Two for Tuesday, CPS and childhood.

Surprise! I have 2 cards to show you today...amazing, isn't it? The first is for CPS sketch #24. I really do like sketch challenges as I think that's my hardest decision when creating a card--the layout. When I first saw this LO, I knew immediately what stamp set I wanted to use. (hee hee, get it? *slapping my knee*) This card came together in about 35 minutes!

I actually used three different stamp sets for it; Wanted, Starstruck, and Think Happy Thoughts, all from SU!. Throw in some touches of silver (EP, photo corners and ribbon slider buckle), some sponging, a piece of PP perfect for the whole ensemble, some soft velvet ribbon, and some CS from Bazzill, and you can see why it came together so quickly.

NOTE: If anyone can tell me who makes this PP, I'd be eternally grateful. I like it a lot, but have no idea where I got this piece.

The second one I've actually been working on for 6 days. Crazy, I know, but it wouldn't come together the way I wanted, so I kept putting it aside and coming back to it later.

It's a tribute to childhood secrets. You know, the ones you tell your bestest friend and hope that she keeps forever? I know my BF has kept some crazy secrets of mine for more than 20 years! Not sure why it looks all wonky on the right side, but it isn't really IRL. The boy image is from Paperbag Studios, one of my all-time favorite stamp companies, the word MUSE is from Ma Vinci's Reliquary, and the sentiment and measuring tape BG are from my huge stash of UM rubber that I have no idea on the origins of! Brown ribbon is SU!, yellowish is from my stash along with the key and keyhole. The crown is from ArtChix Studio.

Big Flower

Happy Monday everyone! I actually like Mondays because it means a faster internet connection for me! *chuckle* I dread dial-up. That's why you rarely see posts from me on the weekends.

So this card is fun, huh? I sort of had a free-for-all with it. It was originally made with PP (3 different pieces), but I decided to challenge myself and create my own. I'm not very good at creating interesting backgrounds...besides, why bother when there are SOOO many incredible PPs out there? But I gave it try after dis-mantling the whole thing and peeling off the PP from my first go-round.
I used SU!'s Best Blossoms set on the gauva and Old Olive CS. I also used my new LINEN BG stamp! Those of you who know me, know that I have been craving, coveting, yearning for the linen BG stamp from SU!. I just couldn't justify spending almost $17 for ONE stamp. So I never purchased it. Well, my SU demo decided to get rid of her old one last week (at a reduced rate, i.e we traded) and I snapped it up like a fish takes bait! I'm so happy to have it and spent several minutes stamping it on EVERYTHING!
So anyway, I used SU!'s basic grey, old olive and groovy guava CS for this card. I stamped the larger BG with versamark, guava ink, and white craft ink. I stamped the olive piece with Linen in white, and flowers in olive (stamped off three times) and doodled with a white gel pen. I pierced along the doodled line and added three brads to bring out the pink of the flower. I also used the faux stitching technique on the grey under the ribbon.
Sentiment is by TAC, other stamps by SU!, ribbon and CS by SU!, brads by MM, ink is SU!, CTMH, Versamark, and Versamagic white chalk, Large material flower came from my "odds and ends" box. I think it was suposed to be used for applique or something.

In the mood...

...for simple and quick. I just haven't felt like creating anything elaborate lately. I'm liking the fast, but effective card. Hmmm, could this have something to do with needing to be in three places at once whenever I get a free moment? *grin*

Now, normally, I'm one to just ignore the dirty dishes and the piles of laundry (Why, oh why, did NO ONE tell me about the incredible amounts of laundry once you add 2 little beings to your household?). Seriously, I have been known to hole up in my studio working on one card for hours and blatantly ignoring the pleas outside the door for "Mommy make lunch now", and "My tummy's hungry!"

But lately I'm back on the bandwagon and getting things done...just not cards! So this simple card fit the bill last night when I had about 20 minutes of "me" time.

