Did you stamp 2-day??

Something my 2 year old has NOT been this week!  :)  But I love her just the same…

I’m going to be brief, otherwise i’ll never get this card posted.  I created it a few nights back (and colored it about a week ago, while my husband and I were catching up on a little tv).  Things here have been crazy…life with two toddlers can be very challenging, and this week we’ve had a REALLY bad case of the terrible 2’s.  And the terrible 1’s.  And no naps.  Temper tantrums.  Need I say more? :)  Just trying to keep my sanity here…

Ok, for my card this time…I used one of my new Sugar Nellie stamps, this one designed by the amazing Elisabeth Bell (they’re in the category "Sweet Art Ebony:  Honey & Pip").  These stamps can be bought online at Funky Kits (it’s the only online store that sells them…) and they ship worldwide at a really reasonable rate.  I could just color and color and color these images (I now own 7) and be as happy as could be…hehehe…you mean I actually have to make them into something when i’m done?  Can’t I just keep stacking up colored images?  :)  Shoot…not sure if I have enough time for that!

Recipe:  I’m not going to give much info tonight.  I don’t know where the ribbon came from, and forgot to keep the patterned paper name.  Cardstock is Papertrey Ink, Ink is Adirondack Pitch Black, colored with copic markers, cardstock colors are Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke, Elegant Eggplant, and Summer Sun.  Dew drops on the polka dot layer, filagree brad from SU, threaded through the ribbon (both ends of the ribbon came from the back and up through the middle, and I tied a knot on the top of the brad.)

G’nite! :)  Thanks for stopping by! 

And you spammers out there…quit leaving junk comments on my blog! (like they’re gonna listen…)

Hi everyone!  Yes, i’ve been MIA yet again…  I assure you, i’ve been busy working on stuff…mostly working on my coloring techniques with the copic markers (i’m having a hard time putting them down….).  During the day, it’s easier for me to color than it is to get away to my craft room.  I can keep a clipboard and a set of markers out of my girls’ hands so much easier! :)  So, now I have a backlog of images that i’ve colored that are just waiting to be made into cards!  I’m hoping that I can get a good chunk of time this weekend to do just that!  And then I can post projects more often than once a week on here! 
 

I really don’t know how all those daily bloggers do it…this is so much work!  Not only do you need lots of time to stamp and create, but you have to take photos, edit photos, upload photos, and then put it all together in a blog post!  And with Wordpress, that’s not an easy feat!   So BIG kudos to all of you bloggers who post on a regular basis!  I applause you and all of the hard work that you do!

Ok, enough of my complaining…here’s some proof that i’ve been working hard!  Here are some of the images i’ve been working on.  Oh, and I just received a bunch of Sugar Nellie stamps (by Elisabeth Bell) that I am TOTALLY in LOVE with…they are sooooo stinkin’ cute!  I’ve already colored two…you’ll see them in the bunch below (little girl planting flowers and little girl holding watering can and flower, top left):

On to today’s Blogger’s Challenge...it’s a color challenge this time:  Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, and Very Vanilla or Whisper White (I chose Vanilla).  I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to make a baby card for a good friend of mine who just had a little baby boy…and I thought what would be more perfect than a bib-card?  Ok, well…here’s my take on the "Bib" card…I hope you like it!  (ok, my husband just mentioned that this picture makes it look like a cookie…oh, well!)

And if you open up the front, here’s what the first inside layer looks like (because I love to add sparkle to everything, i’ve embossed the stars and the birds and greeting with iridescent ice EP):

I added another page behind this one so that I could write a little note without having to worry about getting in the way of the image.   I didn’t add any stamping to this page, just lots of room to write! 

And here’s a picture of it in different light…it’s a dreary, rainy day here, so I hung it up on my kitchen cabinets and turned on all the lights!  It sure was difficult to get a good picture of this thing! 

Recipe:

Stamp Sets (all SU! this time):  Zoofari, Nursery Necessities, Polka dot background

Ink:  Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Versamark

Cardstock:  Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla

Accessories:  Small Star punch, wide oval punch, eyelets, crop-a-dile, coluzzle, a retired corner punch - not sure of the name (it’s retired SU!), iridescent ice EP, clear EP, heat tool, chocolate chip taffeta ribbon, sticky strip

What I did:  I used the largest coluzzle circle for the outside (laying it over the folded edge), and the next size in for the inside pieces.  I just layered a piece of cardstock as a hinge between the middle layer and the back to turn it into a little book.The middle page w/ the birds is actually two layers (the underside is chocolate chip).

I used versamark and iridescent ice EP on the stars and on the birds, and also over top of the "welcome, little one".  I also clear embossed the polka dots.  For the edge of the bib, I used the retired corner punch (don’t know it’s name), but I took off the corner guide, and used a 12×2 piece of paper and just punched all the way down.  Then I went back with paper snips and cut slits 3/4 of the way through after each group, so that I could curve it.  Then I covered the back with another chocolate chip layer.

