Another Bella

Well Hello everyone! I'm back from my trip and my parents left town yesterday. *sob* i actually have to take care of my 2.5 year old again! hahaha. Ok, so i love taking care of my little guy, but man is he exhausting. After not having to get up to get him a juice box, or yogurt, or take him outside in the heat, put in a movie, etc for him for a week... i must say i did get a little spoiled! :)

But now that i'm back in my own world, i can also get back to crafting! I have 2 cards i need to post. 1 is actually from last week that i created while my parents were in town, i just wasnt able to get it up. I made 3 of these bella cards to give 1 to each hostess of my baby shower. Considering i whipped them together pretty fast, i think they came out lovely! :)

The stamp is Flowahbella from www.stampingbella.com. She is colored with Copic Markers. I honestly dont even know the maker of the cardstock since it was just from my stash, but the patterned paper you might recognize from my last post with my Love of Labour projects. It's by SandyLion and i believe its from the disney princess collection. Other than that i just added some Michael's $1 rhinestones (i LOVE those packages!). I stamped a pretty "thank you" on the inside. Other than that, the card is kept simple with some easy mats and not too much extensive layering. Sometimes, i think a pretty image is all a card needs. :)

Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to email me or leave a comment as always!

Read more...

Love of Labor Swap, Gardenbella

I participated in a super fun swap on splitcoast. The swap was called Love of Labor swap. The idea what that you hand craft an item tailored for your secret gal. It's been a lot of fun as we've been chatting the past couple of weeks but no one is telling who has who. :)

Well... i'm post dating this post so hopefully my secret gal has already received it (though i dont think she reads my blog, so i'm probably safe. Still... i'm not going to mention any names just to be safe. :)

I created a basket/tin that could be used for all kinds of things. It could be to store cards (my first thought) but could also store stamps, tools, or whatever else she wants to have within close reach. Inside my tin are lots of other goodies for her to craft with but most notably in a plastic screw top jar tower with matching embellishments to the tin (to go with the idea of a place to store cards and cardmaking supplies). There are also some stamps, stickles, and other small items inside just for fun.

To create my tin purse, i started with a tin purse base i picked up at Hobby Lobby. I then picked up some pizzazzill cardstock by bazzill as well as some patterened paper by Sandy Lion at a local scrapbook store. After careful measuring... i modgepodged the paper to the tin. I wasnt pleased with my seam lines, so i decided to add the ribbon along the edges instead of just around the middle as i originally planned. I was pleased with the more finished look the ribbon gave (ribbon is soft sky double stitched ribbon by Stampin Up).

The flowers and fabric covered brads added a great dimension touch to the project i thought (and all of the extras from the packs are included inside the tin for her to use!).

I also included this bella card in my tin. I tried to keep within the same color scheme as the tin. If you remember my post earlier in the week from my baby shower you notice the same trim of embossed paper ad scalloped border. Yep, thats because i had an extra of each still sitting on my craft table. I'm not a waster. I use EVERYTHING. :)

My card base is actually very vanilla by SU. I wanted to match the off white of the tin. Then i layered an embossed cardfront (that i received in a swap, though i do have that embossing folder) and my left over pieces from the baby thank you. I colored my bella (Gardenbella from Stamping Bella) with copic markers and for the first time, i added a base (the grass) to her. I've seen this done on other blogs and i just think it's so neat. Its especially worked with this bella for me because i've always been a little curious with what to do with her feet since she doesnt have the typical trendy shoes that the bellas wear. Well, i personally like to be barefoot in grass so i made her some grass! Other cardstock pieces on the card are all from the scraps bin (i'm a little meticulous with how i keep my scraps, i have different compartments for every color so i'm sure to be able to find perfect colored mats, etc. Like i said... i use everything!)
I then added a rub on from a small spring pack from making memories. I really like the rub ons over embossed cardstock because you still get the whole sentiment without the distortion you'd get if you stamped the sentiment.

So i really hope my secret gal enjoys my creation i made for her. it was a super fun swap and i'd join another on in a heartbeat! :)

Read more...

I actually created this card the other day when i was playing with my new jewel tone shimmer chalks by Pebbles Inc. i'm telling you.... i love these chalks! I learned a little trick that you can post to your blog days before (thank you Lauren Meader!) so i have a couple of posts ready for while i'm out of town! I just think this is fabulous! Haha. Ok, and on to the card!


