A Mouse and a girl

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

It's Madelynn's Twinkling Tuesday challenge again and this week we have another temporary twinky. Eight year old Jameson Ednie is this week's featured Twinkie, Rebecca Ednie's little man and he has issued an amazing inspiration challenge!

Yep! Mickey and Minnie were his inspiration! But he did not stop there! There is a sweet story that goes with it:

Mickey is a Park Ranger working in the national forest. One day on his patrols, he hears a cry for help. He sees a beautiful girl mouse with tears on her face because she has fallen while hiking and broken her leg. The gallant Mickey comes to the rescue of the lovely Minnie, administers first aid, drives her to the hospital, waits for her to be treated and drives her home. They fall in love and the rest is history. However, a few months later, when Mickey goes to pick up his tuxedo on the morning of their wedding day, they have accidentally rented out all of the mouse-sized tuxes! So Mickey shows up anyway in his Ranger uniform. Minnie starts up the aisle and is surprised to see Mickey wearing his uniform but she doesn’t care because that is how he looked when she fell in love with him!

How stinking cute is this?! I will admit that I was a little freaked out at the challenge because Disney colors on a card are soooo not me, but then I thought about the Disney trip our family took last year and how I've only completed four pages of that scrapbook album. So I created a scrapbook page instead!


I have sorely neglected my scrapbooking since I discovered the fun of coloring stamped images, so this challenge has helped me see the fun in it again. Usually the kind of pages I did took me hours but this one took no time at all! And I really, really like it! I think it shows off the photo really well and the added embellishments don't detract from the image at all.

This photo was taken by me and is probably one of my favorite photos from the trip. My little girl was sooooo giddy at meeting Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Mickey had insisted Syd kiss him on the nose and it started a tradition that lasted the whole week we were there. Syd kissed EVERY character on the nose! Her reactions totally paid for the trip. :D

Ok, so if you think you'd like to play along with our Twinkling challenge this week, all you have to do is upload your card or creation to SCS or PCP and use the keyword MTTSC16. Then leave a comment on this Twinkling blog post linking back to your creation. I'm excited to see what the other Twinkies have created for this challenge and if you want to check them out too, links to their blogs are in the left hand column.

Thanks for stopping by today; it's ALWAYS appreciated!

Supplies
Paper: Basic Black, Real Red, Kraft, Georgia Pacific cs, Pinecone Press Papers 'Dotty'
Products: Marcella K 'Fresh Paint' glitter stickers, K&Company 'Wild Saffron' adhesive chipboard, Creative Imaginations 'Signature Collection' stickers, corner punch, decorative scissors

Window Flowers

Monday, March 30, 2009

Monday already?! Where did that weekend go?!

Saturday's weather was sooo nice! DD and I went out and kicked the ball around a bit. Sunday was a reminder that it's Spring and not Summer because it just rained all day. Boooo! Much of this week is supposed to be the same so I'm glad we managed to get some fresh air when we did.

Ok, so today's card shows one of the things I really like about the spring weather...flowers! This image is from Doggone Stamps. It's such a different image from the standard, run of the mill flower images out there, I had to get it. I love how it looks all prettied up and on a card!

I really wanted to create a really watercolored look to this image so I played up the brushstrokes a bit. I used Sahara Sand to create the stucco finish behind the image. The flower box had to be 3D, so I stamped a separate image of it, colored it then cut it out and popped it on dimensionals.

If you haven't checked out Doggone Stamps lately, definitely stop by because they have released some new images this past week. There are some new floral and coral stamps, some more comical characters, more dogs and some more spring/whimsical images. James Duck totally cracks me up and I may have to get him!

Hope your Monday is relatively pain free. Toodles!


Supplies
Stamps: Doggone Stamps 'Window with Flower Box', The Greeting Farm 'For Someone'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black & Timber Brown', Creamy Caramel, Close To Cocoa, Certain Celery, Barely Banana, Pumpkin Pie, Almost Amethyst, Pink Passion, Sahara Sand, Distress Inks 'Tea Dye & Vintage Photo'
Papers: Canson Watercolor, Georgia Pacific cs, Bazzil cs, PP - K & Company
Access: Ribbon, circle punches, EK Success edge punch, decorative scissors, Zig pen, dimensionals

Beauty Queen

Friday, March 27, 2009

I seriously think I need a stamp that says 'One Hot Mama' on it! That saying kept playing in my head over and over while I was making this card Wednesday night! The closest sentiment I own is this 'Beauty Queen' one. It'll do.

Well, it's Friday and that means another Friday challenge over at the SCS Hanna Stamps forum! This week's host is the talented Ilina Crouse and her challenge is to create a card using the spring colors in some Pottery Barn pillows. You can find the inspiration HERE.

The layout I used for this card is this week's Mojo Sketch, MOJO79. I found some yummy My Mind's Eye paper that I recently picked up at Michaels (yes, Michaels!) that matched these inspiration colors perfectly! (Love it when that happens!) I added the splash of fire red patterned paper by Basic Grey for some contrast and to play up the one hot mama theme!

If you'd like to play along with this challenge, just create your card and use the keyword HSC62 when you upload to SCS. And don't forget to leave a link to your upload in the challenge thread so we know where to leave some love.

Don't forget; You have until March 31st to get 10% off your Hanna Stamps purchase by using the code MARCH.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I will be making my Hanna Stamps sneak peeks for you all to see starting next Friday! You're going to LOVE the new sets!!

