I am also going to try my hand with Stampin’ Up!’s My Digital Studio, so I can share my scrapbook pages as well!

I’ve switched my blog over to a free blog host, so i’m working out the bugs. Hopefully I can get this figured out! So bear with me as I test a few features out on the new blog (including how to actually USE the new one…)

I hope everyone is doing well! I miss visiting your blogs on a regular basis!

Short and Sweet today, here’s another card I made over the weekend…I just bought this huge Inkadinkadoo set of stamps from Costco and had to use them…here’s the details:

Cardstock colors: chocolate chip, purely pomegranate, kraft, very vanilla.  Patterned paper:  My Mind’s Eye, Laundry Line “Flirty Lil Girl”.  I stamped the raised butterfly in pomegranate, covered it with versamark, and heat embossed it with iridescent ice EP.  I added some distressing with my good ole’ fingernails, paper pierced the edges of the Kraft, and added some more distressing with sponge dauber and spritzing tool (appricot appeal, creamy caramel). 

Gotta run, i’m taking the girls to a dinner music show (kids music) at a local restaurant…so it’ll be a fun filled evening with a restaurant full of screaming kids and chaos! 

Hi!  I had a chance to do some stamping last night, Yay!  I recently moved my stamping space down into our unfinished basement, so that I could spread out and not worry about the mess.  I was originally in our office, which is right inside the front door…and the french doors didn’t allow me to hide my mess!  Not to mention there just wasn’t enough table space/storage space!  It was convenient, but the mess drove me nuts!  So now, i’m all laid out over 4 tables, one bookshelf (just for SU stamps), two coffee tables, and an IKEA dresser! :)  I’ll take a picture or two when I get a chance.  I’m one of those people that can be really messy when creating, but cannot work when it’s too messy.  Make any sense?  This means that I just need a lot of table space to spread out!

The one dilemma I have with working in the basement…spiders.  We’ve been getting a few wolf spiders (have you seen those suckers, they’re HUGE and YUCKY!).  We’ve had pest control spray and treat the house and basement, but I still get nervous about sticking my hands inside any containers just in case!  I have a serious phobia of spiders…hehe, one night I made the mistake of googling these spiders to see how bad they are (i.e. do they bite)…big mistake to do this just before bed!

Ok, on to my card for today (actually, I made TWO cards last night.  I’ll post the other one later this week).  I used one of my Sugar Nellie images (Sweet Ebony Honey & Pip by Elisabeth Bell) that I had colored already ( I have about 20 images waiting for cards!)  I colored her with copic markers, did a little stitching with embroidery thread, and ruffled up some ribbon around the image to create a frame.  Once again, the color is a bit muted, the blue is much richer in person.  I wish I could figure out why it does this when I upload it to my blog…

Recipe:

Ink: Ranger Adirondack pitch black, various copic markers, Night Of Navy

Paper: PTI stampers select white, Night of Navy, Bo Bunny “summer cottage pottery” paper

Accessories: Blue and gold embroidery thread, crafters toolkit (paper piercer/mat and needle), curly label punch, 1″ circle punch, buttons sizzix dies for the striped circle behind the greeting (not sure of name, got it from SU), half-pearls (martha stewart), ribbon (from LSS…not sure of brand) pop-up glue dots.

Have a wonderful week, and thank you for stopping by!

I hope that everyone had a very happy holidays!  Happy New Year!

I’m not sure if anyone is still following my blog, i’ve been gone for so long (sorry!)…but if you’re still here, I have a card to share.  I didn’t get many opportunities to stamp…ok, I did have some free time, but I have to admit that my husband’s new wii game Mario Kart (OMG, it is sooo fun!) took up a lot of my free time this past week…it was a refreshing change of pace because I normally don’t like video games.  Then both girls got sick, so we rang in the new year with coughing/miserable toddlers.  Now that it’s monday and DH is back to work, we’re all getting back to normal! :)

Anywhoo…you guys didn’t come here to hear me babble, you guys want some eye candy, right?  Here’s the one card I did get to make last week, using a beautiful Sarah Kay image, “Margaux is Painting”.  I used copics to color her in, and a bunch of miscellanous supplies that I don’t have a list for right now (sorry!).  I’ll update with a supply list later…

Once again, i’ve edited my photo in Photoshop Elements, saved for web as a png file….all colors look great until I upload it here.  Geez, I give up!  If anyone has any idea why my colors get muted when I upload to my blog, i’d love to hear from you!

