Finally Friday Favorites - 2/29/08!

I've been wanting to start doing a weekly "favorite projects I've noted" post for about a month now but never got to it. Things are settling down here so I wanted to start this up. These will be from the last FEW weeks (instead of just this last one) since I have some really great cards stored away in my favorites to direct you to. My top ten Friday Favorites for this...er....month, in no particular order, are:

• Birthday Whimsey from Scrapnextras. I like the sketch here, and the combo of serious and fun.
• Green Day by Jody Morrow. So gorgeous I can't stand it. I had to order that Essence of Love set today because of the second card.
• Black Rock Wedding from Lisa Somerville. SO classy and elegant, this one really caught my eye. Wish I had invited her to my wedding!
• A Sweet Sketch by Tammy at Stamp Happy. I love the sketch, colors and simple-but-sooo pretty thing going on with this card.
• Seashell card from Susan and Stampndaly. Photos + stamping + creative details = *swoon*
• Positively Damask by Leslie Miller. More gorgeous than dozens of complicated cards, this one just screams richness and high society elegance.
• Silhouette Flowers from Maria at Riacreations. Digging the Cuttlebugging, the color combo and the little "extras" on this one. Great images!
• Once Upon A Time... by Lauren Meader. As if any Top 10 list in the stamping world is complete without something from Lauren. My only problem was picking just ONE of her projects in recent weeks to include. I really like the way she did the sponging on this one, as if the flowers just sort of fade into greenery, plus the extra embellie flowers. Gotta love the story too, doesn't every Cinderella dream of being rescued from a life of...catching mice?! Lauren, I feel your pain!
• Nursery Card from Paula Bloom. Just so adorable and perfect. I always enjoy Paula's attention to detail - her layers, embellishments and color choices are wonderful.
• This Hug's For You by Laurie Schmidlin. Fabulous layout, paper choices and coloring job. This card is just all around cute cute cute!

There you have it! I think this will be a new weekly feature, so check back next week for some more favorites. What better way to celebrate it being FINALLY Friday than with a little weekend inspiration (and pretty pictures!)? :-) Until then, happy stampin' everyone!

CC155 TSSC6 Firecracker Froggie

Another card from yesterday - two in one day - must be some kind of miracle! Probably only happened because this card took literally 5 minutes.

I wanted to participate in some challenges I've had sitting on my stamp table this week, so this card uses MJ's Techno Stamper Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge - TSSC6. I am also *LOVING* all the cards I've seen with this week's Wednesday Color Combo Challenge over on Splitcoast - this week is CC155 - River Rock, Whisper White and Basic Black. Sooooo gorgeous!

I cut my GP 110# white cardstock at 5.5" x 8.5" and folded it in half. Rouned off ALL of the corners (front and back). Dug through my stash to find the designer papers that would go with this color scheme - I bought a HUGE slab at Hobby Lobby awhile back - 180 sheets of neutrals - black, white, tan, brown. I can't remember offhand what it's called but it's a lifesaver! Cut the full-card DP to 4" x 5.25" and rounded the corners. The other piece of DP is 1.5" x 4" and the River Rock mat is 1.75" x 4" with the left side rounded off. The twill tape is pre-printed with the sentiment - so fun! I stuck it down with red liner tape.

Stamped the boy froggie from the new So Hoppy stamp set from Firecracker Designs by Pamela in Palette Noir on GP 110# cardstock. This stamp set, along with EIGHT others, will be released tomorrow, March 1st, and available for purchase on Pamela's website!!! Outlined him with my Prismacolor markers, punched out with the Marvy Super Jumbo (blue) circle punch, and matted on a double scallop circle punch - Basic Black offset and layered over River Rock. I added the white dots with the gel pen.

Hibiscus - Beate's WSC36

Here's a card I made using Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge - WSC36. I always LOVE her sketches, I've had this one sitting on my stamp table all week (WSC37 came out this morning) but that's ok. I got to it eventually and I am really pleased with how this card turned out!

I cut the Chocolate Chip cardstock 4.25" by 11" and folded it in half. I dragged my Palette New Canvas ink pad all across the cardstock, let it dry, then dragged the Palette Burnt Umber over the top to age it a little. I used the distressor on all 3 sides.

I then cut a piece of Soft Sky Prints DSP 3.25" by 5", and a skinny strip of River Rock cardstock. After I glued them together I did the faux stitching with the paper piercer and Chocolate Chip marker. I distressed the edge of the River Rock and dragged Palette Burnt Umber ink across the top of the Soft Sky DSP to "dirty" it up a little.

I stamped the Hibiscus from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps (available wood-mounted or unmounted) onto Shimmery White cardstock with Palette Burnt Umber. I colored it using Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi and River Rock ink and the Aqua Painter. I cut it out really close to the edge of the design and used the distressor on it. I cut a mat piece of River Rock and distressed the edges of that too.

I dyed some white grosgrain ribbon with River Rock ink, but it didn't get nearly dark enough doing it the traditional way (which I have done before with great success, BTW) so I just took my Aqua Painter and reinker again and colored it that way. Worked great - just the right shade! The Soft Sky colored grosgrain is from RABOM. I used Holly's Easy Peasy Ribbon technique to make the awesome "bow". The main image is up on dimensionals. I added Chocolate brads I bought at Joann to finish it off.

(Can I say I LOVE this Hibiscus stamp?!).

Technique Thursday - 2 for 1!

Two great items to share today, one is a true stamping technique, the other is a great idea for tying ribbon.

Michele Ide does a beautiful Faux Silk technique card with tutorial instructions.

Holly McMillen makes ribbon tying easy - great idea, and I am all about easy!

