just a quickie card….

just bee-cause….

The Bumble B. Bear set used on this card can be found here.

Check back tomorrow for a sneak of my new set which will be available on Monday!  :0)

stamps- Bumble B. Bear by Cookie Crumbs; paper- white, pink, brown, beige, yellow embossed by Making Memories; ink- Memento Black; accessories- Martha Stewart Embossed Zigzag punch, Copic markers, Stickles, flower punch, Liquid Pearls.

Hello all!  I hope you have been enjoying your week! 

I’ve been absent here the past few days as we were on vacation to Cedar Point in Ohio.  We had a great time but it’s always alot of work getting ready and then unpacking too, isn’t it?  LOL.  I am told that the roller coasters were great!  (I’ll keep my feet firmly on the ground, thank you very much!) ha ha.

So while I was gone, the previews for the GREAT new sets for August started over at All That Scraps!  I’ll start playing catch-up with this new Swiss cutie named Leisel and her Wheelbarrow.  I love her and the new Heidi stamp is awesome too!

Last week I was asked to make a baby shower gift.  The baby shower was in 3 hours!  Eeeek!  But I couldn’t say no, so my mind was thinking about what I had on hand to create.  Thankfully I had this frame tucked away to be used for a name frame, and she knew the mom was having a girl and naming her Jillian. 

I immediately thought that Leisel with her wheelbarrow would look cute with the Martha Stewart Picket Fence punch to create a scene.  I was wishing I had more time though.  I would have stamped a soft background on the blue and maybe add a few tiny words.  I also would have finished the little Primas with some Stickles or Liquid Pearls.  But there was no way it would have had time for that to dry….the frame was finished 5 minutes before it went out the door!  LOL.

Here’s a close-up of Leisel:

You can check out the other sweet samples and new set previews on the ATS blog and in the gallery.  And don’t forget to leave a comment on the blog for a chance to win the sets!

stamps- Leisel and her Wheelbarrow by C.C. Designs, Headline Alpha and Petite Patterns by SU!; paper- white, blue, yellow, pink by Making Memories; ink- So Saffron, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Memento Black; accessories- Martha Stewart Picket Fence punch, frame (Walmart), Copic markers, snaps, brad, ribbon, square clip, button, Primas.

….and so fun to watch.  Look what’s been running and playing in my backyard….    :0)

This is my second post today (and it’s a quick one)!   Be sure to scroll down and click on the links to check out and participate in the Dare To Get Dirty challenges over at SCS!

I made this card for two of today’s challenges….by Cindy (One Happy Stamper) and Bonnie (eggette).

The sentiment was left off this time so it could be used for any occasion.

I’ve had 2 colors of Smooch inks for a few months now and finally got them out to try. The butterflies have a nice shimmer!

stamps- AmyR butterfly; paper- White, Black, Basic Grey Bittersweet; ink- Memento Black; accessories- Pumpkin & Siren Smooch inks, Circle Nestabilities, ribbon, Martha Stewart Scallop Dot punch, Black Diamond Stickles.

Are you ready for some fun challenges?

They begin today over at the Splitcoaststampers site!  It’s time for another Dare To Get Dirty celebration where you can join in the fun and participate in the challenges set forth by the past & present Dirty Dozen gals.  You can check out the challenges here.  I think you need to be a fan club member, though…so if you haven’t joined yet, now’s a great time to do so!

My friend Tracy is one of the hostesses this year and she asked me to make a sample for her.  To find out what her challenge is, you can check out the SCS site.  Here is the project I came up with…a paper bag card!  I have made paper bag books before, but I never thought of making it into a card.  I saw this idea on Mariska’s blog.

I used my Get Well Critters set and a white lunch bag.  I folded the bag in half and stitched the folded edge on my sewing machine.  Then I added some jumbo eyelets and ribbon.

