Oh, HOPPY Day!!

I brought out my punches today and look what I made!! (ok...CASEd, but only the actual froggy!!) His black eyes have lots of Crystal Effects on them to make them pop up and give them 3-D. I wish I had better light, cause this looks way better in real life! I rolled the lillypad wheel on the cool caribbean c.s. and then colored in the flowers with white gel pen. Then I ran the c.s. through my Cuttlebug with the bubbles folder. I didn't like my green watercoloring on the pad, so I wheeled it again onto Green Galore c.s. and cut it out, and then put that on top of the other one with pop dots so it's really 3-D. :0) I like it so much better now. Yellow layer was run through cuttlebug with Bloom Dots folder. I made my own ribbon slider! I just stamped my saying (from the "Frolicking Frogs"set) and used ticket punch on the corners, then I punched the slot punch on each end and ran ribbon through. At the bottom, I used my sewing stitches with white craft ink to make it look like waves. Isn't he CUTE?!!

The Wonderful Cross

This is dedicated to my good blogger friend, Susie Liles. She sent this beautiful cross card (see post below) this weekend and it inspired me to post this video of the SONG titled "Wonderful Cross" by Michael W. Smith with footage from the movie "The Passion of the Christ" and "The Creation Movie". It's fitting any time of year, but especially as Resurrection Sunday draws near. You will be moved, trust me!

WooHoo for RAKs!!

I was blessed yesterday when to my surprise...I got this BEAUTIFUL card in the mail!! I'm sure you all have seen this because it was made by Susan Liles (susiestampsalot) and she had posted it on her blog last week! It's very special to me, and I'm going to take it to work with me tomorrow and sit it on my desk...it'll go nicely next to my vase of flowers I got for my birthday!

Of course my scanner isn't the best, but if you look closely, you'll see that see used a gold gellyroll pen inside the cross. In fact, if you'd like to read her cute post about WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR THIS CARD? {click here} You'll absolutely LOVE her blog...she's got a big personality...I just love her!! :0) Thanks so much Susie for cheering me up and making me feel so special.

Another THANKS!! goes to Denise (annees) who sent me this Birthday RAK!! This really made my day to get this in the mail. This was my second Birthday RAK from SCS. If you haven't signed up yet for the RAK, you've GOT TO do it!! It's wonderful!!

A Little Birdie Told Me

This is for today's sketch challenge on SCS...#112Paper: "Tickled Pink" by 3 Bugs in a Rug

Cardstock: Rose Romance, Certainly Celery, Basic Black & White

Stamps: "Message from Above" by Penny Black.

This is actually my second attempt as my first one I used the aqua painter and classic ink to watercolor and it soaked through the whisper white cardstock. Do you ever have that problem?? So, this time, I used markers and no watercoloring. It's brighter, but I kinda like it cause it matches my bold cardstock better. If anyone out there has a great coloring technique they could share with me, I'm all ears!! :0) I forgot to add a shadow under him cause he's sittin' down...?? what was I thinkin'? It's been a looong day. At least I was able to sit down and make a card today. It made me smile and I hope it puts one on my friend's face when she opens it ?!!?

Happy Birthday Daisy

I've been kindof in a funky mood lately...maybe it's cabin fever from all this coooold!

Anyway, a happy springy card was calling out to me, and I knew I wanted to use this Saffron color, SO...I went to one of my all-time favorite sites, SU! Color Combos site and found this combo. It's a lousy picture, but it's night time and I had to use a flash, so you can't see it well. I sponged rose red on the rose red c.s. to make it look like faux suede. Then I cut little strips of certainly celery and punched holes (just for a little character!) and the Saffron layer I ran through my cuttlebug with the happy birthday folder. What do you think of my flower? Does the middle take all the attention and leave my big daisy looking bla?? I think it might play down my daisy too much, but ?? what can you do?? I brayered rose red over my big daisy stamp, and then sponged rose red on top b4 stamping. Then I used the flower stamp out of Fresh Fillers and stamped randomly onto the c.s. and cut the daisy out. Then mounted my prima and punched flower with a pop dot. TFL

My First BRAK!!

