Running With Scissors…

My card today is for the first of the October birthdays I’m celebrating — thinking ahead for a change.  I can always remember these October birthdays, probably since it’s my birthday month, as well.  I’ve used a PSX stamp which is new(ish) to me, having picked it up in Willits, CA this summer.  It’s sad to think PSX has gone out of business.  Their stamps are beautiful and the images varied.  Whatever happened to them, I wonder?

I chose these colors for my cake because they were left in my tote bag from my last project.  I was also carrying greens and blues, but I wasn’t so sure I wanted a green or blue cake.  Still, this may be an improbable color — not quite orange, definitely not raspberry.  Not really cherry, either, though that is one of the colors I used.  I colored it with Prismacolor markers on Whisper White cardstock.  The marker colors are Deco Peach and Peach, with a little Cherry added for the frosting accents.  I also used a Spica clear glitter pen on the frosting and candles, but Spica glitter is so subtle I can’t imagine it ever showing in a photograph.

Whenever I cut a Spellbinders shape, I save the resulting negative if it’s of any consequence, and this shape made a nice frame for the cake — like a bakery shop window.  I Cuttlebug embossed the frame, added the ribbon and rhinestones, and placed it on foam mounting tape with a border of Bashful Blue and Cameo Coral.  All set to mail!

I’ll see you soon with more stamping.  Have a sweet and wonderful day!

Stamps:  PSX birthday cake  Paper:  Whisper White, Cameo Coral, Bashful Blue  Ink:  Adirondack Pitch Black, Prismacolor markers for coloring  Accessories:  Bashful Blue taffeta ribbon, rhinestones, Spica clear glitter pen, Cuttlebug Birthday embossing folder, Spellbinders oval dies, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

It looks like this is going to be Happy Week on the blog — happy birthdays, mostly, since I have so many October birthdays to think about, but today I have two happy hellos to share.

My first card was inspired by clip art which decorated some business correspondence I received at work.  It was so colorful and cheerful — I just loved it and I thought it would look pretty on a card.  Naturally, I couldn’t reproduce it exactly, and I made some slight color changes, but it’s close, and it was an awfully lot of fun .  All the stamps and colors I used are listed in the recipe.  All stamps are Stampin’ Up! except for an old ink splatter stamp by CTMH.  Very easy!

Here’s a photo of the clip art which inspired me:

And here’s the recipe:

Stamps:  Bodacious Bouquet, Simply Said, Sweet Shapes, old CTMH (D.OT.S.) ink splatter  Paper:  Basic Black, Whisper White  Ink:  Pink Passion, YoYo Yellow, Only Orange, Sage Shadow, Adirondack Pitch Black  Accessories:  May Arts Swiss dot ribbon, silver cord

While I was at it, I thought I’d make another card in Earth Elements — inspired by the clip art, but hardly resembling it.  I brought out an old favorite, Petal Prints.  It looks like a messy garden with leaves floating in mid-air, but the colors are pretty.  I added some of the splatter stamp from the Itty Bitty Backgrounds set.  I rarely use that stamp anymore, and I don’t know why.  It’s the best splatter stamp I’ve ever come across.  I need to make a note to self — use Itty Bitty more often.

Stamps:  Petal Prints, Itty Bitty Backgrounds, sentiment from Vases in Vogue  Paper:  Chocolate Chip, Summer Sun, Very Vanilla  Ink:  Ruby Red, Cameo Coral, Old Olive, Summer Sun, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip  Accessories:  Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon

I’m so glad you could stop by today.  I’ll be getting busy on those birthday cards now…  Have a happy week!

Hello and happy Monday!  I’d planned to have a stamping post today, but we were too busy wearing out Wally (and ourselves in the process) and I didn’t make time to photograph my cards.  I could kick myself for forgetting my camera for Wally’s big day up the river — I’m such a bad Mom!  I thought I’d share some “after” photos, though.  You can probably see how much he’s grown and changed.  Where, oh, where did that little puppy go in such a short amount of time?  He’ll always be a sweet, fuzzy baby to my eyes… you know how moms are.

