A sketch to start off with

It's been a while since I posted a sketch that I thought it was due.

So, of course I had to make a card to fit the sketch. But I thought "hmmm." I wanted to make a card to fit the sketch in more than one way. So I flipped the sketch and made two cards!
















I used 3 different stamp sets to make this card. The card base is Pixie Pink. I covered it with a BG paper that was in my stash from a RAK I received. I then stamped the cake from Something to Celebrate and colored it in and layered on to a piece of Pixie Pink cs. I then stamped the saying "have your cake and eat it too" in Pink Passion ink from Many Happy Returns. I punched that out with my Word Window Punch. I then found some yummy paper from PSX (that I bought years ago) and layered that on to a piece of Pixie Pink and attached it to the card.

I then attached the word window piece and the cake to the card. Once I attached the cake it looked a little *blah* so I added some stickles. It made the cake stand out just a little more - and that was it. All done!

I hope that you enjoy my sketches. I am planning on in the near, not too distant future to have some blog candy up for grabs ~ but to enter I will have you make a card using one of my sketches. So stay tuned....

Tag Your It

I've been tagged tagged by Tara at Taradesigns in the Middle Name Game!
These are the rules:
☺You must post the rules before you give your answers.
☺You must list one fact about yourself for each letter of your middle name. Each fact must begin with that letter. If you don't have a middle name, just use your maiden name.
☺After you've been tagged, you need to up-date your blog with your middle name and answers.
☺At the end of your post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name.(Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and need to read your blog for details.

♥Manage. I manage an MSN site that over the years had given me the opportunity to make some great friendships ~ which has ultimately led to the start of this blog.
♥Age. My age is *ahem* 38, however I refuse to ever be over 25!!! (I've been 25 for 13 years now!!!)
♥Relationship. It has taken me many years, but I have found and am in the best relationship of my life. I have found my soulmate and I am the happiest I've been ever!
♥Yolk. I can not, and never will eat a runny egg yolk. That is on my list of most disgusting things ever. ewwwwwwwww.

There. I'm not sure if these are really facts that are asked for ~ but they are my facts.

I am now tagging Nicola, Linsey, Toni and Bree.

Pucker up, Baby!

Pucker up, Baby!
This is a card that I made for my MSN group Cards Made by Hand. We are having a mouse swap and what better images to use than House Mouse. I did at one time have MANY of their images, but I got rid of them all ~ to someone who I know will take very good care of them!

The base of this card is Pixie Pink. I then layered that darn polka dot paper to it. I really wish that I could remember who makes that. Years ago I went to a stamp show and loaded up on this and the brass stencils, but for the life of me I can not remember I purchased it from!!!

Anyway, I then cut the scallop edge on a piece of Pretty in Pink with a (huge) pair of scissors I have. Yes, it's killin' me that the scallop is crooked (it's the OCD in me!). I then used my Crop-a-dile to dry emboss the circles inside the scallops. Whoever came up with that idea is simply a genius!! I stamped the word sweetness (from Hero Arts) on that piece in Pink Passion ink and sponged it on the scallops. Maybe if I didn't sponge the scallops it would not show that they are crooked? Can you tell that this is bothering me???

I stamped the image and colored it with pencils. Then I layered that to a piece of Pink Passion cs before I added the glitter.

I added a length of ribbon (from Walmart) over than and then attached it to the card. I made the photo corners, hand drew the "stitching" and stuck them to the back of the image. After adding the photo corners I placed the panel on the card with pop dots and "poof" ~ all done!

Is that a pink elephant I see?

Ok, so there is a story behind the pink elephant. I've got so many stories!!!

Many moons ago, just after the birth of my DD I was told that I needed to have my gall bladder taken out. I was 'ahem' a whole lot younger...

I had it removed and came home from the hospital and they game me a Rx for some pain pills. I am not one for taking any type of pills, but in this case I needed too. So I was laying on the couch a while after taking a pill and I asked my husband "do you see that? Is that a pink elephant?" The pills that the doctor gave me where a tad bit too strong or I was just not used to pills I guess. I was seeing pink elephants move around in our living room. Needless to say, that was the last pain pill I ever took!!

Which brings me to this card. The first pink elephant I've seen in almost 16 years!!

The base card is Chocolate Chip. I then added a layer of the pink polka dotted paper (from who I'm not sure) and a peice of DP from Paper Salon. The image is from the Happy Heart Day set. I stamped him and colored the flowers, then paper pieced him with the polka dot paper. I sponged around the image with Chocolate Chip ink and layered it on to a piece of Chocolate Chip paper. I then added the piece of Real Red behind that and used my deckle edge scissors on (which none of my scissors ever see the light of day).