Yup! I had a birthday...just b4 Valentine's Day! And an amazingly talented lady on SCS (Mothermark) sent me my first *ever* BRAK (birthday random act of kindness)!!

*happy dance* She purposely sent it to me late, NOW I know WHY!! hehe. This is sooo adorable...THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Mothermark!!

BTW...I had a pretty good birthday! My youngest dd was home with a fever, but my husband insisted we give her motrin and go out to dinner, so we did. She was pretty much better by then...it was her 3rd day of running that high fever, so. Anyway, THANKS again to all those who sent me PM's on SCS with a BRAK!! That was nice of you to think of me. And I don't care if this WAS late, it's the cutest card...I just love it!!

Just *Ducky*

Today's sketch challenge, #111 {here} was to create a card using a tall panel, and at least 3/4" from the outside edge of card. I thought this little ducky fit the "bill" (get it?)

I had a little trouble with the black Stazon on the watercolor paper. The first 2 xs, I made his belly black, so this time, I didn't press as hard, and the image is really light. Oh well, I might go back over part of him with an ultra fine-tipped permanent marker. As you can see, I put C.E. (crystal effects) on his bill and feet to make ém look wet. Those extra little touches really make a card POP!! Thanks for lookin' :0)

EDITED: to answer your questions, #1) Ducky is from Whipper Snapper Designs (they've released their Spring '07 collection--check ém out!

#2) the grey shading is just an Aqua Painter dipped in the lid of the classic ink! Really easy to do. That's how I did all of my watercoloring on this one. Sometimes to get a darker pigment, I'll squirt a drop of refill ink to my lid, but mostly I just do a couple coats to get the shading.

*Candybar Sliders* / Hubby's V-Day Card

Well...our family enjoyed a very nice Valentine's Day (I hope you did as well!) For those of you blog stalkers out there, this post will look very familiar, as I know several others created these candybar wrappers as well, but none-the-less, I wanted to post for my other "crafty-challenged" friends and family who just like to look at what I've been up to :0)

A couple of days ago I posted the illuminating votive wraps for special occassions, but they were pretty girlie, and I didn't know what to get my dd's male teacher at school... that is until I came across Kendra's post about these candybar sliders! The best part was that I HAD the Loves Me designer paper that she used and so I knew I just had to make some as well. THESE ARE SOOO EASY TO MAKE!! And fun too :0) You will find an awesome tutorial at {Kristina Werner's site here.}

MY HUBBY MADE ME A VALENTINE!!

(don't scroll down yet!!)

Okay...this is too funny, but sweet! My husband sat down last night and made me a Valentine's Card this year!! He kept coming in my office asking me for certain punches, and some I didn't even have, so this didn't quite come out the way he intended, but I know it's "the thought that counts!" right? I'll tell you what I first thought when I saw it after I show it to you...then we'll see if YOU were thinking the same thing ;0)

Does this remind you of an alien?? (ROTFL)

He did a really good job with the colors and flowers, and he even punched holes and ran white c.s. thru the sides! AND do you see the brad in the "nose"?? Well, you turn the purple heart clockwise (following the arrows) and He wrote words in the oval punched out piece all the way around. It says, "Be Mine"; "I Love You"; "Happy Valentine's Day".
Isn't he the best?!!

A little tip on *KISSING*

Did I get your attention?? lol! I used the *kissing* technique on this card. V-day's a comin' and I still didn't make my hubby's card, so today's inspiration challenge {found here} motivated me to just do it! I really didn't want to use pink for his card, so dark purple and red seemed just the thing. Although this is for my husband, you can use the *kissing technique* on ANY of your cards and it's sure to go over well with your recipient!! Here's how to do it... 1) ink up your background stamp (in this case, I used Paisley background stamp with Baroque Burgundy ink) 2) press your uninked (in this case the heart) stamp onto the inked background stamp
3) stamp onto your cardstock!

