See, i told ya i'd get inky!

I told ya i'd get inky today and i did!  I woke up this morning and thought to myself "self, you have an hour before you have to get ready for church... GO!" So i made myself some coffee (and made note that i need to get some more K Cups!) and went to work on the There She Goes color challenge of using black, white and another color of choice.  I chose Distress Ink tattered rose as my other color because it's my newest ink pad that i hadnt even taken the plastic off of yet.  You know... everytime i use distress ink i'm reminded how much i love it and then question myself as to why i dont own all the colors.  I really should fix that problem the next time they are on sale at Hobby Lobby!

Ok, onto the card... I used TSG's Thinking of You set.  

This sweet little gem is only 5 bucks!  And let me tell you, this is some good clear rubber!  You never know when you're trying out a new company but it's as good as my other favie clear companies (verve, papertrey, ctmh, you get the idea) so it's good stuff.

First i started with one of the flower batches and stamped it in versamark ink on some good quality white cardstock. I then stamped it 2 more times on either side of the first to make the row longer. It was from the scrap bin, so i'm not positive to what it was, but it was one of the good ones, neenah, papertrey, maybe ctmh or SU... not sure) And then i used clear embossing powder over it and heat set it. Then i did the emboss resist technique which i've actually done a tutorial on eons ago but it's kind of an age old stamping technique and i think most gals know it. If not, just email me and i'll explain it all to ya!

Then i stamped the thinking of you sentiment on another square also in the same tattered rose ink, and then again on top of that in black. I've really been digging the "ghost" effect i've seen on a few cards and i figured today was as good a day as any to try it out. There's a close up of the sentiment up top because i'm not sure you can see the ghost image in the full view photo.

I did want a little something extra on the bottom panel and i thought a bird sillouette would be perfect! There She Goes even has a set of all bird sillouettes that has a strip of flowers and grass that would have been perfect for this card. You can see it here and it's called Here for You. Alas... i dont own this set. hahahahaha. But then i did remember i have a bird sillouette set by PaperTrey Ink called Birds of a Feather and while most of the bird images are larger... PTI often (if not always) includes a coordinating stamp in the set that is a hand stamped for you by stamp and it often has an image with it. So i used a dew drop ink to only ink up the little bird and stamped that onto my flower panel. PERFECT! :) I love it when as my friend Tangii says, the planets align and cards just turn out like you want!"

So thats my card for today! :) And i feel better about myself for actually getting inky today! hahaha. The house is still a wreck. My craft room needs some major help before i have company next week and i'm still aching to do just a few more of the Stampin Out Alzheimer's challenges before the day is up! Oh, and the hubster wants to go look at cars because we might trade mine in which makes me want to absolutely cry as i LOVE my car, but it would save us money and we do need another seat, so..... we're LOOKING. LOOOOOOOOKING! :)

Ok, thats all my babble for today! :) Chat with everyone sooner than later!

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phew... what a day!

Sorry nothing crafty to post today. The classes i taught today were lots of fun! 12 Ladies (2 of which took both classes, love ya Angela and Karen!)

Then when i got home my 3 year old announced to me that now we got to go fishing!!!! He was so excited. So we all piled in the truck and went to a nearby lake to fish for a bit. To my son's disappointment we only caught 1 fish and it was a prickly fish so he didnt get to hold it. Imagine a 3 year old telling you all this with a big *sigh*. So sad. haha. Then we went out to dinner... (i totally heart golden corral! is that bad?!) and i came home and finished taking pictures of the pile of stamps i gathered to sell to good and loving homes! They are now all up on the Feeding the Habit blog . Most everything is at LEAST half off the retail price if not more, and most of it is barely used if used. I have so many unused stamps it's ridiculous!

Ok, tomorrow i am really going to try hard to make something crafty to get up here, i promise! :)

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A Bella Clutch

Hi everyone! Sorry new stuff never went up on the "feeding the habit" blog. My camera wouldnt charge for me, so i was stuck. I think it's charged now though so i'll be off to take more pictures after i get this post up. :)

This is my entry for Lauren Meader's My Timeless Template challenge over at Stampin Out Alzheimer's event

I also needed to create something for the Bella Club meeting at Funkie Munkie Scraps this saturday. Did you know you can use Lauren's templates like that? You can! You just have to keep all copyright into printed onto the template! And i thought her templates would be perfect since we need a project to do, but it's isnt really a full on class. PERFECT! And i'm hoping that the ladies in the club will realize how perfect Lauren's Templates are and go purchase some of their own! :)

I used her Purseonality Clutch template to create this little bella clutch! Inside I've filled it with stamped out bella images, some baubles and other emBELLAshments and something that every girl needs.... CHOCOLATE! :)

Here's the finished project...






I was really pleased with how it came out and how fast it was able to come together! I printed the bottom out on Bazzill Cardstock (that i forgot to check the color on, SORRY!) and then the top (a separate template design making it super easy to have 2 colors) onto Bittersweet Bazzill Cardstock. The patterned paper i cut slightly smaller and then adhered it to the top side of the template centering it where i wanted and THEN i scored it. It makes it a lot easier to adhere it first so that way the score lines are perfectly fit together! I then ran it thru my sewing machine to give that true purse look. :) I followed this same process to the handle.

The bella is the mini Contentobeabella that comes with the larger version. She was the PERFECT size for this project!!!!



