Roses and Pearls

My dear friend Chrissy sent me some images from her newest stamp set, Love Blooms. She has more sneak peaks on her blog, and Sweet N Sassy stamps is getting ready to release this set along with several others this weekend. I love Chrissy's rose set - it's gorgeous!!!

Chrissy said she stamped this with a Copic-compatible black ink, so I colored the roses and vase with my copic markers. I punched out the little bow shape from the same designer paper that is behind the roses, and put a flat-back pearl in the center. The pearls are from the SU Pretties Kit, and they are the perfect size for this.

Thanks for the images, Chrissy! Can't wait til I can buy my own Love Blooms set!!!

Right now, it is still New Year's Eve, but it will be HAPPY NEW YEAR when most of you read this. Yay for 2009!!!

Belli Challenge #48 - PARTY!!

This week's Belli Challenge is to create a card with a New Year's or Party theme. Since I don't have any New Year's stamps, I decided to go with a party theme. I painted the frosting on the cupcake with Bubble Gum Shimmerz to give it some yummy sparkle. The background paper is from Basic Grey, and the sentiment comes from U R A Hoot at Cornish Heritage Farms. The cupcake stamp is one of those $1 stamps in the bins at Michaels. This sketch is MOJO65 from Julee's blog. :-)

Here is some more inspiration for you from the Belli Girls. If you upload your own card or project to SCS or PCP, please use keyword CBC48.


Shelly Koskinen
Jennifer Greco
Chris Dickinson
Ceal Pritchett
Danita Hollander
Joan Ervin
Karen Gibson

Stamps: $1 Michaels cupcake, U R A Hoot (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Ink: Timber Brown Stazon, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, YoYo Yellow, Regal Rose, Rose Red
CS: White, Chocolate Chip, Urban Prairie Basic Grey
Other: Bubble Gum Shimmerz, paint brush, Accents & Elements Build a Flower, Nestabilities, Flirty Ribbon, Rose grosgrain ribbon

Happy New Year, everyone! Here's to a fabulous 2009!!!

Imagine

I just created this about an hour ago. Not sure what came over me, as this is nothing like my "normal" style. I think the muse took over and I just let it do what it wanted to do.

To do the background, I inked up the "Imagine" stamp with Regal Rose ink, stamped it off, and then stamped on the little curvy paper. I repeated that multiple times until it filled the paper. This way it is not overpowering and it remains a background image.

This is sort of the scrappy shabby chic look that I see everywhere, but I've never done myself. I guess it was just time for me to try something different. :-)


Stamps: Big Inspiration, Vintage Butterflies, Motivational Centers (all from Cornish Heritage Farms)
Ink: Regal Rose, Adirondack Espresso
CS: Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Making Memories spiral journal book paper
Other: button, flower, lace, nestabilities

Gift Card bags

Several of us kids got together and decided to give some gift cards to our grandparents and to our parents for Christmas. I had to make a cute little bag to put the gift cards in, so I decided to use this template from CHF. Since I was in a hurry, I didn't do any stamping on it. I just used the larger felt snowflakes (from the SU holiday mini) on the front of each bag. They were the perfect size, whew.

I had wanted to show this off a few days earlier, but I couldn't risk my mother reading this and finding out about it ahead of time! LOL We had our big family Christmas last night, and it was a blast. We all had such a great time. Best of all, we were able to really surprise our grandparents and parents with the gift cards. Hee hee hee!

All supplies are from Stampin Up: Kraft cardstock, Rich Regal blue eyelets, Kraft tafetta ribbon, linen thread, large felt snowflake, Neutrals button, Mono Multi liquid glue.

MOJO #66

I was playing with Danita this afternoon and we decided to try the sketch from MOJO66. I changed mine up just a tad so it would fit this Sarah Kay image (tall and skinny). The designer paper was too bright for the watercolored image, so I sponged the edges of all the papers with some Cocoa ink.

My cousin used to have both a Raggedy Ann doll and a Raggedy Andy doll when I was little, but for the life of me, I can't remember what colors of clothes they wore. All I remember is the bright red hair. She used to have them propped up on her bed and I remember playing with them. I'll have to do a search of these dolls to see what colors their clothes were. :-)

I added the little die cut flower (sponged with Cocoa on the edges) and red rhinestone brad to the top corner. It just needed a little "something" there to finish off the card.

Stamps: Stampavie Best Friends Forever (Sarah Kay)
Ink: Stazon Black, Real Red, Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Cocoa, Blush Blossom
CS: Olive, Real Red Textured, watercolor paper, Summer Picnic dsp
Other: Bashful Blue die cut flower, red rhinestone brad, aquapainter, pinking shears, sponge

Belli Challenge #47

This week's Belli Challenge is "A Blast from the Past." We are looking back at the past Belli Challenges and picking one to do for this week. I realize today is Christmas Eve, but this card is for my girlfriends up north who are sick and tired of the cold and snow. :-) Here's some warm, sunny, and spring-y thoughts for you!

The Bellies that I have used on this card include the following challenges: ribbon, designer paper, watercoloring, dew drops, flowers, and white gel pen. Can't see where I used the white gel pen? Look at the bow on the hat. I used the white gel pen to fill in the little polka dots on that little bow. :-) Ya think I used enough Bellies on here?? Hee hee!

If you decide to play along and upload your creation to SCS or PCP, please use keyword CBC47 so we can find your artwork. Welcome our newest Belli Girl, Karen Gibson, this week! She is filling in for Danita who will be going on hiatus during tax season. Check out what our Belli Girls are doing this week:

Jennifer Greco
Chris Dickinson
Christi Thorsen
Ceal Pritchett
Danita Hollander
Joan Ervin
Sarah Anderson
Karen Gibson

Merry Christmas Eve to you all. May you be safe and happy tonight!

