I likes...I wants...I stamps...

Last Minute She-Devil

2011-10-15T16:24:00.000-07:00

For this week's Farm Fresh Monday Challenge, it was to use Black, White and one other color. I choose red to go w/ my new-to-me She Devil Anya digi. I colored her up in copics. Then I die cut a scalloped frame in some sparkly red paper and added a bit of sparkle smooch over her dress and devil horns. The sentiment is obviously my current favorite halloween senti from my PI Little Witch set.

The Dets:
Stamps: TGF She Devil digi, MFT PI Little Witch sentiment
Paper: MB notecard, PTI pure poppy, MME Mischievous, red glitter paper
Ink: Copics, Stardust pen, Versafine black
Accessories: MFT large scallops die, Spellbinder circles & rectangles, ribbon, clear smooch

Spy-Friday Hallo Witch

2011-10-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

I really {heart} halloween cards. I think its the pretty papers and fun stamps, plus the optionalness of it all. No one really expects a hallos card right? Not like a christmas card. So anyway, for this halloween I decided to pick up TGF's digi Halo Witch. She's rather big, but super fun to color. And it makes me remember just how much I like digi images, when I get off my lazy butt to get the printed out.

The TGF Challenge blog came out with a brand new Friday Challenge, this week's is Cas-ing Dictionary. I colored up Halo Witch in copics and cut her out. Then layered a few of my 2010 hallo's papers and topped it all off w/ some super awesome hallo's bakers twine.

The Dets:
Stamps: TGF Halo Witch digi, MFT PI Little Witch
Paper: MB licorice notecard, Cosmo Cricket mathilda
Ink: Copics, Versamark Fine black
Accessories: bakers twine

MFTWSC Little Witch

2011-09-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

I so love halloween cards. And this year when I saw MFT's Pure Innocence Little Witch I knew I had to get it.

I paper pieced her outfit and colored the rest with copics. For the layout, I used this week's MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge, MFTWSC37. The image was a bit large so I had to tweak it just a tiny bit. Then I used my brand new MFT file tab for the sentiment layer. I just love it. It's the perfect size to use up all my scraps. I topped it off w/ a bit of halloween colored baker's twine I got at my LSS.

The Dets:
Stamps: MFT Pure Innocence Little Witch
Paper: MB notecard, MME mischievous
Ink: Memento black, Spica glitter pen, Copics
Accessories: ribbon, MFT file tab die, bakers twine

Deconstructed Party Emma

2011-09-17T10:12:00.000-07:00

I have a long list of uninked stamps (that for some reason just keeps growing). Luckily, I also have a long list of birthday/wedding/baby/hallos/xmas cards that need making.

This Sugarplum Party Emma is just one of those stamps that I had for a longer-than-I-care-to-admit. So I finally decided to break open her package, trim her up and stamp her out. I used Jen's Deconstructed Sketch No. 19 for the layout. I colored Emma out in copics and then sponged the edges w/ some PTI chai tea ink. Then I added some stickles to her banner b/c I digs bling of any shape or form. I used PTI's vintage ornament die for the sentiment.

The Dets:
Stamps: CC Designs Sugarplum Emma, Verve Birthday Bash
Paper: MB notecard, MME stella rose
Ink: Memento black, copics, chai tea ink, Brilliance pearlescent brown & galaxy gold
Accessories: PTI vintage ornament die, spellbinders, ribbon, bakers twine

Fleur Anya

2011-09-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

This week's TGF Farm Fresh Wednesday Challenge was to use metal or metallic colors in your card. I chose Fleur Anya for my image. Then I paired her w/ some cute metal flowers I'd been hording to complete the metal part of the challenge.

The Dets:
Stamps: TGF Fleur Anya, TCP sentiment
Papers: MB key lime notecard, MME lime twist - life of the party
Ink: Memento black, Copics, Versafine black
Accessories: MFT dizzy doily, metal flower brads

Happy Wedding Day

2011-08-15T13:30:00.000-07:00

Because I always leave things for the last minute (my middle name is "procrastinator"), I had to start & finish a wedding card just hours before we had to leave for said wedding. It was a wedding at the zoo. Have you ever been to a wedding at the zoo? Very interesting...suited the couple. I saw alot of penguin butts.

Anyway, I needed a quick and easy card so I pulled out my brand new PTI Simple Sentiments set and got to work on a very CAS card. Since the bride's colors were darker tiffany's blue/tealish and brown I went for a sort of similar color scheme. I thought it looked a bit too plain so I die cut a few hearts from the TCP heart trio cut-up. I just love those hearts, so funky looking. It was definitely a five minute card, which was perfect b/c I still needed to wrap the gift...

The Dets:
Stamps: PTI Simple Sentiments
Paper: kraft & cream cs, MME stella rose
Ink: Brilliance pearlescent chocolate, spica glitter pen
Accessories: TCP heart trio die

Honey Bear

2011-08-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

It's been a really long time since I've played in Jen del Muro's SFYTT. But as soon as I saw this month's sketch my mind immediately went to my new (to me) TCP Honey Bear set. Which I had just bought and hadn't yet used. Which is too say it was taking up space on my Looming List of Unused Stamps.

I colored Mr. PJ-bear up in copics and added a bit of glossy accents to the honey in his jar. But I had a really hard time getting it to show up in any pictures I took, so you'll just have to trust me on that. This card was supposed to be for my Honey's birthday, its just a few week's late...

The Dets:
Stamps: TCP Honey Bear
Paper: MB key lime notecard, MME lime twist fly a kite
Ink: Copics, Memento black
Accessories: PTI pure poppy ribbon, Michael's ribbon, MFT bitty dots die

TGF Mystery Monday

2011-08-06T20:52:00.000-07:00

The All That Scraps store recently had an awesome sale, so it was the perfect excuse to pick up a few stamps I've had my eye on for a while. This Princess No. 3 Anya was one of the many purchases.

I just love her fun gown and her meatball head hair. Its soo adorable. And her crown just screams at me to whip out some of my spica glitter and stardream pens for some extra sparkle. I used TGF's Farm Fresh Challenge Mystery Monday (and isnt that a mouthful) to case the layout. And since I did buy it from the ATS store, it was almost kismet that this week's Wednesday Challenge was Anything Goes.

Stamps: TGF Princess Anya No. 3, Pure Innocence Fairy Girl
Paper: MB notecard, MME lime twist happy go lucky
Ink: Memento black, Copics, Spica glitter, Stardust
Accessories: MFT poppy and dizzy doily die, PTI hs button, Smooches clear

Birthday Boy

2011-07-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

So I've been remiss in my pix-ing and posting duties. Not so much in my stamping as my living room (ie, where I craft) is as messy as ever. But I think I'm getting out of practice with copic colorings as the last few cards I've done have been a bit...not how I wanted them to come out.

So this is a card I made for a birthday boy back in May. I'm not sure if the card ever got to said birthday boy. I'll have to check my stash to see if its still there. Terrible I know. But if it is, then...at least I'll have at least one boy card for my birthday stash.

This was also done so very long ago that I cant even remember if it was for a challenge. But I am loving my MFT star dienamics. I think they're the perfect non-girly embellishment. B/c apparently, sticking paper flowers (no matter how pretty the paper is) on a card makes it a bit girly.

The Dets:
Stamps: Puddlejumpers Owen birthday, Verve Birthday Bash
Papers: PTI true black, Basic Grey oliver, polka dot dp
Ink: Memento black, Copics, Versafine black
Accessories: MFT star die

Pixilicous Verve

2011-05-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

This is an old Mojo Monday sketch. But it was way long ago and I'm too lazy to go through and find exactly which one it is.

I recently saw Joanne Basile's video tutorial on how do use that rolled rose die. And let me just say it's fabulous. When I tried to do it only own, it came out lopsided and flimsy (from me unraveling and re-raveling too many times). But that tweezer thing she does to hold it in place - genius. And while my rose is still a bit lopsided and I still need practice, that tweezer trick is soo cool.

So basically I did the rose and didnt really have a card to put it on. So I put together one pretty much based around that rose. I grabbed some pixie-licious paper (and I totally love that line) and went for just a purple and green color scheme. Sponged around the sentiment while it was still in its die. I stamped the "thoughts" on some left over scrap paper to make it stand out a bit. And I still say this is one of my favorite fonts from Verve. Its so whimsical and pretty. Reminds me of Alice in Wonderland.

The Dets:
Stamps: Verve Always on my mind
Paper: MB key lime notecard & dotty paper, Cosmo Cricket pixie-licious
Ink: Memento black & plum
Accessories: MFT open scallop border & rolled rose die, Spellbinders labels 2, sizzix flourish die, felt, kaiser jewel

Missing Ewe

2011-05-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

Now I know what you're thinking...its not winter, its spring. But trust me, if you lived in my house, you'd sure think it was still winter. This is one of two completely non-traditional cards I passed off as Mother's Day cards this year. I think I got bored w/ the traditional "Happy Mother's Day" sentiment (that and I forgot to buy a new one this year).

But me mum's a knitter, in a really bad way too. She's a tad obsessed with knitting. I only wish I was as good at it as she, b/c its like the perfect mobile hobby. Take it on the plane, to baseball games. You know those copics and stamps and paper (and now dies) just dont travel as well as a ball of yarn and some knitting needles.

So when I saw this TCP image, Sheepish, come out (a really long time ago) I thought it'd be perfect for her. The sheep. The Scarf. It all just works. And I got to use my giant icing die that I've been hoarding.

You know what would be the perfect adornment? Some knitted flowers. I think I've seen crocheted ones in blogland somewhere. I believe my mom, with her awesome knitting powers, had promised to knit me some. But alas, I have yet to get any...*hint, hint*

The Dets:
Stamps: TCP Sheepish
Paper: PTI ocean tides, MME stella rose, vellum
Ink: Memento black, Copics
Accessories: MFT snowflake die, TCP icing die, felt

XOXO

2011-05-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

This is one of the seven cards I made for mother's day. This PI, Something special just for you, reminds me a bit of Birthday Princess but I just couldnt resist the cuteness and had to get her too.

For the card, I pulled out a cosmo cricket pack I've had for a while but havent used that much. I just love the simplicity of primary colors and kraft color combination. Originially I had put glitter over her crown, but it was showing up a bit too faintly. So I pulled out my handy dandy glossy accents and added a few layers to her crown and then to her shoes.

The Dets:
Stamps: MFT Something special just for you Pure Innocence
Paper: PTI craft, cosmo cricket togetherness
Ink: Memento black, Copics
Accessories: MFT stacking stars die, glossy accents, glitter

Just Because

2011-05-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

I got a sewing machine for christmas and just five short months later, I'm finally putting it to use. I sewed a grocery bag holder for my pal, N, since her hubs likes to hoard plastic bags. At least now she'll have something pretty to put it in. The pattern is based on the one listed on Moda's Bake Shop with a little tweaking. I like ruffles, so the one I made had to have ruffles.

As for the card, I kept it simple, opting for a coordinating color scheme. I stamped the sentiment panel with PTI's Matstack #1 and Beautiful Blooms II. Then I used the stripes in Retro Backgrounds to build a pattern on the four squares. I also stamped some polka dots in the background but they didnt turn up too well in the picture.

Here's a close-up of the grocery bag holder, using Moda's Giddy charm pack-

The Dets:
Stamps: PTI Matstack #1, Beautiful Blooms, Giga Guidelines, Polka Dot Basics II, Retro Background
Paper: PTI pure poppy & hawaiian shores, cream cardstock
Ink: Brilliance pearlescent chocolate, Versamagic red brick, Versacolor turquoise gem, Versamark
Accessories: kaiser gems, PTI matstack #1 die

Ninja Bunny

2011-05-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

It was rather cold and rainy when I made this card. So perhaps it was the icky, winter-like weather we were having that inspired this card. Mostly I love the sentiment and needed an excuse to use it.

I actually had TCP's Deep Breath bunny all colored up, so it was just a matter of finding the right papers. I mixed dp's from two separate packs, something I rarely do. Then topped it off w/ a few snowflakes. And embellished his scarf with a bit of stickles.

The Dets:
Stamps: TCP Deep Breath, Skating Bunny
Paper: MB notecard, MME fine & dandy, vellum
Ink: Memento black, Brilliance black, Copics
Accessories: stickles, MFT snowflake and small open scallop dies, kaiser pearls

Hoo Hoo There

2011-05-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

This was one of those stamps I saw in blogland and thought it was adorable. Very strange as I'm deathly afraid of birds and other assorted flying things. But there's something about these owls that are just so darn cute. My only problem was I had a hard time locating them in blogland.

Cut to many months later on a visit back home, in a little shop called Cute Stuff. Lo and behold, there's my little owls just waiting for me to take them home. I even got them free to me as my mama bought them for me in return for some not-so-slave crafty labor I did for her.

I stamped the owls on an oval nestie and sponged the edges before I colored them up in copics. I added some glossy accents to juicy worm. Then I used MFT's baby banner for the words. I didn't have any sentiments that go w/ the stamp, but every time I see those owls I think they're saying "ooh dinner!"

The Dets:
Stamps: Rachel Miller Hoo Hoo There, MFT baby alphabet
Paper: MB notecard, MME so sophie, October afternoon
Ink: Memento black, Versafine ocean tides, copics
Accessories: glossy accents, oval nesties, PTI lemon tart ss ribbon, divine twin, MFT baby banner, kaiser pearls

Hello...Emma

2011-05-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I wish I had an in-themed card to share today but instead I have a nice fall-ish one to share. I've heard rumors that its supposed to be spring, but looking outside - cold, dark and rainy, it seems more like fall.

Anyway, this week's episode of ATS Wednesday Challenge was all about whatevers. Well officially its called "Anything Goes" but I occassionally revert to high school vernacular. So I pulled out Spring Emma and paired her with fall papers. Aint it great? And its going to the MIL in the forever summer state (aka Hawaii). Perhaps I should've embellished with a bit of snowflakes just to complete the whole seasonal theme.

