Did someone say Garden Whimsy?

The responses I've had so far answering the question of which stamp set from the new Stampin' Up! catalog you feel you can't live with out, the majority I'm reading is Garden Whimsy!

It's been sitting on my kitchen table collecting dust so I thought I'd better break it open and start making cards for you! I received it as a birthday gift from my Stampin' Up! upline Judy.

My first card qualifies for SC139 and the color challenge at Splitcoast Stampers this week. I love this color combination! Old Olive, Pretty In Pink and Purely Pomegranate.

For the tulips I used a post it note to cover the stems on the stamps and inked the tulips with my ink pads, then inked the stem parts with an Old Olive Stampin' Write marker. For the ladybug I inked the image with Purely Pomegranate and used a black Stampin' Write marker over the parts I wanted to color black. I'd never done that before and it worked really well!

Next I stamped the sentiment and sponged Pretty In Pink around the edges of this panel. Matted it with Purely Pomegranate (PP) and Old Olive and set it aside.

For large ink cartridges I had Old Olive and Pretty In Pink so I decided tone on tone for the Whimsey Jumbo Wheel would look nice. I actually used it on the PP panel that's horizontal too but after it dried you really can't tell. Oh well =).

I needed another panel in the bottom right corner and thought the two small ladybugs might be cute there. I inked them with PP and used the Stampin' Write marker over the parts I wanted to be black again, mounted it on Pretty in Pink and set it aside.

In the samples I saw they used ribbon going vertically on the pink panel but I didn't feel mine was big enough to do that so I went the other direction with it on the PP panel. Next I layed everything out and fastened it down. The right upper corner seemed bare so I pierced a trail free hand for the ladybug.

My second card is a sketch challenge from Julee's blog Poetic Artistry, I'm a little late... but that's okay!
I added one color to this card that's not on the one above, Sahara Sand. I inked the Linnen background stamp with Sahara Sand and stamped it on the main image panel. I recolored the Prima with the PP ink pad and still have it all over my fingers. That's okay, my friends know...
I hope you've enjoyed my Garden Whimsy set as much as I have today!

BLOG CANDY !!

I was thinking about offering blog candy when my visitors reached 3000 and now we're past that! Soooo, here it is...

A Birthday Book
Cuttlebug Ribbon Slides
Round Tab Punchies
2 Wood Mounted Stamps
1 Studio G Clear Stamp Set
1 Stitched Grossgrain Ribbon
1 Pink Ribbon
Assorted Cuttlebug Embossed Panels

All you need to do is leave a comment answering the question... Which set in the new Stampin' Up! catalog do you feel like you can't live without?

I'll draw a winner at random Saturday morning September 1st and post the winner here on my blog.

Halloween Cards ~

My first card today isn't "all mine", it's Diane's and mine. Diane is another Stampin' Up! demonstrator friend. Her swap card for our demo meeting was a card front and I just couldn't help myself, I had to finish it.

First I matted the Purple card front with Basic Black and put it on a card body of Pumpkin Pie. I added the sentiment from Halloween Smiles by Stampin' Up! (retired) and colored one of my Primas with a Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Write marker, pulled a piece of light purple organdy ribbon through a black button and fastened it on with glue dots.

I e mailed her a picture and asked if it was okay with her to use it on my blog and she said she liked "our" finished product. If you scroll down the page you can see what the original card front looked like. The second card today is just mine. The image and sentiment are from Eat Cake Graphics, when I first saw this I just cracked up and knew I had to have it!

I used Orchid Opulence, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, and Watercolor paper. The background stamps I used are Stampin' Up! Weathered with Sahara Sand and Stampin' Up! Paisley with Pumpkin Pie. I used an aqua painter and classic ink pads to color the image, added 3 Black brads and used foam tape to pop up the sentiment Halloween Tip #72.

...Fun Images

These are two complimentary images I received in my last Eclectic Paperie order, aren't they cute! I was thinking I wanted that little chick on the cake and now that I've made up a card with it I can add it to my "wish list"!

I colored the image with Prismacolor markers, Gamsol and a stump, used the ticket corner punch on the corners, matted it on Taken With Teal and Pixie Pink and doodled around the edges of the white card stock.

