I Love Pretty Papers!

Today's Splitcoast Featured Stamper Challenge honors Ceal Pritchett as FS287. Ceal has a lovely gallery that fits both the styles of CAS and lots of layers! I chose this lovely card to case.

I kept her layout and theme, but changed images and papers, and left off the flower and stitching. I added pearls to my die cut frame. I really like the look of red, black and kraft together and the papers in Teresa Collins' World Traveler DP pack were just perfect for those colors!

I used a Spellbinders die cut (Fancy Tags Three) and cut two of them out of black cardstock, then added them to each side of the sentiment rectangle. It gives the sentiment such an elegant look!

Stamps: Inscribed by Stampabilities 

Paper: Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Teresa Collins World Traveler DP 

Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black 

Accessories: Kaiser Pewter pearls, Spellbinders Long Rectangle and Fancy Tags Three die cuts, distressing tool 

Other challenges for this card: 

Dream Valley Challenges - Die Cuts and Punches

Fashionable Stamping Challenges - Anything Goes

No Matter Which Challenges - Anything Goes 

2 Sisters - Anything goes optional Sketch* 

Catch The Bug - Anything Goes 

Poodles Parlour - Anything Goes

Simply Create Too - Anything Goes

Amazing Grace

For today's Splitcoast Featured Stamper Challenge 205 . . .

LOVE UKJem's (Julie) gallery and her style! I chose this card to case (copy and share everything). I changed the image, added pearls, used a purchased flower instead of handmade, and added Champagne Pearlized paper to mat my sentiment instead of one continuous piece. It was fun and fast to make!

 

Joy #6:

I spent seven hours today in a rehearsal for a fundraiser gala for our Community Theatre.  It was so much fun and I love the people that I work with there.  We are doing two shows next weekend on Friday and Saturday called "A Night at the Movies."  Tons of fun skits and songs from movies. I love the theatre!

TV Cameras Are Intimidating

Update on the Auditions for the TV Show:
Well, are we ever exhausted! Saturday night we got home at just after midnight -- we didn't actually eat dinner until 9:30 p.m. -- but I guess we were eating on California time! It was fun - we got to know all the Production Company people from L.A. and they got to know us. GREAT food~

Sunday was absolutely exhausting. We started at 11 AM. Each person had to do an a capella solo with these GIANT lights on them, and three cameras and one of those huge hot dog microphones hanging down. The rest of us were sitting in chairs waiting our turn - watching those on stage. We have ALL sung and performed in front of audiences before but this was SCARY!! We were all so nervous -- one very seasoned performer just did a total blank when she got up there -- couldn't remember her words or the melody. The cameras make it totally different - I will tell you that!

My husband and daughter and I did fine - but we were ALL nervous as could be. My knees were shaking - I was glad I had a skirt on so you couldn't see that! :) My husband sang "Be Our Guest," my daughter sang "A Change in Me" and I sang the theme song "Beauty & the Beast." All the songs had to be from that show.

After that (there were like 35 people), we had to wait around while they did interviews with about 15 people (15 minutes or so). My daughter went first and she was in there about 20 minutes. (She was in heaven and loved talking to them, and they called her "charming!") So that took FOREVER -- some people went home and got games to play, some had books, some iPods, some had Blackberrys and were on the internet. Some just chatted. Some napped. It was so like the footage you get on American Idol as they are waiting their turn to sing! I was even nervous for the interview.

After the interviews 6 people were chosen to read a scene and be taped for that. I was picked to play the vocal coach "high British" diva -- it was fun the first two times, but we had to film it a LOT of times from various angles and so on. After LOTS of times, then they decided they wanted costumes, so we had to wear these WOOL capes, hats and skirts. Four more takes....

We thought we were done, but the younger auditioners had been downstairs singing and dancing and now they had to tape that. It took about 10-12 takes of that. Finally at 9:30 PM, we were through. It had been a LOOOOOOONG day! (And I still had to make my House Mouse card for today!)

