Oh Baby!

Yayyy its Friday my friends!  Dontcha' just love the weekends?  We are going out to dinner with friends Saturday evening and then hubby and I are off to a big RV show on Sunday!  I know, I know it sounds incredibly exciting, hee hee, but we like to look at RVs for some reason.  Maybe one day we'll buy one and travel the country--a gal can dream right!  Tonight I'm doing NOTHING, ordering Japanese and watching a movie on Apple TV with the hubster and son--daughter is off to a basketball game.  So I'm gonna feed my face with hibachi scallops, filet mignon and rice, watch "Dinner For Schmucks" and do some reading.  I am almost done with "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follet---although I had to take a break for a few days and I started reading Susan Wiggs "Lakeshore Chronicles" series (really good) which was a nice read.  I have 3 more in the series to go which I'm looking forward to.  But I'll finish the Pillars book this weekend I think--the underlying story is very, very good but the violence is a bit off-putting but I'll make it through, lol!  And it was fun to read your comments on yesterday's post about being "Unplugged"--I love a good discussion!  I do feel that our kids are more techno savvy than my generation was BUT I do think that because they do so much social interaction thru tech gadgets that when push comes to shove they don't have the practice/ability to do it face to face.  Which is scary when they will possibly have to talk in front of an audience, do an interview, negotiate a deal--those are things that still have to be done person-to-person.  I think it's awesome that we can all keep in touch with so many of our friends nowadays, make new friends and start businesses but I think we need to keep "real life skills" in place as well.  Technology should NEVER replace person-to-person interaction--if it does than we'll all be robots, LOL!

Okay let's get on to my next Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peek for you today!

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Oh Baby!!

 

Another round of sneakie peekies for Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps NEW Releases--they will be available for purchase on Sunday!  Today I get to share a cutie-patootie baby stamp by Steven Leary for Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps--it's called "Baby Bubble Bath"!  I think its so cute and super fun to use for any baby events in your life!  The rubber duckie on his head prompted me to pull out this fun paper from Cosmo Cricket called "Togetherness"--I love the fun duck print and colors! Perfect for this :)  Make sure to stop by the Kraftin' Kimmie Blog HERE to see the rest of the DT's and Guests (like me) projects for more sneakie peekies!!

I kept most of the details simple as I wanted the fun paper to really stand out along with the cute image!  The bow was done with my fave Bow Easy and PTI ribbon with a button center accent.  Then I added a few more small buttons to the corner and the border trim was done with a MS border punch.

The image was colored with copics (R05,R02,R00/YG67,YG03,G20/Y15,Y11,Y00/BG10,C1) and then I had fun with some products.  I added some white liquid applique to the bubbles (heated to puff up) and then stickles on the water and soap bubbles.  The sentiment is from PTI!

Have a great weekend and check back here tomorrow with another fun Kraftin' Kimmie sneakie peekie!

What Color R Your Stripes?

Happy Thursday to you all--the weekend is almost here!  So today I'm going to talk about being Plugged in or Unplugged okay, lol!  Are you a techno-phobe or a lover of all things techno?  Is your whole family consumed by techno gadgets?  I ask because I read the best article in the Wall Street Journal about families being TOO plugged in!  I have to admit that sometimes our family is wayyyy too plugged in with Ipods, laptops, tv and phones!  But we have pretty strict rules in our family--no techno gadgets after 10 pm for the kids except on Friday and Saturday evenings and never allowed in the bedrooms at nighttime.  And NO phones/Ipods at the dinner table EVER! The article described how one family couldn't even hold a conversation with each other at the dinner table because they were so used to being plugged in.  We certainly don't have that problem--we eat dinner together as a family regularly and some of our dinner conversations would roll your ears back, LOL--we talk about everything!  I do think that our country is too plugged in and our kids are not learning essential social skills because they talk 90% of the time thru texts and emails instead of face-to-face.  And I'm not a huge fan of Facebook/Myspace for the teens as they spend too much time on it and bullying is very prevalant on those sites.  My kids have accounts but I have access to them so I can make sure the talk is "clean" and above board, if not its cancelled--that was the agreement.  I would admit to checking my Iphone and emails too often as well but on the weekends we try to stay unplugged as much as we can and really spend together time.  And emails and cell phones have made us so accessible that work hours are all hours for a lot of us==at some point we'll all have to take a stand and cut back a bit but it can be hard, lol!  So do you find yourself too plugged in?  I wanna know :)

NewsBitz:

-Sew Easy's are a fabby new product and back in stock at SCACD HERE!  They create different piercing/stitching patterns and allow you to sew many different stitches.  The flosses are very thick and create beautiful dimension on your paper projects.  I have a video to share on these soon--my movie maker software has to be reloaded as it had some "issues" LOL!

-Copic is releasing 12 NEW Sketch marker colors and they will be available in March!  7 Kids College Fund has the set of 12 for pre-order at a great price HERE!  Make sure to check them out!

