Mojo Monday Sketch

I discovered a great new card sketch blog today...Mojo Monday. I love their sketches! I saved all the ones I have missed this year just so I can give them a try. :O) Here is the sketch...

And here is my card. I love the way it turned out! Aren't the papers yummy? They are from Kaiser Crafts. FUN! I love it when I stumble upon something fabulous!

A Clean and Simple Hello

I made this card for the CAS08 sketch challenge on Split Coast (Clean and Simple). I used this beautiful soft accordian ribbon from Taylored Expressions and the sentiment is from Papertrey Ink Mega Mixed Messages set. The felt and crocheted flowers were given to me by my good blogging friend 'itsapassion' (thanks Anne!) so I don't know where they are from.

Clean and simple card - clean and simple post! Good night all ! thanks so much for coming by today!
Stamps: Mega Mixed Messages: PTI
Paper: White: PTI
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: ribbon: Taylored Expressions, glue dots, felt & Crocheted flowers: unknown

Eat Your Veggies and Let the Earth Rejoice!

I have been so busy this weekend - I really just want to go to bed!!! I taught 2 classes at The Papertree in Manchester, NH yesterday (hi guys!!!) then 2 friends and I taught our monthly stamping class at our church today. But on I stamp!! (you know howthat goes right??!!)

So - I'm multi-challenging again - I'm behind on the last two weekly Doubledog Dare Challenges that I do with a group of friends on Split Coast - so I scoured Just PaintingAround - Featured Stamper Michelle's gallery to see if there was something that would fit!

And I found this tag card. I changed the colors and stamps used - but kept her fun design.

And I incorporated Charlene's (LilLuvsStampin) Double dare challenge to make a tag and use green on it - and Michelle's (sf9erfan) 1-2-3 challenge - to use 1 designer paper, 2 ribbons, 3 brads.

So here we are with an 'Eat Your Veggies' tag. These fun stamps are from a new company called Two Scoops Rice Designs.

We'd love to have you play along with our Doubledog challenges - just post your card on Split Coast using the Keyword DDC. You can see all the Doubledog challenge cards here.

Stamps: Veggie Set: Two Scoops Rice Designs
Paper: White, Ripe Avacado: PTI, DP Basic Grey Pattern Paper Off Beat
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: slot punch: SU, brown stripe ribbon: unknown, Ripe Avocado saddlestitched ribbon: PTI, brads, foam dimensionals, Copics, round nestabilities, cuttlebug

I've combined 4 challenges in this card (don't you just love when you can work that out!?!?!) The Limited supply challenge on Split Coast this week was to use just black & white (silver is ok too).

I used Taylors Sketch and I used ribbon tabs and mixed stripe and pattern designer paper which are the last two of Sharon's stamp simply challenges .

My stamp is from a Verve Visual set called Everlasting Life and my designer papers and ribbons are Papertrey Ink. I used the Cuttlebug Textile folder for the background panel to give it a little depth although you can't see it too well on my photo. The pretty silver fiber is called cloisonne thread and came from my dear MIL's sewing box that I was lucky enough to receive when she moved into assisted living (she's 93 and still plays scrabble on the computer!).

Thank you for stopping by today! Now onto making some Easter crafts!!

Stamps: Everlasting Life: Verve Visual
Paper: white: PTI, Basic Black: SU, DP Text Style Black & White basics: PTI
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: rectangle nestability, silver cloisonne thread, glue dots, foam dimensionals, fresh snow satin and velvet ribbons: PTI, textile folder Cuttlebug, just blooms white daisy: CTMH, black vintage button: PTI

World Record Inspirational Unity Blog Hop!

Welcome to the World Record INSPIRATIONAL Unity Blog Hop! It starts at 10 AM EST on the Unity Blog

There are over 200 people signed up to participate! Can you hit them all?

I made my card using one of the butterflies in the Unity Stamp Set Butterfly Beauty which I stamped twice, cut out the center part on one and layered it over the other.

My favorite quote: Be Still, and know that I am God Psalm 46:10

The sketch is this weeks Card Positioning Systems CPS108

Thanks for stopping by - I'd love for you to leave me a comment!

Now hop on over to the next blog here!

Stamps: Butterfly Beauty - Unity Stamps
Paper: vintage cream, summer sunrise: PTI, basic black, going grey: SU, DP basic grey Ambrosia Winsome
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, More Mustard: SU
Accessories: marvy oval punches, Summer Sunrise & Pure Black twill: PTI, black wire, sponge, prismacolor markers, foam dimensionals, textile & Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folders, corner rounder,

A New Sheriff in Town

I made this card for this weeks The Cat's Pajamas Tuesday Sketch Challenge Check it out - you have until Saturday to enter and you could be this month's Swanky Stamper! (that is unless I win!! LOL!!)