STAMPS
Contentobeabella and the sentiment is one of mwahbella's

COLORING:
Copic Markers: now this was small, so not a lot of shading going on, just straight colors!
Skin:E00, R20 (just a dot for cheeks!)
Hair & pants: E25
Shirt: R20, R21
Flower: R22, R24

PAPER
Cardstock is Bazzill
Patterned Paper is American Crafts from the Everyday Collection

TOOLS:
My Timeless Templates by Lauren Meader available at PaperTrey Ink
Scallop circle punch by SU
Sewing Machine

ACCESSORIES:
Bellas Baubles

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stuff to *GASP* sell!

I didnt craft yesterday! AT ALL! i started to clean up my craft room so i could craft, and i was just annoyed with how much i've accumulated and cant possibly even come close to using it all! And there is more i want to buy even! So i decided (with a somewhat heavy heart) to start the weedout process just because i dont have the room or time for many of these sets. And many of them are unused and unloved (though all my sets have been taken very good care of, if they ever got used!!!!)

So you can start seeing whats ready to go on my Feeding the Habit blog...

I have more pulled out that will go up there but i have to take pictures of it all, but i also promised my son I'd take him to the zoo today so more picture and stamps and whatnot will be loaded later today!

Shipping starts at 2.50 per set of wood mounted and only $1 for bare or clear stamps. If you are ordering lots (i love you) i will put everything in a box and send you an invoice to let you know actual shipping costs.

Thanks for looking! I will post again when i get the rest of it up!

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We did it!

Yippie for Jen Tapler and Susanna Boyd! The Stampin' Out Alzheimer's event reached it's goal IN ONE DAY! 1 DAY!!!! Thats amazing. For anyone who is participating in the event, or plan to sometime this week, thank you! As a sponsor, I thank you. As a member, I thank you. As a friend, I thank you!

If you havent joined up yet, what are you waiting for?! Go to http://www.stampinoutalzheimers.ning.com
You dont know what you're missing! There are prizes out the waaaazoooooooo! :)

Yesterday i participated in some vervie verve challenges! I love my Verve Visuals stamps. They dont get nearly the love and appreciation they should. They are also having a sale! Woot Woot! my current cart is at 52.60. Now if only i could win that $50 gift certificate Julee is giving away at SOA. Or even one of the many free sets. *sigh* (have i enticed you to go over to the site yet? i'll keep trying if i havent, hehehehe)

The 2 challenges going on are the Mojo Monday challenge and a Verve Visuals challenge.

Here's my verve sketch challenge card...


and my Mojo Monday card (which i'm not ecstatic about, but thats ok, it grows on me)



I will say that i was pretty excited that i happened to have Dr. Suess paper in my stash!



Verve Sketch Card (1st card)
STAMPS:
Petals and Stems by Verve Stamps

PAPER:
White is Neenah Solar White, Cardstocks are Soft Sky (SU), Creamy Caramel (SU), Chocolate Chip (SU) and Sorbet (CTMH)

INKS: Sorbet (CTMH), Sweet Leaf (CTMH), Soft Sky (SU), Creamy Caramel (SU)


Mojo Sketch Card (2nd card)
Stamps:
Beautiful You by Verve Stamps

Paper: is a hodge podge of scraps really. I'm pretty sure the dr suess is by Sandy Lion though. :)



Thanks for stopping by again! Now go play over at the SOA site! :)

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Still Stampin' Out Alzheimer's with my first Hybrid Card!

I'm so proud of myself! I made a Hybrid card!!!! I have never done this and until recently didnt know what it even meant to make something "hybrid". I thought going "hybrid" was a type of car! (well it is, but this is different.

The word Hybrid in the crafting world is combining digi crafting with papercrafting. I downloaded this FREE digi kit design by Libby Weifenbach (she designs for SweetShoppeDesigns and OMG, this kit is toooooo cute! I've never digi scrapped either, but i've recently been looking at digi scrapping kits since i've been wanted to get into creating blog backgrounds, etc and i have the photoshop knowledge, so why not?!

Here's an overview of the kit of downloaded


Isnt it just so stinkin' cute! Me likey it a lot. Did i mention it was FREE?? Well it is! To all Stampin Out Alzheimer's members! Which is also free (with a suggested donation for $5).

The nice thing about hybrid crafting, is you never have to hoard that beautiful sheet of paper because what if you neeeeeed it for another project. Um, just print it again? And the other bonus to me was i worked out what i thought i would need for the card (what, planning ahead?!) and then i just printed THAT. SO i knew i wanted a 3.5 x4.5 piece of the blue polka dot paper (you'll see my card in just a second..) so thats all i printed of the blue polka dot paper. Brilliant. No waste!

Ok, here's my card...



I'm very pleased with how the card turned out. Maybe it's because i had the plan ahead of time since i was printing everything i'd need? Maybe the kit is just so cute that anything would look good? I dont know, but i really am pleased with the turn out of my first "hybrid" card. :)

I printed everything out on Neenah cardstock. I might have been able to get away with GP or even regular printer paper, but i wanted it to look really nice, so i used the neenah. I'm so addicted to that stuff! So white.... so smooooooooth. Ahhhhhhhh.

Everything on my card is part of the kit except for the twine on my button. THe kit does come with stitching, and i could have layered that before printing so i wouldnt have to cut it out, but i didnt do that. So i printed out the button, and then punched it out (helpful tip, print it out the same size as one of your circle punches... i just plain got lucky on that one!) and then i punched the holes in the button so i could tie twine in it. I did put some liquid glass over it to give it that shiny button look.

