Can You Dig It?!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Happy Hump Day everyone!

I'm back with a special card kit that's been month's in the making! My dear friend Mary sent Kadie and I a card kit a long while back and we've been so busy with other things in life that we never got around to creating or posting a card with it...until today!

Anyone who knows me, knows I love a good laugh, so when I opened Mary's card kit and saw this guy for the first time, I busted out laughing in my craft room! And anyone who knows Mary, knows that she loves a good play on words! What a riot this guy is!

His name is Zed and he's from the set of Creatures II stamps from Starving Artistamps - one of mine and Mary's favorite stamp companies! As usual, I colored him up with my reinkers and aqupainter brush using SU's Cool Caribbean. Then I cut him out popped him on dimensionals. The base of the card was created using the papers from Mary's card kit. She said the papers were from Prima and I think I might have to use them again on another card soon, because they're so funky! The buttons and ribbon were from Mary's kit too. If the black cardstock looks like it has a bit of sparkle to it; it's because it does. I haven't replenished my cardstock stash in a while, so the only black paper I could find was the black glitter paper I had left over from all my Halloween cards! Waste not, want not! :) If the layout looks familiar, it's because I borrowed the sketch from Jen's i{heart}2stamp April challenge.

I hope you enjoyed my card today! I'm off to check out what Mary and Kadie have created using the same supplies! You should too!

Thank SO MUCH for stopping by today!


Supplies
Stamps: Starving Artistamps 'Creatures II'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Cool Caribbean, Baha Breeze, Distress Inks 'Vintage Photo and Peeled Paint'
Papers: Georgia Pacific, Bazzil Bling, PP - Not sure, ask Mary! :D
Access: Ribbon, Buttons, Thread, Sponges, Machine Stitching, Dimensionals

Farm Fresh Friday - Inspiration Challenge

Friday, May 28, 2010

Hello Friends!

Have you had a great week? I've had quite a busy one with the Little Sunshine's soccer matches, release week cards and I've had two appointments postponed on me! Very crazy week indeed! But I'm making sure today is a very cruisey day for me. Why? Because it's by birthday, that's why! :) Happy birthday to me! Hmmm, not sure how happy I feel about this birthday, but I'm trying not to dwell on it too much. Need to party with my girls....and I would if I had any girlfriends in town! Not to worry though; I've got some plans in the works and I'll be partying with some soon. ;)

Today's Farm Fresh Friday challenge is a great inspiration one created for us by our fearless leader, Jess!! You can check out the image on the TGF blog and while you're there, check out all the deets too. I can't wait to see what you all do with it!

Here's what I did with it and one of Marina Neira's cute little critter digi's. This is Timmy and Penny in the Dance Fever digi stamp. I'm thinking that it's Penny's birthday and she and her beau, Timmy, are having a night on the town to celebrate! ;)

To create this scene I printed out the digi stamp onto some Georgia Pacific cardstock and colored it up with my reinkers and aquapainter. Then I cut them out and adhered them to the colored up cityscape image (from Starving Artistamps). Then I paper pieced the clouds from the retired Fly Away set and adhered all of them to a nice piece of Jilly Bean Soup cardstock (LOVE this stuff!) Not my usual style, but it's always fun to try something different. :)

Need some more inspiration? Then check out what the Farmers and the rest of the Critter Crew created for today's challenge:

Jessica Diedrich
Cindy Haffner
Kadie Ensley
Kim Nath
Mary Giles
Mercy Kerin
Melyssa Connolly
Randi Wall

and the fabulous Critter Crew...

Amber Hight
Heather Schlatter
Jami Bova
Jen Shults
Shaela Odd
Sparkle Smith

Sadly, this is our last FFF challenge with CC gal Jami Bova. Her work has her traveling for the next few months, so help me wish her GOOD LUCK and a safe return home soon! We're going to miss you Jami!

Thank you so much for visiting! I hope you have a fantastic Friday and your long weekend is filled with fun things!

Supplies
Stamps: The Greeting Farm 'Dance Fever digi' & 'Fly Away-retired' & Starving Artistamps 'Doodle Factory Urban Cityscape'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Going Gray, Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, Ruby Red, Certain Celery, Buckaroo Blue
Papers: Georgia Pacific, Bazzil Basics, PP - Jilli Bean Soup and some scrap MME and Scenic Route
Access: EK Success Corner Punch, Rangers Glossy Accents, Dimensionals

To Infinity And Beyond!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Good Morning!

I had so much fun with that DoodleFactory 'Final Frontier' set from Starving Artistamps last week, that I wanted to make a couple more!

I really liked how the background turned out on my 'Peace On Earth' card turned out, so I played with the sponged background again. It's actually really easy to do one you know how. Before applying the sponged background, I inked up a couple of the planets with Versamark ink and stamps them onto the piece watercolor paper. Then I applied Kaleidoscope embossing powder and heat set it. For the sponged colors, I applied a layer of Broken China blue from Distress Inks. Then I applied Buckaroo Blue from SU over the Broken China, leaving some of it showing through. Last, I applied some Black Soot, sparingly, to the edges of the piece and into the middle of the card, careful to leave the light spots still show. After I added all the planets and moons, I added some 'stars' with some Star Dust Stickles. Now the whole piece looks like outer space and the milky way!

