Fantastic End of the Year/Christmas Giveaway

Hi all!
Here is a link to a fantastic giveaway!  http://keepsakesbymelissa.blogspot.com/
Blessings,
Cindie

Onsies for Baby Gifts

I had several Onsies that I wanted to stamp on.  My daughter's friend is having a boy and the baby shower is next weekend.  So, I looked through my stamps to see what would work  The Owl and bear stamps are both from The Angel Company.  The Train is a Stampin' Up from awhile back.

Two other friends of my daughter have had baby girls, so here are some girly ones.  All of these were from The Angel Company.  

This one is for my granddaughter Sierra.  This was a newly released stamp from Mabelle RO through The Angel Company.  I was so happy that I got it before it was too late!

I colored these with a combination of Fabrico markers and copics.  Now I need to go buy more shirts!

Birthday Card for Mindy

Mindy loves shoes, so that is where I started.  The shoe is a stamp from My Sentiments Exactly that I got in a grab bag about a year ago.  I stamped it with Versamark and used White Embossing Powder.  I then sponged on Angel Pink Memento and edged it with Rose Bud Memento.  I found some shoes cardstock to use as a background and then I remembered "The Tag".  About a month back, my daughter Beth, bought new dog beds for my granddogs.  There was one on each and I made sure they didn't go in the trash.  I love using cool items that I can recycle into "art".  

The puppy part was covered over by a Happy Birthday sticker from my stash (love being able to use things up) as well as another sticker that covered up some of the other writing.  The ribbon on the card is the ribbon that came with the tag and I tied it and cut the ends.  The biggest problem is that it cost extra postage to mail it, but Mindy is worth it!

Hubby's Birthday Card

I always struggle to make a manly card - not just for my hubby, but for any guy!  So, often I try to think of things that he is interested in.  In the case of my DH, I have done just about everything.  I decided to do one based on the season.  This card could have easily been a Fall or Thanksgiving card.

The background is created using a Crayon Rub Embossing technique I saw on Splitcoaster Stampers.  http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/crayonrubbedembossing/ .  I used brown crayons with the Woodgrain Embossing folder from Tim Hotz and then added ink over it with various brown shades and a brayer.  I just kept adding various browns until I got it to where I wanted.  The stamp is Rustic Autumn Wheel from Heartfelt Creations and are the individual Pumpkin Stamps and the matching Pumpkin diecuts are from Spellbinders.  I colored the scene and individual Pumpkins with Copic markers.  After diecutting the pumpkins, I then trimmed the largest one along the front portion and popped it up along with the medium one.  I mounted all onto a base card and added leather photocorners from my stash.  The Happy Birthday is cut from Gold Metallic Cardstock on my Cricut Machine from the Beyond Birthdays cartridge and I used my Gypsy to make it 4 in wide and 1.25 in tall.

Hubby was very happy with his Happy Birthday card!

New Stamp from Whimsy and Stars Studio

Mabelle was a designer for The Angel Company that was dearly loved by all of us.  With TAC gone, Mabelle produced 5 RUBBER stamp sets.  "Friends" is similar to "Hello You" that was on my wish list, but I didn't get it ordered in time.  The new stamps were available starting last Tuesday at WhimsyAndStarsStudio.etsy.com and the mail man delivered my purchase today!  I had to sit and play!

I colored the girls with Copic Markers as well as white ribbon (so it would match).  The background paper is some of Mabelle's paper "Whimsy Blossoms" that had been sold by TAC and Bazzill Hot Pink.  The stone in the middle of the flower was attached with my newest toy - irock from Imaginisce.

The Angel Company Closed

It is with a very sad heart that I tell you that The Angel Company folded their wings earlier this week. I was an "angel" demonstrator for them for over 6 years.  They had been going through a very rough time with sales being down because of the economy. However, they released a really outstanding new catalogue back the end of June and I became hopeful that all would work out.  Here we are just a little over 6 weeks into the new catty and they have called it quits. Mischelle Smith, the owner of The Angel Company was fantastic to us all. She had picked up 3 new designers and the stamps were better than ever.  I know all of us angels feel the loss.

