Sassy & Sweet Notes

Breast Cancer Awareness

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and I couldn't be more honored to be part of the My Favorite Things design team for the release of a new stamp set called Think Pink. Portions of the sales of this set will be donated for breast cancer initiatives. For more information on this, please visit the My Favorite Things website and blog.

This is the first card I created with the set, using the designer paper as a color palette. (The colors look a bit "off" in this photo, but they do match!) I stamped the image on watercolor paper and painted it with a water brush and re-inkers. (I sure do write this an awful lot on my blog...)

Be sure to visit the sites of the other My Favorite Things designers for more amazing projects using this set.

And, Think Pink!

a sunflower birthday

Karrie celebrates her birthday today, so I thought I'd surprise her with a birthday card! Now that she's received it, I can share it here!

Recognize the layout!? It's my new favorite layout, only this time it's a vertical card. The image I used is my Whipper Snapper Sunflower Vase. I was so excited when I found out that Whipper Snapper wanted this image from me -- it is one of my favorites! The sentiment is by A Muse.

The patterned paper is by Art Impressions. I *need* to find more of this paper. I've had to ration the few sheets I have over a couple of years, and I'm nearly out! *gasp!*

Happy Birthday, Karrie -- happy Sunday to all.

Jacksonbelle Showdown #3: Leather

It's time again for another Showdown between me and my friend Lindsey (Jacksonbelle). Each month we challenge each other to a Showdown - western themed.

This month, I issued the challenge: Leather! It could have been real leather, faux leather, leather lacing... anything leather. I can't WAIT to see her card!

For my leather Showdown project, I decided to alter a plain Target note book with western themed paper by Flair Designs. The cover of the book is covered with Rawhide Floral paper, which looks like tooled leather. It's FABULOUS paper! The 12x12 sheet has faux stitching around the edges and I used some of the faux stitches for the edge of the note book. I went over the stitches with a Cutterbee to give the stitches some texture. I inked the edges with Walnut Distressing ink by Ranger to darken them up a bit.

The chipboard star is covered with more Flair Designs paper, also with a western theme. The paper is called Home on the Range. The part of the sheet I chose to use for the star is sheet music for the song, Home on the Range. Again, I used the Cutterbee to add some faux stitching around the edges of the star, and Walnut Distressing ink on the edges. The chipboard star is adhered to the cover with E6000 glue.

My favorite part of this entire project is the silver star & longhorn button from my button stash! I cut the shank off of the back of the button and adhered it to the chipboard star using E6000 glue. It's there for good!

It's difficult to see in the photo, so I took a second photo to show some of the detailing on the left side of the journal. I adhered 1" black suede fringe to the left side of the journal. Fabri-tac glue worked PERFECT for this! To finish off the cover, I wrapped some leather-stain dyed hemp cording where the suede fringe met the edge of the paper and secured it with a knot.

I absolutely love the Showdown challenges I do with Lindsey! Other than the challenge topic that's issued, (it may be a particular stamp set, paper line, technique, product, etc) we don't discuss the challenge. All of the other details of the challenge are up to us. It's so fun to see our projects "together". Be sure you check out her Leather Showdown card on her blog, Embellished.

If you happened to miss our first two Showdowns, here are a couple of links for you.
Showdown #1: Bronc Buster by Stampin' Up!
Showdown #2: Wanted by Stampin' Up!

Watch for another Showdown next month! Until then, don't squat with yer spurs on!

Pumpkin Cart

Remember earlier this week when I said I think I found a new favorite layout? Well, here it is again! I'm tellin' ya ... it's so fun and easy! This card was made with two A Muse stamps. I stamped the pumpkin cart on white paper and painted it with a water brush and re-inkers. The patterned paper is by SEI. I love the color, and the bitty polka dots! I quickly stitched around the layers, stamped the sentiment, and finished it off with a button. Fun!

Cafe Chatter

I am really pleased with how this card came together. It's exciting to see something actually turn out the way it was imagined.

The image is from an up & coming new set from My Favorite Things called Meet Me at the Cafe. The image of these two ladies is so fun to color! And paper piecing their outfits will be a perfect way to give them all kinds of trendy wears.

The image is stamped on white paper and watercolored with a water brush and re-inkers. I mounted it on black cardstock, and adhere it to the Cosmo Cricket designer paper with dimensionals.

I've used quite a few of the white scalloped cards as bases to my lately, and while they're a little flimsy, they're still fun! I found them at Target in the scrapbook section of the store. They aren't a very heavy cardstock, but once you get them layered up with all kinds of fun papers and goodies, they're just fine.

The polka dot ribbon is nothing new to me or my cards. It's my favorite.

Have a fun weekend! Maybe you can work in some girlfriend cafe chatter before the day's out!

PS: I've had quite a few people ask me for information on how I watercolor. To help you out, there's some info (with photos) in my Tips & Tricks area HERE. Scroll down a bit - it's about in the middle of the page. Enjoy!