Card with NO stamping!

You read that right, there is NO stamping on this card. The Santa image and the sentiment are both rub ons from Stampin Up. Everything on this card is from Stampin Up. These particular rubons come from the Holiday Mini, and they are called Old Saint Nick Rub-Ons. The 3D star is also from the Holiday Mini, and it is part of the Star Bright Designer Series Paper Ornaments.

Stamps: NONE
Ink: NONE
CS: Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Olive Textured, Real Red Textured, Ski Slope dsp
Other: Real Red ribbon, scallop edge punch, paper piercer and mat pack from the Tool Kit, 3D star from Star Bright Designer Series Paper Ornaments (holiday mini), Old Saint Nick Rub-Ons (holiday mini)

Getting closer and closer to the big day! :-)

Gingham and Chicks

I woke up bright and early this morning, raring to go and finish this card. I had started it last night and put most of it together. So this morning, I sat down and watercolored this as soon as I crawled out of bed. Yup - haven't had breakfast, haven't had a shower..... This stamping thing is addictive, isn't it??? LOL

This is another Sarah Kay stamp that my friends gave to me for my birthday last week. I'm having so much fun with these stamps. It's bringing me back to my first love, which is coloring.

I was browsing Peanutbee's blog and saw this layout, and quickly sketched it on scratch paper. It's a beautiful layout and it works perfectly with Sarah Kay images. I hope she doesn't mind that I cased her layout. :-)

Stamps: Sarah Kay Country Girl
Ink: Black Stazon, Caramel, Cocoa, Summer Sun, Saffron, Banana, Brocade Blue, Real Red, Only Orange, Celery
CS: Brocade Blue, watercolor paper, designer paper from Making Memories
Other: blue ribbon, Rich Regals brads, aquapainter

Belli #46 - Bubble Ornament

I had to try another card with wrapping paper. For this card, I kept it very simple. The only colors are pomegranate and vanilla. The ornament (from Basic Grey) was stamped with Pomegranate ink, and then I put a clear bubble sticker on top of it to give it some dimension.

I stamped the sentiment (from Cornish Heritage Farms) at the bottom of the vanilla card, and then scored the lines above it with a scor-pal. All that was left to do was make a bow and adhere that above the ornament. Quick and simple card. :-)

Here's wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Distressed Apples

It's so nice to have time to sit down and play! This is what I was working on this afternoon. There is a distressing challenge going on over at the SNS blog, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I stamped the image onto watercolor paper, and then colored it in with an aquapainter and reinkers. After it dried, I sponged over it very lightly with a brown ink and then roughed up the edges of everything with a distressing tool.

This is one of the Sarah Kay images that some girlfriends bought for me for my birthday. Thank you so much, gals!!! I love it!!!

Belli Challenge #46 - wrapping paper

This week's Belli Challenge is to use wrapping paper on your cards or projects. This is actually easier than you might think. Just think of wrapping paper as designer paper. It makes great backgrounds for your cards. You can see I did three different versions of cards using the same wrapping paper above.

Some little tips for you:

1 - it is much easier to die cut wrapping paper than it is to cut straight lines with a rotary cutter.
2 - adhere your wrapping paper with a tape roller (like an ATG gun or mono adhesive). I found that when I used a liquid glue, you can see the lines of the glue through the thin paper.
3 - don't be afraid to experiment with wrapping paper. :-)

Pull out your wrapping paper and make your own cards or projects. If you upload to SCS or PCP, please use keyword CBC46 so we can look at your artwork. For more inspiration, check out what the rest of the Belli Girls have created:

Shelly Koskinen
Jennifer Greco
Chris Dickinson
Christi Thorsen
Ceal Pritchett
Lorie Ames
Courtney Fowler
Danita Hollander
Joan Ervin
Sarah Anderson

Merry Christmas!!

Bashful Rose Snowmen

Less than two weeks til Christmas! But I'm still in the mood to make Christmas cards, so why not get a head start on my cards for next year?? :-) This is a fun and easy card to make. The colors are already picked out for you when you pick a designer paper to use - can't get much easier than that. All the products on this card are from Stampin Up!

Stamps: Holiday Line-Up, Loads of Love (sentiment)
Ink: Stazon Black (for snowmen), Basic Black (sentiment), Bashful Blue, Rose Red, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, So Saffron
CS: Bashful Blue, Rose Red, Old Olive, Whisper White, Junior Varsity designer paper
Other: Bashful Blue striped grosgrain ribbon, Rose Red button, hemp twine

Belli Challenge #45 - Christmas

This week's Belli Challenge is to make a card or project with a Christmas theme. Now this is an EASY Belli Challenge! I love making Christmas cards. In fact, I rounded up a ton of the Christmas cards that I have made this year and mailed them out. I'm talking about over 50 cards that I mailed to friends and family. Yup........ I had THAT many, and I still have more here! I'll have plenty of cards to pick from next year. :-)

Check out what the other Belli Girls have created, and then go to Chrissy's blog and post your link to your own Christmas creation. Be sure to use keyword CBC45 if you upload to Splitcoaststampers or to Paper Craft Planet.

