Graduate Gown

Well, I've seen many cards like this on Pinterest, so I thought I'd try my hand at it. Wow... it was a lot harder than I thought.

I used a Gold Foil sheet for my gown... and to get the "v" shape cut out...I used a portion of the point of a Star Framelit. Now, when I did this... the Gold Foil produced a edge line all around the cut piece. I tried using a Bone Folder to rub it out -- with not good results. I tried to run it back through the Big Shot backwards to see if it would come out too -- It did not. So... with scissors... I trimmed the indent made from the die-cut.

I used DMC floss for the tassel. I used four cords to make the tassel...and tied it using one strand of one cord.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:
Stamp Set - Special Reason
Ink - Night of Navy
Paper - Night of Navy, Gold Foil, Very Vanilla
Accessories - Big Shot, Stars Framelits, Stylish Stems Framelits, Basic Pearls, dimensionals

Big On Flowers

I believe this is my new favorite color combo....Peekaboo Peach, Old Olive and Whisper White. Now Olive Olive is my all time favorite color....so I'm sure any color that pairs with it will be fantastic! =)

For the ribbon detail, I used 2 different ribbons and just laid one on top the other.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:
Stamp Sets - Falling Flowers, Big On Birthdays
Ink - Peekaboo Peach, Old Olive
Paper - Peekaboo Peach, Old Olive, Whisper White
Accessories - Big Shot, May Flowers Framelits, dimensionals, glue dots, Peekaboo Peach Ribbon, Old Olive Ribbon

Mike's Surgery

With this scrapbook page, I have successfully completed our 2016 scrapbook!!!!! Yay! Now on to our 2017 scrapbook - right?

I only took one photo of my husband when he was rushed to the ER for emergency surgery for his appendectomy. Well, I didn't even take this picture.... my brother did (you can see part of me in the background of this photo. On Dec 10, 2016, Mike was concerned about a sharp pain in his right-hand side of his waist. At first, we just thought it was a pulled muscle.... even the doctors felt that that was the case. Well, after the CT Scan was complete.... it was determined he had an inflamed appendix. The laparoscopic surgery was done that day, and he was able to come home that same night! He recuperated at home and was off work for 1 week. After about a month he was fully recovered.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Supplies Used:

Background - White with a Natural Compositions Overlay in grey

Shapes - Rounded Square (green, blue and white) -- to create the Cleveland Clinic symbol border at the top of page.

Stamp Brush Set - Patterned Occasions (SU) - bandaid

Font - Bradley Hand ITC and Wide Latin (blue) and Parade (green)

2016 Christmas

 

Almost complete with our 2016 photobook! Here are my pages for our 2016 Christmas. My sister's family was not able to travel home to be with everyone, but we got some photos of her kids opening up their gifts too! Hopefully for our 2017 Christmas, we can all be together!

Thanks for stopping by for a closer look!

Supplies Used:

Background - Watercolor Winter (SU)

Embellishments - Blue Christmas Mini (BC) - lights and ornament

Stamp Brush Set - Lovely As A Tree (SU) trees - green

Font - Engravers MT and Bell MT (blue)

La Salle Park

 

Mike and I drove to Buffalo, NY in November 2016. He was working in Buffalo and I was just along for the ride.  One evening we drove to this park and walked along the trail there and then watched the sunset. It was beautiful!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

Background - Pumpkin Patch (OvrThFnc) 

Embellishments - Summer Florals (StyRock) - white flowers

Punch - Square (filled w/black)

Font - Brannball Small and Book Antiqua (green)

Gingerbread Houses

 

Continuing work on our 2016 scrapbook.... I can see the end in sight. Only a few more pages to complete 2016. Then, I can work on this year's scrapbook! 

We had the opportunity to help out my nieces and nephew with their gingerbread houses. Well, when I say help... we just watched, as they were great in designing their own houses. So, no photos of Mike and I in these photos... just our nieces and nephew.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

Background - Christmas Dec 2016 Blog Train (marieh) - gingerbread

Punch - Square (filled w/brown)

Stamp Brush Set - Glimmer Kit (SU) - white striped overlay

Embellishments - Everyday Moments (MyMem) - red ricrac; Candy Claus (Kathryn) - jawbreakers; Sugar & Spice (Stina) - gingerbread; Christmas Dec 2016 Blog Train (marieh) - gingerboy

Font - Cuckoo (red); Viner Hand ITC (black and red)

Cleveland Zoo

 

Now that we are back in Cleveland, Ohio... and on November 28th.... we decided to go to the Cleveland MetroParks Zoo to celebrate the anniversary of us getting engaged 16 years ago. YES... back in 2000, we got engaged at the zoo. Now, many of you are wondering how we remember the actual day... usually it's the wedding date you remember the most (for obvious reasons). Well, it just so happens that November 28th was my Grandma Schwab's (my paternal Grandmother) birthday. She was the first person we called after we got engaged, so it's a date we will remember always. My Grandma passed away back in 2013, but she lived a very full and happy life.

