September Stamp Club

Wow, two posts in one day.  When the inertia breaks free, it really goes!  I have many excuses, but procrastination is the best one!  Herman did a great project, we had some good “Perfect Day” exchange cards and we finally got enough sympathy/thinking of you cards to do our swap. 

First up is the inside of Therese’s exchange card.  Totally lost the pic of the outside which showed the little old man’s backside as he peered in a window.  ???  Lots of fussy cutting and coloring.

Ella did some fussy cutting of her own on this pretty tree.

Here’s Jeannie’s fussy cut cardinal with lots of bellies and my lighthouse from one of Therese’s CTMH workshops.

Pam used one of my favorite sets for this lady in the boat and Tange made her pink flower with another favorite set and punch.

We got five swaps and Tange made this lovely slightly Asian card.

 

Jeannie made this lacey sympathy card.  Liked the inside sentiment so much, I had to get it in here, too.  Perfect.

On the left is my sympathy card using a retired ribbon lace border.  On the right is Lona’s bright card.  Love the colors and the French BG.

Pam made this delicate sympathy card, colored direct to the rubber with markers.

Herman’s project was this lovely layered card.  Here are two of his samples.  Hoped to have mine finished to show you, but maybe next time. 

Thanks for stopping by.  
(-: ¸.·´* .·´*¨¨)) –:¦:- *** ((¸¸.·´*~Kathy~.·´*)****¨¨)) -:¦:- ·· ((¸¸.·´* .·´*((¸¸.·.·´ *-:¦:- ... :-)

Hello Dolly Bars

A while back I saw on Dianna Gibbs’ blog, a recipe for Hello Dolly squares.  I had a spanking new brownie pan from Pampered Chef and wanted to try them out.  I really like the chewier corners on brownies, just like Di, and this pan has lots of corners!  It finally got cool enough to actually bake something.  Here’s how mine turned out:
Here’s graham cracker crust and half with coconut.

Here’s the nuts and chocolate chips stage.

Here’s half with the sweetened condensed milk.
 
Here they are fresh out of the oven!

Ready to eat!

Di lists the recipe on her June 26, 2012, post, here, and has a couple of pictures.  Compare them to mine, which were a little too done, but still very yummy.  Next time, I’ll just cook them a little less.
Thanks for stopping by. 
(-: ¸.·´* .·´*¨¨)) –:¦:- *** ((¸¸.·´*~Kathy~.·´*)****¨¨)) -:¦:- ·· ((¸¸.·´* .·´*((¸¸.·.·´ *-:¦:- ... :-)

Creative Images August Meeting

We had a nice turnout last night and almost everyone brought an exchange card.  The theme was Blossoms and Blooms and flowers were everywhere.

First, Therese watercolored these lovely tulips and did a bit of fussy cutting to pop up a few, too.

On the left is Ella’s coppery, glittery daisies.  On the right is Herman’s pretty blue spirelli card.

Jeannie dipped into her stash for this embossed copper flower.  My Blooming with Kindness is on the right.

Lona did this Asian-inspired cherry blossoms.  I wonder how she did the black stripes.  Pam watercolored this lovely Elements of Style thank you card with the Itty Bitty Banner on the bottom.

Tange made this lovely orange beauty with the ribbon lace border.  Lynnor taught her how to do it, probably from Frenchie’s tutorial.  Scroll down to my May 10 post for a much easier way to make it.

Therese had the project this month.  We made a background with highlighters, antiqued it and stamped it.  Here’s Therese’s two samples.  She added bits of glitter to punch hers up.

Here’s my project.  The rubber came off the acrylic block and fell right on my background.  So I stamped it right there, again, and then again in the corner.  No mistakes in stamping!  Just different ways to do it!  I’ll be trying this again.

That’s it for this month.  Thanks for stopping by.

(-: ¸.·´* .·´*¨¨)) –:¦:- *** ((¸¸.·´*~Kathy~.·´*)****¨¨)) -:¦:- ·· ((¸¸.·´* .·´*((¸¸.·.·´ *-:¦:- ... :-)

Pat’s Workshop

Had a very nice workshop for Pat R. and all the ladies were happy with their make and takes and my hostess was thrilled with all the free stuff she earned.  After some show and tell with my Big Shot of new Framelits, we did two make and takes.

Denise on Splitcoast was my inspiration for one of our make and takes made with the Christmas Lodge.  See her card here.  We didn’t use glitter or the green layer, but still very pretty.  Petals a Plenty is the embossing folder.

Emma on Splitcoast inspired our other make and take using the Papillon Potpourri stamp set you can see here.  I punched it up a little bit using the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder and some ribbon.  Used Modern Label and Word Window punches and Teeny Tiny Wishes for greeting.  The ladies could choose between Midnight Muse or Raspberry Ripple. 

As another sample with that same set, I made this card using a dotted swiss embossing folder and Itty Bitty Borders for the greeting.

Another sample I made with the Christmas Lodge is this one.  I used Crumb Cake and Cherry Cobbler cardstock and designer paper from the Festival of Prints Designer Series paper stack.  I used the Labels Collection Framelits and white gel pen to finish it off.

One last sample I want to share is done with the Praying Hands a la carte stamp.  Long ago, my mother painted (copied, of course) these hands for a good friend of hers.  It looked just like the original.  When I saw the stamp, I had to have it.  I used Thoughts and Prayers set for the sentiment and the lattice embossing folder.

Thanks for stopping by.

