Layout for Thursdays Class

This is one of the two layouts we will be making on Thursday at The Train Depot. Love the Stampin Up Paper

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you. I wish you a wonderful time with Friends and Family and of course, Yummy Food!

Design Team Entry

I recently tried out for a Design Team Position at Spellbinders and although I did not make the team I came runner up which to me is a huge accomplishment. I feel quite proud to be chosen as a runner up from the hundreds of applicants.
I thought I would share with you my submissions:

The first photo is a Rubber Stamped Card. I embossed an MSE stamp with White Embossing Powder and then colorwashed the card using Always Artichoke,Old Olive and Blue inks. The background was stamped with the retired Cheesecloth stamp from Stampin Up.

The 2nd is a card using a combination of diecuts and stamps and a skewer as the hanging rail. On the outside of the door (which is layered for depth) I hung a mini tassel.

The third is a layout of my Nephew Jordan. I used Papers and letter buttons from Junkitz, Paint from Making memories, a combination of Ghost and Wood Stars and the title is Chipboard which I embossed using a few different powders to give it a grungy, muddy appearance. I sewed around the large star and used a variety of stamps and inks.

The other entry was an altered project, which has too many photos!

Sneak Peek at a new Stamp Set

This card was created using a new stamp set: Time Well Spent. Stampin Up sent to me for free! It will be in the new catalog. I used Really Rust and Always Apricot Cardstock and Basic Brown ink. I colored in part of the images with my Creamy Caramel marker and added some rhinestones. A very quick card!

Lack of art

Sorry for not blogging lately. I am just finishing up a large custom album order. I fully expect it to be finished and mailed off this afternoon!!! I will be making up for the lack of posts with two posts a day till the end of the month.

Picture Frame Set

This is a set of three items that I made using My Minds Eye Papers. I will be making frames similar to this for the craft shows. The candle wrap around is one piece of paper and I used the scalloped punches on the end for interest. The third item is a small Post-it Note Holder. Super simple to make.

Leopard Card

Tonight I used one of my old stamps and also used a paper scrap! Yeah!! Image was colored using Prisma Pencils Yellow Ochre and Burnt Ochre. As you can see at the top of the white cardstock I have some ragged edges. Guess it is time to change the blade again.

I also made another cutesey card but can't get it to photograph well. I guess I am going to have to take some time and get some proper lighting so that I do not have problems taking photos inside.

Domino Tray

I thought it might be interesting to show some altered items that I have made. This is a tray from Michaels using Dominos, black paint and Stazon ink.

A Mistletoe Mouse

See I told you I was stamping cutesy cards!!! I colored the mouse with Prisma Pencils and blended with Gamasol. The flash on my camera is washing out the photo, in real life the colors are quite vibrant. The wording on the tag at the bottom reads Meet Me under the Mistletoe

More cards tomorrow

Snowman Card

My personal style for scrapping and stamping is shabby chic and vintage so I do not know why all of a sudden I am attracted to cutesy stamp images.

I bought some cute Christmas mouse images this weekend and I inked them up and started coloring them right away. (Usually my purchases sit there for a long time). I could not get a decent picture last night so will try again later today, but in the meantime enjoy the snowman card. I colored him with Prismacolor pencils.

New Card

I decided to make a card on Sunday just for me! I have so many stamps that don't get used and I make so many cards for my workshops or customers using only Stamping Up products. So I decided it was me time.

I made the card using some BasicGrey scraps that I had in my scrap pile and an old stamp. I had fun creating it and will try to make at least one card a week using up my paper scraps and some old stamps that have not seen the light of day in a couple of years!

Blog Candy Giveaway in exchange for words

As most of you know I am going to be selling some cards at Craft Fairs. With this goal in mind I have to make 100 cards per week to have enough, as well as making other things. I started this weekend with the most time consuming cards. I cut and colored just over 100 images. But, I need some help. The card above needs a funny generic sentiment that would appeal to everyone. Such as "It's not gossip if it is true" Although it is a suitable sentiment I don't think it would appeal to a lot of people. So I am asking you to post your thoughts on a funny saying, either as a comment on this post or send me an email. The person whose saying I use will be given the scalloped square punch in the picture. Put your thinking caps on ladies!!!

Quick card

Need I say more!!!

BG Periphery

Drink in the European flavor of periphery. An avant -garde collection of aged florals and provincial style. An exquisite melange of toile prints and flourished patterns resulting in an anthology of parisian-inspired romantic collections of color.

BG Mellow

Mellow - A vibrant cornucopia of pumpkin-patch-searching, apple-picking, leaf raking autumn colors.

BG Obscure

Obscure - A creative assault on youth culture. Dramatic, iconic patterns and moody, energetic colors push the palette to that extreme space where teens hang out and become inspired. Hear the music.

BasicGrey Infuse

The Infuse collection is saturated with a rich color blend of Garden Green, Hibiscus Pink and Coffee Bean Brown.

