Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Desk top box

While I was at the Friday night crop at Priceless last weekend, I just couldn't seem to do anything right! Everything came out looking awful, I was afraid to even try coloring, and I finally just gave up and decided to play with my flower Nestie dies and some scrap papers. They were the only thing that seemed to be right, so I just kept making flowers. Then I decided to try them with some of the new SEI dsp, but I used the lighter weight solid sheets. They turned out so pretty with a matching brad in the center!! It had been a really long time since I made one of these desk top boxes that were created by Karli, a fellow blogger, teacher, and crafter extroidinaire. I first saw them on her blog, Crafting with Class, last summer and made several of them. I decided to use the same SEI series of papers to make another of these boxes.
I had to adjust the measurements just a bit to accommodate this border/corner punch combo from Martha Stewart. The ribbon is from May Arts and is actually a perfect match for the pink in the papers and super shiny!! I used a Just Right alphabet stamp to make the monogram on the lid. Here is a shot with the box open. It would look better with something in it, but I haven't decided if I am going to use this at home or at school.
Maybe I'll just fill it with chocolate for emergencies!!!

Monday, March 29, 2010

TS Monday Challenge

It's another Monday and don't we really need something to make things a little more bearable? How about joining in with all the cool stuff happening over at Totally Stampalicioius? They are still taking entries for the awesome blog candy they are going to give away in April. There's a photo over on my sidebar, but they have added the most awesome packaging made by our very own Monique. There's a photo of it on the TS blog.
They are still looking for some guest designers for the upcoming release. You are going to flip over the new images coming soon!! All the deets about how to become a guest designer on the the TS blog also.
Now, on to my card and this week's challenge....
The challenge was to use a Totally Stampalicious image on your card or project. What?????? You don't own a TS image?????? Well, Becky and Joycelyn have a solution for you! If you hop over to the TS blog, you can grab a digi image from the latest release, Coffee Brawd, for FREE!! See? I told you there was a lot going on this week!!
I made a double pocket card using the tutorial from Splitcoaststampers. This was super easy to make using a 12 x12 piece of double sided dsp. I used SU!'s Tea Party dsp. The card stock is So Saffron, Pretty in Pink and Wild Wasabi. The images are the digital versions and were printed on GP white card stock and colored with Copic markers.
I used some Nestabilities circle dies to make my sentiment layer on the front. A Martha Stewart border punch was used to make the pink trim across the front. Lots of little blingies added to the centers of the flowers and another to the center of the bow.
The tags were cut using my trusty old Coluzzle. I love this old cutting system and don't think I'll ever give it up! These tags are among my favorite templates. My favorite part of this card is the fuzzy robe I made for Coffee Brawd. I used some of the new ultra fine Flower Soft to make it fuzzy and it turned out so cool! Here's a closer look...
This was so easy to do. Just put a little mono adhesive all over the robe and slippers and poured the Flower Soft over it. Push it down a little and shake off the excess.
Thanks for stopping in and I hope you have an awesome day!!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Gator Acrylic Memo Frame

This is just a quick little project I threw together for the teacher in the class next door who has many of the same kids as I do. We are always leaving ourselves little post it notes, so I thought this would be a little more economical for those little reminders we need next to the computer each day. You have probably already seen lots of these on the net, but just in case you haven't, I'll give you the simple deets.
I just bought a 4" x 6" acrylic frame at the dollar store and layed it down with the higher end in the back. I cut my papers to fit and added a mini tear off calendar to the bottom corner. A small piece of velcro closure at the top will hold a dry erase marker to keep it handy. I have also made these using stamped images and leaving off the calendar. Love how convenient these are to use. I can write myself a quick note and then just erase it. Having this near my computer is really saving me a lot of sticky notes!!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Childhood Memories

This card is for the Technique Lover's Challenge over at SCS to create a card based on a childhood memory. The memory I chose was living in the country, picking wildflowers (a few other flowers that I wasn't supposed to be picking) and chasing butterflies. I used a set that is new to me from Close to My Heart and Green at Heart dsp from Basic Gray.The card base is Wild Wasabi. The butterflies are from an embosslits die from SU!'s spring mini and the border punch is Martha Stewart. Thanks for stopping in!

