Blog Hop night!

Well it's that time again. Yes, it's blog hop night with PTI! Last month was my first one and I was so inspired by all the samples, that I decided to participate again.

Here was the challenge: For this month's Blog Hop, we want to see all of your very best backgrounds. They can be created with a set originated for that purpose or a reinvention of images that were not.

I wanted to use a set that wasn't intended for making backgrounds, so I dug out Limitless Labels. Although I've used it frequently for mini chocolate gifts, I wanted to see what I could do if I tried to make my own PP with it!

Here is the sheet of CS that I stamped using raspberry fizz, summer sunrise, and new leaf inks. I added the sentiment in black.
When I cut it up to use on my card, I decided it needed more "umphfff." So I stamped the flower in new leaf ink all over the background to fill in the white parts.

Doesn't that look better? Working with these bright colors is not generally my style, but branching out is always good, right? *grin* All supplies are PTI except for the white ep.

I have a book discussion tonight at the library, but I can't wait to come home and hop around checking out everyone's backgrounds!

Thank you for stopping by this evening...have fun continuing on your blog hop!

Scrapbook layouts!

I am not a scrapbooker by any means. In fact, before these five LOs, I have only ever made one layout before (12x12, for a friend, in 2004). So imagine my surprise to be an honorable mention in the March Guest Star Stamper contest at Papertreyink! I am truly honored.



All supplies and stamps are PTI, except some of the buttons.

Thanks for stopping by on this beautiful Tuesday morning!

The re-emergence of the A7

A long time ago in a studio craft room very close by...the A7 sized card was very popular. Then stamping was discovered and the A7 became obsolete as the newer, better, smaller A2 sized was instituted.

Just for old-time's sake I thought I'd make a larger card like I used to. I miss the freedom of the larger canvas, and have several stamps that are better suited to big spaces.

This is for my great-niece Elizabeth who will be 9 in a few weeks. She is very artsy and loves to create things with paper and glitter and glue and beads and markers and stickers and...*grin*

All supplies except image stamp, claret ink and brown brad are PTI. The berry/vine stamp is from Stampington.
I like how cheerful and spring-like this card is. I'm happy with how it turned out too! (is that okay to say?) Maybe some more A7 cards are in my future...

Thanks for stopping by! I hope I've inspired YOU to change up your canvas size today.

Amazing story

I just have to share this adorable video story. What an imagination this girl has!


Once upon a time... from Capucha on Vimeo.

Simple Little Things

Happy Tuesday blogworld! Although it was 3 degrees outside this morning, and we still have snow on the ground, I am feeling chipper and hopeful that spring is right around the corner! (Hey, a girl can hope, right?)
The layout of this card is one I use frequently. I call it my "go-to" sketch. I first used it here for a Halloween card in 2007. I know most folks like to start with a sketch, or a color combo, or even a stamp set and go from there, and they'll stick to that. But I use all three (and more) and never begin a card the same way. It depends on my mood. For this one, I stared with a sheet of shiny, glittery dark blue CS. I purchased this stuff from PTI when it first came out, but hadn't even opened the package yet. And from there it just blossomed into a thank you card in red, white and blue! I used only the stamp set Simple Little Things, last year's anniversary set from PTI. Starting with the spring rain CS, I repeatedly stamped the cross/flower type image in a pattern and then enhanced it with white gel pen. The main image was stamped in dark blue ink and then red gel pen used to accent the tiny flowers. The strip of PP came from PTI's Men of Life paper pack.
Can you see the sparkly-ness of the base CS? It's awesome.

Thanks for stopping by. I wish you all a bit of happiness today!

Something Special

It's Monday. 'Nuff said, right?

I don't feel like chatting much, but you won't mind, right? Image and sentiment from CHF. All paper, CS and ribbon from PTI. I used a shadow ink cube from Hero Arts to do the pale blue rectangle (DTP inside a nestie), and Dark Chocolate from PTI with Versamark for the image.
Thanks for stopping by, hope your Monday turns out fantastic!

Inspired by blog hopping

Good morning! My foray into Facebook last night lasted longer than I thought. Perhaps I'm sucked in? *smile*

During my first blog hop this past Wednesday, I was inspired by so many things I couldn't jot them all down. But one that stuck with me was this cool double looped ribbon! Yes, this entire card was created around the ribbon! I wanted to see if I could make one, so I did, and then I needed a card to put it on, so it all just fell into place. Can I just say that I am loving my new Damask Designs stamp set from Papertreyink?!
Oh, and my oldest son insisted I show all my blog readers his new glasses. He is very proud of them and we think they look nice.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great Saturday!

The land of Social Networking

I did it. Yep. I finally did it. My sister Jane was the "last straw" so to speak. She kept pestering me like a little kid (you KNOW you were!) to join Facebook. I caved. I don't even understand what I'm doing, but I'm doing it.
And now I've got family sending me messages that I've never even met! Distant cousins, nieces, nephews, the whole shebang.
At least with Twitter I got the point! It was simple, straightforward, and relatively unobtrusive. I think maybe I'm getting "old", as in old-fashioned, old-timer OLD!
And now, instead of spending time in my studio making cards, I'm on Facebook trying to understand how to send gifts through cyberspace? bah. I'd rather be covered with ink surrounded by paper scraps and nearly-empty bottles of mono adhesive. Listening to my ipod. Throw in a bit of embossing powder (and a pack of smarties!) and I'm set to go!

Here a photo for the fam:

My niece Michelle and my two boys last summer in our backyard.

Thanks for stopping by while I rant about my jump to cyberworld (this blog not-withstanding!).

Food glorious food...

Happy Friday everybody! Boy will I be glad when this week is out and done. My youngest AND my husband have been sick. Blech. And you know what men are like when they're sick, right? It's like taking care of two children! *grin*

I threw together this card last week for a friend's upcoming birthday. She's not a frilly sort of gal, so I kept the ribbon and bling to a minimum. The frosting is embossed in white, with chocolate cake layers. Background is stamped with Retro Basics and then white gel pen was used to add "ooomph". I used an oval nestability for the plate and once it was embossed it was perfect. All products used are PTI.

I must share a link to some amazing blog candy. You should check out Lim's blog, it's her first anniversary!

Thanks for stopping by today. Hope you have a GREAT friday!

CPS104

Good morning everyone!
Just a quick post for CPS 104. I am not sure these colors in these amounts are working out for me, but it was fun to challenge myself to go a little nuts anyway! I used Background Basic: Retro for the yellow strip and Damask Designs for the main image. Sentiment came from Mixed Messages. The green colored glitter isn't correctly showing in this photo, it's a bit brighter IRL. All products except buttons and glitter come from PTI.

Happy Thursday.

Blog Hop Night!

I'm so excited to be a part of my first ever Papertrey Blog Hop!

Although I've been a fan and customer of Papertrey Ink since their inception, I've never done a blog hop. Shame on me, I know. *grin*

Here was the task: Your challenge this month is to put a little "spring" into your step, by incorporating the flowers, familiar sights and colors of spring into a project.

So did I do it? Does this card make you think spring? It does me. But then again, I haven't seen anything but snow since Halloween and I am so ready to see the green buds on the trees and the birds chirping!

Supplies: Lemon tart, kraft, white, spring rain, spring mist CS, Out on a Limb, Birds of a Feather, Borders and Corners Oval, and Simple Alphabet stamp sets, Bitty dot basics PP, Chocolate, cognac, Spring mist, and Spring rain inks, Spring rain twill, tiny white buttons and antique brad from my stash.

I can't wait to see what everyone else comes up with. That's the best part of the blog hop...inspiration! Thanks for stopping by this evening, have a great night.

Computer woes...FIXED!

Happy Wednesday bloggers! (Ash Wednesday, right?) So are you geared up for tonight's Papertrey Blog Hop? It will be my first and I'm excited, so come back later this evening to see my blog hop post!

I've had a beavy of cards to show you all, but have been having terrible computer troubles where I couldn't view any jpegs. I think I've solved it now though...and just in time! Enjoy the eye-candy below.

This was the first card I made when I received my Damask Designs from PTI. I just love this stamp set. It's gorgeous! I also used the new Retro Background basics too.

This one was pretty simple, and it's also relatively straightforward, don't you think? I really like the new leaf color from PTI, especially with the raspberry fizz!

Wedding invitation samples

So I'm back from our mini-vacation and utterly exhausted. Isn't that the way it goes though? *smile* I always seem to need a vacation after returning from vacation!

On a cheerful note, I did receive my Papertrey Ink package containing Damask Designs and had a chance to play around with it last night...Oooh weee, that particular set will be a favorite for years, I know it! AND I discovered that I won a prize package over at the CPS blog too! How's THAT for surprise?

While I have not been creating anything while gone, I do have a ton of wedding invite samples to show. This card above is a rejected (in many ways!) sample I made for a customer months ago. Aside from the fact that I dropped it on the floor while the ink was still wet, and THEN proceeded to roll over it with my stool, it was quite pretty to begin with. (I know you are nodding along with me! We've all been there, right? Right? *sudden alarming look* Please tell me I'm NOT the only one who does absurd things like that!)

This one below is similar (minus the stool wheel marks and smudged ink) just a different LO and size. The embossed frame in the middle isn't so apparent from the photo, but does add a nice inlay look in person.


Inside view:

The bride was looking for cherry blossoms, and although most of the samples I created for her were in the navy/lavender color scheme (as requested), I did step outside their wedding colors and create a few like these two just for contrast.

Thanks for stopping by. Maybe I'll show some more samples in the next few days...
Have a great day!

Oven mitt inspiration?

For Christmas, my husband bought me these gorgeous oven mitts (I was sorely in need of new ones) from French Bull.
He also got me an amazing platter too, but I'll save that for another day!
I decided to make a card based on them. But when I started creating, I realised I should probably focus on just one, not both. Here's what I came up with!


Isn't it fun?!

Merci

Just playing around for fun can be rather theraputic, can't it? Having nothing pressing to do recently I decided to get out my brayer and some kaleidacolor ink pads that have been long neglected. This is what I came up with. Simple, but striking I thought.

Supplies
Paper: glossy white (SU), white CS (PTI)
Stamps: Kindered Spirits (SU), Sentiment (PTI)
Ink: Greens (Kaleidacolor), black (StazOn)
Accessories: Black satin ribbon (PTI)

Thanks for stopping by, have a GREAT day!

Spring! Where art thou?

I'm so tired of this snow! When will spring arrive? I'm ready for birds chirping, crocuses blooming and, mud!

This egg stamp is from Oxford Impressions. I love how speckled it is, and tried to keep that look on the card. Robin's eggs are blue, but not so much speckled...oh well.

Sentiment is also from Oxford Impressions. Isn't it great? *sigh* I stamped it with StazOn onto a clear sheet that PTI stamps come on! Then I brushed some metallic, pearlized paint on the back to make it pop out a bit, cut it out, and used my slot punch to thread the lemon tart ribbon through.

The card base was stamped with a wheel from SU, and I repeatedly stamped an image from PTI's anniversary set from last year onto the main panel to make a background and highlighted with a white gel pen. I'm pleased with it!

Supplies

Paper: Avocado, Spring mist, spring rain, lemon tart (PTI)

Stamps: Egg and sentiment (Oxford Impressions), vine (SU), small cross-type flower (PTI)

Ink: Spring Mist, Avocado, Spring rain, slate grey, black Stazon

Accessories: Lemon tart ribbon, blue button, hemp twine, white gel pen

Thanks for stopping by, have a GREAT day!

Not the last "hearts" card

Hearts don't have to just be for St. Valentine's Day, right? I love people year 'round, don't you? This card was my first inking up of Heart Prints from Papertrey. I made it weeks ago for my sister, Perrin. I used a monochromatic blue-green color scheme, but I think it would look good in any color, don't you?

Supplies

Paper: White CS (PTI)

Stamps: Heart Prints (PTI)

Ink: Aqua Mist, Ocean Tides (PTI), black (Ranger)

Accessories: Twill (PTI), heart punches (EK success)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day.

Best color challenge EVAH!

I am so psyched! Just yesterday I was asking Dawn McVey to host a color challenge (because that girl is amazing when it comes to grouping unlikely colors together), and today she is! Well, actually, Papertrey Ink and Nichole Heady are hosting it, but it is based on Dawn's work. I think this might be the last PTI anniversary challenge, but it's my favorite so far. I like trying new things, especially color combos!
I chose this card of Dawns to base my submission on because it is such an unlikely combination for me to even think about. Red and green always look christmasy to me, so I don't often pair them together. Add in bright yellow and black and it seems crazy! (How does she make it work?)

