Syndicated Incorporated

Oh man, now I've got that Weird Al song stuck in my head. I don't have anything pretty to show you because I'm too tired to edit any photos, but I did want to let you in on a little secret... you Google Readers and email subscribers might be happy to know that I've changed my syndication status to allow full posts instead of just the little teaser. I don't even remember setting it to the little teaser thing, but it's turned off now. So enjoy your newfound freedom to read my post in it's entirety wherever you choose, but promise to pop in now and then to say hi. I love reading your comments! Guess I should post some sort of pic just to make sure it's working. Here's Katie, Prison Warden. Don't mess with her if you know what's best!

Have a happy weekend, peeps! :)

Instruction Challenged

Is anyone else instruction-challenged? I have such a hard time following even the best tutorials and user guides. This card was definitely a test of patience in following instructions. First of all, I ordered a Janome Sew Mini sewing machine because I wanted to be able to make fabulous cards with zigzag stitches like Amy. My sewing machine arrived this week and yesterday I finally pulled it out of the box. One of the reasons I felt the need for a new machine was because I couldn't figure out how to use the 1950's 100 pounds of steel version my mom gave me. LOL! I figured if I had a new machine, there would be a great manual that would somehow unlock all the mysteries of the sewing world I've been missing all these years.

Well, there is a manual, but it wasn't magic, that's for sure! LOL! It took me over an hour with the manual just to figure out how to wind the bobbin, insert the bobbin, thread the spool, and then I got stuck on trying to get the bobbin thread to come up through the bottom. Eventually Mark got home and walked me through it. So embarrassing -even my husband who has never sewed before in his life and in no way could be considered "handy" could figure it out! So he got me straightened out so that now I can sew to my heart's content. (That is, until I run out of bobbin thread or need a new color and have to repeat the process all over again!)

So this morning I saw Beate's weekend challenge to make a library card. I read the tutorial - it seemed easy enough. I printed the tutorial and followed it step by step - or so I thought. I have no idea what I did, but it just doesn't look right. the lower cut out is on the wrong side or something. Anyway, I decided to just make it up from there. I stamped True Thyme cardstock with the Paisley background in True Thyme. I glued some beautiful Heidi Grace paper to the cardstock and then decided to use my Janome Sew Mini. Probably should have practiced first, because I was all over the map! I decided to add a little round tab punch with brads on the one inset to cover up some of the horrific stitching I did around the corners. I then tied a gold edged burgundy ribbon around the front panel in a bow. Then I stamped Cat & Flower by The Cat's Pajamas in Versafine Onyx Brown on Pearlized White cardstock. The flower is paper pieced with some of the Heidi Grace paper. I matted this on Marigold Morning and a Bravo Burgundy Giga Scallop Square Punch.

Well, I was horrified to see how bad my stitching looked on the back side when you opened up the card, so I decided to turn it into a pocket card. I just used some sticky strip down the two sides of the shorter flap and then made an insert with Marigold Morning cardstock. The stamps are Hello from TCP and the to you from me is from the All in a Row Stampin' Up set. I guess it still turned out pretty cute, even though it's not exactly the card I set out to make. LOL!

Okay, now you see why I usually write my posts late at night when I'm tired. If I write them in the day time, I'm far too chatty and bore you to pieces with all the inane little going on in my craft room. Oh, and just so you know - I love the Janome Mini! It really is easy to use and SO light - only 5 pounds! I've always had a mental block when it comes to doing the thread and the bobbins, so if you're a normal person you probably won't have any trouble whatsoever figuring out how to do it! ;) The only thing that will take a little getting used to for me is that there isn't any pressure sensitivity to the foot pedal - it's either on or off. I'm used to being able to sew slowly, so I can make sure I've got everything straight. This machine goes along at a medium pace, not speedy fast, but faster than I'm used to. Well, I was going to share some RAKs in this post, but it's too long, so I think I'll do that in a separate one, so if you're still reading, be sure to scroll down to the next post to see the awesome cards I received from Karrie and Beate.

RAK Attack!

I got hit by the RAK elves this week!!! :)

First off is an adorable card by Karrie, who sent some well wishes.. AND accused me of playing sick just to get some feel better cards! Sheesh, can you believe that?! LOL! It actually does seem like a good ploy, but after being really and truly sick for the past week, I appreciate my health too much to even consider faking it! Anway, this card is stinkin' cute. Love this little pirate guy and all the distressing is truly amazing - it even grabbed hubby's attention and he ooohed and aaaaahed. Thanks Karrie! You rock!

The second card is a beauty from Beate. I just love the new Apple Cider paper, and this fabulous little layout is darling. I'm making my final decisions on what to order from Stampin Up and this card just pushed me over the top on the scallop circle punch and the photo corner punch. Awesome as usual, Beate! Thanks so much!

Thinking Fancy Florals

I made this card a few weeks ago, but I don't think I ever posted it here because it just didn't turn out how I had envisioned. It was one of those times I was up stamping at 4 AM because I couldn't sleep and this is what happened. For those of you who don't know, I'm a total night owl. I've always had trouble sleeping - even as a child, but lately it's been crazy. I rarely go to bed before 2 AM and this summer it's gotten even worse - often I'm up until 4 or 5 AM. Anyway, not sure how I got on that tangent, but there's a little personal peek into my life. LOL! Anybody else have trouble sleeping?

