Live it up!!

Talk about a fun, sweet & simple image to color-this flower barrel is it! One of the things I like about GKD stamps is that they are simple and straighforward. This flower barrel will never go out of style, it will still be a nice image in five years. It's from GinaK's Eclectic Summer stamp set, which came in the second StampTV set. I also used Bold Flowers on this card, which came from the first Stamp TV kit.

I used a large SU! circle punch and a making memories rubon for the sentiment. The orange flower is a sizzix die cut. I stamped the flowers from the flower barrel all over it in VersMark, then embossed with Ranger's Holographic, and then sponged Only Orange all over it. (For one of the largest selections of embossing powder on the net, check out the link to Creative Play Stamps!) It adds a nice bit of sparkle. Of course I added some Aqua Stickles to all the leaves and grass as well!

You raise me up!

Are you tired of my Creative Cuts and More butterflies yet?? This one was cut from DoubleMates, giving me two colors to choose from, then I ran it through the bug with the Swiss Dots folder. It was the perfect thing to fill up an empty space on this card.

I used two sets from Gina K Designs here, Eclectic Summer, and Eclectic Summer Sayings. ES is such a versatile stamp set. I have really enjoyed using it, and I haven't even used all the stamps yet! GKD has a new StampTV kit coming out today. I have the first two. Will I get number three? You betcha (said in a Wisconsin accent!) As soon as it's up for sale, it will be mine!

The base of this card is Brilliant Blue, the kites were stamped on Naturals White, and the rest of the card is Kaleidoscope by My Mind's Eye. I have been having a good time with this MME line from 2006 lately. It's really the perfect summer paper, especially for boys. I don't truly enjoy brights or boy cards, but Kaleidoscope takes up the slack for me. (To give you an idea of how little I use my brights, this BB CS is from a Bold Brights pack I bought in 2000. Yep, nine years ago! At least when I was a demo, I could use the Brights for workshops, but now I have seven years worth of SU! cardstock to use up! It's good stuff though, so that's okay!) Even though the colors are way out of my comfort zone, I just like the whole MME line enough to make it work with my SU!BBrights! Now if only I could find some brights that are a little more current!

For Somebirdy Special

Isn't theis Tilda with Birdcage cute? She, the other two stamps I used here, and 45 others were a Blog Candy I won from Magnolia Stamps. I'm still really thrilled and grateful, and it's so much fun to look through them all and choose a few to play with. Magnolia stamps are interesting to me because they are incredibly detailed, yet they are still easy to color. They are the perfect combination for a stamper like me because I love to color, but I'm not especially talented at it. I'm getting better, though, so for those of you who are trying to improve, like me, don't despair. I see improvement in my coloring now and then. What's more, I'm starting to become more aware of why things don't work. If I know what I've done wrong, or that something just doesn't look right, I can go about learning how to fix that problem. Earlier in the learning process, I would know that my coloring wasn't as good as Anna's, Chrissy's, or Ila's, but I wouldn't really know why. While I'll probably never be in my coloring heros' league, I can still be a pretty good colorer if I keep at it!

I bought this Prima ribbon in June of 2006. I got a foot of it, because that's how much came in the package. It was the most expensive ribbon I've ever bought. I bought it in purple, too. This is the first time I have ever used it. I had never even taken it out of the package before. It's very pretty, which is why I bought it, but honestly, how are you going to use ribbon with flowers stuck all over it? It's not like you can tie a bow or anything!

I colored her with my new Koh-I-Nor pencils, which I ADORE!!! My poor Prismas have been abandoned! After ten years with them, I have found somebody new-oh what a fickle girl I am!! I added some shimmer with my Niji paints, and some sparkle with a few dabs of my beloved Aqua Stickles. The paper here is Bashful Blue, Canson watercolor, and Prima Poetry Collection.

I made this for an SCS challenge.

Life is Beautiful

I made this one for a challenge over on SCS. I've been going crazy on the challenges over there. Yesterday I completed five, which is a lot for me, since I am a slow stamper!! This challenge was called For the Boys. I think about one in fifty of my cards are masculine, so this one wasn't easy. I usually fall back on this combo: SU!'s Wild West set, and Cosmo Cricket's Love Notes. It just seems that they were made for each other.