-Want to take a in-person Copics Class with me? I have a few openings for copic classes in Murfreesboro, TN next weekend (Jan.22nd) if you live around that area! Check www.cmcroad.com for info on those classes and others coming up (I'll be teaching in LA before CHA too)!


-Interested in taking a class on watercoloring with Distress Inks? Then the fabulously talented Angie Hunt will be able to help you with her Distress Inks 1 Class HERE at the Color Me Creative Classroom. Sign up before Jan.25th and get a discount on the class as well!

-Blog Candy Winner is Lynda Sterling!  She doesn't have a blog but always emails me sweet comments on my posts so Congrats Lynda!  Email me with your mailing address please!

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Stripes the Zebra!!

 

So today I get to share some sneakie peekies of the NEW Releases for Kraftin' Kimmie stamps (also available for those in the US here)!  I am so thrilled to be guest designing for them this month!  These new releases will be available for purchase on Sunday and there will be a fun Blog Hop as well!  I got to use one of Crissy Armstrong's new stamps for Kraftin' Kimmie called "Stripes the Zebra"--it's like she made him just for me, hee hee!  Since I LOVE, LOVE all things zebra (hence the blog artwork, lol)!  I had so much fun with this card and hope you like it too!  See more sneak peeks and details at the Kraftin' Kimmie Blog here!

I used a fun Cuttlebug folder (zebra patterned, 15% off ) on the red cardstock in the background--then I took my stardust Stickles and put them on the embossed areas.  I like the sparkle and how it really picks up the pattern without being too bold or distracting.  The black/white paper is from my scrap bin.  The border is from a MS border punch and the circle cut is a Spellbinders nestie (lacey circles-yes my fave).

Let's do it together again friends ok?  Say "AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, he's so cute"!!! LOL!   I colored this cutie up with copics (W9 thru W1/E42,E41,E40)--I used the warm grays this time to create the black tones, sometimes its fun to mix it up :)  To make him more dimensional I cut his back legs off (LOL) and then popped the front part of him up on dimensionals.  His paws & eyes got a thick coat of diamond glaze to make them nice and shiny.  The butterfly got colored with the feathering technique and then a coat of stickles for some pretty sparklies!

Hope you enjoyed this post today and now you need to hop on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Blog to see more sneakie peeks and details about the NEW Release!

Angel of Hope!

Hello friends and Happy Wednesday to you all!  I think I'm finally coming out of my sick-fog thank goodness-blech, not fun at all and happy to see it go! But it did snow last night so I'm crossing my fingers (and toes, lol) that the kids are only delayed 2 hrs from school and not home all day.  I know, I know but I enjoy my 5 days a week of quiet to get my work done without the kids arguing, teasing, asking for stuff, LOL.  I know some of you enjoy having the kids home regularly from school but I prefer they be in school during the day as I see them from 3:30 pm on!  I NEED my quiet house-time for my sanity--this is what mom's earn after raising kids right?  They are big kids (teens) now so they are better off in school than home with mom---I'm boring, right?  At least I don't have to bundle them up in snow gear anymore--boy is that a chore getting little kids ready to go outside.  Then as soon as you shove their last boot on they announce that they have to "go potty", lol, and they have to be undressed and then dressed again.  Or my kids would go out for 45 mins, come in and warm up, then go out again and do this ALL DAY--my poor sanity!  I don't know how I got through it!  I always think about one of my fave holiday movies "The Christmas Story" and the mom putting that snow suit on the younger brother and then he can't put his arms down, ROFL, cracks me up everytime.  <see video clip here>  So to all of you with little kids who want to play in the snow, I'm feeling for you right now but do know IT WILL END one day for you too, LOL!

NewsBitz:

-Want to take a in-person Copics Class with me?  I have a few openings for copic classes in Murfreesboro, TN next weekend (Jan.22nd) if you live around that area!  Check www.cmcroad.com for info on those classes and others coming up (I'll be teaching in LA before CHA too)!

-Interested in taking a class on watercoloring with Distress Inks?  Then the fabulously talented Angie Hunt will be able to help you with her Distress Inks 1 Class HERE at the Color Me Creative Classroom.  Sign up before Jan.25th and get a discount on the class as well!

-Blogging and Crafting Friends I am calling on your love, support & generosity once again.  A colleague and friend of ours, Katie Renz found out she has Stage 4 Stomach Cancer over the holidays.  She has always had the sweetest & most sparkling personality and is a very talented designer to boot! She is married and has 3 small boys that count on her and this news has so saddened me, you can read her story at her blog HERE!  The crafting community has pulled together and arranged a fund-raiser for her--you can read about it HERE!  There are 2 ways to donate so make sure to read the post carefully--I hope you take a few mins out of your day to read her story and help out.  Even if you cannot provide any funds for the fundraiser, post the info on your blogs/facebook/twitter to raise awareness, I know Katie would be so thankful!

