Spring Is Here!

Oh how I wish Spring were here!! I tried to play in the Virtual Stamp Night challenges last night but Splitcoast was having some issues and I only got two cards uploaded. We have until Monday night to finish uploading, so I will work on some more cards tomorrow. This card was for the first challenge~Opening Ceremonies. We were to pick a favorite participating nations flag and create a card inspired by it's color scheme. Of course I love the Red, White and Blue, but there were a lot of people using the US Flag colors, so I ventured out on the website that has all of the participating nations flags and chose the one from Andorra. Their flag is a three color vertical stripe of purple, yellow and pink.

Click on Photo to Enlarge

The butterflies and sentiment are sneak peeks from the upcoming February release of the Spring and Easter set by Mark's Finest Papers. There are five images and four sentiments in this set. Very versatile! I colored the butterflies with Copics and cut them out. Added pop dots and placed them on a layer of MFP's Lemon Slice. The white card front is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder. Copics Used: Y11, Y13, Y15, V12, V15, V17, R20, R22, R43 Hope you are having a great weekend! Enjoy!

CHA Relay Mer Ian

TGIF!!

This is the last of the CHA relay cards that I did and used Mer Ian. Since I am still in Valentine's mode, he swam his way onto a heart card! Mer Ian is colored with Copics and cut out. I added a little glitz to his fin with blue stickles. The background panel and the heart are embossed with CB folders. The sentiment is a Greeting Farm stamp as well.

Copics Used: Fin (B21, B24, B29), Skin (E00), Hair (E31, E33, E37).

I will be heading back to Pensacola late tonight. Looking forward to being back home!

Have a great day!

Enjoy!

CHA Relay Charlotte and Friday Sketchers

Good Thursday Morning!

Sadly, the TGF CHA Relay was shortened yesterday due to an overwhelming response. I enjoyed it while it lasted and thank TGF for the awesome freebies!

My card today is using Day 2 Charlotte. I love her funky style, kind of reminds me of my flower child days... So I picked out some DP from the Basic Grey June Bug line and colored Charlotte up, pulling out some of the colors. The layout is from this weeks Friday Sketchers Challenge #86.

Click on Photo to Enlarge

Copics Used: Skin (E00), Pants (C1, C3, C5), Shirt/Hair (Y11, Y13, Y15), Headband/Kerchief/Belt (R02, R08)

Enjoy!

CHA Relay Toby Cub

Happy Wednesday!! I am having so much fun with The Greeting Farm's CHA Relay this week! You really have to work fast. Guess that's why they call it a relay! My card today is using Toby Cub. Isn't he a cutie? He is the free digi for day three of the relay. Toby is colored with Copics and layered on DP from the DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Boy stack. I used the layout from this weeks Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #58 for the layout. I modified the layout a little by turning it on it's side and using buttons along the side edge. Speaking of Mercy.... I know that she has been super busy trying to keep up with all the participants in the relay and getting their free digis out each day. I am sure she is ready for Marie and Jessica to get back from CHA!!

Click on Photo to Enlarge

Copics Used: Fur (E51, E53, E57), Diaper (YG03), Shadows (C1) Have a great day! I am off to Orlando today for business meetings. I have a couple more CHA relay cards set to post over the next couple of days. Don't forget it is Virtual Stamp Night this Saturday night on Splitcoast. Hope to see you there! Enjoy!

Sweet Valentine

Happy Tuesday!

I hope your week has gotten off to a good start! I will be leaving tomorrow on a business trip to Orlando for a few days. I thought I would have a few days without any posts here, but I decided to play along with The Greeting Farm CHA relay that kicked off yesterday. Each day they release a new digi stamp and you have until the next day at six pm to do a card/project and upload to the gallery. If you participate by the deadline, you get the next day's digi free! The Greeting Farm stamps have always been a favorite of mine and I love the digi's they are releasing. So get ready for some TGF image cards while I am away!!

My card today is one that I struggled with and it took me way too long to finish. The first image I colored had a spot outside of her leg that I could not get off with my blender. This one I had issues with the color blending. I have several types of papers that I use for coloring with Copics and here lately my go to favorite doesn't seem to have the same finish as it did before. The blending seems to be off. Then again it could be that some of my go to Copic colors are drying out.... Will have to work on that!

