Santa Bella

I like to make a special Christmas Card every year for my DD. So today I sat down to make her card. I went through my sets and didn't want to use any of them. I came across some Bella images that I was sent by a dear friend about a year ago. (I have used some, she just sent alot so I still had some left). I decided to see what I could do with the bellas. One of the images she sent was the imeldabella. I decided to see if I could turn her into a Santa. So I colored her outfit red, the belt black with a gold buckle and I used liquid applique on the cuffs of the pants to create a white puffy look, just like Santa's suit. Then I colored her hair yellow (DD is a blonde), made her bow red, and colored the presents various colors. I used my white gel pen (SU) to add shapes and patterns to the presents and then I colored the boots brown. I mounted my newly decorated santa bella to Real Red CS (SU) and then added faux stitching to it using the white gel pen again. I used a small snowflake stamp that I got for my birthday in red on the top of the white card base and added some red velvet ribbon. I then used stampin dimensional (SU) to the back of the image to set it off the card base a little. Then I stamped Merry Christmas from the same set I got the snowflake in (Michaels dollar clear sets, love them!) in Staz On black and I colored the holly leaves and berries on the sentiment using red and green. That simple. I absolutely love the way this turned out. And there you have it, a Santa Bella Christmas Card, made ecspecially for my DD!

Tribute to the once lovely trees

So I ventured out yesterday. My neighbors came over and asked if I needed anything at Walmart because they were going. I answered "Anything I need.... no. But! Harry Potter # 5 came out and I want to get that." LOL So I went with them to Walmart realizing I did need to get another case of water so my trip wouldn't be totally insane like. So anyhow, as we were driving through our lovely Army post with it's once tall and gorgeous trees, we saw the destruction of the ice storm. Trees are everywhere. There is actually a few that I saw where the ice brought down entire trees, and we aren't talking smaller trees like the ones in my front yard, we are talking tall majestic 100 year old trees, lying on the ground, completely uprooted. It's crazy! Our place will never be the same. *sad* So last night I got to thinking, I wanted to create a card that would be a tribute to our once stunning landscape. Here's hoping that when the ice melts and the destruction is cleared away, that we will still have plenty of gorgeous trees.

I used the Lovely as a Tree stamp set (SU), along with the Snowflakes set (retired SU), I stamped the snowflakes on the Brocade Blue CS using versamark, then I stamped the trees on the Whisper White CS using StazOn. After that I mounted the WW peice to Brushed Silver CS and added stickles to the trees and ground to give the icey effect (used a brush to apply it so it was a soft brushed look.) I used Crystal stickles on the ground for snow, then I used Waterfall stickles in the trees to create the icey effect. I added some ribbon to the card base (ribbon bought from HL) and mounted the image peice after it dryed.

**On a side note, my neighbor decided to lift the tree off my roof (yes it was still there, there have been so many downed trees that housing hadn't been able to get to it yet). Several of the branches are broken and who knows what will happen to the tree when the ice melts. But I thought I would take a picture of it this morning:

It looks so sad.....

Brrrr Cold!

I just had to share this with you all. If you haven't been following the news then you probably havent heard about the grand ole' ice storm we here in KS are currently in the middle of. I happen to live in one of the few areas that hasn't lost power. Although my power has flickered out several times but no long term lose yet. *knock on wood* Anyhow, I hope to get some good stamping done because I can't go anywhere for a while. The roads aren't too bad right now, but they are supposed to get pretty bad tonight. So it will be a bit before I go anywhere, and what better to spend my time doing then stamping. *grin* Anyhow, just thought I would show you the pics of my house. This is my house back in August. Note the tree in my front yard. It goes past my roof.

This is my house taken this morning:

My gutter is all that holding up part of the tree. This particular part of the tree hangs down so that it almost blocks my walkway, I have to go around to the neighbors porch to get out my house.

This was taken first thing this morning, the tree now hangs lower.

Another view of the tree.

Everything is completely covered in ice. The bushes you see in the background by my porch are covered in almost an inch of ice. My mailbox was covered in an inch of ice as well. I went out and chipped away at that so that doesn't have ice on it anymore though. It is supposed to continue until possibly tomorrow morning and then snow and sleet on Thursday. Oh the joys of winter. *rolling eyes*

Christmas Cards, at least one of the designs.

Here is another one of the cards I did for the craft sale. These will actually be some of my Christmas Cards this year. I don't like to do all the same. I tend to get really bored when it comes to mass production type products. So I always do about 5-6 different designs for my Christmas cards. This is one of my favorites that I created this year. I used Always Artichoke, Brushed Gold, and Whisper White. First I took the Swirling leaves Jumbo wheel (retired SU) and I inked it up using Always Artichoke ink. (when you don't have the cartridge color you need for your wheel, just use your ink pad, works like a charm) Then I wheeled it onto my Always Artichoke CS. I then stamped the Leaves from the Holiday Happiness set (retired SU) onto my WW CS and mounted it onto Brushed Gold CS. I added gold ribbon and added my image. I wanted it to pop a little more so I took the Merry Christmas from Holidays & Wishes (SU) and stamped in on the right bottom corner using versamark, sprinkled it with Gold Glory EP and heat embossed it using my SU heat gun. I love LOVE the finished product!

Wedding cake

So I got a call a couple of weeks ago asking me if I could make a wedding cake. They wanted a very simple cake, nothing fancy, 3 layers. Colors of the wedding, black and silver, flowers red. So, I came up with this: I didn't do the flowers on the cake. Those gorgeous creations I have to give credit to a lady from my church. Not bad for my first wedding cake. And the bride loved it so that is all that matters right?

And now that this is done, I can get back to stamping! Yay!!! I hope to have some stamping related posts for you soon.

Look what I did!!!

So last night was the final night of course 2 in my cake decorating class. In this course I learned, Victorian Roses, Mums, Rosebuds, Pansies, Violets, Violet leaves, Apple Blossoms, Primroses, Daffodils.... Sooo much fun! So, here it is! Here is my finale cake! I am so thrilled with this!

And a picture of a little more detail on the basketweave and rope border (also learned those this course)

Reminder

So my craft fair was today. It went fairly well. We'll see how future customers pan out. At any rate, I will post pics of my remaining projects and of the fair itself tomorrow, for now, I wanted to remind everyone about the Design team call on ASB. For more info: http://mystampingworld.blogspot.com/2007/10/asb-design-team-open-calls.html

Just a reminder, if you are interested in the design team, one of the requirements is that you be an active member of ASB and that you post in the forums and upload to the gallery. If you are not currently a member, membership is free. If you are a member but haven't posted, get posting. :o) Check out the linked post above for the rest of the info. Only a couple of weeks left till the deadline! :o) We are ecspecially looking for people for the Altered Arts Team and The Digi-Scrap Team!