I colored the clear viney stamps (Autumn Leaves) with markers, stamped them on some whisper white CS, added a sentiment from Verve Visual, matted it with some lavender CS from Bazzill, added a piece of HUGE lime green twill (I bought a set of pillows from K-mart 2 years ago, and they were tied up with this stuff) and pop-dotted the whole thing onto a dark purple Bazzill cardbase. I thought it looked a bit too blahh, so I pierced some holes around the raised piece and added some along the bottom of the ribbon.

Oh, and peeps, please don't report me to Child Protection Services, I promise my children are not starving for the artistic cause!

CPS #23 and the LAUNCH!

Just a simple card cooked up last night in about 30 minutes. My brain couldn't wrap around this week's CPS sketch very well, so I had to back up and K.I.S.S. I think I was trying to overdo it with "extras" and too many embellishments. Last night I decided to start over and use different stamps and paper and keep it simple. It worked!

Actually, when I was digging through scraps of CS, I saw these three colors together and it was one of those light bulb moments, you know? "WOW, those are kinda funky, my brain said, why not"? So, in keeping with the goofy yet fun colors I decided to use these stamps from SideShowStamps.
I stamped the circus elephant on the green, and again on light pink and dark pink. I cut out the light pink one and adhered her to the green, then cut out her decorative throw from the dark pink and pieced it on top. I colored some parts in with white gel pen to make it stand out more too.
I stamped a diamond BG (Hero arts) onto the pale pink panel with versamark ink to keep with the fun theme and doodled around the burgundy CS with my white gel pen. The strip of PP matches perfectly, doesn't it? I found that in the scrap pile too, but I'm not sure who makes it. After adding the pink brads (MM) and the white ribbon with the sentiment on top I declared it done!

TA DA!........................................

So, I'm sure by now most of you have read about the unveiling of the new stamp designs and online store, right? It was announced yesterday that VERVE VISUAL is the mastermind of none other than our very own Julee Tillman! Go here to read about it and be sure to wish her a happy belated birthday too! She has so much talent (have you ever drooled over her cards at her blog Poetic Artistry?) and that fact that she has designed her own line of rubber stamps is testament to that! Verve Visual is officially opening on August 1st, so be sure to sign up for email updates so you don't miss a thing! (You can do that HERE.)

A little birdie...

I think I have a thing for bird images. Strange, because they really aren't "me", if you KWIM. But looking through my collection, I sure seem to have a few!
I was organizing my scraps last night and put this piece of Basic Grey aside because it was so pretty. I played around with it for a bit taking out other scraps of CS to match before I found all the papers I wanted to work with. Then I grabbed this small bird image from Autumn Leaves (Rhonna Farr). It's embossed in chocolate brown EP and cut out and mounted onto another piece of CS. He's perched on a scrap of banana CS that I cut to look like grass.
When looking for ribbon to match I came across this piece of burlap ribbon stuff and knew it was what I wanted. It had a rough, outdoorsy feel.
The sentiment is from Verve Visual, and I embossed it in white to set it off. I love these new sentiments from Verve Visual! They fit perfectly in my multi-sized window punch. And they are a really nice mix of fonts too.

Girly Shoes

We were away all weekend with no computer access. Does anyone else feel lost when that happens? I had this post slated and ready, all I had to do was find a computer and hit publish, but I never got near one all weekend!
Isn't this card fun? I had a great time creating this one. It's good to make something just for fun sometimes, and this card fit the bill for me when I needed some "me time". The awesome patterned paper is from Paper Mojo. I buy paper from there in huge sheets and then cut it into usable sizes. The legs/shoes stamp is from Sideshow Stamps, and I have no earthly clue what company makes the sentiment. I'm pretty sure I bought it at a rubber stamping convention at one of a hundred booths selling piles o' rubber. I do know that that quote is attributed to Bette Midler though, because I cut that part off the stamp (just for this card).The melon CS is Bazzill, the blue and white are SU!. The ribbon came from a swap, the button brad is MM, and I used a white gel pen to outline the edges of the scalloped oval and to faux stitch. I used Prisma color pencils to color the image in. I sure wish I had more flesh tone pencils, I had to use quite a few layered on top of each other and blended to get the shades I wanted.

Masculine ribbon?

