Summerthyme Studio

Crazy 4 Challenges 121- Lay on the Layers!

2012-01-28T00:01:00.001-05:00

Today's Challenge is to use lot's of layers- so make sure you Lay 'm on THICK........lol

Before we go on with the challenge, I want to say a fond farewell to one of my fellow crazies, Maria Bell. A wonderful person, who continually inspires me with her beautiful artwork, she will be missed by all of us and I hope that she'll rejoin the crazies in time. Love you much Maria and keeping you and your sweet daughter in my thoughts~

Soooo for my card, I had to use this Oh so adorable stamp that I got in my Scrappin' Great Deals Designer package last month. A Cute Bella Stamp by Mo Manning, you can find Big Girl Pants HERE. In addition, I used this fabulous Smoochable paper Bo Bunny. Of course I coloured her with my Touch Twin Markers

I really like the warm tones I achieved in her hair and coming soon, a Hairy Tutorial.........lol.......I thought i'd shoot my first colouring vid on how I go about colouring hair as I get asked quite often. It's really hard to explain, a dab, a mash some blend, some strokes...........hehe....... I'm going to show you soon!!!!

Lastly, before I go, you are not going to believe who's in the house as our newest "Crazy".......

Drumroll.....................

Yep, it's the infamous Ms. KELLI HULL

so excited to have this crazy lady on the team, she'll fit in just like a broken in Cowboy Boot

LOVE her to bits!!!!

Welcome Kelli!

So make sure to go over to the challenge blog to post your card AND to follow the links to my crazie's creations!

Happy Stamping!

Project Twenty-Twelve Part 2

2012-01-23T21:30:00.000-05:00

Being on vacation last week in sunny Mexico, I didn't take the time to do my weekly post, as I said I would. Playing Catch up, I'm going to bring you up to date with what I've been doing with my Twenty-twelve project. This first photo is of sweet Sydney roaming through the busy on the 9th of January......yep, big boo boo on my part, for some reason, I added a "4" on the date as opposed to a "9". Lesson learned: Don't flatten an image in Photoshop, until you are sure you've got it right! I was going to redo it, but I figured it's all a part of my learning curve!

Flat Stanley is a Geography Project sent to me from a Third Grade Class in New Hampshire. My task was to have Stanley for a week, dress him in attire conducive to my area and show him around. I did better than that! Flat Stanley extended his stay a bit and traveled with me to Mexico!!! I have to get this project finished up and send him back to New Hampshire. I'm going to miss the little guy!

January 11th, my Mother and I were on the road to Toronto to catch an early plane to Mexico on the 12th. At a little loss for photo inspiration, I decided to capture a picture of my pretty toes (thanks Lan!) and my very bony feet!!! Wish the rest of me was just as bony!!!

Ahhhhhhhh Relaxation at it's best. This is the night view from the Balcony of our room in the Grand Sirenis Resort. Doesn't that image make you relaxed just looking at it?

The Beautiful Beach. On this day a calm Ocean in shades ranging from Turquoise to Azure and the most fine textured sand that I've ever had beneath my feet.

Almost every day, we had a new towel creature in our room. This was one of my Favourites!

I LOVE the bright and festive colours of Mexican Pottery.

This day was one of our most interesting days. We took an all day excursion to Coba, where we spent the morning at a Mayan Village. We hiked a long way up into the jungle through rough terrain, where we zip lined over a lagoon. Our next task was to hike to a sacred site, where we participated in a Mayan purification ceremony. It was very spiritual and was a requirement before we were allowed to swim in the underground cenote. In order to get into the water, we repelled down about 450 feet into the cave. A first time for both my Mother and I. We were blessed to be with a group of young people, who encouraged my almost 72 year old Mother to repel, even though she can't swim. They all said that she was a source of inspiration for them and were quite helpful in giving her a hand to climb up and down the rocky terrain! Following the swim, we enjoyed a lunch at the village prepared by the Mayan Women. Empanadas, Rice, Spaghetti, Chicken, a wonderful squash soup along with fresh juice was a welcoming meal after all the mornings activities. Following lunch we were invited to take a short canoe ride. UH UH NO WAY...........that is where I drew the line. I love my mom, but she is a back seat driver........the source of stress and arguments when I'm behind the wheel. Her nervousness makes me nervous and edgy.......a car I can deal with, but there was NO WAY that I was going to get into a Canoe with her!!!! We'd been having a fabulous time the whole vacation with absolutely no arguments and I was wanting to keep it that way!!!! The afternoon was spent at the COBA Archaelogical Site. This is one of the Mayan Temples that you can still climb on in Mexico.....we had a very good history lesson on the Mayan ways as well as the Mayan Calendar. Apparently we WILL see the end of 2012!!! and then were free to roam on the site. I saw the most vibrant blue butterfly, but wasn't quick enough to capture it on film.

Another pretty view from the Gorgeous Beach!

Paradise

We had a fresh floral arrangement delivered to our room on the first night we arrived. They stayed beautiful until the day we left. I took a picture each day as the lilies opened wider and wider. I added a Sepia effect to this picture for interest.

My Beautiful Mother, the best travelling companion ever and my HERO!

Lot's of these cute little critters basking in the warm sun~

My Mexico Hat and Hair

The Bicycle Stand-No arguments about getting the best bike!

If you want to see more pictures of my trip, visit my Facebook Album

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/edit/a.10150585781036002.436755.621151001/

Hope you've enjoyed looking at my pictures as much as I've enjoyed taking them!

It's a Fairy Hop!

2012-01-21T09:00:00.002-05:00

The Shinhan Artisans and Heather Huggins from Heather’s Hobbie Haven are doing a Fairy hop today to celebrate the addition of Touch Twin markers at Heather’s Hobbie Haven! Heather has a fun variety of paper crafting supplies at her store make sure you head on over and take a peek! For my card, I used Kayla and Twinkie

Touch Twin markers used

BR134

BR104

BR107

BR91

BR92

P147

RP86

RP85

GY175

GY173

Y42

R131

YR27

R18

As you hop along make sure and comment on every post because one lucky person who comments will be chosen to win a $10.00 Gift certificate from Heather’s Hobbie Haven! Winner will be announced by Heather on January 23^rd.

Hop order:

Heather’s Hobbie Haven Blog

Jeanne Streiff

Vicki Garrett (that's me!!!)

Tami Mayberry

Bev Gerard

Dina Kowal

Touch Twin Blog (featuring Lydia Fiedler’s project)

P.S. This is my 2nd post today for C4C scroll down!

C4C 120 Childs Play

2012-01-21T00:01:00.001-05:00

Frances is our Hostess this month and she's challenged us to make a Childs Birthday Card. Our Sponsor for this month, My Favourite Things, has the perfect stamps for this challenge!

I knew I needed this Sweet Sweet image when I laid eyes on it!!! He''s Snowboard Boy and he ROCKS!!

He's coloured with my Touch Twin Markers. I had a colour chart completed, but in my frenzy to get my post prescheduled before leaving for Mexico. I didn't get it photographed. If you would like to know the colours of the Touch Twin Makers I used, feel free to email me! And how about that Yummy Bo Bunny Snowfall Paper? Can you say GORJUSS????????

If you want to play along, be sure to head over to the C4C blog "cause this week you could win a prize from MFT!!!!!

And of course, don't forget to check out the Crazies!!~!!

TTC09- Itty Bitty Snowman

2012-01-16T07:00:00.001-05:00

Won't you come and play our challenge over at the Touch Twin Challenge blog!!! Head on over to the blog for all the details of the challenge and how you can win some AWESOME markers!!! Our Sponsors this month are Unity Stamps

And this little guy is an Itty Bitty called You Melt my Heart

Supplies:
Patterned Papers-Bo Bunny
Punches and Cardstock-Stampin' Up!
Dies-Spellbinders
Markers-Touch Twin by Shinhan Arts

Colour Map-Click on the Link and it will take you to the Shinhan Art Home Page

C4C114 January Blues!

2012-01-14T00:01:00.001-05:00

This week's challenge is an easy one.

Monochromatic card in the blues.

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 C4C119. Don't forget to go back to the Crazy 4Challenge Blog and link it on Mr Linky so that everyone else can see it too.