I Cuttlebugged a panel of YoYo Yellow and wiped it across my Pixie Pink craft ink pad and set it aside. Cut the remainder of my panels and colored one of my Prima's with a Pixie Pink Stampin' Write marker and punched out a small YoYo Yellow flower to go with it. I made a book plate with my Sizzix Oval Book Plate die in Pixie Pink and stamped Hey Chick on white paper, laid it all out to see how it looked and then started fastening everything down. I added 4 YoYo Yellow eyelets to the corners of my main image so it tied in with the book plate and was satified. Quite happy with it actually!

I colored this image with Prismacolor pencils too. Matted it with Basic Black, Orchid Opulence and Basic Black again. I wanted to use my celery colored ribbon from May arts and thought the plain Certainly Celery paper was kind of boring so I got into the POP I have stashed and used a sheet. I used the Cuttlebug swirl embossing folder on the Orchid card stock panel and the ribbon slide tag is from Cuttlebug too. The Birthday Wishes sentiment is from Papertreyink.'s Faux Ribbon set. I used a little Stickles Stardust on the candle flame but it's kind of hard to tell in the picture.

Saturday's Stamping Space

Welcome to my world! I thought I'd share my stamping space with you today.

My stamping room just happens to have happened in my kitchen. It started innocently enough as my passion for this "hobby" grew and evolved into a business.

I remember when this wall didn't have anything but a picture on it...

In this picture you can see how I store my Sizzix, Cuttlebug and Quickutz dies. I have a Zip'E Mate machine because of all the different dies it will take. A girl's gotta have variety!

The shelf above the die cut storage has various jars I picked up at the local thrift shop to store things I wanted to be able to see.

The cube storage system makes a nice counter top for my Zip'E Mate, Scor It board and a small paper cutter. The quarter round shelves below hold Sizzlits dies, cards for sale, ribbon storage boxes, a box of heat embossing supplies and other goodies that are easy for me to turn around and grab when I need them.

This shot is a close up - starting on the far left is a black and clear stack of rolling drawers with a box of extra large envelopes on it. That's where all my Stampin' Around wheels are stored.

The next shelf is my overflow paper storage (cardstock). Most of my cardstock is purchased in 500 sheet reams. The white 2 drawer file cabinet has all my 8 1/2 x 11 Stampin' Up cardstock in it.

The white cube storage is filled with 12 x 12 cardstock and patterned papers, Scrapbooks, made up cards, etc.

Stacked on all that are a bargain I found at Target online clearance, little cubbies that hold all my background stamps, Envelopes of various sizes, Stamped images I've traded people and plan to use, 6 x 6 reams of cardstock, Ink pads, Cuttlebug embossing folders, etc. You've probably noticed my hand held punches are up there too. I like to have them where I can see them so they get used. I don't especially like dusting them, but who likes dusting anything?!

This is the wall where my desk is. I started out with these cube storage units first, buying and building one at a time. As you can see they are full of stamps, paper and stuff. I know it doesn't look like it in the picture but a lot of work gets done here.

My Stampin' Up ink pad storage is on my desk with my computer.

Moving to the right is more ink storage and supplies I use all the time.

I'll take close up pictures another day to show you how I've used a spice rack for my eyelets, brads, buttons and rhinestones also a recycled lazy susan and tin cans for my pencils, pens and stuff.

Next are the printers, one for photos and one with a scanner, the PSC has my old lap top on it that I use for Celebrate Recovery. Boy is it slow!

The paper cutter I use all the time is beside that, it's a guillotine cutter. Below the paper cutter is a rack of colored card stock and printer papers I use all the time. My overflowing scrap paper box is beside the cutter.

This is my kitchen table and the media shelves that hold a lot of my Stampin' Up! stamps and all of my unmounted stamps in CD jewel cases.

We don't actually eat at the kitchen table, in fact the only time I clean my stuff off of it is if I invite someone to come over for dinner. As a single woman, I can get away with this!

This is the bar in my kitchen, those 3 file cabinets fit under it so nice! =) We didn't use it for a bar anyway, it was wasted space. The file cabinets are full of what else but paper and boxes of Stampin' Up! stamps. One drawer is for sewing supplies...

On top of the bar are a few scrapbooks I'm working on.

The binding machine is sitting there ready to be used (and I do!). The other stuff is just paper crafting stuff that got moved off the table that needs a home. At the end of the bar along the wall is where I put the cards I've made recently.

Beyond that is the kitchen sink and all the regular kitchen stuff... You've just turned a complete circle in my kitchen.