Wally spent quite a lot of time falling in the water today… not so much time swimming.  Not to worry, it wasn’t very deep.  He hasn’t developed a retriever’s love of the water yet.  Gee, I thought we could just throw a stick and he’d jump right in after it, but I guess that will come along just like everything else he’s learned so far.  He’s such a sweet, lovable, good little guy.  Gosh, he sleeps hard after all that exercise!  Here, he’s slipped down between two ottomans in front of our sofa, oblivious to the world.

But this is what he looked like when the pizza arrived — hopeful.

However, like a good little boy, he’s learned not to beg when we’re eating, and his way of dealing with that is to nap through our meals.

Poor little worn out Wally.  He did liven up long enough to play with his squeaky for a while, but then he was right back to snoozing.  Tomorrow will bring more adventure and discovery.  All of life is new and exciting for a three month old.  I hope you had a great weekend, too.  Thank you for dropping in on us!

Hello, friends!  Just dropping in with a friendly reminder that the Stampers United Blog Hop is still going strong.  All the details are in –> this post.

Wishing you a happy Tuesday!

I’ve had this card made for quite some time.  I’m not sure what I was saving it for… perhaps an idea that never fully developed.  At any rate, I’m sharing it now.  It certainly is one of my favorites.

The stamps are Flourishes’ Gerbera Daisies set.  They’re stamped on Classic White cardstock and colored with Copics from the Poppy Collection.  The designer papers are all BasicGrey Infuse — the very first BasicGrey collection Flourishes carried in the store when they opened their online doors two years ago.  You’d think I would have used it up by now, but my designer papers have a way of multiplying faster than I can use them.

It took a while (and lots of patience and eye strain) to cut out the entire image with scissors and a craft knife, but I just love the look of cut outs on a card.  Both the frame and the daisies are raised on foam mounting tape.  That’s another thing I love on a card — dimension.  There’s not so much of it here that it can’t be mailed with one postage stamp, but enough to make it a little more interesting.

I’m keeping it brief today so I can do a little more stamping while I have a moment.  That’s a pretty good reason, don’t you think?  Have a happy day!

Stamps:  Gerbera Daisies  Paper:  Chocolate Chip, Classic White, BasicGrey Infuse designer paper  Ink:  Ranger Distress Walnut Stain, Chocolate Chip, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, Spellbinders Long Rectangle Nestabilities, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Hello, and welcome to my blog!  A group of us got together, thinking it would be fun to introduce our readers to some different stampers, their styles, and their blogs.  Perhaps you’ll find an exciting new artist you’d like to visit again.  We’re called Stampers United, and today we’re having a blog hop!  Not only will you have a chance to visit some possibly new-to-you blogs, but there are prizes along the way, and a Grand Prize at the end!

In order to have a chance at winning the Grand Prize, you must gather a phrase along the blog hop, commenting as you go.  Each stamper will have a particular word listed on their blog and as long as you visit them in order, you will have the complete phrase at the end.  Claudia will pick the Grand Prize winner and make the announcement Monday on her blog.  The winner will need to contact Claudia, who will then ask for the phrase.  If correct, we have a Grand Prize winner!  If not correct, Claudia will pick another potential winner, etc., until the phrase is repeated to her correctly.

To start off, you must begin at the Stampers United blog.  If you did not start there, then please go back and begin again… you don’t want to miss out on that fabulous Grand Prize!

If you arrived here from Marlene’s blog, you are on the correct course.

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I’d like to share a card today which I made with Flourishes’ new Seasonal Wreaths set.  Flourishes has kindly donated this set as part of the Grand Prize for our blog hop.  When I asked Jan Marie about a donation, she said “anything you want”.  She was very sweet and she made my heart feel good.  I chose this set because it’s one of my new favorites.