For the past year or so I have maintained a separate blog for items that I had made with The Angel Company stamps.  I have now combined that blog into this one and delete the other one shortly.

From now on, you will see all of the items here, whether created with one of my Cricut Machines or stamped with a rubber stamp - from any company.
Blessings,
Cindie Deasey

I WON digi sets!

I followed the Blog Hop for Digi House Grand Opening Celebration last weekend and won TWO digital sets!  Hello Seasons is a discontiued rubber stamp set that I own from The Angel Company, but the digital is so fantastic!  Here is a card that I made using the cute hat in the set.  The rubber stamp version on this measures only 1 1/4" x 1 3/4".  With the digital image, I made it about 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 (A2) size and turned it into a shaped card. 

I wanted to have the design on the back of the card, but "erased" all of the dots and stripes in Adobe Photoelements to keep it simple. 

The front of the card is colored using Pebbles Chalks.  The flower is from Memory Makers as is the tag.  I stamped "happy b-day" from Tag Tidbits and attached it with pink Scrappers Floss from my stash. 

Thank you Digi House Designs for my prizes!

Stamping on Fabric Challenge

Chair-ished Friend T-3476 is stamped on muslin using Palette Noir and colored with a red Prismacolor pencil.  Because the muslin was so thin, I backed it with white cardstock before I mounted it on gray.  The doily is from a friend's stash.  The tag was cut using Cricut Once Upon a Princess with a little resizing on the Gypsy in order to fit the chair-ished friend sentiment.  The flower was made using flower confetti pieces that were colored with Copic markers. 

Son-in-Law's Birthday card

Charles spent his birthday last month on a Boy Scout canoe trip with brother-in-laws Star and Trey.  Outdoor Adventures T-3316 was just perfect for this occasion!  I colored with Copic markers and made a side step card. The background mountains are courtesy of Southwest Airlines in an advertisement that arrived while I was working on the card. The trees and tent on the left are Sizzix dies that I have in my stash. The fish jumping out of the water is part of the stamp, but I added some water splash jewels - also from my stash. 

Father's Day Card

Hubby plays both the keyboard and the guitar.  These are from Cricut Cartridge "Quarter Notes" that arrived just days before Father's Day.  The background paper is from a pack I found at Tuesday Morning and the large Treble Clef is copper cardstock embossed in a Sizzix Embossing Folder.  He loved it!

Savvy Projects Blog Submission - America I Love

Rewards Level A stamp America I Love was the subject of this Holiday Weekend Blog Posting.  Here is my take.  I colored most of the image using Copic Markers.  The sky is done with Shimmer Chalks A-504 and the stars as well as the shield and flowers near it were accented with Glaze Gelly Pens.  The music was found on the internet and printed on Granite Bond Paper.  The 3 Red Glitter Stars are from my stash.

Seminar 2011 Trade

The Sewing machine and tag saying are from Sew Thankful T-3288 and Scripture from Filled With Joy T-3366.  The sewing machine was stamped with Versamark Ink S-1179 and Heat Embossed using Black Embossing Powder S-771.  The background is from Digi Design House Free downloads - Robyn.  The heart on the sewing machine is 1/6 of a flower from Lemonade Blossoms & Buttons G-707

Baby items!

Gift card.  Measures about 3in by 3 in.  New Arrivals Cartridge was used on the Cricut Imagine.  

Thank you card set for Beth.  She loves to write thank you notes and I made a set of 16 plus a bag for them.  The card below was done using the Cricut Imagine Nursery Tails Cartridge.

The bag was formed from a greeting card envelope that was scored on my Scor-Pal and folded into a bag.  The front and back were covered with cardstock that matched the Thank You cards.  Large Eyelets and ribbon completed the bag.

Valentine Cards!

OK, I couldn't post these until I gave them to my sweet daughters and their hubbies. 

