Frilly Bird Cage

Oh my goodness!  Where does the time go?  I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted anything.  I've been busy getting inky, but I haven't had a chance to get any of my new projects online.....until now!  It's amazing how crazy life gets during summer vacation! 

This card is one that I created for Michaels.  It's a bit out of my "comfort zone" but I'm soooo pleased with the results!  I've had a lot of fun lately working with Stampendous embossing powders.  There are so many colors available and they are ALL beautiful!  I love the way they look against this DCWV silver shimmer paper.  I used three different PearLustre embossing powders (Lapis, Emerald, and Sapphire) and then added a touch of Blue Tinsel EP for a little sparkle.  So much fun!!!!

I hope you'll want to give this card a try, too.  All the supplies to make it are available at Michael's.

I'll be back soon to show you more!  Hope all is well in your corner of the world....it's hideously hot here this week....is it fall yet?

Take time to get inky today!

recipe :  Stampendous! Frilly Bird Cage, Feather Points; Stampendous PearLustre Embossing Powders Lapis, Emerald and Sapphire; Blue Tinsel EP; Detail Black EP; Bazzill Admiral Cardstock; DCWV Silver Shimmer Paper; Tsukineko VersaMark Ink; Zig Markers; Marvy Scalloped Oval Punch; Tim Holtz Tumbled Glass Distress ink; sponge dauber; 7/8" sheer ivory ribbon; Recollections silver brad

Summer/4th of July Blog Hop

I'm on a roll!  This is my second Blog Hop this month!  I'm so excited to be a part of this fun Summer/4th of July Blog Hop that Taylor has put together!  Thanks for letting me play along, Taylor!  If you've arrived here from Jennifer's blog, you're in the right place.

I just can't resist this adorable Stampendous stamp set!  It's called Summer Cuties - and they really are cute!  Since I have 2 little boys, I don't get the chance to make little girlie cards often, but I sure have had fun getting these little gals good and inky.  I almost didn't get a picture of this card, I completely forgot until I already had it in the envelope and it was ready to deliver.  Oops!  Wish I had taken the time to get a better photo, but I was on limited time as we were headed out the door for a long weekend to my in-laws.  This card was for my MIL's birthday.  I used these great red Dot Sparkler Stickers by Stampendous on this card.  The sentiment has a row of dots between "celebrate" and "summer"....and I used the Dot Sparklers on this little gal's pigtails.  They remind me of those plastic ball pony tail holders we had as kids!  So cute!

recipe: Stampendous Summer Cuties, Dot Sparkler Stickers; Tsukineko Tuxedo Black ink; Prismacolor Pencils, Goo Gone, Tortillons; JoAnn's ribbon; Recollections Brights Paper; Bazzill Loganberry Pie paper

These little gals are so stinkin' cute that I couldn't control myself!  I had to make one more card!

recipe:  Stampendous Summer Cuties, Dot Sparklers; DCWV Classic Prints Matstack; Tsukineko Tuxedo Black ink; Prismacolor Pencils, Goo Gone, Tortillons; Fiskars Border Punch

Now you're in for a big treat....your next stop is Sunghee's blog - she's super talented!  If you get lost along the way, I've included a list of all the "hoppers" at the bottom of this post. You have until Tuesday, July 5th at 6:00 PM EST to comment on as many blogs as you can. Winers will be drawn from random comments on blogs, and announced on Wednesday July 7th (on Taylor's blog).  Prizes have been generously been donated by the following:



Stampendous (3 Cling Jumbo Flowers plus a handle - 3 prizes total)

Chi Chi Memories - http://www.chichimemories.com/ - (digi stamp set of winner's choice)

Pixie Dust Studio - http://www.pixieduststudio.net/ - 2 digi images of winner's choice (1 winner)

Dreamweaver's Stencils - http://www.dreamweaverstencils.com/ - prize pack to 1 winner

Karber Digital Studio - http://www.karberdigital.com/ - 2 digi images of winner's choice (1 winner)


Maria Levine -http://www.etsy.com/shop/tykatsupplies - Ippity Kit (1 winner)

Skipping Stones Design - http://skippingstonesdesign.com/ - 1 clear stamp set of SSD's choosing (1 winner)

Cindy Coutts/Christian paper Crafts - one SU stamp set

Sunghee Chon - http://www.amusestudio.com/sunghee/ - 1 a muse studio catalog + 1 stamp set of choice (Value equal or less than $12.99) for US resident only.