It's Contest Time at Heartfelt Greetings!

Hey! Amy Westerman is having a Business Card contest at Heartfelt Greetings, click on the link for details.

My business card has my picture on it with all the other usual information, so I decided to get into my saved Publisher file and reprint it without and see what kind of "art" I could come up with instead.

This was a fun challenge! I did a little watercoloring, some paper piercing and painted my butterfly with Stickles Ice. Unfortunately it's kind of hard to tell in the picture!

I neglected to do a blog post last night because I was having so much fun making these, so today I have two posts... You know how we are!

August Stampin Up Demonstrators Meeting Continued...

I forgot to add Judy's swap card to my last post so I thought I'd start with it today. Judy is my Stampin' Up! upline and our demonstrators meetings are at her house in Lake Havasu. We always have a wonderful time when we get together, she spoils us and makes us lunch too!

This next card was really fun to make! I received 3 stamped images and the thank you in my last order from Eclectic Paperie, the only stamp that was mine was "friend". These images have been sitting on my desk waiting for me, I colored all 3 yesterday and only made one card so far.

I just love this image, it imspires me in a way that says this is a thank you for a friend who lifts me up, whether it be in prayer or just the knowledge that he or she is there for you.

My cardstock colors are Certainly Celery, Orchid Opulence, Basic Black and White. My ink was Palette Noir, Orchid Opulence for my Paisley background stamp, I used Certainly Celery ink on the Canvas background stamp. I used Prismacolor pencils, Gamsol and a stump to color the image. The corner punch is from Stampin' Up! and I think it's retired. Can you tell I'm a "Hobby Demo", I'm not always sure what's retired and what's not?! If I have it I'll use it...

August Stampin Up Demonstrators Meeting

Wow I'm tired tonight! My day started with a Stampin' Up! Demonstrators meeting in Lake Havasu. We had a great time together and the above card was our project. We try to trade off who's going to come up with the fun project for our meeting and this month was Dagmar's turn. I love the card she came up with!

We used Stampin' Up! punches, Round, Ovals and the Word Window. The only stamp we used was the Floral background stamp and we made them in an assembly line, it was fun!


The next 4 cards are our swap cards, Pam's is on the top left, Camille's is on the bottom left and Dianes is on the right and mine is below. Hey! I forgot to take a picture of Judys! I'll have to post hers tomorrow, oops... She showed us an awesome technique today too that I'll have to share with you later.
I've just returned from Lake Havasu again. We went to visit Bill in the hospital this evening, all 6 of us were in his room and a nurse walked in and looked rather surprised! She didn't ask any of us to leave though, so that was nice. While we were there we gathered around him and prayed for him, it was awesome to be a part of that. He'll be having surgery in the morning and will know more when biopsies come back.

One More Card For Bill

We're making plans to go visit Bill in the hospital and of course we need a card!

There is a group of us that meet every Wednesday evening for a "Family Group", it's a bible study and Bill is part of our group. He was going to take us out to dinner this Wednesday evening and ended up in the hospital. So...... we thought it would be fun to get together anyway and go visit him. Earlier today we had 4 of us going together in one car, now I think we'll be taking the church van. I enjoy driving the church van (but probably won't get to!) anyway, sounds like fun to me!

I'll be going to Lake Havasu twice tomorrow, once in the morning for our monthly Stampin' Up! Demonstrators meeting and then in the evening to visit Bill in the hospital. It's going to be a full day!

On to the card ~ My cardstock colors are Ballet Blue, Basic Black, White and Watercolor paper. I'm sorry but I don't remember where my image came from, it's unmounted and I just can't remember... I used my classic ink pads and an Aqua Painter to color the image. Mounted it on Basic Black, Ballet Blue and again on Basic Black. I used SU Paisley background inked with Ballet Blue and stamped on White cardstock then stamped Better Get Better from the retired SU Simple Sayings above the Paisley in Ballet Blue. To separate those two images I tied a piece of Taupe grossgrain ribbon around that panel then assembled my card.

HOW COOL IS THAT !!!

I was nominated by Marcia at Simple Moments for the "Nice Matters Award", how cool is that?!
I have a friend in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil! Now it's my turn to nominate 5 bloggers for the Nice Matters Award.