This next card came together really quickly. The Final Frontier set has large versions of all the robots and the aliens, but it also contains the mini 1" versions too. All lined up, I thought they'd make a great card from 'the gang'. So I just stamped them all in a row, colored them up and used some decorative scissors (probably my most favorite tools) to give the panel some interest. The cog paper is a recent find from Michaels.

A few people left questions for me in the comments section last week about some of my cards, but if you don't have your email turned on in your profile, I don't have a way of replying to you, so if you have a question, feel free to use the chat box on the right hand side. That way, I can leave you a reply! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I have another post scheduled in a little bit that you won't want to miss! :)

Supplies

Card 1

Stamps: Starving Artistamps/DoodleFactory 'Final Frontier'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Veramark, Cool Caribbean, Old Olive, More Mustard, Really Rust, Sahara Sand, Buckaroo Blue, Distress Inks 'Broken China and Black Soot'

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Canson Watercolor, Bazzil Basics, PP - K&Company 'Day Dream'

Access: Fiskars Decorative Scissors, Stampendous Kaleidoscope Embossing Powder, Stickles - Star Dust' Sponges, Dimensionals

Card 2

Stamps: Starving Artistamps/DoodleFactory 'Final Frontier'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Taken With Teal, Cool Caribbean, Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose, True Thyme, Going Gray, Buckaroo Blue, Sahara Sand

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, Bazzil Bling, PP - Recollections 'Rockets and Sprockets Collection - Switchback'

Access: Decorative Scissors, Rangers Glossy Accents, Dimensionals

Starving Artist/DoodleFactory Blog Hop!!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....LOL! (I couldn't resist!) Welcome to the Starving Artistamps New Release Blog Hop celebrating the release of their new set

DoodleFactory Final Frontier!!

I'm sooo excited to able to hop with Tracey, Irene and the design team!

You are going to want to visit all the stops on our hop because someone is giving away a complete unmounted set of the new release for blog candy. We are keeping the blog candy open for one day only so your chances of winning are even better! (blog hop ends October 21st, 11am PST). If you just can't wait to get your hands on the new Final Frontier set don't worry you can order it starting now and if you are our lucky winner we will let you substitute another set of equal value instead! (Don't forget: You can use the discount code savetenSM to save 10% off your order!)

If you have arrived here all by yourself and are just finding out about the blog hop please start at the beginning at the Starving Artistamps blog. Scroll down for the full list of blog stops in case you get lost.

I had a ton of fun coloring up these cute spaceships, robots, aliens and planets!! Any chance to use a bunch of glitter and sparkle is a good thing! :) I used this week's Card Pattern's #37 sketch for this first card.

The Cuttlebug Spots and Dots embossing folder makes for a great crater effect on cards! Look how HUGE that planet earth is!! And the cutest astronaut I've ever seen! I borrowed Get Sketchy's #10 sketch for this layout. Can you believe I didn't use any designer paper on this card?! The background was sponged with inks.

This next card uses this week's Weekend Sketch Challenge #102 for it's layout and the what might be your home if you lived on Mars! :) Vork might even be your neighbor! LOL

These next cards are what's known as scraplings and they're supposed to be created from leftover cardstock (not these ones though!). I colored up the larger aliens and fun robots from the Final Frontier set and made some name plaques out of them. Wouldn't they look awesome on table set up for a Outer Space themed birthday?!?

Thank you sooo much for stopping by, now it's time to head on over to the super talented Lori Tecler's blog for your next stop.

Juliana Swanson
Tracey Berkey
Donna Duquette
Sandra MacLean
Lori Tecler
Lydia Fiedler
Andrea Cloutier
Dawn Mercedes
Jenn McMillan
Irene Silva

Supplies
Card 1
Stamps: Starving Artistamps/DoodleFactory 'Final Frontier'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Going Gray, Cool Caribbean, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Buckaroo Blue
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - K&Company 'Day Dream'
Access: Fiskars Decorative Scissors, Fiskars Circle Cutter, Rangers Glossy Accents, Dimensionals

Card 2
Stamps: Starving Artistamps/DoodleFactory 'Final Frontier'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Going Gray, Cool Caribbean, Buckaroo Blue, Distress Inks 'Broken China, Black Soot'
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Bling
Access: Cuttlebug Embossing Folder 'Spots and Dots', Machine Stitching, Fiskars Decorative Scissors, Stickles, Stampendous 'Kalidescope' Embossing Powder, Sponges

Card 3
Stamps: Starving Artistamps/DoodleFactory 'Final Frontier'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Old Olive, Certain Celery, Cool Caribbean, More Mustard, Really Rust, Distress Inks 'Tea Dye and Vintage Photo'
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Bling, PP - Recollections 'Friends Forever Collection - School Daze and My Clique'
Access: Ribbon, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder 'Divine Swirls' and 'Spots and Dots', Sponges, Dimensionals

Card 4
Stamps: Starving Artistamps/DoodleFactory 'Final Frontier'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Taken With Teal, Cool Caribbean, Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics Bling, PP - Recollections 'Rockets and Sprockets Collection - Switchback'
Access: Ribbon, Stickles, Dimensionals

Coming Soon!

