Thursday, May 31, 2007

Cute Cowboy


One last post, then I'm calling it a night so I can get up early and get my SU! preview order placed!!! Today's SCS challenge was to use a set that will be retiring. Believe it or not with such an extensive list, I only have a handful of those on the list. Most of those are sentiments....so I chose an older retired set- Cowboy Kid. He is so adorable. I had some of this fun paisley patterned paper laying around so I thought that would work well with this card. I love the color combo too. I started with Bordering Blue for my card base. I ripped a piece of the paisley paper and attatched it to the left half of the card. I doodled around the edges of the right side of the card with the white gel pen. The white strip across the middle is "bugged" with ribbon tied ariund it. I scalloped the bottom of the card. The main image is stamped on white and layered on Chocolate Chip cardstock. I colored my little guy with SU! markers. I added flock to the horse so he's fuzzy. The star badges were stamped on white with Brocade Blue, cut out, and mounted on dimensionals. I also added dazzling diamonds to the center of the stars. Well, I'm off to put Cameron in bed for the 15th time and then I'm going to bed!!

Stampinggirls June Swap Card


I've finished my June swap cards a little early, but I just can't help myself. I LOVE this card. I am so glad I convinced my self to get this set (Bodacious Bouquet). I used True Thyme for my card base. Marigold Morning is the next layer and I used the M.Morning ink on the Linen background stamp for this layer. Then I used a smaller piece of T.Thyme. I used the paper piercer for the holes down the left side and added mustard ribbon. The flower for the main image is stamped in M. Morning, then with More Mustard I did the rock-n-roll technique around the edges of the petals. I added dazzling diamonds to the center of the flower. I used T.Thyme for the leaves and the paper piercer to poke holes all the way around the flower. I used M. Morming and M. Mustard to sponge around the edges of the Very Vanilla cardstock. And finally, I stamped the "Thanks So Much" sentiment from the Riveting hostess set and punched it out with the circle punch. Hey sistahs~ hope you like it!

Garden Apron


I've seen a few of these made and I think they are so adorable. I wanted to give it a shot, but couldn't find a template. I drew mine freehand and I don't love the way it turned out, but I wasn't about to waste this awesome Four Seasons d.p. I did faux stitching around the apron. I added eyelets and ribbon for the ties. And my favorite part is the pocket I made with the tag punch. I just turned it upside down when I attatched it to the apron. I stuck a few seed packets inside and there you have it. My boys have been begging me to let them start a garden and I wasn't anxious to do it, but this card was a little bit of a push to get me going.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Teachabella


This is the card that I made for Austin's teacher for the end of the year. She is young and hip so this will fit her perfectly. I used today's SCS sketch challenge for the layout. The card base is So Saffron. The panel of d.p. furthest to the right is from the Friends & Flowers Simply Scrappin' hostess kit. The next panel is Chocolate Chip that I ran through the Cuttlebug. The panel of d.p. that goes horizontally is also from the Scrappin' kit. I used a row of the flower sticker border across the top and bottom of the d.p. I stamped Thank You in the bottom left corner with Chocolate Chip ink. Bella is stamped on white cardstock and colored with watercolor crayons. She has dazzling diamonds on her shirt, the vase, and flowers. The apple has crystal effects on it for shine. She is layered on Certainly Celery and Rose Red. I added a few flower stickers in 2 of the corners and put Bella & layers up on dimensionals. Enjoy your day and try to stay cool!

Zoo 6x6 Scrapbook Page


This layout was made for an upcoming workshop, and this Wild About You set is one of my favorites. I started with Buckaroo Blue for my page base. I stamped ZOO with the Big Deal Alphabet with Buckaroo Blue and across the top I stamped just the word WILD from the sentiment "Wild About You". I was able to do that my only inking up the word WILD with Buckaroo Blue ink. I stamped the Lion, Elephant, and Alligator each on white cardstock and matted them on Old Olive, Really Rust, and Real Red. For the lion I stamped him a second time on a scrap piece of cardstock after I colored his face Really Rust and his mane More Mustard. I cut it out and mounted it to the original lion with a dimensional. Then I used a two-way glue pen on his mane and sprinkled on brown flock (TAC) so it's fuzzy. I added the bird to his back with Real Red and I pierced across the top and bottom of the Old Olive layer. The Elepahnt was stamped in Buckaroo Blue. I masked the trunk so it lookes like she's holding the flower.I added dazzling diamonds to the flower and gave her googly eyes. I also stamped the elphant again on scrap paper and cut out the ear-adding it to the original with dimensionals. I put Old Olive brads in each of the four corners. And for the alligator I added googly eyes also and stapled a piece of Mustard ribbon to it. Happy Hump Day!

