Algonquin Park #3

I was scrolling through my pictures early this morning, since I was up because I couldn't sleep.  I have this terrible head cold that started last sunday with a very sore throat that last 5 days and now it's into my chest.  I have been blessed because I have not had a cold in over 5 years! I thought I had posted everything Bill had given me but there were a few more I didn't post. Here are the last of them.
Sorry, there is quite a few, hope you don't mind.

I hope you enjoy our photos.  Another Christmas card due up for my next post. Stay tuned.
Have a wonderful day.

Pauline

Chickadee in Barberry

I guess it's that time of year to start working on Christmas cards.  I have a few done, but have a long way to go.  I always say every year, I'm going to start in January, and even if I can make one or two each month I wouldn't feel the crunch come Nov, but I never seem to do it - one of these years!

Today's card features one of the recent digi images from Marcella over at Power Poppy.  This one is called "Chickadee in Barberry".  I absolutely love this image and of course this bird.  Whenever I see a chickadee, it takes me back to times in Algonquin Park, when they will each right out of your hand, it's an amazing experience!

After resizing, I printed this onto some white 100lb cougar c/s.  I then cut it out using MFT stitched rectangle die and then ran it through my MINC machine to get the gold foil on the sentiment.  I can see from this angle for some reason it didn't adhere to the tale on the 's'. I find that happens now and again, not sure why, because the complete sentiment was covered with foil.

I coloured the chickadee using prismacolour pencils and blended with gamsol. I used scraps of christmas paper from my scrap bin, but I think the papers are all from Basic Grey.

Finished off with glitter on the snow, sequins and gold twine. I also added some white dots on the berries using a white gel pen.

I really appreciate you stopping by today, have a lovely day,

Pauline

Jungle vine

Good morning everyone!  Yesterday we were up at my son Mark's home to celebrate my grandson's 6th birthday.  How soon we forget how much noise 6 -  5 & 6 yr olds can make.  Good thing it was a beautiful day when they were able to play some games outside - ah-- peace and quiet inside! LOL. But all in all it was a wonderful day.

I procrastinated all week as to what kind of card to make for James. I really don't have much in stamps for young ones, but I did remember this die from Poppystamps that I purchased back in the summer.  It's called Jungle Vine Oval, and this is my card:

I started by cutting the green square with MFT stitched rectangle and then I cut the oval vine from that.  I also cut a piece of white card stock using the stitched rectangle die. One the white I sponged memento summer sky ink in the back ground and then I used MFT cloud die (I cut the die using copy paper - so it would be thin) and sponged clouds in the sky.  In real you can see the clouds, but they don't look very noticeable in the picture.  I then cut a couple of pieces from kraft c/s using MFT stitched snow drifts, then sponged some memento rich cocoa along the edges of the hills.

I sponged memento new sprout around the edges of the vine piece and added some olive grove as well, and sponged rich cocoa around the kraft card base edges.

Now for the monkeys - cut them from cream c/s and then  sponged them with memento inks - one using espresso truffle, desert sand, and rich cocoa.  These little monkeys even die cut their faces and tummy's, so cute!

After I hung the monkey's, it seemed pretty plain, not that a 6yr old would really know or care, but hey it's also the parents - right??.  so I thought how about one of the monkeys holding some balloons! I cut a couple of Simon Says -celebration time balloon dies from Bo Bunny's zoology collection. Did you notice that I was able to use one of the words on the paper - monkey - for the heart balloon! 
I attached the balloons using some twine and popped up the heart balloon from the bottom balloon.
I also popped up the frame using foam tape.

So there you have it! This was fun creating.

supplies:
dies - Poppystamps - jungle vine oval, happy monkey, dancing monkey, MFT - stitched snow drifts, MFT clouds,MFT stitched rectangle (from die-names blueprints 13),Simon Says - celebration time (balloons)
ink- memento - summer sky, desert sand, rich cocoa, olive grove, new sprout
paper - PTI kraft, cougar white, SU certain celery
misc - twine, foam tape

I will have a Christmas card for my next post so stay tuned for that.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Have a wonderful day,

Pauline

Mark & Anna's wedding

Can you believe that it is Nov 1?  One would never think that with the weather we are having today.
Low 70's for Nov 1 - kind of unheard of but I'll take it.  It's short weather not long pants and coat weather.  But I'm sure it won't last.

Just a warning - this is a long post - lots of pictures to share.

So, today I thought I would share pictures from our son Mark's wedding.  First up is the wedding card I made.  A few months ago I purchased a new die set from Wild Rose Studio, and when I saw it on line I knew I wanted to use for their wedding card.  I computer generated their names and date, and then I used my MINC machine to gold emboss it. The rest is pretty much explanatory.

