Gift Bag 101 !! PIP Challenge 1804 Bugaboo

Well, if it's snowing may as well make the best of it!!! I love this little pup from Bugaboo Stamps!  So snow day happy, so playful!!  The perfect subject for the ANIMAL THEME challenge from Pammie's Inky Pinkies.  Sponsoring this week's challenge is . . . .  you guessed it BUGABOO Stamps!!  A fantastic sponsor, they are offering a $12 shopping spree in their store for this week's PIP Challenge Winner!! That can go a  -  l   o   n   g  -  way because their items are priced so well!  For instance, this sweet Terrier, "Winter Puppy Dog" is only $2.

I printed this one fairly large ~ with digital images you can print them tiny, skewed, giant, or even layers.  Really, digis are like owning so many more that one stamp per image!!


Printed on plain cardstock and colored with pencils,  I used blender pens to soften the pencil edges and mix multiple colors I used for depth. I've found this to be a great alternative to using water color paper, witch has a different texture & feel.  I also added deep black marker to his eyes creating a more energetic bright eyed look :) as well as experimenting with outlining his nose!

For the painted snow effect I used white out & left a small unpainted space between "mounds".  I also piled on 2 kinds of glitter in the snowy foreground only!!

Well, super fun to share with you all again!!  I hope you will have a little animal inspiration of your own and come join us for  PIP Challenge 1804 all week!!  Maybe I'll see you in the winners circle!!

Planner Girl Wintery Thank You

Cold Outside by Unity Stamp Company

Yes!! It's another Winter theme thank you card!!  How blessed am I that I have SO MANY PEOPLE TO THANK!!

I admit though, I am especially loving that I get to make Winter theme cards without making them all Christmas cards.  It gives me so much more opportunity to use my wonderfully "chilly" or "cozy" stamps!!

detail of edging die cuts

This wonderful little gal is from the Unity Stamp Company's collection called Planner Gals .  I just think they are so pretty, which makes them lots of fun to stamp
& color!!

The snowflake square is from a fun set by Spellbinders called Snowflake Snippets.  I cut it from a shimmery blue cardstock and embossed the sentiment with white since the only other white was the fussy cut edge.  I thought it pulled it all together!

I left a major portion of the card blank ~ I just really liked the proportionality of it.  I also used a solid dark cardstock because any background pattern seemed to pull attention away from the 3 elements I liked so much, the girl, the snow and the sentiment!!

Hope Your January is going wonderfully 😊  Stay  warm my friends 💜

All New PIP Challenges for 2018 !!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR PIP CHALLENGES!!  Welcome to the first challenge presented by Team A ~ we'll be bringing you the challenge details and prize information every other week of the entire year! 

Check out the "Team A" challenge blogs:

Pam Tiedtke~ Challenges Coordinator

Bridget Collins

Terri Winski

Kren Kurts

This week our challenge is #1802 and the theme is ANYTHING GOES!!  The challenge sponsor is a new one to me, Limited Runs and they have generously provided me with this cute little cup of joy image called "Flower Mug"

Limited Runs is also providing a fun prize for the challenge winner ~ 3 Free Digis!! All the more reason so join in the fun !! !!

I just loved the row of these tiny mugs!!  Of course it can be printed in any size as well!  Many rows of them for a background would be really cute too :)  For this project though, I wanted to make a gift card holder.  I fussy cut around the steam on the mugs & layered 2 colors & washi tapes for added interest. 




The gift card slides into the pocket topped with the strip of mugs. 

I die cut the letters "For You" from a bright gold paper and added several ribbons for a tassel.  

I love making projects and it is so rewarding to share them, first with you and then as an actual gift. It makes it even more fun to look for opportunities to give.  I'm hoping you'll enjoy making a project to enter in the PIP Challenges and then even more fun in giving it away!  As an added bonus you might win 3 digis from Limited Runs!!!  

A Cup of WarmThanks

Two of my favorite elements ~ embossed plastic and the galaxy background!! 

I was really excited to see how this combination would turn out

& I love it!!! 

I used the wonderful, steamy, sweater wrapped mug from Unity Stamp Company's KOM 9/15 Our Hearts to Yours with one of their many great sentiments stamped on vellum.  
Admittedly, I wanted to keep the card front clean so I could most enjoy my new layering idea!!!  I water colored and fussy cut the image & embossed the sentiment onto vellum.  I also tried it on paper to see how I'd like it but I felt it was too "heavy".  I did wind up fussy cutting the paper sentiment though and adding it to the back of the vellum for more of a color pop.


If you like the look of this combination it is easy to achieve.  The plastic is recycled product packaging that has been embossed just like you would paper!  It's  attached it to the background using small eyelets!!  That eliminates the problem of visible adhesive and looks great!!

For an easy Galaxy tutorial go HERE

Stay Cozy my friend & have a  great new year!

Galaxy Backgrounds and Winter's Cold

If you're anything like me, YOU LOVE THE GALAXY BACKGROUNDS!!!  Oh my, they are so pretty and forgiving!!  You can add nearly any colors, do any depth of darkness and once you spatter it with a few water droplets and some white (I used white out for these) it's gorgeous!!  I decided to make a giant sheet of galaxy and then cut out sections as I needed them ~ a real time saver :)

I have found that I have a fixation with the night sky.  I've done it a lot of ways, swirls, lace etc.  I thought the galaxy made the snow scene look even more chilly so that's the way I set it up, a little barren to lend more focus on the feeling rather than the content.  I had lot of fun doing several of these; some turned out better than others. Here are a couple for your perusal, I hope you enjoy.

The above card is a sample of recycle.  The words were on the bottom of a mailer I received and saved for something just like this!!!  I cut it down to size and added the stitched border with a die from Avry Elle.

Don't forget, if  you'd like a closer look just click the images

I love dressing the back too!!

For the second card the only rubber stamp used was the sentiment from Unity Stamp Co. Proof that you don't need a ton of images if you have some great sentiments!!


Thanks for visiting!!  I hope you're finding great ways to stay warm and maybe even a little time for crafting!

Eve Girl

Wow!! Christmas was not only beautiful this year but it was simply BEAUTIFUL!  I got less done that ever, the least amount of baking, gifts, cards, & money but. . . . WOW!!  It was beautiful :)

Finally a little slower around here, it is time for "Thank You" cards!! One of my favorites   from Unity Stamp Company is "Eve Girl".  Here she is in water color!!  I  used a background die from Spellbinders -"Flurries" - and water colored a background for it that went well with Eve's color scheme! Avoiding heaviness on the front of the card, I stamped the sentiment on vellum ~ it is slightly transparent and doesn't choke  the space.

I think she is just as full of joy as I was upon receiving the gift she's being sent off as a "Thank You" for!!

To avoid adding more weight to the front of the card by mounting it on the white cardstock I wanted on the back,  I left a tab to attach a white back.  This time I decided to punch the snow border along it and then sprinkle the flakes around my label.

I also added a cozy little stamp (also from

Unity Stamps) to the inside right bottom

of the inside of the card for a finishing touch.

I hope you've had a Wow! holiday and wish you a New Year FILLED with good things. Thanks for visiting!!