The lighting seemed off on this card when I went to upload and I started to redo the "photo session" but I decided this card was not meant to be perfect from the start, so it is, what it is.

Do you ever struggle with being a perfectionist? I must learn to ease up up mine!!

Click on Photo to Enlarge

The stamp is My Favorite Things' My Balloon from the Pure Innocence line. These stamps are so adorable! Her dress is paper pieced and the rest is colored with Copics. I added a little heart scalloped balloon that is made with a MS punch. The image panel is cut out with Spellbinders circle dies and the edges sponged while still in the die. The papers are from the Basic Grey Bittersweet stack. The layout is from this weeks CCEE sketch challenge.

Have a great day!

Enjoy!

Sketchy Valentine

Happy Monday!! Hope your weekend was a good one! Not very nice weather here. Seems that the fronts move through over the weekends with cold, wind and rain. During the week we have sunny and warm days. Just what a working girl needs....Go figure!! My card today is for this weeks Crazy4Challenges challenge "Pretty In Pink". The card needed to have a pink color scheme. I think I managed that, don't you? I used the sketch from this past Wednesdays SCS Sketch Challenge SC264 for the layout. The stamp set is Papertrey Ink's Simple Valentine. Fun set to work with! I gave the hearts on the sentiment circle and the circles on the border string a coat of Red atYou Spica. The pink heart and the white hearts got a coat of Clear atYou Spica. Love the glitz these pens give! If you click on the photo, I think you can see the glimmer. The sentiment just had to have a couple of red rhinestones and the ribbon has metallic threads for some sparkle too! Have a great week! Enjoy!

On My Mind

Hi Everyone!! This card is for today's SCS Featured Stamper Challenge~"Time to Hoot/Toot Your Own Horn"~ Karen Barber! I just love Karen's style and as I went through her gallery I thought I would try a quilted card...no a black magic card...no a...and so on and so on!! I finally landed on her beautiful Christmas Bling Card to CASE. I changed the stamp set, colors and bling!

Click on Photo to Enlarge

As most of you know, one of my "goals" for 2010 is to finish the inside of a card at the same time I am making it. So here is the inside! The sentiments in this set are fabulous aren't they?

The stamp set and some of the supplies for this card can be found at Mark's Finest Papers. They are having a Customer Appreciation Sale until Monday morning! Supplies: Stamps: Marks Finest Papers Our Family Tree Paper: MFP Snow Storm Smooth, DP Ink: Green, Blue, Brown Accessories: Crystal Stickles, Ribbon, Sponge Daubers Enjoy!

Inspired Thoughts

Hello Friends and Hello Saturday!! I thought I would show up today with a card. The past week at work has been very busy and by the time I got home each day, I was too pooped to even venture into my "craft closet". For those of you that don't know me, my craft room is a closet off our master bedroom that is about seven feet wide by fifteen feet long. It has a trey ceiling, window, heat/air vent and a sliding door, so I am thinking it was used many moons ago as a nursery. When we moved in a couple of years ago, the current owner had wired shelving hung in most of the room, so we added a little more along with a work table and computer. My chair sits next to the long window, so I get a lot of light and can look out at beautiful azalea bushes, crepe myrtles and swaying pines and palm trees. One of these days I will post some pics of my "closet".

Click on Photo to Enlarge

My card is for today's SCS Inspiration Challenge~Echo. I would love to have one of everything on this website!! I chose this scarf as my inspiration. Kept the layout clean and simple. Supplies: Stamps: MFP Whispers of Dreams and Our Family Tree Paper: MFP Tan Line, Ivory Cream Ink: Turquoise, Olive Accessories: Ribbon Have a Great Day! Enjoy!

