Tipster Tuesday - 04/29/08

I am back with my regularly scheduled programming!! Things are a bit more normal around here - for now at least.

Here's a compilation of tips for using paper scraps. I have this attributed to Dawn Rhodes (it is from a couple years ago - she wrote/compiled this, so note that the "I" in the list is Dawn). I know unless the scraps are really small bits, I save save save them, but of course it would be better to use use use them so they're not taking up so much space and always needing to be put away!! Here are some great ideas to get the most out of your paper.

1. I store my scraps by color by family in individual file folders for later use. I save almost any size scrap
2. I am able to use scraps for all small pieces like word window anchors, circle backs to brads, picture corner triangles), inch and inch and a quarter squares/circles for layering punched pieces, waterfall cards, etc.
3. When I have some time I use my scraps to punch a bunch of tags and layer them ready for future stamping use. I also make circles and squares and layer them in favorite and often-used color combinations - again for future quick card use. I store these in the small and medium plastic stamp boxes.
4. Thin scrap strips are often used as part of the design on my cards - two or three parallel and close together on the top or bottom third of the card in a coordinating color. I have also used strips at the bottom and top of a large focal piece that fits the whole length of the card - this makes it appear as if I used a much larger background layer and really only used scrap strips!
5. Punch several small circles of all colors and keep them in a small plastic box - when you're looking for a new color combination, throw them out on the table and look for colors that 'work' together - this was a suggestion provided at Denver regional this year by one of the artists. It works!
6. Use the very thin strips for 'grass' filler in a basket. Put them through the paper crimper for more texture.
7. Paper Salad is a favorite of mine!! Take several pieces of your scraps, put them in a cello bag, with a 1/2 sheet of neutral CS, an Envy, and couple pieces of matching ribbon. Tie the bag up with a pretty ribbon or make a topper..... easy, CHEAP gift!!
8. For layering of course!!
9. Color Blocking
10. To make color charts for each color family!
11. Trading Cards on a ring. Cut your scraps to trading card size, 2 1/2 x 3 1/2. Then punch a hole and put them onto keychain rings. This makes great gifts and also an easy way to show samples of all colors!!
12. Mosaic cards
13. Use the rectangle double punch along the bottom of a card and 'weave' a strip through.
14. Use our Jumbo Circle or Jumbo Square, and make a card stock sampler ring as a prize or gift.
15. Use really thin strips with the Window Word Punch (I especially love to do this with scraps of background or double sided papers since I hate throwing away any scraps of the stuff....
16. Use thin strips to make a 'border' - you know, kind of like they use a chair rail in decorating.. then stamp coordinating colors and images above and below the border.
17. One of my favorite things to do is if I am not sure how a certain color will look stamped on a color of cardstock, I use a small scrap to stamp color on color to test it.
18. Also, if I have a project that I didn't like how something turned out, I save the stamped pieces for testing purposes. Also, you never know how a ruined project for one thing will work in the future and be 'just the thing I was looking for!'
19. This might sound wierd, but I always have more scraps of some colors, like a ton of one color and none of another...it is weird to me, anyway. When I am preparing for a class, I plan projects using the large number of scraps first, especially if I have larger pieces.
20. This is another take on the paper salad idea: punch out shaped punch pieces and put them in a medium flat cello with a cool topper as door prized this was really cool when we had more shapes, but now it would be cool to make photo corners with our neat corner punches -- especially for scrapbookers.
21. The smaller scraps are great for using with punches. {Jen says - I sometimes sit down and pre-punch shapes that are the right size - you can keep the shapes in a little baggie, then if you need a scallop circle, go see if you have one in the right color before you punch a new one}
22. If I need a die cut, I grab scraps!
23. When making a mini album (or any project, really) where small corners, strips, and pockets are needed, the scraps are normally all you need.
24. Scraps are perfect for creating eyelet/brad “washers.” This is another opportunity to add a coordinating splash of color to your project.

Have a great paper scrap tip to share? Leave a comment - I'll go back and add them in. Happy Tuesday everyone!

Monday Quiz

If a man is talking in the forest, and there's no woman around to hear him - is he still wrong?

HAHAHAHA. No, sillies, that's not the Monday Quiz! That one is too easy.