-I will post the blog candy winner from last week tomorrow :)

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Angel of Hope

After hearing about Katie Renz's struggle with cancer and going through some personal/family events myself with sickness I had to pull out this beautiful angel to use today!  This angel "Angel of Hope" is by Elisabeth Bell for SCACD and it's very special too---everytime someone purchases this stamp (at anytime) SCACD will donate $1 to Breast Cancer Research!  So you get a beautiful image and help out women at the same time--what a great deal dontcha' think?!  If you have a crafty friend going thru struggles with cancer this would be a beautiful gift to give them--a stamp they can use and money toward the cause!

The beautiful papers I used are from Memory Box called "Gossamer"--I love the soft and soothing tones! I wish you could see how soft and sparkly this is in real life--so pretty!  I distressed the edges of all my papers with my Zutter Distress Tool and those pretty angel-wing-like ornaments on each side of my image are by Pink Paislee (Artisan Collection here).  They are cream grungeboard and I actually got the ornament in half so I could put it on each side of my image--but they can be painted, spritzed or sanded too.  I added some stickles to the insides of each ornament for a soft sparkle as well.  The layered flowers are all by Prima and the pearl swirls are as well.

The angel image was colored with copics (RV11,RV10,RV000/E53,E51,E50/E11,E00) very softly to match the pastel tones.  The soft background was done with copics too (BG0000,BG10,W00,E50,YG0000) and I will have a video on how to do this soon, I have to wait until I sound normal again, LOL!  Then I took a couple stamps from my Paper Trey Ink Collection (Text Basics and Vintage Labels) and stamped them very lightly on the edges of the image.  I stamped her wings twice and colored them--then popped them up on graduating dimensionals so they pop up farther from her body as they go out.  They got a nice coat of Stickles and then while the stickles were wet I sprinkled them with Glamour Dust(15% off)--the sparkle is sooooo pretty!  I wanted a bit of sparkle on her gown as well but I wanted it to be soft--so I took my Quickie Glue Pen and traced a few of the lines on her gown and then sprinkled more Glamour Dust on them.  Love the Glamour Dust--well they have NEW Glamour Dust paints out now that are beeee-u-tiful (see this project here) and SCACD has them all in stock HERE!

Hope you enjoyed this post today and I hope you all have a beautiful day!  See you tomorrow with some NEW Kraftin' Kimmie releases!! YAY!

Delightful Dahlia Petals!

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Today will be a super short post as the flu bug is kicking my rear and I'm still not up to par yet.  Everytime I look at the computer it looks furry, lol, like it has fur---so if you got weird messages/emails from me that didn't make sense I PROMISE you I wasn't drunk.  Just sick and with poor vision right now, LOL and I apologize! Thank goodness for my treasure trove of projects I made last year for my 6 month stint as a Dirty Girl on the Dirty Dozen Team at SCS--it's saved me today as I haven't crafted in a few days.  I'm super hopeful to get back in the studio today and do some work and catch up a  bit.  I hope none of you get the sickie-ickies, not fun at all :(

But I did get 10 of my 12 Christmas trees down and put away thanks to hubby helping me.  I will finish the others tonight but hubby has to get the outside decorations---wayyyyy too cold out for me, brrr.  They are calling for snow and ice this evening but I'm praying its a non-event for us, lol!  And the Ravens won their game on Saturday so I'm hoping they beat the Steelers this coming weekend too--I would like a hometown team in the Superbowl this year :) (sorry to the PA fans)

NewsBitz:

-The Distress Inks 1 Class by Angie Hunt premiered yesterday at CMC!  If you sign up before Jan.24th you will get a discount on the total--see all the details at the Color Me Creative Classroom HERE!

-Check out the sparkly NEW fabulous Best Creation paper pads at SCACD--they are beeeeutiful and I need some too, lol!

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Delightful Delilah Petals!

This fun gift set was made using a beautiful stamp set from Paper Trey Ink called "Delightful Dahlia".  This set is so versatile and so many fun ways to color.  I created a card with a 3-D version of the dahlia and a matching canvas coin purse.

I stamped the main dahlia image 3 times and colored it with copics using the "feathering" technique.  Then I cut out the different layers and popped them up with dimensionals for that fun 3-dimensional look.  Stickles on the petals add some sparkle as well.  The papers were from my very full scrap bin :) and then I added some matching pearls to the center of the dahlia and corners of the card.

I picked up a few of these canvas coin purses in my local craft store--they were only $2 each.  They are very fun to color!  I stamped with VersaCraft ink (which is for fabric and washable, works with copics too) and then colored with copics (V17,V12,V000/B04,B02,B00).  After I colored it I ironed it good to heat set the ink.  Then I added a matching pearl again but glued it on with a rhinestone/fabric adhesive so it won't budge. 

Hope you enjoyed this post today and sorry for the short post, my bed is calling me and my eyes need a rest, LOL!  See you tomorrow!

Blingify and Beautify!

