Sassy & Sweet Notes

Spirit Dress

The little chipboard dresses by Crafty Secrets (releasing at the end of July - available in my shop then too!) are SO addicting! I think it reminds me of when I was young, playing dolls. I made this one today, and already I have an idea for another...and another...and another! I could make these all day! (and I just might!)

I wanted this dress to have a little bit of a Halloween look to it, so I used the black dotted paper for the dress. I thought the lime green apron would give it a sweet "witchy" look without having to actually BE a Halloween print. Of course I had to have sparkle, so I really sparkled up the collar. The glitter I used has little silver stars in it, which I though would be fun! I put down a layer of Glossy Accents and sprinkled the glitter right on top. When the Glossy Accents dries the glitter is held in place nicely.

The little black buttons are by Doodlebug. It bugs me to see buttons on paper craft projects that don't actually LOOK like they've been sewn on, but I don't always like having to pull out a needle and thread just for a card. So, a little trick I like to use is to cut a narrow strip of paper and thread it through the button. When you adhere the button to your project, the adhesive (glue dots work great!) holds the ends of the paper in place. Easy-peasy threaded buttons.

I used my serrated tracing wheel to create the look of stitching around the hems of the dress, apron, and pocket. The tracing wheel is a great way to very quickly and easily add faux stitching to any paper craft project! I *love* this little tool!

Hmmm... which dress to make next...

The Good Life, with Western Flair

Working with the new Thomas Kinkade stamps by Cornish Heritage Farms is so fun! I love being able to take well known TK paintings and turn them into something completely different! I wonder if TK would like this design, with the heavy western flair?

I had the most fun making this card with an image from The Good Life! I think this is my favorite image from the series. Maybe because it looks like a place I would like to spend a lot of time!

I've read some discussions on SplitCoastStampers about people's concern for using the images and feeling pressure to always color them in and have them resemble the painting. A marvelous thing about these stamps is that while they look totally AMAZING when they're colored, I think they're equally as impressive when they're not colored.

I put details on how this card was made here in the designer gallery on the Cornish Heritage Farms site. Be sure to check out the other galleries on their site too - I'm still blown away at the work the other designers posted! What treasures!

Whipper Snapper Sneak Peek!

Whipper Snapper is planning another big rubber stamp release at the July CHA Show in Rosemont, Illinois.

I have been hard at work coloring all of the images for the stamp labels. While it takes a LOT of time to color all of the images, it's a process I really enjoy. I *love* seeing the stamps with not only my drawings on them, but the labels I have colored as well!

I will have nearly 100 new designs with the release in July and this image is one of them! Since I've been so busy with the images making sure they look great for the labels I thought I'd treat you (and ME) with a FULL sneak peak of this design. Do you remember the itty bitty peek of this image I gave in early May?

I'm just delighted to be part of the Whipper Snapper family, and am *really* looking forward to the July release!

Happy Weekend! =)

Cornish Heritage Farms introduces Thomas Kinkade!

 
June 28th at midnight Mountain time, Cornish Heritage Farms (CHF) launched their new line of stamps featuring images by Thomas Kinkade!

I was *speechless* when I received the invitation to be part of the talented team of stampers who were asked to be on the design team. Opportunities like this don't come around every day, and what an experience it has been so far!

The images are nothing short of amazing! Knowing what I know now about the process Liz and Richard at CHF went through to launch this series, I have an entirely new appreciation for rubber stamps, and the perseverance of Liz and Richard.

The designers have all been burnin' the midnight oil, but it has been well worth it! I'll be sharing my projects here with you, but you should check out the galleries at Cornish Heritage Farms to see more of the *amazing* work that has been done with this series.  I think stampers and collectors alike are going to be THRILLED with the series!

One of my favorite images I worked with was this one called Village Christmas. For this 6x6 card, I stamped the image with Brilliance Pearlescent Lavender ink on Whisper White cardstock. I added Stardust Stickles to areas I wanted there to be lots of sparkle, and while the Stickles was still wet I added Dazzling Diamonds glitter (I wanted it to REALLY sparkle!)

