Emily's Expressions

Birthday Card for Friend

2011-06-28T13:07:00.001-07:00

Inside card:

Just a quick post with a birthday card I did for a friend of mine. This isn't an original design, but one I copied from a friend. I did, however, make my own designer paper with one of the new Stampin' Up floral stamp sets and a piece of yellow DP from a floral Stampin' Up designer paper pack. I love the new Stampin' Up embossing folder too. On the inside of the card, I used two spellbinders dies and then I cut a couple of flowers out from my homemade dp to use as accents. I love the bright colors on this so thought the sentiment was a good match.

Thanks for stopping by for a peek.

Birthday Card for friend

2011-06-17T18:22:00.000-07:00

Inside card:

Here is a card I made for one of my stamping friends. In the past, we have enjoyed a few bottles of wine while stamping:))

Birthday card for Daughter-in-law

2011-05-07T17:32:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to show you the card I did for my daughter-in-law, who's birthday is on May 5th. My attempt at a vintage card.

The gorgeous butterfly image on the left corner of the card is from Inkadinkado. The musical stamps are from Hero Arts Clings and the vintage lady stamp comes from a new set by Hampton Art called "Cling Vintage Ladies".

Hope you enjoy it and thanks for stopping in for a peek.

Easter Card 2

2011-04-25T19:53:00.001-07:00

Inside card:

This Easter card was for my other sister. Hope you all enjoyed your Easter as much as we did.

Easter Card 1

2011-04-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

Inside card:

Here is an Easter card I made for one of my sisters.

Birthday Card for Hubby 2011

2011-04-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

Inside card:

It's about time for me to post a few cards again. This one was for my husband's birthday on April 11th.

Valentine for Hubby

2011-02-14T21:04:00.001-08:00

Inside of card:

Just a simple card for my Hubby for Valentine's Day. I just love this "Henry Hugging Heart" image from Whiff of Joy stamps. The little "You Have My Heart" sentiment is from a Studio G set and the inside sentiment is from a Clings set by Hero Arts called "Valentine Sayings".

Valentine for my Sister

2011-02-14T19:51:00.000-08:00

Inside of card:

My youngest sister and I both enjoy dark chocolate, so every occasion is a reason to send some to each other. We are lucky here in Madison, WI, to have 3 of the countries top chocolatiers. Anyway, I'm always looking for stamps about chocolate and this darling stamp set, called "A Box of Love" is from MFT (My Favorite Stamps). The background papers are in a dark chocolate color. I had fun making this card. Thanks for peeking in and checking it out.

Valentine for Grandson

2011-02-14T19:46:00.000-08:00

Here's this year's Valentine's card for our grandson, Max. The image is a free download from Dustin Pike. Max loves all things dragons and dinasaurs.

Friend Valentine Birthday Card

2011-02-14T19:38:00.000-08:00

Inside of card:

One of my very good friends was a Valentine's baby. It's easy to tell because she's one of the sweetest people I know. This is her Valentine/Birthday card for 2011. I've also attached a photo of the inside of the card.

Two Xmas Gift Tags

2011-02-10T14:40:00.000-08:00

I was inspired to make these cards when I saw this post http://itsastampthing-vicki.blogspot.com/2010/11/penguin-gift-card-holder.html on Vicki Burdick's blog. I love all of Vicki's creations.

Every year I try to come up with something new for my gift card recipients. These were a lot of fun and I was pleased with how they turned out. Thanks so much for the inspiration Vicki!

A couple of final 2010 Xmas cards

2011-02-10T14:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the final Xmas cards that I did and didn't get posted before year end. I first saw this really cute image on one of my favorite blogs (http://debby4000.blogspot.com/). Debby is an amazing card crafter and a real inspiration.

The image is Penny Black and I had to go on EBAY to find it, as it is an older stamp set. The second card was done for my daughter-in-law, who loves snow and winter. I think this image is perfect for a snow-lover.

I'm really loving the circle lacy nestabilities. They will be a favorite for my cards going forward. Please contact me if you want specific information about any other products used for these cards.

Thanks for stopping by.

Xmas cards 2x2 at last!

2010-12-13T22:37:00.001-08:00

Card inside below:

Card inside below:

It seems like forever since I last posted to my blog. Here are a few of the Xmas cards I made this year. The first and last ones were variations of cards we did at an SU stamp-a-stack put on by Jen Sannes (http://www.simpleandsincere.com/). The insides of the cards were my own design. The peace doves were cards I designed. The first peace dove card was done with the new MS dove punch. The other card was a Hero Arts peace dove stamp. Thanks for visiting my blog.

Life has been a bit crazy for our family lately, so even though I have not had the time or motivation to work on cards, I have been following most of your blogs and making comments as time permits.

Mojo Halloween

2010-10-06T00:10:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've done a Mojo Monday sketch so it's about time I take a stab at one again. Here's my take on this weeks sketch with a Halloween theme.
The cool spiderweb paper is by Paper Studio. The scary bat and dracula are from an old SU set, colored with copics. The cute little "Boo" is from a Gina K Halloween set and is backed with a nestability. The spiders were created with an EK success punch. The goo border is from Martha Stewart. I also used a couple of CB embossing folders on the green backing and the pomegranate paper. The ribbon is something from my stash. Thanks for taking a peek.

Anniversary Card

2010-10-03T10:40:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post today of the anniversary card I did for my daughter and her husband. I used one of my clear acrylic stamp sets and cut out and popped the monkeys and the vine. For the background, I used the branches embossing folder by CB and then brayered over the embossed paper with brown ink. The sentiment is from SU and stamped on a Spellbinders die cut label. I used some scrap yarn to accent the label. I've included a picture of the inside of the card as well. I created the sentiment on my computer and then cut it out with a Spellbinders Nestability, backed with brown paper that I hand cut.

On to Halloween cards.

Birthday Card for stamping friend

2010-09-10T21:25:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post of a birthday card I did for a fellow stamper.

Anniversary Card

2010-09-09T15:35:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post today of an anniversary card for my son and his wife. I'll try to get out to post the details soon.

Birthday card for friend

2010-08-25T20:00:00.001-07:00

Hi all! I'm finally back from a wonderful vacation in Alaska. It was absolutely gorgeous...a trip everyone should do at least once in their lifetime. Can't believe I ate seafood everyday and I'm still not tired of it.

I'm here with the first of what will be several posts for upcoming birthdays, get well wishes and anniversaries.

Today I'm posting a birthday card for a dear friend of mine. My DP is from Stampin Up, featuring barely bannana, pumpkin pie and bashful blue. My stamp images are from various clear stamps sets I own. I believe the sentiment is Stampin Up. Nothing too fancy here, just lots of layering and a little glaze pen on my cake icing and ice cream cone. I added some EK corner punches to accent my sentiment. I'm also including a peek at the inside of the card too.

Now I have to spend some time checking out what all of you have been doing on your blogs while I was gone.
Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Get Well Card for Friend

2010-07-12T20:08:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post of a get well card for a friend who had knee replacement surgery last week. Hope she gets a kick out of it.

The image is "House Mouse Designs" by Stampabilities. I colored it with my copic markers. Then I layered different parts of the image for dimension. I used some nestabilities for mounting and the cute DP is by Paper Studio. I created the sentiment on my computer.

Bday card for friend

2010-06-27T23:36:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post of a birthday card for a friend of mine who has a dream of owning a white lab puppy. I found this cute puppy picture out on the internet and thought it would make a perfect birthday card for her.

Nothing too fancy here, just some nestibilities for mounting my picture on and the EK success paw border punch.

I hope to be back with another card sometime next week. I've been busy working on rehabing my new hip. Things are going very well and I even cracked out my bike a week ago Sunday...not even 8 weeks out of surgery.

Best wishes to everyone in the U.S.A for a safe and fun 4th of July celebration!!

Vintage Chocolate Birthday

2010-04-24T23:23:00.000-07:00

Whoohoo! I'm now done with all my cards for May. This little vintage chocolate beauty is for my sister who lives in Boise, Idaho. We share a passion for dark chocolate and when I saw this image on the internet when I was surfing, I knew I had to have her so I could create something special for my sister. This was hard to photograph, especially at night. The color of the image is a bit redder than real life. I may try another photo in the daylight and swap it out if it turns out closer to the real thing.

Anyway, here are the card details:

Paper: Dark chocolate linen from Archiver's, Basic Grey Cappella DP, Kaiser Scrapbook DP (for sentiment), Paper Studio shiny copper

Spellbinder label die, MS border punch, SU sentiment, choc flower accents, trim and ribbon from JoAnn Fabrics, CB embossing folder for papers behind image. This was just my second vintage card and I was quite happy with how it turned out. Hope you enjoy peeking at it.

Daughter-in-Law Birthday Card

2010-04-21T21:44:00.001-07:00

This card is for my daughter-in-law, who loves frogs, especially "Kermit the Frog". This isn't exactly "Kermie", but it's the best I could come up with from my stamp selection.

The the frog images come from my Simon Says acrylic frog stamp set. You can find this set at www.simonsaysstamp.com. I added some red bow ties to my frogs, just to dress them up a bit and to add a contrasting color. My daughter-in-law is a piano and guitar teacher so I added the musical notes for fun. I used several CB embossing folders to give texture to my background and a number of nesties on my sentiment and to finish off the inside. The black and white dotted background on the inside of the card was made with SU's top note die. The corner accents were done with an EK success punch and finally, I added some black and white dotted ribbon loops on the right side and glossed up the frogs' eyes with a little Diamond Glaze.

Now I'm down to just one more card for my sister and I will have all the May birthdays done. Whoohoo!

Birthday Card for Max

2010-04-19T00:27:00.001-07:00

This card is for my precious grandson, Max, who will be 5 on May 2nd. Max is autistic and just the sweetest little boy you'd ever want to know. He's smart as a whip but a bit behind in his language skills. He has really come out of his shell over the last 6 months and we are so happy to see him starting to interact with the other children at school. He seems to have a very special connection with one of the little girls in his class who has downs syndrome.

Back to the card...I always have fun with Max's card each year. I get to use stickers of his beloved Sesame Street characters. I love kids cards with primary colors and these stickers were just made for a card like that. I dug through my papers and found this fun piece that worked out perfect. I just had to figure out a layout so I could use all the characters, then I added the stamped and punched "5" circles and the "Happy Birthday" greeting. At first I wondered if it was a bit too busy, but the more I looked at it the better I liked it. I know that he will take time to examine it very carefully and it will bring a big smile to his face. I had fun with the inside too.

One more card done...two more to go.

Birthday Card for Great Niece

2010-04-19T00:20:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post with a card for my great niece, who will be 2 in May. Her grandma tells me that she loves "Wow Wow Wubbzy", so I went searching online for an image to use to make her a Wubbzy card. This was actually the top of a cake image I found, but it worked out nicely. Nothing too fancy here, just the birthday CB embossing folder and the newest SU border punch. For the inside I used some Nesties and a Fiskars punch to finish it off. The sentiment was done on my computer. Along with the card I'll be sending a super soft small Wubbzy blanket that I found at Target online.

I'll be back tomorrow with another card to post for my grandson. Then two more BDay cards and I'll be all set for May.

Mother's Day Card for Mother-In-Law

2010-04-16T05:04:00.000-07:00

This is a card we did at at recent SU "Stamp-a-stack" put on by Jen Sannes. I love the colors she chose for this card; pale plum, rich razzleberry and mellow moss. It turned out to be just the perfect card for my Mother-In-Law. I think she's going to love it. We used the new SU Vintage Vogue stamp set. The sentiment is from another new SU set called Well Scripted. I had to order both of these sets when I first saw them. I think they will both be favorites of mine for years to come.

Baby card

2010-04-12T21:37:00.001-07:00

Today's card is for my great nephew who is due at the beginning of May. The paper is Baja Breeze from SU. The teddy bear is from a clear acrylic set by Recollections called "Bouncin Baby Boy" and is colored with copics. The sentiment is from Studio G and the cute button brads are from Making Memories. The embossing was done with a CB embossing border from the "Frills" pack of borders.

The inspiration for this card came from a darling card I saw on Amy Sheffer's blog,
http://pickledpaperdesigns.blogspot.com/ Amy has the most amazing cards and I always find inspiration there.

Bithday Card for Hubby

2010-04-11T11:31:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post of my husband's birthday card today. I totally cased this card from the SimonSaysStamp.com website. It was created by Debby Yates. That card is no longer on the website and I couldn't find a link to it on Debby's blog, but I put the picture of her original card below my card. Debby is a member of the Simon Says design team. You can check out all of her fabulous cards on her blogspot, http://debby4000.blogspot.com/ They're inspirational.

