Fearfully & Wonderfully Made!

Sweet & Sassy Stamps has a really nice challenge blog called The Sweet Stop. I like to play when I can. Of course they like for you to use their stamps, but it's not a requirement, they are happy to have anyone play. This is one of their digi stamps. I have used this butterfly a lot, I like how easy he is to color, or as in this card's case, add micro beads to!

I use Judikins Diamond Glaze to stick my beads down, and they do not budge. After I have tapped off the extra beads, I always sprinkle to item with glitter to fill in the empty spots. Here I used Lion's Mane Art Glitter.

a little note

You'd be hard pressed to find stamps more different then Anna Wight's Little Critters and Dog Gone Stamps' 1926 line, but I used them both on this card! The Ball Gown stamp is from DGS, and the sentiment is from the Whipper Snapper Designs set. The card base is actually part of a 7Gypsies 97% Complete Journal that I am currently robbing parts from. They are jam packed with all kinds of coolio stuff, and are a terrific value for the cardmaker.

I stamped The Ball Gown in Chestnut Roan, and opted not to color her for this card. Isn't the detail incredible? I don't think she has to be colored, she's gorgeous any way you use her!! I added a couple of my new Prima products to this card, the flower and the ribbon, and I guess it goes without saying that I added a few dabs of Aqua Stickles for a bit of sparkle on the flower.

Home for the Holidays

Have you checked out Shady Tree Studio over at Cornish Heritage Farms yet? If you love beautifully drawn, usable, and current but not trendy stamps, you will love them!! Even though I am still working on all my coloring techniques, I still like the way these images turn out. You don't have to be an amazing artist to make a pretty card. I used markers and Niji paints here, and added lots of Stickles for highlights. I like to put little touches of Aqua in my greenery, I feel like it adds a little depth. The gorgeous designer paper and tag are from Graphic 45's new Christmas line called Christmas Past.

Full Moon

Let's talk die cuts. I have a cricut and a bug, and they are wonderful machines. However, I don't like buying holiday specific dies because I don't feel like I get my money's worth. First, I get tired of them. Second, by the time the next year has rolled around, they are out of style. That's where Creative Cuts and More comes to my rescue. For just some pocket change, I can have enough fun Halloween dies to get me through the season. PLUS, I can have them cut from dozens of different materials. It's so easy and convenient just to have the dies just right there ready to go! This card was a snap, because I had the witch cut and ready to go. All I had to do was glue her to my card! How easy is that?

The gorgeous ribbon is from GinaK, isn't a rich, regal purple? I used my circle nesties for the moon, and simply had to add a touch of Black Diamond Stickles!

The best mirror is an old friend.-George Herbert

I made this card with pieces of my Friendship Accordion Card Book from Teresa Collins. Isn't it pretty? I love all the gorgeous elements included in this kit, but I didn't really want to make the book, so I plan to make a bunch of cards with the parts. All the ribbon is from Prima's new Morning Song Collection. I added several punched and die cut elements and of course some Black Diamond Stickles!

The sweet stamp is from Dog Gone Stamps. She's actually a fairy, but I got to looking at her and realized her wings could easily be cut off. That makes her versatile and beautiful! How often does that happen?

I am having a nice time stamping today, and I hope to get a few things made so I can make more than one or two blog posts a week. I hope all is well with all of you, and thanks so much for stopping by, it means a lot to me! I know how easy it is to take a blog off your regular visits when there are no new posts, so thanks for hanging in there with me!

The Sweet Stop Challenge

When I have time, I like to play in Sweet and Sassy Stamps' The Sweet Stop challenge. They have a new one every Saturday, and yesterday's was a color and sketch challenge. The colors, as you can see, are red, black & tan. I almost didn't do the challenge, because I wanted to use some of my new goodies. One of my new things is Basic Gray's 6x6 Wassail pad. I wondered if I could make it work for this challenge, and it turns out I could! I really love working with these little pads, and some day would like to have them all. Greedy, I know! I get mine here. They are on sale right now, including the new Eerie pad, which I am really dying to have. However, I have shot my Halloween wad for this year and have some terrific products to work with, so I'm happy.

The mortarboard is a digi stamp from Sweet & Sassy, drawn by Chris Dickinson. If you haven't tried digi yet, S&S have some really cute ones. They are easy to work with, and don't clutter up your stamp room! Plus, they are very affordable, and many are sets, like this one, and come complete with sayings.

Batty about you!

This is for this week's Get Sketchy challenge. It was a hard but fun challenge, and I hope to play again. I didn't get the sketch exactly-it's a HARD one! I also DID NOT do the bonus, which was NO designer paper! Can you imagine? That's just crazy talk! I cracked open my brand new Cosmo Cricket Haunted paper and went to town-I love that stuff! The whole kit is on sale right now, I was really stoked by the deal I got!

I used my very favorite snail of all time, it's from Dog Gone Stamps. Don't you just love his expression? I also cracked open my brand new Alexandrite Glass Shards Art Glitter. I have wanted some of this stuff for years, but I have so much glitter, I was trying to show restraint. I finally broke down and got this color, I thought it would be great fun on Halloween cards, and it is! If you don't have any of this stuff, you should try it out. It's a lot different than regular glitter. It's much heavier and has less static, so it's less messy. I used Designer Dries Clear to adhere it to my card.