Mark would of loved to of had his Dad take all the pictures but he didn't think that was fair.  He wanted his Dad to enjoy the wedding rather than devote all his time to picture taking. But Bill was able to capture a few.  The wedding was on the grounds of Elsie Perrin Williams Estate, and the reception was inside.


The Venue:

Rehearsal night

 

Wedding Day:

 

I absolutely love this  picture of Mark 

 

Mark  & me:

 

Karen (my daughter) & Me:

 

 Mark & Dad (Bill) - petty good picture eh - I took this one :)

Mark & the boys (Ethan 10, James 5)

The newlyweds: Mark & Anna

 

 

Pictures during the reception:

 

 

And now for our all time favourite.  I just love how Bill did this one. Anna squealed when we showed them this one.

We are so blessed to have a wonderful Daughter-in-law along with Ethan  & James.  They call us Nana Pauline and Papa Bill - they are such sweet boys.

Thanks for your visit today, and hope you enjoyed the pictures.

Pauline

 

Edna needs a Martini

Hello everyone! I think we all could use a Martini don't you think? Although I'm not much of a drinking, the occasional glass of wine is always good.

For my card today I have a Stamping Bella image - called Edna needs a Martini.

I just love the Edna series of images and they always have cute sentiments to go along with them.

I stamped her onto some cougar white c/s and used copics to colour. Used an MFT stitched rectangle to cut her out and then layered her onto some MME Hazel papers - Stella Rose.
I stamped the sentiment onto some white c/s using black versafine, then used a circle die to cut out and used one of the copic picks to go around the edge just to add a bit of colour.

To finish off I used wink of stella clear pen for her wings and added some clear sequins.

Supplies:
stamp - Stamping Bella - Edna needs a martini
ink- copics - E000, E00, E01, E11, E09, E29, E97,R20, R30, R32, R43, R56, R89, BG0000, BG000, BG34, BG57, Y0000, C0, C01, C02, C03, V0000
dies - MFT- stitched rectangle, spellbinders circle
paper - cougar white 100 lb, MME Hazel Papers - Stella rose, dust rose bazzill
mics - sequins, wink of stella clear pen
 



Just to answer Leslie's question on my last post:

Leslie, to answer your question about the fox.  We just happened to be driving along one of the trails to have a picnic lunch and he was right there in front of the car.  He ran across the road and into the forest but came back around behind the car and down towards the small river and Bill jumped out and took pictures.  Shortly after that we saw another one around the picnic tables - looking for nibbles - and again Bill had his camera waiting just in case we saw another.  But, yes Bill has a lot of patience when it comes to his photography.  He will sit for hours waiting if he knows something is in the area.

Heading off to work shortly, it's a gloomy rainy day.  Would much rather be home working on cards!
Enjoy your day,

Pauline

Algonquin Park # 2

I'm back to share some more of photos of our trip to Algonquin Park.

Costello Lake:

 

Adult and juvenile Loons

 

Rusty Blackbirds

Red Fox at Tea Lake Dam 

Fall colours along Hwy 60

Mushrooms 

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you enjoyed the pictures.  I will have more to share.

Have a wonderful day,

Pauline

Black-eyed susan

Happy Wednesday - we are half way through the week, even though it feels like a Tuesday to me since I was off on Monday.

Thanks so much for those who commented on Bill's photography from our trip (previous post)- greatly appreciated.  I will have more to share in my next post.

A quick post this morning before heading off to work.  One of my very closest and best friends birthday was last week, so I surprised her with a little gift and this card:

I'm using Power Poppy's black-eyed susan digital image.  After re-sizing I printed it out onto some 100lb cougar white c/s and coloured with copics.

I used an older MFT die-namics die set to cut out the image.  I searched their website and can't seem to find this set, it must be discontinued.  Papers used are from MME - Fine and Dandy - true blue.

Now these are not my colours by any means and I found it hard to go this direction, but since I had my flowers already coloured in yellows/oranges I didn't have much choice, but I do like out it turned out.

Finished off with some art institute - autumn glitter in the centers of the flowers.

supplies:
stamp - Power Poppy digital image - black-eyed susan
ink - copics - Y04, Y18, Y38, YR15, G40, G24, YG01, YG0000, E08, E09, E19, E99
dies - MFT die-namics- ?, EK success border punch - abstract flowers
paper - MME - Fine & Dandy - ture blue, PTI chocolate, cougar white
misc - ribbon, art institute autumn glitter, quickie glue pen, bow easy.

Well, that's it for me for today.  So glad you stopped by, have a wonderful day.  Another beautiful day here - high of 20 C (70F) today, but then it falls off over night, and the rest of the week is in the 50's.

