Think Tink!

Sadly, I just realized that I never posted the card I made my oldest daughter for her birthday this past Sept! I did post her little sisters card (their birthdays are 3 days apart) so I don't know how this got forgotten. It's nothing too special, but I wanted to be fair and post both of their cards, especially as they love to see my blog:) I don't even know who makes these supplies, the green textured cardstock is from a stack I got ages ago, the flower and epoxy sticker were in a bag a friend gave me. However, I again did a search for line art (like with my Ariel card for my younger daughter), and added a personalized birthday message to that. Tink is colored with Sharpies, and her wings are 2 Way Glue and Dazzling Diamonds. The pom poms on her shoes are Stickles, and her eyes and lips are coated with Crystal Effects. I just wanted to share her card!

And this is the brithday girl posing with her card! She's my prissy one, always in the crown!

3D Ornament...

You know those times when you sit down to stamp and can't think of a single thing to make? I hope I am not the only one who has those...LOL! All I knew was that I wanted the card uncluttered and featuring a 3D Ornament. So, I pulled out my Ski Slope DSP from last year (SO thankful I bought 3 packs of it, it is my all time favorite!), and punched 8 Ornaments. They all got folded in 1/2, glued back to back, then added to a scrap cardstock Ornament for sturdiness. Then, I was stumped. I had nothing...no ideas, nothing. I went through my scrap drawer, and found the previously scalloped Old Olive strip, as well as the Petals A Plenty embossed Chocolate Chip scrap. I decided to cut some Real Red to mat between them, and that was it! The flower on the Baja Breeze base is from a retired Christmas set, and actually was colored with the VersaMarker, and stamped onto the card as it had a circle image around it. I finished it with Merry Christmas in Chocolate Chip in the bottom right corner. It's plain and simple, but when doing all different Christmas cards, that's what I was going for!!! I do have some more elaborate cards to post tomorrow, I hope that will make up for these last two simple ones.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!! I am enjoying crackling fires, a fresh Christmas tree and nighttime Christmas movies with my little girls. I hope you are all enjoying this special season as well!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

I am LOVIN' the Delightful Decorations stamp set and the Ornament Punch so much this Holiday Season. Almost all of my Christmas cards are made using these this year! This one is a color combo I haven't use before, and I LOVE it now! I chose to pair Real Red, Whisper White and Soft Suede for this one. This is one of the cards I created for my Nov Hostess Club meeting. I 'accidentally' discovered that I really like the Top Note Die in more than one color. It's always the blunders that teach you something new! I ran the beautiful White Organza ribbon under the Top Note, and the red ornaments are stuck on with Glue Dots, the suede one is popped up on Dimensionals. The Silver Elastic cording is going fast, I use it on everything! It works beautifully for 'hanging' these ornaments. I finished off the JOY ornament with a small Clear Rhinestone brad. This is an easy card, very quick to make and I think it packs a big WOW for it's simplicity!

***To the ladies in the Blog Group...please forgive me for my recent absence! I will get to your blogs this week, I PROMISE! We have had a busy month, a death in the family, a huge pay cut, and we haven't shopped for one single Christmas gift yet. It's been one of those months...I am finally starting to catch up, and can't wait to visit all of you. And, over this week, I will catch my blog up as well. Many of my recent projects have been for my Club Christmas Party, which was Sat, and I can't wait to post pics of those now that the party is over!***

Jelly Belly Halloween...

Here's the Halloween card I planned for my hostess club for our Oct meeting. Everyone liked it, and it's fun and easy to make! Jelly Bellys are probably my all-time favorite candy, and to me there is no other jellybean, I happily pay $7/pound, no questions asked for my beloved JB's, luckily I don't eat sweets often! Here I chose Wild Blackberry, the color is a deep purple that is almost black and it really compliments this card! To make this card easier to make, we filled the cups, then stuck them to acetate, and then trimmed the edges. Once that's in place with a little glue, it's easy to set your layers. Took me a while to figure that out, but it's a great trick!

