I love my new Window die cut!  This card turned out so great.  Distress ink the frame, spritz the white doily, add to colorful paper and complete the card with buttons and a ribbon.  If I could only keep all the terrific cards I make....but then, I wouldn't have any funds to support my "habit"!

I spent all day yesterday working up a bunch of (postage) stamp greeting cards for this coming weekend's show.  It is not a Craft Show, but a (postage) stamp show.  My stamp greeting cards and my husband's handmade chocolates sell reasonably well, along with stamps. Yes, we are part-time stamp dealers.

So, here is what I created to sell at the show:

Peacock painting stamp from Hungary.

Stamp of Paraguay.

Lions from Republique of Guinea.

Ras-Al-Khaima is on the Saudi Arabian Peninsula. 

Poland stamp showing wolves.  This green "ribbon" is tough to work with, but I think it works with this card.

Romania shows off these wolves.

This Penguin stamp card will be a quick sale.  Umm al Qiwain is on the Saudi Peninsula.

Russian Penguin stamp will also be a quick sale.  The red "coral" ribbon and green swirl really dress up this card without overdoing it.

My husband loves Bees, so we had to get this Tim Holtz embossing die-cut.  I'm going to have to get some more swirls cut....  Stamp is from Cuba.

Mongolian Mushroom stamp.

Stamp from Romania.

Monaco stamps. 

Viet Nam hot air balloon stamp.

Train stamp from Mozambique.  Notice the Train brad.

Anyone for Chess?  Stamp of Hungary.

Air Ship stamp from Mauritaine.

Customers frequently look for "local" greeting cards.  Since I live north of Seattle, can't get much more local than this!

And Mt. Rainier stamps just off the Seattle skyline.

I sell all my stamp greeting cards for $4.00, regardless of the bling used.  All these cards and other stamp greeting cards will be for sale at the:

Evergreen Stamp Show

Kent Commons

525 - 4th Avenue North

Kent, WA 98032

Saturday, July 19, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Sunday, July 20, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

I will again conduct a Postage Stamp Greeting Card making class. We will do this at my dealer booth, so stop in and create 5 cards for $20.00.

Peafowl time!  Tried out a couple new Peacock die-cuts over the weekend:

This Framed Peacock (cherry lyn designs) cuts fairly nicely.  It did better on this glitter paper than regular paper.  He is adhered to marbled green paper; 5-inch Oval shape was cut using Oval of Plantin School Book (cricut).  Thanks, Jan, for letting me use your cartridge.  The Peacock's Train Feather (Jewel Fantasies, spellbinders) tucked behind the blue ribbon (ArtTalent - The Netherlands) is brushed with Metallic Gold and Blue Lagoon (both cats eyes).  Base paper is from the Taj Mahal paper pack (DCWV).  Three Rhinestones at the bottom and two Fabric Roses (demo creations - The Netherlands) in the upper left complete this 5 X 6½ inch greeting card.

This Classic Peacock (#DCN049 tessler crafts) was a little touchy to work with.  I tried a variety of papers, but none cut clean through for this die-cut.  When also else fails, try glitter or metallic cardstock -- and that is what worked here.  The Peacock is double-layered Metallic Black (on bottom) and Metallic Grey.  He is adhered to a White Doily (wilton) brushed with Peacock Feathers distressed ink (tim holtz).  Lavender, Blue, Gold & Green rhinestones are spaced around outer section of doily.  Base paper is Peacock Tail Feathers from the Animal Kingdom paper pack (recollections). 3 Paper Roses complete this 6½ X 5 inch greeting card.

Both these die-cuts were cut out using my infamous Cuttlebug.

Since I had the Cuttlebug out, I wanted to play with a couple other items.  These Under the Sea (joy! crafts) Seahorse in shimmer green paper and Crab in metallic red were die cut and embossed.  They are adhered to background papers on pop dots.  Base brown paper is embossed A2-Script (the paper studio) with 2-inches of Seashells (#20247 HOTP) paper overlapping.  Entire front is edged in Brown ink (cats eyes).  Three Seashells from my husband's "hippie" days complete this 6½ X 5 inch card.