Blogger's Challenge Friday: Spectrum Ink Pads

Today's Blogger's Challenge was to use Spectrum-style ink pads on our project. The one I reached for is an old Ranger rainbow pigment ink pad I bought years ago. The colors are SO bright, I rarely use it. But, it's still nice and juicy and worked great for this project.

I used a couple of Memory Box stamps, and a sentiment by A Muse, to create this card. As you might have guessed, I stamped the sun-like image in inks from the rainbow pad. I only used the bright pink and bright yellow colors when I inked the stamp. The other colors on the pad are a BRIGHT blue and BRIGHT green - not really what I was goin' for on this card.

The penguin is stamped on watercolor paper, colored with markers, cut out, and adhered to the card with dimensionals. This card came together really quickly once I convinced myself to use the rainbow ink pad. *blech*

Be sure to check out the other Blogger's Challenge posts for the day too! There's a list over on the right of all the challenge participants.

Hope you all had a wonderful Friday night - YAHOO! It's the weekend!!

Meowww...

Kim over at My Favorite Things has been crazy busy getting ready for another stamp release. One of the sets releasing on Monday is called It's a Jungle Out There. This little lion is from that set.

I think this set would be great for projects for little boys. There are critters and leaves, an animal-watcher (isn't that what they call people who watch animals with binoculars?), and a few other odds and ends.

The sentiment "meow" on this card is not from the stamp set, though. Instead, I printed the word on white cardstock using my computer and printer, and then designed my stamped image layer around the printed word.

For the matted layers, I used my paper pinking shears to cut the points on the bottom layer, and because I can NEVER get my corners to look good when I use decorative scissors, I opted to add some black photo corners to "hide" the odd looking points at the very corners. Works like a charm every time! Some quick sponging around the edges with Walnut Distress ink by Ranger took the "shine" off the white paper.

Oh and by the way... check out this CUTE card by Jeanne using the set. So fun! You'll also find lots of other amazing samples by visiting the blogs and galleries of the other My Favorite Things design team members.

Happy Everything!

It would seem that I've found a new favorite layout. Last night I made several cards and each one of them was in this layout, or a vertical version of the same design.

If you like this layout too, get stampin' and show me your cards! I'd love to see them - just post a link to your card on this thread and I can take a peek-see.

For this card I used a white note card, kraft paper and a piece of green gingham paper by Memory Box. I like the homespun look of these papers together, and think the button and stitching around the edges compliments the homespun design. The stamped image is by Rosie's Roadshow. I stamped it on white paper and painted it with a water brush and re-inkers. I chose warm earthy colors for their outfits. What cuties they are!

The sentiment on this card is by Stampin' Up, but I don't recall which set. A while ago I combined some of my small Stampin' Up sentiment sets with some of my other loose sentiment stamps, so no tellin' what set this one is from. But, that's ok with me! I find that I use them more often if I can see them and get to them quickly. It's easier to get out one large box of sentiments instead of 6 or 8 different sets. I do leave sets together that are primarily image sets that may have a sentiment or two included. It's only the sets that are all sentiments that I combine with others. Anyone else do this?

Sisters and Chocolate...

One of my favorite Whipper Snapper stamps is this Three Chocolate Truffles stamp (and it's even one of my own designs!). This stamp never gets put away. It sits up on my shelf as a decoration tempting me daily with thoughts of sweet chocolate.

I thought it would be a great image to use with the new My Favorite Things set being released on Monday of next week called How Sweet. The sentiment on this card is from the How Sweet set, and how sweet it really is.

I stamped the Whipper Snapper truffle image on white cardstock and painted it with a water brush and re-inkers. I added some faux stitching around the edge, matted it on black cardstock, and adhered it to the card with dimensionals.

I've decided that the May Arts ribbon on this card must be my all time favorite ribbon. I love it. I use it on so many things - I have to try to NOT use it. It's shimmery and fun, and can be whimsical or fancy. And you just can't go wrong with polka dots! Oooooh, and it matches this patterned paper too! Polka dots, chocolate and sisters...they all make me happy!

Four About Me Tag

I was poking around in some of my photo files last night and found this photo of me that was taken a few years ago at a Halloween party I was at with some friends. Since it's now officially "fall" on the calendar, I thought I'd share this photo with you!

Last night I also came across an email I received recently from a friend. The email shared tidbit facts about my friend, and in return asked for similar tidbit facts about me. (Thanks Chris!) I was supposed to respond with my answers, and forward the email to several other friends -- kind of like an email "tag" I suppose.

With all the recent blog tagging, I thought it would be good info to share here. Feel free to take this list, make the answers your own, and share it with those you know.

