Thoughts of a Cardmaking Scrapbooker!: 1/5/14

Saturday, January 11, 2014

You Sparkle!

Happy Saturday to you! I am enjoying the quiet of my house temporarily....the kids will be up soon and the hubby will be coming home from work in a bit. So for now, I am sipping my coffee and relaxing in my PJ's! The best kind of mornings! :)

I was inspired to create a shaker card after seeing some on Clare Buswell's blog. I wanted a snowy frosty look to my winter card, so I picked various shades of pink, purple, and silver.

I hand sewed the top layer of acetate and right before I finished, I snuck the sequins in.

The sentiment is part of JustRite's, What I Like About You stamp set. I stamped it in Versamark on vellum and heat embossed in in silver.

For the flower I used various Spellbinder's dies. I used the snowflake die and the Rose Creations die. The large snowflake was a left over piece from my Cricut. I stacked them all up and added a glittery white jingle bell to the flower's center. I tied white tulle around the top of the card and glued the flower to the center. I added some clear acrylic picks around the flower. This was a difficult card to photograph, so I am hoping you can see it!

The hubby and I are going to see, "American Hustle" today. I've heard mixed reviews on it, so I guess I'll add my review into the mix later! ;)

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Vintage Snow Girl

Well I am officially back to school! I am back in the routine and I have to say, I was totally ready to get back to my normal schedule.

It is still pretty cold and snowy here, so I was inspired to make this card using an image from Crafty Secrets. It is from the Winter Wishes set. I colored this cute gal in with Copic Markers and added a bit of flock to her cuff and hat. I also added glossy accents and glitter to the snowball.

I used various Spellbinder's dies to matte my image. I also used some music paper I printed off the Crafty Secret's Christmas Digital CD. For a fun accent piece I used a felt snowflake, ribbon, pink string, a flower, and a jinglebell, and adhered it to the side of the image. I had two snowflakes in white and added a bit of glitter to both of them using glossy accents. I tucked them behind the blue matte on the top and bottom.

Lots of layers in this card.....but I love the dimension and the softness the felt and flocking bring to the image.

I just had to share a quick picture of my little pup, Skippers, right after getting groomed. I just think he is the smartest, cutest dog ever! ;)

Have a great day my friends!

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

JustRite's January Release-Butterfly Vines Background Stamp!

Good morning! I have another "cold" day off from school...so I am going to make the most of it! I have cookies to bake with Cort, crafting to do, and a pot of chili to make.

It is also the last day of JustRite's January release.

Today's set is a gorgeous Butterfly Vines background stamp. I love anything that has to do with butterflies!

I stamped it in Versamark and heat embossed it in white. I used my Tim Holtz Distress markers to give the "open" areas shades of pink. I used some texture paste and a Heidi Swapp stencil to create a textured, yet subtle background.

I used the sentiment from an earlier released set called, Butterfly Kisses. I used the same technique as the background, Versamark, white embossing powder, and Tim Holtz Distress Markers. I cut it out and overlapped it with a strip of white cardstock. Ribbon was tied vertically, a double bow was made, and an acrylic flower adhered to its center. I added a felt stick pin I had made awhile ago.

Here are the two sets I used to make my card. :)

JustRite is starting its Tutorial Tuesdays and I hope you can hop on over to their blog to see today's video!

Have a wonderful Tuesday! And as always, stay warm!

Marisa Job

Monday, January 6, 2014

Design Team Challenge and Linky Party!

Brrrrrr! It is extremely cold here with temperatures reaching -19 degrees without windchill! School is closed today, but I have to attempt to take Cort to the dentist. She cracked another tooth. *sigh*

Anyway, you are here for the Crafty Secret's design team challenge and linky party! (Not to hear me complain!) ;)

Sandy was offering a free January calendar printable, so I grabbed it from the CS blog and decided I would make a page for my desk calendar. I have some step by step photos on how I created it a little further down.

I used Prisma colored pencils to color the image. I added glossy accents to the flowers and glitter to the leaves.

I love working with Prismas because there isn't an exact science about them. I kind of plop a bit of color in at least two shades around the edges. Then I use a blending nub and some mineral spirits to "drag" the color inward.

The picture is kind of lousy because it was dark out when I took it. But hopefully you get the idea of the "dragging."

Then I worked on the leaves and colored them in shades of blue and a hint of green.

I decided to create a sunset by using pink, orange, and a bit of yellow. I love the pop of color it gives to the image.

Here are the colors I used.......

I've had a lot of requests for how I tie my bows....here it is before I put a flower or gem in the middle. I am thinking of putting together a You Tube video on how I do it. It is quite simple and it would be a rather short video! ;)

This is what I used to add glitter to all of the leaves.....the Sakura glue pen is great because you can place the glue precisely where you want it to go!

Here it is in all of its glittery, glossy accented glory! LOL!

Be sure to visit the rest of the design team for their beautiful projects and tutorials!

Julie Campbell is joining us this month too! YAY!

Stay warm and safe my friends!

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Tomato Basil Bisque Soup

I just had to share this recipe originally found at Food.com. It is so delicious and I actually made it in my crock pot instead of on the stove like the directions instructed. With all this snow and cold weather, this is definitely comfort food. I would double the recipe next time as this recipe only gives you about 4 bowls of soup. I would love to have leftovers the next time I make it. :)

Tomato Basil Bisque.

Ingredients:
1 cup celery chopped
3/4 cup carrot chopped
1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped.
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
3 cups tomato juice ( I used Campbells)
1 cup chicken broth
1 (7.5oz) ) can diced tomatoes
3 oz tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano , crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 cup whipping cream
4 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons basil pesto

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large saucepan, cook celery, carrots, onion, and garlic in butter until vegetables are tender, not brown.

2. Transfer to a crock pot. Add tomato juice, chicken broth, undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, and pepper. Let cook in crock pot on low for 4-5 hours.

3. Place half of the soup in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Place in pot. Blend other half and place that in pot with other soup.

4. Stir in whipping cream and sugar. Stir in fresh basil. Top each with some pesto and garnish with basil leaves. I also added a bit of fresh Parmesan!

JustRite's January Release-Tulip Damask Background Stamp!

Good morning! It is a very snowy day here in Chicago....up to 10 inches expected throughout the day. So it is a good day to stay home, craft, cook, and be a bit lazy! ;)

I am showing two of JustRite's new sets today. The coffee cup image was released earlier this week, but I hadn't gotten a chance to use it....til now. I stamped it in Memento Brown and colored it with Copic Markers. I traced the steam with liquid applique and added some to the cup itself to resemble a cappuccino. The background was stamped with JustRite's new set called Tulip Damask. It was stamped in Memento Blush Pink. I distressed the edges with a bit of brown ink.