A sketch for a treasured friend!

It's sketch Wednesday at Splitcoast today, so I thought I'd use this versatile tree by Hero Arts. I LOVE this tree. It can be used in for fall, spring, summer, whatever your heart desires. I even have another idea that I'll try to post in the next couple of days.

Michelle is currently out of this stamp set, but should be getting it soon. And, she has some other fabulous trees to choose from! This gorgeous Archaic dp by Basicgrey, and the sentiment and ribbon are both available. Go check out her store Stamper's Dream for a variety of stamps, paper and embellishments.

The tree is stamped with Ranger Black Soot distress ink, and is colored with copics. The sentiment by Penny Black is embossed with black embossing powder. The flowers and some leaves are all cut out and raised slightly to give a bit of texture, but I couldn't get a decent picture...sorry. And...the scallops were made with my SU slit punch. Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you are having a great week.

Supplies:
Stamps - Trees, Birds and Messages (Hero Arts), Special Treasures (Penny Black)
Paper - Archaic (Basic Grey), Always Artichoke (SU), White (Papertrey)
Ink - Black Soot, Frayed Burlap (Ranger Distress Ink)
Accessories - Copics, Primas (Petaloo), Satin Ribbon (May Arts), Slit Punch (SU), corner rounder

Owls x2

OOPS!! MY BAD!! I had this photo taken earlier, uploaded it, post dated it and fully intended on adding all the deets!! Yikes....family obligations got in the way and I completely forgot that I postdated this instead of just the regular draft. I'm sooooo sorry.

I originally made this card for the Dirty Dozen Alumni challenge. This may come as no surprise considering my ditziness, but I messed up on the rules and added bling. So, I made another. I'll tell you about the new one in a bit.

Sunday, Splitcoast featured a fabulous stamper, DAWNSING! Here is Dawn's card that I CASEd. I love the way she adds strips of different colors, and I thought this layout would lend itself perfectly to the owl challenge that I had to do for the DDA.
Changes: Added an extra strip at the top with bling, and an image on the bottom. I thought this owl, by Penny Black, was just darling!! And the little birdie by Hero Arts looks like he just wants to chatter. I couldn't wait to put together this little scene. I also ink distressed...no surprise there! LOL The image is colored with copics.

Supplies:
Stamps - Fresh New Day (Penny Black), Trees, Birds and Messages (Hero Arts)
Paper - Boxer (Basicgrey), Basic Gray, Mellow Moss (SU), White (Papertrey)
Ink - Slate (Adirondack), Black Soot (Ranger Distress ink)
Accessories - flower rhinestones (Hero Arts Sparkle Clear Hello Birdie), copics, rhinestone brads, circle punch, scallop scissors, twill ribbon

Now, here's the REAL DDA card. Hopefully it meets all the requirements. We were to use an owl stamp, have texture, and no bling.

The background was created by cutting a piece of Basicgrey's Archaic paper following the wavy colors and separating them on the green piece. I thought this gave a tree like appearance and a bit of texture. The ribbon across the center panel is from my dear friend Laurie. This stuff is awesome!! I'm a huge ribbon fan..I love all kinds...especially if they're unusual. The owl is colored with copics, and all panels are ink distressed. The brads are rubber and are ink distressed with stazon ink.

Supplies:
Stamps - Owl H-153 (Judith), Sparkle Clear Hello Birdie (sentiment - Hero Arts)
Paper - Archaic (Basic Grey, Chocolate Chip (SU), White (Papertrey)
Ink - Black Soot, Walnut (Ranger Distress Ink)
Accessories - nestabilities, copics, rubber brads (Provo Craft)

A Toy Card...

Is it Monday already? Wow!! I swear, the older I get the faster time flies. Well, since it's Monday, that means it's time for me to upload a challenge card that I do with a few nutty, but fun SCS friends. Every second Monday of the month, we challenge each other to make a card for a SCS stamper with an unusual name. This month Toy (Holly) was chosen.

To see the cards the other CCEEers made for Toy, click HERE.