Here's the real Monday Quiz - the Moon Survival Challenge. {I love this kind of stuff}. Let's all hope we are never in the situation to have to implement this knowledge, shall we? Because, face facts. Yes, I would theoretically survive when stranded on the moon using scavanged parts from my ruined space craft. But on the flip side....STRANDED on the MOON...yeah.

86%

My Sketch World - April Card

Happy Saturday! Lucy has gotten up all the fabulous designs for the My Sketch World Card Design Team {Group 2} so I wanted to get mine posted and share the info so you can go check out all of the cards.

Both of the images here are from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps. Nicole has some of the *cutest* Halloween stuff!! DON'T FORGET - all unmounted stamps are 40% off until the end of the month - so get yours now!!

This is a 4" x 6" card - I chose the images first to fit with the card layout and then sized backwards from there. Here is the sketch:

Complete Supply List. Stamps: All About The Candy and Trick or Treat Ghost from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps. Paper: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie cardstock, GP 110# white, pattern paper. Ink: Palette Noir and Versamark. Accessories: AMuse ribbon, Gems from Michael's $1 area, Designer buttons from Dress It Up, Heat tool, white EP, Prismacolor pencils, stumps, gamsol, dimensionals, mini glue dots.

My Name in LIGHTS!

FAME...I'm gonna live forever, baby remember my name...

heeheehee!! I just wanted to share something I thought was just so fun. The fabulous Danielle at OTT-LITE has featured my little corner of the world on the OTT-LITE blog! How cool is that?! I was just speechless when she e-mailed me to say she liked my blog - and would I mind if she added a link sometime? Hmm...let me think...

Do any of you talented ladies have an OTT-LITE? Share your thoughts! I can't wait to get mine, I have the exact one I want picked out, and DH has agreed it's a must-have, we're going to share it for our hobby work {he does model railroad stuff}. But with this whole house selling business, I have been waiting to pick it up - I cringe to bring anything else into this house that I will have to shove somewhere when people come to look at it. I am so hopeful that it will sell soon - and then it won't matter what a DISASTER area my craft room looks like. When I create, I must say, I can really get worked into a whirlwind. Even I am amazed at some of the stuff that ends up out on my tables in the end. But I have always said that a clean room is the sign of an unhealthy mind - so I'm safe there at least!

Anyway, a huge Thank You to Danielle - I am honored {I got the post title from her too, isn't she creative?}.

Specials from Firecracker Designs by Pamela

LOTS of exciting things going on over at Firecracker Designs by Pamela right now that I wanted to share with you!!

• Two new preorders are up - a great animals set that coordinates with the existing Create a Scene, and a great Flourishes set designed by current DT Member Brenda Loock! Both sets are being offered right now for only $5.99 each - that's ridiculously cheap! Remember, preorders don't last very long so hurry up - you have until April 28th!
• Some of the clear sets are retiring and are on clearance right now on the Sale Page.
• HOT DEAL!! When you order $20.00 in merchandise {before tax and shipping}, you will receive the Mahalo stamp set FREE!! And if you order $50.00 in merchandise, you will receive both the Mahalo AND Up Up and Away Birthday Balloons sets FREE!!!! NO coupon code needed, this "Hot Deal" will be automatically added to qualifying orders when shipped! Offer expires midnight on April 30, 2008. {I have lots of samples using Up Up and Away right here on my blog}.

Good stuff! Go shop. heehee.

A Quickie Carnation

A card at last! Although I admit I can't take full credit for this one. It was one of the "make" cards on my list for the Mad City Madness Shoebox swap that I attended back in March. Sort of.

I loved the layout on this one, and the striking colors, but I did not at all like the original main image. It was to be one of the silhouette ladies from the set in the Stampin' Up! Occasions Mini Catalog, which sadly, I think are quite unattractive. No offense meant if you like them, but not at all my style. Sooooo...I left off stamping that part at the event and when I got home, I used this gorgeous carnation from my Sitting Pretty set from Firecracker Designs by Pamela.

Much better! ;-)

Ballet Blue Virtual Swap - Danyelle's Card

Happy Sunday! This card was made by Danyelle over at Hangnailz n' Papercutz for the Ballet Blue Virtual Swap she created & hosted. Isn't it gorgeous!? You had to use white rub ons, silver Hodgepodge and Ballet Blue. A fun and easy swap since you only have to make ONE and you don't even have to send it anywhere, just a picture. I am all for easy!