TSMONDAY21 Hawt Dawg in Polka Dots

The challenge this week at Totally Stampalicous is to use polka dots and ribbon on your card. My first thought was to use one of the feminine images, but when going through my TS sets, I stopped on Hawt Dawg and so it began! I colored Dawg with Copic markers and stamped him out again on this cool orange dsp that I found in my scraps. It was double sided, so the coordinating stripes were easy! I used another dsp in a pretty teal color for my layers and Dusty Durango card stock for the base. The ribbon is from Bo Bunny and matched the other papers perfectly. Tucked a bone under Dawg's arm and a couple more for the sentiment, a few blings, and there he is! Had a lot of fun creating this guy. I'm thinkin' that someone has put something in my coffee lately to get me using all the bright colors. But I'm likin' it!!
If you want to play along with the challenge, head over to the Totally Stampalicious blog and use Mr. Linky to add your creation, or if uploading to SCS, use TSMONDAY21 in the keywords. TS is also having a guest designer call. All the deets are on their blog! Happy stamping!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Is it a mouse or a hedgie?

I made this card Friday night while I was down at Priceless Scrapbooks for a Friday night crop. The image is a from a set of Penny Black hedgehog acrylic set that belongs to a dear friend of mine. This is the only image that isn't a hedgie in the set. We thought it was a koala at first, but they don't have tails like that, so it must be a mouse. Whatever it is, it's cute!! I colored the flowers with Copic markers to match the Bo Bunny papers I used. Added some sparkle to go with the abundant sparkle on the papers....had to have them when I saw all that glitter!!
The card base is orchid opulence, a color I seem to be stuck on lately. The flower was made by drawing up one edge with a needle and thread of a lacey border I picked up at JoAnnes. Added a button with some crafter's floss laced through it to finish it off.
Thanks for stopping in....have a wonderfully creative day!!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

A Daisy for Peggy

I don't what has gotten into me today with all these bright colors. I usually shy away from them except as an accent for other, more subdued colors. This is another card for the Queen for the Day game over at Splitcoaststampers. Today, the queen was one of the sweetest SCSers ever, Peggy AKA MarilynPrestonn, so I just had to play along! The card I cased was very much like the one you see above, except she had used some very soft and pretty pinks and blues. You  can see it here.
For my card I used:
Stamps:  Daisy by Sugar Nellie
Paper:  Tempting Turquoise, Gable Green, Whisper White,Euphoria dsp by Basic Gray
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black
Accessories, Copic markers, ribbon, glitter, blingy accents, dimensionals

A Fishy Hello

I made this card in honor of last week's Queen For The Day  game on Splitcoaststampers in honor of Mutnik aka Cathy. To play the game, you CASE a card made by the honorary queen and post it in the gallery using the appropriate key words so it can be found in the gallery by all the players. The key word for Mutnik's day was QFTD01, as she was the first SCSer to be honored in this game. I chose to CASE this card of Mutnik's. I used a completely different color scheme and changed the clock theme to a porthole for my Dustin Pike digi fish to peek through. The sentiment is from an old SU! set called Hedgehog Happiness. I will NEVER part with that set.....soooo cute!
Making my porthole was a bit challenging because I left my Coluzzle down at the LSS on my shelf of supplies that I keep there. I had to use another circle cutting tool and it took me a few tries and several sheets of paper to get my layers the way I almost wanted them. The watery layer is a piece of faux handmade paper that I made last summer from one of the technique challenges on Splitcoast. What a  fun technique. I used several colors of acrylic paint and daubed them on using toilet paper. Some of the TP get stuck in the paint and left little "globs" on the card stock. Made a whole bunch of this paper that my stampin' sistahs at the LSS call my "crap" paper. Not the most socially acceptable name, but it sure is appropriate for the technique...LOL!
The last couple of deets are the "nail heads" which were done using black diamond Stickles and the sentiment, which was heat embossed using white craft ink and white detail embossing powder. Image is colored with Copic markers and his eyes were made glossy using a dimensional glaze.
Thanks for stopping in to take a peek at what I've been up to!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Coffee Brawd Clock

