Pick an In Color

I cannot get enough of the new In Colors!!!!! Here's another quick one that I made last week. The card base is Groovy Guava and this color is yummy! I stamped the pets and center of the flower from Pick a Petal in Groovy Guava on Blush Blossom which is one of my sorely neglected colors. I stamped the outline portions in Bravo Burgundy as well as the Happy. The Birthday is stamped in Old Olive. This is matted on Bravo Burgundy and Old Olive as well. Old Olive eyelets in each corner finish it up :-)

I'm so ready to get some stamping done this week so stay tuned! I think we're cancelling our out of town trip this weekend because 2 weekends of long car trips is enough!

Thanks for visiting!

PapertreyINK again

I made this card for a friend and it was seriously way past her birthday when she got this. The good thing is that she loved it :-) and then told me about a store in the lobby of her office building that sells cards that are similar for like $7 each! Yeesh, I think we stampers do sell ourselves short. This particular friend is very, very good at always remembering people's birthdays and other holidays and sends cards out regularly. I think I might have to make her a bunch of cards so she'll have special handmade ones to send out instead of, gasp, store bought cards :-)

Can you tell that I really love the new InColors :-) The card base is Purely Pomegranate. The main images are stamped onto Kraft with Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate, Soft Sky (which is really had to see in this pic) and Brilliance Moonlight White. The flowers and stems are from PapertreyINK's Green Thumb. The sentiment from Faux Ribbon is stamped onto Kraft with Purely Pomegranate and then I used my oval punches to punch it out and the mat behind it. I decided it was a little plain so I used some of my Hodgepodge Hardware and Black Gingham ribbon. This was matted on Soft Sky and Wild Wasabi before attaching it to the card base. This card made me remember how much I love using Kraft cardstock. I haven't been using it regularly but think I might have to start pulling it out again.

So, you probably won't hear much more from me for a few days. We're driving to Las Vegas later tonight for dh's family reunion and won't be back till late Sunday night. Wish us luck, 8 hours in a car with the kidlets--hopefully, they sleep the whole way :-)

Have a great day and thanks for visiting!

A Priceless Card

I really, really, really like the new Priceless stamp set from SU. It's gorgeous and I can see so many different uses for it. I CASE'd this card from Cayne and Cole's Mom over at SCS and just love how simple it was to put together. This is going out to a member of the DDSS group who is having a hard time now. I hope it brightens her day.

In addition to the set, I'm in love with the new In Colors. While I liked the ones from last year, I really, really, really love the new ones this year. I'm surprised at how much I'm liking River Rock. I didn't think I'd like it but it goes with everything! I think it's my favorite non white neutral right now :-) The card base is Groovy Guava as is the photo corner. I stamped a variety of images from the Priceless set with Soft Sky, Groovy Guava, and River Rock onto Soft Sky and then attached 3 copper brads from the "retired" Vintage Brads Set and then attached this to the card. I stamped Priceless in Groovy Guava on River Rock and then attached that to the card as well. The photo corner is on dimensionals. I'm loving the new photo corner punch and think it's going to be getting a lot of use at my house :-)

Thanks for visiting!

Another ATC

I apologize in advance for the not great pic. It's hard for for me to get good pics of ATC's and this one was especially hard to photograph. I used the You're Bugging Me set from MissyB Designs for this ATC. I stamped the ladybug with my Tsukineko Essential Glue Pad on Whisper White and then poured Black Ultrafine Glitter over it. After letting it sit for a little, I colored in the body with a red Sakura Glaze pen and then stamped the thanks with Brilliance Rocket Red. I added a few primas in the corner and dotted those with black stickles and then mounted this to a Real Red base. This is very shiny and sparkly in real life :-)

I'm in the process of mounting my new SU stamps and decided to take the plunge and go unmounted with new stamps. I think my exceptions may be background stamps and alphabets but I'm still thinking about the alphabets--since I hate all that cutting, I'm doing my new alpha last :-) I don't know why I waited to do this!!!!! It's taking up so much less room and I'm going to definitely love that part of it! Right now, I'm just pulling the rubber off the foam and then attaching it to EZMount and storing them in CD cases. I love that I can stick my stickers in there and each stamp has a little home in the case. I hope to get a little stamping done later after I finish trimming and mounting.

Have a great day and thanks for visiting!

This doesn't surprise me :-)

You Are More Yang

Masculine Creative Angry Spring Summer Morning Sun Space Active Wood Chocolate

Are You More Yin or Yang?

