Look Ma ... NO STAMPS!!

I just had to share this project with you, as I am SOOO excited with how it turned out! (Even though there isn't a SINGLE stamped image ANYwhere on it!!)

Many of you know that I recently helped my mom move from her house (can you say 40 years' worth of STUFF??!!??) to a beautiful condo only a couple of minutes from my house (hooray!). In the process, I found a lot JUNK, but I also found several little treasures ... among them were my grandmother's button jars (full of sooo many wonderful keepsakes) and a jar that had a dried rose from my grandmother's casket).

The rose was VERY delicate. In fact, it was nothing but a pile of petals and leaves. I bought some high gloss spray stuff (made by Krylon) and sprayed some of the petals and leaves. They are still REALLY fragile, but at least I was able to handle them a little bit. So, what you see here is a photo of my grandparents surrounding by Grandma's buttons/treasures and some of her rose petals and leaves. This is all put together in a box frame, which I opened to take this photo because of the glare I kept getting from the glass.

The best part? I now have something special and meaningful to give my mom for Mother's Day ... I'm SO excited!!

And ... by the way ... I have not only found my video camera, BUT I have also found my AC adapter so that I was able to plug it in and charge it. Soooo .... yesterday I went and bought an SD card to use in it, so now I am ready to go to make a video tutorial for y'all on the black magic technique ... it should be up in the next couple of days, if I can finish the rest of my Mother's Day projects!!

Hugs to All!!

That Ol' BROWN Magic??

I have been watching Karen Barber post some of the most SCRUMPTIOUS cards lately using this what-seemed-to-be-impossible technique (dubbed "black magic" 'cause it is traditionally done on black cardsock - but any dark color works pretty darn well!). I finally p/m'd her the other day to ask her if I could use SU's watercolor pencils to do it instead of the pigment pencils I had read as a suggestion on her blog. She let me know that she had recently tried the watercolor pencils and actually liked them BETTER, so I was tickled to try this technique (finally!)!

It was also surprisingly EASIER than I thought it was going to be! Basically, stamp a solid-type image in Whisper White craft ink (or any white pigment ink will do!). If you are impatient (like ME!) and don't wanna wait for it to "air dry" ... speed up the process by zapping the image with your heat embossing tool. Once it is dry, feel free to color it to your heart's desire .... that's pretty much IT!! Don't be afraid to press down hard and really color that baby!! Shade, color, and shade some more! As this is my very first attempt, it is NOT quite as luscious as I had hoped for, as my learning curve taught me a thing or two! However, it is good to note that accenting the whole image with some strategically placed white-gel-pen highlights really adds to the overall effect. I hadn't looked back at any of Karen's samples before doing this and I got a bit carried away, but I still like the finished product, and I {{{heart}}} this technique!! Definitely gonna try it again ... I think I feel a video tutorial comin' on (since I FINALLY found the new video camera I bought for Christmas that seemed to "disappear" .... HOORAY!). Lovely, eh? (I should also mention that I initially created this for the Free for All challenge over on SCS last Friday - which was to create a "May Day" flower-themed card).

Have a lovely Tuesday!!

Stamps: Watercolor Trio
Ink: Soft Suede, Whisper White, white gel pen
Paper: Tangerine Tango (hooray for its upcoming return!), Soft Suede, Melon Mambo, So Saffron, Whisper White
Accessories: Watercolor pencils, Square Lattice Textured Impressions embossing folder, large oval punch, Whisper White taffeta ribbon

One More National Scrapbooking Day Card

A scrapbooking CARD??? What the heck??? I just decided I wanted to put one more card up for one of the challenges posted on Robyn's (aka mypinkstamper) blog ... this one was called "May Day" and was a challenge to create a "flowery" card ...

This is a little non-traditional flower (but there IS a flower in there, nonetheless). I have always considered the Storybook cartridge a "must-have" if you are gonna have a Cricut ...

This card only took me about 20 minutes, which makes me pretty happy. I guess I am done with the NSD challenges for this year ...

Stamps: Warm Words
Ink: Soft Suede
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Pink Pirouette, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Cricut Storybook cartridge, Sizzix Birthday Set #2 Textured Impressions embossing folder, Modern Label punch, Marvy double scallop corner punch, large pearl sticker

Critter-licious!!