Now, this card was scary for me to make, because Holly is a stamper that I've admired since first logging on to SCS...soooooo talk about intimidating!! Of course the requirement was to use toys. I used this book labeling stamp that I've had since I first started stamping about 12 years ago, and colored it with copics. I hand wrote Toy's name.

The paper is Tres Jolie Bonjour by My Mind's Eye. I am so, so in love with this stuff. I got it from my LSS that I just recently discovered and will be buying more for sure. The colors are dreamy, and the texture is divine!!

I ink distressed the edges (no surprise there, eh?) with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink by Ranger. The buckle is from JoAnn's, the divine satin ribbon is May Arts that I got from Michelle at Stamper's Dream.

I made the scallops with my slit punch from Stampin' Up. Thanks sooooo much for stopping by. I appreciate the visitors and hope I've inspired you to get inky!!

Supplies:
Stamps - G5581-F Sonlight Impressions
Papre - Tres Jolie Bonjour (My Mind's Eye), Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery (SU), White (Papertrey)
Ink - Black Soot, Brushed Corduroy (Ranger Distress Ink)
Other - Copics, brads, slit punch (SU), nestabilities, sponge, dimensional tape

Cupcake Challenge

A couple of us decided to challenge each other to use Hey There Cupcake by Stampendous and Cupcake paper by Basicgrey.

Check out Laurie's and Cam's awesome creations.

This is what I came up with. The cupcake is stamped with Adirondack Latte, and is colored with copics. I added a bit of bling with my Quickie Glue Pen and Ultrafine crystal glitter. The dots were added with my "oh so awesome" Inkssentials Opaque Pen.
The cherry is coated with crystal lacquer.

All the circles are Nestabilities and are ink distressed with Ranger Vintage photo Distress Ink.

The stamp images and paper can be found at Michelle's fabulous store: Stampers Dream!! She has everything your little heart could desire...May Arts ribbon, stickles, Basicgrey, Northwoods, Hero Arts, Inkadinkado, Penny Black, Inque Boutique and much, much more!!! Check it out!!!

Supplies:
Stamps - Hey there Cupcake (Stampendous)
Paper - Cupcake (Basicgrey), Bazzill, Papertrey White
Ink - Latte, Cranberry (Adirondack), Vintage Photo Distress Ink (Ranger)
Other - Copics, Quickie Glue Pen, Nestabilities, crystal lacquer, ultrafine crystal glitter, offray ribbon, dew drops, scotch mounting tape, sponge

Spring Thoughts

I know, it's been eons since I've posted here. I'm sorry for the delay. I've been stamping, but on projects that can't be posted yet.

I made this card for the SCS sketch challenge. All the images are Hero Arts. And can be found at Stamper's Dream.
The bird is from Trees, Birds & Messages, the swirl is from Designer Butterflies, and the sentiment is from Thinking of You Messages.

I added a touch of glitter with my Quickie Glue pen, faux stitching around the nestability circles, and a bit of piercing in the corner.

The flower is from a kit called Petaloo Box blends. I'm in love with these flowers. I found them at my LSS "Memories from the Heart. The flower center is a metal flower from The paper Company.

All the edges are ink distressed with Ranger Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

Supplies:
Stamps - Thinking of You Messages, Trees, Birds and Messages, Designer Butterflies (Hero Arts)
Paper - Ancestry (K&Company), Forest Foliage, River Rock (Stampin' Up), Papertrey White
Ink - Black Soot, Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress Ink)
Accessories - Copics, Petaloo flowers, metal flower, Rhinestone sticker (K&Company) Quickie Glue Pen, Ultrafine Crystal Glitter, nestabilities, piercing tool, Pearl brad (s.e.i), bird charm (Heart and Soul - Blue Moon), organdy ribbon

Beachy Keen Monday!!

It's time for a card challenge that I do with my zany SCS friends. This week we were to use supplies that Frances (StampOwl) sent us. She gave us each this adorable penguin stamp and another *girl* penguin. We could use either, or both. She also sent us this fun DP. The other side of it is a pink/brown stripe. I couldn't match mine well enough, so I just used this side instead.

If you'd like to see the other ccee cards, click HERE.