We are off to Parker today to return DH's little brother's camper. They let us take it to New Orleans to drop DS off, and we're just now getting it back to them. It was pretty nice to have for the trip. It's one of the ones with the camper and truck all in one so you can walk around, take a nap, get a drink, and go to the bathroom while barreling down the highway towards your destination! Love it! I want one, only a little smaller than theirs.

Layers of Color

I won a set of stamps from Layers of Color, and since they were shipping to me anyway, I bought another set. They have wonderful stamps, and I have an extensive wishlist with them! These adorable stamps are from Birdday Party-love this sweet, sweet set!

I made this card quite a while ago, a month or more, but am just now getting around to posting because I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off lately! I do think I am starting to see light at the end of the tunnel, though! Have you nothiced since my break that I keep forgetting to use a watermark? It's like I've never done this before! I miss stampin' the hours away! (And checking out what all of you have been up to, too!)

Creative Belli Blog Challenge

I made this for this week's Belli Blog challenge! Go check it out, it's a fun challenge blog that helps you use up your embellishments! This week is die cuts, and I used flowers and a tag from Creative Cuts and More!

Creative Cuts and More Fall & Halloween Blog Hop!!!

Hi blog hoppers! Wasn't Melinda's project full of inspiration? (If you didn't arrive here from Melinda's blog, you don't want to miss what our whole DT has in store for you! The CC&M Blog Hop starts at diecutdiva If you get lost along the way, a complete list will be posted at the Die Cut Diva blog. There will be a 15% coupon code for anyone who visits the Die Cut Diva blog.!
My Autumn card uses Pumpkin #04 Large. I had it cut from my favorite Bazzil Bling. The flowers were also cut from Bling, but were not the right color for this card. All I had to do was smoosh them into my VersaMark pad and emboss them in Classy Copper-super simple!!

Here I used the Dress Box and the Tuxedo Box to make some vampire decorations. I didn't stage them very well, but I think they will be really awesome in a nicely decorated house! The glitter has so much sparkle and shine, they are really shimmery! I used DoodleBug Beetle Black Sugar Coating, some red glitter, Black Diamond and Christmas Red Stickles. The dress started off white, because I am not a very good planner. I just ran my Black Soot pad all over it and called it good-no problem!! I never worry about whether my die cuts are the exact right color or not. I just make them work.

Now it's time for you to go check out the fabulous Kayla's creations! Enjoy!!

Crafty Secrets Goodness!!!

I made this about a month ago when I actually had time to stamp! It was for a SCS Crafty Secrets challenge, but I'll be danged if I have any idea which one! Of course I added my two favorite colors of Stickles: Aqua and Copper. The main image is from the Crafty Secrets Creative Scraps Garden sheet. Creative Play Stamps has a huge selection of Crafty Secrets and Stickles, and I get all mine from them! Anyway, I love CS, and I love autumn cards, so this one makes me happy!!

Check back here tomorrow morning for Creative Cuts and More's September Blog Hop! We're doing Fall and Halloween, and I can't wait to show you what I made! If you are a Twilight fan, I think you'll like it! The fun all starts at Diecut Diva!

On a personal note, I love teaching junior high. I never, ever thought I would! I thought I was a high school teacher through and through! However, junior high is exhausting! It's way, way, way more demanding than high school! Who knew? I come home from school every day so exhausted I can barely function! I actually have to take an Advil when I get home because I'm so stiff and sore from standing, walking & bending for nine hours. I'm assuming that eventually I'll get used to it, and I hope that I lose a few pounds in the process. I'm usually too tired to eat much, so I think my intake has been cut in half, and my movement has doubled.

Well, I need to go over to the school for a few hours. I've been over every Saturday and Sunday since August 12th, except when we took DS to New Orleans. I think as I learn my routines and become more organized, I won't have to work every weekend, but for now, that's what it takes to get the job done.

1926

There were two main reasons I answered the DT call at Dog Gone Stamps:

1. THIS snail-one of my ALL TIME favorite images.

2. The 1926 line. I took this info directly from the Dog Gone Stamps website.

"These images were drawn in 1926 by Doris Folkman Summerill. The work and style amazes me, she did them all with a feather quill dip pen! What, no 005 Micron's ?! I did my best to stay true to the artists original lines. We hope you enjoy these images as much as we do."

I love these beautiful images, and I love the respect shown them by DGs's artist. It's a perfect marriage of the past and the present. I hope you will have the opportunity to go look at these beautiful stamps!

The supplies I used for this card came from Creative Cuts and More's Birthday Card Kit. I added the stamped image, some Stickles, a button and a couple of skittles. The gorgeous scalloped card is from the kit, as is the ribbon, flower, and glitter paper.

I love this Halloween Cat from Dog Gone Stamps! The detail is amazing, and it's just right for both scary and cute style Halloween cards. Here I stamped in VersaFine and embossed in Crystal Clear, then colored with reinkers. I added some K&Co cardstock cutouts, some ribbon, and a pipe cleaner. After I glued down the pipe cleaner, I poured some French Lilac Art Glitter all over it to stick to any extra glue. I do this all the time, and it may not be a huge detail, but another cardmaker would notice the extra glue, even if they don't notice the glitter. Besides, I never miss an opportunity to use glitter!!The only thing I have found for adhereing pipe cleaners to cards that works well is hot glue. There are other glues that have the power, but they just stay wet for way too long, and the pipe cleaners lift before the glue dries.