And here’s the inside.  I inserted a packet of chicken soup mix in the pocket to go with the theme.  ;0)

stamps- Get Well Critters by Cookie Crumbs; paper- SU! Patterns Pack, White, Black, Red; ink- Memento Black; accessories- white paper lunch bag, sewing machine, Crop-A-Dile, XL jumbo eyelets, Labels 3 Nestabilities, Copic markers, ribbon, pop dots, Photo Corner punch, felt flowers, brads, Cup-a-Soup.

It’s about time I used some of my Magnolia stamps!  They are just too cute to sit unattended.  ;0) 

On Thursday I did some stamping just for fun and this is what I came up with.  I found the sketch that I used here on the Magnolia-licious challenge blog.  It was just the incentive I needed to get these cute images out and use them!  I also put a link to the blog over in my sidebar and I hope it will serve as a reminder to myself to frequently check it out. 

Since the sketch has several layers, I decided to pull out a pad of coordinating papers to get started.  Then I colored my image with colors to match.  With summer upon us I thought Tilda would look like she was having a picnic by sitting her on the Easter basket.  I really haven’t seen a blue picnic basket, have you?  But I like it anyway.  LOL.

Have a great weekend!

stamps- Tilda with Lace Skirt and Easter Basket by Magnolia, SU! Best Yet; paper- Buckaroo Blue, Black, white, Making Memories Chloe’s Closet; ink- Memento Black; accessories- buttons, Primas, Copics, Liquid Pearls, Oval punch.

Recently I’ve been trying a few older techniques again that I haven’t done for a few years.  It has been fun and brings back a lot of fond memories of stamping with a friend. 

Yesterday I was working with the Emerging Color technique and I decided to take a few pics as I was making my card.  If you haven’t tried this technique before, I hope this quick little tutorial will help.  It really is a fun one to try! 

Here’s the card I made.  I had a hard time photographing this to get the purple right and yet show the rich, dark brown.  It looks much better IRL…the purple is much lighter and it’s a nice, dark brown. 

First I started with a piece of white cardstock.  I chose 3 medium to light colors of dye-based ink and 3 small images from the SU! Priceless stamp set.  The colors used here are So Saffron, Cameo Coral and Lavendar Lace.  Stamp your images close together and you may overlap them a bit.  When I finished stamping my background, it looked like this:

Next I used the butterfly image and stamped it several times over the background with Versamark ink.  Since this is a clear ink, you just need to be careful that you don’t stamp in the same spot twice.  Lift it up toward the light occasionally if you need to check your placement.  After you are finished stamping the butterflies, heat emboss them with a clear embossing powder.

When you are finished embossing, use a rubber brayer and a dark color of dye-based ink to cover the entire piece.  Here I used Chocolate Chip ink.

The images will look slightly “muddied” at this point.  Using a tissue or soft cloth, buff over the embossed images to remove the excess ink.  You can see in this photo how the brown looks on my card IRL.

That’s it!  Just mount it to your cardfront and finish your card. 

stamps- SU! Priceless and Best Yet; paper- Choc. Chip, Saffron, Whisper White, Cameo Coral; ink- Saffron, Cameo, Lav. Lace, Choc. Chip, Versamark; accessories- clear embossing powder, heat tool, brayer, paper piercer, photo corner punch, Priceless brass template, gel pen, Stickles.

Today’s Wednesday challenge at All That Scraps is a sketch challenge.  The sketch was created by Janneke and it is a fun one.  Here it is:

And here is the card I came up with:

Sorry for the poor photo!  And I am not sure why I colored him blue…I guess I just wanted him to be different.  LOL. 

I had fun with my new Spellbinders that just came…the eyelet border and the pinking circles.  And I used up some scraps of dp I had left from my watering can project.

You can check out the other DT cards with this sketch on the ATS blog and you can play along too.  Don’t forget that the guest DT are quite often chosen from the entries!  :0)

stamps- Bumble B. Bear by Cookie Crumbs; paper- White, Buckaroo, Saffron, Olive, brown, K & Company Que Sera Sera; ink- Memento Black; accessories- Spellbinders Eyelets Borderabilities and Pinking Circles Nestabilities, Copic markers, gel pen.

