Thursday, January 31, 2013

A New Deconstructed Sketch

Goodness, my blog has been neglected this week! I am directing three musicals right now, and the first one opens in two weeks, so every waking moment has been spent working on that. But to keep my sanity, I have to keep stamping :)
Today I am sharing a creation with Jen's Deconstructed Sketch 87:
For my card I chose one of Flourishes' sentiment sets, In and Out You, available from i {heart} papers
My banners are cut from Carta Bella's Beautiful Moments Collection kit, also at ihp. I stamped my sentiments in Cherry Cobbler and Basic Gray, and then cut with Spellbinders Labels Four Small. I sponged the outside of the frame with So Saffron ink. The little bird sticker is from the Carta Bella kit. 

The Ivory Sheer Box Pleats ribbon and Kaiser Latte pearls are from Really Reasonable Ribbon.


The Deconstructed Sketch girls have some terrific samples to show, so be sure to have a visit at their blogs too!

To play along, link up here!
Stamps: In and Out You (Flourishes) available at i {heart} papers
Paper: Carta Bella 12x12 Collection Kit (available at ihp), Naturals Ivory (SU!)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Basic Gray, So Saffron (SU!)
Accessories and Tools: corner rounder, Latte Pearls and Sheer Ivory Box Pleats Ribbon (Really Reasonable Ribbon), Spellbinders Labels Four Small (available at ihp), Banner Stacklets 1 (Taylored Expressions)


Thursday, January 24, 2013

A Fabulous Team and Sketch~!

I am thrilled to be joining Jen's fabulous team at The Deconstructed Sketch today! The newly expanded team is one talented group and I am honored to be a part of it! I enjoyed my time as a Guest Designer so much last summer and am excited to be a part of the full-time team~ Thank you, Jen!
 
Our sketch this week was a fun one open to a little interpretation. I decided to do a CAS design (I know, don't be shocked - I am usually a lots of layers and "stuff" girl) using the new clouds2cut Stamp and Die set from The {Stamps} of Life.
I stamped my clouds using Stephanie's Cornflower Premium ink, and then cut them out with the adorable matching dies. The sentiment, from kites2fly, is stamped with Licorice ink. I added two little silver half pearls for emphasis. Click on the photo for a close-up!

The Deconstructed Sketch girls have some terrific samples to show, so be sure to have a visit at their blogs too!

To play along, link up your sketch creation HERE!

Other challenges for this card:
Stampin' Royalty - polka dots
Stampavie and More - spots and stripes
Crafting By Design - polka dots

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Flying High with New Stamps and Dies at TSOL!

Over at The {Stamps} of Life there is a lot of FUN new stuff this week! One of my favorite new things are these puffy cloud dies that are part of a die cut/stamp set combination called clouds 2cut.

I love using Stephanie's dies to cut felt -- the Framelits dies cut so crisp and clean!
My sentiment is from kites2fly. I also used the coordinating Kite Die set for my kite. It makes for a cute and fun card when you can mix and match patterns to paper piece!
The Kite Die set coordinates with the Club set this month, pinwheels2stamp. I love when products can be interchanged and used to work with other things that I have! 
If you are not familiar with The {Stamps} of Life, head on over there and join the Club! You will love it!
Challenges for this card:
Kaboodle Doodles - Ribbon
ABC Challenges - Birthday Cards 
Crafty Boots - New 
Created With Love - Anything Goes

Stamps: kites2fly by The {Stamps} of Life
Paper: GP White, Poptone Berrylicious, SU! Only Orange, MME DP
Ink: Stephanie's Premium Licorice Ink
Accessories: Sizzix embossing folder, Baker's twine & Sheer Two-Tone Striped ribbon (Really Reasonable Ribbon), white felt, blue gems (The Paper Studio), kite and cloud dies (TSOL), grass border (Fiskars), SB dies

Saturday, January 19, 2013

In A Jam?

Today I am sharing a shaped card I made using the new In A Jam digi that was released this month at Whimsie Doodles!
I printed my image out to be about 5x5.5 inches and then cut both the printed front and back out at the same time. 

I paper pieced most of the jar and added a little crocheted flower and pearl center for some dimension. The quote is printed on the inside of the card.

Isn't this set cute? I love that this can be a big greeting~!

Check out our new challenge here! It's a fun sketch by Doodlelicious Diva Laura~! 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Stamps: In A Jam (Whimsie Doodles)
Ink: Copics (to color blue frame)
Paper: My Mind's Eye DP, GP White, SU! Real Red
Accents: crocheted flower (Michael's), Pearl (Kaiser) 

Friday, January 18, 2013

"Name That Toon" with Hambo Stamps~!

