another card for CFH (featured on the Hero Arts blog)

Hello! Hope you (U.S. friends) had a great holiday weekend! :) Here's a card that was featured on the Hero Arts blog yesterday that I'll also be sending off to Cards For Heroes. It's a Father's Day card with an obviously patriotic theme (click to see details):



I stamped the Thanks Definition stamp on white card stock, trimmed it, and glued it to the Crimson note card. Then I trimmed a kraft note card, punched one end with a square punch, ran it through my crimper, and positioned it over the definition with pop dots. The blue "frame" was done with two different-sized square punches: first a smaller punch was used on the blue card stock, then I turned the larger punch upside down so I could see the card stock inside it. I positioned the larger square over the smaller square punched area, and punched! Voila... perfect frame. :) You could also do this with some square Nesties, if you have them. The rest of the card is pretty self-explanatory, I think.

Well it's Wednesday, and that means I have another Thrifty Thursday deal to share with you! :) This really is such a rockin' deal... TWO sets of stamps (valued at about $20 EACH) for just $11 + shipping. You can find the stamp sets HERE.

Or, you can head on over to the Hero Arts blog for some more cards from my fellow Hero Hostess and a FABULOUS card and video from the great Jennifer McGuire. The theme/challenge this week is manly cards. A lot of people say they have trouble with them, but you're sure to be inspired by all of the wonderful ideas the Hero Arts blog has for masculine cards this week! Check it out! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Have a good one!

SUPPLIES: Hero Arts stamps (Galaxy of Stars, Thanks Background, and Happy Greetings), Hero's kraft and Crimson note cards, blue and white card stocks, Blue Iris chalk ink, SU! craft ink, white embossing powder, Fiskars crimper, Hero Summer button, thin jute, and pop dots

mid-week enabling, a blog hop, and some questions answered

Howdy! How about a little enabling to help us get over the weekly hump? ;) My Sentiments Exactly always has "Thrifty Thrusdays"... an opportunity to buy some of their wonderful stamps at an AMAZING discount. (We're talking high quality, photopolymer stamps sets for about 75% off!) Since I get the emails for TT a day early, I thought I'd start sharing them with you guys as a mid-week pick-me-up! :) See this week's Thrifty Thursday deal HERE. You're welcome. ;)

Also, who's signing up for the CFH Blog Hop?



I'm going to participate... how about you? I love CFH - what a great way to do a little something for those who do A LOT for us. :)

One other little tid-bit... I had a couple questions about this card HERE and wanted to answer them. :)

Here's one from Shelly:



Yep! Just a simple black Zig Milleneum pen and my metal ruler, girl... voila. Doodled border. :)

And then one from Jill W:



Hey, Jill! :) Those clouds are actually a brand new Hero Arts stamp released just this spring! You can get it HERE, at one of my favorite online stamp stores. Julie's customer service is some of the very best out there, no doubt about it. ;) Enjoy!

Hope that answers your questions! And thank you for all of your lovely comments, ladies. Inky hugs! :)

Tomorrow, I'll post my card from last week's Hero Arts "Dots" Challenge... see ya then! :)

*GASP*

Oh my goodness...

New QuicKutz Alphas

I am totally in love......... *swoon*





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Circle cutter update

Thanks to all for your input regarding my circle cutter dilemma. After doing a little research, I ended up going with the Fiskars Circle Cutter (photo credit). For anyone who might be interested, here are my reasons for selecting this cutter, ranked according to my personal requirements:

1. It uses a custom measuring system for the selection of circle sizes, instead of a predetermined channel system like the Coluzzle and EK Success Circle Scissor. I can easily achieve my 1/16th inch mats in any size I might need, which makes it really versatile to use with stamps, punches, or just on its own.

2. It is extremely compact and easy to store, no larger than a large handheld punch. In fact, I keep it in an Iris Mini Chest drawer with all of my other shape punches.

3. The price! It was considerably (33%) cheaper than the EK Success Circle Scissor. And while it doesn't beat the original price of the Coluzzle (single template)... with a coupon, it definitely comes close! ;)

4. It cuts circles (from as small as 1 inch) up to 8 inches in diameter. The Coluzzle (that I have - I know there were larger ones available once upon a time) and the EK Success Circle Scissor only go up to 6 inches.

Overall, I have been very pleased with this tool. It was a little awkward at first, but after only two practice circles, I got the hang of it and my circles came out flat - no curled edges - and perfectly symmetrical. I hope this info helps someone! Thanks for stopping by today. :)

Sucker for the cute

Normally, I'm not a "shaped brad" type of person, but these mini Halloween ones by Making Memories were just too cute for me to pass up! (click the pic to see them in detail) I spotted them at my local Archivers and thought they were adorable, but passed on getting them at first. After YEARS of accumulating so much stuff just because "I really liked it" once upon a time LOL, I decided that unless I could come up with specific ways to get good use out of them PRE-purchase, I should leave them on the display. Well, days went by and of course I managed to come up with a few ideas for which they would be perfect, and decided to trek back to the store in order to make them mine. ;)

You can find them here... and they're even on sale! :D

A girl can never have too much ribbon

I followed Taylor's lead and decided to take advantage of the sale that Michael's was having on their specialty ribbon this week. And by take advantage, I mean buy about half their display. LOL I couldn't help it! There were just too many to pick from. ;) Here's a sampling of what I brought home:

Click to see larger.

Aren't they lovely?! Not only are they great designs and the perfect width for cards, but the colors match so many of my favorite Stampin Up colors! Among them is a Pretty In Pink/Chocolate Chip polka dot organza... a Ballet Blue/Bordering Blue/Certainly Celery grosgrain... a Chocolate Chip grosgrain with Tempting Turquoise stitching... and a Bashful Blue grosgrain with white stitching! But I think my very favorite of the entire bunch is the Lavender Lace velvet ric-rac on top. It is absolutely adorable. And before you ask, no, I didn't take this picture with my new little bundle of joy... she and I are taking our time, still getting acquainted. (And boy, is there a LOT with which to acquaint! LOL) ;)

Anyway, I think I may go back and get a few more spools while the sale is still going on. So if you love ribbon as much as I do, then you better hurry on over to Mike's and get some before it's all gone! ;) (Each spool contains three yards of ribbon and they're priced 2 spools for $3.)