Day 2 in 29 Gifts and a CC Designs Card

Today is day 2 in my 29Gifts challenge. Today was pretty easy... We had a birthday party to go to. It's one of jack's little gal friends. Her name is Elle and we've known her since Jack was about 3 months old. We got her lots and lots of dress up stuff which was a pretty big hit at the party. I'm not sure Elle played with any of it, but all the other kids took a piece (even many of the boys) and paraded around with skirts, tiaras and lacy gloves.

Now i know making a card for a 3 year old is pretty silly, but since more than not of my mommy friends have all picked up the stamping and card making habit, we really just do it for each other. :) So this is the card that i made for Elle this morning before the party...



I used an image from CC Designs Gingersnaps Hey Cupid. I was given some images to play with from my wonderful "bella sistah" Jacquie. I'm lovin' the images. I hate when you love images so much you're afraid to use them since you know you dont have the stamp! haha. Luckily she gave me a couple of each. :)
That teal paper in the background with the cool embossing is the new paper by Bazzill. It comes with those dots. LOVE it!!!

Here's a closer look of the little angel...


She's colored with copic markers and if you look carefully you can see the spica pen that covers her wings.

Thats about it for today. With any luck i'll get my entry done for Jen Del Muro's Blog Candy. But somehow i'm thinking i'm going to miss this awesome giveaway. *sigh* so is life! :)

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tagged

I really will have a card creation to post here in a bit! I promise! Yesterday i worked super hard to create an entire bella calendar! Yes, thats 12 pages! I needed a sample for a class i'm teaching and even though i had a card to post... i was too beat. So i'll get the card up today. But first... I was tagged by bff Rachel, and bella sistah foreva Jacquie!

By now i'm sure you've seen it... go to your picture folder... go to the 6th folder.... post the 6th picture. So i was thinking i'd be able to post some adorable picture of gabe when he was just born. Or maybe one of Jack hold Gabe because i have so many of those. But no. What picture did i get?



A praying Mantis! My sister was visiting and she was playing with Jack outside. They found a praying mantis. I have all kinda of pictures of jack looking at it, holding it in a bowl. but now, my 6th picture was just the praying mantis himself. Maybe i'll make a card with the praying mantis stamp from Paper Makeup Stamps from my tagged inspiration a little later. hahahahaha

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29 Gifts in 29 Days & Blog Candy

So my friend Cheryl directed me to this website called 29 Gifts

It's a great idea and fantastic challenge. I've decided this will be my Cause of the Month for February. But, since there are more than 29 days in February... i'm started TODAY!

What do you do? Everyday you give away 1 thing. And your gifts can vary. You should really watch the video clip on the website. It will inspire you!

You can also sign up for the challenge which then has you join a NING group (same type of group as Paper Craft Planet as well as many others. I love NING groups!)

My very last day of the challenge (DAY 29) I will be doing a BLOG CANDY giveaway. It will be a $15 gift certificate to Paper Makeup Stamps. How do you enter to win? JOIN THE CHALLENGE! But you have to really join it. Go to the site posted above, click to join and then you'll be prompted to join the NING 29 Gifts group. So long that you've joined before my 29th day, you're eligible. How do i know you joined? You can leave a comment here, or you can leave a comment on my page in the NING group. :)
Here's a link to MY PAGE.

I'll also keep updates here on my blog of my gift for today.

And for my day 1 gift - i'll be taking 6 pairs of new socks over to the Funkie Munkie Scraps store. They are doing a Sock it to Poverty giveaway. For every pair of socks you give, you are entered to win a Rock Paper Trimmer. Very cool. I dont even know if i'm eligible since i work at the store, but I'm not really giving the socks to win the trimmer, i'm giving the socks as my first gift. :)


Remember - giving is the best way to bring abundance back into your own life!

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Blog candy Give Away

Here a FANTASTIC blog candy for you...

Crafting & Living in Japan

She's giving away 5 copic markers of your choice!!! How phenom! AND 2 Kodomo stamps.

Check it out! You have until January 31st!

