Purty flowers

Happy Monday!

I purchased a new Lockhart stamp last week. My LSS had a surprise Leap Day sale so I couldn't resist the 29% off. At first I wasn't sure I liked their small size but after using two of them I have changed my mind! They are delightful to color. For this one I used the few Copics I own and it went surprisingly quick. There are two details the camera didn't pick up, the clear glitter pen on the red flowers and the clear glaze pen on the mason jar. I also picked up a Spellbinders oval set of nestabilities. They were on sale after all =). The paper is Tres Jolie, I love the vintage feel of it. For the frame around the main image I used the reverse side of the paper and cut it with my scallop scissors. Chocolate chip and kraft card stock round out my supplies.

Thanks for visiting!

A Card and Ribbon Storage Idea

Sunday greetings, friends! My week was very busy with making plans for our SCS stamping event in April. We are almost filled up which is very exciting. Holly and I may have to debut and retire all in the same event 'cause I don't know how we can top some of the things we have planned!!

I have a couple of stamping events this week, one of them a Stamp-a-Stack back in Rochester. It is always good to be together with these stampers, I miss them. Here is one of the cards we will be making on Tuesday. Our emphasis is on thank you, thinking of you and all purpose cards. Yhis one has no sentiment at the moment. I am setting up a sentiment station for them to add the sentiment they want. I used the Embrace Life set along with a new Cuttlebug folder. The strip of blush blossom has the leaves stamp on it but it is very faint. Note to self... refresh that blush blossom ink pad before Tuesday. The blooms are done with a blush blossom and coral cameo marker and a few dots of white gel pen added.

Last week I told you I had another ribbon storage idea to share with you. This is an idea totally unlike any other I have seen. It's called a Ribbon Ring and Melissa was kind enough to let me sample her product. She sent me a 2.5" metal ring and 10 plastic ribbon holders. You simply weave your ribbon onto the plastic ribbon tags and hang them on the ring. She recommends one yard lengths but on one of mine I put a 3 yard length doubled and it worked great. Here are several things that really appeal to me about this system.
1) You can see all the ribbon and it makes for a pretty and practical display
2) You can just pull down the amount you need
3) It is reasonable, a starter set includes one ring, 30 tags and 15 inventory dots for $10.00.
4) It will fit a variety of widths

I apologize for my pictures, I was trying to hang them in a place where the photo wouldn't be cluttered with the messiness I call my desk! Melissa has several great pictures on her website www.ribbonring.com so go have a look. I love how she shows pictures of color coordinated rings, one for pinks, blues, yellows, ect. If you can readily see your supplies you will be more likely to use them. This ring makes it easy to see and use what you have.
Blessings on your day!

Hero Birds

Last fall I purchased a set of bird stamps by Hero Arts. Up until 3 days ago they still sat in plastic. I was catching up on some blogs and came across Heather Nichols blog where she posted a card using one of the birds. That was all the motivation I needed to finally ink them up. This first card is totally inspired by her creation. She does amazing things with kraft card stock. drool....

Last night I had a class and we did the floating window technique. I showed this technique not too long ago. The stamps were laying out and were the perfect size for my project. The bird is stamped onto acetate and on the inside of the card so the photo looks blurry but you get the idea. I thought the Hero bird was a good match to one of the new Cuttlebug embossing folders. The sentiment is by Amuse. We used markers to color in the bird. Not a difficult card.

Tonight my boys and I went to the high school to watch a basketball game between the teachers and the Harlem Wizards. Have you ever seen them? I think they are a junior version of the Globetrotters. One of the players has spent time playing with the Globetrotters. It was a delightful time! Fun music, comedy, cool skills...totally fun. My ears are ringing a bit from the loud music but I will get over it. My boys loved it.
Blessings!

Embellished Frame

Good morning! February's Dirty Dozen product focus was epoxy, either in liquid form or preformed. Epoxy stickers and plain page pebbles are quite popular at the moment. I found a rather large stash of page pebbles in my scrapbooking supplies and set out to alter a simple picture frame I had. In the end I did not post this to the gallery but the idea is still worth sharing. I love this photo of my younger son. It was taken last August while we vacationed in the Finger Lakes. This was the day he got up on waterskiis, it was awesome! Anyway, back to the frame. I used a combination of DP from the Creative License scrap kit, old olive and blue bayou card stock. The detail of the DP is lost in the photo but adds a lot IRL. I punched out 3/4" circles of the paper and stuck them to the page pebbles. Then I simply glued them to the frame in a random pattern. The metal charm on the bottom reads "spirit". The frame cost me $4.00 so it was an inexpensive project but I like the whimsy of it.

I had a question about where to find the boxes I used for the ribbon. I have seen them at craft stores like Micheals and Joannes. Target has also carried them or something similar. Those snap together boxes are popular these days so keep your eyes open in various stationary departments as well in storage departments at larger stores. Tomorrow I hope to share another ribbon storage idea, a new and clever idea. See you then.

Stamps for Sale

It is time to clean house! I am selling a bunch of retired SU sets. Shipping will be 4.60 for one set, 8.60 for 2-4. Please email me if you are interested in anything!


Because of You 7.00 (sold)
Bodacious Bouquet 12.00 (sold)
Collage Alpha 10.00
Collage Numbers 5.00
Delight in Life 5.00
Eclectic Backgrounds 5.00 (sold)
Friendship Flowers 12.00 (sold)
In Any Event 6.00
Lexicon of Love 5.00
Looks Like Spring 10.00 (sold)
Love It, NUM 8.00
Nature Prints 8.00
Nature's Secret 10.00 (sold)
Noteworthy 5.00 (sold)
Reasons to Smile 5.00 (sold)
Sassy Stems 10.00 (sold)
Sidekick Sayings 7.00
Simple Sayings II 5.00
Simply the Best 8.00 (sold)
Sparkling Summer 15.00 (sold)
Summer By the Sea 15.00 (sold)
That's Nice (large words mounted on the sides) 5.00
Tidy Alphabet 10.00
Tidy Numbers 5.00
Too Terrific Tags, NUM 5.00
Wheel Thing 6.00

Thanks for looking! Have a great night.

A Basket of Daisies

I haven't seen my stamp room all week! The boys are off of school this week so you know how it goes. But I do have another card to share. It is another sample using one of Anna's new Whipper Snapper sets, Spring has Sprung. The set comes with a very cute basket and for this card I only inked the basket, not the handle. The daisy is also in the set and I masked the basket and stamped it 3 times. The image was colored with Prismacolor markers. The wasabi panel was embossed with one of the new Cuttlebug folders, Birds and Swirls. I used a large yellow flower brad I had in my stash and added a half pearl that I colored with a marker.


