My Noteworthy Cards

Another Stampendous Saturday

2012-02-18T02:33:00.005-05:00

It's Saturday which means it's time to share another card for this month's Stampendous Challenge. This month's theme is texture. All you have to do is create a project with lots of texture and upload it to the Stampendous Blog (there's a linky tool). The challenge runs through March 1, 2012. Please play along for a chance to win the Corset Ladies Clear Set.

And now I must beg your forgiveness. As I'm writing this, I suddenly have gotten very ill. Food poisoning? Stomach virus? Who knows.

This is now going to be a very short post. Please visit the Stampendous Blog for all of the challenge details.

My card started as a blank piece of white paper that I painted with acrylic paints and gesso. It was then stamped with several images all from Stampendous: Railway Perfectly Clear; Butterfly Beauties Perfectly Clear; Carte Postale; Cling Jumbo Rosehips. I created even more texture by adding Aged Gold Embossing Enamel and Kaleidoscope Embossing Powder, both Stampendous products of course.

The following links will take you to heavenly creations, all packed with inspiration, beauty and lots of texture.

Thanks for visiting today. Stay Healthy!

Stampendous Impressions

It's Here...The Stampendous Color Fragments Blog Hop

2012-02-11T01:50:00.001-05:00

This is a very special Saturday over at Stampendous. The Design Team has combined the regular monthly challenge with a blog hop showcasing some of the great new products released at CHA! As you hop from blog to blog, please be sure to leave some love (and your contact email) for the designers, as well as on the Stampendous blog. The more you comment, the better your chances are to win one of five fantastic prize packages. Each one includes a brand new stamp set and bottle of color fragments from Stampendous.

Color Fragments are bits of pure color that you can glue to any surface using your favorite liquid adhesive. You can also sprinkle them into still-warm melted embossing powders for an amazing Encrusted Jewel look. You can crush them easily with your fingers to create smaller fragments and you can customize the colors to match your card.

This is exactly what I did to create the stamens of my Stargazer Lily. Color Fragments come in five terrific colors which are available at the Stampendous online store but I wanted something closer to that wonderful orange stamen color that stains your fingers and clothes. To create this color, I sprinkled a few taupe fragments into three little cups. In each, I added just a few drops of Copic refill ink (a different color for each cup) and mixed for even coverage. After the fragments had dried, I simply used Glossy Accents to add them to my lily.

To create the card I used two different Stampendous sets: Jumbo Tiger Lily CRSS010 (main image and background flourish) and Orchid Greetings SSC1053 (tag with sentiment).

If you have not checked out this month's great texture challenge, you can read all the details on the Stampendous blog. Now, please check out the rest of the Design Team's fabulous creations. Here's a heads up: get ready to be blown over with inspiration.

Stampendous Impressions

Wendy Price

Cyndi Bundy

Janelle Stollfus

Wendy Jordan

Jennie Lin Black

Taylor Usry

Jennifer Ingle

Suzanne Czosek

Krissy Fossmeyer

Stephanie Lee

Kristine Reynolds

Pam Hornschu

Melinda Gleissner (You are here)

Jennifer Dove

Kathryn Krieger

Winners will be randomly selected from all comments left on blogs, so the more you comment the better your chances are to win! You have until Sunday, February 12 th at 8:00 PM EST to leave a comment on each blog; winners will be announced on Monday, February 13th. Due to shipping restrictions, all winners must have a US/APO/FPO mailing address.

We'd love it if you'd play along with us in our monthly challenge! Just add your direct link to your card (make sure you've loaded it up with tons of TEXTURE) to the linky tool on the Stampendous blog no later than March 1, 2012 at 11:00 PM EST. You do not have to use Stampendous products to play along, but we sure love it when you do! And as an extra incentive for playing, one lucky person (drawn at random from all the entries) will receive the gorgeous Corset Ladies Perfectly Clear Stamp Set.

Drumroll please...

2012-02-06T10:49:00.000-05:00

Good Morning!

I want to thank each and every one of you that stopped by my blog last night and commented. It was great fun reading your kind words. Thank you.

I wish I could give each of you a bottle of color fragments but unfortunately I can't. If you didn't win and you can't wait to try this great new product, you can purchase all five colors here.

For more great inspiration, please visit the Stampendous Blog next Saturday, February 11th. Stampendous is hosting a BIG BLOG HOP beginning at 8am EST. It features members of the amazing design team using Color Fragments in all sorts of creative ways. The following prizes will be given away during the hop:

I hope to see you here while you are hopping!

And now, the moment you have all been waiting for...the winner of a bottle of Stampendous Sage Color Fragments is:

Maksnana

Maksnana said, "I love that sage color by the way,. Thanks for the give away that is so generous of you., God Bless"

Congratulations Maksnana. I left a comment for you on your blog.

Wasn't Kathryn great last night!?! I still can't figure out how she does it all. She crafts while reading PMs and the chats and keeps a dialogue going the whole time she is doing both. A big thanks to her for allowing Stampendous to play along with her Scrappy Bowl party. It was great fun!

Thank you all! Have a fantastic day.

Anybody Want To Play? Stampendous Surf-By Sweepstakes

2012-02-05T18:27:00.001-05:00

Stampendous has just released a new, fabulous product: color fragments. Available in five colors, fragments can be used with adhesive or mixed with embossing powder, paint or even resin. Either way, the results are magical and will add fantastic dimension and texture to your card, layout or mixed media project.

It's Super Bowl Sunday so I thought I'd create a football-themed card. Yes, I kind of know who's playing and realize my card colors don't relate but I wanted to use the yummy Sage Color Fragments and got carried away.

As it turned out, this card can be used for a masculine birthday or perhaps I could stamp "Yay" on the banner and turn it into a congratulations card.

To create the card, I used two different Stampendous stamps: Cling Fluffles Football CRV233 (main image) and For Him SSC135 (footballs). Stamped on Copic X-Press It Blending Card, I colored the images (with Copics, of course), fussy-cut them and adhered them to the main panel. I also paper pieced the banner and stripe on the helmet by stamping the image onto a piece of Basic Grey Recess paper and fussy-cutting.

Here's a closeup of the Stampendous Color Fragments:

Doesn't it remind you of turf? Adhering the fragments to my card was easy. I put a thin layer of Glossy Accents on the panel and sprinkled the fragments on top of it. Before sprinkling the fragments, I crushed them a little by rolling them around with my fingers.

There's so much you can do with Stampendous Color Fragments. All month long, there will be great inspiration over on the Stampendous blog including a Color Fragment Blog Hop next Saturday, February 11th. It begins at 8:00 am EST and will feature incredible projects from the Stampendous Design Team. Be prepared to be inspired. Of course prizes will be given. Please visit the Stampendous blog for all of the details.

Are any of you going to attend Kathryn Krieger’s super fun Scrappy Bowl Sunday UStream event? It takes place during tonight's broadcast of the Super Bowl. You can find more info about this event on her blog. I'm going to try to sneak on her show and give away a bottle of Stampendous Sage Color Fragments. Do you want a chance to win? Just leave a comment (including your email address), here on my blog, telling me which new fragment color is your favorite. You must comment during the televising of the game (EST please)in order to be eligible to win. As soon as the game is over, I will pick a winner.

Thanks Stampendous for donating this great prize. Please note: Due to customs restrictions, US/APO/FPO Winners only.

Thanks for visiting!

It's the Great American Pie Month, a perfect reason to make a Sweet 'n Sassy card!

2012-01-31T23:21:00.000-05:00

Did someone say pie? Isn't that the greatest sentiment? February is Great American Pie Month. I'm not sure what that means but pie is good so why not make a card.

I'm excited to announce there's another reason for this card. I was asked to be the guest designer for today's Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Inspiration Challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers. This cute "Pie for Cocoa" card is just one of the cards that I created. It uses three different Sweet 'n Sassy stamps: Pie for Cocoa, Did Someone Say Pie? and All My Heart. The images were colored with Copic Markers. A couple of different papers were used: Bo Bunny Blush Dot, Memory Box, Copic X-Press It Blending Card and Neenah Desert Storm.

I love the way the little flowers on the hearts mimick the polka dotted iced cookies in the inspiration picture. I tried to make the pie crust the same color as the cookies but alas, I always burn my pie crusts.

I had so much fun with this challenge, I made a second card using the Sweet 'n Sassy Chickadee and Berries stamp. The sentiment is also a Sweet 'n Sassy stamp. It is part of the Punny Fruits and Veggies set. The berries and the dotted paper represent the pink polka dotted iced cookies while the browns in the chickadee and branches were inspired by the cookies. Did you notice anything familiar about the design of this card? It was inspired by this week's Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Sketch Challenge. It's a terrific sketch that I'm sure will be used a lot.

Again, the image is colored with Copics and the paper is Echo Park's Victoria Gardens.

Here's the inspiration photo:

Are you inspired? Why don't you create something Sweet 'n Sassy and upload it to Splitcoast Stampers. Please remember to add the keyword: SNSSIC25.

And while you're thinking Sweet 'n Sassy, why not play along with their Sketch Challenge. There's also a stamp release blog hop this Thursday night. I'll see you there.

Thank you so much Korin and Taylor and everyone at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. Playing along has been so much fun! And Thanks everyone for visiting.

Oh I'm sorry, I never asked...What's your favorite type of pie?

Hello

2012-01-28T01:59:00.006-05:00

Hey, it's Saturday. Have you created anything for this month's Stampendous challenge? It is all about bling. Create a card with glitter, rhinestones or anything sparkly and upload it to the Stampendous blog for a chance to win Cherub Wishes Perfectly Clear Set. You have until February 2, 2012 at 11:00 PM EST to play along.

I had good intentions to create something blingy today but it just didn't happen. Instead I thought I'd share this peony panel card. I stamped the flourish from the Cling Jumbo Peony set several times with VersaMark and then embossed with Stampendous Clear Detail Embossing Powder. The pretty colored panel is called Peony Border Panel. I colored it with Copics, matted it and adhered it to the card base. The sentiment is from the Friendly Greetings Class A' Peel sticker set.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my card.

Please visit the following blogs for some sparkly inspiration:

Janelle Stollfus

Kristine Reynolds

Cyndi Bundy

Pam Hornschu

Jennifer Ingle

Melinda Gleissner

Suzanne Czosek

Taylor Usry

Stampendous Saturday Challenge

2012-01-21T03:03:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! Have you been playing along with this month's Stampendous challenge? It's all about bling, whether it's glitter, rhinestones or sparkly stickers. Remember, you have until February 2, 2012 at 11:00 PM EST to play along and you don't have to use Stampendous products. We do love it when you do though.

I actually made two cards this week. This first one uses sprinkles of Stampendous Aged Silver Embossing Enamel to create the bling in the background. It's hard to see in the photo but this embossing enamel will give you a fabulous shiny finish. The flower stamp is from the Stampendous Cling Jumbo Thank You. I colored directly to the stamp using Faber-Castell PITT Big Brush pens and then misted the stamp with Perfect Pearls before actually stamping it to the paper. After the image dried, I stamped over it with my all-time favorite Stampendous Cling Music Score and then fussy-cut. Simple.

Today is National Hugging Day. I'm not quite sure what this entails but I thought I'd make a card to celebrate. I stamped the little background block from the Stampendous Daisy Stem Trio set three times with VersaMark ink and then added glitter. Of course I used the following luscious Stampendous colors, Cherry, Rose and Tiger Lily. Pink and Orange is such a happy combination. The sentiment is from an older Stampendous set SSC1052. You may be able to still find it at your local stamp store. This is a terrific set of sentiments so it's worth searching around for.

