A card for Ethan

You may have heard of little Ethan Weiman and his tough battle with Neuroblastoma. Pink Cat Studio created a set of adorable gigi images that are available to purchase HERE. All proceeds go to the Make-A-Wish foundation in Illinois in honor of Ethan.

Seriously, these little digis are just adorable. You can choose to get a little cowboy (Ethan), or a little cowgirl (Ava, ethan's sister) for $4 OR you can get them both together plus some sentiments for the low cost of $6! It really is an outstanding deal!

This week the MyTime challenge was a color challenge. I always mean to participate in Lauren's challenges because for one thing, she's my friend, and for another thing, she has been so supportive of my new stamp adventure and for a third thing, they are just fun challenges! But for this or that reason, I dont always do them. I'm going to get better at that! Well, in light of Lauren's generosity with her give away and support of this fantastic cause, I wanted to support it and help too! So i knew i definitely wanted to participate in the challenge this week and made it my number 1 card making priority. :)

Here's my card using the MyTIme color challenge of Brown, Mustard, Green and Terracotta...



My "terracotta" turned out a little more red than i intended, but oh well. :) Here's a closer look...




ALl the edges have been sponged with buttercup ink from Close to my Heart and Tea Dye Ranger Distress Ink (darker patterned paper inked with brushed corduroy distress ink) and the image has been colored with copics.

And now for...



Stamps
Digi Stamps by Pink Cat
Studios

Copics/Coloring
Hat: E33, E35, E37
Pants: E35, E37
Boots: E39
Belt/Balloon: E08, E19, YR18, CB
Belt Buckle: Y28, CB
Shirt: Y21, Y26
Hair: Y21, "Y20 - custom color" YR23
Skin: E00, E21, E13, E000
Hankerchief, Hat band: G20, G21, G24
Pony: E30, E31, E33, E34
Hooves: E29

Paper:
Wanted paper collection from SU
Brown Cardstock from paper Studio
So Saffron Cardstock from SU

Tools and Accessories
Mat and piercer and template from SU


Thanks for stopping by everyone! I'd love comments if you have the time! :)

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Birthday bust and a Monday Challenge PMS card!

Thank you so much to all my well wishers for my birthday! My hubby forgot. Yep, totally forgot. I got lots of roses on saturday though. but here's my crazy thinking... i got 3 dozen GORGEOUS roses, and i wanted to say to him... honey, do you know how many markers and refills i could buy with that?! hahahahaha. He did try to make it up to me all weekend, which is part of the reason i havent posted much. That and the reason that my house needs some definite attention before my parents come to visit this next weekend!

Ok, and now onto my card for the day.... I finally was able to participate in another Paper Makeup Stamps Monday Challenge! This week was Tina's turn to issue our challenge and she chose the faux silk technique. Um... i've been living under a rock because i had never even HEARD of this challenge before! But it was fun and very very simple. You just stamp onto tissue paper, crinkle it all up, flatten it back out, glue it onto a piece of cardstock (i just used a glue stick all over the cardstock... i knew that glue stick would come in handy again some day!) and then press the tissue paper down. Viola! And it gives you this really pretty texture that i hope my photo captured enough for you. I was very lazy and didnt take the picture until well after dark when i had the card done by my 2! Silly me.

Here is my faux silk card...


I used Nature's Song by Paper Makeup Stamps. I really do love this set. Silvia outdid herself on these graphics and i just love the font so much (obviously, since i used it for the PMS logo!). THe quotes are really spoke to me. I just love this set!!! And GASP, i did not use copics! Granted its a little hard to use copics on a solid image (though you CAN! i'll do a quickie tutorial on that soon). I pulled out the old trusty LePlume markers to color directly onto the stamp .

Here's the rest of


Stamp
Image and Sentiment from Nature's Song by Paper Makeup Stamps

Colors and Inks
LePlume Markers in NO96 jungle green, NO 85 Mocha and NO 75 Sky Blue

Paper
Patterned is Basic Grey Mellow collection
Cardstock is Yam Bazzill and Brown Paper Studio

Tools and Accessories
Hemp Twine
Photo Anchors and brads by CTMH in terracotta
Cats Eye Chalk ink in Chestnut Roan


Don't forget to check out the PMS Blog to see other lovely creations by the design team! :)

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Blog Candy Winner

Hi Everyone! It's my birthday! WEEEEEEE! ANd you know what that means... i get to give away my blog candy! :) hehe.

I used random.org to find my winner of 100 comments! (holy moly, i dont know that i've ever had that many comments in 1 post! but i liked it!)


And it turned up....

Sarah said...
Thanks for the opportunity to win such a generous prize. I have enjoyed your blog for many months. I really appreciate the detail you give on the supplies you used to make your cards.

Sarah, please contact me about your shipping info! You can email me at makeupbykatie @ yahoo

If i dont hear from Sarah by Tuesday of next week i'll draw a new winner. :)

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Bella Birfday Blog Hop

"I See a Birthday Coming"... MINE! hahahahaha. Yep, My birthday is tomorrow! So that means my blog candy ends tonight. :)

But you know who's birthday is TODAY?! Emily's from Stamping Bella! So if you are one of my blog regulars, you are missing out on a whole lot of bella-tastic fun! It's the Birthday Blog Skip, Hop & Dance sponsored by Stamping Bella! you can CLICK HERE to start from the beginning at Bloggabella. If you're doing the hop you've come here from one of my dear friends, Shaela. Isnt she fab?

Here is my birthday card for the hop!



