Sassy Challenge: Non-floral Sympathy Card

Whew! Thank goodness for Wednesdays! If it weren't for my weekly challenge with my Sassy Friends I might not make time to stamp! Shame on me!

Work has been pretty decent this week but I burned the candle on both ends (I had a lot to get done!) on my last two days off so I went into my four days already tired. It only got worse while I was working which did not help my stamping mojo.

I went to a Shoebox Swap on Friday and made a very simple card. I like to do more complicated cards but sometimes simple is better- like when you have 14 cards to make in just a couple of hours! LOL! Here is my creation :

The technique used is Faux Tearing and it is really easy! You just mask part of the card with a torn piece of paper (I have made a template with a manila folder) and use a wheel or background stamp then slide the mask and sponge. It really looks great when you use a background stamp but I could only use current SU products for this swap and I did not have a current background stamp.

CS: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, White

Stamps: Garden Whimsy, Whimsy Wheel

Blue Bayou Double-stitched ribbon

I finally stamped again today - it is Wednesday afterall and I had to make a Sympathy card without using any flowers. Not too hard, right? LOL! Actually, it wasn't hard but I don't have a Sympathy stamp so I had to substitute "From the Heart". It could work for a Sympathy card, I think. I combined this challenge with Sketch Challenge 164 on SplitCoast. I love those challenges because I always need ideas for layouts. Do you think I can come up with this stuff on my own? Well, sometimes- but most of the time....no.

The bird and sentiment were stamped with Timber Brown Stazon. Then I colored the image with my SU markers on water color paper and blended with an Aquapainter. The jury (IMO) is still out on how the image turned out- I am not sure I like the water lines.....but it is a hazard of water-coloring, I guess. At least for me.

CS: (All SU) Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Sage Shadow; SU Outlaw DP (retired)

Ink: Timber Brown Stazon, SU Markers: Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Sage Shadow

Accessories: Aged Copper Brads, Brown satin ribbon (non SU)

Thanks for looking!

I stamped today!! Woo hoo!

Today is Wednesday (it IS Wednesday, isn't it??) so it is time for the challenge with my Sassy friends. This week's challenge was to make Anything But A Card. I decided to make some Valentine's Day treats for this challenge. I made them for my son and three of my co-workers. (My boss is not nice so he isn't getting one...ha ha....). The pink treats with the cupcakes are for the girls and the Grey/Black ones are for the boys. I used stickles on the cupcake to accent the cherry on top but left the cow plain because boys don't like glitter as much as girls. ;) Anyway- this is what I did this morning- I have to get ready for work now. (booo!!!) Thanks for looking!

Girl Treats:

CS: SU- Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, White

Stamp: Cupcake from Michael's $1 Stamp bin

Chocolate Ribbon

Boy Treats:

CS: Basic Grey, Basic Black, Pretty in Pink, White

Stamp: Cow from SU's Very Punny

Black double-stitched ribbon

Accessories used on both:

SU Scallop Punch, 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" circle punches; Cropadile; Cuttlebug; White eyelets from Makin' Memories.

Romancing the Rubber! :)

My Rubber Romance Stamps came in this afternoon and I could not wait to play! I ordered them on Friday and they arrived on Monday! It was super-fast shipping that only cost $2 for my whole order! I will definitely be ordering from this site again!!

I had use these two stamps right away. I love this martini girl- she's so elegant. And the sentiment is all about me- REALLY!! I think this card would make a neat Valentine for someone who's guy had a sense of humor. You could put in the inside, "Just Kidding...sort of. Love ya, Baby!" Wouldn't that be cute- but only if your guy could take a joke.

I stamped the image with Black Staz On onto Water Color paper. (I used Strathmore 140 lb Cold pressed- I do not like it and will not buy it again) I then colored in the image with my SU markers. Her hair is Close to Cocoa and accented with Chocolate Chip. The shirt and lips are Regal Rose and I used Blush Blossom for the skin. The earrings are accented with silver stickles. I finished off the card with black satin ribbon, ticket corner punch and celery brads (SU). The base of the card is Black with a Regal Rose panel that I ran through the Cuttlebug.

Card Stock: SU Basic Black, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery; Strathmore 140 lb WC Paper

Ink: Black Stazon and SU markers

Accessories: Black satin ribbon, SU ticket corner punch and SU Celery brads.

Thanks for looking!!

No Stampin' Today- but stay tuned!!

I didn't get any stamping done today. But don't worry- there are some projects coming up this week that I will be working on. I spent the afternoon (after work of course) paying bills. What is so exciting about that, you ask? Well, I have been poor for quite some time and I finally got caught up on everything and I am getting ready to place an rather large SU order. Yay! I am nervous and excited all at the same time. But there will be so many goodies when it arrives that my head will totally spin. I will be in stamping heaven. I also ordered some stamps from Rubber Romance. I can't wait for those to come in too! It is a treat I have waited a long time for- and probably won't experience again for awhile- so I plan on enjoying it to the fullest!!

