AND THE WINNER IS....................

Number 30!

Daneen said:

I visit your blog for the great card idea's and I love when you do video's also. Happy Birthday to your sweet little one!

Congratulations Daneen!

Send you snail mail to stampfest@cox.net and I will get your goodies to your next week.

Thanks to everyone who left a comment and the nice things you have written. I know I have only created one video tutorial, since Christmas.  I need to plan those back into my schedule after teacher/staff apprecation week.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!  I appreciate it!

Happy Stamping!

For You Friend

This week's sketch challenge is hosted by Lynn and here is the gallery for you inspiration to play along.

The card I made below is three fold.  First, I wanted to make something with the March stamp of the month, Butterfly Wings, for our club meeting next week.  Second, I wanted to play along this week for our sketch challenge at Paper Craft Planet.  Third, our theme this month at Paper Craft is friend/frienship, so I wanted to make something with that sentiment.  I hit all three....whoopee!

Those of you who are in my club....this is it!  We will be making a similiar card next week.  I really like the March stamp of the month.  The Butterflies are so pretty!  

Mom cam

Isn't the prisma glitter awesome?  It is the only glitter I use...love it!

Supplies used (All products are CTMH unless noted): Paper - Paper Garden level 2; Stamp sets - Butterfly Wings (March stamp of the month), Say It In Style, Adorable Backgrounds; Ink - Blush, Sweet Leaf marker, Sunkiss Yellow marker, Purple Pansy marker; Accessories - Petal bigger brads, prisma glitter, bling flowers (unknown)

There are even more reasons to stop by Paper Craft Planet.  Now, we are holding two new challenges a week.  Jen is hosting Scrappy Sunday and Adela and Sankari are hosting 3D Tuesday.  Check them out!  Both challenges are featured on the main page this week!

AND....don't forget to leave a comment for blog candy from me on this post.  

Happy Stamping!

Happy Birthday to Tate!

Sunday, February 22nd was Tate's birthday.  He is eight years old now and graduated out of a booster seat for the car.  He is so excited.  To celebrate his birthday I am giving out blog candy this week.  The lucky winner will receive a brand new "D" sized stamp set from CTMH ($22.95 value) called Treasure Life.  In addition, I will throw in some extra goodies that will be a surprise.

Over the next two weeks, I am going to be very busy with PTA "stuff" and preparing for a scrapbook garage sale I am going to be at this weekend.  I am going to be creating, but not much.  In addition, I have to work on taxes....Bummer!  

To be eligible for the blog candy drawing just leave an answer to the following question in the comment section.  Why do you visit my site...to see cards, digital scrapbooking, etc.?  I will draw a winner from by random number generator on Friday, February 27th.

Here is my big boy!  I can't believe he is eight already!  He had a Batman cake.  You know, it is ALL about the superheros at this age.  Notice his Spiderman t-shirt.

Here is Tanner enjoying the BLACK, yes black frosting!  He loved it!  We had to take his shirt off, because he was getting it everywhere.  

Edited to add:  Hey, I forgot to tell you that my tutorial on how to make the pop top can gift containers is on Paper Craft Planet.  When you click on this link, it will take you to the main page.  Scroll down to see volume 7 of the newsletter.  Click on the pdf file and it will take you to the newsletter and my tutorial.  Yay!

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!

Joy to the World

We received another wonderful sketch from Maria for the Christmas Stamping All Year Round group.  When I saw this I knew I wanted to go back to my Deedle-dee Doodles Christmas stamps and color.  I was afraid of the bow at the top.  If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know I am not a bow person.  I like them, but I can't make them well.  

Today, I was determined to tie a bow that didn't look too bad.  I was happy with my result (see below).  I still need practice, because it took me forever...LOL!

This angel is from Diane's Christmas Decorations set.  This set is the same set that I used when I made my Nutcracker card, Christmas Tree and this Snowman card.  This is a great set to play with, especially when coloring.

I used the new designer paper, Emporium, from CTMH.  This level 2 pack is "packed" with awesome patterns.

Mom cam

You can see the glitter paper better here.  It really sparkles in person.  For the sentiment, I used Christmas Scripts from CTMH.

