Cutie Pie sketch

Finally found some time to do the sketch challenge for today on SCS. Unfortunately, I had to wait for my hubby to get home to upload it since I left the camera in his Jeep ~ grrr! Anywho... the only stamping on this is the sentiment! I really wanted to use designer paper, so I decided on the Cutie Pie dp. The cut out flowers on the sentiment panel are from a different sheet of the Cutie pie dp. I used the ticket corner punch on most of the panels and for a little extra pop, decided to faux stitch using a black marker. I think this sketch just begs for designer paper and would be great for quick Christmas cards. Alrighty, that's it for now!

card info: paper ~ celery, white, rose red, cutie pie dp. stamps ~ hugs and wishes. ink ~ black. accessories ~ punch, brads, mat pack, marker, pop dot.

Bleaching on Basic Gray

This card was done using the CC135 colors ~ River Rock, Basic Black and Basic Gray. I've always loved bleaching on cardstock because you just never know what color you'll get once the bleach is dry. Who would've thought that basic gray turns to river rock when bleached??!! Once I did the bleached basic gray layer, I knew I had to use it on my card! These colors are very soothing and elegant to me, also perfect for a *man* card, I think. I'm running VERY low on river rock cardstock, so I took a piece of white and brayered it with river rock for the main image layer. I stamped the Queen Anne's Lace stamp (which I now know that it's not a weed!) in basic gray after stamping off once. I highlighted the tips with a white gel pen. The card base was done with the En Francais BG stamp in basic gray which I also stamped off once. Oh, just wanted to add that I just use one of those little trays from a microwave meal (such as lean cuisine) for my bleach. They're the perfect size since you don't need to use much bleach for this technique. I lay a few layers of paper towels or tissues on the bottom and pour a little bleach on top.

Well, this is the boys last day of their fall break, so we're going out to the beach. I'll have to see what I can get cleaned once they go back to school tomorrow ~ yay, lucky me!!! Ha! I can't believe we're having our entire house packed in just 3 weeks!! Fortunately, the new house seems to be moving along nicely (thanks Tara!) and I'm praying we may actually be able to move in it BEFORE Christmas!! Though I'll try not to get my hopes up too high, but Christmas in a hotel is no fun, especially with 3 kids! Been there, done that!!

card info: stamps ~ oh so lovely(hostess), en francais bg, baroque motifs, circle of friendship. paper ~ river rock, black, basic gray, white. ink ~ basic gray, river rock. accessories ~ bleach, punches, piercer, taffeta ribbon (yum!), hardware.

Triple cuteness!

These are the quickest little set of cards I've ever done! The featured stamper for today is Anna Wight ~ her coloring is amazing!! I know these don't come close to her, but I knew I'd have to do some coloring if I was going to CASE her. I also decided to go with these cute little 3x3 cards for Sharon's blog challenge. I didn't have the scalloped edges originally, but while taking care of middle ds's meal worms (yea, gross!! but they're for school work), something got on the bottom of one of the cards ~ grrrrr!! Well, it was close enough to the edge to snip off with the corner rounder, so I went with the scalloped edge look. Adds a whole other dimension of cuteness, if ya ask me!! Moral of the story: *there are no mistakes*!!! I think that's why I love this craft so much ~ it's very forgiving!! All coloring was done with my trusy SU markers.

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Anna and Beth!!! And thanks for another great challenge, Sharon!

card info: paper ~ whisper white. ink ~ black. access. ~ markers, ribbon, punch. How much simpler could it get?? hehe!

Challenge combo card

I've completely cleaned out my laundry room from top to bottom, got rid of lots of trash and junk, set aside some things for a yard sale I'll have in a couple of weeks. I've also gone through my youngests' closet, some of my scrapbook stuff, got all of our immunizations done, had my oldest two go through and get rid of any toys they no longer want or were broken, ordered a part for the car, set up an appt. to have the scratch on the door repaired and let's not forget all the *regular* stuff like laundry, cooking, etc. ~ so is it safe to say I deserved a *stampin' break*?? Well, I think so and therefore, gave myself a much needed break last night!