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Hi everyone,

I have had absolutely no time to stamp,  but i’m sure that many of you have been in the same boat.   Too many things to do for Christmas…shopping, wrapping, baking, cleaning, etc…isn’t it supposed to be a holiday?    This is our first year having to put together toys for the girls…and oh, my is that a lot of work!  But i’m super excited to see their faces as they come downstairs and see what Santa has brought them!

I’m hoping to get some stamping done over the holidays, since my husband will be home…so hopefully i’ll have some stuff to share soon! :) 

I just wanted to hop on here and wish everyone a Merry Christmas…and Happy Holidays!

I’m back!  Sorry that i’ve been MIA from the challenges the past few weeks, it’s been difficult to find the time to stamp with my 2 year old’s nap time gone out the window.  And my evening free time has been thwarted by both girls fighting bedtime…My 1 year old didn’t fall asleep until 10 tonight.  If it’s not one, it’s the other!  They tag-team me all day…such is life with irish twins!

OK, enough of my babble…

This week’s challenge was to create a holiday decoration or ornament…and I found THIS awesome medallion tutorial by our own Lynn Mercurio…well, I actually found the tutorial through Jan Tink’s blog (scroll down, the card is toward the bottom), as she had case’d Amy over at Pickled Paper Designs…so, you see…a lot of blog-hopping found my way to this awesome tutorial!  I just went the long way around…

I thought that the medallion would make a perfect ornament. When I started to create the medallion, I have to say, that at first I was stumped.  But I when I did finally have that “a-ha!” moment, I was embarassed at how easy it was!  Now, I did end up making one modification…I unfolded the back flaps down and glued them down, causing the medallion to turn convex (curves away from me).  I wanted it that way so that I could hang the angel better.

Here’s what I came up with (please excuse that I didn’t shade the angel at all when coloring…I got sidetracked and forgot, and well…it’s too late to fix it right now!  If I have time, I may do it tomorrow, because it will bug me if I don’t! ) :

RECIPE:

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Various copic markers (R59, Y19, YR07, R27, G17)

Paper: Oh Joy by Cosmo Cricket (oh, do I LOVE this stuff!), PTI Stampers Select white

Accessories: White fibers by EK Success, snowflake buttons (Jesse James & Co “Dress it Up”), pearls by martha stewart, clear atyou spica glitter pen (Copic), Cinnamon Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels)

What I did: Follow the tutorial HERE for the medallion fold, and look at the sampes if you can’t quite figure it out…it’s easier than you think!  I created a larger medallion by using 4″ x 4″ squares instead fo the suggested 2″ squares.  After I finished the medallion, as I mentioned above, I unfolded the backs and glued them down, causing the medallion to curve backward.  This also closed the gaps between the peaks.  I sprayed some glimmer mist on the patterned paper, giving it a slight shimmer.  For the angel, I was planning on covering her in enamel so I didn’t shade her…but then I decided not to go that route at the last minute and forgot to go back and do the shading…but I did add some glitter to her wings and the ruffles of her dress with a clear atyou spica pen (I love these things…), hard to tell in my pictures.  The snowflake in the middle and at the top are both buttons (from Michaels, found them over by the jewelry stuff…).  I think that’s it! :)

Well, I gotta run…it’s getting late, and I have 2 early birds!  Looking forward to blog-hopping tomorrow!  I’m sure there are going to be some AMAZING creations by the blogger’s challenge ladies this week….for anyone needing a little holiday inspiration, check them out!  The link is in my sidebar!

Hi everyone!  I’m back!  Most of my stamp stuff is down in the basement now, ready to go (whew, that was a lot of work moving it all!)  All I need now is better lighting and a comfy chair, and i’m all set!  I had some time to stamp today (finally!) and boy, did it feel good!

I decided to create a card for the guest designer call over at Whiff of Joy...it’s open until this evening (yeah, i’m cutting it kinda close!).  You can find out more info about the call HERE.  Whiff of Joy is one of my favorites…and it would be such an honor to work with their design team, even if it’s only for a few months.  It’s a long shot (there are a LOT of good stampers entered)…but it doesn’t hurt to try, does it? :)

EDITED:  WELL, APPARENTLY I MISSED THE DEADLINE.  READ THE TIME WRONG.  OH, WELL…

They wanted everyone to design a card with the following sketch:

And here’s my card, using Angel Charlotte.  I colored her with copics, then decided to make her all flashy and sparkly for Christmas.  I added some Crystal Effects and stickles to Charlotte’s dress, hair and wings, heat embossed some snowflakes over the swirly paper with iridescent ice EP, and created a yellow glow behind her.  All angels should glow, shouldn’t they? :) I had a hard time getting a good picture this afternoon because it was so dreary outside (it’s snowing!!)…this is the best I could do.

