A Dreamy Sketch

I decided to play along with the January challenge over at Stampers Dream which is a sketch challenge. This is a great sketch, but I had a hard time with it. I ended up making this card 5.5" square - much larger than my usual cards - but I kind of like it! I used this sweet image and sentiment from Stampendous and paired it with Basic Grey Euphoria paper. I've been admiring Sweet Miss Daisy's banners - so I tried one out for the sentiment. The purely pomegranate background is stamped with a linen background stamp for a little bit of texture. This was the first time I've played along with Michelle's sketch challenge, but it won't be the last! Thanks for stopping by! I'm so grateful for those of you who read and subscribe!!

Holy Moly - where has 10 years gone?

Hubby and I are celebrating our 10 yr. wedding anniversary tomorrow so we're off to spend a couple of days in Toronto. I made this card for him - but it doesn't begin to scratch the surface. I'll check back on Sunday - hope you have a wonderful long weekend!

Monkeying around with the sketch challenge!

I can't believe I managed to fit in a card today! It's been a busy one and we've been going a million different directions. This card took me all of about 20 minutes to make. I knew as soon as I saw the sketch that I wanted to use this Changito stamp. I got it at Archiver's when we were in Georgia and it hadn't yet seen ink. It was perfect for that long panel!

I've mentioned Tricia, Nate and Baby Gwyneth on my blog a couple of times - asking for prayers for them. I don't know them but have been captivated by their story and their steadfast faith (not to mention their incredibly beautiful daughter!). I just read Nate's blog and it looks like Tricia is being prepped for her double lung transplant! If you do pray - would you keep them in yours?

Thanks for stopping by - I appreciate each one of you (and there may only be one of you!).

Hoo's there?

I just love these owls! I think I will make some more cards with these two for Valentine's Day. I used a technique I saw on Nichole Heady's blog by stamping the image in SU Classic Chocolate Chip ink on watercolour paper. I then went over the image with my aquapainter and it softened the lines. I coloured the owls using my aquapainter and ink pads. The paper is Basic Grey Mellow and the sentiments is from SU's Friendship Flowers.

I've been busy organizing! I made an ink pad holder out of foam core board and I made a couple of baskets from paper to hold my completed cards for sale in. I'll post pics tomorrow! Hope you're having a great weekend!

My first Rubber Romance....

I was so excited to get my first Rubber Romance girl. I just love them!! They are a big image though - I had a hard time finishing this card after colouring the image. I coloured "Nay" with my prismacolor pencils and blended with gamsol on watercolour paper. I'd like to try this image again with my copics. I used a Stampendous sentiment that I thought matched the image!

BOGO!

Ah heck....you don't even have to buy it - I'll give them both to you for free! That's just the kind of person I am! (FYI - BOGO means Buy One, Get One). I made quite a few cards this weekend and I'm feeling generous so you get two cards today. I meant to post them separately, but found myself in a walk-in clinic waiting room for an hour and a half today, so... you get them together. My daughter fell in a store yesterday and bumped her mouth on the corner of a shelving unit. This morning she woke up with a fever and was just "off". The Dr. said she already has an infection, so I'm glad I brought her in (and got some antibiotics).

This first card I made for an SBS challenge. The challenge was to make a card using chocolate chip and vanilla. This is what I came up with. Boy did I find it hard to only use those two colours!

My second card was for Taylor's cupcake challenge over at the eclectic Paperie (eP) forum/gallery. I really wanted to use this patterned paper that I had leftover from those recipe books I made at Christmas, and I still had my chocolate chip cardstock out. So this is what I came up with. I had so much fun colouring this image with my copics.

I also used my copics to colour the twill - it used to be natural white until I used my two red markers on it!

Anyway, thanks for looking. Hope you had a good weekend! I may or may not be posting tomorrow, depending on my daughter and her health.

Argh!! One of Those Days!

This card is much more cheerful looking than I! My kids are driving me nuts today! I called hubby and told him he was taking us out to Costco for dinner - he didn't argue! I think my tone of voice must have clued him in that I meant business!
These bright cards were made last week. I used some paper from a DCWV glitter stack and matched everything up to it. It's very sparkly in person and I loved stamping the sentiment directly onto the patterned paper - do you think it's too hard to see?
Anyway, hope you have a great weekend! I still plan to post this weekend as I deserve some time for me (i.e. stamping time) - right?!

