monday makeover challenge & BLOG CANDY!

andrea over at 'sunny stampin' had a monday makeover challenge and i decided to play! her challenge was to take a card or some other project that you really like and is non-SU and re-make it using only SU products!

this first pic is of one of my favorite cards! it was featured in the feb. '08 issue of 'cards' magazine, found on page 112. jennifer roach did a fantastic job on this card, i could ever only hope to not disgrace her! so here is my only-SU version. there are a couple of big diffrences... i don't have any SU rhinestone brads on hand (i buy 'em, i use 'em!), so i used crystal effects w/ dazzling diamonds glitter instead. card is 4.5" x 7.5"
recipe:
ink- Llace, Wwasabi, Ssaffron, PIpink, Ccelery, & versamark
paper- textured Wwasabi CS for CB, Llace, Wwhite, and DSP is enchante'
stamps- new hostess level 3 set "hapiness always"
accessories- new scallop edge punch, wasabi ribbon, crystal effects, dazzling diamonds, corner rounder, sponges (for ink distressing the edges of CS), and pastels (for chalk distressing the oustides of the center panel)

so, i have finally answered another challenge! and did you see my funky fingernails?!? i just LOVE them! my stamping friend does my nails and she just got this fabulous new green acrylic called 'sour apple' and i think i will always have green fingernails now! =)

enjoy your week!

OH! don't forget about my challenge for the two (2) stamp sets & a whole lot of misc. embellishments! click here for my blog candy giveaway! hurry, ends 8/1/08!

masked blue/brown wedding card

first off, have to give credit where credit is due. cased card from rgrohall on SCS, to see her card click here. this is a wedding card for a friend that's getting married this month.

first off, i stamped bird on CS and cut out. folded a post-it note in half and used that to stick bird mask to white CS. stamped weathered in Ssky over bird. stamped french script in Bbayou over that. ink distressed the edges of Wwhite Cs w/ blue inks, then brown. used sponge to ink blue around body of masked bird. removed mask and stamped bird in walnut ink. paper flowers & silk flower was dyed with sponges & ink pads. used backward brads in corners of CS as i really wanted to use photo turns there and couldn't find them in my stash!

recipe:
stamps- SU "always"
paper- SU CS Cchip, Ssky, Bblue, Bblue, & Wwhite
inks- SU NQnavy, Ssky, Bblue, Bblue, Bbayou, & Cchip. jim holtz 'walnut stain' distress ink
accessories- small circle punch (for punched corners), silk flowers, paper flowers, silk ribbon, dyeable ribbon, pewter brads (for flowers), black brads (in corners, backwardes), and SPONGES! this card would not have been possible without the sponges!

don't forget to get your piece of blog candy! click here for details! open till 8/1/08!

have a super-duper weekend!

free stuff for a year BLOG CANDY!

that's right! free 'funky fairies' stuff for a year with their blog candy! click here!

5,000 hits! = BLOG CANDY!!

blog candy will be two (2) stamp sets! this one pictured below and one from making memories. I will also include a HUGE sort of embellishments (clips, buttons, flowers, etc.)!

as promised, as made possbile by those who visit me, here it is! BLOG CANDY for 5,000 hits!

This is an unmounted earn-only stampin' up! sell-a-bration set from 2007! with it i will include other misc. embellishments, and a set from making memories =)

what i want in return------- i want to see a card or scrap page that somehow incorporates a magazine picture/article. you can use the packing tape transfer method, click here to see the tutorial by jessica. , or just use the magazine page itself. post your project on your page, make sure to link both my page (for the challenge & blog candy) and jessica's page if you use the tape transfer method (for the tutorial) and make sure to comment back that your project is posted so we can all check them out!

challenge is open until next friday, august 1st when i will use the random number generator to pick the winner!


bev is also offering up some blog candy, so hop on over to bevs crafts to see her gorgeous cards and enter for her candy, too!

shabby, baby!

well, we all know that jenn really likes her stuff to look... old, used, distressed, shabby. so here's the newest "used" project.

recipe:
ink- jim holtz 'walnut stain' distress ink
paper- SU Wwhite CS, TAC DP, lined notebook paper
stamps- SU "doodle this" (stamped flower on backside of DP & cut out) & sentiment is from SU "spring solitude"
accessories- bling blue rhinestone, corner rounder punch for scalloped edges, crop-o-dile for small circle punches in the scallops, sponges for applying the ink to the edges of EVERYTHING!