The challenge this week over at Totally Stampalicious is to make any coffee themed card or project. I used the digital version of the newest TS set, Coffee Brawd, to make this clock. One cup per hour sounds like just the right amount of coffee to get through the day! No, I don't actually drink THAT much coffee, but I have been known to make that second pot some days!
To make this clock, I used a basic inexpensive clock that can be purchased at most discount stores. The frame was white, so I painted it using soft suede acrylic paint and covering that with a coat of sealer for a satin finish. The background paper is from Basic Gray's Archaic collection as are the numbers. The numbers were cut out using a Basics Slice cartridge. I printed twelve of the coffee mug images and sponges them with tea dyed Tim Holtz distress ink. Colored in the coffee wit a Copic marker and added dimensional glaze to make it look wet. Added a brown colored bling in the center of each cup. I used deckle cut scissors to cut around the edges of the sentiment and layered with more of the Archaic paper.
The winners for last week's blog hop have been posted and here they are!!
Georgia Ehrmann - $5 Gift Certificate
Lesa - $5 Gift Certificate
Dee's Designs - $5 Gift Certificate
Jeri - $5 Gift Certificate
Lesley - $5 Gift Certificate
Mary G - $5 Gift Certificate

Courtney -$10 Gift Certificate
Rachelle - $10 Gift Certificate
Ms. Earlgrey - $10 Gift Certificate

Tracy (Tray's Spot) - Coffee Brawd Set
Kimberly S - Coffee Brawd Set


Marilyn - Grand Prize Winner - Your choice of 2 Stamp Sets and 2 Digi Sets
Congratulations to all the winners!!! We'd love to see everyone play along with this week's challenge, so create something wonderful with a coffee theme and post it on the TS blog using the Mr. Linky tool or post on SCS using the keyword TSMONDAY20. 
I love that when you purchase stamps from Totally Stampalicious, you get the digital version for free right away. You can also purchase just the digital images if prefer your images in that format. I sure enjoyed making this clock and hope you enjoy it also! Thanks for stopping in today!

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Black Orchid Butterfly

I had a sketch challenge to do for an online group I belong to and this is what I came up with. I stamped a butterfly image that I picked up last summer while I was in Ohio to see my dad. It is by Stampendous and looks great embossed in silver! After embossing, I added some ultra fine Flower Soft and some tiny half pearls. Popped it all up in the center of a circle and added the rest of my layers. The sentiment is a rub on from SU! and the papers are by SEI, part of the Black Orchid stack. The card base is Basic Black as are some of the layers. This was fun to make and I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. Hope you like it too!! Now I'm off to get Kyli, so that will be the end of my stamping for today!! Time to spend some time with that sweet little grand baby!!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Paper Doll Inspiration

I made this card for the inspiration challenge over at Splitcoaststampers today. The inspiration site today was a company called Warm Biscuit where they had the most adorable bedding for children and fabrics that were just beyond belief!! So many lovely patterns it was difficult to choose. That is until I saw some lovely pink fabric with a paper doll pattern on it. It immediately reminded me of the cute double sided Graphic 45 paper I picked up at Priceless Scrapbooks the other day. I only bought one sheet and if I hadn't used it today, as much as I love it, it probably would have ended up being hoarded and used years down the line!
I used the paper as my starting point in creating my card.
I used a strip of the reverse side to make a band across the center of the card. I used Real Red dsp from SU! and a MS border punch to make a loopy border for it. I dug out an ancient SU! set called Buttons, Bows and Twinkletoes to stamp my paper doll image and colored it with Copic markers. I made a tag using a scrap of the dp and the ticket corner punch to make a tag for the sentiment. Added rick rack and red gingham ribbon, some buttons, and popped it all up on dimensionals to complete the card. This was fun to make and I hope you like it!