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Beachabella & Surfafella


This is the first time using my new Surfafella. I had tons of fun making this card, And today was definately summer weather, so it was easy to get in the mood for this one.The card base is Buckaroo Blue. The d.p. is from Stampin' Up's Playhouse collection. I used Marigold Morning and ran it through the Cuttlebug with the spots and Dots embossing folder for the strip down the left side. I used a piece of orange ribbon on the top and bottom of the Marigold strip and also used the paper piercer for a row of holes above and below the ribbon. The main image is layered on Garden Green and up on dimensionals. I stamped Bella and Fella in black. Then I colored them with Prismacolor markers. I used the small circle stamp from the Riveting hostess set, stamped it in summer sun and did the rock and roll technique with Really Rust around the edge of the circle to get the sun effect. I sponged the top 2/3 of the white cardstock with Ballet Blue for the sky and the bottom 1/3 in Creamy Carmel for sand. I put dazzling diamonds on Bella's suit, bag, sunglasses, and Fella's whistle. You can't tell from the picture, but I put crystal effects on his surfboard so it's raised and shiny. Then I stamped the sentiment "be playful" in black from (TAC). I also used the paper piercer around the top right corner and bottom left corner of the Garden Green cardstock. How fun is that!?

Ahoy, Matey


Today's challenge was to use Chocolate Chip, Cool Caribbean, and Garden Green. Great color combo and works perfect with the patterned paper that I have! I started with Garden Green for my card base. I scalloped the bottom and doodled on the scallops with the white gel pen. The next layer is Chocolate Chip, also scalloped. Next is the patterned paper, scalloped. The main image is stamped on white, colored with the watercolor crayons, and I did the direct-to-paper tehnique with Creamy Carmel. My little pirate is layered on Cool Caribbean and Chocolate Chip. I added white and chocolate ribbon under the right side of the main image & layers. This is going to be a birthday card for one of my daycare boys. Happy Tuesday!!

Sunday, May 27, 2007

4x4 Quick Card


I had a few minutes to spare in between doing things this after noon and I had a few small scraps left of the patterned paper that I used in the previous post, so I whipped up this simple little cutie. I think it's missing somethingh though. I'm not sure what that could be, but this as good as is going to get. I used black for the card base. The next layer is white on the top half and patterned paper on the bottom half. I covered the seem with a strip of scalloped Always Artichoke and added white gel pen dots. I tied a piece of black ribbon around the A. Artichoke and added the butterfly charm. There are 3 brads in the top right corner. The bottom right corner says "wonderful" stamped in black- from Warm Words. The big flower is a piece of the patterned paper punched out with the circle punch. I then punced out a bunch of pieces using the word window punch on Real Red. I cut them in half,and adhered them to the back of the circle to look like a "mini" giga scalloped punch. As simple as that!

Javabellas


Javabellas was another one that I got this time around. It makes me wish sometimes I could just grab a cup of joe with a friend and catch up. Since life is crazy right now- this card is going to...you guessed it.. Erin (my s-i-l). With 7 kids between us we barely have time to have a conversation on the phone. Thank goodness for email. And thank goodness for a friend like her. The card base is Always Artichoke. The patterned paper is from a pack that I got from Pat Catan's. I scalloped the bottom of the card base and added the white gel pen dots. Bellas are stamped on white and colored with the WWC and blender pen. I layered them on Really Rust and Real Red. I made the R. Red a little longer and folded it over and scalloped it to look like an awning (thanks Julie for the inspiration). I really like how it looks like they are sitting by a window.I added the "Enjoy Your Day " sentiment from the Riveting hostess set. I added dazzling diamonds to Bellas's shirt, the flower in the vase, and the other bella's necklace. I love the color combo I was able to pull from the patterned paper. I'm off to take Cameron and my nephew, Ryan, to see Shrek the third. Enjoy your Sunday!!

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Bodacious Napkin Inspiration



Today's SCS challenge was to use this napkin as inspiration to create a card. You can do anything you want. I was inspired to recreate the napkin. Obviously it isn't exactly like it, but I love the way it turned out. The colors I used are black, gold, More Mustard, Cranberry Crisp, Bashful Blue, and Certainly Celery.I used the Bodacious Bouquet, Doodle This, and Warm Words sets. I used Black for my card base. I randomly stamped the images all over the card. Then for the double layers on the flowers I stamped those in other colors and cut them out and mounted them. I added dazzling diamonds to the centers of all the flowers. I did the faux stitching technique around the edges with the white gel pen. I hope you like it.

Blessings



Finally getting back into the scrapbooking that I've been avoiding for a while. Sometimes I just can't get motivated enough to get the layouts finished and I don't like to just throw it together so it can be finished. I want to be happy with the end result. So these pages are for Austin's book. It's from November when we celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas at grandma's house because it is easier for everyone to come home then rather than in December. The one big picture is of Dustin with the boys- Austin, Cameron, and Carter on Thanksgiving Day. The other pictures are family, Austin opening gifts, and with his godfather. Remember to count your blessings all year, not just during the holidays!

