I've been a stampin' fool!

This weekend was one where I had a few hours to stamp and was pretty darn ambitious about it! Where did I go first?? Well, Splitcoast of course! It was their Virtual Stamp Night (VSN) and they had more than a dozen challenges every hour on the hour. You had 45 minutes to finish, clean up, grab a snack and go back in for another! It's pretty hard core! LOL!

So, I got to make a handful of cards and had a blast doing it!

This first challenge was called celebrity crush! You had to take your crush and make a card inspired by him! Well, my crush is Jason O'Mara. You might say -- who?? The star of Life On Mars -- serious eye candy! So, when I told hubby I was making a card inspired by my celebrity crush - I didn't even have to tell him WHO! He just said -- "So, do you have a spaceship?" I cracked up. Because the star gets hit by a car and is thrust back to 1973, I decided to be inspired by the 70s! I have the bias cut paper that reminds me of the skirts they used to wear way back then. I have a remnant of flower power and I have some bling to remind me of all the bedazzling that went on in that decade! Pretty groovy huh??

This challenge at the heart of this next card was "man card." You had to use kraft, navy and vanilla, no primas, no ribbon and three brads! Basically, no fluff - just like a man would make! Hey, I know some pretty awesome man stampers -- so, just know -I didn't write the challenge! :-) Anywho, this is what I came up with.....
I ended up using a stamp set that I haven't picked up for a while! Nature's Beauty from SU. After I stamped my butterfly with denim ink, I took a damp waterbrush over it to color my butterfly that way. My mom will be the first to tell you -- using navy is not my strength!

This card above was a part of a color challenge! You had to pick your favorite chocolate and then use the colors tied to it! Well, mine was dark chocolate! That color challenge was pink, brown and apricot. The only apricot I actually have on this card was in the flower and button. It was hard to fit in! I do have something fun to share! The paper I used was from Gina K. Designs free digi paper that she has a link to on her blog HERE. TOOOOO cute! I might need to buy a new printer cartridge! ;-)

And, last but not least -- an inchies challenge! I've never created an inchie -- so again -- fun! I stamped my images from Flourishes Peony set all over watercolor paper and then cut out pieces of it. I accented my flowers and my bee with markers....

Then, as a finishing touch, add some sheer ribbon, some bling and some Angel Wings Shimmez on the wings! I tried to get a close up but my camera battery was dying --- :-( Maybe I can get one and insert it tomorrow!

So... it was a fun stamping weekend! Hope you got just as crafty in your neck of the woods! Until tomorrow!

Stamp Simply Celebrates-- Day 3!

We're on DAY 3 of a major celebration!! My bloggin' bud Sharon Johnson over at No Time To Stamp celebrated a huge milestone recently and now the festivities are underway to celebrate! She hit one million on her blog counter!!!! So, she invited her Stamp Simply design team along with some wonderful friends along to play! There will be candy and challenges and plenty of gift giving ideas ripe for the holiday pickings for 12 whole days!


Today's challenge is over at Tammy Hershberger's place - Stamp Happy! Do you like to get a lot done, and quick? Who doesn’t!!! Tammy’s Featured Project is all about mass producing. What better time than to learn a few tips on making cards quickly?

So, I stepped up to the plate today and decided to take Tammy up on her challenge! I did three quick cards and am providing you with the "sketch" behind each one! You'll see, they are all VERY easy and can be mass produced in nothing flat!

Here's CARD #1
This card is really easy as pie! The main pine cone image is 2-1/2" by 3-1/2" and is matted on a 2-3/4" by 3-3/4" piece of brown that was edged in gold. Mask the top part of the card and stamp the pine cones with Versamark. Add a brown satin ribbon and the sentiment in brown ink and you are pretty much done! The pine cone was stamped in brown and has a watercolor wash in green over the boughs. I also added a bit of sparkle with a Copic Spica pen on the cones. Sponge some Antique Linen Distress ink around the edges of your main piece and.... DONE!SKETCH #1: When you break down the card to a sketch-- you can see just how basic it is! Think of using different focal images, and just pre-cutting your main pieces and mats with coordinating cardstock and ribbon! Doesn't get any easier than that!

