Born to Shop

My inspiration for this card came from a picture of a teddy bear that I have on my refrigerator door--I especially liked the cute sentiment on the bear's apron.    That sentiment inspired me to make this swing (flip flop) card with my new Tilda Goes Shopping stamp.   This is what's on the flip side of Tilda when the card is opened...

 

   "my sentiments exactly!"  lol

...what inspired me (don't remember where I got this, think this was a page from a desk calendar years ago).    

If you're interested in making a flip flop card, you can find the tutorial/video here at Splitcoast Stampers.

The challenges:

Copic Creations, Challenge 35 - Shading on & Around Images

Charisma Cardz Challenges, #38 - Anything Goes!

Simon Says Stamp and Show Your Distressed/Sanded Projects

Ooh La La Creations Challenge Blog, #63, Sentiment

Sentimental Sundays, #22 - Let's See Some Dimension

The recipe:

Stamps:  Magnolia; Hero Arts Row of Houses

Paper:  Stampin' Up!

Ink:  Memento, Copic Markers, Distressed Ink

Other:  Nestabilities, Cuttlebug Die Vintage, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, buttons, ribbon, pearls, pop dots, Glossy Accents, glitter

  Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Easy Rider

Hello and a happy Friday to you!  

When I first saw this precious Penny Black image on Alice and Pam's cards, it was love at first sight and I just had to get her!  Ladies, your cards were just so darned adorable, you inspired me to make a card with her too!   (You two are always such bad, bad enablers!  LOL!   Just kidding, thanks for the inspiration!)

Since my sister-in-law was going on a business trip, I thought it would be fun to send her this card with a sentiment inside saying "have a great trip".  I used only one DP for this (another Mindy Terasawa), which made for an easy layout, and with just a rub-on bird, a die cut cloud, a button and an embossed background, she was good to go. 

The challenges:
Cupcake Craft Challenges, #109 - Transport
A Spoonfull of Sugar, #122 - Anything Goes
Penny Black Allsorts, September Challenge -Punch Away

The recipe:
Stamp:  Penny Black, Easy Rider
Paper:  Autumn Leaves, Cute World
Ink:  Memento, Copic Markers
Other:  Nestabilities, Sizzix Embossing Folder, PaperTrey Ink Cloud Die,  Pop Dots, Button, Rub-on

Thanks for looking and have a great weekend!

Dance Like No One Is Watching

 Hi everyone, hope you're all having a great week!

My card today started with a sketch from Get Sketchy.  When I first saw this sketch, I initially thought of making a Christmas card.  But as I searched for digital papers on line and came across Mindy Terasawa's digital kit called Rock Angel, Ebony immediately came to mind and with that, my Christmas card plans flew out the window.   This is what I came up with instead.

I followed the design of the sketch by placing the guitar at the top of the card.  I tried the cracked glass technique on the guitar that I just learned from Pam's video tutorial.  You can also see a tutorial on Splitcoaststampers by Beate Johns here.  Unlike Pam's gorgeous card, mine didn't come out good at all because I didn't have the right embossing powder and it didn't get as thick as it should have.  I'll be sure to have the right ingredient (Glassy Glaze) the next time I try it.  I made the guitar as a separate piece in case Ebony didn't want to carry her guitar around, lol.

Ebony is dancing like no one is watching, can you see her rockin to the music?

The Challenges:

Get Sketchy - Sketch #55

Simon Says Stamp! - We Like to Move It, Move It!  (Ebony dancing)

"Just Us Girls" Challenge, Jugs #50 - Cracked Glass Technique

Paper Play Challenges, Week 37 - All Shapes and Sizes

The recipe:

Stamp:  The Greeting Farm, Ebony

Paper:  Mindy Terasawa, Rock Angel digital paper pack

Ink:  Memento, Copic Markers

Tools:  Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, Heat Gun

Other:  Pop dots, embossing powder

Thanks so much for looking, your visits mean a lot!

Baby Trick or Treat Witch

Are you a Sweet November fan?  I am! and if you're a follower of Amy Young's blog, I'm sure you are too.    This image is one of six Sweet November Baby Trick or Treat stamps.  What's nice about these stamps is you can get them in either rubba or digi (this is a digi).  

