Another Oldie but a Goodie!

I think this set was from a mini.  I don't even know the name of it and I'm not in my stamp room to look right now but I've always loved this set!

The background stamp I used here is called EnFrancais and is available in the current SU catty - you can order it online right HERE!
Here are all the little details:  c/s:  SU kraft, vanilla, artichoke, rust; ribbon: may arts; pearl:  SU pretties kit; ink:  copic markers; sponge daubers. Pin It

Old and Older

You'll be seeing alot of these retired stamps for the next little while since I'm going through my collection using each and every set I have to decide if I like them enough to keep them or if I should sell them!  I've done up some Mother's Day cards b/c I was running low on them!  Here is one made with an old set called Love You Bunches - I think it was a saleabration set a long time ago!

I think its a cute little set and a keeper, ugh, how am I ever going to decide which of these to let go!

Details:  c/s - SU blush; dp - olllld SU; accessories:  ribbon - crate paper, brad by making memories (I think), button from my stash and the sentiment is from the micheals $ bin! Pin It

Hockey Tournament

Some of you, my friends, have been asking for pics of the boys playing hockey, so me being the proud hockey Mom I am, am happy to oblige!  Here they are in all their glory with as many action shots as I could get!

I did get a close up of Eli too but he wasn't feeling good today, poor thing!  We offered to let him sit in the stand and watch with us but he wouldn't have any part of it!  He fell asleep in about 90 seconds after his head hit the pillow!  Jacob scored a hat trick today and Eli and Benjamin both had shots on goal - which is so exciting for them b/c neither of them have scored yet!  I'm hoping for at least one each before the season is over :0)! Thanks for taking time to look at my little men playing hockey! Pin It

An Old Angel

Waaaaaayyyyy back when I started stamping, this set was a hostess set from a mini.  I have always loved it and it still remains one of my favorite sets.  For this card I used the main image for a sympathy card:

A very simple card but pretty nonetheless.  The angel is stamped on shimmer white c/s which is hard to see from the pic!  She glistens, much like I imagine a real angel would :0).
Thanks for popping by! Pin It

Retired??

I love this retired set from SU.  I don't remember the name of it but I thought it would make a lovely sympathy card:

I used my aquapainter on watercolor paper for this image and I was very happy with the results!  Here are all the deets:
stamps:  SU, sentiment:  PTI;  ink:  india ink black, SU bordering blue, pumpkin pie, artichoke, soft suede, choc chip; dp:  websters; hardware:  wrmk; twill:  SU, c/s:  SU. Pin It

It's Official!!!

This is another sympathy card I made.  I love how it turned out and it was so quick and easy to make!

This card is made with a Stamping Up set called Inspired by Nature.  You can purchase it through me right online by clicking right HERE. 
On that note, its time for my big announcement.  I am SO excited to share with everyone that I am offically, once again, a Stampin Up! Demonstrator. I am so excited to share my love of stamping with anyone and everyone that will listen - LOL!
There are SO many great sales and promotions going on right now - just click on the icons in the right hand column to view the catties and my new web site!
I'll be sharing more over the next while about all I'm planning to do with my new business and I'm hoping you'll be excited to hear about it too!
I know that for some of you that is probably a controversial topic but for me, it was the right choice.  I am very excited about taking this on again!  Don't fear, I will continue to stamp with other stamps and products as well so please continue to visit my blog to see all that is going on here! Pin It

Wanna Buy A Card??

Can you see me standing on a street corner holding my trench coat open, in a shady voice saying, "ya wanna buy a card"?  LOL!  WELL, if you would like to buy a card, you CAN!  I now have a "buy a card" button at the top of my blog right under the banner!  The instructions to order are super simple and are all there when you click on that button!  PLEASE NOTE:  The cost to ship the cards to you is INCLUDED in the price.  There is no additional price on top of that!  If you live in Kindersley or area and would like to arrange to pick your cards up, please contact me at christieortman@ymail.com.  I'd be happy to accomodate you in doing that!  Also, you can find my cards at Scott's Jewelers in the Kindersley Mall!
There are several options in buying a card - you can buy 1, 2, 3, 5, or 10 and the prices are all adjusted to include shipping! 
Please be sure to include the URL of the card you'd like to order in the URL box as well as any customizable instructions in the instruction box!  EASY PEASY!!

