Sunday, May 31, 2009

Sunday's Card Making Frenzy

One of the good thing about spending hours coloring images is that you have lots of precolored images to make cards with. This morning I decided to make a few more cards using those images.

The first 2 cards that I made were using the High Hopes Bradens stamp & sentiment. I colored two images with Prismacolor Pencils & Gamsol and cut one out & popped it up on dimensionals. I inked up the edges & mounted it on Stampin Up Chocolate Chip. I used a pattern paper that I picked up a few months ago & can’t remember the name of it. I also added a button to finish it off.I used the same paper to create the next card using the Craft Lounge “Pat the Good Dog” stamp. I stamped the head twice, colored it with Prismacolor Pencils & Gamsol & popped it up on dimensionals. I took a small piece of the back of the paper and used my new Fiskars “Upper Crest” border punch on it. The sentiment is also from the same stamp set.I found this Basic Grey patterned paper that matched my Whippersnapper Lion perfectly and knew that I had to use it to make a card. Once again he was colored with Prismacolor Pencils & Gamsol. I also used my new Fiskars “Upper Crest” border punch and finished it off with a ribbon. I added Glossy Accents to the crown, nose & his toe nails.The next card I used the Inky Antics “Doris” stamp, colored it with Prismacolor Pencils & Gamsol. I added “Stickles” to the red dots on her dress and her headband. I also used “Shimmerz” on her dress and purse. Then added some “Glossy Accents” to her shoes and bracelets. The pattern paper is one that was sitting in my scrap pile. I added rhinestone brads to the center of the flowers. The sentiment is also from Inky Antics.I had a few scraps leftover from the last card that I made using the High Hopes “Danni Dress Up” image. Again it was colored with my Copic Markers. I also used “Shimmerz” on her dress and “Flocking” on her boa. I love the soft feel of it now. I added some rhinestones to the border which was punched using the Martha Stewart “Doily Lace” border punch. I also added a rhinestone to the flower on her hat. I love how this card turned out.The last card that I made was using a Stampsmith “Wizard of Oz” stamp that I stamped and mounted on SU cardstock. The pattern paper & stamp is from Heidi Grace. I also used the new Fiskars “Effervescence” border punch. I love the Stampsmith photo stamps and really do have to start using them more often.Thanks for looking & have a great day!

Friday, May 29, 2009

New Cards

Awhile ago, I had stamped out a bunch of images to practice coloring with my Copic Markers & my Prismacolor Pencils & Gamsol. The real technique to coloring is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. I still have a long ways to go with my coloring skills but I am happy enough with what I’ve accomplished so far that I don’t mind posting the finished results. Now that I have all these images colored, I’m finally getting around to making some cards with them. (Coloring is so addictive!!)

This first card was made using a House Mouse image & sentiment colored with Copic Markers & a Cuttlebug background.This second card was made using a High Hopes “Danni Dress Up”, I colored her with copics, added flocking to her boa, I also added Shimmerz to her dress & for some added bling I added a rhinestone brad to her hat. I also used my Martha Stewart “Doily Lace” border punch & some Designer Paper from an old mat pack. I love the Shimmerz & it makes her dress is so sparkly.This next card was made using the Whippersnapper Lion image colored with Prismacolor Pencils & Gamsol. I used Glossy Accents on the crown, nose & toe nails. I also used my new Fiskars “Upper Crest” Border Punch & my new Fiskars “All-A-Flutter” Squeeze Punch. The Designer Paper is from an old mat pack.This last card was made using a High Hopes image colored with Prismacolor Pencils & Gamsol. I also used my new Fiskars “Upper Crest” Border Punch & my new Fiskars “All-A-Flutter” Squeeze Punch. The Designer Paper is from an old mat pack.Thanks for looking & have a great day!

House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge #39

Recently I discovered the House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge Blog at http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.com/ and since I have started to acquire quite the collection of House Mouse stamps, I thought that it would be fun to play along. You’ve got to check out all the great cards & join in.

This weeks Challenge #39 is Birthdays. Make a card or project for a birthday boy or girl, or an invitation to a birthday party, anything birthday themed!

This is the perfect challenge since I have two House Mouse birthday stamps. I chose to use the “Dreaming of Jelly Beans” image for this weeks challenge. I colored the image with my Copic Markers & used my Nestabilities. I also used my new Fiskars Effervescense Border Punch, pattern paper from an old mat pack & ribbon from Dollarama.Thanks for looking & have a great day!

