Feeling Like Spring IO Challenge!

Gosh, it couldn't feel further from spring in my neck of the woods. I got stuck in the snow not 3, not 4, not 5, but - oh about - 6 times while trying to make it out of my neighborhood today! It was hilarious, when I picked up my 6 year old from school, she couldn't wait to tell me about the guy-jant-tick snow mounds they played on at recess! Funny stuff.

With the snow in full tilt, why not pull out those spring time stamps to warm our hearts! It's time for an Impression Obsession challenge! The only rules? Use IO stamps please and email your cards to this address when you're done! shirleyone@carolina.rr.com. There's a $25 IO Gift Certificate on the line and you can have your work proudly displayed on the IO Blog! You can visit the IO Blog HERE for more details!All participants' cards will be posted here and also permanently in our IO Customer Album.

For my spring time creation, I used one of the new Leigh Hannan stamps that will soon be released at Winter CHA!

After stamping my image, I colored it up with Copics - YG00, YG03 and YG63 on the grass, B00, B02 and B04 for the birds and V01, V03 for the purple flowers. I did use B000 (one from the Copic Pastel Collection) to add some highlights around my greenery and my birds following it up with a blender to soften the line of the marker. I added this blue around the edge of my creation too. After that, use a Spellbinders Ric Rac Borderabilities die for the bottom of the purple mat, a decked out strip of blue decorative paper (unknown maker) and a fun pink button tied up with string and... voila... a little dash of spring waiting to be sent to a mailbox near you!

Want to see how the rest of the DT ushered in a little spring? Hop on over to see.....

Kathy
Laura
Jenny
Deborah
Jeanne

And, don't forget to mark your calendar for the next IO challenge coming your way on January 21st! That's when the DT will be challenging YOU to make a card that is anything but a rectangle! ;-)

Thanks for stopping by! See you back here soon!

Some Sneaky Peaks to Show!

Cardmaking is, at times, the wierdest thing. One day you are making Christmas cards left and right and the next, it's all about the season of love! That's the way the rubber, paper and polymer flies! ;-)


With Winter CHA just a few weeks away, Impression Obsession is getting ready to unveil a bevy of new fun things for you to use to stamp your hearts out!! Speaking of hearts... check this fun new stamp out! ;-)

This is one of the new ones from Leigh Hannan. It's been colored up with a mix of Copics and Copic Spica Pens to give it a little dash of sparkle. Add some fun paper (checks and dots are from the Paper Studio from Hobby Lobby) Add some pink Bazill paper, fun gingham ribbon, some stitching and a button and.... voila! The punch I used on the pink piece is a SU border punch. Pretty easy peasy layout. With a fun, large image like this -- you really don't need a lot!

I have to say thanks to those that left comments on Saturday's post. OH MY GOSH! You people rock! I felt the love! I wish I could personally thank each and every one of you. Some of you said we "do coffee" each morning and believe me, that is such a fun thought... so thanks! If you haven't signed up for my blog candy, be sure to click HERE and leave a comment -- you have until January 8th!

Thanks for stopping by! "See" you back here soon! ;-)

The Half Million Hit Mark.....

As I type this, I am in awe! When I registered my little ole blog on Blogger, I had no idea the places it would take me and the friends I would make! There are some dear, dear people here in blog land. Some, I now call 'sister.' This little space on the web has been pretty amazing!

So... when I looked at my counter and saw that I hit the half million hit mark.... OH MY! That's fun stuff! I knew I had to gather up some goodies to say ONE BIG THANKS!

This is just one piece of the blog candy pile! Here's what's inside:

• Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Scallop Circles
• Basket weave Background Stamp
• 'Mystery' soon to be released Flourishes Background
• Girlfriends mini stamp set
• Simple greetings mini stamp set
• Owl Bling it On by BasicGrey
• Ladybug Bling It On by BasicGrey
• Chip Stickers June Bug Alphabet by BasicGrey
• Chip Stickers June Bug by BasicGrey
• Flourished Elements Stamp Set by Flourishes
• Potted Tulips cling stamp by Impression Obsession
• Floral Background cling stamp by Impression Obsession
• JustRite self inked Thank You stamper

From here, I'll throw in some fun ribbon, bling and paper too! So, want to be in the running??? Just leave a comment and I'll draw a winner on January 8th - one week from today at 8PM Eastern! I'll announce the winner shortly thereafter. Good luck! And, thank you so much for sharing this time with me here! It's been a really fun ride!

Happy New Year with a Stamp Simply Twist!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!! Welcome 2010!

And just in time for a new year comes a challenge... with an emphasis on.... NEW! Create a project using something new, try a new technique, use a new paper, anything -- as long as it's new! You can click HERE to head on over to Sharon's place for all the official details!

For my 'something new' I decided to use some of my new distress inks. I actually bought them a month ago but hadn't broken them in yet. I had a few but thanks to a 50% off sale at one of my local haunts, I was able to pick up about 10 new colors with the reinkers to match! YIPPPEE!