Craft Fair Part 3

I was searching for new ideas for my craft sale this weekend because some of the things I had planned aren't going to work out. (Candles that I need are nowhere to be found, and can't find the right frames for the welcome frames) So I pulled out my stash of ideas and cards. I came across a cute mug card that I got from an old co-worker of mine, oh... about 5 years ago. I thought, hey, I can do this! So I set about it. And I did it! *grin* I am so thrilled with the final project. I did tweak it a little from the original. Hope you like it!

Here is what you can do to create this way for cute mug treat card!

Take your Whisper White Cardstock and cut it to 8 1/4 X 4 1/2, score at 4 1/8. Now, fold in half and you will have an almost sqaure card. Then you want to take your corner rounder punch and punch all the corners. Next cut out the top on one side (opening will be to the right of the card when it is facing you, only cut the front.) I used the colluzzle oval template. Next cut the handle from a scratch peice of cardstock into whatever shape you want. I did it in kind of a rounded square because it fit with the rest of the mug better. Before you attached the handle, stamp your images on the mug. I used Flaky Friends by Stampin' Up! Color and decorate as desired. I colored with colored pencils and I even added some liquid applique to the snow on the bottom and to the snowmans santa hat. I think I may add some glitter to the stars at the top of the trees. Next, use your mono to attach the handle and close the mug around the side and bottom edge. The top should be open so you can insert your hot cocoa and candy cane. And voila! A cuter then cute mug treat! Enjoy!

Craft Fair Take 2

So last night I got into the stamping mood and had so much fun and got a lot accomplished. I did 12 glass ornaments-just need to tie a bow around them), I did 5 gold frame ornaments, a got more christmas cards done with more started but not finished. I have one of the finished cards to show you today. I am absolutely in love with this card. I wish you could see it IRL because it's gorgeous! (If I do say so myself). It looks way better then in the picture.



Anyhow, I went with the same basic design as the white snowflake ornament card I did a week ago, but gave it it's on look.

I cut out an oval template using the Colluzzle, then I attached it to my Whisper White card base. I then inked up this gorgeous image from Stampin' Up!'s Sleigh Bells Ring with StazOn Black ink and stamped it so that part of it was overlapping the oval I had cut. Then I did the reverse masking technique (faux framing) with a sponge dauber and Bashful Blue ink just around the edges. I went into the scene a little bit more in parts such as around the church. It gives the illusion of a serene christmas scene. Then I colored it using the watercolor pencils from SU! and used the aquapainter to watercolor parts of it. The bricks on the bridge were done in two different colors to give it a more real look. Then I added dazzling diamonds to the lake under the bridge using a paint brush (so that the glue went only where I want it to) and liquid glue. I added silver cording at the top and stamped the sentiment from the set to the bottom right. Seriously, I wish you could see this in person! I made 5 of these to go in a card pack for the craft sale and I will make 5 more for a second pack. The best thing about doing these Christmas cards for this thing, If they don't sell, I just use them for my own personal Christmas cards. *wink*

My adventures in cake decorating

So Tuesday night was my cake decorating class. Last week we did Mums and rose buds and reverse shell borders. I'm getting the hang of the reverse shell border, I hate the rose buds, but the Mums, rock!

This week we did Violets, Violet Leaves, Apple Blossoms and we learned how to work with color flow. Not so much liking the color flow, but I'll get used to it. We made birds with the color flow. I chucked mine because the color just wasn't right. It was a gorgeous gray blue, but my flowers are all bright, so I need brighter birds. So I will redo the birds and post those later, but for now, I thought I would share the ones I did last week and this week.

The orange flowers are my mums, the blueish purple ones are violets, the green are the violet leaves, the pink ones are the apple blossoms. I love the apple blossoms, they are so easy to do, and the mums are my other favorites. I'm not so much liking the violets or the violet leaves, but I'll get better.

I also got to create a little tonight so I will post that tomorrow so keep your eyes peeled. *grin*

Craft Fair Take 1

So I have a craft fair coming up in a couple of weeks. I have been trying to stamp some things to sell. So far I only have about 10 Christmas cards. I know, I know, really bad.... but! This week I plan to spend the week stamping and getting ready for it. I will be doing not only Christmas cards but I will be doing but candles, post it holders done on coasters, journals, Christmas Ornaments and regular cards. The Christmas cards will be in packs of 5 and the regular cards will be sold in singles. I am also going to decorate a tin and take orders for those. I don't want to make a bunch and then be stuck with all of them if they don't sell. So I will just make one and do the order thing.


Anyhow, I thought I would share with you the two cards I have done so far. The first card I have for you was done with the retired SU set Merry Little Christmas. I love this set! This card is very unlike me but I do like the way it turned out.

I used Glorious Green cardstock, Real Red Cardstock, Naturals Ivory Cardstock, White Grosgrain Ribbon, Vintage Brads, Circle punch, scallop punch, corner punch, Print Pattern BG, Merry Little Christmas, Glorious Green Ink, StazOn Black, Colored Pencils.

First I inked the PP BG stamp with glorious green and then I stamped it a little over halfway onto my GG card base. Then using my stazon I stamped the toys from my Merry Little Christmas set onto Naturals Ivory CS and then punched it out using the 1 3/8" circle punch. Then layered it onto a scallop punched Real Red layer. I stamped A Merry Little Christmas also with Stazon onto the Naturals Ivory CS and then after punching the bottom right corner with the corner punch I layered it onto RR CS. I added a brad to the bottom right corner of the RR layer. Then I added some white grosgrain ribbon going most of the way across the card where the PP BG ended. I added the toys image at the end of the ribbon and then attached my sentiment at the bottom. I had no clue where I was going with this when I started. It isn't something I would normally do but I do like it.

This next one was inspired by this card by Lovetostamp6 on Spiltcoast: Snowman Ornament Card

I love how this turned out! I showed it to my friend Alecia and she said I should do more of these instead of just the pack of 5 I had planned. I think I will do that and if they don't sell then they will be my Christmas cards this year. *grin*

I used Whisper White Cardstock, Night Of Navy Ink, Brocade Blue Ink, Snowflakes Set, Colluzzle cutting set with circle template, Wide Organdy Ribbon, Silver Cording.

First I took a scratch piece of paper and I cut it down to the size of my card front. Then I cut a circle using the Colluzzle. After that I attached it to my card front using a small piece of adhesive (I have adhesive remover so I was able to take off any adhesive left of the card front once the template was removed.) Then I took my sponge dauber and I sponged Brocade Blue ink into the cut out circle. When you pull away the template you are left with a sponged circle of blue on your card. But don't do that yet. After I sponged the circle and got it to look the way I wanted it to I stamped my snowflakes randomly using Night Of Navy for some and Brocade Blue for others. Then I pulled away my template and finished off the card by stamping Warm Winter Wishes at the bottom in Night Of Navy ink and placing the wide Organdy ribbon at the top of the card and tying a small piece of silver cording around the knot. Seriously, I love this card!

I promise, I will have more stuff from my craft fair for you soon.