Happy Saturday to you all!  Well the snow missed us here in VA so that makes me happy but I hear another storm is in the works for Tuesday--yikes!  I am SICK with a flu bug that my oh-so-generous hubby passed on to me, blech!  I got sick yesterday morning and have yet to feel better so its a jammie day again for me, LOL!  I'd rather be sick now and clear it out than when I get ready to travel later this month. So not sure how much I'll get done this weekend but my goal is to still get all 12 trees down and packed--I got most of the other decorations down over this week so that's done.  Hubby informs ME that it is NFL Football Playoff weekend but I informed HIM that I could care less, LOL, and we will be taking down the decorations :)  He did not respond which means he knows I WON, LMBO!  I may be sick but I can still take a stand!

NewsBitz:

-NEW Distress Ink Class pre-registering at the Color Me Creative Classroom Now!  The fabulously talented Angie Hunt is the instructor and you will learn lots about watercoloring with Distress Inks! You can pre-register now and the class premieres on Monday, Jan 10th at which time the invites will be sent out.  Read all about the class HERE (hover over the Class Info/Pricing tab and click on Distress Class)!

-Holiday Sale!  Today (Jan.8th) is the last day for the holiday special on all online copic classes at the Color Me Creative Classroom!  See HERE for all the details!

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Beautified & Blingified !!

Well aren't I a lucky gal this month as I get to guest design for a few fabulous companies including Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!  Yay--I love Kimmie stamps and the real-life Kimmie too :)  We finally got to meet at CHA this past summer and she's a real cutie and super nice too so I was thrilled to guest design this month.  She'll be SO THRILLED to see this pic of her, my funny pal Andi Murdock and myself at CHA, hee hee (that's me in my snazzy Scor-Pal shirt and Kimmie is on the right)!!

Well every Saturday Kraftin' Kimmie's Blog has a fun challenge and this week is Challenge #60 hosted by Michele Boyer--the challenge is to use NO RIBBONS or FIBERS (gasp)!  It was hard but I managed to do it, LOL!

PS--NEW Releases from Kraftin' Kimmie come out next week so stay tuned for them!!

I love, love, LOVE to color these Kraftin' Kimmie stamps--why you ask? Because not only are they cute and fun but they have so much space/area within the image that you can really make your copic techniques shine!  This beauty is called "Betty" and I wish I looked that good right now, LOL, not so much in my jammies, bed head and red nose :)  My papers are all My Minds Eye "Lush"--one of my fave lines to use!  I added a Prima Pearl swirl and some Prima roses/hydrangeas to accent the image as well. To offset the flowers I clipped some Prima cream daisy flowers to stick out from the sides--kinda leaf-like but soft & pretty.  The cream trim was created with a MS border punch--since I couldn't use any lace/ribbon/material (sniff...sniff) I created the lacey border with paper!

And yep she got colored with Copics (R12,R11,R00/E29,E25,E31,E50/E11,E00).  This pretty gal had to have some BLING so I added stardust stickles to her belt, stocking borders and pretty top.  And yes I added some sparkle to her eyelids too--this gal has got it GOIN' ON I tell ya, hee hee!  Hubby would so be wishin' this was me on Valentine's Day, ha ha ha!

Hope you enjoyed this beauty today and make sure to stop by the Kraftin' Kimmie Blog to see the other DT projects and to join in the fun!!  Have a great weekend!

Fur Luv!

Yay it's Friday Friends!  Do you have a fabulous weekend planned?  We don't have anything exciting planned but that is A-OK with me, LOL!  I have quite a busy end of the month planned so I'm gonna enjoy the calm and quiet KWIM!  Alexa is headed to a hockey game tonight with friends so it will be a late night for her which means a late night for mom and dad, hee hee!  Speaking of hockey--did any of you watch that AWESOME hockey game on New Year's Day?  We rocked the red baby and Capitals won (sorry to any PA fans, lol)--next to football I LOVE watching hockey and going to games.  Its always so exciting and fun :)  Hubby is supposed to be taking me to a Caps game soon so I'm looking forward to that.  He always gets tickets but I don't always has a chance to go with work, kids schedules and life in general, LOL! But I try to make it to at least a game or two!  I just wish the Redskins had had a better season, sigh---I'll hope again for next season!  If we could get a NEW OWNER maybe things would improve--ugh on the owner I tell ya!  Keep the team together, stop buying players that cost so much $$ and don't perform and get a good coach---ta da! LOL! Can you tell I'm frustrated with them!  Spring better come SOON :)  I'll just root for the Baltimore Ravens for now--I'd love to see a hometown team make it in the Super Bowl this year!

NewsBitz:

-NEW Distress Ink Class pre-registering at the Color Me Creative Classroom Now!  The fabulously talented Angie Hunt is the instructor and you will learn lots about watercoloring with Distress Inks! You can pre-register now and the class premieres on Monday, Jan 10th at which time the invites will be sent out.  Read all about the class HERE (hover over the Class Info/Pricing tab and click on Distress Class)!

-Holiday Sale!  Tomorrow (Jan.8th) is the last day for the holiday special on all online copic classes at the Color Me Creative Classroom!  See HERE for all the details!