Welcome to "Name That Toon!" sponsored by Hambo Stamps! 

Today Hambo friends and the Bacon Bits Design Team are bringing you a dozen fun creations that depict comic strips! It might be our favorite, or just one that was fun to design. If you arrived here from Paula's lovely blog you are in the right place! If not, you might want to start back at the beginning at the Hambo blog to make sure you are eligible for the hopper prize!

A prize will be awarded to one participant whose comic strip-themed creation tickles the Bacon Bits’ fancy in a hammin’ jammin’ way!  Another prize will be awarded randomly to a hopper who comments on all of the blogs along the way. The winners will be announced on the Hambo company blog, Talk to the Ham, on Wednesday, January 23, as well as at the Hambo Hoedown challenge blog. We love comments anytime, but the deadline for prize entry comments is Sunday, January 20 at 5 PM CST. Don't miss it!

My card is made with Caveman - HCL032 clear stamp set (Clear stamps are new at Hambo!). You can also get them in rubber: Caveman - 4221 and My World Evolves - 4214. I stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then colored in using Copic markers. 

Can you guess my comic strip? It is my all-time favorite: B.C. by Johnny Hart

What a brilliant and funny man he was. I loved how he could poke fun at every subject imaginable, but many times had a poignant message for his readers as well. Some of the ones that made me giggle the most were the definitions. Here is one of my favorites:


Hart passed away in 2007, but his family carries on the B.C. legacy and the comic still appears in newspapers all over the world.
 
Well, you made it to the end! And we hope that you enjoyed "stripping" with us! (Just putting that in to see who is reading this LOL). Be sure to check out this week's Hambo Hoedown Challenge. There is one more day to apply for the Hambo Bacon Bits Design Team! CLEAR STAMPS are in stock, ready to be shipped to your own little door of the world. Lots of fun stuff at Hambo Stamps! 

Stamps: Caveman Clear Stamp Set HCL032 (Hambo Stamps)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics E00, E33, E35, E49, E57, YG63 YG67, C3
Paper: Kraft, Chocolate Chip (SU!), White (GP), Archaic DP (Basic Grey)
Accents: Pewter pearls (Kaiser), jute string, ticket corner and slit punches (SU!)  

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Two Things I Love: Chocolate & Bees......

I love Valentine's Day -- almost more than any other holiday! It must come from my incredible love for chocolate and being romantic at heart.  :) The love for bee things is a little different -- I am very allergic to bee stings, but for some reason, just love the dies, stamps, and little bee knickknacks I find. As long as they aren't real, I am good with them!
I made this valentine greeting using dies from CottageCutz.

I had originally started to make a typical yellow and black card using my new cute little Bumblebee Mini Die, but then I took a pink turn (which happens frequently since it's my favorite color) and made my card into a valentine instead.
The Scalloped Doily provided a fun background for my Prima pink flower. I sponged Pretty in Pink and Melon Mambo on the bees' wings for a little depth. A little Anastasia White Lace from Really Reasonable Ribbon added a sweet bow to match the doily.
I do enjoy watching real bees as they fly from flower to flower in the spring and summer. These bees are buzzin' around to wish you an early Happy Valentine's Day~!

Challenges for this card:
Crafts and Me - Something new (dies)
Freshly Brewed - anything goes
WordArt Wednesdays - word art freebie OR use an encouraging uplifting sentiment - anything goes 
Bearly Mine - Anything Goes
Oozak - Anything goes plus pink and bling
 
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette, Prima and stash DP
Ink: Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink
Accents: Scalloped Doily and Bumblebee Mini Dies (CottageCutz), tulle flower (Prima), Anastasia White Lace (Really Reasonable Ribbon), Pearl pearls (Kaiser), rub-on letters



Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Color Your World With IHP!

It's time for the i {heart} papers Design Team Challenge! This month Deb chose this gorgeous color combination from Design Seeds:
I decided to stick with a winter theme (since it's in the single digits here!). I chose Paper Smooches' adorable Chilly Chums for my images. Stamped with Memento Black Ink and colored with Copics, my little sweet walrus just wants to chill out!  I used R81, 83, 85, B000, and YR21. When your favorite color is pink, you gotta have a pink walrus!

