Simply Cindy Crafts

January 2012 Simply Paper Design Challenge

2012-01-08T14:34:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! I don't know about you, but we are ready for another year of challenges. I know I need to get busy crafting and creating as it has been too long and I miss it!

Michelle created this month's lovely color and sketch combo. I hope you'll join us in this challenge. Debbie will be taking a couple months off, but should be back in March :)

Have a wonderful day!

A Belated Thank You to Regina!

2012-01-07T15:03:00.000-05:00

I was totally surprised to receive yet another awesome package from my friend Regina. She sent me these Christmas gifts and I was floored! Look at all of these goodies she sent. And, to make them even better, she made toppers for all of the goodies inside of the altered suitcase and made a matching card and notepad. The notepad is super cool - she used magnets to keep it closed, but you can't see them. The card had a beautiful poem inside, in German and English! Also, check out the adorable Santa clip on the suitcase. I just love all of these gifts. Thank you, Regina. I'm so glad to have met you and hope we can meet in person one day! Craft hugs to you!

Ich war total überrascht, dass wir noch ein tolles Paket von meinem Freund Regina. Sie sandte mir diese Weihnachten Geschenke und mir die Sprache verschlagen! Sehen Sie sich bei all diesen leckereien ließ. Und, damit sie noch besser, machte sie toppers für alle goodies in der veränderten koffer und machte einen passenden Karte und notizzettel. Der notizblock ist super cool - sie verwendeten magnete geschlossen zu halten, aber da kann man sie sehen. Die Karte hatte ein wunderschönes Gedicht im Inneren, in Deutsch und Englisch! Sehen sie sich Auch die adorable Santa clip auf dem Koffer. Ich liebe alle diese Gaben. Vielen Dank, Regina. Ich bin so froh sie kennen gelernt zu haben und hoffe, wir können treffen sich in person eines Tages! Handwerk hugs to you!

Please visit Regina's totally crafty blog here. Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Awesome Design Challenge Card by Regina Alber!

2011-12-28T14:06:00.000-05:00

Regina played along with our design challenge again. Look at her adorable reindeer card. I love this image. Isn't this a cute card? I love that she covered the white space with speckles of red ink. I also love that she off-set the green frame behind the reindeer image. I'll have to do that more as I really like the way that looks! The Ho Ho Ho ribbon is just so cute too.

Regina spielte zusammen mit unserem design Herausforderung erneut stellen. Sehen Sie ihr adorable wild card. Ich liebe dieses Bild. Ist das nicht eine süße Karte? Ich liebe, die sie deckte die weißer Raum mit sprenkelung der roten Tinte. Ich liebe es auch, dass sie die grünen Rahmen hinter den rentieren Bild. Ich werde zu tun haben, dass mehr als die Art und Weise, wie ich wirklich aussehen! Der Ho Ho Ho ribbon ist einfach so süß.

Thanks for creating with us, Regina! We love your work and hope you'll continue to create some more with us each month. Please join us!

Vielen Dank für die Schaffung von mit uns, Regina! Wir lieben ihre Arbeit und hoffen, dass sie weiter schaffen etwas mehr mit uns jeden Monat. Bitte beteiligen Sie sich an uns!

Please visit Regina's awesome blog and creations here!

December Design Challenge Cards - Merry Christmas Everyone!

2011-12-25T09:25:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are - Christmas day! Merry Christmas to everyone. I hope Santa has been good to you all :) I'll find out in a bit ;)

Here was the design challenge sketch and colors:

This first card is mine. I think when I was making the sketch, I was thinking of a Christmas ornament. How can you not, right? Well, I was trying to use stamps/sets I haven't used before. I don't care for the Build-a-Bear bears, but loved the Christmas accessory stamps. I've been wanting to use it since I got it! I just got this adorable little polar bear stamp and thought it would be the perfect match to the tree and sentiment. I din't want to use too much of the colors on him and the tree - just added some marker to the hearts and scarf.

Next, we have Michelle's beautiful card. Again, she did such a great job! I love the sentiment and then the matching ornament hanging below with that great string. She also spritzed the card to get rid of a lot of white area. I just love this card - very merry indeed! What a joy it is to receive a Michelle Arthur card :)

Thanks for looking and I wish you all a very merry day and a Happy New Year! Michelle, Debbie, and I will be back with new challenges next month. Please join us! We'd love for you to create with us.

Last challenge of the year!

2011-12-04T15:15:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are! Here is the December Simply Paper Design Challenge. Please join us if you can! I'll be posting our card on the last week of December. Have a wonderful day.

November Simply Paper Design Challenge Cards

2011-11-27T09:52:00.000-05:00

Hello! I have our November Simply Paper Design Challenge cards. Here was our sketch and color challenge:

Here we have Michelle's card. I love the little additions she chose to place on this card. It adds that little extra something. The angled frame piece behind the sentiment is brilliant! I'll be copying that ;) The textured background stamp gives the card a nice depth and fills in the blank space nicely! Great job, Michelle - love it! Please visit Michelle's blog here.

Here is my card. This was a fun layout, but I had to completely change my plans as the stamp that I thought I'd used just didn't work with this sketch. It was too big. But, I'm happy with the end product. I originally thought I'd do a Thanksgiving/Fall card, but after having to change the main image, I decided to do a male birthday card. I think the colors work nicely. I have a hard time not using ribbon on any card and I know that it isn't too masculine, so I added some metal hodgepodge to help keep it more masculine. I colored in the stamp image with my markers to get the different colors on the image. It was a fun sketch and I think I'll use it again!

Debbie is working on her card, so I'll post when she's ready.

Have a very happy day and thanks for looking!

Birthday Cards

2011-11-18T06:14:00.000-05:00

I received so many amazing handmade cards for my birthday last weekend. Thank you so much to all of you. I love them all!

This first card is a really special card I received from my friend Regina Alber (Germany). It is a 3D card and there is a mini birthday cake and candles inside! She also sent this cute bag and it held some fantastic chocolates and fun crafting embellishments. I don't know how she did it and I know it must have taken a lot of time. I love it!

Ich habe so viele tolle handgemachte karten für meinen Geburtstag letztes Wochenende. Vielen Dank an euch alle. Ich liebe sie alle! Die erste Karte ist eine wirklich besondere karte erhielt ich von meinem Freund Regina Alber (Deutschland). Es ist ein 3D-Karte und es gibt einen mini kuchen und kerzen drin! Sie sandte auch diese süße Tasche und fand einige fantastische schokolade und spass basteln ausschmückungen. Ich weiß nicht, wie sie es gemacht, und ich weiß, es muß eine Menge Zeit. Ich liebe es!

Isn't it amazing inside? Look at this mini cake! You put the candles inside the little holes and they stand up. Fantastic! Thanks, Regina!!!!

Ist es nicht erstaunlich? Schauen Sie sich dieses mini cake! Sie die Kerzen im inneren der kleine Löcher und sie stehen zu bleiben. Fantastisch! Vielen Dank, Regina! ! !!

This next card is from Debbie Williams. I absolutely love her brilliance in this card. She made the bunny and cats look like mine! That first one is Emmie, my tortie girl - she's the one in the picture on this blog header! The bunny is our long haired, black and white mini lop - Fluffles. And last, but not least, is our gray tabby - Kimba.

These colors are so me and I love polka dots. The buttons are even poka dotted! I just think this card is so much fun and I love it!

This next card is from my friend Michelle. I just love everything about this card. Look at all of the layers and textures. I love swirly patters and could stare at this all day :) I love that she ran the layers through an embossing folder after layering it up. I have got to try that - doesn't it look cool? Love it! The button flowers are just so adorable and the ribbon just "ties" it all together so creatively. I just love it!

The next two cards are from my sister and mother. I love them both too! Debbie's card is so beautiful and feminine. Mom's is so playful. I love that pig and just got this set, so can't wait to make something with it. Pink is my favorite color and they know how much I love ribbon! They both know me well :)

Thank you all for the wishes and I have a couple more cards to post!

Thanks for looking and have a wonderful day!

November Simply Paper Design Challenge!

2011-11-05T06:00:00.002-04:00

Here is the November Simply Paper Design Challenge. Please join us if you can!

First of the Christmas Cards

2011-11-01T06:00:00.000-04:00

I have been thinking about Christmas cards and made one for one of the challenges, then realized that I couldn't use it since my card didn't use the right colors! But, I do like how this one turned out and it might be one of the Christmas card designs I make this year. I loved this little reindeer stamp from the minute I saw it! I had the idea of using it on a tag and making the card look like a present. I used one of the chipboard tags and inked it up with my ink pad. I think I'll use a punched tag if I make a lot of these. The chipboard piece took a lot of ink and time to dry and didn't really give the tag as much depth as I would have liked. But, I have to say that I love this new embossing folder - the stripes give the paper such a rich look. I can't even tell you how in love I am with this new quilted ribbon! I just wish it came in more colors. I think I should have embossed the reindeer image though. Well, next time, right? LOL

Thanks for looking!

