Bloomin Butterflies

I am really loving my new Tsukineko Essential Glue Pad. A whole new world of glitter possibilities has just opened up! And you know me... everything's better with glitter! :) Today's card is made with a set my DSS (Divine Secret Sister) Maureen sent me at the end of the last round. Thanks Maureen, I am really having fun with it.

I started by inking up the butterfly from Reason to Smile with Pretty in Pink ink and then inked around the edges and body center with VersaMagic Perfect Plumeria chalk ink. Next I stamped on Pearlized White paper and overstamped with my Tsukineko Glue pad and covered with Dazzling Diamonds. I then doodled a frame around the edges and colored the outside of the frame with my Pretty in Pink Stampin Write marker.

Next I stamped the sentiment in Ancient Page Coal Black, doodled a frame and matted on Basic Black. I then stamped the flower stamp from the set with VersaMagic Pixie Dust chalk ink on Basic Black and tied a May Arts light pink bow around the black piece. The patterned paper is from Daisy D's Spring Blossom pack. The sentiment is on thin pop dots and the pearls are Making Memories Gem stickers.

Birthday Party

Today is my nephew's 12th birthday. I made a quick little card to take when we go to his birthday party this afternoon. I don't have a lot of boy stamps, so I had to pull out my trusty Cat's Pajamas stamps again.

I started by stamping Big Sprinkle {D-S301} and L'il Party Hat {C-5241} with Ancient Page Coal Black ink on Conqueror White card stock. I then colored with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol and then cut out with my Creative Memories oval cutting system. Next I doodled a frame around the oval and matted with DCWV Spring Cardstock Stack paper and a Basic Black Giga Scalloped Oval punch.

I used two different Junkitz designer papers, adding a thin black mat behind the rounded squares strip. I then stamped Happy Birthday 1 {C-S3103} in Coal Black and placed behind a bookplate from JoAnn's. I secured the bookplate with two Making Memories rhinestone brads and added two EK Success Photo Corner punches in black to the top and bottom to fake a black angled rectangle behind the panel.

To finish I added the cat image panel on thick pop dots and added Stardust Stickles to each scallop, the hat, collar and eyes. Hopefully it's not too girly or childish for my darling little nephew who is growing up so fast!

Festive and Fun

Well, I still didn't get much stamping time in yesterday. Do you ever have those days where it seems like you're busy the entire day, but you don't really have anything to show for it? Actually I was able to move forward on some exciting projects in my non-stamping life, but just not as quickly as I would have hoped.

I received some fun mail yesterday. My Maryse Carrier stamps arrived from Canada and they came in this fabulously decorated envelope. Isn't it just adorable? I just love her style. I am so excited to play with my new stamps, but I have to find time to trim and mount all that rubber first. They arrived with a cute little note written in French, which I mostly translated from the remnants of the four years of French I took in high school.

Well, April is almost over, and that means Cinco de Mayo is on its way! After an entire day of staring at the computer, I wanted to have some fun, so I pulled out my Cat's Pajamas stamps and just played. Over on Colleen's blog her Thursday Throwdown challenge this week is doodling. So I started with her challenge in mind and here's what happened...

I stamped Guitar Cat {E-7438 }, Cinco de Mayo{D-7430} and Bongo{E-7429} from The Cat's Pajamas with Ancient Page on shimmery white paper and colored in with Prismacolor pencils and gamsol. Next I doodled a frame around each panel and used Real Red, Tempting Turquoise and Green Galore Stampin' Write markers for the dots between doodles. Next I matted on some scraps I had left over from my design team projects I finished earlier this week. The red is Bazzill and the green and turquoise cardstock is from the DCWV Spring card stock stack. I then cut some strips of coordinating cardstock and ran them through my Cuttlebug using the D'vine swirls embossing folder.

Next I glued all the strips down and doodled a frame around the entire card base. Then I used the brush tip of my markers to make some random (and definitely not perfect) confetti to fill in some of the white space. I finished the card off with a bow made from May Arts polka dot organdy ribbon. These colors are out of my normal color palette, but I really had fun with this festive look.

A Challenge

I didn't get a chance to do any stamping yesterday, but I did do a little shopping. Thanks largely to Lila and Kim's enabling last week I came home with a Tsukineko Essential Glue Pad, a Quickie Glue Pen and the new Summer Vibe Art Warehouse stamp set. Isn't it cool? I can't wait to play with it.

Oh, something else "exciting" happened while I was at the craft store today. Some idiot parked their Suburban (in a compact parking spot) so close to my car that the side mirrors of our vehicles were touching. They obviously didn't have a passenger because my driver's side door could not open more than a few inches. Since I have a sporty little Tiburon it's next to impossible to climb in from the passenger side, so I had to hang out and wait for the person to come back. Since it was just around the corner I decided to walk over to Cost Plus World Market and pick up some Sticky Fingers Scone Mix (the yummiest ever!) while I was waiting.

As I was meandering the aisles, I absolutely fell in love with these gorgeous sushi dishes and HAD to bring one home, because I thought it would make a great inspiration piece for a card. (Okay, okay, I admit that my scones will look amazing on it as well!) Anyway, here's a picture of the piece. I plan on making a card inspired by this beautiful dish. Anyone want to play with me? If you make a card or project from this inspiration piece and email me a photo or a link to the photo I'll post it on my blog when I post my finished card. I'll plan to post the card May 1, so will need any links sent to me by April 30 at 12 PM ET. I hope you'll play, because I'll feel just like I felt all those times I was picked last in elementary school kickball if I have to play by myself! LOL For those of you who haven't done an inspiration challenge before, it's merely a jumping off point, whether your inspiration comes from the colors, shapes, designs, layout or anything else in the piece. There are no rules, just let your imagination run wild!