Please check out the wonderful, glittery inspiration created by Stampendous Design Team members.

Stampendous Impressions Blog
Janelle Stollfus
Cyndi Bundy
Wendy Price
Wendy Jordan
Taylor Usry
Suzanne Czosek
Kristine Reynolds
Pam Hornschu
Jennifer Ingle
Steph Lee

Thanks for visiting. HUGS!

On Valentine's Day, the Stampendous Bling Challenge

2012-01-14T00:21:00.000-05:00

It’s Saturday which means another chance to play along with the Stampendous Challenge. This month’s challenge is all about bling. It doesn’t matter whether you use glitter, rhinestones or sparkly stickers, just bling up a card and submit it over at the Stampendous blog. Please add the direct link for your card to the linky tool on the Stampendous blog no later than February 2, 2012 at 11:00 PM EST. You don't have to use Stampendous products to play along, but we sure love it when you do! And as an extra incentive for playing, one lucky person (drawn at random from all the entries) will receive this gorgeous Cherub Wishes Perfectly Clear Stamp Set. Due to shipping restrictions, the winner must have a US address.

For my card I inked the Stampendous Heart Stack N228 image with VersaMark Watermark Ink and then embossed it with my favorite black Stampendous embossing powder. I also stamped and embossed a sentiment from the Stampendous Iguana Love set SSC1084 the same way. I dry embossed a frame around the panel, matted it and then added foam adhesive before adhering it to the card base. For bling, I colored one of the hearts with a mixture of Festive Berries Distress ink and Perfect Pearls Mist. I also added a few Stampendous Class a’ Peel Dot Sparklers in red AC672HSR. If you want to add bling fast and inexpensively use Class a’Peel stickers. They come in a huge variety of styles and colors and because you always get a lot of them in one package, this product is perfect for mass producing cards.

Before you run off to create your blinged-out card, please check out the stunning inspiration created by these Design Team Members.

Stampendous Impressions Blog
Cyndi Bundy
Wendy Price
Wendy Jordan
Jennie Lin Black
Taylor Usry
Krissy Fossmeyer
Suzanne Czosek
Kristine Reynolds
Pam Hornschu
Melinda Gleissner (that's me)
Jennifer Ingle

Thanks for visiting!

Resolutions Can Be Challenging So Add Some Bling

2012-01-07T00:41:00.003-05:00

We all know how challenging New Year's Resolutions can be. I've broken almost all of my 2012 resolutions, like giving up sugar and pop, exercising everyday and being more frugal...and it's only the first Saturday of the year.

That's why I am so excited that it's also the first Saturday of the month because that means a new Stampendous monthly challenge and this month's challenge is going to help me keep my last remaining unbroken resolution...to fran'tage more often.

You may be asking yourself, What is Fran'tage? It's collaging goodness at it's best and is the brainchild of Fran Seiford, founder of Stampendous. It's a mix of all things Stampendous: stamps, embossing powders, glitters and mica fragments. This month's challenge is all about BLING! Glitter, rhinestones, sparkly stickers...you name it. Just make it shiny and get it on your project! So I pulled out two of my favorite products, Stampendous Kaleidoscope Embossing Powder and Aged Gold Embossing Enamel. I also used some Stampendous Pearlized Mica Fragments. All of these I added over the very pretty Cling Bird Frame image which I stamped on hand-painted tissue paper. To finish the card I added three Copic-colored pearls as eggs in the nest. Voila, glittery, shiny goodness.

Please play along with us! Just add the direct link to your card (make sure you've loaded it up with tons of BLING) to the linky tool on the Stampendous blog no later than February 2, 2012 at 11:00 PM EST. You don't have to use Stampendous products to play along, but we sure love it when you do! And as an extra incentive for playing, one lucky person (drawn at random from all the entries) will receive this gorgeous Cherub Wishes Perfectly Clear Stamp Set (Due to shipping restrictions, the winner must have a US address):

Please take a moment and take a look at what these wonderful Design Team members have created:

Stampendous Impressions Blog

Cyndi Bundy

Wendy Price

Janelle Stollfus

Wendy Jordan

Jennie Lin Black

Taylor Usry

Krissy Fossmeyer

Suzanne Czosek

Kristine Reynolds

Steph Lee

Lynn Mercurio

Pam Hornschu

We hope you get a chance to play along with us. May all of your stamping this month be filled with glittery, shiny goodness!

Lawn Fawn CHA Winter 2012 Challenge *

2012-01-05T16:44:00.003-05:00

Lawn Fawn has a really exciting challenge going on right now.

Winners will have their cards showcased in the next Lawn Fawn catalog and as well as at their booth at CHA. 3 lucky winners will also receive a $75 gift certificate to the Lawn Fawn store.

In the post, Kelly Marie Alvarez who owns Lawn Fawn says, "We seriously love you guys." Seriously, I don't know of anyone who doesn't love Lawn Fawn! I know LF stamps have been some of my most favorite since their start. Yes, the stamps are super cute and of excellent quality, but it's the company as a whole that makes us fall in love with Lawn Fawn. I always look forward to Kelly's posts, they make me smile. The challenges are creative and loads of fun and Kelly's Design Team is packed with amazing artists. The reason I think I love Lawn Fawn stamps so much is the company's attitude towards it's customers. It's Kelly's sincere gratitude and grace that she shows her customers, from the little special thank you stamps enclosed in an order to her response to each and every comment or upload that you make. She and her team (including Laurel and the Lawnscaping Girls) are always nudging and encouraging us with their kind words. We all have secret dreams of having our cards noticed and loved. Kelly's Lawn Fawn makes us feel like our every creation is noteworthy.

So Kelly, thank you for the opportunity to have our cards posted and for possible prizes to win but from all of us, may I say thank you for Lawn Fawn. Seriously, we love you guys!

*On that note, may I say this was not a ploy to try to be selected. Have you seen the submitted cards? They are truly fabulous. I have my favorites and also know the only chance I have of being selected is if Kelly decides to take them all to CHA. I just wanted to say thanks for the joy she has given me.

Thanks for visiting and allowing me to rant.

Lawn Fawn Supplies used:
Critters in the Burbs; Critters in the Forest; Quinn's ABCs;Smitty's ABCs; Plus One

Many Thanks

2012-01-04T23:13:00.001-05:00

Oh, it feels so good to sit and write a post. I don't know about you but I'm really glad to be getting back into a routine. The mad push from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day is just that, maddening. I know...bah humbug.

Here are a few thank you cards I made this week using Lawn Fawn stamps. I just realized they look very Christmassy. Maybe, subconsciously, I am not ready to let go of the holidays...bah humbug.

For these cards I used the following Lawn Fawn stamps: Petite Florals, Blissful Botanicals, Judy's Blooms (the single bloom on my first card is the cut-out center of the largest flower), Quinn's ABCs (don't you just love this alphabet), Many Thanks, Bannerific and Schoolhouse Backdrops (I used the notebook paper stamp to create the horizontal lines on the first card).

Oh my goodness, I just realized I created a poinsettia, a wreath and an amaryllis. What's wrong with me?

Eek, I just felt the urge to watch "It's a Wonderful Life." OK, forget the post. I'm running down stairs to tear down the Christmas tree. Maybe tomorrow.

I colored the images with...red and green Copic markers.

The poinsettia thank you: YR04/R24/R39/G12/G14/G17
The wreath thank you:
R02/R05/R08/R30/R32/R35/R37/R81/R83/R85/G20/G21/G24/G28
The amaryllis thank you: R12/R14/R17/R39/YG11/YG13/YG17/G0000/C00/C0/C1.

For some non-Christmassy Lawn Fawn inspiration you can always head on over to the Lawn Fawn blog or the Lawnscaping Challenge blog. Seriously, both blogs are packed with nothing but fabulous art from amazing artists. Please check them out.

Thank you all so much for your kindness and for your comments. It means the world to me. Happy New Year to you all. May 2012 bring you health, happiness and crafty goodness.

Jolly Old St. Nick

2011-12-17T12:06:00.000-05:00

The Saturday Color Challenge is still going on over at the Stampendous Impressions Blog. The challenge is to make a card/project using brown, gold, cream and pink (you can use three of the colors if not all four).

My card uses another amazing stamp, St. Nick R128 by Stampendous. I colored the image using distress inks and an aquaflow brush and then decided to be adventuresome. Have you seen the great You Tube videos Fran Seiford has created about Fran’taging? I love how she adds a bit of this embossing powder and a bit of that mica fragments and comes up with something glorious. You know how much I love the Stampendous line of embossing powder so it was time to give fran’taging a try.

Guess what, fran’taging is easy! I swiped some VersaMark ink directly onto the edges of my card and then sprinkled different parts with either the Aged Gold Embossing Enamel or the Shabby Pink Embossing Enamel and then melted it with my heat tool. I was having so much fun playing with this technique I decided to take it a step further. When the Age Gold Embossing Enamel is melted it is a luscious, shiny gold but to give it texture I inked an embossing folder with VersaMark, reheated a gold area and then pressed it onto the folder. Pretty Cool, huh?

If you haven’t seen Fran’s videos, you can check them out here, and of course you can buy everything you need to fran’tage here at the Stampendous online store.

Please check out all of the inspiration at the following design team member’s blogs (a few have blog candy to give away today).

Taylor Usry
Pam Hornschu
Suzanne Czosek
Kristine Reynolds
Janelle Stollfus
Jennifer Ingle
Wendy Price

Thanks for visiting!

A Very Happy Birthday

2011-12-13T12:25:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Laura!

Our Stampendous Graphic Manager and Design Team Coordinator is celebrating a special birthday today! Always supportive and patient, Laura Weed is truly the best.

Please join me by hopping along with fellow Stampendous Design Team members in wishing Laura a fantastic birthday. While you're hopping, please stop by the Stampendous facebook page and send Laura your personal wishes.

Birthday Wishes from:
Wendy Price
Janelle
Taylor
Trudee
Jennie
Pam
Lynn
Krissy
Stephanie
Kristine
Wendy J
Jingle
Jennifer Dove
Rachel
Cyndi

My card uses the following Stampendous products: Birthday Assortment SSC1115 (sentiment); Birch Buddies SSC1055 (image); Cling Full Fluffles CRV079 (balloon)

Thanks for visiting! Have a super day!

Stampendous Saturday Color Challenge

2011-12-09T22:49:00.000-05:00

Have you had a chance to play along yet with the monthly Stampendous Saturday Challenge? A new theme is posted on the first Saturday and you have all month to play along and enter as many projects as you like. This month’s theme is a color challenge and runs through Thursday, January 5th @ 11:59 PM EST. Make a card or project with at least three of these four colors: pink, cream, gold and/or brown. This month’s prize is the Stampendous Amore Frame Perfectly Clear set.

For all of the challenge rules, please visit the Stampendous Impressions blog.
Please visit the following Design Team member blogs for more inspiration:

Taylor Usry
Pam Hornschu
WendyJordan
Jennifer Dove
Suzanne Czosek
Cyndi Bundy
Kristine Reynolds
Janelle Stollfus
Jennifer Ingle
Jennie Black
Wendy Price

For my card, I used both the Stampendous Pine Candle stamp (V212) and the flourish from the Stampendous Cling Jumbo Rose Set (CRS5006). After stamping and coloring the pine candle image, I distressed the edges of the image then covered the whole image with VersaMark watermark ink and Stampendous Kaleidoscope embossing powder (EP030). I absolutely love this sparkly, translucent embossing powder. It’s so perfect for holiday cards. I stamped the flourish on a cream background panel using VersaMark ink and again the Kaleidoscope embossing powder. Don't you just love how it picks up the colors of the card?