Today the boys are begging to go out. Little do they know if I take them to ToysRUs, they have to go with me to the stamp store....bwaahhh!!!!!

Ribbon Storage Idea

I haven't had much time to stamp but thought I would share an idea with you. I am a bit of a nut when it comes to being organized. I am constantly looking for ways to modify my stamping space so it works better. Or rather, so that I can work better in it. I think it may be a never ending process.

Ribbon is becoming an increasing issue for me. I loved Nicole Heady's idea of the wooden clothes pins and have done that with my loose ribbon. It is my spools that are getting out of control. I did purchase a set of the SU ribbon organizers and have filled them up. My only complaint about them is that it is a bit tricky to get the spools in/out of the container. I am constantly taking them out for classes and workshops and find I don't like to put them back. Stacking the spools isn't workin' for me either. I was at a Tuesday Morning shop this week and ran across these Marvy Ori Yoki craft boxes. Many of you have probably seen them, they come in various sizes and snap together in similar fashion to the SU ones. I took a chance that this size would fit my spools of ribbon. I am happy to say they fit perfectly! I used my Crop o Dile to cut holes in the side of the box to thread the ribbon through. I adjusted the holes to the width of the ribbon. Now I suppose grommets would make for a tidier look but I was using what I had. With the lid on, they also become stackable. And the price can't be beat, $1.49. I bought 3 and may try the grommet idea on the others. If you have any ribbon storage ideas share them!

DD February Challenge

It's time for another Dirty Girl Challenge. This month was a fun one. Our focus was to use stamps designed by a Dirty Girl. (or to case a card made by a DG) There were a few to pick from, I tell ya, this group just oozes talent. Our required element: spring colors and our restricted element: no die cut or embossing machines.

I went with one of the new Whipper Snapper sets from Anna, Spring has Sprung. I just love the expression on this bunny, it's a little sheepish. Perhaps he just raided the carrots in your garden and is bringing a peace offering, lol! I found this really yummy paper by Imaginisce. I loved the color, a very close match to soft sky. And the soft flowing daisies have a hint of sparkle. The petals on the daisies were pretty close to certainly celery so that became my accent color. I thought the oval shape would be a fun play on the Easter theme. The ribbon is May Arts white polka dot. I used a plastic flower brad that matched the color of the daisies, I think it came from the Target dollar spot awhile back.

Check out the other creations over at Splitcoast by clicking here.

Blessings on your day!

Hello!

Happy Saturday! I had some posts I wanted to get up before Valentines Day but never got a chance. This was actually a project I did for last months DD gallery that I decided didn't make the cut. I covered some chipboard with some Basic Grey paper and filled the inside with blank paper so I could write some sweet words to DH. The heart chipboard is an SU onboard piece that I covered with paper. Behind it I used a piece of certainly celery that I repeatedly stamped with the word "love". The sentiment is part of the MFT's Boho Blossoms set and since it is a clear stamp, this pattern was quick and easy to create! I used the Bind-it-All to make it into a book. Since I didn't have a stamp with the exact sentiment I wanted, I created it with a Dymo Label maker. In the stamping world there is usually more than one way to skin a cat!!

I also had some requests for the template to the carrot box. I couldn't find a way to attach it to my post but I did find a thread over on SCS that has the template attached. Click here for the template.
I am heading out of town for a couple of days so look for me again next week.
Blessings!

All Good Things....

must come to an end. Oh how I wish they didn't! Today is the Dirty Dozen gallery opening on Splitcoast. It is my last gallery as my six month gig is now over. It is kinda hard to believe that 6 months are gone in such a flash. But a lot has happened in that time. When I first got the invitation from Julie, I was living in my old house in my old town. DH is now pastoring at a new church, we are in a new-to-us house, the boys are in new schools, I have a new part time job and have gotten my SU business back up in a new location. Whew, that is a lot! Being a Dirty Girl was such a privilege and so rewarding. It was also a blessing to me in a time of transition where I was mourning the loss of many things as a result of moving. Because it gave me something positive to focus on during a difficult time, it will always have a special place in my heart! Okay...sappy moment over!
If you haven't headed over to check out this months gallery, you NEED to. The team rocked the house this month with one of the widest array of projects I have seen during my time on the team. I won't give away who the newbies are, but to say these girls have talent is an understatement!
Since I don't have a new project to show you today I am going to give you a peek at one of the projects I made in my first month on the Dirty Dozen. This will probably be the only time I ever show one of my dirty designs outside that gallery!
I purchased an old window at a salvage yard and set about to make it into a message center for our new home. I loved all the character, the holes, dings, the hardware and finish so I didn't alter the frame in any way. It still had the original glass so DH and I carefully removed 3 of the 4 panes. In two of the spaces I put a corkboard cut down to size and covered with fabric. The fabric is easily changed to the seasons or my moods =).

The upper right space is magnetic. I purchased a magnetic memo holder from the Dollar Tree and spray painted over the ugly neon green. It did require some trimming with tin snips but that wasn't too difficult. The bottom space is where the original glass stayed in tact. I stamped card stock to go behind the glass and attached wet wipe chalk marker to the frame to write on the glass. I made push pins from shrink plastic that I stamped, covered magnetic slips with stamped images and page pebbles and even stamped on the magnetic space. I am not sure if this photo will enlarge for a closer look.
It was a fun project to make and useful to boot!
Blessings on your day!

Double The Release Fun!

Happy Valentines Day!! {{{HUGS}}}
Today is a big day!! Whipper Snapper is releasing not just one new Anna Wight stamp sets, but 2!!! And boy are they cuuuuute. I am so excited to be apart of this months release again.
The first stamp set is called BoPeep's Sheep. My card is only giving you a small glimpse into what is included in this fun set, I will be posting others later. But...it has the cutest BoPeep, two sheep, chicks and flowers. My friend Cindy has a hobby farm and she is gonna love this! I was in the mood for spring so I went with flowers for this card, and a springy color palette. Don't you just love tulips?? They are a sure sign of spring. I stamped the potted tulips repeatedly onto shimmer white paper, the pot second from the right is also up on dimensionals. I couldn't resist masking one of the chicks to poke out from behind one of the pots. Isn't he darling? The Happy Spring sentiment is also included in the set. I used Prismacolor markers to do my coloring on this one.

