A Haunting Halloween.........Sketch!!

Here is another of my challenge cards for the Dare to Get Dirty Challenges!! This one is for a sketch posted by Julia Stainton!

I JUST got this set and had to mount it before I could even play! I knew I wanted to get this set 'dirty' for this challenge, even though we're a little ways away from Hallowe'en!!

The base of the card is a 5 1/2 inch square of Pumpkin Pie and the patterned paper is the designer paper from last year. I have lots left, so I thought I'd play with it. I sponged all the edges....the base with Pumpkin Pie and the designer papers with Elegant Eggplant. On the card base I stamped the little stars and swirls stamp from the set around the edge like a border and the second half of the sentiment is on the bottom right. I used my Sakura Stardust gel pen to make it all sparkly too. The black strip of paper in the centre is distressed along both edges and I added some linen thread and a pumpkin button. For the buttons I had to file off the plastic loop on the back.....my fingers still hurt from doing that! The main image and first part of the sentiment is stamped with Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink on shimmery white cardstock and I used my SU markers to colour it in. I added some sparkle on that piece too and doodled around the edge. It is matted on Elegant Eggplant cardstock and don'tcha just LOVE that little froggie??? So cute!

Now don't forget about my sketch challenge!!! I don't have ANY entries yet.....are you ladies sick of my challenges???? Let me know if you would like another type of challenge!!! I'm all ears!! Have a wonderful Tuesday!!

Thanks a Latte!!

Okay, let me start off by saying that today has been a bit of a bummer!! I woke up this morning to NO internet!! *gasp* Can you believe such a thing?? Just all of a sudden our wireless internet went kaput!! So my honey tried to fix it....then he called Bell and spent an hour on the phone with them. After much 'adjusting', they told us to turn it off for FOUR HOURS!! Then it would magically be fixed!! Well, that's all fine and dandy but I needed to create four cards to teach at a class at the library on Monday night!! You know I need my SCS and favourite blogs for inspiration, right??? So this was my challenge for the day.....create with no internet!

Well, I got my little butt moving and decided that since this is a VERY beginner's class with 20 people who have never touched a stamp before, it shouldn't be too hard. And once I got going.....I realized I was right!! So I finished all my creatin' and preparin' by the time the internet was 'scheduled' to be back up.

So my honey goes and turns his computer on and lo and behold, it works!! He comes upstairs....and mine doesn't!!! GRRR!! So he got back on the phone and he and our buddy Mohammed at Bell were on the phone for TWO HOURS!!!!! Aaaaaaaaaaaagggggggghhhhh!!! The good news is, it's fixed. The SUPER GREAT FANTASTIC news is.....I'm gettin' a laptop!!! WOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! We've been eyeing them and pricing them and doing our research for months and there was a special promotion on through Bell, so we're going for it! That way Emileigh and I can both be on the computers at the same time........me craftin' and stampin' on my laptop and her playing her Sims2 and talkin' with her friends on the desktop one in my craft room!! We can be in the same room hangin' out, yet doing our own thing too!!!

Then the evening went down the loo!!! Not really, but ya know how you get in your comfy clothes in the evening, take off your BRA (which should be illegal by the way) and get all relaxed on the couch with your daughter, son, significant other, cat, dog...whatever!! And then the dang doorbell rings???? Well, that's what happened at the Reid house!! GGGRRRRR!! You'd think with all the fancy schmancy technology these days....LIKE A PHONE.....people would PICK ONE UP BEFORE THEY SHOW UP UNANNOUNCED!!! Am I the only one who hates when people just drop in??? Maybe I am. Sorry......that's my rant for the day........I'm done........back to our regularly scheduled stamping!!!!

Anyhoo! On to the card!! Today's card is for one of the Dirty Girl challenges on SCS. The challenge was to use only acrylic stamps on your card. Acrylic stamps are becoming more and more popular and most people have them, even if they are only the little ones from Michael's $ spot. So I inked up my Hot Stuff set from My Favorite Things for the first time and I really like how this card came out!

I used Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink on shimmery white cardstock and coloured it in with my SU markers and then punched it out using my Mega Circle Punch. I doodled around the border and matted it on a Chocolate Chip piece punched with my Giga Scalloped Circle Punch and used my white gel pen for the dots. The card base is a 5 1/2 inch square in Certainly Celery and I stamped the little stamps in CC on the right hand side. The little flower is actually from a Studio G set. The patterned paper is Three Bugs in a Rug......I've been using their paper a lot lately, I love it!! And I matted it on Chocolate Chip and added some celery grosgrain ribbon on the top and bottom.....and of course.......the main image is ......... pop dotted!!

Have a wonderful Monday and I'll let you know how the class at the library goes!!!

We're Quite a Pair!!

Yesterday I had the whole day off....sigh. It was lovely and I got to play along with some of the Dirty Girl Challenges on Splitcoaststampers!! It was so much fun!! This one was a sketch challenge......and you KNOW how I love sketch challenges!!

So when I went shopping to a great stamp store with my Mom a few weeks ago, I saw this awesome stamp that I loved, but wasn't sure how much use I would get out of it because it is so specific. Besides, I had a bunch of other stamps in my hot little hands already!! So I decided not to get it. WELL!! My crafty little Momma went to a giant sale they had at their store last week and bought it for me!!! Heehee!! Thanks Mom!! *MWAH*

So I pulled out my little 007 and Bond Girl stamp to play with for this challenge! The company that makes it is called ScrapMandu and I googled it but I think they are now out of business. Sorry! I stamped them on shimmery white cardstock with Black Onyx ink and coloured them in with my SU markers and Sakura Stardust gel pen. I used the new black textured cardstock from SU, Wild Wasabi and Almosty Amethyst. The patterned paper is by Three Bugs in a Rug and you can't really tell in the pic, but I also used Black Sugarcoated paper which is black glitter paper, for the stars and the matting. I stamped 'We're quite a pair' with my karen Foster Snap Stamps and punched it with my Large Oval punch. I think it's a perfect card for anniversaries, so this one I made specifically for my honey for ours, which is in September! Mom - remind me I have it, will you??? I tend to forget things!! *heehee*

Have a wonderful weekend and don't forget to join in my challenge!!! (It's in the last post!)