Thanks for visiting! I hope to see your Stampendous Color Challenge projects soon.

Wise Men Seek Him

2011-12-03T08:00:00.018-05:00

It’s the first Saturday of the month so a new challenge has just been posted on the Stampendous Blog. This month’s challenge is a color challenge and the colors Stampendous has chosen are fabulous!

Here are the details:

Make a card or project with pink, cream, gold, and brown. Please use at least three of the four colors. The challenge will run through Thursday, January 5 @ 11:59 PM EST.

This month’s prize (US winners only) is the beautiful Stampendous Amore Frame Perfectly Clear set.

So please grab your Stampendous supplies and start creating. You can enter as many times as you like before January 5, 2012 and the complete list of rules for this challenge is on the Stampendous Blog.

The following links will take you to Stampendous Design Team member blogs for some absolutely amazing inspiration. Enjoy!

Stampendous Impressions
Taylor Usry
Pam Hornschu
WendyJordan
Jenn Dove
Suzanne Czosek
Krissy Fossmeyer
Lynn Mercurio
Stephanie Lee
Cyndi Bundy
Kristine Reynolds
Janelle Stollfus
Jennie Black
Jingle

I was listening to the TV while trying to come up with an idea for this challenge and as I was pulling out all of my supplies, I heard… “23 days ‘til Christmas.” REALLY? Only 23 days? I have made only a handful of Christmas cards so this news was a little unsettling. That’s when I decided to turn this Stampendous Challenge into an opportunity to do some serious mass producing.

The stamp I selected, the Stampendous Cling Wisemen is so ornate, so beautiful in itself, that it was the perfect choice for a CAS, easy to mass produce card. So I pulled out my Stampendous Chocolate Brown embossing powder and voila, Christmas card #1. Don’t ask me how many more I really should make. Seriously, this is a stunning image and the superb quality of the Stampendous cling stamps gives a great impression of the intricate detail in the wisemen’s robes. With a little more time, those robes would be beautiful paper pieced.

Here are the details for my card:

Stampendous Supplies
Stamps: Cling Wisemen CRR095; Cling Christ of Christmas CRF129
Embossing Powder: Chocolate Brown EP117 (included in the Coastal Express Embossing Kit)

Other Supplies
Paper: Bazzill Suede Brown Dark; Echo Park Season’s Greeting Red/Cream; cream cardstock (unknown)
Ink: Tsukineko VersaMark Watermark Ink; pink color wash

Card Notes
• Create an A2 card base from the cream cardstock
• Cut a 5 ¼” x 4” brown mat and adhere to the card base
• Cut a 5 1/8” x 3 7/8” mat from the Echo Park Red/Cream paper (cream side)
• Paint a pink color wash over the cream panel; Be sure to leave areas of cream showing through; Set aside to dry completely
• Stamp the image using VersaMark ink on the cream/pink panel; Cover with embossing powder and heat set with heat tool
• Adhere the completed panel to the card base
• Stamp sentiment on the inside of card with VersaMark Ink; Emboss, using the embossing powder and heat tool

Thanks for visiting! Hope to see your creations over on the Stampendous blog.

Stylish Copic Storage

2011-11-22T10:40:00.000-05:00

I have been MIA, so I don't have a card to share today. Hopefully I will be back at my craft desk very soon coloring.

I would like to share a link to my friend, Gretchen Weller's blog

Gretchen makes these fun, ultra-stylish storage cases for Copic Markers. Aren't they fabulous!?! They can also be used to hold other marker brands and pencils. I really think they should be on everyone's holiday wishlist. The great news is she sells them on Etsy

Please check out Gretchen's cool bags. They are the perfect holiday present for the colorer in your family (including you).

Thanks for visiting. Have a fantastic day!

Joy

2011-10-29T09:43:00.000-04:00

There is still time to join in the fun with the CAS Holiday Card Challenge over at the Stampendous Blog. Upload your clean and simple holiday card before the end of the day November 3rd and you have a chance to win a really great prize. Click here for all of the details.

For more inspiration, please visit the blogs of the following Stampendous Design Team members. Their creations are incredible.

Wendy Price
Taylor Usry
Wendy Jordan
Pam Hornschu
Suzanne Czosek

Thanks for visiting!

Stampendous Saturday CAS Challenge

2011-10-15T12:31:00.000-04:00

Do you like to create Clean and Simple (CAS) cards? If you do, please join in the fun with the Stampendous October challenge. The rules are simple, make a CAS holiday card and link it to the Stampendous challenge post. Stampendous is giving away a Cling Jumbo Sparkle Joy set to a random winner. You don't have to use Stampendous products but why wouldn't you? They are fabulous. You have until Thursday, November 3rd at 11:59 pm EST to add your link.

My card for this week's entry is as clean and simple as they come. I stamped the image, colored it with Copics and matted it. I also added a few mats to the card base, adhered the image, added a few colored pearls and...voila, a CAS holiday card. Isn't the image wonderful? It's called Holy Family and yes, it's made by Stampendous.

Looking for more inspiration? Please check out what the very artistic Stampendous design team members have created for today's entry.

Wendy Price
Taylor Usry
Wendy Jordan
Pam Hornschu
Kristine Reynolds
Stampendous Blog

Too Soon for Snow

2011-10-08T09:05:00.000-04:00

Good Morning!

Here is a card I made for the October Challenge over at Stampendous. This month's challenge is to create a CAS holiday card. Here is your chance to get some Christmas cards done, just make sure to link to the challenge before Thursday, November 3 at 11:59 PM EST.

I used the Stampendous stamp Cling Forest Cottage Scene CRR123 for my card this week, colored it with Copic markers and then covered the whole image with Stampendous Clear Embossing Powder. I continued to add layers of embossing powder by simply swiping the Versamark ink pad over my image and sprinkling on more powder, melting the powder with the heat tool and repeating. When my last layer was melted but still hot, I sprinkled some of the new Stampendous Shaved Ice over the image. This gave the appearance of snow falling. I just love this Shaved Ice. It's light and fluffy but when applied it glistens. It's perfect for adding shimmer and shine to your holiday cards.

It's a beautiful day in Ohio. I hope I didn't jinx it with a snow card. It definitely is too soon for snow! Please follow the links below and check out what the amazing ladies at Stampendous created this week. Hope to see your CAS holiday card soon.

Thanks for visiting!

Taylor Usry
Wendy Jordan
Pam Hornschu
Krissy Fossmeyer
Wendy Price
Stampendous Blog

So Thankful!

2011-10-03T23:39:00.000-04:00

Today, I thought I would post four cards that I made over the weekend for a class I am teaching at my local scrapbook store. They are made using various Lawn Fawn stamp sets, stamped and then colored with Copic markers. I just love Lawn Fawn stamps because they give you a clean, crisp image every time.

You've heard me say it before but I'm in love with Lawn Fawn alphabets because no matter the word that you want to spell, no matter the set you use, the spacing between the letters is always perfect. Check out the sentiment on my round card...I created it by just lining the individual letters up on an acrylic block. OK, I admit it, I'm proud of myself for coming up with this one (my son is a huge Star Wars fan and while creating this weekend, I kept hearing a Star Wars commercial).

I will be entering these cards in a couple of great challenges that are going on right now. Click on the links if you are interested in learning more and want to play along.

The first is a World Card Making Day Challenge over at the Lawnscaping Challenge Blog. In honor of World Card Making Day, the challenge is to make a card, any theme using Lawn Fawn. How cool! But hurry, this challenge is over at midnight tonight.

The second challenge is over at the Crazy 4 Challenges Blog. The challenge, make any card you like and then donate it to a worthy cause. This really hits home with me (ever wonder about the name of my blog?) so I love this challenge. Because I'm using these cards in a class I'm going to teach, I will end up making several. I plan on donating all of them to my local Meals-On-Wheels program so they can be given to shut-ins along with their Thanksgiving dinners.

Thanks very much to both blogs for all of their inspiration. And thank you for visiting. I am very grateful for each and every one of you. Good Night!

Deck the Halls...It's Time for a Challenge

2011-10-01T08:17:00.015-04:00

It’s time for a new challenge over at the Stampendous blog. This one is sure to excite you. To celebrate World Card Making Day, we are looking towards the holidays and keeping it Clean and Simple.
Between now and November 3rd (11:59 pm EST), make a CAS holiday card or set of cards or another fun gift project. Then just link back to the Stampendous Blog post. You have a chance to win the Cling Jumbo Sparkle Joy set. You don’t have to use Stampendous products but it sure is great if you do. You can enter as many times as you like.

The Design Team has been busy. Follow the links to be inspired.
Kristine Reynolds
Pam Hornschu
Taylor Usry
Cyndi Bundy
Krissy Fossmeyer
Jenn Dove
Wendy Jordan
Wendy Price
Lynn Mercurio
Melinda Gleissner
Piali Biswas
Suzanne Czosek

Card Notes:
I used the favorite Fluffles Garland on my card and colored the image with Copics. The little bit of shine was made by coloring over the ornaments with a Versamark pen and then heat embossing with Stampendous clear embossing powder. The background was made stamping Cling Snowfall in Versamark and embossing with Stampendous clear embossing powder. Pretty clean and simple.

Thanks for visiting.

Happy Halloween

2011-09-25T15:17:00.009-04:00

While shopping at Michaels the other day, I came across these cute unfinished wood coffins (if a coffin can be cute) and decided to grab some to use as candy holders for my son's school Halloween party. They are the perfect size to hold a few pieces of candy and a free Frosty coupon. After painting them in both Espresso and Eggplant Adirondack acrylic paint, I stamped the Stampendous Frightful Phrases stamp in Versamark ink and embossed using my favorite Stampendous Midnight Black embossing powder. I have never stamped and embossed on wood before so I'm pretty pleased how the candy boxes turned out.

To go along with the boxes I made a clean and simple mini card using two Stampendous sets: Costume Kids and Cling Spider Web.

Did you know you can buy a book of 10 JR. Frosty Coupons from Wendy's for $1.00 and 90% of the money goes to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Dave Thomas was an amazing man. On a personal level, I will always be grateful to him as one of the founders of my son's school. He believed in children and gave so much to our community. If you are unfamiliar with his foundation, one of it's main goals is to find loving, permanent homes for kids in foster care.

Keep in mind, you have until September 29th to join in the fun with this month's sketch challenge on the Stampendous blog. It's a great sketch with an even greater prize.

Thanks for visiting!

Stampendous Supplies:
Costume Kids SSC263
Cling Spider Web Set CRS3010
Frightful Phrases R120
Midnight Black Embossing Powder

Other Supplies:
Markers: Copic E00/E01/E02/E33/E35/E37/E29/E50/BV000/BV01/BV02/BV04/BV08/C1/C3/C5/C7
Ink & Paint: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black and Grape Jelly ink; Versamark Watermark ink; Adirondack Espresso and Eggplant Acrylic Paint Dabber
Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 3

I've entered this in this week's Crazy 4 Challenges C4C106 challenge and this week's Just Us Girls Fall 3-D Challenge.

I'm Goin' Batty!!!

2011-09-15T07:47:00.000-04:00

I’m Goin’ Batty
OK, for any of you who know me, that ship sailed ages ago. I’m Goin’ Batty is the sentiment included in this Stampendous stamp set called Cling Batty Owls.