For Vanessa & Star.  Cut with the Pagoda Cartridge.  The red background paper is embossed with a cherry blossoms folder.  The symbols are printed & cut using the Cricut Imagine on a pearlized white cardstock.

For Beth & Charles who are expecting their first baby soon.  The stamp is from Stampabella and looks so much like them!  The heart and backing for it were cut on the Cricut Expression. 

Team Meeting Project #2

Be Lifted from The Angel Company.  Light blue paper was embossed and then sanded to reveal the white core.  White scrappers floss tied with bright ribbons completes the kite's tail.

Team Meeting Project #1

This card used Cup of Love T-3411 for the Tea Cup and saying, Edge Designs T-3002 for the "table top" under the cup, and Robyn Download paper from The Angel Company.  To access the downloadable paper:
http://www.theangelcompany.net/Downloads_RobynPaper_10.html . 

More Cards!

Since we've been frozen in here in the Dallas area, I have had lots of time to craft!  Not all of these were done on my "snow days", but this is the first time I've had a chance to post them.  I have others, but I can't show them yet!  Some are for my oldest daughter's baby shower and then there are Valentines for my girls and their hubbies.  I'll post them after they've received them.  Anyway, these are the cards that I CAN post.

 Castle is from Wrap-it-up and was layered on a purchased blank card.  The "5" is from my sticker stash.

The Seal is from Paper Dolls for Everyday.  The stand is from a shape in George.  Now I own Birthday Bash that also has a performing seal.  The sticker in the middle of the ball is from my stash.  The seal was cut and colored on the Cricut Imagine.  The card base is from Cricut Imagine More's cardstock options.  I told the machine that my cardstock size was 6" by 12".  I set the machine to print only and did some maneuvers to get the print to move to the right side of the cardstock.  If anyone is interested, I'll try my hand at doing a video to show how I did it.

 This was a really easy card made using The Cricut Imagine More Cards cartridge.  I LOVE this one for birthday cards,

Another quick easy card using The Cricut Imagine More Cards cartridge.  The "Happy Anniversary" is from a sheet of stickers that I picked up at a craft show last summer.

Some Valentine Cards for Guys!

One of the most difficult things for me to work on are cards for guys!  Now, make that a Valentine Card for a guy.  These are inspired by my son-in-law and Chinese New Year which was yesterday.  The Cricut

Cartridge used was Pagoda and it was cut on the Cricut Imagine.  The Black base is from The Angel Company (V215 for 8 1/2 x 12 or V246 for 12 x 12).  Layered over it was soft red from my stash that I embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder with Cherry Blossoms.  The base of the tag is gold metallic cardstock (from a local paper supplier, but it is like Stampin' Up's) and the upper portion of the tag is using Aspire Petallics Beargrass which is a beautiful Pearl White.  I used the Cricut Imagine More cartridge to cut and color the white pearl cardstock with a distressed red.  The black Scrapper's Floss on the tag and card is from The Angel Company F-912.  The Happy Valentine's Day is from My Sentiment's Exactly and it stamped on the gold cardstock with Palette Ink Noir.  The card is an A6 (4 x 6) size.

 This card is an A2 size (4.25 x 5.5) and is essentially the same except it does not have the Scrapper's Floss accents.

I was able to fit 8 of the gold tag bottoms and 8 of the tag tops onto an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of cardstock.  I made 3 of the larger cards and 3 of the smaller ones.  That left two of the tags left.  I made them into actual tags by layering them onto black cardstock tags cut from the Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge.  I cut this on my Cricut Expression.  I added a Black Extra Large Eyelet from We R Memory Keepers using my Crop-a-dile from The Angel Company (K-100).  The black tulle ties are from my stash.

If you are interested, these cards are for sale.  The A6 for $5 and the A2 for $4.  Please email me and I will get them out to you.

Just a few of my December Projects

My brother and sister-in-law's Anniversary.

Part of the card set that went to Grandma Betty for Christmas.

