It's Still Monday!

I actually did a Mojo sketch on a Monday--I know it's late, but it is still Monday!!!  Here's today's sketch:

 

and I decided to play with a neglected MFT set, Can Ya Dig It?, and do some paper piecing.

 

 

My image was a little bigger than what I planned for, but I went forward with it anyway--after putting all the work into it, I wasn't going to stop!  I used various DPs from K&Company and Basic Grey for my piecing and backgrounds, and filled in the grass & sky with some watercoloring.  A little departure from my normal style, but it was nice to do something different!  Enjoy.

• Stamps:  Can Ya Dig It?, MFT
• Paper:  Sahara Sand, Confetti White, Mellow Moss, various DPs from BG & K&Co
• Ink:  Palette Noir, Mellow Moss, Cameo Coral, Ruby Red, Brocade Blue, Always Artichoke
• Acc: Nesties, Dew Drops, Organdy Ribbon, Markers, Daubers, Aquapainter, Dimensionals

A Day of Scrappin'

I had a sweet girl from our church come to my home yesterday with a friend of hers to make a scrapbook for her cheerleading coach.  They already know how to stamp, so I set them loose with some alphabet sets, ink pads, paper and punches, and off they went!  I thought I would share a few photos:

Rachel and Laura--have tape gun, will scrap!

 

Look how FAST Rachel stamps!   Her hands are a blur!

Didn't they do a great job? Go, Avon Grove!!!

Shades of Purple

I have a bridal shower today for one of my nieces and her colors are in the plum family. How coincidental that Clearly iStamp is having a stamping challenge that requires the color purple! That must be a popular hue this season! Unfortunately, I don't have any of those stamps, but I thought it would be fun to participate anyway. You can check out the details on their blog here if you're interested.

I chose Always and Tres Chic for my card, along with a sentiment (again) from Warm Words:

The base is Elegant Eggplant (I still want to call it Eggplant Envy!!), with a layer of Brushed Silver and Pale Plum. I stamped the heart and the sentiment in Versamark, then embossed it with Silver EP. I watercolored the heart and shaded it with Pale Plum and Elegant Eggplant inks, then added a couple little rhinestones. My SU organdy ribbon was accented with a pearl pin and some little silver findings. The MS eyelet punch not only decorates the outside, but the inside as well:

Thanks for visiting!

• Stamps: Always, Tres Chic, Warm Words, Graceful Words (ret SU)
• Paper: Elegant Eggplant, Pale Plum WW, Brushed Silver, Shimmery White
• Ink: Versamark, Pale Plum, Elegant Eggplant
• Acc: Aquapainter, Silver EP, Organdy Ribbon, MS Eyelet Punch, Dimensionals, Stickpin & Findings, Mini Rhinestones

Cinema Saturday Challenge

I have visited the Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge many times, but have never played!  I love Sankari and Brooke's styles--they are both just so creative.  So I thought today I might try--you should go check it out!  The movie today is James Bond's Goldfinger!!!  They also have BLOG CANDY because this is their 25th challenge!  Woohoo!  I have to admit, when I was growing up, James Bond did not appeal to me at all.  I was more of a Gidget kind of gal!!  There was a tiny little movie theater in my town and when I was a little older, my mom would let me go to the movies with my girlfriend.  Now, I do enjoy them, just because they are so hysterically campy; viewing the special effects makes you realize how far we've come in this computerized age!

Since I have a busy day ahead, and mainly because I am lazy, I chose a fairly simple card, kind of taking the title of "Goldfinger" literally:

I used Brushed Gold and Basic Black cardstock, and the engagement ring image from Holiday Blitz.  I have two nieces getting married this year, so I think I could probably use this for one of them!  The ring was filled in with a Zig Painty pen and the rock is glamourized with some DD glitter.  I also embossed the sentiment from Warm Words in gold EP---I just love the look of gold on gold!  The ribbon was a RAK from my wonderful friend Elaine, and it just goes so nicely with this card.  I added some rhinestone bling and it is done!  TFL!

• Stamps:  Holiday Blitz, Warm Words
• Paper:  Confetti White, Basic Black, Brushed Gold
• Ink:  Stazon, Versamark
• Acc:  Circle Punches, Gold EP, Satin Ribbon, Zig Painty, Dazz Diamonds, Bling from Michael's, Dimensionals

Spring Mix it Up

Finally!  The sun is shining here in SE PA, the birds are chirping, I have my window open a tiny little bit--it actually feels like spring!  (I even took my picture outside!)  So for today's No Time to Stamp Challenge #80 from Sharon, which is to mix stripes or dots along with another print or pattern, I chose some cute little spring tulips.  What fun!  This card is just full of blog candy goodness! 