You can see the card I made for the swap here. Check out the blogs of the other participants too:

Amber

Nardi

Wild About Paisley

Here's an older card that I can't believe I've never posted here - it was a favorite of mine when I made it. I used this card as one of my designs for swapping at the Stampin' Up! Chicago Regional in 2006 - so I made about 80 of them. I just LOVE that lion from Wild About You. It's such a fun set and a great one for kid cards!

Obviously, this card is several years old. If I had it to do over again I'd have some "ground" for the poor lion so he wasn't floating out there in the middle of the card. But I still like it. :-)

40% Off Sale at Prickley Pear

Starting tomorrow, Sunday April 20th, for TEN DAYS only, Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps is putting all unmounted stamps on sale for 40% OFF. That is a HUGE discount! And this could be the last big sale for awhile, so go check it out!!

If you need a little inspiration, click on the "pprs art" tag/category on my lower left sidebar to bring up all the projects I've made with Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps. Happy shopping!

Blog Candy Winner??

Just a quick note - I still have not heard from my 10,000 hits blog candy winner, Sara. It has been a week now since I did the drawing - if she doesn't contact me by tomorrow morning I will draw a new winner from the entrants on the original post.

ETA - She found me! :-)

Update on "Life"

So I've alluded to things being busy around here in several prior posts, we are trying to sell our house to get something a bit bigger and a bit newer - and I can't even BELIEVE how much cleaning and picking up has to be done around here just so people can see the place. I guess that's what happens with 2 kids and a cat {plus us}. DH likes to look around after a big cleaning and declare that "this is how the house should always look!".

{gag, gasp, ack, snort} Excuse me? Um, we *LIVE* here - all day, every day - with two kids! Stuffing all the toys into the furnace room or putting them into the vehicles because they're so bulky, clearing everything off every horizontal surface and hiding it anywhere we can {I still can't find my slippers or the handiwipes that were in the kitchen} is simply not an acceptable daily practice. I think somewhere in his mind, he does understand this, because when asked "and what color is the sky in your world" he will invariably answer "red". But he just loves to bust my balls {figuratively speaking of course}.

Anyway, this is the reason I've been such a bad blogger and haven't gotten up some of the posts I've been promising. I haven't even stamped in 10 days. It's awful. But there is now a list and I am working at it in my spare time and I also hope to stamp tonight. All those things I've been saying are coming down the pike are still coming and hopefully soon. Just keep checking back and bear with me - I hope to be back on track by the end of this weekend.

Clear Artistic Stamps #3

Here's another card for my guest designer month at Clear Artistic Stamps! Yep, more glitter. :-) This was last week's featured project on the guest designer page - so that means there's a new card up now! Check it out here.

Card Instructions:

Cut Celery cardstock to 4.25" x 11", score and fold the long side at 5.5" and set aside. Stamp image from Nature in Word onto the acetate sheet (I used overhead transparancies) using Black StazOn. Once it is dry, flip it over and apply glue from the Quickie Glue Pen, using it just like a marker. Working in small areas, focusing on one color of glitter at a time, add glitter to the image. Be careful not to apply too much glue or go outside of the lines! Once you've coated the first area of your image in glue, cover with your first color of glitter. {I have a LOT of glitter, and I only use ultrafine art glitter. Mine is all from either Art Institute, or my local stamping store, which buys bulk and then sells in 1 oz jars.} Tap off excess. Repeat this series of steps for each section and/or color of glitter. Let the glittered images dry very well (I set them aside overnight).

Cut a piece of Artichoke cardstock to 5.5" x 1.5". Layer on the chocolate satin ribbon and adhere with mini glue dots. Over the top of that layer on the gold organdy and the RicRack. Put the finished panel onto the Celery card base using dimensionals. I cut out the glittered image and applied Mono Multi very lightly to a few of the glittered areas so I could adhere it to the card base. I used my Stampin' Up! photo corner punch {because it has 2 sizes} and made punches with Chocolate Chip and Artichoke cardstock. I layere them and added the Brilliant Blue brads using my paper piercing tool.