I didn't get a chance to stamp yesterday because my hubby's work had a Family Fun night. It was a huge shindig, and everyone's spouses and children were invited. So Mark and I got to be kids again and played miniature golf, arcade games, and raced Go-Karts. It was my first time ever driving a Go-Kart and it really wasn't my thing. I was really wanting to do bumper boats but all the old fuddy-duddy's didn't want to get wet! LOL. Anyway, it was a really nice time. So refreshing to do something out of the norm for a change, but alas, it was the second day in a row I didn't find time to stamp!

The card was made using Fancy Florals and used a color challenge from a few weeks back of Purely Pomegranate, Taken with Teal and Always Artichoke. The layout was Beate's Sketch Challenge #18. I think one of the coolest things about playing with unmounted stamps is that you can make a little scene on your acrylic block with multiple stamps and stamp them all at the same time. That's what I did with the three little starbursts on this card - just lined them up on the block and only had to stamp twice instead of 6 different impressions.

So, I'm getting really excited because the next Verve Visual release is quickly approaching. I can't wait to share what I've been working on with all of you! Look for our new releases on October 10 - that's less than 2 weeks away! Wahoooooooo! :)

Thangsgiving Sprinkle

Has everyone seen the fall/winter releases from TCP (The Cat's Pajamas)? They're so awesome! I love them all! (No surprise there, huh?) ;) I've been waiting until Alma received all my designs to share with you all the fun I had playing with these new stamps. Kitty Turkey and this Give Thanks stamp are my absolute favorites from the new release, so I had to test them out first. :)

I started by stamping Kitty Turkey with Versafine Onyx Black and then coloring with Prismacolors and Gamsol. I then punched the image out with a Mega Scallop Circle punch and sponged the edges with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink. This panel is matted on a giga scallop circle. The Give Thanks sentiment panel is matted on a Super Jumbo Scallop Square punch and I pierced holes in each scallop and then outlined with a Clear Stardust gel pen.

The designer paper is from the Cosmo Cricket Gretel collection and is ran through the Cuttlebug using the Textile embossing folder and then lightly sanded with a nail file. The ribbon is slid through a ribbon slider from the We R Memory Keepers hardware kit. I wanted it to mimic the buckle on Sprinkle's hat. The layout is my Mojo Monday Week 1 sketch. I really love how this card turned out turned out.

I've got lots more TCP projects to share with you, so be on the lookout for more Sprinkle and friends in the coming weeks! The winter sets are just so much fun to play with!

Bubblebella

Today's card uses an image of Bubblebella that was sent to me by my DSS last round. Isn't she cute? I finally was able to find some of the $1 clear sets on a recent trip to Michael's and I thought this swirl with a flower would make the perfect accent for Bella's bathtub. I started by coloring the image with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. Next I added a shadow with a Tombow gray marker and stamped the swirl flower in the center of the bathtub. I used Fruit Punch Stickles to make the bubbles sparkle and also on the Prima flowers, that are secured with a fancy Making Memories brad. The enjoy sentiment is from the same $1 clear set. The layout is Jen's Sketch for You To Try this week. The dp is from the BasicGrey Perhaps collection and cardstock is Bravo Burgundy and Pretty in Pink.

Just a little note to remind you about the Verve Visual card contest. The contest deadline has been extended to this Friday, September 28, and the winners will be announced on October 1. Be sure and get your entries in, because there are some fabulous prizes up for grabs, including a couple chances to win our fantastic new sets that will be debuted in October. All you have to do is make a card using either Thoughtful Phrases or Fancy Florals and leave a comment on the Verve Visual blog with a link to a photo of your card.

Mojo Monday Week #4

Mirror, mirror on the wall - who's the mojo-est of them all?

SmilynStef of Ingenious Inkling! This card just jumps off the screen, with eye-popping colors and a great design. Congrats Stef! Please email me your snail mail address and I'll get your goodies in the mail! :) What a tough choice it was, with so many fantastic entries. You all seemed to turn the mojo on full blast this week! It's so fun to see what y'all are creating! Peek in at the slide show at the end of this post to see all the entries. :)

Are you ready for another Mojo challenge? The majority of votes for the Mojo Monday poll were for more sketches, so I'll do another sketch this week and next week I'll work on a good treat project challenge. How does that sound? This sketch is designed for a card with a large image. I just HAD to have this Flying Stars Penny Black image the minute I saw it - regardless of how big it was! So today's sketch is a fairly simple one using a square card base. My finished card size is 5.25", but any square will do. :) Okay, you know what to do --- go forth and create! If you upload your cards to SCS, use keyword Mojo4 so we can all easily view the gallery throughout the week. :)

I started by stamping Flying Stars in Ancient Page Coal Black on Pearlized White Paper Accents cardstock. Then I colored with Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie and Ruby Red markers. I then went over all the lines with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. I sketched a little border around the image and then used an Old Olive watercolor crayon and an aquapainter to color the border. Next I matted the image on Old Olive and added three ribbon tabs with brads.

The dp is from the Basic Grey Mellow line. I wrapped some Wide Satin Rust ribbon from May Arts around the DP and over the top of the image. The sentiment is from a Michael's $1 clear set and is inked in Versafine Vintage Sepia, and layered on a Chocolate Chip Extra Jumbo scallop circle punch. The card base is Really Rust. For the finishing touch I added Diamond Stickles to all the little little flowers.

Okay, here's the slideshow of the Week Three entries! Enjoy!



NOTE: If you get a message that says no photos found, please hit the refresh button on your browser or the F5 function key on your keyboard, and hopefully it will reload with the pictures!

Mellow Things

My mojo's back and you're gonna be in trouble hey-la-day-la my mojo's back. LOL! :) Sorry, I just couldn't resist singing a little ditty.

