There's hope for spring!

Good Morning everyone!
These are for my friends that are either under snow or having more rain than they want or need right now!











These are my chocolate cymbidiums that are beginning to bloom in my backyard! For me Chocolate can fix just about anything, in any form! tehe...
But I just wanted you to know that Spring is coming! And when it finally gets here it will be beautiful!
Cymbidiums typically bloom in the winter, but they remind me of Easter and Spring.

We have rain coming in tonight and on and off for the rest of the week and weekend...S0000 it looks like it will be another good weekend for stamping!

I did find a lizard catching a few rays of sun on our roof this morning, took a picture but he is kind of hard to see...if you enlarge it you can see him...trying to soak it in before the sun disappears again!(He is right on the corner on that end tile)
Take care, stay warm and keep stamping!
As my friend Cat says "It will keep you healthy!"
;)

Hugs,

Mary

Unity Dream Tree

Hello again!
Here is another card I did with the velvet embossing technique.
It uses the image from Unity Stamps called "Dream Tree". I love the flourishes of the branches in this image. The velvet this time actually was wide velvet ribbon...not sure what the color was called, but it is beautiful in real life.
I needed to do a special Sympathy card so decided to use this image.
the sentiment in the inside is from Heart and Soul Rubber stamps.




Thank you for stopping by,

Have a beautiful Sunday,

Mary

Velvet Embossing and {ippity}

Happy Friday everyone!

Wow this week went fast, of course it was a short week for many so that helped.

I have a card to share with you today that was inspired by a challenge posted by Heather Rolin of Unity Stamps, she is one of their artists and a Guest Designer this month.

The challenge was to use one of the following, Fabric,canvas or leather instead of Design Paper. Well here is my take on it ( you can click on picture to enlarge)

I didn't get it done for the challenge ( the dogs escaped, got them back, fixed the invisible fence..you know all those typical things that you do..tehe)but I was inspired by it. I really love the look of embossed velvet,so I thought I would try it for the fabric part. I had a scrap piece of the gorgeous purple velvet,( which I got from hotpotatoes.com) I used the heart image from the Devoted stamp kit from {ippity}, and embossed it into the velvet....now these stamps are not made to do heat embossing, and I probably wouldn't do this all the time, but the stamp seemed fine afterwards.( for info on embossing velvet please see this site http://hotpotatoes.com/) I cut it out using my rectangle nestibilities and adhered it to mounting adhesive,then card stock to give it a little stability. The long rectangle is cut with nestibilities again and the CS is gold metallic from Gina K. Black CS is embossed with clear embossing powder and I used Distressed Hearts background stamp from Unity.

The sentiment is also from the Devoted set ( love all the verses in that set!),I used versamark ink and black embossing powder on pure luxury from Gina K, then cut with the Nesties again( can you tell I love those things!;) ) and used milled lavender distress ink around the edges, Card base is Amethyst metallic from the Paper Temptress....it is beautiful card stock!A few rhinestones and dew drops,then butterflies that were punched and rhinestones used on bodies, the leaves are a punch as well. On the inside I did place a piece of plain white card stock with one butterfly and leaves. Left it blank on the inside for now.

A lot of info I know, but I want to give credit to the people who are responsible for either inspiration or products.

Well I have 2 other images that I embossed and I am going to try to get another card done today...so maybe another post later,or this weekend.

Thank you for stopping by, it really means a lot!

Have a Blessed weekend,

Mary

Hello!

My goodness! I can't believe it has been a week since I posted last!
Well first I have a card to share with you and then some Exciting News!

First the card, my daughters friend at work lost her Aunt this week, and so she asked me to do a sympathy card for her. These are always so hard for me to do, I would like to share it with to see what you think: ( you can click on the picture to enlarge it)
The sentiment is from the year of leaves from Gina K Designs ( illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger) http://http//www.shop.ginakdesigns.com/main.sc


The sentiment inside is from a Christian stamp site called Heart and Soul Rubber Stamp Co.(http://http//heartandsoulrubberstampco.com/) She (Sue) has one of the largest selection of Christian sentiments and verses I have ever seen.

Of course she does have other images besides Christian sentiments, and you can order the stamps unmounted if you like, which makes them even more affordable! She offers the unmounted stamps for 1.50$ each! Great deal!

The cardstock I used is Chocolate Kiss from GinaK. The DP on the front of the card is S.E.I chocolat- cherie from i{heart}papershttp://http//www.iheartpapers.com/ I cut it out and then put it thru a sticker maker to apply the adhesive.I punched some more butterflies and used rhinestones on their bodies, to give them a little extra sparkle. The little butterfly on the front is cut out and layered 3 times for added dimension.I used memento tuxedo black ink which, I did emboss with black embossing powder. The sentiment is cut out using my nestibilities and matted on the Choc. Kiss card stock. I used a cuttlebug strip embossing folder to emboss the edge of the card.
I hope that she will like it. It is always so difficult to know what to say, but my daughter just wants her to know that she is there for her and praying for her.

Okay, now my second bit of news is that Unity Stamp Co. has just released their 2nd edition of {ippity} stamps! And the stamps are adorable! I am going to try to get the pictures uploaded tonight or tomorrow,but in the mean time you can check out the sets here: http://unityopportunity.blogspot.com/ Once you see them I know you are going to want them! ;) To order any of the sets just send me an e-mail and I will send you an e-mail with the total including the shipping. I will then send you a invoice thru pay pal. You do not have to have a pay pal account to pay thru them. They will take a credit card and process the payment.

The sets are being shipped out now, so as soon as I get them I will start posting projects with them so that you can see how cute they really are!