Four jobs I have had in my life (I can really only list four...ooooh, which ones to choose...):
1. Farm-Fresh Egg Sellin' Girl (my neighbors loved me! And I still do this! I should wear my overalls...)
2. Resident Assistant and Student Activities Graphic Designer for the University I attended (I still do Graphic Design projects for them, for a large annual concert.)
3. Girl Scout Camp Counselor, Art Director, and Assistant Camp Director (not at the same time, for 5 summers) I was known as "Chiquita" (all staff had camp names - I should dig out those photos!).
4. Artist, Photographer, and Designer
(I'll give an honorable mention of Project Manager for a large Computer Software company, since it pays my bills...)

Four places I have lived:
1. Newport, Washington (up in the northeastern corner, by Idaho and Canada)
2. La Grande, Oregon (in the northeastern corner...)
3. Eugene/Springfield, Oregon (central west coast)
4. Milford, Texas (central)

Four Places I have been on vacation:
1. Rosarito Beach, Mexico
2. Juneau, Haines and Skagway Alaska
3. Lots of US National Parks
4. The Oregon Coast

Four shows I like to watch:
1. Survivor
2. That's Clever / Crafters Coast to Coast
3. American Idol
4. Pro Bull Riding =)

Four places I like to shop:
1. Craft & Hobby Shops
2. Fabric / Quilt Shops
3. Antique / Rustic / Primitive Home Decor Shops
4. Fancy Kitchen Shops (like Sur La Table)

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Roasted, grilled, or fried chicken and mashed potatoes
2. Juicy hamburgers with lots of yummy sauces!
3. Garlic and Parmesan Shrimp Spinach Salad 
4. Creme Brulee

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Being crafty
2. On vacation (anywhere!)
3. Napping
4. On vacation (really...anywhere!)

Turkey Hatched a Baby!

Turkey Hen had been sitting on four eggs for about a month. Of course they were all chicken eggs, but she didn't seem to mind.

Well! This weekend, Alan and I went out to the barn and found that Turkey Hen had hatched a baby! A little yellow baby chicken!

The baby looks so TINY compared to her big ol' mama, Turkey Hen! The first chicken that Turkey Hen hatched and raised we call Turkey. Guess we'll have to come up with a clever name for this little babe now.

Thanks to everyone who has emailed asking for updates on the farm animals. It's nice to know you're curious! I'll do what I can to get photos and updates to you as the week progresses.

Here's a photo of Ribeye that was taken on Sunday. He used to be pretty shy about coming up to us when we first weaned him from his mama, until he realized people are a source of cow cookies (alfalfa cubes). Now, he'll climb in our back pocket if we let him get close enough!

This is pretty much how we see Ribeye now. We get LOTS of attention from him as he begs for cow cookies. He was so close I kept having to back up so my camera could focus on his head.  He's even drooling in this photo... Mmmm....Coookies...

What a pest.

Edited to Add: Nope, we won't be eating Ribeye. Looks like he's naturally polled (which means he won't grow horns & that is a sought after gene) so we're going to use him as a bull for breeding. Lucky lil' bugger. 

Happy FALL!

Yay!! I've been waiting and WAITING for autumn to arrive, and today it finally did! Even if it still feels like summer outside, at least the calendar says it's finally fall!

I made this card really quickly this evening. The leaf is from the Stampin' Up set called Autumn Fest. I stamped it in More Mustard on Kraft paper. Once I had the leaves stamped, I drew in the branch with a marker and stamped the Stamps by Judith bird on the branch. The sentiment is by AMuse. Hip, hip HOORAY! That's certainly how I feel about the change of seasons!

Me to a T

My local scrap shop received an order of Inky Antics stamps this week, and thankfully I stopped in JUST in time to get a couple before they sold out. I picked up this gal, and the coordinating sentiment which is stamped inside the card "Bedhead - one of my better looks."  Hahaa!! Love it!

I showed it to Alan and he said it was my most common look, that's for sure. I swear! He gets himself in more trouble. Hahaa!! What can I say ... I'm a beauty queen 24/7.

This gal will be so fun to make cards with. She really could be me - I just need to find myself some cute bunny slippers to finish off my own ensemble!

I stamped her on white paper and painted her with a water brush and re-inkers. I did some crazy stitching around the edge of the white paper and mounted it on some Chatterbox paper using dimensionals.

Hope you had a lazy weekend!

Did you think I forgot?!

Earlier this week I posted this card I made with a few Rosie's Roadshow stamps and asked for suggestions on what the sentiment should be for a card like this. Thank you all for suggesting so many great sayings!

I couldn't choose a favorite, so I ended up choosing a random number. The number chosen was #4. Melissa, that's you!

Melissa wrote:
Rain or shine friends are here...
or
who needs sunshine when I have you
or
dreaming of sunshine
hope some of these help you in your quest and I love the card by the way...

Melissa, drop me a note with your mailing address and I'll get this card and a little something "extra" out to you right away!

Hope you're having a great weekend!
-Anna.

 

Happy 7th Birthday, Miss Daisy!

