A sale, an award, and.. oh yeah.. a card!

Hi all! Happy Wednesday! First of all, I would love to direct your attention to the left side of my blog! See the button - Stamps For Sale? Click on it and you'll see my "virtual stamp garage sale" got a WHOLE lot bigger. All of the prices are at or below wholesale prices and shipping is actual shipping. Why? I need room!!! So I am enabling you to click away! If you see anything you like, email me at juliekoerber@bresnan.net.
Now, to a fun, fun, fun award my friend Curt put together himself! It's the "You Inspire Me" award. Oh my! Thanks Curt. My bud Janine got this award and she wanted to pass it along to me too! FUN! Thanks Janine! I would have you on my list too but Curt had to go and start the award and give it to you too! LOL! You know I think you both rock! Now I am supposed to link up to those people that I check in on regularly for inspiration. Well, I am a daily visitor at these hot spots! Just click on their names and you can take a trip to their blogs!

Sharon Johnson, Leslie Miller, Susan Roberts, Linda Duke, Faith Hofrichter, Barb Schramm, Deb Neerman, Debbie Olson, and Penny Hajiantoni.

All of these ladies have their own distinct and very inspiring styles!! They inspire me daily!!

Now for the card! I made this fun little creation for a friend who had a baby shower two weekends ago! The little dress is a retired stamp by Amuse. The rest is just decorative paper, a scalloped edge thanks to my threading water punch, some self adhesive pearls, a sewn edge... and done! I thought they turned out kind of cute. They even took the invite to a woman in town who makes cakes and she did the dress on the top of the cake with a gorgeous lattice pattern around the sides. It was to die for! Wish I had a picture! I am so terrible at that!

Well folks, today is the first day of 6th grade for my son! He was ready to kill me today because I made him get his hair cut. I got the MAAAAHHHMMM! That's pretty bad huh!?!

Go take on the day! I'll see ya back here tomorrow!

Sew Fun!

Hi all! Hope life is treating you all well! If you are wondering when I am going to draw a name for my blog candy.... I'll have a winner Saturday! So, if you want to be in the running but haven't left a comment on the post below... feel free! The clock is ticking!! :-)



Ok, I am at it again! This week marks week two of the Stampin' Champion Contest! All you need to do is making something, anything with any JustRite product! You can check out the contest by clicking HERE!

I've always wanted to take a simple sewing kit and alter it.... so I did! I saw this little box full of sewing needs at the dollar store and snatched it right up. It was my intention to alter it into something kind of manly and slip it into my hubby's overnight bag. He travels every now and then for business and you never really know when a button will pop without a wifey around!! :-)

Well, this one got away from me! I thought about sewing words that I could adorn it with using my Monogram Stamper! I actually used the classic wood stamper with the special occassions font with the small letters set. I love the mix of the print with the cursive style letters that I used for the word "sew" I stamped both individually and then used a 1-1/4" punch to cut out the word sew. I punched two little holes for my safety pin that was embellished with some brown gingham ribbon, layered it up with foam tape, matted this piece on a scalloped shape I cut with my scalloped circle Nestabilities. The rest is just covering the box with paper, adding a decorative edge with my Martha Stewart punch, sponge some ink on, add some self adhesive pearls and... done with the outside!

Here's a peek at the inside...

I used some coordinating card stock for the top inside of the box and then embellished it with some darling stamped images from Crafty Secrets called Sew Special!

I love the framed sentiment that looks like a label - "From My Hand to your Heart" That spool of thread is actually a two set stamp - you can stamp the spool and then ink up the thread and stamp over top in any color you like! Pretty cool huh?? Here's a look at all the sewing words. My ribbon is kind of covering two -- stitch and mend.
Well, I think this was a blast to create. Funny, my hubby thought it looked too girly. Maybe I'll have to do another one with a more manly theme afterall. Or, I could just tell him. Take it - your wife made it for you and you just might need it!!! What do you think about that!?! :-)

Hope you are having a great start to your week! Tomorrow is the start of school for us so we are off to go putt-putt golfing or bowling or something! Yesterday we saw - Fly Me To The Moon. Cute flick! The kids loved the whole 3-D factor!