I feel like this isnt a typical card for me. It's a little more subdued than what is my norm. However, i'm in the process of coming up with some card designs to do sets of for a fundraiser craft fair my church is doing in October. Seeing as i wont be able to do much October 1st when this craft fair is said to be, i'm trying to be a little ahead of the game! I'm also doing LOTS of stamping on candles and i'm so pleased with how they've turned out so far. I'll try to remember to take pictures of the ones done so far the next day i'm at the church crafting, but i've left them there so i cant post pictures now.

I started this card with a simple brown base and patterned paper by Anna Griffin. The stamp set is Everyday Blessings by PaperTrey . I love this set. The sentiments are fabulous and there are SO MANY in the set! I stamped the cross on the white cardstock and then stamped it out again on some scratch cardstock. The scratch cardstock i cut out and put a little removable adhesive on the back to use as a mask. (my super helpful tip is if you do this with a set, save your trimmed out image so you dont have to go thru the process the next time). After putting my mask on top of my stamped cross, i used the jewel tone chalks to add a shimmery halo around the cross. I did layer 2 colors for a little added depth, but it was so so easy! Then peel off your mask and viola! The shimmer looks fantastic, but it's very hard to capture the look on camera. So just trust me on this one. I then layered my sentiment on top. In my recreations of this card, i'll probably move the sentiment down as it's a little hard to read where it is now.

The stitching is actually just rubons by Kaiser Craft. I was pleased with how easily they came off the backing, but not pleased at how easily it stuck to my fingers! Just an FYI when you're handling them!

Thanks again for stopping by!!!!

Read more...

Baby Shower Thank Yous

I stayed up a wee bit too late making baby thank yous. Ok, so i was chatting with a friend online at the same time otherwise i would have been done much earlier. Anyhoo - i wanted the cards to be cute, but simple. And they needed to be easy enough to do assembly line style and not cost too terribly much per card. I had yet to use my Sweet Thing set by Stampin Up (how often do you hear me say that... hehe, ok, so i think about every post i'm using something i havent gotten around to using yet. do i shop too much?). But i was thrilled with how easily they came together and how easy it was. All the stamps used on the card front are from the Sweet Thing set but there are other stamps in the set that i could have used as well. I'm so glad i got this set before it retired this year!

So here's my super easy card. First i cut my 8.5 x 11 white cardstock "hot dog style". Ok, so the whole hot dog style thing is from when i used to teach sunday school. It just means cutting or folding in half the long way. Then i scored and the half way point. This is a very popular way to do cards i've seen more and more lately. Its a nice change if you've been folding your cards the "standard way" as i have been.

I stamped the circle stamp (in soft sky; SU) somewhat hap haphazardly on the front allowing some of the circles to hang over the edges. I used my swiss dots folder by cuddlebug to emboss A2 sized pieces of cardstock (this is important as a time saver if you're making multiple cards. I then cut that into thirds for my card.) I used the SU scallop border edge along the brown cardstock and layered it under the embossed cardstock. Ribbon tied around the top of the card and the stamped sentiment (in desert sand, CTMH) complete the card. I also stamped a simple Thank You in the sam brown on the inside of my card. However it could easily be switched to Congratulations or even a baby announcement.

Thanks for stopping by! And as always, comments are welcome and if you have any questions, feel free to email me!

Read more...

Papertrey ink birds of a feather

Ok, so i'm posting twice for today! Because of my serious lack of posts from last week. :)

I was seriously hurting for some mojo when i made this card. I was feeling pretty nauseous and acid refluxy and i couldnt even concentrate let alone be crafty. But somehow this card emerged and i was actually quite happy with it. I will say i dont think it photographed nearly as nice as it turned out because you cant see all the shimmer and glitz. But since i discovered a new to me technique, i want to show it anyway.



