Dino Birthday

Well, I am just not keeping up with things! It's been a month since my last post. I didn't think it had been that long. Baby girl will be here in three weeks and that's the excuse I'm going with. ;)

A very sweet little boy belonging to a very dear and sweet friend is having a birthday tomorrow. We are going to do everything we can to get to his birthday party this weekend since we'll be staying close to home once Little Miss gets here. It's dino themed. I love this retired My Favorite Things dinosaur set (that another dear friend sent me) and pulled it out for his card. FYI: I did make *my* sweet little boy a birthday card and might actually blog it some decade soon. Also, I used the MFT sketch challenge sketch for this but didn't realize the upload deadline was today at noon. Oops! It's a really cute sketch so don't be thinking it was my idea or anything. ;)

I colored the dino body with copics - um, green ones - and then dotted all over it with the colorless blender to give it some texture/not have to blend so much. The paper is Basic Grey Life of the Party that I got half off at Hobby Lobby today because they have finally started carrying some 6x6 pads! Whoohoo!

Supplies: Stamps - My Favorite Things dino set

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Peeled Paint

Paper - PTI white, SU certainly celery, Basic Grey Life of the Party 6x6 pad

Other - sponge, copics, pop dots

Family Cards

I'm trying to be better blogger, which is proving difficult since my wireless network card is on the fritz, so I thought I'd share a couple of family occasion cards. First, my cousin is living in New York looking for a job in the fashion industry. She ended up in the hospital for an emergency appendectomy two weeks ago. She has friends there, of course, but no family remotely close by and was feeling a little lonesome. She loves her coffee so I thought a card and some free Starbucks would cheer her up. The colors are from the (small) gift card I sent her. Super quick and easy. Took me longer to clean up my area to take a picture than it did to make the card.

Next up, my uncle got married this past weekend. It was a very pretty wedding in my aunt's (not the same couple, my mom is the oldest of 7 kids) backyard. I have to confess that I actually made this card for a Paper Crafts call, although now I can't quite remember what the specifics were. I liked it and thought it would be great for an outdoor wedding.

There ya go. Some random cards from me. :) Today is my little sister's birthday so maybe there'll be something new here tomorrow! :) I hope so, anyway! Not really sure what I'm gonna make her just yet. Also random, I am totally trying these Mocha Cream Cheese Phyllo Triangles sometime this week. Anyone wanna visit?

Perk Up card: Stamps - Waltzingmouse Stamps Frame It, GinaK My Cuppa Joe, Crafty Secrets Coffee and Tea

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper - PTI Aqua Mist and Stamper's Select White, Basic Grey Urban Prairie, Nook and Pantry, and Origins 6x6 collections

Growing in Unity card: Stamps - Unity Growing in Unity, Eco Chic

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black and Rich Cocoa, Ranger Distress Ink Vintage Photo

Paper - PTI Rustic White, Stamper's Select White, Dark Chocolate

Other - Copics (been too long for me to know which ones, sorry!), scissors, PTI woodgrain impression plate, PTI small scallop border, Martha Stewart blush seam binding, Marvy Mega circle punch, sponge, PTI Ripe Avocado button, SU linen thread, pop dots

Thank You Veterans!

Thank you to all the veterans and active duty military (and families!) protecting freedom and democracy for the rest of us! Happy Veteran's Day! (And thanks to my awesome friend -and Air Force wife! - Jen for loaning me this great set!)



Supplies: Stamps - Greeting Farm Hero Ian, Papertrey Ink Let Freedom Ring
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up! Brilliant Blue, Real Red, Versamark Dazzle Diamond
Paper - Papertrey Ink Stamper's Select White
Other - Copics (It's been a while so I'm not sure which ones, sorry!), pop dots

Chirp, Chirp, Tweet, Tweet

If you recognize that then you spend way too much watching Nick Jr. just like me. ;) Today, I have a triple challenge card! I picked this sweet Crafty Secrets bird image (thanks Jaala!) for the SCS Hope You Can Cling To Cancer is for the Birds challenge. I've loved this set for a while so I'm excited to finally be playing with it! The sketch is from CPS. It's super cute! I was also inspired by this week's Tuesday Trigger, Sweater Weather.