3D Sweetheart

Hi There! Happy Wednesday! When I was going through the blogs in my Reader, I came across Sherrie Cheever's card on the Spellbinders Blog. She used the Labels 11 dies and made a beautiful three dimensional card. I knew I would have to give it a try! I went out to TwistedPapers.com and found this image to download. Found a few more too...:-) I printed six copies of the image and followed Sherrie's instructions in her video using the Labels 4 dies. Click on the Photo to get a close-up view. What do you think? The layout for my card is from this week's Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge. I look forward to Tuesdays and her sketches! The papers are Papertrey Ink's Berry Sorbet Bitty Dot Basics and Solids. The white panel is edged with a MS border punch. I had a piece of silk ribbon that matched perfectly. Just love how bows turn out with silk ribbon! Have a great day! Enjoy!

Inspired Whispers

Happy Tuesday!

After a whirlwind week last week of new releases, I took a much needed break yesterday from stamping. That doesn't mean there weren't thoughts of card ideas dancing around in my head! We bowled last night on league and I actually won all four games against my opponent!! Woot Woot!

My card is for Sunday's SCS Featured Stampers Challenge~"Just Delightful (In RED)!! I loved going through Anne's (aka JDmommy) gallery. I knew I wanted to make a card with "red" (that is her favorite color) and finally landed on THIS CARD for my CASE. I changed the stamps, border punch and ribbon.

The stamp image is from Mark's Finest Papers Whispers of Dreams set. There is another panel that is horizontal and several flowers that coordinate with this image, as well as four sentiments. It is a fabulous set that can be used for many different occasions.

Click on Photo to Enlarge

Supplies: Stamps: MFP Whispers of Dreams from the Serenity Collection designed by Belinda Landroop Paper: MFP Storm Smooth White and Ripened Tomato Ink: Red Accessories: Border Punch, Half Pearls, Ribbon Hope your week has gotten off to a fabulous start! Enjoy!

Aurora at Home

Good Morning!! This is the last of the cards I did for the Victoria Case for SCACD new release this past Friday. There are six stamps in this series and these sprites are just as sweet as they can be! You can find the Aurora series stamps by Victoria at Susana's Custom Art and Card Design.

Click on Photo to Enlarge

The image is stamped and colored with Copics. I used this weeks CCEE Challenge sketch for the layout. The DP is Basic Grey Lemonade layered on Mark's Finest Papers Breezy Blue and Bazzil Fawn. I tried a couple different color ribbons but the white seemed to work the best. BG half pearls in the corners adds the finishing touch! Copics: C1, E00, E11, E33, E53, E57, Y11, Y13, Y15, R20, R39, RV11, BG01, YG23 That's a lot of Copic colors!! Question~ If you are a Copic user and like to know the colors used, do you prefer they are separated by the section that was colored? Like Skin, Clothing, Sky, etc? Or is a listing like I did above sufficient? Hope you are having a wonderful weekend! Enjoy!

Aurora Loves Birds

WooHoo! The weekend is here! Only one problem....it is pouring the rain!! Guess I could get some housework done? Probably not!! (heehee) My card is for today's SCS Inspiration Challenge~ Nell Hill's. What a lovely site and the inspiration is endless! I have a new stamp by Victoria Case that I wanted to use. I found birds all over this site and then I found THESE and new exactly what I was going to do. Aurora is feeding a Bluebird! I colored the bluebird and then chose complimentary colors for the rest of the image. I have always loved blues and oranges/corals together.

Click on Photo to Enlarge

You can find the Aurora series stamps by Victoria at Susana's Custom Art and Card Design. Supplies: Stamps: VCAD Aurora with Bird Paper: DCWV Citrus Stack, White Ink: Black Memento, Pacific Point Accessories: Copics E00, E51, E53, R20, E31, E33, E11, C1, E17, BG0000, B00, B02, Y13, Y15, YR00, YR61, YR65, Dimensional Stickers Have a Great Day!! Enjoy!

New Release~ Victoria Case for SCACD!!

This is the second post for today!

Please scroll down for the Mark's Finest Papers Blog Hop Day 3 Post!

Susana's Custom Art and Card Design has new releases of the Aurora Collection today!! On Susana's store blog she states: "...I am ever so happy to be presenting to you a NEW SERIES called the Aurora Collection by the magical Victoria Case!!! Victoria and I thought really hard about a character that represents all the good things in life like kindness, caring and someone to remind all of us to stay in the moment and to enjoy life :o) So out of all that came Miss Aurora!!!" Victoria asked me if I would make a few cards for this new release. The stamps are absolutely adorable and a lot of fun to work with!