BasicGrey Recess

Recess is a colletion of nostalgic schoolhouse papers with a modern twist. Vintage schoolyard meets contemporary playground. Old school has never been so hip.

A New Post Finally - BasicGrey is here!!!

I have a limited number of the new BasicGrey paper packs and 6x6 pads available for sale. The paper packs include 18 sheets of paper, a sheet of coordinating die cuts and a sheet of cardstock letter stickers. The 6x6 pads (perfect for card making) contain 36 sheets 2 each of 18 patterns.

Prices are $17.99 for the 12 x 12 paper packs and $5.99 for the small pads. 6.5% sales tax will be added to the total. Please send me an email or leave a comment if you are interested in purchasing. Thanks

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th to everyone. I can't go out anywhere tonight as my Parrots do not like the noise of the fireworks, so I have to hold them till all the fireworks are done. Mango has to sleep on my pillow tonight. She is so big if she falls off her perch she could really hurt herself. :) It is cute sleeping with her tho, she likes to hold one of my fingers or my hair in her hand and she often leans down to kiss me through the night. And for those wondering No, she never poops in the bed :) She is a lady!!!!

Scallop Punches For Sale

Wow, three posts in one day!
The Scallop Punches are back in stock. The Giga Punches are $22.00 and the Mega Punches are $18. In stock are Mega Circle, Oval, Heart, Rectangle and Square and Giga Square. The backordered punches should be back in stock later this week. let me know if you would like one and I will put it aside till I see you.

This card uses the retiring colors of Cool Caribbean and Vintage Violet. The main stamp set has made it into this years catalog but the background stamp did not.

More photos of my room

Here are some more photos for your viewing pleasure. The first photo is one of my embellishment draws. The second photo is my foam stamp storage. I keep them all attached to chipboard sheets using velcro. One Box is alphabets, one box is Numbers, Words & Punctuation. The third box is decorative, like scrolls and flowes, etc. I will not buy anymore foam stamps as I have no room left in the boxes!

The two photos show my desk and the last photo is the die storage center from Quickutz. The draws gold my quickutz fonts and dies and my Cuttlebug dies. Everything is neatly labeled and in its place.

Big Blooms

This card is made with Apricot Appeal, Bashful Blue and Brocade Blue. Stamps used are Big Blooms from the current mini, French Script and Terrific Trims.

Scallop Punches

Just a quick update to let everyone know that I am waiting on a shipment of the new scallop punches from Uchida. I will be carrying the new heart and rectangle scallop punches in both Mega and Giga Sizes. If you would like me to hold one for you please send me an email. I do not know the prices yet but as soon as I do I will let you know.

Top Ten Retiring Stamp Sets

I was asked to make some recommendations on the retiring stamp sets so without further ado ......

My Top Ten recommendations for stamp sets are:

1. French Script Pg 170 my favorite background stamp
2. All Year Cheer 1, 2 or 3 Pg 178 & 174. Some great sayings to finish your cards
3. Any of the sets on Page 166. These are great for backgrounds, adding texture or filling in blank spots.
4. Artifacts Pg 155 Great for masculine pages and scrapbooking
5. Balmy Breezes Pg 152 a must have for us floridians
6. On Gossamer Wings Pg 132. Great for watercoloring.
7. All Natural Pg 91 You can do many many things with this set (My most used set)
8. Tag Time pg 24 This is a great general set, there is a stamp in this set for every holiday (Except Jewish Ones)
9. Wise Cracks Pg 84 - Great for girlfriend cards
10. Buggies and Booties Pg 97. for new borns, Congrats, Christenings. This is a very elegant set.

Well there you have it, Stamp Sets you can't live without !!!!

Of course the "In Colors" are also retiring, so I have stocked up on Cranberry Crisp and True Thyme for my Christmas Cards. I have also stocked up on Cool Caribbean as I seriously doubt I can survive without it, and just for the heck of it I also stocked up on Buckaroo Blue, Marigold Morning and Vintage Violet.

Ramblings and a Layout and a Card

Sorry for not blogging for the last 2 weeks. I have been working on a number of different things, one of which I may be able to share the outcome with you later today and then you will know why I have not blogged! Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I wanted to let those of you who asked about my challenge for last month. I did not buy anything for 31 days. It was hard the last couple of days as I badly needed some supplies for a project that I was working on but I made it!!!!

On June 1st I bought the idea books and magazines I needed, and then I went shopping. I only spent $28 on supplies, how good is that!!!

Later this week I will add a feature to this blog that allows you to get emails when it is updated so that you don't have to keep visiting to see if I have posted anything.

The scrapbook page above is of my Niece Olivia, she is so darn cute. All supplies are from My Minds Eye and Prima. The card was inspired by a friend of mine that likes to drink Martinis.