Wow, I rock :-)

Colleen, over at Distinctive Touches nominated me as a Rockin' Girl Blogger. If you've seen how talented Colleen is you'll know what an honor I feel this is to be nominated by her. She's super talented and shares so much of herself in her blog. Even though we haven't met, she seems like a great person and I'd love to stamp with her in real life. I almost got the chance to go meet her since dh was working out her way but then the project ended and now he's starting a new project here instead.

Anyway, here are 5 more Rockin' Girl Blogger you should go check out:

Marie over at Combat Boots to Rubber Stamps. While you're there, send her some get that baby out vibes (even though I'm hoping she had him already). I love her work!!!!

Yvette over at Creatables by Yvette. She's Australian and is currently home for a bit but she's still finding time to post and share with us.

Kristina over at Kwernerdesign Blog. If you haven't check her out you need to! I love, love, love her clean, crisp, classic designs. Her work reminds me regularly to keep it simple and to not overdo it.

Malieta at Life's Simple Pleasures. I love her scrapbook pages and posts. I really fly like I'm getting a little peek into her life.

Vera over at Southern Style Stamping. I think I found her blog while going through the galleries at SCS and her work is amazing!!!!!

So, check out these other rocking bloggers when you get the chance :-)

Brown, where are youuuuuuuuuuu?????

I was expecting a SU order today and I just checked the delivery and it's rescheduled for tomorrow--waaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!! and the thing that gets me it that the system says that they attempted to deliver at 4:53 and no one was available for pickup which is a load of bull since I was home at that time. In fact, I went outside around 5 to get the mail from our mail carrier. And on top of that, there was not a minute today that there was not an adult present in the house. I'm whining because we're going down to LA for the weekend and dh and the kids are picking me up when I get out of work so I won't get the chance to play with new stuff until Sunday night at the earliest and it probably won't happen then because we're driving all day long on Sunday. Ok, vent over!

So, while I was waiting for Mr Brown, I stamped a little. This is a card for dh's friend who we're seeing this weekend. His birthday was actually last weekend but we're giving him his gift and card this weekend. I didn't really think I'd like River Rock but omg, it rocks!!!!!!! The card base is Blue Bayou which I love, love, love, love! I stamped the dotted swirly things from Fresh Decor by Limited Edition stamps in Blue Bayou on River Rock and then distressed the edges. I then stamped Happy Birthday from Happy Everything in Blue Bayou on River Rock and then stamped a border and some small swirly things from the same set in River Rock on top of it. I matted it on Blue Bayou and used my Perfect Layers tool to get a 1/16 inch mat and then attached it with a few pieces of Pewter Hodgepodge Hardware--I'm trying not to hoard this. I'm still using pieces from a set I got 2 years ago when I ordered at Convention :-)

I like this card--I think it's a cool, masculine card that is kind of funky. Anyway, I do have more cards to share when I return. Have a great weekend everyone.

Another MissyB Design

Here's a card I made with Alexa's set for a friend's daughter's birthday. We'll be seeing them this weekend so I needed to get it done and ready for delivery. Speaking of which, I have 4 more birthday cards to make before we leave Thursday because there's a combined celebration this Saturday for 3 people, a card for a friend who had a birthday last weekend and we still have to drop off the gift, and a seriously belated card for his wife :-) I won't have any time to get them done tonight because we're going around the corner to our neighbors for grilled steaks and oysters--yum!

Back to the card. The card base is taken with Teal and the patterned paper is from the SU Loves Me Designer Paper from the last Winter Mini. I wish I had more of it because I'm virtually out. I should have stocked up! The ribbon is from the Flirty Ribbon collection from the same mini. The girl is stamped on Whisper White with Basic Brown and colored in with a combo of I-Kan-Dee Pearlescent Chalks and my blender pen and ink pads in Chocolate Chip and Creamy Caramel. She's matted on Chocolate Chip and Regal Rose and then attached with pop up glue dots. The sentiment is stamped with Brilliance Chocolate Pearl. The word "princess" is highlighted with a Sakura Clear Stardust pen. I also attached a couple primas with Petal Pink Liquid Pearls in the center to the ribbon.

I love this and think it's perfect for an 8 year old who loves princesses!

Thanks for visiting :-)

MissyBDesigns ATC

I joined in on an ATC swap with other members of the MissyBDesigns yahoo group. This is swap #1. I have #2 in my mind and hopefully it works out in rl just as it does in my head.