I forgot to add the ribbon before I layered the paper to the image ~ so I carefully cut a slit on the Real Red right up against the Chocolate Chip and slid the ribbon thru. Then I tied it in a couple of knots. I added stickles to the "flowers" and I was done. I think that I am pretty much done with my Valentine cards, so you may see more of other things from now on. But then I love this set so much, you may not :)

I wanted to share this card with you because I think that it's one of my favorites this Valentines. I sometimes sit down and start to make a card, and never does it turn out the way I want. This time I sat down and just went with it ~ and something came out that I really liked!!!

The base card is Pixie Pink. I layered the polka dot paper from Paper Salon. I stamped the image from the Happy Heart Day set and colored he "flowers" in and paper pieced the elephant with some scrap paper I had. I first sponged Pink Passion ink around that panel, then used my Marvy corner punch on the corners. I layered that panel on to a piece of Chocolate Chip that I punched the corner with also ~ then layered that on to a piece of Real Red. Before I placed that on the card I added a length of Rick Rack that I purchased at Walmart and tied a scrap piece of pink ribbon to it.

I layered the image on the card with pop dots. The card looked "blah" with out a sentiment. So I stamped the sentiment from the set on to a piece of white cs and layered that on to a piece of Chocolate Chip. I stamped the heart flower image from the same set and placed it on to the top of the tag and held it together with a heart shaped eyelet. I placed that on to the card with pop dots also.

I then thought that the card needed some "sparkles" so I added some red stickles to all the hearts on the card. This card actually turned out to be my favorite for this year... Hope you like!

Just the other day I noticed on Gabby's blog that she used the same frog I did. I had to make another card for my cocktail swap that I'm in and I used this little guy. He's so cute!

The stamp is from Rubbernecker, and I got him and a few of his friends at a stamp show a while back. I stamped him and colored him in with pencils and gamsol. I sponged Old Olive around the image and then layered that on to a piece of Pink Passion paper. The martini glass BG paper is from Frances Meyer. I got that years ago (because like everyone else I hoard paper and never use it!!) at my LSS in California.

I layered that on to a Orchid Opulence piece of cs which is the base card. I used my slit punch at the top to create the flap for a closure. I then took a couple of pieces of scrap ribbon (another thing that I don't throw away ~ because you never know when you'll use it) and attached a green brad thru it. All done! It was quick and simple.






And of course I could not let a day go by without another Valentines card...

I somewhat used sketch 154 from SCS. I used my new stamp set Happy Heart Day. It is a great set!

The base card is Real Red. I layered Paper Salon's DP Tiny Dot and Polka Hearts on to a piece of Chocolate Chip paper. On the piece of Polka Heart paper I sanded the edges a bit, and on the piece of Tiny Dots I sponged a little bit of Real Red ink. I stamped the main image and colored him with pencils and gamsol. I also paper pieced his shirt with the Tiny Dot paper. I layered that on to Chocolate Chip and Real Red paper.

The saying was stamped with Real Red ink and also layered on to Chocolate Chip and Real Red. I used stickles on the hearts for a bit more color. If you notice the ribbon you'll see that it was a perfect match to the paper! How lucky was that? That ribbon is from American Crafts.

I hope that you all have a wonderful afternoon! More to come tomorrow!!

Just Truckin' on by

One of my favorite sets, old faithful ~ Loads of Love. This is probably one set that I will use FOREVER! It's so versatile, you can do anything with it. So, of course I had to use it for Valentines day.

The base card is a light pink linen paper that I got a long time ago at a store in California. I tore the edge off the side to reveal a peek at the inside. I took a piece of Chocolate Chip cs and a piece of Pink Passion and tore the side off those too. The Pink Passion was a little too plain so I stamped the hearts from the Loads set with Real Red ink. I layered them to to the card with a length of ribbon. I stamped the truck, hearts and girl (hey, that's me!!) and colored it in with pencils and gamsol and sponged around the edges with Pink Passion ink. If you notice I shaded under the truck with grey pencil and gently blended it with my gamsol. Yes, I'm addicted to that stuff!!!

I layered that to a piece of Chocolate Chip cs and adhered it to the card. The card was still missing something so I stamped Loads of Love with Real Red ink on to a piece of Pink Passion scrap and then on to a piece of Chocolate Chip scrap and placed that in the lower left corner.
If you notice in the lower right corner there is a rub on that I placed just inside, that is from Cloud 9.

