Sassy & Sweet Notes

Photo Assignment: Fine Art

Not too long ago I mentioned that I was working on a photo assignment that had to do with Fine Art and photography. I've spent some time around the farm taking various photos and have decided that the photo of Frack is my favorite photo taken for the assignment, and this is my favorite digitally altered version of the photo.

This is a portion of Frack's photo that I shared here on my blog. I cropped the photo so that I was happy with the way the flow of the feathers moved through the image and created a pleasing composition. Then I created a bit of a watercolored appearance to the image, and gave it a bit of a texture to mimic canvas (it might be difficult to fully appreciate the textured appearance with online viewing) *grin*.

Photo: What Am I - Revealed

You're a bunch of GOOD guessers! You guessed things like ice, pond scum, hair gel, soda, glass, shampoo, lava lamp, Christmas pickle, sucker, bath gel, mouth wash, candy, Glimmer Mist, toothpaste, Japanese Glass Float, algae, toy tornado, fabric, sonogram, UTEE, and even a fish tank.  And several of you guessed dish soap...

But ONE of you, MARCIA, was EXACTLY correct! I had to wonder if she was standing in my kitchen when Alan and I did this little exercise!

Marcia's response "well, miss anna, either you've developed another wondrous talent of glass blowing of which i will be a smidge jealous (ok ~ a LOT) and that's a first test to see if we like it (WE DO WE DO!) or you have fill green apple dawn dishwashing soap on top of the blue dawn dishwashing soap in a pretty decorative bottle ~ that the mine looks when i switched scents and don't clean out the bottle all the way first. Oh ye master of all that is good and talented! :) mwah! marcia"

I keep my dish soap in a clear glass bottle that's topped with a pour spout (like used for flavored syrups or oil). The bottle was getting low and I decided to refill it. I recently bought green apple soap instead of the usual blue that I normally buy. When I added the green soap to what was left of the blue soap, this is what happened. The soap colors mingled, the bubbles started to rise, and it was very pretty! I took the photos with the bottle sitting in the kitchen window (for extra light).

I wasn't planning on giving anything away for this little guessing game, but WOW, Marcia! Your comment was sooooo spot on, it's worthy of a little something! Get in touch with me ... I have a package of Twinklette Glitter Markers by Marvy Uchida to send your way!

Thanks to everyone for playing along! Loved reading your responses!!

Photo: What Am I?

When I was a kid, we used to get Ranger Rick magazine. The back cover of the magazine was always my favorite part. They always had a series of photos (close-up images), and you were supposed to see if you could identify each photo.

Today I took this photo and thought I'd post it to see if anyone could guess what it is! Any ideas?

Lovin' the Birds

First of all, thank YOU for all the kind comments, phone calls, emails, and virtual hugs you've left for Alan and me for DollieMae. We miss her. But she is now happy and well, and we're grateful for that. Thank you, again. We'll have the fun of new baby cows on the farm soon, as life on the farm moves along one day at a time.

I thought I'd share a card with you tonight. I made it a few days ago (last weekend, maybe?!) using the new Bird Lovers set by Crafty Secrets. The image is stamped in black StazOn and watercolored with Stampin' Up reinkers. I did some wild and crazy sewing, and added a couple of oyster shell buttons as an embellishment. LOVE this new set.

I have an order of all the new Crafty Secrets sets arriving soon (mid next week), so stay tuned if you're looking for any of the new sets being released.

Oh, and speaking of Crafty Secrets stamps, I just saw that Sandy is offering some blog candy on the Crafty Secrets Heartwarming Vintage blog right now! It's a FANTASTIC give-away! Check it out!

Happy Friday, Happy Weekend!

In Memory...

Last year about this time I introduced you to DollieMae, the working Great Pyrenees farm dog who has lived here on the farm for over 14 years.

The past few weeks have been extra tough for DollieMae. Our vet removed a tumor from her hip about 6 months ago, but more recently cancer moved to the bone in her hind leg. This afternoon, Alan and I drove miss DollieMae up to the vet's office one last time. The bone cancer on her hind leg got to be too much for her and it was time to let her rest. She'll always be here on the farm, where she can forever nap in the sunshine.

put your feet up...

It's good to slow down, take a break, and put your feet up. It just feels gooood. If only I had a cute polkadot chair like this one to kick back in!