Click on Photo to Enlarge

This first one is a tag card that I made with Aurora with Cake. She is just precious!! I got my idea for the tag card from this post on Cindy Haffner's blog. Thanks Cindy!! Supplies: Stamps: Aurora with Cake Ink: Black Memento Paper: DCWV Nana's Kids Stack Accessories: Spellbinders Ovals, Labels 4 and Mega Curved Rectangle dies, Ribbon, Mulberry Flowers, Fuzzy Brad, Metal Grommet Copics: V000, V01, V12, V15, YG06, YG09, Y11, Y15, E00, E11, E31, E50, RV11, RV14, C1

Click on Photo to Enlarge

This card is made using Aurora with Tulips. She is so cute sitting on that pot of flowers! Supplies: Stamps: Aurora with Tulips Ink: Black Memento Paper: DCWV Blossoms and Butterflies Stack, Bazzil Yellow Accessories: Scallop border punch, Ribbon, Button, Prima Flowers, Lemon atYou Spica pen Copics: E31, E33, E37, E50, E51, G21, G24, G28, YG0000, Y11, Y15, R20, R43, R46, B00 I will have more of the Aurora Collection for you to see over the weekend. Enjoy!

Mark's Finest Papers Blog Hop Day 3!

Happy Friday!! This is Day 3 of Mark's Finest Papers Design Team celebrating our BRAND NEW Speedy the Cat Designer Collection and Serenity Collection Stamps with a Blog Hop! You can ORDER THEM TODAY!And...For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, visit and comment on each of the following design team members' blogs on January 13th, 14 and 15th. Then, on Saturday,(January 16), a winner will be chosen from those who have visited all 8 blogs both days. The winner will be announced on the Mark's Finest Papers Blog and will receive 2 Stamp Sets that will be released NEXT month. And remember, Friday night will be the New Flourishes Release at Mark's Finest Papers! I found these little journals at the dollar store the other day. Do you ever just wander around that store and love it when things catch your eye and a project comes to mind? I covered the front part of the journal with MFP's Ultra Smooth Vanilla and stamped the edge to the right of the elastic band with the little vine that comes in the MFP's Blackberries, Sunflowers and Bees stamp set. The sunflower from the same set is stamped directly on the cover and again on a separate piece, colored with Copics, cut out and popped up on top of the first one. The sentiment is a rub-on. The lovely brown ribbon is from MFP's.

Click on Photo to Enlarge

Copics Used: E21, E37, Y000, Y11, Y13, Y15, YR02 Don't forget to visit and comment on each of the following blogs for a chance to win! Good Luck! Nancyruth- http://nancyruthat.blogspot.com Lois- http://clownmomcreations.blogspot.com Nikki-http://smellslikehomemade.blogspot.com Peggy- www.artfulljourney.com (that's me!) Vicky- http://www.villagestamperramblings.blogspot.com Jeanne-http://nannys-room.blogspot.com Faith- http://stampinwithmarkiesmom.blogspot.com Mark’s Finest Papers- http://marksfinestpapers.blogspot.com Enjoy!

Mark's Finest Papers Blog Hop Day 2!

Over the hump and on the downhill slide to the weekend!! WooHoo!! This is Day 2 of Mark's Finest Papers Design Team celebrating our BRAND NEW Speedy the Cat Designer Collection and Serenity Collection Stamps with a Blog Hop! You can ORDER THEM TODAY! And... For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, visit and comment on each of the following design team members' blogs on January 13th, 14 and 15th. Then, on Saturday,(January 16), a winner will be chosen from those who have visited all 8 blogs both days. The winner will be announced on the Mark's Finest Papers Blog and will receive 2 Stamp Sets that will be released NEXT month. And remember, Friday night will be the New Flourishes Release at Mark's Finest Papers! For my card today I used "MFP's Presents: Our Family Tree from Speedy the Cat's Designer Collection". The trees in this set are fabulous!! I stamped the tree on MFP's Snow Storm Smooth paper with black ink. Then using Copics colored the bands from bottom to top to simulate a glowing sunset. Copic colors: G24, G21, RV11, V12, V15. On the RV11 and V12 layers touched a little Y15 in the color bands. The sunsets we see here over the water have golden yellow throughout the pinks.