I love this image from Alexa's Set. She's such a sassy little girl and her attitude reminds me of my own dd :-) The base of the ATC is Rose Red. The patterned paper is from the BasicGrey Phoebe Collection. I wrapped some Chocolate Grograin ribbon around it--I can't believe SU discontinued this ribbon--what were they thinking? I punched out the Whisper White cardstock with my Giga Oval Scalloped Punch and then stamped the girl on it with Versafine Black Onyx. She's colored in with Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol--you all out there enabled me and I won a set of 120 on Ebay with shipping for $57 and there are so many color choices that it's a little overwhelming at time. I put some Frosted Lace Stickles on her earrings and the butterfly on her shirt. Each scallop has a little dab of White Opal Liquid Pearls. Finally, I popped her up on dimensionals.

All in all, I really like this one!!! I think it's cute and love how the idea worked and I was able to put what is in my head down on paper. My only thing is how do I get a better skin color on this. Dh commented, "yeah, it's cute but why is it a white chick?" Since we're a pretty multi-racial family, I tend to use darker skin tones for my people :-) I use a lot of creamy caramel but wasn't sure which color to use for my little girl.

Thanks for visiting!

Quick Pick a Petal

Oh wow, I really, really, really like the new In Colors! I can't wait till my In Color stitched ribbon gets here so I can coordinate. This is something that I put together the other day for my secret sis. The base of the card is Soft Sky. The main image is stamped on Whisper White with Soft Sky and Blue Bayou. It was too stark and white so I overstamped the Linen background stamp over it in Soft Sky. I added a couple silver brads to the top right to help balance it out and then matted it on Blue Bayou. I really like the simplicity of this card. I was going to add some glitter but decided to leave it as it was.


Man, can you believe it's the middle of the month already? Time flies when you're having fun. We'll be out of town the next 3 weekends so I'll be pretty busy. I'm working on a couple ATC swaps with some MissyB designs that I hope to share before the weekend is over. I love ATC's. They're so cute and it's great to have something already made to add to a card when I'm in a hurry.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you're enjoying great weather this weekend.

Oh My Goodness!

Remember back in March when I featured Shemar Moore as eye candy?

Well, Perez Hilton has got some Shemar Moore eye candy for ya--nude at a gay beach. . . ummm, I didn't think he went that way and it's dashed my dreams if it's true. Then again, he *is* from the Bay Area. . . .

Don't follow this link if you're easily offended otherwise click away to see him in all his glory!

I was tagged :-)

Malieta at Life's Simple Pleasures tagged me. So, I'm supposed to list 7 random things about myself, then tag 7 others who I have to list and leave them a comment so they know they've been tagged. If I tag you, you hafta follow the same rules :-)

1. I have 6 tattoos. I got my first at 21 and my last at 27. I'm probably getting one more at some point but it's been 10 years now since the last one.

2. I had an epidural for all three kids. I'm a wimp and wanted to try no meds with #1 but it didn't work. . .tried again with #2 but at only about 5 cm I was already telling dh to just shut up so I got it then. . .with #3, I pretty much knew I'd go ahead and get one.

3. I got suspended from my high school volleyball team for missing practice to see Bruce Springsteen in concert for the Born in the USA tour at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

4. I love Mexican food--give me some enchiladas, beans & rice, and a margarita on the rocks and I'm in heaven.

5. My 20 year high school reunion is coming up soon (7/20).

6. I left my ex-husband when I was 20 weeks pregnant with #1. It took us until ds was 5 before we started to have a civil relationship and while we'll never be friends, we work hard to coparent our son (Poor Mason is always in the doghouse because he's got 4 *parents* on him who work hard to be on the same page).

7. I didn't learn how to swim until I was 13 and I'm still not a strong swimmer.

So, I'm tagging the following bloggers: Lindsi from Everyday Life of a Stay at Home Stamper, Kristine from Ink Something!, Julie from Rubber Room Ramblings, Faith from Stampin' with Markie's Mom, Heather from A Secret Garden Grows Here, Amanda from Stampin Project Junkie, and Yvette at creatables by Yvette.

Retired Sets for Sale

I'm getting rid of my retired SU sets. I almost had a heart attack when I set them all to the side and realized how empty my shelves are! Send me an email if you're interested. I generally prefer Paypal and ship priority mail with delivery confirmation.

Check my post on SCS for current updates and availability.