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a little monkeyin' around

Today was a pretty good day. I've been working on some stuff, the site went live if you missed my post from late last night and the kiddos cooperated pretty well. Thank you so much for everyone who emailed me to send well wishes for the new adventure i'm going on!!! If you do feel like ordering, dont forget there is a preorder coupon and a discount on shipping. All the details are on the front page.

Here's a card i made using the Monkey Business stamp I previewed a week or so ago.


This card will be one of the ones i'll do in the card basics class at Funkie Munkie. All products used on this card are available at the store.

Paper is by Reminisce (love this paper collection, there are other fun monkey papers, but i chose not to go TOO much on monkey overload. haha. If you look carefully at the yellow paper there are bananas all over it so it goes perfect with the sentiment!

The monkey is colored with copic markers E21, E25, and E27. Oh, and Y21 for the banana. Bella's Baubles embellish the sides.

I noticed earlier that i never posted a few bella things i made so i'll get those up here sometime this week as well. Plus there are a few other challenges i've seen and i have Guest Design Team spot i'm stoked about for February! So keep your eyes peeled for some more fun stuff! Thank goodness to passing a kidney stone!

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Paper Makeup Stamps is LIVE

The website is live! I was going to wait to open the website until i could do something kinda big and grandiose but i'm too stinkin' excited! SOOOOOOO, instead i'm going to do a giveaway from one of the earlier sneak peeks i did from my stamps. :)

Done by Random.org

Here are your random numbers:

25
Jacilynn said...

Great Candy! Congratulations!!!!!

Jacilynn - i dont know how to contact ya girl, so send me an email at makeupbykatie@yahoo.com


And for anyone wanting to peekie at the website it's http://www.papermakeup.com

Thanks everyone!

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a bella card

Thank you so so much for all the emails and well wishes i got! Yesterday was really bad. I thought the pain was bad sunday but i was mistaken! Luckily greg was home and took care of the boys for me. Of course the boys were all out of sorts and jack came in crying asking if he could take me to the medicine house because he just wanted me to feel better. It broke my heart! But finally we're seeing some light at the end of the tunnel!

Ok, i just felt like i should post that since i've gotten so many emails! (again, thanks so much, you sure do make a girl feel loved!)

Now onto my card...


i actually started this card on saturday for the Bella Homepage contest. I used my new Jugglabella from Stamping Bella. Man, am i excited i can get these locally now! This card in particular you can see at Funkie Munkie Scraps and will be included in some of the cards we'll be making in one of my classes. I havent figured out which one yet, probably the coloring class on the 12th.




Now i love jugglabella. You could easily mask out those hearts and put a whole slew of things in there. I'm sure I will at some point, but right now we're nearing february so hearts it is!

The paper is by American Crafts and the line is called Romantic. All of the paper is double sided and thick (think cardstock) with a solid color on one side, and the patterened paper on the other side. So it's fantastic to use because you always have your coordinating cardstock!. I used bazzill cardstock for my base. And those fun little pom poms? Thats the new Daisy Bucket ribbon. it's so fun! It's almost like paper. You can rip it, stamp on it, rub on it, curl it, crinkle it... endless possibilities! very neat stuff! It sells at FM for $5 a spool (which has 10 yards on it). I'm thinking of doing a bulk buy swap with it, so if you are interested, please let me know.

Ok, thats it for now. I feel miserably behind on everything so i'm going to try and get caught up.

Good news though - i'm hoping to have the Paper Makeup Stamps in by the end of the week!!!! YIPPIEEEEE! More new on a release date soon when i have everything!

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well i was going to be crafty.

Well, i had every intention of being crafty and making some fun things while my hubby was out of town this weekend. But i felt pretty yucky after the wedding i worked yesterday. I colored a bella and then said i'd finish tomorrow (today). But then i woke up at 4 am thinking that i was going to DIE! I had to wait until a friend could come and watch the kiddos (THANK YOU LISA!) and then i went to an emergency doc. Turns out i have a kidney stone. Not fun. AND i've tried and tried and tried to get ahold of my husband to get him to come home early and his cell goes straight to voice mail. So we're all watching movies today and i'm going to post a card that jack made for his teacher a bit back.