For my card, I used some sweet new images from Impression Obsession-Artist, Alesa Baker. The stamps include Rosy Ledger, Thin Strip Rose Heart and Treasured Memories.
For more Beautiful Blues, check out my Crazy Girls Blogs!

Jessie Rone

Happy Stamping!

SDC#46- Put it in your Pocket or Purse!

2012-01-11T00:06:00.001-05:00

This week Maria gave us the challenge to create a handy pocket calendar or purse calendar. The challenges are now STAMPOTIQUE ONLY . Join us at the Stampotique Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $30 gift certificate for Stampotique stamps.

I decided to cover a small Calendar for my Project. You're probably looking at this image and saying WOW, that's really out of her box!!!! But I think it's kind of neat!!!! It's Called Femme Collage I stamped the image onto white cardstock and then stamped the word Femme onto pink, just to highlight it a bit~ I dug through my drawer full of bits and bobs (hehe.......now i'm trying to sound British!!!!. I WAS enjoying a cup of tea incidentally while creating. Does that count???). The Gorgeous Flourish Die is Called Tropical Flourish Die. I received it in my Designer package and BOYYYY is it Pretty!!!! Other than that, there's not much more for me to say about this creation, but I do like the way it turned out!!!!

Be sure to play along!!!!

Happy Stamping~

Project Twenty-Twelve and a little share!

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm excited to share this fun project that i'm embarking on this year! It's called Project Twenty-Twelve in Photos. The objective: To take a photo each day in the year. If you've been reading, you've heard me say that 2012 is going to be MY year......... I don't want to miss a minute of it. So this project is perfect for me in that sense. In addition, I'd really like to improve my photography and photo editing skills and I'll have a record to see how far I've come. Rather than overwhelming my blog with a daily post, I've decided to record the weeks photo's on Mondays. Hope that you find this interesting in learning a little more about me and my daily saunterings!

Day-2 Thought I'd capture some things about me!

I was out looking for a Chickadee, but they seemed to be hiding out. Instead I had to settle for some pretty Pinecones!

I reconnected with a High School friend just before the Holidays. Today we had a Tea Date at Starbucks

Had a little roam about Chapters and LOVED the colour combination of this display. Also had fun trying to be nonchalant as I snapped pictures with my new Droid phone. I was REALLY please with the quality of the photo's on this phone. The camera is 8mp and I think with some practice, I can get some amazing on the go shots!

This one is also taken with my SamsungS2. A little display to show my excitement of the countdown for my Vacation on the Mayan Riviera. One of my goals is to learn how to correct overexposure. I plan to shoot those sand dollars again before the end of the year and not have the details fade because of the blow out on the exposure. Think I might consider enrolling in a Photography course at our Community College!

One more for the Droid Phone. Do you see the little deer in the woods? A little blurry, but considering I had Sydney at the end of the Leash and was trying to get a quick shot before Bambi turned her pretty white tail toward us and leaped away, I'll accept it!

Another "droid" Picture. A reminder of the Angels in my life, both celestial and the wonderful family and friends who are lifting me up with their love and support.

Last, but NOT least........... I got that Chickadee!!! I would have preferred that his little head was held up high, but the little darlin's were flitting around the sumac bushes like wildfire! Blessed to have captured this shot, which was taken with my DSLR. It was a glorious day....looked and felt like early spring.

This is a quick and easy card I made for my DT work for Scrappin' Great Deals

For all the deets, you can read the post on the SGD blog!

Love the Emboss & Stamp Folder.......look at the fun dimension that's created with it!

Happy Stamping!

Thanks for stopping by!

Love is.............................

2012-01-08T12:47:00.000-05:00

First Corinthians has defined Love in an honest and pure way.

I don't profess to be terribly versed with regard to the Bible. I have some favourite psalms, proverbs and verses that have meaning to me. I can't call myself a religious person, however I am spiritual, believe in a higher power, pray and give thanks for all I have.

One of the purposes of this post is to share this newly released stamp from the Stamps of Life, however it couldn't have arrived in my mailbox at a more perfect time in my life

A healthy reminder of what Love is

To know that this is the way that I must conduct myself toward those that I love

and

to recognize when love is not pure and move on

I hope to keep this lesson close in guiding my decisions and relationships from this day forward

Supplies:

Quote2love-The stamps of Life

Sizzix: Flourishes and layered dies, embossing folder

The Crazie's are back! Crazy4Challenges #118

2012-01-07T09:46:00.000-05:00

After a brief holiday hiatus, the Crazies are back and ready to play!!

New year….new ‘toys’…..new techniques. Do or use something NEW on your card/project.

For my card, I used another fun new image from Totally Stampalicious. This one's called Stella Peeker, another drink. How Hilarious is she?

Here's my TOUCH TWIN colour map

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 C4C118. Don't forget to come back here and link it on Mr Linky so that everyone else can see it too.

Now let's see what the "Crazies have come up with this week.......

Totally Stampalicious January Release Blog Hop!

2012-01-05T21:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the 1st Stop of our FIRST RELEASE of 2012

BLOG HOP!

If you've been hopping already, you've arrived from one of my favourite peeps, Joycelyns Blog and on the last stop in the Hop!

We have FIVE BRAND NEW STAMP SETS from our fabulous Bugaboo line by artist

Jodie Mackerell!!

AVAILABLE NOW

Totally Stampalicious!

As always we'll be giving away PRIZES as well to THREE lucky Hoppers!!!

1st Prize - All 5 New Sets

2nd Prize - $15 Gift Certficate

3rd Prize - $5 Gift Certificate

All you have to do is Hop along with us and leave your comments along the way and maybe

YOU could be a WINNER!!!!

What do you think of this cute little fellow?

I coloured him in with my Touch Twin Markers Only a few colours and you can still get great depth in your colouring!

We also have an incredible promotion going on...so even if you don't get a prize you can still be a WINNER!!

It's the

Stampalicious Dessert Menu

Level 1 - Vanilla Ice Cream - Buy 5 Get 1 Free
Level 2 - Strawberry Shortcake - Buy 8 Get 2 Free
Level 3 - Triple Layer Chocolate Cake - Buy 11 Get 3 Free

Now it's time to hop and shop!

Happy Stamping!

Impression Obsession January Challenge-Hearts and Flowers!

2012-01-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today's Challenge is Hearts and Flowers- A Perfect Theme for a Valentine Card!

For my card, I used the Cover a Card Music and Love Note Heart

Have a great day!

My posts will be a bit scarce for the next few weeks as I'm getting ready to head off to Sunny Mexico next week! I'll get busy when I get back

Play along with your IO stamps and you could win some Stampin' Bucks!!! Check out the Impression Obsession Blog for all the details and to see who else is playing today!

Happy New Year!-Remember {SOL January release)

2012-01-01T10:56:00.000-05:00

This month, Stephanie is releasing a very neat set. It's called list2write. You can see all kinds of fabulous that the Design Girls have uploaded today here. I thought it would be fitting to start the New Year by reminding myself to remember a few things! I'm not one to make resolutions as it can be quite discouraging when all my good intentions seem to go by the wayside. Instead, I'm going to keep several things in mind.

Remember your mistakes-you surely won't repeat them again

Remember the lessons that your Mother taught you

you didn't see it at the time, but she was amazingly accurate wasn't she?

Remember that you are your first priority; if you can't look after you, you can't look after anyone else

Remember not to lose your sense of self and focus by relentlessly trying to accommodate others

Remember you can't accurately predict a storm 100% of the time, but you should always have an umbrella on hand just in case.

Remember those that love and support you

and

Remember to let go of those that don't

I whipped up this pretty dollar store notebook quite quickly by combining the lovely papers from the Prima Printery collection. I stamped the flower image onto the greenish paper and trimmed it, using a Vintage Brad as a focal point. I trimmed around a pre printed section of ledger looking print and added the sentiment with Licorice Ink by Stephanie Barnard. The little buckle on the band was a Magnetic Closure that was available through Basic Grey a Gazillion years ago!!!

Here's another quick share for you!

Just a fun card using List2write and build-a-paisley

Hope that 2012 brings you all that you're looking for!

Break out your Party Dress and Bring in the New Year!

