Friday, October 9, 2009

Wow, it's been a long time.

Wow, pregnancy and the addition of a new little boy definately takes up your blogging time. :) My new bundle of joy joined our family 8/8/09. We are so proud. He was premature and spent quite a bit of time in the NICU, but now is home with us. I hope that means I will have time for some blogging and cards, but I can't promise anything. Just wanted everyone in blog land to know I haven't dropped off the face of the earth.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Baby Carriage


Ok, I am still showing these cards I am trying to put together for my friend's package of cards. This one will be, of course, great for a baby shower. I colored the image with goodies I won from this blog contest. Crystal is so sweet and I have enjoyed working with the great things I have won from that set. I finally spent a few dollars a Michael's recently and bought those cool looking crystals. Didn't set me back too bad and they add that little something to our cards. Thanks for taking the time to look.
Stamp: Inkadinkado
Cardstock: White cardstock and patterned paper from Basic Grey's Sultry Paper pad (also part of what I won)
Miscellaneous: SU markers, crystals ( for lack of a better term)

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

It's Dino time!


Ok, lately I have been wanting to do stitching, but this is not my best technique. So, taking a cue from Kristina Werner over at her blog, I have been drawing some faux stitching. Not sure I am doing such a great job at it either, but I am going to keep trying. Practice makes perfect so they say. If it doesn't work out, then I will just try something else. So what techniques are you still trying to perfect? Leave me a comment....I love to commiserate. This is another card I am adding to a pile for a friend's birthday. This is another child's birthday card. Or that is, what I made it into. It is colored with colored pencils.
Stamp: Bought at big lots, no name on the wood
Ink: Pitch Black, Ranger Adirondak
Cardstock: White and yellow, patterned paper from my stash
Miscellaneous: Colored pencils, sharpie for drawing faux stitches.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Simple cards....Love them

So, I am working on another set of cards for a friend. These days, I get the cards done about two weeks after birthdays. I figure later is better than never. This set will be a combo of different cards for different occasions. This friend has small children, so I thought it would be a good thing to have a couple of birthday cards that would be appropriate for children. This is one of those images. I colored the car with a combo of markers by SU (thanks for some blog candy I won) and colored pencils. This really is a very simple card...perhaps a little bland, but that was what I was in the mood for.

Cardstock: white and pp from my stash
Stamp: An old one that I picked up from big lots years ago..no company on the wooden block
Inks: Ranger's Adirodack Pitch Black
Miscellaneous: Corner rounder punch, red rhinestones I picked up at Michael's, colored pencils, SU marker in blue

Sunday, July 5, 2009

I'm back











I have to confess, I have been making some cards here and there. I just haven't shared them. Life has just been crazy around here. I have gotten further along in my pregnancy and have days where I actually have some energy. :) Sorry I haven't been a good blogger, but I am glad to have had some time to relax and make some cards. Today, I am sharing a set of cards I have made for a friend. I made set of cards that could be ( I hope) given to man/woman/or child for any occasion. To go along with the set, I made a matchbook full of sentiments that were created using my computer. I got the idea from Nicole Heady's blog with Papertrey Ink. You can see here version...which is much better HERE.
Stamps: Studio G
Ink: Pitch Black, Ranger's Adirondak Ink
Cardstock: Misc. patterned paper and cardstock from my stash
Die cut: Using a button from my sizzlet collection by Sizzix
Circle punch and white embroidery floss.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Just an update

Sorry I have not been posting. I have lots of things that are going on in my personal life that are just taking my time. Also, my pregnancy keeps me pretty wiped out. I hope to be showing some cards soon. I am working on a few things. Till then, take care.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Get together with some girlfriends....





