Paper in the Works

ISSC03 - Pot of Love

2012-02-16T21:01:00.000-08:00

Hi everybody! As the post is going live, I'm currently traveling down to Seattle to take part in an annual pajama crop with this group of special ladies:

Angela, Tobi, Laurel and myself will be driving down on Thursday and will be coming back most likely changed people after the event! I'm telling you that some of these ladies are crazy! But I know that we are in for a boatload of fun and some perma-grin :D

...And now back to your regular programming :D This is the card that I made to feature one of Sean Fetterman's cards for the ISSC03 challenge at the iSpy Sketches blog. I used and oldie but a goodie stamp from Clear Dollar Stamps called Bless my Bloomers which was a set that I illustrated :D I watercoloured it with tombows, shaded it with chalks, coloured the grass with prismas and then sponged it with inks :D

I have to admit that I did struggle with the sketch a bit simply because the images that I wanted to colour up for the card were all too big. In the end, I love how the card turned out! If you would like to join along in the challenge, please visit me and the rest of the Special Agents over at the iSpy Sketches Challenge blog :) Hope to see you there!

PS: What do you think of the facelift here at Paper in the Works? I have been flu ridden this past week so I decided to play around and came up with this design in between coughing, sneezing, and whining ;)

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps - Bless my Bloomers

Paper: Gina K, Water Colour, Espresso, Misc Designer Papers

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Mustard, Banana, Caramel, Suede

Accessories: Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Clear Embossing Powder, Spellbinders, Brads, Mat Pack, MS Heart Punch, Chalks, Tombow Dual Brush Pens, Water Brush, Prisma's and Gamsol, Corner Chomper, Sponges, Sewing Machine, Ribbon

ISSC02 - Slow Down

2012-02-09T21:01:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I'm back this week for another challenge over at the iSpy Sketches blog :) This week's ISSC02 sketch is based of this beautiful card by the one and only Beate Johns!

So when I drew up the sketch I drew it as Beate had it on her card...and then when I went to make my card, I imagined another panel on it. Purely by mistake, I swear! So, I'm going to go with "this is my interpretation" of Beate's beautiful card :D

The little turtle has been water coloured, cut out and then shaded with chalks and given a nice thick coat of crystal effects :) I popped him up on a sponged background and to finish off the card I added the super sweet stamping bella sentiment :D

Do you want to play along with the Secret Agents? Join us for our ISSC02 Challenge over at the iSpy Sketches blog :D See you over there!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Stamping Bella (sentiment) and Inky Antics (turtle)
Paper: Watercolour, Miscellaneous DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Suede, Baja, Teal, Caramel
Accessories: Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Spellbinders Dies, Clear Embossing Powder, Tombow Dual Brush Pens, Crystal Effects, Cloud Template, Buttons, Twine, Corner Chomper, Chalks

ISSC01 - An iSpy Sketches First :D

2012-02-02T21:01:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone! I'm excited to announce that the very first iSpy Sketches challenge ISSC01 is now up over at the iSpy Blog and am equally excited to announce that I actually made a card for it. *grins* This marks the first card that I have made since June of last year!

So try not to critique it too much as I did fudge up the image quite a bit. The image is one of the 4 pixies that come in "The Pixies" set by Stamping Bella. This sweet little pixie's hair was supposed to be blond and her arms aren't really supposed to have red smudges in them, but that's what you get when you put everything away for 8 months and let yourself get rusty ;)

Thanks for joining me today and pop on by the iSpy Sketches Blog to see what the other Secret Agents were inspired to make and who inspired them this week :D

***On a side note, if you are interested in purchasing any of my cards, I will be listing some (including this one) in my Card Shoppe in the next few days :D

Card Recipe:

Stamps: The Pixies from Stamping Bella

Paper: Water Colour, Espresso, Cosmo Cricket, October Afternoon

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Kiwi, Olive, Espresso

Accessories: Sewing Machine, Spellbinders, Scallop Punch, Twine, Clear Embossing Powder, Buttons, Sponges, Water Brush, Tombow Dual Brush Pens, Chalk Pencils, Quickie Glue Pen, Glitter, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Stickles, Corner Chomper

Come and meet the team!

2012-01-26T21:01:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! It's official. The iSpy Sketches blog is up and running and we are ready to introduce the Special Agents (AKA the design team) to the world! So why don't you join me in welcoming these wonderfully talented ladies and watch out, because they are sure to blow your socks off with the fabulous eye candy that they have coming your way :D

Don't forget that next week is our debut sketch and we hope you will join us in the fun!

PS: I even made a card for the occasion! But you will have to just wait and see on that one ;)

A New Year, a dose of reality, a recycled idea and a foot in the door...