I love this sheriff set and the fun Cosmo Cricket Lil Man designer paper. I'm seeing orange everywhere - a color I don't usually use - but it's growing on me the more I see it!

I stamped the images directly on the designer paper - then colored in some of the town building parts so they stood out. I paper pieced the hat and shirt of the sheriff, putting the hat up on foam dimensionals. I added the big star brad to his shirt and colored his guns and belt with my Spica silver pen. IRL they are shimmery!

I used the Swirly Punch by Stampin Up to punch a black and orange piece - then layered them under the circle that I stamped the sentiment on. I added the button because I needed that third thing to draw your eye around the card! I figured a black button is ok on a boys card! The 'bang' star is up on foam dimensionals. I stamped "there's a new sheriff in town' directly onto the twill.

Don't forget to check back tomorrow to see my contribution to the World Record Inspirational Unity Blog hop! It's scheduled to go off at 10 am I think! I'll have mine up early just in case!

Stamps: It's a Western Thing: The Cats Pajamas
Paper: tangerine tango: SU, Spring Moss: PTI, DP Cosmo Cricket Lil Man
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Really Rust: SU
Accessories: glue dots, black vintage button: PTI, gold star brad, foam dimensionals, twill: SU, sponge, Spica silver pen, copics, black stitched ribbon: Amuse, curly label punch: SU, circle punch

A Sketch with Colors

Finally got some time to stamp so I made a card using both the sketch challenge and the color challenge (thanks for hosting this week Jodi!) over at Split Coast. I did a little piercing on my sentiment in honor of Jodi (she always does lots of piercing on her cards!)


I used this pretty Basic Grey Marrakech designer paper as it had the 3 colors in it (Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss and Pretty in Pink) or reasonable facsimilies there of! The angels and sentiment are from an H&M Stamp set called Angelic Moments. I used ribbon instead of cardstock for the 2nd panel. I had a lot of trouble putting so many layers on a card - I worked and re-worked it with different layers and colors for quite some time! So this card was a sketch growth experience for me!! And I have to say - I like how it finally came out - not that I'd use this sketch again though! LOL!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Stamps: Angelic Moments: H&M Stamps
Paper: baja breeze, pretty in pink, kiwi kiss: SU, DP - Marrakech Chai: Basic Grey
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Baja Breeze
Accessories: sponge, Gold Spica Pen, Copics, key tag punch & Designer label punch: SU, Spring Moss Dotted Swiss Satin ribbon: PTI, Gemstones: Hero Arts, foam dimensionals, piercing tool & mat: SU

Just Checking In!

Hi everyone! Nothing new to post at the moment - I'm busy working on some projects that I can't show you right now (I always wanted to write that!!!) I'll let you know my exciting news soon!!

I'm teaching two classes at the Papertree Store in Manchester, NH this Saturday if you're in the area drop by and say hello!!! You can see the classes here scroll down to the 3/28 listings. Michelle has a super fun store with tons of beautiful papers and wonderful stamps - not to mention any kind of stampin' supplies you might need!

I'm also participating in the World Record International Unity Blog hop - are you??? - so be sure to check back here at 10 AM on Saturday - over 200 people are participating! (see blinky on side bar) Hopefully everyone will link to each other as directed so we can view all the posts!

Oh - and I just got my Papertrey Ink order for this month (!) and I received TWO of the Limited Edition Everyday Classics Thank you Stamp sets because I'm such a GOOD (ie BAD!) customer - maybe one of them will show up in Blog Candy here some day!! You can't buy this set - it's given to customers for purchasing at least 12 stamp sets over the prior year.

So much stamping to do - so little time!!!

I should have something to post tomorrow - thanks for coming by!!

Lots & Lots of Cards!

Hi all. I have fallen behind (as usual) posting new creations. I have been on a card making frenzy the last few days, so we'll start with those! Feel free to comment on them. :O)

The Almighty and a Friend

I finally got to making my 6x6 page for Challenge 6 of Patter's His Holy Name Challenge The attribute of God this week is ALMIGHTY.I seem to gravitate towards the verses that speak about God as the creator and ruler of our world - and I chose Amos 4:13 to illustrate Almighty. These verses bring a vibrant picture to mind which makes it easier for me to make a card depicting it.

My scene this week is a little whimsical using the fun Doodle Factory country background stamp - I paper pieced the moutains and fields - the 'snow' capped mountains and clouds are puffed with liquid applique. The sun, butterfly, flower and almighty tag are all up on foam dimensionals. I made the black borders using an EK Success scalloped punch.