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Same Set, Different Flower

This is another sympathy card I made last week using the same stamp set that has the hydrangeas.  I forget the name of it and I guess it doesnt' matter too much since the set is retired anyway :0(

This card was quick and easy and I love coloring these images with my copic markers!  I used a MS punch on the top of the card and added some basic grey dp, a few pink gem brads and some stickles to the little bee's wings and the center of the flower!  Nice calming colors, yet a beautiful image is sure to bring comfort to someone's heart at a time of loss! Pin It

Everyday Finances

Did you hear that the minister of finance just announced new guidelines for Canadian mortgages?  The banks are getting more strict in an effort to boost the economy and keep Canadians out of foreclosure.  For our family, it doesn't seem any big shock.  The cost of living in the town we live in is very high.  We've struggled to try and get ahead since we've been here, but this year, we have changed our goals from saving to paying down debt.  We've tightened the purse strings - in a HUGE way, made a decision to use what we already have instead of buying more and already this year we've done well.  With me selling my cards and Andy selling some of his video games we've been able to almost completely pay off one of our credit cards!  I'm excited about this new goal and I'm looking forward to seeing what we are able to accomplish this year. 
What are you doing to get ahead?  Are you saving?  Paying off debt?  Are you making any changes in how you spend or invest?  What about inventive ways to increase your income?  I'd love to hear the changes you've made and how they are affecting your financial goals!
Often one persons ideas will work for almost anyone and since when one of us benefits we all benefit in the long run, I'm hoping that our ideas and successes will encourage you and vice versa! Pin It

Hydrangeas

Today I have another sympathy card to show you!  It was made with a retired SU set which I just love.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE hydrangeas.  In fact, in our last house, I planted two hydrangea bushes which are especially hybrid for our weather conditions.  I don't think they get those big beautiful blossoms you see here but nevertheless, I thought they would be beautiful - then we moved - LOL!  I wonder how those little bushes are doing?
Anyway, here is my card:

I used some old Basic Grey dp in teh background and gathered my ribbon which I attached with sticky strip.  I used some gem brads and stickles to accent and popped up my hydrangea image with foam dots.  I was pretty pleased with how it turned out! Pin It

Holy Snow Batman!!

Last weekend we had a HUGE snow storm here!  It was awesome!  While most people complained about the snow, I was hoping we'd get dumped on so much that we couldn't leave the house - LOL!  Then we could have just stayed cozied up inside!
Well, it didn't snow quite that much but here are some pics of our drive way after the snow:

This is what we walked out of our house to - it was up to my hips (I'm 5'3") - I'm guessing at least 3 ft of snow on our driveway!  Here it is again after Andy did some snowblowing: 

Wowsa - I think he was out there for almost 2 hours with the snowblower.
Its been snowing almost everyday since and I'm loving it!  Can you hear me singing and dancing like Snoopy:  Let it Snow, Let it snow, let it snow - la la!
Hope you're enjoying the snow and if not, I hope you're at least enjoying being bundled up at home with those you love! Pin It

Cards, Cards, Everywhere There's Cards!

I've been so excited lately because I finally decided to take a photo box of my cards to the hospital to leave in the staff room in case anyone would like to buy them.  I have sold quite a few there and so I decided I would also take a box to the bank and do the same thing with them - they have gone like hotcakes!  In fact, the girls there phoned here on Friday to tell Andy that I was out of Sympathy cards because they had bought the last of them!!!  Since everyone seemed to like them, I also took them around to a few different businesses in town to see if anyone would like to sell them.  About a week later, the jewelry store in town phoned and the owner asked me to bring them in so she could have a look.  I packaged them all up and took them over on a nice card display rack and she took 90 of them!!!  I was sooooo pleased and excited.  People have been so sweet with the feedback and comments I've recived!  It has really given me the kick in the pants I needed to go out there and market my craft!
As a result, I've been frantically working on sympathy cards b/c I don't have alot of extra ones around - in fact, none, now that I've taken them to these 3 places!  So, for the next few days, I'll be showing you some of the cards I've been making to fill that gap. 
Here is the first one: 

This is just a really simple quick card with a few layers but I didn't want to take away from the quote on the front which I just LOVE:  In times I can't seem to find God, I rest in the assurance He knows how to find me.  Isn't that comforting!  I love that!   Whether it be the loss of a loved one, a job, financial stress, loss of a relationship, etc.  We as humans often struggle to understand God's unfathomable love for us.  Though the struggles will continue to come, we can rest in the fact that God knows exactly where we are, exactly what we're going through and continues to love and take care of us!

I hope that serves as a reminder for you today.  No matter what life brings your way, you can trust in the fact that God has his eye on you!

Be blessed!

