Wednesday, December 31, 2014

On the Eve of a New Year




And although my heart was broken, it emerged.
Stronger and Beautiful and open to what the Universe will deliver.

Two Thousand and Fourteen proved to be a challenging year to say the least.
I could dwell on the negative and tell you that it probably was one of the worse years of my life, or I could alter my perception and tell you that it has been a year of lessons and spiritual growth.

Sometimes one needs a symbolical slap in the face to wake up and realize the need for change.
Sometimes it takes a rude awakening to open your eyes to the truth, to remove the rose coloured glasses to peer at what is real and what is not. This year I got the slap, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Through the pain, confusion, sadness anger and anxiety I gained some clarity and an understanding of purpose. I looked inward and upward, praying for strength, peace of mind, forgiveness and spiritual growth and I am well on my way to attaining those desires.

Just like the Lotus, we too have the ability to rise from the mud, bloom out of the darkness and radiate into the world.
-author unknown






Yesterday is gone and its tale told,
Today, new seeds are growing.

There is NO looking back






My wish for you is to take charge and create a wonderful year for yourselves and those that matter to you.

May you all have a Blessed 2015

-Vicki~




Friday, December 5, 2014

Simply Clean



Good Morning!

It doesn't get much cleaner than this.....

Two Stamps, One ink colour and Glitter!!!

I like the masculine feel of this card

Easy to mass reproduce

and 

Would be pretty in blue I bet!!!

Stamps


Happy Stamping!

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Impression Obsession Clean and Simple Challenge


Here's a little contrast from my Cardmaker Blog Hop Card!

This week's challenge is Clean and Simple Holiday Cards~

You can't get much cleaner than this one~ and quite frankly, I need to give myself a HUGE pat on the back for keeping this white card pristine.....yep, no inky finger marks here and I didn't have to redo it!!! YAY~!!!!

For my Card, I used 



Have Yourself (sentiment)

I used a patterned paper in behind the snowflake to give it a little ZIP!!!!


Make sure you head over to the


to enter your CAS card and to get a list of the DT players for today!!!!

Stay tuned for some more simple card samples in the next few days, as well as some great peeks and the upcoming Valentine Release!

Happy Stamping!


Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Impression Obsession Hops with CardMaker!





Welcome to the CardMaker and Impression Obsession Blog Hop!


If you have been hopping, you've just arrived form Theresa Momber's Blog

Today the CardMaker Designers and the Impression Obsession Designers will be showing you some wonderful holiday projects featuring stamps  and dies from Impression Obsession!

For my Sweet Winter Scene, I used the following Dies:

I capped the Brick house with the Snowy Roof Die

I used Glitter and Ultrafine Flowersoft to mimic the ice and snow!

Make sure and comment on each of the blogs in the hop!


If you haven't started, the Hop starts HERE at the Card Maker Blog

TWO winners will be randomly chosen to win a $25 Impression Obsession Gift Certificate! You have until Thursday December 4th at Midnight CT to enter. The winner will be chosen and announced on the Impression Obsession Blog on December 5th.


Next Stop? Mae Nazareth's Blog


Here is the Hop List in it's entirity!


Good luck in the Draw!!!!



CardMaker - http://www.cardmakermagazine.com/blog/?p=10935

Anna Wight - http://sweetmissdaisy.typepad.com/sassy_sweet_notes/impression-obsession/

Piali Biswas - http://touchofcreation.blogspot.com/2014/11/cardmaker-impression-obsession-blog-hop.html

Daniela Dobson - http://danieladobson.blogspot.com/search/label/Impression%20Obsession

Dina Kowal - http://mamadinis.blogspot.com/search/label/Impression%20Obsession

Penny Ward – http://www.pennywardink.com/2014/12/cardmaker-impression-obsession-hop.html

Ellen Taylor - http://theserendipitousstamper.blogspot.ca/search/label/Impression%20Obsession

Jeanne Streiff – http://inkypaws.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/?p=20695

Jeanne Jachna –  http://akeptlife.blogspot.com/2014/12/cardmaker-impression-obsession.html

Jenny Gropp - http://www.onekraftykat.blogspot.com/search/label/Impression%20Obsession

Karen Amidon - http://paperliliesandink.blogspot.com/search/label/Impression%20Obsession

Noelle McAdams –  http://noelle-paperandice.blogspot.com/2014/11/cardmaker-and-impression-obsession-blog.html

