Sunday, May 31, 2009

Are my brain cells flushing away with my fat?


Now this probably seems like a strange header for a post...............but since my card today is floating away, I instantly thought about the fact that I have been wondering if I'm losing brain cells along with weight!

My get healthy effort has been going REALLY REALLY well. Along with losing two pant sizes, I have far more energy and can feel my strength increasing everyday........still it leads me to wonder? Is it stupid to think that my fat cells, in disapproval of being evicted are snatching some of my brain cells in spite?

In the last two weeks I swear that I have done some of the most ditzy things one can do. Last week I posted the wrong challenge for OCC. Even when I loaded up my card into the thread at the last minute, instead of clueing into the fact that no one elses card was in there, instead I thought that everyone else must be running behind as well (big roll of the eyes!)

This week I redid the sketch, proud of myself for getting it right this time! I was loading it in a timely fashion and POOF, as I was doing that, I totally erased one of the other DT samples.......never did it before, hopefully won't do it again, but I did it. 

I frantically sent out emails trying to give the other sweet lady a heads up to reload her card, feeling like a complete dingbat, particularly after last weeks mishap.............

Perhaps you think I'm over reacting, but there's more!!! Way more............lol...........in fact so many more bonehead moves that you'd be all day reading this, when you probably would just rather read about the card and move along! 

Last week a coworker and I decided to go for a drive along the lake. He misses his convertible, so I said that we'd pick a good day and take a drive in mine! It was a little chilly however with the top down, so we decided to stop at the park on the lake and eat our lunch! Getting ready to pack up and go, I dropped my work keys. Being a gentleman, Jason picked them up and handed them to me.  When I got back to work, I reached in my purse to get my keys to no avail.............dumped it out, searched my car..........nope, nothing!!!! PANIC set in..........SHEER PANIC.....it has to be absolutely the MOST humiliating thing to have to report that you lost your keys. Having a wonderful Supervisor, I told her what happened and ventured the 15 minute drive back to the park to see if they were there!

Well I may be losing braincells, but my luck was intact and there they were, sitting on the rocks enjoying the view of the ducks floating along the shoreline!...........

So now I am concerned that along with Physical exercise, I'll need to start doing something for my brain. If I continue to lose brain cells along with fat, will I go out of my mind doing it? Really I would like to be lean and healthy, but not fit and dense................perhaps this is distorted thinking, kind of like when I was convinced that the light in my clothes closet was shrinking my pants!!!!!

Oh well embarrassment builds humilty and If I can't poke some fun at myself, then who can!

Hmmm about the Card! Retro Riley...............Riley Floaty, coloured with copics, pool is hand drawn and the paper...........hmmm it was scraps!!! So I can't recall..........but I used Only Orange and Night of Navy Cardstock.........

Stay tuned for more Sneak Peeks and the Hanna Release Tomorrow Night!

Happy Stamping!

*****Vicki~~~~~

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Inspiration Invitation!



My Very Talented Stamping Friend Cindy Major hosts an inspiration challenge each Saturday on her Fabulous Blog! She invited me to play along this week with her challenge Oldies but Goodies!!!

Cindy is an excellent stamper and an amazing Scrapper. If you're looking for Great Scrapbooking Ideas using Stampin' Up! Products, here blog is the one to see. I met her at a Stampin' Girls Convention in Ottawa a few years ago and have been following her blog ever since!  


The challenge: to dust off one of our oldest stamp sets and create a card. I have to say that A Tree for All Seasons is a timeless classic and continues to be one of my favourite sets today still.
Thank goodness that Olidies can still be goodies, cause I find that I dust myself off occasionally!!! What's that Country Song?? There might  be a little dust on the bottle, but don't let them fool ya about what's inside!!! lol.




I went totally Stampin' Up with this card from the DP to the Base colours of Chocolate Chip and Really Rust........... Don't you think Rust is an appropriate colour for an Oldie challenge??? Hmmm now is that Rust on the bottle???  Coloured with Copics, Sponged with Cool Caribbean....the sentiment set is also a retired set called Mixed Messages. The flowers from Prima and Big Brads from Stampin' Up!!

