Tuesday, August 31, 2010

"Happy Day!"

Hi there. Today is a Happy day! I am finally feeling better! Thanks to the nice doctor at the med first place who gave me medicine. I am also having a Mary Kay party tonight. A friend of mine from my girls' old school is a rep, so I finally said I would have a party. So...after cleaning the house, I headed downstairs to the craft room. I was able to get a card done for a couple challenges. I started by using this week's Sweet Stop Sketch. The image I used is Cupcake Anya from The Greeting Farm, and is a digi...which is this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge. They challenged us to use a digi image this week. I colored with markers and souffle pens. Then I cut her out using my Creative memories oval cutter. I used some new PP I got this weekend at the convention from Cosmo Cricket's new Pixie-licious collection. I added some purple ribbon...which I think is from Papertrey Ink. I layered all this onto some pink CS. I hand wrote the "Happy Day" sentiment, and added the layered paper flower. That is all for now. Be sure to stop back tomorrow for Creative Belli Day!!!

Monday, August 30, 2010

Christmas Flowers

So today I thought I would share with you the progress on my Christmas cards. Earlier this year I learned how to make these folded flowers. I thought they would look so neat on a Christmas card made with holiday papers. So I started these a LONG time ago, but have been slowly working on them. I usually sit and watch TV with my DH in the evening, and work on a couple. I usually only get 1 or 2 done at a time because either my fingers hurt from folding tiny little circles, or I am easily bored...lol. Well this summer, I decided to take the stuff outside with me when the girls played in the backyard. I was able to get a few done this way too. So...after many months...I finally have them all ready. I was originally going to 50 of these babies, but decided 30 was plenty...lol. I used various holiday Stampin' Up DSP that I had bought last fall, and punched the circles from those. The brads I used for the centers, I have had for...well forever...lol. Here is all 30 of them.The photo is a little dark, but you get the idea. Here is a close up of the blue and silver one. I picked this one because that color combo ended up being my favorite out of all of them.You can see from this photo all the folding that had to be done...lol. I learned how to make these from my SU rep, but in case you have never made these before, HERE is a great tutorial I found online for these. Actually I found a whole bunch of flower making tutorials on Helen Croft's blog. She has tutorials for 15 different kinds of flowers!

That is all for now. Next step with these...mounting on card bases, and adding a sentiment. I just got a great Christmas sentiment from QKR Stampede I am going to use.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Ribbon Organizing

As I mentioned yesterday, I bought this totally cool ribbon organizer at the Stamp Scrap Art Tour yesterday. I purchased it from the Inky Antics booth, and I know she has it in her online store HERE as well. I first saw this on the Inky Antics blog a while back, and thought it was pretty cool, but never did anything about it. So when I approached her booth yesterday I noticed it on the table, and she (Jackie) showed me how it works. Well this photo here will show you why I really felt I needed this Spool & Store System. And how about a side view...So I got to work with the little winder tool. My goal...to make my ribbon more accessible. While in the process of organizing all this craziness, I even found some ribbons I didn't even know I had in the bottom of this messy drawer! So...here is a photo to show that I was making progress. Yeah...so I by the time I was done, I filled the entire bottom part of the recycling bin with cardboard ribbon spool...ha ha. But when you see the results...it was soooo worth it. Only problem I ran into...I had more ribbon then I thought, and ran out of room in the storage boxes. So I guess I may need to buy a couple more of the storage bins. Oh, and did I mention the storage bins are also dispensers? How cool is that! So...here is what the drawer looks like now after my evening of winding ribbon.

And a side view...


Big difference huh? The good news is I can now see what I have in there, and can start to maybe use some of it up...so I can buy more ribbon! lol. And really...who knew that on the bottom of this drawer there was also some colored staples, and some post-it notes!

Well I am heading back to the couch to get some more rest. I finally gave in and went to the emergent care place today. Apparently the giant white blotches on my tonsils are NOT strep. That terrible giant Q-Tip test came back negative, but the doctor said the white blotches look terrible, and gave me antibiotics anyway. So hopefully this awfulness will all be gone by the time my baby nephew gets here on Wednesday. I haven't seen him since April. Well hopefully I will feel well enough to get to play with some of my new stuff from the convention too!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Stamp Scrap Art Tour is in Town!