And every single other element to this card is in the kit! The sentiment i put inside the labels one. Pretty nifty huh!




Stamps: Lily by Paper Makeup Stamps

Colored with COPICS - i was playing with slightly different coloring technique of always blending with a lighter shade. I like playing with different techniques. How can you find your favorite way of anything without trying out different ways to begin with?
Skin: E00, E31, R20 (cheeks and tongue)
Hair: E35, E37, blended with E33, clear spica
Shirt: R35, R37, blended with R32
Skirt: Y35, Y38, blended with Y32
Wings: B000, colorless blender, clear spica
Icecream: YG11, YG25, E57 (for the choc chips), E31 for the cone
Shoes: E33

Paper & Embellies:
Flip Flop Tan digi kit by Libby Weifenbach

Ok, well back to the SOA site for me i go! Too many challenges and too many great prizes to not play all day!!!! :)

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Let's Stamp Out Alzheimer's!

Well, it's 12:06 am which means the Stampin' Out Alzheimer's event has officially started! WOOHOO! This event is a week long! It's going to be so much fun! Since i'm a sponsor, i've been able to get on the site a little bit early to set up my challenge and boy oh boy are there some fun challenges, prizes and freebies! You'll really want to check it out!

The challenge I'm sponsoring is called "Any Winged Thing". Sounds easy enough, right? It is!!! ALl you have to do is used any "winged" thing! I used a fairy (how could i not!) but I could have used a butterfly, bumblebee, angel, bird, etc. Anything with wings!!!! The prize to be won is a $25 gift certificate to the Paper Makeup Stamps site.

Here's my card...



Ok, first can i just say that i LOVE this new glitter paper by Best Creations?! I mean it is SUPERBLY (if thats a word) glittery! And the best part, the glitter doesnt come off! Now i'm not going to lie, it's not cheap paper. It retails at about 2 bucks a sheet, but it's amazing! I have 2 sheets now (a blue and an orange) but methinks i may have to get more!

It also inspired me to do a technique that i LOVE and dont do nearly often enough and thats heat emboss my brads. You simply heat up the brad using your heat gun (um, you'll need tweezers or something long and away from your fingers!!!!) and then dip the heated brad into your embossing powder. Some of the embossing powder will start to melt and so it will stick to your metal brad but you'll need to reheat the brad to get it all to melt. Using a "tinsel" embossing powder makes glittery brads super easy which is what i did here! And it ended up matching the paper perfectly to my delight!

You can check out members of the PMS design team's take on this challenge by going to the PMS blog


Copic Coloring
Skin: E00, E21, R20 (cheeks)
Hair: E35, E37, Colorless Blender
Dress: Blues are B00, B02 blended with B000, Pinks are RV11 with RV34 and RV19 (and pink spica pen)
Wings: RV000, RV10
Bucket: E33, E35

Stamps

The image i used is Lauren in Love from PMS. She's colored with copics and spica pens (though you cant see the spica pens too well in the photo. The sentiment is from the Fairy Sentiments set, also from PMS

Papers
Purely Pomegranate Cardstock from Stampin Up
Glitter Paper by Best Creations
Light Blue Paper from a pack from the target dollar spot!

Embellies and Accessories
Cheapie brads heat embossed with Torquoise Embossing Tinsel by Ranger
Cats Eye Chalk ink in Maroon

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Getting ready for Copic 1

Hey there! Sorry i didnt finish my card in time to post! I had to get all my stuff together for my copic 1 class today at Funkie Munkie. So i'm just posting that info instead. At least it's a colored image, right? And maybe it will be helpful to other teachers??

Here's what i put together for my classes...



I stamp out the image to be used in class a few times on a sheet of paper. it keeps everything together and the students can see the progression. 1 image is already colored and labeled with color names. This helps to not have to answer the same questions too often plus gives me an overall reference point. Having all of your images you are working on stamped on 1 piece of paper also helps you to not lose the paper while teaching. before i used to just have a few extra stamped images for myself. Then 1 gets tucked away under something else or someone has picked it up to have a closer looksie and it's hard to locate it when you need it using up your class time. The larger piece of paper is just easier to find. :)

You'll notice my markers are covered in black electrical tape. I do this so i know they are mine. Yes i could just write my initials on them, but KC isnt the most uncommon of initials plus in my initials are on the face down side of the marker, i have to do thru and check each one as they are strewn about the table (i left my students use my markers during class if they do not have their own or dont have the appropriate color). Having any color of tape all the way around the marker makes it easy peasy for me to spot the marker and make sure it goes back in my case to go home with Moi! :)

I also always bring the iamges prestamped as to not waste class time plus extras in case there are extra people or in the event that someone needs a do over. But i still also bring extra paper, the stamps to be used and my memento ink. Better prepared than not! Of course then i also need a block to put the stamps on, just in case. Dont rely on your craft store to have any of these. They may have gone home with an employee.. gotten lost in a shuffle, etc. Always be prepared. or you'll end up buying something off the shelf and duplicating your stash (woops, done that one!)

The big pink square you see in the photo is my stamp mat. I LOVE my stamp mat. I do have some small black ones and sometimes i just take those instead. But the tables usually in craft stores arent always the best stamping surfaces. So i like to have a good one with me, just in case.