For this card, I chose an odd color combo, Basic Black, Green Galore, and Lovely Lilac. Most people do orange, but it just seemed played out to me this year, I wanted purple, and somewhere it works! We used the Sweet Centers stamp set, 1 3/4" punch, and the Sweet Treat Cups from SU for this card. To add a little edging, we punched the purple layer with the Spiral punch, and those openings worked perfectly for running our black ribbon through for the X. The Happy Halloween is from All Holidays, and punched with the Modern Label punch. We took our purple scrap (from the tearing) and punched 1/4" holes and stuck those on with Glue Dots. I will be making many more of these! I just hate that you have to tear the card to get to the goods, but you know for JB's, I believe I would tear it in a hot minute...LOL!

Give Thanks Nugget Box...

These are the Nugget Boxes I planned for my hostess club for Oct's meeting. Everyone loved making them, they are lots of fun. I prescored everything for them, which was a lot of work, but saved a LOT of time at the meeting. Below is the pic of the box open and you can see the Nuggets. Of course, being me, the candies had to match, so the Nuggets are the Almond Nuggets in the gold wrappers, silver would have been tacky here...LOL! We sponged and stamped on Avery address labels and wrapped the candies in those. I also like using DSP, but in my hostess club, I love to show how you can create things with what you already have around you.

We used the Autumn Harvest set for the Nugget wrappers, and sponged them with Crushed Curry and Dusty Durango. The DSP is Razzleberry Lemonade, the CS is Crushed Curry, ribbon is Dusty Durango. We used the Give Thanks acorn stamp from The More The Merrier Level 3 Hostess Set. These are SO easy, and they make wonderful Thank You gifts, hostess gifts, etc.

***Please forgive the blurry pics. I am having camera trouble, have no idea what's wrong with it, it's just not focusing, I may have to go back to my plain old digital until I figure it out. Thanks for bearing with me!

My Etsy Store...

I have no idea how well this will go for me, but I have decided to open an Etsy store. Many of the cards on my blog may show up there, so if it's something you might like to call you own, you know where to find me...LOL! It's in the beginning stages now, but I am hoping to have it done and stocked next week! There is one card up now to check everything and I think it's all ready to go! Check it out!

www.inked4you.etsy.com

A Soft Suede Sunset...

This card was sent to my Uncle who shares my birthday on Sept 26th. This was made in minutes, I was in a huge hurry, but I still love how it turned out! The base is Soft Suede, and I used Naturals White CS for the Top Note Die. The corners are the Curly Label punch lined up in the Photo Corner punch, although in hindsight, you can't see the centers, and it would have saved a ton of time to just cut the Curly Labels in half. Oh well, you live and learn, right? The treeline is from Lovely As a Tree, and the background is brayered in 3 colors (Bordering Blue, Crushed Curry, and Old Olive) with sponging over it in places, and the sunset is sponged in Crushed Curry and a tiny bit of Really Rust. I used a Gel Pen for the corners and edge of the Top Note, and stamped the sentiment from Heard From The Heart in Soft Suede. Finished this off with some Soft Suede Polka Dot Grosgrain ribbon, and called it done.

Birthday Wishes from Under The Sea...

My youngest daughter turned 3 today!!! She is an Ariel fanatic, she just loves that mermaid, so I decided to make her an Ariel birthday card. Of course, I don't have any Ariel stamps, so I had to think. I GOOGLED 'Ariel Line Art' (cause if you google Ariel images, or Ariel clip art it's all in color), and adjusted the size down until it was small enough for my card front. I printed it on cardstock, and colored it in. This card is SO simple, I probably shouldn't blog it here, but it goes to show you don't have to go all out to make a nice card! I knew that Tara would want to keep this in her room and play with it, so I did not want any embellishments on it that would come off.