My sentiment is from Verve and let me just soapbox for a bit. I totally love their fonts. That "hello" is just soo pretty. Wouldnt it be awesome if I could type all my work emails in that font? Unprofessional? Probably. Pretty? Definitely.

The Dets:
Stamps: ATS Spring Emma and Pixie stool, Verve Always in my heart
Paper: PTI true black & kraft, BG pyrus paper pack
Ink: Memento black, copics, Brilliance graphite black, PTI tea dye
Accessories: Cuttlebug polka dots embossing folder, fancy square punch, ribbon, rectangle spellbinders

HB2U

2011-05-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

I've come to the conclusion that I really, and I mean reeeally, need some doily dies. But when I tried to be bad (b/c I'm supposed to be on a shopping hiatus) and buy some, they were sold out. The three little words a fanatical stamper doesn't want see in her internet shopping cart - out of stock. Its heartbreaking really. Thwarted by the universe. Again.

But despite my lack of doily dies (cue mournful music here), I was able to finish my card tonight. TGF launched a new challenge blog and this is my first Mystery Monday case under the new management. I pulled out my Special Autumn Anya and colored her in copics. Then I used my banner day dies to create a fun little sentiment. Ever since we got unlimited texting, I find my vocabulary getting worst and I'm using alot more acronyms.

The Dets:
Stamps: TGF Special Autumn, MFT Banner Alphabet
Paper: MB espresso notecards, MME fine & dandy
Ink: Memento black, Copics
Accessories: MFT banner & flower trio dies, glitter brads, divine twine

Cutie PI

2011-05-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I've participated in MFT's Wednesday Stamp Challenge. But when I saw this week's sketch, MFTWSC17, I thought it'd be perfect for my new (to me) Being Cute is what I do Pure Innocence.

I broke out my new cosmo cricket paper and discovered it matched awesomely with a few PTI colors. Which was excellent except for the fact that I'm now running low on Ocean Tides cardstock. Oh well, guess a PTI order is just closer into my future than I thought...

The Dets:

Stamps: MFT PI Being cute is what I do
Paper: PTI enchanted evening, ocean tides & terracotta tile, CC salt air
Ink: Memento black, copics, spica glitter pens
Accessories: MFT flower trio die, spellbinders, PTI ric rac

Celebrate Good Friends

2011-05-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

It's been an embarrassingly long time since I've done anything crafty. Needless to say, there's been no posts b/c there hasnt been anything to post. I couldnt even post pretty tulip pictures as the late Seattle rains crushed them all.

But Mother's Day was coming up and I figured I had to get cranking on those MD cards. This, however, is not an MD card (obviously). I got the TCP Good Friends set without any particular idea in mind. I'm just a sucker for those wee penguins. I colored most of it w/ copics and paper pieced the rug. I was too lazy to paper piece the couch, but maybe one day I'll get ambitious. Then I added some glossy accents to the remote and the popcorn. Strange combination but I digs.

The Dets:
Stamps: TCP Good Friends, Verve Birthday Bash
Paper: PTI ocean tides & dark chocolate, MME fine & dandy
Ink: Memento black, Brilliance pearlescent chocolate, copics
Accessories: TCP pinking border dies, MFT button dies, glossy accents, divine twine

Its all the wave

2011-03-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

So on this week's episode of TCPTUES149, Alma is doing a Retro challenge, which is to pick any previous challenge. And I thought Amy's supply challenge, TCPTUES121, to use all them shiney cut-up dies was perfect.

Among my impulse buys this past holiday was TCP's Whale of a friend. Now personally I think the "you're a whale of a friend" sentiment is sort of mean. Think about it, if you got a card that said that how would you feel? Do you really want to be a called a whale anything? N thinks I'm nuts, but honestly...

However the little whale is just way too adorable to pass up and I thought he'd make perfect baby boy cards. I paired him with my all time favorite boy paper (which was conveniently already on my desk) and die cut a bunch of waves for him to swim in. And because I'm a glitter fiend I couldnt resist edging the waves with some sparkley accents.

The Dets:
Stamps: TCP Whale of a friend, Amuse senti
Paper: MB notecard, PTI enchanted evening & simply chartreuse, BG oliver
Ink: Memento black, Versafine black, copics
Accessories: TCP wave & snowflake die, PTI enchanted evening button, divine twine, stickles, ek stickos

Photo-grats

2011-03-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday!

This is a card that began as a CASE for a Club Anya Mystery Monday, but it happened so long ago, I cant even find the original post. And I have a feeling I made it in the "black hole of real life (aka no motivation for blogging)" so it never got posted to my blog.

I had been playing around with MFT's rolled rose die. I've seen some superly awesome rolled roses in blogland, and unfortunately I havent quite figured out how people make them so pretty. Do they layer the bottom w/ a punched five petal flower just so it looks all even and lovely? Because for the life of me, I couldnt get the bottom to work out for me.

Well, it's the weekend now and I aim to misbehave. (Kuddos if you know who say's that.)

The Dets:
Stamps: TGF Miss Anya Lounge, Verve Practically Perfect
Paper: MB notecard, Basic Grey olivia
Ink: Memento tuxedo black & angel pink, copics
Accessories: MFT rolled rose die & scallopes die, kiaser pearls, ek success stickos, ribbon, flourish die, felt, spellbinders rectangles

Snowed in Club Anya

2011-02-24T10:53:00.000-08:00

It's a Snow Day! Yay! Which basically means I get to skip out on adult responsibilities (such as work) and act like a kid again (which includes stamping and watching cartoons). Hehe...I'm such a child.

So I was experimenting with coloring in greyscale recently. I had a whole sheet of anya's I stamped from my Later Sk8er set. This one here I colored with a bunch of W's. Turned out to be sort of a bad idea, coloring before figuring out what paper I was going to use. It took forever to find some dp that sort of matched what I had colored.

I lucked out when I came across a really old (and never used) Cosmo Cricket pack of Ever After. I'm case-ing Doreen's card for the Club Anya Mystery Monday. Of course I took a lot of liberties. And I just realized I was going to add some jewels to the top corner but forgot. Oh well...next card maybe.

The Dets:

Stamps: TGF Later Sk8er, Verve Celebration of Thanks

Paper: White cardstock, Cosmo Cricket ever after

Ink: Memento & Brilliance black, Copics

Accessories: ribbon

Finally...VLV

2011-01-12T19:00:00.000-08:00

One of my New Year's resolutions is to participate in the Viva La Verve challenge. I have sooo many awesome Verve sets, but I'm ashamed to say I rarely use them. But as soon as I saw the VLV week one sketch, I immediately thought of the square frame in the Happy Hello set.

I went through my Verve sentiments to see which one would fit into the square and came across the Always on my mind set. This set was a total impulse buy, didnt have anything in mind for it and thought the font was too pretty to pass up. But when paired with some cute MME beloved papers, I think it makes a pretty decent vday card. I stamped the little heart from the set and paper pieced it in red paper to mount on the senti panel.

I used some PTI pure poppy saddle stitch ribbon but the white was a bit too bright. So I colored over the white with an E41 marker to make it more creme like. And boy that was kinda alot more work than I expected...

The Dets:
Stamps: Verve Happy Hello, Always on my mind
Paper: PTI kraft, MME beloved
Ink: Brilliance pearlescent chocolate, rocket red, copics
Accessories: PTI pure poppy ribbon, divine twine, kaiser pearls

New Year, New Sketch

2011-01-10T18:59:00.000-08:00

For the very first 2011 sketch, MFTWSC1, I decided to ink up my brand new (to me) Pure Innocence Birthday Princess set. I've been dying to get her since she was first released but alas, the Powers That Be were totally against me and she was always out of stock everytime I placed an order. Last November I finally got lucky and couldnt wait to ink her up.

Almost two and a half months later I did. I colored her in copics and used a colorless blender to add a pattern to her stockings. Then I put a whole lotta glitter on her little crown. I love the way she looks a little imbalanced. Sorta reminds me of someone...

I originally colored the cake w/ a pink spica glitter pen but thought it was too bright, so I went over it with some pink smooch. Then over it again with some glossy accents to give it a yummy shiny pink frosting look.

The Dets:
Stamps: MFT Pure Innocence Birthday Princess
Paper: MB notecard, BG olivia
Ink: Memento black & angel pink, copics
Accessories: spellbinder ovals, ek stickos, glossy accents, twill ribbon, stickles, MS glitter

Surf's Up

2011-01-09T09:19:00.001-08:00

Maybe its just wishful thinking for warm sunny weather...but when I saw this week's Club Anya Mystery Monday case I immediately thought of my Surfer Ian.

I used my new TCP wave dies to create a little ocean surf for this surfer boy. Then added a bit of glitter to the edges of the waves. I colored some clear stickos with blue copics for the jewels.

One stamp down...only forty-something more to go...

The Dets:

Stamps: TGF Surfer Ian, Verve Birthday Bash

Paper: PTI enchanted evening & simply chartruese, BG oliver

Ink: Memento black, Versafine black, copics

Accessories: dots embossing folder, TCP wave die, nesties circles & rectangles, ek success stickos, stickles

Oh Boy

2011-01-01T09:58:00.001-08:00

New Year's Resolution #1 - Use all the uninked stamps and brand new dies in my stamping cache before buying any new ones.

Apparently as my stamp purchasing go up, my card making goes down. I'm a bit dismayed at how inversely related the two are. Its really quite sad. But I'm on a mission once again, to ink up uninked stamps. And nope, I cant disclose exactly how many there are. Lets just say...lots.

I've been drooling over those MFT Banner Dies for a while now. And shortly after PTI came out with their own, I decided to take the plunge. I die cut a bunch of them in some white and yellow paper then stamped Boy twice and freehanded the "oh." The layout looked rather plain, so I left it on my craft table for about it week. I tried several things to fill in the open space but finally decided that a circle element would do just fine. Though now it sorta seems like its the sun but the background is a bunch of stars...contradictory much?

The Dets:
Stamps: MFT Banner Alphabet, MB sentiment
Paper: MB notecard and homespun dp
Ink: Brilliance graphite black
Accessories: MFT banner dies, nesties circles, cuttlebug dots folder, divine twine

Baby, its cold outside

2010-12-24T19:17:00.000-08:00

I've had zero motivation, mojo and whatever else you can name. But when I saw this week's ATS Wednesday song inspired challenge (even before I saw Traci's awesome card) the Baby its cold outside immediately popped into my head. Glee's Kurt and Blaine version of course. Wasnt that just the cutest thing?

I got out my Cocoa Emma and colored her up in copics. Her boots reminded me of Uggs, which N has a new obsession for, so I tried coloring it in the like. I added some liquid applique to the whites of her outfit and topped it off with glitter before I heated it.

Merry Christmas!

The Dets:

Stamps: CC Designs Cocoa Emma

Paper: MB notecards, Cosmo Cricket mitten weather, kraft

Ink: Memento, Copics, multiliner

Accessories: PTI aqua mist button, PTI pure poppy ribbon, MFT scallops, oval nesties, snowflake embossing folder

Tiny Treats

2010-12-01T21:12:00.000-08:00

It's been a while. I dont think I've taken a blog hiatus like that in a super long time. But what with the icky-sickness and the holidays, I suppose those are decent excuses.

I finally had some time to play with my things. Sadly, my uninked stamp list is steadily creeping back up. Curse those "too good to pass up" after-Thanksgiving sales.

But I broke out my newly acquired PTI Tiny Treats Christmas and made a simple christmas card. I decided to go w/ my current favorite holiday color combo, red & aqua. I stamped the snowman and colored him w/ copics. Then mounted him on a scalloped circle and matstack #1 die.

Hopefully I can get back to my regular crafting and posting routine. I'm so behind on my xmas cards and there's so many different project ideas I have going on now. All I want for christmas is more time....well obviously I want sparkly, material gifts too but that's a given.

The Dets:
Stamps: PTI Tiny Treats Christmas
Paper: MB notecard, PTI pure poppy, October Afternoon very merry
Ink: Memento black, PTI aqua mist, Copics
Accessories: scalloped circle punch, PTI matstack #1, ribbon

New Banner

2010-11-15T19:00:00.000-08:00

Since we're headed towards another holiday season, I thought it'd be nice to create a new banner. (Actually my mom asked me to make her one last year...) And apparently I have a thing for the word "Noel." But what can I say, Joy is too short and Merry is too long. Actually I wanted it to say "Tis the season, yo" my fave holiday line, but that was way too long.

I used my big scallop rectangle nesties for the letters mat and topped it off w/ a border end cut from labels eight. I cut the letters from glitter paper w/ my Storybook cartridge. Then I embellished with buttons, jewels and a couple vintage ornaments. This color combination is my current favorite and I've been doing tons of holiday stuff in variations of it. But I'm a creature of habit...

Detail shot of the letters - The Dets:

Stamps: PTI Signature Christmas

Paper: Cream cs, MB dot pattern paper, PTI kraft, DCWV latte matstack

Ink: Brilliance graphite black

Accessories: Cricut storybook cartridge, spellbinders labels eight & big scalloped rectangles, PTI aqua mist & berry sorbet buttons, jewels, PTI vintage ornaments die, divine twine & TCP linen thread

Altered Notebook

2010-11-13T15:53:00.001-08:00

Long time no post. But I've been feeling under the weather and too tired to stamp (shocking I know). However, I'm on the path to recovery (hehe such a drama queen) and had a request from my mom for altered composition books.

I've seen the mini ones, in fact N altered me one a while back. But I've never done a full size one. I had this paper from my stash for a while now. Its superly awesome b/c the flowers are like letterpress into the paper. I've had intentions of making a stationary set with it, but never got around to it.

