Dream BIG and share the love

Happy Friday!

First---I want to pass on a request from a fellow stamping friend. Erin Bailey asked me to help spread the word about a card drive she is organizing for her next door neighbor, Paige, who is 12 and recently had her arm amputated after a boating accident. I cannot even imagine what this family is going through. Please Click here for her post with a direct link to the most recent newspaper article.

Next--a card....
I stamped the main image twice on watercolor paper and then clear embossed it. I water colored the images with SU reinkers and a paint brush. One image is cut and layered on top of the other image.I added some crystal stickles over the flowers and butterfly.The sentiment is from Botanical Dreams from Gina K Designs .I used my Spellbinders circle, scalloped circle and oval dies to cut out the image and sentiment.

Materials used: Stamps: Inkadinkado, sentiment-Botanical Dreams (Gina K Designs); Paper: white-Pure Luxury (Gina K Designs); designer paper-Black &Cream Script (The Paper Studio), Blue Paisley (Out & About) ; Ink: Memento Tuxedo black ; Accessories: paper piercing tool, clear ep, SU reinkers, paint brush, heart charm, tulle, Spellbinders dies, Cuttlebug, silver cord, crystal stickles (Ranger)

Finally---wishes for a great (labor day-US) weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Fly away Tag

My time on the Splitcoaststampers Dirty Dozen ended in June (shortly before I left for vacation). I am still shocked and honored to have been asked to be on that team. Thank you, Jenn, for the wonderful experience! You rock! Remember to check out the AMAZING DD Gallery this month. (You have to be a fan club member to see it!) The designers all did a fantastic job!

Here is one of the first Dirty Dozen projects I ever created....

Materials-Stamps: Bird-Inkadinkado; Birds in Vines-Flourishes; Weathered bg-SU! ; Paper: Tag (Paper Reflections); cs- white, riding hood red, choc chip ; Ink: Memento tuxedo black; Ranger- Fired Brick, Tea Dye; SU!- banana, more mustard ; Accessories: Flower Soft, Sponge, Copic markers, Embossing powder-black, clear; Versamark, heat tool, May Arts ribbon; hemp, oval punch (SU!), Round tab punch (SU!), Gelly Gems (Gel-a-tins), Jumbo eyelet (SU!), Cropadile (We R Memory Keepers); dimensionals (SU!).

To create this I took a plain white tag (Creative Tags by Paper Reflections) and sponged the entire thing with banana ink (SU!). Then I sponged the outer edges with more mustard ink (SU!). I took my SU! Weathered background and inked it in Ranger Tea Dye ink and stamped over the tag. I used Flourishes, LLC set Bird in Vines for the background flowers. I embossed them in Ranger black embossing powder and then colored the leaves with Copic markers.I used some white Flower Soft on the petals to give them some texture. I stamped the bird on some white cardstock with Memento ink and colored it in with Copic markers. I cut it out, embossed it with clear embossing powder and popped it up on the vine with a dimensional. I stamped the sentiment in Ranger Fired Brick ink. Next, I sponged Ranger Tea Dye ink all over the edges of the tag to create more depth around the edges.The top detail is created by punching the round tab punch (SU!) and layering a red oval punch on top of it and then attaching the jumbo eyelet. I added some Gel-a-tins Gelly gems along the edge of the tab punch. Finally, I added a piece of hemp and some May Arts Ribbon and done!

You can still participate in the Twilight challenge HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

Vacation: All I ever wanted

My two littlest and I are heading to PA today to collect my oldest daughter (who has been visiting her father), visit my family---head to the beach (NJ!) and then go to Corolla, NC for a trip with ALL of my brothers and sisters (yep....all 8 of us AND our kids) and my parents! My husband will be joining us when we get to North Carolina.

I cannot wait!

I have scheduled some posts....but I will mostly be away from my computer for the next three weeks! I will have email access so if you email me, I will return your message.

[YES...I will be posting the blog candy winner tomorrow morning too!]

But mostly......I am taking the time to just ENJOY.....REST.....and be with family!

Have a great few weeks!

Thought I should have a nice beachy card to accompany this post!

Materials used: Stamps-Inkadinkado; Memento tuxedo black ink; Cardstock-white (Gina K Designs), Island Mist Medium (Prism); Copic markers; designer paper-Everafter (Cosmo Cricket), Black and Cream Script (The Paper Studio); Spellbinders circle and scalloped circle dies; Charm-(K& Company); Tulle.

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Stamper's Dream Challenge

Hello! Welcome to the Stamper's Dream monthly challenge. This month Tosh chose these colors for us to use on our cards: Blush Red Dark, Island Mist Medium, Birchtone Light. You can accent with either Suede Brown Dark or Ivory.

