Wednesday, May 30, 2012

A very good day

No, Mom is still in ICU and still on the ventilator but yesterday was a good day for her despite all that. The spark was back in her eyes and she was really aware and communicating with me the best that she could. I was so glad that I could be there with her and just help in any small way that I'm able. I'm getting ready to go back down today and hopefully things will only continue to get better. Fingers crossed that we got those tubes out really soon. :)

So yea, I still haven't created much that I can share yet but here's another non-coloring card that I made using some My Favorite Things stamps and dies.
Big hugs to everyone and I hope you are having a great week!  ♥  

Monday, May 28, 2012

Two steps forward...

one step back. 

Hey guys, sorry about being MIA the last few days. It has been weird not posting regularly but it just can't be helped right now. My life is currently split into two separate factions, when I'm not at work and home my days are spent at the hospital with my mom.  And even when I'm not physically with her she is constantly on my mind.
Mom is still in the ICU and on the ventilator. She underwent dialysis for her kidneys yesterday and we are hopeful that will help her on the long road to recovery. Mom is just so sick that it is going to be a slow process. So your continued prayers and positive thoughts would be most appreciated. :)

I have actually packed up my Copics and done some coloring during the down times so all I need to do now is get those images onto cards. I'm still not sure how consistently I'll have something to post though since most of what I've been coloring is for the upcoming previews starting next week. In the meantime I'll try my best to have something to share even if they are non-coloring cards, like this one from a past class.

Anywho, thanks for hanging in there with me. I ♥ you more than I can say.     

Thursday, May 24, 2012

A good day

Hi there! 
 
Today is review preview day for the Sweet November May release over on the ATS blog. The Garden Gnome Girls are back in the spotlight and if you happened to watch my Make It Monday video from a couple weeks ago, you would have spotted Adele with the added texture stamped onto her hat.
Of course I had to color her up with her new straw hat and this was the perfect excuse. All I had to do was find some papers I liked to give me my color scheme for Adele and I would be set. I spotted this pack of Chloe's Closet epoxy stickers that my crafty pal, Tress, had sent me and they totally inspired the entire direction and paper choice for this card. Thanks Tress! :)


Ok, there is even more review preview fun and inspiration from my fellow ATS teamies on the All That Scraps blog so be sure to hop on over there too! And all of the new May stamps can be found in the ATS store here! 
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- Making Memories (Chloe's Closet)
stamps- Sweet November (Garden Gnome Adele), Prima (crosshatch background)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox creamy brown
Prima flowers
Kaiser Craft pearls
Making Memories Chloe's Closet epoxy stickers (from Tress... thanks Tress!)
American Crafts knock out border punch
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
hair- E23, E08
clothes- Y11, Y32, Y35, E33, B34, B37, B39, YG21, YG23, YG25, E40, E41, 0, YR12, YR14, YR27
mouse- E40, E41, E42, 0, R01, R02
walnut wagon- E53, E55, E57, C1, C5, YG21, YG25, YG17

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Interrupting the pre-posts with an update

Hi guys, 

First off, thank you all so much for all the prayers and positive thoughts for my mom these past few days. They mean so much to me and I know in my heart of hearts that they are helping. :)
Currently she is still in the ICU and still on the ventilator to help with her breathing. But her numbers are improving a little bit each day and we are hoping that the breathing tube will be removed soon because she is just miserable with it in. It's easy to feel helpless when all she wants is some water and you can't give her any. Her nurses are doing a great job though so I know that she is in good hands. Please continue to keep Patti in your thoughts and prayers as it is looking like this is going to be a long road to recovery. 

So yea, things might be a little quieter around here than usual and I apologize for not making it around to all of your beautiful blogs as regularly. I am still coloring during the down times, as it is a relaxing way to get my mind off things, so all I'll have to do is eventually get those colored images onto some cards. Thanks for sticking with me and I'll leave you with something pretty even if it doesn't have any coloring on it... this is a card that I made for a recent class that I taught and I was pretty pleased with how it came together.

Big hugs! ♥    

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

They call it puppy love...