This is a card I completed for the Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge. It was a fun card to make. When I found the high heel image, I immediately thought of my girlfriend. I haven't seen her in a while and this would be a great way to say...let's get together. I hope you enjoy. The details are below.
Stamps: High heel, Vamp Stamp. Sentiment, Studio G
Ink: Ranger's Adirondak Pitch black
White and pink cardstock. Patterned paper from my stash
Miscellaneous: colored pencils, paper frills by Creative Imaginations, Radiant pearls over the high heel for a bit of shimmer.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Combo of Challenges


This card combines a couple of challenges I wanted to try out. First, I am a big fan of Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #66. I love her sketches and they push me to do a better job each time I create. I also combined what was needed to meet the limited supplies challenge over at SplitCoastStampers. This one is called border crossing. You are to use a stamp to make a border and you even get extra credit if you use flowers as your border. Here I used a daisy stamp to make a repeat border. This is a pretty simple card, not my best work but I am pretty happy with it.
Card details:
Stamps, Sentiment and half daisy; Studio G. Larger Daisy, Prima Marketing
Ink: Ranger's Adirondak Denim
Cardstock: White, yellow, pink with pp from my stash
Misc.: Colored pencils for coloring and hand drawn heart, sizzix button die
Editting to add about a new blog I have found. It is called Crystal Crafts A-lot. She is hosting a blog candy giveaway. She does awesome cards and you should check her blog out. You can find her blog here. Hope you get a chance to see some of her work and maybe try to win the blog candy too.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Time for some Flower Power....



Last night, I had a great time working on a card for the Color Inspiration challenge over at kwernerdesign blog. You can see the inspiration piece above or check out the details here. This particular inspiration has some great prizes that can be won. Now I am still a newbie at the color challenges. I try to participate when I can. The nice thing about this challenge was I had all week to think about what I wanted to do. Sometimes, the best part about doing a card is the planning.....at least it is for me. The card above is what I came up with. I love these colors, not something I would put together myself. So, it pushed me creatively. I got to use my new white pen to do some faux stitching. Don't you just love it when you get some new goodies?? I sure do. Most of this card is just cardstock. I only used one stamp and that was to make the flowers have a pattern. I hope you enjoy this card and I hope you too get a change to participate in this fun challenge.
Card Details:
Cardstock: All by Coredenations
Stamp: Autumn Leaves
Misc.: White gel pen by Tombo Mono, sizzix flower dies, adhesive, paper frill by Creative Imaginations, White ink

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

For You

Trying another challenge found at Splitcoaststampers. Once again, I worked on the Limited Supplies Challenge that issued every Friday. This time the Challenge was to use limited layers, supplies, and the colors represented in one of the rooms in your home. You can find the link to this Challenge here.

This card reflects the colors of my living room. I live in a log cabin...so there are lots of browns. As accents, I have some white and burgundy. I put some stickles in the dots at the top part of the card. Not sure I like that, but I was trying something new. I also used a little radiant pearls over my colored in flowers. It adds a little shimmer.

Stamps: For You, Stampin Up. Flowers, Studio G
Misc.: stickles, quickcutz nesting flowers, circle stamp, colored pencils, radiant pearls, ribbon


Thank you for taking a look. Have a great rest of your week.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Almost Graduation Time


I got a chance to do some stamping last night. This one is for Taylor's Cupcake Challenge over at Taylored Expressions. You can find more details on the challenge and the sketch here. This sketch was excellent. There are so many ways you can interpret it. This card I have made for my Nephew's Graduation that will be coming up next month. I knew I wanted it simple, clean, and appropriate for a guy. No flowers, hearts, or swirls could land on this card. The school where my nephew is graduating from has a mascot of an eagle. My husband reminded me of this. After looking through my stamps I realized I had an eagle that was part of a collage type stamp. The stamp had symbols representing freedom and the USA....the kind of stamp perfect for Fourth of July. Well, I had to figure out a way to block off the rest of the stamp but get in the eagle. I cut the image where the eagle stopped and then used the red cardstock at the bottom of my panel to cover up the image of the Capitol Building. Also, my nephew's school colors are red and white. So, I knew I wanted to stick with those. Thanks to Taylor's sketch, I had the perfect jumping off point. I am very happy with the results. It's simple and no flowers made there way to the card. :) The details are below.
Stamps: Freedom Collage, Stampourri ( I think this is the name of the company, the name was smeared on the wooden block.) Congratulations, Stampendous.
Inks: Ranger's Adirondak Cranberry, Black Pigment by Colorbox
Miscellaneous: White, Red cardstock. Paper Frills by DoodleBug Design, Black Brads, Clear embossing powder, Corner Rounder Punch