(Compatible SU colors are: Baha Breeze, Riding Hood and Sahara Sand. )

We also had to use some texture and bling to the cards!

Here is what I came up with for this challenging challenge:

I used the fun Inkadinkado clear stamp set called Gemstone Flowers for the main image. I stamped the flower three times and then popped up one and colored the inside of the flower image.
I lined the inside of each flower center with some multicolored mini rhinestones (Zva Creations). For the center flower, I also added an adhesive metal dot (Michael's).

I used Prismatics Blush Red Dark, Island Mist Medium, Ivory and Suede Brown Dark on this card. Although it is hard to see in the picture, the background Ivory panel is debossed with Impressabilities Flowers (Spellbinders).

<----Here is a view of the card lying down so you can see the dimension. I used a little bit of brown satin May Arts ribbon to add under the main panel (folded under) and under the sentiment. I used part of the Just Rite stamp from the Birthday Wishes set. I only inked the "Enjoy" part of the stamp, stamped it and then punched it out. The dot in the sentiment is also dotted with a crystal.

You can most of the products used to make this card at Stamper's Dream Store!

Materials used: Stamps- Gem Stone Flowers (Inkadinkado), Birthday Wishes (JustRite); ink-riding hood red (SU!); multicolored rhinestone (Zva Creations); glue pen; cardstock-Blush Red Dark, Island Mist Medium, Ivory, Suede Brown dark (Prism); oval punch (SU!); circle punch and scalloped circle punch (SU!); corner rounder punch (Creative Memories); ribbon (May Arts); Flower Impressabilities (Spellbinders); Cuttlebug (Provocraft).

Check out the other members of the Dream Team for more cards created for this challenge: Michelle, Tosh, Laurie, Kimberly, Denise and Charmaine.
Wanna play along? There is a Dreamy Treat on Michelle's blog that you can enter to win. Check it out HERE.

Be sure to link your card to Michelle's card and use the keywords "SDDC7" if you upload to Splitcoaststampers.

Thanks for stopping by!

Elegant Thanks

Thank you for all your tooth sympathy stories! I did end up calling my dentist and I am going in to see him today...wohooo!!! Hopefully he will figure out what is wrong as I am pretty sure that something IS! (I am updating this at 1:00 am as I am awake with a toothache..sigh! Just waiting for pain meds to kick in.)

I LOVE elegant cards. And I really LOVE elegant cards that come together so easily.

I recently received the Anna Griffin Elegant Borders clear stamp set from Anita's Arts. There are TONS of elegant borders (clear stamps) in the set AND a chocolate pigment ink pad and a clear stamp mount in this KIT. (You can also purchase all the stamps without the ink pad and stamp mount.) I stamped that beautiful flourish design on the top and bottom of some Ivory Pure Luxury cardstock. They stamped very nicely and I am excited about HOW EASY it was to create my own designer paper. And there are tons of different borders and designs to choose from. You can find this set and lots of other Anna Griffin products at Anita's Arts!

I paired the Anna Griffin border with a Thanks stamp from Inkadinkado. The cardstock is Chocolate Kiss Pure Luxury from Gina K Designs and the small flower is a sateen flower that is colored with a Copic marker.

Materials used: Stamps-Anna Griffin Elegant borders; Thanks (Inkadinkado); Ink-chocolate (Anna Griffin); cardstock-Ivory, chocolate kiss (Gina K Pure Luxury); gold (Stampin' Up!); Spellbinders Oval/scalloped oval Nestabilities; Cuttlebug (Provocraft); Copic markers; hemp (SU!); corner rounder punch (Creative Memories); Prima flower; sateen flower (Gina K Designs); foam mounting tape; wedding jewels.

Thanks for stopping by!

Transported

Hi everyone! Happy Saturday!

Here is a cute "Thinking of You" card I created with the adorable Penny Black Transported bear . In the original stamp, the bear is holding onto a group of balloons. I thought it would be cute to make the sentiment the balloon so I changed it up a bit and added a sentiment from Expressions Clear stamp set by Inkadinkado.
Materials used: Stamps-Transported (Penny Black), Expressions Clear Sentiment set (Inkadinkado); Memento black ink; Pure Luxury white (Gina K Designs); designer paper-Homespun Collection (Memory Box); Copic markers; adhesive pearls (Kaiser Craft); paper piercing tool and mat pack (SU!), scalloped circle punch (SU!); oval/ scalloped oval dies (Spellbinders); Cuttlebug (Provocraft); dimensionals (SU!); hemp (SU!).