Hi friends,

This was the third and final card that I had picked up for the April/May issue of Designed to Color and I think that I submitted it for the May Flowers theme. Don't I look all totally crafty with those 'hand made' flowers? Nope... lazy crafter remember? The two big ones were pre-fab from now defunct Girls' Paperie and I actually punched the three small ones out from the back of their packaging... the little ones don't even have real buttons on them. ;)
I love, love, love this sweet image from Sugar Nellie called Lead the Way. The pup totally reminded me of a girlie version of my little Yorkie so of course that is the coloring that I gave her. The papers are all random scraps that I pulled together and I think it is a fun mix of prints.That brown hounds tooth really gives her a city girl vibe in my eyes... plus I just like the play off of 'hound' with a doggy stamp like this one. 
The 'Designer Tip' about creating this project that I included was; Besides using my Copics to color in the image, I also used the BV02 marker to custom coordinate the seam binding ribbon to the colors in my card. Sure, you can color it all in but just edging the ribbon on either side can also give it a really pretty and unique look.

Take care. ♥
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- Basic Grey (Kissing Booth), Collage Press (Joyride), Making Memories (Love Struck)
stamps- Sugar Nellie (Lead the Way), Hero Arts (sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black, Colorbox dark brown, Tim Holtz weathered wood distress
The Girls' Paperie flowers
copic edged ribbon
Copic Spica glitter pens
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
hair- E44, E47, E49
clothes- E81, W0, BV01, BV02, BV04, RV21, RV23, R22, E57, E59, E55, E35
dog- E31, E33, E35, W7, W10
grass- G43, G46

Monday, May 21, 2012

There's a new sheriff in town

Howdy pardners!

This is another card I made that was published in the April/May issue of Designed to Color. I submitted it for that issue's sketch challenge and wanted to do a boy card for the magazine. Because I had just received this Sasparilla paper pad in the mail it became a no-brainer on which stamp I would ink up... Sheriff Ian! Even though I had had him for ages this was the first time that he had made it onto a card. Honestly, I think we was just waiting for the right papers to mosey along before he made his appearance. ;)

The 'Designer Tip' about creating the project that I included was; Don't be afraid to add small embellishments to your colored characters. By winding up a small bit of twine and gluing it into Ian's hand this little sheriff now looks even more ready to ride the range.

Thanks for stopping by. :)
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- October Afternoon (Sasparilla)
stamps- The Greeting Farm (Sheriff Ian), Studio G (sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox dark brown
jute
Papertrey Ink twine
Making Memories brads
EK Success silver pen
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R02
hair- C5, C7, C9, C10
clothes- B34, B37, B39, E35, E55, E57, E59, R24, R27, R29, E09, E44, E47, E49, Y13, Y21, Y26

Sunday, May 20, 2012

You make the world better

Hello again,

I was lucky enough to have this card published in the April/May issue of Designed to Color magazine as part of their Rainy Day theme. I really love this sweet Donna digi from Tiddly Inks and even though I've gotten her on cards before she was the first image to pop into my head when I read the call. As you can tell, I'm still lovin' that yellow and grey combo... I'm not on trend enough to tell you if it is still cool or not but it doesn't matter to me. I think this pairing is a keeper. :)
My 'Designer Tip' about creating the project that I sent in with my card was; I printed out the digital image twice and actually colored, fussy cut and pop dotted the umbrella to give it added dimension over little Donna.

Have a great day everybody!  
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- Doodlebug (stripe), October Afternoon (polka dot and floral)
digital stamp- Tiddly Inks (Donna)
stamp- Hero Arts (sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black, Colorbox creamy brown and Tim Holtz Iced Spruce distress
Divine Twine
Kaiser Craft gems
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R20
hair- E50, Y21, YR24, E35
clothes/umbrella/grass/frog- Y13, Y15, Y17, B91, B93, T1, T3, T4, Y000, Y11, G40, G43, G46, YG67, BG000

Saturday, May 19, 2012

MIA in a way...

Hey guys... so earlier this week my mom got sick. She got progressively worse until I insisted that she go to a doctor on Thursday and now she is in ICU on a ventilator. This has hit us all out of the blue and it is hard not getting emotional just typing this up. My mom and I have always been close, she is my best friend. And to say that I'm a bit of a mess right now would be an understatement. She's got great doctors though who are really taking care of her but as you can understand I'm not going to be around much while all of this is going on.