This is not the best pic, I remembered to snap it right before giving it to Tara, so there was no time! However, the bubbles have Crystal Effects on them, as do Ariel's eyes. The coloring is actually a lot more detailed than the picture shows. This image was colored with Sharpies 36 Color Collection! Her hair has NO lines at all, I was amazed, it took some time to color, as I don't have the fine point Sharpies, but this looks great for what I used. Frosted Lace Stickles were used on her tail.

And here is the best picture by FAR!!! My little angel SO excited to have an Ariel birthday card!

CS is SU and DCVW White Core

Ink is Sharpie, and a couple SU markers

Image is digital and I can email to you upon request.

Big Shot was used with a bubble texture plate on the green.

Sorry for the bad pics and quick post. This week is just starting, we still have Chloe's birthday at home, a small family party for both kids, a friend's kids birthday party Friday, beach trip to pack for this weekend, I am on preschool snack duty all week, and the house is getting dirty, it's freaking me out. I am a neat freak who loves to clean, so needless to say, no more stamping till I catch up on cleaning!

My Homemade Sock Monkey (if you laugh, I will hit you with him!)

As many of you know, my husband and I recently spent a couple nights quietly together making sock monkeys from a kit to give our little girls for their birthdays. Our youngest girl, Tara, turned 3 today, and Chloe turns 5 on Thursday, but we gave both of them one today. This is the monkey I made! No, he isn't the prettiest thing (or even close to it) that I have ever seen, but the light in those girls eyes when we handed them over was priceless! This one went to the 5 year old, and she named him Banana Head (so original, huh?). Jim and I had a great time. They each turned out differently as I varied from the pattern a little bit as I wanted big, round monkey ears, and the kit pattern was for flatter ones. We also chose different buttons for the eyes. We can't help but laugh when we look at these guys! The girls just got them today, and they seem to be a hit! It's from the heart, and that's most important. Of course he was set aside to open real presents, but was picked back up and loved! I have included a full body shot, and then his close up with the vest I added buttons to! He's too skinny, kind of ugly, and a pain to make, but SO worth it to watch 2 little angels enjoy them!

Sock Monkey Double Challenge! MOJO102 / CC232

I am HOOKED on the Mojo Monday Sketches! I just finished #101 last night, the new one posted today, and so I just finished #102! I have posted the sketch below so you can see it! Check out Mojo Monday for yourself! I also made this for last weeks SCS Tues Color Challenge, CC232 (a little behind, but I wanted to use this combo tonight!), to use Close To Cocoa, Taken With Teal and Very Vanilla.

I LOVE this Sock Monkey from SU so much. I have heard people on forums knock him, all I can say is, they must not own him! He's adorable, and oh so much fun! I usually paper piece or color him, but today he said he felt like being Vanilla!

Stamps: Sock Monkey
Paper: CS...Close To Cocoa, Taken With Teal, Very Vanilla
Ink: CTC, TWT
Punches: Scallop Edge, Scallop Square, Photo Corner, Boho Blossom, 1", 3/4", and 1/4" Circles
Accessories: Sponges, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Styled Vanilla HPH, Very Vanilla Ribbon, Paper Piercer, Cuttlebug Folder....BESIDES the Cuttlebug Folder, this card is once again SUO!

I hope you all enjoy it! It was the most fun to make, I truly had a good time. Now to get ready for bed! I think I will leave the mess I made for another day :)

Mojo Monday 101 Sketch Challenge...

Look Ma, no stamps!!!!! This card is for the Mojo Monday Sketch, week 101. Check out THIS site to see all the Mojo Monday challenges. I really love this card, probably because I am addicted to green olives out of the jar! I am trying to use up some old DSP, and both of these papers are from Bella Rose, I used Kiwi Kiss and Riding Hood Red Textured Cardstock for the base, olive, and red strip. I can't cut straight to save my life, so I used the edge of the Photo Corner punch to 'V' the end, worked perfectly! I ran the white rectangle through the Big Shot with a Cuttelbug folder, besides that folder this card is SUO. I used the Word Window punch to punch out my 'Olive You' sentiment that is handwritten with a Chocolate Chip marker. Three Square Fire Rhinestone brads in the top right corner finished this card off!

