5-Layer Buttons plus Crackle Glaze

The very first time I learned how to make my own buttons from Lynn's Technique Challenge over at Splitcoast, I've been hooked ever since!!! As long as you have punches or dies, craft glue, and a hole punch...you can make your own buttons!! My first try at this technique, I used stamped images for my button to match my card.....see my earlier 5-layer button HERE.

Here are some easy instructions to make your own 5-layer buttons. Each button will be 5 layers of paper....four layers of any paper you choose, plus your top layer. I chose to use Spellbinders Nested Butterflies and SEI designer paper for my top layers.

After punching out or cutting out your layers, glue each layer together.

On the back of each button, I marked where I wanted to holes to be, then punched them with a Cropodile. If you do not have a heavy punch, you need to punch holes in each single layer before you glue them together. Though I did not take a photo of this step, I used a sanding block to smooth the sides of each button so that the layers are more invisible. I also sponged some color on the sides and top edges.

The next step is to add a clear coat to the top so that your buttons look real! I chose Ranger Crackle Glaze, but Crystal Effects or Ranger Glossy Glaze will work just as well. Now the hard part: waiting for them to dry!!! Helpful Hint: If you know ahead of time that you will be making matching buttons for your project, make the buttons first, then the project after. This will give time for the glaze to dry so that you don't have to pace the floor waiting or try to cheat and apply the buttons before they are dry....it's tempting....I know!!!! Been there, done that!!

Once your buttons are dry, you can add ribbon, thread, hemp, or nothing at all! Here is a close up view of one of my buttons.

And the finished project, featuring more of the SEI paper, "Jolie Chocolat", May Arts satin ribbon, Martha Stuart Doily Lace border punch, Spellbinders Labels Four, and "Thinking of You" stamp set. This was such a blast to make!!



Thanks for stopping by today!! Make sure you come back tomorrow for Our Daily Bread designs' Release Day blog hop, contest information, plus some exciting news! God Bless!

CASE-ing Marcelle - Inked Cuttlebug

Hi everyone!! For the month of December, our Design Team members over at Christian Paper Crafts have each been featured for Case Artist Saturday. This card I CASED from my dear friend, Marcelle, who is also on the DT for the Cuttlebug Spot. I chose this awesome card to copy since I've been dying for a chance to try out my new "Stars" embossing folder. Today, over at the Our Daily Bread designs blog, you will see a Product Review article I wrote on the Cuttlebug embossing folders, plus some awesome samples showing different ways to use them.

For some of you, inking your embossed panels is a technique with which you are familiar, however, I thought I would show just how easy it is. Since I "exploded" my Cuttlebug machine earlier this year, here is the sandwich recommended for the Spellbinders Wizard: Bottom plate, Cuttlebug folder with paper, embossing mat, blue plate (from the Spellbinders Charm Embossing Kit). I have, in the past, used the two white plates only with the Cuttlebug folders, however, it takes a lot of force to crank the Wizard and I personally would rather not put that much pressure on it.

Once you emboss your cardstock, you can either use a stamp pad, sponge daubers, brayer, or even chalks to highlight the raised images. I used a small ink pad directly to the stars. To ensure a "clean" look, make sure your ink pad or brayer does not press into the debossed areas. I wanted a "dirty", or "rustic", look for this project, so I did not worry about keeping the ink just on the stars.

I then embossed and inked a smaller piece, in order to cut out one of the stars to embellish the ribbon. The sentiment is from the ODBD set, "Happy Birthday" ;the satin ribbon is by May Arts.

Thanks for stopping by today!!! Have a blessed week!!!

Baptism Celebrations and ODBD Sneak Peek

Today's Inspiration Challenge over at Splitcoast is to choose an item from the "Posh Tots" site for your inspiration. I chose this gorgeous Rose Crystal and Pearl Mini Rosary as my inspiration. I have also incorporated the CASE Artist Saturday Challenge from Christian Paper Crafts from last week; Jen and Mary from our Design Team were featured. I chose this card by Jen aka Miss Boo to case, because of the awesome layout. See her CPC gallery HERE.