-7 Kids College Fund has new goodies in stock!  New CC Designs stamps are in and they are fabulously CUTE--see them here!

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Fur Luv & Treats!

Today I get to share a fun project I did for my CMC Challenge Group with you all!  The new challenge is up HERE and the group is OPEN to everyone no matter what skill level you are at---you do not have to take a class to join our challenge group (you must join the site to join the group though--Ning's rule not mine, lol)!  Its a fun group and we have challenges every 2 weeks focused on copic techniques and colors with great prizes!  This challenge we have a fabulous sponsor the Stamp Fairy--they have super cute digi images that you do not want to miss out on!  So you need to go visit them and fill your cart with these cute digi images!  I just adore them and Gerda the owner is as sweet as can be too!  I created a fun Valentines Day or Birthday project that includes a card and a pixie stix treat--fun for any age!

This little cutie is called "Lenny Love" and there are 5 in this series and they are all CUTE!!  The CMC Challenge is to color "fur" so that's what I did!  I wanted a soft black/gray bear and I colored him with copics (C7,C5,C3,C1,C00) keeping my stroke lines short and not blending to give him a textured look!  All of my papers are from Paper Trey Ink--I love hot pink and black together--lots of hot drama, LOL!

I used some Zva pearl swirls and then PTI ribbon with a bow/pearl accent.  The pretty mat behind the main image is from SB's "Lacey Circles"--one of my faves!  I left the sentiment off so it could be used for many different occasions.

Come on repeat after me---AWWWWWWWWW, don't you wanna squish him?  LOL!  I put diamond glaze on his paws and nose and also the heart.  Once the heart was dry I added stardust stickles to the top for sparkle.  You could put a lil' bow in his hair and make him a "HER" too :)  Copic colors used: C7,C5,C3,C1,C00 and RV14,RV10.  **And Stamp Fairy has him dressed up like a bee too HERE--its next on my list--sooo cute!! **

To make the matching pixie stix treat I made the digi image much smaller and then printed him out.  That is one of the best things about digi images--you can make them as big or small as you'd like and flip them around too! Very cool!  I just used the same "Lacey Circles" dies to mat my image and colored him the same way.  A pretty bow tops it off--the pixie stix are adhered to the back side of the circle with Scor-Tape.  These are quick and easy to make so multiples of them would be easy-peasy :)

Hope you enjoyed this post and I have one more post tomorrow for you too!  Enjoy your weekend!

Oh My Hearts!!

Happy Thursday to you all! Do you have any big plans for the weekend? We actually have nothing going on which is kinda nice. It will take me 1 full day to put away all 12 trees and clean up--I have it down to a science now and they come down much quicker than they go up, LOL! Hubby takes the lights off the trees and then takes the boxes down to our storage area in our basement--he gets the outside lights too cuz I'm NOT going out in the cold, hee hee! The house always looks so bare after I take the Christmas decorations down, kinda sad!

I have had so much fun reading your "sunny day plans" answers to the blog candy question (see here to enter)! You all definitely cheered me up and I PROMISE to finish reading "Pillars of Earth", lol! I am really enjoying the story, its just the violence that bothers me. This is why I don't watch thrillers/horrors/sad drama movies because after I've watched it the pictures/thoughts stay in my brain for weeks and months. I'm a scaredy cat by nature so everything scares me and I have had horrible nightmares since I was young. I wake up hubby at least 2-3 times a week sitting up in bed and screaming. LOL (chuckling) poor hubby--but after 15 years he has gotten used to them and now he just pats me on the shoulder and says "you're fine, you're fine"! Ha! What a comfort he is now hmmmm? LOL! I even can scare the dickens out of the dogs and cats that are in the room with us, hee hee. But seriously, not fun at all for me and very disruptive to my sleep. So that's why I try to keep my visual thoughts and pictures clean KWIM!!

NewsBitz:

-Only a couple more days to take part in the Holiday Special for the Color Me Creative Classroom! SALE on all the online Copic Classes thru Jan.8th!

-I will be in Nashville, TN at the Sassy Scrapper in Murfreesboro on Jan.22nd and 23rd! If you want to come and take a class with me I'd be happy to have you! You can find all the details and registration info on my site www.cmcroad.com (scroll down). Next class will be in LA at the Marriott Downtown on Jan.28th--I have a few spots left so if you want to come register quickly!!

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Oh My Hearts!

Okay I created a card with NO coloring--gasp--shocker I know! I got these beautiful new heart stamps from Lockhart Stamp Co. from my pal Susana at SCACD (see the whole new collection here)! This image is called "Lace Heart" and I love the fine details drawn into it--so very elegant! They were just calling out to be used so I based the card around the image! My sketch is based on the Verve Weekly Challenge HERE that I found on my friend Amy Scheffer's blog. She always has the best sketches posted and her work is beautiful so if you haven't been to see her you should go (run, go now)! I was feeling like I was in a rut so when I was blog hopping and saw this sketch I knew I needed to give it a go as it's different shaped than what I usually do. It's good to mix it up and challenge yourself now & again right? RIGHT? LOL!