Here's CARD #2

This card is again very, very basic! The mat of decorative paper measures 4 by 5-1/4". The main focal image is 3 by 4" with the mat being 1/4" larger all the way around. Stamp your ornaments and gold emboss, then color using an aquaflow brush and re-inkers! I added some gold cording for the ornaments to hang from and then added my sentiment down below. For a little extra pizazz, I added some super small rhinestones on the center ornament. I also used some gold leafing pen around the decorative paper mat to tie the gold together. SKETCH #2: Again, when you break this baby down, there isn't a lot to this card!

Here's CARD #3

Thank goodness for Spellbinders Nestabilities! These dies really lend themself to mass production! For this card, I used two sizes of the classic oval and a scalloped oval that would fit the larger oval. Add in some decorative paper, a gold leafing pen for the edge, some grosgrain ribbon and a rhinestone and you're almost done! This main image was just colored by masking and applying red and green ink to different parts of the stamp. I accented the top of the ornament with a bit of gold marker. SKETCH #3: If you pick out some decorative paper and get that die cut machine going, you could easily pump out quite a few of these cards in one fell swoop! There is not a ton of stamping on it but it sure is festive!
There you go ---- three easy cards to finish up those holiday cards! I should point out -- all three cards were made with the same two Hero Arts Christmas sets! Joys Of The Season features the main images. And, Holiday Messages was the set I used for all the sentiments!

There are others who took Tammy up on her challenge! Check out...

Darlene

AJ

Leslie

Barb

Remember! If you want to try your hand at a challenge, you can upload projects and link to your blog in a comment or you can upload to Splitcoast using the key word SSC08!

Jennifer Buck - The Buck Stamps Here - has some tasty candy up for grabs!

Joan Fricker - Joan’s Garden - check out her candy offerings as well!

And, if you want to stay up to speed on different daily challenges and blog candy giveaways, click HERE to travel to "Party Central!" That's where you'll find a daily rundown of all the Stamp Simply Celebrates happenings!

That's it for today folks! See ya back here tomorrow!

Stamp Simply--- HOT, HOT, HOT!

Ok, I am going to start this all out by saying I am - um- kind of embarassed by this challenge issued by Ms. Sharon Johnson. This week's challenge is and I quote - "Julie Is HOT!" What? Are you kidding me? Well, apparently Sharon thinks I use a lot of red and therefore am red hot. I am now laughing so hard I can barely type. :-) So, the goal is to use the color red as the main focus of the card and then add in other HOT colors! For the official deets on ssnotime50 - check out Sharon's place HERE!


This first RED HOT sample is actually a version of a card I first made several years ago. It features one of my all time favorite background techniques. I stamped the Canvas background stamp (Stampin Up) and a diamond shaped shadow stamp (Hero Arts) using Versamark ink. Then, I just rubbed on a few shades of brown chalk over the images. When I had it blended the way I wanted, I inked up the flower (Hero Arts) with red and green markers and stamped the saying (Hero Arts) with Versafine Black Onyx. Add a black satin ribbon, a gold button and mat this segment on a black piece of card stock that I had edged with a gold leafing pen. Mat this on the red card... and voila... DONE!

Here are a few more "RED HOT" simple samples!! ;-)

Want to see what the other Stamp Simply ladies did? Check out.....

Janine
Jennifer
Dee
Tammy

Well folks, wish me luck, today is the first day of Kindergarten for my daughter. There might be a huge case of water works at the school. UGH! My baby is growing up! Might need some "virtual" hugs to get me through today!!! I know, I need to put my big girl panties on and deal -- BUT, it's hard!

Hugs back to you!
Julie

p.s. I'll be back tomorrow with the winner of my blog candy! If you haven't signed up yet, the clock is ticking! Look at last Saturday's post!