This is another cute Riley the Moose stamp from Hanna Stamps. The image is colored with Prismacolor colored pencils, blended with Gamsol. The sentiment is by Memory Box. The designer paper is from K&Company, from the Amy Butler line.

Here's to Thursday! One more day closer to the weekend!

Story Time

I've been playing with some of the new Crafty Secrets clear art stamps that were previewed at CHA in February. This is one of the cards I finished this week. Another clean and simple card.

I guess I don't have a lot of desire to add lots of doo-dads to my cards lately. A couple of layers, some pretty ribbon, a fun image, and I'm happy! I'm sure that will change though...things usually do!

For this card I stamped the image (and sentiment) in black StazOn ink and colored it with a water brush and Stampin' Up reinkers. I used designer paper (ooooooh, so pretty designer paper) by K&Company. Love this stuff! The ribbon is from Stampin' Up!

I added some fine silver Spica glitter pen to the corners of the story book, to give the corners a hint of "metal" shine. I also added a touch of gold Spica glitter pen to the pages of the top book in the pile of books he's sitting on. I have always loved how the edges of some old books are accented with gold or silver. They're so pretty!

Can you believe it's Wednesday, already!? Jeez! Where do the days go... but, I'm grateful that it's almost time for another weekend!

Lobster Catcher ... Fisherman?

I thought I'd share this card today. I made this card using the lobster catcher cutie image from High Hopes Rubber Stamps. He is so fun to color! Is someone who catches lobsters called a fisherman? I'm not so sure!

On this card, I stamped the image in black StazOn and painted it with a water brush and Stampin' Up reinkers. A clean and simple card. Just the way I like 'um!

Happy Monday!

New Photo Gallery: Life on the Farm

Alan and I had some farm-fun this evening. He got out the John Deere tractor and mowed a portion of one of our pastures where we want to put up a fence line. I got out my camera and used the opportunity to do a mock-photo shoot! The evening light was perfect.

I started a new gallery on my photo site for images like this. The gallery is called Life on the Farm. Check it out!

This is one of the photos I took this evening while Alan mowed. I told him that from now on when he's doing farm work, he has to wear a cowboy hat! It's the LAW! I said so. *grin*

Sunday on the Farm

I posted some of my favorite photos from today in my Farm Animals photo gallery. Amazingly enough, most of the animals were well behaved today. Eddie was a very "helpful" donkey and wouldn't stay far enough away from me for me to take very many photos of him! I did catch him talking to me though. His bray is so cute!

Alan and I got the cows and donkeys in all the right pastures, and thankfully we didn't have too many issues. Most of them will do anything, or go anywhere, as long as they think they're going to get some alfalfa cubes. Here's Alan leading Eddie, Jackie, Molly and Muffin from one pasture to another. The white bucket holds the "magic". Mmmm, cookies...

Last night while we were moving some of the cows, Pixie tagged Alan's leg with a kick. His pants still have the mud print to prove it! I told him I needed to get a photo and blog about it. Here ya go, girls! Haha!!

We've got all the pregnant cows in one pasture, closest to the barn, so that when it comes time for them to have their babies we don't have to worry about the donkeys or bulls injuring the calves. And we'll get to love all over them too, which is always nice!

Happy Easter!

Good morning, happy Sunday, and Easter Blessings to you and your families!

The sun is starting to peek out from under the morning fog and clouds, so we might end up with another beautiful day here in Texas.

This morning, Alan and I are going to move some of the cows around in the pastures. We need to get all of the expecting cows into one pasture, and all the others into another. After that, we'll enjoy a nice Easter lunch with his parents, and then maybe I'll enjoy some time being crafty! Should be a great day!

This sweet image is from my vintage postcard collection. It's one of my favorites! I thought it would be a nice image to use today to wish you a very Happy Easter!

dreams have wings

The wild birds have all been singing up a STORM lately. There was a female cardinal here a couple of days ago. I wonder if the male was able to convince her to stay. The scissor-tail flycatchers are putting on shows for each other too. They have a pretty, but loud, song. They'll be around for most of the summer. And I heard some doves yesterday as well. They sound kind of like a small hoot owl when they sing (or coo).

Birds are such a popular art theme right now, and I couldn't be happier about it! I love 'um! I made this sweet card using one of the new Crafty Secrets clear stamp set called Bird Lovers. It's a wonderful set, full of fancy feathered friends and accessories.