RECIPE:

Stamps: Whiff of Joy’s Angel Charlotte, SU stamp for greeting (forgot which one…i’ll check and update later)

Ink: Various copic markers (R27, R59, E77, E79, C1, N3, E00, RV23, Y17), Adirondack Pitch Black, Stazon (for greeting), Encore gold, Summer Sun (glow behind Charlotte), Versamark.

Paper/cardstock: Wassail (Basic Grey), Always Artichoke, Real Red, Gold, Chocolate Chip, Papertrey Ink Stampers Select White

Accessories: Felt snowflake (SU, colored with gold encore), white fibers by EK Success

Tools: Iridescent ice EP, Crystal Effects, red stickles, diamond stickles, gold stickles, heat tool

Thanks for stopping by! :)

I don’t have a card to share today…but I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! 

Also – I will be taking a break from the blog for the rest of this week because we’re having company, and i’m in the middle of moving my craft room into the basement….but i’ll be back! 

Happy Thanksgiving!  

And thank you so much for visiting my blog! 

Wendy

Hi!  This week’s challenge was to create a card or project with a “giving thanks” theme.  The first thing that came to mind is a Journal of Thanks. I’m going to use it during 2009 to write all the little things that I am thankful for on a daily basis.  Like I have on the cover…it’s the little things that we need to be thankful for, the things that we often take for granted in our daily lives.  I have a lot to be thankful for…but sometimes I can lose sight of that on a daily basis.  So i’m hoping that this project will help keep me more focused and grateful for what I have!

I have a pile of things to be altered, including a few of these neat little journals.  The journal has 12 tabs, so it was perfect for this idea.  I’m not really good at altering items…I haven’t altered many things so far (i’m a newbie), and to top it off, I really don’t have the supplies and embellishments needed to make an awesome design.  I found that out this week when trying to finish this project!  And one thing that I found that i’m lacking in, are Thanksgiving-themed and fall-themed items (stamps, embellishments, etc)  I’m happy with the end results of this book, but i’m not crazy about it…  Oh, well! :)

I created a shaker window out of the window in the book.  I used an SU clear envelope and covered the front of the window, under the paper, and adhered the stamped image to the back.  I filled the middle with silver micro beads (also SU).  Then I used a rub-on “it’s the little things” on the top of the window, from the Anchored SU set, which I thought was fitting…and all the little micro beads represent the “little things”!  Clever, huh?

I outlined the window with ribbon, and used some little beads (from Michaels) in the corners.  I distressed the edges of the red frame.   I knotted the green ribbon with some kraft taffeta (SU) ribbon and attached it over the edge of the doily lace punch (Martha Stewart).  Then I put some more beads inside the scallops.  For the stamped image (Fresh Cuts by SU), I stamped the entire thing in so saffron, then used a sponge dauber and rubbed kiwi kiss and riding hood red on various spots right on the rubber.  Here are some more photos:

See the beads…now they’re at the top.  Gosh, it’s hard to get a good photo of this thing! :)

And here’s the inside.  I have a cover page (i’m not crazy about it, but it’ll work), and tabs for each month.  There are three double-sided lined sheets in between each tab. And i’m not going to bother decorating the pages on each tab…I may create a calendar page to put on them, but I didn’t have time for that this week (we have had a rough week with naps, sleeping…).

Recipe:

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Bravo Burgandy, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, So Saffron

Paper: Fancy Pants “Crush”, Fancy Pants “Aged Florals”, Basic Gray Wassail, WeRMemory Keepers “Precious Metals”…yup, I used a variety!  Journal Cards…I think they are Fancy Pants also.

Accessories: Doily Edge Punch (Martha Stewart), misc. ribbon, Kraft Taffeta Ribbon (SU), misc. pearls (Michael’s brand), Anchored Rub Ons (SU), Clear Envelope (SU), Bungalow “You are my sunshine” transperency frame (My Mind’s Eye), silver micro beads (SU), sponge dauber, distress tool (SU), sticky strip, tombow adhesive, snail adhesive

Everyone have a great weekend!  I’m hoping to get some stamping done (it’s my birthday tomorrow, and that would be a great present…to get a little time to “play” with my stamps!).

IF YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF THE BLOGGER’S CHALLENGE…GO CHECK OUT THE OTHER PARTICIPANTS’ WORK!  THERE ARE SOME AWESOME STAMPERS!  THE LINK IS IN MY SIDEBAR ON THE LEFT!