Ok, did any of that make sense?  

If you have some time, go check out the work of the other Blogger’s Challenge participants…i’m sure that they’ve created some awesome stuff!  The link is in my sidebar. 

Have a great weekend! 

Well, I almost didn’t make it! After a week of colds, fevers, teeting, late nights and little sleep…let’s just say it’s been a loooooong week!  I woke up today not even started on the challenge.  However, all the cards were in my favor.  Both girls gave me a few hours while they napped (yay, it’s the first good nap session since Monday!), so I RAN into my craft room to work as fast as I could!  I was so sure that I wasn’t going to make it…two cards?  Fast?  Hehehe, that’s SO not me!  I’m a slowpoke!  

[edited later, after publishing this post:  forgot to mention what the challenge was!  Oops!  This week, we're supposed to create something the same, but different...we could use either the same stamps and different layouts, or different stamps and the same layout.]

To make things a little easier on me, and stack the odds more in my favor of actually finishing today, I used a sketch challenge (see image below) over at Whiff of Joy Challenge Blog, fully intending one of my cards to use a Whiff of Joy stamp.  I drew it on another piece of paper and headed into my craft room…and then totally forgot about the Whiff of Joy thing, and decided to use an image I started coloring last night, from Pink Cat Studios (Lily and Tweet Plate 1). Oh, well!  It got me to finish today’s challenge, which is what’s important!

Sketch Challenge #7:

I decided to do two cards with the same layout, same paper, and different styles of stamps.  The first card with Lily and Tweet is a fun, cutesy Christmas time card.  The second card, I wanted to have a more elegant Christmas theme, so I used Christ is Born (Stampin’ Up!).  Both cards used the new Basic Grey Wassail paper…oh, my…that is some GORGEOUS paper!  I didn’t want to cut any of it, but I had to make a card for today, huh? :)

Card #1: 

Card #2: Can you see the sparkle in this one?  I have such a hard time catching sparkle with my camera…

RECIPE:

Stamp Sets:  

Card #1 Lily and Tweet (Pink Cat Studios), and Best Yet (Stampin’ Up!) for the greeting

Card #2:  Christ is Born (Stampin’ Up!)

Cardstock/Paper:  Neenah white, Whisper White, Always Artichoke, Gold, Wassail by Basic Grey

Ink:  

Card #1:  Brilliance Ink, various colors copic markers, Riding Hood Red (greeting), Gold Encore (edging of image), always artichoke (edging of starburst paper and green paper). 

Card #2:  Gold Encore, Riding Hood Red, Versamark

Accessories:  Felt Snowflakes (SU!), Bling (Heidi Swapp), dimensionals, embossing powder, heat tool, glassy glaze enamel, irridescent ice EP.

What I did  (that isn’t obvious):  For card #2, the background was stamped in gold encore and heat set. Then I covered the sheet in irridescent ice EP.  (the edges were supposed to be edged with gold, but I forgot and stuck it down and couldn’t get it back up….so pretend they’re gold!).  The red flower was stamped in versamark then Riding Hood Red ink and stamped.  I covered in glassy glaze enamel and heated it…and while it was still hot, I added a little more glassy glaze and re-heated.  Then I cut it out, curled the tips, and used dimensionals. 

If you have some time…go check out the other entries for this week’s Blogger’s Challenge!  Just click the "Blogger’s Challenge" link in my sidebar! 

Have a wonderful weekend!  And thanks for stopping by!

I’m going to keep this relatively short because i’m sick with a cold, and also have a sick 1yo (she’s sleeping now…thank goodness, because she was up half the night!  Edit:   She woke up halfway through my post…).

I received my FIRST!!  Magnolia stamps earlier this week and they are AWESOME!!!  So fun to color! :)  Now that i’ve had my Copic markers for about a month, i’m starting to really get comfortable with them…I still have a lot to learn, though!  But i’m enjoying every minute of it! :)

For this card, I started by working with a challenge over at the new Magnolia vs Stampavie challenge blog, with this sketch:

But I didn’t have a circle cutter large enough for the card I wanted, so I improvised…and I ended up getting off track, but that’s ok!  Sometimes creativity takes you in another direction…the sketch was a great springboard, though!

Ok, here’s my card…I hope I did these stamps justice (you can click on it for a larger view if you want to see my coloring better)!