I added some fun Snow White felt for snow and added a touch of Crystal Stickles across the top of each drift. Everything is held together with ISP Red Line Tape

My designer paper is Dots & Stripes by Echo Park and the Yellow Chevron Striped Twill is from Really Reasonable Ribbon.

I used Jen's Deconstructed Sketch 84 for my layout:
This pretty color combo lends itself to all sorts of fun ideas. Check out what the rest of the team has made:

Sunday, January 13, 2013

January Really Reasonable Ribbon Blog Hop is Here!


It's time to hop with Really Reasonable Ribbon! This month's Ribbon Club Assortment has my favorite colors and is sure to bring some great eye candy from the RRR Team. I hope that you will join us today and hop along!
If you arrived here from Trudy's blog, you are in the right place! If you just happened along, be sure to start at the beginning at the RRR Blog (I am the third stop, so you don't have far back to go!) so you don't miss out on the awesome projects, fun news, and a prize from Really Reasonable Ribbon! Our hop goes live at 6:30 AM CST.

Each 13th of the month it's the Really Reasonable Ribbon blog hop where we highlight the Ribbon Club! This month, Bonnie's choices for the January ribbon club package are just so fun and have a lot of my favorite color, PINK! So many great ribbons to use with winter themes, as well as Valentine's Day -- and baby cards -- plus lots of other occasions! Stay tuned this month for creations I have made using those sweet pink ribbons!

If you really love ribbon and would like to have a wonderful assortment of ribbons sent to you automatically each month, just join the Really Reasonable Ribbon Club! Monthly ribbon club assortments are selected and pre-packed to reflect a specific theme, color, or holiday season. The assortments vary from month to month, but an average assortment has 5-9 different ribbon styles and consists of 10-15+ yards of ribbon.  You will love it! Tell Bonnie that Judy sent you!

It is very cold here this week (minus 13 as I write this) so I decided to create a snowy card using the gorgeous Satin with Silver Edges White Ribbon from the assortment for my card. I love the shimmery elegance of this ribbon. You can find many other colors at the RRR Store too (just search "Satin with Silver" in the RRR search box)~!
My background is an older, beautiful DP by Memory Box called Dewfrost. I have been hoarding it! Images are from It's a Snow Day, available at i {heart} papers. I stamped my image in Memento Tuxedo Black on X-Press Copic Blending CS. Click on either photo for a close-up!
 
Thanks for stopping by today! Be sure to comment along the way at all my amazing teammates' blogs for the awesome prizes from Really Reasonable Ribbon

Like what you see? Become a Follower!

Now off to Heidi's blog, for some amazing eye-candy!
 


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Stamps: It's a Snow Day (Chicken Girl Design Stamps)
Paper: Bordering Blue, Bliss Blue (SU!), X-Press Copic Blending CS - White, Dewfrost DP (Memory Box)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Only Orange, Certainly Celery, Bordering Blue
Accessories: Diamond Stickles, Cuttlebug EF, Fiskars Threading Water border punch, snowflake brads (The Paper Studio), distressing tool, Ranger Clear EP, Nestabilities, Satin with Silver Edges White Ribbon (RRR)
Techniques: distressing, sponging, embossing

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Owl Always Be Your Friend

There are some adorable new images for Valentine's Day in the Whimsie Doodles Store! Today I am sharing one from Valentine Gift Tags. Isn't this owl DARLING?
I printed it twice on white cardstock to pop it up, and then colored it using Copic markers. I pieced the eyes to match the background paper. The sweet little sentiment says "Owl always be your friend."
My ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon is Dots Organza White and White Wrinkled Ribbon.

I used Jen's Deconstructed Sketch #83 for my layout:
Take a look at the entire Whimsie Doodles Valentine Gift Tags Collection here.

And be sure to check out the current Whimsie Doodles challenge HERE. Three more days to enter for a chance to be the next WD Guest Artist!
Other challenges for this card:
Crafting for all Seasons - Something New (digi)
Crafty Creations - Something New (digi)
Creative Moments - Monochrome 
Craft Room Challenge - Valentines
Going Grey With Scrap-Creations - Something New (digi) 
Loves Rubber Stamps - Use Dies Or Punches

Stamps: Valentine Gift Tags (Whimsie Doodles)
Paper: White (Georgia Pacific), Melon Mambo (SU!), Kraft (Recollections), Sleepy Tree DP (K & Co.), Four Seasons DP (The Paper Studio)
Ink: Copics R81, R83, R85, C1
Accents: Dots White Organza and Wrinkled White Ribbon (RRR), rhinestone (Studio G), silver half pearls (Mark Richards), Picket Fence Border and Elephant Peeker die [heart/scalloped heart] (CottageCutz), Scalloped border die (SNSS), Pennant, Oval and Scalloped Oval dies (SB), felt


Tuesday, January 8, 2013

A Happy Hello

Today is my first post with the CottageCutz Design Team. I am so happy to be joining such a talented team of artists -- and such sweet personalities too!

