An Interesting Martini

Ok, so probably not the best card to be uploading on a Sunday (!!) Doesn't this blue martini look yummy!?!

My martini card was made for the Featured Stamper challenge on SCS today. And today's Featured Stamper is Nutsymuhl (Kim) - check out her gallery for some great inspiration! I chose this fun card to case (copy and selectively edit). I changed the drink to a martini, changed the orientation of the card because my martini glass stamp was so large (!) used a different sentiment and an additional Cuttlebug folder.

All these fun martini theme stamps are from Rubbernecker.

I've been loving martini's made with colored flavorings lately like appletini's, mangotini's and cool blue raspberrytini's - this soft sky colored one reminds me of the raspberry martini! Yum!

I cut out the cherry and popped it up on dimensionals and added Stickles for a little shimmer.

Well - it's back to work tomorrow - hope you had a fun-filled weekend! It sure goes by too fast doesn't it!?! Thanks so much for coming by.

Today's thought from Poor Richard's Almanac by Ben Franklin: "A little House well fill'd, a little Field well till'd, and a little Wife well will'd, are great riches."

Stamps: Rubbernecker
Paper: White: PTI, basic black, soft sky, purely pomegranate
Ink: Black onyx Versafine, soft sky
Accessories: Prismacolor markers: walnut, mulberry, french grey, dimensionals, stickles: cherry ice, crystal ice, cuttlebug folders, dotted grosgrain: Flourishes

A Page of Gratitude & some Artist Trading Cards

Hope you are all having a great Saturday - getting all your errands done or chores around the house - I've been happy as a clam getting some stamping done in my studio.

This fun little card (actually it's a big card - 5" x 5" !) was made for todays inspiration challenge - to be inspired by a scrapbook page in honor of National Scrapbooking Day.

I am a scrapbooker - but wasn't too enthused about this challenge - make a card from a page?? Didn't really float my boat if you KWIM? but then I browsed the Split Coast Scrapbooking forums where I have never wandered before and found this fun page by Jennie to be inspired by.

I chose this one because I had this wonderful sheet of DP from Making Memories with the stamp edge that I bought quite some time ago and then couldn't quite figure out how to use it on a card! So here was the perfect opportunity - I thought it would make a good substitute for the round edges on the inspiration page.

I colored my cute little girl from Whipper Snapper Designs that I got from Addicted to Rubber Stamps (one of my FAVORITE stamp websites - they have everything! see my side bar for a direct link to them) with Prismacolor markers and added the fun dotted primas. The sentiment is by PapertreyInk Beautiful Blooms set.

So I ended up really enjoying this challenge! Sometimes when we go where we don't think we want to we find great inspiration!

Stamps: Girl: whippersnapper designs, sentiment: PTI Beautiful blooms
Paper: very vanilla, DP: Making Memories - Hilary Stamp Shape
Ink: Onyx black versafine
Accessories: glue zots, dotted primas, Prismacolor markers: French grey, brittany blue, green tea, terra cota, yellow ochre, SU marker: Blush blossom

Several days ago I mentioned that I would be loading up some ATC's (Artist Trading Cards). Finally got the chance to do it!

I was invited by MissHelenStamps on SCS to participate in a monthly ATC swap with her. I had only made a couple of these cute little 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 cards before during Virtual Stamping Weekend challenges on SCS so I thought this would be fun! Each month one of us decides what the topic will be.

ATC's are a fun way to make a quick card design since there is not a lot of space to cover - and can be used to inspire a larger card at a later date. There are many people that swap these with large groups. Craft stores sell special round racks to hang and display them on. For now - I'm happy swapping with just Helen!

Here are 3 that I have made so far.

This one was St. Patrick's Day Theme

And here is a card I made later using the design from the ATC on the card.

Stamp: Sentiment: My Sentiment's Exactly, shamrock: AiP Vip's, Background - Cornish Heritage Farms. Paper: Green and orange Bazzill, Naturals Ivory Ink: Forest Green Stazon Ribbon: Martha Stewart

This one was to use an animal on your ATC. I used my cute Riley Stamp!

Stamp: Riley- Hanna Stamps, DP - K& Co. card stock: Very Vanilla - SU, Threaded Ribbon: SU, slot punch, dimensionals, Prismacolor markers

We had to use a flower on this ATC. I used the Paper Tole technique layering the pieces over the stamped flower.