I stamped the nest and bird in Timber Brown StazOn ink and colored the images with markers. I stamped the egg on a separate piece of paper, colored it, cut it out, and glittered one side of it with Dazzling Diamonds and a Quickie Glue Pen (one of my "must have" crafting items). I adhered the cut-out sparkly egg to the card using a foam dimensional so the egg pops up from the nest a bit. And oooooh, it REALLY sparkles! Once I had the card all put together, I added a Swarovski crystal - even more sparkle!

Speaking of Crafty Secrets, when I was doing my blog hopping last night I notice that Sandy has posted a couple of free Easter images on the Crafty Secrets Heartwarming Vintage blog for download. Just download the images to your computer, and print them on the paper of your choice for use in any of your paper crafting projects. Fun stuff! I can't wait to use them myself!

Yippee!

Here's a Riley the Moose card to help celebrate Easter! I think Riley is just so fun.

When I started narrowing down my design team commitments earlier this year so that I could make more time for illustration, leaving the Hanna Stamps team was an extra tough decision for me. Kristi has done a great job of choosing characters for her stamp line.

When I left the team, Riley was just being released and I was so excited to get to design with the images. But I needed time, so I had to let go of some things even if they were "fun". With the latest release of Riley stamps, I couldn't stand it any longer! Earlier this week I placed an order for a whole BUNCH of them, and can't wait for them to arrive.

I hope you all have a happy Easter weekend! People up north who are still getting snow are going to have a heck of a time finding eggs in the grass when the grass is still under several inches (or feet) of snow! But I'm sure the Easter Bunny will get creative, and you'll all be able to celebrate Easter with pretty little colored eggs. Yippee!!

Happy 37th Anniversary, Mom & Dad!

Today is my parent's 37th wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! Wow... 37 years. Congratulations... oh, and uh, the card will be late!

When I talked to my Dad earlier this evening, he asked how the farm faired with all the rain we had earlier this week. I'm a firm believer that a picture's worth at least 10,000 words, so here are a couple photos for you, Dad!

The weather is a bit different this spring. It was on March 19, 2007 when Alan and I rode the 4-wheeler through this pond...there wasn't nearly as much water in the pond at this time last year! The wildflowers were also starting to bloom this time last year.

This week I noticed a few little white star flowers blooming, but no sign of the blue bonnets yet. We needed this week's rain. It's been real dry so far this year. Maybe the rain will jump start the wildflowers.

Alan was in search of frogs this evening when we were down at the pond. We've noticed that the frogs and toads are real loud during the evening and at night.  He saw a few, but they were too far out into the water to catch. Wouldn't THOSE have been good photos!

I really enjoy days and evenings after a big rain. The air is clean, everything smells fresh, and the evening light is crisp. As Martha would say, it's a good thing.

Mom and Dad, I hope you enjoyed a nice dinner in town. Knowing that you got lots more snow today (they live in Northeastern Washington), it's nice to be able to send you a little bit of virtual sunshine!

It was a beautiful day, and we had a wonderful sunset. Here's one more photo, just for you.

Happy Anniversary!

floating bovine

Earlier this week I brainstormed a few ideas of different things that could be done with the balloon in the Bundle of Joy set. Here is one those ideas on paper.

For my idea of the floating bovine I wanted more than one balloon. By using the masking technique, I was able to create a bouquet of balloons rather quickly. And it's a good thing I could create a bunch of balloons...I don't think this cow could float with just one. *grin*

To create this balloon bunch for yourself, first stamp the pink balloon and mask it with a post-it note. Then stamp the dark purple balloon and mask it with another post-it note. Finally, stamp the third balloon. Remove the post-it note masks and draw in some strings. Masking is a great technique for getting a few extra miles out of images, and is one of my favorite things to do!

It's a lovely spring day (Happy First Day of Spring!), and would be a perfect day for some new baby cows to be born. But I doubt we'll be so lucky...dang it.

A Cardinal and a Cow

I was out at the barn today poking around with my camera and heard a bird singing in the tree above me. When I looked up, I saw that it was this beautiful red male cardinal who just singing his heart out. The wind was really blowing today...he had to really hang on tight!

It was about 5:30, and the sun was still fairly high in the sky. I noticed that the trees are finally starting to bud - it'll be so nice to see leaves on the trees again!

This photo of Pixie is another one of the photos I took today. You can see part of the barn in the background where I took the photo of the rooster earlier this week. The rain we got yesterday is still standing in the barn yard. If we had ducks they'd love it!