I like challenging myself in mini creative ways, so last night my task was to make a masculine card that had two different ribbons on it. I think I suceeded! The image stamp is from PaperBag Studios, and is stamped with Ranger archival black on glossy white CS. The ribbon is SU! and the CS is Bazzill. I added three copper eyelets, some piercing and distressed the edges of the black CS to liven it up a bit.

I'm going to save this for when I need a male retirement card.

In other news, I told you I had a secret, right? Well, let it be known today that I am officially a member of the Gallery Design Team for Verve Visual! *jumping up and down* Can you believe it? Oh, and wait until you hear who the mastermind behind this fantastic new company is! None other than...oh shucks, that's right, I can't tell you yet... bummer. Anyway, I am so honored to be asked to be a member of the Verve. Talk about a shock to receive THAT email! And wait until you see the incredible new stamps coming! *drool* They are perfect. Excited? I sure am. *grin*

Finally. In more ways than one.

I thought I'd throw this card at you today. It's the companion card to this one. I made them together using the same scrap of PP. I thought I sent it out as a RAK to a fellow blogger and friend, but then I found it last night under a table in my studio! *smacks self on forehead* I guess she'll see it before it arrives! Only she doesn't know who she is, so it's okay somehow.

Isn't that green velvet ribbon luscious? The viney leaf stamp on the top part is from Great Impressions and I embossed it with iridescent sparkly EP. I don't know who makes the sentiment stamp.

P.S. I've got a secret to share too, but I might wait until later to post it! (I'm bursting at the seams with exciting news!) I'll leave you with a hint though...does the name VERVE VISUAL mean anything to you? *grin*

I'm rockin'!

As I'm sure you've noticed (unless you don't blog surf) that there is a flurry of nominations going around for Rockin' Girl Blogger. I was nominated by Julee at Poetic Artistry. Thanks! Now I have to nominate 5 others, and I know exactly who I want to choose!

• Malieta--at Life's Simple Pleasures. She posts a wonderful mix of cards, scrapbook LOs, and family photos. I like the whole shebang!
• Jill--at Paper Memories. Not only does she love camping and children's books (no bias here *grin*), but she has some lovely cards too.
• Jan--at Paper Tango. Her blog is full of interesting cards, great ramblings, and fun tips. Plus she's a veggie like me. (Did I mention there was no bias going on?)
• Bobbie--at Inspired by Ink. She's a great friend, a creative card maker and a fantastic mom. She is totally ROCKIN'.
• Jessica--at Handmade by Jessica. This girl has got it goin' on! She has some MAD talent in the crafting world. Check out her incredible clay beads!
• Jen--at Dreams, Gem, and Family. Not only is she my SIL, she's an incredible jewelry maker, Photographer, and Mom. She juggles life like no other and fully deserves the Rockin' Girl Blogger tag.

So there you have, my five..umm, I mean SIX nominees for the Rocking Girl Blogger Tag!

Children's books...

Crazy title, I know. But I adore children's books. I collect them faster than I do craft supplies and that's saying something! I can't pass up a yard sale, tag sale, or book store without searching for at least ONE kid's book. I have shelves and shelves of them...seriously, just ask my husband. My friends and family (including my DH) give them to me for Christmas, birthday, etc. because they know a children's book is the perfect gift for me.
Now, with that said...I am finicky about what books I keep and what I get rid of. It has to be well written. It has to have incredible illustrations. I'm not a Disney character book fan, nor a little golden book fan. Give me Maurice Sendak, Eric Carle, Else Holmelund Minarik, Arnold Lobel, Ezra Jack Keats, and Robert McCloskey any day!
I recently grabbed a book from one of our bookcases to read to our littlest munchkin. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch and Shiela McGraw. It's about a mom rocking her baby back and forth while softly singing: "I'll love you forever / I'll love you for always / As long as I'm living / My baby you'll be." As the child grows, she continues to sing this while rocking him, from the toddler years through the teen years and on up until he's an adult. There comes a point though, that the mom is too old and sick to hold her son, and the roles are reversed. I cry every time I read this. I'm a sap for sure.

