TTYS Over Coffee

I always have good intentions to do the challenges over at StampTV.com and never have the time. I finally made the time and the first challenge I completed was the sketch challenge from last Thursday. It was a fun sketch to use.  I used the Tech Talk stamp set with some Pure Luxury Kraft card stock and some Basic Grey DP.  I added some sponging for character and some little adhesive back nail heads.

I hope you all have a safe new year's eve. We are supposed to have a wintry mix here. I plan to stay home.  Probably do some stamping. :o)

Tech Talk Blog Hop

I have to say that this is my favorite set out of the whole release.  I am a total geek and I work in IT at a Credit Union, so this set is perfect for me. Melanie is my hero for designing this set. :o)

I made two projects for the Tech Talk blog hop. This first project is for the girls.  I had to have Carolyn's template after seeing the samples during the release party.  I made a cute little "leather" purse with Pure Luxury Tan Leather card stock.  I printed the template in two sizes.  I made the purse in the larger size and then used the smaller template to make a little pocket for the front.  I sewed the edges to make it look more real.  I stamped several smaller images from the Tech Talk set all over the purse.  I made a little sewn tag for the front of the purse with two of the phrases from the set.





















My second project is a card that could be given to a boy or girl in your life.  I loved all the scenes that everyone created and decided to make one of my own.  I made a little window frame and used some DP from my Basic Grey Mellow stack.  I stamped the little doe from Life is Good on the DP to make it look like a doe in the forest.  The little clock on the wall is the face of one of the clocks from Nina's set, Special Fathers. 

Below is a picture of the inside of the card.

For more inspiration with Tech Talk tonight, check out these links:

Melanie Muenchinger {Illustrator}

Jessica Fick

Donna Baker

Lee Murphy

Lynn Mercurio

Nina Brackett

Sankari Wegman

Melissa Shultz {CSS Designer}

Peggy Wainman {CSS Designer}

Tina Gilliland {Guest Designer}

Karen Knegten {Guest Designer}

The Tech Talk discussion on the StampTV Idea Center is a valuable resource filled with tips, sample projects, and tutorials. Melanie's tip sheet, free PDF template as well as the Card Kit is available in the discussion as well.


If you haven't already, stop by GinaK's blog today to leave your comment on her blog for your chance to win today's featured stamp set or any other stamp set valued at $23.95 of your choice!

Life is Good Blog Hop

Theresa designs the most amazing sets for stamping fun scenes and masculine cards.  I love this train from the set.  I stamped it on a piece of blue paper from a pad of Basic Grey with VersaMark ink.  Then I used silver embossing powder.  I tried to keep it simple so this could be a card for male. 

Note: To see a larger view you can click the picture.

For my next card I used my favorite stamp in the whole set.  The log cabin.  It reminds me of Little House on the Prairie.  I've been watching all of the episodes.  I am currently watching season 2.  I used liquid applique sprinkled with glitter for the snow.  I used some more paper from the same Basic Grey stack.  I used some fun felt ribbon in the center.  And the nail heads on the top two corners are from Gina's store.  Again, I tried to keep it on the masculine side. 
Note: To see a larger view you can click the picture.

For even more inspiration tonight with the Life is Good stamp set, check out these links:

Theresa Momber {Illustrator}
Jessica Fick
Nina Brackett
Melanie Muenchinger
Lee Murphy
Erika Martin
Emily Giovanni
Colleen Schaan


Cheri Weston {CSS designer}
Melissa Shultz {CSS designer}
Peggy Wainman {CSS designer}


Geri Utterback {guest designer}
Brenda Turner {guest designer}
Linda Payne {guest designer}

The Life is Good discussion on the StampTV Idea Center is also a valuable resource for tips, samples, and tutorials. Theresa's tip sheet and the Card Kit is available in the discussion as well.

And, finally stop by GinaK's blog today to leave your comment on her blog for your chance to win today's featured stamp set or another stamp set valued at $23.95 of your choice!

The weather is getting colder.  At least it is where I live.  We actually have snow falling right now.  I love snow, except for today.  My boyfriend is supposed to take me shopping for shelves and help me put together my island for my stamp room.  I really want it done today.  I am hoping the weatherman is right and we won't get an accumulation on the roads.  I guess we'll see.

So to combat the colder weather, here is a cuppa' hot cocoa.  Yum!

I used the stamp set Warm and Wonderful from Gina K Designs.  I added lots of snowflakes with the paper and the embossing.  The red card stock is also from Gina K Designs.  It's Rocket Red.  I love this color combination.  Especially for winter cards.

Now I need to go have a cuppa hot coffee.  Maybe I'll add some chocolate. ;o)

Tech Tee Talk

I hope you all were able to join us at the Release Party.  It was a hoppin' good time.  Here is one of the cards I shared last night.  I had to make a card combining the NEW Gina K set, Tech Talk with Little Tees.  Both sets are illustrated by Melanie Muechinger.