Even though I have a big pile of new goodies to play with yet, it is way past time to get ready for my next greeting card class.  I will be teaching another (Postage) Stamp Greeting Card class July 19 in Kent, Washington -- four stamp greeting cards and one surprise card.  Here are the cards I've worked up so far:

These Elephant stamps are from Republic of Guinea.  The green "Knot" paper (which reminds me of elephant knees) is from the Animal Kingdom paper pack (recollections). Dark Blue Cardstock (mementa) was cut using Frame 13 of Fancy Frames (cricut).  Gray Ribbon tied on right side in a square knot.  3 yellow and 1 silver bling on the Frame completes the card.

This Crab stamp is from Fujeira on the Saudi Arabian Peninsula.  He is adhered to the Dark Blue oval from the Elephant card Frame's center piece.  It is edged with Copper ink (cats eyes).  Base paper is from Life's Journey paper pack (k&company).  These kinds of cards are great for this dark green "coral reef" ribbon.  Happy Birthday Dazzle on cream cardstock which was edged with Copper ink.  Three small seashells complete the card.

The Rose stamp is from Hungary.  It is adhered to Metallic (dcwv) "star" Frame 15 of Fancy Frames set (cricut).  Floral Rose base paper, red Floral ribbon/lace and 3 buttons finish the card.

This Czechoslovakian Landscape is perfect for the Travel Icon embossing plate on Camden paper (7 gypsies).  Reverse of this paper is the matt behind the stamp, with rounded corners.  Airmail ribbon is washi tape.  Three Pearls complete this card.

Since postage stamps are so small, I use them on 5½ X 4¼ inch card stock.  Larger card stock is simply too big and leaves too much blank space (or you add too much bling which deters from the stamp).

Class fee is $20.00 for 5 cards.  All materials are provided.  Please bring a small pair of scissors if you have them.  Let me know if you wish to attend, and I'll send you address and time of the class.

Here are the other cards I made when I was playing with embossing powders a couple of weekends ago:

Gold Horse Trio (b&j's art stamps) is Gold embossed (tim holtz super fine powder) on La Creme paper (DCWV).  Mounted on Giddy Up Prints (boxer scrapbook) on Barn Plank paper.  Jute Burlap (the paper studio) completes the card.

Heads-Up rubber stamp set (local king out of Canada) Giraffe is done in Gold embossing (tim holtz super fine) on dark blue cardstock; he is two-layered.  4-inch white paper doily (wilton) was sprayed with Lavender Tea (memories mists).  Base paper Friends Grass Stains (collectionz paperz).  A Jute Burlap ribbon (the paper studio) and 4 rhinestones (made by me -- Europe) complete the card.

Love Reaches New Heights set (local king) -- Baby Giraffe is Black embossed (HOTP super fine) and Momma Giraffe is Gold embossed (tim holtz super fine) on dark green cardstock.  They are two-layered.  Base paper is Glorious Glitters handmade paper (memory star).  Two small Swirls (my favorite things) and 3 buttons complete the card.

If you have never seen Sue Coccia's rubber stamps and products, here is a sample of her Camel rubber stamp done in Silver embossing powder (tim holtz super fine) on dark brown and metallic ivory cardstock. Base paper is Taj Mahal (dcwv).  Ribbon (american crafts) and Green Pearls (cloverleaf of the Netherlands) complete the card.

Use the link above and pop over to Sue's website.  My husband and I love her products!  She recently came out with a Peacock design, so be sure to look that up; besides the rubber stamp, I also have the magnet and trivet. I'm waiting for the t-shirt and tote bag to come out.  My husband loves her Dolphin and Camel designs; we have rubber stamps in both.