Oh, and you know how I was supposed to make my friends cake for her shower? Well... I kind of took my pain meds the night before and didnt' wake up in time to decorate it. Oops! But I will make another cake here after the craft fair and I will use stamps on it and post it then.

ASB Design Team--- Open Calls!

We're making changes on A Shade of Blue, and we want your talent!



As of January 1st Blue Heaven (ASB's Design Team) will be going public! We're looking for talented Stampers, Scrapbookers and Digital crafters for our new Blue Prints teams.



Requirements

Design team members will be asked to make at least 2 samples each month for a project or product that they've been given.

Designers must stay active participants on ASB, posting and commenting on a regular basis.

Designers are asked to participate in challenges as often as they can, and host a random challenge once a month.



Perks

Design team members will regularly receive packets of free goodies from our monthly sponsors to create projects with!

Design team members will have help in submitting their work to magazines, e-zines and other publications to help build their resumes.





The design team will be divided into 4 new teams:

Stamping

Scrapbooking

Altered Arts (I'm the team leader of this one)

Digital Art



You are welcome to apply for more than one team as long as you can fulfill the commitments should you be selected.

If you are interested in applying for a Blue Prints team, please upload 5 samples of your work into the Design Team Call album in the Gallery.

Be sure to upload into the album for the team(s) you are applying for.

All applications must be submitted by November 30 2007.

At that time the mod squad and Blue Prints Team Leaders will select the new teams, and an announcement will be made the following week.

We can't wait to see your submissions!

Baby Shower!

My good friend is having a baby in just a little over a month. I am so excited for her. And even more so because her DH just returned home from Iraq! (She got pregnant while her husband was home on leave). Anyhow, a few of us are throwing her a baby shower at the end of the week. We sat down a couple of weeks ago and made her baby shower invitations. I'm so pleased with the way they turned out.


The baby's nursery is done with an animal theme. (It's a boy) so we decided to go with an animal theme for the shower. I first came up with this:


The printed paper and CS is from Stampin Up! as well as the ribbon and paper peircer. The You're Invited is from SU's set Holiday's and Wishes (I think it's that one, or is it Hugs and Wishes?) It's one of the two. Anyhow, the animal is from a set from Pink Cat Studios called Wild Animals. It was waaaay too much coloring to do 17 of these babies so I decided to stick with the same design but go with smaller animals. My friend Chelsea had these cute little animal stamps with animals in pairs of two (yes, it was a Noah's ark set, don't know the maker). So we opted to use those, less coloring for doing so many. So, here is the final product: I am sooo thrilled with these and everyone loves them. They turned out awesome. I just hope the mom-to-be likes them as much. She hasn't seen them yet. I am also going to make a cake for the shower and I am going to attempt the stamping on cake thing. I think I know a way to do it. We'll see.

HEY! Remember me!!!

Howdy all you out there in blog land! I know it has been a while, o.k., a REALLY long time since I posted. I'm sorry! I went home for several days for my DH's youngest brother's wedding. Since DH couldn't be there he wanted me to go to "represent" him. It was really nice although my physical therapist was none to thrilled when I got back and was in more pain then I was when I originally started physical therapy. Needless to say I did way too much while I was home and the physical therapist has told me that I can't take any more trips till I am doing better.


Since I got home I have been soooo busy! In fact, other then a stamp thing that I went to at my friends house where I made two cards, today is the first chance I have gotten to stamp in several weeks! Crazy huh?! One of the things that has been keeping me busy is that I started taking a cake decorating course at Hobby Lobby. It is taught by a Wilton instructor and is an absolute blast! I'm not too great at it yet, but with practice I am sure I will get better. Wanna see my very first rose I made?! Well, o.k. so I made one in class that first day but it didn't turn out. When I got home I decided to give it shot with some extra icing I had, and this, is my result:

Not too shabby if I do say so myself. My frosting was slightly too thick, hence the tattered edges, but love it! I'm not going to scare you with my attempts at cakes. LOL My last cake that I did was really bad. We had to do drop flowers. Now the problem with drop flowers is that you make them on wax or parchment paper and then you have to let them dry for a bit before you can take them off and put them on the cake. The time constrants of our class doesn't allow ample drying time before you have to move them and put them on the cake, so my flowers looked kind of mangled. Not only that, but I haven't forked out the bucks for a cake carrier yet and so I had to put a towel over it to bring it home because it was raining (it has been doing that alot lately), so it got mangled even more in that process.

Anyhow, one of the things I stamped today, I can't show you because it's for Blue Heaven on ASB. If you want to see it, you have to go sign up for Blue Heaven. *wink* But, I can share something else with you.

My stepdad Dale is retiring and so my Mom and Dale sold their house in Oregon to move back to Utah where the majority of our family is. My mom is wanting to make a welcome basket for the new buyers. She asked me for some ideas and told me that the soon to be lady of the house has two favorite colors of pink and red. So, I told her I could make a WELCOME frame. She loved that idea. So, I came home and made this up and I will be mailing it out to my mom on Monday. My friend Chelsea has had one of my favorite sets that I never got before it retired. She wanted to trade me for it so I took her up on it and traded her one of my retired sets for her barely used (some not even mounted) Cottage Rose stamp set from Stampin Up! YAY!!

(all products are Stampin Up unless otherwise noted)

I took a 12x12 piece of cardstock and I cut it down to 5x12. Then I stamped the main part of the large rose in Regal Rose ink. Stamping the Regal Rose directly would have been too dark so I stamped it off on scratch paper once before actually stamping it onto the cardstock. Then, I stamped the more detailed part of the rose over the main parts using Real Red ink. Then I stamped the main part of the large leaf in Certainly Celery Ink and the detailed large leaf over that in Old Olive. I needed a fill in after that so I stamped the small rose, stems and leaves using the same colors. Then it was time for the letters. For those I stamped the Headline Alphabet onto white cardstock using Old Olive. I added some small roses in Regal Rose (stamped off first) and Real Red. I then mounted the letters to Real Red cardstock. I added some ribbon, and hodgepodge pieces to it and put it in a pretty gold frame I got from Walmart. I hope it is what my mom had in mind and that the intended recipient just loves it! I know I do! It turned out way better then I thought it would. I may have to make one (in my colors) for my house!

Stay tuned, I will be posting more from my evening of stamping later this weekend!

Bad Blog Mommy!

I know, I know, I am a bad blog mommy! I'm so sorry, it has been a stressful and hectic few weeks around here. My co-leader for our family support group for DH's company is on vacation. rightfully so too, her DH is home on leave (mine comes home in March on leave, and then will be home for good in June). So she has been taking a much needed vacation and so I have been left to handle everything that crops up. Needless to say I have been a little stressed. To top that off, physical therapy has had some set backs this last week so my pain level with my back and shoulder have been sky high. But it is better today so that's good.


