Lilyboo Designs Safari Jake In The Jungle Scene

I have a fun Lilyboo Designs card to share today!

I used Lilyboo's Safari Jake Sitting Pretty & In The Jungle Scene digital images and merged them to make my scene.  I've been wanting to color more of the Lilyboo scenes but feel a little intimidated by coloring an entire scene.  When I'm finished I always think, "that was fun!" so I just need to keep coloring and enjoying myself!

I used almost the entire card front for the scene because when the images are really small they are harder for me to see and color.  Since there was a nice space between Jake and the tree I wanted to add a sentiment & made my own on the computer to match the font for the birthday sentiment on the inside of my card, sorry I didn't take a picture of the inside. It's not very exciting, just plain with the birthday sentiment, coloring the tree again for the inside might have been fun - next time!  I used the Die-namics Fishtail Flags Stax dies to cut out my sentiment.  The two layers don't really line up the way it looks on my card, I trimmed the edges off of the brown colored card stock to fit my preference.  I wanted to add a little something extra to an otherwise simple card so I wound a piece of jute twine around the sentiment flag.  To curl the ends I wrapped the jute twine around a Q Tip that was on the table from blending my background.

The card stock colors I used are Mohawk Bright White for the card base and sentiment, Copic X Press It Blending Card for the coloring & Astrobrights Jupiter Java as a matting layer.

The Copic markers I used are:

Skin - E00, E01, E11

Hair - E30, E31, E33, Y32

Clothes - YG91, YG93, YG95, E81, E84

Tree Trunk - E30, E31, E34, E37

Leaves - G40, G43, G46, BG90, BG93, BG96, G21, 

G24, G28, YG01, YG13, YG25, YG67

Rope - E40, E41, E42, E43, E44

Background/Outline - B0000, B01

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Challenges:
Paper Crafting Journey - Anything Goes
Make It Monday - Anything Goes
Inspire Me Fridays - Anything Goes

Used & New Penny Black Stamps 4 Sale

Penny Black Exhilarating in excellent condition $8.00

Penny Black Uplifting Occasion $10.00

Penny Black Together in very good condition $6.00

Penny Black Easy Rider in excellent condition $7.00

Penny Black Joy Filled Stockings new $7.00

That's all the Penny Black stamps I have for sale at this time, thanks for looking!

Buyer pays USPS Priority Mail shipping,  please e mail me at gonestampin(at)gmail(dot)com and we'll make arrangements- thanks!

Shipping within the USA - USPS Priority Mail Current Prices

Envelope    $5.15
Small Box   $5.35
Med Box    $11.35
Large Box   $15.45

Used Rubber & Clear Stamps 4 Sale

Hi blog friends,

I've been cleaning around my craft room (um, kitchen) and have more stamps to find good homes for.

Buyer pays USPS Priority Mail shipping,  please e mail me at gonestampin(at)gmail(dot)com and we'll make arrangements- thanks!

Shipping within the USA - USPS Priority Mail Current Prices

Envelope    $5.15
Small Box   $5.35
Med Box    $11.35
Large Box   $15.45
 

Marines by DeClassified cling mounted rubber stamp set used in excellent condition with no staining $10.00

Stampendous Elegant Angels used in good condition $7.00

Assorted Christmas stamps new - $4.00

Inkadinkado Rock Star new $7.00

Art Impressions cling rubber stamps new $15.00

Stampin' Up! Tiny Tags new $12.00 (retail $16.95)

I have several more stamps from Penny Black, Verve Stamps, Stampendous, Inkadinkado, etc., there are too many for one blog post,  I'll be posting more soon.

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Stampin' Up! Mini Mates

My card today is for the Operation Write Home Sketch challenge #154.  

I've set a goal for this year to try to play along in each OWH sketch challenge, I don't know if I can meet my goal but I'm going to try!

I've been going through my old rubber stamp sets cleaning, purging and selling some off.  This stamp set is in my sell pile and hasn't had any interest so I thought I'd play with it while it's still with me. 