Happy stamping & ribbons of smiles to everyone!

March Sale @ Prickley Pear!!

Ooohhh, Nicole at Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps has an AMAZING deal for you! During March, all of the half-sheets of rubber are on sale - buy 2, get 1 FREE! No lie! And, she has 3 new half-sheets being released in March as well, including this *gorgeously* fantabulous flower sheet. I want it. Now now now now now. Stay tuned in March & April for some samples using these stamps because I am in love! Check the PPRS blog as well for more product updates and samples.

It's 5:00 Somewhere! TSSC5

Heh heh. Here's a card for "one of those" days.

I've had this idea in my head for awhile but never got around to making it up. This was SUPER fast and easy. I used the layout from *last* week's Techno Stamper Sketch Challenge (TSSC5) because it just worked so well for the words. Now I've gotta get on the ball for this week's TSSC.

This card is 3.5" x 6", a fun size to work with for vertical cards. All I did here was take my Iron Eagle corner punch from EK Success, pop it out of the corner attachment dealie, line it up down the side of this COOL paper from my DCWV travel stack and punch punch punch!

I made the words on the computer (you can see my RGB codes for the More Mustard-like color were off a bit) and punched them with the Word Window punch. The background stamp is from Rubber Necker. {Love love this BG stamp!}. I went over the martini glasses in the BG with my Quickie glue pen and dumped on Cinnamon glitter from the LSS. I colored the clear rhinestones with my brown Prismacolor marker.

That's it! Fast, cheap and easy.

A Very Full Mailbox!!

I had the most amazing mail day yesterday!! I received my AWESOME blog candy winnings from Beate from her 1.3 million hits - Gina K's Make a Wish stamp set plus oodles of yummy May Arts ribbon!! Truly a wonderful and generous prize package. Beate also included the cutest card in the package. I feel so totally spoiled! LOVE love how she did the brads with the little cardstock punchies behind. I'll be trying that out soon...

I also got a card from Danyelle over at Hangnailz N Papercutz. She sent me a couple of pieces from the silver hodgepodge hardware kit from the upcoming Occasions Mini. I am participating in her "virtual swap" and was missing this element, so she graciously offered to send me something to work with. Of course it came in an adorable card - this color combo ROCKS! Check out the swap details at the bottom of her main blog page - there is still time to sign up!

I also got a wonderful thank you card from Diane, who won my 2,500 hits blog candy. {It wasn't even that long ago, I can't believe I'd doubled in hits in that short of an amount of time!!} She is the absolute sweetest person, she posted a picture of her winnings on her own blog with a big die cut "Thanks" right in front, and she also sent me this card with a nice note thanking me for all the great stuff. Check out her blog!

I had so much fun opening all these fabulous envies!! Happy mail is the cure for....everything!

Tipster Tuesday

I have a few tips to share today. I want to add a disclaimer - none of these are my original ideas, and if I had a source attributed to it when I got it, I have included it. Some of these are oldies but goodies that I've hung on to for reference - I included them because you never know what might be a new idea for someone else!

I also have a few current links to some more of those "natural blue diamond" ideas we talked about last week. *g* {you get the similie I'm going for, right, because a natural blue diamond is a rare, beautiful, amazing, and brilliant thing}.

Ok, in no particular order, here we go!

• Here's one from Gail Murray of Merchantville, NJ. Punch it RIGHT WHERE you want it! If you'd like to place a punched-out square at the edge of your card, here's a tip for perfect placement: First, punch a square from a "sticky note", being sure to include the sticky portion. Next, stick the punch-out onto your card front. Now, turn your square punch upside down and line up the opening with the attached sticky square. Punch! The square will be exactly where your sticky square was. The sticky punch-out can, of course, be used over and over. {why didn't I think of that??}
• If you want all your brads or eyelets to line up in a nice, straight row here's a great tip! Take the top portion of the Customer Order form and use it as a guide. {The plastic paper piercing template also works very well for this, but if you don't have it, any nice row of holes will do!}. Place it where you would like your embellishments to go, use the holes as your ruler, and you will have your eyelets in a row!
• From Lisa Curcio - a great tip for liquid applique. Have you ever heat set it, allowed it to cool, mailed it or otherwise used it and noticed that the once puffy white area is now a new "dimension" of FLAT? Here is a great tip: Before heat setting the liquid applique sprinkle with clear embossing powder! Flat problem solved.
• From Lori Washburn (also on Liquid Applique) - Remember that you get two different textures depending on if you heat the LA right away or let it dry and then heat. The first is very bubbly and bumpy, the second, more like a high grade suede.
• Coloring rhinestones, acrylic "baubles", clear buttons, etc. The clear version of all those these fun embellishments can be colored directly with alcohol markers. Instant custom-colored bling for your projects!

Some fantabulous links:

• Chipboard templates for Cuttlebug dies - how smart is this?! We do it for our punches, why not for the dies? Instant & easy determination of what images will fit where. And easy to store - all the same size and shape. Sturdy too. BRILLIANT!
• Let's get a nice clean image from those solid stamps!! Pat Huntoon {the Technique Queen} tells you how.
• Super cool corners! Patty Bennett has the deets.
• FREE fonts - a huge compiled resource for font download sites. What a great link up, HELLO, they're FREE. I use my various {*cough, 600*} downloaded fonts all the time.
• ...and the best for last - SCALLOP CARDS using the Nestabilities. I can't wait to try this. If only my THREE SETS of backordered Nesties would ship. Until then I will look at this picture and DROOL because it is so adorable and easy!

Did you see? A contest link up!