I had been eying up this Simon Says stamp set for a long time and decided to finally buy it late last year when they had a sale. I usually try to use frog images for my husband's cards as his nickname in High School was "Froggy". He got that name because he was the lead triple, long and high jumper on the high school track team. And yes, I did know him then as we started dating late in our sophomore year of high school. Next year we will be celebrating our 40th Wedding Anniversary.

Anyway, as you can see, he turned 60 this year and I will follow suit in September.
How we got here so fast is beyond me. Life just happens that way.

Mother's Day Card with matching gift card holder

2010-04-07T22:39:00.001-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since I posted last. I think I may have my mojo back and just in time. I did manage to get some Easter cards done, but didn't have time to post them. I have two birthdays coming up this weekend, then 4 more in May, Mother's Day and a brand new great nephew on the way. Lots of cards to get done. To top it off, I'm having a hip replaced on April 29th, so I don't have any time to spare.

I will try my best to get all the cards posted.

Back to this card. Here are the details: I had an idea for this card when I found the rose paper at JoAnn Fabrics a month ago. I found the layout in my idea folder from a card that was on Amy Sheffer's blog. I used my brand new MS border punch, which I think is very classy. The circles and scallops are all nestabilities and the flowers are from my stash, as well as the brads. The black background was done with a new CB 5x7 embossing folder. The little flowers behind the brads on the right hand side were embossed with that same folder and then punched with an EK Sucess flower punch. The sentiment is a new SU sentiment. The ribbon is by American Crafts.
Doesn't black and red always make a classy looking card? I know that mom will love this.

Now on to those cards I need to have done by this Sunday. Wish me luck!

I'm Back with a Valentine's Card

2010-02-10T03:23:00.000-08:00

Hello to all! I'm finally back to post a Valentine Card. I took a picture of this before Valentine's Day and didn't get back to publish it until now. Sorry I have been gone so long, but we've had a bit of family drama going on that has had me quite wrapped up with worry and no motivation to work on my cards. Some of you know what I have been going through, and I thank you for your kind words of support. For those of you who don't know, I will try to give you a rundown of what's been consuming my life for the last few months.

My only son, who is 36 years old, has been suffering with a bad back for about 8 years. Over the last few years it has gotten worse and last October he was hospitalized after collapsing in horrible pain. After having an MRI, it was discovered that he had virtually no disc left in his bottom 2 vertabrae and also that his spine had shifted so that the vertabrae were resting on a major nerve root, thus causing him severe pain down his whole leg. Surgery to fuse his spine was the only answer. Unfortunately, that surgery here in Madison, WI would be about $125,000. At this time, my son and his wife do not have health insurance because of his inablility to work, her job changes and his pre-existing medical condition, there was no affordable option for insurance for them.

Ultimately, they decided to go outside the country to have his surgery done. After much research on the internet, they connected with a Medical Tourism agency that recommended a spine surgeon in Malaysia. This was right around Xmas. They were able to schedule the surgery for January 9th of this year. So we put him on a plane and 3 airports and 36 gruelling and painful hours later he arrived in Penang, Malaysia 2 days ahead of his scheduled surgery.

The cost of surgery, physical therapy, airfare, and hotel costs would be about 1/3 of the cost of just the surgery here in the U.S. Fortunately for them, they had the resources to pay cash for everything, otherwise, he would still be at home suffering.

As parents, we were beside ourselves with worry through his whole ordeal. Luckily, the surgery went well and he appeared to be on his way to a great recovery until 4 days into his physical therapy when he developed two bad blood clots in his upper thigh. That stopped the PT and put him in bed with heparin IV drips to thin his blood and prevent the formation of more clots. Several days afterwards, he was released from the hospital and continued to battle with the problems that the clots created in his leg and an attack of gout that no doubt was brought on by the stress of the whole situation.

On February 8th he flew back to Los Angeles (another very painful flight with a lot of leg swelling). He stayed a couple of days in L..A. to recover and then flew back home on Feb. 10th.

He is still suffering with swelling and pain, although it has gotten a bit better, and he is still fighting the gout symptoms. He's anxious to get back to rehabing his back, but has to wait until the blood clots in his leg are dissolved. At any rate, we are so happy to have him back and are praying that he will see some improvement soon so that he can enjoy how good his back is feeling now and be relieved of his pain.

Thanks for sticking with me through this and I look forward to getting back into my cardcrafting as time and motivation allow. I've decided to concentrate on doing some color challenges this year to further help me improve on the quality of my crafting and to broaden my horizons a bit.

I hope you'll stay around for the ride.

About the card: I used this same layout for most of my Valentine cards this year and just changed the texture on the brown strip on the side and the border punch on each card to make them unique. My family knows how much I love dark chocolate, so that is why I used the sentiment I did for the inside of the card. In fact, we are a family of dark chocolate lovers.

For this particular card, I used my CB hearts embossing folder and my MS double hearts border punch. The hearts on the front of the card are SU's new heart stamps & matching punch.

The paper is SU chocolate chip, as well as the ink on the hearts. I created the inside sentiment on my computer and the sentiment on the front is from "My Sentiments Exactly".

Mug Card Cocoa Holder

2009-12-09T20:13:00.000-08:00

Today I have another project to show you. I discovered this mug card/cocoa holder tutorial online here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg_tlCcxv24

My brown paper is SU chocolate chip. The DP is BoBunny. I cut out the inside instructions with a nestie. I used my swirls CB embossing folder for the whipping cream topper and then added some glitter to the swirls with my glue pen. The cute bunny on the front is Flopsey from MFT. The sentiment is also MFT. The hot chocolate is a premium melting chocolate with curry spice in it. It comes from a local chocolatier named "David Bacco". He is a chocolate god and this is one of his brand new melting chocolates for 2009. It's a little piece of heaven.

I actually had some last night after I spent 2 hours clearing off the first foot of snow we got in our first bad snowstorm of the year. Everything was closed today while we continued to dig ourselves out. The kids were thrilled with their first snow day of the school year. And it's not even winter yet!! Now we are going into the deep freeze with wind chills near -25 for tonight and temps getting up to 6 degrees tomorrow. At least the sun will be out, but there's no doubt that we will be having a white Xmas this year:))

Cute Fire Hydrant Doggie Treat Box

2009-12-07T23:39:00.001-08:00

I have one cute little project to show you today. I needed a new idea for a treat box for a special doggie that I give treats to each year, so I just googled "Doggie Treat Box Template" and low and behold, up popped a link to this adorable fire hydrant treat box. You can see for yourself right here if you are so inclined http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmBAr-FJjO4

I immediately went to the "My timeless Templates" link to order the template for the matchbox and was surprised at how fast I was able to get the download email and download the template. It really was simple to print right to my cardstock, cut, score and assemble. I am sure that I will use this template again and again. After the box was done, I simply followed the directions on the you tube tutorial. If you attempt to do this, you will discover that there was an error on the size of two of the pieces that make the hydrant. I adjusted for that just by guessing at what the size should be and I think it turned out okay. The only thing I did different, was to add a reinforcement piece of cardstock to the back of the inside of the slider box, punch two holes, add eyelets and a piece of ribbon for a pull to make it easier to open the box. To finish it all off, I stamped some white tissue with paw prints and dog bones, lined the bottom of the box with that, added my treats and then more stamped tissue across the top before I pushed the slider box into the cover. I also added the tag, which was cut out with a spellbinders die. The cute doxie image I stamped on the tag is by Hampton Art. I think my friend will love it. I can't wait to give it to her on Thursday when we meet for lunch. Oh, and I did get my friend a movie gift certificate and a bottle of chocolate wine...just so you don't think I forgot about her:))

Mojo Monday 114

2009-11-23T23:10:00.001-08:00

Mojo Monday sketch for this week. This is about as clean and simple as I can get:)

Sorry you can't see how silver and shiny this card is. We've been having some gloomy rainy days so I was forces to take this shot at night.

The detail of this are very short: The blue paper is Night of Navy from SU. The white is some more glimmer paper from Paper Studio as is the shiny silver paper. I embossed the background white with my CB ornaments embossing folder and punched the double border with my MS punch. The ornament image is SU from the Holiday mini catalog. I embossed that with versa mark and a glitter silver EP. It's backed with silver and blue paper and popped up on dimensionals. That pretty ribbon is some I found on sale in the Holiday ribbon at Michaels's a few weeks back. Finally, I added some gemstones around the image and on a few of the ornaments and snowflakes in the white background for a bit more sparkle.

I think I have enough cards done now for Xmas. I just have to finish off the insides now. Wish me luck with that. I usually try to find some nice verses to put on the insides and create them on my computer. The clock is ticking:))

Sweet Sunday 45

2009-11-22T23:13:00.001-08:00

Here is my Sweet Sunday card for this week. I had to dig through all my Xmas stamps to find one that I thought would work with this sketch and that I hadn't yet used this year. I'm sure glad I found this guy.

Here are the card details:

Paper: SU Holiday Lounge DP, SU real red and some sparkly white paper from my stash.
You may want to click on the picture to see how sparkly it is.

I double stamped the penquin image from Sudio G (Michael's), colored both with my copics, embossed the second one with clear embossing powder, cut it out and popped it on dimensionals over the original. I cut the original with a nestie inverted scallop circle and backed that with a nestie regular scallop circle cut out of the red dp. I used my CB dots embossing folder on the sparkly white behind the image and trimmed the bottom of that piece with my MS icicle punch. I just love that punch for Xmas trim, as you can tell with a number of my other recent posts:)

The sentient is from a "Recollections" clear acrylic set called "Merry, Merry". It's a long border stamp that I embossed on real red with Zing white embossing powder. I used the SU word window punch to punch just part of the border to make my sentiment. I mounted that on more sparkly white paper punched with one of the new SU label punches. Finally, the pretty red striped ribbon was some that I found in my Xmas ribbon stash.

I liked how this turned out so I think I will make a few more for Xmas this year. Thanks for stopping by:))

Sweet Sunday 44

2009-11-18T11:58:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it's Sweet Sunday after Mojo Monday this week. I just had to think a while on Karen's sketch this week. I also struggled to get a decent photo as it is overcast today and I couldn't get my lighting right on this shiny background paper. It really is a pretty shade of teal blue, even though the picture shows some greener cast in it.

Here are the details:
The DP is SU's Designer Holiday Lounge, the tan is Bazzill and the shiny blue/teal is from a DCWV cardstock stack called "Citrus". It matches so perfect with the DP. The image is from a clear acrylic set from Inkadinkadoo called "Christmas Characters" and is stamped with SU Taken With Teal ink. I added just a little gray shading with my copics and cut out the image with a nestie label. The circle DP was cut out with my Making Memories cutting tools.

I ran the strip of shiny blue on the bottom through my cuttlebug twice using the dots embossing folder and then added the white borders punched with my EK success wave punch. I stamped the "Merry Christmas" with the teal ink, punched it out and backed it with two more punched circle/scallop pieces, then added the silver brad to the center. Finally, I punched a hole in the center of a ghost snowflake, added a snowflake brad to it and mounted it with a glue dot. Oh, and I did add some little rhinestones to a few snowflakes around the image. The nestie and sentiment are popped with dimensionals. This is one very shiny card. Hope you like it.

Mojo Monday 113

2009-11-16T19:53:00.001-08:00

Mojo Monday on Monday!!! This may be a first for me!

Here are the details:

The DP is SU Holiday Lounge, which I just got on Saturday so couldn't wait to start using. The red is SU Real Red and the brown is the new SU suede color. The ornament, snowflakes and sentiment are from an acrylic stamp set by Inkadinkado called Pepperment Twist. I stamped the ornament twice, cut out the second one and popped it over the original. Then I stamped a third ornament and punched out the snowflake center and popped that over the second image. Both the image and sentiment were stamped with versa mark and heat embossed with SU irredescent ice embossing powder to make them sparkly. The image is cut out with a nestie and the red strip in the middle is embossed with one of the SU embossing folders. I added some Holiday ribbon from Michael's to the tops of the ornament and sentiment and criss-crossed behind the ornament. Finally, I added some rhinestones to the centers of the snowflakes. I posted a close up so you could see them better and get the feel of how sparkly the ornament and sentiment turned out. Thanks for taking a peek:))

Mojo Monday 112

2009-11-10T03:23:00.001-08:00

Woohoo! It's only Tuesday and I have my Mojo Monday card done for this week! I do believe in miracles...I do, I do!!!

I had fun with this sketch after I decided I would use this little Stampabilities mouse as my image. Click for a close-up look at how glittery the card is.

