It's BLOG CANDY time!

Heeeeeeeere’s the blog candy I promised. I can’t believe my counter is at almost 12,000 hits after just two months. Wow!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU for visiting me!

Here’s what you have to do….

Just leave a comment to this post telling me your favorite ice cream flavor and include your entry number in your comment. If you’re a subscriber, you can post a second comment for a second entry. How’s that for easy??

Oh, and if you’re posting as "anonymous" *please* include some sort of name at the end of your comment…just so I can identify you if you win!

I’ll draw a number through www.random.org on the morning of Wednesday, June 4th and announce the winner that same morning.

Now......here’s the package of what you can win:


~ a Martha Stewart butterfly craft punch (love, love, love this punch!!)
~ a 6" x 6" K&Company Hannah paper pad
~ two packs of Mini Me Primas

Big {cyber} hugs,

Fresh Cuts & Balmy Breezes

Whoo-hoo! I got to make a card for a couple challenges! This card combines yesterday's Ways To Use It Challenge, which was to make a card with a vacation theme, with Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #50.

I got the Balmy Breeze's Palm Tree from Ellibelle on the PIF thread. If you'd like to share (and get some) stamped images, the PIF (Pay it Forward) thread can be found on SCS under the Swaps Forum and then under Everything Else. It's a lot of fun! Thanks, Ellibelle!

The large background stamp from Fresh Cuts was stamped onto white CS four times and then I sponged Close to Cocoa around the edges. The palm tree and nestabilities panels hide the seam of the background stamping pretty well. The inside includes a white panel that was sponged and stamped in Close to Cocoa as well.

Recipe ~
Stamps: SU Fresh Cuts, SU Balmy Breezes
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Close to Cocoa, Soft Sky, White
Ink: Perm Black, StazOn Timber Brown, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Wild Wasabi Striped Ribbon, Rectangle and Scallop Rectangle Nestabilities, Prisma Pencils
Technique: Gamsol Magic, Sponging

Also, check out what my awesome blogging friend Wendy (weebeestampin) sent me!! She made this card on Sunday when I was featured stamper, and sent it to me. If you get a chance, hop on over and check out her blog. She makes the most adorable cards!!

Thanks so much Wendy. It's even prettier in real life than it was on your blog. Your coloring on the umbrella and bear is awesome. I love that DP too...and of course, I always love bling. {BIG HUGS}

I have a whole list of "things to do" today, so I'd better get onto it. Thanks for stopping by, and I'll have that blog candy posted tomorrow morning!! {smile}

Great Swaps Girls, a RAK and Candy!

Hi everyone and happy Hump Day!! We're half way to the weekend, yay! I don't think I'm going to have time for any stamping today....kinda swamped with work today (pffffth!)....but I wanted to share a few things with you!

First, I just received an invitation from Becky (beccabatgirl) to join the second group of Great Swaps Girls. How cool!! Now I just have to add that adorable little badge over on my sidebar. How exciting to be invited along with such great stampers. hehe!

Thanks girls, I'm looking forward to swapping with you!

Second, I received a really awesome RAK card from Kitty (OregonStamper). What an awesome card!

I love all the details on this card, Kitty!..especially the sponging and tone-on-tone flower down in the corner. I really love giraffes too. Thanks so much!! It's always nice to receive happy mail, especially from a talented stamper (and RAK'er) like you. {Hugs!!}

Lastly, O-M-G....did you see??....the hits are over 11,000 now. I just started my blog in March.....that's incredible! BIG THANK YOU to all of you who visit me and subscribe here!! Wow! {More Hugs!} So what does that mean??......yep BLOG CANDY is a comin' !! Be sure to check back in the next day or two and I'll have it posted.

Sweety Silke

This one is for my friend, Silke, who sent me the Sweetybellas STAMP. That's right, the stamp! {thanks Silke!!! BIG Hugs!!}

Truth be told, I've struggled with Bellas a little in the past with coloring them or matching paper to them...something like that. This one, however, seemed to go very smooth! I think it's because I made the card with Silke in mind...

See, that's her on the left with the dark hair in her stylish white capris, with some red sparkle bling ('cuz after all, her name on SCS is sparklegirl), and she's eating her favorite keylime/coconut ice cream. Girl, I had no clue about what color keylime/coconut ice cream could be.....so I looked it up on the internet...really did! Is it white...hope so! That's what I found anyway. {smile} And, that's me on the right in my denim, eating my favorite mint chocolate chip ice cream.