All prices are negotiable :-)

Retired 2007
A Little Love $8.00 (stained but in good condition)
All I Have Seen $7.50
All Year Cheer I $15.00
All Year Cheer II $15.00
Best of Cluck $13.00 (some staining)
Birthday Beauty $8.00
Bold Butterfly $15.00
Brighter Tomorrow $12.00
Brushstroke Alphabet $20.00
Brushstroke Numbers $8.00
Cheesecloth $13.00 (stained but in good condition)
Collage Alphabet $15.00
Collage Numbers $10.00
Crosshatch $13.00
Do the Hula $15.00
Eclectic Backgrounds $7.50 (stained but in good condition)
Festive Four $5.00
Fishy Friends $10.00
Frolicking Frogs $12.00
Fun Filled $8.00
Hip Hip Hooray $12.00
In Full Bloom $15.00
Lexicon of Love $7.00 (stained but in good condition)
Love without End $12.50
Love Ya Bunches $9.00
Mixed Bouquet $22.00
Mon Ami $7.50 (some staining)
Natural Beauty $10.00
Nice and Narrow $11.00
On Gossamer Wings $15.00
Petal Prints $22.00
Pretty Princess $18.00
Right at Home $13.00
Simple Sketches $15.00
Spring Garden $13.00
Stippled Stencils $5.00
Tag Time $14.00
Treat Yourself $15.00
Watercolor Garden $14.00
Wonderful Words II $10.00
Yule Bits and Borders $12.50
Blossoms and Bugs wheel $3.00
Flitting By Jumbo wheel $5.00
Leaves and Swirls Jumbo Wheel $5.00 (stained but in good condition)
Square Pegs Jumbo Wheel $5.00
Swirling Stars Jumbo $5.00

Retired Hostess 2007
Blooming with Happiness $10.00
Both Way Blossoms $10.00
Measure of a Life $12.00
Reason to Smile $10.00 (num)
Riveting $10.00
Springtime Stems $10.00 (num)
Tags so Much $10.00
Warmest Regards $8.00

Retired Mini Catalogs 2007
Think Big $15.00
Best Bar Codes $15.00
Big Blooms $20.00

Retired SAB 2007 or older

Happy Harmony $10.00
Delight in Life $10.00
So Very $12.00
Very Punny $15.00
Big Blossom $10.00
Garden Collage $10.00 (mounted but unused)
Paint Prints $10.00

Walk It Out, Fosse

I liked this!

Isn't this cute and Colleen's Throwdown Challenge

I took dd with me today when I got a manicure and pedicure as a reward for doing so well with the potty training. She has been dieing to have flowers on her toes so I let her do it. She picked out her own nail polish, told the technician what color flowers she wanted, and told her what color jewel she wanted in the middle. I'm so glad that I'm raising a girl who can speak her mind and advocate for herself--she won't even be 3 until next month!

The card is done using Colleen's sketch challenge as inspiration. This is my first Little Lady card and I had to put it together quickly between doing loads of laundry. In a way, I'm glad that I had to do each step in between doing other things because it forces me to slow down a little and plan things out in my head some more. The card base is Real Red. I stamped the On the Spot Background and ladybugs and sentiment on Shimmery White using Versamagic Red Magic and Midnight Black. The focal point is also edged with the Red Magic and then matted on Basic Black and Real Red. Each mat is 1/16th of an inch and can I tell you how much I love my Perfect Layers tool? I use it frequently and I love how it makes my layers and mats so *perfect*. I usually end up with something wonky when I eyeball it so I turn to my Perfect Layers most of the time. The strip behind the focal image is Basic Black and I put red eyelets in the corners with my Cropodile which is another tool that I love! I gave up on eyelets because pounding them is so noisy but now I can set them again since I've got a Cropodile :-)

Thanks for visiting!

We have a winner!

I went to random.org and it picked lucky number 13 soTia Chick email me your snail mail address and I'll get the large oval punch out to you.

I've decided to wait on ordering for right now. I get a summer school check on the 15th and will order then. I'll get out of pending and buy myself another quarter as a demo, plus I'll have had the chance to see what others have made with what they've bought. Plus, I'm not gonna expedite and it probably wouldn't pick and ship till next week anyway but if I wait, they'll be back to normal by then. Then, I'll get my retired stuff that I'm not using ready to sell and use whatever money I make there to spend for the next quarter :-) Then there'll be another catty so we'll see what happens next.

Card for dh

Ok, this card took me all day long to make. I made this for dh *just because* and had to keep running into my room to do things one piece at a time under the disguise of doing laundry. Ironically enough, he was surprised when he saw it :-) He had no idea what I was doing.