2012-01-06T12:53:00.000-08:00

Now that title is a mouthful isn't it? ;) Hello to anyone out there in cyber space that still may be listening! I know that it's been quite a while since anyone has heard from me so I thought that I would pop in to say hello.

June 8th was the last time that I posted on my blog and it seems like a life time ago that I left you all without any explanation. Few of you know that I, like many of you deal with depression and sometimes it rears it's ugliness right when I'm about as busy as I can possibly be. Part of may absence deals with that and the other part deals with being so busy that I actually burnt myself out and shut my self out of the stamping world. And I mean no Splitcoast, no visiting blogs, not stepping foot into my craft room for months, thoughts of selling all of my stamping goodies, and not much interacting at all with the community that I loved so much, including not answering some very sweet emails from you all that were wondering where I had gotten too. For that I'm very sorry! Part of my depression hangs on not wanting to deal with reality and for me I was waiting for my "blahs" and "blues" to just blow over in a timely manner which of course they didn't :( All and all, I think the mental break from stamping came at a good time because my life ended up getting a whole lot busier!

Let me catch you up to date. Since my retreat into my own little world some good things came of it and some not so good. Some of you know that last February my father in law had a heart attack and stroke and that left my husband 2 hours away trying to help with his father a lot of the time on his days off. At that point I had started working again and started to pair down on my design team responsibilities to accommodate my lack of crafting time.

In July we adopted a 12 week old Labrador Retriever cross from a rescue center in Alabama :) We named her Bella and she as been a wonderful addition to our family! Just like a toddler, she required constant supervision ;)

This past summer was the first time in a few years that I was able to do a lot of fun things with my family and not have to say "Sorry, but mommy has to make a card for her deadline" leaving my husband to enjoy doing the fun stuff with the kids. Please don't take that as a complaint in anyway but I was a very slow worker when it came to colouring and making a card so I literally spend 4-5 hours making one card and that time added up when you had to make a handful a week, photograph, edit and blog about the card after creating it.

When September rolled around, life got insane! The kids were back in school and the sports frenzy started! I'm now proud to be a soccer mom and a swimming cheerleader for my daughter :) Who knew working around my husbands messed up schedule, and juggling sports and child care would be so crazy? I'm kind of a one-step-at-a-time kind of a girl and I don't even think that I had time to breath until Christmas break! LOL

With breaking from stamping/blogging I have spent many quality hours being there for my kids, getting my head on straight and as of the end of November losing a total of 25lbs from walking my dog for the most part...daily. I'm very proud of myself and and starting to feel like the me that I used to be :) So you all must be wondering where I'm going with all of this, right? Well on to my recycled idea...

Just before I dropped off the face of the earth I had an idea to start up a challenge blog. The idea came about because I really enjoy participating in them and mostly coming up with the challenge ideas. I thought that if I started a weekly challenge then I could administrate it, and have a design team all while taking a step back from the creating cards. This way I could still be in touch with all of you and keep some creativity in me going. Well it didn't pan out when I had originally planned, however it has recycled itself and is going to happen now instead :)

Here is a sneak peek at my foot back in the door to the stamping word! I'm in the process of scouting my design team and look for the debut on February 3rd, 2012! Stay tuned for more details ;)

I'm not sure where my card making will take me or if I will even get back into the groove with it but at least this will allow me to dabble in what I love while I motivate my creativity and hopefully yours :)

Thank you to all who have been waiting around and to those sweet souls to checked in on my through my missing months! I love all of you guys so much and I'm ready to make a fresh start for the year, how about you? :)

Stay tuned.... :)

MFT Little Lady

2011-06-08T21:32:00.000-07:00

Psssst....Guess what? Guess who gets to be the June Fab Friend over at the MFT Blog? You guessed it - me! :) I have been sitting on this info since December and now that it's here I'm choosing to debut it with this sweet Pure Innocence Ladybug set - which incidentally was chosen for my stamp collection and was completely inspired by this little lady...

This sweet little love bug is my daughter, Ashlynn when she was 3 years old at Halloween ;)

Anyhoo, back to the card shall we? The clouds were made using die cuts from the cloud trio die-namic and then sponged around and I used the Fresh Cut Grass Die-namic to sponge in the grass to complete my scene. This little lady was water coloured with tombow markers and then I added some chalk shadows for extra depth.

It's kind of hard to tell, but at the top of the card on the red polka dot paper, I die cut some scallops and used the Jumbo Scallop Die-namic and then carried on with the red in the buttons.

