Quick and Easy Christmas

I'm trying to get a  head start on my holiday cards this year, so I've decided to try to play along with the ABC Christmas Challenge to help get me motivated. I don't know about you, but I find it awfully hard to get to work on Christmas cards when the heat makes me want to spend some quality time in the pool! LOL.

This weeks challenge is Q for Quick and Easy, so I decided to pull out one of my favorite holiday sets, SU's Snowflakes. I must admit, I've gotten a bit out of practice with quick cards, since most of the images I've been using lately require quite a bit of coloring, so this was a nice change for me.

I wanted a bit of depth to my snowflake, so I started out by inking the whole flake with Bashful Blue ink, then rocked on some Brocade Blue ink, and finished off the edges by rocking on some Night of Navy ink. I added a bit of sparkle with Star Dust Stickles (I finally got a bottle, yeah!!!) and added a pearl to the center for my final touch. You can't really tell from the photo, but I also outlined the swirls on the paper with a clear spica pen, so this card sparkles like crazy in real life.

Thanks for stopping by!

male birthday cards...

See - I told you I had itchy fingers and would be posting projects more often! August is a busy card month for me, with 4 birthdays and 2 anniversaries to make cards for, so I thought I'd better get cracking!

I decided to start with my guy cards since they are always the hardest to come up with. I saved this great card by Michelle Short months ago with the intention of CASEing it at some point, and thought the simple but fun layout would be perfect for a guy card. In fact, I liked the first one so much that I made a second one (slightly different) out of my scraps.

For my first one, I used the cake from SU's Fun & Fast Notes set, with coordinating sentiment. The image was colored with copic markers, and has diamond Stickles added to the frosting and flames for a bit of sparkle.

For the second card, I dug out one of my favorite SU sets, Send a Celebration. This was one of the very first SU sets I ever purchased (Yes, purchased. My introduction to SU came right after SAB that year, and I had to find this baby on e-bay. The horror! LOL!) and it still remains a favorite.

Thanks for stopping by!

Something Charming...

Are you ready for another challenge with Stamp Something? This week we are being sponsored by Bunny Zoe's Crafts, and are challenging you to make... Something with a Charm (your choice of store bought or homemade).

A dear friend's father passed away last week, so I made a sympathy card for him and his mother using SU's Thoughts & Prayers. Ed, my friend's father, was very much a nature lover, and could often be found out puttering in his gorgeous garden, so I thought a nature theme would be appropriate for the card.

I inked the tree up with a SU Basic Brown ink pad, stamped it on to my cardstock, and then colored over the leaves with Smooch in Green Apple. The leaves shimmer like crazy, which made the wood look a little dull, so I went over the brown with a Chocolate Spica pen for some added sparkle. I created a sky and some grass by using a piece of sponge to daub on some SU Soft Sky and SU True Thyme ink.

I found a pack of leaf-shaped gems in my stash and tied some copper cord around the stem to turn it into a charm. I thought it went perfectly with the rest of the card. Sorry for the lousy photo. I forgot to take a close-up of the charm, and the card is already in the mail.

Thanks for stopping by!

Funny Somethings...

Happy Friday! Are you ready for another challenge with Stamp Something? This week we are challenging you to stamp something funny or something that makes you giggle in honor of our sponsor, Sunshine and Giggles Stamps.

For my card, I used the adorable "Molly in a box" stamp by Wild Rose Studio. This image makes me giggle because it reminds me of my kitty, Emmalee. Emmalee LOVES boxes. It doesn't matter what kind of box it is, she's all over it. She gets so excited when we get packages, because it means she gets a new BOX!!!! to play in.

Looking cute in PawPaw's box from a class project...

 

 

All tuckered out after "helping" open holiday gifts...

 

And the ever undignified, "I know there's a mousie in here somewhere!!!" LOL! Yes, Emmalee loves her boxes!

Molly in a box is supposed to be a Christmas image, but she's so cute, I couldn't leave her on a shelf for most of the year. To make her into a birthday kitty, I added the party hat and mouse from the SU set "Here, Kitty Kitty" and the balloons are a Studio G stamp (stamped repeatedly). All of the images were colored with copic markers, and have sparkle added with a Sakura Stardust pen (LOVE that pen!).

Copic Markers used:

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to head on over to the Stamp Something challenge blog for some giggles from the rest of the design team!

Stamp Something Blue & White Challenge

Happy Friday! I don't know about you, but I am looking forward to having a long weekend! Here's hoping you are lucky enough to have Monday off too!

Are you ready for another Stamp Something challenge? This week, we're being sponsored by Whimsy Stamps, and are challenging you to make a project using Blue and White. Easy, right?