Shimmerz & Shine

I've had this berry leaf and vine stamp from Impression Obsession for about a year and hadn't even inked it up! It was so pretty, half the time I just stared at it wondering how I would do it justice! Well, when the brand new colors of Shimmerz came out for fall, I knew that was the perfect stamp for them!!

I stamped my image with Versafine Black Onyx, outlined the left side of my image with a very light tan Tombow marker and then started painting! I used Rustic Red Shimmerz on the berries with highlights of Beeswax and then Sagebrush and Evergreen on the leaves. After I was done, I sponged the edges of this piece with Antique Linen Distress Ink, did some paper piercing in the corners and then matted it onto a green piece of cardstock. Add a background stamp, a sentiment (Hero Arts), some hardware and a shimmery piece of ribbon and you are done!

Here is a close up! See the shimmer on the outside edge of my red mat? I even have a trick for that! I just did a tutorial on how to add highlights and shadows with Shimmerz paints and added in that trick on how to get fun shimmery edges on your card creations! To see the tutorial.... click HERE

Hope you have a fabulous end to your weekend!

10-Minute, 1 stamp, couldn't get any easier card!

Just a quick and easy one today! This is a "ten minuter" for sure. A little decorative paper, a neat saying, some rectangles and scalloped rectangles thanks to my Nestabilities, a silk flower, a fun brad and some black satin ribbon! That's it. I like this card because it IS so easy and could be made in a hurry to send to a friend at a moment's notice -- never know when these will come in handy!

Switching gears -- IT'S MY MOM'S BIRTHDAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! LOVE YA! If you have time, go check in on her and wish her the best. You can find her HERE at her blog! I won't tell you how old she is - but let's put it this way, if I am her daughter - she must be TERRIBLY young! :-)

Have a fabulous day everyone! Until tomorrow!


The pleasantest things in the world are pleasant thoughts - and the great art of life is to have as many of them as possible ~Montaigne

Tag--- You're It!

This card is one I created FOREVER ago. Call it an oldie but goodie.... a New 2U, old 2 me!
It's so easy, it could be a 15-minute card. After you cut out your tag, you give it a 1/4" mat and leave the fold in tact so you can use the pink layer as your card. The box around the sentiment was created by making a box with post it notes and sponging yellow ink on the inside of the box. Stamp the sentiment (Hero Arts) and the flowers (Penny Black), color the flowers with makers by picking up the color off a pallete with a blender pen. Add some sparkle to the flower centers with Stickles and add a tied ribbon with the help of a glue dot. That's it!

Here's a close up of the flower -- if you squint - you can see the sparkle in the flower centers!

Not really a busy day here, just some errand running. We are shopping for a new car so wish us luck. We have an SUV and the price of gas is killing us! So, hopefully we'll be able to trade it in for something that doesn't break the bank gas-wise. UGH!

Hope all is well with all of you! Happy Stamping!

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."~Eleanor Roosevelt

Back with black.....

I guess you could say Sharon got me on a roll with her "hint of black" challenge a few weeks back because, as you can see - I haven't stopped! Just look at my posts this week! It's ok - you can tell me, "put your hands up and step away from the black ink pad!" Maybe I should--huh?

Moving on...

This little card was actually my first card that I did for Sharon's challenge. I didn't like it at first, but now it's kind of grown on me. It's a 4 by 4 square and fits perfectly into those little envelopes that Amuse Art Stamps puts out. The black mat is 3-1/2" by 3-1/2" and the center mat with my stamping is 1/8" smaller all the way around. I did use that ticket corner punch from Stamping Up and added my bling there with 3mm crystal rhinestones. I stamped my main image (Design Block Silhouette - Hero Arts), stamped and matted the sentiment (Hero Arts), layered it up, tied some ribbon and added them with a mini glue dot. Nothing to it!

Enjoy today! Thanks for stopping by!



No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted. ~ Aesop

Stamp Simply -- out of the box!