An osprey in a tree and a tri-panel card

My husband and I live in a very rural part of North Central Florida and enjoy seeing quite a variety of wild life from our yard. One of our favorite annual visitors is the pair of osprey that return to their nest in tall dead tree in our yard. Because these birds are protected, we couldn't take down this tree even if we wanted to. We enjoy the birds so much though, we have never considered having the tree removed. It is near the house, but not close enough to hit if the tree fell.
This pair of birds have been coming to their nest in our yard for about ten years now and we were a bit concerned when one of the osprey returned this February and sat on the branch for three days calling for the other. The other did not arrive and the osprey left. A week later, it returned and repeated it's cries. Again, its mate did not come.
Hubby and I were so saddened by this as these birds mate for life and it seemed that something had happened to one of them during the months they are away from the nest. Then the osprey returned to the nest a third time and on the second day, the other one arrived!! I was thrilled to see them flying around the tree together and then settling into the nest...I suppose to do whatever birds do in their nest after not seeing each other for months. LOL!
Anyway, I wanted to share this story and if you are still with me, I have posted a couple of photos below of the tree and nest as it appears from my back door. I can't resist looking up every time I leave the house. This also a pretty impressive sight on a clear night by the light of a full moon! Look closely and you can see one of the birds sitting in the nest!
I also wanted to share a card I made using a tutorial from Splitcoaststampers. It is called a tri-panel card and it was really easy to make. I think it would make a presentation for a gift card. I haven't stamped a sentiment into it because I don't know the occasion yet. I used the SU! stamp set Greenhouse Garden. I love this set and it is often overlooked. It's a lovely collection of two-step flowers that seem to look great in so many colors. I used sage shadow and chocolate chip card stock as the base for the To The Nines dsp, also from SU!
Someone was sweet enough to leave a comment on this post a month after it was posted asking for directions to make this card. Above I stated that it could be found on Splitcoaststampers, but that information is incorrect. I went back and searched for the original source for the tutorial to make this fold and found it on Christine Creations here: http://christinecreations.blogspot.com/2009/10/friday-focus-fancy-folds.html 
I'm so sorry for the misinformation. Thanks to Robin for helping me locate the source. Without her question, I would probably never have given proper credit to the creator of this cool fold!

Well, I'm off the do some stamping in my own stamping room today. Did a little organizing this morning and now I'm ready to create. Thanks for stopping by today!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Coffee Shop Blog Hop


Welcome to the Coffee Shop Blog Hop!!!
This is Totally Stampalicious' s very first Blog Hop and we are so excited that you've decided to come to the party!! Our guest of honor this evening is our newest addition to Totally Stampalicious Family....
Coffee Brawd!!!
(*applause * applause*)

Available at MIDNIGHT EST Thursday, HERE!


So we thought it would be way too hard to pick just one or two winners so we will be letting our DT choose one lucky winner from EACH of their blogs!! So that means we'll have 12 WINNERS!! Wanna know what we're giving away?!
6 - $5 Gift Certificates
3 - $10 Gift Certificates
2 - Coffee Brawd Stamps Set
*Grand Prize* - 2 Stamp Sets and 2 Digi Sets - WINNER'S CHOICE



Pretty Cool huh? All you have to do is make sure you leave a comment on every DT Members Blog and YOU could win!!!! The Blog Hop ends at 9PM EST Friday March 12! Winners will be announced on Stampalicious Monday the 15th!


