Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Stampotique NEW RELEASE Blog Hop!!!!


Have you been chomping at the bit waiting for Stampotique Originals to release some more of your favorite stamps?  Well, you have stopped in at the right place today!  We are thrilled to announce our newest release featuring many of your favorite designers.  And of course, I am just WIGGLING with excitement over ALL the new images!!!!
We've got new images from Jo Capper-Sandon, Maryse Carrier, Janet Klein and Daniel Torrente and Jill Penney.  There's a great mix of Halloween images, nature images, some winter images and some cute kid images.  There's an image for everyone to ink up and you are sure to find more than one that you will have to have.


For my card, I used Jordan with Love and Dance Party Breakup.............aren't they positively diabolical dancers?  The light coloured stamp that you see on the background of the card is Giant Daisy........absolutely GORGEOUS!!!! I coloured my images with  Shinhanart Touch Twin Markers

YR26, BR97, YR133, BR 107 BG 1, 3, 5, RP 138, RP7, RP 9, , BR92, BR 103, Y34, YR 31, B 64, B65, B 68, CG0, R1, R4, R5, BR97 and BR107


Are you drooling yet?  Are you wanting to see some of these creepy, crawly, cute and furry friends?  Then join the design team and our special guest for our new release blog hop today starting here.  Make sure to leave a comment along the way as randomly chosen commented will win some of these new stamps.








If you arrived here from sweet  Valerie Wilson's blog,  then you are in the right place.  If not, you will want to go back and start the hop at the Stampotique Designer's Challenge.  From here you will want to visit the ever so talented Willy Anderson .  Below is a complete list in case you go off the beaten path and need some redirection.





Let us know what you think of the new stamps and which ones that you have seen are your favorite.



Monday, August 29, 2011

Wedding Elegance


I was asked to create a wedding card for a friend. I wanted something with a romantic feel, so I paired up a topper from Flower Softs Die Cut Dimension Wildflowers with Graphic 45's Once Upon a Springtime Designer Paper.


I decided to decorate the interior of the card as well, since this is for a very special occasion. The Wishing you Happiness Stamp is from Our Craft Lounge Say it Big Set. The Sentiment on the inside is from a retired SU set.  Hope you have a great week! I can't believe how quickly Summer is coming to an end and we're getting ready for back to School here this week!

See you later this week with some special surprises!

Happy Stamping!


Saturday, August 27, 2011

Crazy 4 Challenges C4C102-Make it Masculine!




It's  Frances' last challenge for the month and as it's Father's Day down under next Sunday, She decided we should create Male themed cards this week. Of course they don't have to be Father's Day related, just as long as they suit a male.

If you decide to play along with us, all you have to do is create a card/project and upload it to your blog and/or to your SCS Gallery using the keyword C4C102. Don't forget to come back here and link it on Mr Linky so that everyone else can see it too.




For my card, I used this amazing set from Flourishes called A Guiding Light. What a perfect set for Masculine cards!!


Now let's see what the "Crazies have come up with this week.......follow the links on my sidebar and you'll see their fabulous creations!!!




Thursday, August 25, 2011

Flower Soft is Hopping with Our Daily Bread Designs!!!


Are you ready for a Blog Hop?

Come join us in a special blog hop with The Flower Soft & Our Daily Bread Design Teams!

As you make your way through the hop make sure you comment on each and every post. There will be two prize winners chosen randomly among the blogs.

Flower Soft and Our Daily Bread will each be selecting a winner for a $20 prize package!

The blog hop ends on August 30th. The prize winners will be announced on The Flower Soft blog and Our Daily Bread Blog on August 31st.

If you came here from Connie's blog you are in the right place. If not please start at the beginning at the Our Daily Bread Blog.

For my card, I used the Beautiful Faith set. I stamped my main image on Kraft Paper with Not Quite Navy ink. I cut the main image out using a Scalloped Oval Nestabilitie. I added a wee touch of glitter to the main image and added some Toffee Ultrafine Flower Soft to the Tree Branches for added texture, but I think that Earth would work even better. To make the inside of the flower match the card, I added a large brad, coated it with Flower Soft glue and then added some Ultra Fine Ocean, which is one of my favourite Flower Soft colours!