This is a paltry attempt, I know, but it was fun anyway. Let me tell you how difficult it was for me to get some green on there! I was cringing the whole time, but once it was finished I rather liked it. I guess it just takes getting used to, right? Large flower is embossed with yellow ep and sprinkled with bright yellow glitter on black CS.

Supplies

Paper: Black, white CS (PTI), yellow CS (stash)

Stamps: Images (SU), sentiment (PTI)

Accessories: Red ribbon (stash), red heart pin (Joann), glitter (Joann), ep (Sprinkle and sparkle)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a GREAT St. Valentine's Day.

Happy St. Valentine's Day

Hope you are having a wonderful "heart" day!

Thanks for stopping by.

What a storm!

We had a power-outage for quite a while yesterday! And because it was a snow-day for school everyone stayed home and played games, made cards, and had general un-plugged fun.

I made this quick card using a set of stamps that I haven't inked up in probably two years!

I have to say that I love the way the Vintage Cream hybrid ink really is cream colored and gives such good coverage. It matches the cardstock so well. Paired with black and Berry Sorbet, I thought the cream was very pretty.

I spent some time clearing off part of my desk area and getting rid of scraps. It felt so good to clear all the clutter away. Now I just have to work on the rest...ughh. Oh and see that row of ribbon spools near the top. They have been there for nearly 6 years now, and I rarely use them! I guess it's time to take them down huh? They drive me nuts by dangling down in my face while I'm working. My general ribbon storage is totally different so I never think to look at the one's right in front of my face! Supplies

Paper: Black, cream, berry sorbet (PTI)

Stamps: Flowers (Fontwerks), sentiment (Hampton Arts)

Ink: Black (Ranger), cream (PTI)

Accessories: twill ribbon (PTI), cream flower (stash), button (stash)

Hope you have a wonderful day! Thanks for stopping by.

Bright light! Bright light!

Short post today, I'm terribly busy. Aren't we all? *grin*
Although I've not been using bright colors recently, I was inspired by Dawn, of PTI fame. She has an amazing ability to pair bright gorgeous colors together that are quite eye-catching and fun. Digging through one of many scrap piles in my studio, I saw this PP from Cosmo Cricket and knew it would be perfect for trying to break out of my color rut.

I took the chance to use some of my under-used eyelets and put an entire row of them along the bottom! Word was stamped using the Trajan Alphabet stamps from PTI. Love those letters!

CPS #102

It's been quite a while since I've done a CPS sketch. I used to participate regularly, but had fallen off the blogging bandwagon for a while after my Dad died. The most recent challenges on Nichole's blog for Papertrey Ink have induced me to get back up on that creative horse and have a go at things. I don't have any photo editing software on my home computer, so the past few cards I've posted have been a bit off color-wise, but this one is the worst! It's vintage cream CS base, with PTI patterned paper and Lavender moon cs. I did some paper piecing with the pram (baby carriage) and was happy with how it turned out. Simple cards aren't my first love, but I occasionally pull them off!

Supplies
Paper: Vintage cream, lavender moon, kraft CS (PTI), patterned paper (PTI)
Stamps: Bitty Baby Blessings (PTI)
Ink: black (Ranger)
Accessories: cream lace (MM), scallop scissors (Provocraft), white gel pen

Friends 'till the end Challange

I can't stop with the challenges that Nichole keeps issuing along with sneak peeks of the new Papertrey Ink products. The newest thing is monthly Kits! Each with samples of new paper, inks, and ribbon so you don't have to purchase EVERYTHING in order to make some gorgeous cards.

She has issued a challenge for a chance to win TWO of the newest kits (one for you and one for a friend).Here's the card I made for my BFF, Mary. Our mothers introduced us when I was 2 and she was 3. She's been my best friend ever since. She's really smart, hard working, dedicated, and thoughtful. She's just the best.

Supplies

Paper: Black, aqua mist, white CS (PTI), patterned paper (PTI)

Stamps: Ladies Drinking tea and blue hair sentiment (VivaLasVegasStamps)

Ink: Black (Ranger), Aqua Mist (PTI)

Accessories: ribbon (PTI), paper piercer, pop dots, blender pen, nestabilities

Bitty Dots Challenge

Are you following along with Nichole's challenges this month? Papertreyink never ceases to astound me! I love the new CS and PP sample packs that will be available on the 15th, and that new green leaf color that they are releasing is so pretty. I was hoping for another green!

Anyway, today's challenge is a connect-the-dots puzzler that leads to a card sketch. I love that she is making it fun for all of us.

So here is my sample.

I turned the sketch on it's side to begin with and just knew I wanted to ink up a set that had long been neglected. Men of Life was a "must have" for me when it was first released, but I hadn't ever used it! I decided to make a Father's Day card for my husband, but when it was done I realized it is a bit "boyish". Do you think so? Maybe the colors are wrong...I don't know.

I also used a technique that was popular way before we all started sewing on our cards. Remember faux stitching? *giggle*

Supplies

Paper: white, spring rain, kraft CS (PTI), Red CS (SU), polka dot PP (PTI)

Stamps: Men of Life (PTI)

Ink: Black (Ranger), Red (SU), Versamark, Spring rain (PTI)

Accessories: White gel pen, paper piercer, pop dots, black brads

Over the Rainbow Challenge

Not having participated in any sort of challenge in quite some time, I took it upon myself to break out and give it a shot.
Nichole Heady of Papertreyink is issuing a color challenge today. Ripe Avocado, Ocean Tides, Summer Sunrise, and Pure Poppy. I like these colors together very much so I gave it a whirl. I only had a half hour to dedicate to this project, so it's quite simple...nothing elaborate. As I haven't been in my studio much lately, it was a terrible mess and I couldn't find my Summer Sunrise and Pure Poppy CS, so I substituted with Real Red and Marigold Morning, both of which were within reach and readily available.
Supplies
Paper: Ocean tides, ripe avocado, and white CS (PTI), pure red and marigold morning CS (SU)
Stamps: Images and sentiment (PTI), background (CHF)
Ink: Ocean tides, ripe avocado (PTI), pure red, marigold morning, chocolate chip (SU), black (Ranger), Versamark ink (Tsukineko)
Accessories: white EP (Sprinkle and Sparkle), pop dots.

Baby Christening

I don't think I ever posted this card I made for a baptism last year. I remember I had a lot of fun making it. The LO was from a similar card I saw somewhere online, and I thought that the dress stamp was perfect to use for a baby girl christening.

I was proud of myself for using up some things I had been hoarding! The tiny copper ribbon letters that spell out the baby's name had been hidden away in hopes of just such an occasion! I wanted the brads to match the Aqua Mist CS so I used white brads and dabbed on matching ink. I was happy when they dried to just the right color! The Basic Grey PP was sewed onto the CS and the main image was aged with distress ink. I added the sentiment with PTI stamps. SUPPLIES

Paper: Sweet Blush and Aqua Mist CS (PTI), Cream and chocolate chip CS (SU), patterned paper (Basic Grey)

Stamps: Dress (SU), sentiment (PTI)

Ink: Distress (Ranger), Aqua Mist and Sweet blush (PTI),

Accessories: Copper letters (Joann), Ribbon (Joann), white brads (stash), water brush (Ranger), white gel pen, Janome sewing machine

Happy Groundhog's Day!

Yes, you should expect it by now. This is one of my favorite celebrations of the year! Who can resist the chubby, furry, Punxsutawny Phil? (Except for when he sees his shadow and predicts 6 more weeks of winter! UGH.) I am so done with the snowy cold weather...

And yes, I made Spicy Groundhog cookies once again. But no one can resist the crunchy edges and chewy middle and spicy goodness of these cookies. And because I only make them once a year, they are a special treat. Both children take them to school/daycare, and my husband takes them to work, and no leftover cookies ever come home!

So good with a glass of soymilk!

Although I have shared the recipe before HERE, I'll type it again. These are egg and dairy free, but you can substitute whatever you like.

SPICY GROUNDHOG COOKIES

Sift together:

1 1/2 c. unbleached flour, 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour, 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. bkg soda, 1 t. bkg powder, 1 t. ground ginger, 1 t. ground cloves, 1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon.

Cream together:

1/2 c. vegan butter (I use Earth balance), 1 c. sugar.

Once fluffy, Stir in:

1/2 c. molasses, 1 egg yolk (I use Ener-G Egg replacer).

Gradually add the flour mixture to the rest and stir until incorporated. Form into a ball and chill, overnight if possible, but at least 3 hours. Roll out to 1/4 inch thick onto parchment lined baking sheets and cut out. Remove excess dough from around the cut-outs and re-roll. Place currents into dough for eyes. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes, letting them rest on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes after removal from the oven. This is the third year I have shared these on my blog, and I have to say it gets harder to photograph them each time. I mean, how many different ways can you show a groundhog cookie?! I think I like last years photos best...

To top it all off, I found my first grey hair this morning. *sob* Actually, my husband found it when he was kissing me out the door. I didn't believe him at first, but he showed me in the mirror. *sigh* I'm only 31!!!!!

A New Day.

Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister's eyes, into
Your brother's face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning.
from Inaugural Poem by Maya Angelou

Picture update!

It's a new day! I love America! Change is a-comin'...

Sorry for not being more regular now that I'm inside more...I've been working on some wedding invitation samples for a potential customer. Plus, this being my favorite time of year (the Autumn equinox, Halloween, my DH's and youngest DS's birthdays, our "adoption day" celebration) I've been a bit busy!

Here are some recent photos just to let friends and family know were are still here and kickin!

Above pictures from a recent camping trip in PA (Allegheny National Forest)

Raking leaves in the backyard (in our Crocs boots!).

Our four pumpkins in the front yard.

My two trick-or-treaters all dressed up!
Dr. Frankenstein's Monster. (I'm not the best at face make-up and really had no idea how to give him the bone structure he needed...)
My little Garden Gnome.

My two carved pumpkins (which, for the first time since we moved here 5 years ago, DIDN'T get smashed by pranksters!)

All Hallows Eve is coming up!

Are you ready for Halloween? I've been sewing like mad to get the boy's costumes ready. This weekend we will be choosing our perfect pumpkins. I love to carve and usually go all out...remember last year?

Don't blame me

if you don't leave your computer for days because of this little black box.



This thing is seriously addicting. I keep going back for more and more.
If you are interested in discovering new blogs about things you never imagined, then click "decide" and see where it takes you. This thing will broaden your blog-horizons and get you out of your comfort zone! Plus, you can add your own "deciding factor" and link it back to your blog so others might arrive there too!

Have fun, but don't blame me...

First Day Back

Today is Crumbgrabber's first day of third grade. He is delighted to be going back to school; new backpack, new school supplies, not wearing "play-clothes", etc. Then, I remembered that my camera is broken. Oops. So much for the requisite "first day" photo! Here's one from a month ago instead...

Now you know the title of this post has double meaning because I've been an anti-blogger for a few months now, so to welcome myself back to the blogosphere I made cupcakes. (I've been making a LOT of cupcakes this summer.)

These were Peanut Butter cupcakes, with chocolate hazelnut mousse filling, marshmallow buttercream frosting, and topped with dark chocolate shavings.

Um yeah. *drool*

BUT....I detest peanut butter, so they had to be enjoyed by everyone but me. I was told they were "magnificent" and "best ever", so I'll have to take my husband's and 9 year old's word for it!


Here I am filling the cupcakes with the mousse.
All filled!

Adding the marshmallow buttercream...
Don't they look yummy?

Ooh, a touch of dark chocolate on top is the perfect crowning touch.
Hey, check out the flower in the background...is it coming out of the top of the cupcake?

So, welcome back to me. I hope you enjoyed this little photo essay on cupcake making. I promise to get cracking in my studio soon and produce some much needed cards for your viewing pleasure. I miss working with paper, although I do have lots of creative food posts to share from my summer.

Happy Birthday!

Today is my awesome friend Bobbie's Birthday, and I want to wish her every happiness she desires. She's a super-mom and also very creative when it comes to stamping and making cards.

I know it's been a while since I posted, but I wanted to let all my subscribers know that I am considering taking my blog back to my original intention and posting food photos and recipes again. I've had several readers ask why I stopped posting about everyday life and saying they missed the recipes and "food porn" (as I call photos taken of food)!

