Lucky to be alive!

     Ooops!  Forgot to post this yesterday.  I made this for my uncle's birthday this year.  He loves old westerns and we ALWAYS get each other snarky cards.  The image is from Art Impressions stamps and it's called "Slim".

     Here's the fun sentiment I put on the inside of the card.

     I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Creative Moments--anything goes/for the boys
Oldie But a Goodie--Father's Day/Masculine ( the buttons, twine, and canvas ribbon are all over six months old
Try It On Tuesdays--one for the boys
Ooh-la-la Creations--Father's Day/male
Catered Crop--manly men

     Hope you're all having a great day.  I'll be back tomorrow with something special from Art Impressions.

Supplies:
Paper--Recollections, Bazzill, The Paper Studio, Copic XPress-it Blending card
Stamps--Art Impressions "Slim", There She Goes Clears Stamps "Giddy Up"
Ink--Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics
Tools--paper Piercer, Tim Holtz ruler
Miscellaneous--Canvas Corp Canvas Fringe, Crafters Square hemp cord, buttons from my stash

Here for you

     Last night while I was idling away the hours surfing here and there on the computer I ran across a really cool new technique from Jennifer McGuire.  It's called "White Outline Copic Coloring".  If you go check it out you'll find a video tutorial and also that I've cased her card pretty closely.

     My flower image is called Dream in Color and is from the now closed There She Goes Clear Stamps.  I stamped it in Memento London Fog ink first and colored with my Copics then comes the white embossing.  It's an awesome look, or at least I think so.

     The mailman brought me two packages of goodies today and I put some of each to work on this card.  The texture on the card was created with a Memory Box stencil and some modeling paste.  It was sprinkled with sparkly embossing powder to get the fun blinged up look.  I think you can see it better in this picture.

Copics Used:

flower--Y35, Y38, YR65, YR68, R35, R37, R43, RV13, RV21, RV25

leaves--G21, G24, G28, G40, G43, G46, YG03

     I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Fresh Made Sketches--sketch

Sweet Stamps--anything goes with dry or wet embossing

Sentimental Sundays--dry or wet embossing

Sweet Stampin--flowers

Supplies:
Paper--Recollections, Georgia Pacific
Stamps--There She Goes Clear Stamps "Dream in Color", Precious Remembrance Shop "Positive Thoughts"
Ink--Memento London Fog and Bamboo Leaves, Versamark
Tools--Memory Box "Texture Mesh" designer stencil, MFT Die-namics Sentiment Strips
Miscellaneous--Stampendous white embossing powder, Ranger Embossing Bridal Tinsel, Liquitex Modeling paste

Umbrella smiles

     Did I give your eyes a shock with these colors?  LOL  Everyone is so ready for spring to come I thought I'd give it a bit of a head start.  It's time for Bellarific Friday at Stamping Bella so we're revealing cards from the DT and those that played along.  It was a sketch challenge and I've used "Lolly and Her Brolly" from the Uptown Girls line.

     I knew I wanted to give her  rather bright rain gear so I dug around in my paper stash mountain and came up with some papers from My Mind's Eye.  No surprise there huh.  LOL  MME is my all time favorite line.

     The top panel and Lolly are popped up on foam.  I did some clouds for the background with a hand cut mask and some Distress ink.

     Here's Lolly's glamour shot.

Copics Used:

skin--E000, E00, E11

hair--E13, E15, Y11, Y21

umbrella and boots--Y11, Y02, Y06, Y08, Y17, YR23

raincoat and dress--E08, E93, E95, E97, BG000, BG10, BG11, BG72

flower pot--E31, E33, E39, E50

flower--Y11, YR23, E21, E23, E25, E27, E29, E79

leaves and grass--YG03, YG93, YG95, YG97

     Next weeks challenge is to "Bling it up" so grab any SB stamps you might have and come join in the fun.  Also, Em is perusing the Pinterest boards looking for SB creations to share on the Stamping Bella Facebook page.  Upload yours to Pinterest and tag it Stamping Bella.  You just might win some Bella bucks if Em selects yours to feature on the the page. $10.00 worth of Bella Bucks to use for goodies!!
     I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

MilkCoffee--at least two flowers
Papercrafting Journey--photo inspiration
Time Out--dancing in the rain
7 Kids College Fund--anything goes plus die cuts
Little Red Wagon--truly dimensional
Simon Says Stamp--Mother's Day or Special Girl
Oldie But a Goodie--spring has sprung (EVERYTHING is over six months old)
Love to Create--anything goes

     Have a fantastic weekend!

