Friday, April 29, 2011

Bellariffic Friday - Mother's Day

My card seems fitting in two ways today......we're celebrating the big British wedding of William and Kate (did you watch?!) and we're celebrating Mother's Day in a week!  My Mum is British, all my lovely relatives live there and I'm all about the Brits and the whole "tea and scones with clotted cream and jam thing"!  
Tabitha Teacup was perfect for my Mum's card as she loves her tea!  I stamped the image and used both copics and pencil crayons with OMS to colour it.  I paper pieced the bow in her hair and added a rhinestone.  I love using TE Key Ingredients kits as the paper and the ribbon and the bling is all there - makes it so easy.

So, an early Happy Mother's Day to my Mum and all the other Mums out there! 

Cheerio.....Leslie

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Butterfly Kisses

Oh my goodness....I LOVE this image!  How sweet is she?!  Butterfly Kisses from MFT was my top choice for this weeks sketch MFTWSC17 and I knew I wanted to do something special with her wings.


I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then stamped the wings again on vellum cardstock.  I paper pieced her wings, her tiny (!) arms on top and then her little leotard.  I wanted the wings to stand out a bit so bent them gently and then added some tiny specks of glitter to the edges. The paper is Basic Grey Oh Baby Girl Lilly.  The Open Scallop Border Die-namic from MFT was perfect and I added some TE Tiny Twinkles 'cause a girls gotta have her bling!  A prima flower with a Mulberry mini rose in the center was perfect for the flower.  When I was colouring her shoes and tights I realized the copics I had were too dark so I used the 0 copic to erase/lighten some of the colour.  That copic is a must-have!

I'm so happy with this card - it turned out exactly the way I imagined it.  Don't you love when that happens? :)

Cheerio.....Leslie

Monday, April 25, 2011

Nurse Helen

I have talked about the World’s Best Doctor here so now let’s talk about the World’s Best Nurse!  If you know me you have heard me talk about "Nurse Helen" and how much I love her.  How can I possibly convey to you how wonderful, kind, compassionate and funny Helen is?  She is perfection and we are extremely proud and lucky to have her at our hospital and working on our team.  Helen has just won a 2011 Human Touch Award, presented by Cancer Care Ontario!!  (The Human Touch Awards recognize health care professionals, providers and volunteers in the cancer care system who demonstrate exceptional and compassionate patient care).  This is a HUGE honour - there are only 6 chosen from ALL of Ontario!  So CONGRATULATIONS Helen!!!
For Helen's birthday card I used two of her fav colours - pink and brown.  Helen has black hair and I thought it was time for me to give black hair a try.  I've found out it's a little trickier than brown hair!  The layout is one I saw last year and saved.  I thought it was perfect for Helen’s card.  I punched  a little scalloped edge to match the oval scallop image and I added two Stamping Bella baubles.  The paper is retired SU and the same paper I used on Anastasia's card.  I like to sponge inside the nestie to soften the white.  I paper pieced her apron, her clipboard and even the little pocket – yikes, the pocket was tiny!  I tried one of Joanne B’s buttony bows (click here for her video) on a banner strip and shined up her shoes with a black glaze pen.

A HUGE congratulations to the BEST nurse in the world on her Human Touch Award!!!

Cheerio…..Leslie

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Sweet Sunday Sketch - Cowboy

I realize I have lots of cards for little girls but none for little boys.  My defense is that I don’t have any little boys stamps except this one retired set, Cowboy Kid, from Stampin’ Up.  Note to self: Buy more boy images!
I used Karen Giron's SSSC114 for my card and will admit I struggled with the little round flower bit.  I know with sketches, “it’s just a guide” but I could not figure out what to put there.  It didn’t help that I had the card all put together and then realized I’d forgotten that little bit!  So I got a second opinion (thanks Karen) and am pleased with the result.  I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured him with copics. 

I added a few coats of clear glaze pen to his “star” and sponged around the edges to soften the white a bit.  The cardstock is some I bought on one of my trips to England and the patterned paper is from a HUGE box of 12 x 12 that I bought a couple of years ago from Costco and have never used!  I had a good look and there are some lovely patterns in there.
Happy Easter!