Reminder:  All my greeting cards are 5 X 6½ inches (or 6½ X 5 inches if horizontal), are blank inside and come with matching envelopes.

I haven't gotten much done in greeting cards the past couple of weeks due to family visiting.  Jan was here with her 10-year-old son, and we took a class together on coloring with Copic markers.  Hopefully, my cards will look improved in this arena.

Jan had not left to go back home yet when another set of relatives showed up, ones we had not seen in a couple of decades (live out of state).  They were only here for two days, but still no cards done -- just lots of talking and catching up!

Here are some more of the cards I made with the embossing powders I was playing with a couple of weeks ago:

I LOVE, Love, love! these horses.  I have seen trios of horses over the years, similar to this design, and I love every single one.  I was so tickled to find this in a rubber stamp (B&J's Art Stamps) at the Paper Arts & Rubber Stamp Festival in Puyallup, Washington last month that I had no qualms about buying it.  The horses are done in Black super fine embossing powder (HOTP) on light green La Creme Paper (DCWV), edged with Aquamarine (cats eyes) and mounted with pop squares on Hay paper.  Base paper is Giddy Up Prints (Boxer Scrapbook).  Black and white twine complete the card.

This Flying Dragon was done over a month ago and just have simply forgotten to post him.  He is done in Fall Forest embossing powder (creations unlimited).  This is a type of glitter embossing powder.  Embossed on white card stock edged with Salty Ocean distressed ink (tim holtz).  Base paper Black (momento cardstock).  One-half white paper doily brushed with Lipstick Red ink (cats eyes).  Black tinsel twine (tim holtz) and 3 pearls (kaisercraft) complete this card.

In playing with my embossing powders, I have discovered that not all embossing powders work well with these detailed rubber stamps.  The less fine the powder, the less detail the design.  So for bold design rubber stamps, use your basic embossing powders, but for detailed design rubber stamps like these, use Super Fine Embossing Powder for an outstanding design!

I have been listing my cards on I Did It Creations for the past year and have not had a single sale.  I am abandoning this option.  I have a craft show on September 6 - 7 in SEATAC, Washington, if you are in the area and want to come out and purchase some greeting cards.  I am not sure what other shows I will be able to get into before the holidays.  Let me know if you want to be on my email list for future shows.  We do 3 to 4 holiday craft shows each year.  My husband's etched glassware will be available at all these shows; his handmade chocolates will only be at the holiday shows as we do not know how to keep the chocolates from melting during the summer shows.

In the meantime, I will work on setting up my own website to sell our crafts.  I have tried Etsy and sold zilch -- there are just too many crafters on it.  I have had minimal success on e-Bay.  If you know of a site my cards should do well on, do not hesitate to contact me.

In the meantime, I have more cards to take photos of to post hopefully later this week.  Hope you are all enjoying your summer!

This weekend, I created a greeting card for My Favorite Things' Weekly Card Sketch #180 Challenge:

This was a fun little project as I used techniques I have not used in the past.  Since Jan is visiting this week, I also had access to some of her die-cuts in order to do this card (check out her blog for her entry into this challenge).

The base paper on this 5 X 6½" card is from Life's Journey paper pack (K&Company).  Metallic light blue paper is Stars embossed and cut using Banner die-cut (My Favorite Things MFT).  Glitter blue cardstock from Glitter pack (DCWV) is Stitched embossed and die-cut (MFT).  The Wheel is double layered with small pop squares.  I die-cut two pieces, one on brown and the other on tan paper.  I then rubber-stamped in black the tan paper wheel to give it a more rustic look and added it on top of the brown wheel.  The Anchor is on pop dots, cut from metallic gold card stock.  Both of these items are from Let's Get Nautical rubber stamp and die cut set (MFT).  I'm loving this set and will have to put on my wish list. The sentiment is from the same set and on a Flags die-cut (Spellbinders).  Two buttons complete the card.