I used a CD as a template to design my beach ball, and drew my own lines, cut out each individual section, and traced the odd ones onto the dp. All the edges are ink distressed with Walnut Distress Ink by Ranger. Now that I have the photo edited and uploaded, I realize there were some "extras" I was going to do and forgot....Bummer!!! Oh well, it took me quite a few photos to get this one, so I'm not starting over. The penguin image was cut out with the nestabilities circles and the scallops were chopped off by using a slightly smaller circle. I feel this gives it a more masculine feel. I brayered white SU craft ink over the embossed bg and heated white ep over it. The penguin is from Imaginisce, and the sentiment is from the Lizzie Anne designs "shore thoughts" set. Thanks for stopping by!!!!! ;o)

Supplies:
Stamps - Penquin Dude (Snag'em Stamps - Imaginisce), Shore Thoughts (Lizzie Anne designs)
Paper - DP (Imaginisce), Choc. Chip, Groovy Guava, Barely Banana (Stampin' Up), White (Papertrey)
Ink - Black Soot, Walnut Distress Inks (Ranger), Craft White (Stampin' Up)
Accessories - Copics, CD, Quickie Glue Pen, Ultrafine Crystal Glitter, Nestabilities, Key Tag Punch (Stampin' Up), sponge, Scotch Mounting Tape

Hello Sunshine!!

I started out making a card for today's ways to use it challenge, but I didn't really use my scissors for anything insignificant. Too bad I didn't save the card I made yesterday. I fringed the edges.

I've had these yummy dp's for quite awhile now and haven't taken the time to use them yet. I discovered them while at CHA and couldn't find a place to purchase them until a few weeks ago. They are wonderfully textured and have such gorgeous patterns and colors. They're also made from recycled paper. They're by a company called Time Flies Design and they can be found HERE.

The stamp Image is Penny Black's Hello Sunshine!! I love sunflowers, and love misting with markers, so this stamp was fun to play with!! I stamped the image in More Mustard and colored the leaves with Old Olive and edged them with Always Artichoke. I colored the flower center with Close to Cocoa, and edged the center and flower with really Rust. I then spritzed 3x with JudiKin's extra fine mist spritzer bottle and stamped on watercolor paper. I used my aqua pen to fill in some spaces just a touch.

All the panel edges are ink distressed with Antique Linen and Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink.

The Ribbon is Natural Burlap String by May Arts....I love the rustic feel it gives the card!!

I'm really working on my photos and trying different things. Lauraly is phenomenal at figuring out cameras, lighting, etc. and has been helping me. I have a black bg, which she doesn't use, but I love the shadowing that she does. I'm a work in progress. Thanks Laurie!!

Stamps: Hello Sunshine (Penny Black)
Paper: Whirls and Swirls (Time Flies), River Rock (Stampin' Up)
Ink: More Mustard (Stampin' Up), Antique Linen and Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink (Ranger)
Accessories: Markers - Close to Cocoa, Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Really Rust (Stampin' Up), Burlap Ribbon (May Arts), Brads (Fun Expressions Oriental Trading Company), Scotch mounting tape

Surf's Up Sketch

I made this card for the sketch challenge on Splitcoaststampers. It's not my favorite card, and I almost didn't upload it, but then I thought...shoot, I spent time on it...might as well follow through. So, here it is. The cuttlebug swirls have liquid applique painted on them, the penguin border is fringed, and the sky was created with pastels.

Supplies:
Stamps - Art Impressions
Paper - Basicgrey Gypsy, SU Old Olive and Bashful Blue, Papertrey White
Ink - Ranger Black Soot, Antique Linen Distress Ink
Accessories - Copics, Pastels, twine, WeR Memory Keepers large eyelet, Making memories, Scotch mounting tape, medium brads

A Cowgirl and a star...

Can you believe it's Monday again? It's crazy how fast time is flying by.

Since it's Monday, it's time for another CCEE challenge that I do with a small group of SCS friends. Cindy Haffner provided the challenge this week. We were to use a cowboy or cowgirl image and include a star. I was thrilled to do this challenge because I received this darling MFT Ride 'em Cowgirl image from Cindy quite awhile ago and haven't had a chance to use it yet.

