Martha Stewart Let Me Down a Bit

I nearly tripped over myself trying to get to this stamp by Martha Stewart the moment I saw it hanging on the rack at A.C. Moore.

I have to say that I was a little disappointed when I inked it up because the ink kept beading up on it. I tried several tricks to condition the stamp, but nothing worked. Oh well. I still cranked out about five of these cards and I think they turned out alright. I just wish the image was more crisp. Sigh..

Still Love Loads of Love

I made these cards for my son's preschool teachers with my trusty Stampin Up! Loads of Love stamp set.

The trucks are colored with Copics (of course) and cut out. I used dimensional foam adhesive so the trucks pop a bit.

The little puff of smoke is from my Close to My Heart Little Builder set.

Rubbernecker Stamp Oasis Reindeer's Flight

I have been absolutely terrible about posting lately. Well, lately is an understatement. Since October!! Sheesh!

I made several styles of Christmas cards this year and have yet to mail any, but I will. Probably tomorrow and I am not looking forward to the line at the post office!

I bought this stamp over the summer. It is called Reindeer's Flight by Stamp Oasis at Rubbernecker.com

I used my trusty Copic markers and sponged the background blue. I love this whimsical stamp although I do have to admit that the eyes look a bit creepy to me.

Oh, and did I mention that these stamps are on sale right now?! Well, just about everything is on sale right now, but that's beside the point. :)

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! The Oscar the Grouch Way.

Who doesn't love Oscar the Grouch. He's the ultimate recycler.

As I drove through town today, passing by all the gas stations with no more gas and the long line of cars at the one station in town that did have gas, one word kept popping up in my head, well actually two.. Consumption and PANIC!! I was also reminded of how simple life is in Sesame Street. Sigh!!

For this card, I pulled paper from my scrap pile. The dandelion paper came from a Miss Elizabeth's paper pack that I bought several years ago. I recently opened it when I was making crafts with my daughter. I crumpled the paper and distresed it with some CTMH ink in Bamboo. It's gotta look a little dirty to go on a card with an Oscar The Grouch stamp! I colored the image with Sharpie, Bic and Copic markers.

I got this stamp for 50% off at Hobby Lobby. It's called Oscar Loves Trash by Stampabilities.

Rubber Stampede Santa Collage Card

I was at Michael's on Friday night and happened upon this Rubber Stampede Santa Collage stamp. I was so excited because I had heard this stamp was discontuined and I didn't know that they started manufacturing these again.

I have seen it on eBay and of course it was going for ridiculous prices so I was thrilled to pick this baby up for $7.99 at Michael's. I didn't have a coupon with me so I had to pay full price, but hey, I still think it was a great deal for this fantastic stamp! LOL

For this card, I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder on white cardstock for the background. I stamped the image with Versamark and sprinkled it with silver embossing powder. I love watching embossing powder cure. It's so pretty.

I made a batch of these for my Christmas card stack. I'll probably crank out a few more, but I would really like to find a good nativity stamp for the cards that I will be passing around at church.

A couple Bellas

Just like most people, I was in love with all the Bellas at http://www.stampingbella.com/ the first time I saw them. I have a binder full of them from the last time they offered free shiping. Here are a couple cards that I put together this week.

With it being Football season, I have figured a great way to spend time with my husband without complaining about having to watch ANOTHER football game with him. I just stamp all over an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of cardstock and color them in with my copics while the game is on. It works out beautifully. He doesn't complain about me not paying attention to him and I don't complain about not being able to watch my shows.

I used Prezzibella for the first card. This Bella looks so much like my older sister I can't help but think of her when I see it.

Mamabella adorns card number two. This is for a friend of mine who just had her first child.

PeachyKeenStamps What's So Funny?

PeachyKeenStamps has some really cute images. Here is an image from my What's so Funny? set. This is exactly how I feel when it snows. I just want to hug the ground.

I sponged some yellow and pink in the background for that sunset effect. I also added some diamond stickles to add a little shimmer to the snow.

Just Chicken in with SU! Best of Cluck

I love the Stampin Up! Best of Cluck set. It's an older set that I bought off eBay a while back. Here is the first card that I made using Best of Cluck. I really don't know what took me so long to whip out this set. There are so many cute stamps in it.

I used only paper from my scrap pile to make the front of this card. I hate throwing bits and pieces of paper away so I've been holding onto these pieces for a long time. I need to use up more scrap pieces, so I'll try to reach for the scrap pile until I can get it down to a more manageable size. One good thing about reaching for the scrap pile is that the paper is quite often piled as I had previously coordinated them for other projects, so it creates a short cut for me. No thinking about what matches this and what goes with that.

