this n that

Just a fun friends card I made for a contest, but didn't quite meet the mark. I love it anyhow. The stamp is by inkadinkado. Don't those girls look like they are having fun.

Feeling just a bit sad that I'm not going to CHA this week. It was so much fun last time and I am consoling myself knowing I'll go in winter again. I won't miss the sore feet. I have to tell you that I've never had sore feet like that in my life. If you are stuck home like me, take a peek over at Craft Critique. We have a carnival of sneak peeks up for your viewing pleasure. I've had a ton of fun looking at everything. Maya Road is up there in my faves so far. I'd love to hear if you have any faves. Stay tuned for posting from the floor starting on Friday or Saturday from the Craft Critique team.

I'm teaching my first stamping classes in the next few weeks. There are a couple of samples over there on the right along with links to the shops where I'll be teaching. I'm hoping to teach something new each month. It's been a goal of mine for quite some time. I was out there in blogland reading last month and somebody posted a prompt...."what are you waiting for?" What indeed. So, I set out that day to get it moving. I'm really excited to start teaching again, to adults this time around. What are you waiting for?

yikes...cats

I must admit that I am very allergic to cats and that in general they make me nervous. They seem so unpredictable to me and the claws sort of scare me. So, today when the gothic arch challenge for the week was announced as cats I thought no way can I do this. Then I remembered this dog and cat stamp I picked up used in my treasure hunting. I love the message on it, so I paired it with some patterned paper that I over stamped with a thank you definition and my friend words. They all seem to go together with this image. So, it's a simple arch this week, but really I'm surprised I did it at all.

peace

The gothic arch challenge is patriotic this week. As usual it takes me until the end of the week to finish the arch. I knew it had to include peace and freedom. I happen to think those two words go together and can't stand alone. If you get peace and freedom together, then their friend tolerance joins the group. Just imagine peace, freedom, and tolerance all living in harmony. Now that's my idea of a great country.

Supplies used: glossy white cardstock; alcohol ink; SU peace stamp; date stamp; Inkadinkado swirl stamp;stazon inks; vintage stamps, button, and dictionary definition; making memories flowers; ribbon; CTMH crystals.

faux tiles

This is such a fun new to me technique. It's not hard at all, either. You just score your paper and then distress it with ink to get the tile look. A bit of white pencil in the grout lines is optional, but adds some pop. Then I overstamped with this decorative stamp. It's all distress ink and the card measures 4" x 4". The original directions included using UTEE over the whole thing for a glossy tile look. I skipped that step preferring to have my tiles more of a paver tile look. The cardstock I used on this is some I got at that printers estate sale back in the fall. It has an interesting texture to it that I think adds to the paver look.

mermaid dreams

The Gothic arch challenge this week is mermaids. I was so excited because I thought I still had a mermaid stamp, but drat...I just sold it. I cut out this arch before vacation and then stopped. This morning after a long day of driving home yesterday I set out to finish it. I looked up mermaid in the old dictionary I have set aside for crafting. The answer was in the definition- the body of a woman with the tail of a fish. I have lots of women stamps and a trout stamp. That's how this mermaid came to be. She is a combo of bathing woman and a trout. I think it's fitting since we just got home from an amazing white water rafting trip where I'd like to think I was a graceful bathing woman. In reality I was unceremoniously dumped out of the raft into a very shallow rocky stretch of river. My backside is still a bit sore from the rocks that I landed on. Grace is not my middle name, though I wish it were. The guys caught and released quite a few trout, so the tail fits right in. It was a great vacation and the arch was a fun way to stamp it.

Supplies used: psx trout stamp, inkadinkado woman stamp, rubber stampede map stamp, grungeboard swirl, forest green and black staz-on, halo blue gold lumiere paint, lime green and fruit punch stickles, golden interference oxide green paint, vintage dictionary definition, flower.

inspiration

I think I was the last person in the stamping world to discover Michelle's blog. She shares her beautiful work through the most amazing tutorials. I first followed this tutorial step by step with the same colors and similar stamps. It looked great and I love the little shadow effect thing with the grey marker. Anyhow, I took her idea and made it more my own using different stamps and colors. I just love how this turned out. Thanks for the inspiration Michelle.

Happy Birthday to my sweet Mom today.

supplies used: Distress inks in dried marigold, peeled paint, and walnut stain; Memento ink in cantaloupe; Zig Brushable marker in platinum; Penny Black script stamp; Hero Arts floral stamp; Stampendous paisley stamp.

silly stamp mania

You know it's true, housework does make you ugly. That being said, my craft space is still clean. I actually cleaned up after each project. I must be getting uglier by the minute...LOL! I even cleaned out Kyle's craft supplies and my card stash. I sent of 45 cards to Cards for Heroes and put together some sets of cards for gifts.