Anyhow, I do have some things to share with you. My brother-in-law (Dh's youngest brother) is getting married this weekend. I wanted to make them something nice as a wedding gift. So I chose to do this:

I know, I know, that doesn't exactly show you what it was that I did for them. But, in my defense, I can't show you. I am a member of the Blue Prints Design Team on ASB and this was a project for this weeks technique. So, if you want to see the finished project, you have to scoot on over to ASB and sign up for Blue Heaven.

But I can share with you the card that I made for them. It doesn't match the gift. The gift is for their kitchen so was done in their kitchen colors. I did the card in their wedding colors. Erin, my future Sister-In-Law chose Sugar Plum (I am assuming that is a light plum but I didn't know so I went with Perfect Plum and Pale Plum just to cover my basis) and what she called Sage. However when I got her wedding invitation tied with the "sage" ribbon she had chosen (exactly what I used on the card) the ribbon was more Mellow Moss. I swear, I have never met her and I had nothing to do with their color choices. LOL Funny enough though, she is like me in oh so many ways. Not only does she love purple and green like I do, but she is a red head as well and she acts a lot like me from what I am told. Heaven help BIL if she trully is like me though. LOL

O.k. so I promised the card, well, here you go:

I stamped the outside with "Wishing You" and the inside was stamped with "Happiness Always".

I used French Script, Wishing You, and Happy Harmony from SU. I used Perfect Plum ink and marker, Pale Plum Ink, and Mellow Moss Marker as well as Staz-On black ink. I used Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Mellow Moss and Very Vanilla Cardstock, and Hodge Podge peices and Ribbon. Oh yeah, and the photo corner punch. What do ya think! I like them!

Technique Monday

O.k so technically it's actually Tuesday seeing as how it's 12:30. Sorry, wasn't much up to stamping earlier and then I accidentally took a nap and lo and behold, here it is, after midnight and I am wide awake. So, what better to do then stamp right? LOL

So, the technique that I have for you this week is one of my favorites. It's called Blurred Visions, And I love doing this one with the Delight In Life set from this past years SAB. So here it is:

For this card I semi-recreated one of my favorite cards I have ever done using the same technique and same stamp set. This time I changed the ribbon placement, added some ribbon, and changed the colors. Oh, and did some paper piercing and changed the sentiment.

So, here is how you do this technique.

First, you will need a dye based ink (I used SU Basic Black Classic, it's older so it looks purple which with the colors I chose works LOL). It will run when moist and that is what you want it to do. Also you will need an outline stamp set, and the rest of your regular supplies.

Now, to blur your focal image, all you need to do is stamp it using your Dye ink, and then take a water tool, (I prefer to use Blender pens for this because it doesn't get too moist, but you can use a brushed off aquapainter or watercolor brush, just becareful not to get too much water-that would be why I prefer the Blender pen) Then in a circular motion you want to lightly blend your ink out from your image.

Finish your card as desired. For mine, I stamped the Aida BG onto my Pale Plum CS and I attached it to the BB piece. Then I tied some black double stitched ribbon (bought at a craft store) to the piece. Tied another piece of ribbon in a bow and then I attached it to my card. I then attached the focal piece which I mounted on BB CS onto the card. Then I took out my paper piercer and pierced holes in the bottom. Then I stamped my sentiment and there you have it! It literally took 4 minutes, that included getting the supplies to make it.

And there you have it, Blurred Vision.

Tonight I also stamped some images for my mom. My mom is the secretary in her wards (congregation) Releif Society (women's organization) at church. She makes cards for all the ladies birthdays. She has very limited supplies right now because she has just recently discovered the wonderful world of card making. I have been trying to brainwash her, errr show her how fun it can be, for years now. She came to see me last year and we stamped a little. She was hooked! She now goes into stores and sees items in a whole new light. Yay!! the brainwashing, errr convincing worked! *snort* Anyhow, since she still has limited supplies, I told her I would stamp some images for her for the next few months. I also decided to color them for her so she will just need to cut them out and peice her card together. So for the rest of the Sept. birthday's I used the sunflower from Give Thanks (SU), for October, I used the pumpkin, also from Give Thanks. I switched stamp sets for November and used the leaf and acorns from Country Blessings (retired SU), and rounding out the images, December with Snowflakes (sadly, retired SU, I love this set). The snowflakes I just stamped randomly in various shades of blue (my favorite thing to do with this set) so that she could just cut different sizes for her cards, maybe do a one sheet wonder or something. Anyhow, here is a pic of all the images together:

Faux Framing

The technique for this week is Faux framing! I haven't done this technique in ages. It's so fun!

Here's what you do:

1. Take some copy paper (regular computer/printer paper) and cut a frame using a cutting system. I used the Colluzzle and the oval template. My copy paper was the same size as my card. This is your frame.

2. Attach your copy paper to your card stack (I just did a white card base) using a small amount of adhesive. This is so that while you are stamping your frame doesn't slide around. The adhesive can be removed later with adhesive remover.

3. Next you want to stamp your images onto your card. Overlap some of the images so that they go over the frame.

4. Before removing the frame you can sponge ink around the frame.

5. Remove your frame and then color your images and finish your card as desired.

I also used the masking technique for my foliage to make it appear that the cattails were behind the turtle. I used Small Script for the sentiment.

Supplies:

White CS, Copy Paper, Colluzzle Cutting System, Black Staz On Ink, Brocade Blue Ink, Sponge, Small Script Stamp Set from SU, Turtle and Cattails from Artful Inkables, Colored Pencils.

I had to use my new stamps from Artful Inkables avaliable through Starving Artists Stamps. My sweet friend Kristin is such an amazing artist and the Turtle and Cattails stamps are her creations. Check out the Artful Inkables Collection Here. So, where is my creation? Well right here!

It's Monday!

Well folks, it's Monday again! And I know it's been a while, but I do have a technique for you! About 7 months ago I saw a card in PaperCrafts magazine done by Nichole Heady using the Twisted Kissing technique. I just had to try it! If you have been a reader for a while now of my blog, you may remember this card that I did using that technique. Well, I decided that it would be a fun technique to share with you this week.

So, here goes, for this technique you will need:

A bold, solid stamp (I used the solid petal from SU's Pick a Petal)

A dot style stamp (I used itty bitty backgrounds, also from SU)

Card stock

Ink

Embellishments (if you choose)

Sentiment stamp (if you choose)

So, here's what I did, first I cut my Whisper white CS in half to make an 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 piece of CS. Then I scored down the middle to get my finished card base of 5 1/2x 4 1/4. I inked up the center of the flower using Certainly Celery ink and stamp that onto my card. Then I inked up my solid petal stamp using Brocade Blue ink. Then I turned it rubber side up on the table. (Here's where the twisted part comes in) Then I took my dot stamp and touched it (kiss it) to the petal twisting it. (Do this randomly to give it a better pattern.) Then I stamped the petal onto the CS. I repeated the petal process several times. Then I stamped my sentiment in black at the top and there you have it! How easy is that! Twisted Kissing! Give it a try, you'll like it!

