Flower Diamonds

I tried something new today - just for fun.  My friend Shar has a tutorial over on her blog for these Quilted Tiles, and I just had to try it out.  It's really easy and a lot of fun.  I used the Floriculture stamp set from Rogue Redhead Designs for my card today.  This stamp set is on sale til the end of the month, so buy it while it's cheap!

Feel like trying something new?  Give this Quilted Tiles technique a shot and enter it into the challenge on Shar's blog here.  I'd love to see what you do with your Quilted Tiles background!  :-)

Enjoy your weekend.  Monday is coming all too soon!  

Herringbone Bunnies

Hi friends!  I am the guest hostess over on the Rogue Redhead Designs blog for the March challenge for the Holiday Inspiration Club.  This month I'm asking you to make your own backgrounds for your holiday cards.

You can make any kind of background.  Try a new technique, stamp with a background stamp, arrange designer papers into a pattern, whatever you come up with!  I've got four cards over on the Rogue Redhead Designs blog, each with a different background, so check them out and let them inspire you.  I'll share all of those cards here on my blog throughout the month.

For my card today, I used the Herringbone technique from Technique Junkies.  This is a great way to use up small strips of patterned papers.  The adorable bunnies and the sentiment are from A Winter's Tale, available from Rogue Redhead Designs.  The bunnies were colored with Copic markers.  I kept the card clean and simple so the background would shine through and so this would be a flat and mail-able card.

Come and play along in this challenge!  You can make any kind of holiday card - Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, whatever you want.  If you have any Rogue Redhead Designs stamps, we'd love to see what you create with them, but you are not required to use them for this challenge.  :-)  

Ho Ho Ho Circles

Hi friends!  I am the guest hostess over on the Rogue Redhead Designs blog this month as we unveil the March challenge for the Holiday Inspiration Club.  This month I'm asking you to make your own backgrounds for your holiday cards.

You can make any kind of background.  Try a new technique, stamp with a background stamp, arrange designer papers into a pattern, whatever you come up with!  I've got four cards over on the Rogue Redhead Designs blog, each with a different background, so check them out and let them inspire you.  I'll share all of those cards here on my blog throughout the month.

For my card today, I used a technique that I developed for Technique Junkies called Collage Circles.  The stamps are from the Christmas Cheer set from Rogue Redhead Designs.  I actually stamped the text background from that Christmas Cheer set onto the kraft circles, but I wasn't paying attention when I glued the background piece down.  If you look closely, you can see that all of the text circles are upside down!  LOL  Oooops!  So pretend that I didn't goof and that my text circles are right side up, okay?  Hee hee hee!  I kept the card clean and simple so the background would shine through and so this would be a flat and mail-able card.

Come and play along in this challenge!  You can make any kind of holiday card - Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, whatever you want.  If you have any Rogue Redhead Designs stamps, we'd love to see what you create with them, but you are not required to use them for this challenge.  :-)  

Polished Stone Winter Girl

Hi friends!  I am the guest hostess over on the Rogue Redhead Designs blog today as we unveil the March challenge for the Holiday Inspiration Club.  This month I'm asking you to make your own backgrounds for your holiday cards.

You can make any kind of background.  Try a new technique, stamp with a background stamp, arrange designer papers into a pattern, whatever you come up with!  I've got four cards over on the Rogue Redhead Designs blog, each with a different background, so check them out and let them inspire you.  I'll share all of those cards here on my blog throughout the month.

For my card today, I used the Polished Stone background from Technique Junkies and the sweet little girl from the Winter Women stamp set (Rogue Redhead Designs).  I love this polished stone background - it's so silvery and shiny when I move it around in the light.  I love the pale blue, dark blue, and silver colors and how the veining really does look like a polished rock.  I kept the card clean and simple so the background would shine through and so this would be a flat and mail-able card.

Come and play along in this challenge!  You can make any kind of holiday card - Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, whatever you want.  If you have any Rogue Redhead Designs stamps, we'd love to see what you create with them, but you are not required to use them for this challenge.  :-)  

Die Overstamping Poinsettia

Hi friends!  There is a fun new challenge called the Holiday Inspiration Club over on the Rogue Redhead Designs blog, and I'm playing along.  This first challenge is an easy one - make a one layer card.  I started by using the Die Overstamping Technique from Technique Junkies (12/13 issue) on a white card base.  Then I pulled out my Candy Kisses (now retired) set from Rogue Redhead Designs and stamped the poinsettia in the center and the sentiment off to the side.  The poinsettia was colored with Copic markers and then I used a pink glitter pen around the flower for a little sparkle.

