Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Arte Y Pico Award

I got a pm today from peanutbee and look what I got!LOL!
Denise is a fabulous stamper. I found her gallery and blog a couple of weeks ago and I love her style! Check out her blog and gallery and see some of her fabulous creations! Thanks Denise!

Now, the rules of the award are:1. Pick 5 blogs that I consider deserve the award for creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language. 2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone. 3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her/him the award itself. 4. The Award winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte Y Pico” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award. 5. To show these rules.

Now who to pick....

Neva(n5stamper) Scrappin Belle
Amy(pickletree) Pickled Paper Designs
Mary(petalpusher) Stampin Pretty
Holly(toy) Toys Haven
Mary Jo(mjalbright) Beauty lies within

Enjoy!

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Amazing sf9erfan

Todays featured stamper is Michelle sf9erfan. Michelle has an amazing gallery and I was very excited to case one of her cards. I kept the layout on Michelle's card but changed the stamp and colors.
I love this color combo! Amy pickletree made a card a few weeks ago using it and its been on my to-stamp list.
Ive been on a so saffron kick lately I dont know why! But here it is again today!LOL! I started with a perfect plum base -when I first started stamping my fave color combo was pale and perfect plum but I havent used either in a long time! I stamped the pretty petals background on textured guava tone on tone. For my main image panel I stamped the flower in perfect plum and added some bling. I decided this time not to cut the flower and pop it up since I was popping up the prismacolored bird. I used my Fiskars circle cutter to cut out a 2" and 2 1/2" circle to layer on the scallop punch. The saffron layer is paper pierced and I added faux stitching with the perfect plum marker. The saffron layer is matted on guava and then on plum. To finish off my card I added the guava double stitched ribbon and bow.

Have a great day!


Saturday, April 26, 2008

Zoofari Party

Todays inspiration challenge was a fun one! I love animal stamps! They are so fun and cute to color! Im a true girly girl! Gotta love anything cute!LOL! The majority of my stamps I own are animals.



Lauren (My time) has Saturday sketches on her blog and I love the simplicity of her sketch today so I decided to use her layout but make a square card to fit for yesterdays challenge and of course todays inspiration challenge. I usually layer my circles but today for some reason it didnt look right so I left them off. I colored the animals with prismacolor pencils and blended with gamsol. The party time layer is scored to the top sticks up like kinda like a sign.




I didnt stamp at all yesterday. I didnt get off work until 3 a.m. and I had 3 kids jumping on my bed at 8 a.m and I had to be back at work at 5. Thank goodness we are on spring break this week! We had a great band Thursday night. They made it into the top 15 of the Great American Band contest. We were PACKED!LOL! My feet were killing me! Have a great day!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Garden Harmony

Todays ways to use it challenge was snip, snip! Scissors! Okay you all know I hate cutting!LOL! I colored this flower the other night so I decided to use it for todays challenge since it defintely involves cutting. I kept the layout pretty simple since I love this flower so much! I used a sentiment from Happy Harmony.

Recipe:
Stamps: From the garden, Happy Harmony
Paper: really rust, groovy guava, blush blossom, always artichoke, PTI white
Ink: really rust, pallette noir
Other: theatre ribbon originals, circle punches, dimensionals, prismacolor pencils, gamsol

Happy Mail

Check out what I got in the mail! A beautiful RAK from Stephanie aka SmilynStef. She has a wonderful blog Ingenious Inkling! You can visit her blog by clicking on the link on the sidebar under Awesome Blogs.



Thanks Stephanie! You made my day!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

French Bloomin Amethyst

I found out last night my camera does not like yellow! I tried 15 different pics and they all looked yellow! I even tried again this morning so Im actually not sure if its my camera or the photo box thats making my pic look yellow.