The mug and sentiment are from the new set Tech Talk.  The T-Shirt is from Little Tees.  Melanie's sets are so much fun.  Gina has so many fabulous illustrators.  I just adore all of her stamps.  I also used pattern paper from DCWV and the base is Pure Luxury Soft Sand.

I will be back this weekend with some more samples to show you.  And Saturday (if the weather holds up), I will be getting a new island for my stamp room.  I've been wanting a higher desk to stamp at. And I found a super bargain at IKEA on Black Friday.  My mom bought it for me for Christmas and my boyfriend is going to put it together for me.  Isn't he sweet?

Gina K Designs Preview - Tech Talk

Well, now, we all know how totally awesome Gina and her stamp tv crew is, right?  Well they must have some kind of super powers.  Seriously!!!  I was so super psyched to be included along with all of the super talent on StampTV.  But when I saw the set assigned to me... well...  I squealed.  Seriously. :o)  That brings me to the super powers part.  So Melanie, must have been thinking of me when she designed the set that was assigned to me.  Yep, she was. ;o) And when it came time to decide which stamp to assign to me, it's like they knew.  I work in IT and I am a total geek.  And I love it.  So when I saw this set, I went crazy.  OMG!!!

So I decided to make the cutest laptop ever for my first card.  Decked out in pink, of course. :o)  Here is a close up of the cutest laptop ever.  And wouldn't we all want to receive this message on our cute little laptop?  Yes, we would!

I stamped the laptop image onto 120 lb. Pure Luxury White card stock.  I cut out the screen area.  I colored the whole piece pink with a Copic marker.  Then I stamped the bottom portion of the laptop on some Basic Grey pattern paper from the Lemonade collection.  I stamped "((((HUGS))))"  with white chalk ink on Black Onyx Pure Luxury card stock.  I also stamped the little pointer arrow with chalk ink.  I colored the mouse/touchpad with a black Sakura Glaze Pen (it looks really cool in real life).  Here is the full card with more paper from the Basic Grey Lemonade pad and other images from the set.

This laptop was made for me because it has a mouse for a right-handed person.  But the really cool thing is that Melanie (genius that she is) created a mouse for the left-handed person as well.  Isn't she super smart?  Yes, she is!  The card base is my new favorite green, Pure Luxury Fresh Asparagus.

So are you ready for more inspiration?  Don't forget to join us at the December Release Party in the Gina K Designs Member Forum over at SplitCoastStampers.  The party is from 7 - 10 pm CST.  That's 8 - 11 pm EST (in Pennsylvania, where I live).  Here is a link to the Member Forum.  You can also check out StampTV.com or Gina's blog for more details.  I know that members from the design team post helpful hints as the party approaches.

For even more ways to use these fabulous stamp sets, please check tonight's featured Illustrator's blogs:

Nina Brackett {Lovely Shelf}
Melanie Muenchinger {Tech Talk}

Then, visit our Designer's blogs participating in the previews tonight:

GinaK,
Carolyn,
Cathy,
Cindy,
Donna,
Emily,
Erika,
Jessica,
Lee,
Lynn,
Tami,
Theresa

 

We also have two of our special Center Stage Spotlight Designer's joining us with samples as well:

Cheri Weston
Melissa Shultz --That's me. Thanks for stopping by.

CSS Challenge Blog Hop

It's time for another CenterStage Spotlight Challenge Blog hop!

Hostess: Jessica Fick {Design Team Coordinator}
Theme: Stamp and color the image on Patterned Paper { any occasion card acceptable, it doesn't have to be Christmas themed} { image may be cut out and layered, but must be stamped and colored on patterned paper}
Requirement: any GinaK Designs stamp set; Glitter
Bonus Challenge: decorate the inside of your card to coordinate

I am so excited to be participating in this blog hop for Gina K Designs. It is such an honor to be a part of the CSS Design Team.  This challenge was quite a "challenge" for me.  I had a hard time deciding what paper to use and then what stamp to use.  So when in doubt I make something with coffee.  Can't go wrong with that in my opinion.
 

Everything I used on this card came from Gina's store.  The card stock is Fresh Asparagus and Tan Leather (love that stuff).  The pattern paper is from the Cosmo Cricket Paper Pad, Nutmeg.  The coffee stamp is from Signs of Autumn.  I colored the image using Copic markers and coated the mug and steam swirls with a Sakura Glitter Pen.  The copper brads were in the Autumn Kit of the Month.  The ribbon is Stitched Fresh Asparagus.  The button is from the Autumn Assortment.  I tied it onto the ribbon with some twine.  I sponged the edges with Vivid Tuscan Tan ink.  I also outlined other areas with the Sakura Glitter Pen.

I hope you enjoy the hop.  Now check out what all the other talented ladies in this group created for this challenge.

