Challenge #49! Animals

Well, I really didn't know what to do for this one at first. You see, I do not own any sets that have "animals," or so I thought! Turns out that although I don't own a traditional nature or kiddie animal set, there ARE animals in my stamp collection....and maybe there are some in yours as well! There's frogs (Unfrogettable), butterflies (Ok, maybe that's a stretch!), there's horses (Wanted...that stamp has yet to see ink!), and a couple of birds (Touch of Nature, Always).....and that's what I used here. Birds are hot in the stamping world right now....and now that I've actually USED this one, I've fallen in love with it!

So, I decided on the bird image from my new set, Always....this whole set is just so lovely, but I have to be honest and let you know that I purchased it just for the heart! Ok, so the animal was chosen and then I spotted this scrap of Ginger Blossom DSP on my desktop and worked from there. Have you ever created a card and didn't know where you were going with it?....I mean you had no direction or design in mind...just kind of went with it? That's what happened here. I don't think it's a copy or CASE of anything out there, but it may have come from something I've seen....who knows?!

The bird image is a solid-image stamp and sometimes they are the most difficult to get the best ink coverage, especially when brand new, like this one*. That's why he's embossed....first stamped in Chocolate Chip Craft Ink and embossed with Clear Embossing Powder....but, I don't think you can really see than on your computer screen. Everything on this card is from SU, except for the brown silk flower which I purchased last year on my jaunt to visit some stamping gal pals at Cape Cod last year. And you know what?!! I think I've fallen in love with River Rock! After all these months of not knowing quite what to do with it!! AND it's only around for another 2 months! (sigh!!) Sometimes, I'm a slow learner!

Hope you enjoy this week's edition of the Challenge. Now I'm off to see what all the other uber-talented bloggers have done. Come on and visit with me!

Stamps: Always

Inks: Chocolate Chip Classic & Craft, Ruby Red

CS: Whisper White, River Rock, Groovy Guava, Ruby Red, Ginger Blossom DSP

Misc: Chocolate Satin Ribbon**, Brown Silk Flower (non-SU), Brass Build-a-Brad, Clear EP

**Retired

*Check out Pat's blog here for some great tips on working with solid-image stamps. She has an EXCELLENT tutorial on conditioning and preparing your stamps for ink....you shouldn't miss it!

Blog Challenge -- Red-White-Blue

It's a holiday weekend! That means celebrations, picnics or BBQs, time with family and friends.....maybe even a parade!! Of course, we shouldn't forget the REAL reason for this holiday and there will be observances all over the country to help us remember our fallen fathers who have helped preserve our freedoms. They paid the ultimate price for us.

So, since this is such a patriotic holiday, I just had to make this week's Challenge Card a patriotic theme!! Memorial Day weekend is really the official kick off to summertime. So, let the celebrations begin!

This is a fairly simple card with not much stamping (gasp!!). Used the Classic Stars Jumbo Wheel and rolled it in Brocade Blue onto Brocade Blue CS. The "Celebrate" is from Fundamental Phrases, stamped in White Craft, embossed, and then punched with the Word Window Punch. The stars are all punched....and I used the same punching technique that I used a few weeks ago on the graduation card. (See below for more info.) The white portion of the card folds up to reveal the saying inside....the Hodgepodge Hardware holds the flap down. See? Fun AND easy!!

My brother has a birthday coming up...he's a July 4th baby....so, I think this will be his birthday card. Don't you love when you actually plan ahead?!!

Stamps: Classic Stars Jumbo Wheel, Fundamental Phrases
Inks: White Craft, Brocade Blue Jumbo Cartridge
CS: Whisper White, Real Red, Brocade Blue
Misc: Pewter Hodgepodge Hardware, Large & Small Star Punches, Word Window Punch, White Embossing Powder, Brocade Blue Grosgrain Ribbon*, Paper Piercer (Tool Kit), Rectangle Punch
*Retired

Ok, when I posted the Grad Card, I was asked how I made the star "frame." Since I used the same technique again, it is definitely time to explain!

You know that SU punches are the best, right?!! They have that wonderful lever handle, making it ever so easy to punch out any shape....and they are often used up-side-down. That's the case with the star "frames."


Step #1: Punch out Small Star

Step #2: Then using your Large Star punch up-side-down, center the punched out star in the punch.












Yup! It's THAT easy!!










And check out the photo to the right.....
You can do the same thing (almost!) with the Scallop Punch and the Round Punches.

(Left: Scallop & 1 1/4" Round; Center: 1 3/8" & 1" Round Punches; Right: 1 3/8" & 1 1/4" Round Punches)


Hope you have a fun, relaxing, and SAFE holiday weekend! And don't forget to visit the other Bloggers to see what they've all been up to....see you there!

Magic Pencils

I made card a couple of weeks ago....just never had a chance to post it! It was inspired by Karen's card.....the second one down. Such a cool technique, don't you think? Of course, mine is nowhere near as nice as hers is, but I'm still kind of happy with it.