So how's about we get STARTED!
 You should be starting at the Totally Stampalicious blog which is linked just below. My blog is actually the fifth stop on the hop, so if you found your way to my blog first, head over to the TS blog to make sure you hit all the stops along the way and get in on all the fabulous prizes that are being offered with the new release. If you started at the TS blog, you should have arrived here from Monique's blog. Laurie's blog is the next stop for you after mine. The list of the hop order is below in case you get lost along the way. Don't forget, if you purchase the acrylic stamps, you get the digi version for free!! How's that for instant gratification?
Totally Stampalicious
Guest Hopper Frances
 Lynnor (that's me!)
Sue
The last stop, Sue's, is a gallery at Splitcoaststampers.com, so don't be surprised when an online gallery shows up instead of a blog. Be sure to leave her a comment on her Coffee Brawd project to qualify for a prize from Sue's stop on the blog hop.
 
My first project using the new set is a coffee caddy I will use at work. I used a bare wooden caddy on a turntable that I picked up at Hobby Lobby. I stained the wood with Brushed Cordouroy distress ink by Tim Holtz. The Close to Cocoa dsp by SU! were attached using Tombow liquid mono adhesive. It sticks quickly and stays stuck with this stuff! The little coffee princess was colored with Copic markers and popped up over the Java Junkie sentiment. The sentiment uses the digital version of this image so I could make it much larger than it's actual size.



One of the cool new additions to the options at
Totally Stampalicious is that you can now get the images in a digital version as well as the traditional acrylic stamp. This project was made using digital images which allowed me to make the coffee cup much larger than it's actual size and place Coffee Brawd in the cup! Trust me...there are days when I would love to go for a swim in a cup that size!! The "brawd" image is true to its actual size in the stamp set at about three inches.

These letters on the end were added using chipboard letters which were colored with pink pigment ink and then glittered. The scrolls were also glittered and then added to the caddy. 


Monday, March 8, 2010

Flying Monkeys

 
I decided to break out the Witch Brawd set from Totally Stampalicious for this week's challenge over on the TS blog. This week's challenge was a sketch, which is posted below. Be sure to click on the TS link or the blinky on my sidebar to check out the awesome blog candy that TS is offering this month!! All the current sets to date along with a bunch of other goodies. Check farther down in this post for all the deets! I used three of the images to create my card; the flying monkey, course, the matching sentiment, and the triple star image to create the background. 
 
The card base is bayou blue layered with basic black. On top of that is baja breeze the stars clear embossed all over it. I used a strip of dsp I picked up at the LSS on Saturday to make my narrow panel. The layer with the monkey is done with a little touch of brayering. I stamped the monkey separately, colored with copics, clear embossed, and then cut him out. He is popped up on dimensionals. The lacey border is done with a new double loopy scallop border and corner punch set from Martha Stewart. Picked this up Saturday also, and had to play with it!! Added a few blings in the corner. My ribbon was too wide for what I was doing so I knotted it and it scrunched it down to just the right size. 
This card never made it home with me. One of the girls that was at the all day first Saturday crop with me has a thing going back and forth with her sister about the wicked witch of the west thing. She pass cards back and forth with that theme. She bought this from me right after I took the photo of it. Glad she did, because I think the only other alternative for me would have been to hang it in my classroom! 
Okay, now for the deets on the blog candy:
Go to the Totally Stampalicious site, leave a comment on the post about the blog candy, grab the blinky and post it on your blog for the entire run of the blog candy (until April 12), and become a follower of the TS blog. It's really an awesome deal because you get a chance to win all of the super cute TS stamp sets and get notice of all of the fun weekly challenges! Sure wish I was eligible to win this prize because I know lots of people with upcoming birthdays who love to receive these sets!


Sunday, March 7, 2010

Where was my head?