I do have some cards that I've made awhile ago just waiting in the wings so I'm going to do a bunch of pre-posts using those for while I'm away. Depending on what all happens though I might end up with some days where you don't see me here.
In the meantime, if you are the praying type please send up prayers for Patti. Or if your more of a mind to just send positive energy out into the universe I would appreciate any and all good thoughts right now.

Thanks everybody. ♥ 
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- Pink Paislee (Indigo Bleu)
stamps- My Favorite Things (Better Get Better Pure Innocence and sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox creamy brown
ribbon
Prima flowers
Kaiser Craft pearls
Studio Calico wood veneer heart
Martha Stewart border punch
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
hair- YR21, YR24, YR27, E08
clothes- Y000, Y11, Y18, N0, N2, BG70, BG72, C3, C5
teddy bear- E31, E34, E35, R02, 100, E40, W0

Friday, May 18, 2012

Swimming by... and the plight of the paper addict...

TGIF!
Hey friends, so have you picked up your own Sugarplums Beach Kit yet? They are up at the All That Scraps store right now and available for 20% off regular price until May 31st. 
We've got one more day of Beach Kit cards featured over on the ATS blog today and for this one I just had to use the fourth little Sugarplum and the cute crabby, star fish and shell. Because of the tropical print on the paper I pulled for this card I wanted to color this Sugarplum with a tropical island look. I think I hear her calling out "Aloha" right now! If only I could join her on a Hawaiian get-away right now. Instead I'll just have to look at the card and keep dreaming, LOL! 

Alrighty, now onto the plight of the paper addict part of my post title...

I recently found out that Basic Grey has released two paper lines exclusively through limited JoAnn's stores. They are called Shine On and Serendipity (I've included pics below so you can see the cuteness). Now before I even saw the pics I was hoping against hope that I wouldn't like them much at all and have no desire to get my hands on them. No such luck, I think they are both super cute! The problem? My closest JoAnn's is not carrying it... not a big surprise. And while I was seriously considering a 3 hour road trip to the next closest JoAnn's that does carry it but some things have come up that aren't allowing me to leave right now. So what's a pitiful paper addict to do? Well, I'm hoping that some wonderful fellow crafter out there might be willing to help hook me up with some. So if any of you were planning on making a trip to J's anyway this weekend I would totally paypal you the money for the papers and shipping and forever be in your crafty debt if you were able to help a girl out. My email addy is pete_danger @ hotmail.com and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that someone out there wants these papers as much as I do and has a JoAnn's close by. :)

TTFN!

   

Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- Fancy Pants (Beach Babe), BoBunny (sand)
stamps- CC Designs (Sugarplums Beach Kit), Kraftin' Kimmie (sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox creamy brown
ribbon
Kaiser Craft gems
Copic Spica glitter pen
Copic markers:
skin- E00, E21, E13, R00, R20
hair- C5, C7, C9, 100
clothes- RV10, RV21, RV23, Y38, YR04, B00
crab- YR07, YR09, E08, E09
starfish- Y11, Y21, Y35, Y28
shell- YG0000, YG00, YG03

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Everything's beachy keen!

Hey there! 
Today's the day! It's the 17th and that means the Sugarplums Beach Kit will be available over at the All That Scraps store! The kit is a set of nine stamps which includes four Sugarplum girls in various poses as well as some fun accessories. And don't forget, if you purchase the Sugarplums Beach Kit from May 17th- May 31st you will get it for 20% off regular price. After the 31st the kit will still be available but the price will go back up to the regular MSRP. The stamps will only be available as a kit and only available at All That Scraps.  
We are continuing sneak peeks today which you can find once again on the ATS blog. And this time my card is featuring two of the little sitting Sugarplum girlies. They make quite the cute pair of sun worshipers just hanging out on the beach together, don'tcha think? I used different papers but followed the same kind of idea as yesterday by letting the paper set the scene... which is easy to do when it had the sea and sky all right there for me. Embellishing is at a minimum with just the two brads to help balance the teal up top but I think it works. :)

Okey dokey, thanks for dropping by and I hope you are enjoying a bit of your own sunshine too!

Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- Bella Blvd (orange polka dot), Fancy Pants (Summer Soiree), BoBunny (sand)
stamps- CC Designs (Sugarplums Beach Kit), Kraftin' Kimmie (sentiments)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox creamy brown
brads
Copic Spica glitter pen
Copic markers
skin- E00, E21, E13, R00, R20
hair- E23, E25, E27, E29
hair- E55, E44, E47, E49
clothes- RV02, RV04, RV09, Y11, Y13, Y17

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Sending Sunshine

Hello, hello! 

I've got to take a second because Glee was at Nationals last night... the last one for the graduating class... sniff, sniff. I'm still having a hard time imagining this show next year without these core characters. But I tried not to think about that and just enjoy the music. Which was excellent by the way. The whole evening felt like a great throwback to the first season. Not that I'm hating on the new characters that have joined since then but it was a nice full-circle kind of feeling that I really appreciated. Next week is the graduation finale and you know I'll have something to Gleek out about with that too. ;) 

So as I promised yesterday, there is a special mid-month release happening over at All That Scraps and it's a fun filled Sugarplums Beach Kit! We are sneaking peeks today which you can find on the ATS blog and the stamps will be available for purchase tomorrow. But wait... that's not all! If you purchase the Sugarplums Beach Kit from May 17th- May 31st you will get it for 20% off regular price. After the 31st the kit will still be available but the price will go back up to the regular MSRP. The stamps will only be available as a kit and only available at All That Scraps.

For my card I used several of the stamps from the kit to create a hot summer's day scene at the beach. The little kneeling Sugarplum is taking a break from collecting shells to rest beneath her umbrella. Up in the sky a curious seagull is checking things out to make sure he isn't missing out on an opportunity to snag an unguarded snack or two. I really had a blast putting all of these stamps together and once I had them on the paper background I couldn't think of much else to add. So other than adding a small flower to her hair I just let it be. :)

Alrighty, have fun checking out the new stamps and I'll see ya with another Beach Kit card tomorrow!  
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- Echo Park (Splash), BoBunny (sand)
stamps- CC Designs (Sugarplums Beach kit), Kraftin' Kimmie (sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox creamy brown
Prima flower
Kaiser Craft pearl
Copic markers:
skin- E00, e21, E13, R00, R20
hair- E30, E31, E33, E35
clothes- YG00, YG01, YG03, B12, B14, B16
umbrella- BG23, BG34, BG49, RV23, RV14, RV25, E53, E55, E57
seagull- C0, C1, C2, Y21, YR23, Y26, 0
shell- E50, E51, E34

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

A simple thanks

Howdy folks!

I was very good for just over a week and resisted starting A Dance with Dragons. Then my resolve crumbled and I finally began reading it on Sunday. After not knowing what was going on with a bunch of the key characters all through A Feast for Crows I'm so enjoying getting caught up with some of my favorites, like Tyrion and Jon Snow. Though I'm trying really hard to make this one last as long as I can since it will be the last for awhile. Good news though! My brother has invited me down to his place some weekend because he has the second season of Game of Thrones on his DVR... I feel a marathon coming on, LOL! ;)

Ok, ok, fangirl moment over... time for today's card. We are still enjoying gorgeous spring weather with plenty of sunshine here in my neck of the woods and the optimism and good feelings associated with that are definitely being reflected in my card crafting. I colored up Sassy Emma and it's funny because her casual outfit looks like the kind of clothes I wear most of the time. Give me a perfect pair of jeans with a cute yet simple top and I'm a happy girl. Sort of like how this Simple Stories paper is still making me a happy girl too. Y'all are probably saying, "Back away from the Summer Fresh Amy!" But I'm telling you, the simplicity of cutting out one rectangle and having it look like I spent an hour piecing together a bunch of little strips into this design is hard to beat.
I promise though, that starting tomorrow there will be a break from it here on my blog. That is because we are starting up sneak peeks of a special mid-month Sugar Plum release that is quite beachy! :)

I hope you stop by tomorrow to check it out. 
Ta Ta for now!       
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper/stickers- Simple Stories (Summer Fresh)
stamps- CC Designs (Sassy Emma), Doodlebug (sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox creamy brown
ribbon
Prima flowers
Kaiser Craft pearls
Martha Stewart butterfly punch
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
hair- Y21, YR23, Y26, E33
clothes- B95, B97, B99, B0000, B00, B52, C0, C1, YG61, YG63, YG67, E81, 0, R05, E07, E09

Monday, May 14, 2012

Birthday boy

Olo!