This here is predictabella and she comes with that oh so fabulous sentiment. :)

I stamped her out and colored her in with my copics. Then i added some SHIMMERZ to it! This was my first experiment with shimmerz. Um... i'm in trouble. It's a good thing i just got a big shipment of them in, cause i can definitely see myself using them a lot! I love how i can just put them over the copic coloring and it doesnt hide the shading at all! :)

Here's a better view of all that shimmery goodness...

pretty huh?! Ok, and onto



Stamps:
Predictabella (with matching sentiment) from Stamping Bella

Coloring/Copic Colors
Skin: E00, E21
Hair: Custom Color (kinda like an E23 if they made it!)
Pants, Turbin: RV91, RV93, RV95
Shirt: BG10, BG32, BG34
Tablecloth: BG10, BG000
Kitty: N2, N4
Stars: Y35
Shadow/outline T1, COlorless Blender
Shimmerz in Angel Wings

Paper:
Patterened Paper, American Crafts
Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip (Stampin Up)

Tools and Accesories:
Brown Satin Ribbon (hobby lobby), Purely Pomegranate Side Stitched Ribbon (Stampin Up)
Acrylic Discs from Michael's
Shimmerz in Angel Wings


Now, here is some VERY IMPORTANT info about this bella hop!

How about a prize? In addition to the fabulous eye candy, we have decided to hide a prize somewhere along the hop! One pre-selected blogger will draw a random winner from the comments on her post, and the winner will receive a $40 Gift Voucher to Stamping Bella!!! The fun part is...we're not telling you who it is! So as you hop, make sure you leave comments on every post so you have a chance to win!! We will announce the winner on Monday in the Splitcoast forum. MWAH!

Now it's time for you to continue on your journey... hop on over to Charlene's blog! Thanks so much for stopping by!

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Miss Anya and a Copic Munkie Bundle tutorial

I'm going to warn you... this is going to be a long post... with lots of pictures!  :)  But there a reason... a tutorial reason!  :)  But let me first start off with the final product and the deets of this card.  :)  Then if you care to read on about the tutorial.... you can!  :)

Because the rest of this post is going to be long winded... i'm going to skip my usual babble (hey, i hear those of you breathing a sigh of relief!) and get right to....



Stamps:
Rain Snow Shine from The Greeting Farm
Sentiment is a misc stamp i picked up at AC Moore on clearance... sorry i dont have much more info on it.

Coloring/Copics
Hair, Skirt, Boots, Buttons: E25, E27, E29, Colorless Blender
Skin: E00, E21(shadow), E02(cheeks), E000 (to blend it all together)
Jacket: YR12, YR14, YR18
Umbrella: YR00, YR12
Socks: E40, E41

Paper:
Patterned Paper from Tart N Tangy (or whatever that paper collection was called! Sorry!) from Stampin Up
Cardstock is Chocolate from Stampin Up
White is Solar White by Neenah

Tools and Accessories:
Labels 4 Nestabilties by Spellbinder
Spica Pen in Sand (border of die)
Martha Stewart BorderPunch
Dark Chocolate ribbon by PaperTrey Ink
Flowers by Prima Marketing
Buttons from the jar
White Thread is cross stitch thread by DMC
Glossy Accents (ranger) for dew drops/rain on the flowers

And now onto part 2 of my post... I help to run a copic club at Funkie Munkie Scraps

. You do not have to be a member of the club to see the goodie info on the club blog, you DO have to be a member of the club to get some hefty discounts on marker orders, take free classes (or be mailed the class info) and a lot more. Contact Stephanie thru the FMS's blog to get some more info on how to join! Cost is $10 a month unless you pay for multiple months at a time. :)

It was requested/suggested that I do a little tutorial on the the copic bundle colors for June.  Well, June is about over, but here it is anyway!  You still have time to order your bundle colors from Stephanie!  Just head into the store or give her a shout to order!  Club members of course get 35% off of the retail price of this bundle.  :)

The copic bundle of the month is E25, E27, E29. These are LOVELY rich colors that you can have wonderful results with! But to some, they can be a bit tricky. Which is why it was asked that i do a little tutorial on them! No probbie, i say! But let me first say that there are multiple ways to get some neat effects with this color combo. This tutorial is simply 1 way! Check out THIS POST on the copic munkie blog to see 3 different ways to color the same image using this combo. You'll see 3 very different looks! See how fun copics can be!!!

Alright... now before i begin, i want to say that as you layer E25, it can get a bit darker than you were wanting it to be in the first place. This is just something you should keep in the back of your head. I'm also going to show you a bit of the "flick" or "feathering" method of coloring hair. We also did this in the club class this month, so keep your peepers out for another tutorial using this method and grey markers!

Here's how i started the hair... with E25...

Around the area that you'd like to have your highlight, you are going to flick or drag your marker into the white area.  Let the marker lightly leave the paper in a flicking motion.  This will help you get a gradual fade into the white.  No we arent gradual yet... we will get there.  :)

Step 2... add in E27

In the same flicking motion, add in your E27, but dont go as far as you did with the E25.  Also add some E27 into the bottom portion of her hair as a shadow just as you normally would shadow (around the edges, maybe a few strands of hair, etc)

Step 3... add in your E29

I tend to use my darkest colors sparingly.  Dont get me wrong, they are needed to get that depth, but too much and the whole thing just turns dark on me.  And i like to still see my stamp lines.  So i add E29 just to the very ends and then flick in a wee bit in her "hair part".  Dont forget you can always click on the photo to view it larger!

Step 4... blending them all together... go back to E25.

Go over it all with E25 to blend.  Remember anywhere you layer your E25, it's going to get darker.  If you view closely, there are some spots that i did NOT layer so i that part would remind slightly lighter.  If the area that is left white still have to hard of a contrast for your personal taste, quickly go over that area and the edges of the flicking with your colorless blender.  I actually did this and you can see it in the final pic but i forgot to take a picture of this step.  WOOPS.  Or maybe it was deleted by mistake since there is a number missing from my picture sequence.  In any case... it's easy.  Just remember to "tornado" quickly and take a break as it will lighten up a smidgen more even after you've stopped using the marker because of the "drying time".