Click on Photo to Enlarge

The image was cut out and layered on MFP Pink Freeze Sparkle, Basic Grey Euphoria DP and an embossed panel of MFP Special Mint. And...of course I added a pretty purple bow!! All of the supplies used today an be found at Mark's Finest Papers. The layout for the card is this weeks, Mercy's Tuesday Sketch #56. I cannot let a week go by without using one of her sketches! Don't forget to visit and comment on each of the following blogs for a chance to win! Nancyruth- http://nancyruthat.blogspot.com Lois- http://clownmomcreations.blogspot.com Nikki-http://smellslikehomemade.blogspot.com Peggy- www.artfulljourney.com (that's me!) Vicky- http://www.villagestamperramblings.blogspot.com Jeanne-http://nannys-room.blogspot.com Faith- http://stampinwithmarkiesmom.blogspot.com Mark’s Finest Papers- http://marksfinestpapers.blogspot.com Enjoy!

Mark's Finest Papers New Release and Blog Hop!

Happy Wednesday!! If you are reading my blog in Reader, click on the title of this post and check out my new blog design!! More on that later! Mark's Finest Papers Design Team is celebrating our BRAND NEW Speedy the Cat Designer Collection and Serenity Collection Stamps with a Blog Hop! You can ORDER THEM TODAY! And... For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, visit and comment on each of the following design team members' blogs on January 13th, 14 and 15th. Then, on Saturday,(January 16), a winner will be chosen from those who have visited all 8 blogs all three days. The winner will be announced on the Mark's Finest Papers Blog and will receive 2 Stamp Sets that will be released NEXT month. And remember, Friday night will be the New Flourishes Release at Mark's Finest Papers! My card is using the MFP Presents: Serenity Collection. A touch of the orient here, so I pulled out some Basic Grey Ambrosia DP. The colored sections are sponged with ink and the images overstamped onto the colored areas. A beautiful orange bow and coin finishes the card!

Click on Photo to Enlarge

One of my goals for this year (I don't do resolutions, just set goals..) is to finish the inside of a card at the same time I am making the card. I have three out of six cards with the inside finished. 50% success rate isn't shabby, now is it? (hehe) The sentiment on the inside is from this same stamp set. Isn't it lovely?

Click on Photo to Enlarge

Don't forget! Visit and comment on each of the following blogs for a chance to win! Nancyruth- http://nancyruthat.blogspot.com Lois- http://clownmomcreations.blogspot.com Nikki-http://smellslikehomemade.blogspot.com Peggy- www.artfulljourney.com (that's me!) Vicky- http://www.villagestamperramblings.blogspot.com Jeanne-http://nannys-room.blogspot.com (our new DT member!) Faith- http://stampinwithmarkiesmom.blogspot.com Mark’s Finest Papers- http://marksfinestpapers.blogspot.com Enjoy!

Feel The Love

Good Monday Morning!! Hope your weekend was a good one! I spent most of the weekend inside keeping warm, and was able to get several stamping projects done. Make sure to join us for Mark's Finest Papers Blog Hop this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. There are giveaways! Also, this Friday there is a new release at Susana's Custom Art and Card Design. Cute, cute stamp sets for sure! My card today is for this week's SCS Featured Stamper Challenge~~"I Bee Lovin...WEEBEE Stamping"! Wendy's gallery is full of clean, crisp and fun cards to gain inspiration from. I used her card found here for my CASE today. I went with the "Love" theme and changed the stamps, colors and layout. This card is also for the Flourishes "Feel the Love" challenge. Flourishes is having a new release party this Friday. Busy, busy week!!

Click on Photo to Enlarge

Supplies: Stamps: Flourishes Lace Heart at Marks Finest Papers Paper: Marks Finest Papers Snow Storm Smooth White, Strawberry Smoothy and Basic Grey Urban Prairie Ink: Pink Accessories: MS Border Punch, BG Half Pearls, Ribbon Enjoy!