Rain or Shine...

I haven't even found my Sugar Nellies yet since we've moved! I have a few more boxes from my stamp room to unpack before I panic completely, I know they are somewhere safe! Anyway, I found this sweet little Gorjuss Girl in my already colored box the other day and decided to use her.

This card is for OneHappyStamper's sketch challenge over on SCS. I've had a good time playing all these challenges lately, and I have the lofty goal of getting four or five cards made today. This is A LOT for me, as I'm so slow. Most of my cards take more than an hour, so I usually only get one or two a day finished.

I hope you are all enjoying your summers, and that you have a terrific week!!

Silly Wild Bell Box

I got this Bell Box with layer from Creative Cuts and More. It's called the Bell Box Set, and it comes with the box and two layering pieces. You get to choose from dozens and dozens of different cardstocks for this box. I chose Stardream, which is my overall favorite metallic cardstock. I also love Bazzill Bling, but it's about half the weight of the Stardream, so it's not quite as sturdy for boxes. This is a substantial box. It's a good design, made out of sturdy cardstock, and it will not fall apart! You can check out all the boxes available in this cardstock here.

I've had this box for months. I like to have lots of neat things from CC&M on hand to use whenever I want to. I just order them in colors I love, or that I know are versatile. Then, when I need a box, I just go look through them and choose the one that appeals to me at that moment. I had no plan in mind when I ordered this box, but I'm so glad I had it ready to go when I wanted to play in LodiChick's challenge!

All the words are Cosmo Cricket rubons, and I popped up the white panel on foam tape. The gems are Glitz Frosting. They are easy to work with because they are on their own little strip of tape. If you want just one, cut it off the strip. The flowers were kind of retro looking denim flowers from the Paper Studio. In order to modernize them and make them coordinate with this project, I gave them several good sprays of my Radiant Pearl Shimmer Mist in Caspian Sea. Just mix any jar of RP with about four ounces of hairspray, and you are good to go. They also smell good! I added some turquoise Stickles and a Glitz gem, then sandwiched a paperclip between two of the flowers. I didn't even have to add glue, the stickers on the back of the flowers are holding strong.

I made this box for LodiChick's SCS challenge, It's in the bag!

Serenity

Over on SCS, Kristie Lee challenged us to be "Clearly Creative," so I got out some acetate and went to town. I stamped this beautiful Artistic Outpost stamp from the Serenity set with white Staz-On. It's not easy, but it can be done. Acetate is slippery!

I added some K&Co SeaGlass paper, and a couple of K&Co Blue Awning tags. I liked the little tags so much, I bought two packages! The rubons are Cosmo Cricket, they have a glossier and more substntial look to them than most other rubons.

After I got all the elements where I wanted them, I finished the card off with some of my favorite Blue Whale Art Glitter. It's so pretty, I almost can't stand it!!~

Discover~Learn~Explore

I made this for one of the Dare to Get Dirty challenges over on SCS. It's kind of like VSN, only no time limit! This is just right for me because I am a very slow stamper. I like VSN, but it's a huge challenge for me, and I don't always do my best work. This challenge was to make a tag, and it seems I have been doing that quite a lot lately!

I started out with my favorite Large Tag #02 from Creative Cuts and More, cut from Bazzill Bling Black Tie Tiara. Then I used one of my Tattered Angels Glimmer Screens and Black Cherry Glimmer Mist and Misted away. Then I sprayed one of my favorite CC&M butterfly die cuts, smooshed it into my VarsaMark pad, added SU! Heat & Stick Powder, and finally Art Glitter in Fleur de Lis.

I like to order all different colors of die cuts from CC&M to have on hand. Then, if one of them doesn't match my project exactly, out comes the Glimmer Mist. I'm not very good at planning ahead. I prefer to have lots of die cuts ready and waiting when the mood strikes. Then, instead of having to drag out my bug and my Spellbinders, I just choose a precut die cut drom CC&M. I still use my bug and all the things that go with it, but I dearly love having some dies just laying there begging to be used!!