Kids Say The Funniest Things

My father-in-law is a farmer, so every once in a while he drives to the Cleveland area to deliver a load of hay for horse customers. If you know anything about Ohio you know there are a lot of Amish and Mennonite families in that area (which I am fasinated with, by the way). Yesterday was one of those days that he had to make a hay delivery. Cameron, my middle one who will be 5 in July, went along with him. This morning he was telling me all about his day, and as he talks I ask him lots of questions to keep the conversation going. My first question was "Were they Amish"? I was expecting him to reply with "What is Amish"? Nope-his answer was "No- they are the same color we are". It caught me totally off guard with the matter of fact innocence of his answer. Just thought I'd share!! Happy rainy Saturday!

Friday, May 25, 2007

And The Winner Is...

...Debbie! Congrats on getting 7 out of 8 correct. Please email me your snail mail addy and I'll get you that candy asap. So here are the answers to the questions:
1.) What is my full name?
*Erica Sue Payne
2.) How many children do I have?
*3
3.) What are their names?
*Austin (who had a birthday today-he's 8 now!), Cameron, and Carter
4.) What is my husbands name?
*Dustin
5.) What is my occupation?
* SAHM?daycare provider/SU! Demonstrator
6.) Where do I live?
*Vickery, Ohio
7.) When is my birthday?
*June 12th- I'll be 25
8.) What is my swap groups name?
*Stampinggirls

Thanks to all who played and stay tuned for more blog candy in the future!

Stamping Bella


This card I made to add with the blog candy. I'll tuck the bella images inside. It didn't turn out as I had envisioned it, but it's still cute. The card base is black. I scalloped the bottom and added white gel pen doodles. The d.p. is from Pallet O' Prints. I faux stitched down the sides and folded over the left corner and secured it with a brad so you could see the other side. I also tied a black ribbon around it. I stamped the sentiment "you've been rak'd by a stamping bella" with white craft ink onto the card base. Bella is stamped on white and colored with the watercolor crayons. I stamped her dress onto the d.p. also and cut it out and adhered it to the main image. There are dazzling diamonds on her hair bow and the pocket of her bag. I sponged More Mustard around the oval.The main image and black oval behind it are up on dimensionals. TGIF everyone!!

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Can't Leave Well Enough Alone!


I don't know if any of you do this, but just when I think I've finished my card and take a picture to post I think to myself..."I should've done this or that". That's what happened to this card. Stacey has this grin on her face that says "haha, mine's bigger than yours!" Hence the big fish. I also added rocks under the fish. And fella's eyes look like they are in awe of bella's catch!!

Staceyfishabella And Her Fella


Fishafella is one of my new fellas that I got this week. He looks so adorable with Staceyfishabella. This card is somewhat of a case of a card that my s-i-l made yesterday. I used this week's color challenge- Certainly Celery, Old Olive, and Vintage Violet and today's ways to use it challenge- Yo Yo Yellow (a color I rarely use). The card base is Certainly Celery. I used my slit punch for the Old Olive strip of scallops. I used my white gel pen for the dots and the sentiment "just dropping you a line" is also from Stamping Bella. Bella and Fella are stamped on white and layered on Vintage Violet. I used the ink from the pad lids and an aqua painter to color them. I added a bow to bella's hair. SHe has dazzling diamonds on her overall pocket and her fishing pole. I have an oval stamp that I used for the grass and I added several blades of grass with the Always Artichoke marker. And finally, I sponged a sky with Bashful Blue. It's been perfect fishing weather in our area the past week, so I hope it lasts for the weekend- because Austin is going camping and he LIVES for fishing!!

Bodacious Box


I am loving this Bodacious Bouquet set that I got a few days ago. And last night while I was at Pat Catan's I found a pack of paper that had flowers on it that are very similiar to a few of the images in the set- so I bought it! I haven't made any projects for a while, but I needed something that I could whip up quickly this morning, so I dug through ALL of my patterns and found this little box. I printed the pattern on Cool Caribbean, cut it and scored it and tied it together in the corners with twine. Then I put a belly band around the middle with my new paper. I put chocolate ribbon on the middle of that. I stamped one of the matching flower images in Cool Caribbean, Chocolate Chip, and Always Artichoke. Then I cut them out and added dazzling diamonds to the centers and attatched them to the box. For the finishing touch I added leaves and white filler in the box to hold a surprise for someone!!