Rochelle Wick
Debby McGivillary
Shelly Koskinen
Jennifer Greco
Chris Dickinson
Christi Thorsen
Ceal Pritchett
Lorie Ames
Courtney Fowler
Danita Hollander
Joan Ervin
Sarah Anderson

Hugs and Kisses and Holiday Wishes Belli #44

I found a little time to play yesterday, and I wanted to try this sketch challenge from the Technostamper blog. I didn't follow it exactly - instead of the oval, I used a Labels 1 Nestability shape.

For the stamped image, I decided to do a cracked glass technique. I stamped the image (from Just Rite Stamps) and let it dry. Then I covered it with Distress Embossing Ink (Ranger), poured Stampin Up's Glassy Glaze enamel on that, and heated it up until it melted. I repeated this two more times until I had a nice even glossy coat. To crack the "glass," I put this piece in the freezer for about 5 minutes, and then took it out and immediately bent it here and there to get the "glass" to crack.

When I had enough nice sized cracks, I smooshed my ink pad on top and let the ink settle into the cracks, then I buffed it off with a tissue. I love this technique! It's different every time.

I debated what to add to this card, and I settled for a simple ribbon with some branch punch-outs. This card didn't need any brads or flowers or a bunch of other stuff. Ya know me, I like to keep it simple. :-)

Stamps: Just Rite Christmas Stamp Ensemble
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Distress Embossing Ink
CS: Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive
Paper: Basic Grey Blitzen collection
Other: Chocolate Chip wide satin ribbon, Martha Stewart branch punch, Glassy Glaze Enamel, nestabilities

Edited to add: This week's Belli Challenge is to use UTEE to make a cracked glass image. UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel) is the same as Stampin Up's Glassy Glass Enamel. Why don't you pull out your jar of UTEE and give it a shot? :-)

Belli Memories

This week we are all celebrating Thanksgiving, so we are not issuing a Belli Challenge. Instead, we have decided to revisit some of the Belli Challenges gone by. Do you remember Belli #8?? Hee hee! That was the week we did Flowers. I decided to share this card with Prima flowers on it in honor of our Belli Memories week.



These flowers were originally a pale orange-y color. I colored them with Rustic Red Shimmerz paint, and they turned into a beautiful sparkly pink-ish/mauve-ish color. It works really well with this Basic Grey paper, the Sugared collection.

The little girl image is colored with Copic markers, and I added dew drops to the centers of the flowers. This was a sketch challenge in the Stampavie group over at Paper Craft Planet.

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving holiday.

Stamps: Fanny's Cuddle by Stampavie
Ink: Adirondack Pitch Black
CS: Burgundy, White, Basic Grey Sugared
Other: copic markers, nestabilities, small and large oval punch, prima flowers, dew drops, Rustic Red Shimmerz paint

Cherish long card

Here is another version of the long card I showed you yesterday. This one is much simpler and quicker. I came across my old Two Scoops (Basic Grey) paper collection, and there are some stickers in this package. I wanted to use the "cherish" sticker, and I knew it would be perfect on a long card.

So what images do you associate with "cherish?" I wasn't really sure what images would work, so I pulled out some butterfly stamps and went to work. All the stamps on here are from Cornish Heritage Farms. I started by stamping the dark blue swirls, then I added the leaves. The butterflies are stamped with Baja Breeze and Pink Pirouette inks, and then I sponged the edges with Blue Bayou (retired SU inkpad).

It didn't seem quite "finished" so I looked at the stickers again. There are some little tiny flower stickers, and I pulled those off and stuck them on the leaves. I think that really finishes the card nicely.

Stamps: Beautiful (swirls), Nature Silhouettes (leaves), Vintage Butterflies (all from Cornish Heritage Farms)
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, Celery, Blue Bayou
CS: Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Basic Grey Two Scoops collection
Other: white taffeta ribbon, scallop edge punch, tiny pearls, sponge

Teddy Holly Days

Isn't that teddy bear just adorable??? I love this image. It's in the Rachelle Ann Miller Collection by Stampavie. This image works great when you want to make a card that fits in a standard #10 envelope. The card size when finished is 9.25" x 4", so you actually have to cut your cardstock to 9.25" x 8", and fold in half.

I stamped the image on watercolor paper, and used my aquapainter and reinkers to color it in. I really enjoyed spending some time watercoloring this afternoon. It's such a relaxing and colorful experience to watch your image come alive with each application of color.

It's hard to see, but I went over the sentiment with a Black Spica glitter pen. It is just a hint of sparkle on there, because I didn't want to take the focus away from the teddy bear image.

I want to encourage you to watercolor this week. Just stamp something and pull out your supplies and color. Do something fun and relaxing, which has NOTHING to do with the big Turkey Day. Take your mind off that for a little bit and just have fun coloring. :-)

Stamps: Stampavie Teddy Bear, Stampabilities (sentiment)
Ink: Stone Gray stazon, Baja Breeze, Cocoa, Caramel, Pretty in Pink, Almost Amethyst, Going Gray, Basic Black, Celery
CS: Basic Grey, Pretty in Pink, watercolor paper, Ski Slope dsp
Other: Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon, felt snowflakes (SU), aquapainter, tiny pearls, Pretties Kit (from SU - the clear rhinestone brad), black Spica glitter pen, scallop edge punch

Thanksgiving Wall Hanging

Can you believe next week will be Thanksgiving?? Time is just flying by now. I created this wall hanging to display in my house next week while I have the whole family over for Turkey Day. Yup, I'm cooking for the whole gang this year (with some help from Mom, Ma, and my SIL's, whew).

I used my Leaves #2 die from Stampin Up and ran it through my Big Shot with three different colors of cardstock. Then I ran my bone folder across each leaf to mark the veins. After I sponged the edges with Chocolate Chip ink, I crinkled up each leaf along the "veins."