This one's for Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #20. The patterned paper is from the BasicGrey Mellow Collection. I used it to paper piece my new Hot Stuff stamp from My Favorite Things. I then masked off the square and overstamped my white panel with Linen background in Close to Cocoa and then sponged around the edges with Close to Cocoa and Chocolate Chip ink. Next I pierced holes around the edges, sanded the edges to make a tiny edge of white show through and matted on Chocolate Chip. I tied some celery and chocolate 1/4" Grosgrain ribbon around the middle of a Certainly Celery card base that had been run through my Cuttlebug with the D'vine Swirls folder. The sentiment is from Hero Arts and is matted on Certainly Celery. For the finishing touch, I added a small amount of Diamond Stickles to the steam of her coffee cup.

I also took Jen's advice and swapped the base of yesterday's card to a white one. And what do you know - there was a tiny little bit of mojo hiding under all that Chocolate! LOL While I was at it, I trimmed off the distressed edges that just didn't seem to be working. I think I like it much better now. Thanks Jen! :)

This is a card

This is a card without mojo. Any questions?

My antibiotics must really be affecting my left brain or whatever part I use to create, because making this card was like pulling teeth. What started out as a good concept, just didn't finish out well. But I stamped, so I'm going to show it to y'all.

This was a sketch from Jen's blog a few weeks ago. I finally got my hand on the Wordsworth Stick People set by Rubber Soul. I've been wanting this cowgirl for I don't know how long. Unfortunately, it seems whenever I get a stamp I have REALLY been wanting, the first card I make usually ends up in the trash pile.

Here's the details... I stamped the cowgirl on Pearlized White Paper Accents cardstock and colored with Prismacolors and Gamsol. I sketched in a little ground for her to stand on with my prismacolors as well. I then matted and snipped the edges all the way around the mat to make it look like fringe. The sentiment is stamped on DP and then I stamped off once and stamped again with Really Rust for the Purple Onion Designs star. I pierced around the edges of the circle, matted on circle cut with scallop decorative scissors and added a ribbon tab with a brad as the O in howdy. The horizontal strip is tacked down with brads and then snipped on the ends for more fringe. All of the DP is from the Cowgirl Crate Paper collection and most of it is sponged with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink. The card base is Chocolate Chip.

Lavendar Florals

Okay, so lavendar is SO not my favorite color, in fact, I can safely say that I never would have put these colors together if I didn't have this Making Memories paper I got in a grab bag a while back laying around. My grandma sent a really nice surprise to me this week and despite how sick I've been, I felt the need to get up in my studio and make a thank you card. I had three things in mind - Colleen's Thursday Throwdown Sketch from last week, the color lavendar (Grandma's favorite) and to use Fancy Florals since she hasn't seen any of my stamp designs yet.

Every now and then, I think it's fun to challenge myself to use colors I wouldn't normally put together. It makes me look at things from a different perspective. Well, this color combo was a big challenge for me. All in all, I think Grandma will like it, and that's what's important! I started by stamping some of the small and medium flowers from Fancy Florals in Elegant Eggplant and Lavendar Lace on Pearlized White cardstock. Next I stamped the large flower and cut it out. The sentiment is stamped in Lavendar Lace and then everything is matted with the Making Memories paper. (There's no label on it, so I have no idea what line it was from.) The half circles are cut with my Creative Memories Circle Cutter and I used a white glaze pen for accents around the turquoise circle. Finally I accented the center flower with Grape Freeze Ice Stickles and glued the whole thing to a Lavendar Lace card base. Oh yeah, and I rounded the opposite corners of the rectangle panels for a fun effect.

Hope y'all have a fantastic weekend. I'm hoping to be over my sickness soon. DH is sick too, so at least we can share our misery with each other! LOL Thanks for all the well wishes.

New Poll

Hey there, peeps! I'm still a sickie, but just remembered I never told you about the new poll I have on my sidebar. If you haven't already, be sure and cast your vote for the types of Monday Mojo challenges you'd like to see in the future. I'll have a new card to post soon. :)

Sprinkle's a Party Animal!

The other day I needed some happy time and something about Sprinkle with a hat REALLY makes me happy. She's just such a party animal! LOL So I decided to pull out some TCP (The Cat's Pajamas) stamps and last week's Mojo Monday sketch and get to work.

I started by stamping Big Sprinkle with VersaFine Onyx Black on Pearlized White Paper Accents cardstock. Next I used my Stamp-a-majig to stamp the L'il Pary Hat and colored it in with Ruby Red, Not Quite Navy and Garden Green Stampin' Write Markers. Next I cut the circle out with my CM circle cutter and matted on a Not Quite Navy circle. I sketched a frame around the image and set it aside. I then took the Large Circle Snowflake and randomly stamped in Garden Green around a Garden Green Giga Scallop circle punch.

Next I stamped the same Large Circle Snowflake on the Cranberry Crisp card base. The Been Good? sentiment is stamped on Pearlized White and matted with Not Quite Navy and Garden Green. Patterned paper is the Zoom Collection by Crate Paper. I absolutely love this collection - it's perfect for masculine and kids cards, but can also be used for festive or even holiday cards. For the final touches, I punched a horizontal slot punch in the side of one panel and tied a bit of May Arts Dark Red Iridescent Pinstripe ribbon through it. Finally, I added a tiny red rhinestone to the center of the flower on the party hat, secured with a dab of Diamond Glaze.