Just Wanted to Say 'HAY'!!! *giggle*

So this week on SCS they are having a rockin' good party with some 'Dare to Get Dirty' challenges and I SO wanna play!! There are three challenges each day plus EIGHT on Saturday and Sunday!! Unfortunately..........I have a JOB which keeps getting in the way!! Argh!! But I was able to do one of them this morning before work!

The challenge was to make a card FOR a pet, FROM a pet OR OF a pet! Well, I figured most people would be doing dogs or cats, so I pulled out my FAVOURITE Magenta Horsie stamp!! I stamped it in shimmery white cardstock with Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink and used my Prismacolour pencils and Odourless Mineral Spirits to blend it, then added some shading with my Sahara Sand SU marker and doodled with my Black journaler. The patterned paper I used is my FAVE Basic Grey paper, Blush!! I LOVE the colour combos in it, so the cardstock I used for the card base and matting is Taken With Teal. I added some yummy grosgrain ribbon and stamped my sentiment on a BG tag and pop dotted the main image. The finishing touch was the pair of NEW jumbo eyelets in the corner!

HEY!!! Look at the counter over there!!! It looks like I've passed 30,000 visitors!! How FREAKIN' AWESOME is THAT????? I still can't believe people wanna come and look at MY stuff!! Wow!! Well, you know what that means.........a CHALLENGE..........with some Kimmie's Kandy!!! All you have to do is make a card using today's card as inspiration and link it here in this posting or email it to me. Since there are SO many challenges going on at SCS this week, I'll leave it open until next Friday night at midnight EST, so that you have a chance to join in the fun!! Then I'll pick a winner.....or maybe two!! Now WHAT should the prizes be?? I'll have to think about that one!! Have an awesome Friday!!! MWAH!!!

Julee's Sketch!!

So ya know my friend, Julee??? Well, she just announced something really cool on her site this morning!!! Seems she will be opening up an online store which includes STAMPS designed by...........JULEE!!! How super cool is that??? So head on over and get all the deets!

To go along with that cool announcement, she posted a 'fast and furious' challenge to be completed and uploaded by tonight!! So what do you think I've been doing for the last hour???? Yep. Here is my card for her sketch challenge......and I REALLY hope to win some of her new stamps.....I KNOW they are gonna rock!!!

So I started by choosing my image first which was stamped for me by my Mommy.....*hi Mom*....since I don't have this stamp!! It's another Penny Black hedgehog and then I chose my patterned paper to go with! It is by Lil' Davis Designs and I LOVE the colour combo in it....I would never have thought of putting these colours together. The card base is standard size in Real Red and the pp is cuttlebugged and distressed with Chocolate Chip ink and a cosmetic sponge. The flip side of the pp is that soft sky colour which I stamped the flowers from Looks Like Spring on and sponged. The matting is done with Chocolate Chip cardstock and I coloured the image with my SU markers, of course!! I stamped the sentiment using my clear acrylic Paper Tray stamps and wouldn't you know, I got some ink on my finger which then got on my image!!?? I was ticked to say the least! SO I covered it up by punching through the image layer and the card base layer separately with my slot punch and adding some red grosgrain ribbon......can't even tell!! Then I used some Soft Sky coloured Prima Flowers and some white brads!!

I hope I win, I hope I win........think good thoughts!!! *giggle*

Sketch Challenge Repeat!!

I always seem to put pressure on myself to come up with new ideas for you all!! Lately I've noticed that I'm always trying to design an original layout and I rarely use the same stamp or patterned paper twice!! Well, Colleen's Thursday Throwdown made me realize that I don't have to do that!! I CAN use the same sketch twice and I CAN use the same stamp more than once!! Good grief, why do I do that to myself??

Really, though. I'm sure you have several of your favourite sketches that you really enjoy playing with and if you use a different stamp and different materials, your cards turn out totally different! DUH!! What was I thinking??

So Colleen's challenge was to pull out one of your all-time fave sketches and use it again!! *gasp* And the first one I thought of was SC105 from SCS, which I absolutely LOVED when I used it with my Geisha Kitty card!! This time I wanted to use my new Penny Black Fairy Girl stamp which hadn't even seen ink yet!!

Since the image was fairly big, I made the card bigger too. The card base is 5 1/2 X 7 in Pixie Pink. I grabbed some patterned paper that had a lot of colours in it, because I knew I needed lots of different colours for the image. The PP is from Imaginisce and it is double sided. So I stamped the girl on shimmery white in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink and used my trusty SU markers to shade her in and then doodled a simple frame. I matted her on Certainly Celery and Groovy Guava. The card base is stamped in Pixie Pink with the bg stamp that matches Simply Said (can't remember what it's called) with the little flowers on it and I dotted them with the white gel pen. I also added some Almost Amethyst corners and dotted them too! That new Photo Corner punch is SO fun! The circles I cut using my Creative Memories cutting system and I layered the patterned paper, then Almost Amethyst, then Groovy Guava. I added some of the new DELICIOUS Groovy Guava double-stitched ribbon and some Prima Sprites with a rhinestone brad!! I finished it off by adding some sparkle with my Sakura Stardust gel pen!! I think some little girl is gonna LOVE this card!!

So thanks for the eye-opening challenge Colleen!!! *wave* I'm gonna stop putting so much pressure on myself and I'm totally gonna start repeating some of my fave sketches and designs!!

Sweet Stuff!!

Today, I thought I'd change things up a bit and share one of my latest double page layouts! I wish I had more time to do scrapbooking, I have SO many pictures to get caught up on! Maybe I should call in sick....whaddya think?? Heehee!! I seem to do more cards lately because it's so much quicker!!

This layout is for my Florida trip album and these pics were taken when we spent a couple of days at Universal Studios. This was our visit to the Candy Factory and let me tell you....the smell in there was heaven!! They had demonstrations on how to actually make candy and it was so interesting! You can see the guy working with the semi-liquid candy on the bottom right there.