My cousin gave birth to her second child right after Christmas, so I thought it was about time I sent her a card to welcome baby Ethan to the family. I adore the SU set, Bundle of Joy, but hardly ever get to use it, so I decided to dust it off for baby Ethan's card. Think she'll like it?

The cute little giraffe and stars were colored with copic markers (B21, B23, B000), and accented with a Sakura Stardust pen. I stamped a few extra stars, cut them out, and popped them up on glue dots for a fun accent. The pretty fuzzy yarn was a Dollar Tree find a few years back. It's super-sparkly in real life and almost didn't make it on the card because my cat thought it looked like a wonderful new playtoy! LOL!

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to pop on over the the Stamp Something blog to see what the rest of the design team has in store for you. And don't forget to add a link to your project in Mr. Linky if you decide to play along.

MDCC29 - sketch challenge

This Thursday's challenge on the Mothers & Daughters Creations challenge blog is a sketch challenge. If you'd like to play along, make a card with this sketch, and post a link to your project on this post on the M&DC challenge blog. If uploading to PCP or SCS, please use keyword MDCC29 to make it easier to find your project.

We've been getting hit with snow storm after snow storm, so I decided to cheer myself up by making a card with spring colors.


I used the adorable Penguin Chick by Imaginisce, and colored her in with SU markers. The pretty dp is both sides of the double sided Perfect Harmony - Lizzie by Daisy Bucket. I added a matching apricot silk flower by Zva Creative for a final touch.

Happy Birthday Jim!

Today is my BIL's birthday. I don't own very many "guy" stamps, so I went digging through my box of pre-stamped images looking for something appropriate. Lucky for me, my BIL loves all things related to the great outdoors, so I didn't have to search too long before I found this image from the retired SU set, The Angler. I borrowed the set from a friend a few years ago and stamped off some extra images. Even better, I found a pile of background papers I had made using the bleaching technique and the fish stamp from the set. Was I planning a head, or what? LOL!

The image was watercolored with SU watercolor crayons and an aquapainter. I didn't have an appropriate sentiment, so it is written by hand with a fine tipped artists pen (mine is a Pigma Micron 005). If you don't have one of these, I highly recommend getting one. I use mine so much, I've just about worn the tip off!

Sorry for the short post tonight. I am tired and still need to pick up the house a bit since we have company coming tomorrow. Be sure to check back tomorrow for a super girly card. :)

Happy New Year!

Ok, so it's not quite midnight on the east coast, but I thought I would share a card while the final hours of 2008 tick by. I made this card for DH and just set it on the sofa for him to find. He's currently down in his lair, otherwise know as his music room, playing keyboard, and will probably need prompting to come up for air later. He's as bad with his music as I am with my stamps! LOL! We have a "date" for baked brie and chocolate martini's while watching the ball drop, and I have to tell you, I am tempted to start a little early on the martini's. I'm not usually much of a drinker, but Godiva Chocolate Liqueur is yummy!


Back to the card... I used Tilda and Edwin under the Mistletoe for my image. It is actually two stamps - I cut each one out after coloring them with copic markers, and nestled them together so they could get a smooch in while the ball drops. I used the SU Bigz Top Note die to make a spot for them to sit, and the Sizzlits Scribbles Swirls die for the flourishes. *Note that I was able to use both dies in my Cuttlebug.* Santa forgot to put the Nestabilities Labels set under the tree for me this year, so I improvised by using the SU tab punch to mimic the Top Note die for the "Happy New Year" tag. I finished off the card with a few silver dew drops, and some yummy sheer silver ribbon that I found at Big Lots ($1 for 20 yards!!!).

Here's hoping you and yours have a safe and prosperous new year!

Non-traditional holiday card...

I've had this gorgeous purple fiber for ages and have been dying to use it on a card, so I went digging through my paper stash today to try to find something that would coordinate. The lavender in my Boho Chic paper pack by Making Memories was a good fit, so this is what I based my card colors around.

I have a friend who loves anything purple, so I decided to make a holiday card for her using Tilda with Wine and Basket. She also LOVES her wine, so this will be the perfect card for her! Tee hee!

I heard about a new coloring technique called "drunken watercoloring" and decided to give it a try. You can read all about the technique at Jody Morrow's blog, Confessions of a Ribbon Addict, but basically what it boils down to is using rubbing alcohol instead of water in your aquapainter and using it to "watercolor" with SU reinkers. Neat, huh? Jody developed the technique and has a nice comparison of alcohol vs. water in the link above.