Participating Designer's links:
Brenda Turner
Carla Suto
Carolina Buchting
Cheri Weston
Deb Felts
Geri Utterback
Giovana Smith
Gina Krupsky
Janice Melton
JenMarie Taylor
Jennie Harper
Joy Hadden
Karen Knegten
Kay Simmons
Linda Payne
Lori McAree
Melisa Waldorf
Melissa Cash
Melissa Shultz <--You are here, that's me!
Nina Brackett
Pam Imholz
Peggy Wainman
Selma Stevenson
Shannon Bracken
Sharri Seffens
Sue Morris
Sue VanDeVusse
Sue Walsh
Tina Gilliland

Black Friday Shopping

I will be out shopping the Friday after Thanksgiving.  Crazy, I know!!  I will need a ton of Starbuck's to keep me going.  :o)

Please stop by Friday night at 10 PM EST (11 PM my time) to view the card I made for the CSS Challeng Blog Hop.  More details on Jessica's blog.

Gina K Designs - Customer Blog Hop

All of the fans of Gina K Designs were asked to participate in a special blog hop for using stamps from the last release.  Isn't that cool?  I wanted to use some of Gina K Design's new Kraft card stock. This card stock is amazing.  Here is the card I made for this special blog hop.


I used the cute set Winter Friends designed by Rupa Shevde. I absolutely adore snowmen.  And I love snow.  I bought some Polar White Flower Soft the other week and it just looks amazing as snow for any winter scene.  I stamped the image on Pure Luxury White with Memento Rich Cocoa and colored him with Copic markers.  I also used the snowflakes cuttlebug embossing folder on the snow pattern paper.

I hope you are enjoying the blog hop.  If you've lost your way, here is a link to Gina's blog.  Everyone participating in the hop has posted a link under Mr. Linky on her site.

Make sure you stop and count your blessings today.  Enjoy your weekend!

Winter is Coming...

Stop back Friday morning for a fun post.  Want to join the fun, check out this post on StampTV.com.

See you Friday.

JUGs Challenge #2

There's a new challenge in town over at Just Us Girls blog (JUGs for short).  LOL!!  Today is the last day to complete Challenge #2.  The challenge is to use paper piecing on a project and optionally use pink.  Here is what I created:

My sister bought some paper crafting supplies for me at a flea market a few weeks ago.  There was a ton of stuff in a bag and she only paid two dollars.  Wow!  One of the items in the bag was a cool paper pad from Prima Marketing Inc.  The collection is called Rock On Love.  I used several patterns from the pad for my card.  Everything on this cute little Anya is paper pieced except her hair and skin.  Thanks for allowing me to share this fun girly card.

It's Beggining to Look Like Christmas...

It's just crazy!  There are commercials on television for Christmas music.  Wow!  Well, I've been making Christmas cards because I need to share some samples with someone that has asked me to make a large order of cards for her.  I created both of these cards for challenges over at SplitCoastStampers.com and wanted to share them with you.

The first card I made with this beautiful poinsettia stamp I bought for one dollar.  Great deal!  I stamped it several times and layered different petals for dimension.

This second card I made for Lee's challenge for Gina K Designs release party.  I love this fun image from Gina's set Warm and Cozy Christmas. I decided to stick with the traditional red and green, with a touch of gold.  I hope you like it.

I hope that you choose to make today fabulous!

One Layer of Caffeine

Cat hosted a one layer challenge over at SplitCoastStampers for Gina K Designs release party. What a challenge. I usually use lots of layers or at least dimension. But, I am very happy with this card.



One Layer cards require good sturdy card stock as the base. I used Pure Luxury Soft Sand Card Stock from Gina K Designs. I stamped the coffee cup and sentiment using Memento Rich Cocoa. I colored the coffee cup image with a white and brown Koh-I-Noor colored pencils blended with baby oil. I had to add a few buttons and some ribbon to finish it off. What do you think?

Stamps: Signs of Autumn & Thanks A Million
Paper: Pure Luxury Soft Sand
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Other: Koh-I-Noor colored pencils, striped ribbon, chocolate buttons. & linen thread

"A" Game

I am thrilled to once again be featured on Melanie's blog using her new set School, Sports, Spirit. I also pulled out some stamps from Sporty Accessories and Just So Sporty. I used some cool sporty paper I found at Target in the Dollar Spot. Cool deal! Here is the final result.

{click on image for larger view}

I colored the sweatshirt from Just So Sporty with a green Copic marker and the football with a brown Copic marker. I used my favorite cuttlebug folder, Diamond Plate, which you can now purchase in Gina's store. Card stock is Pure Luxury White & Chocolate Kiss from Gina K Designs and Garden Green from Stampin' Up.

I hope you have a chance to get some stamp time and have a super weekend.

School, Sports, Spirit Blog Hop Fun

Tonight I am excited to share with you a card I made using Melanie's newest stamp set called School, Sports, Spirit. If you don't have this set yet, you need to get over to Gina's store and pick one up.