Why don't you check out the Holiday Inspiration Club challenge and join in the fun?  This is going to be a great way for me to make at least one Christmas card a month.  That way, I won't be all stressed out when December rolls around.  I will have plenty of cards on hand to send to friends and family!

Bunnies at Christmastime

Hi friends!  I'm playing hooky from my DT obligations and I took some time this afternoon to stamp with a dear friend online.  Ahhhhhhhh, what fun!  It's been a while since I just "played!"

I recently bought this adorable bunny set called A Winter's Tale from Rogue Redhead Designs.  I really wanted to ink it up before Christmas, so today was the perfect opportunity to do so.  I colored the bunnies with Copic markers and I used a fun sketch (SC467) from Splitcoaststampers.  I'm entering this into Rogue's Rebel Challenge #30 - Winter Holiday.  This is such a fun set!  I loved playing with these bunnies!

Dwell in Possibility

Hi folks!  The Technique of the Week over in the Technique Junkies Yahoo group is Embossed Gelatos, and I love love love any excuse to play with my gelatos. They are so much fun to color with! I used three colors to create my background - Bubble Gum, Guava, and Lavender. I wish you could see the wonderful shimmer on my card - it's so pretty.

I pulled out a wooden flower embellishment, and it occurred to me that I should try the gelatos on that. So I scribbled all three of the same colors on the wooden flower and then sprayed it with a shimmer spray and let it dry. It worked beautifully! I love happy discoveries like that! :-)

The background stamp is from Cornish Heritage Farms and the sentiment is from Rogue Redhead Designs (new set called This 'n That).  Love that gorgeous sentiment!!  The wooden flower is a Prima embellishment. You can find the directions for the Embossed Gelatos technique in the April/May 2013 issue of Technique Junkies. 

The challenge over on the Rogue Redhead Designs blog is flowers - either stamped or an embellishment.  I did both!  LOL  You can see the wooden flower embellishment that I used the gelatos on, and there are flowers in the background stamp that I used as well.  :-)  The challenge ends tomorrow so I'm getting this entered just in the nick of time.  

Rogue Redhead Designs is having a fabulous sale on all their stamps right now, so head on over and stock up!  I've got my eye on some backgrounds that are calling my name.  :-)  (I don't work for Rogue Redhead Designs - I'm just a happy customer.)

Dotty Je t'aime

There is a fun challenge (#16) over on the Rogue Redhead Designs blog to "Go Dotty."  I pulled out my Floriculture stamps (from Rogue Redhead Designs) and stamped on some dotty patterned paper.  I added a little twist by doing the Popped Blooms technique from Technique Junkies to give the flowers extra interest and dimension.  :-)

If you want to Go Dotty, play along in the challenge over at Rogue Redhead Designs.  There's still some time to enter and possibly win a great prize.  Have fun!

Lavender Birthday Flower

The challenge over on the Rogue Redhead Designs blog is to use the colors Lilac, Navy, and White in your creation.  I didn't have anything in mind, so I started by pulling out my distress stains and just played around with some colors until I got a background that I liked.  But I couldn't just leave it there.  LOL  I pulled out my brand new Brushed Pewter Metallic distress stain and added that into the mix on my background piece.  Ohhhhhhhhh............  I just LOVED the way that turned out.    You can see the sparkly silver in the background in the close-up below.

So I had a gorgeous background with the Lilac and Navy colors in it, but no idea what to do next.  I looked at some sketches, and the latest Freshly Made Sketch (#54) got me thinking.  I pulled out the new Rogue Redhead Designs stamp set, Nature Notes, and stamped the flower and then covered it with Star Dust Stickles.  I added the sentiment, also from Nature Notes, as well as a strip of light purple ribbon and some purple butterflies.  

I didn't want to cover up the background so I liked the way this sketch kept it clean and simple with lots of space to enjoy a custom-made background.  I've got another beautiful card to add to my birthday stash.  :-)

Stamps: Nature Notes (Rogue Redhead Designs)

Ink: Wisteria, Olive

Distress Stains: Dusty Concord, Faded Jeans, Brushed Pewter Metallic

CS: Wisteria, White (the navy scallop oval is white cs colored with Faded Jeans distress stain)

Other: Star Dust Stickles, rhinestones, Wisteria satin ribbon, oval dies, butterfly punch

Rogue Shape Up Challenge

Hi folks!  I bought some new stamps from Rogue Redhead Designs, and I've been itching to get them inky.  There is a new challenge on their blog - Shape Up.  We are being challenged to make a card or project with the following three shapes - circle, square, and rectangle.  Yup, all three of these shapes have to be on the card.  It took me a while of thinking about it, and I came up with this.