Friday, October 16, 2009

I'm sooooo excited!! I get to help participate in this hop!!

Be prepared to start hopping! There will be candy up for grabs for one day only! :D

Mr Bone Jangles and Wild Women!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Good Morning!

This week is getting crazier by the day I tell ya! Double postings everywhere! So expect another from me this morning.

I have two more cards to show you today that I made for my guest spot with Starving Artistamps. I've had so much fun with these stamps! They really are happy stamps! My favorite kind. *grin*

This first card uses this week's Taylored Expressions sketch challenge (TESC84) for the layout. I changed out the circle panel for this labels four nesties because I needed the length for Mr Bones. I really liked that glitter frame I created for a card I did last week, so I did it again to frame Mr Bones. The super yummy paper is from Making Memories 'Spooky Alley' collection which I sponged lightly with some distress inks to give it a moody feel.

I saved my most favorite image from the Prehistoric set till last. I want hair like this!! I used a bunch of distress inks to create her hair color. Usually I leave a bit of white space around my images that I cut out or else they get a bit lost on the card. This card uses this week's Weekend Sketch Challenge (WSC99) for the layout and some Bo Bunny paper.

Hope you've enjoyed these cards as much as I've enjoyed making them!

Supplies

Card 1

Stamps: Starving Artistamps/DoodleFactory 'Costume Party' and 'Prehistoric Sentiments'

Inks: Versamark, Distress Inks 'Vintage Photo'

Papers: Bazzil Basics, PP - Making Memories 'Spooky Alley' and The Paper Company 12x12 Black Glitter Paper

Access: Stampendous 'Seafoam White' Embossing Powder, American Crafts ribbon, Making Memories Hardware, Labels Four Nestitbilties, Decorative Scissors, Sponges, Dimensionals

Card 2

Stamps: Starving Artistamps/DoodleFactory 'Prehistoric Set and matching sentiments'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Distress Inks 'Frayed Burlap, Antique Linen, Tea Dye and Vintage Photo'

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - BoBunny 'U Bug Me! Outdoors'

Access: Large Circle Nestibilities, Paper Piercer, Decorative Scissors, Foof-fa-la 'Savannah' Button, Twine, Dimensionals

Rawrrrrrrrr!!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Good Morning! I have some more Starving Artistamps/DoodleFactory cards for you today!

I've been having a ball playing with these new sets! I think cards should bring a smile to the faces of the recipients and these DF images make is so easy to do that. They're fun, colorful and guaranteed to make you smile!

There are three dinosaurs in the Prehistoric Set and this first card uses two of them. The card's dimensions are 5.5 x 5.5 inches, so you can gauge how big they are. Love the sentiments in the matching set! So fun! I'm kicking myself that I stamped the sentiment over that black dinosaur. It was my only sheet left of this Basic Grey Archaic paper and I couldn't avoid it! Grrr....or is that Rawr?! LOL

This second card uses the last dinosaur in the set. Pretend he's purple and doesn't he look like Dino?! Too cute! He'd make great birthday cards for kids wouldn't he? I wanted to make a fun card using him and some bright, colorful paper instead of the obvious (Basic Grey's Archaic). The paper is from K&Company's 'Cut 'N Paste' collection. I used a corner punch with it's guard off to create the large scalloped circle panel. Dino was colored with More Mustard. I added more layers of color to the shadows to create that darker, more intense color. To avoid bleed lines, I keep the brush moving as I add the layers of color and I re-wet everything within that area, even if there is no ink on the brush anymore. This is important otherwise you will leave bleed lines.

Hope you find this tip useful. :) Have a good one!

Supplies

Card 1

Stamps: Starving Artistamps/DoodleFactory 'Prehistoric' & 'Prehistoric Sentiments'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Going Gray, Distress Inks 'Frayed Burlap'

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - Basic Grey 'Archaic Collection'

Access: Orange Twill, Making Memories Antique Square Brads, EK Success Circle Punches, Sponges, Dimensionals

Card 2

Stamps: Starving Artistamps/DoodleFactory 'Prehistoric & Prehistoric Sentiments'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', More Mustard, Going Gray, Old Olive

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - K&Company 'Cut 'N Paste Mat Pad'

Access: PTI Rustic Buttons - Cream & White Mix, EK Success Corner Punch, Large Circle Nestibilities, Dimensionals

Have A Spooktacular Halloween!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Good Morning again!

