Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Stampin Royalty Challenge #65

This week we have a recipe challenge over at Stampin' Royalty .  Please hop on over to se see what the fabulous Design Team has created.   Anyway,  this card was created by stamping the image on Whisper White cardstock in Versa Mark and clear emossed with embossing powder and a heat gun.  Then I used sponge daubers to add colour to the stamped images.  Next I trimmed it down and matted it on a frame made with the Tulip Embossing folder.  Finally I added the pompom trim and sentiment and popped them up on stampin dimensionals.
The Fun Stuff:
1.  Stamps - Nature Walk, Fifth Avenue Floral, Easter Blossoms
2.  Ink - Daffodil Delight, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, Real Red
3.  Paper - Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Tangerine Tango
4.  Accessories - Scallop Oval and Large Oval punches, Framed Tulips Embossing Folder, Pompom Trim

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Colour Q Challenge #78

This week we have a soft and subtle colour combo at Colour Q.  This page started out as a copy of this page I copied below.  The original was a display at the most recent Regionals in Vancouver.  I love, love, LOVE Botanic Garden DSP and at regionals we received a set of Nature Walk stamps.  I pulled out my laptop and went straight to work with MDS.  (My Digital Studio)  I haven't recreated this page exactly as some of the papers are not available in MDS, and I tried to add a touch of pink with the flowers. The celery paper at the bottom is stamped with images from Nature and French Foilage in Old Olive
THE FUN STUFF:  (all on My Digital Studio)
1.  Paper - Notables Desktop Calendar Kit, Botanic Garden, Early Espresso, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Very Vanilla
2.  Stamp Brushes - Nature Walk, French Foilage, Bliss, Torn Edges
3.  Accessories - Paper Daisies, Seam Binding Ribbon, Sending Love Epoxy Brads


Monday, March 28, 2011

Swaps from Monica

Aren't these adorable.  They were created by the talented Monica Chan.  Check out her blog http://www.papercottage.blogspot.com/  She used the adorable Create a Cupcake set and matching punch to make these adorable cards.  The colours are Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, and Early Espresso

Saturday, March 26, 2011

As a kid...

So we've been down in California this past week.  I've now got TONS of photos to scrap.  It's going to be soooooooooooo easy with My Digital Studio.  As I have MDS on my laptop here with me, its so easy to start scrappin' right now.  And with such an adorable photo of my son, I just couldn't resist.  Brad and Connor found these airplanes in the dollar bin and once Connor figured it out, he's been super excited to play with them.  I just love the look of pure joy on his face.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Moving???

This page was whipped up using My Digital Studio and the newest 2011 Notable Desktop Calendar kit.  I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the paper in this kit.    I added a few embellishments and let the photos take centre stage.
So February was a CRAZY month for us in the Farrell household.  I have been wanting a bigger house for over a year now.  Brad was a little resistant because he's not big on moving, and he's put a lot of work into our home.  In fact, of the 3 places we have lived together, Brad and I renovated and 'flipped' the last two, so he was reluctant to do that yet another time.  I, on the other hand, am a bit of a wanderer.  I think I have moved 19 times in my life.  Only one move with my parents, when I was 4 years old, into the house they still live now.  And the rest of the moves were in my 20's.  Basically I moved every 6 months or so.  So I understand Brad's fear of my wanderlust.  Moving is a scary thing in Vancouver.  We have the highest real estate prices in the country. 
Anyway, I FINALLY convinced Brad to move.  We found a house that we LOVE, and it's in the school catchment area that we want, and it's only 5 blocks away from where we are now, so we don't have to leave our neighbourhood.  It's also on a short, flat, cul-de-sac, with a park and playground at the end.  The house is much bigger than our current one, and is better for so many reasons that I can't list them all here.  But the real kicker, the one that pushed Brad over the edge, is that the house does NOT need any work.  Nope, no paint, or anything.  Every other move we've done has been into a real dump that needed a lot of work.  It was always about what this new house could be.  This house we have just bought is all about what it is now.  The only room that needs work is my new craft room.  And I'm so excited to mold it into my dream room that I can't explain it all here.
So back to the page above...
We bought the new house without having sold our current house.  We then needed to clean up our house, tear down a shed from the backyard, and list and sell our house - FAST.  Part of the process was to get our house ready for an Open House and to have professional photos taken to post on the web on our realtor's website.  So we rented one of those portable containers and they put it on our driveway and we filled it with all the crap that we have, but dont' need.  We posted the shed on Craigslist for free and some guys came and tore it down in 3 days.  Then our realtor had the photographer in and - voila - we got the photos above. 
Our house has never looked so good.  It's nothing special from the outside, but those hardwood floors, and that new kitchen that Brad put in, really helped.  In fact, we listed the house, had a few opens, and sold it in 8 days - for more than we asked for it. - WHEW!
So now we wait until the end of April to move into our new house.  One of these days I'm going to put together a series of pages to show all the homes we have had and all the work that Brad, my Dad, and Brad's brother have done (oh yeah, and I cut a mean tile on the wet saw too) and show everone what we have accomplished.  If you have made it to the end of this, thanks for listening.  Hope you enjoyed my page.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Stampin Royalty Challenge #64