The verse is from a new set from Our Daily Bread designs, being released January 1st, called "Baptism/Confirmation Verses". The designer paper is called "First Kiss" by SEI; the CB embossing folder is "Victoria"; the border punch is "Doily Lace" by Martha Stuart; the pearls are by Hero Arts; the ribbon is by May Arts; and finished with my usual fave....."Pearl" Glimmer Mist!!

For some more sneak peeks, check out Christine's first gorgeous creation as ODBD Guest Designer; also, check out Sandee's post, and Dawn's post today!

Thanks for stopping by today! Stay tuned for more information about January's new releases, our new Design Team members, and a blog hop scheduled for January 1st! Have a blessed day!!!

Flower Soft Product Review

Happy Thursday!! Since our Design Team at Christian Paper Crafts has a few days off to spend with our families, there is no Bible Verse Thursday challenge today. So, I thought I would share a few projects which haven't been posted here yet. These three cards were made for Our Daily Bread designs' Product Review of the latest Flower Soft colors. You can read the full review HERE.
My first card features "Polar White" Flower Soft....perfect for any winter project. This "country church" from the ODBD set, "Worship the Lord" was perfect for a snow scene. I chose SEI paper, Spellbinders Labels Eight and Ribbon Tags Trio for the sentiment. To see how I used the Polar White in the new Flower Soft "Snow Globes", scroll down a few posts or click HERE.
My second card features "Vintage Christmas" Flower Soft and a Flower Soft Card Topper, pre-printed...ready for your sentiment and Flower Soft accents. I chose "Worship the Lord" stamp set once again, plus more paper from SEI, the Martha Stuart Doily Lace Punch and Snowflake Punch, and May Arts Sheer Ribbon.

And lastly, one of my favorite sets, "Quiet Waters" with a sentiment from "Praying for You", accented with "Autumn" Flower Soft, Basic Grey "Indian Summer" designer paper, Spellbinders Ribbon Tags Trio and Nestabilities, satin ribbon, and Dew Drops.

For more Flower Soft tips, visit Lorelie's Product Review on Flower Soft HERE.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a blessed week!!!

My man is the sweetest!!!!

The Lord has blessed me beyond belief! I could write a book if I listed all of my blessings!! One of my biggest blessings is my hubby of almost 18 years, Tom!! He has always supported me in anything I wanted to do or be; he is so patient when I am not at my best or when I don't have time to clean the house!! He treats me like a queen, even when I don't deserve it at times. Though he's not a big "romantic", he pays attention to the little things, and he surprises me when I'm not expecting it with flowers or little notes such as this one! He sketched this rose for me during his break at work.....isn't he just the sweetest!!!! Thank you, Lord, for my wonderful husband!!!!

Christian Paper Crafts- Case-ing Mary and Natalie!

Happy Monday, everyone!!! I was so happy to be able to enjoy some stamping this past weekend! For the month of December, our Design Team over at Christian Paper Crafts is being featured each week on Case Artist Saturday. My first card is a case of Natalie's awesome snowflake card. Check out Natalie's blog or CPC gallery!!! I used the snowflakes and sentiment from "Peace & Joy" from Our Daily Bread designs. Also, Jen's Color Monday challenge today is to use purple, white, and black optional. I stamped the snowflakes and sentiment with Elegant Eggplant, colored them with Almost Amethyst, then colored them again with a Stardust Gelly Roll Glitter Pen. Finished with some "Glacier" Glimmer Mist and Hero Arts Pearls This was so fun and easy!!!

My second card was also super fun to make!! Mary has been featuring the rest of the DT, so it was my pleasure to pay tribute to her as well!! I cased this gorgeous card from Mary's gallery....you can see her blog here. I used SEI "Jolie Chocolat" designer paper, May Arts pink daisy ribbon, the new Martha Stuart Monarch butterfly punch, EK Success Dotted Scallop border punch, Pearl Glimmer Mist, and Basic Grey Opaline Pearls to finish.

Thanks for stopping by today!! God Bless!!