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Wild Animals


Here is today's SCS challenge. The idea was to use small stamps to fit that middle panel so I used these animals from TAC. I can't remember what the set is called. The card base is Always Artichoke. The next layer is More Mustard that I ran through the Cuttlebug with the spots and dots embossing folder. The middle section is a piece of Treehouse d.p. I stamped my images on white and punched them out with the circle punch. I colored them with the ink on the pad lids with an aqua painter. Then I layered them on Cranberry Crisp and Buckaroo Blue. I attatched some ribbom to the left. I also stamped the leaves with Always Artichoke ink on A. Artichoke c.s. And finally, i LIGHTLY swiped my white craft ink pad over the whole thing to highlight some areas, especially the embossing. I was crazy about the sketch, but I think this card turned out cute.

I've Hit 100 Posts!!!


...So let's celebrate with a blog candy give away. This is what you have to do. I want you to email me (epayne@glis.cc) with your answers to the following questions. MOST (not all) of the answers can be found in my profile or in previous posts. The person with the most correct answers by Friday night at 9pm will win this batch of "stuff".
1.) What is my full name? (Middle name is optional, but it begins with an S.)
2.) How many children do I have?
3.) What are their names?
4.) What is my husbands name?
5.) What is my occupation?
6.) Where do I live? (city and state)
7.) When is my birthday? (It's coming soon!!)
8.) What is my swap group's name?

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Hitchedabellafella


I hope that you aren't tired of bellas just yet, because I have more to share. I think this card turned out gorgeous. I made this for friends of ours, Laura & Jordan, who will be getting married soon.The card base is some paper that I got from Pat Catan's. It says things like- cherish, love, always, memories...you get the idea. I cut off a little of the right side and scalloped it so you could see the Regal Rose under it. I stamped "cherish" in white craft ink along the R. Rose. Bella & Fella are colored with markers. Bella's dress is covered with diamonds....dazzling diamonds that is. I layered them on Regal Rose and added a white organdy ribbon to the upper right corner. I have several more new bellas and fellas that I will be sharing with you tomorrow. Have a great night!

Craveabella


I wish I had this bella back when I was pregnant. That was so me- sitting on the couch eating whatever ....because "the baby wanted it". But I have plenty of friends who are pregnant right now and a few that I hope will be soon (you know who you are!)The base for this card is Buckaroo Blue and I used the Linen backgroung stamp in B. Blue ink on it. The bottom portion is Sarah designer paper. I put white ribbon across the seam. Bella is colored with ink from the lids of the pads and an aqua painter. The sentiment "You Grow Girl" is from Swell News (which will be retiring at the end of June). I added 2 snaps at the botton left of the main image with my Crop-A-Dile. You can't tell from the picture, but I put dazzling diamonds on her headband, I used a silver metallic pen to color her sundae cup and spoon, I used liquid applique on her slippers, and crystal effects on the pickle jar.I layered her on Apricot Appeal and mounted it on dimensionals.

Beerafella


Yeah!!! They're finally here! It's seems like I waited an eternity for this batch of Bellas and Fellas to arrive. Meet Beerafella. I couldn't wait to use him with my new beer paper by Creative Imaginations. And it worked out perfectly because today's SCS color challenge as to use Old Olive, Vintage Violet, and Certainly Celery. I used Old Olive as my card base. The next layer is Vintage Violet with Olive brads in each corner. Next is the beer paper and I used the ticket punch in each of the corners. Fella is colored with my watercolor crayons and the sentiment "Just another day" is from TAC. I layered him on Certainley Celery, then V.Violet, and O. Olive. I stapled two pieces of V.Violet stiched ribbon to the left hand corner of the main image. Beerafella is ready to party!!!

Monday, May 21, 2007

Bodacious Bookmark Card


This card was fun to make because I used the cutter kit for a lot of it. I love those little tools. I saw this idea in a magazine to add a bookmark at the end of the card using the perforating tool. For the grass I used the distressing tool, and for the leaves I used the cutting tool to cut them out and the scoring blade on the vein of the leaves so they bend upwards. The sentiments are from Brighter Tomorrow. I added buttons to two of the flowers and dazzling diamonds to the middle of all of the flowers. The flowers are from Bodacious bouquet and the ants are from Bugs & Kisses.