My mom wanted these to give to her knitting friends to hold pictures or...something for their projects. I played around w/ a few sentiments but liked the simple word of "ideas" the best. I added flourishes to each side with PTI's Simply Stationary set.

I pulled out a sheet of berry sorbet for the spine, but thought it looked a little too plain. So I stamped it with Text Style Background and Turning a New Leaf.

Detail shot -

The Dets:
Stamps: PTI Turning a New Leaf, Text Style Backgrounds, Fresh Alphie, Simply Stationary, MFT Framed Greetings
Paper: PTI berry sorbet, Stardream bronze, EK Success aurora flora
Ink: Brilliance pearlescent chocolate, Versamark, Versacolor old rose
Accessories: MFT die, MS border punch, ribbon, scalloped circle

Purely Sketchy

2010-11-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

I was crazy productive this weekend. Cards wise, not housework wise. Aren't those just the best? But I suppose something productive had to come from watching cartoons for two days straight. And I needed to check some crafty t0-do things off the list before T-day rolls around.

One of the cards I did was with my new Pure Innocence Presents for You stamp set. I've got about seven birthdays (mostly family) within a week of each other this month, so I desperately needed to get cracking. I used Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch, SSSC91, for the layout. Colored up the girl (anyone know her name?) in copics and paper pieced her pressies. Of course I had to use my new Pixie-licious paper as this is a birthday card and not really an xmas one.

The Dets:
Stamps: MFT Presents for You, PTI Vintage Ornaments Additions
Paper: MB key lime notecard, Cosmo Cricket pixie-licious
Ink: Memento black & pear sprout, Copics
Accessories: PTI plum pudding ribbon, spellbinders ovals, PTI ornament die, TCP twine

Autumn Whimsy Tree

2010-11-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

If there is one thing I miss about not living in Hawaii anymore its not having to rake leaves in the fall. Of course, growing up, I never did yardwork, except to drown my mother's potted plants so she wouldnt ask me to water them again.

So in honor of the impending raking leaves of doom, I brought out my Whimsy Tree plain jane from Verve. I intented to finish the October's VLV challenge, but I never got around to making the last card. This is the sketch from Week #1. I colored Whimsy in both greens and golden yellow colors for a more autumn feel.

The Dets:
Stamps: Verve Whimsy Tree, PTI Daily Design Sentiments
Paper: MB vanilla bean notecard, PTI dark chocolate, SEI moonrise
Ink: Memento black, canteloupe, Versafine black
Accessories: ribbon, TCP flower die, PTI harvest gold button, spellbinder ovals, mb jewels, divine twine

Tag, You're It

2010-10-31T22:09:00.001-07:00

Shortie post here. This week's MFT's WSC was a tag challenge. I thought it'd be cute to use my new Lather Rinse Repeat PI stamp. I die cut the image in a large circle and curved the senti to fit the circle. I covered the bath tub w/ loads of glossy accents and sprinkled glitter on the bubbles. I used my circle nesties again to cut the whole for the topper to fit onto the bottle of shower gel.

Here's a close-up of the glossy goodness...

Well my civic duty is calling to me (gotta vote!)...

The Dets:

Stamps: MFT Pure Innocence Lather Rinse Repeat

Paper: MB notecard, MME beloved

Ink: Memento Black, Copics

Accessories: Spellbinder circles, glossy accents, MS glitter, PTI berry sorbet ribbon

Hello Pumpkin

2010-10-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

So this weekend I had a brilliant idea to participate in October's Viva La Verve contest. Seriously, I think about doing it every month, its just as the weeks go by I think okay, maybe I'll start this weekend. And before I know it the month is over.

But this past weekend I decided to try. I started off with week two's sketch. When I saw it a few weeks back, I immediately thought of Hello Pumpkin. And since I already had my prismas out, after trying Jen's CA tutorial, I tried my hand again.

I ended up only finishing three of the four cards. Then realized that sketch two was to use Orange, Brown, Teal and White. So oh well. Maybe I'll try again next month.

The Dets:
Stamps: Verve Hello Pumpkin, Thankful Accents
Paper: MB mocha notecard, PTI summer sunrise, SEI dp
Ink: Memento brown, Prismas, Brilliance pearlescent chocolate
Accessories: Spellbinders labels three & circles, kaiser pearls, mb jewels

Rockstar SSSC

2010-10-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

So last week on Club Anya, Jen had this ah-mazing tutorial on Prismacolor pencils. I dont know about you, but I've always had a hard time coloring w/ pencils. I think that's why I dig copics so much, blend alot better and cover nicely. But watching her tutorial, she made it look so easy!

So I unearthed my prismas from the depths of the "unused craft stuff" drawer. I found blending stumps at M's but I was at a loss for gamsol or OMS. I found turpenoid or something but the boy cautiously suggested that maybe I should go home and doublecheck before I go out acquiring toxic and flammable materials. And I heard some people have used Goo Gone and I knew I had that at home.

Can I just point out that Jen's video was alot like me watching an episode of SYTYCD. When I watch the dancers do all kinds of fun hip hop flips and tricks and think, that looks easy I could totally do that. But when it comes to actualizing...that's an entirely different story. Same with the color pencils. It wasnt a total disaster, like me trying to pop and lock might be, but it wasnt as flawless either. Of course I dont have nearly as much prisma colors as I do copics, so I was kind of limited as to what I could use for shading, hair, etc etc. But the blending stump didnt retain the chemical for as long, so it was a lot of rewetting and tediousness.

I used Karen's sketch, SSSC90, for the layout. But I left it unsentimented cause I'm not sure who this is going to. I did end up doing another card with a Verve stamp and prismas which went a little easier. So guess its the same theory as copics, practice practice practice.

The Dets:
Stamps: TGF Rockstar Anya
Paper: PTI kraft, berry sorbet & lemon tart, Cosmo Cricket togetherness
Ink: Memento black, prismas
Accessories: MFT open scallops, TCP flower buttons, divine twine, PTI melon berry ribbon, spellbinder rectangles, stickles

Flirty Anya Friday

2010-10-21T21:53:00.000-07:00

Happy (early) Friday! I've gotta say this has been a long week. A package I was expecting got lost in space. And it was full of brand new stamps, so you know how distressing that is. Plus I pulled my neck, so not so much crafting for me. But we're eating thai tonight. Oh. My. Goodness. Do you know how long I've been dying for some phad thai??? Its too bad the boy hates thai food due to a rather unpleasant experience with some homemade thai noodles...but I swear I followed the recipe exactly!

Anyway, on to the card. I have a slowly growing collection (again) of uninked stamps, yet I find myself drawn to Flirty Anya. So for Club Anya's Mystery Monday a few weeks back, I decided to use her for my CASE-d card. I paired her with some delish Cosmo Cricket papers and colored her dress in my favorite copic colors, BG72-78. I accented her flower w/ a spica glitter pen, but had a hard time trying to photograph the sparkles.

Oh! And if you'll notice, the kaiser jewels. They're actually clear but I colored them with my Copics. I didnt even know you could do that until I saw it on NH's blog. Man, all this time I've been wasting my money buying up all the kaiser jewel colors when I could've just been stockpiling clear...

The Dets:
Stamps: TGF Flirty Anya, TCP You say its your birthday
Paper: MB vanilla bean notecard, PTI dark chocolate, Cosmo Cricket togetherness
Ink: Brilliance pearlescent chocolate, Memento black, Copics, Spica
Accessories: PTI harvest gold ribbon, spellbinders rectangles & circles, ek success notebook punch, kaiser jewels

WTG Treat

2010-10-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

I think I'm in love with MFT's Trick or Treat with WTG. The image itself is super fun to color (although I still have trouble coloring chibi Flopsey). But the best part is playing around with the ground work. The first time, I tried my hand at a concrete sidewalk, but this time I opted for some hardwood flooring. I wish I had the patience to do some "wallpaper" but I'm way too lazy to paper piece a background. It'd be entirely too much cutting.

When I colored up the ghost, I wasnt really digging the end result. So I opted for my standard quick fix, when in doubt, dump glitter over everything. So it retained some of the color, but the chibi ghost is nice and sparkly now. I went over WTG's dress with some illuminate smooch and glossy accents over her bowl and shoes. You cant really tell but she's channeling her inner dark wizard and is all Slytherin this Halloween.

The Dets:
Stamps: MFT Trick or Treat with WTG, MB sentiment
Paper: PTI true black, Cosmo Cricket Matilda
Ink: Memento black, Copics, Spica
Accessories: MFT open scallop die, kaiser jewels, smooch illuminate, glossy accents, black felt, ribbon

Think {TCP} Pink

2010-10-18T21:56:00.000-07:00

You only have to glance at my blog to figure out what my favorite color is. Pink obviously. But for some reason, the Think Pink TCP blog hop challenge had me stumped. Then I saw this Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch, SSSC89, and thought the trio of penguins from Deck the Halls would be perfect.

I colored up the penguins in copics and finished off the card with a few October Afternoon papers I had in my stash. I also used a few strips of glue tape to lay down two glitter layers on my dp. Its not quite as sparkly as I envisioned, but perhaps its because my tape is rather old. Guess I'll have to put glue tape on my never ending list of "craft needs."

The Dets:
Stamps: TCP Deck the Halls
Papers: MB mocha notecard, PTI berry sorbet, October Afternoon very merry, ducks in a row
Ink: Memento black, Copics
Accessories: MS punch, PTI hawaiian shores buttons

Crazy Toxic

2010-10-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

I've been dying to get my hands on the brand new Sweet & Toxic set from TGF. There's just something about the edginess of the Creeper Crew that appeals to my inner punk child. And because I was bored with using my Matilda papers (even though I still like it) I brought out my Pixie-licious papers and went for a more funky color scheme.

In retrospect, I may have gone a bit overboard with all the super bright colors...

But in my defense, this is a non-trad halloween card going to my pal, T. And when she was in college, she dyed her hair blue. But in case you dont know, when blue fades on our hair it turns more green. So this might be a slightly accurate depiction of her hair....or not.

The Dets:
Stamps: TGF Sweet & Toxic
Paper: PTI true black, DCWV la creme, Cosmo Cricket pixie-licious
Ink: Memento black & new sprout, Copics, Spica
Accessories: TCP flower dies, ek success jewels, spellbinder rectangles, MFT open scallop dies, MS glittler, glossy accents

Happy Bellarific Friday

2010-10-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

Wow...talk about drama last night. I havent been that excited for a PTI release in a long time. Which of course meant that I had to be stuck to my computer by 8:30 and promptly started freaking out when the website was having issues. After lots of aggrivated screaming and computer restarts, I finally got my order in. Yay!

But anyway...enough ranting. Onto the card.

This week's Stamping Bella's theme was anything Ketto. And Ketto just happens to be my all time favorite of the SB line. When I pulled out my Ketto case, I conveniently had this Kenya Ketto die cut and embossed. It was fate. So I colored her up in Copics and since I need like a dozen more hallos cards, I pulled out my Matilda papers. For the layout, I used this week's Sweet Stop Sketch, SSS77.

The Dets:
Stamps: Stamping Bella Kenya Ketto, MB senti
Paper: PTI kraft & true black, SU!, Cosmo Cricket matilda
Ink: Copics, Brilliance graphite black
Accessories: Spellbinder circles & ribbon tags, Cuttlebug polka dots folders, PTI orange zest buttons, TCP linen thread, ribbon, kaiser pearls

A Ghostly TCP

2010-10-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

It's TCP Tuesday on (a week late) Thursday. Last week's challenge, TCPTUES129, was a sketch challenge made by the original Cat Packer, Alma. When I saw the long panel I knew I just had to incorporate the little ghosts from Fright Night.

I stamped them on kraft (again), and colored their little ties w/ copics. They looked a bit flat so I went over them (twice) with my "outline" copic color (B60). Then I stamped the bats and covered them w/ glossy accents. I didnt have any orange saddle stitch ribbon (maybe on my next PTI order) so I opted for some yellow.

Before I sign off, I needs to get my Glee on. Hehe...I love that new kid, whatever his name is with the Bieber haircut. And him and Quinn are so cute. But my evil side cant wait to see some Puck-getting-jealous action either.

The Dets:
Stamps: TCP Fright Night
Paper: PTI true black & kraft, DCWV la creme, Cosmo Cricket matilda
Ink: Memento black, Copics
Accessories: Spellbinders rectangles & circles, PTI orange zest buttons, PTI harvest gold ribbon, kaiser jewels, glossy accents, MFT open scallop dies

Flirty Monday

2010-10-11T21:00:00.000-07:00

Its that time again. Gone is the warm sunny days (even though this summer wasnt all that warm). Instead we've got the hazy, rainy days. But the one silver lining among these grey thunder clouds that perpetually cover my house...pretty fall colors. And no I'm not talking nature, I'm talking paper. I love the browns, gold, dark blues and, more recently, the terracotta tile-esque colors of the new fall pattern papers.

This card was the result of a CASE challenge on last week's Club Anya Mystery Monday. I paired up my new Flirty Anya with some pretty fall BG papers. What I love most about Flirty is how super easy she is to cut out. No complex braids, pony tails, etc etc to maneuver around. Its all curves. Yay!

You can barely see it, but I tied some divine twine around the blue panel and topped it off w/a button. I stamped the sentiment from a Pure Innocence set b/c go figure, I couldn't find a single happy retirement sentiment in my entire cache of stamps.

The Dets:
Stamps: TGF Flirty Anya, MFT Pure Innocence 4 Leaf Clover
Paper: PTI dark chocolate, Basic Grey pyrus
Ink: Memento Black, Copics, Spica
Accessories: MS punch, circle nesties, divine twine, PTI terracotta tile button

Witchy Mojo

2010-10-09T16:35:00.000-07:00

I've been seriously behind on my halloween cards. So when I saw this week's Mojo Monday Sketch, MOJO159, it was a definite no brainer to team it up with my TCP's Fright Night. I decided to stamp the witch and her cauldron on kraft and color them both with copics. I used my spica glitter pens for the ghoulish potion she's mixing up as well as for the fire.