Here are the details:

The candy strip DP is by My Minds Eye, the sparkly white is glimmer paper by The Paper Sutdio and the dark red paper is Bazzill. I colored my image with copics and prismacolor pencils. As I said in my last post, I don't have a lot of copic colors yet, so I struggled a bit with this poor mouse's ears. They turned out more orange than pink like I planned. Obviously, I'm going to have to find a better pale pink for things like mouse ears and cheek color. I'm open to suggestions from the copic pros out there. Back to the card...I added some white sparkly fluff to the mouse's hat, then punched out the image with a circle punch and mounted it to a nestie. I used CB embossing folders on the two white pieces and then punched the mice with MS's mouse border punch. I created the sentiment on my computer and then punched that with a SU label punch. I sponged the edges with SU Riding Hood Red and then backed the label with red that I punched with the label punch and then cut in half, and overlapped on the ends. Finally, I added 2 clear rhinestones for accent on the ends of the sentiment, a glitter brad on the half circle on the top and some irredescent Offray ribbon behind the brad . Oh yes, I also attached a couple of individual mice strategically placed on the bottom of the card. I hope that's not overkill. What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by again:))

Sweet Sunday 43

2009-11-09T19:29:00.001-08:00

Wow! Could it really be Sweet Sunday 43 already? I remember doing Karen's first Sweet Sunday sketch and it seemed like yesterday. I've only missed a few of Karen's sketches when life was just too busy.

I've been waiting for a sketch like this so I could ink up this cute Penny Black image. I'm still a beginner with these copics, and I don't have all the colors I would like yet, so please bear with me. I'm definitely going to have my own style.

Here are the card details:

Both DPs are Bo-Bunny and I love them together. The blue paper is SU's Baja Breeze and the brown is Bazzill. I double stamped the Penny Black image so I could cut out the Santa face on the second image and pop it over the original. I used a nestie to cut out the image and then backed it with the Baja Breeze which I handcut. The border is MS's icicle border punch. I punched that out of some scrap glitter paper. To finish it off I added a Heidi Swapp ghost snowflake. On top of that I layered a snowflake punched with a MS punch from glitter paper and put a heart brad through the center of both. The image and snowflake are both popped on dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Mojo Monday 111

2009-11-07T12:40:00.001-08:00

Here is my creation for this week's Mojo Monday sketch. We've been having such nice weather lately that it's been hard to think about card crafting. Somehow I did manage to get a few cards done this week.

The snowflake DP is by Kelly Panacci. The blue cardstock is from my scrap pile and the purple is SU's new Razzleberry as is the ribbon. I embossed the snowflake design on the blue paper with my new CB border embossing folder and then scored a few lines for accent down the sides of the paper. The image and sentiment are from a clear acrylic Inkadinkadoo set called "O Holy Night" and both are stamped with SU razzleberry ink and cut out with nesties. I inked around the edges of the sentiment and then added some rhinestones on some of the circles above and below the sentiment as well as on a few of the snowflakes. I also added some glitter pen to around the star on the sentiment and around the halo on the baby Jesus. Finally, I added the silver snowflakes that I found in my stash and took the liberty of placing them a bit different than the sketch did. This card will probably go to my Mother-In-Law, who will really appreciate a religious card.

B-Day Card for my daughter

2009-11-07T12:20:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post of my daughter's birthday card. She loves shiny, glittery cards so I think she'll like this one.

I used my new candy cane stripe CB embossing folder on some shiny red paper for the background. Then I added some shimmer white paper embossed with my swirls CB folder.
I heat embossed both the image and the sentiment. Both are from and Inkadinkadoo clear acrylic set called "Birthday Sentiments". I double stamped the image and cut out and popped the gift box and a number of stars on dimensionals. The backing papers on the image and sentiment are also shiny papers. Finally, I added a red cord bow to the bottom half of the gift box. Thanks for taking a peek.

We are currently enjoying some unseasonably nice weather here in Wisconsin. Temps are in the 60's today with lots of sunshine. I hear more is on tap for tomorrow. Woohoo! Hope your day is filled with sunshine no matter where you are.

Mojo Monday 110

2009-11-01T00:19:00.000-07:00

My take on this week's Mojo sketch. I just found this Prickly Pear snowman today and couldn't wait to ink him up. I thought I would have another go with my shimmery blue and white cardstock for this card.

Here are the card details:

The shimmer paper is from The Paper Studio. The background white was embossed with a brand new CB embossing folder that came in the mail today. It's a larger size than the previous folders, so it works nicely on a 5x5 card. I also got that cute border embossing folder with the trees and house on it today and thought it would fit on this card nicely. My snowman was stamped and colored with copics. I'm still very green with copics so bear with me while a try to perfect some type of technique..lol. I added some sparkly fluff to the snowman's mittens and scarf and below him for snow. Then I used my Jelly Roll glitter pen to highlight the dots on the CB folders, the stars, the holly, the roof on the house and at the snowline. The sentiment is SU which I embossed with versa mark and SU's irridescent ice to make it sparkly. Finally, I added the silver gemstones around the sentiment and some Kaiser red pearls to the holly berries (I added the pearls after I took my picture and I was too lazy to take another picture, so you just have to use your imagination).

Hope you all had a great Halloween (if you celebrate it)!

Sweet Sunday 41

2009-10-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

Here is my take on this week's Sweet Sunday challenge. It turned out to be a rather shimmery sparkly card after all was said and done and I got to use a few new nesties that I recently picked up.

Here are the details:

My shimmer blue and white paper are from Archivers. The snowman and sentiment are from Stampendous Snowplace clear acrylic set and the tree is from Recollections Winter Wonderland clear acrylic set. The background stars and dots is from The Angel Company. I colored the snowman and tree with some new copics markers that I recently picked up. I'm slowly getting accustomed to them. I added some glitter to the stars in the background, colored the star on the tree with my yellow Spica pen and added some Sparkly Fluff to the snowman's earmuffs and below the snowman and tree for snow. I love how easy that fluff is to use, even on small areas. Then I added some Kaiser red pearls to the tree for ornaments, cut out the stamped scene with a nestie, sponged the edge with Adirondack Stonewashed blue and mounted it over 2 layers of shimmer paper that I texturized with CB dots and snowflakes embossing folders. The sentiment was stamped, embossed with versa mark and SU irredescent ice, punched out with a circle punch, sponged with blue ink on the edges and backed with blue that was cut with another new nestie. I mounted both nesties with dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by again. I'm off to carve pumpkins and then on to my Mojo challenge for this week.

Mojo Monday 109

2009-10-20T03:09:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! I'm back at last! I feel like it's been forever since I've posted and guess what...it has!!
We had a great vacation in California during the last 2 weeks of September. I've been crazy busy since I got back from vacation and just couldn't find my mojo for card making. I guess this week's Mojo sketch just inspired me....plus I needed a couple extra Halloween cards:) I hope all of you are still out there keeping an eye out for me. I hope to get back into full swing next week with at least 2 cards a week again.

Here are the details of my card:

The DP is by Reminisce. The red cardstock is SU Ruby Red. The black piece on the bottom is the reverse of the DP which I texturized with a CB embossing folder. The image and sentiment are SU. I double stamped the dog and colored him with prismacolor pencils, then cut out and popped the second doggie over the original one. I used MS's web and goo edge punches for accents (I love both of these for Halloween). I added some piercing around the sentiment and image and on the red strip below the image. Finally, I punched and popped a spider below the sentiment and added the shiny bat (from my stash) as a substitute for the bow shown on the sketch. I'm thinking of sending this to my sister with her Halloween chocolate. It would be oh so appropriate. Thanks for stopping by:))

Mojo 103

2009-09-13T19:49:00.001-07:00

Here is my take on this week's Mojo sketch. Just barely got this post done before the deadline! I've been busy trying to clean house and pack for our upcoming vacation. I'm hoping to get a couple of challenges done before I leave this week. I'll have my laptop with me, so I will be checking in on everyone's blogs on a regular basis.

Here are my card details:

The DP is by Ann Griffin Inc. and the rest of the paper is SU (rose red, tangerine tango, kiwi kiss and taken with teal). The images and sentiment are Inkadinkadoo, which I double stamped, colored with prismacolor pencils and gamsol, then I embossed the dog and catus with versamark and clear embossing powder and cut and popped them over the originals with dimensionals. The images are cut with a nestie and then backed with the green and blue cardstock which I handcut. I punched the sentiment with a papershapers oval punch and sponged around the edge with SU rose red ink. The border punch is a MS punch. I made this card to send to my sister to thank her for her hospitality during my recent visit. I think she'll get a kick out of it.

Sweet Sunday 34

2009-09-10T22:02:00.001-07:00

Here is my Sweet Sunday card...a bit late this week due to my mini-vacation over the weekend.
This was a bit hard to photograph with all the silver on it especially at night. You may want to click on the photo to get a better look at the image. I made this card for my son's wedding anniversary, which is tomorrow.

Here are the details:

The DP is from The Paper Company, the shiny silver is from my local scrapbook store and isn't identified by company, the black is from my scraps and the pink is SU. The main image is Stampabilities and the sentiment is SU. Both are stamped with black pigment ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. The silver strip behind the image was embossed with a CB embossing folder. The borders behind that strip are punched with a MS punch. The main image is cut out and backed with nesties. Finally, I used some Hero Arts clear gemstones for a few of the champagne bubbles and then colored the rest of the bubbles in with my gel glitter pen. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Now to quick finish off the inside and the envelope so I can drop it off tomorrow.

Mojo 102

2009-09-03T12:33:00.001-07:00

What a fun sketch this was this week! I'm sure to use it again, perhaps for some Xmas cards.

I added two views so you could see the shiny embossing on one and then get a head on look on the other.

Here are the details:

The pumpkin image came from a clear acrylic set by Heidi Grace. The other two images are from a Halloween set from Inkadinkado. I embossed all the images and then colored the pumpkin with SU markers. I did a lot of sponging on each white piece to give them a more spooky look. I cut out the "Trick or Treat" with a nestie and mounted to the back of a piece SU pumpkin pie cardstock. I punched the corners of the pumpkin pie piece with my new MS web corner punch. Then I did a little paper piercing around the top and bottom of the circle on the orange paper. I really like how this turned out. It's a bit of a stretch for the sketch I know.

I also used the web punch on the upper righhand corner of my black backing piece. That black paper is by Bo Bunny and I ran it through my CB using the trees embossing folder for some texture. The ribbon is from Michael's and the brads were in a pack called "Fright Night" by Queen and Co. I found them on clearance on some website a while ago. I popped the orange piece, the "Trick or Treat", the Boo and the pumpkin all up on dimensionals because I just don't do flat cards:))

Has anyone seen the new SU mini? Well, there is a Halloween set in there I simply have to own

called Twick or Tweet. It has a skeleton with one leg held up in the air that has a small dog attached to it. There is a sentiment to go with it that reads "It's Halloween...enjoy every bite. I'm ordering it this weekend and hope it will be here so I have time to whip up a card before Halloween with it. The mini has a picture of a darling treat box done up with that stamp. Very cute!

Sweet Sunday 33 - Popped Candy Corn

2009-09-02T18:17:00.001-07:00

Here is my take on Karen's Sweet Sunday challenge for this week. I'm trying to get all my Halloween cards done because we are going on vacation in 2 weeks so I won't have much time to do them after that.

Here are the card details:

The orange paper is Basic Grey, the brown is Bazzill, and the DP stripe was borrowed from a friend so I don't have the brand name for you. I used a CB embossing folder on the orange for texture. The candy cane tree, owl and sentiment are from and acrylic set by Impression Obsession. I double stamped the image with Memento ink and colored in the candy cane with SU markers and the tree, grass and pumpkin with prismacolor pencils. I clear embossed the second image, cut out all of the candy corns, the owl and pumpkin and popped them on dimensionals over the original image. By the way, there are 58 little candy corns on the tree...thus proving, once again, I am the Queen of Pop:))) Finally, I added more of those crystal candy corns down the left side of the card with glue dots.

We have been having some great cool weather this week with temps barely getting to 70 degrees. It's been great for late August and early September when we usually have hot, hot, humid weather. Fall is definitely in the air.

Busy Bee Bloggers and Mojo 101 Challenges

2009-08-29T02:40:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to last week's first Busy Bee Bloggers challenge and decided to combine it with this week's Mojo 101 sketch. The Busy Bee blogger challenge was to do something 3D on your card. Easy peasy for me:)) I love to pop everything!! I also found some cute crystal candy corn stickers in my stash to add to my card too.

Here are the details:

All DP is Doodlebug Design Inc. The orange behind my image is SU's pumkin pie and the other orange is from Lasting Impressions. The boo punch is a new MS border punch. The image is Amuse and is double stamped and colored with prismacolor pencils and gamsol. I cut out and popped the little spooks on dimensionals. The corner punches were done with my EK success punch. Finally, I added a little paper piercing around my image backgrounds, along the bottom of the border punch and in the upper left corner just for fun. It took me a while to figure out what paper to use for this, but when I saw the candy corn stickers, it sort of all came together. I'm happy with the results. Don't you just love that MS border punch??