Stay tuned this week for my project(s). I will be designing a card for a Shoe Box Swap on Friday. It has to be all current Stampin' Up materials. I hope I can do it. I love SU- but I rarely make a card thatis entirely SU, KWIM?? Also, I am almost finished with my homemade ink pad holder. I will post pictures as soon as it is finished. Also, if I get a chance I need to start on my Easter swap card and then there's Valentine's Day cards and treats. Yes, I know V-Day is this week! I'll get them done. ;)

So as you can see I have lots of stamping excitement coming up which will hopefully make up for the rough times at work. That's right- work is not better- it seems to get worse everyday. BUT it pays the bills (somewhat) so until I find something better that's where I stay. At least I have my stamping heaven (SCS) to check out once in a while! Thanks for checking in!

Sassy Valentine!

This week's challenge with my Sassy Friends was to make a Valentine's Day card WITHOUT using hearts! Well, here's what I came up with. I found this really cute DCWV Paper at Michael's and knew it was purrfect! :) The paper actually is called Sassy Fun! The cat and sentiment are from the $1 bin at Micahel's. There's a flower that goes with it but I lost it - so I layered two primas instead. I think it actually looks better. I paper-pierced the inner scallop circle and used my white gel pen on the outer one. I finished off the card with Aged Copper Brads and Pretty In Pink Ribbon.

This card is going in the mail to my Friend Kimme!

Off to stamp some more!

Help! Work is driving me NUTS!!!

I had a REALLY bad day at work and even though I was exhausted I knew I needed to do something to relieve stress and pick myself back up. I received my order from Hanna Stamps in the mail today including Things Hanna Would Say and the Heidi Swapp brads in pink and brown. That definitely started the cheering up process so I decided to use them to make a card. I don't know why but this sentiment is my favorite- I have a lot of ideas for it in the future. ;)

I colored the puddle with a blender pen and ink pad and the rest of the image was colored with markers. The umbrella was paper-pieced with Groovy Guava Prints DP, the edges were sponged with soft Sky, and I paper-pierced the corner. I used my cuttlebug on the chocolate chip cs and finished it off with ribbon and two brown brads.

Boy, I feel better already! TFL!!

Hanna Hanna everywhere!

Hanna isn't in Montana- she's everywhere- at least on Split Coast. Well, Hanna is adorable and I had to get in on the action too. (I don't like being left out). I don't have the set yet- but my friend Jimmi has the set so she stamped some images for me. Hanna is a lot of fun to stamp. I colored her with my Stampin' Up Markers on water color paper and blended it with my Aquapainter. This is a great alternative for those of us who can't quite afford the Copic Markers yet. It works best (in my experience) with the water color paper from Stampin' Up. The paper used for this image is another brand. It works but not as good as the SU paper. There is a great tutorial for this technique at Julie Buhler's Blog HERE Her hair is Creamy Caramel with Close to Cocoa accents. One of her bags is covered with the dp from the card. The sentiment sums up how I feel about this Hanna set. :)









Other materials used

SU Blush Blossom, Chocolate Chip and Close to Cocoa card stock

SU Chocolate Grosgrain ribbin

White button brads from Makin' Memories

Designer Paper from K I Memories


Ok. I am done gushing about Hanna and how much fun she is. If you are interested in this set and more sets you can check her out HERE. I guess I had better get back to work.

Yes, It's been over 2 months since I posted!! I know!

It's been over 2 months since I posted on my blog and while it doens't bother me a whole lot (it's not like I have any readers) it really bothers my BFF Jimmi from The Stampin Shopper. So what did she do to make me break my fast from posting- SHE TAGGED ME!! Yeah, I know- she's done it before. But this time I think if I don't respond she really might stamp me or color on me with her new Copic markers or something else...who knows?? So here goes.

I have to link to the blogger that tagged me, done.
List 7 random things about myself - I will try- but I doubt it will be interesting....
Tag 7 more bloggers. I don't know 7 bloggers so I'm not going to tag anyone back......

• I used to competive roller skate when I was growing up- my first freestyle routine was to the music of The Pink Panther
• I grew up in a small town in the mountains of Pennsylvania and I loved it there
• I have a dog and I have a cat. I love my dog- do you want my cat?? ;)
• I know a lot of non-girly stuff and can hold my own (somewhat) in a conversation regarding truck engines, tractors and because of my job- truck driving and fuel-hauling
• I am divorced and while my divorce was one of the toughest things I have ever had to survive- it is also the best thing that ever happened to me.
• I live in a two bedroom apartment- I painted my stamp room/dining room yellow even though I wasn't supposed to (I hate white paint)
• I bought an MP3 player to listen to when I walk everyday.....and I haven't gone walking once since I bought it.

Well, that's it. The most boring blog post you will ever read in your lifetime! Oh, wait- nobody reads my blog! bawawawawaaaaaaaa!!! ;)

Have a great day. Maybe if I stamp some this weekend I will post more......but I have to work and you know how that goes.....