I still think that it is missing something ~ but I may come back to it later and play around with it.

PIF - RAK from Gabby

My wonderful, dear friend Gabby sent me this PIF - BRAK. One day Gabby contacted me and asked me if I would participate with her in a PIF BRAK (Pay it Forward - Blog RAK). Of course I said yes!! Gabby is so good hearted and kind I could not resist. She did say that I'd have to find 3 other bloggers that would participate with me. So, to date I have only found one. I did not want to wait any longer to post Gabby's beautiful creations, that's why I'm posting this message.

Is there anyone out there who might want to participate with me? Who would not want to receive a goodie package? If you'd like to participate just shoot me an e-mail to joanmcdonald@roadrunner.com and I will get back to you.

And please, if you have not ~ take a look at Gabby's blog Confessions of a Stamper. I know that you'll be hooked!!!

Bubbles anyone?

It's like Christmas!! I "found" my DD's stash of Darcie's stamps!! When we lived in California we used to go to all the stamp shows. Well, at the time my DD was into stamping with me. Since then she has "grown up" and no longer has time to stamp with me. She's too busy on the phone or watching MTV. Well, when she was into stamping Darcie's was her favorite. When we went to the shows she would be at the Darcie's booth the whole time, looking thru their UM stamps looking for the best ones. She would take them home, mount them on the EZ mount and stick them in CD cases. She has a lot of them!!! Well, yesterday I got a cleaning bug ~ I do that sometimes. I want to sit down and stamp but then something "tweeks" me and I get sidetracked. Yesterday was one of those days! I was moving some stuff when I came across her stamps. I thought "hmmmm. I think I'll look thru those" and lo and behold ~ it was Christmas. I was looking and thinking "I did not know she had this one, and that one." So needless to say the birth of a few cards!





Now, on to the card. I stamped the main image and colored it with pencils and gamsol. I mounted that on to a piece of Chocolate Chip and Pixie Pink. The main card itself if Real Red. I am trying to use most of my scraps, so the DP is from Cloud 9. I stamped the swirls from Autumn Leaves on the case base with Real Red. I added a length of ribbon and attached the hardware from SU! hodgepodge kit. The saying Valentine was stamped in black, and that too is from Darcies.



Well, I needed another card for a bear swap that I am in, and thought "hmmmm. this should work" and I doubled it as a valentine.

I stamped the main image and colored it with pencils and Gamsol. I sponged Rose Red around the image before I mounted it to a piece of Purely Pomegranate. I took my corner rounder and punched a peice of Certainly Celery paper with it. It is a cool tutorial that I saw on Cammie's blog - check it out here. Then attached it to the back of the image.

I then took my The main base card is Lavender Lace. The blue stripe paper was from a RAK I received, so I don't know who make that. But I did take my Rose Red ink pad (since I don't have the Pomegranate one) and sponged around the edges of the blue paper, I then sanded the edges to "rough it up". I stamped the word Valentine at the bottom in Real Red ink and added stickles to the "bubbles".

Enough for now! Have a great day everyone!!!

Busy Bees

Ok, yes ~ I need to get away from pink and brown. But not just yet...

YEARS ago, a friend of mine got me into rubber stamping. I told her that she owes me big time because I could of been a whole lot richer if it was not for her! But, not happier I guess. Stamping is a passion of mine. I just love to sit and create. I love the looks on people's faces when they open a card or look at something I've done and say "wow, this is handmade?" I'm sure most of you know the feeling.

Ok, enough of that. I tend to ramble. I started off with this friend of mine... Well, this same friend is the one who bought this stamp for me. She purchased it at a show. The first stamp show I ever went to. Boy, I was like a kid in a candy store...

The stamp is from Alota Rubber stamps. I colored it in with pencils and gamsol and layered that on to a peice of Chocolate Chip. The base card is Pixie Pink. On to that I layered a peice of DP Dots and a peice of heart paisley, both from Paper Salon. I just love their paper!!!

I tied a knot with SU! Chocolate Chip ribbon ~ which is so yummy! and then placed the main image over that. I also added a photo corner that I cut from scraps and placed some bling on the corner (from EK Success). Hope you enjoy it. I will try to get away from the "Valentine colors" but I can promise anything :)

Hogs and Kisses

I've had this stamp for a long time! So of course each Valentines I must pull it out! I just love the little piggy and his kisses...