Mojo 100

2009-08-18T00:40:00.000-07:00

Mojo Monday on Tuesday! I'm on a roll! I wasn't exactly sure about this sketch until I sat down to do it and I must say, I am happy with how it turned out. I love frog stamps almost as much as those cute Mouse House stamps.

Here are the details:

That cute frog image is from a brand new Penny Black acrylic set that I just love. I stamped it twice, colored both with my prismacolor pencils and gamsol. I cut one image out with a nestie and then cut, embossed with clear ep and popped the other one over the original. I added some Blue Moon yellow seed beads to the flower center and popped that up separately. I also stamped, colored, embossed and cut and popped 3 dragonflies just for fun. The paper is all DCWV Citrus Stack except for the white and the SU Kiwi Kiss. The green backgrounds were cut out with nestie scallops. I used my CB dots embossing folder for the large scallop and the small white circle just for extra texture. That sentiment tag is from a clear acrylic set I have of unkown origin. I added a brad to that along with a dragonfly for extra embellishment. Finally, the blue polka dot ribbon came from Michael's. I think I will just put the word Birthday in the inside in great big letters. Hope this brings a smile to your face and a little cheer to your day:))

Sweet Sunday 31

2009-08-16T23:28:00.000-07:00

Woohoo, Sweet Sunday on Monday! I've been waiting for a sketch that I could fit this stamp into and along comes Karen with the perfect one for me! Thanks Karen! This card is for my friends who are avid Packer fans and waited some 20+ years to finally get some season tickets a few years back. They have a family room in their basement dedicated to the Pack, so I know she's just going to love this card. Last year she told me that she uses my Xmas cards to decorate her tree every year. Now that is a card worthy friend!!

Here are the card details:

The Packer Paper is by Scrappin' Sports and the cardstock is SU's Handsome Hunter and Marigold. The sentiment is from a "Close to My Heart" acrylic set called "Christmas Scripts".

These guys do look like a bunch of snowflakes, dressed up in their green and gold:)) I stamped and colored them with my prismacolor pencils. Then I cut them with a nestie and stamped over the whole thing with versa mark and embossed with SU's irridescent ice powder to make it look snowy. I punched out some tiny snowflakes and added them to the nestie and the sentiment.

The green background piece is embossed with a CB folder and so is the yellow/gold piece. Hope you enjoy it, even it you aren't a Packer fan:))

Mojo 99

2009-08-15T22:26:00.001-07:00

Tada! Without further ado, my Mojo Monday 99 card! I've even got time to spare this week:))

My excuse...I was out having fun at the State Fair this week and NO, I did not sample the chocolate covered frozen bacon on a stick! But yes, I was all over the cheesecake on a stick, dipped in chocolate and rolled in nuts! My, my, that was tasty, as was the every wonderful, calorie laden fresh cream puff, Wisconsin's finest! Oh yes, and there were other yummy treats too, like the butter dipped roasted corn on the cob and the giant piece of barbequed pork on a stick and the frozen chai tea and the elk burger, oh my!! After all that we got to kick back and listen to a great concert with some oldies but goodies...The Spencer Davis Group, Gary Pucket and last but not least by any means, Davy Jones of the Monkeys. The weather cooperated with us with temps in the low 80's and a nice breeze off the lake to keep us comfy. All in all a funtastic day!

Back to my card details:

All the paper I used was from the DCWV "Citrus Stack". The birthday sentiment is from SU's "Sincere Salutations" set. I cut it out with a nestie and mounted it on dimensionals. I added punched corners and flowers for accents that were punched with my EK success punches. The flowers are also up on dimensionals and have pearl centers. I included a close-up so you could see how sparkly the paper is. I think I'll save this card for my mother-in-law's birthday in October.

Sweet Sunday 30

2009-08-10T03:18:00.001-07:00

Woohoo...is there hope for me yet? It's only Monday and I already did my Sweet Sunday sketch challenge! I've been waiting for a sketch to come along that I could use these Judith stamps on. This one is nearly perfect for it. I did alter the bottom a little so I could fit in my sentiment.

Here are the card details:

The red paper is SU Real Red. The glitter paper is from "The Paper Company" and is called "White Glimmer". The shiny blue paper is some from my scrap pile. I stamped the snowman twice and the fence once, colored each with my prismacolor pencils and gamsol. I cut out and popped the nose and legs on dimensionals and mounted the snowman on the fence and then onto a nestie. I outlined the nestie with some red paper which I cut free hand. The nestie is popped on dimensionals on top of more glimmer paper that I embossed with my CB snowflakes embossing folder. I tied some irridescent thread to 3 tiny blue buttons and used them as accents on the bunny's arm and leggs. The snowflake was punched out of shiny blue paper with my new MS snowflake punch and then embellished with a rhinestone in the center. I added a small heart brad from my stash and then I added some glitter to his hat. Finally, I stamped my sentiment banner from "Recollections" with versa mark and then embossed it with real red EB powder and popped it up on dimensionals. I hope you can tell from the picture how sparkly this card is, if now, just click on the picture for a closer look. One more Xmas card done:))

Mojo 98

2009-08-05T00:14:00.000-07:00

My take on this week's Mojo Monday sketch. I decided to flip the sketch on it's side so it would better fit my birthday theme. I'm also giving you a peek at the inside of the card to tie the theme together for you.

I liked this sketch and may try making a Xmas card with it.

Here are the card details:

I triple stamped my Whipper Snapper worm image that is on the front of the card, colored each with prismacolor pencils and gamsol, cut the original out with a nestie, embossed the other two images, cut one and popped it over the original and then cut just the party hat on the other one and popped that over the second image. I added a seed bead to the party hat topper just for fun.

I backed my image on a scallop nestie and added some white dots with my Sakura pen. I added some texture to my Doodlebug DP with my bubbles CB embossing folder. I also used CB embossing folders for the green backing square and the top half of my blue cardstock. I then stamped the 5 and 0 candles that were from a clear acrylic set I own, colored them with my prismacolor pencils, embossed them with clear embossing powder and then cut them out and popped them on dimensionals. I added some ribbon from Michaels and a cute button that was in my stash, to which I tied some red twine. The sentiment was created with SU's Teeny Tiny Words and punched out with the new SU label punch. I doodled around the label and cut one edge to look like a banner.

On the inside, I used a nestie for the sentiment that I created on my computer. I stamped the cute worms from an Inky Antics acrylic stamp set, colored, embossed, cut out and popped them on dimensionals. I just drew in the dirt mound on the bottom and colored it. Finally, I used some Tim Holtz Vintage Photo distressing ink around the edges of my sentiment and background paper and finished off with a bit of doodling around the background edges and the sentiment.

This card is for a friend who turns 50 at the end of this month. I know she will get a kick out of it. Hope you do too!

Mojo 97 Updated

2009-08-02T18:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, so here is my finished Mojo Monday card...at last. I really posted under the wire tonight and then went and added a few more things.

Here are the card details:

The chocolate brown paper is Bazzill, the DP is Paper Pizazz and the lighter brown embossed piece is from The Paper Company. My hope was to make the embossed piece look like a tile floor and the DP like wallpaper in a bathroom. I stamped my Stampabilities image twice and colored both with my prismacolor pencils and gamsol. I popped the second image over the first, colored the bubbles in the tub with my Souffle pen to give them some dimension. I cut out the image with a nestie and backed that with a scallop nestie. I added the pearls around the scallop to make it look a bit dreamy and also added 3 pearls for the floating bubbles above the tub. I created the sentiment on my computer and then doodled around the edge. I also put some small black dots around the brown sentiment backing paper and popped both the sentiment and backing with dimensionals. The corner was punched with an EK Success punch and then embossed with the "Textiles" CB folder. The flower embellishments are SU and those yummy center brads are from Creative Cafe. Finally, I used some crystal effects on the tub to make it nice and shiny. Now I just want to crawl in that tub myself:)) Hope you like it.

Sweet Sunday 28

2009-07-28T02:19:00.000-07:00

Here is this weeks Sweet Sunday card. I tipped the sketch on it's side so it would work better with the image I wanted to use. I've included a close up of the snowman so you can see how sparkly he is.

Here are the details:
I started with a base of shiny blue cardstock that came from my stash, layered a piece of baby blue paper next and then embossed a piece of vellum with my CB dots embossing folder to go on top of it so it would look like snow. I added some blue ribbon from my stash and a strip of the shiny blue paper that was embossed with my CB snowflakes embossing folder.

The image and sentiment come from a new set I just picked up at Michael's that is made by "Recollections". I'm the biggest sucker for snowmen of any type and I love this little guy.
I first cut out my circle with a nestie. I double stamped the image, versa marked over both and then embossed with SU irridescent ice embossing powder to give the whole thing a snowy look.
I cut out the scarf and stars on the second image and mounted them with pop dots over the original image. I did the same embossing method on the "let it snow" sentiment. Then I added a cluster of snowflakes to which I added some glittered pearl centers. I added a blue rhinestone to the center of the snowflake on the sentiment circle and some bigger glittered pearls around the top of the snowman to make it look like he is juggling snowballs. At least that was my intention:)) Finally, I used my EK Success corner punch to add a little frame to the scene.
This card was hard to photograph with all the shiny glittery stuff going on, but I came pretty close to the actual card color in the end.

Update: I broke down and made one adjustment to this card after I originally posted it. I added the cross ribbon on the bottom because I just couldn't deal with the wide open space on the left side of this card. tee hee It breaks with the original sketch somewhat, but I like it much better

Mojo 96

2009-07-25T20:57:00.001-07:00

Well, here it is Saturday already and I'm finally getting around to doing the Mojo sketch! It's been a busy summer! I struggled a bit with this sketch just trying to figure out which image to use, then after I decided on the image I had to sort through a lot of paper before deciding what would work with it.

Here are the card details:

The striped DP is Doodlebug design which I embossed with my "bubbles" CB folder for texture. The red and blue papers are Bazzill. I scored down the center of each blue piece with my scor pal for more texture. I cut my white image circle with my Making Memories circle template and mounted it on a nestie scallop. I double stamped the Mouse House image and colored both with my prismacolor pencils and gamsol, then I added some crystal effects to the balloons to make them shine. I popped the bunny and balloons of my second stamped image over the original on dimensionals. I drew over the balloon strings with my Sakura gelly roll pen to glitter them up a bit. The ribbon is from Michael's. I had to add the "Happy Birthday" sentiment to the circle because there was just waaaayyyy to much white space for me to handle LOL. I sponged around the edges of my sentiments with SU real red and added the brads for a bit more color in that great big white space:) I also pierced around the circle edge. This is as clean and simple as it gets for me folks. Hope you like it.

Sweet Sunday 26

2009-07-18T02:15:00.001-07:00

At last, here is my take on Karen Sweet Sunday sketch for this week. I've been thinking about doing this all week and just finally sat down to get it done. I had to flip the sketch to make it work for this card. I made this card for my martini lovin' sister.

Here are the details:

The stamps and sentiment are from a set called "Merry Christmas" by MFT (My Favorite Things). The martini glasses were stamped on polyshrink plastic, colored with colored pencils and shrunk with a heating gun. I partly colored my image with prismacolor pencils and gamsol to blend and paper pieced the chair, floor and wrapping paper. I double stamped the image so I could cut out the tree, the person, the wrapping paper, the ribbon spool and the packages. I put the packages up on dimensionals and added some kaiser red pearls for the Xmas balls. I punched two pink corner pieces with an EK success punch and added a MS border punch of scallops and circles. The sentiment and image are popped on dimensionals as well. All of the paper was from my stash of scraps.

Gotta run and get this posted before the deadline. Hope you enjoy it!

Mojo 94

2009-07-07T20:51:00.001-07:00

This week I decided to use some newly purchased Asian stamps from Inkadinkadoo to create a thank you card with the sketch from Mojo Monday. I started by pulling out some DP by Kaisercraft that I thought would work with my Asian theme. I decided to use the bamboo stamp from the set to enhance the DP by embossing it with gold. Then I used a CB embossing folder on the red cardstock piece and the dots CB embossing folder on the white background piece for texture. I stamped my image on white and then stamped again on red so I could cut and paper piece the red hairpiece decoration and the dress. I colored some mettalic gold on the hairpins and on the pieced dress and then embossed it with clear embossing powder, cut it out and popped it on the mettalic gold paper from my stash. I embossed the sentiment and punched it out and then backed it with red and black punched circles. The gold trim is from Hobby Lobby. Finally, I clear embossed more of my DP and then punched out some flowers for embellishments. I added some small pearls to the centers of the flowers and there you have it!