Amy Butler Bird

This is another stamp I received for my birthday and this was the first time it saw ink too! I love the simplicity of the image and the lone bird. I thought it matched this Amy Butler paper almost too perfectly, so I wanted to keep the card simple to highlight the similarities. I played with a lot of different embellishments but ended up with some sheer ribbon, a metal plaque, and a couple of prima flowers. I was dying to add more and had to keep reminding myself that less is more! Thanks for looking!

We Go Together!

I got these two stamps at my LSS for 30% off at their Boxing Week sale. Not an incredible price, but I love Changito and the sentiment goes with so many of my other stamps as well - just wait and see! I coloured the monkeys with my prismacolor pencils and blended with gamsol, and I had to use some of my new Bo Bunny paper. It's got a shimmer to it and is so pretty - I ran it through my cuttlebug. All mounted on Purely Pomegranate and Close to Cocoa cardstock and embellished with some Bella baubles. Thanks for looking!

Need a Break?

It occurred to me that seeing as I was needing a break from Christmas cards, maybe you do too?? Here's a card that's not Christmas related at all! I absolutely love this stamp from Stampendous - Tiers of Treats. It's a big image so I just added some Basic Grey patterned paper, some ribbon and some flowers and brads. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up - the Very Punny set from Sellabration last year. This reminds me of Christmas baking though - which I love to do - even more so now that I have my new mixer! I'll be making a double batch of Mocha Viennese Shortbread (from the Dec. Canadian Living magazine) tomorrow as I'm having some women from our home church over to make cards on Sunday. I may not be around much this weekend as Riley's at Beaver camp and I'm prepping for Sunday. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Post it Note Holders

I've been wanting to make some Post-it Note Holders ever since Emily started making them and posting hers, and I finally got around to it! I followed this tutorial written by Emily and they were easy-peasy (as my ds likes to say!). This is simply chocolate chip cardstock, some Basic Grey paper, and Changito. I used mono-multi (of course!) to hold the post-it notes to the cardstock. I only stamped the first page of the post-it note pad - in case you were wondering exactly how much time I have on my hands.
Sorry for the gap in posting - my sister-in-law was visiting from Winnipeg and I took a blogging break for my birthday. I got some new stamps for my birthday and hopefully will be inking them up soon - I have a couple of card orders to get out first. Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

101 posts and counting!

I missed my 100th post and didn't even know it! This is my 101st post and I'm hopefully still going strong.

This card is a shameless copy of Jen del Muro's card. I usually don't do this quite so literally but I fell in love with Jen's card and it was perfect for the Michaels $1 stamp I was trying to use. She does amazing work - make some time to peruse her blog - you will not be disappointed!! I used the Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder for the background and the snowflakes are from the Michaels $1 stamp bin. The Noel sentiment (Merry Messages by Stampendous) is stamped twice, once in Cool Caribbean and once in black and there is a rhinestone brad in the middle of the O. Some ribbon and stickles finish off the card. Super elegant and super quick to make! Thanks Jen for sharing your work!

Long time no blog!

It feels like forever since I've posted - sorry! I'm just finishing up my contract with the school board and am also trying to fill a card order. I've been thinking a lot about Christmas cards and have finally ordered all the stamps for our family cards as well as sets to make Christmas cards to sell! Can't wait till they all come in and I can play. I did pick a couple up this week and managed to squeak one card out.

I love embossing in silver and gold - it's just so elegant. The stamps are from Stampendous and are embossed with silver powder. The "peace" sentiment is actually embossed onto acetate and then securedon top of the patterned paper with brads. The paper is Basic Grey left over from last year - so pretty! The layout is pretty uninspired, but I think the overall look is pretty.

I have another name frame to finish this weekend - which is good because I forgot to take a picture of the last one I finished. We're off to the pumpkin patch today - have a great Saturday!

P.S. Can I share one pic of my daughter? She's such a ham - yes that's a colander on her head!!

You're a Hoot!!