My class today is Copic 1. The images we are going to use in class are Ashlie's Snail (a smaller and easy image to color first to get feet wet for those who havent even used the markers before. Then next we're doing Jaina Fairy. Both stamps are from Paper Makeup Stamps. I dont always use stamps from my line for class, but i cant help it if i like them! :)

Here's a close up view of the colored image...


The technique we'll use today is a very easy marker + marker on paper. It' a great way for beginners to learn how copics work and blend together.

And on a fun side family note... gabe is walking! He doesnt get far, but he's walking. Lord help me! :)

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So ya wanna be a Featurebella??

The SouthernBella club hosted by Funkie Munkie Scraps is having a featurebella contest every month. For it's first featurebella challenge you DO NOT have to be a paid member of the club. Anyone can do it! You just have to use any stamp from Stamping Bella so it could be a bella, a ketto, a huggabug, etc. You get the idea.

What do you win?
* Featured on the BellaClub blog and in Funkie Munkie's brick and mortar store.
* A bella prize pack (donated by Funkie Munkie Scraps)
* An entry into the QWEENABELLA contest that is at the end of the year
* 1 month club membership absolutely free (where you get discounts, bella make n take kits, etc)

How will the winner be chosen?
* All cards will be posted on the blog and voted on by whomever browses the blog. There will be no names on the card entries.


Here's my card (not for the contest, but just for fun, i'm kinda a permanent club member and help create the make n takes and help to teach the classes for the locals so I dont think i can enter! haha)



STAMPS: Walkabella, I heart you sentiment, www.stampingbella.com

COPIC COLORS - main color/blending color in bold, colors added in the order listed, with main color used over top to blend
Skin: E00, E31, E02 (cheeks only)
Hair: E30, E33, E35
Dress: YR01, YR02, R05, Red spica pen (flowers and shoes)
Bag and Dog Bow: YG21, YG25
El Poocho: E41, E42, E40

PAPERS:
Patterned Cardstock: Die Cuts with a View, glittered PETS collection
Cardstock: Bazzill (parakeet and cajun)
White: Neenah Solar White

ACCESORIES:
Black thread and sewing machine
Kaisercraft Pearls in Black
Cat's Eye Chalk ink in Charcoal


Don't forget to read all about the SouthernBella Club challenge HERE. You have until may 31st to enter!!!

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tickled and peeved

Ok... so i'm both thrilled that i'm figuring it out and peeved that i worked all day on figuring out how to create my own blog backgrounds and i have quite mastered it yet. But i'm starting to understand. What i cant figure out is my my sizing is all stretched and off. Why isnt the background that i've created just the background for the blog? Why does so much of it hang off and leave other parts too large?

Does anyone know the answer to this that can help me? I have the main image 14.5 x 11 at 100. Uploaded to photobucket at 1 megabyte. I just cant figure out why it's all stretched out. But now it's 12:30 am, and i'm exhausted and just too tired to think anymore. And i spent all of my crafting time this afternoon working on this. I want it to be so much more, but i still have a lot of learning to do. *sigh*.

So it's both fun and frustrating! I think tomorrow i'll have to take a break from it and do some crafting that i actually know how to do! :)

But other than the fact that it seems a little bit distorted... what do you think??

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WATERMARKS!

Ok, so i dont have anything fun and fabulous crafty wise to show you. Yesterday i got locked out of my house (yep... i am me after all, so we went to funkie munkie and hung out ALL day, thank goodness i had my car keys!) But that stole my daytime crafting time, and Instead of crafting last night, i was determined to figure out how to make some watermarks. Now i watermark my own pictures all the time and find that pretty easy to do, however, i wanted to make a watermark for each member of the PMS design team and i needed to figure out the best way to do that. Plus i wanted to make it pretty, which mean layers, photoshop brushes, etc and that was what i couldnt figure out how to send in a transparent fashion.

Well, i figured it out (it's actually INCREDIBLY easy, just had to figure out the right format to save it in). So I made each member a fun watermark that will look like this one below (i decided to use some fun family pics to show you... i needed to put it over something and just over a back box wasnt fun)



But then i thought... well i cant just have one for my paper makeup stuff and then keep a boring plain text one for everything else! But i wanted it to be different. So i thought to myself... whats one of my favorite "images" generally speaking. And i instantly thought STARS! I have always loved stars. Stars everywhere... on my keychain on my skin, on my walls, yada yada. LOVE stars. So i made this watermark for everything else (and i think i fancy a blog facelift coming on!)



So that was my night yesterday. Oh and yesterday i got locked out of my house (yep... i am me after all, so we went to funkie munkie and hung out ALL day, thank goodness i had my car keys!)

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Cards for a Good Cause!

Well, this past weekend came entirely too quickly! Remember like a month ago when i had started the cards for this glorious basket auction at my church? Well my "basket" needed to be done by this past sunday. YIPES! Suddenly i found it to be the saturday before and i had still only done my 1 card. So i worked on them on saturday and just made multiples of everything to fill the holder (that i made sunday morning!

I kept with the color scheme of the first card and primarily used all the same set (Thoughts and Prayers from Stampin Up). The color scheme was Close to Cocoa, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss and white.

Here is a view of the holder...





And then here are the cards that are inside the holder... (one of them you've seen before, but i posted it again so just you could see them all in one place)







Each card is pretty self explanatory. The only stamp not from the Thoughts and Prayers set is the "miss you" sentiment which i got out of the clearance bin at AC Moore a long time ago and there is no information on the stamp as to which company it's from. Sorry.