My pleasure! Check out these gals blogs, they rock ~
Kristine at Ink Something!
Maria at Card Inspired By Maria
Charmaine at Oodabug Alley
Rose Ann at Paper Delightz
and Scrapperlicious - she's in Penang, Malaysia

My two cards today are from the Quickie Cards at Scrapbooks and More (top) and Stamps & Stuff (bottom) in Lake Havasu. Pam and I made our way to Havasu this morning for our usual Monday outing.
When we returned home this afternoon my new stamp set from PAPERTREYink. was waiting for me. I made some swap cards with it this afternoon and think I'd better wait another day before I post the card. I don't want to give away any surprises to the ladies I'll be swapping with!

Perfect Presentation & Polar Bears

I'm still on my Christmas card kick, I think I'll be done soon! The ink I've been waiting on for my Photo Printer arrived so I need to go back to work on Melissa's Wedding Album very soon. Like tomorrow morning!

My first and second card are made using the images from Stampin' Up!s Perfect presentation Hostess Set. My card stock colors are Ballet Blue, Real Red and White. I used the Cuttlebug Swirl Embossing folder on the first card because I don't have the Snowflake embossing folder yet. The Bookplate is a Sizzix Die and the Merry Christmas sentiment is from a MSE clear set.

I used the same images on this card as the first but my friend Diana in Wisconsin sent me a couple Cuttlebugged Snowflake panels. Cool! My cards are an A6 size so the panel is a little small so I adapted it to suit my needs and added a strip of wide gingham ribon to that panel.

Before I put it all together I thought the Holiday Print background stamp (retired SU) might be nice on the Ballet Blue card body. I think I like this card better than the first, what do you think?

With the last card today I feel like I've got it! I like this one the best so far. I used Diana's Bashful Blue Cuttlebugged panel, added a white piece to it that I stamped with SU Holiday Print background stamp in Brilliant Blue, tied a piece of Brilliant Blue gingham ribbon on it and used one of the images from my retired SU Polar Bears set for the focal point. I colored the image with my Prismacolor pencils and added the black dots with a Stampin' Write marker.

What do you think, number one, two or three - what's your favorite?

A Card For Bill

This is a card for a friend of mine that's in the hospital right now, he's just learned that he has cancer and will be having surgery Monday. I plan on taking it to church in the morning so everyone can sign it and our Pastor will take it to him when he goes to visit Monday.

Please keep Bill in your prayers, he's a member of our church and active in our Wednesday evening Family Group, Friday night Celebrate Recovery Ministry and has enjoyed other "jobs" around the church. He's one of those people that the Lord has changed his life and he's a blessing to be around because it shows.

On to the card ~ The image for this card is not a stamp, it's a drawing of our church, Christ's Church On The River here in Parker. It was drawn by Bob Karns for the Women's Ministry to use on the cover of their Cookbooks. I also printed note cards for them and about 100 of them had a boo boo in them that we couldn't use. I've used the some of the images from the boo boo's for special Pastor's note cards and thought since I want everyone at church to sign this card the image of the church would be nice.

The image is printed on nice text weight linnen paper, matted with Basic Black and Brilliant Blue, I used the Ticket Corner Punch on the edges to give it a "manly" look. I used the Weathered (SU) background stamp, the word Faith from the Graceful Words (SU) set and 3 Brilliant Blue Brads to finish it off.

I hope it's a blessing to Bill when he receives the card signed by his friends and family at Christ's Church On The River!

Sprinkle In A Snow Globe

I made this Christmas card a few weeks ago, I used Crystal Effects on the snow globe but don't really like the way it came out, it wrinkled the paper. I think I used too much. It's okay though, because it's just paper and I'll never know if I don't try new stuff!

All the stamps are from The Cat's Pajammas. I used the Marvy Circle and Scalloped Circle punches and added some paper piercing to the scalloped circle. The cardstock colors are Ballet Blue, Navy and White. It's a pretty simple card which would be great to mass produce when it comes time to make and sell Christmas cards this year.

Hero Arts Out Of The Box Flower

I've discovered a color combination I really like, Chocolate Chip, Cameo Coral and Ruby Red!

This flower is a Hero Arts stamp that I used Watercolor H2O's on. At least I think that's what they're called, they have lots of sparkle. My color combination was quite by accident because I started with the flower image and no real plan for what I was going to do with it. The colors of H2O's I used are Rose Gold, Moss Green and Sunflower.