I used OWH sketch #154 for my layout, my cardstock choices are Astrobrights Jupiter Java, Via Vellum Leaf Green, Neenah Red Pepper Linen and Copic X Press It blending card.

This sketch was so much fun I made another card using the Stampin' Up! Mini Mates set.

My card was made using the scraps beside my paper trimmer, Astrobrights Eclipse Black, Mohawk Bright White & digital paper from The Graphics Fairy.  

And then I was on a roll with the stamp set...

The Mini Mates looked like they might go well with my Papertrey Ink Take Three die and I was right it's perfect for it.  I had lots of fun making this last card but a hard time putting it together.  

I suppose that was a sign to stop!

Even though it was fun to use this retired stamp set I'm still willing to part with it.  

This Stampin' Up! Mini Mates set is in very good condition, I'm asking $10.00 for it, buyer pays Priority Mail shipping within the USA.  If you live outside the USA and would like it contact me and we'll figure out the shipping.  My e mail address is in the contact info tab above.

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Challenges:

Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps - Sketch #154

Hambo Stamps Penguin Snowball

Are you ready for this week's Hambo Hoedown?!

The challenge is to use felt on your cards along with this cute Hambo Stamps digital Penguin Snowball set or any other Hambo Stamp you may have.  

I knew I had felt I'd stashed somewhere and I found it.  I had a few different colors to choose from and picked this one because if I were a Copic marker I'd be a part of the Blue Green family!  

This cute penguin is colored with Copic markers:

Hat & Scarf - BG53, BG45, BG49

Hat trim, beak & feet - Y13, Y15, Y17

Penguin Black - N3, N5, N7

Snow - G0000

I didn't know if my Die-namics Chevron die would cut through the felt so I tested it out and was very pleased.  I also tried cutting it with my paper trimmer but couldn't get a nice straight cut so I gave up on that idea.  My layout is Operation Write Home's sketch challenge #153 flipped.  

I've been thinking about challenging myself to complete all of the Operation Write Home sketch challenges for 2013...  I know it's a lofty goal, what do you think?

My cardstock choices are Astrobrights Eclipse Black & Galaxy Gold as well as Copic X Press It blending card for the coloring.  I put a full sheet of the Astrobrights Galaxy Gold through my printer to add the sentiment to my card front.  Don't you just love digital stamps!!  The felt came from Papertrey Ink and I used a Die-namics Cheveron die as well as my trusty We R Memory Keepers 1/8th inch Corner Chomper.

I also have exciting news from Hambo Stamps today -

We are having a Design Team Call for our new term, which begins in February. We would LOVE to have you apply! Read all about it HERE.
AND.........
Don't forget about the awesome SALE going on right HERE! We are making room for some AMAZING new stuff to be revealed soon!
AND.........
New STAMPING SUPPLIES have been added to the Hambo Store! Be sure to check out the available inks, acrylic blocks, and accessories for all your stamping needs!
AND......... 

It’s a Hambo Blog Hop! And you can join us!

Our jammin’ theme is “Name That Toon.” Using any Hambo image, either rubber or digital, create a project that represents and depicts a comic strip! Maybe it’s your favorite one you read as a kid, or maybe it’s one that you don’t even like! Whatever it is, we want to see your comic strip creations!

The hop is scheduled for Friday, January 18, and is set to go live at 7:00 AM CST.  All blog hop posts must stay at the top of the page for that whole day.  A prize will be awarded to the customer whose comic strip-themed creation tickles the Bacon Bits’ fancy in a hammin’ jammin’ way!  The winner will be announced on the Hoedown blog, as well as on the Hambo blog on Wednesday, January 23.

If you are interested in participating, please email Judy at hambodesignteam@gmail.com by 11:00 PM CST on Wednesday, January 14.  The blog hop order will be emailed to you on January 16.

Sample blog copy for the hop will be available after you sign up, if you desire to use it.

Come "Name That Toon" with us!

 

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

 

Challenges

Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps - Sketch #153

Bug A Boo Stamps Penguin

I have a fun card to share with you today for a new challenge at Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps, 

our challenge is to make a card with no sentiment on the front. 