I followed Julee Tilman's Mojo Sketch #39 that she posted yesterday. I colored the image with prisma pencils (blended with Gamsol). The inside of Silke's {hehe, like how I'm calling that one by name?} white capris were outlined with a Warm Grey #1 Copic marker. The "halo" effect around the entire image was done with a Pale Blue Grey Copic marker. Stickles were added to the ice cream and flowers. The circle sentiment and orange mat behind the image are up on dimensionals.

The inside of the card includes a white panel that was sponged in Soft Sky around all four edges. Then I stamped the small flower from SU's Short & Sweet along the bottom edge.

Recipe ~
Stamps: Stamping Bella Sweetybellas, Gina K Kindred Sentiments for Her, SU Short & Sweet
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, White, Soft Sky, Real Red Designer Prints
Ink: Versafine Black Onyx, Warm Grey #1 Copic, Pale Blue Grey Copic, Prismas
Accessories: Stickles, Wild Wasabi Striped Ribbon, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Paper Piercing Tool and Mat Pack, Dimensionals
Technique: Gamsol Magic, Paper Piercing, Sponging

Thanks for stopping by my blog, and I hope you enjoy your day!

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day!!

Over on the wish-RAK forum yesterday, they were running something similar to a VSN and my friend Lori (LMcAree) was chosen as a host for one of the challenges. I haven't been involved in wish-RAK for a while now, but I am still a member and wanted to participate in Lori's challenge. The challenge was to make a card to honor our troops, past or present by making a card that included something patriotic. HERE'S THE LINK to the challenge if you want to check it out.

I used my new Quilt/Chair stamp by Rubber Cottage that I bought at the stamp show last weekend. I colored it with prisma pencils (blended with gamsol) as well as some Copic markers. The strip of adhesive stars running down the right side of the card were gifted to me from Lori, as was the Swirls & Stars stamp set, which I used on the inside of the card along with some sponging. Thanks for the stars, Lori!! {hugs} The red matted panel behind the chair is up on dimensionals.

Hop on over to the wish-RAK thread (if you're a member of that forum) and play along if you get a chance! My card will be going to the Cards for Heroes Organization...great cause!!

Recipe ~
Stamps: Rubber Cottage Quilt/Chair #770FA, SU Essence of Love (sentiment), SU Stars & Swirls (inside of card)
Paper: Textured Real Red, Textured Brilliant Blue, White
Ink: Versafine Black Onyx, Warm Grey #1 Copic, Pale Blue Grey Copic, Brilliant Blue (sponging on inside), Bashful Blue (stars on inside), Prisma Pencils
Accessories: Adhesive Blue Stars, Dimensionals
Technique: Gamsol Magic
Card Size: 5" x 5" Square

Have a fun and safe holiday!

WOW, WOW, WOW!

OMG!! I've been picked to be today's Featured Stamper on SCS. Holy smokes! What an awesome way to start the day, and what fun to check out the galleries. One of my favorite things to do on SCS is to browse the galleries. I just love cards and love to see all the different spins people put into their work. Such talent and inspiration!

BIG, BIG Thank You to Beth for choosing me. You've totally made my day, Beth. Big Hugs!

If you get a moment, be sure to stop by Beth's gallery AND her blog. Her work is beautiful, and we were just talking about her fun blog last weekend while we were at the beach!

Okay, so I'm hoping to get some stamping done today myself (no, I'm not going to CASE myself, LOL!). Yesterday was really busy and I didn't get any stamping done...eeek! I have at least three challenges printed out that I definitely want to participate in. I got behind by being away last weekend, and I still haven't gotten myself caught up. I'm such a challenge junkie!

Hope you're all enjoying your holiday weekend so far!! Feels good that there are still two full days left to enjoy. {smile}

Big hugs,

Hitchin' a Ride

This is another image from my good friend Janice (catcrazy). When we were at the beach, she challenged me to use this image and the seagulls (the card I made on Wednesday) as my next two cards....done and done, my friend! {smile}

I used Beate's Weekend Sketch from last weekend, #WSC48. Thanks, Beate!! Finally got a chance to play!

Today's Limited Supplies Challenge was to replace hardware (brads) with stamps. The stamps I used to replace brads are at the bottom right-hand corner of the card, where I stamped the small flower from the Paper Tray set in Versamark directly on the Wasabi CS. I layered some punched Saffron flowers over the Versamark flowers and then added Candy Cane Stickles in the centers of the punched flowers....same thing with the flowers in the upper left corner.

Here's a close-up of the stamped flowers...