The image, the PTI floral paper and the button are all various blog candy yummies!  The polka dots is PTI's Polka Dots Basics, which I felt I had to have and have hardly used.  I love clear stamps but sometimes I feel they are intimidating to me;  they "wiggle" and sometimes I get fuzzies on them that I can't seem to clean off.  I guess I need to give them a bath, as Mishmash recommended.  Anyone who can give me some tips on that, feel free to respond!  Anyway, for the first time, I don't think I did too bad aligning it...just need some more practice.  I added some sparkle to the tulips with my Sakura Gelly Roll pen, too!  Hope it cheers you up!  Enjoy your day!

• Stamps:  Essential Sentiment, MFT; Polka Dot Basics, PTI; Spring Image from Studio G
• Paper:  WW, Pink Passion, Green Galore, Raspberry Fizz Mix, PTI
• Ink:  Pink Passion, Palette Noir, Green Galore
• Acc:  Markers, Nesties, Gelly Roll pen, Button, Embroidery Floss, Big Shot Buttons Die, Daubers, Dimensionals

Kerry's Birthday Mojo Challenge

I stumbled upon Kerry's blog where she is offering a nice little BG pad for playing her very own birthday challenge: a birthday card in the color purple, with glitter!  I had just been thinking how neglected my glitter stash had been, so I decided to give it a whirl:

I incorporated the Mojo Monday 79 sketch into my card as well:

I went back to Sage Shadow as my base with Almost Amethyst and black for the panel.  It's hard to see, but the AA is stamped with Linen.  For the glitter, I edged a Lovely Lilac mat with strips of Sticky Strip, then deluged it with some MS glitter!  My upline calls this the "marquis" technique--maybe it's too glam for this sedate image--but I thought it was pretty!  My base was also stamped with Tres Chic and the sentiment is an old Verve's Wonderful Wishes. 

• Stamps:  Friends 24-7, Tres Chic, Linen, Wonderful Wishes, Verve
• Paper:  Sage Shadow, Almost Amethyst, Basic Black, Lovely Lilac, Watercolor
• Ink:  Stazon, Sage Shadow, Garden Green, Sahara Sand, Almost Amethyst, Lovely Lilac
• Acc:  MS Eyelet Punch, MS glitter, Organdy & Grosgrain ribbons, Sticky Strip, Aquapainter

Another Diva

challenge....this one is a color challenge!  I love to see how they mix things up at the Diva Coffee Break Designs blog!  Here's the cute inspiration:

 

 

 

and here's my clean & simple card:

 

The bottom edge of the front of the card is actually the scallops; the image is from Happy Heart Day; sentiment from Holiday Blitz.  A little glitter, a little eyelet punching, a little bow--simple!  I stamped that sweet little flower on the inside too:

Thanks for visiting!

 

 

 

Also, it's not too late (even if you are, there will be MORE chances to vote!) our own CTD diva, Barbara Anders, is in the running for the My Favorite Things Idol!  Check out her awesome project here and here, and go vote in the poll here! You have until 10:00 p.m. tonight to enter!

• Stamps:  Happy Heart Day, Holiday Blitz
• Paper:  WW, Rose Red, Going Gray, Bashful Blue
• Ink:  Basic Gray, Rose Red
• Acc:  Scallop Punch, Eyelet Border Punch, Circle Punches, Taffeta Ribbon, Grosgrain Ribbon, Glitter, dimensionals, Texturz embossing plate--even though you can't see it, it's there!

Color Throwdown #35

Wheee!  What a color challenge!  Danielle really stirred up the bucket with these colors of Purely Pomegranate, Tangerine Tango and Kiwi Kiss!  I was not quite sure what I was going to do with these!

Then I remembered I had received some blog candy DP with some of these colors--could I make it work?  Someday, I'll show you my first attempt--maybe on April Fool's Day, because it is probably the most foolish card I've EVER made!  But not today!  There is actually not much stamping on this card:

Isn't this paper something else? I cut out a couple of the flowers, sponged them with Purely Pomegranate ink to give them some depth and popped them up on dimensionals.  I also highlighted the edges with a Jelly Roll pen for a little bit of sparkle!  The coordinating stripe goes across the top with my sentiment from Warm Words stamped in PP and mounted on a PP scallop from SU's new Scallop Oval punch.  I also got some pretty flowers in my blog candy stash, so I used them as my embellishments.  The whole shebang is mounted on a Kiwi Kiss card.