Here's the story...
One day in my craft room jack was searching for something. I told him he needed to stay out of mama's things. His reply was "but i NEEEEEEEEEED a flower for my card for Ms Jill!" i wasnt aware he was making a card for Ms Jill. So i said, ok, pick out 1 flower. So he did. Then we went thru our normal routine. He went thru my scrap bin and picked out his paper. Then he picked out a stamp and some ink. He said it needed to be all pink for ms jill but got very frustrated when his pink ink wouldnt show up. so he picked purple. I put sticky tabs on the back of everything and then he layered it all together. Mind you he'll be 3 in a month. But i love it when he decides to make cards.

Ok, i'm going back to laying down (dont worry, i'm sitting on the couch as i write this anyway)

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MY LAST POST WAS MONDAY?!?!

WHAT?! Did i read that right? My last post was MONDAY!? Sheesh. This week has just flown by! I even have stuff that i prepared to post. haha. But i will let you know i have been hard at work on the website and it's pretty much done, just needs to be put on the new server.

SO - i'm finally posting that layout i told you i did forever. Yes, I actually scrapbooked. The picture isnt the best, but it works, right? :)



Everything on this layout is available at www.funkiemunkiescraps.com

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I cant say i wasnt warned.

Ok, i have another greeting farm card for you. Because i dont have anything else i'm supposed to be working on! HA! But when i downloaded the cute unicorn for the challenge (see post below) i couldnt help but download an Anya as well. I've thought she was cute, but didnt buy yet (darn spending freeze). I can already feel i'm going to have another stamp addiction. Like i need another one? But i was warned. First by Rachel and then by kel. it's gonna be dangerous. Thank goodness my local store is going to sell them so i can get quick fixes!

These gals are very fun to color! I especially had fun coloring her hair. :)



This is Alice Anya. It's another downloadable digi. You cant beat 3 bucks man. So easy. Right there for ya. No waiting for shipping. Now THATS a quick fix. hehe.

So anya was printed out (thank goodness my new printer works like a dream with copics) and colored with aforementioned copics. I left some white showing in her hair to show the shine (same style thats used often with anime and manga). I could not find patterned paper i wanted to use for the life of me, so i pulled out a stamp set by Inque Boutique called Monarch. I had almost forgot i had this set. Its actually a clear stamp set, not the norm from the Inque Boutique sets. The sentiment is a Stampabilties stamp from Hobby Lobby. A few extra rhinestones finish out the card.

Thanks for stopping by, i gotta get back to the things i'm SUPPOSED to be working on!

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Remembering my childhood with The Greeting Farm

Marie at The Greeting Farm is hosting a super fun challenge using one of her digi stamps. You can read all about her challenge here and you have until this wednesday (Janurary 21st) to enter! What have ya got to lose? Marie's drawing style is just awesome and all the images are fantastic. You should really check it out.

Ok, onto my card.

I was really feelin' my childhood when i made this card! The colors are very atypical for me but after maria mentioned My Little Ponies, i was so there! I was actually a bigger fan of Rainbow Brite! Seriously, i was rainbow brite 2 or 3 different halloweens! My mom just had to keep re-adjusting the costume so it would fit me the following year! So when i saw this cutie unicorn, i thought of Starlight ("the most magnificent horse in the universe"). Of course starlight wasnt a unicorn but his hair was multicolored. After i colored the image, i just went from there to make the card.
And at that point i have no idea what i did because i made this card at midnight while everyone else was asleep! So i may drag a little bit today, but at least i had fun last night cardmaking, right? :)

ETA: sorry, other deets on the card. The cardstock is PTI. I have no clue on the patterned paper. haha. And the sentiment is by stamping bella. :)

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Lauren in Love Fairy Sneak peek

Happy Sunday everyone! Phew. Sunday is my "mom" day where i do all my "mom" duties. Other than the ones i have to do everyday. It's the day I clip my coupons. i do a big grocery shop for the week. Do all laundry that hasnt been done yet. Gather all the stray dishes and do them. Put all the groceries away and tidy up the cupboards that have gone array. You know... mom stuff.