Today my husband is doing yet more interviewing and taping, along with a few others, and then tonight the team comes and watches us run auditions for our summer show, "My Fair Lady." Whew!

We find out this coming weekend whether they chose our theatre for the TV show and production, or the one in the East. Either way, it was a fun experience, and made me appreciate what goes on behind the scenes!

And NOW, for my House Mouse card! No wordy explanation - just a sketch challenge that I made up for this week on House Mouse & Friends! Be sure to check out ALL the beautiful DT cards HERE.

I used Kraft, Pink Pirouette and Whisper White for my colors.
Thanks for reading and all the good wishes!

House Mouse Monday !

I hope you all had a good weekend! We did! My husband just finished a two-week run of "Rough Crossing" at the Community Theatre. What a funny play. I sure enjoyed it - even after seeing it about 6 times! (I work out there most shows)~

Today is House Mouse Monday, and over at the Blog we have a Gatefold Card challenge for you! There is a prize for one lucky participant, so be sure to check out this post!

I made a birthday card for my gatefold:

I colored my image with Copic markers and added some matching brads. I love my new EK Success wavy border punch. It pierces as you punch! A little trim, a clip, some glitter on the candle, and my mousie is ready for CHEESE! My card is 4.25 inches square.

Thanks for stopping by -- come back a little later this afternoon for a Blog Candy post!

A Simple Spring

Today's challenge at House Mouse & Friends was "Springtime." I have several images that I could have used that had more to them, but the first sign of spring to me is seeing the first robin in my yard! I think this little image is so sweet.

After stamping with Palette Noir Black, I watercolored my image using reinkers and an aqua brush. I was totally inspired by this gorgeous card of my stamping friend, Darleen, and I pretty much cased her in my card. Thanks, for the inspiration, Darleen!

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team did here and play along!

And for a totally different look, here is Sally the Snail, all ready for her Spring Snail Trail Dance, but she it taking it "One Day at a Time." The DRS Designs Challenge today was a color challenge: Chocolate Chip, Pink Passion and Summer Sun. What fun colors!


I substituted some Basic Grey Bittersweet DP for my Pink Passion and Chocolate Chip main panels. Sally is stamped in Black Stazon and is watercolored. Be sure to see what the rest of the DRS DT did with these awesome colors here and play along with this challenge too!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Uh Oh!

Mudpie wants to tell so badly!! Those other mice aren't supposed to be in that expensive Estee Lauder perfume! Today's House Mouse & Friends Challenge was to use multiple images on our cards - either multiples of the same stamp, or a combination of stamps. I chose a combination of stamps, and came up with this:



I love Basic Grey's Porcelain paper! I used Pink Pirouette for my mats and card base, Chocolate Chip for one layer and the Basic Grey for a splash of design and color. My images are stamped in Palette Noir Black ink on Whisper White cardstock and watercolored with reinkers and an aqua brush. My border punch is from Fiskars.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Design Team's cards here. There is a prize this week, generously donated by America herself!

And if you are interested in my blog candy, scroll down to the next post!

Sweet Hogwash!

Today's House Mouse & Friends Challenge is "Something Sweet"! The Design Team created projects with something sweet on them! This could be using sweet wrappers, an image with something sweet on it (such as apples, strawberries, chocolate), or you could even use the word 'sweet' in your sentiment, as I did in my card. Come play along, and post your card link HERE.

Little Monica is all ready with her cute Easter egg!

Today over at the DRS Designs Blog the Design Team was challenged to make birthday creations.
DRS has a ton of birthday sentiments and in the last couple of months have come out with lots of images suitable for birthdays. They even have a whole line dedicated to the months of the year...images and sentiments to go with them so you're covered for a whole year of birthdays!