Now what can you come up with for this "challenging challenge"?  Link your creation to Mr Linky found on the CTD blog (please link JUST your card, not the blog address, so we can find it easily) and if you choose to upload it to an online gallery, use the keywords CTD35.  You may even be chosed as a Featured Stamper!  Woohoo!  Now here are the other CTD artists:

• Broni - Splashes of Watercolor
• Tammy - Stamp Happy
• Cathy - Crafty Thoughts
• Barbara - Paper Pursuits
• Danielle – Wild Dragonfly Designs

• Stamps:  Warm Words
• Paper:  Kiwi Kiss, WW, Purely Pomegranate, DP by Scenic Route
• Ink:  Purely Pomegranate
• Acc:  Dimensionals, Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Primas, Jelly Roll Pen, Pearl

Casing Laura

Laura Frederickson's blog was one of the first I visited when I began blogging, and she was just as sweet as could be when I emailed her for some advice!  Her blog is almost at 300,000 hits, so she & her friend Julie Koerber (another warm & friendly blogger!), whose blog is also around the corner from that milestone, are giving away blog candy!  To qualify for Laura's, you have to check out her SCS gallery and CASE one of her cards.  You can see all about it here.  I chose this card, but since I have been seeing all the cute Whippersnapper cards Danielle has been making, I went back to my Good Dog set for images to make this card:

I changed a few things, but I liked the layout and I hadn't used my spiral punch for a while, so that was fun!  I do not have Copics, so I had to make do with inks and an aquapainter.  Make sure you check out Laura's blog--her work is just lovely!  And be sure to come back tomorrow for the Color Throwdown Challenge--it will knock your socks off!

• Stamps:  Good Dog, Whippersnapper
• Paper:  Riding Hood Red, Naturals Ivory, More Mustard, Earthy Pad, Crafty Secrets
• Ink:  Basic Brown, More Mustard, Close to Cocoa, Riding Hood Red, Real Red, Creamy Caramel
• Acc:  White Gel Pen, Aquapainter, Brads, Spiral Punch, RHR Taffeta, lots of dimensionals, Going Gray marker, Silver Painty

I've Been Tagged--a Non-Stamping Post

Feel free to ignore this post if you are a stamping purist. It is not about stamping!  I have seen this tag going around and it is a fun one!  The tag is to open the My Pictures folder on your computer, open the 6th folder and then post the 6th photo.  I cracked up when I saw my photo.  The folder name is "Bad Cakes".  I am an average baker, but I was having a really bad time baking a cake--so bad, I had to take pictures of it:

 

Now you might say, "Gee, her oven is so dirty, that's why the cake has fallen in a perfect rectangle in her cake pan." I guess that could be, but I don't think so.  (We have since gotten a new oven, nice & clean!)  To this day, I do not know why this cake turned out this way. 

 I ended up crumbling up this cake I had made earlier,(which was already crumbling) and "filling in" the center of above cake and icing the whole kit and caboodle!  They both tasted fine, they just would not behave.  And this was supposed to be a birthday cake for a friend!  Bakerella would be so ashamed of me!   (If you have never met Bakerella, you MUST visit her website.  Plan on a couple hours--no kidding!)  Here are six others I am passing it along to:

• Kim 
• Renee
• Stacey
• Melissa
• Kimberly
• Maria

If you ladies have already been tagged, or don't want to play, that's okay!

Struggling.....

I decided to do a different Monday challenge today, and TechnoStamper had a wonderful one!  But oh, how I struggled with it.  I had an idea in mind, and I finished it, but I don't see me sending it out unless I am desperate!  No photos of that one--ick!   So I regrouped.  After seeing Kelly's beautiful Sage Shadow & Basic Gray card here, I thought I would try one of my own!  I am still not sure of this one either....the bow wouldn't lay right, and it has a little bit too much white space, even for me:

But I was getting tired, frustrated & cranky (I sound like a two-year-old!), so I just let it go....maybe tomorrow my creativity will return!  I hate spending so much time and all for naught.  Perhaps I will try this one again and stamp the flourish lightly over the sentiment. 

• Stamps:  Pocket Silhouettes, Friends 24-7, Hugs & Wishes
• Paper:  Sage Shadow, Basic Gray, WW
• Ink:  Sage Shadow, Basic Gray
• Acc:  Circle Punches, White Organdy Ribbon, Sage Grosgrain Ribbon, Gray Taffeta Ribbon, SAMJ, dimensionals

Pair of Challenges

I was able to complete a couple challenges between yesterday and today.  The first one was a sketch challenge from the Diva Coffee Break Design girls:

For this we were to only use SAB products.  I think I have od'ed on SAB stuff because this card just doesn't do a thing for me. I am cravin' a change!  Anway, here it is:

 

I altered the sketch a tiny little bit in order to use the scalloped image from Polka Dot Punches.

