Whisper: WSC41, CC159

Remember last week I posted about the newest stamp set from Clear Artistic Stamps called Whisper of Dreams? Well the first run has sold out, however Belinda is still accepting orders at the special intro price of $10.95 through TODAY, March 31st. That's a great deal and these stamps are just so beautiful. It'll take about a month to get the set in since it's backordered from the manufacturer, but it's worth the wait!

Do you also remember when I said I was going to be a guest designer for Clear Artistic Stamps for April? It's true! There will be new projects up on the Clear Artistic Stamps main page each week in April - made by me! I'll get them posted here eventually too, but in the meantime, check out the site for lots of cool new stuff. This is the main reason I've been so quiet with the art lately - I'm making a lot of stuff but it's "hush hush" until Belinda debuts it. Fun!

Here's a card I decided to debut myself today because I just love it so much. :-) This one features the Whisper of Dreams stamp set {of course - it just came on Saturday, so I had to play!!}, as well as Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #41 (WSC41) and Color Challenge #159 on Splitcoast Stampers (CC159). I was so busy last week I didn't get to try anything with that color combo until last night - but it is FAB! One of my new favorites I think, so look for more with this one in the coming weeks. The colors are Basic Grey, Soft Sky and Whisper White. I also used some Soft Sky prints designer paper, and the ribbon is from PaperTrey. I didn't order any of the Aqua Mist cardstock yet, but from the ribbon at least, it is looking like a near-perfect match to Soft Sky. I'll be ordering some paper soon to check that theory - Soft Sky is such a gorgeous and versatile color - I want to keep it around for a long time!

Would You Like Your Very Own Three-Column Blog?

I like the third column! I've wanted to try it for awhile but never made time {also, I was sooo scared of messing it all up!!}. I know you can download skins and such {don't even ask me the technical terms, I am flubbing my way through the blog thing as I go}. But it seems that with those sorts of things, you basically start over with a new look - so you'd have to redo blog rolls and widgets and all that. *razzzzzz* No thanks!

I had a fair number of comments and e-mails from other fabulous bloggers wishing they could have a three-column blog of their very own - but however did I figure out this wonderful, magical thing? *snort* {Probably, I shouldn't blog while punchy and tired}.

No big magic - I Googled it. The holy grail is in the form of a website that gives complete instructions on how to modify your existing HTML code to add the third column. It's easy - and the best part - no sidebar items are harmed in the making of the third column. I'm not computer illiterate, but I don't program HTML either. It worked great for my skill set {whatever skills those happen to be....}

Get yours <--click, click, boom! Remember to practice safe blogging - always back up your template code {with widgets expanded} before you even *think* about playing HTML games.

Finally Friday Favorites - 03/28/08

It's Finally Friday!!! About time too. Here are my Favorites for this past week - take a peek. {as always, in no particular order}

• Got Margaritas? by Julie Koerber. I love all the paper piercing she did, and the sentiment on the tag is too perfect. I see some more stamps I need.
• Baby Boy Card from Jackie Pedro. Perfect colors, fun take on the sketch layout, it's just adorable.
• Leslie Miller's Kinkade. Oh my - you simply have to see this one. It's amazing.
• Secret Gardens and Butterfly Kisses from Kelly Sampson. So pretty - I love the bling and the colors she chose.
• Challenge Card by Wendy Weixler. Bright and cheery and just cute cute! What a great take on the challenge.
• Amber Hight's Friday card. Wonderful layout and I love the scallop border!
• Harmony Silhouette by Jen-Marie. I know it's a FS card but it's beautiful! So soft...I could just eat it up!
• Dinos from Elizabeth. I need those stamps!!! And the color choices, the detail on both cards - yum!
• Nuts about you by Katharina. Sooo adorable. Look at all those layers! I love layers.
• Toni's Coral Flowers. Just gorgeous! Love the main image and the gold accents.

Tutorial Thursday - 03/27/08

Three ROCKIN' tutorial links for you this week - have at it!

• Embossing Powder Splash from Jillene Jacobsen. This looks amazingly cool! I can't wait to try it.
• Kris's One Hole Bow tutorial. Nice. Anything that lets me make nice bows is aces in my book!
• Jeanne Streiff's Triple Scratch Faux Linen. This background piece is a work of art unto itself! Amazing dimension and depth of color - I've done Faux Linen before but Jeanne's way is in a whole 'nother solar system than just "brayer, sand & stamp". Don't miss this.

Tie One On!

*snort* I just love the title of this Blog Candy post by Heather. {She actually calls it a blog BROWNIE, what a clever, clever girl!} Go and pay her a visit, leave some love and have a chance to win some free ribbon. You do want a chance to win free ribbon, don't you? {duh...}

WSC40 Chalkboard Fred - Belli Challenge 10

Here's a card for today's Belli Challenge (CBC10) - Chalkboard. I love this technique! I used my Pebbles, Inc. Pearlescent Shimmer Chalks and my Prickley Pear stamps - Fred and Hang in There.

I also incorporated Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge 40 (WSC40). I have the BEST time creating with her sketches, they are always just my style!

Cardstock from Stampin' Up! - the colors are Brocade Blue, Blush Blossom, Regal Rose, and Chocolate Chip. The "Designer Paper" is actually Martha Steward gift wrap I got at Michael's on clearance - the brownish-orange dots are fuzzy - how fun is that?! The twill is Berry Sorbet from Paper Trey. All of their new colors are sooo yummy. I only ordered a few things but I can see already that I need some more.

Tipster Tuesday - 03/25/08

Yes, again, I know it is Wednesday. And even worse, Wednesday night, so very very late on the Tipster Tuesday. Things are finally settling back to normal though, DS #1 finally had school again after the long, long, LONG spring break. Did I mention long? Poor thing was so bored, and with me sick - ugh. Ah well, we are doing much better.