Stamps: Starving Artists Doodle Factory Background stamp, Karen Foster Snap Stamps
Paper: Aqua Mist & Bitty Dots Basics: PTI, Green DP: SU
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black: Tsukeniko, Aqua Mist: PTI
Accessories: EK success scallop punch, liquid applique, martha stewart butterfly & flower punches, copics, word window punch: SU, avery label, computer generated verse, gem stones: Hero Arts, foam dimensionals


My next card was for the Clean and Simple challenge on Split Coast - to use punches but keep everything to a minimum leaving lots of open space.I used the flower and fern Martha Stewart punches, a vintage button from Papertrey Ink, one stamp from the Friends till the End Papertrey Ink set and a Hero Arts gem!

Ok - I'm off to bed - trying to catch up on some sleep after a busy weekend!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink : Friends till the end
Paper: white, ripe avocado, raspberry fizz: PTI
Ink: Ripe Avocado: PTI
Accessories: vintage button: PTI, Martha Stewart bakers thread, Flower punch and fern punch

Shout Out to SheetLoads!!!

SheetLoad {of Cards} is one of my new fave blogs! They have great sketches and the design team always comes up with clever cards. Lots of inspiration over there! See their blog here!

Blog Candy Alert!

Elisabeth's Super Scrummy Blog Candy Give Away! Don't miss out on your chance to win the Spring 2009 Whiff of Joy Stamp Kit! Visit her blog...

More from SNE and Shower Shots

As promised - here is another project that we made at the Stamp New England Weekend. (see my post below for more info on the weekend) This beautiful set was designed by Cindy Lawrence and uses Whipper Snapper Stamps - Blossoms and Butterflies and Friendly Expressions. I had gotten this watercolored at the weekend but not put together but I was able to finish it up today.

We used reinkers and aquabrushes to color the petals and envelopes - I didn't do too well on mine - I always seem to add too much color and so don't get that wonderful shading other people can achieve. I definately need some practice on it! We were given extra blossoms stamped to color and cut out so we could layer them over the first stamping. We used sponge daubers on the edges with Soft Sky ink and layered the plain ovals onto scalloped ovals. For the card on the left - we used a copic marker to color the middle strip of the ribbon - boy did that work nicely!And then we all got a clear box from Gina K Designs - to slip our cards and envelopes into and we made a belly band to go around the box. The smaller flower was white which we again colored with a copic - how great does this whole thing look!!! I'm going to send this to my dear Aunt Edie who just turned 90 today - she likes to send notes to people and she always appreciates getting cards that I stamp - she will just LOVE this set!

I had mentioned that I had to leave the weekend a little early in order to attend my niece's wedding shower so I thought I'd share just a couple of pictures of it.

Here is bridesmaid, Jenn, future bride Katie, her sister Christy, and bridesmaid Amanda.
And here is the gift I gave her - This is a really neat basket carved out of a tree trunk that I got at the Brimfield Fair last fall. I like to give unusual gifts that they will remember came from their wedding. whenever they use it. (guess this fits the bill!) Katie's wedding colors are Ripe Avocado and Strawberry Fizz. She and I also made her Wedding Invitations, seating cards and program using these colors from Papertrey Ink. We did some computer printing and some stamping. I forgot to take pics before she took them all home - but hope to take some later to post.

This is the card I made for them as well as a case of personalized notes (you can see my post on them here). The card uses Verve Visual Anniversary Birds set, the sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

I still have 2 more projects from SNE to finish - so check back to see them!

thanks so much for coming by!

Stamp New England - What A Great Weekend!!

I just got home from Stamp New England and had such a super time I just had to get these pics loaded up to share with you!

This is the beautiful Sise Inn in Portsmouth, NH where we all gathered - There are 34 rooms in this Inn- It's very deceiving looking at it from the front - the building extends quite far back and it's so beautiful inside - a lot of carved wood paneling and lovely rooms!


And look what we found in our rooms when we arrived - our schedule of classes, coupons for discounts at sponsoring Companies, a fun clear box with ribbon, glitter, crocheted and felt flowers and a chocolate (got to have chocolate right?!)from Emma's Paperie , a cute little Patriotic thank you stamp in the shape of a heart from Kitchen Sink Stamps and a Memento Black ink by Tsukeniko for us to use with the cards we used Copics with (that ink won't bleed when you use Copics).