Also Check out Marika's Blog   as she is playing too!

This is my second post for today, so if you are looking for the OCC post, please scroll down. 

Happy Saturday, Happy Stamping!

*****Vicki~~~~~

Lets try this again! Our Creative Corner Sketch Challenge and Hanna Sneak Peek Day two




Kay, so here we go again!!!! LOL!!! If you were following my blog last Saturday, this sketch may look familiar............usually I am SO far behind that if I were a pup, i'd be chasing my tail......but last week, I was ahead of myself, missed the mark on the challenge and most brilliantly (rolls eyes!) was a week ahead. I DO love this sketch though and for variety's sake decided to adapt it to a 6x6 sized card.

The Large DP background is a Karen Foster Paper that I've had around for a long time, the Bubbly DP is Archaic by Basic Grey.  River Rock and Artichoke make for a complimentary background. 

I just love those little peeps in this set!!! I coloured them loosely in a colouring book type of style, with rough shading, for a different effect.........hmm I'd love to give it some kind of eloquent handle, but I couldn't think of anything clever......been sitting in the computer chair for quite awhile tonight and besides having a numb posterior, the stabbing pain between my shoulder blades prevails my brain from working!

This image is a new image called Stamposaurus. It will be release on Monday over at Hanna Stamps! Follow the links on my sidebar to see more great sneaks from my fellow Hanna DT Members and while you're at it, check out the OCC 
to see the sweet, elegant and funky adaptations of this sketch~! and to play along if you wish!




Happy Stamping!
and stay tuned for more sneaks tomoz~!

*****Vicki~~~~~~


Friday, May 29, 2009

Today's the day! Want to play???


Isn't this little Riley over the top??? I just thought he was the sweetest thing! Today is sneak peek day one for the June Hanna Release and this is Mason Riley!

In addition, Frances, our challenge coordinator, is hosting the Friday Challenge over in the Hanna Member Forum on Splitcoaststampers 
This week it's a sketch challenge! I just love this sketch!!!! The challenge will be up a little later. Remember, if you participate in the Friday Challenge, all the participants for the month go into a draw for a free stamp set of your choice at the release party! 

Our release party will be held Monday June 1st at 9 p.m. est. Please join us for Chatter, Challenges and Prizes. Hope to see you there!

I used October Afternoon DP, with accents of Chocolate Chip and So Saffron for my card. I coloured Riley With Copics and White Gel Pen. Accessories include Copper Pounded Brads, Ribbon from M's, A Recycled Denver Hayes Tag off a Pair of Jeans that I purchased, a clear star from lord knows where (lol!). I used the eyelet setting portion of my Crop a Dile to create the embossed dots on the Chocolate Chip Section.

One of our Featured Guest Designers is Jodi Lee  She is a very talented stamper, so be sure to hop on over to her blog today to see her Hanna Creations! In addition, you can link to my fellow DT members Blogs by following the links on my sidebar!

Stay tuned all weekend for more fun sneak peeks! This months releases are fun and fabulous!

Happy Stamping!

*****Vicki~~~~~


Thursday, May 28, 2009

Jumping the Gun Again! Hanna Retro Summer



So, I jumped the gun by saying that Hanna Sneak Peeks started today! Guess I was a day ahead of myself. Honest to goodness, with Football season going full force, I have a hard time staying on track with the days, let alone what I'm doing!




Over at Hanna Stamps, we're featuring "Retro Summer". For the Summer months, we're bringing back some of the more popular stamps sets! Route 66 is by far one of my Favourite sets with this sassy little biker chick as the main character along with many cool accessories to create the perfect scene.



Thought I'd share a few cards that I had made when Kristi released the set last year! Enjoy and I'll ahve some real sneaks for you tomoz~!

Happy Stamping

*****Vicki~~~~~

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Pink Cat Studio Prize Challenge



This month, DT member Jodi will be hosting our card making challenge.