Thursday, April 16, 2009

My First SCS Challenge


This is my first challenge I have tried on SCS. Triple play...hmmm, found it tough. This is part of their Limited Supply Challenges that are posted every Friday. Here is the description from the forum on SCS about this challenge: Here’s is how it works. Everything we are doing today is in “triplicate”. First, your creation must have THREE layers (I cheated a little here and have decided to allow y’all three layers on TOP of the card base). This is harder than it sounds, as we are all SOOO good at matting things (and be sure to count those patterned papers as a layer, too, if ya use 'em!)!Second, you are required to use three colors . . . no more, no less (though you ARE allowed to use either white, vanilla, black or chocolate as a neutral in addition to the three colors you choose . . . please make sure that your neutral is one of the colors listed!). This is also very tricky for those of us who LOVE color!Third, your card needs to have three elements, or focal points. For example, that could be three separate panels with an image stamped on each one; or a stamped image, a sentiment and an embellishment is another way you could interpret it (which is what I did for my sample) . . . it is really a triple combo of whatever you choose, but you are limited to only three (in keeping with our “triple play” theme).
You can find the thread for this challenge here.
I tried to keep to the rules the best I could. I used a hero arts fish stamp I have had for years. I used the colors of a tealish, yellow and black, with white as my neutral. I kept it very simple and though I am pretty happy with the card, it still feels like it needs something more. I created the scalloped edge with my Martha Stewart punch. Thanks for looking.
Cardstock: White, yellow, teal, black
Inks: Ranger's Adirondak Pitch Black and Stream
Stamp: Hero Arts.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Time for some challenges-Part 2



The second challenge I got to try was this color challenge by K Werner on her blog that you can find here. These are always a challenge for me. I have very little Stampin Up! products and none of their cardstock. But, I try to find things in my stash that have the colors represented in each challenge. I hope I did pretty well. This will probably be the card I give my mother this Mother's Day. (This all depends on whether I come up with a better card I like before Mother's Day.)
Stamps: Sentiment, Stampendous. Swirly vine (that is my description of the stamp I used) and flowers, Prima Marketing (I think that is right.)
Ink: Color Box's Cat's Eyes fluid Chalk ink and Ranger's Adirondak Pitch Black
Miscellaneous: sponge for sponging the edges in green ( I did this because of my great affinity to smudge my card, which means, I have to cover or camouflage that). Black ribbon, White Safety pin, Chipboard button ( Making Memories.), tag punch, black embroidery thread.

Time for some challenges- Part 1





I got to play some today. Yeah! Just in time for some challenge deadlines. The first is a challenge by Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge. You can find it here. I only made one change. That is the addition of the tag with the sentiment on it. I did this because I had not stamped the sentiment on the white layer straight. That meant, find a way to cover it up. :) I colored in the ivy with green chalk ink using a blender pen. I got that idea from kwernerdesign blog and can be found here. Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek.
Cardstock: Green and White
Patterned paper: tan polka dot from my stash and green pp is from Basic Grey
Stamps: Ivy, Hero Arts. Sentiment, Studio G
Ink: Ranger's Archival Ink, Jet Black. Ranger's Adirondak Pitch Black. Green chalk ink by ColorBox.
Miscellaneous: Blender Ben, Gold ribbon, Green button, beige embossing thread.

Happy Easter!