But after i got all that done, i put the baby down for a nap and convinced Jack he needed to play with daddy. So i made this card using "Lauren in Love", one of the fairies soon to be released from Paper Makeup Stamps.

First, here's the card...



A little background on the stamp itself. She is from the fairy line of Beautiful Day Fairies done by one of my WONDERFUL illustrators. Her name is Diem so Beautiful Day is a play on her name. In Vietnamese, Diem means "beauty". In Latin, it means "day". So we decided to combo it into Beautiful Day Fairies. :) They are all so pretty. I'm super stoked about them.

Jack (who will be 3 in just a little over a month, ack!) Named my fairies for me. I asked him what their names should be. He named them after his 3 favorite girl friends. Jack just LOVES his friend Lauren. They bicker like an old married couple sometimes, but he's in love. If she tells him to use his fork (and she will!) he'll use his fork. If i tell him, he looks at me and pushes it off the table. *sigh* Since this fairy it's sprinkling hearts to the ground, I decided on Lauren in Love. Isnt she sweet?

More deets on the card... I colored her with copics (bet ya coulda guessed that!) but i've been playing with my method a wee bit since i'll be teaching copic classes soon! And i've decided i want every single color ending in a 0 or a 1! Yep, it's my new favorite way of coloring with them. :)

I added lots of shimmer to the card using spicas which is always hard to see, but i tried my best to get an angel of light that you can see the super shimmer-i-ness of the card.

it's not full justice to the shimmer, but it's a start.

Thanks again for stopping by! I love to hear your comments and feedback! Thanks so much!

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2 post for the day, scroll down for a sneak peek!

i needed to take a break, and saw this posted on Shannan's blog. It looked like fun. :)

Saw this on my SIL's blog and thought it looked fun. All of the bold items are ones I have done in my wee 29 years *wink* If you do this, link me up! I'd love to read it!


1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain - if Runyon Canyon in LA counts, then yes!
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped - no, but i did one of those sling shot things once??
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - i saw a water spout (tornado over the ocean)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables - my parents did and i picked them??
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - wooops
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors - well the country, does that count?
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language - if sign language counts
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied is this a trick question?
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant ok so i bought a homeless man some mcdonalds, it counts, right
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted yes and i'll find the picture!
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie independent movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business - WOOT! doin' it right now!
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp - it was soooo eerie
67. Bounced a check - woops! sorry rachel!
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial - i dont remember it, but there are pictures of me with it as a kid
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt - half way done with my tshirt quilt, but it's been half way done for about 3 years. hehe.
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone - but only my toe
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person does from a plane count??
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life - i was a lifeguard and i had to jump in to get kids too deep all the time. No crazy CPR or anything though.
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

that was fun shannan! And i found the portrait painted of me online (man i love the internet) by searching for my friend who was the artist...
here it is...



You can find more of Matt Hiron's (on of my best friends since childhood!) art here

Dont forget to scroll down to see a sneak peek from my stamp line! :)

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My mojo is back and another sneak peek

My mojo is back! More or less because it has to be! I have samples galore i need to work on and classes to prepare for! I'm teaching quite a few over at The Funkie Munkie so if you live in the area I'd love for you to come and take my class! My teaching schedule will be in my side bar. :)

Also - I was asked to be a guest designer for Bombshell Stamps for the month of February! Good thing i dont have to work on that stuff just yet! hehe.

I cleaned my craft room today so i'll be ready for all of the new things to come. I cant believe how fast my world is moving, but i'm so excited.

All of the stamps are in the progress of being made. That i really can't believe! It will be so nice to work with the actual rubbah and not my digi files! haha.

Here's another sneak peek for you today of Smitten Snake by Paper Makeup Stamps. He kinda cracks me up with that big ol' grin of his. This one is from one of my illustrators. You'll get to see more of his animals soon.




