Running With Scissors...

Jack and the Kitty

Hello!  Just popping in with a Halloween card today.  I had a Ruby Tuesday post ready to go yesterday, then something went wrong with my blog, email, the whole shebang, and the post didn’t happen.  I thought about posting Ruby Tuesday today, Wednesday, but that just seemed so wrong.    I mean, you can’t do a Tuesday post on a Wednesday, can you?  So here I am today with a Halloween card I made for a little girl.

This is a Peachy Keen stamp called Cat in the Jack.  I knew my friend would be asking for Halloween cards for her very young grandchildren and, though I haven’t been searching exhaustively, I haven’t come across many Halloween stamps I found fitting for the preschool crowd.  So, when I saw this at CHA, I grabbed it.  This is a 5 1/4” square card, so you can see it’s a rather large stamp.

I colored with Copic markers and used some retired Stampin’ Up! Halloween papers in the layout.  The decorative text trim is from a package I picked up at Archivers, which will probably last me for years.

It certainly is colorful, isn’t it?  Fun, though.  It’s the kind of card that keeps me smiling while I’m working on it.  I hope it brings you a smile, too.  Have a great day!

JustRite Challenge #037

Did you know Stamper’s Dream is sponsoring the current challenge on the JustRite Inspiration Blog ?   

The challenge is a sketch, and the prize is a $50 shopping spree at Stamper's Dream .  Honestly, you won't have any trouble spending it there when you see all the latest and greatest products Michelle has in stock, including the complete JustRite Christmas stamp collection!

Just use the sketch challenge #037 to make your card, then post it on the JustRite Inspiration Blog  using Mr. Linky.  You have until Thursday, September 30 at 9 am.

This is the card I made:

I used Backyard Birds, watercolored with Tombow markers, and tried to give the card an earthy, botanical look while still having a little fun with the design.  I combined three different Spellbinders shapes and a Cuttlebug embossed border with sanded white-core cardstock (CTMH).  Piercing along the middle border and some linen thread are small finishing touches.

Here’s the sketch that inspired my card:

I always think it's fun to see the different twists and turns a sketch takes in each stamper's hand.  To see some beautiful JustRite samples by The Dream Team  using this sketch, please visit:

Michelle

Tosh

Cammie

Laurie

Amy

Christina

Karen

Denise

Cindy

Thank you for your time!  Have a great week!

Stamps:  JustRite Backyard Birds  Paper:  CTMH Desert Sand and Garden Green, hot press watercolor paper, BasicGrey Origins designer paper  Ink:  Palette Noir, Tombow markers for watercoloring  Accessories:  Linen thread, Cuttlebug Organic Flourish border embossing folder, Spellbinders Classic Circle and Labels Four Nestabilities and Lattice Borderabilities

Flourishes Friday: An Apple a Day… You Know the Rest

Oh, happy Friday!  Every week at this time I feel like a kid on the last day of school.  Who knew that for the rest of my working life I’d get to experience this weekly elation?  Who would have ever thought a mere two days of unstructured activity would be so raptly anticipated?  But there it is, every single week – the working woman’s “high”.  Today, I’m looking forward to not only those two days, but a whole week away from work.  If the weekend is a high, you can imagine I’m absolutely intoxicated by the prospect of a whole week!

Well, now, on to the business at hand. . .   It’s Flourishes Friday, and that means the team has a few cards to share with you.  Anything goes today, so there’s no telling what you’ll find on the blogs.  I’ve come back to my Apple of My Eye set for a card that was almost too easy, considering all the coloring I did on the last card I made with this set.

This apple was isolated from the large image and paper pieced together with BasicGrey Nook & Pantry.  Not to cast aspersions on coloring because, Heaven knows, I love to color, but when I’ve got other things to do (like hugging Wally, walking Wally, playing with Wally, brushing Wally, or just having a conversation with Wally) I appreciate the simplicity of a card like this.

The two-tone peach ribbon is a great match for Nook & Pantry, and it threaded nicely though the slots in the Spellbinders Eyelets Borderabilities which, in turn, coordinates with the floral pattern in the apple.  I added the itty bitty flower with BasicGrey Boxer glazed brad center just because it was cute.  Oh, and I coated the apple with ultra-thick embossing powder to give it a nice polish – not so evident in the photo, but I know you all have great imaginations.

How about a little trip around to the rest of the team to see where their fancies took them today?

Christine Okken

Danielle Kennedy

Dawn Burnworth

Julie Koerber

Laura Fredrickson

Stacy Morgan

I’m so glad you could drop in!  Have a great weekend!