Next part of the image... her skirt!

Now again, because this color combo is a darker one, i like to leave some areas white so when i go over the whole thing to blend, it doesnt get too dark on me.  Also, when i add a a dark color as my main color, i do like to start with the edges/shadows first so that i can still see my stamp lines.  Not always, but it is my norm with this particular color family.  In this case, I've started with my shade color of E27 because there just isnt enough space in the image to get too wild with a bunch of different colors.

Skirt step 2

Go over the whole thing with your lightest color, E25.  If you want more of a gradual blend that you see here, concentrate your E25 color over the E27 more so than when you are adding it over your white space.

Boots step 1

Again, use one of your darker shade colors (in this case, E27) to draw in your shadows.  I actually added in to the tip of her boot to give her those "boxy" knee highs.  It'll help to get some added depth to the image.

Boots Step 2

Go over the boot with your E25.  I actually layered E25 a second time over the far right boot because if you look carefully, it's actually a little bit further back/behind her left leg.  You can tell this because the edge/tip of her boot is actually higher in the drawn image, making it further back.

So thats how i like to color with this color combo.  If you own this color combo, my suggestion is to just play with it numerous ways with layering until you find what is comfortable for you!

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How Do You Feel Today?

First of all, let me give a shout out to Kim for becoming a Grandma today!  I swear if you saw her you wouldnt think she even had a 10 year old, let alone a child who was old enough to birth another child!  Kim is just fantastic herself and i'm so excited for her to be in this next journey in her life!

Anyhoo - Kim also helps to run the bella club over at Funkie Munkie Scraps (which by the way, tomorrow or rather probably today by the time you are reading this since i'm posting VERY late, is the last day for the July featureabella contest).  Kim had said she'd whip up the project for the club this month and um... hello!  You need to be a grandma first!  SO this was just a quickie project i came up with to do at the club tonight.  It was super easy to make and lots of fun.  We used 4 different bellas but it would be VERY easy to add to it.  :)

Here's our How I Feel Today project...

I really wanted to have a feelabella in there for those days that we just are plain sick but *GASP* she's a bella i actually do not own!  How in the world do i not own such an essential bella like feelabella!  I know i have some images of her, but then they wouldnt be cut with my neato cricut cartridge.  *sigh* for shame, i guess i'll have to buy her.  When Steph gets her back in stock at Funkie Munkie of course.  hehehehehehe.

Other than that every thing was made out of the scrap bin and you gotta love those projects!

Here's what you'll need...

3 x 12 piece of sturdy cardstock.

Really Strong adhesive

bind it all (those that are in the club and will get this kit via snail mail, yours will be punched for you and you can just pinch the clips closed, it's easy i promise)

Coloring medium of choice

Embellishments of choice

4 pennies

The phrase and words have been printed just on my computer.  Those in the club will get them.  Those just making it for fun, can print your own.  hehehehe.

Now, take your strip of cardstock and score it at 4.5, 9, and 11.5.  This is to create your triangle.  That extra half inch is just to glue to the backside to keep it together.

Are you asking what the heck the pennies are for?  I glues the to the 4 corners underneath the whole thing.  You'd be amazed what a difference it makes.  I tried to just flip to the next bella and knocked the thing over.  So i glued pennies to the understand (using fabritac, glue dots would work too) and no more knocking over.  

Easy peasy!

Stamps:

All from Stamping Bella

Daydreamabella, Superbella, Artistabella and Grumpabella

Coloring:

Copics with Tuxedo Black memento ink

Skin: E00, E21, E02 (cheeks), Hair is all E25

Daydreamabella card: Clothing R30, R32; Chair E43, E44; Rug V91; Cat "E23" custom color and E25; Bubble B000

Artistabella: Clothing Y13, Y18, B21, B23, G12, G14 (which turned out to not be a fav color combo for me); Wood E31

SuperBella: R14, R17, B21, B23

Grumpabella: Robe V12, V15; Slippers R30, Mug B23, B21

Tools and Accessories:

Cricut Cartridge, Storybook: Marguee 4 printed at 3.75"

    (note, you'll get 4 to fit PERFECTLY down the side of an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper if you put your paper vertically on the mat and then the next row will fit nicely as well giving you 8 for 1 sheet of 8.5 x 11 if you have an expression)

Embellies and such were all Kaisercraft

Thanks for dropping by!  Shameless plug... today is the LAST DAY for the PMS clearance sale.  :)

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TSG10 Challenge with a Father's Day Card

Happy Father's Day everyone! I havent had internet all weekend! I hate charter, and i know that hate is a strong word... but i HATE charter! grrrrr. Even now i'm "borrowing" the neighbors internet, so i'll try not to be too longwinded in this post. ;)

For my father's day cards I decided to use the There She Goes Challenge (issued Friday, yep, i'm a little on the behind side still, but they are done on time and thats all that matters!). The challenge was to do some shadow stamping is is actually never something i've done (on purpose anyway!). You ink up the stamp and stamp the image, but then pick it up and without reinking it, you restamp the image slightly beside the first image. Notice how i've said i've never done it on purpose before today! hahahaha. The 2nd part of the challenge was optional, but it was to do a gift card holder of sorts. So since both my hubby and daddy are coffee drinkers, i decided to use the coffee set "Let's Get Together" from There She Goes and put a starbucks gift card on the side.

Here is my card...