The second set is called Spring Has Sprung, too bad that isn't true here in Upstate New York at the moment. You are gonna have so much fun with this set and it will be perfect for Easter cards and projects. This set includes this precious bunny rabbit, a basket, eggs, several flowers and a carrot. The carrot stole my heart, lol! I had to make one of those triangle boxes to mimic the carrot. How perfect for those orange Jelly Bellies. The carrot is only orange card stock repeatedly stamped with the carrot. I went over each carrot with orange and gable green markers. For the top I cut some gable green card stock and rubbed it with some ink. Green grosgrain ribbon fastens the top together. The bunny is stamped onto watercolor paper and colored with watercolor crayons and ink. His head and tail have Liquid Applique on them as well. I wonder if he has a name, I am gonna ask Anna. If she didn't name him yet, I will!
Check out the other projects done with these sets...
Diane Zechman
Leigh O'Brien
Jeanne Streiff
Cheryl Rowley
and Anna's blog
Some of them aren't up yet, I think they are experiencing a CHA hangover, lol!!
Thanks Anna and the folks at Whipper Snapper for letting me join in the fun of another release!

Watercolor Posies

Happy Tuesday. Gonna keep this one short, I am running late for work...again =).

This is the first card I made when Anna sent me her new set, Posies for You. I used a Fabriano notecard, they have such a wonderful, rich texture, they lend themselves to no-layer cards. I stamped the bucket and flowers in black Palette ink and used a combination of ink and watercolor crayons to color it in. I love the SU's neutral watercolor crayons because they offer a range of greys and are easy to work with. The WWC "move" on the paper, making them very blendable until you achieve the look you are after. For the flowers I chose inks because I wanted a more vibrant color. I stamped the sentiment vertically for something different. One of the touches you can't really see is the black glaze pen I used on the handle of the bucket as well as for the dots around the flowers. The glaze pen gives a glossy look and feel, slightly raised. The handle IRL looks like black plastic and invites you to touch. Between the fabulous paper, the glaze pen and the ribbon, this no layer card is anything but simple. With a variety of flowers in this set you could make a set of notecards for gift giving.
Blessings on your day, thanks for visiting!

Dollar Chick

I love the new dollar stamps you can find these days, especially the ones by Studio G. Have you seen those? My LSS carries them periodically but I have also seen them at AC Moore. They do seem to fly off the shelves. They come in a set of various kinds and I thought this party chick was too cute to pass up for a dollar. I stamped several onto white cardstock and sat in front of the TV with my markers and went to town. I seem to be enjoying my Prismacolor markers more now that I have had time to play with them. It eases my desire for Copics for the time being. The cards themselves are all variations of the same, just different colors and sentinments. They all use the Cuttlebug birthday folder. Speaking of Cuttlebug, Michelle asked where I got the new folders from. I am sure I wasn't the only frustrated person out there when they kept delaying the release of the new stuff. I finally preordered them so I didn't have to stress over it. I got them here, and they appear to have all the new ones still in stock. Who knows for how long? So far the Swiss Dots is by far my favorite.

Hope you have a relaxing Sunday! Blessings

Friendship!

Broni was so sweet and nominated my blog for the Excellent award...THANKS! I guess that means I am next to list some rated E blogs! By now I am sure most of mine will have already been nominated but it is always nice to know you are loved, right?!
Debbie Olsons http://debbiedesigns.typepad.com/
Anna Wights http://sweetmissdaisy.typepad.com/sassy_sweet_notes/
Mish Mash http://michellewooderson.blogspot.com/
Diane's http://papercookies.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2008/02/07/annas-roses/
Beate's http://beate.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2008/02/09/sunset-flowers/

and any of the ones on the side of my blog!


I finally made it down to stamp today, it has been one of those weeks. My van died on Wednesday so that tied things up a bit. Then I decided it was time to tackle the taxes! What was I thinking?? I would rather do just about anything. I was up til midnight last night and made good progress but they are far from ready to go the tax man. I definitely didn't prepare well enough in the chocolate department, I needed way more to get me through this nightmare, lol!

Anyway, here is a card I did with one of Anna's new Whipper Snapper stamps, isn't it cute? I am giving my Prismacolor markers another try although I did also use a hint of watercolor crayons since I was lacking a good gray marker. I also used a sponge with basic grey ink on the sheeps body. The barely banana panel is embossed with one of the newest Cuttlebug folders. I got six new ones early in the week and they have been calling my name. (darn taxes). The sentiment is from a new Printworks set of clear stamps I bought a couple weeks ago and I thought it fit the stamp.
Thanks for stopping by!

Let's Talk Magnets...

I love to make jewelry and magnets from microscope slides and dominoes. Finding stamps to fit such small places is often the most challenging part. Anna's new stamp set, Posies for You, has the perfect size flowers for the task.

Let's start with the domino ones. Sealing is important when doing projects like this and I often use Crystal Effects for that. The problem I found is that it will often cause my image underneath to run. What a bummer after you spent so much time on it!! There are a few solutions to that particular problem; A) spray a fixative over it first, B)use a medium that doesn't run for your coloring or C) use the CE as your paint. Huh?? I tint small amounts of CE with reinkers and then paint my images with it. A scrap piece of acetate is perfect as a palette. It is important to let each color dry before continuing or they will run together. The nice part about this method is that it colors and seals at the same time. Look at this domino I did last year. I used cool caribbean ink to tint my CE for the sky. I used the same cool caribbean this time but you know what?? Yellow and blue make more of a green! Can you guess the difference?? I ran out of my white dominoes and had to use ivory ones. It really changed my colors. I still like the end result but I know the difference and the look I wanted. Notice the little dragonfly on the center one? It was a brad that I cut the back off of and set into the CE before it dried. To finish off the dominoes I used a silver Krylon leafing pen around all the edges, that gives it a nice finished look. The magnets on the back are round ones that I glued on with E-6000 glue. They will brighten up someones fridge!

The other magnet is one I made to send to Anna and she was kind enough to email me a photo of it since I forgot to take one before sending it out. This one uses Memory Glass that is 2" square. This gives you more options for your image and I chose to watercolor it onto watercolor paper. When you are done, you sandwich it in between 2 layers of the glass and use foil tape to seal the edges. I used copper foil which over time will get that nice aged patina. I glued the round magnet on the back with E-6000 glue like before. When searching for images to fit the glass, use your glass as your guide. I will often use it in the SU catalog, placing it over various images to see what it would look like. These can also be made into necklaces. Oh the possibilities!
Have a great day!

It's Monday!

Well, I had good intentions of posting again and I even stamped, but I had one of those days (actually 2) where everything I stamped ended up getting pitched! It is so disappointing to spend time stamping, wanting to create something, anything, and you suddenly feel like you forgot how. It is all yucky, lol! So I walked away from it for a day and yesterday was better.

