And he learned to whistle...

Quick, tell me the difference between a camel, a donkey and a giraffe....
Sorry, private joke. Onto today's project.

About a month ago, my son learned to whistle. it took about 3 days to get a good sound and a few tunes. He was so proud, his teacher was proud, his classmates were envious, I was wishing there was an "off" button! lol it's like when a kid learns to walk and talk, you can't turn them off.

So I just had to make a page of it:

Paper is S.E.I., letters are from 2 different companies, upstairs, at the moment, birds and music notes are from Quickutz and I love the pom poms. Background paper is bazill.

Off to frame it.
thanks for looking,
Amanda

keychains

I got nuthin' fer ya really. Went trolling thru my photos and found these keychains. Don't know if I wrote of them or not, but I'm desperate.
The images are all die cut from Quickutz. The keychain tags are from a fellow papercrafter's husband's work. I love them. And finally got some chain to fit in the holes. Thanks Viola!




It was a beauty day here today. We went for a nice walk around the neighbourhood, then attacked a pile of snow on the street that limited the parking availability. Ah, the sense of accomplishment to see that thang gone! Bring on the flowers... oh, it's only February? We still have a month or 2 of not spring weather....

thanks for looking,
Amanda

Branch Out (the window)

When I saw this set in the New Stampin' Up! Catty, I knew it would be on my wish list, no, make that get it list. The little images are just sooo cute. I like little things.

it took me a whole evening and many carnations of this card to make it right. I tried an acetate window with the birdhouse stamped on it and other things inside. not so easy. then the card front was too plain, so I cuttlebuged it. Much. better.
I also made the frame with Spellbinders Label one set.



I used chalks to give the sky and dirtied the rubber boot. To add a few levels, I stamped the butterflies on the card, the bird on CS and cut it out, gluing it flat. (I made a 2nd card by just stamping on the card and hung my bird. He was hanging from a branch instead of sitting on it). The bird house is popped up on a dot. The sentiment in the corner is from a retired SU set, "Blooming with happiness" maybe?


After all of that, i felt it needed something in the front corner. I tried buttons, brads, paper flowers, ribbon glitter dots, but decided that my crocheted flower was the best. These little buttons are different. i think they are made from coconut?? It is a lighter colour on the back. i have a big button from a bag that my mother in law got from Thailand and it looks like it's the same. So maybe that's where I got the coconut idea from.


Anyhow, hope you like,
thanks for looking, and Happy pancake day!
Amanda

another cuppa tea

I had this stamp in my collection uninked since this summer. I bought it at a dollar store in Nova Scotia then. I went trolling around the internet to find a gift card template. I wanted something different...
Lo and behold, this came up on Splitcoast Stampers...

Coffee cup template by Lindsay Weirich at EDited to Add:
For some reason my hotlink is coming up incorrect. To get the Frugal crafter blog, just delete the "%20" from the web address and it will take you to the template. Thanks.

http://the frugalcrafter.wordpress.com
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1174878?cat=5645



DP is by Stampin' Up! The tea cups inside are Quickutz mini dies. They were in a winter theme set.


I liked the pocket feature and that the stamp image fit on the cup. I just wrote on the bottom of the saucer.


I taught this at a class yesterday. I gave the cardmakers coloured cardstock to trace and DP. What great combinations they made! I will definitely make more of these. Someone said you can get single serving coffee in tea bag .
How cool is that?

Thanks for looking,
Amanda

baby thanks

Here is a simple one layer thank you card...



that's it for now. Too knackered to write.
cheers,
Amanda

damask frame

I got this idea from Becky Oehlers at
http://hemidemisemiquaverdesignblog.com/2009/02/14/damask-designs/

I changed up the colour and had a different damask set from inkadinkado. Sorry for the dark photos. I missed my chance to get it in the sunlight this afternoon. I wanted to show you tonight.