Remember how I said I hope you weren't sick of all the Halloween cards I've been cranking out?!? Well, here's a couple more! LOL Forgive me, but I have a double post tomorrow and since I don't normally post on the weekends, I only had today to show you these fun cards using the recently released Costume Party set from Starving Artistamps/DoodleFactory!

I seriously could color these trick or treaters all day long! They really are the perfect size for coloring and cutting out. The layout for this first card was from an old TCP sketch I found on Leigh O'Brien's blog (love her style!). I used more of that Halloween paper from Recollections again and sponged the edges with Black Soot from Ranger's Distress Inks. The green horizontal panel was sponged then I stamped the haunted house from the Graveyard Shift set in the Peeled Paint ink. The two trick or treaters were colored with SU reinkers on Strathmore Bristol Vellum, then cut out and popped up on dimensionals. The inverted scalloped border was created with decorative scissors. It really does create a great look on Halloween cards.

This next card uses this week's Get Sketchy #5 sketch for it's layout. Again, I used more of that Recollections Halloween paper because, well...it's fabbie!! LOL The corners of the purple patterned paper were rounded with a corner punch and I also used it to create that large scalloped circle panel. Just take the guard off when you do this. The sentiment is from Starving Artistamps/DoodleFactory's Witch's Brew sentiment set which was released last year.

Thanks so much for stopping by again today! :)

Supplies

Card 1

Stamps: Starving Artistamps/DoodleFactory 'Costume Party', 'Graveyard Shift' & 'Graveyard Sentiments'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Cool Caribbean, Close To Cocoa, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Ruby Red, Old Olive, Lavendar Lace, Certain Celery, Morning Marigold, Going Gray, Distress Inks 'Peeled Paint and Black Soot'

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - Recollections 'Halloween' 8x8 Stack

Access: Ribbon, We R Memory Keepers Glitter Brads, Decorative Scissors, Sponges, Dimensionals

Card 2

Stamps: Starving Artistamps/DoodleFactory 'Costume Party' & 'Witch's Brew Sentiments'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Going Gray, Buckaroo Blue, Distress Inks 'Black Soot'

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - Recollections 'Halloween' 8x8 Stack

Access: Ribbon, PTI Vintage Button - Black, Twine, EK Success Corner Punch, Sponges

It's A Man's World....

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Not really, but I let The Man have his dream once in a while! *grin*

Check out these fun 'man' cards! I was totally cracking up while coloring them in this past weekend.

Meet Caveman Gorf. He's very hairy; check out that uni brow! LOL! I used this week's TESC82 for this card. Tweaked it a little bit by straightening the angular background paper, but kept everything else the same. The sentiment is also from Starving Artistamps/DoodleFactory. Those sentiments really have me cracking up laughing; love the sarcasm!

It's an age-old question; why DO kids draw on walls?! There's perfectly good paper next to them, and yet the temptation to scribble on the walls is too great. My Syd have been even more creative than this of late. I've been told by her preschool teacher that she'll sometimes draw with her saliva on the tables! I just about died when she told me. *roll eyes* This is definitely not something she has learnt in our home! Lord give me the strength. :)

The smaller stick figure stamps in the background are also included in the Prehistoric set, so you can create your own 'wall art'. :) I used this week's Weekend Sketch Challenge (WSC97) for the layout of this card. I think it worked out great! The images from both cards were colored with reinkers on Strathmore Bristol Vellum paper. It's not as forgiving as watercolor paper, but it's smooth and I like the finish it gives the images. It is a little time consuming to cut the images out, but it gives me something to occupy my hands while I watch a movie or tv. :) The paper used is from Basic Grey's Archaic Collection and some from We R Memory Keepers.

Thank you for the well wishes for Syd. She had a much better night's sleep last night, so hopefully she's back to her old self today. See you all tomorrow. :)

Supplies

Card 1

Stamps: Starving Artistamps 'Prehistoric and Sentiments'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Close To Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Distress Inks 'Frayed Burlap'

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - We R Memory Keepers 'Urban Window Collection - Boho Chic Funky Fix', Basic Grey 'Archaic Collection - 6x6 Paper Pad'

Access: Ribbon (unknown), EK Success Circle Punches, Dimensionals, Sponges

Card 2

Stamps: Starving Artistamps 'Prehistoric' & Sentiments'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Distress Inks 'Antique Linen, Tea Dye and Vintage Photo'

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzi Basics, PP - Basic Grey 'Archaic Collection - 6x6 Paper Pad'

Access: Making Memories Square Bronze Brads, Paper Piercer, EK Success Corner Punch, Circle Nestibilities, EK Success Edge Punch, Sponges

Give Me The Candy...

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Good morning!!

I hope your Wednesday flies by and the weekend is here before you know it! (Unless of course you have to get something done before then. Then I hope it drags! LOL)

I have some really exciting news to share with you all today! I was asked by Tracey from Starving Artistamps to be her guest designer for this month!! :D Woohooo!! This is incredibly exciting for me because I have LOVED the DoodleFactory line ever since I laid eyes on the Creatures set. The characters just crack me up every time I see them! And a lot of the sentiments are so sarcastic, they make for great cards. So you'll be seeing a bunch of cards over the coming weeks with the kooky characters that is the DoodleFactory!!