Our schedule is pretty full while Jan is here, so not sure if I will get very many more cards made while she is here.  However, I will be taking advantage of her die-cuts and rubber stamps (and she is taking advantage of mine).  We are also taking a Copics coloring class, so hopefully, we will see an improvement on my coloring.

Oh!  Almost forgot....If you were unaware, you can emboss using the light-weight plastic templates (that many people use for painting on walls, sewing and, as in my husband's case, glass etching).  Jan showed me how to emboss using my Cuttlebug.  So cool!  I'll post a card when I'm done.

Have a great summer!

I have a cousin who has twin boys with an older brother, 2nd cousins, I have never met.  I was recently informed of the boys' birthdays which are coming up, so I sat down in my craft room to make some birthday cards this past weekend.  I also missed my Aunt and Uncle's 50th Wedding Anniversary, so I made a card for them as well.  Then I spent the rest of the weekend playing with embossing powders. Here are the results of this past weekend's work:

Birthday card for one of the twin's 7th birthday.  The Cow rubber stamp is from the Dog & Pony Show set (technique tuesday), colored with Copic markers and edged in Aquamarine (cat's eyes).  The Moo sentiment from the same set is edged in Warm Violet (cat's eyes).  Base paper is Hay Bales; the Fleur de Lys Fretwork die cut (bergmann's noor! design) in silver glitter paper completes the card.

Card for second twin's birthday.  The Rooster and sentiment is from the same Dog & Pony Show set with the sentiment stamped in Circus ink (splendor) and edged in French Blue (cat's eyes) on pop dots.  Rooster is colored with Copic markers.  Base paper is Autumn Layered pad (me&mybigideas).  A Green Leaf ribbon completes the card for this 7th birthday card.

Both of these cards are 5-3/4" X 4½".

This 5" X 6½" Literary Owl birthday card for the older, 10-year-old brother was colored with Copic markers and edged in Blue Lagoon (cat's eyes). Using pop dots, he is placed on Dark Grey Glitter paper with Top Note die cut.  Base paper is Life's Journey (k&company). Three Splendor Fall Leaves (prima) and 2 Pearls (kaisercraft) complete the card.

For my Aunt and Uncle's 50th Wedding Anniversary, size 5" X 6½".  I understand my Aunt Mary makes greeting cards, so this gives her a chance to see one of my techniques.  The Irises are colored with Copic markers, and Yellow, Grape & Green glitter glue (stickles) to highlight.  The white paper doily (wilton) is spritzed with Pal Ale (memories mist).  Base paper is from The Mariposa Stack (dcwv).  The sentiment (starform) is edged in Sweet Melon (cats eyes) and pop dot mounted.  The Hearts adhesive tape (zeeman in the Netherlands) and orange Butterfly brad complete the card.

A 5" X 6½" birthday card for an old high school buddy who I've recently re-connected with after 34 years -- way too long!  We will definitely be keeping in touch now (the joys of Facebook!).  This Circular Dragon was done in Black Embossing Powder (hotp) on marbled blue paper and mounted with pop dots.  Base paper from The Far East stack #2 (dcwv) and edged in Merlot (cats eyes).  Shanghai Vintage Fan (dove of the east) and Green Pearls (cloverleaf - The Netherlands) complete the card.  Now I'd best get it out in the mail!

For one of our kids who graduated from college with her second Master's degree -- can you guess in which state?  Not a bad graduation card considering I have very little materials for such.  This 6¼ X 4-3/4" card was edged in Vintage Photo distressed ink (tim holtz).  Base paper Graduation (the paper company) with Kansas items (jet setter - reminisce line) sitting upon a Top Note die cut piece with Congratulations sentiment dazzle (hotp).  Three Rhinestones (from The Netherlands) complete the card.  Now, I need to pop this one in the mail as well because she has already graduated!