2011-12-30T16:47:00.000-05:00

I hope that you enjoyed a Happy Holiday with your friends and family! I've been a bit of a slacker as far as stamping goes for the last couple of weeks, but this week I enjoyed stamping for fun and playing in some of the challenges over at Splitcoaststampers. Today the challenge was to Break out the Party Dress.

Janet Klien's Pretty Party Dress is the perfect image for paper piecing. I stamped the image on the pretty paper from Splendid collection by Authentique. Don't you love the coordinating papers? It makes designing cards with multiple designer paper so easy! I cut a tiny tag from my Tim Holtz die and added a diction cardstock sticker, also from Authentique. Scalloped punches add a little punch for a border and some foliage from a Sizzix Sizzlit adds a little more dimension.

Also, I hadn't got around to posting my challenge card from last wednesday (yep, I've been a stamipin' slug!) so here goes

If you'd like to participate in the challenge, here's the scoop!

The challenge is to create a card that reflects your wishes for 2012.........I can sum it up easily

HAPPY

I want to be Happy............. I intend to make sure that I remain Happy throughout the year. If I find myself UNHAPPY, I will do something behaviourally or cognitively to get back to HAPPY. That's it in a nutshell. I am going to be the captain of my own ship this year....not sure of the destination, but I do know that it is going to be a positively pleasurable trip. I may get off course, but will apply my self navigational skills to get back on track. Perhaps I'll take the road less traveled and leap over the puddles and potholes that serve to slow me down, but I know that 2012 is my year and I will be one Happy Dragon! The Year 2012 is the Year of the Dragon and I just happen to be one of those fearless creatures! It's my time to shine!

Hope all your wishes come true in 2012

If you're donning your favourite Party dress to ring in the New Year, enjoy a fun and safe evening.

Love and Hugs,

Touch Twin Color Challenge-TTCO8

2011-12-28T08:00:00.001-05:00

The TTC08 Touch Twin challenge is a Color Challenge!

Our sponsor is The Stamps of Life!

The challenge will run from December 26th - January 14th with a winner being announced on January 14th.

One person will be randomly chosen among
the entries to win
12 Touch Twin markers!!!

To enter:

Post a link to your project on this post.

Post a link to our challenge on your blog.
Please do not combine this challenge with more than 5 challenges.
No back linking. Your project must be new.

For extra chances to win:

Follow the Touch Twin & More Challenge blog.
Like us on Facebook.
Subscribe to our newsletter.
Add our Touch Twin & More Challenges button to your blog.

Don't have a blog? That's OK. Just post to any online gallery with the keywords TTC08 and TouchTwin and post a direct link HERE.

Don't have any Touch Twin markers? That's OK too... for now. Starting in January (our next challenge) we will require using our markers, but for now you can use any coloring medium.

Please use similar colors for your challenge entry.

Special Delivery-Designer Vicki Garrett

Supplies

Stamps: Cars2drive

Ink: Colorbox Licorice by Stephanie Barnard, Summer Sun SU~!

Marker Colours:

Y4, Y34, Y42.Y41, R2, BR96, CG0.5

Accessories: Glitter and 2 Way Glue Pen

SDC44: Shimmer, Glimmer, Glitter & Glitz and FSC43 Happy Holidays

2011-12-21T19:35:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been a little scarce! Lot's to do before Christmas and little time to stamp! This week, I've combined my Stampotique and Flower Soft Challenges to create one shimmery snowy Christmas Card!

For our current Stampotique challenge Val is our hostess. She is challenging us to break out our "Shimmer, Glimmer, Glitter and Glitz" using shimmery paper, glittery embellishments, glimmery paints/washes/spritz or any kind of glitzy bling in your creations....let your inspiration shine!This week is our last challenge where you can use ANY stamps

For the Flower Soft Challenge, hop on over to the Flower Soft Blog to get all the details. This will probably be my last post as a Flower Soft designer, but you'll be sure to see Flowery Soft goodness on some of my future creations!!!! A big Thank you to Mark and the peeps at Flower Soft who gave me a great opportunity to work with their product!

Sooo for my card, I used this fun image from Stampotique-Penguins and Happy Holidays. I also used a reverse image stamp. I stamped the image that I wanted to reverse in Bordering Blue, to give it the look of a reflection under the ice. I then stamped the Penguins in Black and did the wee bit of colouring with my Touch Twin Markers. I sponged the icy area with Soft Sky Ink and the Sky with Cool Caribbean Ink. I used my Sizzix Scalloped Oval Framelit to die cut the entire image. I added a lot of Polar White Flower Soft for some snowy goodness and some Martha Stewart Chunky Glitter to dazzle it up!!! It still didn't look snowy enough for my liking, so I added some Gel Pen Snow Dots!!!! ............I had some Glittery Christmas Paper from a couple of years ago kicking around, so I used that and then added a big glittery bow with some M's Ribbon. It is very sparkly in real life!!!!

I'm hoping to have another post before Christmas...................but have to get back to my cookie baking now!!! If you'd like to play along with the Stampotique Challenge, please head over to the Designer Challenge Blog for all the details!

happy stamping!

Impression Obsession-Pretty in Pink- and a sneak peek!

2011-12-15T08:00:00.001-05:00

This week's Impression Obsession Challenge is to create a Pink Card. I'm sharing a peek of what's to come at Impression Obsession very soon. Pretty eh!

Make sure you head over to the to get all the details of the challenge, but play along to get free Rubber!!!

Be sure to check out my fabby DT Ladies Awesome Creations! Bet you will see more Sneaky Peekies there!!!

C4C 117-Where's Santa?

2011-12-10T08:05:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone, and welcome to the LAST challenge for the year 2011!!! The Crazies will be taking a break until January 7th, so that we can focus on family and friends for the holidays. Thank you ALL for playing along all year...we are having SO much fun!! We already have a TON of AWESOME sponsors lined up for next year, so be sure to come back and play along then!!

Ready for the challenge??

IT'S SANTA!!!

Our challenge this week is to make a card or a project with Santa on it!

I have portions of Santa..................Do you know where the rest of him has gone...........hehe!!!

For my card, I used very little stamping, but I used a portion of the Beleive in Yourself sentiment, one of the new and fun Phrases2say sets over at The Stamps of Life

From all of us Crazies: A VERY Merry Christmas to you and yours!!

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 C4C117. Don't forget to go to the C4C Challenge Site and link it on Mr Linky so that everyone else can see it too.

Now let's see what the "Crazies have come up with this week.......

C4C116-Lets go to the Movies!

2011-12-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone, and welcome to this week's Crazy 4 Challenges, challenge!! This month, Jessie is our hostess

This week, she's taking us to the Movies: Here's what she has to say............

This week's challenge is to make a card or project based on your FAVORITE Christmas movie!! Make sure that when you post/blog your card, you let us know WHAT movie you were inspired by!! I can't WAIT to see!!

I have a couple of Favourites.......My FAVOURITE FAVOURITE~!... The Year Without a Santa Claus, ' cause I Totally LOVE Heatmeiser!

But that's not what my Card was inspired by.................my other favourite Christmas Movie is Rudolph.....not because of the Red Nosed Reindeer, who is very endearing, but because I LOVE the Burl Ives Snowman Character.

I love when he sings Holly Jolly Christmas

I used the sentiment from Holly4Christmas along with this month's Candy2share set.
Additionally, I used lots of Sizzix Products!
Scalloped Circles Framelits
Sizzlit Decorative Strip Die-Vintage Lace
Holly and Berry Sizzlit Die
and
Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

If you decide to play along with us head over to the C4C Blog for all the Details!

And of course, check out the links on my sidebar to see what Christmas Movies motivate my Crazy Girls!

Stamps of Life December Relase-Candy2share

2011-12-02T09:41:00.000-05:00

Stephanie has outdone herself with this month's release Candy2share!!!

I love this adorable set!!! It has all sorts of sweet treats for you to make Yummy Cards and Gifty things!

I cased this pop up card idea from my good friend Frances who found the instructions here on Valita's Blog

and what about this DELICIOUS Designer Paper by Bo Bunny! It came in my Designer Package from Scrappin' Great Deals- It's Smoochable!

Here's the Mid View!