Pajama Party! Woo hoo!!

Saturday night was time to PARTY!! I was invited to a Stampin' Pajama Party by one of my good stamping friends. So after work I packed up my pajamas and stamping gear and headed over to her house. Everyone brought some thing to eat or drink. I brought wine and candy because what is a party without those??? :)

I used this opportunity to work on a couple of projects I needed to finish. The first was an anniversary card for my parents. They will have been married 44 years on August 17th!! Ya for them! Of course, I could have never stayed with my ex for that long.......one of us would be dead and it wouldn't be me......so in our case divorce was best. :) But my parents are doing great and they still love each other and get along- rare these days. So this is my card to celebrate their marriage. After all, if it weren't for them- my brother and I wouldn't be here today!

The card is made with the new SU set called Baroque Motifs. I wasn't sure if I would like using it- but I think I do! The colors are Blue Bayou, Soft Skye and River Rock. I punched the scallop with the new SU scallop punch (yes- I have one that actually works!) and put a rhinestone brad in the middle. Then for the finishing touches I sponged the edges with Blue Bayou ink and put Star Dust Stickles in the center of each small flower. I hope they like it!

The second project I needed to do is a birthday card for a friend of mine. I made two birthday cards but I think this is the one I will send her- I really like it. The idea isn't completely original, but then what idea is? We all use the same sets and colors so eventually something overlaps. I used the SU set Doodle This and filled it in with Soft Sky ink with a blender pen. Then I highlighted with my white gel pen. I stamped the main flower in black on white paper and colored the same way. After cutting it out and attaching it with dimensionals- I used my Star Dust stickles (again- I know! I love them!!) and made it all sparkly. I stamped Happy Birthday from It's your Birthday in Black and attached a ribbon (non SU).

Anyway- I made two other cards as well. I tried a lady bug card with the Pick A Petal set then all of us (those who were left at 2 am that is....) made this cute birthday card that looks like paper on a clipboard- complete with a pencil! I wish I could take credit for designing it- but I can't! It was brought by one of the other ladies- and I think her sister designed it. But we had a lot of fun making it!

So you see- I may be mostly work- but this week I was some play too! It was really needed fun time. All work and no play.......makes you me most of the time- and that's not good! So add a little fun into your life wherever you can!

I think I am a stamp collector!

Well, the Summer is officially here. If you're not sure- just stick your head out the door and enjoy the 90 degree temperature coupled with the 90% humidity. YUCK! Between my crappy work schedule and this heat- stamping has not been a priority. Well, in my mind it has but by the time I FINALLY get a day off, clean my house (I must say my house has been the dirtiest it has ever been lately), go grocery shopping, and cook dinner- I am totally exhausted. SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE!! (do you think my boss reads my blog....????) Ha ha ha!!

Ok. I am done ranting. :) I have installed a new rule for myself, however. I will not buy or order any more stamps until all the sets I have are trimmed and mounted. That's right- I had about 8 sets sitting on my shelf that I hadn't even mounted yet. And let's not get into the retired sets I just bought from other demos that haven't seen ink yet. It's insane. I have to stop "collecting" stamps and start using them. That doesn't mean, however, that I have to stop buying accessories, right? (just agree with me here- there's no use in arguing....)

Well, I have made two cards recently- but I did not BUY the stamps to make them. The first card is made with the "Hit the Beach" set from My Favorite Things. This is the set I won at the Williamsburg Shoe Box Swap (see last post.) It was pretty fun- I had to make the card for my little sister in the Divine Secret Siblings Group. I used Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi, So Saffron, and Soft Sky card stock- in addition to Whisper White for the image base. The exciting thing is- I finally got to use a jumbo eyelet from the new SU Catty! Oh, they are so cool. The finishing touch on the card is Stickles in Stardust. If you don't own stickles- that is a good color to start off with- it goes with EVERYTHING. Once you try them- you will use them all the time.

The second card I made for my friend. She is really sad right now missing her sister. Her sister was supposed to come back for a visit but didn't get on the military flight at the last minute. I wanted to try and cheer my friend up- so I made her this card. The Bella Image was sent to me by my Big Sis in the Divine Secret Siblings group. I thought it was appropriate for this occasion. The base is Brocade Blue and the designer paper is from my Pocket Full of Posies Matstack. It has beautiful paper and I am just now starting to break out and use it. I colored the image with assorted Stampin Up markers and then heat embossed iridescent ice on the dress and the shirt of the bellas. The finishing touches are prima flowers attached with a jeweled brad and some organdy ribbon. I love the organdy ribbon and I will miss it now that SU doesn't carry it anymore.

Anyway- I haven't had time to stamp anything else- BUT I did finally mount four stamp sets so maybe I will be stamping again soon.....it's too hot to do anything outside. So if work doesn't kill me first- I will create some more cards!

Thanks for reading!!