The Thanksgiving sentiment is from Paper Inspirations, and the small wooden cutting board is something I've had in my crafting cabinet for several years. It came with the hole in the top - perfect for hanging on the wall.

Stamps: Paper Inspirations
Ink: Chocolate Chip
CS: Chocolate Chip, Naturals Ivory, Mustard dsp, Rust, Burgundy, Artichoke
Other: sponge, bone folder, Leaves #2 die, Big Shot, nestabilities, pop up glue dots, dimensionals, Chocolate Chip wide grosgrain ribbon, wooden cutting board

Belli Challenge #43

This week's Belli Challenge is to use cord on your card or project. Can you see the cord on the right side of this card? There are three strands of gold cord pulled together, with a bow on top. It sort of looks like a wrapped Christmas present, doesn't it? I wanted this to sort of coordinate with the wrapped presents in the Stampavie image.

I have fallen in love with the Sarah Kay images made by Stampavie. They are just darling! They remind me so much of my childhood, growing up with Holly Hobbie images everywhere.

Play along with us and make a card with some cord on it. Here's some inspiration for you:

Rochelle Wick
Debby McGivillary
Shelly Koskinen
Jennifer Greco
Chris Dickinson
Christi Thorsen
Ceal Pritchett
Lorie Ames
Courtney Fowler
Danita Hollander
Joan Ervin
Sarah Anderson


Stamps: Christmas Magic by Stampavie
Ink: Adirondack Pitch Black
CS: Artichoke, Basic Black, Whisper White, Basic Grey Wassail dsp
Other: copic markers, gold cord (retired SU), green metallic ribbon (Michaels)

Silent Blue Night

I was inspired by Debbie Olson's latest post where she painted the edge of her nesty-cut image with a metallic pen. In order to let the blue image remain a focal point, I kept the background very pale.


Can you see the Aged Sheet Music scrapblock on the pale pink card? I had stamped it with white craft ink, but it wasn't very visible, so I dumped Irridescent Ice embossing powder on it and heated it up. Then I smooshed my white craft ink around the eges of the pink card. The snowflake is covered with Star Dust stickles, and then I put a pale blue dew drop in the center.


Stamps: Christmas Expressions, Silent Night (Kinkade image), Aged Sheet Music scrapblock (all from Cornish Heritage Farms)
Ink: white craft, Broken China distress ink
CS: Pink Pirouette, White
Other: Irridescent Ice embossing powder, silver ribbon, snowflake punch (Martha Stewart), dew drop, Star Dust stickles, silver paint pen

OCCC Silhouette Challenge

I read the challenge that the OCCC blog has issued this week, and I wanted to play along. The challenge is to use silhouettes. I love my silhouette stamps! I pulled out a set that I haven't inked up yet - Inkadinkadoo's Fall Season.

I found that if I ink up with regular Stampin Up classic (dye) inks, the images come out looking rather splotchy and ugh. If you look at the tree closely, you can see the splotchiness. When I inked up with Versamark and stamped on the Rust cardstock (the lower part of the card), it looked much better. I probably need to sand down the images (these are clear stamps) so they will accept the dye inks better, but I didn't want to waste time on that today. My mojo was flowing and I wanted to stamp, not sand! LOL

I stamped the large leaf image with Versamark on Rust cardstock, and cut it out to go inside the card. See below:



I'm working on a special card for the upcoming Belli Challenge this Wednesday. Come back here and check it out on Wednesday. :-)

Stamps: Harvest Home (Stampin Up), Fall Season (Inkadinkadoo)
Ink: Artichoke, Rust, Chocolate Chip, Versamark
CS: Chocolate Chip, Rust, White, Artichoke dsp
Other: Vintage Copper brads (retired SU), piercing tool

Country Christmas Angel

I'm in a country Christmas mood this week, probably due to the Wassail paper I've been playing with. I did a variation of Beate's weekend sketch on this card. I basically turned it around, because the angel image was too large for the original sketch.

I thought about distressing the edges, but I stopped myself. Instead, I ran the edges of all the cardstock pieces across my craft white ink pad. It's a soft wintery look, sort of like the snow you see around the edges of your windows. (And no, we don't have any snow here......... send some my way if you can!!)

Stamps: angel image from Lockhart Stamp Co. (Ellen Hutson's online store)
Ink: Espresso Adirondack, white craft
CS: Kraft, Artichoke, White, Burgundy
Paper: Basic Grey Wassail
Other: Wassail buttons, linen thread, copic markers, clear Spica glitter pen (on the wings)

SNS Cookie Challenge

I created this card for a Sweet N Sassy Christmas Cookie challenge. We each picked 5 ingredients that were listed for making Christmas Cookies, and then a few days later, we were told what each ingredient was equal to as far as card-making. I picked:

Chocolate Chips -- brads
Vanilla -- scallop edge punch
Nutmeg -- corner punch
Butter -- watercoloring
Flour -- chipboard

Yikes! How was I gonna make a card with all that on it??? Two punches?? But I persevered and came out with this card. You can clearly see the brads, the scallop edge punch, the ticket corner punch (where the brads are) and the big star chipboard. The watercoloring is on the little holly leaves and berries below the sentiment. I had finished my card, only to find that I had NO watercoloring on it! Ack! So I searched around for something that I could add to the card AND that I could watercolor. This little image of leaves and berries fit the bill.

