A Eulogy for Hank

Well ... I don’t know where to begin …

I just went to the bathroom and no one yowled to get in, no one attacked my pulled-down underwear and no one jumped in the sink waiting for me to turn on the water (‘cuz we all know running water is better than water that’s been standing in your dish). No; I had absolute privacy this time; and I cried.

Hank passed away last night; sleeping in my sweater, which was where he went after checking GrammaStamper’s bathroom activities. It was as if he had a bad dream and yowled against the unseen demon … then was gone.

I’ve had cats all my life. A dozen or more and GrammaStamper has had none. She asked if it’s always like this and I replied “it never gets easier”. And it never does.

Hank was born “Cinnamon” and he told us that his moniker was ‘wussy’ so we suggested “Hank” and he approved. Hank, not Henry, was impetuous and irreverent and totally frustrating at times. He was impatient and demanding and exceptionally affectionate; to everyone, as long as you weren’t a child, dog or other unfamiliar animal. He would enter the Sear’s saleslady’s jacket and inspect any purse he was unfamiliar with, much to the chagrin of folks not accustomed to curious cats. If you didn’t like cats, he was sure to be on your shoulders trying to explain to you the benefits of felinity.

Hank took on this blog when GrammaStamper had her knees replaced. He did the best he could to bring a smile to all during a difficult time. I think he did just fine even though I had clean-up chores after his party.

Some might say I write this for cathartic purposes while others might say I write this for personal gratification but I write this for Hank; a fine friend and, although only a pet, worthy of a notation in our digital world.

Good-bye Hank,

Nice knowin’ ya.

We’ll miss you.

-GrampaStamper

Welcome to The Stamp Shack's "Open House Around The World"

This wonderful idea is the brain-child of Jan / Far North, one of the members of The Stamp Shack. We have members from around the world and Jan thought it would be a great way to "visit" our Shackie friends over the holiday. I'm with you, Jan, and would like to wish all of the visitors to my blog a Very Merry Christmas. Please leave a comment because I will be choosing a random number and that person will receive a little Christmas gift from me to say thank you for visiting. Are you ready? Then let's begin.

Here we are at the entrance to our condominium suite. The "Welcome" decoration was purchased at a craft fair many years ago. It is fabric and rope and I just fell in love with it. If you allow your gaze to slide over to the door, you will see a whole mess of jingling bells put together in the shape of a candy cane. I like it because of the delicate jingle sounds it makes when I open the door.


Once inside the door, you can see a semi-circular table that is a place to hold all sorts of things like keys, purse, mail, etc. At this time of year, I place a few Christmas ornaments on it.

Let's move on into the living room. We have this antique radio that John found so many years ago I can't remember (before we even knew each other, actually) which he loving restored and stained. Here you will see more Christmas stuff. As you can see, the movie camera is at the ready for when Jackson is over and being entertaining.

Here's a picture of our dining room table set for lunch. Andrew and his lovely wife, Sheena, will be joining us soon. These Christmas dishes actually belong to my daughter, Tiffany, but when her sister, Kirsten, gave them to her a few years ago, Tiffany had no place to store them. I eagerly agreed to "take care" of the dishes for her. Every year since then, 2001, I think, I have enjoyed using them at this very special time of year. I'm just lucky that they haven't gone missing, or worse been broken, in all the moves across country we've had since then!


This felt Christmas stocking hangs on the wall just next to the dining table and holds all of the wonderful cards we receive each year. Almost all that are in there now are from Shackie friends. You can just see the tip of the Christmas tree in the background. Here's a better picture of our tree. I waited until evening to take the picture so that the lights would be on and twinkling.



One of my favourite things about Christmas is decorating the tree. Every year as I place the ornaments on, memories come flooding back about special occasions and special people I have known and loved. Here are just a few I would like to share with you.




These beautiful ornaments commemorate the birth of my two sons, Andrew (1981) and Phil (1983). They celebrate "Baby's First Christmas". While I actually have four children, this type of ornament was not available when Tiffany and Kirsten were born or I would have four "Baby's First Christmas" decorations. Every year I feel a pang of guilt because the girls don't have their own. So I say to you young parents everywhere, start buying ornaments each year for your kids and no one will feel left out.