I used Lauren Meaders mytimeless20 sketch for this card.
If you notice on her sketch, she had that edging to the right. Well, i've owned that punch by Stampin Up for the better part of a year now and had still yet to use the bugger! So i was thrilled to see this sketch. Of course nothing on the sketch is mandatory but i had no excuses not to use that punch! So i did! hehe.
My other details...
Cardstock (all by SU) - kraft, red ridinghood, chocolate chip, so saffron
Coloring Medium - copics
Tools - cuddlebug and tiny mosaic embossing folder
Embellies - buttons by American Crafts, thread by DMC


Ok, back to working on projects for this week! :)

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my mojo is TAPPED

I am completely tapped for mojo! Continuing on the scrambling rampage, all my designs for the first release and grand opening of Paper Makeup Stamps are done and off to be produced. Whew. But MAN am i tired! Not to mention the baby woke up at 5 am and did NOT want to go back to sleep. And he's been in my lap all day as i worked on the computer (still not feeling well from his shots). I had every intention of working on a new card to do a sneak peek, but at this point, i just want to curl up in a warm blanket, a cup of hot cocoa and some good music. But my 2 year old actually took a nap (yeah for having some time to work on the computer unbugged, boo for the fact that i'll be staying up late!)

SO - no card to show, but i will just give a sneak peek of one of the last sets i created today (at the request of some of my readers who asked for a monkey). I'm super critical of the things i draw myself so i'm so thrilled that some liked the squirrel enough to ask for more animals like him!

Here is my Monkey Business set...



Once i hear word back from the production people of when they will be ready I'll be sure to let you all know!

Thanks for stopping by! With luck i will have a creation for you tomorrow!

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scramblin....

My days are blurring into my nights around here! I have been very very busy getting ready to launch my new stamp company. Who woulda thunk so much works goes into all this! Ok, well, i would have guessed it was a lot of work but adding it on top of a busy life with 2 under 3 and my makeup business has been about to side swip me! I guess thats why they call it a busi-ness, huh? haha.

And bringing up those 2 under 3. Poor baby gabe! I think he's teething but he's just been a bit fussier than usual and his 2 year old brother doesnt seem to be very helpful with nap times. Gabe is still eating 2 - 3 times a night! And acting so hungry everytime. Today we had his 4 month check up (um, he's almost 18 pounds so perhaps i should just feed him less! haha, actually his weight is right where is should be for his height so he's just a plain ol' big baby!). But the extra attention needed has put me a little behind.

Speaking of behind...for all those who i've hosted swaps with, i'm SO terribly sorry i'm behind! I completely blame myself for hosting during a time i knew would be busy! I wasnt going to and then thought, well i can handle it, and i'm just plain behind. EVERYTHING is going postal today!

So no sneak peeks today BUT i found a pic of a card i made a while back that i apparently just forgot to post. woops. haha. It was from a challenge over at Paper Craft Planet. The challenge was to use Black and White as the main colors with just a pinch of other color. Here is my sympathy card using Gina K Designs Comfort and Peace... (FYI - did you know Gina K was once a makeup artist? it's true! Well, i say once because i think she's a tad busy now and doesnt do it professionally anymore, but once a makeup artist always a makeup artist in my mind!)



I used a cuddlebug folder on the white to give it some more depth. The flowers are from the comfort and peace set as well but they are stamped on a separate white piece of paper and then adhered over the embossed paper.

I hate that i havent been posting those sneak peeks BUT i have to mention the fact that i havent been able to find my camera charger ANYWHERE! I have searched and searched but was unable to find it since our holiday travels. I have dedicated entirely too much time trying to find it creating disasters as i look. Well, i found it today! Whew! I made a layout i was quite happy with for the Funkie Munkie Scraps design team but wasnt able to take a picture of it. Once my camera is charged i'll go over to the store and snap a pic. :)

Soon i'll be in the process of doing a major craft weed-out of stamps and such. Just time to do that again since they accumulate so quickly, don't they? Plus the extra moolah will be very helpful in the business start up costs. But i gotta get caught up here before i get to post all that! haha. I'll post what sets i have available here on my blog when i get them all set up.