Bodacious Hello


It didn't take me long to get out of my stamping slump today. I still have several cards I want to make. This card is using the Bodacious Bouquet set. I didn't have many flower sets and with so many sets retiring I chose this one for my Consistency Counts reward since it will carry over to the new catty. Consistency Counts rewards are just another wonderful perk of being a Stampin' Up demo. Just a reminder- if you would love to build a business doing what you love- contact me to find out how you can sign up to be a demonstrator and you will recieve two of the new hostess sets from the upcoming catty in addition to all the other great perks. You must do so by May 31st in order to recieve the additional hostess sets. So, I got a little off track there. Sorry! This card is a little out of the ordinary for me, but i like it. I chose Barely Banana, Ballet Blue, Chocolate Chip, and Old Olive for my colors. Barely Banana is my card base. I doodled around the edges with a Chocolate Chip marker. I used Ballet Blue for the next layer. I stamped one of the images from the set down the left side with B. Blue ink. Then I used C. Chip across the top for the "hello" (from TAC). The bottom right corner is a square metal edge tag with two of the flower images that I colored O. Olive and C.Chip and cut out, adhering them with dimensionals. Along the right edge of the card I added added a thin strip of the Au Chocolat designer paper and then I crunched up a thin strip of O. Olive and spread it out, stapling it to the d.p to add some dimension. I'm going to send this one to my upline, Courtney, who is no longer a demo because she has a baby now. I haven't talked to her in a while and I kinda miss her! So Court- if you're reading this, be watching your mailbox.

Ryan's Graduation Card


My nephew, Ryan, graduated yesterday from preschool. Any occasion means me making a card...because I "have to". I called his dad to see what their school colors were and I should have known better than to ask him. The colors he told me were **** yellow and **** brown. To me that meant More Mustard and Close To Cocoa, although the visual of the colors he suggested wasn't pleasant. So, I'm sorry Ryan, but I did the best I could with what I had- and that wasn't very much! The set I used for this is Tassel Time and it will be retiring at the end of June.

Crayon Resist Technique


I was camping all weekend with my hubby and 3 boys, so believe it or not I had a hard time this morning getting back into my stamping routine. Today's SCS challenge was to do the crayon resist technique and do I chose to do a 4x4 card to get back into the swing of things. I chose the flower from Doodle This as my main image. I stamped it randomly on glossy cardstock with Always Artichoke and Bravo Burgundy. The I drew over the images with a white crayon. I inked up my brayer with So Saffron and covered the glossy cardstock. I used a paper towel to wipe the access ink off of the images revealing the white crayon underneath. The bottom portion of the card is using the designer paper- Four Seasons. I covered the seam with ivory ribbon. I kept it simple since it was my "get-me-going" card. When the kids are down for a nap I plan on getting right back into it. Happy Monday!!

Friday, May 18, 2007

Flowahbella


Today's SCS limited supplies challenge required these things:
One flower stamp, one sentiment, small background stamps, 1-3 colors & white or vanilla, any ink, ribbons, brads, flower punch, and doodling. I used all of those except for the flower punch, because I don't have one. My card base is Ruby Red. The strip on the left is Vintage Violet that I stamped one of the flowers from Little Pieces with Vintage Violet ink. I dyed white grosgrain ribbon to Vintage Violet, Ruby Red, and Always Artichoke and tied it around the violet strip. I stamped the sentiment "After the showers, smaell the flowers".- Henry Van Dyke in V. Violet ink on the bottom right corner.That is from the Brighter Tomorrow set. The main image is Flowahbella colored with watercolor crayons. She is layered on Always Artichoke with A. Artichoke brads in each corner. The main image and layer is up on dimensionals. If you love this bella be sure to check back next week. I have several new ones on the way as we speak, and Bella may have picked up a few Fellas on the way.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Silly Monkey


I haven't used these pocket notes since before Valentine's Day, so for today's SCS challenge I pulled them out. I had to think small so I thought if I started with something small for the card base I'd be able to come up with a small stamp to use. The challenge was to use stamps 1-1/2 " or smaller. I got this silly little monkey from TAC and have never used it. For the background paper I used a scrap of the paper I used earlier today for the sunflower card. I used the spiral punch along the left side. I stamped "silly monkey" in white along the right end of the Chocolate Chip pocket note. My monkey is colored with markers and layered on Ruby Red. I added brads to the left of my main image. I was inspired to do a monkey card because Carter is wearing a shirt today with a monkey hanging upside down and he's my little monkey, for sure!

Frog Prince


Yesterday I was at the Scrapbook Attic (our local scrapbook store) using up the gift certificate that I got for Mother's Day from one of my daycare families. I came across this adorable Frog Prince paper by Piggy Tales. I bought a few sheets because it looked fun and I thought it would be pefect for yesterday's SCS sketch challenge. I didn't do it yesterday because I didn't think I liked that sketch. I still don't know if I love it, but the paper coordinated so well with the Unfrogettable set that I had to pair them up. This is what I came up with. What do you think?