Hi there. I have been waiting for this weekend to happen for a long time now. Why? Well this is the weekend that the Stamp Scrap Art Tour makes a stop near me. The first couple years I went, I just went to the trade show/convention part of the show. There are all sorts of fun companies to buy direct from, as well as a booth from my Local Stamp Store. Last year, when we were looking for ticket info, I learned that they also have classes on Friday. So, for the last 2 years, my mom and I have attended the Make and Take Dessert Party on Friday night. It really is a great deal, and a lot of fun! For $25, you get to make 8-9 different projects , and eat some super yummy desserts. I wanted to share with you a glimpse of what I got to create last night.
As you can see, we made 9 different projects last night. We made 7 cards, 1 paper basket, and 1 4"x4" scrapbook. Sorry the basket isn't totally finished yet, but we only had so much time at each table, and I didn't get to finish. Of course it didn't help that I was getting sicker by the minute while I was there. I felt kinda blah all day Friday, but by the time the make and take party was over, I was just plain sick! I guess I got whatever my girls had earlier this week. Well, today I HAD to go to the convention...because it only comes once a year. So off we went to shop. Lets just say...I did a fairly good amount of shopping...lol. Between myself, my mom, and my 7 year old...we brought home a pretty good amount of stuff. I think my "happiest" purchase is my new ribbon organizing system. I can't wait to share it with you. I am hoping to get it all organized tonight...since all I can do is sit in my chair and watch TV....ha ha. I was hoping to be able to use some of my new stuff tonight, but I just don't' have the strength to go down to my stamp room. Well, thanks for stopping by...and don't forget to check out the Stamp Scrap Art Tour website, and see if they are coming to your town/area. If not this year, then next season. It is soooo worth it!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Back to School Teacher Gifts

Today I wanted to share with you some little gifts I made for the teachers. I am one of those crazy moms who gives the teachers a gift for back to school. I guess I am sucking up...lol. Well I stumbled upon THIS tutorial the other day, and thought I would give it a try. I like to make the first day of school gifts something useful or practical. Usually something consumable too. So I thought these Post-it note holders were perfect! And I thought it would be fun to use this sentiment stamp from QKR Stampede. It is just perfect for it!This is the front of the post-it note holders. I stamped the Just a Note sentiment from QKR Stampede, and trimmed it. I also rounded the corners. I layered that onto a piece of fabric that I trimmed to fit. I layered the fabric onto a solid colored CS (it is the same color as the inside CS). I used my Cricut to cut the scalloped squares, and layered onto those. Here is a photo of the back of them. I did the same as the front minus the QKR Stampede sentiment. Here is a view of the inside.
As you can see, the post it notes are attached to the back of the holder. I used red sticky tape to attach it so it stays good. You can also see the ribbon. The ribbon is used to close the little holder up. I hope they like theses! I even made the one to match the school uniforms! I happened to have some of the fabric that matches the uniforms. Wanna try it??? HERE is the link to the tutorial that I used from the Whimsie Doodles Blog.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Fall Raccoon

So I looked and looked at this card, and just could not come up with a title for this post...lol. So you are stuck with Fall Raccoon. Anyway...I made this card using some of the new Apple Cider collection from Imaginisce. I used this week's What if? Wednesday Sketch from Repeat Impressions. I also used some "text paper", which is the challenge this week over at the Whimsie Doodles Blog.
I did a little "adjustment" on the sketch...I made it a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card instead of a square. I started by stamping this cute little raccoon snag 'em stamp from Imaginisce onto cream CS. I colored him with marker, and cut using my Creative Memories circle cutters. I layered him onto some PP from the Apple Cider collection. Next I used my circle cutter to cut some circles from the "text paper" from the same collection. You can even see a little version of this cute raccoon on that PP. Last, I added some buttons in various "fall" colors...which all of these colors are in the text PP. The buttons are from Fancy Pants. Oh, and I layered everything onto a brown CS piece which is on the cream CS base.