I've also learned over my years scrapbooking, to take, not only more pictures but more interesting pictures. Don't just take pics of the people you are with (although, I know take 2 or 3 times as many now as I did before scrapbooking), but be sure to take interesting pictures like signs and things. I think those are some of the best pics and they are so colourful and intersting!! I also included some fun ones of Emileigh and Al outside the shop and Emmy pretending to eat the giant suckers!! She's such a ham!!

For this layout I used black cardstock for the base pages and some colourful American Crafts patterned paper which sort of matches the ribbon that I used. I also used the Bold Brights colours including Only Orange, Green Galore and Pixie Pink. I added some pretty buttons with linen thread and a lavender coloured Prima Sprite. I love my alphabet stamps and especially the Doodle Alphabet which I used here because I could colour it in with my SU markers in whatever colours I want!!

Have a super SWEET day!!!

I'm a Project of the Month!!

Well I'M not actually a Project of the Month, but my "Snorkel Girl" is!! Heehee!! High Hopes Rubber Stamps has a Summer Special going on right now for some wonderful stamps!! And it's even cheaper if you buy unmounted!!!

You may have seen a couple of my Beach Girl Patti (I call her Snorkel Girl) cards before. The above one is a new one specifically for the website. I started out with a piece of patterned paper that I won in some blog candy but I don't know who makes it. It has a great colour combo in it which includes Chocolate Chip, Garden Green and Cool Caribbean, so that's what I used. The card base is a 5 1/2 inch square of Saara Sand and then I layered some Garden Green on top after running it through the D'vine Swirl Cuttlebug embossing folder. The patterned paper is on the bottom half with a piece of turquoise grosgrain ribbon across the middle. I stamped the Beach Scene on shimmery white paper and coloured it in using my Stampin' Up markers and the sky I did with my Aqua Painter. I stamped Beach Girl Patti and the pair of flip flops separately, coloured them and cut them out. I cut poor little Patti's legs off, so that I could make her float in the sea!! I added some sparkle with my Sakura Stardust gel pen on the sand and her bathing suit and then I added some shine onto her swimming mask and her floaty thing with some Crystal Effects.



You may remember these two cards as well using some of the same stamps. I've posted them again for you to see how different cards can be with some of the same supplies. Here are some other examples for those particular stamps!!



I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Ours was super!! I finished work at 8:30pm on Friday night and Emileigh and I headed over to the Harry Potter release party in London! It was SO much fun!! There was a conductor at the door handing out our tickets to get on Platform 9 3/4 (which of course I will be including on my scrapbook pages) and then we had to get our wristband to show that we had preordered our copy of the new book!! There were so many cool things for the kids to do including getting sorted into the Hogwarts houses (Emileigh and I are both in Gryffindor....heehee!) and visiting Honeydukes Sweets Shop. They could also take some 'classes' like Potions, where they saw some great science stuff and Care of Magical Creatures where they could colour pictures of unicorns and dragons. The place was packed and it was just such a wonderful atmosphere. I got some great pictures of Hagrid, Snape, Rita Skeeter and Professor Trelawney!! There were some super costumes!! There were announcements all evening long and a countdown at midnight!! It went very smoothly and we went through our lineup to pick up our book and then we got a commemorative stamp in the front of our copy on the way out!!

We drove home, changed into our pyjamas, snuggled up in my bed and began reading straight away!! Now, any of you who have had a teenage daughter, you will understand how absolutely special this event was for me. Not many teenagers want to hang out with their Mom, especially for the entire weekend!! When she asked me to do this with her, I didn't hesitate. I read out loud into the wee hours of the morning, and continued on the next day. I read the final words of the Harry Potter series in the wee hours of this morning. I won't give anything away for those who haven't finished yet, but it truly was the best of all seven! There were many wonderful moments and the ending was awesome! I would expect nothing less from J.K. Rowling.

Have a Yappy Day!!

Yesterday's Ways to Use It Challenge on SCS was to dress up the corners of your card. That was convenient for me, because I got my new Photo Corner punch...yippee!!

The first of my new stamp sets that I wanted to mount, was this one....Yappy Day. I just love the little dogs and this particular dog reminds me of our dog, Daisy. And boy is she YAPPY!! So I decided to play with it first.

I mixed a couple of the different types of designer papers on this card using the new Close to Cocoa designer paper and the Certainly Celery one from the Palette of Prints. I coloured the doggie image using my SU markers and doodled around the edge. Then I used my Giga Scalloped Square punch for the Certainly Celery layer. I stamped the bone along a shimmery white panel and shaded them, then matted them on the Rose Red polka dot paper from the Cutie Pie line. I punched out the sentiment with my Word Window Punch and added the Photo Corners along with some brown rhinestones. Then I pop dotted the doggie!!

So didja watch Big Brother last night???? How funny was Kail running around trying to flip things on Dick??? The look on her face was priceless when he won Head of Household!!! Baahahahaa! Now my first thought was, he is definitely going to put up Kail and Jen this week, BUT sometimes things happen on this show to change things up, so I'm not making any bets yet!! It's gonna be a good week, though, one way or the other!

Okay, so Emileigh and I are SUPER excited today!!! Do you know WHY??? Because the final installment in the Harry Potter series is being released at midnight tonight!!! As a huge lover of these books and books in general, it's a totally historic day! I will be so thrilled to get my hands on the book that will finally answer all the questions and secrets. I'm so excited to find out what is going to happen with all my favourite characters. But I'm going to be so sad to read the final pages of this book because there will be no more story, no more anticipation, no more wondering. I have my suspicions as to who will die in this book and also who may reappear...but I'll share those with you after I've read the book. I'm sure you have your ideas too! So tonight will be a fun night for this mother and daughter!! We've preordered our copy and will be picking it up at the midnight release party at Chapters tonight!! Can't wait!!

Thank Ewe!!

I think I'm hooked on Tent Topper cards now.....thanks Colleen!! *wink* They are just so fun and cute! And I love my Penny Black Sheep....I mean Ewe! I call her Eunice (Ewe-nis.....get it...heehee).