If you want to outline it like I did here, I added one more step before stamping onto the c.s. After step #2, I used my painty end of a marker and went all around the outside of the heart, then you'll want to "huff" on the stamp before stamping onto the c.s. (this will re-moisten the ink from the background stamp).

This picture doesn't show it well enough, but after I cut out the hearts, I went around the white border with my 2-way glue pen and added dazzling diamonds. Then I used 3-dimensional foam tape to the backs to pop them up and make them stand out. For the scalloped bottom piece, I just used the slot punch, and punched it one after another in a row! The tag in the top corner has black hearts with light purple zigzag lines through them. Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Loving Hearts; Love Matters / Cardstock: Elegant Eggplant; Almost Amethyst; Whipser White / Accessories: ribbon, brads, 1/8" hole punch; slit punch; 2-way glue; Dazzling Diamonds; word window punch; 3-dimensional foam tape; double-sided tape

Setting the Mood - For Valentine's Day?

These illuminating votive wraps can help! These are the perfect thing to set on your table for your special Valentine's Day dinner (if you're eating in) or for setting a romantic mood in another room of your house or simply a little gift to give a friend for Valentine's Day!!

I created these a while ago and I'm sure I found the directions on SCS somewhere, and so I wasn't planning on doing a tutorial (after all...why reinvent the wheel?!), but now going back to look for it, I can't find this exact one...HOWEVER, I did come across a similar one {here} It's basically the same, except it doesn't use the tag punch and it has a really cute top rim with eyelets, instead of cut like a tag. Go check it out!!


Here's one up close:
I took a piece of Pretty in Pink c.s. cut it 10 1/2"x 3 1/4". Next, I stamped it with Canvas and then with Heart & Swirls background stamps. Then I flipped it over and scored it at every 2 1/2", leaving a 1/2" on one end. Then, I took the tag punch (larger one that came in the tag punch box) and flipped the punch over so I can see where I'm punching, I lined the punch up between the score edges and punched once on each of the 4 walls. Then, I just used my scissors to cut angles at the top to match the angles in the punched out parts.

NEXT: I stamped my images (flowers from Tags & More set) with black Stazon ink onto vellum c.s. which was cut at 1 3/4"x 2 1/4". I colored them in with markers, and taped each piece onto backside of each window. Then, I taped the little 1/2" flap at the end and taped together to form a box. Whala!! Here's a picture of the supplies, and you can see the votive and glass votive holder (which I found at the dollar tree).

100th Color Challenge!

Blush Blossom, Chocolate Chip, Cool Caribbean

This week's color challenge (#100!) was just that ... challenging!! I normally would not have put these colors together (?) but that's what's so great about these challenges! :o) I've been wanting to use these primas on a card, but nothing really came to mind for a layout...that is, until last week's challenge, #109 {view it here}. It was such a simple layout, and I love the diagonal on it. I do realize this needs a saying...seems incomplete without one on the front, but I just couldn't do it! There's so much texture already (and no white c.s.) that putting a plain flat piece of c.s. with an inked saying just looked tacky! KWIM?? lol

Once again, the green *bug* is getting a workout! I used the Provocraft A2 Textile embossing folder. {I got mine from All That Scraps} I ran 2 pieces of c.s. through it so I could use the second piece to layer on the front. Then, just to let you know...I did my layering first, put my brads through my primas and taped it onto the card front at an angle, and THEN I just trimmed the edges off! (the easy, cheaters way to do it for those of us who are metric-challenged!) :o) I did use the ticket punch on the corners and then added blue *flower* brads. What do you think?? Oh ya...if you'd like to see the gallery that has all the cards for this color challenge, click here.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: Are you wondering how you can get a cool cursor like mine?? Check out the link called "Cursor Mania" under my links list in the column to your right. They have thousands of FREE cursors and smilies and other fun stuff. Best part is...you can download them right away {free} and it adds the tools to your tool bar so you can change it up any time you want!! :) woohoo! I just found the link today over at Dawn's Stamping Thoughts...go check her out!