Mojo Monday Week #3

Gimme an M, gimme an O, Gimme a J, Gimme an O! Who's got the mojo? Dana of Kismet Art and Life! I just love this yummy card by Dana. It has such striking colors, images and accents. There was definitely some mojo going on over in her studio last week! It was so hard to choose - everybody's submissions were just fantastic. I was so excited to see how inventive you all were with using up those forgotten images and scraps. Thanks so much for playing - to see all this week's mojolicious entries, check out the slide show at the end of this post. :)

So, can you believe it's already Monday again? The weeks seem to be flying by lately! I've been marinating all weekend on a good sketch for y'all and hopefully this one strikes your fancy. This sketch is designed for a card with a wider image. I find myself neglecting those images sometimes because they just don't fit into my normal layouts. I drew up this sketch with that in mind. Okay, you know what to do --- go forth and create! And don't forget to link me up in the comments by Sunday at 10PM mountain (8 ET) for a chance to win a Memory Box clear Spring Flowers stamp set. If you upload your cards to SCS, use keyword Mojo3 so we can all easily view the gallery throughout the week. :)

For my sample card I decided to try my hand at some watercoloring. I really have no idea what I'm doing when I watercolor, so am pleased when something turns out even remotely looking like someone older than a five year old painted it! LOL I pulled out my brand spankin' new Stampendous Ollie and Olivia stamp, inked it up with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink and stamped on watercolor paper. Next I used Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Pumpkin Pie and Not Quite Navy watercolor crayons and an Aquapainter to color the image and surrounding areas. I did some faux stitching around the panel with a paper piercer and Chocolate Chip marker and then used a Tonic Paper Distresser to rough up the edges. Mats are Really Rust and Chocolate Chip, sponged with Really Rust ink. The chocolate panel is embossed with the Dots Cuttlebug folder and I used 1/2 of an Extra Jumbo Circle punch for the 1/2 circle and an EK Success photo corner punch.

The patterned paper is from K & Company and I used my Cutterpede with a scallop blade for the edge. The sentiment is Penny Black and is sponged with Really Rest and distressed. I attached it with May Arts grosgrain ribbon and some Aged Copper Hodgepodge Hardware. The card base is a left over Cranberry Crisp card base that I think is stamped with the Large Circle Snowflake from The Cat's Pajamas. I finished it off with a little diamond glaze on their eyes and on the leaves. Because I wanted to use such a large sentiment, I had to shift the panels around a bit, so it looks a little off kilter to me. I'll have to try another sample for y'all, because I know this sketch can look a lot better! :)

Okay, here's the slideshow of the Week Two entries! Enjoy!



NOTE: If you get a message that says no photos found, please hit the refresh button on your browser or the F5 function key on your keyboard, and hopefully it will reload with the pictures!

A Golden Oldie

Okay, so this is the "golden oldie" card I intended to find and post yesterday when I got sidetracked and made an entirely new card. I remembered that it had a color scheme close to my new blog colors and so I set out to find it. I made this card about a year ago and I still love it. Most of my cards after a year goes by make me think, "What in the world was I thinking?" But this card is one of those timeless ones that I think I'll still love even next year, although hopefully I don't forget to send it out this year like I did last year!

I think the layout was SC92 on SCS. I used More Mustard and Chocolate Chip markers to ink up the A Muse Wheat stamp and then accented it with Diamond Glaze and Art Institute Flax Glitter. Next I sponged around the image with More Mustard. The sentiment is Happy Thanksgiving by Rubber Soul and is stamped on More Mustard and also highlighted with a little glaze/glitter and then sponged with Bravo Burgundy. The wheat down the side of the card is Wheat Thanks by Hero Arts and is stamped several times down the edge and inked with Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Bravo Burgundy and Close to Cocoa. I then rubbed a little coordinating Stampin' Pastels around each image - a technique I really love, but haven't used in a VERY long time. Might be time to pull out those chalks again! The wheat is then accented with glitter/glaze mixture and the edges are sponged with Chocolate Chip ink. For the final touches I colored straw colored raffia with a Chocolate Chip marker and wrapped around the top and the main image panel. I added a few Burgundy eyelets and put the whole thing on a Bravo Burgundy card base.

New Colors

So yesterday I was blog surfing and trying to comment on someones blog and no joke, I typed in the word verification TEN TIMES before I finally got it right! Craziness! So I decided to remove the word verification from my own blog, because I would hate for y'all to have to go through that here! LOL And while I was poking around changing that I thought I'd change a few other things, and then I got this wild idea to change the colors and banner. So fall has officially spring here at Poetic Artistry! These colors look awesome on my screen down at my regular computer, but a little murkier on my laptop. What do y'all think?

Today's card was an exercise in going with the flow. I wasn't going to post a new card today, but on my way upstairs to find a card from about a year ago to photograph for y'all I found a Doodle This flower that had lost it's card in my stash. I wasn't particularly fond of the card in the first place, so I decided to make a new card with it. But once I pulled out the papers I wanted to use to go with my new blog colors, the Summer Sun flower just looked like it could be called Screaming Sun! So I decided to pull out Doodle This and stamp a new flower in Versafine Vintage Sepia on So Saffron cardstock. I then cut my scraps of K & Company patterned paper and matted on Cranberry Crisp. Next, I pulled up Beate's Weekend Sketch #19, which I had been thinking about all day and realized that it called for a sentiment up the side. Nothing I had in mind really fit, so I went looking in my stash of rub-ons and stickers and found this Stickopotamus Merci sticker. That made me think of French Flair, so I pulled it out and stamped on a Chocolate Chip 5.25" square card base. Everything was looking good, but I still needed a main image. (This is officially the exact opposite process of how I usually make a card - I almost always stamp the main image first and then decide what to do with it. So I tried a Doodle This swirl, but it just didn't look right, then I remembered my neglected Carte Postale and decided to stamp the bird on So Saffron with Chocolate Chip Craft ink. I then stamped around the edges with the edge of the French Flair stamp and sponged with Chocolate Chip ink. It still needed something, so I used my paper piercer to pierce holes around the entire image and used a Chocolate Chip marker to do faux stitching. I really liked how this turned out, but once it was on the card, the Doodle This flower was too bright again, so I inked it with chocolate chip ink, pierced holes all the way around it and did some more faux stitching. I finished it off with an antique gold brad. Voila! A card with absolutely no forethought, that still turned out okay! :)