Rebecca’s “I’m in the Mood” Challenge

Recently Rebecca (one of the Lead Fiskateers) posted “I’m in the Mood” for a little challenge! I am such a slacker when it comes to birthday cards, but I need to get myself in gear! I'm going to make five birthday cards to have on hand just in case. Who wants to join me?

The rules were to make five birthday cards-they can be different or all the same, but they must be new for this challenge. Use one of your favorite Fiskars tools to make them. Post a picture in your Fiskateer gallery and leave a link on her blog post by 5 pm EST on Thursday, May 28th.

No sweat…yeah right. I always seem to leave my Birthday cards until the last minute. I have had so many family birthday’s this month and am behind on them all. I figured that I’d squeeze in some birthday cards

The first two cards that I made for Rebecca’s challenge were using this adorable dog & birthday cake stamp by Penny Black. I kept this one quite simple and figure that it would make a perfect masculine card. The next card is for my Great Niece Dakota who loves Dora and is celebrating her 3rd birthday next month. I found a Dora coloring page image online and downloaded it. I colored it with my Prismacolor Pencils & Gamsol. I used some sparkly pattern paper from a DCWV mat pack as well as some Dollarama ribbon, a foam letter from Dollarama and a Stampin Up sentiment. Dora is popped up with Dimensionals.The last card I did for the challenge is also one for the House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge. I made 2 cards & I chose to use the “Dreaming of Jelly Beans” image for this weeks challenge. I colored the image with my Copic Markers & used my Nestabilities. I also used my new Fiskars Effervescense Border Punch, pattern paper from an old mat pack & ribbon from Dollarama.For the tool requirement in this challenge, I used my Fiskar cutter and scissors on all the cards & new Effervescense border punch on the House Mouse cards.

Thanks for looking & have a great day!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Plurging…

They tell me that plurging is good for the health. I’m not sure yet but I’ll let you know when it’s all over & done with.

Every 3 years our town has a “Spring Clean Up” where you can take all your bulky items & toss them to the curb. Well….this is our year! We spent all day Sunday cleaning out the garage & our cabin and tossing stuff to the curb. Then Sunday night my son & his friend tossed out my computer chair, couch & loveseat. It’s a good thing I tossed it on Sunday night as our street was cleaned up a day early. Next week the renovations will begin on my apartment.

I’m having my bedroom & upper hallway drywalled & painted. After that’s done we’ll move down into the kitchen and paint and install a laminate floor. Then the livingroom also has to be painted and a laminate floor installed too.

My apartment is so small that it’s really hard to work on around all the furniture. Now that my livingroom is almost empty, it’s the perfect time to renovate. Everything from upstairs has to come down into the livingroom, including my bed this week. I’m hoping to have the work start on Monday but will know for sure either today or tomorrow as the guy doing the work has a previous job that is supposed to start next week & take him about 2 weeks to complete. Sure it would be nice to have that extra time but then it would mean that it would be the middle of July before I can start buying new furniture & have my home back in order.

There is nothing worse than living in a house while it’s being renovated. We did that with our first home that we bought during my marriage. I so hated having everything in shambles all the time. Now I am a lot older & have health issues so it’s a lot harder to deal with the stress and having things in shambles. I already miss not having a couch to sit on as these patio chairs just don’t cut it for comfort.

So needless to say my posting will be rather sporadic over the next month or so as it’s going to be hard to craft while my apartment is being renovated. It’s hard to craft when they are working upstairs next to my studio. I’m hoping that after they are finished with the upstairs that I can empty my studio into the hallway & have it repainted then I can totally reorganize it before putting everything back in it. That’s going to be a huge undertaking packing everything up & reorganizing it.

Well, have a great week & wish me luck that I survive the stress of renovating.

More Thank You Cards for my Sister

I’ve been trying to find time to finish up my sister’s Thank You cards with all that has been going on this week. Yesterday I managed to find a little bit of time to work on finishing them up. I thought that I was done but I realized that I still have 2 more to make and then do the inserts for them. Arghhh!!