*Babycakes*

Stamps: Little Layers Plus; KF Snap Stamps / Cardstock: Almost Amethyst; Black; White / Accessories: Cuttlebug A2 Divine Swirls Embossing Folder, various ribbons; Signo gel pen; Giga Scallop Circle Punch; CM circle cutters; Ticket corner punch; Crystal Effects; Dazzling Diamonds; Amethyst, black, Saffron markers.

Directions: I Stamped the cupcake in black ink and used markers for the stripes on the bottom and candle. Then I watercolored the icing and then added crystal effects to it. The flame has dazzling diamonds. Then I cut it out of white, then cut a slightly larger circle in black and layered that onto my white scalloped circled. Then, I used my Karen Foster Snap Stamps to stamp "babycakes" around the black circle. I used my black marker to make the hearts in between sayings. Then I sponged the edges of scallops with black ink. In going around the cirlce with snap stamps, I ended up with a big gap, so instead of having just "baby" stamped, I added ribbon and a brad to cover that up. And of course, the bottom needed something, so I added some cute ribbons, punched the corners out, added white "faux brads" with a gel pen and whala! :o) Lovin' My Cuttlebug, can you tell??!!

Punched Daisy

Stamps: Happy Harmony; Label Classics; Beyond the Basics; Linen / Cardstock: Always Artichoke; Whisper White / Accessories: Oval Punches (both sizes of SU!); brads; CM circle cutters; Cuttlebug; Provocraft A2 Textile emboss folder; Pop Dots

Daisies are my favorite, so I just had to try one of these daisies with the oval punches. It might look a bit blurry, but I sponged the edges of all the ovals with grey ink. The center circle is cut with my CM cutters, and then folded in half. I stamped the Linen and Hearts bg stamps on the center 1/2 circle and then sponged edges also with going grey. The flower is layered onto Always Artichoke c.s., which I ran through my Cuttlebug with the textile A2 embossing folder. Then I took a sponge dauber dipped in white craft ink and lightly went over the embossed areas. The base of the card is white. Added a few white brads to the bottom just to even things out a little. The "Harmony" saying is on pop dots. Easy and quick card to do really. :o)

Two of a Kind

Here are my first two cards made with my new *hearts* dry emboss folder! Do you see the little white specks in the red flowers? That's the glare from the crystal effects...I put that on all the dark red flowers and the heart on the envie. The c.e. is new too and I just LOVE it!! It really adds shine and a 3-d effect. I know I'm like waaay behind the rest of you avid stampers out there in that I'm just now trying out stuff like this, but there's even more! *gasp* I've never tried liquid applique either!! But, sorry to inform you that I don't own any of that. (don't even know where to get it, since SU! discontinued it!) But I think that's almost a necessity when you own the Like it a Latte stamp set, don't YOU???

Woohoo! It's my birthday...gonna party!!

Okay, that's jumping the gun a little :o) My birthday is actually in about a week and a 1/2. But my bf sent me a package yesterday! (She's incredibly organized and efficient and always sends cards and packages way early!!) Anyway...she sent me lots of little packages for card making, like these cute little polka-dot and plaid brads!! It also came with striped square and plain white and red too! Then there's flower sequins, heart clips, snaps, rainbow shapes and more frills. Janelle, if you're reading this, THANKS SO MUCH!!! Love you lots! Watch for a card in your snail mail soon!! :o)

Birthday Doughnut

I actually *made* a doughnut!! {card that is!} I know I'm waaay late getting around to this fun little layout, but, nevertheless...here it is! The circle is cut through all layers of c.s., and then you tape a {single} 4.24x5.5" piece of c.s. to the very back. That way when you open up your card, the circle stamped piece is still "framed". If you're going, "HUH?" (like I did when I first read it), then go to this link, which explains this so much better!! :o)

The paper I used is *Loves Me* and the stamp I used is from the hostess set, Riveting. This paper pack, from the SU! Winter Mini, is sooo addictive to use. It's double sided even!! I'm lovin' it! For more ideas using this paper pack, see here. Thanks for looking!