Mojo Monday #49

I decided to try out the Mojo Monday sketch challenge hosted by Julee of Verve stamps on her blog, Poetic Artistry. I don't do sketch challenges very often as I find needing to work off a particular layout tends to block my creativity and I spend way longer on a card than I would if I was just designing from scratch, but I really liked this sketch and had an idea for it almost immediately. (Though I have to admit that it still took me 2+ hours to finish this card. I could decide what colors I liked best for the flowers and kept trying out different color combinations...)

As I mentioned previously, I was one of the lucky winners of Beautiful You at the Verve anniversary party. My set arrived yesterday (THANK YOU, JULEE!!!), so of course I had to use the flower from it for this sketch. The sentiment is from another Verve stamp set, Feeling Groovy.

For the center panel, I stamp the flower in the center, and then stamped it again in each corner. The petals were colored in with Copic markers (I used R89 and RV10.). I then cut out the center flower, covered the RV10 with pink stickles and set it aside to dry. The two sides were matted onto a piece of black cs, with extra room in the middle so that when I put the flower back in the center (using a pop dot) it left a nice black boarder around it.

I did a lot of embossing with my cuttlebug for this card. The small white dots at the top are the Swiss Dots folder, the large at the bottom are the new Just My Type folder, and the red was done using the Birds and Swirls folder. I didn't have red cs that was an exact match for the color I used in the image, so I sponged some Purely Pomegranate ink onto the red after it went through the cuttlebug to darken it up a bit.

After the card was assembled, I decided it need just a little something more, so I went digging through my cross stitch supplies. I found pretty little beads from Mill Hill, and used them for the center of the flower, and to make little berries on the red cs.

This was actually a very frustrating card to photograph. For some reason, the pink is coming out much darker than it is in real life, and the red isn't as vibrant. *sigh*

office birthday

I think I have mentioned before that I am the official birthday card maker for my office. We have 2 birthdays in August, so I've been a busy girl. You can see the August birthday girl's card in the previous post. I also needed a card for the August birthday boy, and as you all know, guy cards are some of the hardest to make. What do you think of mine?

The birthday boy in question loves animals. He has multiple cats, a dog, a snake, fish, and I forget what else, but trust me, he has a lot of pets. I thought Attitudy Cats from Stamping Bella would make a purrfect card for him. The cats bring to mind his pets, but could also be his office mates wishing him a happy birthday. Do you like their hats? I let you in on a little secret... they were originally Christmas trees from the retired SU set, Crazy for Christmas.

The cats were colored with an aquapainter and SU's watercolor crayons, and the hats used the aquapainter with some ink picked up from the lids of the new SU in colors. The image was then layered on SU Kiwi Kiss and Pacific Point. The embossing is a piece of SU Baja Breeze which was ran through my Cuttlebug. The speckled background was created with the SU color spritzer tool and markers.

For the sentiment, I used a stamp from Vivas Las Vegas Stamps. I masked off the "It's your birthday!" for the front, and then used the rest of the sentiment for the inside of the card. I forgot to take a picture of the inside, but the rest of the sentiment says: "Demand attention. Expect to be waited on. Don't do anything you don't want to do. In other words, party like a cat!" LOL! Gotta love it!

Tier of Treats

Mmmm. Looking at this card makes me want to go to the local bakery for something scrumptious! Too bad it is late, and the bakery is closed, eh?
I just love this image - Tier of Treats from Stampendous. I don't actually own the stamp (hint, hint, birthday fairy...) but was lucky enough to get some stamped images from the PIF Image thread on SCS. Check it out if you haven't already, though I will warn you, it will expose you to all kinds of new stamps that you will then want to own! LOL!
I used an aquapainter with my SU Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, and Kiwi Kiss ink pads to color in the image. The platters and stand wire were colored in with a stardust gellyroll pen to give it that metallic sheen. I used liquid applique on the treats to make frosting. I only own white liquid applique, so I mixed a little ink into it while it was still wet to get the pink and brown frosting. Once it was dry, I added some stickles to the frosting and the cherries for a little sparkle.
The card stock is SU Chocolate Chip and Pink Pirouette (my new favorite). The pretty ribbon is from Papertrey Ink, and almost perfectly matches the SU Pink Pirouette paper. The white was embossed using the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder. I've been giving it a work out since it arrived! I think it is my new favorite!

Thank you!!!

My new blogging friend Kristina has given me the BFF Gold Card blogging award! Thank you so much, Kristina! I am very flattered! Kristina has wonderful cards and projects on her blog and is making me drool over those adorable Magnolia stamps!

The rules of this award:
1. Only 5 people allowed.
2. 4 have to be dedicated followers of your blog
3. One has to be someone new or recently new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
4. You must link back to whoever gave you the award, quite simple really it is a way of saying thank you to those who take time out for wonderful comments to boost your day.
Hmmm... Now who to pick?