Pre-VSN Card


Sorry I wasn't able to post yesterday. Austin's class had a fieldtrip and I decided to tag along- but I'll have lots of posts today and tomorrow because we are going camping again this weekend. This card is for the pre-VSN (virtual stamp night) challenge. I don't know how many challenges I'll be able to do so I wanted to get a head start on the pre-challenges. This one requires seeds somewhere on the card. This card ended up being a little harder than I had planned, but I'm happy with the end result. I love shaker cards, but I have a hard time making them, mainly because I end up spilling whatever I'm using for the shaker. Today I used sunflower seeds from our bird feeder.My card base is Ruby Red. The bottom portion is a scrap of fall paper that I had left over. I used chocolate ribbon across the middle to cover the seam. For the "sunflower" I used 2 chip board flowers and cut a circle out of the middle (the hardedst part). I sponged both with Summer Sun, More Mustard, and Old Olive. I put the seeds in the middle and I'm still deciding on a sentiment I want to use, but I hope you like the simplicity of it.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Friendship Is Like A Flower....


"True Friends Grow Seperately Without Growing Apart". That is the sentiment on the inside of this card. I made this card for my sister-in-law(surprise, surprise!) She is one of my best friends and I'd be lost without her. I am so greatful for her to have been a huge part of my life for the past 9 years. I used Elegant Eggplant for the card base, black for the layer, and confetti white for the main images. I used the flourish from the Doodle This set (thanks Renee for the inspiration)- I stamped it onto copy paper and used that for a template for my paper piercer. I stamped the flowers from Polka Dots & Petals in black onto white and cut them out. I put a brad in the middle of each one and dustedthem with dazzling diamonds. I stamped Friendship across the bottom on the strip of Elegent Eggplant cardstock. And I used the ticket punch around the corners and added brads. I hope she likes it!

Welcome, Little One


Today's SCS color challenge is to use Apricot Appeal, Tempting Turquois, Rose Red, and Green Galore was optional. I used an array of stamps and accessories for this card, but I like how it turned out. I used Apricot Appeal for the card base. I randomly stamped the dots from Bundle of Joy (spring mini) and Riveting (hostess) with versamark for the background. I also used the butterfly and flower from Basket Full Of Fun (hostess) with versamark as well. I ran the Rose Red through the Cuttlebug with the Spots and Dots embossing folder. I used the slit punch for the Tempting Turquois scallops and I dotted them with the white gel pen. I used the Cuttlebug with the slider die and attatched it with white organdy ribbon. The "Welcome Little One" sentiment is also from Riveting that I put on the slider. The main image is the teddy bear from Bundle of Joy. I first stamped him with Timber Brown StazOn and flocked him so he's fuzzy. I added brads for buttons and stamped butterflies on the background. I put dazzling diamonds on the wings. I also used the Cuttlebug for the Green Galore photo corner. I used the paper piercer to poke holes around it. I layered the main image on Tempting Turquois and doodled around the edges with the gel pen. The main image is up on dimensionals. I'm loving this color combo. I made this card for my cousin who is scheduled to have her third baby girl on June 1st.

Monday, May 14, 2007

Unfrogettable Welcome


This morning's SCS challenge was to make a quick warm up card. Just a little something to get the creative juices flowing and something that doesn't take more than 15 minutes to complete. It only took me about 10 minutes for this little cute 3x3 card. I made it for my friends- Danielle and Kelley, welcoming them to the blog world. They started their very own blogs yesterday. Make sure to click on their links at the bottom of this page to check out what they've been up to. My 3x3 card was made using Real Red as my card base. I stamped "Welcome" in Chocolate Chip up the left side and used the paper piercer to poke holes up to the top. I ran a strip of True Thyme through the Cuttlebug for the Spots and Dots embossing. I used the mushroom from Unfrogettable for my main image. I watercolored that and layered it on Chocolate Chip cardstock. I also added Dazzling Diamonds to the spots on the mushroom. The main image and layer is mounted on dimensionals. Welcome Danielle and Kel!! Now that you've got those creative juices flowing...go get stamping!!!

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Mini Chipboard Album


I hope everyone had a great weekend and a Happy Mother's Day. We were busy, busy, busy as usual. One of my daycare families gave me a gift certificate to our local scrapbook store for Mother's Day. They know me pretty well, don't they?! I wanted to thank them with this little circle chipboard album that I put together with scrapbook paper from their store and pictures of Carter and their little boy together. His grandmother happens to be the owner of this scrapbook store. For the cover I used 2 patterns of scrapbook paper. To cover the seam I used twill tape. I stamped "Friends" in Chocolate Chip ink. I attatched a button with Crystal Effects. That stuff is the best super glue EVER! I cut 6 pictures of the boys into circles and I threaded twill tape through everything to hold it together. I kept it pretty simple, but I didn't want to add too much if they were going to be handling it a lot. Thanks for looking and have a great night!! And thanks again Brooke, Karl, and Aiden for the gift certificate!!

Thursday, May 10, 2007

I Get My Kicks..