For the sentiment, I added two little jewels to the dots in the middle and popped it up with some foam squares. I tried my hand at a double bow, but it makes for a very bulky card.

The Dets:
Stamps: TCP Fright Night
Paper: MB licorice notecard, PTI kraft, Cosmo Cricket matilda
Ink: Memento black, white gel pen, Copics, Spica
Accessories: Ribbon, PTI orange zest button, divine twine, MB jewels, MFT scallop border, spellbinder circles

Winter Wishes

2010-10-06T22:33:00.000-07:00

I had intended to use this image for an MFT challenge a week or so ago called Make a Scene. Unfortunately, real life got in the way and never quite finished. So when I came across the image again, I thought it'd be perfect from Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch, SSSC87.

I got this digi, WTG Baby Its Cold, a while back but never got it colored up. And because it was a digi, it makes it rather difficult to paper piece. So I colored her in copics. I thought it looked a bit too plain so I colored up the sky as well. Then I used my MS glitter and glitterfied the entire hill. It's really sparkly but my camera skills leave a bit to be desired.

The Dets:

Stamps: MFT WTG Baby its cold, TCP Deck the Halls, PTI Tin Types Background

Paper: MB licorice notecard, PTI berry sorbet, Lilybee christmas town

Ink: Versafine black, Copics, Versamark

Accessories: MFT open scallops die, oval nesties, MS glitter, stickles

Dressin' Up

2010-10-03T17:37:00.000-07:00

This week's MFT's WSC challenge was to get all Dressed Up. I thought this WTG featuring a bonus chibi Flopsey would be super cute and totally fit the bill. I stamped it image out and colored it in Copics. Then I added the glitzy bits. I glossed up the bowl, their pumpkin heads and, of course, her Slytherin green shoes. Then I figured WTG needed a bit of glam as well, so I used some iridescent glitter over her dress.

I used this week's SFYTT for the layout. I stamped a panel of cardstock w/ the sentiment then added some candy treats in matching orange. I went over a few of the candies w/ an orange spica pen, but it didnt come out too well in the photo.

The Dets:
Stamps: MFT Trick or Treat w/ WTG, TCP Fright Night
Paper: MB licorice notecard, PTI orange zest & simply chartreuse, Cosmo Cricket matilda
Ink: Memento black, Copics, Spica glitter pen, Brilliance graphite black
Accessories: PTI orange zest button, divine twine, TCP flower button dies, PTI true black ribbon, MS glitter, glossy accents

Spooky Banner

2010-09-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

To celebrate Halloween, because I really dont have any halloween decos (except for this one bowl that says happy halloween that we leave out all year round anyway) I decided to make another banner. I fully dig banners b/c its one of the only times I break out my cricut.

I used my Spooktacular set from TGF. I cut out the letters w/ my Storybook cartridge and dumped MS black glitter over it all. So it's all very nice and glittery. Then I spaced each one w/ a bow topped w/ a big PTI button. You see I have a ton of these huge PTI buttons and I have no idea what to use them for. They're a bit too big for cards, so if you have any suggestions I'm all ears.

I took all the madness that was on our fridge (like the birth announcement of a boy who's now 4)and pinned it up w/ clips. Okay that's not entirely true, most of the madness simply got relocated to beneath the banner. The picture's bit unpolished because it took forever to get a decent shot. But it makes my kitchen look nice and halloweenish.

Since I couldnt get a very good picture of it hanging up, I have a close-up of the letters:

The Dets:

Stamps: TGF Spooktacular

Paper: SU!, Basic Grey eerie

Ink: Memento black, Copics

Accessories: Cricut storybook, polka dots embossing folder, MS onyx glitter, PTI orange zest buttons, black ribbon

Hallos Treats

2010-09-23T20:39:00.000-07:00

With all the new tv premieres this week, I've barely found time (or motivation) to stamp. But Alice had this super cute (and simple) treat holder tutorial at Club Anya that I just had to try.

I inked up my Bride of Nico Anya from Spooktacular and colored her up in copics. I used a slightly smaller piece of cardstock to make a square shaped treat holder (rather than a rectangle). Then die cut circle nesties to create a window.

The Dets:

Stamps: TGF Spooktacular

Paper: black cardstock, DCWV glitter matstack, Basic Grey eerie

Ink: Memento black, Copics

Accessories: Spellbinders circles, sizzix flourish die, PTI orange zest, divine twine, ribbon

Happy Glee Day

2010-09-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting about three very long months for this, but it's finally here. Tonight is the night. That's right, the season premiere of Glee is on. Yay! I wanted to make a special Gleek card but my muse has left the building. I think she might have been stolen. If you've seen my muse, could you please let me know?

So the gals at CMC have done it again. Amy's put up another superly awesome straight hair tutorial. Doesnt it make you just so envious at the ease at which some of these smashing women can color hair w/ a few flicks of the pen? I tried my hand at her style but I was having much difficulty w/ the longer line flicks of the pen to simulate the strands of the hair. I sadly destroyed two other Dressy Ebony's before I caved and tried a different hair color (those E40's just seem to hate me).

I added some glossy accents to her pendant and hair flower. Then I put some illuminate all over her jacket and edging of her dress. Only I was having major issues with getting a good detail shot. Bummer.

The Dets:
Stamps: TGF Dressy Ebony, PTI daily design sentiments
Paper: MB mocha notecard, Cosmo Cricket pixie-licious, Stardream lapis lazuli
Ink: Brilliance pearlescent chocolate, Copics,
Accessories: MFT scalloped border, PTI melon berry buttons & ribbon, spellbinders labels eight & ovals, smooch illuminate, glossy accents, kaiser pearls

Farm Friday

2010-09-16T21:30:00.000-07:00

So I finally decided to get some semblance of organization with my crafts. I got this super cool card holder and now its got all my preprinted digis (and a few stamped images) sorted by company. And wouldnt you know, there were quite a few digis I totally forgot I had. TGF's Audrey here is one of them.

On last week's episode of Club Anya Tootin' Wednesday, Traci (who rocked a super cute haircut that made me miss my short hair) was all about making Pleats and Ruffles. It seems kinda contridictory now that I think about it, but I decided to use the least girly TGF image I own with a girly technie such a pleats. But I am nothing if not vastly contridictory.

I colored her up in copics. Then I pulled out my new cosmo cricket pack, before it too got lost in my Craft Shelf of No Return. I really wanted to use one of my new Kids Quotes (particularly the "How man fingers are you now?" line) but I just couldnt find a way to make it fit on the card. I really gotta learn to not die cut my images until I figure out the layout. Maybe I'll stamp the quote on the inside.

The Dets:
Stamps: TGF WS Audrey, PTI daily designs sentiments
Paper: MB notecard, Cosmo Cricket togetherness
Ink: Copics, Versafine black
Accessories: ribbon, oval nesties, kaiser pearls

Framed Faves

2010-09-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend I discovered that my LSS, or rather LCS, has fairly nice quality black felt. I've been dying for some ever since my friend got some PTI black felt in our last order. And once I had some of that delish black felt in my hot little hands I couldnt resist die cutting a slew of black flowers and borders. But you see, I didnt really have a purpose for them I just wanted them.

Finally, after I had rather pretty mountain of black embellies on my tiny craft table, the boy pointed out that I should probably use a few. I suppose he didnt quite see the point of having a oh-so-pretty pile of black felt flowers if I wasnt actually going to use them. So I brought out a few of my favorites. My current favorite dp, Basic Grey Olivia, my fave senti set Signature Greetings and my brand new MFT Framed Greetings.

As you can probably tell, if you've seen any other cards on my blog, I'm rather obsessed with MFT's open scallop die borders (in black felt of course). But I'm fairly sure this is the last of them. That is until I cut another mountain of them.

Thus ends a very long winded explanation of a rather little card.

The Dets:
Stamps: MFT Framed Greetings, PTI Signature Greetings
Paper: PTI true black, Basic Grey olivia
Ink: Versafine black
Accessories: Spellbinders circles, MFT open scallop border, PTI flowers, PTI Aqua Mist button, ribbon, felt

Super Late Sketchie Saturday

2010-09-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

So I finished this card last week, posted it to the Greeting Farm gallery and totally forgot to post it here. Oops. I might have been distracted by all the super awesome sneak peaks going on (TCP, PTI, TGF...how's a girl to choose???).

Anyway, last week's Club Anya Saturday Sketch was the dreaded round card. I think I've only done a few before. On one hand, I like them because they're tiny so I have to worry about filling in alot of extras. On the other hand, they're tiny. And obviously I had no problem adding extra embellies to this one. What can I say, Pretty Hat Anya just sorta demands it.

I added a bunch of glossy accents to her necklace, but it didnt come out to well in the picture. I've been seen these fabulous blinged out flourishes on people's cards lately but the prices for one or two of them have been pretty steep. I had some normal pearls on hand so I placed them in a haphazard, flourshy type fashion.

The Dets:
Stamps: TGF Pretty Hat Anya
Paper: PTI sweet blush, vellum, Basic Grey olivia
Ink: Memento black, Copics
Accessories: PTI flower dies, spellbinder circles, MFT open scallop border, glossy accents, divine twine, BG black button, kaiser pearls

A long time coming...Mojo Monday

2010-09-12T13:26:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had one of those cards in which you know the basic outline, how you want the card to look...but then it takes forever just to execute? Either the details just aren't quite right, or the mix of paper you chose isn't exactly what you first envisioned?

This card was most definitely one of them. I loved this week's Mojo Monday Sketch, MOJO155. So much so I actually started on Monday, seems like forever ago now. But I got stuck. Then of course I got distracted with The Clockwork Angel. And now it's almost a week later (the book's over) and the card pieces were still on my desk.

It came out to be fairly close to what was in my head, but I'm still not quite sure. I am excited b/c its been forever since I've inked up any of my Verve stamps. But this set, Thankful Accents, is definitely one of my favorites.

The Dets:

Stamps: Verve Thankful Accents

Paper: PTI true black & summer sunrise, SEI moonrise

Ink: Versafine black

Accessories: Spellbinder circles, MFT open scallop border, ribbon, felt, kaiser jewels

Something Blue...

2010-09-08T20:51:00.001-07:00

This week's MFT Wednesday challenge was Back to School Blues. Now I havent had the back to school blues in longer than I care to admit. But I feel for my pal the 8th Grade Math Teacher, Mr. O, who had to go back to school this week. Yeah right, I totally feel for the him because he had the whole summer off, whilst I worked the whole summer... Me bitter? Of course not.

Anyway, I didnt have any school related MFT stamps, but I did have this Birthday Flopsey I have been dying to ink up. And of course I had to use my new favorite "boy" paper, Oliver from Basic Grey. I just love the blue & green combo. Especially when I discovered that PTI's enchanted evening matches perfectly. Then later sadly discovered that I had to use the last of it on this card. Bummer.

The Dets:
Stamps: MFT Birthday Flopsey
Paper: PTI true black, simply chartreuse & enchanted evening, Basic Grey oliver
Ink: Memento black, PTI snow white, Copics
Accessories: Spellbinders circles & rectangles, MFT scallop dies, cuttlebug small polka dots, PTI enchanted evening ribbon, Impress glitter

Curly Hair Experiment

2010-09-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

If you've been trolling the blogs then you must have come across the Color Me Copic blog. Its run by five rockin' color-ers (in my opinion). The only bad thing about the blog is that it's inspired me to add all kinds of copics colors to my "wish" list (as if that wasnt long enough already...). But it's full of all kinds of useful reference information and, as of late, super cool techniques. The lastest one is Amy's Curly Hair tutorial. It was so neat looking that I just had to try.

I dont have too many curly haired stamps (probably a reason for that - they're hard to color). But I did have this Sweet November Darby stamp, which I've only inked up once. I went w/ red hair, but I think I need try this curly hair "squiggle" thing a few more times. I used this week's SFYTT, though it was alot of rearranging of layers before I decided to go w/ the landscape orientation.

The Dets:
Stamps: CC Designs Sweet November Darby, MFT Flopsey Birthday sentiment
Paper: PTI dark chocolate & ripe avocado, Cosmo Cricket nutmeg
Ink: Brilliance pearlescent chocolate, Memento black, Copics
Accessories: polka dot embossing folder, felt, kaiser jewels, MFT open scallop border, spellbinders circles, PTI butterfly die

Clean & Simple TESC

2010-09-01T13:35:00.000-07:00

If there's one thing I envy (and if we're being honest here there's alot of things I envy) its Nichole Heady's talent for making this super awesome cards using just a black pen and ruler. Never underestimate the difficulty of drawing a straight and even line w/ a pen. I had to do it three times before I came up with something that was okay. But then I've got this hate/hate relationship w/ rulers in general...

But I digress.

When I saw this week's Taylored Sketch, TESC126, I immediately thought of my PTI Take Three Summer set. As of late, my poor PTI sets havent seen the wet side of an inkpad in forever. I punched three squares in my current fave PTI colors (b/c I'm so fickle my "current faves" change constantly) then stamped each of the flowers in black ink. I topped them w/ coordinating buttons before mounting them.

Its fairly clean and simple for me. Definitely a change-up from what I had been doing. And I'm still not quite sure what the sentiment is supposed to be for either. Maybe its a condolence? Going away? I just thought looked pretty...

The Dets:
Stamps: PTI Take Three Summer
Ink: Brilliance graphite black
Paper: MB licorice notecard, PTI hawaiian shores, simply chartreuse and pure poppy
Accessories: PTI hs/sc/pp buttons, copic mutliliner

Simply...Sasuke?