Phoebe

I made this Mannequin today. Took about 8 hours to do but, I think this was well worth it. The mannequin is from the Bare Elements collection by Creative Imaginations. I got the idea from seeing a large dress form done by Marah Johnson. Used both White and Vanilla Cardstock and the Stampin Up Spring Bouquet Punch. Each flower is layered and has either a mini button, Rhinestone white brad or Silver flower brad in the center. I used up all my mini buttons and silver flower brads. I also used up 5 rolls of ribbon including all my white and vanilla Ric rack. Yeah!!! I am going to call her Phoebe. For those that are interested I have still not bought anything!

Metallic Pencils

Some of you may have done this card but for those of you that did not here are the directions. I used the Doodle this stamp set (big suprise here) . The image was stamped with versamark on Close to Cocoa and embossed with copper powder. The coloring was done with three different metallic pencils and then blended with Gamasol.

Day 5

I just wanted everyone to know I am doing well, it is Day 5 and I have not bought or ordered a thing!

Pictures of my Embossing Powders and some of my other brand of inkpads. All my Stampin Up pads sit on a caddy on my desk. The SU pads you see in the photo are actually retired colors or Pigment/Craft inks.

The second photo is another view of my Patterned Papers and ink pads directy on. You can see how well I have used that wall space.

On top of the ink pad holders are jars with Pigment powders, embossing markers and fat/long ink pads that don't fit in the slots. The only ink pads besides the SU ones on my desk are two small boxes of little pads that sits on one of the shelves beneath my desk. I love these white shelves, they each old 72 ink pads and the one in the middle is perfect for all my embossing powders, alcohol inks, and other specialty coloring items.

Day 2

Here are some more pictures of my space: The first one is of my Prima and Silk Flowers. The second picture is of my 12 x 12 paper. The only paper that is not in these holders is holiday paper such as Christmas, Halloween, etc These are located along with the appropriate embellishments so that I can just pick up the case to create. Oh, I almost forgot, I do have a shopping bag filled with paper that will not fit into my current system. Hopefully I will use so much paper by the end of this month that I will be able to get those papers in :)

Day 2 of my personal challenge was quite easy despite being offered two free albums and some new papers. I was offered these by two different people numerous times who said if they gave it to me then it would not count. I felt quite virtuous saying NO!!!

1st Day aand photos of my space

Some photos of my stuff. The first picture is of my ribbon jars. I took the ribbons off the spools and wound them onto clothes pegs. They are also sorted by color. The second picture is of the drawer where my ribbons are still on the card. The third photo is of the spools waiting to be rewound onto clothes pegs.

It is apparent from these photos that I do not need to buy any more ribbons. But it is also apparent that I am very organized. Stick that in your face Clean Sweep!!!!

Yesterday was the first day of my challenge. I was doing okay before I went into work. We received the new Lil Davis papers in, I had ordered the new line, absolutely beautiful. I did have the thought that I could buy it and then start my quest tomorrow or put it in the back of the store and buy it June 1. This is obviously not a good start! I did however resist. I did NOT BUY ANYTHING! I am so proud of myself. :)

A Challenge

I have challenged myself to not buy any personal scrapbook or stamping products for the month of May. Yes you read correctly, the whole month, all 31 days. I have too many supplies I do not use and I have been threatened, yes threatened by some of my so called friends calling in the Clean Sweep team. This strikes total fear in me that someone may come into my creative world and take some of my stuff!!!
So with that nightmare ever present in my mind, invading my sleep and making me wake up in a cold screaming sweat that someone is touching my patterned papers I will abstain from buying. I admit I have a problem. I am a shopper and a hoarder, so I will cut into my virgin paper , open my paints and use my ribbons.

I will keep my blog updated to let my faithful readers (all three of you) updated with how my quest is going. I will also post some pictures of my room this week. Wish me luck. Day One starts tomorrow!!!

Another card

This card was done with Cameo Coral cardstock and matching water color crayon. One of my favourite colors! I also used Watercolor paper which allowed the crayon to flow nicely across the paper. Using the Doodle this stamp set and some copper stickles just finished this card off nicely. Card inspired by a similar one done by a SCS stamper. I have been using this stamp set a lot lately, as it is my current favourite set. Must change to another set, must change to another set, must change to another set. Hopefully if I keep repeating this I will pick another set to use!

Bad Blogger

I think I must be the worlds worst blogger!!!! I had great intentions when starting this blog but my Crazy life got in the way. To compound this I am having some major computer issues, namely the "Blue screen of death" . My computer keeps giving me that dreaded screen and then won't reboot. Time to get another computer I guess. Anyway enough about that. Here is one of the cards from last week where we experimented with Twinkling H20's

Hoppy Easter

Cute card for Easter/Spring. The bunny was stamped twice and cut out of the frame. The frame was popped up on dimensionals and the image was colored using metallic pencils for a little glimmer.

Quick Travel Card

This card was made in under 10 minutes using the World tour Stamp set.

Eye Candy

Here is some hot eye candy for you. and for those of you wondering it is my leg he is leaning on......... Patrick is some kind of sexy!!!