Surprise! Surprise!

What a nice suprise to come home to, this afternoon! I had received an email last month, letting me know that I had been published in the upcoming issue of Stampers' Sampler. Well, I racked my brain trying to figure out what in the world was being published. Well, here they are! Four cards that I had submitted for "Different Point of View." The idea is to take one stamp (in this case, the Phrenology head stamp by Stamp Francisco) and create a variety of cards using that one stamp. Well, I had made these cards back in April, last year, and had completely forgotten that I had submitted them. What a nice surprise to see them in print! I'm sorry the second scan is cut-off on the left. As you can probably imagine, it's hard to scan a magazine page. Anyway, my work can be found on page 69 in the February/March 2008 Issue.

Enjoying my new COPIC Sketch Markers

I'd been looking at artwork on the web using COPIC markers. These are alcohol-ink markers that Manga Artists like to use. They blend beautifully and are bright and vibrant. There was a deal this past week at Hobby Lobby...25% off all markers. I went there with the intent of buying just five markers. They are normally $5.89 a piece. I wanted to buy some 'flesh' tone markers, and just 'test' them out. Well, I tested them at the store, and really fell in love with them. So, with the discount, I purchased 33 markers yesterday. LOL! What I liked about the whole deal was I could pick and choose from the open-stock assortment, rather than be bound to buying 'sets' of markers. I bought several nautral tones, mixed in some primary colors, pastel, and some very bright colors. This Sunday morning, I made these three cards using my new COPICS:

I know a lot of people are getting rid of their House Mouse stamps, but for some reason, I cannot part with my collection. This is one of my favorites. I LOVE the little mouse sleeping on a "Hill 'o Beans." Jelly beans in this case, LOL! I added Stickles to the beans to make them magical beans. Sentiment stamp is by Stampin Up.


I know it's after Christmas, but this is one of a few stamps that I own that has a lot of 'open space' to color. Reinder stamp is by Whipper Snapper Designs. Sentiment stamp is by Stampin Up.


I used a Stampin Up stamp (three Geishas) and a lily stamp by the late Curtis Uyeda on this card. I ran the purple panel through my Cuttlebug,


Like my messy desk? This is what my desk looks like, right now. I seriously need to clean it up before I start piling on more stuff.

Floral Obsession

I don't know what it is this week, but I've been obsessed with flowers. I think it's the new Stampin Up (Spring/Summer 08) catalog. As soon as I saw it, I fell in love with tons of new sets. All of them with flowers. I started with the first card (green, yellow, red and black) and decided to make four more cards with the same color combination. I'm giving the Happy Birthday card to my friend Carrie. The rest - I plan to submit them to a magazine. I'm not sure which one just yet. Thanks for stopping by!

Sliding pocket cards

I found the basic instructions for this card from the book "Cards that Pop-Up, Flip and Slide" by Michael Jacobs. I tweaked it a little to suit my taste. In the book, the inside 'tag' slides to the right (like the Valentine's card). My vintage card, I decided, should slide upward. I'm including the template, if you would like to try your hand at making one. If you want to see a larger view, just click on the picture and the page should refresh and show you a larger view.






This is the "tag" that will slide out, revealing the message beneath:


I started with a piece that was 8 1/2" x 6 1/2" (so you can make this from an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of cardstock). I don't know if you can tell, but this isn't a simple "window" card. There is a flap that slides behind the panel. It's easier to see this once you've cut out a template. Anyway, you would stamp your sentiment or write your message on that flap. Then the tag slides out, it will reveal the message underneath it. ** Sarah asked me how I cut the cardstock to create the panel. I used an xacto knife and a ruler. ** Thanks for stopping by!

Floral Flourish

This month, on the Stamp Shack, the color challenge asks us to use light blue, chocolate brown and peach on a card. This is my interpretation of the challenge. Thanks for stopping by!

You know when you get an 'itch' and you just need to scratch it?

I've had the color combination of tangerine, lime and black in my mind all afternoon. I was finally glad to get home from work and 'scratch that itch.' Stamps are by Technique Tuesday, except for the large, floral stamp. That stamp is by All Night Media.

Happy New Year, everyone!

I hope your New Year has started off wonderfully and full of fresh and innovative ideas for the coming year! We spent the day mostly at home. I had a chance to create (finally) something for myself. It's been a long three-and-a-half weeks since I've had this opportunity. While in Tampa, Florida, last week, visiting my brother, I stopped at a Joanne's Superstore and bought some Heidi Grace stamps. I fell in love with her paper when I had seen it at Archivers several months ago. I didn't realize that she had created stamps using the same images in her papers. I'm not sure who designed the patterned paper that I used on the card (oops! I forgot to look). I whipped out my sewing machine, some Stickles and mounting tape to add a few small touches to this card.