Supplies
Stamps: Hanna Stamps 'Dress Up Hanna', sentiment by MFT
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Close To Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Pretty In Pink, Morning Marigold, Buckaroo Blue, Distress Inks 'Tea Dye and Vintage Photo'
Papers: Georgia Pacific cs, Bazzil cs, PP - My Mind's Eye 29th Street Market Collection - Fresh "Outdoors" and "Brothers", Basic Grey 'Ambrosia Collection - Citrus'
Access: Ribbon, corner punch, paper piercer, sponges, dimensionals

A Easter Card and an OCC Challenge

Thursday, March 26, 2009

I thought you all needed a bit of a sunny lift after yesterday's dark and sombre image. :D

Starting on Thursday nights, I usually scout around blogland looking for challenges or ideas for my cards before I start making them over the weekend. I start scribbling down ideas so that by Friday night I can start creating rather than just sitting there dreaming up something! On Saturday morning I'll check out what challenge the girls over at Our Creative Corner have dreamed up just in case it's something I can play along with too. This week they have a sketch challenge AND giveaway - perfect!

I used this Stampendous Easter Plaque stamp that I bought around this time last year. It made a nice substitute for the oval nestibilities (which by the way, QVC has a SWEET deal for nestibilities right now!)

I think there's something missing from this card. I have a tendency to rush through cards and later on think of things that I could have done differently. The ribbon probably should have been a solid and I think I could have done some stitching around the base layer...oh well, c'est la vie! I will always be my own worst critic! I also remind myself that I've only been stamping for a year, and still have a lot to learn. I DO love this patterned paper though. It's from K & Company...again! I can't get enough of their stuff! It's great for cards.

This OCC challenge is open until tomorrow, Friday 12pm (not sure if it's EST or not) so if you wanna play, you'd better get cracking! :D

Toodles!

Supplies
Stamps: Stampendous 'Easter Plaque'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Cool Caribbean, Morning Marigold, Barely Banana, Almost Amethyst, Certain Celery, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Pumpkin Pie, Distress Inks 'Black Soot'
Papers: Canson Watercolor, Bazzil Bling cs, PP - K & Company 'Raspberry'
Access: Ribbon, decorative scissors, Stickles, dimensionals, sponges

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

Happy Twinkling Birthday

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

A happy Tuesday to you all!

And that means it's Twinkling Challenge day! This week we have a Temporary Twinkie. Cathy Cunningham's 9 year old daughter, Brittany has created a fabulous sketch for everyone and one that I couldn't wait to tackle. You can see the sketch over at Madelynn's Twinkling Tuesday blog and this week's featured stamper happens to be me! :D

As soon as I saw Brittany's sketch I immediately thought of my decorative scalloped edge scissors. I swear those things have paid for themselves 1o times over! I pulled out my neglected Dress Up Lily stamp set for this card because I needed to make a birthday card this week for a very colorful friend. I stamped Lily out on some watercolor paper, cut her out and layered her on some patterned paper and cardstock for the center piece. I added the bottom scalloped edge to lighten up the hard lines of the square card. I had played with some different ideas for the two horizontal stripes but I thought this sheer ribbon worked best because it didn't detract from the main image.

Please check out the cards the other Twinkies have created with Brittany's sketch - GORGEOUS!! The DT list is, as always, in the bar on the left hand side. Tomorrow I have an easter card for you all. Thank you very much for stopping by today. :D

Supplies
Stamps: Pink Cat Studio 'Dress Up Lily', PaperTrey Ink 'Paper Tray'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Morning Marigold, Pink Passion
Papers: Canson Watercolor, Georgia Pacific cs, Bazzil cs, PP - Sandylion 'Candy Stripe', Scenic Route 'Loveland - Ruby Ave.'
Access: Ribbon, Fiskars circle cutter, decorative scissors, corner punch, circle punches, stickles, dimensionals

Casing Laurie

Monday, March 23, 2009

Good Morning! Did you enjoy the weekend?

I limited my crafting to Sunday so I could spend the weekend with my family. Hubby usually works weekends, so when he has one off, we like to do things together. Sunday was a very lazy day for DD and DH and it was supposed to be for me too but between making Brownies, doing load after load of laundry, DD calling for me every other minute I barely squeaked a card out!

I did however get this one done and photographed to show you today.


I was reading Tosha Leyendekker's blog, Stamp Talk With Tosh, last week and she mentioned the Stampers Dream dreamy challenge. To play, you have to CASE a card from any of the Design Team girls and leave a link to your card and the card you cased on Michelle's blog post. (It's open til Thursday is anyone is interested in playing!)

Well, I was all set to case one of Tosh's cards (who's work I've always adored) when I discovered her team mate Laurie Schmidlin's blog and found this card that I couldn't resist casing! I loved the layout, the colors, and just every detail!

Typically the rules of casing are to change at least two or three things about the original card. I changed out the stamped image, the colors and omitted the stitching from my version (although, I REALLY love that particular detail and would love to try this level of stitching on a card soon!) The image I used is from The Greeting Farm's digital stamp line. This is Lily. I love the silhoutte look to her! She's printed on Georgia Pacific cardstock and painted with my SU reinkers and aquapainter. I popped her on dimensionals and layered her on some punched out circles. I picked this MAMBI paper because the pattern was very modern and it set a nice contract to Lily's hair. Instead of using a charm like Laurie did, I used this brad I've had for ages.

Had I not been so distracted making this card and looking at it now, I probably would have added some stitching around the edge of the blue polka dotted paper and maybe some stickles to Lily's necklace. I'm still happy with it though.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you all have a fabulous Monday and I'll see you all back here tomorrow for another Twinkling challenge.