Before we went we looked back on photos we had taken when we got engaged to find the bench where the proposal happened. While looking at those photos, we saw that we had kept the coats, scarf and shirt from way back then. Sooooo.... we decided to wear the same clothes and get a photo on the same bench! How cool it was to see the similarities in the photos taken 16 years apart!

We enjoyed the zoo.... even though it was rather chilly and had a bit of rain too.  Mike even got a smooch from an orangutan!

Thanks for taking a closer look!

Supplies Used:

Background - Au Natural (Stina)

Embellishments - Baby Grace Flower (MyMem)

Punch - Square (filled w/Be Mine Paper - KJDdsgn)

Font - Elephant (White)

Banner Birds

Such a fun card! I cannot take credit for it as I found the design on Pinterest! I loved the colors so much... I used them on mine too!  Thanks Diane Ouellette for your wonderful card. Here is what her's look liked:

See... almost identical! I used scissors to cut out each pinwheel (sail)... the middle piece is from the Swirly Birds stamp set and has a matching die-cut within the Swirly Scribbles Thinlits.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Supplies Used:

Stamp Sets - Swirly Bird, Birthday Banners

Ink - Dapper Denim, Crushed Curry, Real Red, Soft Sky, Early Espresso

Paper - Dapper Denim, Whisper White

Accessories - Big Shot, Bunch of Banners, Swirly Scribbles, scissors

Wallace Lake

 

In October 2016, the leaves on several trees had already changed to their bright colors. Mike and I wanted to capture and see the trees around us, so we decided to take a trip to the MetroParks. We went to a portion of the parks called Wallace Lake. Now... most of the trees were still green, but a few had started to change. There seemed to be a walking path around the lake, so we decided to take a walk to see how far around the lake we could go. Darn... we didn't even make it halfway, and the trail ended. Oh well! We still enjoyed our time at the park and with each other.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Supplies Used:

Background - Hello Honey with Family Spotlight Overlay (SU) - light yellow

Embellishments - SJSA Elements (dreams4everDesigns) - fern leaf; Apple Pickin Mini (MemMo) - acorn cluster; Girls (ezane) - hello tag

Stamp Brush Set - Family Spotlight Overlay (SU) - light yellow chevron

Punch - Square (filled w/Cajun Craze)

Font - Cerebral (green); Lover's Quarrel (yellow)

Princess Ledges Nature Preserve

 

My husband and I wanted to explore the area that we moved to, so we found this nature preserve that was right off the main road. You'd totally miss it if you weren't specifically looking for it. I'm so glad we found it online of the parks near us.  Wow! What an amazing place... there were two trails: one a nature trail and the other a ledges trail. We did both! The leaves were just staring to change (as it was October 2016). It was a beautiful day for a lovely hike in nature.

Thanks for taking a walk with us!

Supplies Used:

Background - Soft Suede with an In Any Event Overlay is dark brown

Punches - Square (filled w/Autumn Traditions #1 and #2 and green)

Stamp Brush Sets - In Any Event (SU) - dark brown overlay stripes; Autumn Days (SU) - leaf in green, yellow and orange

Font - Freehand521 (beige); Duchess (brown)

My Dad and Beverly

 

Continuing on with our 2016 scrapbook, with my Dad's marriage to Beverly. They got married September 2016. After the marriage vows were said, we all went to a luncheon at Stancato's to celebrate.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

Background - Anchors Away (kapi)

Embellishments - Wedding Day (MM7) - yellow overlay; A Little Harvest (MS2) - orange flower; Like Sunshine (mhtdesigns) - yellow flower

Font - Chancellor (yellow)

New Apartment

 

Working still on our 2016 scrapbook (it feels good to get these pages complete) with our move from a suburb of Portland, Oregon to a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio in September 2016.  We wanted to move closer to family... so we had our choice of Los Angeles, California -- where Mike's family lives, or Cleveland, Ohio -- where Diane's family lives. We chose Ohio! Mike was able to keep his job while working virtual office (working from home). It works out well when Mike has to go out-of-town, Diane is able to visit with family and friends.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used:

