Summerthyme Studio

Crazy 4 Challenges 126- Fancy Folds

2012-03-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

Frances is our Hostess with the Mostest this month and boy oh boy, she challenged us this week! Here's what she had to say about the challenge"

"Fun Folds …. One of my favorite things to create are cards that do something a little different. There are so many different folds out that you can try. If you need ideas check out the resource section of Splitcoast Stampers."

If you decide to play along with us, all you have to do is create a card/project and upload it to your blog and/or to your SCS Gallery using the keyword C4C126. Don't forget to go back to the C4C Websiteand link it on Mr Linky so that everyone else can see it too.

I've really been in the mood for creating bright and cheery cards. I think it's in hopes that Spring will get here quickly. So tired of the drab days, but at the same time, I'm enjoying the mornings now as it's actually daylight when I take little Sydney out for her walk!

Soooooooooo I kinda cheated a teensy bit when coming up with this idea for my fancy fold card.......it was getting later and later in the evening when I was getting around to creating.......yep, I am the worlds worst procrastinator I think. I needed to come up with something fast. While looking through some cardstock, I found this humongous tag that my friend Kim gave me a year or two ago...........two I think.....lol.........Sooooooooo I scored it a touch and Viola.........is that fancy enough for you?? Glad that I have another, 'cause I'm going to use it as a template now, because this sort of looks like a purse to me!

Again, having waited until the last minute to create my card, I knew that there'd be no time for colouring and seeing that I also procrastinated with making my Stamps of Life release cards this month, the new Mums2stamp was still sitting on my desk along with Stephanie's ever so juicy colorbox inks........so away I went. I love the pattern that I quickly created!

And then I made the interior!!! The sentiment is from the Sign4froggy stamp set.

You can find the stamps AND the Ink at The {stamps} of Life

I really like how this fun card turned out..........hmmmm maybe procrastination is not such a bad thing!!!

Now let's see what the "Crazies have come up with this week.......

Have a Fabby Weekend!

New "Mumminess" from the {Stamps} of Life

2012-03-02T08:37:00.000-05:00

I have a couple of shares for you today from the March Stamps of Life release. Mums2stamp is another fabulous set! Stephanie just keeps coming up with these awesome designs each month. I love the simple artwork as it allows for endless possibilities in coming up with creations! I cased the layout for this card from a card that I had seen in a CTMH catalogue, It's 4.5 inches square and I tweaked it of course, to include stephanies stamps. I really like this fresh colour combo as it reminds me of spring!

This guy's a little unusual, but if you know me, I have a tendency to look at stamps and go off into a far far away place.............I was looking at the Mum image and thinking that it looked a bit like a lions mane and of course when I saw the sentiment, I knew that i'd have to create a card with a little critter! The little doggie is from the Kids2love set. I also used the smaller mum image to create a bit of a border. The dog was stamped onto white paper, coloured with my Touch Twin Markers and then cut out with one of Stephanie's fancy label dies. I have a few more shares with this fun set, but I'll do that next week!!!!

Hope you all have an amazing weekend. No big plans here, but hope to kick back and do some stamping!

Impression Obsession Challenge-True Blue!

2012-02-29T23:56:00.001-05:00

This week's challenge over at the Impression Obsession Blog is to make a card with a Blue Colour Theme.

For my card, I used Darling Dahlia. I can be quite dense when it comes to the less common flowers, so I'm not even sure if there is such a creature as a Blue Dahlia, but if there isn't there is now!!!!

I coloured my Blue Dahlia with my Touch Twin Markers

Just THREE colours to get this pretty effect!

The background of the card was done with a Cover a Card-Flourishes

The sentiment can be purchased individually or as a part of a fabulous Clear Set that has an abundance of Dreamy Sentiments! It's called Dare to Dream. The Little Blue Leaves ( GASP! I didn't want to add any GREENery to my BLUE card) are made with the Scalloped Oval Punch from SU!!!! No fancy dies here, just got down to scrunching up the paper! Oooop and a touch of Glitter to add to the Yummy Factor!

Make sure you head over to the blog to link up your entry and a chance to shop for some of this fabulous spring rubber!

And don't forget to stop by the Ladies Blogs, their stuff is SO awesome it will turn your brown eye blue!..hehe.....

TTC12 Touch Twin Marker Challenge -Colour Challenge

2012-02-27T07:40:00.000-05:00

TTC12 Touch Twin Marker Color Challenge

TTC12 Touch Twin Color Challenge!!!

Our challenge colors:

Don't have any Touch Twin markers? That's OK ... for now. Starting soon we will require using our markers, but for now you can use any coloring medium.

This month's challenges are sponsored by Market Street Stamps!

The challenge will run from February 27th - March 10th with a winner being announced on March 11th.

One person will be randomly chosen among entries to win
12 Touch Twin markers!!!

To enter:

Post a link to your project on the Touch Twin Challenge Blog

Post a link to our challenge on your blog.
Please do not combine this challenge with more than 5 challenges.
No back linking. Your project must be new.

For extra chances to win:

Follow the Touch Twin & More Challenge blog.
Like us on Facebook.
Subscribe to our newsletter.
Add our Touch Twin & More Challenges button to your blog.

Don't have a blog? That's OK. Just post to any online gallery with the keywords TTC11 and TouchTwin and post a direct link in the comment section of this post.

Project Twenty Twelve-Catching up!

2012-02-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

These aren't all in the right order, but they should catch up up with my Project Twenty Twelve. I CAN"T believe I've been so diligent in keep up with the project. There's my sweet little "roo" all snowy nosed!

Couldn't resist this one!

Gorgeous Mom with Gorgeous Flowers on her Birthday!

Some Vintage Ceramics-Brings back Memories from my Grandma's place!

The Little Elf is part of several pieces that belonged to my Half Brother....... I just LOVE them!

Flowers from my Sweetheart

The first man that bought me flowers!

Art Journalling is AMAZING!

Queen of N 401 !

Baubles in the Snow

Pretty Winter Scene

Love

Breathtaking!

Pancakes for Shrove Tuesday

Getting Prepped for Gridiron!

Getting my Supplies together

Deep Purple-Still have it after all these years

SMOKE on the WATER! Fire in the Sky!

C4C125 Keep it at two!

2012-02-25T00:02:00.001-05:00

This week's final February challenge is to make a 2 layer card!! Sometimes 2 layers can be more difficult that one! We can't wait to see what you all come up with!!!

This sweet Cupcake Die Set from The {Stamps} of Life, made it quite easy to achieve a 2 layer look.
The Die set coordinates perfectly with the HappyBday2you. Stamp set. The sentiment on the tiny tag is also from this set. Little flowers I got from a cool flower shop in England, but I can't remember the link!

If you decide to play along with us, all you have to do is create a card/project and upload it to your blog and/or to your SCS Gallery using the keyword C4C125. Don't forget to go back to the C4C site and link it on Mr Linky so that everyone else can see it too.

Now let's see what the "Crazies have come up with this week.......

Happy Stamping!

A Touch of Spring!

2012-02-23T22:09:00.000-05:00

Now how cute is this??? If you're looking to add a touch of spring to your cards, check out this newly release Butterfly Die set from The {Stamps} of Life ! The die coordinates perfectly with the Butterfly2Build set and I am just Lovin' it!!!!

It was quick and easy to put this little giftie bag together and I think it would be perfect packaging for a Birthday Gift or just to say Hi! The sentiment is from the Words2color set. I just added a some Red ink with my Touch Twin Markers. I even made the flower by using the Wing and Wing Die cut. Clever eh???

This set is soooo cute! Can't wait to create more springy goodies with this one!

Happy Stamping!

Stampotique Designer's Challenge 49-Purple Haze!

2012-02-23T09:35:00.000-05:00

Nellie is our hostess this challenge and she thought it would be fun to give you a color challenge this time.

