Side by Side

I hope you've all had a great weekend. Sad that it's already coming to an end, isn't it? And it's back to work tomorrow? Already?


Well you all know how I love my Penny Black images, so I decided to color this one today. The name of it is Side by Side . Gotta love those chicks with the froggy!

I stamped on watercolor paper with VersaFine Onyx Black ink, then embossed with detail clear embossing powder. The stamped image was colored with Tombow (water based) markers. I stamped a second image, colored, and cut out just the animals. They are popped up with foam tape for dimension.


The designer paper is from Basic Grey's Offbeat paper pad. Honestly, I think this is the first time I've used this paper, and it has some really cute and fun colors in it. I punched the red borders with a Martha Stewart punch, and added a couple of green Dew Drops from The Robin's Nest.

The cardstock is Classid Red and Spring Willow Prismatics .

Okay, I'm off to start dinner, fold clothes, strip the beds, and a multitude of other things that have to get done before I go to bed. Geez!

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

Until then...

A Cheesecake Party...and a winner!

Sorry I'm so late posting this. The time TOTALLY got away from me!

First...the card (before the winner).

This adorable image is Penny Black's Cheesecake Party . I was low on my stash of birthday cards, so I decided to use this one with my new Breaking Free designer paper by My Mind's Eye.

The image was stamped on watercolor paper using Onyx Black Versafine ink, then colored with Tombow (water based) markers. It was cut and embossed using the Spellbinders Curved Rectangle Nestabilities . I stamped the cupcake once again, cut it out, and popped it up with foam tape. The bottom of the cupcake was paper pieced with the striped paper from the Breaking Free Paper kit.

The cardstock is Island Mist Prismatics and Desert Coral .


The sentiment, also from Penny Black, is called Young At Heart . It was also cut and embossed with the Spellbinders Curved Rectangles .

So...are you ready for the winner of the Stamper's Dream Dreamy Challenge?

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

2 

Timestamp: 2009-05-29 02:28:22 UTC

The winner is retired Heather!!!!

Congratulations, Heather. Please email me with your mailing address so I can get your package in the mail to you!

Thanks so much to everyone for playing along...and thanks so much for stopping by my blog today.

New Stamps and Cosmo Cricket!

Lots of new inventory in the store...but I'm just going to quickly hit the high points since it's so late and I desperately need a nap! LOL!


NEW Cosmo Cricket Early Bird Paper Kit and Ready-Set-Chip Chipboard!






Lots of GORGEOUS new stamps from Impression Obsession . Be sure to go to the store so you can see all of them. I only put a few here to tempt you! :-)



ColorBox Chalk Ink Queques can be found HERE . And be sure to check out the adapter for them.

Okay...short and sweet I know...but I'm whipped!

More later! :-)

This I know for sure...

I hope you all had a great holiday, and got back to the workweek grind today. I know I did! It didn't seem to be optional. LOL!

To be painfully honest, I can't say whether I like this card just yet. I thought it might grow on me. Maybe I just need a little more time to decide. If you're a regular here you can see that it's not my usual style.

I have always loved this sentiment. It's called ...knowing you and it's from Penny Black. I have SO MANY awesome friends I would like to say this to, so I wanted to work with it to make it the focal point of the card.

I stamped it using Pumpkin Staz-On ink on Neenah Natural White cardstock. I cut and embossed it with my Labels Four Nestabilities , then lightly sponged the edges with Tea Dye Distress Ink .


The designer paper is Everafter by Cosmo Cricket. I cut and embossed the orange/red pattern from the paper kit using the largest Labels Four nestability. The background paper is also from the kit, as is the strip down the center.

I used Birchtone Medium Prismatics cardstock to accent the top and bottom of the largest nestability layer, as well as for the brown layer.

The butterflies are from a Martha Stewart punch. I accented them with a mini rhinestone for a bit of bling. The buttons are from my stash. Each of them was threaded using a different colored May Arts Burlap String.

I added the corner piece in attempt to give it some balance. It's cut from a Cuttlebug vintage corner die.

So...that's it for me tonight. I'm off to package a few orders and turn in early if at all possible. I'm expecting a number of new shipments for the store tomorrow, so I need to rest up while I can!

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by.

Just sitting here...

Happy Memorial Day! I hope you are all having a great holiday weekend, but also keeping in mind the special reason for this day. As the son of an ex-Marine, I can tell you from my experience that there is SO much personal sacrifice for our freedom. Not only the troops, but their families as well. And I am so very thankful for each and every one of them! Semper Fi!



The grands are all here for the weekend...and it has all the makings of a wild one! Of course, with so many kids, it always tends to be a little wild! Before they arrived I did manage to get this card made.

The stamp set I used is Chairs For You from Flourishes. I stamped on watercolor paper, colored the woodwork with Tombow markers, then paper pieced the chair using Wisteria designer paper from Basic Grey. The background paper is Wisteria as well.