This lovely little glass bell with a snowman inside was, once upon a time, a set of six. These ornaments were sold as fundraisers at my daughters' school way back in the early '80s. I just love them and every year they remind me of my 'little' girls and how cute and sweet they were trying to sell them to relatives and friends.

The story behind this beautiful Angel might make you cry, so beware. In May 2002 I moved from Mississauga, Ontario to Summerside, Prince Edward Island. It was a move of approximately 1,000 miles. Just before the move, my Mother had to be moved to a nursing home as she could no longer live alone. I returned "home" for Christmas that year and I gave her an angel to hang on the wall opposite her bed so when she looked at it, she would think of me. It was to be our last Christmas together and when we were clearing out her room at the nursing home, I kept the angel and every year it goes on our tree. Okay, moving on now with Kleenex in hand.......

.....and last, but by no means least, is this gorgeous ornament I received from Heather/firecracker in Utah. There was an ornament swap at The Shack and Heather sent this lovely Main Street Christmas ornament. I'm pretty sure it is ceramic and is beautifully painted. It will grace our tree for many, many years to come and each year it will remind me of the generosity, kindness and goodness of our Stamp Shack members. I am truly greatful to have been given the opportunity to know such fabulous women and to be a part of such a terrific community. I would like to wish each and every person who visits my "Open House" a safe and Happy Christmas! Good night, my friends.

Thank you so much for stopping by for a visit. The next stop for the Open House Around the World is hbpuppy in California. You can visit Heather by clicking here.

A great gift for guests

Over at The Stamp Shack, we have a section for recipes of all sorts. One of my good friends from there, Sherri, shared her recipe for Hot Cocoa Mix. It makes a huge amount and makes great gifts for people you really don't want to miss at Christmas. This year I finally made up a batch and here's what my end product looks like.



I purchased some jars from Canadian Tire, you know the ones you use for pickles and spaghetti sauces and such. They're 1 litre in size and hold lots of the great hot cocoa mix. I cut a 1-1/2" x 12" strip of "Christmas Boughs of Holly" by American Crafts to go around the jar. Then I used my Curly Label punch set and mounted that onto some glossy green c/s and placed it on the jar because the 12" strip of paper didn't quite make it all the way around. I added some red ribbon to it and I think it looks really festive. Then, I made some tags with mixing directions and coloured Santa with Copics and added Candy Candy Stickles for bling, along with some White Perfect Puff for Santa's beard. I heated the Perfect Puff to make it look fluffy just like a real beard. All in all, I must say I wouldn't mind giving myself one of these jars for Christmas!

Birthday Card for my brother, Bob

Today is my brother's birthday. I won't say how old he is because, quite frankly, I can't remember. All I know is loss of memory comes with age, so I'll say no more! I'm hoping to see him this afternoon or maybe he and his wife, Lesley, this evening. It's great being so close to family now. I won't miss any more birthdays (or cake)!

I visited SCS this morning and the CC195 appealed to me, particularly for a man's birthday. I didn't have any Sahara Sand, so I substituted River Rock. The main image is from the Lovely As A Tree set. I stamped the upper trees in Flannel Gray by CTMH and the lower trees in Palette Hybrid Black. For a splash of colour, I added Copic G28 (Ocean Green), mixed in with some C3 (Cool Gray). I added a bit of River Rock ribbon to add a dimensional interest.

The inside of the card uses an image from Happy Harmony in the lower right, stamped in Sahara Sand and the sentiment is from Happy Everything stamped in Wild Wasabi and re-stamped, using my Stamp-A-Majig, with Flannel Gray. Overall, I like the way it turned out.

I'm lucky to know so many wonderful people!

This card was made possible because Cindy (you can visit her blog here), my friend at The Stamp Shack, posted a swap. All we had to do was send a postcard to her which represented our country and/or city and give a little bit of information along with it. It was for her Girl Scout troop so they could gain knowledge of the world and earn their World Badge. The Shack has members from all around the world so Cindy thought this would be a wonderful opportunity for her GS troop. What a wonderful idea. In return for sending a single postcard, all participants received 12 stamped images back from the girls. Cindy, thank you so much and I hope the troop learned tons about people and places around the world.