Thanks for joining me today and I will be back next week with another set from My Favorite Things to share with you :)

Card Recipe:

Stamps: MFT - Pure Innocence Ladybug
Paper: Gina K, Water Colour, Black, October Afternoon DP, My Mind's Eye DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Kiwi, Olive, Teal, Baja
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, MFT Cloud Trio Die-namic, MFT Fresh Cut Grass Die-namic, MFT Jumbo Scallop Die-namic, Spellbinders Dies, Sponges, Dimensionals, Tombow Markers, Water Brush, Chalk Pencil, Buttons, Twine, Clear Embossing Powder, Stickles, Corner Chomper

Elegant Ever After

2011-05-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! June is almost here and it's the time of year for brides and grooms to unite so I thought that I would start stocking up on wedding cards :) For this one, I used the JustRite Quiet Moments set from Stamper's Dream to create the sentiment in the middle of my engineered dies motif.

To create both the center piece and the gorgeous Fleur de Lis cut outs, I used the Fleur de Lis Doily Accents Shapabilities and cut apart some of them to make the circle creation. For the corner pieces and the border, I die cut some vellum and then ran it through my xyron to make it sticky so that I could add some transparent glitter. Now I have to admit that this was a bit tricky and got a little sketchy at times with me wearing more of the glitter than the vellum but I think that it was worth the effort because the end result is so soft and rich in real life (it was hard to get the sparkle in the picture).

To finish off the card I added some stitching and a handmade flower with a stick pin to some beautiful silk ribbon. I then added some wee little pearls and this card was finished off and ready to attach to a bridal present :)

Thanks for coming by today and I hope to see you around here again soon :)

Card Recipe:

Stamps: JustRite Quiet Moments and from Stamper's Dream
Paper: Gina K, Vellum, Espresso, K&Co DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Ranger Distress Vintage Photo, Plum, Mustard
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Spellbinders Dies, Glitter, Ribbon, SU Pretties Kit, Sponges, Dimensionals, Tombow Mono Adhesive, Silver Embroidery Floss, Xyron, Clear Embossing Powder

Happily Ever After

2011-05-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to the final day of the There She Goes blog hop! If you have arrived here from Miss Karen's blog then you are exactly where you should be, if not then please start back at the TSG blog :)

The sweet set that I'm showing off today is called Once Upon a Time and is a 4x8 stamp set that includes a total of 15 of stamps and will sell for $18. I just used the little birds from Di's new set because they were just too darn cute not to use :)

Would you like a chance to win the Once Upon A Time stamp set? Here’s what you need to do- go to each of the Trendsetter’s Blogs and leave a comment on their Once Upon A Time Blog Hop Challenge post. After you have finished checking out the eye candy and have left some love, return to the TSG Blog and add your name to the Mr. Linky at the bottom of this Blog Hop Challenge post. A winner will be chosen randomly using a random number generator to receive their very own Once Upon A Time stamp set. The winner will be announced Saturday (May 28) during the Release Party Chat

Thanks for coming by today and now you are off to see what Miss Melyssa has in store for you :D

Card Recipe:

Stamps: There She Goes - Once Upon a Time
Paper: Gina K, Black, Water Colour
Ink: Versafine Onxy Black, Baja, Teal
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Spellbinders Dies, Cloud Template, Sponges, Martha Stewart Punch, Buttons, Thread, Dimensionals, Tombows, Water Brush, Chalk Pencil

Carnations Forever

2011-05-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to day two of the There She Goes blog hop! If you have arrived here from Miss Karen's blog then you are exactly where you should be, if not then please start back at the TSG blog :)

The set I get to share with you today is called Forever and is a 3x4 stamp set that includes a total of 5 of stamps and will sell for $7. This gorgeous little set was designed but the super talented Torico :)

Would you like a chance to win a Forever stamp set? Here’s what you need to do- go to each of the Trendsetter’s Blogs and leave a comment on their Forever Blog Hop Challenge post. After you have finished checking out the eye candy and have left some love, return to the TSG Blog and add your name to the Mr. Linky at the bottom of this Blog Hop Challenge post. A winner will be chosen randomly using a random number generator to receive their very own Forever stamp set. The winner will be announced Saturday (May 28) during the Release Party Chat.

Thanks for coming by these parts and don't forget to swing on back here tomorrow for the last day of the sneak peeks :) Now have fun and hop on over to Miss Melyssa's Blog : D

Card Recipe:

Stamps: There She Goes - Forever
Paper: Gina K, Espresso, Water Colour, Basic Grey DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Saffron, Banana, Vintage Photo
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Spellbinders Dies, Tombows, Water Brush, Chalk Pencil, Vintage Lace, Sponges, Dimensionals, Pearl Brad, Ribbon. Corner Rounder

So sweet on you!

2011-05-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to day 1 of the There She Goes sneak peek blog hop. If you have arrived here form Miss Karen's blog then you are exactly where you should be, if not then please start back at the TSG blog :)

The fabulous set that I have to show to you today is one of Melyssa's new creations called Freeze the Moment and it's a 4x8 stamp set that includes a total of 29 stamps and will sell for $18.