AND….today is the day I pick a winner for my blog candy! 

The winner is…. Norine! 

Please send me your address so I can get the box out to you. 

It’s time for another Stampavie challenge!  And this time Jay Jay issued us a theme challenge….In The Garden.  You can check out all the info here on the DT blog or click on the Stampavie challenge banner in my sidebar.  I hope you can play along and enter to win a great prize!

I have had 2 different watering can templates that I’ve been wanting to try.  And so I couldn’t help but to cut one out since it is so fitting to this theme!  The first template I found was on Splitcoast and I used it on this project.  You can find the template and directions here.  The other watering can template I have was found by my friend and fellow DT member, Jay Jay, who lives in Germany.  I hope to make and share that one soon.

When I had my pattern cut out, I thought that it would look nice with some double-sided designer paper so the inside and outside of the watering can would match.  This way I was able to use the opposite side for the spout and handles as well.  Then I remembered a pad of beautiful paper I picked up a while ago with a coupon by K & Company called Que Sera Sera.  I love the look of those papers!

Once the watering can was assembled, I needed to choose an image.  I had already stamped this new Tina Wenke image called Mouse and Rabbit With Sunflower.  How appropriate is this…with the gardening critters?!  They are so cute and fun to color.  And I love the details of the butterfly and tiny bird on the flower!  I didn’t color the sunflower in the correct colors since I wanted to pull a bit of the coral color from the watering can to the flower.  The images were carefully cut out and attached.  I separated them so I could change the position of the mouse to the other side of the flower.

Here is a photo of the other side.  I didn’t give it as much detail because I plan to sit it so only the image side is in view.  But I added a large Prima with a jewelry spacer and brad to this side.  Then I added some small Primas to the front and back.  A few felt flowers were placed above the spout and some accents were added with light blue and white Liquid Pearls.

I really love how this project turned out and I hope you are inspired to try one too!  They are such fun to make!

Enjoy your day!

stamps- Tina Wenke Mouse and Rabbit With Sunflower by Stampavie; paper- K & Company Que Sera Sera, White; ink- Memento Black; accessories- Copics, Baby Blue and White Liquid Pearls, Primas, jewelry spacer, brads, felt flowers.

Hello!  I just wanted to pop on quick and share a card I made with the new Tina Wenke images.  Have you seen them yet?  They are so cute!  You can check them out here.

I have to admit…the only part of this card that turned out as I envisioned is the coloring of the image.  LOL.  I kept goofing up and then my card would take a different turn.  That’s how I ended up with the background layers they way they are….but I rather like them this way.  :0)

Then I messed up when I glued the layers to the front.  I taped the layers together first so I knew they would end up straight on the cardfront.  But then I glued them down before trimming the right edge so they were even.  Ugh.  Now what to do?  I thought I could glue another layer over the right side but I didn’t like that idea.  So I decided to trim the right side of the cardfront off and place the sentiment on the inside.

Below you can see how I used the piece I trimmed off to finish the inside.

It’s funny how sometimes your mistakes will make you think outside the box and create something totally different.  This is not how my card was originally planned but I like this version much better.  :0)

So if you make a mistake (we all do!), before you throw it away try to think of ways to fix it up and create something out of your “norm”.  You may just surprise yourself!

stamps- Tina Wenke Mouse Holding Ice Cream by Stampavie, sentiment by savvystamps; paper- white, Mint Melody, Regal Rose, brown, DCWV Sweet stack; ink- Memento Black; accessories- Cotton Candy Stickles, Copics, Oval Nesties, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder and Fruit & Tags die, Martha Stewart Doily Lace punch, pop dots, gel pen.

Copics- E57, E33, E31, RV10, E00, E37, R17, R11, R46, RV21, RV23, G21, YG11, C-1, YR07, Y02, YG23, B00, B02, Y00.

Scroll down for blog candy.  :0)