Here's a close up of the main image to try to show the sparkle!

Complete Supply List: Stamps - Nature in Word set from Clear Artistic Stamps. Paper - Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip and Always Artichoke cardstock (Stampin' Up!), Acetate sheet. Ink - Black StazOn. Accessories - 5/8" chocolate satin and gold organdy ribbon from RABOM, Green RicRack from May Arts, Quickie Glue Pen, Mono Multi glue, Mini Glue Dots, Lots of different colors of ultrafine art glitter from Art Institute Glitter and from my Local Stamping Store, Dimensionals, Brilliant Blue brads from Stampin' Up!, Paper Piercer, Photo Corner Punch from Stampin' Up!

Tipster Tuesday - 04/15/08

Just a {late} quickie tip - check out this post by Novell about Shrink Plastic. COOL!

Awards and Tags!

Happy Monday! I am finally getting some time to post some WAY overdue awards and tags from some of my fabulous blogging friends. I know I've been a bad blogger lately ~ sorry! We are trying to sell our house and boy does that take a lot of TIME.

First up, a tag from Lorraine. If you haven't seen her blog, you should check it out - she's got great ideas! This is the Seven Random Facts one - tell Seven Random Facts about yourself and tag seven other bloggers. I have trouble with this one - I am just not that interesting I guess! I did do it once before but I thought up some new facts for today. heehee.

1. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a teacher "when I grew up" - beacuse my dad was a teacher at the time. That only lasted until about middle school though, when I realized that I have NO patience for the kind of explaining and time it takes to teach someone school subjects - like math.

2. I'm such a hoarder - always have been {what papercrafter isn't right??}. When I was younger, whenever I got "more" of something, or something new, my dad used to say "look, something shiny!" because I'm such a pack rat. {get it - because the pack rats take all the shiny stuff and run it back to their burrow or wherever and keep it forever, never using it for anything or throwing it out....kind of like patterned paper.}

3. When I was pregnant with my DS #1 I had some memory problems. Either from "mommy brain" or from lack of sleep, not sure which! One day we were doing some landscaping and I went into the garage to get something, completely forgetting what I needed when I got in there. As I'm standing there my DH comes to find me and asks what I'm doing. I remember - sort of. I told him I was looking for "the hole-maker thing". He stared at me....then he says {in the voice they use with the people at the "special" hospital} "do you mean that you need a shovel?". Honestly! I could not remember the word shovel for the life of me, or where I would find one in our garage. Once he said that it all clicked back though. It was a bit bizarre though.

4. I prefer Diet Coke over Diet Pepsi any day.

5. I love to read. If it is "my time" and I'm not stamping {or blog surfing!!} you'll find me reading.

6. I always wanted to be able to sew. My mom can sew really well - she's amazing, actually. Doesn't even need patterns. But I can't! Although I recently bought one of those Hello Kitty sewing machines (a 3/4 size no less!) for sewing on cards and layouts. Now, if I can just figure out how to use it...

7. My cell phone ring tone is the song "Rockstar" by Nickelback. I love that song!

So - what's the verdict, am I dull? Did you even read down this far? Well, I'll try to get some better facts for the next tag, how's that sound? :)

I am going to tag:

• Kisa at Kisa's Paper Cuts {I know I tagged her not long ago but I think her facts will be funny so I wanna hear 'em}
• Jessica Lynn at JessicaLynnOriginal
• Danyelle at Hangnailz n' Papercutz
• Ely at Confessions of a Teenage Scrapper
• Karen at Karen's Creation
• Debi at Just Me and My Rubber Stamps
• Linda at The Stamper's Touch

I also have a "You Cheer Me Up" award from Monkia Davis at M.A.D. Stamper. Thanks Monika! I've been stalking {um, I mean reading} her blog for-evah and she does amazing work. She's also got a feature "Treasures of the Day" sharing great cards she's found in her blog adventures for even MORE insiration. Very cool!

I'm giving this one to Deb at Paper, Ink, Scissors and Stamps {she's so fun and I LOVE her blog} and Mary Dawn at My Pink Mexico because they cheer ME up!