I dug out my I Love Soccer set today because it will soon be retiring and I felt like I hadn't used it enough. I made a simple card using Buckaroo Blue, Marigold Morning, and Black cardstock. I used the Spots and Dots embossing folder and Cuttlebug on the black background piece.The circles were punched out with the 1 3/8 & 1 1/4 in. circle punches. I stamped the images on the smaller white circles and colored them in and layered them on the larger Buckaroo Blue Circles. They are raised up on dimensionals. As simple as that!

Addition To Teacher Gifts


I know I've already posted about the teacher coaster box gift set, but this morning I added the finishing touch to the back side. I was going to leave it empty because who sees the back anyways, but then a lightbulb went off. I've had a roll of cork for a while now , so I cut a square of it and attatched it to the back coaster. Then I took one of Cam's pictures that he drew at school and reduced the size and attatched it to the cork with a brad. He thought that was awesome because all of his artwork gets hung on the bulletin board at school for a while before he brings it home. I thought this added touch would make it a little more personal.

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Irish Twist


I tried another technique today. This one is called Irish Twist. That is how you get the design with the designer paper in the window of the card. You need a template to do this so I won't try to explain it to you. For the card base I used Old Olive. I stamped the images from Polka Dots & Petals in Old Olive on the card base. I scalloped the bottom and put a few white gel pen dots on the inside of the card so you can see them under the scallops. I tied ribbons around the top. On the bottom of the card- just above the scallops- I stamped the sentiment "How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it.-George Elliston" from the Friend To Friend set. I used Old Olive ink for that on White cardstock and layered it on So Saffron. Have a great night!

Life Is Good


This 6x6 layout of Carter using the Friends & Flowers Simply Scrappin' Kit (hostess) to put in my sample book that I take to workshops. I love that kit, but it's pretty girly. I took this picture of him today though and the colors of his shirt were perfect to go with this, so I couldn't resist.

Hoppy Birthday!!


I haven't used this set in so long (Unfrogettable), but it went perfect with today's SCS sketch challenge. We were to create a card using 4 square panels equal in size together in a group towards the top or bottom of the card. Mine probably could've been a little smaller, but I thought this made a cute boy's birthday card. My card base is Kraft cardstock The panel layers are More Mustard, Buckaroo Blue, Really Rust, and Real Red. I put googly eyes on my frog and snail and I watercolored everything. I used the Daisy wheel across the bottom in Old Olive ink. I put Dazzling Diamonds on the spots of the mushroom and in the middle of the daisys. i also added ribbon and brads the the "hoppy birthday" panel.

Love Of A Lifetime...


This card was so much fun, that I'm going to teach this technique at my workshop this weekend. It is called Joseph's Coat. I just recently bought a brayer so I could do some of these awesome techniques and I'm glad I did.It was one of those things that kept getting pushed to the bottom of the wish list. For the card base I used Cranberry Crisp. The next layer is True Thyme. I used the Doodle This set for this card. I stamped the doodles in True Thyme ink onto the T.T cardstock. Then I stamped the sentiment "love of a lifetime-a lifetime of love" in black also on the T.T cardstock. I also tied a piece of True Thyme stitched ribbon around it. Now for the fun part. Messy, but fun. I took a piece of glossy cardstock and used the brayer to apply several different colors onto the c.s. I used True Thyme, More Mustard, Cranberry Crisp, and Cool Caribbean. I let that dry for a few seconds.Then I rubbed it with the embossing buddy to remove any static. I stamped the flower doodle in Versamark onto the c.s. After that I sprinkled the flowers with dazzling diamonds and crystal clear embossing power. I melted that with the heat gun, then brayered over the entire piece of glossy c.s. in black. I took a paper towel to to wipe off the access black from the doodles, so you can see the multiple colors that I used. I layered that on More Mustard and attatched to my card. Now it's your turn!

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Enjoy Your Day



This is today's SCS color challenge. We were to use Taken With Teal, Cool Caribbean, and Merigold Morning. I made a boy birthday card with the giraffe from Wild About You. I stamped him in Merigold Morning and flocked his spots. I used the Riveting hostess set for the "Enjoy Your Day" sentiment. I punched it out and put it on dimensionals to keep the card closed.I came across that card style (thanks for sharing Renee) and I wanted to give it a try. A little different than the ordinary quarter-fold card. I hope you all enjoy your day. It is beautiful here!

Boo Crew



Here is a Halloween layout that I worked on for Cameron until wee hours of the night last night. His birthday is next, so again... my goal is to get his book up to date. The paper and stickers are by Studio Basics 101. Such fun papers!!The title "boo crew" was using the Big Deal Alphabet in Versamark on coordinating cardstock. Then I sprinkled a mix of Dazzling Diamonds and clear embossing powder over the letters and melted with the heat gun. For the journaling I used the Just Journaling (retired) stamp on white cardstock and stuck it in a library pocket that I made with my Coluzzle. The rest is just a mess of pictures and stickers, but I think it's cute! It's hard to take good pictures of layouts so that you can see all the detail, but you get the idea.