So, to start, here is one of our favorite quick, week-night meals:

I saute diced faux-chicken (we buy it in bulk from vegieworld.com) with onions and spinach, and toss it with couscous that's been cooked in vegetable broth, and sprinkle feta on top. YUM!

Miss you guys!

Hey all!

Long time no post. I'm sure you can understand how a few things can just slip away so easily! While I do have lots of creations to share, my camera isn't with me at the moment, so they will have to wait!
The kids are going to "Grandma Camp" tonight for 5 days, so my DH and I are super-thrilled to have a few days to ourselves! I'm busy packing and doing laundry right now during my lunch break, but as soon as this next load gets switched over, I've got to run back to work.

We are all going on vacation next Tuesday, so I won't be posting next week (unless I get in gear and schedule some pre-written ones!).

Oh, and have you heard about the new site for sending and accepting money? Paypal fees drive me nuts, and obviously I wasn't the only one because RevolutionMoneyExchange.com is now in Beta form. YAY! no fees!
If you sign up right now, they will deposit $25 into your account. It's totally free to open an account and make 25 BUCKS! I did it yesterday and I promise you get your money. *grin*


Check it out! click the green button below!



*sigh* there is nothing like a making money for just signing up for something you will undoubtably use anyway. This is my kinda deal.
I'll be back soon with photos.

Swapping again?

I joined an ATC swap last month hosted by Michelle Giraud (flaxychick on SCS), in which there was a LO that had to be followed. I used to swap ATCs regularly on a group board with some super-talented folks (Barb, Jessica, Bobbie, Breedeen, Holly, Shelley, Heidi...you know who you are!) but I had never participated in one where you had to follow a set LO. It was more difficult than I like to admit! I have a few Alice In Wonderland stamps that I adore, but don't get frequent use, so I brought out the "Drink Me" Alice stamp from StampFrancisco. I colored her in using a blender pen and an ink pad, sponged the edges, added four eyelets and matted her on a piece of cool caribbean that I cut out with scalloped scissors. The background is done using Basic Grey PP (Stella Ruby, I think), and a small piece of brown grosgrain ribbon.I had to make 10 for the swap and I forgot to make one for myself! Arg. Now I don't have one for my collection. Does that ever happen to any of you?
I think the last time I dug out my Alice stamps, I made a cute BD card for my sister, here. that was LAST April! Poor Alice, she needs more love than that!

And now, for something...

...completely different!
I'm a huge Easter fan. The eggs, the bunnies, the baby chicks, the black jelly beans (YUM!), well just about everything! Although we don't focus on the religious side a lot in our home, we have family members who do, so Easter Elegance by Verve is the PERFECT stamp set for me. The fun, frolic-filled side of Easter, and the more subdued, thoughtful side all wrapped up in a single set that works both ways. Using the egg stamps, I created this simple card to emphasize the fun in celebrating the Easter holiday.The black card base really sets off the bright colors of the eggs, and the pink ribbon seemed just the right touch. I stamped the eggs numerous times with many inks, cut them out and pop dotted them up on small white scalloped ovals that I cut with my Nestabilities. I stamped the sentiment on a larger scalloped oval, used a marker to add some pink details, punched out two slots for my ribbon and it was done! This card was made with my MIL in mind because she is a pastor. I knew I wanted to focus on purple (being the eminent color of Easter due to it's symbolism of royalty, penitence and sorrow), and soft yellow seemed to be a good highlight color. I stamped the beautiful, swirly cross on an oval and added some sparkly touches with a glitter gel pen and a mini white button brad. Then I matted it with many more ovals and adhered it on top of the patterned paper I made with the sentiment stamps. The main sentiment is embossed with white EP, and the background is stamped with purple chalk ink. I added some faux stitching using a white gel pen and a thin yellow ribbon.
If I get this card in the mail today it should just about make it to her by Easter!

My Birthday.

I had a great birthday this year! My husband woke me up at midnight singing "Happy Birthday" to me and holding a cupcake with a candle in it. I was slightly dazed and he said at first I kept trying to "put the light out" with my hand! LOL! What can I say, I was sleepy. He made me open my gifts right then and there in the middle of bed too! He searched out and purchased an amazing, high-quality rolling tote for craft supplies and filled it to the brim with some awesome crafting stuff. Brads, buttons, punches, magnetic storage, Prismacolor MARKERS, embellishments, etc. I was in awe. And he also gave me a super nice, long sleeved tie-dye T-shirt.
In the morning we drove to my mom's and she made me a BD lunch that was super yummy. And that evening she and my sister watched the kids while my best friend and my husband and I went out and had a ball! We ate an incredible meal at this fun restaurant that brews it's own beers, and then we bought the ingredients for Dessert Nachos and went back to my mom's and opened presents and chowed down on dessert. My BF got me a new pair of Chucks (Converse) that I just adore! And also Mr. Magoriums Wonder Emporium. I love, love, LOVE that movie. And also the soundtrack to the musical Once! I've been listening to it non-stop! So it wasn't so bad to turn 31.
ETA: Recipe for Dessert Nachos: Take flour tortillas, spray or brush with melted butter, sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and sugar, cut into wedges, bake in oven until crisp (350 10-15 minutes, turning over once). Arrange them on platter, top with vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce, fresh chopped fruit (kiwi, bananas, pineapple, cherries), some whipped cream, and more cinnamon sugar. Gorge yourself.

Crazy Hectic!

OK, it's not that I haven't been feeling creative. I've just been so incredibly busy that I don't have time to sit down at the computer and edit photos and type-up blog posts! Has it really been a week since I posted?
Here are the cards I had my stamping/card class make last Tuesday night. And to prove that I'm truly busy, I had to take pictures of them in the early hours of the morning, on top of my car, after I got to work! (see all the snow in the BG?)

I love this PP (DCWV). I like any striped paper actually, but the fun colors in this inspired me to design a fun kid-friendly card. Marigold, Caribbean and a few other colors make it nice and bright! Stamps by SU.

The idea for this card was totally inspired by Alli Miles. She made this adorable owl card awhile ago that just stuck in my head! Now, that black ribbon that you see on my card is NOT the actual ribbon I gave my students. they got the nice, quality, black stitched ribbon! LOL. Bird stamp by Autumn Leaves, large polka dot BG by CHF, sentiment by Verve Visual. This card was inspired by one I saw on a blog last week also. I hadn't ever inked up my strawberry stamps from PTI's Green Thumb set, so I dug 'em out and put them to use! The red on the bottom is CHF's Burlap Backgrounder, and the rest of the stamps are PTI.
Another card inspired by my blog hopping last week, but I don't know who. Any ideas? Bazzill card base, CHF stamps, Zig markers for ink, SU cardstock.

Thanks with bearing with me while I deal with being sick, taking care of two sick kids & a sick husband, doctor visits, parent-teacher conferences, teaching my friend Meagan how to budget grocery shop and meal plan on a weekly basis, work a regular 40 hour week at my job, clean my house, make three meals a day for 4 people, pay bills, feed pets, teach a class, fend off inquiries from family and friends about when I'm coming to visit, and..oh, yeah..I turn 31 tomorrow. YIKES! Beware the Ides of March....

Butterflies galore!

So when dropping off my littlest munchkin at daycare early this past week, one of the teaches asked me if I was the one "who did scrapbooking and stuff". Turns out she wanted a set of invitations made for her cousin's Bachelorette party. She said her cousin liked butterflies, and when I pressed her for some colors, she said the bridesmaids would be wearing black. So without much to go on, I created four samples for her to choose from. This one is covered with glitter, but it just doesn't show up in the photo. Wing stamps from Sunday International, vines from Rhonna Farrar (Autumn Leaves), and sentiment from PTI.
This was my favorite sample! I loved the celery DP and the wing stamps used on this one. The wings are from SundayInt. again, and the sentiment is based on a SU stamp that I have ordered but hasn't arrived yet. (I just created a look-alike in Word and printed it out.)

The layout for this design was CASEd from this card, and I used SU's desiger prints PP and CS, Rhonna Farrar butterfly stamp and PTI sentiment again.The colors and LO for this sample were also cased from here. I used the same SU look-alike (printed in Word) sentiment just to give her the idea. The butterfly stamp here is Verve Visual.

So I dropped them off to her and let her stew on which one she liked and wanted reproduced. I will find out on Monday!

Butterfly in the sky...

...I can go twice as high. Take a look, it's in a book, a Reading Rainbow!Surely some of you will remember that show from when you were a kid? I used to LOVE Reading Rainbow, and whenever we went to my older sister's house or my grandparents I would immediately ask to watch it (because as a kid I had no idea of timeframes that tv shows ran in!). I think I had a small crush on LeVar Burton.

Ok, here's where I admit something. *deep breath* I've never liked butterfly stamps. Too froofy, silly, typical, whatever...I didn't like them. Only used them when I absolutely HAD to. Well, here's my confession: I like them now! Shhhhhh. Don't tell, ok? I have a reputation to uphold here!

I created this card for my stamping class ladies too. You should hear how they all groan when they see designs like this! They HATE cutting out ANYTHING! But when they were all done with this one, they loved it, so I rest my case. *wink*
It was fun stamping the butterfly in black on the red nestabilitie rectangle, and then cutting out 4 pairs of wings to adhere on top. I then cut off all the overhanging wings except for one. I used SU's red and sage CS and PTI's white. The wings were stamped and cut out from a piece of Cosmo Cricket PP, from the Dutch Girl collection. The ribbon came from Big Lots! All stamps are Verve Visual, and the PP can be found there too! I would normally have added a bit more to this card, were I sending it out, but it was just right for my class. It was SO hard not to add some sparkle or glitter to those butterflies!
Wait till you see all the butterflies I have to show you tomorrow! Good thing I like them now!

Bring out yer dead

I dug out some of my very first wood mounted rubber stamps the other day. Real pressed flowers from Hero Arts. Although I've been making cards since I was small, I only got into using stamps on them about 5 years ago. And these were some of the first one's I ever bought. I used them almost exclusively for many months!This is the simple card I designed for my stamping/cardmaking class on Tuesday. I think the ladies had a lot of fun using these stamps and all the different versacolor ink cubes I had out for them to try (15 colors!). The polka dot background is from CHF, and the sentiment stamp is from Verve. I used SU's Marigold and Bayou cardstock, and PTI's stamper select white.

I also showed the class the first card I ever made using rubber stamps, but I'm NOT showing it here, so don't even ask! *blushing*

Easter Eggs

I set this up to post automatically this morning, but it didn't work...*pout* I thought Blogger finally got around to enabling us to schedule posts!? Oh well...

I played so much with my new Verve Visual set, Easter Elegance, that I think I've made too many Easter cards! I love 2-step stamping, and this set is perfect for it. I stamped the egg outlines first with brown Staz-on and then inked up the individual egg centers and stamped them on top. Because these are clear photopolymer, it's so easy to see where your outlines are and make them line up perfectly.
The PP is from a new company called Scribble Scrabble, and Verve sells it! I like the colors in this collection (called Felicity), they match SU's sage and chocolate spot on!

I made the first card and then decided to give it some more "umpfff", so I made a small panel with more PP and some gold eyelets to place underneath the egg oval. Everything else stayed the way it was.

Staple it together and call it fair-weather...

...um um. "Jack Johnson"

So it's been a while since my last post, but that's not because I wasn't creating or stamping...I've been out of town for work and haven't had access to my personal PC. Did ya miss me?

I created this card for the release of the newest Verve Visual stamps. The set I used here is called Thankful Blossoms and it has so many possibilities! I really like this set a lot. For some reason, the leaves and stems on this card are not showing up as the correct color, but I promise IRL they match the ribbon!
This was a really simple card to make, but it packs a punch too! Go check out the other samples in the Verve Visual gallery, you may just be inspired to create something AMAZING!

In trouble again!

The color combo for today's card was inspired by my friend and blogging buddy, Bobbie, when she created THIS card for the Verve Visual Honored Guest Sketch Challange (Whew, that's a mouthful!) Although I didn't use the same colors, they were close enough that the "feel" was there. Again, I used stamps from VivaLasVegas Stamps. My three year old LOVEs this stamp, and always makes the same face when he sees it, saying,"He's in trouble Mommy."I didn't have matching brads, so I used some Alcohol Inks to color them, hence the color variations if you look closely. The face stamp is MUCH more vibrant when done with black ink, but I wanted to use my blue chalk ink that matched the paper anyway. The rust CS was stamped with a backgrounder from CHF, Houndstooth, with Versamark. I added some white gel pen dots (my pen is dying, can you tell?), and distressed the edges of the rust CS as well.
I LOVE this sentiment, and it fits well with the shocked look on the boy's face too!