If you're not laughing at this first card, something might be wrong with you! This is the new Costume Party set recently released and the characters in this set are so great for cards for the little trick or treaters in our families. The sentiment is from the a Halloween set that Starving Artistamps released last year and it works perfectly with this hairy little monster. In fact, all of the sentiments from those sets work so well with this new set! The candy bags stamped on the purple dp are accessories stamps from the set. I used this week's 2 Sketches 4 You sketch for this layout.

This next card is my favorite! How adorable are these two?!? They remind me of my daughter and her cousin in their Halloween outfits last year. So cute! I stamped them on some Strathmore Bristol Vellum and colored them with reinkers and an aquapainter. The paper is from a Recollections Halloween 8x8 stack from Michaels. The sentiment is actually from the Witch's Trio set (which can be bought separately). Loving that Martha Stewart rickety fence punch!!

Hope these made you laugh. :) Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies

Card 1
Stamps: Starving Artistamps 'Costume Party', 'Witches Brew Sentiments'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Really Rust, Close To Cocoa, Old Olive, Distress Inks 'Frayed Burlap and Black Soot'

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - Recollections 'Halloween' 8x8 Stack

Access: Decorative Scissors, We R Memory Keepers 'Glitter Brads', Sponges, Dimensionals

Card 2

Stamps: Starving Artistamps/DoodleFactory 'Costume Party', Trick or Treat sentiment

Inks: Creamy Caramel, Close To Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Pumpkin Pie, Morning Marigold, Buckaroo Blue, Cool Caribbean, Pretty in Pink, Distress Inks 'Antique Linen, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Black Soot, Frayed Burlap'

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - Recollections 'Halloween' 8x8 Stack

Access: BasicBasic Ribbon, Martha Stewart Edge Punch, Decorative Scissors, Sponges, Dimensionals

Love A Good Halloween Party!!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Check out this FABULOUS new release from Starving Artist and the Doodle Factory!!!

Isn't that the cutest set of trick or treaters you've ever seen?!? I can't WAIT to get my hands on this set!! You can win one by helping spread the word on your blog or by email! Head on over to the Starving Artistamps blog for more details!

Queen of Procrastination

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Good morning!

Are you a procrastinator? Without a doubt, I am the queen of procrastination! I put things off until I can no longer do so. I avoid things that are a chore to do until it's absolutely necessary to do them. I'd rather do something I want to do than something I have to do. I don't like this trait, but I live with it. *grin*

Today's card is a tribute to me and all the procrastinators out there!

This is Melville. It isn't a very feminine name for a queen, but hey; who am I to judge?! Melville is from my favorite set from Starving Artistamps/Doodle Factory, Creatures. I really wish they would come out with a Creatures II and more sentiments to match because I just love how silly and kooky they are!

DoodleFactory and Sassafras Lass paper are a match made in heaven. Both are really bold and graphic. I used my SU reinkers and aquapainter brush to color in Melville (and Distress Inks for the background) and added some Star Dust Stickles to her crown for some sparkle. I find that the red reinkers tend to take the longest to dry, so I usually color the background first before applying the reds. This is so it (the red ink) doesn't bleed into the other areas while I'm coloring them. The matching sentiment is quite cumbersome, so I cut the sentiment in two and stamped the punch line on the inside. Love those quirky sentiments!

Speaking of procrastinating; I have been avoiding cleaning the inside of my car all summer and this weekend I have to clean it. Bleh. Have a good one!

Supplies
Stamps: Starving Artistamps/Doodle Factory 'Creatures' and 'Quirky Sentiments'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Regal Rose, Ruby Red, Cool Caribbean, Distress Inks 'Tea Dye and Vintage Photo'
Papers: Canson Watercolor, Bazzil Basics, PP - Sassafras Lass 'Whale Of A Tale'
Access: Ribbon, Button, PTI's Rustic Button Twine, Label One Nestibilities, Sponges, Dimensionals

Halloween at Peachy Keen!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Happy Thursday everyone!

Is this week flying by or what? I can't believe it's Thursday already. Well, at least the weekend is almost here again! hehe

I loooove Halloween and when I saw that my dear and uber talented sistah Lorie made a card for the Peachy Keen Challenge #7 with this theme, well, I couldn't refuse playing along!

The challenge was to use a pumpkin, the color purple and zigzags anyhow, anywhere on your card. Since I don't own any cute Peachy Keen stamps at the moment (but Lorie said we don't have to own any to play along), I immediately thought of my collection of Halloween stamps from the Doodle Factory/Starving Artistamps for the pumpkins (probably says a lot about me, but lets not go there). Then I pulled some recently bought Halloween paper from my stash (which I store in vertical cropper hoppers) because loved it's monochromatic coloring. I thought that the brightly colored pumpkins would pop off the card a lot more if the background was neutral.