Once the Stickles dried, I matted the image onto a piece of black cardstock. I stamped over the entire image with VersaMark ink and added a layer of Ultra Thick Embossing Powder to the image. Once the embossing powder was heated, I stamped VersaMark over the image again and added a second layer of embossing powder and heated it. The embossing powder really popped the details and enhanced the shimmer of the pearlescent ink. And the sparkles -- well, they sparkled like diamonds!

I mounted the image on a white linen card and added the ribbons. This was a quick way to create a very elegant card. I'll be making several more of these for holiday greetings this year!

I really can't say enough wonderful things about working with CHF and the Thomas Kinkade Rubber Stamp Design Team! Be sure to check out the CHF galleries, and you must get the scoop on these images from the other members of the Design Team as well! Lisa Strahl, Asela Hopkins, Debbie Olson, Ellen Hutson, Keri Sereika, Linda Bullard, Sharon Harnist, and Valerie Stangle.

Lollie

Alan (that's his arm) and I got this cute photo of Lollie earlier while she tore apart a piece of cardboard on my desk. She pulls up the edge of the cardboard and makes curly strips. She's a busy bunny!

We've had her for 12 days, and she has gained over 9 ounces. She has outgrown her little kleenex house, and has upgraded to a full size box.

She's kind of a piggy. =)

Blue Skies & Sunny Days...

I have a package of farm animal stickers on my desk from the $1 bin at Michael's. I love them, so they're really hard to part with! But when something comes together as easily as this card, and is so cheek-pinching CUTE, it does make it a *little* easier to use them.

I used the little jumping sheep sticker to create a really simple scene using my Rosie's Roadshow wading pool. First, I stamped the pool onto patterned paper and cut it out. Then I stamped the pool onto the base of the card and colored the water. THEN, I adhered the patterned paper pool right over the top of the image on the card, doodled some grass, added a shadow and ribbon.

Inside is stamped "Wishing you Blue Skies & Sunny Days". Perfect for a gray, rainy day like today!

Someone pinch me...

I invite you to read THIS POST on Mona Lisa's blog.

Can you even imagine how many times I've squealed since being invited to join this team of totally amazing stampers?! Take that number and multiply by at least 1000 and you MIGHT be close to being right!

"Attention Walmart Shoppers..."

What an evening we've had here! *GULP!* I drove to town earlier this evening to go to the local scrap shop, grocery store, and to get a few odds and ends at Walmart. It was threatening to rain when I got to town, but nothing looked out of the ordinary.

I'd finished my shopping at Walmart and was *patiently* waiting in the check-out line behind a coupon/flyer packing Grandma who was taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r to find all of the coupons while the checker scanned her items (cute little lady though!). Her cell phone rang and she pulled it out of the side pocket on her blue denim moo-moo dress. "Hello..... ooooh... oh dear. ...goodbye." She turned to me and said "My friend just told me there's a tornado between here and Midlothian." Midlothian is a small town about 10-12 miles away from where we were.

Oh.

I called Alan, who was at home. I knew he'd be able to check the weather and let me know what was happening. Sure enough... tornado, and it was moving in my direction at 20mph.

Then, over the store loudspeaker... "Attention Walmart Shoppers...MOVE TO THE CENTER OF THE STORE IMMEDIATELY. Stay away from all exits. Leave your items where they are, and move to the center of the store."

And we all did.

I was still on the phone with Alan and he was giving me updates on the weather. I could see outside through the doors, and it was DARK DARK DARK! The rain was coming down so heavy, we couldn't see the cars in the parking lot. I could hear the tornado sirens outside. Alan said it had started to really rain at home too, which is about 25 miles south of where I was at the store.

The voice on the loudspeaker came back on a few minutes later and encouraged shoppers to remain calm and enjoy shopping for items in the center of the store. (ha!!) About 10-15 minutes went by before we were allowed to return to the check-out area. The rain let up a bit, although it was still really pouring, but at least the cars in the parking lot were visible. I don't think the tornado ever touched down in the area.