This cute penguin image is from Bug A Boo Stamps and is colored with Copic markers:

BG 79, BG75, BG70, R59, R46, R35, Y17, Y15, Y13, N7, N5, N3

I hope you'll play along in our challenge at OWH!

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Challenges:

Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps - No Sentiment

Homemade "Like Scentsy" Beeswax Cubes

My blog post today is about a happy accident that turned into a fun gift idea.

Pictured above you are looking at scented beeswax that are cut up using a tool that I normally cut my homemade soap with. 

A few months ago our local Bee Keeper and friend/neighbor gave me a twenty pound brick of beeswax.  

I'd almost bet you he was thinking, "let's see what she can do with this (hehehe)"    

One of the things I wanted to try was Beeswax candles, as our kids would say, it was pretty much a fail.  The candles cooled too quickly and most had unsightly cracks in them.  The first candle batch was scented with Pumpkin fragrance oil.  I decided to melt the candles down and just pour the scented wax into quart sized half and half cartons till I figured out a way around the cracking.

Quart sized milk and half & half cartons are perfect for making smaller blocks of Beeswax and works as a nice soap mold too.  

I "unmolded" the scented Beeswax by tearing off the paper cartons.  Before the Beeswax hardened completely I cut it up into chunks so it would melt easier and then thought about my Scentsy warmers.  Oh wow, I'd just made my own scented wax for my warmer!!!  I tried out a couple of the cut up cubes and they worked beautifully, smelled delightful and lasted a lot longer than the name brand product - hey wow I think I'm on to something!  The only real difference is the Beeswax melts at a higher temperature so it takes longer to melt in the warmer.  Beeswax is a much healthier alternative to paraffin wax so that's a plus for our families too.

Now for the gift idea!  I was having a hard time thinking of a gift for one of my husbands sisters and realized I could make scented Beeswax cubes for her and package them in a up-cycled candle jar!  She'd mentioned she liked a store brand Fig scent and I just happened to have a Mediterranean Fig fragrance oil from Elements Bath & Body.com. 

I put some of the unscented Beeswax in my double boiler, waited for it to melt, checked the temperature to be sure it was about 150 degrees and added the fragrance oil.  Next I poured it into the quart sized half & half container and waited for it to set up and cool.  Wouldn't you know that when I use a carton like that my wax has never cracked???   

After the Beeswax had cooled and the brick was solid I tore off the carton and cut it into cubes.

The next day I put the cubes in the up-cycled candle jar, made a tag label and added a red ribbon.

It was a hit, she loved it!

I used the scented Beeswax cubes as a Christmas gift but they'd make a nice birthday present, hostess gift or anytime when you'd like to give someone just a little something.
Change your tag or label and you're all set!

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Link Parties:

Frugally Sustainable

Clever Chicks

 Gingerly Made Thursdays

Home Acre Hop

  One Project at a Time

Sasheen Bow Machine S-72

It's Monday morning, our kids are back to school and it's really quiet here at home.

I thought it would be fun to post some pictures of the kids playing with the new to us Bow Maker I bought on E Bay.  This awesome tool is as old as I am and is in excellent shape and will be fun for years to come in our crafty household.

I won the bid on Christmas Eve and it arrived in a huge box by mail the day before the kids returned home from Grandma & Grandpa's.  It came with three boxes of bow pins, two boxes of adhesive tags and three or four partially used Sasheen ribbon reels.

 Their eyes lit up when they saw the bow machine and wanted to know if they could make some bows. She's a quick study and went right to work, I think Jenny must have made 100 bows and was willing to store them in her closet till we needed them.  What a relief I wasn't sure where we were going to store all of them!

Michael made a few bows too but wasn't quite as fascinated with it.

Meanwhile Maxine and Buster were trying to relax nearby.

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Verve Stamps Wonderfully Made

I've noticed when I've been out and about visiting blogs that there are a lot of New Year's Resolutions.

Some of them are really inspiring and I'm tempted to try them out but I haven't publicly or privately made any New Year's Resolutions because I don't usually stick with them.  