Thank my Luck Moon and Stars

Hi there. Today I decided to play along with a couple challenges. This first post today is a card I made for this week's Simon Says Challenge. The challenge this week is paper piecing. Here is the card I made. I used this Patchwork Moon stamp from QKR Stampede. I stamped the image first on white CS, then stamped once onto the yellow with white polka dot PP, then again onto the argyle PP. The PP are from the DCWV stack Nana's Kids. I cut the moon and the little hanging star from the yellow PP, and the hat, patch, and button from the other PP.
For the Thank You sentiment (which is also from QKR Stampede), I stamped the image on white, and again on the yellow PP. I paper pieced 5 of the starts...I just didn't have the patience to do the 2 tiny ones...lol. I used a yellow marker for the other 2 stars and the dots on the letters. Last, I layered the images onto the same PP I used for the hat of the moon. Well that is all for this card. Be back soon with another challenge card.

Monday, August 23, 2010

She Sells SeaShells....

Well I guess I really didn't make a tongue twister card, but it has sea shells...lol. For some reason seashells always make me think of the end of summer. Really not sure...since you know the whole beach thing is a summer thing. Maybe it is the memories of the beach kinda thing. Either way...I made a seashell card today. I used this week's Mojo Monday Sketch for my layout.
I also used blue and green as my main colors for this card...which is the challenge this week over at the Cupcake Craft Challenge. I used this seashell PP from SEI's On the Coast Collection. It is actually glittery too. The PP behind the shells is also from the same paper collection. The shells and starfish are stamps from TAC, and the sentiment is also from TAC. The ribbon is from SU...I think it was a sale-a-bration freebie a couple years ago. The glitter brads are from SEI. I also added some hero arts glitter to the starfish and seashells, just to add some accent. Well that is all for now. Back to my sick children. 2 of my 3 girls woke up with upset bellies and fevers today. The youngest had a fever the other day, but was very upset this morning that she didn't have a fever. LOL. She actually threw a temper tantrum about it. Oh the mind of a three year old!

Found Another New Challenge Blog

I was doing my usual morning blog hopping, and saw another blog I follow had posted about a new blog. SUE is also on their DT!. The blog is called The Fuzzy Wuzzy Challenge Blog. As you can see from the name...the challenges will all be about fuzzy wuzzy things. Sounds like fun to me! I have LOTS of cute animal stamps to play along with this one! Well the first challenge will be Sept. 3, and between now and then they are offering some blog candy too! Who doesn't like some blog candy???!!! So head on over HERE and follow them and see what they are all about. I am already looking forward to the first challenge!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Appley Sweet

The second card I made today was for the Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge. This week includes a twist to the sketch...which is think school. So I decided to go with the whole apple for a teacher approach. Here is my card.I used the adorable Cocoa Mouse with the apple stamp from the clear stamp set Autumn Lovin' Cocoa. I stamped him and colored him with watercolor crayons. The PP I used is all from the new Apple Cider collection from Imaginisce. I layered the PP onto some brown CS, and a cream CS base. Last I added some colored buttons to go with the papers.
Thanks for stopping by!

Bug Hug

Hi there! Hope you had a great weekend. We enjoyed some family time at our property this weekend. The highlight was when our black colored dog took off into the woods in the pitch black of the night after what we believe was a big ol' buck. The good news is the dog and the deer never ended up meeting...THANK GOD! Well I was able to get a couple cards done this afternoon while my DH was off drafting fantasy football players. I still don't understand the whole fantasy football thing...lol. Well the first card I made today was for the first ever challenge at a new challenge blog. The blog is called Let's Ink It Up. This weeks challenge is "Anything Goes"-with a twist...you must use yellow on your project. Here is my card.
I started with a white CS base, and layered some blue paper onto that. Next I used a piece of PP from the Target $1 Spot (it has yellow in it). I used this adorable bug on a flower image from QKR Stampede called Bug Hugs. I colored the image with markers, and trimmed it down. The sentiment is also from QKR Stampede and is called Thinking of you. Last I added some yellow ribbon, and some little paper flowers (from Creative Memories). I added some blue gems to the centers.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Design Team Call

Hi there...I wanted to let you know about an awesome opportunity. As you know...I have been HONORED to be a part of the QKR Stampede DT since April. What a great company! There are so many awesome stamps in the QKR Stampede Store. Well, the first 6 month DT term is almost up, and Maribeth is looking for a few new ladies to join this great and talented DT. So...I wanted to let you know that there is currently a DT Call going on! The call is open until August 31st, so you have a little time to submit and "application".
If you are interested in applying to become a part of this great DT, please head over to the QKR Stampede Blog for all the details. THIS link will take you directly to the post you need with all the details.
Oh, and if you haven't become a fan of QKR Stampede on Facebook yet...now is the time. There are still a couple Monday's left in August, and each Monday Maribeth is generously giving one lucky fan a chance to win a free stamp of your choice!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Morgan's Challenge Card

Here is my DD Morgan's card. This card is for 3 challenges!