The main image was stamped on white CS. I cut two horizontal lines into the edges of the stamped image, and then hand cut around the flowers, leaves, bird, and handle to get the Out-of-the-box technique. The bird is popped up on a dimensional. The image is colored with prisma pencils (blended with Gamsol) and then I used a Warm Grey #1 Copic marker to trace the inside of the kittens.

Recipe ~
Stamps: Penny Black Hitchin' A Ride, Papertrey Ink's Paper Tray
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Basic Black, Textured Real Red, So Saffron Designer Prints, White
Ink: Versafine Black Onyx, Warm Grey Copic #1, Versamark
Accessories: Real Red Striped Ribbon, Horizontal Slot Punch, Dimensional, Candy Cane Stickles, Small Flower Punch, Prisma Pencils
Technique: Gamsol Magic, Out-of-the-Box


AND....

My blogging friend, Wendy (weebeestampin), gave me the "You Rock My Socks" award!! hehe, love the name of this award, and the picture cracks me up. Hop on over and check out her blog if you get a chance. She rocks *my* socks!!

Thanks, Wendy!! Big Hugs!!

Hope you're all enjoying your day so far and have some fun plans for the holiday weekend.

Awesome Friends

I want to share a RAK I received today from the lovely Silke (sparklegirl). She sent me this beautiful card when she heard I hurt my finger. Awww, so nice! If you get a moment, hop on over to Silke's blog...you'll love her blog and gorgeous creations... I do!

Silke, I *really* regret not getting this set on that last order I placed. Wow, now that I see this image in the center of the circle scallops IRL, I'm in love with it!! Thanks for sending me the paper hugs. I *LOVE* this card! Oh, and I'm in love with this ribbon too. It's the kind that makes you go, "Oooooh, ahhhhh!" {smile} Thanks, girlie!



I also received an award from the beautiful Wendy (weebeestampin)...the Kreative Blogger award. If you get a moment, check out Wendy's blog too. She's super talented! I love checking her blog every day as well!

Thanks Wendy!! What a surprise yesterday!! I'm so glad to have met you through blogger and SCS, and I can't wait until our shopping trip. You're always so supportive!! {hugs} Sorry I didn't repost until now, but I wanted to think about which four people I was going to pass it onto.

On that note, here are my picks:

1. Silke (sparklegirl) - My Life
2. Julia (artystamper) - Create With Me
3. Holly (Toy) - Toy's Haven
4. Carolyn (Cammie) - My Blog

Enjoy your evening, all!

Seagulls

Yay, it's sketch challenge Wednesday on SCS! Here's the link to today's sketch from Roxie. I like it!!

The awesome seagull image is one that my friend Janice brought along this past weekend for us to play with. I'm sorry, I don't have the name of the stamp, but it's by Inkadinkadoo and I believe she said she found it at AC Moore. Thanks Janice!!

The image was colored with a combination of copic markers and prisma pencils. The prisma pencils were blended with gamsol and stumps that I FINALLY bought at the stamp show this past weekend. Up until then, I had been using baby oil to blend prismas...either product works just fine, but I think I like the gamsol just a little more now that I've tried the two ways. Oh, and the gamsol that I bought from Inky Antics at the show does NOT have any odor or fumes. {smile}

I stamped the image twice so I could use one for the base image and one for popping up on dimensionals. The larger white base layer is sponged in creamy caramel, and then I used the speckle stamp from the Itty Bitty Backgrounds set stamped in Basic Brown.

The edges of the inside panel are sponged in Creamy Caramel, and then I stamped some starfish, sand dollars, and shells in So Saffron and Basic Brown from the Crafty Secrets Seaside set.

Recipe ~
Stamps: Inkadinkadoo Seagulls (not sure of exact name), SU Itty Bitty Backgrounds, Crafty Secrets Seaside
Paper: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, White, Real Red
Ink: Versafine Black Onyx, Copics
Accessories: Prisma Pencils with Gamsol and stumps, White Brads, Real Red Striped Ribbon, Dimensionals, Horizontal Slot Punch, Sponge
Technique: Gamsol, Sponging

Happy Hump Day!

One more pic from the beach

Promise...just one more pic...

I can't resist posting this. We had some fun at one of those Old Time Photo places on Saturday night while we were on the boardwalk.

Did they put enough bottles of alcohol around us or what??!! hehe! It's always fun to relive your childhood dress-up years.

Too fun!

We're Back!!