Lorie and Dani are always the first to leave me nice comments.

Courtney leaves me sweet comments and makes me laugh when I read her blog.

Sarah is an inspiration, and always has something nice to say.

Catherine is new to my blog, lives on the opposite coast from me, and has wowser projects on her blog.

Please take the time to visit the blogs of these fabulous ladies and leave them a nice comment because they take the time to leave comments for me! Thank you so much ladies! Happy Stamping!

3 little DReaMs September sneak peek #4

For today's sneak peek, I made a matching folder to hold all of the cards I have been making with my 3 little DReaMs September kit. Isn't it a cute way to package some pretty cards to give as a gift for that special someone?


These are really easy to make. You need a 8.5 x 11 piece of sturdy cardstock (I used the Bazzil orange peel that came with my kit. It is such a nice weight!) You score it at 6" and 6.25" from the top (so your score lines go the long way), then at 5-3/8" from each end (leaving 1/4" in the middle, which is your spine.). Using scissors, cut out the part of the spine that falls below the 6" score line. and then angle each of your flaps so they look like the flaps in the photo ------>


Now you are ready to decorate the front!

If you look at the large view of the front of the folder, you can see that the chickadee appears to actually be sitting on top of the branch. Neat, huh? I stamped this little guy twice, carefully cut out one of the images and popped him up with pop dots at the head and a glue dot at the tail to make him "sit" on the branch.

There are several different ways you can attach the ribbon (or you can leave it off if you prefer). With the folder folded, (gee, that sounds funny!) I punched through all the cardstock with my crop-a-dile, and threaded my ribbon through the holes. I used some glue dots under the ribbon on each side to hold it in place when the folder is open. (LOVE my glue dots!)

*Note* You can adjust the size of the folder to fit different sizes of cards by simply lengthening or shortening the distance between score lines. The folder I made will hold 4 cards and envelopes, but you could easily make it hold more cards by moving the 6.25" score line down a bit. Clear as mud?

I hope you have enjoyed all the sneak peeks! I should have one more for you over the weekend. Katie, Queen of 3 little DReaMs, has challenged the design team to make something out of the plastic container that our brads came in. I'm still pondering over what I want to make, but I think it might involve chocolate! LOL! Check back later to find out!

All paper, stamps, bling, etc are from the 3 little DReams September SNS kit. Coloring mediums are copics, SU inks and watercolor crayons. Scalloped oval is from Nestabilities.

Just a little fun...

*Disclaimer* I really need to get some sleep and am feeling a bit silly. Read at your own risk...

Need another reason to purchase a kit from 3 little DReaMs? Well, let me just tell you, these kits have many uses, even some that I bet you haven't thought of yet. Are you ready to see why you need a kit? Then keep scrolling... (warning, no crafting involved, skip to the next post if that scares you!)

















Okay. Now that you have scrolled down so I don't scare the faint at heart, this is why you need a kit: It makes a GREAT cat toy! Seriously! Get yourself a kit NOW and your kitty will be happy as can be playing with the contents of the shipping container. LOL!


I don't know about you, but my girl kitty is a crafter at heart, and she just LOVES to "help" Meowmy on the craft table. "Helping" of course, usually involves stealing my bling, eating my card stock, and walking across an almost finished project with inky paws.


Well, my 3 little DReaMs kit solved this problem! My kitty has been entertained for DAYS now. Wanna see?






Now I have to tell you, my girl kitty is named Emmalee, Miss. Em for short, so of course she prefers the Stamping Bella kit. In fact, she just won't leave it alone.
As you can see above, she already has the paper backing from Globetrotabella, and is checking the box to make sure she didn't miss anything.

Oops! Looks like there must have been more Bella goodies in the box!

Yup! Looks like she found the paper backing for the Bella sentiment from the August kit, and is preparing to bite it.

Miss. Em got tuckered out from batting her Bella goodies all over the house, and jumping in and out of the box, so she took her favorite Bella goodie to the sofa for a nap. Isn't she cute?

I kid you not. My 3 little DReaMs kit arrived on Saturday, and Emmalee hasn't tired of playing with it yet. And let me tell you, for someone with a talkative, demanding Siamese, anything that keeps her busy is a GOOD thing!

Okay. I am done with the silliness. Back to our regularly scheduled crafting...

3 little DReaMs September sneak peek #3

Here's a quick and easy card that showcases the pretty designer paper that comes in the 3 little DReaMs September SNS kit. All supplies except for the stickles and the SU chocolate chip ink that the sentiment is stamped in are from my September kit.

I've got a lovely headache tonight, so I'm afraid this will be a very short post. Make sure to check back tomorrow for the reveal of my 3-d project using the September kit.