I read this tip on Jen Del Muro's blog the other day. Normally I would just link it but she had a rather long post {read the whole thing here} so I thought I'd paraphrase. The gist of it is - when using the clear glitter pens to provide a sparkly highlight {like Sakura Stardust or the Copic Spicas}, use a damp Aquapainter to pull & blend the glitter back into the image a little bit. This will allow you to fade and feather that "line" where the glittery overlay ends into a seamless transition to standard, un-sparkly image, providing a nice highlight but no visible "shelf" where that shine ends. As always when working with Aquapainters or blender pens - be careful not to use too much water - you'll pill the paper and/or bubble it up and then you're starting over. Not good!

This is a GREAT tip, and one I will be trying it on a project very soon {like tomorrow}! My cure-all for eliminating the glitter line was always to just glitter the whole thing, LOL. I think that defeats the purpose of a "subtle highlight". What, me -- subtle!?

Clear Artistic Stamps Serenity Line

Ooh! Look - do you SEE the new stamp set that Belinda at Clear Artistic Stamps has just released?! They are absolutely beautiful! This set is called "Whisper of Dreams" and it is the first set in a new stamp line called Serenity. These stamps feature dogwoods, butterflies and lovely original quotes. It's on special this week for only $10.95 {I already ordered mine}. You need these!! Go right to the sale page --> click here <--

Facelift - Good or Bad?

What do you think of my new three-column blog template?

Good? Bad? Ugly?

I wanted to try it out for a bit - I think it'll be easier to organize widgets and link lists. Let me know how you like it {or don't}!

Madison Shoebox Swap

This past Saturday was the 3rd Annual Mad-City Madness Shoebox Swap hosted by Tracy (AZMommy on SCS) up in Sun Prairie. What a great time! I have been to all three events now and it's always a blast. Many of the same people have attended this or similar events in the area over the years and it's good to see everyone too, and catch up.

This was my original swap card for the event. I have, in the past, been known to make my cards a bit too involved because I just can't stop fiddling with them, LOL! Last year's card, for example {click here to see it} required an OBSCENE amount of prep time before hand with background stamps, cuttlebugging, sanding, distressing, masking...it required masking and coloring to make the card that day too. I love that card, but WHAT was I thinking - for a shoebox swap?! I made a concious effort this year to KISS {keep it simple, stupid!}.

I like how this card turned out, unfortunately, it has heat embossing, eyelet setting and background stamping {not once, but twice AND due to the card orientation you have to try to line it up}. No! Too putzy for a shoebox swap - bad bad Jennifer! I don't even know how the facility would feel about heat embossing in their banquet room? But that's a tale for another day...

In the end I went with a simplified version of this card, nixing the heat embossing and the background stamp. It wasn't as *wow* but it was still pretty. We have to do what we can with the time that is given to us {at the shoebox swap with 30 other stampers}! *wink*

A Wonderful RAK

I received this card the other day from Erin as a thank you for my last blog candy drawing. Wasn't that sweet!? That designer paper is one of my favorites too. Thanks Erin - I just love happy mail!

My Sketch World

I absolutely love sketch challenges! Lots of very talented stampers and scrapbookers post sketch challenges from time to time - you've seen that many of my recent creations use a sketch from one or another of them. Have you seen Lucy Chesna's sketch blog - My Sketch World? She's got a lot of fun stuff! She posts both card and layout sketches twice monthly - and I'm designing for her now on the card layout team! She has two groups, so we each get one card sketch monthly. My group's layout and samples will be posted on the 4th Saturday of each month beginning in April. Once they're on her blog I'll post them here too. Check it out some time and play along with me!

Both Way Blossoms Tulip Card

Boy, at this rate I am going to deplete my stash of "oldie" cards to share when I don't have anything new! I have been fighting getting sick all this week and don't have much energy left tonight, so it is what it is.

This card is a real favorite of mine though, and was my swap card at last year's SCS Chicagoland Shoebox Swap organized by Starmaze on SCS. I was just so pleased with how the design turned out and this one screams "SPRING" to me. Not here though, of course, as we are in the process of getting another foot of snow. Yes, 12 inches. It's horrid!

The Pretty In Pink background piece is stamped with Aida Cloth and French Script BG stamps, then run through the Cuttlebug with the D'Vine Swirls folder. {Not doing THAT again for 46 swap cards, let me tell ya!} The scallop "rectangle" is 2 overlapping squares from the giga-size scallop punch. The photo corners are punched too, with white gel pen dots on them. I free-handed the doodle around the flowers, which are colored with SU pastels.

Complete supply list: Stamps: From SU - French Script, Aida Cloth, and Both Way Blossoms. Paper: Whisper white, basic black, certainly celery, and pretty in pink cardstock. Ink: SU - basic black {remember, this is an old card!}, certainly celery, pretty in pink. Accessories: cuttlebug, giga scallop square punch, photo corner punch, celery and black grosgrain, black and pink brads, white gel pen, celery and pink pastels, black marker for doodle.

Tutorial Thursday - 03/20/08

Sorry I didn't get any art uploaded today, I do have a couple things sitting here but didn't get to do the photos & mojo today - DS #1's swimming lessons and massive spring cleaning took up all my daylight!

I do have some GREAT tutorial links for you for Tutorial Thursday though! Wouldn't miss that weekly feature. I know I usually only link up one or two of the highest quality gems out there, but there were some very busy stampers this week with a lot of cool information to share and I simply couldn't choose just one.

• Lauren Meader's Marvelous Poppin' Acetate. Stunning as always.
• Michelle Zindorf's Prismacolor Pencils. Watch your head because that bird looks SO realistic you'll think he's going to fly right at you.
• Jessica at There She Goes with a Packing Tape Tutorial. I've never heard of this and it's soooo neat!
• Savvy & Sassy Ribbon's Ribbon Shapes Tutorial. Love it - great use for scraps and way cheaper than you can buy the embelli's that look JUST like these!
• Penny at Penelope's Pitstop's Faux Leather. There are other Faux Leather tutorials out there but I really like this one, it's easy to follow and her finished product speaks for itself.