Supplies used: Paper - Emporium Level 2 (CTMH), Cranberry cs (CTMH), white and silver glitter cardstock (DCWV), Solar White Crest (Neenah), white daisy cs (CTMH); Stamp Sets - Christmas Scripts (CTMH), Christmas Decorations (Deedle-dee Doodles); Ink - black (Memento), cranberry (CTMH), copics, gold gel pen (Making Memories); Accessories - sparkles (CTMH), pop dots (unknown), white organdy ribbon (Sheer Creations), silver dot sparkles (Stampendous), D'Vine Swirls embossing folders (Cuttlebug)

Happy Stamping!

roll with it

 I haven't been able to get the phrase "roll with it" out of my head, so I decided to make a spinner card with Today's Forecast and Wings and Things: Small.

So the sentiment together is "Anything is possible...roll with it!"  Anything is possible is from the Wings and Things: Small stamp set and roll with it is printed from my computer.  Of course, Mr. Smiley (one of my favs) is from Today's Forecast.

I made a video tutorial on this type of card a while ago.  If you want to see how to make this type of spinner card, click here.

The first spinner card has the spinning image at the top, but this time I wanted it at the bottom.  

Here is short video to show you this card in motion:

Happy Stamping!

My Friend Chuck

Yesterday, was one of those days where I did NOTHING!  I have those once in a while and I guess I need them.  After dinner, I decided to scrap, but I wanted to watch a little tv (again do nothing).  Normally, I don't watch tv in the evening, but I was still continuing my lounge filled day.  Sooooooo.....I digi scrapped in a big chair with my feet up.  It was nice.

I created my first two-page digi layout.  Everything I used in these two pages were from my free stash.  It took me longer to put the first page together, because I had to find the papers and colors I wanted to use.  The second page was a breeze.  I noticed when I uploaded these I forgot to add a date, so I will have to change that before I print them.  You can click on them to enlarge the page to read the journaling.

I have had people ask me about digital scrapping and why I do it.  I guess I always like to learn new things and I do love technology.  I am getting better at just playing around with all the features of Photoshop and seeing what the features do to my pics, etc.  I love the undo button.  I use it a lot.  I use the same scrapbooking method I use when I scrap traditionally.  In fact, I just thought about making some layouts from the CTMH books Reflections, Imagine and Cherish digitally.  That will be a big project.  Hmmm!  I will let you know if I accomplish that one.

Happy Stamping and Scrapping!

this

I decided to get back to my digi class and create a layout today.  I am so far behind.  It is so nice that I have access to the videos and lessons all the time.  I had to refer back to my first class to finish this one.  If I digi scrapped all the time, I would probably remember the steps.

I made my first digi supply purchase today.  I bought a Border Templates set by Katie Pertiet.  That is how I could make the scallop border on my blue designer paper.  Pretty cool!  Everything else I used on this layout was free.  Yippee!  This layout is supposed to be basic, because the assignment is to get it done in 30 minutes or less.  Well, it took me longer because I don't am not good at deciding what I want to use.  I always pull up multiply papers, fonts, etc.  In addition, I was supposed to take pictures and use those.  Since I have soooo many photos I have not scrapped yet, I went to my archives.  When I saw these pictures of Tate diving, I knew I wanted to show them in a filmstrip style.

Tate is like a fish in water and can't wait for summer again.  He is always talking about it, so I thought "this makes me happy" would be perfect.  We were supposed to incorporate that title into our layout.  You can click to read the journaling.

Happy Stamping and Scrapping!

Loves Me...Love Me Not

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Tate and Tanner loved opening their Valentine Day pop top cans. I think they liked the money more than the candy. Tanner carried around his $5.00 bill for a while before putting it in his piggy bank. He needed help opening the frige to put his milk away, because he had the $5.00 bill in his other hand and wouldn't put it down. Either he like it a lot OR he thought one of us would take it...LOL!

I thought of this flower card when I was trying to decide which Molly Stamps I was going to use this week. I made another flower card with the Today's Forecast here. This set is great to add that perfect face to your project. There are faces for about every mood you want to create.

I used the new Unforgettable Level 2 paper pack from CTMH and I couldn't find the stamp I need or the letters little enough to stamp on the petals, so I used a cocoa marker and wrote it myself. I think that personalizes it! Boy, my DH is going to get a lot of cards this year!

I stamped the love smitten Today's Forecast face on vanilla cream cs (CTMH) in cocoa ink and colored the heart eyes in with a blush marker. The big pink flower comes from the Big Pinks paper flower collection from CTMH. They come in pink and white. I think this was white and I inked it with one of their pink inks. I don't remember which one, because it was a long time ago. It didn't match the pink flower that comes in the packet, so I must have altered it for a project and changed my mind. It came in handy for this one, because it matches the flowers in the designer paper perfectly and had a white edge on some of the petals.