Cheerio…..Leslie

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Anastasia

One of the doctors at work asked me to make him a card for a little girl named Anastasia.  His request was simple -  "make it pretty and girlie with her name on it".  I knew exactly the image I would use - Being Cute Is What I Do from MFT!  I used the MFTWSC16 sketch from this week, so it was super easy and quick to put together. 
I stamped the image with Memento Tudexo Black ink and coloured it with copics.
I added some Stamping Bella baubles along the scallop border and paper pieced her outfit.  The cardstock is Pretty in Pink and Close to Cocoa from Stampin' Up with some matching Designer Series Paper from SU too.  I love that all SU stuff matches!  I don't have an alphabet set that would have been small enough for this card so I bravely printed her name - double, triple, quadruple checking the spelling - and used the SU punches to pop her name up.  I hope Anastasia likes her card!

Cheerio.....Leslie

Friday, April 22, 2011

Bellariffic Friday - Free Theme

Remember this post?  The white card that I really wanted to make?  Well, here's the finished card.  I just HAD to add some colour!  I used Snowbunnybella from Stamping Bella and because it was really just one colour it was super fast to put together...just white on white on white on white :) and a bit of SU Baja Breeze ribbon.

I used swiss dots and a snowflake embossing folder because I wasn't using any pattern paper and I really like this look.  I sponged lightly around the edges and popped the layers for some dimension.  I used one of my treasured ghost snowflakes and attached a smaller sparkly chipboard snowflake on top and then topped that off with  with a Stamping Bella clear bonbon in the middle.  Liquid applique is a must on Snowbunnybella and I covered it with glitter before heating.

I'm really pleased with this and can add it to my growing Christmas card total!

Cheerio.....Leslie

Friday, April 15, 2011

Bellariffic Friday - Welcome Sue!

We have a new employee starting at work on Monday and I wanted to welcome her with a card.  The Bellariffic Friday challenge this week was a sketch from Lindabella and it was perfect for my card.

I used Execubella from Stamping Bella and tried a little sewing again.  I coloured her with copics.  The paper is My Mind's Eye Deena's Penny Lane and I don't think I can scrape any more scraps out of these 12 x 12 papers - I loved them.  I stamped the plant and the lampshade again and paper pieced them....yikes that lampshade was tiny!  I shined up her shoes with a black glaze pen - oh to be able to wear heels like that!  A Bella Dot in each corner, some sponging to soften the white and it was done.

I hope she likes her card.  Welcome Sue!

Cheerio.....Leslie

Monday, April 11, 2011

Sweet Sunday Sketch - New House

Guess who is moving?  No, not me!  My girlfriend just bought a new house and I'm super excited for her!

I would like to say I "whipped" up this card for her but whipping would not be the correct word.  It took me about 2 hours to make this card!  This is my THIRD attempt at colouring those houses!  The first two attempts, my copics bled and no amount of using the 0 copic would help.  Does anyone have any tips for me? 
I was luckier the third time with no bleeding.  I used Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch 112, turned it sideways and left off the 3 little tabs...because everyone says "a sketch is just a guide". :)  I used Happy Neighbourhood from Stamping Bella and the papers are from a Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients kit.  I used some Taylored Expressions Tiny Twinkles on the doorknobs, added some buttons and it's ready for the mail - although I know the post office lady will give me a hard time for those buttons - she always gives me a "lecture" about how thick my cards are!

Cheerio.....Leslie

Friday, April 8, 2011

Bellariffic Friday - Monochromatic

It's Bellariffic Friday!  This week the challenge was to make a monochromatic card.  I started out really well and determined to do a white card because I LOVED this card that LindaBella made - it's stunning!  Well I started on Tuesday and it just wasn't working - I was getting really frustrated.  I was stamping/skyping with Dana and told her I was struggling with a sketch and she suggested Jen's Sketch For You To Try - I'd never done one of her sketches before and it turns out April's sketch was perfect for my image!
I used Kenya Ketto from Stamping Bella.  The patterned paper and the cardstock is Regal Rose from Stampin' Up.  I used copics to colour her but, oops,  forgot to take a photo of them (the usual E000, E00, R01 for her skin, 100 for her hair and R81, 83 and 85 for the pinks).  I was quite pleased with my shading on this card.  A little sparkle on her wand, some baubles and Kenya was done.  Monochromatic cards are super fast to do!

