Winter La-La Land

Yesterday was my first official day back to work and it was a LONG one! I may not see my stamp room for a couple of weeks as I find my feet with the new school year. This is one I made last week. I used a cute little La La Land image (love these) that I had colored with Prismas and Gamsol. I added some glittered flocking to all the furry parts of her outfit. Nothing fancy here, just fun! Now I'm off for another day of trainings and meetings and hopefully, a little bit of time my classroom. It will probably turn into another long day in order to get that time in my room....ugh!

Krafty Challenge

My second post today. I'm usually lucky to do two posts in a week! I checked the Ways to Use It challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers this morning and it turned out to be one using one of my favorite card stock colors....kraft!! I just had to play along!
The first thing I grabbed was the 6x6 stack of Basic Gray Kraft dsp that I just had to have and never cut into. I love the look of black and kraft together, so I didn't even have to think about my second color. I dug through my stash of colored images (just love to sit and color some days) and the rest just came together. I really had a great time creating this card, so I hope you like it too! Thanks for stopping in!!

Picking up the pieces...

Seems like that's what we've been doing around here for the past week. We woke up a week ago today to the tragic news of the loss of five neighborhood children in a horrible house fire. The children ranged in age from 6 to 15 and the oldest three went to the school where I teach. The oldest boy was in the classroom next to mine and had been with that teacher for three years, so it was especially hard on that teacher who is also one of my dearest friends. Yesterday, we attended the memorial service and cried yet again. The mother and father of these children lost all of their babies and I can't imagine how they will find the strength to go on. The family will need the support of many for a along time to come to survive this tragedy so if you find it in your heart to send some extra prayers to the Jordan family, I know it will be greatly appreciated!!
With things being such a mess here this past week, I am a little late getting my card posted for this week's challenge for Totally Stampalicious. The challenge this week was paper piecing and I just don't use this technique nearly enough! I used Shopping Cart Stella for my card and some new papers from Basic Gray. Had to fussy cut the layer around my Nestie label as the next size was just too large for my liking. The layout is from one of the sketches I spotted this week out there in blogland and I'm sorry to say I can't remember which one. But rest assured...the layout is scraplifted!! The ribbon is some new stuff that just hit the shelves at the LSS, Priceless Scrapbooks. It's from May Arts and has such a gorgeous shimmer to it and makes perfect bows!! Comes in like a kagillion fabo colors, too and I had to have every single one!!!
There is also going to be a new release this Thursday with a blog hop to celebrate. Join us at 9 pm Thursday for some fantastic eye candy from the design team and some fabulous prizes from Totally Stampalicous!!! The new release will feature four more new sets of Bugaboo images available in acrylic for the first time! These are some of the cutest sets yet, so be sure to stop back in for the blog hop!! See you there!!!

This card evolved from the covered slide frame that I had made last year and never used. I used papers from the same  6x6 stack to make the background...a sheet of Basic Gray Eerie. The pumpkin image is from Heartfelt Creations and cut out with a Nestabilities pumpkin die. The little bat in the corner of the slide is from a piece of dimensional ribbon that I picked up at Priceless.
I was also playing with some other cute little papers and matching stamps and made up some bookmarks for my kids at school.

The images were colored with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol and then spritzed them with Caramel Apple Glimmer Mist.

Back to School

 I took part in a swap of Back to School themed cards and this is what I came up with. This cute Gruffy from House Mouse pretty well represents where I've been at most days since the start of the school year!! Sometimes I feel like I'm always buried in books for lesson plans, ideas, previewing text, and whatever else I need to do. The dsp is Nook and Pantry by Basic Gray. The crochet trim is from the bargain bins at JoAnn's. The image is colored with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol.

Olivia Accordian Book

 Where does the time go? The kids are back to school and I feel like I barely have time to breath anymore!! I'm so glad I take the time on Friday evenings to unwind with the girls at Priceless for a little creative release!! I made a couple of cards while I was there but this little book is from a few weeks ago. So much to do.....
I love these little books from Close To My Heart. They are six by six and have several panels that unfold. The books come in a clean white finish that is so quick and easy to decorate up. I used Basic Gray Olivia papers to make mine.

I used an assortment of ribbons, rub-ons, and other little embellishments to decorate the pages. Not sure where this little book will eventually end up....
Now I'm off to work on something for tomorrow's challenge at Totally Stampalicious. Still have swap cards to make, classes to prep for, and three baby flip books to make!!! Oh yeah, and lesson plans for at least the coming week at work!!! Off to start on my list!!!