I started out with a square Whisper White base and chose some of my favourite distressed looking patterned paper by Daisy D's. Then I rounded the bottom corners with my SU corner rounder. I stamped Eunice in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink on shimmery white cardstock and used my SU markers to colour and shade her. I used Certainly Celery for the grass, Pretty in Pink for her nose and ears, Regal Rose on the flower and left butterfly and Bashful Blue for the right butterfly and shading. Then I doodled the border with my Basic Black journaler. I punched her out with my Mega Circle punch and then the mat is in Certainly Celery using my Giga Scalloped Circle punc. I added some of my green Prima flowers with white brads and then stamped the sentiment with my Karen Foster Snap Stamps!

So yesterday I went for a little road trip with my friend Donna and it was so much fun. I love introducing friends to new things and especially new stamp stores!! And of course, they call me 'The Enabler' (said like 'The Terminator'....hahahaha). We went to Stamp Art in London, of course! And Nancy was so welcoming and so very helpful! In fact that was one of Donna's comments about our visit. Any time we had a question about any product or technique, Nancy was quick to share her knowledge and thoughts with us. I picked up a couple of new stamps (one is a Penny Black Hedgehog stamp, of course) and some watercolour paper to try out. Also, in case you are in the London area and are looking for some of the Marvy Uchida scalloped punches, Nancy does have some ovals and squares in stock!! Tell her Kimmie sent ya!! *wink*



Oh and how cool is this?? Julee and Colleen both tagged me as a Rockin' Girl Blogger!! Nobody has ever called me Rockin' before!! Heehee!! I'm so excited!! And since I could never choose just 5 people to tag, because there are SO many Rockin' chicks out there, why don't you tell me who you think has a Rockin' Blog!! Just leave me a comment here and tell me whose blog YOU think rocks!!!

Cutie Pie Bees!!!!

Yesterday Mr. Brown showed up with all my new Stampin' Up stuff!!! It was a nice surprise after a long day at work!! I couldn't wait to sort it all out and start to play!!!

I didn't have time last night to mount any of my new stamps......but I will, trust me!! I did however, make a little time to use some of the new designer paper, new coloured ribbon and a new punch!! Heehee!!

I ordered the Cutie Pie designer paper and I LOVE it!! The colour combination of Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, So Saffron and Rose Red is just awesome!! So I pulled out my Stampendous Bees and went to town!! I used my Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink on shimmery white paper, as usual and used my SU markers to make them so adorable!!! Heehee!! I doodled around the edge with my black journaler and matted them first on So Saffron and then on Bashful Blue!! I used my Creative Memories cutting system to do the ovals. The card base is a 5 1/2 inch square in Rose Red with a square of the Palette of Prints paper on top. I used a nice wide strip of the Cutie Pie paper across the top half and added some of the new Bashful Blue ribbon at the sides, using my handy dandy Crop-a-Dile to make the holes! Then I stamped the sentiment on some of the SS POP paper and used my new Photo Corner punch for the pieces of BBlue in the corners and added some CC brads!

I'm so thrilled with the way this card turned out and I can't wait to play with more of my new toys....but right now I have to run!! I'm picking up my friend from work and we're going to the stamp store in London!! Woohoo!! So fun! But we gotta make it a quick trip because I have to work 1-8:30pm today!! Have a Stampin' great day!!!

Changito Tent Topper!!

I had so much fun making my first Tent Topper card, I decided to make another! AND I received a cool package from the Pay It Forward thread on Splitcoast yesterday which included some fun goodies, so I used them too!!

This monkey I actually don't own, but I received some images in the Wish-RAK forum, so I believe it was stamped in black permanent ink on Whisper White cardstock. I used my SU markers to colour him in and then punched him out using my Mega Scalloped Square punch. Then I used my Giga Scalloped square for the Old Olive behind him and then a bigger square in Chocolate Chip. The card base is a 4 1/4 square in Old Olive and matted with CC. The inner square is the new Infuse paper by Basic Grey. I stamped 'wild about you' from that SU set and the branch of leaves is from Sketch An Event. That pretty ribbon was in my envelope of goodies today...doesn't it match perfectly??

Well, off to work again today.....and it's yucky and rainy out.....blech. Hope your day is sunshiney!!

Basic Grey Infuse!!

On Friday, my Basic Grey Infuse paper arrived........woohoo!!!! You KNOW how I LOVE my Basic Grey!! Well, of course I had to play with it this weekend. Now I did up my two page sample for Virtual Scrapbook Weekend on Splitcoast, but I'm not at liberty to show that to you!!! I'm a hostess for the Curl Up With a Good Book event which is coming up soon (and I hope you'll join in the fun). I'm DYING to share my layout with you, but I guess I'll just have to wait! Hmph!!!

BUT here is a card I made using some of the scrumptious Infuse patterned paper! The colours in it are so beautiful!! I used Old Olive for the card base and layered it with Chocolate Chip, then one of the pieces of patterned paper and used my ticket corner punch on them. I cut a strip of another of the patterns and layered it on one of the plain pieces of distressed pink paper. Then I found that all these Prima flowers matched the paper so I layerd them together with a pearl brad by K & Co. Then I stamped the Rhona Farrar sentiment 'A Flower Blooms Once' on it in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink. It's kind of hard to see in the picture, but then I also went over the sentiment using my Sakura Stardust gel pen.

So who watched Big Brother last night??? That Jen is getting on my nerves, man! I'm liking Nick and I'm liking Dustin and even though Joe is totally a goof, he's funny as all get out!! I was bummed to see Danielle and Dick put up for eviction, because I really do like them both and I'd like to see their relationship work out, so hopefully one of them will win the Power of Veto and take themselves off. Then they can put up that annoying little Jessica and Eric can work his America's Player magic and get her outta there!!! Heehee!!

Have a wonderful day!!

Two Winners....and July's Kool Krafter!!!

There were some wonderful cards made using the sketch I challenged you with! Thanks to everyone for joining in the fun!! And...........the two randomly chosen winners of the newly released High Hopes Rubber Stamps are.........Alison and Jane!!! Yaaaaay!! Please email me with your address and I will send them out to you this week!!!