Hope you all like it, and I hope some of you will jump into the Mojo Monday challenges! I just recently discovered them, and love it!

Life has been really busy here lately! I have my library committee things to do, getting my oldest daughter ready for preschool in two weeks, my husband has been on call for 3 straight weeks, and it has been a test of my patience to say the least. I am eager for Fall!!! Summer is a busy time of year for all of us, and with NC heat and almost constant humidity, I am DONE with Summer!!!

Recent Blog Awards...

From Siobhan...
From Siobhan...
From Sarah...

I have been meaning to get these put up here. There are a few more floating around out there that I will get up ASAP, and pass them on all at one time...Thanks ladies!

Every Good and Perfect Gift...

A girl I have known since childhood is pregnant with her first child. She just had her shower, which unfortunately I could not attend. This is her card. She did not wish to find out the gender of this child, so I was torn!!! I have never made a card for a woman who was pregnant without knowing whether the child was a boy or girl. It was quite the challenge for me!!! I saw this amazing quilt technique over at SCS, and wanted to give it a try, so I figured a baby card would be the perfect opportunity! The DSP is from a retired hostess Prints Pack, and is Bashful Blue and Pretty In Pink. I also used Bashful Blue cardstock, along with Whisper White. The sentiment is from a long ago SU set called God Bless. I framed (cut and embossed) it with a Nestie called Labels One. The pink edges are the Photo Corner Punch. I dressed this card up with some paper piercing (I thought it went well with the quilting), Whisper White Organza from SU, and Pearls by Mark Richards. The quilting took a little while, but the outcome is beautiful! I hope she likes it, and will forgive my being late, as usual!

Decor Elements Catalog Inspiration...

I recently challenged my customers to create a card using the Decor Elements catalog (on the left) as their inspiration. Inspiration comes differently to every person, so I really look forward to seeing what they all come up with! This catalog cover is so beautiful, there is tons of inspiration to reach out and grab you! The main inspiration points to me are pretty obvious, the framed butterflies on the wall and the pillow with the pretty button on the bed.

Colors are Bermuda Bay, Green Galore, and Yoyo Yellow. Bermuda Bay ribbon and DSP. Many punches here. The small butterflies are the smallest flower from the Boho Blossoms punch, with two petals cut off in a 'v', and the big butterfly is the 5 Petal Flower punch, with one petal cut off in a 'v'. So many new punches ideas are coming to me right now! Several other punches, all SU, were used. I will be happy to answer any questions about what I used, but due to the late hour, won't list it all out like I normally do. Which do you like best? The first card or the second?

Bella Rose Tri-Fold Shutter...

Well, I gave this Tri-Fold Shutter card another try. This one still took a while, but not as long as my Christmas one I posted earlier. I like this one a lot! This card is so thick that I cannot get a picture of it closed without me holding it together, so please pardon my hand in the pic below.

My Big Shot really got a workout on this card! I used several dies on here, SU Little Leaves, SU Birds & Blooms, SU Top Note Die, Architectural Elements. The only stamp set used is Friends 24-7 and the word WISH from Small Script. DSP is Bella Rose, Cardstock is Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette (textured), Kiwi Kiss (textured), a touch of Chocolate Chip and Whisper White. All buttons are SU from Button Bouquet (retired), flowers are Kaiser and unknown. Pearl is Mark Richards, and red crystal is from Hero Arts.

I need to buy a Scor-Pal, then this fold would be easier. Hope you like this one!

I stepped out of my comfort zone...

This card is nothing of my normal style, but I love how it turned out. I decided when I sat down last night that I wanted to try something I have never done before. This is the busiest card I have ever made, with a lot of patterns and colors. I made this for a little girl who turns 4 this weekend, and I hope she likes it!!! All of the bling on this card is from a package my friend, Siobhan sent to me. I have no idea of the brand, as the entire packages are in Japanese, but I like using them!