Toooo Sweet~ and speaking of Sweet............Check this out!

I have to confess that I LOVE these little Ginger Kids Cookies by Voortman Cookies and they are no longer in the tub~ Well Digested by now!!!

For this project, in addition to Candy2share, I also used Mini's4cirlces, Banners4all and these awesome

Banner Pennant and Scalloped Pennants by Stephanie for Sizzix

Hope you enjoyed my Peeks! Don't forget to check out The {Stamps} of Life Gallery to see lots more great samples~

Impression Obsession Designer Challenge-are you thirsty?

2011-12-01T07:08:00.000-05:00

What's your favourite drink? I love a nice Hot Chocolate on a chilly day........I'd pass on the whipped cream, but a couple of big squishy marshmallows floating atop a sea of chocolate sounds good to me!

Our DT members have been busy stamping, inking, and designing cards around our theme, "What Do You Like To Drink? Challenge". So let's get to it and check out the DT's great inspirations on their blogs listed below:

Jenny Gropp
Julie Koerber
Vicki Garrett

Would you like to participate in the challenge for a chance to win a $25 Gift Certificate? The Challenge Guidelines widget is posted in the first sidebar to your right. We are using the Inlinkz thumbnail format for posting your entries. Don't forget our ending time for this challenge will be next Wednesday, December 7, at 10 p.m. EST. The winner is picked usingRandom.org. Shriley will also notify all the players of the winner that night. The winner's name will also be posted with the DT Thursday post on December 8. Thanks in advance for playing and joining in the fun everyone!

Supplies

Stamps: Toasty Treats, Merry Christmas and Cover-a-card Harlequin

Ink: Memento Black, Creamy Caramel, Not Quite Navy (SU!)

Touch Twin Markers

Here's my colour map

Accessories: Tim Holtz Muse Tokens-Christmas

Seam Binding, Sponge and EK Success Scalloped edge punch

Viva Pearl Pen-Bronze

Have a great day!

Glitter and Twine and Sparkles OH MY!

2011-11-30T11:56:00.000-05:00

So............ this is what my Dear Mom and I were up to last weekend............MOST of last weekend!!! She likes to give her Sorority Sisters a special gift at Christmas. We'd been pondering over various ideas for the lst few months and decided that Christmas Tags would be sweet and practical. Since her Party is next week, last Friday I figured that we better get our butt in gear and get going with these as the party would be here before we knew it AND I wasn't sure how long it would really take to make 180 tags and 30 Toppers!

So.................... what do you think?

I got this great Tim Holtz Die at Scrappin' Great Deals!

This is the longer carved ornament. I like that there are two ornaments on one die!

I didn't have enough glittery paper to do 30 of the same colour, so we changed it up a bit!

I think the purple and black is my Fave Colour Combo!

This one looks rather elegant too IRL

We threw in a couple of quickie tags............made with the SU ornament punch and matching stamp set!

We jazzed this one up with some Viva Pearl Pen

This one was made with my Cricut Cartridge............easy peasy too!

An alternative topper!!!!

Now just to get the danged mess cleaned up!!!!!

Happy Stamping!

TTC06 Touch Twin Colour Challenge

2011-11-28T06:51:00.001-05:00

This week we have a great colour challenge going on over at the Touch Twin Challenge Blog!

The challenge is to use the following colours

BR103, BR107, Y34, R4

Head on over to the Challenge Blog to see the colours up close

One person will be randomly chosen among entries to win
12 Touch Twin markers!!!

Gina K is sponsoring our Challenges this month and I used this adorable set called

Funny Farm

the colours I used are

R 1,4, 131, 139

BR 97, 103, 107

WG 0.5, 1, 3

GY 173, 175

CG 1,3, 5

YR 133

Y 34

Wow! that almost looks like an eye chart!!!!

Additional Supplies include Colourbox Licorice Ink by Stephanie Barnard

SU! Certainly Celery and Bliss Blue

Hope you'll play along with our Challenge!

To enter:

Post a link to your project on the Challenge Blog

Post a link to our challenge on your blog.
Please do not combine this challenge with more than 5 challenges.
No back linking. Your project must be new.

For extra chances to win:

Follow the Touch Twin & More Challenge blog.
Like us on Facebook.
Subscribe to our newsletter.
Add our Touch Twin & More Challenges button to your blog.

Don't have a blog? That's OK. Just post to any online gallery with the keywords TTC06 and TouchTwin and post a direct link in the comment section of the post on blog.

Don't have any Touch Twin markers? That's OK too... for now. Starting in January we will require using our markers, but for now you can use any coloring medium.

Sweet Memories!

2011-11-27T00:01:00.000-05:00

I want to share a little Christmas Gift that I've made for my son Jonathon. For many years, we'd make a Gingerbread House each Christmas. Where does the time go? My sweet little boy has grown into an almost 6'5" young man. I'm sure that he'd humour me and build a Gingerbread House if I asked, but I'm sure it wouldn't be quite the same!

I started the project with a couple of things...........this nifty kraftboard box by Graphic 45 and The My Minds Eye Lost and Found Christmas Collection pack. I'm not sure if Scrappin' Great Deals still has the kit in stock, but you can find all the fabulous papers here .

The Box has a magnetic closure and a very cool accordion album inside, that you can decorate to your taste.

I started by covering the outside and the inside covers of the box with some of the matching papers

.

I sponged Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Brushed Corduroy to all the edges, as it softens it down. Also to cut down on the bulk a bit, I used the Lost and Found Christmas Stamps (which happen to be on sale now!) to Stamp the outside edges and interior of the box.

I embellished the box and layout with some of the die cuts from the Tag sheet in the kit as well as with the My Minds Eye decorative brads.

Here's a few shots of the accordion album

The Cover

These pictures are dated.........my sweet 9 year old is now 15......we had a lot of fun making gingerbread houses at Christmas

I had to don that Santa Hat too!........................I'm not sure if more candy made it onto the house, or into our bellies!

Ohhhh the Concentration here!

A little pocket for tucking in the Journaling and an extra picture or two!

Hmmm I haven't seen Jon make this particularly interesting face for at least a year or two!

Did I mention that I LOVE papercrafting kits? I managed to get this project done, along with 3 or 4 cards, a glass ornament and I still have a full sheet of paper that I intend to do another layout with!

Hope you enjoyed my project!

C4C 115 -Add a little snow

2011-11-26T09:31:00.000-05:00

Joycelyn is our Challenge Hostess this month and here's her final Challenge. It's been a great month J!

This is the time of year when many of us start decorating our homes for the upcoming holiday season!! Well I think, being a Canadian, the greatest outdoor decoration of all is that which Mother Nature gives us PLENTY of!!! SNOW!!! For me, Christmas just isn't the same without some fresh fallen snow!

This week's challenge is to make a card or project with some sort of snow on it!!!

For my card, I used a Snow Globe Kit from Flower Soft! I obviously didn't make the card into a Snow Globe, you can do pretty things with the kit as it is!! I really couldn't capture the colours all that well this morning so I have to tell you that this card is BEAUTIFUL in real life. The blue is not quite so bold on the Tan Base.

Here's a closer picture. I wanted you to see the dimension in the layer and the wee bit of Silver that I added to the Polar White Flower Soft

Sorry I'm late with my post. It's been a crazy week AND I am working on making 180 Christmas Tags with my Mom..........yep One Hundred and Eighty! Crazy eh?

Speaking of Crazy, you'll want to see the Crazy Creations this week. The DT have outdone themselves again. Just follow the links on my sidebar to their blogs. You won't be disappointed!!!!

Oh............and don't forget to play along and link up your cards on the C4C blog

Happy Saturday!

Admit One

2011-11-25T07:27:00.000-05:00

Today, I took a little time just to stamp for me! I got some fun stamps from The Cat's Pajamas last month, and had only inked one up so far. The Challenge on Splitcoaststampers yesterday was to use Ribbon in a fun and fancy way. As you can see, I rolled my ribbon and used it to ground the little pennants in the sweet paper.

Isn't this little Barker Bear Cute!? I coloured him with my Touch Twin Markers.