So that brings me to this card. And yes, I used SCS Sketch Challenge 150 for it, and just tweeked it a little.

The card base is a pink linen that I got years ago. I layered paper from Memory Box along with Pink Passion and Basic Black on the card. The main image is from Whipper Snapper, as is the lips. I colored him in with pencils and gamsol. I set the square eyelets in the three corners crooked, and the heart one in the bottom right corner.

I attached a length of ribbon before adhering the main image. And on the top left I attached the lips.

Even though there is quite a few layers this card was a fairly quick one. Hope you like!!!

Oh Sweet Talk

Good Morning everyone! I'm sorry I've been gone for a few days ~ life just get's in the way sometimes :)

I did see on SCS some time ago a little bag "filled with goodies". I knew that I had the bag so I just had to do it. I'm very sorry, it was a while ago so I don't know who to give the kudos to for the idea.

The bag itself is a little old. It is from DOTS. The images inside the bag is from the SU! set Sweet Talk. I stamped the bag image and then the hearts inside using the masking technique. The card itself is Pixie Pink. I layered the image with Pink Passion paper and sponged arounfd the image with Chocolate Chip ink. I recently got that cute BG paper from my LSS. It is from Around the Block. I used a peice of Chocolate Chip paper at the bottom and stamped the words from the Sweet talk set and a length of that yummy Chocolate Chip satin ribbon from SU!

I've been busy lately with cardmaking ~ so if you stop by later, I should have some more pictures posted... Have a great day!!

Cupid? No, Cupig!

I just love this little guy. I bought this stamp years ago at my LSS when I lived in California. It is from Whipper Snapper designs.

The base card is Pixie Pink and I layered it with Pretty in Pink that I sponged with Pink Passion ink. I then layered a piece of DP from Paper Salon on top. For the image I stamped it and colored it with pencils and gamsol. I then sponged that with Pink Passion ink and layered that on to a piece of Pretty in Pink and then Basic Black.

Before attaching that to the card I added a length of pink ribbon to the card then I attached the main image with pop dots.

I hope that you all are enjoying my valentine cards. I do have quite a few to make, so that's what you'll be seeing for the next few days. However I did have to make up a few more swap cards for my group, so you may see some different things thrown into the mix.

Enjoy, and have a great weekend!!

Oh So Sweet!!!

What do you think of when you think of Valentines Day? No, G-Rated silly!!

I think of flowers, chocolate and lots & lots of smooches! Well, I thought "hmm, why don't I make a card like that!" So came this card.

The base card is Purely Pomegranate (I'm so going to stock up on that color before it is gone!!).

I then layered a peice of Pretty in Pink that I sponged Pink Passion ink around, then a peice of Close to Cocoa. The Close to Cocoa I stamped with my Autumn Leaves swirls set with Close to Cocoa ink. For the images - the flowers are from Great Impressions, the lips, from Whipper Snapper and the chocolate is from SU! Oh So Sweet set (an oldie but goodie!) I layered with Pretty in Pink, and burgundy cs that I got years ago at a show, I think it is from The Paper Palette. Just a plug for The Paper Palette --> they have the best tape EVER! It is the only tape that I have used for YEARS, and probably the only I will ever use... Ok, enough of that ~ back to the card.

I colored all the images with my SU! markers. Are you not proud of me, or what??? I did not use any pencils!! I put on my big girl panties and did it, just like Nike!! I used Pretty in Pink. Pink Passion, Green Galore, Close to Cocoa and Real Red.

The lips and the chocolate are punched out with my 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" square punches. For the last layer I just cut carefully on my cutter. I then put some stickles on the "flowers" and that was it.

Leave me a comment and tell me if ya like it!!

Boatloads of Love!!!

One of my all time favorite sets is Loads of Love. A little story behind it:

Actually a few years ago I had seen in a magazine a picture of a card. It had the truck from Loads of Love smashed into a tree. It was the cutest card. No, I don't remember who made it, or what magazine it was from. But I did know that I needed that set badly. I had worked for years in a Body Shop. I have seen a lot of people in times that we not very happy for them. Some people where glad to of totalled their cars, some were also very sad because they could not afford a new one. Well, when I saw that card I new that I had to make some. So my SU! demo went on a mission and got me that set. I made up a bunch of cards, and they were handed out to the people who were very sad, it kinda made their day a little brighter. I think that is why it is my all time favorite set.