Artful Smiles

So when I made yesterday's card I stamped and colored two Artfully Asian images, just in case I messed up on the card. This blossom image is my all time favorite stamp. It's simple, graceful and beautiful. I'm not so fond of the rest of the set, but in my opinion, this one stamp was worth the price of the whole set! :) Since there were no major boo-boos when I was stamping yesterday I was able to use the second image on today's card. Again it is embossed with Gold Detail embossing powder and painted with a mixture of Diamond Glaze and reinkers. The embossing is really helpful with this technique, as it helps to "control" the glaze from seeping outside the lines. I just love the look of it. I've had this Crate Paper from the Avenue Collection in my stash since January and I really wanted to use it with this image. However it is definitely more of a cream than a white and I had already stamped the image on white! So, I decided to sponge the edges with Barely Banana and Close to Cocoa to see if I could blend it enough to pass. I love how it turned out. I stamped the Sending You Smiles sentiment from Thoughtful Phrases in Ancient Page Coal Black up the side and then matted the image with black cardstock. The horizontal layer is the back side of one of the designer papers which I cuttlebugged with the Textile embossing folder and sanded. The rest is just straight forward scraps of DP and black mats. This gorgeous sketch is courtesy of Julia S. I just love how classy of a layout it is!

Well, I've been battling a migraine for almost 2 days now so I'm signing off and going to go stick my head under a pillow. Hope you all have a happy weekend!

A Special Card

This card is for Norma's birthday challenge to make a red and white card for her MIL's 90th birthday. Her MIL just found out some devastating news and Norma's post touched my heart so I had to sit down and make a card right away. There's a deadline of September 22 to get the cards to Norma, so you've still got time to make a card, if you feel the urge. The layout from this card is from Sketch #9 of Sara's 27 Sketches in 27 Days. These sketches can be time consuming to make, so I applaud anyone who is willing to post a new one every day for almost an entire month! The sketches are really awesome, too, so check 'em out!

I had the sketch cut out and laying on my desk and I just realized it was sitting the wrong direction, so my card is a flipped version of the sketch. I started by stamping the blossoms from Artfully Asian in VersaMark and embossing with Detail Gold embossing powder. Next I made a mixture of Judikins Diamond Glaze and a few drops of Real Red re-inker and painted the blossoms and then used Certainly Celery re-inker for the leaves. Next I pulled out my All In a Row set and stamped the cross-stitch stamp off the edges all the way around the image. I matted this layer with Real Red and tied a satin knotted bow around the panel. Then I matted this on Brushed Gold and added a 1/2" circle cut in half for the two scallops up top. I used a little diamond glaze to secure the rhinestones.

Next I stamped Paisley background in Real Red on Real Red cardstock and adhered to a white card base. The sentiment circle is stamped with the Faux Ribbon Papertrey Ink set and matted on an Extra Jumbo scallop circle punch.

I'm really late in posting this next RAK card. It's a beauty from Nicole, The Stampin' Librarian. This is one of my favorite combos - well, just about anything with Cool Caribbean! I love the way she used the doodle line stamp on the Big Blossom. Super cute! Thanks Nicole, you brightened my day!

The second RAK is from Kim of Sunshiny Days. How fun to get some guilt free chocolate in the mail! I just love this cute little card. The colors, the layout and the very realistic looking chocolates just make me happy! Thanks Kim!

Au Chocolat Santa

I've been busy in my studio working on some swaps and other stuff I can't show you right now, so I decided to make a quick holiday card to post. This one uses a Santa Claus image from the retired SU Old Fashioned Christmas and this week's Mojo Monday sketch. This image has been sitting in my "almost" box since last year. I sold a large set of Christmas cards with this image and this one was a leftover. I remember what a pain those cards were because I handpainted santa's hat with a mixture of diamond glaze and Real Red Reinker for the hat, Hunter Green reinker for the holly and his eyes, and a mixture of Diamond Glaze and Art Institute Crystal Glitter for the brim of his hat and his beard. However, this card came together in a snap, since the hard part was done. I inked up the edges with Close to Cocoa ink, matted on a Real Red circle which I distressed with a Tonic Paper Distresser and then matted on a Chocolate Chip Giga Scallop punch from my stash of leftovers.

The patterned papers are scraps from my pile. The one on the left is Au Chocolat which I colored some of the design with a Real Red marker and then matted with Chocolate Chip and Real Red cardstock. The paper on the right is from a Provocraft Slab and is matted with the same colors of cardstock. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Faux Ribbon set, stamped in Chocolate Chip, sponged with Close to Cocoa and matted with Chocolate Chip and then a Real Red Super Jumbo scallop punch. I then sponged the outer edges of the card base with Close to Cocoa and then Chocolate Chip ink and tied a red satin bow from my stash to finish it off.

Holiday Cheer

Today's card is another made with the Hero Arts Laughter & Merriment set I got last week. The papers are leftovers from a Rob & Bob Christmas Stack I got last year. I paper pieced the tree stamp and the bird stamp. The dot border is made with a black glaze pen and the ribbon is May Arts wrinkled black. The scallop border is made with my Fiskars cloud decorative scissors. The scallop square is a Super Jumbo Scallop Square Punch. I added a little Stardust Stickles for an accent.