The challenge is to create a card using basic geometric shapes. Your card must be rectangular in shape and you must use 2 different patterned papers, one cut in the shape of a circle and the other in the shape of a square. So we have a rectangle, a circle and a square. You must also use a Pink Cat Studio stamp as the main image for the card. You can use stamps from other companies as well. So these are the minimum requirements for the card. You can add more shapes and papers as well as any embellishments you would like, so the possibilities are endless.

Date the challenge ends: Sunday May 31st, 5 pm EST

Requirements:
A Pink Cat Studio stamp must be used as the main stamp on the card. It is okay to use stamps from other companies as well. To be eligible for the prize you must leave a comment in this post. In your comment provide a link to your card. Your card can either be displayed on your blog or in an online gallery. You may enter only 1 project for this challenge.

Prize:
This contest will be judged by the design team. Since this is Jodi’s challenge, she will select her 3 favorite cards and then the DT will vote for a winner. On June 1st, the winner will be announced on the PCS blog. The winner will receive a grab bag of Pink Cat Studio stamps. Some cards from the challenge may be displayed on the PCS blog.

Don't have time to put the deets on my card this morning, but if you have any questions, leave
them here and I'll be sure to get back to you!
Don't forget! Hanna Sneak Peeks start Tomorrow!

Monday, May 25, 2009

Have a Hula of a Birthday-In Style Stamps Wednesday Challenge


This sweet little Hula Girl is celebrating a Happy Birthday! Yes, I believe it would be very happy spending your day at the Ocean beneath a balmy Palm tree and looking so fine in a grass skirt and a coconut bra! 

This card was created for In Style Stamps Wednesday Challenge 
What's special about this challenge is that ISS is looking for two Guest Designers for the month of June and July! Take a gander over to the ISS Blog to see how you can enter.




This image is Leila, a digi image!!! The cool thing about getting Digi images is that you get IMMEDIATE gratification......no wait for snail mail, just choose and download!

I felt that Leila really needed a Palm Tree. In order to create the Palm, I punched three ovals with the SU large oval punch. I then folded them in half vertically and trimmed out the sides to create the spiky balms. I inked them with a little Kiwi Kiss in to add some dimension.

The base of the tree is created with Coredinations paper, which was perfect for this project. I cut two trunks freehand from the paper, leaving the first piece whole and cutting the second into strips.  I sanded the paper  strips to give the trunk a more realistic look, inked them with Creamy Caramel Ink for added dimension and then curled the top of the strips slightly to imitate the look that I recall that palm trees have. Being from Canada, this could be slightly askew, but this is how they look in my minds eye!!!

I coloured Leila with too many Copics to mention and chalked in her cheeks with SU Stampin' Pastels. A little white gel pen adds some highlights where I really wanted the image to pop!!! I similated a sand and sky scene by masking and sponging creamy caramel and Soft Sky with a little Cool Caribbean dabbed in for additional depth.

Chocolate Chip and Pixie Pink are my Primary Colours with a splash of K&C0. DP for a little more oomph! To ut the Scalloped Oval and Square, I used my Cricut Story Book Cartridge. Additional punches used are EK Success Flower Punch and SU! Circle Punches. I had a lot of fun creating this card with all the little details.........Sorry there are no coconuts on the tree, Crafty Leila fashioned her bathing suit bra with them!!!!






Before I head out, I just wanted to share a couple of pictures that I took of Jon the other day....yep my "Jonathon" in his almost 13 years has now become "Jon" and really prefers not to pose for the camera anymore.



Fortunately I have a long lens and managed to sneak in a few shots while he was kibbutzing with his friends on a recent school fieldtrip I chaperoned.  There was a time when he would pose and actually enjoyed it, but most of the time now, I get a "silly" face or the "peace sign"......or just an "OH MOM"!!!! Even though he's just shy of 6 feet tall now and his shoe size surpasses his age, He's still my sweet little boy as illustrated in this picture of him relaxing in the grass.  He's growing up way too fast and I will take every opportunity I can to capture some memories!!!