I drove home in the rain and watched as the ditches, yards and pastures filled with water.

Alan took some photos while I was in town...check out the clouds! This was before it started raining, just before my little "attention Walmart shoppers" experience. The first photo was taken looking northwest (you can see our neighbors house way off in the distance).

The second photo was taken looking southwest, looking up above the garage (and firetruck). It was just after 7:00pm -- there should have been at least 2 hours of daylight left, but BOY was it DARK! We got a few inches of rain and the dark clouds, but nothing too serious. Thankfully! =)

Illustration Friday: Camouflage

This weeks Illustration Friday topic is "Camouflage". I'm submitting this card I made today as my "illustration". Hope I'm not cheating! =) *grin*

For this card, I used two frog stamps by Whipper Snapper Designs (artist: Shelly Comiskey) and the masking technique to create the scene.

I find it easier to start in the lower right corner when doing masking stamping, so first I stamped Frog Prince in the lower right corner to start the scene. Then I stamped Fergus Frog (the one without the crown) over and over to create a mob o' frogs. (Hahaa! That makes me laugh!)

Each time I stamped Fergus, I masked his image with a post-it note so the next image I stamped wouldn't over-stamp the previous image. I really LOVE masking stamping!

This card measures about 5"x7", and was created using Pearlized White paper by Paper Accents, yellow dots paper by Chatterbox, black scalloped cardstock by Bazzill, green dots paper by Making Memories, and May Arts ribbon. The frogs were stamped in Black Stazon and colored with Prismacolor Pencils. I used various greens to color the frogs so they had their own personality (since it's the same image, I wanted them to still look unique). I used a Copic marker for the gray shadows, and Sakura marker for the doodled border.

Crafty Secrets: Fairies and Coffee & Tea Special Order UPDATE!

If you pre-ordered the Crafty Secrets Fairies and/or Coffee & Tea stamp sets from me, they arrived today!! AND, they are all packaged, addressed, and ready for tomorrow's outgoing mail!! They look MARVELOUS!! =)

Hey! Hay!

Alan arranged to have some big round bales of hay delivered to the farm. They were supposed to arrive this morning, but they arrived yesterday evening! Good thing Alan was ready! I supervised the job with camera in hand.
 
I took this photo of Junior on one of the bales as he helped supervise the unloading process. He's such a good HELPER!

The hay arrived on a big trailer. Alan used the tractor to get the bales off of the trailer. He puts a big long metal spear on the front of the bucket of the tractor and uses that spear to poke into the center of the bales. He then lifts the bales from the trailer and places them on the ground. Each bale weighs about 1,000 pounds... sheesh! That's heavy!

Once the trailer is empty, the next task is relocating the bales to a place on the farm where they can be stored.

The cows and donkeys were so EXITED to see new hay! They were mooing and braying and carrying on the entire time Alan was moving the hay.

Next week the vet is coming out and we're going to do some vaccinations and, uh, some "pocket picking" on some of the boys on the farm. Butthead (one of the big bulls) as well as Billy and Fitz (the two jack donkeys) will get their pockets picked. And once again, I'll be supervising the scene with camera in hand. Well, that's the plan anyway...we'll see how well I do.
(pocket picking = castration)

Scenic Stampendous

Stampendous has a line of stamps called Scenic Serenity. They're FABULOUS! There's the Scenic Poppy, Villa, Lavender, Grapes, Olives and Sunflower.

This is the Scenic Sunflower image stamped on Shimmery White paper and colored with Prismacolor Pencils. I put two layers of Ultra Thick Embossing Powder over the image, and then I cracked it.

The sunflower photo I posted earlier reminded me of this stamp, so I made some time to get it inky!

The sentiment on the side is by Inkadinkado and reads "a true friend is the rarest of all blessings. - La Rochefoucauld". I was so happy to find this stamp...it's a wonderful sentiment for so many cards.