I hadn't done this weeks' sketch challenge, ways to use it challenge or the limited supply challenge so this one card combines ALL three for this week!! This is my first time cutting into my *yummy* Outlaw dp. Yes, it hurt a little, but some sacrifices need to be made in the name of stampin', no? I absolutely love stamping on twill, so when I saw the twill WT134 challenge I knew that's what I wanted to do. This is a great sketch, gives you so many options for the top panel and what to use for the little tab. And yes, I used that wonderful little tool, my Cropodile, to add the eyelets to the twill ~ worked perfectly! Added some faux saddle stitching (I think that's what it's called?!) and hemp.

I want to publicly thank Tara (her blog is listed on the right, go check out her awesome work!) for taking pics of our house while it's being built!! How fortunate are we to have found someone that lives blocks away from our new home and is willing to take pics for us?? Not to mention she's also an SU demo and has boys the same ages as mine?!!! Just makes us feel even better about moving to Katy ~ we've already *met* a wonderful person and we haven't even moved there yet!! Yes, we are feeling very blessed! Can't wait to meet you, Tara!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Card info: paper ~ sage, vanilla, outlaw dp. ink ~ choc, cocoa. accessories ~ cutter tool, twill, eyelets, piercer, marker, cropodile, sponge.

Lookie what I did!!!

I made that banner up top all by myself!!! OMW, I can't believe it!! Ok, yes, it's off center, but dangit, I did it!! Now, if I can just remember everything I did, then I can change it up! How cool is that??! Ok, I'm pretty proud of myself ~ now off to see what else I can do! Oh, and just so you know, I did it on Photoshop Elements.

Hmmm, whatcha think?

I'm in a Christmas tag swap on SCS and have finally sat down to try to come up with something! I'm not sure if there's a certain size it's supposed to be but this one is 2 1/4in X 3in. So, whatcha think? Would you like to get this in a Christmas tag swap?? Is it *good* enough?? Thanks for your input!

Simple wheel challenge

Here's a quickie card I did for Sharon's (notimetostamp) blog challenge. The challenge is to make a card using wheels as your main focal point. I *love* my wheels, but don't use them nearly enough, so I really thought this was a great challenge. Wheels are the best when you need a really cute card, but don't have the time to break out all your stamps. I colored in parts of the main image with markers to help tie the colors together. A few little loops of ribbon and some brads ~ which, btw, I probably should've done a different color because I think they blend in with image a little too much ~ are just enough to add a little extra *cuteness* to this card. And it just wouldn't be one of my cards if it didn't have piercing or faux stitching on it! The sentiment if from one of the Take Three stamps inked up with a marker.

Well, this weekend I really kicked it up a notch {BAM! think Emeril} and started cleaning and organizing and all that other fun stuff - NOT - in preparation for our big move to Katy, TX. We don't want to bring any stuff back with us that we no longer need or want. And so... the fun has begun and won't end until we get everything packed (by a gov. contracted mover, thank God!) around the end of October!! The good news is a great customer of mine would like me to do a workshop for her in early November which gives me an even better excuse to hold onto some of my stampin' supplies even after the packers are long gone! I've been trying to come up with a way to tell my dh {dearest hubby} that I really *NEED* to keep some supplies here so I didn't have to go so long without my beloved *rubbah and ink*!! And now I have the perfect excuse!! Because really, once everything has been packed and shipped, what am I going to do for the next month until we fly outta here?!! Yes, of course, hit the beach ~ duh!! But in between doing that, a-stampin' I will be!!! Have a great one!!

Card info: stamps ~ Doodle wheel, Take Three. paper ~ Turquoise, pretty in pink, white. Ink ~ black, turquoise. Access. ~ brads, ribbon, gingham, markers, piercer, white gel pen.