Last one, I have a You Make My Day award from Sue at StampinDaly. Thanks Sue! I know I've been a bad blogger lately with {not} leaving comments much - just been too busy. I am so happy to have such great blogging friends to still think of me even when I am MIA! You're all fabulous. I am passing this award on to Richelle at Lady Bug Spots {for ALWAYS leaving me such wonderful comments!}, Giovana at A Place to Praise and Craft {I hope you get your trip to Peru SOON}, Wendy at Inkling of Love {for giving me your blog addy to check out - I love it, you're such a doll!}, and Delia at Scrapping With Friends {she's a newer blogger but sooo talented - I LOVE her layouts and she's so sweet too!}.

Whew, I think I am caught up with tags now at least. I have a lot of projects sitting here too, but I have to run to preschool for awhile. Hopefully I'll have some more posts later today!

Stamps for Sale!

Check out my "Stuff for Sale" listing - I'm trying to get my stamp room cleaned and organized {well, as good as it'll get anyway} so we can show our house and try to get it sold. If you see something you need, e-mail me! I take PayPal. :-)

Blog Candy Winner!!

Happy Saturday morning!

Thanks to everyone who entered my blog candy for 10,000 hits! I am overwhelmed by all the good wishes and feedback on my blog. You are all fabulous. Thank you for visiting me and especially for those that take the time to comment on projects. It just means so much to me!

Ok, ok, I am done, Hallmark moment over. :-) The BIG WINNER of the day is....

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:64

Timestamp: 2008-04-12 15:56:13 UTC

That comment is by Sara in WI. Congratulations Sara! Please e-mail me your contact information {Blogger did not have anything listed for you} so I can get this in the mail!

Check back soon too because I received some PIF candy from Chris {mudmaven} so I have more stuff to give away -- probably Monday {I am aiming for Monday, anyway}. I also have several more projects here just waiting for their 15 minutes of fame, plus a couple of cards from my SBS13 sisters, some awards, and at least one tutorial to post. It's going to be busy around here!

TEN THOUSAND Hits?!?

This post will remain at the top until the drawing. Scroll down for the new stuff - and believe me, I have a LOT of new stuff to share this week. Also coming soon, some PIF candy (so much stuff to give away, so little time!).

Oh my gosh - I just noticed that my little hit counter has spun itself past 10,000 hits! Can you believe it? How fun is that, anyway? Between all the wonderful stamping time I got yesterday at Scrap Mania (hi Heather!) and this *serious* blog milestone, I declare it to be Stampin' Party Time!

You know what that means -- Blog Bling!

Isn't it beautiful?? You didn't think I'd pass up the chance to share something shiny, did ya? The lucky winner will receive a brand new set of Shimmers Pearlescent Chalks from Pebbles, Inc., a 5-yard roll of yummy yummy two-tone grosgrain ribbon (light and dark pink), and a brand new wood-mounted stamp from Inkadinkadoo. I have both color sets of these shimmery chalks myself and I love them. I haven't used those "regular" ones since I opened these.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post - any old comment will do. Tell me about yourself, what you like or don't like about my blog, share a recipe, a funny story, whatever! I'm easy. *wink*. ALSO -- you may enter this drawing EVERY DAY, until the end of the contest. Just leave a comment on THIS post, one per person per day please.

I'll use a random number generator to choose a winner on Saturday, April 12th at 10 AM (central time).

HUGE Sale at Jessica Lynn Original!

Jessica Lynn Original will be releasing some new stamps in the near future, so right now she is CLEARING OUT to make some room for the new designs! That means big savings for you - 35% off all in stock stamps!! That's a huge savings and an amazing deal for you. Go see!

ETA: The SALE is now in effect until APRIL 20!!

Little Boy - Sparkle & Shine: CPS58

Wouldn't this be a great card for a little boy? At least that's what I was going for with these bright colors! I know I've mentioned before that I am seriously Bold Brights challenged, the only color I use from this family on a regular basis is red.

All stamps are from Firecracker Designs by Pamela. My April design set is of course Birthday Balloons - Up Up & Away and I've had a lot of fun with it. If you are interested in seeing all of my projects made with Firecracker Designs images, you can click on the Post Category of "fcd art" on the left sidebar.