And here’s the inside…I added a small card underneath the clip, for an additional little note.  I’m not sure if you can see, but the white has an embossed frame…my camera doesn’t like the inside of cards, for some reason! (it’s probably user error…)

RECIPE:

Stamp set:  Tilda with Sunflower (Magnolia), Floral Whimsy, for greeting (Verve)

Ink:  Brilliance Black, close to cocoa (for edging and sponging), Real Red and Chocolate Chip markers for the greeting, various colors Copic Markers (see one of my earlier posts for a list of colors I own)

Paper/Cardstock:  Real Red textured cardstock, More mustard, Neenah White, unknown DSP

Accessories:  Hodgepodge hardware (SU!), ribbon and prima flowers from unknown sources, button and embroydery thread (CTMH), rhinestone bling (heidi swapp), crafters toolkit (paper piercing tool, mat, template, needle), sponge dauber, linen thread, clear embossing powder, heat tool (i’m still not good at keeing the ink from bleeding over the edges, so I find that embossing really helps!)

Have a great day!  And thank you so much for visiting my blog!  :)

Oh, did I have fun coloring this one!  I played around with my copic markers, blending some unusual color combinations to make the image really pop.  I’m really happy with the results.  I mentioned unusual color combinations…for example, her hat was colored with brown AND blue…her hair is a blend of reds and browns…and the gray horse even has some blue.  And the sunset is blended with yellows, reds, and browns to give a marbled look.  I won’t go into details on what’s proper and what’s not for coloring with copics…I’m just doing my own thing, learning as I go!  :)

I didn’t list the specific colors I used, but i’m working with a limited supply of copic markers, since I only have about 30 markers so far (the list is in an earlier post HERE).  So I don’t have too many choices per color family!  (so far, anyway!)

For the card, I used some retired SU! paper (Western Sky) and cut them into 2"x2" squares.  I then scattered them into a quilt-like pattern and glued them to Not Quite Navy cardstock.  I trimmed around the edges to give it a matte.  I used my crafter’s toolkit piercing template, mat, and tool to poke the holes for my stitching, using the linen thread to stitch the little X’s.  I used jumbo eyelets and the cropadile for threading the rope (in SU’s holiday mini catalog)…the DSP I used on the left edge is from unknown sources…I had already cut off the strip with the name…

And a quick note about the photo…I’m still trying to figure out Photoshop Elements.  I am soooo frustrated with it, I could spit!  I tried taking the photo in an area of the house with more light, and I wanted to blur the background a little.  Well, two hours later, I have given up, and so I just cropped the photo really close and hope that the background isn’t too busy!  One of these years i’ll figure out how to take a good photo!

RECIPE:

Stamp Set:  Cowgirl Candice (High Hopes)

Cardstock:  Neenah Classic White, Baja Breeze (SU!), Not Quite Navy (SU!), Western Sky DSP (SU!), unknown DSP (brown w/ swirls)

Ink:  Brilliance Black, various copic markers

Accessories:  Clear EP, heat tool, linen thread, crafter’s toolkit (piercing tool, template, mat, needle), dimensionals, jumbo eyelets, cropadile, rope (SU!’s holiday mini catalog)

Well, I hope you like it!  Thanks for stopping by!

I have another card to share, but i’ll do that in another post later today.  First, I wanted to share with everyone an AWESOME blog candy offer! 

It’s a personalized print from the AMAZING artist (and stamp designer) Elisabeth Bell.  She is one of the artists for the Sugar Nellie stamps (and i’m excited to be receiving some of her stamps sometime this week!).  Go check out her work!  :)  I only wish I could have talent like that…

Elisabeth Bell’s Sugar Nellie stamps can be purchased online HERE (it’s the only place online…).  It’s a UK store, but they have a flat shipping rate for international orders…

See you later today with my new card!  :)

Hi!

I’m hoping that i’ll get to stamp soon…it’s been too long (almost a week)!  We are in the process of weaning our 2 year old from her pacifier (she was chewing them into pieces)…and it has been a LOOOOOONNNGGG week!  Let’s just say that naps and night-time aren’t as peaceful around here right now!  And my stamp time has gone out the window…

And to top it off, my 1 year old has decided that pulling her hair out with her pacifier is great fun!  She takes her pacifier and rubs it in her hair, and then sucks on it.  My beautiful red-head is almost bald on top and I just want to cry!  We want to take her pacifier away also, but when we tried that, she just pulled with her hands instead!  I’m absolutely heartbroken that she’s doing this…because we went through the same thing with our 2 year old earlier this year!   We ended up shaving her head…and now it’s finally starting to grow back in (and the habit is gone)…but she’s 2 and looks like a boy with such a short haircut!  I really don’t want to shave another head!

The things we go through as mothers…I know the problem is trivial (our pediatrician said it’s common for hair-pulling at this age), and I know it could be worse…I just wish I could figure out a way to make her stop!  I feel so helpless in this!

Thanks for letting me vent….

I’ll be back to posting cards soon, hopefully! :) 

Wendy

Well, better late than never! :)  I wasn’t sure I’d have the time, but I got lucky and the girls took a 3 1/2 hour nap this afternoon!  That is so rare…so I savored every moment as I made this small accordian album. 