Here's how you do this technique:

*Stamp a solid image stamp in White Craft Ink onto a dark cardstock. (In this case, I stamped onto Chocolate Chip....Basic Black works great, too!)

*Allow the ink to completely dry and then partially color over the inked image with a Metallic Pencil.

*Outline the image with the White Gel Pen....but, in this case, I used a silver outline pen by Sakura.

I'm so bad!....I wanted to try this technqiue so badly, that I actually purchased this stamp set just for that purpose!! (Remember, I mentioned that I needed more floral sets?) But it was so worth it...fun set, fun technique. You've got to try it!!

Stamps: Fabulous Flowers, Holidays & Wishes
Inks: White Craft, Chocolate Chip Classic
CS: Chocolate Chip, Taken with Teal, Apricot Appeal
Misc: Tempting Turquoise Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon, Barely Banana Mini Brads, Paper Piercer , White Gel Pen (for little dots), Silver Outline Pen by Sakura

It's Week #47 -- Bloggers' Challenge

Can you believe it?!! Before we know it, it will be a whole year!! WOW...where did the time go?!!

Yes, it is Friday....and it's that time again! This week's Challenge took us to Page 21 of the Occasions Mini. Easy enough!! AND I had a chance to ink up my new Wonderful You set that I purchased at the end of the April Wheel special sale. So, what do you think?

I seem to be stuck on the Soft Sky/Blue Bayou color combo....isn't it pretty?!! I'm so going to miss them when they retire! BUT, I needed 2 more colors in this combo to "match" the challenge card. Have you checked out this site, yet? It's a wonderful aid for those of us who are color challenged....or when you are at a loss for colors. That's where I came up with this combination...but when I added in the little strip of Whisper White CS on the left side, it was too stark, so I stamped it with the Twill Background stamp in Soft Sky.

Stamps: Wonderful You, Twill Bkgrd, Stems & Silhouettes Jumbo Wheel
CS: Whisper White, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Purely Pomegranate
Inks: White Craft, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky
Misc.: Mini Clip (left over from the Winter Mini), White Tafeta Ribbon, Rectangle Punch
NOTE: All stamps and accessories are from Stampin'Up!

Thanks for stopping by! Now I'm off to visit the other bloggers who participated....why not join me?

Happy Mother's Day! (Blog Challenge #46)

So, how was YOUR Mother's Day? Hope it was wonderful and relaxing and you were surrounded by those you love. Yes, it's winding down and into the final moments of the day.....and I really need to apologize for posting this so very late! But, honest, although these cards are actualy cards in honor of today, the greeting can easily be changed to fit the occasion.

The Challenge this week was to create a Mom's Day card. So, I created TWO! (One for my mom and one for my MIL.) But, they are using a non-SU set. (Sorry!!) About a month ago, I stumbled upon a scrapbook store about 45 minutes from my home and, of course, I needed to check it out!! And you KNOW that means that I didn't come out empty handed!! There was this wonderful stamp set crying out to be added to my order.....An unmounted, clear acrylic, 2-step set from Technique Tuesday. Well, I fell in love with the flowers in the set....there's such a variety and each is just so lovely. I've used unmounted, clear stamps before and haven't always been thrilled with the end result....but love the fact that they are so easy to stamp 'cause you can always see where you are!! I'm thinking that maybe there are various grades of quality....you know, like SU makes an amazingly 1st-quality rubber stamp, maybe this is a better grade of acrylic. (The ones I purchased from Target just did not give me the clarity that these have!!)

I'm missing the wonderful, beautiful Roses in Winter that SU retired a few short years ago. So, this set may make up for that!! These cards feature Technique Tuesday's Two-Steppin' In The Garden set. This 1st card is a fairly simple layout in a color combo that started me down the SU path so many years ago. (The first inks in my collection were Mellow Moss and Rose Romance....remember that color combo?!!) Simple layout, just added the Polka Dot background stamp and saying from SU! Oh, and the saying was punched out using the Key Tag Punch, as demonstrated here.

Stamps: Two Steppin' In The Garden by Technique Tuesday*, Polka Dot, All Holidays

Inks: Regal Rose, Rose Red, Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke, White Craft

CS: Whisper White, Always Artichoke, Regal Rose, Mellow Moss

Misc: Key Tag Punch, Dimensionals, Sponge, Quickie Glue Pen*, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

NOTE: The flowers are highlighted with glitter; the greeting is raised on Dimensionals and lightly sponged around the edges.

For the longest time I've wanted to try making a shadow box card. I followed this easy tutorial. Now that I've made one and discovered how really easy it is, I wonder why I waited so long! Using the same floral and greeting sets, this card was created. Using the floral image for this card made it seem just a bit busy and, perhaps, a little crowded, so other than the greeting, there is no stamping....in other words, no background stamps! Maybe the next time, I should use a smaller flower, or less!! Hope you will enjoy it anyway.

Stamps: Technique Tuesday's Two Steppin' In the Garden*, All Holidays

Inks: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Certainly Celery, Garden Green

CS: Whisper White, Blue Bayou

Misc: Silver Cord (retired), Cropadile (to create holes on each side), Oval Coluzzel, Glitter Pen by Sakura*

All materials are SU, unless otherwise noted.