The card base is Wild Wasabi. I coloured the image mostly with Koh-I-Noor pencils and OMS. I love the way they blend. The tree was coloured using Copics and then I had a brilliant idea. Why not cover it in glue and pour Flower Soft on. I was hoping that with the red flecks it would look like Christmas lights on the tree. I think it does in the photo, more so than IRL. Usually it's the other way 'round. Anyway, I like the way it turned out. The image is mounted onto a darker green and a creamy caramel coloured bit of cardstock. I placed silver brads in the corner and added some twine I found while tidying up one of the storage cupboards. See, embellies come from all sorts of places!

MEN!!

Sorry it's been a while since my last post, but I've been out "saving" even more money for GrampaStamper. The best way to teach a theory is to turn it into a practical assignment, so in the past week or so, I've saved hundreds of dollars!

Now, on to my most recent card creation. The card base is SU's Riding Hood Red and the patterned is from my stash and I've long since forgotten where it's from or who made it. It may even have been from the Stamp of the Month kit from last year. The image is from Paper Pretties which I stamped onto PTI's Select White cardstock and coloured with Copic markers. The sentiment was computer generated using a font called "Olde English" which is just perfect for Christmas. I also used in on my blog banner, in case you missed it. I still think the card needs something extra, but haven't quite figured it out yet. If you've any suggestions, please feel free to let me know.

Well, I've got to get back out shopping and saving, saving and shopping so as not to let GramperStamper down. See you soon.

Saving $

GrampaStamper here … I’ve got a bone to pick with you ladies …

Yesterday, we were watching “Sarah’s House” on HGTV. For those of you who haven’t seen this program, it’s about Sarah and her house and how she’s renovating it.

I used to think my DW was the only one who had trouble with mathematics but something came up in that program that caught my attention. Let me give you the short version …

Sarah is renovating her house. She noted that many, if not most, of her neighbours had backyard pools so she too wanted a pool. Her reasons were more towards enhancing the value of the property rather than “keeping up with thee Jones”. That’s a good thing. She was given a ‘rule-of-thumb’ of 10% of the property value for a pool. I forget the actual property value but it was between $550K and $650K. Being the TV renovating queen she is, she figured she could do this for $20K. She had plans drawn up and all was right with the world. Then the actual costs started to hit her with silly things, like local bylaws for fences. The estimate was soon just over $76K. She dutifully scaled her plans back and ended up with a backyard pool and cabana for $56K and … get ready … she shamelessly pronounced she SAVED $20,000!

Yes ladies, she SAVED $20,000!

She overran her budget by $36K and even overran the ‘rule-of-thumb’ by some $20K but she claims a WINNING DEAL!

Now my DW is something like that and Lord knows how much I’ve SAVED over the years but now I find this is bigger than just my DW!

My DW once bought a medium-expensive dress BECAUSE AN ACCESSORY WAS FREE! She SAVED money! Foolish me, I just thought the money went away but no … we SAVED again!

I think if you all look back at your own recent purchases, you may also find you SAVED money by buying something on sale. Well, let me give you all a short lesson in mathematics:

Joe the Plumber gets a FREE sample faucet and decides to replace his old faucet. Let’s say the retail price is $100. He does the work himself in just under 2 hours, in his spare time and so the job costs nothing. How much has Joe the Plumber saved?

Answer: NOTHING! He didn’t need the faucet in the first place!

Anything greater than NOTHING is SOMETHING!

It is ANTI-SAVING; it is UNSAVING!

It is SPENDING!

You NEVER save when you buy something! You might spend less than your neighbour for the same goods but you NEVER SAVE!

SAVING is when you PUT THE MONEY AWAY SOMEPLACE!

There are a few exceptions though:

- Buying hundreds of dollars of fishing gear to catch three pounds a year is considered acceptable.