Whew! That's a lotta info, I know, but all too good to pass up. We'll see if we can make next week more manageable.

Another Triple - CBC9, WSC39 and CC156

Good Wednesday morning! You know what that means - time for the Belli {emBELLIshment} Challenge at Creating with Chrissy. This week's challenge is to use GLITTER on your cards. Now, you didn't expect me to miss that, did you?!

If you make a card for the Belli Challenge, be sure to post a link in the comments section on Chris's site under the CBC9 post for a chance to win a random drawing! If you upload to Splitcoast, put CBC9 in the keywords so we can see all the creations at once.

My card also uses Beate's Weekend Sketch #39 (WSC39) and the Splicoast Color Challenge CC156 - Wild Wasabi, So Saffron and Purely Pomegranate. I had to add in a splash of Chocolate Chip because it just wasn't working without a mat under the So Saffron DP.

I stamped my Boxed Partridge from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps onto Poison Ivory Shimmery Cardstock using Palette Burnt Umber. You can see it a little better in the second photo, but I added glitter to the entire image. I worked with one color at a time, using my Quickie Glue Pen to highlight the area and then adding the appropriate color of glitter. Aside from Dazzling Diamonds, all of the glitter I use is either Art Institute or an Ultra Fine Art Glitter from the LSS.

I used part of the image from Partridge in a Branch to stamp the images onto the Wasabi cardstock on the left and on the Pomegranate strip over the DP. Then I did some sponging on the base card and scuffed the edges with more Wasabi ink to give some depth. The main image is triple matted and added to the card using dimensionals. The So Saffron DP is from the retired Palette O Prints paper pad - I have been hoarding mine!

Tipster Tuesday - 03/18/08

I have a few great tips to share with you tonight. They are totally random too, no theme this week!

• Make yourself some VELVET brads!! Check out Taylor Van Bruggen's newest discovery.
• An old but ALWAYS useful tip I have attributed to Phyllis McKay: when you've got your stamps and ink out, stamp extra designs that need to be cut out (for layering or whatever). Then whenever you get time, just pull out the folder or box with these in and cut them out. I have an other box with the cutout images in ready to use. Makes for some quick and easy cards that look like they took precious time to do with the layers. {I also like to do this with images that need to be colored. Then DS #1 and I can color together and not even have to go into the stamp room and it's even quasi-portable!}
• Susan Moore at grateful heart has a great tip for ribbon dyeing - you've got wet, dyed ribbon and you want to use it NOW - tumble it dry using your heat gun and a coffee mug. Genius!
• This was mentioned on one of my Yahoo Groups - To prevent getting strings of hot glue on your projects,keep your glue sticks in the freezer until ready to use.
• Mary Fish says....Make your Scallops into Medallions. Oooh....

Some fun new stuff to try out! More tips next Tuesday.

Simple Brick Oval Father's Day

One of the best things about being on the Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps design team is getting to try out some of the AMAZINGLY cool products!

I'll give you a "for instance". See this card? It's made using an image from the Vintage Roadside Digital Download sheet. Digital Downloads are a new product that PPRS came out with last month and I LOVE this sheet. It has some really rockin' images, especially for masculine projects and they're all in color! All you do is purchase the sheet through the website and you get the file sent directly to your e-mail address. No shipping, no hassle. Once you have all you need to do is print it and use the images on your projects.

This old brick house is printed onto a transparency sheet. Yeah!! I just love the way it looks with these vintage images. As soon as I saw it I had the idea to make a Father's Day card because this house reminded me of the house my dad grew up in in North Jersey.

To make this card, I cut my River Rock and Really Rust cardstock to size and centered my Petite Oval Nestabilities over the top and folded the other half of the Really Rust cardstock around the C plate so it would only cut through the front. Then I ran it through my Cuttlebug to cut {yes, it punched through both layers of cardstock in one swoop}. I re-ran the River Rock through to get the embossing around the oval, then distressed the cardstock by dragging my Palette Haystack, New Canvas and a little hint of Burnt Umber across the paper.

I cut out the old house image and layered it between the River Rock and the Really Rust and glued everything down. The inside panel is GP 110# white cardstock that I printed Happy Father's Day onto just using MS Word and the RGB color code for "Chocolate Chip" to get a nice rich brown ink - R66, G28, B28. The whole point was to allow that to show through the image when the card is closed. Then I added the brads in all four corners and called it done. I know it's hard to believe I kept it so simple - not even a speck of glitter or ribbon - but since this is a masculine card I didn't want to add too many "extras" and end up making it look girly, YKWIM? *grin*

As you can see this is a really straightforward card. I love having the option of quickly printing these full color images and using them right on my project - it's fast and easy but it looks GREAT {well, I think so anyway, ha!}.

Pretty Petal Prints

No *new* art yet today - can you believe I went to bed at 9:00 last night?! I know, ME. Crazy! So no stamping time. :-( But I was exhausted and probably wouldn't have come up with much anyway.

But I do have something pretty to show you. This is a CASE I made a LONG time ago of something I saw on Splitcoast. Unfortunately I don't remember who made the original, or I would be happy to credit them. {It's also an OLD and not so great photo, as you can see}.

This card uses Petal Prints & the matching wheel, the sentiment from All I Have Seen, and French Script background. The colors are Mellow Moss, Whisper White, Apricot Appeal and Bravo Burgundy. The Moss piece on the left side uses the "faux embossed wheel" technique - first you wheel your image in your base color, then you ink it up with white, line it up so the images will be right on top of each other, and wheel it again. It looks pretty cool - but have lots of extra cardstock around because it takes a little practice! I was actually showing a friend this technique and trying to talk/explain and do it at the same time and I totally flubbed it, LOL!

Hopefully I'll be back later with something new! We have a playdate today to decorate cookies with one of DS #1's friends from swimming lessons. It's spring break this week so we have a LOT of togetherness with no preschool.

Michael's Coupon Link!