Today is the two year anniversary of the day our kids moved in with us. Feb 21, 2006. Crumbgrabber was 6, Stickyfingers was 15 months. WOW! So much has happend in just those two years. I'm so happy we are a family now!

Gossip

I dug out some of my VivaLasVegas stamps to make this card! At one point in my stamping life, I was seriously obsessed with random funny images like these. The LO is based loosely on Julee's MOJO Monday sketch #25. I was in the mood for some bright colors, and I always think brights pair well with black, so I started with some super-bright hot pink, and some eye-watering neon green, and some black. But when I wanted to add some PP I realized that I most likely wouldn't have anything with those colors in it, so back to the drawing board it was!After toning down both the pink and green, the card came together quickly. I used an old Sizzix die for the black oval frame, and since my sentiment wouldn't fit perfectly inside, I popped it up on top after cutting it out! Add some Heidi Swapp pink jewels, a few white eyelets, and oh yeah, a touch of color to her cheeks and call it done!
I really intended to stick to Julee's sketch, but it wasn't working out. I moved things around, and then switched sides, and brought the ribbon lower and made a slit through the PP panel (Basic Grey PP BTW) so my ribbon could see the light sooner!

Back in the old day...

Do you yearn for the simpler times? When it was just you, your stamps, some ink, and some paper. Remember those times? Occasionally, I get so caught up in adding "more" to my cards, that I forget that simple can sometimes make a big impact. Not to mention that is can be much easier to mass produce! I used no embellishments on these cards. Only, ink, paper, stamps and adhesive. Using just white CS and one other color (thyme green here), I created a simple Mother's Day card. Repetative stamping can make pretty patterned paper. If I wanted, this card can easily be added to, using some ribbon, brads, glitter, etc.
I then took the same idea and made a Father's Day card. Simple. Quick. Unadorned. But lovely all the same.

Paper: white cardstock (PTI) , thyme CS (SU), tan CS (Bazzill)
Stamps: Serenity, Happy Thougths (Verve Visual)
Ink: Dark Moss, creamy brown (Colorbox liquid chalk)

A little bit political...

I'm so behind the times. Seriously. We don't have TV, haven't for quite a few years, so I get my news online and from AM talk radio (which I'm addicted to!). Forgive me if this is old news...just saw this video today on Youtube and wanted to share. I've been a "Mama for Obama" since he first appeared on the scene, but this video/song/speech really hit home with me.

geometric

Is anyone awake out there in blogland, or are you all sleeping in because you were up late for the Papertrey Ink release party last night? *grin* Some amazing stuff, huh?I'd like to have a stash of "generic" cards on hand for last minute things that crop up unexpectedly, but I enjoy personalizing a card too much to be able to think of good ideas. I usually start with someone in mind before creating a card...that way the colors, design and extras are tailored just to the reciever.
Well last week I decided to get down to business and make a few cards that could be for anyone.
I only made this one. It took me so long just to be able to think up this idea that I was exhausted by the time I was done! But my plan is to use this same sentiment stamp set (Happy Thoughts, by Verve Visual), and make a bunch of cards using this same general layout, but different colors and themes. I used another Verve set for the BG (Wonderful Wishes), and just alternated my placement of the square. I think it looks very cool and geometric. I also used some AI to color the brads to the perfect shade!

The more we get together...

Goodness, can anyone save me from the children's songs running through my head?! We've been listening to Raffi all morning, and while I DO enjoy his music and singing, I think I've reached my daily quota!Just wanted to share with you the Valentine I made my mom. I wasn't going to post this (I made it 2 weeks ago), but sentiment finally won. I saw that another AWESOME stamper made a card SO INCREDIBLY similar last week, and because she is so awesome, I thought if I posted everyone would think I CASEd her card. *chuckle* We are silly creatures, aren't we?! Anyway, I'm posting it, because I love my mom. This paticular sentiment stamp from PTI has a few errors in it, and that's why it looks sort-of sloppy and crooked on my card...it is. The "to" is missing completely from the first line, so I inked up the second "to" and tried to stamp it where the first "to" should go. Didn't work so well, but I was NOT going to start over!
I finally broke into my textured SU CS for this card. Why is it that we like to hoard paper instead of using it? *grin* The matting around the tiny oval is cut by hand, because I used the smallest Nestabilitie I had but then wanted small mats too. All stamps by PTI.

Happy St. Valentine's day!

I'm home with two sick children today. NO fun, let me tell you. I was up all night making cupcakes and hand-stamped goody bags for them to take to school and day-care, and now it was all for naught! I made heart-shaped pink pancakes for breakfast, drizzled with local honey and sprinkled with teeny candy hearts and my 8 year old couldn't even eat 3 bites. That's how I knew he was sick! My children RARELY get sugar from me, and NEVER food dye, so to have both in front of him and not eating it was a clear indication that things were not well in the stomach. He asked me to go to school for him today because he was so proud of the cupcakes (I'm that mom who send in only healthy treats, like cut fruit, nuts, whole clementines, air-popped popcorn), and he said "Can you go to school and get my valentines and hand out the cupcakes?" Poor baby. The little one has a temperature, but he ate the pancakes!
I hope you have a wonderful St. Valentine's Day filled with love.

Again? Aww mom...

Yes, I know. Another Valentine? Well, this one is actually a CASE of a layout that I saw last week. I liked the simplicity of it, and wanted to adapt it a bit for my students to do. Only now I can't remember where I saw it!

It is super cold here this morning, so much so, that my car wouldn't start. It has never done that before, so I was shocked and I HATE being late. Grrrr, it's one of my little pet peeves.

Did anyone have as crazy a weekend as I? I thought they were supposed to be for relaxing and having fun? NOT! Goodness, I was so busy playing catch-up and trying to get things done, I forgot to rest!

Hence the simple card today. *grin* PP and cute heart pin from Joann's, CS and stamps from SU, ink is Versamagic chalk, and Ranger black, clear EP from Sparkle n Sprinkle, ribbon from my stash.

Here's to a great week!

Another Valentine

Digging through my scrap pile last night I came across this piece of red CS that I had stamped white hearts all over and decided to put it to use. I rarely use the guava color from this year's in colors, but I thought it paired well with the red and black.

Nothing fancy, but I like how it turned out. I originally put a square knot bow under the sentiment, but it looked too froofy, so I took it off. Stamps are Verve Visual, Wild Thing.
CS and ribbon are SU. The only ink I used was black and white!

ATC note cards?

Is there such thing as ATC note cards? Well, if not, there is NOW! *chuckle* I was looking for the perfect little note card to keep in my office at work, so when something cropped up I'd have a card all ready to go. It seems like there is always someone in my building who is sick, having a rough time, has had a death in the family, or even that something wonderful has happened to, so I wanted something that could cover ALL those potential senerios! Impossible? I think not.
I started with tiny note cards the same size as ATCs, and went from there. The remixed Fancy Florals set from Verve Visual were the perfect compliment. I could easily interchange colors and the "thinking of you" sentiment seemed to fit every occasion possible! After making these three, I wanted to add one more, so I used a few shades of golden yellow and made a fourth one.

After I had all four, I wanted to add a touch of "bling" so two of them got pearl centers, one got bright red stickles, and one received a blue gem! Simple, easy, quick, and they can cover any senerio that might crop up among my co-workers! (except maybe the one where Bill was late because his dog chased a squirrel into the house and up the fireplace chimmney, and Bill had to climb in there to get the squirrel out, and it bit him and he freaked out and then got STUCK in the chimmney, and his wife had to call the fire department to come help get him out, and take him to the hospital to get a rabies shot, and THAT's why he was late to work!) True story from years ago.
But, even then, one of these little note cards might just be the perfect thing! *wink*

Stamps: Fancy Florals Remixed (Verve Visual)
Paper: Vanilla, black, olive (SU)
Ink: Palette Hybrid, Ranger
Accessories: Nestabilities, ribbon and bling from my stash

Buttons galore!

I made this card using one of the new Verve sets called Serenity. I embossed the stem of leaves using two different green embossing powders, and then stamped the sentiment in the middle. It is layered on a piece of Basic Gray PP and I surrounded it with various buttons from my stash. Added a small bow on top and called it done. Simple, yet elegant (if I do say so myself!).The newest Verve sets are available for pre-order TODAY! Julee decided that they should be released earlier due to Easter being in March this year. So if you place your order today, not only are you sure to get the newest stamps, but you'll also get 15% off ALL the sets you order! They will start shipping on February 11.

Just a quickie!

HAPPY MONDAY! Did everyone have an exciting or a relaxing weekend? Mine was hectic.
I needed a super quick, 5 minute, in-a-hurry card on Sunday for an unexpected reason, so I popped into my studio and came up with this. (it actually took me 6 minutes).

At the last minute I wanted to add some embellishments so I grabbed a bottle of Dew Drops and put 2 each in opposing corners. As soon as I was done, I wished I hadn't. *sigh* Ever added something to a card and then regretted it? Oh well, it was too late to rip them off, because I used tiny glue dots and those baby's STICK! So I was stuck with the result. Had it not been for an emergency purpose, I might have redone the white stamped panel too...Image and sentiment stamps by PTI, background stamp by CHF.

Just a "heads-up" that Verve Visual is having a SALE! That's right, for the month of February ALL STAMPS are 15% off! And Julee is offering free shipping now with any order over $40. I hate paying shipping and handling charges on anything, so that's a God-send to me!
And don't forget about the Honored Guest Sketch Challenge Contest too. Have you submitted YOUR card today?!

Forgotten card

This is a card my stamping /cardmaking class made in early December. I just discovered it in an old blog post that I never published. Kraft, pink, and red CS, and stamp by SU. PP is KI memories.
I was tagged by Shannan this morning, so I thought I'd play along.

Five things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Studying in my 2nd year of college as a Musical Theatre major (Independant).
2. Dating my (now) husband.
3. Driving a 1984 Buick Skylard held together with 32 different bumper stickers about peace, love, animal rights, and rainbows.
4. Crying over the death of my Grandfather and my boyfriend's father.
5. Trying to learn who I was. (thanks Shannan!)

Five things on my to do list today:
1. Pack up the Christmas decor (I know, I KNOW!)
2. Collect and return the library books
3. Design Team Projects (Thanks Shannan!)
4. Make a molasses spice cake with tofu cream cheese frosting and brown sugar syrup
5. Go for a long walk

Five things I will do when I am a millionaire:
1. Build my mother an amazing apartment in her barn.
2. Quit my job and move into my childhood home.
3. Start an animal sanctuary on the property surround my home.
4. Contribute even more to the causes that get my money now.
5. Take my kids on a trip around the world!

Five things I will never wear again:
1. Leg warmers
2. My size 12 favorite jeans from HS
3. White gloves to church (my mother used to INSIST on me wearing those darned white gloves!)
4. Jelly shoes and moon boots
5. Jelly bracelets

Five of my favorite toys:
1. My white BlendTec Total Blender
2. My food processor
3. My digital camera
4. My hand made lightbox (courtesy of my DH)
5. My IngenuiTea pot

The five banes of my existence:
1. Mean people
2. War
3. Clutter
4. Bills (no, NOT the football team!)
5. Calories!

Five bloggers I'm Tagging:
RaeAnne
Elenor
Samm
Marlou
Jen

Shadow Cookie anyone?

Happy Groundhog's Day! Let's all keep our fingers crossed that Punxatawney Phil doesn't see his shadow today! I could use some spring weather here in upstate, western NY.

Yesterday was my SIL, Laura's, birth day, and this is the card I sent her. Can you tell I was in a spring mood? *grin*The bottom of the card base is stamped with the Linen BG stamp (SU) in Versamark, and the top part is stamped with a Paisley BG stamp (CHF). Main image is from Papertrey's Out on a Limb set, and the sentiment is from their Limitless Labels set. I like the pale apricot, olive green and brown together a lot.

So how about some cookies?

I like to make Spicy Groundhog Cookies on February 2nd each year. For my recipe click HERE. Aren't they cute? They are spicy with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, and are chewy in the middle and crunchy on the edges...YUM! I've been sending them to school with my oldest, but since school was cancelled yesterday due to terrible weather, I guess we get to eat them ALL today! *chuckle* I think my DH would willingly do so if I let him!