I stamped the trees from the new set, Nature Notes, onto some blue patterned paper (square).  That was cut out and adhered to a black layer which I've used the Torn Frames technique on.  I needed something behind the trees, and I found my old stash of Magic Mesh.  The sentiment is also from the Nature Notes set (rectangle), and then I added a couple of buttons for the circle requirement.  The card base is an A2 size, so that's a second rectangle for the challenge.

I love that sentiment - so perfect with this image of trees.  Here's hoping you have a great weekend!

Stamps: Nature Notes (Rogue Redhead Designs)
Ink: Onyx Black Versafine
CS: Black, Kraft, Harvest Market (lilybeedesign)
Other: buttons, linen thread, black Magic Mesh
Technique Junkies Technique: Torn Frames

Rogue Redhead Bookmark

Hi folks!  I thought I'd share this sweet bookmark with you today.  It's too hot to do anything outside, so reading a nice book in an air conditioned house is calling my name.  :-)

I started out by using Tim Holtz's Sizzix Tag die to cut the chocolate bookmark base.  I added some designer paper to the base, and then I re-punched the hole and used the Frayed Ribbon Technique from Technique Junkies for a great distressed look.  If you are a Junkie, this technique is in the newest issue that just arrived in your mailbox (August/Sept 2012).

The stamps that I used are from the Relish Reading set made by Rogue Redhead Designs.  I love this set - so vintage, so sweet, and so perfect for book lovers like me.  I just checked out their newest releases yesterday, and they have a great sale going on.  Head on over there and check 'em out!  

I stamped the sentiment and added a scalloped border beneath that, and then adhered it to the lower part of the bookmark.  I stamped the little girl and colored her with Copic markers and then cut her out.  I popped her up on an oval that has the Cuttlebug Highlights technique (also from Technique Junkies).  

There is a challenge on the Rogue Redhead Designs blog - Distressed Greens.  It ends tonight, so I'm getting this post in just under the wire!  Yikes!  My bookmark has lots of greens in it, and the ribbon is distressed, so it rather loosely fits the challenge parameters.  :-)    

This bookmark is nice and flat so it won't damage any book pages.  I have a pile of books waiting for me and it will be fun to put this handmade bookmark to good use.  Thank you for stopping by to visit my blog today!  Enjoy your weekend!

Rogue Challenge #10 - Rose Wreath

Have you seen the newest challenge on the Rogue Redhead Designs blog? Shar has a picture of the new colors issued by Pantone, and the challenge is to use any of those colors on your project.

My eye was drawn to the moss-y green color and the beige-ish color in the challenge picture. I pulled out some moss and kraft cardstock and thought about what direction to go in. After looking at my collection of Rogue stamps, I had a vision in my head of a wreath. I stamped the rose from the Floriculture set multiple times onto some mauve paper and cut them all out.

I stamped the sentiment (also from the Floriculture set) onto kraft cardstock that was cut with a circle die, and then I arranged the roses around the sentiment. I punched some leaves and branches from moss and kraft cardstock and adhered them between the roses.

The background is a Watercolor Gesso technique from Technique Junkies. I love how this backgound has touches of all three colors - pink, moss, and kraft. Some kraft seam binding was tied into a bow and added to the top of the wreath.

Check out the Spring Fashion Colors challenge and play along with us! We'd love to see what colors you pick to play with!

Unruly PaperArts sponging challenge

There is a cool new "blog-o-zine" that I've been stalking on the Internet called Unruly PaperArts. It just became live a little over a week ago (April 1), and there have been and will be some awesome articles and artwork to drool over. The format is a bit different - instead of putting it all out there on one day, they spread out the articles over a whole month. So every few days there is a new post full of great information and gorgeous artwork.

When you explore this site, you'll see some tabs at the top of the page. I clicked on the Reader Art Quest 1 link, and whadya know? There's a fun challenge for readers to participate in! This one calls for us to share our sponged artwork, so I spent a few days thinking about what I wanted to do. There is a deadline (April 15) so I had to sit down and put ink to paper and see what I could come up with.

Since this challenge is all about sponging, I pulled out some distress inks and sponged Worn Lipstick on the top 2/3 of my white cardstock. I went over the top third with some Fired Brick distress ink, concentrating the red color on the edges. Then I sponged Forest Moss distress ink on the bottom third and added "texture" by pressing the sponge into the smooth green areas.