Hi everyone! Lori, Janice, and I are all back from the beach and stamp show...all safe and sound. Sorry I haven't had a chance to post until now but I'm buried under a pile of laundry, there's tons of house stuff to catch up on, work, and a toddler who really wants to hang by mommy's side. Awww! {smile} ...not to mention, I'm pretty tired. Those crazy stamping girls kept me up until 4 a.m. the one night!! ...or did *I* keep *them* up?!?! Hmmmm??? LOL! We had a blast! All the tiredness I'm feeling now was totally worth it!

I *tried* to add a slide show here on my blog so you could see more pictures from our weekend...but I'm having technical difficulties! So, I just added a few more throughout the post.

Lori and Janice, I had a great time with you both!! There were so many high points to our weekend...awesome memories that I'll always have and treasure! I love you guys!

Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be caught up enough to get back to some card making. I see there were TONS of cool challenges since last Friday that I definitely want to catch up on. Hope I didn't leave my mojo at the beach. I'm ready to get back to crafting!

Hope you're having a great day!

Hello from the 3 amigos

Hi everyone, We're having a great time at the beach! Yesterday it poured rain, but we had a fun dinner at a seafood restaurant and then came back to the room to hang out and relax. Today the sun was shining so we got right down to the stamp show to do some shopping, had lunch at Big Peckers Bar & Grill (see "Big Pecker" in the pic with us??...tee hee!!), and got to spend a lot of time outside on the beach and on the boardwalk.

Hope you're enjoying you're weekend!

Denise, Lori, and Janice

P.S. Sending hugs to my family at home!! Love and miss you guys!

Off to the Beach

Well, it's here!! Time for the 3 Amigos (Janice, Lori, and me) to go to the Beach!! I'm so excited! What could be better than friends, the beach, and a stamp show?!?! Check back if you get a chance. If we can get internet access, we'll post pics of our weekend!

Inchies

I *tried* earlier this week to make a card for the SCS Color Challenge, which was to use pumpkin pie, real red, and soft sky...and failed miserably on that first try! I ended up tossing the whole card. Ugh! A friend (thanks Silke!) rooted me on to try it again. I *think* I got the colors to come together a little better today. Hope so! ***ETA***....nope, still didn't get the color challenge right because I was supposed to use RUBY RED...not Real Red. Oh my word, duh! I think I need sleep, LOL!

This card is also for today's Ways to Use It Challenge, which is to make a card with inchies (1" squares). My inchies are the white square panels behind the red flowers.

I used an old sketch from Jen Del Muro that I've wanted to try for a while now.

The bird, flowers, and sentiment are all stamped in black Colorbox ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I watercolored the bird and flowers with inkpads and reinkers. Oh, so I guess this can also count as another card for Monday's Technique Challenge, which was to combine heat embossing with watercoloring. The flowers are popped up on dimensionals, as is the large orange circle behind the bird image. The rhinestones were glued onto the card with crystal effects.

Recipe ~
Stamps: SU Natural Beauty, SU Hugs & Wishes
Paper: Papertrey White, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Soft Sky
Ink: Colorbox Black, Soft Sky, Real Red, Wild Wasabi
Accessories: Real Red Striped Ribbon, Dimensionals, Nestabilities Circle Dies, Clear Embossing Powder, Red Rhinestones, Corner Rounder Punch, Crystal Effects, Sponge
Technique: Watercoloring with Inkpads and Reinkers, Sponging, Heat Embossing

I added a white panel inside the card. I used the corner rounder punch for the scalloped edges on the left and right sides. Then I sponged Soft Sky around all four sides, and stamped the large flower from Natural Beauty in the lower left hand corner.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Hope you come back soon! {smile}


P.S. to Lori and Janice......about 24 hours, girls!!! Tee-hee!

Seaside Sally

...that's what I'm calling her anyway, LOL! Happy Hump Day! In case you haven't figured it out, I'm in a pretty giddy mood today. I'm going away with a couple stamping girlfriends to the beach this weekend!!...two days...can't wait!! That also inspired the seaside theme for my card today.

This card is a combination of today's SCS Sketch Challenge #SC176, Beate's Inspiration Challenge from Tuesday (very pretty browns and blues), and the SCS Technique Challenge from Monday (combine an embossed image with watercoloring).

The main image is stamped in Versamark on Very Vanilla, heat embossed in dark brown embossing powder, and then watercolored with ink pads. The edges of the top half of the main panel are sponged in Soft Sky, and the edges of the bottom half were sponged in Basic Brown. The sentiment was stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in dark brown embossing powder, then I sponged Basic Brown around the edges. The starfish and sand dollars were stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.

I added a Very Vanilla panel on the inside of the card with Basic Brown sponged around the entire border. Along the bottom of the panel I stamped a seagull, some shells, and a crab in Basic Brown and Creamy Caramel.