I was inspired by the colors, the texture, and the overall cozy feeling.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: Stamps - Crafty Secrets Bird Notes

Ink - Memento Rich Cocoa, Distress Ink Walnut Stain, Vintage Photo

Paper - Papertrey Ink Lemon Tart, kraft, Stampin' Up! Very Vanilla

Other -Papertrey Ink Woodgrain Impression Plate, yellow rhinestones, American Elements ribbon, sponge, Copics (Y00, Y11, Y15, YG93, YG95, B000), pop dots

Tuesday Trigger

I got to play this week's Tuesday Trigger challenge! Isn't this a great inspiration piece! I love the vignetting in the photograph and the monochromatic feel.

I don't have any spooky stamps, but I think it works on a birthday card. Yeah, I guess I do have a slightly dark sense of humor to make a birthday card inspired by a graveyard. :)

The vines were made with a Tim Holtz mask that I bought (under $3) after seeing a card Melanie Muenchinger made with it on her blog. That was over 6 months ago and this is my first time to use it. (Yes, I'm lame like that.) Love the effect! You just stick it down and sponge over it. (I use an art sponge cut in quarters on things like this and save the sponge daubers for cards that need smoother results.) The butterfly from GinaK Hope Is Faith is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Copics then sprayed with Vanilla Smooch Spray for a subtle shimmer.

Supplies - Stamps: GinaK Hope Is Faith, Sew Pretty (sentiment)

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Ink Soot Black

Paper - Papertrey Ink Soft Stone, True Black, Georgia-Pacific White (for coloring)

Other - Copics (B000, C0, C1, C3, N5, C7), Cutterbee scissors, Vanilla Smooch Spritz, Tim Holtz mask, sponge

Double Challenge Cards

So I'm back on a spending freeze. I have a couple of planned purchases, but, otherwise, back on the wagon. Jaala (The Witch Crafts) started one and I decided to jump back in with her. No craft shopping until we make 50 projects. She came up with the added rule that if it isn't blogged, sent, or given away it doesn't count. Oh my! That definitely complicates things! You may be seeing lots more of me in the near future. I really like to shop. :) On that note, I got to make a couple of double challenge cards! Always fun to kill two birds with one stone. Well, metaphorically anyway.

The first card uses the StampTV color challenge: red, chartreuse, and black. It's very striking. Remember me posting that Melanie Muenchinger was giving one of her new stamp sets away on her blog a few weeks ago? I won! I've been itching to use it and have other things I had to finish up. Splitcoast has a Hope You Can Cling To challenge to use something old and something new. Obviously, the stamps are new and I'm pretty sure everything else is at least a year old. Now, I will admit, I'm not that awesome at 2 step stamping. I need to just play with this set to really get a good feel for it. I love it, though, and I can't wait to try another card with it. I did stamp the flowers on a cardstock scrap so I could get the placement right this time. And so I didn't have to be super careful coloring. ;) On the jar, I outlined the glass with B000 and then tried to color in some water with C0. I'm not sure about the water. It seems like it should be there, but doesn't look right. Thoughts?

The second card is for the StampTV sketch challenge and the Hope You Can Cling To challenge to make a vintage card. I love this stamp set. Love. It. I had fun coloring her dress. I don't own a lot of pink Copics so I don't do a lot of pink coloring, but I tried R00, R20, and R22 and it worked pretty well! Isn't this a cute sketch? I might try it again sometime!

Floral Jar Card: Stamps - GinaK Buds and Vases

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper - Stampin' Up! Real Red, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Black, Georgia-Pacific White

Other - Copics (R22, R24, R29, YG03, YG06, YG09, YG95, B000, C0, Y15), Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder, pop dots

Sew Vintage card: Stamps - GinaK Sew Pretty

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Palette Charcoal, Distress Ink Tattered Rose

Paper - Georgia-Pacific white, Papertrey Ink Sweet Blush, Soft Stone, Stampin' Up! Basic Gray, Basic Grey Bittersweet

Other - Papertrey Ink Sweet Blush button, Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Nestabilities Ovals and Scalloped Ovals dies, sponge