She used this owl image...which I believe is from High Hopes. She colored with souffle gel pens. The base of the card she did all herself! She cut it out to look like an apple, and then added some leaves and a stem. She wrote "Welcome Back" on the outside, and on the inside wrote a little note to her new teacher for this year. I was so proud of her for doing the card all by herself with NO help from mom at all!

QKR Stampede...Just Ducky

Today I wanted to share a little card I made using one of my QKR Stampede stamps. I just love being a part of the QKR Stampede Design Team. First, I get to work with a great bunch of talented ladies on this DT. Second, I just LOVE these images! If you haven't visited the QKR Stampede online store yet, you really need to. There are so many cute and quirky images to choose from. There really is something for everyone! Anyway, here is a card I made using the Happy Duckling image. My DD just told me that he is the cutest stamp she has ever seen.Isn't this stamp so sweet?!! I think it has so many uses too. It would be adorable for a baby card/gift, but at the same time is great for just a simple get well card. Yes...I said get well...lol. At least that is what I made it for. I stamped this guy and colored with watercolor crayons. I trimmed it out, and layered it onto this little sunshine PP...the PP is from the new Blueberry Hill collection from Nikki Sivils. I actually won it from some blog candy, but really like it, and the other papers in the line. I may need a trip to my LSS to see if she has any...lol. Anyway, NEXT...I used a small piece of blue CS, and hand wrote the saying...which is hard to see in the photo but says "Hope you are feeling Just Ducky soon!!!". Last, I added these burlap buttons which are also from Nikki Silvils.

Well that is all for now...Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Back to School

Go HERE for today's Creative Belli Post
This week's Whimsie Doodle's challenge is Back to School theme. The funny thing is...one of the first digi images I ever used/got was from Whimsie Doodles, and it is their school bears set. The MOPS group I am part of was doing a service project. Basically we were making sets of cards to send to military kids to help them keep in touch with their military parent. I was asked to come up with some sort of first day of school card. I said yes of course...because I always say yes...lol. So I sat at home one night and started searching for an image to use...since I didn't have any stamps that would work. Well I came across the Whimsie Doodles store, and found the adorable bears and the sentiment. I actually only used the sentiment for the cards (since we didn't know if it was for a boy or girl, and wanted to make the card sets neutral). Well I thought it would be fun to use them for today's challenge. Here is what I came up with.I tried something new for me too. I did some paper piecing with a digi. I have done paper piecing before, but not with digi images. I first printed on white CS, then again on purple, and again on green. I used the purple dress, and the purple star on the sentiment. I then used the green bow and the green backpack. Oh and the green apple. For the backpack, I did a little extra detail.
You can see from the photo, that I cut the little flowers out of the green so the purple would show through. I cut the white image out with an oval cutter, and layered all the pieces on. For the BG paper, I used a piece from TAC's A little Whimsy set. Last, I added some heat set star gems to the right side. Well that is all for now. Have a great day!