{click the photo for a larger view}

There are so many fun images in this set. The jacket and bag are great images to paper piece. That is what I did with this card using Basic Grey Boxer paper. Very classy looking prints and colors. I really had to resist not putting ribbon on this one. I tried to keep it more masculine. Boy is that ever a hard task for me. :o)

I created the swoopy looking bottom using the paisley nestabilities die. I really like that technique. I used my most favorite cuttlebug embossing folder for this one too. I just love how the Diamond Plate embossing folder goes so well with this set. It really adds a masculine feel to the card. You can click on the photo to get a closer look. I hope you are inspired to go stamp some fun sporty cards. Now check out the details below to find more inspiration using this fabulous set.

For even more samples of the School Sports Spirit stamp set, please visit the Illustrator of the set, Melanie Muenchinger's blog. Melanie will be offering her new stamp set as blog candy tonight too - so we hope you'll take the time to comment on her blog for your chance to win this spectacular stamp set!

After visiting Melanie, hop over to her guest designer Melissa Shultz's blog for a special card she'll be sharing with us tonight. <-- That's me! :o) Thanks for stopping by my blog
Melanie has also asked a few members from StampTV to join us in showcasing her new set, so please check out her friends' blogs here:

Mary Anne


Sharri Seffens

Then, stop by these GinaK Design Team Members' blogs participating in Melanie's blog hop tonight:

Gina Krupsky

Carolyn King

Donna Baker

Erika Martin

Jessica Fick

Lee Murphy

Theresa Momber

GinaK's CenterStage Design Team Member's blogs:

Geri Utterback

Tina Gilliland

Ice Ice Baby

I am so thrilled to be featured on Melanie's blog with cards I made using her fabulous new stamp set School, Sports, Spirit. I wanted to put all of the ice sport images together. I made this a few weeks ago when it was super hot and humid and I was longing for cold temperatures and snow. :o) I've been making larger and longer cards than usual. I read a thread over at splitcoaststampers.com a few months ago that somehow had shared the results of a survey they performed with non-stampers about the preferred size card. I can't remember who started the thread, but it really made me think. After that moment I decided to try to make more cards that are larger than the usual 4.25" x 5.5". This card is a rather long card (4" x 8", I believe). It worked out great to add the three ice themed images. I also used a color combination I don't think I've ever used before. The base is Pure Luxury White Base Weight. Love that stuff. Then I used some turquoise Bazzil and some So Saffron from SU. I masked the images and sponged with So Saffron ink. I hope you are inspired and find some time to stamp a few things today.


{Click image for larger view}

If you did not find this post by clicking on a link from Melanie's post. Please check out this post on her blog. She is also featuring another amazing lady and super talented stamper, Geri Utterback.

Autumn Beauty Blog Hop

I am totally stoked to be participating with all of these super talented stampers in showcasing Theresa's Autumn Beauty stamp set. This stamp set has all the fall images that you need. My absolute favorites are the sunflower images. I love sunflowers. There is a farm near my apartment that has two fields full of these golden yellow beauties. They make me smile every time I drive by. And of course who doesn't like fall colored leaves and fun scarecrows. I was actually dozing off in my boyfriend's car yesterday on the way home from his birthday lunch when I dreamed this layout up. Crazy, huh? So here is my Autumn Beauty card.


{click image for larger view}

All stamped images are from Autumn Beauty sold at Gina K Designs. I used Pumpkin Spice, Soft Sand, & Vanilla Pure Luxury Card Stock. The pattern paper with the fall leaves is from Target Dollar Spot last year. I also pulled out my sewing machine for this one. I love the look of real stitches on hand stamped cards and wanted to make this card as special as possible for Theresa's blog hop. I hope my Autumn Beauty card inspires you to go stamp some beautiful fall cards.

For more inspiration, please check in on our Illustrator of Autumn Beauty, Theresa Momber. She has also designed a beautiful digital paper pack called All About Autumn that is available for purchase as well. Be sure to leave a comment on Theresa's blog for a chance to win this stamp set!
Theresa has asked five guest designers to join in on the blog hop tonight:
Pam Imholz
Melissa Shultz <--That's me :o) Karen Knegten
Jennie Harper
Brenda Turner
These Designers are also sharing projects tonight on their blogs:
Gina Krupsky
Carolyn King
Erika Martin
Jessica Fick
Kurtis Amundson
Lee Murphy
Lynn Mecurio
Melanie Muenchinger
We even have some of our CenterStage Spotlight Designers joining in tonight:
Geri Utterback
Shelly Wilson
Tina Gilliland

Go For the Goal

I hope you are enjoying your Saturday. I am looking forward to a 3 day weekend off of work. Working for a credit union has great advantages in that area. :o) So that means more stampin' time, right? I am headed off to pick up some stamps I ordered from my local stamp store, Stampede. But I wanted to share a card I made last night. I used Melanie's new School, Sports, Spirit set for this one. And I also used my new favorite embossing folder called Diamond Plate.



The center of the circle with the soccer ball is actually cute the whole way through the front. I used some embroidery floss to make it float and you can wind it and let it spin. Fun!