Okay, that's it for today. Short and sweet, I've got lots to do! :) Have a fantastic day!

Mojo Monday Week 2

Who's got the mojo? Jill from Ink Genious is the winner of the first Mojo Monday challenge!!! Jill's western card was dripping mojo, especially in the way she dirtied her card up in such a beautiful way! Jill, email me your snail mail address and I'll send out your RAK. Thanks to everyone who participated - I loved them all! Check out all the mojolicious entries in the slideshow at the end of this post.

Week 2 Challenge: "Almost" Cards
So are you ready for a little kick in the mojo? This week I've cooked up another sketch for you, BUT there's an added challenge to go along with it. I have a box of what I call my "almost" cards. They're images that have been stamped, colored, matted, embellished, glittered - you name it, but for whatever reason they never made it onto a card. They're definitely card worthy and too pretty to be thrown away. See the photo? It's a whole little orphanage of homeless images! So my added challenge to you is to incorporate some of your "almost" material into this sketch. It could be stamped images or backgrounds, colored images, punches, scraps - whatever you have laying around that needs to find a home. In addition to a not so random RAK from me, the Week 2 winner will receive an assortment of beautiful 6x6 designer papers.

My "almost" material on this card is the entire Poochie image (The Cat's Pajamas), colored, embellished and matted on the scallop punch. He's probably been sitting in the almost box for 2 months now. Poor thing! Time to let him shine. The Paisley stamped Creamy Caramel background was also sitting in the box. And the scraps are from the Cosmo Cricket Gretel line and the Daisy D Beacon Hill line. Cardstocks used are Cranberry Crisp and So Saffron and the sentiment is Verve Visual Thoughtful Phrases.

Of all my punches, I think my Giga Scallop Circle punch is my absolute favorite. However, it is sometimes hard to think of good, original layouts on a 4.25 x 5.5" card, because the punch is just so ginormous! So I set to work on a sketch that would make these scalloped beauties shine. Hope you like it. If you don't have scallop punches, regular circles are fine or squares - the sketch is just meant as a jumpstart to get you into your craft room and stirring up some mojo! Have fun!




Okay, here's the slideshow of the Week One entries! Enjoy!



NOTE: If you get a message that says no photos found, please hit the refresh button on your browser or the F5 function key on your keyboard, and hopefully it will reload with the pictures!

Pink Squirrel Hula

Here's a little card I cooked up with my TCP (The Cat's Pajamas) stamps earlier this week. I'm diligently trying to work on using my scraps, since my drawer is overflowing, so this one uses some scraps from the Pink Martini Pink Squirrel Collection. It also uses CPS Sketch #29. I started by repeatedly stamping It's Your Day from The Cat's Pajamas in Purely Pomegranate on the pink paper. Next I stamped Hula Sprinkle on Pearlized White Paper Accents and colored with Prismacolor pencisl and Gamsol. I then randomly drew in a bubble border with Chocolate Chip, Rose Red and Gable Green Markers. This layer is matted on Chocolate Chip cardstock and then on the backside of one of the Pink Squirrel papers. Next I inked up just the Birthday Wishes part of the Cooking Up Some Birthday Wishes stamp and punched out with the Word Window punch. I then placed this over a small oval punch and secured with some Creating Keepsakes Rhinestone Brads. For a little bling, I decorated the top piece of patterned paper with some Rhinestone stickers I got from the $1 bin at Michael's. As usual, the finishing touch is just a hint of Stardust Stickles on Sprinkles flowers and the bubble border around her.

I had a busy day yesterday and I've got two birthday parties to go to today, so my hopes to get some VSN stamping in just isn't going to happen this time. Let me know if you've entered any challenges, I'd love to check out your cards! I'm thinking up a good challenge for tomorrow, so be sure and fuel up your mojo! :)

New Birdies!!!

Today's card is for Colleen's Thursday Throwdown Challenge this week to make a holiday card. I had every intention of doing her sketch challenge last week, but it just never happened, so I combined last week's sketch and this week's challenge. I can see why it's her favorite sketch, because it was definitely a fun one to use.

The other day I peeked in at Archiver's to visit Kim and found this awesome Hero Arts Laughter & Merriment clear set with christmas birdies! I can't resist those birds, and since I had a coupon burning a hole in my pocket, I had to bring them home with me. I started by stamping the sentiment and bird in black Stazon. (I know, I REALLY shouldn't use Stazon with clear stamps, but I haven't bought my Palette Noir yet. Tsk Tsk!) Next I colored the bird with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol and cut out with my Creative Memories circle cutting system. I layered this onto an Extra Jumbo Scallop circle punch and dotted each scallop with a black Glaze pen. Next I randomly stamped the starburst in Sage Shadow and Rose Red and matted with the same colors of cardstock. I stamped the starburst in Whisper White Craft ink and embossed with Irridescent Ice on the black panel. The three stardusts are punched out with the 1/2" circle punch and matted on Rose Red 3/4" circle punches. The background paper is from the Enchante paper pack (retired SU!). And to finish off (you guessed it!) - a little Stardust Stickles on the starbursts and ornament.

There you have it. I hope to get a little time this weekend to join in a VSN challenge or two. Although it seems lately that my weekends fill up super fast and I rarely find time for stamping.

Oh and check out this fabulous little card I got from the uber talented Charmaine of Oodabug Alley! I absolutely love how she used the flowers from Fancy Florals as the tail feathers for this adorable bird! Such a clever one, that Charmaine! :) The card is beautiful and completely made my day!