Now hop on over to Debi's Blog to see what goodness she has in store for you!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

SDC 37-It's a Bookmark!!! Well it's supposed to be!


This week the challenge over at the Stampotique Designer Blog is to make a bookmark!!! Ummmm I totally missed the mark because I had filled out my Design Calendar quite some time ago and wrote "not a book"......lol............ I suppose this little project could act as a bookmark, but it would be JUST a little lumpy!!!


I found these fun 1" x 8" bags when I was up in Strathroy with my BFF Jacqui. The sweet and spooky treat holder came together quickly as I just used a 13/8" circle punch and a 1.5" Scalloped circle to create the topper for the candy bag. I stamped and cut out  this BATTY image. I stamped Batty About You onto complimentary cardstock, slice it thin and attached it with some gold coloured bakers twine! Easy Peasy! Wouldn't this make a fabby Halloween giveaway???

Anyhow, for all the details on the challenge and to link your project up for a chance to win some random Stampotique Cash, Take a peek at the Challenge blog HERE

Monday, August 22, 2011

The {Stamps} of Life Teams up with CPS



This week, The {Stamps} of Life is Sponsoring the CPS Challenge. To read how you can win some awesome SOL stamps.......take a boo at the CPS Blog. For my card, I used the Palm Tree and Sentiment from the Island2Visit set

I picked up the newly releases Out of Print Paper when I was up at Scrappin Great Deals last weekend.

My Beach is very Sandy with the addition of Ultrafine Sand Flowersoft. The tiny crocheted flowers came from a cool webstore that's in England, but I can't recall the name of it....................getting forgetful in my old age!!!

Hope you have an AMAZING Monday.......................only four more sleeps 'til Friday!!!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Lazy Sunday Challenge-Impression Obsession


It's a chilly and rainy day here today. I was planning on getting some yardwork done, but it's been pouring buckets..........one of those days that you just want to stay in your Jammies and Stamp! and so I have. I made this sweet creation for the latest Impression Obsession Challenge, which is to create a Thank you Card or Gift for a Hostess. You can get all the details by following the link to the blog.




I was super lucky enough to win one of the challenges last month and I used two of the stamps that I picked out with my winnings!  This sweet Ginger Bread Boy is brand spankin' new. The sentiment is from one of the newly released Clear Sets called  Let Them Eat Cake. I coloured my image in with Prism Pencils, blending with Gamsol. The Bag is from the Dollar Store........They're a great deal at 3 for a buck!!! I used a touch of Viva Ice Pearl Pen on the icingy bits on the Gingerbread Boy and Mounted my image on a Fluer De Lis Rectangle Nestabilitie A touch of Ranger Glossy accents.


Make sure you check out the great Sale that's going on at Scrappin' Great Deals right now!!! Sheila's making room for all the new CHA release items, so she has some Over the Top deals going on right now!!!!

Check them out HERE




Saturday, August 20, 2011

Crazy4 Challenges 101-Playing Bingo with Flourishes!




Before we get into today challenge, we need to introduce this month's sponsor which is Flourishes. They have some gorgeous stamp sets, so why not hop on over to their web site when you are finished here.


For our challenge this week let's play some bingo, you need to select 3 items that are in a straight line, either horizontal, vertical or diagonal and use these on your card/ project.




For my card, I chose the combination of  Die Cuts, Flowers and Buttons, but I also see that I have actually made a cross, as I used Ribbon and Embossing as well! Double Bingo for me!!! Wish I could be so lucky in a Bingo Parlour!!!!

My main image hails from the exquisite Poppy Patch Stamp Set. I coloured the Poppies with Copic Markers and added a touch of Ultrafine Black Flower Soft. The Die Cut is a Nestabilities Beaded Oval


Make sure you check out my fellow "crazies" creations by following the links on my sidebar and of course you can link up your projects on the Crazy 4 Challenges Site

Have a wonderful weekend!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

SDC36: Altering a Book Page

 I've had this fun Journal kicking around for a dogs age, so when Valerie challenged us to alter a page this week, I figured that I would dig this book out from my stash............ Art Journalling has piqued my interest somewhat as of late and although I'm not quite sure what I'm doing, I figured that I have to start somewhere, so thanks Val for the challenge.