Papertrey September Blog Hop Challenge

It's Papertrey Blog Hop time again! And in true fashion, I'm squeaking in at the last second! Good times! The challenge this time is to use a tip or technique we've learned from another stamper. Wow. There are so many amazing artists who have taught me so much! Someday I would love to do cards for all of them. This particular card uses a couple of things I've gleaned from Nichole Heady herself combined with all the fabulous colorists out there who have taught me so much about Copics: Debbie Olson, Theresa Momber, Sharon Harnist, and, of course, Colleen Schaan to name a few. Nichole rocks the white on white so much and I never would have thought to use the square punch to make the notch on the sentiment if she hadn't shown it on her blog. Now, I can't stop doing it! I really cannot say enough about the tips and tutorials and inspiration I have gotten from these crafters, but did I mention it's the last second?

Supplies: Stamps - Papertrey Ink In Bloom, Daily Designs Sentiments
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Palette Noir
Paper - Papertrey Stamper's Select White, Lemon Tart
Other - Copics (Y00, Y11, Y15, Y17, YG91, YG93, YG95, YG03), Basic Grey half pearls, square punch, Papertrey Woodgrain Impression Plate, lots of foam tape!, Cutterbee scissors

Clean and Simple Coffee

Say what? Two posts from me in one day? The insanity! ;) But I really wanted to make another card for the design team challenge at GinaK this time. And I know it's simple, but I love this card.

So the challenge is a favorite fall memory. This one is from October 2005, post-Hurricane Rita. We lived in Beaumont at the time and were very blessed. We evacuated with family, had places to stay, and, while we suffered some damage, our house was pretty much intact. Two houses down the whole place was crushed. Our yard and patio were wrecked, but that was just fine considering! Jeff did get to leave with us, but had to come back to the tv station the day after the storm hit. It was two weeks before I made it home and that's still the longest we've been apart. (A big thank you to all the military families and other families that deal with long absences for their jobs. I know two weeks is nothing to some of you and I hate that.) It was a very hot October and of course no one had power but I was so ready to be back! A cold front came through that night and we sat on the porch the next morning eating chocolate croissants and some self-heating mochas I had brought back with me so thankful to see each other, have a home, and feel an autumn breeze. Who cares if there are so many tree branches in your driveway you can't see the car parked there when you're eating pastries with the love of your life. ;) Guess who's getting this card? :)

There's not much 'splaining to do for this. I stamped the mug from Warm Winter Wishes, die cut it, left it in the die and sponged it with the blue. Then I stamped the mug again on a cardstock scrap, colored it with copics, cut it out, and glued it on. I am obsessed with cutting out the white in the handle for some reason so I just make a quick x-acto cut on the straight side and then use fine tip scissors to finish it. I grabbed a large green scrap and impressed it with my PTI woodgrain impression plate. I stamped the sentiment after impressing it and glued it all down.

Please look at all the wonderful entries on Gina's blog! Thanks for looking! (Oh, and you can still comment on my blog candy through Tuesday!)

Supplies: Stamps - GinaK Designs Warm Winter Wishes, Thanks a Million

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up! Tempting Turquoise

Paper - Papertrey Ink Stamper's Select White, Stampin' Up! Kiwi Kiss, Georgia-Pacific White (die cut and mug)

Other - Nestabilities Labels One, Papertrey Ink Woodgrain Impression Plate, Copics (YR02, YR04, YR07, R22, R24, R29, E35)

Pumpkins, Apples, and Cheese

Do you ever have a crazy idea that no matter all the better ideas you come up with you absolutely must choose the crazy one? It's Design Team challenge time at GinaK and this month's challenge is to make a card of a favorite fall memory. I LOVE fall! I love sweaters, I love cider, I love back to school (which comes in summer now, but still feels like fall). My birthday is in fall, Renaissance Festival is in fall, Thanksgiving, the High Holy Days, all in fall! I've been to Israel twice in the fall and Disneyworld twice. Then there's the kids. My son just turned 1. He's technically a very end of summer baby. But much like back to school, it feels like a fall event. And the feeling is what's important with memory anyway, right? Choosing the birth of my second child as my favorite fall memory is not crazy. Using my handwriting and a cheesetastic pun is. :)

