Blessed are the Little Ones.........

  I have joined a group over at Splitcoaststampers called Crafters of Faith.  We have a blogging group that chats on SCS, and we have a monthly challenge to create a card.

  Darlene is the Hostess for November, and she has asked us to create with what we have that shows the innocence of childhood, or the pleasure in simple things, the wonder of nature or the pure fun of our world. I created with her suggestion to think of what speaks to that child-like spirit that you remember from your childhood. She asked us to,"try to create something that takes you back to your childish, unquestioning, innocent faith in God. Create a little bit of heaven on paper"!

  I found this Vintage image and sentiment from Create with TLC (digi images) that definitely took me back a few years! Did your Grandma have a big floral couch?  On my Mom's side- Grandma lived in the country- so we could look out the windows and see, well- it was mostly cornfields : ) 
  I did a little distressing and the BG paper is watercolored.

Here is the Sketch I used:

 If you would like to hop along to the other Crafters of Faith to see their versions of the challenge, you can click on the links in my sidebar.

This is the verse Darlene gave us for motivation:
Matthew 10:13-16
"People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. 14 But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. 15 Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them."


Challenges to get the Mojo Flowing:
365 Cards Day 333- rough around the edges
Bloggers Challenge- Use buttons
Craftitude- Button Up
Papertake Weekly- Sketch

Thanks for stopping by!
 Shelly

Song in my Heart

Winter is a coming!  We still have our bird feeders up and we are seeing lots of snowbirds and squirrels.

 Ohhh I love trying new techniques- and Technique Junkies has one on CD 11- a sneak peak for you- called Textured Shimmer Paper- which I made and used for the bird and the bird house.
  I used a Tim Holtz Die, TH DP and Distress inks. The leaf dies are a SweetCuts die-elegant leaves- from Sweet Stamps, and the sentiment is from Sweet N Sassy.
 
OK- Hello Winter!  I'll be working on Winter and Christmas cards in the weeks to come......!

Challenges:
365 Cards Day 329- use at least 3 different die cuts
Crafters Cafe- Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp- Anything Goes
Sisterhood of Crafters- Something Handmade- the Textured Shimmer Paper : )
Songbird Challenge- Use one or more dies


Thanks for stopping by!
Shelly

Sweet Stamps- Holidays

   It's another great challenge at Sweet Stamps .  Our challenge theme for this week is 'Holiday'.

  I live in the Midwest, so 'Holiday' means (Hopefully) Snow, and Evergreens and Christmas Carols!

  I had fun with the Winter Village Scene die. I took 2" double sided Scor-Tape, applied it to white cardstock and cut the die out. I placed the die down onto the side the tape was applied to. After you run the die through your machine, the cut out portions stay in their places. (Clarify-the cut out pieces do not fall out of the frame of the die like they do if you use cardstock without the Scor-Tape applied).  I removed only the frame and added Gold Glitter.

 Whoops- I had one section where the top layer came off where I did not want it off when I removed the outer edge- so I just gingerly removed the gold glitter that stuck to the adhesive in that section with my pointy tool.
 Next, I removed all of the small sections left on the die with the pointy tool, and applied Micro Fine glitter. I colored all of the sections in with Copic markers.
 After I colored the die in, I decided to take a picture of the back- just to show what it looks like.

 Here are the supplies I used for the card:

Winter Village Scene Circle SweetCuts Die	2" Scor-Tape	Micro Fine Transparent Glitter GOLDEN GLITZ (warm highlight)	COPIC Sketch Blending Set WARM SHADOW	COPIC Sketch Blending Set VICTORIAN GREEN	COPIC Sketch Blending Set TEAL
COPIC Sketch Blending Set DENIM	COPIC Sketch Blending Set SUNSHINE	Pointy Circle Frame & Flower Dies	Elegant Leaves SweetCuts Die	Festive 6x6	Core'dinations Grass Greens
Stickles Glitter Glue CHRISTMAS RED	Cardinal Pair & Warm Wishes DUO 3059J

InLinkz.com

 I hope you will join in the challenge! Every entry qualifies you for a chance to win $20 of items from the store at Sweet Stamps, and if you use a Sweet Stamps image- you will receive an additional chance to win! The winner is chosen by Random.org- so everyone has a chance to win!

  Here is a direct link to the Monthly Challenge as well- 11/15-12/14-Microbeads. You have a chance to WIN- winners drawn by Random.org.

  Stop by the Sweet Stamps Challenge Blog HERE to see what the rest of the DT has created for the Challenges

 Challenges:
Make it Monday - Anything Goes
Kaboodle Doodles- Buttons and Twine
Glitter and Sparkle- Show Us Some Snow
Sentimental Sundays- Winter Wonderland
Corrosive Challenge- Happy Holidays
Sparkle N Sprinkle- Anything Goes with Glitter, Flocking or EP
Crafts 4 Eternity- Glitter and Sparkle

***Sweet Stamps also has a PINTREST page- HERE ***

Thanks for stopping by!
 Shelly

Puppy Love

I made a card for our Dog sitter using the Peek-a-Boo Holes Technique in the current Technique Junkies  newsletter.