Belinda Landtroop at Clear Artistic Stamps announced her new design team this morning! She has some truly fabulous images - I'm sure these ladies will have a blast in their new positions!

To celebrate, they're having a treasure hunt with a great prize available. Check out her DT Coordinator Etha's blog to get started!

FINALLY!!!

Finally Michael's is making their coupons available online. Boy, I've been waiting for this day FOR-EV-AH, let me tell you. Joann, Hobby Lobby, Archiver's, plus 2 or 3 LSSs, all have online coupons. M's...no.

But now....YESSSSSSSSSSSS.

Great News!!

It turns out I AM allowed share my March FCD design team cards with you *right now*! Because the frog set I am using was available for preorder (thus, many people have already seen & ordered it), I don't need to wait until the release date for my current projects. Woo hoo!! Don't forget, all those yummy new sets are being unveiled on March 1st!!

Here's one I made on Friday night. Do you recognize that layout? I shamelessly CASE'd it from my friend Heather's Fluffles birthday card that I love so much. I thought that the perpendicular strips were pretty cool so I thought I'd try it for myself. Whatcha think?

I stamped the boy froggie with Palette Noir ink and colored him with gel pens and markers. I did the background of the circle with my Prismacolor alcohol markers and hand drew the grass bits. Matted it on a scallop circle & all set! The "Dude" is from the Cool Dude acrylic set.

Complete supply list. Stamps - Cool Dude and Feelin' Froggy (available March 1st) from Firecracker Designs by Pamela. Paper - Designer paper from DCWV Far East stack, Wild Wasabi, River Rock, Not Quite Navy from Stampin' Up!, GP 110# white. Ink - Palette Noir, Wild Wasabi. Accessories - Marvy Super Jumbo circle and Mega scallop circle punches, dimensionals, gel pens and SU markers, Prismacolor markers, black fine point marker, ribbon from Xyron package I got at Big Lots (how random is that?!).

Busy busy...

Just a quick teaser here. I've been busy stamping! But I'm afraid I can't share some of these beauties until March 1st! :D Don't hate me - it will be worth the wait! I've been playing with a new set from Pamela's spring line. These are too FUN.

Maybe tomorrow I'll make something I CAN share. Boy, next week is going to be a long one if I can't post my cards. Hmm...I'll come up with something, don't worry! Monday is lots of new sketch challenges to try out, plus, Tuesday is Tip Day so I'll have some real gems for you then.

I'll definitely have to break out some other stamps so I can play along with this week's challenges and still share my cards. Hope you're all having a great weekend so far! MWAH!

TSSC5 and Color Challenge

Here's another two-fer card! I combined Mary Jo Price-Williams' Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge #5 (TSSC5) with Shannon's 15K Color Challenge over at Live, Love, Laugh and Stamp. The colors were Basic Black, Almost Amethyst and Tempting Turquoise. Check out the challenge, you could win two wood mounted Riley Moose stamps from Hanna Stamps - they are the CUTEST!! {see how nice I am, sharing the love even though *I* want Riley to live with ME??? heehee}.

I had the absolute worst time getting a photo of this card. I think it's a combination of all the glitter and the lightness of the Almost Amethyst ink & cardstock. It was either too glitzy looking with washed out amethyst, or good with the contrast of the amethyst and the glitter looked flat and dull. So this is a decent happy medium but it could be better. Use your imagination that it looks sparkly and gorgeous (in an elegant kinda way) with a nice contrast of the ink to carstock just making it look classy. Then that's what it really looks like. {if I do say so myself} :-)

I will freely admit I had some trouble at first with this color combo. I'm truly a Regals and Earths girl. But it was a CHALLENGE {right??} and I love a challenge. I think they are fabulous because they often force you outside of your comfort zone and really get the creativity going. {puts soapbox away}. Anyway...I am fairly happy with the results after much monkeying around with the elements of this card.

This is a 3-3/4" x 8" card and fits in a standard #10 envelope. The base is Almost Amethyst, which I stamped with the Linoleum Background from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps. The Tempting Turquoise strip along the spine was stamped with the patterned dots stamp from Stampin' Up!'s Itty Bitty backgrounds (you didn't expect me to just leave it NAKED!?!). That's it for the stamping. The words were computer generated, then I punched them with my Word Window punch, matted them and cut to size.

I made the black piece using my Cuttlebug and the Vintage dies. I wanted to try something different, so I lined them up along the edge with a very small overlap and ran them through the 'bug. The pattern you see is what is left behind after the squared off corner piece cuts out. I kinda liked it, but it didn't have enough "POP". So I coated the whole piece with liquid glue and dumped on black Art Institute ultrafine glitter. POP problem solved!

I used Lauren's tutorial to make my own custom glittery Prima flowers with turquoise glitter (it's actually called Peacock if you can believe that one) and added a black brad. I adhered those with dimensionals. For the upper right corner, I colored some clear self-adhesive rhinestones with my black Prismacolor marker - instant black gems. Sweet!!

Think there's enough glitter on this card? I think there's an uncovered corner somewhere I could add a little more....BWA HAHAHA HAHAHAHA!

Complete supply list. Stamps: Linoleum Background from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps, Itty Bitty Backgrounds from Stampin' Up!. Paper: Almost Amethyst, Tempting Turquoise and Basic Black cardstock. Ink: Almost Amethyst and Tempthing Turquoise classic ink. Accessories: Cuttlebug and die, black Prismacolor marker, dimensionals, Martha Steward liquid glue, Art Institute black ultrafine glitter, Peacock glitter, and self-adhesive rhinestones from Joann $1 spot.

Want FREE Stamps??

