Hey There! I've been published!!!

Happy Friday!  This year's Stamper's Sampler Catch Up Issue is now available and it contains this card made by little ol' me!  This is my first published card!  If you have the issue, it's on page 21. 

And to make it even better, on page 31 there are three cards made by my fellow Krafty Kats Miriam, Barb and Gloria!!  Congrats, ladies!!

My card was based on a sketch from the Summer 2009 issue of Take Ten magazine.  The stamps are from Papertrey Ink's Everyday Button Bits set and the patterned papers are from KI Memories.

Hope you've had a good week and that you have a great weekend! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Belli Challenge #90 - Creative Cuts & More

Happy Wednesday!  It's time for another Belli Challenge!  This week the challenge is to make a Birthday themed card using some forgotten treasure from your stash.  We are sponsored by Creative Cuts & More, who provided us with a couple of their Birthday Kits to use for our samples. 

My samples were made using several elements from the Birthday Girl Kit.  My first card was made using the yellow purse die cut, covered with some of the patterned paper from the kit.  The two die cuts (heart and flower) and the brad on the flap are all from the kit.  The sentiment is a rub-on, also from the kit.

For the inside, I added some of the sticker strips that are included and stamped my sentiment using stamps from Repeat Impressions.

For my second card, I started with a clear acrylic gate fold crescent card and cut two pieces of patterned paper and adhered them on each flap of the acrylic card, then trimmed around the curved edges in the center.  The lilac belly band came in the kit as did the cupcake patterned paper I adhered to the top of it.

For the inside portion, I started with ivory card stock, layered with a smaller sheet of white card stock and added strips from more of the patterned paper in the kit.  At the top, I added a die cut flower and brad before I adhered it to the acrylic card base.  I cut a slightly smaller piece of white card stock that I adhered to the back of the card base to cover the brad prongs and adhesive. I also lined the inside sections of the flaps with white card stock to cover my adhesive.  The stamps are from Lockhart Stamp Company.

Terry, the owner of Creative Cuts and More wants to give away one of the Boy Birthday Kits as a prize to a lucky winner, so be sure to play along with us this week!  Leave a link to your Birthday themed project using Mr. Linky on today's Belli Challenge post.  If you post your project in an online gallery, use CBC90 for your keyword. 

Please head over to the Belli Challenge blog and see what the other Belli girls have done with the kit!

Thanks for stopping by!   Enjoy the rest of your week!

Stamp of the Week - Rebecca

Happy Monday!  Sorry my posting has been sporadic lately.  We were on vacation two weeks ago and when we returned, I had to turn around and go out of town for work last week.  Luckily I finally had some time this weekend to work on some cards!

Two weeks ago Wendy at Repeat Impressions announced her new design team members and I'm happy to report that I am staying on her design team for another term!  I arrived home from vacation to a stamp-filled package from her, including this cute little girl, Rebecca.  The color scheme for my card is based on this week's Color Throwdown challenge and I used the Mojo Monday sketch from last week for my design.  Rebecca's outfit was paper pieced using BasicGrey's Wisteria collection and her skin and hair were colored with Copic markers.

Wendy has recently started blogging and her blog is called The House that Stamps Built.  Each week she will be featuring one of Repeat Impressions' stamps as the Stamp of the Week and it will be available for 50% off for that week.  Head over to her blog to find out the details for purchasing this week's stamp and to see what the rest of the design team has done with the image!  Here are links to the blogs of the design team members with samples using this week's stamp:

Ayana Posadas
Dana Joy
Darsie Bruno
Harriet Skelly
Joy Hadden
Julie Smith
Lynette Neus
Michele Greenwood

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Cherry Pie in the Window!

Happy Tuesday!  I have a good friend whose daughter's dream is to be a pastry chef.  She's only 17, but she has her heart set on going to the Culinary Institute of America or Johnson and Wales and will be crushed if she can't.  I admire her for having such a passionate dream at such a young age.  I'll be 50 this year and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up!

At any rate, I had a chef coat that I only wore once or twice and thought she would get more use out of it than I will, so I wrapped it up and sent it to her along with this little card.  The patterned paper is called Little Nibbles from Webster's Pages' Sweet as Cherry Pie collection.  It's matted with Papertrey Ink's Scarlet Jewel paper, on a Kraft card base that measures 3.75" square.