I love a good pun. I really do. And I think it's genetic because my mother does, too. I'm not at all sure this qualifies as a good pun, but I could not shake it! And when inspiration strikes after midnight I try not to argue too much. ;) The sweet onesie is, of course, from Wee Tees. I cannot tell you how much I love that set. I'm ready for a companion set, Melanie. Just when you have time. :) I colored it with green and red Copics. The apple is from Whimsical Autumn. Thank you, Cammie for making a single apple! I colored the apple on scratch paper and cut it out. That way I don't have to be careful when coloring the onesie. It's the lazy way. I'm all about that, hehe. The pumpkins are from the Signs of Autumn set. Love them. They made me buy this set. Everything else is in it is fabulous too, but the pumpkins sang the siren song. The handwriting is, sigh, mine. I bought a craft book once called Love Your Handwriting, but it apparently only works if you practice, which if I'm going to keep doing I need more than one decent pen. But I do love my goofy, cheesy little card. Not nearly as much as my little fall fellow, though. ;)

Do yourself a favor and check out all the entries in this challenge. There is some gorgeous stuff! You can see everything on Gina's blog. I might even have a chance to make a card for one of those other memories. :) Thanks for looking!

Supplies: Stamps - GinaK Whimsical Autumn, Signs of Autumn, Wee Tees

Paper - Papertrey Ink Kraft, Stampin' Up! Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Georgia-Pacific White (for coloring)

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up! Pumpkin Pie

Other - Copics (YG03, YG06, YG09, R22, R24, R29), Copic Multiliner 0.5 mm

Huzzah!

I won GinaK again! Yay! There's something about finding out you won free stamps that just brightens your day. :) Last week there was a challenge on StampTV to make a winter - Christmas - Holiday card using just your scraps. Perfect. I'm trying to use up the huge vortex of scraps that I have anyway. (I just told my neighbor if she ever needs ribbon to come to my house before she goes to Hobby Lobby.) Anyway, this is the card I made and it was randomly chosen to win! Happy day!

Love this lady. She reminds me of my grandmother when I was little for some reason. Spunky. With a funny apron. I have no idea what possessed me to color her hair auburn when my card is red or what possessed me to color her sweater red. Red is only behind black in the hardest for me to color race. But oh well. I used Copics, of course.

The leaves were already on my table from a project I did a month or so ago. Yeah, I clean my table on a bi-monthly schedule or when everything starts jumping off. I think pompoms are grandma fabulous. So are pipe cleaners. They needed some stickles. My stickles have been getting a lot more love since I started my stamp spending freeze. (I'm on 25/50 cards plus 3 altered items! yay!) The felt leaves are held in place with scor-tape. LOVE scor-tape. I'm buying 2 or 3 rolls of it next time! Pompoms are on a glue dot. I colored the rhinestones olive green with copics. Very clean and simple, totally from scraps, making it got me a new stamp set. SCORE.

Supplies - Stamps: GinaK Sew Pretty, Warm Winter Wishes

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up! Old Olive

Paper: Stampin' Up! Riding Hood Red, kraft (now Crumb Cake), Georgia Pacific White Cardstock

Accessories: Oval and Scalloped Oval Nestabilities, Stampin' Up! Modern Label Punch, rhinestones, Copics (I don't remember which ones, sorry!), hand cut felt leaves, red pompoms, Stardust Stickles, Scor-tape, Glue Dots, Pop dots

It's Been a While

So, um, if anyone reads this, sorry for dropping off the face of the earth. We had family in, we got sick, the little guy's getting teeth, etc. I have been crafting, cooking, sewing, and plotting (there's always lots of plotting) just no blogging. We've also done lots of lego-building, running around the couch, reading, and sweating outside. :)

A few tidbits. Homemade graham crackers are fabulous! I just made them on a whim, but wow. So good. A batch only lasts about a day here. The recipe I used was from MarthaStewart.com. Go. Make them now. We've been thinking of all the great things you can do with them, but they are wonderful all by themselves!