Kittie Caracciolo - http://kittiekraft.typepad.com/kittiekraft/impression-obsession/

Laura Fulcher – http://stampart.blogspot.com/search/label/Impression%20Obsession

Theresa Momber - http://craftingtheweb.blogspot.com/2014/11/cardmaker-and-impression-obsession-blog.html

Vicki Garrett - http://summerthymestudio.blogspot.com/search/label/Impression%20Obsession

Mae Nazareth – http://inkdpaperbymae.blogspot.com/2014/11/cardmaker-and-impression-obsession.html

Impression Obsession – http://mitrafriant.typepad.com/impression_obsession_news/

Thursday, November 20, 2014

IO Stamps Thursday Challenge-Holiday Greetings


HI!  Are you all ready for the Holiday's yet? For my friends South of the Border, I hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!! I'm not remotely ready for Christmas here yet. I'm still working out some health issues, so I've been a little scarce. This has been a crazy six months and i'm hoping that treatment for my latest diagnosis of severe sleep apnea, will leave me feeling more rested. I want my energy back! That is ALL I want for Christmas. To feel that i'm finally on the mend!!!

This week's challenge is to create a Holiday Card.

I had fun building on this fun pop up design that I downloaded for my Silhouette.

I embossed the edges of the white sections with Gold embossing powder, as they were a little stark on their own. The Joy Sentiment is Stamped in Artichoke Ink, while the Christmas Cheer Sentiment is embossed in Gold as well.
I used two different dies for the Wreath as I wanted lots of dimension

On the base I used  the Twig Wreath Die Set and then topped it with Holly Wreath

I hope you like this fun card and will play along in the challenge.

Hop on over to the IO Stamps Blog to get the list of designers who are sharing a sample today and to enter your design in the challenge

Have a safe Holiday,


VIcki

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Impression Obsession Thursday Challenge-Thanksgiving Wishes



I have to start by saying, I'm bad! Very very bad! The challenge this week is to create a Thanksgiving Card. Here in Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving in October. So I truly do apologize that I didn't create a Thanksgiving Card

I was however, BUSTING at the seams to share this fun card with you!!! I designed it for a get in shape card class I taught last evening!!!

The ladies were totally pleased with all the dies that they got to experiment  with in the creation of this card!

Here's the list


I used one of my favourite Christmas Sentiments


I am almost certain that most of the Team is playing in the challenge, however head on over to the IO Blog to see who's playing for sure. You can also enter your creation there. Remember the challenge is Thanksgiving. To be eligible for the prize, don't be a rebel like me and follow the rules!

Good Luck!


Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Simply Prima #MyDollMyStyle



Earlier in October, I came across a fun post on the Prima Blog challenging us to create a project using one of the sweet Julie Nutting images- My Doll, My Style

So here she is!

A country girl at heart, she loves music and love

She loves a rustic country look and things simple and clean for the most part

She's a fan of Shabby Chick and all things vintage

I think she has great knees for an old bird!!!!

Hope you enjoyed my project!

With the exception of the burlap canvas and the Copic Markers used to colour the image, all of the supplies are from Prima Marketing!

Happy Stamping!

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Shades of Fall - IO Stamps Thursday Challenge


Hey!!!! Halloween is coming fast! For some reason, I thought that it was only the 9th of October. I can't believe it's the 16th already! Where did the time go!

This week, the challenge is to use shades of fall in your project.
I just happened to pick up this cute little top hat at the dollar store on the weekend, thinking it would be fun to decorate it with some fall fayre!!!



I used a few of the new Fall Dies in my project


In addition to the die cuts, I used some leaves and feathery stuff from M's

I took some of the paper wire from Prima Marketing and Sprayed it with Gold Foil Bloom Sprays
I think took my pearl pen and added some pearls around that
A few recollections Spiders and Voila! an Easy Peasy Project

Just figured out that it fits me, so if I get tired of using it as a centrepiece, I'll plunk it on my head!!!

OHHHHH!!! Did I mention that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the dimension in the Picket Fence Die??

No need to emboss, it's all done for me!!!!

Head on over to the IO blog to enter your fabby creation and to see which of the super talented DT girlz are playing

Happy Stamping!


Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Jactopia : exploring a new Medium!


This past weekend was amazing! I love the times with my London Girls (and Laura Boo of Course!)