I did use some cuddlebug embossing folders and my nesties for all the layers. Cant go a day in my paper crafting life without those! :)

Thanks for stopping by!!!

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PMS Color Challenge

Hello everyone! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. Mine was busy and a little mind havoc-ing with a lot of PMS work and then a memorial service, a fairly good sized project to get done for church (you'll see it in tomorrow's post) and just me being run down. Is it odd that i'm thankful it's a monday?! I'm not usually thankful for mondays!

BUT it is time for a PMS challenge. Every monday, a design team member from PMS issues a challenge. I dont always get to participate but i desperately the mind clearing craft time last night so i got this one done. This time is was Lisa McKinney's turn to do a challenge and she came up with this juicy color combo of watermelon and apple! Yum! it makes my mouth water just thinking about it! You can also use Black or White.

Here's what i came up with...


I used Arianna from the may release from Paper Makeup Stamps. I colored her with copic markers.

Copic Colors in the order that i used them
Skin: E00, E31, E000, R20 (cheeks)
Hair: E33, E35, Colorless Blender, E33
Dress: RV11, RV34, RV11
Froggie: G21, G24, Colorless Blender
Crown: Y35, Y38, Y35

the sentiment is from part of the tori amos quote in the fairy sentiments set (also released on May 7th). I just used a versamark pen to ink up the park i wanted and stamped it on my paper and then used CTMH baby pink embossing powder and heat set it.

Other accessories: Birds and Swirls embossing folder
Bling from the jar... no idea what brand!

Cardstock: Um... i think pixie pink and glorious green?! Sorry, i'm bad about labeling my colors! :)


We would love it if you'd participate in the challenge! You dont need paper makeup stamps to do it. Just go over to the company blog and you can link up your creations using Mr. Linky and then peek back in next sunday for the sunday showoff of all the challenge cards on the blog!

here's one last close up view of Arianna if you're interested in coloring details...

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Copic Holder/marker buddy

I created something that i didnt color with Copic markers!! WHAT WHAT WHAAAAAAAAT?! Haha. I know. Crazy! heheheh. Yes i firmly embrace my copic addiction. Well... i altered a holder FOR my copic markers. :) And of course i painted it and papered it in colors that match everything else in my craft room.

At Funkie Munkie Scraps you can buy these plain wooden block that sit on a lazy susan (turn table thingy). They come in all different sizes from smaller than what i got to much larger. You can get ones for Caio, Sketch or a Universal (what i have) which will hold either marker, oh yeah, or a combo which just has alternating size holes.



Super fun huh?! Now before you think this is only something you'd want if you had a small collection of markers, here's what i use mine for! It sits empty and lonely on my craft table until i sit down and start working. Then, instead of having my markers strewn all over my table while i'm working on a project, i pop it into my little marker buddy. That way i can easily see them and pick up the colors i need quickly and efficiently. Yes i could ust stay organized and put them back into my big holders, but that means i have to have my big holders very close to me (i have about 300 copics) and that really cuts into my work space.

Here's an example of what the marker buddy looks like WITH markers.




No, the black tape thing isnt to look cool. I put black tape on all of my markers so i know they are MINE! haha. I'm a little possessive that way. No, actually, i let a lot of people use my markers, especially when i'm teaching a class. But since there are always a lot of markers floating around, i wanted to easily be able to distinguish which ones are mine, so the black tape just makes that easier.


So thats my marker buddy. :) Sometime i like to spin it around and around just for fun. haha.

Ok, off to go pick up the fussy baby and then maybe back to some one handed crafting today! haha. We were going to go out to our camper but it's raining. Oh well. I wanted some playtime anyway!

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Dustin is Dino-Mite!

Ok, I can finally post this card. I hate posting cards right away that i have immediate intentions of mailing or giving them to a friend. Well, if the friend doesn't do the whole "blog thing" then i dont care. haha. but i would hate for someone to see the card before it arrives to their door! So i'm hoping Dustin has gotten it before today. If not I'll hope Dustin doesnt follow my blog very well! Hahaha. Or if he does... DUSTIN STOP READING NOW! :)

Many of you out in blog land know (or know of) Dustin Pike. Seriously talented guy, great dad to his kiddos, and just a nice guy. Recently he created a line of Dinosaurs for Paper Makeup Stamps. They are just the cutest dinos i've ever seen! Half were released on May 7th, the rest will be on June 7th. Oh the dino-mite sized cuteness!!!

I wanted to send Dustin a card using one of the stamp images because 1, thats just fun to get cards when someone uses your artwrok to create it (at least i think so) and 2, i really do appreciate him and wanted to thank him. perfect combo!

SO, here is my card i made for Dustin using Bronto from Paper Makeup Stamps.



I was actually really please with how this card turned out. For one thing, i am entirely too quick to pick up my markers. Thats what i really like to do, color. I have a huge stack of already colored images waiting for cards. Sadly many of them will never make it there. everyone... let out a huge sigh. hahaha. Some i just dont think are strong enough. Some i think i literally get bored with because i've seen them sit for so long! Anyhoo - i always grab my markers to color the image so fast i forget to figure out what patterned paper and such i need to go with it, and then i end up with just a lot of cardstock because man do i have oodles of that! :) I love a good cardstock! Case in point here, i immediately grabbed some of my E7_ copics because apparently for some reason they scream dinosaur to me. I was tickled pink with how he turned out with the spots and all that (more on that in a bit) but then was like, well hmm... what the heck do i have to go with it. Well i'll be darned by Close to Cocoa cardstock by Stampin Up is the perfect compansion to the E7_ family of copics! Fantastic!!! And since i have Close to Cocoa ink as well, i figured, well hey i'll just make my own patterned cardstock. Yippie! I used a new stamp set i picked up from Funkie Munkie early in the week (they had just made it to the shelves... better hurry!!!) By prima. It's about a 3x3 square and clear so it makes tiling extremely easy. Oh and did i mention it was a measly 2 bucks! Yeah... FANTAB!