I stamped colored, and cut out the little dog sitting on the pillow, then popped it up using foam tape. I added three Dew Drops from The Robin's Nest on the left side.

For the inside of the card I used one of the sentiments included in the set, then used a scrap of the Wisteria paper down the left side. I saw this layout for the inside on this card that Denise made, and thought it would be perfect for my card. Thanks for the inspiration, Denise! The cardstock used is Iced Cobalt Prismatics and Majestic Purple Prismatics medium.

Okay...the kiddos are just a little too quite. I'd better go see what they've gotten in to! LOL!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

SNAIL-abrate!

This card is for the Featured Stamper challenge today on SCS. You all know how much I LOVE to play along when I can find the time. Today's featured stamper is Mercy Kerin. You can find her SCS gallery here . I had not been there before, and it was such a treat. She has so many gorgeous cards and layouts, so be sure to go see for yourself!

You can see the card I chose to case HERE . I changed the stamps and paper, but kept the same general layout.

The main image and sentiments are from the Our Craft Lounge Snail Mail cling stamp set. The grass and flower stamps are from the Dr. Pea-Nut clear stamp set. Oh yeah...and you need to know that ALL Our Craft Lounge stamp sets are on sale in the store for 25% off!

The designer paper is Girl Friday from Cosmo Cricket. The paper pieced snail shell and pink polka dot strip down the side are the reverse side of the striped paper you see.

The cardstock is Island Mist Prismatics and Pink Prismatics .

The three dots on the bottom right are Baby Pink Candy Dots .

I hope you are all having a great holiday weekend, and have lots of fun plans. As for me, I'm going to be stamping...AFTER I clean out the garage. Yuk! LOL!

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

Stamper's Dream Dreamy Challenge 7

It's time for our Stamper's Dream Dreamy Challenge!!!

This month The Dream Team is issuing a challenge that includes colors, texture and bling!

The colors we are using are Island Mist Prismatics medium, Blush Red Prismatics dark, and either Birchtone Prismatics light OR Suede Brown Prismatics dark for your neutrals. You must add texture as we are with the Spellbinders Impressabilities and some bling!

Tosha says that compatible Stampin' Up colors are Baha Breeze, Riding Hood and Sahara Sand. If you don't have Prism Papers, you can use any colors that are similar! We want EVERYONE to play along! The texture can be Cuttlebug Folders or something else if you don't have Impressabilities. Use your imagination and dazzle us with your creativity!


I chose to use the Impressabilities Butterfly to texturize my Island Mist Prismatics medium background.

The stamp is Melinda with Bouquet by Whiff of Joy. I stamped it on watercolor paper, then cut it out with my Labels Three Nestabilities . The image was colored with Tombow (water based) markers and a damp paint brush.

I used my Quickie Glue Pen as an adhesive then sprinkled Crystal Ultrafine Glitter on the wings.

The corner flourish is cut from Blush Red Prismatics cardstock using my Spellbinders Flourish Accent Shapeabilities. The bling on the flourish is Zva Creative Mini Rhinestones applied with a touch of Mono Multi Liquid Glue .

The flowers and center brad are from my stash.



We would love for all of you to play along with this month's challenge! In fact, I have this prize for the lucky winner of the random drawing. All you have to do is follow the rules listed above and link your card in this post. If you post to the SCS gallery please use SDDC7 in the keywords so we can find it. I will announce the winner in my regular post on Thursday evening, May 28.

Please be sure to check out what the rest of the Dream Team has come up with for the challenge! Charmaine , Cammie , Denise , Kimberly , Laurie , and Tosha

Thanks so much for stopping by! I can't wait to see what you all do with the challenge!

Gorgeous New Paper...and a Sale!

It's FINALLY HERE! New paper from My Mind's Eye just arrived!

This is the Pretty Please Paper Kit.

This is a collection of papers from the Breaking Free paper collection.

And this is the new paper kit called Andrea Victoria .

ALSO...ALL stamps sets by Our Craft Lounge are on sale for 25% OFF! Be sure to get them while there is a good selection!

Okay...American Idol just came on and I MUST go watch it. It's much too late in the game for me to miss anything! So...who do YOU think is going to win?

Thanks for stopping by!

Just for Joan

It's a miracle...but I did manage to get one card made with the grands here all weekend! You have no idea what a feat that is with little ones everywhere! LOL!



Today the featured stamper is my dear friend Joan Ervin! Be sure to check out her gallery and her blog at Stamping With A Passion . Joan makes some really AWESOME cards, can color like nobody's business, and is such a sweetheart! Love ya Joan! Congratulations on your special day!!! :-)

Her card that I chose to case is HERE . I used the same general layout and the same stamp, because you know I LOVE those Sarah Kay images.