I have been inspired by some of the stamping/crafting bloggers to clean out my stuff and thought I should take it one step at a time. 

I have this drawer in my craft room (ah, kitchen) that is starting to be hard to open because there is so much scrap paper, digital papers & die cut embellishments I printed and cut a few years ago hiding in there.

The other day I decided to attempt to get some of that paper out of there and use it to make cards. The New Year's Day blog post on the Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps blog had lots of wonderful inspiration.

One of the OWH technique tutorials for 2011 was Triple Time Stamping which I loved.

I just took it in a slightly different direction using patterned papers and a Verve stamp from their Wonderfully Made clear set.  My drawer is a little lighter now and I have a dozen cards completed, backs stamped and tucked into envelopes for my Operation Write Home box.  

My next "un resolution" needs to be addressing a large stack of rubber stamps (mostly Stampin' Up!) under the kitchen table.

I have a new toy that's going to need somewhere to live and as they say, 

"out with the old and in with the new?"   I might just have some stamps for sale soon!

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Lilyboo One More Flower

I have a fun new release that is coming soon from Cuddly Buddly, a Lilyboo Designs digital image to share with you today!

This cutie is called One More Flower and I colored it with Copic markers:

Bear - E35, E33, Y21, Y32, RV10

Tree - E30, E33, E37

Grass - YG01, YG13, YG25, YG67

Basket - E40, E41, E42

Flowers - R81, R83, R85, R35, R46, R59

Background/Outline - B0000, B00

The papers I used are by Neenah - Red Pepper Linen and Krarft, my image is printed on Copic X Press It blending card.  To make the frame I used two Spellbinders square dies and the hearts border is a die from the Die-namics line.  I also used a Sizzix Tim Holtz wood embossing folder for added interest.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Challenges:

Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps - Spring Flowers

Hambo Stamps Pheasant

I have a new appreciation for pheasants...  I bet you didn't know that about me!

Our challenge for the Hambo Hoedown this week is to use the Hambo Stamps Pheasant you received in your e mail for playing along with last weeks challenge or any Hambo Stamps rubber or digital stamps and using the colors hot pink, aqua, lime green, bright yellow and or orange.  

Actually three of those colors will be good.

I had my image in advance and needed to think on it for awhile.  

Monday I "googled" pheasants, the first thing to come up was recipes...  

then I clicked images and then I had to read and learn more about them.  

Next step was coloring with Copic markers, 

I wasn't sure I could do this beautiful bird justice but I tried.  

Here are the Copic markers I used:

B0000, B01

E50, E53

BG11, BG13, YG13

YG01, YG13, R14, R24

E23, YR23, Y35, Y32, V01, R24, R35, R46

The colors I used for this Hambo Hoedown challenge are Aqua, Lime Green & Bright Yellow as well as a mixture of some of the others.  

The hot pink just didn't feel right to me so I didn't use any.

I hope you'll dance on over to the Hambo Hoedown and see all the Pheasant inspiration for our challenge this week and answer the call of the challenge.

 Image from Google

Am I the only one who gets side tracked when given an unusual image to color?

And now for some super duper HAMBO FUN and exciting news!

We are having a Design Team Call for our new term, which begins in February. We would LOVE to have you apply! Read all about it HERE.

AND.........

Don't forget about the awesome SALE going on right HERE! We are making room for some AMAZING new stuff to be revealed soon!

AND.........

New STAMPING SUPPLIES have been added to the Hambo Store! Be sure to check out the available inks, acrylic blocks, and accessories for all your stamping needs!

AND......... 

It’s a Hambo Blog Hop! And you can join us!

Our jammin’ theme is “Name That Toon.” Using any Hambo image, either rubber or digital, create a project that represents and depicts a comic strip! Maybe it’s your favorite one you read as a kid, or maybe it’s one that you don’t even like! Whatever it is, we want to see your comic strip creations!

The hop is scheduled for Friday, January 18, and is set to go live at 7:00 AM CST.  All blog hop posts must stay at the top of the page for that whole day.  A prize will be awarded to the customer whose comic strip-themed creation tickles the Bacon Bits’ fancy in a hammin’ jammin’ way!  The winner will be announced on the Hoedown blog, as well as on the Hambo blog on Wednesday, January 23.