Evel Kneivel Stamping

I'm so excited that Amy's Scrap Stash Saturday feature is coming back from summer vacation tomorrow, that I had to try picking a few papers from my overflowing scrap pile to play with. I thought I was being ever-so-daring picking out three DIFFERENT papers from my stash. I mean, I really was proud of myself for stepping WAY outside my comfort zone on this one. However, now that I look at it, I realize they're still all from the same company. REALLY daring, huh? Just call me the Evel Knievel Stamper! LOL I think it must be hard wired in me that things need to match. I can't even not match when I try! LOL

Anyway, the card uses my Monday Mojo sketch. I pulled out my Hero Arts Doodle Leaf Flower, and colored in with Tempting Turqoise and Pumpkin Pie markers. Next I used Cool Caribbean re-inker and an Aquapainter to watercolor around the flower. This layer is matted on Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Chip. The patterned papers are all from My Mind's Eye - three different collections, though... Bohemia, Magnolia and Tres Jolie. I ran all the designer paper panels through the Cuttlebug with the Textile embossing folder for a little pizzass.

The sentiment is from Tagger's Dozen (SU!) and is stamped in Chestnut Roan Chalk ink. It is matted with Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip and a Super Jumbo Cool Caribbean Scallop Square punch with holes pierced in each scallop. The oval tabs are made with the small SU oval punch and are attached with Karen Foster brads and I doodled a few dots around the edges. Last but not least, I added some Stardust Stickles to the flower for sparkle.

I survived my dentist visit and got an A+! Yay! No cavities or dental work in my foreseeable future! Happy Friday, everyone!

Mojo Squared

Here's the first card I made with this week's Mojo Monday sketch. Kind of sad that the first chance I have to play with my own sketch is Thursday, but oh well! This will be another short post, as I have to go to the dreaded dentist for a cleaning today. I'm hoping that it will be a much easier visit than usual now that all the wisdom teeth are out of the way and there are 4 less teeth to try and clean!

I started by stamping the flower from Fancy Florals with Ancient Page, coloring with Prismacolors and Gamsol and then using my SAMJ (Stamp-a-majig) to line up and stamp the flower center. Next I took this piece and ran it through my Cuttlebug with one of the square folders to emboss the dotted frame. I then lightly went over each embossed dot with a prismacolor pencil and some gamsol. Next I punched this out with a Mega scallop square punch and layered on a black Giga scallop square punch. The patterned paper is from my scrap drawer (K & Company, I think) and is Cuttlebugged with the D'vine Swirls embossing folder and matted on black cardstock. The sentiment is from one of the stamps in Tagger's Dozen (SU!) and the flower is from Fancy Florals and colored the same way as the larger flower. I used a black glaze pen to add dots around the edges. I finished it off with a little Stardust Stickles on the flowers and each embossed dot. The finished card measures 4.25" square. Hope you like it! :)

Monkey Doodles

Well, this post is going to be short and sweet, because I have to take DH to a doctor's appointment this morning. I really wasn't very motivated when I sat down to stamp yesterday, so I made this simple (in my opinion) card and called it quits.

I started by stamping the Stampendous Changito monkeys in Ancient Page Coal Black and coloring in with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. Next I randomly stamped the butterfly trail from Papertrey Ink's Little Lady around the edges, sponged with Cameo Coral ink and matted on black and Cameo Coral cardstock.

Next I stamped the butterfly friends image from Tagger's Dozen (SU!) and colored the butterflies with a Cameo Coral marker. I then punched this out with an Extra Jumbo Sqaure punch, matted on black cardstock and then on a Cameo Coral Super Jumbo scallop punch. Next I glued down a strip of cameo coral to the bottom of the 4.25" square cardbase and tied a knotted bow with black grosgrain ribbon. Finally I added some dots around the scallop square and across the bottom edge with a black Glaze pen.

Palette Hybrid Ink

I finally bought some Palette Hybrid Inks to test out, and am now wondering why I held out so long. I have long been frustrated with the inconsistency of ink coverage on clear stamps. It seems each company works better with a different kind of ink - but I wanted something that works on EVERYTHING! Everybody has a different theory for the best way to get a good impression with clear stamps, but most of them include using chalk or craft inks. While these inks usually do provide better impressions than dye inks with most clear stamps they are MESSY! You almost have to have a separate stamp scrubber just for chalk and craft inks because they turn the entire pad whatever color you're using. So uncool, if you ask me. So I've read a few reviews from people that like the Palette Hybrid ink and I was extremely skeptical. After all, I've got all the SU! dye inks, several of the craft pads, a drawer full of Colorbox Fluid Chalk cat's eyes and another drawer full of VersaMagic chalk dew drops - did I really need to invest in yet ANOTHER type of inkpad that would just leave me frustrated? Well, the answer is a resounding, YES! I found some packs of little Palette cubes ( 4 in a set - each the size of stampin' spots) and thought I might as well try it out.

Not only does the Palette ink work awesome with both clear and rubber stamps, with super even coverage, it cleans up like a dream! No more gross chalky scrub pads to clean! Yay! The litmus test to cure my skepticism was when I pulled out my Fancy Pants stamps. Of all the acrylic stamp companies, they seem to be the absolute worst to get even coverage or even accept the ink at all. Such a pity, since their stamps are so beautiful! Well, I got perfect impressions the first time with the Palette and I'm just so excited! Woohoo!