Snowflake Vellum Votive Shade and IC Challenge

Hi everyone!
Just wanted to share a couple of projects I made today. The first is a "Vellum Wine Glass Votive Shade"......super easy and super fun!!! It took less than a half an hour! I followed the instructions on a Technique Lover's Challenge from last year on Splitcoast.....HERE is the link if you would like the template and instructions. The snowflakes from the ODBD set, "Peace and Joy" were silver embossed on shimmery vellum and highlighted with a glitter pen. (Helpful hint: It is not safe to use a real candle since the paper is so close....I picked up some battery powered votives at my local CVS.) I incorporated a few challenges in the making of this shade: Cindy's Fun on Friday Challenge over at Christian Paper Crafts was to make anything but a card; Wendy's Limited Supply Challenge at Splitcoast this week was to use silver or gold; and the OCC challenge was to "Let It Snow"!

My second project was made to cover two challenges: The Inspiration Challenge at Splitcoast today was to choose an item from the FabulousStationary site. I chose these calling cards in order to also incorporate Jen's Clean And Simple Challenge to use curves on your project. I used Stampin' Up "Lovely as a Tree" and "Graceful Words".

Thanks so much for stopping by today!!! Hopefully I will get to play again tomorrow!!! Have a super blessed weekend!!!

"Faith, Hope, Love" Flower Soft Snow Globe

Aren't these Flower Soft Display Globes the coolest?! These two cards were made for Our Daily Bread designs' Product Review of the Display Globes and Card Toppers by Flower Soft. Read the entire review HERE. This yummy paper is from Basic Grey's "Wassail" collection; the door stamp is from the ODBD set, "Ask, Seek, Knock"; the wreath was cut from a Flower Soft Card Topper and popped up for dimension; the "bushes" were punched with a Martha Stuart foliage punch, the borders punched with a Martha Stuart Doily Lace border punch; the pearls are by Zva; and the snow is Flower Soft "Polar White". Since I didn't want to cover up the gorgeous paper with a large sentiment stamp, I chose "faith", "hope", and "love" from one of the stamps in the new ODBD set called "His Gift". And for dessert, LOTS of Pearl Glimmer Mist!!! (Helpful hint: spray your papers BEFORE you add the globe to your project! I forgot and had to cover up the globe!)
This second card was made with the paper scraps from the first, plus I used a Flower Soft Card Topper on which I stamped the verse from "His Gift" and added pearls and Vintage Christmas Flower Soft.....and more Glimmer Mist, of course!!!!!

Don't forget to stock up on your Flower Soft supplies...all Flower Soft items are on sale at the ODBD store until Saturday at midnight!!

Thanks for stopping by today!!! Have a blessed weekend!!!

Bible Verse Thursday - Coming of Our Savior

This week's Bible Verse Thursday Challenge for Christian Paper Crafts is to do what comes natural this time of year....use a verse about the coming of our Savior. There are so many beautiful songs out, but my fave right now is Francesca Batistelli, called "You're Here"...another wonderful version of Mary and what it must have been like to look into the newborn eyes of your own savior and He who would save the world. I cannot even imagine what that would have been like, can you?

I chose to use Matthew 1:21 from "Christmas Verses" and the poinsettia from "Luke 2:11", both from Our Daily Bread Designs. The designer paper is from SEI, the corners and border were punched with a Martha Stuart Doily Lace border punch, the pearls are from Zva, and I sprayed (a lot) of Pearl Glimmer Mist to finish.