This is one way you can get a lot more mileage from your stamps. Stamp just part of the image for a whole different look! I colored the bear with Copic markers.

I pierced the edges of the blue designer paper and added some Kaiser Craft pearls at the corners. The ribbon is May Arts.

You can find all the stamps and embellishments on this card at Stamper's Dream. Check it out! Michelle is now carrying stamps from Flourishes, JustRite, Our Craft Lounge as well as fun embellishments from May Arts, Kaiser Crafts, Pebbles, and Chatterbox, to name a few!

Don't forget to enter to win the SU Blog Candy on the post below!

Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Happy New Year!

Thanks so much for sharing the past year with me. I wish you all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Stamps: Inkadinkado; Memento tuxedo black ink; Ranger distress inks--antique linen, aged photo; transparency sheet; rub on sentiment; cardstock-white, chocolate chip; designer paper (Crate); hardware chain- Tim Holtz; gingham ribbon; arrow-Cuttlebug die (Provocraft); gold brad (SU!).

Thanks for stopping by! Happy 2009!

A Dreamy Challenge

Happy Friday! Today, I wanted to share a Dreamy Challenge with you---play along HERE and enter to win a great prize!

Tosh issued the Stamper's Dream design team a challenge--to make a gray card with a splash of color and some bling. Hmmmm.....this was a tough one for me as I usually do not use that much gray in one card! (I know a certain someone who will be receiving this as her Christmas card as a punishment for dreaming up such a wonky challenge!)
I used the snowflake cuttlebug embossing folder on the grey background. I highlighted some of the flakes with a stardust pen. I stamped the elegant design around the edges of the card (stamp is from Inkadinkadoo-Sketches Scrollwork set ). I colored a bit of red throughout the design. The large snowflakes--die cut from Snowflake Wonder (Spellbinders) are added on top of the embossed area.

The top of the circle card features the sentiment from Hero Arts set Frames & Messages (love this set!) and I added some color with May Arts ribbon. I used the Spellbinders double ended tag dies to create the white top and just trimmed off the one side so that there was only one opening for ribbon.

There you have it. Pretty simple....added a bit of red bling to go with the splash of red here and there.


Check out all the other cards the design team has created: Michelle, Tosh, Laurie, Kim, Denise, Charmaine and Cindy!

Don't forget to play along! See Michelle's blog here for all the dreamy details! And if you are looking for some last minute holiday gifts--why not get a Stamper's Dream gift certificate? I KNOW that it is what every stamper dreams of!

Have a wonderful weekend--I am busy getting ready for my son's 6th birthday party tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Christmas CCEE Challenge and a SALE

Time for another CCEE Challenge---Charlene (who was the challenge hostess for this month) sent each of us the following supplies:

Red starburst translucent paper
Three different poinsettias: dark red; red with yellow cream centre; sheer red.
Gold stretch cord & gold ribbon
Red ornament embellishment
Three snowflakes: white; red & gold

Charlene instructed us to create a Christmas card using some portion of the red designer paper,
using at least one of the poinsettias, using the gold ribbon or cord (or both). The red ornament and snowflakes were optional.

Here is what I created with the supplies:

I chose a sentiment from the Sketches Scrollwork Christmas Set, that is filled with lots of beautiful Holiday phrases. You can find this set at Stamper's Dream and until November 30th... ALL Holiday stamps are on sale for 15% off. Just enter the coupon code HOLIDAYS on the checkout page to apply the discount. (This means that the Partridge stamp I used on yesterday's post is discounted as well! Yipeee!)

You can see all the other fabulous cards by the CCEE Gals HERE!

Thanks for stopping by!

Simple Elegance and a DREAMY challenge

Simple.

Sometimes these types of cards are my favorite.

I love how the brown "flourish" limb stands out amid the lightly colored background. I used the Resting bird image from Memory box and paired it with the Alpha background (because I saw the great Dave Brethaueer pair these stamps together and I love how they looked!)

Tip: In order to get the look of different hues on the background stamp, first ink the whole stamp in the lighter color (soft sky). Then, take a marker in a darker color (bordering blue) and outline the stamp and then run the marker along the bottom edge of each row of letters. When you stamp--you get a neat blend of the two colors. Very easy but neat results!

The sentiment is part of the Thanks stamp by Inkadinkado (very elegant--I love using it all together or just masking off the Thanks as I did in this card!)

Here is a close up of the card:

This picture shows the dimension of the middle layer with the flourish and the bird. I cut out the flourish and then embossed it with the mosaic embossing folder. The two light blue squares in the background are embossed with the textile embossing folder. A piece of May Arts sheer white ribbon adds a bit of elegance to this. Finally, I added a few Robin's nest water dew drops under the sentiment!

