New stamps in da house!

Starving Artistamps has a brand new collection designed by Nina Aaslund--Antidepresstamps Royalty!  Can you say cute?

I used the adorable court jester stamp to make this Valentine for my hubby.  He's probably going to say that I'm a fool all the time, not just for him, but we won't go there right now, OK?  

I did my coloring on this one with Copic markers and pulled my colors from the Basic Grey Green at Heart papers.  The gold frame is a Technique Junkies technique called Hammered Hardware and see that ribbon?  It's from a Coldwater Creek shopping bag!  My layout is a challenge sketch from Splitcoast Stampers, and my colors and theme fit today's Free for All Challenge over there as well.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Emboss or Die Sneak Peek Blog Hop

Welcome to the Technique Junkie Newsletter Design Team sneak peek blog hop! We're celebrating the launch of the NEW TJ Emboss or Die CD!  This Cd has 79 pdf tutorials with ideas for getting the most from your Embossing Folders, Die Cut Machines and Electronic Cutters.  The tutorials are in step-by-step format with pictures for each step and include fabulous artwork examples from the TJ Design Team. The CD is $17.95, and you can order yours here from my sidebar or from the Technique Junkies site. Pre-orders are being taken today, and the CD will be mailed the first week of March.

This card uses one of the techniques on the CD: Kissed Folder.

Okay now you are in for a real treat! This sneak peek blog hop is in a different format than what you might be used to. All you have to do is click on one of the pictures below to be taken to any of the team's blog and to view their work -- and the thumbnails are on everyone's blogs, so you can hop around anywhere all you like! Note: all of the entries from the Design Team will be up by Tuesday morning at 8 am.

I hope you enjoy the sneak peek -- and make sure to get your CD ordered today!

Fabulous Friday on Saturday

This week's Fabulous Friday challenge at Frosted Designs, Use Paint, is sponsored by Technique Junkie and several cards made by TJ designers are featured on their blog today.  For my card, I made a silly little Valentine using a tutorial from the Aug/Sep 2010 newsletter called Acrylic Emboss.  I also sponged a Martha Stewart doily with pink paint to match my card.  My jittery little creature is Zot, a DoodleFactory Creature available at Starving Artistamps.

Look like fun?  You can play along and maybe even with a prize.  Post a link to your project using paint on the Frosted Designs blog by noon, January 20th and you'll be entered to with a copy of the Technique Junkie Fancy Folds and Motion Paper Crafts CD and a 1-year online subscription to the newsletter.  Sweet!

Fish Kisses

This card was my entry for the latest smARTworks Design Team challenge.  This time, Susan sent us the Swimmin' set to play with.  My favorite thing about this set?  The fish come in two sizes in mirrored pairs.  Making your fishes do kisses has never been easier!

My lovey little couple is colored with Copic markers, and the heart is from another smARTworks set called Heart Duos #3.

Normally, you can see all of the challenge submissions in one spot on the smARTworks website, but Susan ran in to a bit of a glitch this month.  So instead, the cards can be viewed individually in the the DT galleries (Dina, Donna,Trish, Giovana, Donelda, Peggy, Terri).  The other team members will be posting their cards on their individual blogs as well: Mama Dini's Stamperia,  Dee's Studio, Tah Dah!, Believe, and Wiggy's World.  More of Terri's work can be seen in her SCS gallery.   And, be sure to stop by Susan's In the the Works blog for a chance to win your very own Swimmin' stamp set.

Have a great day!

Divine Diva Inspiration Challenge #21

It's time for the Valentine edition of the Divine Diva Inspiration challenge.  Lori challeged us with these candy bar wrappers from the Better Homes and Gardens site.  When I look at these, I see CAS; red, white and pink; and candy hearts.

So, this is what I came up with...a clean and simple shaker card filled with red and pink "candy" hearts.  The white cardstock was already embossed, and I made the sentiment with some alpha stamps I've had in my drawer for about a thousand years. 

As always, everyone is invited to play along in the Divine Diva challenges, and if you do, please link your creation here. If you upload to PCP or SC, use the keyword DDIC21. For even more inspiration, please visit the other Divine Divas: Anne, Chris, Lori, Julie, and Kerri

Have a great day, and join us if you can!

It's a Color Throwdown!

That's right...Starving Artistamps is sponsoring the Color Throwdown challenge this week.  Tracey's giving away a complete set of the new DoodleFactory Boudior images and sentiments to the winner AND she's got a sweet offer for everyone else.  Check it out!