And right away I met my blogging friend Jodi Collins who I was just so excited to meet in person (she just became one of Taylors Bakers Dozen!). She is SO friendly and SO crazy (in a good way!) she kept us laughing all night! Jodi is on the left, her friend Anne is next, then Leah who's from MA, Vicky from CT, and me.

Here's a shot of about half of the room - with everyone busily working during Lauren Meader's class this morning.

And this is me with 4 of the teachers - from top left - Lauren Meader, Julie Masse (teacher and organizer), me! - front row left: Karen Motz (who also just became one of Taylor's Bakers Dozen!) and Joanne Basile(teacher and organizer). These ladies are just so talented and SO friendly and happy to share all the tricks they know about card stamping!

Cindy Lawrence below left also taught a class - she was a Design team member on H&M Stamps where I'm a DT member so I 'knew' her on line but it was just so great to meet her in person. Here is Jodi again and me.Oh - yes - and in between taking everyone's pictures - we did make some projects! Karen Motz (pronounced Moats!) taught us on Friday night how to make this wonderful little book using chip board covers and the Bind It All. The cute little fairy stamper is from Stamping Bella and we colored her with Copics. Everyone was asked to bring a copy of their favorite sketch and we passed them around so we could put them all in our new "Sketch Journal" - how fun is that?!?!? Look how cute this is!! The tag says "Stamping Bug" on it - and she is holding a wooden stamp in her right hand and all her stamping supplies in a little rolling bag in her left!

First thing this morning (Sat) Lauren Meader had us make this terrific little box (a preview of her template that's coming out next month!!) and - get this - we all got the Papertrey Ink Stamp set called Life that was just released!!! (Boy - did everyone scream when we heard we were each getting our own set!). AND - we were each asked to bring a bag of our favorite bite size candy to share so we got to FILL this box with yummy treats - the idea was to give this cute box to a friend - but I know mine is only HALF full at this point so if I do I'll have to add something to it! (Yumm!)

Here is Lauren and me. Lauren is holding a little back pack that I made and gave to each teacher.
Everything is Papertrey Ink (paper, DP, and stamps) accept the brads and foam dimensionals. You can see a tutorial I did for the back pack here.

I unfortunately had to leave the weekend early (GASP!) My niece was having her wedding shower today (which was lovely!) - so I had only half finished Cindy Lawrence's water coloring project when I had to pack up - and Julie Masse and Joanne Basile (pronounced Bas-il-lay!) gave me kits for their projects to take home - so I'll share those after I've made them! Just let me say they are all terrific and I can't wait to get them done! So be on the look out for those sometime in the next week or so!!

I hope you enjoyed my pictures and had fun seeing these stamping legends that I was so fortunate to meet!!! - there's a rumor the organizers are going to run another Stamp New England weekend this fall. I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything!

A Sticky Springy Sketch!

I have been so busy this week that I haven't been able to stamp for a few days - so I'm trying to catch up with this one little card combining three Split Coast Challenges !

The limited supplies challenge was to use spring colors and a flower - yesterday's Ways to Use it Challenge was to use a sticker (my flower and sentiment are rub-ons) and I used the sketch challenge from Wednesday ! I just love this Urban Prairie Designer paper from Basic Grey - don't you??

Gotta Go! I'm off to the Stamp New England gathering in Portsmouth, NH - whoo hoo!!!!

My next post will have pictures to share with you of who I met there and what fun things we made!! Maybe you are going too???

Thanks for coming by!

Stamps: none!
Paper: white; PTI, certainly celery, basic black, pretty in pink: SU, DP Basic Grey - Urban Prairie
Ink: So Saffron
Accessories: sponge, pearls: Creative Stickers, sewing machine, SU Rub On's - Hidden Garden, glue dots, vintage button: PTI, bakers string: Martha Stewart

Always Look on the Bright Side

Well - these are not colors I would usually grab to work with but this was the color challenge on Split Coast - Riding Hood Red, Summer Sun, Kraft and black! Pretty bright huh?!?! I used Papertrey Ink colors on my card because I don't have Summer Sun so I used Pure Poppy and Summer Sunrise which I think are similar to the SU colors.

I also wanted to try the Split Coast New Technique challenge from yesterday using Claire's Ribbon Frame. I think it would work better if I had the slot punch Claire mentions in her directions where you can punch anywhere on the card. I like her samples on the larger panel. I was limited to the size of my square since I used the hand held SU Horizontal slot punch and it wouldn't reach in very far!

DH and I are going to a Celtics Basketball game tomorrow night so I won't be posting until probably Thursday - AND - it's FINALLY time for the Stamp New England gathering in Portsmouth NH and I'll be at that Friday and Saturday! I'll be sure to share pics when I get back!

thanks for stopping by today!