I adopted Daisy when she was almost 4 years old from a family who couldn't keep her any longer. She'd been moved between several homes before she came to live with me. The family that had her just before I adopted her didn't feel like their home was the best home she could have. Apparently, they didn't trust their neighbors not to harm Daisy if she went to their barn, so the family decided it would be best to find a safer place for her to live. It was a happy day when she came to live with me. We lived very happily together, until one day (Valentines day the following year) we met Mister Farley who was looking for a forever-home. Daisy and I knew immediately that Mister Farley needed to come live with us. And it's been ULTRA happy dog days for us ever since!

I decided to make Daisy some special treats for her birthday. Something she can share with all her dog friends here on the farm (not that she WANTS to share, but we make her). I asked for recipe's earlier this week, and thanks to everyone who left me a note or referred me to sites online. I read them all and they all sound delish! I found a recipe in a book I have by the folks at Three Dog Bakery that I altered just a bit ... thought I'd share my version of the recipe with you. The ingredients are simple, and they were quick and easy to make.

Sweet Miss Daisy Hearts
2 cups Whole Wheat flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
2 TBS Honey
1 Egg
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 cup Milk (soy, rice, or fat free cow)

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder and onion powder together in a mixing bowl. Stir in honey, egg, oil and milk. (I just used a fork for all the mixing and it worked great!) The dough will be somewhat dry, but it will stick together. On a wheat floured surface, knead the dough 10-15 times. Pat into nicely shaped ball and roll out onto cutting surface 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes, or cut into 1.5" squares. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 15 minutes. Let cool on the sheet. Serve one cookie to all dogs, and store remaining cookies in an airtight container. All the dogs on the farm give these cookies TWO PAWS UP!

Happy Birthday, Miss Daisy!
You're my favorite chocolate chunk!

Blogger's Challenge Friday: Embossing

This week's Blogger's Challenge Friday called for embossing. It could have been any style of embossing... I chose dry embossing.

I used my Stampin' Up Classy Brass template called Priceless to emboss the scalloped borders on the top and bottom of the stamped layer. I like how the scallops kind of mirror the round bodies of the sheep, and give them a bouncy look below.

This card is to thank some friends of mine in Oregon who raise sheep and sell their fleeces for blankets and spinning yarn. They're wonderful friends, and have wonderful sheep! Recently they sent me some raw wool to use for my primitive dolls and textile projects. Oh my goodness, I couldn't be more grateful for the gift they've given me. My project list grew and GREW the day I opened the big box of wool they sent!! You can meet some of their critters at Red Dog Ranch. Be sure to check out the OUR SHEEP page for photos of their adorable lambs in red sweaters! They wear the sweaters to keep their wool clean...I think they're just so cute!

Also, don't forget to check out the other Blogger's Challenge Friday projects! You'll find my Blogger's Challenge Friday list over on the right side of my blog.

Another Memory Box Christmas Card

Last week I uploaded a couple of Christmas cards I made using Memory Box stamps. One of the cards I uploaded was similar to this card, using the topiary stamp image.

For this card I chose to use my little A Muse birdy stamp, and painted him red so he's a Christmas Cardinal. I drew in some music notes - he's just singin' away! This was a very simple card to make, and one that could be done quickly in a pinch. Once the image was dry I added some Stardust Stickles for lots of sparkle and shine.

Homemade Dog Treats

Saturday is Miss Daisy's 7th birthday, and I thought I'd make her some homemade doggy treats, or doggy pie (not like cow pie), or something. Anyone have any good recipes for dogs? I have a book, but I thought I'd see if maybe there was something special any of you have made before for your pooches.

Just Chillin'

This penguin stamp by Art Impressions is one I picked up while I was in Oregon in August. This penguin couple is just a chillin'!

I wanted to do something bright and cheerful with this patterned paper by Scenic Route, and this image just seemed perfect for it. Like usual, the image is stamped with Black Stazon and painted with a water brush and re-inkers. I had a great time painting this image! I like the loose feel of the drawing - it's great for watercolor painting!

I showed this card to Alan last night and told him that these two penguins could be us relaxin' by the pool. He said he doesn't wears his trunks that high, so it couldn't be him. True, I suppose. And, her ta-ta's aren't bodacious enough, so I guess it can't be me either. *snicker* Oh well... I can only wish to be as cute as her in a turquoise bikini -- or, any bikini for that matter!

Hoping for Fall

I went stitch happy on this card, I'm afraid... =)

I am doing by darnedest to wish for fall. I need some cool weather, extra cool nights, and autumn colors. I keep my favorite sweatshirt out and handy, hoping and wishing that it will inspire nature to 'chill out'. I need your help wishing, I think.

I made this card using stamps by Rosie's Roadshow. The scarecrow, umbrella, and cloud are all separate images, so I was able to create this scene. The images are stamped with Black Stazon, and painted with a water brush and re-inkers. There's lots of glittery sparkles on the cloud for ambiance. In my mind, Glitter = Ambiance.

You can tell this scarecrow doesn't live in Texas, or there'd be a BLAZING HOT SUN over his umbrella, and not a sparkly, dreamy rain cloud.