Background - Missing You (kbs48)

Embellishments - SP Promise Flowers -red; Baby Grace Flower (MM8) - white

Stamp Brush Sets - Home Sweet Home (SU) - sign (light gray); Autumn Harvest (SU) - bless your home (gray)

Punch - Fifty Nifty (Ohio) - light gray; Small Heart -red

Font - Freehand521 (light gray)

PurpleStride 2016

 

Continuing work on my 2016 scrapbook with our participation in the PurpleStride Cleveland 2016 walk. The walk raises awareness and funds to help those that are fighting the terrible disease of pancreatic cancer through the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. Those who follow my blog (or know me personally), know that my Mother died of this disease in February 2014. There is still no cure for this deadly disease. So I walk to bring HOPE to all those who are still fighting and HONOR those who have lost their life.

I miss you Mom! I love you so very much! HUGS!

Thanks for taking a closer look at my pages!

Supplies Used:

Background - purple

Stamp Brush Set - Ribbon of Hope (SU) - purple ribbon; Decorative Overlays (SU) - purple collage flourish

Punch - Square (filled w/white)

Font - Bodoni MT (Purple and white); Lucida Calligraphy (white)

Graduation

 

While we were in Cleveland in June 2016, our nephew graduated from high school. His party was held at the Hinckley Lake Pavilion. We enjoyed great food and fun games with family and friends. Also, 2016 was the year of the cicadas -- they emerge every 17 years to breed and then die after leaving the eggs in the ground. Their song (or noise) can be heard constantly throughout the day/night. Hearing them wasn't so bad...it was actually kinda nice. It was the dead carcasses everywhere that was kinda gross. 

Thanks for taking a look!

Supplies Used:

Background - Black

Punch - Square (filled w/blue)

Embellishments - Glimmer Kit (SU) - gold line; Graduation Day - word congrats

Stamp Brush Sets - Decorative Overlays (SU) white starburst; Go Graduate Plus (SU) - hat and owl; Extreme Elements (SU) - white stars

Font - Wide Latin (white)

Hinckley Lake

 

Working on another double-page spread for our 2016 photobook with our trip in June to Ohio and the Cleveland Metroparks - Hinckley Reservation.  After our hike a few family members decided to go to the boathouse for some fun on the lake.

With this page... I used an oval punch/shape with one of my photos to create the title for my page! How cool is that!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

Background - Blog Train 2016 (LouiseL) - water

Embellishments - End of Summer Beach Party (JeanSDs) - surfboard; Summer Vacation (LinJane) - life jacket

Stamp Brush Set - Spring Fever (SU) - orange frame

Punch - Tasteful Trim 1- orange; Square (yellow); Circle (filled w/photo)

Font - CK Honey (blue)

Whipps Ledges

 

In June 2016, we went hiking in the Cleveland Metroparks -- Hinckley Reservation -- Whipps Ledges with part of my family members. It was a great hike and afterward we enjoyed a great BBQ!

We were goofing around with our group photo....everyone was looking at or talking on their cell phones on the second page! LOL! Too FUN!

Thanks for taking a look!

Supplies Used:

Background - Nov 2015 Blog Train (ddnd)- lightbrown

Stamp Brush Set - Happy Camper Memories (SU)-brown boot

Punch - Tasteful Trim - white zigzag)

Font - Boulder (white); At Last Greeting (brown)

Hand Surgery

 

Who says you only scrapbook the fun and exciting things? No... you scrapbook your daily life... the things that happen, so that you appreciate all that you've done - good and bad.  I've had a ganglion cyst (fluid filled) on my right wrist for several years.  As it was on my right hand, my dominate hand, I was reluctant to have surgery to remove the cyst. It wasn't causing a lot of problems for me... just some pressure while moving my wrist... and I couldn't do a push-up without pain (but who wants to do those anyway, LOL!).  So, I elected to have hand surgery in June 2016. Now since I've been procrastinating with my scrapbooking.... I've got some cool time-lapse photos of my scar and how it had healed 6 months after my surgery. (Sorry if the photos look gross... I thought they did too, kinda like a worm underneath my skin. Ewww!). I know my scar will continue to fade with time.