As usual, I water coloured this image with my tombows and added both white and black chalk to define it. I then sponged around the image with some blue inks to add a little pizzaz and to set off the ice cream I added some sprinkles of glitter :) The effect is really quite lovely in real life :D

Would you like a chance to win the Freeze the Moment stamp set? Here’s what you need to do: go to each of the Trendsetter’s Blogs and leave a comment on their Freeze the Moment Blog Hop Challenge post. After you have finished checking out the eye candy and have left some love, return to the TSG Blog and add your name to the Mr. Linky at the bottom of this Blog Hop Challenge post. A winner will be chosen randomly using a random number generator to receive their very own Freeze the Moment stamp set. The winner will be announced Saturday (May 28) during the Release Party Chat.

Thanks for coming by today and don't forget that I have another two days of TSG sneak peekin' to do so come on back here tomorrow :D Now you are to continue your celestial journey to Melyssa's blog.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: There She Goes - Freeze the Moment
Paper: Gina K, Espresso, Water Colour, October Afternoon DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Baja, Teal, Ranger Distress Vintage Photo
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Spellbinders Dies, Tombow Markers, Water Brush, Chalk Pencil, Quickie Glue Pen, Glitter, Twine, Button, White Gel Pen, Sponges, Dimensionals

Simple Gift Idea

2011-05-17T12:58:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I was cleaning my craft room the other day in search of my mojo and instead of finding said mojo, I came across a box of alterable items :) I found these magnetic bookmarks that I purchased from Michaels many moons ago and decided that it was going to be perfect for a quick and simple gift idea - or something that you could tuck in with a card :D

This is what the magnet started out looking like and all it took was a strip of designer paper and some double sided adhesive to start the transformation.

And here is the finished product using the "Relax & Enjoy" sentiment from the JustRite Charmed Cling Mounted set. I stamped it on some ivory paper and heat embossed it to add a little elegance. I then sponged around the sentiment and then added it to my altered die cut.

Since I wanted to have a nice presentation of the bookmark, I created a little base for it and then added the to/from sentiment from the JustRite Fancy Nested Frames set.This not only looks nice, but it can be added to a present like a gift tag or tucked in with a card as a nice little surprise.

This would make a great addition to go with a purchased book as a gift or to go alongside of a gift card to your favourite book store :D Thanks for coming by today and we will see you all soon :D

Book Mark Recipe:

Stamps: JustRite Charmed Cling Mounted Set, JustRite Fancy Nested Frames set from Stamper's Dream
Paper: Espresso, Vanilla, Basic Grey DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Ranger Distress Vintage Photo
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Spellbinders Dies, Magnet Bookmark, Sponges, Double Sided Adhesive, Judikins Clear Embossing Powder, Zva Creations Pearls, Corner Chomper

TSG Mother of All Blog Hops!

2011-05-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 2^nd annual Mother of All Blog Hops sponsored by There She Goes Clears Stamps! If you’ve arrived here from Jess Willison's blog, then you are in the right spot! If not, you will want to start back on the There She Goes team blog in order to find out what you need to do to be eligible for the prizes we are offering :)

I made my card for this week's Mojo189 Sketch Challenge and used the Polka Dot Pals set. They puppy was water coloured with tombow markers and a water brush and then chalked for some extra shading. I thought that this sweet little guy needed some fun and bright papers so I chose some making memories papers and tid bits of some october afternoon collections :)

Now it’s time to hop over to Katie Skiff's blog. Thanks so much for stopping by and to all of you mom's out there, have a wonderful Mother's Day with your families :D

Card Recipe:

Stamps: There She Goes - Polka Dot Pals
Paper: Gina K, Espresso, Water Colour, Making Memories DP, October Afternoon DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Ranger Distress Vintage Photo, Kiwi, Olive
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Clear Embossing Powder, Spellbinders Dies, Button, Twine, Rhinestones, Tombow Markers, Water Brush, Chalk Pencil, Sponges, Dimensionals, Scallop Punch, Decorative Label Punch

Blossom By Blossom Journal

2011-04-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for another Torico-illustrated character set? I hope so, because we are in love with her latest release that showcases some sweet little ladies enjoying the pleasures of spring along with some of their favorite spring creatures and blooms.

Blossom By Blossom is a 4X8 stamp set that includes a total of 22 stamps and will sell for $18.

Would you like a chance to win the Blossom By Blossom stamp set? Here’s what you need to do- go to each of the Trendsetter’s Blogs and leave a comment on their Blossom By Blossom Blog Hop Challenge post. After you have finished checking out the eye candy and have left some love, return to the TSG Blog and add your name to the Mr. Linky at the bottom of this Blog Hop Challenge post. A winner will be chosen randomly using a random number generator to receive their very own Blossom By Blossom stamp set. The winner will be announced Saturday (Apr. 30th) during the Release Party Chat.