Happy Easter everyone! I hope you get a chance today to ponder the meaning of this holiday and spend some time with your family. I love spending time with my family. Yesterday, I got to do just that, spend some time with my mom. This is card is another of those....I don't like the way this is turning out...cards. To try to salvage what I had done. I left the silver embossed line. Above it I added a paper frill by Doodlebug Design. The pp was from my stash. I guess this is an "ok" card. Anyway, have a blessed Easter.
Stamps: Embossed swirls, Art Warehouse. Happy, Stampendous. Easter, Magnetic Poetry

Friday, April 10, 2009

A mess up becomes a pretty card

Ok, so I started this off with a totally different beginning and just couldn't make it work. That meant, I had to find a way to salvage what I could. I ended up stamping the top with Currant ink by Ranger's Adirondak line using a stamp by Technique Tuesday. I just happened to have that lovely ribbon in my stash that coordinated beautifully. (See it pays to by ribbon just because it is pretty!) :) The ribbon covers the stamp I used on the original card that was embossed. I then added the Happy Easter using the same Ink. I love how it turned out, though it isn't anywhere near what I started out with.

Stamps: Technique Tuesday, Happy (Stampendous), Easter (Magnetic Poetry)

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Easter Egg


Ok, I have to say it. I believe this is the best card I have ever made. I love it! My husband has already said he loves it too and expects to receive it on Sunday. :) Below are the details.
Cuttlebug swirl folder to lower half of the card.
Fiskars border punch to patterned paper.
Martha Stewart punch to yellow cardstock then placed in crimper and placed around oval die cut. (Saw this on another blog and cased the technique. I don't remember the blog, but if you do place it in the comments to share with everyone.)
Oval die cut using Cricuit George cardridge.
Stamps: Egg, magenta. Happy, Stampendous. Easter, Magnetic Poetry
Ink: Ranger's Adirondak Pitch Black

Monday, April 6, 2009

Getting ready for easter

This is my take on Taylored Expressions sketch from this past Friday. I was off work today, so I finally had a chance to play. Though I didn't finish in time for the deadline. I am glad I made the time to try today. This is a card I am going to send one of my family members for Easter, just not sure which one yet! Anyway the details are listed below. Feel free to leave a comment about an Easter tradition you have with your family. In my family, we never had a tradition for Easter, but I would love to incorporate one into our lives...so give me some ideas. :)

Stamps: Hat by Vamp Stamp, Flowers with a line, Stampendous, Happy Easter, Studio G

All the stamps were stamped using Pitch Black from Ranger's Adirondak line.

Patterned paper from my stash, a yellow ribbon, white safety pen

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Making time for Scrapbooking







I have been very fortunate to get some scrapbooking done. It just has seemed lately, cards is all that I have had much time for. Here is another page I was able to complete last weekend. It is a page about my Niece's husband and their daughter. I really do love watching my family grow and the people in my family grow into new roles in their lives. The title page is cut out using my George cartridge of my cricuit and stamps by Love Elsie. I colored these in with pencils and stapled some ribbon on each side. I matted the photos and added a couple of flowers also made with the same George cartridge. I added some freehand journaling and called it complete. The edges of the title and flowers are inked using the same pitch black by Ranger's Adirondak line. The patterned paper is by Basic Grey.


Saturday, March 28, 2009

Combo challenges




I have combined kwernercesignblog color inspiration challenge this week with Taylored Expressions card sketch. The above is a card for my niece. I wanted to congratulate her on passing her entrance exam for nursing school. I am so proud of her. Thanks for stopping by and having a look.
Stamps: Congrats, Studio G. Big paisley on the right side of card, Paper Studio. Background added to orange paper, Autumn Leaves. Fram around the Congrats, Prima Marketing.
Ink: Ranger's Adirondak Terra Cotta used to fill in the congrats with a water brush. All the brown ink is by Stazon.
Miscellaneous: copper colored dragon found in my stash.


Sunday, March 22, 2009

So spring has sprung?