Supplies

Stamps: The Greeting Farm 'Pretty Head Lily DS' & sentiment from the 'For Someone' set

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Morning Marigold, Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, Barely Banana

Papers: Georgia Pacific cs, Bazzil cs, PP - Me And My Big Ideas 'Fashion District'

Access: Ribbon, Making Memories brad, Martha Stewart edge punch, paper piercer, Marvy scalloped circle punch' Fiskars circle cutter, dimensionals

Clean and Very Simple

Friday, March 20, 2009

TGIF!! Ahhh, I can feel the weekend in my bones already!

So yesterday I promised you something a little different from me and even as I type this post, I am still skeptical on whether to show it to you or not. It is SO clean and simple that it may very well pass as being unfinished! But no, it was intentional.


No patterned paper, no layers....this is so unlike me! My initial idea was to display this Whipper Snapper image in a circle on a square card, but everything I tried seemed too busy for this relaxing image and I wanted something much simpler. Then I started thinking about the super sweet comments you all leave saying how you love my coloring and thought to myself 'What if that was all that was on the card; just the image colored up?'

Funnily enough, Shelly Comiskey, an illustrator for Whipper Snapper, did just the same thing with one of her cards on Wednesday.....except pulled it off a WHOLE LOT better then I did! I used cheapo watercolor paper; Shelly used Fabriano Mediovalis watercolor card. Does that not sound like deliciously yummy paper?!? I may have to invest in some because I just LOVE that handpressed look to the edges.

I heat embossed the image and after coloring it up, the only things I added to it was some diamond stickles to the bubbles and the ribbon. It's a good thing there wasn't too much to this card because apparently my brain wasn't going to handle much more. Wanna see my first attempt??


Ummm, yeah....ya think I need a break this weekend?? Tomorrow I pick up my reserved copy of the Twilight DVD....I know what I'll be doing this weekend! ;) LOL Have a good one whatever you're doing!

Supplies

Stamps: Whipper Snapper Designs 'Bathtub Chicken' & 'Price of Beauty'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black, Versamark, Cool Caribbean, Sahara Sand, Certain Celery, Old Olive, Really Rust, Ruby Red, Morning Marigold, Pretty in Pink, Distress Inks 'Black Soot'

Papers: Canson Watercolor 140 gsm 90lb

Access: Ribbon and stickles

Just Believe

Thursday, March 19, 2009

It's Thursday already! Yes!

I love looking forward to the weekends. Time to do what I want to do; time to relax. (And for those mundane things like laundry and cleaning but I was trying to forget about them!)

I have been neglecting my fairies I recently got from The Greeting Farm, so I put one of them to good use today.

I will be the first to admit that my sewing on this card isn't the prettiest. I'm still getting used to my sewing machine and the setting for stitching on paper. I'll have to get some more needles before I can practice again because I broke my last two trying to mend DD's snowpants last night! I apologise for the strange colors in the photo - my camera was acting up that day.

The layout for this card is this week's Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge, MOJO78. I think it shows off Chloe the Fairy pretty well. I found this paper at my local LLS this past weekend. It has a shabby chic feel to it which I love.

I have a very simple Whipper Snapper card to show you tomorrow; something a little 'outside the box' for me. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies

Stamps: The Greeting Farm 'Fairy Chloe', Will-n-Way 'Fairys'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Pretty In Pink, Pale Plum, Cool Caribbean, Blush Blossom, Distress Inks 'Tattered Rose & Antique Linen'

Papers: Canson Watercolor, Georgia Pacific cs, Bazzil cs, PP - Karen Foster Designs 'My Mother Collage Paper'

Access: Ribbon, Martha Stewart edge punches, circle punch, sewing, sponges

Sock Monkey

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

I hope you all had a great St. Patty's day yesterday!

Hubby, who has Scottish blood in him, went out for a pint of beer with his dad while I (who does have Irish bloodlines) stayed home blog hopping with a cup of tea. Hmmmm...something wrong with that picture!

Anywho, I have a very sweet card for you today!

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I showed you that Need a Hug monster card I made for Victoria Case's color combo challenge? Well, I ended up winning and last week my prize arrived in the mail. Meet Sock Monkey!

He really did come to life after I colored him up! That red mouth just makes him light up. He's watercolored with SU reinkers and an aquapainter brush on Canson watercolor paper. I cut him out and layered him on some kraft cardstock and then chocolate Bazzil cardstock. Again, I used my cheapo decorative scissors to create the scalloped edge. It's much easier to to this when you cut your paper to a circle first then mount the image onto the cardstock to use as a guide. Then it's just a matter of turning your cardstock as you cut. I started the cut in the upper left hand corner so that if the scalloped didn't line up they would be covered up by the ribbon. By the way, the size of this card is 5" x 7".

I just love that chocolate ribbon! (sorry Heather) It makes it look like a wrapped up birthday present! For the sentiment, I channeled a bit of Leigh O'Brien's talents. I just love her bright and clean style! This is going to a good friend of mine who is celebrating a birthday soon.

Thank you for dropping in and have a great Wednesday!

Supplies

Stamps: Victoria Case Art Stamps 'Sock Monkey', Papertrey Ink 'Paper Tray'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Ruby Red, Sahara Sand, Barely Banana

Papers: Canson Watercolor, Kraft cs, Bazzil cs, PP - K & Company 'Day Dreams'

Access: Ribbon, decorative scissors, dimensionals, Zig pen, paper piercer

Twinkling Color Challenge

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In honor of this very green day, the Twinkling Team have a special challenge for you this week.