Oh man, has it been nice here! We hit the low 80's yesterday and it was just a beautiful weekend! Luckily the nights still are cooling down quite a bit, just how I like it. Perfect May weather!

So I suppose it isn't any surprise that I couldn't stay away from that Summer Fresh paper for very long. Though this time I wanted to make a cute boy card with that great denim looking print. Talk about easy peasy... one of the 4x6 panels and some plaid in the background and most of the work was done for me again. All I had to add was a stamped sentiment on one of the 'tags' and a sprinkling of buttons for embellishment. 
The stamps are a bit different for me because that little boy and his pup actually come from an October Afternoon set rather than my usual go-to stamp companies. I loved them as soon as I saw peeks of them last year and couldn't wait to get my hands on them. And once I got the set I did use a couple of the sentiments and I think one of the birds but all of the main images sat unloved. Sadness! But this card remedied that situation and eventually I will get the little girl on a card too. :)

Ok, work beckons and I must bid you adieu... hugs!
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- Simple Stories (Summer Fresh)
stamps- October Afternoon (Sidewalks set), Hero Arts (sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox dark brown
buttons
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
hair- E35, E57, E59
clothes/banner- R05, E07, E09, E81, E84, E87, E40, 0, B32, B34, BV20, BV23, C1, E35, E47, Y11, Y21, Y26
dog- E50, E51, E53, E34, E35

Sunday, May 13, 2012

She's an Uptown Girl...

Good morning and happy Mother's Day to all those special ladies who I hope are being celebrated the way they deserve today! :)

I wanted my card today to be CAS with a bit of style and sophistication... this is my attempt of that. The papers are all left over from another card that I was working on, one with a totally different vibe, but I liked the idea of changing up the proportions and seeing how they looked in a new way. One thing I can say... there is a lot of yellow going on here, LOL! 
I printed out the Lazy Day Kaylee digi, because with her cool hair and fab ensemble, she had just the style I was looking for. And because the design was so simple I thought that a significant looking sentiment was needed to go with Kaylee. But none of the stamps in my stash were working for me. It was getting a bit frustrating but then as I was digging around under my desk, I came across my old Quickutz dies. Hmmm... I unzipped the binder and started flipping through all those alpha dies that haven't been used in years and came across Uptown Girl. Talk about perfect! So I experimented with running the dies through my Cuttlebug and it was such a success that I'm thinking that these old dies may be having a bit of a come back on my future projects. ;)

Ok, time for me to get myself ready for work. 
Toodles!      
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press it
paper- Basic Grey (yellow), My Mind's Eye (Lost &Found)
digi stamp- Some Odd Girl (Lazy Day Kaylee)
Colorbox creamy brown ink
Kaiser Craft pearls
Quickutz Uptown Girl alpha dies
Sharpie white marker
Copic markers:
skin- E50, E00, E21, V20, R00, R20, RV32, RV34, Y000, Y02
hair- E41, E42, E43, E44
eyes- BG72, BG78, BG000, 0
clothes- Y00, Y02, Y06, Y28, E74, E77, E79, G000, G00, G40

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Everyone loves a parade

Howdy folks!

Today is the Apple Blossom parade and celebration here in town and the weather is cooperating so the weekend should be a busy one. I can still remember walking in the parade as a kid either with my class or Blue Bird troop and always being so excited as we made our way through town. My large extended family seemed watch from the same spot each year and I could always count on them to cheer loudly as I walked by... good times. I didn't run for Apple Blossom Queen my senior year (not my thang) but the design I submitted to represent that year's theme, 'All American Apple Affair', beat out all the rest to represent the festival on button badges and what not. I was pretty proud of that and still have that badge tucked away in a keepsake book somewhere. Ah, the memories... :)