October Challenge - Check!

2011-10-29T20:35:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! Here are the cards done for the October color and sketch challenge. Here was the challenge:

This is my card. I used a couple of jumbo wheels for the bottom portion of the cards. I then used a retired set for the bat and moon image. I used this new owl stamp for the main image and in lieu of a sentiment. I was happy to be able to use my wide pumpkin pie striped ribbon as well as my grosgrain ribbon! To jazz up my owl, I used my two way glue pen and the pumpkin pie glitter. Happy Halloween!

Next up are Michelle's cards. She made two! She's so darn creative. Take a look on her blog here. Michelle did a great job with the backgrounds on these two, didn't she? I love the main images and matching sentiments with the added googly eyes. Looks like Michelle is definitely ready for Halloween fun!

Here is Debbie's card. She used the same owl image, but look at the great texture she got on her card. She's so clever with those embossing folders and you can see she used textured paper. I love all of the layers too. Nice use of the colors, Debbie! They really pop on this card!

Here is my friend Regina's card. You have to visit Regina's blog (here). She's so talented and creative with paper creations! She made this card for this challenge and I just love it! Look at those adorable pumpkins with the ghost peeking out. The purple really pops against the black and with the orange in front - love this card! That ribbon is fantastic too - shimmery and just perfect for Halloween! Thanks Regina, for joining us. Please keep on joining us each month. I love to see your projects!

Hier ist mein Freund die Karte von Regina. Sie müssen das Blog von Regina (hier) besuchen. Sie ist so talentiert und schöpferisch mit Papierschöpfungen! Sie hat diese Karte für diese Herausforderung gemacht und ich liebe nur es! Schauen Sie die bezaubernden Kürbisse mit dem Geist guckend draußen an. Die purpurnen wirklich Knalle gegen den Schwarz und mit der Apfelsine in Front - liebt diese Karte! Jenes Band ist phantastisch auch - schimmerndes und gerecht perfekt für den Halloween! Dankt Regina, für Anschließen uns. Bitte behalten Sie auf Anschließen uns jeden Monat. Ich mag Ihre Projekte sehen!

Thank you all for visiting and looking. Please join us in our monthly challenges. Have a safe and wonderful Halloween!

For My Friend Regina!

2011-10-06T21:12:00.000-04:00

Hi Regina -

Hier ist die Skizze im Oktober und Farbenherausforderung. Schließen Sie sich uns bitte beim Bilden einer Karte an, entweder die Skizze oder Farbe oder beide verwendend! Wenn Sie eine Karte machen, verlassen Sie bitte eine Anmerkung mit einer Verbindung zu Ihrem blog oder schicken Sie mir mit einem Bild Ihrer Karte per E-Mail, so kann ich es laden. Dank!

October Design Challenge

2011-10-06T06:35:00.000-04:00

How is it already October???? Well, here's this month's design and color challenge. Join us!

September Design Challenge Cards

2011-09-26T06:34:00.000-04:00

I really love what everyone did for their design challenge cards! Here is the design challenge:

This first card is Michelle's. Isn't it great? I love how she used the jumbo eyelets and threaded the ribbon through - very nice! I also like that she stamped the pink card stock with pink ink - it is subtle and really adds that extra special touch. Love it, Michelle! To check out this card and Michelle's other amazing pieces of work, please visit her blog here.

Next up is Debbie's card. Isn't this adorable? I love the little images and the flower brads really look pretty with this design. I love how Debbie punched the corners of the navy card stock and gave so many layers to the whole card. I just love it!

Here is my card. I decided to make a longer card that could fit in a legal size envelope. I used the new scallop polka dotted ribbon and matching buttons. I wanted to color in the images, but thought it would clash with the colors of the challenge, so I decided to leave as is.

Well, another month down! I'll be posting October's challenge this weekend. Thank you for looking and have a great day!

Happy Anniversary, Dimitrios!

2011-09-09T06:00:00.000-04:00

Each year gets better and better. :)

I was inspired by Zeva's card found here.

I wanted to change it up a little so that the penguins were floating on ice blocks that were very shimmery. I cut out the ice blocks from shimmery white paper. Next, I added some glue and sprinkled dazzling diamonds. I wasn't satisfied, so I then added crystal effects on top. Now, the shimmer is set and I like the way it looks in person :) I used new In Colors so I could use my new ribbon :)

That's about it - thanks for looking!

Happy Birthday, Joe!

2011-09-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday, Bro! haaa I hope you have a great day.

This card is for my brother-in-law. I wish this designer paper didn't retire since the colors are current! I started with a card sketch, but it was just too girly. So, I changed it all up and really like the off-set sentiment. It really is off though - I didn't center it well, did I? But, I like the look with the buttons. Since I couldn't use my usual bow, I thought these buttons added that little extra something that it needed.

Anyway, thanks for looking!

September Challenge!

2011-09-03T13:59:00.000-04:00

Happy Saturday! I hope everyone is having a nice weekend so far. It's a long one, so I'm excited :)

Here is the September Simply Paper Design Challenge. Play along and join us!

August Design Challenge Cards

2011-08-29T06:15:00.000-04:00

Can you believe the month is almost over? Where did it go? Although I'm ready for cooler weather, I'm not ready for the summer to be over quite yet.

Anyway, it is time to post our August design cards and here they are! First, here is the design challenge sketch and colors:

Here is my card. I had come up with my card this week and then realized I had forgotten the colors! I was going to do a Christmas card! I thnk I'll use this sketch for one of my Christmas cards - I like it! I thought the colors would go well with this Fluffles stamp. I found the corner of the image too blank, so added a bow. I just love to add bows - I think they finish off any project!

Here is Michelle's card - isn't it adorable? What a cute card for a new baby! I love how she cut out part of the turtle and popped it up with a dimensional. It definitely adds depth - love that! The pearls are an excellent touch; so soft on this card.

I think I like this sketch because it reminds me of a present. It will go well with any gift!

Thanks for looking and have a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday, Ellen!

2011-08-21T06:00:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday, Ellen! I wish you a very happy day!!! I know you will be enjoying your garden, swimming, and reading :) Hope it is a wonderful day - just like you!

I just had to use this image - it cracks me up and I think it will crack Ellen up too. We have a good time and laugh a lot. I've had these beautiful frames for a while and just never had the chance to use it until now. I thought it was perfect for this image and I matched it with some old dsp I've had sitting and waiting for the perfect card. I was so happy to get to use the seam binding too. The pearls just added that little something - they were already on the frame, but I added to the sentiment piece.

Happy Birthday, Shelley!

2011-08-17T06:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday, Shelley! I sure hope you have a terrific day. May it be filled with all of your favorite things and be a relaxing, fun-filled day! I miss you!

For Shelley's card, I used the Friday Mashup challenge - sketch only - found here. This was a very simple sketch and one that was perfect for my new DSP. This paper comes with lacy die-cuts. I decided to cut two of them out and layer them as the focal point of the card. I fastened them to the card using matching pink brad. I sure hope Shelley will like this card - the paper and lace just reminded me of her.

Thank you all for looking and have a wonderful day :)

Happy Birthday, Michelle!

2011-08-08T06:00:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday, Michelle! I sure hope you have a wonderful, fun-filled, family-loving, and chocolatey good day :) Love ya!

Michelle has a dog and I was itching to use this stamp! So, I paired it with the Taylored Expressions sketch challenge 98 found here. I wanted to use some DSP, so found some retired paper that had chocolate chip in it. I love how this turned out. That dog is just too cute! I used some retired buttons to match and cut thin strips of paper to use as the "thread" in each. There was too much white space in the corners of the image, so I used the corner punch to cut out some of the matching DSP and added it. Because the buttons were so high, I decided to pop up the image using dimensionals.

Anyway, thank you for looking and I wish everyone a very happy day!

Happy Birthday, Michael!

2011-08-07T06:00:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday, Michael! I wish you an awesome birthday - hope all your dreams come true.

Michael and I share a passion for Hawaii. We both think we could live on any beach on any island and be happy! Well, that is if we have a cocktail to go with that beautiful beach :)

I found this great scrapbook/stamp store on Maui when my husband and I vacationed there last year. I bought a ton of stamps and haven't really had a chance to use them yet. I just love them all and it was hard deciding which to use other than the "Hau'oli La Hanau" (Happy Birthday in Hawaiian) stamp. The paddles came in a pack that is more for scrapbooking, but I wanted to use it, so I did! The honu (turtles) came in a pack with 8 different sizes. Aren't they cute? I have a pack of these flower charms and they remind me of the beautiful plumeria on the islands. I thought it would be a nice touch hanging from the ribbon.

Michael - hope you like this card made especially with you in mind! Love and Hugs!!!!

To everyone, may you have a wonderful day. Thanks for looking :)

August Design Challenge

2011-08-06T06:00:00.000-04:00

Here is our August sketch and color challenge. Please feel free to play along! Thanks and have a great day :)

Happy Birthday, Diane!