Brrrrrrr...it's FREEZING here!

We're having a severe winter weather warning this morning so everything in the county is closed, including school and both mine and my husband's offices. I can't post from home, due to dial-up and a really old computer that doesn't have ANY photo editing software on it, so maybe when (if?) the sun comes out and the freezing rain and black ice disappear, I'll get into my office and post the card I had slated for today.

Anniversary Contest!

Today is my one year blog anniversary, and to celebrate we have a contest! I love card contests, don't you? *grin*
See this card? I made it based on the Verve Visual Sketch that Julee came up with for the contest. The name of the contest is:
The Verve Visual Honored Guest Contest!
If you've ever wanted to design for a stamp company, now is your chance. One lucky winner will be chosen (based on their card submission using the sketch below) to be the guest designer for the month of March for Verve Visual. The winner will receive the entire DT package that the rest of us do, including the pre-released stamp sets, and will need to submit 6 projects using those stamps and papers and other goodies!
Here's the sketch, courtesy of Julee Tillman.

To enter the contest, just submit a link to an online photo of your card to the post over at the Verve blog, here, by Friday, Februsry 15. Only links submitted throught the January 31st post on the Verve blog will be accepted. And remember, you DON'T have to use Verve stamps to enter, we want everyone to have a chance
A winner will be announced on Monday, February 18 and will be the Honored Guest for the month of March. I think there will also be some random prize drawings throughout the contest, so be sure to get your cards submitted! You never know what you might win!
There is no limit to the number of cards you can submit, and the contest is open to everyone, so get crackin' folks!
If you need some inspiration, check out the gallery here, where each member of the DT created a card using the same sketch! Remember to submit your entry to the Verve blog post of January 31.
So happy blog anniversary to me, and happy card contest entries to you!

Pop-up Surprise box

Man O man, the power has been out here since last night and so my office was closed today and so was the ski resort where my youngest attends daycare. It just came on at 10:15 am! All I could think about was not being able to post to my blog! *chuckle* I guess I know where my priorities are!

Today I posted a really cute pop-up box over at the Verve Visual Blog that I made a few weeks ago. I found the directions to construct it here. After scoring and cutting the template, I stamped and embossed some hearts on it.

Then I made a front piece and after constructing the box, covered the attached lid with ribbon.

Isn't it cute? Wait till you see how it opens! This is my favorite part!

The lid is attached, so it won't fall off or get lost. You just lift up and the center opens and you can see your goodies! I filled this one with some fun pink embellishments for my best friend for St. Valentine's Day.

This little box is not difficult to make at all, and it's perfect for teacher's gifts, or family and friends. All stamps from the clear Wild Thing set by Verve Visual.

Mojo Monday Sketch # 22

Has anyone noticed my blog colors and banner have changed? I was feeling slightly dated, so I played around with some colors and a new banner...not sure yet if I like them, but would LOVE some feedback! I think my banner has issues....

I really got into Julee's Mojo sketch last night! I even used the colors she did in her original drawing!

Isn't this fun? I dug out my really old (5 yrs.) Bazzill scraps and made this (almost) monochromatic card using the sketch she posted yesterday. I sewed the four rectangles onto black CS, and then stamped and embossed some of the panels before adding the sentiment, which I embossed in silver and white. I added the popped up heart embellishment in the perfect spot to look like it belonged over the row of hearts I stamped underneath. Then I stamped and cut out a few small hearts to add visual texture. *sigh* I used to HATE the color pink. What was I thinking? All stamps by Verve Visual. I used the Wild Thing set, it's fast becoming a favorite in my studio!

You...light up my life

Can't you just hear Debbie Boone singing this song? *chuckle* I used to have a 45 (that's a small record for you young folks) of that song as a kid, and I played it over and over!
I'm posting a bit late today...work has been hectic and this is my first chance at my computer.
The trouble with being on a design team, is that you make all this great stuff but can't show it to anyone until a certain date, so I have nothing I can post that's new today.
This card was made for the last Verve Visual release. I LOVE these colors together (pale peach, red-ish and dark grey)! I embossed some of the stars with sparkling ep, and stamped some in grey. The velvet grey ribbon adds a lot, I think. All stamps by Verve Visual, the Polka Stars set.

Gotta run!

CPS #48

Can you believe that CPS has had 48 different sketches? Amazing! I used this week's sketch to make two quick cards for some friends.

The first uses a BG stamp (polks dots) by CHF, a small piece of PP by DCWV, and an old Sizzix die-cut that I just had to have and never used! I used prismacolor pencils to add some shading to the leaves and smoothed it with gamsol. The SUPER LARGE green twill came from a package of Martha Stewart pillows that I bought a few years ago, isn't it fun? I have about 30 yards of the stuff!
The second card is a bit more traditional.

I used SU's linen BG stamp, RubberStampede's Cherry blossom branch and Verve Visual's sentiment stamp! I used a blender pen to color the image, popped up three of the flowers (hard to see), and cut the entire image into three pieces before mounting it. Added some SU ribbon and called it done.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Who's there?

Hello! This card is based on Julee's Mojo Monday Sketch #21. I really enjoy using sketches as a starting point sometimes, and lately it seems like I use them all the time! The lighting was a little off in this photo and the left side is a bit washed out, but you get the gist anyway, right?Last week while playing around with some new stamps I stamped, embossed and mounted this funky owl (Inkadinkadoo) and then didn't know what to do with him. Lo and behold along comes Julee's Mojo Monday and whaddaya know?! A perfect square in her sketch!

So even though he was already mounted, I added a few layers of matting to match the card base. I started with a base of Groovy Guava, because it is my least favorite color this year and I need to do something with it! I stamped it with GG ink using the CHF (Cornish Heritage Farms) houndstooth BG stamp, and then stamped the lighter brown CS with another CHF BG stamp (polka dots). The small "foot print" stamps on the sides are actually the leaf stamp from PTI's Out on a Limb stamp set, as is the moon above Mr. Owl.

I used one of my favorite techniques when heat embossing on the owl; I put a tiny bit of gold EP just on his eyes, and then covered the rest of him with the chocolate EP. I like the multi-color look when embossing, because some of it always gets where you don't want it to but ends of looking more realistic anyway! This card ended up looking slightly retro due to the peach and brown, so I added a fun sentiment to match. "You're Fabulous" is from the Uplifting Phrases set from Verve Visual.

My little one was home sick again yesterday, so we had all day to spend time together, and when I was looking at blogs with him on my lap, he said "where's me, Mommy?" every time he saw a personal photo on someones blog, so I told him I would put one on today.

Here he is this morning holding his lunchbox and attempting to eat snow while Mommy isn't looking!

Birdies, birdies everywhere.

I worked on some great stuff this weekend when I wasn't feeling blah, but I can't share pictures just yet!

What I can show you is my poor attempt at one of Jen's Sketch challenges. She posts a SFYTT (Sketch for you to try) on Saturday's and I gave it a whorl this weekend. What fun!

Because time was of the essence I tried to keep it fairly simple and straightforward. I glimpsed a corner of this PP in a pile in my studio and tried to build the card from there. It seemed so classy. Unfortunately my hands couldn't conjure up what my brain was imagining! *chuckle* I love this card though, regardless of how it was supposed to look. Bird stamp by Inkadinkadoo, sentiment by Papertrey Ink, PP unknown.

Mojo Monday!

Well it's been a while since I've had a chance to participate in Julee's Mojo Monday Sketch challenge, so last night I grabbed a few minutes to play!

I didn't have a lot of time and I just went with the first stamp set that I laid eyes on, but in retrospect, I don't think it was the "right" one.
The new Basic Grey paper is just gorgeous though! This piece coordinated perfectly with the new in colors from SU. And I used these adorable little gems called "Icons" from MAMBI that I received in my February DT kit from Verve Visual. They added so much sparkle, I may have to buy some more.
I've never been a real bling type person, but I think that's beginning to change! (I'm not one for trends, but lately it seems I like things that happen to be "in".)

I hope your Wednesday is fantastic!

Tagged and a Valentine

I was tagged by Julee of Verve Visual and PoeticArtistry fame (I know, I use that phrase almost every time I refer to her, but she IS famous in my book!) so I'm playing along here. If you want, feel free to skip over this part to see the card!

1. Name your two favorite scrapbooking topics?

Considering that I've only ever made 3 scrapbook pages in my entire life, and TWO of them weren't for me, I don't know. But when I look at other folk's SBs, I like reading the heartfelt honest journaling.

2. What are the two best places you've been to? Wow. Best can mean a lot of different things...I guess touring around China was cool, and I LOVED the time I spent in Costa Rica, but my favorite place to go/be/visit is my home: The Fingerlakes in upstate NY.

3. Name two things you do every day? Brush my teeth and drink LOTS of water.

4. Tell us two things that everyone pretty much knows about you? I'm an animal rights activist, and I LOVE to cook!

5. Two places you wish to visit? Venice, and New Zealand.

6. Two things you may not know about me are: I am the ultimate Balderdash player (I usually win), and I can't stand to use blue ink pens.

7. Two nicknames you've had at some time in your life: Sunshine and sweetpea.

8. Name two of your favorite drinks? Room temp water, and homemade freshly squeezed orange juice.

9. What are two interesting (in a good or bad way) jobs you've had in your life? I taught 1-2nd grade in a private Jewish academy and although most of my students could speak English, their parents could not. I learned a lot more Hebrew than I knew previously! At 14 I started working in the vineyards tying grapevines...let me tell you how HARD this actually is to do! Standing in a row reaching above your head and being cut all over your hands for 8 hours is no small feat!

10. What are two things you would like to learn? Fluent Russian, and to play the violin.

11. What two things would make your scrapping/stamping work space work even better for you? A personal secretary/organizer! and to purge a ton of dated stickers, paper and embellishments.

12. What are two of your best organizational tips for stampers that do not have a lot of space? Don't fall prey to the "newest, coolest"; stick to what YOU like to work with, use-up things before buying more!

13. What are your two favorite stamping toys? Versamark ink: couldn't live without it! and my stamp-a-ma-jig.

14. Here's my added question...If you could have TWO super-powers, what would they be? I've always wanted the ability to talk/communicate with animals, and I'd LOVE to be able to time-travel.

Okay, now that I'm done with my answers, I'm supposed to tag two people to answer the above questions and then to also add a question of their own. The only requirement is that the question must be in twos. I'm going to tag Mary because she needs to update her blog desperately, and Alli (because I secretly want to be as creative as she is!).

Here's the card I wanted to share with you today. I was going for a free-hand, weathered sort-of feel for this. I didn't quite succeed, but who cares, right? I had fun!

My favorite part was stamping the sentiment on and acetate sheet and then brushing some white acrylic paint on the back to make it show up when I glued it to the middle heart. I was so pleased with that little step! Stamps are by Verve Visual, this set is called Heart to Heart.

Anything is possible

Happy Saturday!
We are doing a major purge at our house this weekend. Anything not useful is going OUT! I just feel the need to seriously declutter and start this year off on the correct foot. I'm not a knick-knacky type of girl anyway, but I've noticed that having children makes for MUCH more "stuff" around the house, garage, car, yard, etc. Not to mention that my oldest can't bare to throw anything away. "But mom, I can maybe take this apart and use this side for wings when I build an airplane in my workshop! Or, or how about...blahblahblah?" He says this about everything I try to throw away, including the envelopes from bills! This kid is impossible!

(which brings me to my post this morning: Anything is Possible)

I made this card after an impulse buy from the clearance table at Borders. These small, thick, felt shaped stars were just calling my name! *grin* I turned two of them over and stamped on them using my Seeing Stars clear stamp set from Verve Visual. Then I mounted them on tags that I punched and matted and stamped with the swirly stamp. I sewed a piece of Daisy Bucket Designs PP (from the Rock Star Collection) to some white CS and adhered it to my black card base. While searching for some pink colored ribbon I came across this polka-dot ribbon that I've had for ages and couldn't believe how PERFECT it was!
I hand cut the ovals after stamping the sentiment, and then thought to add some tiny ribbon to the three tags.
Wanna know another secret? I always thought that the Fastenater Decorative Stapler was ridiculous, but I secret coveted the fun colored staples that I kept seeing. That is, until I figured out a simple, cheap way to make my own! I just open my stapler, use a sharpie permanent maker and color a few in the exact color I'm looking for! Hence the bright green of the staples holding the black ribbon in place! Clever, no?