Ok, back to the grind of getting some things accomplished. The baby is asleep and i dont know how long it will last but i'm going to do everything i can while it does! :)

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free stamps to military stampers

Marie, owner of The Greeting Farm, is doing something spectacular for all those who have a dad, brother, sister, son or daughter in the military... she's giving away a free stamp set! And adorable Ian stamp set at that! Take a look here...

Isnt he CAH-UTE! It's just such a great thing she's doing! You can read all about the makings of this stamp set

here and here

But while you're at it why not look at some of the other fabulous stamp sets marie has and support such a generous new stamp company! :)

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Sneak Peek of Paper Makeup Stamps!

I cant believe it was last thursday that i posted last? Where does the time go??? Well, i'll have you know i've been hard at work finalizing a few things getting closer and closer to the Grand Opening of Paper Makeup Stamps! I'm sure as you might guess there is a lot that goes in the Behind-the-Scenes action of a stamp company.

Ok, without much further ado... i want to introduce Diem's Faeries! Ok, so they may not be called that in the long run, but i am working with a FABULOUS illustrator on these faeries. She seriously rocks. And to have someone who gets me so well (even though i dont know how she is completely in my head) is awesome. There will be 4 Faerie's released in the grand opening with more to come. I really think you will love them. I can gush over them because it isnt my artwork this time. (i'm always so critical of my own!)

Here's "Jaina Fairy". I call her Jaina Fairy because she looks like one of Jack's little friends (and his first "love") Jaina. Isnt she adorable!!!



I actually made this card for my illustrator to thank her for her hard work and helping me to make my dream come true! You cant see it in the picture but she is just covered with teeny tiny sparkles ala spica pens. I also added some extra stickles to her wings to make them super duper sparkly.

I used Jen del Muro's "Sketch for you to try" from this week for my layout inspiration. Here's a bit more on the deets...

Cardstock: Groovy Guava (SU), Soft Sky (SU), Aqua Mist (PTI), Chocolate Chip (SU)
White Paper: Georgia Pacific
Patterned Paper: Designer Print Series (SU)
The little details...
Colored with: Copics
Cuddlebug Embossing Folder - Swiss Dots
Bling - Darice
Ribbon - Michael's
Flowers - Prima
Brad - sugar coated by Doodlebug
Swirl cut from Home Accents by Cricut
Butterfly punch by Martha Stewart
Stickles in Cinnamon, Waterfall
Charm from Whimsy Stamps (they sent it as a gift with my order!)
Cat's Eye Chalk ink - Prussian Blue, Chestnut Roan

Since this is the first peek of the fairy stamp line - i would love to hear your feedback!!!! Leave your comment here and i will choose 1 person at random to win this stamp for free!

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I'm in love with a Munkie

A FUNKIE MUNKIE! hehe. Today i went into a new scrap store close to my house and - OMG! I fell in LOVE! I mean my heart was swooning all over the place! The gals that own sure do know what I like. hahahhahaha.

For starters... they have BELLAS! My heart could have leapt out of my chest right then and there! Then i saw the copics! And all the bling! Oh me oh my i was in HEAVEN!

And a further bonus - she loved the faerie image from Paper Makeup Stamps! YIPPIE! She said they would love to carry the stamp line in their store because they strongly believe in local business!

Then i showed her my blog to prove that i was as die hard a copic and bella fan as i claimed to be. And she said she'd like me on the design team! I'm sure i need to actually submit some stuff with things from their store and what not first. But still! Cloud 9! I am on CLOUD 9!

I was very very bad, and bought. I didnt buy a ton, but i did want to get a few things that i could be using for their design team! *evil smile*
Here's my loot...


A bella sentiment stamp
A bella baby stamp
a copic ciao marker
2 packs of kaiserkraft pearls
2 packs of kaiserkraft bling
6 sheets of patterend paper
1 sheet of polkadotted texture cardstock (bigger than swiss dots, SO cute)
a bag of the cutest darn buttons alive
and
a fantastic primsa swirly bling thingy

All of that for 25 bucks! And that included TAX! Great prices!