As I was painting the flower I thought that Ruby Red might be a close match, I also looked at my SU color wheel and that's how this color combination came together. The background stamps are Stampin' Up!s Weathered and Floral inked with Ruby Red and stamped on Cameo Coral. I sponged a little Ruby Red around the edges and on the Floral panel I sponged just a little Close To Cocoa on top of the sponged Ruby Red. My sentiment is from a PAPERTREYink. set and I haven't perfected stamping inside the Hodgepodge Hardware yet but I'll keep practicing.

Rhonna Farrar Image Swaps

I've been without internet service for several hours tonight. I got my kids in bed and was going to do my blog post and couldn't, that kind of cramped my style!

I just had e mail come in and thought oh boy! I'd better do a quick blog post, so here goes!

These 2 cards are made with images that Diana from Wisconsin sent me, we did some swapping recently. The birds are from a Rhonna Farrar set she has and I think I'll ask if I can have a few more, they're cute!

I used the Prismacolor pencils on the birds, the top one I used my French Flair Background stamp on the Barely Banana card stock and did some paper piercing too. I stamped the background stamp first with Versamark but decided it was too blah so I stamped it again with Brilliant Blue. The Versamark left a nice faint impression to do my paper piercing on. It was one of those boo boos that worked out well. The Friends Always sentiment if from a PAPERTREYink. set and I used a couple of those Primas I've been hoarding!
My second card I used a Cuttlebugged Barely Banana panel my friend Pat sent me with the cute bird. It's great to have stampin' friends that send you cool stuff! The Girlfriends stamp is from a Sudio G mini set Cindy brought me back from her recent travels and I used some Brilliant Blue Gingham ribbon for an added accent.

The Girls Are Back In Town...

My friends Pam and Cindy are home from their road trip and we've resumed going to Lake Havasu to the LSS to do the Quickie Cards on Mondays.

What fun to go with these 2 stampin' friends! They had great stories to tell about their traveling together today and were too cute talking about collecting state map refridgerator magnets and the ones they missed out on.

The top card we made at Stamps & Stuff, this is such a simple layout and I really like the vellum panel and the stickles accent dots. It gives me some ideas for using my Cuttlebug embossing templates and those not quite 500 sheets of vellum I have left.

This is the card we made at Scrapbooks & More, I have this Rhonna Farrar stamp set, I'm not sure who the paper is made by but I could do that... lol. I like the basic idea here and think I can improve on it a little. I couldn't help myself I paper pierced the dots in the flourish and I'm sorry my Hello Girlfriend isn't centered but you know how it is when you're not at home!
I have good news to share tonight too. I've been asked to lead the Thursday Morning Women's Ministry at our church. We are a group of women who meet on Thursday mornings and do bible studies and other projects at Christ's Church on the River here in Parker. Mary is our current leader and she will help me transition into her role leading this awesome group of women this fall.
It's amazing to think back to the first time I attended church there, I remember thinking... Wow, this is where I've belonged all this time. Little did I know how God works in our lives! He's awesome and I just want to praise Him~

Fast & Fun Notes

Like I said yesterday I've had Christmas cards on my mind lately. I saw a card that Beate made on her blog Fresh & Fun and loved all the detail she used on it.

I sat down in front of my computer with a sheet of paper and sketched what she'd done and went to work making a Christmas card out of her sketch. If you'd like to see where my inspiration came from click on the link, hers is a birthday card and they look quite different, yet almost the same!

Have I told you how much I love background stamps? I love to make my own paper and really have a hard time using designer papers. I think they're so pretty but after I have them I can't figure out what to use them with!

I used 3 background stamps on this card, Holiday Print, Weathered, and Linnen all made by Stampin' Up! The Christmas tree is from Fast & Fun Notes by Stampin' Up! too.

To color the Christmas Tree I used Prismacolor Pencils, then added the details with Stampin' Write markers. I wanted to try a shadow under the tree, I needed to make a mask of the tree and punch an oval from scrap paper, I put my mask on the tree and the oval where I wanted it and then sponged some Sahara Sand ink in the oval area so I'd have a shadow.

I'm sorry if that didn't make any sense, I'd really rather be able to show you!

Enjoy your weekend!

Polar Bears

I've had Christmas cards on my mind lately. I know it's August but business is kinda slow around here... It would be an excellent time to make Christmas cards before the rush for them in November and December.