I have also incorporated Gloria's Sketch Tuesday Challenge from CPC this week and Jen's Color Monday Challenge of celery, Christmas Red, and a choice of brown, gray, or black. And finally, this week's challenge at Stamping Sisters In Christ is to use bling.....I used quite a few pearls and about TEN LAYERS of Pearl Glimmer Mist.....you should see the shimmer in person!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!! Many blessings to you!!

smARTworks Winter Gallery

Thanks again to Susan Trask of smARTworks, who was our very first sponsor a few months ago at Christian Paper Crafts. Our DT was supplied with the most awesome package full of designer paper, cardstock, punched flowers, charms, ribbon, items to alter, and several sets of stamps. Many awesome projects were posted then in the smARTworks gallery at CPC HERE, but we saved some holiday treats to post in December. Check out all of the smARTworks winter uploads HERE.
Though I'm absolutely not a scrapbooker and have only done a few pages EVER, I gave it a shot since there were so many awesome supplies in our smARTworks package to do so. I know, I know....it's not a winter spread, but it comes from the heart.....every winter I dream about spring to keep away the winter time blues! Everything you see here was provided by smARTworks, except for the fence punch, scalloped circle punch, and Sizzix letters for the title. (How do you like the trees I made with a zebra background stamp?!)

This quick and easy card was also made using these smARTworks materials: watercolor note card and matching envelope, pink satin ribbon, pink gemstones, sentiment from the "God Bless" set, and the wreath was stamped with a tiny branch stamp (name unknown).

Thanks for stopping by today!! Stay tuned tomorrow for another Bible Verse Thursday Challenge! God Bless!

Bible Verse Thursday - Refuge and Strength

Happy Thursday, everyone!! Time for the Bible Verse Thursday Challenge over at Christian Paper Crafts. This week's challenge topic I feel very strongly about. We say that the Lord is our refuge and our strength.....we say that He is with us no matter what.....we say that nothing is impossible with Him......so, why are we still afraid? Times are very hard right now.....so many have lost their jobs, lost their homes, and some have simply lost their hope. This one thing I do know more than anything: the Lord has already given us EVERYTHING....He has given us His all! If you feel fear in any area of your life....financial, physical, emotional, or spiritual.....then you do not BELIEVE that He is truly what He says He is! We put too much faith in ourselves, too much faith in other men, too much faith in "systems", etc. If you have worry, stress, anxiety, fear or any negative emotions in your life, then you do not have enough faith in Him. Our God is a mighty, mighty God......strong and powerful and His word is true! Go to Him in prayer with strength instead of weakness....ask for a more measure of faith, ask that He show you the way and lead you in all things, ask for ANYTHING....He tells us exactly that! HOWEVER, when you pray, you must BELIEVE that you will receive what you ask for!
"Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." Matthew 21:21-22
So, let Him truly be your refuge and strength! Stay in His word, which is armor to you! Pray with confidence for the right doors to open, pray for the solutions to your problems be revealed to you, but not matter what you pray for.....believe as Abraham believed....believe as David believed, and see mighty things happen in your life!

Whew, now that I got that off of my chest, how about a brief description of the card to go with the message. I made this with my dad in mind...next week is his birthday! I was always afraid to share my faith when I was younger, tho my dad was full of fire and wanted everyone in the world to know the good news! It took half of my life, but I finally understand where the passion comes from.....once I gave up control of my life and handed it over to God, I finally understand....thanks, Daddy!
Oh yeah, the card.... this set from Our Daily Bread designs is called "Keep My Lamp Burning". I used Gloria's very first sketch challenge from this week at Christian Paper Crafts.....so weird, I already knew the set I was using for my BVT challenge and this stamp fit the shape of the sketch perfectly!I have also used Betty's color challenge from Splitcoast Stampers....artichoke, razzleberry, and banana.....perfect for my scene!!

Thanks for stopping by today!!! Hope your day is totally blessed!!

Bandana Technique

Hi everyone! I'll start with some exciting news first: the DT at Christian Paper Crafts is so happy to welcome two new challenge hostesses: Gloria Stengel aka Gloriadee, will be hosting our Sketch Tuesday challenge and Lynn Ray aka Mitzy5000 will be doing our journaling challenge. We have enjoyed spending time with both of these awesome ladies as members on CPC....now I am lucky enough to work side by side with them!!!