I used two new releases for my treat box and matching card: E722 Hogwash Greeting and D718 Leonard's Dance of Joy. Leonard is stamped with VersaFine Onyx Black ink and is watercolored with Pink Pirouette ink. My card is 4.25 inches square. The little treat box is filled with pink jelly beans.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Make a Scene!

I suppose you can take that two ways! But the kind I mean is the kind Michelle is so fabulous at making. AKA JustPaintingAround at SCS, Michelle was chosen as today's Featured Stamper! Check out her gallery, as she has a really cool style!

I chose this fun card of Michelle's to case. Mine is a bit different, but I do like how it turned out.
(With a giraffe, how could I not? LOL)


I changed a few of the images, the layout a bit, added giraffe twill trim at the top. The tree I had on my desk already from Friday, and it looks similar to the acacia trees that giraffes love. The wind is picking up in the Savannah, as I tried to show with a double sponged edge below the tree.

Thanks for coming to look!

Stamps: MFT: It's a Jungle Out There; SU: Thoughts & Prayers; Stampabilities: sentiment
Paper: Basic Grey Lucky DP, Basic Black, GP White, Ruby Red
Ink: Palette Noir Black
Accessories: circle punch, giraffe twill, sponges
Techniques: brayering, sponging

I Like Challenges That Aren't Challenges!

I like challenges that aren't challenges! But then are they really a challenge? :)
For both of my design teams today we had challenges that really were challenging to me.

First up is my House Mouse card for the weekly challenge at House Mouse & Friends. We invite you to join in today and make a "shape card"! Any shape but a rectangle or square will do! I thought about hearts, and circles, but wanted to do something that was a little different. I had this darling Monica With Blankey stamp and decided to make a baby onesie card.
I used a circle punch for the neckline and leg holes, and then freely cut the sides and sleeves. I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder for the sleeve designs, and scored a fold at the bottom before I added my pink eyelet "snaps." Monica is stamped in Palette Noir Black and watercolored with Pink Pirouette and Basic Gray ink. A small Prima and a pearl and this standard-sized A2 baby card is ready to send!

Next is the challenge over at DRS Designs. This week the Design Team was asked to make a one-layer card. Definitely not my forte! I am getting into the spring mode, however, and wanted to use these little sheep so I gave it a go!

I scored two lines perpendicular to each other with my Scor-Pal, and then stamped the sheep in Palette Noir Black in the opposite corner. They are standing in a Pink Pirouette field, and colored with Copic C-1 on their hooves, horns, and faces. The flowers are by Hero Arts, with Martha Stewart providing the branches. Here is a close-up of the little silver charm, by Charm Me, which says "The Lord be with you." It is so shiny that it's hard to get a decent picture that isn't so "black" on the charm.


Be sure to check out what the other design team members at each site have done! Play along! Thanks for stopping by today!

It's House Mouse Monday - Do You Carrot All?

Ok, that is a bad pun! But I hope you like my card! I seem to be on an orange kick this week!
Today at House Mouse & Friends, we have a sketch for you to try! I love it - it has so many possibilities. Here is the sketch:
I used the darling little "A Carrot Between Friends" for my image. I stamped it in VersaFine Black Onyx Ink and then watercolored using reinkers and an aqua brush. The designer paper is all from Stampin' Up!. I have so many eyelets and brads and buttons that I decided to use some of each on here! The ribbon is from Hobby Lobby. I also sponged some Bashful Blue in the sky, using my hand-cut cloud stencil.

I like how this turned out and hope that you will play along! Our sponsor today is KL Stampin N Scrappin, so be sure to stop by the HM & F blog to see what they are all about! The prize this week is yummy and fun Basic Grey Cupcake Designer Paper! And check out the other Design Team members' cards while you are there!