Sunghee Chon -- http://www.littlepotatohouse.com/ -- $20 gift certificates to Little Potato House template shop for US or non-US resident.

Karen from Your Next Stamp - http://www.yournextstamp.com/ -- stamp called Ellie loves The Beach.




OK- I've talked enough, now it's time for you to get hoppin'!  Have fun - enjoy the summertime inspiration!  Hope you'll come back and visit me again.  Take time to get inky today!

Taylor -- http://taylorusry.blogspot.com

Cyndi -- http://scrappychickcyndi.blogspot.com

Lynn -- http://www.stamperosity.com/

Patricia -- http://thinkingofinking.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/

Alison -- http://alisonsrandomthoughts.blogspot.com

Berenice -- http://karbersweetescape.blogspot.com

Erica -- http://www.inkedupandreadytoplay.com/

Mary -- http://softangelkisses.blogspot.com

Janelle -- http://rainpuddlesdesign.blogspot.com

Erin -- http://stamptillucramp.blogspot.com

Maria -- http://riacreations.blogspot.com

Jennifer D -- http://just4funcrafts.blogspot.com

Pam -- http://1pamperedstamper.blogspot.com

Angelique -- http://scrapping-angel.blogspot.com

Sandie -- http://sandieshores.blogspot.com

Wendy P -- http://paperinkandsmiles.blogspot.com

Suzi -- http://mrsweyremaster.blogspot.com

Kathy -- http://pixieduststudio.blogspot.com

Beth -- http://inkyfingersrule.blogspot.com

Wendy J -- http://papertherapy-wendy.blogspot.com

Kerry -- http://kerryischilling.blogspot.com

Louise - http://www.artfullyarticulate.blogspot.com/

Liz -- http://www.blackcatsstudios.blogspot.com/

Laura - http://www.rememberinglifesmoments.blogspot.com

Lee -- http://www.leekellogg.typepad.com/

Jennifer I -- http://www.justjingle.blogspot.com/

Krissy - http://www.paperinkspirations.blogspot.com/  ---- That's me!

Sunghee -- http://www.creativityinprogress.com/blog/

Bicycle Greetings

This card was one of a set of notecards I made for my little guy to give his Preschool Director on the last day of school.  These are so quick and easy to put together.  I'll be making more of these - they're great cards to have on hand.  You know, I keep saying I'm going to build up my stash, but I still haven't done it...add it to the 'to-do list'!

I stamped this Hero Arts bicycle image on kraft card stock with black ink.  I wanted the flowers to stand out a bit, but still be subtle.  So I added dots of white ink to the blooms and a bit of green pencil to the leaves.  That's it!  Doesn't get much easier than that!  A strip of DCWV paper at the bottom, a couple of scored lines, a sentiment and VOILA! 

I made a set of 8 cards for Mrs. Kranz, each with a separate sentiment.  These could easily be adapted for any occasion. 

Just wanted to let you know that I'm participating in a Summer/4th of July Blog Hop on Saturday, July 2.....I hope you'll hop along with us.  There will be many stops along the way, full of beautiful inspiration.  Plus.....if you leave comments at each stop, you'll be eligible for one of 10 prizes.  You don't want to miss it!

Take time to get inky today!  Hope to see you back here on Saturday!

recipe:  Hero Arts Bicycle, Thinking of You Messages; Sakura White Gel Pen; Prismacolor Pencils; Tsukineko Tuxedo Black ink; Scor-Buddy; DCWV Linen Closet Mat Stack

Family Fun Patriotic Centerpiece

While I was checking my email this morning, I noticed a really cute patriotic centerpiece that was featured on the Family Fun website.  See it here.  As I looked at it, I realized something looked familiar....take a close look...it features  Stampendous clear pails.

From the Desk Of

I love making gifts for my boys to give their teachers.  I try to make a bunch of little gifties for them to bring to school throughout the year.  I also try to remember the bus driver and the lunch room supervisor (though admittedly, not as often.)  I was inspired by a card I found on Splitcoast Stampers, however I can't find it right now, I'll keep looking.  Instead of stamping a standard message on the card, I decided to run them them through my printer and personalize them with the teacher's name.

This card was especially appropriate for my oldest son's 1st grade teacher.  He was in an advanced reading class, which the teacher dubbed "Camp Read-a-Lot" - most activities throughout the school year were centered around reading.  So, I decided at the beginning of the school year that I would make these cards for her. 

Since I made a set of 20 cards for her, I kept the coloring simple and set up an assembly line to put them together.  They actually came together pretty quickly - the hardest part was deciding on the colors and cardstock.