I have lots of cards to show, if, you know, I ever get around to it. ;) This one is for a challenge some friends are doing on Splitcoast. We post a challenge based on our hometown. This is for Jean's challenge. Her town is home to the Weeki Wachee Mermaid Show. Mermaid Anya is the cutest mermaid stamp around. I wanted to color her some fantastical color, but I just couldn't. I was absolutely compelled to color her like Ariel. I used a sketch from Paper Crafts Go-To Sketches. The paper was all in my scrap file. The purple is from the Basic Grey Lily Kate line. The orange and the blue are from a big My Minds Eye stack. The green someone sent me so I have no idea. Oh, the pink at the top is from Basic Grey Perhaps. Why did I add pink at the top. I think because Ariel wears a pink dress in the Little Mermaid. Makes no sense whatsoever, but I really think that's why I did it. Anywho. The cute sentiment is from Papertrey's Pond Life accessories. It's one of those sets that I love but almost never use. I have a lot of those.

That brings me to my spending freeze! :) My online friend Ashley started a spending freeze. She won't buy any craft stuff until she makes 200 cards! Ever since she started I've been thinking I should do something like that. Well, someone cute and 2 was looking at the Toys R Us ad on Sunday and telling me how we should buy pretty much everything in it. I told him he didn't need new toys, he had lots of toys already, more than he played with even. Then I heard what I said! (I would be the awesomest person ever if I did everything I tell my kids to do.) So I decided right then that I would go on a freeze. Now, Ashley is a way, way more productive stamper than I am. I want to be able to shop again before the Mayan doomsday so my freeze will be for 2 months or until I make 50 cards, whichever is longer. I'm at 9/50 right now. It would be wonderful to make more than 50 cards in two months! I do have a couple of exceptions. I can buy storage and organization stuff, adhesive, and - if I run out - neutral cardstock. Also, several friends are being published and I can buy their magazines if I find them. Everything else has to wait. GinaK is trying to test my resolve with an awesome coupon code, but there will be another sale. (If you aren't on a spending freeze, it's a really good deal. You should check it out.)

Supplies: Stamps - The Greeting Farm Mermaid Anya, Papertrey Ink Pond Life Accessories
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper - Papertrey Ink Stamper's Select White, My Mind's Eye Everyday Bohemian dsp, Basic Grey Lily Kate and Perhaps dsp, unknown green dsp
Accessories - Copics (YR04, YR14, YR16, YR18, E09, E51, E53, V12, V15, YG03, YG06, YG09, YG11), rhinestones, Nestabilities Labels 4, Stampin' Up! Scallop Border

Summer Memories with GinaK

It's time for another GinaK design team challenge! This month's challenge is to use any GinaK stamp set and make a card inspired by a favorite summer memory. Wow, so many memories jumped into my head! So hard to focus, so hard to choose! The summer Jeff proposed? The night on the Sea of Galilee when they turned the lights off on the boat and it was just the sound of the water and the light of the stars and you could completely believe it was two thousand years ago? My sister's first steps? Taking our kids to the pool for the first time? Brain overload!!!

As I stared at my stamp table, hovering over my supplies not knowing what to grab, I started thinking about summers at my grandparents' house at the lake. We swam, made ice cream, got to eat in front of the tv, play in the dirt, and my grandmother had a prize box under her bed! It was heaven. My grandmother was an excellent baker. Not the fancy Martha Stewart kind of baker, but the old-fashioned, church cookbook kind of baker. Toll house cookies, snickerdoodles, sugar cookies, and more! Yummy. She always let me help. When you are 4 that is a very big deal. It's the simple things, right? And thus, this simple card.

The stamps are Melanie's Have a Cookie set. I inked them in Memento ink and colored with copics. I used a glue pen on the hearts and a quick sprinkle of Martha Stewart pink glitter. My grandparents had wood panelling in their house so I used the PTI woodgrain impression plate with kraft cardstock and rubbed it with Tim Holtz distress ink for the background. Finish it off with punches and some piercing on the scallops and it's a clean and simple card.