So, until tomorrow - go take on the day!

Show me...... Candy!!

Ok, I reached 100,000 hits and nothing! I promised candy and well, I'm only 44,000 hits late! LOL! Well, I am hopefully making up for it!

Here's what's up for grabs! Two stamp sets, three bobbins of ribbon, a K&Company pack of decorative paper scraps (I use these all the time!) and a pack of mega blossoms with rhinestone brads!

HOW YOU WIN: Leave a comment letting me know what kind of stamp you would desperately love! Is there a saying you would like? Is there a style that you think hasn't been done yet? If you don't have ideas, tell me what your favorite kind is - Florals, sentiments, etc.

BONUS: If you enter this month's YKYR challenge, you get an extra two entries in my blog candy! Make a challenge - get three chances to win!

I'll be back Tuesday with more stamping fun! Until then, go take on the day!

Stamp Simply--- JustRite Style!

I made this for the JustRite Stampin' Champion Contest! I couldn't help it -- I've got the fever! All you need to do is make something, anything with any JustRite product and enter it in the gallery! Want to find out more? Click HERE!

I also kept in mind this week's Stamp Simply challenge, which is to use the same image on the background of your card as you do for the foreground of the card. So, since my focal point is the flower, I used the same stamp on part of my background as well! Just that simple! If you want to find out more on the challenge, take a trip to Sharon's place HERE!

I made the card by stamping the flower (Summer Blossoms - Flourishes) all over half of the base mat on my card using Rust Adirondack ink, then stamped my flower two times with the rust ink and one time with Momento Bamboo Leaves for the small stem piece at the base of the flower. I colored and cut out different sections of the flower so that I could layer it and make it 3-dimensional. The saying around my floral element was created using one of the Classic Round Wood Stampers (took the mount from my Damask Set) and the Small Letter Set for the Round Monogram Stamper by JustRite. I spelled out "Bloom Where You Are Planted" and made sure to leave some room for my stem to come up through the middle! The rest is just matting, adding ribbon and some self adhesive gold brads!

Here's a close up to show the flower and how I layered up the different parts! It actually reminds me of the paper tole that my mom used to do when I was just a little one! She cut out images she saved. I just cut out my stamped images!

Want to see what the other Stamp Simply gals did this week?
Check out:

Janine
Jennifer
Tammy
Dee
Becky

Flowers From A Friend....

Thanks to my bud Denise G. I think I found my mojo! It was lost for a whopping 48 hours. No joke! It left the building and it took some work to get it back!

I was cleaning up my stamp room when I stumbled upon an image that Denise sent a while back (She told me it was a stamp from Beeswax). I also had some Copics on my desk that I just bought. I have never used Copics but desperately want to learn how! So, I picked up three shades of pink and two shades of green and started coloring away! I have a LOT to learn! I basically started with the darkest color, shaded my image and then went over the whole thing with my lighter marker to pull the shadows out a bit. I am sure I did it all wrong! After I was done, I sponged the whole image with Antique Linen Distress Ink. This piece was bright white when it arrived in my little hands. So, I sponged quite a it of ink on it! I edged my image in gold, matted it onto an olive green and then attached it with foam tape to a label style journaling image from Impression Obsession.