How does any of that reminiscing relate to my card you ask? Well, there is something about this Pure Innocence sweetie that takes me back to standing in the crowd watching the parade go by. She is called Freckles and I just love her. I actually picked both her and these fab new Summer Fresh papers up yesterday and had to get them both on a card immediately. See that background with all the 'layered' tags and strips on the left side? It's a single piece of paper... love that! All I added was a couple more strips on the right and some buttons, denim and twine for texture. Confession time... I have an old pair of jeans that I keep under my craft desk that I have been cutting up and hacking away at for months. That border up the edge of the card is actually a hem from one of the cuffs that I trimmed up real skinny and just glued onto the card. i really like how it adds a touch of stitching to the design without me having to pull out the sewing machine... lazy crafter, remember? ;)
Because I love the papers so much I also ended up piecing almost her entire outfit from them as well. I swear that I added some shading to her pants but it isn't showing up great in the photo unfortunately. Then I just finished the whole thing off by adding a pinwheel sticker from the same paper pack to Freckles' hidden hands and that is when the parade vibe really kicked in for me and got me to remembering the good ol' days, LOL.

Well, even if you don't have a parade today I hope that you all have a lot of fun this weekend. Thanks for dropping by!      
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- Simple Stories (Summer Fresh)
stamps- My Favorite Things (Pure Innocence Freckles and sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox creamy brown
Simple Stories stickers
Papertrey Ink twine
buttons
denim
Copic Spica glitter pen
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, E15, R00, R20
hair- YR14, E08, E09
clothes- W00, W1, W3, BV20, BV25, BV29, R24, E07, E09, E55, E57





Friday, May 11, 2012

A two'fer

Olo! 

Today I've got something a bit different to share. There are two, two, two cards for the price of one, LOL! You see, I have two cousins who will be graduating high school very soon and I wanted to make a couple of personalized cards for the occasion. When I got the new Cheeky Geeky in the mail on Monday I knew that she was just the girl for these special cards. She's playful and cute but just stylish enough to still be cool for the girls. ;)

I kept the over-all design pretty simple with not a lot of fuss and used pretty much the same layout for both. I went online and found their school logos which I printed out on glossy photo paper so that they look like stickers. Then I colored each of the Geekies up to match their school colors. The "Congratulations, you did it!" sentiment is actually stamped on the inside of each card because I wrote up a little poem to put on the front. I don't know if you can read it in the pic so I'll add it here as well;
"You've hit the books,
four years it took.
You've done your best,
and passed the tests.
Now it's time for cap and gown,
across the stage you're walking down.
Grab that diploma, don't hesitate...
this day is yours to graduate!"
Like I said, simple but personalized and I know that they won't be getting cards like this from anyone else. :)

Have a fab Friday my friends. I hope that you're able to make some time for stamping this weekend! 
   
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- Basic Grey (PB&J, Origins), My Mind's Eye (Magnolia)
stamp- The Greeting Farm (Cheeky Geeky)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox dark brown
The Twinery twine
Divine Twine
Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher
Computer generated text and logos
Copic Spica glitter pen
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
hair- E30, Y21, Y26, E33
hair- E30, E31, E34, E35
clothes- C0, C1, C3, E40, E41, 0, R05, R08, E09, G07, G17, G29, B00, B02, B04



Thursday, May 10, 2012

Love you

Hiya friends! 

So I couldn't help myself. Even though I'm still working on inking up all of my older stamps I just had to get a few new rubber friends this past week. It's hard for me to resist the Gorjuss Girls so when I saw that there were new ones over at All That Scraps I quickly placed an order.

The first little beauty that I stamped up is The Pretend Friend, though I did omit said friend when I fussy cut her out. She was quick to color up but I really like how her dress came out. I was trying hard to match up the greens in that pretty Echo Park paper that I paired up with her and I think it was successful. Gotta love it when that happens. :)
Those same papers made this entire card a quick one to put together. Most of the prints are from the 6x6 pad but that framed piece comes from the 12x12 sheet that is a whole bunch of different 3x4 decorative spots which are perfect when cut apart for card fronts. Love 'em! The only thing that I would love even more is if they also shrunk this page down to the 6x6 size so that I could cut them apart for tiny sentiment boxes too... fingers crossed!