NOW...on to this month's Kool Krafter!! You may already know this talented lady but in case you don't, I'd love to introduce you to her. She is not only a wonderful paper crafter but a totally lovely person!! I'm also extremely jealous of her wonderful organizational skills!!! If you want to be inspired, see THIS posting on her blog, Distinctive Touches!!! Please help me welcome, Colleen Schaan!!!! *cheers and applause*

Wow…when Kimmie asked me to be her next “Kool Krafter” I was shocked…
and then VERY excited! I mean, Kimmie is one of my all-time favorite
stampers…and she has one of the “Koolest” blogs on the block.

My name is Colleen Schaan and I am an avid papercrafter. I LOVE
paper…cardstock, shimmery, patterned, glossy...it doesn’t matter; I
love it all. I am also a big fan of stamping. I started
scrapbooking about 10 years ago but quickly realized I didn’t have
the patience for it. Then I got sucked into the stamping craze and
have been inkin’ it up like a crazy gal ever since.



My style is constantly changing. When I first started stamping, I
was CASING everything I could get my hands on. Eventually I started
feeling comfortable creating my own layouts and designing my own
cards. Now, I may use a sketch to get me started, but I rarely CASE
anymore…with the exception of this card! I was so inspired recently
by a layout I saw on Amy’s blog that I just HAD to use it to create
this card. I love the way the patterned paper is so bold while the
sentiment and leaves are a bit more delicate.



If I had to pick one word to describe the style I am into right now,
it would be cutesy-humor. (Okay, I know that is two words, but I
hyphenated it to make it a one word adjective! – oh yeah…I was an
English teacher for 12 years too!) I am on the design teams for
Hambo Stamps and Eat Cake Graphics, and both of these companies have
adorable images and hysterical sentiments. Gramma Gertz is one of my
favorite stamps at the moment. She is crabby, mean, and cranky…and
sooooo funny! On this card, she offers a bit of advice to us all…and
isn’t she right?



When I am not stamping or papercrafting, I am usually writing about
it. I am the managing editor and lead reporter at Craft Critique, a
collective blog where we share product reviews and our experiences
with anything crafty. I also publish a blog each morning where I can
babble on about myself and my creations. I try to share my love of
papercrafting by posting tutorials for different techniques and
projects like this altered journal. While there is very little
stamping involved in this, it is still a way to express my creativity…
and a great way to make some wonderful gifts for the special people
in my life.

Thanks Kimmie for giving me this opportunity to share a little about
myself. YOU are one of those special people in my life and I am
thankful our paths have crossed. Stamp On Girls!!!

Thanks Colleen for sharing about yourself with us!! You're an amazing artist and inspire me whenever I visit your blog! So everyone, be sure to hop on over to Distinctive Touches and prepare to be inspired!!!!

Shiver Me Timbers!!!

My godson is turning five years old this week and I needed to make him a special card!! I don't own the Stampin' Up set, Ahoy Matey! but a friend sent me some images to play with! So play I did!!

When I saw Colleen's Thursday Throwdown challenge to make a Tent Topper card, I KNEW I had to make time to do it!! I've never done one before and it's super easy and super cute!!

The images were stamped with Black Stazon ink on Whisper White cardstock and I used my SU markers to colour the little pirate in! I punched him out (that doesn't sound good, does it?) with my Mega Circle punch and also a Giga Scalloped punch in Basic Black to mat him on. I doodled some tough barbed wire looking stuff around the edge and also added some Ice Stickles on his sword and hooked hand and also in the scallops. The patterned paper I used is from the Once Upon a Time line and looks just like old parchment. I also coloured in the treasure chest and parrot and cut them out. The sentiment is actually a Cat's Pajamas stamp that I own and I LOVE that saying!! I stamped it directly on the patterned paper with Archival Versafine ink in Black Onyx. I added some eyelets and some rough looking linen thread and then pop dotted the main image!! And there ya have a Tent Topper!! Pretty cool and I think Cameron will like it.....although, I'm sure he'll be MORE interested in the present that the card is attached to!!

Don't forget that today is the last day to enter my challenge to win some newly released High Hopes Rubber Stamps!! You have until midnight tonight and I will announce the two random winners tomorrow morning!!!

Also I will have a really awesome Kool Krafter to introduce you to!!! Can you guess who it might be??? Hmmmmmm......

Happy Friday!!!!!!!

Yay, it's Friday!! I feel like I haven't had a day off in a month!! It hasn't been quite that long but, you know the feeling!! I will be super happy at 5pm this afternoon!! Two whole days off.........woohoo!!!!!!

Here is my card for today..........a cute little Hedgehog in a Flowerpot by Penny Black!! I used Close to Cocoa for the card base and matting and some Shangri-La patterned paper....I just love the colour combo in these papers. I stamped my hedgie on shimmery white paper using Archival Versafine ink in Black Onyx. I coloured him in using my handy dandy Stampin Up markers and matted him three times on So Saffron, Certainly Celery and Close to Cocoa. I threw on some polka dot organdy ribbon and a couple of Prima flowers with a brad and there you have it......super easy, but super cute!!

Soooooo, what didja think of Big Brother last night??? I was hoping they'd get rid of Amber 'cause I'm sick of her crying and whining but Carol was fine to go too....she just didn't seem to care. But I could have choked when Jen won Head of Household......I wanted her gone next!!! What an airhead!!

Well, happy Friday everyone!!! The weekend is almost here and don't forget to join in my challenge to win some awesome newly released High Hopes Rubber Stamps!!! You have until midnight tomorrow night!!!! So go to THIS POST and check it out!!!

Art in the Library!!

Hello, hello! Sorry I'm a little later than usual this morning. Emileigh and I were out late last night!! We had a fun girls night last night and went to see the new Harry Potter movie! It was totally amazing....as we knew it would be! Each one seems to get better than the last, if that is possible. The acting is just phenomenal and the action in this one was tremendous!! Anyhoooo.....we had to go to the 10pm show because I had to work the late shift, so I got to sleep in a bit this morning.