2010-08-31T13:44:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the brand new Back to School Emo's from Simply Betty Stamps? I first saw these Emo kids on Amy's blog and was instantly in love. They've got a bit of an edge to them, but are totally cute too. And when I saw Back to School Miller, I knew instantly I had to have him. Why? He's got Sasuke's hair. Eeee! Dont you just love it????

(Sidenote: for those of you that dont know whom I'm referring to, he's a character on Naruto, a 'toon the boy used to watch. Yes yes, I know, he's like a totally baddie now, but he was so cute as kid, tortured but cute....)

I was super excited that Simply Betty has come out w/ a challenge blog, cause you know I just {heart} challenges (how else do I get the motivation to play w/ my stamps?). This week's challenge was to create a funny emo card. I cracked up when I saw Miller/Sasuke's expression. Doesnt he just look like he realized something mind boggling? So to beef up my "boy card" stash, I brought out some new boyish papers. I colored Miller up in copics. I was trying something different with his hair. But I dont think I like it, so I'll probably go back to my norm.

The Dets:
Stamps: Simply Betty Miller Back to School, TCP Smells Like Cake
Paper: PTI simply chartreuse & enchanted evening, Basic Grey oliver
Ink: Brilliance graphite black, Copics
Accessories: Spellbinders rectangles & circles, PTI enchanted evening ribbon & buttons, TCP twine

Floral Fantasy

2010-08-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

My Umbrella has got to be my favoritest Pure Innocence girl I've got and yet I have issues using her. But the other night I thought it'd be really pretty to get a different take on her umbrella. Maybe it was wishful thinking for spring as opposed to dreary fall, but I thought it'd be cool to break out some of my old punches and have a bunch of sakura like blossoms falling around her.

I think I went a bit overboard on the blossoms. But I think it fits with this week's MFT WSC of Floral Fantasy. I dont know about you guys, but there's a house in our neighborhood with a huge cherry tree. When it blooms its soo pretty and then the petals start to die its petals go everywhere.

The Dets:
Stamps: MFT Pure Innocence My Umbrella, TCP Hearts & Flowers, Impress cherry tree branch
Paper: PTI true black, origami paper
Ink: Memento black, pear tart, bamboo leaves & summer sky, Spica glitter pen, Brilliance pearlescent chocolate
Accessories: flower punches, spellbinder ovals

Playing w/ Texture...

2010-08-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

Every so often its cool to learn a new tip. Or trick. So when this week's CA "Toot" featured a really cool vid by Kelly about creating texture, I was intrigued.

I colored up my brand new Cupcake Anya (I could not resist the cuteness and absolutely had to have her). She's one of the only digis I own, but I must admit I think I'm a convert. I wanted to try making her dress look sort of denim-like, so I colored it up in my BG70's. Then I used a scrap piece of fabric, added a few drops of my colorless blender solution and lightly pressed into the colored area. Its really really faint but I didnt want to bleed it too much.

I used this week's Mercy Sketch, MTSC88. But its amazing I even finished this card as I picked up Mockingjay from the library last night. Finished it a little why ago but dont ask me. I dont want to talk about it. My head is still vaguely lost in Sucksville, Panem.

Here's a detail shot. Perhaps if you squint and imagine (or just stare, unblinkingly for a really long time) you can vaguely make out the "texture" of her dress...

The Dets:
Stamps: TGF Cupcake Anya, TCP Forget about the cake
Paper: MB notecard, PTI ocean tides, MME so sophie, Oct Afternoon thrift shop
Ink: Versafine black, Copics, spica glitter pen
Accessories: ribbon, spellbinders rectangles

A Monstah SFYTT

2010-08-26T13:31:00.000-07:00

I've used my Stamping Bella Monstah Bash all of twice since I bought it. And both cards I used the exact same dp paper pack (see??). So when I showed the boy this card he said, wow its not green and blue.

I'm kinda shocked he remembers...

So it was a feat for me to think outside the box for this one. I wanted to keep it a bit unisex. Or that was before I added the rhinestones & bow. But hey at least the blue is like a dirty, boy blue right? I found a dp pattern that I liked but decided it would look much better w/ more kraft than white. I've seen a bunch of super awesome stampers do cards on kraft cardstock but I've never been that adventurous. But I figured the worst that can happen is that I dont like it and scrap it.

So I stamped the little monstahs in memento and colored them up in copics. I used Jen's SFYTT for the layout. I really dig how she layers colored circles instead of just putting brads or jewels down. But I just dont have small enough circle punches. Guess that means I'll have to go out and buy some right? *g*

The Dets:
Stamps: Stamping Bella Monstah Bash, TCP You say its your birthday
Paper: PTI scarlett jewel, terracotta tile & kraft, Stardream gold, Basic Grey whiskers & max
Ink: Memento black, Brilliance black, Copics, white gel pen
Accessories: Polka dots folder, spellbinders curved rectangles & circles, kaiser jewels & pearls, PTI ocean tides ribbon

A Fruit Filled Challenge

2010-08-24T13:31:00.000-07:00

So this week's ATS challenge was all about fruit. Either fruit in your dp or stamps or something. I completely forgot to think outside the box and that my Kiki has a wee little cherry on top her ice cream cone. But I wanted to ink up my Mushroom Friends anyway. Does a mushroom count as a fruit?

Probably not.

So I got out my Cosmo Cricket garden variety paper pack just to be on the safe side. Imagine my dismay when there was only one sheet that really had fruit. But I decided what the heck (b/c I also didnt have any other plans for it). I stamped up the lil' shroom bunny and colored him (or her) in copics. I think the brown's a bit too dark but oh well. I thought long and hard about what sentiment I wanted to use. Well to be honest it was more of a "what sentiment will fit in the little panel that I already cut and sponged." Then inspiration struck when I came across my freebie MFT road trip set. Its a little off the wall but totally fits my humor I suppose (randomness).

The Dets:
Stamps: CC Designs Mushroom Friends, MFT Clearly Sentimental about Summer Vacation
Paper: MB vanilla bean notecard, Cosmo Cricket garden variety
Ink: Memento black, summer sky, pear tart & bamboo leaves, copics
Accessories: PTI pure poppy ribbon, divine twine, spellbinders labels one, kaiser pearls

TCP Blog Hop

2010-08-23T17:00:00.000-07:00

When I saw Taylor's sketch a couple weeks ago, I knew I wanted to do a card with my TCP's Fun in the Sun set. I imagined floatie sprinkles (whom I've adored but never inked) covered in a layer of glossy accents to make everything shiney.

To go with the fun summer theme, I brought out CC's delovely paper pack. The colors in this pack are so bright, they simply screech summer. I cut out and colored both poochie w/a surfboard and floatie sprinkles. Then added a whole bunch of glossy accents to their respective wave catchers. Originally I die cut a scalloped border, but I totally liked the ric rak look so I stuck with it.

This is going to a coworker who's also from Hawaii (but we're from different islands) so I think she' appreciate the slightly beachy theme.

The Dets:
Stamps: TCP Fun in the Sun, You say its your birthday
Paper: PTI black, Cosmo Cricket delovely
Ink: Memento black, Versafine black, Copics, Spica glitter pens
Accessories: PTI xlg ric rak, spellbinders circles, divine twine, glossy accents, felt

Bookmark 3.0

2010-08-22T16:56:00.000-07:00

I'm here with yet another bookmark. When I asked N if she wanted another bookmark, she responded instantly with a yes. And the stamp she wanted...TCP's Forget about the cake. How birthday bunny cake & a bookmark are connected in her head, I'll never know. But since it got me to accomplish my summer time mission (I've got zero uninked stamps - yee-haw!!), who am I to complain?

I pulled out a sheet of my current fave dp, BG's olivia. I totally dig the greys, pinks, blues and greens in its color scheme. I die cut various shapes of my PTI flower dies in a mix of both felt and paper. Then I stamped and colored the bunny cake. I decided to use some MS iridescent glitter for some glitzy frosting. And since its a bookmark and I know how N loves to keep her books pristine, I covered the glitter w/ a layer of glossy accents. This way they hopefully wont shed glitter all over Mockingjay.

The Dets:

Stamps: TCP's Forget about the cake

Ink: Copics, Memento black, DCWV spring glitter stack

Paper: PTI black, Basic Grey olivia

Accessories: PTI flower dies, spellbinders circles & long rectangles, glossy accents, MS iridescent glitter, felt, bg buttons, black thread, circle punch, eyelet

Patchwork Penguins

2010-08-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

This week's episode of TCP Tuesday, TCPTUES123, was to use any beverage stamp. And what better stamp than to use the teacup penguins??? As soon as I saw these little guys in the preview week of TCP's latest release, I knew immediately I had to have them. They're just tooo cute w/ their little paper hats and makeshift boat. And with the snarky lil' sentiment "Ship Happens" how is it even an option not to get it???

The layout was something I thought up of at like 11:45pm the other night, whilst I was trying to go to sleep. Suffice to say I had to break out my notepad and jot it down. I punched out a bunch of squares from an old Memory Box paper pack. Its nice to know that I still occasionally use old supplies. I colored up the penguins and added some random sparkles in the form of spritz shimmers and spica glitter pens. And glossed up the water drops w/ some glossy accents because I cant make a card without it. I topped it of w/ the superly awesome sentiment and a little PTI button.

Close-up of the sparkley & glossy goodness...

The Dets:

Stamps: TCP Ship Happens

Paper: PTI dark chocolate, Memory box sweetbay paper pack

Ink: Copics, Memento black, Versafine black, spica glitter pens

Accessories: square punch, glossy accents, shimmerz sparkle, smooch illuminate, PTI aqua mist button, krafters floss, PTI spring moss ribbon

A New Challenge

2010-08-19T17:28:00.000-07:00

I am finally down to only two uninked stamp sets left in my cache, so my summer mission is coming along quite nicely. Alot of it was thanks to this new challenge blog I stumbled upon, Christmas Stampin' All Year Round. If not for this week's nifty little challenge of using two different dps, poor Christmas-y Nora might still be sitting in the uninked pile.

I inked up Nora and then die cut her in a circle to fit into my card. I daubered the edges with some memento ink, then finished coloring her in copics. Normally I go with blonde hair, but I'm trying to branch out. Bear with me here because it seems like I still need to get the hang of the brunette...

I topped her off with some glossy accents on all her buttons and earrings. Then I paper pieced her scarf and added some stickles to the snowflakes. I ended up using Mercy's Tuesday Sketch, MTSC87, b/c it fit perfectly. I love the layers Mercy incorporates into her cards.

The Dets:
Stamps: CC Designs Swiss Pixie Nora
Paper: PTI scarlett jewel, Basic Grey eskimo kisses
Ink: Copics, Spica glitter pen, Memento black & summer sky
Accessories: Spellbinders circles, snowflake embossing folder, glossy accents, stickles stardust, M's ribbon

Double T

2010-08-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

You know how sometimes you see a sketch and you totally know you want to try it out (b/c it's so awesome) but you only have a vague idea of how you want to execute? Well this week's Taylored Sketch, TESC124, was just like that.

I totally dug the sketch as soon as I saw it, which is strange b/c I rarely make odd sized cards. Originally I had planned to use my TCP's Fun in the Sun set, but my Fright Night, which has been uninked since I got it last year, was looking forlorn. So I colored up a few of the images and cut them out. Then I die cut about a dozen different circles and scalloped circles before coming to a combination I dug.

Perhaps I'll retry the sketch using Fun in the Sun...

The Dets:
Stamps: TCP Fright Night
Paper: PTI black, cream, SU!, DCVW spring glitter stack, Basic Grey eerie
Ink: Copics, Memento black, Spica gold glitter pen
Accessories: PTI xlg ric rak, spellbinders big scalloped & standard circles and rectangles, kaiser jewels, divine twine

Two Birds, One...Card

2010-08-13T22:38:00.000-07:00

So this week's episode of TCP Tuesday, TCPTUES121, was a color challenge. Carole Burrage, who I'm sooo excited to see back w/ the Cat Pack, had this lovely color combo of denim, kraft and candy apple red. I searched high and low for a dp pack set that might do but just couldnt find any with both navy and red. Then I realized that one of my fav non-girly PTI colors, enchanted evening, would most likely fit the bill for denim.

I stamped out the Hearts & Flowers set, that I've shamelessly horded since last Thanksgiving. I also brought out my brand spankin' new, just delivered PTI ribbon and buttons. I absolutely love their saddle-stitch ribbon. Its soo yummy. And just like my chica, N, I have this compulsion to collect them all.

Mercy's Sketch, MTS86, fit perfectly for my image. Though as you can see I tweaked it just a bit (mostly b/c I had to put my brand new buttons in there somewhere).

The Dets:

Stamps: TCP Hearts & Flowers

Ink: Memento black, bamboo leaves, pear tart, summer sky, danube blue, Copics

Paper: PTI kraft & enchanted evening, vellum, Cosmo Cricket garden variety

Accessories: polka dots embossing folder, spellbinder rectangles, PTI enchanted evening buttons, MS bakers twine, PTI pure poppy ribbon

Bellarific Friday

2010-08-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

Wow...two posts in less than 24-hours. Must be some sorta record.

I was super super excited when I finally got my Scrapbooking Alley order (3 days late mind you). Not only did it include a little bottle of smooch illuminate (which I've been forever trying to find at my LSS) but it also had big scalloped spellbinders! I've been seeing it (and drooling) all over blog land and I just had to get me some.

So this week's Bellarific Friday theme was bling. And who better to showcase fantastical bling than lil' miss Addy'tude herself. I had a moment of weakness last weekend at my LSS and was compulsed to buy the new BG Olivia pack. Particularly for the pattern below. After I stamped and colored her, I topped it on top one of those superly awesome big scalloped rectangles. Then since the theme was bling I added jewels to each...scalloped dip(?).