My hubby loves the color grey about as much as I do. ;) So i got to use some of my new grey cardstocks i've been hunting down. The dark grey is smokey shadow from PTI, the medium is Basic Grey from SU and the light is going grey by SU). I stamped the image with versafine on neenah first and cut it out. Now let me give a little shout to TSG for the quality of the clear rubber. You never know when you order from a new clear company what the true quality of the polymer will be. And i know i mentioned the polymer from TSG in my last post using TSG but this time, i was using versafine with i love iwth all my heart, but i will say that it does usually "tinge" my stamps. They arent horribly stained or anything, but tinged with color yes. This did NOT happen with my stamps i used today (which i was using for the first time, finalllllllly). This was a thrilling moment for me. :)

Ok, more on the card. I stamped the drink holder on some bazzill (i think it was fawn, but it's just a scrap so i'm not sure). Everything is paper pieced and layered which is a new fav look for me. I just love how crisp it looks and the added dimension it gives! I did use my T1 copic marker to give a little bit of shading on the cup.

Have you spotted my shadow stamping yet? It's the steam. :) So not a whole heck of a lot of shadow stamping, but i really liked the effect it gave.

Now onto part 2 of the challenge... the gift card holder! It's on the inside, and now very crafty, but it's there. hehe.



Here i used a Studio G 1 dollar stamp set. I loved the father's day sentiment and the rest on the set was just bonus! The argyle is from the same set, and i didnt realize it was in the set until AFTER i used an argyle embossing folder. Sweet! (does anyone even say that anymore?) OH, And i did want to mention that the argyle embossing folder is the sizzix one instead of the cuddlebug on. It's a deeper impression that cracked my paper a wee bit BUT its larger than the cuddlebug folders which i really really liked!
I did some doodling to make stitches along all the sides EXCEPT the top. I wanted it to look like a pocket, like shirt pocket. I used white glue along all the edges (but the top of course) and then the gift card just sides inside. Easy Peasy.



Stamps:
"Let's Get Together" from There She Goes
Inside of card is from Studio G series 30

Paper:
Dark Grey Cardstock is Smokey Shadow from Papertrey Ink, Medium Grey is Basic Grey from Stampin Up; Light Grey is Going Grey from Stampin Up

Tools and Accessories
Inks: Versa Fine Black Onxy, Vintage Sepia and Crimson Red, inside of card also uses Going Grey ink from Stampin Up
Embossing Folders: Argyle is from Sizzix, Distressed Lines is from Cuddlebug
Brads from American Crafts

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Stamp Something Challenge with PMS

And my week escaped me again. One of these days i really will have a handle on posting everyday once again! hahaha. Ok, did i ever really have a handle on that?! I actually have been working on stuff! Some fun tutorials i just have to put together and some other stuff i just cant show you yet! :) OH and dont forget about the PMS Clearance Extravaganza sale going on right now! I know i mentioned it before, and in all the hubbub, i forgot to remention it on here. WOOPS! haha. But there is a LOT on sale! But in limited quantities! Once a certain quantity of the sale stamp is sold, it will go back up to it's regular price (but dont worry, non of the stamps will be gone for good! it's just a chance for you to score some rockin' good deals!) Check out the sale list, here

Ok, onto the post...

This weeks challenge over at the Stamp Something blog is being sponsored by ME! :) It's been awhile since i've done one of their challenges (i've even won before!) so when Erin contacted me to see if i wanted to be a sponsor my answer was a definite yes!

So here's my challenge - Use Black and White (and anywhere inbetween - i'm lovin grey lately!) and any other 1 color of your choice! I've been doing this a lot lately (hint, think of the tutorials i mentioned!), and I just love how it always turns out! Hence why i made it the challenge!

Here's my card...



I'm not gonna lie.... I actually cased THIS CARD by the fabby Kim Stewart. :) But i did make the colors match the challenge for Stamp Something. And i changed the embellies and such. :)

I spritzed the whole thing with some Baby's Breath Shimmerz Spritz. I'm finally getting a handle on that stuff! Shake it up well first and do a test spritz in the air. That gets any of the globbies of spritz mania out and not on your card. After that is goes on PERFECT and EVEN!!!!

See how pretty!

Dont forget to check out the stamp something blog to see the awesome design team samples and also to link up your own card! You have until 7pm EST on June 25th (the day before my birthday might i add!) to link up your card to Mr. Linky. 1 lucky winner will get some of the new releases from PMS which includes Sprinkles and Cherries, Kip the baseball fairy, Picnic Duo fairies and Gus the Birthday Monster! :)



Stamps:
Buggy Sayings from Paper Makeup Stamps

Paper:
Blue is paper pieced from American Crafts
Grey patterned paper (it's double sided!) from Creative Imaginations
Grey Cardstock is Basic Grey from Stampin Up, Black is Paper Studio, White is Neenah

Tools and Accessories
Cuddlebug Folder Swirls
Baby's Breath Shimmerz Spritz
Bellas Baubles
Sheer Dot ribbon from RibbonFX
Ovals cut from Creative Memories Custom Cutting System

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a quick post with the greeting farm

Why does this week seems just as busy as last week?! This week was supposed to be easier! More time! More crafting! So far, not so much! A few wholesale orders have kept me busy, and my kiddos have Vacation Bible School which i was asked to help with. Which i love ot help, but no summer camp/school for my the 3 year old, plus having someplace to be every evening has definitely not helped me be ahead of schedule, thats for sure!

BUT, i realized this AM i do have a card that i didnt post from a few weeks ago. It was for a contest that was put up in a blog poll (for The Greeting Farm club i'm a member of! And since it was to be an anonymous poll, i didnt think it was very far for me to post my creation on my blog as well.