To repeat her directions:
1. paint frame (from Michael's) with (green) paint. a few light coats. Go with the grain of the wood
2. stamp image with versa mark. you may do all of them if you work quickly.
3. heat emboss with clear embossing powder
4. paint light paint over top and wipe immediately with a paper towel. I wet a corner of the towel to go over the embossed parts to remove some of the paint.

i still need to sand the edges to distress it a bit more.
I'll be doing this project in the class I'm teaching on Sunday. If you're coming, I'll have a few more colours you can choose from. If you want a specific colour, email me your wishes.

Thanks for looking and go check out Becky's blog.

Amanda

baby giraffe

here is a card I'm making for my friend who just had a little boy.


I decided I wasn't going to use my cuttlebug machine or any dies for this mass produced card. 20 of them. instead, my design grew into colouring 20 giraffes with pencils and odorless mineral spirits and threading 40 buttons. What happened to simple eh? I used my Marvy scallop oval punch and some SU DP. The little blue dots around the oval is a flower centre from one of the Papertrey stamp sets. can't remember which one at present. Have to look thru my friend's case of prisma pencils to see if there is a more vibrant one. This koh-i-noor one looks a little dull to me.

Thanks for looking,
Amanda

Super Tyler

remember this idea i had, but didn't know how to finish?


This came to me in a dream. K, not earth shattering, but I like it.


I used SU star jumbo wheel on Pacific blue CS. Flock on the cape. As noted before, colour the area 1st so you don't see the white base. Houses are SU jumbo wheel on kraft CS. Super Tyler stamp is from Stamping Bella.

umm, yeah, that's about it for now. off to play. making some thank you cards for a friend's new baby. more on that later.

Thanks for looking,
Amanda

notebook

Howdy!
Finally have some internet connection. it's been off and on all day.
We went to my father in law's for lunch to celebrate Valentine's. So I whipped up this little notebook to add to my sister in law's gift. The book was already spahkly. It's from Michael's. I just sewed the flowers together and glued it on the front. Added a few pieces of ribbon to the coil. Easy peasy.

After lunch, we took the kids to the outdoor skating rink. My son has only been out 4 times and is getting around the rink. Not whizzing, mind you, but the can go on his own without supervision. This is great, as my daughter is on bobskates and needs lots of help. :}
I donned my skates and took her for a ride. I haven't skated in 9 years! They were a little rusty, but I managed to wear them in a bit.


Hope you had a great Valentine's day. I'm going to put on a sweater (chilled to da bone I tell ya) and go play in my room.

thanks for looking,
Amanda

Crochet promises

I finally got a bunch of crochet things together without selling them first. Seemed I was selling them before they were made, but now I'm caught up.

Here are a few zipper pulls. They are a little smaller than I was hoping, but there you go. you can only do so much with that size thread and the hook.


Here are some flowers on hair clips. They are so cute in the hair. My daughter prefers to wear hers on her sleeve. New trend maybe?


And here are some flowers ordered for a red beret. Looks really nice on there. I decided to put some beads in the centre instead of the button. Adds a nice touch.


Thanks for looking,
Amanda

Later Mater

i don't know about your house, but my guess is that if you have a boy between the ages of 1 and 8, you probably know who Lightning McQueen is. Quick, quote me your favorite line from the movie.....

Anyhow, this was super easy. The background is a piece of cardboard from a McQueen boo boo buddy I got at the buck store. I'm certainly going to be on the lookout when we get anymore McQueen stuff. I stamped the Mater and coloured it with koh-i-noor pencils and McQueen was coloured with markers. pop them up.... voila.


thanks for looking,
Amanda

Sweet thing

Here is a clean layout that I made for my son's friend. January and February are birthday months for him. There is something every weekend. crazy.
Sweet thing is a rub on. metal tag-making memories, cuttlebug - swiss dots. Big brad and flower from my stash.


That's it for tonight, I've been crocheting up a storm. I know I keep saying it, but never show you anything. People keep buying them before I get a chance to photograph it. I've had 5 orders for various things, flowers for hats, dresses, zipper pulls and hair clips. Hopefully I'll get to take a few pics before the next lot goes out.

thanks for looking,
Amanda

Connect the dots Papertrey style

Did I say how much I'm lovin' this papertrey party??