Ok... most of this card is pretty sel explanatory so i wont bore you with the details, but i will get down with the copics a smidgen.

Here's a close up view...


I started with E70 in the lightest spots, and then E71 on the rest of the dino. I added E74 for all my shady spots and then when back on top with E70 and E71. Then the fun begins. I used the colorless blender to create the spots because as you know, that colorless blender "removes" ink. Well, it doesnt, it MOVES it, but yea, moves down so you see the white of the paper again. Nifty huh? Love that silly little marker! :)

If you are anywhere local to greenville and a fiskateer, come to the Funkie Munkie tonight for the Fiskateers preview crop! Kelly and I will both be doing mini tutorials using copics and a little birdie (ok, kelly told me) that she will do something fun with the colorless blender either using PMS's turtle or a dino. And let me tell ya, this chick is amazing with the colorless blender so you really should check it out! Oh yeah, and i'll be teaching something too. heheheheh.

Thanks for stopping by today!!!! Leave a comment if ya'd like!

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Bella club with Content-a-Bella and some fantastic blog candy!

Ok, first off, you would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in my craft room today because i'm sure it was quite funny to anyone but me! I have quite a few projects i was determined to get done. Which means a lot of stuff out. My hair disheveled. etc. Thats funny enough, i'm sure. But now add Mr. Fussy Britches into the mix. This would be my baby (who turns 8 months old today!). Poor little bugger is cutting his first 2 teeth. His gums are so swollen and red with the little white peeks showing his teeth trying to burst free. He is just miserable. He doesnt want to even nurse because they are so sore. He's not very happy even with me holding him, but putting him down just turns him into a mess. SO... today i became the Amazing One Armed crafter! I did things with one hand that i would never have thought possible. And let me tell you, using a guillotine trimmer with only one arm, all while standing in a precarious position to make sure little baby fingers could in no way even come close to the blade... that takes some talent! I also resorted to using my chin to get the cuttlebug crank started until it was in there enough that it could hold itself while i cranked. Yes... i'm sure it was hilarious.

But, amazing enough, i did get my projects done today. A secret sister gift that i have to deliver tomorrow (in my local group, and of course the deadline is tomorrow... whew). A card for a friend that i'll post probably sometime next week because I wouldnt want them to see it on my blog before they get it! And then the card i'm about to show you. :)



I present to you, Content-to-be-a-bella! Isnt she cute. I love her. She's from Stamping Bella. Bella stamps were my first "love" in the stamping world. I own so many it's not even funny. And sadly, they've been getting lonley the past couple of weeks. it's was nice to get a little bella boost. She always looks so happy. Well, unless she's grumpabella. hahahha.

Contenttobeabella is part of the May Bella Bundle available for Southernbella club members. You dont have to live here to be in the club. You can check out the blog to get more info about this deal, the club, and all that. And really... you SHOULD go check it out because there is some FABULOUS blog candy going on over there. I mean like, over $200 bucks worth! It's INSANE! You have to check it out! :) You dont have to be a club member to win the candy, or participate in the challenges for that matter.

OK... i'm wordy today! :) Close up view! Card details! Keep reading!



Copic Colors
Skin: E00, E31, R01 (cheeks)
Shirt: R00, R01, R02
Pants: B21, B23, B24
Flower: Y11, Y15, Y18, yellow spica
Hair: E33, E35

Cardstock: Sweet Blush (papertrey ink) Solar White (Neenah), um... a blue from SU (i'm sorry i have no idea which color it is!)
Patterened Paper: Yellow is from BoBuny textured cardstock, the blue is from one of those enormous paper slabs i got um... like 5 years ago!

Stamps: Image (Contenttobeabella) and sentiment are both from Stamping Bella

Accesstories and Tools
Nestabilities in Petite Scallop Circles Large
Bling from Studio G
Rose chalk ink from Cat's Eye by Colorsnap

Have a Bellariffic Day!!!

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Wednesday with the Greeting Farm

Good Wednesday everyone. I cant believe it's already the middle of the week! Where does the time go?

My card for you today is a simple one, but i really liked how it turned out. I used another image that we colored for the class i taught at Scrapbook Heaven this past saturday. Man images that are already colored make for quick cards! haha. The image is from The Greeting Farm. Isnt he just the cutest??


No spiffy techniques for this card (other than copic coloring) so the layout is pretty self explanatory. I used the Nestabilities petite scallop circle for the image mat. I also chalk inked all of my edges with a Cat's Eye Chalk Ink in Charcoal.

COPIC COLORS
Owl Tummy & Eyes: First with E33, then shaded with E35 with a smidgen of E37 on the tummy. Also used the Colorless Blender on the eyelids for a highlight.
Rest of the Body: E30 then shaded sparingly with E33.
Leaves: First with G21 leaving the tips bare. Shaded with G24 and then blended everything (including bare tips) with G20.
Outlined entire image and inside the white of the eyes with N0.