Happy Stamping

*****Vicki~~~~~

Saturday, May 23, 2009

A little boo boo!!!! Just like bubbles happen, so does life

I made a little error with premature posting!!! Anyway, it's been brought to my attention that I was a little ahead of the game with my challenge card this morning!!! So, if you would like to see the Real OCC Challenge, please head over to the link on my sidebar to OCC and Play along! I'll see if I can get to posting something a little later this afternoon! But here's a little card for you today!!!!!




I chose this sweet Sea Turtle from Bubbles, available at  Our Craft Lounge  as my main focal point. I coloured the image with Copic Markers and then sponged Bashful Blue ink to the inside of the water image and some bordering blue for a deeper colour to the edges of the white panel. I actuallhy mixed companies for the DP, which is usually something that I don't do, but I liked the contrast between the two patterns. The larger pattern is Organic Snowdrop from BoBunny Press, the Stripe from the K&Co. Daydreams. I used Night of Navy and Bliss blue Cardstock.

I dug out the eyelets and dusted them off for this card to keep with the circular theme and used a Prima Flower with a Dew Drop Centre to finish it off! 

Hope you enjoy your weekend! It looks like the weather is supposed to be finally good here, so I am hoping to get a little sun. If I'm lucky, I go from Transparent to white with a moderate amount of sun and it is nice to have a wee bit of colour!

Happy Stamping!

*****Vicki~~~~~

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Crabby Beach

So I'm home again today. Kind of feeling as if I've been run over by a truck.....plus I notice that in the last couple of days with not working out, I just don't feel right either...........hmmmm will my desire to exercise overtake my stamping addiction??? I hope so and I hope not too! 

Anyway, when Jonathon was at Footy practice last night, I took a quick gander over to Michaels and this card is a result of my finds! K&Co has a new release by a designer named Carolyn Gavin called Greenhouse. I couldn't resit the 8.5 square pad of bright, cheerful and whimsical DP along with an 8.5 pad of punch out flowers and ferns and birds. In addition, there were three matching EK success punches to coordinate with the line. Without having a coupon this week, I contained myself to just choosing the one that you see on the card, however I now have a coupon for next week and will go back for the daisy looking border punch!!! I am such a punch junkie! If you look to the left of the card, you can see the bright and cheerful designs of the DP!!!

Using today's sketch challenge on Splitcoast Stampers as inspiration to get started this morning...late this morning I must say. After getting Jonathon on the bus, I had to go back to bed for awhile! I created this card. The images are from Hanna Stamps to the beach set. I love when you can make cool cards just with the accessories in a set! I coloured the card with copics, sponging creamy caramel and cool caribbean into the sand and sky. To add a little more dimension to the sand I dotted with black and white gel pens. The Brads are from Queen and Co.

I am just loving this paper, so I'm sure you will see more of it in the next little while!

Hope you are all having a wonderful day and Thanks so much for visiting my blog. I do appreciate you taking the time to stop by!

I took a little Hopping Hiatus for a few weeks, but got back to it yesterday! It's so nice to see what you all are doing!

Happy Stamping!

*****Vicki~~~~~

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

My Ultimoose Congradulations!

Check out this fun new image from Hanna Stamps! Yes! Riley has Graduated..........our famous little jack of all trades has now earned a degree! This was a fun surprise release from Hanna Stamps last week!

Alas the long weekend is over! Was enjoyable, but went way way too fast as far as I'm concerned! I know that my American friends will be enjoying a long weekend next weekend and I hope it's wonderful!

I kept this card pretty plain and simple, using just cardstock and a cuttlebug template to give the red section some dimension. The white pattern that you see on the black base are SU! rubons.  The flowers are from Prima and coloured and doodled with Copics and a Sakura White Gel Pen!

Hope you are having a great Tuesday..........good thing about Tuesdays? They're one day closer to Friday!

Happy Stamping!

*****Vicki~~~~~

Monday, May 18, 2009

Christmas Stamping All Year Long-Challenge 17



Happy Monday! Feels like Sunday to me, because it's a long weekend! I love love love long weekends! One extra day to get caught up on chores, sleep in or just plain relax! Jonathon has a football game this afternoon, so I'm definitely looking forward to that! 