All this background info was meant to lead up to today's card. I made it for my Dad. He's 83. He's lived an incredible life, from fighting on Iwo Jima in WWII to raising 7 children, 6 of them alone (there are 30 years difference between me, the youngest, and Janet, my oldest sister) to hiking the Appalachian trail from start to finish more than once.
Recently, we've realized that my Dad needs to be in a full-time care home. He can no longer live on his own because his dementia/Alzheimer's has grown progressively worse. I won't go into details, because they are sad. He's in a VA hospital right now to be stabilized for 90 days while my siblings and I choose a "home" for him. I feel too young (30) to be "losing" my Dad. He was 53 when I was born though, so he's come a long way and been there for me EVERY step of the way. From elementary band concerts, to high-school plays, from college graduation to my wedding, my Dad has been there cheering me on.
This is for you, Dad.

INSIDE:

It says, "Owl love you forever..." on the front and "...my daddy you'll be" on the inside. Owl stamp by Sideshow stamps, letter stamps by Karen Foster, ribbon from Michael's, ink is StazOn and SU!, prismacolor pencils for coloring.

Going retro again!

I gave myself a challenge. Sometimes I take SOOO long to design and complete one card, so last night I set a timer and told myself I had to make a card in 10 minutes or less. One that I wouldn't be embarrassed to send, that is! *chuckle*

I surprised myself and actually did it! I think this card took me around 8 minutes. And it would have been done quicker, only I wasted precious time frantically searching for my clear EP (I hadn't put it back where it goes *rolling eyes*), and 2 of the stamps I used were just plain rubber and I ran out of the double-stick tape that holds them to the acrylic block! Whewww.
The mushrooms and the sentiment are from Sideshow Stamps. They have the best retro images! The polka dot circle is from Purple Onion Designs, and the other double circle is from Scrapgoods. Ribbon is from MM, ink was Ranger black archival, Cat'e Eye chalk, and Hero Arts versacube. All Cs is from SU!, clear EP is from Sparkle & Sprinkle. I used Zig markers to quickly add some color to the mushrooms. ETA: I also used white gel pen to color in the dots and circles on the Kraft background.

I'm hoping this qualifies for the Bingo sketch too!

My tirade on the new USPS rates!

Is anyone else as confused as I am about the new postal rates here in the US? They are driving me nuts! Not to mention, it seems like things are taking SOO much longer to arrive at their destination, even with the added postage! Maybe I'm just slow on the uptake, but I can't figure them out to save my life.

So, in response to my frustrations, I decided to stamp!

The LO is from a sketch at Lauren's blog. I grabbed my little used Elvis stamp and dug through a few bags of UMs to find one of my two Elvis sentiments. I was looking for this one specifically because I knew it was about mail. Then I found a scrap of this 7 Gypsies PP and realized how PERFECT it was to use with my Elvis stamp! It has the titles of love songs in red, so I knew it would match my singing Elvis.

I pierced a rectangle around the stamped Elvis to perforate it, so that when I ripped it, it would look like the edges of a stamp. It didn't work very well, but I went with it anyway. I outlined the piece with a gold paint pen, and stamped the number in the corner to finish it off. Then I embossed some red DCWV CS using the tiny bubbles Cuttlebug folder. Some ribbon, some faux gel pen eyelets and it was done!

The stamps are all from Viva Las Vegas Stamps. I was at a rubberstamping convention in Vegas in April of 06, and spent a lot of time in that store!

Hope everyone had a great weekend, and I hope I haven't offended any of you Elvis fans out there!

2 4 1...sort of.

I made two simple cards last night using the same scrap of PP. I was going to post them both but think I will wait on one because I'm going to be sending it as a RAK. Actually, they're both going out as RAKs, but this one is going to my buddy Barb on the northwest coast and I don't think she reads my blog.It also qualifies for the Blogger Bingo sketch! I like the simplicity of this card; not too many layers, not to much matting, and only a few embellishments. I did doodle a bit by adding some white gel pen dots to the card base, smaller oval, and the PP. I also sanded the little tabs at the top to expose the white core of the CS, and pierced holes in the larger oval.
The card base is stamped with a SU! wheel in versamark, and so is the tiny leaflet above the sentiment. In real life, the pale orange snaps match the PP perfectly, but seem too dark in this photo.
The second card is also simple. I was making 2 cards in the same time frame that I normally make one! Maybe I'll post it later...