2011-08-04T06:00:00.002-04:00

Today is the first of many August friends' birthdays :)

Diane - I hope you have a very, very happy birthday. May your day be filled with fun, good wine, and may your cats be extra good today!

For Diane's card, I used the Card Patterns Sketch 112 found here. I like this sketch a lot. Since Diane loves cats, I had to use one of my fun cat stamps. I've had this one for a while, but haven't had the chance to use it. I tried stamping it on colored card stock, but it just didn't work. Sine I have a pack of kitty designer paper and matching card stock, I decided to use it for the base. I bought this adorable pet paw punch and it was perfect for this sketch. I punched out a paw print from the paper and built a brad that went through some SU! retired ribbon that happened to match the paper...love when that happens!

Thanks for looking and have a great day.

July Swap Meeting Card

2011-08-01T06:00:00.002-04:00

Here is the card I made for the annual July stamp swap meeting I attend. I love the new SU! hostess butterfly stamp set and wanted to use it for the card. When I saw the one "wreath" stamp, I knew I wanted to use ribbon to "hang" it. I had originally designed the card using Rich Razzleberry ribbon. Luckily, a friend told me it had retired. I hadn't realized that! One of the rules to our swap is that only current catalog items can be used. So, I scrambled and thought about changing the card altogether, but liked the ivory satin ribbon; it was a good compromise. I used the Naturals White paper for this card - it is such a beautiful paper; nice heavy weight, and very rich in feel and look. It goes well with natural colors. I stamped the corner images in Early Espresso. The wreath is stamped using Rich Razzleberry ink on RR paper. I stamped the sentiment in Night of Navy. One of the rules to the swap is that you must use an embellishment. Since I use ribbon on just about every card I make, I don't think of it as an embellishment! So, I decided to add some pearls to the flowers.

Thanks for looking and have a great day! Stay cool!

July Challenge Cards

2011-07-31T09:42:00.000-04:00

How is it the end of July already? Wow, the year is going by way too fast! Since it is the end of the month, it is time to post the Simply Paper Design Challenge cards. Here is the sketch and color challenge:

Here is Michelle's card. Isn't it wonderful? It's a celebration in a card! The background is mesmerizing with all of the fireworks going off. I love the double ribbon in the middle too - nice! There are so many people with July 4th birthdays - wouldn't this be a wonderful card to receive? Love it Michelle!

Here is my card. I decided that since I need so many birthday cards for August, I'd try to make one with the challenge. I know exactly who is going to get this too :) I needed one more color to off-set the two primary colors, so added a little chocolate chip in the mix. I love the cupcake punch - it makes for a very easy card focal point!

As always, thanks for looking and have a great day!

Swap Meeting Gifts

2011-07-29T06:25:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was our stamping group's annual summer meeting of demonstrators. I love these meetings. I get to meet new people, make a ton of cards, see new items, etc. It's just a great day of friends, stamps, and great food (it's really what everyone goes for!) Haaa - just kidding.

Each year, we have a gift swap and I decided to alter items with my new favorite Designer Paper. Here are the items I made.

Here is a group shot of the gifts. I ended up covering a king sized Hershey bar too, but forgot to take a picture of it.

This is an altered note pad. I had a heck of a time with this one and pretty much disassembled and reassembled the whole thing by the time I was done. But, I like how it turned out and that it stays shut with a little Velcro; keeps your notes secret!

This is an altered pocket calendar. I am probably one of the last people standing to still use a paper calendar instead of one on-line/phone/etc. :)

This is an altered mug for a favorite beverage. I think I'd use it to put pencils and pens in though, to keep with the desk set.

I found this mini tissue box and altered it - so cute!

This is a little scratch paper holder - again, not the easiest thing to alter! Then again, it may be me. I tend to complicate things ;)

And here is the bag I altered to put everything in. Isn't this paper just beautiful? I love it!

Anyway, thanks for looking and have a great day!

Happy 4th Everyone!

2011-07-04T14:43:00.000-04:00

Here is the July Simply Paper Design Challenge. Please play along with us!

Last weekend, Debbie and I met up with Michelle to attend a scrapbooking conference. But, before that, we had lunch at Sweetwater Tavern - yum! Here is a picture of us - the design team :)

Thanks for looking and again, have a wonderful Independence Day!

Sweet Award!

2011-06-29T06:00:00.000-04:00

How sweet is this? My sister and upline, Debbie Naylor, awarded me with this Sweet Blog Award! Thanks so much, Debbie! Your blog never fails to inspire me each and every day :) You can visit her awesome blog here.

Part of this award is to share seven random facts about myself and pass the award onto 8 other bloggers. Let's see...
1) I work at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC
2) I love my furry kids (2 cats and a rabbit)
3) I love to plant flowers, plants, and trees, but do not like to weed or deadhead flowers!
4) My favorite drink is coffee; can drink it all day, every day!
5) Now that I have an eReader, I can't go back to paperback or hard covered books!
6) My favorite movie is The Sound of Music. I bake Christmas cookies every year and I have to watch this movie while baking them or it wouldn't be Christmas for me!
7) I've become a little obsessed with Farmville on Facebook! LOL

I'm supposed to share this award with some other bloggers that inspire me with their creations, but the ones I'd pick have already been chosen! There are so many wonderful bloggers out there - so for all of you that create and inspire with your blog, I'm sharing this award with you!

Have a sweet day, everyone!

Wall Art

2011-06-28T06:20:00.000-04:00

I received my new SU! products and didn't have much time to do anything other than look at them :) But, I'm crazy for designer papers and this new one is amazing. It has so many colors and designs that are bold and elegant. I had to do something with it. I've been saving this frame for some wall art and this paper just screamed at me to use it! So, I chose the background first. I then punched some scallop circles to make the flower. I used every sheet, so it was 10 pieces thick. I also die cut some butterflies (love those!). I decorated the butterflies with some pearls. I wanted a sentiment, so stamped one that I thought worked, punched out pieces to frame it, and mounted it above a piece of satin ribbon. I decided to add some pearls to the ribbon to tie it all together (no pun intended!) This is the end result. I can't wait to hang it after I clean up my craft area!

Thanks for looking and have a beautiful day :)

Simple Birthday Card

2011-06-28T06:15:00.000-04:00

I went to a birthday party this past weekend and needed a card. I wanted it to reflect the person I gave it to - simple and elegant. I really like this color combination now! Thanks for looking and have a great day!

June Simply Paper Design Challenge - Check!

2011-06-25T17:54:00.001-04:00

Here are Michelle's and my cards for the June challenge. Here is the sketch and colors:

I love how Michelle used the lacey punch and added pearls. We must both be thinking of pearls! Love how she used so many layers and punches. It is just so beautiful. Any girl would be lucky to get this card!

I was inspired by my hydrangea bushes. They are flowering so beautifully right now and even though I planted one pink and one blue bush, the flowers are all coming in pink! I guess it has something to do with the acid content in the ground (that's what I've been told anyway). But, my favorite color is pink, so I'm not upset in the least! I cut some and put them on the dining room table. They inspired me for this birthday card. I added mini pearls to the hydrangea blossoms, but you can't really see them.

And here is Debbie's card. I love the embossed background and melon mambo polka dotted ribbon! Nice, nice, nice!

Took On More Than I Thought!

2011-06-09T06:16:00.001-04:00

I bought this little paper chest at the craft store and thought it would be an easy alter. I couldn't have been more wrong! What started off as an easy project (so I thought!) turned into a couple hours of work and for what? I don't even like the finished product! I'm dissapointed in this and won't be giving it away, but like the flower, so decided to post anyway. Lesson learned - don't be so sure of yourself in thinking that anything is easy to alter! LOL :)

Anyway, here is is. Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Thank You Gifts

2011-06-08T06:12:00.001-04:00

I have a client that is so supportive. I'm working on an order for her and just wanted to make a little something to thank her for everything. She said she collected mini tea sets and loves the color mauve. I decided to make her an altered clipboard and a little note/pencil set that she could carry. I stuck to the "tea" theme and these are the items I made. I hope she likes them!

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Crazy Card!

2011-06-07T06:04:00.001-04:00

I wanted to do some cards this weekend, but my mojo was totally off! I have some birthdays coming up and wanted to use this little image because I just think it's cute! I thought the ribbon and paper would be cute together, but it totally comes off looking like too much and rather young. I had intended to give this card to a friend whose 40th birthday is coming up, but think I'll hold on to for a young girl's birthday instead ;)

I made this for the Card Patterns Sketch 117 found here.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

June Color-Sketch Challenge

2011-06-06T07:01:00.003-04:00

Happy Monday! Here is June's Simply Paper Design Challenge. I'm not sure why the sketch turned out colored! I'm teaching myself how to use Paint and I can't figure out how to undo certain things when creating these files. Anyway, please join Debbie, Michelle, and me in this challenge! We'd love to see what you create :) Thanks and have a great day!