I used reinkers in SU Pale Plum, Baja Breeze and Wild Wasabi for the drunken watercolor technique, and then colored the rest of the image in with copic markers. I added white gel pen for accent, and a bit of SU Crystal Effects on the wine bottle to make it look like glass. I used oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities to cut out the white and Wild Wasabi layers, and sponged the white with Baja Breeze ink for a soft look. Tilda was cut out with my paper snips, and glued onto the layered piece.

Airbrushing the inexpensive way...

Have you noticed that lately a lot of cards you see on SCS and various blogs use the Copic Airbrush System? Well, I have, and it makes me really want one. However, I have 2 problems: 1. most of my Copics are of the Ciao variety, which doesn't work with the Airbrush System, and 2. buying the system isn't really in my budget right now. So what's a girl to do? Experiment, of course!

I've had the SU Color Spritzer Tool for some time now, and I got thinking... Hmmm... I wonder if it would work with Copic markers? After all, all the Copic Airbrush System does is force air through the marker tip to get the nice spray of color. Isn't it the same principal as the Color Spritzer, just fancier and more expensive?

Well ladies, I am here to tell you that yes, you can use your Copic markers with the SU Color Spritzer Tool. Now, your Copic barrel is too big to actually fit into the marker slot on the Color Spritzer tool, so you are going to have to hold the marker tip to the spray nozzle (use both hands). You can use either tip, but the Color Spritzer tool has a little notch in the tip of the nozzle that is perfect for resting the edge of the chisel tip end of your marker on. *Note: make sure to wipe the tip between colors or you will transfer the previous color to the new marker. I know this isn't a big deal with Copic markers, but you probably wouldn't be happy with getting Copic ink on your SU markers.

Here you can see the result. I used B32 for the edge, and then Y11 in the center. If you click on the photo to make it bigger, you can see that the spray of color isn't as fine as what you can achieve with the Copic Airbrush System, but for the price, I'm not going to complain. On the finished card, I wanted a slightly softer look, so I went over the airbrushed area with my colorless blender to tone it down a bit.

The layout for this card was CASED from this gorgeous card by Jeanne S. Her card was what convinced me I HAD to order this stamp, so thank you for the enabling Jeanne! :) I don't normally CASE so directly, so thought I should give credit where it was due.

Feel free to link to this tutorial, just be nice and give me credit, ok?

Happy Birthday, Melissa!

Now then, before you think I am completely vain, let me assure you that the Melissa in question is not me, but actually a co-worker. Would you believe that including me, there are FOUR Melissa's who work in my division (and there aren't THAT many employees!)!!!

The Melissa in question happens to be a good friend of myself and DH, so I had to make her something pretty for her birthday. She is a very exuberant person, so I chose bright, cheerful colors for her card.


I used Partygirlabella for the main image, and colored her in with copic markers. I stamped an extra set of the balloons and popped them up (no pun intended) to make them look like they are actually floating. I went over the balloons with SU Crystal Effects, and I'm pretty happy with how realistic it made them look. Bella needed some bling, (doesn't every girl?) so I added some stickles to her outfit, hat and cupcake.

The sentiment, ribbon, card stock, and designer paper are all SU.

All that Scraps Wed. DT Challenge #25

Did you know that the All that Scraps design team has a challenge every Wednesday? This week was a sketch challenge, and I was itching to participate as soon as I saw the great sketch that Amy Rysavy came up with.

You are highly encouraged to use your CC. Designs stamps, so I pulled out Pajama Olivia and the stocking from the Christmas Scenery set. Isn't Olivia just the cutest thing ever?


I based my color scheme on the yummy Be Merry DP by My Mind's Eye, so this card turned out very girly! I used SU's Kiwi Kiss for the base, and then layered on Pink Pirouette. I used the Cuttlebug Christmas Ornament embossing folder on the Baja Breeze piece, and sponged on some Whisper White craft ink for added depth.

Olivia was colored in with copic markers, and then I paper pieced her outfit with one of the DP's. I decided that instead of layering Olivia on top of the Pink Pirouette scalloped circle, I would punch out the center of that piece and pop it up with pop-dots to make a frame around her. You can't really tell in the photo with all those stickles covering it, but the stocking is also a piece of the Be Merry DP and has pretty snowflakes on it that the camera just won't pick up.

The sentiment is from one of the new Holiday Clear Stamps sets that Wal-mart is now carrying. The rest of the set is all ornaments with snowflakes on them, so it was a must-have for me. (I love ornaments, and am a sucker for anything with snowflakes. You'd think they made that set just for me! LOL!)