I added a bit of smooch illuminate to her scarf and some glossy accents to her eye glasses, earrings and, of course, shoes. I used this week's Mojo Monday sketch, MOJO151, because it fit perfectly. Finally, I topped it all off with a sentiment that was just made for Addy'tude (even though they're from different companies it was meant to be).

Close up of the sparkle & glossiness...

The Dets:
Stamps: Stamping Bella Addy'tude, TCP Birthday Bunny
Ink: Copics, Spica glitter pen, Memento tuxedo black & angel pink
Paper: PTI black & smokey shadow, Basic Grey olivia paper pack
Accessories: Spellbinders big scalloped rectangles & rectangles, ribbon, kaiser jewels, glossy accents, kaiser pearls

This is my confession...

2010-08-12T21:48:00.000-07:00

I'm an insanely lazy stamper. Why do you ask? Well I'm sorta lazy in general, though I like to call it efficient with my energy. So in trying to conserve energy I end up not putting things away. Which leads to repeating themes in my card. Because you know...its right there.

Case in point. You might feel a bit of deja vu with this card. I used Ruby for my TGF Anniversary Blog Hop. So when I was trying to figure out my card for this week's CA Monday Mania, Ruby was still sitting there. So I inked her up and colored her in copics. I went with a purple-y theme because I had some Kioshi paper (conveniently sitting on my desk...).

Then I broke out a few of my beloved PTI buttons because this week's challenge is a super awesome button challenge by Sheng. And I soo heart my buttons (even though it causes issues when mailing). I used this week's Taylored Expressions Sketch, TESC123. And doesnt she have the most super fabulous sketches?

The Dets:
Stamps: TGF Ruby, PTI Take Three Summer
Paper: MB notecard, Basic Grey kioshi, DCWV latte mat stack
Ink: Memento black, lulu lavender, pear tart and bamboo leaves, Copics
Accessories: PTI med scalloped border, spellbinders labels eight & circles, PTI plum pudding buttons, ribbon, prima flower, TCP linen thread

Mojo-licious...Saturday

2010-08-06T23:13:00.000-07:00

It's waaay late, but I got caught up in Veronica Mars. I only needed something to entertain me for like ten minutes while I put the last finishing touches on my card. But it sucks me in. I've missed Logan...Mac...and Veronica-ism. Curse you and your logical questions...

So anyway, I just got my TCP order. And talk about holy fast shipping, batman! I ordered it on like Tuesday and got it yesterday. That was the singular shiney, happy moment in my week from hell. I hadnt intended to ink it up right out of the box but what can I say Birthday Bunny just called to me. And don't you just l-o-v-e that sentiment???

It feels like forever since I participated in a Mojo Monday. But after I inked up my bunny and got him all colored up, the sketch just called to me. What's more to say?

The Dets:
Stamps: TCP Birthday Bunny
Paper: MB licorice notecard, Cosmo Cricket delovely
Ink: PTI fresh snow, Memento black, Copics, Spica glitter pen
Accessories: PTI flower die, lemon tart button, divine twine, felt, spellbinders rectangles, white embossing powder, PTI raspberry fizz ribbon, kaiser pearls, corner punch

Birthday - Avatar Style

2010-08-04T22:15:00.000-07:00

Today is Happy Honey's Birthday! For those of you that dont know, he's very big into cartoons. And one of the bestest 'toons ever is Avatar. And no, I'm not talking that over-hyped movie with the giant blue men and the social conscience. The real Avatar, before Mr. Cameron ripped off the name, was a trilogy cartoon officially dubbed Avatar: the Last Airbender. We watched the entire series (three books, dozens of chapters) for three straight weekends. It was a very unproductive month. But sooo awesome. And for those of you wondering, the original cartoon series waaaayyy better than the live-action movie.

But enough of my soap-boxing.

Since this week's Club Anya Mania Monday theme was "morphing" I decided to make a Team Avatar birthday card using various stamps from the Greeting Farm. I used Amy's lightbox altering technique to trace over the stamped images, adding and taking away bits to make them more Avatar-style. I suppose technically this is more altering than morphing but I did use various stamps to most of the images. I used a combination of Hula Anya with Flutter Anya's eyes, but left them unfilled so I could color them blue like the "real" Katara's eyes.

I left the card relatively simple because the focus was really on Team Avatar. I think this is the most altering I've ever done. Craziness, but the boy totally digs it.

The Dets:

Stamps: TGF Edward, Skater Ian, Hula Anya, Flutter Anya, Ebony

Paper: DCWV latte mat stack

Ink: Memento, Copics

Accessories: Spellbinders labels nine, kaiser pearls, black eyelets

Happy Anniversary TGF!

2010-08-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

***For my Verve Anniversary Hop post, please click HERE or scroll down. Thanks!***

Welcome to the Greeting Farm's Second Anniversary Blog Hop! This is my first ever TGF blog hop and I'm totally stoked to be a part of it. If you haven't started at the Greeting Farm Blog, please be sure to make your way there. I've heard there was close to a hundred (holy cow!) participants and you wont want to miss any of the TGF eye candy sweetness.

For my card today I used TGF's Wild Sprouts Ruby. I contemplated for a while on which card I wanted to use for the Anniversary Hop. But I decided on Ruby because I loved her ever since I saw her on Amy's blog. Back when she wasnt even a stamp, just a spectacular drawing by Amy.

I used Jen's SFYTT for the layout because she has the most rockin' sketches. I also got out my brand new Divine Twine (in yellow) and it's soo awesome. Holds together really well, I didnt even need to use a needle to thread the buttons! And I added a bit of glossy accents to her hair balls thingies. It so reminds me of the sparkly & glossy hairball thingies that I used to have when I was a kid.

Don't forget to head back on over to The Farm for more fan-tastic creations!

The Dets:
Stamps: TGF's Ruby
Paper: PTI raspberry fizz, Cosmo Cricket delovely
Ink: Memento tuxedo black & angel pink, copics
Accessories: spellbinders labels three & circles, kaiser pearls, smooch gold & pool, glossy accents, PTI flower die, PTI white button, Divine Twine yellow, felt

Anni-VERVE-sary Blog Hop

2010-08-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Anni-Verve-sary! It's Verve's three year anniversary and I'm super excited to be participating in my first ever Verve Blog Hop. If you didn't start at the original Vervegirl Julee's blog, or come from Diva's Michelle W.'s blog, take a moment to start at the very beginning. You wont want to miss the fan-tastic creations.

My MiL needed another wedding card so I decided to break out all my faves. I decided to try experimenting with more white space (than I normally do). I embossed a white panel with my current fave embossing panel, polka dots. Then I punched three squares in my go-to PTI colors and stamped them with the flower from Meditations in Versamark. I stamped my all-time favorite Verve set ever- Wishing You. And I topped it all off with a pretty yellow ribbon and some jewels.

Enjoy the rest of the hop. Your next stop is Wanda, who I'm sure whipped up some spectacular eye candy for you all. If you get lost along the way you can always refer back to the Master Hopper List.

The Dets:
Stamps: Verve Meditations, Wishing You
Paper: PTI true black, raspberry fizz, simply chartruese, hawaiian shores, white cardstock
Ink: Versafine black, Versamark
Accessories: square punch, spellbinder circles, cuttlebug polka dots, ribbon, mb jewels, stickles stardust

Catchin' Up

2010-07-27T22:08:00.000-07:00

So N is old and broken. She cant even stamp right now. *cries* And today she oh-so-subtly asked me if I was posting any time soon. Well actually I think her words were something like, are you posting today? So because she's old and broken, I've decided to cave her divatastic demands. Heh heh.

Anyway, here's a card for my Bro-in-law. I made it months ago (and actually sent it to him on time -yay) but forgot to post it. I picked up this lil' robotic cutie from Stamping Bella. I colored Cakey Watt in copics and went over a few bits with a stardust pen. Just because its a boy card doesn't mean it cant sparkle. Well...at least the cards that I make.

The Dets:
Stamps: Stamping Bella Cakey Watt, TCP Smells like cake
Paper: MB notecard, Basic Grey lime rickety
Ink: Memento, Copics, Stardust pen
Accessories: PTI aqua mist button, PTI lemon tart ribbon, spellbinders ribbon tag & rectangles, krafters floss

Papertrey July Blog Hop Challenge

2010-07-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

So this month's PTI Blog Hop theme was to use office supplies. And my MIL needed a wedding card so combining the two was a bit challenging. I was told the wedding invite had a whole "going green" theme, so I opted for a less traditional wedding color scheme of kraft, vintage cream and green.

I used Giga Guidelines and stamped it in green. Then went over the whole thing with a background from Background Basics Text Style I in Versamark. I distressed the edges with some tea dye inks. And mounted it on a cream panel with distressed edges. I die cut a labels three on spring moss. It looked a bit plain so I also stamped it with Text Style. I topped it off with a ribbon and added a couple staples for some added interest.

Then I stamped the inside with the companion sentiment.

The Dets:

Stamps: PTI Giga Guidelines, Text Style Background, Verve Wishing You

Paper: PTI ripe avocado, spring moss, cream cardstock

Ink: Versamagic spanish moss & tea leaves, Versamark, Brilliance pearlescent chocolate

Accessories: staples, spellbinders circles, labels eight & three, twine, PTI spring moss ribbon, cream ribbon, kaiser pearls

Fairy Girl Friday

2010-07-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Fairy Girl Friday!

I've been dying to get my hands on this ah-dorable cutie, MFT's Fairy Girl, for a while now. I sparkled up her wings, wand and the little balls on her shoes. So fun! Then I tried my new sparkle dust on a dark chocolate panel I embossed w/ some d'vine swirls. And of course for more sparkle, I went over "magical" with a purple spica glitter pen.

So the whole card sparkles like a proper fairy girl card should.

I used Jen's awesome SFYTT. And topped the whole thing with a felt flower w/ a shiney PTI button. I dig the frosty goodness of the PTI buttons.

Of course a small detail shot of the all the sparkle...

The Dets:

Stamps: MFT Pure Innocence Fairy Girl

Paper: SU!, PTI dark chocolate, Basic Grey kioshi paper

Ink: Memento black, Copics, spica purple glitter pen

Accessories: Spellbinders rectangles & circles, PTI flowers dies, felt, PTI plum pudding button, ribbon, stickles stardust, d'vine swirls embossing folder, sparkle simmer spritz

Bow-tastic Kimmie

2010-07-19T22:41:00.000-07:00

This is gonna be a short and sweet post 'cause its late.

This week's Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge is Beautiful Bows, incorporating bows into your project. I started by stamping and coloring Charlotte in memento and coloring her in copics. I experimented a bit with adding more white space in her hair to try and create a harsher glare. I think it still needs work. Then since I was too lazy to cut it out, I die cut it out on a label's eight die.

I opted to do an odd shaped card and die cut the largest labels eight die. Then I stamped it w/ a bit of versamark in PTI's Polka Dot Basics II and added some glue & glitter to a few dots. Them topped it off w/ the requisite bow in a yummy pink color.

The Dets:
Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Charlotte
Paper: SU!
Ink: Versamark, Memento black, Copics
Accessories: ribbon, MS glitter spellbinders labels eight

Happy Bunny Butts

2010-07-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

So today is the birthday of a super awesome and totally fabulous girl. Yup, you guessed it Veronica Mars!

Hahah...technically its Kristen Bell's birthday but I {heart} VM (and Logan). But, its also the landmark birthday of my stamping buddy, N. She's the Nin in our celebrity couple name Ninja. Some people know Bennifer or Brangelina, we make up Ninja.

So I racked my brain trying to decide what stamp I should use for N's milestone birthday. I thought of a cool color-in TGF or a PTI set, but then I knew it. The only stamp that would possibly do.

Bunny Butts.

So I stamped the MFT Tea for Two bunnies in teacups and colored them in copics. Then I went over the cup with a few layers of glossy accents. Word of advice when working w/ glossy accents, it should be mounted on another layer of cardstock that way the weight doesnt warp the image panel. Dont ask me how I know this, I dont wanna discuss.

I had a dp paper all picked out but after I finish coloring I notice the dots that were really a pink color came out more red. So I stamped a panel of my favoritest Hawaiian Shores paper with my current fave PTI Polka Dot Basics II set. I colored a few of the dots w/ glue and covered w/ some MS glitter. Then on a Simply Chartruese piece with Tin Types. I used a white pen to add dots to the centers. Then I die cut a piece of my beloved HS and white felt and topped it a pure poppy button.

Since it is her landmark birthday I had to pick up a few stamping stuffers I know she'll love. I dont actually have any wrapping paper that doesnt sport christmas trees so I had to improvise. I wrapped each gift in white tissue paper and made little tags to coordinate. I die cut a few spellbinder labels one. Then I stamped each one w/ a different stamp in the Retro Backgrounds set.

I wrapped each individually in plain white tissue paper and tied it w/ some pretty ribbon from my stash.

The Dets (Card):

Stamps: MFT Tea for Two, PTI Polka Dot Basics II, PTI Tin Types

Paper: PTI black, hawaiian shores, simply chartruese, pure poppy

Ink: Memento black & new sprout, PTI hawaiian shores, Copics

Accessories: glossy accents, spellbinders curved rectangles, PTI med scallops, PTI flower die, hawaiian shores felt & ribbon, pure poppy button, black thread, MS glitter, white gel pen

The Dets (tags):

Stamps: PTI Retro Backgrounds, Fresh Alphabet

Paper: black & white cardstock

Ink: Versafine black, PTI aqua mist, hibiscus burst, hawaiian shores, Versamagic tea leaves, spring pansy, mango madness

Accessories: spellbinders labels one, cuttlebug polka dot embossing folder

A Taylored Birthday

2010-07-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

So this week Sunday is the birthday of my oldest friend. Oldest as in I've known her the longest. And she's also one of my shortest friends. Hehe! Anyways, I made this card for my girl, Tym. When I saw this fairy on the TGF website, I immediately thought of her. Mostly because she totally looks like she's up to something. Mischievous. Like she's holding the secret of the lemons...