Now that I got all the "work" out of the way, I went back to playing with embossing powders:

Now I understand why Jan enjoys this technique so much.  I was having fun!  Circular Dragon done in Silver Embossing Powder (tim holtz). Base paper The Far East (dcwv), Burgandy ribbon (craftsmart) and Friendship chinese symbol dazzle (hotp).  Notice Chinese gold lantern (starform) in upper right corner by the ribbon.  Three burgandy Pearls (queen & co) complete the 6½" X 5" card.  This one is up for sale.

Another version of the Circular Dragon, done this time in Gold Powder embossing (tim holtz) on patterned green paper.  White paper doily (wilton) spritzed with Strawberry Daiquiri (memories mist).  It has been a while since I worked with my mists, so it was time to get back into it.  Base paper is from The Far East (dcwv). Gold ribbon (celebrate it) and three Pearls (clover leaf - The Netherlands) complete the card.  This one is for sale.

This Golden Circular Dragon (tim holtz embossing powders) on black cardstock graces this 5" X 6½" greeting card.  He rests on base paper from The Far East #2 (dcwv).  The Yellow Sheer ribbon (celebrate it), Chinese Symbol dazzle edged with Gold ink (cat's eyes) and Pearls (cloverleaf - The Netherlands) complete the card; it is for sale.

Another Silver Circular Dragon (tim holtz embossing powder) on green mottled paper sits atop a white Doily (wilton) spritzed with Blueberry Shake (memories mists). Base paper from The Far East #2 (dcwv).  The Mah Jong Tile (dove of the east) is tied on to the Grey ribbon. Three Pearls (cloverleaf -- The Netherlands) completes this card; it is for sale.

As you can see, I love working with Dove of the East products.  I usually reserve these items for special family and friends as they are a little on the expensive side -- and difficult to find in local stores.   If you love travel, take a look at their website and see if you don't agree!

That's all for this time.  I am in the process of continuing to re-arrange my craft and hobby rooms.  Right now, my work table is buried under a ton of crafting material and unfinished projects as I re-arrange furniture and rooms.  I hope to be able to get back to creating cards again within the next two weeks as I have some Thank You cards to create and get out.  I need to at least find my working materials so I can complete my 50th Birthday Party book (from two years ago!) while watching The Belmont Stakes this coming weekend.  Yes, besides making cards, I do travelogues and special events scrapbooks.

Oh, just to make you drool......

My husband has been making chocolates for many years.  He has been selling them at various events for the past four or more years.  This batch is for a new baby, all with Baby and Pooh designs.  The new mother dived right into the chocolates as soon as we took them over.  Please watch the drooling on your keyboard as you view the rest of the photos....

These are done in White and Dark Chocolate.  Yes, we do take orders.  Keep in mind we have a limited variety of designs.

Have a good week!

Morning!  I'm shooting for another Greeting Card Challenge, this time with 7 Kids College Fund:

My neighbor just had a baby, but a boy.  I had his card made back in March, so this will be used for a future baby card.  'Tis the season, right?

I colored this little girl with Copic markers and Yellow glitter pen for the candle light; she sits on dark gold glitter paper (Top Note die cut).  The Baby Girl Text base paper (DCWV) is brushed around the edges and along the bottom with Picked Raspberries distressed ink (Tim Holtz).  The Baby Pink Ribbon is from our Belgium friends.  A lavender Butterfly brad completes the card.

I made a lot of birthday, graduation and 50th wedding anniversary cards this weekend, and I will post those in a little while.

Strawberries are on, just love them fresh!  

Our Belgium friends completed their whirl-wind trip to the United States again, and they did not disappoint!  Love the chocolates and scrapbooking goodies they brought!  We can only hope that my husband and I did them justice with the goodies we've been acquiring for them the past several months.  They enjoy chocolates as much as we do, so had to make sure they received American chocolates that they can't get over there, which means they received some of my husband's handmade chocolates.  They are also Mariner fans.  One of the items they received was an old Mariner keychain that belonged to my husband's mother.  We are not baseball fans, so he decided to give it to them.  They will keep this special keepsake in a special place when they get back to Belgium (they actually arrived home a couple days ago).  They have a number of other interests, so there was a large bag and a box full of goodies to sort through and find places for in their luggage for the return trip home.

