Sweet Scent

OK so there's a story to this one.

Last month I bought a car. It's a blue 2004 VW Golf and I LOVE it!! We still have the van (you have to, really, with three kids!) but this is MY car. I commute to work every day (almost an hour each way) and I do a lot of driving for my job, and the van is not very good on gas. So I got a sweet lil' VW to zoom around in. However, it's a used car. It's in fantastic shape and has very low mileage, but I have discovered that when it rains, it smells like wet dog... I am guessing that the previous owner was also a dog owner.

So I decided to put my creative fingers and mind to work and made an air freshener. I pulled out my Beautiful Butterflies Big Shot die, some cardboard and some Parisian Breeze designer paper (retired). I die-cut two layers of cardboard and stuck them together with two-way glue (to make it stiffer - it's a technique also known as faux chipboard) and then cut a third layer out of the DP to make it pretty. I intend to put some essential oil on the back (so as to not ruin the DP) and hang it in my car.

When I was finished, I thought the butterfly was so pretty, I needed to make another one and make a card out of it, and this is it:

Isn't that butterfly adorable? One of my kids at work is turning 18 on the 21st, so I think I will send it to her.

Oh, and BIG BIG day today!! I am auditioning again, this time for Sweeney Todd! I had such a fantastic time last year, I couldn't not do it again. I have no idea whether I stand a chance in heck, but I can tell you that I nailed my song as I practiced in my basement last night ;o) (I am doing Send in the Clowns, which is also a Sondheim song - Sweeney Todd is a Sondheim musical).

So wish me luck!

And Happy Stampin'!

A-M

And thus I CASE again

Can't get enough of this lady. This card isn't so much a CASE of this card by Cindy Beach, as it is just inspired from it. I loved the simple Eiffel tower (I embossed mine with black embossing powder), and the red and black together. This is also a card for the Diva Coffee Break Designs' weekly challenge, which this week is a sketch challenge. I used some of last year's Halloween-theme DP (it was called Ghostly Greetings), and a Riding Hood Red button (also retired). Oh and because I know some of you will wonder (LOL) I did not use the "merci" stamp that comes with this set because I did not find it bold enough to hold its own with the rest of the card (it also did not stand out well at all on the textured c/s, especially when trying to read it sideways like that). So I went with a greeting from Trendy Trees instead :o)

And here is my tale of woe for today: as fate would have it, I came home today to my SU! order, including six (yes SIX!!) new stamp sets, the fun treat cups (CHECK THEM OUT!!!), two punches (including the new ornament punch!) and some platinum shimmer paint - all from the new Holiday Mini-catalog. Let it be said that I have NEVER received an order so quickly!!! (I placed the order on Saturday!) However this weekend we are going camping at a local folk festival, so tonight I need to finish packing and making snacks and stuff - NO TIME TO STAMP!! Nor will I be able to do so until Sunday night at the earliest!! WAAAH!! All those great new goodies waiting for me at home... *sigh* Ah well, I can design in my head all weekend (am I the only one who does that?...)

Happy Stampin'! And don't forget to contact me if you want to order any of the fabulous goodies from the new Holiday Mini Catalog!

A-M

I'm in love!

I discovered the blog of a fellow stamper tonight and I L-O-V-E her style!! Her splitcoast nickname is Cindybstamping and her RL name is Cindy Beach. Her cards are fresh and bold and clean and TOTALLY up my alley! I had already decided I would CASE this little number and then lo and behold, today's SCS Colour Challenge is EXACTLY the colours that she used in her card, so I'm sure that was a sign! LOL!

My card is pretty much identical to hers, except for a couple of minor adjustments... I did not have the lovely DP that she used for her patterned Curry layer, so I broke out the cuttlebug and the textiles folder, inked the folder with Crushed Curry ink, and embossed some WW paper. I also do not own the "Lots of Tags" sizzlet die, so I used my wide oval punch for the butterfly. I love how bold yet simple this card is! And I love these colours together. Dangit, now I think I will have to buy the Crushed Curry inkpad and some c/s...

Here is a close-up of the butterfly panel:

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Unbelievable but true...

...two posts in one day. Wow.

LOL!



I decided to also play this week's colour challenge as I L-O-V-E these colours together!! Real Red, Chocolate Chip and Kraft. Wow, wow. Chic Boutique was already on my table from my last project (I used the cursive "hello" stamp from that set) so that's what I used. I love how it turned out! My watercolouring is a little sloppy, but oh well. I actually used the "No Copics No Problem" technique, using SU! markers on watercolour paper and then blending with an aquapainter. Pretty, huh?


Happy Stampin'!


A-M

Sunshine Hello

I just placed my Holiday mini-catalogue pre-order earlier this week and I'm getting antsy for my NEW RUBBER and goodies!! So I am warming up with some challenge stampin'. This is for Beate's Weekly Sketch Challenge.