But this card needs to say something. It needs an expression. Apparently, I need help with that too.

Let me hear your suggestions. If I choose yours, I'll send you this card. And maybe something extra fun, too! =)

shiver me timbers!

September 19: Talk Like a Pirate Day

Ahoy, me hearties!

In honor of this day I used my Memory Box Pirate Penguin and shiver me timbers sentiment to make this pirate card. I should probably be writing this with words like betwixt and blimey, but I'm doing good with shiver me timbers!

I do like this one tho:
'Bring me one noggin of rum, now, won't you, matey!'

PS: Cindy has a link to a site that tells you what your pirate name is... I went through the series of questions to find that my name is actually Dread Pirate Kidd. Who'da known.

i've been stitching...

I've seen an increase in projects on SplitCoast lately that feature some sort of sewing on them, and I think it's just fun.  Not just faux stitching (I do that A LOT too) - but "real" stitching!

I have a nice machine, but it always seemed a little silly to sew paper projects with it. I did it anyway, but recently I've noticed that I was always having to fiddle with the tension when I went back to sewing on fabric after using it with paper. I certainly didn't want to ruin my good machine with my crafty paper projects.

Soooooo, I did a little early "happy birthday" to me shopping last week. I've read good reviews on SplitCoast about the Janome Sew Mini machine that's sold at Hancock Fabric. So, I ordered one! Let me tell you, it's FUN! And super easy to use too!

There are only two kinds of stitches available on the machine (straight and zigzag) but there are different lengths of each. The machine is small and fits nicely in my workspace. For anyone who's new to sewing who may be interested in a machine specifically for paper crafts, this one would be great for you!

If you use one of these machines for your paper crafts, add a link to this post! I'd love to see what you're stitching on!

The stamps on this card are by Memory Box. The cheering bear is one of the new images from the fall/holiday release. Great fun! The images are stamped on watercolor paper, and then painted with a water brush and re-inkers.

Rosey Overalls

Every day I visit the gallery at SplitCoastStampers and view at least a few pages of new daily uploads. Every day I'm impressed at the amazing designs of SO many talented stampers uploading to the galleries. Tonight I decided to poke through some of my favorite galleries to see what the girls have been up to. Busy, busy stampers, all of them! They are all inspiring in their own ways. One gallery that I spent the better part of an hour catching up on was Julia Stainton's. Her designs are elegant and full of texture. She creates interesting layouts, and she uses the best colors and images!

I couldn't help but be inspired by her gallery! So much so that tonight I created this card using one of her cards, Vintage Baby Girl, as inspiration. THANKS Julia, for sharing so much of your talent with other stampers - your work is always brilliant.

If you're wondering about the details of my card, the image is by Impression Obsession. I picked up this stamp when I was in Oregon in August. Such sweet garden overalls -- love them!

The image is stamped on watercolor paper and painted with a water brush and Stampin' Up re-inkers. I stitched around the edges for a home-spun look. The patterned paper is by My Mind's Eye, from their Wild Asparagus line. The base of the card is a natural birch cardstock that I inked with Walnut Distressing ink by Ranger, and stamped leaf images on using once-stamped-off Creamy Caramel ink.

The sentiment on the tag is by A Muse - one of my favorite sentiment stamps. The vintage roses are from my stash. You can't tell by this photo, but the entire card has a delicate shimmer. I used a fine mist of Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist on the card. Vicki Chrisman is to joyfully blame for me owning several colors Glimmer Mist. She's been using it on her Crafty Secrets designs. I found it to be just wonderfully dreamy so I had to get my own! I can't wait to use it on some of my primitive/folk dolls!

If only there were twice as many hours in the day - I *might* be able to get everything done that I want to get done in a day. I wonder what I'll get done tomorrow!

Thoroughly Thankful

I've been stamping like crazy today, but so many of the things I've been working on are "secret" for the time being so I can't share them yet... BUT, I did a little stamping just for me today too!

I noticed that Stampin' Up has a promotion right now where if you spend $30 in regular priced product, you can order a few select fall sets for 30% off. One of the sets on the sale is called Thoroughly Thankful - this image is from that set. It would be the perfect time to get this set if I didn't already have it!

This set was featured in last years winter mini and it is now in the new catalog. I really like this set...but of course, it's "fall" themed and I'm such a sucker for fall images.

I stamped the image on watercolor paper with Black Stazon, and painted it with a water brush and reinkers. I used a Sakura sparkly pen to go over all the lines on the image and make them shimmer and shine. The image is matted several times, and mounted on 3D Dots -- 3D Dots are really, REALLY tall, so I only use them when I want the image to have lots of distance from the background of the card.

The background paper is some of my favorite. It's from the Tres Jolie line by My Mind's Eye. It's heavy, like Wild Asparagus paper, and comes in all kinds of lovely floral prints, polka dots and stripes. I keep hoping it will go on sale at the local scrap shop so I can buy lots! It's my favorite...and oddly enough, it doesn't seem to be very popular at the scrap shop. The rack is always full (more for me!) I like the sort of distressed look that it has. It kind of looks sanded -- subtle -- and I like that!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!
Ugh...I can't believe tomorrow's MONDAY!