These three cards I made as samples for a tutorial on the Bandana Technique for Christian Paper Crafts. I learned this over a year ago on Splitcoast Stampers and just LOVE how fast and easy it is!!! This "Bandana Snowflakes" card was based on Jen's Color Monday challenge on Christian Paper Crafts, plus her Clean and Simple Challenge for Splitcoast. You may not think this is clean and simple....but listen, if I can make it in less than 30 minutes, it's GOT to be simple!!! The set I used is "Peace and Joy", new from Our Daily Bread designs this month.
The next two cards were even easier than the snowflakes! I needed two masculine birthday cards, so I made them similar with my old stand by Stampin' Up set, "True Friend"....still one of my fave SU sets!

Thanks for stopping by today! Stay tuned tomorrow for another Bible Verse Thursday challenge! God Bless!

Blog Hop Winner and Inspiration Challenge

Thanks so very much to all of those who stopped by yesterday for the "March of the Snowmen" first annual blog hop!!! A big thank you to Melisa Waldorf for coming up with this fabulous idea in the first place, plus organizing everything!!! Wow, what an honor to be included with these other talented ladies!! If you'd still like to check out all of the AWESOME snowman projects, please scroll down one post for the links to the hop.

Random.org helped me to choose the lucky winner of my "Flaky Friends" card from yesterday, plus a goodie bag full of blog candy .......And the winner is......loftylass, who left this comment: loftylass said...
What a great idea, I love snowmen stamps but I don't have any 'skinny' ones - these are so cute and the card is beautiful. tfs
HW
Dear Ms. HW, please come on back and leave me your email address. Congrats!!!!

Now on to some more fun stuff! I finally had a FREE weekend to get caught up on some projects (and house cleaning). Right off the bat Saturday I participated in the Inspiration Challenge over at Splitcoast, which was to find an item from the "Charm Lady Botique".......I was in a goofy mood, so I spent about 2 minutes and replicated this Moss Ring with a gemstone brad and some Shamrock Green Flower Soft!! After giggling about the ring.....for a couple of hours......I finally made a REAL IC card, using this Red Autumn Fall Pendant, which is an exact replica of Basic Grey's "Indian Summer" dsp!! The scripture is from the ODBD set called "I Am The Way". I have also used the Case Artist Saturday challenge from Christian Paper Crafts.....sweet Mary is featuring our DT all month...this week's featured DT members are myself and Cindy Coutts. I chose to case this awesome card from Cindy's gallery because of the layout and ribbon placement. We're all gonna gang up on Mary later and case some of her work also!!!

By the way, thank you all for your concern over my 18 year old kitty who got into a fight with a possum two weekends ago and had puncture wounds in her front leg. She is limping still, but has mostly recovered, especially when it comes to her appetite!!!! I think this cat has 100 lives instead of 9!!! Thank goodness, 'cause she's a good one!!!

Thanks for stopping by today!! Have a blessed Sunday!!!

"March of the Snowmen" Blog Hop!!

Hello and welcome to the first ever "March of the Snowmen" Blog Hop!!!! Great big hugs and thanks to Melisa Waldorf for putting so much time into gathering together some amazing, talented stampers and for organizing this super fun event! Many of your stops today will have BLOG CANDY......I will have blog candy as well which includes my Snowman card below!

(Please note: Though we have posted early, the blog hop officially starts Saturday, December 5th, at 8 am EST. )

My blog is first on the hop list. Your next stop will be the creative and talented Barb Foster. If you experience any link issues along the way, I have included the entire blog list below.

Angella Crockett
Barb Foster
Deb Felts
Jen Carter
JenMarie Taylor
Jodi Heuser
Kelly Landers
Latisha Yoast
Laurie Unger
Laurie Willison
Linda Duke
Melisa Waldorf
Michelle Bartnett
Mona Pendleton
Pam Imholz
Stacy Rogers

For the general layout of my card, I used the MojoMonday sketch challenge this week. The image and sentiment from my old stand-by, Flaky Friends, were stamped on Kraft cardstock with Stazon Jet Black; the white sections were colored with a Signo Gel Pen; the colored sections were painted with Smooch pearlized paints. The entire thing was then sprayed (many times) with Pearl Glimmer Mist.....I love this stuff!!!