Stamp: Measure of Life- SU, Paper: choc chip, pumpkin pie, very vanilla. Su markers, cuttlebug script folder. Ribbon, brads.

I made this Halloween ATC during an SCS Virtual Stamping Weekend for a 'Make An ATC' challenge.

Stamp: Close to my Heart, Prismacolor markers, ticket corner punch, bat eyelets, orange eyelets, stitched ribbon, ticket corner punch. Paper: Black, white.

So there you have the sum of my ATC experience so far! For May - Helen and I are making an ATC using only Black and White colors. I'll post mine after I've made it!

Have a great Saturday - Kent and I are off to the Melrose Symphony tonight with some friends - It's quite a professional group with a really congenial Conducter who always has a joke for the audience sometime during the performance!

Today's thought from Poor Richard's Almanac: "Great beauty, great strength, and great riches are really and truly of no great use; a right heart exceeds all."

Get Well Slowly

Happy Friday everyone! Even though it's raining here today (again!) it can't dampen my enthusiasm for the weekend! I've got a couple of fun things planned - Saturday we're going to a local Symphony performance with another couple and will eat out at Applebee's before going over (yum!) and Sunday I'm running a card workshop at my church with a couple of my stamping friends - everyone makes 4 cards for $10.00 and we donate the money to the church - it's a fun afternoon of creativity and gabbing!

So we know that slow and steady wins the race - here's my little turtle slowly getting well in his pond!


I made this for today's Limited Supplies challenge over at Split Coast - to only use circle punches - you were allowed to use any stamps, any ink, any embellishments. I used this fun Basic Grey Archaic DP and cut circles with my nestabilities (what did I ever do without them?!). The stamps are from Pond Life by PapertreyInk. The inks are all Adirondacks.

Hope you have a terrific weekend - and thanks for checking in - I'll be posting stuff all weekend so be sure to check back!

Today's quote from Poor Richard's Almanac: "Dost thou love Life? Then do not squander Time; for that's the Stuff Life is made of."

Stamps: Pond Life & extra sentiments: PapertreyInk
Paper: White: PTI, Choc Chip: SU, DP: Basic Grey Archaic
Ink: Adirondacks: Lettuce, Meadow, Espresso, Hazlenut, Cloudy Blue
Accessories: Nestability circles, dimensionals

Ruffled Congratulations and An Inspiration

Happy Thursday everyone! There's suppposed to be another NEW CSI on tonight - I'm SO excited!!

Tonights card covers two challenges - I found a new Color Inspiration on this fun blog by Kristina - kwernerdesign You should check it out - she makes fun videos of the cards she shows you and other interesting stuff! Her challenge this week was to use Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Soft Sky and Very Vanilla - seen below.

And here is my card using these colors.

The Ways to Use It challenge on SCS was to use ruffles or pleats on your card. I used my crimper on a piece of Choc Chip card stock, wrapped some ribbon from PapertreyInk around it and layered my Nestability stars over it. I used my Cuttlebug Congrats folder on the base of the card. All the stamps are from Verve Visual. They were having a sale on the stars so go check out their web site to see if it's still on!

Thanks so much for coming by today - I really appreciate it! Have a great evening!

Thought for today from Old Richard's Almanac: "Anger is never without a Reason, but seldom with a Good one."

Stamps: Verve Visual - Sentiment: Starlight Starbright - Star: Swirly Stars
Paper: Soft Sky, CLose to Cocoa, Choc Chip, Very Vanilla
Ink: Close to Cocoa
Accessories: crimper, PTI Stitched ribbon, cuttlebug, folder, star nestabilities, dimensionals
Techniques: crimping

A Tall Mother Fish

We had so much rain in the last 2 days that I sort of feel like a fish! But I used this title to describe my tall card that I made for today's sketch challenge on SCS.



As per the challenge instructions - the card is a 9 1/4" x 8" piece of white PapertreyInk cardstock that I scored at 4" and folded in half. This will fit into a regular business size envelope so does not require extra postage. Then I cut off a 3/4" piece from the right hand side of the front of the card so you can see the inside of the card there. The instructions were to score it at 3/4" and fold it under - but I decided to just cut it off so it wasn't bulky.