Materials used: Stamps-Resting Bird, Alpha Background (Memory Box), Thanks sentiment (Inkadinkadoo); ink-soft sky, blue bayau, bordering blue marker (Stampin' Up!); cardstock-vanilla, soft sky, blue bayau, close to cocoa (Stampin' Up!); Cuttlebug embossing folders-Textile, Mosaic (Provocraft); Cuttlebug (Provocraft); Robin's Nest water dew drops; May Arts ribbon; Quik Kutz flourish die; sponge; dimensionals (SU!).

You can find all of the stamps the ribbon and a great selection of embossing folders and Robin's nest dew drops at Stamper's Dream! Check it out when you have lots of time---Michelle has this store stocked with amazing things!

***And while you are at it---Check out the Stamper's Dream DREAMY challenge HERE. You could win an awesome prize just for playing along!!!***

Thanks for stopping by!

Taking a Break....

Well, as many of you know...there is a lot going on in our lives right now....and in the next month or so!

With school letting out soon and with our move getting closer--I have decided to take a break from my design team work. Actually, I tried to quit them all (some a few times!) because I felt that it wasn't fair if I disappeared for a while but knew that it was MOST important to help my children with this time of transition. All of the crazy people I work for did not accept my resignation, instead, they are allowing me to take a leave and return when I am ready. What amazing people I work for. Now I can rest easy knowing I am doing the right thing for my family without compromising my work.

With that being said, I am sure I will pop in and out here and there up to post a few cards until our move (middle of June) and then I will be gone for awhile when we actually move and set up our new home (as my computer and stamping supplies will be packed up!) I will keep you updated and I can assure you I will be back. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

I thought this card would be appropriate as we fast approach the summer season. I ADORE this Inkadinkado image. It is called Fun on the Beach. I stamped the image in Brillance black ink and colored it with Copic markers. I used the shell collage cuttlebug folder to create some texture in the background. This folder has an awesome design, unfortunately I covered up some of it with the image--but you can see the folder if you click the link above. The final touch was a little heart charm I received from a friend for my birthday (Thanks Cindy!) I tied it on to the card with silver cord which is attached to the sheer May Arts ribbon.

The ribbon, stamp, and cuttlebug folder can be found at Stamper's Dream!

Here is a close up of the image. I popped out the Nestability scalloped circle to add some depth to the card.

Materials used: Stamps-Fun on the Beach (Inkadinkado); cardstock-bayau, whisper white, soft sky, bannana; My Mind's Eye designer paper; heart charm (Dollarama); silver brads (Stampin' Up!); ribbon (May Arts); cuttlebug (Provocraft); silver cord (SU!); shell embossing folder (Provocraft); Spellbinders Nestability dies-circles, scalloped circles, petite ovals; slit punch (Stampin' Up!); Copic Markers; Dimensionals (SU!).

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Tell me why the caged birds sing?

Woohoo! Got a little time to play---it has been tough making time to stamp lately but today--during my dd's nap and my son's rest time--I created this:

I LOVE this new Inkadinkado stamp called LA CAGE AUX FOLLES. It is so elegant and really requires little else to make a beautiful card. After stamping the image in brilliance black on vanilla cardstock, I edged it with olive ink and a sponge. Then, I layered it on a Nestability scallop rectangle. I positioned it so that the scallops only shows on the top and on left side. The olive cardstock layered underneath was embossed with the Allegro cuttlebug folder (I thought the music was appropriate with the birds!)

I used my cuttlebug die slider to create the ribbon slide and the sentiment is from one of my favorite sets called Frames & Messages by Hero Arts.

One of my favorite parts of this card is the little pull on the top of the birdcage, which was created using a little piece of black plastic cord and a brad. I think it gives this such a neat look! After the card was complete, I colored the birds and the sentiment with my Sakura stardust gellyroll pen.

Here is a close up of the image. You can see the little cord better on this photo but the stardust didn't show up very well (insert sad face).



Materials used: Stamps-Frames & Messages (Hero Arts), LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (Inkadinkado); cardstock-vanilla, olive, blue (SU!), designer paper-Lily Kate by Basic Grey; Cuttlebug, Allegro embossing folder; Nestabilities, slide die; ribbon (May Arts); Sakura stardust gellyroll pen; silver cord (SU!); silver brad (SU!); black cord; slit punch (SU!); ink-brillance black, olive (SU!); dimensionals (SU!).

All of the stamps and the cuttlebug folder for this project can be found at Stamper's Dream. Check it out--you will LOVE the variety of stuff Michelle carries.

Thanks for stopping by! ****Don't forget to check out the post below this one to be entered to win blog candy!****

Warm Wishes!