Thanks for coming by today and now you are off to see what Miss Melyssa has in store for you :D

Journal Recipe:

Stamps: There She Goes - Blossom by Blossom
Paper: Black, Water Colour, My Minds Eye DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Baja, Teal, Kiwi, Olive, Ranger Distress Vintage Photo
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Spellbinders Dies, Ribbon, Buttons, Dew Drops, Tombow Markers, Chalk Pencil, Water Brush, Sponges, Dimensionals, Corner Rounder, White Gel Pen

A Brighter Life

2011-04-26T21:00:00.000-07:00

Know someone who takes everything too seriously? Or maybe you know someone who needs a little pick-me-up? This set illustrated by our fabulous Torico will “brighten” anyone’s day! There are not only a variety of lamp bases and shades, but there are also some heartfelt and humorous sentiments to coordinate perfectly with the images.

Lighten Up is a 4X6 stamp set that includes a total of 20 stamps and will sell for $15.

Would you like a chance to win the Lighten Up stamp set? Here’s what you need to do- go to each of the Trendsetter’s Blogs and leave a comment on their Lighten Up Blog Hop Challenge post. After you have finished checking out the eye candy and have left some love, return to the TSG Blog and add your name to the Mr. Linky at the bottom of this Blog Hop Challenge post. A winner will be chosen randomly using a random number generator to receive their very own Lighten Up stamp set. The winner will be announced Saturday (Apr. 30th) during the Release Party Chat.

Thanks for coming by these parts and don't forget to swing on back here tomorrow for the last day of the sneak peeks :) Now have fun and hop on over to Miss Melyssa's Blog : D

Card Recipe:

Stamps: There She Goes - Lighten Up
Paper: Gina K, Water Colour, Espresso, My Mind's Eye DP, Bella Blvd DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Ranger Distress Vintage Photo
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Spellbinders Dies, Tombow Markers, Water Brush, Chalk Pencil, Taylored Expressions Gems

TSG Sneak Peeks!

2011-04-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to day 1 of the There She Goes sneak peek blog hop. If you have arrived here form Miss Karen's blog then you are exactly where you should be, if not then please start back at the TSG blog :)

Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to 2 new stamp sets from There She Goes Clear Stamps! The first one up to view is called Garden of Life and it is a 3X4 stamp set that includes a total of 7 stamps and will sell for only $7 :)

For this card, I used this week's TSG104 sketch challenge. The kitty was water coloured with my tombow markers and then I sponged in the background to fill the space.

The second set of the day is called Confidential and it's a 4X6 stamp set that includes a total of 12 stamps and will sell for $15. I decided to use one of the sentiments to create this altered day timer :) I went with the more scrappy look with some distressing and even used some masking tape as decorative feature :)

Would you like a chance to win the Confidential and Garden of Life stamp sets? Here’s what you need to do- go to each of the Trendsetter’s Blogs and leave a comment on their Confidential / Garden of Life Blog Hop Challenge post. After you have finished checking out the eye candy and have left some love, return to the TSG Blog and add your name to the Mr. Linky at the bottom of this Blog Hop Challenge post. A winner will be chosen randomly using a random number generator to receive their very own Confidential / Garden of Life stamp sets. The winner will be announced Saturday (Apr. 30th) during the Release Party Chat.

Thanks for coming by today and don't forget that I have another two days of TSG sneak peekin' to do so come on back here tomorrow :D Now you are to continue your celestial journey to Melyssa's blog.
Card Recipe:

Stamps: There She Goes - Garden of Life
Paper: Gina K, Espresso, Water Colour, My Mind's Eye DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Olive, Artichoke, Baja, Teal
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Spellbinders Dies, Ribbon, Martha Stewart Punch, Sponges, Tombow Markers, Dimensionals, Chalk Pencil, Water Brush

Day Timer Recipe:

Stamps: There She Goes - Confidential
Paper: Crate Paper, Gina K, K&Co DP, Suede
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Red, Ranger Distress Vintage Photo
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Sponges, MFT Note Paper Die, Masking Tape, Sponges, Day Timer to alter

Puddle Jumpers

2011-04-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I thought that I would grace you with my presence once again this week and even though I'm still mojo-less, I did have a chance to put together this card for the image that I already had coloured up from last month :)

These cute little birds are from the Under The Weather set from There She Goes. I stamped them on the paper and then water coloured them with my tombows before I masked them off to sponge in the background. This image is a little bit wider than my nestabilities so I masked off the edges to leave a crisp white outline before I sponged in the scenery.

