SC222 Charlie Gets Giddy

I've been so busy this week that I haven't had a chance to make a card since last Friday - yes - last Friday!!! Oh my goodness. So I decided to check out the Sketch challenge and give it a whirl. As you can see, I've flipped the sketch on its side so that I could use the stamp I wanted. I decided in honor of my first design team and finally being able to announce it that my card had to be from Clear Dollar Stamps. This stamp is called Charlie Gets Giddy and giddy he is. He's got some roses to give to some special lady... Now if only roses were really coming my way. Hint.. Hint honey!

I've watercolored Charlie with my re-inkers (a technique I am just learning so bear with me) and the flowers have been popped up using stamping dimensionals. The matting looked bare so I've used my Swiss Dots Embossing Folder for a bit more texture to the card. You know me - my cards generally end up with some sparkle and bling but for tonight - just ribbon and dew drops.

Hope you like it!

Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: Charlie Gets Giddy from Clear Dollar Stamps
Paper: Papertrey White, Regal Rose, Bittersweet DP from Basic Grey, Watercolor Paper
Ink: Versamark, Basic Black
Accessories: Embossing Powder, Nestabilities, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Re-Inkers, Aquapainter, Ribbon, Dew Drops, Stamping Dimensionals

I can spill the beans!!!!

OH MY GOODNESS!!!

Can I just say how incredibly excited I was last week when I opened up my email to find a message from Laurie Wilson asking me to be on the Clear Dollar Stamps Design Team!

I was shocked, excited and jumping up and down like crazy! Of course, then I had to call my best friend and partner in crime, Kim Teasdale, who is on the design team too!!!! Can you imagine how amazing it is to not only be on a design team now but to be on the same design team as my best friend? Really - who does that happen to??? So, now I get to embark on this exciting adventure with a wonderful group of talented ladies that make up the CDS Design team.

When I found out that there were two additions to the team, I knew that the other person had to be Cassie Trask who has a really cute and fun style. I'm excited that we have the opportunity to have this adventure together.

I'll be adding all of the ladies' blogs to mine when I get home tonight.

Wish me luck!!!!

OCC All Blue for You

Wow!!!! I've been asked by Kim Teasdale to be the guest designer for this week's OCC Color Challenge. Pretty cool eh? Needless to say I was pretty excited and then that nervous feeling set in. Look at all the amazing ladies on this design team - they rock!!! So I knew this card had to be great - thank goodness for Basic Grey's Granola DP. This is where it all began - wait - actually it began with the challenge colors of Bashful Blue, Not Quite Navy and More Mustard.

I've watercolored this Changito using my SU Markers and an aquapainter. See the puddle? I've used Crystal Effects on it to give it that wet feeling. Makes you want to jump in a puddle doesn't it? As you can tell I really incorporated the DP into my design - if you only knew how many layouts I went through before this final card??? 3, 4? Not too sure actually. All I know is that I have a number of scraps now because I kept on changing the configuration and layers of the card. The brads are Basic Grey as well (can you believe I bought a second pack of them just so I'd have two matching brads?).

Thank you to the OCC and Kim Teasdale for inviting me to play along this week.

Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: Changito Slicker by Stampendous
Paper: More Mustard, Bashful Blue, Not Quite Navy, Papertrey White, Granola DP by Basic Grey
Ink: Versamark, Basic Black
Accessories: SU Markers, Aquapainter, Nestabilities, Ribbon, Brads, Crystal Effects

LSC213 Moo-velous

Oh my goodness.... I thought this challenge would be a quick one - after all you could only use Black, White and Silver! But oh no... this cow gave me some troubles but in the end I love how it turned out. I'm glad I started over for the 3rd time. Yes - 3 times!!! This cow is just too cute - he's from Clear Dollar Stamps from the set called Farm Critters. He's been embossed with Basic Black and Versamark to add a bit of dimension considering I couldn't color him in at all with other colors.

Hope you like it!

Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: Farm Critters by Clear Dollar Stamps
Paper: Basic Black, Papertrey White, DP (unknown - I was using scraps)
Ink: Versamark, Basic Black
Accessories: Ribbon, Swirly Clip, Nestabilities

CC211 As Beautiful as Spring

Isn't she just so precious??? I'm loving this color combo today - although I have to admit I am so low on so many papers that I had to use the substitutes. So in the end, I used Pretty in Pink, Old Olive and Sage Shadow. i think it turned out just as beautiful and they worked so well with these My Mind's Eye DP's I have. As you've noticed, I love my DP!!! I can't get enough of it - some people are ribbon addicts and some are DP addicts - oh wait - I'm both!