Of course you do. We ALL do. Click over and check out Pamela's (as in Firecracker Designs by Pamela) BLOG. She is giving away FIVE of her brand new stamp sets (to be released on March 1st). You can enter once per day, starting today, until February 29th. Just leave a comment on her post (see the link above). HOW COOL is that? You are going to love the new stamps, there are some really fabulous images coming your way. I've been working on a few things, you'll have to check back on March 1st to see them though - when the new stamps are "official".

What are you waiting for? GO!!! Then come back and see me. *wink* I'll have some things for ya later today.

Technique Thursday

Thursday already?!? How about some inspiration in the form of a new technique? Woo hoo!!

This week's is going to be a link up, as I have had zero stamping time for 2 days. I am starting to climb the walls, believe me! As soon as this post goes up I'm going into my room. :)

So anyway, this technique is amazingly fabulous, you have to see it for yourself. Check out Gerrie Johnnic's blog The Queen of Grunge for gorgeous shimmery, one-of-a-kind backgrounds - Create Your Own Faux Shimmer Sheetz.

Baby Shower 6x6 Card

Here's another older project - I came across these photos while trying to clean up the hard drive of our computer today. These were taken several years ago and it's pretty obvious I wasn't that great at photographing my cards back then. So, sorry about photo quality. But I was pretty proud of the unique design of this card so I thought I'd post it anyway - what the heck, right?! You can still see the most important stuff.

Back when DS #1 was an only child, I had a little playgroup we attended where all of our kids were the same age. I made this card for a surpise baby shower for the first of the mamas to get pregnant with baby #2. I was asked to make the card for the group gift - and then and all of us signed it.

Because we had to have space for nine sets of "congratulations" I made this card pretty big. The main image is stamped and colored with SU classic inks and I did some sponging with craft ink to give a little more definition to the edges. I did the Dazzling Diamond Dust technique over the whole Vanilla piece. I stamped the on twill tape using craft ink.

Let's see - some of the features of this card. It's 6" x 6" and is trifold. The middle panel has an additional cardstock layer to help support the card, which is 6-1/4" square. To make the right side of the trifold, I took a piece of 12" x 12" designer paper and folded it in half, then folded in half again, opened it up and folded down half to make the triangle shape.

In the second and third photos you can see the blue panel with a half-circle cut out that I added on top of the triangle section - that is an open pocket where we put the cash gift we all chipped in for. On the other side I layered a Vanilla piece over more Bashful Blue to stamp the main image.

For the inside, I cut a 5-3/4" x 7-1/2" piece of the Almost Amethyst and scored the long side at 2" (I think??). Then I laid a 5-3/4" square piece of Vanilla over the top of that and folded over at the score line. Punched a slit in the Vanilla piece and then glued it down on top of the designer paper layer. I stamped the baby feet and "Precious Boy" in the lower right corner of the Vanilla piece and the whole rest of the card was left open for signatures and good wishes.

So from totally opened flat, the Amethyst layer folds to the right and tucks under the flit, then the layer with the money holder and the triangle folds to the left over the top of that. I custom-made an envelope from another coordinating sheet of designer paper since this card was too oversized to fit into anything I had on hand.

It's been awhile since I made this and these are the only photos I have (and description from memory). If you have a specific question about this card just let me know and I'll do my best to help you out! It was a great card for a group money gift like we did.

Another Belli Challenge #5 (CBC5)

Here's another card for this week's Belli Challenge over at Creating with Chrissy. For this card, the chipboard piece is the heart. Check out the challenge! Chrissy gives away a random prize to one lucky participant - just go to her site and leave a comment with a link to your card to enter. If you upload to Splitcoast Stampers, use "CBC5" in your keywords so it's easy to find.

I finally used some SU stamps again! Well, one anyway. But lots of SU paper here. The colors on this one are Pretty in Pink, so Saffron, Tempting Turquoise and Old Olive. The chipboard heart was covered in some retired SU paper (I think it's Petal Patch?) and then decorated. I took the So Saffron piece from the retired Pallette O' Prints pack and stamped the flourishes on it, then ran it through the Cuttlebug with the Script folder, then sanded over the top and rubbed on some Pretty in Pink classic ink (just a smidge). The rhinestones are self-adhesive ones I got at Joann's awhile back. The "birthday" is from Stamping Bella.

This one is actually going postal TODAY for a stamper in Wish-RAK over at Splitcoast Stampers that is celebrating a birthday next week.... :-)

Belli Challenge 5 (CBC5) and CPS52

This week's Belli Challenge over at Creating with Chrissy is to use Chipboard on your project. Check it out! I was a guest stamper for her this week, so I've been creating but couldn't share with you until today. Hope you like them! Chrissy gives away a random prize to one lucky participant - just go to her site and leave a comment with a link to your card to enter. If you upload to Splitcoast Stampers, use "CBC5" in your keywords so it's easy to find.

This card also uses this week's layout from Card Positioning Systems - which is CPS #52. I posted the sketch here, or click the links to go to the CPS site.

I just this Hibiscus stamp from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps and I knew I had to use it. I stamped it on shimmery ivory paper in Palette Burnt Umber ink and colored it in with Prismacolor & Copic markers and did some shading with the colorless blender. I wanted it to be pretty bold so I didn't create too many shadows. Think a bright sunny day in Florida where these beauties grow wild outside. {and wouldn't a beautiful sunny day in Florida be nice right about now??}

I cut all the layers to size and stamped the dots, then ripped out the center of the Groovy Guava layer so that the image could show through. I tore it and curled the layers and then rubbed on some more Burnt Umber ink. Diamond Stickles on the stamen of the flower.