Monday, May 7, 2007

6x6 "YOU" Layout


I got all my little ones down for a nap, so I wanted to show the 6x6 scrapbook page that I will be demoing this coming Saturday at a workshop. The hostess has 2 little girls. Since I have all boys it's fun for me to create a girly page once in a while.

Supplies used: Black, Cool Caribbean, More Mustard, Cranberry Crisp, and True Thyme cardstock; White Craft, Black, Cranberry Crisp, More Mustard, and Cool Caribbean inks; Doodle This stamp set,button, hemp twine, dazzling diamonds, and dimensionals

Happiness


I wanted to try the faux suede technique on the chipboard momogram "h". It turned out pretty well even though you can't tell from the picture. The card base is Sage Shadow. I stamped the doodles from Doodle This in Mellow Moss in the top left corner and across the bottom (but you can't really see those). I cut a strip of Ballet Blue and a strip of the Pool Party designer paper and stapled them at the bottom. I stamped "happiness" in Ballet Blue alongside the "h". For the faux suede technique I sponged Mellow Moss on the "h" not worrying about even coverage because I then sponged on Ballet Blue, and finished with Sage Shadow making sure the entire letter was covered. Then I stamped the flower doodle in Ballet Blue on white cardstock, cut it out, and added silver glitter to the middle and attatched it to the momogram. Happy Monday everyone!! Have a great day!!

Sunday, May 6, 2007

Cheers Stampinggirls!!!


This card I made for my girls. We've all had a lot of stress going on between us with family, job, and health situation- so I thought I'd make another fun Cosmobella card to cheer them up! The card base is So Saffron. I stamped Little Pieces on the background with Real Red, Old Olive, and So Saffron inks and used direct-to-paper with black around the edges. The Old Olive band across the middle was run through the Cuttlebug with the Spots and Dots embossing folder. I tied some black, red, and white ribbon around it.I used my oval template with my Coluzzle for Bella and the patterned paper that she is layered on. Then I colored her with markers. Cheers Stampinggirls!!!

Saturday, May 5, 2007

For The Love Of Cooking


Yesterday's SCS limited supplies challenge was to use this list when making your card. We weren't required to use everything on the list, just nothing more than what's on the list. I think I crossed over into the "nothing more" catagory.
Here's the list:
food stamps
sentiments
up to 2 background stamps
hemp or fibers
brads
sponging, tearing, distressing
faux stitching
paper peircing
Earth Elements and/or Bold Brights cardstock and ink

I started with Old Olive as my card base. I used the Linen B.G. stamped inked in Old Olive on the card base. I used some "cooking" patterned paper I had for the next layer. (which is where I crossed that line- that's not on the list!)I used Chefabella for my main image. I colored her with Earth Elements Markers. I layered her on Close To Cocoa and added three brads to the top right corner. The sentiment reads" For The {heart} Of Cooking". It's on a tag that I used hemp twine and brads on. It's pretty simple, but what are ya gonna do with limited supplies!?

Thursday, May 3, 2007

End Of Year Teacher Gift



With less than a month to go until the end of the school year, it's time to start thinking about teacher gifts. This one was made fairly quicky and inexpensively at less than $5.00 total for supplies- this is the way to go if you have several teachers that you might need gifts for. The paper and stickers I used on these projects were scraps from Doodlebug Design that I had leftover from Cameron's preschool pages. I started with the coaster box. To do this you need 5 chipboard coasters. I bought mine in bulk from www.stamponthis.com. On 4 of the coasters you need to punch 5 holes down both sides. Cover all 4 with whatever paper you choose. Thread ribbons through the holes to put it together like a box. The 5th coaster is for the bottom. I adhered mine with crystal effects. Besides the leftover stickers I added the paper stamp from It's Academic in Ballet Blue. Then I stamped the words imagine, dream, discover, explore, & journey (from TAC) in coordinating colors on the paper. I also used my spiral punch to make the paper look like it was torn from a notebook. The next thing was the giant paperclip. I got those from the office supply section at Walmart. I punch 2 circles from Real Red C.S. and added stickers to the center of both. I sandwhiched the paperclip between the circles using crystal effects to hold it all together. Then I covered a mini composition notebook and decorated it. I inserted a paper scrap into the barrel of the pen so it matched as well. The last thing was the mini acrylic post it holder. It matches everything else, as well. The quote on the right side says "The future belongs to those who believe in thier dreams"- Eleanor Roosevelt. I thought that worked perfect for this project. Now get busy making yours. You're running out of time!!