Yippee Ki-ay! It's blog hop time!

Today is the last Friday of the month, and you know what that means - time to go blog hopping with InStyle Stamps!

We will be giving away a Grand Prize to one lucky Blog Hop participant and also have a prize for one lucky design team member. To enter, hop through the design team’s blogs (you can find them in my sidebar), and then go to the InStyle Stamps blog and vote for the designer who's project inspired you the most. (You're going to vote for me, right? LOL!) Make sure to leave a comment in addition to voting in order to be entered into the drawing for the grand prize.

This month's theme is Cowboys and Westerns, so I decided to use the new Anime cowboy, Nate for my project. Isn't he a cutie?

And now on to my project... I have a nephew who wants to be a cowboy when he grows up (or maybe a farmer, he hasn't quite narrowed it down yet). His birthday is coming up, so I thought Nate would be perfect for his card.

Nate was colored with copic markers, and layered using the rectangle Nestabilities set. The reverse scalloped trim is actually the leftovers from cutting out the scalloped rectangle. I outlined the trim and the black scalloped rectangle with a silver copic aytou to make it stand out a bit more (click on the image for a larger view if you'd like to see it better). The sentiment was hand written, and punched out with a SU word window punch.

Nate and several other new cuties will be released later today. While you are waiting, be sure to hop on through the rest of the design team's blogs for more peeks!

Happy Birthday Anna!

Last weekend was my niece's first birthday, and I was lucky enough to take a few days off to go visit with her and her family. Sorry for the lack of posts this week - I am still recovering from the 5 hour (each way, no less) car ride.

Do you like the card I made for little Anna? She, of course, could care less, and was much more interested in the presents, but her mommy seemed to like it.

I decided to play along with the Roses on Paper challenge #13 - using pink, yellow, and green on your card, since the colors were perfect for a project for a little girl. If you want to play along, you need to use a Magnolia, Alota, Sarah Kay, Rachelle Anne Miller, or the Greeting Farm stamp.

For my card, I used the sweet girl with doll image by Alota. Isn't she a cutie? I purchased her a while ago for the express purpose of using her on some projects for Anna. She was colored in with Copic Markers, and then was accented with a white gel pen. I added Copic atyou Spica in clear to her shirt and hair bows for a bit of sparkle, but it doesn't show all that well in the photo.

InStyle Stamps Wednesday Challenge - Summer

This Wednesday on the InStyle Stamps blog, the challenge is to make a summer themed card. I decided to use the adorable new digital image, Leila, for my card. Isn't she just perfect for a summery card?

If you'd like to play along, just make a summer themed card using an InStyle Stamps image, and link it to this post. One lucky winner will receive a digital image of their choice! Hurry, because you only have until Tuesday night to enter!

Wednesday Challenge and a Sneak Peek!

Father's Day is just around the corner, so to help you get prepared, this weeks Wednesday Challenge at InStyle Stamps is to make a Father's Day card. Be sure to check the InStyle Stamps blog for all the details (there is a prize involved!) and to see some more inspiration from the design team.

For my card, I get to give you a little sneak peek of Lance & Lisa, the new Anime couple that will be released this Friday! Aren't they sweet?



My Father's Day card is for a friend who is a father-to-be. They deserve cards too, right? It's hard work putting the nursery furniture together and getting the mommy-to-be chocolate ice cream at all hours of the night! LOL!



Be sure to check the InStyle Stamps blog on Friday. Not only will we have more sneak peeks for you, but we'll have some exciting news!

Blog Hoppin' with InStyle Stamps

Welcome to the Hop! This month we are dreaming about the soon-to-be-warm summer weather with a beach theme. So put on you sun hats and start hopping!

For my project, I decided to make a Shadow Box Card (instructions can be found here) with the adorable new mermaid, Ariel (available today in the InStyle Store). Isn't she a cutie? I think I have a new favorite image!


I colored Ariel with copic markers, and then used hot pink, light green and turquoise pearl ex with a aquapainter filled with Future Floor Wax to add some shimmer to her scales. You can kind of see the effect in the photo, but trust me, in real life the result is simply stunning.

Here's a side view so you can see the depth of the card. The layers of "sand" (torn kraft paper) are only attached to the center front of the card, so they stick out to the side when the card is opened to give it a little extra support.


Do you like the underwater background? I recently purchased a Wacom drawing tablet (great for people with wrist pain issues) and have been having fun using it to do some doodling. I knew I wanted an underwater background for Ariel as soon as I saw her, so I couldn't resist making one.

The depth of the shadow box (1 inch deep) presented a challenge when it came to getting Ariel to float over the background. I did a little brain storming, and used a little bit of wire from my jewelry making supplies to create a spring. So now, not only is she at the level I wanted her at, but she wiggles around a bit like she is trying to swim in place. Neat, huh?