I've used Lilly Bittybloom from Stamping Bella and have colored her with my SU Markers (can't wait to get some re-inkers). I then added some ribbon with this cute little flower charm. I love the different layers on the card and they seem to meld together perfectly. Hope you like it!

Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: Lilly Bittybloom from Stamping Bella
Paper: Papertrey Ink, Sage Shadow, Old Olive, MME DP
Ink: Versamark, Basic Black
Accessories: Ribbon, Flower Charm, Nestabilities, SU Markers, Aquapainter

Michelle is a Rockstar

WOW!!!! I contacted Michelle from Shabby Creations this morning after looking at a blog that was designed by Michelle. I instantly fell in love with the Belle background - it is oh so pretty!!!! So I sent an email letting her know what work I would like done. Within about 8 hours of sending off the first email I now have a blog that is beyond my wildest dreams!!! It is BEAUTIFUL! It is girly and I'm in love! I told Michelle that I'm as excited about my blog as I was the day I got married so you know I definitely love the new blog!!! So here is a huge shout out to Michelle!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!

FS111 She's "Beate"ful

OMG!!! I can't believe that Beate has not been the featured stamper yet! Her work is amazing, awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, gorgeous!!! Need I say more? There are so many words to describe her work but I'll stop there. This is the card I chose to case:
Sweet Prego Gal

Things I changed were:
Image, papers, ribbon, I didn't attempt the stitching, used one less layer behind the pregnant girl and rather than a sentiment in the upper left hand corner I used my oval punches and a half back pearl.

I really like how this card turned out - it is overall gender neutral. Can I say how in love with this Bo Bunny DP I am? I wish I had picked up more when I bought it. I love the color combo together. The image is from Stamping Bella's anniversary release and it was a limited edition. I'm so glad I have it because I don't have the regular sized Pregobella.

Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: Limited Edition Pregobella (Stamping Bella)
Paper: Papertrey White, Basic Black, Old Olive, Bo Bunny DP, Watercolor paper
Ink: Versamark, Basic Black
Accessories: SU Markers, Aquapainter, Ribbon, Oval Punches (small and large), Half Back pearl, Nestabilities

OCC Meets the Moose

Isn't he just too cute??? Kim Teasdale is hosting the OCC Challenges for the month and today's challenge is a sketch and I always love a good sketch challenge. And guess what!!!! They have a give-away for participating from Clear Dollar Stamps. So in honor of this, I knew I had to pull out this way too cute moose!!! He was a lot of fun coloring. I tried using re-inkers on the moose - couldn't do any more of the image using them because I only have a few re-inkers (they're on my wish list - now if only I could win the lottery). I've had these DP's sitting out for awhile waiting for a card to use them on and I think they worked out perfectly. Notice I didn't use a scallop mat on my card today? Guess what - this was the first time I had pulled out the small oval nesties and when I went to mat them with the scallop ones - I found out that I had accidentally been sold another set of the large and not the small ones! Oops!

Well anyway - hope you like the card today!

Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: February SOM Moose by Clear Dollar Stamps
Paper: Papertrey White, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Imaginesce DP, My Mind's Eye DP, WeR Memory Keepers DP, Watercolor paper
Ink: Versamark, Basic Black
Accessories: Ribbon, Buttons, Embroidery thread, Nestabilities, Stickles, Re-inkers, SU Markers, Aquapainter

LSC212 Soft and Subtle

It feels good to be back stamping after a few days away and then almost a week of being sick! Yuck! I woke up early today just to look at what today's challenge is on SCS. Today's challenge is to use a flower image.... Peony Bittybloom is a flower right??? Right??? The other part of the challenge is to use soft subtles which I feel like I've done. A few of the Soft Subtles are in the Background paper, were the base layers in Peony Bittybloom and all of the bling are in the right shades.