Well, now that the boat set is here, it's all the more fun to create. No, I don't work in a boat body shop ~ I just like how the sets "interact" with each other.

Ok, enough rambling -- on to the card!

For this card I used Boatloads of Love, Loads of Love and Loads of Love Accessories. I stamped the images on white cs and colored them in with pencils. I layered that panel on to a panel of Chocolate Chip, then on to Pixie Pink. I attached that to a card, Real Red, that is layered with a piece of DP from Paper Salon (polka hearts). I just love their paper!! Once I layered it on to the card, I made a photo corner with a scrap of DP and Pixie Pink and attached a piece of pink ribbon to it. I then pieced together the saying "boat loads of love" from 2 of the sets and mounted them to the card.

You can't see from the picture (I think my camera is going ka-put!) but I added stickles to the clouds, I just put the wrong bottle in the picture!!

Hope you all like it, leave me a comment and let me know!!

Darcie's Valentine Bear

First of all I'd like to apologize for the blury picture, my camera might be failing me!!
This card actually turned out nicer than I thought it would. The main base card is Pixie Pink. I layered a peice of Pink Passion cs under a peice of BG paper from Making Memories. I've had that for years!

I stamped the image from Darcies, colored it in (with yes, pencils) sponged Pink Passion ink around the image and layered it on to Pink Passion cs. Before I mounted that to the card I layered a peice of Pixie Pink cs with a white peice of ribbon and tied a knot in it.

After I mounted the image to the card I used the Frosted Lace stickles on the bubbles in the tub. It is hard to see, but it looks more realistic IRL.

Stew Pot Kickstand

Yes, another kickstand card from SCS. I think that I like these cards. I like to make cards that are just not quarter folds, I like different. I think it's mostly because I like to see the reaction on peoples faces when they open them. "You made that?" Well, of course!

For this card I used the Stew Pot Pals set. It's a set that really has not seen too much ink. And besides, I've been looking thru most of my sets to see if there is something other than hearts I can use for Valentines day. Something out of the norm.

Now, the deets...

For the base of the card I used Real Red. (Traditional I guess.) I layered it with Pixie Pink and with some yum-ola paper that I bought at the LSS from Cloud 9. I just love it! I stamped the image in and colored her with pencils, and layered it on to a peice of Pixie Pink paper. Under the image I put a peice of ribbon and tied it to the left.

The top of the card was a little "blah" so I stamped a frame from Li'l Davies Designs (It's actually a journaling template without the lines) and then I took my Hero Arts letters (Friendship) and stamped the word Valentine with Real Red ink. I then used my Cloud 9 Rub on's and placed a heart to the right of the word.

Quick and simple!

Long & Lean Birthday

I think that I may be back in the swing of things. I've been looking at my sewing machine for a couple of days and thinking I've wanted to use it. So yesterday I pulled the cover off of it and put in new thread and had to make a stich or two. Now, most that know me know that I do not sew. Ok, I can if it is basically a straight stich. No funny stuff! Although I did make curtains for my DD's room last valentines day. She's into the whole "John Deere" thing, as is most of her friends. But my daughter is a little more "girly" so I found some cute fabric that is pink and brown, not the green and yellow. She loved them! And I was so happy (and proud) to of made them. And yes, all I had to do was sew in a straight line! Yippie!!!

Whoa, way off track again. Ok, sewing. Yeah, that's what did it! Now, I wanted to make a birthday card and wanted to do some stiching on it.



The card itself is Brocade Blue. I took a peice of plain white CS, and a peice of Heidi Grace DP (I love the Heidi Grace papers) and stiched them together. Yes, I have found out NOT to use tape around the edges where you sew. Yes, I am sewing machine challenged! Anyway, I stiched around the edges with some yellow thread. I then stamped the cake from Along The Same Lines and colored it in with pencils. I layered that on to a peice of Temping Turquoise and sponged around that with Bashful Blue. I stamped the happy birthday (from Hero Arts) in Bliss Blue and layered that on to a peice of Tempting Turquoise also. I layered that first on the paper, then the cake over the top with pop dots. I then finished it off with adding some stickles to the candle flames and the cake itself.

Hope you all like it, leave me a comment and let me know.

Have a great day!!!

Valentine Kickstand

Yesterday I mentioned the kickstand card. Well, this is my feeble attempt at it. I think that it needs more, but I will play around with it today.