Stamps: Verve Visual: Flutterby
Paper: Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Kraft: PTI, basic black: SU
Ink: Pure Poppy: PTI
Accessories: horizontal slot punch, key tag punch: SU, swiss dots cuttlebug folder, glue dots, saddle stitched pure poppy ribbon : PTI, sponge
Techniques: dry embossing, ribbon frame

A Clean Dump Truck

Today's CAS (clean and simple) challenge on Split Coast was to choose something from the Robeeze catalogue for inspiration. Here are the boys slippers that caught my eye because I had a similar dump truck stamp! Aren't they cute?!I made two narrow cards (2.5 x 5) to replicate the 'pair' of slippers. I debated using the ribbon on a boys card but figured it was a bright enough orange to be masculine and I thought the black thread through the middle sort of looked like a highway dividing line?!? I sponged the edges of the cards and the image panels with Creamy Caramel ink. The truck is Inkadinkado and the sentiment is from Cornish Heritage Farms (Little Boy/Little Guy). On the inside I stamped this cute sentiment by Inkadinkado. I love these little kid quotes!


Thanks for dropping by today!

Stamps: Truck: Inkadinkado, Sentiment: Cornish Heritage Farms- Little Boy
Paper: Creamy Caramel: SU, white: PTI
Ink: Onyx Black Versafine, Creamy Caramel: SU
Accessories: orange grosgrain ribbon: Michaels, sponge, copics, Prismacolor markers, key tag punch: SU, corner rounder

H&M Spring Time Blog Hop! Non-Candy Easter Treat

Today the H&M Design team is having a Spring Time blog hop! We've all created fun bright crafts to inspire you and get you out of the winter blues - using new stamp sets just released by Heather on March 1!

We would like you to start with Carolina's Blog so if you didn't start there - jump on over . Just follow the 'hop' at each DT members blog! They'll tell you where to go next! If you're here following the blog hop trail - Welcome!!!

For my Spring craft - I made another one of the fun purse/brief case holders I've posted before (are you sick of seeing these from me yet??!!!) - but this time I made it as a child's Easter Treat.

I stamped these beautiful eggs from designer Debbie Corbari's set called "Eggstra Special" from H&M stamps. Look at all the fun designs on the eggs - and there are 2 more in the set that I didn't use here. Don't they look so bright and festive! They just scream spring and new life to me - and I love the perfect sentiment! And I didn't fill the case with candy - I figure parents look for a gift alternative to all that candy on Easter Morning. You can see a glimpse of the treats from the side here. So inside this treat bag I tucked 6 coloring cards and a box of crayons into the clear box pockets!

I found some cute, mostly black and white outlined clip art images on Microsoft Word and printed them out on card stock - then cut them into card size pieces.

Because kids are going to be opening and closing this little bag a lot - I added brads to the tops of the handles to reinforce the tacky tape that holds the ribbon on. This left the pointed ends of the brads exposed on the inside of the bag - which could catch on little fingers - so I added a strip of card stock to cover them.

Here are the cute clip art images that I found. I added sentiments so the kids could color these on Easter Day and then give them as cards to family that gather for dinner. (start them young is my motto!)
So now the kids will have something to do after church on Easter Morning other than eating all that chocolate (and we can sneak a piece while they are busy coloring!?!?! LOL!!!)

You can see two other bags that I made here and here. They include a link to the instructions for making these fun purse/cases.

Briefly - for this project I used the narrower clear boxes (4 1/2" x 5 7/8" x 1/2")(Choose the depth of the clear box by how much you want to put inside them - my other samples use 1") This case is made from 2 pieces of designer paper cut 5" x 7 1/2" - score the bottom of each piece at 1 1/8" - adhere tacky tape on one end and attach pieces by overlapping the bottom scored ends. Cut two 23" pieces of ribbon for the handles and attach them with tacky tape starting on the bottom, coming up and around on each side. The closing tab measures 2" x 3" with the DP on it measuring 1 7/8" x 2 7/8".

Now hop on over to visit Maki and see what fun spring craft she has to show us using the new H&M Stamps today!!

Stamps: Eggstra Special - H&M Stamps

Paper: Plum Pudding, White, DP Itty Bitty Blessings - all PTI

Ink: Summer Sunrise, Plum Pudding, Spring Moss, True Black: PTI

Accessories: Oval nestabilities, corner rounder, Plum Pudding stitched twill ribbon PTI, tacky tape, velcro, clear box- Clearbags.com, computer clip art, box of crayons, small oval punch, sponge, foam dimensionals, Basic Grey Painted brads, cropadile.