Some New Cards

I went to the Riverside Stamp/Scrapbook Expo this past Sunday, met up with Naomi, got some great ideas and bought a bunch of stuff :) One of the ideas I loved and played with at home was embossing! I haven't embossed anything since I first started scrapbooking so I forgot how much fun it could be and how pretty an image can come out. On both of these cards I embossed the image in black and then colored them in with Twinkling H2Os which are really great to work with. The top card is a Whipper Snapper stamp for the main image and the tab is part of the Stampin' Up Party Punch set. I used Nestabilities for the scalloped rectangle. The bottom card is a Northwoods image and the pp is K&Co.

Wedding Card

I made this card for a couple friends who got married this weekend. The stamp is a $1 find from Michael's and colored with Copics and the background is embossed using the Cuttlebug. I used some old Anna Griffin pp I had for the strip with a strip of vellum over the top. The speckled pp in the background is unknown. Well, I'm off to the Riverside Stamp/Scrapbook Expo. Let's see what kinda trouble I can get myself into!!

Altered Can

I was going to toss this almond can and then thought better of it and decided to alter it instead! I used the new Hero Arts clear stamps for the birdies and birdhouses and the background paper is Basic Grey Blush. I made the scallops with the circle cutter and then added Hero Arts clear sparkles to the centers. I cut the hilly grass freehand and then just used some green ink to highlight it a little. I sewed the flowers with buttons on the lid and added some more sparkles there too. All of the images are on dimensionals so that they really pop from the can. I coated the whole can with a light layer of glossy mod podge to give it a more finished look. This can was alot of fun to make! I've got an cylindrical powder drink mix container that I want to alter next!

Exercise Journal

I started keeping track of my workouts in this composition book back in March but I never got around to altering the cover. Tonight I decided to jazz this journal up a bit since it has become such an important part of my life. In it, I log my running miles and keep track of the other core and strength/resistance training that has become a significant part of my life. I stamped "exercise" using Making Memories foam stamps and acrylic paint. Remember when those stamps were brand new and all the rage?! Well, I still love 'em and will use them wherever I can! I used Quickutz Emily for "journal". The background dot pp is SEI and the other pp are some unknown scraps. I used glossy mod podge over the top of the cover to protect it a little from wear and tear. Thanks for looking!

New Card

I just got the Quickutz Rockstar alphabet this weekend and I was itching to use it on a card. This card looked better in my head but I figured I'd post it anyway. The grey background is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder and I made the scallops with circles. I've never done that before and I like how that part came out! The diecut letters are QK Rockstar and Studio SkinniMini and the striped pp is KI Memories that I ration like crazy because I absolutely love their paper. I think my white gel pen writing came out pretty ugly this time. I don't know why that happens but when I do it on a scratch paper, it looks great and then when I do it on the actual card it doesn't look right. Oh, well! Thanks for looking anyway!

Award Nomination!

I was surprised and extremely flattered when Naomi nominated me for this award! She is an extremely talented individual whose cards always bring a smile to my face and are always bright, bold and very cute!

Here are the rules:

1) Put the logo on your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4) Add links to those blogs on yours.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

So, here is my list of nominees:

1) Stampin Pretty Her cards are so beautiful, from the design to the colors she uses, they're all gorgeous!

2) My Creative Treasury Kandis Smith has some serious talent. Everytime I look at her blog I'm inspired by something new. She has a fresh way of making cards and totally thinking outside of the box with how she uses her embellishments.

3) StarLit Studio When I first learned about Copic markers, this is where I looked to learn how to properly use them and how to create an attractive image! I have a loooong way to go to get as good as Cindy but her work is a great inspiration.

4) Jen's Stampin Spot Jen's cards are so adorable and she colors them so beautifully!

5) Stampin' with Markie's Mom Faith's cards are beautifully detailed without being too ornate. I love how she makes those dots on her cards!