The chicken was stamped with clear embossing ink and sprinkled withe black embossing powder and heat embossed. I then colored the wings, tail and headpiece with my Copic markers. I took a light grey Copic and drew around the image to make it pop a little.

Of course, nothing goes better with a chicken stamp than a table cloth patterned paper. That table cloth vellum came from a Martha Stewart pack that I bought on clearance at Michaels last year. The chicken wire background stamp is made by Rubbernecker stamps.

Scrapbook Page using Stampin Up! Bundle Up stamps

I got this SU Bundle Up set for a steal on ETSY. I love that site.

Here is a two-page 12x12 spread that I made. The patterned background paper is from my My Mind's Eye Wild Asparagus pad and the ribbon is just some stuff that I picked up at Hobby Lobby.

Perhaps one of these days, I'll actually stick some pictures onto these pages, but for now I'm just having fun making the background pages for my albums.

SU Unfrogettable "Have I toad you lately that I love you?"

I challenged myself to make something with my unused Stampin Up! Unfrogettable stamp set. Here's what I came up with. I don't know why this set has been neglected for so long. It is absolutely adorable!! I colored the frog with Sharpies and used my Copic blending marker to finish it up. I used a mixture of Copics and Sharpies on the other stamped images. To accessorize, I cut out some flowers from the scrap paper and pop dotted them on there for added dimension.

Stampin Up! Shellebrate Card

I just got this set yesterday. Here is my first creation with the surfing snowman from the SU Shellebrate stamp set For the background, I rubbed Versamagic dew drops on the waves in Agean Blue and Sea Breeze. I also added Diamond Stickles and Aleene's Glitter Snow to the water. I used a circle stamp from my Lizzie Anne Designs Out of This World set and rubbed a little yellow straight from the pad to give some sun beams in the sky. The board is paper pieced.

I used Close To My Heart Serendipity paper for this.

Getting some Scrapbook Pages Made

I have really been neglecting my scrapbooks. This week I have focused a lot of my attention toward making pages. Here is something that I made using my Basic Grey Mellow Collection pack.

I love those Basic Grey paper packs. I added a few brads and pieces of ribbon here and there, but for the most part, everything on these pages is from the pack. I inked the edges of the pages and rubbed some brown ink on the background paper to make the white background blend with the BG paper. I'm having fun making these pages and I feel like I'm getting something accomplished... now if only I could sit down and organize my photos...

Happy Haunting!

I know it's a little early for Halloween, but I just had to post this card that I put together yesterday. I have had this CTMH Happy Haunting stamp set for a while now and have never made anything with it.

I used copic markers to color the house and inked the edges of the ghosts with green for that ectoplasm aura. :)

The moon is made by Lizzie Anne Designs.

For the background paper, I just took a white piece of cardstock and rubbed a dark blue dew drop ink pad all over it.

I Wish I Looked So Good on a Bike a Bella

I love all of the Stamping Bella Stamps. They are absolutely adorable. This one is aptly named "I Wish I Looked So Good on a Bike a Bella." Cute name... cute stamp.

I colored this using a combination of Copic and Sharpie markers. The sentiment is by The Angel Company and the ribbon came from Dollar Tree! Love that.

Hot Cocoa

The cocoa looks like it's a little too hot for that cup! I made this ATC using paper from my MME paper stack and textured background paper.

The stamps are made by PeachyKeenStamps. I just love all the expressions that Kathy Jakopovich gave these little marshmallows when she designed this set.

So long, Summer!!

Time to pack up the campers and bid happy trails to Summer!!

I made this using my Stampin Up! Happy Camper stamp set. The sentiment came from one of my Cat's Pajamas sets. I thught it was very fitting for this card.

I used CTMH background paper and I roughed up the edges of the red background paper with my sanding block to tie it all together.

Fall Card with CTMH Autumn's Gifts

I put this together last night using BasicGrey paper, my Copic markers and CTMH Autumn's Gifts stamps. I also used a couple Sharpie Markers and I must say that I am impressed with them. They are just as great as Copics and are much less expensive.

I finished it off with some cream satin ribbon, a safety pin and a pewter charm. I also added some stickles for a little extra detail.

This card is part of a four season swap that I'm participating in. Obviously, I chose Fall and I can't wait to see what other creations where made for Winter, Spring and Summer.