Details:  C/s:  bazzill; dp:  heidi grace; ink:  SU crushed curry, india ink black; ribbon:  my stash!

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Boys Room Redo

The story with the house we live in is a long, sad song.  It is in and ideal location and we love the neighborhood.  The size is adequate for us but beyond that - it has been kind of a headache.  We are renting and saving like crazy to be able to build a house but his house is WAY overpriced and the windows and door seals are all gone so the utility bills are ridiculous.  Anyway, we never intended this house to be a forever kind of place, more of a stop over on our way to our destination.  After a long series of events I won't bore you with, we decided that we will be here in this house for at least another year.  With that decision, I decided that I was sick of living in a stop over hotel and wanted to start making a home for my family.  My first project was our little boys room.  There are 3 bdrms on the main floor but one of them is really small - so Isaiah is occupying that one with a single bed which is a nice space for him and the other one is very long and narrow with 2 enormous windows so it is really difficult to come up with a good configuration for furniture.
I got the help of my handy, strong and handsome husband to do some lifting and moving and here is what we came up with:

Bunk beds for the twins - here they are reading before bed, and a twin for Benjamin:

It definitely is not out of a magazine!  We need some real night tables, a bed skirt and some curtains.  Unfortunately there is nothing I can do about the wall color which the picture makes look not bad at all!   In actuallity it kind of looks like a banana yellow with smoke damage - LOL!  Anyway, the boys LOVE their "new" room.
Have you seen these:

Pottery Barn Kids

I love to read to the boys before bed and as they get older I'm not so anal about keeping their books out of reach because they won't chew, tear, and color them to pieces.  As soon as I saw these I thought they were such a great idea to have beside the boys beds.  Then Ana White from Knock Off Wood posted the amazing and easy instructions on how to make them.  THEN, Becky from Infarrantly Creative decided she would start another amazing blog called Knock Off Decor and she posted this little beauty made by Leslie from The Design File:

I have had an idea to create something like this for my own boys for some time and so, in keeping with my New Year's resolution to use what I have, I went out to the garage and brought in these old CD holders from ikea and had Andy drill some holes in them and hung them on the boys wall:

Each one got their own and they are loving them!  They are pretty plain right now but I'm planning on buying some vinyl stickers to decorate each one to make them more personal.  Here are the boys, enjoying their very own libraries:

Do you have something laying around that you could reuse for something other than its intended purpose?  If so, I'd love to hear about it!

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With Sympathy

Another card that I never seem to have enough of unfortunately is Sympathy cards.  I also often get requests from people wanting to buy sympathy cards so I needed to make some of those as well.  Here is the one I came up with today:

This largely inspired by a blog I read but I honestly don't know who's it was - I'm so sorry!
The main image is from Stampendous and the sentiment is by PTI.  I used a cb folder I've had forever and have never used, a MS border punch and some ac ribbon.  There are aqua micro beads on the centers of the flowers as well!
Go hug someone you love! Pin It

Last New House!

Here is the last of the new home cards I made.  This one is my fav I think!

I LOVE this color combination:  Black, white, aqua, and olive/spring green.  This is a little CTMH image and the sentiment is from an old PP set.  Its hard to see in the image but there is ce on the vase and the dishes and the flower actually has two layered tiny punched flowers on it, topped with a swarovski crystal.  The dp is old SU! Pin It

More New Home

Here is another of the new home cards I made:

This image is from Taylored Expressions.  Very simple little image with lots of layers and it turned out pretty cute I think.  I used some jump rings to hang the little bird house off of the branch.  Some robin's egg baubles are used for accents and the embossed layer is a sizzix folder.  The dp is WRMK and the rest is all from SU!
Thanks for looking! Pin It

A New Home!

I've had a few requests lately for "congratulations on your new home" cards so I thought I'd make some of those to have on hand.  Here is the first one:

This card was super simple but turned otu really pretty.  This is another stamp I got while on vacation this summer.  It is a Hero Arts image.  I stamped it in black on vanilla and added stickles to all of the 'crystals' and the 'flames' of the candles.  The strip along the bottom is basic grey and the ribbon is some that I had on hand!  The inside has a Paper Pretties sentiment in it that says, Congratulations on your new home.  I think it turned out (once again) simple and beautiful - I'm wondering if that might be my new mo - lol!  Well, when it comes to cards anyway!
Now that its the new year - have you made any new years resolutions and if you have, how are they going?  We're half way through January and I'd love to hear how you're doing!  My resolution this year was to use what I have!  Basically, that is what it is.  I'm not going to stock pile groceries, I'm going to check the cupboards to see what I can use that I already have.  I'm not buying stamps or supplies until I am using what I already have!  I feel really good about living a more frugal lifestyle and being a good steward of all that God has abundantly blessed us with!
Can't wait to hear what you're hoping for this year! Pin It

For RuthAnn

For those of you that follow my blog, you'll remember in the summer when we went to Dallas and I was able to visit one of my old friends.  When I was a very young bible college student, Joe and RuthAnn were my American family and spent a ton of time taking care of me!  When I was there I gave Ruth Ann a little lamb which began a collection of sheep she has.  I bought this little Penny Black lamb stamp on our family holiday in Albert b/c I knew that it would be perfect to send her a card with!