Here's a close up of the flowers....
So I hope my mojo doesn't pull a Thelma and Louise on me anytime soon and take off for a LONG joy ride! :-)

Funny story before I go. My son went over to a friend's house today and so my five year old daughter and I decided to go school shopping - just the two of us. I am stopped at a red light and I hear this beeping noise and say, "What is that Ellie?" She says, "Oh, it's Frankie, he's just texting me." "What?" I ask, completely dumbfounded. Well, she holds up her play cell phone and says, "Frankie just texted me and asked me if I want to be his girlfriend. Should I save it or delete it?" I quickly say... "Delete it!!" (I'm thinking, who the heck is Frankie?) She adds, "Hey, want to hear my new ring tone?" She pushes a button and her play phone plays a little tune. " OH MY GOSH! I am now laughing so hard inside that I am afraid I will bust a gut! I look in my rear view mirror to see she's twirling her hair - it's a dead giveaway that she's a bit tired. I say to her, "Hey Ellie, do you think you might need to rest today? You look a bit tired." She says, "No, mom. I am a kindergartener now. Kindergarteners don't nap. I'll just go to bed a little early. I need my beauty sleep."

I'm speechless. Seriously. Speechless. Don't tell me. I already know I am in for big trouble when she gets older.

Hope you have a fabulous day! See ya back here tomorrow!

It's a JustRite Kind Of Day...

This is one of those ten minute cards that could make up a wonderful gift set! I made it for the JustRite Stampin' Champion Contest!

With Olympic fever hitting strong, the JustRite folks decided to urge stampers to 'go for the gold!' All you need to do is post a project using any JustRite product. You can enter as much as you like too! The contest runs for the next few weeks - you can click HERE to check it out!

For my card, I decided to use just one color of ink. I chose a periwinkle blue ink pad and just stamped my Flourishes Peony all over the the main mat on my card. Then came the monogram. I used the Damask border from the Monogram Stamper along with my initial and then topped it all off with some lucious sheer ribbon and some pretty light blue self adhesive pearls! The main section of the card was then mounted on a piece of pearl paper. The scallop mat for my monogram is also from a piece of pearl paper.

That's it! Hope you enjoy!

It's all about the candy corn!

Hi all! I just have to say- I am not a fan of candy corn - but I love this card! There's something about the saying that just cracks me up! To make it, I used my Nesties to create two circles and a scalloped circle, layered them up and then used colored pencils to color in the candy corn. I did outline parts of the corn with a light blue marker to help them "pop" a bit more. Add the saying, a loopy brad with some sheer ribbon and you're done!

I thought this stamp duo would be a blast for the kiddos at Halloween. Put some candy corn in a decorative bag tie it up with some fun ribbon and then put the corn and saying on a tag with Happy Halloween on the back of the tag! I'll have to let you all know if I make them up!!

Here's a close up before I go.....

Well, funny story. Today is the day for the IO design team challenge. The theme? Monochromatic. Yesterday I was in my stamp room trying to brainstorm. I made a card - showed it to hubby and he said, "That's not very good." So, I literally ripped it up, started again with a whole new concept - showed it to him and he said, "that's not much better." So, I emailed the girls and said, "I LOST MY MOJO!!!!" I really did. After I looked at what I created, it was pretty pathetic! If you'd like to see how the other DT gals conquered this one - check out...

Penny

Daniela

Laura

Deborah

Have a fabulous day everyone!

EDITED TO ADD: I can't believe I forgot to say that these stamps are both from Impression Obsession! The candy corn can be found HERE. And, the saying can be found HERE. Thanks for stopping by!!

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!

Stamp Simply.... New Stamps... New Shimmerz...and more!

Hi all---- TGIF! Happy weekend, can you tell I am in need of a little R & R?

Today's Stamp Simply challenge is kind of an instant replay. Sharon's challenge is to take a card you made, and copy it with some changes. Click HERE to read the official details and see what the rest of the Stamp Simply team created this week!

So, I decided to copy this layout..... I loved the rectangle and oval mixed in together, I loved the pearls and the scalloped accent. So, what did I change? I added new stamps-- the brand new set called Summer Blossoms from Flourishes-- in a new more rustic color and I ditched the sentiment tag. Instead of a sheer ribbon, I added a rich satin in a rustic red.

These new stamps from Flourishes feature gorgeous lillies that are just so feminine and elegant! I merely inked them up with my Vivid! ink pads (Brick and Olive) and then, the fun began!