Pauline

Algonquin Park #1

Hello everyone.  A few weeks ago Bill and I spent 5 days up in Algonquin Park (this is the oldest and biggest provincial park in Canada measuring 7,653 square kilometres or 2,955 square miles). We knew before heading, that the park was showing stunning fall colours, but when we arrived it was nothing like we imagined.  Even locals say this was the best year for 'fall colours' in years. They have never seen colours so intense. We were not disappointed to say the least, from yellows to oranges to reds to burgundy's - it was breathtaking!  

We try to get up to the park at least once a year.  It's an amazing park, with 20 interpretive walking trails, some include waterfalls and lookouts. Being here is so serene! It's a great place to unwind from the hectic everyday life. I know a lot of people would much rather be on a sunny beach on some island far away, but for us we love to drive to our destination and soak up the scenery of our beautiful country we live in, along with what nature has in store for us.

The weather was cool in the mornings in the mid 40's to low 50's up to low 70's in the afternoon. First couple of days were cloudy, but sun broke out late afternoon, the rest of the week was sunny.

Bill took so many fabulous pictures capturing the fall colours.  I will share some in this post and then more in a future post.

Be sure to click on the photos to enlarge them for a better view.

 

This was taken on day 2, just as the sun was breaking through the fog, shortly after 7am. So tranquil.

A view from across Tea Lake.

Colours of Autumn - along Opeongo Road

The Common Loon has been on Bill's list of 'lifers' to get for years, and finally he was able to capture them on Opeongo Lake.

And how about a bit of nature - mushrooms - gorgeous!

I hope you enjoyed what I shared today.  I will have more in another post shortly. Thanks for your visit today.

Pauline

Mr Fixit

Good morning.  Today is my son Mark's birthday.  I can't believe where the 32 years have gone. Since he bought his home  a year ago he has taken up a new hobby - wood working.  He has blow my mind on what he has created.  He has made a coffee table - gorgeous, small shelving units for the wall, and he also made their wedding card box for guests to deposit their cards at the reception.

So I was racking my brain as to what image I could use for his birthday card.  I came across an image over at Mo's Digital Pencil called Mr. Fixit. We had our family Thanksgiving on Saturday so we gave it to him then, and he loved it!  He is going to put it in a frame and place it in his workshop room.

After re-sizing the image I used prismacolour pencils to colour. I used MFT stitched rectangles  to cut out the image. 

Designer paper is Basic Grey -Granola.  For the corner I used Verve's Pennant trim - I cut off 2 of the pennants, overlapped them and added a screw brad to hold them together.  

Well that's it for me today.  Hope you have a wonderful day.

Pauline

cuppa buttercups and pictures

Hello everyone.  Sorry for the long absence.  As I mentioned before,  we were busy getting ready for our son Mark's wedding, then back to work for a week, then last week Bill & I took off for a weeks vacation.  Nowhere hot with sunny beaches, but rather up north to Algonquin Provincial Park to soak in the wild life along with the most gorgeous fall colours.  We are still all green down in SW Ontario, there might be the odd tree that is turning yellow, or a bit of orange.  It was like driving through a tunnel of colour.  We hit it at the right time as the colours reached their peak.  A lot of locals we met even said this has been the best year in many, as far as colourful and vibrancy.

Here are a few I took with my Canon PowerShot S95.  I will have more to share later, just haven't had time to go through them all. 

along highway 60 driving through the park:

 

Oxtongue rapids - you can see Bill over to the right, doing what he loves best!

 

and now for my card post.

I made this a couple of weeks ago before I took my break but just didn't get the chance to post it.
I'm using one of Power Poppy's digital image called Cuppa buttercups.

 After re-sizing and printing I used copics to colour.  I cut it out using a stitched circle die, then cut a scallop circle using some of the designer  paper.

The bottom of the card front I used my ever so neglected spellbinder border.  I'm not even sure if they still carry this set, as  I have had it for several years.  It cuts, embosses as well as pierce tiny holes for the design. I used the same die to cut both edges of the yellow designer paper.

All papers are from the Howdy Doody MME 6x6 paper pack.

To finish off I cut a flag banner from a piece of scrap and then added a tiny bow made from silk ribbon.  Wink of Stella clear pen for the buttercups and pearls along the bottom edge.

So..... now I need to get into gear and work on more cards.  Taking almost a month off, it's hard to get back at it.  My basket at work is almost depleted, and of course Christmas card orders.  So that should get me into gear don't you think!


Supplies:
stamp - Power Poppy - digital image  cuppa buttercups
ink - copics - BG0000, BG000, E30, E31, R21, R24 R29, RV02, RV09, RV19, YG01, YG03, G 29, YG63, YG67, Y12, Y32, Y38, YR23
paper - MME - Howdy Doody, cougar white
dies - Simon Says - inside & out stitched circle, spellbinders - scallop circle, stitched border
misc - pearls, silk ribbon, wink of stella pen



Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you have a wonderful day.  See you again real soon. (Wed - I will post my son's birthday card).