I hope everyone has a relaxing weekend! See you on Monday!

christmas reject

I'm not a Christmas card maker. I don't send them at all, and they don't seem to come naturally to me, so in trying to design a lot of Christmas cards for my stamping class in December, I "trashed" quite a few. This is one of the rejected ones.

I thought I'd share it with you in the spirit of "See what dorky cards I create sometimes!" My plan was to double stamped the branch to make it pop out and give it a shadow, however, as you can see from the larger photo, it just looks blurry.

I did like the color palette, (grey, red, black, white) and the red of the cardinal matched the twill ribbon perfectly although it doesn't seem to in the photo. The white pigment ink was a bit too juicy, so I tried to emboss it to make it less so, but that didn't work either! All in all, this IS a reject!

Anyway, stamps are by Inkadinkado (SILHOUETTES Clear Stamp Set). Paper is by SU!, ribbon from Joanns, buttons from Joanns, ink by Ranger, SU! and Palette Hybrid.

Wild thing

So, today's the day! Verve Visual is releasing FIVE new stamps sets! All clear photopolymer too! Head on over there and check them out, they are shipping as we speak! There is a special going on too: You can get all FIVE sets for just $60!!!!!!! That's $18 off the price of them individually! The sale will end on January 24th, so don't delay. You won't be disappointed. Here's the link to the hearts and Star's bundle price: Launch Pack.I made this card using the Wild Thing set releasing today at Verve Visual. Be careful, if you are anything like me, the song will get stuck in your head while you are stamping! *chuckle* I used PP by Cosmo Cricket, the Dutch Girl collection, and it matches Stampin Up's river rock so well! Don't you just love the sentiment? *grin*

Be sure to check out the gallery over at Verve Visual for lots of inspiring ideas using these new sets. Almost 100 new projects have been added using the five new sets alone! WOWSERS.

thankful

Some of you know that I was teaching a stamping/cardmaking class in November and December. This is one of the projects I designed for the class along with a small blessing mix treat bag (for which I have no photo).
I wanted to share this card to day because I had a small scare this morning, and am very thankful that it was quickly righted!
My DH leaves for work before 6 am usually, and I get myself and the kids up and ready for work/school/daycare and make breakfast and lunches. My eight-year-old walks to school (we live within sight of the elementary school) at the same time that I and my three-year-old drive out of the driveway on our way to a town about 15 minutes away (Where I work and my little one attends daycare). We were running a bit late this morning, but I waited in the car at the end of the driveway until I saw my oldest get to the cross-walk, and then I drove away. About 15-20 minutes later I was walking into the daycare when one of the staff greeted my youngest and asked where his brother was. I looked at her quizzically, and she said, "Well, Little Valley School is closed today, they have no power, so I thought we might see Crumbgrabber here this morning."
I screamed and fled out the door! While driving I frantically called home using my work cell phone (illegally, I might add), hoping that he was wise enough to just turn around and go home. Our answering machine picked up and I quickly yelled into that if he was there to please pick up the phone. His small, scared sounding voice come on and says, "Hi, Mom!" Phewwwww. He said he was scared and I told him I'd be there soon and not to worry.
Turns out a police officer saw him in the cross-walk and told him there was no school and that she would give him a ride home. He said that he wouldn't get into her car at first (GOOD BOY!) because "you and dad told me not to get into any cars", but that she convinced him it was alright and then drove him home. He said she was nice.
I'm glad things are ok, but I was slightly perturbed at a few things.
First of all, why would she need to give him a ride, when we live basically across the street? And second of all, why would she make him get in, after he wisely said no, he would walk home?
Thirdly, she didn't bother to check if anyone was home when she dropped him off either. And our front door was locked, so he had to go around to the back. *shaking my head*
I'm thankful things turned out okay, but I did tell him that no matter what, he was not to get into a car with anyone without our permission. I explained that some people can dress up to look like police officers, and that of course they will seem nice, but if he can see our house, to just run home!
Did I do the right thing? I'm so new at the "mom" thing that I wonder sometimes.
Oh, and the adoption was official 2 days before Thanksgiving! Now both boys have our last name and new birth certificates too. Another thing to be "thankful" about!

Natalie Cole is running through my head...

This always happens to me. *goofy grin* I'll be happily stamping away and then all of a sudden the sentiment will make me start singing a song from the past! Without even realizing it, my brain will pick up on old song lyrics that I didn't even know I knew! For instance, "Miss you like Crazy" by Natalie Cole...this was a hit in like 1989 or something...I was 12. How on earth did I retain the words to a song I probably haven't even HEARD since I was 12???? The human mind amazes me.I whipped this up quickly last night for a friend who moved even further away than she was before. I stamped the poppy (SU!) in black archival and used a blender pen to color it in. The sentiment is from the Heartfelt Phrases set that Verve Visual released in December. The pink CS (SU!) matches the ribbon perfectly, although it doesn't seem to in this photo, and the base is made from Bazzill textured CS.

In personal news, my brother-in-law passed away on January 2nd, and I miss him too. My sister and my niece seem to holding up well, but John was only 58...too young. Cystic Fibrosis. He worked at Nazareth College in NY for 33 years, and so many of his co-workers were at his memorial service. It was the first time I've ever stood in a receiving line at something like that, and the line went on FOREVER. I actually had to leave before everyone had come through to speak their condolences. My sister is 30 years older than me, and folks just kept saying, "You're Janet's sister?"

So I don't end on a sad note though, I can't wait till I can show you the samples I worked up for the new Verve Visual release on Thursday! I'm so excited!

Shine On (you crazy diamond)

Well. How serendipitous it is that my last post was November 6th? Today is January 6th! A whole 2 months off from blogging. Seems strange. So much has happened. I'll play catch up later, I promise.

Isn't this card fun? It's a sneak peak! I used some new Verve Visual stamps that will be releasing on January 10th. FIVE new stamp sets will be releasing and they are all CLEAR!!!! They give really good impressions too, I'm talking high-quality photopolymer here! I cannot be happier.

I based this card on one I made last February for St. Valentine's Day. I just love the LO.
For stamps, I used at least one stamp from each of three different sets that will be released on January 10th. (ONLY FOUR MORE DAYS TO GO!) I'll even let you in on what these three sets are called, *wink*; Swirly Stars, Polka Stars, and Seeing Stars. Don't the names just make you want them?! *Sigh* I love stars. If you couldn't tell from the quote I have at the top of my blog under my banner!

I also used a pair of decorative edge scissors that I've had for longer than I've been stamping! I guess there's a first time for everything. Oh, wanna know a secret? I didn't have silver star brads, so I used white eyelets and painted them silver with a Krylon leafing pen! Worked like a charm too! And although you can't tell from this photo, the sentiment is embossed in silver also.

I'm glad to be back to posting and stamping...I've missed you all!
Happy New Year.

Verve Visual Sneak Peak!

How fun is this? I used the Starlight Starbright stamp set that Verve Visual will be releasing on Saturday November 10th! I turned the oval sentiment background on end and used it for balloons!

The sentiment reads, "Superstar, Yes that's what you are!" (I don't want to date myself here, but I could NOT get Madonna's Vogue song out of my head while making this!) I used 2 stamps from the set to make the PP, and then the sentiment background to make the balloons, and then another small star to make the streamers! This set actually has 17 stamps in it and 11 of them are sentiments that are different enough that you won't already have them, yet NECESSARY enough to be used on a regular basis! I cannot get enough unique sentiments, and both of the new releases are filled with awesome ones.

This card is so easy to reproduce and can be changed to suit the occasion with different colors, and a different sentiment, but still using the balloons! It also can be used for a boy/man! Now THAT'S versatility! I love stamps that can be masculine too.
Go check out the Verve Visual blog to see some more sneak peaks! You won't be disappointed!

Tagged yet again.

Isn't this box pretty? I whipped it up origami style a few days ago and put in some treats for a gift, but then changed my mind and used a tin instead. Two sheets of 12x12 paper and a ribbon is all it takes! I re-learned how to do it on K Werner's blog. I say re-learned because I used to REALLY be into origami and making little boxes all the time as a teen. It just never occurred to me to make them larger using 12-12 paper!

I was tagged a few days ago by both Julee and Ema so here are yet another 7 randoms things about me. It's getting harder and harder to think of interesting things about myself, so let's hope this is the last round of this tagging game! I'm NOT passing it on!

7 RANDOM THINGS

1. I am basically blind in my right eye. I got my first pair of glasses when I was 4 and had to wear a patch over my good eye for a few years to make my "bad eye"stronger. Didn't work. And I looked awful too! Now I only occasionally wear glasses or contacts, and have been trying to strengthen my eye with natural exercises.

2. I am an awesome cook. I've been cooking meals since I was 7. I even started a small (one person!) catering business when I was in college. I would cater professor's parties and make $300 in a weekend. When I went vegan, I started cooking even more and have amassed a HUGE book full of original recipes with no meat/no dairy/no eggs included. I have stumped many people into thinking they were eating meat and/or dairy when they actually weren't!

3. I took ballet for a long time as a kid/teen, and at one point wanted to be a professional dancer. That went out the window when I realized my propensity to be overweight! I also took tap lessons a few years ago and LOVED it!

4. I fell off a 50 foot waterfall when I was a senior in HS, gouged out a piece of my shin on a shale cliff on the way down, landed in 6 inch deep water full of boulders and lived to tell the tale! Not only that, I had to climb back UP the waterfall, (while a piece of bloody "meat" was dangling from my leg), and then walk home more than a mile! I broke my toe, and still have the scar on my shin.

5. My husband is almost 3 years younger than me. We started dating in college when he was 17, and I was 20.

6. My dad once got drunk with John Wayne on "some green liquid" out west. (In know this one isn't about me, but I'm running out of ideas here!)

7. I HATE peanut butter.

The break is over! LONG post.

Well, I had a not-so-nice break from blogging for a few days! I'll spare you all the details. But I warn you that this will be a long post because I'm attempting to play catch-up!

I was asked to teach a stamping/cardmaking class lasting 5 weeks for the Adult Education Program in the area, and last night was my first class! I had 5 women show up, and 2 more plan to come. (we live in a VERY rural area!) I wanted to start simple, so people wouldn't be intimidated, and these are the two cards we made last night.

True Thyme, River Rock, and Cranberry Crisp. BG stamp by Cornish Heritage Farms, image by SU, sentiment by Hero Arts.
For the nest card, I let them choose the ink/cardstock/ribbon color they wanted. Some chose a willow green, some choose Blue Bayou! I explained that this card could be used for a new home OR a new baby. Nest and polka dot BG stamps by Cornish Heritage Farms, sentiment by Hero Arts.
I hope everyone had a great holiday, we LOVE the Autumn Equinox/Samhain/Halloween at our house! We visited Pumpkinville (Supposedly the OLDEST pumpkin farm in the country) where there are lots of fun things like hay rides, feeding the goats, riding the horses, pressing apples for cider, etc.

This was the SMALLEST of the gigantic pumpkins! He couldn't get up on the others! I made our youngest scrape out the inside of his pumpkin, and you would have thought I'd given him the moon! He had a blast (as you can see from the "guts" on the ground!).I love carving pumpkins, and usually do at least 3 of my own, but I only got to one this year. Here it is lit up: My husband, on the other hand, loves to create a showstopper. Last year, he carved a pumpkin and placed it in the middle of the yard on a slab of stone, filled it with kerosene and lit it. It shot flames and nasty black smoke for hours! This year he made a scarecrow and carved a pumpkin for it's head. He wanted it to be flaming again, but used small slices of a fire log and I was much happier! Here it is during the early evening. Here are our two trick-or-treaters! Stickyfingers was a robot, and Crumbgrabber was a dragon.

And here are myself and my DH. I LOVE to dress up, and this year decided to go dark. I normally have long, straight, wheat colored hair, but LOVED donning this short, black, curly wig!

In other news, have you guys been checking out the Verve Visual blog for sneak peaks on the newest releases? SO AWESOME! I can't wait until I can share some my DT projects with you. The newest stamps will be released on November 10th and you won't want to miss these two sets!