For these first two cards I used one of the free stamps that I got from Inkadinkado for sending in 3 cards. I really like this image and thought that it’d be perfect with Flower Soft. I used my Stampin Up Markers to stamp the image and then added the Flower Soft. The edges were inked up & then mounted on Stampin Up Pink Pirouette cardstock. The pattern paper is from one of Stampin Ups Pattern Packs Hostess Level 1. I also used my new Fiskars “Upper Crest” border punch, the CB Polka Dot embossing plate, the Large Stampin Up Oval Punch & the new SU Scalloped Oval Punch. The sentiment is from Inkadinkado. I finished it off with Pink Pirouette ribbon.The second card was done using one of my favorite Stampendous stamps once again coloring it with my Stampin Up Markers and then added glitter. The edges were inked up & then mounted on Stampin Up Pink Pirouette cardstock. The pattern paper is from one of Stampin Ups Pattern Packs Hostess Level 1. I also used my new Fiskars “Apron Lace” border punch, the CB Polka Dot embossing plate, the Large Stampin Up Oval Punch & the new SU Scalloped Oval Punch. The sentiment is from Inkadinkado.Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Off to the Beach

I've had this Inkadinkado stamp for awhile now and finally got around to making a card with it. I just love the little boy & girl images. I colored it with my Prismacolor Pencils & Gamsol and used an old mat pack. TFS!

Cool Stampin Up Cards

A few weeks ago I got together with my upline and a few other ladies in our group and taught them how to make paperbag albums.

Ellen (my upline) also taught us how to make a cute little candy treat holder using the new Stampin Up Sizzix Beautiful Butterflies die #114507. I wasn’t sure whether or not to order this die but after seeing it up close, I’ve added it to my list. It is so pretty with the Urban Garden Designer Paper #112042 that is currently on sale until the end of May. (Buy 3 get 1 Free)Then we made the cutest “Swing Card” using the new “Great Friend” stamp set #113792 & the Raspberry Tart Designer Series Paper. It’s in the Occasions Mini Catalogue that runs from April 1 – June 30th.We also made a “Quilt Card” using the Stampin Up Sizzix Top Note die, the 1 ¼” square punch, oval punch and the new scalloped oval punch. I love the looks of this card.If your interested in any of these cards or products you can contact me. TFS!

A New American Idol

Did you watch last nights American Idol Finale? Talk about an awesome show! The amazing talent that they had lined up….Keith Urban & Kris doing a song, Lil Rounds & Queen Latifa, Queen, Kiss, Lionel Ritchie, Carlos Santana, Fergie & the Black Eyed Peas, Rod Stewart, and Michael Sarver, Megan Joy, and Steve Martin doing bluegrass! Who knew?? Although I must admit I’m not crazy on Megan’s vocals.

It almost felt like a 70’s revival hearing all my favorite 70’s groups – Queen, Kiss (in full costume & makeup), Lionel Richie, Rod Stewart and the amazing guitar talents of Carlos Santa. He is amazing! It was an awesome show!!

I loved the Golden Idol that went to “Bikini Girl” and had to laugh when she was upstaged by Kara’s singing. The look on her face was priceless and how she tried to outsing Kara. She didn’t look too impressed by Kara’s singing or Kara taking the limelight away from her. But then she should be happy that Kara’s singing drowned her out. Too funny! Then of course Tatiana Del Toro ’s little skit even though it was staged. Then of course who doesn’t love Nick "Norman Gentle" Mitchell??

The look on Kris’s face when it was announced that he was the new American Idol was priceless. He was shocked!! I really think he expected Adam to win the title. He even commented that Adam deserves this. Both of these young men are extremely talented and will both go far in their careers. In my opinion they are both rising stars. Congrats to Kris!

So now that American Idol is over what am I going to watch on Tuesday and Wednesday nights??

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

House Mouse Challenge Sketch #38

I love this weeks sketch on the House Mouse Challenge blog at http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.com/. Last week was the first time I participated in their challenges & when I saw this Monday's challenge, I knew I had to play again. I liked the sketch so much that I did 2 cards.

The first card is your standard 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card. I used Stampin Up cardstock and the pattern paper was from an old mat pack. I also used my Martha Stewart Heart border punch and my Marvy scalloped punch. I also added Glossy Accents to the hearts & noses on the House Mouse image.The second card is done the same as the first card only this card measures 5 1/2" x 51/2".TFL! Have a great day!

Adam or Kris??