I get all my Tattered Angels Glimmer Screens here. I used Fanciful Stencils here, but Blossoms is next on my list-they are gorgeous!! Glimmer Mist here. All my Art Glitter here.

Christmas in July

This card is for two challoenges, CPS 125 & High Hopes Challenge 40, Christmas in July.

I love this sweet penguin from High Hopes. He has a wonderful, open and innocent expression on his face. I colored him with my new Twinks! They finally arrived today. I ordered them in April!!

This was the only Christmas stuff I could find, I really have to order all new Christmas paper this year. Isn't that a crying shame? Everything on this card, except for the Canson watercolor paper is from a Joanne's card kit. I added American Crafts gel pen dots and some Crystal Stickles for sparkle. If you are looking for a white gel pen, I highly recommend the Ranger Inksentials pen. I only use the AC one because it's bought and paid for, and I'm cheap that way. It came in one of my kits, I don't remember which one. The AC pen requires constant shaking and the dots are not as opaque as the RI pen. Not even in the same ballpark, my friends!

I hope you are enjoying your summer, I know I am!

Happy Spring, Bo Peep!

Well, every time Anna Wight comes out with a new release, I go running back to my stamp room and rustle up a Whipper Snapper stamp set! This is from Anna's second set, Bo Peep. They are so much fun, I need to add to my collection!!

I pretty much copied Amy today when I made this card. I opened up her blog and loved her card, of course, and thought I'd take a whack at the two challenges she played today. Amy is alway up with the latest everything, why should I try to reinvent the wheel? I used RSCC12 and Card Patterns Sketch 24.

I used a little more of my loot from yesterday, some K&Co Wild Raspberry paper and a chipboard flower. I colored Bo Peep with SU! reinkers, and for a final touch, added a little Pink Stickles around the edge of the card.

Shopping in Denver & new Shady Tree Studio!!

I went shopping in Denver with my little sister this weekend. We spent an awful lot of money while saving an awful lot of money! Do you do that?

I used two of the MANY gorgeous things I got on sale on this card: Brenda Walton Grand Adhesions and Designer Mat Pad in Madeline by K&Co. LOVE THEM! They are just so pretty, and the vintage style is right up my alley.

The beautiful Stamps are from Cornish Heritage Farms' Shady Tree Studio line. They are beautifully drawn and top quality red rubber. They are drawn by artist Nancy Baier. This one is called Gardener's Hands. I just noticed she has some wonderful new winter/Christmas stamps up on the site now-better go check them out!

I colored the image with Koh-i-noor pencils and OMS, and added a few dabs of Stickles for some sparkle.

THANK YOU, MAGNOLIA!!!

EXTRA! EXTRA!! READ ALL ABOUT IT!!!

I won blog candy on Magnolia's blog way back in April. My win was described as the 2009 Pet Collection. I was really thrilled, I figured I'd get five or maybe even ten new stamps all the way from Sweden! It was pretty hard to wait, but I compensated by continuing to support the papercrafting industry in many ways;) So yesterday, I get a postage due notice. When they give me the bag/envelope, it's due $4.90. I thought that was odd, and wondered what it was, as there was no return address at all. It didn't even look like it came from out of the country. I couldn't tell from the feel or weight of it what it was, so when I opened it, I almost fell out of my chair!!! Are you ready????????????????????????????????????

48 BRAND NEW MAGNOLIA STAMPS!!!!

Can you imagine? They sent me the ENTIRE Pet Collection! I can't wait to show them all to you, but it will take a while-that's a lot of stamps to use!!

This card shows off six of the stamps, Edwin, the jeep, three different flowers and the sunset. I love them all and had a great time coloring them with my Prismas/OMS. This card is 6x6, so you can see that these are good sized images.

I hope all of you have the fun of winning something sometime soon-it's a thrill!!

Last Day to Hop with Creative Cuts and More!

Today is the last day to hop with Creative Cuts and More, so if you'd like to win a great prize, hop along with us!! Just continue to scroll down and you will find all the info you need. The hop started on Monday, but as you scroll down, you will catch a glimpse of the prizes being offered!