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

That song has been going through my head since I started working on this card. So since I can't get it out of my head - I'll put it in yours! LOL! I posted the 7 things about myself earlier and just realized that my husband proposed 10 years ago today - April 25. So I guess that's a reason to celebrate, huh?

Colleen posts a Thursday Throwdown challenge on her blog each week and I just finally found some time to attempt last week's. The challenge was to use brown and either blue, green or pink. Since I go through Chocolate Chip cardstock faster than anything else, I knew I had to make a card for this challenge. I chose Bashful Blue and Chocolate Chip because it's one of my fave combos and because my hubby bought me this awesome pack of Making Memories Cosmo ribbon for Christmas that I still hadn't opened !

I started by stamping the Hero Arts Doodle Leaf Flower with Timber Brown Stazon on Bashful Blue. I then colored in with Bashful Blue and Chocolate Chip Markers and punched out with a Marvy Mega Circle punch. Next I layered onto a Chocolate Chip Giga Scalloped Circle punch and pierced a hole in each scallop. I also punched another partial Giga scalloped circle out of Chocolate Chip and a partial Mega scalloped circle from Bashful Blue. I then inked up the Celebrate portion of the Hero Arts Celebrate Border stamp with a Chocolate Chip marker and added some doodles around the scallops. Next I pierced a hole in each scallop and accented the flower and scallops with Stardust Stickles. You know me, it's ALL about the sparkle!

I then used my D'Vine Swirls Cuttlebug embossing folder on Bashful blue, secured the Making Memories Cosmo Ribbon with Terrifically Tacky Tape and glued down the half circles. The main image panel is raised on Making Memories Sticky Squares.

Thanks for all your kind emails and comments. My back is doing better - still aching , but no more searing pain (thank goodness!).

Tagged Again!

I've been tagged by Allison & Alex to reveal 7 things about myself.


1. I am (just a little bit) fanatical about all things Hello Kitty. It started back when I was 5 and my aunt gave me a set of Hello Kitty markers - pink, red, purple and blue. I am truly glad that everything eventually comes back in style - because I just can't get enough of all the cute Hello Kitty stuff available now!

2. I've seen every episode ever of Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill and Smallville. It's my guilty little secret that I'm hooked on all the teenybopper shows! LOL

3. 10 years ago my husband and I were introduced by my ex-boyfriend. We didn't know how to contact each other without going through him, so about 2 months later we both looked each other up on the website of our respective colleges and without knowing what the other was doing, sent each other almost identical emails at the exact same time.

4. My husband proposed after 6 months of dating. We had a 6 month celebration and both picked out the exact same Hallmark card (from completely different stores) to give to one another. Guess it was destiny. :)

5. My husband and I are total computer nerds. We have 7 functioning computers and 4 printers hooked up in our house. There are also a couple older computers stored in the closet that Mark hasn't allowed me to get rid of yet.

6. I have a Bachelor's degree in Business Communications and this month (9 1/2 years later) finally paid off my student loans.

7. I rarely go a day without listening to my iPod. Currently there are over 4,000 songs and 10 audiobooks loaded on my old school 40GB iPod. I hope to upgrade sometime this year to one of the cool new ones that plays videos.

Okay, there you have it... 7 little insights into my soul. I'm only going to tag one person because I'm tired, but I did want to let you all know that Shannan has a new blog! :) Go check it out!

Tag ... Shannan's IT!

Monday Morning ALREADY???

Sorry I didn't have anything new for you to read to start off your Monday morning! I had a crazy weekend. The memorial service was good, but the 4 hour drive each way just about did me in. I woke up Sunday with the most excruciating back pain I've ever felt in my life. A combination of Aleve, ibuprofen, heat and some old-fashioned laying around have helped it quite a bit, but it's still pretty painful to sit and almost unbearable to stamp.

So, on that note, I'm just going to post some cards I made from images I stamped on my stamping day with Lila & Kim last week. The first one uses the Memory Box Flower & Vase stamped on Conqueror white paper and colored with Prismacolors and Gamsol. I then sketched a frame around the edges and sponged with a foam sponge (I use a square of Ranger Cut-N-Dry Stamp Pad Foam) and my Creamy Caramel ink pad. Next I stamped hello with my Karen Foster Snap stamps, punched out in a half circle, sketched a frame and inked with Creamy Caramel and matted on Real Red. The patterned paper is from Bo Bunny and then I added some tabs with rounded corners and evenly spaced eyelets on the sides and a prima for a little something extra.
The next card is from a Maryse Carrier image I stamped from Kim's collection. I just love this little doggie, but sadly Kim told me he's ... *insert pouty lips here* retired. I colored him with prismacolors and mineral spirits and then stamped the Hello from a Studio G clear set I got in the Michael's $1 bin. A little BoBunny paper, stitched ribbon and an EK Success photo corner punch finished off this simple card. The dots on the photo corner punch were made with my Sakura black glaze pen.

Okay, my plan for today is to finish up the last two cards I need to make before I ship off my samples for the new Cat's Pajamas Summer line. Hopefully they'll turn out okay, since I'm going to heavily dose up on the Aleve before I hit my studio!