Anyway, my wrist works great now...and I can do those push ups without pain now if I want to.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

Background - Elegant Eggplant

Embellishments - Simple Stitches (SU) recolored purple

Stamp Brush Sets - Natural Composition Overlay (SU)-white; All Time Fave (SU) - purple arrow

Punch - Square (filled w/Watercolor Winter - SU)

Font - CK Teen (Purple)

Trillium Lake

 

Continuing with our 2016 photobook with places that we've seen and things that we've done in 2016.... here is our trip to Trillium Lake.  The lake is located about 7 miles south of Mt Hood, so the views of the lake with the mountain in the background are stunning! We hiked the lake loop trail, which goes around the lake, and it's about 2 miles long. Such beauty in nature.

Supplies Used:

Background - Campfire Stories (MagsGfx) - denim green

Embellishments - Winter Blue (Dillie) - flower; Walk In The Park II (SU) - leaf border

Punch - Square (brown)

Font - Rockwell Extra Bold (white); At Mahogany Script (white)

Oregon Gardens

 

I completed a few pages in our 2016 photobook.... It felt good to scrapbook again! Here is our trip that we made in May 2016 to the Oregon Gardens. We drove down from our home (then in Tualatin, Oregon) to Silverton, Oregon. The gardens encompass 80 acres and have more than 20 specialty gardens. It was a beautiful day to explore and relax with nature.

Thanks for taking a closer look!

Supplies Used:

Background - Campfire Stories (MagsGfx)

Embellishments - Beach (ddnd-rbd) - leaf; Love (Pritchett) - sweetcheeks flowers

Font - Cerebral (black); Elegance (white and black)

Brunch Celebration

I made several of these cards for the Mother's in my life (my Mother-in-law, my God-Mother, my best friend's Mom and my husband's friend). It's always sad on this day as my own Mother is gone... along now with both my Grandma's. I miss them so much.

I saw this color combo online, so wanted to use it for colors of my flowers. Very springlike.

Thanks for taking a closer look.

Supplies Used:
Stamp Sets - Basket Bunch, Something to Celebrate
Ink - Sweet Sugarplum, So Saffron, Peekaboo Peach, Memento
Paper - Sweet Sugarplum, So Saffron, Whisper White
Accessories - Big Shot, Basket Builder, dimensionals

Big Birthdays

The 'Happy Birthday' sentiment on this card sort of looks like a tiered cake to me, so adding the candle to the top was just the finishing touch.

Thanks for taking a closer look.

Supplies Used:
Stamp Sets - Big On Birthdays, Birthday Banners
Ink - Memento, Mint Macaron, Crushed Curry
Paper- Mint Macaron, Whisper White, Basic Black, It's My Party DSP

Milestone Banner

The Little Numbers Thinlits make it so easy to create milestone birthday cards.  This one is for my Uncle who is turning 85! Congrats to him!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:
Stamp Set - Birthday Banners
Ink - Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy, Memento
Paper - Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy, Whisper White
Accessories - Big Shot, Little Numbers Thinlits, Bunch of Banners Framelits, Balloon Bouquet Punch

Wonderful Stems

I fell in love with Mary Fish's card with the rich purple. I wanted to use her design, but change the color. Thanks Mary for your inspiration!

I used the colors Pumpkin Pie with Peek-a-boo Peach for the flowers and Old Olive for the leaves.

Thanks for taking a look.

Supplies Used:

Stamp Set - Rose Wonder

Ink - Old Olive

Paper - Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Whisper White, Peek-a-boo Peach

Accessories - Big Shot, Die Brush, Precision Plate, Stylish Stems, dimensionals 

Many Reasons

I really like the new Stylish Stems framelits that coordinate with the new Special Reason stamp set. Although, I do have to say that I'm sad that the sentiments are so small in the stamp set.

For the 'Thank You' one.... I used the stamp set Thankful Thoughts... which, I feel is more the size you need for each card.

But, I wanted to show that I could create many reasons to like this set -- A Birthday, A Congratulations and a Thank You card!

Thanks for taking a peek!
Supplies Used:
Stamp Set - Special Reason, Thankful Thoughts
Ink - Memento
Paper - Flirty Flamingo, Sweet Sugarplum, Peekaboo Peach, Whisper White, Basic Black
Accessories - Big Shot, Stylish Stems, Die Brush, Precision Plate, dimensionals, glue dots

Sending Swirls

 


When I saw Sue Vine's card on Pinterest... it was so very beautiful, I had to try one of my own. I used different colors and sentiment stamp, but as you can see I used her lovely layout of flowers.
My card is for my Aunt who recently had knee surgery and is now recuperating at home... so I wanted cheerful colors to brighten her day.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Supplies Used:
Stamp Sets - Sending Thoughts, Swirly Bird
Ink - Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzazz, Garden Green
Paper - Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White
Accessories - Big Shot, Magnetic Plate, Swirly Scribbles Thinlits, glue dots

Confirmation Cross

 






The photo on the right is what I found on Pinterest. I immediately thought of Confirmation when I saw this card.  Thanks Susanne Kalisch for your wonderful inspiration. The card on the left is my creation.... using red as that is the color of confirmation.