Here is a little something I made last night instead of watching the game. I saw a template on-line for a mason jar but it wouldn't print up correctly so I made my own. It really wasn't that hard, just a few cuts here and there with some scissors. This card started with a piece of regal rose cut 4.25" by 11, folded in half (the fold is at the top). I trimmed my corners and lid. Then I cut a piece of silver cardstock and ran it through the crimper for the lid portion. I used my Creative Memories oval cutter to create the large oval in the front of the card. Since there wasn't much stamping going on I added a little sponging around the edges so it didn't look so flat. The candy is in a small SU cello bag and simply taped into place behind the window. As cute as it was, it needed something so I created a tag for it using the Labeliscious set. The "love" is only a portion of a stamp from the Short and Sweet stamp set. There are so many possibities with this idea. I would love to see what you could come up with. Leave me a link if you do!

I also wanted to share something non-stamping, yet hand made. The ladies from church had a night out at a pottery place last week. We had such a good time talking and painting our pieces. I went with a mug this time and just love how it turned out. I used my favorite color, lime/celery green and added some teal polka dots and stripes. It makes me happy! We plan to go again and I think I will make another and another, until I have a set.
Have a great day!

Posies Winner!

Good Friday morning!! We have freezing rain and nasty weather outside today. So much for my plans and errands, guess I will have to stay inside and stamp =).

I wish I had a stamp set to give to everyone who left a comment!! I enjoyed reading them all.

The name picked at random is Michelle, post #53 (stampncreate.blogspot).
Congrats! Please send me your address and I will send the Posies for You out as soon as the roads are clear!

I hope to be back later with a card.

Always

You have probably heard of a snow day before, but how about a wind day?? My boys had the day off because we had severe winds, gusting up to 80 mph! Some places lost power due to downed power lines. It threw my whole day off! But I am thankful we never lost power.

This is a card from a class this week. I just love the new SU stamp set, Always. We embossed the heart with chocolate chip craft ink and clear EP and went over the various parts with celery, regal rose and purely pomegranate. It looks like a fancy confection! We anchored 3 corners with pink brads and the bottom corner with the sentiment. The ribbon is the pomegranate satin ribbon from last winters mini catalog and the designer paper is the new Berry Bliss.
I read Jan Tinks blog and had to laugh because her night sounded just like mine. They apparently had strong winds where they are too. The exhaust fan in our bathroom flapped all night long due to the wind. It was impossible to sleep! If it wasn't so annoying it might have been funny. I thought I might be able to catch a nap while the kids were in school but we know that never happened. Now my head is throbbing, probably from lack of sleep, so I am going to crawl into my bed and hope the morning is a brighter one!
Don't forget to leave a comment on the post for the Posies for You set, I will be drawing a winner tomorrow night!

Polished Stone

I thought I would share something a bit different today. I love the polished stone technique but never seem to do it unless I am teaching the technique for a class. This card is a sample for a class I am doing tomorrow night. These days this process is made easier with Ranger alcohol inks but I did my card the way I originally learned it, with alcohol and ink. It is important to use the 91% rubbing alcohol for this to work right. I can't tell you the science or "why" behind it, if you know, enlighten us. You can find it right next to the regular (71%) alcohol in the pharmacy department and it cost the same so no biggie. Lightly moisten a cotton ball with the alcohol and add 2-3 different colors of ink. You don't need much, 2-3 drops of each. Generally the more colors you chose, the muddier it will look. I usually go with 2 different shades of the same color, in this case certainly celery and old olive. Dab the cotton ball over glossy card stock until you have good coverage. This technique must be done with glossy card stock to work. You do want to see the color differences so don't over do it. Then add a couple drops of a metallic ink, in my case I added gold. Dab that over your paper, a bit more sparingly, you want subtle hints of gold but not too much. No two pieces will be alike so the possibilities are really endless. It is such a fun technique and the results come quickly. On a side note, I have seen wallpaper from the 60's that looks like this and it gags me, but on a card, not so bad, lol! On my sample I used a Penny Black flower stamp in black ink. What you can't see is that I also added several dots of black glaze pen for dimension. In person, the glaze pen really adds a lot. It is simply matted onto black card stock and adhered to a base of natural ivory card stock. The sentiment running up the side is Hero Arts. I added a small black tab to the side with a gold brad to tie in with the gold in the polished stone. I like the simplicity of this card yet the polished stone makes it more than ordinary.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Posie Give Away!

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I know I did! On Saturday my stamping buddies from Rochester came to my house for a day of stamping. We had such a good time but it flew by so fast. We made several projects, ate lunch, talked, stamped some more and then headed out to Buffalo Stamps and Stuff. We got a late start out the door and the traffic was bad so we got there right at closing time. Big hugs to Marty for staying open a bit longer so we could shop!! Then yesterday we had a great church service and my in-laws came for an afternoon visit.
I wanted to share a card I did for the release of Anna Wights stamp set last week, Posies for You. Keep reading, I have a chance for you to win a set! I made a window card using one of the flowers, they are perfectly sized for this kind of card! For the front of the card, I embossed a piece of celery with the Cuttlebug Thanks folder and layered it over my kraft card. I used a square punch to create the window. I took a scrap of chocolate chip and punched a square out it and then inserted into a scallop square punch to create the frame. TIP: when creating frames with punches, start with the smallest punch first, this makes getting it centered so much easier and gives you something to hold onto! The ribbon is American Crafts. For the inside, I stamped the flower on a piece of vanilla and again on a scrap of vanilla. I used ink and an aquapainter to do my coloring, than cut out the flower and leaf and mounted them on dimensionals. From the front the flower pops up out of the frame. On the inside is the whole image along with another "Thanks" stamped from the set. With this fun set of flowers you could create an entire set of cards in this style.
The kind folks at Whipper Snapper gave us stamps to share so I am giving away a set to one of you! Leave a comment on this post and I will draw a name on Thursday night. Click here to see the set posted on the Whipper Snapper site.
Have a great day!

More Posies

I am having so much fun with Anna's new Whipper Snapper set. Did you get a chance to stop by the other featured designers blogs? They made some incredible samples.
This card is one of my favorites, the colors are a bit out of the norm, not very feminine even though it's floral. The flowers were masked and stamped 3 times and are colored with a combination of coral cameo and ruby red. I added brown mini brads to the centers. The vase is a punch I found awhile back but the stamp set comes with a bucket that would work perfectly. I punched the vase from the striped paper and then inserted a narrow strip of old olive into the punch where the neck of the vase is to create the accent. Certainly beats cutting it by hand and is a perfect fit! The vase is up on dimensionals as well.
Click on the photo to really catch the details in the flowers.
Thanks for stopping by, have a great Thursday!