Oh, and if you need a little laugh this morning, check out this post here. I does have an eyebrow raising word in it, but I still consider it to be PG. Just go look! It's too good to miss.

Avoiding some new paper...

Can you believe I've had the new Basic Grey collection Sublime sitting here on my desk for almost a week now? I was itching to get into it, but I didn't want to "play" until I knew it was going to be good. Tossing away mess-ups might have been BG abuse! *giggle*I based this card on a scrapbook LO I saw online and also the new Blogger Bingo sketch. I love that geisha photo stamp and I rarely have a chance to use it. Recently, I've kept it out and visible to remind me to use it on a card. Last night I stamped it in a brown color on glossy paper and then flipped through my pad of Basic Grey paper and pulled a few out sheets. I fiddled a bit and came up with this! Please excuse my faux pas on using a Japanese image with Chinese characters. *shrug* I have no Japanese "writing" stamps.

I hope this isn't too much of a stretch compared to Julee's Bingo sketch, but I followed the major guidelines and rounded the corners of the image piece! And I added the character stamps on the left! *keeping fingers crossed*

Supplies: Stamps are Oxford Impressions (geisha) and All Night Media (Chinese characters). Paper is Basic Grey and SU CS. Ink is Versamark and Memories. Accessories: ribbon from reallyreasonableribbon.com, Cat's EP, Zig marker, signo gel pen, MM paper piercer.

CPS # 21

I don't know if my mojo is back, but last night's card was a breeze to make! It all just fell together in 15 minutes. I LOVE it when that happens.
I had the CPS sketch in front of me and I grabbed my crate of 6x6 Designer paper, and flipped through it looking for some diamond shapes. I pulled out a bunch of PP but it wasn't calling to me. Then I found one, and behind it were 4 more sheets of coordinating PP and I just knew it was the ONE!
I stamped the bird image on white, colored it with prisma pencils and gamsol, added some stickles (you can't see them in the photo very well), and matted it with a paint chip card from K-mart and some black CS. I also doodled around the edges and pierced a trail for the birdie. I like how it looks like it's kickin' up it's heels!
I cut out some flowers from the PP and pop-dotted them around the main image too.
The sentiment is from TAC, and the ribbon is from my stash.

Oh, and if anyone was wondering, the title of my post yesterday and the first sentence were CASED from one of my very favorite poems as a child. Disobedience (James James Morrison Morrison Weatherby George Dupree), by A.A. Milne.

Lost or stolen or strayed...

...Dana's creative mojo seems to have been mislaid. (Anyone know what poem I "borrowed" that from?!)

I just can't seem to pull it together when I'm making a card lately. Nothing looks right, I rip and tear and redo things many times, only to toss it all away from sheer frustration! Maybe I'm going through a creative block?
I was attempting to use Julee's new Bingo sketch and create something nice last night. This is what I ended up with, and although I wasn't going to post it, I thought I'd be honest with all you (my readers) and show you that I can't get things right sometimes.

I love Daisy D's patterned paper, so I found an old scrap and knew I wanted to build from there. My trouble came when I realized it was too "holiday-ish" in color, and I really didn't want to make a holiday card! Red is a troublesome color for me to work with anyway (because I don't like it), and last night nothing would work no matter how many different shades of contrasting CS I used! I finally just stopped fiddling with it and left it alone. I took a photo and here it is this morning on my blog for the world to see. I'm sure it's not as bad as I'm making it seem, but you know how some things just don't grab you? This card doesn't grab me. But I'm proud that I used some red (and green) and it didn't end up as a christmas card!