Her dress is pieced with crate paper, the rope is SU River Rock and the rest of the image is colored with copics. The stars are Cuttlebug diecuts, and the Howdy was punched with the SU word window punch. All panels were ink distressed with Ranger Brushed Corduroy distress ink, and the ribbon was miscellaneous pieces from my ribbon drawer with a piece of twine tied around it. Thanks for stopping by ya'll!!


Stamps - Ride 'em Cowgirl (MFT)
Paper - Crate Avenue Collection (Crate Paper), Black, Chocolate Chip, real Red (Stampin' Up)
Ink - Black Soot Distress Ink (Ranger)
Accessories - copics, stars (cuttlebug diecut), brads, twine, ribbon, word window punch (Stampin' Up), scotch mounting tape

DDA Journal with Bookmark

The 20th of each month, Jami from SCS gives the Dirty Dozen Alumni a challenge. This month it was as follows:

Challenge Focus: See the Inspiration Photo below. The photo is from BH&G 100 Decorating Ideas Under $100 magazine.
Required Element: Make an Inspiration Journal for yourself or as a gift. It can be any size from tiny to huge.
Restricted Element: No markers (SU, Copic, or any other brand), no watercolor crayons.

Inspirational Photo is HERE

I liked the blue/white/tan combo with the hint of orange/red flowers. I decided to make my journal a prayer journal and used this gorgeous Bible Still Life image by Inkadinkado. I colored it with prisma watercolor pencils and the SU blending pen. I also added some sparkle with my Sakura stardust glitter gelly roll pen.

My scallops were cut with my fiskars rotary cutter.

I made a magnetic bookmark to go with the journal. I figured I could use it in my devotional book. I kept both projects fairly flat so they're easy to keep with me. For the bookmark, I just folded the piece in half and cut with my fiskars rotary scalloped blade cutter. The image Aged and Elegant is by Inque Boutique, and the sentiment heartfelt is a MFT sentiment from Grateful Greetings. I put Basicgrey magnetic snaps, that I got from Eclectic Paperie, on the inside of my bookmark and covered them with a piece of cardstock.
Here's the template I used. I have no idea who designed this template. It was the very first journal I made as a stamper over 12 years ago and was taught to me by my SU demo Laurie Franz. The paper inside is just a 5"x8" pad I got at staples.














I'm including a photo of the back to show how it's attached to the paper pad, and the inside to see how the folder works. You can cover the back of the pad with a 5"x8" piece of cardstock if you like. I left it off to show how you can use just one piece of cardstock to make the journal cover...then enhance it as you like. Here's a photo of the inside pocket too. I've never done a tutorial before, but hopefully you can figure this out by my photos. If you have any questions, email me at www.stamps4fun@hotmail.com.

Supplies:
Stamps: Bible Still Life (Inkadinkado), Remembering and bookmark image: Aged and Elegant (Inque Boutique), heartfelt (MFT)
Paper: Metallic Papers by Marcella K (K&Company), SU Riverrock, Papertrey White
Ink: Versafine Black onyx, Ranger Antique Linen and Weathered Wood distress ink
Accessories: Prisma watercolor pencils, SU blending pen, dew drops (cowboy), oval nestabilities by spellbinders, piercing tool, piercing template, 5x7 paper pad, scor-pal, basicgrey magnetic snaps

Quilt inspired!!

I am soooooo excited!!! I haven't participated in an SCS challenge for so long and haven't even had the energy to stamp until I saw the inspiration challenge tonight. There is actually a short story behind this.

A dear, dear friend and neighbor passed away 3 years ago of ovarian cancer. We walked 2 1/2 miles 3-4 days a week together until she just couldn't do it anymore. In that time we grew very close. The sad part is, we hardly ever talked until she was diagnosed (she lived two years with the disease). And she lived right across our rural street. But God had a plan. I won't go into all that, but let me just say, I was very blessed by her. Well, she had a goal to make a quilt for each of her grandchildren before she passed. We talked about her progress often. To my surprise, a few weeks before she passed, she presented each of my children with one too. My daughter still sleeps with hers, and my son has carefully stored his. You see, he used to take care of her dogs when she couldn't and he even wrote a poem about their relationship which was read at her funeral. So, when I saw these quilt pieces, I was immediately reminded of that dear, dear mentor and friend.