Whipper Snapper NEWS!!

Oh, I am so glad Anna let the cat out of the bag, that means I don't have to wait any longer. I have shared with you how much I enjoy Whipper Snapper stamps and especially those illustrated by Anna Wight. She has talent oozing from her pores! Whipper Snapper has just announced a brand new "set" of stamps designed by Anna. You read right, a set. I love her fresh, whimsical designs and know many of you do too. Her images are perfect for watercoloring and watercoloring makes me happy! This set is cling mounted in red rubber, packaged in a nice CD case. Totally awesome!! I am so thrilled for Anna, I can only imagine how exciting it must be to see your art made into stamps for others to enjoy. Honestly, that is excitement enough for me, I love to see people succeed in their talents and dreams. But I have the added joy of being a small part of the release of this new set, as a featured designer. Stop over at Anna's blog, Sassy & Sweet Notes, to read the details on the new stamp set as well as the Featured Designers working on this release. I can't wait to see the samples the others created. I will be sharing samples with you over the course of the week but for tonight here are a couple items to introduce you to "Posies For You".
This first card is a pocket card. My plan is to include a packet of flower seeds and send it to a garden lover I know. Isn't that flower just so sweet?? I stamped it onto shimmer white and used watercolor crayons as well as ink to color it. The oval frame is done with the Nestabilities and the scallop was done with scissors. I love the whimsical butterfly included in the set, I gave him a few spots with a black glaze pen. The paper is from SU's Cutie Pie set. I continued with a couple of butterflies on the insert just for fun.
The other item I am sharing comes from my husbands love of sunflower seeds, he eats them on road trips by the fist full. How better to dress up this plain jar than with one of Anna's sunflowers? I stamped the sunflower several times at different heights and colored it in with watercolor crayons and ink. I only wanted to use part of the sentiment included in the set so I punched it out with SU's word window punch, reinserted it and punched it again leaving only the "for you" portion. Since this is going to hubby, I opted for twill tape and hemp twine over ribbon.
This set is full of possibilities! If you are one of the first 100 to order it from Whipper Snapper you will get a signed copy, isn't that great??


Thanks Anna, Lisa and John for allowing me to be a part of this special event!!

Check out the blogs of the other designers for more samples...
Diane Zechman
Jeanne Streiff
Leigh O'Brien
Cheryl Rowley (gallery)

I can't wait to hear what you think!!

Magenta Hearts

Good morning! Gotta keep it short this morning, I am late for work.
I seem to be drawn to stamps by Magenta when ever I go to my LSS. This is my latest. I have 6 Copics in my possession and I keep trying them out and used them here on the hearts. They were stamped on shimmer white, cut out and popped up onto the same image stamped onto black and and embossed in silver. I used the black glaze pen to add som dimension to some areas. The flowers on the center heart were stamped a 3rd time, cut out and put on dimensionals and also have a pink rhinestone on them. The regal rose panel is embossed with the Swirl Cuttlebug folder to mimic the swirls in the hearts. The card base is wild wasabi and the ribbon is SU's (retired) wide black organdy.
I have a REALLY cool post for tomorrow, I can't wait to share it!!
Thanks for stopping by!

Cracked Lighthouse

Happy Martin Luther King Jr Day!

I ordered this new SU set, A Light Unto My Path, knowing it was a set that would see lots of use in cards I send to church folks. The lighthouse image is just beautiful. It also lends itself to a more masculine style of card. I stamped the lighthouse onto vanilla card stock with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink. SU's Basic Brown would work as well. I watercolored with so saffron, river rock and creamy caramel inks. It already had an aged feel so I finished it off by doing the cracked glass technique. The image is matted to a piece of chocolate chip card stock. I stamped the bottom portion of the 5 1/4" square river rock card with the Weave Backgrounder by Cornish Heritage Farms inked in close to cocoa. I love that backgrounder, it is often just the thing to complete a card. The sentiment is stamped in chocolate chip and the grosgrain ribbon is chocolate.

My SIL and I have spent a good deal of this weekend stamping, we have had a marvelous time. That also means I can probably post everyday. Wahoo!! This is especially good since my week is pretty full.

If you happen to live in the Niagara Falls area, I am teaching a class at the Village of Lewiston Rec center tomorrow night, next Tuesday and the last 2 Tuesdays of February. Check out their web page for details.

Happy Day!

Bella Box

Whoa, where did 3 days go?? My brother and his family are visiting for the weekend so there is little time to get on the computer. My newest nephew is 7 weeks old so I am keeping busy holding him, he is so sweet!
Today is the 20th, which means it is time for another Dirty Girl challenge. This month Jami set some fun parameters for us. The main theme was girl stamps, young or old, no matter. The required element is something sweet and the restricted element was no A-2 size cards. Since I don't own any girl stamps, I had to buy something so I decided to give the Bellas a go. I know, where have I been? Sometimes I am a stubborn, trend bucker. Anyway, I decided that my project wouldn't even be a card but rather a box. I did get on the Scor-Pal bandwagon and boy am I glad I did! It does make creating projects like this a breeze. This box is almost band aide box size, 3" wide, 1 1/2" deep and about 4 1/2" tall. It has a lid that is 1/2" deep with a ribbon pull tab at the top. I used some pattern paper, sorry I don't know the company on this one. The box bottom is bordering blue and I covered all 4 sides with paper. The lid is pretty in pink. I stamped the Huggybella stamp onto shimmer white and did all my coloring with SU inks except for 2 Copic markers. The sentiment and chocolate chips are from an MFT set. Inside the box is chocolate of course, lol! Check out the gallery of other Dirty girls challenge projects here .

I had some questions about the window card I posted Wednesday. I took a side view photo that I hope helps to explain things better.

I will be back on Monday.
Have a great day!

Class Samples

There hasn't been a lot of stamping goin' on at my house these last couple of days. I did have a class at church tonight so I thought I would show you those samples. My class is made up of mostly new stampers and we get together to make a few projects and chat around the table.
The first one is a modification of a card I did last year that you can see here. The oval is by Amuse and the penguin is from the retired SU set, Polar Pals. We used the Cuttlebug hearts folder for the background. I had left over pieces so this card was made after I came home. I added some black gingham ribbon and left off the "Be Mine" sentiment we used in class.