Using Scraps

2011-06-06T06:11:00.000-04:00

I absolutely love this designer paper! I'm holding on to every little scrap. I had made a name wall hanging with this paper and have extra butterflies, flowers, and hearts that I've saved with the paper. I don't know why, but I pulled this paper intending to make a card using a sketch challenge. I had so many scraps, I decided to just use them instead. So, after playing around with the layout and layers, this is what was created. I think it will be a nice card to have on hand that I can use for any reason. Can't have enough of those, right?

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Simply Paper Design Challenge - May Posts - Added Debbie's

2011-05-29T17:00:00.001-04:00

We've invited Michelle Arthur to join our design team and she agreed - yay! Michelle's blog is called Designs Done Simple. Please visit her blog to learn more about her.

It's funny because when Debbie and I were thinking of a name for the team, we decided to use the first names of our businesses. Mine is Simply Cindy and hers is Paper Trails. It is only fitting that the third word is "design" and the first name of Michelle's blog! I don't know, but thought that was pretty neat :)

OK - here is the sketch and Michelle's and my cards for the challenge.

*Added* Here is Debbie's card! Isn't it pretty? I love the texture she brings to her projects. I think using the punches in the outer squares is genius! I would never have thought of that. Love it!

Thanks for looking and please join us! I'll be posting June's challenge next weekend.

Happy Memorial Day!

Think Pink - Shout Out to Wendy!

2011-05-26T06:00:00.001-04:00

Recently, our stamping group got some bad news. One of our own was diagnosed with breast cancer. I've been wanting to make a card for her to let her know I'm thinking of her. I know she is going to beat it and be well.

Wendy, this is for you! I'm thinking of you all the time.

I've been wanting to do a monochromatic card for a long time and I thought this was the perfect opportunity. I tried to stamp the Hope image on the pink card stock, but it didn't show up very well, so I decided to use the white card stock for this one piece. It doesn't look like the pinks match, but all are Pretty In Pink. The butterfly is from the Prints Pack DSP.

Thanks for looking and think pink!

Father's Day Card #2

2011-05-25T06:00:00.001-04:00

Here is the card I made for my dad for Father's Day. Again, I used the same stamp and DSP. I added a touch of Cherry Cobbler in the sentiment and baker's twine. Since I'm not a nautical person, I have no idea how to tie a nautical knot. But, I tried! I really liked the sketch I used for this (Clean & Simple #141). It was perfect for this card.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Father's Day Card #1

2011-05-24T06:00:00.002-04:00

I love this sailboat image and this nautical DSP. I decided to use them for both Father's Day cards. For the first one, I used the stamping 411 sketch (184). I recently ordered the little tag punch and set and this sketch was perfect. I think the paper and colors are perfect for a masculine card and perfect timing for Father's Day. I'm trying to stay ahead of the game! This card will be for my Father-in-law. He loves boats, so I know he'll love this card.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Fabulous Flowers

2011-05-23T06:11:00.000-04:00

What a great weekend! I was able to work in my craft room all weekend for both customers and for fun. It's been a long time since I was able to do this. It felt great!

So, I ordered this Fabulous Flowers and matching DSP (Beyond The Garden). I thought it would be really easy to use them together, but it was difficult for me. I've seen so many great creations with both.

I used the Taylored Expressions sketch for this card. I decided not to use a sentiment so that I could use this card as needed later.

First, I tried stamping the images in one color. I didn't like the results with the rich DSP. So, I used my markers and colored them in. I thought the flowers all needed a little something, so I put pearls in the middle of each and I love the way it looks. I have some old Wild Wasabi ribbon and it worked perfectly with this card. I struggled with this card, but I do like the end result :)

Thanks for looking and have a great day.

Michelle's BDay Creation

2011-05-18T07:24:00.002-04:00

Michelle does an amazing job with challenges and swaps. Look at this wonderful birthday card she made using the sketch challenge. I love the paper, colors, and stamps. Her coloring is perfect, as always. I really appreciate that! I think this is a perfect birthday card - who wouldn't love getting this? Hop on over to Michelle's blog to read up on this card and her other inspiring creations!

Kitchen's Finally Done, Thank You!

2011-05-05T06:22:00.003-04:00

After 9 weeks, our kitchen remodeling is finally done! Everything was replaced from top to bottom and side to side. But, we are so happy with the results. I could just sit in there for hours, with a glass of wine, and enjoy looking at it :)

I wanted to thank our contractor, who was excellent. So, I made this card using this cute paper I had from years ago. I also made a little gift card pocket inside. I thought the big, silver brad was perfect to go along with the theme. It was really hard not to use any ribbon!

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

May Simply Paper Design Challenge

2011-05-03T19:35:00.002-04:00

Here is May's sketch and color challenge. Please play along if you'd like. If you do, please leave a comment with a link to your blog and I'll circle back to it when I post ours. Thanks and have a great day!

April Simply Paper Design Challenge Posts

2011-05-03T06:22:00.002-04:00

Good morning! Here is the card I made for April's challenge. I'm also posting Michelle Arthur's card. She's doing such a great job with these challenges and I sure appreciate it! Please check out her other fabulous creations on her blog here.

These colors certainly were a challenge, but I knew I wanted to use this stamp set when I received it in the mail the other day! I think the colors worked well with it. Not much else to say!

Thanks for looking and have a wonderful day!

April Simply Paper Design Challenge

2011-04-16T20:25:00.003-04:00

I'm late, I'm late, for a very important post! Ha! I should have posted last weekend, but the days have gotten away from me. Here is the April sketch and color challenge Debbie and I came up with. We'll post our creations at the end of the month. Please join us in this challenge and if you do, please leave a comment with your blog address. Happy creating and have a wonderful weekend!

March Simply Paper Design Challenge Post

2011-03-27T14:32:00.008-04:00

Hi there! I hope everyone is having a nice weekend so far. It's gone so quickly!

Here are our cards for the March design challenge. When I looked at the sketch, I immediately thought of a donut! I wanted to try to make one since the Crumb Cake and Early Espresso colors would be perfect for a chocolate glazed cake donut. I punched out the "donut" and then colored in the "icing" with my Espresso marker. Then, I used Crystal Effects on top of the colored area to make it look glazed. I used my new Cupcake punch and punched out the "sprinkles" and adhered them. I love the new chocolate set from the Occasions mini and knew I'd use one of the stamps to go with my donut. I ended up stamping on both the So Saffron and Crumb Cake papers. I decided to use the So Saffron to meet the challenge colors, but cut out the little chocolate from the Crumb Cake paper and popped it up over the So Saffron one with a dimensional. I got a little carried away when I was tying my Espresso ribbon - you can see I accidentally tore a little of the Turquoise paper :( But, I'm still happy with my final product.

Debbie was thinking along the same lines as me with her adorable and blingy cupcakes! I love the detail Debbie adds to her cards. Look at the layers of texture, perfect lines/edges, and symmetry! This card is perfect for anyone at any age and any gender. I love that she "iced" her cupcakes with glitter and used the rhinestones in the corners. I also like that she put the sentiment at the top. What a fun card! Who wouldn't want for their birthday, right?

Thanks for looking. Hope you've enjoyed our cards and hope you'll join us for a challenge or two! I'll be posting another card I made using this challenge next month. The group I belong to used this challenge for our group's April swap, thanks to the hostess and wonderfully talented Michelle Arthur. She created the card on the post right before this one. Be sure to check out her blog for her fun and sensational creations!

She's done it again!

2011-03-14T06:22:00.002-04:00

Good Monday Morning! Well, Michelle has done it again! Look at this owldorable card she made for this month's design challenge! I swear, she's making me really want that bird cage set! I think it is going on my list!

Michelle used both the sketch and colors from the design. I love how this card turned out. It could be for anyone and that's hard to do! Fantastic job, Michelle! Thanks again for creating with us!

To find out more about Michelle's card, please visit her blog here.

March Simply Paper Design Challeng

2011-03-07T19:25:00.003-05:00

Hi there - hope everyone is well. I have a nasty cold, so forgot to post the March challenge. A big thank you to Michelle for reminding me! Here it is. I sure hope you can play along with us. I'll post Debbie's and my cards on the last weekend of the month. If you do play along, please leave a comment with a link to your blog or send me an email with a picture of your creation. I'll be happy to then post it. Happy crafting!

Card Box - Matching Cards Set 2

2011-03-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

And the rest of the matching Card Box cards... Thanks again for stopping by - have a wonderful weekend!

Card Box - Matching Cards Set 1

2011-03-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

Here are some of the matching cards I made to put in to the card box I posted yesterday. I used the Sale-a-Bration DSP and some birthday/thank you stamps that fit nicely into the punches. I'll post the rest tomorrow. Have a great day!