This one is called Rose's Garden . 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, then cut and embossed with my oval Nesties.


The designer paper is Sera Sera by K & Company. The cardstock is Pink Prismatics medium and dark.

The strip across the center was made by punching with a Martha Stewart border punch. The self adhesive pearls were colored with Copic R85.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you're having a great Sunday afternoon.

Nest Teacup with Ribbon Rose

I've been on a mission the last few days to use stamps that I've been neglecting. So far, so good! LOL! I didn't have much time, so this is a quick and easy one, for sure. I really think it needs something else, but for the life of me I don't know what it is! Ever have those days???

This beautiful stamp is Impression Obsession's Nest Teacup . 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.

I cut the stamped image with my circle nestabilities. Next I cut a layer of Twilight Light Prismatics using my Inverted Scalloped Circle Nestabilities. I layered that on to a scalloped circle cut from Island Mist Medium Prismatics . All layers were popped up with foam tape.


The designer paper is from the Basic Grey Wisteria paper pad.

Just for fun, I wanted to make a ribbon rose that I saw on Denise's Blog Post . Since I didn't have grosgrain to match my paper I used Teal 5/8" Sheer by May Arts. The tutorial for making the ribbon roses can be found HERE .

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you all have a fantastic Friday, and a great weekend!

It's A Cupcake Kind of Day...

I don't know what took me so long in getting around to using this fun image from Whiff of Joy. (So many stamps...so little time?) It's called Melissa with Muffin Basket and it's simply adorable!

I stamped it on watercolor paper using Versafine Onyx Black Ink then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder. The stamped image was colored using Tombow (water based) markers and a damp paint brush. I used my Quickie Glue Pen to add Crystal Ultrafine Glitter to the wings. The finished image was cut and embossed using Labels Four Nestabilities by Spellbinders.

The ribbon is 1" Teal Sheer by May Arts. I used Ivory Burlap String to tie the bow through the button.


The sentiment on the inside is Cupcake Kind of Day from Impression Obsession. Once again, I used my Labels Four Nestabilities to frame the sentiment and layers. The designer paper is from the Just Chillin' Girl paper pad by Making Memories. The cardstock is Intense Kiwi Prismatics and Island Mist Prismatics medium.

If this post doesn't make sense, or there are a lot of typos, it's because I'm trying not to miss anything on American Idol as I write it. So...whaddaya think? Who is going home tonight? Sadly, I think it may be Kris. But I'm off to watch and find out.
Edited to add: Oh NO! It's Danny! Wah! I LOVED him! I mean...he can SING! I guess that explains why I'm not in the music business? I think he's fabulous!

Thanks for stopping by!

Just Because...

I absolutely LOVE this stamp, and yesterday was the first time I had a chance to play with it.

All stamps on this card are from the Siberian Iris clear stamp set by Flourishes.

I stamped the iris three times on watercolor paper using Onyx Black Versafine ink, then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder. The stamped images were colored with Tombow markers and a damp paint brush. One of them was cut out and popped up using foam tape, and only the center leaves of the third one was used.


The designer paper is from the Basic Grey Wisteria paper pad. The cardstock is all from the Amethyst Prismatics paper collection.

I wanted to embellish it more, but finally decided I should leave it alone. I wish my photography was better. The colors are so must prettier in real life.

Okay...I'm off to make dinner while I watch Dancing With The Stars. It's too close to the end to miss anything at this late stage! :-)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Friends...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!! I hope you all had a wonderful day spent with loved ones, doing exactly what you wanted to do! After all...it's your day!


I got a little stamping done this weekend, and actually used a couple of stamps I've neglected for a while. The main image on this card is Friend Calligraphy from Paper Inspirations. I stamped it on Neenah Natural White cardstock using Cranberry Adirondack ink. I overstamped the sentiment using the Watercolor Flower Stem stamp, also from Paper Inspirations. I used Seashell Pink ink from Ranger to get a soft background image.

The stamped image was cut and embossed using Labels Four Nestabilities . I matted it using Crabapple Prismatics medium. I did a little mini tutorial on how I mat Labels Four. You can see it on THIS POST .

The designer paper is from the Madeline Paper Pad . I made my flowers using Martha Stewart punches, distressing the edges a bit with Tea Dye Distress Ink . The cardstock used for the notecard and flowers is Crabapple Prismatics light and medium. The adhesive pearls in the flower centers were colored with Copic Marker RV34 to get the color I wanted.

I do hope you all had a fabulous weekend. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today.

Cutie Pie

The first thing that came to mind when I saw the JustRite Cutie Pie stamp was my little granddaughter, Ashlyn. So I decided to make a picture frame and embellish it.

I WAS going to give it to her daddy, but after much thought I decided that since he gets to see her every day, instead I would give it to *Uncle Bug*. Really, his name is Doug, but when the first grand was a baby he couldn't pronounce it and said *Uncle Bug* instead of Uncle Doug, it just stuck! So that's what they all call him! LOL!