Tree of Love

It's Saturday!! Yeah!! Do you have a routine for the weekends? Or do you just go with the flow, relax and enjoy? I look forward to Saturdays, not only because I am away from my workday job, but I have time to stamp at my leisure. No rushing like on weekday nights and I find my MoJo works better when I am relaxed and have no pressure to cook, clean, grocery shop....You know the routine!! One of my favorite Saturday activities is to do the SCS Inspiration Challenge. Steph is always coming up with awesome web sites for us to gain inspiration from. It is fun to see how others view their inspiration piece and what they create from that view. Today's SCS Inspiration Challenge is~ Groovy Inclinations. WOW, did Steph ever pick a great site for Inspiration! Lots of prints with trees! I chose this Small Sweets print for my inspiration.

Click on Photo to Enlarge

In looking at the print, I knew that I would use Basic Grey Bittersweet papers as the combination matched the print perfectly. I wanted to use the MFT set, Grow Love Plant a Tree, as it has been sitting in my "new but never used" stack. There is a MFT Wednesday Stamp Club challenge this week, and decided to go with the sketch for my layout. Not an easy feat with the star! We had the option to change out the star for another shape but I just kept staring at the layout until my mind found a balance point. I printed the layout full size (5x5 approx.) and cut out the star and traced around it for the star on my card. The edges were sponged with brown ink. The background circle is cut using a Coluzzle template and the scalloped circle using a Spellbinders scalloped circle. I was going to get the sewing machine out but decided to hand draw the dot/dash motif instead. Gives it a little whimsy! The final touches were MFT Glittered Garnishes and BG half pearls. Have a Great Weekend! Enjoy!

Friends Like You

Hi There Friends!! Happy Friday! It has been a whirlwind the past few days with new releases by My Favorite Things, Gina K, Pink Cat Studio and Taylored Expressions, just to name a few. Next week there are more companies doing releases. Stay tuned here for Mark's Finest Papers Release next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Beautiful stamps, more supplies, papers and of course, a giveaway!! I made this card for last Sunday's SCS Featured Stamper Challenge, featuring Ann (Ardodd) and the Crazy4Challenges Challenge to use Polka Dots. Ann's gallery is so full of lovely cards and this card caught my eye! I have quilled once but it was at Faith's Stamp Weekend, and I do not have the tool. So I took this beautiful card for my inspiration and changed the quilled roses to Blooming Buttons, changed the embossed background to a polka dot DP and added a sentiment at the bottom.

Click on Photo to Enlarge

Supplies:

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Blooming Button Bits

Paper: PTI Kraft, White, Simple Valentine DP

Ink: Ruby Red

Accessories: PTI Vintage Buttons, Thread

Enjoy!

Dragonfly Inspiration

Happy Thursday!

A quick post today.

My card is for this week's SCS Inspiration Challenge~Design Spirit Studio. What an awesome Etsy store that uses old windshield glass for some of their creations! I chose this piece for my inspiration.

Click on Photo to Enlarge

The dragonfly is stamped on the pink background, then stamped again and cut out. The panels around the outside edge are cut from the same DP. Love Basic Grey Lemonade!

All supplies can be found at Mark's Finest Papers

Stamps: MFP Tattered Angels Graceful Journey

Paper: MFP Lime Squeeze, Basic Grey Lemonade

Ink: Black

Accessories: Pink Cabachons

Enjoy!

Wrapped In Love

Good morning!

I am having so much fun using some new stamp sets that I got for Christmas! This card is for the January Guest Designer Contest at My Favorite Things. Each month MFT holds this contest and from time to time I get a chance to play! This months challenge is to "Get inspired by all things that New Years has to bring.. Party clothes, bubbly champagne, and of course the hope that a bright and shiny new year has to bring! Let your projects shine for us using BLING this month!"

The stamp set is MFT's Wrapped In Love. Who's That Girl and the packages were stamped on white and colored with Copics. The big package was stamped a second time and is wrapped with Silver Metallic Ric Rac and popped up on top of the first package. I added pink and white glitter to the other two packages and bows. Out came some glittered DP to use for the background. Definitely a lot of BLING!