I wanted to share some exciting news with you! The library where I work has just started an Art in the Library program to promote the arts in the community. Well this month they asked me to do a display of my scrapbook pages and rubber stamp art!! So cool!! I was a little hesitant, because of course, there are many people that frequent the library including little children with sticky fingers!! Even some adults with 'sticky fingers'....hahaha!! And I wanted to protect my 'artwork' so I went to my friend who owns the LSS and she GAVE me these wonderful plastic envelopes to keep my pages and cards in!! She is the best!! Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of my display!!



Have a wonderful Thursday and don't forget..........Big Brother is on tonight!! I wonder who will get evicted!! I'm hoping for Amber.....she's SO annoying!!! *giggle*

Waddle I Do Without You??

I really had fun playing with this image last night! These duckies are the cutest!! He's called the I Dunno Duck and he looks so innocent and sweet, doesn't he??

I pulled out my Basic Grey Oh Baby Boy patterned papers for this card and I just LOVE the combination of soft colours in them. I stamped the Duck in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink on Shimmery White cardstock and coloured him in using Certainly Celery for the grass, Barely Banana for his feathers, Apricot Appeal for his webbed feet, Summer Sun for his beak and Sahara Sand for shading. Then I doodled a simple wavy frame with my Basic Black journaler. I matted him twice on the BG yellow and on Certainly Celery. The card base is a 5 1/2 inch square card in Certainly Celery. I took the upper half of the matting which is the BG yellow and ran it through the Tiny Bubbles embossing folder in my Cuttlebug and then used the striped pattern for the bottom. I wrapped some light orange polka dot grosgrain ribbon around the middle and tied a little bow off to the right side. I added three Prima flowers in different colours and sizes and attached them with big yellow brads. I stamped the sentiment 'Waddle I Do Without You?' on Certainly Celery, cut out the strip and used my corner rounder on the ends and since the piece was so narrow, it made sort of a rounded point on each end, which looks kinda cool! I pop dotted our little duckie and he's all set!! I'm really lovin' the colour combo and this little guy!!

Okay, so I've been tagged like at least five times over the last week, so I'd better hurry up and do it!!! I'm supposed to tell you 7 things about myself and since I already played this game once, I'll try to think up 7 more things.....hmmmmmm.

1. I was a cheerleader in high school and I dated the captain of the football team. No, seriously.
2. I am terrified of snakes and I almost hyperventilate when I see one....even at the zoo. I don't care how big or how small they are...they freak me out!!
3. My favourite band is Barenaked Ladies......my favourite male artist is Bryan Adams.....both Canadian! I've seen them both in concert and they are as awesome in concert as they are on their albums!!
4. We are movie-a-holics at our house.....we have 200+. I work in the reference department at my library and there are certain patrons who always have questions about movies, like ..... they know an actor and the basis for the movie but not the title, and they always come to me. And I can usually tell them what movie it is and if we have it in the library collection without even looking it up on the computer! Haha! Just one of the many trivial skills I offer!!
5. My favourite actor is Matthew McConnaghey........I love him for his body, not his acting abilities........at least I'm honest!! *wink*
6. I'm a reality TV nut too and right now I'm totally into the 8th season of Big Brother which just started last Sunday.........anyone else??
7. Lastly......hmmmm........I was bitten by a dog when I was 3 years old. It was a german shepherd who bit my face and tore the back of my ear away from the side of my head. Thankfully I only have a teeny tiny scar left to show for it AND I still love dogs!!!

Okay, that's it for today!! Don't forget to enter in THIS POST to win some of the new High Hopes Rubber Stamps new releases!!!

I Need a Hug!!!!!

Awwwwwwwwwww!!! So cute, right???! Here is another of the NEW stamps that were debuted yesterday on the High Hopes Rubber Stamps site!! The image is called Group Hug Bears and aren't they sweet?? I feel like I'm sending someone a giant hug with this card!!

I used Close to Cocoa for the card base and some of that yummy Loves Me Designer Paper by Stampin' Up, which unfortunately, is retired! But I thought the colours and the x's and o's would go perfectly with this stamp! I stamped the little teddies on shimmery white paper in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink and coloured them in using my SU markers. I doodled around the edge and matted them on Pretty in Pink and Regal Rose cardstock. I used my oval punch and stamped Group Hug! on the flip side of the paper and tied some delicious pink ribbon on the left side, threading it through the hole that the oval punch made. I used my ticket corner punch on all the corners and added some teal rhinestones in the corners to match the teal rhinestone flower on the right. Then I pop dotted those teddies and voila!!

OH hey! A cool little tip for ya, when you're visiting the High Hopes Stamps site....if you go to the search hippo (isn't she so cute?) and put in HOTP - for Hot Off The Press, it will bring up all the most recent additions to the catalogue!! Pretty cool, huh??

Now don't forget to join in the fun in THIS POST and enter to win some of these cool NEW High Hopes releases!! Have a wonderful day!!!

You Quack Me Up!!!

I'm totally stoked to share some exciting High Hopes news with you!!! Today they are releasing some adorable new stamps and I get to show them to you!!! How fun is that???

It was really fun playing with this wacky Duck, called Wingin' It! He's such a wild and crazy bird!! I stamped him on shimmery white cardstock with my Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink and used my Stampin' Up markers in Old Olive for the grass, Pumpkin Pie for his webbed feet, Summer Sun for his beak and Barely Banana for his feathery body. I went over the edges of his body a second time to shade it a little bit and then I used Sahara Sand around the right side of his body for some shadow. Then I doodled the border using my Basic Black journaler. The patterned paper is from We R Memory Keepers and is double-sided, so the yellow that I matted him on is the flip side of the patterned paper. I used Pumpkin Pie for the base and a layer of Old Olive. I used my fancy dancy new Crop-a-dile to attached all the Ruby Red eyelets and then used some linen thread for a little added interest. I stamped the sentiment, You Quack Me Up on some shimmery white and used both my tag punches to make the tag! Then, of course, I pop dotted my Duckie!!