the new 'batman' is out! can't wait to go see that! or wall-E is out, too! my sister is coming to visit this weekend, haven't seen her since she got married last year! so my weekend is full! whatever you do on yours, hope it's safe & fun!

marker-ing your stamps

have you ever wondered how to get multiple colores on your stamped bold image? you use markers! that's what i did for my little bird and my branch & leaves.

the bird is actually 4 diffrent colors. i started by coloring his legs with the paint brush side of my SU Aappeal marker. for his body, i started by coloring BashfulBlue all over, then used BalletBlue on most of his back, then finished him up with BrilliantBlue on only the middle of his back.

for the branch, i colored with the paint brush side of my Cchip marker, then colored the leaves with the Oolive marker.

the flowers on the side of the card were done with the '2-step stampin' technique. i stamped the outline of the flowers in SU Ssaffron, then stamped randomly the bold flower image on top to fill in the large flowers with SU Bblue.

recipe:
ink- SU Aappeal, BBlue x 3 (see above), Cchip, Oolive, & Ssaffron
paper- SU Wwhite. colored CS is from the cheap-o colored CS pack from wal*mart
stamps- SU "spring solitude", sentiment is from 'stugio G' ($1 michaels acrylic set)
accessories- blue/yellow ribbon is from $1 bin at michaels, used small circle punch on corners

keep checking back! i'm starting to gather stuff for the fabulous BLOG CANDY that i'll post when i get to 5000 hits! have a super week!

what a touch of sparkle can do

i should have taken a picture of the card BEFORE adding the glitter to show just how much a touch of a glitter pen can really add to your projects! i use the sakura 'gelly roll', it's like a fine ball-point pen that writes sparkles!

recipe:
ink- Oolive & Bblue markers, Bblue ink
paper- SU Bblue, Ccelery, Wwhite & DP from a SU scrap-pack
stamps- flower (unmounted, got it in a $1 bin at the stamp convention earlier this year), and SU 'small sayings'
accesories- SU Ccelery grosgrain & made a little photo corner & paper peirced it

well, i have a few more projects that i have made and have yet to post. keep checking back! i'm at 4700 hits, getting closer to that 5000 mark! and then, blog candy!

using flower punches

so i, probably like most of you, have these flower punches (at least 4) that i hardly ever use. in fact, i think it was the first time i used one of them! so i decided to put them to use!

swirls are so in right now, vines, flourishes, doodles.... i picked one and added my little flowers!

recipe:
ink- SU Oolive, stazon black
stamps- vine & sentiment are from 'studio g' ($1 bin at michaels)
paper- SU Ssun, Bblack, Rred, Ssaffron, & Wwhite
accessories- flower punches (???, i've accumatled them over the years), circle hole punch (for flower centers)

so i challenge you----- get out your unused punches and see what you can create with them!

photo distressing

found some old pictures of my youngest after bath time, she used to just love to be naked!

i have seen lots of cool arrows lately and have been wanting to try one out, so i did! took a piece of chipboard (the kind that comes in the back of packs of papers to keep them from bending, they're like a bonus in the pack of paper!) and freehanded drew an arrow. over and over i drew the arrow until i got it to look half decent, then used craft knife to cut it out! covered it with DP, sanded the paper, attatched some ribbons, whala! is that how you spell it?!

saw the photo scratching in a magazine lately and wanted to try that for a photo-distressed look. i took a thumb tack and scratched the edges of the photos downward to the edges. i rubbed walnut ink on the scratches, then dabbed the ink off with a cotton ball. i gave you a close-up of the edge of a photo so you can see it a bit better. i really like the look it gave my photos!

ingredients:
paper- SU scrap pack, lined notebook paper, cardboard (tore it open and used the insides outward for the photo corners), brown packing paper (for title mat)
ink- jim holtz walnut distress ink, SU Cchip
stamps- SU 'baroque motifs' & 'headline alphabet'
accessories- chipboard, misc. ribbons, SU spriral (for the notebook paper) & tab (for the journaling block under the middle photo) punches, sizzix flower dies w/ my cuttlebug (sanded the edges, used dimensionals to pop up the diffrent layers), big green brad, sanding blocks (used on all DP). used misc. chalks on edges of photo mats for soft distressing.

well, today was the first day of the rest of my life. and it went well! thanks for all the well wishes! have a great day!

long watercolored flower card

so with as much watercoloring as i have done, i have never used watercolor paper, so i had to try it out. i am pretty dern pleased with the outcome! this card was for my moms birthday this last weekend.