I cut the chipboard corner out of a chipboard coaster and smashed it into my Guava ink pad. Then I added some Cinnimon Stickles in a dabby way (dabby???) so that there was not total Stickles coverage over the corner piece.

Complete supply list. Stamps: Hibiscus from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps, Itty Bitty Backgrounds from Stampin' Up!. Paper: Groovy Guava, Blush Blossom and Wild Wasabi cardstock, shimmery ivory cardstock, patterned paper from TAC. Ink: Palette Burnt Umber, Wild Wasabi classic ink. Accessories: Cuttlebug and die, chipboard coaster, sponge, polka dot organdy in peach, Cinnamon and Diamond Stickles, Copic and Prismacolor markers.

Tuesday Tip-Day

As I sit here going through my Google Reader this evening, it occurs to me that I read a lot of stamping-related STUFF every day. Blogs, e-mail groups, newsletter lists, and forum sites where I read all these amazing tips, tricks, money savers, substution ideas, techniques, etc. Some of these I read and forget, but there are those that I file away for future reference, some I implement in my own stamping, or sometimes I'll e-mail on a link to a friend. There's some great info out there, but the sheer volume is truly amazing. So I thought I'd have a weekly article to pass along the REAL gems to my loyal readers (saves you all that Google Readering time!). These are, in my opinion, the 2-carat natural blue diamond type of special tips.

• Here's one from Scrapbook Clubhouse. Can't afford the $90 for the Clip It Up? Read on!
• Outta This funk says - don't want your Faux Clip It Up taking up precious desk space? Read on! {These two tie for the most brilliant idea EVER award}.
• Some Copic Coloring Tips from Polished to Perfection.
• Make some Hop Marks from Hands, Head and Heart. {sometimes I have a total DUH moment when I read some of this stuff - I mean honestly -- how perfect is THAT?!?}

ROCKIN' Blog Candy link up

PEOPLE! You must check out Etha's blog - More Green Wool. Not only is she a fabulous crafter (she won an E award from me you know, that is very prestegious), but she's giving away some of the best blog candy I've seen in awhile! Maybe ever! Drumroll please....NESTABILITIES.

Yeah, you heard me. Nestabilities. Oh, I have been coveting these!! I wanted to provide a link up because you should all check out her blog & beautiful creations. But stay away from those Nesties, because they just got done telling me that they want to come to my house to play. heehee!!

{not really}

Guest Stamper Tuesday!

I just wanted to swing by quickly and let you know I'm still here. I've been busy stamping and I have some stuff I can't show you until tomorrow (even though I stamped it yesterday and today). You'll see! Anyway, in lieu of something new from me, I have a card to share with you that was made awhile back by my BFF Heather over at Ink On My Ear.

I LOVE this card, I think it's about the cutest Fluffles card I've ever seen. Seriously! The photo doesn't do it justice for the beautiful colors & sparkle, but it's all I've got. I really wanted to share it with you - it just makes me smile. I think the layout is fabulous and the spring colors are MUCH NEEDED around here! It's snowing again right now, if you can believe that. Enjoy Fluffle and check back tomorrow for some more new stuff! I have some tutorials coming up too just as soon as I can get them done. (Promises, promises, right? They are in the works, belive me!).

Repeat after me Jennifer....one thing at a time....

Beate's WSC35

I made this card last night for Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #35 (WSC35). This features the flower image from Spring Flowers - Sitting Pretty from Firecracker Designs by Pamela.

Not much to tell about this one, I colored the flower using Prismacolor pencils & Gamsol. I did the highlight around the blossom with my Pale Jade Prismacolor marker. I included a close up on the blossom so you can see some of the shading & such.

Complete supply list: Stamps - Spring Flowers - Sitting Pretty from Firecracker Designs by Pamela. Paper: Blush Blossom, Groovy Guava and Chocolate Chip, Poison Ivory shimmery cardstock and designer paper from Michael's. Ink: Palette Burnt Umber. Accessories: Prismacolor pencils, stumps, Gamsol, Chocolate satin ribbon, pin, Prismacolor Pale Jade marker, Bella Baubles, mini glue dots.

New Preorder Special at FCD!

Did you know that the Firecracker Designs by Pamela spring line is going to debut on March 1st? Pamela has some amazing images to unveil, I'm sure you'll all find some "must-haves" to add to your wishlists!

Pamela is posting a new spring line "sneak peek" card every day on her blog. Check it out!

Right now she has a preorder special going on for some new German language sets from this upcoming release! One is a background and one is a sentiment set - and on the preorder it'll be $19.99 for BOTH sets (regularly $12.99 each). These are larger sets, 5.5" x 8.5" rubber sheets (also called half sheets). Go to the preorder page to get yours. Hurry - offer ends February 23rd.

I Love You Acetate Card

I have two photos for this one because it was nearly impossible to catch everything in the just one. I even took them several hours apart so there was and then wasn't direct sunlight, but it didn't really help. The color is a little muted on the second one because I was trying to get a good view of the clear part, so I lightened up the shadows in Photoshop Elements.

Another acetate card - just for fun. I scored it using my ScorIt board and really pressed with the bone folder to get a good crease. Stamped the swirly hearts with white StazOn on the background in the upper right and lower left corners. You can see it better in the second photo. The "I Love You" is stamped on the white cardstock that I adhered to the inside of the card (and of course it shows through).

Complete supply list. Stamps: Hearts & Flourishes half sheet from Prickley Pear. Paper: Acetate sheet, GP 110 white, Ruby Red, Mellow Moss, Groovy Guava. Ink: Ruby Red, Groovy Guava and White StazOn Opaque. Accessories: dimensionals, Score It board, Ruby Red brad, ribbon from LSS.