Thanks to MixedMediaMutt on SCS, here's this week's Michael's coupon link - good until March 22nd!

Gimme 40% off!

I also recently noticed that this coupon (as well as the ones that come in the paper) no longer excludes the Martha Steward line. Score!!

Strawberry Daiquiri Rockstar

I've been waiting on posting this card because it's another one that I actually SENT to someone! Wow, twice in one month I mailed the cards I made. heehee. I actually made this one specifically to send so maybe that doesn't count into the *gasp* factor.

Since I sent it about 10 days ago I figure it has reached its destination by now. This one flew all the way to Florida to Beate at Fresh & Fun as a thank you for the AMAZING fresh & fun freebies {blog candy} that I won from her a couple of weeks back. She is so generous - I got a brand new Make a Wish set from Gina K and lots of yummy May Arts ribbon. *swoon*

The main image on this card is from the Happy Hour set from Firecracker Designs by Pamela. I think we all know how much I love that set! The sentiment is from the Starlight Starbright set from Verve Visual - this one has GREAT sentiments, I've been reaching for it quite a bit lately.

This is a small card - 4x4, and the colors are Regal Rose, Wild Wasabi and Rose Red (the DP). The DP came from a Stampin' Up! 6x6 pack, it's either the retired Palette O Prints or the current Level 1 Hostess set, I can't remember which one. The Hodegpodge frame is from SU as well - antique brass. I stamped the hurricane glass in Palette Noir on Shimmery White and punched it with the Marvy Mega circle punch (my circle Nestabilities are STILL on backorder!!!!). I colored the glass, highlight and "table" with Prismacolor markers. I "colored" the inside of the glass with my Quickie glue pen and dumped on Strawberry transparent art glitter. I punched the Wasabi prints paper with the Giga Scallop circle and layered them.

To make the umbrella I stamped it onto a scrap of the Rose Red DP and cut it out, cutting off the handle part. Then I cut a sliver off of a toothpick with my Xacto knife and slid it into the umbrella in the right spot. I also cut a slot in the glass itself and stuck it in. It has a bit of dimensional behind it, as does the Giga circle.

I did the wave cut with a special blade on my Cutterpede - first cut your paper to size then cut again to make the wavy edge.

That's it. I thought it was kind of a fun card and I love these colors together! I'll be using this combo again.

Finally Friday Favorites - 03/14/08

Yes, I am a day late once again - but with good reason. DH and I went out last night with some friends - the first time out since DS #2 was born!! We had fun but very tired today of course. I had wanted to get this up before we left but didn't have time. Isn't that always the way?

So anyway, here they - this week's Top 10 Finally Friday Favorites - as always, in no particular order:

• Little Trucks by Maria Levine. So cute - love the bright colors, layout, and all the dry embossed bits.
• Still Winter by Michelle Zindorf. This card is AMAZING, and Michelle has a tutorial on how she did the mirror image magic.
• Tag Card by Nichole Heady. As with everything she makes, this is classically elegant. Nichole also provides some step by step instructions and a template.
• Out of this World by Cambria Turnbow. What a fabulous card for a little boy. I love all the detail from the stars and embossed background to all the dimensional images. Since I had two boys I am always looking for really COOL boy card ideas.
• Elegant Birthday Wishes by Kelly Sampson. A beautiful card using this week's SCS color challenge, this card as a wonderful layout and so much "extra" - brads, CB embossing, yummy satin ribbon, glitter dots, etc. It's perfect!
• Basic Pomegranate Double Challenge card by Laura Fredrickson. So yummy! Another with this week's SCS color challenge, this is just so classic - the white base and black ink with grey and pomegranate accents.
• Girly Girl LO by Erika Martin. This is the most wonderfully girly layout I've seen in a long time. The combination of colors and all the flowers are just perfect with the photo - and the details she put into it is amazing. I can't even describe it, you have to just go look. It makes me want a girl so much!
• Wild Pomegranates by Beate Johns. Love everything Beate makes, of course, but this one caught my eye especially. I love all the paper piercing and the cardstock circles under the brads - what a great touch!
• Cherish by Monika Davis. Love the concept of the clear cards that's been floating around the last week or two - and instead of an ENTIRE clear card, just a portion with the main image "floating". They look great! Love the colors Monkia chose on this one too. Great details!
• Simple Thinking of You by Natasha. Great card - she didn't try to make it too complicated, the design speaks for itself and it really works! I have a very nasty habit of over-analyzing things and making them harder than they need to be. I will be taking a lesson from Natasha on this one because I love this!

There they are! Thanks for stopping, I'll have some art for you later.

TSSC8 & AFSS8 - Naughty Fluffles!

Here's another card using MJ's Techno Stamper Sketch Challenge #8 (TSSC8). I also incorporated Allison's Suggestive Sunday for this week (AFSS8) - which was kitty stamps! Fluffles is my favorite kitty, although there are many great ones out there. I even have a TAC set that is realistic kitties. But for this one I reached for Fluffles.

I had this color combo in my head, but I wanted to use designer paper for the left hand layer. Well, the only DP I could find in grey in my ENTIRE STASH was this winter one - if you can belive that {I know!?!?!}. So then I had to get out my only winter Fluffles (I was hoping to use the Ladybug Fluffles in honor of Spring)...and it all went from there. I'm not thrilled with this one - probably due in part to the winter theme, LOL. It is 46 degrees today though so I shouldn't complain.

Really straightforward card. I colored the image {stamped on Poison Ivory shimmery cardstock with StazOn Stone Grey} with Prismacolor markers and Glaze pens. I added glitter to the red parts of the stocking and the berries. The cheers stamp is from A*Muse. The dark red cardstock {it is darker than "Real Red"} is from Archiver's.

Now try to be good....you don't want to end up like Fluffles this year!

Tutorial Thursday - 03/13/08

Thursday night again, and time for Tutorial Thursday!!! This week I've got a link up for you, and I am hoping to have one of my own done for next week.