Yep, it's another Twinkling Tuesday Challenge and this week our Temporary Guest Twinklette is Taylor's daughter, Ava. She has given us a color challenge this week! The colors are Garden Green, Whisper White and Close to Cocoa.


The colors are SU colors, but since I don't own any SU paper (well, whatever's left isn't much to speak of) I matched some patterned paper I had to the Garden Green. The layout I used is this week's CCEE Sketch challenge. Perfect for this image from Digital Stamp Oasis! Isn't she just the sweetest little thing?

Little Susie was colored up with SU reinkers on Georgia Pacific cardstock. Watercoloring on this paper is not for someone learning to watcolor. I suggest you stick with watercolor paper until you're comfortable with the technique. I left the image neat and clean because it was a nice contrast to the rest of the card.

The worn look was created by sponging and distressing the edges of the patterned paper, then sewing a straight stitch around the rim. The band across the middle is a piece of River Rock cardstock that I used Martha Stewart's edge punch on and then sponged with Vintage Photo distress ink. Isn't that ribbon delicious?! Love pretty ribbon.

Please check out what the other Twinkies have created this week. Links to their blogs are in the team list on the left. If you think this color challenge is something you'd like to try, just upload your card to SCS or PCP and use the keyword MTTSC14.

Have a good one whatever you're up to today!


Supplies
Stamps: Digital Stamp Oasis 'Susie Squirrel in the Rain', PaperTrey Ink 'Paper Tray'
Inks: Going Grey, Cool Caribbean, Morning Marigold, Really Rust, Ruby Red, Creamy Caramel, Distress Inks 'Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain'
Papers: Georgia Pacific cs, River Rock, PP - K & Company 'Classic K Margo'
Access: Ribbon, sponges, sewing, Tim Holtz edge distresser, Martha Stewart edge punch, circle punches, dimensionals

Harder than it looks

Monday, March 16, 2009

Good Morning!

I hope you all had a relaxing weekend. The weather here in New Hampshire was just beautiful! We actually got to open the windows for a bit.....ahhh! Love fresh air!

~Blog Hop Info~

Before I get into today's post, I just want to mention that the Hanna Stamps Blog Hop is still open until 12pm today EST, so if you haven't had a chance to do it, better get cracking! The winners will be announced on a thread in the Hanna Stamps SCS forum later this afternoon/evening. Thank you to those who have already participated thus far; I've really, REALLY enjoyed reading all your 'rockin moments'! And yes, having children is a rockin moment! hehe

Ok, back to our regular programming.

Doggone Stamps is a relatively new company in the stamping world, but they stock stamps in themes that you don't typically find like sports stamps, dog stamps and funny characters like this Zen Frog.

I had no idea what kind of card I could make with him, but he was one of those stamps 'I had to have'! You all know what I'm talking about right? We've all done it; bought a stamp because it was a MUST HAVE but we had no idea what we were going to use it for or what sentiment to put with it. Well, Zen Frog was that stamp for me.

I colored him up over the weekend and pieced this card together and then he just sat there because I couldn't think up a witty sentiment to pair with him. That was until my MIL reminded me of something that my 3 yr old daughter had said last weekend. We were out for lunch and DD was trying to do a magic trick by covering her cup of milk and 'magically' turning it until orange juice. Well, when she said the magic words and tasted her drink, she mumbled "Oh man, that was harder than I thought". Isn't that just the cutest thing you've ever heard?! My heart just melted at that moment. She is just the spunkiest kid! So, long story short; that's where the sentiment came from for this card.

As (almost) always, Mr. Frog was stamped with StazOn in 'Jet Black' and colored with reinkers and an aquapainter on Canson 90lb 140gsm Watercolor paper.

Thanks for stopping by today. :)

Supplies
Stamps: Doggone Stamps 'Zen Frog', sentiment by Karen Foster's Snap Stamps
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Old Olive. More Mustard, Really Rust, Ruby, Red, Cool Caribbean, Sahara Sand, Distress Inks 'Vintage Photo & Walnut Stain'
Papers: Canson Watercolor, Bazzil cs, PP - Basic Grey 'Ambrosia Collection - Citrus & Quince'
Access: Dimensionals, sponges, circle punches

Good Luck Blog Hop!

Friday, March 13, 2009

Hellooooooo Blog Hoppers!!!

EDITED: Thank you to everyone who played along on this blog hop - comments are now closed.

If you've stumbled onto my blog today and are wondering what the heck is going on, let me explain:

Since it's Friday the 13th Kristi thought she would disperse any thoughts of it being a day of bad luck by having a Hanna Stamps Good Luck Blog Hop! If you haven't jumped on my blog from the fabulous Candice Lightly's blog then you may want to start at the beginning at Kristi's blog and follow the bread crumbs. You definitely don't want to miss any of the awesome creations the Hanna Stamps Design Team have created for you today!!

For playing along in the blog hop with us, you can score yourself a mystery goodie bag from Mrs Kristi herself! Who knows what might be in that bag.....that's part of the fun! You have all weekend to play. I'll randomly pick a winner and on Monday Vicki will post a winners list in the Hanna Stamps forum on SCS! Just leave me a comment on this post telling me one time when you seriously rocked it! Mine was when I used to play Netball. We were in a unisex Division A league. Netball is predominantely a woman's sport, but the men like to think they can play our game. Anyway, at the end of the season I won the trophy for MVP - beating out all the other women and men in that division. I rocked it that year! LOL I can't wait to hear your story!