Living here in NC, does not always make it apparent that it is Spring. We may have a nice warm day and then it will be followed by several cool days. Right now, we are still in the cool trend. Everyone here is chomping at the bit for some warmer weather so they can get in the yard, go fishing, or any number of things. I made this card, to help give me the feeling spring really may come. The stamps are by prima marketing. I used Ranger's adirodak Denim for the swirls and the on the flower I used a brilliance pad. For the sentiment I used my much loved hero arts alphabet stamp and a sizzix oval tag sizzlet. The blue flower is something I had in my stash. I hope you enjoy and that Spring really does show up soon.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

A scrapbooking page to share





I have yet to share a scrapbooking page. Time to change all that. This is a page I did recently of my mom and her great grandbabies. Aren't they cute?
Supplies: patterned paper- Basic Grey
Stamps: Prima Marketing (corner frame), Hampton Arts (journal lines)
Die cuts: And symbol George cartridge from Cricuit, Scalloped edge at bottom left (martha stewart punch, and scalloped edge top right (Sizzix scallop frame, cut down)
Misc: Chipboard pink letters, clear acetate flower (can't remember who makes these), Pitch black ink by Ranger's Adirondak line, and black pen

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Whew! It's been a while.

Sorry, it has been awhile. We have had major life changing events that have happened in our household that has definitely changed things. Basically, my husband and I are expecting twins. It's amazing, something we thought wasn't going to happen, and it has. Not only to be pregnant, but to be expecting two has been an amazing joyous thought. We are still trying to wrap our minds around this news. As you can probably guess, there has not been a lot of stamping or scrap booking going on here. We just sit and look at each other in wonder. :)
Finally, this weekend, I have had the time, the energy, and the ideas. For this card I was inspired by Kwernerdesignblog's color challenge. The idea was to use black, white, and gray. I cheated a bit and added some silver embossing powder in the popped up flower. I used a stamp that was plain journaling lines (by Hampton Arts) to make the stripes at the bottom of the card with a Versamark pad. I saw this idea on another blog and loved the idea. I used the swirl cuttlebug folder on the gray panel and then used Ranger's Pitch Black from their Adirondak line to make the swirls pop a bit more. I made this card to send to my friend to let her know of our news. I hope she likes it.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Finally getting them all posted

Ok, I know everyone has been waiting breathlessly for the final two of Taylored Expressions Anniversary Cupcake Challenges that I did weeks ago. LOL....right! Anyway, regardless ,here they are. This first card sketch was provided by: Vicki on her blog which you can find here. This is my take on that sketch. There were two really cool things for me about this sketch. I used a stamp I had never put ink to and I used a scrap piece of scallop I already had in my stash. This is thanks to a good friend Kim who let me borrow one of here Cricuit cartridges I did not have. Thanks Kim.
Stamps: Inkadinkado, doll face and The dots are by Prima Marketing.
Patterned paper: one of those big stacks I purchased forever ago at Michael's
Ink: Ranger's Adirondak Pitch black and color box's pigment ink in a lavender color
Misc: colored image with colored pencils and added black rhinestones that are self stick




This sketch was provided by Taylor herself.
Stamps: Studio G for the onsie, Katie and Co. provided the sentiment
Patterned Paper: Once again big paper stack from Michael's
Miscellaneous: Martha Steward scallop punch, Cricuit George cartridge to make ovals, Twill, colored pencils
Ink: Ranger's Adirondak Pitch Black, Permanent Black ink
These two card are two of the best I did for this challenge. I enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks Taylor for all the great challenges.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Let's show some more cards

Read to the end to find out about a personal challenge I am issuing to myself and all who wish to join.

I am continuing to post all of my cards from Taylored Expressions Anniversary Cupcake Challenge that was issued a few weeks back. As a blogger, I am finding this takes a lot of work, but it is sooooo cool when someone comments on your card. I try to always comment on cards and blogs that I admire. It means the world to me. So here is another couple of cards.
This card sketch was supplied by Sherrie and you can see the sketch on her blog here.
Stamps: Prima Marketing
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey
Ink: Ranger's Adirondak Pitch black, cranberry, and Versamark ink
Embossing powder: gold fine detail

This card sketch was by Stephanie and you can check out the sketch and her blog here.
Stamp: Prima Marketing
Ink: Ranger's Adirondak Latte...I think
Miscellaneous: Some pp from who a big pack I bought from Michael's ages ago, embossed paper I had in my stash, and Metallic cardstock pre-made card. I also added some gold ribbon.