PaperTrey Meets Fancy Pants

My hubby's uncle passed away unexpectedly this week, so we're headed out this morning on a four hour drive to the memorial service. It's been a really sad week. Anyway, I thought I'd post a couple of the cards I made over at Lila's on Thursday using her PaperTrey and Fancy Pants sets. She had the coolest toys to play with - I can't wait to do it again!

The first card I made by first stamping the solid butterfly from the Butterfly Kisses PaperTrey set with VersaMagic Turquoise Gem ink and then stamped the swirl flower with Ancient Page Charcoal black. Next I overstamped the swirl flower with the marveous new Tsukineko Essential Glue Pad and covered with Dazzling Diamonds for some fantastic shimmer. That Glue Pad is amazing (and extremely addictive), girls!


Next I stamped the flourish from the Fancy Pants Pollen Dust set on Conqueror White cardstock and accented the hearts with Quickie Glue pen and dazzling diamonds. Then I stamped the hello from the Paper Trey set in Turquoise Gem and cut out. A hatpin and some velvet ribbon (both courtesy of Lila) finished off this card in style.



The next card is very similar, but I think I like it a little better -probably due to my infatuation with Cool Caribbean. I started by stamping the Fancy Pants flourish on Cool Caribbean with Ancient Page Charcoal Black, then I highlighted a few of the swirls with a Quickie glue pen and added dazzling diamonds. Next I traced all of the remaining lines on the flourish with my Sakura Black Glaze pen to make it pop.

Next I stamped the PaperTrey solid butterfly with VersaMagic Sea Breeze ink and then the swirl butterfly with Ancient Page Charcoal Black ink. Again I used that fabulous Glue Pad to overstamp the swirls and dusted with Dazzling Diamonds.

I stamped the PaperTrey hello on white cardstock and sponged with Cool Caribbean ink, before trimming and rounding the corners. Basic Black matting and some black grosgrain ribbon were the finishing touch for this card.


Hope you all have a fabulously creative weekend!

Kimmie's Clothespin

I can't believe it's Friday already! Where did the week go? I had a lot of fun stamping today with my new friends, Lila & Kim. Can't wait to show you the cards I made, but it will have to wait because it's too dark to pull out the camera now - and yet another lightbulb burned out in our already very dim living/dining area. I think we've officially passed the threshold where there are more lights burned out than actually working! (Are you reading this, honey? HINT, HINT!) Oh well, summer and lots of daylight are just around the corner! :)

Since Kimmie let me know she finally received the package I sent over 2 weeks ago, I wanted to show y'all the clothespin I made her. I just love how it turned out.

I started by painting the clothespin with Antique Rose Delco Acrylic Paint. Next I covered the two sides of the clothespin with strips of Perhaps Basic Grey paper ran through my Xyron. I then used my Olivia alphabet and Cuttlebug to cut the letters of her name and applied them to one side of the clothespin. I then modpodged the whole thing to seal it.

After it dried, I layered some large tropical Primas on the clothespin with hot glue and added a rhinestone flower. I then tied a pink ribbon in a bow around the other end and sprayed the whole thing with Opalescent Spray Glitter for a sparkly shine.

Perhaps

I'm so excited. This afternoon I get to go stamp with a couple gals from my area. Lila invited me to come to her house and stamp. Yay!


Today's card is one of those really simple layouts, but I just love the way it turned out. I started by stamping A True Friend by A Muse on shimmery white paper with Rose Red ink. I then punched out with my Marvy Mega Scalloped punch and mounted on a Marvy Giga Scalloped punch of Basic Grey Perhaps paper. I punched holes with my paper piercer in each scallop and set aside.


Next I laid down two different papers from the Perhaps line on Conqueror White card stock and secured some yummy May Arts ric-rac down the dividing line with Glue Lines. I added the sentiment square with pop dots and finished off with 2 layered Prima Forever Flowers and a Making Memories rhinestone brad. A corner rounder on the open edges finishes off the look.

I've been Tagged!

Yep, I've been tagged...and I didn't even know we were playing! Isn't that how you usually become the "IT" girl? LOL! Anyway, I've been tagged by:

• Allison - thanks for all your hard work. You're our own personal Encylopedia Blog. I just love how organized you are and really appreciate your comments.
• Bethany Paull - I've been admiring Bethany's cards on SCS for many months now and just found out when she tagged me she had a blog! Now I've got another one to stalk.
• Sherrie - I love the fabulous projects Sherrie has on her blog. The colors she chooses for her cards just make me want to curl up with my coffee mug and read her blog for hours.
• Charmaine - I've been following Charmaine's blog from the beginning. I just love her cute little projects, and she's quickly becoming a tutorial guru!

Gosh! Thanks gals, I feel so popular all of the sudden. The last time we played tag I had to beg someone on SCS to tag me and then couldn't find 5 people who hadn't already been tagged! :)

Okay, so from reading the blogs of the people who tagged me, I think I'm now supposed to give a big shout out to my 5 favorite blogs....

• My Inky Fingers - Cindy makes the coolest projects. I love her diverse style and all the eye candy she adds to each of her creations.
• Kraftin' Kimmie's Korner- Kimmie ROCKS! She makes scrapbook pages that really inspire and her cards are absolutely adorable.
• Burnin' Rubber - I love Karrie's awesome sense of humor, her love of Starbucks, iTunes, and of course... Cat's Pajamas stamps.
• Hope Stamps Eternal - Rachel has fabulous cards and is a night owl like me! She also has blog candy going right now, so head on over!
• Palm Trees & Pogo Sticks - Who wouldn't love a blog with a name like that! I absolutely love checking in on Natasha's blog. I just love her style.