Isn’t the font cool? I paired the owls with another great Stampendous set, Cling Spider Web to create this window card. Everyone loves window cards and I’m no exception. But I must admit they intimidate me so I created this pseudo/faux window card by placing all of the layers onto the front of my card base. As for the two bats with glowing eyes, they are another Stampendous product. You can’t tell from my photograph but they are velvet stickers with a tiny piece of Copic-colored scrap paper behind them. If you haven’t tried Stampendous Class A Peel stickers, you really must. They come in all sorts of designs and textures and are so versatile. You can even use them as masks.

Thanks for visiting!

Stampendous Products:
Cling Batty Owls Set CRS2063
Cling Spider Web Set CRS3010
Jumbo Bats Velvet Black Class A Peel AC1004VK

Other Products:
Paper: My Mind’s Eye Mischievous (patterned paper); Copic X-Press It Blending Card; card stock (unknown)
Copic Markers: YR12/YR14/YR18/BV000/BV00/BV20/C0/C1/C3/C5
Spellbinders Wonky Rectangles Nestabilities Dies
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Archival Jet Black; Ranger Pumice Stone Distress Ink
Foam Adhesive

Card Notes:
Create an A2 card base with corresponding black mat.
Using two different sizes of Wonky Rectangles dies and patterned paper create the mat with window, the window frame and insert.
Distress the edges of the insert and the mat with the window by rubbing Pumice Stone ink around the edges.
Stamp the cobweb on two of the corners of the mat and also on the insert using Jet Black ink.
Stamp the owls on the insert and then again on Copic X-Press It Blending Card; Color the image that is stamped on the Blending Card and cut it out.
Adhere the insert to the center of the black mat; Using foam adhesive, adhere the cut-out owls to the insert (line up the images).
Glue the black window frame to the mat with the window; Using foam adhesive, adhere this mat to the black mat; Adhere all to the card base.
Stamp the sentiment on the inside of the card.
Select two stickers; using baby powder, powder the back of the stickers to cover the adhesive.
Color a scrap of X-Press It Blending Card; Cut into two pieces and adhere a piece to the back of each sticker.
Adhere the bats to the card.

I will be entering this in this week’s Our Creative Corner Challenge.

Here's another version:

Birthday Wishes

2011-09-10T09:22:00.000-04:00

I'd like to share a card that I made for the Stampendous Saturday Sketch Challenge. On the first Saturday of each month, Stampendous will post a new challenge on their blog. The best part is you have the whole month to play along. Just use the linky tool at the bottom of the post to upload your project...and yes, there will be a random drawing at the end of the month.

This month's challenge is a sketch which was created by Wendy Price, Stampendous Design Team Member Extraordinaire (OK, I made up that title for her but she really is very cool and her creations are extraordinary).

I modified the sketch design a little because I really wanted to play with this stamp set. It's called Four Flower Squares and it's so much fun to color. The sentiment is my new go-to birthday stamp from the Birthday Brackets set. I love the big, chunky font. There are brackets on this particular stamp but I trimmed them off one day and fell in love with the clean look of "Birthday Wishes." When I want to use the brackets with the sentiment, I just butt them together on an acrylic block and the complete stamp is ready to be inked. No one would ever know.

Well, please check out what the wonderful design team members have created for this challenge (you can find links to their blogs on the left-side of the Stampendous blog page) and then give the sketch a try. Who knows, you could be this month's winner. For all the rules and challenge information please click here.

Thanks for visiting!

Welcome

2011-09-08T11:53:00.000-04:00

I found myself needing a Welcome card for a new neighbor this week so I went upstairs and did my favorite thing…rummage through my stamps. To my surprise, I don’t really have a stamp set made specifically for this purpose. With a little creativity and my bin of Stampendous stamps, I was able to create this card. The images are from an adorable Holiday stamp set called Holiday Home. If you like to create scenes when you stamp, this is the perfect Holiday set for you. It has pine trees, a horse-drawn sleigh, wreaths and the cutest snowman ever. As for the sentiment, it’s from a Stampendous set called Baby Invite. You guessed it, very cute animals and any word needed to create perfect baby shower invitations, thank you cards or baby announcements. I used a sentiment that said, “Welcome Baby” and yes, once again I cut the stamp. Stampendous stamps are made from the highest quality of polymer so with a sharp pair of detail scissors, you get a clean cut every time. As long as you make one cut, you can always go ahead and place the two parts back together on an acrylic block. The next time you make a baby card, no one will ever know the sentiment was cut apart. Thanks for visiting!

Stampendous Supplies:
Holiday Home SSC1067
Baby Invite SSC072 (sentiment)

Other Supplies:
Paper: X-Press It Blending Card, card stock (unknown)
Copics: Y00/Y02/Y08/BG0000/G40/G21/G24/G28/E40/E42/E44/E47/E50/E53/E55/E57
Glossy Accents
Memento Tuxedo Black ink

Card Notes:
Create an A2 card base from cardstock and a mat that is slightly smaller.
Cut a 3.25” x 4.25” panel from X-Press It; cut a slightly larger mat.
Stamp the center house 2xs: once on the X-Press It and once on a piece of scrap paper; fussy-cut the stamped scrap and use as a mask.
Stamp the second house 2xs: once on the X-Press it and once on a piece of scrap paper; fussy-cut the stamped scrap and use as a mask.
Stamp the rest of the scene; color.
Assemble card; add Glossy Accents to windows.

Have you heard the news?

2011-09-03T08:00:00.003-04:00

I’ve got great news. Starting today, Stampendous is kicking off their new Stampendous Saturday Challenge and they would love it if you would join in the fun. On the first Saturday of each month, Stampendous will share a brand new challenge - it might be a sketch, or colors, or a fun new technique to try. You'll have an entire month to play along! And what would a challenge be without a prize? They’ll draw a random winner from all qualifying entries at the end of each month.

The incredibly talented Wendy Price created this sketch to kick off the challenge.

To play along and be eligible to win the Cling Jumbo Romantic Border, make a card or project using the sketch, upload it to your blog or other online gallery (keyword: STM01), and add the direct link to the linky tool on the Stampendous blog. You have until Thursday, September 29th at 11:00 PM PST to play! You don't have to use a Stampendous image or products to play along, but they sure love it when you do!

Here is my take on Wendy’s sketch:

Stampendous Supplies:
Block Art Single Daisy (flowers)
Loopy Blooms(stamped edge)
Narcissus (sentiment)

Go on and head over to the Stampendous blog to check out all of the details, see more inspiration from our designers, and to add your link to the linky tool!

Also, please stop by the following blogs to see what my Stampendous teammates have created with the sketch.

Wendy Price
Suzanne Czosek
Pam Hornschu
Kristine Reynolds
Lynn Mercurio
Taylor Ursy
Piali Biswas
Wendy Jordan
Laura Davis
Cyndi Bundy
Krissy Fossmeyer
Melinda Gleissner (that’s me)
Geny Cassady

Thanks for visiting and have fun with this month's sketch!

Cool Yule

2011-09-01T17:42:00.002-04:00

When talking with a friend last night, she mentioned she is going to be making Christmas cards all weekend. It dawned on me…its September 1st and I haven’t made one Christmas card. Yikes! To be honest, I’m really not ready to start the mad push. Heck, I haven’t gotten my spring wreath on my front door (LOL). So today is holiday card #1 and I must admit it was easy, thanks to Stampendous and these cute penguins. They are from a set called Yule Penguins. You gotta love a penguin in a fluffy sweater. The blustery, blue swirl in the background is from the new Cling Jumbo Pine Drift also by Stampendous and the sentiment is from the Yule Penguins set as well. Please note that I completely modified it. Originally each word is stacked on top of the other. I simply cut the sentiment apart and lined it up on my acrylic block. It just seemed to work better for my clean-lined card.

Have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend and thanks for visiting!

Stampendous Supplies:
Yule Penguins SSC1102
Cling Jumbo Pine Drift CRS5016

Other Supplies:
Ink: Color Box Prussian Blue Chalk ink; VersaMark watermark ink; Memento Tuxedo Black ink.
Paper: Copic X-Press It Blending Card; cardstock (unknown).
Copic Markers: Y02/Y08/BG10/BG32/BG34/BG45/BG49

Card Notes:
Create an A2 card base from white card stock; Also cut a white panel (4 ¾ x 3 ½) and a corresponding black mat.
Stamp swirl using the Prussian Blue ink on a piece of scrap paper; Without cleaning the stamp, ink again with Versamark and stamp the white panel; Repeat the process and stamp the swirl a second time.
Stamp the sentiment using the Tuxedo Black ink.
On X-Press It Blending Card, stamp all three penguins, color and fussy-cut.
Assemble the card.

Bless You

2011-08-29T10:48:00.002-04:00

Here’s a quick card I wanted to share. It’s made with two terrific Stampendous stamps, the Shine on You sentiment and the Tiled Quad Cube. Again I used my Stampendous Midnight Black embossing powder. I wish it came in a large, say peanut butter sized jar. I just can’t get enough of it. It’s by far, my favorite black embossing powder. Thanks for visiting today!

Stampendous Products:
Cling Tiled Quad Cube CRTC54
Shine on You
Midnight Black embossing powder

Other Products:
Ink: Versamark Watermark ink, Ranger Archival Jet Black ink, Ranger Shabby Shutters & Peeled Paint Distress ink
Pebbles Pearlescent Chalk Shimmers
Cardstock (unknown)

Card Notes:
Create an A2 card base out of white cardstock.
Using Versamark ink, stamp one of the tiles several times on card base; Dust with a gold chalk.
Stamp sentiment using the Jet Black ink.

Create the green tile background by inking a piece of white paper with both Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint Distress Ink; Flick with water.
When dry, stamp the tile image with Versamark and sprinkle with embossing powder; melt with heat tool.
Trim tile image and mat on both white and black cardstock.
Adhere to card base.

"Edgar Allan Crow"

2011-08-26T17:03:00.000-04:00

Now that school is back in session, my son and I have resumed our evenings of reading together. His first assigned book of the year is Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow by James Howe. It is part of the very popular and oh so funny Bunnicula series and is full of wonderful puns and word play. Coincidentally, around the same time as we started reading this book, I saw this deliciously eerie Stampendous stamp at my local JoAnn’s. It reminded me so much of an early chapter in the book, I had to buy it and I am so glad I did. The detail on this stamp is amazing! I LOVE it! Creating this card was so easy because of this fabulous image, just stamp, emboss and ink and it’s done. By the way, if you are looking for an excellent black embossing powder, I highly recommend Midnight Black by Stampendous. It melts nicely and creates a terrific shine.

Thanks for visiting!
Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."

Stampendous Supplies:
Crowscape CRR131
Midnight Black Embossing Powder

Other Supplies:
Ranger Distress Ink in Stormy Sky, Pumice Stone, Scattered Straw
Versamark Watermark Ink
Cardstock (unknown)

Card Notes:
Create an A2 card base from gray card stock; cut an image panel slightly smaller on white card stock.

Stamp the image on the white panel using Versamark ink; sprinkle with Midnight Black embossing powder, melt with heat tool.

To create the moon, attach a small die cut circle to be used as a mask; make sure to use repositionable adhesive.

Using an ink blending tool, ink around the circle with Scattered Straw Distress Ink.

When pleased with the results remove the circle mask and ink the rest of the image with Pumice Stone and Stormy Sky Distress Inks.

Distress edges of panel and adhere to the card base.

Go Bucks!