Better get going, friends.  Hope you're having a good day and that you take time to get inky today!

recipe:  Stampendous School for Max, Book Border; DCWV Linen Closet Mat Stack; White & Beige Cardstock; Prismacolor Pencils, Goo Gone, Tortillons; Tsukineko Tuxedo Black, Sand inks

Sketch Challenge Winner!

Just wanted to take a moment to congratulate the winner of my Stampendous Sketch Challenge.  In my opinion, you can't go wrong with Fluffles, so I fell in love with this card by Meg.  I love the image and the bright, cheery colors - and the cupcake paper is perfect!

Check out her blog Peacock Paperie to see all of her wonderful creations! 

Thanks to everyone for playing along!  And thanks to Stampendous for sponsoring my first ever Sketch Challenge! 

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank Stampendous for choosing me for their first round of BlogStars.  My term is now up and a new team of BlogStars will soon be named.  It was a blast and I enjoyed every minute of my term.  Stampendous took a chance of me since I had never been on a design team before, so I really appreciate the fact that they had confidence in me.  I'm over the moon excited to have been asked to stay on as a member of the Michael's Design Team.  What an honor! 

Things have been busy around here with the first full week of summer vacation for our boys.  We've had VBS at church this week, so next week we'll be able to settle into some sort of a routine.  I'll be back then to share a few cards with you. 

Hope all is well in your world - take time to get inky today!

Stampendous! Blog Hop

Happy Saturday, friends!  Welcome to the Stampendous! Blog Hop!  If you arrived here from Taylor's blog you're in the right place!  Don't you just love all of Taylor's creations?  I am always inspired by her beautiful work!  If you just stumbled upon my blog today, be sure to stop by the Stampendous! blog for all the details.  I'm really excited to be part of today's hop - it's my first time being a "hop stop"! 


Today's hop is featuring three new JUMBO Cling Rubber flower stamps...Cling Jumbo Dogwood Set,  Cling Jumbo Tulip Set and Cling Jumbo Tiger Lily Set.  They are all beautiful and I'm sure you'll want them all!  If you've never worked with these wonderful Jumbo Clings, don't be intimidated!  They are easy to use, and make for a quick card since they cover such a large area at once.  Plus, they look great when you let the image "fall" off the page.  Give them a try!  I'm sure you'll love them!  The hard part will be deciding which flower you want - they're all so pretty!


After much deliberation, I finally decided to get Cling Jumbo Tulip inky.

recipe:  Stampendous Cling Jumbo Tulip Set, Jumbo Perfectly Clear Handle; Tsukineko Memento Rich Cocoa ink; Kraft gift bag; Prismacolor Pencils, Goo Gone, Tortillons; MPR Assoc Green Raffia Ribbon; Kraft cardstock

What a fun image to color!  I decided to make a gift bag using this set.  I thought the orange tulip would look pretty against the kraft gift bag.  I'm really happy with the way this turned out!  I think I'll be making more of these to have on hand. 

 I used Tsukineko Rich Cocoa ink to stamp the images and then colored in the tulip with my Prismacolor Pencils and blended using Goo Gone and Tortillons.  I decided I also needed a matching gift tag, so I stamped the flourish image on a piece of kraft cardstock and trimmed it into a tag shape.  I inked the edges with Rich Cocoa ink also.  Add a green raffia ribbon bow and....VOILA!  Ready to add a gift and give to someone special!


Stampendous! is very generously offering TWO each of the three new stamp sets PLUS each stamp set will come with an easy to use Jumbo Handle.  In order to be eligible for the prize drawing, you must leave a comment (be sure to include your first name and last initial) at each blog along the hop between today, Saturday, June 11th and Wednesday, June 15th.  Winners will be announced on Friday, June 17th.  Good luck!


Well, my work here is done, now you're on to the next stop on the hop....the wonderful Trudee!  I know you're in for a treat - her work is always an inspiration to me!


Take time to get inky today!  Time to get hoppin'!

Stampendous! Blog Hop Participants

Stampendous! Blog

Pam

Rachel

Kristine

Taylor

Krissy (that's me - you are here!)

Trudee

Wendy J.

Wendy P.

Cyndi

Geny

Lynn

Jenn
Laura

Ooh, almost forgot!  While you're here, check out my last post - I've got a Sketch Challenge up and running.  I'd love to have you join us and make a card based on my sketch - just post a link to your blog here.  The winner will receive Stampendous stamps!