Poochie's Sketch

Today's card is another Cat's Pajamas card. Poochie was starting to feel left out, since I showcased Sprinkle earlier this week. LOL. The fabulous paper on this card is from the Tres Jolie line of My Mind's Eye. I just love the colors, textures and weight of this paper - and it totally rocks that it's double-sided.

The first thing I did when I sat down at my desk was to map out the sketch. Often layout is an afterthought with me, and I make all the pieces and then move them around until I like the layout. But I wanted to give you all another sketch to play with, so I put on my thinking cap and here's what I came up with. It's similar to a layout I did for a previous card and just loved. I think there are a lot of possibilities, which is what makes a good sketch in my opinion. I hope you have fun with it. Be sure to come back and leave a comment with a link to your card if you do the sketch - I'd love to see what you all come up with.

I started by stamping The Cat's Pajamas Dog & Flower {F-7425} in Timber Brown Stazon on Very Vanilla paper and colored in with Prismacolor pencils and a Stardust gel pen. I then punched him out with my Marvy Super Jumbo punch, layered onto a Chocolate Chip circle (cut with Creative Memories Circle Cutting System) and then glued to a Marvy Mega Scalloped Circle punch of Tres Jolie paper.

Next I stamped Hello {B-4212} in Timber Brown and punched out with a Marvy Mega Scalloped Square punch. I then cut the sides off of the square and matted on a Giga Scalloped square punch of the Tres Jolie paper with the sides cut off. Next I used my handheld rectangle punch to punch holes to slide ribbon through, wrapped the ribbon around the Tres Jolie paper and tied a bow.

Then I glued down the panels, pierced holes in the scallops and mounted the image panel on thick pop dots. I added a glue dot below the ribbon dot to keep it from sliding around and slid a pop dot under the Hello sentiment to make it pop.

Smiles

Well, I sat down at my stamping table specifically to make a card with my PaperTrey Green Thumb set and nothing was working. This is the third time I've tried and thrown out everything I've stamped. Sheesh! I must have a psychological block when it comes to those stamps. Kind of crazy since I've seen so many beautiful cards made with them.

So I could at least get a card finished, I ended up pulling out my Autumn Leaves Build a Flower set to make a PaperTrey-esque card. I really struggle with building scenes, so that is probably where my frustration with the PaperTrey set comes from. I'm not absolutely thrilled with this card, but it turned out okay.

I started by stamping the Build a Flower flower center randomly on Very Vanilla with Aquamarine Colorbox Chalk ink and the stems in Chestnut Roan Colorbox Chalk ink. I then lightly inked up the edges of the Very Vanilla and matted on Chocolate Chip and tied with Chocolate grosgrain ribbon. I then stamped a sheet of Aqua paper (Paper Accents) with the Paisley background in Aquamarine chalk ink. I matted the flower panel on this and punched out a Giga scalloped square out of the remainder of the paper. I then punched a Mega scalloped square out of Very Vanilla and stamped the Thanks sentiment from Small Sayings in Chocolate Chip ink. I then cut off the sides of both scalloped punches as seen on Asela's blog and tacked down with Bazzill Hershey mini brads.

Next I Cuttlebugged a piece of Chocolate Chip card stock with my Swirls folder and mounted on a Very Vanilla card base. I finished off the card by gluing the panel down, adding the sentiment tag with pop dots and accenting the flower center with some Aqua Stickles.

You're My Superhero!

What a whirlwind of a weekend I had! I've got some super exciting things up my sleeve and have had my nose to the grindstone trying to make it all happen. I did, however, find a little time to hit the local craft store and drool over those new Fancy Pants Designs stamp sets. LOL! As usual, I went in for one very inexpensive item... and then there were new Primas and I needed some chalk inks for my PaperTrey set and then I NEEDED so many other things, that my $5 purchase ended up being $90!!! Sheesh, I think it's time for an intervention! LOL! Well, at least this trip I actually remembered to purchase the $5 item I went for! :)

Okay, on with the card. Here's a little something for all you Sprinkle fans out there. Amy Westerman does a Sunday Sketch each week on her blog, Heartfelt Greetings. They're always fabulous! The sketch for this card is actually from 2 weeks ago...yes, I'm that far behind in my blog reading! LOL! It's a really great sketch and I think I'll use it over and over again.

I started by stamping my Cat's Pajamas Cat & Flower {F-7442} stamp in Ancient Page Charcoal Black ink on Conqueror White cardstock. I colored in with Rose Red and Regal Rose Stampin Write markers and some Sakura stardust gel pens for accents. Then I punched out with my new Marvy Mega square punch, matted on Basic Black and then on a Marvy Giga scalloped square punch of Imaginesce paper from my scrap pile. I doodled a frame around the image square and the scalloped square with a black Zig pen.

Next I stamped Super Hero {D-7440} in black on Regal Rose and punched out with my Marvy Extra Jumbo circle punch. I then added some black dots with my Sakura black glaze pen and matted on a Fiskars circle punch of Basic Black. I used the Bloom Dots Cuttlebug folder for the Rose Red background, glued all my elements down, raising both the image panel and the sentiment on different thicknesses of Pop Dots. My final touch was a little Stardust stickles on the centers of all the flowers.

And the Card Contest WINNER is...

There were so many wonderful entries that this was a really hard contest to judge! Hubby and I each picked out our respective top four cards and ranked them. We then assigned a point value based on our rankings, added up the points and the 4 cards with the highest points are the winners. So without further adieu...