Verve Visual Sketch and Spring Flowers

I made this during nap time today - yay for stamping time! This set features the Spring Flowers - Sitting Pretty stamp set from Firecracker Designs by Pamela. This is my design team set for February. Lots of beautiful possibilities with this one!

I also used the sketch from Verve Visual for their Guest Designer challenge. Lastly, I used Color Challenge #153 (CC153) from Splitcoast Stampers - Green Galore, Tempting Turquoise, and Kraft. Whew!

Ok, I think you all know that I am not good with Bold Brights. And this is a BRIGHT combo. That's why I decided to try it - really getting into the spirit of the "Challenge" concept, YKWIM?

Very straightforward recipe, I'll hit a couple of the highlights here in case you're wondering. I colored the main image with my Prismacolor alcohol markers and colorless blender pen. I added Quickie glue and dazzling diamonds glitter to the very center of the flower, cut it out and added it to the white c/s with dimensionals. Both of the square pieces are on dimensionals as well. I wanted to try something different with the little embellishment at the top left, so I tried a couple lines of brads instead of paper accents.

Complete supply list. Stamps: Spring Flowers - Sitting Pretty from Firecracker Designs by Pamela, Stampin' Up! Itty Bitty Backgrounds splatter image. Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Kraft, GP 110 white, TAC designer paper. Ink: Palette Burnt Umber, Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore. Accessories: Prismacolor alcohol markers, Copic colorless blender, white brads, quickie glue pen, dazzling diamonds glitter, ribbon from Michael's, dimensionals, sponges.

Happy Day After Valentine's Day!

Here is another Valentine-ish card to share. I almost didn't post this because it is SO hard to photograph these clear (acetate) cards, they never look as good as they do in person. But you can get the general idea, so I thought what the heck!

For this card I didn't even put any cardstock on the inside, I just love the way it looks with just the white corner flourishes stamped onto the clear card. I did add the white circle INSIDE the card behind the main image to cover up the adhesive and dimensionals but that's all.

Really fast and simple card. Not sure if I love how the little dangley hearts turned out, I added them on after since it seemed to plain with just the cirlce image.

Complete supply list. Stamps: Hearts & Flourishes half sheet from Prickley Pear. Paper: Acetate sheet, GP 110 white, black, real red. Ink: Versamark and White StazOn Opaque. Accessories: Marvy Mega scallop circle and circle punches, Super Jumbo circle punch, black EP, white EP, heat tool, dimensionals, paper snips, silver cord, Score It board.

Giveaway Link Up

I wanted to post a quick link to some great blog candy and a good cause.

Swing by Erika Martin's blog - she's got a huge giveaway going on in honor of her son's birthday & for autism awareness.

ETA - Also, in case you didn't know this already, Gina K has an autism benefit/fundraiser stamp set called Love You To Pieces. $8 from every set sold goes to Autism Speaks. It's a great cause AND a fab set - I bought mine awhile back. She has a store in McFarland or you can order online (just click on her name or the set name, above).

Happy Valentine's Day!

hhhhmmmmm..... Dunno about this one. But at least I like that last part. *snort*

Your Candy Heart Says "Get Real"

You're a bit of a cynic when it comes to love. You don't lose your head, and hardly anyone penetrates your heart. Your ideal Valentine's Day date: is all about the person you're seeing (with no mentions of v-day!) Your flirting style: honest and even slightly sarcastic What turns you off: romantic expectations and "greeting card" holidays Why you're hot: you don't just play hard to get - you are hard to get

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

Sitting Pretty - CC152

Here's another Spring Flowers - Sitting Pretty card for Firecracker Designs by Pamela. This one uses Color Challenge #152 from Splitcoast Stampers (CC152).

This is a 5.5" x 5.5" square card to accomodate the size of the main image. I colored the main image with my Prismacolor alcohol markers and colorless blender pen. I included a close up of the flower to better show the shading and highlights. It takes a lot of practice, but I think (I hope!) I am getting better at using these markers. I love using them, they give such depth of color and the ink goes on so smoothly without pilling the paper like water-based inks can.

Do you like those red beads? I got them in the

Christmas section of Hobby Lobby when they were like 80% off after the holidays. It's a 1 yard continuous string - I just cut off what I needed. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them when I saw them, but I knew I had to have them!!! There's a reason we stampers have so much stuff in our "stash".

Complete supply list. Stamps: Spring Flowers - Sitting Pretty from Firecracker Designs by Pamela, Stampin' Up! Itty Bitty Backgrounds splatter image. Cardstock: Real Red, Ballet Blue, Apricot Appeal, GP 110 white. Ink: Palette Noir, Ballet Blue, Real Red, Apricot Appeal. Accessories: A*Muse page oval page pebble thing (I forget what they are called), Prismacolor alcohol markers, Copic colorless blender, white gel pen, beads from Hobby Lobby, dimensionals, sponges, Marvy Super Jumbo scalloped oval punch, EK Success corner rounder.

Opalite Smoosh Sympathy

Here's the first card I made using my Firecracker Designs Spring Flower - Sitting Pretty stamp set (my February design team set). Can you believe it's mid-month already! This has been done for about a week but I was too busy to take a picture.

I had made these Opalite Smoosh background pieces awhile back but never did anything with them. {Opalite Smoosh is a technique I got from my Technique Junkies newsletter - check it out!}. Opalite is an interference ink, so it only shows up on dark cardstock. This particular piece is Always Artichoke, because I wanted to try something other than black. :)

Project highlights - I heat embossed the flower using white EP. The main image piece is attached with dimensionals. I used the slot punch and threaded the white organdy ribbon behind the main image, then I tied the burgundy velvet ribbon over the top of that knot. I used the splatter pattern from Stampin' Up!'s Itty Bitty Backgrounds (my most used stamp ever) and also some sponging around the background of the Artichoke piece.