Here is what she said about her challenge:

"And of course I picked a color combination that I really love to work with:pink, purple and black. It’s as simple as that! So go get your Stampotique stamps out and have fun with this challenge. As always you can win a $30 dollar gift certificate for your choice of Stampotique stamps."

Sorry, i'm a day late posting...........been tied up with Work Work........ahhh the joys of making a living, but someone's got to do it!!!!

My card is relatively simple, but pretty I think. I used my awesome Framelits from Sizzix to create this fun round card. I stamped the sentiment onto Authentique Splendid Paper and added some flowers from Prima. Pretty Plain and simple, but I needed simple this week and well, it's not my best work, but I kind of like it!!!!

Hope you'll visit the Designer Challenge to see all the great DT creations and link up your project!!!!

Happy Stamping!

Biebs for Mia

2012-02-19T14:36:00.000-05:00

This is a post unlike any i've ever shared on my blog, but this is really important to me. Mia, is a sweet little girl who is the daughter of a friend of mine. Some friends of Mia's Mom Heather have started a Facebook group for Mia, in hopes that they can attract the attention of Justin Bieber, who Mia adores. Here is a little paragraph about her:

Mia is 5yrs old, she has MD but has been very ill now for 2 weeks. She has been on a ventilator 2x's in a 2 day period. Her heart has almost stopped 3 times in the last week. She has now been moved to pallitive care and is terminal so we need to make her wish come true. It's more important now than anything as we don't know how long we have with her :( PLEASE GET EVERYONE TO JOIN!! Her number one dream is to meet Justin Bieber. Universal Music said in order to grab his attention we need at least 3,000 members to join, so pass the group along to everyone you know! Let's show our love & support for Mia ♥

My heart goes out to Mia and her family as it has obviously been a really really rough week. If you could join the facebook group, I would REALLY appreciate it. And if you can share with your FB friends, the list will build quickly.

If you believe in the power of prayer, please add Mia and her family into yours.

http://www.facebook.com/groups/159038360880796/159498934168072/?notif_t=group_activity

It's Called Biebs For Mia.

With Love,

Crazy 4 Challenges 124 Dot's and Stripes!

2012-02-18T13:59:00.000-05:00

Hello again! Ready for another challenge and an AMAZING sponsor??? First up, I want to tell you that this months sponsor is non other than THE RIBBON CAROUSEL!!!

Now, on to our challenge!! This week is easy....make a card or project using stripes AND polka dots.

For my card, I used the newly release Scarlette Cupcake from Totally Stampalicious. I added this adorable Heart Ribbon from the Ribbon Carousel. Paper is Bo Bunny Smoochable! I know I've used it a lot, but that's 'cause I really REALLY like it! Here's the inside of the card!

If you decide to play along with us, all you have to do is create a card/project and upload it to your blog and/or to your SCS Gallery using the keyword C4C124. Don't forget to go back to the C4C Site and link it on Mr Linky so that everyone else can see it too. Now go and check out what the "Crazies" have done.

Vicki Garrett

Letter Love! My first official Journal Page

2012-02-17T09:14:00.000-05:00

I think it was last week sometime that I mentioned that I was starting an Art Journal Lettering Class. I totally wish there were more hours in a day, because I am running WAY behind in the lessons. To date, I've completed five and I think the class is on lesson Seventeen today! Our Assignment was to create lettering within grids. I'm pretty pleased with the result, but I know I have a long way to go to improve this technique

I've learned to be a little loose when I create and that it's okay not to be precise and neat.........oh and fix mistakes by fattening the letters!!!!

I also ordered some Pan Pastels and REALLY LOVE THEM!!!! I've never worked with Pastels before, so this was new to me and Fun!!!!

Between using my Touch Twin Markers, Black Pens and Pastels, I think my first attempt isn't too bad

I'm SOOOOO looking forward to the next lessons and all the things that I'll learn from our fabulous teacher!

Love experiencing new things!!!

Having a "Ball" at the Totally Stampalicious Blog Hop!

2012-02-16T20:59:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the 2nd last stop of the

February New Release and Blog Hop!!

We are super excited to share another round of stamps from our witty, hilarious and just plain ol' adorable Bugaboo Line by artist Jodie Mackrell of Bugaboo Digi Stamps!

We have FOUR BRAND NEW SETS for you tonight and they are all available NOW at

Totally Stampalicious!!

For my card, I used Golf Gus........ I absolutely LOVED the sentiment. What a conscientious fellow he is!!! hehe!!!! I coloured him with my Touch Twin Markers

Paper is by Graphic 45

As always we want you to play along in our Release Blog Hop so we're going to give away some PRIZES!!!

1st Prize - All FOUR New Stamp Sets

2nd Prize - $15 Gift Certificate

3rd Prize - $5 Gift Certificate

All you gotta do is comment your way through the hop and YOU could be a lucky winner!!!

Don't forget that Totally Stampalicious also has an awesome promotion going on right now!

Stampalicious Dessert Menu

Level 1 - Vanilla Ice Cream - Buy 5 Get 1 Free

Add 5 items to your shopping cart and then enter the code VANILLA

Level 2 - Strawberry Shortcake - Buy 8 Get 2 Free

Add 8 items to your shopping cart and then enter the code STRAWBERRY

Level 3 - Triple Layer Chocolate Cake - Buy 11 Get 3 Free

Add 11 items to your cart and then enter the code CHOCOLATE

Now it's time to HOP on over to Sue's Gallery. Her creation is Fabulous!

And here is the entire Blog Hop Line Up in case there are any glitches along the way

Totally Stampalicious

Angel
Stacy
Joanne
Jessica

Kendra

Dawn

Lori

Julie

Jessie

Laurie

Lynda

Becky

Joycelyn

Vicki

Sue

Impression Obsession Challenge-Say Hello!

2012-02-16T08:04:00.000-05:00

This week's challenge is to create a card that you can send as a "Hello" type of card..........for my card I used this Shoe Balloon image. The Background is done with Cover a Card Large Paisley and the sentiment is from the Life & Flowers clear set. I love the background stamps as you don't even have to worry about coordinating your designer papers. If you want to play along with the challenge and win some new rubber (believe me, there are SO many awesome new image for this release!) Head on over to the Impression Obsession blog to get all the details!!! You can also find out who's playing today~~

Happy Stamping!

Hoppin' with Stampotique!

2012-02-15T00:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome to our blog hop introducing a new artist as well as many new stamps from our other artists. You should have hopped here from the VERY VERY talented Nellie's Blog If you did not come from there, you will want to start at the Stampotique Designer's Blog.

For my card, I used two of the new release stamps by Janet Klein. I'm a TOTAL fan of her work and have really enjoyed each of her new images that Carol and Jim have released. The main image is called Mushroom Forest. I love the size of this stamp~! Chessy is the funky little cat in the corner of the cute........Isn't he the Cat's Pajamas?............hehe! I CRACK myself up!!!! and of course, I couldn't resist using this sentiment as it's also one of my faves! Image is coloured with my Touch Twin Markers from Shinhan Art.

Join us along the blog hop for a chance to win some new stamps as a random winner will be chosen from one of the designer blogs as well as one from our Stampotique blog, so make sure to jump through the hop and leave a comment here when you are finished. Let us know what your favorite new stamps are. We will announce the random winners on our next challenge on 2/22/12 so you have a week to hop around.

And now to Introduce one of our newest artists, you may recognize her work as she was our guest designer in October of last year.