I am sharing a valentine I made for my college sophomore daughter. I used Elephant Peeker, Picket Fence Border, and the Scalloped Doily for my dies.

 
My little elephant is a girl, so she has painted her toes pink! I hand cut the little tag, punched a hole, and added a little stamped sentiment ("a happy hello") from Stampin' Up! 

The Sherbert Satin Ruffle ribbon and Raspberry Baker's Twine are from Really Reasonable Ribbon. Check out the THREE DAY SALE going on at Really Reasonable Ribbon right now! The felt flower is by Bride's. Oh do I love pink~!

My sketch is based on Deconstructed Sketch #83:
My daughter lives 700 miles away, so I hope this little sweet elephant brings her some sweet love and cheer in her mailbox!





On another fun note, THIS CARD won a prize (Meljen images) at Dream Valley Challenges - randomly chosen out of 480 entries -- kinda fun for odds like that!

Challenges for this card: 
Send a Smile for Kids - Valentine 4 Kids 
Brown Sugar - Thinking of/Missing You 
Crafts 4 Eternity Recipe Challenge - Something new (dies)
Incy Wincy Designs - Something New (dies) 
Lexi's Creations - Anything Goes   
Stamp and Create - Love 
Whoopsi Daisy - Die Cuts & Punches 
One Stitch At A Time - Something New (dies) 

Quirky Crafts - Something New with Pink (dies) 
The Pink Elephant Monday Card Challenge - Celebrate
Totally Stampalicious - Buttons & Bows

Stamps: Stampin' Up!
Paper: Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette (SU!), White (Georgia Pacific), This and That Graceful DP (Echo Park)
Ink: Copics, Melon Mambo, Sakura White Glaze pen
Accents and Tools: Elephant Peeker, Picket Fence Border, Scalloped Doily dies (CottageCutz), eyelet, Sherbert Satin Ruffle ribbon and Raspberry Baker's Twine (RRR), pink gems (Studio G), felt flower (Bride's)

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Thank You

Here is a quick and easy thank you card using the new
pinwheels2stamp from The {Stamps} of Life. I love black, red, and white, and use it often for my "go to" color combo.

I stamped the pinwheel using Stephanie's Strawberry ink, and the sentiment with Licorice. I embossed the background with a Cuttlebug embossing folder, and then tied some Black Licorice Baker's Twine around the front panel. "Wheely" easy!

Challenges for this card:
CAS-ual Fridays - Thank You
Totally Papercrafts – Something New 
Jingle Belles - Look what Santa brought me (new stash)
Hotshot Crafts - Clean and Simple
Crafts 4 Eternity Recipe Challenge - Something new

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

A 'Wheel' Friend

One of my crafting resolutions for the year is to visit more sketch blogs and participate in sketch challenges. I love doing them in my head, but for some reason don't ever use them on paper! And it makes it so easy to know where to put things. Most of my "That card took me two hours!" is thinking up the sketch! DOH.

So today's creation is based on retro sketches #44:
I used my new pinwheels2stamp from The {Stamps} of Life and stamped one of the small pinwheels several times on my designer paper with Stephanie's Licorice ink. I used some new washi tape, a crocheted flower and Sizzix's Bricked embossing folder for added texture.

I had a helper for this card. This is my sweet Fiona, who loves to be with me in my cozy little stamping area. She will be 5 next month!
Isn't she a doll? I actually had some Milk Duds on my desk, so I think she was more interested in those than in card-making :)
Challenges for this card:
For Fun Challenges - something new
WordArt Wednesdays - word art freebie OR use an encouraging uplifting sentiment - #61 Trust
Stampin' Royalty - color challenge: 
 
Stamps: pinwheels2stamp (The {Stamps} of Life with Stephanie Barnard)
Ink: Stephanie's Premium Licorice, SU! Tempting Turquoise
Paper: Poptone Berrylicious, SU! Crumb Cake, DP
Accents: crocheted flower (The Paper Studio), washi tape, Bricked embossing folder (Sizzix), Latte Pearls (Kaiser), corner rounder