Congratulations to my first ever card contest winners!!!

First Place: Dana S. wins the Animal Wishes A Muse set

Runners Up: Sherrie S., Stampinselina and Cindy B. win Primas




Thanks to all who entered. This was so much fun! I loved them all! If you're one of the winners, please email me your address so I can get your prize out to you. Thanks!

I've had a busy weekend so I'm not posting a card, but I do want to share a few fabulous RAKs I received. The first one is from Shannan T. Shannan was my Little Sis in the round of DSS that just ended and she sent this gorgeous thank you card and a cute little set of clear stamps! What a bright little surprise in my mailbox. Thanks Shannan - you're such a fabulous little sis and friend! The card is exactly my style - I love it all!


The second package of happy mail came from Cindy B. She sent this lovely cat card (along with some stamped images) and a whole lot of goodies! The card just shimmers in real life, she went over all the images (including the paisleys) with a stardust pen and it's SO sparkly! And she sent some fabulous minibrads, ribbon and the cutest little pocket stone that says "Here's a Hug", so I'll always have a hug when I need one! Awwwwwww... how sweet! Thanks, sistah! You ROCK!

Oh, I almost forgot! I ordered these really cool stamps this weekend. I can't wait to get them and start playing. Check out this link - her stamps are adorable... Maryse Carrier Stamps.

Thanks for the Hits!

Wow! I can't believe I reached 15,000 hits so quickly! Thanks to all my readers who have made blogging so enjoyable! And special thanks to my husband who convinced me to start a blog (it only took 2 years for me to listen! LOL), and who by total coincidence was the 15,000th hit when he logged on to see how many hits I had tonight! Being the computer guy that he is, he even thought to take a screenshot so I could post it on my blog.

My card contest is officially ended, and now the hard part (for me) begins. I'm just blown away by the caliber of cards you all sent. They are all just beautiful! Thanks so much for participating! I've recruited hubby to help me deliberate over the winners. We're going to hash it out this weekend and announce the winners on Sunday night.

Today's card is one I made for Cindy. I just love this A Muse sentiment. The card measures 4 x 9" long and fits in a regular business sized envelope. I used two different patterned papers from my new Daisy D Beacon Hill Paper Pad and distressed with a foam sponge and a Ranger Vintage Photo distress inkpad. I then tied some BoBunny lacey ribbon around the card in a bow.

I stamped the A Muse A True Friend stamp with VintagePhoto, punched out with a Mega Scalloped Square punch, inked up the edges with my foam sponge and then mounted on a Not Quite Navy Giga Scalloped Square. I used the mega scalloped square punch to create the two corner tabs and glued them to diagonal ends of the card and stamped one of the flourishes from Fancy Flexible Phrases in Very Vanilla Craft ink. I used a D-ring and two brads from my Hodgepodge Hardware tin to secure the sentiment panel and then added crystal effects to the words friend, blessing and the two corner flourishes. I finished by rounding all of the corners with my corner rounder.

Almost There!

Less than 200 hits until my card contest ends!!! Here's a slideshow of the entries so far. Don't miss out on your chance to win this A Muse set! You can view the sketch and other contest details here.

Flash Slideshow

NOTE: If you get a message that says no photos found, please hit the refresh button on your browser or the F5 function key on your keyboard, and hopefully it will reload with the pictures!

Ole Ole!

Today was a happy mail day! My Cinco de Mayo Cat's Pajamas stamps arrived and I just HAD to take some time to play with them! :) Earlier today in my blog reading I had checked out Colleen's Thursday Throwdown Challenge and loved her sketch. With a name like that, who wouldn't be ready for a little challenge? So I set to work with my new stamps and the sketch in hand and this is the result...

I started by stamping Guitar Cat {E-7438} in Ancient Page Charcoal Black ink on White Conqueror card stock and punching out with my Marvy Super Jumbo circle punch. I then colored in with prismacolors and mineral spirits and added some doodles around the edges. I matted the image on a piece of Real Red cardstock cut with my Creative Memories Cutting System and then on a Tempting Turquoise Marvy Mega Scalloped Circle Punch. I pierced holes in each scallope with a paper piercer and then added Xmas Red and Turquoise Stickles to the image.

Next I cut three strips from the Karen Foster designer paper and adhered to a Tempting Turquoise card base. I used my horizontal slot punch to punch the slightest sliver of a hole in the folded edge of the card to slide my ribbon through and tie a bow. I then mounted the cat image panel on pop dots in the bottom center of the card and started on the sentiment.

I stamped Cinco de Mayo {D-7430} with Ancient Page Charcoal Black and then cut the trapezoid shape out freehand and matted on Tempting Turquoise. I doodled a border around and then added some random Turquoise and Xmas Red Stickles to look like confetti.

Card Contest Update: I'm nearing my 15,000 hits. Only a little more time to get your entries in. Below is a list of all entries I have received. If you have sent a link or a photo and your name is not on this list, please email it to me again.

Allison F. Cindy B. Dana S. Donna B. Gremhog Jennifer R. Jessica C. Kim R. Lauri R.

Leticia B. Melissa K. Nancy E. Patricia H. Paula G. Rachele F. Sherrie Stampinselina Tanis G.

Double Take

Today I'm featuring two cards I made for my secret sisters. Sometimes I like to take the same exact design and change the colors and a few minor details to see how different a look I can achieve. I just love how these cards turned out.