Cardstock: SU Orchid Opulence, Gable Green, Whisper White

Pattern Paper: K&Company Specialty

Punches: SU 1/2, 3/4" circles, Photo Corners, Scallop Edge

Creative Memories Cutting System, Big Shot with Wingo Zingo Alphabet

Ink: SU Basic Gray, various SU Markers

Stamps: SU All Scallops, and cupcakes are from Studio G

I think that's about it, I am trying to use up hoarded embellishments, and paper!!!

My Razzy Medallion

Ok, so by now everyone and their brother knows that the Medallion background is my all-time favorite stamp. I cannot stop using it! This time I paired it up with Rich Razzleberry and touches of Old Olive. The little strip of DSP is Cottage Wall topped with some Rich Razz ribbon. I spritzed the outside edges of the white layer with an Old Olive marker in the Color Spritzer tool. I used the marker to color a few little pieces within the Medallion. I added a single Mark Richards pearl in the center, and called her done. This, along with the Red/Black card in a previous post are my August club projects. This card is sentiment-free, when I need it, I will add one, but everything I tried distracted from my Medallion! Can't have that, now can we?

Joy Ornament Christmas Card

You know those days when you sit down to craft and are bombarded with these incredible ideas, and even the most mundane of objects becomes enlightening inspiration? Well, last night was NOT one of those for me. In fact, I couldn't think of one single original idea. So, I was looking through SCS (A God-send for stampers block), and came across THIS amazing card by Stampersandee. I was totally impressed with her beautiful card, and decided since I need to start on Christmas cards, I would give it a try. I hope I did her justice! This card is 5x5.

I LOVE my Stamp A Ma Jig! The sentiment stamp in the picture is the stamp I used, however I used SU Markers to color each word separately, then used my SAMJ to align them closer together to fit into the Large Oval Punch.

Stamps: Lovely Letters Alphabet, Holidays & Wishes
Ink/Paper: Metallic Gold paper, Bravo Burgundy/Handsome Hunter ink and CS
Punches/Bog Shot: Damask Texture Plate by SU, 1 1/4", 1 3/8" circles, Scallop Circle, Large Oval, Scallop Oval.
Accessories: Sponges, Mini Glue Dots, Gold Cording

My FIRST Christmas card this year!

It doesn't look like much from this pic, I know. But, if you have never seen a Tri-Fold Shutter card, keep going with this post and see it open! I am NOT one of those stampers who gets her Christmas cards done throughout the year. I wait until Thanksgiving, then spit out Christmas cards in a stress-induced maniacal frenzy. But, hey that works for me. It's just something about stamping in the cold weather, with the fire going, and bundled up that gets me in the mood to make my holiday cards. But this year, I am trying to start now. Here is the pic of my card open all the way.

You can click on the pics to see them full-screen, and for this pic, that is not a bad idea. There is added texture and tons of detail all over this cute Christmas card. It took me two nights of stamping to complete, mostly because there is half a bottle of Stickles on this bad boy and it had to dry before I could do the other panels. I may never do one of these again, but I love how this one turned out. I don't think all of my paper piercing shows up, but it's there, there are Rhinestone brads, Red Crystals, and so much more on this card. I didn't skimp on the blingy's which I normally do! All of the felt snowflakes and mittens were sent to me from the one and only, amazingly talented, Siobhan in Japan!!! Thanks, girl, I love them! Let me know what you all think of this one. I am happy with it! Now, if I can get 2 or 3 Christmas cards done a week I will be close to ready in time for Christmas. I have to save some for stamping while the fire burns!

I can't name all I used here, I just can't remember. But the card itself is Baja Breeze Textured CS, the DSP is Ski Slope, the main stamp sets are The More The Merrier (current Level 3 Hostess), and Perfect Presentation (retired).

Real Red Medallion...