Anywhooo...I love todays sketch! Danny and I were watching a movie last night so I pulled out a few stamped images that needed coloring. This flower was one of them. Since we were up late I decided to take a peek and see if the challenge was loaded and it was! Yayyy! I colored the flower with prismacolor pencils and blended with gamsol. I wanted a softer look and feel to my flower so as I blended I went outside the image. Ive had this thearte ribbon for awhile now and I think this is only the 2nd time Ive used this artichoke ribbon but I thought it would go great with this card.



Have a great day!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Certainly Pretty Pear

I went through Sat. and pulled out alot of stamps that havent seen ink in awhile to use for this week. I love doing challenges!! Todays color challenge is certainly celery, pretty in pink, and choc chip. Perfect colors for the sketch I wanted to use since I have pop in both celery and pretty in pink. For my layout I used Beates wsc44. I used my choc chip marker for faux stitching and added the sentiment stamped in choc chip. I usually have a hard time tying wide ribbon bows but I love how my bow turned out today! The pear is stamped in choc chip and chalked using celery, pretty in pink, and old olive. All edges are sponged and distressed with choc chip.



We had a blast at the races but my legs got COOKED!!! Actually 1/2 of one leg and the top of the other. It looks ridicilous!LOL! Danny is calling me two face you know from the batman movie! My right leg is 1/2 white 1/2 red all the way down to the top of my foot. My left leg is red only on the top and inside of my knee. I was so miserable yesterday it hurt to try to walk! We used sunscreen and even reapplied. The very top of one of Danny legs got burnt. Just the top of Braydens shoulders got burnt. Alanas and Madisons cheeks got burnt. We are a sight!LOL!

Have a great day!


Saturday, April 19, 2008

so many sketches...

so little time!LOL! I was browsin through some of my fave blogs which reminds me I have to update my blog links under awesome blogs. Hopefully I can get that done tommorrow. I found some fabulous sketches I added to my to-stamp list! The first one I did today was from Toys friday sketch. As soon as I saw the sketch I knew it was perfect for the images in Tart and Tangy. I also loved the long card she did in her sample so I made mine long too. The first thing my Mom and I talked about when we saw the set was the possibilities for color combos for the apples since apples are red, green, and golden. I used all three on my card. I also used summer picnic dp. Ive been on a bauble kick this week for some reason. I think Ive added them to every card Ive made!LOL! I just love them! My sentiment is from Verve Visual. I think it was their first release but it works perfect with the WW punch and I havent used the set in forever!



We are going to the races today if the rain will move out of here. The kids are so excited! I will be back tommorrow with some more sketch cards and pics from field day. I couldnt get my camera to work right to post them today! Have a great day!


Friday, April 18, 2008

Long Quiet Moments

I missed stamping yesterday. We have a very busy day and I have the sunburn to prove it!LOL! Yesterday was field day. It was cold most of the morning so of course I didnt think about sunscreen b/c I had on a jacket. Well about 12 or 1 I had to shed the jacket. Yeah! I have a shirt tan!LOL! The kids had a blast though. I have some pics I will share tommorrow. Last night I had to work again another 2:30 a.m. morning getting home. Thank goodness today was only a 1/2 day of school! Boy I will sleep good tonight after I get off work!

Todays challenge was to make a long card at least and no dp. I've had these textured long card by K & Co. for awhile now and I dont think I've used but one in the pack of 12. The one I chose to use today is close to old olive. I have a very hard time w/long cards for some reason! Too much empty space!LOL! I wanted to keep the layout simple since it was a limited supply challenge. I stamped crosshatch on rose red tone on tone instead of using dp. The sentiment is stamped in old olive and pierced underneath it. I added pomegrante dew drops for yesterdays acrylic challenge. I also used an unmounted image from Treehouse stamps. This image is from the Quiet moments set. Is it not the cutest!?!! I colored the image using prismacolor pencils and blending w/gamsol. I sponged olive and turquoise on the edges. The colors came from an outfit I bought Madison the other day. This image reminds me of Madison so I colored it like her. I may give this to her for her bday. Here is a close up of the image but for some reason the pic is a little darker than the card but you get the idea right!?!?! Have a great day!


Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Bali Breeze Friend

Im so proud of myself!! Have you noticed Ive actually been using my dp!! YAAYYY for me!! I have this bad habit of buying dp I love it! The colors and designs! Its one of my fave things about cards!! Its just when it comes to using it I get stumped! I even used 2 different pieces on todays card!



I love todays sketch and I'll be making another card later using it. Its a great sketch to use some great dp on! I love the colors in the bali breeze dp! I paired it with true friend. Ive had this set since it came out and only had one image in the set mounted and I think I actually only stamped it once! Bad little stamper!LOL! I used my markers(rose red, old olive, & pumpkin pie) to ink up my flower. The flower image is layered on rose red and taken with teal. The horizontal strip is old olive layered w/teal. I used the pumpkin pie striped ribbon its one of my faves right now! I faux stitched the two layers together and used my white gel pen. I added a clear bauble to the center of my flower and 3 pomegrante baubles to the top right.


We had a field trip today. Brayden's class went to the strawberry patch ( a different one than Madison went to). We picked some yummy strawberries and ate some yummy ice cream! I bought a bottle of strawberry dressing. Ive never even heard of it but it sounded good! The lady said it was similar to raspberry vinagarette but with a strawberry flavor. 25 days of school left!!! YAAYYY!!! They are about to kill me!LOL! I have the girls field day tommorrow so it will be late afternoon again before I post. Have a great day!!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Always Blush

Groovy guava, blush blossom, and basic gray are the colors for todays color challenge. I knew what I wanted to do as soon as I saw the colors! I love when that happens!LOL! LaurieF has made some amazing creations with the SU Always set. She made me buy the set! Thats my story and Im sticking to it!LOL! I used her for inspiration on my card.

Can you believe there is NO white cardstock on my card!?!?! Nada! zip!LOL! AND no coloring! I stamped the images onto blush blossom instead. I stamped the main image with basic gray and guava and added some white gel pen accents. I cut the guava heart out and popped up on the gray heart so the outline would be in gray. All images and sentiment is from the SU always set. I also added bella baubles to the top right. Pretty simple card it only took 10 minutes to make. Gotta love that!LOL! Have a great day!


Monday, April 14, 2008

Prehistoric Pockets

Todays technique challenge was to create a double pocket card. I've made a couple of these before but its been awhile. I wanted to put something in the second pocket other than a tag, etc. I wanted to put something for the recipent to keep. I thought about doing a candy bar, tea bag, etc. I went to go through my stash to see what I had that would work with the pocket and found this bag of dinos. That was all it took!LOL! I just got this super cute dino set from Treehouse stamps.



I pulled out my SU east coast prep dp to make my pocket card. I love using this dp for boy cards. It has great colors! I colored the dinos using prismacolor pencils and blended w/gamsol. The pteradactyl (sp?) is cut out and popped up on the mustard layer with Prehistoric pals stamped in black. I also added double stitched wasabi ribbon under the image layer. I found 2 dinos in my pack that were green and a mustard color so I pulled them out and made a bag topper. I stamped the sentiment and used my SU turquiose marker to make a border. I left my insert with the mustard dino empty for now but I will put him a little note above the dino for him. I know he will love this! He is a big Land Before Time fan!LOL! I think this turned out pretty cute! Here is a pic of the just the pocket card w/out the inserts. Have a great day!



Sunday, April 13, 2008

Good Karma Garden

Todays featured stamper is Jodi aka Kharmagirl on SCS. Jodi has an amazing gallery!! I loved the layout and HH on her card and it didnt hurt that she mentioned Bon Jovi in her post!LOL! I colored this image this morning hoping I could use it for todays challenge and I did! I colored the flower w/markers and blended w/alcohol. My leaves turned out much better than my petals for some reason. This flower is so much fun to color I will try one w/my prismacolor pencils tommorrow.