Christmas Card with Paper Inspirations Father Christmas

I found this stamp at Hobby Lobby and just had to buy it. It's made by Paper Inspirations. I think it's so neat and it doesn't require any coloring so that's a real plus when it comes to making sets of Christmas Cards.

I made about 10 Christmas cards the other night using my new stamp. Here's what they look like.

The Merry Christmas stamp is one of the first stamps that I ever bought. It's made by PSX and I haven't used it in years, but I still lub it.

Stamp Shack Santa

This year's Limited Edition Holiday Stamp Shack stamp is called Moonlight Snowman and it was designed by Paul Gunson. You can see the stamp by clicking here.

Pre-orders are being taken now through Friday, August 29th. Only one run will be done to make this stamp so once they're gone, they're gone. You can order this even if you're not a Stamp Shack member. Dont' be shy!

Popsicle Penguin ATC

This penguin image was sent to me as part of a mystery image ATC swap. It's completely adorable, but I have no idea who makes it.

I colored it in with my Copic markers and added Stickles in various places for added detail.

The background stamp is by CTMH and the sand castle is by Lizzie Anne Designs. The sun is by Inkadinkado. The sun was originally hollow, so I took a pencil eraser and stamped the inside. It was the perfect fit!

UPDATE:

** Thanks to Jen at The Stamp Shack, I now know who makes this penguin stamp. It's Imaginisce and the are such a great value! Just 99 cents each! **

Gina K Owl ATC

I'm getting caught up with my ATC swaps and have completed 7 different swaps since Friday. I'm so proud of myself. I was really far behind and I'm just about caught up.

The stamp is by Gina K designs and I stamped it with StazOn Timber Brown ink. I colored it in with Copic markers and addd Stickles here and there to embellish. I also used clear dimensional glaze on the eyes. The ribbon came from Michael's.

Paper Pieced Image with Magazine ATC

I made this for an ATC swap that I'm doing. It uses paper piecing from a magazine.

I used CTMH stamps for this and a little bit of American Crafts ribbon.

I really like how this turned out, but I think if there was anything that I would change, it would be the actual magazine page that I used. The only magazine that I had on hand, that I was willing to cut up, was a medical magazine and if you look closely at the paper, you'll see some "icky" words.

Oh well, maybethis makes me giggle because I'm still a little bit immature. LOL

CTMH Play Time

Close to My Heart makes so many adorable stamp sets. Here is something that I made with their new Play Time set. Isn't it precious?!

I tried to make the sentiment look like a flower with the ribbon stem and all.

I colored this image with my trusty Copic markers and used my white Uni-Ball pen to do the stitching around the edges.

Grin and bear it

I'm participating in a virtual card swap at The Stamp Shack where we all were sent this adorable Teddy bear image to color and create a card with.

Here is my creation. I had so much fun coloring this guy in. I'm afraid I don't know who makes this stamp, but I think he's absolutely adorable. The sentiment is by CTMH stamped in White Daisy ink.

I used a white Uni-Ball Signo gel pen to "stitch" around the edges and accent with dots. The ribbon is the one and only Miss Elizabeth's from Dollar tree.

Christmas in July with Happy Hoppers

I love the Happy Hopper stamps by Stampabilites. They are designed by the woman who makes the House Mouse stamps... which I also adore!

Here is a Christmas card that I put together with an image that I colored a while back. Isn't it sweet?! I used colored pencils and sponged the background. I also added diamond Stickles to this for a little extra shimmer.

Lily at the Beach

I think Rachelle Ann Miller is a brilliant illustrator and I'm so glad her images are available as stamps.

I made this card using one of her Lily images. I colored this in with Copic markers and tried a little blending here and there.

The scrap pile on my table was getting pretty high and I found these background papers mixed in there. I had the image colored in already, so this card was so quick and easy to make. I really like how this turned out.

I have not decided what to stamp on the inside of this card. I might leave it blank until I figure out who I want to send this to.

Elisabeth Bell for Sugar Nellie

I am participating in a virtual image swap at the shack. I was sent this fantastic image to use on my card and here is my creation. I'm too cheap to pay international postage, so I don't own any Elisabeth Bell and/or Sugar Nellie stamps so it was an extra special treat to receive this image to use.

For the background paper, I used paper from one of my My Mind's Eye paper stacks. The flowers are from my Iced Got Prima's jar and the ribbon came from some roll that I picked up at Michael's. The sentiment came from my new Close to My Heart Daydream set. I also used diamond stickles to make the clouds and to enhance the flowers on the background paper.

I rarely take pictures of the inside of my cards, but I like to decorate the insides as well. Not only does decorating the inside of the card add more detail, but it also gives the card more weight so it feels like an extra special card.