- “Pimping out” your tractor is not considered excessive as long as the accessories are bought from a hardware store and not a trendy 'lifestyle emporium'.

- God made hops and malt and so when your DH wants a beer, help him along with his religious experience and run to the store and buy him beer and sing HALLELUJAH!

There may be an additional exception or two but you'll have to ask your DH for the details ...

Well, that’s my opinion of ‘gender specific spending’. Or at least, that’s my opinion until told otherwise by my DW!

- GrampaStamper

Finally stamped some stuff

The past three months have really taken a toll on my creativity as is evidenced by my lack of posts of cards. There have been three major life events: a death, a marriage and a birth. Any one of these events by itself will put the mind into a place of protection, all three of them in such a short space of time play absolute havoc with the ability of be creative. Now that our granddaughter has arrived safe and sound, I'm hoping that my desire to play will resurface, and soon with Christmas just around the corner. I have finally made two cards with a Christmas theme and, one day next week, I'm going to stay in my 'jammies' all day and just play with my stamps. In the meantime, here are my newest cards.



The first card uses the limited edition of the Stamp Shack's Santa for 2008. For the past three years, Sherry has commissioned an artist to create a Santa and they were sold through the Shack website. This may be the last year as sales were a little lower than past years. Anyway, I love my Shack Santa's and look forward to using them over and over again. The base is Bordering Blue and I used my snowflake CB embossing folder for the silver cardstock. The image was stamped with black ink on white cardstock which I had covered in about four shades of blue to create a night sky. After stamping the image, I used my Quickie Glue Pen and Glamour Dust on the moon, stars and rooftops of the houses. I added a bit of pale blue sheer ribbon and attached it at the top of the image. It was quick, easy and could be a contender for my Christmas cards this year.

The second card began with a craft cardstock base. I used the same Snowflake CB embossing folder, but this time I distressed it a little bit. Instead of an image, I decided on a sentiment by Papertrey Ink, which was stamped on the same red c/s and attached to an oval using the Marvy Giga punch. It was also craft c/s. The sheer ribbon I used on this card is actually gold, but it doesn't show up too well in the photo. It looks much nicer IRL. Another quick and easy card to make.

That's it for today, but I did want to post some cards finally.

Introducing Ava, my granddaughter

I went to the hospital to visit Ava last night. She really is the cutest little doll and her Mommy says she hardly ever cries and sleeps well. She was just about 18 hours hold when these photos were taken.

I just can't hide my joy, can I? Mother and baby are expected to be home sometime this morning. How different it is now compared to when my own children were born. I can't imagine having the baby stay in the room 24/7, much less leaving the hospital after just over 24 hours. My goodness, one of the best parts of having a baby was the delightful 5-day stay when I didn't have to cook, clean or think of anybody except me and baby, when they brought the babies in from the Nursery. Except for feeding times, I could loll around and read magazines or chat with the other moms, or snooze. It was a little mini-holiday before the tough stuff started. I suppose, now that I'm thinking about it, having the time to bond with baby is way more important than sleeping and eating and being selfish, but there you go. Times change and so must we.

She's here and only 6 days overdue!!!

Our little granddaughter has finally arrived. We received the call early this morning to say she came into this world at 12:30 a.m., November 10th. Mother and baby are doing great and we'll get to see her later this afternoon. Visiting hours are from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and you can believe I'll be taking my camera. For now, all I have is the card you see above which I made in anticipation of this day. Check back this evening for her first "photo shoot".

Odds, Ends & Snippets

Today this post is about, well, just what the title implies.


I've been meaning to say thanks to the Little Paper Shop for the lovely stamp set I received as a winner of their sketch challenges from a couple of weeks ago. This little beauty of a stamp set was in my mailbox just the other day. I can see so many uses for this set from Christmas to Sympathy cards. Unfotunately, I'll not have a lot of time to play until after next week.