Originally, I was going to do a zigzag stitch on my card somewhere, but I when I chose this layout, I decided to use my zigzag decorative scissors instead. I tried for a long time to include some purple cardstock, but it just wasn't working with this card, so I decided to add just a splash of it in the button embellishment. Phew! This layout is from this week's Unscripted Sketches #17. (Edit: It wasn't until after I posted my card that I realized that one of the PK challenge rules is to not combine their challenge with another one - sorry ladies! I didn't realize until it was too late.)

I keep chuckling to myself everytime I say "Peachy Keen" because I live in a town called Keene, and we have a small, local brewery that makes a beer called 'Peachy Keene'. Mmmmm, it's peachy! LOL If you'd like to play along with this easy challenge, you have until midnight this Sunday to get your entry in. There's a fabulous prize being given away, so get your freak on and stamp something Halloween! :P

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies
Stamps: Starving Artistamps/Doodle Factory 'Witches Brew', Whipper Snapper 'Happy Halloween' sentiment
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Old Olive, Morning Marigold, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Sahara Sand, Distress Inks 'Black Soot and Walnut Stain'
Papers: Canson Watercolor, Core-dinations Color, PP - Creative Imaginations 'Art Warehouse, Harvest Moon Collection - Haunted'
Access: Ribbon, Foof-a-La Bag-O-Buttons 'Savannah Collection', Sponges, Dimensionals

Wanna win some Doodle Factory blog candy?!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

If you love funny stamps/cards like I do, you HAVE to check out the new Doodle Factory stamps being released this week from Starving Artistamps!! They totally cracked me up when I saw them!

Me likey! :) And I'm not ashamed to say that I'd LOOOOOOOOOOVE to win them! hahaha Tracey and the Starving Artistamps are giving away all 4 sets as blog candy and you have today and tomorrow only to spread the word and have the chance to win them! You can check out the info....HERE.

Have a great night!

Round 3: Ultimate Card Showdown!

Friday, June 19, 2009

To get into the Top 30 of 2sketches4you's Ultimate Card Showdown challenge was a huge honor. I mean - HUGE! Then to make it to the Top 20 was just downright shocking! Seriously; I was left speechless all afternoon. If I happen to make it to the Top 10....well...lets just say this: I might need a prescription. LOL

When I saw the sketch posted last Sunday for the Top 20 girls, I initially pictured an image inside the circle panel, but then I looked at my last two cards and realized I had done that with both of them. So then I rotated the sketch and I immediately saw a scene for the horizontal panel. I was so happy that I had an idea to play with, but between work and my mummy duties at home, I didn't get a chance to work on my card until last night! Talk about stressful! haha

Welcome to my neighbourhood! :) It's a little kooky but aren't all neighbourhoods?!

I used Starving Artist's Doodle Factory 'Neighbourhood' for the horizontal panel. The image fit about 1.5 times across this 5" x 7" card. So I stamped it out twice and colored both of them up with reinkers and an aquapainter. No copics here! Then I cut them out leaving some white space around them so they would pop off the page more. The clothes lines were drawn back in with a Micron pen. The 'road' was created with a strip of black cardstock and some ribbon. The green scalloped border was created with punched out circles, sponged with Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink. I layered them so that they created some weight and a base for the 'neighbourhood'.

The circle panel is a die cut journaling tag from MME's 'Penny Lane - Uniquely You' collection and the sentiment was created using a Dymo labeler. The whole image was then layered on some really fun patterned paper from Reminisce. Just for fun (and a little balance), I added a fun brad from Making Memories.

Last, but not least, I couldn't resist adding a miniture Mimo from the Doodle Factory's Creatures set. He was the perfect size for this neighbourhood and well, who can resist that face?! :)

Thank you so much for stopping by today! Keep your fingers crossed for me and have a fabulous weekend!


Supplies

Stamps: Starving Artistamps/Doodle Factory 'Neighbourhood' and 'Creatures - Mimo (sml)'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Morning Marigold, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Certain Celery, Buckaroo Blue, Not Quite Navy, Cool Caribbean, Really Rust, Close To Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Going Gray, ColorBox Pigment Brush Pad 'Moss Green' and Fluid Chalk Ink 'Dark Moss'

Papers: PTI 'Stampers Select' White Cardstock, Bazzil Basics, PP - Reminisce 'Cloud Puff' and BoBunny 'Wasabi Dot'

Access: My Mind's Eye - Penny Lane Collection 'Feeling Groovy Uniquely You' Die Cut, Dymo Labeler, Making Memories Brad, Ribbon, Circle Punches, Dimensionals, Sakura Micron Pen

A Real Wedgie!

Monday, June 15, 2009

A happy Monday to you all!