So what's a blog hop without a card right?!



Today also happens to be the Hanna Stamps Friday Challenge and this week's challenge is to use diamonds on your card. It can be a diamond shape or an embellishment. The only diamond paper I owned was this green one and it's appropriately called 'Hallowhimsy'! Ha! It was meant to be I guess. If you'd like to play along with this Friday challenge, head over to the Hanna Stamps SCS forum to get all the details. Remember, anyone who plays along in the Friday Challenges get their name included in a drawing each month for a free Hanna Stamps set! Worth making a card for right?!

Also. through the month of March, you can use the code March and get 10% off your order at Hanna Stamps!

Ok, I've kept you long enough; hop on over to the talented Judy Workman's blog to see her amazing creation and for another chance to win a goodie bag!

Thanks for stopping by today and GOOD LUCK!!


Supplies
Stamps: Hanna Stamps! 'Rockstar Hanna', sentiment by Studio G mini alphabet set
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Morning Marigold, Real Red, Distress Inks 'Black Soot'
Papers: Canson Watercolor, Bazzil cs, Georgia Pacific cs, PP - Imaginisce 'Hallowhimsy'
Access: Ribbon, dimensionals

Blog Hop Announcement

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Who says Friday 13th is bad for the mojo!?!?

Hanna Stamps and the Design Team are having an impromtu blog hop tomorrow!! It all starts over at Kristi's blog at 12pm EST (or 11am CST, 10am MST and 9am PST depending on where you are in the US) and she'll give you the details on which Design Team girl to visit next! There will be mystery goodie bags up for grabs, so get your game on and blog hopping skills ready girls!!!

Waahoooooooooooo!!

PS. This means that I won't have a blog post until 12pm EST :D

Lets have some Craic

And you all thought I was a nice girl! ;) LOL Don't worry; Craic isn't what you think it is!

Craic is a Gaelic term that loosely describes having fun. And if you're Irish (or an Irish-lover) usually music and beer are involved! Don't believe me.....looky here!

I have always loved St. Patty's day. Maybe it's because of my Irish heritage or it could be because it's just a great excuse to have a pint or two! When I worked in Australia, we always had lunch at one of the Irish pubs and have a pint to celebrate the day. Although, any more than 1 pint and I'd be as useless as a inkless inkpad!

So in honor of this craic day I made this card using the Bag Piper stamp from Doggone Stamps. This pudgy guy looks like he's ready for a good time doesn't he?!

The layout is this week's sketch challenge created by Jana Mays, my fellow Doggone Stamps design team member. I love doing sketch challenges because all that's left to do is to pick the paper and the stamp! Easy peesy right?! Yeah.....I hummed and ahhhed which paper to pick and ended up using this Basic Grey piece. Since the Bag Piper looked like he was going to play a little diddy after his beer, the 'Little Love Note' sentiment seemed to be the perfect fit! If you haven't spotted it already, that beer is looking a bit on the cold side...and any Irishman will tell ya that beer is not meant to be drunk cold! LOL

Blog Candy Alert: Wanna win some Doggone Stamps?! Head over to Jana May's blog for all the details!

Keep a look out for another quick post from me later today. I have a special announcement from Hanna Stamps!

Supplies
Stamps: Doggone Stamps 'Bag Piper', MFT 'Everyday Sentiments'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Old Olive, More Mustard, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Cool Caribbean, Sahara Sand, Morning Marigold
Papers: Canson Watercolor, Old Olive, Bazzil cs, PP - Basic Grey 'Boxer Collection - Cargo'
Access: Dimensionals, Fiskars circle cutter, circle punches, Stickles

A Catchy Name

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Hellooooo Everyone!

If you haven't discovered already, CCEE Stampers is an group of seriously talented stampers that got together to create challenges for themselves and anyone that wished to play along. One of those challenges is what they like to call the 'Catchy Name Featured Stamper' (CNFS) challenge. This is where they pick a stamper on SCS that has a catchy name and they make cards with that theme in mind. This week's CNFS is Jessica Rone AKA Knightrone!


I don't own any knight stamps, but over the Christmas holidays I was given a card kit by my dear friend on SCS, Karen. (Thank you Karen!) The stamp is from Elzybells, which I have none of either, but they are super cute!! I used the SU cardstock, the pink Basic Grey patterned paper and the ring embellishments from Karen's kit. I added the gold patterned paper and the ribbon to pull the whole card together.

I really like how this turned out! It's not your typical wedding card, so I'd probably give it to someone who just announced their engagement instead. Unfortunately I don't know anyone who was recently engaged. I will have to sit in my box of ready-to-send cards for now...until my friend Karen has some news of her own! :D

____________________________________

Blog Candy Alert!

One of my favorite designers is Kim Teasdale, of Paper In The Works fame. I spend copious amounts of time drooling over her cards (no, not literally!) But shame on me because I've only just noticed that she has some INCREDIBLE blog candy up for grabs. How incredible?!? Try 13 sets of stamps kind of incredible!! Seriously! You'd better hurry if you would like to win them because Kim's drawing a winner tomorrow!

Supplies
Stamps: Elzybells 'Knight & Princess', MFT 'Everyday Sentiments'
Inks: Creamy Caramel, Morning Marigold, Pretty In Pink, Pink Passion, Going Grey, Cool Caribbean, Distress Inks 'Black Soot, Tattered Rose & Vintage Photo'

Papers: Whisper White, Georgia Pacific cs, More Mustard, Pink Passion, PP - Basic Grey

Access: Ribbon, metal ring embellishments, Stickles, dimensionals, sponges

A Hoppy Easter

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

It's another Twinkling Tuesday and this week we have a guest Twinkler!!