Sadly, Jen is missing from the picture, as she had to steal away on Saturday night!!!!

I had a wonderful time and my two lovely friends Laura and Jax gifted me with a cold!!!!
Thanks Girls!!!!

Sooo I've been experimenting with Pan Pastels.

I had used them a bit in my Letter Love Journal, but wanted to do a little more

Sooooo I signed up for an online course with Jamie Dougherty Designs
You can find it HERE





This was the portrait that I completed under her tutelage! 

I was quite impressed with the Pastels and decided this weekend to play a little more

It was a toss up between attempting a Portrait of Sweet Sydney or of Mr. Kittybites

If you follow my blog, you've seen photographs of both!

Here is my version of the likeness of Mr. KB!!!



I'm quite happy with the way he turned out and am going to attempt a portait of Miss Syndey next!!!!

I have a long way to go to develop my skills but think I didn't do too badly for a Pan Pastel Virgin!

To my Grade Seven Teacher who suggested that I veer away from art , you were terribly amiss with your comment! I'm glad I didn't take your advice!!!!

Have a lovely day,


Vicki

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Impression Obsession Fall Die Hop-Day 3










It's all about the dies and the Impression Obsession Blog Hop!
It's day three and more dies to share. It's not too late to join in on the hop.
The more blogs you visit and leave a comment the better chance you will have to win a $25 Impression Obsession Gift Certificate!

Since today is the last day of the hop, two prizes will be awarded. One will be for todays comments and another will be chosen from all the comments left throughout the hop.
Both Wednesday winners will be announced on the IO Blog Friday.

All the dies that you are seeing, plus so many more, are available now!
www.iostamps.com

Today's hop links
Ellen Taylor
Jenny Gropp
Karen Amidon...that's me!
Kittie Caracciolo
Laura Fulcher
Vicki Garrett


For my card, I used the following Dies

Christmas Icons
Evergreen Trees
Gift Card envelope

Good Luck with the Draw!

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Impression Obsession Day 2-Blog Hop






Welcome to day two of the IO Fall Die Release Blog Hop

When I saw the adorable Bowler Hat and Moustache in the 
all I could think of was the Burl Ives type snowman from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. My God, the mind is a wonderful thing isn't it??

Soooo I punched out three circles 

11/4", 11/2" and 13/4" to create my sweet snowman
Funny, as I lay in bed this morning, I was thinking that I should have drawn curvy eyes and made some arms......ahhhh well, I was short on tree branches!!!!!

I also used this fun "Snowmen" Stamp to act as a base of snow!

Be sure to head on over to the


to get the complete list for the hop and the deets on how to win some great prizes


Happy Stamping!!

Monday, September 29, 2014

Impression Obsession Fall Designer Die Hop!



Welcome to the Impression Obsession Fall Designer Die Hop!
We have some beautiful new dies share AND Gift Certificates to give away!
 The hop will start each day with a list of participants on the Impression Obsession Blog at 6am EST. Each day pay us a visit here and then head over and see our fabulous IO Design Team’s projects with our new dies on their blogs (only one comment per blog per day please).
The more blogs you visit each day… the better chance you will have to win a $25 Impression Obsession Gift Certificate!!!
Every day (Monday, September 29th – Wednesday, October 1st) one of the blogs will be chosen randomly and a winner will be selected from comments on that blog at 10pm CT. The winner will be announced the following day along with the participating blogs for that day.
Two prizes will be awarded on the last day of the hop. One will be for Wednesday’s comments and another will be chosen from all the comments left throughout the week.
So….if you miss a day or time deadline your comments will still count for a chance to win a $25 Impression Obsession Gift Certificate!
Both Wednesday winners will be announced on the IO Blog on Friday.
If you have any questions please email Jeanne.
All of the new dies you'll be seeing on the hop are available NOW!


I have to apologize for the poor photo of this card. It is very white , however I just couldn't seem to capture that with my camera and of course being in a hurry to get it posted didn't help!

The Dies I used for the card are called Peace Dove

Today's Hop Links!


Good Luck!

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Thursday, September 18, 2014

It's hip to be square! Impression Obsession Thursday Challenge


Hello Peeps!!!

Hope all is well in your world......I've been working on getting stronger. Physically, Emotionally and Spiritually! So if i've been a little scarce, it's 'cause i've been busy! But it's paying off and I feel better now, than I have in several years!