High Hopes Stamps are absolutely the cutest stamps out there!! They are made of deeply etched red rubber and are wonderful to work with! You can order them mounted on wood or unmounted....I have some of each. This time I got rubber only and mounted them myself on EZmount and they are wonderful (plus it's cheaper on shipping)!



Here is the whole sheet of new designs which are being added to the website later on today and then you can place your order to be the first to play with them (after me, of course, heehee)!! And I will be playing with them this week so I'll be sharing more cards featuring these adorable stamps right here at Kraftin' Kimmie's Korner, for you to check out!!

NOW for some even MORE exciting news!!! Tina, the fabulous owner of High Hopes Rubber Stamps, has oh-so generously donated some of these cutie-patootie stamps and YOU can win them!!! Yep, yep!! In order to be eligible to win, you must do two things!! First you must create a card using sketch from the above 'Quacky' card as inspiration!! Just comment in this post and add a link or email it to me. Secondly, just pop on over to High Hopes, have a look at their hundreds of sweet little stamps and let me know which ones are your favourites. That's all there is to it!! Be sure to complete both tasks in the same comment (it just makes it easier for me to keep track) and I will choose TWO lucky winners to receive some new High Hopes Rubber Stamps on Saturday, July 14th!!

Gotta LOVE them Hedgehogs!!!

Well there were some very cool guesses as to the newest stamps on my pretty new shelf!! The correct answers were: the Magenta birdie stamp, the little girl Fairy stamp by Penny Black called Dream a Dream, the three little Hedgehogs in Tutus by Penny Black called Ecarte, Splits, Pirouette and (shock of all shocks) the Hedgehog in the flowerpot called Greetings.

And out of all the correct answers, the random winner of the Around the Block gift set is ........... MONIKA!!! Please email me your address and I will get your Kimmie's Kandy out this week!!

Don't forget to check back later on Monday for some exciting High Hopes Rubber Stamps news!!! It'll be just DUCKIE, I promise!! Heehee!!

Pssssssssst!!! I've got a secret!!!

Shhhhhhhhh!! Don't tell anyone, but I know a secret!! I'm not allowed to spill the beans, you SILLY GOOSE!! But I might be able to give you a hint or two!!

I love NEW things, don't you?? My favourite things are NEW STAMPS!!! Aaahhhh, the smell of NEW RUBBAH just waitin' to be inked up!!

Have I mentioned that I'm a Design Team Member for HIGH HOPES RUBBER STAMPS????

Okay, so those hints weren't very subtle (I really QUACK myself up.....*giggle*) but I can't show you anything until MONDAY!!! I've been sworn to secrecy......but trust me, you're gonna love them!!!

Soft Sky Doodles!!

Sadly, my trip to the stamp store yesterday was not very fruitful!! Can you believe I didn't buy a thing?????? Me either! But Emileigh had a nice afternoon with Nana shopping and we had supper at our favourite restaurant. Then I had my Katalogue Kickoff party and the ladies just LOVED the 5 cards we made.......maybe I'll show you one of them!!

Since we were allowed to preorder the Soft Sky Designer Paper, I decided to use it on a card.........I LOVE this colour!! The card base is of course, Soft Sky and I stamped the corner swirly stamp in the bottom left corner in Soft Sky and then added some doodles with my white gel pen. Then I added a strip of the designer paper at the top which is matted on white to help it stand out. Before attaching it to the card, I used my double circle punch at the end and attached a piece of white grosgrain ribbon. The big flower is stamped on Black Stazon on Whisper White and then I had the ladies use the Aquapainters for the first time. We watercoloured using ink in the the lids of the stamp pads.....Soft Sky for the petals and So Saffron for the rest. They really enjoyed the technique! It was super easy but it made such an elegant card.

I am busy preparing for another Katalogue Kickoff Party at my house here on Sunday. I work until 8:30 tonight and 9-5 tomorrow so I hope the ladies are paying more attention to the cards than to the dust in my house!!! Hahahaha!! Have a great weekend everyone!!

Sunny Days with Snorkel Sally!!!

It is another crummy, yucky day here......SO we need Snorkel Girl to brighten things up!!!! Heehee!

I spent my entire morning and afternoon yesterday getting ready for my 2 Katalogue Kickoff Parties this week!! I have one tonight in my old hometown and one on Sunday afternoon at my house! I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and do the same five projects at both classes, but I'll share some of them with you a little later! I'm mostly excited to share the new catalogues with everyone. You really get sick of the same catalogue after an entire year, don'tcha?! I'm so glad Stampin' Up is changing to twice a year......so we get to go through this excitement in January again!!! Aaaaagghhhh!!

Anyhoo, back to the card!! Isn't she just bright and fun?? All the images and sentiment are from High Hopes!! I thought this retired patterned paper from Stampin' Up was perfect for Snorkel Sally (that's what I call her)! I stamped her on Shimmery White with Versafine Black Onyx ink and used my matching SU markers to colour her in! She's matted on Only Orange and Pink Passion cardstock and her little bathing suit has red Stickles on the flowers to match the glittery brad in the Prima flower. Also I used Crystal Effects on her mask and her flippers to make them look wet. I also stamped the little Crab, coloured him in, cut him out and added him to the corner of the main image. He wanted to hang out with Snorkel Sally too, 'cause she's so cute!! Heehee! I added some polka dot red organdy ribbon and pop dotted the main image for that 3-D effect!! Now doesn't your day seem brighter???

This afternoon Emileigh and I will be making our way to Chatham to meet my Mom for some shopping and dinner at our favourite restaurant!! We will be making a stop at the Stamp store there (*giggle*, I can't stop smiling when I think about the stamp store....how silly is that??), so I'll be sure to take pictures and show you what I got!! They carry some stamps that the other stores around here don't carry, like A Muse. Hmmm....I'd better check my bank account before I go!!

And don't forget....you still have time to enter for some Kimmie's Kandy!! Have a Stamp Happy Thursday!!

Beeeeeeee Happy!!!

It is damp and dreary here today.....not a "Sunshiney Day"! (Remember the Brady Bunch singin' that song?? Heehee! I think I'll go for a walk outside now, the summer sun's callin' my name......okay, I know I'm dating myself!) ANYWAY I have lots to do, so I'll be working away in my craft room until I have to go to work at 5pm.