Our Challenge Hostess for this week is Debbie, of the Paper Garden
This colour combination was definitely a challenge for me as I didn't have Apricot Appeal and decided to substitute with Cameo Coral. I am not totally happy with this card at all and had a really difficult time getting it to photograph. To my eye, it looks a little garish, but I decided to post it anyway, because with the good work, come the not so good work and well this to me, is definitely not my best!


I used Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow and Cameo Coral as the main colours. The image is from a retired Stamp set called Peaceful Wishes, which continues to remain to be one of my favourite sets. I cuttlebugged the Sage Background with the snowflake template and used an EK Success border punch along with Martha Stewart Branches to add some interest to the card. Glitter to the stamped branches and Sakura Jelly Roll Glaze pen to the berries adds a little dimension.

Hope you'll play along with us this week!  Go to the Main Site to see the rest of the great designs and to post a link to your creation!

Happy Stamping

*****Vicki~~~~~

Sunday, May 17, 2009

With Sympathy


It seems that I have had to make many sympathy cards lately, which is not a nice things, but inevitible considering that my parents are aging and losing some of their friends as well as my friends losing their parents.

I can't begin to think about life without mine and I feel truly blessed to have them in my life. Because I am an only child, I think I will almost feel orphaned when they are watching me from above. We don't have a huge extended family, so although I have some contact with cousins, we just aren't that close.

Fortunately I have formed friendships that have become so close it's as if I have sisters, especially my friend Jacqui; I know that no matter what, she'll be there for me through good and bad to share my happy moments and to be their when I need an ear or a virtual hug.

Anyway, enough of the melancholy, I have far too much to do today!!!!

Clean clean clean and off to the gym to work of my lax eating habits of the last few days!

Happy Stamping and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

*****Vicki~~~~~

Saturday, May 16, 2009

OCC Colour Challenge-Marlin gets my mojo back!




Sorry if I've been a little scarce this week........it's not that I have lost my stamping mojo again, but rather busy times at work and my focus on going to the gym and working out. That being said, I haven't had quite  the zest for stamping..................luckily I have a friend who's helping me to get my stamping Mojo back...............hehe

I think I mentioned Marlin Shortly after VICTOPIA..................that Crazy Wonderful Sister of my Best Friend Jacqui not only suprised me with herself, but with this sweet little fellow as well!

I love Diana as much as I love Jax and we have had a running dialogue about Monkey's since SU released  that Sock Monkey set last year..........let's just say our opinions strongly differ on the appeal of that one and needless to say, I don't have it. 

Interestingly enough, I used to make Sock Monkeys, but I never did keep one for myself. Even though I'm not a fan of the set, I LOVE Monkey images, stuffies and of course Sock Monkeys........and so I now have Marlin, who reminds me of Di, although he is far less cheery at times and can be somewhat stubborn.




So, I found that I really couldn't get into stamping too much the other night, so I thought I'd bring Marlin out for inspiration.............he tended to get a little distraught about what to stamp, so I set him to work in his wee chair, but nothing!!!!  It seems that poor Marlin had no mojo either!




Fortunately Marlin came equipped with toys, some of which I will share with you another time and his very own bag of MOJO!!!!! Thankfully, Marlin is a rather considerate monkey with attributes likened to his former mama (Di, you surely didn't deprive him of Oxygen on the Plane did you???) and shared his Mojo's with me......which allowed me to get to stamping.........not sure if the Mojo is magic, but what I do know is that sugar mixes well with stamping!!!

Marlin and me have had some other adventures since he emigrated to Canada from Arizona.......thankfully his sock body is keeping him warm and he seems to have adjusted well to the Chilly Northern Temperatures.  I can't wait to share what he's been up to, the cheeky Monkey!!! I think that Di sewed in some of her spirit!!! lol!!!

Oh yes, about the card! The OCC Challenge was designed by Robin Willis this week, who will no longer be participating in the OCC Group. We'll miss you Robin and you can feel free to follow her work by clicking on the link on my sidebar. 

The challenge was to create a card using Bashful Blue, Rose Red and Certainly Celery.