recipe:
ink- Ppink, Llace, Oolive, Ccelery, Ssun, PIpink, Ssaffron, & stazon black
paper- watercolor paper, SU Ccelery & Wwhite CS, DP is from the scrap pile
stamps- SU "in full bloom" & "small sayings"
accessories- aquapainter, circle punch, chalks (for distressing the edges w/ cotton balls), used sakura glitter pen on interior of flowers to make them look oh-so-beautiful!

i start my new job tomorrow! i am filled with that "oh my goodness! what did i do?!?" feeling. i am scared, nervous, excited, anxious.... wonder if i'll get any sleep at all tonight! wish me luck!

oh! just fyi, i will be posting a challenge for blog candy when i get to lucky number 5,000 on my hitcounter, so keep checking back!

K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid!)

just some fun little simple cards without sentiments (for now) so i can add them later.
recipe:
ink- stazon black, jim holtz 'walnut' distress ink; frog is stamped in Oolive
paper- Wwhite CS; DP is from 'autumn leaves'
stamps- both are from little sets that i got in the $1 michaels bins
accessories- ribbon is a $1 michaels find; used SU scallop punch & 'emagination' circle punch; colored bird w/ NEW prismacolor pencils & blending pencil (outlined both images w/ grey pencil for depth); added some dots & squiggles to the scallops; ink distressed all DP; used small SU circle punch for scalloped paper edges

NEW prismacolor pencils story- so for those of you who have been following along know that i don't pay full price for anything. but i just have to get these pencils! so... i didn't have a coupon, but that's ok because open stock pencils were 25% off at michaels (well, the sale was suppossed to be over, but they left the sign up by the pencils so i got the discount). so i sat in the isle (yes, i sat there on the floor) looking at the backs of the boxes for the 48 and 36 count. i figured out which colors were not in the 36 box and bought those open stock so that i could come back when i had a 50% off coupon and get the 36 box for cheap and still have all 48 colors! arn't i just the smartest little girl?!?

well, time for bed. DH is already there and undoubtledly upset that i let him go to sleep by himself. have a great monday!

pumpkins scrap page

since i am currently unemployed, i have had lots of time on my hands. when i haven't been sleeping or enjoying my newly installed hot tub, i have been paper crafting! i know i haven't posted in quite awhile, thanks for your patience with me!
my girls love to scoop the 'guts' out of the pumpkins, and making a mess is part, er, most, of the fun. there is journaling on the back of the pictures mounted on the orange circle. used SU scrap pack & alpha sets, if you have any questions on anything else used, just comment or email me!

have a super day!

blog candy!

there's candy to be had!
pop on over to ila's blog to check it out!

"simply shabby"

in the current issue of 'take ten', there's an article that i just loved and found oh-so-interesting! on pages 34-36 of the summer 2008 issue, kim hughes did an article, with card examples that you must buy the magazine to see, they're fabulous!
i would like to share kim's shabby ideas with you!

"kims shabby tips-
1. use a sand block to soften the edges when using paper with a white core.
2. use chalks to soften the edges of papers.
3. use chalk inks for a soft edge.
4. use dark inks to grunge up the look.
5. crinkle paper and flatten to add texture.
6. crinkle and sand the paper for a textured, aged look.
7. use walnut inks to give it a washed look.
8. curl up the edges of paper for a worn look."

hope this helps you with your de-stressing of paper!

4th of july bees!

didn't send any 4th of july cards out, but got the cutest little bee stamps at the stamp convention and had to use them! also wanted to try the soft look of chalk distressing, and here's the outcome!
recipe:
paper- DCWV, SU Wwhite
ink- stazon black, NQNavy
stamps- all images by 'alota rubber stamps'
accessories- ribbon, star eyelets, red thread, star punch, sanding block, circle punch, chalks & cotton balls

county fair scrap pages

last years fair pages, finally complete! once again, if you have any questions on anything that i used or did with these pages, feel free to comment or email me!
have a great rest of the weekend!

thank you notes

running low on thank you's, got some inspiration from the newest/current issue of 'take ten'. these cards were simple to make, not time consuming at all, involve raiding the scrap drawer, and give me lots of thank you's to have on hand!

there's lots of misc. stuff involved in these that i am completely unsure of (paper is scraps, sentiment stamp i got in a bin at the stamp show), so i won't fill you in with the recipe. if you have any questions, feel free to comment or email me!

i start my new job next week, looking forward to the change with deep anticipation and excitement!
hope you all had a safe & happy 4th!