Here's my card...



now this card proved to be a big challenge for me! When we joined the club we were given a bag. the challenge was to use anything in the bag for our project. Now limited supply challenges are normally very fun to me, but i just kept running into obstacles! :) we were given a popcorn bag (which my son stole, handed to daddy and daddy popped all without my knowing, so no popcorn for me, We were also given a bevy of printed digi images. These images did NOT like my copic markers. Which is fine, i'm just so used to using them! And my first choice of printed digi was a no go due to some smearing. So i went with my next option, the Pokey Trio and colored it with prismacolors and baby oil. We were also a 6x6 square of The Greeting Farm patterned paper (super cute, i have GOT to get myself a stack!), and some ribbon that didnt end up going with the rest of my color scheme after i picked out my cardstock (silly me).

So now i felt like i was getting somewhere. I liked my image was colored even though i've used colored pencils and baby oil only a handful of times. Then, i got this hard brained idea to add some black fun flock. In my head i was thinking, the last time i tried fun flock, it didnt totally stick, it just left a light layer of fuzz. That would be cute on here. So i added lines of glue with my glue pen and put the fun flock on top. Um... it did more than left a little light layer of fuzz. A lot was left... leaving me with AFRO hedgehogs. I was dying in laughter. I thought i could use a third digi image, or I could leave my seemingly 70's inspired hedgies. I kept thinking back to a photo shoot i did YEARS ago in Los Angeles. It left me happy. So i decided to leave my afro hedgies. THen i needed to find a sentiment for my card. I realized i do not have very many greeting farm sentiments at all! And normally i have no problem mixing and matching with stamp companies to have sentiments, but since this was a Greeting Farm challenge, i really did want to stick with TGF. But when i looked thru my sets, i noticed Lucky Bunnies has some sentiments and then i saw one said Be Happy. Since the afro hedgies left me with happy makeup feelings, i thought it was only appropriate!

Ok, so thats my loooong story about my card. So much for "quick post" huh? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.



Stamps
Pokey Trio Digi stamp by The Greeting Farm,
sentiment from Lucky Bunnies also by TGF

Coloring Medium
Prismacolor pencils (warm grey's and a little bit of a pink) and baby oil

Paper
Patterned Paper, Sunny Glen by TGF
Cardstock: Red from Creative Memories, Basic Black from Stampin Up

Tools and Accessories
Button by Creative Cafe
Ribbon: By Spool o' ribbon 1/8in black satin
Black Fun Flock

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Hello everyone! I actually got the monday challenge for PMS done yesterday! I had to become "the amazing one handed crafter!" again (which to those who havent read those posts, it means i'm slinging a baby on my hip the entire time i've crafting which only gives me 1 hand/arm to work with). So I kept my card pretty simple. :)

Each week a different design team member issues a challenge over on the PMS blog. This week it was Jamie Morris' turn and she had a super fab color combo for us to try out. It was non company specific so a range of different hues were used (which was super fun to me!) Her colors were chocolate, summer yellow, aqua and white or cream. I dont think i would have used these colors together in a million years (unless they were already put together in a patterned paper) but i really do like them together. :) The juxtaposition of the colors really make them pop together!

I actually made 2 versions of the same card. Or rather i finished 1 card and then had an idea and added it to the card, but i couldnt decide if i liked it better or not. I asked the design team and their thoughts were split down the middle.
Which one do YOU like the best?








Stamps:
Starstruck by Paper Makeup Stamps

Inks
Summer Sun by Close to My Heart, Chocolate by Close to my Heart

Paper
White Daisy by Close to my Heart, Chocolate Chip by Stampin Up, Caribbean Aqua by Stampin Up

Tools and Accessories
Ribbon by American Crafts
Buttons by Creative Cafe
Embroidery Floss by DMC (sewing/cross stitch section of the craft store, but it is embroidery floss, not cross stitch thread, it's thicker, doesnt pull apart, etc)
Chestnut Roan chalk ink by Cat's Eye

Thanks for stopping by today!!!

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Bella clutch take 2

So it's amazing what i'm finding in my computer that i havent posted on my blog. Woops. Looks like i could have been posting this past week afterall! Well, that would have required me to sit in one place for more than 10 minutes!

My class/copic club meeting at Funkie Munkie went fabulously yesterday. Everyone really seemed to enjoy coloring in black and white. I have photos of my sample images taken, but i've decided to go ahead and wait til i actually get them put on a card to post them here on my blog! But i will say that i do adore how it turned out and my marathon search for my tilda stamp (for those that follow me on twitter) was well worth it in the end. :)

Here is take 2 on the bella clutch i made for last month's bella club at Funkie Munkie. After i had finished it and took it into the munkie, Stephanie said she loved it, but she had a confession to make, she forgot what paper i had requested and she had let one of the other design team members take ALL of the pink polka dot paper!!!! I mean every single last sheet! And Steph needed to mail kits out to the club members pronto. ACK! So we changed the color scheme and pulled some new paper and created a new bella clutch. For all intents and purposes, it looks pretty much the same. Not as much detail, i.e. no stitching, because i wanted o create the new one ASAP but it just goes to show what a lifesaver Lauren Meader's templates can be! I worked this new little clutch up in seriously 10 minutes... MAYBE! It might have taken me LESS! Really, when all you have to do is print, cut out, score, fold and tape... and bada bing bada boom, you're done.... it's fantastic! Tiny plug, she has new templates coming out tonight at midnight! And one of them is seriously the cutest picnic basket i've ever seen! I WILL be purchasing it! Thank goodness it's a download and she cant sell out because i dont know that i can stay awake til midnight! hahaha.

SORRY! i'm wordy today! Onto the clutch!





Still cute right? Just think of it this way, every girl has to have her favorite purse in multiple colors, right? This is bella's summery clutch for when she's hitting the boardwalk. hahahahaha.