I pulled some DP and some In Colors out of retirement for this one cuz, well, I was really sad to see those colours go (especially my Kiwi Kiss!!) I also used my circle cutter - I gotta say, I'm still getting used to using this contraption, and while I LOVE the idea of it, I am afraid my execution leaves a lot to be desired (don't ask me how many circles I had to cut before I got my two perfect ones for that larger circle element!) The trick is that the c/s ABSOLUTELY CANNOT MOVE as you spin the blade. I'm afraid therefore scotch tape is the only thing that seems to work for me. I also need to review a blog entry that I was forwarded oh-so-many-moons-ago when this tool was first released: it showed how to properly set it up so that the no-slip pads are truly no-slip (I seem to recall that she used leftover rubber from a stamp set instead of the black pads that come with). BUT I WILL CONQUER!

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

Happy Birthday, Mom!

It's my mom's 65th birthday next week and we will be celebrating this weekend. I think my sister and I will be taking her to see Stratford's production of West Side Story in the fall as a gift - my good friend Heather tells me it's probably the best musical production she has ever seen! (And she would know as she is a talented actor herself! LOL)

So I needed a birthday card, right? I decided to use this week's colour challenge on SCS, which was to use Pixie Pink, Apricot Appeal and Certainly Celery. While CCelery is a colour that I use often, I have not used Apricot Appeal regularly in quite a while, and to be honest, I can't recall ever using my Pixie Pink pad *blush*. So this was DEFINITELY a challenge for me! LOL! I like the freshness of it, though, and it went quite well with the stamps I chose, Flight of the Butterfly, which is a new set to me.

I also got to break in my new butterfly punch - LOVE IT!!! - as well as my new "Sherbet" designer buttons. I like that the new designer buttons do not have any of the In Colors. I find that I tend to hoard my buttons (I prefer to think of it as, saving them for very special occasions LOL) and now I am stuck with a bunch of gorgeous ones from last year's collection, which I am going to have difficulty using now that the colours are not current anymore... Oh well.

Happy Stampin'!

A-M

OK so I know I've said this before...

...but this time I mean it. I NEED TO get back in the game!! Why? Because I am in L-O-V-E with everything in the new Stampin' Up! cattie, and ESPECIALLY with everything in the (upcoming) Holiday Mini catalogue and will therefore need to get my butt into high gear if I am to ever inspire enough people to support my habit ;o)

So I am stamping. And stamping, and stamping, and stamping. And sharing what I am stamping with people again so they can see how FUN and EASY it is to stamp and awe your friends and family with your paper creations LOL

Getting the mojo going again is the biggest hurdle, but I think I am getting there. Of course, getting my first load of new goodies was a HUGE inspiration this week, and I completed 16 swap cards tonight that look like this:

Isn't it pretty? I finally caved and bought the Beautiful Butterflies die for the Big Shot, and knew before I even received my order and had a chance to play with it that this is what I would be using for my swap card. I also knew I would be using this new embossing folder - isn't it sweet? I love how it only embosses part of the card front! As for the colour scheme, that came later. I have to admit, I was not immediately inspired by the new In Colors this year. The only one I could see myself using a lot was Bermuda Bay. So I resisted buying the whole lot, and only got the assorted cardstock and the markers (yay - MARKERS!!) to give myself a chance to try them out for size... and I realized that I like them a lot more than I first gave them credit for! This is Melon Mambo - I thought it would be really bright and Positively Pink-ish (or perhaps even - gasp! - the old Magenta we used to carry LOL), but it's actually got quite nice depth to it. Like a brighter Purely Pomegranate. And I decided to just keep things simple and clean, and use just the one colour with the white. Quite effective, I think? And then I got the idea of softening the card by layering one of the butterflies with vellum, and stamped that layer with white StazOn, using one of the images from the new Extreme Elements set. Totally NOT what the set was intended to complement (it goes with silhouettes of skateboarders and surfers and rockers), which is why I really like how it's used here LOL. Here is a close-up of the butterfly:

And the ribbon, well, I'm in love with the ribbon. Polka dots are da bomb. Oh and the sentiment was stamped with VersaMark and embossed with black embossing powder to give it glossy texture.

SO 16 of these babies will be going out in the mail tomorrow, and hopefully will soon find an appreciative audience. And I can't wait to see what I receive in exchange!

As for me, I will commit to posting at least once per week AND to reviving my short-lived weekly colour challenge... In fact, I will make this my colour challenge post and challenge you to create a card using only ONE of the new In Color colours (your choice!) with white. Remember to use the keyword AMCC4 if you post to Splitcoaststampers so that I can find your creation.

Happy Stampin!

A-M