If you have not tried it, you need to. It's the Wednesday's challenge on SCS, ok ~ last Wednesday, but at least I tried it. If you'd like to go here to check it out... just scroll down to the bottom of the page. I love the Wednesday challenges. I'm out of touch since moving that there is nothing close enough around to me to go to. There is a LSS here, but that's it. Scrapbooking. Yes, I do that too ~ but as far as cards and such I rely so much on SCS. After all, it is a great site.

Ok, on to the card.

It's pretty basic, I used Real Red for the base card. I then layered the BG paper (sorry, I don't know who it is from) on to the front and inside where I cut the front panel off.

I stamped the image from Vintage Valentines and colored it in with pencils and gamsol. I used my Giga Oval Punch to cut him out, and my colozzle to cut the peice of Pink Passion behind it. I sponged Pink Passion ink around the main image for some depth.

For the saying I used my stamp-a-ma-jig to "rework" the saying (from Darcie's). I used Real Red ink on that.

Basically, that's it. These cards are super easy to make and a little fun! And remember you can change out the "kickstand" part of the card. It can be oval, square, scallop, BIG, little ~ whatever you fancy. Just try it, I'm sure you'll be hooked too!

Good Sunday Morning to you all!!

Well, this morning I've been up and out already and started another project!!

I've got to get started on my Valentines cards, but first I've got to get just the right birthday card made for a dear friend of mine that is in California. I want to make a special one for her.

I started with this card. Of course, it's actually one of my favorite sets. But it just did not turn out the way that I wanted it to. I was trying to make a "kickstand" card (and it's the newest challenge on SCS right now) and then with a spinner also. That did not work. So, the kickstand card will have to wait. As a matter of fact, I think that this card will go in the "stash" pile and I will try a different one. But here goes the recipie for this card.

The card itself is Old Olive. Then I layered a peice of Pretty in Pink and a peice of Petals & Paisley DP. I so wish that I would of ordered more of that before it retired! Anyway, I stamped the chef from Voila and only colored his jacket in. I then paper peiced the hat and pants with the opposite side of the BG paper used on this card. I then glued him to the card.

I punched a hole with my 1 3/8" circle hold punch and taped a peice of floss to the center of it. I then punched two 1 1/4" circle's with my punch and on one side stamped the cake from Computer Quips (the cake from the Voila set is much too big) on one side and a sentiment on the other. I then attached each to each side of the floss to create the "spinner" peice. It's actually a very easy card to make. Take a look at the instructions from SCS.

I then used stickles on the cake to create some sparkle and sponged Pink Passion around the edges of the card for some more depth. Like I said, I'm not too happy with the outcome, but it's another card for the stash box.

Have a great day everyone!!!

Bronc Bustin' Birthday!

My nephew's (by marriage) birthday is in a week and I wanted to make a card for him. He's almost as old as I am (we went to school together, weird huh??) and of course I could not use something kiddish, and he's cowboy up! all the way ~ so of course this set was perfect!!!

I used the split negative technique from SCS. If you have not tried it, you must! It is so simple and easy.

Anyway, I stamped the image twice. Once with Really Rust ink on the Creamy Caramel CS and once with Ruby Red ink on the More Mustard CS. Then I "split" them in half and used one half for each side, thus making 2 cards....

I layered that panel on to Chocolate Chip CS. I then stamped the star and horseshoe and the sentiment Best Wishes (from Stampendous!) in Close to Cocoa on Creamy Caramel CS. I layered that on to More Mustard CS and then on to Chocolate Chip CS. I then placed an eyelet on each side of the panel.

I then layered all that on to the panel of DP from the Au Chocolate series. I love that paper, and I wish that I would of ordered more! For some reason this paper reminded me of an old cowboy shirt so I had to use it! That is all layered on to a Really Rust card.

Hope you like it. And if you have not, try out the technique for the split negative, it's so easy!

You've made my day award!

Yes, thank you thank you. First of all I would like to thank.... (sounds like an awards show, huh?) But really, I'd like to thank Gabby. She gave me a "made my day award". Take a look-sie at her blog ~ it's full of awesome projects!

Now I'm off to make someone elses day!

Toni, Tracy, JackieNC, Jules, Patty & Mary Beth - consider yourselves awarded!

EDIT: (I forgot to post Gabby's link. Sorry ~ It's there now...)

Bear Hugs, anyone??

Yes, another swap that I'm in is a bear swap. Everyone has a bear stamp or two. I wanted something colorful and "spring-y" for a change. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas ~ but I'm a little burned out on red and green. So I decided to make something colorful! Then came this card.