Look cardfully at the base... thats some embossed cardstock by bazzill. It comes in a variety of different embossing designs and it retails for the exact same time as all the other bazzill. Nice! And it comes in a variety of colors. Funkie Munkie does carry quite a bit of this stuff, so you can check it out for yourself if you are local.



Stamps
Content-to-be-a-bella from Stamping Bella, the one seen is the mini that comes in the pack!; sentiment is one of Mwahbella's accompaning sentiments

Coloring
Copic Markers (again, not a lot of shading going on... this is the SMALL bella so there isnt much space to color!
Skin: E00, R20 (just a dot for cheeks)
Hair: Y21
Shirt: R21
Pants: B12
Flower: Colored using the Leaving White Space but using my "1/2/1 coloring technique" (see the video tutorial i posted the other day), R24, R27

Paper
Patterned Paper: American Crafts, Everyday Collection
Cardstock: Bazzill

Tools and Accesories
My TImeless Templates by Lauren Meader

Nestbilies Circle Nesties, large


Dont forget to check out the blog candy! I'm taking all comments and suggestions to heart! I'm looking into trying some stamps that might now be "my style" but others want to see. I'm A OK with that. I really like to expand my horizons. :)

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BLOG CANDY TIME

Wooo hooo!!!! I fianlly got my act together enough to post my 30,000 hits blog candy. Funny, i'm about 1000 hits over that now. Well, that doesnt take too long i suppose. Anyhoo - this blog candy will last until midnight on June 25th, then on June 26th (my BIRTHDAY!!!! WOOOT WOOOOOOOOT) I will announce the winner. I love giving away presents even if it is on my birthday! haha.

Ok, here's the LOOT!



I'll say it, i'm excited about all this goodness to give away! The retail is approximately $110 bucks!

Here's whats included...
Nestablities petite scallop circle set (large) value 25.00
Impressabilties paisley plate value 7.00
2 Copic Caio markers, BV13 and BV17, value 9.00
Paper Makeup Stamps...
Willow Tree, $4
Cottage, $5
Nature's Song, $8
Sprout Fairy, $6
Mary Fairy, $6
Swirlie Tree, $5
Spike, $4
Quotes, Home quote (sm), plate a garden, sorrow is the only truth, $6
Stamping Bella Quote - A girl should be 2 things, $4
Distress Embossing Powder in Tattered Rose (a new favorite color of mine!), $5
Adornaments Fibers in a beatiful orange, $3
Cuddlebug embossing plate, thanks, $5
Basic Grey chipboard $4
Heidi Swap Clear Stamp, destinations, $2
K & Company fabric covered buttons/brads - $5
Ribbon spools (3), $3


But there are RULES people! But they are simple rules. :) You dont have to spread the word, but i'd love it if you did, because i'm using the blog candy to get some good feedback about my blog. :) You do not have to become a follower or subscriber. If you want to, i'd adore it. but you dont have to to win.
What DO you have to do? Leave a comment. Easy peasy. But not just any comment. I want feedback! What do you like about my blog? What would you like to see more of! What stamps do you like best when i use, etc. If you arent someone you comes by my blog regularly, you can still enter too. Just mention what might entice you to come back again. :)

Thanks so much to everyone who has followed my blog this past year, either by subscribing, following, google readering, doin' the blog roll, or whatever it is that you may do. You all mean the world to me and have been my outlet since I've had bambinos, moved across the country and dove into this world known as paper crafting! Thanks again!

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And i'm finally posting!

Wow, is it really friday already?! This week has FLOWN by! It's crazy! I'm so sorry i havent posted at all this week! Release weeks are always nuts for me! But i suddenly remembered that i had these videos i made and posted for the Copic Munkies! I know the videos are fabulous. I'm still learning how to video myself. I'm working on getting a new set up so my hand isnt blocking the camera view half the time! haha. But it's just a start.



and here's the second, technique video



Ok... blog candy WILL be posted tomorrow! I promise! :)

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Katie Fairy Winner!

No new creations to post today, and i may not have any for another day or so. My main focus right now is to get orders packed and shipped from the release party of Paper Makeup Stamps. It was a lot of fun, and thank you so much to my blog followers and supporters who put up with my mad release antics. :)

I do want to announce the winner of the Katie Fairy though!

Yes, I am holding MAC! Pretty much always and forever. haha. I do have other favorite companies (Bobbi Brown, Nars, Stila, to name a new) but my compact is always MAC. :)

So the winner is.......

LINDSY

Lindsy, if you would please email me your snail mail info, i'll get the stamp right out to ya!

Do keep your eye out for some fun blog candy i'll be posting probably tomorrow. :)

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It's time for the BLOG HOP!

Today is the day of the Paper Makeup Stamps summer release which means it's time for the blog hop and i'm actually the last stop on the blog hop, so if you are starting with me... you wont get the code! You have to start at the beginning... go to the PMS blog!

I have been so excited for this release... and one of the biggest reasons has been because of the fairy i'm about to show you!! A makeup fairy... named.... KATIE! Yeah, you know i was in love. Granted i asked for her and i named her, but still! hahahahaha.





You know i had to put her in Pink and Grey! cant get enough of those colors. hehe. She's also colored with Copics, another crafting must for me. :) I think i was channeling Jamie Morris when making this card. Ok lies... i was TRYING to channel Jamie Morris! haha. I love what she does with buttons. :) And who can tell me what brand of makeup she's holding. It's my favorite. :) In fact, i'll put everyone who can guess it right into a drawing and then i'll pick one to win this fairy. :)

More details to follow... but first a few things I want to make sure you know about the PARTAAAAY today!