I do remember!

See... I do remember how to stamp and I haven't forgotten I have a blog! LOL Here are a couple of projects I have been working on:

This first one is for a birthday swap I am in. It's for the August birthday girl. I used blue printer paper because blue is her favorite color. I don't know the maker. My MIL got the papers for me for my birthday this last year. She got me a bunch of papers, and I do mean a bunch! Yay! Anyhow, I thought these papers would be perfect. I use modge podge to adhere my papers onto my tins and then I use sticky strip to adhere the ribbon the edges. I also used sticky strip to attach the letters and the flowers and brad. I also made her a matching card. I sent this out a little later then I would have liked because I have had a lot going on here, hence the belated saying on the card. Although I didn't forget about her, but this is the only belated saying I have. LOL I forgot to take a picture of the side of the tin, it has double sticthed ribbon around the ends (same ribbon as on the card) and it has a different paper on the sides. I hope she likes it! I filled it with a hodge podge of goodies.

I also have been stamping for a swap at my SU uplines house yesterday. I actually spaced having to do swaps (good thing it was only a 5 person swap) but I whiped these up in about 30 minutes yesterday morning. I used the Year After Year set from the current SU catty, I used Wild Wasabi for the card base with Always Artichoke, So Saffron, and Rose Red as additional colors and then of course Whisper white as my neutral. I also used the Print Pattern BG stamp and Holidays and wishes for the sentiment. the ink I used is Staz-On black (works better with watercoloring) and versamark. I used white grosgrain as an embellishment and the ticket corner punch just for fun. I watercolored the tree using watercolor wonder crayons and an aquapainter (all products for this card were SU)

The last one I have for you today is for the LSC (limited supply challenge) on SCS. The challenge was a multi part challenge. The first part was to use an old set that hasnt' seen ink in a while. I don't remember when I used the Friendship Grows set last so I dusted that one off for this challenge. The second part was to pick an old Sketch and use that. So I chose SC12 cause DD is 12. Next was to chose and old Color Combo challenge. Since DH and I have been married for 6 years now I chose CC06. (Rose Red and Chocolate Chip). The next part of the challenge was to use 1-2 embellishments that you have hoarded. I bought the vanilla grograin a while back and have never used it. I have just never had the right project to use it on, so I broke it out for this one. I colored the pot of flowers using the watercolor wonder crayons.
So there you have it, my latest projects. I just got back from physical therapy and my back and shoulder are killing me so I will be putting ice on it today. But if it is feeling better later I will stamp some more. I have another swap that I need to get done as well as the Sept. Birthday girls things that I want to whip together. Plus Monday's technique. So I will be a busy little bee and will have more fun stuff for you soon!

For a Friend

I know, I know, I didn't do a technique yesterday. But on the up side I did get my house completely unpacked! I have a little bit of cleaning to do as well as I need to get some more organizers for my stamp closet. Which is why I didn't do the technique I was going to do yesterday. There is an important part to it that I can't find because I can't unpack that box till I have the new organizer.



I did however sit down and stamp today. We had a meeting for our family support group for my husbands company. I am a co-leader for the group and my old co-leader has stepped down. (I have a new co-leader now who is awesome.) Anyhow, I wanted to do a card for my old co-leader and buy her some flowers or something (as a thank you) and I thought it would be nice if the ladies who always attend the meetings could sign the card. So I made the card to take to the meeting tonight. Here it is:

I used the Year After Year (YAY), and Holidays and Wishes (HW) sets from Stampin Up. I also used the Tempting Turquoise (TT), Green Galore (GG), Pink Passion (PP) and Whisper White (WW) Cardstock (CS). First I took my flower stamp from that YAY set and I stamped it using Staz-On Black onto WW CS. Then I used my watercolor pencils and colored parts of the flowers. Then I blended it all using the aquapainter. (I got the turquiose color on the leaves and stems using two different colors and blending.) Then I used the ticket corner punch in the top corners and layered it onto my PP and GG cardstocks. I added turquiose ribbon (non-SU) to the middle of the two colored and mounted everything onto my TT base. Then I stamped the sentiment From The Heart from the HW set in the bottom corner using the Staz On ink. Quick, easy card. It took me about 3 minutes. I hope she likes it!

Black Background

Scrapjanny's weekend challenge on ASB this last weekend was to do a card using black as your background color. I immediately thought of a technique my friend Jenn showed me a year or so ago called the chalkboard technique. I couldn't quite remember how to do it during my late night stamping session of making this card so I improvised. I promise, this card looks waaay better in person. Not so dusty.

(All Supplies Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)

The first thing I did was take my Basic Black cardstock and stamped it using In Full Bloom. I bought IFB three years ago because I loved what the ladies on SCS were doing with it. I thought, I can do that! So I bought it and have since used it 4 times including this card. I just can't get it to work for me. That'll teach me to give in to enableing huh? Nah! lol

Anyhow, I stamped the images randomly using Craft White ink. Just before the ink was completely dry (cause I'm inpatient) I took my daubers and applied Stampin Pastel chalkes to the images. I did this in a swirling motion because it covered faster (I said I was inpatient didn't I?). Then I realized that by doing this it made way too much dustiness (is that a word?) on the black so I promptly got out a swiffer cloth and dusted the excess chalk. Not like you can tell from the photo but trust me, it doesn't show this much IRL and it was waaay worse before I dusted it. Anywho, then I added some yummy green grosgrain ribbon with pink polka dots to the card. I think I got the ribbon at Hobby Lobby but who knows. LOL Then I stamped From The Heart from the Holidays and Wishes set using White ink on the BB cardstock and mounted it on Pink Passion CS. Added that to the card and decided to mount the whole card to a pink passion base.

*Off topic Alert* LOL This card is a total departure for me because I hate, and I do mean hate, as in loathe the color pink. I think that comes from being a red head when I was little. When I was younger it was a bad thing for red heads to wear pink. Ecspecially bright pink. *sigh* I hated pink so much that when my DD was a baby she very little pink in her wardrobe and what she did have was certainly not bought be me. I have gotten over some of my hatred of pink. I used to hate it times 5. Now it's just times 2, so I've gotten better. Maybe someday it will just be a dislike. LOL O.k. I know, totally off topic. What can I say, I had an energy spurt that lasted a few hours and unpacked more and cleaned and organized my kitchen last night to include scrubbing scuff marks off the floor with my friend the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. (Love that product!) So it sent my back into spasms so I had to take my pain meds which are still in my system and making me loopy. So that's my excuse. LOL As if I needed another one huh? O.k. I'll stop for now.

I promised a few posts ago another contest to celebrate 100 posts on my blog. And now here I am 106 posts and no contest. I haven't forgotten. I have been working out the finer details. I will post about that within the next day or two. So stay tuned. For now, it's time to go baby shopping with my very good friend who is expecting in a few months! YAY!!