Oh, happy day, I have another Christmas card done!  I enjoyed coloring this with my Prismacolor markers in traditional red, green, and gold, and in the end I thought it had a bit of a vintage look to it.  I used a Martha Stewart branch punch to add a little decoration under the bow.  The embossed sentiment is from Holiday Greetings.  The cardstocks are Chocolate Chip and Real Red.  Designer paper is last year’s Memory Box Winterberry.  Accessories are ribbon and pearls from Flourishes, Spellbinders circle & scalloped circle dies, and Cuttlebug Textile embossing folder.

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Now, about that blog hop…

My word in the phrase is (word has been removed — contest closed.  Thank you for hopping along with us!), and your next word can be found at Priscilla’s blog.

We hope you are enjoying this special blog hop and that you’re finding something new along the way.  Thanks for joining us today!  Good luck to you!

It took me a while to come around, but I’m beginning to understand the attraction of sketch challenges.  Whether you follow the sketch to the last detail, or simply use it as a jumping off point, it’s a great way to get started.  This week, Flourishes is sponsoring 2 Sketches 4 You < — Follow that link to read up and see the sketch which inspired this card.

I stayed very close to the sketch, though there was a point at which I nearly deviated.  I’m glad I didn’t because, otherwise, I would have ended up with a layout too similar to many I’ve done in the past.  It was that little length of ribbon across the top that made the difference.  I kept wanting to tie it around the lower edge where I placed the brads but, no, I kept to the sketch and I’m happier for it.

I used one of Flourishes’ new releases, Falling Leaves.  All my backgrounds are stamped — no designer papers.  The lower panel is the Basketweave stamp — Mustard ink on Mustard cardstock – and a border created with my Martha Stewart Arched Lattice punch.

The colorful leafy background was made by first spritzing water on Classic Ivory Cardstock, then wiping off the excess with my hand.  I mounted three of the solid image stamps on one block and stamped repeatedly, using Pumpkin Patch and Late November Spectrum pads.  With my paper wet, but not dripping, the effect is that of a soft watercolor.  Flourishes’ satin ribbon provided even more color, and the copper Finishing Touches slide added a nice decorative touch.

I hope you enjoyed!  Let’s go see what the rest of the girls have done with the sketch…I know they’re going to be some fabulous cards:  Christine, Cindy, Faith, Julie, Latisha, Laura, Stacy, and Sharon.

I’m so glad you came to visit today.  Have a wonderful weekend!!

Stamps:  Falling Leaves, Basketweave  Paper:  Elegant Eggplant, So Saffron, More Mustard, Classic Ivory, watercolor  Ink:  Palette Umber, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Pumpkin Patch and Late November Spectrum pads, Old Olive, Certainly Celery  Accessories:  Ribbon, brads, Finishing Touches ribbon slide, Martha Stewart Arched Lattice border punch, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

A new vendor has joined our Stampers United Blog Hop, coming this Saturday, Sept. 19th.  FireCracker Designs by Pamela has added a contribution to the grand prize, making it even grander than before!  Pamela just up and offered a stamp set, and I thought that was mighty sweet of her.  It got me to thinking about my FireCracker Swan Song set, so I thought I’d make a card…

I stamped the swan in Palette Noir, masked it, and brayered over it with Sage Shadow ink to create the water, leaving a hazy edge to suggest distance as well as add to the overall softness of the image.  I blushed a bit of color on the swan with Stampin’ Pastels soft chalks — Mustard for the bill, and blue to shade the bird and make the white appear whiter.  After I stamped the verse, I sprayed the image panel with matte sealer to make sure the chalk stayed put.  Some retired Stampin’ Up! designer paper covers the card.  Forgive me, but for the life of me I cannot remember the name of this particular collection.  Offray ribbon and pearls from Flourishes finished off this very simple design.