For the card below, I stamped my image (new stamp I just picked up from Impression Obsession. It's called Pansy Vase but I thought it looked like a rose!) on watercolor paper and then began to paint with my Distress Inks.

Here's a peek at how I made it work. I used the reinkers and put a drop of each color in the palette. I used a waterbrush to help move the color on my image. I actually got my inspiration HERE from Yvonne's fabulous tutorial!!
The petals were done with Worn Lipstick, the leaves with Peeled Paint, the water with Broken China and the shadow with weathered wood. I also have Antique Linen in the photo but I must have been having a blonde moment -- I didn't use that for this creation! :-)

For the card mechanics -- pretty simple! I used some K & Company paper and sewed around some of the edges, a Fiskars edge punch, some pearls and some beautiful silk ribbon! Voila!!

Want to see what the rest of the Stamp Simply gals cooked up that was exciting and new??? Just hop on over and see......

Sharon
Michelle Woerner -- our guest designer!
Janine
Jennifer
AJ
Tammy
Deb
Barbara
Jenny
Barb

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to come back soon! Either Sunday or Monday I plan to post some MAJOR BLOG candy for hitting the half million hit mark! WHOOOPPPEEEE! It will be good... trust me! ;-)

See you then!

Just checkin' in!

It's been kind of quiet around here on my little old space on the web. I've been just chilling with the family and really enjoying some down time.

So.... no cards to share yet! I have some works in progress though! Flourishes January release is just a few weeks away! And, some fabulous new images from Impression Obsession will soon be released at winter CHA. Once again, my cards will go to CHA... not me! LOL! Needless to say, the paper is flying! So, stay tuned!

I did want to share some fun images that my hubby and I took yesterday on a walk in our backyard winter wonderland! We have this undeveloped island that is about a half mile away that we walk to just to get some fresh air. While we were there, we realized that someone decorated one of the trees on the island for Christmas. I couldn't resist taking a few photos....

Isn't this photo fun? Yep... that's me and hubby. I have to laugh at how distorted we are in the glass bulb. My camera looks HUGE!

And, this is a shot of the mighty Yellowstone in winter. I always think how neat it is to reflect on early explorers like Lewis and Clark traveling down parts of this river.
And hubby thought I was nuts crouching down to get this photo. I don't know why but this lone little leaf stuck in the snow looked kinda beautiful to me!

Hope you are all enjoying some R & R and... promise.. I'll be back soon with some card "stuff!"

Merry Christmas!

A Christmas Prayer
by Robert Louis Stevenson

Loving Father,
Help us remember the birth of Jesus,
that we may share in the song of the angels,
the gladness of the shepherds,
and worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate
and open the door of love all over the world.
Let kindness come with every gift
and good desires with every greeting.
Deliver us from evil by the blessing
which Christ brings,
and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.

May the Christmas morning
make us happy to be thy children,
and Christmas evening bring us to our beds
with grateful thoughts,
forgiving and forgiven,
for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Wishing you all the blessings possible this season... and then some!

Merry Christmas!

Have yourself a merry little Stamp Simply challenge!

As I write this, kidlets are getting all snuggled up in their beds with visions of... presents and candy running through their heads! The big fat man in a suit is ready to hit chimneys far and wide. YIPPPEE! My daughter told me a cute joke the other day -- What did Santa say to the chimney on Christmas Eve?

.
.
.
.
.

You really shouldn't be smoking!! HAHAHAHAHA! Gotta love kid jokes!

Moving on! Christmas comes with a little extra present, a challenge to say thanks! Sharon's Stamp Simply challenge (ssnotime119) is to create some clean and simple Thank You Notes to send out. Any theme goes -- whatever you are in the mood for!


For my card, I chose to make a simple Christmas Thank You. I actually whipped up a bunch yesterday and already sent some out!
This card was so easy to create! I took the Winter Bouquet set from Flourishes, some ribbon, a Martha Stewart Edge Punch, some Flourishes Classic Ivory paper, Fired Brick Distress Ink, a burnt red cardstock (SU) and some Copper Ribbon Slides and... that's all it took!

And above is the finished product! Easy peasy! I think I made all of the cards in the group picture in about 45 minutes. Want to see what the rest of the Stamp Simply team created for their clean and simple thank yous? Just click on over and see......

Sharon
Michelle Woerner -- our guest designer for December!
Janine
Jennifer
AJ
Tammy
Deb
Barbara
Jenny
Barb


And don't forget to check out Sharon's post on how to participate in the challenge and link up to our new Mr. Linky feature! Hope you are enjoying the holidays! Blessings to you and yours!

Show me,... white space!

Hi all! Time for another Flourishes focus and this one... hosted by the lovely and talented Stacy Morgan is all about white space! Stacy has such a wonderful way of making her cards look so crisp and clean and effortless. Well, I found out -- creating a card with lots of white space that looks balenced and beautiful takes, well, effort!