This week at Stampin Royalty we have a sketch challenge for you.   I decided that I wanted to use coordinting paper for this card, so I pulled out my Stampin' Up DSP and narrowed it down to the Elegant Soiree DSP.  Then it was just a matter of deciding which sides to feature.  After I figured that out, I mounted it on a few layers of cardstock, and then sponged the edges to add more definition to the smaller pieces.  I stamped the sentiment and then roughed up the edges a bit to age it a bit.  I tilted it a bit to add interest.  The ribbons are actually both the Crumb Cake Seam Binding ribbon.  I just pulled a thread from the middle of one and gathered it up to add more texture.  The other one I added some sticky tape to the back and folded it a few times so that it was nice and narrow.  I finished it off with a few Antique Brads.
The Fun Stuff:
1.  Paper - Elegant Soiree, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla
2.  Stamps - Well Scripted
3.  Ink - Soft Suede, Night of Navy
4  Accesories - Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon, Antique Brads

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Colour Q Challenge #77


 This week at Colour Q we have a fabulous combo.  I was so excited about this combo that I just couldn't wait to get started.  I had this beautiful photo of my daughter that I took a few weeks back.  I just love how incredibly joyful she looks in the photo.  The colours in the photo did not match the challenge colours, so I edited the photo to black and white - it's unbelieveably simply to do so in My Digital Studio.  Here's how I put the page together.
The background paper is Concord Crush.  Next I took a square punch and filled it with Bashful blue.  I enlarged the punch to almost the size of the page and centred it to create the purple border around the page.  Next I layered several of the Vintage Overlays stamps over the punch.  Most of them were coloured in Bermuda Bay and adjusted the opacity to make the paper appear vintage.  The final puple tulip border is an image from the Vintage Overlays stamp brush set, which I coloured in Concord Crush.  I also added the script image from the French Foilage set in Whisper White.
The flower images are from the Friends 24-7 stamp brush set.  I used a new technique that I just learned on My Digital Studio.net to colour them in.  If you use MDS then you NEED to sign up for mydigitalstudio.net It's open to demonstrators AND customers.  And it's a great resource to learn new tips and tricks.
Anyway, the flowers were coloured in Concord Crush and Kiwi Kiss.  The titles are images from the Greatest Moments stamp brush sets and then I used a text box to type in Teagans name and the date.
The embellishments are ribbons in Bashful Blue and Bermuda Bay and then I topped it all off with an Antique Brad.   Click here to find out how I coloured in the flowers. 

Monday, March 21, 2011

Vancouver Swaps!