Supplies used: All products are CTMH, unless noted. Paper - Unforgettable Level 2, sorbet cs, cocoa cs, vanilla cream cs; Ink - cocoa, blush and cocoa marker; Stamp set - Today's Forecast (Molly Stamps); Accessories - circle wiindow charms, cocoa brads, Big pinks flowers, concave punch ( EK Success)

I feel like a schmuck! Remember my friend, Jeanne, sent me a beautiful card and neckwarmer...love it! I have it on now. It keeps me soooo warm! Well, my friend, Barb, sent me the little treat basket below and the beautiful card for Valentine's Day. Thanks so much, Barb! Why am I a schmuck? I didn't do anything for them for Valentine's Day. I was so happy to get a package in the mail. What a nice surprise! Barb's card is beautiful and the basket is so cute! It has yummies in it too! I have awesome friends! Now, I am going to have to surprise both of you some day. I am so thankful we found each other through bloggin'!

Here is the inside of the card Barb sent me. Wow! Not only is the outside beautiful, the inside is so cute too! Great job, Barb!

Happy Stamping!

Nutcracker

Yesterday, everyone was wearing spring jackets and today school was canceled due to snow.  YAY!  I was hoping to get a bunch of stamping done today, but the boys had other plans.  We went sledding and played games.  I did get my Christmas All Year 'Round challenge done.  Whew!  I always seem to complete this challenge at the end of the week, but at least I am not behind on my Christmas cards....LOL!

This is another great sketch from Maria.  I don't know where she comes up with all of her ideas on a WEEKLY basis.  Once I picked my stamp, I knew I wanted to use the big black brads I got a while ago.  

I used a Deedle-dee Doodles image from her Christmas Decorations stamp set.  I really like these images, because they are fun and easy to color.  Diana made them with coloring book images in mind, so crafters could use whatever medium they wanted and get a great finished look.  Isn't he cute?  We have two nutcrackers, so I grab one and started coloring.  Once I had him finished, I searched for the perfect paper.  Check out Diane's blog!  She is working on some new sets that are at the top of her sidebar.  CUTE!

I wish you could see the sparkly red paper like I can...and....the shimmer of the pearl paper right behind the nutcracker.  Both of these papers are from Paper Temptress.  They added just the right amount of shimmer and sparkle to my card.

Supplies used: Paper - red sparkle and off-white glimmer (Paper Temptress), black and moonstruck cs (CTMH), solar white crest (Neenah), gold (Scenic Route Paper Co.); ink - black (Memento), copic markers; stamp set - Christmas Decorations (Deedle-dee Doodles); Accessories - big black brads (unkown); white gel pen (SU), pop dots (unknown), D'Vine Swirl embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

Hey ~ Did you see my new blog banner?  I felt like something different.  I made it myself in PSE and I need more training.  I am considering having someone design a blog banner for me, but I don't know what I want it to look like, especially if I am going to pay for it and keep it up for a while.

Happy Stamping!

Pop Top Can

I have a quick post today.  I am still working on Valentine Gifts for my family and PTA "stuff".  I am chairing teacher & staff appreciation week this year, so I am busy making plans.

I took the time to finish Tate & Tanner's Valentine Day gift.  Since they get enough candy on a regular basis and at school, I decided to give them one little bag of M & Ms and $5.00.  I put their goodies in this fruit can that is sealed.  Yes, it is magic!  See the pop top below.  They are going to have fun opening these babies.

Before you ask...yes, I did do a tutorial on this; however, it is a paper tutorial with pics and it will appear in one of the upcoming Paper Craft Planet newsletters.  Don't forget to check out the weekly newsletter on the front page of the Planet's website.  It has a lot of good stuff in it.

I used a bunch of leftover materials, so I don't have a supply list for you today.  The Be Mine stamp on the tag is the the All My Love stamp set (CTMH).

Happy Stamping!

Valentine Goody & RAK

If you haven't taken advantage of the Valentine's Day kit at Paper Craft Planet, you still have time.  I made this treat bag for Seth with the kit.  He loves Hot Tamales and I thought it was a cute idea to put them in the gift bag with this sentiment.  I used hot pink staples from CTMH to attached the designer paper to the cello bag.  This was the easiest gift I made yet.

If you are running behind with your Valentine's Day gifts and cards, this is the perfect kit.  I know some of you might have concern with how much ink it takes to print the papers, but I didn't think it was that much.  I have a Canon printer that has individual ink tanks for the colors and the red ink didn't move much at all.  I thought I would have to replace it.   You get a lot of cards and projects for only $5.00.  You can even use it next year for different people.  Click here to purchase the kit.  You won't be sorry!