I've been working on holiday ornaments, and will be ready to post some as soon as the glue dries, so stay tuned!

2 more holiday projects...

I love the rustic, old fashioned Christmas feel of the new Home for Christmas set in the SU holiday mini, and had to have it as soon as I saw it. It brings back happy memories of sledding at Grandma's house when I was a child. They have a nice big hill out back, and my uncles would always flatten out a path from the top of the hill out into the field at the bottom. It was quite the hike to get to the top, but worth the rush you got going back down!

The image was colored in with copic markers, and the designer paper is all no-name I picked up at Joann's. For the snow, I used liquid applique, poofed it with the heat gun, and then added stickles on top for some sparkle.

The next project I have for you involves no stamping whatsoever. Oh my! I found the pattern for a gift card holder in a craft magazine, and had to make one of my own. I always need at least one gift card holder over the holidays, and this one can do double duty as a ornament for the tree.


I used a pigma micron pen to draw the frame and snowman, and then colored everything in with an aquapainter and SU ink refills. I added red and green stickles for a finishing touch. The eyelets were custom colored with a green copic marker before being added to the project with my crop-a-dile.

Hmmm... looking at it now, I think I need to add a tag to the ribbon...

Whiff of Joy DT call / Anniversary card...

Katharina of Whiff of Joy is holding a call for a guest designer (see details here) and I wanted to enter since I just love her stamps! I knew I still needed to make an anniversary card for DH, so I decided to kill two birds with one card, ahem, stone. :)

I looked through all of the great sketches Katharina has posted on her blog, and knew I had to play with this one as soon as I saw it. However, the long oval didn't really work for what I had in mind, so I rotated the layout 90 degrees for my card.

I purchased this adorable Lily & Milo hand in hand stamp a while back, intending to use it for my anniversary card for DH. We used to go walking for hours when we were first dating, so it just seemed perfect. The image was colored in with Copic markers, and then highlighted here and there with a white gel pen. The gorgeous designer papers on this card are all from a 6x6 pad of Basic Grey Infuse. I love this paper, and am kicking myself that I didn't buy a second pad of it when I had the chance. *sigh* I've been hoarding it since it is so pretty, but DH is worth the good stuff, right? LOL!

The "I want to hold your hand" sentiment is from Feeling Groovy by Verve Stamps. DH is a BIG time Beatles fan, so in addition to being perfect for the image on this card, the sentiment had personal meaning for him. The set has several other sentiments from Beatles songs, so I knew I had to buy it as soon as I saw it.

The oval and matching scallop were cut using my Cuttlebug and Nestabilities dies, and the scalloped edges are the new SU punch. I finished off the card with a few Prima flowers with Bella's Baubles for centers, and a piece of the yummy new SU Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon.

*side note* DH really seemed to like the card, and commented that the colored image looked like something you'd see in a quality children's book. That was a compliment, right? LOL! He then went on to note that I really seem to like those cute people images lately. If he only knew! Good thing he doesn't check out my stamp room very often!

*disclaimer* I apologize that the photo isn't as true-to-life as it could be. The bulb in the true color lamp I use for taking photos blew, and I haven't had a chance to get to the store for a new one.

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!

Which one do you prefer?

One of my friends wants to make their own "save the date" cards for their wedding, so I spent some time yesterday coming up with some samples for them. The bride-to-be loves lilacs, so I used the soon to be retired SU Blossoms Abound set for the samples. I don't own a "save the date" stamp, so I substituted a birthday sentiment from SU Hugs and Wishes. Each card has the images stamped in Bashful Blue, Pink Passion, and Ballet Blue on white cs, and then has a vellum overlay with the sentiment stamped on it.

Here's the first one. It is the simplest of the 3 samples, and has a bit of Bashful Blue taffeta ribbon to spice it up. I really like the soft look of this one.

Here's the second one. For this one, I added Dazzlin' Diamonds on the vellum layer to make the flowers sparkle, and changed the ribbon to a sheer white.

For the third sample, I sponged the white background with Barely Banana as the bride-to-be likes yellow. On this one, I stamped the vellum layer with versamark, and embossed it with Iridescent Ice for the added sparkle on the flowers. This isn't as sparkly as the Dazzlin' Diamonds on the previous card, but has the benefit that the glitter isn't going to come off. I also changed the ribbon on this one to white taffeta.

So what do you think? Please leave a comment with which card you like best, and I'll pass the results on to the happy couple.

Also, don't forget that you only have until August 10th to order any of the stamps on Stampin' Up's retiring list. You can contact me any time if you'd like to place an order. Make sure you don't miss out on your favorites!