This great little swap was one I received at Vancouver Regionals last month.  Unfortunately there is no stamp on the back of it, so I am unable to credit the person who made this.  The truly unique thing about this card is the little medallion.  Below is a closeup.  This was made with 2 circles punched from the Love Letter DSP.  The top layer was scrunched up and distressed to create some texture.  A brad was punched into the middle to secure it to the card.  The background was stamped first and then sent through the Big Shot in the Square Lattice Textured Impressions Folder.  I really like this little swap. 
The Fun Stuff:
1.  Paper - Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Cherry Cobbler, Love Letter DSP
2.  Ink - Chocolate Chip, Cherry Cobbler
3.  Stamps - Bliss
Accerssories - Chocolate Chip brads, Crochet Lace, Square Lattice Textured Impressions Folder

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Vancouver Swaps!


Here's another fabulous Vancouver Swap made by one of our own Stampin' Royalty goddesses, Jennifer Picard.  Below I have quoted her description from her blog about this swap.  For more details check out her blog at http://www.anewinkonlife.com/

"This card is definitely Clean and Simple and so very different from my other swap card; told you I have a hard time creating many of the same thing:

This is a super fun colour combination of Elegant Eggplant, Peach Parfait, Certainly Celery and Whisper White. For the layout of this card there was a lot of "white space" so to add a little interest I randomly stamped the flower from Itty Bitty Bits (which you can get for FREE with a qualifying Sale a Bration order :) in Peach Parfait Ink. The Elegant Eggplant strip was embossed with Perfect Polka Dots Impressions Folder and I attached a scalloped strip (created using the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch) of Certainly Celery under it.

The flower was made with the Fancy Flower Punch and I then stamped the coordinating For You Flower (which you could also get for FREE :) on Whisper White with Elegant Eggplant Ink. Rather than punching out the full flower I just punched out the center with the 1 3/8" Circle Punch. To finish it off I stamped the word "thanks" from Fabulous Pharses and attached a cute matching Flower Bitty Button."

Thursday, March 17, 2011

For Japan With Love - a blogger's day of silence


Last night I sat at my computer with tears in my eyes.

As a mother, I worry about the future for my children...

Tomorrow I will be observing a day of blogging silence.  I you are as touched by the news of the devestation in Japan as I am, then please participate and pass on the word.  Donate and help.  You can donate at http://www.forjapanwithlove.com/ or you can donate to your local Red Cross.  Please help.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Paddy's Day everyone.  For me, St. Patrick's Day is often not celebrated.  But when I got married and took the Irish name FARRELL, I knew it was now part of my family heritage.  I don't usually give St. Patrick's Day cards, but I did give my hubby the one I made last week for Stampin' Royalty.  Purple and Green were our wedding colours after all.  But this week I decided to post a swap that I got at Vancouver Regionals.  This card was created by Carolyn Blackbourn.
The Recipe:
1.  Stamps - Lucky Shamrock, So Happy For You - saleabration
2.  Paper - Basic Blakc, Garden Green, Very Vanilla, Fist Edition DSP
3.  Ink - Garden Green
4.  Accessories - Basic Black Satin ribbon, Scallop Circle 2 3/8 inch punch, 1 3/4 inch circle punch, Basic Rhinestone, Stampin' Dimensionals

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Stampin' Royalty Challenge #63

This week at Stampin' Royalty we have a recipe challenge for you.  Click here to check out what the Design Team has come up with.  This week the challenge is to TEXTURIZE.  What this means is 'bring on the dry embossing'.    I used the 'Vintage Wallpaper' Textured Impressions Folder.  This card was cased from the Stampin' Up Demonstrator Website.  I saw a fabulous card made with some Sneak peek materials from the upcoming Summer Mini.  Anyway, I took this layout and decided to make my own.  I pulled out some retired paper and pulled the colours from it.  The flower was made with the Boho Blossoms punch.  I really roughed up the edges of the flowers and layered them over each other and came up with this cute flower.  I'm going to have to try this technique again. 
The Fun Stuff:
1.  paper - Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, So Saffron, Rose Red
2.  Ink - Early Espresso
3.  Stamps - Teeny Tags
4.  Punches - Scallop Trim Border, Boho Blossoms, Wide Label, Tiny Tag
5.  Accessories - Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Folder, Sending Love Epoxy Brads