Okay...now, on to the card. It's 4" x 8", and I thumped again....it's a terrible habit I have. I inked up the whole image with SU Pretty and Pink, colored the stems and leaves with Always Artichoke, and thumped with Rose Red and Choc. Chip. All the edges are ink distressed with Ranger Walnut Distress ink. The yummy paper is the new Sultry Basicgrey, and the sentiment is from Inque Boutique. The flower image is from Paper Inspirations. You can find the paper, wide olive grossgrain ribbon, and flowers at Stampers Dream!! And believe me, Michelle has a huge variety to tempt you with. I also faux stitched around the pink panel.

Supplies:
Stamps - Watercolor Pressed Flowers (Paper Inspirations)
Memories (Aged and Elegant - Inque Boutique)
Paper - Basicgrey Sultry, SU Chocolate Chip, Papertrey White
Ink - Pretty in Pink, Always Artichoke, Rose Red, Chocolate Chip, Ranger Walnut Distress ink
Accessories - Wide olive grossgrain ribbon, Judikins fine mist Spray bottle, sponge, mat pack, piercing tool, scotch dimensional tape.

Butterfly Ears

Sorry I've been gone so long. I was working hard on my DD projects for SCS. It was a tough theme for me this month, so nothing else got accomplished. I'm finally back in the stamping saddle and hope to post some more real soon. If you haven't checked out the Fan Club gallery on Splitcoaststampers, you really should. There are some amazing ideas that showcase photos. I'm not a scrapbooker, so working with the photos was a challenge for me, but others did some really fabulous stuff.

I realize that this is an odd title for a post. It belongs to Nicole aka (Butterflyears) on SCS. Every Monday (yes I know it's Wednesday) my CCEE friends and I on SCS make a card in honor of a stamper with an unusual name and mail the card to that person. This week it was butterflyears. And since Cindy (mothermark) found out she chose her name based on her dogs ears that look like butterflies, we were to make a card with two butterflies (two ears) and 4 paws (dog).

I just recently got this Inque Boutique stamp set called Dog Lover. It is an absolute precious set. I figured this puppy wanted to play with butterflies, and since we all like to play with our stamps and participate in challenges, this scene was a perfect idea. To see the other butterfly ear creations, click HERE.

I colored the puppy and scene with copics. The tree and grass are hand drawn.

Supplies:
Stamps - Inque Boutique - Dog Lover, SU butterflies (1999 set..not sure which one), Tree leaves - Dee Gruenig Posh limited scene stamps
Paper - SU - Mello Moss, Always Artichoke, Black, Papertrey White
Ink - Ranger Black Soot and Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink
Accessories - Nestabilities, decorative scissors, I kan'dee, American Crafts ribbon (from my dear friend Laurie), scotch dimensional tape

Summer Front Porch

I love Mondays!! Crazy huh? They're the start of a new week and because of that, I tend to be more organized. But, I really like Monday's because I get to see what my crazy SCS friends did for their Monday Challenge that we do each week with each other. This week Cindy (Mothermark on SCS) challenged us to use two buckles. I was like.....are you sure? That's way too easy for a Cindy challenge. But that was all that was required. So, here's my two buckle card. Check out the other *buckle cards* HERE.

Now, about this card!!! I'm in love!!!! As a kid, I used to love it when my mother would color with me. She was AWESOME. The absolute BEST!!! Not only did she teach me how to stay in the lines, she taught me how to shade with crayons. What fond memories I have coloring with her. And now, because of my stamping addiction, I get to color at the age of 40 even though I don't have a toddler to teach how to color. How awesome is that.