I've been admiring everyone's shaker cards and I finally decided to make one, too (can you see all that stuff on the bottom of the card?).   I admit it was fun, but I'm not sure I'll be whipping these out like Joy and Teri, lol.   They're the experts at this!   Visit their blogs and check out Amy Rysavy's video if you want to have a go at it too.

Gotta end it here as I'm off to enter this in some challenges and one ends in a few minutes....

The Challenges:

Simon Says Stamp!, Stamp-tember Hop - Holiday Fun

Stamptacular Sunday Challenge #75 - Distress it!  (distressed edges) 

Charisma Cardz Challenges, #36 - Try Something New!!! (shaker card)

The recipe:

Stamp:  Sweet November, Baby Trick or Treat Witch digi

Paper:  Basic Grey

Ink:  Copic Markers

Other:  Nestabilities, sticker, button, ribbon, rhinestones, pop dots, foam tape, transparency, distressing tool

Thanks for looking and have a great weekend!

The Spoon Theory

I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend as we did!  When I read your comments about my camping trip, I had to chuckle.  Guess I used the word "camping" very loosely as we rented a 2-story beach house with 2 kitchens, 3 bathrooms, electricity, hot running water, etc., and did not rough it as the word "camping" seemed to have implied.  Now I feel like I cheated, lol!

Moving on to a serious subject, are you or someone you know living with chronic pain or a debilitating illness?  I hope your answer is no.

However, if your answer is yes, you might be interested in reading the "Spoon Theory" written by Christine Miserandino.   It's her personal story and analogy for explaining to a healthy person what it's like to live with a chronic illness.  You can read about it here or see a short video clip here.

I was introduced to the Spoon Theory by my niece, who's been afflicted with MS.  She asked the family to read Christine's story so we could better understand what she and so many others struggle to explain to the people around them just how difficult a normal day can be.   My heart goes out to my niece and everyone else who suffers from a chronic illness.  I sent her this card wishing her an abundance of spoons and I wish you all the same.

I am also entering this card in some challenges, as I hope this will be a way to share Christine's story and be of help to someone.

The Challenges:

Just Magnolia Challenge Blog, Week 71 - Anything Goes

ABC Challenge Blog - C is for Charms

Totally Papercrafts Challenge, #32 - Charming

Ooh La La Creations, #62 - Stripes

Paper Sundaes Challenge Blog, #34 - Mixed Mediums! (copics, distressed ink)

The Recipe:

Stamp:  Magnolia

Paper:  Chatterbox

Ink:  Copic Markers, Distressed Ink

Other:  Nestabilities, leaf punch, flowers, buttons, charm, pop dots, ribbon, embroidery thread

 Thanks for stopping by!

At the Fair

Hello everyone!  Are you getting ready for the Labor Day weekend--will you be going to a fair, the beach, camping?   Whatever you have planned, I hope you'll have a safe and wonderful holiday.  We'll be going camping this long weekend and we're all excited since we haven't done this in ages!

The Cuttlebug Spot's challenge this week is At the Fair, perfect to get us into the Labor Day spirit.  I remembered I had some DP that would be great for this theme and was glad to get a chance to use it.  I  bought these papers years ago to make a scrapbook page but as you can tell, that never happened, lol.

The challenges:

The Cuttlebug Spot - At the Fair

The Cupcake Craft Challenges, #106 - Let's Get Digital

Crafty.Emma's.Store Challenges, #1 - Anything Goes

The recipe:

Stamp:  Chi Chi Memories Design digital

Paper:  Karen Foster Design

Ink:  Copic Markers, Memento

Other:  Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Stampin Up punch, pop dots, flower

May I also share with you a couple of thank you cards and RAKs that I received from two lovely and very talented blog friends.

  

 

A card and notebook from Brenda, the Queen of punch art!

 

A card and Pure Innocence stamps from Donna ,

the Queen of shaped cards!                                  

And I'd also like to thank Charlotte for the Stampin' Up punch that I used on my card today, yay!  Charlotte doesn't have a blog but if we all ask nicely, maybe she'll start one soon!  :)

                          

Thank you so much ladies for your beautiful cards, notebook, RAKs and most importantly--your friendships!!! 

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great Labor Day weekend!