The party start today at 3pm CST. The releases wont actually go live on the site until 4pm. But you wont want to be late because we'll be chatting the day away, doing some SUPER fun challenges the design team has worked up for you and we'll be giving away stamps and other fun things. :) If you arent registered, go to the PMS forum to register. New accounts are approved one by one (we had some shady characters trying to get into our forums!!!!) but they'll al be approved. If you are having troubles feel free to email me.

Oh - and i bet you are wanting to know your letter for the code!!! Ok, so maybe since i'm the last in the line up you could figure it out, but your letter from me is S. Now you should have the whole thing. Enter it at check out to get 10% off your entire order. :) The code will last thru Wednesday the 10th.



Stamps
Katie Fairy by Paper Makeup Stamps, sentiment by Paper Makeup Stamps

Coloring with Copics
Skin: E00 (main), E21 (shade), E000 (blending)
Hair: E27 (main), Colorless Blender, E29(shade), E25 (blending)
Dress: R20, R21, N2, N4

Paper:
Cardstock is Bazzill
White by Neenah
Patterned Paper: Martha Stewart

Tools and Accessories:
Spool O Ribbon
Button from the button jar (that is not a company, it's a jar on my shelf)
Kaisercraft Bling in Pink
Pink Pirouette Ink and a sponge for all the edges

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PMS Sneak Peek Day 4

Ok... so yesterday was a cuh-razy day! I felt like i had about 48 hours worth of stuff to do, and about 12 hours to do it in. Today, is no different. *sigh* I just feel like i'm running and running to get caught up and just not quite making it there. But the clubs that i help out with at Funkie Munkie are now underway (i'll have some tutorials up on the blog next week. :) ) and the release for the stamp company is TOMORROW, and my preschooler goes back to a summer school program this next week. Life will eventually return to normal! Or as normal as it's going to get!

All that being said... i actually have no sneak peek for you today. As i was scrambling to get things done today, I mentioned to my dear friend Christi who is my right hand gal with PMS that i just couldnt figure out how i was going to get all this done! So she said to not worry about the card, she'd make one for me! Now thats a true friend folks!

Here is Christi's card...


Isnt it just the cutest?! She has another adorable card too but i'm going to make you go to her blog to see it. I'm sure she has both cards up with details for both so you'll want to check it out anyway. I'm actually preposting this so i cant be sure what she'll have up there! hahaha.

Now on the PMS blog to see some more fabulous creations. You'll also find your way to WIN this set! But i'll tell you here (you'll just have to actually go there to enter, bwahahahaha). Your "challenge" is to do something sweet for a friend and then to comment what you did. Originally the suggestion was going to be to put a shout out on your blog about your friend. But then my mom (who's visiting this weekend, yeeeeeeea!) reminded me that not everyone has a blog (ie, herself, haha). So it switched to somehow do a public sweet thing for a friend. :)

Well, i've kinda already done my shout out, but i'm going to indulge. Christi has just been this amazing friend to me lately. She's supported me, taken over jobs that i either didnt have time to do (like working on the PMS forum) or didnt want to do (um, worrying about monday morning blog posts, hehehehe). She truly has been a right hand gal and has taken the reigns of organizing the design team's duties. But she's really been there to listen to me gripe and moan about this that and the other. We have often commented on how we must share the same brain. I love this girl to pieces. Now if only she'd move to South Carolina! hahahahaha.

Thanks so much for stopping by, now go pay Christi a little love!

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PMS sneak peek day 3

Its a little FOOOOOOOKY around here! Ok, thats what my 3 year old would say. He cant pronounce his Sp sound! hahaha. Well, the new monsters to be released from Paper Makeup Stamps on June 7th are far from scary! In fact, i think they are hilarious!

I have 2 card samples for you...

First, let me just say i'm not a very sporty person. My husband isnt either. I like it with my kids, but i dont watch many professional teams or anything. Well, i have a good friend who is always telling me who won or lost and then i have to ask her who they are and what sport do they play. hahaha. But she is a DIEHARD Colts fan, so this first card, is for her!



This is the Football Fan from Paper Makeup Stamps. He's one of 3 sporty monsters that are being released on June 7th. I used wednesday's sketch challenge on splitcoast for my card sketch. The sentiment i just printed out myself and the inside of the card reads Go Colts! :)

My 2nd card for you uses Gus and one of the sentiments from the monster sentiment set (also to be released June 7th). I'm going to save this card for the next time i forget someone's birthday. :) I'm actually good at remembering birthdays... just really bad about getting stuff sent out in time! hahahaha.



hehehehehehe... he just makes me giggle.



Card 1

Stamps:
Football Fan from Paper Makeup Stamps (sneak peek)

Coloring:
Copic Markers
Body: RV32, RV34
Helmet: N0, C1, B21, B23
Tongue: B21, B23, B24, R59 (side of mouth)

Paper
Neenah Solar White, Regal Rose (SU), Blue from Lord knows where, it was in the scrap bin

Tools and Accessories
Cuddlebug Folders: Swiss Dots, Distressed Stripes

Card 2


Stamps:
Gus, Monster Sentiment Set from Paper Makeup Stamps (sneak peek)

Coloring
Copic Markers
Body: B21, B23, B24
Hat: Y15, Y17, YR07, YR09, R27, Red Spica Pen
Bow Tie: R27, R29
Horns: E40, E41

Paper
Neenah Solar White, Summer Sun (SU), Real Red (SU), Blue from scrap bin, Orange Bazzill Bling

Tools and Accessories

Buttons from Creative Cafe
Blue Spool O Ribbon
Bazzill Basics in stitches thread in Stonewash
Red Eyelets from the Eyelet Outlet
Embossing Folder from Sizzix


Thank you so much for stopping by today! Dont forget to check out the PMS blog to see some other fun creations from the design team and learn how you can win the whole set!

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PMS day 2 sneak peek and i'm over 30000 hits!!!