Blogger's Challenge Friday: Inspiration

This week's Blogger's Challenge was to use something for inspiration when we created our card. Clothing, dishes, colors, whatever... I chose a cute pair of cowgirl boots that I saw on the Sundance site for my inspiration.

I like the delicate floral patterned top portion of the boot matched with the  richly colored brown flourishes on the heel and toes. So cute! Of course, is there anything at Sundance that isn't fabulous?!

To create my inspired card, I used designer paper from the Signature Life series by My Mind's Eye. The Signature Life paper line is fantastic!! I used a die cut to create the chipboard flourish on my card, and used a hole punch and Crop-a-dile to create a few holes in the chipboard for interest.

Be sure to check out the other Blogger's Challenge posts for the day (there's a player list on the right)! They're all super!

Memory Box Christmas Cards

I've been soooo busy with work lately, I haven't felt very creative lately. But tonight I thought I'd treat myself to a little stampin' time!

I received a big order of Memory Box Penguin stamps today (they're all in the shop!), and with the order were a handful of stamps I ordered to start getting me in the holiday spirit. I make handmade cards for Christmas. Instead of having just one or two designs that I make for all of my cards, I try to do lots of different designs to keep things more interesting for me and a little more personal for the people I send the cards to. I think this will be one of the cards I make.

I like that it's festive, but not too girly. It *should* get Alan's stamp of approval since it doesn't have any ribbon on it. (The black "ribbon" is a little cardstock flag, and not actually ribbon!) This card might not have ribbon, but it IS sparkly ... I do love the sparkles! I have another card similar to this one that I'll share a while later.

I used a Cranberry Memory Box note card for the base of the card, and Stampin' Up Old Olive for the green matting layer. The image is stamped on watercolor paper and painted with inks and a water brush. I added some Stardust Stickles for lots of sparkle!

Here's another not-so-girly holiday card I made tonight which I might also use as one of the designs for my holiday cards. This card reminds me of when I was a kid and we'd go out to the woods near our house and get a Christmas tree. One year, we put the tree on the roof of our family's red Subaru station wagon and drove it home. The tree was at least 18-20 feet tall (my parents have a REALLY high ceiling), and the tree draped over the front and back of the car so we could barely see out of the window to drive. Good thing we didn't have to go too far to get home!

In honor of that year, I think I need to make another card with a car and a HUGE tree strapped to the roof! That would be perfect! Hmm... I'll have to put that idea to paper, maybe tomorrow night!

For this card, I used a Crimson Memory Box note card as the base and layered on watercolor paper and black cardstock. The cars are painted with inks and a water brush. Super easy ... Super fun!

Prairie Girl Dress

I made this Sweet Chips Prairie Girl dress earlier this summer and have been saving it for just the right time to share it here on my blog. I think now is as good of a time as any!

At the time Sandy, the owner of Crafty Secrets, was looking for samples to take to the July CHA show for display in the Crafty Secrets booth. I made this dress to send along to her in Chicago for the event. This dress turned out to be my favorite.

I cut the apron part of the dress apart from the rest of the dress to create a little album. I used the apron as a template and created several pages made from cardstock for the inside of the dress album. I used two round rings to hold the album together.

The paper I used to cover the chipboard is from the Earthy 6x12 paper pad. I really love the warm colors, and it seemed perfect for a little prairie girl dress. The flourish stamp I used is from the Cherub Clear Art Stamp set. It's a fantastic flourish, and worked just perfectly for the look I was going for.

The flower that's tucked into the front pocket of the dress is a stem and blossom from an inexpensive silk flower bunch that I picked up at a local craft store - it's been in my stash for a couple of years, I'm sure. The silver star button was also in my stash of goodies, but similar buttons can still be found at places like Joann's.

Inside on the cardstock pages I created I stamped the flourish in various areas, and created an area for a photo or journaling on each page. To give the entire piece a bit of an aged look, I inked the edges with Distressing inks by Ranger.

I am totally tickled that Sandy liked my project enough to feature it as one of the sample dresses on the product packaging. What an honor!

Unfortunately, while this dress was on display at the Crafty Secrets booth at CHA, it was taken. Stolen. Not to be returned. Soooo... if anyone sees this dress, anywhere, please know that it's mine and I would LOVE to have it back. Please.

My shop is sold out of the Sweet Chip outfits at the moment, but I have another order arriving early next week. Email me if you're interested in them. You'll love them!! I sure do!! They make the sweetest baby and young girl cards. You can see more samples in the Sweet Chips Crafty Secrets Sample Gallery.

Mmm...Peaches!

Last Friday I bought a half-flat of peaches at Costco. They smelled SO good, and were SO fat, I couldn't resist them! We've had a couple of them, but tonight I cut them up and they were PERFECT!! Melt in your mouth, perfect!!