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Now on to the details that you have been waiting for - the prizes! LOL!

We will be giving away a Grand Prize to one lucky Blog Hop participant and one lucky design team member.

To enter, hop through the design team’s blogs (you can find them in my sidebar), and then go to the InStyle Stamps blog and vote for the designer who's project inspired you the most. (You're going to vote for me, right? LOL!) Make sure to leave a comment in addition to voting in order to be entered into the drawing for the grand prize.

You have until 11:59pm EST on Saturday, May 30th to enter, and the winners will be announced on the InStyle Stamps blog on Monday, June 1st.

So what are you waiting for? Get hopping!

InStyle Sneak Peek!

Hello all! Are you ready for a sneak peek to start off your Friday? Meet the latest addition to the InStyle Stamps Retro line - the Band!

Aren't they fabulous? My DH is quite the musician, and has been in several bands over the years, so I was very excited when Virginia showed the Band to me! In addition to the 5 images shown here, there is also a keyboard player and an amp to round out the collection. How exciting is that?

Any good band needs a stage, so I got a little creative with the crimper and Nestabilities, and voila, instant stage. As you can see, the curtains stick out a good 1/2 inch, so this is definitely a card to hand deliver. Oops! Maybe I'll surprise DH with it some time soon.

The Band will be available for purchase in the InStyle Store soon. While you are there, don't forget to pick up a gold and a silver Copic Atyou Spica Glitter Pen so your instruments can sparkle like mine do. These pens write beautifully, and dry almost instantly, so you get your sparkle fix without the wait. Gotta love it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday!

Today was my father-in-laws birthday. I've been fighting off a cold, so we weren't able to go see him today, but I thought I'd share the card I made for him.


Isn't this little digi fisherman great? I found him on the Victoria Case Art Design website when I was looking for the horse image in the previous post, and knew he would be perfect to use on a project for my father-in-law.

My father-in-law isn't into frills, so I kept the card very simple. I used punches to make the sentiment into a bobbin, and added some silver cord for the fishing line (the real fishing line didn't show up well).

I hope he likes it!

A horse, of course...

As some of you might know, my DH is working toward getting a MSW. Tomorrow marks the end of his first internship, and he asked me to make a card for his supervisor to thank her for all the time she has put in with him this year. She apparently is a horse person, so he asked me to make something with a horse. Huh? Ok, city girl here, never got the horse thing, hence no horse stamps. What's a girl to do? Google horse digi images, of course!

After a little searching, I found this adorable horse image by Victoria Case Art Designs. It is available in rubber, or if you email her, you can purchase it in digi form, perfect for those last minute cards. (Because, of course, DH always waits until the very last minute to ask if I can make him something!)


The image was colored with copic markers, and layered using the Nestabilities Oval set. I printed the flower twice and layered it on pop-dots for a little something extra. I finished it off with some pretty dp from the Imaginisce Twitterpated collection.

It's all about the support...

I've mentioned before that I am the official card maker for my office. Well, my supervisor's birthday is this week, so we're going to have a little party for her. Any excuse for a party, right? LOL.

My office is what I would consider a "fun" office, in that we all get along well and share a zany sense of humor. With that in mind, I decided to make my boss a rather tongue in cheek card.

The sentiment is hand printed. I found the template for the bra along with a matching pantie here. I opted not to use the pantie, so as not to embarrass the males at the office too much, but you could easily use it in the inside of the card.

Wouldn't this make a great card for a bridal shower or anniversary?

Day 8 of M&DC's Mothers and Daughters Traditions Blog Roll

Today is the regular “Thursday Card Challenge” at Mothers and Daughters and our blog roll continues with a special treat. Giovana is hosting the challenge so hurry on over to her blog for all the details – challenge, blog candy, and a stunning card to inspire you.

Today's challenge is to make a Mother's Day card using at least 3 flower. I decided to go for a sweet and simple layout for my card:

The pretty flowers are made from dp from BoBunny's Dot to Dot line in Tutu, Blush, and Decaf.

After punching out each flower, I pressed them in my palm to make the petals bend up. The BoBunny paper is nice and heavy, so it holds the shape really well. The centers are popped up on pop-dots, and I added a touch of Cinnamon Stickles to the dots on the Decaf paper to make them stand out a bit more.

Be sure to check out the blogs of my fellow DT members to see their lovely creations!

Links:

Cathy http://seasiderosecottage.blogspot.com/

Dawn http://dawnsrubberroom.blogspot.com/

Leah http://paperblossoms.blogspot.com/

Giovana http://giovana-believe.blogspot.com/
Melita http://www.calonghorn.wordpress.com

Thanks for stopping by!