Creative Belli Challenge 98- Round AND Metal

Hi there! It is time for a new challenge over at the Creative Belli Challenge Blog. This week we have a good one for you...well we always have a good one for you...lol. The challenge this week is to make a card that is round AND has something metal on it. We have also provided a sketch that you can use...but it is optional. I however find sketches a great way to start my mojo. Here is the sketch.Now...remember...when you are pulling out the embellishments for something metal to add to your creation...we love to see something OLD...by that we mean use something you have had laying around. So...without further ado...here is my card.I usually don't do round...but this was kinda fun to change things up a bit. Now I will tell you that I actually started this card twice. The first time it was way too plain for me, so I went back and added this polka dotted PP to the background. The paper is from a school themed kit I got at the CKC convention. I then used the ruler sticker strip from the same set. The little girl image is a digi image from Sweet 'n Sassy called School Girl Sally. I colored with colored pencils, and added some crystal effects to the desk (I got that idea from Korin's card she shared recently, and really liked it). I trimmed her out and layered onto some cream CS. The next embellishment I used is one of the metal items. Awhile back, I purchased a grab bag/surprise bag from the Oh My Crafts discount site. These glitter metal slice tags were part of that bag of goodies. Well I don't have a slice machine, so they have been sitting around collecting dust...UNTIL NOW! Inside the tag, I cut a piece of cream CS to the correct size, and added a rub-on that I have had for a while too. Last, I added a little metal library clip to the top. Now...if you want to talk about using some forgotten embellishments...this is it...lol. Acutally it is a hand-me-down embellishment...if that makes sense. A friend of mine had these for awhile, and had no use for them, so she gave them to me. Now after about a year I have finally found a fit for it!
Ok...last confession of the day...I didn't actually make this a card. After making it, I looked it over and thought it would look really cool on a scrapbook page. Since I gave her red hair, I thought it would be perfect for a first day of school scrapbook page. So...I am putting it aside until I get to the September photos, and I will add it to my scrapbook.
Ok...now...if you haven't been over to the Creative Belli Challenge yet...head on over and see what the other Belli girls have in store for you. And...please give a special welcome to our newest Belli Girl Robin Parker! Don't forget to play along and link your projects to the bottom of challenge post 98!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Bathing Frog

Here is a card I made for two different challenges. First, I used this week's Buffalo Stamps and Stuff Sketch. I also am using this card for this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge, which is 2 papers, 2 ribbons, and 2 flowers. Notice the 2 of everything...well that is because they are celebrating their 2nd birthday! They are offering all sorts of extra prizes this week, and a little DT blog hop. Check it out HERE. Well here is my card.I used this adorable bathing frog image from QKR Stampede. I just think he is so cute. I colored him with markers and souffle pens. I layered him onto some green checkered PP. For the background, I used some swirly green PP from the same stack as the checkered PP. For the middle of the BG, I used 2 ribbons that I layered onto one another. Last, I added 2 green flowers, and used a green crystal to the center. So...2 papers, 2 ribbons, and 2 flowers!

Well that is it for now. Thanks for stopping by!

Retirement Card

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend. We spent some time at our property. On Friday my DH went there and built a tree house for my girls. They LOVE it! There is still some work that needs to be done on, but it is very stable, and sturdy. Trust me it was tested...lol. Not only did my 3 girls climb all over it, but so did our friend's 4 girls. Yes....7 girls in one spot...lol...and out in the middle of the country on top of that. The funny thing is if you bring them back home, they turn right back into little girly girls.
Well, today I want to share a card I made for my mom to use. She asked me to create a retirement card for someone she works with. The catch...it is for a man...and as you know...man cards aren't my specialty...lol. Well, since I was challenged, I took it on...and well I think I did pretty well. =) I used this week's Sweet Stop Sketch for my layout. And, since there are LOTS of non-bulky layers, This also qualifies for this week's Buffalo Stamps and Stuff Challenge.

Well, what do you think? Not to bad! I went searching through my entire stamp stash for the perfect masculine retirement stamp. Well, I thought of using some trees, but then I saw this Reilly Mouse stamp(not sure if I spelled that right, but they are from Hannah Stamps). I stamped him, colored him with markers, and fussy cut him out. Then...from the base up...I started with a 5"x 5" kraft CS base. I then layered the tan polka dot paper onto that. (All the PP used on this card are from the DCWV Guy Stack.) I cut the green PP strips next. The rectangle is also Kraft CS. I layered the image onto that, and hand wrote the words around him. For the piece on the bottom, I used a SU boarder punch on Kraft, then layered the blue PP onto that. I hand wrote onto that too. Last, I added the buttons. On the inside I stamped a sentiment from a SU set that says "let the relaxation begin! (happy retirement)". I hope this is what my mom was looking for! Have a great day.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

School Days - QKR Stampede Blog Hop

Hello everyone! Welcome to the August QKR Stampede DT Blog Hop! If you just arrived here from Carol's Blog, then you are on the right track. Wasn't Carol's project great???!!! She is so very talented. If you are just starting the hop here on my blog, please head back to the QKR Stampede Blog, and start the hop from the beginning. Trust me it will be worth starting from the beginning!
Well, if you are right on track, then it is time to share my School Days themed card with you. Oh I just love these turtles stamps from QKR Stampede! There is a whole bunch of them to choose from too, and they pretty much cover every season or holiday that you could possibly need. This particular guy is called School Day, and couldn't be more perfect for this back to school themed hop! He just looks so ready to get back to class. I know my girls are pretty anxious to get back to the books too, of course they have the added excitement of a new school this year too. I colored this image with markers. The BG papers are from a school set of papers I got at the CKC convention back in May. I used alphabet stickers for the "Back to Class" saying across the bottom.
Well, I won't keep you any longer...you really need to head over the very talented

DESIREE's

blog now. I am positive you won't be disappointed in her work.

