You're So Fabulous

Thanks, my blog friends, for the birthday wishes yesterday! I tried to slip that one right on by you without saying anything - didn't work ;) One of the best things about my birthday is getting to share it with my fabulous twin sister, Jennifer. Today's card is for her, and I'm going to try to actually mail it for once.

The floral images are from Verve's Budding Blossoms set, and the fabulous sentiment is from Bountiful Backgrounds. I used Jen's fabulous Sketch For You To Try for this week. Check out the sketch, Jen's sample and guest designer Gretchen Belknap's sample at i{heart}2stamp. Then visit Amy Rohl, Kelly Lunceford, and Susan Liles for lots more loveliness. To play along, link up your creation to i{heart}2stamp and remember to use keyword SFYTT on SCS.

I stamped the flowers in Chocolate Chip craft ink and clear embossed. The pink flowers are colored with Copic markers. I then clear embossed over them using a VersaMarker and clear EP so that I could sponge on the blue sky and green grass without getting color on the flowers. (I could have masked but the EP was already out, so I did it that way.) The papers are all from a small pack of Daisy D's autumn papers that I found on clearance at a stamp show.

Verve fans, mark your calendars: Next Friday (the 18th) is Verve's next release. Challenges, peeks, and release week fun will start on Monday!

Have a fabulous weekend!



Stamps: Budding Blossoms and Bountiful Backgrounds (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Papertrey Vintage Cream and Dark Chocolate card stock, Daisy D's dp
Ink: SU Chocolate Chip craft ink, Soft Sky and Kiwi Kiss classic ink
Accessories: Spellbinders dies (squares, circle, and tag), EK Success Fleur-de-Lis border punch, clear embossing powder, paper piercer, PTI ribbon and button, May Arts pink burlap string
Size: 5 1/2" square

Impression Obsession Week - Day Five

Today wraps up Impression Obsession week at Stamper's Dream. Also sharing projects today are Tosha, Silke, and Michelle. And while you're visiting Michelle, be sure to check out her blog candy! Yummy, yummy!!

I've used one of the images from Impression Obsession's Tree & Poinsettias Clear Set for today's card. I colored with Copcis, did some paper tole on the poinsettia, and added some glitter. The dry embossed white panel was done with the Cuttlebug Fleur De Lis embossing folder, and the die-cut shapes and tag were done with Spellbinders dies. Had to add the requisite bling and ribbon, too!

Hope you've enjoyed Impression Obsession week, and thanks, as always, for visiting!

Shabby Chic Wall Decor

I remember a year or so ago when My Favorite Things first introduced Annie LaPoint as a new illustrator. I absolutely fell in love with the potted herbs and the flowers in the bathtubs. I adore her style, and am so glad to see some new things coming out now and in the near future! In July, MFT released Spread a Harvest of Hope. This month, Seeds of Love was released, which includes a darling pansy seed packet image and the title sentiment "Sow Seeds of Love." Once again, total home runs in my book!

For today's project, I cut the pair of pansies from the seed packet and used them on their own to make a piece of wall art. Coloring is with Copic markers, and the image is paper toled (flowers and one leaf are popped up) and glittered. I gave the image a shabby chic setting, using random bits and pieces of lovely textured things ... an embossed chipboard frame from Tattered Angels, a small piece of a page from an old book, some corrugated cardboard, a bit of fabric, and a length of wonderful trim. Heavy distressing, stitching, and buttons finish off the look.

The scalloped square base is chipboard from the Michael's $1 aisle. It came in a pack of five and measures around 6" square. I could hang or display the piece as-is, but I'd love to find a shadow box frame to hold it. That way I don't have to worry about dust.

For the chipboard base, I first painted it with ivory acrylic paint, then sanded away the edges just a bit, sponged on some different distress inks (Frayed Burlap and Brushed Corduroy), and last coated it with Ranger's crackle medium. Here's a detail shot of that:



And this next shot will give you a better look at the dimension from the paper tole, cardboard, and all the foam adhesive:



One last detail shot:



Thanks for visiting!



Stamps: Sow Seeds of Love (My Favorite Things)
Paper: MFT Perfect Paper Panels, Papertrey Vintage Cream card stock, Melissa Frances dp
Ink: Ranger Antique Linen, Old Paper, Frayed Burlap, Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessoires: copic markers, Sakura Quickie glue pen, clear glitter, Tattered Angels Framed Fonts Glimmer Chips, Papertrey Vintage buttons, twill, trim, cardboard, page from old book, fabric, May Arts burlap string, foam adhesive, dimsional glue dots, ivory acrylic pain, sanding block
Finished Size: approximately 6" square

Creepy Crawlies

I had the opportunity to do some experimenting with Diamond Glaze for a "How'd They Do That" tutorial I posted yesterday over in the My Favorite Things Forum on Splitcoast. The glittery spider web on this card was my favorite project! Check out the whole tutorial HERE.

The sentiment and spider are from the new Ghoulish Label Set by My Favorite Things. I adore this set - such a fun, unique mix of Halloween-themed images! The papers are all from the Twilight collection by Memory Box. The skinny ribbon is from the Spooktacular Ribbon Collection by My Favorite Things (out of stock at the moment, it looks like) and the black Swarovski crystals are from the Spooktacular Adornments collection, also from MFT. It's hard to see, but I created a frame using the Labels 4 Nestabilities and popped it up from the card base so that the web appears to be floating (it's actually on acetate). Here are a couple of shots that show that a little bit better.