Who do you pick to be the next American Idol? I think both of these young men are extremely talented and both are very deserving of the title. I had pegged Adam as the winner right from the start. He has an amazing voice and can really hit those high notes. I sometimes think he’s a bit too theatrical and his singing also comes off as screaming sometimes. But boy can he sing Queen songs.

Lately Kris has really come into his own and gained confidence in his abilities. He is also a very talented singer and I can also see him as the next American Idol.

I wish them both luck and as I said, either of them would make a great American Idol. Whether they win or not, both of them are rising stars.

I know I'll be watching tonights season finale. Will you??

Shawn and Mark…

Did you watch last nights finale? I was so thrilled to see that Shawn & Mark Ballas won. I think the expression on Mark’s face was hilarious. He was so stunned & shocked when they announced the winner.

It’s funny how Apolo when giving Shawn a pep talk told her that there has been no Olympian in the finals that hasn’t won the title. Talk about having insight. lol (Kristie Yamaguchi and Apolo Anton Ohno both won on previous seasons.)

Gilles Marini is definitely a talented dancer as is Melissa Rycroft. I was holding out for Mark & Shawn as I thought that it would be nice for someone other than Cheryl to win the title. I’m so glad it was Mark as he is one of my favorite dancers. (Mark also won with Kristie Yamaguchi two seasons ago.)

On a sad note, I heard that Julianne Hough won’t be returning next season as she is going to be concentrating on her musical career. She is another of my favorite dancers but supposedly she’ll be returning to DWTS in early 2010.

So now what will I watch on Monday & Tuesday nights???

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

More Thank You Cards

I’m almost finished the Thank You cards for my sister who recently had surgery. I am trying to make her about 12 assorted Thank You cards for her to give out to friends/family members who brought in meals for them while she is recuperating. I haven’t told her yet that I’m making these cards for her & thought that I’d surprise her with them.

These first few Magnolia cards were created with the images that I purchased at Scrapfest. I colored them with my Copic Markers and used an old mat pack also. The same mat pack was used on all the Magnolia images. This is one of my favorite mat packs, it’s huge and has such a great selection of pattern papers. I love the Magnolia images and there are so many different ways that you can color these.I added a “Thank You” verse to a couple of the cards that I created previously. The first one is the Stampendous Pansy image that I colored with my Prismacolor Pencils & Gamsol. I stamped the “thanks for being you” verse and punched it out using my Stampin Up oval punch and the new Stampin Up Scalloped oval.The butterfly image is one of the free images that I got from Inkadinkado during their gallery promotion where for each card you sent in using one of their images, they sent you a free stamp. (Maximum 3 cards). For this card I also stamped the “thanks for being you” verse and punched it out using my Stampin Up oval punch and the new Stampin Up Scalloped oval. The doodles are all glittered and it is so pretty up close. Since I’m almost done making the Thank You cards, I took a break to play with this new Stampin Up image from the Occasions Mini Catalogue. It’s from the set “Golden Oldies”. I thought that it would be perfect to add to my mother’s cards for her to send out to her friends. I know she’ll love it.I’m still enjoying coloring & playing with my House Mouse images. I’ve been anxious to play with this image and love the little House Mouse “flowers”. For this image I cut the image out & created a flower pot card. I wish I could take credit for the idea but I can't. I saw a card done this way on a blog awhile back. I couldn’t resist this image when I saw it & thought that it would be perfect for spring cards.

Thanks for looking & have a great day!!

Friday, May 15, 2009

House Mouse challenge #37 “Moving”

This week I noticed that the House Mouse Challenge #37 was "Moving". I've been lurking on the site for awhile admiring the cards and checking out the weekly challenges. This week I decided to play along too!

I recently bought this new House Mouse image and thought that it would be perfect for this challenge. This is my first HM challenge. The image was colored with Copics and I added a sentiment from Heidi Grace. I also added 3 black pearls to set it off.
You can check out the House Mouse Challenges here http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.com/

Have a great day! Thanks for looking!

I Found My Mojo!!

It’s funny how things change from one day to the next. I tried on Wednesday to make a few cards and for some reason I couldn’t create a card if my life depended on it. Yesterday I went upstairs and used the same images and managed to create 4 cards.