The guys got home from fishing last night and added a ton to our freezer. I love that. Poor Kyle's feet are blistered from sunburn. I feel so bad for him. We are going rafting next week on the Kern River. I've got to get him well before then. He can't even wear shoes right now. We are doing motrin, aloe vera, and hydrocortisone cream per the Mayo clinic online recommendations. I also have him resting with his feet elevated because they are so swollen.

stamp-mania

As you can see I have been busy celebrating WSW. These are just a few of the gazillions of things I stamped this week. I think I'm all stamped out. I'm off to hang out and read the new Evanovich book, Fearless Fourteen. It's pure silliness and perfect for a girly night. The guys get back from their end of the school year camping trip tomorrow. Word is that they caught tons of trout and a bit of a sunburn. I'm making banana pudding to welcome them back. I miss those guys.

ps...I forgot to post this earlier. I had my first negative product review up at Craft Critique yesterday.

stamp arch

I've been playing in my clean craft room making a gazillion things for the 2peas WSW challenges. This is my favorite project so far. I've been waiting for the right time to use this funny sentiment by Catslife Press. It just cracks me up. This is the first arch I've made in a long while. It was fun to get back to the arches. All the stamp image stamps I bought from a friend at her yard sale in a bag full of stuff. They needed to come and live here to go with the sentiment.

Only 2 more days of school and they are minimum days. I'm so ready for summer.

playing cards

I made these two cards as samples for my challenge over at 2peas in a bucket. The first one uses all CTMH stamps along with a mini playing card and chip. I distressed the edges and used black soot distress ink on them. The second card is mostly playing cards that I punched out with a variety of punches. The sentiment is by SU. The little crystals are CTMH. I hope you'll play in the challenges.

I adore using found objects in my art. I mean anybody can run off to the store and buy embellishments and printed paper. It makes great projects and I do it too, but I don't feel a sense of accomplishment. It takes vision to make your own backgrounds and re-purpose things into art. I feel like I've really accomplished something when I challenge myself and it feeds my need to create. I'd love to hear what feeds your creative side.

Worldwide Stamping Week

Worldwide stamping week begins this Saturday, June 14th at 2peas in a bucket. If you love to stamp and want some challenges, check it out. Most of the challenges have a random draw RAK attached to them. Post your projects in the 2peas stamping gallery to be in the drawings. The best part is that you have a whole week to play with the themes and it's all free. Check out this link for full descriptions and directions. Here is a short list of the themes so far just to get you excited about all the fun :

1. Anything Goes (use 3 stamps)
2. Asiana (whatever it means to you)
3. ATC: What time is it? (number/clock themed)
4. By the Sea (shells, lighthouses)
5. Celestial (sun, moon, stars)
6. CFH (any of your WSW cards that are being sent to the troops)
7. Doors (door theme)
8. Four Things (use at least a font stamp, image stamp, brad, patterned paper)
9. Get Inspired (inspiration will be posted on the 14th)
10. Hoarders Anonymous (using up stash on other challenges)
11. Into the Wild (animal stamps)
12. Kiss & Tell (‘kiss’ technique)
13. Long Tall Cards (business-envie sized cards)
14. Masterboard (make a stamped masterboard and use it on cards)
15. Mix It Up (use 3 different manufacturer’s stamps)
16. Naked Stamping (Stamps. Paper. You get it.)
17. Non-paper Stamping (Stamp something else!)
18. Opposites Attract (color wheel opposites)
19. Planes, Trains and Automobiles (transporation theme)
20. Playing Card (use a card on your piece-I'm hosting this one)
21. Punch of Color (3color combo)
22. Quilts (use a quilt –yours or a photo of one- as inspiration)
23. Sketch Challenge (to be posted on the 14th)
24. Skulls and Bones (bring out your bones!)
25. Spin the Color Wheel (adjacent colors on the color wheel)
26. Stamped Embellishments (make your own embellies)
27. Stamps as Tools (using stamps in unique ways)
28. Toying with Techniques (try a new-to-you technique)
29. Winged Creatures (bugs, butterflies, birds….pigs)
30. Christmas in June (get started early on your holiday cards)
31. Had to Have It Product Review (had to have it but haven't used it? get it out!)
32 . Calendar Challenge (calendar stamps)
33. Earth-Friendly Challenge (recycling, repurposing, nature)

Check out #20, that's my challenge. Use a playing card somewhere in your stamped project. Cut it out, paint it, stamp on it, do whatever you want to it, just be sure we can tell it started life as a playing card. I'm drawing an RAK for a Penny Black brushstroke stamp and a few other stamping goodies. I hope you'll play along.

brayer fun

Still busy here inking things up with my brayer. I have a review up today at Craft Critique on the subject. When I wrote the article, I assumed everybody has one of these handy tools. Well, we all know what happens when we assume. I thought I'd go into a bit more detail on using one of these nifty tools here.