About the Blog Hop… I’m afraid to link to my previous post regarding the Blog Hop for fear it will go into your spam folder again.  My email thought it was spam, and Doris commented that it went into her spam folder as well.  Did you see the post?  If not, please check back to Monday’s post to read about it.  I’m sure you won’t want to miss it.  Several blog candies as well as well as some talented stampers offering eye candy will make it a pleasant and fun journey toward the huge prize at the end.

I’ll have another card to share tomorrow.  Hope to see you then.  Take good care!

Stamps:  Swan Song by FireCracker Designs  Paper:  Soft Sky, Whisper White, retired SU! designer paper (the name escapes me)  Ink:  Palette Noir, Sage Shadow  Accesories:  Offray ribbon, Kaiser flat-backed pearls, Stampin’ Pastels soft chalks, spray matte sealer, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

I entered my stamp room this weekend not certain what would come out with me, but knowing I wanted to stamp something.  Having a blog does alter my perspective on stamping.  I wonder what my reason would be for blogging about any particular card.  Really, I just wanted to stamp and I felt like making something pretty and feminine, something with a little lift to it.  Something that would lift my spirits.

I looked among my SU! stamps, my clear stamps, and my unmounteds.  Hmmmm…nothing connected.  I decided to browse my scrap basket.  And there it was…the image I wanted to color.  It’s an Anna Wight design for Whipper Snapper.  I know exactly when I stamped this image — February 2008.  I stamped two, colored one, and this one has been waiting all this time. 

When I stamped this image over a year ago, I had not yet purchased my first Prismacolor markers, or Spellbinders dies, or any of the delicious PTI cardstocks and ribbons.  I used all of those items on this card.  We’ve become good friends in no time at all!

Another good friend is the Bow Easy which helped make such a pretty little bow.  You can find the Bow Easy here, and a tutorial on how to use it here.  Many of my bows, however, I still make the old-fashioned way — just hand tied.   There’s a great bow tying video tutorial here.  I hope this helps those who have asked how I make my bows.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I love having visitors.  Take care until we can get together again!

Stamps:  Whipper Snapper, SU! sentiment  Paper:  PTI Sweet Blush and Berry Sorbet, Whisper White, Chatterbox designer paper  Ink:  Basic Black, Prismacolor markers for coloring  Accessories:  PTI Ocean Tides satin ribbon, linen thread, brads, Spellbinders Long Rectangle and Scalloped Heart dies

Hello, stamper friends!  Today I have a little announcement about something fun coming up on Saturday, the 19th of this month.  I’m participating in a blog hop (my very first), and if you’re familiar with blog hops, you know there’s a prize at the end.  This one’s a biggie!

Claudia Rosa (aka ClaudiafromGermany) is spearheading this event, having gathered together a team of designers who, in turn, have contacted some of their favorite companies to sponsor the hop.  The purpose of the hop is to introduce you to a stamper(s) you’ve never visited before and, therefore, had no idea what you were missing.  This has already been an eye opener for me because, in creating the following links, I visited some pretty amazing designers.  Sheesh!  I had no idea… where have I been?  As a group, we’re called Stampers United.  Individually, here’s the line up:

Broni - Splashes of Watercolor

Carole - Stardust Gems and Ribbon

Claudia - Pretty Pressings

Elaine - Quixotic Cards

Jaqueline - Creja Kaarten

Leslie - Running With Scissors (that’s me!)

Marlene - A Lil Bit Of Me

Priscilla - “priscillastyles”

Sherry - Walkin’ On The BAD Side!

Vicki - Stamped Smiles

You’ll find prizes here and there along the blog hop, and a grand prize at the end — something from each of our generous sponsors:

7 Kids College Fund

Aud Design

Crop Stop

Cute Card And Stamps

eclectic Paperie

Flourishes

Funky Kits Sugar Nellie

Motivet Rubberstamps

priscillastyles

Quixotic Paperie

Shimmerz Paints

Simon Says Stamp

Sweet And Sassy Stamps

Whimsy Stamps

Hope you can join us then — Saturday, Sept. 19th.  It’s going to be great!