One Stamp - Multiple Cards

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Well, we're almost half-way into the new year and I have so far kept my new resolutions to:

1. Incorporate a little exercise
 in my daily routine

2. Eat healthy; eat from all food 

groups in the right portions

3. Purge and donate items that I 

have not used or no longer 

need to others; to pay it forward

I'm quite pleased with myself for committing to the first two goals but the last goal is the one that seems to give me more joy. It feels good to give to others and to know that because of me someone will be a bit warmer this winter or someone will get that job because they had a suit to wear to the interview. 

Yep goal number 3 gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling. To give freely and from the heart is just so uplifting for me.

I have a set of cards I would like to share. I borrowed a stamp and die set from a friend and while I had the stamp and die I cut out several pieces and stamped a few extra so I could return her items in a timely manner.  I finally used up all the pieces and turned them into creations, of hope, sympathy and heartfelt thoughts.

Tell me what you think and tell me where you like to purchase your digital images (hint hint)

Colored with copics and used a Spellbinders die to create the background.

I cut the die twice; once by itself and then again to include the stamp. This allowed me to create a hint of a shadow.

Added a ribbon and decorated the inside to finish this card.  Just a "I thought of you" kind of card.

Again I used the same stamp and die cut twice. I wanted the flourishes to have a different color for focus and to add dimension to the cross itself.

The background was used using a Marianne Die that cut and embossed.  I added the greeting "I am blessed" because it was exactly how I was feeling during its creation.

To create this card I used a musical background stamp by Hero Arts and then stamped over it with the cross.  This is a Stampin Up cross set but it is retired and since it didn't belong to me I forgot to write down the names of these things (sorry).

I then embossed the stamped image. Using a second stamped image I cut around the flourishes leaving me with just the cross image which I popped on top of the stamped image.

The greeting "I Am Blessed" just seemed so appropriate at the time. The inside was designed to resemble the front of the card with a space for a personal message.

Does this look familiar? Yep I followed the same steps as I did in the card above and just made a few changes such as the color, and the piercing around the border.

On the mat I stamped and embossed a design for added texture.  A few pearls were added as well to add a softness to the card's purpose. This card was designed to be a sympathy card and the greeting reads "May God Comfort You".

The inside is a simple and clean design with a space for a personal message.

Okay my crafting family...this is what I have been up too.  Don't forget to leave me a comment with your thoughts and tell me where you shop for your digital images. 

(10+ comments and we have a winner)

Thanks for stopping by and next time bring a friend along.  I'd love to have them.

So until next time

Sending Hugs From Texas

~Lesia~

New Journey Begins

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Wow!  It's 2016 and that means its the start of a new journey

or the first day of the rest of your life so where will you go?

For me its truly a new journey as I adjust to a year without being fully employed and a year of adjusting to what will soon be my new norm.  Through it all though what will remain (at least I think so) is my love of paper and all the things you can do with it.  I hope this year introduces me to new crafting techniques and new crafting friends...never can have to many.

As always New Years is also a Birthday celebration for me.  As each new year arrives I always look up to the heavens and thank God for all the blessings I received the year before and I praise him for allowing me to defy the doctors and live to see another year.  Year 2016 will be a year of thankfulness and 

a year to enjoy the time awarded to me...

tomorrow may never come so enjoy the moment.

So let's move on to crafting.  I finished up the year with my blog candy giveaway and I am hoping to do something similar 

this year so stay tuned for updates. As you wait 

allow me to share with you more foiling creations

using a few of my Christmas and Birthday gifts.

 (my family knows exactly what to get me).

I created this card using the instructions found on 

Amazing Paper Grace.  I saw the card earlier and then realized

 I didn't have the main die nor the embossing folder, so of course I had to order it and then wait for it to arrive.

It finally arrived and I went to work constructing my layout.

The best part of this card was the embossing. And to think 

it was actually the Spellbinders Shady Allure die that 

was used to emboss the panel. 

Next I wrapped a ribbon around the embossed panel 

and on top of that I cut one die piece using the

Spellbinders Fleur de Elegance and on top of that I added the Spellbinders Majestic Oval. I used the classic oval

 for my greeting and then added a few pearls and a bow.

Of course once I finished the front of the card it was time to decorate the inside and try to follow the theme of the front 

by using left-over scraps on the inside.  On the inside

I used the embossing folder on each side where I could stamp

a sentiment and leave a nice space for a personal message.

The inside message was stamped with versamark and then gold embossed.  The embossed panels were adhered to gold cardstock

 (I messed up the foil so I used the next best thing) and then added to the inside of the card. That completed the inside of the card.

I'd like to enter this card in a few challenges for 2016.

• Blessings Ink - Amusing Challenges "New" (01/10)
• Come and Get It - Something New (01/08)
• Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes "w/Die/Stamp" (02/02)

That's all for tonight.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you again real soon.  Remember we will offer prizes and blog candy randomly throughout the year.

Sending Hugs from Texas

~Lesia~

Final 2015 Winner Announced!

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

WELCOME TO 2016!

What better way is there to start a new year than by

 announcing Mema's Crafts final winner of 2015.

So without a lot of typing and talking I'll get

right to the task at hand.

Selected by Random.Org in collaboration

with Mr Linkz I am proud to announce that

the lucky number is: #23

This number belongs to CASSIE of 

"Cassie's Craft Cafe

Congratulations you have won Group D

of Mema's Crafts Blog Candy

Spellbinders Classic Ovals, Lacy Ovals and Scalloped Ovals

Please email memascrafts2@gmail.com

to claim your prize before

Friday, January 8th 2016.

Thanks for stopping by and if you didn't win

this time, you will still get an opportunity

to win prizes in 2016.

Candy and prizes will be randomly offered 

throughout the year so visit often

and play with us.