The Pie in the Window stamp is from Lockhart Stamp Company and seemed fitting for the occasion!  I colored the image with Copic markers and added some Sweet Pea Flower Soft to the window box.

Since my gift was intended to encourage her pursuit of her dream, I thought this quote was apropos for the inside.  It's from Gina K. Designs' Botanical Dreams set.

Hope your week is going well!  Thanks for stopping by!

Belli Challenge #89 - Die Cut Shapes

Happy Wednesday to you! It's time for another Belli Challenge and this week the challenge is to use die cut shapes. We also have a sponsor this week - Sweet 'N Sassy Stamps and they provided us with several fun digital images to use.  I selected the April Daisy and paired with a sentiment from the Flower Sentiments set (you can click on the photo for a larger version). 

For my die cut shapes, I used several Spellbinders shapes - Labels Six for the sentiment, Labels Four for the flower image and a Scalloped Oval for my mat layer.  I also used my new Rickrack Border Die from Papertrey Ink to punch the edges on the vertical mats under the patterned paper strip. 

For the inside, I used the leftover strips from my rickrack border to mat another strip of the patterned paper. All the papers are from BasicGrey's Green at Heart collection.

Please be sure to check out what the rest of the Belli Girls have done with die cut shapes and Sweet 'N Sassy images.  If you would like to play along with us, just upload your card to today's post on the Creative Belli Challenge blog or use keyword CBC89 if uploading to a public gallery.

Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy the rest of the week!

Happy Birthday Wine Tag

Happy Thursday!  A good friend of ours, and fellow wine lover, had a birthday this past weekend, and since he already has EVERYthing he needs, we usually give him a bottle of wine.  Instead of making a regulation birthday card for him this year, I made this wine bottle tag using my new Grape Scene stamp from Stampendous.  I colored the scene with Copic markers, and paired it with my favorite Graphic 45 Botanicabella paper (this one is called Eden's Symphony).   The card stock is Papertrey Ink's Terracotta Tile.

For the back side of the tag, I used three different stamps.  The top sentiment is from Impression Obsession, and the other two stamps are from Papertrey Ink's Birthday Basics set.  I cut a leftover strip of the check side of the Eden Symphony paper using a Martha Stewart border punch and then layered a strip of the reverse side of it on top.  The narrow strip at the top is the leftover piece from using the border punch - waste not, want not!

Hope you're having a good week!  Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Easter!

Just a quick post to wish you all a Happy Easter!  I made this card for the JUGS27 sketch challenge and it also qualifies for this week's OCC challenge, which is to use buttons.  These days almost all of my cards qualify for that challenge! 

The cute little chick in the egg is from Penny Black and the sentiment is from Flourishes.  The patterned paper is from Three Bugs in a Rug.  Hope you're enjoying your weekend and having a Happy Easter! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Need a Hand?

Hello!  TGIF!  It's been a long week and I'm certainly glad it's Friday!  I have not had much stamping time in the last couple of weeks, so I'm looking forward to playing in my stamp room this weekend.

This is a quick card I made using a sketch from the current issue of Take Ten magazine.   The stamps are from Gina K. Designs' Just Keep Swimming set and some scraps of BoBunny Kitchen Spice papers.  I embossed my card base with a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder to mimic bubbles, added some teardrop shaped Dew Drops and added googly eyes to my little octopus.  He is popped up on the airbrushed panel with foam tape.  Very simple, but it makes me giggle!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Belli Challenge #88 - Color Spray

Happy Wednesday! It's time for another Belli Challenge! This week's challenge is to use color spray - Glimmer Mist, a home made mixture using Perfect Pearls, Walnut Ink sprays, or even airbrushing with your Copic markers - whatever you desire! We also have a sponsor this week - The Stamping Boutique, who provided us with several digital images to use.  My card features an image called First Dance.

My card base is plain brown textured card stock that I covered with a Glimmer Screen template and sprayed with gold PK Glitz Ritzy Ditzy Glitz spray.  It has a LOT of shimmer to it, but I was unsuccessful in my attempts to capture that in a photograph.  My mat layer is black textured card stock with a scalloped border, which I also sprayed with gold spray. 