Circle Journal

So some of my friends and I are doing a circle journal. We each got to choose what we wanted our journal to be on. We send it to the next person on the list and that person adds to the journal using the theme and when done they will send it to the next person. This goes on until it gets back to the original person. Clear as mud? lol


So for mine, I chose the theme Recipes of Friendship. Corny huh? The book will be a collection of recipes from my friends. I went to a friends house today and I sat down (after finishing the swaps for my swap group) and I made the cover for my book. I started the sign-in pages and such for the book but messed up so I have to do those again. But when I get those done I will post pictures. But for now, here is my book:

(All Supplies from Stampin Up!)

For this I used the 5x5 On Board Journal and I covered it using paper from the Always Artichoke collection. I chose the polka dots and stripes. I used the spiral punch to punch the holes for the spiral coils on the side. I used adhesive to attached the paper to the journal and then I added some white grosgrain ribbon in the center to tie the two patterns together. Then I stamped the chef from Voila onto Whisper White CS using Staz-On Black ink. I like to use Staz-On when I watercolor because it doesn't run. If I use other kinds the water will make the black ink smear. Then I added the spagetti bowl from Voila To Go from the new catty. I watercolored it all using the watercolor crayons, perfect plum for the chefs top and hat, Basic Gray for the pants, Going Gray for the tray, Always Artichoke for the scarf and bowl, and then Blush Blossom for the pasta and Really Rust for the meatballs. I watercolored it all using the aquapainter. Then mounted that to Perfect Plum cardstock and mounted that at an angle to my book to add visual appeal to my image.

I used to only use the blender pens or most recently a watercolor brush when I would watercolor. I hated the aquapainter when I first used it at a workshop because I had a hard time controlling the water flow. Then I got a kit (I think it was one of the simply sent kits) that came with an aquapainter and can I just tell you, I LOVE the aquapainter. I haven't used my watercolor brush or my blender pens in ages! It took a few trys to get the hang of it, LOL but now I love love love it!

Anyhow, I will be adding ribbon in Purple, Artichoke, and White to the spirals but that will come when the book is complete with all the pages.

I'd like to thank Belinda for letting me use her spiral punch and such. Now I have to buy that too. LOL I didn't think I would want it but now I do. *wink*

Anyhow, I also stamped something else late last night but it's upstairs and I'm too lazy to go get it right now. ROFL! So I will be posting that tomorrow (actually since it's 1a.m. that would be in the morning).

Unpacking is going o.k. I have only done a little bit. Not nearly as much as I was hoping but oh well. My sweet friend Jenn is lending me her DD this Saturday to help me get more done. Anyhow, that's it for now. Night all!

A week off...

I have a great technique planned for these week but right now I am still trying to get the last of my house unpacked. So I have decided to take this week off from the technique. But next week I will have a great one for you! I promise. It is one that someone has recently asked me for directions on. *wink* I'm going to try to fit in a little stamping this next week so that my blog isn't completely empty though. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Today was....

Today, Friday, August 3rd marked my 6th anniversary of being married to my DH. It was a fairly good day all things considered. DH and I got to chat online from 11 last night till 1 this morning. I woke up this morning wanting to cry and then Dh called me! We talked for 20 minutes. (commander gave him a free call for the occassion) *grin* I decided to go out and get some dinner rather then making it. On our honeymoon DH and I went to his favorite restuarant. Chili's and we got it to go. So I went to Chili's tonight and got it to go. *wink* I also watched a movie called Where The Heart Is. It was the first movie DH and I ever watched together. *sigh* All and all, it was a good day. It's hard to beleive it's been 6 years though. *wink*

Take 2?

So I called my upline and friend last night and asked her for her opinion. There was something about the card I did yesterday that I just didn't like and I couldn't place it. So I said, Belinda, help!!!! LOL She said that I should try turning the card horizontal, keep the layout but make the patterned paper smaller. So I took her suggestions and added one of my own. I decided to add the canvas BG stamp on the top yellow part using versamark to just give it a little extra and not make it so blank. Here is my finished product. I think I am pretty happy with this. Now I just need to make 19 of these babies for the swap! LOL

I used Barely Banana, Groovy Guava, Certainly Celery Pattern Paper, Sweet Thing stamp set, Hugs and Wishes Stamp Set, Staz On Black ink, Cameo Coral marker, Certainly Celery marker, Bashful Blue Marker, Photo Corner Punch, White Grosgrain ribbon, Canvas BG Stamp, Versamark. (all supplies from Stampin Up!)

Swap?

I was asked a few weeks back to be a part of a swap group. I am very nervous because these ladies are all amazing stampers. So I have been trying to come up with a card. Here is my first try. What do you think?

I used Barely Banana, Groovy Guava, Certainly Celery Pattern Paper, Sweet Thing stamp set, Hugs and Wishes Stamp Set, Staz On Black ink, Cameo Coral marker, Certainly Celery marker, Bashful Blue Marker, Photo Corner Punch, White Grosgrain ribbon.

100 posts, I CRACK myself up!

LOL I had to come up with something clever for the title of my 100th post! Can you believe it? Boy do I talk alot! LOL So, in honor of my 100th post, I have been cooking up another contest. What I'm going to do yet, I don't know but I will have more details later this week. In the meantime, why does 100 posts CRACK me up? Well, it doesn't really, just thought it would be a clever title to tie in my 100th post with today's technique. I know, I know, I need to get out more. *wink* So, today is the 22nd week for the technique challenge, what did I choose for you?



One that I absolutely love to do, but rarely get around to. CRACKed glass! (does the CRACK myself up part make sense now?) I'm making myself roll my eyes, can't imagine how all of you are going to get through this post. LOL O.k. so, on to business, Here is how you do cracked glass:



First, you want to stamp your image on your cardstock, then you will color it as desired. Next, apply versamark over the entire piece of cardstock. Next sprinkle your Glassy Glaze or UTEE over the piece. If you don't have Glassy Glaze or other UTEE, use crystal clear embossing powder. Cover entire image and tap off excess powder. Heat the powder with your heat gun until melted. while it is still hot, add another layer of the Glassy Glaze or UTEE and heat again. If you are using the Glassy Glaze or UTEE you will want to do this 3 or so times, if you are using regular embossing powder you will need to do this step around 6 times. (If at any time the previous layer is cooled before you can get the next layer on, it's o.k. either reheat it or add more versamark -this is what I do) once you have enough layers and you have a completely smooth surface put your piece in the freezer for a minute or two. Afterwards take your cardstock out and carefully bend the cardstock in various directions. Your piece should now crack. Once you get the look you want, finish your card as desired.



I had someone ask me how I keep my CS from rolling up when I heat emboss it, here is my answer: I use a pair of Bamboo tongs to hold onto the CS. I always leave an extra little bit on at the end that I don't have the EP on so that I have that to hook the Bamboo tongs onto (keeps my fingers from burning) and then I am constantly moving the heat gun around. The moving helps the CS not to curl as well. A little curling will happen, I'm not sure there is anything that can help that but all of what I posted above does help cut down on the curling.