Sooo....I don't usually do TWO posts in ONE day, but I just couldn't HELP myself. Robyn Cardon (mypinkstamper) has been hosting a TON of fun challenges over on her blog today for National Scrapbooking Day ... all featuring Cricut-made projects. I have been really LOVing my Cricut lately. Which, by the way, is LONG overdue, as I have had this baby since they first came out several years ago ... and I have more cartridges than I absolutely care to admit!!

Anywho ... this is the card I made to go along with her 12th challenge of the day - called "Critter-licous!" I know I have mentioned it before, but this is one of my mostest-all-time FAVE cartridges!! 'Cause what's NOT to like about little critters who smile back atcha, right???

Stamps: Ruff Day
Ink: Basic Black
Paper: Basic Black, Basic Gray, Real Red, So Saffron, Whisper White, Night & Day dsp
Accessories: Cricut Create a Critter cartridge, Cuttlebug Argyle and Distressed Stripes embossing folders, Scallop Trim Border Punch, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, black/white gingham ribbon, pop-up glue dots

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

Hope y'all have some time to sit and CREATE some FABULOUS memories today!! I thought it would be kinda fun to share a few more pages that I have done in MDS. This first one just makes me happy ... I have a LOT of lovely nieces (NINE to be exact!)! As of March 18, EIGHT of them are now MARRIED!! I was playing with some of the new downloads I recently got for MDS and came up with this one for Debi and Russell ...


And this is one I did for Sam and Emily (who have been married for over 3 years now! Sheesh!! Where DID the time GO??)! Our family has been blessed by the many wonderful young men that have found their way into the hearts of my nieces ... there isn't a DUD in the bunch. I LOVE all my new nephews!!


Last, but not LEAST ... this is a little layout I did of my daughter ... I have had more fun scrapbooking pictures of her lately because I am just enjoying watching her turn into such a beautiful person ... inside and out ... another blessing in my life!!

Now go and create some fabulous family history for yourself!! You'll be GLAD ya DID!!

(All pages were created using My Digital Studio by Stampin' Up!)

Another Tulipe ...

This has turned into one of my all-time FAVE SU dies!! I wasn't interested when I first saw it ... UNTIL, of course, I saw what people were makin' with it!! i have practically worn mine OUT as I did about a GAZILLION wedding announcements with it for my friend's son last summer ...

I actually did this for the Ways to Use It Challenge on SCS yesterday ... which was to incorporate some chipboard into your card. You can't really tell from the photo, but the I cut the whole darn die out in chipboard FIRST, then cut it out with the MUI-LOVELY Cottage Wall dsp ... pretty simple card, actually, but I like the color combo!!

Stamps: Vintage Labels
Paper: Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Cottage Wall dsp
Ink: Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Bigz Tulipe die, large and small oval punches, chipboard, whisper white taffeta ribbon, pearl (from Pretties kit)

Gettin' Inspired by ISC and WINNING!!!

It's inspiration time again!!! Innovation Stamp Creations is hosting ANOTHER fun inspiration challenge. And you would SWEAR that the theme this go-round was thought up by lil' ol ' ME (it wasn't!! Our fearless leader, Betsy Griffin, came up with it). Are ya ready??? Butterflies and Flowers!! Seriously!! How could I, the professed Butterfly QUEEN, NOT love this one???

Here is what ya do ... using only images from ISC, create a lovely card using butterflies and flowers ... that's pretty much it. THEN, post a link to your creation on the ISC blog HERE by May 9. What's in it for you, you ask? Well, how about a FREE ISC stamp sheet of choice??? If your card is chosen, you will get some free rubbah!! How cool is THAT??? Now go and see what my fellow Creative Architects have created to help inspire YOU!

ISC Blog
Joanne
Julie
Karen
Kathy

Stamps: Beautiful Butterflies AND About Me by ISC
Paper: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla
Ink: More Mustard, Old Olive, Melon Mambo
Accessories: Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, modern label punch, pop-up glue dots

And it is with sadness and gratitude that I announce that this is officially my last creation as a Creative Architect for ISC. I have LOVED the opportunity to be on their design team, and I have LOVED getting to know all the other team members (as well as Betsy) as I have been allowed to play and create with some of their wonderful images. Thanks for the encouragement and the opportunity, Betsy ... I really appreciate you!!