It's none other than Jack Diedrich, Madelynn's younger brother! From what his mum says, he's ALL BOY and loves it when she gets out her paper piercer to make cards. Sharp object and stabbing paper - definitely a boy thing!! hahaha You can see the sketch on the Twinkling Tuesday blog.

This stamp is from a new exclusively digital stamp company I stumbled across. They're called 'Digital Stamp Oasis' and it can be found on Etsy.com, an online place to buy and sell all things handmade. Ellie, the owner, has some really, really sweet images available at the moment. I LOVED this Rebecca Rabbit image - perfect for Easter!

Since it's a digital image and I typically watercolor, I had to print mine using a laser printer. This has always worked for me. I have been told that you can watercolor on an image printed with an inkjet printer and heat set, but I tried that with my inkjet at home and it didn't work. It must be an ink thing that varies from printer to printer. If you use Copics however, you should have no problems at all.

If you'd like to play along in this sketch challenge, please use the keyword MTTSC13 when uploading to SCS or PCP and don't forget to leave a comment on today's Twinkling blog post so the Twinkling Team can see your creations. Don't forget to check out what the other Twinkettes have created this week!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I have a fun knight and princess card to show you all tomorrow. :D

Supplies
Stamps: Digital Oasis 'Rebecca Rabbit with Easter Cart', sentiment from computer
Inks: Creamy Caramel, Certain Celery, Old Olive, True Thyme, Close To Cocoa, Pretty in Pink, Ballet Blue, Barely Banana, Pale Plum, Cool Caribbean
Papers: Georgia Pacific cs, Bazzil cs, PP - My Mind's Eye 'Tres Jolie Collection - Mon Cheri'
Access: Ribbon, paper piercer, dimensionals

Resisting the Urge

Monday, March 9, 2009

We just had the best weekend with the most gorgeous weather!! Talk about a mood lifter! The sun was out and it was a balmy 52 deg F. Trust me; that's not cold when the temps have been below freezing all winter long! I could finally crack open a window without the fear of getting blasted with frigid cold air. It was just what the doctor ordered.

The anticipation of Spring also inspired me to update the look of my blog. Do you like it? I am VERY happy with it. It feels refreshing and clean! I liked the old one but I was getting frustrated with blog buttons not fitting on my sidebar because the colums were too skinny. I was also told that it wasn't behaving itself in other web browsers, so it had to go! :D Please let me know if you have any issues viewing my blog so I can try fixing it.

I have been dying to show you this stamp since I colored it up weeks ago. It's from Whipper Snapper Designs and an illustration by Anna Wight.

Isn't this the perfect sentiment for this stamp? I've had this sentiment from MFT's Rain & Shine set for a while now, and when I saw this image, I had to get him! I really like to mix and match stamps and sentiments when I can.

I colored this Springtime Chick in dark, intense colors to emphasis the 'under the weather' theme, but if you changed up the colors and made the umbrella a light green and the background behind the chicken a pale blue, it would make a great springtime 'April showers' card. Love versatility!

Now getting back to my post title; when I was piecing together this card, I had a hard time resisting the urge to add something extra to it. I tried some ribbon, toyed with brads, then a button and nothing seemed to fit. Finally I just said "Enough!" and accepted the fact that sometimes a card doesn't need anything else but an image and a sentiment to make it complete. Less is more right? :D

Hope you have a wonderful Monday! Toodles!


Supplies
Stamps: Whipper Snapper 'Springtime Rain Chick', MFT 'Rain or Shine'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', More Mustard, Really Rust, Ruby Red, Sahara Sand, Elegant Eggplant

Papers: Canson Watercolor, Bazzil cs, Georgia Pacific cs, PP - K & Company 'Daydreams'

Access: Dimensionals

Friends Forever

Friday, March 6, 2009

I'm a big believer in the saying 'Friends are the family you pick'.

When I was in high school there was a gaggle of us, hanging out together at lunchtime and doing things together on the weekends. Now days I have just a handful of good friends that I treasure more than anything. There are a couple of long, long time friends in Australia, one dear friend here in Keene, and my bossom buddies on SCS (you know who you are!).

In my humble opinion, every girl needs a good set of shoes, a great handbag, a boy toy, and at least two fabulous friend. Well, Miss Anya definitely has some of those going on!

Last week I showed you the curly haired Miss Anya, since she was the one who resembled me the most. While I was making that card, I thought it would be great to make a similar card for the other two Miss Anya's and make a nice little set of them.

These Miss Anya's are just so fun to color! All the cards used double sided patterned paper and a coordinating piece of Bazzil cardstock. I did the sentiments the same way, but changed out the saying. I think they'd be really cute packaged up with some matching envelopes in a small box. I'd have to make the box of course.....hmmmm, anyone know where I can find a template for a standard card box?

By the way, these Miss Anya's are currently out of stock on The Greeting Farm's website, but Marie has said that the store will be restocked this coming Wednesday. (Just didn't want you all to be bummed out if you were really hoping to get some!)

I hope you've all enjoyed the cards I've shown you this week. I had a blast creating them. I have a bunch of images itching to be made into cards, so who knows what you might see next week! hehehe Oh, and one more thing...don't be too surprised to see my blog with a bit of a facelift over the weekend. I've struggled with the narrow sidebar for a while now and it's also been brought to my attention that my blog does funny things in other web browsers. I'm hoping the new changes will behave themselves.