Enjoy your day and make it grand!

Stamps: School, Sports, Spirit
Paper: Pure Luxury In the Navy and White
Ink: Real Red and Night of Navy
Other: lots of ribbon, Diamond Plate embossing folder with my Big Kick, Colluzle with circle cutting templates.

All Star, All Laced Up

Here is another card I shared last week at Gina K Designs release party.


{click the photo to see an enlarged version}

This one was my boyfriend's favorite. He liked the lacing. The lacing was a little tricky to pull off, but I love the look with the sporty theme. And how about that star embossed background. Very fun. A few of you asked about the embossing in my card from yesterday. The embossing folder is called Diamond Plate. I picked it up the other week at my local stamp store.

I hope you have a super day.

Stamps: School, Sports, Spirit, Sporty Accessories, Just So Sporty
Paper: Pure Luxury Rocket Red and White, Black and Gray {SU}
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
Other: eyelets, DMC black floss, mini brads, red & black thin ribbon, Cuttlebug folders

Guest Designer for Melanie Muenchinger

I am totally thrilled and extremely grateful that Melanie Muenchinger asked me to be the guest designer for her new set School, Sports and Spirit. This is such a fun set to play with. I am having a blast making scenes with this set and all of her other sets combined.

Last Friday I dropped my niece off at school in the morning. We got there a little early so we sat in the car waiting and watching as other kids were arriving at school. I noticed several boys coming to school on skateboards. I instantly had the idea to make a card with Melanie's new School, Sports and Spirit set and use this little skater dude. Here is what I came up with.

{You can click on the photo to view a larger photo}

He is heading to school and ready to play some basketball. He comes from the set Whatever Floats Your Boat designed by Rupa Shevde and the rest of the stamps are from Melanie's sets School, Sports and Spirit, Tee Talk and Sporty Accessories. Don't they all go so well together.

Now to talk about some details on the card. I made the fringe on the pennant by using some of the woven twine from the Signs of Autumn kit. I stamped the basket ball net onto a transparency sheet with chalk ink. I quickly ran a heat gun over it to set the ink. It worked perfectly without melting the plastic. Then I cut a slit and slipped the basketball into the hoop. I made a little backboard with some card stock that I ran through one of my new cuttlebug folders. I love those things. Since I used this little skater dude I decided to stamp "Skate" on the backboard. The pattern paper is Mr Campy: Nature Walk from Cosmo Cricket. The paper is double sided. Leaves on one side and wood grain on the other. They helped me make the perfect background for my back to school scene.

I hope you have an awesome day and please feel free to leave a comment telling me what you think. I love to hear from you.

Caffeinated Autumn Mood

I have two cards to share with you today. Both represent some of my favorite things.


In the Mood for Autumn
I love autumn weather. It is so much cooler and less humid than summer. And I just love the colors; Reds, Oranges, Browns, Yellows with hints of Green. To get in the Autumn Mood I pulled out some old and new autumn stamps and this fabulous felt leaf and swirl border I bought at Big Lots the other week. Here is my autumn card:

Stamps: Signs of Autumn StampTV Kit, So Grateful
Paper: Pure Luxury Green Apple & Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie & So Saffron
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, greens and browns for sponging, Copic markers
Other: bronze brads from kit, Nestabilities Die, green printed ribbon from stash, felt border

Caffeine Keeps me Going
I have to admit my one true weakness is coffee. I like it hot, iced and frozen. I found a new coffee set at Stampede (my Local Stamp Store) the other day. I love this phrase in the set. If you can't read it, it says:

"I don't have a problem with caffeine, I have a problem without caffeine!"

Yep, that's me. Gotta have my cuppa' joe every morning and a decaf at night.

I made this CAS (Clean and Simple) card using images and a phrase from the set. I like that the coffee mugs are large and lots of room for paper piecing.



Stamps: Coffee Cafe {TPC Studio}
Paper: Pure Luxury Soft Sand, Basic Gray {SU}
Ink: Basic Gray Dye Ink, VersaMagic Perfect Plumeria, Aegean Blue, & Spanish Olive, Copic Marker for coffee in mugs
Other: mini brads, small piece of blue ribbon from stash

School, Sports and Spirit

I shared this card last night at the release party. I was going for a cork board/white marker board look. The white piece is stamped with phrases and images from several of Melanie's sets. Like someone wrote some messages and drew some doodles. Then I laminated the front to make it look like a white marker board. The cork board is real cork. It is thin and easy to cut and use on cards. I stamped the stars border from Ribbon Stripes. I made a mini card to hang on the cork board. I stamped the phrase "You Aced It!" from Melanie's new set School, Sports, Spirit. And I stamped part of the football from Sporty Accessories. I placed some random brads to look like tacks. Of course this board belongs to a cheer leader, hence the pom poms and megaphone. And she is such a rock star with her ribbons.



I added some cheer sneakers and a girlie duffel bag on the inside.



