Love Martini

Hi all,
With Valentine's Day coming up, they have decided to sell flowers and cards at my work for the employees to take home to their loved ones.  They usually ask me to do the cards for events like these, so I got to working on a sample!

I always have to keep in mind that I may have to make several of them, so I keep the colouring to a minimum, and I don't use a lot of supplies like ribbon and flowers, etc.

So here's what I came up with:

My card base is white CS, then I have a Sahara Sand layer with black and Real Red mats.  On the Sahara Sand layer, I added a bunch of hearts that I cut out of Real Red CS using my SU heart punch.

I stamped Valentini onto Sahara Sand CS with Versamark ink and embossed it with Black EP.  I coloured the hearts in with Real Red and Pretty In Pink markers, and I added some glitter to some of the spots using a glue pen.  I cut it out with Rectangle Nesties, and added some Sahara Sand sponging inside the stencil.
I matted that with a black rectangle, then a Scallop Rectangle Nestie layer in Real Red.  After looking at it, you couldn't really see the scallop layer against all the hearts because they are the same colour, so I added in 1 final white mat.

Don't forget about this week's Bellarific Friday challenge using the below sketch!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

Bellarific Friday: Be Mine

Hi all,
Well, if everything has gone according to plan, I just got back from my trip to New York yesterday! I've been there a couple of times before, and it's always a great city!  Does anyone have any favourite places to shop or eat there?  I'd love to know all its secrets :-)

Anywho, it's Friday again, which means we have a brand new Bellarific Friday challenge over on the Bloggabella!  We were challenged to make either a Valentines/love card or make a red/white/pink card.  Ya know, the big day is creeping up on us - only 11 days away!  I hope you are ready to spend some quality time with your special someone!  I have such great memories of Valentines Day just because of my mom.  Even when we were kids, she would always get us a card and a present - it was such a fun holiday!

Here's my card:

The base is Pretty In Pink CS, and the next layer is a piece of Real Red Prints DSP, with black and white mats.  The strip across the bottom is a plain black piece, then a white mat punched with my Martha Stewart crown edge punch. 
Below that, I added some sparkly red letters from Recollections, and a Martha Stewart Gerbera Daisy sticker in the middle.

I stamped Valentina onto Bella's Bestest Paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured her with Copics.  I also added some black Sakura Glaze pen to her eyes and some of the spots on the box.
The panel behind her was made using Classic and Scallop Circle Nesties along with black, white, and Real Red CS.  I embossed the red circle with the Cuttlebug Houndstooth folder for some extra texture.

Copics used:
*Skin: E000, E00, E11, E13, R02, YR00
*Hair: C3, C7, 100
*Box: R81, R85, R89
*Bows: R20, R43, R46

Next week's challenge???  The 3rd Sketch for the year!!!  Just make a project using the below sketch and any of the images sold at Stamping Bella, and submit it to Emily (emily@stampingbella.com) by Thursday night.  You'll be entered to win some Bella Bucks and your card will be published on the Bloggabella!

Make sure you have a fantastic weekend!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

Sketch Saturday 190: Sew Awesome

Hi all,

I'm playing along with today's layout over on the Sketch Saturday blog: #190.  Love these sketches!
Here it is:

I decided to use one of Kristy's newer clear releases - a Valentine's image!  The big day is coming, you know.

Here's mine:

My card base is Sahara Sand CS, my patterned papers are from Basic Grey's pack called Olivia, and everything has black mats.  The strip across the middle was punched with an SU scallop edge punch, and I added some Old Olive grosgrain ribbon around that. 
I also added a corner with my SU Photo Corner punch, and I added 3 rhinestones to that, and 3 more to the other corners on the base. 
I stamped the sentiment (which comes with the image) in black ink onto the patterned paper. 

I stamped the thread spool from In Stitches Tia onto Bella's Bestest Paper using Memeto Tuxedo Black ink.  I coloured it with Copics and cut it out using Classic Circle Nesties.  I added some shading with Prismacolor Pencils and OMS and I added some sponging to the inside of the stencil using Wheat Versamagic ink. 
I stamped Tia onto Bella's Bestest Paper using Onyx Versafine ink and embossed her with Clear EP.  I coloured her with Copics, cut her out with a thin white border, and mounted her on top of the spool with foam dots. 
She's adorable!!!

By the way, Kristy is having a 2-year birthday celebration and new releases next week, so keep your eye on the SOG blog for lots of fun stuff!!!  You will love it!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

SOG Challenge: Bling Me!

Hi all,
It's Thursday, which can mean a few good things...firstly, it's almost Friday, which is awesome!  But also, we are posting a brand new challenge over on the Some Odd Girl blog!
Last week was a LOVE inspiration challenge because Kristy just had an amazing release of clear stamps for Valentine's Day.