Random conversation

1. I haven't heard back from the winner of my blog candy, Kristina, yet. If I don't hear from her by Tuesday night, I will draw a new name.
2. In other news, I have Strep throat and Tonsillitis. YUCK. I finally went to the ER this morning, after being in severe pain since Friday afternoon. I have a stiff neck, a raging fever, and cannot swallow anything. This is SO not fun. I don't often get sick, and I've never had strep throat before. I wish I could curl up and crawl into bed like when I was a kid. *sniff sniff*
3. Wanna see a stamp room that will make you GREEN with envy? Check this out! I showed it to my husband and he said,"Well, if we move you into the other room (meaning the kids' room currently) I can build it for you." Isn't he the sweetest? I declined, because we plan on having an addition built onto the house anyway soon so the kids can have separate bedrooms. I like my small studio anyway. Everything is within reach!
I will most likely be staying home tomorrow from work, and depending on how I feel, I will get some card made.
4. I was tagged by Julee and Ema and promise to play soon!

We have a winner!

Random.org generated a winner for the blog candy this morning (ok, so it wasn't quite at 9AM EST, but it was close).

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:30
Timestamp: 2007-10-27 13:38:45 UTC

So Kristina, you are the winner! I will email you this morning!

Her comment: Kristina said...
I agree with many other posters about masculine sets that don't include hunting, sports, cars etc. Something more modern! I am always in need of sympathy sets that says something besides with deepest sympathy and not a flower! Maybe something a bit more modern looking. Thanks for a chance at the blog candy!ruok72@gmail.com

WOW, so many of you want some fresh, modern masculine stamps. Really, these stamp companies need to get on the ball!
Thanks for playing everyone, I think this was the most comments I've ever gotten in 9 months of blogging!

BLOG CANDY TIME!

OK, I've been meaning to giveaway some fun stuff for awhile now, so today is the day!
Here's the loot:
A brand new 6x6 pack of Basic Grey's Figgy Pudding holiday paper, and ONE of the two yet un-released stamp sets from Verve Visual! The newest stamps from Verve will be debuting November 10 and you will want them both! Win one of them here!
Here's what you need to do to win:
1. Leave a comment on THIS post, telling me what stamps you'd like to see in the future. Something that isn't already out there, that you've been looking for. Crazy, weird, normal, anything goes, just let me know what you'd like to see!
2. Make sure your email will be available to me on your comment. Either through clicking your name link, or by actually typing it in. I can't track you down if you leave an anonymous comment!
3. I will randomly generate a winner from all the comments on Saturday morning, October 27th at 9 AM EST.

*As an additional bonus, you could win the OTHER new stamp set from Verve by commenting on my pal Shannan's blog candy giveaway, HERE! How cool is that?!

And now onto today's card. It is the anniversary card for my brother and his wife!
I started with a strip of PP from the new Figgy Pudding Basic Grey pack (NOT the one I'm giving away up above, I promise!) and chose my CS and ink colors from that.
All stamps are from Papertrey Ink. I love this cake set, it's so versatile!
Sky blue and white CS, sky blue ink, and ribbon are from SU, Brown CS is Bazzill. Ink is Colorbox brown, versamagic blue, and Memories darker brown.
I used a white gel pen to color in the centers of the flowers and then used a glitter gel pen when it was dry. They really sparkle nicely, but not in this photo.

Today is my friend Julie's Birthday. Stop by her blog and let her know that turning 30 is AWESOME! (She makes incredible cards and altered projects too, so check them out while you are there!)

OS Winter W

I posted an article on the Verve Visual blog this morning about my first time ever making a One Sheet Wonder. It was so much fun!
I randomly stamped an 8 1/2 x11 sheet of white CS using the Winter Wonder stamp set (which is sold out currently, BTW), and then cut it up into pieces and made 10 (TEN!) cards from it!

Here is a sample of some of the cards I made. I used the Seasonal Circles stamp set to add a sentiment and a few highlights to the cards, but I purposely kept them simple and un-embellished. They could be easily adorned with some metal eyelets, extra layers and dimensional adhesive to personalize them. To see all ten cards, go check out my Verve Visual post!
I plan on doing these OSW several more times until I have all the holiday card I need!

Happy Birthday and Anniversary to my brother!

Today is my brother Lindsay's anniversary. Last week was his birthday. I'm a little behind, so I'm posting his BD card today! This was CASEd from the Papertrey Ink gallery where I saw this bright, fun card and turned it masculine.
My brother is the best. He's 14 years older than me, and has always been the "coolest" person I know. He married a fantastic girl (Laura), whom we all love. They have 4 kids. The oldest is my favorite niece of all time (She turned 16 on the same day as her dad!), the next is almost 4, and then there are the twins, who aren't yet 2. This is a photo of his three youngest with my two boys this summer.
Happy Anniversary Lindsay and Laura!

Blender pen!

I used a blender pen for the first time! What a fantastic tool! Why has no one ever told me I needed one of those before NOW? You just dab it on the inkpad and color...it's like having markers in every shade of ink you own!I stamped the image 3 times with Ranger Black Archival ink and then used a blender pen to color the images. So simple, but quite pretty (if I do say so myself)! Looking at the photo here it looks like the coloring doesn't match, but it is perfect IRL. I used a glitter gel pen (from the Stardust Galaxy set I bought at Verve Visual) to add highlights to the berries, but you can't see it too well here. It really adds a nice sparkle.
Just a simple card for the head of the daycare where our youngest goes. She's an amazing girl and has been helping me a lot recently.
All stamps and CS and ribbon by SU, Ink is SU, Impress, and Ranger.

a Cool holiday

I was looking for inspiration for an UBER-quick holiday card and I found it in an ATC I received in a swap last week. I just enlarged the design, changed the stamps and Whahlah!
This card took me under 3 minutes to make (I timed it!). Score and fold your white base, cut a piece of PP, punch out an oval, stamp it, add some glue, sprinkle with glitter, punch a hole in the top, tie on a piece of ribbon, stamp the sentiment!
The glitter is hard to see in this photos but it is the nicest, most sparkly glitter I've ever used. I bought it at Verve Visual and really like the brand.
Penguin stamp from SU, sentiment from Papertrey, PP from DCWV, ribbon from my stash, Ranger archival black ink.
To "up" the design, I might add a black mat under the PP next time, and maybe stamp the sentiment on a piece of raised red CS. But for quick and simple, this was perfect.

Green Smoothies and pumpkins

Let me preface this card by saying that I am not the best color-er! I know how I want it to look in my head, but can't achieve it on paper.I stamped the pumpkin from Papertrey's Spooky Sweets set on white with Versamagic chalk ink three times and cut them out. Then I glued them onto a larger piece of white CS, overlapping to look like they were in a pile. I then attempted to use prismacolor pencils to color on top of them to give depth and shading (no laughing allowed!). I added the stems, the face, some sponging around the edges, the sentiment, and some "dirt" to ground them and then matted the whole shebang with black.
Because I only have one small oval punch, I had to hand cut the other two to mat the BOO sentiment. Add some ribbon, a few eyelets and it's done!
I'm not sure of the color of the card base, but I know it's SU. I love this pale apricot color so much! It's the color of the walls in our living room (actually, it the color of the paint that I bought a few years ago to paint the living room with, it's still in the cans at this point *rolling my eyes*)!

I have the day off today, because it's Superintendents day for our 8 year old and there is no school. Our littlest (2) has been asking for a week now to go "pumpkin shopping", so I want to take the kids to pick out pumpkins. I also need to buy some groceries. I hate when we run out of soymilk, bananas and spinach! We drink a raw green smoothie every morning for breakfast at our house. The first words out of the 2 year old when I wake him up in the morning are"Mommy gonna make smoothie?" as he wipes sleep from his eyes.
I promise it's not as gross as it sounds...want my recipe?
Dana's Green Smoothie
In a high powered blender (we have a Blendtec but a Vitamix would work as well), put:
2 cups washed baby spinach leaves
1 cup torn kale leaves
2 peeled bananas
1-2 cups of any other fruit (we use what's in season, so right now it's apples and pears)
2 cups fresh water
1-2 cups ice cubes (we only use these if the bananas aren't frozen)

You might like it! We love them, and even my husband likes them. In the summer we use different seasonal greens (dandelion greens, mizuna, mustard greens, choi, red-leaf lettuces, etc.) and different fruits (but ALWAYS 2 bananas) like blueberries, kiwis, pineapple, grapes, etc.
Grapes and apples are a good combo with the greens, as are pineapple and kiwi. And I toss in whole washed organic strawberries in the spring too, don't bother hulling them, the green part is good for you! (our oldest is allergic to strawberries so I don't use them for him.)
Have a great Friday!

Retro holidays

When I was growing up my mom decorated the entire house for Christmas in orange and pink. She hated the color red (must be where I get it from!), but loved orange and a nice deep hot pink. She still uses the same decorations in those two colors today. I remember my stocking (which she made) was from this gorgeous paisley orange/pink/green fabric. I still have it. Of course, she likes those colors year round also, as she has an antique settee in the living room that is covered in orange corduroy, and a small loveseat sofa that is covered in pink velvet in the library. I always thought that was normal until I visited friends' homes and saw that everything was brown and beige. How boring!

Anyway, I made this holiday card with her in mind! The PP is from Cosmo Cricket's Hey Sugar collection and you can get it from Verve Visual, as is the snowflake that I used on the background (it's from the Winter Wonder stamp set). The main image is from SideShow stamps, and is embossed with white EP and the reindeer is colored in using a brown Zig marker. The sentiment is from Papertrey ink, the CS is SU and Bazzill, the snaps are from MM.

Mojo Monday and an award

This is for Julee's Mojo Monday sketch of the week. I switched the shapes around, but otherwise stuck to the sketch. I realized I don't often put things "front and center" and I've now done so 2 times this week already!The PP is from Cosmo Cricket Hey Sugar and you can get it here. I LOVE Cosmo Cricket, and have been collecting (hoarding really) their paper collections for at least 3 years now. They used to be called Comstock Collection (and I LOVED their stuff then, too).

The main image was stamped with palette hybrid ink in Bordeaux on vanilla CS. The sentiment was embossed with chocolate EP on vanilla and both stamps are from Oxford Impressions. I used a clear Studio G dollar stamp to make the finials on either side of the oval using versamagic chalk ink. In real life, the ribbon matches the bordeaux color of the stamp perfectly.

And In other news, I've been awarded the "You make me Smile" award by Abi at Musings from Tenerife! I love reading her blog, she always has something fun to share and her cards are adorable. Thanks Abi!

I'm going to nominate a couple folks too.

1. Tammy at Tammy's Recipes ALWAYS makes me smile. She shares her delicious recipes, gorgeous food photos, frugal tips, and amusing daily life with two small children on her blog. I LOVE checking out her frequent posts!

2. Lisa from The Bunny Log is not only an amazing artist, photographer, and seamstress, but she's also a new mom! And the photos and journaling on her blog could bring a smile to even the hardest of criminals. You must check out her adorable daughter, Sienna.

Snow falls on the Bayou

So, have you had a chance to check out the newest Verve Visual stamps yet? Aren't they gorgeous?! I love snowflakes, and the sentiments that come in the Winter Wonder set are my favorite of all time for the winter/holiday season. I just know I will be using them time and time again. I like that the circles in the Seasonal Circles set can be used year 'round too. Makes the stamps multi-functional! And how awesome is it that you get them in a jewel case WITH an index sheet all for $10! (That's my favorite part! Hee hee)

I made this card in anticipation of the VV releases last week, but then decided not to use it for my DT commitment. The snowflakes were embossed with clear glitter EP and then cut out and raised with pop dots. ( I inked them with Versamark first, THEN lightly tapped them onto my Blue Bayou SU inkpad to pick up some color before stamping and embossing them. Worked like a charm!) The PP is from Webster's Pages winter wonderland collection. CS and ribbon from SU. The sentiment is embossed with gold EP to match the gold cord hanging the snowflakes. This card was based on THIS one (the second card) I saw by Kwarner.

BOO! No metal?

I bought my first wood mounted dollar stamps from ACMoore last week! I've been avoiding those bins for ages, knowing I would loose all self-restraint once I looked.
Can you believe I only bought 3??! This fun spooky house with the moon drew me in. Isn't it fun? *grin*
The sketch is one from Jen Del Muro's SFYTT collection. I had jotted it down last week, but never got around to using it. When I grabbed this stamp I knew it would be perfect for that LO because it showcased the image front and center.
I wanted to use something other than black so I grabbed some SU Navy and used my Impress inks to match. And of course orange and bright yellow/gold coordinated well with the blue.
I colored the moon in using prismacolor pencils and gamsol, and added Starry Night Stickles to the word "BOO."
The small sentiment is Papertrey as is the dotted border around the circle. Both are embossed with white EP. The ribbon is from MM. And no metal was used in the making of this card!

customer request

Recently a customer requested a baby card with a Noah's Ark type of theme. She had made a quilt with animals and the Ark all over it as a gift and wanted a card to match. Well I immediately thought of my "wild about you"(SU) animal set. I only wish I had some sort of boat looking stamp to make an Ark!
The colors are actually more subtle than they show in the picture, the orange BG (Chatterbox PP) is a softer rust color and the greens aren't so vibrant. I added stickles to the giraffe's spots and the bird's wing. The sentiment is from Hero Arts. The rest of the CS is SU very vanilla, celery, banana, and sahara sand.