Now, on to photos of goodies they delivered:

Look at the pretty white lace.  So many styles to choose from for my greeting cards.

More ribbon!  Not shown are some holiday ribbon, including white felt Snowmen ribbon.

Ribbon and bows.  I won't have to make bows!  Notice the cute blue and pink Baby ribbon in lower right.

Washi tape.  I'm learning how to use this stuff.  There are some really great designs out there.  My favorite in this photo is the black and white 6-pack.

Who doesn't love flowers?  The three packages on the right are silk (fabric) flowers.  The rest are paper flowers you put together; each package comes with coordinating butterflies to assemble.

And then there's bling!

3-D stickers, rub-ons and all kinds of goodies....

So pretty shaped paper packs.

Hologram paper packs at the top, then 6 books and 3 smaller packs of 3-D creations.  I've done these before.  Here in the United States, our 3-D items are punch-outs.  These, I have to cut every...single...little...piece.  Very time consuming, but the end product is so cute!  The three items on the left are paper packs with foil and glitter papers.

It took me about two hours to find "homes" for all these goodies in my craft room!  (Good thing I've been working on cleaning it up lately.)

I did manage to get one card made today:

This 6½ X 5 inch Butterfly card took an hour to create. The Butterfly is embossed on yellow vellum (looks green as background paper is green -- did not look as nice on black paper).  This is a new technique Keith and I recently learned.  It is embossing, but not the dry embossing we are used to.  This Butterfly is created by using a stylus on vellum and "poking" the matching holes on a plastic/flexible template underneath the vellum.  It is quite a bit more time-consuming than my regular embossing, but the results are very nice!  Our Belgium friends gave us a couple of these types of kits last year at Christmas, but I had no idea how to use them. Now, I have no excuse!

The base Floral paper is from Life's Journey (K&Company).  The Butterfly is embossed on yellow vellum and attached to basic dark green card stock.  The Hasty Lace Butterfly template is from SAR (Some Assembly Required out of Canada). This company is new to us, so it was quite fun to learn this embossing technique.  The Lace is from Belgium.  The Eggshell and Lime paper Roses (My Moments), and Lemon Dahlia satin buds (docrafts Papermania out of UK) complete the card.

Til next time, you all have a wonderful three-day Holiday weekend (if you live in the US).  

Happy Mother's Day!

Many of us "artists" have other projects we work on besides what you see on our blogs.  I'd like to show you another of my hobbies -- cross stitch embroidery:

....And it is DONE!  After approximately 280 hours, 35 minutes, The Christmas Holiday Bells 58" X 104" oblong table cloth, 2 placemats and 6 napkins are finally completed!  Ensemble is worked in Stamped Cross Stitch.  Here is the setup on my dining room table (with one leaf insert).

Close-up of the tablecloth.... 

 Placemat and napkin

Center of the tablecloth

Napkins -- Notice the beads in the center of each flower.  Beads were also used in the center of flowers on the placemats and tablecloth.  A total of 156 dark grey beads were used on this entire project.

 Side of tablecloth -- with beads

I started this project September 14, 2011.  Between each section, I worked on smaller cross stitch projects and greeting cards -- a project this large, one does need a break....The project was completed May 3, 2014.  It looks great on my dining room table!

Of course, I always get help with my projects....

Our Belgium friends arrive Tuesday evening.  That next weekend, May 17 and 18, is the Rubber Stamp and Paper Arts Festival in Puyallup, Washington.  We have not attended in several years, so we are excited about attending this year.  Will you attend?

After all this, I can get back to making greeting cards again.

What cards have you made recently?