This week, we are challengeing you to bling up your project.  You are required to use at least 2 types of bling on your project, which includes, but is not limited to, pearls, rhinestones, loose glitter, Stickles, foil, glaze, and mist.  Just make it sparkly and/or shiny!

Here's mine:
For this card, I am actually re-using a sketch that I really liked from THIS post on the Sketch Saturday blog. 

My card base is Sahara Sand CS, the patterned papers are from SU's Cutie Pie DSP pack, and the mats are black.  I added some Certainly Celery polytwill ribbon around all the layers, and I added 2 square rhinestones to 2 corners.

I stamped Romantic Gwen onto Bella's Bestest Paper using Versafine Onyx Black ink, and embossed her with Clear EP.  I like how it seals in the ink.  I coloured her with Copics and added some shading with my Prismacolor Pencils and OMS.   I cut her out with Label 4 Nesties, and added some Wheat Versamagic ink inside the stencil.  I also added a bunch of glitter dots with my glue pen and loose glitter around my image.
The sentiment also comes with the image, and I stamped that in black ink onto white CS, outlined the heart with a Rose Red marker, and cut it out.

Don't forget to head over to the SOG blog to link up your own creation with bling!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

SOG Challenge: Inspiration!

Hi all,
Now, I know we usually do our challenges on Thursdays, but this time, we are mixing it up and posting on Friday!  Last week, Kristy put out an amazing release of clear stamps (perfect for Valentine's Day or that specal occasion you have coming up)!  So, the ODDies are using the stamps from that release!  Just wait til you see what we've all got up our sleeves!

For this challenge, we have a picture for you to use as inspiration!  Take a peek:

What are you going to take from this one?  The colours?  The hearts?  The book? That cute ticket?  Take your pick...

Here's mine:

My card base is Sahara Sand CS, and I embossed the right-hand side with the Cuttlebug Spots and Dots folder. 
On the left side, I added a white panel, which has 2 rounded corners, and some Pretty In Pink sponging around it.  I also added 2 red rhinestones to the pointy corners. 
The sentiment and the arrow are stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink (and they both come with the image!).
The heart is one of those old SU Sticky Cuts, and I covered it with red micro fine glitter (va va voom).  The red orchid in the middle is from Martha Stewart.

I stamped Crushin Gwen onto Bella's Bestest Paper, and I used Versafine Onyx Black ink, and embossed her with Clear embossing powder.  I love that effect.
I coloured her with Copics, and cut her out with a thin white border around - makes her stand out a bit against the base.

Copics:
*Skin: E000, E00, E11, E13, R02
*Hair: E33, E37, E49
*Eyes: BG00, BG43, BG45
*Shoes: C3, C7, 00
*Dress: R00, R20, R43, R46, R29

We want you to play along this week - head over to the SOG blog to submit your creation using the picture as inspiration.  If you have any SOG images you can use, we love to see them!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

SOG New Release: Lovey Tobie

Hi all,

WOW, what a couple of weeks.  It seems so busy!!!
So, over on the SOG blog, there have been reveals this week of some brand new clear stamps Kristy is releasing - just wait til you see all the stellar work of the DT!

And naturally, I was supposed to post a card on Tuesday to show you the awesome Lovey Tobie!  BUT here's the catch...I didn't get my stamps in the mail until today! LOL
Gotta love the post - especially this close to Christmas.

So, I'm gonna show him to you anyway, even if I'm late.  But make sure you stop by the SOG blog to see ALL the new images this week!

I think you'll find that this is a very mushy and smushy and lovey release :-)

I went for a simple layout.  My card base is white (I wished I had that Cuttlebug embossing folder with the hearts, but alas, I never did pick that one up).  My patterned papers are from SU's Bali Breeze DSP pack, along with black mats.
I added some fun sparkly letters to one of the panels (they are from Recollections, I think).

I stamped Lovey Tobie onto Bella's Bestest Paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I coloured him in with Copics, and added some shading with Prismacolor Pencils and OMS.  I cut him out with Label 18 Nesties, and added some Bashful Blue sponging inside that stencil.  He's a total hottie, right???

Head on over to the store - the images are going on pre-sale as they get released each day!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

Some Odd Girl: Hearts

Hi all,

It's time for another challenge at the Some Odd Girl blog!  Kristy announced the winner of the scallop challenge on the blog yesterday, and today's challenge is to use 3 or more hearts on your creation!  This challenge should be a breeze because Valentine's Day is coming up, and Some Odd Girl has a lot of great images for the occasion!

I wanted to make something cute and flirty...
Here's my card:

The base is actually a piece of SU's retired Bride Specialty DSP - it is pretty thick, and it has some pretty swirls on it!  Next, I put a piece of Rose Red Prints DSP with a Basic Black mat.  On the left, I cut out 3 hearts from Whisper White CS using my SU Heart punch, and sponged them with Ruby Red ink.  On top of the middle heart, I added one of SU's sticky cuts - it's like a sticker, but sticky on both sides!  Once you tear off the top layer, you can smother it with glitter! (In my case, it's Martha Stewart glitter.)