Happy Saturday to everyone!

Long time no post...

Life has handed me some twists and turns this past week, so thanks for sticking by while patiently awaiting my regular posting schedule. Soon, I promise.

I made this quick card for a baby shower that some friend's of ours are having this weekend.

Not much else to say about it...stamps by Papertrey (PTI), ink is palette hybrid, CTMH, and Ranger archival black, ribbon by MM, CS by SU. It's simple, quick and who doesn't like peas? *grin*

Sneaky sneaky...

Happy World Card Making Day! I hope to be glued to my studio today making all sortd of cards! Want a sneak-sneak-peak? Go check out my post on the Verve Visual blog today! I made my own PP for the first time! Go on, go see it. I'm kinda proud. *big cheesy grin*
<--------- OK, fine. Be lazy. In that case I'll share a full card I whipped up in less than 6 minutes using the new Winter Wonder stamp set that will be released on October 10th by Verve Visual!

This was not the card I set out to do. But it's what happened when I made a glaring error and couldn't salvage it! So, because it's not DT material, I'm sharing it with you. Does that make you feel all warm and fuzzy, (knowing you are my fall-back) or what?! *chuckle*

I started with soft sky CS (looks darker here, doesn't it?) and then stamped the sentiment in black first. I used versamark to add different size snowflake images around the sentiment and then used stickles to add glitter to them.

Now what I wanted to do next didn't turn out. I wanted a SUBTLE pattern of snowflakes on the rest of the card. I didn't want to detract from the glittered snowflakes surrounding the sentiment, so I thought if I used some clear EP it would actually be clear! Not so. The silly snowflakes turned out darker than the "main" ones that I highlighted with Stickles! URGH. So I added the ribbon and tossed it onto the "reject" pile. Not the "crap" pile that I've mentioned before, but one step away!

If I re-do this card, I will leave off the larger snowflakes and just keep the majority of the front plain. I really like how the sentiment area turned out...wish the rest of it didn't overpower that part!

The name game!

Abi at Musings from Tenerife tagged me to play in this fun blog name game. Abi has a fantastic blog that I frequently peruse for her upbeat, bright creations, and fun photos about her family. She's really quite a talented muralist (is that a word?).

The NAME GAME. The name of the game is to list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life, for each letter of your middle name. If you don't have a middle name, use the name you would have liked to have had. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog post containing you middle name and game facts. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged and to read your blog.

My middle name is Wadsworth.

W-Water. I'm a Pisces, I grew up surrounded by water and have been swimming since I was still in diapers. I get antsy if I can't be around SOME type of water all the time. Gotta love those negative ions!
A-Art. of any shape , medium, or form. MUST have it in my life.
D-Dance. I am not a good dancer although I took ballet for many, many years. But I love to do it! I also LOVE watching dancing, especially men! I just think it sooooo cool to be able to move your body in such an artistic way. I get goose bumps watching people dance.
S-Sleep. I love to sleep. I get ill without 8 hours each night. As a child I would BEG my mom to go to bed, even if my friends were still visiting. As a result, I never had a bedtime because I LIKED going to bed so much and would always go when I was tired. I still do.
W- Weight. As in "need to lose"! It's something I've struggled with for a long time.
O-Organic. Feeding organic foods to my family is very important to me. We also grow organically, support out local organic farms, and encourage other's to reduce their use of herbicides, pesticides, etc. We need to care about our planet and it needs to start small.
R-Raw. I have a goal to become a raw foodist. I eat 50% raw now and feel on top of the world when I have an all raw day. It's those cooked food addictions that drag me down!
T-Travel. I am a mover. I love to be in a car on a road trip, or flying somewhere new. I want to travel to so many different places. I love new people, new foods, new everything about traveling!
H-Home. I am a home-body. I would rather stay home than go out ANYWHERE. (I know this contradicts the above statement, but it's true!). I LOVE coming home at the end of the week and knowing I have no place to go for the weekend.

Ok, now for tagging others. I hate this part. Ummm, if your name, or your blog name starts with a letter in my middle name (Wadsworth), please consider yourself tagged! Ok? (I really don't like to "force" bloggers to play along, but if you want to feel free!)

Where have I been?

I've been so busy for a few days that I haven't even posted to my own blog, much less read anyone else's! This is the first chance I've had to sit down and upload some photos from the past few days. My job ( and life) is kicking into high gear currently, and I have NO computer time! I've been in that "fall" mood lately, with all of our sugar maples and ash trees changing their leaf color. We have many large, mature trees on our property and it's beginning to look SO pretty with the various displays of color. I can't wait to start harvesting pumpkins!

I made this card earlier this week all because I was playing around with my brayer and some old Kaleidacolor pads. I love to do the "plaid" technique on glossy paper with a multicolor ink pad and a brayer. It's simple, quick, and produces stunning results! Then I just chose CS to match! I gold embossed the leaf stamp (SU) onto a piece of the "plaid" glossy paper I made, and then cut it out and adhered it to a piece of chocolate chip CS.

It looks really cool up close, doesn't it?

I love the sentiment stamp too. I try to use it every Autumn when making a card. I think it's from Hero Arts, but I'm not positive because I unmounted it a long time ago! The gold embossed frame stamp is by Rubber Stampede.

The CB embossing folder was a last minute addition as I thought it looked like the swirly path of falling leaves. I always think of the opening scene in Forest Gump with that feather floating lazily all around and catching updrafts before finally landing! Remember that part? I love the music right there too.

Have you been checking in on the Verve Visual blog this week? Those sneak peaks will keep coming until the new sets are released on October 10th! I can't wait until I can post some things I've made here on my blog!

No sneak peaks here!

I've been hard at work in my studio this weekend and can't WAIT until I can share some of my projects with you! The new releases from Verve Visual will knock your socks off! *giggle*
Alas, I can't give you a sneak peak just yet, so I'm sharing a card I made weeks ago that was relegated to the "crap" pile.
I have trouble using pastels unless they are on a baby card, so I challenged myself to use them for an everyday theme. I hardly ever use purple, don't know why, I love purple, I just don't seem to use it on cards very often. While this card seemed to be coming together easily, once it was done I was not happy with it. For starters, you can see the glue through the tiny purple grosgrain ribbon, the piercing around the edge of the center piece is crooked, and the same center piece needs another color of CS (maybe black?) behind it to mat it from the base. And then the fun rippled green ribbon started to unravel at the ends AFTER I adhered it!

Anyway, the point is to enjoy what you do, right? This card was lots of fun and outside of my comfort zone, so it meets the requirements even if I NEVER send it out! I had fun using my Verve Visual stamps to create the spikey flowers and stems, and the sentiments both seemed to fit right in. Aren't the eyelets in the center fun? You know...I think this one might be salvageable if I tweek it a bit! *wink*

A girl needs some rubber galoshes!

Today's post will be short, I need to hit all the last-ditch-effort yard sales in town today! Plus we're going to the Falling Leaves Festival this afternoon and I need to make some leaf and acorn shaped hand pies.


I finally inked up these galoshes! I love the Green Thumb stamp set from Papertrey, but I hadn't ever used these adorable galoshes so I decided it was about time. My inspiration came from the PP that I used. It's from Memory Box and I won it from Julee at Poetic Artistry in one of her Mojo Monday challenges. The funny thing is, is that I actually had it in my cart over at VerveVisual.com! It's so luscious! Very vibrant and thick. THANK YOU JULEE!

This card is going out to my BFF who is going through a very rough spot in her life. She's a shoe lover, but I'm pretty sure she's never owned a pair of these boots. Maybe it's about time!

Hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend!

Laugh and Live more!

Do you ever have a great idea in mind but can't quite execute it onto paper? Well, this is one of those times. I know how I wanted this card to look...but it didn't! *chuckle*
I started with the CPS sketch for this week, and then dug out the main image I wanted to use and a piece of PP (7 Gypsies). I was having trouble deciding on colors and tried 3 or 4 different ones. This card was torn apart so many times last night, I think it might have identity issues! But I'm leaving it alone for now, because I DO like it...it's just not what I started out to create. Something about that blue book-plate is not right.
I love this main image stamp used here. I try to reserve it for special occasions so I don't get bored with it! It is from a sheet of UM rubber by PaperBag Studios, called "Laugh". I last used it here for a swap in February.
Sentiment is by TAC. All CS is Bazzill, Impress ink, Palette Hybrid ink and versamark were all used, ribbon is from my stash, button brads from MM, sponging, piercing, and my Sizzix were also used.

I'm wishing everyone a wonderful weekend, it's FRIDAY!

Don't try this at home!

Okay, so it's not really Merry, but it sure is bright! I'm not a big Christmas card maker, (we send out New Year cards), and I don't care for the whole "red & green" bit around the holidays, but I had so much fun with this simple card. This was the first thing I made when I received my newest Papertrey stamps last week. I like non-traditional holiday colors, and this pink CS from Bazzill was just crying to be used!

I LOVE how the branch looks when stamped on textured paper...more realistic! I used a white gel pen to add snow to the branch and highlight it a bit.

Here's a closer view:

I stamped the ornaments on whisper white CS and cut them out. After gluing them to the card base, I used a versamark marker to "color" the entire ornament and then embossed with a clear glitter EP. It raised them a bit more and added a nice sparkle too. I used gold EP to emboss the hanger part, and I also white embossed the sentiment "Merry & Bright" onto the wide grosgrain ribbon. That didn't work as well as I planned, but I left it anyway because I liked the concept!

PP is from Basic Grey...not sure which collection, but I think an older one, ink is Palette Hybrid and Ranger Distress, ribbon from my stash, EP from Sparkle n Sprinkle.

Loosing my authority...

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to command authority from your children and your DH when you can't talk louder than a stage whisper? *chuckle* Argh, this being sick thing is not fun. I can't discipline the children, I can't call them in to dinner, I can't let the little one know that I hear him when he calls for me. All because I'm losing my voice and have the worst sore throat ever.

I made this card in triplicate a few weeks ago because I wanted some classy, yet simple TY cards. Actually, the other two have a different ribbon, but when I received this pretty kraft ribbon in the mail I couldn't resist replacing the original on at least one card! Stamps by Verve Visual, PP by 7 Gypsies, CS by SU and Bazzill, ink is Ranger Distress walnut stain, brad is unknown.

DID you see??? Check it out! The Verve Visual card contest deadline has been extended until Friday night, so get your entries in! The prizes are amazing, and you can't win if you don't enter!

Long time no Mojo

Although I have lots of other things to post, I want to get this week's Mojo Monday (courtesy of Julee) up before the week is out! My camera is doing well, me...not so much, but enough that I got out of bed to make this card last night *wink*!It looks all wonky, because it is! *chuckle* I dropped it on the floor without realizing it and ran over it numerous times with my rolling stool. Can you tell I'm not feeling well?
I started with a piece of Basic Grey PP, and my favorite tree stamp (100 Proof Press), and it just built itself from there. I added the webbed key hole stamp (Leavenworth Jackson), and it became a creepy type of card so I grabbed my Papertrey stamps and those little spiders just JUMPED out at me! The doodle around the scalloped oval is by Papertrey too.
After embossing the tree image I sponged green ink around it and matted it with black CS. I added the two sheer black ribbons to keep in line with Julee's Sketch and called it done.

I like it a lot. It's simple, but I love the colors together and that tree is one of my most favorite stamps ever! (I know you aren't supposed to have favorites, but we all do, right? It's NOT just me, is it?)

I'm BACK! I'm sick.

Hello all,
I'm back from my business trip and I'm sick. Blahhhh. I haven't been this sick since my college years. I guess that's what happens when they cram 20 people from all over the country into a conference room the size of a guest bathroom! All week long I was breathing other people's germs that they brought with them from their respective states. Yucky.
I sure have missed reading all your blogs and posting to mine, but hopefully tomorrow our camera will be fixed and I can post again!
I'm going back to bed now....