I went with a simple layout this time round because I literally could not figure out what to do with this card. I'm kind of down that my creativity is taking such a beating but I'm hoping that the mood to be in crafting mode comes back soon! I sure do miss it :D

I hope to be back with another card sooner rather than later so ta-ta for now my pretties :D

Card Recipe:

Stamps: There She Goes - Under the Weather
Paper: Gina K, Water Colour, Black, My Mind's Eye DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Lime, Olive, Baja, Teal
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Embossing Folders, MFT Jumbo Scallop Die, Brads, Tombow Markers, Water Brush, Glossy Accents, Chalk Pencil, Corner Chomper, Cloud Stencil, Dimensionals

Dancing in the Rain with Stamper's Dream

2011-04-13T18:53:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone and welcome to my much neglected blog ;) It really goes hand in hand with my much neglected craft room and stamps! I just realized that it's been over two weeks since I posted and card and 2 weeks exactly since I even looked in my craft room. My mojo left the building sometime ago and has yet to resurface so I thought that I would make a small attempt to create something pretty even if my mojo is playing hooky :)

This card although relatively simple actually took me two days to create. I started it and then drew a blank half way through and couldn't figure out how to finish it...so I put it down and walked away over night. I finally finished it off and took a really nice picture of it but Blogger has been doing some interesting things with my photos today so I apologize for the funky/fuzzy picture :(

This card is done by just sewing the layers of card stock, patterned paper and vellum together and then taking my JustRite My Rainbow and Elegant Frames sets and heat embossing them in white on the vellum. This provides a simple but elegant look and in the end it's really one of those cards that looks pretty but didn't take too long to make...unless your me without said mojo ;)

Thanks for coming by today and I will have another card for you in the next day or two :)

Card Recipe:

Stamps: JustRite My Rainbow Oval Centers and Borders and JustRite Elegant Frames from Stamper's Dream
Paper: Gina K, Vellum, K&Co DP
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: Sewing Machine, White Embossing Powder

TSG100 - Chalky 'Shroom

2011-03-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody! This week was my week to chose the challenge over at the TSG blog. It's TSG100 and it's a no marker zone - hehehehe :P That means, no copics, no tombows, no blender pens....no nuttin'! Haul out those chalks, pastels, water colour pencils, re-inkers...anything that doesn't come in marker form :D I just knew that you all would love this challenge *wink*

Since I'm actually sick at home with the flu that may as well be the plague, I have kept the card simple. This was was coloured in using a black chalk pencil and then rest is pretty basic. I used the My Little Friend set for both the image and the sentiment.

You all are invited to play along with us! To be eligible for the giveaway, you are to create a card that utilizes no markers, and then come back to the TSG Blog to add your name and a link to your project in the InLinkz that is located at the bottom of this challenge post. This challenge is open until the winner has been announced on the following Monday (Apr 3rd). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store!
Card Recipe:

Stamps: There She Goes - My Little Friend
Paper: Gina K, Black, Grey
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Charm, Chalk Pencil, Ribbon, Twine

To Gnome Me...

2011-03-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

...is to love me :) Welcome back to the final day of the There She Goes blog hop! If you have arrived here form Miss Karen's blog then you are exactly where you should be, if not then please start back at the TSG blog :)

Today I get to show you the set that I have been waiting for f-o-r-e-v-e-r! I absolutely adore gnomes and I was thrilled when Torico came up with this little fellow. It gets better. There is a whole set of these adorable little gnomes! The set is called My Little Friend is a 6x8 stamp set that includes a total of 31 stamps and will sell for $24.

This rather colourful card was put together for Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge (SSSC109). I water coloured the gnome with tombows and then sponged in the background. I added a final touch of some chalk pencil shading and then paired the image up with an assortment of fun and bright coloured patterned papers :D

Would you like a chance to win the My Little Friend stamp set? Here’s what you need to do- go to each of the Trendsetter’s Blogs and leave a comment on their My Little Friend Blog Hop Challenge post. After you have finished checking out the eye candy and have left some love, return to the TSG Blog and add your name to the Mr. Linky at the bottom of this Blog Hop Challenge post. A winner will be chosen randomly using a random number generator to receive their very own My Little Friend stamp set. The winner will be announced Saturday (Mar 26th) during the Release Party Chat.

Thanks for coming by today and now you are off to see what Miss Marisa has in store for you :D

Card Recipe:

Stamps: There She Goes - My Little Friend
Paper: Gina K, Water Colour, Black, Making Memories, Bella Blvd, K&Co DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Lime, Olive, Artichoke, Baja, Teal
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Spellbinders Dies, Button, Twine, Tombow Markers, Water Brush, Dimensionals, Sponges, Chalk Pencil, MFT Grass Die-namic, Cloud Stencil

Blog Candy Winner!

2011-03-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

So, you all remember the Stamper's Dream/JustRite blog hop that took place on Monday? You know...this one? Well, I'm pretty darn excited to announce that my blog is one of the Mystery Blog Candy location! Yay! That means that the winner from my blog is Lori!