This sweet image has just been release by Kristi Ferro over at Hanna Stamps! Hanna Graduates and is available now, along with a sweet Riley Graduate. Hop on over to Hanna Stamps to see what's new!

My card is fairly simple, but I have been partial to clean design and cardstock as of late!!! I used cuttle bug and a EK Success Border punch for a wee bit of dimension, some pomegranite Ribbon and copics for colouring.

Hope you enjoy your weekend! In Canada we celebrate Queen Victoria's Birthday, which means a long weekend for me! Hope to have some more samples for your viewing pleasure over the course of the weekend!

Happy Stamping!

*****Vicki~~~~~

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Christmas Stamping All Year Long! Add a Little Bling


So, I am moving right along with my Christmas Cards! I am very excited about this challenge ,which is add a little bling! I will be hosting the challenges the second week of each month!!! Thanks Maria for including me in this!!! Ladies, if you have any ideas for challenges, please leave me a comment in my chatter box! I'd love to fulfill your requests!


So how does one add a little Zing with Christmas Bling? Well you can use Glitter........... Red, Green, Gold, Silver.........anything that suits your fancy! Maybe a some Rhinestones or Blingy Brads, Some Pretty Embossing anything that resembles Tinsel or Christmas Lights! LOL!!



I added some bling bling to my card, by  using Spica pens on the parrot, which is not captured well with the camera, some stickles to poor Frosty's Tears and by adding Dew Drops and a Maya Road flower. Image is coloured with copics and snow is created with a white gel pen. DP is Popcorn Balls from the Basic Grey Dasher line.

You may think this image is a little morbid for a Christmas card, but I couldn't help but chuckle when I saw it and was choosing my latest stamps from Stampotique!!! 

Poor Frosty isn't very happy, but the Parrot sure is enjoying a hearty snack!

Comment on this post with the link to your blog or visit the Paper Craft Group site (banner above) and upload your card to your gallery with the tag "CSAYL". You may also link from SCS if you prefer. Be sure to comment the challenge discussion on PCP with the link to your photo so we know that you had uploaded your photo on PCP.

Can't wait to see what you have come up with!!!!

Happy Stamping!

*****Vicki~~~~~

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Our Creative Corner-Sketch Challenge




This week at OCC, our creative Hostess Robin, provided us with this absolutely gorgeous sketch! I've been wanting to use one of my favourite images by Janet Klein, which is available at Stampotique Originals




I coloured the can with many colours, the base being ochre. I find that layering colours tends to give a very rich and deep image that you can't seem to aquire without layering. I used my Favourite colour combination (again!) of Creamy Caramel and Not quite Navy. The DP is from My Minds Eye Christmas Stack.   A lot of sponging with Creamy Caramel Ink and some Dew Drops complete the look!

So, any big plans for Mother's Day weekend? I'm off to take Jon to the clinic this morning.....he has been complaining of an earache and pressure in his ear since yesterday. He has his first football game tomorrow and is stoked because he will play on both the defensive and offensive line. I can't think of a better way to spend Mother's day than to watch your child do something that he loves!

He did ask me this morning what I wanted for Breakfast.........hmmm I was compelled to answer how wonderful it would be to wake up in some exotic locale with a well muscled cabana boy feeding me strawberries and champagne, but the standard eggs and toast response was what spilled!!!! lol! That would be a more appropriate response for a Mother!!!! Actually I love being a Mom! I had always wanted a houseful of children, but sometimes things just don't come to pass the way that you want them to and you come to find out that it's really a blessing in disguise. I am grateful that I have Jonathon to nurture, to laugh with, to lead by example and a second one, Timothy, my little angel who watches over both of us from above. 





I am also very blessed to have my mother in my life. She turned 69 this year, but is a constant support as well as my friend. It's funny, but over the years when people would make a comment that I am a single parent, I always felt compelled to correct them. Although I don't have a husband , my parents and in particular my mother has been integral in assisting me to raise Jonathon.  I never had to worry about Jonathon when i was at work, I knew he was in safe hands with my Mom.  Although they mix like Gasoline and a Match at times, I know the bond is strong and that's what's important. In fact, Jonathon has said that when he makes the NFL, he will be taking Grandma along with him to do the cooking! My nose a little out of joint, I asked him, "why Grandma Jonathon, why not me?" His reply: "Well you're a good cook, but Grandma is a little better and she caters to me!" Hmmmm isn't that what Grandma's are for??? Then he continued..."besides Mom, you will be relaxing in that house that I am going to buy you in the French Riviera and driving your Mercedes Convertible on the Beach". 