For good measure, I also had ribbon, thread, a button, designer paper, and distressing on this card as well. Don't fall down, Mom!!! :-)

Stamps: Christmas Peace (Paper Inspirations), Sleigh Bells Ring (Stampin Up!)
Ink: Artichoke, Riding Hood Red
CS: Artichoke, Kraft, Wassail dsp (Basic Grey)
Other: scallop edge punch, ticket corner punch, aged copper brads, distressing tool, star chipboard, red button (Basic Grey Wassail collection), linen thread, organdy ribbon (stole from Mom's stash - hee hee), aquapainter, sanding block, 1/16" hole punch, dimensionals, mini glue dots, glue dots

Belli #42 - Gift Tags

This week's Belli Challenge is to create your own gift tags. I thought I would show you two different styles. The first one is the easy peasy, lemon squeezy version. Hee hee!



As you can see, I simply rolled my Soft Holly wheel (Stampin Up) into my Kiwi Kiss inkpad, and rolled it across some white cardstock. I cut the cardstock up into four smaller rectangles, and stamped the "To" and "From" (Cornish Heritage Farms) on the left sides of each tag. All I have to do now is fill out the names and tape it onto a gift. Is that easy or what?

This next picture shows you a more involved kind of tag. I recently received my Just Rite Christmas Stamp Ensemble that I won from Lisa Somerville (thanks so much, Lisa!!), and I had to get busy inking it up. As I looked at the round shape, I thought, wouldn't it be cute to make these like Christmas ornaments, and stamp the "to" and "from" in the centers?



So that's what I made, Christmas ornaments. I borrowed my Mom's Just Rite Brayton Font stamps to make the "to" and "from" words in the centers of each ornament. Thanks, Mom!! You may not be getting this set back from me.... hehehehe. To make the ornament hanger at the top, I used my Rounded Tab Punch (Stampin Up) on gold and silver cardstock, and folded it over each circle.

Why don't you join us in this Belli Challenge and create your own gift tags? Check out what the rest of the Belli Team has created - you have GOT to see what Debby made. So CUTE and adorable!!!

Rochelle Wick
Debby McGivillary
Shelly Koskinen
Jennifer Greco
Chris Dickinson
Christi Thorsen
Ceal Pritchett
Lorie Ames
Courtney Fowler
Danita Hollander
Joan Ervin
Sarah Anderson


Soft Holly Tags
Stamps: Soft Holly wheel (Stampin Up), Primitive Christmas (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Basic Black
CS: white

Ornament Tags
Stamps: Christmas Stamp Ensemble & Brayton Font (Just Rite Stampers)
Ink: Real Red, Pacific Point, Adirondack Pitch Black
CS: White, Real Red, Pacific Point, gold, silver
Other: Rounded Tab punch, Copic markers, 1/8" hole punch, nestabilities

Paper Pieced Christmas cards

Paper piecing is a fun and different way to add a little "oomph" to a card. I stamped the ornament and trees images onto some designer paper and cut them out. For the trees, I stamped the image on white cardstock, let it dry, colored in the trunks with a brown marker, and then laid my designer paper pieces into the appropriate sized tree. I added some stickles to the hearts and let them dry.

I didn't actually paper piece the ornaments. I glued the pieces down and used a Silver Spica glitter pen to draw in the metal loop hanger at the top of each ornament. I just wanted a little more control over where I put the balls instead of stamping them on there first.

If you try some paper piecing, I'd love to see what you have created. :-) Have a great weekend!


Stamps: Heart Warmers & Polka Dots backgrounder (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Ink: Adirondack Pitch Black, Tattered Rose distress ink
CS: White, Pink Pirouette, Bashful Blue, assorted dsp
Other: Cotton Candy and Crystal stickles, black gingham ribbon, nestabilities, brown copic marker

Teddy Notebook

I created this notebook holder over the weekend for one of the Sweet N Sassy Stamps release party challenges. This challenge said to use hardware, so I used a little square blue rhinestone brad in the center of the green present, and three snowflake brads on the rest of the project. I blinged up the snowflakes with some Tiara Glitz stickles - so sparkly!!

I painted the chipboard flourish (Maya Road) with white acrylic paint, and then dabbed more of the Tiara Glitz stickles on top of that. I love the cold wintery feel that emanates from the accessories on here, in contrast to the warm brown teddy bear.

The teddy bear image is from Sweet N Sassy Stamps. It is part of the Rachelle Anne Miller winter collection. It's just so adorable, I absolutely had to buy this when I saw it. I colored this image with Copic markers.

The sentiment comes from Cornish Heritage Farms. You can find it in the Joyeux Noel set. I love this sentiment.

Inside this holder is a 5x8 notepad from Staples. You can find the tutorial by Dawn Lusk in the CHF forums here. Why don't you make your own notebook holder? I'd love to see what you've created!

Stamps: Stampavie Teddy Bear, CHF Joyeux Noel
Ink: Adirondack Pitch Black
CS: Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Ski Slope dsp - all from SU
Other: copic markers, Tiara Glitz stickles, snowflake brads, white acrylic paint, chipboard flourish (Maya Road), pink dotted organdy ribbon, Ice square rhinestone brad (SU), 5x8 notepad

Christmas Stockings

I'm making stocking cards for my nieces and nephews for Christmas this year. I'm keeping them simple, but still fun, as you can see with all the glitter. I used a lot of Christmas Red stickles on this card - love it! :-)

The wreath is colored with copic markers, and then I added the red stickles for the berries and on the bow. I traced out the "CJ" with a pencil and went over it with the stickles, and I spread the stickles glitter glue into the heel and toe of the stocking. It is quick and simple, but still a fun little project.