The card base is Summer Sun and the bottom piece is Cameo Coral. I'm still loving this color combo and think it's perfect for summer. The color is a little off because I couldn't find a good, well-lit spot when I took the pic and I played around a little with some photo editing software to try to fix it but the bottom part still looks too pink to me. The sentiment and focal image are both from Amuse and are on Whisper White and matted to Old Olive. I used Brilliance Rocket Red Gold and colored in the suit with Prismacolor pencils and gamsol. Both of these are mounted on pop dots. The ribbon is from Michael's. I didn't want to do too much to it because it was for dh.

I'll be back later with the winner of the Oval Punch. I'm having a hard time accessing the comments on blogger at work--I get put into an endless loop :-) Hopefully, I'll also have some new stuff to post because I'm getting the new In Colors today along with the Pick a Petal stamp set.

Have a great day!

Sparkly Doodles

I'm so glad that Doodle This has made it to the big catty. It was my absolute favorite of all the doodle sets in the Spring Mini. I stamped the flower image onto Shimmery White with Basic Black ink and decided to try something new for me--I watercolored with reinkers and my aquapainter. I usually use my Watercolor Wonder crayons when I watercolor but wanted to try something new. Wow, I was not expecting the color to be so intense and I'll definitely have to try this again. Anyway, the flower is colored in with Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie, and Taken with Teal. I sponged the edges with Pumpkin Pie as well and set it aside to dry. Once it was dry, I sprinkled on a little Dazzling Diamonds after hitting a few areas with my Quickie Glue Pen. I matted this onto Pumpkin Pie and stamped the words from Amazing to Zany with Taken with Teal. The card base is Taken with Teal and the swirlie thing from Doodle This is stamped on it with Taken with Teal ink. I pierced and faux stitched the Chocolate Chip strip and attached it to the card base. I scored the card 1/2 inch from the top and then punched three holes in it with my Cropodile and then attached three silver eyelets. I stapled on a few snippets of chocolate, tangerine, and white grosgrain and then adhered the focal image and tah-dah! I love these colors together and can see myself playing with them some more. Then again, I'm not sure how much stamping I'm doing tomorrow because it's the 4th of July and my SU order arrives this Thursday so I'll have new In Colors to play with :-)

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful 4th of July to all of you!

Don't forget!

Tell me if I should go ahead and place that order or not and be entered to win a SU Large Oval Punch that will arrive on my doorstep this Thursday! Oh, and ummmmmmmm, the order is currently sitting at $300. . . .and it's *my* money, not dh's if that helps in your decision making :-)

See this post and leave your comment there.

Should I or shouldn't I?

Ok, I placed an order for the new SU colors and a few other odds and ends Friday before the price increase in the new catty. I now have another order that I just inputted and I haven't pushed submit yet. . .it's mainly ribbon and a few other new accessories/embellishments. . .should I hit that submit button? or should I wait a little more and see what new items go up in the SCS galleries and find out that there are some "must have" sets I didn't think of?

Decisions, decisions, decisions. . .

Let me know what you would do and be entered to win a SU Large Oval Punch. It's not in my hands yet but it's an item that I accidently put on my Friday order twice. I don't want to hassle with sending it back and exchanging it for something else so my goof could work in your favor. I'll keep this open until 10 am PST on July 5th and then randomly pick a number for the punch give away.

Thanks for visiting!

Dino Birthday

I love, love, love this Dino set from My Favorite Things. Now, personally, I'm not a huge dino buff but my oldest son has always been enamored of dinosaurs. When he went through his imaginary friend phase, his was a dinosaur :-) I'm always on the lookout for dino sets and knew I'd get lots of use from this set when I spotted it. It's great for boy birthday cards and I've used it several times already. I'm pretty bad at using sets more than once--gasp--that's why I have too darn many stamps.

The card base is Summer Sun and the bottom layer is Elegant Eggplant. The focal image is stamped onto Whisper White with Brilliance Graphite Black and then colored in with various Copic markers. I don't have a colorless blender pen but discovered that my Cool Grey works at taking some of the color away when I use too much. I'm still working on how exactly to use these but I love the colors and love that no matter how much ink I use, I I don't get the paper wet and it doesn't pill. After I colored it in and played around with it a little, I matted it on Certainly Celery and Old Olive. I punched a small hole in the side of the card to put some Celery Grosgrain ribbon through and then attached it with an Old Olive eyelet. Then I attached the focal image with dimensionals. I stamped the Happy Birthday with Versamagic Cloud White and voila--done! Sign the card, stick it and the gift in a bag, and we were party bound!

It's been a busy weekend and I'm glad that this will be a short work week. Just think, if I wasn't doing summer school, I'd be on vacation now!

Have a great day and thanks for looking.