There are some awesome entries in this DT challenge hop. Best wishes to everyone, you all inspire me! Thank you, Gina, for issuing the challenge (and for letting us use any stamps this time, you are always awesome!) I enjoyed this trip down memory lane. I miss my grandparents a lot. Granddaddy passed away when I was 8 (on Father's Day) and Grandmommy finally went to meet him this year. She had Alzheimers and a couple of strokes so it was a long time coming. It's good to think about the sweet and simple things. :)

Supplies - Stamps: GinaK Have a Cookie
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Vintage Photo
Paper: Papertrey Ink Stamper's Select White, Dark Chocolate, Georgia-Pacific White, Stampin' Up! Kraft
Accessories: Copic markers (E30, C0, C1, C3), Papertrey Ink Woodgrain Impression Plate, sponge, Marvy Mega Circle Punch, Marvy Giga Scallop Circle Punch, Paper Piercer, Pop Dots, Quickie Glue Pen, Martha Stewart Kunzite Pink Glitter

Card Patterns and Glitter

This past weekend was a new Ginak release which means lots of challenges. Challenges with prizes. I'm highly motivated to stamp when there are free stamps on the line. ;) I didn't win, but I still had fun and got some cards made. So it's kind of like I won. :)

My awesome friend Lee (no, really, she's been to my house!) issued the challenge to completely cover your main image with something - microbeads, glitter, diamond glaze, whatever. Lee loves glitter so I had to go with that. I could have made it uber-Lee, and gone with pink glitter, but that would have been weird.


The sketch is from Card Patterns. Isn't it pretty? This is my first time to do one of their sketches, but it definitely won't be the last! The design team has gorgeous samples! You should check it out.

The yummy paper is from Basic Grey's Origins 6x6. I love it! I hope they come out with fabric from this line. It would make all kinds of awesome tote bags, aprons, pillows, etc. Ooh, and Origins skirt. Love it! The pretty ribbon is some that I scavenged from a wedding (thanks Andrea!). The butterfly is colored with Copics and glittered all up with Martha Stewart glitter. My mom got me the sampler pack a couple of years ago, glitter city! Tons of colors! This is good old clear, but not because I didn't have the choice. I stamped a few leaves on vanilla cardstock, die cut it with a blossom nestability, and sponged it with yellow ink. The sentiment is stamped on vanilla cardstock and sponged with SU Old Olive ink. The notch is cut with a square punch. Got that tip from Nichole Heady's blog. Oh, the pearl is a white pearl colored with Copics. Cool, huh? I think Tina Gilliland posted that tip on StampTV. Never have the wrong color pearls again. :)

Supplies: Stamps - GinaK Designs Take Flight, Masculine Messages, A Year of Flowers
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Rich Cocoa, Stampin' Up! Old Olive, Barely Banana
Paper - Papertrey Ink kraft, Stampin' Up! Very Vanilla, Georgia-Pacific White, Basic Grey Origins
Accessories - Copics, sponge daubers, Kaisercraft pearl, sheer ribbon, Blossom Nestabilities, cuttlebug, square punch, pop dots, Martha Stewart crystal glitter, Martha Stewart glittering glue

Movie Inspired GinaK challenge

GinaK's CenterStage Spotlight Design Team challenge this month is to make a card using one of the new April release stamp sets inspired by your favorite movie. (The CenterStage person gets ALL of the May releases and gets to post with the regular design team that month. How cool is that?!) You can check out all the awesomeness here on Gina's blog. So I am KICKING myself for not getting Quite a Catch because the very first thing that popped into my head was a Sebastian the Crab Kiss the Girl card from one of my all-time faves, The Little Mermaid. But, I digress. I made myself a list of my top 15 or so favorite movies to see what else I could come up with. It's an eclectic list, lemme tell ya! Maybe one day I'll make a card for all of them. :)

I chose Roman Holiday. One of the best movies ever, in my humble opinion. Everytime I start it I think it won't be as good as I remember it and it always is. And really, what's not to love? Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Billy Wilder directing in glorious black and white, shot on location in Italy. It's pretty fabulous.