The first card uses the Hello Chick stamp by Stampendous and the Thinking of You stamp from Hero Arts. The patterned paper is Basic Grey Perhaps. I began by stamping the chick on Pearlized White paper and coloring with prismacolors and mineral spirits. Next I outlined the entire image with a clear stardust pen. I cut out the image with my Creative Memories Cutting system and matted on basic black, then a Giga Scalloped Oval punch and another basic black oval. I stamped Thinking of You in black Stazon directly on the patterned paper and sanded a little before mounting on a piece of basic black. I made the scallop edge with my mini scallop decorative scissors. I finished the card off with a couple pierced photo corner punches, some Forever Flowers and a clear rhinestone flower from JoAnn's $1 bin.

The second card uses Stampin Up Spring Showers designer paper, which I inked up with my Chocolate Chip ink pad. The photo corners and card base are Barely Banana and I stamped the Thinking of You sentiment with Craft Very Vanilla Ink and added a little sparkle to the flowers and around the scalloped oval. I really like how these two very similar cards turned out so different just by changing the colors.

I can't believe I'm almost at 15,000 hits already. There's still time to enter my card contest, but you better hurry!

One Sheet Wonder Part 2

Are you ready for more Bellas??? Here's the second half of my One Sheet Wonder (OSW) Bella Show! Unfortunately, I was one Bella shy of a full set, so I threw in Cocktail Time from Inky Antics. She kind of blends well with the bellas, though - don't ya think?

For those of you just tuning in you can find the template (designed by Trish DeFoggi) for the OSW here. These are the last 5 cards I made for a set of 10. The designer paper is Kaleidoscope and other cardstock is Whisper White, Close to Cocoa and Chocolate Chip. I used Rose, Chocolate and Light Peach prismacolors and mineral spirits for coloring and Pink and Diamond stickles for sparkly accents. Polka dots on the bella clothes are made with a Chocolate Chip Stampin Write Marker.

The sixth card in the set features Stampin Bella. For the background I used my Swirls Cuttlebug embossing folder. I then inked up the swirls with a Tsukineko Dew Drop Pink Chalk ink pad. A doodled frame, Chocolate Chip matting, a few Stickles accents and a column of mini brads down the side complete this card.

The seventh card features JavaBellas. It also uses the swirl Cuttlebug embossing folder, chalk ink, and a groovy Cuttlebug flower diecut from the Kaliedoscope paper.

The eighth bella card features Imeldabella. What kind of name is that anyway? Hmm... not even sure what she's doing. Is she buying all those shoes or selling shoes? Well, whatever she's doing, she's doing it on a Flower background made with a BISK texture plate ran through my Cuttlebug. I added some dots down the side with my Sakura white glaze pen and finished off with some Forever Flowers.

The ninth bella card uses my second favorite bella stamp - Cosmobella. She's just so stylish and she's my only Bella stamp. (Thanks Kimmie!) I stamped her on Pearlized white paper with Ancient Page Charcoal Black ink. The background for this card is made using my Bloom Dots Cuttlebug Embossing Folder and inked with chalk ink. A simple, but very GROOVY layout for this gal.

The final card in the set is Cocktail Time from Inky Antics. I really wish I had this stamp, but alas I just have to live vicariously through my friend Cindy! I stamped some extra images when I was at her house and this is one of them. The background is made with the Cuttlebug Thanks folder and inked up with chalk ink. Stickles, ribbon and flowers make this fabulous girl fit right in with all her bella friends.

Okay, this concludes the Bella Show. I'm nearing 15,000 hits, which means my card contest will be ending soon. So far I have 14 entries. Don't miss out on your chance to win an A Muse set. Don't know what I'm talking about? Read the details here.

One Sheet Wonder Part 1

Yesterday I was on my way to check out the challenge on SCS when I saw a post about a new OSW (One Sheet Wonder) template and had to check it out. For those of you who don't know - a One Sheet Wonder is where you take one sheet of paper (either stamped or designer paper) and make as many cards as possible with it. You can read the OSW thread I was on and download the pdf template here. This particular template was designed by Trish DeFoggi. It is for an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper and includes cutting directions and dimensions as well as sketches for making 10 cards. I've been wanting to try an OSW, but never had, and since the template was so well put together, I gave it a go.

I stuck to the cutting guidelines, but did change the sketches up a bit. My secret bunny sent me bunches of Bella images and, so I decided to do a Stamping Bella OSW. Here are the first 5 cards I made. The designer paper is Kaleidoscope and other cardstock is Whisper White, Close to Cocoa and Chocolate Chip. I used Rose, Chocolate and Light Peach prismacolors and mineral spirits for coloring and Pink and Diamond stickles for sparkly accents. Polka dots on the bella clothes are made with a Chocolate Chip Stampin Write Marker.

Flowahbella is my favorite bella. This card uses the Swirls embossing folder for the Cuttlebug, Chocolate organdy ribbon, Bazzill Blossoms silk flowers and a Karen Foster jumbo thumb tack brad.

The second card uses Beachabella and the dog from Walkabella. I cut out the dog's face and stuck him on a pop dot in the beach bag for a fun little beach party. i used the Paisley texture plate from my Big Impressions Starter Kit (BISK) in my Cuttlebug for the embossing and then inked with my Tsukineko Light Pink Dew Drop Chalk ink. The dots on the Chocolate Chip mat are1/8" circle punches that I highlighted with stickles.