ODBD fans, check out Laurie's and Becca's blogs today! If you have never visited them, I can guarantee you will be back. There is Blog Candy too! And speaking of that, congratulations for my blog candy winner for Cross of Christ: msfreida!! Freida, please email your name and address to kelley@ourdailybreaddesigns.com and she will send out your set! Be sure to mention that it was on my blog, and which set! Thanks to everyone for playing along~

Thanks for stopping by today! I am on my way to sunny Arizona for a few days, and will have scheduled posts while I am gone! Enjoy your week!

What Were You Thinking?

It's Monday and that means time for a House Mouse & Friends Challenge! Today we are making cards or projects that have chipboard. I chose this fun arrow by The Paper Studio for my chipboard piece. I inked it with Cardinal Red and Bark VersaColor pigment pads, and then embossed it with Black Sparkle Embossing Powder.

My Gruffie has eaten too many pieces of pizza, don't you think? I actually made this for a friend who is on a quest to win the "Most Poundage Lost" contest with me. She is going on a cruise in June, and turns 40 in May, and I have my 39th birthday (hahahaha) in July, so we are having a little contest to see who wins. There is a great prize for the winner (from the loser), but I will wait to tell you more about that in the coming months! Anyway, I thought she would get a kick out of this.
Be sure to see what all the other HM & F Design Team members did HERE. Play along with us! Our sponsor today is Simon Says Stamp! Check it out for lots of fun stuff! They have over 1000 House Mouse products!

Thanks for stopping by today!

For Mothers

Our challenge this week over at House Mouse & Friends is to make a card that you could give to a mother. We have a lot of new mothers in our church, and I wanted to make this for a mother of a new boy. I liked my HM card HERE with all the white space, and decided to do another. If you visit frequently, you know that white space is not the *norm* for me! But I certainly do like the look!

I scored three lines on the top and bottom with my Scor-Pal, and then just used one layer of designer paper. I watercolored my bunny with Creamy Caramel and Pink Pirouette, and then painted the bottle with Bordering Blue and Basic Gray, and added Crystal Effects when it was dry. The sentiment is stamped in Certainly Celery and is by Stampin' Up!

If you would like to play along, check out the post HERE. We would love to see your *motherly* creations!

House Mouse Monday with a New Sponsor

Today over at House Mouse & Friends, we have a sketch challenge for you to try.
I tweaked it a little bit to fit with my image and designer paper. My little card is 4.25 inches (approx. 10.8 cm.) square.
Our sponsor today is 2RedBananas, who designed the sketch and, coincidentally, have Jami Bova on their DT. Jami is also a designer for them, and has her own illustrations rubberized! Cool! And there is more! Jami is one of three new DT members for the next 3 months at House Mouse & Friends! We would also like to welcome Patricia Rose and Rica over at Rica's Haven as new DT members! Welcome gals! Be sure to check out what ALL the Design Team did with the sketch today HERE.

I used Liquid Applique for the bubbles and added a little Crystal Stickles on the tub edge and legs. I colored my image with Copic markers (trying them out!). My little Hopper has been in the hot water too long, as his face is getting a little red! But he sure likes it in there!

On another note, I want to say Congratulations to my good friend, Cindy Motherway, who was announced as one of the newest SCS Dirty Dozen on Sunday! Way to go, Mothermark!

Thank you for stopping by today!

I Want to Be Tall and Thin!

That's the challenge over at House Mouse & Friends this week! Make a tall and thin card!
Well, mine is not so thin, but you get the idea -- taller than a standard A2 card!

I chose this darling little Mudpie "Singing in the Rain" for my image today. I stamped the image in Palette Noir Black ink, then watercolored using reinkers and an aqua brush. The raindrops also have Crystal Effects (CE) on them, and the flowers have a touch of Diamond Stickles. The Posies Glitter Stack paper (DCWV) was perfect for a background. I used my slit punch for the scallops.

The sentiment by Close to My Heart (CTMH) is stamped in Lovely Lilac ink. My ribbon is so shimmery and is from Hobby Lobby, and the brads are by The Paper Studio (also Hobby Lobby).