Supplies:
Paper--My Mind's Eye "The Sweetest Thing--Tangerine", Bazzill, Georgia Pacific, Copic XPress-it Blending card
Stamps--Stamping Bella "UPtown Girl Lolly and Her Brolly, sentiment from There She Goes Clear Stamps "Poppy"
Ink--Memento Tuxedo Black, Tumbled Glass Distress ink, Sakura white gel pen
Tools--EK Success Retro Flower punches, Memory Box Tender Leaves die and Little Open Scallops die, Lil' Inker Designs Stitched Sentiment Flag die, Nestabilities Classic Ovals
Miscellaneous--tThe Paper Studio pearls

Dreaming of the spotlight

     We have had two of the most beautiful days and I'm hoping the weather will hold out a bit longer.  It seems totally crazy to go from freezing to balmy in a snap.

     Since it's Thursday that means its time for a new challenge at Mo's Digital Pencil.  This week our super talented Franz has asked us to "Add a Ribbon".

     For my card I used some beautiful digital papers from Bearly Mine Designs.  My ribbon lacing covered up most of the pretty floral that's hidden underneath.  I've used "Lil Ballerina" and picked some soft RV Copics to color her.  I also dug into my stash of flowers and found the pretty Prima lillies on the side.

     We'd love to see your ribbon added creations too.  Make sure you use a Mo's image and come play along.

     Next week will bring some exciting news about something called "Bronte and Bella's Playhouse".  You won't want to miss it.

     Here is the tiny dancers glamour shot.

Copics Used:

skin--E000, E00, E11, E13

hair--Y21, YR23, E33, E35

tutu--RV91, RV93, RV95

     I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Little Miss Muffet--Happy Birthday
MilkCoffee--girly
Craft Your Passion--Girly Girl
Make It Monday--anything goes

     Have a fabulous Thursday!

Supplies:
Paper--digital papers from Bearly Mine Designs "Vintage Fantasy" collection, Bazzill, Kraft Outlet Light Kraft, Copic XPress-it Blending card
Stamps--Mo's Digital Pencil "Lil' Ballerina", There She Goes "A Little Treat"
Ink--Memento Tuxedo Black
Tools--Poppystamps Crochet Corner,  Memory Box Delicate Fern and Fresh Foliage, MFT Die-namics Sentiment Strips, Making Memories Instant Setter, Bow Easy
Miscellaneous--Michaels pearls, REcollections flower, Prima flowers, Offray ribbon, eyelets from my stash, Dritz cheese cloth

Snaggle Tooth

     New challenge time at Mo's.  This week our fabby Franz wants to see "Lots of Layers".  I've used one of Mo's newest images, Missing Tooth.  I think I have maybe three or four sheets left of this paper pad, the closest I am to actually using a whole one.  LOL  I drug out my sewing machine for some stitching on the panels.  The flowers are the large hydrangea punch from Martha Stewart.  I inked their edges with some Wild Honey Distress ink and used the centers from the Memory Box Fabulous Phlox die which I inked with Spiced Marmalade.  Pearls, lace, and a couple of butterflies plus a cute sentiment from a There She Goes Clear Stamp set dealing with the Tooth Fairy round out my card.
     Here's a close up.

Copics Used:

skin--E000, E00, E11, E13, R20, R30

hair--E31, E33, E35, E51, E57

clothing--BG10, BG11, BG53, BG57, BG72, BG75, BG78, Y11, YR20, YR21, YR23, C0, C2, C4

shoes--E41, E42, E43, E47

quarter--N1

grounding--W1, W3, W5

     Mo is awarding a $5.00 gift voucher to her store to one person for every 25 entries in the challenge so come play along for your chance.