This card reminds me of them. The peaches would be delicious in a pie, cobbler or crisp, but they're so good fresh that they'll never last long enough to make it into anything that needs to be cooked.

I made this card using some of my Crafty Secrets stash. The image is from the Seasonal Booklet, and the paper is from the Earthy 6x12 pad. This card went together really quickly and easily. I like how the paper looks like it's actually fabric. It reminds me of some of the Civil War reproduction fabrics being released for quilters. The colors are so warm, and "autumn-y". Is that a word?  ...it is now.

Here's another little Halloween card I made using one of the cuts from the Halloween Vintage Cuts sheet. The colors are so bright and fun!

I'm excited! I bought an old pair of overalls the other day so I can make a scarecrow for our yard! How fun will that be for Halloween!!

Annie's Got Hair!

A couple of weeks ago I posted a photo of a primitive doll I've been working on. Last week she got her smile, and tonight she finally got her hair!

Her hair is washed and dyed sheep's wool. I used a felting needle to attach the wool to her head. It worked like a charm! No sewing, no glue! Isn't she a cutie!

I still need to make her a chicken friend, sew some details on her dress and make her some pantaloons. Maybe I'll get to those next weekend.

You can read my first post about her here.

Little Lollie...

Thought I'd give you a little update on Lollie, my bunny. Lollie has long outgrown the small Kleenex box, and has outgrown the large Kleenex box, and is now content to have a 7x7x12 Priority Mail shipping box as a bunny "condo" in the rabbit hutch.

Alan brought home a plush bunny ball a while ago, and Lollie just LOVES it! Carries it around, grooms it, and uh, recently has started to really *love* on it.  *snicker*

Last night I was holding Lollie and decided to hold her up to see her fat bunny belly, and OH MY GOSH... Well... *blush* ...it seems Lollie has come into puberty, and *blush* Lollie isn't a girl bunny after all! Good grief...

The Simple Life

I do so love playing with my Rosie's Roadshow stamps! I used Clifford the turkey and the umbrella, along with the expression "Give Me the Simple Life" to create the center portion of this card.

I used the swirly flourish from the Stampin' Up set called Priceless for the image stamped on the background paper. What a fun stamp! It's fresh and whimsical, and so fun for a quick addition to any design.

I'm so happy it's the weekend! It was a long week at work, even though it was only a four day work week! I'm lovin' the weekend! I took a nap today (almost 3 hours of nappin' time!) and I might just take one tomorrow too!

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Blogger's Challenge Friday: Layout

This week's Bloggers's Challenge was to use the layout on page 12 of the Stampin' Up Holiday Mini catalog. This is my card for the challenge.

I used the new Basic Grey 6x6 paper pad called Mellow. The chipboard star is by Stampin' Up. The star was really easy to cover with the designer paper! Once I had the paper glued on and trimmed, I sanded the edges the to make it all smooth.

I had a GREAT time making this card, and need to remember to use this layout again. It's great!!

Be sure to check out the other Blogger's Challenge blogs too, and see what they did with this layout. You'll find all of their blogs listed on the right side of my blog.

Happy Friday!

Too Early for Thanksgiving?

Here's another card using some of my Crafty Secrets stash! I made this Thanksgiving card using the turkey cut from the Seasonal Booklet. Like using the Vintage Cuts sheets, using images from the Booklets makes projects come together really easily and quickly.

I layered the turkey image and then adhered it to some rich brown paper from the Earthy 6x12 paper pad by Crafty Secrets. The scallops at the bottom were made using my Slit Punch from Stampin' Up. I removed the plastic guide from around the punch and used the punch to create the scallops along the edge of the paper. So easy! Whomever had this idea (it sure wasn't my own), THANKS! It's a brilliant idea!

One tip for you when you do this: make your first scallop punch at the center of the paper's edge, and work out from the center in each direction. This will allow you to get your scallops evenly placed.

a simple flower

Here's another card I created using the Basic Grey 6x6 paper pad called Mellow. It's hard to tell in this photo, but each layer of the flower is mounted on a dimensional foam dot, so there's a good amount of space between each petal layer.

The sentiment is by A Muse Art Stamps -- a simple little sentiment as cute as can be. It's stamped in black Stazon.

I really like the 6x6 paper pads of the Basic Grey paper. I like that they're made with the same print patterns as the 12x12 papers, just shrunk in size! The smaller designs on the paper make them just perfect for cards. Plus I love having all of the coordinating papers and colors all in one tablet. They're just perfect!

Happy Birthday, Dad!!

Just a quick note to wish my Dad a
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Sorry I can't be there with you to celebrate!!

You've got some birthday boxes on the way from Texas!!

Kitchen Fashion Frocks

This fantastically funny image is from the Crafty Secrets Earthy 6x12 paper pad. I've been meaning to make myself a little shopping notepad for my handbag and this one turned out perfect for what I need!