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Hope you like it too!

Mojo Monday 93

2009-06-29T22:29:00.001-07:00

Whoa!!! What's this, Emily's Mojo Monday card on Tuesday? LOL, This must be a first!!!
It just so happened that this stamp set was sitting out on my table when I pulled up this weeks Mojo sketch and I took it as a sign that it was exactly what I needed to pull this card together.

I took some inspiration from my blogger friend, Judy, and this card (http://prairiewildflowerpapercrafts.blogspot.com/2009/06/few-swap-projects.html)that she recently posted. I absoultely loved the all white look and although mine isn't totally white, this type of card is a first for me. If you go to check out Judy's card, take a look at all the other great creations she has on her blog. You won't be sorry.

Here are my card details (they are pretty simple):

I used the Textile and Dots CB folders, my nesties for the image background and the sentiment and an EK Success flower punch. The image and sentiment came from a clear acrylic set by Inkadinkadoo called Wedding. I embossed both using VersaMark and Ranger gold EP. Both the image and sentiment are up on dimensionals. The ribbon is from Michael's craft store and the pearls are from another local craft store. The gold and white paper both came from my stash.

I'm saving this for the next relative who gets married.

This is a great sketch that I am sure I will use again sometime. Hope you like it.

Mojo 92

2009-06-28T16:43:00.001-07:00

Here is my take on the Mojo sketch this week. I've just been cooking this up in my head since Monday and finally sat down to get it done. So much going on in the summer that it is hard to keep up with even 2 sketch challenges a week for me.

Here are the card details: I stamped the Mouse House stamp twice, colored both bunnies so I could pop one over the top of the original for more depth. I used my prismacolor pencils and gamsol for blending, then I added some crystal lacquer to the fish, duck and lemonade.

I used my EK Success waves border punch for the background strip. I didn't want to cover up all my paper and the wave border, so I used my Megabilities curved nestie and cut out the outside frame. I thought the striped DP looked like a sunset so I thought I'd used it in my frame. I added some Paper Studio water DP for my bunny to float on. The other DPs are by Pine Cone Press Papers and look oh so summery, don't you think? The sentiment is a clear stamp from Stampendous and I paper pieced the umbrella with my striped DP. The big umbrella is Jolee and I paper pieced over the original blue pieces with my striped DP so it would match better. The flip flops also came in the same pack of Jolee stickers. I paper pieced over the original paper on those with the flip side of my bottom DP. The image is up on dimensionals so there is lots of depth to this card. I'm happy with how this turned out.

I will probably save this card for my friend who takes a cruise every year. I always wish her "Bon Voyage".

Sweet Sunday 23

2009-06-22T22:37:00.001-07:00

Here is my take on the latest Sweet Sunday sketch challenge. You might want to click on this to see the images close up.

I get a bit nervous when I see an unconventional sized card, but when I saw this sketch I couldn't help but see that it was perfect for the stamp set I just bought called "Its a dogs life" by Inkadinkadoo. I wanted to do a card for my brother and sister-in-law, who just got a new puppy. Animals have been a huge part of their family for some time now and they have always had a bunch of them at once...cats and dogs. We recently received an email with pictures of the latest addition so I thought I would fire off this card to them.

Here are the card details:

All of the paper is from my stash. I stamped, colored, embossed and punched out the image squares for the bottom of the card and then I mounted them on black paper and put the 3 dog pictures up on dimensionals. The two pictures with bones on them were mounted flat to the background. The Woof ribbon was part of my stash too. I printed the sentiment off of my computer, sponged the edges and punched it out with the SU word window punch, added a couple of black rhinestones to it then mounted it with dimensionals. Lastly, I pierced the paper on either side of the ribbon for accent.

Thanks for the great sketch Karen. My biggest problem will be finding an envelope to mail it in:))

Another Grad Card Updated

2009-06-20T01:57:00.001-07:00

Had to update this post, as we have been having some problems with internet connections and the first post had only half of what I originally typed in but didn't get saved before it published.

We've been having some pretty nasty storms lately and lots and lots of rain so I think it's reeked a little havoc on the internet provider. They are apparently working on the problem.

Just thought I would give you a peek at another graduation (high school) card I created today. This one is for my husband's great niece who will be coming to Madison for school next year.

This card is completely different than the one I thought I was creating. Ha! I bet you've all experienced that before! I actually was going to make another card just like the last graduation card I did, but I really don't like doing the same card more than once (unless it is a mass production of Xmas cards). I stared at the DP (Best Creatoin Inc) for a long time before I decided that I just didn't want to cover it up too much. I cut the cardstock so that "the ski is the limit" showed on top and just by luck, when I went to position my star, it framed the words "Be a star" perfectly. Gotta love it when that happens:).

I cut those stars from a newly purchased Sizzix die and then embossed them with a CB folder to make them pop. I love how they turned out. I added a large rhinestone brad in the center to finish off the star and then popped it with dimensionals. The DP is glittered, so the card is pretty sparkly which does show up pretty well in my picture. I used a QuicKutz die for the flourishes on either side of the stars. That was a 50% off find at Archivers today. Finally, I stamped and embossed the graduation cap with silver ink and clear ep. I mounted that flat to the card so it wouldn't take away from the star focal point.

I added a picture of the inside of the card because I like how it turned out. I often struggle with what to do on the inside and lately I've resorted to using embossed backgrounds which I have been very pleased with. I hope she'll like it and that you will too.

BDay card for friend

2009-06-17T23:05:00.001-07:00

Here is a card I made for my friend Jane for her birthday. She is a fellow card maker and loves butterflies. Her butterfly cards are always awesome because she uses mica powders and pearl ex on the paper she crafts them with.

There's a lot of shiny stuff on this card. I'm not sure you can tell from my photo even when you click on the picture to enlarge it. I couldn't seem to get the right angle to capture all the glitter and shine when I took my picture. The layout for this card is the one from week 89 over at Mojo Monday. I know I will be using this layout a lot. I love it for bigger cards.

Here are the card details:

Both of the butterflies are embossed with Versamark Dazzle and clear embossing powder. I stamped 2 of the bigger butterflies and layered them for dimension. My DP is DCWV Petite Purple Posies and is a glittered paper. I also used SU appricot appeal, kiwi kiss and baja blue and white from my cardstock stash. The big butterfly stamp is from Putting on the Ritz @ http://www.stampingontheritz.com/. The sentiment and corner stamps are from an acrylic set I have that has somehow lost it's packaging so I don't know the maker. I stamped both with kiwi kiss and then stamped over that with Versamark and embossed with clear embossing powder. Then I cut out the sentiment and popped it on a piece of baja blue with dimensionals. I used a CB embossing folder to give some texture to the baja blue and the appricot appeal strip on the bottom of the card. The circles were punched with various punches from my huge collection of punches. I sure hope she likes it.

Sweet Sunday 22

2009-06-16T01:48:00.000-07:00

Here is my take on the Sweet Sunday 22 sketch this week.

Do you have a very favorite picture of your mother? Well, from early in my childhood, ever since I saw this picture in a family photo album, it has been my fav. My mom was just 18 years old on this high school graduation picture. This card is for her 80th birthday which will be on July 4, 2010. I always tell people that I have the best mom in the world and that she is a real saint. Well, I've sort of given her a halo of pearls around her picture on this card.

Here are the details: I printed the picture on white cardstock and then embossed it about 5 times with versa mark and clear embossing power to give it a glassy look. I mounted it on a black scallop that was cut from a nestie. The DP is from Kaiser Craft and is 2 sided. The white flourish was along the side the striped side of the paper which worked out perfect for this challenge. The black is linen from Archiver's. I embossed the SU pale plum with a CB folder. The sentiment is from Inkadinkado "Garden Flowers" clear acrylic set and the flourish above and below the sentiment is from Memory Box "Vintage Garden" clear acrylic set. The border punch is MS. Lastly, I added 3 clear rhinestones on a few flowers along the bottom DP.

Thanks Karen for a sketch that inspired me to create this. Hope I can actually save it for her birthday next year and don't break down and give it to her this year instead:))

Sweet Sunday 21

2009-06-11T05:43:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am again just squeaking this entry in under the wire for the Sweet Sunday challenge. I'm dedicating this card to my blogger friend, Karen Motz, over at the Paper Playhouse blog. She is an amazing stamper and has kept good on her vow to do one Xmas card a week this year. I always look forward to seeing it and I keep telling her that it is starting to get me motivated to dig out the Xmas stamps and get going on my cards too. Well, here it is, June, and I'm finally motivated! Hey, that's about 5 months earlier than my norm! Anyway, thanks a whole bunch Karen for the motivation and inspiration I get from you everytime I visit your blog. I'm in all of your outstanding talent in card making!

Now for my card. I puzzled over what to use as an image and then I saw this new cardinal stamp from Memory Box (purchased at a local Scrapbook store) staring at me so thought I should try a Xmas in June card with it. These two SU DP's (riding hood red and kiwi kiss) were at the top of my stash of paper and they were the perfect match for my cardinal. The solid green is also kiwi kiss.

Here are the card details: I punched the squares with my 1 inch Emaginations punch, embossed my white cardstock with the "Birds and Swirls" CB embossing folder, stamped my image 3 times with black pigment ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder. Then I colored in all 3 images using my prismacolor pencils and gamsol to blend. I embossed over the 2nd and 3rd images with clear embossing powder and versamark to make them nice and shiny and easier to cut out. I cut out and layered one of the cardinals over my original with dimensionals. Then I cut out just the wing and layered that on top the second image for more depth. I colored in the leaves with kiwi kiss and an aqua pen. I stamped extra leaves to add to the sentiment that I printed on my computer and punched out with the SU word window punch. I just love adding sentiments this ways. A little sponging around the edges is all it needs to set it off. I used some "Rhine Studs" I got from Michaels for the holly berries and the corner accents. That's a nesties label behind the cardinal that I just tipped sideways for a different look. All in all, I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. Hope you enjoy it and maybe take away a little motivation to get a jumpstart on Xmas too:))

Thanks for another great sketch Karen!

Mojo 89-Winner in June Contest!

2009-06-05T05:36:00.000-07:00

Tada! Here it is Mojo Monday and it's only Friday:)) I am going away for the weekend so wanted to get this posted before I left. Hope you enjoy it! ...and yes, I really did emboss and cut out those tiny little dragon flies...there is no end to my madness it seems!!!

Here are the details: Lots of embossing and popping here. Froggy is embossed as well as the dragon flies. I popped both along with 3 of the willows, 2 of the lily pads and one clump of grass. The water scene is colored with prismacolor pencils and blended with gamsol. Sentiments were done on my computer and punched with SU's word window punch. I added 2 gemstones to the sentiments on the bottom of the page. Papers are as follows, polka dot is DCWV, DP is Basic Grey, brown is Bazzill and the blue is The Paper Studio. I also used a CB embossing folder on the blue paper. I hope that covers it all.

Have a great weekend everyone! Hope to see you next week again!

Sweet Sunday #20

2009-06-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

Here is my take on this weeks "Sweet Sunday Challenge". I can't believe Karen is on #20 already. I remember doing her very first sketch challenge and it seems like it was just yesterday. I rotated the sketch this week so it would be better suited to my image stamp.

Card details:
I used SU's bayou blue and kiwi kiss with a DP from S.E.I. The bayou blue is embossed with the branches CB embossing folder. The image is a clear set made by Hero Arts for Archivers. I triple stamped the birdie, colored all three with SU ink and an aqua pen, then cut out one, embossed it with clear embossing powder and popped it with dimensionals over the first image. I embossed the 3rd birdie and just cut out the wing and popped that on top of the second birdie to give even more dimension. I colored in the flowers and leaves with an aqua pen and SU matching ink and then added green gemstones to the 3 bigger flowers. Finally, I added the 4 brads, paper pierced around the outer edges of the DP and the birdie image, added some small black dots to every other branch of the embossed blue pieces, doodled around the white rectangle that my image is stamped on and hand wrote the sentiment. Click on the picture for a close up look at the 3D birdie and the little black dots I added to the branches on the blue embossed paper.

A fun little sketch challenge! Hope you like it!

Midnight Madness 3

2009-06-02T00:25:00.000-07:00

At last! I'm finally joining in on the Midnight Madness Challenge over on "priscillastyles" blog (http://priscillastyles.blogspot.com/). Please go check it out because her sketches are awesome and her prizes fantastic! The upcoming sketch challenges in June will involve prizes of cold hard $$$$!!! Can't beat that!