The Mix of Designer Papers are from the Simple Stories Life Documented line and include Celebrate Life and Life is Good. I cut the little pennants right out of the paper!!! Other little doodads include misc Ribbon, Stitching, Wire and the SU Tag Punch.

For those of you who celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday, I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Holiday.

See you tomorrow with my C4C post

Happy Stamping!

SDC43 It's a non traditional Christmas

2011-11-23T00:01:00.000-05:00

Before you know it, Christmas will be upon us! How many of you have started your Christmas cards? I'm curious, do you make ALL of your Christmas cards, none of them or a bit of both?

This week i'm the Hostess and I'm challenging the team to make a non traditional Christmas card. The main rule is

NO RED OR GREEN!

I can't wait to see all of the great ideas!

Pull out your Stampotique Stamps as this is a Stampotique only week!

Play along with this week's challenge for your chance to win a $30 Stampotique Gift Certificate, be sure to link in your entries by 5 p.m. EST on 12/13/11 by using the InLinkz on the Stampotique Designer Challenge Blog . Please no back linking to previous posts and only one entry per person.

For my card, I started out with this pretty paper from the Let it Snow Stack from Dovercraft. I sponged all the edges with Tim Holtz Corduroy distress ink. Then I stamped this fun Postcard Stamp. I knew that I wanted to use it as a background. I found this gorgeous Brown and Gold Ribbon at Michaels last week. I think I'm going to have to go back for some more, it's so pretty.

So I had all those elements complete and I had to think about what I would use for my main image. .. I perused my wonderful cache of stamps and thought this Happy Holiday's stamp would work perfectly.........now what about colouring it? I didn't want to add much colour, as I really liked the neutral theme I had going on here. I am a huge fan of my Teammate Maria's neutral designs and I followed her theme to a degree to create my card, although it's much darker. So I just decided to add some shading to the main image. I did this by "smooshing" some Brushed Corduroy ink onto a palette. Picking up the colour with my water brush, I added layers of colour until I achieved the result that I wanted. I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out and it looks much "sparklier" in real life!

Happy Stamping!

Crazy 4 Challenge 114- Black, White and WOW!!!!

2011-11-19T00:01:00.000-05:00

Welcome to another happy Saturday here at the Crazy 4 Challenges Blog!!

Our November hostess Joycelyn has brought us a fun challenge that she's done a few times in the past, but it is definitely one of her faves!

BLACK, WHITE, and WOW!!!

So that means create a card using black & white and only one other WOW color!!!

So my WOW! Consisted of this Fun Glittery Paper in Gold! I kept my card relatively simple, using the Tim Holtz Carved Ornament Die along with the Joy Magnetic Insert. I embossed the white panel with a Paisley Embossing Folder as well as the Black Ornament, but unfortunately it's hard to see in the picture!

I liked the simple design of the card so much, I created another in a Rosy Red Colour Combination!

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 C4C114. Don't forget to go back to the C4C site and link it on Mr Linky so that everyone else can see it too.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the crazie's creations~~~

Happy Stamping!

First Snowfall

2011-11-18T09:45:00.001-05:00

Elements of raising a puppy are reminiscent of the joy of raising a baby. I still recall the look on Jonathon's face and the squeals of delight as he experienced the feeling of dewy grass under his toes. Yesterday, mother nature blessed us with a brief yet beautiful snowfall. I was taking a little break from work and noticed the big fluffy flakes through the kitchen window.

My first thought was to get Sydney outside as I was really excited to see her reaction. As we stepped over the vestibule and onto the damp porch, her little doe eyes widened. Head cocked to the left, (seems to be her perplexed look) we headed out onto the lawn. As she looked up into the sky, the snowflakes were melting on her nose.

More investigation followed. Nose to the ground, she burrowed through the grass, tentatively tasting the cool flakes as if she were a sampler at Costco! Nose to the ground, nose to the sky, we repeated that pattern for a few minutes.

She wasn't too happy to have to go into the house to don her winter jacket, but I just had to have some photos of her fashion highness! If i'd thought a little harder, I'd have taken the camera the first time out, but in a sense, I'm glad I didn't. My focus was solely experiencing the pleasure of a new experience for Sydney.

Really and truly, as much work as involved with raising her, she brings a little Joy into my heart each and every day~!

"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive."

- Gilda Radner

Impression Obsession Challenge-Keeping it Clean with Stamps and No Patterned Paper

2011-11-17T08:35:00.000-05:00

The Impression Obsession DT members have been busy stamping, inking, and designing their "Stamps Only - No Patterned Paper" creations . I enjoy texture in my creations, which can be achieved quite easily with the addition of designer paper. That being said ,you can add depth to cardstock by virtue of sponging and inks. I like the look of tone on tone ink to paper,as you can see peeking out a little in my tree background. For my main image, I used this super cute "a bump in the snow" I coloured it with my Touch Twin Markers. Here's my colour map!

I also used a sentiment and the star wreath from The Miracle of Christmas set to again, add some additional texture to the card. I have to say that there's lots of glitter and glitz in this creation, having used Glamour Dust, White Gel pen and a rhinestone flower.

I'm also entering this card into the Ways to Use it Challenge at Splitcoaststampers for the Winter Card theme

So let's get to it and before you post your own entries and get all the details for the Challenge on the IO blog, check out the DT's beautiful cards on their blogs listed below:

Jenny Gropp
Julie Koerber
Laura Fulcher
Vicki Garrett

If you would like to participate in the challenge for a chance to win a $25 Gift Certificate, we are using theInlinkz thumbnail format for posting your entries. TheChallenge Guidelines widget is posted in the first sidebar to your right. Don't forget our ending time for this challenge will be next Wednesday, November 23, Thanksgiving Eve, at 10 p.m. EST. The winner is picked using Random.org. I will also notify all the players of the winner that night. The winner's name will also be posted with the DT Thursday post onNovember 24. Thanks in advance for playing and joining in the fun everyone!

It's an all new hop at Stampotique!

2011-11-15T00:01:00.000-05:00

Announcing new images and new artists are always exciting here at Stampotique Originals and so we are thrilled to announce our newest artist, Kira Nichols. Kira has designed some very unique monsters and kitties for her first line of stamps and our design team has had the opportunity to play with the stamps before they are released to the public. Now if you've been Hopping already, you've arrived from the very talented Nellie's Blog!

I totally fell in LOVE with this sweet Nerd Kitty image. How cute is she? or is it a he? Not really sure, but I know for sure it's adorable!!! I coloured Nerd Kitty in Prism Pencils and Teamed the image up with Graphic 45 Paper for a bit of a vintage look. This is also my card for the Stampotique Designer's Challenge currently going on at our Blog

And what about THIS GUY????? hehe............he made me giggle. This is Key Keeper. WAY cute too, as are all Kira's images! I was thrilled to be asked to be a Guest Designer for the Splitcoaststampers colour challenge this month and this is my CC card for this week

Again, I used my Prism Pencil for this image, with some sponging on the inside of the Nestie Template. I like the way this fun layout developed. I also used Sizzix Framelit Pennants by Stephanie Barnard to create the triangles. The Cardstock and Brads are from Stampin' Up!

Want a chance to win some of Kira's new images? Hop along with our designers as well as our special guest, leaving comments along the way, for your chance to win some of Kira's new images. We will randomly draw a winner from one of the blogs and announce the winner with our next challenge.

Your next stop is the Sweet, Lovely and Super Talented Willy........the queen of Beautiful Backgrounds.....oh I can't wait to see what she has for us!

Make sure to leave comments along the way and a randomly chosen commenter will win some of these new stamps.

Below is a complete list in case you go off the beaten path and need some redirection.

Kim Howard<----you are here

I couldn't resist adding a couple of pictures from Jonathon's Football game on Saturday. His Team won the KASSAA AA Championship Game and will be chasing the Eastern Ontario Title this Wednesday......please send some positive thoughts our way! I'd love to see the Boys advance!

In the Garden with Gina K and Touch Twin Markers

2011-11-13T21:17:00.001-05:00

Note: I just published this a touch early...OOOOPS! The challenge doesn't start until tomorrow morning.

Welcome to Touch Twin Challenge!!!

Our challenge is "In the Garden"

This month's challenges are sponsored by Gina K Designs!

