I get by with a little help from my friends...

I felt like using a song for my blog title like Shannan Teubner does in her posts. (BTW...I met Shannan at CHA, and she is SUCH a hoot!) The reason I felt that way is because the words are so appropriate for this post!

These are ALL RAKS I've received from my friends in the last couple of weeks! Don't I have the bestest friends? After my sons father passed away a couple of weeks ago I received so much love and encouragement, and these cards from my friends.

This adorable Sarah Kay card is from Denise Marzec aka Peanutbee! Now Denise knows just how much I love Sarah Kay images, and she really gave me a big smile with this one. Thanks, my friend...for all you do for me! I love ya! Truly, I do!






This gorgeous card is from my dear friend Carolyn King . I wish you could see how stunning this card is in real life! The paper she used has mica in it. I'm sure of it! It glistens and shimmers beautifully! There was a lot of work and love put into this card. I know it, and I will treasure it always. Thank you Cam....you know I love you! And your thoughtfulness truly touches my heart.




This beauty is from my good friend Carol. Now I have to tell you a few things about Carol. We "met" through my blog more than a year ago. She continued to leave encouraging messages on my blog posts, almost every single day. We have never met in person, but we seem to know each other so very well. I always know she's there for me whenever I need someone to listen, and I know she feels the same way.


Thank you Carol. You mean so much to me! I truly appreciate your friendship and your thoughtfulness.




This card is from the lovely Charmaine Ikach aka Charmwarm. Charmaine is truly one of the sweetest ladies I know. She's always there with encouragement and loving words. Her note inside truly touched me. Doesn't she make the MOST AWESOME cards? This one uses the Flourishes Strut Your Stuff clear stamp set.

Thanks, my friend. You truly ARE the best, in every way!




Last, but not least is a thank you card I received yesterday from Denise . I told you that she knows how much I love those Sarah Kay stamps. AND I ADORE her AWESOME work!!! Honestly, I don't think this girl has ever made a tanker in her LIFE! Everything she does is over-the-top fabulous!!! And besides that, she's a great gal, and my good friend. Thanks for that. It means so very much to me.

So you see...I DO get by with a little help from my friends! Thanks for indulging me. And thanks for stopping by.

Picnic Time - SDDC5

Yes, I have noticed that this card is really green! LOL! But this month's Stamper's Dream Dreamy Challenge was to make a monochromatic card. Now since I don't completely understand all the rules about that, I tried to make REALLY sure I didn't goof up. If you recall, I screwed up the sketch challenge last month, and I DID NOT want the challenge police harassing me. Yes, we have those. Isn't there one in EVERY group? LOL!

The image I used for this card is Sarah Kay Picnic Time from Stampavie. I stamped on watercolor paper and colored with Tombow (water based) markers using a damp paint brush to blend.

The designer paper is from the Spirograph paper collection by Kaiser Craft. Actually, it's the reverse side of one of the papers shown in my store.

I used May Arts olive green ric rac along the bottom of the card.

The cardstock is all from Prism Papers. I used Prismatics Kiwi medium and dark.

I found the green chipboard in the $1 bin at Michael's. The button is from my stash.

Please be sure to check out the rest of the Dream Team blogs for their challenge cards! You know how awesome their work is!
Charmaine, Mothermark , Denise, Kimberly , Laurie and Tosha


We are offering a chance at this Dreamy Treat for those who choose to play along with this month's challenge.

All you have to do is make a monochromatic card and link it in the comment section of THIS blog post to be entered in the drawing. If you upload to SCS, please enter the key words: SDDC5. I will use the random thingy next Thursday night (March 5) and announce the winner in my regular blog post.

So...get busy making those monochromatic cards...okay? :-)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

NEW! Bradmaker from Chatterbox, Hero Arts, and more!

I have to tell you that in my opinion, one of the BEST finds at CHA this year was the Chatterbox Easy Brad Maker Kit . Well it FINALLY arrived tonight, and I can't wait to play with it! The refill kits for it were backordered, but I hope they will be here soon. They didn't give me an expected date of arrival.

This is the description written by Chatterbox about the Brad Maker: "Get ready, artsy souls, to hold in your hands the most beautiful, customized embellishments you have ever seen...and the best part is, you will have made them YOURSELF in a matter of minutes! Includes 8 large brads, 10 medium brads, 14 small brads, 3 punch tools, 1 sheet of self-adhesive epoxy crystals, and 1 sheet of adhesive circles."



I also received a shipment tonight from Hero Arts . Be sure to check the store for more new images.


Also new is the new Gypsy Market Scrap Pad from 7 Gypsies, and this absolutely GORGEOUS artsy.licious paper collection from Chatterbox! I have it in two awesome colors...ruby and bloom.

You can always click on New Arrivals in the store to find the newest inventory.

I will be back tomorrow morning with the monthly challenge for the Stamper's Dream Team. See you then!