Card using Alcohol Ink

I love playing with alcohol inks. Here is a card that I made using one of my AI experiments.

The stamps are by Basic Grey. This is the first time I've used clear stamps on AI pages and the first time that I have used these particular stamps. They were a little slippery on the paper. I'm going to take them for another spin to see if I can get the hang of stamping with these on slick paper, but I'm pretty happy with the results.

I used Palette hybrid ink in Noir and just added a little bit of hemp string as an accent. The "You Rock" sentiment is from my CTMH Dino Roar set.

Hip Hip Hooray

I was playing with my embossing folders and made this card the other day. The stamps are by Gel-a-Tins. Aren't they cute?!

I used a little clear glaze to trace the black outlines on the hippo and just filled it in with some fun colors.

Frogetful Sam - SweetNSassyStamps

I recently placed an order with SweetNSassy Stamps

and she was so kind to add a few stamped images to my package. This sweet image is one of their June releases called Frogetful Sam.

To color this in, I just used copic markers. The paper is by My Mind's Eye.

Lily & Milo Holding Hands - Rachelle Ann Miller

I just adore Rachelle Ann Miller's illustrations and her stamps are wonderful!

Here is Lily and Milo. Aren't they sweet?! I colored this in with copic markers and decorated with Prima flowers and adhesive backed rhinestones. This was such a fun card to put together!

The sentiment is by Studio G. Love those little $1 stamps!

Like Magnolia Stamps? Then have a look at this blog.

Pretty Pressings is offering a Magnolia Stamp blog candy! If you look through her previous posts you will also see some adorable cards that she has made with her Magnolia's.

When, oh when will these stamps become widely available in the US?!

Police Officer Training Graduation Card

A friend of ours had his graduation ceremony from Police Officer Training last night. I had no police themed stamps and my husband made me promise not to make him a Girlie card, so I came up with this idea. Get it? Donuts and coffee... police officer? :)

For the donut, I just used my Creative Memories CCS circle patterns. I frosted it with my DecoArt Snow Writer and used Stickles to give the donut a few sprinkles. I used a scalloped circle punch to take a bite out of the donut.

The coffee stamp is by Inque Boutique and I just colored it in with some Copics. The sentiment is by Close to My Heart and the background paper is something I had in my Creative Memories photo mat pile. I believe they came as a free gift for something.

Sellabella- New Home Card

A friend of ours just bought his first house. We went to his housewarming party yesterday and here's the card I made for him. I know it's a little girlie, but I just couldn't resist using this stamp. I mean, come on! If I didn't use it for him, who knows when I would have another opportunity to use it.

I colored the image in with my Copic markers and used some old buttons that I resucued from a pile of clothes that we were about to throw out.

Cruisabella

One of the gals at http://www.stamp-shack.com/ sold me a bunch of her old (yet still awesome) Bella stamps. Thanks Angie!

This one is called Cruisabella... isnt' she fantastic?!

I made this as my monthly challenge card. This month's challenge is "Road Trip." The sentiments are by Scrappy Cat.

The picture doesn't really show it here, but Some of the flowers are cut from the background paper and glued onto the card. For some of these pieces, I used dimensional foam adhesive.

I also used clear glaze over the red portions of the car and I used stickles in silver on the bumper and diamond stickles on the headlights. Fun, fun, fun!

Pregabella- Celebrate!

A good friend of mine has just found out that baby #2 is on the way. Now that's something to celebrate!

For this card, I used one of my new Bella stamps called Pregabella. I also used paper from one of my 8x8 TAC stacks, prima flowers and some cell phone bling that I bought at Dollar tree!

I colored the image in with some copic markers and inked the inside of the card with some CTMH ink. The Celebrate sentiment is by Studio G.

Celebrate in Style

I made several pieces of background paper while experimenting with my alcohol inks. This piece is much lighter than the previous card that I posted. This one is probably from the third or fourth time I ran the paper through the ink.

This image is from my Stampin Up! Celebrate in Style set. I colored the image with copic markers. I also used nestabilities for the background.

Alcohol Ink Technique

There is an awesome tutorial at www.Stamp-Shack.com that shares how to use alcohol ink for scenery cards.

For this card, I used Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol ink in Butterscotch, Stream and Wild Plum. This made the "sunset" background. It looks like they're watching evening fireworks on the 4th of July.

The stamp is by Stampabilities and it's just one I found on the sale rack at Hobby Lobby.