     Happy Thursday!

Supplies:
Paper--My Mind's Eye "Stella Rose", Bazzill, Georgia Pacific, Copic XPress-it Blending card
Stamps--Mo's Digital Pencil "Missing Tooth", sentiment from There She Goes Clear Stamps "Tooth Fairy Approved"
Ink--Ranger Jet Black Archival, Wild Honey and Spiced Marmalade Distress inks, Sakura white gel pen
Tools--Memory Box Fabulous Phlox, MFT Fancy Flourish, Martha Stewart Hydrangea and butterfly punches, Nestabilities Classic Ovals and Classic Scalloped Ovals
Miscellaneous--The Paper Studio and Recollections pearls

Merry Christ-moose

     Well, I guess we're in the home stretch for Christmas now aren't we.  This guy's all decked out and ready to celebrate.  He is one of the stamps in the latest releases from There She Goes.  The set is called "Merry Christ-moose" and he's perfect for our new "Christmas Critters" challenge on the TSG blog.

     Normally our household is fairly quiet during the Christmas holidays, but this year the schedule is filling up fast with all sorts of activities.  Because of this I'll have a fun post to share with you later today.

     Meanwhile, grab a critter and come play along.

     Happy Monday!

Supplies:
Paper--Carta Bella "Christmas Day", Bazzill, Kraft Outlet Light Kraft, Copic XPress-it Blending card
Stamps--There She Goes Clear Stamps "Merry Christ-moose"
Ink--Memento Tuxedo Black and Rich Cocoa

Copics Used:

moose--E23, E25, E29, E79, E93

antlers--E71, E74, E79

lights--R35, R37, R39, R43, YG03, YG95, YG97, Y11, YR21, YR23

Tools--MFT Die-namics Sentiment Strips, Nestabilities Classic Circles and Classic Scalloped Circles
Miscellaneous--Glossy Accents, buttons from my stash, Kraft Outlet Hang Tag String

TSG Sneak Peek #4--Merry Christ-moose, Nice Rack, and Nordic Borders

Please scroll down to the next post for the YNS Blog Hop.

Here's our last day of sneak peeks from There She Goes.

Our wonderful Torico has pulled out all the stops on cuteness.

Merry Christ-moose is a 4x8 set that includes a total of 18 stamps and will sell for $18.

Made to go along with the Merry Christ-moose stamp set, Nice Rack has all those sentiments that may be a little bit naughty, but are definitely nice.

Nice Rack is a 3x4 set that includes a total of 7 stamps and will sell for $9. 

Torico has also created a GORGEOUS Nordic Borders set as well, which will add a finished, homey feel to any of your creations. 

Nordic Borders is a 2x6 set that includes a total of 3 stamps and will see for $3. 

     I couldn't wait to color up this super cute moose.

     Would you like to win the new Merry Christ-moose/Nice Rack/ Nordic Borders sets? Here is what you need to do-visit the Trendsetter’s blogs that are participating in each of the blog hop challenges below and comment on their creations as you go. One of the Trendsetter’s blogs (from each hop day) will be randomly chosen as the ‘it’ blog and a winner will be picked using a random number generator from the comments left on that Trendsetter’s Blog Hop Challenge post. 

You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning new stamps! The Blog Hop Challenges will be open until 5 PM Eastern Time Saturday, November 30th with the winner being announced during the release party chat.

Supplies:
Paper--Simple Stories "Handmade Holiday", Bazzill, Copic XPress-it Blending card
Stamps--There She Goes Clear Stamps "Merry Christ-moose
Ink--Memento Tuxedo Black, Rich Cocoa, and Summer Sky, Fired Brick Distress ink, Versamark
Tools--Nestabilities Standard Circles, Martha Stewart Rose Leaf punch
Miscellaneous--Prima poinsettia, Ranger Bridal embossing powder, Kaisercraft pearls, Darice Hemp cord

TSG Sneak Peek #3--Be Merry

It's day #3 of There She Goes sneak peeks.

Today's set is by our very own Danielle Lounds

Be Merry is a 4x8 set that includes a total of 9 stamps and will sell for $18.00.