Hope you like it!
Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: Peony Bittybloom by Stamping Bella
Paper: Papertrey White, Basic Black, Bo Bunny DP
Ink: Versamark, Basic Black
Accessories: Ribbon, Nestabilities, Buttons, Embroidery Thread, SU Markers, Aquapainter, Dew Drops

Murphy's Law

Isn't it Murphy's Law that as soon as you decide to go away for a few days that the first morning you are gone you get sick???? Well - yup - it happened to me. I'm home again now but I'm zapped of energy so I'll try to get a card made for Friday.

See the flowers Smiling

Hi everyone -

I'm away for a few days but decided to post a card that I made a couple of weeks ago just so that you'd have something to look at. I love this bittybloom from Stamping Bella - she's just so cute and doesn't she match the designer paper perfectly? Too darn cute I tell you. This layout is from Bella Sketch Challenge 70 which can be found in the Stamping Bella forum on SCS. I've watercolored the bittybloom using my SU markers and tried to keep the card as simple as possible.

I'll be back for the Sketch Challenge on Wednesday at SCS.

Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: Poppy Bittybloom (Stamping Bella), Anytime Messages (Hero Arts)
Paper: Papertrey White, Old Olive, Scenic Route DP, Watercolor paper
Ink: Versamark, Basic Black
Accessories: Ribbon, Half Back Pearls, Nestabilities, SU Markers, Aquapainter

OCC Keeping it Simple

Today's challenge over at the OCC is to make a clean and simple card... Not easy! Did I mention it had to be a maximum of 3 layers (this includes the card base - YIKES!), and OOPS!!! only one embellishment. Sorry ladies but I have two. I've had this stamp set from Hero Arts for a few months and it hasn't seen ink yet - surprising considering how much I LOVE shoes!. I bought the sentiment awhile back from someone on SCS and thought it would be perfect for this card. I've paper pieced the shoe and the flower is from a pack I found in the craft aisle at a local dollar store. It actually had a yellow center but I popped it out and put the brown pearl in it instead. It is hard to tell from the picture but I've scored two lines on the outside of where the ribbon lies. (honestly - you can see it in real life).

Hope you like it! I'm away for a few days so there will be nothing new until Wednesday, March 18th.

Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: High Heels (Hero Arts),Sentiment from Endless Creations
Paper: Papertrey White, Offbeat by Basic Grey
Ink: Versamark, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Embossing Powder, Flower, Ribbon, Half Back Pearl

WT209 Get Cracking

This is my entry for today's WT209 which is to use green on your card. I used a combination of green, blue and brown to create my soft spring look. Did I mention I love this Elzybell? I picked it up yesterday at my local stamping store (Crafty Capers). I have been wanting this Elzybell for quite some time so when I found out Victoria would be ordering from A Muse I knew it was my chance. I know with Easter coming up that I will get a lot of use out of it.

For my layout , I used TCPTues39 (The Cat's Pajama's) which I have been eyeing up since I favorited a card using it on SCS a few weeks ago. I've paper pieced the shell of the egg using some MME DP and watercolored the rest using my SU Markers. I'm realizing I need to start investing in something else soon... Hint Hint Kim... (when are you doing the Tombow class???). Just kidding!

Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: Elzybells
Paper: Papertrey White, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, MME DP, Watercolor Paper
Ink: Versamark, Basic Black
Accessories: Ribbon, Buttons, Embroidery Thread, Nestabilities, SU Markers, Aquapainter

SC219 Happy Birthday Changitos

I swear these Changitos were almost the end of me tonight. It felt like nothing was working... I had different images picked out for the card and I just couldn't get the coloring right. I stamped these Changitos 3 times before deciding - fine - I just need to have the happy birthday banner on it too! I kind of like how it is out of the box now. Mission accomplished!!!! Finally!!!

Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: Changitos by Stampendous
Paper: Papertrey White, Chocolate Chip, Cool Caribbean, MME DP, Watercolor paper
Ink: Versamark, Basic Black
Accessories: Ribbon, Nestabilities, SU Markers, Aquapainter

CC209 Rosy Red Bittybloom

Can I just say what a great color combo it is at SCS today??? I rarely use black in my cards so this was hard for me. That's why I've used it as my matting on all the layers... But it's there right? Yeah!!! I also didn't have any Always Artichoke paper so I had to pull the color from the DP's I've used (Scenic Route by the way). I think it worked out quite well and of course one of the colors of green in the bittybloom is AA as well. I know I've used this bittybloom a lot lately but she's just so darn cute and irresistible and Springy too!

