The Holidays are Upon Us!

Does it even seem possible that tomorrow is December already? I'm still not sure where July went and now Christmas is right around the corner. Geez!

Since Christmas is right around the corner, I decided to make some holiday cards. This one uses the Christmas Tree stamp from the DoodleFactory Sweet Shoppe set, available from Starving Artistamps. That cool Quilted Frame is one of the techniques in the latest issue of the Technique Junkies newsletter. Most of the papers are from my scrap pile. The tree is paper pieced, and I added some shading with a Copic marker. The frame and tree are popped up to add some dimension.

Happy Holidays! {Yikes!}

Still Saying Thanks

My friend, Jacquie, sent me this pretty stamp for my birthday. This is just one of the cards I've made with it...I'm finding it to be very versatile and easy to use. Thanks, Jacquie!

The layout for the card comes from Splitcoast Stampers Sketch Challenge #203. I stamped the tulip (Rubber Stampede) with Chestnut Roan Fluid Chalk Ink onto a background I made using the AI Float technique from Technique Junkies (June/July '08). The brown/white patterned paper is from Basic Grey (Sultry), and the rest is from my huge scrap pile. (Where DO all those scraps come from, anyway?) I used some Cuttlebug embossing on the pink corners, and cut the scalloped square with my Nestabilities. Some ribbon and Dew Drops finish everything off.

Thanks for looking, and have a great Saturday!

Lucky Me!

I received this beautiful birthday card from LaVerne Wilson, a fellow Technique Junkie. This was a completely unexpected surprise that arrived right on my birthday, and it is truly lovely. You can't see in the picture, but the hummingbird is all glittery and the Camouflage (Technique Junkies Oct/Nov 08 newsletter) background is so deep and rich and interesting.

Yes, lucky me. Thank you, LaVerne!

I am also fortunate in that I have enough vacation time at work that I could afford to take this week off for no particular reason. I am cooking dinner tomorrow, but other than that, I have nothing in particular planned. So far, I've organized my craft room, taken an extra art class, colored my hair (I don't mind being 50, but a girl's gotta draw the line somewhere, LOL), and I've spent plenty of time noodling around in my newly organized craft room.

While I was doing all that organizing, I came across this card that I don't think I ever posted anywhere. It uses a technique called Black Magic, and I'm not even sure where it originated. Basically, you stamp a solid image with white ink onto dark cardstock (I used Brilliance Moonlight White ink on black), heat set the ink, and then color over it with Prismacolor pencils. The final step is to highlight with a white gel pen. The stamp I used is from Magenta and so is the printed vellum on the inside of the card.

Well, gotta go get ready for tomorrow.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

The Results are In!

One is the luckiest number! The lucky winner is Irene from The DoodleFactory! Irene is a new cardmaker so this little stash of ribbon should come in handy for her. Congratulations, Irene!

An speaking of stashes...I'm embarrassed to tell you that 50 feet of ribbon didn't even make a dent in mine! So here's what I'm going to do. Each of the 5 runners up will also receive a consolation assortment. Just email me with your mailing address, and I'll send your goodies right out.

Oh, and about turning 50...it's really not a bad thing. I did have a few days leading up to the big event that were a little tough, but because it is a milestone and as such, it is also a time for reflection. But as some of you pointed out, there are some very good things about being this age like wisdom, confidence, and self-assurance. Being 50 is a gift that I am happy to have received, and I am looking forward to the next 50 years!

I'll be back later with a new card and a RAK to share!

Now for that Card I Promised

Kind of a simple one, but I like the way it looks like a pile of presents. I made the ho, ho, ho paper by stamping a Starving Artistamps sentiment over and over. If you have a stamp positioner, like a Stamp-a-ma-jig, it's easier and quicker to do than you might think. The little Santa hat is from the DoodleFactory Winter set, also available from Starving Artistamps. The other two printed papers are Basic Grey.

Oh yeah, and I have some birthday blog candy to offer, as well. I turned 50 on Thursday (ugh!), and I thought I'd have a little contest. Just leave a comment on this post telling me what's so great about being 50. And if you're feeling a little snarky because you're nowhere near 50 yet and feel the need to crack a joke, don't hold back, I can take it. Besides, my friends have been cracking wise for a couple of weeks now...I've probably already heard it all anyway. You have until 11:50 pm EST. I'll pick a random winner, and the prize will be a 50 foot assortment of ribbon from my personal stash. (Don't worry, Jacquie, I'm just making room for the pretties you sent me!)

Good luck!

eta: They say the mind is the first thing to go, LOL! I just realized that I never said which day I would draw the blog candy winner. You have until 11:50 pm EST tonight, November 25.

Taking a Break

I've got lots going on right now, so I'm going to be taking a break for a few days. I'll be back next week though and I might even have a new card or to to show you. Have a great weekend!