This was a definite no-brainer, because the best tutorial I've seen all week {or really, in a long time!} is Jody's Drunken Watercolor. What a completely brilliant idea, and as you can see from all the photos and comparisons she included, this is a huge find! Using alcohol as a blending medium just seems to yield a richness of color that water can't duplicate. Don't get me wrong, sober watercoloring has its place, but alcohol is a great tool in the stamping cabinet!

Also, I personally did this technique to color a large paper Prima flower and it worked SO well. The alcohol evaporated quickly enough to keep the paper from getting saturated and destroying the integrity of the flower, while still allowing me to work the color across the flower. I used the flower on the card I posted yesterday - Click Here to see it.

An Award, For ME?!

Thank you Richelle! She said I made her day - isn't she the best? Of course this was like a week ago but it still counts! Sorry I'm so late with this Richelle, I am working on getting caught up. :)

Getting this note from Richelle (she's one of my SBS13 Sistas!) just made me smile. I hadn't stamped in DAYS and was into a little bit of a Jennifer Pity Party and this turned my attitude around!

In turn, I'd like to give a quick shout out to the following fabulous ladies and their inspiring blogs:

• Jody Morrow with her AWESOME creations using the Essence of Love stamp set (well, and everything else too, but especially these the last few weeks!). She made me buy it - even though "I'm just not buying any more stamps right now".
• Nancy at Scrap This! She makes the most amazing scrap pages, I am in awe of her talent.
• Wanda at My Creative Corner. She's got great tips and art to share and she posts all the time - I don't know how she gets so much stamp time but whatever it is I want some!
• Coley, also one of my SBS13 sistas, who is always dropping by and leaving sweet comments, I LOVE getting feedback and this always gives me a little lift.
• Lesley, another SBS13 sista, who is always swinging by to say hi - just like I'd think a real sista would!

I hope this can brighten your day as it did mine. I'll be back later with this week's Tutorial Thursday post!

Belli Challege (CBC8) and Sketch Card

Happy Wednesday!! You know what that means - time for another Belli Challenge over at Creating with Chrissy! This week's (CBC8) was to use flowers as embellishments. Fun fun fun - maybe this will help speed spring along toward Wisconsin because we're still knee-deep in snow up here.

This card uses Prima flowers (bottom) and those AWESOME shimmery paper flowers from Michael's bridal section that Lauren told us about a couple weeks ago. The ones on this card are from the Ivory bucket.

The Deets: Very little stamping on this one - wow! I cut my Elegant Eggplant cardstock to 7" by 8" and scored the long side at 4" to fold. Scuffed the edges with Eggplant ink and a sponge. Then I ran the River Rock cardstock through the Cuttlebug with one of my new folders, then rubbed Palette Haystack ink over the raised parts - just a little. Went around the edge with the gold end of my Zig Painty. Then I dyed a large white Prima flower with Elegant Eggplant ink. The River Rock-ish layered flower came out of the Got Flowers jar that color. I added a pearl brad (also from the Michael's bridal section) to finish it off. The Eggplant grosgrain is from Stampin' Up, so is the retired metallic gold grosgrain. I used Holly's Easy Peasy Ribbon Tying on the cross ribbon. The ribbon goes around both layers.

The flowers are out of the can that way, but I took some gold brads and added a mini glue dot to each one then dipped them into Eggplant-ish glitter that I just happened to have, LOL. They are all attached to the card with mini glue dots.

Again, I didn't have the right color Hodgepodge Hardware frame (this is from a pack I got at Hobby Lobby) so I colored it with my Zig Painty also. Stamped the sentiment (from Stamping Bella) onto a scrap of River Rock cardstock with Elegant Eggplant ink and placed it onto the card.

The sketch for this card came from Lucy at My Sketch World. I had fun making this one, and it is going out in today's mail to a VERY special birthday girl on Splitcoast Stampers!! She is in Wish RAK (as I am a birthday fairy) and her birthday is this weekend! Can you believe I am actually mailing a card I made instead of hoarding it in a box in my stamp room?! I just hope it brings her an extra smile on her big day.

This one works for Bela's flower challenge too - bring on Spring!!

Tipster Tuesday - 03/11/08

Tuedsay already? Wow, time flies. Here are a couple quick tips - I still have to finish up teacher gifts for DS #1's preschool teachers - tomorrow is the last day before Spring Break and Easter so I am almost out of time!

• Do you love the shiny stuff as much as I do {i.e. glitter, pearl ex, embossing powders, etc.}?? Well, as we all know, it can get everywhere - on our work surface, on our clothes, on our babies....LOL. Keep a Swiffer cloth right by your side when working with powders - nothing I've found cleans up better and can remove stray particles from your projects too!
• I got this one from Rox71 on SCS - Heat your embossing powder from underneath to avoid fly away. YES!!
• Another from Rox71 - If you use the Coluzzle templates, mark each line with a different colored permanent marker so you know which line to move your knife to when you reach that cross over point. {um, how brilliant is that? To think here I was trying to count the grooves and remember where I'm at like a dope}.
• You know how every time you go to dinner with your family (read: "with your 3 year old") you get the kid's menu and the Blue, Green, Red and Yellow crayons to try to keep them amused while you order and eat as fast as possible? I save the yellow ones - ESPECIALLY if they are the cheap Rose Art (or whatever they are) brand. I use them for doing Crayon Resist - instead of white - for two reasons: 1. It's yellow, so you can see where you're drawing but it still rubs off just like white without staining the paper - (sometimes the darker colors leave a trace behind that won't rub off) and 2. The cheaper crayons don't color as well, so they rub off more easily while still providing plenty of resist coverage.

Ok, there's some real gems there, I hope they help someone! Off to finish teacher gifts then off to bed, but I have lots more to share this week so stay tuned!

Triple Threat Challenge Card!