Pixie is a Dexter cow and is supposed to be delivering a calf some time soon. She'd better hustle it up or she's going to fall behind schedule! She looks very similar to our other brown Dexter cow, Dixie. Only Pixie is a bit smaller.

I'm getting so excited about having new babies on the farm! They're just so fun! And fun to take photos of too! Hurry it up, girls!

Baby Colors

Here's another card using the new Bundle of Joy set. I am really enjoying using soft, springy colors. I haven't strayed too far from using the larger images in the set as stand-along images on my cards. I'm having a ball with the images just as they are!

But I was looking at the set earlier tonight and thinking of lots of things that could be done just with the balloons! You could add a bouquet of balloons to the stork's wing. Or even the duck's wing! You could have the cow being carried away by one (or several) balloons. You could even make a balloon bouquet that also has star and heart balloons. I really need to put some of these ideas to paper. But not tonight ... I'm tired.

I'm going to go tuck myself into bed and watch tonight's episode of Dancing with the Stars. I DVR'd it, so I'd have something to watch in bed. Most of the craft shows I usually watch have been old re-runs. Same with the cooking shows. Blah! So, Dancing with the Stars it is!

Spring Storm

Well! We've having a bit of a spring storm today. We've got Flash Flood Warnings and a promise of more rain to come.

I wonder how many inches of rain we'll get today!?

Rooster: Photo Assignment

I'm working on a "fine art" photo assignment for a photo group I'm in, so you might be seeing a few more photos from me over the next couple of weeks as I try things out.

I took this photo today of one of our roosters out near the barn. The crappy metal siding is on our barn, but makes a great backdrop! This will be one of the images I tinker with as I work on the assignment.

Hopefully this little rooster grows up to be a good boy. He's pretty young and stupid now. But he's a beauty, and I'd like to keep him around!

Kiss Me, I'm Irish!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I had to make a card just for today! I chose this cute Riley Moose stamp from Hanna Stamps. I'm sure Riley's enjoying a fine pint of Guinness!

I enjoyed making this card...I'm not sure if you can see it very well, but I went a little "drunkard" with the piercing wheel around the white layer. Hahahaa! Makes me giggle!

Hope you're wearing green today...if not, give yourself a little pinch for me!

The Cow Jumped...

Of all the images in the Bundle of Joy set, I think the cow is my favorite. I drew the cow with inspiration from our brown Dexter cow, Dixie. She's about this fat, with a big pink udder, so I painted the cow on my card to look just like her.

Dixie's getting ready to have a baby, so she's "extra" fat! In fact, we're expecting 4 of our cows to have their calves in the next few weeks. And Jackie, one of our donkeys, is expected to deliver soon as well! I'll be sure to share photos as they all arrive.

This is a fairly simple card with just a few layers and some sewing. The images are stamped in black StazOn ink, and painted with a water brush and Stampin' Up reinkers. The star is popped up on a foam dimensional, and there's glitter around the edges of the star just for fun.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Sunday at the Auction!

Alan and I took his dad, John, to an auction today in a small town nearby called Frost. I happened to have my little point and shoot camera with me, so I made Alan pose for a photo with me. Ha! Can you tell he's thrilled!?

I'm surprised he's not pretending to bite me. That's what he usually does when I make him snap a photo with me.

See the trouble in his eyes!? Rotten, I tell you ..... ROTTEN!

Farm Critters to Share

The setting sun provided some pretty light this evening, so I popped outside with my camera and took some photos. Here are two that I like!

Curly was laying on the hood of the tractor watching the world go by until I showed up. The wind was whipping her L O N G whiskers around! I was only able to get a couple of photos taken before she decided she'd had enough. She's a little on the wild side.

And this is Lucy, our little red calf. Isn't she just a cutie! Edited to Add: Lucy was born July 11, 2007. So, she's not a baby... but she's pretty small, and still has some growing to do.

The light from the setting sun was on her, making her look awfully pretty! We're excited for her to get old enough for having babies of her own. We're hoping she gives us more little red haired cuties! She's the smallest cow on the farm. To give you an idea of how tall she is, her back is about mid-thigh high. She's not very tall. But one of these days her horns will grow in long enough that she can boss ol' Ribeye around. He's the next smallest cow on the farm, standing maybe waist high. Maybe. Edited to Add: Ribeye was born April 11, 2007.

I think it's funny how the grass in the pasture looks like a golf green! We didn't mow it ... it's just coming up for spring. I love seeing the green!