Other essential elements
Cardstock Base: Kraft by Papertrey Ink. Green is Grasshopped by Bazzill, Orange is Festive by Bazzill. White is Neenah Solar White.
Stamps: Image and Sentiment by The Greeting Farm
Tools: Nestabilties Petite Scallop Circle large, Window Word punch by Stampin Up.
Accessories: Bellas Baubles in Espresso

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Rest in Peace, Kayleigh

Today is a sad day. Sweet baby girl, Kayleigh Freeman, left our world yesterday to be rid of her broken body and to at peace in Heaven. For those who do not know Kayleigh's story. You can read about her life, here.

You may remember a post I made a bit back showing a digital stamp from Paper Makeup Stamps called "A Fairy for Kayleigh". This stamp was created in order to raise funds for the Freeman family. The digital stamp is still available here and all proceeds from it will continue to go to the Freeman family.

I had a card ready to post this morning, but you'll have to see it tomorrow. Of course, upon hearing of Kayleigh's passing I wanted to make a sympathy card to send to her parents. It was a very hard card to make. But lucky for me, all of the ink on my card is waterproof.



I have no more words that I can even write. My heart is absolutely broken for this family. I can not even begin to fathom what they might be going thru. I pray for God's arms to surround them at this time.



Rest in Peace, Baby Girl.

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PMS monday Challenge: Puttin on the Glitz!

Hello Everyone! It's monday so that means a challenge over on the Paper Makeup Stamps blog issued by one of the design team members. This week it's Lisa Kind's turn! her challenge was pretty simple... just make it sparkle! Rhinestones, stickles, glitter, spica, shimmerz, whatever you got that puts a sparkle in your eye... and sticks to your finger... put it on the card!

Simple enough, right? Well i think i permanently have some glitter in my lungs from an experiment i tried for the card (note... it is NOT on the card!). And after a much longer weekend than i had planned, i just wasnt feelin' the mojo last night so i ditched the glitter science project and stuck with what i knew!




First, i decided to use the image that I had used in class on Saturday. Her name is Lily and you've seen her on my blog before. I just love her ice cream cone! I had also demonstrated spicas in the class, but i added an extra layer to really make her dazzle. I sponged Brilliance ink (yes... shimmery ink) to the edges of my image card. I then matted everything on Bazzill Bling cardstock. I added some extra bling butterflies (darice) and rhinestones (um.. not sure, probably also darice) to the card and the flowers which were punched out of more bling cardstock using EK Success punches.

Here's a closer look of the image itself.. OH, i almost forgot! I put liquid glass over her ice cream. :)






For those who skim and need quick info!
Stamps: Image, Lily from paper Makeup Stamps, sentiment from My Favorite Things
Cardstock: Flat Broke, Flirty Bazzill Bling cardstock, Neenah Solar White
Coloring: Copic Markers
Skin: E00, E21, R20 (cheeks, tongue)
Shirt: V12, V15, V17, purple spica
Skirt & Shoes: E35, E37
Hair: Y21, YR23, Colorless Blender, clear spica, gold spica
Wings: B000, B00, clear spica

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A quickie post

I dont have any new creations for you today. My head is still in a tailspin from this past release from PMS and I have to go teach a class today in Lexington SC. BUT i did get a super sweet award from Randee that i want to spread the love from! :)



The award is given to those that show positive attitude and gratitude daily.

Now Iit's my turn to chose 5-10 bloggers that I feel are worthy :0) . The ladies listed below are not only talented, but they are also gratious and have a postive attitude. They have either provided wonderful (very appreciated) comments to my blog entries, provided inspiration in their designs,and make me laugh and smile with snap shot posts into their daily lives. Thank you for sharing with me and for being wonderful!

Visit their blogs for your own inspiration.

Christi THorsen

Nancy Bush
Ashley Newell

Anita Hovey
Heather Lee-Reppen
Andrea Vernagus

Thank you ladies for your contributions to the crafty online world!

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Happy Friday Everyone with CC Designs

Summer is almost here!  I'm so excited!  I love summer.  Now granted, it gets really really really hot here in the summer and thats not always fun.  But last summer i was waaaay pregnant during it so this summer should be a piece of cake, right?

Jack's preschool is doing a silent basket auction.  Yes,  i mentioned a basket auction before.. this is a different one.  Same church though, so same idea.  Each class does a basket.  The 2 year old class is a pool theme basket.  So my donation was to make 8 pool party invitations.  I wanted to keep them easy enough ( i didnt have a lot of prep time!) and generic.  Not birthday pool party invites, just a hey, come to the pool with us!  The winner of the basket can use them in singles or all together.  Their choice.  :)

Card Info
Stamp: Image is CC Designs Summertime Fun (FYI its on sale right now at www.allthatscraps.com), sentiment is just something i printed out form my computer using one of my favorite fonts from www.kevinandamanda.com
Paper: i dont have a clue! It was all scrappy paper! :)
Copics: E35, E37, E39 for my monkey friend; Y18, G16, R27, B00, B02 I kept the colors simple because i was doing a lot of them. :)



**This weekend I will be teaching a copics class at Scrapbook Heaven in Lexington South Carolina. Just wanted to throw that out there. :)

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Paper Makeup Party Day and a blog hop!

Whew! Sorry for the lack of posts the past couple of days. I have been bizzy bizzy bizzy getting ready for the PMS party tonight in the PMS forum! So it's definitely been a crazy week of posting on the website, getting the forum set up, doing a new newsletter and cutting a LOT of rubber!