The paper is new, from the EK Success line called Classic K Bailey. The paper is printed as double-sided sheets, and comes lots of beautiful coordinating prints. I like the rich coppery color of this piece matched with the image and the coppery colored ribbon by May Arts. I stitched on the copper charm, and brushed a fine dusting of copper PearlEx over the card for lots of shimmer! Can't go wrong with shimmer! =)

Sunflowers...

We are having the best year for wildflowers this year! It's really been amazing to see the variety of the flowers. Most of the Mexican Hats and Indian Blankets have gone to seed, although there are a couple of really nice looking plants still blooming in the backyard.

Now it's the sunflowers that are scattered around, showing their sunny faces. They're growing in some of the farming fields, along the roadways, and along fence lines. This one is growing in our backyard, near the fence where we keep the round bales for the cows. The seeds must have been in the hay. There are a few more sunflower plants growing near this one, but they haven't started to bloom yet. Soon!!

We had a "spontaneous storm" yesterday (I think that's what they call it when they get the weather forecast wrong), and we got about 1/2 an inch of rain in about 15 minutes. It POURED. I took this photo of the flower a couple of hours after the storm. I am amazed the flower survived so well!

Lollie

Finally! A name! Meet Lollie!

I was taking photos earlier of some of the projects I've been working on recently (sheesh, I've been BUSY!)that I can't share with you just yet (SOON I can!), and thought it might be cute to show you another photo of her - this time in her favorite little house!

This is a 4.5" square Kleenex box. She just loves it! When she's not in it, she's pushing it around her hutch, making sure it's in just the right spot so she can have a good watch on the world around her.

Naming Lollie was harder than I thought it would be. First, thank you to EVERYONE who suggested names! There were so many good names suggested it made it just that much more difficult since so many were added to my list! Some of the suggestions were Fluffy, Flopsy, Carrots, Gogo, Penelope, Cashmere, Lila, Harriet, CT (for Closing Time), Sweet Temptation, and so many more! You guys are GOOD at coming up with names for our animals!

My first suggestion for her was Lola, but Alan said that reminded him of the song Lola - and that probably wasn't a good thing so that got crossed off the list.

I also had Penelope at the top of my list, but Alan said something about a girl he knew who went by Penelope, so that was crossed off the list. (wink)

Then, Lollie. I like Lollie. Alan likes Lollie.

Sweet Lil' Lollie it is.

She's so tiny...

Alan and I drove to town earlier this evening to get some supplies at the farm supply store. It was just before closing time. As we walked to the back of the store we came to a big tub. I can feel my spine soften at just the sight of the big tubs at the farm store. I know they put baby animals in those tubs - I'm a TOTAL sucker for baby animals.

I expected chickens -- I can say no to baby chickens since we have our own little ones. But there weren't any chickens in the tub. No baby ducks either. Instead, there was one itty bitty little bunny. Alan reached down and pet it's head.

I was getting even weaker just watching!

I reached down to pet it's head...

Oh my gosh... it was just so cute. And it was all alone. It didn't have ANY friends! Not ONE!

I picked it up (I know...I know...you're not supposed to)... it nuzzled into my shirt. That's all it took... Logic ---> out the window.

Alan looked at me, "We're taking it home, aren't we?"
My response, "Yes."

Shame on Alan for letting me be so WEAK!

But, OH MY GOSH..... can you say C-U-T-E!?!

Thank you, Alan, for letting me be so weak!

Now, what to name her...

Crafty Secrets Sweet Chips

Crafty Secrets is releasing some really fun chipboard kits called Sweet Chips. There are a couple of different kits so far, and I'm guessing there will be more to come.

One of the kits is this fun little house which has so much potential for cuteness! I put together this little bird house using paper from the Pastel paper pad, also by Crafty Secrets. I used some beaded pearls and polka dot ribbon for accents. The house is 3x3x5ish. I think the little scalloped roof is just so cute! I chose to add the additional scallops at the top of the roof for added charm.