Sorry for the short post but I worked at a local pub that I worked at years ago (before children) last night for some extra $$$$ and we had a band and didnt get off until 2 am and I worked tonight and Im just getting off so Im heading to my soft comfy bed!LOL! Be back tommorrow w/more deets on the card!




Thursday, April 10, 2008

Happy as a clam

As soon as I saw this sentiment in the many happy returns I couldnt wait to get my hands on it and pair it with the clam image from crab & co.


This card was super simple to make and you gotta love that! I colored the clam w/prismacolor pencils and blended w/gamsol. I couldnt find a pencil in my prismacolor pencils to match soft sky so I went through my daughters Crayola color pencils and found a closer match. I used it to color the sky or water whichever you choose to see!LOL! I went over the sand w/some stickles from my Big Sis!! Thanks a bunch! The layout was inspired by someone's blog I visit but I didnt write down the name so if its you let me know so I can give you credit!

Here is a close up of the clam image. I added googlie eyes to the clam I just cant resist it!LOL! I wont be posting tommorrow I have to work ALL day so be thinking about me and my aching feet tommorrow!LOL!


Recipe:

stamps: crab & co., many happy returns (both SU)

Paper: soft sky, close to cocoa, fall flowers dp, groovy guava textured cs

Ink: pallette noir, close to cocoa

Other: paper piercer, soft sky double stitched ribbon, silver brad, ww punch, googlie eyes, stickles








Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Winds of grace



I love todays sketch! My Mom called me while I was making this card and told me she wasnt so fond of the sketch. I told her to let me finish my card and I'd let her know if I did!LOL! But its the truth! If I can come up with a card I like then I love the sketch. If I bomb it I hate the sketch. Todays sketch was to use an off set oval. It could be a one layer card or not. I decided to use mask reversing ( I think that's what its called). I made a card when I first starting stamping it was a one sympathy card using this technique and I really liked it. You can check it out in my SCS gallery.


For todays card I knew I wanted to try to use blues and a neutral and a rubbernecker image for the RBC04. Those of you who visit my blog often know I swipe some of my Moms stamps and this old world map by Rubbernecker and Winds of grace by SU are two that I swiped a couple of weeks ago. These type of images are usually not my style but I wanted to give it a try. I started with a blue bayou card base. I layered textured soft sky stamped with the Old world map in blue bayou onto the card base. I distressed and sponged the soft sky layer with blue bayou. For my main image panel I used Fiskars oval template and cut my oval out of a sheet of copy paper. I used the copy paper to cover up the entire white panel except my oval. I stamped the sailboat from winds of grace inked w/choc chip in the oval. I used my sponges to sponge soft sky and blue bayou on the top and bottom of my oval. I distressed and sponged the edges of my panel w/choc chip ink and turned down the left corner. To finish off my card I added blue bayou and soft sky double stitched ribbon and a brad. Hope you like it as much as I do! Have a great day!


Tuesday, April 8, 2008

cc161 Real Glorious Berry



Todays color challenge was real red, glorious green, and night of navy. I got a visit from Mr. Brown yesterday so I knew I had to use this new tart and tangy set from the mini. I didnt want it at first but quickly changed my mind after seeing everyones cute creations with this set! I love getting sets out of the mini-NO CUTTING! Just pop them out and put em on the block!LOL


For todays card I started with Laurens Saturday sketch that I LOVE! I thought it was perfect for the small images in the tart and tangy set. My glorious green card base is 4 1/4 x 5 1/2. The night of navy layer has 2 real red dp

1 3/8" strips attached to it. I added navy and red grosgrain ribbon to the top of the navy layer. The strawberry image is inked w/markers and huffed. I punched the strawberry out w/ 1 1/4" circle punch and layered with the 1 3/8" circle punch and scallop punch. The sentiment is from PTI green thumb. I added piercing on both sides of the sentiment. To finish off my card I added 3 red brads and I think I should have put them on the opposite side looking at it now. Oh well! All in all I think its a pretty cute card hope you do too! Have a great day!