I painted over the entire image with two of the three new colors of Shimmerz. Since they are semi-translucent when you apply one coat, you can see all my stamping underneath.

Here's a close up! I went over the flowers with Rustic Red, and the stems with Sagebrush. Gotta love that sparkle!!If you want to see what the rest of the Flourishes team has been up to with this new release, check out Leslie, Susan, Faith, Linda, Sharon Nancy and Barb!

Be sure to check out the Shimmerz blog to see the three new LIMITED EDITION colors-- perfect for fall -- plus some more samples from the rest of the DT!!

p.s. If you'd like to learn more about Shimmerz... stay tuned! I am going to have a tutorial soon showing you how to add dimension to your stamped images with this fun sparkly paint!

p.p.s. The Y.K.Y.R. challenge is up! Click HERE to check it out. Hope you like Heavy Metal!!! :-)

Y.ou K.now Y.ou R.ock!

Well folks! Tomorrow ushers in a brand new challenge for Y.K.Y.R. Are you ready to kick it and enter this time around? The last challenge, Deb and I had so many wonderful entries and tons of votes for the winner. Yes, YOU get to vote! To find out what we have in store, just check for the new challenge by clicking on the YKYR blog link to the left. It's going to be a fun one this time! Want a tease????


Leave a comment telling me what you think the next challenge is going to be! I'd love to hear your guesses! I'll have all the details tomorrow on the YKYR challenge blog!

Before I go, I wanted to say thanks to two cool chicks who decided to honor me with some fun new awards!!



The first is the Wylde Woman Award from one of my bloggin' buds Kim Prince. She has such an artsy and fun style. You really should stop by her place and say "hi!" Here are the rules for passing this award along! 1) You can give this award to one or a hundred people, or any number in between.2) Link to their site in your post.3) Link back THIS site, so Tammy (I'm thinking the orignator of this award) can visit all the wonderful women.The pupose of this award is to send love and acknowledgement to women who brighten your day, teach you new things and live their lives fully with generosity and joy.

I give this to Deb Neerman, Viv Peters, Barb Schramm, Cheryl Moody, Janine Orchard, Diane LaPointe and my mom!

I also want to give a shout out to Lisa Thibault who gave me an "I Love Your Blog" award. Wow. Thanks Lisa! I just love it when people stop by here and can say they love it. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!! LOL! I am supposed to pass this along but-- there are like 200 blogs I love and I doubt you want me to list all 200 here!! :-)

Happy Thursday! I'll see you back here tomorrow with another Stamp Simply challenge, another new release from Flourishes, along with a look at three new colors from Shimmerz Paints!




p.s. Don't forget the blog candy offerings at the Shimmerz blog! Click HERE if you haven't entered!!

Time For Fun With Flourishes!!

It's the second Wednesday of the month, which means, all new Flourishes stamps ripe for the picking! And, what great picks they are! Perfect for end of summer stamping -- who wouldn't want to immortalize a beautiful coneflower or a welcoming bistro table with lemonade ready to be sipped!

The first set is called Summer Botanicals, and just like the Spring Ephemerals set that you know and love, this set features a set of "solid/silhouette" stamps perfect for creating impact in a jiffy! I had fun with the coneflower stamp and actually tried something a bit different! I colored the flower with Marvy markers in two shades of green, orchid and a rustic brown. I huffed on the back, stamped and then picked up a permaletter fine black pen. Being careful not to push down too hard, I just drew some whimsical lines around my image - adding the petals, some dots for the center of the flower and also some accents to the leaves. After I was done, I sponged and stippled on some antique linen distress ink. The rest is just layering decorative paper, adding some ribbon and some fabulous lavender pearls!

This next set is called Summer on the Patio and wait until you see all the elements in this set! It's so fun! You can create a scene with wine glasses, a chandelier, a bouquet of flowers or... in my case... lemonade ready to be sipped with a chair for a friend!