Roc Nicholas has always had a great love of art and she credits that love to her mother. Growing up, she and her mom were always doing something creative, whether it was painting, sewing or making handmade Christmas ornaments annually. Roc is married her grade-school sweetheart and together they have two adult sons and one grandson, Benny. Roc resides in Pennsylvania but travels back and forth to Florida.
Presently she teaches rubber stamping and journaling classes. A self- taught artist, Roc loves rubber stamping, collage, mixed media, journaling and doodling. Her favs are all things whimsical, unusual and things that make her laugh! She has an online international artist trading site which she runs, along with her blog and her facebook page. Roc has been published in a variety of art and rubber stamp magazines.
Now it' s time to hop on over to another of my Fave Stampotique Designers, Kate's Blog I totally can't wait to see what she's come up with and I can't wait to see what your Fave Stamps are! Incidentally, my Saturday AND Sunday posts feature two more of my fave images, so scroll down and take a peek!

Happy Stamping!

Touch Twin Challenge11-Animals!

2012-02-13T12:07:00.000-05:00

TTC11 Touch Twin Challenge!!!

Our challenge is "Animals"
This month's challenges are sponsored by Market Street Stamps!

The challenge will run from February 13th - February 25th with a winner being announced on February 26th.

One person will be randomly chosen among entries to win
12 Touch Twin markers!!!

To enter:

Post a link to your project below.

Don't have a blog? That's OK. Just post to any online gallery with the keywords TTC11 and TouchTwin and post a direct link in the comment section of this post.

Don't have any Touch Twin markers? That's OK too... for now. Starting soon we will require using our markers, but for now you can use any coloring medium.

Here's my Colour Map for my card

Paper is from Bo Bunny

Punch from EK Success

Pile it on with Stampotique

2012-02-12T00:21:00.000-05:00

Good Morning~ Or Good Middle of the Night, if you're up reading this late......... I KNOW it's late, 'cause I'm posting late! Have had a pretty nasty head cold for over a week now. It's making me REALLY tired, but when I lay my head down, it seems to congest me more and then I can't sleep! Bla bla bla........bet you din't come here to hear me whine about my health. Hmmmmmmmm did you come to hear about my AMAZING oven adventure earlier this evening?

If you ready yesterday's post, you'll know that it's my Mother's Birthday tomorrow....if you didn't, well, It's my Mother's Birthday tomorrow. So, being the sweet, kind and loving Daughter that I am at ALL times (although she might slightly disagree with that, as in the last couple of days, my personality has been a little godzilla "ish". I'm sure to match the skin between my nose and upper lip, which has not been very happy with all the paper activity going on there.........so much for the "soft" kind of kleenex, it doesn't work if you have to blow your nose every two minutes...........anyhooooooooooo)

So, I'm baking her Birthday Cake earlier tonight

Oh yeah, skip back to earlier earlier......

since she doesn't have an Oven right now (yes that's another story and if I get on to that one, we could end up in Marakesh before I get my story spit out) she was doing some Garlic bread in mine. My Auntie and Uncle are here for her Birthday, so I was showing her some of the pictures from the trip. Mom, getting caught up in revelling in her repelling photos, forgot the bread was in the oven and burnt it boot black.

Seems that the theme was recurring..... on to 9 o'clockish and I'm baking the cakes.......two cakes in one big pan. Been there, done that. I KNOW this pan fits two cake mixes. Unfortunately the two white cakes were not identical. One was a French Vanilla and the other plain old white. For some reason the cake rose like the second coming of Christ and ended up pouring out all over the oven AND the elements.

As I'm sitting at the computer or stamping (don't quite recall) I smell burning. I'm thinking "wow, mom really hung a number on the garlic bread".........but it's getting stinkier in here and then comes the smoke......yep, stinky! So I opened the oven door and LO and Behold, the Cake batter that has escaped the pan is on fire.....nice! Got that mess all under control, finished baking the cake, which kind of stuck to the pan, so rather than risk getting the buttercream (which I had intended to make from scratch) all crummy, it's going to be Loblaws or Costco cake.......that's enough cake baking for me. Wish me luck, i'm doing stamped sugar cookies for Valentines Day!

So, Stampotique Originals is Sponsoring the Pile it on Challenge this week. The Theme is Heartfelt Thanks, but to learn all about it, I'll thank you to head over to the blog to get the scoop, 'cause frankly, I was firefighting tonight and didn't get all the deets from our DT Coordinator before she headed off to bed!

I can tell you though the latest Stampotique Images are NOW AVAILABLE on the BLOG!!!!

OMGOSH!!!! They are all Fabby, but I am Totally Head over Heels silly for Janet Kliens' Wunderland Characters!!!

These guys are called the TWEEDLES! I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
LOVE

the Tweedles!!! I was calling them the Fat Boyz....Oh they are SCRUMPTIOUS

Nah, they are SCRUMPDILLYUMPTIOUS!

I coloured the cheery Chubbies with my Touch Twin Markers

Here's my colour map!

Other Stamps included

Scalloped Lace Border by a Brand New Artist, Roc Nicolas

and the Thank You from Weasel with thank you on the side

and of course the Spiraling out of control background

Other than that, I used some Kraft Cardstock, dimensionals and my handy dandy Sakura Gel Pen

Hope you all have an amazing day.......... I'm off to sleep now and to ponder whether we'll have Chocolate or White cake tomorrow !

Happy Stamping!

C4C123-It's a LOVE sketch! and I LOVE my MOM!

2012-02-11T00:01:00.001-05:00

Lynda is our "Crazy" Hostess this month and she's come up with a FABULOUS challenge for us, which was to make a card for someone you love, using the sketch below

Everything fell into place PERFECTLY for this challenge for me. First of All, tomorrow is my Mother's 72nd Birthday and I LOVE her to pieces, so how perfect that I could create my card for her AND be sure that she get's it on time, 'cause I don't have to mail it!!!

SECONDLY, Stampotique is releasing new stamps tomorrow!!! This Queen Stamp by Janet Klein just Emulates my Mom to a "T" because she is the Queen in regard to the pecking order in our family! She is a Diva for sure, but in a good way. She carries herself with Grace and Elegance, but wouldn't bat an eye at screaming "Off with your head" if you tick her off. She's a Fire Dragon with a Huge heart and a Beautiful Soul. As a lot of you know, we traveled to Mexico in January for a week's vacation. I wasn't quite sure how we'd do for a whole week together as sometimes as Mother and Daughter, we have our moments.

We had the time of our lives. I can't think of a better travelling companion and look forward to taking another trip in the future. At 72, my Mother has more energy than a lot of people my own age. I also learned how brave and adventurous she is when we were deciding to book our excursions in Mexico.

Here she is ziplining for the first time ever! Go Grandma Go!

. We were so blessed to have a lovely group of young and energetic peeps with us on this excursion. It was quite a hike up to the zip lines and we were holding up the rear. The young men and women on the trip were so sweet and considerate, helping me to help mom up and over the more rugged areas of the trail. It was so nice to see them interacting with her and indicating that they were very inspired by the fact that she would be engaging in all of these activities at her age! I gained even more respect for her when she repelled way down into an underground cenote to swim.........she can't swim.....but they put a life jacket on her. She wasn't sure about doing this activity, but with all the encouragement from the group, she made her way down into the cave to the sounds of "you can do it Sandy!". It was beautiful to see her beam with pride when she succeeded in returning to the top of the cave, alive and healthy. Did I mention that MY MOM ROCKS? !!!!!!

Not only does she rock, she glows with Beauty. She is kind, caring, generous, outspoken, opinionated, harsh at times, but you won't meet ANYONE that has a heart that compares to hers. I am proud to be her daughter and blessed that she is my Mom. I don't express it well or often enough, but Mom, I Love you to the moon and back Not only have you raised me well ( I think?? hehe) but you are my friend and I hope that you're going to be with me for many more years so that we can enjoy many more adventures!

Happy Birthday Mom

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Back to the card................

I coloured the Beautiful Queen with my Touch Twin Markers. Hope that you are liking the colour charts!