Cheerio.....Leslie

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Merry Kissmas

I know I'm not supposed to go on about a card I made but...I LOVE this card!  I made it for Karen and Dana this Christmas and I was so excited for them to get it.  The main reason was the previous Christmas I was equally excited about my card for them - so much so, that I mailed it off to them unfinished.  Yes, you read that correctly.....unfinished!  I forgot to colour the PI girl and I forgot the glitter - d'oh!  I was so excited that I'd paper pieced (for the first time) that I got all the layers and the ribbon glued on and mailed it off.  Anyhoo, back to this year's card which I checked and double checked and triple checked that everything was done before I sealed the envelope.
I used MFT Merry Kissmas PI girl, paper pieced her coat and hat and used a ghost snowflake with a SU felt snowflake on top.  Some TE tiny twinkles on the snowman, some glitter on her pompoms, some chunky glitter along the snowbank and she was ready to go.  I have to smile when I look at this card because I think I only owned 5 copics and was still learning how to shade.  Well, I'm still learning.

Cheerio.....Leslie

Monday, April 4, 2011

Happy Birthday Anna

Yesterday I showed you my boss’s birthday card and today I’m showing you my boss’s wife’s birthday card.  Anna is more than just my boss’s wife – she is my friend, she is lovely, she is very “Martha Stewartish” and crafty.  She is SOLELY responsible for introducing me to this crazy stamping world!  It all started over 22 years ago when she sent me a baby thank you card – just a small pale blue card with one little teddy bear stamped in blue in the centre.  That was it.  I was intrigued.  Where did you get this?  You made it?  How?  Stamping?  What’s stamping?  Well, as you can guess, the rest is history!  I fell in love with stamping.  I still have the very first card I made (maybe I’ll post that one day for a laugh).  Stamping led me to Stampin’ Up (where I was a demonstrator for almost 10 years and have recently retired) and stamping led me to so many, wonderful ladies – many who are now good friends of mine. 
Anna loves Stampin’ Up so her card is ALL that!  I recently went to my friend Mo’s house for a class to make a special folds card.  When I saw the set we were using I knew it would be Anna’s birthday card!  The card base is soft suede with an embossed edge using the Framed Tulips embossing folder on crumb cake cardstock, some baja breeze and vanilla cardstock.  I used some pretty baja breeze seam binding, an antique brad over the bow and that was the front finished. The inside is where it’s all happening!  I used glossy cardstock and we stamped the beautiful “Nature Walk” images with Black StazOn and coloured in some of the images with the matching markers.  A bit of sponging, some spritzing with the colour spritzer tool, the special folding & cutting and it was done.  It may look complicated but it was surprisingly easy and you can make the card any size you want. 
I apologize for the inside photo - those are two scary looking shadows - it's very difficult to photograph a popped out/in card but trust me, the card is very pretty in 'real life'! :)

So to my dear friend, Anna...happy, happy birthday!!!!

Cheerio…..Leslie

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Best Boss Birthday

It’s my boss’s birthday today and some of you know how long I’ve worked with him and how well we get along but for those who don’t, let me tell you….I’m really lucky to have him for my boss.  He is an outstanding gentleman, well respected, an excellent surgeon and has a wonderful sense of humour – he’s a delight to work with!  It is also his wife’s birthday today – how smart is he, marrying someone with the same birthday so he’ll never forget?!  Now my boss doesn’t read my blog so I’m not worried he’ll see his card here before he gets it in person tomorrow.  His wife however DOES read my blog so, Anna, you’ll just have to wait until you get yours in person tomorrow! :)
For this card I reached for one of my sketches (MFTWSC13) and it came together pretty quickly from there.  I know I’ve said it before about sketches but they really have changed my life.  I was always slightly scared of them but they make making a card so easy.  I used Scenic Route “Grafton” paper, SU kiwi kiss, tangerine tango and of course, as it was a MFT sketch, I used “Worlds Best Doctor” – the perfect stamp for the perfect boss!  I kept it pretty simple with no bling, no glitter, just a tiny bow on the button.  I tried a bit of sewing again and it went sew-sew (sorry, couldn't resist!) but sheesh, is there a trick to keeping a straight line?  Anyone?  I was stamping with Karen last night (she in her stamp room in the US and me in my stamp room in Canada = Skype).  The beauty of stamping with a friend is that you can say “what do you think about this colour?  this paper? or this?”  Karen gave me a great copic tip for the lab coat.  I had used the YG93 and YG95 copic and it turned out much darker than I wanted.  Karen said to remove some with the 0 copic and then go over the whole coat again with a brighter copic.  I did that and went over it all with YG13 and it turned out pretty much the colour I had wanted.  So, thanks Karen and remember even if you're stamping friends live in different countries you can still stamp with them…on skype!!  Well, that’s it for the World’s Best Doctor’s birthday! 

Cheerio…..Leslie