Sailing...

Here's another card I created with images from my Bundle of Joy set released by Whipper Snapper.

I stamped the sailboats in black StazOn and painted them with a water brush and Stampin' Up reinkers. I added Dazzling Diamonds to the edges of all the sails, so this baby REALLY sparkles! I randomly stamped the star image on the background paper in the same colored ink as the paper for a tone-on-tone design. Some quick zig-zag stitching and my fav-o-rite May Arts ribbon finish it off.

AND! Have you seen the amazing creations of the Featured Designers?! If you haven't, you're missing out on something wonderful!

When Featured Designers and I upload to our SplitCoast galleries, we add a keyword to our uploads. If you search the SplitCoast galleries for keyword WSFD, you'll find all the projects using this set (and the other sets). Let me say, it's a gallery worthy of BIG praise!

In the gallery you'll find a floating sailboat and sweet baby face, a spotted cow (Mooo!), a sweet special delivery stork, a vitamin surprise, and a boat suitable for every little boy... and so much MORE! Click HERE and check it out!

Introducing Bundle of Joy!

I am so VERY excited! Friday, March 14th is the "official" release of my new unmounted set from Whipper Snapper called Bundle of Joy.

Once again, it has been so hard not sharing all of the details and excitement of this project with you! Secrets like this are HARD to keep!

Bundle of Joy is the fourth set in the collection, along with Posies for You, Spring has Sprung, and BoPeep's Sheep. The sets are made of high quality red rubber with a soft, gray cling mount backing that adheres wonderfully to acrylic blocks. The sets are packaged in quality jewel cases for easy storage.

When your new set arrives, the images will be on a sheet of red rubber, packaged in a jewel case along with the image insert. A good, sharp pair of scissors is all you'll need to carefully cut apart the images. I use non-stick serrated scissors by Tonic. Once your images are cut apart, you're ready to mount them to an acrylic block and get stampin'!

Five Whipper Snapper Featured Designers were invited to showcase this month's set. Some of them may surprise us with projects today, and others may wait until tomorrow to share. Which ever option they choose, I can't WAIT to see what they've been working on!

Meet the March/April Whipper Snapper Featured Designers:

Meg Shumaker has a way with layout and design that makes me drool! Meg's projects are always warm and friendly, and perfectly crafted. You can enjoy Meg's work (and I know you will!) in her online gallery.

Shellie Daniel uses fresh colors and has a sharp eye for detail. She creates cheerful, feel-good designs that always make me smile and eagerly wait to see her next project! Check out the fantastic work in Shellie's online gallery.

Michele Boyer has a talent of creating sweet whimsical designs using fresh colors, as well as warm, earthy designs with a touch of vintage.  Her projects always make me say "oooh". Visit Michele's online gallery and blog Paper Cuts.

Valerie Stangle has a clean, fresh stamping style like no one else. Her designs are always perfectly crafted, and thoughtful. You're in for a treat when you visit Val's online gallery and blog Creating Paper Sunshine.

Yvette Ashe uses layout and color beautifully in every design she creates! Her projects always have an elegant charm that makes them warm and inviting. You can enjoy Yvette's beautiful work in her online gallery.

You'll also find lots of samples using the set right here on my blog, too! How could I resist! Stay tuned - I have lots more to share!

A Happy Sketch Challenge

Here's a Riley Moose card I made but haven't shared yet, so I thought I'd offer this card design as a sketch challenge - wanna play?

The card is a standard A2 sized card (4.25x5.5), and the exact measurements of the inner squares I'll leave up to you. Theme and colors are up to you as well.

This CUTE Riley the moose stamp is from Hanna Stamps. I stamped the image in black Stazon and colored it with Prismacolor pencils. The red paper beneath the image isn't quite so vibrant in real life. I think I was tired when I took this photo and didn't notice the POP of the red. It's sure happy looking though, isn't it! The sentiment is a Stampin' Up stamp.

If you choose to take the sketch challenge and want to share your design, come back here and leave a comment with a link to where you've uploaded your card. I'd love to see! If you upload your card to your SplitCoast gallery, use keyword SMDSC03. It'll be fun to see the gallery of cards using this sketch!

Have a great day!

Whipper Snapper Sneak Peek!

Last Friday I published a little duck card and gave you a sneak peek of the new unmounted set being released by Whipper Snapper this coming Friday. I thought I'd share another peek today! The upcoming set is called Bundle of Joy, and as you might have guessed, is a baby-themed set.