I actually used Love Letter Kaylee from Some Odd Girl, and you can buy her now as a digi in the store. HOWEVER, I used my acrylic stamp version of her, which Kristy will be releasing in the future!  I stamped her with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto Neenah Solar White CS, and coloured her with Copics.  I used some Prismacolor Pencils with OMS for some extra shading as well.  I plopped her onto a black mat, and I'm done!

Don't forget to head on over to the SOG blog and submit your creation with 3 or more hearts!  We would love to see it, and you have a chance to win some awesome digis!
***Starting this month, for our first challenge of every month (because we have 2 challenges per month), you must use an SOG image to be eligible to win.
Soooooooo, for this hearts challenge, you have to use an SOG digi :-)  We wanna see what you can do with Kristy's images!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

Bellarific Friday: Valentine Martini

Hi all,

Bellarific Friday skipped a week because Emily went to CHA, so we had 2 weeks to prepare the project this time.  This week's challenge over on Bloggabella is to make a Valentine's project!

I chose to ink up the adorable Valentini stamp for the first time! Perfect for the occasion...

My card base is Pink Pirouette CS, followed by a piece of DCWV All Dressed Up DSP, with Basic Black and Whisper White mats.  I added some jumbo white brads to the right side of the panel.  I also added a horizontal strip of Whisper White CS punched with a Martha Stewart edge punch, and I added a black strip and a pink ribbon across. 

I stamped the martini in Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto Bella's Bestest Paper.  I coloured that with Copics, and Prismacolor Pencils.  I punched that layer out with Label 2 Nesties, and added some sponging around that with Bisque Chalk Box ink.  I stuck that to a Basic Black square and added some dots around that with White Gel Pen.  My sentiment is an SU rub-on.

Well, that's it for today.  Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

Love is in the Air

Hi all,

We got some really fun images to work with from InStyle Stamps this month, and they included some with a lovey dovey theme!  Valentine's Day isn't until February, but there is no time like the present to prepare!

You can definitely use these images to make some cute gifts for your cutie, but I chose to make a card with the Vanessa digi! 

My card base is PTI White, followed by a piece of Bride Specialty DSP and a Real Red mat.  I kind of like the way it turned out with the white paper and the red mat.  At the bottom, I added some glitter Thickers that spell "LOVE".

I printed Vanessa onto PTI White CS and coloured her with Copics.  I cut her out with some Classic Rectangle Nesties, and added some Pretty In Pink sponging inside the stencil.  I cut out a Basic Black mat with Scallop Rectangle Nesties as well, and mounted it on with Dimensionals.

Don't forget to check out the challenges always running on the ISS blog - you have tons of chances to win free digis!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

InStyle Colour Challenge

Hi all,

Today is another colour challenge with the InStyle Stamps blog!  We had some really soft and lovely colours to work with this time around - here is our picture:

So calm, and relaxing, isn't it?

Here is my take:

My base is Elegant Eggplant CS, followed by some Almost Amethyst Prints DSP with a Whisper White mat.  I wrapped some White Organdy ribbon around that layer, and I added a bow to the top, which was made with my Bow Easy.

I printed Heartful Chloe from ISS onto PTI White CS, and coloured her with Copics.  I added some Bisque Color Box chalk ink around the edges.  That piece was matted with Basic Black CS. 

Make sure to stop by the ISS blog to contribute your own project with the same colour scheme!  You have a chance to win some ISS digis!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

Bellarific Friday: Lovey Dovey

Hi All,

This week's Bellarific Friday theme is Valentine's or Lovey Dovey.  You had to know it was coming.
Well, I have a feeling that there will be a lot of submissions using the stamp Valentina from Stamping Bella.

My card base is Whisper White, followed by a layer of Basic Black CS, and a layer of Berry Bliss DSP, both with rounded corners.  I added 2 rectangles of Basic Black and DSP with rounded corners horizontally.  Then, I tied some wide White Organdy Ribbon in a knot around that base layer, and added a Pink Gingham ribon knot on top of that.  I also stuck some rhinestones (from Michael's) to the top right corner of one of the rectangles.

I stamped Valentina in Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto Neenah Solar White CS and coloured her in with Copics.  I cut her out with rectangle Nestabilities, and layered that with a Basic Black scallop rectangle. 

The sentiment is from one of the Scraplines Tickets sets - stamped first on white CS, then Pink Pirouette CS, and then a Cocoa piece of the DSP pack.  I cut them all out and layered the colours on top of eachother...you could say I paper pieced them!  I added some brown ink to the outside of the white piece.

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!