SUPPLIES: Stamps: Image is Papertrey ink, Sentiment is TAC, Background wheel is SU!. PP: Daisy D's. CS is DCWV, Bazzill, and SU whisper white. Ink: Ranger, versamark. Accessories: Ribbon from my stash, snaps from MM, brad from Joann's, white EP, signo white gel pen, Zig marker in brown.

...Jiggidy jig

Made this for a friend of mine whose BD was Saturday. It wasn't what I was going for when I began, but the end result pleased me anyway.

SUPPLIES: Stamps: SU Best Blossoms, Papertrey's Green Thumb. Paper: Chatterbox and some old random CS I've had for ages. Ink: Ranger archival, Versamark, Versamagic chalk thatched straw ink rubbed onto the embossed image to make it creamy yellow/ecru. Accessories: Ribbon from my stash, brads from Joanns, Pop dots, White EP, Zig marker for doodling.




















We had a great time camping, but it is always so nice to come home, isn't it? there were quite a few "crazy" adventures we had, including the point when my DH and our oldest were off fishing in the lake, and I was back at camp with our youngest. I was reading a book to him, when he started saying "Mommy, Bear." I "un-hun'd" and kept reading. Again, "Mommy...BEAR." Me: "There's no bear, you silly!" still reading, "MOMMY! BEAR!" I look up to see an enormous, fat raccoon standing beside our campfire. Good Lord, how long does it take me to get the message? *grin* I chased it away, and we went back to reading. All was well.

Now that was not nearly as bad as when we ALL were chasing a chipmunk around the camp site because it climbed up on our picnic table and stole the lid to my home canned peach preserves! It was like something out of a comedy film. One in which the teeny, tiny animal has control and the audience is laughing out loud at the goofy humans!

I don't want to overwhelm you with photos, but I've set up a slide show of a few of my favorite from this weekend. We rode our bikes a few miles from camp to a beach and playground area. It was really nice and I captured the kids at their best. I also let Crumbgrabber (2+) take a picture of ME..it's not bad for a first try with a camera! He insisted that I take a picture of his rock too.

King Tutankhamen

I honestly have so many stamps I rarely get around to using. So I dragged some of them off my shelf last night, and started playing. This is the result!

A few days ago I was perusing my National Geographic magazine collection and read a great article on King Tut. Did you know that he died from a broken leg that got gangrene? And he was only about 19! I was thinking about that article when I saw my "culture" stamp section and all of my Egyptian stamps. The stamps used on this card were given to me by my friend Lisa, so I'm not sure of the manufacturer, although I think the Sphinx and pyramid one came from Leavenworth Jackson. The large King Tut came from Stamp Francisco.

I highlighted some areas of the main image with a gold leaf paint pen from Krylon. It doesn't show up very shiny in this photo, but it looks really great IRL. SUPPLIES: PP by Autumn Leaves (Stripes) and Basic Grey (mustard), main image stamps is Stamp Francisco, other is Leavenworth Jackson, CS is DCWV and Bazzill, ink is Ranger Archival, black cording from my stash, the only 2 gold eyelets I could find are from my OLD old stash, photo corner from 3M.

We're going camping this weekend, so no posts until Monday. (What are we thinking taking a 2 1/2 year old tent camping?!?!?!) Our 8 year old is very excited, he's never been camping before *gasp*. Being adoptive parents is strange...you find things out about your children as you go, instead of already knowing. Our little guy has been toilet trained since he was 2, so at least I don't have to drag diapers along and bring them home full! I'm thankful for small blessings. I hope everyone has a restful, relaxing weekend, see you Monday.

A late post

I'm typically a morning poster, but I had so much going on this morning when I got to my office I didn't get a chance! Better late than never, right?

Did everyone have a nice holiday? I was going to post a photo of my fun salt potatoes today, but we were so hungry that we ate them all up before I remembered to take a photograph! I wanted to share them because I bought red, white and purple (blue) potatoes to cook for the 4th of July!
They looked so festive and tasted delicious. I occasionally buy purple potatoes for a fun change of pace, they are quite striking.
I made this tag for a friend of mine. we don't get together as often as we should and I miss her.