I hope you had a great weekend and found some time to create something. Syd and I bought some supplies to make her daddy a present for Father's Day. We're going to paint and embellish a picture frame with 'Love Daddy' on it. :) I hope he likes glitter and sparkle on it! ;) hehehe

Last Friday the girls at Stamp Something challenged everyone to a sketch which is being sponsored this week by Doggone Stamps. The winner gets 8 - count 'em - 8 stamps of their choice! That's fabulous enough to make a card for!

I chose to use this witch stamp from Doggone Stamps and rotated the sketch to a portrait position. She was a hoot to color up! Black is a hard color to show the gradations of tone, so I used SU's Going Gray for her outfit and added Distress Ink's 'Black Soot' for the deep shadows. The hilarious sentiment is from Starving Artistamps.

On my trip to my local scrapbook store last week I had to check out their Halloween section because it's one of my favorite holidays. Probably because it wasn't a celebrated holiday in New Zealand or Australia and I was so drawn to all the festivities I'd always seen on American TV shows. Anyway, I spied these two luscious pieces of patterned paper there and they followed me home. :)

The layers are sponged with Walnut Stain from Distress Inks and the inverted scalloped border was created by flipping my decorative scalloped scissors. A cool look, don't you think?

I have to tell you a funny little thing that happened over the weekend that goes along with this card. Sydney was in the middle of her gymnastics class and I see her walking towards me from the floor area. She says "I need to go potty, Mama." Now I know for a fact she doesn't need to because I make sure she goes before class, so this kind of interuption doesn't happen. So I say "No you don't. You went before class." To which Syd quickly replied "But Mama! I got a wedgie!" Can't argue with a wedgie! LOL

Besides sponsoring the challenge this week, Doggone Stamps is also having a sale! If you like dogs, you have to check out their dog stamp section!

Thanks for stopping by today! See you all tomorrow with a Twinkling Tuesday sketch.

Supplies

Stamps: Doggone Stamps 'Witch Riding Broom', Starving Artistamps 'Witch Trio sentiment'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Almost Amethyst, Creamy Caramel, Close To Cocoa, Distress Inks 'Black Soot, Walnut Stain and Peeled Paint'

Papers: Georgia Pacific, Bazzil Basics, PP - My Mind's Eye - Night Light Collection 'Candy Time and Halloween Wishes'

Access: Ribbon, Button, Twine, Brads, Sponges, Dimensionals, Precision Scissors

Ultimate Card Showdown!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Good Morning!

Well, after having so much fun participating in my first sketch challenge over at the 2sketches4you blog challenge last week, I thought I'd play with them again this week. Only this week is the challenge is a little different. Laura and Kazan are celebrating their 1st anniversary of their challenge blog with a huge 1st Ultimate Card Showdown!! With a grand prize that is just crazy good!! How could I not play!? :)

A bit different from my usual style right? Well, I decided to do something a little 'outside the box' for a change. I pulled my new favorite paper from K&Company out again (are you getting sick of it yet!?) and paired it up with some coordinating adhesive borders, journaling tags and shapes also from the Carolyn Gavin Greenhouse paper line. I looooooove these journaling tags and shapes! There are hundreds of them in the bag and they're double sided with sparkles on one side! Like I said: looooooove it! :)

Anyway, so I used this adhesive border to replicate the scalloped edge detail in the sketch and then I paired Twinkx, a sparkly little guy from one of my favorite all time stamps sets - Creatures from the Doodle Factory/Starving Artistamps with one of the journaling tags and a bunch of flower shapes. Then to tie is all together I machine stitched (with no thread) a squiggly line aroud the border. I really like the effect it created, don't you?

Look out for another post from me this morning. I couldn't help myself and made a second card for this challenge just because this one was a little different for me.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!


Supplies
Stamps: Starving Artistamps/Doodle Factory 'Creatures' and 'Quirky Sentiments'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Pink Passion, Sahara Sand, Morning Marigold, Really Rust
Papers: Canson Watercolor, Bazzil Basics, PP - K&Company 'Carolyn Gavin Greenhouse Papers'
Access: K&Company 'Carolyn Gavin Adhesive Borders', Carolyn Gavin 'Journal Tags and Shapes', Dimensionals, Machine Stitching

Happy Cupcake Day!

Friday, April 17, 2009

What would you do if you got an email from Taylor VanBruggen asking if you'd like to be her Featured Cupcake Sampler for this week?

Squeal? Freak out? Sprout a grin from ear to ear? Yeah, that's pretty much what I did and I couldn't respond until my hands stopped shaking! Then I called my husband to tell him the news to which he responded with "That's great honey". I should have called my SCS friends - they would have squealed with me! Needless to say, I emailed Taylor back accepting the huge honor!!

That was Wednesday morning. In the afternoon I get a call from a dear friend who had just found out that her mum had passed away. So I spent all evening with her then came home to participate in the last hour of the Club Anya blog hop which finished at 11pm. It was only then that I finally sat down do create my card for Taylor! I had to get it done Wednesday night because Thursday morning was the only chance I would have to take a photo of it during daylight hours. And then it happened; around midnight, my mojo vanished! *insert wailing here* I finally finished this card, mojo-less, around 3am Thursday morning and went to work at 8am! Bad mojo!! And my evenings are normally so uneventful! LOL

In honor of being this week's Featured Cupcake Sampler for Taylor, I created a card using cupcakes! No brainer right? And because I couldn't resist making this a funny card, I paired them up with this little guy from Starving Artistamps/Doodle Factory. He has an addiction to cupcakes! Really though, who can blame him?!