 This image looks so similar to my dog- always greeting me with a tennis ball in his mouth and waiting to play!  The images by EK Success are stamped in Chocolate Chip ink from SU onto shimmery cardstock from Paper Temptress. I used punches to create the puppy paws.
  I used the Sketch from 365 Cards Day 321 for my card.   I added Faux Stitching for the Crafty Ribbons Challenge. I am joining in Shelly's Images Challenge as I am Thankful my dog is so well cared for while I am away!

Have a great day!
Shelly Schmidt

Sketch it.......

I made time today to stamp, so created a couple of cards for Sketch Challenges.

I made this for the Sketch at Mark's Finest Papers- for the Oriental Sketch Challenge #11.  I used TJ Wisped framed after stitching the circle panels together. For the sentiment, the LOVE was inked with a marker and stamped 5 times. Them, I inked the Kanji only and stamped it next to the LOVE. I made a little tassle using Gold metallic embroidery thread and attached it to the fan charm.

Next, I made a card for the Oriental Stamp Art Sketch Challenge 249. (Oriental Sketch Challenge is a challenge for the Yahoo Group Oriental Stamp Art).

  I used the TJ technique called 3D Gold ( and used the Inka Gold Paint again : )  ).  The dragonfly stencil I used is by T.S.C. Designs. I embossed the purple cardstock and highlighted it with Inka Gold. I added Inka Gold around the edges as well. The Washi paper has shimmer in it that you cannot see in the photo.

Challenges:
Card 1- MFP Sketch Challenge as mentioned above
Crafting for All Seasons- Stitching
Digistamps4Joy- Stitching
Oh La La- Stitching
365 Cards- #320-Stamping and Stitching

Card 2:
Oriental Stamp Art- Sketch 249
Squirrel and Fox- Use Violet (BG cardstock is also purple)

Thanks for stopping by!
Shelly

Sweet Stamps- Anything Goes

It's Tuesday, so time for the weekly challenge at Sweet Stamps .  Our challenge theme for this week is Anything Goes!

  I had a blast trying out the Inka Gold paint that Sweet Stamps has added to the store!  It is very shimmery, so a bit challenging to get a good picture.....

  *** I will start with some FYI's about Inka Gold:
-Sweet Stamps carries two sizes- 12.5 gms (perfect to 'try it out')  and 50 gm jars.
-Inka Gold is an Opaque metallic paint that contains beeswax.
-It is very shimmery and quick drying- the colors are brilliant.
-Inka Gold is water soluble- so cleans up with water and is non-toxic.
-Apply 'as is' using your fingers, use a sponge or dry cut for an intense color on your project. Or,  try adding a little water to it and paint it on for a more subtle color. 
-You can combine the colors on a craft mat to make even more colors too!
-Inka Gold works on all non-porous surfaces- so it is great on paper, chipboard, wood, ceramic, canvas....... You can add it to metal too.
-When you open the jars- the top of the smaller paints have a removable (snap out) plastic top- you want to keep it in the jar when not in use so the paints do not dry out.  The larger jars have a liner you peel off- then make sure when you close the jars they are tightly closed so the paints do not loose moisture.(You can refresh them if they dry out with water or baby oil from what I have read).
-You can stamp over the surface of Viva Decor- looks like you need to use Stazon Ink though.
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- I used my fingers and applied the Inka Gold for the background. After applying the ink, I buffed it with a paper towel- that makes it shine! After running the background  through the Big Shot using the Swirls embossing folder, I highlighted the embossing with Gold colored Inka Gold.
- For the butterfly, I first put a small dot of Inka Gold in Yellow on the craft sheet, then mixed it with water to make it liquid and painted it on. Next, I took a small amount of Inka Gold in Red and mixed it with the yellow (that I had already made) to make an orange color- as you can see in the picture.
-I highlighted the outer edge of the back layer, the die frame and the edge of the sentiment panel with Gold Inka Gold paint using my finger. (It wiped right off my fingers with a baby wipe).
- I stamped the sentiment and butterflies in Memento Black Tuxedo ink. The butterfly is fussy cut- for the bottom layer, I left ~ 1/8" of white, the top layer is cut to the edge.On the top layer, I only glued down the center part of the butterfly.