Recipe ~
Stamps: Crafty Secrets Seaside
Paper: Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Soft Sky
Ink: Versamark, Creamy Caramel, Basic Brown, Soft Sky, Blue Bayou
Accessories: Blue Bayou Double-Stitched Ribbon, Hodgepodge Hardware, Clear Embossing Powder, Dark Brown Embossing Powder
Technique: Heat Embossing, Watercoloring with Ink Pads, Sponging

Hope you're enjoying your day!!


P.S. The finger is healing just fine. I've downsized from a huge, ugly gauze "finger sock" to a regular bandaid....and obviously it's not keeping me from making cards, LOL!

Bethany in Bold Colors and a RAK

I saw this color combo on Kristina Werner's blog, LOVED it, and just had to try it. I also used Jen Del Muro's sketch from Saturday. I just turned the sketch so the angel image would fit. I think this is my favorite stamp from High Hopes. Just love everything about Bethany!

I saw on Laura's blog (scrapnextras) that she finished the inside of one of her cards with sponging and some extra stamping, so I thought I'd try it. If you look down in the lower left corner of the pic to the inside of the card, you'll see that I sponged a white sheet of paper with bashful blue and then stamped the "heart seeds" from High Hopes in Brilliant Blue. I think I'll start doing this to all of my cards...what an awesome way to finish it off! Thanks, Laura, you're such an inspiration! You can see Laura's card here.

I've been trying to incorporate more of the "halo effect" when coloring my images. I've done most in a really pale grey, and a few in a pale blue....but I saw Carolyn (Cammie) use yellow with this Bethany Angel image. I really like it in yellow for an angel. Looks like she's glowing! Thanks, Cammie for the inspiration!! You know I love your work! You can see Carolyn's card here.

Recipe ~
Stamps: High Hopes Bethany Angel, High Hopes Heart Seeds
Paper: Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Whitr
Ink: Versafine Black Onyx, Bashful Blue (faux stitching and sponging on inside), Brilliant Blue
Accessories: Pumpkin Pie and Bashful Blue Grosgrain Ribbon, Blue Brads, Paper Piercing Tool & Mat Pack, Prisma Pencils blended with baby oil and stumps, Dimensionals (pumpkin pie panel behind angel image)
Technique: Baby Oil (works like gamsol magic), Faux Stitching, Sponging

Now....I also *HAVE* to show you my big surprise from yesterday. I saw this card by Cindy (Mothermark), LOVED it, and mentioned it on the weekly Favorites Thread under the General Discussion Forum.....well, Cindy sent it to me!!! OMG!!! I love Cindy's work and her funny stories. I've admired her for a long time so it was an absolute awesome surprise that she mailed this card to me. Thank you, Cindy, I just about fell off my chair yesterday when I saw that you sent me this card!!! It's huge too....like 6.5" x 6.75" ?!?! Wowza!!! The clouds that she created are just amazing!!!

Sorry that I didn't post yesterday, but I cut my finger pretty bad. Oh, I didn't need stitches....but I came pretty close I think. I've typed this whole post today with the old "hunt and peck method" of typing (aren't you proud of me??) because that finger is wrapped in the biggest, ugliest ole' "balloon" of gauze and tape, LOL!

Hope you have an awesome Tuesday....and I'll be extra careful with the scissors today! {wink}

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day to all!! I hope you all had a very nice and relaxing Sunday...and maybe you even got to do something fun!







Today's featured stamper on SCS is Jennifer (lovetostamp6). If you haven't checked out her gallery, be sure to stop by. Her work is beautiful! Here's her card that I chose to CASE. I love the image she used....really wish I had that set. But, I just got this new watering can stamp this past Thursday, so I inked it up today.

The rules of the challenge are to change a couple things on the CASE. I kept the same floral print from the designer series paper, used the same layout (except I turned the card so the main image would fit better), kept the watering can theme, and placed my ribbon the same as her hemp twine. I changed the colors, changed the distressed layers to scallops, added the mellow moss strip behind the main panel, and used a different stamp and ribbon.

Recipe ~
Stamps: Make an Impressing Watering Can
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, White, So Saffron Designer Prints, Textured Mellow Moss
Ink: Versafine Black Onyx, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Mellow Moss, Creamy Caramel
Accessories: Corner Rounder Punch, Nestabilities Rectangle and Scallop Rectangle Dies, Moss Ribbon, Dimensionals (the pumpkin scallop rectangle)
Technique: Sponging, Watercoloring with Ink Pads

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy what's left of the weekend!