Lori said...

Your coloring job is lovely and really makes the card.

Congratulations Lori! You have won the prize pack from Stamper's Dream (pictured above) and it's valued at $50. Please email Michelle (michelle@stampersdream.com) with your mailing info and she will get your goodies out to you right away :D

To see all of the results of the blog hop, please click over to the JustRite blog for all of the "official" info and have a great day!

PS: Thank you for all of the wonderful comments on my post! Sweet words make rainy days wonderful and I sure got a lot of them :D

The Texting Tulip

2011-03-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, so the title of the post might be a little bit misleading but it caught your attention didn't it ;) Welcome back to day two of the There She Goes blog hop! If you have arrived here form Miss Karen's blog then you are exactly where you should be, if not then please start back at the TSG blog :)

Today I have two sets to showcase and the first one up for show is by Chris Dark and is called Tulip. It's a 3x4 stamp set that includes a total of 8 stamps and will sell for $7 and it's just perfect for Spring :D

This card was made with this month's SFYTT challenge over at the iheart2stamp.blog. The tulip was water coloured with tombows and then cut out an popped up on the sketch backdrop.

The second one that I have to show you is called Technology Bytes. It's a 4x8 stamp set that includes a total of 20 stamps and will sell for $18 and was illustrated by our fearless leader Jessica Knustsen. I might also add that this set is chalked full of witty sentiments ;)

This card was made for the TSG99 challenge and the challenge was to stand out from the background - or stamping Jessica Knutsen style :) I water coloured the cell phone and then coated it with a thick layer of glossy accents to make it shine. I then popped it up on my one layer sponged background and ta da..it was done. Easy Peasy!

Would you like a chance to win the Tulip/Technology Bytes stamp set? Here’s what you need to do- go to each of the Trendsetter’s Blogs and leave a comment on their Tulip/Technology Bytes Blog Hop Challenge post. After you have finished checking out the eye candy and have left some love, return to the TSG Blog and add your name to the Mr. Linky at the bottom of this Blog Hop Challenge post. A winner will be chosen randomly using a random number generator to receive their very own Tulip/Technology Bytes stamp set. The winner will be announced Saturday (Mar 26th) during the Release Party Chat.

Thanks for coming by these parts and don't forget to swing on back here tomorrow for the last day of the sneak peeks :) Now have fun and hop on over to Miss Marisa's blog :D

Tulip Card Recipe:

Stamps: There She Goes - Tulip
Paper: Gina K, Water Colour, Espresso, My Mind's Eye, SU, Making Memories DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Ranger Distress Vintage Photo
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Tombow Markers, Chalk Pencil, Sponges, Dimensionals, Water Brush, Hodgepodge Hardware, Ribbon

Safe Text Card Recipe:

Stamps: There she Goes -Technology Bytes
Paper: Water Colour, Kraft
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Pink, Rose, Chocolate
Accessories: Sponges, Tombow Markers, Water Brush, Chalk Pencil, Glossy Accents, Dimensionals

Out of this world!

2011-03-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to day 1 of the There She Goes sneak peek blog hop. If you have arrived here form Miss Karen's blog then you are exactly where you should be, if not then please start back at the TSG blog :)

Today I get to show you one of the newest sets from one of our newer illustrators, the fabulous Melyssa Connelly. The set is called Out of This World and it's a 4x8 stamp set that includes a total of 19 stamps that will sell for $18.

This silly little guy has been water coloured with tombows, sponged and shaded with chalk. I added some fun little freckles and some stars in the sky with my stardust gelly roll pen but you can't really see it in the picture.

This card is a very special card for one of the sweetest little boys that I know. Today is my son's 7th birthday and it's certainly an occasion to take a trip down memory lane...

Awwww! *sigh* I miss those days! Happy 7th Birthday to my sweet little man Tait!!! And yes, I still want to pinch those cheeks :D

Would you like a chance to win the Out of This World stamp set? Here’s what you need to do...go to each of the Trendsetter’s Blogs and leave a comment on their Out of This World Blog Hop Challenge post. After you have finished checking out the eye candy and have left some love, return to the TSG Blog and add your name to the Mr. Linky at the bottom of this Blog Hop Challenge post. A winner will be chosen randomly using a random number generator to receive their very own Out of This World stamp set. The winner will be announced Saturday (Mar 26th) during the Release Party Chat.