     This stamp in Danielle's set makes a great focal point for a card.  Had to dress it up pretty with some shiny ribbon and pearls.

     Would you like to win the new Be Merry stamp sets? Here is what you need to do- visit the Trendsetter’s blogs that are participating in each of the blog hop challenges below and comment on their creations as you go. One of the Trendsetter’s blogs (from each hop day) will be randomly chosen as the ‘it’ blog and a winner will be picked using a random number generator from the comments left on that Trendsetter’s Blog Hop Challenge post. 

You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning new stamps! The Blog Hop Challenges will be open until 5 PM Eastern Time Saturday, November 30th with the winner being announced during the release party chat.

TSG Sneak Peek #2--Tis the Season

Day #2 of the sneak peeks from There She Goes.

Our second stamp set is from Wendy Leach our fave sock goblin creator.

Tis the Season is a 6x8 set that includes a total of 12 stamps and will sell for $24.

     I just love these two gorgeous baubles in this set.  I did a bit of a case job on this amazing card by Alice Wertz for the design.
     Would you like to win the new ‘Tis the Season set? Here is what you need to do-visit the Trendsetter’s blogs that are participating in each of the blog hop challenges below and comment on their creations as you go. One of the Trendsetter’s blogs (from each hop day) will be randomly chosen as the ‘it’ blog and a winner will be picked using a random number generator from the comments left on that Trendsetter’s Blog Hop Challenge post. 

     You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning new stamps! The Blog Hop Challenges will be open until 5 PM Eastern Time Saturday, November 30th with the winner being announced during the release party chat.

Supplies:
Paper--Carta Bella "Christmas Day, Georgia Pacific, Copic XPress-it Blending card
Stamps--There She Goes Clear Stamps "Tis the Season"
Ink--Memento Tuxedo Black
Miscellaneous--Gold Stickles, Polymark gold Dimensional paint, Recollections rhinestones

TSG Sneak Peek #1--Dare to Jump

Welcome to Day #1 of the sneak peeks of this month's brand new releases from There She Goes.

First off we have a set by Chaitali called Dare To Jump.

Dare To Jump is a 4x6 set that includes a total of 9 stamps and will sell for $15.00.

     For my card I've used one of the three silhouette stamps and one of the sentiments.

     Would you like to win the new Dare to Jump  stamp set? Here is what you need to do-visit the Trendsetter’s blogs that are participating in each of the blog hop challenges below and comment on their creations as you go. One of the Trendsetter’s blogs (from each hop day) will be randomly chosen as the ‘it’ blog and a winner will be picked using a random number generator from the comments left on that Trendsetter’s Blog Hop Challenge post. 

     You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning new stamps! The Blog Hop Challenges will be open until 5 PM Eastern Time Saturday, November 30th with the winner being announced during the release party chat.

Father Noel

     Oopsie!  I'm running a bit late with this post.  All this week at There She Goes we've been showcasing three of the older sets.  For my card today I've used the wonderful Santa image from the "Season's Greetings" set.  Pretty CAS design but I wanted him to shine.

     Pop on over to the TSG blog to see all the new cards by my fellow Trendsetters.

     I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Cards and More--baby it's cold outside

Sweet Stamps--anything goes

Merry Monday--use a tree with some bling

     Happy Friday!

Supplies:
Paper--Simple Stories "Handmade Holiday", Georgia Pacific, Kraft Outlet Light Kraft, Copic XPress-it Blending card
Stamps--There She Goes Clear Stamps "Season's Greetings"
Ink:

Copics Used:

skin--E000, E00, E11, E13, R20, R30

beard and coat trim--C00, C0, C2

coat--R35, R37, R39, R59

gloves--N3, N5, N7

trees--YG03, YG93, YG95, YG97. E23, E25, E27

stars--Y28

snow--B0000, B000, B21

Tools--Nestabilities Classic Ovals
Miscellaneous--American Crafts Washi Tape, buttons, rhinestones, and pom pom trim from my stash, Diamond Stickles

Warm hearts

     Don't know what's going on this year but I am full fledged into making Christmas cards.  Worked out great that the new challenge this week at There She Goes is "Winter Fun".  This is also There She Goes Again week so we'll be featuring three of the older sets all week long.  This one is called "Wonderful Winter Wishes" and I think it's just adorable.