I colored my scene with watercolor pencils and then blended with a blender pen. I used a post it note to separate the top of the scene from the bottom and then stipped on some brown ink for the "floor" and blue ink for the "sky." I just wanted a subtle look that didn't overpower.

Here's a close up-- do you see the sparkle on the ice cubes? I couldn't resist adding some Shimmerz Paints to make the cubes sparkle a bit!

To kick off this release, we also have a brand new face on the Flourishes team! Barb Schramm will be joining the team as a Guest Designer for the next three months! I am so excited because I know her designs just ooze creativity. So, be sure to click HERE to visit her "place" and see some of her new release creations!

Want to see what the other DT did with these fabulous sets? Check out:

Leslie, Susan, Faith, Linda, Nancy, Jan Marie and Sharon!

As you surf around, you might notice the third set Flourishes is releasing!It's called Summer Blossoms. You can click HERE to see it in the store!

If you are liking the Shimmerz Paints I added, you should know Friday -- three brand new colors will be unveiled just in time for fall! Want a chance to win them? Click HERE for a chance! The deadline is the 14th at 11:59 PM!

Hope you're having a great week.... I'll see you back here tomorrow!

Julie

Blog Candy With Bling!

Who doesn't love blog candy that shimmers!!! Well, Shimmerz Paints is getting ready to launch three new LIMITED EDITION colors for fall. They will debut on Friday morning with some fun projects from the rest of the design team! As a way to celebrate, Shimmerz is giving away a set of the new colors! Click HERE to leave a comment-- the drawing ends 11:59 p.m. Mountain Standard Time on August 14th. You can check back on Friday morning to the Shimmerz Paints blog to see the amazing new colors and see if you won! I'll also have a fun project right here showcasing not only the new colors --- but some new stamps from Flourishes!!! YIPPEE!

Flourishes Sneak Peak!

Wednesday marks a brand new release for Flourishes for August and I am in love! I know you will be too! This release is full of elegant images perfect for the final months of summer.

Want a peek? You'll have to check back Wednesday to see it all!

If you don't mind being teased, you might want to check my blog roll and drop in on some of the other Flourish DT members -- some might have sneaks up on their site too!

Hope you are all well! I just have to tell you the cardstock is flying this week in my craft room - new stamps, new challenges, new things to color with! Stick with me this week, can't wait to share it all!

Fan-tastic!

Hi all! A while back, Gina K held a secret swap. The cool thing was, all you needed to do was just swap one card - that was it. You had no idea who would be giving you a card... until it arrived in the mail! Well, this was the card I made for my secret swapper. It was using Rupa Shevde's set Many Happy Returns from Gina K. Designs. I think the set is just too fun!

To make the card, I used the Abstract set from Spellbinders, and then I paper pieced the fan so that my "fan blades" were silver. I cut the fan out and then added a silver hot fix nail head in the center. Layer it on some metallic patterned paper and a piece of paper that I ran through my Wizard with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, add a tag, some ribbon and you are done! The tag is actually just a 1-1/4" circle punch that I punched a smaller hole at the top. Nothing to it!

This next week brings lots of excitement over here at my place! What's coming up? Only three new sets being released by Flourishes, three new colors of Shimmerz Paints perfect for fall, a new Friday Stamp Simply Challenge and who could forget - every 15th of the month you'll find a brand new Y.ou K.now Y.ou R.ock challenge to get those creative juices flowing! So, stick around for a busy and fun week! Sneak peaks for Flourishes start tomorrow!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

PCG NEWS!

Well, the votes have been tallied and the winner is in and it is...... NOT ME! Sorry, I couldn't resist! The PCG Idol is Nancy Cienfuegos. I guess you can call the rest of us runner ups! :-) If you've been watching the competition, you know Nancy did amazing work! She has such a clean creative style. I can see why people chose her! So CONGRATS to her! You might wonder if deep down inside I am bummed. Not really. I gave it my all and I actually learned through all your comments that I have a lot more blog friends than I ever imagined. {{{{{Did you feel that big hug?}}}}} I am really blessed. I've won something far greater than a contest! I get to "keep" all of you! :-)

Thanks for everything guys!!