I'm not normally much of a "technique" stamper, so this was really fun!

My older two kids started school yesterday, one in third grade and one in kindergarten. I'm so proud of myself for surviving my daughter's first wardrobe crisis (it seemed a bit cool out for the first day outfit we'd picked out) and for not breaking down in tears as the afternoon kindergarten bus drove away. It was hard, though! Now tonight, I'll take my youngest to preschool orientation - yikes! I feel like they're ALL flying the coop! Actually, my little Gabe-Gabe won't start school until November, when he hits that magic 2 1/2 mark. But he'll get a chance to meet his teachers tonight. And I'll get a chance to see if he's even remotely ready for school (I'm thinking not)!

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Relax & Enjoy

It's Impression Obsession week at Stamper's Dream! Each day this week, some of the Dream Team will be sharing projects using new holiday images from Impression Obsession. I love the variety of IO images - everything from cute to whimsical to elegant - be sure to check out what Denise, Charmaine, and Michelle are sharing today. And if you didn't catch yesterday's posts, you can get all caught up at these links: Cammie, Charmaine, and Michelle.

I was so excited to play with the Spa Day image. This comical witch makes me giggle every time I look at her - must be some good stuff she's soaking in :) I stamped the image in Memento Tuxedo Black onto Neenah Classic Crest Solar White card stock and colored with a combination of Copics and Prismacolor Pencils. I die-cut the image using Spellbinders Labels 1 Nestabilities, then popped her up on a card base made from patterns from My Mind's Eye's Boo To You collection and Prism card stock. I embellished with some clear ultrafine glitter, Kaiser Craft black adhesive pearls, machine stitching, scoring, and paper piercing. The sentiment, Relax & Enjoy, is also from Impression Obsession.

Hope you'll tune in with the Dream Team the rest of the week for more Impression Obsession goodies!

Wednesday: Silke , Becca, and Michelle

Thursday: Becca, Denise , Laurie, and Michelle

Friday: Tosha , Silke , Michelle, and me again

Psssst ... rumor has it that Michelle is celebrating 200K hits with some blog candy sometime this week!

Thanks for visiting :)

A Christmas SFYTT

So sorry I'm a little late with my Sketch For You To Try sample. Between my daughter's sleepover (why do we call them sleepovers anyway, since there's really very little sleeping involved???) and opening day for my son's football team, my morning got away from me. But I'm here now, with some fun new things to share: of course a new Sketch For You To Try, but also new Penny Black Christmas stamps (Holly Jolly), Cosmo Cricket's fun, new Jolly By Golly 6x6 Mini Deck, and new-to-me Rockstar Red Sparkly Fluff by Our Craft Lounge. That last one, the fluff, I've had for a while, but hadn't yet played with it. My little snowman's hat and scarf seemed perfect for it! I don't know if there's a "right" way to apply it or not, but I wanted to make sure I got a pretty thin application, so I just colored in my areas with a Quickie Glue Pen (as opposed to a thicker type of glue), sprinked the fluff on top, pressed down lightly, then shook the excess off. It's staying put just fine, and I love the fibrous, sparkle it adds. You can see it a little better here:



It did cover up some of the depth and shading I had done to the scarf with my coloring, but that's okay - the unique texture and sparkle are totally worth it! (Pardon the stray bit of whatever it is that's hanging across snowman's face - the things you see when you magnify your work {sigh} ...)

As I mentioned, this is also my sample for Jen's weekly Sketch For You To Try. Jen's got the sketch, her sample, and a new guest designer announcement over at i{heart}2stamp. I'm tickled to death we're welcoming one of my sweet, sweet blog friends to the team for September! Be sure to also visit Amy, Kelly, and Susan for more inspiration. If your weekend plans include stamping, I hope you'll play along. Link up your creation to Jen's post and remember to use keyword SFYTT if you upload to Splitcoast.

Before I go, have you seen THIS?? I'm so impressed and can't wait to see this idea take off! Congratulations, Ashley!

I wish all of my American readers a fun, safe holiday weekend. And to everyone else the same, minus the holiday part :)

Thanks for visiting!



Stamps: Penny Black Holly Jolly Clear Stamp Set
Paper: Papertrey Vintage Cream and Dark Chocolate card stock, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White card stock, Prismatics Suede Brown (dark) card stock, Cosmo Cricket Jolly By Golly 6x6 Mini Deck
Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Antique Linen Distress Ink
Accessories: Copic markers, D'Vine Swirls Cuttlebug folder, Our Craft Lounge Rockstar Red Sparkly Fluff, Spellbinders long rectangle Nestabilities, classic and scalloped square Nestabilities, Spellbinders tag die, May Arts natural burlap string, Papertrey ribbon and buttons, Martha Stewart snowflake punch, EK Success wavy border punch

Happiness for Hostesses Project Parade

Hi friends, Verve's monthly Project Parade is in full-swing - we're already on Day 10, in fact. Our theme this month is Happiness for Hostesses, and the projects have been phenomenal! If you haven't had a chance to see what the Divas have cooked up so far, visit the Verve Stamps blog. You'll be glad you did!

It's my turn today, and I'm sharing this project:



What is it? Visit the THIS POST for more info and additional photos, but here's a HINT.

If you're new to Verve, the Project Parade is both a chance for the Design Team to share ideas around a specific theme AND a chance for you to participate as well. All the details are on the Verve blog. Will YOU be one of the two lucky winners of a free stamp set? Or the winner of a $25 Verve gift certificate? Good luck!