Here is the cutest Valentine card I got from Jeanne Tomshack in the mail yesterday with a neck warmer.  Isn't the card the cutest?  Jeanne, you sure used your creative juices on this one.  The wings have glitter on them and sparkle.  Adorable!

Okay, I couldn't make this picture too big, because it is scary to put a picture of myself on my blog.  My picture on the sidebar is so little, so you can't see me very well.  

Here is the neck warmer Jeanne sent me.  I made a comment on her blog that I am always cold and she remembered that and sent me something to stay warm.  AWESOME!  It works!  I was toasty last night.  Whenever I get a chill, I put my warmer on and am good to go.  It is brown too!  Love it!  THANKS, Jeanne!

Happy Stamping!

Fall Into Fun

Finally...I took the time to work on my digital scrapbooking.  I finished lesson 2 from the Now We're Rockin' with Photoshop class at JessicaSprague.com.  We learned SO much in this lesson that I am going to make this same layout with Tate's pictures.  Normally, I could just switch the pictures, but I want to create it twice hoping the techniques will stick in my head.

These are some of the techniques I learned creating this layout:

• Add a grungy-edged mask to a photo
• Create a circular photo block with four "pie pieces" using a template
• Create a reversed-out journaling strips
• Re-color and blend an overlay to match it to the layout
• Darken the layout and paper edges for a dramatic effect (burned)

Whew!  My brain hurts...LOL!  I will be back tomorrow with a Valentine treat bag for my hubby, an awesome RAK from my friend, Jeanne, and a cute card she sent me too!

Happy Stamping and Scrapping!

CELEBRATE

Here is my sketch for this week's sketch challenge at Paper Craft Planet.  I was inspired by the new Cupcake Sprinkles stamp set from CTMH.  This is my favorite set from the 2009 spring catalog.  When I saw the CELEBRATE sentiment, I knew I wanted to stamp that along the side.  I decided to add it to the inside of the card, and show when was open and closed.  Soooooooooooo, I created the card below.

Check out the gallery at Paper Craft Planet for this sketch challenge here for more inspiration.

I really like this card!  When I was creating it everything just seemed to fall into place.  My mojo was working...LOL!  The card base is 8 1/2 x 5 1/2, scored at 4 1/4.  Then I cut 1 1/4 inches off the front, right side.  After stamping the CELEBRATE sentiment in juniper ink, I wrote on the letters with my 2 way zig glue pen.  Then I added prisma glitter to make it sparkle.  

The sprinkles on the cupcake were made with a 1/8" hand punch.  I adhered them to the cupcake with the same zig glue pen.  This took longer than just stamping the sprinkle images that comes with the set, but I wanted to make my sprinkles stand out.  Love them!  For the recipe, see below.

Mom cam

See the glitter....pretty!

I remembered I only had one bigger brad of each of those colors left in my stash.  What do you do with one brad in a color?  You can mix them with others to match the pattern paper.  I got lucky with this one.

Supplies used: All supplies are CTMH unless noted.  Paper - Key To My Heart January Promotion pattern paper, colonial white cs, juniper cs; Ink - juniper, creme brulee, juniper marker; stamp set - Cupcake Sprinkles; Accessories - tulip paper clip and bigger brad, creme brulee designer ribbon and bigger brad, juniper bigger brad, sorbet ric rac, prisma glitter, mat pack paper piercing guide (SU), pop dots (unknown) 

I hope you can play along with me this week.

Happy Stamping!

Christmas Sketch 21

I got another Christmas card made today for the Christmas All Year Long Group created by Maria Bell.  I tell ya the Christmas stamp sets designed by Deedle-dee Doodles are perfect for these weekly sketches.  They are so fun and easy to color!  These images are perfect if you want to practice coloring with your copics or any type of medium.  This Christmas tree is from the Christmas Decorations set.  

In addition, to the Deedle-dee Doodles image I used the following CTMH sets:

• Joy - santa and reindeer (retired)
• Beauty of Christmas - snowflake (retired)
• Spot on Backgrounds - background in back of Christmas tree

When I was organizing my stamp studio the other day, I found my tag maker by Making Memories.  I used it today on the three little tags.  I am so glad I found it!