Here is my sympathy card using Papertrey's Birds of a Feather. This set is just stunning to me. I just love the font on all the sentiments included. The sentiment and flowers on this card are also from this set.
I knew i wanted to use this set because i just wanted a very pretty sympathy card to send to someone from church. Remember my no mojo when starting this card. I picked out a bird and just stamped it on a piece of white cardstock. I also stamped out the with sympathy sentiment but ended up not using it.
I pulled out a scrap of one of my favorite patterned papers (maker is Graphic 45) I'm tellin ya, if i had an entire pad of this paper, it still wouldnt be enough. You may remember i used these papers for a set of cards i did awhile back using the same brown card base. I love blue and brown together. I then scalloped the scrap using my new Stampin Up Scallop Border Punch.
I inked the edges using Cat Eye Chalk Ink.
I then cut my birdie bird out using my Creative Memories circle custom cutting system and also did a mat out of another piece of scrap paper.
Then i looked at my card and i was stuck. Just simply stuck! So i decided to just stamp on the dark brown using white daisy pigment ink by Close to My heart (my fav for pigment white ink... and heads up, ctmh has decided to do their vanilla cream and colonial white in the pigment base as well! Oh i am just so so so excited!!!) I was going to just stamp my flower once, but then it just grew and grew. Also to note, this is a 3 step flower so i was able to position each piece just where i wanted it on the card. This is one of my favorite aspects of the PaperTrey stamps!
So now what... i thought as my mojo was still a little slack (though i was feeling a little better as my card started to come together. Thats when i remembered my jewel tone chalks by Pebbles Inc that i just bought! I had no idea how i was going to use them, but i was bound and determined. Now i'm sure many of you reading this are probably saying oh yes i chalk over ink all the time. Well this gal had never even thought of it! Not with a color ink at least. I use chalks ALL THE TIME with versamark. So i wanted to test it out. Now the key to get this technique to work for me was to pounce the chalk not rub. I was loosing the image of my flower when i rubbed. So i alternated my colors and just pounced a bit on top of the white flowerand suddenly before my eyes was this beautiful shimmer among my flowers. Needless to say, stumbling on a new technique definitely kicked up my mojo. I then stamped out my with sympathy sentiment also in white daisy but left it solo so it would pop out. I did then take my atyou spica pen in clear and just added glitz all over the . It's all around the sentiment, within the flowers and outlining my birdie bird. Now let me tell you, my atyou spica pen is one of my favorite "tools" but i've never gotten it to photograph how stunning it really is. So i highly suggest you buy one to see for yourself. You'll be pleased, i guarantee it!!
Some simple 1/8" satin brown ribbon finishes off my card. And there is my mojo-less card which i thought turned out pretty sweet.

Read more...

Starving Artist Pumpkinhead

Well, i was going to save this post until a little later this week. But the whole idea of this card makes me giggle so i've decided to put it in front of my other creations from yesterday. If you were über excited about the jewel tone shimmer chalks... never fear, they are still coming. :)

But first....

So this is my first creation with this new stamp of mine. His name is "Pumpkinhead" and he is by Starving Artist Stamps I just love their doodlefactory stamps! Super cute and they always make me laugh! Ok - so here's the story on my card. While chatting away in the Recycling RAK thread on splitcoast stampers, my friend Dawn and I are talking about the new halloween doodlefactory creatures that are being designed! Now Dawn is as big of a starving artist fan as i. Check out her work and you are sure to find some great great great starving artist cards. But as we are talking and i mention how much i love Pumpkinhead and our other friend Mish laughs that pumpkinhead has long arms and a wonky eye. While this may be true, i still love him. So i made this card to send to her. Obviously the sentiment is handwritten. I tried to make the "font" match the style of the stamp. hehe.

Ok, so now that i bored you with the background story... onto the deets of the card itself. If you're a stampin up buyer... you may recall how they had a sale on prescored Wild Wasabi cards. I took the bait and bought them. Oh wait... they were on sale because they were scored completely wrong. haha. So i modified my scored card and cut one section off. it works. And it's great textured cardstock in one of my fav SU colors. Too bad they discontinued the color. grunt. The other cardstock is Pumpkin Pie (also by SU) and some random black i had. I punched the photocorners using the SU photo corner punch. I applied Liquid Glass by Close To My Heart on top of the photo corners just to give it added oompf. Edges are inked with Cat Eye chalk inks by Color Box. Stars on the side are from the Border Builder's set by SU. I was going to sell it... but there are so so many times i need a little star, or a little flower, etc to put in the background. So maybe i'll just keep it. Though this was the first time i've used it. hehe. Some black satin ribbon from my stash finishes off the card.