I wasn't entirely happy with how this turned out - the green part is too big - ugh.  I used a MFT border die for the grass.  I colored the image with my copics and added some prima flowers to finish off!  I hope she likes this little reminder of how much she means to me! Pin It

Last One!

Here is the last of my Christmasy goodies! It is a largish match box!  I was surprised how big this actually turned out and thought that because of the size of it you could actually use it for cards or tags and a nice little gift!

The colors look a big off but there is a white felt snowflake tucked in behind this image from whipper snapper.  The sentiment is from SU as is the ribbon.  The dp is from mme I think.  You can see the snowman shimmering in the light.  I just loved how this little box turned out!  Tomorrow its on to some new things!  We're leaving Christmas behind and embracing all that 2011 has to offer! Pin It

2 More...

We're gettting close to being done with Christmas!!  Actually this is the last card I have to share.  Tomorrow is something a little different that I hope you'll enjoy!  This is a really simple card I put together with some DP and red satin ribbon!

This is some confetti cream cardstock - does SU even carry that anymore - oiy!  Anyway, the sentiment is from SU as well.  The dp is Websters and the bottom border is punched out using an EK success border punch.  I used one of the stick pins from my SU pretties kit to add the final touch to the big juicy satin bow!  The main image is popped up off the card base adding some dimension!  Last one tomorrow - are you coming back to see what it is??? Pin It

3 More Christmas Cards to Go

Here is the 3rd to last Christmasy card!

This is a Stampendous stamp I've had for quite some time.  I embossed it in gold on Vanilla c/s and then cut  it out.  This card is so much prettier IRL then it looks in the pic.  The main card base is Vanilla followed by a beautiful gold shimmery layer, another vanilla layer and finally, a vanilla, snowflake flocked vellum.  It looks so rich and pretty.  I added clear swarovski crystals to the ornament to make it sparkle as well!  Very festive!!  Are you all enjoying your Christmas gifts?  I know I'm a little late, but I'd love to hear what you all recieved! Pin It

Only 4 More...

Christmas treats!  You were expecting 5 weren't you?  Turns out I counted wrong and there are only 4 more!  Here is today's treat for you:

More pastely Christmas cards - love those non-traditional Christmas colors.  I also loved using my new sewing machine to do a little stitching on this card!  This card was inspired by someone's blog but I honestly can't remember who.  Forgive me if its you and thank you for providing such amazingly creative ideas!
This is a retired SU set and some old SU dp! Pin It

6 More...

Christmas cards  to show you!  This one shows off some more felt snowflakes! 

Creamy Caramel - lol!  When is the last time you used that color - or even heard of it - he he!  I had this velvet ribbon that matched perfectly and I just love the natural look that this card showed combined with the sparkle and elegance of the organdy!  Simple yet pretty!
The sentiment is SU embossed with silver embossing powder! 
Turns out this card is perfect for right now because in the last two days, we've recieved almost 18" of snow - wowsa!  We're staying inside and snuggling with the kiddos and loving every minute of it!  Stay warm and thanks for visiting me! Pin It

More Christmas!

I continued my ...Days of Christmas posting when I realized that the rest of the posts didn't save - ugh!  So, here I am in January posting my Christmas cards I made after Christmas - giggle!
I've been contemplating a stamping decision for a while and think I've finally made up my mind and I'm very excited about it.  I'll share that with you in a while ~wink~ but for now, here is another Christmas card for you!

The inspiration for this card came from the Scrapbook Trends blog (I think).  I took some shimmer card stock - yummo!  I love ALL things sparkly - such a girly girl!  Then I stamped a Paper Trey sentiment across the top and bottom (the sentiment is straight but the pic is crooked).  I used my nesties to cut a frame out some old SU Christmas paper from my stash and then used my felt SU snowflakes from last year and a big swarovski crystal in the middle to make it sparkle!  Love it! Pin It