Lavender & Sage

I've never made a card using such wide ribbon before, I see it done all the time, but I was always too afraid to try it. Well, I saw this gorgeous Martha Stewart ribbon at Mike's last week, and loved the color, so I made myself try it. It paired beautifully with these papers from My Mind's Eye.

I don't know how I would mail this card, as the bow is too bulky, I'd probably need one of those clear card boxes. But I'm not thinking about mailing cards when I make them, I just want them to look beautiful! lol.

Thanks for looking, have a great day!

Stamps: Sugar Nellie, Verve Visual

Ink: Palette, Distress

Paper: PTI, Bazzill, MME, Bristol vellum

Accessories: Nesties, MS lace punch, MS sage ribbon, self stick pearls, colored pencils, OMS, sewing machine

Pretty Girl in her Sunday Dress

I saw this little wedding paper mat pad from K & Co. at AC Moore last week and loved the soft blues and greens. The blue actually looks a lot like SU's Soft Sky (one of my fave colors). It's really beautiful, and it was the inspiration for coloring this pretty little girl. I love to pick out colors from the DP that I'm going to use, it makes it so much easier to decide how to color an image.

And of course Spellbinders keeps putting out better and better dies, especially the Labels sets. I love them all, and wish I could afford them all! As it is, I have to stick with buying my absolute favorites. The others will have to wait.

Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Sugar Nellie

Ink: Palette, Distress

Paper: PTI, K & Co., SU

Accessories: Spellbinders Labels dies, MS Leaf punch, Prima flower, Self stick pearl, colored pencils, OMS, Cuttlebug EF, SU ribbon

My First Bellas...

Yes, I finally fell for these adorable Chichibouli Bittybloom stamps from Stamping Bella! I always thought Bella stamps only had the stylin' lady (which I'm not such a fan of), but then I saw some fellow bloggers using these, as well as the Ketto's, I was sunk! LOVE them!

Anyway, this one is called Peony Bittybloom, her name is as cute as she is! I love when I find (of course I'm always behind everyone else, LOL) unique, funky adorable new images to play with that reflect my personality a bit. I love flowers, but I don't like using traditional, realistic type stamps. I prefer whimsical designs, that are different from everything else. These are a perfect example.

Now don't ya just have to run and buy some?! LOL.

Thanks for stopping by.

Stamps: Stamping Bella

Ink: Palette

Paper: Bristol vellum, Papertrey Ink, Bazzill

Accessories: Spellbinders Labels die, PTI ribbon, Stickles, colored pencils, OMS, MS lace edge punch

Puppy Pictures!

As promised, some pictures of our new puppy, Ollie, as well as our big puppy- Pepper. They're both from the same breeder, one litter apart. The little guy is already showing signs of being very different from his big sister, LOL. He gets into a lot more trouble, is a crybaby, but does better with the house training.

Look at that face, doesn't he just look like trouble!?! I suspect we're in for a handful with Ollie, we got very lucky with Pepper, she is very laid back and sweet, just a dream dog.

Oh well, we'll just have to wait and see.

See you all tomorrow with a card post!

Magnolia DT Card-Bloom

Wow, having a new puppy around sure gets in the way of posting on my Blog, and stamping! Ollie follows me around everywhere, constantly underfoot, and has to investigate every little thing I do, LOL. He is a doll, though! I'll post pictures of him later.

A little about the card--I colored Tilda with my colored pencils, and odorless mineral spirits to blend. That giant bouquet of roses is wonderful to color! Perfect card for Mother's Day.

I had a Martha Stewart leaf punch for a little bit and this paper from the Bloom kit by My Mind's Eye reminded me of it. It goes perfect with it! Hard to see in the picture, but I embossed leaf lines to make them a little more textured.

Hope you like it, and don't forget to check back later if you want to see pics of our new puppy!