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Colour Q Challenge #76

Well I really was stumped when I saw this week's colour Q combo.  And I know that most of us on the DT at Colour Q found this a bit of a challenge.  Check out the other samples by the design team.    I dug around in My Digital Studio until I found the template for this layout.  Then I changed the colours a bit and added a few other embellishments, like the flowers and the shading, to add more depth.  This photo is of my Mom and my Sister-in-Law and my nephew when he was a week old.  My son is also born in 2006 so it's nice to have 2 boys who not only live close together, but are the same age and will be lifelong friends.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Snow Fun Stamping

Last month at Vancouver Regionals, we all received this fantastic little button.  It uses the little snowboarder image.  I am very sad to say that I have NOT been up the mountain on my snowboard this year.  I have been up to go tobogganing, and snowshoeing, but not on my beloved board.  And now it's been packed up in the storage locker until we move into our new home.  Once we move I'll post up some pictures of the new place.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Vancouver Swaps!

Here's another fabulous swap from the Vancouver reginoals last month.  This one uses the soon to be retired 'Bliss' set from Saleabration.  This beauty was created byh Laurel Taylor.  I don't have a website to refer you to unfortunately.  I know she used Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, and Whisper White.  She also used the Square Lattice Textured Impressions folder and the Wide Oval and Wide Label punches.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Swap from Sylvia

Life's a bit crazy these days, so I'm going to post a few of the fabulous swaps I received when I went to the Vancouver Reginals last month.  This little beauty was created by Sylvia Pham.  Check out her website at http://www.misslilstamper.wordpress.com/ .  I love how she used clear embossing to draw out the flourish image from the Bliss Stamp Set.  (Hurry as it's a saleabration set that is only available until the end of the month.)   Then she sponged crumb cake over the image.  She layered it over basic black and crumb cake to create this vintage style card. 

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Gift Card Holder for Baby Gift

So here's a great little gift card holder that I whipped up for a friend of mine.  This little box was off the clearance rack at SU.  I used the Nursery Suite Quick Accents to make this card.  All off these embellishments are stickers except for the ribbon and the top note cut out. 
Inside the box I left a bit of red sticky tape on the lid where the gift card can be attached.  The fold out card lies in the bottom. This card is for a group shower gift, so there's lots of room for people to write a message.   We don't know if she's having a boy or a girl, so I tried to use a lot of the green and yellow bits.  This whole card took me about 20 minutes to make.  Gotta love those Quick Accent Stickers! 

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Stampin Royalty Challenge #62

This week we have a fun, St. Patrick's Day Challenge for you at Stampin' Royalty.  Hop on over to check out the fabulous samples made by the Design Team!!    I got the idea for my card from a fabulous swap I received at Regionals.  I need to look back through my messy desk to find the person who made it so I can give credit.  Check back later for more info...
Anyway, what really drew my eye to this card was the image in the middle made by stamping with a clear block by itself.    I stamped it in crumb cake to give a really soft effect. 
The Recipe:
1.  Stamps - Elements of Style, Lucky Shamrock
2.  Ink - Kiwi Kiss, Crumb Cake
3.  Cardstock - Kiwi Kiss, Concord Crush, Whisper White
4.  Accessories - Large Scallop Cirlce and Large Circle punches, Old Olive Satin Ribbon, Stampin Dimensionals, Sticky Tape.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Springtime Stitching

This card was made for a few challenges this week.  The Paper Players are having a springtime challenge this week, and 4 Crafty Chicks are looking for Stitching on a project.  I started out really liking this card, but now I'm wondering if the stitching is a bit overpowering.  Oh well...
The Recipe:
1.  Paper - Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Early Espresso, Rose Red
2.  Ink - Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake, Rose Red, Regal Rose
3.  Stamps - Easter Blossoms
4.  Accessories - Flower Brads, Crochet Trim, Early Espresso Satin Ribbon, Scallop Border Punch, Signo White Gell Pen, Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Folder, Stampin' Write Markers.