The second card uses the new Hostess level 1 set, A Little Bit of Happiness." As soon as I saw it I had in mind to make a large floating image/window card. Forgive the poor photo, this card is not easily photographed, but you get the idea. We created the opening by repeatedly punching a 1 3/8" square. We stamped the long image once on the inside of the card and once on acetate. We lined up the two images and adhered the acetate between the celery and the card base. That gives it a polished look inside and out. We used markers to color in the image inside the card and used a black glaze pen to add just a few accents onto the acetate. When the card is closed the image appears to float. This card proved to be a little tricky and when I came home I had several pieces of botched attempts. Some went right to the scrap box but this one was salvageable. The opening was just a bit unevern. To cover that up, I made a frame from black card stock to go over top. If Ihadn't told you, you'd never know! We had used pink ribbon in class but the black ribbon went better once I added the black frame. You can click on the photo for a closer look.
As always, it was a fun time with the ladies.
I am off to bed....Good Night!

Day 7 Winner!

Well all, we have come to the end of my week of give aways. I just have to say "Thank you" to all who stopped in this week and left comments. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your comments, it was just what I hoped the week would be. You made me laugh and gave me pause to think. I turned 40 today and I didn't grow any warts or extra toes, LOL!! I hunkered down and watched the second half of the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice. I {heart} Mr. Darcy!!! DH and the boys took me out for dinner, it was very nice.

Holly (aka Toy on SCS) and I are planning an an all day stamping event on April 26th. If you live within driving distance of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area then I hope you will consider joining us! Canadians welcome too! I am just a 10 minute drive from the Lewiston bridge. Here is the thread on SCS that I started to get the ball rolling.

I still haven't heard from our day 5 winner: Mary Duffek. Please send me your address so I can get this bag of goodies to you.

Tomorrow is the 15th, always a big deal! Don't forget that the Dirty Dozen gallery opens and it is full of great stuff. Can you say Valentines, chocolates, looooove?? This was my most fun month yet. I am down to one month left on the team, where does time go? Also the 15th is Paper Trey release day, I am sure Nicole and the gang have some great things cooked up for us.

I guess you want to know the winning name for the last goodies. Come on down.....Sheila (post 16)!! Congrats!! Email me your address and I will send out your package on Wednesday.

We will now return to our regular programming, um, I mean blogging. I have some things up my sleeve, so don't wander far!
Blessings on you night!

If You Give a Girl a Stamp...

Happy Sunday!!

The winning name for day 6 is: Linda Peterson (post #23)!!!!!

Send my your address and I will get the goodies out to you.

I have one more package of goodies left. I am giving a bit more time on this one since it is the last one. I will draw a name by 9pm Monday night (EST).
The last question is...What are you most looking forward to this year?
Me? Because we have moved recently, I feel like I am still adjusting to life. I am looking forward to new opportunities. New friends, new stamping adventures, new ??? yet to discovered.
Leave a comment to this post to be in the running for the blog candy.

Instead of a card, I am sharing something I wrote. It is inspired by the children's book, "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" by Laura Joffe Numeroff. Hope you enjoy!

If You Give a Girl a Stamp
By Tracy Harp

If you give a girl a stamp she‘ll want to make a card…she’ll need an ink pad to go with it. She will spend hours pouring over colors trying to decide just the right one to buy. In the end she’ll decide she just can’t choose so she’ll buy them all.
Then she’ll remember she’ll need card stock to match the ink so she’ll quickly add four packs of assorted paper to her list, oh and white, vanilla, black and kraft!
Thinking about certainly celery, purely pomegranate, pale plum and pumpkin pie will make her hungry so she’ll go to the kitchen for a snack. While munching on cookies she’ll realize she needs ideas of what to do with the stamp. She’ll go to her computer and google rubber stamping.
She’ll find a site called Splitcoaststampers. Wow!! So many techniques and ideas and a gallery that never ends. She’ll spend hours gazing at beautiful cards and projects. Her eyes will become dry from staring at the computer screen. She’ll go to the bathroom for some eye drops.
On the way, she’ll pass her family sitting at the kitchen table waiting for dinner. She’ll quickly heat up some leftovers and try to pretend she hadn’t forgotten. While talking about the days events, her son will bring out the school pictures he had gotten that day.
That will remind her she wanted a digital camera to take pictures of her cards so she can start her own SCS gallery. She’ll convince hubby of all the reasons the “family” needs a new camera. He will finally agree and she’ll head to the store to buy one.
On her way home she’ll pass by Joanns and remember she needs an Ott-Lite to go with the camera she just bought. While shopping for a light she’ll see aisles of paper, punches, embellishments and ribbon. She’ll pick out a cart full of items but realize they don’t carry THE punch she saw used on a card she saved to her favorites. She’ll return home and go back to Splitcoaststampers to find out where to get THE punch.
Her search will lead her to someone’s blog where she’ll see a Starbucks bottle made into a cute candy container. That will remind her she has some bottles in the recycling bin so she’ll go to the garage to rescue them from the trash.
While in the garage she’ll see her son’s bike which will remind her she needs to buy a new helmet for his birthday. Thinking about birthdays will remind her she wanted to bake some cupcakes for him to take to school.
As she walks to the kitchen she’ll pass by the table and see the stamp. The stamp will remind her that she wanted to make a card and she’ll probably want some…

My Favorite Things and Day 5 Winner

First things first, the winner of day 5 (Friday) is: Mary Duffek (post#25)

Congrats! Send me your info please and your items will go out in Monday's mail.

You gals drink some interesting things! Someone even said Tim Horton's coffee, you must be Canadian or a local person as we have TH's around here too. Truth be told my morning cuppa is Diet Coke and I see from the comments I am not the only one. Thanks for that, now I don't feel quite so odd :)

I am fresh out of cards to post at the moment but thought I would talk a bit about some of my favorite things....

I have lots of things I like and use but I thought I would keep it to 5 things I use a lot.

1) my beloved ATG tape gun, a bit wieldy at times but economical and keeps things stuck, just like I want them! Got mine at http://www.framingsupplies.com/ .

2)Dimensionals....I know, I know, I've told you that a million times already. It's still true!

3) Sponge daubers, love them! Stampin' Up carries them in a 12 pack for 10.95 which is a good deal. I have slowly built up my supply so I have almost one per color. Used my label maker to help identify them. They do wash out too so if you have a limited supply, you can wash them and use them with another color. So many things you can do with them!

4) Aquapainters. I use them most every stamping session I have. Watercoloring is therapy for me.