All of my papers are from the Kaisercraft "After Five" paper pad--the patterns are beautiful and all done in shades of gray, black and off white. Some of the papers are foiled as well, nice & shiny! I used cs in dove gray, silver and black for my matting and then the borders were done with my MS border punches. The scrolls were done with my Marianne Designs dies and those pretty flowers come in a small paint can in the Michaels store wedding section. They are perfect for airbrushing, coloring or spritzing--you get like 200 in the tin. I stacked 3 together and punched a small hole in the center and put a pearl brad in the center--easy and pretty!

I inked up "Lace Heart" with Versamark ink and embossed it onto black cardstock. I used the Stewart Superior "Filigree" embossing powder in silver to emboss this stamp--it is the BEST ep to use when you have a fine detailed image like this as it keeps its shape and doesn't meld all over the place. After embossing it I cut it out and added small pearl accents with my Viva Decor Pearl Pen (ice white) and some stickles too! The mat cut behind her was done with my SB's nesties Labels 15 and then embossed with the CB folder "swiss dots".

So pretty and elegant and very different from what I usually create--I LIKE it, LOL! I think it would be perfect for weddings, anniversaries and Valentine's Day! So make sure to check out the NEW Lockhart Stamp Co stamps here at SCACD!

See you back here tomorrow with another FUN post!!

Too Hot to Handle!

Hi friends and Happy Wednesday-middle of the week to you all!  Our warm weather has flown the coop here in VA and the freezing cold has settled back in, darn it all, LOL!  I'm hoping when I fly out to CHA in LA at the end of this month that it is a bit warmer and sunnier there.  I think other than the cold I just really struggle with the gray--barren landscape and gray skies, depressing for sure!  People laugh when I tell them this but I honest to god do it when I'm in my craftroom--I PRETEND to be in the tropics!  I have my special SAD light (or my happy lite as hubby says) on and all my Ott lites on so its bright, I have a Vornado space heater blowing on my legs, beachy music on my Ipod and a screensaver slideshow full of beach pics!  Then whenever I craft I can be on a beach for awhile--it helps ease my pain, hee hee!  I just need to haul up and move somewhere warm for good and put an end to it---but gosh darn it, I promised the kids we wouldn't move until they graduated high school, lol!  That means 5.5 more years---arghhh :)  But South Carolina, Georgia and Texas are on my list of maybe "home states" in the future!  I was watching HGTV the other night (my fave channel) and the people were somewhere tropical (Belize maybe?) and they said they had 350 days of warm sunshine a YEAR PEOPLE--why don't we ALL live there, fabulous I say!  Maybe I should move to an island, hee hee!  Not fair at all---I wouldn't miss the seasons because you can always VISIT them, LMBO!  And now they're calling for snow later this week AGAIN--THUD, that's me fainting from the cold so blow some warm air to us here in VA if you can :)  We are planning a trip to Hawaii (Maui & Kauai) for spring break and I am literally counting down the days--I cannot wait to go.  It's been on my bucket list for a long time and I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!!  I KNOW it will be warm there!

**PS--I'm reading Ken Follett's "Pillars of the Earth" on my Ipad because I so enjoyed his new one "Fall of Giants" and I know it was a hit last year and Oprah loved it to but.....  Okay, I really love his writing and flow of story but this one is kinda violent/gory and a bit unsettling and giving me nightmares!  Has anyone read it and enjoyed it?  I hardly ever NOT finish a book but I'm very visual so the gore stays with me and I want to make it to the end and finish it, but I need some encouragement, LOL!  Let me know if you read it!

Hmmmmm...seems I need to give away some blog candy to cheer me up a bit, so make sure to make it to the end of my post today for some "sunshine treats"!

NewsBitz:

-The Holiday Special is still on thru Jan.8th at the Color Me Creative Classroom--if you are interested in copic classes online now is the time to gift them to yourself or to a friend!!

-Holiday Blog Candy Winner is----- Maz of Only By His Grace!!  Congrats Maz--please email me with your details/address so I can get the goodies to you.  I'm waiting on one thing & as soon as it comes I will mail everything out to you in Australia :)

-SCACD has some NEW Yummy paper in the store--even if you don't need any (like me) you will want it, LOL!  New paper by Memory Box, Basic Grey and Kaisercraft HERE!

-Have you subscribed to our magazine "Through the Craftroom Door" yet?  You can find all the information HERE to subscribe and see what we are about.  We've also teamed up with Christian Paper Crafts Group--so if you join & sign up in their group you automatically get a paper subscription to our magazine!  A win-win for those interested in both!  See HERE for info on Christian Paper Crafts--a fun crafty group of wonderful people full of inspiration!

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Too Hot To Handle!!