Complete supply list. Stamps: Spring Flowers - Sitting Pretty from Firecracker Designs by Pamela, Stampin' Up! Itty Bitty Backgrounds Splatter image, Sympathy sentiment from CowTown Stamps. Ink: Opalite reinkers in Arctic Emerald, Crystal Blush and Sterling Frost, Stampin' Up! Always Artichoke, Versamark. Cardstock: GP 110, Stampin' Up! Purely Pomegranite and Always Artichoke. Accessories: Hodgepodge Hardware frame and brads, artichoke marker, dimensionals, white EP, heat tool, white organdy and burgundy velvet ribbon from RABOM, slot punch, ticket corner punch, sponges, squeegee, mini glue dots, Bella Baubles from Stamping Bella.

Another Award!

I've been tagged again with a Blog Excellence award! So fun! This time was by Maria (riaann) at Ria Creations. She's the sweetest! Go check out her stuff, she has great taste and she's a guest designer for Starving Artistamps too - they've got a ton of cool new images and she's got SAMPLES!

This time I wanted to give some recognition to a few of the awesome blogs that I've been stalking since the very beginning - the stamping royalty, as it were. :-) They probably get these all the time, but still. They deserve them.

Gina K - A Day in the Life - Gina is so generous with her knowledge! She does amazing things with Copics & colored pencils too. I love her blog (and her store), she has a dangerous amount of adorable images at her disposal.

Jody M - Confessions of a Ribbon Addict - All around amazing projects and awesome shares! I've been following her blog forever!

Amy R - Prairie Paper and Ink - Amy's was the very first blog I started following. She has the best ideas and tutorials - and she posts things allllll the time! I don't know how she does it! I've considered eliminating sleep from my life and I probably still wouldn't have the time to come up with half the fab things she does.

Jeanne S - Inky Paws - I started out stalking Jeanne's gallery on Splitcoast Stampers. I love her style - she makes UNBELIEVEABLE cards. When I grow up I want to be just like her. heehee.

Beate J - Fresh & Fun - I don't even know where to start. I mean - it's BEATE - what else is there to say?

A well-deserved "we're not worthy" for each of you! *grin*

Cards and Boxes and Treats - Oh My!

Have I mentioned how much work preschool seems to be these days for the Mommys? DS #1 started a couple of weeks ago at preschool and he is loving it. That makes everything worthwhile for me of course.

They are having their Valentine's Day party tomorrow (which reminds me - I have to go make some Jello Jigglers) and they are exchanging Valentines. So I spent Sunday making these cute little boxes and Valentine cards for the kids & teachers. He's got 6 boys, 6 girls and 2 teachers in his class, so I was busy!

I made each person a little Valentine card, very simple, just 3-3/4" square white with a Marvy Mega scallop circle and a stamped Extra Jumbo circle that I stamped on. Attached with dimensionals and added ribbon. Most of these stamps on the cards and the boxes are from Verve Visual, although I did use a heart from the retired Stampin' Up! set Happy Hearts, and the "XOXO" is from the retired Stampin' Up! set So Many Sayings. The boxes are four inches square and the covers are slightly larger to accomodate sliding over the top. Inside the box is a little treat and their Valentine. My DS drew hearts inside each card for his little friends.

I made up this box design to fit my needs, and I'll be doing a tutorial on the boxes and posting a template sometime later this week.

Domino ABC Magnets

So here's what went INTO the tin I posted a little bit ago. Domino magnets! These are sooo much fun to make. This particular set is the entire alphabet, made from the retired Stampin' Up! set Animal Alphabet. At first I was going to do some words and names for her, but that can get confusing so I just stuck with the standard ABC's.

I buy my dominoes at Target in the games section (just regular plain old dominoes). I very lightly scuff up the surface with fine sandpaper to give the ink and pencils a better grip. I stamp with StazOn ink and color with colored pencils. Sometimes I add Stickles or additional sponging around the image. The final step is to coat them with Mono Aqua glue to seal them. As a little extra, I will sometimes sprinkle a little glitter onto the wet Mono Aqua for a little extra overall shine. You can never have too much glitter!! Attach magnets to the back with a hot glue gun.

Again, not a great photo (it's a bit yellow, huh?). I tried to fix it in Photoshop Elements but I think it was too far gone. Aside from that yellow tint it's not too bad. Like I said, the lighting in there is not so great and DH was at the door yelling at me to "come on!" so I took a couple quick pics, scooped the magnets into the tin and ran out the door!

Complete supply list: Stamps - Stampin' Up! Animal Alphabet (retired). Ink - StazOn in Jet Black, Cactus Green, Azure, Vibrant Violet and Fuscia. Accessories - Prismacolor pencils, mono aqua glue, hot glue gun, magnets, sponges, dominoes.

"Izzy" Altered Target Lunch Tin

Finally posting some of these weekend projects! I spent most of the weekend in my stamp room - lots to do! We had a birthday party for one of DS #1's friends on Saturday night and I needed a gift for her.

This is one of those small tin lunch boxes they had in the Target $25 Spot from last year (I think?) that I've been hoarding. I covered it with designer paper and made punchies for her name. They are attached with dimensionals. I added a bunch of ribbon to the handle & viola! Super easy and a fun alternative to the gift bag - which is good because I only have Christmas and Happy New Baby gift bags!