Card Box

2011-03-03T06:00:00.000-05:00

In preparation for upcoming birthdays at the end of this month, I decided I better get crackin' and make some cards and gifts! One of my friends loves cards and is so good about giving/sending handmade cards. She usually buys a set of cards from me each year. So, I thought it would be a nice gift to make her a card box with a matching set of cards. I do love that Sale-a-Bration DSP and decided to see what I could do. I've made this card box before, but didn't make matching cards. I thought it was so pretty, I couldn't part with it and it hangs in my craft room :) I found the instructions for this box on Chiaki Haversticks' blog. I can't find the instructions, so she might have removed it, but she has amazing instruction sheets on her blog - thank you Chiaki! Anyway, here is the box. I'll be posting the cards over the next couple days. Thanks so much for looking!

Kaleidoscope Scor-Pal Gift Bag

2011-03-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

I love the colors of the Kaleidoscope designer paper and wondered how this little bag would turn out. So, I grabbed a piece and went to work. I don't know if I like the one side better than the other, so I didn't make the little pocket on the front. I had some matching brads, so added them and some ribbon to finish it off. I just love it - this was made using half of one 12x12 sheet of paper. I believe the original instructions use two sheets of 12x12 paper. The instructions I used were from Nancy Morgan's blog. You can actually make two bags out of one piece of 12x12 designer paper using her modified instructions - love that!

Thanks for looking and have a great and colorful day!

Bag-in-a-box Polka Dotted Style

2011-03-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to make a Bag-in-a-Box for a long time now. I found my instructions from a friend who got the step-by-step instructions from Paula Goff. Well, this bag was not easy for me! I had a really hard time and destroyed a whole sheet of designer paper in the process! I had to start all over. But, I am happy with the results and am going to give to my dear friend, Debbie Williams. She's so special and I want her to know it :) I filled it with Hershey's kisses. Yes, I seem to love the Hershey's chocolates! haaaa Debbie is the second woman and second Debbie that I'd like to show my appreciate to. I met Debbie through a mutual friend about 13 years ago and we've been close friends ever since. We share a lot of same likes, dislikes, habits, etc. She laughs at my stupid jokes and can always calm me down from one of my crazy rants. She's a true friend, through and through and I'm so thankful to have gotten to know her. So, thank you, Debbie - for being the wonderful woman and friend that you are.

I absolutely love the new SU! Sale-a-bration designer paper and matching stickers, buttons, and ribbon. As soon as I saw this paper, I knew it was the one I wanted to use. I used the matching stickers to decorate the front and use as the scallop piece for the bottom.

Anyway, hope you have a great and crafty day! Thanks for looking :)

Birthday Bag

2011-02-28T06:00:00.001-05:00

I was on a roll making bags last weekend and then again this weekend. One of my coworker friends had a birthday yesterday. I took this to work on Friday to help start her birthday weekend off right. This was the first bag I made using my new Big Shot Pro bag die. It's really easy to use and assemble. I love this Blueberry Crisp paper and thought since she's such an elegant woman, I wanted the bag to be elegant. I used uncut paper from the die to make the flower. I should have adhered the flower to the ribbon, but I accidentally adhered over the ribbon and on part of the paper. I think she's going to have to destroy the top of the bag to get into it! I decided the bag was too plain in the body area, so wanted to dress it up a little with a die cut butterfly. I filled it with some Hershey's cookies and cream mini bars. Man, are those good!

Enjoy the day and thanks for looking!

Our Challenge Card and Bag!

2011-02-27T11:23:00.004-05:00

Here are our cards for our challenge. Debbie created this adorable card using both the colors and sketch. Isn't this dog adorable and make you want to just go out and get one? The tulip framed border is just an added bonus to the card. The Navy oval set off the adorable dog with just that hint of pink ribbon. Debbie even added a touch of bling to the heart and sentiment pieces. What an awesome card - Love it!

I decided to do a bag for my project since I had already done a card using the sketch. Since the bag is pretty much the same shape as the card, I was able to stick to the sketch as well as incorporate the colors. I used the River Rock DSP I had bought years ago as the base of the bag. I also pulled my Rose Red DSP to cut out scallop circles. I cut out some Pretty In Pink scallop circles to incorporate into the flower. I used a Pretty in Pink brad for the center. I love the satin ribbon, so instead of a sentiment, I decided to use it across the top. Before assembling the bag (a Big Shot Pro die), I punched out the scallop ovals. I then adhered a piece of window sheet in the back so the goodies won't fall out and you can see what's inside.

Well, that's it! Another challenge done :) I'll be posting March's challenge next weekend. Hope you'll play along with us. Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Another Lovely Challenge Card!

2011-02-25T06:34:00.003-05:00

Lori Subosits posted her card that used the Feb. Simply Design challenges yesterday. Look how beautiful it is! You can read all about it on her blog here. I love the textures and coloring on this card - simply gorgeous! Thanks for joining the challenge, Lori! Hope to see you doing some more with us.

I'll be posting Debbie's card and my color challenge card tomorrow.

Have a great day!

My Valentine's Day Card

2011-02-15T06:00:00.002-05:00

I decided to use our sketch challenge for my Valentine's Day card to my husband. I used last year's Valentine designer paper because I just love it. But, I did add some glittery red paper; punched out some hearts. I didn't use do any stamping on this card! I used some VDay rub-ons SU! sent with my last order. Aren't these VDay balloons cute? I really like them. I also rubbed on the sentiment onto some pink ribbon. I've been wanting to try that and it was really easy! I'll definitely be doing that again!

I'll be tackling the color challenge for the last Saturday of this month and will post it then with Debbie's.

Anyway, thanks for looking and have a great day!

Michelle is one talented stamper!

2011-02-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

Michelle posted her card for the February Simply Paper Design Challenge. Thank you Michelle! Your card is just lovely. I love how you flipped the design around - I wouldn't have thought to do that, but I love your take on it! I think of looking out of a beautiful oval window into a gorgeous flower garden. You really made the colors work so well too. Lovely, lovely, lovely!!!!

February Design Challenge

2011-02-06T14:08:00.002-05:00

Hello! It's a new month, so time for a new challenge. Here is Debbie's and my sketch and color challenge for February. We'll post ours at the end of the month. We thought this sketch and color scheme would be perfect for helping us make some Valentine's Day cards. Please play along with us if you'd like and comment with a link to your creation/blog. We'd love to see yours.

Have a great day!

Simply Paper Design Challenge Posting

2011-01-30T15:54:00.004-05:00

Hi there! Well, we had one taker on our design challenge - thank you Michelle! We love that you did two cards, one for the colors and one for the design. Michelle does gorgeous work. Please check out her blog here!

Here is the design challenge again with Debbie's, Michelle's and my take on them.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

One Sheet Wonder Cards

2011-01-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

As I posted last week, I wanted to do some One Sheet Wonder cards using the Cottage Garden stamp set and the new In Colors. I haven't been using the In Colors at all and really wanted to work with them. So, I stamped an 8 1/2 x 11 inch sheet of white cardstock and then decided to make a card using each In Color. The matching ribbon really helps "tie" it all together ;)

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Simple Thank You

2011-01-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

I love this Lap of Luxury paper. It's so elegant. I decided to make a Thank You card and I love this stamp because it is simple and elegant. I just stamped it in matching Concord Crush ink, punched it out, punched out a frame piece, tied some matching ribbon, and done! It was a very quick and easy card; not my usual! haaaa

Thanks for looking and have a great day :)

Bless you!

2011-01-26T09:17:00.002-05:00

I've been covering tissue boxes for years, but haven't done it in a while. My sister asked me to make some projects to be featured on her blog. I've never been a featured guest on a blog before - thanks, Debbie! Anyway, I was going to cover another tissue box anyway and this was the perfect time.

I love this paper - it's just happy and Springy! With all of the cold weather lately, I think I wanted some cheery paper. I embellished with die-cut butterflies and cherry blossoms in matching papers. I finished it off with matching ribbon and some pearls.

I'll be ready if I get that nasty flu that seems to be going around! Surround yourself with beauty and have a great day!

More Little Purses...

2011-01-24T05:56:00.003-05:00

I made these purses for my mom and friends (Debbie and Sarah). Each expressed how much they liked the one I posted a couple weeks ago. I really appreciate the nice feedback and wanted to make each of them a personalized little purse. I tried to use DSP or colors I know each one likes. I also stamped their initials and mounted each on a punched piece of matching cardstock/DSP. Again, I made some matching flowers with the DSP leftover after I ran it through the Big Shot Pro. Lastly, I added some pearls to the initials to make it just a little more snazzy :) I love the bling!

Thanks for looking and have a beautiful day!

And the last challenge for the week...

2011-01-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

I just had to try this colour Q challenge! Check out this group of colors! Aren't they awesome? Well, they really spoke to me, so I had to try. I pulled the cardstock and thought "what the heck am I going to do with these?" I remembered I had the Cottage Garden set that I've never used. It was the perfect set! I stamped 3/4 of a sheet of white cardstock with the different images in the challenge colors. Then, I decided to add the melon ribbon and add a sentiment. I used the punch for the sentiment and put some Tangerine behind it so that it would pop a little. I really love this set and see using it for One Sheet Wonders in the future! Perhaps my weekend project? :)

Thanks for looking and have a great weekend!