I stamped this lovely girl from my Relish Reading set (Rogue Redhead Designs) with black ink directly onto my sponged piece, and then I used the Silhouette technique from Technique Junkies on the tree and the girl. The "DayDream" sentiment is just perfect for this girl looking off in the distance. This sentiment is also from the Relish Reading set at Rogue Redhead Designs.

I really wanted to add a butterfly or some ribbon or flowers, but I stopped myself. This is for a sponging challenge, so I want the focus to be on the sponged background. :-) I hope you check out this new Unruly PaperArts site and play along in the challenges!

Warhol Rogue Kids

We've had some crazy weather here - lots of flash flooding this morning from a huge storm system. The good news is that we got so much rain, we just might be "officially" out of the drought! The ponds around here are nice and full and the grass (and weeds) are so green I could swear we're in Ireland. I've even seen bluebonnets lining the roadways already!

I've been having fun with my Relish Reading stamps from Rogue Redhead Designs. Here, I've used the kids in the swing with a Warhol technique (Technique Junkies) and some fun baker's twine. Aren't those kids cute??

Did you know that you can get EZ Cling Mount Foam as well as nice rigid storage panels from Rogue Redhead Designs now? I love one-stop shopping! :-)  There are some terrific directions on how to use the EZ Mount foam on this page. 

I hope you have a wonderful evening. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Wisteria Ladies - Rogue

Good morning! There was a challenge on the Gingersnap Creations blog last month to create something using ONLY two colors. I took that very literally and I used only white and wisteria to create this card.

You've heard me say this before, and I'll say it again. I love the Milliner Misses set from Rogue Redhead Designs. :-) I stamped these ladies with wisteria ink, die cut them, and then sponged more wisteria ink around them. I used a faux stitching technique on the layered mat and a touch of Cuttlebug Highlights on the embossed background. The sentiment comes from the Bits and Pieces set - such a versatile set! You can make just about any sentiment you want from the words in this set.

Thanks for stopping by to visit my blog! I hope you have a wonderful day!!

Rogue - Banner Day!

The TLC challenge (#366) over on Splitcoaststampers this week is to have handmade banners on your card or project. You can't use die cuts nor chipboard banners; they must be stamped and/or hand-cut. My mom is hosting this challenge, and she asked me to help out by making a sample.

I pulled out my Just Sayin' set from Rogue Redhead Designs because I knew there was a banner stamp in the set. I stamped it five times on patterned paper and cut them out. They are embellished with some punched flowers and rhinestones and hung from pink baker's twine.

I decided to go fun and funky and clean and simple with this card. I made some rolling hills and stamped the sentiment on one of the hills, and then I added a paper pieced kitty. That pink kitty just cracks me up!

Why not try your hand at making a banner? They are fun! You can go fun and funky like I did, or you can go elegant and dreamy like my mom did. Enjoy!!

Stroll upon the Beach

Have you seen the latest challenge on the Gingersnap Creations blog? I wanted to try one of the newest techniques from Technique Junkies called Faux Painted Paneling, so I pulled out the Beach Babes stamps from Rogue Redhead Designs.

I started by stamping the large sand background all over the blue card base, then I added the Faux Painted Paneling to the bottom of the card. The sweet little beach babes were stamped with blue ink and I sponged the same color all around the edges. I used a distress tool to rough up the edges of the stamped piece as well as the kraft layer behind it. The sentiment was adhered directly on the Faux Painted Paneling.

I tried to add ribbon, twine, buttons, something to the card, but nothing seemed to work. This card was destined to be Clean And Simple (CAS). This really lets the stamped image take center stage with the Faux Painted Paneling adding a little interest to the piece.

There's still some time to play along in the challenge on the Gingersnap Creations blog. Use a Faux Technique on your project and enter it into the challenge. If you're a Technique Junkie like me, there are TONS of faux techniques that you can use. Have fun!!

Stamps: Beach Babes from Rogue Redhead Designs
Ink: Baja Breeze
CS: Baja Breeze, Vanilla, Kraft
Other: distress tool, sponge
TJ Technique: Faux Painted Paneling

Rebel Challenge #8 - Sail Away

There is a new challenge over on the Rogue Redhead Designs blog, and this time it's all about using your background stamps. I love background stamps, and this challenge has my name written all over it. :-)

For my card, I used the Sandy Beach Background from Beach Babes with the Netted Background from Just Sayin' to do the "It Takes Two" technique from Technique Junkies. The sentiment and sailboat (also from Beach Babes) were stamped with Suede ink, and then I used an aquapainter to pull some of the brown ink in to the boat and sail to give them a sepia-toned look. The edges were distressed with a distress tool and some brown twill ribbon was tied around the card.