All of the chipboard kit parts come flat, unfinished. It's up to you to decide how to finish the parts and how to use them on the house. I like using patterned paper, but the chipboard also takes acrylic paint really well! I used an emery board to sand the edges of the chipboard once I had glued on the paper. Sanding the edges give them a soft look, and really finishes it off.

A couple of weeks ago I made some of the Sweet Chips clothing outfits, also by Crafty Secrets, and I had some left over chipboard parts so I used them on my birdhouse! The flower and button on the side of the birdhouse are left over from the other chipboard kit. The house kit comes with a couple of chipboard windows and a door, which I chose not to use. But I saved them, in case they'll come in handy for my next project.

Speaking of the clothing outfits, I don't think I've shared the outfits I created with you yet! Here is a photo of the little rose dress I made using the dress from the chipboard outfit kit.

The outfit kit comes with a dress and overalls. There are all kinds of pieces and parts you can use to embellish the clothes -- buttons, pockets, bows -- all made out of chipboard cuts!

I really need to take a better photo of this little dress. The collar is really something, and you can't see it well in this photo. I painted it with a layer of white pearl acrylic paint. Once it was dry, I added a thin layer of sparkly glitter. But it wasn't sparkly enough... so I added a THICK layer of Glossy Accents (which is similar to a thick, clear varnish). While the Glossy Accents was still wet, I covered it with MORE glitter. Glossy Accents dries clear so it's great to use over papers or photos when you want something to have a little more bulk or shine. The dried Glossy Accents held all the glitter in place and WOWWEEEE talk about sparkle!!

This is the overall outfit I put together using the same kit. Again, I covered the chipboard with patterned paper, but this time I inked the edges (overalls are meant for playin' in the dirt, right?). I chose to make pink girly overalls, so I added pink velvet ribbon and a vintage button for accents.

I really like that the set comes with a variety of embellishment pieces. All of the parts work so well together, it is easy to create something totally unique each time.

They're so fun ... and addicting!! =)

I have a bunch of the chipboard kits on order for my shop and can't WAIT for them to arrive!!

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Just a quick note to wish my Dad, and all Dads, a happy Father's Day!

My Dad loves do so many things, but most of all he loves to fish. I love this photo of my dad - it was taken a couple of years ago while he was fishing with one of his buddies on the river near where they live. It looks like they had a GREAT time on a beautiful day!

Dad, I hope you have a wonderful day today! Sorry Alan and I can't be with you to celebrate. Daisy and Farley send big hugs and licks, and Twinkle Toes and Huey say TWEET! All the other critters say bark meow moo hee-haw cluckity cluck!

Oh, and uh... your father's day package is late.
But you should be used to that by now!

Illustration Friday: Rejection

This weeks Illustration Friday topic is "Rejection". This is my illustration.

He Loves me, Loves me not, Loves me, Loves me not... This kind of rejection really stinks.

Thankfully, my love daisy ended with a 'loves me' petal. Hope yours did too...

The original piece is roughly 5x6 inches, done in watercolors on Fabriano cotton cold pressed watercolor paper. The painting was then accented with black fine line ink.

Memory Box Summer Penguin Card Contest!

Summer's gaining on us and it's time to celebrate the newly released Memory Box Summer Penguins with a card contest! As soon as I heard about the summer penguin release I jumped at the chance to have my shop, Sassy & Sweet Crafts, host a Memory Box Summer Card Contest.

How do you enter?
Create an original card using one or more of the new Memory Box Summer Penguin rubber stamps.

You don't have any summer penguins yet? Shop here! Summer Penguins include Posey Penguin, Surfer Penguin, Fishing Penguin, Ice Cream Penguin, Net Penguin, Fiesta Penguin, and Beach Penguin.

Once you've created your original card using at least one of the summer penguins, post a comment to THIS blog post and include a link to where you've posted the card on your blog, your SplitCoastStampers gallery, or any other photo hosting site (like TwoPeas, Flickr, Webshots, etc).