Supplies: Paper - Green Plaid (by Jeanne Mooney), Cardstock (tulip, crystal blue, white daisy) by CTMH, Solar Crest White by Neenah; Stamp sets - Christmas Decorations (Deedle-dee Doodles), Joy (CTMH), Beauty of Christmas (CTMH), Spot on Backgrounds (CTMH); Ink - crystal blue (CTMH), black (Memento); Accesories - whte pearl (Hero Arts), silver tags (Making Memories), crystal blue organdy ribbon (CTMH), copics, EK Success concave punch, pop dots (unknown)

Tomorrow, I am hosting the sketch challenge on Paper Craft Planet.  Stop back here tomorrow to check out the sketch and card I made for this.  Don't forget to head over to Paper Craft Planet tomorrow to see the gallery.

Happy Stamping!

Anything is possible

I had so much fun making this card today.  I embossed the butterfly wings three times before I decided on this one.  This set of wings and sentiment "Anthing is possible" is from the Wings and Things - Small set made by Molly Stamps.  I know the groundhog saw his shadow this week and we have six more weeks of winter, but we are supposed to have 40 and 50 degree weather for the next few days.  That will make it feel like spring, so I think of butterflies.

I really like the paper I used for this card too!  It is the new paper pack, Unforgettable, from the CTMH 2009 Spring Idea Book.  I love the colors and the flowers.

See the pink lace trim I used on the top and bottom of the brown, flowered paper.  These are so pretty!  I got them from Diane, owner and designer of Deedle-dee Doodles.  I adhered the lace trim on the card with liquid glass and wrapped it around the back so it wouldn't fray.  I wish you could see this card in person, because the textures are so nice.

Here is a close-up (mom cam) of the butterfly.  I stamp the wings in versamark on pattern paper from Unforgettable and embossed them with gold embossing powder.  I used retired My Accents beads from CTMH for the body and check out the antennas.  Remember when I told you my mom found a hug stash of ric rac and ribbon at a garage sale.  I got the pink and gold ric rac from that, thanks Mom!  It matched perfectly!  The ric rac was from JC Penney and it only cost 13 cents at the time.  Now, you know how old that ribbon is and it is in all the original packaging.  Thanks again, MOM!  Oh, I just noticed how you can see the lace trim really well on this pic too!  If you are interested in purchasing a package of lace trim in various colors, please email me at stampfest@cox.net and I will contact Diana.

Since our theme this month at Paper Craft Planet is Friends/Friendship I wanted to tie this card to that theme.  When I thought of the theme and saw the sentiment I used on the front, I thought finishing the card "With Friends".  Boy, I have been using my printer a lot lately.  I used cocoa color (R-117, G-104, B-87) and Black Chancery.  I print my sentiment on regular printer paper, so I knew where it will be and then I attached my cardstock over the words with dotto (removale adhesive) and print again.  Perfect every time!  I got this idea from Diana Gibbs, a fellow Paper Craft Planet DT member.  Thanks, Diana!

Supplies: All products are CTMH unless noted. Paper - Unforgettable Level 2 paper; Stamp set - Wings and Things - Small; Ink - gold embossing powder, juniper, cocoa marker, Accessories - pink ric rac (JC Penney), My Accents beads, pop dots (unknown), gold brads, pink crocheted lace (Deedle-dee Doodles), chocolate designer ribbon, creme brulee designer ribbon; Tools - EK Success corner rounder without guard to make scallops, computer, printer, Black Chancery font, 1 3/8" circle punch (SU), scallop circle punch (SU).

Happy Stamping!

Great cards

I did created last night, but I can't show you what I made until Saturday.  I am the host this Saturday for Paper Craft Planet sketch challenge.  I made the sketch and then the card.  I don't usually create that way, so it was a challenge for me.  In addition, I have been working on our taxes.  Yuck!  I don't know how accoutants do it.  I don't like the job, but my DH hates it worse than me.

I have a few cards to show you that I got in the mail lately.  I love to go to the mailbox and get handmade cards.  It is so fun to open them and cardlift...LOL!  These were made by my upline, Chris Shouse and my blogging friend, Pam Volk.  Thanks, ladies!  Love them!

Chris Shouse

Chris Shouse

Pam Volk

My last post was about the awesome Valentine's Day Kit at Paper Craft Planet.  You can still purchase this great kit for only $5.00 here.  I showed you how the cards look just printed from your computer.  These talented ladies kicked it up a notch and use embellishments to make their cards look fantastic.  Check out what they did with this kit!

Tammy Hershberger

Melanie Muenchinger

Wendy Price

Jen Tapler (co-designer)

Happy Stamping!