God Bless HIM!!!!! There still may be a chance that I'll wake up to Strawberries, Champagne and Cabana boys yet!!!!

Enjoy your Mother's Day,

Hugs,

*****Vicki~~~~~

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Hanna Stamps Friday Challenge



Each Friday, over in the Hanna Stamps Member Forum, one of our very talented Design Team Chicka's host a challenge!!! This week it's Joycelyn, with a " Sandy" challenge.........use some Sand on your card, Real Sand, Faux Sand, Sandpaper..............just make sure it's Sandy!!!! lol

I created this card with the newly release To the Beach Set. The accessories are perfect for making bigger "inchie" cards. The white Squares are 1 3/8" layered with 1.5 inch squares of Pink Passion.






I used some magicscraps sand on my card, some M's Ribbon, Copics, White Gel Pen, Orange, Pink and Yellow Spicas. The Sand is Sponged in with Creamy Caramel Ink.

The Rub on is from Stampin' Up! and the  tone on tone texture added onto the bottom of the card base was also created with accessory stamps!

Happy Stamping and I hope you have a wonderful weekend,

*****Vicki~~~~~

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Fins!


Just a quick post this morning! I've had a busy week and am off to the gym this morning! This sweet little Riley is one of the latest images released last night at Hanna Stamps!!!!

Card Recipe: Fins Riley, Sentiment is from To the Beach, Hanna Stamps, 
Paper: K& Co. Night of Navy and Amethyst
Accessories: Scallop Punch, Ribbon, Copics, Sakura Glaze Pen, White Gel Pen, Dew Drops, Fine Point Copic

Happy Stamping!

*****Vicki~~~~~

Monday, May 4, 2009

Our Craft Lounge Blog Candy Winner is............

Terri T! Who said:

My Favourite Summer Passtime is having everyone over on the deck to Barbecue!!!!

Congratulations Terri T! I have left instructions on how to contact me in regard to your prize on your blog!!!

To the rest of you great ladies who participated in the blog hop, thanks so much for visiting my blog and leaving sweet comments! I greatly appreciate that and hope you'll come back and visit again!!!!!

Happy Stamping

*****Vicki~~~~~

Hanna Release Party Tonight!

Hope that you'll join us this evening from 9-11 p.m. EST in the Hanna Member Forum for our May Release Party! The sneak peeks have been incredible and I KNOW that our talented DT Chicka's have so much more to show you!!!!

Click HERE to bookmark the place!!!

This little darling is one of the main images in the Pool Party set!!!! There are floating girls and boys, shorts and even a floating canine!!!! The funky DP that you see here is from the Paper Trunk. I used Not Quite Navy as a Base and coloured the image in with Copics. The Sparkly droplets of water are STICKLES!!!!!

Marlin is still being quite shy, but I am trying to get him to warm up and pose for some pictures.........lol!!!! I need to show Diana that I am taking the best care of him!!!!

Hope to see you tonight at the Release Partay!!!!!!


Happy Stamping!!!!

*****Vicki~~~~~

Christmas Stamping week 15-Colour Challenge!



Maria presented us with a really really fun challenge this week, a colour challenge~

I love this picture and had a lot of great ideas, but being the procrastinator that I have been as of late, I waited until  the last minute I decided I needed to do something very quick if I planned to get into bed at a decent time!!! So these pretty pre made card kits from England came to mind!




You can find them at www.kanbancrafts.com I received some samples from a lovely Lady Gillian that I met at Summer CHA in Chicago. All I added to the equation was some dew drops and SU Ribbon.............quickest card I ever made!

Guess what??? I am thrilled to announce that I will be hosting the challenge once a month! My slot will fall on the 2nd week of the month!!! Sure hope you'll play along!!!!