I used this week's Taylored Expressions Sketch, TESC120. Originally I had some brighter paper picked out, but when I sponged the edges with angel pink it came out more mauvey than pink. So I ended up swapping out the dp. I added a few flourishes and topped them w/ glossy accents for dimension.

I went over her red dress with a spica glitter pen, but I think I went a bit overboard on the wings. I traced parts of her wings with stickles then topped it w/ glitter. And if I know Tym, she's going to be rockin' glitter all over herself and everything else for days. Sweetness.

The Dets:
Stamps: TGF Autumn Fairy, Inkado Dotty Flourishes
Paper: Memento dark chocolate, MME so sophie, BG eva
Ink: Memento black, Brilliance pearlescent chocolate, Copics, spica clear
Accessories: Ribbon, spellbinder rectangles, stickles, glitter, PTI medium scallops

Quickie Card

2010-07-13T15:51:00.001-07:00

Today was the best day ever. My in-laws are coming to town, which will probably limit my stamping time. So I took the day off to "clean." Which I did a bit of but mostly I tried finished a few stamping projects.

This week's ATS challenge was a sketch challenge. I decided to use my brand new Handkerchief Birgitta. When I first got her I thought she'd be perfect for a bookmark. So I inked her up twice and made both a card and bookmark.

I used a bunch of Cosmo Cricket garden variety papers. I dusted off my spellbinders eight for both as well. I added some glossy accents to her boots but I dont think you can tell from the pictures.

Here's a close up of the card...

The Dets:
Stamps: CC Designs Handkerchief Birigitta
Paper: PTI pure poppy & black, Cosmo Cricket garden variety
Ink: Memento black, Copics
Accessories: Spellbinders eight, circle punch, ribbons, candy dots

Quickie Mojo Monday

2010-07-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

Have you ever made a card where you have know idea what it'll be used for? Well, this is quite possibly one of them.

I totally dug TCP's Blow set. The mushroom and bunny were way too kawaii to pass up when it went on sale this past spring in the Kitty Kat Pack. I used this week's Mojo Monday, MOJO146, for the layout.

I die cut some hot pink felt w/ my PTI ric rak die. My only issue w/ working felt for borders is how do you cut pieces off nicely? My paper cutter wont cut felt, not really. So I've been using scissors but lets just say I dont freehand the straightest lines.

The Dets:
Stamps: TCP Blow
Paper: MB mocha, PTI kraft, Basic Grey going green
Ink: Memento black, Copics
Accessories: PTI ric rac die, spellbinders ovals, felt, stickles, PTI raspberry fizz ribbon

Hello, Hello

2010-07-10T09:34:00.000-07:00

Hello, hello...I dont know why you say goodbye I say Hello.

Apparently that's a Beatles song but the one going through my head is the Glee version.

My summer time mission of using up stamps I got (so I can buy more) is progressing quite nicely. This card features the very last of my uninked Bella stamps, Gracie Lollipop. I purchased her and Ella. Though I debated for a while because they seem so similar and I did like Ella better. But I thought Gracie's dress would be way more fun to paper piece so I snatched her up too.

For my card I cut a piece of dp and lined the edge w/ a two way glue tape. Originally I had thought to use a die cut strip of ric rak but apparently I forgot. So I grabbed my MS glitter set and proceeded to dump glitter over the tape. I so {heart} the MS glitter. It coats awesomely and is uber sparkley. I used Mercy's Sketch, MTSC81. I thought it was perfect for showcasing little Gracie. And I actually brought out one of my woodblock sentiments from Amuse. I rarely touch my woodblock stamps, but I love Amuse's sentis the best. For some reason I find them super easy to stamp w/.

The Dets:
Stamps: Stamping Bella Gracie Lollipop, Amuse sentiment
Paper: PTI scarlet jewel, Basic Grey pantry & nook, Cosmo Cricket material girl
Ink: Memento black & cantelope, Copics, Versafine black
Accessories: Spellbinders ovals, MS glitter, PTI lemon tart button, felt, PTI flower die, krafters floss, glossy accents

You've got mail

2010-07-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

You've Got Mail has got to be one of my favorite guilty pleasure movies. I blame my mom because she watches it constantly. But you just cant beat Meg Ryan & Tom Hanks. I am compelled to watch it every single time I see it on tv (even though I own the dvd).

This week's MFT challenge was to use a trio of ribbons. So I brought out my PI Happy Mail inked it up and was determined to use it in a card. I paper pieced her dress with some of my favoritest MME beloved paper. I covered her mailbox, hair clip and shoes in some glossy accents. Then I did a combo of ribbons for my button accent. I also stamped some polka dots in the background but you really cant see it.

I sooo digs Pure Innocence stamps. I just want to buy them all. But alas, I must restrain myself. I've got nine uninked sets left to finish my Mission: Ink Up Stamps.

The Dets:
Stamps: MFT Pure Innocence Happy Mail
Paper: MB licorice notecards, PTI pure poppy, MME beloved
Ink: Memento black, Copics
Accessories: spellbinders rectangles, BG button, ribbon, glossy accents

This and That...

2010-07-05T22:44:00.000-07:00

I love long weekends. Unfortunately I hurt my neck again so I stayed away from my crafting table most of the weekend. But I had this little Flutter Anya card I made before the sore neck week that I never got around to posting.

I love the PTI's Tin Types Background set. It makes simple and pretty backgrounds. So I stamped my fav in the set a few times in fresh snow ink on some yummy hawaiian shores paper. But I didnt really have a card in mind, I just wanted to make backgrounds. I must've been in a mood for practicing b/c I wanted to try my hand at streaky hair. I've seen it crop up on a few blogs lately and I just love the texture peeps are able to do with copics in hair coloring.

I stamped Flutter Anya b/c she had the biggest blank space of hair (which I deemed best to practice with). I obviously still need to practice but I was definitely pleased it wasnt a total disaster. I colored the rest of her up and gave into the desire to coat all of her wings in some stickles. She's super sparkly.

I paired her up with the hawaiian shores sheet I had. I hadn't intended to keep it so simple but I had this idea in my head where she'd be floating away a la flourishes. So I brought out my Inkado flourish set and stamped that. Then I went over the dots with some glossy accents to give it some dimension.

And for the "that" of my post. I've recently added food blogs on my list of blog trolling and found this awesome recipe for roasted tofu. Originally it was paired w/ noodles, but I had some baby bok choy I decided to roast up. Topped the tofu over it and wow...definitely a keeper.

The Dets:

Stamps: TGF Flutter Anya, PTI Tin Types Background, Inkado Dotty Flourishes, Verve Thankful Accents

Ink: PTI fresh snow, Versafine black, Copics, Memento Black

Paper: MB licorice notecard, PTI hawaiian shores

Accessories: glossy accents

Mission Impossible?

2010-06-29T21:41:00.001-07:00

I've set a goal for myself this summer. A mission really. I keep a list of every stamp set I buy and there's about a dozen uninked (both individual stamps and sets). So my mission this summer (and hopefully I'll succeed) is to ink up and make cards with every single uninked stamp. So here it goes...

I thought Jen's SFYTT sketch would be perfect for my Verve's Practically Perfect set. And when I got my brand new PTI Polka Dot Basics II, I just had to ink it up as well. (That's two of the dozen in case you're counting...) So I brought out a sheet of aqua mist I stamped w/ my pal's Vintage Labels at our last productive Craft Day. Well it was productive for me anyway, I think she just watched NCIS or something. I paired it w/ a lemon tart sheet I stamped w/ the largest polka dots in PDBII.

I stamped the little boy bunny and colored him in copics. Then I did Nichole Heady's super awesome loopy ribbon thingie, only I really really need some piking scissors b/c I wasnt digging the v-shape cut. I took some creative liberties with the sketch but yeah...

The Dets:
Stamps: Verve Practically Perfect, PTI Vintage Labels & Polka Dot Basics II
Paper: MB vanilla bean notecard, PTI aqua mist, enchanted evening & lemon tart
Ink: Versamagic turquoise gem, Memento black, Brilliance sunflower yellow
Accessories: PTI ric rac die, Spellbinders rectangles, PTI dark chocolate ribbon

Summer Fun

2010-06-26T15:16:00.000-07:00

This morning when we left the house it was cold...dark...and unpleasant. Where was the sun the weather man promised? So we left decked out in jeans & jackets, when I would've much rather have been dressed like this little Shine (Summer) Anya. Then, of course, the weather did a 180 while I was in the craft store and turned blazingly hot. So I'm headed for a nap (b/c the sun makes me sleeeepy).

But first, quickly, the card. I inked up, colored & cut out this Miss Anya with an idea in mind. But it didnt really pan out. Then on the Club Anya Monday Mania challenge this week was to create a simple card with only one embellishment and green & kraft paper. I immediate thought this card would've been perfect, but since I've already done that...well it was back to the drawing board.

So I took an entirely different route and tried to make a girlier birthday card. I cut up my beloved Garden Variety sheet of paper and mounted it with various sheets of white & green. Then I embossed a scrap piece of kraft cardstock w/ a swiss dots folder and mounted the Miss Anya on top. It looked a bit plain even with the candy dots so I stamped a few of my newly acquired flourish stamps. I used Mercy's Tuesday Sketch, MTSC79, for the layout because she's got the bestest sketches (and of course it conveniently fit Miss Anya perfectly).

By the way, I can totally tell a difference between the quality of the Inkadinkado stamps & say...my PTIs. The inka's dont stick as well to my acrylic block. So I might just have to cave and buy Fancy Flourishes. Aw shucks...*g*

The Dets:

Stamps: TGF Rain Snow Shine, PTI round & round, Inka dot flourish

Paper: PTI kraft, SU, Cosmo Cricket garden variety

Ink: Copics, Versafine black, Brilliance pearlescent ivy

Accessories: Spellbinder rectangle, candy dots, swiss dots embossing folder, glossy accents

Papertrey June Blog Hop Challenge

2010-06-25T14:00:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to participate in the monthly PTI Blog Hop for forever now, but of course the 25th of each month comes and goes. But this month's theme was a color challenge and I just had to take the plunge.

I chose a summery theme of Simply Chartruese, Hawaiian Shores, Orange Zest and Smokey Shadow. I've had the Beautiful Blooms II set ever since it came out in March...and had yet to use it. So I die cut a few of the blossoms then inked them with some orange ink. Then I stamped a panel with my Polka Dot Basics I in green and punched them out to be mounted on each blossom. I also stamped the Hawaiian Shores cardstock with PDB1. I stamped my sentiment from Signature Greetings, which is my total go-to senti set. I decided it needed a bit more so I die cut a strip of green with my medium scallop.

Confession time...I didnt get my latest PTI order so I had to fib with the orange & lime color, substituting it with Versacolor inks. And then I didnt quite dig the way smokey shadow was stamping out so I brought out some brilliance ink and loved it.

Thanks for checking out my card!

The Dets:

Stamps: PTI Signature Greetings, Beautiful Blooms II, Polka Dot Basics 1

Paper: PTI Hawaiian shores, MB key lime, SU!

Ink: PTI hawaiian shores, Versacolor orange & lime, Brilliance starlight black

Accessories: PTI med scalloped border & blooms #2 die, mounting tape, corner punch

Purely Color Challenge

2010-06-22T20:39:00.000-07:00

Have you ever lusted after a stamp for months, then you finally get it and...it sits sadly uninked for more months. You remember life before you had it, you saw all these beautiful cards made with it and you had all these ideas of things to do with it, if only you had it. But now you do and all those brilliant ideas are forgotten.

That's been my relationship with MFT's My Umbrella. My friend and I loved it sooo much it was one of the few sets we both have. And yet it sat forlorn and inked since April.

Enter Kim's WSC Color Challenge of Tomato, Celery and Sunshine. I think it was inspired by the Cosmo Cricket's Garden Variety paper pack. And I just happen to own (and love) it. So I got out my My Umbrella and was determined to ink it up. I colored her up in copics, then realized that the bright red coat and yellow rain boots absolutely needed some wet & shiney gloss. So I covered all of it in a layer of glossy accents. I ended up using Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch, SSSC74. I've been wanting to participate for a while now since her sketches are always awesome.

The Dets:
Stamps: MFT Pure Innocence My Umbrella, TCP Hearts & Flowers
Paper: MB vanilla bean notecard, Cosmo Cricket garden variety, PTI dark chocolate
Ink: Memento black & cantelope, Copics
Accessories: Spellbinders ovals & rectangles, candy dots, glossy accents

Cracked up challenge

2010-06-20T18:01:00.001-07:00

So this week's ATS Challenge is using the cracked glass technique. I've never done it before but thought it would be interesting to try something new. I know most people take the whole cracked glass in the vintagey, sepia direction, but I thought of doing something that was more...icey and frosty like. But I didnt do very well. It just came out kinda lilac-y.

Anyway, for my card I brought out my new Sweet November Darby. She's just too adorable and soo much fun to color. I colored her in copics then went over certain areas w/ a stardust pen. But over all the embossing glaze, it didnt show up too well (or at all) in the pix. The embossing glaze took forever but it was a bit fun. It took a while to fashion something where I could set the image down and heat. I've tried pointing my heat gun direction on my crafting mat, but that's a really bad idea. I ended up covering a toaster oven stone tray with some foil and that worked perfectly.

I thought it'd crack a bit faster when I put it in the freezer. But even after twenty minutes it wasnt really cracking so I gave up and went to bed, leaving it overnight. Afterwards, I added some lulu lavender to the cracks to accentuate certain areas, but I avoided all the colored parts.