I hope that makes sense to all of you.



Here is my sample:

My sweet friend Jenn let me come over one day (since all my stuff was packed) and let me use her stamp stuff to create this fun card. I'm sorry about the darkness of the picture. My scanner doesn't seem to work on my new computer so I had to take a picture but since the flash always glares on the "glass" I just turned the flash off so it turned out a little dark. But I promise, this is so pretty IRL.

I do remember how to stamp!

I told you I would spend today stamping! O.k. so I didn't spend the whole day, just a few hours. But here are my results. First of all, for the last couple of days I have been helping a friend make some annoucements for her upcoming sealing (wedding). Here are our end results. Most of it was my idea but it was her idea to do the ribbon weaving on the top which I think is the best part!

I used heartfelt thanks on WW cardstock in Pale Plum ink for the main part and then perfect plum ink for the the outline, then use Mellow Moss ink for the center of the flower. Then I used stickles on the center to give it some pop. Mounted all this onto Pale Plum Cardstock and then Amber (my friend) got some really pretty ribbon that was very close to pale plum in color. She printed her info onto Vellum and we layered that on the rest of the card. We punched holes using the rectangular handheld punch on the top (6 holes in all) and then we weaved the ribbon through, attached each side to the back and added a bow. They are so stunning IRL. Here is a pic of under the vellum.

I also stamped, like I said, my DH's anniversary card. It will get to him a few days after our actual Anniversary though. Anyhow, we are going on 6 years and our wedding colors were purple and green.

For this card I used the Lion from a set from TAC (I can't remember the name). I used the flowers from that set and stamped them in versamark ink on Pale Plum cardstock. Then I wanted them to stand out a little more so I brushed Pale Plum chalks over it to make them stand out more. Then I divided the top and bottom with white grosgrain ribbon. I then stamped my Lion in Staz-On black in and watercolored the Lion using watercolor crayons and an aquapainter. Then I went to attach the image and decided it needed something else. So I remembered a card I had gotten recently in a swap that had photo corner type things under one layer. It set it off so nicely. So I added Mellow Moss pieces to the corner. Then I stamped Happy Anniversary from the hugs and wishes set (SU) on the bottom right corner and decided it needed pop so I added stickles to the middle of the flowers. On the inside I stamped "I wouldn't mind being lonely if you were here to keep me company." from the In My Thoughts set from SU.

Next I stamped cards for a few ladies in my church. I wanted to use my new In Colors cardstock from SU. I used Groovy Guava for the base. Then I took a layer of Blue Bayou and stamped the flowers from Loads of Love on it using Versamark. Then I added the white grosgrain ribbon to the BB layer. Then I punched my Very Vanilla using the Tab Punch and added it to the right hand bottom corner of the BB cardstock. Added brads and stamped just a note from All Year Cheer 3. I then added all of this to the card base. I stamped the truck and the flowers in the back of the truck using staz-on and then watercolored them using watercolor crayons and an aquapainter. Then added this under the ribbon. And there you have it! Done!

I'm quite pleased with my attempts today. Nice to know I haven't completely lost my mojo!

Progression

Well, I am about 3/4 of the way unpacked. O.k. that may be stretching it just slightly, but it's somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4. I stamped a little yesterday. I had to unpack my stamp stuff because a friend and customer came over and asked me for some help with some announcements she is doing. I will post pics of the sample we came up with later. I'm thinking tomorrow will be a day of unpacking again and then this weekend, I plan to spend at least a few hours stamping. I have kind of lost the desire to stamp lately. It's been over 6 weeks now since I packed my stamp stuff at my old house. I decided today, that I just need to hop back to it. So I'm not promising my work this weekend will be any good, but I will have something to show you. I have to prove that I haven't forgotten how to stamp after all. LOL

Rockin'!

So I was scrolling down my blog this morning (putting off unpacking... LOL) When I came across a comment I didn't know was there from like a week ago. ( I know, preceptive aren't I?) My sweet friend Dorinda tagged me as a Rockin' Girl Blogger!






Now I need to tag 5 others! So, I tag...


Toni over at Stampin Diva
Belinda over at Belinda's Stampin Space
Anne over at Storm's Cellar
Jenn over at Jenn's Stamping Corner
Patti over at Pat Creates

Technique time!

This is the card that I kept bumping from my weekly techniques. I do have another card froma different technique ready but not alot of time so I figured this one was easy and quick to explain so here we go!



This week's technique is Watercolor Spritzing.



For this you will need: Watercolor Paper, Stamps, Ink, Waterbottle (spritzing kind) (all products except waterbottle are Stampin Up!)



So for this oh so pretty (if I do say so myself) 3x3 card, I started out with my watercolor paper. First I took the cherry blossom looking stamp from Garden Sillouhettes and stamped it onto the WC Paper using Rose Red Classic Ink. Then I took my waterbottle and holding the paper at an angle I spritzed the paper. (I found the best results with holding the bottle at about 8 or so inches from the paper). The ink ran just slightly giving me the misty look I wanted. Then I layered my WC Paper onto the Rose Red CS and added some Black Gingham ribbon. Then I added it all to my Basic Black 3x3 base. I stamped the word lovely in the lower right hand corner using White Craft ink.

Tah Dah! I wish you could see in person how stinkin cute this card is. *sigh* Well, back to unpacking. Bah, who am I kidding, I'm gonna go read the new Harry Potter book again. It's awesome!

Getting Settled

well, the move last week went o.k. On Tuesday a friend came over in the morning to help pack up the rest of the odds and ends. She brought her three kids whom we had load some things in my van and her H3. Things like clothes and breakables and such. Then we brought them over to my new place and the helped me bring everything inside. After I gave them a tour of the new place of course. Tuesday afternoon I went and picked up my UHaul. Another friend took me to go get it since I couldn't drive my van and the UHual. I may be talented, but not that talented. ROFL! I got there and realized I may need proof of insurance to get back on the military post. So I gave my keys to my sweet friend and she went to go get the proof of insurance while I drove to the gate I needed to be to in order to get in. She would meet me there. I got there only to discover that that gate was closed and I had to go to different gate. So I tried twice to call my friend. Couldn't get a hold of her. Figured she would see the sign saying the gate was closed and she would meet me at the gate I had to go to now. So I get to the other gate, try to call her again, no answer. I go inside to get my pass allowing me on post and find out I don't need the proof of insurance. So I try to call my friend again. No answer. So I decide I can't wait because there people at my house waiting to load the truck. So I get to my house only to realize, shoot! She has my keys, all my keys, including my house key for both houses. Crud! What was I going to do! I tried to call her again. No answer. (She forgot to take her cell with her) So I have one of the people who is there to help move things take me over to the housing office. It will be open for one more hour. So I go to the housing office and thankfully they have a spare key. So I was able to let everyone in to load the truck. About 10 minutes late my friend gets there and apologizes and so did I. 4 people were there to help load the truck. It was smaller because that was all they had so we had to make two trips but we got it done. Then on Wednesday, another sweet friend sent her kids over to help me paint. We are aloud to paint our rooms any color we want but we have to cover them over with a nuetral color before we leave so they were there to help me do that. Then on Thursday some ladies from my church came over and helped me clean. We had our final inspection to sign out of the old quarters on Friday and passed with flying colors. It's been a heck of a week. On Friday afternoon I went to a friends house to pick something up, we ended up going out to dinner and then hanging out at her house till it was time to go buy the new HP book. I have been reading it off and on ever since. *grin* I am a little over half way through. Would be more but my back has been in so much pain that I have been having to take my pain meds. So needless to say I have been falling asleep while reading. That and I keep going back and reading more and more. Love this book! It's the best yet! Sad that it's the last in the series but she sure did end it with an awesome book! Anyhow, back to reading.