 
I made this card for a swap I am doing in honor of the Iditarod dog sled race. The swap called for the card to have a dog and snow for its content. Right after I posted the swap, I found this cute digi image. Of course, most of the digi companies don't ID their company in the name of the file, if I can't change the file name myself, I often cannot remember whose image it is. Such is the case with this guy! Love it though, and thought it was perfect for the swap!! I used a sentiment from My Favorite Things on the inside. It says "Where was my head.....I forgot your special day." The sentiment is from one of their slightly naughty sets of sentiments which are too stinkin' funny!!
The rest of the deets on the card:
Digital image colored with Copic markers. Added a little glitter to the snowman. Used a new SU! corner/border punch combo to make the scalloped layer under the image. Kraft taffeta ribbon from SU! The dsp is from the SU! free Sale-a-bration paper pack. Card stock is Kraft, Bermuda Bay, and Melon Mambo. Final touch was a few black blings on the top and bottom corners. Thanks for stopping in and have a wonderful Sunday!!! I'm off to pick up Kyli for the day. Supposed to finally have some warmer temps this afternoon with lots of sunshine!!

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Leprechan Easel

 
I am finally getting a few St. Patty's day images in my collection. My son and daughter-in-law are really into the holiday...he has Irish on his father's side...so I thought it would be nice to send him a little card. This cute leprechan is a digi image from Dustin Pike. It was offered as a freebie a couple of weeks ago. I love his cute images, so of course, when he offered a whole bunch of new images for Easter and St. Pat's day, I had to order the whole bunch of them! At least they won't take up a bunch of shelf space until I get around to using them...probably next year with all the projects I have to do this month!!
Anyway, I colored the image with Copic markers. The card stock is Always Artichoke and Green Galore (now there's a color I rarely use!) and the dsp is Basic Gray's Origins. I used some little dew droppy thingies as accents for the borders and to make the stop for the easel. I'm pretty sure the ribbon is May Arts. Not my best card, for sure, but it will do! Maybe I'll have better luck today at the all day crop! Thanks for stopping in!

Friday, March 5, 2010

 
I got a little stuck on the black, white, and red color combo and made a card that for me is very clean and simple. The hounds tooth print paper is from SU!'s Day and Night paper pack from the fall mini. I may have to start hoarding what is left of this paper. I have used so much of it lately, my supply is starting to dwindle! I used Basic black and Whisper White for the rest of the card. The heart image is from a newly released numbers set from My Favorite Things that I picked up at the LSS, Priceless Scrapbooks. I added red blingy jewls to all of the dots on this heart. The sentiment is also from MFT. The scalllop border is one of the new punches from SU! I love this punch and seem to be using it on most of my cards lately! I made the bow using the satin ribbon that is also in the SU! Spring Occasions catty. I hope you enjoyed my version of CAS....a look that is definitely challenging for me. I probably should have stopped before I added the bow, but like I said, it's a look that is difficult for me! LOL!! Have a  wonderful day.....so glad it's FRIDAY!!!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Someday My Prince Will Come

When I ordered the Puddles of Love stamp from Kraftin' Kimmie, I couldn't let that little sweetie travel alone, so I ordered this cutie to ride along with her. I just love this line of sassy images and I want all of them!! This was a lot of fun to color and went perfectly with the froggie dp I found at Priceless Scrapbooks (our local LSS and meeting place). I love all the glittery lily pads! Image is colored with Copic markers.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Black , White, and WOW challenge

 
The challenge over at Totally Stampalicious this week is to create a card using black, white, and a wow color of your choice. The winner this week will get a $10 gift card, so you ought to stop over and check them out and enter the challenge. Black and white are such classic colors and the addition of the wow color should really make your project pop! I chose TS's Hawt Dawg set and red for my wow color. Still stuck on those easel cards, but made it a standard A2 size for a change.  
  
The card stock base is basic black and the image is stamped on Whisper White and colored with Copic markers. I used oval punches from SU! for the sentiment and added little white dots with a gel pen. The ribbon is the satin ribbon from the SU! spring occasions mini catalog. DP is Night and Day from the fall mini. I added just a couple of blings to the image and sentiment. I used a little scrap of card stock to create a flap to cover the sentiment.