And the WINNERS are.............

Let me start off by saying that this contest brought out the competitors in you all!!! I had a total of 148 entries!! Can you believe that??!! And they were ALL amazing!!! It was terribly difficult for Emileigh and I to choose only two winners in each category, let me tell you!! BUT we finally finished our task and ....... here are the winners:

SKETCH CHALLENGE!!

Frances


Monika



COLOUR CHALLENGE!!

Pat


Caz


THEME CHALLENGE!!

Sophia


Dina


AND SUPPLY CHALLENGE!!

Ila


Carin


YAAYYYYYYYYY!! Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to everyone who participated!! This contest was a fabulous success!! I'm so glad that I am a part of this awesome community of stamping women!! Everyone is so willing to share their creativity and their thoughts and ideas with each other!!

A GIGANTIC thank you goes to Tina from High Hopes Rubber Stamps who has provided the prizes for this contest!!! **insert applause here** I couldn't ask for a more generous and loving lady to work with!! Mwah!!! xoxoxox

Now I know you winners would like to get your *new stamps* as soon as possible, so please email me your snail mail info asap and I will get them in the mail at the beginning of next week!!!

SPECIAL MENTION: I would like to mention a beautiful doggie card that was submitted by 5 year old Nicole Hitchcock!! She did a lovely job with her creation and I would love to share it with you except that for some reason I cannot capture it from the email I received from her mom. Anyway, Nicole, would you send me your mailing address please, as I have a little something special for you!!!! (I love to encourage young stampers!!!)

Marker Tutorial.....such as it is!!

Okay, now don't be too disappointed with this little attempt at a tutorial!! I honestly don't think my colouring with markers is all that hot, but maybe I will be able to share some little tips with you that you can try!! And never let it be said that I don't give the people what they ask for!! Baaaaaahahahahaha!!



So first off I chose this cutie pie High Hopes stamp called Cowgirl Candice that I haven't had a chance to play with yet. There's nothing sadder than a neglected stamp!! So I stamped it on Shimmery White cardstock which I find is the best paper to use with this technique.

I chose this yummy Tres Jolie patterned paper by My Mind's Eye. The colours and texture of this paper really lends itself to the western theme, I think. Then I chose the SU markers that most closely matched the paper.



I generally start with the lightest colours first, so here I began with the skin tones. One tip I can share with you is that I try to only take my marker off the paper when I have to. In other words I try to go back and forth on the image without picking my marker up. Of course there will be little spots that you miss, but I go back and dot those in with the very tip of my marker.



I also try to cover as much space with each stroke as possible, so I hold my marker more at a side angle than straight up and down. And I try not to overlap the strokes too much as that darkens the lines between the strokes because you are layering your colouring at the edges. Does that make sense??



You can sort of see that I didn't do such a hot job towards the middle of the horsie. I overlapped a little too much there and you can see the lines. This is the downfall of water-based markers. I have some alcohol-based markers (Copic Markers) on my Christmas wish list for this exact reason.....they don't leave lines and they are blendable....but they want your first born child in exchange for them!!! We've grown kind of fond of Emileigh over the last 15 years, so I figure I'll just ask everyone I know for them for Christmas and they can each buy me a couple!! Hahahaha!!



The blue in the patterned paper is rather an odd shade of blue. Sometimes if you are limited in colours, you can layer two different colours to create another. Here I did the first layer of the girl's jeans and hat in Tempting Turquoise. Then I went back over it with Bordering Blue to dull down the brightness a bit and it seems to match much better!



Now I always do one layer of each colour first and I try to be careful so I don't smudge it......TRY being the operative word here. Then, after a couple of minutes, it's dry and then I go back in with the SAME colours of markers and do a second layer ONLY in the areas that I want to be shaded. I'm not too skilled at the whole shading thing yet, but I try to picture the sun shining from one particular direction and darken the areas that would be shaded. I also drew in the green oval for them to stand on.

And that's all there really is to my big "Marker Secrets" tutorial!! Heehee!! I hope you picked up a tip or two that will help you out with your colouring!