The card size is 5.5" x 5.5". Please let me know what you think. I love to hear from my readers.

Princess Diva at School

Well, all the little divas are back at school. Including my 11 year old (soon to be 12) niece. She started 6th grade. Hard to believe. I pulled out one of my Miss Anya stamps and some Gina K Designs stamps illustrated by Melanie Muechinger. I was inspired by a card that Donna Baker posted on her blog yesterday. She used the lockers and some anime girls from another Gina K Designs set that I don't yet have. So I decided the pull out my Miss Anyas for my locker scene card. The lockers are so much fun to use in a scenery card and very appropriate for this time of year. This is a little princess is posing in front of the lockers at school. Isn't she just fabulous with her little tiara?




Card Details:
I used Basic Gray card stock from Stampin' Up for the lockers. I colored the little locks with a silver glitter pen and then added super mini silver brads to the centers of the locks. I also added some clear glitter from a Sakura glitter pen to the vents on the lockers. Each locker is individually stamped. I just cut them all out. Which is easy because there are straight lines. I lined them up and put some tape on the back to hold them together. I layered them onto some Pure Luxury Black Onyx. Then I created a wall behind them with patter paper from the Basic Grey's Boxer paper pad. I glued a strip of black satin ribbon at the seam of the papers. The "wall" is layered onto Green Galore and then the card base is more Pure Luxury Black Onyx.

The tiara, "tiara" phrase and the word "Diva" are from the Little Tees set. And the "what a" phrase is from the Just So Sporty Set. The locker stamp is from Sporty Accessories. All sets are found on this page of Gina K Designs web store.

The little diva girl is a Miss Anya stamp from The Greeting Farm. I stamped her onto Pure Luxury White and colored her with Copic markers. I colored her tiara with a pink Copic marker and then covered the whole thing with glitter from a clear Sakura glitter pen.

I hope you have a splendid day.

So Grateful for Autumn

My favorite season is Autumn. It represents an end to Summer heat. I am not too fond of hot weather. So when Gina K Designs released this new kit with all things Autumn, I had to have it. Here is a card I made with the yummy basket of apples and some sprigs of wheat.



I decided to color them green instead of red. The rebel inside of me. ;o) The patterned paper is from the kit. I also used Soft Sand card stock from Gina K Designs' Pure Luxury line. I love the color and the weight of this card stock. It is perfect for Autumn cards. The bronze brads are from the kit as well. I used Prismacolor pencils and baby oil to color the basket. I used Copic markers for the apples. Oh, and the little nails on the basket are self adhesive nail heads also from Gina K Designs.

Being a huge fan of Gina K Designs, I want to remind anyone reading this that she is releasing new sets and other fun stuff tomorrow night. Come to the party in the Member Forum area of Splitcoaststampers.com. I am in the EST time zone, so it starts at 8:00 pm for me. I look forward to seeing lots of my stampin' friends there. For more information about Gina's parties, check out this thread.

Awards from Fabulous Friends and some Hippie Projects

First I would like to share 2 blog awards that I received. The first was given to me by Geri the end of July. The second was given to me by Mary Anne. I met both of these amazing ladies over at StampTV.com. What a great community to meet fabulous women who share our common passion of stamping and paper crafting. Thank you ladies!



I also have two projects I created using new stamped images from The Greeting Farm. I just adore the Hope and Grace and Anya images from TGF.

This first project is a card I made using going green/natural colors. The stamp is from TGFs Hope and Grace line. This is HG Peace. I love her little innocent look. I colored her with Copic markers. I used a Sizzix embossing folder for the yellow layer.



My second project I made during SpliltCoastStampers Annual Dare to Get Dirty challenges. I used the inspiration piece that Joanne Basile provided. I also incorporate a couple of the other challenges. I never had a chance to upload it in time, but wanted to share it now with you. Isn't she cute? She is Hippie Anya and is a limited addition. She is very fun to color. I used some bright and funky papers from K & Company. There is a plastic flower between the button and the Purely Pomegranate disc. I am not sure what I will do with this. I didn't make it into a card and thought maybe I would frame it some how.




I hope you had some time to enjoy your hobby this weekend. I ended up having to do other stuff and did not stamp as much as I wanted to, but I did get some time in. I think I'll run to my stamp room now and play a little more before bed time.

I'm back and ready to stamp...

I am finally back to my stamping home, so to speak. I've been very busy working on a software upgrade project at work. The hardest work is behind me and I finally have the time and energy to do some stamping. Yipppeeeee! Sorry to those of you that may have been stopping by and not seeing anything new. I just did not have the energy to do anything stamping related.

So, here is my first project I actually created a few weeks ago when I did find a small bit of energy to stamp. It's been sitting on my table waiting to be photographed and uploaded to my blog and StampTV.com.