But no one visits this blog to hear all that! You wanna see something, right?

Ok, well let me first say that I am your LAST stop of the blog hop. SO if you are starting here, you need to start at the beginning! Why?? Because it's the only way you can be entered to win the entire May release from Paper Makeup Stamps!

Here is my card... Stephanie at Funkie Munkie asked for me to do something with her black and white stuff. I took her quite literally. :) Now for those that have followed my blog since the beginning might remember a bella card i did what seems like eons ago that was all black and white. I used graphite pencils for that. But this time i used the amazing blendability of Copic Markers! :)

Now i promise you, i did not just turn my picture into a black and white photo!

I used Mary Fairy (what an appropriate name for a bride, huh?) and colored her with N0, N2, N4 and N8. Oh, and the colorless blender, of course. I also loaded her up with clear and silver spica pen.

Here i tried to angle her a little to the light. See my thumb?! It IS a color picture! :)


This one does a little better as showing her sparkles, but it's a little out of focus


Ok, so if you havent figured out the letter you need yet for the discount code and chance to win the release... you might be colorblind (which makes this whole post funny!) So let me just say, i only like to stamp on days that end in ___!

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There's still time for Bella!

Hi everyone!!! For my bella lovin' sistahs.... there is still time for you to join the Bella Club at Funkie Munkie. Yes Funkie Munkie is a store, but they are doing their bella club online! You can check out the club blog here or use the picture link in my sidebar.

When you join the club you get this LOVELY bella sampler in a kit.


Now I cant take full credit for this beauty. Stephanie (owner of Funkie Munkie) went to a convention in Boston where she met the Queen of Bella, Emily herself. They made an adorable Bella sampler there which was pretty much just like this one. But since we wanted to do this as the bella club kick off, we needed to recreate it using products we had. Some a few things are a little different, but the creative genious behind this project stems from the highest of Bella powers. hahahahaha.

Lisa (stephanie's sis-in-law) and I worked on finding some substitutes for things and then I put it together and colored bits and pieces of it with my trusty copic markers. :)

Over the weekend, this bella sampler was available as a make n take for $8 but was free for all club members. Club members that have joined but arent able to make it to the store will have the kit mailed to them. And there is still time to join to get your kit for free If you are interested send an email to funkiemunkiescraps@gmail.com The club is well worth your monthly fee to get free make n takes, and up to a 30-35% discount on some preorders. Different discounts available all the time. Email steph for more info.

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Paper Makeup Stamps Sneakie Peekie

This is my 2nd post for the day! It's a fun and busy day for me! Thank GOD for scheduled posts! :)

Well, yes it's national scrapbook day - a wonderful day filled with sales and challenges, prizes and inpsiration. LOVE this day. My hubby doesnt get it, but he supports it. :)

BUT it's also 5 days before the Paper Makeup Stamps may release which means.... SNEAKIE PEEKIE time! I'm really really excited about this release! Go on over to the PMS blog to read more about it.

I have a creation that i actually made a few weeks ago as a housewarming gift for a dear friend of mine. It features the cottage stamp from a BRAND NEW COLLECTION from PMS called the Cottage Collection drawn by the wonderfully talented and super supportive all around wonderful friend and gal, Lindsey Spencer!. Lindsey is so super fab. I know she will not disappoint you with this new collection!

Here is my little wall hanging...


In hindsight i really should have hung it some other place than my pegboard for the picture, but since i gave it away, i have no option to retake the picture. Ok, thats a lie. I was at her house yesterday, but i didnt realize the picture looked so bad then. hahaha.

Isnt Lindsey's cottage just charming?! I want to move right in! The quote above is also a new release from PMS to be released May 7th!!!!


To make the wall hanging... i took a regular cheapie plastic frame and broke off the part that makes it stand up. Ok, correction, i had a frame that my child broke the part that makes it stand up and i just tossed it into the trunk of alertables figuring one day i'd do something with it. I took the cottage stamp and colored in the image with copic markers. I also used the large Home quote and matted both on a piece of 4x6 cardstock. The top i tied some pretty twill ribbon (to mask where the frame was broken. I used my cropadile to punch holes in the acrylic frame to thread my PTI twill ribbon through. And it was just that easy! :)

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Happy National Scrapbook Day!

Happy National Scrapbook Day everyone!!!!! I'm sure you all have gobs going on today! Most local stores have crops and make n takes. For those that dont live near a store, there are online crops and challenges and more galore! It's just a fun weekend!

Today I will be at the Funkie Munkie for a good portion of the day having fun with the crafty ladies of G-ville! :) There are so many make n takes its not even funny! I was there last night and OMG, i really hope i have time to do everyone else's make n take! I recreated a Bella Sampler (i love it... took a picture but it's not uploaded into my computer yet so you'll have to wait on it!) so i'm helping Kim Murphy out with that, then there is a easy peasy copic make n take using "Color Me" paper by Luxe. This stuff is so much fun! And so many different designs!

Here's the one i made...


You can use the enormous amount of copic colors to make this perfectly custom for you. There is some fun paper that is coffee cups, tea bags, etc. I think i'll do that one tomorrow to put in my kitchen! :)

I should remind you that if you live in or even near Greenville, Funkie Munkie is having a 25% off the entire store (inluding clearance) to celebrate this wonderful day. You get a free bottle of stickles just for coming in. And there are prizes called out every half hour! Fun times folks... fun times! :) The store is open from 9-9.

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