There are still major family goings-on this week. Andrew & Sheena return from their honeymoon tomorrow, Tuesday is a big dinner which I'm cooking and, sadly, Thursday, Kirsten, John, Owen and James return to England. I have had so much fun just watching the grandchildren over the past couple of weeks and yesterday, well, Owen spent the day with us. However, when it was bedtime he wanted Mommy and Daddy. I can't say I blame him because it's tough being two and being on vacation. Nothing is normal for their little minds, but that's okay. We'll have more fun on Tuesday.
Here's one of my favourite pics from yesterday. He had emptied out the toy box and decided it would make a good chair for TV watching. I think he was watching Stuart Little when this was taken. Something certainly made him chuckle.






Next up is a site I just happened upon this morning. I love using Photoshop for scrapbooking and Jessica Sprague has what appear to be great classes on how to use Photoshop, both Elements and CS3. Currently there is a free class on offer and I've signed up for it. Here's the flyer from her website.



The class begins November 9th, so there's plenty of time to register. Maybe I'll see you there.

The wedding was fabulous!

Introducing Sheena and Andrew Collier. Just off to the right of the photo is my youngest son, Phil. He'd be annoyed if I forgot to mention him.

The day was beautiful, the sky was blue, the sun was shining and all was right with the world. It was a tad chilly, but nothing we couldn't handle. The newlyweds are currently relaxing in Montego Bay, Jamaica and will return on Monday.

Here's a few other pics from the wedding and reception. You may notice me dancing with Andrew. My knees work beautifully. I even got to boogie through a couple of tunes.



When the professional photos are ready, I'll post a few more.

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, it’s me again; GrampaStamper. As you probably know, we’ve moved from beautiful Thunder Bay to beautiful Guelph; from the country to the city; from deer crossing the yard to grandkids crossing the carpet. All in all, pretty good. I have my 30 square feet of space for my computer and Barb has her 300 square feet for crafts.

As anyone who goes back in this blog can see, Barb has come a long way in creating cards, both in creativity and technique, but, and there is always a but, her spatial awareness still needs some work.

Exhibit “A”: This is our dining area. It’s not a separate room; just an area off the main living room. Note the elemental balance, the masterful use of colour, the tonal subtlety.

You guessed it: I arranged this.










Exhibit “B”: This is part of Barb’s craft room. Barb put these pictures up. While they are grand, there is something about them …

I have no idea how she reached the required height of the top one, near the left of the picture, but it has a verse that I think only passing seagulls can read. The picture of our kids, by itself on the right, is noticeably listing starboard, perhaps to evoke fond memories from our time in the Maritimes but more likely she couldn’t offset the weight of the stand the frame was built with.

So, friends, while we celebrate this Thanksgiving here in Canada, I am especially thankful for the fact that, although close, she’s not perfect. For imperfections foster growth and growth fosters a deeper relationship.

And besides, she’s fun to tease.

- GrampaStamper

LPS Challenge # 2

This is my entry for the second challenge at the Little Paper Shop Blog. I think this sketch is terrific and I knew just the stamp set to use for it. All the stamps used in this card are from LPS. The DP is by Scenicroute and works perfectly for a card for a toddler who loves construction equipment. Of course, I used my Copic markers to colour the image, with a little bit of the Copic Spica pens for glitter on the windshield and chrome on the truck.

Please take a wander over to LPS and check out their stuff. I really like what I see and I'm sure you will too.

I need challenges to rekindle my creative spirit!

Sadly, I have been in a creative funk for what feels like a very long time. In fact, it's only been about 2-1/2 weeks, but for what I have invested in this hobby, it's way too long. Just ask DH! Anyhoo, I couldn't resist getting into the fray with all of the challenges abounding for World Card Making Day yesterday. At The Stamp Shack, there was nothing formal planned, just those who wanted to create a challenge did so. My friend & roomie for Shackie get-aways, Sherri, posted a challenge to make a Fall card without using orange or brown! I did and here it is.



Isn't she a sweetie? She's from Paper Pretties and was the September Stamp of the Month and here I am, just getting around to her now. It was very simple to make and I felt it didn't need any embellishments because of the scalloped edge of the paper layers. I cut it with a pair of decorative scissors. Also, the use of the Giga Scalloped Punch added to the look. The DP is from DCWV Glitter Stack.