Here you can see a close up of the image and the CE on the raindrops. My little nozzle is messed up, so I have to use another way to apply it, and it's a little messy. That just means the drops are rather splashy! :)
Thanks for stopping by today! If you play along, be sure to link your card to the post HERE.

Have a great day~

It's House Mouse Monday with Valentines

I missed last week's paper piercing challenge at House Mouse & Friends because I was visiting another mouse, Mickey, at Disneyland! Here are some fun pictures from the Park (it's my favorite place to go for an amusement park kind of day):

Today's House Mouse & Friends challenge was to make a Valentine. I love this sweet little guy and his little Be Mine heart. The sentiment in the corner is from Michael's $1 bin. The buttons are from the Cupcake Collection by Doodlebug Designs and the punch is from Martha Stewart. I cut my image out and layered it with Nestabilities. The flower is from Jolene's.

See what the rest of the DT did HERE. If you play along, you may win a cute House Mouse prize from our sponsor today, Simon Says Stamp. Link your card to this post. Good luck!
Thanks for stopping by! Come back later today for a picture of my Make and Take at the Basic Grey booth at CHA!

A House Mouse Color Challenge!

Our challenge this week is a color challenge:

Cameo Coral (a slight peachy pink)
Old Olive (a rich olive green)
Night of Navy (navy blue in its finest!)

I have listed the colors using Stampin' Up! colors, just because that is common on Splitcoaststampers, however, ANY brand that matches closely is fine for the challenge. HERE OR HERE (the second one is perhaps a little truer color) are places to find what they look like so you can match what you have with these. You can also use any neutrals (as in gray and brown to color the Mousies, Hoppers, or Gruffies! - and white or vanilla), but please have some of all three colors on your card somewhere (solid paper, ink, designer paper, embellishments). Have fun with the "challenge"!

Here is what I came up with this week:
I really like this cute image, but boy, did it take a long time to color and paint the flowers! I used Cameo Coral (and various shades with more water added) for the flowers, and I painted the stems with Old Olive. The Navy is in the designer paper (Basic Grey) and a layer of cardstock behind that.

We also have a wonderful prize package up for grabs for you this week thanks to our sponsor TheRubberCafe.com. One lucky person will win the House Mouse Stamp Glitter Hearts (so perfect for Valentine's Day) and a jar of Shimmerz Paints in the limited edition color Wintergreen Bling.

Here is a bit about our sponsor TheRubberCafe.com:

The Rubber Cafe has fantastic prices and low shipping charges (including internationally) on all your stamping needs. We have a large selection of stamps including House Mouse, Happy Hoppers and Gruffies, and also sell stamping accessories and tools including Copic Markers, Shimmerz Paints, Glimmer Mists, and Scor-Pal products.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you will join in. Link your challenge cards and check out what the other Design Team members did HERE. See you tomorrow!

From ATC to a Card -- Voila!

Last week I posted my ATC card for the House Mouse & Friends blog challenge, not knowing that it was postponed to this week! So, you can see that post HERE.

I decided that I would make my ATC into a full-sized card today, so you could see how cute they are as the focal point of your project.


I used my Aluminium Metallic paper from Prism for the background, and added a layer of Pink Pirouette and Basic Grey Bittersweet DP. I punched a Photo Corner using the metallic paper again, added some sparkly buttons from Doodlebug, a sweet little pearl to the package, and my card is ready to send!

To see more House Mouse ATCs, click HERE.
Have a wonderful Monday! I will be back tomorrow with a sketch challenge and prizes to win!

A Tiny Little House Mouse!

After a two week embossing challenge during the holidays, House Mouse & Friends brings you a new challenge: ATC, also known as Artist Trading Cards. I am a huge fan of these little cards, and I have two big notebooks full of them that I have made and swapped.