I absolutely love these owl stamps and this is the first time this one has seen ink! It was perfect for the sketch challenge at SCS this past week. I think this one also qualifies for the Ways to Use it challenge too since I used twill for my sentiment. Coloured it using my prismas and gamsol and it is mounted on sage shadown cardstock with some MME patterned paper. Hope all you fellow canucks have a wonderful thanksgiving!

Ahoy Ollie!

Love these Ollie stamps by Stampendous. I received them last week but hadn't had a chance to play yet. I was trying to use multiple patterned papers and still make them all work together. I think it turned out o.k. although I'm not thrilled with the sentiment in the circle. I coloured the image with my prismacolor pencils and blended with gamsol. I'm really liking this technique but still need to work on shading and blending.

I'm off to grocery shop - I've been really remiss in my menu planning and I want to get back on track now that school is back in.

Technique Challenge and Back to School

I was so desperate to stamp tonight but am still wiped from the weekend. I checked in on Splitcoast Stampers and the technique challenge was to make a 2-5-7-10 box (named for the scoring measurements). Exactly what I needed, some direction - this is what I came up with.

Stamps: Bees by Stampendous
Paper: Patterned paper by 3 bugs in a rug, Apricot appeal cs, whisper white
Ink: Black
Accessories: Paper piercer, circle punches, ribbon, stickles

I think it turned out super cute! I have had this bee stamp for a couple weeks now and haven't had a chance to use it yet - so it was about time!

I also wanted to make a little card for my son. Tomorrow is his first full day of school and I thought I'd tuck something in his lunch bag. I got my Daphne and Donald stamps from All That Scraps and was anxious to ink them up! I didn't put a ton of effort into this - because my son won't notice it. So even though I think it needs something more, I'm leaving it as is cause he will love it anyway!

Stamps: Donald goes to School (C.C. Designs)

Paper: Patterned paper - unknown, Whisper white, Cool caribbean

Ink: Black Stazon

Accessories: Prismacolour pencils, gamsol

Kids Cards

These are two kids cards I made for my sample pack. One is supposed to be a girls card and the other a boys card.

I'm not sure this Bella is totally appropriate for a little girls card, but that's all I have right now so it will have to do. The scallop circle is bazzill bling paper and the purple background paper is from DCWV and is sparkly as well. I used stickles on her wings and her wand.

The boys card is Changito on a cuttlebugged background. I used linen thread to hang the tag. I think I'm going to hunt for something to put in the bottom right corner though - my eye seems drawn to the empty space there.

Teacher gift

I have a new friend who is returning to teaching this year after a break. I saw this idea on the 2peas board and modified it slightly to make it work. I love that line in the movie "You've got Mail" where they're talking about the fall and sending bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils. I remember feeling that way about school supplies too. Anyhow, this is what I made for her to go on her desk.

It's just a container from the dollar store which I glued floral foam into. I covered the 4 sides with paper and ribbon and added some Prima flowers. Then I stuck the pencils in, some tip up, some eraser up, then used the leaves to cover the foam. I think it turned out pretty cute. It cost me about $4 to make. I'm planning to make another for Riley's kindergarten teacher.

This is the card I made to go with it. Meet Changito - isn't he cute? I cuttlebugged the background with my spots and dots folder (still using my rolling pin!). I sewed the paper to the choc. chip cardstock and added eyelets around the sentiment. I thought the sentiment was appropriate for referring to back to school!

Happy Anniversary!

To me! I can't believe it's been 9 years! We went out to dinner last night at a schwanky restaurant and it was awesome! We were supposed to be just exchanging cards, but my doorbell rang this afternoon, and this is what I found!

This is my anniversary card. I was severely blocked and didn't know what the heck I was going to do for a card. I don't have any "love" images and somehow flowers just didn't seem like they were going to cut it for the main image either. Then this morning I heard Sarah McLaughlin's song "Your love is better than chocolate" on the radio and this idea popped in my head. Hubby always jokes that I'd choose chocolate/dessert over him - so this is the card to prove that it's no contest - he always wins.

I love this image by Stampendous called "Tiers of Treats" and I was really happy about how the watercolouring turned out. I also love that it's a really good size image - I can see myself using it lots!