Anyway here is my take on sketch #3 which I am squeaking in under the wire this week. I got the wonderful "Vintage Cutie" on this card from Itkupilli's Etsy Shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7021557 ). I found a link to her shop on Priscillastyles' blog and decided to check out the free digital download she was giving away. One of the choices included 8 adorable vintage girls. They are all just as darling as this one.

The two purple papers are by Creative Imaginations and the metallic gold is from Archiver's. I used two CB folders to emboss the gold and the lavender background papers. I also embossed the gold flowers along the side. I heat embossed 7 times over the vintage girl with versamark and clear embossing powder to bring out the detail. The flower and leaf on the bottom of the card are accents from K&Company's Brianna Flowers pack. I added some sparkle with my clear Spica pen to the flower center and the leaf branch. The gold flowers were punched with an EK Success flower punch and the purple flowers behind them were punched with a Marvy flower punch. Finally, I added some pearls for the flower centers, punched a border with my EK Success Fleur de lis punch, added the punched out Fleur de lis' to 2 of the corners of my vintage cutie and finished it all off with a corner Sizzlits die. Oh, and the gold ribbon is something from my stash.

This was very different from anything I've done before but that's what these challenges are all about, right?

Thanks Priscilla! I'm sure I'll be back to play some more:)))

Mojo 88

2009-05-28T19:46:00.000-07:00

Mojo Monday on Thursday. Oh well, sometimes that's the way it goes. I actually had most of this card put together yesterday but I needed to figure out what to put in my circle. Then I spotted this great design on one of my acrylic stamp sets and I knew it would be perfect.
I've decided that I really like pink and orange together after doing a couple of cards with those colors. What do you think?

Here are the details: DP is Making Memories, pink is Bazzill, yellow is SU barely banana and white is from my stash. I used the Paisley CB embossing folder on the yellow piece and one of the border folders from the CB Frills pack on the white. The ink is SU's pumpkin pie. I stamped my Inkadinkadoo (Garden Flower) image and sentiment, then stamped over the top of them again with Versamark and heat embossed them with clear embossing powder. Both are sponged with pumpkin pie around the edges and popped with dimensionals. Finally, I added the polk-a-dot brads to the corners. I'm really happy with the way this turned out. Hope you all like it too.

This sketch is a real keeper. I'm sure I will use it again and again.

Sweet Sunday 19

2009-05-27T00:36:00.000-07:00

Sweet Sunday on Tuesday. Isn't that how it goes when you have a gorgeous Holiday weekend?
This is my take on this weeks sketch. I cheated a bit in the end adding some extra layers to help pop the images off that Paper Studio DP. I think I'm starting to get my mojo back and will try to tackle the Mojo Monday sketch tomorrow. I've just been having so much fun getting caught up on everyone elses blogs. It's so much fun to see what you've all been up to over the last few weeks. There is always so much more going on in the spring and summer that it's hard to keep up with everything. Anyway, hope you are all enjoying great summer like weather. I'm happy for every day that has sun and no snow!

Here are the details for my card: DP is The Paper Studio, black linen from Archivers, white from my stash and Groovy Guava from SU. I used 3 CB embossing folders, 2 of which were border folders. For the border folders, I brayered SU pumpkin in the folders before I embossed them on the white paper. I embossed dots on the edges of the flower border. I stamped the fruit from SU's Tart and Tangy stamp set, heat embossed them with Dazzle Versa Mark, cut and popped them with dimensionals and then added the tiny Basic Grey buttons to the centers. I really like how the border folders turned out with the brayering. I'm definitely going to be doing more of that. Inks I used were SU ruby red, pumpkin pie and Archival's bannana.

Thanks Karen for another great sketch! I'm really trying hard to find the "Clean and Simple" girl inside me, but it ain't easy:))))

Blog Support Award

2009-05-25T01:11:00.000-07:00

I received this great blog support award from my blogger friend Debbie P ( http://debbiepsplace.blogspot.com/) I should really be giving this to her as she is always stopping by my blog and leaving such wonderful comments of support for all my posts. If you don't already follow Debbie's blog, hop over and take a look at her great creations. She is one talented and inspiring lady!

I happily pass this award on to the following bloggers who also support my artistic efforts:

Monique H (http://stampingwithmonique.blogspot.com/)

PriscillaStyles(http://priscillastyles.blogspot.com/)

Ruby2shoes (http://ruby2shoesdesign.blogspot.com/)

Jenn Sannes (http://www.simpleandsincere.com/)

Shannon E (http://hoppycreations.blogspot.com/)

Please check out these great blogs of really talented and supportive bloggers!

Lemonade Stand Blog Award

2009-05-24T17:01:00.000-07:00

I was given this Lemonade Stand award for a blogger who shows great attitude and gratitude by my fellow blogger, Monique H at Self Expressions ( http://stampingwithmonique.blogspot.com/)
Monique is a great blogger friend who is so supportive and sweet, not to mention talented! Check out her blog for yourself, you'll be glad you did.

Thanks so much, Monique! I feel the same way about your blog, but seeing as you already have this award, I will happily pass it on to some very worthy bloggers that I follow on a regular basis.
The rules of the Lemonade Stand Awards are
*comment on this blog
*cut and paste the award logo and use it on your own blog
*nominate 5 to 10 blogs you feel show great attitude and gratitude
*link to your nominees within your blog post
*comment on their blogs to let them know they received the award
*link back to the person who gave you the award to show your appreciation

So now I will pass it on to the following great bloggers who are always inspiring me…

Debbie P's Place (http://debbiepsplace.blogspot.com/)

Denise Marzec (http://www.thepaperlandscaper.blogspot.com/)

Karen Motz (http://paperplayhouse.blogspot.com/)

Judy (http://prairiewildflowerpapercrafts.blogspot.com/)

Lia (http://myscrapworks.blogspot.com/)

ScrappyKY (http://paperkrazy.blogspot.com/)

Jennifer Meyer (http://www.jenniferssweettreatdesigns.blogspot.com/)

Lesley (http://scrapadaisy.blogspot.com/)

Cheryl J (http://mycardmakinghaven.blogspot.com/)

Mojo Monday 87 - Finally!

2009-05-23T18:16:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I'm finally back with a new card! Seems like I've been gone forever! It took me a while to get my Mojo back and find some time to craft a card again. My sister left last Saturday and that was the inspiration for this card. It's been a week already and I am missing her so much. We had a blast while she was here.

Anyway, here are the details for the card:

The DP is SU's Parisian Breeze. I also used SU choc chip, whisper white and some cream linen from scraps for the coffee cream. The dye cut coffee mug and saucer are new from QuicKutz. I die cut the pieces and then put the cup and saucer in the QuicKutz goosebumps dots to texturize them. The cream in the coffee and the rising steam were put in the QuicKutz goosebumps swirls for texture and then sponged with TAC Pueblo ink to highlight them. I popped all the coffee dies with dimensional. The sentiment was created on my computer, cut out with a nestie square, sponged on the edges and popped with dimensionals so there really was no stamping involved in this card at all. I added the white dots around the scallop nestie circle. The border is punched with SU's scallop punch. Hope you like it!

Next week I might even get around to doing 2 challenges:)))

Mojo Monday 85

2009-05-05T02:42:00.000-07:00

And now for something completely different...I picked up this Rubber Stampede stamp a while back and have been waiting for the right sketch to come along so I could use it. I think the the latest Mojo sketch is just what I needed. I've already got my Mother's Day cards done so I think I will save this for my mom's birthday which is on the 4th of July.

Here are the details: All the DP is from "The Paper Studio". I think the pink is SU pixie pink and the black is Archiver's black linen. I used my Floral Fantasy CB folder on the pink paper at the bottom. The punch is EK success "Fleur De Lis". I embossed the stamp image and then colored it with a pink marker. I also made black polka dots on her hat. The ribbon is from Michael's. I created the little daisy flowers with my Fiskars daisy punch and die cut the letters for "Mom" with my Provo Craft Olivia alphabet. For accent I paper pierced two corners of my image and then used the Fleur De Lis scraps as border accents on the image and on the green stripe paper.

Once again, a big thank you to the Mojo team for getting my mojo going this week. I'll definitely be using this sketch again.

Mojo Monday 84

2009-04-29T20:09:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I'm a little happier with this picture after messing around with my camera settings a bit on the auto setting. Here is my take on the Mojo Monday sketch. I used a flourish instead of a ribbon on the bottom because it's for a nephew and I thought the flourish worked better.

My Stampabilities image was colored with prismacolor pencils and blended with gamsol. I stamped the image twice and cut out the one I colored and popped it with dimensionals. Both DPs are shiny; the argyle is by Reminisce and the star pattern is by Creative Imaginations. I also used some shiny silver, cream and white paper from my stash. The black linen is from Archivers. I used my argyle CB folder to emboss the black strip across the middle. I cut the flourish from a Sizzix die, and the sentiment circles from a CB alphabet die set. The sentiment and stamped stars are from Studio G. I used some Diamond Glaze on the stars to make them shiny. Finally, I added some Petite Pearls brads by Bazzill.

I think I like this sketch and will have another go at it in the future. Thanks to the Mojo team for the sketch and the inspiration!

My Little Max

2009-04-27T21:26:00.001-07:00

Just had to share this picture with all of you. My grandson, Max, who I am taking care of for two weeks while his parents are in Russia, found grandma's glasses tonight and I just had to snap this picture of him checking out how stylin' he was in a mirror. Isn't he sweet???!!! I just love him to pieces! We are having a ball together and grandma is getting a real workout everyday.
Hope you get a smile out of this post:))

Sweet Sunday 15

2009-04-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

Here is my take on Karen's great sketch this week. Sorry again for the poor quality of the picture (I used the scanner again). I will try to update the photo when I get back home later this week. I tried to take a photo and transfer it to the computer, but couldn't figure out how to convert it from raw to a jpg with the program my daughter has on her computer. Arghhhh!

I'll add the details when I have time later. I'm just lucky I found a few moments to throw this together:))

Birthday Card for Max

2009-04-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

Here is the other card I was able to get done this week with the couple of hours here and there that I got breaks. This is for my grandson, Max, who loves all things Seasame Street.

I got this image from a fellow blogger, Ida Melby, when I saw a card done with it on her blog(http://ipb.blogspot.com/2009/03/monster-card.html). She directed me to a site that had pictures to print and color and this was one of the images. I used my prismacolor pencils and gamsol to color in the image and had a few problems with the printer ink bleeding but I solved that by first putting down a light layer and then a darker layer. The darker layer hid the bleeding when I blended it over the first one. I cut out the image and popped it on dimensionals and then stamped and colored another arm and the cookies so I could cut them and pop them over the originals to give even more depth to the card. I also added a party hat to Cookie Monster and the number 4 on the bottom, both from clear stamp sets I have. I used the number CB folder on my yellow background. I know he's going to love it.

I apologize for the scanned picture, but what's a gal to do when she's out of her element?

Mojo 83

2009-04-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, I found a little time to create this card for my great niece, Kenady, while my grandson was having therapy sessions. I wanted to get it posted before the week ran out so I did a quick scan. Sorry for the quality of the picture. I didn't have time to try to figure out a new photo shop program.

Anyway, I'll update this with some details when I get the chance. Man, it's tough chasing a 3yr old around all day:))

A Terrific Award to Pay Forward

2009-04-15T07:10:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to recieve this award from one of my favorite bloggers, Debbie Pamment (http://debbiepsplace.blogspot.com/). She's such a sweetheart for thinking of me to pass this on to. I will wear it on my blog with pride for the spirit of it is what I would hope everyone who visits will go away with, A Great Big Smile:)))

So now it is my honor and pleasure to pass this along to 5 other fantastic bloggers whose blogs definitely make me smile everytime I visit. I am choosing 5 deserving people who I feel best emulate the spirit of this special award and here they are in no particular order:

Kyla Scoggins http://paperkrazy.blogspot.com/

Jenn Sannes http://www.simpleandsincere.com/

Ruby http://ruby2shoesdesign.blogspot.com/

Pam Varnell http://stampingpam.blogspot.com/

Shannon Erskine http://hoppycreations.blogspot.com/

Please check out their blogs, they are all fabulous!

Chicks with Inkpads 4 and Mojo 82

2009-04-14T01:08:00.001-07:00

Here is a pretty simple card for the Chicks with Inkpads Inspiration Challenge #4. I used the Mojo Monday 82 layout for this card. The DP is from DCWV Pocket full of Posies Matstack. The other papers are SU pumpkin pie and blue. The tan piece is from my stash. I embossed the tan behind my image with my Cuttlebug mesh folder and the blue background was embossed with the swirls folder. I added the orange ribbon from my stash and a velvet star brad from Making Memories. The edge punch is the SU scallop punch. I double stamped the surf board using another DP scrap, embossed it twice, then cut it out and pieced it over the original. I also double stamped the swimsuit and the hat on solid papers and cut and pieced them on the original image too. I colored in the flesh parts of the image with my prismacolor pencils and a little gamsol to blend. I also sponged around the edges of the image and on the front and sides with blue SU ink. The stamp image is Inkadinkadoo and includes the "Happy Birthday" and the verse I used on the inside which says "You're only a kid once, but you can be young for a lifetime." Of course, I did pop the image with dimensionals to give the card some depth.