New Stamps from Stampendous!

There are some REALLY cute images and coordinating sentiments from the new Stampendous release! And the BIG news is that Stampendous is now offering a choice of wood mounted stamps or cling mounted rubber in some of their new stamps. The clear sets are not available in cling at this time.

I've shown you a picture of the Changito Coffee and Two Cup Day cling stamps so you can see the packaging. Of course, cling stamps are much more affordable...not only in the cost of the stamp itself, but also in shipping costs. I would love to hear your comments about your preferences. It is my goal to please you, the customer. And I always value your opinion.

Spring Basket

Are you ready for spring??? From the looks of this card, you can see that I am DEFINITELY ready! I AM NOT a cold weather person, and I long for some fresh spring days!

The stamp I used for this card is from the Flourishes clear stamp set called Signs of Spring . There are sooooo many great images in that set. And I know I will be using it again and again.

I stamped the image on watercolor paper using Onyx Black Versafine ink, then embossed with Detail Clear embossing powder by JudiKins.


The stamped image was colored with Tombow (water based) markers and blended with a damp paint brush.

The scallop border was punched and embossed with a Martha Stewart border punch. The tiny pink gemstones are from Hero Arts.

I have no idea who makes the designer paper. It's been in my stash for AGES! The cardstock is Frosted Yellow , Frosted Amethyst and Vibrant Pink .

I'm off to warm up some leftovers and chill a bit! Whew! It WAS a Monday, wasn't it?

Thanks so much for stopping by! I will be back soon with something new.

A Daisy Today...

This stamp set has been on my desk for weeks. As much as I love it, I just couldn't find the time to use it! With all the new inventory coming into the store lately, unfortunately my stamping time has been at a premium.

So last night I decided to get these beautiful Daisy Today stamps inky! :-)

The main image was stamped on watercolor paper using Onyx Black Versafine ink, then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder. The stamped image was colored with Tombow (water based) markers and a damp paint brush.



I distressed the edges of the main panel just a little bit by using Antique Linen distress ink and my Ink Sweeper .

The designer paper is from the Basic Grey Porcelain 6 x 6 paper pad. Sorry that pretty piece under my ribbon is kind of hidden.

The ribbon is rose sheer by May Arts. That gorgeous stick pin is Maya Road's Vintage Pearl Trinket Pin . It comes in a package of 30 pins. The pearls on the bottom right are champagne pearls by Kaiser Craft.


The sentiment and the daisies used on the bottom of the inside of the card are also in the Daisy Today cling stamp set. I simply stamped the daisies, watercolored them, then cut them out to adhere to the sentiment panel.

The cardstock used is Prismatics Pink medium, and Prismatics Frosted Yellow .

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today. I hope you're all having a great weekend.

I will be back tomorrow with something new. Until then...

Our Craft Lounge

I wanted to show you these AWESOME samples sent with my order from Our Craft Lounge . It was such a privilege to meet Kim, Cami and Joy at CHA. They are just some of the sweetest ladies!!! And I do SO love it that they sent these fabulous samples with my order so that I could share them with you.

I will put them in the Our Craft Lounge gallery at Stamper's Dream as soon as I have a spare moment.

The cupcake card uses the Life is Sweet cling mount stamp set.



For this adorable little mushroom card they used the Love Bug cling mount set. Isn't that just the cutest???


This sweet baby card was made with the Tree-mendous Love clear stamp set.



This cute little dog card uses the Pat the Dog clear stamp set.


Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you all have a fabulous Friday!

Frolic!

I had soooo much fun playing with this new Penny Black stamp! It's called Frolic and it's such a fun image!

I did my usual..you know. I stamped on watercolor paper using Onyx Black Versafine Ink then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder. The stamped image was colored with Tombow (water based) markers and a damp paint brush.

The designer paper is from the My Mind's Eye collection designed by Penny Lane. It's called Tiny Dancer .

The olive ric rac is from May Arts. The dew drops are from The Robin's Nest.

The cardstock is Prismatics Vibrant Pink and Prismatics Island Mist .

I know...this was short and sweet, but it's past my nap time.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

NEW! Maya Road and Our Craft Lounge

New inventory is in the store! These are just a few of the new products from Maya Road and Our Craft Lounge . Be sure to go to Stamper's Dream to see them all!

Gifts For You

Well you should have known that it wouldn't be long before I inked up some of these gorgeous new Flourishes stamps! I had a hard time choosing which one to use since I absolutely love them all!!!

The stamp set I used for this card is from the February release called All Wrapped Up . I intended to make a masculine birthday card, but the new Basic Grey Porcelain paper was calling me, so I went with a feminine card instead.

I stamped the image on watercolor paper using Onyx Black Versafine ink, then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder.

The stamped image was cut out with my Spellbinders Curved Rectangles Nestabilities, then colored using Tombow (water based) markers. I stamped just the bottom package again on the corner of one of the Porcelain sheets, cut it out and adhered. The ribbon and bow were also paper pieced.