Fittingly the challenge for the 7 Kids Challenge Blog is "HOT or COLD"--well I couldn't wait to make something HOT, LMBO!  I've had this cutie Kraftin Kimmie stamp called "Mae" for awhile and I just had to use her for this challenge--this is me in my sunny-day dreams (in Maui) :)  See all the Kraftin Kimmie stamps HERE!  My papers are all from Kaisercraft--I loved the mix of sunny colors with the bright aquas--makes you smile!  The sentiment is from PTI stamped in two tones of ink.  All of my paper edges got distressed with my fave Zutter Distress It All tool---if you like to distress this is a must have, it makes it quick and neat.  No more paper dust all over you and your crafting area, LOL!

I used some pretty teal pearls to accent my image and scroll--scrolls were made with a punch (EK Success).  The orange patterned paper got embossed with a CB embossing folder (perfect paisley)  -- its fun to emboss over your patterned paper, gives it a different look.

She got colored with Copics of course (BG23,BG11,BG10/YR18,YR12,YR00/hat-YR24,YR23,YR21,YR20/hair-E25,E31,E50/skin-E15,E11,E00).  The background was done with copics as well---I have shot the new video on how to do this but I need to edit it.  I hope to have it up by the weekend for you all!  And my island gal has to have some blingety-bling--so I added stardust stickles (my absolute fave) on her swimsuit dress and the scrolls as well.

***Sunshine Blog Candy***--Want to win some goodies?  1 6x6 Basic Grey "Curio" paper pad, 1 Flower Soft (baby peach), 1 NEW Ranger Liquid Pearls (buttercup), 1 pot Shimmerz (ballet slippers) and 1 Kraftin' Kimmies stamp (Eleanor)!  To enter just answer the question below on this post only by Saturday, Jan 8th!  

"If you were given a day off to do whatever you wanted and it was sunny and perfect weather outside--what would you do?"

NOW, make sure to hop over to the 7 Kids Challenge Blog to see the rest of the DT's fabulous projects and join in the fun!  You can win a $20 gift certificate to use on the NEW Belle's N Whistles collection that 7 Kids is bringing--FUN!!

Tangled Up In Love!!

Hello my friends and Happy Monday to you all!  DARN!!  The holidays are over and I'm so bummed I tell ya!  I just love the holidays and its the only thing I look forward to during winter, LOL---so now I'm facing 3 months of dreary winter weather & darkness, blech!  ( looks like extra time under my Happy Light that hubby got me, lol)!  I'm counting the days until spring and on March 8th we spring our clocks forward, no more darkness at 4:30 pm--yay!  I HATE daylight savings time, ugh, I wish they'd do away with it!  That means this weekend I have to start putting away all the Christmas decorations, oh boy!  Although that generally gets done faster than it all goes up, but we have to have our 2 real trees out the door and on the curb by next week for recycling--so that really kicks me in gear, lol!  I take all the decorations off the trees and pack everything away.  Hubby is in charge of taking the lights off and putting the boxes away.  I hope to be done with it all by next Monday--that at least is my goal, lol.

Since I'm leaving in a few weeks for Nashville to teach my copic class and then I leave right after for LA for CHA I don't have lots of extra time on my hands.  If you are planning on going to CHA, let me know so I can look for ya!  I'm teaching 1 copic class at my hotel (meeting room) on Friday before CHA starts at 10 am--so if you want to come, you can register at www.cmcroad.com!  I'll be in LA from Thursday thru Tuesday--I'm sooo NOT looking forward to the flight, blech! I'm a nervous flyer and we have a stop-over in Denver so I'm praying for good weather.  Otherwise Marti (my pal) will have a not-so-fun seatmate, hee hee.  Last year our flight was so turbulent and I had a double sinus infection--it was HORRIBLE, I was so sick the whole flight and I just kept my head on my table, LOL! Poor Marti!

NewsBitz:

-Holiday Special is EXTENDED thru Jan.8th, 2011 for those that requested the extra days!  So get great deals on all the Copic classes at the Color Me Creative Classroom--see details HERE!

-Love cute and fun to color digi stamps?  Check out the new digi store Stamp Fairy HERE!  They are just adorable and if you haven't tried out digi images now is your chance to give them a whirl--they are fun, affordable and easy to store!  I will have a project up soon using some of these cuties!

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Tangled Up In Love!!!

Well now that Christmas is behind us its time to move on to the next holiday right? LOL!  So that means I've been working on some Valentines Day projects for you!  This particular project is for this month's Magnolia-licious DT January Challenge hosted by the fabulous Cheryl Rowley!  She challenged us to a RECIPE project--see the details on the recipe, challenge and DT projects at the Magnolia-licious Highlites Blog HERE!

I love, love to look/think about how I can re-purpose my stamps!  You invest good money in them and you should use them as much as you can.  I didn't get a chance to use the "Lightning Edwin" from Magnolia-licious during the holidays and I was a bit bummed!  But while I was looking at him and I thought how cute he looked all "tangled up"--it hit me that he could be "tangled up in love" by switching the lightbulbs out with small hearts!  And that's what I did!  I created a Valentine's Day card and matching treat box!