Stamps: Christmas Cheer (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Ink: Pitch Black adirondack
CS: Real Red, White
Other: Christmas Red stickles, copic markers, stocking template from Angelnorth

Belli Challenge #40 - Thanksgiving

This week's Belli Challenge is focused on Thanksgiving. Make a card with a turkey on it, the word "thanks", or any image associated with Thanksgiving, such as a cornucopia or pumpkin pie. I chose to stamp the word "Thanks" on this card.

I stamped the tree trunk first, then added the leaf punch-outs to give a sense of the leaves falling. The leaves are punched from glossy paper that I had created a polished stone background on. Remember the previous card posted below, Autumn Beauty? I had done several sheets of polished stone, so I just used one of those sheets to punch out my leaves.

The sentiment and the tree trunk images are from Cornish Heritage Farms. The leaf punch is from Martha Stewart.



This coaster frame is something I threw together this weekend. My mother and a couple of other ladies came over to play, and we all made coaster frames. I love this pumpkin image (Stampin Up Harvest Home), and it is so easy to color. I stamped it on watercolor paper first, then picked some colors to match the paper. This background paper is from Stampin Up - last year's Apple Cider. I found my now-retired River Rock paper so I could stamp the sentiment on the left side.

Did you see the cute little raffia bow? Folks who know me, know that I am bow-tarded. I don't do bows. My mother, however, is the ribbon queen, and I begged her to make me a bow from a bundle of raffia. She did an excellent job! Thanks, Mom!!!

Would you like to play along with the Belli Challenge? Create your own card or project with a Thanksgiving theme, post it to your blog or to SCS (keyword CBC40), and post your link to Chrissy's blog posting.

Check out what the rest of the Belli Team has created:

Rochelle Wick
Shelly Koskinen
Debby McGivillray
Jennifer Greco
Chris Dickinson
Ceal Pritchett
Lorie Ames
Courtney Fowler
Danita Hollander
Joan Ervin
Sarah Anderson

Autumn Beauty

It is FINALLY starting to feel like fall here and I love it! Cool mornings, warm breezy afternoons.........ahhhhhhhh heaven............

This card is so perfect for today. All the touches of reds, greens, and yellows mingled with the dark brown tree trunks...... it truly is Autumn Beauty.

I started this card by making a polished stone background with alcohol inks and Copper Mixative onto glossy cardstock. For a more detailed explanation of a polished stone background, please check out the Technique Junkies newsletter.  I stamped the woodsy image with Timber Brown Stazon ink onto the glossy cardstock after I was sure the inks were dry.

To preserve the beauty of the rich fall colors, I opted for a very simple sentiment (from Sweet N Sassy Stamps). I just cut the sides into points with scissors and added the aged copper brads on each side.

Someone special will be getting this card in the mail soon. I wonder who it could be?? ;-)


Stamps: Autumn Blessings (sentiment - Sweet N Sassy Stamps), Walk in the Woods (Innovative Stamp Creations)
Inks: Timber Brown stazon, alcohol inks with Copper Mixative
CS: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, glossy white
Other: aged copper brads (Making Memories), sponge, 1/16" hole punch

Red Kiss Boxes

Does this look yummy? Hee hee. My dear friend Debby shared the pattern for these Hershey's Kiss boxes, and I made these in less than 15 minutes. If you didn't have any designer paper, you could simply stamp on the cardstock box instead. Quick and easy - gotta luv that! :-)


Stamps: NONE
Ink: NONE
CS: Real Red, Real Red dsp
Ribbon: Real Red wide grosgrain

Blog Candy winner!!

We have a winner for the blog candy! Random.John (my hubby) picked a name out of the 13 comments in the post below, and came up with this one:

TinaJewel said...
That card is beautiful! Would love to win it! I subscribed to your website and loved your ideas!

Congratulations, Tina! I will email you for your mailing address.

Thanks to all of you for your sweet comments. Stay tuned as I will offer up more blog candy soon. I have way too many cards here, and I would love to start mailing them out to random blog candy winners.

Have a great evening!

Holly Cupcake and Blog Candy!

I was cleaning up in my studio tonight, and this holly cupcake stamp was calling my name. It was fate that I just happened to have AmyR's latest sketch on my table - it is perfect for this stamp!

I inked this up with Brilliance Graphite Black ink, let it dry, and then colored it with Copics. I went back over some of the leaves and the berries, as well as the cupcake liner with my Gold Spica glitter pen. Ohhhhh, I love the glitter........ Here is a close up:



I only used 4 Copic markers on this card - quick and easy. Here's a picture of the colors I used:



I'm sure you all have been waiting to hear what blog candy I will offer up. In celebration of going over 10,000 hits, and to celebrate Mom's new blog, I am going to pick a lucky person to receive this card in the mail. Most of you said that you would love to see a handmade creation for blog candy, so here's your chance! Leave a comment on this post, and I will pick a winner on Monday evening. Good luck! :-)


Stamps: Lockhart Stamp Company (holly cupcake), sentiment from To You and Yours (Stampin Up)
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black
CS: Real Red, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
Paper: Basic Grey Fruitcake
Other: Copics, glitter pen, Prima poinsettia, small and large oval punches, gold Dew Drop, American Crafts Solid Shimmery Gold ribbon (Michaels)

Belli Challenge #37 - paint

This week's Belli Challenge is to use paint. It can be any kind of paint - crackle paint, Radiant Pearls, Shimmerz, paint dabbers, regular ol' acrylic paint, what have you....