That's why I'm so glad she gave us some tips and tricks this week over on the Flourishes Newsletter!

I am laughing because I went for lots of white space with this card and it really didn't give me the same effect - I honestly should have dumped the mats and kept it all white! Oh well, I'm new at this! ;-)

Ok, here are the quick and dirty details! I took the All that Glitters set and gold embossed them, added some gold stitching for the hanging strings, a quick knotted bow and colored them up with Copic Markers. Gold leaf the edge of the white paper, add some red and green mats and a sentiment and..... done!

Check out Stacy's tutorial HERE and then.... see how the other gals in the Flourishes DT bathed their creations in white!

Christine
Cindy
Latisha
Laura
Leslie

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fabulous weekend!








Stamps: All that Glitters, Holiday Greetings
Ink: Versamark with gold detail embossing powder
Paper: Flourishes Classic White, Red and Green (unknown)
Ribbon: May Arts
Extras: Kaiser Craft red rhinestones

Stamp Simply.... Let it SNOW!!

Hi all! TGIF!!! It's time for another Stamp Simply Challenge (ssnotime118) and this one is hoping to give you all... a white Christmas! All you need to do is incorporate some snowy element into your creation! Use anything that says snow - winter, ice, snowflakes - whatever your little wintery heart desires! And, while you're at it - try to make it a "clean and simple" a.k.a. CAS design!

So... here's what I have!

I have to admit, this is -- kind of-- a "repurposed" card. The main image was a part of a card that I made in a SU class that I took with my friend Sheila. Well, I got home and realized all of my layers were crooked! Don't you hate that? I swear, I need glasses! I loved the main image - cute, clean and mod! So, I ripped that off my card front and redesigned! Add some dp, a mat, some stitching, some sheer ribbon and a 1" circle punch for your "Warm Wishes" message (Hero Arts) I wish I knew the SU stamp set! I can't recall! But - basically, I stamped the tree four times - one on the base, and then one on a small, medium and large circle punch and layered it up using foam tape. I cut a shwoopy do for my snowy ground, add some sparkly "snow" and that's pretty much it!

Now, please humor me and stick with me for this next part of the post. I was making my card and my hubby comes in and says -- "What cha doin'?" Well, I tell him that the Stamp Simply challenge is snow -- anything snow. He says, 'Oh, that would be easy'. I raise my eyebrow (yes, only one) and say, 'Really... Come on. Seriously?' He's got this goofy smile on his face and I say, "Ok, have at it. You do the challenge this week too." Well, my friends, this is hubby's attempt.

It's a snowman in a snow storm. Yep -- I thought most of us left that joke back in 1st grade. Not hubby! I think he's still laughing. Ahhhhh..... well, at least he pays attention to my stamping addiction! Could be worse! ;-)

Thanks for stopping by!! Be sure to check out the rest of the Stamp Simply gals.....

Sharon
Michelle Woerner -- our guest designer for December!
Janine
Jennifer
AJ
Tammy
Deb
Barbara
Jenny
Barb

If you play, don't forget to link up your creation to Mr. Linky over on Sharon's blog HERE!

Have a fabulous weekend! See you back here soon!

Another Easy Peasy Card!!

Ok, after yesterday, now I am on a kick to crank out some more Christmas cards with ease! I pump up the Christmas Carols on my i-pod and... voila... just the fuel I need to create! Love it!

This is one I came up with over the weekend. I love the elegant design of the stamp and love that fact that this image is so beautiful on its own, you don't need a lot of "stuff" on the card to send a powerful message!

This card was super duper simple - stamp the nativity using Adirondack Denim Ink - trim 1/4" around edge, edge with silver leafing pen and then mat onto navy cardstock. Use a denim blue cardstock base, attach your nativity piece and then, using a Quickie Glue pen add the die cut corner image (Cuttlebug Vintage Die). After my card was together, I did add a hot fix rhinestone for my star. The inside was done by matting a piece of white card stock that measured 4 by 5-1/4" on the inside.

Here's a peek at the sentiment.....
And... this is how many you can make in an hour!

That's it my friends... another easy peasy Christmas card... just in case you needed some last minute inspiration! ;-) I should mention, this card qualifies for Penny's Paper Challenges! The challenge this go round was "Christmas Stars" -- well I think my little rhinestone bling over the nativity qualifies! :-) Click HERE to check out the challenge! It runs until December 23rd!








Stamps: Inkadinkado (Nativity), Stampabilities(sentiment)
Paper: Bazzill, Flourishes Classic White
Ink: Adirondack Denim
Extras: 3mm hot fix rhinestones, Pilot silver leafing pen
Dies: Cuttlebug Vintage Dies (corner die)

Thanks for stopping by!

p.s. I almost forgot.... check this out! Click HERE to check out the sale! :-)