Supplies

Stamps: Queen and Diva from Stampotique Originals

Background and Sentiment: Circle Fusion 3 and Take me to your Cake Clear Stamp set

Embellies: Brads: Making Memories, Glitter-SU! Viva Decor Pearl Pen-Gold

If you decide to play along with us, all you have to do is create a card/project and upload it to your blog and/or to your SCS Gallery using the keyword C4C120. Don't forget to go back here and link it on Mr Linky so that everyone else can see it too.

Now let's see what the "Crazies have come up with this week.......

Happy Stamping!

Growing in my Creativity-Letter Love

2012-02-10T08:08:00.000-05:00

Although I've always got WAY too much to do, I have a strong desire to learn and grow with my art, photography and creativity in general. Yesterday while blog surfing, I came across a beautiful Journal page on my DT friend Willy's Blog. She shared a course that she is taking online called Letter Love 101 with Joanne Sharpe. I was very intrigued by the course curriculum, bit the bullet and signed up! Made a quick trip to Michaels to top up pen supplies and stock up on Journals and completed my first assignment, which was to create a cover page for my Journal.

This is going to be our Practice Journal, where we learn to get more creative with our handwriting. I used my Touch Twin Original and Touch Twin Brush Markers to create the lettering. The bullet point allows for finer lining, while the brush and chisel nibs work great wider areas and cursive writing. For shading, I used Y169 Putty, which works as a great shader for kraft paper. Cherry Pink (R5) fills the heart. I added Sakura Gel Pen highlights. Flowers are from M's and the Fun Dotted paper is from Canvas Corp and I got it at Scrappin' Great Deals as well as the dotted Smash Tape. I really hope to improve my handwriting skills and learn a little bit more about art journalling! Additionally, I'm hoping to bring more diversity to my blog!

Happy Stamping!

Project Twenty-Twelve-Week 5

2012-02-09T08:05:00.001-05:00

Keeping my Project 2012 up to date~ I'm so proud that I'm following through with this and looking forward to compiling a photo book at the end of my Journey~~~

The first photo was taken with my cell phone and is the perpetual state of my working area!!

Took the dog out for her morning run-the pretty hues in the early morning sky took my breath away

This is one of the Towers surrounding Fort Henry-open water on the Rideau Canal

The Blooms on Grace's plant are a constant memory of her love and friendship

Even Barren has it's own Beauty.

Yummy Fattening Superbowl Fare~!

Hot Shot!!!..............he's good on ice!!! I'm working up to moves like that!!!

Casing my Favourite Stampotique Designer (see yesterday's post!)

Stampotique Designers Challenge 48- CASE your Favourite Stampotique Designer

2012-02-08T00:01:00.000-05:00

C.A.S.E.

COPY and STEAL EVERYTHING

Our Hostess for this week Kim, is challenging you to CASE your favourite Stampotique Designer. Sooo what do you need to do? Choose a card made by one of the fabby Design Team members. You can follow the links on the sidebar to find them, or head over to the Stampotique Designers Challenge Blog to see what they've created for the challenge!!! There are so many talented Designers on this team, that it is really difficult to pick a favourite. What I will say is that EVERY time I visit Maria's Blog, I am overwhelmed by the beauty and elegance of her creations. Her use of soft muted tones and layers give her art such a vintage and romantic feel. I chose to CASE this card:

You can find her creation HERE

For my own twist on the card, I added some vintage lace, a different sentiment and a metal brad at the top of the tags.

Supplies

Stamps: Thinking of you and Happy rat, dejected cat

Paper by K&CO

Spellbinders Circle Die and Cheery Lynn Tropical Flourish Die

Touch Twin Markers by Shinhan Arts

Pearls & Brads by Stampin' Up!

Looking forward to seeing your Stampotique Creation

P.S............some scoop! There are some new images coming, so it would be the perfect time to play and wind some Stamping Bucks~

Happy Stamping~!

Inspired by Colour!

2012-02-07T12:58:00.000-05:00

Since i've been participating in my 2012 photography project, my eye looks at the world a little differently. Every day, whether I have my good camera with me, or just my phone in tow, I am attuned to what might be shot worthy! I was killing some time waiting to pick up Jonathon from his Football conditioning, when the Mark's building caught my eye. I've seen it before, but I think the strong reflection of the setting sun really drew my eye in

I thought this would be a perfect colour combination for a card. The orange, brown and white that is. I've never been a huge fan of yellow, but it also looks nice in the equation. I just didn't include it in my card.

I've been playing with the {Stamps} of Life February release sets and thought this stamp set would work with the colour combination that I used. This set is called messages4friends. I had this snipped of orange and brown paper that i've saved and savoured for a bit! I used a Sizzix embossing template to bring a little more dimension to the really rust paper. Lastly, Stephanie's Fancy Labels Dies fit the scrolly image perfectly!!!!

Floral Border Punch is by Martha Stewart and I also used some Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Orange!

Hope you like my project!

C4C 122 Make a Scene!

2012-02-04T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,

Before we get onto today's challenge details we have a couple more announcements to make. First of all we farewell Dawn Easton who has had to leave us due to work commitments. I'm going to miss Dawn, but you can still see her fabulous creations on her blog HERE

We would like to welcome our newest Design Team member .... Andrea Murdock of My Stamping Heaven. Welcome to the team Andrea! I'm VERY VERY excited to have her with us, 'cause she's a good friend to me too!

Lynda B is our hostess this month and I she's challenging us to "make a scene". Basically, you can use 1 stamp or more to make a scene on your card or project {rolling hills with trees, a farm house, etc...}

If you decide to play along with us, all you have to do is create a card/project and upload it to your blog and/or to your SCS Gallery using the keyword C4C122. Don't forget to go back here and link it on Mr Linky so that everyone else can see it too.

For my card, I used a couple of fun stamp sets from The {Stamps} of Life. Kids2love and the newly released Umbrella4you. The sentiment is from the Umbrella4you set. I used the fun Cloud and Grass dies from The Cat's Pajamas and this great great DP is Smoochable from Bo Bunny and available at Scrappin' Great Deals and of course, my image is coloured with my awesome Touch Twin Markers

Clouds are embellished with Polar White Flowersoft

Hope you'll play along!

Impression Obsession CHA Peeks Day 5

2012-02-03T08:00:00.002-05:00

This is my last peek of the latest releases from Impression Obsession! As I've said before, these images will be available soon on the newly designed web store!!!!

This image is called Thread and Needles (E2447)

I coloured my image with my Touch Twin Markers

Here's the colour Map~!

Hope you enjoyed all the peeks from the Wonderfully Creative Design Team

Watch for new IO samples very soon~!

Impression Obsession CHA Peeks Day 4

2012-02-02T08:00:00.004-05:00

Good Morning!!! A big OOPS for those of you that visited my blog earlier........ I FORGOT to come in and write the text for my post! Just WAY too busy around here! Well, at least I had some pictures for you to look at!!! My Bad, so sorry!

Okay, so did I mention that I think this is one of my FAVOURITE stamps from the New Release? Sailor Boy. I coupled the image with this lovely sentiment

Here's my colour chart

Next, I love the romantic feel of this card and these images!

For this card, I used these fabulous new images by Alesa Baker Rosy Ledger, Victorian Heart, Vintage Violet Flag, Where your heart is and Floral Flag Tag!

Have a great day and be sure to head over to the IO Blog to get the details on the prizes you can win in this week long hop!

Impression Obsession CHA Peeks Day 3

2012-02-01T08:00:00.002-05:00

More Sneak Peeks! This card uses H8731 Lush Lilacs and With Love & Prayers

Coloured with my Gorgeous Touch Twin Markers

Don't forget to check the links on my sidebar for more gorgeous Peeks!

Impression Obsession CHA Peeks Day 2

2012-01-31T08:00:00.005-05:00

What do you think of this Sweet new image? It's Hearts Balloons and I am SMITTEN with it~

Coming soon on the New IO Store and to Stamping Stores near you~!

The sentiment is from the Life & Flowers clear set

Here;s your Touch Twin Colour Chart.