Stamps: Magnolia
Ink: Palette, Paper Salon, Distress
Paper: Bristol vellum, Bazzill, My Mind's Eye
Accessories: MS leaf punch, seam binding ribbon, colored pencils, OMS

Tilda & the Sunny Spring Day

Can't you just smell the Lilacs and fresh air? Well, it's nice to imagine I can, LOL. It still doesn't feel like spring around here yet, although it is supposed to get warm later.

This card has one of my favorite color combo's-Lavender and Spring green. These colors look so good together. I think my Light Violet Lyra colored pencil is getting worn down much too fast, I should probably order an extra just in case.

I love the paper blossom Magnolia sent me, although I have no clue who makes them. I would like to find out so I can get more. Anyone know?

We're leaving in a couple of hours to get our new puppy! It's a long drive, so I've prepared by stamping a bunch of images so I can color in the car. At least I hope I can color in the car, I tend to get car sick if I'm not looking straight ahead out the window.

Hope it inspires!

Stamps: Magnolia
Ink: Palette, Paper Salon, Distress
Paper: Bristol Vellum, Bazzill, Memory Box
Accessories: MS Lattice punch, PTI ribbon, Colored pencils, OMS, Stickles

Magnolia Design Team Card- Strawberry Tilda

Well, here's the first card I made with the new Magnolia stamps! Tilda in her strawberry cap, or at least that's what it looked like to me. It was also the inspiration for the theme of the card. As I began coloring her, I realized the cap she's wearing looks like a strawberry so I decided to go with those colors. Even the flower looks like a strawberry blosssom, and the lattice border punch reminds me of a berry basket! I'm pretty happy with the way it came out.

Here's a close up so you can see the the frame Tilda's sitting on. I just used two oval Nesties at once to cut a frame, then layered it.

Hope you like it, thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Magnolia

Ink: Palette

Paper: Bazzill, SU, Bristol Vellum

Accessories: Nestabilities, MS lattice border punch, colored pencils, OMS, Cuttlebug EF, Scribbles 3D paint, seam binding ribbon

Gorjuss in Pink

I have to say, I LOVE, love the Guide Lines 2 background stamp set from Papertrey Ink! The background paper you can create with this set just come out so beautiful! I'm amazed everytime I use it.

This card is just all frills, girly pink and polka dots. I would've loved to get this card when I was a little girl, I was obsessed with all things pink!

On another note, we're getting another dog this weekend! DBF and I are taking the 6 hour drive tomorrow to pick up our new puppy, Ollie. We figured our Springer Spaniel Pepper needs a companion. So it's back to house training and having a constant watchful eye over the new puppy. Phew, I'm tired just thinking about it! LOL. I'll post pictures as soon as we get the little cutie!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Sugar Nellie, Papertrey Ink

Ink: Palette

Paper: Papertrey Ink, Bristol vellum

Accessories: Nesties, SU scallop punch, Liquid Pearls, colored pencils, OMS, PTI polka dot ribbon

Lola in the Garden

No DP on this card. I figured the shimmery lavender paper was beautiful enough just on it's own, not to need any. I did emboss it though with a Fiskars texture plate. The shimmer paper is called Stardream, and it is to die for.
Lola was colored with colored pencils, and sparkled up with Stickles. The flower is a Bosskutz die.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

Stamps: Stamp Avie
Ink: Palette
Paper: Stardream, Bazzill, PTI, Bristol vellum
Accessories: Seam binding ribbon, button, Fiskars texture plate, Stickles, colored pencils, OMS, Bosskutz die, brad

Playing Catch Up!

I actually made this card a while ago, but the picture I took of it was so awful, I couldn't post it. I tried again today, it was actually sunny outside, so the picture is a lot better. I am going to look for one of those 'daylight' bulbs as recommended by someone who left me a comment (thanks!) and see how that works.
This card just oozes spring!

From the image, to the flowers and the soft spring colors in the Memory Box papers. I even took a clear Sakura glaze pen and added some highlights to the pond, can't see it in the picture, but it is an awesome effect, like real water! I love how it came out. I think I will send it to someone very special, who I know will appreciate it.

