Amazing! Almost overnight we FLEW by 100,000 hits on my Blog! Thank you for being so supportive and checking frequently on my Blog. I hope I provide inspiration for you. I’m going to hold off to do Blog Candy until next week because my son is in town and my husband is on vacation this week. We have some mini getaways planned. Stay tuned!
Funny how inspiration comes from things around us. I saw this house ad for Pier One and immediately thought about recreating it into card form. (A scrapbook page would be cute done with this idea, too!)
I had purchased the Neighborhood wheel a couple months ago, but hadn’t used it. So I wheeled it in Basic Black across some white cardstock. Then I wheeled it again across Brilliant Blue cardstock. I stamped one small star from Classic Backgrounds randomly with Whisper White all over a couple houses on the Brilliant Blue. Then paper pieced the Brilliant Blue star houses onto the Whisper White copy. I used a red marker to hand draw the stripes and colored in roof lines and Barely Banana marker for the windows. Oh yes…I cut out each small window in the Blue houses with my paper snips. I used Garden Green, Sahara Sand and Bashful Blue markers for the bushes, steps and clouds.
I finished the card by stamping Time to Celebrate in Basic Black ink. Then punched a large and small star with a center white mini brad. I still have almost a full roll of the red/white/blue ribbon that Stampin’ Up! used to sell, so I pulled it out to wrap around the card, too. I added a quick row of piercing under the word Celebrate. I think it turned out CUTE and a fun way to celebrate the 4th of July holiday.
I hope you have a safe and happy 4th of July holiday!
Email me to place your order by 10:00 PM EST on June 30. All orders received today will be placed in a drawing for your choice of a FREE Level 2 stamp set!
Yes! The Stampin’ Up! Spring/Summer 2008 retired list is out. Hard to believe another catalog is coming to an end soon. Don’t delay! Contact me today to order the sets you don’t want to miss! Once they are gone…they are gone forever!
AND, I know you are waiting the news of WHO won the Blog Candy! Last night we were distracted with a family dinner and then a movie, so I waited until this morning to unveil the winner! This post was it from a random drawing…Shelley, please contact me to claim your winnings! Thank you all for helping make my birthday a little more special this year.
Shelley G in Iowa This is constantly changing for me. Right now I like using markers with a blender pen or aqua painter on watercolor paper. The coloring goes really fast.
Oops…in my rush to post my Blogger’s Challenge card this morning, I forgot all about making up another question for my Birthday Blog Candy. So…with the new Stampin’ Up! catalog coming out in a couple months, what NEW accessory would you like to see Stampin’ Up! offer in their catalog? For me, I think it would be awesome to have Cuttlebug embossing folders that MATCH our stamps! How perfect would that be?
I had a very nice birthday. We went out to dinner with some close friends at one of my favorite Italian places. Yummy! Hubby gave me money for stamps or Convention…yeah!
The name for the Blog Candy will be pulled tomorrow night (Saturday) after I return from the family dinner. Good luck everyone!
Today’s challenge is correct! A challenge for sure! Turquoise, Pink and Green Galore!!! I would have been ok without the Green Galore, I think. This is actually the SECOND card I made…the first one got scratched. I’m still not thrilled with this one, but it will have to do for today! I think I’m still sleep deprived. I went to bed late and then EARLY this morning, my hubby leaned over to kiss me Happy Birthday and scared me to death! He thought I was awake. lol! Obviously, I couldn’t go back to sleep then.
I started this one with applying Pixie Pink, Rose Red and Green Galore Watercolor Crayons directly to the stamp rubber, spritzing with water and then applying to Whisper White cardstock. This is actually one of my favorite ways to use the crayons. I pulled the background out of my stack of "unfinished work"…I believe it is a simple polished stone using reinkers (it was made a LONG time ago!) lol! Of course, the background didn’t have any Turquoise, so I added a ribbon and the bluebird for a hint of Turquoise. Pretty simple card.
No big plans for today…I have a couple projects I want to finish. We are celebrating all the June birthdays, Father’s Day, Anniversaries tomorrow night with my family. It is a busy month with all those going on.
Oh my gosh! I got the MOST exciting news today from Stampin’ Up! and they told me I could SHARE! The project that I sent in to Stampin’ Success for this month’s contest was selected as a winner in the Schoolhouse Rock theme! Woohoo!!! My heart started racing when she called to tell me today. I immediately called my upline, Candy, to share the news! I feel blessed since this is only the second time I’ve ever sent anything into them for the contest. I’m on CLOUD 9! What a great birthday present for this week…FREE rubber! I forgot to ask if I could share pictures…I need to call back and ask. They will be shown in the quarterly On Stage magazine.