I stamped my Darcie's bear and colored him in. Yes, pencils and gamsol. I sponged around the bear with Only Orange. I layered him on to a peice of BG paper from Making Memories and then on to Certainly Celery. The card itself is So Saffron.

I then topped it off with some stickles around the flower bonnet and the flowers themselves. I thought that it was pretty "spring-y", how about you??

Cocktail Swap

Now I know that I have a stamp someplace of a martini glass, but do you think that I could find it? NO!! So, I had to settle for the wine bottle again. In my MSN group we are having a swap right now called "cocktail swap". I searched everyplace for the martini glass and could not find it! I found the paper, but no glass. So I had to settle for the wine bottle stamp. And no, the card did not turn out how I wanted it either!! Nothing was going right. And I was off line all day yesterday because we were having some awful thunder storms. I think my poor dog aged quite a bit yesterday, she hates thunder.

Ok, now the card.

It was a pretty simple card. I stamped the wine bottle and glass from Ann-ticipations. I colored them with ~ yup you guessed it pencils and gamsol! I layered it on to Certainly Celery CS then on to Pretty in Pink CS that I stamped with my Fresh Fillers set. I love that set, you can use it in a pinch for backgrounds or any empty spaces that you have. I also used a DP from SU! I cant remember which one, it is a scrap from an old paper... To make the "scallop" edge I used my slot punch and just taped it to the back of the main image. Then I stamped the saying, I beleive it is from Rubbernecker - it is a UM image that I've had for years - and sponged around it with Pink Passion ink.

I topped it off with some stickles on the glass and "diamonds" to make them sparkle and then I was done.

A New Forum

I just wanted to give all my "stampin sistah's" is SBS Group 6 a heads up. Toni has made a new forum for us to all go to so we can swap and just hang out at. Take a peek if you'd like at http://stampingdiva.com/forum/

I know for one I can not wait to swap with all my sistah's....

A Rosey Thank You!

First of all I would like to say Thank You to a special person (Gabby) once again for this wonderful set! I had my eye on it for a long time and she sent it to me! Everytime I use it (which is often) I thank her! Gabby, your the most awesome-est!!!!

Ok, that said ~ on to the details.

I needed to make another thank you card for my SIL and I thought that this set would make a nice one. She's been having some troubles lately, and when she gets a card she leaves it out to look at for a while. I thought that this might cheer her up when she looks at it.

I first stamped the Certainly Celery CS with my Autumn Leaves Swirls set. I bought that at Walmart for something like $8.00 and my LSS has it for $15.00! I caught the deal.... anyway ~ Then I stamped the images of Roses in Winter with Pretty in Pink, Positively Pink, Rose Red, Almost Amethyst, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery, Mellow Moss and Barely Bananna. Ok, you all have that? There will be a quiz on it later :-)

I added a length of ribbon behind that and adhered it to a panel of Purely Pomegranate that I paper pierced and all done!! It was a fast and simple card, but I like how elegant the Roses in Winter set is.

Hope you all enjoy.

Pines Thank You

I am a little late with the thank you cards, but this one is for my SIL's BF who took us out on New Years Eve. It was a nice evening. Quiet for the most part. I know that I have never liked to go places on New Years Eve. I get nervous about traveling, and then you never know some person who might of had a little too much to drink could be out there. Paranoid? Maybe, but I'd rather not take the chance.

Anyway, there I go again ~ ramblin on. Now to the card.

It was pretty simple for the most part. I used Handsome Hunter, Chocolate Chip and a gold peice that was in my stash for the card. The gold peice I used my Heidi Swap Edge Distresser. I stamped the trees, pine needles and pinecones from SU! DD Pines set. A set that I've had and just never really used. I wanted this card to be a little "manly" since it was for a man.

The trees were stamped in Handsome Hunter, the pines were stamped in Garden Green and the pinecones in Close to Cocoa. There were some "bare" spots left so I sponged the Garden green around the pine needles and some Close to Cocoa around the pinecones ~ just to fill it in a bit.

For the sentiment I stamped the Thank You from Many Thanks with my Encore Gold. To seperate the word I used my stamp-a-ma-jig. I was a little disappointed when the sentiment did not show up too well, my pads a little dry. But once again, it's for a guy and I don't think he'll really care too much.

I'm off to create more. I'm a little late today, I overslept. Woo-Hoo I did not have to take hubby to work today....