I started with a piece of chipboard that I cut to 5" x 7". I covered the front with a piece of Intense Yellow Prismatics paper, then a smaller layer of Island Mist Prismatics dark. The designer paper is Girl Friday by Cosmo Cricket.

I cut and embossed her picture and the yellow frame behind it using my Curved Rectangles Nestabilities .

The Cutie Pie sentiment is from the Tiny Words & Centers stamp set by JustRite. It uses the 1-3/16" Wood Block .

The stamped sentiment was cut out with my Inverted Scallop Circle Nestabilities then layered on to a scalloped circle. All the flowers were made using the Dahlia Nestabilities by Spellbinders. I distressed them a bit with Tea Dye Distress Ink then added mini rhinestones to the flower centers and the Cutie Pie sentiment.

The flourishes were cut and embossed with the Flourish Accents Shapeabilities .



I covered the back of the chipboard frame with Island Mist Prismatics . To make my kickstand, I traced one from the back of a picture frame, cut it out of chipboard, then scored at about 1/2" from the top. After covering it with the Island Mist cardstock I attached it to the chipboard frame with Scor-Tape for a good strong hold.

Yes, I DO think *Uncle Bug* will love having this for his desk. :-)

Be sure to go to these blogs to see what the rest of the Dream Team has for you today:
Cindy
Cammie
Tosha
Denise
Kimberly

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your Friday!

Got Cookies?

Okay...I promise this is my last food post this week! But I had more cookies! What's a girl to do when she has cookies, JustRite Stamps AND Spellbinders Nestabilities ? LOL!


This cookie stack topper was made with a stamp from the Tiny Words & Centers stamp set and the 1-3/16" Wood Stamper .

I stamped on Iced Amethyst Prismatics cardstock, then cut and embossed with a circle nestability. The stamped image is layered with another cut with Inverted Scalloped Circle Nestabilities then layered to a scalloped circle nestabilities layer. I added a Mini Rhinestone to the flower center.

The flowers are cut from Dahlia Nestabilities and embossed using my Flowers Impressabilities . I distressed them a bit with Milled Lavender Distress Ink, then put them together using foam tape to pop them up a bit. The ribbon is 5/8" purple sheer by May Arts.

This cookie stack topper was made using the What's Cookin' Borders & Centers set and a 1-5/8" Wood Stamper . I used my Blossom Nestabilities to create the flowers.

In order to give them the pink edge, I cut one of each size from Intense Pink Prismatics cardstock. I cut each petal as shown and layered them on to the back of the pink and white polka dotted flowers. I just felt they needed more definition, and the intense pink edges did the trick.

I curled each of the petals around the handle of a paint brush, layered them using foam tape, then added a few Mini Rhinestones .


On the bottom of the Teacher Treats stack I used a sentiment from the Tiny Words & Centers set.

Here is a picture of this weeks goodies all together. You may notice that one cookie set is missing. Well, I DO get a little hungry when I'm stamping! LOL!

This is the schedule for the rest of the week. Be sure not to miss what the Dream Team has for you!

Thursday - Cindy , Laurie , and me

Friday - Cindy , Cammie , Tosha , Denise , and me

Thanks so much for stopping by! I will be back tomorrow with another JustRite project!

A Gift For You!

Today is my older son's birthday! Happy Birthday, Doug! I love you! So I've had birthday on the brain for a while, trying to come up with a fun way to present a gift card.

This fun gift card holder is basically a 4.25" x 4.25" card with a 1.25" fold over the top. I used my new JustRite Birthday Wishes Borders & Centers set with a 2-3/8" Wood Block to make the tag for the front. As you can see, I used my circle Nestabilities in several sizes to cut and layer. The wavy border is an EK Success punch.

The sentiment on the inside is also from the Birthday Wishes stamp set. I just used a corner rounder on the edges to make it about the size and shape of a gift card. Remember that you can click on the photos to get a larger view.

The designer paper is all from the Cosmo Cricket Snorkel Paper Crafting Kit . I love those fun summer colors! The green cardstock is Kiwi Prismatics .

The circles around the sentiment were cut from the Snorkel paper using two punches from my Easy Brad Maker Kit . The largest circle was cut using a small nestability circle. I added a couple of Dew Drops to the circles for some dimension and texture.


This last photo is to show you how I attached the Snorkel Ribbon to the tag. I punched a circle from Kiwi Prismatics cardstock, then used my SU! slot punch to make two holes for the ribbon. Worked perfectly!

Be sure to see what the rest of the Dream Team has created! This is the schedule for the rest of the week:

Wednesday - Denise , Tosha , and me

Thursday - Cindy , Laurie , and me

Friday - Cindy , Cammie , Tosha , Denise , and me

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today. I love it when you do.