Stamps:  Apple of My Eye  Paper:  Classic White, BasicGrey Nook & Pantry  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark   Accessories:  Two-tone peach ribbon, BasicGrey Boxer glazed brad, white braided trim, Prima flower, Spellbinders Blossom, Classic Circle, and Classic Oval Nestabilities, and Eyelet Borderabilities, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

A Thank You for the Big Guy

I wonder if you can imagine how long it took me to decide whether or not to share this card?  It’s not a new stamp.  It’s not gorgeous flowers or fabulous fruit.  There’s nothing particularly clever about it at all.  I made it for a friend who wanted a thank you card.  She described the situation and then I borrowed this set and made the card.  It’s for a guy, and neither he nor she would be particularly “wowed” by intricate details, so it’s about as basic as it gets.  Why, then, do I like it?  Maybe because I felt no pressure, no bar to reach for, no hurry. . . or maybe just because I find it cute in spite of all the aforementioned shortcomings.  So here it is – practical stamping, a card that will be used and fits the recipient. 

Stampin’ Up! fans probably recognize the big guy, and perhaps you could help me out with the name of the set.  Is it Bon Appetit?  My friend’s set wasn’t labeled, and I didn’t see it in the new catalog, though I may have missed it.

I started with a Whisper White card base completely covered with the retired Paisley background in Brocade Blue (from my scrap basket).  Gee, I forgot how much I love that background stamp.  The chef was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black on Classic White cardstock and colored with Copics.  Since the occasion for which this thank you card was created was a casual outdoor affair, I gave him jeans by paper piecing his pants, using SU!’s retired Just Jeans background stamp.  Okay, I forgot how much I love that background stamp, too.  Brocade Blue ink on white seems to be the perfect faded jeans color.  I used a Sakura black glaze pen on his coat buttons to give them shine and dimension.  These pens are very easy to use.  Just press the tip on your project and hold in place until the desired amount of ink is delivered to the area.  It will grow into a little pearl shape as it flows from the pen.  Then simply lift the pen and allow the “pearl” to dry.

The sentiment is from the very old and retired A Greeting for All Reasons set.  Hey, if we discarded everything that was old and retired, some of us wouldn’t be here, would we?

I must run now.  I enjoyed today, and I hope you did, too.  See you soon!

Stamps:  Bon Appetit? (not sure of the name), Paisley background, Just Jeans background, A Greeting for All Reasons (all Stampin’ Up!)  Paper:  Whisper White, Classic White, Brocade Blue, Riding Hood Red  Ink:  Brocade Blue, Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Brocade Blue brad, 1 /4” and 1 3/8” circle punches

The Weekly Christmas Card

Happy Monday, all!  Not many weeks have gone by lately without at least one Christmas card and I don’t imagine that’s going to change between now and Christmas.  I’ll have to pick up the pace later, but for now, one a week will do.  Today I’m sharing my second card with one of my new favorite sets, Impression Obsession Holiday Cheer from Stamper’s Dream.

I’m happiest when I have an image to color, and this particular image has a lot of fun detail.  I used my Copic Markers for coloring, and added good ‘n plenty Diamond Dust Stickles glitter which I’m seeing as a substitute for hardware in this case.  I added a spot of glitter to the knot of the red burlap string bow, too – looks like a little gem, but adds no weight or bulk.  The only hardware is a brad that tacks the image in place.  No extra postage required.  Happy dance!

I hope your week is off to a good start.  I’ll see you again soon!

Stamps:  Impression Obsession Holiday Cheer  Paper:  Riding Hood Red, Classic White, BasicGrey Figgy Pudding designer paper (retired)  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, red and green water-based markers for sentiment, Copic markers for coloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, brad, Diamond Dust Stickles glitter, Spellbinders Classic Oval Nestabilities, 1 1/4” circle punch, Martha Stewart edge punch

Who Won My Blog Candy???

Flourishes sure is giving away a lot of great stuff for this release and their birthday celebration!  Are you ready to hear who won the Apple of My Eye set I offered for blog candy on Wednesday?  Well. . . a BIG congratulations goes out to Comment #82:

Kraftyaunt   !!!

Here’s your comment, Kraftyaunt:

Yum. I can smell those apples right now because your coloring is so realistic. Thanks for the opportunity to win !

Posted by: Kraftyaunt | 09/15/2010 at 06:05 PM

The winning comment number was randomly selected by Random.Org.

Kraftyaunt, please contact me for your Apple of My Eye set.