Let me say, I know that the photos are not so good of this and the next few projects I'll be posting. I took them in a serious hurry down in my stamp room where the lighting is not the best. So sorry for that, I usually do a lot better job but since these things are all gone out to their destinations, these will have to do. You get the idea anyway!

Complete supply list: Paper - Designer paper (brand?), GP 110 white & SU Lovely Lilac c/s. Ink: Stone Grey StazOn. Accessories: Tons of ribbon, SU Scallop Circle Punch, EK Success 1-1/2" Circle Punch and 1-3/8" Circle Punch, dimensionals.

And The E Goes To...

Whew! Busy day over here! I have finally had some time to think about who to award my E's to so I wanted to get this post up. If you're wondering what I'm talking about, check 2 posts down or click HERE - I received a nomination for a blog award and now have my chance to spread the love and give out some accolades of my own! The winners, in absolutely no particular order, are:

Kelly - Diaries of a Stamper - Want to peek at all the dirty secrets of uber-amazing stamping? Then this is the only diary you'll ever need!

Etha - More Green Wool - Multi-talented and super creative, Etha has a real eye for the little details and also shares great tips in every post. How do you say "rockin' stamp woman" in German?!

Debbi - Debbi's Design Stamping - What can I even say? Debbi is amazing. I feel like I'm in a Wayne's World sketch - "we're not worthy!".

Paula - Love Blooms In Me - Hands down the layer and embellishment QUEEN of the WORLD, I am in love with every card she's ever made. I should be curtseying just thinking about it. Curtseying - is that even a word? Anyway, you get the idea.

Linda - Celebration Moments - One of my PPRS design team sisters, Linda does it ALL. Scrap pages, cards, a weekly sketch challenge...you absolutely don't want to miss her little corner of cyberspace.

Sue - StampnDaly - Oh my, tons of drop-from-your-chair gorgeous projects here, super cute 3D gifties plus plenty of cards. A new find for me but a definite must stalk blog!

Teresa - Inkfully Yours - Another new blog find for me, but what a gem! And she's a guest designer for Starving Artistamps, you know how I love their images (even though I didn't make the DT this time around, boo hoo!).

Heather - Ink on my Ear - Heather is my absolute bestest friend, as well as a fabulously talented stamper, even though SHE doesn't think so (I figure she must be blind or something). Drop in and give her some love.

Tangii - Tangerines Dream Creations - Yet ANOTHER new blog to me, but Tangii is both super sweet and (as my DS #1 would say) WAY talented. She does amazing things with Prima flowers - you must see!

Allison - Stampin' When I Can - Last but definitely not least, Allison at Stampin' When I Can....what can I say? She has the best blog in the world, it is full of amazing stamping links for just about every topic there is, plus her cool card creations, weekly challenges, and more. I am sure she's single-blogedly responsible for 90% of my hits to date with her generous link ups. She spends so much time surfing blogs for great info to share with the stamping world and deserves so much love from all of us. I know she's had some computer issues of late so send some happy thoughts out her way.

Ok, there you have it, my February 11th, 2008 E awards! Ladies, I religiously stalk each of your blogs (hope you don't mind) - and you're all tremendously talented. Thank you for sharing that!! I hope you will each spread the love by making some award nominations of your own. Stamp on!

Here is the graphic again for you to copy and display on your site:

So much to share

Just popping on really fast with an update. What a busy weekend! Both with family stuff and more importantly STAMPING! I have a ton of project photos on the camera just waiting to get downloaded and posted. Check back tomorrow for those! I will also have at least one photo tutorial this week, maybe two, and more DT cards. Woo hoo!

It's Red Carpet Time!

OMGosh! Such a busy day yesterday I was barely even online (*GASP*, right!?) and this morning I had an e-mail waiting from the insanely talented and wickedly funny Danyelle over at Hangnailz n' Papercutz giving me this "E" for Excellence blog award!! *shriek*

I am still soooo excited & honored by the sweet comments! I'd like to thank the Academy....wait that's not right. I would like to thank my two DS's for hopefully TAKING A NAP (please oh please) every day so I can stamp. *snort* - I don't know, do you think begging like that actually helps? Anyhoo...if you haven't seen Danyelle's place, swing by - it's a definite add to my daily Google Reader reads!

One of the coolest thing about this award - I get to pass it on to ten fabulous bloggers myself!! Woo hoo! Check back tomorrow for that list, I am not going to get to finishing my selections tonight. Happy blog surfing!

Verve Sketch & Prickley Pear

Well I finally got an ok photo of this card so I can post! It still isn't quite perfect, the main image and the mats for the tabs are a shimmery ivory cardstock and that shimmer doesn't come through in the pic, but oh well. I know how to use my photo software too so I don't know WHAT the problem is!! It's as good as it's going to get for now so here it is. :-)

This card uses the sketch that Verve Visual has posted for their Guest Designer challenge contest. I love Julee's sketches (check out her blog too) and I really had fun with this one! The Celery & DSP layer is on dimensionals and the main image is on dimensionals on top of that. It really pops when you see it in person. Lots of sponging on this one too to soften and blend in those edges.

This card also uses the Valentine Hearts & Flourishes stamp set from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps. I *love* this sheet, I am so glad I got it. There are 12 images on this sheet and most can be used for any type of card or project, especially wedding, anniversary, and of course Valentine's Day.

Complete supply list: Stamps - Valentine Hearts & Flourishes from Prickley Pear. Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery and Blus Blossom from Stampin' Up!, Poison Ivory Iridescent, TAC 8x8 designer paper. Ink: Chocolate Chip classic and Blush Blossom Craft. Accessories: Sponges, dimensionals, self-adhesive pearls from K&Company.