This technique generally calls for glossy cardstock... Well, I didn't have any of that and live nowhere near a store that carries any. I decided to experiment with posterboard and it worked beautifully! The posterboard comes in sheets of 11x14 inches and comes with five sheets. Works for me!

Dollar Bin Treasure!

I fell in love with this stamp the moment I rescued it from the dollar bin at AC Moore. Makes me think of being in Florida! I love layering cardstock and using my Martha Stewart punches. I stamped the background using CTMH Taffy ink and for the focal piece, I layered the orange with dimensional foam adhesive. I love the way it pops. I also used diamond stickles to sugar coat the orange. (Or it could be a sugar coated Grapefruit too!)

Pink Cat Studio Billy and Monkey

I made this little card using my new Pink Cat Studio Billy with a little sock monkey that came in my Dress Up Billy set.

I added clear dimensional glaze to Billy's clothes and the red portions of the monkey just for a little added detail.

This is such a cute little guy.

Perk Up!

I found this stamp while rummaging through the dollar clearance stamps at AC Moore. It's made by PKS.

I embossed the brown paper with one of my cuttlebug embossing folders and just used some rickrack ribbon to embellish.

I stamped this using CTMH ink in Desert sand and Amethyst.

Pink Cat Studio Tweet

I made this ATC using a stamp from my Pink Cat Studo "Tweet" set. This little bird is so adorable.

I also used the Gamsol coloring technique for this as well. I just bought a set of 24 Koh-I-Noor woodless color pencils at Michaels earlier this week so I could give Gamsol a try. It was so easy and I really like the way it turned out.

I also had the opportunity to shop in a real local scrapbooking store on Saturday (not one of those chain stores) and I found stickles on the shelves. I picked up a bottle of diamond and baby blue stickles. I used diamond sticles for the tail and some of the background.

I used my Birds & Swirls Cuttlebug embossing folder for the pink background.

Card for my Dad

My dad used to be a California surfer, so this card is perfect for him.... well if there was one thing I could change, I would give the surfer on the card long blonde hair.

He's not the easiest dad to make a card for since he's not big into "typical" man things like fishing, cars or sports. He does like tools, but I don't have any tool stamps!

For this card, I used my Hang Loose set by The Angel Company and Hang Ten by Close to My Heart. I used my copic markers to color in the surfer and CTMH ink in Bamboo and Crystal Blue for stamping.

Pink Cat Studios Q.T. Hooty Owl Stamps

Pink Cat Studios just released this cute owl set. Here is a birthday card that I made with one of the owls in this set.

I love the sentiment. Hoot Hoot Hooray!

I colored this in with copics and used metallic textured cardstock. The ribbon came from the Target dollar spot.

Lizzie Anne Designs "By the Sea"

I just finished this set of 9 ATCs for a swap that I'm participating in. I used Lizzie Anne Designs "By the Sea" stamps which is an adorable set of stamps.

I also used my new Stampin Up Ticket Corner punch and paper by My Mind's Eye.

Whoop Dee Doo! It's your Birthday.

I can't say enough great things about Rubbernecker stamps. I get perfect images every time I use them. It's amazing!

Here's a funny one that I picked up with my last purchase. I love the expression on her face.

The embossed background came as a free gift with some stamps that I ordered from a seller on eBay. I love free gifts. I believe this is a cuttlebug folder that she used.

I colored in my lady with copic markers. They're my favorite! The sentiment is by CTMH and I inked it with CTMH Sunflower.

Stampin Up! Dreams and Dragons

I love this set by Stampin Up! called Dreams & Dragons. I had to pay a lot for it on eBay, but it's well worth it.

The sentiment is from Lizzie Anne Designs Once Upon a Time, which is also a fabulous set. If you look back into some of my recent posts, you'll see a card that I made with my Lizzie Anne set as well.

Here is a card that I made for my daughter's little friend, Ella. Ella's mom took them to lunch and to the nail salon to celebrate her 5th birthday. Taylor was so excited to spend the afternoon with Ella today. They just left a few minutes ago.

Oh, Rubberneckers!

I just love Rubbernecker stamps. I couldn't resist buying this funny old guy from them. I giggled the entire time I made this card.

Fun Fun Fun!!!

Pink Cat Studio ATC - Lily & Tweet

I'm participating in my first ATC swap. I made four of these today using my new Pink Cat Studio stamps. This is from the Lily & Tweet set. The sentiment is from the PCS Crafty Kitty stamp set.

This was so quick and easy to make. An ATC is an Artist Trading Card and it measures 2.5 X 3.5 inches.