I found an old Bath & Body Works bag a few weeks ago. I had it packed away in a box of "stuff" and just knew it would come in handy some day. :o) You know how that is, right? So I brought it into my stamp room and then I began scratching my head. What should I do with this thing, I thought to myself. Then it hit me. I'll make a paper bag card. Here is a photo of the back just to prove to you where it came from.




I thought Gina K Designs My Cuppa' Joe would look great with the checkered design on the bag. I pulled out some yellow paper that looks like notebook paper from my pack of K & Company Wild Saffron pack. I stamped the coffee bag and beans image directly onto the paper with blue ink that looks like ink from a pen. I used the same ink to stamp the bag on some orange pattern paper and cut it out. I glued it to the already stamped bag on the yellow piece. I colored in the beans with a brown Copic marker. I added some fun accessories, including a mini Tim Holtz paper clip I bought a while ago and never used. I also created an insert page for the front cover pocket. You can see it peeking out the side. I paper pieced the mug onto that page.



Finally, this is the inside. I just layered some card stock to the inside with some pattern paper and a strip of ribbon.


I hope you like my paper bag card. I also had a chance to play with some new Anya images I bought a few weeks ago from The Greeting Farm. I'll be sharing some fun projects I made with them tomorrow.

stamps: My Cuppa' Joe
paper: yellow piece from Wild Saffron {K & Company}, checkered bag from Bath & Body Works, orange piece {unknown}
ink: Agean Blue VersaMagic chalk ink, Copic markers, orange ink for sponging
other: large eyelets, orange ribbon, small copper brads, mini paper clip

Why I love being a "Kewl" Aunt...

My niece gave me a super sweet thank you card tonight. I love hand-made cards from my niece. They are the best presents I have ever received. I thought I would share the card with my readers. And by the way, I think I am doing okay if my niece thinks I am "so kewl". So much better than cool, don't you think?

I love the stripes and the beautiful flowers. I think I will take it to work and put it near my desk. With all the stress I'm dealing with there lately, this will help me deal with it better. I hope you have a super rest of the week.

Supplies: Crayons, Paper, Lots of love, and lots of talent.

Stampin' with Pooh

I pulled out some old Winnie the Pooh stamps. I bought them over 15 years ago and never really used them. I used to adore Pooh so much. So cute! I also wanted to play around with my Copic markers. So here are two square cards I made using some of the stamps and Copic markers.



When I showed the card above to my boyfriend he said he liked it but was trying to figure out what you would use it for based on the sentiment. :o) I do love the fact that he takes the time to really look at what I create and he gives me an honest opinion, always. The paper is from a stack from K&Company. The card base is Chocolate Kiss Pure Luxury from Gina K Designs. Very thick and a gorgeous dark chocolate brown.



For this card I was going for a more fun whimsical look. I used various Pooh accessory stamps to make the background paper.

Thanks for looking and I hope you have a fabulous weekend.

Call2Fall

No stamping to share today. I will try to upload some stuff tomorrow. I do want to encourage any Christ Follower that is reading this to join the Call2Fall on Sunday, July 5th. You can read about it here. Our nation needs to humble itself and we need God to save us from our own corruption. I pray that you find time on Sunday to pray for our nation.

I've been absent for a while and I apologize if you've been checking out my blog. We are in the midst of a large project at work and I've been doing some things in the evening from home. And then last Monday my sister was admitted to the hospital and they found a cyst on her brain. Very scary! I've been trying to visit her every evening. So haven't been doing much stamping. I did manage to get a card made for the Gina K Designs June Release Party. Lee challenged us to use Pink and Chocolate. Not much of a challenge for me. ;o) I love them together. Here is the card I posted the other day. I had issues with blogger and IE so that is why I am posting this even later than I wanted to.



Stamps: Eclectic Summer StampTV Kit
Paper: Chocolate Kiss Pure Luxury CS {Gina K Designs}, dotted pattern paper from K & Company Saffron collection. pink floral pattern paper {unknown}
Ink: VersaMark, Dark Brown Chalk Ink
Other: Copper embossing powder, chocolate brads, glitter pen, stickles

I can't stop quilting. With paper that is. It's a great way to use up scraps of pattern paper.

Although for my first card I used paper from my brand new Basic Grey Wisteria pad. The paper is gorgeous. Especially for making paper quilts.



To make the quilt block I cut 1" squares and then cut them diagonally to make triangles. I then added a small amount of adhesive on the back of each piece and adhered them in a quilt pattern on Ivory card stock. I stitched the block with the zig-zag stitch. I pulled all of the loose threads to the back of the block before adhering to the purple paper from the same paper pack Then I adhered the full quilt block onto River Rock. Finally I adhered the whole thing on a Pure Luxury Ivory card base. The base weight card stock is great for card bases. Very sturdy. The card size is 5". I even used some of the paper as backings for the clear buttons.

For my second card I used some old Stampin' Up Designer Paper; Rose Red and Certainly Celery.



For this quilt block I used 1 1/2" squares cut diagonally. I layered them onto white card stock and sewed it with a zig-zag stitch. The card base is Pure Luxury white base weight.