This is my favorite Tag #2 Large from CC&M. This one was cut from Bazzill Bling Cardstock Black Tie #2 Glass Slipper, I think I may have mentioned that I love Bling!!

This tag is for Flourishes Timeless Tuesdays challenge. This week it was tags. The stamps are Flourishes' new Waterlilies set, it's just beautiful! It's fun and easy to color and cut out. I colored this with SU! pastels and E-Z Chalk Enhancer, then went over it with Pearl Ex, and finished the whole thing off with a few shots of shimmer spray.

I made this shimmer spray by mixing a jar of Dandelion Green Radiant Pearls with three or four ounces of hairspray. I have done this with lots of RPs, and everyone of them is just gorgeous. If you have a drawer full of RPs, give it a try!!

The edge is finished with Aqua Stickles.

Creative Cuts and More Blog Hop Day Three!

This is the first of two card kits exclusively offered by CC&M and was designed by our very own talented Pam Smerker.
Keep your eyes open for many more new and exciting kits and products from CC&M.

This card kit is jammed packed with supplies. This kit contains 12 die cut cards and envelopes. Many of the cards included in the kit are exclusive to CC&M. The kit is worth over $30 but we are offering it for $26.99.
You will have everything you need to make 12 great cards. The only thing you will need to add is adhesive.

There is a great birthday stamp set from Doodlebug that is an add-on to the kit.

View our gallery to see all of the great examples that can be made with this kit.

$26.99 for this complete kit.

To begin the blog hop, go down to Monday's post, and you'll get all the details. You can still hop today and be eligible for some terrific prizes, so go crazy and hop with us!!

This card has another beautiful butterfly die from Creative Cuts and More. These dies will be available on the website soon. I used SU! Heat & Stick powder and Art Institute Miss Muffet glitter to make this one super duper glitteriscious!! I love having lots of these on hand to use when the mood strikes me. Even if they aren't the exact same color I need for a project, it is so easy to alter them!

This card is also for this week's Crafty Secrets challenge over on SCS. Darlene challenged us to make birthday cards this week. The beautiful main image is from the Girlfriends Creative Scraps. These Creative Scraps are SO much fun! The images are gorgeous, they are on top quality cardstock so they are sturdy, and they make projects so quick and easy!!

I just cut this one out, smooshed it into my VersaMark pad, and embossed in SU!'s Crystal Clear. Then I repeated with Ranger's Holographic, and finally another layer of CC. It looks so good, I can't stop admiring it!

I added a touch of my favorite Always Artichoke, and Naturals Ivory, and the rest of the paper is from the CS Classic pad. One of my book page and pattern tissue flowers topped with a button finish this card off!

Here is some more info on the fun we are having with the Creative Cuts and More Blog Hop, and pictures of the prizes you can win!! Creative Cuts and More

Creative Cuts and More Birthday Blog Hop!!!

All the details for the CC&M blog hop are in yesterday's post. You can still win fabulous prizes up until this Thursday the 16th, so if you didn't hop with us yesterday, please join us now! I used one of my favorite butterfly die cuts from Creative Cuts and More on this card. I can't quit using these pretty things! They are not up on the wbsite yet, but they will be soon! I just asked Terry to cut a bunch of them for me with no particular project in mind, I just like having them around as an embellishment. This one is cut from DoubleMates, so it's really versatile because it's double sided-two color choices per butterfly!!

The base for this card is Doodlebug Limeade Crushed Velvet Cardstock. It is heavy duty! All the designer paper here is Making Memories NoteWorthy, one of my favorite lines! There are some SU! & Bazzill scraps as well.

All the stamps here are from Verve's latest and truly spectacular release-so pretty! I got the entire release, and I am so happy with these stamps, I just can't tell you how much I love them! This card is for this week's Mojo Monday challenge. I love getting my Verve on every week for this challenge!!