Pauline

Sending birthday wishes

Hello everyone! Sorry I've been away for a few weeks.  It was our son Mark's wedding this past weekend.  You couldn't of asked for a better day.  Temps around 70, sunny, slight breeze just a gorgeous day.  Everything went perfectly.  It was a nice small wedding very intimate, around 60 guests. Lots of fun,  fabulous food, lots of dancing and drinking of course.  I will share pictures once we go through them.

This card I have today was made about  month ago, and of course I never kept track of what I used.
So I'll try to give you what I can remember! LOL

I started by using a chevron stencil, taped it down onto some kraft card stock(which was precut using a stitched rectangle - Simon Says die) and then applied embossing paste but not over the whole stencil, I left some areas untouched. After removing the stencil, I added gold glitter to the wet paste and let dry.  I then used versamagic to stamp the Penny black stamp around the edges to fill in the bare spots

I used a die to cut a tag from both vellum and cream card stock.  On the cream c/s I embossed a  stamp from Penny Black called Flamboyant using white embossing powder.  I then sponged some distress ink over the tag and then stamped a script background over that. (I think I used second generation stamping for the text).

fFowers are from Justrite - Floral trio One dies.  Sending die is from Simon Says cut using chocolate brown card stock - Birthday wishes is from PTI stamped using memento rich cocoa.

Finished off with some twine wrapped around the top layer.  I then layered everything onto a white bazzill card base.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Have a wonderful day.
Pauline

Congratulations

Hi.  I'm back for a quick post.  With my son's wedding quickly approaching there are some finishing details we need to take of which leaves no time for card making.  But once the wedding is done I will be back, I promise.

Tonight's card is one I made a few weeks ago for our Manager of AP, she took on another role within the company. No stamping involved only the sentiment.  I was inspired by a card my friend Carla made a couple of months ago.

Paper is Basic Grey.  Dies are Spellbinders - scallop borders two,  Creative Expressions (Sue Wilson) - Striplet - lattice heart, Simon Says - stitched banners, Memory Box - lavish branch.
Finished with flowers from Prima and Wild Orchid crafts, pearls and ribbon.  Sentiment is from PTI.

Sorry for the short post, and remember I will be back in a couple of weeks for sure. Thanks for stopping by today.

Pauline

Red & white wedding

Hello everyone! Hope your enjoying your weekend so far.

My card today is a wedding card I made for my friend at work.  He son got married last month and they are huge Detroit Red Wing Fans.  They got married in her backyard, so all the flowers she planted this year were red & white.  I told her I would make her a red & white theme wedding card, and this is what I came up with.

I just love the all white card with that pop of red!

This was pretty much all die cutting.  The sentiment is from a Justrite wedding set.  Dies used are Spellbinders -nested hearts, fleur de lis, Memory box - lavish branch, MFT -rolled flower, Marianne - leaves.  I also added pearls some tiny red flowers and some white silk flowers.

Well back to colouring.  I haven't coloured in over a month! I think after making those 29 cards for the order I had I got a bit burnt out and lost my mojo. It's slowly coming back.

So glad you stopped by for a visit.  See you again real soon.

Pauline

Olive & Oak Trio

Hello! I hope everyone enjoyed your long weekend.  I can't believe we are into September already - where did the summer go? And today marks another heat wave for the next couple of days.  It was over 100F today as it will be until Thursday when we have a cold front move through with rain.

A few weeks ago Power Poppy had a big sale going on so I took advantaged and purchased some digital images.  I resized and printed some Olive & Oak images with good intentions of doing some colouring.  My Minc machine was still on my craft table, so I gravitated to a piece of foil that I used on one of my latest projects, placed it on one of my laser printed images ran it through the Minc and voila,  an instant card! I was sold on this look for sure. I ended up doing 3 cards.

gold rose foil:

silver foil:

gold foil:

I guess it is hard to see the foil in the pictures. I should of took an angle shot of them.

I used MFT wonky stitched rectangle die for all 3.

Thanks for your visit.  Have a wonderful day,
Pauline

Stamping Bella sneak peak Day 7

Hi. I'm back today with another sneak peak to share with you. So what do you think so far? 

Today, I'm introducing Chick and Snowman.

I used copics to colour this sweet little snowman.  I just love snowmen, I was so excited when Emily sent me this one to colour.

I used some scrap designer paper (polka dots), kraft, confetti red and white card stock. 
Dies used are Simon Says stitched squares and Memory box - precious snowflakes.

I added lots of glitter, fun flock to the hats and a little gold ball on the bow of the snowflake.

Well that's it for me today.  Be sure to stop over at bloggabella and see the other sneak peaks. Be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win one of today's images.
And remember tomorrow Sept 3 is RELEASE DAY!  Do you have your shopping list ready?

Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy your weekend.

Pauline