Stamps: "Relax" from Lazy Days of Summer and "Prayer" sentiment from Flowers for Daisy {All Gina K}

IC #84 - What a Catch!

I made this modern looking card for the Inspiration Challenge over at splitcoaststampers.com. The challenge is to choose inspiration from this Lovely Package blog. I chose the Safeway Fruit Sodas. I really like the clean simple look with the bright yummy colors.
Surf on over to the challenge forum and try it out yourself.

Stamps: Eclectic Summer & Eclectic Summer Sayings from StampTV Kit {Gina K}
Paper: Pure Luxury White {Gina K}, Brushed Silver, Tangerine Tango & Basic Black {SU}
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & StazOn Black
Other: Copic and Bic Markit Markers, Colluzzle circle template, & gingham ribbon

STVSC16 - U Rock!

Donna Baker is hosting the sketch challenge over at StampTV.com this week. The sketch is a round card. I made a cute little chocolate and pink cheer card. I love the cheer stamps from Gina K Designs new Sporty Accessories stamp set. The set was designed by Melanie Muechinger. I love her designs. Always so much fun! And this set goes so well with her other Tees sets.

To make the card:

I cut

• two 4 1/4" circles from Chocolate Kiss card stock
  one 4" circle from Pretty in Pink
• one 3 3/4" circle from Pure Luxury White
• one 2 1/2" circle from Brushed Gold

using my Fiskars circle cutter.

I punched two circles with a 1 1/4" circle punch from Pretty in Pink and Chocolate Kiss.

I stamped the cheer leading suit and megaphone with sentiment on Pure Luxury White base weight card stock.

I stamped the stars from the Little Tees set onto the suit as well as the gold circle.

I used the football & pom-pom stamps from Sporty Accessories and the Cheer stamp from Just So Sporty.

The front and back of the card are attached with a single gold brad so it can swing open.

I hope you enjoy my card. Now stop over at StampTV.com and try the sketch challenge yourself. You have a chance to win a free stamp set.

Be Happy

A quick post before I head off to bed. It's been a while since I inked this adorable set up. I just love the images from the Gingersnaps Spring Things set by CC Designs. I used some old Stampin' Up pattern paper to paper piece her outfit and umbrella. I stamped the image on Gina K Pure Luxury White with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored her with Copic Markers.

Stamps: Gingersnaps Spring Things {All That Scraps} & So Many Sayings {SU}

Paper: Pure Luxury White {Gina K Designs}, Urban Prairie {Basic Grey}, Basic Black and Retired So Saffron PP {SU}

Ink: Tuxedo Black {Memento}

Other: Copic Markers, mini rhinestones, dotted ribbon

Woven Background

I've been wanting to make a woven basket background ever since I made my red basket the other week. I had some scraps left from an attempt to make a Chocolate Kiss basket. I wove the 1/4" strips and even wove a piece of ribbon in the center. I finished the woven piece by adhering strips of card stock to the shorter ends and ribbon to the longer ends. I added some pewter brads to one of the short sides. It took me forever to figure what layout to use for this one. I really like what I ended up doing with it. I thought the basket of flowers from Eclectic Summer would look great with the basket weave background. I colored the basket and flowers with Copic markers. I stamped the flowers a second time, colored them and added mini blue rhinestone stickers to the center of each flowers. I cut out the second set of stamped flowers and adhered them to the original with foam tape for dimension. It may be hard to tell, but I also stamped the large flower from the same set with white on the Baja Breeze layer. Then I sponged the edges with Not Quite Navy ink.

Stamps: Eclectic Summer, Eclectic Summer Sayings
Paper: Pure Luxury White & Chocolate Kiss {Gina K}, Not Quite Navy & Baja Breeze
Ink: Rich Cocoa {Memento}, Not Quite Navy {SU}, Dark Brown Chalk Ink {ColorBox}, White Chalk Ink {VersaFine}
Other: pewter brads, mini blue rhinestone stickers, striped & dotted ribbon

Playful, Fun, Relaxing Summer

Many people that live around me are so excited that warm summer weather is right around the corner. While I love images of summer (flowers, butterflies, ice cream), I loathe the hot humid weather. When the temperature reaches anything above 70, it is way to warm for me. But as I said I love images of summer. So I will enjoy summer through paper, rubber and ink. :o) I made this card for a challenge I am hosting over at StampTV.com. It is based on a card I shared last week during the preview blog hop for Gina K Designs May Release. Please stop by StampTV.com and check out my challenge. And browse around at the other great areas in our fun little community that some call "home". You have a chance at winning FREE stamps. Thought that would catch your attention. See you there!

Stamps: Eclectic Summer & Lazy Days of Summer
Paper: Pure Luxury White (Gina K) & Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Marigold Morning (SU)
Ink: Tuxedo Black, Rich Cocoa, Tangelo (Memento ) & Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze (SU)
Other: Copic Markers, ribbon, light blue brads