Stampin' time today - oh I am soooo happy. Here's a triple challenge card for you to peek at. We've got the sketch from MJ at Techno Stamper (TSSC8), this week's SUPER yummy color challenge at Splitcoast (CC157 - Black, Basic Grey and Pomegranate) and the challenge from Bela at Bela's Creating Place to make cards with flowers - anything goes as long as it has flowers (she has blog candy if you participate - go see!).

Whew! I know how to make the most of my stamping time today, huh?? Not sure if I am loving the Cuttlebug die cut corner in the upper right, but it felt like it needed SOMETHING else when I looked at the nearly-finished product, so I added that. Any opinions on that?

So, this card came together pretty quickly. The right-side background piece is Basic Grey, and I used the direct-to-paper method to rub on Basic Grey ink, and then Palette New Canvas (white) over the top of it to distress it a little. I made the black scalloped piece using my small EK Success corner rounder (the yellow one) with the guard removed. Stamped the Hibiscus from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps in Palette Noir on Shimmery White and colored it in with Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol. The metal frame is actually from the Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardware kit from Stampin' Up, but obviously Antique Brass was the wrong color for this card so I colored it silver with my Zig Painty. I used the SU oval punches to finish that off. The sentiment is from Stamping Bella.

Can you believe there is no glitter on this card?! What kind of a crazy day is this?

TSSC7 and WT156 Card

I started this card on FRIDAY and was finally able to finish it up last night. As soon as I saw MJ's Techno Stamper Sketch Challenge #7 (TSSC7) I saw this card in my head. Finding time to make it this past week was another story...

This just shows how long it took me to get going last week - a NEW TSSC comes out today. In a couple of hours, actually. Sheesh!

I also incorporated the "Ways to use it" challenge from this week on Splitcoast (WT156). I've never specifically done a WT challenge but this one worked out well - it was to use the computer on your project. All of the wording is done on the computer, plus I made the lined notebook paper.

I love those ribbon slides from the new Hodgepodge Hardware kit in the Occasions Mini. Danyelle from Hangnailz N Papercutz sent me some, and these are the last of them. Now I guess I've gotta buy my own, LOL!

The drink and umbrella stamps are from Firecracker Designs by Pamela's Happy Hour set. I think this is probably my favorite set ever! I find myself reaching for it all the time. I just love the size of this hurricane glass and all the accessories that go with it. And don't get me started on the awesome hibiscus blossoms - in THREE sizes! *swoon*

I did the words on the computer and printed them out, then I stamped the hurricane glass in Palette Noir on GP 110# white cardstock. I don't have all the sizes of the A*Muse ovals, so I had to improvise because all of mine are too large. So I made a mask of the bottom part of the glass, punched a small SU oval out of a scrap of cardstock and sponged on the Brocade Blue ink. I colored the glass and the highlight with Prismacolor markers. I used a Quickie Glue Pen to do the glitter.

Then I stamped the umbrella on a scrap of GP cardstock and used the Quickie Pen again to add the purple glitter. I cut a slit with my Xacto knife and stick the umbrella into the glass and popped it up on a dimensional. I used TRANSPARENT glitter for both of these items so that you would still be able to see the stamped image underneath it. That piece is up on dimensionals.

For the bottom right panel I made some lined paper on the computer and used Word Art so I could add the words at an angle without printing twice. I punched with my SU spiral punch and distressed a little with scissors so it looks like it was a torn sheet from a notebook.

The background paper is from a DCWV stack. The ribbon is from RABOM and is two-tone grosgrain - how COOL! The cardstock colors are Brocade Blue and Wild Wasabi. Thanks for looking!

Random Facts Tag!

I got tagged again - this time by Danyelle at Hangnailz N' Papercutz. So sweet of her to think of me in the midst of her big move!

P.S. - You've been tagged!

The rules of the game:

• Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
• Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog, we all want to know them.
• Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
• Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Random facts about me:

1. I started college when I was 16, and I have an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering and a Master's in Envrionmental Engineering. I know, right?! Of course now that I have two kids under the age of four I'm a complete dope who can barely remember our home phone number. The back story - I was living in Minnesota and they have a Statute on the books that states that juniors and seniors in high school may opt to attend college in lieu of high school (on the state's dime, I might add) if they meet certain academic requirements. It's called the Post-Secondary Enrollment Option. It's a fab way to get almost half of your college done completely free! So when I graduated from high school I had something like 90 college credits. Although I have to say, it wasn't always easy from a social standpoint. I'm glad I did it though.
2. I adore roller coasters. The bigger the better! I'd ride all day long if I could.
3. I am SO in love with Jon Bon Jovi - since about 5th grade I would guess. Seriously! DH is outta here if he ever showed up at my door! (oh - if only, if only).
4. I can't stand to have my different foods touching each other on my plate before I eat. It's so weird! I've been that way since I was a kid. My mom made me use those plastic divided toddler/child plates until I was like 10 because I was such a freak about the food mixing.
5. I don't drink beer (eww), only liquor. In mixers -- not, you know, straight up. *snort*
6. I LOVE football. I don't have as much time to watch since the kids came along but when I do get the chance I have a blast. Yes, I scream at the TV.
7. I'm an original Jersey girl; a fact which is readily apparent when I get angry. heh heh.

Nothing too crazy, I know. Maybe next time! *wink* According to blog-land laws, I need to tag 7 people so we can learn all their dirty little secrets too. heehee! Spill it ladies, you know you want to share. Eenie, meanie, miney...

• Heather at Ink on my Ear
• Maria at Ria Creations
• Jackie at The Scalloped Edge (a new find for me, but straight into the Google Reader for daily stalking! GREAT stuff here!)
• Ely at Confessions of a Teenage Scrapper
• Maureen at My CASE Studies
• Leslie at Running With Scissors
• Lesli at Dragonfly Time (some of the best scrap pages you'll find to inspire you!)

{Most have been on my daily read list for awhile, with a couple of newer finds thrown in the mix too!}

Sand Shaker

Just a quick post for a quick card - this is actually a super old one but since all my new stuff is still top secret, I thought I would post *something*. Sorry the pic is not very good.