Happy Birthday Tim!

I thought I would share the card I made for my brother-in-law's birthday. I kept it rather simple since it is for a guy and for some reason they don't seem to care for all the glitter and such that we women seem to like. LOL!
I combined cakeabella with the fella from babyfellabella so it looks like my husband and I are presenting the birthday cake. (even though the bellas look nothing like us, of course) I think Em needs to come out with a *ahem* plump bella, and a *ahem* plump fella (with a beard and ponytail), how about you?
On to the details: The images were colored in with copics, all paper is from my scrap pile, and the pretty brads are from my 3 little DReaMs kit. Oh, yes, and the brown paper was embossed with the Cuttlebug birthday folder.
I seriously doubt my brother-in-law actually reads my blog, but just in case...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIM!!!

3 little DReaMs September sneak peek #2

Ready for another sneak peek at the 3 little DReaMs September SNS kit? Well then, you're in luck!


This is the second of the 3 Bo Bunny designer paper that comes in the kit. Isn't it just gorgeous?!? I think this one is my favorite of the three, but then, I'm a sucker for swirls! LOL!
The creamy colored flowers on the paper were originally white, which totally did not go with my ivory card base, so I used the Antique Linen distress pad and sponge daubers to make them coordinate. I added stickles on all of the green swirls (click the image for a larger view) before gluing that piece to the ivory card base that comes in the kit. The camera didn't pick up just how sparkly this is, but trust me, in real life it is just so pretty! The green piece going across the card is the opposite side of the designer paper. Isn't that handy? The three ivory brads are also in the kit, and I covered them with stickles for added sparkle (you can NEVER have enough sparkle, right ladies?). The sentiment was inked up in SU Old Olive, and then I went over "sing" and "a song" with a SU Not Quite Navy marker before stamping to make them stand out. The chickadee was inked up in SU creamy caramel and stamped off on scrap paper before being stamped over the sentiment. This was layered on a piece of SU Blue Bayou cut out with the scalloped Nestabilities, and then popped up on pop dots.

*Note for fellow SU ink & cardstock addicts: This gorgeous designer paper coordinates with SU's Not Quite Navy, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Old Olive, and Baja Breeze. Just imagine all of the fun projects you can make with the 2 sheets that come in your kit!

Did you order your kit yet? No?!? Well, what are you waiting for? The pre-order ends September 15th, and trust me, the few extras sell out FAST after that point!

I'll be posting another sneak peak tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Woot!

OMG! I am so excited and just had to share! I won this amazing stamp set from Verve Stamps last night at their Anniversary Party! (Click on the image for a better view.)Isn't it fabulous? I just love the quotes, and that flower is gorgeous! Julee at Verve Stamps is so generous! She gave away a set of Beautiful You to 12 lucky winners! I can't believe I was one of them! Thank you Julee!!!
Be sure to check out Verve Stamps and take a gander at their new releases! It is a good thing my birthday is coming up, because I have quite the wish list!

Stay tuned, because I will be posting another sneak peek of the September 3 little DReaMs kit later today...

3 Little DReaMs sketch challenge

The 3 Little DReaMs Dream Team will be hosting a challenge each Friday. I've been so busy with a baby shower, birthday, and playing with my new niece, that I missed out on the first challenge, but here is the one for this week (Yes, I know I am a day late! LOL!).

Dream Team member Dani Marcus will be doing our August challenges, and came up with this sketch for us to play with:

If you have a 3 Little DReaMs kit, please make sure to use it. We want to see what you make with the kits! If you don't have a 3 Little DReaMs kit, we are asking that you please use either Stamping Bella or Sweet n' Sassy Stamps on your creation. You can upload them to our yahoo group, or to SCS (with keyword 3LDAUG) for a chance to win something from Katie at the end of the month. Make sure to participate in each weekly challenge for more chances to win!

Want a sneak peek at one of the September kits? You're in luck because I used the September Sweet N Sassy stamps kit for my take on the challenge. Make sure to order one for yourself before they sell out!

99% of this card is made with the contents of the September kit and add on, and I still have a ton of materials left! I have to tell you I am drooling over the seal brown satin ribbon that came with the kit! It is just so yummy! (can you tell I like ribbon?) I had fun playing with the Tim Holtz antique linen distress ink pad and sponge daubers(the add on for the month). I've never used distress ink before, and was really impressed with the effect. It went on nice and smooth without the lines you sometimes get with regular ink pads. Click here for more things you can do with this versatile ink.
The chickadee was colored using SU watercolor crayons, and then I went over the wings and tail with a clear sakura gelly roll pen to give them that nice sheen you'd see on actual feathers. Click on the image if you'd like a larger view.
Stay tuned for more projects using the September kit!