Last night just before i went to bed i took a peek at my blog and i had passed 30,000 hits! This is kinda a big deal to me! I started my blog just under a year and a half ago so i'm pretty proud of this accomplishment. I also very recently passed 100 followers. So i think i'll celebrate with some blog candy since i never did anything for my bloggerversary (its always around christmas and there is so much else going on). June is also my birthday month, so i do have a lot to celebrate. Stay tuned for more info on how to enter the blog candy. :)

But now it's time to show you my sneakie peek for today! I'm so excited about this new set from PMS. To me its one of those "easy sets". Sure there is a lot you can do with it and techniques, and layers and things that may not be so easy. But it's also one of those sets that when you need to make a quick card, you can pull out this set and go!

The set's called Nature's Song.



I also used the sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You. They are having the first annual card showdown! I discovered this sketch blog from a new "online buddy" Maria. How fun that the first sketch i am participating in happens to be a big challenge with a prize. You gotta love that! :)

The stamp i inked up and stamp out on white Neenah cardstock but then i went back on top with some brown shimmery chalk to give a little bit of a shadow.  The shimmery-ness of it you can only really see if you angel the card in the light, but it's a pretty effect.



Stamps:
Nature's Song (sneak peek, released on June 7th) from Paper Makeup Stamps

Paper:
Patterned Paper: Martha Stewart paper pack
Cardstock: Brown (it might have a better name!), The Paper Studio

Coloring:

Versafine Ink in Sepia

Pearlescent Chalk from Pebbles Inc

Tools and Accessories:
Sewing Machine
Buttons (from the button jar, sorry, no idea where they came from!)
Bazzill Embroidery Thread in Geneva
Cats Eye Chalk Ink (clearsnap) in Chestnut Roan
Scallop Border punch from Stampin Up!

Thanks for stopping by!  Dont forget to stop by the PMS blog to see more fantastic cards using this stamp set!

oh, and speaking of blog candy... please check out Melissa's blog for some amazing candy too!

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Paper Makeup Stamps Sneak Peek day 1

And it's time for the sneak peeks to start!!!! I'm really excited for this release! It is going to be so much fun! Here's a little low down of info, each day until sunday there is a set of sneak peeks on the PMS blog. Sunday there is a blog hop and the release party in the PMS forum at 4EST. Dont forget to check out the PMS blog to see all the sneaks!

Today is Dinosaur Day!!!! :)

Both of the stamps used on this card are from the "Dino Essentials" set. There are lots of fun dinosaur sentiments as well as 3 terrific dino supporting images like the dino bones seen on my card.



STAMPS:
Dino Essentials (preview) by Paper Makeup

Coloring Medium:
Copic Markers Used: E40, E41, E42

Paper:
Patterned Paper is Hang 10 by Basic Grey
Cardstock is Bazzill Basics (colors cheddar and hillary)

Tools and Accesories:
Large Eyelets by We Are Memory Keepers
Hemp string
Chestnut Roan Cats Eye Chalk Ink

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Mojo89 and the staying power of kaisercraft bling

First of all... yesterday was a baaaad day! I hate the post office. I am not pleased with 3 year old "attitude". And i really dislike when stores dont honor the signs they've left up (unless there is a date on the sign of when the sale ends... in this case, there wasnt). So yeah, not a fun day. So last night I told my hubby i needed some mind calming time with my stamps! And there was an adorable Mojo Sketch yesterday with the bonus of it being the first mojo sketch of the month which means not only a cute sketch but a prize attached to it. ahhhh. nothing like mind calming crafting when you know you just might win something to boot. :)

So here's my card...


I'm actually pretty pleased with the turn out but then i usually am when i use one of Julee's sketches. She kind of does all the hard part for you! :) here's a quick view of her sketch...


For the card i used some patterned paper that a friend, Carri D sent to me. Actually, she sent it all folded up in a super cute envelope style, but i couldnt bear to just let it never be used so i just pieces out of it to use on the card! Unfortunately i had no idea what company it's from. I've emailed her and will edit the post to add that information later! :) ETA: It's Martha Stewart paper! Nice and thick, double sided and available at walmart. I'm on my way!

Here's a close view of the butterfly, i dont think you can tell that it's popped up from the front view!


I used a martha stewart butterfly punch to punch a negative space in the white circle but also punched out of the brown cardstock to pop it up above the negative space. And i'm not sure if this is a good thing or not, but my 3 year old saw the card this morning and asked "mama, is that stickles on that butterfly" to which i said, why yes it is! Should my 3 year old know what stickles look like?

Oh, and here's my funny story about the staying power of kaisercraft bling and pearls (just skip down if you only want the details of the card!). So last night when making this card, i was using chocolate pearls by kaisercraft. I LOVE these! They are so pretty and i can barely keep them in stock on the PMS website! :) Well, i was opening a new package and pulled a little too hard to get them out and a few went flying off. I found all of them but 1. I looked all over the ground, nothing. Oh well, they are very affordable bling and i figured no biggie that i couldnt find one. This morning, i noticed something on my toenail. I looked closer and it was a chocolate pearl! That means it lasted all night in bed and thru my shower this morning without falling off. AND i didnt stick it on there, it just must have landed there when it fell. Now thats some strong adhesive!

Dont forget sneak peeks for the PMS summer release start tomorrow! :)
Read on for more specific details of this card...



Stamps:
Verve Stamps, Beautiful You

Paper:
Patterned Paper: Martha Stewart
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip by Stampin' Up

Tools & Accessories:
Chocolate Ribbon by PaperTrey Ink
Chocolate Pearls by Kaisercraft
Nestabilities Scallop Large Square by Spellbinder
Nestabilties Petite Scallop Circle Large by Spellbinder

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