Enter as many cards as you'd like, but each card may only be submitted to the contest once. The more cards you create, the better your chances of winning!

Cards must be newly created designs, and may not be cards you've submitted to any other Memory Box contest - including other Summer Penguin contests. You may use stamps, designer paper, and embellishments from other companies in addition to the summer penguin stamp when creating your card(s).

On August 1st, a randomly selected winner from qualifying cards linked to this post will receive this amazing box of 50 cards and 50 envelopes in 50 beautiful Memory Box colors!

Don't forget... you must include a link to your card in your comment, and you must include your name!

Contest ends July 31, 2007 at midnight CST!

So, get stampin' and show us your Summer Penguin designs! 

Beach Postage

Except for yesterday (it rained on and off all day), it's been warm here (ok... HOT) so creating cards with the new My Favorite Things acrylic stamp set called Hit the Beach was easy! I used the swim trunks, a beach ball and a fruity-froo-froo drink... all of those would make a perfect day!

I used my postage stamp punch by Uchida to punch out three faux stamps, and then stamped them with the images. I doodled around the edges, added the postage amount (sheesh... .41 now!) and adhered the stamps to the card with sticky, foam dimensionals by Stampin' Up! (They're my FAVORITE foam stickies -- just the right height, and they're super sticky!)

I think the scalloped paper now available from Bazzil is so fun! If you can't find it locally, let me know ... I'd be happy to stock it in the Sassy & Sweet Shop! It's about 5.5 wide and 11.5 inches long, and comes in a variety of colors and Bazzil textures. Great stuff! I finished the card off with one of my favorite ribbons -- sheer white polka dots by May Arts.

Perfectly beachy...

Weather...

Weather.com says it's SUNNY in Milford today. Clear skies and SUNNY! They say it's supposed to get up to 90 today. Oddly enough, when I look out my window all I see in the sky are clouds...as far as I can see. And what do you know... it's RAINING! We're experiencing liquid sunshine I guess... liquid sunshine mixed with thunder. What an odd forecast.

BIG Moth...

This moth was on the side of the garage this morning, under where the yard light is on all night.

From the end of his nose to the tip of his wings he is at least three inches long. Maybe even a bit longer.

Can anyone tell me what kind of moth this is?

He's beautiful, for sure!

Edited to Add: Jenn/Mike suggested a Sphinx moth... doing more research on it, I think Mike's right! In fact, I think it's a Waved Sphinx Moth. Give me five, Mike!

Edited AGAIN to add: Barbara, you posted your Waved Sphinx Moth comment at the exact same time I posted the above edit!! Ha ha!! How fun is that!! JINX! =)

Too Early for Halloween? I don't THINK so!

Life has been particularly busy the past few days. And to top it off, Alan and I have both had a touch of a tummy bug, which doesn't make things any easier. But, hopefully we've seen the last of that for a while!

BUT I've been able to make some cute things anyway! My Favorite Things just released a new set called Fright Night, and it's so fun! I love the little trick-or-treaters! I stamped them on some nice white paper and colored them with Prismacolor pencils and markers. Of course I had to add some Stickles for sparkle! A super easy, but totally cute halloween card!

I created a set of these using various images from the stamp set. I think they all turned out pretty stinkin' fun!

Trick -or-Treat!

Edited to Add: If you're not familiar with My Favorite Things, check out their website. They're an independent rubber stamp company (you can buy online and with some retailers). They make great acrylic sets, with lots of variety to the images and themes. Service is great and I think you'll have a blast working with the stamps!

Chicken Family...

I know I told you about the second chick that the mother hen hatched, but I don't think I showed you a picture! She had them out in the barnyard the other day, and I was able to get just a few photos before Alan and I had to put mama hen and the babies in a nesting kennel in the barn. The young roosters were NOT being nice to the babies and the mama hen was getting very stressed out trying to protect them both. So, in the nesting kennel they went until the chicks get a little bigger and stronger.