Here is a bright and cheerful card though....it's makes me FEEL 'sunshiney' anyway! It's my first one with any of the Stampendous Bees that are so popular! I used some of my glittery paper from the Pocket Full Of Posies Stack by DCWV and took my colours from there. I stamped the Bees on Shimmery White with Versafine Black Onyx (do I ever use anything else??) and coloured them in using some coordinating SU markers. Now I know they don't look like regular bees, but I didn't want just regular old bees.........I wanted funky, fun, trendy bees! Heehee! They are punched out using my Mega Oval Punch and then the Regal Rose layer is done with the Giga Scalloped Oval Punch and the So Saffron layer was done using my Creative Memories cutting system. The card base is Bashful Blue and then some more of the Regal Rose for the top and bottom. I used my corner rounder to do the scalloped edge on the patterned paper, added the green polka dot organdy ribbon and used my Black Sakura Glaze gel pen to do all the dots!!

Don't forget to enter to win some Kimmie's Kandy if you haven't already!!!

Hope these little bees brighten your day!!! Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!

You're TUTU Sweet!!

Good morning, good morning!! Well, it feels like a Monday to me, so it ain't that good!! Hahahaha!! The 4 day weekend was fabulous, but now that it's done, it feels like it flew by!! Hope everyone had some nice relaxing time over the weekend, whether it was with family, or in the backyard or......stampin'!!!

I did get to do some stamping yesterday. I finished designing my 5 cards for my upcoming Katalogue Kickoff party, and it was fun to play with new inks and cardstock and stamps! I did some watercolouring and some faux embossing and I think the ladies will have a fun time creating them!!

I've been having a real hoot reading everyone's guesses about my new stamps!!! A few people have commented on my 'Piggies in Tutus' stamps!!! So I just HAD to address that.........they are Hedgehogs!! BAahahahaaaaaa!!! Now, I'm not saying it's one of my new stamps (I can't give you any hints, ya know) but I felt that I must use it on a card for today so that you can see just how cute it really is.....AND prove that they are not piggies!! Heehee!!

So I stamped those little cuties on shimmery paper using my Black Onyx Versafine ink. Then I chose my patterned paper, trying to pick some that had pink in it for sure, because I knew that I wanted the finished card to be super-girlie!! So this paper is from The Paper Studio and I coloured in the image using my Stampin' Up markers in these colours.....Blush Blossom, Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Gable Green and Sahara Sand for the shading. I used my Stardust Sakura Gel Pen to add sparkle to their tutus, shoes and ribbons, then matted it on PIP and added some pretty pink rhinestones in the corners. The sentiment is made using my Karen Foster Snap Stamps and it says 'You're TUTU Sweet!". Heehee! Then I added three ties on the left hand side using some wonderfully soft pink ribbon that my Secret Friend sent me last month. I'm really pleased with the final product and I think I will send it to a special little girl!!

Well, I must be off.....gotta work all day today!! Have a good one and don't forget to enter to win some Kimmie's Kandy!!! Toodles!!

If I Were a Dog........

Well, I hope all my Canadian friends had a lovely day yesterday, whether you spent it relaxing in your backyard or out doing Canada Day things! Yesterday we just chilled out at home and had a couple of visitors. We did some barbecuing and of course, I got to stamp!! Heehee! Emileigh and her girlfriend went and took in the Canada Day celebrations at the park and then stayed for the fireworks. We could actually see them from our backyard too! It was nice but quite cool!

Today is our actual holiday from work, so that's nice. I have a million things to do.....no, literally! I'm not kidding. The library has asked me to do a display of my scrapbook pages and stamped cards, so I have to put that all together to take to work tomorrow. Also I have an out of town Stamp Camp on Thursday and one here at my house on Sunday. Every year I call them "Kimmie's Katalogue Kickoff Party"...heehee! I know everyone is itching to get their hands on the new catalogues and I can't WAIT to place an order!!! I need the new papers and new ribbons aaaahhhha!!

Anyway, on to the card. I made this one yesterday using my Whipper Snapper stamp called Pup 'n Bone. He's so cute. And no, he isn't one of the new ones I purchased this past weekend!! Tsk, tsk. You thought I'd spill the beans!!! I stamped him in Archival Versafine in Black Onyx ink on shimmery white paper and used my Stampin' Up markers to colour him in. On this paper, I find that I can shade areas by going over it again with the same colour marker, like the underside of his belly. I doodled around the frame and then offset two pieces of cardstock behind him in Vintage Violet and Certainly Celery. The patterned paper is by Flair Designs and the card base is VV. The sentiment stamp is by Inkadinkadoo and I stamped it right on the pp in Black Onyx. I added some of the VV stitched grosgrain, which you can't get anymore and also those little white bones at the bottom are from an All Night Media punch. I pop dotted the main image and I'm done!

There were a couple of questions in the last post so I will try to answer them all. RSNutt asked about the 'Piggies in Tutus' stamp and who the maker is. Well, actually it is a row of 3 Hedgehogs in Tutus....hahaha!! Maybe the picture doesn't show them too well, but it is by Penny Black!! I LOVE PB stamps! She also asked about Moose stamps. Well High Hopes Stamps (who I am a Design Team Member for), has some awesome Moose stamps!! Go to the site and search for Moose! There is Mudzie Moose and Milton Moose....I just love them! And Shelby asked about the Flip Flops stamp and it too, is by High Hopes! Here is the link to their site: www.highhopesstamps.com . Tina is a doll to work with and be sure to tell her that Kimmie sent ya!! I want her to know she made a good choice asking me to be on her Design Team!!! Speaking of which, I am working on some exciting stuff with High Hopes right now......but I can't tell you yet!!! There are some cool things in the works and I'll share them with you a little later!! *giggle*

Well, today I'll be busy working on the cards for my Katalogue Kickoff parties, so I'd better get to it! Hope you have a wonderful day, and don't forget to comment to be eligible to win my Kimmie's Kandy!!