And remember, if at any point during the hop you get off track, just head back to the QKR Stampede Blog, and pick up where you left off. Oh, and don't forget to leave a comment for each of us...we love to read your comments!

Natalie's Card

Here is my DD Natalie's card for the following challenges.
Little Hands do Crafts - Anything goes
Natalie used this unicorn image from High Hopes. She choose some flower background paper from the Target $1 spot. She picked some flower ribbon that I got at Micheal's, and added some pink flower with gems for the centers. Oh, and she colored the image with souffle gel pens.

Ash's Card

Here is my DD Ashley's card for the following challenges.
Little Hands do Crafts - Anything goes
She used this cute unicorn image from High Hopes, and colored it with souffle gel pens. The background paper is from Target $1 spot, and she added some pink flowers and buttons. And 1 blue heart gem...lol. I have to show you the inside too...lol. She "signed" her own name.

Dare to be Different

So I finished the other card I was working on, and decided to share it. I made this using the What If? Wednesday Sketch over at the Repeat Impression's blog. I also made this for a challenge on the SNR Card Universe. It is digi day for the Digital Delights company. They provided this free lion digi image, and asked we make a card using it. So I printed 3 of the same size digi lions, and colored them with colored pencils. I called the first and third lion the same, and the middle one different. I also added some white and brown fun flock to them. I hand wrote the sentiment, and trimmed it. I layered that onto some white ribbon. The background paper I got at CKC back in May, and sadly can't remember which company it is from. It went so well with the color of the lions though. The burlap covered buttons are from Nikki Silvis. I won them in a whole goodie bundle of blog candy a few weeks ago, and thought they went well with this. Notice the middle button along the top has red thread, while the rest have brown. Well that is all for now....BUT....

Don't forget to stop back tomorrow for the QKR Stampede School Days Blog Hop! You are in for a good time!!!

I never get TIRED of you

I wanted to share a card I made for a couple challenges. First this card is for the Simon Says Challenge this week...which is Summertime Blues. (Which I have been singing that Alan Jackson song in my head since they posted the challenge...lol). Second, this card is for the Whimsie Doodles challenge...which is You're so Punny. I started with this digi image from Whimsie Doodles. I colored him with colored pencils. I then used my Cricut to cut a branch for him to swing on. For the background, I used light blue CS, and added some "clouds" using versamark white chalk ink. They are a little hard to see here, but I promise they are there...lol. For my "punny" sentiment, I actually printed it from the computer. I then trimmed it down, cut it apart, and added it to the card. My pun being "tired" and he is on a tire swing...ha ha. Since the background is blue, and he is doing a summertime activity, I felt this card also fit well with the Summertime Blues theme. That and his summertime blue jeans...lol. Well that is all for now. I have another card I am working on, but didn't get to finish yet because I have to bake. Yes, bake...that means turn on my oven in the way tooo hot heat, and melt as a result...lol.

QKR Stampede Thursday

Hi there. Hope you are having a wonderful week. Today I wanted to share a QKR Stampede card with you. I also wanted to remind you to join us tomorrow for our "School Days" August DT Blog Hop! More details about this at the end of this post.
Here is my card I wanted to share today. I went a little i-Rock crazy on this card...lol. I really wanted to try out the whole swirly template thing, and I guess I liked it. Anyway...I used this turtle image called In Love. I colored him with colored pencils, and trimmed it down to a rectangle. I layered the image onto this PP from a Creative Keepsakes All in One Scrapbooking Stack. For the sentiment, I used a part of the Rootin' image. I stamped the image, and used an oval punch to get just the "for you" part. Last I went i-Rock crazy on it, and added the mirrored gems.
Now a little sneak peek for you! Tomorrow is our School Days QKR Stampede Blog Hop. You will want to see this! The ladies on the DT are just so talented, and have some great eye candy to share with you. The hop goes live on Friday morning at 8am. So...the first thing you are going to want to do is head over to the QKR Stampede Blog. You will be able to see the complete hop order, as well as a few other sneak peeks! Then hop along to each DT member's blog, and don't forget to leave a comment. We love comments!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