First of all, don't be afraid of this tool. It's fun to use and cleans up easily with a quick rinse in the sink. I put down some old paper under my project to protect my work surface. One of my favorite ways of recycling is to use an old phone book. Tear off the front page and put your paper to be colored on top of it. Brayer to your heart's content, then tear off the top page and recycle it. You now have a fresh page to work on your next color. Also, while you have your brayer and ink rolling, make a bunch of backgrounds. I usually ink up tons of stuff at once and then have a stack of backgrounds ready to go for later. I tend to make alot of A2 sized cards or arches based on the same size which is 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". Ink up whatever size you work with most or use whole sheets that you can cut down later.

Ok, just how the heck do you actually make a brayer work? Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here are some tutorial links that might help.
~Brayered Sky.
~Bouncing Brayer.
~Video tutorial of Brayered Cuttlebug Ink Embossing.
~Crayon Resist.
~Brayer resource thread with links to samples, ideas, and techniques.

I'm certain that there are more video tutorials out there showing a brayer in use, but I just can't seem to find more right now. If you know of any, please share the link and I'll add it to the list. For now, here's another card I made using my trusty brayer and the plastic wrap technique.



I hope you are getting some crafty fun time this week.

I'm still here

I haven't been posting much lately because I haven't been creating much. I thought I had a toothache a few weeks ago so went to the dentist who referred me to the endodontist who then referred me to my medical doctor. Of course all this referring takes alot of time while I'm still here with headaches and just generally not feeling myself. It turns out that I have a sinus infection which is really no big deal once you know it. I have some medicine and it's starting to work. Finally.

Guess who showed up yesterday...my muse. She is a finicky one. She doesn't come around when I'm sick, tired, stressed, or when the weather isn't just right. She also needs some chocolate, so I fed her raisinettes. She loves them because the raisins are good for you so she can justify the chocolate. I bought her a book last week that I found used at the library. It is a treasure of a book by Suze Weinberg called The Art of Rubber Stamping. If you love making backgrounds or are a technique addict, this one is worth the money. I love looking at techniques online, but have difficulty remembering them when I'm trying to re-create the look. I really love to snuggle up in my favorite chair and soak up a great book. This one delivers.

Ok, now I have one more thing to share with you that absolutely made my week. I got a phone call last night from NBC Studios...that's what my caller id showed. Hmmmm, maybe it's about those tickets we requested to see a show being taped. You see I have this favorite show that never fails to make me laugh. It is a show I watch with my son when we can. There is never anything negative on this show even though it comes on when all those ugly talk shows are on in the afternoon. I love to watch uplifting things. I think real life has enough negativity in it, so I don't invite that into my home. Mom and I are attending this one on May 8th. Sounds like a great way to start Mother's Day weekend. Can you guess who we are going to see?

grungeboard continued

This is what happened to all those swirls I experimented with for my craft critique article. I used them on these tags for a swap I'm in to give our lovely hostess Jan some ideas before she takes her big cruise with tim holtz in alaska. It was a fun experiment. I used some vintage manilla tags for the base that I stamped with one of the new ATC stamps by tim for Stampers Anonymous using kaliedacolor fresh green ink. The flowers are all diecut here on my handy little cuttlebug and then colored with everything I could imagine. You'll see stickles and embossing powder used as well as lots of brilliance ink. The brads are from my stash. TFL

easter eggs, grungeboard, mom, and a new baby girl

What the heck do these things have to do with each other? Not a single thing except they are all things happening in my life right now. I'll start with mom who is raring to get out in the world now that she is finally feeling better. We went out to breakfast yesterday and did a little treasure hunting at our two favorite thrift shops. I've been waiting months to take her out to play. I'm so thankful that she is feeling well enough to go out for a couple of hours. We parked close and moved slow, but we did it. Then when I got home I got a call from my cousin telling me we have a beautiful new baby girl in the family. She does not yet have a name because her parents are getting to know her first before they name her. I think that is so wonderful. Her big brother wanted to know who was bringing the cake to the birthing day party. How adorable is he? So his meemaw went to the bakery and got a cake. Awwww.