The box that I did to hold the 10 cards for Grandma Betty.  I included ones from my stash of cards that I did for "spares".  The box was from a cardstock stack "Nana's Nursery" by DCWV.  The leather flower and brads are from my stash and the floss is from The Angel Company.  Let me know if you want to see instructions for the box.  I found instrucions on line and then modified it to fit more cards. 

Snowman Tree was for a swap gift at a party.  The snowman images are all from The Angel Company, but some are from retired sets. 

My Pink Stamper Design Team 2011 - Challenge & Submission

Here is my submission for the Design Team at My Pink Stamper.  We were to use Pink, Green & Brown.  I was inspired by the fact that my oldest daughter is expecting her first baby April 1st.  We don't know - and won't know if this baby is a girl or boy, but since the Challenge needed to have pink, I made this for a girl!
The card was made using the Cricut cartridges Wrap It Up and Straight From the Nest and Cricut Imagine cartridge Imagine More Cards.
I cut the base of the card using my Gypsy and my Cricut Expression and the Wrap It Up cartridge.  Two Onesie images were set at 5.5 inches and one was rotated 180 degrees.  The two images were welded together to make a card that opens at the bottom.  This was cut from Linen textured cover weight 65# cardstock.  Then I moved over to the Cricut Imagine and again used the Wrap It Up cartridge along with the Cricut Imagine cartridge Imagine More Cards.  The Onesie-s was set up at 5.5 inches and the pink dotted pattern.  Layer for Onesie for the neck and snaps was set up at 5.5 inches (not real-sized) and cut in a solid green.  I removed the Wrap It Up cartridge and replaced it with the Straight From The Nest.  Using the Owl on page 30, I cut one Layer/Shadow with no pattern at 1.1 inch, one Owl at 1.2 inches in the Brown Damask, one Owl-s (the wings and belly) at 1.2 in a solid green, and the beak (Layer/Shadow of Owl) at 1.2 in Orange.  The branch is from the same cartridge on page 42.  The branch is cut at 1 inch in dark brown and the leaves in green at 1 inch.
Rather than using the circles that were cut for the eyes, I used green gemstones.
Recipe:
Tools:  Gypsy, Cricut Expression,  Cricut Imagine
Cricut Cartridges:  Wrap It Up & Straight From The Nest
Cricut Imagine Cartrides:  Imagine More Cards
Linen 65# cardstock - Ivory
Green Gemstones

Christmas Present!!!
For Christmas, my sweet hubby gave me a Cricut Imagine. 

I have been having a blast with it!  Here are some of the cards I've done.

Our friend Jimmy drives a Limo.  He and his wife, Stacey, went with us to Disney World last fall.  I did this card mostly with the Cricut Expression using the Mickey & Friends Cartridge.  The sign post was done on the Cricut Imagine.

My Great Nephew, Cole turns 2 this week!  This card was done with the Cricut Imagine.  I LOVE the card back.  I used the Imagine More cartridge and set the paper size to 6 inches.  I placed a box with no printing on it to "force" the pattern image over a bit.  After it printed, I then trimmed the cardstock to 6 x 9  and folded it at 4.5 inches (an A6 card size).  I used B is for Boys for the sail boat, Celebrations for the "2" and rub-ons from my stash for Birthday Boy.

This card was done using the Cricut Imagine More Cards.  I changed the color of the popped up oval from the stripped that is in the Layered Image to the aqua you see here.  I used glitter pens on "CAKE" and a piece of cord from my stash.

My Son-in-Law will be 30 this week and for Christmas he got Rock Band 3.  He has been playing it and I thought I'd use a sheet of paper from DCWV's Music Stack.  The cartridges used are Celebration and Wrap It Up.  I used the Gypsy to change my card size to an A6 and cut it (and the "3") on my Cricut Expression.  The Happy Birthday is from Wrap it Up and was printed and cut on the Cricut Imagine.  The star stickers are from my stash and I colored the large musical note using a glitter gel pen. 

I have had a BLAST playing with my new toy!