2011-08-12T19:04:00.000-04:00

Football season is fast approaching. Considering everything that has recently happened with the Buckeyes, this is going to be a tough one but as always, the fans are rallying. When I saw this very cute Fluffles stamp made by Stampendous I knew it was perfect for a little tailgating table topper. And yes, if you really had to, you could change the colors. Fluffles would look cute even in blue & maze. The footballs are from a Stampendous set called For Him. It’s a great set for masculine birthdays or Father’s Day cards. Combined, these stamps are perfect for all of your football season needs: party invitations, cards, table toppers…

Go Bucks & thanks for visiting!

Stampendous Supplies:

Cling Fluffles Football CRV233
For Him SSC135

Other Supplies:

Dies: Spellbinders Labels Three; QuicKutz Buckeye
Stickers: Sportssolution Ohio State border stickers
Paper: Copic X-Press It Blending Card; Cardstock (unknown)
Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Forest Moss & Peeled Paint Distress Ink
Copic Markers

Card Notes:

Create a side-step card using black cardstock (see directions below).

Cut & emboss a panel using Copic X-Press It Blending Card & Spellbinders die.

Stamp Fluffles image on panel & color; Trim ‘O’ sticker & adhere to helmet.

Stamp 3 footballs on scrap of X-Press It Blending Card & color; Fussy-cut footballs.

Cut buckeyes and leaves several times on various cardstock (green for leaves, 2 shades of brown for nuts); assemble & ink edges of leaves with Distress Ink.

Create sentiment by trimming a border sticker & placing it on 2 mats.

Assemble card.

Side Step Card Instructions:

Start with a piece of cardstock 5.5” x 8.5”.

Place cardstock vertically in the paper trimmer at the 3” mark; Make a cut starting 1” from the bottom edge of the paper and stopping at the 6.5” mark. This cut divides the card into two sections (2.5” & 3” sections) & makes the tall vertical panel on the left side of the card.

Score the 2.5” section at 4.25”. This makes the top fold of this card.

Score the 3” section at the 1”, 2”, 3.25”, 4.5” & 6.5” marks. Please note, these score marks will be perpendicular to the cut. Start measuring all of the score marks from the side where the cut was started (1” from the edge).

Make a series of folds, starting with the 4.25” score line on the tall, vertical side of the card. On the right hand side of card, starting with the first score mark, make a mountain fold. Continue folding the score marks by alternating folds. The second should be valley folded, the third mountain… Crease all folds with a bone folder. The side step card is ready to decorate.

Gift of Joy

2011-08-04T17:59:00.000-04:00

This beautiful Stampendous Blossom Spray stamp reminds me of my next door neighbor’s garden. Jann’s garden is one of the nicest I have ever seen with walkways and benches, constant color and beauty. I know it gives her great joy working in her flower beds. I also know it gives everyone who passes by joy just by soaking in its beauty. And then they get to my house. A flat of dead geraniums still sits dry and crunchy on my stoop, all of my good intentions of planting gone. My garden is sad. My roses have black spot, my hydrangeas never bloomed. Whether it was the heat or the rain or the blues, I just haven’t felt like gardening this year. The amazing thing about it is I am not only blessed with my neighbor’s beautiful garden, I am blessed with a beautiful neighbor. Jann always comments on how pretty my lone blooming flower is and she is sincere. She always knows when I’m blue and invites me out for coffee (I think she can gage how I’m feeling based on my flower beds). She is the most warm-hearted person I know, always putting others first. She exudes beauty. I made this card for Jann as a way of saying thanks for caring and being my neighbor.

Thanks for visiting!

Stampendous Supplies:
Cling Blossom Spray CRP136
Garden Beauty SSC1113 (sentiment)

Other Supplies:
Ribbon: May Arts EA14
Ink: Ranger Archival Jet Black; Ranger Distress Ink in Bundled Sage, Peeled Paint, Tattered Rose, Worn Lipstick, Mustard Seed
Paper: Canson Watercolor; cardstock (unknown)
Miscellaneous: Perfect Pearls Mist in Perfect Pearls; Copic Marker BV000; Inkssentials Craft Sheet; Tsukineko Fantastix Coloring Tool

Card Notes:
Create a card base by scoring a 9” x 8” piece of white cardstock. Card dimensions should be 9” x 4”.
Cut both a mat and image panel to fit the card base.
Stamp the Blossom Spray stamp several times on the panel using Archival Jet Black ink.
Create a paint palette by stamping the distress ink pads directly onto a craft sheet, leaving space between each color.
Spritz Perfect Pearls Mist directly over each of your stamped colors.
Using a coloring tool, pick up color from the craft sheet and color the blossom image. Set aside to dry.
Stamp the sentiment in Archival Jet Black ink.
“Color” the ribbon with the Copic marker, let try, and then create a bow.
Assemble the card.

I entered this card in the current CAS-ual Fridays Challenge.

Freaky

2011-08-03T13:45:00.000-04:00

Stampendous recently added new holiday stamps to their online store. Have you seen them yet? It’s ok. I won’t be offended. Stop reading this and go check them out. They are amazing. As soon as I saw these adorable yet mischievous pumpkins, I knew I had to have them. Even their names are cute: Pumpkinstein, Count Jack and my favorite…Mumpkin. The mailman hadn’t left my cul-de-sac and I was ripping open my Stampendous package. Shortly thereafter I came up with this card and I must say I am pretty pleased with how it turned out.

Credit needs to be given to my son. While I was coloring, he walked by and in a voice only a 9 year old boy could have, he said “FREAKY.” This triggered an idea. I jumped up and started rummaging soon to find a set of Stampendous Class a Peel stickers. Did you know Class a Peels make fabulous masks? The adhesive on them is magical, they really do stay put but are easy to peel up and reposition. Because they are a sticker, you can rub an ink blending tool over them to create custom backgrounds. Please check out the inside of my card and you’ll see the masked impressions of the words freaky, scary & spooky.

I think I’ll send this card to Operation Write Home. Their deadline for Halloween Cards is September 16th. If you are interested in learning more about this great charity please click the badge on the right of my post. But remember, when sending cards to our troops, absolutely no glitter. If you are in the Columbus area, newly re-opened Scrapbook Art will be holding an Operation Write Home card making gathering on Sunday August 21st from 1:30-4:00. For more information, please contact Scrapbook Art at: scrapbookart@insight.rr.com

Stampendous Products:
Cling Count Jack CRH279 (image)
Cling Mumpkin CRH280 (image)
Cling Pumpkinstein CRV223 (image)
Costume Kids SSC263 (sentiment on inside of card)
Class a Peel Scary Spiders Black AC1038K (as a mask & sentiment on front of card)

Other Products:
Copics: E53/E55/E57/E59/YR000/YR12/YR14/YR16/YR18/YG11/YG91/YG97/BV000/
BV01/BV04/BV08/N0/N2
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Archival Jet Black, Ranger Pumice Stone Distress
Paper: Echo Park the Apothecary Emporium patterned paper, Copic X-Press It Blending Card, cardstock unknown
Miscellaneous: Glossy Accents; Tonic Distress Tool; Ranger Ink Blending Tool

Card Notes:

1. Create a card base using an 11” x 4.25” piece of white cardstock. Cut two mats to be mounted on the card base, one from green cardstock and the other from patterned paper.
2. Cut X-Press It Blending Card to a 4” x 3” panel. Stamp two of the images on the panel using Memento ink. Color images.
3. Using the blending tool, ink the edges of the mats and the front panel with Pumice Stone ink. Distress the image panel further by using a distressing tool along all sides.
4. Assemble the front of the card by adhering everything to the card base.
5. To create the inside of the card, cut another mat from the patterned paper and another panel from X-Press It Blending Card.
6. Stamp remaining image on the panel and color using Copics.
7. Select desired images from the Class a Peel sticker sheet (I used the three sentiments) and place them on the inside image panel.
8. Gently ink over the stickers using the blending tool and Pumice Stone ink. Also, ink the edges of this panel and the mat.
9. Carefully peel off the stickers and set aside. Do Not discard.
10. Stamp the sentiment using Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink. Distress the panel further by using a distressing tool.
11. Assemble the inside of the card.
12. Place one of the used Class a Peel stickers on the card front.

Thanks for visiting!

Stay Cool

2011-07-26T22:27:00.018-04:00

Has it been hot where you are? It's been really hot in Columbus, so much so that I saw someone tonight on TV wishing for snow. I'm not going that far but I am trying to stay cool. That's why on Saturday, I dragged my two boys to the Newport Aquarium in Newport, Kentucky. If you haven't been there, it is absolutely worth your while to go (and this is coming from someone who lives less than a mile from Jack Hannah's World Famous Columbus Zoo - we have nothing like it). The Newport is fabulous. They have everything from standard aquarium-type fish to sea otters to a very cool octopus exhibit. My son's favorite animal is the penguin so I thought what a perfect way to stay cool...we'll go visit the penguins. The Newport has an absolutely marvelous penguin exhibit that houses 5 different types of penguins including the newly added Macaroni penguin. Alas, 6000 (5873 to be exact) of our closest friends had the same idea. We spent a few minutes with the penguins and then left.

When I came home, all I wanted to do was color. While looking for inspiration I came across the current Lawnscaping Challenge & knew it was the perfect way to depict our day at the Aquarium. The current challenge is called stamp a scene. Just click on the link if you want to play along but hurry, I think it ends tomorrow.

As for my scene, you guessed it, it's the penguin exhibit at the Newport. Five different types of penguins rollicking in the cool water, having fun. The center penguin on the inner tube had orange raffia head feathers inspired by the Macaroni penguin. My husband convinced me I should take them off.

Many Lawn Fawn stamp sets were used to create this scene:
Critters in the Snow (the penguins)
Cruising Through Life (the pinwheels & the pinwheel poles, stamped end-to-end to hold the banner)
Bannerific (the banner)
Swimsuit Season (the splash & the inner tube - sorry I cut off the horse's head:-))
Critters in the Sea (the wave)
Jessie's ABCs (the sentiment)

Add a little fussy-cutting, some Copic coloring & a bit of Rock Candy Distress Stickles and you have the perfect scene.

Stay Cool & Good Night!

Thank You!

2011-07-24T15:15:00.008-04:00

Today's card was made using stamps from a few different manufacturers. I usually don't mix & match (kinda for the same reason you should never invite both sets of in-laws to a function) but everyone played nice and it all turned out great in the end.

The notebook paper stamp is from a My Favorite Things set & the sentiment is a Stampendous stamp. All the rest (the teacher, her chalkboard, pail of goodies & apple) is a By LORI Designs digistamp. By LORI Designs is a relatively new find for me but I must say the moment I found this company, I fell in love! The images are adorable & perfect for coloring. By LORI Designs makes it so easy to download & open that you can print & color images within minutes of purchasing them. There is a wide variety of characters & themes so there is sure to be something for everyone. Another plus is the most fabulous card examples. The website is packed with inspiration...Did I mention I love this company?

The particular image I used for this card belongs to the Sugar Sticks line & is called "Teacher & Accessories." My son has some truly incredible teachers that I wanted to make special cards for, to let them know we really appreciate all that they do for us. Hopefully, they will like their cards.

If you are looking for something to color today, check out By LORI Designs. You'll fall in love too.

Thanks for visiting!