And here is the card i made today with a bella and sentiment i already owned BUT she had them for sale in the store. I'm going to go and take my card to her tomorrow and resist buying anything else! but i am taking friends that i'm sure will buy things. hehehe.



Here i used StampingBellas Craveabella and Cheers.
Patterned paper is Amplified Summer of Love by American Crafts (it's double sided - patterened on one side, solid brown on the other)
Cardbase is by Bazzill (sorry i forgot to check the color but if you need it let me know and i'll check it to my swatch book)
Bling is by KaiserKraft
Flower is Prima
punch is Branch by Martha Stewart

Thanks for stopping by!

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How do you like your stamps?

I'm still working out some of the kinks to this new stamp company. :) So excited about it still i want everything done yesterday! For the most part I have all the people in line that need to be in line and the ball is definitely rolling! But i have a question for you....

How do you like your stamps?

From a general consensus i gathered previously (and because it's what i like best) I'm going with unmounted rubber for my stamps. But there are still so many ways to do unmounted rubber!!! So i thought who better to ask but my faithful blog readers! When you buy stamps, what do you prefer, it to be already on cushioned ez mount? Do you like it when you get to cut it out, or when they do it for you. Do you like it completely naked (lowering cost and shipping price) so you can do to it what you want?

I'm very interested to know! You can leave a comment here or you can email me at my temporary stamp company email addie.... (or my regular email addie - that works too)
PaperMakeupStamps@gmail.com

Thanks so much everyone for your support!

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Pink Cat Challenge and a little sneak peak

Wow - i have had some crazy past couple of days working on things for my stamp company! I'm so excited!!! I'll get sneak peaks to ya as i get them! (including one for today!)

But let me also say that Pink Cat Studios has an awesome challenge that pretty much gives you a free digi download right from the start! AND the winner will get a free stamp set of their choice! Now THAT is a fun challenge! Read all about it here on their blog!

Here is my card using Lily Fairy from Pink Cat...


The sneak peak i mentioned is the sentiment on the card. This is one of the quote stamps from my stamp line! I'm going to have lots of quotes because i'm pretty much addicted to them. :)

Now a little bit more about my card...
I made this card with my girl, Christi in mind. She's having a bit of a rough time with some health stuff and i wanted to send her a card to let her know i'm thinking about her. I'm actually kinda counting on her resting and not reading this post before the card can make it to her! But if she sees it ahead of time, oh well. It's prettier in person anyway! :)

I used copic markers to color her in and used a cuddlebug embossing folder, some primas, ribbon, brads and bling to finish it off!!!

Thanks for stopping by today!!!!! I'll have some more sneakies for you soon!

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A little nutty squirrel

2009 is HERE! And what i've wanted for quite some time is finally coming to fruition! I'm starting my own stamp company!!! I'm so excited i cant even contain myself! I'm still working on designs and such but i'll slowly be adding in some sneakie peeks of what is to come. :)

First - here is the card i made for my hubbie's bday on friday. I'm still tweaking the design just a wee bit. The image on the card is one i hand drew. :) So here he is... nutty squirrel...



So there he is! ACK! I'm so self critical of my own stuff. Once finalized, the squirrel and sentiment will be available in a set with some other things including another animal (that you'll just have to wait to see). :)

I would really really love ANY feedback that you have! Thanks so much!

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EtsyInspired Challenge #18

Welcome back to another EtsyInspired Saturday! Sadly this is my last round as a guest designer with the EtsyInspired group. If you've enjoyed seeing my etsyInspired challenge cards this past month, dont worry, i'll still participate in the challenges, they'll just come later in the week. :)

This week's artist/shop is Autumn Russell and she is giving away one heck of a prize! Any of the original artwork in her shop valued at under $55 will be chosen by the winner this week and she has some fabulous stuff in there so definitely check it out!