I have a stack of mostly retired Stampin' Up! Christmas sets on the table waiting for me now.
I've always loved the Polar Bears so I thought I'd start with them. I made a dozen Christmas cards today with the Fast & Fun Notes but haven't taken any pictures yet.

To color the Polar Bears I stamped the image on a scrap of White cardstock and made a stencil out of it using my craft knife. After stamping the image on the Lt. Blue cardstock I covered the image with my stencil and sponged Brilliance Moonlight White onto the Polar Bears. This has been a "coloring" technique of mine for a long time because until I discovered Watercolor Paper and/or Prismacolor Pencils I didn't like to color. Mostly I didn't like the look I got, you could see the pencil or marker lines, yuk!

Supply List: Stamps - SU Polar Bears, Snowflakes by The Cat's Pajammas, Paper - Not Quite Navy, Lt. Blue, Close To Cocoa, Ink - Brilliance Moonlight White, Noir Black, Accessories - Stampin' Sponges.

Lizzie Anne Designs Card Contest!!

I spent most of my day making cards and and totally enjoying myself! I'm not lost anymore, I'm right back where I belong.

In my travels I found Lindsey at Embellished is having a card making contest. Any cards made with Lizzie Anne Designs stamps are welcome to enter and the deadline is August 15th. I don't remember what the categories or prizes were so you'll have to go check out her blog.

Oh boy! I have 2 sets made by Lizzie Anne Designs, it's time to break them out and play!

This set is called Gettin' Hitched, it was purchased with the intent of using it in Melissa's wedding album.

I used Prismacolor pencils to color the cute images in this stamp set for both cards.

Supply List: Stamps - Gettin' Hitched by Lizzie Anne Designs, Paper - Nut Brown, Pixie Pink, Creamy Carmel, White, Ink - Noir Black, Close To Cocoa, Accessories - SU Word Window Punch, Eyelets

Supply List: Stamps - Gettin' Hitched by Lizzie Anne Designs, Paper - Apricot Appeal, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Garden Green, White, Ink - Noir Black, Rose Red, Accessories - SU Word Window Punch, Green Brads, Circle Punches, Glitter
I used my Stampin' Up! color wheel for this color combination again, I used it with the Sizzix Flowers a few posts ago and kind of liked it. It's different!

The Internet, Blogging and On Line Friends

I feel a little lost the last few days. Is it the let down from the Dare To Get Dirty Challenges? Or maybe it's August and summer isn't really over here until November 1st? Too quiet around here with the kids in school? (that couldn't be it =) !!)

In reading some of the other ladies blogs I'm not the only one.

The cards I have today were in my mail box the last couple of days. How cool is that?

The first card is from my friend Diane in Timmens, Ontario Canada. I love the Taken With Teal card stock, that Thank You stamp is georgous and she likes to doodle. Me too! Thanks Diane you made my day!

This second card is from my friend Diana in Omro, Wisconsin. I love the way she used the watercolor crayons and watercolor paper. Wow, very pretty.
The third card is also from Diana in Omro, Wisconsin. We've been swapping images and plan on swapping some die cuts soon. She has a new Cuttlebug machine!

Both of these ladies I've met through my blogging. The world isn't quite as big as it used to be with the internet. It's great to have friends to share our lives with and cheer us on, thanks girls!

Getting Dirty, Getting Organized, Getting Going!

Did you participate in the Splitcoast Stampers Dare To Get Dirty challenges? Are you as behind as I am?

I think it was last Saturday that I put together this notebook for my DTGD challenges, they were piling up on my kitchen table as I was printing them out. I seriously want to do them and don't want to lose any or throw them away. We all know what our work spaces get to lookin' like!

It's been a busy few days around here, I've been working on the Wedding Album like a good girl today. I took a slight detour yesterday with my old laptop computer.

I've been teaching the lesson for Celebrate Recovery Kids on Friday night for the last 4 weeks and needed a computer for the Power Point Prestentation. I had an old laptop that had been replaced and was just collecting dust so I thought if one of my computer literate fix a fella friends could make it "new" again maybe I could use it for that.

He handed it back to me Friday night all ready to go. Sooooooo, I sat here with it most of the day yesterday putting in stuff that I'd need for "CR" and I got to thinking about the printer I have that I can't make work with Windows Vista. It sure works nice with Windows XP in the laptop! Yea me!