Today I am sending some warm wishes to all of you who are still having cold weather (brrr!) I cannot imagine--it was 85 and HOT here today!

The butterfly stamps on this card are from Inkadinkado-Patterned Bugs Clear Stamp set. The sentiment is from Hero Arts Frames & Messages Clear Design Stamp Set. (I use these sentiments a lot!)

I stamped the butterflies once on white cardstock (with Brilliance black ink) and another time on vellum (with StazOn ink). After sponging the white cardstock with the Spring Moss stamp pad, I carefully cut out the butterflies from the vellum that I wanted to pop out. I added them on top of the white cardstock using small pop dots.

The background is Memory box paper that I lined up the swirls so that it looks like the path of that stray butterfly.

I popped up the sentiment and added silver eyelets and cord and finished it off with a little May Arts ribbon (my fav!).

The stamps, Memory Box paper and May Arts ribbon can be found at Stamper's Dream.

Materials used: Stamps- Patterned Bugs Clear Stamp set (Inkadinkado), Frames & Messages Clear Stamps (Hero Arts); white cardstock (SU!); Vellum (Paper Company); Sponge; Spring moss cardstock, ribbon, stamp pad (Papertrey Ink); brilliance black ink; Staz On black; label punch, circle punch, tab punch, corner ticket punch (Stampin' Up!); Cropadile; silver eyelets (SU!); silver cord (SU!); May arts black and white polka dot ribbon; paper piercing tool and mat pack (SU!); dimensionals (SU!).

Thanks for stopping by!

Congratulations Michelle!!!!

My friend Michelle (owner of Stamper's Dream ebay store) has some very exciting news---she has taken the big step and opened her OWN online store! Her store is still called Stamper's Dream---just no more ebay fees and tons more fun products!!!!

For those of you who have ordered from her before, you know she offers FAST and wonderful service. Here are some of the awesome products she offers at her store--



Stamp lines:

Gina K Designs

My Favorite Things

Hero Arts

Inkadinkado

Judikins

Northwoods Rubber Stamps

Outlines Rubber Stamps

Penny Black

Paper Inspirations

Stampendous

Wordsworth

A Muse



Accessories:

Embossing Powders

Cuttlebug Folders

Fun Flock

Liquid Pearls

Memory Box Paper

Bind It All

Adhesive

Acrylic Blocks



The following card features a few products she offers - The main image is by Inkadinkado, the sentiment is from Hero Arts and comes from a very cool clear stamp set called Frames & Messages and the Swiss dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug).



Materials used: Stamps: nest-Inkadinkado; sentiment- Frames & Message Clear stamps by Hero Arts (both available at Stamper's Dream); ink-brilliance black, SU classic old olive, creamy caramel; White, mustard, olive, saffron and designer paper (Stampin' Up!); ribbon (May Arts); Copic markers; Cuttlebug and Swiss dots embossing folder; Prismacolor pencils; hardware by We R Memory Keepers; dimensionals (SU!).

Congratulations Michelle!!! Go check out her store here!

EDIT: If the link to the store doesn't work for you, try again later. Certain browsers will take a few days to pick up the new code.

Thanks for stopping by!

It's a Challenge

Ok....here is the card I did for a challenge I have with a few friends. Here is the deal--a few months ago, my friend Tosh emailed me to see if I wanted to be part of a little group. The idea is that we would have challenges we would do on mondays and one week a month a member of the group would email out a package to the others with a special assignment.

This week the challenge was to use Certainly Celery, Pale Plum and Eggplant to make a card--the catch--to make it a winter or Christmas themed card. Had I known this challenge was coming-I would have said no right off the bat!!!

Sorry...I hate it when that happens.

Clean up on aisle 9!

Back to the card. Hmmm...I used the colors specified but didn't have any pale plum on hand (what a pity!) and I wasn't about to go out and purchase a pack for one card...so i improvised with that color.

I created a tag card. It is tag shaped but it is actually a card. It measures 3 by 5.5. The image is from Inkadinkadoo and the sentiment is from Gina K Designs.

I used my cuttlebug snow folder to create the background white layers. I used a snowflake punch (Martha Stewart) to bring the Eggplant color into the design a bit more---I mean, it is normal to see Eggplant snow, right?

Ekk..sorry!

Anyway. I threaded my celery ribbon (the green saved me on this one!) through a peice of hardware and then match the silver to the brads going through the snowflakes and the eyelet on top. Finally, I added to icicle stickles to the hat and scarf of the snowman.

Ok..there it is....gotta go clean up this mess!

Tosh...I love ya...and it is not just because you are turning 40! (gasp!) on tuesday!