More Cuteness ...

Can ya stand one more thing I made with my Create a Critter cartridge?? My daughter is in an AMAZING dance company that has an equally AMAZING dance concert every spring. It is a VERY busy week filled with rehearsals, running around and LOTS of performing. Concert week was last week. During concert week, the girls are assigned big/little sisters. The purpose of this is so that the older girls can mentor and befriend the younger ones and help them through the week. Some wonderful attachments and friendships are formed, which adds to the cohesiveness of the company and the quality of their performance.

Anyway, one of the most fun aspects of the big/little sister connection is that they give little gifts to one another throughout the week. My daughter asked me if I could make a little something, and this is what I came up with ... a mini coaster photo album. I let Amelia choose the "critter" she wanted to have on the front ... she had a hard time choosing between the whale and the octopus, but as you can see the whale won out! (The little book actually has more pages than I am picturing, but they were just blank with no photos like the ones I am already showing ya!)

It also gave me the chance to drag out some retired SU dsp ... I totally {{{heart}}} this "Good Morning Sunshine" paper ... and I am SOOO glad that Pacific Point will be rejoining the cardstock "families" as a permanent addition (okay, I know that they are now gonna be called "collections" and not "families," but old habits die hard!).

Stamps: NONE!
Paper: Good Morning Sunshine dsp, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, Bashful Blue, Whisper White
Ink: NONE!
Accessories: Cricut Create a Critter and Calligraphy Collection cartridges, chipboard coasters, Cuttlebug Mesh Texture and Dotted Swiss embossing folders, small oval punch, Bind-It-All, rhinestone brads, brown/vanilla gingham ribbon, label maker, pop-up glue dots

How. Stinkin'. Ca-YOOT is THIS???

I have a Cricut ... and I am embarrassed to admit how many cartridges I have ... but suffice it to say it is waaayyyy more than anyone SHOULD have, and waaayyyy more than should sit gathering dust! So, I am committed to trying to use it more so that I can somewhat justify my obsession, er... um ... NEED to keep buying more cartridges!!

Which is where this card came from. Isn't this monkey just the cutest thing EVER???? I am totally LOVING him. The cartridge I got him from (Create a Critter) is gonna be one of my faves, I can tell! Actually, I have a goofy story as to how I justified buying it. My sister-in-law has a Crciut, and like ONE cartridge. Her daughter just turned 13 a couple weeks ago and is really starting to get interested in scrapbooking. Soooo.....I decided to buy the cartridge for HER, but not before loading the thing onto my Gypsy! (I called and asked my sister-in-law FIRST if she had any plans to get one .... riiiiiiggghhhht .... and she said, "By the time I ever even THINK about getting something like THAT they will have come out without something else entirely!") So, there ya have it!! Color me happy!!

Stamps: Wild About You
Paper: So Saffron, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand, Garden Green, Basic Black
Ink: Soft Suede
Accessories: Cricut Create a Critter, modern label punch, large oval punch, Sizzix Animal Print (leopard spots) textured impressions folder, soft suede polka dot grosgrain ribbon, pop-up glue dots

Tropically Thankful

I sooooo can't wait for summer!! Okay, well ... I'm even giddy about SPRING!! ANYthing that is NOT winter!! (And, as much as I LOVE the fall, I am glad it's not fall 'cause winter comes right after it!)!! I couldn't be happier that I am seeing tulips, daffodils and crocus in my front yard! I feel the reprieve from winter is finally on its way!!

It was my turn as hostess again fpr the Free for All challenge on SCS today. I chose to take a virtual vacation ... LOVE the new stamps I used for this one! (They are from the upcoming summer mini catalog). I am also loving this new Square Lattice embossing folder (my friend thinks it looks like berber carpet, but I think it looks fab!). These images just screamed "bright colors" at me, so there ya have it!! What I wouldn't give for a lazy day at the beach ... love to sit under a big ol' umbrella and snack and read ... ahhhhh, I can just FEEL the sand between my toes!!

Stamps: Tropical Party, Watercolor Trio
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo
Ink: Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Scallop trim border punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, large oval punch, square lattice textured impressions embossing folder, old olive 1/4" grosgrain ribbon