The image was colored with Copic markers and I used a nubby old washcloth dampened with Colorless Blender and dabbed on their clothes to give them some texture.  I used a black Spica marker to color the music notes and a clear one on the ribbon on her bonnet.  The sentiment is from Flourishes Tag Lines set and while it was still in the die, I sprayed it with the Ritzy Ditzy spray, too.  I wish you could see all the sparkle!

Please be sure to check out what the other Belli Girls have done with their Color Spray and Stamping Boutique images!  If you would like to play along, please leave a link to your project on today's Creative Belli Blog post, or use CBC88 for your keyword if you upload to Splitcoast Stampers or Paper Craft Planet.

The Stamping Boutique is having a sale until April 20, 2010. Use coupon code, "candy" for a 35% off discount!  Not bad!

 
Thanks for stopping by!

OCC Guest Designer - Happy Easter!

Good Morning! I'm thrilled to be this week's Guest Designer over at Our Creative Corner! Thank you so much for inviting me, Silke!! The challenge this week is a sketch challenge, which is my favorite kind of challenge, and I liked Silke's sketch so much, I ended up making two cards with it!

This first card was made using the Tulip Bouquet stamp from Repeat Impressions. Wendy, the owner of Repeat Impressions, is very generously offering a $25 gift certificate to the winner of this week's OCC challenge, so be sure to submit a project on the OCC blog no later than Friday, April 2nd by 10:00 PM EST in order to qualify.

I colored the tulip image using Copic markers and then I airbrushed it while it was still in the die.  I hand cut the two mat layers under it. My patterned papers are from BasicGrey's new Green at Heart 6x6 paper pad.  I used the same papers on the inside, and also used the leftover 'trash' from punching the scalloped layer on the card front to make a border.

I flipped the sketch horizontally for my second card so it would accommodate this beautiful deco dragonfly, also from Repeat Impressions.  The image was stamped using Memento Bamboo Leaves and colored with Copic markers.  After I colored it, I cut it out and painted it with some Iced Lavender Shimmerz paint.

Here is a close up of the dragonfly showing how shiny the Shimmerz paint is.  The music background on my two Nestabilites Curved Rectangle panels is also from Repeat Impressions.  The dragonfly paper is from Kaisercraft.  The ribbon is white silk from May Arts that I colored using a Copic marker.

Thanks for stopping by today and please be sure to head over to the OCC blog for this week's sketch and to check out what the OCC Design Team has created using it!  Thanks again for having me as your guest designer this week, Silke!

Finally, Repeat Impressions is looking for some new Design Team members.  I can tell you firsthand that Wendy is a dream to work with, so if you're interested in being on a team with very reasonable requirements and a very generous supply of rubber, be sure to apply!  Please visit the Design Team Call page on the Repeat Impressions website for details soon. Call ends March 31st, 2010.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your weekend!

Happy Birthday Wreath

Happy Monday! Hope you had a nice weekend!

This is a card I made last week for two challenges - Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Sketch Challenge (FTTC58) and Color Throwdown's color challenge (CTD84) to use Taken with Teal, Black, Soft Sky and Tangerine Tango.

The wreath, bow and sentiment stamps are all from Flourishes (Seasonal Wreaths and Tag Lines).  The patterned papers are from BoBunny's Kitchen Spice collection.  The wreath was colored with Copic markers (YR00, YR02, YR04, BG0000, BG01 and BG05) and sponged with Versamagic Sea Breeze ink. 

The bow was stamped using Taken with Teal ink, cut out and adhered to the wreath with an American Crafts jeweled brad.  The flowers were white flowers  from Petaloo that I colored with the same Copic Markers.  The corners looked a little bare, so I added some paper piercing.

That's about it! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Belli Challenge #87 - Clips and a Sketch!

Hello! Welcome to another Belli Challenge! This week's challenge is two-fold.  The first part of the challenge is to use clips - paper clips, binder clips, swirly clips, whatever you have in your stash! The second part of the challenge is to use our first-ever Belli Challenge sketch:

I turned the sketch vertical and used a flower shaped clip.  My card base is Papertrey Ink Terra Cotta Tile and my patterned papers are Bo Bunny's Kitchen Spice - Allspice and Clove papers.  My focal image and sentiment are from Papertrey Ink's Blooming Button Bits and Birthday Basics sets. The center flower is popped up on some foam tape.