Woo - hoo! It's Friday and that means.... drum roll please... a Stamp Simply Challenge (ssnotime32)! This week Sharon issued a challenge to think out of the box. Not an image outside of a box but stamping an image in a way that wasn't intended. To check out all the challenge details, just head on over to Sharon's place HERE. You can also see her FABULOUS card. Man, did she think out of the box on this one!!

Well, I've done this a bit before - you can check out THIS post to see my take on a poinsettia. Or, THIS post to see how I turned a nail polish bottle into a light bulb!

For Sharon's challenge, I decided to be a bit more predictable!! I used a heart to create a flower!

Here's how I did it! I used an elongated heart (Impression Obsession) and I made an "X"....
Then, I just filled in the spaces so that when it was done, it looked like this...
It's not perfect, but when you cut the image out and add the pearl in the center-- no one will ever be able to tell! I did do two layers of the hearts and then used a scalloped circle (Stampin' Up) for the base to add a little more dimension.

Here's a close up!
I used Brilliance Orchid ink, added a scalloped edge to my strip and then stitched a border on top. The tag is just a scalloped rectangle punch that I used to stamp my "Thinking Of You" sentiment (Hero Arts).

Now that you've seen what I cooked up for this challenge, don't forget to visit the rest of the Stamp Simply crew!!!

Dee
Tammy
Janine
Jennifer
Becky

Hope you make time for play time! We'd love to see what you come up with!!
Have a great weekend,

Color Block It!

Happy Friday y'all! It's been kind of quiet on the blog front for me this week--not a lot of surfing and checking out all the great things floating around out there!! Instead - tons of work. So, I am screaming TGIF!

One creative respite I can ALWAYS look forward to is the Stamp Simply challenge. It's the light at the end of the work-week tunnel. It's the visible finish line. It's the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Ok, it's getting deep in here isn't it??? :-) You get my drift!!!

This week's challenge is to color block on your card and use at least three colors on your card. You can do it vertically, horizontally, make a patchwork of different size shapes -- the only limit is your imagination!!! Check out the details on Sharon's blog! And, while you're surfing, check out the others in Sharon's card making crew:

Dee
Tammy

Here's what I cooked up!
For my card, I cut three strips of paper in hot pink, red and purple and then lined them all up and stamped this mondo Hero Arts stamp over top all three with black ink. The background is actually a different stamp on the white. I used some of the flowers from the Silhouette Blooms I set from Cornish Heritage Farms. I actually cheated on this a bit. I had this scrap that I stamped and didn't use for a card -- just didn't work. Well, when I was putting together this card. I eyed it and said, "HHhhhmmm. That might just work for my base layer. " I was going to use yet another color instead! I think this option worked. I also notched out the bright pink with a 1-1/4" circle punch and then also did this to the black mat, only I used a 1" for this layer. I used my slot punch to string some polka dot ribbon through and then added my Cuttlebug ribbon slide tag. The saying is by Impression Obsession (not yet released) and was stamped on a 1" punched circle.

Here's a close up of the tag....
I should mention, this card was based on a sketch Debbie Olson did forever ago. I tried to find it on her blog, but couldn't. This was from memory. I think it's the same!!! Oh well, that's all folks! Hope you take some time to play and take part in Sharon's challenge! She rocks.


p.s. Check back later... might have some fun news to share!!!

A Challenge.... and how I did it!

It's Friday! TGIF! Which means.... drum roll please... time for another Stamp Simply Challenge courtesy of the lovely and talented Sharon Johnson (applause welcome)!

This week her challenge is to paper pierce. In her words, "anyway, anyhow, anywhere, anything goes -- from simple piercing around a scallop edge, or a simple straight line or corner, to something ornate with a fancy Ornare type template -- as long as we are poking holes in our paper -- LOL!!!" Ok, so that's easy enough right? What are you waiting for, get piercing!!!

To check out the details for her challenge... click HERE That's where you'll also find her fabulous creation!! LOVE the colors she used!