The cupcake stamps are the same $1 Studio G stamps I used on my card on Monday, I stacked them up and colored the scene in with my trusty SU inks and aquapainter. The green strip is the other side of the designer paper I chose. I stamped a little confetti image on it from a Technique Tuesday set and paper pierced around the edge of it. Out came the decorative scissors again and I edged the green strip with two different sized scalloped borders. I then added the sentiment to the center of the circle layer, matted it and added two tails for fun!

If you'd like to play along on this week's Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge TECC64, just create your card and leave a link to it on on Mr. Linky in Taylor's blog post.

Thank you Taylor for an amazing opportunity!!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend and I'll see you all next week! (I'll be in Minnesota for the first half of it!)

Supplies

Stamps: Starving Artistamps 'Creatures' and 'Quirky Sentiments', Technique Tuesday 'Icing On The Cake', Studio G $1 cupcake stamps

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Close To Cocoa, Morning Marigold, Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Sahara Sand

Papers: Canson Watercolor, Bazzil Bling cs, PP - Crate Paper 'Birdie Collection - Robin'

Access: Decorative scissors, circle punches, sponges

Coffee Anyone?

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Happy Thursday to you all!!

I stamped up a storm last night for the Hanna Stamps sneak peeks! Ok, 2 cards in one night is a storm for me! LOL And let me tell you that they are FUN! Hanna Stamps are definitely fun and Whipper Snapper stamps are DEFINITELY cute!

I love, love, love this guy!! See how he's slowly turning brown from all the coffee he's been drinking? Poor thing needs a cleaning! *grin*

Mr Egg is watercolored with SU inks and an aquapainter as usual. Since I tried to keep him as white as possible, I colored the background behind him to make him pop a little. His shoes are a combination of Really Rust and Chocolate Chip. There is a matching sentiment for Mr. "Egg"spresso, but for some reason I decided not to get it....don't remember why now. So I used my Starving Artistamps sentiment instead. Works just as well!

Ok, starting tomorrow and all through the weekend I'll have Hanna Stamps sneak peeks to show you! And then Monday is the April release party in the SCS Hanna Stamps forum starting at 9pm EST, so clear your calendars! Toodles.

Supplies

Stamps: Whipper Snapper Designs "Egg"spresso, Starving Artistamps/Doodle Factory 'Quirky Sentiments'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Morning Marigold, Cool Caribbean, Sahara Sand

Papers: Canson Watercolor, Bazzil cs, PP - My Mind's Eye 'Wild Asparagus Collection - My Grandpa'

Access: Ribbon, dimenionals, buttons

American Gothic - DoodleFactory Style

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Happy Hump Day to you!

I have a really fun card for you today! I loved making it because it was so out there, different and fun. When I was blog hopping last week I visited Leigh O'Brien's Sunflower Studio blog and Juliana Swanson's Stampin With Inky Fingers blog. Both ladies are inspiring designers for the Starving Artistamps company. Well, Leigh had issued a challenge to create a card using the famous 1930's 'American Gothic' painting. What painting is that?

This one! You've seen it right? One of my classes in college was Art History and this painting played a prominent part. Don't ask me what the meaning behind it is because I've LONG forgotten! hahaha So anyway, I HAD to take part in this challenge.

I pulled out my Halloween II Doodle Factory stamps because that set had a haunted house and a couple of characters in it - perfect for this challenge!

I stamped the haunted house first then the clouds next. Then I masked off the clouds with a post it note and stamped the moon partialy over one of the clouds to create an ominous mood. The dead tree was stamped last.

That haunted house was probably the main reason I bought that set! I LOVE it! I just left it flat since it is a background image for this card, but the last time I played with it, I layered it and created one of my all-time favorite cards with it. The house is colored with Vintage Violet and Black Soot and then while the clouds are still masked off, I sponged the background with the Black Soot and Walnut Stain. The path was drawn in with a Micron pen. I colored the little witch and vampire in separately and the cut them out and popped them on dimensionals.

So this is my halloween version of the American Gothic painting. :) Me likey!

Thanks for stopping by today. Tomorrow I have an easter card for you!

Supplies
Stamps: Starving Artistamps/Doodle Factory 'Halloween II' and 'Dead Tree' and 'Clouds'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Vintage Violet, Morning Marigold, Ruby Red, Almost Amethyst, Distressing Inks 'Peeled Paint, Black Soot and Walnut Stain'
Papers: Canson Watercolor, Bazzil cs, PP - We Are Memory Keepers 'BlackOut - Halloween/Morticia'
Access: LOTS of dimensionals and sponges