Sweet Treats & a Sketch

I thought that I'd give you all a sketch to try. And in doing so I needed to make a sample to go along with it. Of course I had to make a card for my DD to give my Mom for her birthday, so it's like killing 2 birds with one stone. My DD used to sit and make cards with us. And quick! She could whip out a card in no time flat! But now that she is a teenager, I guess it is "not cool" to do things with your Mom. I give her a few years and she will want to do things again with me. Don't we all? Go thru the phase of not wanting to do things with your parents because it's not cool? Then we grow up and realize that your parents are not the most un-cool parents in the world. I just wish those days were here....

Ok, on to the business at hand. Here's the sketch and my sample:

If you notice, I actually used my pens to color most of this card! Yes, I had to use pencils on the cake ~ I could not go cold turkey! But there is pens on there.

For the card base itself I used paper that I purchased a long time ago at a stamp show. But I still order from them now. That is where I get my tape from ~ the ONLY tape that I use. It's awesome! It is from The Paper Palette. For the layers I used Pale Plum, Pink Passion and Pretty in Pink cs. I stamped the candle from Hero Arts all over the BG and on the 2nd layer. I colored it in with Pink Passion, YoYo Yellow, Lavendar Lace, Pretty in Pink and Pale Plum. For the main image cake, that is from the Sweat Treats set. I colored that in with pencils and accented it with Pink Passion and Positively Pink. I colored the "flames" on the candles in YoYo Yellow and Only Orange and highlighted them with stickles.

For the circle I punched a 1 3/8" circle in Pink Passion and a 1 1/4" circle in Pretty in Pink. I stamped the Happy Birthday (also from Hero Arts) and sponged it with Pink Passion ink.

I really hope that she likes it. I'm sure she will.

Thanks for stopping by today. I'm off to create more today!!!

Boatloads of Prezzies!!

Just when you think Christmas is over, January rolls around and I have lot's of birthdays to buy for and cards to make. Here is another card that I made. I used the Boatloads of Love set. One of my all time favorites is Loads of Love, so when this one came out it was a MUST on my list.

I used Boatloads of Love and the Loads of Love Accessories sets. I stamped the boats and the presents and colored them with pencils and Gamsol. I promise to some day get away from pencils, but it's my favorite method of coloring.

I used Brocade Blue CS for the main card and layered on YoYo Yellow and a pattern paper that I got a pile of at a stamp show many years ago. I then wanted a saying to go with it and there really was none, so I cheated a little.... I stamped the word "float" and the letters "i" and "n" to get floatin and the rest was one of the saying stamps. I stamped those on YoYo Yellow to and just cut them out to fit across the bottom of the card.

After that I added some stickles to the water and clouds for a little "umph" and all is done. I hope that the recipient likes it. It was actually too simple to make, and I'm used to putting my all into something. It kinda makes me feel guilty.

Well enough of that. Hope to get more done today for you....

Birthday Banter

Ok, I'm back!! I had to make a card today for my Mom's birthday. My Mom and I have a great relationship. We are really good friends. We've lived together for the past 10 years or so. When I left my ex I came home to Mom. My father passed away almost 14 years ago, so she's all I have left. I guess I'm telling you all this because you'll probably think "why would she say that on her Mom's birthday card???". We are truely friends, and we always tease each other ~ that's why the card say's what it says. Besides, I'm trying to get her mind off of her age. She saw a doctor on Martha Stewart one day that promoted a web site that told you the age you will live til if you answer a few questions. Well, this is the age that the web site said. I was against it, but she insisted. So now I have to get it out of her mind somehow.

Ok, enough of the babble. On to the card.

Since it's been a bit since I've made a card **gasp** I used the sketch challenge on SCS. They are great, they give you a little kick when you need it. Anyway, it is SC157 found here.

For this card I used Purely Pomegranate (my favorite!! I need to stock up!) and Pink Passion. The BG paper is from Frances Meyer that I've had forever!

I stamped the cow from Birthday Banter and colored it in with pencils and Gamsol (is there any other way??). I sponged around that panel with Pink Passion ink and layered it on to Pink Passion and Purely Pomegranate CS. For the 2 panels behind that I stamped images from Fresh Fillers with my Versamark pad on the Pink Passion and Purely Pomegranate CS peices and layered them on the card as well. The saying I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to place the words because it would not fit as it was. Then, all done!!

I hope that this sparks some creativity for you. If not, at least to pull out an old set and blow the dust off of it. Thanks for looking....

So sorry everyone.

Hopefully in the next few days I will be back and showing off more of my creations. Please don't go away, I'll be back!

Have a great day!