Thank you, everyone, for taking the time to comment.  You are much appreciated, and you make my efforts all worthwhile.  Have a great day!

Two More New Flourishes Samples

I’ll be wrapping up the week today with the last of Flourishes’ new releases – Windows to the World, and Fuchsias in Bloom.  These pretty sets were both illustrated by Lauren Pope.  Love them both!  First, the Windows -- I kept this one clean and cheerful for a friendly “Hi, there!”:

Stamps:  Wndows to the World Paper:  Classic White, Memory Box green (sanded to distress), BasicGrey Green at Heart designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black,Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Prima flowers, two-tone peach ribbon, Finishing Touches floral brad, Martha Stewart Arched Lattice border punch, oval punch, Modern Label punch, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

And now the Fuchsias.  This is a small set, but it packs a lot of beauty:

Stamps:  Fuchsias in Bloom  Paper:  Pink textured, Classic White, Prima Fairy Flora designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  White cotton linen ribbon, white braided trim, Spellbinders Labels Eleven and Classic Oval Nestabilities, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

I have to give special mention to the Prima Fairy Flora designer paper.  This is the most beautiful paper in all the land, in my humble opinion.  Well, maybe it’s just me, but if you love a dreamy, soft watercolor floral, then you’ll love this paper, too.

Be sure and stop by the Newsletter to see how you can win these sets.  You won’t want to miss the beautiful samples by the rest of the team, either.  Some of the girls have blog candy for you today!

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Danielle Kennedy (blog candy)

Dawn Burnworth (blog candy)

Julie Koerber

Laura Fredrickson

Stacy Morgan

I’m all for a relaxing weekend, now.  How about you?  Thank you so much for putting up with me this week.  I’ll see you again soon!

Flourishes' New Sets are in the Store!

After being tempted and teased this week with our Design Team's delicious samples, we are happy to report that the sets are now live and ready for the picking in the Flourishes Store!  Here's a peek at....

Apple of My Eye

Witching You A Happy Halloween!

Fuchsias in Bloom

Windows to the World

Keep in mind, if you buy all four in the New Release Bundle HERE, it's a 10% discount. This offer is only good through September 25th.

I hope you've had fun this week!  Be sure to stop by tomorrow to see samples of Windows to the World and Fuchsias in Bloom.  See you then!

Flourishes Preview, Day 2: Witching You a Happy Halloween

We have a Flourishes first today – their debut Halloween set!  Full of fun and whimsy, this set tickles my funny bone.  Introducing:

Just like yesterday’s apple set, these images were drawn by Marcella Hawley’s fine and talented hand.  I got a real kick out of making this card:

Since I’m a wee bit short on Halloween papers I used BasicGrey Kioshi, which isn’t very spooky, but it made a bright and happy card for this smiling Jack-o-lantern fella.  As you can see, he’s getting in touch with his feminine side by sporting a flower in his hat.  He even stuffed some twiggy branches under it for a little extra flair.

I hope you’ll join us tonight for the release party.  There’ll be fun, games and giveaways, more samples, and after the party the sets will be live in the store.  It all starts at 9 pm Central at the Flourishes Member Company Forum over on Splitcoast Stampers.  When you visit the Newsletter, be sure and leave a comment on the Witching You post for a chance to win this set.

Flourishes' birthday celebration continues this week, too, and a few of the designers have blog candy today.  And – don’t miss this -- there are three more ways for you to win big!   1) You can “like” us on Facebook.. just click HERE… and you will have a chance at winning 10 Flourishes sets, including this release, 2) click on “Join this Site” over on the Flourishes Newsletter for another chance, or 3) get in on our Look Who’s 3 Challenge! You can read up on it HERE. You have until Friday at 5 PM Central.

Now, let’s take a look at all the fun the team has had with Witching You a Happy Halloween:

Christine Okken (blog candy)

Cindy Lawrence

Danielle Kennedy

Dawn Burnworth

Julie Koerber

Laura Fredrickson (blog candy)

Stacy Morgan (blog candy)

Thanks for sharing your time today.  I’ll have two more new samples tomorrow!

Stamps:  Witching You a Happy Halloween  Paper:  Memory Box Pale Chartreuse and Wisteria cardstock, Classic White, BasicGrey Kioshi designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Star border, 1 1/4” circle punch, Martha Stewart branch punch, Spellbinders Square, Classic Circle, and Scalloped Circle Nestabilities, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

A Busier than Usual Day on the Blog

I have two posts today, so please scroll down for Flourishes' new set preview, and continue on for the Stamper's Dream JustRite Christmas blog hop.  Thank you!