My card uses this vintage beauty from Asela Hopkin's Sew Pretty set. I love her! Her hairdo reminds me a little bit of the cut Audrey gets in the movie. Her outfit is even similar. (I see looking at the poster that her skirt is red, but I always watch it in B&W and I always think of it as khaki.) The Labels 4 Nestabilities look kind of cinematic to me. The lady is colored softly with Copics. I used R00 to barely shade her white top. I quickly colored a background for her with BG10 with the image still in the die. I usually sponge for something like that, but I liked this better since I didn't have to make a mask for the girl. :) A little distress ink gave the die cut some definition without me having to add another layer.

The herringbone is from Nina Brackett's awesome Vintage Backgrounds set. This set is so versatile, but it really pairs well with Sew Pretty. I love this stamp. It reminds me of tire tracks. Audrey and Gregory ride around on a cute little scooter in the movie so it seemed to fit. The sentiment is also perfect since Audrey gets this fabulous hair cut in the beginning (that always makes me want to cut mine off even though I would look ridiculous). The ribbon is from a past StampTV kit and I love it. So there ya go. A clean, simple, and, I hope, elegant but fun card. Just like the movie.

Supplies: Stamps - GinaK Designs Sew Pretty, Vintage Backgrounds

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Memento Rich Cocoa, Distress Ink Walnut Stain

Cardstock - Papertrey Ink Soft Stone, Georia-Pacific white

Accessories - Copic markers, Nestabilities Labels 4, pop dots, sponge, cuttlebug, brown ribbon, glue dot, Scor-pal

Well, It Was a Little Chilly Today...

So, yes, this is a snowman card, in April. Maybe I want to be early for once. Maybe I was stamping for magazine publication calls. Maybe he's just darn cute! ;)

This is a triple challenge card. His glittery heart, snowy landscape, and stickly thoughts qualify him for the StampTV challenge (last week) to add glitter and the Paper Crafts Connection Shimmer and Shine challenge and this card also is for the Moxie Fab World Get Sketchy challenge which used this awesome sketch from Paper Crafts Go-To Sketches special issue. So worth the money! Everytime I see it on the stands I want to buy it even though I already have it. :)

Carolyn King illustrated this for GinaK designs and she donates her proceeds to the Alzheimer's Association in memory of her grandmother. My grandmother recently passed away from Alzheimer's and I bought and use this set in memory of her. It makes me smile.

Supplies -

Stamps: GinaK Warm Winter Wishes

Paper: PTI Hawaiian Shores, Stampers Select White, Stampin' Up! Real Red

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up! Real Red

Accessories: Copic markers, Nestabilities Label On, Snowflake embossing folder, Cuttlebug, pop dots, Martha Stewart Garnet glitter, Snow glitter, Frosted Lace Stickles, Mono Multi glue, Scor-Tape

Been Awhile

Hey there! Long time no see. We've been busy. Lots of coming and going and trips to the park and not sleeping at night and planting flowers and learning to crawl busy! :) I'm going to work on updating more often!

Here's a card I made for the inspiration challenge this week on StampTV. (If you haven't joined, do it now! It's free!) This card uses the super cute Tech Talk set by Melanie Muenchinger that I got from my super awesome mom who gives me GinaK stamps at the holidays! Thanks Mom! Add in some lemon tart cardstock, probably one of my favorite colors ever, from Papertrey, cardstock rickrack, and some My Minds Eye paper I've had forever and it's a card!

I hear someone fussing so I should go. I'll try not to be a stranger. :)

Supplies -
Stamps: GinaK Tech Talk
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Papertrey Lemon Tart, Stampin' Up! Riding Hood Red, Georgia-Pacific White, My Minds Eye paper Wild Asparagus stack
Accessories: Papertrey rickrack die, copics, pop dots

Stamping Olympics #1

I have had almost zero time to craft, but I really wanted to participate in the Stamping Olympics at Moxie Fab World. I won't medal because oh my goodness there are some awesome cards! but I'm cool with that! It's an honor just to be in the same Mr. Linky. ;) I have three cards so I'll do three short posts. Still not down with those multiple picture posts other peeps seem to manage.

This is a clean and simple card for the Love category. Nothing says love like cookies. These GinaK cookie stamps by Melanie Muenchinger are super cute! The card is 4.25 in. square and colored with Copics. Easy peasy.