Just can't get enough of the butterflies!

2011-01-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

I am just loving all of my butterfly stamps, punches, dies, embosslits, etc. They are so easy to use and just adds such a nice touch to any creation. They can be fun and light or serious and elegant. The colors I used for this card were more elegant, so I decided to use my Beautiful Wings embosslits. I haven't use them in some time, so I was happy to break it out again. The colors I used are from the Stampin' Royalty Challenge #54. I love the sketch - it is from Stamping 411.

I wanted to use my Just Believe stamp set. I've only used it once, but think it has some beautiful images. So, I broke it out and stamped and assembled. It looked too dull, so that is when I added the butterflies. I like the end result :)

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

I love this happy doggie!

2011-01-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Again, I used some challenges to make this card. For some reason, I thought the D is for Dog stamp set would be a good choice for these colors from the Inking Aloud Color Throw down Challenge #124. Early Espresso is quickly becoming one of my favorite colors. It is so rich and goes so well with just about every color! It can be fun when paired with a bright color or elegant when paired with a rich color. Anyway, I though these color would be fun with this set. I decided not to use any sentiment in case it was to be happy. But, if I needed it as a dog sympathy card, I can add that sentiment later.

I used the Repeat Impressions Sketch Challenge #J1211 as well. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. It looks like a simple sketch, but I had a hard time with it! Anyway, thanks for looking and give your furry ones big hugs and head rubs for me!

Getting back into challenges

2011-01-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

I had a lovely day of stamping on Sunday. I pulled up some challenges and got to work. One of my resolutions this year was to use stamp sets I haven't used before. I pulled out the Punch Potpourri set for the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge (#93) and the Diva Coffee Break Designs Color Challenge (#210). But, I realized that I needed something more. So, I pulled out my old French Script Background stamp. I haven't used it in a long time, so it was nice to use again! I love these colors together - they are very calm and beautiful. I used the matching bird and heart punches after I stamped the images. The only other things I used was some mini silver brads and a corner punch. I can't believe I didn't use any ribbon on this card!

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

I'm thankful for...

2011-01-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

I am really blessed to have so many strong and wonderful women in my life. Each month, I'm going to thank some of my favorite women by making them something and letting them know what I've learned from them and how much I appreciate them!

First, I'd like to thank my sister, Debbie Naylor. She's taught me about the wonderful world of SU! and stamping. I tried so hard to resist her in this, but I'm glad she won out ;) She is so creative, especially on the fly, and so darn passionate about her craft that it is just so contagious! Debbie, thank you for instilling the passion of stamping in me. I do love it and regret what I said about 5 or 6 years ago, "Oh, I'm a scrapbooker. I'll never get into stamping." haaaaaaa

Please take a look at Debbie's lovely creations here!

OK, so I wanted to make Debbie something lovely and hope she'll think this is. I made a shadowbox creation using the Greenhouse Gala DSP. I have to admit that I was a late bloomer (no pun intended!) to this paper. I didn't love it at first, but have come to really appreciate the richness in color in this pack of papers. I do love it now! I bought some shadowbox frames from IKEA and have been wondering how to use them. I was thinking about this DSP one morning and it hit! The one paper screams vines to me (probably because it is!). So, I created a 3D flower and made a 3D butterfly with the Big Shot. I used some older rub-ons on the glass and assembled. I really like how this turned out and hope she will too!

Thank the lovely women in your life and have a great day!

A Christmas Card

2011-01-13T05:28:00.002-05:00

I totally forgot to post a picture of the Christmas card I made my husband! I saw these adorable, hinged Christmas box cards and had to try one. Problem was, I didn't see instructions or dimensions anywhere. So, I winged it. I like the end result, but it did take me some time! I used the Jolly Holiday paper - love it! I also was able to use some matching rub-ons and a vanilla hodgepodge hardware pieces. Inside, I just used a plain piece of vanilla paper and decorated it with more matching rub-ons. I can't show that though; I'd already written my sentiments ;) Anyway, thanks for looking and have a great day!

Greenhouse Gala Box

2011-01-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

Here is another one of my BS Pro projects. It is a little box with a matching lid. I used a sheet of the Greenhouse Gala papers and ran it through. Again, there was some leftover paper after cutting out the box. So, I grabbed the scallop circle punch and punched out as many circles as there was space. I then crinkled them up and put a Real Red corduroy brad in the middle. I adhered the flower to the top of the box and felt it was done. I see a lot of possibilities for this little box too! I think it will be really cute to dress up the box for a birthday and for Christmas. I can't wait to decorate with ribbon and a little tag - cute, right? Anyway, just wanted to make one to get the idea and creative juices flowing.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Blueberry Crisp Purse

2011-01-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

Here is one of the things I made with the BS Pro - a cute little purse. I used Blueberry Crisp DSP. I used one sheet, ran it through the machine, and assembled the purse. There was some extra space on the paper, so I used my scallop circle punch and punched out as many circles as I could. I then balled each up, unraveled them, and put a Pacific Point corduroy brad in the middle. I really like making these flowers now that I can! My first attempts were pretty bad... Anyway, I used some Vanilla satin ribbon for the handle and adhered the flower with a little red sticky tape. I then adhered a little piece of thin velcro so the purse can be opened and closed. It's a good size, so you could fit a nice gift or lots of treats inside. I can see a lot of possibilities for this one: little girl's tea party, book club gifts, ladies night party, etc. I'll be working with this one for sure!

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Big Shot Pro

2011-01-10T05:58:00.004-05:00

I decided to do a little pre-Christmas shopping on-line and saw some dies that I really liked on sale. Well, in typical "me" fashion, I didn't really read the specs and ended up ordering these ginormous dies that are pretty heavy! I thought about sending them back, but the postage to send them would be really expensive. So, I did the next best thing; I ordered the Big Shot Pro that they were made for! Of course, again, I didn't read the specs of the machine and it is huge! I took a picture of it next to my regular Big Shot to show the size difference.

Now, having said that, I love it! You use a whole sheet of 12" x 12" paper and it is really easy to run through. Plus, you can use all of your regular Big Shot dies, Sizzlits, embossing folders, etc. I've only had a chance to make one of each of the three dies I purchased, but see a lot of possibilities. I often used to think it would be nice if I could put the regular XL dies in diagonally to get a certain part of designer paper. Now I can! My friend also helped me see that the Pro will be very helpful when cranking out craft show items.

I received some craft store gift cards for Christmas and can now get back on-line and shop for more dies :) I plan to do that soon. I'll post the projects I made in the next couple of days.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

It's a new year and here come the challenges!

2011-01-08T20:10:00.003-05:00

Hi there! In my effort to keep my craft resolutions this year, I've persuaded my friend Debbie Williams to join me in starting some sketch and color challenges. We want to make sure to use our products and try to use items we haven't used before. This is our first challenge. We will be doing one a month and it combines a sketch and colors. Please feel free to play along and link (I'm trying to figure this out!) or leave a comment with your blog address so we can check out your creation! We will post challenges at the beginning of the month and will post our creations on the last Saturday of the month, or around there ;) This is totally for fun; no pressure! So, let's create!

Happy New Year - Year of the Rabbit

2011-01-05T06:28:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year, Everyone! I have several craft resolutions this year and I am going to try my darnedest to keep them this year! Here they are: (1) Use one new stamp set a week, (2) Make one Christmas card design a month and then make 5 cards of that design, and (3) Start a monthly sketch/color challenge with my stamping friend, Debbie Williams. I'm hoping that this will help me continue to create, use more of my products, and challenge me! Plus, I should have enough Christmas cards ready by December - a definite plus! How about you - did you make any craft resolutions this year? I'd love to hear them if you did!

One of my friends commissioned me to make some New Year cards for her to send to friends and relatives in Japan. So, I was very excited to make this card for her. It is the Year of the Rabbit and I love this year. I have had house rabbits for over 17 years and love them; they make wonderful (but high maintenance!) pets. So, it just makes me happy to be celebrating the rabbit this year. To all of you born in the year of the rabbit - may you have a wonderful year!

OK, so back to the card. I used a set I bought that has all 12 Chinese zodiac stamps. I also used a sentiment stamp I bought in Japan a couple years ago. I stamped both with Versa Mark and embossed them. I colored in the rabbit image with my Copics, layered using some origami paper, and was done! I like the simplicity of it.

Again, Happy New Year!!!!

Hot Chocolate Holder

2010-12-03T06:11:00.003-05:00

Here is the last craft project we did last week. We covered hot chocolate envelopes with paper, wrapped a wide piece of ribbon around the middle, adhered this cute stamped image (mounted on a scallop circle to match) and done! It was clean and easy, the best kind of project :) It sure has gotten cold lately, so it's a great time to open one of these or give it to someone. Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Poinsettia Christmas Card

2010-11-30T06:00:00.003-05:00

I thought a Christmas card would be a nice project for our crafty Ladies Night. So, I pulled out some Designer paper and decided to pair it with one of my favorite stamp sets. I love A Flower For All Seasons. This image is perfect for Christmas and I think goes well with the paper. I matched the markers to the colors used in the paper and used some old olive ribbon from last year's Sleigh Bell ribbon pack.