Bare with me

I know, I know, it's monday night and still no technique. I needed to ask you all to bare with me for a couple of weeks. While I thought I would be able to post a challenge today, I was wrong. I was supposed to get my keys for my new place tomorrow morning. So when I called first thing this morning to confirm, they told me that my new quarters were ready and I could come get the keys today! So I started moving in today. My internet is being shut off here tomorrow morning and will be turned on at the new place sometime on Wednesday but I will be so busy for the next week or so that I won't be able to post until probably close to the 1st of August. But, I promise you, when I start posting again, it will be good! I was walking around my new place today and was surprised to see a HUGE closet in the upstairs hallway that will be perfect for my crafts. I had feared that they would have to be in a corner in my room or something. But instead they will be in this closet. So I am very excited about that and the hamsters in my brain are already running on their wheels giving me ideas for new projects to share. So bare with me my faithful blog reading friends. *grin*

Slight change

O.k. so your probably wondering why it's almost 10p.m. CST on friday and I haven't posted the weekly technique yet. There is a very good reason for it. This morning Anne, the owner of ASB IM'ed me and asked me if she could change my challenge day. So, the day for my techniques will no longer be Friday's. But just so you have a post to read anyway, I thought I would post some pictures of what I have been up to lately. As some of you know, I am moving next week from our current quarters:

(you can see where ours begins at the middle of the porch to the drain pipe, that's our whole place. *rolling eyes* This is an old picture too)

To new quarters:

(you can see where ours begins at the garage and ends in between the porch on the left) The new one is a much nicer and newer neighborhood. People more our age and not to mention, the house is a little bigger. AND! we will have a garage with tons of storage space too! I can't wait, 4 more days till I get the keys! In the meantime, here is what I have been working on. You can see what my stamproom looks like now. It is a stamproom turned storage rooms for all the boxes. The pictures don't do it justice. It has way more boxes and furniture then what you can see.
So now you know why there has been no stamping going on at my house. But, like I said, 4 more days and I will get the keys to the new place and will get to move all my stuff in, clean this place, clear these quarters and then unpack the new place and get back to stamping. *grin*

Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix!!!

So I was one of those crazy people who at 12:01 a.m. was sitting in a theatre watching the first showing of Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix! It was freakin' awesome! I have read the book 7 times so I was able to pin point a lot of things that had been changed and things that were left out. But it was sooo good! The last 20 minutes were the best! If you havent' seen it yet, you have to. And I mean HAVE to! I'm gonna go see it again soon. *grin* Wish we had an IMAX theatre near so I could go see it there since the last 20 minutes are apparently 3-D from what I read. Don't know if it is or not, but, it doesn't matter cause there isn't an IMAX near here. Anyhow, in honor of the newest movie about the boy wizard, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite cards that I have done with magical themes. Some of you may have seen these in my SCS gallery but, I love them, so... yah. lolThis is one that I made for my dad for his birthday last year.

This is one that I made for a challenge on SCS.

This is one that I made for my DD's birthday last year. It's my favorite.

If you haven't seen the movie yet, make sure you do! And be sure to check back on friday for the new technique this week. It's one of my favorites!

Blog Tag!!

So I got Tagged by Susan over at Blue Robot. What a fun blog she has! She has got the most darling waterfall ATC's. Go check em' out! And today she has got a fun tutorial on how to make umbrella cards! Too cute! Thanks Susan for the TAG!

O.k. so here's the deal, I have to tell you 7 random things about myself. So here goes!

1. I got an email from my brother's ex girlfriend on my myspace acct. I haven't talked to her in 18 years! Small world huh!

2. In addition to stamping, I also like to make ceramics from start to finish. I do everything from pouring the slip into the mold all the way to painting them after they have been fired.

3. I love checking out real estate sites and dreaming about the house DH and I will someday buy.

4. I am a family support group leader for my husband's company. (o.k. so some of you know that, but this is harder then I thought)

5. I am getting satelitte TV and 5 MEG DSL at my new house (o.k. so some of you knew that too but, it's hard to think of things!)

6. My new favorite TV show is Army Wives on Lifetime. (O.k. so some of you.... alright, you get the picture)

7. I had a dog names Dusty who was a miniture Lassie when I was little.


O.k., wow! That was hard!

O.k. now, I have to tag 7 others:

1. Belinda over at Belinda's Stamping Space. Belinda is a huge source for knowledge and is awesome! It helps that she and I are friends IRL.

2. Jenn over at Jenn's Stamping Corner. Jenn is my wonderful friend who let me stamp at her house the other day and is absolutely awesome! She's my friend IRL too!

3. Kristin over at Artfully Inking. Kristin is awesome! She is the one I told you about who has her own stampline now! Her Turtle and Friends are to die for! I had the fortunate experience to meet her in Dec.

4. Kathy over at Kathy's Kreations. She is one of my blog readers and she has an awesome site too!

5. Anne over at Storm's Cellar. Anne is an awesome lady! She is the owner and creator of A Shade Of Blue.

6. Toni at Stamping Diva . If you haven't checked out Toni's blog, you're missing out! Seriously!

7. Cyndi at My Little Stamping Heaven. Cyndi and I have been chatting for about a year now online. She is so talented.

O.k. so there you have it!

Card for my DH!

I sent my DH a package the other day (I normally send one every other week). Well in this package I couldn't send him a card since my stamp room is packed up. So I figured while I was at my friend Jenn's the other day stamping I would make him a card and get it in the mail. Here it is!

The layout was inspired by a card I saw in the new TAC catty. I also used the Wolves set by TAC and a GWP (Gift with purchase) All supplies are my friend Jenn's so I will do my best to tell you what they are.

Supplies: Gray CS, Olive CS, Black CS, Black grosgrain, STAZ-On Black in, Paper Piercer, Prisma Pencils.

I hope he likes it!