OK…whew…onto this card. This set, One of a Kind, was one of the first ones I purchased when the new catalog came out. I liked the look of the large flower, in addition to the words in this set (One of a Kind and For You). I happen to use For You a lot…one of those generic greetings that can be for a host of different reasons! I paired it with the bright colors in Bali Breeze…I wish I had more of this pattern! I used it up almost immediately on swaps I made for Convention. The center Pumpkin Pie is punched with the 1/2 circle from my Faux Diamond Dust paper (cardstock covered with Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder). The Turquoise circle is made by adhering two Round Tab punches together…I like how it is just a little bit bigger than the scallop punch (orange layer).
This was a fun challenge card I did with Lisa and Mary. I think Mary found the sketch and we had the weekend to finish it. Colors are Purely Pomegranate, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise. Oh…the background I used Twill with Purely Pomegranate over the PP cardstock…hard to see in the pictures!
Day 3 of Blog Candy! Remember, each day that you comment you get your name in a chance AND an additional chance if you sign up for my Blog Reader! I’ll give you a hint…one of the things is FREE RUBBER! Everyone likes that, right?
Question for today…in the current Stampin’ Up! catalog, which stamp set do you use the most? Or, if you don’t own Stampin’ Up! sets (why not? lol!), which type category of stamps do you like the best? (Flowers, photo, whimsical, animals, etc.)
How many of you have noticed the die-cut blooms in the mini catalog? I think they are one of the best kept secrets from that mini! They are easy to use, made from textured cardstock and come in several sizes and shapes for easy layering. All combined to make fast and easy cards! Got to love that!
My Club did this card last month at their monthly Stamp Club meeting. For this base card, I used the Wild Wasabi textured cardstock (the package that SU offered that had been cut incorrectly!) I cut it down to envelope size, 4 1/4 x 5 1/2. I folded the short end back and secured it, then punched 3 holes for the ribbon. The inside flap has a strip of pattern paper (Summer Picnic) for accent that shows on the front when closed. I stamped the Pumpkin Pie strip on the front with a saying from Full of Life (another MUST have set!), then layered it with a smaller Real Red strip on the front of the Wild Wasabi card. I made a shaker from the die-cut Bloom and filled it with the clear microbeads. The background in the shaker is the same Summer Sun designer paper. I drew dots around the opening with a white gel pen. The leaves are small ovals punched from Wild Wasabi textured cardstock, then crimped for some extra texture. I think it made a FUN card! I always like movement cards…the beads shaking around sound fun and make me pick it up to play.
I wanted to answer Annette’s comment from yesterday’s post. I do intend to create a page that will have a listing of the magazines where I have been published. Stay tuned!
Day 2 of Blog Candy! Today’s question: What is your favorite coloring medium? Watercolors? Reinkers? Watercolor Pencils? Markers?
Finally…my new BLOG home is ready. Well, almost ready. I’ll be doing some additional tweaking as time goes on. But, starting today, you can reach me at my new blog. www.INKspiredtreasures.com Woohoo!
BLOG CANDY! So…let’s celebrate my new Blog AND my birthday this Friday! Over the next few days I will be offering Blog Candy for the following:
1. One entry to those that resubscribe to my new Blog (my old ones did NOT transfer)
2. One entry if you leave a comment on the post each day this week.
So, you’ll have a couple chances to win some GOOD stuff! (Sorry, Blog Candy offer available to US residents only!) Check back each day this week…I’ll have new questions for you to answer! (Only one comment per day, please!) Winner will be announced on Saturday, June 14th.
NEW: I’ve added an Email Newsletter signup for news about my classes, Stampin’ Up! specials and other subscriber-only information! Feel free to join it, too!
Today’s featured Stamp Set is Live Your Dream…available in the Occasions Mini catalog only until June 30th…have you ordered yours yet? I combined this set with the Afternoon Tea designer paper. I love the soft colors. This card was a product of one of the challenges that Mary, Lisa and I did a couple weeks ago. I overstamped the flower in Chocolate Chip on the Soft Sky floral designer paper. Then I used a strip of the Striped paper behind the focal image. I accented the card with my circle punches…1 3/8, 1 1/4 and 1" circles. The butterfly is stamped on the white with Soft Sky, then stamped again on scrap paper and cut out. I used a little dimensional to pop him off the circle a little. I used a trio of Antique Brass brads and some of the Chocolate Chip twill around the bottom of the stem. I used my Coluzzle to cut the circle for behind the focal image and stamped Thanks in Chocolate Chip. I love how this turned out. Oh, I also used Sanded on the Chocolate Chip background.
OK for today…tell me what you think of my new Blog! Is there anything you’d like me to feature? I’d love to hear what you are interested in seeing on my Blog in the future! Don’t forget to resubscribe to the Blog email or feeder that has my new Blog address, too.