Making all of these Christmas projects has been so much fun and definitely helping me get in the mood for Christmas. Now, I just need to come up with about 2 or 3 more Christmas card designs so I can send the cards out!

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Great Little Gift Bag

2010-11-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

I found these little paper gift bags (red and white) in the clearance section of one of my favorite stores (honestly don't remember which one!). I've been hanging on to them for about a year or two! Well, I found the right paper to match and decided it would be another one of my crafty Ladies Night projects. The gals had a choice of white or red bags. We stamped the snowman image on white cardstock using Baja Breeze ink. We then punched out the image and then mounted on another punched piece of either Old Olive or Chocolate Chip cardstock. We also had a choice of either Chocolate Chip or White 5/8" grossgrain ribbon. I think this will make a great little gift bag. I'm participating in a Secret Santa exchange at work and I think this will be the bag I use. Now, I just need to find a gift! LOL :)

Thanks for looking!

Reese's Slider Box

2010-11-29T06:00:00.001-05:00

I found these giant Reese's cups at Walmart for 25 cents! I knew I could make a nice little box out of them. This past Friday night, I hosted a crafty Ladies Night with my neighborhood friends. This is one of four projects we did. I used the same DSP for the slider piece (piece that slides in) as the outside box piece. We put them together, and tied the chocolate chip ribbon around it. We then stamped this perfect little saying in chocolate chip and punched it out with the scallop square punch. We layered it on a larger scallop square punch of the DSP and adhered it to the box. It's just a shame I'm allergic to peanuts and can't enjoy this one myself!

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

You know Dasher...

2010-11-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

I love this stamp and decided to break it in this weekend! I love this Christmas designer paper and when I started making the card, I saw the back side and decided to make 2 cards! I used Soft Suede ink and cardstock. I also used Real Red cardstock. I was finally able to use some of the ribbon from the special Christmas ribbon pack from a year or two ago. I love ribbon! Anyway, here they are. Thanks for looking and have a great day!

The Christmas Cards Have Started!

2010-11-23T06:21:00.003-05:00

What a great weekend last weekend. I had some orders to fullfill, so I got in some good stamping/crafting time! I started to make some Christmas cards. Here is the first one I made. I ran some white cardstock through a snowflake Cuttlebug folder (can't find my new SU! snowflake folder I ordered!) through the Big Shot. Next, I spritzed it with some Silver Shimmer Paint mixed with alcohol. Then, I mounted it on Navy cardstock, tied the Navy ribbon, added some SU! bling and viola - done! I thought about adding some words, but I think it would take away from the simple elegance of the card. So, I'll stamp some Christmas greetings on the inside :) Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Birthday Cards!

2010-11-20T17:47:00.004-05:00

I received some beautiful, hand-stamped birthday cards from fellow SULD's and I just have to share them! I really appreciate them and the work that went into each.

First, I received this cute little Japanese Girl card from my friend Debbie Williams. Her sister-in-law actually drew the image and her sister had it made into a stamp. Isn't it awesome? So kawaii (cute!) I love the colors and background paper Debbie used on it.

The next card I recevied was from Michelle Arthur. She's one of the most creative hobby demonstrators I know. Look at the detail on this card!!!! I can't imagine how long this must have taken; look how many different stamps and cut out flowers, and bling! Michelle, this card is "to die for" gorgeous! To see more of Michelle's awesome creativity, please check out her blog here.

The next card I received was from my sister, Debbie Naylor. Isn't this card just beautiful??? I love, love, love it. She knows me well :) I love everything about it from the colors to the glitter, to the bow, to the pearl bling! Eventhough it is shouting my age, I'm going to put it up on my card board because it is just so pretty! Please check out Debbie's extraordinary talents on her blog here.

I received this next card from Sherri Gough. I love that medallion and have just never used mine yet! I love this card so much that I'm going to have to CASE it! It has a subtle elegance that I just love. I'm not a big lover of sponged edges, but it totally works on this card! Check out Sherri's blog here.

Thank you so much, Ladies! I had an awesome birthday and loved the cards I received.

Another Craft Show Weekend!

2010-11-11T20:10:00.002-05:00

If you are looking to do some Christmas shopping, head on over to the Centreville United Methodist Church on Saturday, November 13, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. I'll be selling there and would love to see you! Thanks and hope to see you there!

6400 Old Centreville Road
Centreville, VA 20121

Craft Show This Saturday (11/6)

2010-11-04T09:15:00.002-04:00

I'm doing a local craft show this weekend. If you are in the Northern Virginia area, please stop by, say "Hi", do some holiday shopping, etc! I'd love to see you :)

Community of Faith United Methodist Church
13224 Franklin Farm Rd.
Herndon, VA

Saturday, November 6, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Thanks!

Happy Name Day, Dimitrios!

2010-10-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

Today is St. Dimitrios' Name Day - so, to all the Dimitrioses out there, Happy Name Day! This shout out is especially for my wonderful husband :) Happy Name Day - love you!

I made a couple cards because I couldn't decide which Fluffles image to use and which Taylored Expressions sketch design to use. The only thing I did know was that I wanted to use the Manchester DSP - it's very masculine in colors and they are surprisingly current colors even though the DSP is retired.

I colored the Fluffles images using the colors from the DSP: Baja Breeze, Always Artichoke, and Crumb Cake. I added a couple more colors for the flowers. I also used some buttons, brads, and some punches as well. I had to accessorize, but was careful not to use my beloved ribbons ;)

Anyway, thanks for looking and have a great day too!

Meowy Halloween

2010-10-25T06:00:00.000-04:00

Look what my sister gave me! Isn't this the cutest little Halloween treat box? She gave it to me last weekend and I just had to post. I love the glittery mask on this kitty and all with punches - so purrrfect!

For more info. on this adorable little box, hop on over to her blog here. TFL!

Hoppy Birthday

2010-10-20T06:11:00.002-04:00

I love this little image - it makes me hoppy :) When I did the last craft show, I had some ladies ask for frog and turtle images. I found this Penny Black image and it was so cute, I had to get it. I used the Diva Coffee Break Designs color challenge #196 and Stampin Royalty sketch challenge to make this card. I am really liking the new SU! In Colors (pear pizzazz and concord crush). Since I always need birthday cards, I decided to make this one a birthday. I used SU! stamps Burst Into Bloom and Party Punch for background and sentiment. I also added a couple pearls to the cut out flowers.

Thanks for looking and have a hoppy day!

Not done, but almost!

2010-10-19T05:57:00.002-04:00

I started this card for the Mojo Monday (#149) sketch and the colourQ (#43) challenges, but somehow never quite finished it! But, I like it this way and will add a sentiment when I find the right person and occassion to use it :)

I have a hard time with the round cards, so I tend to stick to the square and rectangular cards. I love the ribbon accents and I didn't make a bow for once!

I love the pearl accents that everyone is using now. It just adds the right touch to so many things!

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Sweet Sketch

2010-10-18T06:24:00.003-04:00

Good morning! I had made some cards a while ago, but my computer was being updated and you know how it goes ;)

I made this card using the Sweet Sunday Sketch (SSSC87) found on this blog. I love the sketch and can't wait to make more cards with it. I didn't even stamp on this one....love DSP! I used my still favorite Cottage Wall while I wait for new inventory :)

Have a great day and week! Thanks for looking.

Wow - What An Honor!

2010-09-27T20:58:00.005-04:00

My sister, Debbie Naylor, honored me with a Beautiful Blogger Award! How awesome is that? Well, coming from someone I truly love and love her work, it's very awesome! Thank you, Debbie!

Now, it's my turn to name 7 things about me and then pass on this award to others!

1) I work at the National Museum of Natural History.

2) I love Hawaii and want to retire there some day.

3) I love my furry babies: 2 cats and 1 rabbit.

4) I hate to be hot; if I'm hungry and hot, watch out! It's a deadly combination :)

5) I like to drink coffee in the morning and tea in the evening.

6) I'm obsessed with Family Feud on Facebook!

7) I could live in flip flops all year long, no matter what the temperature!

OK, on to awarding others that inspire me:

1) Michelle Arthur

2) Nancy Dawson

3) Beverly Cole

4) Sisters In Stamping

I know there is a huge list of others that inspire me, but it is a huge list. Plus, I can't put my sister down!

Thanks for dropping by and I promise to craft this weekend in order to have posts for next week! I'm closing out a fiscal year at work, so it has been too crazy to get anything else done. Have a great rest of the week!

Instant Coffee Holders

2010-09-22T06:04:00.003-04:00

I got a couple instant coffee "sticks" and decided to make some holders for them. I'll see if they sell at the craft show. If so, I'll make more! They were quick and easy, thanks to my new coffee/tea cup wheel and some coffee stamps! I used different brown paper (green for the decaf one) and went to work. This was the first one I made. After this one, I ended up scoring the paper a little differently to account for the width of the coffee stick.