This was a card that came together a bit easier for me, but not sure I liked the results.

Ok, so here is my personal challenge:

We all know that Valentine's is this weekend. If you are like me, you join challenges, make great cards whenever you get a chance, and totally are bad at actually sending the cards. While reading another blog today, I realized, I have a ton of cards upstairs in my craft room that I have never sent out. Two of which I made last Valentine's Day. I never sent them to anyone. How bad is that? So, here is my challenge. Take a card you have made recently and actually send it to someone for Valentine's Day. It's that simple. You can link your blog to the comments section so everyone can enjoy your card or not. You can just mention who you are planning to send this to. It gives you the motivation to actually do it. Now, for me, this should be pretty easy, since I am currently sick and besides lay around, I have nothing to actually do. Also, this might be the one thing I have enough energy for. The only thing that is keeping me going to put up this challenge right now is antibiotics and ibuprofen. So feel free to leave a comment and put the link to your blog. I want to cheer you on.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Another cupcake challenge


It is time for another cupcake challenge from Taylored Expressions. This is my stab at it. Lately, I can't get enough of hearts, love, Valentine's type of themes. This is no exception...Sorry about the quality of the card...this is a scan. By the time I was able to sit down and stamp it was already dark, so, that meant no pictures. My scan also cut off some of the card, but I am just too tired and lazy to rescan. All of the above is mounted to a cream glossy card. I once again stuck to my safe colors....I really need to stop that, but maybe another time. :)
Patterned paper: Samantha Walker, and Deja Views Timeless collection
Stamps: Technique Tuesday to make the border, Studio G's heart, the Word background is by Lasting impressions, and the bigger heart is by Prima Marketing
Ink: Ranger's Adirondak Pitch Black and Cranberry
Misc.: I pierced the kraft square and the little heart is a die using my sizzix, on which I then stamped the Studio G heart on....it was a perfect fit.
I popped up the two hearts using foam tape. This card came together pretty easily, for which I was surprised. Usually it takes me awhile to even get an idea that I think may work. So thank you Taylor for a great sketch.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Papertrey ink.....bitty dots

Go one over to Nicole Heady's blog Capture the moment. There are great prizes, contests, and announcements leading up to February's release date on the 15th. It has been exciting to see all the new things that are coming. I am truly happy for Nicole and her design team. They are all talented ladies and I am in constant awe of the work the produce to keep us stampers inspired. It is a blog I go to daily. I am a huge fan and now I will stop gushing. This particular card I used Nicole's sketch to enter the bitty dots contest. Check out her sketch. Enter yourself. It could lead to beautiful ribbon. Who couldn't use more ribbon?

Pattern Paper: Timeless by Deja Views
Cardstock: kraft and off white
Stamps: Papertrey ink for the background paper I used their Guide Lines collection, and for my focal stamp I used Technique Tuesday
Ink: I have been getting this one wrong, sorry Ranger...I used Ranger's Adirondak Pitch Black
Misc: copper brads...hard to see them, but they are there. Sizzix's heart die.


Angel



Stamps: Judikins, sentiment, Stampendous, rope background on circle, Prima Marketing

Ink: Ranger's Adirondak basic black, Versamark

Miscellaneous: pastels to add shading, color


This continues on with the now, old contest by Taylored Expressions. This sketch was done by Jami.
Keeping this post nice and short. Kind of tired tonight, so planning on heading to bed early. Happy Monday!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Stamps: Shoe, Sarah Beise. Sentiment, Studio G

Ink: Ranger's Adirondak Basic Black, Colorbox, chalk ink

Colored pencils



This is another Sketch for Taylored Expressions Anniversary Cupcake challenge. The sketch was provided by Jackie.