A fun shaker card made using Summer by the Sea from Stampin' Up! - and I used real beach sand in the shaker box (I asked my parents to bring some north on one of their visits awhile back. I think it looks like the little boy is actually digging in the sand. :-)

I am off to stamp for the first time in DAYS. Be back later or tomorrow with some new projects (I hope!). I also have an award to share and a tag post to finish up. Busy busy!!

Finally Friday Favorites - 03/07/08

It's Finally Friday!!! You know what that means - time for my top ten Friday Favorites for this past week. As always, in no particular order, they are:

• To Infinity and Beyond from Paula Bloom. What a great card for a little boy. I love her layout and colors. My DS #1 is in love with Toy Story and can be heard shouting this phrase at the top of his lungs randomly throughout the day. I gotta get my hands on some of those images so I can make something like this for him!
• Glittery Wedding Wishes from Heather at Ink on my Ear. This card is so cute, it's got nice clean layers and is simple and classy. The sparkle makes it AMAZING.
• Tangy Turquoise from Stacey King. Love this one - fun summer colors, CB embossed acetate (COOL) and faux chipboard. What a great find!
• Scor-Pal Easter card from Gina K. A tutorial to go along with this one, very cool idea, and I love the layout and colors on this card.
• Seashells by Faith Hofrichter. Love her coloring, as always, bright colors and the use of the photo with the card design is perfect!
• Birthday Card from Cathy I. Love the layout, great spring colors and the little extras like sponging and marker highlight really make this classic card pop.
• Hippo Birthday by Dawn. TOO cute, lots of fun scallops and polka dots to go with this adorable colored hippo image. A definite winner!
• Mother's Day from Alex Eaton. Beautiful colors and coloring, I love all the dimension on this beautiful card.
• Hip Hop Hooray by Tammy. Pretty sure that bunny is going to hop right off the card! Kitchen Sink Stamps are on my "if only, if only" list right now until I can find a few extra bucks, and I am wishing hard for them, believe me!! I love the spring colors and the amazing depth she got with all the sponging.
• Stinkin' Cute from Jackie. This card is so true to it's title! I love it. Absolutely perfect coloring, and all the dimension with the CB and animals... Yum! Great color combo too, I'm writing that one down for future use.

There they are - this week's Top 10! It's always hard to pick just 10 but these all jumped up and down with their hands in the air screaming "pick me!" so go check them out. You won't be disappointed!

Virtual Swap Using Beate's WSC37

There are a lot of "virtual check marks" next to this card! I made it for the virtual swap that Danyelle is hosting, I used Beate's WSC37 (that's last week's), and it's also my last card for March's Firecracker Designs by Pamela DT (I had the So Hoppy Together set). Whew!

I had fun with this sketch. I just noticed though that I am missing the extra horizontal panel under the main image - because it's not on my printout that I was working from!! My black ink cartridge has been slowly dying (today it went kaput completely in the middle of printing) and it printed the background as one piece instead of 2 shades of grey that Beate has on her sketch. Oops!!

I actually made another card using this sketch too, but you can't see it yet. *g* Look for it in April on the Clear Artistic Stamps website as part of my guest designer duties!

But that's for later. This card came together pretty well considering that I was really searching for my mojo when I sat down to stamp. The colors here are Basic Black, GP 110# white, Ballet Blue and So Saffron. Inks are Palette Haystack, SU Ballet Blue and Sahara Sand. I used white rub-ons from the SAB package inside the Hodegpodge frame, and a Quickie glue pen to add the Dazzling Diamonds to the flowers. Did a little splatter pattern from SU's Itty Bitty backgrounds on the Ballet Blue piece. Pretty no-frills, but I like the clean lines that it ended up with.

Could that Silver Hodegpodge kit *be* any more fun?! Danyelle sent me a couple of pieces to use for the swap since I didn't pre-order one, but I think I'm going to have to do so before the Occasions Mini is over!

Technique Thursday - 03/06/08

A day late - again. It's just been that kind of week. I have also been working on some projects, but I can't share them just yet. I will get something up today one way or another, and I'll have some more things to share very soon!

To make it up to you I have another 2 for 1 Technique Thursday! See, you still love me. :-)

• I always admire Faith Hofrichter's vibrant, beautifully colored cards. She does amazing things with SU markers, which I haven't used much since I got my Prismas. I'm going to have to go back after reading this awesome tutorial on coloring. Click here.
• From technique queen Lisa Somerville - another way to create Faux Shimmer Sheetz. You might remember I linked up to Gerrie's Faux Shimmer Sheetz awhile back, and here's another option for you! Both look fabulous - try it out. And when you're ready, go subscribe to the Technique Junkies newsletter. You won't be sorry.

There you go! I'll be back later with some art, a tag, and the Finally Friday Favorites for this week - busy busy!

A Very Inspiring Blog Candy Link Up

You have to see what Wendi at Kaput Krafts has to give away - and why! Her teenage nephew is participating in a fundraiser for children's cancer research. It's not passive either, he's going to be shaving his head to help St. Baldrick's foundation raise money. What an amazing gift he is giving! Wendi has 8 prize packages to give away, donated from some of the best stamp vendors and artists around in support of this cause. All you have to do to be entered is make a donation.

Tipster Tuesday - 03/04/08

Yes, I know it is Wednesday. I went to bed early last night as I was sooo tired and not feeling great. Much better after a good rest AND DS #2 slept aaaaaaalllllllllllllllllllllll night!! That helps!

Here are a few tips for this week:

• Do you HATE dealing with that little plastic insert under the StazOn covers? Take 2 glue dots and place them INSIDE the black stazon cover, then press the insert into the cover. The insert will stick to the top, so that when you remove the lid, the plastic insert comes off with the lid AND stays positioned when you are replace the cover.
• I have this tip on paper piercing attributed to Laurie Ann Woo. When piercing around a square or rectangular frame, it's a good idea to puncture your beginning and ending dots when piercing portions of the frame. Why? So you don't overshoot your target! Then, it's easy to re-align the template and keep going. Again, puncture your beginning and ending holes so you know where to start and where to put on the brakes!