This photo cracks me up...it looks like mama is giving them instruction (a lecture maybe?) about how to behave in the barnyard. PeeWee (on the left) looks to be paying attention, but I'd bet that Wee Manetta (the yellow one) is napping! Again!

Illustration Friday: Suit

This weeks Illustration Friday topic is "Suit". Since it was in the 90s today and m-u-g-g-y I had swim suits on the brain.

Keeping with my polka dot and chicken theme for the day, here's my illustration "Penny in her Red Bikini".

I don't think chickens swim... float maybe, but not swim. But I bet all the girls would look marvelous in a red polka dot bikini!

Best of Cluck

I haven't posted a card in a few days, but I haven't had time to do much stamping this week either. So I thought I'd drag out one of my favorites from the archives!

Best of Cluck is one of my favorite Stampin' Up sets -- and it's set to retire at the end of the month (which means it can no longer be ordered as a new set from Stampin' Up.)

I made this card when I still lived in Oregon, before I lived here on the farm with chickens of my own. =) There are lots of things I love about this card. Like the polka dot chicken! Who doesn't love polka dots and chickens!?  I also like how the background stamp turned out on this card. I think it's called stippled plaid, but I'm not sure. I'd dig it out of the drawer to check, but I've got high-maintenance Huey on my shoulder and lots of moving around just causes Huey to make lots of noise and flap around the room. I like to avoid that chaos when possible. =)

I got the leaf from my Mom. Thanks Mom!

Sassy & Sweet Notes - Greeting Cards

Today I received a portion of my printed floral greeting cards collection, and I'm super excited! The quality is better than I could have hoped for -- in fact, it's downright AMAZING!

I received 8 of the florals from the first set, and plan to do a series of equines/western as well. The plan is to see if any of the floral and/or gift shops in the area would be interested in selling my cards. Cross your fingers that they sell well! =)

If you're interested in purchasing the cards, I've listed a handful of each of the designs on the Sassy & Sweet Shop. AND, there's a gallery in the column on the right side of my blog called Printed Greeting Cards where you can get a look at the designs. The floral cards are an A2 sized note card. The illustrated cards are 5x7.

I do love flowers... it's so fun seeing them professionally printed so bright and cheery!

Wee Manetta has a friend!

I went out to feed the chickens this morning, and there was an awful lot of peeping coming from under the hen that hatched Wee Manetta yesterday. She stood up to get some grain and sure enough -- a second chick was under her - this time a baby chicken! I didn't have my camera with me or you'd have a cute picture instead of this "artist rendition" of the chick.

The hen was in the process of moving nesting spots, and where she's sitting now isn't very accessible (unless you're a chicken). So I might not be able to get a photo for you any time soon. The new chick is an itty bitty little thing! Hope they do well -- seems like they've got a good mama.

Since she left the rest of the eggs she's been sitting on, I took them and put them under another hen that has been sitting. She's determined to hatch something, so we'll see if she can brew up another couple of chicks.

Edited to Add: I've had a few questions about how the hen hatched different kinds of babies (a chicken, and a turken). They're good questions! Free-range chickens (those not kept in individual cages) tend to lay their eggs in only a few nest areas. On a normal day after a hen lays her egg, she goes out to be with the rest of the chickens. Another hen will go to the same nesting spot, lay her egg, and rejoin the flock. Followed by another hen, etc. Assuming you have several kinds of chickens, you will have several kinds of eggs layed in one nest. When a hen decides she wants to sit on eggs long enough for something to hatch, there's a very good chance that she's cookin' more than just her own eggs. I pick eggs every day, but I try not to disturb a hen that's sitting (she's probably laying). They tend to "FREAK OUT" if they're disturbed while they're trying to lay their egg. ...I probably would too.  =)

It's a baby Manetta!

We have a hen that's been sitting on a nest in the barn for a good long while. This morning, her dedication payed off!