Have a good one!!

______________________________________

EDITED: I am FREAKING OUT right now!! I was just visiting TGF's blog this morning, as I do every morning, and my dear and sweet friend (one of those SCS ones I was just talking about) Kadie Ensley, was just annouced as a GARDENER for the company for the next three months!!! Wahoooooooooooooooooo!! CONGRATULATIONS KADIE!! This is awesome news! I'm so proud of you girl!!

Supplies
Stamps: The Greeting Farm 'Miss Anya's', sentiments by Karen Foster Snap Stamps
Inks: Too many to mention!
Papers: Canson Watercolor, Bazzil cs, PP - Card 1 'Chatterbox Decorative Cardstock - Chocolate Tapestry', Card 2 'K & Company - Day Dreams' and Card 3 'K & Company Classic K Margo'
Access: Ribbon, dimensionals, rhinestone adhesives

Need A Hug?

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Doesn't this guy look like he just needs a good hug?? Poor monster.

He's called Monster Bedtime and he's from Victoria Case's line of monster stamps. Remember when you were little and you swore that there were monsters under your bed, or in your closet? Or your imaginery monster friend? Victoria has captured these characters just perfectly!

So last week Victoria issued her customers a challenge. It was to create a card using the colors pink and brown and use one of her rubber stamps (vs. her digitals). I have a few of her stamps, so I picked a monster I hadn't colored yet, and I immediately thought of this polka dot paper in my stash. (Yes, there is ALOT of polka dot paper in my stash.)

My sewing machine pretty much permanently lives on the dining room table now, so I ran around the edges of the card with some brown thread. I didn't want to cover up that gorgeous paper, so I just popped Mr. Monster on some Bazzil cs and then popped that off the base with dimensionals. That thread on the button is some of that crafter's dental floss. Strange stuff to play with! And that pretty much it covers the whole card. I hope it's enough to win the challenge because the winner gets Victoria's yet to be released 'Sock Monkey' rubber stamp! And that would make me very happy. :D

Remember that Miss Anya card I showed you last week?? Well tomorrow I'll show you her friends!

Supplies
Stamps: Victoria Case Stamps 'Monster Bedtime', sentiment by Studio G mini alphabet set
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Cool Caribbean, Old Olive, Vintage Violet
Papers: Canson Watercolor, Georgia Pacific cs, Bazzil cs, PP - Basic Grey '
Access: Button, dental floss, sewing, decorative scissors, dimensionals

Rolling along...

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

I have a confession to make: I can not stop smiling at this card! I'm such a gooba, I know, but I can't help it! It makes me wanna smile.

I'm loving all the polka dots and the image is just plain old fun, but I think I just love how it all came together so well....and easily!! That almost never happens. LOL

I bought this stamp for no other reason except that I knew it would be fun to color! (What other reason is there?!) Then I made up the other reasons (would make a great bon vogage card, see you soon card, or just a we're visiting card) in case The Man asked me why later! hahaha Speaking of that polka dot paper, it's from the new paper collection I found at my Michaels store. I bought it last week with my 40% off coupon, which is always great value, but when the guy rung it up, it scanned in at an orginial price of $9.99, then I got 40% off on top of that!! So the 12x12 pad only cost me $5.99!?! Surely it was meant to ring up at $19.99? Someone screwed up something!! hehehehe LOVE a bargain!

The image is watercolored with my SU inks, and not that you can tell in this photo, but I applied clear embossing powder to the headlights for a glassy look. I decided against doing the same thing to the windscreen -thought it'd be too much and detract from the image. I decided the card needed nothing else but some ribbon and a little sentiment.

I should send this to my mum in Australia. She'd love it. :D Tomorrow is a MONSTER of a day! ;)


Supplies
Stamps: Whipper Snapper 'Ford Chicken', sentiment by Karen Foster Snap Stamps

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Buckaroo Blue, Cool Caribbean, Sahara Sand, More Mustard, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Ruby Red, Going Grey and Distress Inks 'Black Soot'

Papers: Canson Watercolor, Kraft, Georgia Pacific cs, Bazzil cs, PP - K & Company 'Day Dream Collection'

Access: Ribbon, dimensionals, scissors

You Can Do It!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

It's Tuesday already and you know what that means - another sketch challenge from the very talented Madelynn. I sometimes have to remind myself that she's 8 years old!

This week's sketch is another great one...except for one thing: it uses oval nesties! It's a conspiracy I tell you! LOL There's a plot to make me give in and buy some! hahaha Not really. The sketch is meant to be a guide, so I just substituted the ovals for rectangles instead. :)

This week I used this pitcher image from Doggone Stamps. I have like zero (ok, maybe one) boy images so I had to snag this one! He's called Pitcher for obvious reasons! I love his expression and the way his hair pops out the sides of his cap. I showed DH the card and all he could see was that there wasn't a B on the cap for his beloved Boston Redsox! Poor guy. :)

For those of you who love their dogs and would love some dog stamps, Doggone Stamps has added some really, really fun images that you need to check out. My friend Lorie created a card recently using the Nikko stamp which is just too doggone cute for words! Love it Lorie!!

Getting back to my card, it's a really simple card, but great for a guy don't you think? And would you look at that - I can use the color blue on a card! LOL This one's for you Heather! hehe I was telling Heather last week about how I have an aversion to the color blue on cards. Truth be told, I had my eyes closed the whole time I made this card.... ;)

Want to see more cards using Madelynn's sketch?? Check out Madelynn's blog for this week's featured designer who happens to be the very fabulous Heather Schlatter I was just talking about! The rest of the Twinkling team have some spectacular cards this week too! If you'd like to play along, please upload your card using the keyword MTTSC12 and post a comment on Madelynn's blog post linking back to your creation!