A cool blog hop

I wanted to quickly share a link to a really cool blog hop I went on today. I have had the little "ad" in my sidebar for a bit now, but Diecut Diva is have a Baby and Bridal Shower themed Blog Hop today. There is also a PRIZE!!!! Oh I just love prizes...lol. Anyway...head over to the Diecut Diva Blog and hop along with them. TRUST ME...you won't be disappointed. There was some great eyecandy!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Purple Rhinestudded Apple

Today I want to share a card I made for 2 different challenges. First, I used this week's Sweet Stop Sketch which can be found HERE. Second, I used lace on my card, which is the challenge over at the Cupcake Craft Challenge this week.
Sorry my photo is a little dark. I took it in my craft room this time, and just couldn't get the lighting right. I started with this Cocoa Mouse with the apple (which is from Sweet 'n Sassy). I then used my i-Rock (yes I know I use it WAYYY too much...lol), and added some purple rhinestuds around the apple. I used some green crystals around the leaf. Then I used marker to color in the rest of the area. Not sure why I went with a purple apple...well I kinda do, but I thought it turned out neat because it was different. I also stamped an extra Cocoa face, and layered with a pop dot to make his face a little 3-D. The sentiment is from the same stamp set as the mouse. I then did a whole bunch of layering with some PP from the Target $1 spot. The lace bow is some SU lace. I also added some purple brads, and some green mirrored gems.
That is all for now. Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, August 9, 2010

My Weekend Project

So I realized I haven't posted my own work in about a week...lol. So I thought I would share a little of my weekend project I worked on. As you know, I am not much of a scrapbooker, but I thought it was about time I worked on my 2010 album again. So I pulled everything out, and decided to finish the March photos, and start the April. I was able to get the last 3 pages of March photos done, and moved onto April. Now...I usually don't do any sort of fancy layouts, unless it is for a contest. So I was very proud of these two pages. Please understand...the fact that I made a 2 page layout that went together was a BIG accomplishment...lol. They aren't anything fancy at all, but they go together! So I thought I would share them with you. These are the first two pages for my April part of the album.The 2 page spread.Page 1

Page 2

The background paper is from Creative Keepsakes Stacks I got at the Convention. These stacks are great! They come with lots of stuff, papers, rub-ons, vellum sayings, punchout pieces, etc. The solid CS is from the stack also. I used my Cricut to cut the "LAND" word (which is what we call our property). The flowers on page 1 are some of the punchouts from the stack too. The April sticker is from a set of month stickers I purchased at one of the chain craft stores. I did my journaling after I took the photos...so you can't see my terrible writing...lol. Sorry the photos aren't the greatest, I am not good at taking photos of the 12x12 pages.

Well that is all for now. Thanks for stopping by. I will be working on some cards tomorrow for a couple challenges, and don't forget Friday is the QKR Stampede Back to School Blog Hop!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Ash's Challenge Card

Here is my youngest DD's card for the following challenges.



Kona Kid Krafters - Animals
Children's Challenge Corner - Ribbons and Bows
Ash used this image she won from a previous challenge. She colored with marker, and even cut it out herself. She wanted purple paper on the background...that is her favorite color. She picked purple ribbon too. The sentiment is from TAC, and we stamped it with a kaledicolor pad.

QKR Thursday with a Mojo Twist

Hi there! Hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far. Mine has been a hot and not so busy one...which the not so busy part is nice...lol. Well today I wanted to share a card I made using this cute snake image from QKR Stampede...yes I said cute and snake in the same sentence...lol.
I used this week's Mojo Monday sketch for this one. I stamped this image (An Apple a Day) and colored it with marker. Yesterday I was at Target, and found this metallic CS. I had a gift card I won last weekend, so I decided to buy this pack of CS as well as a new PP Stack. I really liked this CS because it was shiny. I used some of the red for the background, and the top rectangle piece. The PP is from the Target $1 spot a few years back. I also added some tan CS to help pull the color from the PP. I used a green piece of ribbon (another color from the PP), and added a couple heat set pearls. I was trying to think of a sentiment to go with this, but nothing came to me, so I left it for now. Well, that is all for now...have a great Thursdays. OH and next Friday 8/13 we will be having our August QKR Stampede Blog Hop! I just love these hops. This month we will be featuring back to school/class projects. Be sure to hop on over and check it out.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Natalie's Card

Here is my DD Natalie's card for the following challenges.