Dee Jackson also came up with a FABULOUS idea for paper piercing. When I saw her card, I actually thumped my head and said, "Now why didn't I think of that!" Check it out HERE!

I actually used a Lasting Impressions brass template for my paper piercing. I have a ton of old brass stencils that I bought probably 4 or 5 years ago that hardly ever see the light of day! Well, I am dragging them out now because I realized I can use them with my Wizard OR use them like I did here, for paper piercing templates!

I also did something else! I used this template to create a mask so that I could sponge ink in the center of my piercing. So, I ran the template through my Wizard, folded it in half and then cut along the inside line leaving about 1/2 inch.


What I have now... is a mask! I tacked it down with some post-it notes and then sponged in some Antique Paper Distress Ink in the center.


Lift off the mask and PRESTO.... this is what you've got!


From there, I inked up my Hero Arts flower with two shades of red marker and two shades of green marker to give it some dimension. I huffed and stamped! I did leave the mask over my main piece of paper when I stamped because I didn't want the stem of my flower to go below the inked up part of my paper pierced piece. I matted it onto a piece of Stardream Gold paper, wrapped it with some gold embroidery floss, and matted it on a 4 by 5-1/4" piece of red that had been accented with a kind of Harlequin stamp using Versamark ink. I matted the red piece on a piece of brown that had been edged with gold leaf pen. And then matted this whole thing onto a textured dark red card stock base. The sentiment is from Silhouette Blooms from Cornish Heritage Farms. I love this set! The words and flowers are so elegant! Before I attached a hot fix nail head onto my sentiment tag, I did use the ticket corner punch from Stampin' Up on all four corners. I attached my tag not with the thread but just by cheating with some foam tape!

Hope you find time to take part in the challenge! I'd love to see what you cook up!

Have a fab weekend!

10-Minute, 1 stamp, couldn't get any easier card!

I don't know about you, but some days I just need a "no-brainer" card. Something that is bright and cheery that just oozes with a smile. Well, this is that card for me. Even with cutting the strips of paper it's still less than 10 minutes. I did the center circle with my circle Nestie. Then, I did the scallop actually with my Marvy scalloped punch. The paper flowers are from the "got flowers?" line. The hot fix crystals are from Kandi Corp. The paper is a mix of Bazzill and Crate Paper (did you see their new line??? woo-hoo, cool!) And, last but not least, the "stems" for my flowers are just Mikuhiki paper cord (if you are looking for this just "google" it and a bunch of sources will come up). Really faintly on the orange strip you can see the stamp "a happy hello." It's a stamp by Hero and IRL it is a lot more bold. BUT, that is the only stamping on this card!

Do you have a favorite 10 minute card? Why not share? Just leave a comment with a link. I would love to see what you cooked up!

Have a great day!

This One's For My Gal Pals!

A while back, my bloggin' bud Janine sent a box full of darling things... embellishments, stamps, a glittery mist, oh, I could go on! This butterfly stamp (Hero Arts) was one of the goodies in the box and I was so glad to get an afternoon yesterday to take it for a test drive! This is actually a card that was CASED from the Hero Arts catalog. I know. I know. How terribly uncreative of me. Well, I am having a heck of a week. I NEVER crumple up creations in a fury. NEVER. I will rip it apart until I think I've got it right or at least until it's not terrible anymore-- but I will never take a card and crumple it up as a form of therapy. Well, my friends, that happened this week. Think I need to book a session with a "specialist?" Not sure yet. Know any good ones with a specialty in overcoming CSD a.k.a Creative Stress Disorder? I'll let you get back to me on that one.

Anywho, the card in the catalog used slightly different stamps, but the end result was the same, butterflies in flight with swirls and vellum. I really like the way this one turned out. I used my Marvy punch for the circles and my Lasting Impressions Paper Piercing Template to create the swirls with a permaletter pen. I colored the butterflies with watercolored pencils and added some sparkle with Diamond Stickles. I also added the Decorative Accents that I picked up at Mikes. I'm starting to love these things! I got blue, green and clear. They also come in pink but they were out! BOOOOO! The background is a swirl background from Leigh Hannan's line with Impression Obsession.