Hit the link on my sidebar to see the CS Diva's latest creations!

Happy Stamping!

*****Vicki~~~~~~

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Hanna Sneak Peek Day two-Oh to wear a Bikini so well!

Boy oh Boy!!! Don't we have a Sexy Pair here!!! Lol..............I am sure Hanna and her muscle man will be the hottest couple on the beach this summer!!!!!

I LOVE this new Summer set from Hanna Stamps!




I used a base of Coredinations paper and tore the edge to give contrast to the Sandy Colours.
SU! Chocolate Chip Rub ons make a cute background.



I coloured my image with Copic Markers and Sponged SU Cool Caribbean Ink for the Sky and Creamy Caramel for the Sand. The flower is from Prima and the Button from Foofala!
Stay tuned for more sneak peeks Tomorrow!!!!!
Happy Stamping!
*****Vicki~~~~~

Our Creative Corner Mother's Day Challenge



This might seem a rather odd card for Mother's Day, but really I just liked the interaction between the two fish! Perhaps Mama Fish is giving her little girly fish some good advice!


Robin is our challenge hostess for the Month and Jennifer Meyer of Stamps and Smiles will be giving away some new release sets this month! Follow the Link on my Sidebar to see the amazing creations of my OCC Chickas!!!!




Also a big thanks to Robin for this Sweet Blog Award! The wording for this award is as follows:
The Karma Award: These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

So, I will choose...................

Jacqui Lines-

Diana Gibbs

Adela Rossol

Nikki Fairbairn

Janna Hull

Stamps are from Stampendous, I used my Cropadile to emboss the "bubbles" into the white card back and used copics on SU Shimmery White Paper!!!!!

Don't forget to enter for the OCL Blog Candy if you haven't yet!!!

Happy Stamping!

*****Vicki~~~~~

Friday, May 1, 2009

Our Craft Lounge-New Release and Blog Hop!





How would you like to win this Gorgeous Summer Release set from OUR CRAFT LOUNGE?

The Girls at OCL are hosting this Fabulous Blog Hop and Giveaway!!! What to do? Hop from Blog to Blog and leave a comment! I'd love to know what your favourite summer pastime is? I love to swim, eat lime popsicles and go to the Drive in for the Double Feature weekends!




Leave your comments by Monday May 4th at noon and I will pick a winner. A different set is being given away on each blog!


If you are following the succession of the Blog Hop, you will have just come from the very talented Valerie Stangle's Blog. Where are you headed next???


To Denise Marzec's Blog-The Paper Landscaper. What a gorgeous Blog Peanutbee!

If you get lost along the way, visit Cammie's Blog for the whole list!



This is what the stamp set looks like in it's entirity!






Card Details:

Sandy Sunsets Our Craft Lounge
Crate Paper, Chocolate Chip CS, Momento Black Ink, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun, Yo Yo Yellow, Only Orange Chocolate Chip and Creamy Caramel Ink, Sponges, Hemp Twine and Scallop Punches

Hanna Stamps May Release! Sneak Peeks Start Today!


Your Summer will be Sizzlin' with all the Sweet Summer Sets that will be released on Monday May 4th over at Hanna Stamps! Sweet Riley has the BBQ all fired up and ready to go!
Head on over to the Hanna Member Forum to check out the sneak peek thread. Sometimes our Talented DT Girlz post more than one sneak peek each day!
I am pleased to announce that our Guest Designers for this month are:
Nikki Fairbairn of Bunny-Zoes Blog and Pam Varnell The Stamping Addict I can hardly wait to see what this dynamic duo have created for your viewing pleasure. My Buddy Marlin is waiting with bated breath too! I really want to introduce you to him, but he's still a wee bit timid......hmm maybe next week!
DP and Sentiment are from Stampin' Up! Ribbon from M's and of course one of our newest Stamps in the Riley Collection; BBQ Riley!
Stay tuned for more sneak peeks over the weekend!!!!

Also, check back in a couple of hours, I have a sweet surprise for you from Our Craft Lounge!