I've entered this into another challenge as well-- the sketch layout is this past Saturday's SFYTT by Jen del Muro--see her blog at I {heart}2stamp!  (I flipped the sketch tho, lol)

Isn't he a cutie?  Sadly Edwin gets underused by me and I HATE that cuz' he's so darn cute!  So my New Year's resolution is to pull him out more often (mark my words, lol).  The papers are new from Bo Bunny called "Crush" (15% off now) and it has great colors and patterns for Valentine's.  To change the Christmas light bulbs I stamped a small heart (from a PTI set) onto pink cs in red and pink inks--and yes then I cut those tiny hearts out, LOL!  The hearts got a coat of diamond glaze and stickles for shine & sparkle!  Now on the RECIPE it calls for the use of 2 Magnolia stamps so the first one is "Lightning Edwin" and then the sentiment heart is a Magnolia stamp "Elegant Heart" from the Raising the Ceiling collection (Diana is out of this heart, but perhaps she can get some in--if not this heart stamp "Arrow Through My Heart" would work well too)!  **Ligtning Edwin is in mini form as well here!**

That "Tangled Up in Love With You" sentiment I created on my computer, printed it out and then stamped the "Elegant Heart" stamp over top of it in red ink. I colored the edges of the heart with copics to make it pop more!  To finish it off I tied a bow with my Bow Easy (PTI ribbon) and topped it with some Prima flowers (I was only supposed to use 4 as the recipe says, but I added 1 extra, oops--I have to have symmetry, sorry)!

Here's this cutie up close for ya!  He was colored with Copics of course (R29,R24,R22,R20/C9 thru C1).  Each mini heart was glued on very carefully to cover the Christmas bulbs :)  To cut out any detailed image or these super tiny hearts I count on my SU (Stampin' Up) paper snips--they are the best and I use them everyday!

This cute lil' treat box was SUPER EASY to create!  It's a die from PTI (Paper Trey Ink) called "Favor It Box 3" and you cut 2 out with your die and then score the sides, adhere together with Scor-Tape and ta-da you have a mini treat box!  These would be perfect for your kid's classmates or for party favors cuz' they are so easy to create multiples of quickly.  I added another PTI die cut on the front (Mat Stack 3) and embossed it with a hearts CB folder.  Some more nesties and then the sentiment is a new set from PTI as well (I adored the sentiment) called "Love Lives Here"--sentiments are good for the whole year thru!

I used black cs and the matching Bo Bunny paper on my treat box and tied it off with a bow and button!  Then I sprayed the whole box with Smooch Spritz (vanilla) so its super sparkly!  I lovee sparkle :)

Hope you enjoyed this heartful Valentine's Day post today and it gave you a giggle, maybe a smile but always fun right?!  LOL!  Now make sure to hop over to the Magnolia-licious Highlites Blog to see the other fabulous DT projects and join in on the fun too!

See you back here on Wednesday with a "Too HOT to Handle" post !!

Winter Friends!

Happy First Sunday of the New Year!  Hope you had fun ringing in the New Year and didn't get into too much trouble, LOL!  We kept it pretty quiet and made homemade pizzas and sparkling grape juice and watched Dick Clark on ABC.  The New Kids on the Block performed with Backstreet Boys so I couldn't miss that!  I'll be front row at that concert come this June, if I don't faint from seeing Jordan that close, LOL!  And yesterday and today I worked on projects, trying to catch up on everything!

I am so excited to say I am Guest designing for In Style Stamps for the next 3 months--if you haven't checked out their fabulous digi images you really need to HERE!  They are fun to color them and they have so many different and beautiful images!

NewsBitz:

-SCACD is NOW OPEN for business!  Susana closed the store over the holiday but its back open with lots of new goodies in the shop!!

-The Holiday Special is still ongoing at the Color Me Creative Classroom---all copic online classes are on SALE thru Jan. 4th!!  See details HERE!

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Winter Friends!

For this card I used this past week's SCS Sketch #313 along with this super sweet image by Elisabeth Bell for SCACD called "Winter Friends".  Isn't she a cutie?  The papers are new from Kaisercraft's "English Rose"--I love the soft and pretty patterns.  The design behind the image was done with Spellbinder's "Lacey Circles" and the embossed panel is a CB folder.  I used Prima Hydrangeas for my flowers and the leaves are a Marianne Designs die (inked with lilac ink).  The sentiment is from PTI. 

The fur trim on her jacket was done with ivory Flower Soft--I liked the fun texture it added.  I paper pieced her jacket with matching paper then shaded it with my copics to match the rest of the image.  Her lil shoes and bird feed bin got some stickles for sparkle.  The little pearls on the side of the image, the sentiment and in the bird feed bin were done with the NEW Ranger Liquid Pearls.

Hope you enjoyed today's project and it brought a smile to your face!  I'll see you back here tomorrow with a fun Valentine's Day post!