloured with Copic makers to match the dp that I used from PaperTrey Ink (Tiny Vines) and a dp from Memory Box for the side rectangular panels (Rhubarb Tart) that I think is a very nice compliment to the vines dp.  I backed everything in PTI Ocean Tides card stock (this is my favourite colour ever!) and also punched out a new MS loop border that I think has an elegant style and matches with the overall feel I wanted for this card. (Thanks Yvonne for finding these oh so hard to get new border punches!)  Over the border, I placed a length of PTI ribbon too.  Thanks for looking and hope you have a great evening!

Cheers, Chriss

recipe

stamps ~  Verve PJ sentiment and Budding Blossoms

ink ~ Memento London Fog

paper ~ PTI Little Vines, PTI Ocean Tides cs, MemoryBox Rhubarb

access. ~ Copic markers, circle, oval Nestabilities, MS loop border punch, K & Co. half pearls, PTI Ocean tides ribbon

PTI Australia challenge

Nichole's 4th challenge was to make a card that was Australian inspired.  Nichole spoke of masking and Aboriginal drawings and how they were typically outlined.  I chose this turtle from an older SU set and stamped in Versamark and then embossed with verdigris powder.  Love this rustic effect and colour.  I then outlined with a marker and also filled in some areas amongst the dashes with a Copic marker.  I like the different textures, but don't know if it truly exemplifies the Aboriginal "effect" that I was hoping to create.  Oh well, I think the image looks "hieroglyphic" and could possibly pass?

Thanks for looking!

Sparkly and glittery

Hi everyone!  I have a few more cards to share with you from the week-end's WCMD celebration.  This one was a challenge from Julia Stainton over on Ellen Hutson's The ClassRoom, challenge 4.  We were to "glitz" up our trees, paper, holiday images.  I do not use glitter very much, but I sure had fun creating this card and I am glittering right now.  The papers from the Cosmo Cricket "Jolly by Golly" 6 X 6 pack inspired the colour combo that I chose to create with.  I stamped my trees from Impression Obbsession in basic gray ink and coloured, added rhinestones and glitter to a few of them (after cutting them out) and just went to town but in a tasteful way I hope!  I liked how this turned out and had it not been for this challenge issued by Julia S., I probably would not have created anything this fun with glitter.  Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by!

Chriss

EHWCMD7~ Seasonal~

Another challenge card here.  This one is my seasonal.  Not really my comfort zone, it being pink and all...but I am satisfied with how it turned out.  It is good to get out of the comfort zone with these challenges.This 7th challenge over at The ClassRoom is for a seasonal card.  I also made it with the MFT-Splitcoast challenge in mind. pink/black/white cards.  I used PaperTrey Ink's Seasonal Poinsettia images and sentiments.  I really love this set and all of the poinsettia options.  The ribbons are from MM "Sabrina" line that I layered onto each other and the card base is pink pirouette that I ran thru a Sissix Ponsettia ef.  The flower jewels are some that I picked up at Archivers.  Here is a close-up of the flower and ribbons.  (I really have to work on my photography skills-lack of I should say!)

Thanks for taking another peek!

PTI WCMD challenge for Mexico! challenge #2

Here is my Mexico inspired card.  Nichole issued the challenge to create a card inspired by the colours of Mexico.  I have been there several times, and the colours are in abundance, but I chose a simpler route, some tiles that I made from some PTI dp that I used for the center of my tile.  I layered the little square of dp onto some cs that I had inked the PTI fancy flourish stamp set on.  I glazed the 3 tiles, so that they would look like ceramic.  I stamped really rust onto green and really rust onto the really rust card base.  The dreams copper plate signifies my dreams of visiting Mexico again.  Thanks for taking a peek,

Chriss  

My bashful deer

Another one for WCMD, this one was a colour challenge from Sharon Harnist over on Ellen Hutson's, The ClassRoom.  We were to use blue, brown and ivory.  I used Su Soft Sky, Close to Cocoa and an ivory I have from a Neenah ream.  The stamps are Magenta, stamped with basic brown.  The little deer is coloured with Copic markers and cut with the petite oval Spellbinder dies.I stamped the tree image directly onto the patterned paper (from a baby boy pack) and cut out.  I made the borders with my trusty MS punch and layered a ribbon over that.  The dewdrops are from the "Cowboy" mix and the brad is a velvet one I picked up from Archivers.  Thanks for stopping in!  I am off to make another card ;)

my first official WCMD card!

Hi everyone and Happy World Card Making Day to you!  Here is my first official card that I made for the first challenge going on over at PaperTrey Ink.  We are to make something to do with Japan and it's culture.  I thought of origami and tea first off.  I am not origami savvy, so I couldn't "whip and fold" something right up, so tea is it.  I did have this beautiful Japanese roll of paper that I have been hoarding for 5+ years now.  Love the texture and colours and the print was small enough to stamp my PTI teapot directly onto the paper, cut out and mount on some octagons that I used my Spellbinder dies for.  I covered the whole card front with the paper and made a double border from Not Quite Navy and So Saffron cs.  I cut out some individual flowers from the paper and glued them to tiny octagons and placed those just on top of the border.  The Herbal Tea is also from the same "Tea for Two" PTI set.  Thanks for looking, and I hope I will be back a few more times today with some more cards!

Cheers! ~ Chriss

Falling Leaves

World Card Making day will be celebrated tomorrow, and what a busy day it will be!  So many events that are available to participate in!  I have made today's card for two challenges that are not directly associated with WCMD but wanted to try at the challenges.  Moxie Fab World has issued a challenge to make a "gradient" card and the Impression Obsession blog has issued a challenge to make a grateful/thankful card using I.O. stamps.  I have a good assortment of I.O. stamps, but only one leaf image, and I really wanted to use a falling leaf theme.  Here it is.  I was inspired by the Basic Grey Indian Summer 6 X 6 paper pack.  I stamped directly onto the papers and cut out the leaves.  I arranged them on a yellow panel and added a MS border punched from a different colour and layered it onto the same yellow so that it would be visible.  I like the way the card turned out, rich colours and I think that I managed to create some movement so that the leaves kinda look like they are falling.  Thanks for taking a peek, I am always thankful that you stop by and leave a little comment ;)

Cheers, Chriss

Simply black and white VLVSEP04

Hello, thanks for stopping by today!  I have a very simple black and white wedding card to show you today.  Amber's sketch for the 4th of the 5 challenges this month was to use black and white.  That, I can do.  I used the SEI Black Orchid paper pack for the different patterns and the stamped image is an older SU from the Together Forever set.  I stamped the flower on white with Memento Tuxedo black ink and added pearls to the flower centers.  For the sentiment, I also stamped onto white with Memtuxblk and used a Label4 Spellbinder die and also dry embossed with the tan mat and die.  I then glued it onto some more of the black circle embossed SEI and trimmed very closely to the edges.  The white border is made with my MS punch (love how it embosses at the same time) and I tied a white ribbon around the card front.  Easy peasy, 1,2,3!

Cheers, Chriss