Here's a close up of the butterfly guy....
Earlier this week, I was tagged by another bloggin' pal.. Diane. So, here goes the answers to her questions!

What were you doing ten years ago? I was the morning anchor for a show called Daybreak. It was the morning news show on the CBS affiliate in Billings, Montana. My boy was only 1 at the time! Gosh, getting up at 3 in the morning to do the news was a drag. I like sleep!

What were you doing 1 year ago? We were living at my in-laws house while our family was building our house. While I was thankful to have a place to stay, let's just say I'm very happy in our new pad!!!

Name your five favorite snacks.1. Ice Cream 2. Pretzels 3. Popcorn 4. Ice Cream 5. Ice Cream

Name five things you would do if you were a millionaire. 1. Invest (college fund for kids & retirement) 2. Set up a foundation that would aid children's charities (I have been an advocate for foster children for the last 12 years-would love to do more!) 3. Fully restore my toy --- a 1977 Black Corvette that needs some TLC! 4. Restore an old truck my hubby wants to finish. It used to be my Dad's and has a special place in our hearts (My Dad passed away from cancer in '04). 5. Can't think of anything else!

Name five things you like doing.1. Family walks or hikes 2. Stamping (of course) 3. Knitting 4. Hanging out with my hubby 5. Riding bikes

Name your five favorite toys 1. My I-pod 2. My computer 3. My Corvette 4. Anything stamping! 5. Did I say anything stamping?!?

Well, I hope you are having a great week! I'm off to go to play group with my girl!

The dirty truth!

Warning: The first part of this post is a dirty shame. It is not for the faint of heart and might just terrify small children........




Over the past few months, I have gotten QUITE a bit of grief over my stamp room pics and how clean my space is. I'm sure it's all in good fun. I even had a lady (very sweet woman) at Jo Ann's say, "I just can't believe how clean your stamp room is!" Another, actually called it disgusting! Yes. Disgusting! Well, these photos should tell you the dirty truth about me. When I am on a crafting binge as I call it. You can't find a darn thing. My son has affectionately called it the tornado room at times because it looks like an F5 hit---only in that 8 by 10 foot space! Look closely in the pics and you'll see piles of stamps, markers, yesterday's diet coke, punches, paper scraps, ribbon on the floor, sewing machine just lying about, no place to sit, boxes stacked. Ok, now do you believe me that I am not a neat freak!!!! :-)

Here's some more proof!!!


Ok... moving on. I have to say a huge thanks to my bud Janine who honored me with the "This Blog Is Rated E for Excellent!" You're the best! If you haven't checked out her blog, you should. She always has the greatest ideas and she is off the charts thoughtful. Janine, I think you deserve the award--right back at ya! So consider yourself re-awarded!! (Someone beat me to the punch!)



I have to say, I have had such a blast these last few months getting to know the people that stop here daily. You all bring smiles to my life! I might create another award for that and start handing it out! :-)

A Little Sweetness For Valentine's Day!

Now.. for a creation! I made this little cupcake cup using the Cricut (tags, bags, and boxes cartridge, nut cup container) and then embellishing it with my Wizard circles and scallops. The stamps are from a Hero Arts clear set called "Cupcakes" and I colored them with watercolor pencils and added bunches of Stickles glitter in red and crystal colors. I used the Cricut at my LSS but I would love to know what you think about this machine. Do you love it? Can't live with out it? Like it just so-so? Fill me in. I really liked this cartridge and am toying with the idea of adding it to my craft room. It will never replace my Wizard, but, might be fun every now and then!

Well my friends, have a wonderful Thursday!
Happy Valentine's Day!

P.S. Edited to Add: Get this - my bloggin' bud Asela created some special images just for today that you can print and play with. They are DARLING! How incredibly thoughtful is that? I told her, isn't it just my luck that my printer ink is out???? I guess I really needed to go to the store anyway! Check out the images HERE.