I have been having so much FUN with this set! I've been in a fresh color mode for some time, and this set really gives me an excuse to enjoy using all of the fresh, springy colors associated with babies.

I made this little notebook with an expecting mother in mind. It's just the right size to carry in a purse, perfect for capturing to-do lists, reminders, etc. The image of the stork and baby is stamped in black StazOn ink and watercolored with Stampin' Up reinkers. I used a clear Spica marker to add just a hint of sparkle to the image. The designer paper is from the new K&Company line called Small Wonders (Girl). I adhered the paper to the cover of the mini composition book and sanded the edges to create a finished look.

Whipper Snapper Featured Designers work with us for two months which allows us to share the experience with many wonderful crafters. I want to personally thank the January/February Whipper Snapper Featured Designers: Cheryl Rowley, Diane Zechman, Jeanne Streiff, Leigh O'Brien, and Tracy Harp. They did a fantastic job showcasing Posies for You, Spring has Sprung and BoPeep's Sheep. Thank you, ladies! It has been a real treat to work with each one of you.

And that means there's a new group of Whipper Snapper Featured Designers to share with you Friday! I am really looking forward to seeing what they've been working on with the Bundle of Joy set!  Oooooh, this is FUN!

Smileys

Several people have asked me lately where I get my little yellow smiley guys, and how to use them. This is for you, my dears.

The graphics are created by Camilla Eriksson, owner of Millan.Net. I was introduced to her graphics via the Care2 website YEARS ago. At least 10 years. Maybe even more. She is a co-founder of Care2 and contributing artist to the e-cards portion of the site.

Her copyright policy allows the images to be used on personal websites, emails and postings in forums (with some minor restrictions). More on her copyright policy can be found on her website.

There are LOTS of images on her subscription-free site, but I like having access to them all, so I subscribe to MillanExtra where "extra" images are provided to subscribers.

Here's how I use the images in a blog post. First, find one I want to use and save the image to my computer. The images are GIF files (animations); they won't JPG images like you might be used to using. When I'm ready to place the image in my blog post, I insert the saved GIF image like I would any other graphic or photo, being careful to uncheck any re-sizing options. That's it!

I love them! They make me giggle!

Posies for You Blog Candy Winners!

Thanks to all of you for your response to my Posies for You blog candy! Woweee!! 477 responses! So many of you are coffee and tea drinkers, but I think Diet Coke and Diet Coke with Lime were the next most popular. Reading all of your favorite drinks made me thirsty, and wishing I'd asked for recipes too! Again, thanks for playing along.

I used the ever-faithful random number generator to choose two winners who will each receive a free stamp set. Congratulations to #349 Lynda Benden and #83 HB! Get in touch with me, ladies, and I'll send your stamps out right away.

It's a dreary, drizzly day here today. I *love* it!

Spring Chick

I made this birthday card last night while I was poking around at my stamp table looking for something to do (really just trying to avoid having to clean!).

I have a little stack of spring release Amuse stamps that haven't been put away yet, so I grabbed this cutie of a sentiment stamp and went to work.

I had to pair it up with Peeper, the bossy little mother hen from BoPeep's Sheep. I colored her with markers and added little white dots with a Sigma gel pen.

A clean and simple design; I kind of like it!

Posies for You Blog Candy!

Hey ladies!! I've got TWO brand spankin' new copies of Posies for You sitting here on my desk in need of good homes. Interested?

Leave me a comment! I'll randomly choose two names from all who comment and pop these posies in the mail to you!

Tell me your favorite beverage. Coffee? Tea? Margarita!? Milkshake!? Whatever it might be!

Mine's tea. Hot tea, iced tea, spiced tea. Tea.

If you already have a copy of Posies for You, that's OK! Enter anyway! You can always give a copy as a gift!

You've got until Sunday night at midnight central time to post your comment. I'll use a random number generator to choose two names from the comments, and will announce the winners on Monday morning.

Have a great weekend!

Blogger's Challenge Friday: Layout

This week's Blogger's Challenge Friday task was to create a card that was any other shape than a rectangle. I chose to make a square card, and whoops! What do you know... here's yet another sneak peek at an image AND sentiment from the next unmounted set being released by Whipper Snapper next Friday, March 14th!

Can you guess the theme of the next set yet!?  

I'm SUPER excited about the release, if you can't tell!