The For You tag was stamped on Spring Willow light, then cut out. The ribbon is May Arts Pink Crochet . The cardstock is Prismatics Crabapple medium and dark, and Prismatics Spring Willow light.



For the inside of the card I used Crabapple light cardstock, so it's light enough that you can write a message. The border along the bottom is a scrap of Porcelain paper from the front of the card. I then stamped another of the images from the All Wrapped Up set to finish it off.

I'm off work today for President's Day, and loving every moment of it! I hope to stamp away the day! Of course, there ARE other things I should be doing...like laundry?

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you're having a great Monday!

Funny Eggs!

Today's Featured Stamper on SCS is the ultra talented juliemlacey . Her gallery is such a great one, and I had sooooo much trouble choosing just one card to CASE. But after much thought I chose this one .

The stamp I chose to use is Penny Black's Funny Eggs! . Actually, I had a little help choosing this stamp. One night last week when the grands were spending the night, my 3 year-old granddaughter walked into the kitchen with this stamp in one hand, and my Onyx Black Versafine ink pad in the other. She had already inked the stamp, her hands, and a couple of other things. After that, we managed to get the ink on paper. When I started to scold her she said, "I just want to stamp like Mimi!" Well, at least she knew which INK to use! ROTF!


I stamped with Onyx Black Versafine ink on watercolor paper, then colored with Tombow (water based) markers. I used the same layout, but changed the papers. You may recognize these from last night's post. Hey, they were still on my desk, and they worked! They are from the Penny Lane Feeling Groovy collection by My Mind's Eye. The ribbon is May Arts red grosgrain . The cardstock is Majestic Purple light, Candle Glow light, and Classic Red all from Prism Papers. Instead of a button, I added two Dew Drops from The Robin's Nest .

Well, the good news is that I'm off work tomorrow for President's Day! I hope to be stamping since I don't know how to do anything Presidential. Actually, that's not entirely true...I know how to spend $. Really, how much more presidential can you get?

NEWS FLASH!!! Did you see the announcement that our own Cindy Motherway has now joined the SCS Dirty Dozen ??? Be sure stop by her blog to congratulate her. Better yet, why don't you go check out her work in the Fan Club Gallery ? Way to go, Cindy! I'm so happy for you!!!

Thanks for stopping by. I will be back soon.

Feeling Groovy?

Gosh, I haven't stamped in over a week!!! In order to get back in the groove I decided to play along with Sharon Johnson's most recent Stamp Simply Challenge . She has the best challenges, and love it when I can find time to play. Thanks for a great challenge, Sharon!

Since I adore anything monogrammed, this was was a good one for me!

I had been dying to use my new Feeling Groovy papers from My Mind's Eye . Aren't these fun? And of course, I LOVE my Just Rite Stampers . The set I used for this card is the Special Occasions Monogram Stamper Kit .



The last photo is the reverse side of the papers in the same order that they are displayed above. I am showing you that so you can see that I used the reverse side of one of them. And my cardstock matches just PERFECTLY! I just love it when that happens! LOL! I used Majestic Purple light, Classic Red and Frosted Kiwi .

I think everything else is pretty self explanatory, so I won't bore you with all the deets!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I'm in a stamping mood, so I will be back soon! Until then...

Flourishes Stamps at Stamper's Dream

The new February release for Flourishes stamps is now available at Stamper's Dream ! To see some really awesome samples using these stamps please visit these designer's blog posts:

Amy Sheffer
Carolyn King
Charmaine Ikach
Cindy Motherway
Denise Marzec
Kimberly Crawford
Laurie Schmidlin
Tosha Leyendekker




Thanks so much for stopping by. I will be back tomorrow with something new!

Flourishes Release TONIGHT!

Today is the third and final day for the Flourishes February release! In addition to the talented Denise Marzec and Kimberly Crawford of the Stamper's Dream Team, we also have a special guest. It is my dear friend Amy Sheffer ! Please be sure to check out the beautiful cards they have made with the Signs of Spring stamp set!

The Flourishes stamps will be released for sale on the Stamper's Dream website tonight at 9 pm EST. Be sure to come by to see them all!

My personal thanks to the entire Dream Team for their fabulous Flourishes posts this week! And a special thanks to Carolyn King and Amy Sheffer for honoring us as our special guests! I just love you guys! You honor me, in every way!

Well, I know I've been a total slacker this week not posting cards. But honestly with all the new inventory in the store, and the funeral in Texas this week, it's been impossible for me to find even a moment to stamp. I DID want to leave you with this special piece of art.

After all the grands left yesterday to go home, I found this on my refrigerator as a surprise from my 6 year old grandson Christian. I'm here to tell ya...there's nothing better than being a Mimi. :-)

I plan to do some serious stamping this weekend, and will be back soon with something new!

Thanks so much for stopping by!