Every time I see this stamp, I just ache to make it RED!!! Red is my very favorite color, and I love pairing it with black! This one is really simple, but I wanted to share it anyway. I inked up the very popular new Medallion background stamp with Real Red, stamped it on Whisper White cardstock. I used a Pewter Build-a-Brad with a piece of scrap paper stamped with the small circle stamp from Circle Circus, and punched it out with the 1/2" punch. Basic Black and Real Red cardstock made a clean band across the front with Basic Black Grosgrain ribbon tied in the center. I LOVE the Define Your Life set, I just earned it free from SU (LOVE SU!), and the Happy definition is from that amazing set. The Happy Birthday on the bottom finishes this card off, and is from Teeny Tiny Wishes. I love this bold color combo!!! Below is a detail shot of the Build-a-Brad and the definition in the corner!

CARRIE won the BLOG CANDY!!!

There were 27 comments left for my blog candy, and using Random.org, number 12 was randomly selected. The 12th comment was from Carrie!!! I will be emailing Carrie for her address and sending out her free In Color Polka Dot ribbon sampler, along with a little matching cardstock this week!!!

Thanks to everyone who played! I will be doing monthly giveaways, so keep watching!

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 12 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Blog Candy!!!!! Get in on it before Aug 1st!

***This post will remain at the top until Aug 1st, when the contest is over! Scroll down for my new postings!***
Who LOVES the new SU In Colors????? Yeah, I thought so!!! Would you LOVE to have a yard of EACH of the 1/2" Polka Dot Grosgrain ribbons??? And maybe a little something extra to go with it? Here's what I am giving away...

ONE YARD of each of the following colors...
Melon Mambo
Crushed Curry
Dusty Durango
Soft Suede
Bermuda Bay
Rich Razzleberry

You do NOT have to link this up on your blog, or tell the world about it to have a chance to win! You are welcome to do that of course, but I wanted to say a special thank you to all my friends out there who visit me! Leave a comment telling me which new In Color is your VERY favorite, and include a 3-color combo you either use or think would be great including that color! That's it!!! Maybe I just need color combo inspiration, maybe I want to see which color is the most popular, maybe I just want to give away ribbon! Who cares??? To be eligible, you must leave your fave color, the combo (I don't care if you throw it together looking in the catty!), and make sure I have an email address for you! Winner will be announced here at A Stampers Paradise on August 1st!!! Once I hear back from you with an address, the goodies will go out!!!

Good Luck, and thank all of you for your loyal following!

Soft Bermuda Medallion

I finally got some time to ink up my new Medallion background stamp!!! The image itself is so beautiful, I personally don't think you need to do too much to it. This card was really easy, and I would love to make a gift set of these and package them up, when I get that done, I will post it here as well. The circle is 5" cut with the Creative Memories system, that is the only non SU thing I own that I will never part with! I stamped the Medallion in Soft Suede, then spritzed the card with the Bermuda Bay Marker with the Color Spritzer Tool, colored a few dots with BB, and used some Crystal Effects on those part. I decided it was too plain, so I added a punch of Boho Blossom in the center to frame my Filigree Designer brad, which is set with a Clear Rhinestone brad. I scored down one side, punched two holes, and ran ribbon through holding the back of the card on. The picture below is a little peek of the inside! Enjoy! I had a great time making this!

Fabulous Friend Flower Pot

So, I sat down last night determined to get some much needed stamp time in. I began by making my coffee, and straightening my craft area just enough to have room to work. Then my craft light fell off of it's stand, crashed into my coffee cup, which poured everywhere! It soaked through 2 brand new packs of cardstock that I just got in, and was getting ready to file, ruining almost every piece! I was livid, yelling at the coffee cup, trying to kill the lamp, and screaming for Jim to bring me some paper towels. You would have thought it was a 'real' emergency with how angry I was! So, that's how my night of stamping began. However, it ended on a much better note. I finally made the Flower Pot card, which is currently a featured tutorial on SCS. I may never make another one, but I love this one! It took me well over an hour, and after all my ruined paper, I was just not feeling it anymore. Maybe if I tried again, I could pull one together much quicker. Below is a shot of the insert pulled out.