     I have so little spare time to just play, but I was fairly ahead of schedule with my DT cards and decided to check out one of the sketch challenges that I really like (but hardly ever get to play along with).  This card was based on the current sketch at Seize the Sketch.  I just picked up this American Crafts paper pad on clearance at Marshalls and loved the blue/red/chocolate color combo.

Here's a close up of the huggers.

Copics Used:

skin E000, E00, E11, E13, R20, R30

hair E25, E33, YR20, YR21

boy clothes R37, R39, R59, E31, E33, E35, E51, E71, E74, E79

boy shoes E53, E55, E57, E79

girl clothes BG10, BG11, BG32, BG49, C0, C2, E71, E74, E79

girl shoes E31, E33, E35, E37, E51

     Hope you can pop in and play along with our "Winter Fun" challenge.  Happy Monday!

Supplies:
Paper--American Crafts "Jolly", Bazzill, Georgia Pacific, Copic XPress-it Blending card
Stamps--There She Goes Clear Stamps "Wonderful Wishes"
Tools:  MFT Fishtail Flags Stax, sewing machine, Crop-a-dile
Miscellaneous--brads, glitter, and button from my stash, Kraft Outlet Hang Tag String, Recollections pearls

TSG Stampbook Saturday--Out for a ride

     Today is Stampbook Saturday at There She Goes and my last posting as this weeks Trendsetter.  First off let me say hats off to those of you who know how to photograph 12 x 12 layouts well.  LOL  Lighting and getting the page to lay flat is no easy feat and I failed miserably, but I think you'll be able to pick out the good stuff despite the bad photos.

     For my project I've created a layout using the one and only photo I have of my great grandfather.  The little guy is my grandpa.  I believe this photo must have been taken shortly after my grandpa, his mother, and brother arrived in the US in 1912 from what is now Serbia.  They arrived in New York and traveled to meet great grandpa in St. Louis.

     For my layout I started with a 12 x 12 piece of brown patterned paper.  I then proceeded to add distress ink and Glimmer mist until I felt I had created a vintage look.  I used a brick template and modeling paste to create the brick accents on the sides of the page.  My DP mats were inked and attached with machine stitching in brown.

      The vellum strip was stamped with the TSG "Henna Swirls" stamp set and embossed with gold embossing powder.  Tucked underneath it is a panel of lunchbag kraft paper stamped with the "Journal Lines" set.  I used the "Mixed Media Background Builders" to add some aging effects to the lightest DP panel.  The gears are from the "Get in Gear" set.  I blew them up to the size I needed and then traced and cut them out of grunge board.  They're embossed with distress embossing powder.

     Here's a better close up look so you can see all the details.

     Hope you've enjoyed the projects I've shared this week.  You still have time to play along with my "Thanks/Thanksgiving" challenge.

     Have a wonderful weekend!

Supplies:
Paper--K & Company "Classic K Bailey", The Paper Studio vellum, Kraft Outlet, Lunchbag Kraft, Canvas Corp Fluted Cardboard, Tim Holtz Grunge Board
Stamps:  There She Goes Clear Stamps "Henna Swirls", Journal Lines", "Get In Gear"and "Mixed Media Background Builders"; Michael's alphabet
Ink--Weathered Wood, Walnut Stain, and Old Paper Distress inks, Tattered Leather Glimmer Mist, Walnut Stain Distress Stain; ColorBox Mixed Media ink in White and Leather, Versamark, Memento Rich Cocoa, Versafine Vintage Sepia, Micron Sepia pen
Tools--sewing machine, Want 2 Scrap brick template, Spellbinders Donna Salazar Creative Page Tabs
Miscellaneous--Liquitex Modeling paste, Thickers, Vintage Photo Distress embossing powder, Ranger Antique Gold embossing powder, Tim Holtz paper clip. buttons from my stash, manila tag

Anyone for dominoes?