This computer geek is a happy girl with 2 computers and printers going now. Yes, all at the same time...

Rose Ann's Flowers

Aren't these die cut flowers cool! Rose Ann at Paper Delightz used them to make a georgous card and I left a comment on her blog and asked if she'd like to do some swapping with me. As you can see she said yes! I made 4 cards today using the flowers she sent me.

My ink on this one matches better IRL, it looks more orange here.

Supply List: Stamps - Butterfly by Delta, Sentiment by PAPERTREYink., SU Linnen Background, Flourishes from the Pollen Dust set by Fancy Pants, Paper - Garden Green, Regal Rose, Apricot Appeal, Rose Red, Ink - Garden Green, Rose Red, Accessories - Flowers by Sizzix Big Shot ( I believe), Brads from JoAnn's.

This card was fun to make, I love paper piercing. I've always pierced through all my layers but this time I didn't and the Cameo Coral shows through under the piercing, I like it. You can get a closer look by clicking on the picture.

Supply List: Stamps - Butterfly by Delta, Flourishes by Rhonna Farrar, Sentiment by PAPERTREYink., Paper - Chocolate Chip, Cameo Coral, Creamy Carmel, Ruby Red, Accessories - Flower by Sizzix, Brad from JoAnn's, paper piercing tools.

This was my first card today. I used the Stampin' Up! color wheel to choose the colors for the flowers, I thought the Dynamic Duos would be good for them. I consulted the color wheel again for the bodies of the cards too. It helps me to use colors that I wouldn't always think to put together on my own.

Supply List: Stamps - Butterfly by Delta, Flourishes by Rhonna Farrar, Sentiment by PAPERTREYink., Paper - Close To Cocoa, Almost Amethyst, So Saffron, More Mustard, Ink - Close To Cocoa, Accessories - Sizzix Flower, Brad from JoAnn's.

WHAT SHOULD THAT KITTY CARD SAY INSIDE?

Look what came in the mail today!! It's a RAK from Split Coast Stampers, how fun!

This card was made by Monica Ackerman. I love the way you can "dial" a flower arrangement of your choice. Very cute, thank you!!

The kids have been back in school for 2 days now and I'm starting to get my routine back. I spent my morning at the beauty shop with my friend Celeste who fixed me up. Again.

I'm old, she's young, I don't cooperate with "the look" she thinks I should have very well...

My hair isn't hanging in my eyes quite so much now and I can get back to what I love to do... stamping!






My card today was fun, I saw this Penny Black image on SCS in a Dare To Get Dirty Challenge, I sent a private message to the lady to see if she'd stamp some images of it for me and she said she would!!

I'm getting more daring asking to swap stuff with people! All they can say is no... and think I'm a nut. But we know that I am so what's the big deal?

I used my Aqua Painter and ink pads to watercolor the image. We have an adopted kitty so I tried to copy her colors and the pink ink matches the Pixie Pink card stock. I used Brilliance Pearlescent Moonlight White on the white areas of the undies to give them some sparkle. The Pixie Pink panels were one piece of paper I ran through my Zip' E Mate in a Cuttlebug Embossing folder. I used Basic Black to accent the panels and main image, nipped off the edges of the main image with the Ticket Corner Punch and thought black brads would look nice on the pink as a finishing touch.

Now, what do I put on the inside of the card? Leave a comment with any cute ideas you may have!

There's That Vintage Look Again

This is a project for my friend Shirley that's been waiting for me to get inspired and finish it. I got the pictures cropped and mounted and stalled, what next?

I discovered a lady that makes the most awesome scrapbook pages I've ever seen last week and was inspired by her to finish this. Her blog is called Scrapperlicious, if you want to see an artist - check her out!

Now I'm not sure I like the vellum paper on it anymore. I suppose it would be easy enough to remove, after all it's only paper. That's what I kept thinking as I was working on this today. It's only paper, it's only paper, it's only paper.

I had fun putting the details in this. Shirley likes butterflies so I added some. I was thinking about how quickly our children grow up and added a clock, I had fun paper piercing on some of the flourishes, I hid some words in the flourishes, I even added some rhinestones to the flowers. It was fun, but will she like it?

It has a black frame that it goes in and needs to be matted before it's really finished.

I just discovered if you click on the picture a new window opens and you can see all the detail, how cool! Oh, the little things in a girls' life ~