This week’s challenge was to make something that we would give as a gift.  On Thursday night, I had tried to come up with something, but it didn’t work out (mojo was taking a break), so instead I tackled my first Sarah Kay image with my copics…oh, my word!  Talk about some detail to color!  I was up really late finishing it (i’m not good at putting something down unless it’s done!). 

Today, when I had the time during the girls’ nap, I was inspired by some paper that I have been hoarding (Basic Gray’s Stella Ruby) so I decided to use the Sarah Kay image I colored the night before and make an accordian album.  Mojo was back!

Well, here it is 1am and the book is put together, the front cover is decorated, but that’s all!!   (I did finish one other page, but I’m leaving it off for now b/c i’m not too happy with it…mojo went to bed for the night!). 

So, I decided to share it as it is, undecorated on the inside, because who knows when i’ll get it finished!  I do know that I need to buy a few embellishments that I think would be perfect for the book (such as fancy fibers that match this paper set…) and I also need to get some good photos taken and developed of my girls (thus the "sisters" theme).  The photos I currently have don’t do this book justice…

I’d love to get a few of these done in time for Christmas for the grandparents…

Enough gab…here are some photos:

Recipe:

Well, this list may be long…but i’ll give it a try!  And i’m not sure I can explain in too much detail what I did.

Stamps:  Little Help from Margot (Sarah Kay)

Paper:  Stella Ruby (Basic Gray), brown (Prism cardstock), RIding Hood Red (around the "S"), vellum paper (for the "isters" part of Sisters), Neenah Solar White

Ink:  Brilliance black ink, close to cocoa, sahara sand, various colors Copic markers (for image)

Accessories:  Miscellaneous ribbons, buttons,linen thread, hodgepodge hardware, crafters toolkit (needle, piercing tool/mat), red embroidery thread (french knots on the "S"), jumbo eyelets, cropadile, sanding blocks, tombow adhesive..

Well, that’s all for now…tomorrow (later today?) i’ll start visiting the other challenge members’ blogs!  If you’d like to see what they did, click on the link in my sidebar "Blogger’s Challenge".

I will share the finished pages once they are all done…

G’nite!  I’m off to bed now!

Do you love Sarah Kay or Rachelle Anne Miller stamps also?  Do you own only one or two, but would like to play with more before buying all of them???

I’m hosting an image swap over on Splitcoast for both..all you have to do is stamp your image 22 times and send it to me…and you’ll get back 10 different images, 2 of each.  You can also sign up for more than one group (see rules over on SCS, on my swap post).  All the rules, along with the thread to sign up, can be found:

HERE for Sarah Kay

HERE for Rachelle Anne Miller

(PLEASE NOTE:  I can only have sign-ups through splitcoast on the above mentioned threads…I can’t accept sign-ups on my blog or through SCS PM).

I’m going to put a link to these two swaps over in my sidebar also…

Deadline to sign up is November 1st, 2008.  Images are due to me by November 15th…

I hope you can join me!

What an angel…I am in LOVE with these new Whiff of Joy stamps…Charlotte (the angel on this card) is SO adorable!  I’m so envious of the person responsible for designing her…I wish I could come up with characters like that!  My dream someday would be to design a cute character that would take on a life of it’s own (like Sarah Kay’s little girls or Rachelle Ane Miller’s characters).  And she is super fun to color - and have I mentioned that I am having a BLAST with my copic markers???  They are the reason my posts are fewer lately!  I’ve been busy coloring!  I’ve been crawling into bed really late the past few nights because i’ve been busy playing with them…and I had to catch-up with cards to put them on!!  I take so long to color with them, that I don’t have any time left to make the card!  Hehehe…that’s why i’ve been doing sketch challenges lately…takes a little pressure off of me to design the layout also!

Ok, enough of my gabbing…here’s another card made with my new stamps and Copic markers:

Recipe:

Stamp Sets:  Angel Charlotte (Whiff of Joy), Birthday Surprise (Verve…greeting)

Inks: Chocolate chip (greeting), Brilliance black pigment ink, various Copic marker colors

Paper:  Patterned paper-Around the Block (unknown design), the blue, yellow, and brown cardstock are Prism cardstock colors (don’t know the names…I have them in a huge stack…I mainly use these for scrapbooking)

Accesories:  ribbon is of unknown origin…got it free at a recycle table at the last scrapbooking crop I attended, wide oval punch (SU!)

What I did:  Sorry I don’t have more info on this one. I just used some yellows, blues, grays, and browns to color the angel (see my post HERE that lists the Copic marker colors I currently own…the list isn’t too long!)  I cut the swirls out of the patterned paper, raised them up on dimensionals, and added Angel Charlotte over the top to make her look like she’s in flight.