On my card, I used Shimmerz paints to paint the wreath image as well as the white cardstock. I used Candle Light Shimmerz all over the white circle to give it a nice shimmery appearance, and then painted in the wreath with Evergreen Shimmerz and the bow with Rustic Red Shimmerz. These paints are SO ridiculously shimmery! I love em! You can find Shimmerz here.

Check out what the rest of the Belli Team has done with paints:

Shelly Koskinen
Jennifer Greco
Christi Thorsen
Ceal Pritchett
Courtney Fowler


Stamps: Christmas Cheer (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Ink: Jet Black Stazon
CS: Sage Shadow, Whisper White, Basic Black, Rose Quartz (shimmery pink paper - not SU)
Other: nestabilities, white dotted sheer ribbon (May Arts), Swiss Dots embossing folder, small paint brush
Shimmerz: Candle Light, Evergreen, Rustic Red

Poinsettia Wreath

I created this last night during the Sweet N Sassy Stamps release party. My friend Chrissy had sent me some stamped images of her latest set, Christmas Poinsettias, and I just had to use the wreath. I am in LOVE with this image. This set and 5 other new ones are on sale over at Sweet N Sassy Stamps - click HERE.

The JOY is from Cornish Heritage Farms' Christmas Expressions. This is about the only thing I could find that was small enough to fit in this Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware piece (Stampin Up!).

Now on to some exciting news. Are you ready for this? My mother, self-proclaimed "tech-tard," has been BLOGGING! Yes!! On top of that, she is also on the Clear Dollar Stamps Design Team. WHOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Way to go, MOM!!!!! Go check out her blog and then come on back for more exciting news.

Ready for the second piece of exciting news? Mom texted me last night to tell me that I have over 10,000 hits on my blog here. Wow, I had no idea! Ya think this calls for some blog candy? What would you like to see for blog candy? Stamped cards? Free paper? Bellies?? Leave me a comment and tell me what you would like to see. I'll have a post up this weekend sometime with my blog candy. :-)



Stamps: Christmas Poinsettias (Sweet N Sassy Stamps), Christmas Expressions (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Ink: Jet Black Stazon, Riding Hood Red, Summer Sun, Old Olive
CS: Whisper White, Riding Hood Red, Basic Black
Paper: Bella Rose (red paper - from Stampin Up!), Basic Grey Fruitcake (green paper)
Other: nestabilities, aquapainter, Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware (SU), 3/4" & 1" circle punches, black gingham ribbon (Walmart)

Belli Challenge #36 - leaves

Today's Belli Challenge is to use leaves on your card or project. We all have leaf stamps, don't we? Well, I can never have enough. I recently bought Chrissy's latest Autumn Blessings from Sweet N Sassy Stamps. It is a GORGEOUS set; I love it!

Since I love to read books, and I have only about 5 million books in this house, it makes sense that I would need some bookmarks, right? These bookmarks are so fun and easy to make.

I simply sprayed Glimmer Mists on the bookmark until I got a color combo that I liked, and let it dry. Then I stamped the quote and the leaves on there with Stazon Jet Black ink and let that dry. I couldn't find a ribbon the right color, so I grabbed the Red Velvet Glimmer Mist and sprayed a piece of ribbon. Isn't that just cool? Now it all matches!

Check out what the rest of the Belli Team has done:

Shelly Koskinen
Chris Dickinson
Christi Thorsen
Ceal Pritchett
Danita Hollander
Courtney Fowler
Lorie Ames


Stamps: Autumn Blessings (designed by Chris Dickinson, available for purchase at Sweet N Sassy Stamps)
Ink: Jet Black Stazon
Paper: Paper Reflections Creative Tags (Michaels)
Glimmer Mists: Golden Terracotta, Mistletoe, Sunflower, Coral, Red Velvet

Season of Change

I just got the new Autumn Blessings (Sweet N Sassy Stamps) set in the mail yesterday, and I wanted to combine a sentiment from that set with the pumpkin stamp from Stampin Up. Courtney had a perfect sketch (CBCC06) for me to combine these with - thanks, girlie! You can find her sketch here.

I used my aquapainter and reinkers to watercolor the pumpkin image. I love to watercolor - it's so relaxing. I love to see all the colors mix and blend.


Stamps: Harvest Home (SU), sentiment from Autumn Blessings (www.sweetnsassystamps.com)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Versafine Vintage Sepia, Old Olive, Bashful Blue, Ruby Red, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Pumpkin Pie
CS: Chocolate Chip, Naturals White, Old Olive
Paper: Summer Picnic dsp (SU)
Other: nestabilities, sponge, aquapainter, Chocolate Chip poly-twill ribbon

Belli Challenge #35 - metal tags

This week's Belli Challenge is to use metal tags on your card or project. I chose to add a metal edge tag to my card. The tag was originally silver on the edge, but I used my Copic marker to color it pink to match my card. Isn't that cool??

Not only did I color the little girl image and the tag with my Copic markers, but I also transformed a white Prima flower into a chocolate flower. There are so many cool things we can do with Copic markers.

I stamped the "hugs" sentiment (from CHF) and the little girl image (from SNSS) with Adirondack Espresso ink. The designer paper is from the new Basic Grey Eva collection, the flowers are Prima, and the ruffly chocolate ribbon is from a retired Stampin Up Flirty Ribbon Originals collection. Below are the Copic markers I used to color in the little girl. I'm really happy with how this turned out, considering it is only the third thing I have colored with Copics.



