{ the shoppe girls }

I was so excited Friday when I went to the mailbox. My stamp sets from My Favorite Things arrived. So needless to say, I've been busy this weekend. The "Say Charge" set reminded me that my sister and niece are coming in just two weeks to spend a week an I am certain this is exactly what they, along with our Mom and myself will be going a good part of the time they are here. My niece is the "shopping queen if retail".

I was so pleased with the outcome of my first attempt that I sent Kim the image and she surprised and honoured me by reposting it in her My Favorite Things Blog. be sure to take some time to check out all she has to offer. You will be sure to see more of her stamps showing up on my cards. I can't wait to finish the "Lets Go For a Walk" images! They are my favorite subject.. DOGS.. of course!

{ like a kid in a candy shop }

About 11 o'clock Saturday morning I looked out my front door and there it was! The package I'd been waiting for! My new Create-a-Cut I'd ordered from Ellen Hutson, LCC. I can't say enough about the products Ellen carries in her store. Take some time and check out the unique creative things she has to offer in her store. Anyway, after about a half hour of practice with my new trimmer I decided it was time to start creating.

On my first card, inspired by the upcoming St. Patrick's Day holiday, I used Gina K's "Pot o' Clovers" and "thanks a bunch" stamps from her StampingFreak website. The card blank is SU Certainly Celery. The scalloped paper is from Memory Box's Homespun collection and Basic Grey's Blush collection. The scallops were cut with the Create-a-Cut's scallop blade. I coloured the image with Lyra Rembrandt Watercolour Pencils and odorless mineral spirits. The ribbon is SU Certainly Celery. I used a small Fiskars handheld punch to create the little peek-a-boo holes along the scalloped edge.

I was so pleased with the outcome of my first card, I brought out my stack of"Bellas" that I've been stamping and colouring since they first came out.
If you haven't seen these adorable stamps, be sure to take a look. There is a bella for everyone! and in my case........... several........... ummm maybe MANYis a more accurate description! I'm addicted to these darlings. One of my favorites is Imeldabella, because she IS my niece, Nina. I think she has a closet dedicated just to her shoes! The papers are SU Cool Caribbean and Basic Grey Blush collection, the accessories are SU Ribbon and HodgePodge. The ink is SU basic black and the image is coloured again with Lyra Rembrandt Watercolour Pencils and odorless mineral spirits. The Create-a-Cut blade used on this card is the "wavey" blade.

You are sure to see more of my bellas and wonderful paper trimmer in my frture cards!

{ adoption gone wild! }

While I was checking out my updated blog subscriptions I ran across the cutest little puppy on Barb's No Ink Time blog and have been playing with the pets ever since. Well, I'm an animal lover, what more can I say, I went adoption crazy. Take a little time to pet and play with my virtual pets, maybe even add one to your own blog, and then take a little time to let your own pets know just how much they add to your life!

{ it looks like spring }

I woke up this morning to 63 degree weather and the sound of the surf (that means the wind is out of the south) filling my ears as i stepped out onto my front porch to walk Zoe. The card I finished last night reminds me a little of spring. It started out as test elements of several techniques. The yellow behind the scallops was masked using Barely Banana. The flowers were applied in Apricot Appeal using a watercolour wash technique. I applied water using a small watercolour brush to the inked flowers after they were stamped. It will be fun to use the new PaperTrey Ink stamp set which I just received yesterday to perfect both of these techniques. Nichole Heady is an incredible designer and a fantastic inspiration. Next I took two scalloped pieces I'd "practiced" punched with the SU slit punch and added them to the top and bottom of the flower stamped paper. I mounted them with dementionals to create a "windowed" effect around the flowers after I'd paper pierced and doodled on them. The edged sheer yellow ribbon created a base for the stamped and scalloped piece which I mounted on leftover polka-dotted patterned paper from my from my paper scraps box. Now that I have a prototype, it will be fun to improve and experiment with the combination of these techniques.

{ one of the dogs }

I recently ran across this precious puppy stamp while surfing my favorite blogs, and had to add it to my eclectic collection of "all things dog". Anna Wight's Sweet and Sassy Notes blog is a must on my "daily blog's to read" list. Not only is her blog full of great tips and wonderful inspiration but her online store is full of unusual and useful finds. She also designs for Whipper Snapper Designs a site where I've found some really cute canine stamps. I'm waiting for someone to design a stamp line featuring Whippets after their namesake.. yes, Whippersnapper is a pet name for Whippets. They are also affectionately known as "snap dogs" not to mention counter surfers. { Zoe, my "Whippersnapper" }

The paper is from Basic Grey's new Blush collection. The Chocolate Chip Pocket Note and the Taken With Teal ribbon are from SU.

{ an udder pink card or two }

This is such a fun stamp set! I've spent the morning making a series of cards using each of the images from the Sell-a-bration Very Punny set, but varying the patterned paper, the ribbon, the choice of pocket notes, and the embossed background. I even made a template of the pocket note so I wouldn't be limited in colour choice.


