Das' right

TWO posts in ONE day - whatchoo got to say about THAT?!? This one is for the Clean and Simple challenge at SCS - the challenge was to use curves in a clean 'n simple card. After almost 10 years of stamping, I have discovered that clean and simple is my style. No fuss, no muss. I've played around with a lot of styles, especially since I discovered SCS, and this is where I usually am most comfortable :o)

Not sure who the recipient of this card will be. Likely one of my boys' friends (there's always birthday parties, isn't there?) The surfboard and the greeting were inked in Not Quite Navy craft ink, and heat embossed. The kraft paper is from the specialty collection from last year (still proudly sticking by my commitment to use up most of the DP I own before I buy any more!!). And no word of a lie, I had this post just about ready to go when I looked at my card and thought, "it needs something more". That's when I added the Not Quite Navy button :o)

Happy Stampin'!

It's almost Christmas!

And where the heck have *I* been? LOL Well if it makes up for anything at all, I have been stamping. Just been too busy to post any of my stuff, is all! Mostly Christmas cards since late September, but now that is D-O-N-E and I can stamp FUN stuff again! So to get my mojo back in working order, I decided to start with a SCS Colour Challenge, which this week was Melon Mambo (my current fave colour, I would have to say!), So Saffron and (sadly neglected) Mellow Moss. I have been thumbing through my latest copy of Stampin' Success today, and decided to CASE one of the cards in there (p.24).

Their version is a 3x3 note card, I made mine 4x4. And I used the Medallion stamp as my main image. I don't have the curly label punch, but I do have the movers & shapers die for the Big Shot, so decided to use that instead to punch out the So Saffron curly label piece. I realized when I took the photo that it's mounted a little crooked on there, but oh well - it's handmade! LOL

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season! I hope to be able to post more over the next couple of weeks, but won't make any promises... that way I will a) minimize the guilt when I fail to post as much as I had hoped, and b) surprise you all when I post! :o)

Happy Stampin'!

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