Here's the card I did for the challenge.  I have to admit that these colors aren't high up on my list of favorites, but once I got started they were interesting to work with.  The image I used is Rose from the Starving Artistamps DoodleFactory Valentine's Remix collection.  Rose is colored with Prismacolor pencils blended with odorless mineral spirits.  The printed paper and stickers are all from Bo Bunny.

The Odd Couple

Seriously, aren't all couples just a little bit odd?  For instance, my DH and I are on the one hand perfect for each other in every way, and on the other hand, we are from COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PLANETS!  Ahhh...true love!

The little odd couple on this card is from the Starving Artistamps DoodleFactory Final Frontier set and I colored them with Copic markers to match (sorta) the Basic Grey Recess paper I used.  The heart charm is from Bo Bunny and the adhesive lace is something I've had kicking around for quite awhile.  The layout I used is last week's sketch challenge at Split Coast Stampers (SC262).

Thanks for stopping by!

I have some DoodleFactory sketchy goodness for you!

I do love a good sketch, and this week's sketch at Card Postioning Systems (CPS102) is a great one. And, to add to the goodness, Starving Artistamps just happens to be one of the sponsors this week! So I figured why not double my fun and make two cards?!?

My first card is a Valentine from Twinkx to Skoober, both from the DoodleFactory Creatures collection. I'm not too sure how Skoober feels about all the attention, LOL! The sentiment is in the Starving Artistamps Boopie Sayings set. I colored them both with Copic markers and used printed paper from Bo Bunny.

For my second card, I decided to finally play with the shrink plastic I've had in my stash for years. Why in the world didn't I play sooner? This is fun stuff! I used images from the DoodleFactory Sweets N Hearts collection, stamped them with Stazon black ink onto the plastic and colored them with Prismacolor pencils. I cut the large cupcake out with scissors, and I cut the smaller treats with my Cuttlebug and punched holes to make buttons. The paper I used for this one is Basic Grey.

I hope you enjoyed my interpretation of CPS102. Be sure to stop by and see what my fellow Starving Artistamps designers came up with...they can always be counted on to come up with something brilliant!

I'm Sweet on You

I just love cupcakes! This one is from the new DoodleFactory Valentines Remix collection available at Starving Artistamps. I made my background paper by repeatedly stamping the XO from the Sweet on You sentiments. This is a simple way to to make a custom background, but a stamp positioner is essential. Well, I think they are essential anyway...I really couldn't live without my Stamp-a-ma-jig!


I tried to used colors on this one that are a bit more on the masculine side. The inks are Fluid Chalk Lipstick Red and Chestnut Roan. I did some simple paper piecing on the cupcake, Cuttlebug embossed the bottom panel and not so carefully brayered on the brown ink. Some ribbon, red Stickles, and a pearl finish everything off. The layout is CPS63, which I chose for Pick your Favorite Sketch Week over at Card Postioning Systems.


Thanks for stopping by!

Owl be Your Valentine

It's snowing again so it's a perfect day to hang around the house and play with some of my new stamps. This little cutie is Esme from the new DoodleFactory Valentines Remix collection available from Starving Artistamps. In fact, all of the stamps I used on this one are from Starving Artistamps.

For the layout, I used sketch #SC211 from Splitcoast Stampers. My background panels are the Ornate Tooled Leather background stamped with Ranger Distress Fired Brick ink. I colored the negative spaces with a pink Copic marker. Esme is also stamped with the Fired Brick ink and colored with Copics markers. The branch and the leaves aren't a stamp at all, but my own amazing artwork, LOL!

Hope you're enjoying your Sunday afternoon as much as I am!

Jeweled Valentine

I've been playing around with new stamps and stuff, and I'm just a bit frustrated. I have some really great ideas, but I just can't seem to get them to work. Some days it's so easy, but others, not so much!

This card is OK, I think, but in my mind's eye, it was much more elegant and regal, opulent even. The stamps are all from Starving Artistamps, and I think those round bezels are just about the coolest thing! I stamped and embossed them in gold and then used metallic markers to color in other precious metal colors. Used as a border like this or singly, they are perfect with stick-on rhinestones.

Have a great day. I've got some chores to attend to, and then hopefully, I'll get to stamp some more later.

Lovestruck

Oh, my...it's been longer than I thought since I last posted. I've got lots of new cards to share, but haven't taken pics yet. Once I get that done, I can go on a posting blitz!

But for now, here's a cute little lovey-dovey card I made awhile back to get you by. The stamps are all from The Cat's Pajamas. The colored inks are Colorbox Fluid Chalk, and the black is Brilliance Graphite Black. I paper pieced the images with scraps of Basic Grey paper and added a bit of shading with Copic markers. Finishing touches include a heart-shaped rhinestone, white gel pen, and a piece of shiney vinyl ribbon.

Enjoy!