This is the easter egg part of the story. I was inspired by my talented friend Jennifer's card that she sent me. I used her idea of silver embossing and painting on my egg basket for this card that I'm swapping with my card group this morning.
Supplies: Northwoods rubber stamp image, silver detail embossing powder, twinkling H2O's, K&Co pink patterned paper, Cloud9 green patterned paper, SU green & white CS, ticket punch, corner rounder, and pink ribbon.

And finally, the grungeboard. I did a review of this product today on craft critique if you'd like to take a peek.

Elvis is in the building

I rarely get so excited about the newest stamps that I buy them on the release day. There is a first time for everything. I ordered my new Elvis stamp from CHF on Friday and it was delivered today. I love this image of the young sexy Elvis who held so much promise.

I had to get this stamp for my mom. You know she's had such a rough time lately that I just knew when I saw these stamps they would bring a smile to her face. She was in love with Elvis with all the other young girls of her generation. She loved to dance to his songs and won lots of dance contests. So, I made her this card today that I will take to her in the morning when we have our weekly day together while Dad golfs. Who knows maybe we will dance in the kitchen like we did when I was little. That was so much fun!

My mom rocks. She has been winning a war against a little spore that tried to take over and ruin everything. It isn't winning, she is. I'm so proud of her for not giving up even when it didn't feel like there was much hope. She is my hero, and I can't wait to give her this fun card.

supplies used: cornish heritage farms Elvis Stamp and backgrounder dots, studio g sentiment, black versafine ink, top boss ink, sparkly no name embossing powder, pale pink marker, pink, white, and black cardstock. I used the bind it all to cut the square holes in the black paper.

happy monday

What a fun busy weekend we had around here. I probably haven't told you this, but I usually have 3-4 day weekends. My sweet hubby works 12 hour shifts, so has a nice amount of time off. This was a long weekend for us. We got our taxes done and had a lunch date. We bought some new chairs....hurry up brown suited santa (UPS man). I learned how to make soap from my wonderful neighbor. We had our first BBQ of the year after hubby finished shoveling the remnants of snow from the deck. He made these amazing burgers with blue cheese on top and then a mixture of carmelized onions, apples, and pears. Yummy! I saw all my neighbors on our walks this weekend. I'm such a hermit in the winter that I don't know what is happening outside. It was nice to get caught up with everyone. I'm so sad that 2 of my favorite neighbors are moving over the next couple of months. I'm trying to look at it as an opportunity to get more great neighbors. I went to a demo training for fiskars and played with all sorts of new tools. I'm officially a Fiskar's Demonstrator now, I have a certificate and name badge to prove it. It was a wonderful weekend filled with laughter, fun, and good food. It doesn't get any better than that.


This is a card I made for a technique swap using the spirelli technique. That's the part where the glittery thread is wrapped around the scallop punch. I loved wrapping the thread in different ways to see what would happen. It reminds me of playing with a spirograph toy.
supplies used: SU, CTMH, and Stampendous stamps; Kaliedacolor fresh greens inkpad, Versafine imperial purple inkpad, green rickrack, purple grosgrain ribbon, purple glittery thread, giga oval scallop punch, prima flower, lime green stickles, white cardstock.

teabags and women

This is one of my favorite Eleanor Roosevelt quotes. I had many of my friends in mind when I made this card. My aunt told me once that there is nothing so bad in life that some small good doesn't come from it eventually. I've always found it to be true and it carries me through the rough times. So, my friends, even if the going is tough, don't forget to stop and enjoy a cup of tea every once in a while.

a bit of ink on my hands

I love playing with inkpads. I really only thought about using photo type stamps with black and brown until I made one with red in a make and take. I loved it, so I played with blue today and it worked. Nothing fancy about these cards, just basic stamping on glossy cardstock with lots of layering. I'm amazed by how much these images look like photos.

image by Art Declassified, stamped with Nick Bantock prussian blue.

image by Art Declassified, stamped with Brilliance sky blue ink.

Tyvek

I'm having fun playing with a new kind of background paper. This is made from Tyvek which is that really tough nearly indestructible paper that you see envelope mailers made from. If you haven't seen this stuff yet, check out the express mail envelopes the next time you are at the post office. It has a really wonderful texture to it. I brayered a ton of this stuff with ink today, so you will probably be seeing a whole parade of cards made with it. I'm thinking this will be the card I teach next week at our stamp club. Not sure if you can tell, but the clock face with the brad in the middle is stamped on transparency and cut out. The rest is stamped directly on the tyvek background. Check out this link if you'd like to play in Embee's tyvek challenge, too.

Supplies used: CTMH stamps, staz-on ink, transparency, tyvek, brayer, vintage twill tape, black brad, kaliedacolor autumn leaves spectrum stamp pad, antique linen distress ink.