Monday, March 7, 2011

3x3 from Regionals

This is another quick and easy 3x3 inch make and take from Vancouver Regionals last weekend.  This card was very easy to make.  The flower was coloured by colouring the rose with a stampin' write marker and then blending it through by using an aquapainter.  It takes a while to dry, but it works really well.  The flowers and leaves were coloured with Stampin' Write markers and then stamped twice.  It's a bit hard to tell from the photo, but the little flowers are Cherry Cobbler and the leaves are Old Olive.  I really like how the envelope is stamped to match.
The Recipe:
1.  Paper - Naturals Vanilla cardstock, Early Espresso cardstock
2.  Ink - Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Early Espresso
3.  Stamps - Nature Walk, Thank You Kindly
4.  Accessories - Stampin' Write Markers, Aquapainter, 3x3" envelope.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Regional Gifts

So as I'm sure you're now tired of hearing about last week's regionals here in Vancouver.  Well, this little box was made by my upline's upline Kari.   She gave all of us in her downline, a little gift full of treats to snack on during the seminars at Regionals.  Let me tell you, that once the mid-afternoon munchies hit, I pretty much emptied the chocolate out of this box.  Kari used the matchbox die for the Big Shot to make this box.  The paper is Cherry Cobbler cardstock and Botanic Garden DSP with the Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon and the tags punched out of Very Vanilla and Cherry Cobbler cardstock.

Friday, March 4, 2011

More Make n Takes from Regionals

This set of cards was one of the make 'n takes from regionals.  They are a set of 3x3 inch cards that come in a handy little folder.  We used the nature walk stamp set and the Thank You Kindly set along with Botanic Garden DSP and some seam binding ribbon.  These cards are going to make a fabulous hostess gift.  Scroll down and you will be able to see closeup some of the details in the cards.


Thursday, March 3, 2011

Make n Take from Vancouver Regionals

Isn't this card cute??  It was super quick and easy.  In fact, it was a make'n take from Regionals last weekend.  This card used the Nature Walk set that was part of the Regional Registration.  The birdcage was stamped and then crimped part way through to add more interest.  The scallop is from the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch.  It was cut in half to made a border.  And the envelope is stamped to match.  This unusual shape card is shaped to fit in the whisper white Small Open-End Envelopes.
The Recipe:
1.  Paper - Early Espresso, Naturals Ivory, Old Olive cardstock
2.  Ink - Early Espresso, Old Olive
3.  Accessories - Old Olive 3/ Taffeta Ribon, Stampin' Dimensionals, SNAIL, Bone Folder, Crimper, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Punch, Paper Snips, Stamp-a-ma-jig.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Stampin Royalty Challenge #61

 Welcome to Wednesday and another challenge from Stampin Royalty.  This week is a colour challenge.  I decided to pull out my newest stamp 'On The Green' which is a free sale-a-bration stamp.  My family is full of golfers so I knew this stamp would be well used.  This card is really a departure for me, as I don't usually make masculine cards.  But when I saw this week's colours I knew that a masculine card was in the works.  The DSP is from a retired hostess set from a few years back, but I ran out of Sahara Sand cardstock, so I pulled it out.
The Fun Stuff:
1.  Paper - Wild Wasabi, Garden Green, Whisper White cardstock, Sahara Sand DSP
2.  Ink - Garden Green
3.  Stamps - On The Green
4.  Accessories - basic black brads, stampin' dimensionals

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Colour Q Challenge #74

....... It's Tuesday, so it's time for another Colour Q Challenge.  This week there's another fabulous combo.  Wow did I find this a CHALLENGE.  It was the Tangerine Tango that was throwing me for a look, so I finally only used a minimal amount to matte the title.  If you look carefully you can see it.  This photo is of me at 4 years old.  My son is 4 years old right now, so I often think of this little girl as I try to see the world through my sons eyes.  The border image is a shadow and mask technique which gives it a bit of depth, and the flowers are coloured using a technique I found on MyDigital Studio.net    If you don't know what that is, check out the pink link on my sidebar.  Mydigitalstudio.net is for demonstrators AND customers of Stmapin' Up! who use My Digital Studio for their digital crafting.