The third card uses the remainder of the image from Walkabella. I just trimmed her and raised her on pop dots. The background is done with the Flower texture plate from the BISK and inked with Tsukineko chalk ink. I used a paper piercer to punch holes in the squares and a circle punch for the corner tabs. Finished off with Prima Forever Flowers, Pink Stickles and a few dots with my Sakura white glaze pen.

The fourth card uses Elizabella. The background uses the Diamond texture plate from the BISK and is inked with Tsukineko chalk ink. A flat bow and some primas with mini brads finish off this card.

The fifth card in the set uses Tinkerbella. The background uses the Paisley BISK texture plate and is inked with Tsukineko chalk ink. The Chocolate mat is pieced together with Giga Scalloped Square punches and I ran ribbon and secured with brads across each piecing line. The flowers are cut from the Kaleidoscope paper and are adhered to lightweight chipboard.

Okay, that's the first half of the set. Hope you like them, because I'll be posting the other five soon!

Farewell to Easter

I figured I'd show you one last Easter card I made this season before I hang up my bunny ears. This one is for all you Sprinkle lovers out there! :) All stamps are by The Cat's Pajamas.

I started by stamping Bunny Kitty {E-4204} on Conqueror White and coloring in with Sakura stardust pens. Next I cut out with my Creative Memories Circle Cutting system and pierced holes around the edges. I matted on Paper Accents brown paper bag paper and used a rectangle hand punch to make slits to slide the ribbon through.

I can't remember who makes this patterned paper, as it was from Cindy's stash. I matted it on some K & Company patterned paper and wrapped the organdy ribbon around and secured with Making Memories rhinestone brads. I then stamped Bold Happy Easter {C-5315} in Rose Red directly on the patterned paper. I didn't like how it looked, so I got out my Stamp-a-majig and stamped over it (slightly offset) in Ancient Page Charcoal Black. Some of the best things come from mistakes...and this was one of them. The combination of the Rose Red and the black gave the effect of a rub-on. It's pretty cool in real life.

I finished off the card by matting on more brown paper bag paper and dotting around the edges with a Sakura white glaze pen. The finishing touch were two layered Forever Flowers secured with a clear rhinestone brad.

I received a couple really cute RAKs over the weekend. The first one is from Squirrellyshirley. I just love the mix of patterns and colors on this card. Thanks Shirley, you really brightened my day! The second RAK was from my secret bunny, Kimmie. My picture didn't really do this card justice, it is absolutley GORGEOUS in real life. It looks so antiqued and vintage...and I just love the roses! And inside the card was a packet of teeny tiny rhinestones and some chipboard shapes! What a wonderful surprise. Thanks so much Kimmie!

The Easter Bunny Was a Hopping!

This is the second card I made for my secret bunny. I figured out that Kimmie loved fairies, so I just had to buy this stamp and make a really special card for her!

I wish the photo showed how cool this card turned out - I was so pleased with it. I started by stamping the Woodland Tree Fairy from Stamps Happen on Pearlized White paper and coloring in with prismacolor pencils and mineral spirits. Since I'm still pretty new to the whole blending and shading thing, this card took FOREVER to color in! Then, I decided it needed some extra sparkle so I traced over every single line on the image with my Sakura clear stardust pen. I then matted on Rose Red cardstock, dotted around the edges with a stardust pen and wrapped silver cord around the image and glued down a Making Memories flower charm. Next I offset the image panel on a Basic Black mat with more doodled dots. I tied two ribbons in knots around the Basic Grey Perhaps paper, added the image panel on pop dots and finished off with some Bazzill flowers attached with a rhinestone brad. The card is so sparkly in real life.

Just take a loot at all my loot!!! My Secret Bunny's reveal gift hopped all the way here from Canada and it was absolutely amazing! Kimmie really outdid herself!!! I just kept pulling stuff out of the box. I was so excited I was bouncing...bouncing...bouncing!!! I just loved everything. Those Canadian Easter bunnies sure do know how to spoil a girl! I got bunny note pads, Stampin Up reinkers and beads, Cosmobella and Cheers stamps from Stamping Bella, spools of ribbon, fiber, tons of beautiful Primas, flower brads, clips, fancy brads, a whole pile of my favorite bella stamped images, an absolutely adorable decorated mailbox, a beautiful handmade jumbo paperclip bookmark and the cutest Easter card ever! Kimmie, you ROCK, sistah! Sending Cyber Bunny Hugs to you times infinity!

Door Prize

This morning I went to my first shoebox swap ever. Lots of fun projects and fun people. Of course, since I'm SO not a morning person - I was in a daze for a majority of the swap. By the time I really woke up it was time to leave - LOL!

As part of the swap, we all brought door prizes. I found these cute wooden projects at the LSS a few weeks ago and thought they would be perfect to include in my door prize package. Both are painted with Making Memories Aquamarine paint (from the Tropics Collection) and then covered with some fabulous Tres Jolie MME paper and ModPodge to seal it in. I then sprayed with Floracraft Opalescent Spray Glitter for a sparkly sheen.

The flower is the same on both sides and has a small clothespin between each side so you could hold a photo or a card with it. I stamped the Of all Posessions (Michael's $1 bin) stamp on aqua Paper Acccents Paper in Timber Brown Stazon and highlighted around the quotes and circle edge with Crystal Stickles. I then cut out with my Creative Memories Circle Cutting System and matted onto an Always Artichoke Super Jumbo punch. I then added a green prima from the Prima Bubbles collection with a Karen Foster brad and glued down. The final touch was a bow of May Arts ribbon around the base.