The flower shaped clip is from Spare Parts and my rhinestone-centered paper flower is from Petaloo.  It was originally white and I colored it with a Copic marker to match my patterned papers. 

I layered two different ribbons behind my focal image - the polka dot is from American Crafts and the chocolate brown is from Martha Stewart. 

For the inside, I used strips of my patterned paper and a sentiment from the Birthday Basics set. 

Please be sure to check out what the rest of the Belli Girls have done for the challenge.  If you would like to play along with us, please link your entry to today's Belli Challenge post and use keyword CBC87 if you upload to SCS or PCP,

Thanks for stopping by!

Buttermilk Hen Hello

Hello! Hope you're enjoying your weekend! I've gotten a little stamping time in and made this card for three challenges:

Mojo Monday - Sketch Challenge #129
CARDS Blog - make a card using any birds except owls
WT261 at Splitcoast Stampers - use new supplies (the buttermilk hen, ruffled ribbon and Cosmo Cricket papers)

I have had this Buttermilk Hen stamp from Lockhart Stamp Company for months and have been wanting to use it but just haven't gotten around to it, so when I saw the challenge on the CARDS blog to make a card using any bird other than an owl, I decided it was time! I thought it paired well with the little chick paper from Cosmo Cricket's Garden Variety collection.  I stamped the image on an Inchie Plus square and colored it using Copic markers.  The background was sponged with Versamagic Sea Breeze ink.

To make the hay she's sitting on, I cut up a length of raffia and glued the pieces to the bottom of the Inchie Plus square.  I added strips of Scor Tape to the back edges of the square and then adhered the ruffled ribbon to form the mat. 

I created my ruffled paper flower by stamping some ivory card stock with Papertrey Ink's Background Basics Text Style and then I cut out 5 scalloped circles, layered them and crumpled them up using Dawn McVey's technique.

For the inside, I used another corner of my scalloped black card stock and some of my patterned paper scraps. 

That's about it!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!

CC260 & OCC - Love You Muchly

Happy Wednesday! I decided to play along on last week's Color Challenge (CC260) over at Splitcoast Stampers (Always Artichoke, Crushed Curry, Basic Gray) and with Silke's sketch challenge this week over at Our Creative Corner, although my card is A2 (4.25" x 5.5") rather than square like the sketch.

I just picked up a couple of these Pure Innocence stamps from My Favorite Things. They are not my normal 'thing', but they are fun to paper piece like I've done on this card, plus I think the images are adorable and the sentiments that go with them are perfect. I used Cosmo Cricket Early Bird papers (Apron Strings and Sunrise). I added lots of bling (too much maybe...) to my image where it had hearts and a flower. For the Basic Gray component, I stamped my image and sentiment using Memento London Fog and I used some pewter self-adhesive nail heads in the top right corner.

Here's a peek at the inside. I just used my scraps from the front. I punched the borders using a Martha Stewart border punch.

Hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by and for your sweet comments - they really mean a LOT!

Enjoy the rest of the week!

Thinking of you butterflies

Happy Monday! Hope you enjoyed your weekend!

I was able to get some stamping time in yesterday and whipped up this little number for the CAS56 challenge, which was to make a square card.

The background paper is from the DCWV Mariposa 8x8" paper pad. My stamped butterfly is from Papertrey Ink's Butterfly Dreams set and was cut out using their new butterfly die, and then colored with Copic markers to match the ones on the background paper. The white edge of my butterfly was a little stark against the background, so I distressed the edges with Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress Inks and added a few gold beads for its body.

The sentiment is from PTI's Through the Trees set and was heat embossed using Versamark ink and Ranger Super Fine Gold Embossing Powder. For the inside, I stamped a smaller butterfly from the Butterfly Dreams set and discovered that this size butterfly worked with one of my Spellbinder's Flying Beauties butterfly dies. I layered it over a leftover strips from the card front. I also stamped some butterflies on the front of my envelope, shown above with the card.

That's about it - thanks for looking!