Ok guys, I've got a lot to keep me busy today so I should wrap this up. Thanks for dropping by and have a good one. :)   
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- Echo Park (This & That), American Crafts (Dear Lizzy Neapolitan)
stamps- Santoro (Simply Gorjuss The Pretend Friend), Doodlebug (sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and rich cocoa, Colorbox dark brown
Queen & Co pearls
Studio Calico wood veneer heart
Tim Holtz tiny attacher
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
hair- E44, E47, E49
clothes- YG00, YG95, YG67, E81, 0, R32, R35

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Just beachy

Good morning!

Happy hump day stampin' peeps. I ended up working yesterday so today is the day for me to get a bunch of stuff done around the house. Lot's of cleaning and even a trip into town as I am still on the hunt for the perfect flowers for my flower pots. Hopefully I can find the elusive potato vines that I've been searching for and anything with a great orange hue. :)

So because I didn't have time to make a card yesterday, this seemed like a good time share the second card that I was lucky enough to have published in the 3rd issue of Copicendium. One of the themes was summer cards and while it may be a bit early for full blown summer fun here that ol' thermometer keeps on creeping higher with each passing week.

I colored up the totally cool vintage beach babe Eleanor from Kraftin' Kimmie stamps and matched her up with the Seaside line from October Afternoon. It was a match made in heaven if you ask me. Between the papers and the sticker sheet I really didn't need much else to set the scene for Eleanor. I think I can smell that salty sea air just looking at this card, LOL!

Oh, and while I'm on the subject of Kraftin' Kimmie stamps... did you see that Eleanor and all her rubber friends are currently on sale over at the ATS store? Yep, they are 25% off so you won't want to miss out on those deals!    

Ok, time for me to scoot... see y'all in 24. :)

Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper/stickers- October Afternoon (Seaside)
stamps- Kraftin Kimmie (Eleanor and sentiment)
ink- Memento black and Colorbox creamy brown
Sharpie white marker
Copic markers:
skin- E00, E21, E13, E15, R20, R14, W3, W5
hair- YR30, Y21, E33
eyes- BG57, BG49, G28, BG000, 0
clothes- Y11, Y13, Y17, BG000, 0, YG01, YG03, YG17, R14, R17, E07, YR04, YR14, YR18, B32, B37, B39

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

A bowl of peas

Hey there! 
With so many new stamps hitting the store this month it's already review preview day over on the ATS blog. Last week I had fun inking up Bee-trice so today my card features the other just as adorable Strawberry Beatrice. She is the berry sweetest don'tcha think?

This card is another case of knowing exactly which paper I wanted to pair up with an image as soon as I laid eyes on her. Sure, there are a lot of prints from the Crate Pretty Party papers that I just love but this strawberry pattern is my absolute fave of the bunch. So I colored up Beatrice to match the little vintage looking strawberries and started to lay out the card design. But when it came time to complete her story with fun embellishments I got a bit stuck. Nothing new was coming to me so I thought it best to go ahead and get a sentiment on there at least. That's when I found this gem in the Berry Logos set that gave me just the direction that I needed. I know that using pearls isn't much of a change for me but I do think that they make cute little peas scattered down around her feet. :)     


Ok, there is even more review preview fun and inspiration from my fellow ATS teamies on the All That Scraps blog so be sure to hop on over there too! And all of the new May stamps can be found in the ATS store here!

TTFN!
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- Crate (Pretty Party)
stamps- CC Designs (Strawberry Beatrice and Berry Logo sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and rich cocoa, Colorbox chestnut roan
Tim Holtz tiny attacher
The Twinery Twine
Queen & Co pearls
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
hair- E44, E47, E49
clothes- R32, R35, R37, R30, E35, E57, E59, Y13, YG01, YG25, YG67, E81, 0

Monday, May 7, 2012

Designer duds for your stamps

Hello Monday...

Hey, have you noticed that every Monday we are sharing a different tip of tutorial over on the ATS blog? Well, the team has taken on this fun task for the last couple months and now today is my turn to share something clever over there.