I have lots of cards to post, still working on some editing to sharpen them up a bit, but I'll have them coming fairly regularly. AND, I'm done with some more Magnolia design team cards. Adorable spring images!

Stay tuned!

Stamps: Stamps Happen

Ink: Palette

Paper: Bristol vellum, Memory Box, PTI

Accessories: Corner rounder punch, Prima flowers, self stick pearls, colored pencils, OMS, sheer pink ribbon, Sakura glaze pen, Stickles

Spring Tilda Journal

One more book I made using those $1 journals from Michael's. But I'm sorry to say I cut up the only sheet of this DP BEFORE I looked at who makes it! I hate when I do that!

Oh well, I'm sure someone will know, if you do post a comment please!
The pictures came out really awful this time, colors are way off. I got one of those light tent thingy's to help me take better indoor photographs, but I think my light source still stinks. I just have one of those desk lamps with some kind of wierd bulb in it, but I don't think it's bright enough. Now I have to do some research to find out what kind of lamp is best for indoor pics. It's kind of funny actually, all the time and effort I put into making cards, LOL. If only I was that dedicated to house cleaning!

Thanks for all your wonderful comments, I LOVE reading all of them!

Stamps: Magnolia
Ink: Palette
Paper: Bristol vellum, Bazzill, unknown DP
Accessories: K & Co. paper lace, PTI ribbon, colored pencils, OMS, wool felt, Spellbinders dies, brad, Stickles

Sharing Spring

I love this image from Penny Black. The bunnies are so sweet watching the pretty butterfly. I try not to look at Penny Black stamps too much, I really can't afford to start collecting those adorable mouse and bunnies. Plus they're wood mounted, and I have no room for wood mounted stamps. I only get wood mounted if it's something I really can't live without. Like this one.

Thanks for looking.

Have a Happy Easter everyone, if I don't get a chance to post tomorrow!

Stamps: Penny Black

Ink: Palette, Distress

Paper: Basic Grey, Bristol vellum, PTI

Accessories: Nesties, corner rounder, brads, Stickles, PTI ribbon, colored pencils, OMS, MS scallop punch

Egg-stra Special

I wanted to dye some eggs the other day using some of my favorite stamping colors, so I tried it with a Perfect Match inkpad. I just used the ink pad directly to the egg, but it didn't work out very well. Even hybrid ink took forever to dry, and it was splotchy and uneven when I tried to heat dry it. So I decided to try to use reinkers to dye them. I put a couple of drops of SU reinker along with a little vinegar in a cup and let the eggs sit in it for a while. When I took it out I was a bit excited, sure enough I had a Baja Breeze egg! It was beautiful! BUT-when I started drying it with a paper towel, almost all of the color rubbed off. :-(

The only way I got this one in the picture was to handle it verrrry carefully after air drying. If anyone has any ideas on how to dye eggs with reinkers, please share, I still want to do it. Imagine a basket full of Soft Sky and River Rock colored eggs. They would be stunning!

Anyway, this little egg holder was made using the directions from SCS acetate box tutorial. I just made the top and bottom border strips a little wider, and fashioned my own egg holder insert. I love how it came out!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink

Ink: SU, Perfect Match

Paper: SU, PTI

Accessories: MS scallop punch, SU ribbon, PTI clear cardstock, twine

Custom Backgrounds, Wow!

When I saw what the design team over at Papertrey Ink was doing with the new Guide Lines 2 background set, I was hooked! What an amazing stamp set. I did a very simple DP for the top half of this card with just white on Baja Breeze. It looks stunning IRL. I love making my own background papers!

This little sweetie was colored with an assortment of colored pencils, blended with OMS. I made sure to add lots of sparkle to the flowers and butterfly using Stickles. Love that stuff. I have a lot of colors, but rarely use any of them besides the clear glitter. I like for the color underneath to show through. If I had known that I could've saved myself a bit of money instead of buying all the colors! LOL.

Well, hope you like it, see you all later!