These first two cards are using the Stampin Up set “Just Buzzin By”. The bees are covered in glitter and really pop. I used a designer paper from an old mat pack that I have. I also used 3 different SU punches.The next card I made is my first Magnolia card. I used some pattern paper from the same mat pack that I used on the Just Buzzin By card as well as some SU ribbon and the MS Valentine border punch. I also used the new SU scallop oval punch and an Inkadinkado sentiment.
Recently my sister had some extensive surgery and now has a 6 week recovery. After being released from the hospital, her 2 daughters had arranged for some family & friends to bring in meals for a couple of weeks. On Wednesday their last meal was brought in. Since I don’t live close, my mother & I took one meal in for them (as well as goodies) and then I also gave her some money so that they could order in a meal also. Anyways, I thought that it would be a nice idea to make up some Thank You cards for her as a gift that she can send out to those that helped them by bringing in meals. This first Magnolia card is one of those “Thank You” cards.

The last card I did is for the House Mouse challenge #37 “Moving”. I recently bought this new House Mouse image and thought that it would be perfect for this challenge. This is my first HM challenge. You can see this card in my next post.

Have a great day! Thanks for looking!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Mother’s Day & Shoe Shopping

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day. Mine was perfect! DS treated me to supper as well as gave me a beautiful card & a prezzie.

Since Mother’s Day was spent with my DS, I had told my mother that I’d take her out shoe shopping (she has been wanting to get out to buy new shoes for awhile now) and lunch yesterday.

The day started out by me giving mom her “card”. I had found this adorable tutorial on SCS on how to make this flowerpot and decided that it was the perfect “card” for my mother. It was pretty easy to make and I love how it turned out. Mom isn’t big on candy but does like mints so I filled it with mints for her. I used all Stampin Up cardstock and my new Sizzix Daisy Die.

Mom wanted to go to a shoe store wear they size your feet & wait on you. I guess she wanted to be treated like “Cinderella”. None of this serve yourself for mom. lol

We left town around 10 am & went in to the nearby city to see if we could find some shoes for mom. Our first stop was Winners and surprising enough we found her a nice pair of Naturalizers walking shoes that fit her perfectly. I surprised her & bought them for her as her Mother’s Day present. After that we got back in the van & drove further down the mall parking lot (it was too far for her & I to walk) so that we were closer to the Naturalizer store entrance. In the Naturalizers store, she managed to find 2 pairs of shoes that she liked. One was a nice lightweight summer shoe and the other one that she could wear with dresses. She ended up buying both pairs and was given a great deal by the sales clerk. I was actually surprised at how quickly she managed to find 3 pairs of shoes that she loved. So in a little more than 2 hrs we were done our shoe shopping & had 3 new pairs to take home.

After our shoe shopping I took mom to Kings Restaurant for their awesome Chinese smorgasbord. The food is fantastic and they have everything to choose from.

We made a couple of other stops after lunch and were back home by 5 pm. It was a very enjoyable day and I’m so glad that mom found what she wanted and is thrilled with her purchases.

Here's a photo of the Flowerpot Basket that I made for her. (Front view)
Side viewThanks for looking & have a great day!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Month End Updates….Better Late than Never!

I’m a little late on doing my month end updates. Surprising enough I am a month behind on doing March’s update. I was surprised to see just how many cards I completed in March. Between the 16 Easter cards that I had to do for my mother and all the House Mouse cards, I ended up doing 46 cards. April started off very slow. I ended up doing more shopping than actual creating. lol I also wasn’t feeling up to creating in April either as I was dealing with some health issues. Hopefully May will be a better month for me.

April 2009 Completed Projects
Cards Created – 5
Layouts Completed – 0
Mini Albums Completed – 0
3D Projects Completed – 0
Punch Art – 8

March 2009 Completed Projects

Cards Created – 46
Layouts Completed – 0
Mini Albums Completed – 0
3D Projects Completed – 4
Punch Art – 0

March 3D Projects - Chicky Clip, Sewing Kit, Bunny basket and Cupcake Basket.

Have a great day!

National Scrapbook Day Baby

National Scrapbook Day is the first Saturday in May. This year my niece Natasha & her husband Greg welcomed a new son into the world Gavin Richard Keith.

I don’t yet have a picture of him but soon he’ll be gracing the pages of my scrapbooks along with Big Brother’s Jeremy & Andrew and Big Sister Jaden.

Congratulations Greg & Natasha!!