I bought some new papers today from Winners. They have great scrapbook supplies. It may be last year's stock, but who cares if it's only a year old? Not me.


The white embossed paper is from a pack by DCWV and the printed transparencies is from Dena's closet? I forgot on my trip down 2 flights of stairs. The card base is from Papertrey, Spring moss as is the green ink. Love that colour. And all the other colours. :} The stamps are from Green Thumb.


Here is a close shot of the flocking I put on selected dots on the petal. Make ya feel all fuzzy? LOL half back pearls are from the buck store. The spring moss ribbon is also Papertrey.


Thanks for looking and see ya back at the party...
Amanda

Papertrey colour challenge

Well, seems I have a problem reading time and knowing what day it is. I spent time this afternoon with child on hip to complete the Papertrey Ink bag challenge, only to find out I was late. Like a day late! Oh well, C'est la vie.

Hopefully I'm ok on this challenge. The colour challenge. I don't have any of the inks suggested, so I used some I had on hand.
The flowers didn't come out as clear as I would have liked, but at this point, it is what it is. lol


The stamp set is Text boxed. I used various beads and put them on earring hoops to make the wine glass charms. I stamped the image on shrink art plastic and had fun watching it shrink in the toaster oven. I used my cropadile to make the hole before shrinking.


If you are new to this blog, thanks for looking and hope you come back soon. Let's go back and enjoy the Papertrey celebrations at www.papertreyink.com

Cheers,
Amanda

Papertrey Ink Bag

One of my favorite stamp companies, Papertrey Ink is celebrating it's 2nd birthday. They are having giveaways and challenges galore. Go, look and see some of the fun! www.papertreyink.com

Here is my submission for the bag challenge:




The organza bag is one I had on hand. I cut out the flowers using a Quickutz die on fabric left over from my wedding dress! Then I used various flower bits from the Green Thumb, Text boxed and Butterfly Kisses sets. There are so many little bits in there that worked so well, I layered the flowers as much as I could.

I embellished it with some beads from my stash.

Now go and join in the fun....
Thanks for looking,
Amanda

there you are....

I bought this stamp a few years ago for an anniversary card for my DH. i've used it a bit in various circumstances. Especially love using it with children and parents.
Anyhow, the paper is already die cut, 12x12 hearts. Lovely.

Here it is in Stampin' Up! pomegranate..


Look what I tried...

These are self stick felt hearts from the buck store. i love my embroidery floss these days, so I home-ey-ed them up a bit. Can't wait to try more tomorrow and make something from it. Can you see the button additions?!! Stay tuned.

Thanks for looking,
Amanda

crochet hearts

It's snowing like crazy outside! big movie snowflakes. My daughter and I came home after dropping my son off at school and have been playing in my stamp room. All cosy. Now we have to trudge out to pick him up. ack.

I finally got the pattern down for the crochet hearts. I love 'em. So easy to do and I can get one done with minimal interruption!

Another clean layout and no Designer paper! lol
Swiss dot cuddlebug folder and a few pop dots doubled up for height. I'm finding lately that I want my popped up layers pumped up! so that's how I do it. Anyone have a better tip for popping things up higher?

Here is the inside. The Valentine stamp is from Michael's, the swirl is from Garden Whimsy--stampin' up and the heart is from Quickutz.





K, off to pack a lunch and convince my son to stay at the play centre to eat it!

Thanks for looking,
Amanda

pop up kisses

Here's a cute little duo. The cards are the mini ones from Stampin' up! I just love this size card. So cute to work with.

The cut outs are from Quickutz and popped up.
Yes, I know it's blotted under the chocolate. I covered up a name so I don't spoil the surprise.


The Kiss me stamp is from a St. Patty's day set.


Thanks for looking,
off to play in my room....

Amanda