Sending hugs and kisses from Texas in 2016

~Lesia~

New Year 2016 is Coming

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I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas and that Santa brought you everything you asked for or at least most of it. 

As for me I got more than I expected and I am feeling very blessed. Perhaps I was a good girl, but its more likely that it was just my family showing me love, ... who cares I got lots of good stuff.

Everyone is aware that I got the Heidi Swapp Minc machine and a HP Laser printer as one of my gifts but even better is I got the Ninja Coffee Bar (as advertised on television with Sofia Vergara) and I am loving it! I have been on a caffeine high for the last 3 days! 

Additionally, getting the Ninja Blender and Nutrient Pro Duo as my surprise gift didn't help things.  I tried to switch and drink the juices and smoothies instead of all the coffee but the result is the same.  The only difference is instead of being high on caffeine I suffer from a natural sugar high which means I find myself fully awake at odd hours of the night.

Since I am not fond of waste, I thought I would put this extra energy to use.  I started by purging my spice shelves and my food pantry (should have done this months ago) and then finally when that was completed I decided to create a card in preparation for the arrival of 2016.  Just imagine, four (4) days and we enter a new year.  

I used my Minc along with cream, black and gold card-stock to create this New Year card.  The champagne bottle (a Cherry Lynn die) and the greeting were both ran through the Minc to achieve the foiled appearance.  The polka dot paper was created using toner ink and then put through the Minc as well (the dots are gold).  The 2016 flags were punched from gold card-stock and not foiled at all. 

On the inside I used Martha Stewart snowflake punches and Memory Box flag dies along with printed toner paper to highlight these cuts with foil.  I also embossed the cream card-stock to follow the theme on the front of the card.

Following is another card I made while flowing with excess energy. I received eight (8) new dies for Christmas and of course I wanted to use every single one of them so I started by creating a card using instructions from Becca Feeken (Amazing Paper Grace blog).

Of course I had to use the "L" monogram to represent my name or "Love" or anyone else with the initial L in their name (lol).  This was not an easy card to do and it is larger than my comfort zone. I prefer smaller size cards (not  A2) but sometimes to get the detail and 3-D effect you have to add more real-estate to your space.

My two new dies used to make this card were Spellbinders Floral Affair and Spellbinders Romantic Agenda.  

I'm working on using the rest of my goodies so I'll be sharing again real soon.  If you've never visited Becca's blog, I recommend you check it out.  I promise you that you will find something that appeals to you.  Her creations are absolutely stunning!

Thanks for stopping by and please know your comments are appreciated.

I'll check back in within a couple of days to announce the end of year blog candy winner who will win Group D (classic, scalloped and lacy ovals) of the candy:  Check out the prize by clicking here.

Sending Hugs from Texas

~ Lesia ~ 

The Canadian Collection

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Can you believe it??? We are days away from Christmas and only about a week away from the start of a brand new year!  Time passes so quickly that we must grab every second of life awarded us and live it as if we will not get another one. I'm always amazed and filled with joy at the beginning of each year because I celebrate another birthday and realize I have been blessed once again.

I'm sure you all have heard of John Next Door or you have seen his wonderful work at least on Pinterest.  Well he uses alot of dies by Creative Expressions (Sue Wilson) which are very intricate and just beautiful.

Well I managed to get my hands on a couple from the Canadian Collection and did my best at scrap-lifting his design.  He gives you the basic construction of his design but you have to figure out the measurements yourself and other details about the card just by looking at it, so to say the least my version didn't quite turn out exactly like his, but I'm pleased with it overall.

Here is the original design by "John Next Door"

I thought this was absolutely gorgeous although it is a larger card than what I am accustomed to making.

The impact of this simple card is amazing with its strong colors and elegant flair.

I say if you want to try something that would work for almost any occasion give this one a try.

Now to show you my version of this masterpiece....please don't judge me but give me credit for trying instead.

Well here I go cautiously unveiling my rendition of  the Canadian Collection card.

My accent color is more of a teal or turquoise combined with white. (I didn't have any paper close to the color he used). 

Additionally, since I didn't have any actual measurements I tried using the die as my starting point but the card was going to be bigger than I wanted to go so I had to made adjustments.

My margins/borders are much smaller than the original and my card base still ended up being a 6 x 8, which for me is quite large.  My comfort zone usually ends at 5 x 7.

Anyway he has another one where he used the same dies so I think I'll give that one a try as well.

In the meantime give me your thoughts on how I did and as always thanks for stopping by.

Hugs from Texas

~Lesia~

The Foiling Continues

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Bet you guys thought I had forgotten

about you...well never fear I will

never forget my crafting friends.

As I'm sure you will all understand the holidays have me coming 

and going at all times of the day 

and sometimes at night.

However I was able to work on a 

couple of cards but it took

longer to finish them up.

Here is the first one I completed 

and yep I continue to play with 

my foiling machine.

This time I decided to foil any dies 

I used in the project and use

gold card-stock for my mats as a way

to save on my foil sheets.  

They're not very expensive but 

at the moment I need to be frugal 

with my funds where ever possible.

Anyway, let me move forward and share what I have with you already (smiles).

The card base is white and then I added two layers, each layered on gold card-stock to create a gold trim.  

The corners were die-cut using printed toner paper and then ran through the Minc to add perfect foiling to them.

The greeting was stamped and heat embossed with gold then layered on a die cut that was printed and foiled using the Minc.  I then added a bow on the side and used a scrap piece of gold card-stock to replace the need for ribbon.

Overall it turned out really cute and the inside is lightly decorated with pieces of foiled corners and another die-cut where a personal message can be written.

Well that's it for tonight.  

Thanks for stopping by.

Sending hugs from Texas

~Lesia~

I will be selecting my blog candy

end of year winner on 

December 30th.