Hope you like my card today.

Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: Bluebell Bittybloom by Stamping Bella
Paper: Papertrey White, Basic Black, Scenic Route DP, MME DP
Ink: Versamark, Basic Black
Accessories: SU Markers, Aquapainter, Nestabilities, Swirly Clip, Ribbon

Mojo77 Dance Like No one's watching

I have to tell you that I absolutely LOVE this image. The Huggabuggs from Stamping Bella are just so incredibly cute. I've wanted this one for a long time, finally got it but then it hasn't seen ink yet. When I saw today's challenge on the Mojo Monday blog I knew I had to go for it. I haven't made an A2 card in quite awhile but it definitely worked with this sketch. One of my friends got me addicted to making square cards (gotta love all the space).

I found the striped designer paper ages ago at a LSS and have been hoarding it until just the right card. It works so well with the Basic Grey Bittersweet line. I've added Angel Wings Shimmerz to Twinkletoes' wings for a bit of shine.

Always loving my sparkle and bling!

Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: Twinkletoes Huggabugg (Stamping Bella) and Sentiment by Stamping Bella
Paper: Papertrey White, Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Bittersweet by Basic Grey, SEI DP
Ink: Basic Black, Versamark
Accessories: Ribbon, Nestabilities, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Cuttlebug, SU Markers, Aquapainter, Shimmerz

FS109 StampingQueenJAR

WOW!!! What a gallery to choose from! Inspiring! Amazing! Beautiful! Oh my goodness - I could honestly go on and on. Judy has an amazing style so it made choosing a card a very hard decision. I eventually ended up casing this card: CC188: His Path. Things I changed were: Image, Designer Papers, Ribbon, and Dew Drops.

I found this paper at a local scrapbooking store today and had to buy it. I've passed by it so many times and for some reason today it caught my eye and made its way into my bag. Not quite sure how that happened and yes - I paid for it. The image is from a new set from Clear Dollar Stamps called Beautiful Butterflies. I LOVE these images - very refreshing. I've embossed both the image as well as the sentiment. I had thought about sponging over top but I decided against it.

Hope you like my card today - I had fun with it tonight.

Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: Beautiful Butterflies - Clear Dollar Stamps
Paper: Papertrey White, Rose Red, Close to Cocoa, My Mind's Eye DP
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Versamark
Accessories: Embossing Powder, Nestabilities, Dew Drops, Ribbon, Corner Rounder

A little bling, a little sparkle - what's not to love?

We all know how much I love sparkle and bling on cards. It's not so bad when it comes to jewelry as well. I made this card for LSC210 on SCS which was to make a card in 30 minutes or less. I find sometimes it takes me 30 minutes just to pick my paper never mind making a whole card! Yikes! I knew pretty quickly with this card what I wanted to do. I was definitely inspired by the papers I had. I added a flower rhinestone over top of the flower that was actually part of the stamp. I paper pieced the bottom of the dress to jazz it up a bit. Makes it pop a bit I think.
Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: Humor in High Heels (SU)
Paper: Papertrey White, Pretty in Blink, Making Memories DP
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: SU markers, Ribbon, Rhinestones, Nestabilities

Paper in the Works Blog Candy

Hi everyone -

I know it's soon to be adding a second post so look below for my first post (which has cards). Just letting you know that Kim Teasdale of Paper in the Works has blog candy and it is FABULOUS!!! Check it out.

http://paperintheworks.blogspot.com/

Just Ducky

I've been thinking for quite some time about starting a blog and well.... that time is finally here!!!! I'm excited that I will be able to share my passion for card making with so many people.

The first of these two cards is the ATC I made for SCS's challenge for the day (WT208). I have to admit that it was pretty darn scary making an ATC. But I got into it pretty quickly and I love the result. The image is one from Clear Dollar Stamps called Cute Critters and the duck is pretty cute if you ask me. A friend of mine has taught me how to watercolor more effectively using markers. I think I'm getting the hang of it finally.


The second image is the card I made using the ATC. I knew if I didn't make a card right away that the ATC would sit there doing nothing but collecting dust. I really like the result. I love the fact that the card is so fun and cheery! Just like the duck - it seems to be happy.

Well there you have it... my very first blog post! YIKES!