Another challenge offered by Little Paper Shop had me with the sketch they provided. I thought it would showcase some fabulous Heidi Grace paper which I recently acquired and just love. The sentiment is from LPS, but the main image is from Stamping Bella. Take a look at my Warm & Fuzzy card. (BTW, that was my challenge at The Shack.)




I'm just going to the Little Paper Shop blog now to put in my entry for the blog candy associated with this Sketch Challenge. Why don't you hop on over there, too, and participate in some of their challenges.

I'm going into "Baby Phase"

Now don't get excited, I'm not having a baby, but I will soon have a granddaughter. My son and his wife are expecting their second child in November and they've been told it's a girl, so on with the pink baby stuff!

Isn't this little tyke just darling? The card is a 5" x 5" card and the base is Berry Sorbet by PTI. Their cardstock is superb. I added a layer of Lace Cardstock by KI Memorins and it's called "hearts blushing". I picked this gorgeous paper up at Stamping Bella, along with the Flower Soft I used for the pod and around the sentiment. The image and sentiment are also Stamping Bella products. I also used a bit of Sweet Blush by PTI for the sentiment and under the image. Really, Emily's store has such wonderful product and, they have a card that you can earn money with and use as a credit when you have enough. Call they store, they'll explain it better than I ever could. All I know is that the more I spend, the more points I earn and can apply to purchases when I've earned enough.

Now, this card I just love. I fell in love with the DP from Stamping Bella and it's Baby Words on Shimmer Glitter Paper by Heidi Grace Designs. It's beautiful and the picture doesn't do it justice. I mounted a 4-1/4" x 4-1/4" square onto a 4-1/2" x 4-1/2" bit of Sweet Blush and then adhered it to shimmering white cardstock cut to 5" x 5". I punched a scallop circle with my SU punch and used the Glamour dust around the edges. The hippos, Mom and Baby, are from Gina K. Designs company. They were created for Gina K. by Melanie Muenchinger. They're so cute. They were coloured with Koh-I-Noor pencils and OMS, ct out and adhered with pop-dots. I attached the mom and baby using some silver thread. I sure hope you like them, 'cause I sure do.

More Halloween Stuff

While I was at Stamping Bella yesterday, I did a little?? shopping. I picked up loads of new papers and two stamps. The first card showcases the new stamp I bought. It is Bella's Chariot. I just thought it was the cutest pumpkin evah! I used my Koor-I-Noor pencils and OMS to colour the image. The sentiment is from Technique Tuesday. The orangey/tanny coloured paper is by Prism, also available at Stamping Bella and the pin in the ribbon is also from my shopping trip there. It is really a sunflower yellow colour, but I used BV08, Blue Violet, Copic marker on it and some Glamour Dust to spice it up. The card base is Craft paper with an added layer of Chocolate Chip for good measure!

The second card has a bit of new paper. It's by Best Creation Inc. You should check out their website, it looks fairly new to me, at least. Of course, the star of the card is Witchybella. She's pretty glamourous for a witch, don't ya think? Again, I used the Koor-I-Noor pencils and OMS to colour the image. A few little Maya Road felt flowers, a few purple baubles and she's ready to go a-haunting!

"All That Sparkles"

That is the name of the class I attended yesterday at the one, the only, Stamping Bella Boutique in Thornhill, Ontario. What a terrific time and I did learn a few things, too! The class instructor was Nicky Manel. You can see her blog here. ALL of these cards were designed by Nicky and I must say how totally organized she is. Each of the participants was given five baggies containing all of the contents needed to create the cards. The pieces were pre-cut, the ribbon was pre-cut and little flowers were pre-punched. All we had to do was stamp the images, colour them, add the "sparkle" and assemble the card. Even with all the pre-work that Nicky did, I still had to make the last card at home, but that was by choice. I wanted to get ahead of the rush-hour traffic which can be horrendous getting across the top of Toronto. Because I didn't finish at the class, the card I did at home has a different image than what was used at the class. I wish I had stamped the image first, but alas, I didn't think that far ahead. So, I improvised using BubbleBella instead of Tiny Teacup (which I love, BTW, and WILL have very soon). Here are the cards, in no particular order. Of course, all the stamps are Stamping Bella, the baubles are Bella's Baubles and the sparkly stuff is Glamour Dust by DecoArt. EVERYTHING is available in the store and on-line so go check out the website.