This card uses CPS58 from the Card Positioning Systems blog. If you haven't checked them out before, you should! Lots of great ideas and new sketches to try out. Here's the sketch:

To make this card, I cut a piece of Green Galore cardstock to 4.25" x 11" and scored the long side at 5.5". I cut a piece of red cardstock to 4" x 5.25" and ran it through the Cuttlebug with the new Numbers embossing folder {can't remember the exact name}. I used the largest Nestabilities scalloped rectangle to cut the Brilliant Blue piece, and nested the largest regular rectangle into it for the main image.

I stamped the balloon in red ink, added Quickie glue and Dazzling Diamonds glitter. I drew the string by hand and added the doodle by hand as well. I cut the tag with my Cuttlebug & Cuttlebug dies and punched the stars with the Small Star Punch from Stampin' Up! {first I stamped them with the Striped Stars from the Verve Visual Seeing Stars stamp set}. The main image and the stars are on dimensionals.

Simple Rose Card

Here's a card that did not involve ANY challenges AT ALL! Wow! Just my very own thoughts. Can you even believe it?! heehee.

You may recognize it from last week's Guest Designer page at Clear Artistic Stamps. Since Belinda has another project up there for this week, I thought I'd post this one here for those who might have missed it. I loved this card and it was fun and easy to make. You should see the sparkle of this card in person! Here's a close up view of the glittered roses:

Project Instructions:

1. Cut white cardstock to 5.5" x 8.5". Score and fold the long side at 4.25". Stamp "Love" from the Sweetpea Sweetheart stamp set in the bottom right corner and set aside.

2. Stamp the rose image from the Nature in Word stamp set onto an acetate sheet (I used overhead transparancies) using Black StazOn. Once it is dry, flip it over and apply glue from the Quickie Glue Pen to the flower bloossoms. Be careful not to apply too much glue or go outside of the lines!

3. Once you've coated the blossoms, cover with Art Institute Ultrafine Opaque Glitter #1 "True Red". Tap off excess.

4. Repeat Step 3 for the stems. I used Art Institute #114 "Leaf". Let the glittered images dry very well (I set them aside overnight).

5. Using Nestabilities Petite Oval dies in the Cuttlebug, cut and emboss an oval in the front-center of the white cardstock you cut at the beginning.

6. Place your finished image into the oval frame (glitter side down) and adhere acetate to the inside of the card.

7. If the inside of the card looks messy where you adhered the acetate, you can cut another quarter-sheet of white cardstock with an oval window and cover it up - basically sandwiching the acetate between two layers of white cardstock with ovals cut out. The reason I say to cut the oval out of the second layer of cardstock is so that the front of the card has a completely see through window with glittery roses in it - like stained glass.

Complete supply list. Ink: Black StazOn. Stamps: Nature in Word & Sweetpea Sweetheart stamp sets from Clear Artistic Stamps. Cardstock: GP 110# white. Accessories: Nestabilities Petite Oval dies, Cuttlebug (for Nestabilties), Overhead transparancy sheet, Quickie Glue Pen, Art Institute Opaque Ultrafine Glitter in #1 True Red and #114 Leaf.

A New April Card

Check out my Guest Designer Page at Clear Artistic Stamps - Belinda has my second April design up complete with supply list and instructions. Enjoy!

Tipster Tuesday - 04/08/08

Just a quick one for today - AMAZING idea from Lorraine Rowe for inexpensive do-it-yourself sticky sheets...and GLITTER!

Show me Lorraine's post!

More Birthday Balloons: CC160 & WSC42

Happy Monday! Can you believe - a first thing in the morning post? From me - on a preschool day?? Oh, and WOW, look out the window at those flying pigs! Who'da thunk it?! *snort*

Ok, I'm done. Can you tell I'm pleased with myself for having this up and going?

This card uses the current color combo challenge on Splitcoast - CC160. It calls for Creamy Carmel, Mellow Moss, Cameo Coral and Apricot Appeal. I also went with Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge for this weekend - WSC42. I think it works really well with this stamp set. I actually have another card I made with WSC42 but it's for my April Guest Designer work at Clear Artistic Stamps so I can't show it to you yet! You'll probably recognize the sketch when you see it though. Here it is for reference:

All stamps are from Firecracker Designs by Pamela. My April design set is Birthday Balloons - Up Up & Away, isn't this a fun one?! I've needed a balloon set for awhile now and when Pamela showed us this one I was thrilled! This is my third project using it {you can scroll down if you missed the first one}. If you are interested in seeing all of my projects made with Firecracker Designs images, you can click on the Post Category of "fcd art" on the left sidebar.