Purely Sentimental

 I needed a card for a swap in which the sentiment was the focus of the card. Thought this would be an easy one to come up with, but as it turns out, all the sentiment stamps I have with big images were for sympathy cards and I just didn't want to use that for a swap card....KWIM? I ended up using a sentiment from a sheet of vellum that had a gazillion of them printed on it and cut out the one I wanted to use. I had purchased these sheets at one of the stores like Michael's years ago when I first started stamping and didn't have a collection of sentiment stamps and thought this would be an inexpensive way to have a bunch of them on hand without the expense of purchasing stamps.
The card stock I used is Garden Green and the dsp is Origins from Basic Gray. I made windows using Nestabilities Label 1. The subtle pattern on the vellum is actually the bottom layer of dsp showing through. Added a few buttons from my stash and a little bow and my simple card was done.
I will be away for the next week. I will be visiting my dad in Ohio and taking my daughter-in-law and granddaughter with me. I'm pretty excited about the trip. I have a challenge card for Totally Stampalicious scheduled to post on Monday morning, but other than that, I doubt you will see any blog posts from me as there is no internet connection or land line phone at Daddy's house. I'll be lucky to find some wifi along the way to check my emails and keep the box cleared out to a reasonable level! See ya'll in a week or so!!

Princess Easel

I added another Magnolia image to my collection the other night. Love this little princess holding a frog. I colored her up with Copic markers and sponged around the background with a little Creamy Caramel ink. There's lots of Stickles on her wings and the flowers in her hair. I used a large scallop nestabilities die to cut the shape around her and cut a chocolate chip layer around her free hand. I waited to long to get the nesting layers for the smaller set of nesties :0(  Besideds the chocolate chip card stock, I used Basic Gray's Kioshi papers to make my layers and background. A layer of Cameo Coral in the punched border added a little punch of color to the background. All the punched borders and corners are by Martha Stewart. Added little pearl accents here and there. The leaves are made with a punch by EK Success and the little flowers are from my meager stash of Magnolia flowers, another recent addition to the line available at Priceless Scrapbooks, the LSS. Of course, I had to make it into an easel card. I used a sentiment from Totally Stampalicious to finish it off. This will be for a dear friend who has a birthday next week. Here is a shot of the inside...

Thanks for stopping in. I hope you are having a great holiday weekend!!

Frog in a boot

This is another of the cards I made this past weekend using brand new rubber and papers. The image is from Great Impressions. I picked it up at the LSS, Priceless Scrapbooks, while I was at the Friday night crop. The papers are new Basic Gray dsp, Capella. I left my Copics at home Friday night and forced myself to use my watercolor crayons as they have been so neglected lately. They really aren't as vibrant as the Copic's and I won't be leaving them at home anymore! I still love the crayons, but for this image, I think the Copics would have looked better.
The flowers I used are super simple to make. I read about how to make them on a blog just last week. They are made using a scallop circle plunch, a paper crimper, and a brad....to easy. Just punch out three of the scalloped circles from regular card stock and run them through the crimper. Then squish up the scalloped circles. This breaks down the fibers of the card stock. Open the circles up again and as you do, you should see that the edges are starting to separate into layers. Pull apart into two layers on each of the circles. Stack them up, punch a hole in the centers and add a brad to hold them together. Then squish the layers up around the brad, one layer at a time. Fiddle with it and fluff it until you get the look you want. For the flowers on this card, I used white card stock and sponged the edges with a plum-colored ink. They look like colored carnations you would get from the florist!

Mouse in the Pantry

I made this card for the Queen for the Day game over on Splitcoast Stampers. The queen selected for Friday was fellow design team member from Totally Stampalicioius, Sue, so I just had to play along! You can see the cute card of Sue's that I cased on the computer screen in the background. For my card, I used a House Mouse image I received as a RAK. Unfortunately, I can't remember who I got it from, but I'm pretty sure it was one of the Divas. I colored it up with Copic markers. The card base is Dusty Durango and I used a dark brown Bazzill card stock for my layers. The dsp is Nook and Pantry by Basic Gray. The little flower  where I started with this card. Sue had a round shape on her card for her sentiment. I had picked up this pretty peachy trim at JoAnn's yesterday and knew I wanted to make a flower with it even if I did have to do some sewing to accomplish it! I even sewed the button on instead of using a glue dot!!