That brings me to my new love......Northwoods stamps!! They are the BOMB. They stamp evenly and perfectly every time....and I mean every time!!! And, they have just enough detail to give the image depth, and just enough coloring space to let you do your thing with whatever coloring medium you choose. I chose to use copics this time. I LOVE my copics. The fine tip makes it easy to stay in the lines and the colors are gorgeous...and they don't leave *lines* kwim?

I hope you can see it in the picture, but this is very 3-D. The chair is two layers, and the hat and potted plant on the right are 3 layers. The side panel and main panel are also on dimensions. I love depth!!

You need to head over to Michelle's store and check out her Northwoods stamps. They are heavenly!! I have a few more that I'll be posting in the future too. Maybe I'll watercolor them next.

The scallops were done with the scallop blade on my fiskars rotary cutter.

Supplies:
Stamps - Northwoods Front Porch
Paper - K&Company Roam, SU Basic Gray, Almost Amethyst, Papertrey White
Ink - Ranger Black Soot , Frayed Burlap Distress Ink
Accessories - buckles - Scrap Essentials (JoAnn's), Robin's Nest pebbles, offray ribbon, scotch dimensional tape, sponge

Are ya still with me????!!!!!
I'm sooooo excited!! Michelle at Stamper's Dream has added a new guest designer to the team. I tell ya, that Michelle is one smart cookie!! The new designer is................Amy Sheffer!!! And she is nothing short of Aaaaaaamazing!!! Go check out her blog if you haven't already! Pickled Paper Designs. You won't be disappointed!!

Frog Star

I made this card for a challenge I do with some of my SCS friends. We took off Easter week, but the challenge was on again for the 31st!! I posted to my SCS gallery on Monday, but waited until today to post it to my blog because of the Rubbernecker KK release.

And jeepers was this a challenge!! Of course it was designed by non other than Cindy (Mothermark on SCS) That girl comes up with the goofiest ideas. Now, I'm shape challenged. I don't like working with hearts or stars all that much. They never look right on my cards. I always appreciate seeing them on other cards but I'm usually shaking my head and saying to myself, now why can't I do that.

I also rarely work with fish. I don't know why, probably because there are so many of you out there who can do a much better job with water scenes than I can. So, now you know how tough this was for me. Stars and fish.......okay, here were Cindy's requirements: We had to use ALL the supplies: DP, 3 brads, Ribbon, Star, and a fish that had to be in a circle because the dp reminded her of bubbles (GOOD GRIEF) Well, I got 'em all in.

The images are Rubbernecker and are watercolored. The fish has ultrafine crystal glitter on it in order to give the scales some sparkle.

Supplies:
Stamps - Rubbernecker - Frog with Fishing Pole, Drop me a line text
Paper - dp, SU night of navy, old olive, taken with teal, watercolor
Ink - Black Onyx Versafine
Accessories - watercolor pencils, blending pen, ribbon, brads, cuttlebug diecut star, SU key tag punch, nestability circles, Tim Holtz Retractable piercing tool, quickie glue pen, ultrafine crystal glitter

Rubbernecker KK Original Release and a Treasure!!

There's a lot going on at Rubbernecker today and you won't want to miss it!! Dave is Releasing the KK Originals. Go check it out!! There is such a variety that there's something for everyone's style. All the DT members have made cards with some of the releases too, so click on the links over to the right and check out their fabulous creations.

It's also Treasure Hunt Tuesday. For the first clue for the Treasure Hunt, head on over to Sherry's Blog Walkin' on the Bad Side.

And, there's RN Blog candy being offered on the following DT members' blogs.....
Candy - Candy's Land
Shelly - Stamp with Shelly

Like I said....there's a lot going on!! Whew!!

Now for the details of the card...
I love this swirly flower and it's gorgeous stem and leaves!!
I stamped the image on Shimmery White CS with versamark and embossed with white ep. It's colored with copics.

Supplies:
Stamps - Rubbernecker KK Originals Dahlia: 2615-m, Just Because Sentiment
Paper - SU Hunter Green, Shimmer White, Basicgrey Periphery
Ink - Versamark, Adirondack Bottle
Accessories - Liquid pearls, ice stickles, Retractable craft pick, copics, adornit gem stickers, peach souffle pen, nestabilities