So today's card is the result of my test. Made with the new Fancy Pants set and Landscape Palette Hybrid ink, I just love how this card came together. I stamped the swirly flower stamp and trimmed around one side of it, cutting out one piece. Next I stamped the border stamp down the side and sponged lightly with Blush Blossom ink. Next I layered on a piece of Old Olive cardstock that I randomly stamped with another floral swirl stamp from the set and tied a black velvet ribbon around it. The sentiment is Penny Black and I inked part of the sentiment with black ink and part with Landscape and then punched out with a Scallop Rectangle punch. I then punched holes in the four corners and layered onto a black cardstock punch to give it a little more weight and a contrasting color behind. To finish, I added some sparkle with Stardust Stickles, a little doodling around the edges of the rectangle and glued the whole thing to a black card base. What do ya think? Have any of you used the Palette Hybrid inks?

In other news, my Cosmo bead card from Saturday won the Caardvarks micro challenge this weekend! Woohoo! Lots of great challenges and cards in their galleries - and congrats to Amy W., one of their newest Design Team members! Yay Amy! You go girl!

Who's Got Mojo Monday?

Well, I've decided to start a Monday feature called Who's Got Mojo Monday? I'll feature a challenge each Monday and if you feel like you've got the mojo going on, email me or link me up in the comments, so I can check out your project by the following Sunday at 10PM Mountain (Midnight ET). I'll choose one winner each week to receive a special not-so-random RAK from me. The winner will always receive a card, sometimes a goody - just depends what strikes my fancy. The challenge I throw at you could be anything, but this week it's a sketch challenge. The sketch at right is one fresh from my brain - I haven't even made a card yet with this sketch. So you all are my guinea pigs! Wow me with your brilliance! :) LOL!

For today's card I have another project I made with Beate's Weekend Sketch #17. For this one I pulled out Mr. Birdy and some scraps of Tres Jolie paper I had sitting on my desk. I started by stamping the Hero Arts Bird with Long Legs on white paper in Timber Brown StazOn. Next I stamped him 4 other times on Tres Jolie paper and paper pieced him together. Next I colored his beak in with a Pumpkin Pie marker and stamped the specks from Itty Bitty Backgrounds in Chocolate chip all around him. The circles are cut with my Creative Memories circle cutting system in Ruby Red and Chocolate Chip. I sponged Close to Cocoa and Chocolate Chip around the white circle, then glued to the Ruby Red Circle and sewed around the edges. I then added dots with a White Glaze pen. For the horizontal strip I used the Textile Cuttlebug embossing folder with Ruby Red paper and then inked it lightly with Chestnut Roan Colorbox chalk ink. The top scallop is made with the slit punch and then I punched a 1/8" circle with my Cropadile in each scallop and highlighted with the white glaze pen. The sentiment is from the Papertrey Ink Faux Ribbon set and matted on a Super Jumbo Scallop Oval punch with holes pierced in each scallop and then highlighted with a white glaze pen.

Hope y'all have a happy and safe Labor Day. If you haven't already, be sure and take advantage of the sale going on at Verve Visual!

Beads, Glorious Beads!

The micro challenge over at Caardvarks is to use beads on your project. Since making beaded jewelry is one of my favorite things (albeit something I don't do much of due to my carpal tunnel issues), I couldn't pass up this challenge. I knew I needed to pick an image that would go well with bling - and who better than CosmoBella? The layout is Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #17. I started by stamping CosmoBella in Ancient Page Coal black and coloring with Prismacolors and Gamsol. Next I cut varying sizes of circles in Pretty in Pink and Purely Pomegranate with my Creative Memories Circle Cutting system. I followed this tutorial on Leigh O'Brien's blog for making the scallops around largest circle with the slit punch. I then pierced two holes in each scallop and used beading wire to thread 7 beads per scallop.

Next I stamped Cheers and punched out with the SU! small oval punch. I then ran a large oval punch through my Xyron Create-a-sticker machine and matted the sentiment on the large oval with the sticky side up. Then I covered the oval with small glass marble beads, pressed down and shook off excess beads. I matted this on a piece of black cardstock and used scallop decorative scissors to cut around the edges. Next I stamped my newly aquired Crosshatch (retired SU!) in Coal Black on Pretty in Pink. I also stamped a small strip of Pretty in Pink with Pretty in Pink ink. The straight scallop border is done with the slit punch on a strip of Purely Pomegranate and then I dodled around the edges with a black pen.

To finish off the card, I added a little drop of Judikins Diamond Glaze to glue a bead in each place the lines of the Crosshatch intersected. I then also doodled around the Cosmo circle and added a bead to the dot of each doodle. Finally, I added a little Stardust Stickles to her drink and to the intersections on the horizontal strip crosshatch and added a black velvet bow to the corner. Finished size is 5.25" square.

Contest Winners!!!

I love seeing all the different entries for a sketch challenge. It's just so amazing to see how unique each and every card is. And you gals ROCKED this sketch! Even with back to school activities, there were 56 fabulous entries for the challenge. If you've got some time, stick around and check them out in the slideshow below.

I numbered the entries in the order I received them and then used Random.org to generate the two lucky winners....53 and 4.

So congrats to (drumroll please...)
Julie C. for winning the Super Jumbo Square Punch
Kim for winning the Extra Jumbo Scallop Rectangle Punch.

Here are their winning cards:



Congrats girls! Please email me your addresses so I can get your goodies out to ya!

Aren't contests so much fun??? I love them! Don't miss a super cool contest starting today over on the Verve Visual blog, along with some fab Labor Day weekend sales, including 10% off Verve Visual stamps, acrylic blocks and embellishments!

NOTE: If you get a message that says no photos found, please hit the refresh button on your browser or the F5 function key on your keyboard, and hopefully it will reload with the pictures!