Supplies: Stamps - GinaK Designs Have a Cookie
Paper - Papertrey Ink Pure Poppy, Stamper's Select White
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up! Real Red
Accessories - Copic markers E51, E53, C0, C1, C3, Stampin' Up! Modern Label Punch, Red Rhinestones, Pop Dots

Who Dat? It's Ian!

Something wonderful happened last night. The team my husband has loved for years clinched their spot in the Super Bowl for the FIRST TIME EVER! Geaux Saints! Quarterback Ian from The Greeting Farm wanted to offer his congrats. :)

The card is pretty straightforward. I need to learn how to color black better. I just kind of winged it here with my darkest grey copics. Oh, and I need more greys. :) I've had the brads forEVER. (DH wore fleur-de-lis cufflinks at our wedding so it seemed like a safe buy.)

Anyway, this made my husband smile, which, while not hard to do, is always Super.

Supplies: Stamps - The Greeting Farm Quarterback Ian, Papertrey Ink Fresh Alphabet

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper - Georgia Pacific 110Lb. White cardstock, Papertrey Ink Stampers Select White cardstock, Black cardstock

Accessories - The Paper Studio fleur-de-lis brads, Copic markers (E00, E30, Y11, Y15, Y17, Y26, Y28, C3, N5, C7, E31, E35, E37, C1), Nestabilities Classic Rectangle & Scalloped Rectangle, pop dots, grid line clear block

Did you know you can title these things?

One day I will be blog savvy. Maybe. Probably not, after all. Oh well. :) Not much crafting going on here. I'm still hoping to squeeze some in this weekend, but that's between a teething baby - yes, he's very little but I can already see the teeth under his gums! - and taking the toddler to eat for his birthday someplace loud with animatronics. We shall see if it transpires.

Here's a card I made last weekend. The beautiful rose image is from Melanie Muenchinger's Year of Flowers stamp set from GinaK Designs. Add copics, nestabilities, the paper from a package of holiday gift bags, and some buttons from a shirt that met a tragic end in the dryer and you have a a very simple and affordable card. (Assuming you already had the nestabilities and the copics, otherwise not affordable at all.)

I was going to post about my son's haircut but I can't figure out how to get two pictures in one post without it looking all stupid. Maybe by the time the baby is getting his 1st haircut I'll have that all figured out. ;) Oh, be on the lookout for blog candy! That's half the fun of having a blog, right?

Supplies: Stamps - GinaK Designs, A Year of Flowers

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper - Papertrey Ink Kraft, Georgia Pacific White, Stampin' Up! Soft Suede, green paper from a package of Autumn Leaves holiday gift bags

Accessories - Copic markers (R32, R35, R37, G20, G21, G24), Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Labels One, shirt buttons, Stampin' Up! Linen Thread, mini glue dots

We went to a wedding yesterday. It was a small wedding. Very warm and pretty. The bride was absolutely beautiful! All brides are, but she was just perfect. Weddings with small children are tricky propositions. Thankfully, ours weren't the only little people making loud exclamations throughout the ceremony. ;)

Anyway, here is the card I made for them. I love coloring these Greeting Farm stamps with my Copics. (Btw, if you are looking for a coloring class, Colleen Schaan at http://www.mycreativeclassroom.com/ is awesome!) I am still a baby at coloring but I am enjoying it more and more. I wish I had taken more pictures of this card before I gave it to them. The flowers, ribbon, and the embossing on the white label part all have shimmerz paint on them so they sparkle. Oh well, any picture is better than no picture! The nestabilities Label 4 didn't quite fit behind the image so I trimmed it and taped it. I love tape. It's my favorite cheater supply.

Supplies

Stamps - Caketopper by The Greeting Farm, Warm Words by Stampin' Up!

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black

Paper - Stampin' Up! Going Grey, Basic Black, Georgia Pacific White

Accessories - D'vine Swirls Cuttlebug folder, Cuttlebug, Copics (sorry, I didn't write down which ones), Pixie Dust Blingz Shimmerz Paint, Basic Grey pearls, Nestabilities Labels 4, tape :)