Paper: Melon Mambo CS, Razzleberry Lemonade DSP, and Rich Razzleberry CS

Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly, Oval All, and The More the Merrier (new Level 3 Hostess)

Punches: 5-Petal Flower, Scalloped Oval, 1" Circle, Boho Blossom, Eyelet Border, Large Oval

Die Cuts: Big Shot by Sizzix for SU, Little Leaves SU die, Birds&Blooms SU die

Accessories: Sq Fire Rhinestone Brad, Melon Mambo Ribbon, Frosted Lace Stickles, Sponges

Sunflower Get Well Wishes

I sat down for some much needed stamp time a couple nights ago, this is what I came up with. After seeing someone on SCS make sunflowers out of the Boho Blossom Punch, I knew I wanted to play with that. I am a punch-addict (who probably could use detox...LOL!), and anything cool with punches, I am all for! I found out that Crushed Curry must have been made for sunflowers, isn't it perfect? The new set, Teeny Tiny Wishes is the most perfect sentiment set EVER, I have said before and will again, if you don't have it, GET IT!!! I have used almost no other word set since this one showed up in the brown truck...Hope you all have a great Friday, and a wonderful weekend. I will be updating more soon, I plan to stamp a lot this weekend!

Stamps: Inspired by Nature, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: SU Only, Kraft, Crushed Curry, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Crushed Curry, Mellow Moss, Chocolate Chip
Dies/Punches: Top Note Die for BS, 1 1/4 circle for masked sun, Boho Blossom, 3/4" circle, Corner Rounder (CM), Modern Label, and Word Window
Accessories: Chocolate Gingham (non SU), Mellow Moss Grosgrain, Mellow Moss Eyelets, Crystal Effects, MicroBeads

50 Sucks

This is the little gag gift I made for my Mom who turned 50 this week. She absolutely loved it, and laughed like crazy as soon as she 'got it'! This is a small paint can, covered with Bella Rose DSP, I used a few of the patterns. Chocolate Chip CS around the band was punched with the Scalloped Edge and the scallop in the center is from the Scallop Circle 2 Big Shot die. I stuffed the can with grocery bags, and arranged 50 Dum Dum suckers in an flower arrangement. I stuck silk leaves all around to make it pretty. The sign is a Top Note die for the Big Shot (SU exclusive), and is attached to popsicle sticks with glue dots. I wish I had some floral foam, but this was SO last minute, and there wasn't even time to go buy any, so the suckers would fall out easily if it was moved around a lot. Definitely go with foam if you do one! However, it turned out great, and she LOVED it!

Monochromatic Razzleberry

Club Alert!!! Girls, remember I posted on our Yahoo site that there would be secret codes, messages, and and challenges on my blog for you? This is the first one, and it's not a hard one, and I am telling you exactly what to do! The color of this card is the NEW In Color, Rich Razzleberry. Other than that, I am telling nothing that I have used on this card!!! At the Sat meeting, there will be a prize for the winner! Whoever identifies the most product will win! If there is a tie, there will be a drawing for the prize. I need you all to find as many items from this card in the new catalog as possible! By the Sat meeting, you need to email me the names, page numbers and items numbers of as many products as you can find on this card!!! What a fun way to explore the new catalog...Happy Hunting!!!

Scallops, Circles, and Color, OH MY!