I stamped the image on shimmery white paper and colored it with a variety of markers before I watercolored lightly around the image with a water brush and reinkers. I used a glue pen to add Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the duck.

The green paper is part of an Amuse note card, a Christmas gift from my friend Vivian. Thanks Vivian!! I scalloped the bottom edge with a Martha Stewart punch that I purchased at Michael's a month or two ago. This card was easy peasy! Just a cute little 3.5x3.5 note card that would be perfect on top of a nicely wrapped gift. Good thing I know people expecting babies soon!

Vintage Sheep

Last weekend I needed to run up to Costco for some odds and ends, and while in town I decided to stop in at Michael's to see what was new in the store. There didn't seem to be a whole lot that jumped out at me, but I did come home with a couple of new designer paper tablets.

One of the tablets I bought is a nice series of vintage designs by K & Company called Classic K Margo (I don't think it's a "new" line though ... just new to me). The paper is a nice weight, and double-sided (love that!) I chose a few prints from this series for this card.

I stamped the jumping sheep from BoPeep's Sheep onto the dotted paper with black StazOn ink. I wanted the sheep's wool to be white, but I didn't want to paper piece the image. So, I used a small dauber and white craft ink to fill in the white area of the sheep. Worked like a charm! I let the first layer dry and then I added a second layer for a bit more coverage. I like how the dots on the paper barely show through the ink. I used a brown Prismacolor pencil to color the rest of the sheep.

The sentiment is a sneak peek from the new unmounted Whipper Snapper set being released March 14th. Ooops! And I was trying so hard not to show sneak peeks, too! *grin*

Happy Thursday!

i am SUPERCHICKEN!

Last week I was in a bit of a creative funk (it's tough to be creative when you're feelin' icky). Thankfully, I have creative friends who help pull me out of my funk-ness, and get my brain working again!

This time I have Leigh O'Brien to thank for giving me something creative to think about! Last week Leigh created a wild and CRAZY cute card she called BATCAT, and challenged me to create a sort of "superhero" themed card. I took her challenge, and this is my design.

I took my Standing Chicken stamp and added a flowing red cape (with snazzy red pointed collar), and a SUPERCHICKEN belt. I do believe this chicken could (and maybe even will) save the world. Don't you!?

I ended up cutting out the cape wearing chicken and adhering him over top of another stamped image. When I glued him to the lower layer, I was careful to leave his right wing and the cape glue-free so they could pop up a bit from the rest of the painted image. I like the 3D effect this gives. The cape looks like it's blowin' in the wind!

The image is stamped in black StazOn ink and painted with a water brush and Stampin' Up reinkers.

Thanks Leigh, for coming to my rescue!

i am SUPERCHICKEN!

Just a Little Something

I recently ordered a couple of the new Amuse spring stamps, and this cute little droopy eared bunny is one of the stamps I chose. I think she's pretty stinkin' sweet.

This card is fairly small... it's a 4-bar card (3.5x5) which I think is a great size for the small Amuse images. They don't seem to get "lost" on a smaller card size like they sometimes can on a standard sized card.

The pink and green plaid paper is from the two scoops 6x6 BasicGrey tablet. I like the fresh, spring colors. The bunny and the patterned paper layer are adhered to the card with foam dots for a bit of dimension. I used narrow strips of paper for the thread on my button (naked buttons are a NO-NO in my world!). I adhered the button to the card with itty, bitty, little glue dots.

I've seen this kind of sentiment flag lots of places lately, but I'm going to credit the idea to the fabulous miss Julie Ebersole. She even used one recently on this cutie of a card seen here called Soothing Soak. Thanks for the inspiration, Julie!

Spring Critters

I took some time today to make this happy spring card using my Spring Critters stamp, and sentiment from the BoPeep's Sheep unmounted set.

Like usual, the image is stamped in black StazOn and watercolored with Stampin' Up reinkers. I added some Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the two flowers in the image for some sparkle. The designer paper is by BasicGrey, from the Gypsy collection. This card measures 5 1/2 inches square.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Another view...

I decided to share another photo of this morning's web...it was a lovely piece of art. Next time you're outside on a dewy morning, watch for webs!

Morning Web

Alan always finds cool things for me to take photos of - he's a good scout! This morning he showed me this spider web covered in little pearls of dew. It was certainly photo worthy!

It's kind of damp here today. More of a heavy fog than anything else, but it made some pretty webs this morning!