Paper is Smoochable by Bo Bunny!

I got it at Scrappin' Great Deals!

Touch Twin Colour Challenge TTC10

2012-01-30T09:00:00.002-05:00

TTC10Touch Twin Colour Challenge!!!

The colours featured are RP137, PB185, PB183 and PB77

This month's challenges are sponsored by Unity Stamp Co!

One person will be randomly chosen among entries to win
12 Touch Twin markers!!!

To enter:

Post a link to your project--> HERE

Don't have a blog? That's OK. Just post to any online gallery with the keywords TTC10 and TouchTwin and post a direct link in the comment section of this post.

Here are the markers that I used

I used RP6 for shading on the Pink areas and PB75 for shading on the P77 area, which is the purply blue sock on the right. Shading around the socks is done with BG1 and BG3

Hope you'll play along!

ALSO< I have TWO posts for today! Be sure to check out my Impression Obsession CHA Peek Below!

Impression Obsession CHA Peeks Day 1

2012-01-30T08:00:00.004-05:00

I'm so excited that EVERY DAY THIS WEEK, the Impression Obsession Design Team will be sharing some peeks of the wonderful new images that Mitra has for you! Impression Obsession is also debuting a brand new web store very soon, but you can purchase them now by following the links here.

Stay tuned here and to the Impression Obsession Blog for the latest updates!

For my card, I used this Brand spankin' new Sweet Puppy Stamp (G7664) , the sentiment from the Let Them Eat Cake, Clear set, available HERE

I coloured up this image with my Prism Pencils, creating the grass with a high gamsol blend followed by strokes of green.

Be sure to follow the links on my side bar to see all the great Designer creations!

Happy Stamping and I'll see you tomorrow with another peek!

Don't forget to check out my other post for today. The Touch Twin Challenge and please join in~!

Project Twenty-twelve week 4

2012-01-29T17:02:00.000-05:00

My photo shares for the week. Loved this Pottery Painting Shop at the resort~

Parasailing-was SO much fun.......not sure if I'd brave it again, but it's off my Bucket list now!

Quick Shot from K-Town-Finishing up the Flat Stanley Project

It's not the quality of this shot that's important, It's the magic of that Moment

Ice melting off the fruit tree-my FAVE shot of the week!

Last, but not least, my sweet Sydney ("roo roo"). She makes us all smile!

Crazy 4 Challenges 121- Lay on the Layers!

2012-01-28T00:01:00.001-05:00

Today's Challenge is to use lot's of layers- so make sure you Lay 'm on THICK........lol

Before we go on with the challenge, I want to say a fond farewell to one of my fellow crazies, Maria Bell. A wonderful person, who continually inspires me with her beautiful artwork, she will be missed by all of us and I hope that she'll rejoin the crazies in time. Love you much Maria and keeping you and your sweet daughter in my thoughts~

Soooo for my card, I had to use this Oh so adorable stamp that I got in my Scrappin' Great Deals Designer package last month. A Cute Bella Stamp by Mo Manning, you can find Big Girl Pants HERE. In addition, I used this fabulous Smoochable paper Bo Bunny. Of course I coloured her with my Touch Twin Markers

I really like the warm tones I achieved in her hair and coming soon, a Hairy Tutorial.........lol.......I thought i'd shoot my first colouring vid on how I go about colouring hair as I get asked quite often. It's really hard to explain, a dab, a mash some blend, some strokes...........hehe....... I'm going to show you soon!!!!

Lastly, before I go, you are not going to believe who's in the house as our newest "Crazy".......

Drumroll.....................

Yep, it's the infamous Ms. KELLI HULL

so excited to have this crazy lady on the team, she'll fit in just like a broken in Cowboy Boot

LOVE her to bits!!!!

Welcome Kelli!

So make sure to go over to the challenge blog to post your card AND to follow the links to my crazie's creations!

Happy Stamping!

Project Twenty-Twelve Part 2

2012-01-23T21:30:00.000-05:00

Being on vacation last week in sunny Mexico, I didn't take the time to do my weekly post, as I said I would. Playing Catch up, I'm going to bring you up to date with what I've been doing with my Twenty-twelve project. This first photo is of sweet Sydney roaming through the busy on the 9th of January......yep, big boo boo on my part, for some reason, I added a "4" on the date as opposed to a "9". Lesson learned: Don't flatten an image in Photoshop, until you are sure you've got it right! I was going to redo it, but I figured it's all a part of my learning curve!

Flat Stanley is a Geography Project sent to me from a Third Grade Class in New Hampshire. My task was to have Stanley for a week, dress him in attire conducive to my area and show him around. I did better than that! Flat Stanley extended his stay a bit and traveled with me to Mexico!!! I have to get this project finished up and send him back to New Hampshire. I'm going to miss the little guy!

January 11th, my Mother and I were on the road to Toronto to catch an early plane to Mexico on the 12th. At a little loss for photo inspiration, I decided to capture a picture of my pretty toes (thanks Lan!) and my very bony feet!!! Wish the rest of me was just as bony!!!

Ahhhhhhhh Relaxation at it's best. This is the night view from the Balcony of our room in the Grand Sirenis Resort. Doesn't that image make you relaxed just looking at it?

The Beautiful Beach. On this day a calm Ocean in shades ranging from Turquoise to Azure and the most fine textured sand that I've ever had beneath my feet.

Almost every day, we had a new towel creature in our room. This was one of my Favourites!

I LOVE the bright and festive colours of Mexican Pottery.

This day was one of our most interesting days. We took an all day excursion to Coba, where we spent the morning at a Mayan Village. We hiked a long way up into the jungle through rough terrain, where we zip lined over a lagoon. Our next task was to hike to a sacred site, where we participated in a Mayan purification ceremony. It was very spiritual and was a requirement before we were allowed to swim in the underground cenote. In order to get into the water, we repelled down about 450 feet into the cave. A first time for both my Mother and I. We were blessed to be with a group of young people, who encouraged my almost 72 year old Mother to repel, even though she can't swim. They all said that she was a source of inspiration for them and were quite helpful in giving her a hand to climb up and down the rocky terrain! Following the swim, we enjoyed a lunch at the village prepared by the Mayan Women. Empanadas, Rice, Spaghetti, Chicken, a wonderful squash soup along with fresh juice was a welcoming meal after all the mornings activities. Following lunch we were invited to take a short canoe ride. UH UH NO WAY...........that is where I drew the line. I love my mom, but she is a back seat driver........the source of stress and arguments when I'm behind the wheel. Her nervousness makes me nervous and edgy.......a car I can deal with, but there was NO WAY that I was going to get into a Canoe with her!!!! We'd been having a fabulous time the whole vacation with absolutely no arguments and I was wanting to keep it that way!!!! The afternoon was spent at the COBA Archaelogical Site. This is one of the Mayan Temples that you can still climb on in Mexico.....we had a very good history lesson on the Mayan ways as well as the Mayan Calendar. Apparently we WILL see the end of 2012!!! and then were free to roam on the site. I saw the most vibrant blue butterfly, but wasn't quick enough to capture it on film.

Another pretty view from the Gorgeous Beach!

Paradise

We had a fresh floral arrangement delivered to our room on the first night we arrived. They stayed beautiful until the day we left. I took a picture each day as the lilies opened wider and wider. I added a Sepia effect to this picture for interest.

My Beautiful Mother, the best travelling companion ever and my HERO!

Lot's of these cute little critters basking in the warm sun~

My Mexico Hat and Hair

The Bicycle Stand-No arguments about getting the best bike!

If you want to see more pictures of my trip, visit my Facebook Album

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/edit/a.10150585781036002.436755.621151001/

Hope you've enjoyed looking at my pictures as much as I've enjoyed taking them!

It's a Fairy Hop!