Stamp Simply-- Something Old!

TGIF everyone! Today's challenge for ssnotime47 was to feature something old. It could be an old stamp, a vintange look - or in my case an old card!!! You can click HERE for the official details. Ok, this is a big cheat. But no worries, I had Miss Sharon Johnson's blessing! Hi Sharon (waving!) This is the card that I submitted to Paper Crafts in the open auditions for Paper Crafts Gallery Idol. This is where it all began. I know some of you HAVE to be sick of hearing about it. I am so sorry! BUT, today is the last day. Today is when they spill the beans on who won! I have to say, I have never devoted 6 weeks to a contest like this-- ever! And, I never in a million years did I think I would make it to the top 5. It's been surreal.

The card uses one of my favorite sets of all time from Impression Obsession. It's called Build-A-Tree and you can literally build a tree for all seasons with apples, flowers, leaves and more! It even has a couple of birds in the set. I also used the Journaling I set (way cool set) for the "label" that I stamped the sentiment on. There's really nothing to this card. I stamped the different pieces of the tree using Vivid inks - Vivid Brown, and Vivid Olive. The label was stamped with Storm Blue Vivid and the saying was also stamped in brown as well. Use the slot punch to create a hole, add some ivory satin ribbon and a pearl embellishment for some soft bling - and that is it! The paper I stamped on is actually decorative paper that I bought at the dollar store!

For more inspiration.... check out:

Jennifer

Dee

Janine

Well, we are supposed to hear the news by mid morning. So, I'll be sure to blast it here. You might wonder - why would you blast it if you didn't win? Knowing how much energy it took to compete, I give all these girls a huge standing ovation. They all rock in my book. They have been so fun to work with. I laughed with some of them that we should get a box of Depends and sit by the computer to wait for the announcment. Lizzie Jones said she might opt for a box of chocolates. It's just been that kind of comradery -- which I think is cool.

So, happy Friday you all! Enjoy today!

Mixing it up!!

You know that girl that always wore florals with plaid? The one that threw fashion caution to the wind? Well, when I made this card - I was that girl! I mixed it up all over the place! This was actually a card I made for one of the rounds for the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol contest -- but for some reason, it wasn't my favorite. Santa won out!

The stamp is the Bleeding Heart stamp from the Spring Ephemerals set by Flourishes. The saying stamp is one of the first stamps I ever bought! It is from PSX - you know the company we love that is no longer in business! I colored the flowers with ink pads by just thumping the color on. After I cut out the frame with my Nesties, I sponged some light green ink inside the "frame." How did I do this? I left my Nestie on my oval shape and used it as a bit of a mask! Add a scalloped layer, some patterned paper, some rhinestones and you are done! I love this paper by Scenic Route! Too vibrant and pretty in my book!

Well folks... voting ends today at noon (MST) for the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol. Deep breath, deep breath. If you haven't voted yet -- would you please check out my card and vote for me if you like it?? Thanks a ton!! HERE is the link! This one is for the whole she-bang! The winner will be announced around noon Mountain Standard Time Friday!! I am trying not to think about it! :-)

Hope you had a fabulous week so far! I'll be back tomorrow for Sharon's Stamp Simply challenge! See you then!

Getting inspiration from the mail!

You know those days when you need a little jump start to get the creative juices flowing? Well, I was thinking about the card I was going to make today... thinking... and thinking. After thinking too hard, I decided to take a break and go run to the mail box when I reached in, got my mail and found my inspiration! My Pottery Barn catalog arrived and my eye went straight to this pillow. I loved the colors, the patterns and I even had the perfect stamp set!

I picked up my Floral Fantasy set from Flourishes. This set had the same feel. You know what else was in my mail box? A whole bunch of goodies from Shimmerz Paints! These paints are so sparkly. They are acrylic - so they can be painted on porous AND non- porous surfaces! And, the colors they come in are just fab. It's hard to see it in photos - but the shimmer is like a glitter gel pen only you can paint it on!