ATC's are little cards, similar to a baseball card. The only standard requirement for an ATC is that its height and width measurements be 2.5" x 3.5" (64 x 89 mm), either vertical (portrait) or horizontal (landscape) orientation. The sky is the limit for every other aspect of the art.

Here is what I made for today's challenge:
This darling stamp is called "Monica's Gift." Isn't she sweet? I used Aluminum Metallic Prism paper for my background, layered with Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, and Naturals White (Stampin' Up!). The sentiment is by Rubber Stamp Tapestry.
Edited later: Looks like the challenge was postponed, but I had already scheduled mine to post and didn't know about the postponement. So -- here is my submission early and next week I will show what it looks like made into a full-sized card, so check back!

Please read THIS info if you want to know more on the background of ATCs. For a cutting guide, click HERE. For supplies and various other ATC ephemera, click HERE.

I am doing a special challenge this year ("His Holy Name Challenge 2009") that Patter Cross has on her blog, Triple the Scraps. You can read all about this challenge HERE. I plan to make the ATC Rolodex cards like Patter did last year. You can see the picture HERE. I think it looks so cool! I love ATCs, already have a Rolodex punch (purchased at an office supply store for about $7), and am ready to go! At the end of the year, it will be a neat reminder of the talents that God has given me, and of who He is. You are welcome to join in!

Thanks for stopping by today! I appreciate all my readers and the comments that are left!

A Sweet House Mouse Monday to You

Is there anywhere that people aren't wearing ear muffs and coats? Can I come over?
Wow! I think this is the weirdest winter lots of places have had in a long time! Snow and cold and ice and STUFF! Maybe a trip to Hawaii is what I need for Christmas!

This little Monica House Mouse is all cozy and warm on her cotton ball bed. Today's House Mouse & Friends Challenge was to incorporate some embossing on your card. I used two kinds: I embossed with Stampin' Up! White Craft Ink and then used Stampendous Pearlized Plum Embossing Powder on the sentiment (from Stampin' Up!'s So Very) and I also embossed with the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug Embossing Folder. All designer paper is by K & Co. This card is 4.25 inches square.

Be sure to join in this week - any kind of embossing, and link your card HERE, as we have a great prize for one of the participants from 7 KIDS COLLEGE FUND. Congratulations to CRAFTERESA, who won my blog candy ("Mudpie Tells") from the House Mouse Challenge last week!

Thank you to my friend, Jami, for my great new watermark!!

The wind chill today is only minus 12, so it will be another busy shopping day! I have to finish mine up (just started on Friday!), so off to find my gloves and ear muffs! Have a wonderful day!

Stamps: House Mouse by Stampabilities; So Very by Stampin' Up!
Paper: Whisper White, Naturals White by Stampin' Up!; DP by K & Co.
Ink: VersaFine Black Onyx; Pink Pirouette, Basic Gray, Cratf White (SU!)
Accessories: Marvy scalloped oval punches, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots EF, Cuttlebug Corner Die, small oval punch (SU!), brads (The Paper Studio), Pearlized Plum EP (Stampendous)
Techniques: embossing

Beware! It's Really Pink!

Today's House Mouse & Friends Challenge is in memory and honor of Joanne {stamps4sanity}, who passed away suddenly this past week. Joanne was a sweet woman who spread cheer through her kind comments and card-making. Everyone on the House Mouse team, as well as countless others, will miss her dearly. Please see this post.
In honor of Joanne, the HM Design Team will be sending their cards this week to someone in need, as requested by Joanne's husband.

Our challenge this week was a sketch. I used two new House Mouse stamps for mine, and made it PINK, just like it was on the stamp!

I am offering "Mudpie Tells" as blog candy for a winner from this week's challenge participants. Be sure to link your card back to the sketch post HERE. You are welcome to turn or flip the sketch, but we should be able to see the original layout. Hope many of you will participate! The deadline for the blog candy is Friday of this week! December 19!
Thanks for stopping by today! Give a special hug or a kind word to those you care about today.