Stamps: Sugar Nellie

Ink: Palette, Distress

Paper: Bristol vellum, SU, PTI

Accessories: Spellbinders labels 1, colored pencils, OMS, SU ribbon, Stickles, Sakura glaze pen, sewing machine

Another Tilda Journal

This is my favorite Tilda image!

These journals would be very easy to do except for one thing. The binding holes on the journals don't match up very well with the BIA. :-(
So after covering them with DP, it was a bear to cut them out very nicely! I tried tiny scissors, exacto knife, but they came out pretty raggedy regardless how careful I was. Until I discovered a little tool in one of my DBF's stash. It's actually a tool kit from Provo Craft in a little black/lime green case. Comes with wire snips, a mini hammer (that's what DBF bought it for), a lot of different hole punches, tweezers, etc. etc. Well, two of the hole punches were a square and a rectangle. Bingo! I used the rectangle one to punch the holes through after the covers were done. Much nicer and faster than manually cutting them out! I knew there had to be a tool out there to make my life easier!

I'm going through my notebooks fast, I hope Michael's still has more when I go back. I need to keep these on hand for last minute little gifts.

Have a great day everyone, and thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Magnolia

Ink: Pallette, Distress

Paper: My Mind's Eye, Bristol vellum, PTI

Accessories: Nestabilties, PTI ribbon, colored pencils, OMS, Stickles, SU scallop border punch, Kaiser craft self stick pearls, BIA O-wires, Michael's $1 notebook

Recipe Journal

A couple of weeks ago I was browsing through Michael's on my way to work when I found these monogrammed kraft journals in the $1 section. They were exactly what I was looking for to alter and embellish! You see, I have a Bind-it-All, and have tried making my own journals from scratch, but when it came to the inner pages, I had a really hard time getting lined paper in the exact size and quantity that I thought a journal should have. Cutting 50+ sheets on my paper trimmer was just too much work, and they never came out even. Very frustrating. So I began a search for cheap journals so that I could either take apart for the inner pages, or to alter. These were perfect!
All I had to do was take the book apart, decorate the covers and put it back together. With the colors I chose for this project, I didn't even have to cover the edges of the covers I just left the kraft as the mat for the first layer.

It's nice to do something different from cards for a change! Idid a bunch of them, so I have more to show you all in the coming days.

Hope it inspires!

Stamps: Magnolia, JustRite

Ink: Palette, Distress, Perfect Match

Paper: My Mind's Eye, Bristol vellum, SU

Accessories: Ribbon, colored pencils, OMS

Digital 'Stamp'?!

Wow, it's been longer than I thought since I last posted! My well of creative pursuits kind of dried up there for a little while! I didn't like it one bit, just sitting there in my work space, staring at the papers, pencils, stamps and ribbons and not getting an inkling of inspiration to make anything worthwhile sharing! I hope I don't have to go through that again anytime soon.

Anyway, I'm back, the juices are flowing and I have lots to share. Like this card made with a 'digital stamp', AKA clip art, LOL. I've used PC Crafter's wonderful collection of digital images for a long, long time. But I completely forgot that some of their collections have black and white WMF digital images, perfect for coloring! Don't get too excited though, not all of their sets include the B/W images unfortunately. This one is from a set called 'Derby and Friends' by Shelly Comiskey. (If the name sounds familiar, it should, Whipper Snapper also sells some of her designs as stamps). So, I just printed out a bunch of the images I wanted to color onto one sheet of paper, and colored them in with colored pencils and OMS. I did have to be a bit careful with the OMS, not to get too close to the black lines or to blend over them. They do smear a tiny bit if you're not careful, but that may just be my HP printer. I've read other people don't have this problem. It is a lot of fun though, a lot cheaper than rubber and clear stamps, and instant gratification! You can also size the images to anything you want, which is very cool.

Well thanks for stopping by, I'll be back soon with more!

Image from 'Derby and Friends' collection from PC Crafter

Paper: GP, K & Co. SU, Bazzill, PTI

Accessories: Colored pencils, OMS, Stickles, Liquid Glass, Sakura glaze pen, PTI ribbon