The Touch Twin ARTisans will be featuring the sweet gnome from the Gnome One Like You set that was illustrated by ARTisan Tami Mayberry for Gina K Designs!

The challenge will run from November 14th - November 26nd with a winner being announced on November 27th.

One person will be randomly chosen among entries to win
12 Touch Twin markers!!!

To enter:

Post a link to your project on the Touch Twin Challenge Site.

Don't have a blog? That's OK. Just post to any online gallery with the keywords TTC05 and TouchTwin and post a direct link in the comment section of this post.

These are the Markers I used for my creation

And here's my Colour Map

Don't have any Touch Twin markers? That's OK too... for now. Starting in January we will require using our markers, but for now you can use any coloring medium.

Can't wait to see what you created

Crazy 4 Challenges 113Triple Threat~

2011-11-12T00:01:00.001-05:00

Sweet Sweet Joycelyn is our Hostess this month and she's got another CRAZY challenge for everyone!

This week we're making a TRIPLE THREAT card! We want to see AT LEAST 3 of each of the following:

3 different papers (yes card stock counts as a paper)

3 embellishments

3 dies or punches

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 C4C113. 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 Fantastically Fun Die and Stamp Set from Sizzix and Hero Arts It's called Holiday Cheer Reindeer set and it makes me SMILE!...

To acheive the difference in the colours between the reindeer and their sweaters, I stamped the Reindeer Twice. First in Memento Rich Cocoa (for colouring with my Touch Twin Markers) and then in Cherry Cobbler ink just to get the Sweaters. It was very easy to colour the little Reindeer: These are the colours I used:

I have WAY more than three dies and punches on this card. In addition to the Framelits, My Background is a HUGE Die from Sizzix-Card Layered Elegant. I embossed the White Layer with my Sizzix Branches, Ribbons and Swirls embossing folder. Scalloped Punch is from SU! As far as embellies go, I got this Yummy Ribbon at Micheals. Think I might have to go back for some more! I also used Jingle Bells and a Rub on from Bo Bunny! This was such a fun project to make. I can't wait to play with it again!

Operation Write Home Blog Hop

2011-11-11T13:13:00.000-05:00

I'm very honored to be partcipating in a huge Blog Hop today for Operation Write home. You won't be hopping and hopping from individual blogs, but rather from Company Blogs. You can see the full hop list below!!!

For my card, I used a few sets from The Stamps of Life: Stamps4fancylabel, spiros2stamp and Quick2Border. I also used the Stephanies Yummy Chocolate Ink!. The stamp set coordinates perfectly with her Fancy Labels Dies by Sizzix. I really like the way this card turned out!

Please be sure to remember those today who fought and continue to fight for our Freedom.

Here's a complete list of the hop. You'll see some gorgeous creations along the way

Hero Arts http://heroarts.com/blogs/club/

Sizzix

http://sizzixblog.blogspot.com/

Prima http://prima.typepad.com/

Ranger Industries http://blog.rangerink.com/

Studio Calico http://studiocalico.blogspot.com/

Tonic Studios http://tonicgallery.wordpress.com/

Basic Grey http://blog.basicgrey.com/

SRM Stickers http://srm-stickers.blogspot.com/

May Arts http://www.mayarts.com/blog/

The Stamps of Life and The Twinery Team up for Christmas!

2011-11-09T08:00:00.001-05:00

Are you ready for some fun?

The {Stamps} of Life and The Twinery Design Teams are playing together for this hop!

About The Twinery:

Our twine is made from 100% cotton, it’s eco-friendly and made in the USA. Whether you’re gift wrapping, crafting or tying up baked goods to give to a friend, our baker’s twine adds a fresh, yet nostalgic look to any project at hand! Our baker’s twine comes in 14 delicious colors and is uniquely twisted against a bright white hue, creating an eye-popping burst of color and a creative embellishment! Our twine has lots of color which lends to a fun, candy-striped look. For creative ideas & more…visit OUR BLOG!

About The {Stamps} of Life:

We feature high quality, made in the USA, clear stamps and digital stamps/brushes for stampers, card makers and scrapbookers. Feel free to browse our gallery with more than 2500 samples using our stamps, watch our free how-to videos and join our club!

As you make your way through the hop make sure you comment on each and every post. There will be 2 prize winners chosen randomly among the blogs:

One winner will win 2 stamp sets (winners choice) valued at $12.95 -total retail value: $26.90 per prize! from The {Stamps} of Life.

One winner will win the Ultimate Color Sampler Pack ($25 value!) from The Twinery!!!

The prize winners will be announced on The {Stamps}of Life and The Twinery Blogs on Wednesday November 16th

For my card, I used a most unusual set Cone2Dish to create my Christmas Trees. I stamped the
"Trees" in versamark and embossed them on gold onto my designer paper. I made sure the Red Tree Points on the DP, were placed into the middle of the image to resemble Tree Trunks. I then sponged some Kiwi ink to the edges to bring a wee bit more dimension. I mounted two of the three trees on dimensionals and added a splash of Polar White Flower Soft underneath to ground the tree trunks. I then added a few stick on pearls for xmas ornaments. For the background on the Kraft Card Base, I created a wintery scene with the flourishes from the Swirls2build set and the sentiment and Snowflakes from the Joy2Christmas set. I think the Cherry Red Twine sets everything off nicely. Here is the Hop in it's entirety!

The hop list:

The Twinery Blog

The {Stamps}of Life Blog

Vicki Garrett-That's me!

Hope you enjoy all the fun ideas that you see on the Hop!

Flying!

2011-11-07T09:49:00.000-05:00

We had a nice surprise yesterday , when our friends asked us if we would like to go flying~!

Now, the last time I was in a small plane like this, I have to admit I ended up losing my breakfast after getting off the plane, so I was a little nervous! I decided to pass on lunch before we headed out.

It was a GORGEOUS day yesterday, sunny and warm

Here's the flight crew!

The photos were shot through the window of the plane, so they are a little blurry. This little fellow.......well actually for a Coyote, he was a good size, delayed our take off for a few minutes as he decided to plant himself in the middle of the runway for a scratch!

We fle

We flew all along Lake Ontario, through Kingston and the Thousand Islands. This is the Bridge that Joins Canada to the U.S. between Ontario and New York State.

Hart Island and Boldt Castle. This Gentleman commissioned the building of this Grand Home for his wife. Sadly she passed before completion and he halted all construction. The Estate was boarded up and left sitting empty and deteriorating for years. It was purchased much later and now is a Tourist Attraction.

We flew along the Lake to see Pauls little piece of Heaven. He also took note of some of the Shoals on the Lake for next years fishing!

Keith then made a few passes over my place, so I could snap a picture. Wow!! The deck that my Dad built this summer looks great from the air.

We're down, safe and sound. I have to admit, I did feel a little queasy while taking the pictures, but the take off and landing was very smooth and I felt quite safe in the hands of our great Pilot!

What a nice treat for a gorgeous Sunday! It was Pauls first time flying in a small plane and he was quite stoked all day!!!

Can you say WAYYYYYYYYY cute????

2011-11-06T08:00:00.001-05:00

Okay, so I'm totally NOT trying to toot my own horn, but it's impossible to make anything less that SUPA CUTE with this amazing Penguins Pal stamp set and honeycomb paper by Inky Antics

I have to tell you that it was quite easy to make!!!! I added some Glamour Dust Glitter to the Torn Paper Snow.

Here's a little closeup of the White Honey Comb Paper

Such a fun new item to play with~

I have to tell you that it was quite easy to make!!!! I added some Glamour Dust Glitter to the Torn Paper Snow.

Okay, so I'm totally NOT trying to toot my own horn, but it's impossible to make anything less that SUPA CUTE with this amazing Penguins Pal stamp set and honeycomb paper by Inky Antics

I have to tell you that it was quite easy to make!!!! I added some Glamour Dust Glitter to the Torn Paper Snow.

Here's a little closeup of the White Honey Comb Paper

Such a fun new item to play with~

Crazy 4 Challenges 112-Wrap it up!