Thanks for looking and have a great day! As one of my stamps states, "With enough coffee, I could rule the world!" I love that one ;)

Halloween Swap...From 2 Years Ago!

2010-09-21T06:10:00.003-04:00

I made this card for a Fall/Halloween Swap I participated in 2 years ago. I thought it was good card to post because I didn't have a blog back then and because embossing folders are so popular now. I took my brayer and used white craft ink to ink up the raised side of the embossing folder. I then carefully laid my piece of cardstock in the folder and ran it through my Big Shot. I let it dry and then punched a small whole in the center of the web. I used a piece of silver cording to "tie" the spider to the web. I stamped the spider, punched him out, and attached to the other end of the silver cording. I do miss that dog tag punch though! I still use it a lot - so many words fit nicely in it :) I believe the sentiment is from the set Witching You a Haunting Halloween. I stamped the inside with the rest of the phrase. The embossing folder was then easy to wash up in the sink with soap and warm water. Anyway, thanks for looking and have an awesome day!

My Christmas Swap

2010-09-18T16:23:00.002-04:00

I joined a Christmas Swap and here is the card I made. I love this set, Gifts of Christmas. I love the dove image, but the poinsettia stamp makes a wonderful background stamp. I used Garden Green, Real Red, and Very Vanilla. This card is pretty plain compared to my usual style, but I like it :) Thanks for looking!

Back and Refreshed!

2010-09-18T16:18:00.004-04:00

Aloha! I'm back and refreshed. Nothing like a vacation to get you back on the right track... Here are some pics from Maui: scenic point off of the Hana Hwy, sunset pic, and sunrise from Mt. Haleakala. There was just beauty no matter where you looked... Thanks for letting me share!

The Nicest Things...No Bunny!

2010-08-24T06:03:00.003-04:00

I decided to make a card using this sketch. I thought The Nicest Things set would be a good one to use with it. This set isn't really my style, but I had to buy it because of that one image - the bunny in the flower pot. All who know me know I love bunnies and have had pet house rabbits for almost two decades now. Anyway, I had an idea in my head. Well, you know how that goes! It just didn't work out! I stamped the little girls and colored them in. The image of the girls was larger than I anticipated, so by the time I put down the different pieces of cardstock, I couldn't fit the bunny! I'll have to use that image on another card... I also used the Color Throwdown #106 challenge for this. I think these are great colors together. I have really come to love and appreciate Crumb Cake (Kraft). I'm so happy to have the ink pad and marker now too :)

To embellish, I used some cute little chocolate chip brads that I thought worked well with this card. I also used a chocolate chip and certainly celery button, tied together with a thin strip of soft sky cardstock. I "tied" the whole thing together with some chocolate chip satin ribbon (love the satin ribbon!!!)

Anyway, here's my card and my take on the challenges. Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Bold Colors Never Fade...

2010-08-23T06:11:00.003-04:00

I missed the colorQ (#46) deadline of yesterday, but that's okay. I still had fun playing along. These were some bold colors and it was a challenge! I do love the new cherry cobbler and daffodil delight colors together.

I also used the Sweet Sunday Sketch (#81) for this card. It is a simple layout, but I really like it.

I pulled out my new favorite set Friends Never Fade. I stamped the daffodil cardstock with one of the stamps and for the center image. I also stamped the matching image in wild wasabi. I cut both pieces out, centered the daffodil piece, and used dazzling diamonds in the center. Dazzling diamonds really does add the perfect amount of sparkle to any project. I just seem to make a mess when using it!

For other embellishments, I used some baja breeze ribbon for the strip and I used one of the punches to punch out little flowers in daffodil and baja breeze. I centered little rhinestones on each. I love the bling!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend and here's to a nice week for all! Thanks for looking :)

Original Shirt Card

2010-08-22T09:44:00.003-04:00

Happy Sunday! I am so ready for another day of productive stamping and crafting. I'm going like mad to make things for Fall craft shows. In between, I'm trying to make some cards to send and to post!

I did want to post this card I made in the Fall of 2008. It was for my group's monthly swap. The theme was "Masculine" and that is when I first made the little shirts. At the time, the In Colors were Pacific Point and Riding Hood Red. So, I used them with Chocolate Chip to put this card together. I really like this card and when I gave one to my Father-In-Law, he loved it! He always dresses up, no matter what day, no matter what occasion :)

TFL and have a great day!

Feeling the Tropics!

2010-08-20T08:37:00.003-04:00

I love this Island Oasis paper. It has a bunch of great colors and patterns.

I have been wanting to make a paper bow for ages and downloaded the tutorial from Splitcoast a long time ago, but never got around to trying it. My sister's SU! group got together this month and their project was making a paper bow, thanks to Jen Phillips. Since I live 3 hours away, I don't get to attend. But, I love seeing what they've done via Debbie's blog and talking to her about the meeting. It sounds like they had some kind of fun :)

They inspired me to break out my instructions and get to work. While looking through my instruction sheets, I found the one for the man's shirt. I've made a card with this before - but it was before I started blogging. I'll have to take a picture and post it later. Anyway, I've been wanting to do some Hawaiian shirts and I'm going to make flower leis for them later.

My husband and I will be celebrating our 15 year anniversary in Maui next month. These projects are helping me get ready (I'm already there in my mind!) Won't this bow be cute on a gift I bring back for friends and family?

OK, I've rambled long enough - have a great weekend everyone!

Thanks, Kim!

2010-08-18T06:18:00.002-04:00

My friend, Kim, is a Graphic Designer. She recently designed a logo for my husband. She wouldn't let us pay her, so I went to a store I know she likes and got her a gift card. :)

I've used this gift card holder die before and really like it. Since Kim has black cats, I found this paper and decided to use it for the holder. Unfortunately, I ran the paper through the Big Shot and the cats are upside down on the outside. They are right side up on the inside. I guess they have to be upside down on one side - no getting around it. But, I should have had them right side up on the outside. Live and learn while you create....

I assembled the holder and used a piece of crushed curry on the inside to stamp the Elegant Thank You. I also used the Lovely Letters "K" stamp for the outside.

I adhered a piece of black satin ribbon (love the satin ribbons!) around the whole outside. It looked a little sloppy where I had to slip the piece of ribbon in the back, so I punched out a cat from remains of the die cut piece of paper, and covered it.

I'm so sleepy this morning that I doubt I'm making any sense! Sorry if this is confusing...

Have a great day!

Simply Cindy Crafts

January 2012 Simply Paper Design Challenge

A Belated Thank You to Regina!

Awesome Design Challenge Card by Regina Alber!

December Design Challenge Cards - Merry Christmas Everyone!

Last challenge of the year!

November Simply Paper Design Challenge Cards

Birthday Cards

November Simply Paper Design Challenge!

First of the Christmas Cards

October Challenge - Check!

For My Friend Regina!

October Design Challenge

September Design Challenge Cards

Happy Anniversary, Dimitrios!

Happy Birthday, Joe!

September Challenge!

August Design Challenge Cards

Happy Birthday, Ellen!

Happy Birthday, Shelley!

Happy Birthday, Michelle!

Happy Birthday, Michael!

August Design Challenge

Happy Birthday, Diane!

July Swap Meeting Card

July Challenge Cards

Swap Meeting Gifts

Happy 4th Everyone!

Sweet Award!

Wall Art

Simple Birthday Card

June Simply Paper Design Challenge - Check!

Took On More Than I Thought!

Thank You Gifts

Crazy Card!

June Color-Sketch Challenge

Using Scraps

Simply Paper Design Challenge - May Posts - *Added Debbie's*

Think Pink - Shout Out to Wendy!

Father's Day Card #2

Father's Day Card #1

Fabulous Flowers

Michelle's BDay Creation

Kitchen's Finally Done, Thank You!

May Simply Paper Design Challenge

April Simply Paper Design Challenge Posts

April Simply Paper Design Challenge

March Simply Paper Design Challenge Post

She's done it again!

March Simply Paper Design Challeng

Card Box - Matching Cards Set 2

Card Box - Matching Cards Set 1

Card Box

Kaleidoscope Scor-Pal Gift Bag

Bag-in-a-box Polka Dotted Style

Birthday Bag

Our Challenge Card and Bag!

Another Lovely Challenge Card!

My Valentine's Day Card

Michelle is one talented stamper!

February Design Challenge

Simply Paper Design Challenge Posting

One Sheet Wonder Cards

Simple Thank You

Bless you!

More Little Purses...

And the last challenge for the week...

Just can't get enough of the butterflies!

I love this happy doggie!

Getting back into challenges

I'm thankful for...

A Christmas Card

Greenhouse Gala Box

Blueberry Crisp Purse

Big Shot Pro

It's a new year and here come the challenges!

Happy New Year - Year of the Rabbit

Hot Chocolate Holder

Poinsettia Christmas Card

Great Little Gift Bag

Simply Paper Design Challenge - May Posts - Added Debbie's