Monday, April 7, 2008

Double Stacked Bareback

For the first time Im so glad its Monday! Im so glad to put last week behind me! What a week!!!



To start off our challenge week Beth's challenge today was double stacked ribbon. The first thing that came to mind was twill and hemp. Ive had my Moms Bareback set for a couple of weeks now so I decided I finally needed to actually use it!LOL! We have a great system me and my Mom she buys...I borrow!LOL! Just kidding! But seriously its great that we live close enough that we can share sets especially since we usually have different taste in stamp sets so we have a wider variety of stamps. When I want to try something out of my comfort zone I usually borrow some of her images.



For todays card I started with a creamy caramel base 4 1/4 x 5 1/2. I stamped sanded inked in choc chip onto the creamy caramel base. I pulled out some scraps of outlaw dp and sponged and distressed the edges. The mediallion layer is 4 x 5 1/4. My 2 sq panels are 2 1/2 x 3 layered w/choc chip. On the sage layer I stamped the sentiment from Bareback then stamped the horses stamped off twice and stamped them over the sentiment. The horse head is stamped on vanilla and cut out w/Fiskars circles and sponged and distressed and popped up on dimensionals. To finish off my card I added my double stacked hemp and twine and 3 brads. I actually LOVE how my card turned out today! Have a great day!


Sunday, April 6, 2008

fs61 Amazing afternoon tea

Todays featured stamper is Kristi. I cased her boho flowers card and changed the dp and image. I love the simple layout in Kristi's card so I kept it I added some (bad) faux stitching and changed the ribbon and slider. I dont know what happened to my piercing and stitching this morning!LOL! So we'll just move right on past that!LOL!





Todays is my sister's bday! Happy Birthday!! We are having a get together at her house this afternoon and I have to make her some of my mac & cheese.



I thought I would share a pic of Madison from her field trip on Friday w/you. Can you tell we went to the strawberry patch! The kids loved it! We also got some yummy strawberries!! Have a great day!

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Head over heels


While I was blog browsing the other day I went on Jodys blog and saw a tutorial she had on watercoloring w/alcohol instead of water. In her tutorial she used reinkers. I dont have all the reinkers so I decided to try my SU markers. I colored this duck from High hopes three times and punched them out in different places to make it look like the duck was flipping. I loved the sentiments in the SU many happy returns. I saw this head over heels and knew it was perfect for the HH duck. I made a card awhile back for a friend of mine using this duck and a computer generated head over heels sentiment so I was excited to actually have a stamp w/the sentiment now.

I do have a few copic markers that I have been practicing with and one of them I have is the cool gray for shadow and outlines. I used it on the duck for some shading. I used my pumpkin pie marker for the beak (bill?) and feet. I stamped the senitment three times on the sq and pierced in b/w the sentiments. I also faux stitched on the 3 image panels. The layout is from Taylors blog tecc9. I think the card turned out pretty cute!






Thursday, April 3, 2008

sc170 Sassy Girl

Sorry Ive been MIA again. ALOT has been going on. First I had 2 cameras now I have none. I have stamped some though so I do have a few things I can share over the next few days. I probably wont be posting daily but I will post as often as I can.




I made this card for this weeks sketch challenge. It took me 2 days to think of the image I could use since it was a long panel. I knew I didnt want to use flowers again then I remebered these Missy B Sassy girls so I pulled them out and the sentiment seemed to fit my mood at the time!LOL!! I colored her w/prismacolor pencils and blended w/gamsol. I paper pieced her skirt with the same dp as panel 2. The dp I used is SU spring fling.




Here is a close up of the main image. This is the first time Ive tried to do a close up so let me know how you like it! I will probably give this card to my sister since we seem to share an inherited sassyness and I know she will appreciate it!LOL!


Recipe:

Stamps: Missy B Sassy girls

Ink: pallette noir

Paper: spring fling dp, pretty in pink, so saffron, certainly celery

Other: crystal stickles, prismacolor pencils, pretty in pink grosgrain, celery grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals, silver brad, paper piercing