Whew! I made it back from the stamping/scrapbooking retreat late yesterday and am very tired. We had a BLIZZARD in Ohio! 20 inches of snow and Level 3 snow emergencies in the county where my retreat was held (no one allowed on the roads or you will be ticketed) and snow drifts up to the roof of the building. But it was so absolutely beautiful to see the snow falling, the snow on the trees and the unspoiled landscape all around.
The retreat workers were SO great…they were stranded, too! They brought food to us so we didn’t have to walk over to the cafeteria…cleared off our buried cars…moved the cars so they could plow off the parking lot…then cleared the sidewalks down to cement so we could wheel all our stuff back out to load the cars. Meanwhile, we stayed nice and snug in the lodge with the fireplace going all weekend…it was awesome! I was able to get lots of things done and you’ll be seeing them over the next few days! Need to get them photographed. The best part is meeting up with friends again that I only see two times a year at these retreats. Of course, I always take too much stuff with me and only get 1/2 of what I take done…even with all that time!
This is one of the 3D items I made for the Leadership Displays. I used the Boho Backgrounds stamp set. I wanted the medallion to look and feel like leather, so I used Really Rust, Creamy Caramel inks direct to paper, then stamped the medallion in Basic Brown over top. I then covered it with Versamark and clear embossing powder. Turned out pretty neat and looks a lot like leather! It is hard to tell, but I used two acrylic frames and tied them together using ribbon. I punched the holes on the frames with the Crop-A-Dile tool. The paper is cut from the retired Outlaw paper, but you could easily substitute the new Western Sky paper for the same look. The medallion is actually adhered with dimensionals to the outside of the frame, while the paper and cardstock is slipped inside the frame where the photo would normally be held. After I sent this in, I thought I should have used mini brads instead of staples on the calendar…oh well!
I’ve not heard from our Blog Candy winner, Catherine, yet! So if I don’t hear from her by tomorrow afternoon, I’ll be pulling a new number for someone to win that Blog Candy! Check back!
Thank you all for commenting on my Blogaversary!!! It truly has been a FAST year. And I’ve been so blessed with all of you who visit regularly!
So…the winner of the Blog Candy is…..
Post #34
Happy Blogaversary ! I love spring because the air seems to be fresher, I can go on more walks with the kids without bundling them up to the nines. To only then undress them so they can run to the bathroom, even though they claim they have gone before they put their gear on. Lol, anyways thank you for this chance at some great blog candy ! Hugs,catherine
Catherine…drop me an email with your mailing address and I’ll get it shipped out on Monday.
I’m headed to a LONG weekend stamping/scrapping retreat. About 40 of us go twice a year and have SO much fun and get so many great ideas! I’ll have tons of things to post when I get back. This is always my time to experiment and try new things because I can work in a block of time to finish it and not worry about classes coming up.
Looks like we are in the path of another BIG snow storm. I’m glad I’ll be tucked up at the Lodge with no reason to go out…
This post will stay at the top until Wednesday night!
Did you notice? I have a new look for my ONE YEAR Blog Anniversary! Thanks to Michelle at http://www.blogstamper.com/ who designed my new banner and spent hours trying to find the right font. I think it turned out GREAT!
When I started my Blog, I never expected it to turn out as it has! I expected to use it for mostly my customers to get ideas from projects and cards I’m working on. I’m proud to say that I’ve managed to post frequently each week and have a “following”…thank you to ALL of you who check in frequently to see what I’m doing! I appreciate it!!!
And…what did I say? BLOG candy! Yes! To celebrate the week of my Anniversary into Blogging, I am giving away Blog Candy. There is an assortment of unmounted stamps from The Scrap Pack…numerals, Index Tabs, backgrounds, and circles. Some Clear Stamps from Studio G that are TOO darling, several Shakers from I Kan Dee and Rebecca Sowers, Dimensional stickers from Memory Shoppe and other scrapbooking or stamping embellishments! You’ll LOVE this assortment of goodies! Plus, I’m still organizing my Studio, so I may find MORE this week…you never know! lol!
What do you need to do? To celebrate my week, post a comment to THIS post telling me the ONE thing you enjoy MOST about SPRING! (Yes, I am wanting to see Spring BAD!) I’m figuring since it is March 1st, that it MUST be right around the corner? So…maybe you can help me bring it here a little faster! You have until Wednesday night, March 5 @ 7:00 PM to submit your comment. My Blog is moderated, so you will not see your comment post until I approve it!
! I love spring because the air seems to be fresher, I can go on more walks with the kids without bundling them up to the nines. To only then undress them so they can run to the bathroom, even though they claim they have gone before they put their gear on. Lol, anyways thank you for this chance at some great blog candy 