Poppy Bottles

2011-07-23T12:26:00.007-04:00

I made this card for Jennifer McGuire & Kristina Werner's Online Summer Card Camp but never got it posted. Are any of you participating? It's been great fun. I just wish I had had more time to camp & play. Maybe if we all band together, we can talk them into 'a kids are back in school, now we can camp' camp:-)

For this card, I used two of my favorite Stampendous go-to stamps: Dream Text (R105) & Poppy Bottles Perfectly Clear Stamp Set (SSC1092). This poppy set is so versatile. I adore the long poppy stems in their bottles & the cute, 'handwritten' sayings. These sentiments are the perfect size to stamp on a tiny tag & then tie around one of the stems. The set even includes a solid poppy bloom if you prefer to stamp in the color instead of using markers or pencils. Speaking of pencils, that's what I used to color my poppies. I then accented them with a little Glossy Accents. It is hard to see in the picture but I stamped the entire front panel with the Dream Text. The colored pencils acted as a resist. With a button, some twine & a little scoring on the card base the card is done.

Thanks for visiting!

A Perfect Pairing!

2011-07-21T14:37:00.013-04:00

A friend of mine is going through some tough times right now so I thought I’d make a card to brighten her day. This is what I came up with; hopefully it will put a smile on her face.

I recently received this exquisite stamp in the mail and knew it was perfect for the job. Isn’t it stunning? It’s the new Cling Jumbo Baroque Bouquet from Stampendous. I love how the Cling Music Score (also a Stampendous stamp & one of my all-time favorites) compliments the Baroque Bouquet image. Combining these two stamps makes me want to listen to another perfect Baroque pairing, the Goldberg Variations played by hmmm Glenn Gould or Simone Dinnerstein, maybe both… ooh sorry, I digress. My point is Stampendous has done it again. No matter what you create with this image, the result will be magical! Please visit the Stampendous blog for more inspiration.

Stampendous Supplies:

Cling Jumbo Baroque Bouquet CRS5019 (image)
Orchid Greetings SSC1053 (sentiment)
Cling Music Score CRR103 (background)

Other Supplies:

Copic Markers
X-Press It Blending Card
The Paper Company Bronze Metallic card stock
Ranger Antique Linen Distress Ink
Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black ink
Ranger Archival Jet Black ink
Ranger Glossy Accents
Tsukineko Versamark watermark ink

Card Notes:

Create a card base using the Bronze Metallic card stock (mine is a 5.25" square card).
Trim a piece of X-Press It Blending Card slightly smaller than card base; stamp image & color using Copics.
Stamp image again on a scrap of paper and fussy-cut; use this as a mask; Place over main image.
Stamp the Music Score using Versamark; Stamp more than once to cover the entire card front.
Use an ink blending tool to distress the edges of card front with Antique Linen ink.
Stamp a small section of the image & the sentiment on a scrap of X-Press It; color desired flower & leaves then fussy-cut; trim sentiment & mat on scrap of Bronze Metallic card stock.
Distress the edges of the sentiment panel; adhere to card front using dimensional foam adhesive; adhere flower & leaves; accent all flower centers with Glossy Accents.
Adhere the card front to the card base.
Use a corner rounder to create fancy corners on the card & sentiment panel (I used the Corner Chomper stub).

For your listening pleasure, click here to listen to Simone Dinnerstein playing the Aria from the Bach Goldberg Variations.

Good Night & Thanks for visiting!

4th of July Invite

2011-07-01T18:49:00.016-04:00

Today, I thought I'd share an invitation I made for some upcoming weekend plans. 4th of July is one of my favorite times of the year. I don't know if it's the fireworks or parades or maybe the music. It's just a lot of fun.

Card Notes:

Stamp the image onto the X-Press It Blending Card & color; Trim image.

Trace the fireworks with the Quickie Glue pen and sprinkle with glitter; Tap off excess.

Cut two stars out of complimentary patterned paper using the Cricut electronic cutting machine; One star should measure 4 3/4" while the other is 5"; Mat the smaller star with the bigger one.

Cut a 3 3/4" x 5 1/4" piece of patterned paper; stamp the sentiment onto this piece of patterned paper & mat onto black cardstock.

Finish by simply assembling the card.

Stamps: Stampendous Cling Firework Day Set CRS2033; Mini Happy 4th SSC478
Patterned Paper: various pieces from October Afternoon Rocket Age Collection
Cardstock & Specialty Paper: Copic X-Press It Blending Card;
Recolllections Black Cardstock; Cardbase (unknown)
Diecut: Star from Plantin Schoolbook cartridge cut with my Cricut
Markers: Copics R20/R21/R24/R27/R29/B0000/B91/B93/B97/B99/BG10/E00/E01/E40/E41/E50/
E53/E55/E57/W0
Glitter: from the Stampendous Glitzy Glitter 80's Flashback set GK02
Adhesives: American Crafts Permanent Dot Runner; Sakura Quickie Glue pen
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink; Ranger Jet Black archival ink

Thanks so much for visiting. Happy 4th of July Everyone!

Hello Muddah...A Summer Card Camp Hello

2011-06-30T12:23:00.009-04:00

Summer camp has been so much fun this week. Thank you Online Card Classes Summer Card Camp 2011 & thank you Debbie Olson for giving me this great opportunity. I've found myself singing & humming all week "Hello Muddah, Hello Fuddah." OK, the piano teacher in me wants to say to all of my students: yes, here is another example of pop music borrowing from a classical composer. Make sure to scroll down & you'll find yourself humming along too.

Here's a quick & easy card I made for Summer Card Camp. I find myself migrating to mini cards a lot these days. It seems like you can never have enough of them sitting around to give as gift cards. This 3.5" square card is the perfect size to enclose a small note and then tuck onto a package. It's also a great size when using Martha Stewart's Punch Around the Page punches. To make the punched pink mat I started with a 3.25" square. With this size, all you have to do is punch the 4 corners, then punch each side once. There's no lining up, which is great when you are in a hurry.

The flowers were made using Hero Arts 4 Fun Flowers CG278, stamped in Hero Hues Iris Chalk Ink. After a spritz of Ranger Perfect Pearls Mist, I fussy-cut each flower & rolled the edges using a wooden cuticle stick (One of my favorite go-to tools. I used Glue Dots to stack them and to adhere them to the page. The sentiment is from the Hero Arts Trees, Birds & Messages clear set CL182, stamped in Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink. I love how the letters are a little distressed.

Here's something for your listening pleasure. Here's one for all of you purists. Thanks for visiting!

The Amazing Flower Fields & Camp

2011-06-28T00:07:00.014-04:00

Today was the start of Summer Card Camp 2011. I was lucky enough to win a spot by commenting on Debbie Olson's blog. If you are not familiar with Debbie's art, please go visit. Her coloring and designs are absolutely stunning. Thanks Debbie for this great opportunity.

The 1st day of camp is always exciting and believe me, this 1st day did not disappoint. Jennifer McGuire & Kristina Werner challenged us with a color combination of warm shades of purple, pink & orange complimented with sky blue & white. Both of their cards were amazing!

When I saw the color combination, I instantly thought about a recent trip I took to the Flower Fields in Carlsbad, California. Like most Carlsbad tourists, I was there to see Legoland. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time because I stumbled on to this incredible ranunculus farm. You can't imagine the joy it gives you to see acre upon acre of these beautiful flowers in every color of the rainbow. My favorites...the purple, pink & orange.

For my take on the challenge I used the Stampendous Ranunculus Field stamp R112 (Go figure). I colored the stamp this time with Memento Dual Tip Markers in Rose Bud, Lilac Posies, Tangelo, Bamboo Leaves & New Sprout. After a spritz of Ranger Perfect Pearls Mist, I stamped the image on Aquarelle Arches Hot Pressed Watercolor paper. I trimmed the image and mounted it to a purple card stock and then a blue card base. The ribbon is a white Creative Impressions silk ribbon that I easily colored with my V17 Copic marker. Thanks to a little strategically placed adhesive, I twisted & looped the ribbon and finished the card with a pearlized brad from TPC Studio. It's a pretty simple design but I really think this gorgeous Stampendous image needs very little embellishment.

Thanks so much for visiting. Good Night!

Thank You Stampendous!

2011-06-26T14:26:00.010-04:00

Stampendous just announced their new BlogStar team and I am honored to say that they picked me to be a part of it. Stampendous has been very instrumental in my card making. I started this wonderful journey by entering one of their sketch challenges a little over a year ago and I've been hooked with card making and stamping ever since. If you have never entered a challenge, I highly recommend getting your feet wet with Stampendous. Why?... First and foremost, the product is fabulous! I love their stamps. They have wonderful holiday and exquisite floral images. My new favorite is this Jumbo Cling Dahlia

And then there is Fluffles. You can never have too many Fluffles stamps! You can always find some cute, whimsical images along with some very lovely scenes. Did I mention the quality is excellent. You will get a clean, crisp image every time.

In addition to the quality products, another reason to join in the fun at Stampendous is the wonderful, amazing group of women that you meet there. They are sweet, sincere and always encouraging.

Please check out Stampendous on their blog or their facebook page. They even have a great Flickr Group.

Thanks for visiting and thank you Stampendous!

My Superhero

2011-06-19T23:36:00.006-04:00

It's Father's Day so I've been doing a lot of thinking about my wonderful husband. Hank is truly the greatest human being I have ever met. He's taught me so much about so many things. He's kind & funny & so very smart. He's generous & patient & extremely musical. I could go on forever but what I love the most about Hank is his innate ability to be the best father I could ever have dreamed of for our son. He amazes me everyday with how he nurtures and loves Ian. I love listening to their interactions whether they are working on some new math problem or playing the blues. I feel so very blessed to have Hank in Ian's & my life. Hank, you are my superhero!

Here is the card we gave to Hank today. Ian wrote the inscription on the inside of the card. It reads: A superhero is kind, caring, smart, funny, truthful, musical & playful. A superhero is you! Happy Father's Day Dad!

To make the card I used three different stamp sets from three different manufacturers. The cute superhero is from My Favorite Things Ben Paper Dolls set. There is an image of a boy in a t-shirt & shorts & then there are 3 different costumes: a pirate, a superhero & an astronaut. I stamped the superhero costume on X-Press It Blending Card with Memento Tuxedo Black ink & masked it. I then stamped "Ben" on top of the mask to transform Ben into a superhero. The sunburst-like rays were created using a stamp from Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Collection Bitty Grunge CMS089. I inked the stamp with Ranger Mustard Seed Distress Ink & then inked around the edges on top of the Mustard Seed with Barn Door Distress Ink. After stamping the image on Neenah card stock, I repeated the inking & stamped again to create the complete sunburst. The superhero "lingo" was stamped from the Oriental Trading Company set Super Hero In-65/80385. Both Ben & the lingo were colored with Copics. I fussy-cut all stamped images and adhered them to a card base.

Thanks for visiting & may you all be so lucky to have a superhero in your lives!

A Couple of cards

2011-05-26T20:33:00.001-04:00

I entered these cards in this month's Hero Arts Contest. It combined two of my favorite things: flowers & coloring.

Here are the details of the May Challenge: Create a NEW stamped card, scrapbook page, or other project based on any of the following…

Fabulous Flowers — Include one or more flowers on your project
ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) — Miniature works of art created on a 2. 5″ x 3. 5″ base. ATCs can be of any theme for this challenge.
Colored Pencil Techniques. Projects using this technique can be of any theme.
Please use at least one Hero Arts stamp or Hero Arts digital element on each of your projects.

I loved Shari Carroll's video tutorial on coloring with colored pencils. She is amazing! Speaking of Shari Carroll, I am so excited because I am spending the weekend with Shari Carroll and Jennifer McGuire. They are co-teaching a weekend of classes in Kettering, Ohio at Simply Scrapbooks.

As for my cards, I used Hero Arts Two Birds CG152; Hero Arts Cling Dots CG139; Hero Arts Special moments CG108; Hero Arts Anytime Messages CL129. I colored both cards with Prismacolor colored pencils. The Cling Dots were stamped with Tattered Rose Distress Ink.