If you live in the GTA, or even further, and can get to the Stamping Bella Boutique, it's worth the drive. Go check out their calendar, I'm sure you'll find something to suit your crafting style, whether it be cardmaking or scrapbooking. And, for heaven's sake, go shopping. I certainly did!

JessicaLynn Original ~~ Halloween Stamps

This is the first, of what I hope will be many, times I will be able to use this very versatile set by JessicaLynn Original Stamps. The base is orange c/s by CTMH's Carnival collection. On top of the base is SU's Very Vanilla, but I used several inks and blended them together, then stamped some of the small stamps in the set and stamped the background. It's a very messy process, but I like the look of it. It's the technique I learned last weekend when I attended a class at my LSS. The monster is also stamped onto Very Vanilla and coloured with Copics (what else!)and adhered to a scrap bit of purple c/s. A little ribbon showcasing popular Halloween colours was the finishing touch!




I absolutely adore this DP by Heidi Grace. It's from last year, but I liked it so much I saved some. This time, I stamped the Mummy and coloured him with Copics BV31 and a Cool Gray-3. I used my VersaMark pen and some clear embossing powder. Once I had heated it up and it was cool, I blended some inks over top, cut it on a funky angle, and attached it with black brads. I cut varying lengths of different ribbons and tied them around the middle with some gold thread usually reserved for Christmas cards, but it worked well for this application, too! The ribbon is attached with a puffy glue-dot for some dimension. Make sure you take a look at the eyes. I used two different coloured googly-eyes to make him scary, scary! Did it work?

Christmas?!?!?!?

I've seen so many Christmas cards posted already so I thought I'd join right in! These are for swaps I'm participating in at The Stamp Shack. The first one is for a swap using moose stamps. Okay, I already had several so I joined that one. I call it Morris' First Christmas.



The red paper is actually crushed velvet by Dooblebug. I stamped the image using Versafine Black ink and added Stickles for the lights entwined around his antlers. A little bit of colouring on the hooves and beard and it was done. The backside has The Shack template for ATCs which I was able to fill in by computer with all the details. I printed it onto DP also by Doodlebug.

Next up is a swap named Black and White ATCs. I named it Silent Night. I actually had to do this one twice, but I learned a very valuable lesson. DO NOT STAMP WITH CRAFT INK ONTO GLOSSY CARDSTOCK UNLESS YOU INTEND TO EMBOSS THE IMAGE. IT JUST DOESN'T DRY!



The image I used for this ATC is Lovely As A Tree by SU with some snowflakes by TAC. On the second go round, I used plain black cardstock, stamped with SU's White Craft ink. It dried fabulously! The flip side of the ATC is DP from DCWV Glitter Stack. Because I had no room for the details of the swap, I used some pre-made tags and added my name, date and number of the ATC, put on a little ribbon and adhered it with a glue-dot. Voila, it was done, too!

The last of my current swaps is for a Gift Card Holder. It was actually very simple to make and I hope the other swappers like them.



Merrybella is the star of this swap. I just love her for Christmas cards, she's absolutely perfect. I used PTI Select White for the card holder, DP by American Crafts and some of the new SU in-colours, Riding Hood Red. It's great for that perfect Christmas red we're always looking for. Merrybella was stamped with Palette Hybrid Black ink and coloured with Copics. I added a little Stickles for the ornaments, used one of the older punches from SU, added some gold thread and popped it on the front. The sentiments on the inside are by PTI. The gift card gets placed in the centre portion and I used the slit punch on the top and bottom to hold the gift card in place.

There you have it. Those are three of the five Christmas swaps I've joined. There may be more in my future, but I don't like to overload myself at any one time. Another lesson learned a while back. Next I'm on to Halloween. I just received my stamps from Jessica Lynn Original stamps and will be posting some cards within the next day or two. Please come back and check them out.