I was at my BFF Jacqui's house this weekend, just taking time to relax and wind down after dealing with some stressful events in the last couple of weeks. Needless to say, we didn't get a whole lot of stamping done, but my friend provided me with a soft shoulder to shed some tears onto and a kind ear to allow me to release some of my feelings and frustrations............love you SO MUCH Jax, you mean the WORLD to me. My page is probably fairly bland in the art journalling world, but that's okay. I created the background by swiping pigment in in various colours to create the grass and skyline. I stamped my main images, coloured and masked them before swiping..I added some doodle lines and text in black fineline pen and to outline the XOXO image. I  coloured all my images with Copic Markers.


If you'd like to play along with the challenge, you could win a gift certificate for some fabulous images! Please read the Challenge Blog for all of the details. 

Supplies Used

All tuckered out from my time away.............. I want to share some pics and highlights of our little time away, but will wait for tomorrow as I need a little sleep!!!

Happy Stamping!






Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Smitten!

About two weeks ago, this beautiful ball of fur came into our lives. The tiniest in the litter with the pointy freckled nose..........we just HAD to have her. Because we share a house with my parents, my Mom has been adamant for years that there would be no dogs..........well in a nutshell we managed to endear her (that sounds so flowery.........when in fact we all ganged up on her a little) to this sweet little creature. More about my Mom's love for dogs later!


We picked her from  a litter of five and then were set with the task of naming her.............Lola? Zoe? Candy?...................we went through numerous names and settled on Sydney!!! That would have been Jon's name if he was born a little girl........history repeats itself.........when I was born, my mother was going to name me Jonathon, had I been a little boy.


and so she came home with us. Sweet and timid for the first couple of days, it didn't take long for her comfort level to grow..........now she's trying to rule the roost. 


With this sweet face..............a Shi Tzu who looks like a St. Bernard!  , she has an edge on us for sure!


It didn't take her but a minute to start bringing joy into our lives............and now, I can make  GIRLIE Scrapbook Pages!


Yesterday, she had her first visit to the Doggie Dr.! She's grown quite a bit in the last couple of weeks and I was surprised to see that she weighs 4.5 pounds. She sure feels lighter than that!


She didn't hold back the love for Dr. T, who was totally impressed with her disposition. My little girlie is a tough one; didn't even flinch for her first shot! Dr. said she might be a little sleepy for the rest of the day.......needle must have had an opposite affect as she raced around the yard like a flying wallenda!


We finished up her check up by having her first mani/pedicure............she wasn't too fussy for this part, but I think it was because they wouldn't add some pink polish!


Each morning I wake up to slurpy kisses and the smell of puppy breath.




Life just couldn't get any sweeter

Monday, August 8, 2011

Impression Obsession and a Sprinkle of Flower Soft!






Hope your week  is getting off to a great start! We enjoyed a nice quiet day celebrating Jonathon's Birthday. As I said on yesterday's post, it was fairly low key with brunch out at a Chinese Buffet and then back here for Ice Cream Cake-we LOVE Dairy Queen's Ice Cream Cake, but I'm sure that Dairy Queen does not like us!!! With the exception of one occasion they have seemed to have difficulty getting our cakes right.......I think the first cake that we purchased was when Jon was around nine. It was a gorgeous cake, but when we picked it up, it said "Happy Birthday Travis". Jonathon-Travis???? hmmmmmmm. Well they managed to scrape off the name and redo it, giving us a discount on the yummy cake. 