Thanks for looking! Leave a comment or email me if you have any questions!

Read more...

Hello everyone! Well i finally got to get in some crafting time. I'm telling ya, this preggie going to bed early thing seriously can take a toll on your mojo! But today i've tried to be dedicated to my craft! I woke up this morning and started crafting! No joke. I got a card in before the youngster woke up so it isnt crazy detailed, but it's nice. A good friend of mine got some bad news and told me last night but i was unable to get a card made. So i was determined to get one made and out in the mail this am!



Here she is... Clickabella (www.stampingbella.com) to remind my friend that i'm just a mouse click away if she needs to talk (and by the way, stamping bella actually makes that sentiment but i dont have it. I dont have the clickabella stamp either though, this was an image from an image swap i was in a bit back. :)

Other Supplies Used
Cardstock by Stampin Up
Copic Makers
Cuddlebug Embossing Folder
Ribbon
Bazzill Brads
Ticket Punch by Stampin Up
ColorBox Cat Eye chalk inks for all edges and on embossed cardstock


And more to come as i kept pluggin away at various times today. Let me just say, i got some new jewel tone shimmer chalks by pebble inc and made a coupla cards with them. They are divine!!!!! Keep your eyes peeled... i'll show them off tomorrow!

Read more...

Fantastic BLOG CANDY ALERT

Ok, so i havent posted a creation recently... it's because i havent created! it's so sad. And i've been dying to... really! But alas, the pregnancy is wearing me down and i havent been crafting at night, but being a big ol' lazy bum! That and i spent some needed time with the hubster this weekend. He's been working so hard.

But tonights the night gals! The kiddo has driven me nutso - i love the little bugger... but it's been "one of those days" and i told hubby if he wanted a sane wife that i needed all me time tonight. Graciously, he agreed.

So, i'll be crafting later... but not yet. First i wanted to be sure to tell you about some fantastic BLOG CANDY! Whiff of Joy stamps (remember the one i submitted the magnolia card for) well she has hit 100,000 hits on her blog. And she's giving away 4 of the new guardian angel stamps to a lucky lucky winner!!!! And better yet... who ever wins, she's sponsering blog candy on their blog as well. So lets hope that i win (teehee) and then i get to in turn post it here on my blog as well. It's the most rockin' blog candy ever!

So go here to check out the fabulouso blog candy and register to win it. and if you win it... well you better let me know so i can try to win it off of your blog!

CHEERS!

Read more...

Guitar Hero ROCKS!

Ok, so i didnt just do this. But it's really in response to a friends blog in which she posted a video clip of her kiddos playing guitar hero. We also have guitar hero in my house and some close family friends of ours have Rock Band. One day we had an invitation to go to their house to play guitar hero and rockband, but if i was truly a rockstar, i could show up with the same guitar as everyone else could i? So i "altered" my guitar. I kept it simple with some rub ons but i added some flourishes and my name. And then in smaller letters i added the names of my loved ones (Greg my hubby and my son Jack). I guess i'll need to be adding a 3rd name soon. good thing i have some of those rub ons left!

I'm hoping to get to play crafty wise a little bit today. I got some new punches yesterday at AC moore. woohoo! I have a bridal trial though smack dab in the middle of the day so we'll see how it goes. I'm not needed for a wedding tomorrow that i was originally booked on so who knows, maybe i'll get to play then too. :)

Happy craftin' saturday everyone!

Read more...

Starving Artist Give Away

Starving Artist Stamps is having a little BLOG CANDY

New sets have been released. Great for the fall - lots of camping and since we do lots of camping... i'd totally love to win these sets! and these bugs



are so stinkin cute!

You may remember this post of mine...
http://papermakeup.blogspot.com/2008/07/starving-artist-zot.html from the other week. That was (sadly) my FIRST starving artist card. I'm hopefully meeting up with my gal Rachel today to pick up my second order. We are horrible enablers with each other and one cant order from anywhere without the other tagging onto the order. But hey, at least it saves on shipping! Maybe if i'm lucky, i'll get to work on another card before the weekend is out and i'll have a new starving artist card for ya! :)

Read more...