The Dets:

Stamps: Sweet November Darby, PTI Giga Guidelines

Ink: Memento black & lulu lavender, Copics, Stardust pen

Paper: MB notecard, Basic Grey kioshi dp

Accessories: Spellbinders ovals, PTI flower die, felt, kaiser jewels, embossing powder

Cupie Cake Friday

2010-06-18T21:11:00.000-07:00

Its Aloha Friday...no work til Monday.

Happy Friday! And let me tell you, it seems like Friday was taking its sweet old time getting here. But that goodness it has.

So a while ago I had this image in my head about using glitter & glossy accent glaze to create tasty frosting. I couldnt think of a better stamp than my big cupcake from MFT's Its a Cupcake Kind of Day. So I stamped it out and colored it in brown copics (because chocolate is the only one worth eating). Then I topped it with some spica clear glitter, but that wasnt sparkley enough. So I dabbed the edges with a bit of stickles. Satisfied with the sparkle factor, I covered it all in not one but two layers of glossy accents.

Then it sat on my shelf for like a week. Its bottom was uncolored and naked. How sad.

Enter Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge, MTSC78. Her sketch has this circular focal I thought would be perfect for my abandoned cupie. I decided to use my fun, summery Delovely pack. I paper pieced the bottom and added a layer of ribbon. Then decided it need a bit extra so I added a few lemon tart buttons on top the ribbon.

The Dets:
Stamps: MFT Its a Cupcake Kind of Day
Paper: MB vanilla bean, Cosmo Cricket delovely dp
Ink: Copics, Memento black, spica clear glitter pen
Accessories: PTI lemon tart & raspberry fizz buttons, MS punch, ribbon, tcp linen thread

Fairy Girl Friday

2010-06-16T21:14:00.000-07:00

Happy Fairy Girl Friday...fake out. Because its not really Friday (unfortunately).

Anyway, I got this uber cool Autumn Fairy from my stint as hostess on Club Anya's Monday Mania. *g* And like all my stamps, I'm only getting to color it up months later. I love how she looks totally sassy and a little bit haughty. And of course her fairy wings. Gotta love those fairy wings.

I colored her wings with some pink and then some purple at the tips. I was trying to go for an iridescent look, but I think I've gotta practice a bit more. I went over them with a clear spica glitter pen, but then it didnt look sparkley enough. So I went over it with some stickles. I stopped myself before I decided to cover the whole thing with stickles, but I really kinda wanted to. Maybe next time.

I cut down drastically on the embellishments because I've been having difficulties mailing some of my cards. And this is being sent about 2,678 miles from here to a very awesome, super brilliant graduate...

The Dets:
Stamps: TGF Autumn Fairy, Memory Box sentiment & flourish
Paper: MB licorice, Basic Grey kioshi
Ink: Memento black, Versafine black, Copics, Spica clear glitter pen
Accessories: felt, PTI med scallop border, spellbinders ovals, stickles

A Girlie Piratey Card

2010-06-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

So I recently got my first, brand spankin' new Kraftin' Kimmie stamps. I absolutely love them. They're a bit edgy, a whole lot sassy and waaaay cute. And what better motivation to ink them up than a Kraftin' Kimmie challenge.

This week's Kraftin' challenge is the Beachy Keen, Jelly Bean! (Seriously that's what it's called...) And what better image than my KK Alicia Strawberry Pirate, which was a total last minute impulse purchase by the way. Okay so for those of you that dont see train of thought let me break it down for ya - Pirates travel on pirate ships in the ocean. Then they land on beaches to raid unsuspecting towns. Well mostly I associate pirates with that scene in Pirates of the Caribbean where Jack Sparrow's stranded on the beach and drinking himself silly.

I used an old TESC sketch for the layout. I colored her up in copics, then put a bit of glossy accent on the sword. Inspired by Wicked Pixie, I altered the eyes a bit b/c I wanted to play around with coloring irises. And of course I brought out the new Delovely paper that just screams warm beachy summer days.

Here's a close-up of the yummy glossy accent goodness...

The Dets:
Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Alicia Strawberry Pirate, TCP Arghh! Piratey
Paper: MB licorice notecard, Cosmo Cricket delovely, vellum
Ink: Memento black, Copics
Accessories: Smooch, glossy accents, PTI hawaiian shores button, ribbon, eyelets, spellbinder curved rectangles

TMNT TESC

2010-06-10T18:34:00.001-07:00

Kowabunga, dude! Hehe...that's what Michelangelo of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) used to say. Only Poochie here obviously lacks the turtle power...

For this card I used this week's Taylored Sketch, TESC116. After more than half of year of hoarding it, I finally inked up my TCP Fun in the Sun set. I colored Poochie up in copics and I covered his surfboard in a layer of yummy Glossy Accents. Then, I went over his shades with a Spica Glitter pen. I die cut a few felt orange circles to layer under my current fav, PTI hawaiian shores buttons.

Here's a close-up of the sparkiness...

The Dets:
Stamps: TCP Fun in the Sun
Paper: PTI hawaiian shores, DCWV citrus dp
Ink: Memento black & cantaloupe, Copics, spica glitter pen
Accessories: spellbinders circles, felt, PTI hawaiian shore buttons, MS bakers twine, swiss dots embossing folder

Tonight's the Night!

2010-06-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

As if I had to tell you, but in case you haven't heard, tonight is the season finale for Glee. Though I kinda already know what's going to happen (stupid Wikipedia) even though I wasn't trying to get spoiled. But I'm still looking forward to all the singing and dancing. *sigh* What's a girl to do when there's no more Glee to watch all summer??? Well I suppose there is always listening to the soundtrack (repetitively)...reading...stamping...

I made this card a few weeks ago for a friend's birthday. Can you guess what her favorite color is? I'll give you three hints. No, nevermind, you get one and if you get it wrong, you're either colorblind (which we'll let slide) or too fluffy to roll with me.

This was supposed to be for a Club Anya Monday Mania Challenge, punch, pierce and piece. It was actually quite fun as I've done all three but never really all three on the same card. I started with Miss Anya Dressy which is apparently my favoritest Anya to paper piece. Then, colored her hair blonde because my friend says that Anya reminds her of her baby girl, who's blonde. I topped it off some flowers from a MS punch that I bought but rarely ever use.

The Dets:
Stamps: TGF Miss Anya Dressy, PTI round & round, border & corners - circles
Paper: MB licorice, SU!, Basic Grey wisteria
Ink: Copics, Memento black, grey & plum, spica clear glitter
Accessories: MS punch, rectangle & oval spellbinders, kaiser jewels, paper piercer

Hick-Hop...

2010-06-02T21:21:00.000-07:00

You learn something new everyday. Hick-hop is a cross between line dancing and hip hopping, it's quite interesting. But new dance styles aside, you gotta love the opening auditions of any competition shows. Its always entertaining. And I'm a fan of new and interesting.

So a few weeks ago, TCP Tuesday, TCPTUES109, had a sketch challenge that incorporated a circle. I've never done a circle card, so I trolled the blogs for a few tutorials and found one that gelled well. I brought out TCP's Salud and some Cosmo Cricket papers. I popped up the drink and added some glitter and diamond glaze. So yummy.

The Dets:
Stamps: TCP Salud
Paper: PTI pure poppy & kraft, Cosmo Cricket garden variety
Ink: Memento black, Copics
Accessories: spellbinders rectangle & circles, diamond glaze, stickles, felt, PTI pure poppy button, krafters floss

A {Beary Best} Mojo

2010-05-27T20:36:00.000-07:00

Well, summer has officially started. Even if the cold and icky Seattle weather just aint cooperating, there's one undeniable fact - So You Think You Can Dance is on tonight! And wow...Season 7 looks very promising. If not for the fabulous dancers, then definitely for the entertaining ones.

Anyway, I've been digging all these challenges lately. Its been inspiring me to put a few dents in my uninked, but beloved stamp pile. So for this week's Mojo Monday, MOJO140, I brought out Stamping Bella's My Beary Best Friend. Originally I stamped and colored him on a white cardstock, but when I chose the dp, I decided cream would be better. So I cut out and mounted him on a cream cardstock. I cut up a few sheet of my beloved Good Earth paper pack. I sponged the dp layers w/ some of PTI chai tea ink. And I finally opened my spellbinders labels, which apparently I've had for months but never opened...

The Dets:

Stamps: Stamping Bella my beary best friend, PTI daily design sentiments

Paper: MB vanilla bean, Cosmo Cricket good earth

Ink: Memento black, Brilliance pearlescent chocolate, PTI chai tea dyes

Accessories: PTI ripe avocado button, PTI dark chocolate ribbon, spellbinders labels one, TCP ivory linen thread

A {Taylored} Monstah Bash

2010-05-26T20:46:00.000-07:00

First off, let me just say that last night's episode of Glee was definitely one of my favorites. Ra-ra-ah-ah-ah, Roma roma-mama, Ga ga ooh-la-la, want your bad romance...And of course I got the cd to continue singing the madness. Half the time I dont know what I'm singing, just whatever rhymes with rah.

So I used Taylor's sketch, TESC114, for my card today. I stamped Stamping Bella's Monstah Bash and colored it in copics. I topped off the little red balloon with some brand new Crystal Effects, which made it all pretty and shiney. I used a scrap of scallop border and topped it all off with some Hawaiian Shores buttons.

The Dets:

Stamps: Stamping Bella Monstah Bash, TCP Smells like cake

Paper: MB notecards, vellum, BG lime rickey

Ink: Memento black, Copics

Accessories: PTI scalloped border, PTI hawaiian shores buttons, glitter, crystal glaze, spellbinders circles

Another {Late} Mercy Sketch

2010-05-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make. I hoard stamps. I've got loads of really pretty awesome stamps that have never seen an ink pad before. Exactly how much, well that will remain undisclosed... But when I saw Mercy's Tuesday sketch, MTSC74, I immediately thought of this little penguin.

I stamped the little penguin, then cut and mounted his ginormous hat for a little more depth. I decided to leave it sans sentiment b/c I'm not sure what I'm going to use it for. A fun, non-girly birthday or something else...

The Dets:
Stamps: TCP Hola Tequila
Paper: PTI kraft, Cosmo Cricket garden variety
Ink: Copics, Memento black
Accessories: PTI medium scallop, spellbinders circles, kaiser pearls, ribbon, corner punch

A {Retro and Week Late} SYFTT

2010-05-22T09:47:00.000-07:00

When I saw last week's SFYTT, I was totally floored by Jodi's card, over at Stamping a Latte. I loved how she used the kraft as a base she could stamp a sentiment on. So inspired as I was, I decided to try it to.

I stamped the sentiment from my PTI Daily Designs Sentiment set on kraft cardstock, then ran it through my c-bug w/ the swiss dots embossing folder. Flipping through my stamps, I decided to bring out the original Grace (or Hope, but we think she's Grace) from the TGF Hope & Grace set. I colored her w/ copics and added some clear spica glitter to parts of her headband, bow and shoes, but it didnt really come out in this picture.. Next I mounted the oval image on a scalloped oval that I also ran through my c-bug.

I think this might be the first card I posted using my PTI medium scallop borders. I die cut it w/ some felt I picked up at my LSS. Then I used this uber pretty dp paper I also got from another LSS. Its got such pretty cheery flowers, too bad you cant really see it. And of course I finished of the card w/ a bit of raspberry fizz ribbon (to which I'm running low on so I'm extra stingy w/) and a swiss dotted kraft/felt button flower.

The Dets
Stamps: TGF Hope & Grace, PTI daily designs sentiments
Paper: PTI raspberry fizz & kraft, Basic Grey going green
Ink: Copics, memento black, versafine black, spica clear glitter
Accessories: swiss dots embossing folder, spellbinders ovals, martha stewart punch, PTI flowers & border dies, raspberry fizz button & ribbon, tcp linen thread, felt

Fuzzy Wuzzy Bunny

2010-05-19T19:49:00.001-07:00

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a Fuzzy Bunny. Actually I think Fuzzy Wuzzy might have been a bear...

Oh well, so much for my career in reciting nursery rhymes.

Anyway, I made this card using this week's sketch, TESC113, over at the Taylored Expression blog. I stamped TGF's HG Snuggle and colored her in Copics. Then I added some white crushed velvet flock, or as the boy calls it "lint." But I might have been a little overzealous in flocking and Fuzzy Bunny turned a bit...lumpy. So I'm just gonna say that its a little more realistic. Doesn't every girl (or boy) have that favored stuffed animal they loved to death? Or at least to the point of lumpiness...

The Dets:
Stamps: TGF HG Snuggle, PTI round & round
Paper: MB notecard, My Minds Eye pretty please
Ink: Copics, Memento black & angel pink
Accessories: doodlebug crushed velvet flock, felt, PTI buttons, ivory linen thread, spellbinders tag & circles, MS punch

Get Better TCP

2010-05-17T21:32:00.000-07:00

Okay mark your calendars because tomorrow is going to be the best night in television. Barney Stinson meets Glee. Dude...can you handle it??? I'm very excited. Especially since the previews show them singing Aerosmith's Dream On, which is like one of the awesomest songs ever.

Anyway...the card...

So last (last) week's the TCP challenge, TCPTUES108, was a stamp challenge using You Sick Thing. And since its been sitting uninked and forlorn looking since I bought it months ago, I thought maybe it was a sign that I should actually use it. I paper pieced the little blanket and colored the rest in copics. I opted for twine over ribbon b/c I thought the papers called for a more rustic look. So I pulled out some twine from our scary drawer (you know the drawer, where things go and never come back...)

The Dets:
Stamps: TCP You Sick Thing
Paper: MB vanilla bean, PTI dark chocolate, Basic Grey max & whiskers
Ink: Copics, Memento black
Accessories: kaiser pearls, spellbinders tags, circles & labels three, twine