So, that's it for today....or rather, for tonight. Thanks for stopping by....and please take some time to check out some of the creations made by the other Bloggers who participate in the Challenges. See you there!!

Arte Y Pico Award!

I've been Tagged....again! Whenever a tag comes, it's always a compliment, but this one even more so!! This time, another demo and sister swapper, Rhonda Beadell, sent me this "tag"....it seems to be one that must be "earned." Truthfully, I'm just beyond words....Rhonda makes the most creative cards (they are always THE BEST!!), and her scrapbook pages are always a work of "heart"....simply amazing! AND SHE is sending ME an award...and said such nice things about me, too!! (Thank You, Rhonda!!) Well, what can I say?!! I'm just blown away!!

Ok, so here's how this award, or tag works:

The recipient chooses five blogs that are deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and who contribute to the world of bloggers. This tag came to me a couple of weeks ago, and it has taken me all this time to choose just 5 blog sites.....that was really difficult since there are just so many wonderful sites out there to visit!! So, without further adieu, here's my opportunity to "pass it on," or share with you some really awsome bloggers.....

Of course, there's Rhonda. I know....this doesn't count as one of my five, but you have just got to visit her blog! Great stuff there, although after receiving some of her things, I'm not sure that seeing her ideas on screen really does them justice! http://stamptramp.blogspot.com/

Then there's Annette....She sent me the last "tag," and I already linked her site, but in case you missed it, you just have to stop by and see some of the awsome projects she has posted. Always beautiful, always creative, you won't be sorry you took a peak!

And I just discovered Karen Barber's blog not too long ago. So happy to see her on the blog scene.....I've admired her stamping style almost as long as I've been a demo! Her creations are truly lovely, and she's just a pleasure to listen and talk to, or read about. She's actually in my upline...kind of a "great aunt" in the line up. I've missed her creative inspiration since she moved to Ohio. Karen doesn't post everyday, but when she does, you will be WOWed!

Oh, and I can't forget about Stefanie. She's been a bit quiet lately, as she is a brand new mom (Noah was born in mid-January.)...so, she's juggling work, family and stamping right now! Her work has a casual elegance, and she makes everything seem like it was a breeze to create. Stef's watercoloring is incredible.....truly lovely things there!

Toni's blog is another favorite....she doesn't go for a lot of frills and bows, but she makes the plain and simple seem remarkable! Oh, and she's probably the "queen" of DTP! (direct to paper) Toni's work is fun, just like she is!

And, Melanie....I can't forget Melanie! Her work is just spectacularly stylish and classy. Whether she's decorating her home, a card, or another project, her work is simply outstanding.

Last summer at Convention, I met Margaret for the first time. She's a lovely, gracious lady and a hugely talented and creative stamper.....her blog has become another must-visit spot. Margaret's creations are elegant and classic....you've just GOT to visit!

Hope you'll enjoy visiting these lovely ladies and their awsome sites. Their work is as varied as their personalities....but they all create the most amazing things!

(Ok...so I can't count! I goofed and added in 6 blog sites....but can't decide who I should take off. So they all stay!!....have fun.)

Graduation Card--Challenge #45

I'm just so far behind!! The past 4 days were spent in Virginia visiting my son....some of the visit was fun, but the real reason I went was to play nursemaid since he had all 4 wisdom teeth removed. Now THAT wasn't fun! (He's doing well...just a bit swollen and having a tough time eating.) BUT, I did get to go play on Saturday night with an online friend....Jeannette invited me to come stamp with her and some of her stamping buddies. They were all so sweet....we watched some chick flicks, ate pizza, and of course, stamped the night away!!

So, anyway, that's my excuse for being late with my Challenge....truthfully, I had planned to have it done and posted before I left, but ran into a few issues. But here it is......

I don't have the current grad set. The retired "Tassel Time" was purchased a few years ago since I knew that I'd be using it for my kids....now it's on the shelf reserved for retired sets that I intend to keep. But, not to worry, if you choose to CASE this card, you can easily substitute the "congratulations" with another appropriate stamp.....or why not change it out completely and add "Happy Birthday" instead? (Obviously you'd want to eliminate the grad charm!)

This card is quite simple, really; AND I had a chance to play with my new star punches! The charm you see hanging from the ribbon is actually a mortar board and diploma in a pewter color......I've had this in my collection F-O-R-E-V-E-R!! Oh, and not sure if you can tell from the scanned photo, but the large red star is actually a "frame." In otherwords, I first punched out the small star and then centered that in the large star punch. So the blue "star" is actually just a cut out and you see through to the base.

Stamps: Tassel Time, Print Pattern

Inks: Certainly Celery, Real Red

CS: Whisper White, Brocade Blue, Certainly Celery, Real Red

Misc: Large and Small Star Punches, Wide Real Red Grossgrain Ribbon

So, now it's time to visit the other Bloggers who participate in the challenges....won't you join me?