If you are interested in participating, please email Judy at hambodesignteam@gmail.com by 11:00 PM CST on Wednesday, January 14.  The blog hop order will be emailed to you on January 16.

Sample blog copy for the hop will be available after you sign up, if you desire to use it.

Come "Name That Toon" with us!

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Challenges:

Hambo Hoedown - Pheasant Color Challenge

Heart Song Designs Poppies

We have a new challenge starting today at the Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps, 

our first Midweek Throwdown challenge of the new year!  

Since our cards do a lot of traveling our challenge theme is Spring Flowers.

For my card I used Poppies by Heart Song Designs and colored them with Copic markers R39, R37, R35, R32, YG67, YG63, YG61, E44, E43.  Cut them out with a Spellbinders Mega Oval and matted with the Mega Oval Scallops die.  My sentiment is from the Papertrey Ink Take Three Fall stamp set and on the Papertrey Ink Double Ended Banner die.  

I used a different for me Copic red combination to color the poppies and found I didn't have cardstock or patterned papers that coordinated so I made my own.  I colored with the Red Copic markers on a 1/4 sheet of Neenah Solar White cardstock, added a little air brushing to it to try and smooth some of the overlapping edges.  I next spritzed my Penny Black Circular Design background stamp with Copic blending solution and stamped.  Holding the stamp down longer than I normally would if I'd "inked" it.  The colorless blending solution removes color and I really like this effect, it's kind of like a bleaching technique.    

I hope you'll have time to play in our Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps Midweek Throwdown challenge -

Happy New Year & thanks for visiting my blog today!

Challenges:

Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps - Spring Flowers

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

Happy New Year!

Now that the holiday's are behind us it's time to clean up!  I thought you might like to make homemade dishwasher detergent with me today -

You might be surprised to find that you have almost all the ingredients to make Dishwasher Soap already, especially if you've made you own laundry soap (recipe here)
.  

I bought the Citric Acid and Lemon Essential Oil at our local Health Food Store.
I thought the Citric Acid was a little pricey at $5.99 for the small bottle in the photo above so I went looking around the internet and found Citric Acid on E Bay, I found a five pound package here with free shipping that I've used and I'm quite happy with it.

It gets a little messy but when I was done I swept the powder up and put it in the mason jar. 

Speaking of mason jars...  I store my dishwasher soap and now what's left of the Borax in them because they seal tight and keep the moisture out.  My Borax was starting to turn into a solid brick from the box being open.

Here's the finished product in a quart sized mason jar.  One tablespoon washes a load of dirty dishes and lasts a couple of months at our house.  

The Recipe:

1 cup Borax

1 cup Baking Soda

1/4 cup Salt

1/4 cup Citric Acid

30 Drop Lemon Essential Oil

Add the mixture to an air tight container, use 1 tablespoon of powder for each load of dirty dishes.  If dishes are still dirty due to hard water, try 2 tablespoons of powder.

We've been using this for about a year now and it works great, I'll never buy dishwasher detergent at the store again (=

Edited to add:  I forgot to mention I've been using white vinegar in the rinse aid dispenser of the dishwasher as well.  Why pay out more $$$ when plain white vinegar works like magic!

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Link Parties:

 Frugally Sustainable

Clever Chicks

Gingerly Made

My Girlish Whims

Top 12 Cards For 2012

Happy New Year!

At Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps we are talking about our Top 10 Cards for 2012.  

I had a hard time choosing just ten so I'm doing my Top 12 or 2012!

February 15, 2012

April 10, 2012

April 11, 2012

May 3, 2012

May 13, 2012

June 13, 2012

August 14, 2012

September 9, 2012

September 13, 2012

September 20, 2012

October 8, 2012

March 20, 2012

 

I've added links to the dates under the cards to take you to that blog posts in case you'd like to know what Copic markers I used or any of the other details about the cards.

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Link Parties:

Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps - Top 10 Cards of 2012