Today's challenge is to create a square card.......perfect for my eerie Hallowe'en Scene!!!

I am SOOOOO Loving the IO winter release!

and Guess what? We'll be having a hop very soon to showcase the new shapes to DIE FOR!~~~~

For this card, I used the following Dies

Icicle Edger -Works well for creepy grass!
The sentiment is built from 


Designer Paper is from The Paper Loft-Gearhead collection

Be sure to hop on over to the IO Blog to get the links to the DT challenge cards and all the deets on the challenge!

Happy Stamping,


Vicki

Sunday, September 7, 2014

"Die"ing for Fall


As you know, I am soooo partial to Autumn! 

Last week was a bit of a bomb! I ended up in the Hospital AGAIN......grrrr!

Since I had my stents put in at the end of April, I had been back to the Hosptial twice with chest pains. I had similar symptoms to what I was experiencing when I had my heart attack. Sadly, my symptoms aren't typical in that my Blood Pressure is find, my heart function great and in all three visits over the past few months, even the bloodwork was good.

SO this is my testimony to you to PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR BODY!

I was having symptoms again all weekend. Finally on Tuesday, I asked my Mom to drop me at the Hospital. Again, there didn't appear to be anything showing as wrong. Fortunately, the Cardiologist that came down to see me, was AMAZING! He said that since I've been back three times, he wanted to repeat an Angiogram to ensure that nothing more was going on. Sure enough, there was an additional blockage that needed repair and so I have another little piece of metal in my Heart! 


I am hopeful that this in the onset to my recovery! 

Next week, I'm teaching this card in my all occasion Card Class!

I came home from the hospital to a lovely box of the fall winter dies and had to get right into them!

For this card, I used the following dies:


I created a background by sponging ink onto white cardstock

I also added some dimension to the leaves and basket with some sponging as well!

Keep your eyes peeled, I'll be back soon with some Die Shares!

Happy Stamping!

Vicki



Thursday, August 28, 2014

Paper Loft Teams up with Cardmaker Magazine for a Fun Hop!!!




Welcome to the CardMaker and The Paper Loft Blog Hop! 
Today the CardMaker Designers and The Paper Loft Designers will be showing you some wonderful projects featuring papers from The Paper Loft

The COOL thing is that I'm not the last one on the hop!!!! Yay!

Soooo if you've been hopping already, you've arrived from the very talented Theresa Momber's Blog.

For my card, I paired the Fabulous On the Go Collection with some fabulous Die Cuts from Impression Obsession Stamps

The dies include:


Did you notice that I cut an extra "surfboard" for the sentiment?

I loved cerating the fun scene and hope you like it too!

Next stop?? The Lovely Ms. Anna Wight
Make sure and comment on each of the blogs in the hop! One winner will be randomly chosen to win a $25 Gift Certificate from The Paper Loft!  The winner will be chosen on August 31st at 9pm CT and announced on The Paper Loft Blog on September 1st. 


Blog Hop List:



Jeanne Streiff

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Smile!!!



Smile!

I had fun creating this little scene for the Splitcoaststamper Colour Challenge yesterday

The Lost Lagoon, Calypso Coral and Old Olive combo just reeked of Summer to me!!!


Here are the Impression Obsession Products I used on the card:


Thursday, August 21, 2014

Sweet Friendship-Impression Obsession Thursday Challenge

EEEEk!! Sorry I'm posting my card so late today. I wasn't feeling the best and thought I'd take a little nap. Being that I don't sleep well, I figured that I would be up before 11 p.m. to finish my post. BOY was I wrong! I slept from 9 p.m. until NOON...that is CRAZY!! but I must have needed it. 

Anyhoo, the challenge is to created a friendship card!

I've been DROOLING over this new stamp for awhile! The Beautiful Rose Tin

I coloured it up with my Copic Markers and added a little stickles to make "dew"....you can make do with making dew with stickles!!!! lol

I used this fun vintage designer paper and then thought I ought to make a lacy border with the Border Duo 2Dies. So fun!

I finished up with this fun HELLO sentiment

Well, I'lll keep my rant short today!

Sorry  was late for the party~
All the girls are playing today

You can pick up the links on my sidebar, or head on over to the IO Stamps Blog

Happy Stamping!