With all these pieces, I then had to decide how to lay out my card. Just in the nick of time, Mercy posted the Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #55 and the layout was just the one I needed!!

Click on Photo to Enlarge

Supplies:

Stamps: MFT WTG Wrapped In Love

Ink: Black

Paper: DCWV All Dressed Up Glittered Stack

Accessories: Spellbinders Label 4, Silver Ric Rac, Glitter, Copics C1, C5, E50, R59, V000

Enjoy!

Let's Hang Out

Happy Monday!! For those of you getting back into the routine today, I hope things go smoothly. I got "back in the grind" last Monday! This past weekend was soooo cold here! Temps in the 20's at night and barely making it into the mid 40's during the day. Bill and I ventured out Saturday for a drive, but Sunday was a stay in, get the Christmas decorations put away, and of course STAMP, kind of day! So, in keeping with the title of my post today.... Here is my faithful friend, Ghost, hanging out by the fire. You see that Pelican peeking out around the chair? Even he was cold and was hanging out by the fire! :-)

I am a huge fan of Melanie Muenchinger and have several of her stamp sets. She is celebrating two years of illustrating and blogging this week. Did you know that she has released 25 stamp sets? To celebrate, she did a blog hop with 25 stamper/bloggers using each of her stamp sets. She invited everyone to join in the celebration by completing a card/project and adding a link to her post. I decided to join in the fun!! I stamped Inspiration Mosaic on a piece of Cosmo Cricket "The Boyfriend" paper. Using Melanie's technique I shaded different squares of the Mosaic with Copics (B00, E31,G40). On to the "Little Tees" set for the T-shirt and the Sentiment. The t-shirt is stamped and colored with Copics (YR00 and YR01) on GinaK's Pure Luxury Ivory Cardstock. Ribbon and Buttons complete the look. Have a great week! Enjoy!

SCS New Years Eve Challenge

Happy New Year Everyone!! I took the day off yesterday from blog posting and worked on cleaning up my craft space, organizing my upcoming stamping obligations and viewing others blog posts and commenting. I have so many blogs in reader that I follow, and one of my goals for the new year is to comment more. If you have time to "spread the love" by commenting in your travels through blog land or any of the forums, please do so. It is so much appreciated to have someone leave a comment even if it is only a word or two of praise! Ok....on to my cards! The three cards below were completed for the New Years Eve challenge that Lois, Faith and NancyRuth put together on SCS. It was definitely short notice (they did this preparation in one day!) but for those of us that spend New Years Eve at home, it was a lot of fun! I completed three of the five challenges. (Dinner out with my sweetheart was first priority...hehe). This first card was to make a Clean and Simple Thank You card. I am not a CAS kind of gal, but here is what I came up with!

Click on Photo to Enlarge

Supplies: Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers Tattered Angels Nature Graceful Journey Paper: Mark's Finest Papers Snow Storm Smooth White and Lemon Slice Ink: Tempting Turquoise Accessories: MFP Ribbon, Baby Blue Stickles, Label Punch, CB Embossing Folder This next card was for the Glitz and Glam challenge. We were to put some bling on our card. This is not my usual style but the Owl in the Tattered Angels set kept looking at me..... :-) It is a large stamp, so I went with a 5x7 card for this one.

Click on Photo to Enlarge

Supplies: Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers Tattered Angels Nature Graceful Journey Paper: Basic Grey Indian Summer Ink: Brown and Ruby Red Accessories: Spellbinders, Sponge dauber, Rhinestones My last card was for the Bowl Game Name challenge. We were to choose a bowl game name as our inspiration for our card. Did you know there are over twenty bowl games??? I chose the "Hawaii Bowl". I did a similar card to this earlier in the year for a VSN Challenge. I always seem to bring out these colors when I use this stamp set!

Click on Photo to Enlarge

Supplies: Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers Beach Life by Flourishes Paper: Mark's Finest Papers Tan Line, Always Artichoke Ink: Always Artichoke Accessories: Spellbinders, Ribbon Great challenges...Got me out of my comfort zone on two of them! Enjoy!