Thanks for visiting. Have a great weekend!

Rocketman

2011-04-11T15:39:00.003-04:00

Today, I'd like to share some very wise advice:

Crafty Ladies, Always marry a man with more expensive hobbies than your own.

If you take this advice, your husband will never be able to complain when you want the latest die-cutting machine or this month's entire new stamp release.

My husband builds and then launches rockets, not the little dinky ones that you can find at your local craft store. He launches the kind that you need a large field and certification to shoot off. Recently, he went to get certified for a certain size motor so I made him this card.

Stampendous makes a great stamp set called Hot Rocketz (SSC1030). I stamped the galaxy swirl in Versamark and dusted it with Pebbles Pearlescent Chalk to make the background. For the three rockets, I stamped them on a separate piece of X-Press It paper, colored them with Copics, fussy-cut them & mounted them to the card. The blue & gray rocket image actually has fins but I cut them off to make it look more like the rockets my husband flies. Glossy Accents gave the rockets a little shine. The cool paper is from a K & Company pack called DayDreams. The sentiment on the inside says "Have a Blast" which is also from the set. The word Rocketman on the front of my card was stamped using the Lawn Fawn set, Harold's ABCs.

This post wouldn't be complete without a picture of my husband's rocket launch.

Thanks for visiting.

Pieced Flower

2011-04-08T15:27:00.005-04:00

I made this card weeks ago, inspired by Deb's beautiful card. The technique is now being featured on the Hero Arts blog so I thought I'd post it. Paper piecing is a great technique and the Flower Text stamp is a perfect match.

The paper is from a Jillibean Soup collection. I used Enamel Accents in black to embellish the flowers.

Thanks for visiting.

Happy Birthday

2011-04-07T17:09:00.003-04:00

I thought I'd share this birthday card I made recently using Lawn Fawn's Bake Me A Cake stamp set. Have you tried Lawn Fawn stamps yet? They make such a clean, crisp image and are so very cute. The alphabets are my favorite. Somehow each letter is cut so perfectly that when creating your own words, the spacing is always uniform. It makes creating your own sentiments a snap.

Here's a link to their blog. It's packed with fabulous inspiration.

Supplies used:

Lawn Fawn Bake Me a Cake
Hero Arts Cling Dots
Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Versamark Frost Ink
Pebbles Inc. Shimmers Pearlescent Chalk
Inkssentials Glossy Accents
Derwent Watercolour Pencils
Whispers Strokes Blender Pen

Thanks for visiting.

Thank Ewe

2011-04-06T22:14:00.016-04:00

Have you tried the Tim Holtz Vagabond yet? Isn't it amazing! When it first came out I asked myself whether I really needed another die-cutting machine. Certainly many of you asked the same question. The answer is YES. Everyone should have a Vagabond. I love how compact it is. It hardly takes up any room when its folded up and yet its really powerful. I recently had to cut tons of flowers for a class I was teaching and couldn't believe how fast and easy the job was using the Vagabond. I have some medical problems that cause stiffness and numbness in my hands and arms. Using the Vagabond makes class preparation pain free. If you have any kind of stiffness or arthritis, this is the machine for you.

I made this video showing how to cut wafer-thin dies with the vagabond. If you have wondered how to cut Spellbinders or My Favorite Things Die-namics with the Vagabond, please watch. I show what plates you need to make the perfect "sandwich".

This thank you card was made using the grass I cut while making the video.

Here's a list of the products that I used to make the card: My Favorite Things Die-namics Fresh Cut Grass McGill Punch Flowers Petite Petals Hero Arts Cling Dots CG139 Penny Black Bah-quet 4063H C.C. Designs Critter Sentiments Ranger Distress Ink Tattered Rose Tsukineko StazOn Jet Black Ranger Enamel Accents Black Derwent Watercolour Pencils

Thanks for visiting. Good Night!

Peeking Posies

2011-03-08T17:34:00.006-05:00

Here are a couple of cards I made using the new Hero Arts Peeking Posies stamp set (LL072). I absolutely love this new set! The flowers are great for coloring and fussy cutting. They remind me that Spring is right around the corner...at least I hope so.

The first card was colored with Copics and the second one with watercolor pencils blended with the Whispers Strokes blender pen. On the second card, I also used the Hero Arts cling stamps: Cling Dots (CG139) & Flourish Background (CG119) stamped with the Versamark stamp pad.

Thanks for visiting and for your kind comments.

Longing for Spring

2011-01-25T23:41:00.003-05:00

I've been feeling a little blue tonight, no reason really, maybe just the winter blahs. So I sat down to color (it is the perfect cure-all) and discovered this Stampendous Narcissus stamp. I love daffodils. Don't you? Their smell is pure, sweet heaven.

Here are the details of this card:
Stampendous stamps: Narcissus SSC1107 & Cling Music Score CRR103
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Old Paper & Peeled Paint
Copic Markers: YG0000,YG00, YG01, Y00, Y02, Y04, Y06, Y11, Y13, Y14, YR20, YR21, YR23

Thanks for visiting & Good Night!

The Best Things in Life...

2011-01-09T23:02:00.005-05:00

...are friends! This includes all of my wonderful blogger friends that take the time to comment. You always make me smile and you inspire me everyday with your beautiful creations. I so appreciate all of you.

This card was made using the wonderful Hero Arts Hero Hues in the Sea color family. I used the layering papers, the mixed accents and the Cerulean chalk ink. The background was created using one of my all time favorite stamps, the Hero Arts Design Block Grid Pattern. The flowers are Hero Arts 4 Fun Flowers and the sentiment is from the Hero Arts Things set. If I were to do it again I probably wouldn't add the Glossy Accents to "BEST" - I shake too much. If any of you have any pointers or tips, boys I'd love to hear them.

Thanks for visiting and for all of your kind words and encouragement. Good night my friends!

Joy Ride

2011-01-07T22:51:00.008-05:00

I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted a card. It seems like I never get anything done during the holidays...my Christmas cards haven't even been mailed. If I hurry maybe I could tuck a little valentine in each envelope.

These new Hero Arts stamps are fabulous. I used Joy Ride for the image, Dictionary Greetings for the background & Things for the sentiment. The sentiment "let's go for a ride" from the Joy Ride set is stamped on the inside. The bling is from the Hero Arts Sea Mixed Accents and perfectly matches the Sea blue layering paper. In addition to all of the great Hero Arts products, I also used Ranger Super Fine Detail Clear Embossing Powder with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Stormy Sky & Brushed Corduroy. The fancy edge of the card was made using the Tim Holtz Alterations On the Edge die cut Brackets. Thanks to Simon Says Stamp. When I was making this card I realized everything I used I had gotten from them...it truly is a one-stop stamping store. I could live there:-) If you haven't shopped there, you should check out their site. It's amazing!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog. Have a wonderful evening!

A Blessing To Me

2010-10-24T14:44:00.003-04:00

There's a mountain of laundry and a sink full of dishes but I couldn't resist the urge to sit down and make a quick card. Have you tried Lawn Fawn stamps yet? The Cornucopia image is from their Harvest Season...luv it! This was the first time I tried to color ribbon with Copics. I can't believe how fast and easy it is. Guess I'll be stocking up on white ribbon from now on.

Here are the details:
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Harvest Season
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey Marrakech
Other Supplies: Memento Rich Cocoa ink; Copic Markers; Pepples Inc. Pearlescent Shimmer Chalks; Spellbinders Labels Eight;

Thanks for visiting!

Thanks So Much / Better than Sliced Bread

2010-10-21T23:06:00.015-04:00

I just discovered the best thing since sliced bread...X-Press It Blending Paper. When I saw they had it at Simon Says Stamp, I knew I had to get some. I'll admit I've read numerous bloggers' rave reviews but I never imagined being so happy with something as simple as paper. It's fabulous! Forget about feathering issues, the ink will stay where you intended it. I even tried to oversoak the paper. If you haven't tried it yet, go for it. You won't be sorry.

The image is actually from 3 different stamps: C.C. Designs Spring Trevor, C.C. Designs Bench and My Favorite Things In My Garden Jolinne. I stamped Trevor and then masked him so that I could stamp the bench over the image. The flower pot was stamped separately and fussy cut after I colored it. As for the coloring I used Copic Markers in these colors: BG000, BG01, BG02, BG05, YG21, YG23, YG25, E00, E01, E02, E31, E33, E35, E50, E53, E55, E57, E59. The little pearl flower centers are from Kaiser Craft. Can you guess where I got them? And the patterned paper is Bo Bunny's Block Party.

I need to give credit to Cyndi Bundy a.k.a. The Scrappy Chick. She recently posted a card where she doodled a vine so I thought I'd try it. Thanks for the inspiration Cyndi and thanks everyone for visiting!

... and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

2010-10-19T10:17:00.004-04:00

Here's another holiday card and yes, still no red or green. I think I'm going to have to ease into traditional colors, perhaps with a little silver & gold. Oh well, it doesn't matter. I'm happy with my little pear tree. The image is one of my favorites and is great to color.

I used the Cling Partridge Tree from Stampendous (CRP111), stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa ink. I colored using my favorite Copics and then accented with a little Sakura Gelly Roll pen. The patterned paper is from Bo Bunny's Winter Joy Collection.

FYI: there is still a little time to make and send out some holiday cards for our troops overseas. Please visit the ladies at Operation Write Home for more information.

Thanks so much for visiting!

The Magic of Christmas

2010-10-18T22:26:00.003-04:00

Tis the season to start making Christmas cards. I don't know about you but I just can't get into the green & red spirit of things. So I combined some nontraditional colors with some kraft paper and great stamps and came up with this card.

The image is the Cling Santa Trio by Stampendous (CRN199); the sentiment is from the Hero Arts Magic of Christmas set (CL462). Don't you just love this paper? It's Fancy Pants Design Falling Snow. I used my favorite Memento Rich Cocoa ink, colored with Copics and then gave the image some accents with Sakura Gelly Roll and Souffle pens. OK, it's quirky but hopefully fun.

Thanks for visiting! Good Night!

They Say It's Your Birthday...

2010-10-16T15:50:00.006-04:00

I made this card for my husband's birthday. He likes the clean and simple look so it's always an easy card to create.

I am absolutely in love with this paper from Bo Bunny! It's from their Block Party Collection and works great for masculine cards. The Schroeder stamp is from Stampabilities. If your stamp collection is not complete without it, you can purchase it at Simon Says Stamp. The music notes are from a clear Stampabilities set called Music and the sentiment is from Hero Arts Birthday Sayings. I used Memento Tuxedo Black ink and Copic Markers to color the image (Y11, Y13, Y18, B21, B24, B26, E00, E01, E71, E74, E77).

Thanks for visiting and enjoy this glorious day!

Good Day Sunshine

2010-08-26T20:39:00.010-04:00

I've wanted to try my hand at gardening for a long time. 'Square Foot' gardening is all the rage so my dear husband set aside all of his hobbies to design and build beautiful cedar boxes. I had so much fun planting my seeds and watching my flowers and vegetables grow. Then the hard part started.... keeping everything growing and alive. I read about companion planting. I planted parsley with the beans and radishes with the tomatoes. I even did a take on the '3 sisters'. Alas, there is not a leaf on my bean plants and the beans themselves are riddled with holes. My beautiful tomatoes (6 different types) were devoured in the blink of an eye by some sort of scary caterpillar that I'm convinced is going to take over the world. And my wonderful mixed box of corn, beans, melons and pumpkins became the breeding ground for these...RABBITS. Did I mention my loving husband had a fence built around my garden to keep varmints out? Summer is almost over. I've pretty much given up on my garden for the year. As for the darn rabbits, I actually became fond of them. I found myself leaving freshly pulled radishes and carrots by their bed. To make a long story short, that is the inspiration for this card.