5). Refill bottles of ink. I think I am on my third bottle of certainly celery, it is probably one of my most used/loved colors. Don't care for celery much as a vegetable but the color...scrumptious! I love that you can extend the life of your pad and save yourself money. If you have wheels/cartridges then you know you have to have a refill to go with it. I use mine to drop ink in the lids of my ink pads when I watercolor. Many techniques can be done with a bottle or two of ink. I think they are a bargain considering all they do!

That brings me to Saturday's question...what are some of your stamping fav's/must haves??

Leave a comment on this post and I will again pick a name at 11pm EST.

Blessings on your day.

Thursday Winner

The winner of goodie bag #4 is Yvonne C!! (post #9)

Email me your info please, stuff is on its way!

It sounds 50/50 on the cake vs. pie. I like my dutch apple pie cause my favorite part is the crumb topping and I never put less than a double recipe of crumbs on my pies! A good cake is hard to pass up though and my friend, Jackie, makes some of the best tasting and looking cakes. So, as a woman has the right to do, my mind changes often on the matter, lol! Basically, it's whatever is before me at the time, hahaha.

My card today is a paper piecing feature. I love this large mug of Anna Wight's by Whipper Snapper and usually I enjoy coloring it in. But I was in that simple mode and thought I would see what it looked like stamped onto designer paper. I prefer coloring it, but like this well enough to try out some other papers in the future. The paper is from a retired SU hostess scrap kit. The bright color combo of certainly celery and cool Caribbean (also retired) makes me happy, the touches of black just make those colors all the more vivid. The sentiment is from another retired SU host set, So Many Sayings. Retired was the theme of the day I guess because the coffee beans on the celery layer are from the set, Like It A Latte. I like that set a latte, I am still sputtering over its retirement!

So today's (Friday) question goes along with my card...what is your favorite cuppa?? I have never liked coffee or tea so my answer is hot chocolate...with a good dollop of whipped cream.

Leave your answer in a comment to this post and I will draw a name at 11pm EST for goodie bag #5.

I hope you are enjoying this week as much as I am! Thanks for taking the time to visit and leave a comment! Have a great day!

Day 3 Winner & Birthday Card

The day 3 (Wednesday) winner is: Nicole (post #36) Congrats!!

Send me your addy and I will get your goody bag ready!

Feedblitz subscribers---make sure you are posting to the current day, I think FB updates run a day behind and I don't want you to miss out by posting to the wrong day!

I loved reading your responses to yesterdays question. Here were some of my fav's:

Allison said Brittney Spears so she could set the poor girl straight. Funny!! But I think you may be a bit optimistic if you think a day will straighten up the mess she's in, lol!

Lilian said Gene Kelly, what a great choice! When I first met my DH, his roommate was a old movie buff and made us watch several Gene films. What a great talent that man had!

Oprah was a fav choice, and I agree that she would be an interesting person to spend a day with. As a pastors wife, I loved that people chose a biblical person or God. You ladies had good things to share, thank you.

Thursdays question is simpler...pie or cake???

Leave a comment on this post and I will draw a name at 11pm EST.

Today is my moms birthday. She just discovered my blog recently. She doesn't have a computer but a friend has been kind enough to help her out on occassion. So, "hi" Mom, hope your birthday is a great one!! This was the card I sent her. I hope it got there in time, I never leave enough time for my mail to reach Germany, the New Year always catches me off guard. Since it had so far to go, I didn't bulk it up with lots of embellishments. Simple and sweet!

Thanks for stopping in, have a wonderful day!

Day 2 winner ...

is:Lisa K (#5 picked by Random.org) Congrats!
Please email me your snail mail and I will get some goodies out to you!

I enjoyed reading your comments, it brings home the importance of loved ones. And the importance of telling them they are loved.
Let's make today's question a fun twist on yesterday's. If you could spend one day with anyone, not related to you/close friend, who would it be? Leave your answer in a comment by 11pm for the day 3 goodies. I can't wait to read them!
When I was in high school I used to buy those teen magazines and would even write to some of actors. I had a pile of signed photographs that I got in return, probably signed by some assistant. Remember I am turning 40 so I am dating myself, but I got ones from Scott Baio, Tom Selleck, The Hazard boys Tom Wopat and John Schneider. I did get a few handwritten notes from Timothy Gibbs, anyone remember him?? He was in the TV show Father Murphy. Once he became more well known the form letters started showing up in place of the hand written ones and I was heartbroken. My room was wallpapered with the pictures from the magazines. Most of that stuff is just a fun (or maybe funny??) memory now. I'm gonna let you in on my secret...I still have a crush on Jon Bon Jovi, LOL!!! Hubby knows, he's not fazed. It's all innocent! I think it would be fun to spend a day hanging out with him.


Here's a card I made last night. I pulled out an old Hero Arts stamp I have and colored away with markers. The blush blossom piece is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder. I love the look of blush blossom with sahara sand. The sentiment is from Circle of Friendship, I just added a fancy brad to the center.


Have a great Wednesday!

OSW & Day 1 Winner

I thought about posting a picture of each days loot but decided I would rather have it be a surprise!! I think it is more fun that way. Here are some of the packages stuffed and ready to mail.


Mondays winning name is: Jacque (SCS: Petals)

Please email me your address and I will get one of these packages out to you soon.


At 11pm tonight I will draw a name for day 2's package. Leave a comment on this post. Today's question: If you could spend an entire day with anyone you wanted, who would it be (hubbies are a given!)?

My answer...lots of people came to mind, but in the end I would say my dad. He passed away 8 years ago this month and there were many more conversations yet to be had.

Now for some stamping. I made a one sheet wonder during my KISS stamping craze. OSW are great for cranking out a pile of cards. I started with a sheet of white card stock, wheeled it with the Petals jumbo wheel and soft sky ink. I added some stamps from the Polka Dots and Petals set using groovy guava, purely pomegranate and blue bayou. I used those same colors when I assembled my cards. I got 5 cards from the one sheet, but I used large pieces. You could stretch it way farther than I did here. On three of the cards I used last years SAB set, So Very and on the other 2 I used Circle of Friendship. A little ribbon, a few punches and voila! OSW's make it easy to make sets for using or giving and can be varied just by changing colors.

Don't forget to leave your comment! Have a great day!

You've Got Mail!!

The countdown is on..... For what you ask?? The countdown to 40! Gasp, I am going to turn 40, deep breath, I can do it, deep breath....how did that happen?? Just yesterday I was walking the halls of my high school. Next Monday is the big day, January 14. On that day in 1968, in Whitby, England, I was born to Anneliese and Paul Laverack. My father was in the Air Force and was stationed there at the time. I think I have shared before that my mom is German and they met in Germany while he was stationed there. He spoke little German and she spoke little English but somehow they managed. England was only one of many places we lived, oh to be able to travel to some of those places again now that I can appreciate them more. Anyway, that is just a little peek into my life. Why do I tell you all of that?? Not sure really, other than I figure if I get a head start on the 40 thing I may be able to survive it once Monday comes, LOL!