2011-11-05T00:01:00.001-04:00

Before we get into the challenge today, we would like to welcome a new member to the "Crazies" Design Team. Please welcome Dawn Easton - TreasureOilerDesignz, I know you will love Dawn's creations!
Our Hostess with the MOSTEST this month is sweet Joycelyn and here's what she has to say about the challenge:

Hello to all you Crazies out there and a big WARM WELCOME to Dawn!!!!
It's Joycelyn here and I'm hoping you'll all join me in the challenges that I've come up with for the next month!!
To start off, this week's challenge is to WRAP IT UP! With the holidays fast approaching, let’s see how you’ll give a gift that personal touch! (boxes, bags, gift card holders, etc)

I don't have a Christmasy project for you. When I was getting ready to complete my challenge project, my fun stamps from The Cat's Pajamas had just arrived in the mail. I had to put some ink to stamp and create with this adorable Away we go stamp by the Cat's Pajamas

I coloured my bunny with my Touch Twin Markers. I created the little bag with my Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge, sponging the edges for some added dimension. I paper pieced the Balloon with some fun paper from Jillibean Soup. The Brad is from SU! I sponged lightly inside of the nestie template and around the image using Caribbean ink, leaving some white space to create the fluffy clouds.

Make sure you follow the links on my sidebar to see all of the Crazy Creations!

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 C4C112. Don't forget to go back to the C4C blog and link it on Mr Linky so that everyone else can see it too.

Impression Obsession Challenge-Snow Much Fun!

2011-11-02T08:00:00.002-04:00

What do you do on Snow days? Impression Obsession wants to know and you can express that through your creation! I love Snow...............Soft Gentle Snowfalls, Big Fluffy Flakes and Blustery Snowstorms (as long as I'm not driving!) When it's too cold and windy to go out and play, I can stay in and create Snowmen Cards!!! Make sure that you head over to the Impression Obsession blog to get all the details on the challenge! I know for sure that one lucky winner will get $25.00 to spend in the IO Store.

For my card, I used this adorable Angel Snowglobe. I coloured it with my Touch Twin Markers. I added lots of Glamour Dust to my creation to make my snow sparkly and a mix of Polar White and Silver Flowersoft

to the top of the Globe. I cut a Lace Doily with my Cricut and Ran it through a Sizzix Embossing Folder. The Plastic Snowflake is from the dollar store, the rhinestones from Prima and the flowers from my huge honkin' flower drawer, where I've mixed them all in and can't really determine their origin ;-p)

Make sure you check out the DT creations! These ladies are some of the most talented stampers I know!

Ribbit! It's November Release time at the {Stamps} of Life

2011-11-01T08:24:00.000-04:00

It's release time at The{Stamps} of Life again and you will LOVE these Froggy2 Love Stamps!

I adore cute frogs, but these Water Lilies are over the top!

Here's another card I used the Lily and Lily Pad on.

Just LOVE this set

Additional Sets used:

Talk2me

Daisies2Garden

Quick2border

Check out all the DT samples in the SOL Froggy2love Gallery

All images coloured with Touch Twin Markers

Go Knights Go!!

2011-10-31T11:14:00.000-04:00

End of Football season is a sure sign that Autumn will soon be behind us with Winter fast approaching (very fast this year on the East Coast of Canada and parts of the U.S. as evidenced in the early snowfalls)

The Knights played their final regular season game this year against the Falcons.

The Falcons prevailed in this game, however the Knights played well against this Triple A team with a final score of 34-20. They still managed to maintain a first place finish in the Double A division and have earned a by to the Championship game on November 12th. Way to go Knights!

Of Course every game needs a Mascot and I couldn't resist picking up this Bee costume at the pet store. The main intent was that the little rascal (yeah, just caught her tearing apart a gift bag) would don School Colours for the game. She was made a huge fuss over by the spectators!!! Jon told me that at one point during the game, one of his teammates pointed her out and said "look Jon, your dog is a bee!".........lol.......later I said
"nope, she is a Knight"!

And of course, she watched the game intently~!!! I think she'd have been out on the field playing along if I hadn't such a good grip on her lead!

It was priceless to see many of the Big and Tough players softened by Sydney and her sweet costume!

I guess to boys, Bumble Bees are acceptable. I mentioned to Jon that I almost picked her up a Unicorn Costume, but decided to leave it at the last minute......he was quite pleased with that, indicating that a Unicorn would be far to girly! "But Jonathon, she IS a GIRL!!!".

I'm TOTALLY stoked for the Final Game. When the boys win this one, they'll be off to EOSSA, where they will compete at the Eastern Ontario Level. They could potentially compete Provincially should they be successful. Good Luck Boys, I believe you have what it takes to come out on top!!!

Speaking of Winter, Christmas will soon be upon us. Here's a share of a quick card I created for the CAS Challenge over at Splitcoaststampers this morning!!! You should check out the challenge for today. It's a colour challenge and I LOVE this combination! If I had a touch more time today, I'd do another

Supplies:

Sizzix Swirls Ribbons and Snowflakes Embossing Folder
Stamps: Minis4circles, Joy2christmas, Holly4Christmas
Red and Ivory Cardstock
Ink: ColorBox by Stephanie Barnard-Strawberry and Chocolate
Glitter: Glamour Dust, PK Glitz Buttered Rum
Accessories: Red Marker, Glue Pen, Dimensionals, Tiny Tag Punch, Narrow Ribbon

Instructions.

Cut a 5.25 x 4" Piece of Vanilla Card Stock and Run through Machine using the Swirls, Ribbons and Snowflakes Embossing Foler
Stamp the Sentiment in Chocolate Ink in the middle of the top panel, colour with red marker.
Taking the larger snowflake from the Joy2Christmas set, Stamp over the sentiment and in the main panel, stamping off onto a piece of scrap paper first.
Stamp the Christmas Ball from the Holly4Christmas set twice onto scrap red cardstock, cut out the entire image and the hasp of the ball on the second image.
Take a sponge and sponge strawberry ink onto the sides of the christmas ball to create dimension.
Stamp "Joy" from the Minis4circles set onto the ivory cardstock and punch out the sentiment with the tiny tag punch. Lightly sponge the edges with the chocolate ink
assemble the ball by sandwiching the sentiment between the two layers of bulbs.
Make a small u shaped hanger with the red wire and attach it to the back of the bulb
Adhere narrow ribbon to the small space in the bordered section of the embossing folder
Layer the ivory layer onto the card base, attach the Christmas Ball with dimensional foam.
Add glitter accents with the gold and glamour dust glitter

Boo!!

2011-10-30T08:00:00.001-04:00

Wanted to share this quick and easy project for you featuring Tim Holtz Movers and Shapers Silly Jack O' Lantern set, Pumpkin Jack Movers and Shapers and Cat and Raven Die Set.

To make this card simply double your cardstock and place the creased edge of the paper inside of the die cutting area, so to create a small fold.

Cut the Eyes, Mouth , Nose and Stem out with Black Cardstock, add white gel pen highlights and adhere to the front of the Pumpkin Card

Sponge the edges of the Pumpkin with Tangerine Ink

Stamp the Trick or Treat Sentiment from Solids4Halloween on the inside of the card with Licorice Ink and attach the Cat.

Using your Honeycomb Paper and cutting in the direction of the arrows, cut a ghost shape. Adhere the ghost to the inner fold line using a strong adhesive. Attach small black rhinestones for the eyes.

Such Fun!

C4C 111-Something Sweet!

2011-10-29T00:01:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

It's Saturday which means the "Crazies" are back with another fun challenge for you all.

Tammy our challenge hostess finishes off the month with something sweet and tasty!

It’s almost time to put on your costume and head out for Trick or Treat! Incorporate CANDY into your card design today!

For my card, I used this Sweet Sweet Gingerbread with Treats image. I coloured the image using my Prism Pencils and blended with Gamsol. Additionally, I sponged Tim Holtz Brushed Corduroy Ink to the edges. I added the sentiment and spiral candy, which is actually a Lollipop with the stick removed, to complete the card. Designer Paper is from the My Minds Eye Lost and Found Christmas Collection. The pearly brad is a My Minds Eye Lost and Found Decorative Brad Pack. I finished up the card by adding tons of glitter. It isn't really captured in the photograph, but the glamour dust glitter makes this card just shine!!!

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 C4C111. Don't forget to go back to the C4C site and link it on Mr Linky so that everyone else can see it too.