Can you tell that I already have favorite New In Colors? Rich Razzleberry is definitely my favorite, followed closely by Crushed Curry. This card uses the NEW Circle Circus stamp set (available TODAY, YAH!!!). This set is amazing, and versatile. It makes amazing backgrounds, it's great to make your own pattern paper, it also has the strength to stand alone as a gorgeous focal image!!! Here I paired it up with the Scallop Circle punch, some assorted size circle punches, TONS of Crystal Effects, and a brad from the Styled Silver HodgePodge Hardware set! The sentiment label is the NEW Modern Label punch (LOVE IT!!!) with the Word Window punch layered on top. Sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes, and let me tell you, this set is a MUST HAVE!!! If you are on a tight stamping budget, or have limited space for a lot of stamp sets, this set can fill your need for any small sentiment you could ever need! This whole label was very generously coated with Crystal Effects as well! It almost looks like an epoxy sticker, which is the look I was aiming for! Again, I have used this YUMMY ribbon, the 1/2" Polka Dot Grosgrain in Rich Razzleberry! Check out the detail shots below. Some colors may look a little off, just know it's from the flash on the Crystal Effects, everything matches IRL.

Thanks for looking. Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Happy Stampin'!

Razzleberry Cupcakes

This is the card I came up with last night when I had some stamp time! I love the New In Colors, and that is all I used on this card! The base is Rich Razzleberry cardstock (115316), the Scallop Edge Punch (112091) was used on Melon Mambo cardstock (115320). I love this new Designer Series Paper, called Razzleberry Lemonade (115675). This adorable cupcake stamp is from a NEW Level 3 Hostess Set available July 1st, it's called The More The Merrier! The sentiment is from the same set. The cupcakes are stamped with Basic Black ink (101179) on Watercolor Paper (105019), and colored with the NEW In Color Markers (116329) with a Blender Pen (102845). I added Frosted Lace Stickles to the cupcakes, and on the scalloped edges. I tied some Rich Razzleberry 1/2" Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon (115613) around the middle of the card. Sentiment is stamped with Rich Razzleberry ink on a scrap of DSP, and framed with a piece of Styled Silver HodgePodge Hardware (111325), and layered on top of a Modern Label Punch (116630) in Crushed Curry cardstock (115319). That's about it for this card...here are a couple of close up shots...don't scrutinize my cupcakes, it's hard to color them perfectly when the parts are so small!

These are the close ups of detail!

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Happy Stampin'!!!

Father's Day card for my Husband

***You can click on pics to enlarge them to full screen size!!!***
I finally completed this last night. I found a very similiar card on SCS and just made a few changes to better fit my style. The green base is Kiwi Kiss Textured CS, only two other papers, Whisper White and Basic Black. I used Lovely as a Tree and the Father's Day stamp from All Holidays. The black dots under the sentiment are 1/2" circle punches stuck on. I will squeeze some Crystal Effects on them to dry tonight to look like black jumbo brads!!! I love shortcuts like that!

The card front was so heavy, I had to add more weight than usual inside the card just so it would stand up straight!!!

The background in these photos are my new cushions on my back patio dining set, Basic Black, Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Kiwi Kiss and Real Red!!! I thought it matched the card nicely for pics!!! I will have to post a pic of the whole set soon as well as my new front porch furniture set.

All items SU!

Look at my flowers!!!

Those of you who know me know what a feat gardening is for me. It does not come naturally to me. I may be Martha Stewart of the house, but past the porches, I am clueless. This Tiger Lily is 3 years old, every winter I store the pot in the garage, and it just keeps coming back every Spring. It bloomed last night, and the blooms are gorgeous! Look at this first picture! It looks like something from a real garden! I am so proud. I am cutting this plant in half after the blooms die to make two plants next year, it's getting so big. This sits in a planter at the end of my walkway.

This is the Lily plant the bloom from the first picture is from. There are several more buds that I hope will open tonight!!!

This is one of the two Hostas that sit in Terra Cotta pots on my front steps. I love Hostas, they are the one plant I cannot kill, and trust me, I have killed them all! I try, I just can't do plants. Well, this year, luck must be on my side. I love the light purple trumpet shaped blooms on here! The other one isn't flowering, it doesn't get as much sun, I am assuming that is the problem, so I put this prettier one against the house so the other could sit on the side that gets sun. Hopefully both will look like this soon!

I know this is totally not craft related, but I am so proud of my flowers this year! Even the Impatients planted in old iron fireboxes in front of my sidelights are flourishing this year! I may do some real planting next year!!!