Side Step Fairy

Just a quick card I made for a stair step swap. I used the fairy set from Inkadinkadoo and a sentiment set from Hero Arts. The base is Almost Amethyst and layered with Certainly Celery. The dsp is Basic Gray's Wisteria. Image is colored with Copics. Added a few blings and some glitter. Card measures 4 1/4" square.

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!

February Diva Sketch card

I made this card for the Divas of Stamping Designs sketch swap. The Divas are an on line group I belong to that swap cards, challenge each other, and most of all, love and support each other. What a wonderful group of ladies!! I am so glad to be a part of this group.
For our February sketch swap, I made this card using an image I received from my sparkle buddy from SCS, Ms. M, otherwise known as Stamp Muse. This sweet little girl is an image from Sarah Kay stamps and I colored her with Copic markers. I used Lovely Lilac card stock and Basic Gray Wisteria papers for some of the layering and the punched butterflies. The leaf ribbon is from May Arts. The main image panel is popped up on dimensionals. I added the flower from the collection of one of the girls who was stamping with me that day. Used a brad for the center and covered it with glitter. The butterflies got a coating of glitter, also.
Thanks for stopping in a taking a peek at what I've been up to!!

Love Birds

When I saw the new Basic Gray Origins papers hanging in Priceless, I knew I had to have them! What a breath of fresh air from all the Christmas papers I had been looking at. The new Bo Bunny papers and accessories were hanging on the next rack over and the cute love bird stamps were just too adorable to resist. I could just picture paired up with the BG papers! Here is the result.

The papers are mounted on a Garden Green (SU) base. I used a Fiskars corner punch with triple hearts on the brown layer. The SU Top Note die was used for the white layer. The birds were stamped on white card stock with Sepia Versafine ink and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I added color using just a cople of Copic markers and cut them out. They are popped up on dimensionals and perched on a strip of green paper from the Origins pad. The yellow flowers were punched out and layered with chocolate (from the scrap pile...non SU). I stamped out the words Love Birds and shaded them with the palest green Copic makes and then cut out using random borders and mounted on Garden Green.

Kenny and I have an anniversary coming up in January. Wow! Twenty years!! I'm afraid to ask him if he'd marry me again after twenty years. Some days I'm not sure I'd get the answer I want. I have to admit that the schooling years and new job stress have caused me to be just a little bit crabby some days.

I think I will use this as his anniversary card. I still need to come up with a birthday card for him. His birthday is two days before Valentine's Day....geez....another card! At least I get to keep them in my stash if they are really good cards!

Well, I'm off for a day of play at Priceless. Got a few goodies when I went yesterday for the after Christmas sale, but my favorite thing was a double sided lace jumbo border punch by Martha Stewart!! Thanks for stopping in!!!

Ribbon Wreath

 Last night, I was checking out the gallery for the featured stamper challenge over at splitcoaststampers and I came across this lovely card by suen. I loved the ribbon wreath she had made for the card and was thrilled to see she had included the link for the video tutorial with her post. I immediately ran to the stamp room and grabbed a bobbin of ribbon and made one.....sooooooo easy!!

This morning I used my wreath on this card which is made from scraps of at least two sets of Basic Gray Christmas papers from years past. Also used some Chocolate Chip and River Rock card stock that was with these scraps. I think I had made star books are some other such project with this stack of scraps. Added lots of little blingies to it....you know how I like that bling The sketch I used was spotted on one of the blogs I read. It's from Skipping Stones Sketch Tuesday. It wasn't on the Skipping Stones blog, so I'm not even sure this is a current sketch for them, but here is the sketch I used.

 

The card measures 5 1/4" square. The wreath takes approximately two yards of ribbon to make. I used a 1/4" satin ribbon I found at Target in the wedding and party department. Well, I'm off to see what I can pick up at Priceless. Tricia is having her after Christmas sale today! If you are in the area, you should stop by and don't forget you pink Priceless bag because you get an additional 20% off of the discounted Christmas merchandise! Awesome deal!!

 

Merry Christmas To All!!