Finally, here's a little more news from Creative Cuts and More:

Early July 2009 Win Big! Blog Hop Going On Now! Dear Paper Pastorale Readers, We can't wait to show you all of the fun projects we've created for this month'sCreative Cuts and More blog hop! We're focusing on birthday themes this month. We're offering prizes, so be sure to stop at each of our blogs. It'll be well worth it! We'll kick off the festivities at http://diecutdiva.com first thing Monday morning, July 13th. What's New? We're launching a whole new collection of specially-designed products and we couldn't be happier about it! There are only sneak peeks here on this email message, but all the details will be shown during the hop. You'll be able to win them, too! Terry Bracciodieta Creative Cuts & More I hope you can join us today for some to die for die cut projects!

Creative Cuts and More Birthday Blog Hop!!!

Hello, and welcome to the Creative Cuts and More Birthday Blog Hop!! If you would like to start at the beginning, please go to Diecut Diva, which is where all the fun begins!! We are celebrating the release of our two brand new birthday card kits, and you can win one! Make sure you start at the beginning to learn how! Plus, all our hoppers are receiving a coupon code today, here it is: birthdaydt0915 Use it for a 15% discount on your next order!

You can find all the die cuts I've used today at the Creative Cuts & More website. At CC&M, you can choose from hundreds of dies and papers, and they will cut them for you! No need to buy expensive dies, or fiddle with a machine, just order what you like, and it arrives on your doorstep! They will even custom cut YOUR paper if that's what you want!!

For this birthday tag, I used two dies, the tag is the Tag #2 Large, which I had cut from Bazzill Bling Black Tie Diamond Cardstock-one of my very favorites!! It has a beautiful soft shimmer I just find irresitable. I love this Antique Label die. I think the size and shape is so perfect.

The beautiful birthday cake stamp was drawn by my friend Nancy for Cornish Heritage Farms' Shady Tree Studio line. I stamped it onto the label with VersaFine Onyx and embossed it in Holographic. I colored it with SU! pastels and E-Z Chalk Enhancer, then added Aqua, Crystal & purple Stickles.

This is the French Fry box, isn't it fun?? I wrapped it with some Prima paper, added a metal rimmed tag, a gorgeous butterfly die cut and a Heidi Swapp flower. I do want to mention that I always use CC&M's Killer Red Tacky Tape, it's indispensable! The stamps I used for this project are all Verve sets, Just For You and Kindred Spirits, both from the June release.

I hope you have enjoyed these birthday projects-just wait until you see what Jen has in store for you! You are gonna LOVE it! Go see JEN!!

My Darling!

This tag started out as a card, but it just wasn't working, so I decided to use this gorgeous Basic Gray Sublime tag because it goes perfectly with the Cosmo Cricket's Love Notes tag. After I decided to make a tag, I wondered to myself what I would do with it. I finally put a school pic of DH on it. and I'll put it where I can see it every day! I guess I wound up with a tag on a tag, is that too weird?

All the copper embossing is done with Clear Artistic Stamp's Blackberry Fields set. The metal tag is 7Gypsies, I THINK. The brad is Karen Foster, the copper cord and ep SU! There's also some of my favorite Always Artichoke, some Bazzill, and the pic is mounted on a scrap of My Mind's Eye. The yellow string is just some string that I've had for years, and I still have tons of it, I may never get it all used up, but I like it, so that's okay!

School Pictures

I made this page for this week's Flourishes Timeless Tuesdays Challenge. The challenge was to cut out and pop up our images. I used Fantasy Floral Garden and cut out and popped up the flowers, in addition to embossing a border along the left side of the page.

Here's another reminder not to hoard!! Did you know that Thickers lose their stickiness? I think these Thickers are three years old, and I had to glue them down with Diamond Glaze. I wonder what this means for everyone who actually used theirs three years ago. Have they come unstuck from everyone's layouts?

Have you tried American Crafts Zing embossing powder? I have two colors, and I love them both!! I used blue and blush. One of the cool things about it is that the label on the top of the jar is the exact shade you'll get when you emboss. I embossed the chipboard flourish for a little extra richness. The blue is metallic, but the blush is not. You can get Zing embossing powders at Creative Play Stamps.

Also, did you notice my beautiful new Prima Gallery Roses? If you love Primas as much as I do, check out CPS, they have a HUGE collection of Primas!!