And a couple of links too:

• A great article on how to tie perfect bows in shoelaces (or....RIBBON). Click here.
• How to make a cross-ribbon binding on altered art books & such. This looks SO cool! Click here.
• 20 FREE fonts available now from scrap-n-fonts, including some from Creating Keepsakes! It's a limited time offer (I don't know HOW limited, they didn't say), so go quick!
• Carloyn King says: Anyone can color!!
• The Inspiration Station from Michelle Wooderson.
• Oh yes. Patty Bennett said COLORED Ribbon Slides!

Blog Candy Link Up!

In honor of her site breaking into the Stamping Top 100, Melanie Muenchinger over at Hands, Head & Heart is giving away one of her new stamp sets to a random, lucky stamper!!! You *do* know she is a stamp designer - you can buy her super cute sets at Gina K.'s retail store or online.

Check out her post here to see how YOU can be entered!

A Screamin' Deal From QKD

You want to save some green on your next order at Queen Kat designs? Of course you do! The blinkie has a secret coupon code for you!! Look closely...

Seriously, I love these stamps! The images are soooo adorable and fun I can hardly stand it. I actually wanted to apply for their design team awhile back, but I missed the deadline due to family stuff and I could have just cried because {as you all know} I absolutely LOVE designing, but I only try for companies who's products I love! Otherwise - why would I want to use my stamping time working with them and promoting them! Makes sense, right? Oh well, there is always next time! But see, now you know I am not just *saying* that I am crazy for these goodies, you know it's true. That was the whole point of my story. :-)

AND, the Queen Kat herself, Vicki, is one of my SBS13 sisters, so you must go and show her some love!

Sketch Challenge Birthday Frog

Here's one of the cards I made at Scrap Mania on Saturday night. Actually - I *started* it Saturday night with a different layout, but on Sunday morning when I went to finish it up I saw that Lauren had her weekly sketch up - and I loved it! So I switched some things around, and viola! This card uses Lauren's Saturday Sketch from March 2nd and my So Hoppy Together stamp set from Firecracker Designs by Pamela's new spring release. These stamps are available now - in fact they just came out on Saturday!

I used my Iron Eagle punch from EK Success to do the border - just pop the guard off and punch punch punch! (Lauren used scallops on the sketch, but I had this piece punched already so I thought I'd try it here). The shiny purple piece is from the DCWV Glitter Mat Pack (thanks Heather!!). I stamped the frog in Palette Noir on GP 110# white and colored her in with Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol. I added glue from my Quickie Glue Pen to her shirt and dumped on some "Snow" glitter to give her a fuzzy sweater. The circles were made with Marvy punches.

Tagged!

I was tagged by the fabulous Jessica Lynn (owner of JessicaLynnOriginal), and also by my sweet new SBS13 sista Debi!! It's a Q&A tag - here goes...

What were you doing ten years ago?

Oh my, in March of 1998, I was a junior at the University of Minnesota majoring in Chemical Engineering. I was working as an "assistant engineer" for an environmental consulting engineering firm - where they made an absolute KILLING off of me because I worked my butt off and they paid me peanuts. Little tiny peanuts with no shells, LOL. I never slept because there was too much to do.

What were you doing 1 year ago?

A year ago I was *just barely* pregnant with my DS #2, and still working part time for yet another environmental consulting engineering firm. Once we found out about him I resigned in an effort to keep the stress levels down & spend extra time with DS #1 before the baby.

Name your five favorite snacks.

1. Those unnaturally orange cheese crackers with the peanut butter in the middle. Yummy!
2. Fiddle Faddle/Crunch N Munch/Poppycock.
3. Pastry.
4. Grapes.
5. Chips & salsa.

Name five things you would do if you were a millionaire.

1. Build our dream house {complete with dream stamp room}, fenced in yard, screen porch, giganormous swing set for the kids, etc.
2. Go to Italy for a month's vacation w/ DH, the kids & my mom & dad.
3. Get a nice big camper for summer trips.
4. Get some stamp "necessities" for myself, some model railroad "necessities" for my DH & some good stuff for the boys.
5. Pay for the boy's college and a nest egg for them to start in "life".

Name five things you like doing.

1. Spending time with my family & friends.
2. Stamping & scrapbooking.
3. Watching movies.
4. Surfing the internet & chatting with friends.
5. Riding roller coasters.

Name five things you would never wear again.

1. Gelly shoes. You know the ones from the mid-80's?
2. Maternity clothes.
3. Fake gold jewelry.
4. Super high-waisted jeans {that only look good on the excessively skinny}
5. Ugly undies. Go cute & fun, you'll feel better about yourself!

Name your five favorite toys.

1. Stamp room counts as one, heehee.
2. Computer w/ wireless internet.
3. Digicam.
4. Cell phone.
5. My kids' collection of DVD movies - otherwise known as "Five Minutes' Peace for Mommy".

Now, it's my turn to tag five more people. I tag Lorraine, Brenda, Chrissy, Diane, and Allison. I read their blogs every day and they're all fabulous. {I enjoy reading the "real life" posts just as much as the stamping ones!}. Hope you girls get a chance to tell us a little more about you!! You just need to answer these few questions and then tag 5 more bloggers. Have fun!

Special Honor!

It's finally the day for another big announcement from me! I have kept this one to myself for awhile - can you believe it?? :-) I was asked to be a guest designer for Clear Artistic Stamps, and of course I was honored to accept! This position is wonderful for me because things have been so busy around here lately I almost don't know what to do....but this way I still get a chance to play since it's just a one month term!

To celebrate, Belinda is having another contest and blog candy/stamp giveaway! Go check out Etha's Blog or the CAS Main Page for details - it's a fun & easy chance to win a great prize doing something you do anyway - blog surfing!