2012-01-21T09:00:00.002-05:00

The Shinhan Artisans and Heather Huggins from Heather’s Hobbie Haven are doing a Fairy hop today to celebrate the addition of Touch Twin markers at Heather’s Hobbie Haven! Heather has a fun variety of paper crafting supplies at her store make sure you head on over and take a peek! For my card, I used Kayla and Twinkie

Touch Twin markers used

BR134

BR104

BR107

BR91

BR92

P147

RP86

RP85

GY175

GY173

Y42

R131

YR27

R18

As you hop along make sure and comment on every post because one lucky person who comments will be chosen to win a $10.00 Gift certificate from Heather’s Hobbie Haven! Winner will be announced by Heather on January 23^rd.

Hop order:

Heather’s Hobbie Haven Blog

Jeanne Streiff

Vicki Garrett (that's me!!!)

Tami Mayberry

Bev Gerard

Dina Kowal

Touch Twin Blog (featuring Lydia Fiedler’s project)

P.S. This is my 2nd post today for C4C scroll down!

C4C 120 Childs Play

2012-01-21T00:01:00.001-05:00

Frances is our Hostess this month and she's challenged us to make a Childs Birthday Card. Our Sponsor for this month, My Favourite Things, has the perfect stamps for this challenge!

I knew I needed this Sweet Sweet image when I laid eyes on it!!! He''s Snowboard Boy and he ROCKS!!

He's coloured with my Touch Twin Markers. I had a colour chart completed, but in my frenzy to get my post prescheduled before leaving for Mexico. I didn't get it photographed. If you would like to know the colours of the Touch Twin Makers I used, feel free to email me! And how about that Yummy Bo Bunny Snowfall Paper? Can you say GORJUSS????????

If you want to play along, be sure to head over to the C4C blog "cause this week you could win a prize from MFT!!!!!

And of course, don't forget to check out the Crazies!!~!!

TTC09- Itty Bitty Snowman

2012-01-16T07:00:00.001-05:00

Won't you come and play our challenge over at the Touch Twin Challenge blog!!! Head on over to the blog for all the details of the challenge and how you can win some AWESOME markers!!! Our Sponsors this month are Unity Stamps

And this little guy is an Itty Bitty called You Melt my Heart

Supplies:
Patterned Papers-Bo Bunny
Punches and Cardstock-Stampin' Up!
Dies-Spellbinders
Markers-Touch Twin by Shinhan Arts

Colour Map-Click on the Link and it will take you to the Shinhan Art Home Page

C4C114 January Blues!

2012-01-14T00:01:00.001-05:00

This week's challenge is an easy one.

Monochromatic card in the blues.

If you decide to play along with us, all you have to do is create a card/project and upload it to your blog and/or to your SCS Gallery using the keyword C4C119. Don't forget to go back to the Crazy 4Challenge Blog and link it on Mr Linky so that everyone else can see it too.

For my card, I used some sweet new images from Impression Obsession-Artist, Alesa Baker. The stamps include Rosy Ledger, Thin Strip Rose Heart and Treasured Memories.
For more Beautiful Blues, check out my Crazy Girls Blogs!

Jessie Rone

Happy Stamping!

SDC#46- Put it in your Pocket or Purse!

2012-01-11T00:06:00.001-05:00

This week Maria gave us the challenge to create a handy pocket calendar or purse calendar. The challenges are now STAMPOTIQUE ONLY . Join us at the Stampotique Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $30 gift certificate for Stampotique stamps.

I decided to cover a small Calendar for my Project. You're probably looking at this image and saying WOW, that's really out of her box!!!! But I think it's kind of neat!!!! It's Called Femme Collage I stamped the image onto white cardstock and then stamped the word Femme onto pink, just to highlight it a bit~ I dug through my drawer full of bits and bobs (hehe.......now i'm trying to sound British!!!!. I WAS enjoying a cup of tea incidentally while creating. Does that count???). The Gorgeous Flourish Die is Called Tropical Flourish Die. I received it in my Designer package and BOYYYY is it Pretty!!!! Other than that, there's not much more for me to say about this creation, but I do like the way it turned out!!!!

Be sure to play along!!!!

Happy Stamping~

Project Twenty-Twelve and a little share!

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm excited to share this fun project that i'm embarking on this year! It's called Project Twenty-Twelve in Photos. The objective: To take a photo each day in the year. If you've been reading, you've heard me say that 2012 is going to be MY year......... I don't want to miss a minute of it. So this project is perfect for me in that sense. In addition, I'd really like to improve my photography and photo editing skills and I'll have a record to see how far I've come. Rather than overwhelming my blog with a daily post, I've decided to record the weeks photo's on Mondays. Hope that you find this interesting in learning a little more about me and my daily saunterings!

Day-2 Thought I'd capture some things about me!

I was out looking for a Chickadee, but they seemed to be hiding out. Instead I had to settle for some pretty Pinecones!

I reconnected with a High School friend just before the Holidays. Today we had a Tea Date at Starbucks

Had a little roam about Chapters and LOVED the colour combination of this display. Also had fun trying to be nonchalant as I snapped pictures with my new Droid phone. I was REALLY please with the quality of the photo's on this phone. The camera is 8mp and I think with some practice, I can get some amazing on the go shots!

This one is also taken with my SamsungS2. A little display to show my excitement of the countdown for my Vacation on the Mayan Riviera. One of my goals is to learn how to correct overexposure. I plan to shoot those sand dollars again before the end of the year and not have the details fade because of the blow out on the exposure. Think I might consider enrolling in a Photography course at our Community College!

One more for the Droid Phone. Do you see the little deer in the woods? A little blurry, but considering I had Sydney at the end of the Leash and was trying to get a quick shot before Bambi turned her pretty white tail toward us and leaped away, I'll accept it!

Another "droid" Picture. A reminder of the Angels in my life, both celestial and the wonderful family and friends who are lifting me up with their love and support.

Last, but NOT least........... I got that Chickadee!!! I would have preferred that his little head was held up high, but the little darlin's were flitting around the sumac bushes like wildfire! Blessed to have captured this shot, which was taken with my DSLR. It was a glorious day....looked and felt like early spring.

This is a quick and easy card I made for my DT work for Scrappin' Great Deals

For all the deets, you can read the post on the SGD blog!

Love the Emboss & Stamp Folder.......look at the fun dimension that's created with it!

Happy Stamping!

Thanks for stopping by!

Love is.............................

2012-01-08T12:47:00.000-05:00

First Corinthians has defined Love in an honest and pure way.

I don't profess to be terribly versed with regard to the Bible. I have some favourite psalms, proverbs and verses that have meaning to me. I can't call myself a religious person, however I am spiritual, believe in a higher power, pray and give thanks for all I have.

One of the purposes of this post is to share this newly released stamp from the Stamps of Life, however it couldn't have arrived in my mailbox at a more perfect time in my life

A healthy reminder of what Love is

To know that this is the way that I must conduct myself toward those that I love

and

to recognize when love is not pure and move on

I hope to keep this lesson close in guiding my decisions and relationships from this day forward

Supplies:

Quote2love-The stamps of Life

Sizzix: Flourishes and layered dies, embossing folder

The Crazie's are back! Crazy4Challenges #118

2012-01-07T09:46:00.000-05:00

After a brief holiday hiatus, the Crazies are back and ready to play!!

New year….new ‘toys’…..new techniques. Do or use something NEW on your card/project.

For my card, I used another fun new image from Totally Stampalicious. This one's called Stella Peeker, another drink. How Hilarious is she?

Here's my TOUCH TWIN colour map

If you decide to play along with us, all you have to do is create a card/project and upload it to your blog and/or to your SCS Gallery using the keyword C4C118. Don't forget to come back here and link it on Mr Linky so that everyone else can see it too.

Now let's see what the "Crazies have come up with this week.......

Totally Stampalicious January Release Blog Hop!

2012-01-05T21:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the 1st Stop of our FIRST RELEASE of 2012

BLOG HOP!