For the large clothes pen, I punched out five squares of aqua paper and ran them through my Xyron before sending them through my Cuttlebug with the Olivia alphabet dies. This way the letters were already sticky. Then I applied them to the clothespin and applied another layer of ModPodge so they wouldn't come off. Finished with some green bazzill blossoms and some Tuquoise primas from the Bubbles collection. The rhinestone brad is from Making Memories.

I was pretty pleased with the way they turned out. I always struggle with altered items. It's hard not to over embellish, but I think I achieved a pretty good balance with these.

Just Fabulous!

When I saw Cindy's sketch on her blog, I just had to give it a whirl. So, since I needed a longer image for the sketch, I pulled out these fun Pink Cat Studio images I stamped from Cindy's vast stamp collection when I stayed with her for VSN. These images are from Dog Plate #1 and are stamped on White Conqueror card stock with Ancient Page Coal Black ink.

I started by coloring in Retro Dog with prismacolor pencils and mineral spirits. The two scarves are colored with Chocolate Chip reinkers and an Aquapainter brush. Her glasses are colored in with my Sakura Clear Stardust gel pen. I then used my Chocolate Chip marker to doodle a frame around the image. I sponged around the edges with Close to Cocoa for a little glow and to try and minimalize the fact that the image is stamped on White and the Au Chocolat paper has Vanilla accents. I then matted on Chocolate Chip, Cool Caribbean and Au Chocolat paper. I also sponged the Fabulous sentiment with Close to Cocoa, rounded the corners and added a Cool Caribbean mat.

I didn't have any ribbon that would really go with the card, so I decided to use some more Au Chocolat strips matted on Cool Caribbean for the 3 stripes across the page. The three dots in the top corner are aqua rhinestone gems that are glued down with Crystal Effects and then I went around the edges of each one with Frosted Lace Stickles. For that ooo-la-la factor, I added just a touch of Frosted Lace Stickles around all of this diva's ruffles and her cool shades! I finished the card off by outlining the Fabulous sentiment with a light coat of Crystal Effects.

Stamps: Pink Cat Studio - Retro Dog, Pawsitively Fabulous
Paper: Conqueror - Diamond White; Stampin Up - Cool Caribbean, Au Chocolat
Ink: Ancient Page - Coal Black; Stampin Up - Close to Cocoa; Prismacolors
Accessories: JoAnn's - Rhinesones; Ranger - Frosted Lace Stickles; Creative Memories - corner rounder; Judikins - Diamond Glaze

Swap Decisions!

Card contest update: My card contest is in full swing and I'm receiving entries every day. You may enter as many cards as you would like, but only one card per participant can place in the top four. There's still time to enter before I reach 15,000 posts, so get stamping! (AFTER you read the rest of my post, of course!!! LOL!)

I'm still working on designing a card for the Shoebox Swap I'm in this weekend. I've never made a project specifically for someone else to make before and I've been stressing all week about this. I need some opinions from you all. The swap is supposed to be spring themed, but since it's the day before Easter I didn't want to do Easter stuff. So I figured Cinco de Mayo is the next holiday, so that's what inspired these cards. Do you think they're springy? If I choose this design I'll take both sets of stamps in case alcohol offends anyone. If you were in a swap would you want to make one of these cards?

All stamps on these cards are ones I picked up on my shopping spree to the A Muse store a couple weeks ago. I started by stamping the main image {Margarita or Spiral Daisy} on Very Vanilla in Timber Brown Stazon and then coloring in with prismacolor and mineral spirits. I used light aqua prismacolor pencil and a Certainly Celery marker. I then punched out the image with my Marvy Super Jumbo punch and doodled a frame around the edge. Next I matted on Aqua (Paper Accents) and Chocolate Chip (SU) Mega and Giga Scalloped Circle punches with holes pierced in each scallop. I then added a green prima from the Prima Bubbles line with a Hershey colored Bazzill mini brad.

Next I stamped the sentiment {Got Margaritas? or Sending you sunshine} on Very Vanilla in Brown Stazon and then matted on Chocolate Chip card stock. I punched holes in either end with my 1/16" hole punch and used 2 more Hershey Bazzill brads. The designer paper on this card is from the new Tres Jolie line by My Mind's Eye. Isn't it delicious? I taped the two pieces together on the backside and then wrapped the May Arts ribbon around and tied a bow.

To finish, I mounted the patterned paper on a Certainly Celery card base, glued down the scalloped circle panel and attached the sentiment panel with All Night Media pop dots. And to complete the cards - just a hint of Crystal Stickles on the images.

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It's time for some big ole shout outs for the RAKs I've received this week.

First off, my DSS, Maureen, sent me this wonderful package as a reveal gift. This is one of the only hostess sets I don't have and I'm excited to play with it! AND... she sent chocolate covered espresso beans! YUMMY! AND a beautiful spring card with dry embossed butterflies and it's all shimmery and sparkly! Thanks so much Maureen! I love it!


Second is Cindy and this darling little Easter card she sent my way. Don't you just love that sentiment? So cute! I really love those sparkly big flowers and the cool embellishments. There was a butterfly charm attached, but Katie has drug it off to her hidden treasure trove, now. Thanks bunches Cindy!

The final RAK for today is a this lovely card from Dale Anne. I just love this tulip image. It reminds me of the beautiful tulips that are blooming in my front yard right now! Yay! Spring has finally sprung!!! :) Check out Dale Anne's blog at http://dpquiltsca.blogspot.com/.