She hatched this cute little white Turken chick. All of the Turkens on the farm are named Manetta (after a dear friend) ... we've got Miss Manetta, White Manetta, Brown Manetta, Bald Manetta, and now we've got a Wee Manetta!

Cheep Cheep!

We've decided to leave this chick with the mother since she's in a fairly quiet spot away from other chickens... and she's still sitting on the nest, so maybe she'll hatch another baby soon! You can see another photo of Wee Manetta HERE.

Crafty Secrets: NEW Stamps Special Order

Crafty Secrets JUST announced two brand new Clear Art Stamp sets, and can you say WOW!! They're fabulous! The detail in the fairies (left) is amazing, and the Coffee & Tea set (below) is perfectly vintage!

The design team is just getting these in hand, and you can imagine we're THRILLED!

I'm offering a special pre-order for these stamps (they haven't hit shops yet!). If you would like to have one or both of the sets ordered for you, please email me.

Of course I'll be carrying these in the Sassy & Sweet Shop, but a pre-order will ensure there's a set available for you as soon as they arrive.

The Fairies set is $15.75 + $1.50 for shipping
The Coffee & Tea set is $26.95 + $1.50 for shipping
Order both sets and get free standard shipping to US addresses!
International shipping by package weight to your address.
Send me a note and we'll work out payment details.

Crafty Secrets also announced a new Cotton Scrap called Feathered Friends (oooh birdies!), and a new line of chipboard products called Sweet Chips is going to be available soon! I *flipped* when I saw how stinkin' CUTE the new chipboard products are!

Watch the Crafty Secrets design team gallery for projects being posted soon! You can count on there being a special order available here for Sweet Chips! (With a name like Sweet Chips, you *know* they're going to be fun!)

Shaving Brush (Star Thistle, Basket Flower)

Alan and I went out into the far pasture this evening so I could take photos of some of the purple wildflowers I saw out there earlier today. It was really HOT and muggy, so we weren't out there for very long. But I did manage to get some fun shots of the flowers, and even a butterfly!

This flower is called a Shaving Brush (or Star Thistle or Basket Flower). We have a BUNCH of these in the pasture! Gobs and gobs! I thought this photo turned out pretty cool -- reminds me of an exploding firework. The flower bloom is about 2 inches across (some were larger, some smaller).

You can see more of the photos I took today in my Flower Gallery. The first 8 shots in the gallery are from today. Enjoy!

New Blog Banner!

As we move into the warmer days of summer, I thought it was time for a new look here at Sassy & Sweet. AND, what better timing than on my 1 year bloggin'-versary! My first blog post was June 10, 2006...and what an adventure it's been since! Thanks for joining me! Thanks for your inspiration, kind words and laughs!

The new banner is a watercolor painting I did with inspiration from all the wildflowers we've had blooming here recently, for this week's Illustration Friday theme "Your Paradise". The flowers sure are purdy this year! =)

Edited to Add: The new blog banner is in place -- if you don't see it, you might need to reload your page view. If that doesn't work, you might need to clear your temporary internet files, since computers actually store graphic files to pages you visit so when you return to the page again later, the page loads faster. And, if you do this and you STILL don't see the new banner... hmm... well, then I'm stumped. =) I see the new banner, but I use FireFox as my web program, and NOT Internet Explorer, or AOL, or Netscape, etc.

Whipper Snapper Sneak Peek...

I am *so* excited for the next Whipper Snapper release in July. It's going to be a "BIG'N"!! Whipper Snapper works with 5 artists and we all have new images being released. Most of my new images fit within the theme of autumn and winter. My favorite times of year!

The image on this card is one of my new designs. Normally my sneak peeks are just a portion of the image, but I couldn't bring myself to only show you part of this card!

I have always been drawn to folk art during the fall and winter months. I love handmade dolls dressed in harvest colors, pumpkins made of fabric, crows and sunflowers, felted wools and homespun flannels. I love all the rich colors and cozy textures. So I'm SUPER excited to have some of my folk art designs as part of this image release.

I can't WAIT to share them all with you!