Lots of things........

Look what I bought today....with a Michael's 50% off coupon! Woo Hoo! I LOVE it, and can't wait to get it hung in my studio. They only had 3 of these in stock, AND they weren't on sale so I got to use the coupon. My best friend was with me. She bought one, I bought one, and there is only one left (in Shreveport). Is that a real deal, or what?

Also, I was soooooooo excited to find 6 of the cute little mailboxes at Target dollar spot. My friend and I each got three of them. Sometimes it's the little things in life that make us the happiest, isn't it? LOL!

Just a reminder that the Design Team call for Stamper's Dream ends tomorrow night. You can see the original post HERE .

I have to tell you that I have received sooooooooo many fabulous applications. It's going to be a grueling task to narrow it down to only a few! If only I could afford to have about 40 on the design team, life would be much simpler! LOL!

On another note, I have LOTS of fantastic stamps ordered and on the way. The new Penny Black stamps should be here any day now. They were shipped a week ago! I ordered both the cute and adorable ones, as well as the more elegant stamps.

I also have ordered the new releases from both My Favorite Things, as well as Gina K Designs. I can't wait for you to see their new stamps.....FABULOUS! You're just going to love them! I expect those within the next few days as well.

The 2008 Hero Arts catalog was their best ever! My order from them should be here in a week or so. I can't wait to play with some of those new beauties! You can see their catalog online HERE . This is the first time they have ever had the catalog online, so don't miss it.

There are spectacular samples in the catalog, many of which were designed by my friend Shari Carroll . She is so super talented, and I love everything she does!

Sorry I didn't get any stamping done tonight, but I promise you something new for tomorrow.

I hope you have a great evening and a super Sunday!

Hello Friend!

I didn't have much time for card making tonight, so I decided to play along with this great sketch challenge from Stampin Kub . I love his work, so please be sure to check out his gallery while you are there. You can see his sketch HERE .

Of course, I took this adorable sketch and made it much more complicated than it was supposed to be. What IS IT about me that I can't just make a cute and SIMPLE card?

The stamp is from Wordsworth and is called Hello Friend .

I stamped the main image on pink Basic Grey Perhaps paper using VersaColor Raspberry ink, then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder.

The background paper is also from the Basic Grey Perhaps collection.

To make the strip behind the sentiment I cut and embossed using a square Nestabilities die. I chose the die based on the length that I needed for the panel.

I cut the square Nestabilities panel diagonally as shown in the picture. I did the same thing again with a light pink cardstock, then used that color on top, and the darker color behind it for contrast.

The teardrop shaped stickers are Geo Shapes Sparkler Stickers .

I think this card may have to grow on me. LOL! It is definitely NOT my best work!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

Shore Am Grateful - Masculine Card

I don't seem to make enough masculine cards, so that was my purpose tonight. I am so proud of myself....no ribbon on this one!

The background for this card is a stamp from JudiKins called Wood Grain Background . I stamped it using Versafine Vintage Sepia ink on tan colored cardstock, then sponged the edges with the same ink to give it a bit more of a distressed look.

The pelican and sentiment stamps are from the Let's Keep Swimming stamp set. You will recall that I used the fishes from this set on a card a couple of days ago.


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

Next, I cut and embossed the stamped design with my circle Nestabilities. I will address "how" I did that in just a minute, since I had several questions about it yesterday.

The stamped image was colored with Tombow markers. I used my Versafine Vintage Sepia ink again to sponge around the stamped image, as well as the yellow layers on the card.


I think the rest of the card is self explanatory, but as always, if I left out anything please feel free to email me.

Since I had several questions about cutting and embossing with Nestabilities after the image was stamped, I decided to address it here.

The image to the left was stamped and embossed on watercolor paper.


After stamping I chose the Nestabilitie die that I wanted to use, then centered it over the image and taped it using removable tape. Please note that the cutting side is down, against the paper.

Next, I ran it through my Big Shot once to cut, then again to emboss.

The last photo is a picture of the cut and embossed stamped image before I took it out of the die.

If this was not clear to you, PLEASE don't hesitate to ask. I will be happy to clarify anything that may need more explanation.

So...that's it for me tonight. I'm off to find something for dinner.