This turned out to be a masculine-looking card, and this will be perfect to give to a friend who has several sailboats. His birthday is coming up in April, and I think he will love this card.

Pull out your background stamps and show us what you create with them. We'd love to see all your wonderful artwork, so check out the challenge here and enter your creation(s). You could win an awesome prize!!

Stamps: Beach Babes & Just Sayin' from Rogue Redhead Designs
Ink: Soft Suede, Sahara Sand
CS: Soft Suede, White
Other: distress tool, aquapainter, brown twill ribbon (May Arts)
TJ technique: It Takes Two
Challenge: Rebel Challenge #8 - Rogue Redhead Designs blog

Stylish Misses - some Rogue eye candy for you

Hey folks! I'm sorry I haven't been posting much lately. I caught a bug last week and my energy is just completely sapped. I'm on the mend, so hopefully I'll be back to my regular self in a couple days.

I have some Rogue eye candy to share with you today. Remember when I said that my favorite Rogue Redhead Designs set is the Millinery Misses set? Here's a card I created with the three stylish misses stamp:

I absolutely love the way this card looks, from the old-fashioned paper in the background to the distressed edges, with the lace and flowers for embellishments. I used the Torn Frames technique from Technique Junkies on the dark brown layer behind the stamped ladies. The ladies were colored with Copic markers and then I sponged some Antique Linen distress ink on the edges before distressing them. Ahhhhhhhhhhh that card just makes me happy. :-)

The next card I'm sharing is the one I created for a challenge over on the Gingersnaps Creations blog. Rogue Redhead Designs is sponsoring their challenges this month, and this card was for their Words of Wisdom challenge. I used the Faux Silk technique in the background with the Floriculture stamp set and kept the card light for that spring-time feel.

There's some great deals over in the Rogue Redhead Designs store. Go check them out here. Have fun shopping!

Just Sayin' - New Rogue Redhead Designs release

Rogue Redhead Designs is pleased to announce two new releases, Just Sayin' and Carnival Dreams, to brighten up your winter! Each is whimsical in its own way and sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Our Just Sayin' plate is a full-size rubber stamp plate with focal images, sentiments, decorative elements and a full-size background. Its quirky vintage charm lends itself to grace greetings to close friends and family. Order this new full-size plate before February 25, 2012 and get it for the introductory price of $17.60, a 20% savings over its regular retail price of $22.00.

Our second new release is a fabulous new mini featuring the art of New England artist K. Dunn. This newest addition to the Beautifully Dunn range comes just in time for Mardi Gras and Valentine's Day. It features beautiful-drawn free-flowing images of love and enchantment. Romance, mystery and a joyous spirit infuse this collection. Order this new mini collection before February 25, 2012 and get it for the introductory price of $6.00, a 20% savings over its regular retail price of $7.50.

Want both our new releases? During our sale, get our January 2012 Release Bundle including both Just Sayin' and Carnival Dreams for the low price of $22.00! We are also offering our Rogue's Choice Bundle, which includes the popular Relish Reading and Milliner Misses collections, for the same low price of $22.00! For the romantics in the crowd, we have created a Beautifully Dunn True Love Bundle including Snow Hugs, Candy Kisses and Carnival Dreams for the limited-time price of $33.00. Get in on these great deals now! They only last until February 25, 2012!

With the release of these new plates and bundles, Rogue Redhead Designs has also updated our website and added mounting and storage supplies to our product line. Purchase any of our unmounted rubber stamp plates by itself, with a sheet of EZ-Mount Cling Foam or with cling foam and a stamp storage panel - all with one click. Visit the individual pages of each plate for these additional choices. Just need to order EZ-Mount or stamp storage panels? Just visit our new mounting supplies section!

I've shown you a couple of sneak peeks of the new Just Sayin' set, and here's another one for you. I created both cards with the same stamps and layout, but I changed the colors to show the versatility.

The first one is a bright and fun card perfect for a teenager or a fun-loving girlfriend:

I stamped the border stamp with three different colors and I used some Lemondrop Baker's Twine (The Twinery) for the spirelli technique (Technique Junkies) around the sentiment.

The second one is a more rustic version:

I stamped this one with Razzleberry ink and I used linen thread for the spirelli technique (Technique Junkies) around the sentiment. Isn't it neat how changing the color can change the whole "feel" of a card?

Head on over to the Rogue Redhead Designs store to order this awesome new Just Sayin' stamp set as well as the whimsical new Carnival Dreams set. If you haven't picked up the Milliner Misses set yet, what are you waiting for? That one is my absolute favorite set, and you'll be seeing some samples with those in the coming weeks. :-)