The dove is from the stamp "Easter Dove".... I just used scissors to cut the dove out.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Supplies Used:

Stamp Set - Easter Dove
Ink - Memento
Paper - Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Accessories - Big Shot, Die Brush, Circles Collection Framelits, Swirly Scribbles Thinlits, scissors, dimensionals

Botanical Wonder

Working with the Rose Garden Thinlits to try to use them in a different way.... I came up with only using the negative piece from the leave thinlit to create my card.  As you can see I used the leaf thinlit twice.

I used Botanical Gardens DSP for the front piece and the leaf cutout as well.

Thanks for taking a closer look!

Supplies Used:
Stamp Set - Rose Wonder
Ink - Memento
Paper - Mossy Meadow, Basic Black, Botanical Gardens DSP
Accessories - Big Shot, Rose Garden Thinlits, Thick Black Twine

Easter Basket Treats

When I saw these little basket treats on Pinterest. I just had to create some for Easter for my family.

I used the Basket Bunch stamp set along with the Basket Builder Framelits to create them. I purchased the Lindt chocolate bunnies and chicks from Target... they fit right in!

I have to give credit to Amy Koenders for giving me the dimensions and cutting/scoring directions for the basket part. Thanks Amy!

To create this basket, you will need a piece of cardstock 1.5 x 2.75 inches. Score this piece at the .75 and 2 inch mark... and .25 inch along both top and bottom. Cut along the score lines at the top and bottom pieces and also diagonally....like this photo (Thanks Amy!).

Now, I first assembled the front and back portion of the die-cut baskets together before attaching the middle piece you see above. At first attempt.... I just used double-sided sticky tape. Well, let's just say it didn't hold together really well. So, the second attempt.... I used the fine-tip glue pen. And, although you need to hold it together for the count of 10 before moving on to the next section to be glued... this worked out well for me.

I added the flowers and the ribbon last after they dried. I finished it off by placing the chocolate chick and bunnies inside.

Hope you enjoy this and Have a Blessed Easter!

Supplies Used:

Stamp Set - Basket Bunch

Ink - Early Espresso

Paper - Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Pear Pizzazz, Flirty Flamingo, Peekaboo Peach

Accessories - Big Shot, Basket Builder Framelits, Die Brush, Precision Plate, Fine-tip Glue Pen, Glue Dots, Lindt Chocolates, Metallic Ribbon (gold)

Easter Basket

Daffodil's and tulips remind me of spring and the rebirth of the earth from the cold and deary days of winter. Easter is also a reminder of a new beginning... when Jesus rose from the dead! HE is Risen! Alleluia!

The stamp set 'Basket Bunch' and coordinating framelits 'Basket Builder' help create several different options. It was difficult to figure out which stamp I wanted to use for my Easter card. The stamp set has bunnies, chicks, eggs, a basket, a carrot and flowers to choose from. The coordinating framelits allow each to be die-cut too. Easy!

Now, I gave myself a daunting task.... to create 20 of these beauties. So, YES.... I had to stamp and die-cut each leaf, stem, flower and basket!  I added shading to my flowers using the daffodil marker too!

Hope all of you have a Blessed Easter!

Supplies Used:
Stamp Sets - Basket Bunch, Something to Celebrate
Ink - Memento, Daffodil Delight
Paper - Pear Pizzazz, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories - Big Shot, Precision Plate, Die Brush, Basket Builder Framelits, glue dots, Daffodil Delight Taffeta Ribbon, scissors

Inside the Garden

Adult Coloring meets Stampin' Up!  With the 'Inside the Lines' DSP (Designer Series Paper) you can color the paper (or leave it blank) to create custom cards specific to your color combo. Coloring the paper is easy... with colored pencils (like I used here), markers, watercolor pencils, or ink and the AquaPainter.

I saw this beauty on Pinterest and got inspiration from it. Sorry there is no name attached to the photo... if this is your card, I would love to give you credit. Thanks for your inspiration!

Thanks for taking a closer look!

Supplies Used:

Stamp Set - Avant Garden

Ink - Memento

Paper - Watermelon Wonder, Basic Black, Inside the Lines DSP

Accessories - Big Shot, Stylish Stems Framelits, Basic Black Thick Twine, glue dots