There's a whole lot you can do with this layout and if I have some time this week, I may try doing another card using it. It's been fun seeing what other people have come up with on the Mojo blog.

I have a bunch of birthday cards to finish up this week because I will be out of town babysitting my grandson for 2 weeks starting next week and all the birthdays will happen just after I get back. Hopefully, I will have some down time during my babysitting time so I can at least go out and see what everyone else is up to even if I don't have time to craft some cards. Don't forget about me while I'm gone:)))

Sweet Sunday 13

2009-04-13T00:23:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. I consider it great because we had to travel and we didn't have snow!! Not even one drop of percipitation the whole weekend. Dare I hope to say that Spring has finally arrived in Wisconsin? I'm crossing my fingers:)))

Here is my take on the Sweet Sunday 13 sketch challenge for this week. I really do like this sketch and knew right away which DP I wanted to pull out for my card. I had everything figured out pretty quick except what my stamped image would be. I pretty much decided that I wanted to showcase the sentiment, but exactly how was a bit of a struggle. I am happy with how it turned out though.

Here are the details...the polka dot DP is from "The Paper Patch", the floral DP is "Creative Imaginations (Grandma Rocks), the brown is Bazzill and the red is SU rose red. I embossed the red bottom piece with my Cuttlebug stylized flowers embossing folder. All the stamps are from Inkadinkadoo clear acrylic sets. For the polka dot flowers, I stamped a flower image on my polka dot DP, embossed it twice using versa mark and clear embossing powder, cut them out then added brown brads and popped them with dimensionals. I added the brown dotted ribbon from my stash, a corner punched from the polka dot DP and the SU filigree brad that I just got in my last SU order. The ink is SU basic brown.

Not bad, it's barely Monday and I'm done with my Sunday card:)) Thanks Karen for a great sketch to start off the week!

Mojo 81

2009-04-09T01:04:00.000-07:00

I've been planning this card since Monday so guess it's time to get it done and posted.

This sketch was a bit out of the box for me too, but once I decided what stamps I wanted to use and what size card I needed to make to have them work in the sketch, it all fell together.

Here are the details:

The DP is Basic Grey (Euphoria) blue is American Crafts, pink is Bazzill and green is SU Certainly Celery. The blue paper was embossed with my Cuttlebug Happy Birthday embossing folder. The stamp image is from Mouse House stamps, the birthday stamp from SU Party Hearty and I created the Eat Your Cake sentiment on my computer and then cut it out with a Nestabilities label die. The mouse image was colored with prismacolor pencils and blended with gamsol with the exception of the hat which I colored with SU certainly celery and baja blue using an aqua pen. I added some crystal effects to the cake and the little candles. I cut out and popped the bunny with dimensionals on a white background that I embossed with my Cuttlebug Tiny Bubbles embossing folder. The green scallop frame was cut with a Nestabilities and popped with dimensionals. The "B is for birthday" was stamped in SU Purely Pomegranate, cut by hand and then sponged on the edges with pomegranate ink. I added punched circles in white, pink and blue to the center of the "b", punched a daisy with my Fiskar's punch and added a bunny brad to the center of the flower and popped it with a large dimensional. I punched 3 more daisies for the embellishments on the bottom of the card and added some tiny pink buttons to them for centers. The double ribbon came from my stash. Before assembling, I used a corner punch on all 4 corners and added some red brads to my white base.

Thanks again Mojo gals for the inspiration and another challenging sketch! I couldn't think these things up on my own!:))

Chicks With Inkpads #3 and Basic Grey Challenge 29

2009-04-07T20:12:00.000-07:00

Here is the card I created for the latest challenge at http://chickswithinkpads.blogspot.com/search/label/Chicks%20Inspiration%20Challenge and for the Basic Grey Spring/ Easter challenge at http://basicgreychallenges.blogspot.com/ . I hope my card will qualify for the Spring part of the challenge as Mother's Day is in the spring:)

The two chicks will pick their top 5 cards each week and ask the creators of those cards to be guest designers for the next challenge. How great is that? Of course, if you're shy, you can always decline:)

Now for the card details: The DP is from Basic Grey (Euphoria). I don't think I've met a Basic Grey paper that I haven't liked, but I'm really lovin' this stuff. They have several different patterns in this color and I bought them all. The pink paper is Bazzill and the blue is from American Crafts.

I cut the white circle and the scallop with my Nestabilities. I embossed the white piece using my Cuttlebug Stylized Flowers embossing folder. If you click on the picture you can probably make out some of the detail of the embossing. Now for those flowers; I stamped 3 different flowers from an Inkadinkadoo (Garden Words) stamp set, embossed them and cut them out. For the last small flower, I used an embossed reject image as my paper and punched out 3 flowers with my new Fiskars daisy punch. I joined all the flowers together with a glittered brad from my stash, added pieces of ribbon that came from Michael's and then popped the flowers with dimensionals. I added the pearls around the scallop and punched the branches around the flowers with my MS branch punch. The sentiment is Studio G, that I stamped and sponged with SU Purley Pomegranate.

I was really pleased how this card turned out so it definitely will be going to my Mom.

Sweet Sunday 12

2009-04-06T00:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this Sweet Sunday sketch was very basic, but I think I might have gone a bit overboard with it. I just don't do well with wide open spaces:) Something makes me want to fill them in.

I knew the instant I saw the sketch what paper I wanted to use and I figured out pretty quickly how I wanted to layer it. But then came all the embellishments. I nearly stopped before adding the blue branches and the butterfly but something just urged me on.

That gorgeous DP is from My Mind's Eye. I just love all their paper! The solid blue is the backside of the polka dot DP, so the inside of my card has that great polka dot pattern...a bonus, I think. The sentiment is SU and the flourishes are from a clear acrylic set by Impression Obsession. The butterfly is from an acrylic set by Inkadinkado. The inks were Velvet and Rustic Red from TAC and SU Baja Breeze. I added some crystal gemstones from Hero Arts to the flourishes for accent, a WeR glitter brad for the center of the flower and the blue branches punched with MS branch punch. The flowers were from my stash.

Thanks again Karen for the great challenge! I probably made this one much harder than it should have been:)

One challenge down...onward to Mojo Monday!

Mojo Monday #80

2009-04-04T20:00:00.000-07:00

Ever get a new stamp set that you are itching to use so bad you make it fit into your next sketch challenge? That's how I felt about my new Flopsey set from MFT. I was determined to make it work with this week's Mojo Monday sketch challenge.

I love all the MFT stamps, but Flopsey is my favorite by far. I'm sure that I will own all the Flopsey sets they produce. Did you know about their bargin bin every Monday? That's how I'm expanding my collection of MFT stamp sets. Every Monday they have a number of sets for reduced prices. They have a great shipping rate of $2.50 which makes their stamps even more affordable and they always ship super fast.

Okay, back to my card:) I rarely do a card without a second background layer and even more rarely do I use white as my layer to mount on unless I've embossed it. I almost changed the background color to pink, but then decided to do a paper piercing along the top and sides and that seemed to work for me.

The DP is Pebbles Inc. the solid pieces are Bazzill. I paper pieced the bunny's hat and coveralls and the carrots in the wheel barrow. I do believe my Flopsey is a she and that is why her coveralls are so stylin' and her hat is pink:) I decided to substitue the sketch's bow for the MS fence border. The bunny was double stamped and then popped on dimensionals. I used the Cuttlebug dots folder to emboss the white background that Flopsey is on which was cut out with a Nestibabilities die. The circle and scallop were also cut out of Nestabilities. The little stick on icons are Heidi Grace. I also stamped, colored, cut out and popped those adorable little veggie stakes which are also in this MFT set. So there you have it...I used every stamp in the set to make this card including the cute sentiment. Hope you enjoy it.

Thanks to the great ladies at the Mojo blog for another terrific sketch! I enjoy participating every week, even if I don't get my card done until Saturday night:)

Chicks With Inkpads Inspiration Challenge #2

2009-04-04T03:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I don't need another Mother's Day card right now, but this one will go in my stash for next year.

This is for the second Chicks With Inkpads Inspiration Challenge that you can find here
http://chickswithinkpads.blogspot.com/search/label/Chicks%20Inspiration%20Challenge. I went with pink and white with just a splash of green. I used my Cuttlebug dots embossing folder to back the borders flowers on the right side of the card and then used the stylized flowers embossing folder to create the flower on the left. I colored in the flowers on the right with my Pebbles, Inc. pearlescent pink and green chalk. The scallop border is SU and the sentiment is from a little set of clear stamps I picked up at a local craft store. The pink stripe DP backing the flowers is from Pebbles Inc (My Baby Girl Stripe) and the floral DP is from Little Yellow Bicycle (Baby Safari). The dark rose paper is Bazzill and the ribbon is some I picked up at JoAnn Fabrics. I added those cute little buttons, a pink crystal by Mark Richards and those little pearls to accent the DP flowers. I popped the framed flowers with dimensionals as well as the sentiment after I inked the edges.

I wasn't intending on making it a Mother's Day card, but it just looked like one when I got done. Hope you like it.

Card for Friends

2009-04-04T00:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick post with a card I made for some friends who have fallen on hard times right now. They have a terrific dog who is a big part of their family and who doesn't know that in hard times, your pets are so important to your mental health. Anyway, I bought this stamp a while ago because I have a number of friends and family with pets and knew I would get use out of it.

I decided to make the card a shaker card as I have a cute little dog bone punch, one I picked up for a bargin bin at Michael's a while back, and I thought it would work perfect for confetti for my card. The sentiment stamp is from American Art Stamp and the Charlie Brown stamp is Stampabilities. The DP is from my scrap and wasn't labeled. Both the plain papers are Bazzill. The light tan frame was cut from a Nestabilities die and then stamped with a bone stamp from Stamps by Judith. I think the ribbon came from JoAnn Fabrics or Michael's on one of those tiny spools. The dog paw brads are Spare Parts brads.

My friends loved it.

Sweet Sunday 11

2009-04-01T05:37:00.000-07:00

This is a cute little sketch for the Sweet Sunday challenge this week. Only my second time ever for a butterfly card. I could really get into them, I think. I wanted to go big with my butterfly and when I spotted this DP I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I have a gorgeous butterfly stamp that I've had for a long time. I don't know who made it because it was unmounted when I got it. Anyway, I stamped the butterfly right onto my DP and then I embossed it, using the new Dazzling Versa Mark that I just bought online. The DP was already glittery, but wow, did the embossing ever pop out the color. I don't think you can get the full effect from my photo, but trust me, this is one beautiful butterfly! I cut out the butterfly and amazingly I didn't cut off an antenna. I think the embossing helped stabilize the paper so it was easier to cut the detail. I mounted the butterfly with some sticky zip strips and pulled up the wings for dimension.

I used my nestabilities for the background butterfly frames, added some white flowers from my stash with glittered brads (Spare Parts) for the centers, added pearls to accent the scallop border (Stampin' Up) and added some pearls to the body of the butterfly. The DP is DCWV and the pink papers are both My Mind's Eye. The blue cardstock is a textured piece from my stash. The butterfly tail is from a Hero Arts acrylic stamp set and the sentiment is from a Cloud9 Design acrylic stamp set. The ribbon is The Paper Studio's orange polka dot.

I never made a card with these dimensions before. Now I have to find an envelope to fit it.

Thank you Karen for challenging me to create another first! It was fun.

Cuttlebug Challenge #24 Two embossing folders

2009-03-30T01:14:00.000-07:00

Halloween in March anyone???

This is my second Cuttlebug Challengehttp://thecuttlebugspot.blogspot.com/ and I'm loving it! The challenge this week is to use 2 different embossing folders on the same paper. I had to pull out my big binder of Cuttlebug embossing folders and think hard to come up with this one. Are you ready? You may have to look closely, but I tried to get the best picture I could to show both folders I used. Click on the picture for a close-up look.

First I ran through white cardstock and the "Distressed Stripes" folder, then I brayered the "Boo To You" folder with pumpkin pie ink and ran the paper through the Cuttlebug again. I really liked how it turned out. Then I used the Holloween Sign embossing folder and die cut to make the sign. I cut the die first, then brayered the embossing folder with black ink before running it through the Cuttlebug. I pullled out my chalks, (poor things have been so neglected since I gave them up for gamsol and prismacolor pencils) and I colored in the image. I decided to back the image with black and pumpkin pie layers, which I cut by hand and then popped the top and bottom layers with dimensionals. I added the ribbon, button and finally the little googly eyes, which I mounted on 3/16" black circles. I mounted all that to a card base of pumpkin pie.