Wanted to wish everyone a merry Christmas! We had some of the family over for Christmas Eve. We enjoyed a simple dinner and then rode out to the Cade's (second trip for me and Kenny this year) so the some of the family who had never seen the fabulous light display could check it out. They were not disappointed!
The cards above are the gift card holders I made to be used for the kids this year. I usually get the teenagers gift cards to their favorite stores. The design for these cards was published in an issue of CardMaker magazine that I saw back in September at Scrap Pink. For mine, I used Basic Gray's Eskimo Kisses 6 x 6 pad The stamped images are by Stampin' Up!, though I don't recall which set at the moment and my stamp room has been a declared a disaster area and not fit for human habitation. I hope to take care of that situation this weekend!
I hope each of you has a joyous Christmas! I am certainly enjoying mine so far. Will have a house full again tomorrow for dinner! I'm really looking forward to it! Merry Christmas and good night!

Rockin' Frog Santa

I was diggin through my Christmas stash and came across this Santa suit from Jolee's and thought one of the Totally Stampalicious characters would look cute dressed up in it. I chose the Rockin' Frog set to make my Santa but I had to substitute a different guitar because the size of the Santa suit. I used the guitar from the Inkadinkadoo Rock Star set. Stamped it in Versafine black ink and added some clear embossing powder right away. It gave the guitar a nice lacquered shine. Found a few stars, also by Jolee's to add to the corner of the card. That Blitzen paper from Basic Gray was still on the table, so it ended up on this card also. Well, that's the deal for this quickie card. I think he's kinda cute but will definitely present a challenge when it comes time to mail him....maybe I should hand-deliver this one?

Oh, my frog!!!

Got a few minutes to play today and decided to make a fun card with one of the new digital images just released last week by Dustin Pike.  This fun little frog image is part of a set called Mistletoads and every one of the images is "toad"ally adorable! I'm sure most of us will be feeling like this before the Christmas season is over. I'm thinking this will probably end up going to my eldest step-daughter as we get closer to the big holiday. The girls and I go on an annual shopping expedition and Michele and I typically end up doing a couple of extra rounds to help her finish up the last minute shopping. Then I arrive at her house very early on Christmas eve to start the cooking for the big family get-together. I think she will get a smile from it!

I coloed the image with Copic markers. I added some liquid applique and glitter. Then I covered the globe part of the iamge with a piece of acetate that I attached with diamond glaze. Added some gooey snow stuff I found at Hobby Lobby in the craft section. You can never have too much glitter? Right????

The papers are from my hoarded collection of Basic Gray papers. These are from the Blitzen collection....that goes back a while, huh? The card base is Soft Suede.

Well, off to do a little coloring before I have to start dinner. If I have a couple of things colored up with a plan, maybe I'll get to stamp during the week. Thanks for stopping in!!

Sure ham glad I got this set!

When I went to the mailbox yesterday, I was really expecting it to be empty. All the bills that come at this time of the month are in and I haven't ordered anything new. Imagine how excited I was to see the padded yellow envie from Canada!! I knew one of the new sets from Totally Stampalicious (check them out at the  link on the right just below the Totally Spampalicious badge) would be in it, but I didn't know which one it would be. This Farmer Hawg set is so perfect for me! Hubby works on a farm and we live out in the country. Wild hogs are regular visitors to our yard and cow pasture, and sometimes they don't move along quickly enough and they end up in the freezer!! As soon as sweet little Kyli was safely back with Mommy and Daddy, I had to ink up my new set!! I was planning what papers to use as I was driving Kyli home.

The papers are from Basic Gray's Granola collection. Most of them are pretty masculine and thought the striped sheet would make some cool bibs for my cute little farmer! The layout is completely random. Just cut some pieces from the stack and added them to the card base. Colored the image with markers and sponged the sky with light blue ink. Popped the image layer up with dome pop dots to get it above the twine. Added some copper brads, dew drops and a little swatch of ribbon. Just a quick, easy card.

Okay, Rachael, now I'm off to work on your wedding invitations!!! Promise!!! I have an idea in my head that I think you will really like!

Spooky Cupcakes

I actually made this card a couple of weeks ago at the ScrapPink crop. Things have been so crazy lately that I am just now getting around to posting it.  I just love this spooky cupcake stamp by Impression Obsession. I colored the image with a mixture of Copic, Prismacolor, and Stampin' Up! markers. the designer papers are from Basic Gray's Eerie collection. The lacy trim is from a roll I picked up at JoAnn's. When I added it to the card, it really reminded me of Lily Munster....remember that crazy old show?