6) i {heart} 2 stamp Jen does so much to maximize the cuteness of embossing on her cards. I'm always stumped as to what and where to use the embossing folders and she always finds a way to make the embossing look so cute!

7) Inspirations Amanda's recipes that she posts are not only delicious but her cards are wonderful too!

Owl Love

I love all the new owl stamps I've been seeing everywhere. This little guy and the tree and sentiment are from a new clear Hero Arts set. The pp is a KI Memories scrap, the image was stamped in Stampin' Up Purely Pomegranate and then I colored in the leaves with a lime green Copic marker.

Summer Time

I made this little chipboard scalloped circle using some of the $1 Michael's stamps for the images and colored them with Copics and the letters are Image Tree stamped with Stampin Up Purely Pomegranate ink. I painted the chipboard circle with some acrylic paint and then added some Stickles over the top to make it sparkle. The background paper is this really cool textured paper that I had a swatch of.

Quickutz Critter Cards

It's been awhile since I've used any Quickutz dies on a card, project or layout. I forgot how much fun they are to play with! I think this frog and turtle are retired now but they are just too darn cute and I need to find more excuses to use them! I made a couple of really simple cards with them using scraps (of course). My box of scraps grows by the day and I won't throw a paper away unless it's less than 1" square otherwise it's good for inchies! Anyway, On the turtle card, I used some green Stickles on his shell and a googlie eye. The hello sentiment is from Inkadinkado and the ladybug is from Amuse. I stamped the hello using Stampin' Up Real Red ink and the ladybug has a coating of diamond glaze to make her shiny. The turtle and ladybug are also popped up on dimensionals. The frog card has oval and scallped oval Nestabilities dies, the butterfly and hey there! sentiment is from the new Hero Arts Sparkle Clear Love That set. Both of these cards are pretty small, only measuring 4" X 3.5". Thanks for looking!

Mini Gift Cards

I made these little cards for gift boxes and bags and they don't measure any more than 2"X3.5". I used some $1 stamps from Michael's colored in with Copics and lots of little scraps. I punched a hole in the corner or top center so they'd be ready to attach to packages with gift ribbon!

Rectangular Card

I bought a pack of these Amuse elongated rectangle cards w/envies a while back and just now found a use for one! I made another birthday card and used my oval Nestabilities (love 'em, absolutely one of the best inventions ever) and the cupcake stamps are one of the $1 Michael's clear sets. The sentiment is Amuse and the cupcakes are colored in with Copic markers and the sprinkles have Stickles on them and I used some Diamond Glaze on the cherries. I bought a Crop-O-Dile Big Bite with my 50% off Michael's coupon over the weekend (I couldn't resist a bargain like that) and I was already able to use it to for the ribbin at the top of the oval!

Some New Cards

I made a few new cards over the holiday weekend using some new stamps and some I haven't used in a long time. The girl on the Vespa card is made with Amuse stamps for both the image and the sentiment and the scallop frame is Pink.Sugar.Pop which I think is Pink Paisley now. The blue pp is from a K&Co stack and the striped background is an old scrap of Doodlebug pp. I colored the image in with Copic markers and there is a little touch of icy blue Stickles on the exhaust puffs. The second card with the doggie also uses Amuse stamps for the dog and the sentiment and the frame is 7Gypsies. I stamped the green dot background with the backgrounder stamp from the Stampin' Up Polka Dots & Paisley set. The pp is an old Chatterbox scrap. I have a box full of scraps so I always try to use those up first on any cards or small projects I make!

Ice Cream Sundaes

Since one of my greatest weaknesses in life is ice cream, I thought I'd make a birthday card inspired by a neopolitan sundae :) I made this little 4x4 card with a Niki Tescher clear stamp set from Michael's colored in with Copics, Nestabilities, leftover We R Memory Keepers Diner Drive Thru scraps and some Robin's Nest jewels. The cherry on the sundae is topped with Stickles and I put a little Diamond Glaze on the hot fudge for shine!