She used this moose image from QKR Stampede. She mounted that onto the PP from DCWV Stack Nana's Kids. The star strip is also from that stack. She last added some ribbon bows.

Morgan's Card

Here is my DD Morgan's card for the following Challenges.



She colored the image (which is a digi, and is from Digital Delights). She wanted to make a rainbow shell. She used colored pencils. She mounted the image onto rainbow CS, and added some colored ribbons and brads. The star PP strip is from DCWV Nana's Kids stack.

Like a Knight in Shining Armor

Hello...I wanted to share this card I made for this week's Simon Says Challenge. The challenge this week is to make a card based on a song. Well this card can kinda be for two songs. I started out with the Chicago song "Will You Still Love Me" stuck in my head. (Now it is stuck in yours too...lol). This knight in armor reminded me of that song for some reason. Here he is...he is from High Hopes. I colored him with metallic colored pencils, and then I i-Rocked him. If you haven't seen or heard of the i-Rock from Imaginisce yet, you soooo need to see this. I just absolutely LOVE it. It is such a fun tool to use, and easy too. Actually they are giving one away along with a whole package of stuff on their blog right now HERE. As you can see, I added some rhinestuds to his armor, and his shield. I layered him onto some PP from SEI, and then layered that onto some metallic silver CS. I stamped the sentiment onto white CS, and rounded the corners. This now leads to the other possible song this could be..."Wind Beneath My Wings". Last, I added some more rhinestuds with my i-Rock to the bottom corner. Well, that is all for now. Thanks for stopping by!

Creative Belli Challenge #97 - Paint

Hi there! Today is a new challenge over at the Creative Belli Challenge Blog. This week our challenge for you is "Paint"...yes paint. Now...how you paint or what you paint with is what we want to see. HOWEVER, keep in mind the "spirit" of the Creative Belli Challenge...to use something you already have in your stash...we are all about grabbing that thing you bought months ago and never used, or haven't used in a long time. It is so easy to buy the latest and greatest new embellishments, stamps, or papers...but forget about last years new greatest. Believe me...I saw lots of new stuff I "need" from previews and photos of CHA from last week! Well here is my version of "Paint". I also included a little how-to in today's post. This is one of the first times I have done a step-by-step photo how-to. I usually forget to take my camera down to the craft room with me...lol. Here is my finished product. I started by stamping this adorable image from QKR Stampede with black ink. I then got into my painting. So here is my "how-to"...lol. This first photo shows everything you need to do this painting technique (which I learned at a class at my LSS). I haven't used my liquid pearls in a while, so I thought this would be a fun way to use them...and paint!So...a paintbrush, a ceramic tile, ink pads, liquid pearl, and a mister bottle.Step 1: Add some ink to the tile by pressing the ink pad to the tile. You don't need a lot of ink, just depends on how big the area you need to paint. Step 2: Add a small drop of liquid pearl to the inked up area. White liquid pearl seems to work best...since you already have the ink color.Step 3: Using your mister bottle, lightly spray the tile and liquid pearl. Do not over spray...it will wash out the color. Probably 1 or 2 light mists is plenty. You can always add more if needed.Step 4: Using your paint brush, mix the ink and liquid pearl together into a nice water paint like consistency. Step 5: PAINT!!!!!Here is a close up of a small painted area. As you can see, the mixture adds sparkle to your painted area. It is a was to add shimmer without glitter.
I used this technique to paint the balloons on my image. For the rest of the image, I used this technique...
I used ink pads and aqua painters. Once the image had dried enough (which really doesn't take long), I layered it onto a pink piece of CS that I ran through the cuttlebug. I added some ribbon, and some glittery brads too. The sentiment is also from QKR Stampede.

I thought I should add that this sketch I used was from my LSS's Blog. They have a new sketch challenge every Friday. This is the one from 7/23, so I am a little late...lol.