Monday, August 18, 2014

Getting a head start on Christmas with a Krafty WInter Scene


It's NEVER to early to get a start on Christmas Cards! NEVER....why do I say that? 
Because I NEVER seem to have enough cards!

I got this adorable little set through Stamping Up~ and just had to play with it! 
I saw some very sweet winter scenes in White and Blue, but I have a thing for Kraft these days~

I think the card is Delicious! Why is it that I LOVE LOVE LOVE Snow scenes and Snow men, but can't stand the cold!  I'm relishing the day when I can spend the winters south! (Hmm I better make more stamping friends closer to the Equator!!!! lol~

I've been asked to do some classes again, so this is one of the Christmas Cards we'll be doing!

Do you likey?



Hope you have a great day! If you're here in Ontario, enjoy the smidge of summer weather that Mother Nature has bestowed upon us!

Happy Stamping!

~~Vicki--

Friday, August 15, 2014

A couple of cards to die for!



Brrrrrr.!! Definitely NOT Beach Weather here!!! I thought i'd better get these cards up before the snow flies! (LOL!)

I am LOVIN' the new Summer Dies from Impression Obsession Stamps!

What about this Woody Wagon??? WHAT ABOUT IT?? Isn't it the GROOVIEST!!!?????


I think so!!!!

I had a blast making this fun summer card with the following dies:









Let's hope that we see a little more Summer Before we have the chill of Autumn upon us consistently~

Happy Stamping!


Vicki

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Impression Obsession Thursday Challenge-Keep It Clean



This week's challenge on the Impression Obsession Blog is to create a clean and simple card.

It doesn't get much simpler than this!


I totally had to make my card with the CUTEST Flip Flop Dies EVER!!!!!!!

You can find them on the IO Website very soon!

I cut the "FLIPS" out of some sweet Echo Park Paper and sponged the edges with Pacific Point Ink

I stamped the sweet summer sentiment in the same ink

Then, I simply mounted the Flip Flops on Pop Dots!

Easy Peasy!!!!

Watch in the next few days, I totally have some fun cards to show you with the new summer dies!


Head on over to the IO Blog to enter your submission for the challenge contest and to get links to the DT players!!!!!

Happy Stamping!

Friday, August 1, 2014

A good time to stay in and cuddle Day 5 IO New release Blog Hop


I saved my two FAVE cards for the last day of the Hop~

Winter is a good time to stay in and cuddle. I think so..... I have to be honest, i'm not a huge fan of the cold, but I LOVE snowmen, pretty snowfalls; the kind where the flakes are huge and fluffy and fill the sky. I love the look of snow on the pines and cardinals! I don't like the cold, but I enjoy building a snowman, skating on the lake (although I'm not a great skater) and a drive on a dry road in the winter to take in all the wintery scenes. Other than that....Winter IS a good time to stay in and cuddle!!!

I used several stamps and Dies for this snowy winter card


Paper: Something Blue-Prima
Colouring: Prism Pencils







So I truly hope you enjoyed my projects this week! I know I sure enjoyed creating them!!!

Please head over to the IO Blog to get the details for prizes...I know that there will be TWO winners today!!! 

Is it a long weekend in the USA as well as Canada? If so, enjoy!

I'm looking forward to a few days off!

Keep your eyes peeled for more IO creations! I have some saved up to share next week!


Happy Stamping

~~Vicki--

Thursday, July 31, 2014

What;s on your Bucket List? Day 4 IO hop!


What's on your Bucket List??

I have a HUGE Bucket List! So many things I want to do, but so little time.

I'll Share my Top 10

1.  Step down on all of the continents

2. Cuddle a Koala

3. Learn to Scuba Dive

4. Have a ride in a super fast Nascar Car

5. Improve my Photography Skills

6. Sky Dive

7. Spend a week on a Sailboat in the Caribbean

8. Go on a Safari

9. Catch and release a Blue Marlin

10. Continue to grow each and every day of my life!


If you've been following the hop all week, you KNOW that routine

If not, head on over to the IO blog to get all the details on the prize!


BUT FOR YOUR COMMENT, I"D LOVE FOR YOU TO SHARE 1 THING on YOUR BUCKET LIST!!!!


For my card, I used 



You can use any type of script stamp for your list, OR write it out!

The list of players for today!



Happy Stamping and GOOD LUCK on the draw!!!!