A couple of years later, Jon requested an Ice Cream Cake again. I made arrangements to pick it up just before we were heading to Chuckie Cheese for his Birthday Party.........this time, NO Cake.........yes NO cake.........they were sorry, they must have lost the order! LOST the ORDER???? The Birthday Party was in less than an hour...........Thank you Loblaws!!!! You saved me............but do we Boycott Dairy Queen??? Nope, 'cause their cakes are DELICIOUS!!!!.............I have to say that hi 13th Birthday Cake came off without a Hitch............in fact it was quite amazing. It was perfection at it's best. An amazing Paintball themed ice cream cake. The decorator had copied a photo off the internet and it was amazing in all it's Camo goodness. This year I have to admit, I'm not sure whether it was me or DQ that screwed up.........just a little screwup.........the cake said Happy Birthday John...........I was sure that I said "J-O-N" but then again I ordered the cake for Saturday when we didn't need it until Sunday.........oh well, I was able to take off the "n" and turn the "h" into an "n" quite easily............ I'd share a picture, but my Photoshop is acting up on this ancient computer!!!............when I asked Jon what type of cake he would like for his Birthday, he indicated DQ cake or homemade Cakeballs...........ugh.......have you ever tried to construct Cake Balls??? Honestly, I did it once and they looked NOTHING like the beautiful confections that you see on the internet........more like lumpy bumpy dumplings, crumbs sticking to the coating..........so even if we can't get the cake quite right, it's always tasty.......so DQ it will be~!

I created this card for the Impression Obsession Challenge.. The challenge-to use Orange.........have to admit, Orange isn't one of my fave colours, but I like the way this card turned out. To add a little texture to the card base I stamped a Cover a Card  Music Background and sponged around the edges of the card. I stamped Big and Little Dogs onto White Cardstock, coloured it with Copics and Then sponged in around the nestie template . The sentiment is just a touch of twill that I've had kicking around for awhile now.

Lastly, I added a touch more dimension to the card by adding some Meadow Flower soft to the grassy area and a little Ultra fine Sand to the little pup!

Think about playing along with the IO Challenge......you can win $25.00 toward new stamps!!! I have to say that I'm thrilled that I won the last challenge and I have some rubbery goodness coming my way as we speak!!!

Happy Stamping




Sunday, August 7, 2011

15 Years ago today..................



the love of my life came into my world. A big bundle of joy at 10 lbs 3 oz and 21 inches long, he was strong and beautiful. Today he remains strong and each time I look at him, my eyes cast upon the most beautiful face i've ever seen. We can swap that word for handsome, given the young man that you have become, but remember that beauty is not a word to describe only the feminine.........think of the beauty of a bold sunset, a majestic mountain, the fierce look of a lion as the sun casts shadows in his majestic mane. You are my beauty.




I can't convey how proud I am of the young man that you've become. I love your assertiveness; the ability to stand your ground when you believe that you are right, the way you say what you really mean.....straight, to the point, but without being hurtful. 

I love that fact that at your age, you are very much your own person. You have a strong mind (and although it can be interpreted as slightly stubborn...lol) and aren't easily influenced by media, labels and peers. You seem fairly comfortable in your own skin; something that some people can strive for forever, but never truly achieve. 

This last year I have watched you mature and grow immensely, this last year  I've witnessed a brighter smile, a higher level of confidence and sense of well being............this last year, I watched you become stronger in your convictions and witnessed you making well reasoned decisions and choices.



I love your sense of humour........... a dry wit that is a little beyond your years. Although your teasing drives me insane at times, I have to admit that you are incredibly funny. I love your laugh, your sensitivity, your knowledge of things that I have not a clue about, your ability to engage in so many levels of conversation. 

I love watching facets of myself, your father, your grandfather and grandma emerge in your personality and only hope that you know that i'm doing my best to raise you  and praying every day that I'm doing a good job. My heart wants to burst with pride when other adults compliment me on what a nice young man you are, because I know it's true and secondly because I take some satisfaction in having had some influence in that aspect.


I Love you!

Although we're having a low key day today, I wish you a Happy Happy Birthday!!!!

Love, 

Mom


Latest Addition
Supplies:
Paper: SU! and bazzill
Stamps: the {Stamps} of Life: talk2me and alpha4mongram
Metal Tag-Embossing powder, versamark ink
notebook punch SU!  Brads SU!