I also have some of the fall release that are available for imediate shipment.

Be back soon with some {ipptiy} projects! Until then,

Have a Blessed evening,
Mary

Straight From the Heart

Hello there everyone! Hope you are having a good week and those of you getting all this snow are staying safe and warm!
It is raining here today, so it is a great day to stamp!We need the rain, so no one is complaining. The fireplace is going have my coffee and my stamps, what else do you need...right!?
Well the only ones who aren't very happy are the doggies, but they are all snoozing right now, so it isn't too bad for them! ;)

I have a card to share with you using "Straight From the Heart" from Unitys {ippity} stamp
line!

I used Gina K's pure luxury white card stock and stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo black ink, then embossed with clear embossing powder. The tree trunk and grass is done with copics, and the birds and "Heart" tree is done using the spica copic pens. and the white heart in the tree is done with Diamonds stickles! I decided it was valentines and what better time to use diamonds! right? I like the extra glitter the spica pens give to the tree and the darling litte Bluebirds. I sponged the background while the circle cutting die from nestabilities was still in place using memento sky blue ink.

The ribbon is this darling may arts ribbon from i{heart}papers. I just love those little satin hearts that line the organza ribbon, and I thought it was so cute with this image!
The pink paper is prism, cut with nestabilites. DP is a Memory Box paper that I think was one of last years releases. This was in a stack of RAK's from my friend Cathy (Cat) from Cat's Craft Cupboard. Thank you Cat!

The next is the inside of the card. Sometimes I just feel like I need to do something to the inside besides just the sentiment. So since the DP is double sided I just used the other side with larger hearts and put a strip across the bottom and then blinged up the edge with some glitter from Art insitute, added the little bluebirds to the inside along with the 2nd sentiment that is in the kit!

Well I hope that you like it! Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

If you are intrested in this darling kit, which has many uses besides Valentines day.....(wedding anniversaries, love notes ;), and the image would be cute for a little pick me up for a friend "just a little note", just some ideas!) just send me an e-mail and I will send you an invoice using paypal.
Here is what the kit looks like, comes in "green " packaging, and stamps are made in the USA
17.99$ plus shipping.

I am going to try to get another card done today using another kit, and the pictures of the other kits up today on the blog so that you can see all the {ippity} goodness!
Thanks for stopping by today and taking the time to look at my work! Have a wonderful day!,



Mary

A little different twist

( This is the 2nd post for today! Velvet Embossing on 1st post. Just scroll down, you may have to click on older posts.)


I came across some other photos of some cards that I did and wanted to share for some feedback.
The first one is using the same Lily Pad stamp from Unity that I shared on friday, but I used different background paper and did some tearing of the matting. It is another masculine birthday card. The nice thing about this design,( once I decided on it ;) ) is that you could do up a few at one time and they do not take a huge amount of time as there isn't an image to color . Just use the embossing powder over your stamped image and it adds a nice dimension and texture. I also used the cuttlebug embossing folder for the background on some core'dinations Chocolate box card stock.

The next one is a Anya stamp from the Greeting Farm. I used copics to color her in.
She is on Gina K Pure luxury white card stock, and the DP is from Daisy D's,used my oval nestibilities and some halfback pearls, and self adhesive rhinestones for a little sparkle!

Then the last one today is a Thank you card using a Hero Arts Collage stamp. With this one I stamped the flower several time and then layered the flower and used pop dots to give it dimension. Used some bright and cheery silk ribbon from the No Time to stamp "Stamp simply ribbon store",(an on-line store) and I think against the black card stock from Gina K designs that it is just the right pop of color, along with the yellow background. :) The collage stamp is stamped on a shimmer cardstock from the Paper Temptress. I love this shimmer card stock, it adds such elegance to a card and the other nice thing about it is when you use your copic markers to color with, the shimmer still comes thru! actually to color this flower in I used the atyou spica pens from copic.

Thanks for sticking with me thru such a long post! It is just that since I am just getting started I would love to get some feedback on some of the work that I have already done. And I do appreciate you taking the time to look!

If you are looking for {ippity} stamps just send me an e-mail and let me know what you are looking for, I will send you an e-mail with the totals, and then invoice you thru paypal.
I will get the pictures up and the pricing on my blog soon, but until then just send me an e-mail.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Mary

Velvet Embossing

Hi Everyone!


Hope you all had a great weekend. We were trying to keep the puppies quiet since they had their little surgeries last week.....of course trying being the operative word! They both are feeling very spunky so it is a challenge!


Anyway, I have some long distant friends who were interested in velvet embossing. And I told them that I had done a Velvet embossed flower basket, it was suppose was to be for my daughters' wedding. She however didn't get married ( A blessing), and I put the basket into storage to be brought out some day when she marries someone that deserves her! ( Boy does that sound like a Mom or what! :) )

I told my friends that I would post a picture, so decided I would post it here in case anyone else was interested in seeing the basket as well.;)
The bows are a little flat after being in storage and all wrapped up, but we will fix that up when the time comes!









I learned how to do this from Mary O'Niel,who owns a stamp company called Hot Potatoes. She had been on the Carol Duvall show years ago doing the embossing and it looked so pretty! She carries a line of stamps that holds up to the heat of the iron, and she also sells the velvet in beautiful colors. The stamps of course are for all types of stamping and other projects, but her stamps also hold up to the heat as I mentioned before. Her site is http://hotpotatoes.com/.

Since I have more time now I may end up tweaking this one a little, although my daughter says she loves it as is. we'll see.



Okay back to straighting up my crafting space. That was the other thing I was working on the weekend....I don't know if I will ever finish it!



Have a great evening.



Mary