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Fanciful Butterflies Set S600	Butterfly Kisses	Oval Frames Dies 0258	Inka Gold GOLD	Inka Gold COBALT BLUE	Inka Gold VIOLET
Inka Gold LAVA RED	Inka Gold INDIAN YELLOW	Inka Gold EMERALD GREEN	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

InLinkz.com

 I hope you will join in the challenge! Every entry qualifies you for a chance to win $20 of items from the store at Sweet Stamps, and if you use a Sweet Stamps image- you will receive an additional chance to win! The winner is chosen by Random.org- so everyone has a chance to win!

  Here is a direct link to the Monthly Challenge as well- 11/15-12/14-Use Microbeads. You have a chance to WIN- winners drawn by Random.org.

  Stop by the Sweet Stamps Challenge Blog HERE to see what the rest of the DT has created for the Challenges

 Challenges:
Make it Monday - Anything Goes
Cards In Envy- Use a punch or a die
Created with Love- Anything Goes
Time 4 Scrap- Use a die

***Sweet Stamps also has a PINTREST page- HERE ***

Thanks for stopping by!
 Shelly

Sweet Stamps-MicroBeads

 It's time for the Monthly Challenge at Sweet Stamps, and we are using Microbeads for this challenge.

 I had fun and made a card for my Aunt Patty. I do not get to see her too often, and I think she will appreciate some good wishes via Snail Mail!

I wanted to write out how I did the Paper Piecing for the vase:
Take the DP you want to use- and apply a section of Sticky Tape to it.
Stamp your image on the Sticky Tape
Next, cut out the portion of the image you want to paper piece.
Peel off the top white layer and you will have the DP cut out with sticky on the top.
Add the Microbeads and rub them in- I use a fingertip to burnish them to make sure they are well adhered.
Viola- you are done!

Here are the Sweet Stamps items I used to create the card:

Poppy Vase 1017H	Family Clear Stamp Set AF4402	2-1/2" Super Sticky Tape 55 yards	Sweetest Thing: Tangerine 6x6	Clear Glass Micro Beads	Candi COTTON CANDY
Candi Fix Foam Dots	Center Step Card Die	COPIC Sketch Blending Set VICTORIAN GREEN	COPIC Sketch Blending Set SUNSHINE	COPIC Sketch Blending Set ROSY REDS	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad
Shades� Ink Spots KEN'S COLORS

InLinkz.com

 I hope you will join in the challenge! Every entry qualifies you for a chance to win $20 of items from the store at Sweet Stamps, and if you use a Sweet Stamps image- you will receive an additional chance to win! The winner is chosen by Random.org- so everyone has a chance to win!

  There are weekly challenges as well- come join us!!!   Stop by the Sweet Stamps Challenge Blog HERE to see what the rest of the DT has created for the Challenges

 Challenges:
Make it Monday - Anything Goes
Paper Shelter- For someone Special
Artistic Inspirations- Anything Goes
Crafty Cardmakers- Paper Piecing
MarkerPop- Anything Goes with Markers

***Sweet Stamps also has a PINTREST page- HERE ***

Thanks for stopping by!
 Shelly

Sweet Stamps- Thanks

 It's another great challenge at Sweet Stamps .  Our challenge theme for this week is Thanks.

 The snow is a comin' to the Midwest....I had to make this card before it was too late..... I was inspired by my friend Kim.......  (who does not have a blog...).
 I cut out a die and used double sided removable tape for the center of the cardstock.

 I then used various fall colors to stamp the images one at a time around the die cut.  I used the Shades die in Spots in the following colors: Dandelion, Butterscotch, Palm Grove, Tank, Papaya, Paprika. The ribbon was white to start out with and I dragged it through the Papaya Spot.

Foliage #1 Clear Stamp Set AF4613	Thank You Script	Little Stackers SCALLOP CIRCLE Dies	Shades� Ink Spots ROBYN'S PRETTY PALETTE	Shades� Ink Spots SUMMER BRIGHTS	Shades� Ink Spots OUTDOORS
Shades� Ink Spots SPRING PASTELS	Shades� Ink Spots PRIMARIES	Shades� Ink Spots KEN'S COLORS	Core'dinations Classy Reds	Core'dinations Fade to Black

InLinkz.com

 I hope you will join in the challenge! Every entry qualifies you for a chance to win $20 of items from the store at Sweet Stamps, and if you use a Sweet Stamps image- you will receive an additional chance to win! The winner is chosen by Random.org- so everyone has a chance to win!

  Here is a direct link to the Monthly Challenge as well- 1015-11/14-Center Step Card. You have a chance to WIN- winners drawn by Random.org.

  Stop by the Sweet Stamps Challenge Blog HERE to see what the rest of the DT has created for the Challenges

 Challenges:
Make it Monday - Anything Goes
Craft-Dee BowZ- Anything Goes with a handmade bow
Get Inky- Thanks
Love to Create- Thanks
Just Add Ink- Masking (center masked)
***Sweet Stamps also has a PINTREST page- HERE ***

Thanks for stopping by!
 Shelly