I had such a hard time picking my inspiration piece because she just has so many good artworks to choose from! I WAS going to do a tree. She has some pretty cool trees. Then i WAS going to do a butterfly, since she has a couple of gorgeous ones. Then i was going to use one of her child art pieces because, well, i just love them and if i had a little girl i would SO be buying one to put in her room! But in the end, i decided to go with this beautiful ballerina because after dancing for 18 years (you didnt know i did that did ya!) ballerinas just tug on my heart strings.
Here is her beautiful ballerina...

Now let me just say... i thought her coloring choices were beautiful and unique. How she made them look so darn good i dont know! I tried to use the same ones and wasnt nearly as in awe of my colored image as hers! haha. Still, once i added the patterened paper from DCWV's Old World collection it seems to wrap up a little better. The image is Bellarina from Stamping Bella. She was my very first bella i owned (of course, because i love ballerinas!)
Here is my card...

She is colored with copic markers and then i added some platinum stickles to her dress, around her neck and to her hair for some extra bellariffic ness. :)

Now go check out the rest of the EtsyInspired Design team including Janurary's Guest Designer... Christine Jensen
Ashley Newell
Joy Stagg
Lee Murphy
Lindsay Spencer
Ryann Salamon
Tanis Giesbrecht
Tiffany Johnson

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Very cool blog candy alert

2nd post for today! To see something crafty, scroll down, but WAIT! Read about this blog candy first! :)

Starving Artist Stamps is giving away their lastest valentine's day releases! (OMG i cant believe it's almost valentine's day already!) Go to this post to enter

Here's the stamps...





Now go check it out!

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Unity altered wooden box

This was a gift i made for my mom for christmas. I made a card this with sentiment from Unity Stamp Company a bit back and put it in my etsy shop and my mom told me she was about to buy my card out of my etsy shop just because she loved the quote so much. I told her that was totally silly and she'd get something with a quote eventually. So for christmas i had to do something with it!

Now here's something about Unity's quote singles... they are HUGE! I mean, no joking! They are very very large stamps and for 6 bucks, you cant beat it! So they are fantastic on a lot of things... cards, scrapbook pages, altered items... it's really a fab deal.

Here's my altered wooden box...



I was so thrilled with how this turned out! Even moreso because i was doing it the night before we left for Indiana! Now i'm obsessed with making more of them (though i havent yet). I bought the wooden box at Hobby Lobby for 2.99. Not to mention that they have sales on stuff like that all the time! I went the other day (and they had 30% off) but they didnt have any of these boxes in stock. bummer.

Now i already did a little tutorial on how to use crackle paint about 2 weeks ago. If you missed it, you can see it here. I love love love crackle paint! It makes things look so stinkin' cool! You might notice here that the crackle looks different than it does in the link post. The cracks are much much smaller and closer together. The only thing i did different was i waited longer for the crackle to "dry" (note: you do NOT let the crackle dry completely!) Also, the thicker the coat of crackle is, the larger the cracks will be. So it may take some practice until you can judge the size of the cracks before you even apply the top coat, but the great thing about crackle is it always looks good!

I painted the entire wooden box with brown apple barrel paint. I actually painted 2 coats which i usually do for the bottom layer. Let that dry completely then add your crackle medium. And like i said, i waited longer this time for the crackle to dry because i wanted smaller detail in the cracks. Then i applied an off white ACRYLIC paint. The bottom coat isnt a huge deal (sometimes i spray paint, even though the crackle medium says to use acrylic) but i always use an acrylic paint for my top coat. Those cheapie americana paints at the craft store are acrylic. After that dried completely i sponged/rubbed antiquing glaze around all my edges. I just love the antiquing glaze with the crackle. they go together so nicely. I actually did NOT add any further coats. the smaller cracks arent really bothered by no top coat.

For my front, i used the unity quote and colored it in with markers so that the various words would be different colors. I put it on a chocolate cardstock mat and was done with it. Super easy and looks so cool. I cant wait to do one for my craft room!!! :)

Thanks for stopping by today on this Holiday and i hope everyone has a fantastic 2009!!! I know i have LOTS in store for 2009 so i cant wait!

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