Thanks for coming by today and don't forget that I have another two days of TSG sneak peekin' to do so come on back here tomorrow :D Now you are to continue your celestial journey to Melyssa's blog.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: There She Goes - Out of This World
Paper: Gina K, Water Colour, Black, Basic Grey DP, Mustard
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Mustard, Baja, Caramel, Chocolate, Pacific Pointe, Navy, Pumpkin
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Spellbinders Circle Dies, Tombow Markers, Water Brush, Chalk Pencil, Sponges, Dimensionals, Ribbon, SU Star Punches, Button, Startdust Gelly Roll Pen, Twine, Brads

Blog Hopping JustRite Style with Stamper's Dream and the JustRite Team!

2011-03-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Welcome to the start of a new week and a Stamper's Dream/ JustRite Stampers blog hop! You heard me right, both Stamper's Dream and JustRite Stampers have teamed up and brought you this phenomenal hop of inspiration! If you have arrived here from Eva's Blog then you are in the right place, if not then please start your journey back at the JustRite Inspiration blog.

For my card today, I scouted blog land for a sketch to use on the hop. I went with this week's Card Patterns sketch and stamped the sentiment from the Song in My Heart Oval JustRite set in the corner before I started to sponge on my colours. I then sponged on my various Stampin' Up! inks and then used my Martha Stewart leaf punch to make a reverse mask to create the sponged leaves. I finished off the main image with some of Martha's butterfly punches to create the butterflies out of vellum.

Since I'm the last person that you get to visit I will remind you to leave everyone some love to win a chance at some blog candy! There are 3 different sets of hidden goodies among the participants and just to get you salivating, this is just one of the prizes involved ;)

The commenting will remain open until 8pm CST - Tuesday March 22cnd. The 3 winners will be announced on both the Stamper's Dream blog and the JustRite blog on Wednesday March 23rd. Here is what you have a chance to win:

4 JustRite Stamp sets of your choice

A $50 Prize package from Stamper's Dream (pictured above)

A $50 Shopping spree to the JustRite store.

Good luck to you all and thank you so much for coming to visit me :D

Card Recipe:

Stamps: JustRite Song of My Heart from Stamper's Dream
Paper: Gina K, Water Colour, Bo Bunny, My Mind's Eye DP, Espresso, Vellum
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Banana, Olive, Eggplant, Artichoke, Rose
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Spellbinders Dies, Martha Stewart Butterfly and Leaf Punches, Leaf Stick Pins, Pearl Brads, Ribbon, Martha Stewart border punch, Clear Embossing Powder, Sponges, Dimensionals, Corner Chomper

Oh Hoppy Day!

2011-03-16T04:00:00.000-07:00

Isn't this little guy from Penny Black just adorable? Michelle from Stamper's Dream sent me this Penny Black stamp at the beginning of the month and it's called Hoppy Day. This stamp is quite large so I spent the better portion of the afternoon on Sunday colouring him up with my tombows and the occasional SU re-inker thrown into the pile just for fun ;)

I wanted to keep a white embossed edge to my image but didn't have any dies large enough to accommodate my entire image, so I took some painters tape and masked off the edges. I water coloured and sponged around the tape before removing it and then noticed that my edges were crooked but shhhhh....don't tell anyone that I told you so ;0) I did try to square it up a bit but now my image is no longer a traditional rectangle shape so don't look too closely n'kay?

Thanks for coming by today and I will have oodles of fun cards to show you next week so stay tuned!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Penny Black Hoppy Day from Stamper's Dream
Paper: Gina K, Water Colour, Espresso, Crate Paper, My Mind's Eye
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Ranger Distress Vintage Photo, Teal, Baja Blue, Olive
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Tombow Markers, Water Brush, Chalk Pencil, Twine, EK Success Clock Hands Punch, Hodgepodge Hardware, Dimensionals, Painter's Tape, Sponges, Clear Embossing Powder,

TSG98 - Relax

2011-03-13T21:17:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Happy TSG Challenge day! This week’s challenge at There She Goes is brought to us by our Trendsetter of the Week, Danielle! She has created a fabulous sketch for us to work with, and we are so excited to see what you will create with this layout as your starting point! Isn't this sketch fantastic?

You probably noticed that I flipped this sketch on it's side because both the image and the sentiment that I chose to work with fit the sketch this way the best. Instead of an additional shape of the star, I stamped the towel bar from the Rejuvenate set to coordinate with the larger image and placed it on the card so that it extended beyond the main panel. The main image was both water coloured and paper pieced with some scraps of patterned paper.

So would you like to play along with this fun sketch? And how about a chance to win $5 to the TSG store or be in the Trendsetting Spotlight? If so, check out the TSG blog for more info. We'd love for you to participate in this week's challenge!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: There She Goes - Rejuvenate
Paper: Gina K, Water Colour, Black, Basic Grey, K&Co DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Ranger Distress Vintage Photo, Moss
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Clear Embossing Powder, Tombow Markers, Water Brush, Dimensionals, Sponges, Stickles, Black Chalk Pencil, Crystal Effects