It was important for me to create a cover that had a really simple design. There's nothing on the cover of this book to get caught on other items in my handbag, and the elastic band keeps the pages nice and neat. And how can you argue with the advice given: 'When housework gets you down just go shopping." Sounds like good advice to me!

The blue paper that I used on the background is also from Crafty Secrets. I like the mottled coloring -- it's kind of dreamy. I brushed a thin dusting of white Pearl-Ex over the entire cover to give it a little sparkle and shimmer. She glistens!

Pretty Stinkin' Groovy!

I just about fainted today when I found out that a portion of one of my Cornish Heritage Farms Thomas Kinkade cards was published on the Thomas Kinkade website!

Check out the full page on the Thomas Kinkade website HERE.

That's pretty stinkin' groovy!!

Halloween Show

Last night I was feelin' all festive, so I put together some cards using some of my Crafty Secrets Halloween stash. I just love the Halloween Vintage Cuts sheet -- the images are all fun and whimsical, and of course I *LOVE* fall and Halloween!

I was flipping through the Crafty Secrets paper tablets looking for papers for my cards and was thrilled to see that I still had a sheet of this blue script paper. It was just the color I was looking for to pick up the color of the sky behind the pumpkins. It's also a great color to really pop the orange of the pumpkins too! It's not a paper that I would have quickly considered for a Halloween card, but I like it -- it works!

This card uses another great image from the Halloween Vintage Cuts sheet. The background paper is another sheet I wouldn't have considered quickly for a Halloween card, but I like the finished card. The color of the paper is fresh, funky and fun. It really makes the orange colors in the image stand out.

Using the Vintage Cuts on cards makes cardmaking SUPER easy! The images are brilliantly colored and look great with so many colors of paper.

The image of the boy on the pumpkin also looked great against a blue paper -- it really pulled out the colors of the boy's blue shirt.

Choosing papers for the image of the Halloween Cutie was easy. I decided to use her dotted skirt for inspiration. Thankfully, I had enough paper to create the background I wanted!

Last night after I uploaded these cards into the Crafty Secrets Sample Gallery I was oooh'ing and ahhh'ing over the other projects in the gallery. You've got to see them!!

It was a good night for cardmaking. Can you tell I had my faux stitching tool handy?

Festive Halloween Bucket

Kim over at My Favorite Things has put together a great little kit for Prismacolor pencil fans called My Favorite 48.

MFT Design team members received a clear paint can and Kim said to have fun with it -- so I did! I used some of the new Halloween papers by K&Company. They're so bright and festive!

I created a little Trick-or-Treat tag using the My Favorite Things set called Fright Night. I thought this little bucket would make a cute little treat can when it's not being used to hold my pencils! And maybe, just maybe, if I carry it around people will actually give me treats!

To go all the way around the tin it takes more than 12 inches in length of paper, so if you're planning on covering a small paint bucket or tin make sure you have enough paper before you start cutting (learned the hard way).

I also found that really sticky double-sided red tape works like a CHARM to adhere the paper to the plastic bucket, AND holds ribbon really well too!

Rather than try to fit my paper around the little handle holders on the side of the bucket, I used it as a way to showcase the clear part of the bucket. This made the whole altering process much, MUCH easier.

The idea of altering paint cans has been around for a while, but I was surprised to realized that this was the first one I've ever done! And now that I've done this one, I want to do lots more! I'm sure lots of people have used them for gift packaging -- I don't know why I never thought to alter one before now. This would be a great way to package all the homemade treats I send to my friends during the holidays! They would even be cute altered with fabric, stuffed full of fat quarters and given as a gift. Brilliant!

Mellow Basic Grey

I made a few cards yesterday for The Crafty Scrapper to put out on display in their shop as samples. I used the new 6x6 paper pad by Basic Grey called Mellow. What FUN paper! The first card features two of the papers, and some GIANT blooms. I used a corduroy covered brad for the center of the flower.

Because I'm addicted to faux stitching, I "stitched" around the outside edge of the paper, and across the center where the two paper layers meet. I can't get enough of those dotted lines lately! I stamped the Baroque Motifs flourish image on the patterned paper for added interest. I have yet to put that stamp away - I use it so often! I might have to buy a second one, just in case this one "wears out".

For this faux ribbon card, I used narrow strips of various papers from the 6x6 tablet. I arranged them on the base of the card and then sewed across the center of them with my sewing machine. 

This is a great way to use up small pieces of patterned paper or ribbon. The "just a note" stamp at the bottom is by Memory Box, and is stamped in Black Stazon.

To finish off the ends of the thread, I pulled the top thread through the last hole so that both ends of the thread were on the backside of the card front. Then I tied the two threads in a knot and snipped the ends. It's a very easy way to secure the stitches and make it tidy looking inside the card.

I'll share the other cards I made with this paper with you later this week. One of the cards is for Friday's Blogger's Challenge, so you'll have to stay tuned until Friday for that one! It's my favorite out of all of them!