Do you love those glitter dots on the right side of the card? They're from Gina K's store, {I went to the retail shop, but I believe she has them online too}. Lots of fun colors with these, but a warning -- they are not self-adhesive! I used mini glue dots to stick them down and they work fine. For some reason though, I expected they would be self-adhesive. Go figure.

Don't forget to enter to win blog candy! You can even enter once per day - how's that for a good deal?!

Complete supply list: Stamps - Birthday Balloons - Up Up & Away. Paper - Prints Pack L1 Hostess, GP 110# White, Creamy Carmel, Mellow Moss, Cameo Coral. Ink - Mellow Moss, Cameo Coral, Palette New Canvas. Accessories - Ribbons from Hobby Lobby, glitter dots from Gina K, Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, Diamond in the Rough embossing folder, Quickie Glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, white gel pen, dimensionals, mini glue dots.

Basic Sky Birthday - TSSC11 & CC159

Here's one of the cards I made last night! I just love this color combo - it's so striking and elegant. This is CC159 again from Splitcoast Stampers - Soft Sky, Basic Grey and Whisper White. All stamps are from Firecracker Designs by Pamela. My April design set is Birthday Balloons - Up Up & Away, and this is my second project using it {look down if you missed the first one}. I am really happy with how this card turned out!

I also used MJ's Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge from this past week - TSSC11. Just made it! She'll have a new one up tomorrow - always have fun with her sketches so I'm looking forward to it. Here's the sketch for reference:
This is a really straightford card, but it has a lot of dimension. The entire main panel is on dimensionals, as well as the center white square and the star layer. I think it pops when you see it in person. I have need of a lot of birthday cards this month, so I may actually mail this one. Can you believe it?! *smiles*

Complete supply list: Stamps - Birthday Balloons - Up Up & Away. Paper - Soft Sky, Basic Grey, GP 110# White, Soft Sky Prints. Ink - Stone Grey StazOn, Soft Sky. Accessories - LOTS of dimensionals, metallic star brads from Making Memories, both sizes of SU star punches.

Arte y Pico Award!

Ugh, this is soooo late, but I am finally getting to some of my "backlog" blog posts. Choosing who to pass these along to is so hard because I love so many blogs! There's so much talent being shared out there, it just makes me smile every time I load up my {ever-growing} Google Reader list.

The award - thank you goes out to Chris Dickinson! Yes, Ms. Weekly Belli Challenge herself has showered me with a little love. :-) I am so happy to get this, Chris, you know you made my week!

There are 5 rules attached to this:

1) You must pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributions to the blogging community...no matter what language.

2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given them the award itself.

4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of the

"Arte y Pico" blog, so everyone will know the origin.

5) To show these rules.

The 5 blogs that I am awarding are:

• Linsey Rickett at Outside the Lines
• Monika Davis at M.A.D. Stamper
• Michelle Zindorf at Freedom in Creating
• Kisa Peters at Kisa's Paper Cuts
• Tammy Hershberger at Stamp Happy

Check them out for some SERIOUS inspiration!

Finally Friday Favorites - 04/04/08

TGIF!!! Today was a good day here, 50+ degrees, happy children {for the most part}, I got to get my hair cut and highlighted for the first time since early December {I know!!! I usually go every 6 weeks!}, we got to play outside with the kids and had takeout for dinner. Does it even get any better than that? So for us at least, the week definitely ended on a high note.

On to the Top 10 Favorites of the week....