My personal thanks to each of you for your continued support, your comments, and for stopping by each day.

We Need Girl Time

These little bees make me smile all over! They are from Stampendous, and the stamp is called Bee Buddies .

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

At this point I cut and embossed with my circle Nestabilities before coloring with the Tombow markers. I mentioned this in a post a couple of days ago, but I've had a little trouble with the ink smudging if I cut after I've colored the image first.




The sentiment is We Need Girl Time from Inkadinkado. I stamped it using VersaColor Green Tea ink, then embossed with detail clear embossing powder.

The designer paper is all from the Basic Grey Mellow collection.

Well, if you were all as excited about going back to work as I was today, you were just ecstatic...right? I must admit the day went quickly, as I had so much going on. I love it when that happens.

Have a fabulous Thursday! The weekend will be here before you know it!

Thanks for stopping by! I have something new planned for you tomorrow!

Fish Gotta Swim...

Do you get the impression I'm ready for spring?

I LOVE this set from Gina K Designs, and finally had a chance to play with it since we're finished with the Christmas season. The set is called Just Keep Swimming , and it has some GREAT images!

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

The images were colored using Tombow markers, then cut out and positioned on a light blue panel cut and embossed with my oval Nestabilities.
The sentiment was stamped and embossed in the same way. Then I used a corner rounder on the blue and pink panels to round off the corners.

The designer paper is from Flair Designs. It's from their Hit The Beach collection. The paper inspired all the colors I used to color the fish, even though I covered some of them up with the oval.

To create the scalloped border for the sentiment, I used my rectangular Nestabilities, selecting one that was long enough for the sentiment.

I used a scrap of blue cardstock and cut the two pieces that you see in the photograph to the left.
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The photograph below is where I have put them together to form the scalloped layer to frame the sentiment. The cutting line is covered up when I added the sentiment layer.

So, that's it for tonight. It's time for me to start getting ready to go back to work tomorrow. Is everyone excited about that....or what? LOL! We do what we must, and making a living seems to be a big part of it. Well, it is a necessary part for me, anyway!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you all had a very Happy New Year!

Just Be-Claws

Now that Christmas cards are behind us I'm finally getting around to playing with some fun images that have been calling my name for quite a while now! This one was screaming at me! LOL!

The stamps are from Gina K Designs Just Be-Claws rubber stamp set. I think my friends would get a kick out of receiving this one in the mail!

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

I cut and embossed the stamped image using the rectangle Nestabilities, then colored with Tombow markers. A few times my ink has smudged when I ran it through my Big Shot with the Nestabilities, so I've learned to cut and emboss first, then color with my markers.

The designer paper is from Sandylion. It's another great find when I was in Dallas a couple of months ago.

This really is a very simple card, but I think the designer paper makes it look happy and festive.

I am so pleased to have gotten my tree taken down today, and all the Christmas decorations are packed away in the attic for another year. It's nice to have my house back in order!

So....have you all made New Year's resolutions? Are there any stamping related things on your list?

Thanks so much for stopping by. More tomorrow!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Three Cupcakes....

As most of you know, my favorite thing to do on Sunday is participate in the Featured Stamper's Challenge at SCS, and I indulged myself again today.

The Featured Stamper was Danielle (aka dlounds). She has a great gallery, and you can view it HERE .

The card I chose to CASE can be seen HERE .

I kept her general layout, but changed the stamps and designer paper. All stamps are from the My Favorite Things stamp set called Icing On The Cake . I have used this set several times already...love it!

I stamped using Versafine Onyx Black Ink (my fave), then embossed with JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder.
The images were colored using Tombow markers, then cut and embossed with my circle Nestabilities. I added Stickles Glitter Glue to the pink icing for sparkle. The cherry on top has a drop of JudiKins Diamond Glaze for dimension.

The designer paper is DejaVu Sharon Ann Collection called Little Dots. I think it's one I found on a shopping trip to Dallas a couple of months ago.

I think the rest is pretty self explanatory, but please feel free to email me if I left out something I should have told you.

I trust that all of you are enjoying your holiday weekend. I hope to take down my tree tomorrow and try to get my house back in order. And of course, I MUST have a little stamping time!

More tomorrow....thanks for stopping by!