In the meantime, I am having a daily drawing for some goodies. When I cleaned my stamping space a couple of weeks ago, I found a lot of treasures, way more than I can use so I want to share some of it with you! You get some fun goodies and I get to reclaim some of my space. That's what they call a win-win. Can't tell you exactly what it will be cause I am still putting it all together. Some stamps, some embellishments, some alterables just to name a few things. This gives me something fun to focus on this week as I brace myself for 40.

Here's how it's gonna work...each day I will post something, probably with a simple question, and if you'd like in on that days drawing, post a comment. I will draw a name and post the winner in the next days post. I will draw a name at 11pm EST just so there is a cut off.

I made this mailbox just for the occasion. This is more proof that I am a hoarder. I bought this mailbox at Target more than a year ago and never did anything with it. I hear that Target has them again, my store was cleaned out when I was there the other day. I only bought one at the time thinking I would try it first and only buy more if I liked them. What was I thinking??? This was way fun to make! I used some Cosmo Cricket, Hey Sugar, paper, the front is the reverse of the piece used on the side. I covered some SU chipboard with vanilla card stock, rubbed it with some tea stain Distress ink, stamped it with a long ago retired set called, Vintage Postcard, rubbed the edges with walnut Distress ink and adhered it to the front. I used the Carte Postal set for the sentiment on the side. The ribbon is SU burgundy grosgrain and the heart on the flag is a retired SU punch. I added a couple of small rhinestones to the flag hinge and sentiment. These really would make fun gifts filled with chocolate or little note cards. I may need to be content with the one unless I luck out at Target. If you want a closer look, click on the photo.

Post a comment to this question if you want to be in today's drawing: What is the best place you have traveled to or lived in??

Paper Trey B-Flies

Cards #3 & 4. My scrap bin has lots of left over pieces from workshops and classes. I love that everything is cut, I just need to decide which stamps I will use. I tried to go back to some stamps that have set idle for awhile so all week you might feel like you are strolling down memory lane.
I used the PaperTrey set, Butterfly Kisses for both cards. They have the same basic ingredients: Kraft, chocolate chip and very vanilla card stock. The others colors are soft sky and coral cameo. The butterflies are made up of 2 stamps, the floral body is stamped in brown and outlines are stamped in coral and soft sky. To give a bit more color, I used an aquapainter and ink to color in the centers of the flowers. The tails are just pierced. The coral cameo panel is stamped with some of the small flower images in the PT set, using cameo and chocolate ink. The soft sky panel is wheeled with the SU jumbo wheel, Petals, using soft sky ink and then some chocolate flower accents. The ribbons used are SU chocolate grosgrain and American Crafts chocolate polka dot satin (ooohhh, yummy stuff!).
Although I do not make New Years resolutions, I am setting a goal of sending more cards. I am really close to being dubbed the card making gal who never sends cards, sad but true. Sometimes I have trouble parting with cards that I make, especially the ones that are time consuming. The above cards are exactly the kind of cards I need to have on hand to send when the whim strikes. Or when the soft voice whispers in my ear. Does that ever happen to you?? You think of someone out of the blue, or you hear of someone who is under the weather and you say to yourself..."self....send that person a card". Then you go about your business and forget about it or just don't do it for some reason. I know God whispers names in my ear a lot and I sadly go about my business. I want to be better about listening to those whispers. It is after all one of the reasons I got into stamping in the first place.
You WILL want to come back tomorrow, I am kicking off a week of something fun. See you then!!

Wild About You!

Ellie has been gathering dust unfortunately, it was time to bring her back out! This is a really simple card but the small touches make it fun. Remember, I said I was going back to basics. I used some of the new Bali Breeze designer paper. Don't have matching ribbon or don't feel like bulking up your card?? Then designer paper to the rescue, just use a coordinating strip to create the look of ribbon. Easy peasy and it is a great use of those small pieces we all have lying around. Ellie is stamped in going grey ink but her ear is pomegranate, cut out and up on a dimensional. Again, a great use of those small scraps. I gave her a googlie eye cause she looks so much more fun with one! Can you figure out where the dangling heart is from?? I used a black marker to ink up only a portion of a stamp from the host level 1 set, Eventful, the one with the hanger and hearts. It was cute enough but I have some new heart brads for Valentines Day so I used one over the stamped heart. The stamped panel is up on dimensionals. DO NOT underestimate the power of those little foam adhesives!!!! Just that little bit of lift can set a card apart. I hardly ever make a card without at least one dimensional on it, seriously.
Have a great Saturday! Thanks for visiting.

Time Well Spent

Happy New Year...a few days late, LOL! Time just flies by. I have been busy stamping for the upcoming Dirty Dozen gallery. I am lovin' my projects but they have been involved, lots of coloring, details and thought. I love that being on the DD stretches my creativity to a new level. But my brain was starting to sputter a bit and needed some simpler, just for fun stamping. I set my scrap bin on the desk and went to town! This weeks posts will be back to basics: stamps, ink and paper. Nothing too fancy or complicated. I hope you enjoy!

Here is card number 1. I appreciate that SU sent its demo's this set, Time Well Spent, cause free stamps are good, but I have had trouble warming up to it. I took a non-coloring approach this time around. I stamped the flowers on pomegranate, guava and saffron card stock, highlighted some of the areas with a Versamarker, cut them out and mounted them on dimensionals. The wasabi stems were stamped right onto some soft sky designer paper. The guava card base has some small flowers stamped in guava ink. The sentiment is from the Celebrate Everything set, punched out with the key tag punch and mounted behind the main panel. That punch is great for adding sentiments of medium size. To get the sentiment straight, stamp first, then punch.

I hope your new year is off to a good start. I spent an entire day cleaning my stamping space. It feels so great to have it organized again and I even found some treasures I forgot I had. I generally hate when I go into my regular grocery store to find they have "rearranged" things but it does work, you see things that you didn't before. Hence, you buy more stuff, just like they planned. That is what re-organizing does, it refreshes your perspective, makes you see things you may have been overlooking (never mind that they were buried sooooo deep they couldn't be seen, LOL). But in this case, you may save yourself from buying some stuff 'cause you realize you had it already!

Enough babbling for today. Have a good one!