If you've been hopping already, you've arrived from one of my favourite peeps, Joycelyns Blog and on the last stop in the Hop!

We have FIVE BRAND NEW STAMP SETS from our fabulous Bugaboo line by artist

Jodie Mackerell!!

AVAILABLE NOW

Totally Stampalicious!

As always we'll be giving away PRIZES as well to THREE lucky Hoppers!!!

1st Prize - All 5 New Sets

2nd Prize - $15 Gift Certficate

3rd Prize - $5 Gift Certificate

All you have to do is Hop along with us and leave your comments along the way and maybe

YOU could be a WINNER!!!!

What do you think of this cute little fellow?

I coloured him in with my Touch Twin Markers Only a few colours and you can still get great depth in your colouring!

We also have an incredible promotion going on...so even if you don't get a prize you can still be a WINNER!!

It's the

Stampalicious Dessert Menu

Level 1 - Vanilla Ice Cream - Buy 5 Get 1 Free
Level 2 - Strawberry Shortcake - Buy 8 Get 2 Free
Level 3 - Triple Layer Chocolate Cake - Buy 11 Get 3 Free

Now it's time to hop and shop!

Happy Stamping!

Impression Obsession January Challenge-Hearts and Flowers!

2012-01-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today's Challenge is Hearts and Flowers- A Perfect Theme for a Valentine Card!

For my card, I used the Cover a Card Music and Love Note Heart

Have a great day!

My posts will be a bit scarce for the next few weeks as I'm getting ready to head off to Sunny Mexico next week! I'll get busy when I get back

Play along with your IO stamps and you could win some Stampin' Bucks!!! Check out the Impression Obsession Blog for all the details and to see who else is playing today!

Happy New Year!-Remember {SOL January release)

2012-01-01T10:56:00.000-05:00

This month, Stephanie is releasing a very neat set. It's called list2write. You can see all kinds of fabulous that the Design Girls have uploaded today here. I thought it would be fitting to start the New Year by reminding myself to remember a few things! I'm not one to make resolutions as it can be quite discouraging when all my good intentions seem to go by the wayside. Instead, I'm going to keep several things in mind.

Remember your mistakes-you surely won't repeat them again

Remember the lessons that your Mother taught you

you didn't see it at the time, but she was amazingly accurate wasn't she?

Remember that you are your first priority; if you can't look after you, you can't look after anyone else

Remember not to lose your sense of self and focus by relentlessly trying to accommodate others

Remember you can't accurately predict a storm 100% of the time, but you should always have an umbrella on hand just in case.

Remember those that love and support you

and

Remember to let go of those that don't

I whipped up this pretty dollar store notebook quite quickly by combining the lovely papers from the Prima Printery collection. I stamped the flower image onto the greenish paper and trimmed it, using a Vintage Brad as a focal point. I trimmed around a pre printed section of ledger looking print and added the sentiment with Licorice Ink by Stephanie Barnard. The little buckle on the band was a Magnetic Closure that was available through Basic Grey a Gazillion years ago!!!

Here's another quick share for you!

Just a fun card using List2write and build-a-paisley

Hope that 2012 brings you all that you're looking for!

Break out your Party Dress and Bring in the New Year!

2011-12-30T16:47:00.000-05:00

I hope that you enjoyed a Happy Holiday with your friends and family! I've been a bit of a slacker as far as stamping goes for the last couple of weeks, but this week I enjoyed stamping for fun and playing in some of the challenges over at Splitcoaststampers. Today the challenge was to Break out the Party Dress.

Janet Klien's Pretty Party Dress is the perfect image for paper piecing. I stamped the image on the pretty paper from Splendid collection by Authentique. Don't you love the coordinating papers? It makes designing cards with multiple designer paper so easy! I cut a tiny tag from my Tim Holtz die and added a diction cardstock sticker, also from Authentique. Scalloped punches add a little punch for a border and some foliage from a Sizzix Sizzlit adds a little more dimension.

Also, I hadn't got around to posting my challenge card from last wednesday (yep, I've been a stamipin' slug!) so here goes

If you'd like to participate in the challenge, here's the scoop!

The challenge is to create a card that reflects your wishes for 2012.........I can sum it up easily

HAPPY

I want to be Happy............. I intend to make sure that I remain Happy throughout the year. If I find myself UNHAPPY, I will do something behaviourally or cognitively to get back to HAPPY. That's it in a nutshell. I am going to be the captain of my own ship this year....not sure of the destination, but I do know that it is going to be a positively pleasurable trip. I may get off course, but will apply my self navigational skills to get back on track. Perhaps I'll take the road less traveled and leap over the puddles and potholes that serve to slow me down, but I know that 2012 is my year and I will be one Happy Dragon! The Year 2012 is the Year of the Dragon and I just happen to be one of those fearless creatures! It's my time to shine!

Hope all your wishes come true in 2012

If you're donning your favourite Party dress to ring in the New Year, enjoy a fun and safe evening.

Love and Hugs,

Touch Twin Color Challenge-TTCO8

2011-12-28T08:00:00.001-05:00

The TTC08 Touch Twin challenge is a Color Challenge!

Our sponsor is The Stamps of Life!

The challenge will run from December 26th - January 14th with a winner being announced on January 14th.

One person will be randomly chosen among
the entries to win
12 Touch Twin markers!!!

To enter:

Post a link to your project on this post.

Post a link to our challenge on your blog.
Please do not combine this challenge with more than 5 challenges.
No back linking. Your project must be new.

For extra chances to win:

Follow the Touch Twin & More Challenge blog.
Like us on Facebook.
Subscribe to our newsletter.
Add our Touch Twin & More Challenges button to your blog.

Don't have a blog? That's OK. Just post to any online gallery with the keywords TTC08 and TouchTwin and post a direct link HERE.

Don't have any Touch Twin markers? That's OK too... for now. Starting in January (our next challenge) we will require using our markers, but for now you can use any coloring medium.

Please use similar colors for your challenge entry.

Special Delivery-Designer Vicki Garrett

Supplies

Stamps: Cars2drive

Ink: Colorbox Licorice by Stephanie Barnard, Summer Sun SU~!

Marker Colours:

Y4, Y34, Y42.Y41, R2, BR96, CG0.5

Accessories: Glitter and 2 Way Glue Pen

SDC44: Shimmer, Glimmer, Glitter & Glitz and FSC43 Happy Holidays

2011-12-21T19:35:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been a little scarce! Lot's to do before Christmas and little time to stamp! This week, I've combined my Stampotique and Flower Soft Challenges to create one shimmery snowy Christmas Card!

For our current Stampotique challenge Val is our hostess. She is challenging us to break out our "Shimmer, Glimmer, Glitter and Glitz" using shimmery paper, glittery embellishments, glimmery paints/washes/spritz or any kind of glitzy bling in your creations....let your inspiration shine!This week is our last challenge where you can use ANY stamps

For the Flower Soft Challenge, hop on over to the Flower Soft Blog to get all the details. This will probably be my last post as a Flower Soft designer, but you'll be sure to see Flowery Soft goodness on some of my future creations!!!! A big Thank you to Mark and the peeps at Flower Soft who gave me a great opportunity to work with their product!

Sooo for my card, I used this fun image from Stampotique-Penguins and Happy Holidays. I also used a reverse image stamp. I stamped the image that I wanted to reverse in Bordering Blue, to give it the look of a reflection under the ice. I then stamped the Penguins in Black and did the wee bit of colouring with my Touch Twin Markers. I sponged the icy area with Soft Sky Ink and the Sky with Cool Caribbean Ink. I used my Sizzix Scalloped Oval Framelit to die cut the entire image. I added a lot of Polar White Flower Soft for some snowy goodness and some Martha Stewart Chunky Glitter to dazzle it up!!! It still didn't look snowy enough for my liking, so I added some Gel Pen Snow Dots!!!! ............I had some Glittery Christmas Paper from a couple of years ago kicking around, so I used that and then added a big glittery bow with some M's Ribbon. It is very sparkly in real life!!!!