Also wanted to wish Tammy a fond farewell as she will be finished with the team as of the end of this month.......she'll still be a forever crazy and I wish her the best with all her stamping endeavours!

now be sure to check out the Crazy Creations!

Impression Obsession DT Thursday

2011-10-27T08:00:00.000-04:00

Today is DT Thursday over at Impression Obsession and I'm blessed to be able to share a fun card with you today!

I absolutely LOVE this whimsical Santa Image by Gail Green. As you will see in a number of my posts, I like to use my Prism Pencils with Gail's images. I added a touch of white gel pen to Santa's cheeks for a little pizzaz! And how about this perfect Sentiment?. It is just right for this card..........now on to the Designer PAPER!!!! I just happened to be up in the London Ontario area this weekend for a Stamping weekend with my besties ( I've yet to get my photo's edited as I'm trying to get all my posts scheduled before I head to Mexico on Friday, but then again, with the probability that Hurricane Rina will touch down in Cancun on Thursday or Friday, I may just be sitting here in Kingston). Anyway, no trip to London is complete without a trip to see Sheila and do some shopping at Scrappin' Great Deals. This Designer Paper was just one little item of the few that I HAD to have. It's called Santa Suits on Kraft by Canvas Corp. I'm going to be sure to use it ALL up 'cuz I'm lovin it! See the narrow Harlequin Strip? That one is called Black and Kraft Diamonds. Both are DELICIOUS!!!! A little Bakers Twine and Black Holly Embellishment finish him up quite nicely I think!!!!

Well, Hopefully as you're reading this, I've got the news that Rina decided to bugger off from the Mayan Coastline for deeper waters and I'm packing the last of my summer wear for my trip!!!!

Happy Stamping!

TTCO4-Touch Twin Colour Challenge

2011-10-26T11:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Touch Twin Challenge!!!

The TTC04 challenge is a Color Challenge!

This month's challenges are sponsored by Impression Obsession!

For my card, I decided to just use hints of colour as an accent to this beautifully detailed Welcome Mat stamp. The leaves are coloured with the Melon Yellow Ink and I used the Rose Red to accent. The Welcome Mat is coloured with the Olive Green and a Touch of GY163 Green Bice as the highlight colour. The Boots have BR107 Sand Highlights to compliment the Brick Brown Chosen for the colour challenge. The Happy Fall expression is part of the IO Summer Release. Additional Supplies include paper by Graphic 45, Tim Holtz Banner Sizzix cutout and chocolate brown cardstock.

The challenge will run from October 24th - November 12th with a winner being announced on November 13th.

One person will be randomly chosen among entries to win
12 Touch Twin markers!!!

To enter:

Post a link to your project below.

Don't have a blog? That's OK. Just post to any online gallery with the keywords TTC04 and TouchTwin and post a direct link in the comment section of this post.

Don't have any Touch Twin markers? That's OK too... for now. Starting in January we will require using our markers, but for now you can use any coloring medium.
Please use similar colors for your challenge entry.

Stampotique Designers Challenge 41- There's POISON in it!

2011-10-26T00:01:00.000-04:00

SDC41: Altered Poison Bottle

Maria is our Hostess this week issuing a new challenge here at Stampotique Designer's Challenge:

"I have a new fun and creative challenge for you all this week. Are you ready for Halloween? Well, guess what? My challenge for you today is an: Altered poison bottle. I have a passion for sweet/spooky bottles and I would love to see your creations using Stampotique stamps.

WARNING: Don't Drink, that's Poison! Happy Halloween Stampotique-creatures!

I had so much fun creating a tag for the last challenge that I decided to continue with that theme, adding this tiny Tim Holtz bottle. I used the images from Halloween Cube 2 coupled with this Fang you Very Much sentiment. To create my background, I embossed the Spider Web Image with white embossing powder. I then took some Tim Holtz Broken China Distress Stain and went over the whole tag, with the exception of the images, which I coloured in with my Touch Twin Markers. The colours I used for the pumpkins: Y35. YR23. R14 amd BR96. I coloured the Skeleton Head with GY163 and Y169. I then took sponges and sponged Brushed Corduroy and Crushed Olive to the bottom and the edges of the Tag and Dusty Concord to create a twilight sky. I filled the little bottle with Hand Sanitizer added some rhinestones for bling and attached some curtain pull to turn it into a wee key chain. I'm actually Pleased with my project as this is far from my usual style! I guess that's why they call it a challenge!!! Anyway, hope you'll play along. One lucky player will win a gift certificate for 30 bucks to Stampotique! Please check out the challenge blog for the rules and deets!!!!

Happy Stamping!

Hoppin' with Flower Soft! New Product Release

2011-10-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

This week the Flower Soft Team is hopping to showcase the newest Flower Soft Products!

If you've been hopping already you've arrived from Linda B's Blog.

I have to be honest; i'm not sure all the details of the Hop as I'm prescheduling this post. As you're reading this, I'm enjoying a stamping weekend with my best girls!

For my card I used this adorable Moments in Time Rubber Stamped image It's called the Gift

I coloured with my Touch Twin Markers I had a colour map prepared, but forgot to photograph it....

Colours used

Scarf: PB72, PB183, PB 185

Skin: BR 107, R139

Coat: BG5, 3, 1

Boots and Shorts: CG7, 5, 3

Dog and Hair: YR21, Y36, Y141

For Flower Soft, I used the new Ruby, Ultrafine White and Ultrafine Black. Gotta Run, I'm going to miss my train.......................eeeeek

Now off to Debbie's Blog.

Totally Stampalicious TOTALLY DELICIOUS Christmas Release!

2011-10-20T21:00:00.000-04:00

WELCOME!!

If you've been hoppin already, you've just arrived by my very talented inky ocean friend Joanne's Blog and the last stop on the HOP!

Totally Stampalicious Christmas Release

and Blog Hop!!!

We are so excited to share SEVEN NEW SETS with you all tonight and they are

AVAILABLE NOW at

TOTALLY STAMPALICIOUS!!

As always we have some FABULOUS PRIZES to give away including:

1st Prize - All 7 New Sets

2nd Prize - $15 Gift Certficate

3rd Prize - $5 Gift Certificate

All you have to do is Hop along with us and leave your comments along the way and maybe

YOU could be a WINNER!!!!

So now, without further ado.....

HERE IS THE CHRISTMAS RELEASE

from the Totally Stampalicious Bugaboo Line by amazing artist Jodie Mackerell!

They are ALL must-haves for this year's Holiday Cards!!!

Aren't Ava and Deacon adorable all coloured up with my Touch Twin Markers? Don't forget to play the Touch Twin Challenge this week for your chance to win 12 Yummy Markers!

Also added some of the new Ultra fine White Flower Soft as well as the Yummy Flower Soft Diamond Range Amethyst

And here is the entire Blog Hop Line Up in case there are any glitches along the way!

Totally Stampalicious

Impression Obsession Challenge-The Colour Purple!

2011-10-20T00:30:00.000-04:00

Our Challenge for this week is "The Color Purple" and continues to the followingWednesday evening, October 26, at 10 p.m. If you would like a chance to win free stamps too, get busy out there, then post your "Purple Card" at the bottom of the post on the Impression Obsession Blog, from October 20 through October 26, using Inlinkz.

The challenge guidelines are in the first side bar to the right on the IO Blog, near the top, under the "New Fall-Winter Card Album". (Don't forget! The Current FALL-WINTER catalog link is just above that!) The dates for the challenges are in the second column to the right. Think about the fun and chance to win $25 worth of free stamps, plus the "I'm A Winner" widget for your blog. Looking forward to seeing your creation!

For my card I used a few stamps.......... I am CRAZY about IO and still over the moon excited about being on the team. I started with Goldie as my main Character, colouring him in with my Touch Twin Markers. I apologize that I don't have a colour map for you today AND I can't find the little sheet that I filled out when I coloured him. I created my purple background with the Christmas Cover a Card Stamp and I added the Believe Wish Dream Sentiment to the little hook that I made from wire. A little gold glitter shines it up just pretty don't you think?

I'm off to spend a crafty weekend scrappin' and stampin' with my besties! Have a great day!!!!