I wanted to mention that I have been given some blog awards over the past week or so which I'm very, very thankful for, but I unfortunately don't have enough hours in the day to comment or participate in all of them. I hope those who have nominated my blog understand this dilemma and know that I do sincerely appreciate the sweet gestures ((hugs)). Thank you to all of you.

Tomorrow I have a really FUN Whipper Snapper card to show you!

Supplies
Stamps: Doggone Stamps 'Pitcher', sentiment by MFT
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Not Quite Navy, Cool Caribbean, Really Rust, Old Olive, Distress Inks 'Black Soot'
Papers: Canson watercolor, Bazzil cs, PP - K & Company 'Day Dreams Collection'
Access: Ribbon, dimensionals

Release Day!

Monday, March 2, 2009

A happy Monday morning to you all! I had a great long weekend. DH and I had Friday off so we skipped off to the mall where I did some more clothes shopping and found some great bargains! A very successful weekend for sure! ;)

I was also busy over the weekend creating and posting a bunch of sneak peeks for Hanna Stamps because tonight is the March release party! Kristi, Vicki and the other DT girls will be hanging out in the Hanna Stamps SCS forum thread tonight starting at 9pm EST.

There are three sets and two Rileys being released tonight. I've shown you Dress Up Hanna, Rockstar Hanna and Spa Riley, but there is also Wee Hanna and Timber Riley which Jeanne, Joycelyn, Adela and Bev have beautifully shown.

I have another Spa Riley card to show you today!

I love this blue and tan color combination. It feels so light and cheery. I must admit I didn't come up with this combo myself. Silke K., one of this month's guest designers, made her Spa Riley card with this combo and I just loved it's fresh look, so I created my own version. Hope you don't mind Silke!!

This sentiment isn't the original stamp. I used Karen Foster's snap stamps to recreate it because the original stamp (from Whipper Snapper) is much larger and wouldn't work with this layout. I used my SU reinkers instead of my copics for this image. No reason except I just felt like coloring with them this time around. Sometimes I just like to paint! :D

Ok, so that's all the sneak peeks I have for you. Thanks for all the very sweet comments you've been leaving; I really appreciate every one of them! I hope to 'see' you tonight at the release party! :)

Supplies

Stamps: Hanna Stamps! 'Spa Riley', sentiment by Karen Foster snap stamps

Inks: Staz On 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Cool Caribbean, Ballet Blue, Sahara Sand, Going Grey

Papers: Canson Watercolor, Bazzil cs, PP - Chatterbox Scrapbook Walls collection - 'Meadowlark' and 'Stepping Stones'

Access: Ribbon, Martha Stewart edge punch, circle punches, dimensionals

Sneak Peek: Dress Up

Sunday, March 1, 2009

A happy Sunday to you all!

Introducing Dress Up Hanna! Isn't she a bombshell? Notice anything different about this Hanna? Dress Up Hanna is a paper doll stamp set - she has interchangeable dresses, shoes, handbags and jewelry!! So cool!

I wanted to make a super feminine card and so I used lots of sheer ribbon and this oh so pretty paper from Crate Paper (loooooove this collection!). The patterned paper is lightly sponged around the edges to give it some depth, and the circle panel (Canson watercolor paper) was also sponged with Antique Linen, but much more heavily. I cracked out the decorative scissors again to do the scalloped circle. When using the scissors, the scallopes never quite line up end to end, so I hide that section behind Hanna's head. The faux dew drops added just a bit of sparkle.

You all are going to have SOOO much fun interchanging her outfits and accessories!

I just couldn't help making this next card! When I saw this dress in the set I HAD to make a princess card for my little princess! I used Bazzil Bling paper for lots of sparkle. I think you can see it if you click on the image. I love this color combo don't you?! So colorful! I stamped the dress on some matching patterned paper, cut it out and ran the Sharpie around the edges to hide the white paper. I couldn't resist adding more sparkle to the card with adhesive rhinestones and some stickles on her earrings. And that ribbon has some sparkle to it too! Can't have too much sparkle on a card! LOL

Don't worry; Miss Hanna is very much covered in a very sexy little number underneath that figure-hugging dress!

I completely forgot to mention that this month's Guest Designers are Silke K. and Jennifer Buck. Please check out their wonderful work! They'll be partying with the rest of the DT tomorrow night. :)

Ok, that's just about it from me today. Don't forget, tomorrow night is the release party which starts at 9pm EST.....HERE!

Supplies
Card 1
Stamps: Hanna Stamps! 'Dress Up Hanna'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Morning Marigold, Pretty In Pink
Paper: Canson Watercolor, Bazzil cs, PP - Crate Paper Blue Hill Collection - 'Rain'
Access: Ribbon, faux dew drops, decorative scissors, Fiskars circle cutter, dimensionals

Card 2
Stamps: Hanna Stamps! 'Dress Up Hanna', sentiment by MFT
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip,
Paper: Canson Watcolor, Bazzil Bling cs, PP - Making Memories 'Glitter Dots Pink' & We Are Memory Keepers 'White Out Collection - Hoopla-Thrill'
Access: Ribbons, adhesive rhinestones, Prima flower, sewing, dimensionals, decorative scissors, circle punhes, sponges, stickles