I'm hoping to have another post before Christmas...................but have to get back to my cookie baking now!!! If you'd like to play along with the Stampotique Challenge, please head over to the Designer Challenge Blog for all the details!

happy stamping!

Impression Obsession-Pretty in Pink- and a sneak peek!

2011-12-15T08:00:00.001-05:00

This week's Impression Obsession Challenge is to create a Pink Card. I'm sharing a peek of what's to come at Impression Obsession very soon. Pretty eh!

Make sure you head over to the to get all the details of the challenge, but play along to get free Rubber!!!

Be sure to check out my fabby DT Ladies Awesome Creations! Bet you will see more Sneaky Peekies there!!!

C4C 117-Where's Santa?

2011-12-10T08:05:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone, and welcome to the LAST challenge for the year 2011!!! The Crazies will be taking a break until January 7th, so that we can focus on family and friends for the holidays. Thank you ALL for playing along all year...we are having SO much fun!! We already have a TON of AWESOME sponsors lined up for next year, so be sure to come back and play along then!!

Ready for the challenge??

IT'S SANTA!!!

Our challenge this week is to make a card or a project with Santa on it!

I have portions of Santa..................Do you know where the rest of him has gone...........hehe!!!

For my card, I used very little stamping, but I used a portion of the Beleive in Yourself sentiment, one of the new and fun Phrases2say sets over at The Stamps of Life

From all of us Crazies: A VERY Merry Christmas to you and yours!!

If you decide to play along with us, all you have to do is create a card/project and upload it to your blog and/or to your SCS Gallery using the keyword C4C117. Don't forget to go to the C4C Challenge Site and link it on Mr Linky so that everyone else can see it too.

Now let's see what the "Crazies have come up with this week.......

C4C116-Lets go to the Movies!

2011-12-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone, and welcome to this week's Crazy 4 Challenges, challenge!! This month, Jessie is our hostess

This week, she's taking us to the Movies: Here's what she has to say............

This week's challenge is to make a card or project based on your FAVORITE Christmas movie!! Make sure that when you post/blog your card, you let us know WHAT movie you were inspired by!! I can't WAIT to see!!

I have a couple of Favourites.......My FAVOURITE FAVOURITE~!... The Year Without a Santa Claus, ' cause I Totally LOVE Heatmeiser!

But that's not what my Card was inspired by.................my other favourite Christmas Movie is Rudolph.....not because of the Red Nosed Reindeer, who is very endearing, but because I LOVE the Burl Ives Snowman Character.

I love when he sings Holly Jolly Christmas

I used the sentiment from Holly4Christmas along with this month's Candy2share set.
Additionally, I used lots of Sizzix Products!
Scalloped Circles Framelits
Sizzlit Decorative Strip Die-Vintage Lace
Holly and Berry Sizzlit Die
and
Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

If you decide to play along with us head over to the C4C Blog for all the Details!

And of course, check out the links on my sidebar to see what Christmas Movies motivate my Crazy Girls!

Stamps of Life December Relase-Candy2share

2011-12-02T09:41:00.000-05:00

Stephanie has outdone herself with this month's release Candy2share!!!

I love this adorable set!!! It has all sorts of sweet treats for you to make Yummy Cards and Gifty things!

I cased this pop up card idea from my good friend Frances who found the instructions here on Valita's Blog

and what about this DELICIOUS Designer Paper by Bo Bunny! It came in my Designer Package from Scrappin' Great Deals- It's Smoochable!

Here's the Mid View!

Toooo Sweet~ and speaking of Sweet............Check this out!

I have to confess that I LOVE these little Ginger Kids Cookies by Voortman Cookies and they are no longer in the tub~ Well Digested by now!!!

For this project, in addition to Candy2share, I also used Mini's4cirlces, Banners4all and these awesome

Banner Pennant and Scalloped Pennants by Stephanie for Sizzix

Hope you enjoyed my Peeks! Don't forget to check out The {Stamps} of Life Gallery to see lots more great samples~

Impression Obsession Designer Challenge-are you thirsty?

2011-12-01T07:08:00.000-05:00

What's your favourite drink? I love a nice Hot Chocolate on a chilly day........I'd pass on the whipped cream, but a couple of big squishy marshmallows floating atop a sea of chocolate sounds good to me!

Our DT members have been busy stamping, inking, and designing cards around our theme, "What Do You Like To Drink? Challenge". So let's get to it and check out the DT's great inspirations on their blogs listed below:

Jenny Gropp
Julie Koerber
Vicki Garrett

Would you like to participate in the challenge for a chance to win a $25 Gift Certificate? The Challenge Guidelines widget is posted in the first sidebar to your right. We are using the Inlinkz thumbnail format for posting your entries. Don't forget our ending time for this challenge will be next Wednesday, December 7, at 10 p.m. EST. The winner is picked usingRandom.org. Shriley will also notify all the players of the winner that night. The winner's name will also be posted with the DT Thursday post on December 8. Thanks in advance for playing and joining in the fun everyone!

Supplies

Stamps: Toasty Treats, Merry Christmas and Cover-a-card Harlequin

Ink: Memento Black, Creamy Caramel, Not Quite Navy (SU!)

Touch Twin Markers

Here's my colour map

Accessories: Tim Holtz Muse Tokens-Christmas

Seam Binding, Sponge and EK Success Scalloped edge punch

Viva Pearl Pen-Bronze

Have a great day!

Glitter and Twine and Sparkles OH MY!

2011-11-30T11:56:00.000-05:00

So............ this is what my Dear Mom and I were up to last weekend............MOST of last weekend!!! She likes to give her Sorority Sisters a special gift at Christmas. We'd been pondering over various ideas for the lst few months and decided that Christmas Tags would be sweet and practical. Since her Party is next week, last Friday I figured that we better get our butt in gear and get going with these as the party would be here before we knew it AND I wasn't sure how long it would really take to make 180 tags and 30 Toppers!

So.................... what do you think?

I got this great Tim Holtz Die at Scrappin' Great Deals!

This is the longer carved ornament. I like that there are two ornaments on one die!

I didn't have enough glittery paper to do 30 of the same colour, so we changed it up a bit!

I think the purple and black is my Fave Colour Combo!

This one looks rather elegant too IRL

We threw in a couple of quickie tags............made with the SU ornament punch and matching stamp set!

We jazzed this one up with some Viva Pearl Pen

This one was made with my Cricut Cartridge............easy peasy too!

An alternative topper!!!!

Now just to get the danged mess cleaned up!!!!!

Happy Stamping!

TTC06 Touch Twin Colour Challenge

2011-11-28T06:51:00.001-05:00

This week we have a great colour challenge going on over at the Touch Twin Challenge Blog!

The challenge is to use the following colours

BR103, BR107, Y34, R4

Head on over to the Challenge Blog to see the colours up close

One person will be randomly chosen among entries to win
12 Touch Twin markers!!!

Gina K is sponsoring our Challenges this month and I used this adorable set called

Funny Farm

the colours I used are

R 1,4, 131, 139

BR 97, 103, 107

WG 0.5, 1, 3

GY 173, 175

CG 1,3, 5

YR 133

Y 34

Wow! that almost looks like an eye chart!!!!

Additional Supplies include Colourbox Licorice Ink by Stephanie Barnard

SU! Certainly Celery and Bliss Blue

Hope you'll play along with our Challenge!

To enter:

Post a link to your project on the Challenge Blog

Don't have a blog? That's OK. Just post to any online gallery with the keywords TTC06 and TouchTwin and post a direct link in the comment section of the post on blog.

Don't have any Touch Twin markers? That's OK too... for now. Starting in January we will require using our markers, but for now you can use any coloring medium.