You have until Saturday night at midnight EST to leave your comments here to win my card and blog candy. Good luck and thanks so much for joining us on our "March of the Snowmen" Blog Hop!!! God Bless!

Bible Verse Thursday - Gifts From Above

Happy Thursday, everyone!! This week's Bible Verse Thursday Challenge over at Christian Paper Crafts is to make a card, layout, or altered item with a "vintage feel", plus use any verse on your project which speaks of "Gifts From Above".....gifts that we receive from our Lord. Though it is pretty clear that ALL things are provided by God, there are many beautiful verses declaring this.

I thought this new poinsettia image from the "His Gift" set from Our Daily Bread designs looked kind of vintage, so I used softer colors and brown tones....but couldn't resist the Glimmer Mist finish!!! The verse inside is from "His Gift" also. I have also used some other challenges in the making of this card: Splitcoast's sketch challenge this week was perfect....thanks, Roxie!; the Color Throwdown Challenge was to use pink, red, olive, and brown tones; the Pile It On Challenge this week is to use flowers and flourishes...this poinsettia image has both; and the Cuttlebug Spot Challenge to make a card with a winter theme.

Card details: The image was stamped on Very Vanilla with Stazon Timber Brown, masked then colored with sponge daubers. The cardstock is Creamy Caramel, embossed with a Cuttlebug border (name unknown); the "frame" under the image was embossed many times with the same EF border, then sponged with Creamy Caramel ink. Finished with some Zva pearls and Pearl Glimmer Mist.

My next card is a little something I made for my hubby's birthday. Since I have been covered up with projects lately, he asked me NOT to make him a birthday card. Ha!! No way, Jose!!! He was happy with this CAS card tho, especially with the stamp I used. (The possum is an inside joke, but was perfect because of the heart!!!) I actually used two Splitcoast Challenges for this: Jen's CAS challenge was to remake one of your previous cards.....I chose this one; and Betty's color challenge was to use vanilla, black, and suede plus the "dessert" option to use something with sparkle....I painted the image with Smooch paints!

Thanks for stopping by again today! Stay tuned for the "March of the Snowmen" blog hop here on Saturday morning! God Bless!

Blog Hop and December Releases from ODBD!

Where did November go?! It's December first already and that means new stamps and ODBD Blog Hop!!! Once again, Kelley has thrilled us with two new beautiful sets this month, just in time for those winter and holiday projects! The first set is "His Gift"....thank you to Dina Kowal for such a gorgeous poinsettia image!! The second, used for my project below, is "Peace and Joy"....aren't these the coolest snowflakes?

As soon as I saw these snowflakes, I KNEW I had to break out the Polyshrink!! I won't bore you with all of the photos, but here are some quick instructions on how to use Polyshrink to make plastic charms, etc. Polyshrink comes in 8 1/2 x 11 clear sheets....use a sanding block across and up & down on the surface....marring the surface helps the ink to adhere. I used Olive Green Stazon to stamp the small and large snowflakes onto the Polyshrink. After cutting out the flakes, small circles were punched where the cord will be tied.
Once your cut pieces are ready, either bake them in a 350 oven for a few minutes, or use a heat tool. Each piece will shrink approximately 40% of its original size....the punched holes will remain after shrinking. The two larger snowflakes fit together perfectly (I got lucky at guessing the size of the cut-outs!!)and the small snowflakes were hung using silver cord which was unbraided.

Now, on to the hop!! If you have hopped here from Deb's blog, you're in the right place. If you here by chance, please go to the ODBD blog for the starting point. Kelley has generously offered to give TWO lucky winners the stamp set of their choice. To be eligible, visit each design team member's blogs, leave a comment, collect each "secret word" along with the DT member's name, return to the ODBD blog to let us know you have finished, then email the secret message to Grace, our wonderful DT Coordinator. You have until 8PM EST on Dec 2nd to send your entry to Grace for a chance to win.
My secret word is: THE
Your next hopping point is Becca's Blog. Betcha can't wait to see what she has in store for you!!

Happy hopping and have a blessed day!!!