This is a page for a swap called "My Funny Valentine" on the Stamp Shack. Tami is hosting this swap. She has asked us to create a 4 x 4 page, and include a funny quote on the page about love or Valentine.

Thank you card using one of my new homemade blings

I made this realy simple card with one of the blings I made yesterday. I guess I don't have a better word than 'bling'. It's not fancy enough to call an 'embellishment' so I guess 'bling' will have to suffice. All papers are by Basic Grey (Infuse). Inside, I used a flourish stamp by Rhonna Farrer. "Thanks.....a bunch!" are Making Memories rub-ons.

I made my own bling!

I've been admiring the K & Co bling for quite some time. After studying them week after week, I was finally inspired to try my hand at making some. I used a variety of Marvy paper punches, EK Success punches, and even my Crop-a-dile, layering them with pop-dots and sticker bling I bought from the Target Dollar Spot a year ago. This was so much fun and so exciting! The paper I used came from a Basic Grey pack (Infuse). I am loving this process! I can't wait to use my new "bling" on greeting cards!

Oh what a laugh it would've been, if daddy had only seen....

This is one of my favorite Christmas songs. On Saturday Stampers we are challenged to create a project using a "Christmas theme." But we have to use non-traditional Christmas images on our project, and we can't use the word "Christmas." What fun! As soon as I saw this kissing couple, the song "I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus" popped in my head immediately. The paper is Basic Grey, stamp by Stampin Up, Making Memories rub-ons, and Marah Johnson metal floral brads.

This is one of my favorite stamps

This stamp, by Club Scrap, is one of my favorite stamps in my collection. I had seen it for the first time in a Stampers Sampler; but I wasn't a member of Club Scrap. By then, the stamp was no longer available (even to non-members). So, imagine how thrilled I was when one of my friends announced she was selling this stamp because she hardly used it! This card was created for Fluffy Fatbottom's Twisted Tuesday's weekly challenge: Sweets for the sweet . Thanks for stopping by!

Pocket Box

Here is my entry for this week's "Gold Challenge" on Mixed Media Monday. This is a "pocket box." I should've known better than to use cardstock. It was quite a challenge to fold. But, it in the end, it looked OK, I suppose. I gold embossed black cardstock and also gold embossed a fleur de lis. The second picture is of the pocket 'opened up.' You could slip a note in the pocket. You could attach this to a gift, or slip a gift inside the pocket (like cash, or something like earrings or a chain necklace.) I think the next time I attempt this, I will use regular paper. It's so much easier to fold.

A Multi-Tasking Project

This week's challange on Saturday Stampers is to incorporate projects from Gothic Arches (Friends challenge); Mixed Media Monday's button challenge ;Fluffy Fatbottom's Twisted Tuesday's Button Wisdom challenge ; Wednesday Stamper's Diamond challenge; and Theme Thursday's Chalk challenge. To create the "diamond" background, I first inked up a harlequin stamp with white chalk ink and stamped it on glossy cardstock (it's really important that you use glossy cardstock. You want the ink to sit on the surface of the paper a little longer. If you used regular cardstock, it will absorb into the paper too quickly.) Then, I quickly ran a very wet burnet sienna chalk ink pad over the stamped area. Afterwards, I quickly wiped off the burnt sienna ink. The white chalk ink acts as a resist. Isn't it neat? I'm not sure if the sentiment is very clear. My button wisdom is "We remain fond friends because we know when to button it up." Thanks for stopping by!

Entry for Skinny Saturday

This is my entry for this week's Skinny Saturday challenge, which is to use Tim Holtz's Distress Inks. I used manila cardstock for my based, and swiped (DTP) Tattered Rose and Lavender Distress ink on it. Then, I stamped with Burgundy and Blue Distress Inks. On a separate manila cardstock, I swiped Scattered Straw ink and stamped over it with Brushed Courdoroy. TFL!

How Eliza explained to Theodore why it's alright to be addicted to chocolate

This is my entry to this week's Gothic Arch Challenge. The theme for this week is chocolate. I hope you find it funny. (I was trying to come up with something funny for this challenge). Thank you for stopping by!

Moo Cards

These are the first moo cards I've made. It was fun a challenge. The cards are one inch wide by three inches tall. Essentially, they're half the size of a business card. I stamped the background with a script stamp (Stamp Francisco) and a flourish stamp (Rhonna Farrer).

Garden Collage

This is a project I'm submitting for a magazine. The image of the little girl and the birds' eggs are from Nancy Doreen (Vintagestamper.....look on the right sidebar for a link to her blog). I attached lace to the bottom of this 6 x 6 piece, and a vintage wire-hanger on the top. The paper is stamped with various images from Stampin Up and Stampinton & Co.