The second challenge was Dawn McVey's Raspberry Suite Color Challenge:

I don't have any of Papertrey's colors, so I used SU's colors of Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie & Regal Rose for my card:

 

 

I think Pink Passion probably would have been a closer match, but I had this Sweet Always DP that had the same colors and I wanted to use it! The only problem was that the DP had no So Saffron stripes, so I took my SS marker and colored in some of the white stripes and made my own "designer" DP!  Verve's Petals & Stems provided my butterfly (and the little dots on the pink panel); the twill is from Taylored Expressions and the little blings on the antennae is from my stash!  The sentiment is also from Verve, Here For You.  Oh, and I almost forgot...this uses Beate's Weekend Sketch!  This is another card for my friend who is back on chemo treatment.

Finally, my DH surprised me with this when I came home from a party Friday night:

Ah, so nice to have these up on the wall and off my stamping area!  I had a few spare moments to organize and clean up some of my other bins, but I have a long way to go before it is totally organized.  Just one step at a time!

A Couple of Things....

Just a couple quick things to share today, no challenges, just things laying around on my desk after playing with my new Big Shot.   The first is a card for a hostess who had a party over the weekend. My upline always told me to "treat my hostesses like queens"!  So they get lots of stuff from me at their party, plus cards before and after! So this is my "thanks for everything" card--I leave it blank inside so they can use it themselves!  This customer loves purple, so I try to make sure something I give her is purple:

This card uses the Flower Layers #3 die, along with the scallop circle punch and the new scallop oval punch, which will be in the new Occasions mini!  I also used the Sizzlets die Birds & Blooms for the leaves.  Do you recognize the little flower stamp?  It is the tiny poinsettia from Season of Joy!  A Christmas set!!  Ah, the versatility of stamps!

The next one uses the "negative" portion of a piece of cardstock after I used the Sizzlets Little Leaves die:

You can't get much simpler than this!  I backed the Baja Breeze piece with a scrap of Bella Rose DP, rounded the corners and shaded them a bit, then added my sentiment and one of those yummy new corduroy buttons (again) from the new Occasions mini!  I thought this would be a great masculine get-well card. 

Last, I just had to share with you another one of my little Scallop Envelope treat holders.  I saw this post on Flowerbug's Inkspot and just had to use that little bunny as an embellishment.  This will be a door prize at my Stamp Camp on Saturday:

I do have a tutorial written up on how to make these treat holders, so again, if anyone wants it, email me!

I Got Carried Away...

I was so excited when I saw Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply challenge today--to use ribbon as tabs on your card! I love that! I got a little carried away with my ribbon, but the card makes me smile, so I am happy with it! And it was shot right on my stamp desk because....

once again, pretty Pumpkin chose my photo area as her nesting place. I just couldn't disturb her....look at her little paws folded together....awww!

Anyway, back to the card. I used the yummy Urban Prairie DP on a piece of Regal Rose and an Apricot Appeal card. This is also the SCS sketch #220, turned on its side. The image is Verve's Petals & Stems, sentiment from My Favorite Things. I cut two panels of Basic Black with my Nesties, then pieced them together to fit my longer white rectangle. Thanks for visiting today and have a great weekend!

• Stamps: Petals & Stems, Verve; Essential Sentiments, MFT
• Paper: WW, Basic Black, Regal Rose, Apricot Appeal, Soft Sky (ret), Urban Prairie, BG
• Ink: Palette Noir, Soft Sky, Regal Rose, Taken with Teal, Certainly Celery
• Acc: Ribbons from SU, Taylored Expressions, and Michaels, Nesties, lots of dimensionals

Stamp Camp Cards

I had a Stamp Camp a couple days ago for some of my customers where we made five birthday cards. I always have fun chatting and stamping with this group! This was a lady's card using Raspberry Tart DP, Polka Dot Punches and Cute & Curly:


This was a men's card, using Manchester DP and Loads of Love & Accessories:

This was an "all-purpose" card using Crazy for Cupcakes:


And a little girl's card, again, using Crazy for Cupcakes:
And finally, a boy's card, using Sanded and A Little Somethin':



I hope I have time to post in the next couple days, as it is one of those whirlwind weekends! Thanks for visiting!