I knew that I wanted to use one of the new Garden Gnome Girls and at first I thought that I would just do a coloring video. But as I got to looking at all that "fabric" space on their dresses a different idea came to mind. So I dusted off my long neglected background stamps and put them to use in a new way... creating 'designer' duds for my stamped characters to wear. Doesn't Tilly look oh-so stylish in her new fancy dress? If you would like to see how I did this you can check out the video over on the All That Scraps blog or on my YouTube channel. :)

Alrighty, time for hair and make-up. You'll get no complaints from me though since this is actually more of a Friday for me. I've been working up through the weekend and now I'll have a couple days off starting tomorrow. I'm looking forward to finally diving into A Dance with Dragons since I was very good and postponed starting it during this past very busy week... the self restraint nearly killed me, LOL! ;)

Toodles!      
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- We R Memory keepers (On the Sunny Side)
stamps- Sweet November (Garden Gnome Tilly), Papertrey Ink (sentiment), Autumn Leaves (background 2)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and rich cocoa, Colorbox dark brown, Tim Holtz peacock feathers distress
ribbon
Studio Calico wood veneer bird
Kaiser Craft gems
EK Success border punch
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
hair- E31, E33, E35
clothes- Y000, Y00, 0, Y02, Y06, BG11, BG34, BG18, B95, B97, B99, Y15, YR15, YG01, YG03, E55, E57, E59, E81, 0

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Oh honey...

Mornin' folks!

No Sunday off for me today so this one is going to be a quickie. :)

This is the last card that I have yet to share from the ATS May previews which just wrapped up on Thursday. It features a brand new range of stamps from a brand new designer to All That Scraps. The new line is called Mashi's Muffins and this bee-uty is Bumble Bella. I'm really excited by these new stamps because they have a very cartoon like vibe to them that I'm totally diggin'. And Bumble Bella with her big eyes and fun expression really won me over. 
I was kinda surprised at how quickly this card came together, especially after I found this piece of cloud paper in my scrap bag. But once I had it down I realized that no other papers were really necessary and the embellishments just fell into place. I really like how it looks like Bella has just loaded up her pail of honey from that big blue flower in the corner and now she is having a hard time not spilling any on her return flight back to the hive.

Well, I hope you all are enjoying some beautiful weather this weekend. I'm hoping that the sun sticks around 'til this afternoon so that I can get out there and enjoy it for a bit!

Later!  
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- My Little Shoebox 
stamps- Mashi's Muffins (Bumble Bella), CC Designs (Bees Knees Logo sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox creamy brown
ribbon
Tim Holtz tiny attacher
Prima flowers and leaves
Kaiser Craft pearls
Sharpie white marker
Copic Spica glitter pen
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20, R22, R27
hair- E50, E51, E53
eyes- E37, E47, BG000, 0
clothes- C5, C7, C9, Y13, Y15, Y17, BG000
honey pail- C1, C2, C3, Y35, Y38, E33



Saturday, May 5, 2012

We've got winners sprouting up!

Good morning!

What do you say we start this weekend off with a few candy winners? We had such a great turnout for the new May stamp previews, and it was so much fun to read all of the enthusiastic comments both here and on the Sweet November Gals' blogs as well. :)





Alrighty... no sense in keeping you in suspense any longer. So without further ado the winner's of the Sweet November May candies are:
Congratulations ladies! Please email me at: pete_danger @ hotmail.com with your mailing info and I will get your prizes sent out on Monday. :)
Big thanks again to everyone who came out for the reveals... without you they wouldn't be nearly as much fun!


My card today is another one from this past week's ATS previews. I used Cherry Lucy because not only is she a doll, but I also couldn't wait to use these new Bella Blvd papers. I actually got them specifically to pair up with this Lucy because those cherries were just too perfect. Which gave me a fun excuse to color her cherry bright pink rather than the traditional red. I also used the new Strawberry die set because the blossom included with it works just as well as a cherry blossom if you ask me. ;)

Now I must get myself ready for work. Hope your weekend is a wonderful one!   
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- Bella Blvd (Sunshine & Happiness)
stamps- CC Designs (Cherry Lucy and Berry Logos sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and rich cocoa, Colorbox creamy brown
Divine Twine
Prima gems
Martha Stewart border punch
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
hair- YR21, YR24, YR27, E99
clothes- RV23, RV25, RV29, YG01, YG03, YG17, Y11, Y13, Y35, Y19, RV000, RV10, RV11