The stamps are from My Favorite Things. I had never used them before but after seeing all of the fabulous cards Sherrie Siemens creates with them on her blog Card Creme, I decided to give them a try. I love them. The designs are so cute with adorable sayings. Oh, and because a lot of the designs are headless, I can even imagine I look that good while gardening. My card is made from a combination of three different sets: In My Garden Jolinne, Who's That Gardening Girl & Can Ya Dig It. I colored the images with Prismacolor pencils and the paper is Crate Paper.

Thanks for visiting. May all your gardens grow.

Stampendous Saturday Sketch Challenge Week 20 Back To School

2010-08-25T22:45:00.008-04:00

It's that glorious time of year...that time when the kids go back to school. Which just so happens to be the theme for this week's Stampendous Challenge. I haven't played for a while so I made a couple of entries. My son's school has a brand new two-story round library so I used that as inspiration for my first card. Our head librarian is the most wonderful person. She truly inspires the kids and makes them thirsty for more and more books. This one's for you Mrs. Schlosser.

My "Love to Read" card was made using the Stampendous stamp sets: School for Changito SSC190(sentiment), School for Max SSC675 and Book Border SSC259. I also used: Kid Power Offray ribbon, Derwent watercolor pencils, Gamsol, Memento ink in Tuxedo Black and Hero Arts Shadow Ink in Soft Stone. The paper is from Hero Arts and My Mind's Eye (Abby Road).

My second card is a little mini card for my son, just something to tuck in his backpack. Hopefully it will make him smile when he finds it sometime during the day. I just can't believe my baby's starting third grade. He truly is an amazing child and in my opinion, definitely the bestest!

For my "You're the Bestest" card I used:the following Stampendous stamp sets: Chalkboard SSC241, Hugs for All SSC1052(sentiment) and School for Changito SSC190. I also used Stampendous white embossing powder PEK02 to highlight my sentiment on the chalkboard. Other supplies include Derwent watercolor pencils, Gamsol, Memento Tuxedo Black ink and Bazzill paper.

Thanks for visiting and may all of you moms with little ones enjoy this wonderful time of the year!

Cards for Kids: A Fish Joke

2010-08-01T23:33:00.005-04:00

Here's another great opportunity to put a smile on some one's face: Cards for Kids. Please visit Jennifer McGuire's Blog to learn how you can send cards to seriously ill children and their families. Currently, there are 13 children listed that would be happy to receive a cute card with a loving message inside. You can even send cards to their siblings, who I'm sure could use some encouragement and love as well. Jennifer has made it easy for us to spread some cheer. When finishing your next scrapbook page, please consider making a card with your leftover supplies.

My Fish Joke card was made using the Hero Arts Oceans of Joy stamp set CL372. I stamped the image in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored it with Copic Markers (G20, G40, B00, B02, B12, BG000). I highlighted areas with Spica twinkle pens and then diecut & embossed the image with Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles Large Die S4-114. I don't want anyone to lose sleep so here is the punchline...Because pepper makes them sneeze. Hardee har har! A cheesy joke will make anyone smile. If you would like to add a joke or two to the cards you are going to make, check out Ducksters. This website has some great children's jokes posted.

Here's something that I guarantee will put a smile on your face. This was posted recently on Bobby McFerrin's Facebook page. Good Lovin' Thanks Bobby! You always pick me up and make me smile.

Thanks for visiting. Good Night!

Stampendous Saturday Sketch Challenge Week 16 Fluffles Wuv

2010-07-29T14:18:00.007-04:00

This card was made using two different Stampendous stamp sets that I won by playing along in the Stampendous Saturday Sketch Challenge. Thank you so much Stampendous! I absolutely love (or should I say 'wuv') Fluffles. The chipboard 'u' was embossed in Stampendous Blush Pink powder which gave it a great smooth surface. This made it easy to then stamp the paw prints.

Supplies: Stamps: Stampendous Fluffles Wuv SSC683, Stampendous Love Journal SSC657; Embossing Powder: Stampendous Blush Pink from Pastel Party Embossing Kit PEK07; Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, StazOn Jet Black, VersaMark Watermark; Ribbon: May Arts; Patterned Paper: Crate Paper Paper Doll Collection Emma, Cloud9Design Baby Girl Dots; Chipboard: BasicGrey Chipboard Block Alphas

Stampendous Saturday Sketch Challenge Week 15 Peace Everywhere

2010-07-22T23:35:00.003-04:00

I can't pass up an occasion to get started on Christmas cards so I decided to make another for this week's challenge. The goal was to make a holiday card using Stampendous Class A' Peel stickers. And now for a confession: Holiday Class A' Peel stickers are usually the first card making supply that I run out of during the holidays. I'm usually scrambling all over town to find more, so when I saw this challenge, I panicked. I knew I had very few leftover from last year. It's been a crazy week with no time to shop, so I decided to make due.

I stamped the dove on both pieces of patterned paper. I also stamped the olive branch on the green paper. Now for the fun part, before attaching the white dove, I used leaves from the Stampendous Class A' Peel Pop Flowers Value Pack & pieced together the olive branch. The chain border is from the same pack. Oh, and the dove's eye is actually the center of a flower.

Here is a rundown of the products used: Stampendous Peace Everywhere stamp set SSC1019 & Stampendous Class A' Peel Pop Flowers Value Pack

Please visit my FLickr Photostream to check out another 'paper pieced' Class A' Peel holiday card using the Stampendous Doodle Joy stamp and Class A' Peel Jumbo Circles in gold & red.

Thanks for visiting & Good Night!

Stampendous Saturday Sketch Challenge Week 15 Snowflake Ornaments

2010-07-22T23:09:00.007-04:00

This week's Stampendous Challenge was titled Christmas in July. Participants were asked to make a holiday card using Stampendous Class A' Peel stickers.

My take is a matchbook card made with a transparency. I stamped & embossed the tag, trimmed it & then added it to the cardfront. The Stampendous Class A' Peel stickers were used on both the front & inside. The Snowflake Ornaments were embellished by cutting the snowflakes from the Class A' Peel Super Snowflake Chains. These snowflakes were then added to the top of each ornament, followed by bling.

If you are interested in looking at the inside of the card, please visit my Flickr Photostream.

Here's a rundown of the products used: Stampendous Swirl Tag M203, Stampendous Winter Trees SSC1013; Stampendous Snowflake Ornaments Mirror Silver AC1021MRS, Stampendous Super Snowflake Chain AC679HSS

Thanks for visiting.

Operation Write Home

2010-07-20T22:09:00.009-04:00

In my first post, I alluded to the real purpose of this blog. Sure, I need a place to post my cards for various challenges but I really hope My Noteworthy Cards becomes more. My hope is that this blog can be used to promote various 'card-giving' charities.

Everyone enjoys receiving mail. This past spring, my son had a school assignment where he asked every relative to send a postcard from where they lived. Because we don't have a lot of relatives, I asked a friend, who was going on vacation by car, if she would contribute. Soon, we were receiving cards not only from my friend (& from every state she drove through) but from her relatives and friends. My son and I could not wait for the mail to come. Each postcard put a huge smile on his face even when he didn't have a clue who sent it. And that is the premise of this blog. My hope is to spread joy by encouraging as many people as possible to make cards which are then sent to someone who could really use a smile.

If you know of a way to reach out to others through card making, please comment/email me. I will spread the word.

So here is the first worthy cause: Operation Write Home whose mission is to "support our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." Please follow the link to learn more about this incredible charity. Their website also has guidelines and tips for anyone who wants to contribute. Here is a rundown of some of their rules: No glitter or anything sparkly that could rub off on the soldiers' hands or clothes, 4.25" x 5.5" is the best and most practical size & Operation Write Home only accepts handmade cards. If you live in Central Ohio, please comment/email me and I will find a way to send the cards for you & save you the postage.

Now for my card: It's only fitting that my first "give-it-away" card uses the Stampendous Cling Music Score CRR103 (I'm a piano teacher & my blog's called My Noteworthy Cards). I also used the Stampendous Poppy Bottles SSC1092 & Vase Set SCC1093. Other supplies used include Memory Box paper, Glossy Accents, Copic Markers & Memento Tuxedo Black Ink.

Thanks for visiting & making someone smile.

Stampendous Saturday Sketch Challenge Week 14

2010-07-14T15:45:00.014-04:00

This week's Stampendous challenge is a window card. There needs to be an opening on the front of the card so that you can see inside. For my version of this sketch, I used one of my all time favorite Stampendous stamps - Cling Snow Globe CRV074. It's perfect for this challenge and is complimented by two other Stampendous stamps - for the sentiment, Snow Stop SSC492 & Mittens SSC491. One of my newest favorite things is the iridescent glitter in the Stampendous 80's Flashback set. It is super fine and gives great sparkle. I used it to highlight areas of my mittens & snow globe. I also sprinkled some on my 'snowball' sentiment after I coated it with Glossy Accents.

Other supplies used to make this card: Nestabilities circle dies, Memento Blue Danube ink, Derwent colored pencils, Gamsol & paper from The Paper Company and TPC Studio

Please note, anyone can join in the fun. Just visit the Stampendous blog and start creating.

Thanks for visiting.

Stampendous Saturday Sketch Challenge

2010-07-06T15:25:00.009-04:00

Thank you Stampendous for selecting my card as one of the winners in last week's Saturday Sketch Challenge.

Products used for this card:
Stampendous Hugs For All SSC1052 & Love Robotz SSC682; Stampendous Glitzy Glitter GK02 80's Flashback; Copic Markers: YR09, YR21,G24 & BG72; Patterned Paper: Cosmo Cricket Cogsmo

Day 1 Something New

2010-07-03T23:20:00.008-04:00

OK, I admit it. I have a serious hoarding problem when it comes to card making and scrapbooking supplies. There’s always silkier ribbon or shinier bling and who can resist the myriad of patterned paper?
My weakness – new stamps, wood mount, acrylic, cling, it just doesn’t matter. My heart starts to pound and I just want to touch them. My brain spins and then the creative process begins.

OK, I admit I have another problem in this area. Once I create a card, I don’t want to give it away. It’s not the fear that the person I give it to won’t like it or worse that they’ll throw it away (well, maybe a little) but the fact that each card is special, different, like my own child. How could I bear to part with it?

Somehow I suspect I am not alone.

I named my blog my noteworthy cards for several reasons. Yes, I am a musician, a piano teacher to be exact and I get so much happiness and inspiration from music (I’m listening to Jacqueline du Pre playing the Elgar cello concerto as I write this). More importantly, I realize there is so much more value in making someone else smile. Giving someone a card that you create with a handwritten note inside says that you care, that person is special to you, you’re thinking of them. My cards are worthy of a handwritten note and so I am sure are yours.

This blog was created in hopes that lives will be touched through the gift of handmade cards and music.
Thank you for visiting.

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill; Canson, Patterned Paper: Memory Box Frond Collection, Stamps: Memory Box Create Art; Flower Bundle, Ribbon: May Arts Silk Green, Ink: Memento Grape Jelly, Bamboo Leaves, Tuxedo Black; Ranger Distress Ink Old Paper, Bundled Sage

Thanks to Scrapbook Art in Lewis Center, Ohio for carrying the great Memory Box product line!