Once again on a personal note, my weigh in this week showed a loss of 3/4 of a lbs. I wish it would have been more, but I really didn't do well with my weight watcher points last weekend, so any loss I am happy with. I am getting behind showing all these cards and nothing current. Sorry about that, but haven't created much lately. Been too much going on. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this card. It was one of my favorites.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Thoughts of You

This is another of the Taylored Expressions Anniversary Cupcake Challenges. This one is supplied by Donna here.



Patterned paper: Deja Views

Stamps: Studio G and Technique Tuesday

Ink: Ranger's Adirondak Cranberry

On this card, I wished I had made the square bigger as on Donn's sample. All in all, I am happy with the results though.

Happy Anniversary Card and Personal Share



This is another card from Taylored Expressions Anniversary cupcake challenge. This sketch is provided by Ana. I have to say this was one of the harder sketches for me. I struggled and am not greatly happy with the results. I think it ended up being a bit busy. I am not sure I liked the images I picked nor the ribbon. But, I am happy that I did the challenge.

Patterned paper: Creative imaginations

Stamps: Studio G

Ink: Ranger's Adirondak Basick Black

Techniques: using chalk to highlight stamped images.

On a personal note, I have begun a weight loss challenge for myself. I recently had to go to the doctor for a simple procedure and when I stepped on the scales I thought my jaw had dropped to the floor. I shared this information with my husband who got really upset, he wants me to be healthy. With his help I realized, I am headed for some major issues if I do not change my eating habits and begin exercising. So I broke out my weight watcher's materials I have had for quite a while but have not used. I began counting my points and started going back to the gym. Thursdays is when I weigh myself. This Thursday I had lost 1.9 lbs. I am so proud. I will be using my blog as a place to update my progress and I hope it will keep me accountable. Thanks for allowing me to share this. Have a great weekend.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

The first of nine


This is one of nine sketches being provided by Taylor and her cupcake crew at Taylored Expressions. This particular sketch can be found at Monica Davis' blog M.A.D. Stamper. I don't do many circle cards and am pretty happy with the way this turned out. The image is one I have had a good while and don't use much. It is one that is still on it's wood mount too. The main image is by inkadinkado and the sentiment is a Studio G stamp. I used Ranger's Adirondak ink in Currant with some purple pp that I cut into a five inch circle using my cricuit machine. I used a brad to put both circles together, attach the tag, and a some purple fiber to the card. The scallops I made with a circle punch and then cut each circle in half. I layered the circles under the creme cardstock layer to give it the look of another layer. This is a card I like how it turned out. I am so excited to be doing these challenges. I think it makes me stretch creatively, though I still have a long way to go before I get that polished look I am looking for.
Thanks for stopping by if you are reading this.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Lots of creativity


Wow, lots of creative stamping happened this weekend. This card actually started things off and then I went to Taylored Expressions and worked on the cupcake challenge. This month there are extra incentives and extra sketches to work with by her hostesses. You need to check it our and then upload your creations to splitcoast stampers. You have till Thursday 1/29/09. Check out all the details at Taylor's blog using the link above.
So my Card is using my cuttlebug swirl folder on half of the 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 card. I used a technique Tuesday heart stamp and used some twinkling H2O's to paint the heart in using different shades of purple. I then added a ribbon some pp and a tag with be mine spelled using alphabet stamps by studio g. I used a small safety pin to attach the tag to the purple ribbon. I love how the card turned out.
I will be adding a different card over the next weeks from Taylor's Cupcake Challenge sketches by her and her cupcake crew, that way you don't have to go searching for them on splitcoast.
I hope you will enjoy them.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Birthday baloons



I popped over to Stamp Something's blog and found this contest. You should make a card using a birthday theme and enter too. Here is my take on that theme. Sorry this one is so blurry. This was a pretty simple card. I used my new Martha Stewart scallop punch. It worked out great. I stamped the baloons with permanent ink and then used watercolor crayons to fill them in. I added some stickles to the confetti. I layered on orange cardstock and then black cardstock. I added the pre-done Happy Birthday tag. Easy.... This looks much better in person. Thanks for stopping by.