Stamps:
Very Punny
Paper:
SU Pretty in Pink - Black - Whisper White - Basic Grey Blush 6x6 paper pad
Ink:
SU Basic Black - Basic Brown - Chocolate Chip
Accessories:
SU Colored Pencils - Mineral Spirits - Mat Pack - Word Window Punch - Ribbon - Cuttlebug Embossing Templates

{ its in the cards.. or is that the genes }

My sister volunteered to be the American Heart Association representative for her neighborhood this year, and in her usual fashion didn't just stick the literature in envelopes and mail out to everyone. Instead she made individual cards using the Love Your Heart set and wrote a personal note inside each one. I wanted to share her talent and my inspiration with you.

Not to be outdone by her mother, my 15 year old niece entered her Valentine's Day box filled with 31 individually made cards for her Senate classmates.To see her cards click on Her Gallery. She would love your comments. She came home with the award for most creative Valentine's Day Project. To say the least, I couldn't be more proud!

And last but far from least, Mom created a card for each of the girls in her family from the beautiful Basic Grey Blush Card Kit. Mine was accompanyed by a beautiful pink hydrandea which will be planted in my flower beds after the north Florida thaw!

Now I'm looking forward to the end of March when my sister and niece will spend Spring Break here in Florida with Mom and me and we can all be together.

{ Mom's Valentine's Day Gift }

The wonderful cardmaking kits Creating Keepsakes puts together for QVC have become a tradition as a family gift. Mom enjoyes making cards as much as both my sister and myself, but prefers to have the design elements all worked out when she has time from her yard work to sit down and make cards. These beautifully designed kits are just the ticket.
Don't tell her but there is another one coming that is designed around the holidays. The timing will be perfect for her birthday!
I'm hoping she will have some time to do some stamping as well with the "Simply Sent" Friendship Shapes set from SU.

I {heart} my Mom!

A special card for a special Mom. Sometimes ideas fall perfectly into place. This is one example. A Valentine's Day card for my Mother was the perfect excuse to use some of my favorite elements in creating a special card. I've fallen in love with the Lockhart Stamp Company stamps. The crisp finely detailed images are perfect for the Colored Pencil Blending techinque I am currently addicted to. And of course, not to leave off my "Addicted To" list the new Cuttlebug embossing folders {well new to me anyway!}
I took the card and Mom's Valentine's Day gift over to her this morning as a Sunday Surprise!
Stamps:
Cupcakes 2034 Lockhart Stamp Company
Paper:
SU Pretty in Pink - Cool Caribbean -Kraft - Whisper White - Designer Series "Loves Me"
Ink:
SU Basic Black
Accessories:
SU Colored Pencils - Mineral Spirits - Stickles - Mat Pack - Eyelets - White Gel Pen - SU Ribbon Rose - Other Ribbon - Cuttlebug Embossing Template

{celebration - sell-a-bration }

After too long away I wonder how these power bloggers find the the time to do it ALL and do it all consistently!! Now that the holidays have past and my New Year's resolution to organize my craftroom is well on its way to completion maybe I will have time to do it ALL too! HA! I am finding it easier though to actually sit down and create a card without spending the better part of my time hunting for what I need.

Stamps:
Sell-a-bration Set Happy Harmony
Inks:
Classic Taken With Teal
Paper:
Taken With Teal - Kraft - Barely Banana - Simply Scrappin' Friends and Flowers
Accessories:
SU Grosgrain Ribbon- Double Rectangle Punch - Going Gray Stampin Write Marker - Marvy Uchida Mega Scallop Punch- Circle Punches - Cuttlebug Embossing Folder - PopDots

{ hot chocolat }

A quick tag for an office gift wiggled between family gift projects. Looking at my list of "things still to do" and the calendar.. hoping I get it all done!
The tag was cut with my Sizzix Super Scallop punch out of paper from last year's scraps. I embossed the steam with white embossing powder and used my new Gelly Roll Clear Glaze pen to add depth to the cocoa. The ribbon was a gift from Ellen that came with my pens and wonderful Lockhart stamps! (watch for these images to appear soon on my cards). Eegads! I just looked at the clock and I'm going to be late for work!!

{ a birthday card for my sister }

I wanted to try something new and different for my sister's birthday card. This was the perfect opportunity to try working with transparency sheets as the base for a card. I had some old fairly heavy sheets left over from my working days. I will definately by a box to keep on hand for more cards as this process was much simpler than I had expected.


The Holiday Thyme paper was glued to the inside of the card and the stamped image was glued to the outside of the card so the glue did not show through. The white snowflakes were stamped on the directly on the transparency on the outside front of the card. Happy Birthday was stamped on the inside directly on the transparency paper in black. I used a scoring blade to score the transparency paper for a smooth fold. The only drawback is the white craft ink takes forever to dry.

Stamps:
Loads of Love, Loads of Love Accessories, Flaky Friends, Elegant Greetings
Paper:
Transparency Paper, Certainly Celery, Holiday Thyme
Ink:
Stazon Black, Whisper White Craft
Accessories:
Stamp-a-ma-jig, Watecolor Wonder, Aqua Painter, Stickles, Mat Pack, White Gel Pen