Look Ma...No Stamps

That's right--no stamps were inked in the making of this card. The holly medallion is one of Becca's circle medallions that everyone's been making lately. I finally sat down and gave it a try. I embossed the background with my Cuttlebug, brayered Versamark ink over the embossing, and then embossed it with clear embossing powder. So there you have it...embossed embossing! I layered everything with some ribbon and a couple of scalloped circles that I highlighted with a white gel pen. The bling in the center is so much nicer in real life...very sparkly and oh so pretty.

Stamp on {or go stampless}!

I {Heart} Snowmen

Here's another card that I made with the DoodleFactory Winter set available from Starving Artistamps. I love snowmen, especially this quirky little guy. I colored him with Copic markers, cut him out, and mounted him on a red mat that I embossed and highlighted with Brilliance Moonlight White ink. The striped DP is actually stamped using the Stripes BG from Starving Artistamps and embossed with red tinsel EP.

Enjoy whatever you do today!

Circle me This

I'm happy to report that I actually got my act together this week and made a card for the smARTworks Tea Party challenge. This one is hosted by Donelda, and her challenge was to use circles on a card. Ooooh...and me with a brand new set of scalloped circle Nesties! How could I not participate?

My stamps, of course, are from smARTworks--I used the kitties from the Have a Heart set and the sentiment from Forget your Age. I colored the kitties and also the yellow mat with Copic markers. That pretty printed paper is from my new pad of Basic Grey Urban Prairie. The urge to hoard it was strong because it's soooo pretty, but I was a big girl, and I took a deep breath and used some. There...it's done, LOL!

This card also uses this week's sketch over at Papercraft Planet. I just joined over there and it's a very cool place. If you stop in, be sure to say hi!

Christmas Tree

Is it just me? I find that the hardest thing when posting to this blog is figuring out a title for the post! I feel pressured to come up with somthing profound, or witty, or even just descriptive. Clearly, I don't work well under this kind of pressure, LOL!

OK, now on to my card. I just finished up a batch of cards for Starving Artistamps using the DoodleFactory Winter set. This card incorporates the present and snowflake images from that set as well as a sentiment from the Casual Holiday Greetings set. I used a red glitter pen to add the ribbons to the packages and highlighted my snowflake star with a gold glitter pen. Those are Dew Drops in the corners, and I stamped the sentiment around the outer edge of the card with Brilliance Rocket Red Gold Ink.

Doodles on Top of Doodles

I decided to play along with the Inspiration Challenge over at Splitcoast today, and as I was thumbing through my copy of Dave Brethauer's Card Design book looking for layout ideas, I spotted an image with a frame around it. "Hmmm," I thought, "I can doodle that frame around any image!" So I stamped my reindeer from the DoodleFactory Winter set and did just that! I love the way it came out!

My little reindeer is colored with Copic markers. The background papers are just scraps of cardstock stamped with the Stripes and Lil' Squares background stamps from Starving Artistamps. The sentiment is from the Starving Artistamps Casual Holiday Greetings set. The white dotted line under the sentiment is really just a row of pierced holes.

If you're a DoodleFactory fanatic like me, you'll want to click on over to the Starving Artistamps site and check out the latest release...it's called Santa's Sweet Shoppe and it is CUTE!

And, Here's Another

This is actually the first card I made for CPS #89, and I almost tossed it in the trash. It didn't come out as I had envisioned leaving me disappointed with the whole effort. But, now I look at it and let's be honest...I've made worse cards. In fact, this one don't look half bad anymore, LOL!

I used a Starving Artistamps butterfly for the image (of course), stamping the dark one with Fluid Chalk Raw Sienna and the light one with Brilliance Moonlight White. The script background is highlighted with a bit of Raw Sienna ink, and the Textile pattern BG is a Technique Junkies tech. called Dry Embossed Wash. I also added a few Dew Drops and some paper piercing just to finish things off.

Thanks for looking!

Starving Artistamps is Sponsoring CPS #89

That's right. The sponsor for Card Positioning Systems sketch #89 is none other than Starving Artistamps. Hop on over to the CPS blog for the sketch AND a sweet 20% off discount code for Starving Artistamps or DoodleFactory stamps!

Here's my version of the sketch. I used the large silhouette Poppies and Columbines for my main image. The two background panels use the Fern Leaf Tooled Leather background, and the sentiment is a partial from imprint from "thank you for being there" in the DoodleFactory Fairytale set. I stamped the image with Fluid Chalk Chestnut Roan, and the BG is stamped with Versamark. The printed paper I used is from the new Basic Grey Offbeat collection.

And before I go, let me just say that I am soooo happy that Daylight Savings Time is finally over. Good Morining, Sunshine!

ETA: and here's another one!