(-: ¸.·´* .·´*¨¨)) –:¦:- *** ((¸¸.·´*~Kathy~.·´*)****¨¨)) -:¦:- ·· ((¸¸.·´* .·´*((¸¸.·.·´ *-:¦:- ... :-)

Creative Images July Meeting

There were eight attending Wednesday night and the treasury didn’t make a nickel, at least on the fine for not participating in the exchange.  This month’s theme was “anything but a card” and we got eight really cool “anythings.”  For the first time, I didn’t have to look at my list to remember who did what, they were that memorable!  To see details, click on the pic, then “back” to return.  Here they are in no particular order. 

First, Therese used her Cricut to make this cute little birthday pillow box with a cupcake and a rose.

Ella made this beautiful flower, with punches, I think.  Perfect to embellish a card.

Herman transformed this Altoid tin into an Asian treasure box, padded inside.

Jeannie insisted this is not a card, but a gift card holder.  Lots of details.

I made this post-it note holder in red, black and white.

Lona exchanged her umbrella man challenge winner from last month.  This little calendar will now sit on Therese’s desk.

Pam made this darling butterfly basket cut from a pattern with lots of bling!

Tange was still finishing this domino pin after she arrived, with the cute little owl charm and some rhinestones.

Our swap of sympathy/thinking of you cards was put off till next month due to mass forgetfulness.

For her “project,” Lona did a presentation on lots of cool ways she saves money when stamping.  She also threw in a recipe for a single cookie cooked in the microwave!   I will just type her recipes, not put them in the cute little boxes like she printed them.  T = tablespoon, t = teaspoon

Crazy One Cup Cookie:  Put the ingredients in a cup.  Stir and microwave for 40-60 seconds 1 T butter melted, 1 T white sugar, 1 T brown sugar, 3 drops of vanilla, pinch of salt, 1/4 C flour, 1 egg yolk, 2 T choc. chips.

Lona had lots of things made with rubbing alcohol and glycerin, both of which are now on my shopping list. 

Stamp cleaner:  2 T glycerin, 8 oz. distilled water, 1 t baby shampoo.

Staz-on stamp cleaner:  1 t Simple Green, 2 1/2 C distilled water, drop of glycerin.

Blender Solution for blending pens (soak removed nib ends):  2 t glycerin, 4 t distilled water, 1/4 t rubbing alcohol

Alcohol ink:  1/2 C alcohol, add liquid Ritz dye

Clean acrylic blocks:  alcohol

Glimmer Mist:  Water or alcohol, add Perfect Pearl or Pearl X, hair spray, glue or modpodge

Blending solution:  alcohol

Versamark pad refill:  glycerin

Aleene’s Tack It Over and Over glue makes great glue dots dropped between waxed paper and acrylic sheets. 

Tiny spoon for glitter, etc. can be made out of piece of a straw with one end cut at an angle.

www.colourlovers.com is a good source for patterned paper that can be manipulated for size and colors before printing.  Lona says there are a million different patterns.

Keep clean scissors clean by running them along a Versamark pad.  Thanks for all the great ideas, Lona!

That’s it for this month.  Thanks for stopping by.

(-: ¸.·´* .·´*¨¨)) –:¦:- *** ((¸¸.·´*~Kathy~.·´*)****¨¨)) -:¦:- ·· ((¸¸.·´* .·´*((¸¸.·.·´ *-:¦:- ... :-)

Creative Images June Meeting

We had a good meeting Wednesday night.  Almost everyone participated in the challenge and card exchange.  The challenge (done twice a year) was to do something with die cuts of Tim Holz’s umbrella man and tags.  The exchange theme was “Something Old/New.”  Pam and I took that theme to mean a wedding card, but everyone else’s cards were more eclectic.  The theme is just a guideline, after all.  No matter how hard I try, I can’t get them to line up by twos except by accident.  Grrrrr!  Click on any picture for details, then back to return.

First is Therese’s lighthouse/beach scene, lightly watercolored.

   

Here’s is Ella’s pretty dress thank you card, done with Twinkling H2O’s.

Herman is back and made this happy, blingy, layered birthday card.

Pam made this lovely white on white wedding card with the lace ribbon border punch (old), jewels and charms (new).  Jeannie made this pensive Gibson girl collage.

I brought two wedding cards and since Jeannie came after the exchange had been made, I traded the one on the right for her Gibson girl.  The forget me not bouquet stickers I have had forever, the lace was new.

Lona made this vintage thinking of you card.

Paper piecing and popping up seem to have been the most popular technique tried for the challenge.  The hardest thing about the challenge was finding a clear winner.  These first two are by Therese and Ella with different backgrounds.  Therese has her guy holding the umbrella for a blonde and she tied for first place.

 

Mine was paper pieced, too, with the lady on the front and the guy on the back.

Lona made this fantastic desk calendar with  different tags in the envelopes for twelve months.  Lona tied for second place.  On the right is Nancy’s collage using a unique watery technique for a tie for first place.

 

Tange’s mysterious blue tag (technique unknown to me) tied with Lona for second place.  Jeannie made this bright tag, sans umbrella man. 

Last, but not least, here is Pam’s umbrella man singing in the rain.

Here’s Tange’s sample of the technique she used for her June project, faux silk.  You crush tissue paper, unfold it and adhere it to cardstock.  She used xyron coated CS, but glue stick works, too, I have found.  Tange did faux stitching in the corner with paper piercing.  To see a video tutorial of Tange’s inspiration, go to http://ourdailybreaddesignsblog.blogspot.com/, the March 12 post.  Go to the archives and scroll down through older posts and you’ll find the gorgeous teapot card Tange told us about.

That’s it for this month.  Thanks for stopping by. Comments always welcome.

(-: ¸.·´* .·´*¨¨)) –:¦:- *** ((¸¸.·´*~Kathy~.·´*)****¨¨)) -:¦:- ·· ((¸¸.·´* .·´*((¸¸.·.·´ *-:¦:- ... :-)