     Bet you weren't expecting to see something like this on my blog were you.  LOL  Well my duties today as Trendsetter of the week at TSG are to share a project that is Anything But a Card.  I have been itching to try out the altered domino technique so this was the perfect excuse.
     This is a really fun craft.  I don't play with my alcohol inks often but they are so beautiful on these dominoes.
     For this one I used the beautiful rose image in the "You Are Loved" set.  I inked the domino with the alcohol inks first and then stamped the image in Stazon on some tissue paper.  I colored it with Prismacolor pencils and then used some Claudine Helmuth Multi medium to attach it to the domino.  I heat embossed all the sides and slightly on the edges of the front with gold embossing powder.  The whole image was covered in Glossy Accents and then sprinkled with a few gold microbeads.

     This domino was also alcohol inked.  I used Timber Brown Stazon to stamp one of the branch images from the "Give Thanks" set.  I added some Vintage Photo Distress Stickles on the leaves and popped on a couple of pearl flowers from Making Memories.  I attached Scoretape around all the edges of the domino and then covered them in silver microbeads.  I added Silver Stickles around the edge and covered the whole image with Crackle Accents.

     The third domino was inked and stamped with the cat tails image from the "Lucky Duck" set.  Once stamped I used my Copic colorless blender pen to remove the ink from parts of the image.  The sides of this domino were also embossed in gold

     This trio will make some mice magnets for my refrigerator and I imagine they will be getting some more company since this was so much fun.
     Back tomorrow with my final Trendsetter of the week project, Stampbook Saturday.

Wednesday Trends at TSG

I don't know about you but I have tons of paper pad scraps in my collection.  Today I'm sharing a trend and tutorial over at the TSG blog as part of my Trendsetter of the week hosting duties.  Starburst or sunburst patterns on cards and scrapbooking pages are pretty hot right now.  I've used it for this cute pup from the "Puppy Love" set for my card.

The technique may look complicated but is pretty simple and there are several ways you can use in on a card.  Just Google under either starburst or sunburst card and you'll see what I mean.
For my card I started with four 1.5" x 6" strips cut from my leftovers.  Each one of those strip was cut at a diagonal from corner to corner.  You will also need a base for assembling.  Just grab a simple piece of copy paper.  I cut mine a little smaller than A2 size because I knew I was going to  mat it, but if you want it to cover the whole front of your card cut it to that size.

Next you're going to start assembling the pattern.  I knew I was going to be adding a circle to the bottom left corner for my image so I traced the outside of my die so I could make sure everything else was completely covered with the strips.  I used a Two-way Glue pen to add a spot of glue just to help keep my pieces in place until I had them like I wanted them.

You can use whatever kind of adhesive you like.  I'm a liquid glue girl because of the humidity here in the south.  I used my brayer to get a nice smooth attachment.

Once all the pieces were glued down I trimmed the piece to get rid of the excess hangover.

Pop it on your card base and embellish as you want.  I added stitching to all my panels just cause I love to stitch on my cards, but it looks great either way.

     Here are a few challenges I'd like to enter:

Ladybug Crafts Ink TLT--use kraft cardstock

Digi Sketch Challenge--all for the animals

Love to Scrap--anything goes

Make It Monday--anything goes

Make It Monday with Kraft Outlet--use any sketch and KO items

Ooh LaLa Creations--stitching--real or faux

Scrapbook Blessings--sunburst card

The Squirrel and the Fox--animal antics

Hope you have a great Wednesday.  I'll be back Friday with an Anything But a Card project to share.

Supplies:
Paper--My Mind's Eye "Reunion", Bazzill, Kraft Outlet Light Kraft, Copic XPress-it Blending card
Stamps--There She Goes Clear Stamps "Puppy Love" and "Nutmeg"
Ink--Memento Tuxedo Black, Jet Black Archival, Sakura white and silver gel pens

Copics Used:

E21, E23, E25, E27, E93, C4, C6, C8, YG93, YG95

Tools--Nestabilities Standard Circles, Fiskars Circle Cutter, MFT Die-namics Fishtail Stax, sewing machine
Miscellaneous--Wal-mart buttons, Kraft Outlet Hang Tag String