SUPPLIES: PP from my stash (anyone know who makes this? SEI maybe?), sentiment stamp from Michael's dollar spot, flower stamp from Purple Onion designs, pink velvet ribbon from MM, white and green from my stash, Bazzill CS, Signo gel pen, SU ink, prismacolor pencils, brown flower brad from a swap 4 years ago.

Happy Independance Day! (and salt potatoes)

To all United Stater's, I wish you a very celebrational 4th of July! And to all of you NYers (and other North Easterners), bring on the SALT POTATOES! *hee hee* That's MY favorite part of the celebrations anyway, that and sparklers! My DH (originally from WV) had never even HEARD of salt potatoes when we started dating, can you believe that? *insert shocked face*

They were a part of my everyday life during the summer months as a kid, and as a teen too. They only cost $1 at all the state and county fairs, and most of the ice cream shops sold them too. We ate them at every BBQ and outside party I'd ever been to. I insisted we have them at our wedding even! Yum. New baby potatoes, boiled whole (in their skins) in super salty water, then smothered in butter!
ETA: See here for a definition of salt potatoes. I will also post my own photo tomorrow, because mine are "special"! Also, see here for a blog post about salt potatoes and how they originated.

Anyway, this card was based on the #20 sketch challenge at CPS. I tried to go "traditional" and that really IS a challenge for me! It wasn't until I was done with this card and had already photographed it and uploaded it to blogger that I remembered that I have a ton of star brads in many different colors that I've had forever and need to be used up. Oh well, next time.

SUPPLIES: PP by Wild Asparagus, CS by DCWV, star clips from Scrapgoods July 2005 kit, ribbon from SU!.

Baby card

This card is for my cousin Scott's little boy. I'm behind in sending off a baby card, I think he's almost 5 months old now!
SUPPLIES: Chatterbox PP, DCWV and Bazzill CS, SU stamps, ribbon from my stash, ink is colorbox pigment, and Ranger archival, clear EP, faux stitching with a Zig marker, and paper piercing.

Another wedding card & some sympathy

Wheww. I'm so glad I found my camera cord. I felt lost not being able to upload any photos. Seriously, it was the weekend of doom because I couldn't update my blog with pictures!

This is the second of 3 weddings cards that I'm making. I bought a package of Martha Stewart ribbon tape recently, and while looking through my SU stamps, I just knew it would work for the retro "Quirky Quips" set. When I began playing around with it, it just turned into a wedding card! This LO is based on Julee's Blogger Bingo Sketch #2. In real life, the colors match perfectly (I spent a LONG time mixing inks to match that Salmon reddish pink ribbon!!)

SUPPLIES: Stamps are SU and TAC, CS is SU and Bazzill, small flower punch, ribbon from my stash, ink is a conglomerate of colors and brands, MM ribbon charm, Martha Stewart ribbon tape, CB embossing folder, Zig markers, Signo gel pen.

This card started out differently too, but ended up as a sympathy-type card. (Those are the only words I could fit on the pink word area that made sense.)

I used my "Big Blooms" set and Papertrey's words set, along with some Chatterbox PP, some Bazzill and some SU cardstock, ink was Hero Arts versa cubes, Cat's eye chalk ink, and Ranger Archival, ribbon and brad from my stash. Oh, as an afterthought, I added Papertrey's tiny flower and dot to the middle of the SU big flowers too.

I wish I had chalked or inked around the edges of the pink word area...it blends in too much with the CS under it.

I had fun with this card because I like using colors that might not normally go together. It makes it a challenge!

ON ANOTHER NOTE:

I wanted to give a shout-out to this AWESOME online store I discovered! It's called Trendytadpole, and they have the most adorable, unique, hip clothes for babies and toddlers. Look at this pretty cherry blossom onsie I want to get for my friend's soon-to-be baby! It makes me want to make a card to match right now! I also ordered this t-shirt for our youngest. He has the most enormous tummy after he eats, and the Buddha Belly is SO him! There are quite a few that I wish came in adult sizes because they are so fun.

I just wanted to let you all know that I found this fun shop, and if you need a hip baby gift, you might find one here!