I stamped my floral images in Versamark ink, embossed with black embossing powder. and then started to paint! I only used four colors: Royal Red, Marigold, Celery and Key Lime. You can see that some of the colors actually mesh together. I just did that by adding the darker color while the lighter color was still wet.

Here's a close up...
I added a sewn edge, the word "Friend,"which is also in the Floral Fantasy set, added a loopy brad with some lucious black sheer ribbon and I was done!

Some of the other Flourish DT members inked up their Floral Fantasy sets too... You'll have to check out their creativity!

Faith

Leslie

Susan

p.s. The Rock The Cover challenge at Deb and I's challenge blog -Y.OU K.NOW Y.OU R.OCK- is in voting phase! You have to check out the fab cards these ladies created! The mission was to make a card inspired by a CD cover. Click HERE to check out the entries and cast your vote! Voting ends August 14th at midnight!

A card remixed

Way back when, I made a card really similar to this one only with a different color scheme. Well, I was digging through papers and found this fun leaf skeleton paper and thought I would try to recreate it! I swear, I have had this paper for ages! Chris-- if you are reading this -- this paper is so old -- it came from your store! How long have you been out of the role of scrapbook store owner now? Oh my!

To make the card, I sponged on some olive vivid ink onto the strip of paper and attached it to my patterned paper by sewing the two together using some gold thread. This thread rocks -- it really, really "pops" IRL! Antique a piece of kraft paper and stamp on the saying in brown ink and fern in olive green, mat it on some gold Stardream, add some hodgepodge hardware and a metallic olive piece of ribbon and you are pretty much done! It really is a ten minute card. I love the long and lean look! I wish I was (long and lean that is)!!

Before I go, I have a shout out that I want to give to Kate Skiff! She gave me a Brillante Weblog award! Thanks Katie! You rock! And you live in a great part of the world -- of course, I am biased! :-)

Well, Sunday will be full of creating. I have until tomorrow morning to come up with a silhouette card for the FINAL ROUND of the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol contest! What's funny is, this card has been swimming in my head for 2 days now but I just can't bring myself to make it yet -- what's up with that?

Hope you have a great rest of the weekend! See you tomorrow with more on the contest -- you guys have been so great to get me this far -- wouldn't it be great if we ran together to the finish line!?!? oooOOOoo! That would be unreal!

Stamp Simply -- Mostly White

TGIF! Friday means it's time to Stamp Simply (ssnotime46)! This week's challenge is to create a white on white look with a touch of pastel. If you want the official details... click HERE to travel over to Sharon's blog!

I have a confession to make about this card. It's pretty bad. Since us SS gals post the night before the challenge, it was about 7:30 PM and I hadn't even thought about what I wanted to do for the challenge. I had, but nothing really came to me. Since I have been working a lot, I didn't want to spend the night stamping instead of hanging with my hubby. So, when he said he had to run to the store, I told him I had to get some things done around the house and it might be quicker if he just went on his own. So, I dreamt this card up, made it and photographed it in the time it took him to go to Walmart! Man, am I bad or what? It was less than a half hour. Talk about speed stamping!
Since the challenge was white on white, I knew I wanted to bring some texture to my card with a CB embossing folder. I cut a piece of white 3" by 4-1/4" and that was the lower part of my card. I used a strip of paper pierced pearl paper to break up the top part of the white and the embossed part. On the upper level, I stamped a bunch of tulips from the Stamp Simply Thank You set from Flourishes. I embossed them in white and then colored them in using a Q-tip and chalks. Add some sheer and sheer polka dot pink ribbon, add a pearl to make the ribbon pop-- and you're done!

Need some extra inspiration? Be sure to check out the rest of the Stamp Simply team! Can't wait to see what you cook up!

Janine Jennifer Tammy Dee Becky