Check out what the rest of the Belli Team has done with metal tags:

Rochelle Wick
Debby McGillivray
Shelly Koskinen
Jennifer Greco
Chris Dickinson
Christi Thorsen
Ceal Pritchett
Danita Hollander
Courtney Fowler


Stamps: Scripty Words (Cornish Heritage Farms), Fanny's Cuddle (Sweet N Sassy Stamps)
Ink: Adirondack Espresso
CS: Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, White
Paper: Basic Grey Eva
Other: Prima flowers, Copic markers, Pearl dew drops, metal edge tag (Stampin Up), chocolate ruffly ribbon, linen thread

Alzheimer's Disease

Cammie is holding a blog candy contest over on her blog here. My paternal grandmother has been in a nursing home for about 10 years now, suffering from Alzheimer's Disease, just like her own mother before her. I just read an email last week from my stepmother saying that things are not looking good for my gramma. My stepmother has been the one to see gramma all the time, checking on her, and keeping in touch with the nursing staff at the nursing home. In keeping with Cammie's rules, I am sending THIS card to my stepmother. My hope is that maybe she can show this to my gramma and they can share a smile.

Why don't you send a card to someone you care about today? Send one to your grandparents, to your mother, maybe an aunt or uncle whom you only send Christmas cards to every year? Put a smile on someone's face this week.

Candle Tin

I bought this stamp from Ellen Hutson when I bought my Copic markers, and I wanted to try coloring this. This image is my second try at coloring with Copics. The first one is the card I posted yesterday.

I started out by stamping the image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, letting it dry, and then figuring out what each shape was. I saw oranges studded with cloves, pumpkins, grapes, pears, a squash, and an apple, along with the candle, leaves, and basket. So I went from there and picked out colors to sort of go along with those fruits.

Can you see the little halo of light outside the hurricane glass? I picked the palest palest color of yellow to give me that soft glow. After I did that, it suddenly struck me. Why make a card?? How about a tin full of tealight candles??

I was on a candle-making kick a few years back, and I had made a huge stash of tealight candles, along with other various shapes of candles. I found where I hid them, and they still smell like the wonderful vanilla scent I put in them all those years ago. Mmmmmmm........

I fit 6 tealights inside a nugget tin (you can find these at PaperTreyink), wrapped a Pumpkin Pie designer paper belly band around the tin, and adhered the candle/fruit image on top. Now my problem is that I love this too much to give it away.

Below is a picture of the Copics I used to color in this image.




Stamps: Lockhart Stamp Co.
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
CS: White, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Pumpkin Pie dsp
Other: nugget tin, tealight candles, Copic markers

Hello Cutie!

When I see my nieces, I always call them "cutie pie." LOL I don't have a cutie pie stamp, so this is as close as I could come to it. I combined two stamps from CHF's Scripty Words set to make "hello cutie." This adorable little girl is a Lily & Milo stamp from SNSS called Teddy's Travels (in the Rachelle Anne Miller collection).

I finally hopped on the Copic wagon! Yup, I held out this long, and finally broke down and bought some Copic markers. Hey, when Ellen Hutson has a sale, who can resist??? :-) Below is a picture of the Copic markers I used to color in the little girl image.




I wanted to give the little lollipop some sparkle, so I pulled out my Angel Wings Shimmerz paint and brushed a little bit on. Who can resist a shiny and sparkly lollipop?


Stamps: Scripty Words (CHF), Teddy's Travels (SNSS)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
CS: Real Red, Kiwi Kiss, Brocade Blue, White
Paper: Basic Grey Cupcake
Other: Copics, nestabilities, Angel Wings Shimmerz paint (Jacksonbelle Embellishments)

Belli Challenge #33 - squares

This week's Belli Challenge is to make a card or project with squares. For my card today, I decided to make a square card with smaller squares on it. I had to utilize my math skills to figure out exactly what sizes would fit, and I did cut a couple pieces either too big or too small, but I finally got exactly the right sizes for everything. :-)

All the images on this card are from a set called Let's Get Stuffed from Cornish Heritage Farms. This can be found in the Kim Hughes line over at CHF.

Look at the pumpkin and the apple. I paper-pieced these two images with papers from the Summer Picnic designer paper (Stampin Up!). The rest of the images are colored with Stampin Up! markers. I used some grape-colored Dew Drops to mimic the grapes in the cornucopia.

Check out what the rest of the Belli Team has done with their "square" challenge:

Rochelle Wick
Debby McGillivray
Shelly Koskinen
Jennifer Greco
Chris Dickinson
Christi Thorsen
Ceal Pritchett
Lorie Ames
Danita Hollander


Stamps: Let's Get Stuffed (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Ink: Versafine Vintage Sepia, Stampin Up markers, Cool Gray Copic
CS: Tangerine Tango, Eggplant, Olive, Naturals White, Summer Picnic dp
Other: Dew Drops

Happy Fall with Fanny's Cuddle

Isn't that a darling little girl holding a cute little puppy? When I saw this image, I had to buy it right away. This is a Sarah Kay stamp from Sweet N Sassy Stamps called Fanny's Cuddle.

I wanted to make it a fall card (it was only 82 degrees today - YAY!!!!!!), so I colored the girl's dress with yellows and oranges and browns. I used Prismacolor pencils (just plain pencils, no gamsol). I think I need to make another one but use Christmassy colors for the next card. Wouldn't that be cute?

Stamps: Sarah Kay - Fanny's Cuddle (Sweet N Sassy Stamps), sentiment is a $1 stamp from Michaels
Ink: Adirondack Espresso
CS: Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, K & Company paper
Other: orange dotted ribbon (blog candy from Deedee - thank you!!!), nestabilities, Prismacolor pencils, Cool Gray copic marker, scallop edge punch