Ahh, now she's done you say...but no, just when she thought she was ready to take a picture and submit the card for the challenge, a light bulb came on in her head....what if she were to make that Halloween Sign part of the challenge by using another embossing folder on it, thereby achieving the challenge x2??? But, that would mean she would have to start all over with the sign because she would have to run the paper through with her other folder first or she would lose the sign image. That would be CRAZY! Of course, that is exactly what I did! This time I took my white paper and put it through the cuttlebug using my distressed stripes again. When I cut the die, I cut it with the stripes running across instead of up and down so it would be opposite the embossed background piece. Out came the chalks again (they were so happy to be out in the light for so long) and there you have it...a Halloween card embossed twice on the same paper x2!!!

Hope you like it. I had a blast doing it! Thanks for a great challenge!

Mojo Monday 79

2009-03-27T19:26:00.000-07:00

Last week I had my Mojo Monday card done on Monday and this week I struggled a bit to try to come up with an idea for this sketch. I had to look through all my stamps to figure out what would fit this layout. I think it was the bow on the bottom that threw me. I finally settled on this stamp from a Tricia Santry Studio acrylic stamp set called "Hoppy Day".

I double stamped the image and then popped off the whole thing including the butterflies. I added the micro beads to the flower center with some Diamond Glaze for glue. I also used my clear glitter pen on the butterflies although I don't think you can see that in the photo. I drew in the border around the stamped image and added the brads along the right side along with the "friend" sentiment. The bottom border is an MS punch and the patterned paper is by Heidi Grace. The burgandy paper was from my stash and the gold is Stampin' Up's mustard paper.

Once again, I used my Cuttlebug dots embossing folder for the gold background.

Thanks to the Mojo gals for once again pushing me to go outside my box with this challenge.

Chicks With Inkpads Inspiration Challenge #1 & Cuttlebug Challenge #23

2009-03-24T15:00:00.000-07:00

I decided to enter this card for both the Cuttlebug Challenge #23 Spring http://thecuttlebugspot.blogspot.com/ and the chicks with inkpads challenge. This is the first time I am entering a card for the Cuttlebug challenge. I might be late for it, but I think I am confused with two different sites doing cuttlebug challenges. I tried to post last night but couldn't find the right link after I edited this post. Guess I was just up too late catching up on the blogs I follow:) Does that happen to anyone else???

I linked to the chicks 1st challenge http://chickswithinkpads.blogspot.com/through Karen Motz's blog http://paperplayhouse.blogspot.com/. Karen is an awesome card artist whose blog I have been following for a while. As soon as I saw the challenge I knew what I was going to do. I love the soft colors in this challenge and it immediately made me see butterflies and flowers. (It helped that I had just recieved a card in the mail from a friend who does the most awesome paper creations and then die cuts images from them. Her card had a butterfly die cut done with the really cool nestabilites butterflies dies that emboss the die cut too.) Here is her card:

Isn't that just awesome paper that Jane created for that butterfly? She's so talented!

The butterflies on my card were created with my new double die QuicKutz butterfly that I have been itching to try. The card base is Stampin Up pumpkin pie cardstock followed by marigold morning. The white background was embossed with my Cuttlebug birds and swirls embossing folder. The butterflies are cut out from tangerine tango and sherbet DP from Stampin' Up and a piece of scrap polka dot that seemed to match well with the other DP. I punched the white circles with a 1 3/4" punch and put them through my Cuttlebug with the dots embossing folder. I punched the scallop circles with a 1 7/8" scallop punch. I popped the white circles with dimensionals and then added the white pearls to each butterfly. The sentiment is stamped in certainly celery with an acrylic stamp from Inkadinkado and I used a MS punch for the leaves on a green Bazzill paper. I punched out some little flowers with my EK Success flower punch and added the little pearls for centers. Finally, the polka dot ribbon across the middle of the card is produced by The Paper Studio.

A big thank you also goes to Sonia, http://www.scraps4fun.com/, who continually shows me how pretty white on white can be with her awesome creations. Check out her blog, you won't be sorry.

I think I may use this card for one of my Mother's Day cards. Now to decide which mother gets it:)

Sweet Sunday #10

2009-03-23T00:44:00.000-07:00

Here is my take on the Sweet Sunday challenge for this week. I used one of my brand new MFT stamp sets for this card that I want to send to my sister for Easter with her package of chocolate.

I started out by stamping the chair and footstool on a pink print by Imaginisce so I could add that over my original stamped image. Then I stamped and colored the image with my Prismacolor pencils and gamsol. I added those cute chocolate pearls by Kaiser Scrapbook to my box of chocolates and also added the larger ones down the right side of the card. I popped the stamped image on dimensionals to give the card some more depth and added some ribbon I got from Michael's. I also added some hot pink brads to the sentiment because it looked a little bare. The border punch is Martha Stewart. The solid brown is Bazzill, the pink is ColorMates, the print floral/paisley is Basic Grey and the striped paper is Heidi Grace.

This was a fun sketch that I will probably use again. I absolutely adore Karen's card this week! It really inspired me. Thanks again Karen.

Cheer Me Up Card for Sis

2009-03-22T01:15:00.000-07:00

I have been cooking up this card for a little while, ever since I bought this cute Mouse House stamp several weeks back. I decided I would use it to come up with a card for my sister who just finalized her divorce after 20 plus years of marriage. I wanted this to help cheer her up after she finally sold her house and moved into an apartment this last week. She's really trying to move on and stay positive about her new life.

The printed papers are from "My Minds Eye" and the green is Stampin' Up old olive. I used my Prisma colored pencils and gamsol to color the Mouse House image. Again, I double stamped my image so I could cut out and pop the little mouse head, the flower and the lemon over the original image. I used some diamond glaze to cover the lemonade portion of the glass and used my spica clear glitter pen on the flower. I created the sentiment on my computer, sponged the edges and mounted it with some cute yellow polka dot brads that I found at Hobby Lobby. The ribbon is called mini dot moss and I just picked it up at JoAnn Fabrics today, hoping it would work on this card.

I'm including a picture of the inside of the card just because I wanted you to see how I used up the frame I had leftover from the nestabilities die cut I used on the front of the card. It sort of accidently fell onto the card while I was moving things around on the table and a light bulb went on in my head. Ha! Ha! Anyway, I thought it added a nice funky look to the inside and now I don't have to fret about tossing away that scrap piece of frame:)

Hope it brings a smile to your face!

Hubby's B-Day Card

2009-03-20T22:56:00.000-07:00

Here is a card I made for my hubby's birthday next month. I used Karen's Sweet Sunday sketch from this last Sunday again because I thought it would work perfect for this card. I realize it may not look like a very masculine card, but trust me, he's going to love it.

Okay, so maybe I'll have to do some explaining of this card. It is a birthday card. However, you may ask why that cute doxie has bunny ears? Well, my hubby's birthday just happens to land on Easter Saturday this year, so the bunny ears are appropriate and the doxie just happens to resemble our little Liesl dog who has been gone out of our lives but not out of our hearts nearly two years now.

The plaid paper is from We R Memory Keepers, the red is from American Crafts and the blue is Bazzill. I used my nestabilities to cut the circle and scallop, double stamped the image, colored it with my prismacolor pencils and gamsol, then cut out the doxie head and 3 of the tulips and popped them over the original stamped image. I was tempted to pull out a cuttlebug embossing folder for the blue strip, but I decided to pierce the paper instead. I created the Happy Birthday on my computer and punched it out with the Stampin' Up word window punch. I inked the edges and mounted the pieces with the green brads. I'll have to hide this one as soon as I finish the inside sentiment. Hope you like...I know he will.

Birthday Card for Tracy

2009-03-19T22:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a card I created for my daughter-in-law, inspired by a card I saw on Splitcoast. She is a music teacher specializing in piano and guitar. I always try to make her a card with a music theme. Her birthday is on May 5th. That happens to be the same day as my sister's birthday, which is the next card I hope to get done ahead of the game.

I embossed the silver background paper with my Cuttlebug music notes embossing folder. The red patterned paper is from Paper Pizzazz that I bought at JoAnn Fabrics. The musical notes are eyelets from Eyelet Outlet and the piano is a brad that was in my stash. The Happy Birthday is an acrylic stamp that I think came from Archiver's. The ribbon was a scrap I had that just seemed to fit with the rest of the card. I hope she likes it.

On to the next birthday card.

Mojo Monday 78

2009-03-16T21:49:00.000-07:00

Wow! Here it is still Monday, just barely, and I already have the sketch challenge done for this week. Just got this stamp in the mail today and thought it would go great with this sketch.

Saw the foot doc today and he said the xrays look great so I can start putting some weight on the foot when I walk with my crutches. Yippee! My hubby took me out to lunch after my doc appt. and the weather was near 60 degrees, so all is well in my world. Think I may even try venturing out on my own tomorrow (we are supposed to have record temps in the 70's).

Back to my card....my pattern papers are from "The Paper Studio". The dark pink and dark brown papers are Bazzill and the light pink is Dena Designs. The bunny stamp is Inkadinkadoo, which I double stamped so I could cut out and pop the ears over the original. I clear embossed the little choc kisses which came from My Favorite Things "How Sweet It Is" set. I cut them out and popped them. I colored the bunny with my Prisma colored pencils and a little blending gamsol, drew in the grass and the decorative edging with my Stampin Up choc chip marker. I created the sentiments on my computer. I also used my Argyle Cuttlebug embossing folder to pop the light pink paper and match the patterned argyle paper. I'm happy with how it turned out and now I have one more Easter card done! Hope you like it too.

Thanks to the girls on the Mojo blog for another great sketch challenge!

Sweet Sunday 9

2009-03-16T01:19:00.000-07:00

Three days of sitting around the TV after my surgery was driving me bonkers! I finally broke down and had my hubby bring a bunch of my craft stuff down into the kitchen so I could create.

A simple sketch with lots of possibilities this week. I have a pile of birthday's coming up in April and May so thought I would take this opportunity to tackle one of them.

I had a little trouble getting a true color on this photo. The solid colors I used were Certainly Celery and Almost Amethest. The patterned piece is Susan Branch. My photo turned out more blue than the periwinkle color it should be.

The stamp is Penny Black. I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder on the Certainly Celery piece. I also added some crystal laquer to the candles, icing and the frog's eyes and tux. I cut the circle and scallop with my Nestabilities dies and double stamped the image so I could cut one out and pop it over the other. I did the coloring with my Prisma colored pencils and blended with gamsol.

The inside will say "Don't worry, it'll be a piece of cake for you!"

Thanks Karen for jump starting me with another great sketch!

Pirate Ship Card

2009-03-10T04:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a card I did for my friend who is going on a cruise. She will be taking a side trip on the actual ship that was used in "The Pirates of the Carribean" movies. She is also a huge Johnny Depp fan. On her little excursion, the ship will take them to an island where they will embark on a treasure hunt.

I am posting two pictures of the inside of the card so you can see how it looks with the treasure flap down and then the eye candy revealed on the last photo. Enjoy!

I will be out of commission for a while starting tomorrow, as I am having some surgery on my foot. Don't know when I'll get back out to post any new cards, but I'm sure I'll be watching what everyone else is doing while I recover.

Mojo Monday 76

2009-03-05T02:47:00.000-08:00

Here is my take on the latest Mojo Monday sketch challenge.

I'm adding 3 different views in hopes that you can see how I popped up several of the truffles to give the image some dimension.

The stamp image was colored with prisma colored pencils and blended with gamsol. This one is going to my sister, who shares my passion for chocolate. The sentiment on the indside is

"Even the Bunny knows...it's all about the "chocolate"!

Sweet Sunday 7

2009-03-03T20:31:00.000-08:00

Holy pink Batman! Put your sunglasses on to view this baby! This is my attempt at this week's sketch. I tried to turn this sketch on it's side so I could use my new Martha Stewart bunny border punch which I think is adorable. I took a few liberties with the sentiment as I couldn't run it down the side without running into my bunny's foot. This card is neon!

The bunny stamp is from a TAC set from a while back. I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder on 1/2 of the white nestabilities circle so that it would look like a fence that the bunny is climbing over. I also used a scallop nestabilities die to back the white circle with the neon green.

The pink pattern papers I picked up at JoAnn Fabrics and the pink card stock is a Bazzill paper.

Click on the photo to get a close up look at the detail, if you dare!

Sure hope no one goes blind looking at this baby!

Thanks to Karen for another great sketch!