Then I cut 2 ovals with my nestabilities and dry embossed them. I stamped my 2 fish on the white oval using Summer Sunrise ink from Papertrey. Then I masked the bigger fish by stamping it on a piece of paper, cutting it out and laying it over the stamped image on the oval. I stamped the sea grass on the oval using Desert Sand ink from Close to My Heart. When I removed the mask - it looked like the grass was behind the fish.

Next I stamped the bubbles with Aqua Mist ink by Papertrey, and finally the sentiment in Onyx Black by Versafine. All of the stamps are from the new PapertreyInk Set called Pond Life. I attached the white oval to the Aqua mist scalloped oval.

For the ribbon - I first punched a slit on the left side of the ovals then cut a piece of ribbon 19" long. I put the ribbon behind the DP on the left - came up on the right side and brought it through the slit - then I attached the paper to the card and the oval to the paper checking my placement so that the oval extended over the cut off front but not past the back edge. And finally I tied the bow. I attached 4 clear dew drops - 2 on the top left and 2 on the bottom right.

I computer generated a sentiment that I found on a verse web site and attached that and a strip of DP to the inside. You can see a close up below.

This card also covers the Double Dare Challenge I do with some friends each week on Split Coast. Fran gave the challenge this week - to make a Mother's Day card with a bird or animal on it. I'm hoping fishies pass for animals!!!

Today's quote from Poor Richard's Almanac: "A good example is the best sermon."

Thank you so much for stopping by!


Stamps: Pond Life - Papertrey Ink

Paper: White, Aqua Mist, DP - all from Papertrey Ink

Ink: Onyx Black Versafine, Summer Sunrise & Aqua Mist - PTI, Desert Sand - CTMH

Supplies: nestability ovals, PTI Ribbon, slit punch, dew drops, dimensionals, glue dots

Two Way Folded Birthday

Well - we got our rain today! It has been pouring since about 11 am. We really needed it as it had been so dry we were having a lot of brush fires in all the surrounding communities.

I took a vacation day today, unfortunately so that I could go to a funeral, please say a prayer for Christine who lost her battle with cancer last Thursday -

but I was also able to get to stamping earlier than usual!

What a fun Try a New Technique challenge today! A two way fold card. Briefly, you cut a square 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 as the base - then you add an 8 x 4 layer folded in half - that you cut the front off at an angle - then you add another layer inside 3 1/2 x 7 folded in half. You can see the instructions here. I added a belly band to hold it closed (some people added a ribbon). The belly band is 11" x 1" and scored at 3 3/8" and 8" - overlapped and closed with adhesive. I added circles to the band to dress it up a bit.

I used PapertreyInk pink papers - I just love the colors and patterns on these.

Thought for today from Poor Richard's Almanac: "A house without woman and firelight, is like a body without soul or sprite."

Stamps: Boxes, bags & tags, Birthday Basics: PapertreyInk
Paper: White, Berry Sorget, Sweet Blush, DP: Papertrey Ink
Ink: Onyx Black: Versafine, Berry Sorbet & Spring Moss: Papertrey Ink
Accessories: scallop punch, circle punch

A Birthday in Flight

I hope everyone had a blessed Sunday today - I've been away all day so I'm posting late and really should be in bed! I seem to be saying that on every post - can you get the idea that I'm a late night stamper!?!? It was a cloudy day here - we really need rain but only got a couple of sprinkles - some showers are supposed to come tomorrow and Tuesday.

My card today was made for the Featured Stamper challenge over at Split Coast. Today's featured stamper was Michelle (Sf9erfan) who has a delightful gallery of cards - I chose this card to case (Copy And Selectively Edit). I changed the colors and stamps used and punched the butterflies instead of using a stamp - but kept the layout the same.

I thought this was a lovely birthday card and I got to use my favorite new butterfly punch again! I used Arctic Ice Stickles on the wings for a little shimmer and colored the bodies with a black sharpie pen. They are attached to the panel with glue zots and creased to make them 3D. The great ruffled ribbon is from Flourishes.

Thanks so much for stopping by to check in with me today - I really appreciate it!

Today's thought from Poor Richard's Almanac: "You may delay, but time will not."

Stamps: Swirls: Autumn Leaves Swirls V2, Sentiment: PapertreyInk
Paper: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Wild Wasabi, White PapertreyInk
Ink: Spring Moss: PTI, Onyx Black Archival Versafine
Accessories: glue zots, green ruffled ribbon: Flourishes, butterfly punch: Martha Stewart, arctic ice stickles, black sharpie pen, dimensionals.