• We're Lucky layout from Irene. Just LOOK at the details on this! It's absolutely amazing. Take the time to read the post, she talks about the different elements and what she did in creating this.
• Dream Dress by Becca Feeken. A new find for me, but what a great card. I really like all the depth to the focal image.
• Blush Blush Sketch Card from Becky Givans. I like the layout, the sentiment overlay and the way the card is so black & white with a bit of color to draw the eye to the flower. Cool!
• Bird Card by Lynda Benden. Fabulous coloring job and great layout here. I love all the details - Cuttlebugging, paper piercing, bling, ribbon. It's got everything!
• Riley Card by Broni Holcombe. He's adorable! Love all the dimension she got onto this card. This was a really good color challenge too.
• Birthday Cards from Michele Boyer. Love them both, what great layouts and coloring too! These CC Designs images are TOO cute.
• Swanky Cowboys by Leigh O'Brien. LOVE IT ALL. This is so cute and FUN I could just eat it up.
• Butterfly Card from Sarah Green. This is so beautiful. Soft colors...so elegant.
• Sketch Card by Shannan Teubner. I was a big fan of this sketch, and this card is a fantabulous example. I love the image too. And let me just say, I would give a LOT to be able to hand-doodle adorable borders like that!
• Pirate Card from Ana. This is so so so adorable! The images themselves are great, her coloring is GORGEOUS and the paper colors and eyelets. Love it!

There they are! This week had a LOT of amazing projects - I hope I helped you find some new ones for inspiration. Happy weekend to everyone! I will have some more art for you soon, I promise. I've been working on a lot of stuff. :-)

Tutorial Thursday - 04/03/08

Yeah, yeah, just ignore my days of the week. One of these times I'll get it right! I found some good stuff this week:

• Unmount your Wheels from Mel. Ooh, I've been thinking about this for awhile. I think I'm going to do it now that I have instructions. I like instructions.
• Roll with the Punches from Laura Frederickson. What a brilliant idea!
• Cloud Tutorial from Jessica. I love it!

New Michael's Coupon!

Thanks to Shirley Ross for sharing! This one is good until April 5th and is for 50% OFF!!

Tipster Tuesday - 04/01/08

I should just rename it Tipster Wednesday. It doesn't have the same ring to it though, does it? Anyway, here's a GREAT tip from the Pink Paislee blog to really stretch your stamps and create a unique look.

Read about it.

Here's another from Kelly on making customized dew drops {a.k.a. Bella Baubles, a.k.a. Michael's cheapies found in the floral department, etc.}. A great idea if you don't have Copics {or even if you do}. I was also wondering it rubbing them onto a StazOn pad would work to color them, since I have 500 colors in those. Haven't tried it yet though...

Tell me more!

Up, Up & Away!

Can I just say - "first thing in the morning" takes on a whole new meaning when you have two little kids! May I present my card for this week's Belli Challenge; which should have been up "first thing in the morning" but sadly, wasn't.

This week's emBELLIshment Challenge from Creating with Chrissy (CBC11) is to use embossing powder. If you play along with the challenge, be sure to link your project to the post on her blog for a chance to win the random drawing.

On this card, my balloons are embossed - the Rose Red ones are stamped in Rose Red craft ink and then clear embossed. The oval balloon in the middle is stamped in Regal Rose craft ink and embossed with "Pixie Dust" embossing powder from the LSS for a little bit of glitz.

Do you see - my circle nestabilities set finally arrived. Woo hoo - I've been waiting for these since JANUARY!! I used Jen del Muro's Sketch For You To Try #5 on this one. Here's the sketch so you can see how I did - I think I stuck to it pretty well!

Lastly, I took Allison's Challenge this week to use DOTS (AFSS11). I like dots! I like challenges too {can you tell?}, they help me direct my chaotic thoughts when I sit down to stamp.

All stamps are from Firecracker Designs by Pamela. My April design set is Birthday Balloons - Up Up & Away. I think this will be a great card for a little girl's birthday. I think I'll be using this sketch again!

Complete supply list: Stamps - Birthday Balloons - Up Up & Away. Paper - Wild Wasabi, Regal Rose, GP 110# White, DP from Target $1. Ink - Wild Wasabi classic, Regal Rose and Rose Red craft. Accessories - Lollipop and solid grosgrain ribbons from RABOM, 22 gauge silver wire, Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, heat tool, clear and pixie dust embossing powders, white gel pen, dimensionals, mini glue dots, pearl Bella Baubles.

My Page is Up!

My guest designer page for Clear Artistic Stamps is up!! Yay! The first project is already up too.

---> Click here! <--- {ETA: I fixed the link to point to the PAST Guest Designers to find me & my creations -- now that my term is over.}

I've also added the other Clear Artistic Stamps design team members to my left sidebar under their own blogroll so they're easy for you to find!