Here is my finished card. I added some sparkle on the metal parts of the harness and the button on her sleeve with my Sakura Stardust gel pen, then 'stitched' around the edge of all pieces with my Chocolate Chip marker. The card is a 6 inch square with Old Olive matting underneath the paisley patterned paper. I sponged each of the dp's using Chocolate Chip ink and a cosmetic sponge. I added a Hodgepodge buckle along with the wrinkled brown ribbon and also an antique brass heart brad. The tag is a chipboard square with another of the dp's layered on top, distressed and sponged and then tied with the ribbon and some linen thread. I stamped the Giddy Up sentiment and then went over it with my SS gel pen to make it sparkly too.



Well, the deadline for the Kard Kontest was last night and NOW I have the daunting task of choosing winners!! Let me tell you, this will NOT be easy!!! There are some amazing creations!!!

Ewe So Sweet!!!

So I stayed up LATE last night workin' on my Marker Tutorial for y'all so I slept in this morning!! It was nice too!! Tonight after work, I will edit all the photos and put it together for you and post it tomorrow morning.....how's that??

Today I've got another new release from High Hopes! There is just something about a cute fluffy lamb to me!! They are just so cute and cuddly......not so much in real life....but hey, this is ART!! hahahaha!!

I love using black to make pastel colours really stand out so I used Soft Sky for this one. I stamped the Posey's for Ewe image on shimmery white cardstock with Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink and coloured her in using my SU markers for most of it. Since the Soft Sky doesn't come in a marker (booooooo..) I used my Aquapainter along with the stamp pad. I shaded around her wool with Sahara Sand and then doodled a little frame. I matted her on SS and Basic Black and pop dotted her on the larger piece of SS designer paper. I added some polka dotted ribbon, some Prima flowers, a black brad and also stamped Ewe's So Sweet and the little sheep which is on the bottom half of the I heart Ewe stamp. So you likey??

Well girls, today is the LAST chance to get your entries in for the Kard Kontest!! I have received a TON of pics and I'm going to enlist Emileigh's help to choose the winners from each category!! You have until midnight EST tonight to get them in and I will announce the winners on Friday!!!

Hey There.....Friend!!

Is this just the cutest image, or what??? ANOTHER one of the new High Hopes releases that somebody will be winning on Friday!!!

This stamp is called Ice Cream for Two and I just think it is too adorable!! I made it especially for my nephew who looks just like this with his blonde curly hair! Except his dog is black and it just wouldn't show up as well on the card.....so I changed poor Max's hair colour!! It's called creative license, right?? Baaahahhhahahaha!! I'm sure he'll like it anyway!!

I stamped the darling duo on shimmery white cardstock in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink and coloured them in using my SU markers. Now Melissa Craig keeps leaving me such lovely comments about my colouring and saying that I need to do a tutorial, but I really don't think it's all that fabulous, to be quite honest!!! I'd LOVE to get some of the Copic Markers which are alcohol based markers and they BLEND, but alas, they are much too expensive for me. Maybe I'll have to ask for some for Christmas........from everyone I know. But in the meantime, I'll work on a tutorial using my handy dandy SU markers, especially for Melissa!! And hey....thanks for the sweet comments!! You make me blush!!

Anyhooooo, back to the card!! The patterned paper that I used is from the Simply Scrappin' Kit called Friends and Flowers that was a Hostess reward last year. It was the first time I had cracked it open, because I was hoarding...I mean, SAVING it!! Then the other day I was going through my SS kits and realized that I actually have not one, not two, but THREE unopened packages!! *giggle* So I decided it was time to use one!! Sooooo, the colours I chose were taken from the stripey paper. I decided not to doodle on this card, which was hard for me but I decided to leave it alone and I'm glad I did. I matted the focal image on Rose Red, So Saffron and then Chocolate Chip. The card base is a Tempting Turquoise square and I used the Photo Corner punch and some eyelets and some grosgrain ribbon to 'tie' it all together!! I stamped some pawprints on the base, added the Hey There sentiment in Chocolate Chip ink and pop dotted the main image!!

I really hope these card featuring the new images are teasing you, because you still have two more days to get your entries in to the Kard Kontest!! I've received many gorgeous pictures of cards and there's still time for more!! So get stampin' and send them in!!

Happy Harvest!!

Well, we are back from our weekend in Toronto and we're still alive!! Our hotel was fabulous and we swam in the pool! The beds were like sleeping on a cloud!! The CNE was crazy busy but there was lots to do and we had a great day!! The weather was perfect and we got to see and do a lot of things! And not only that, my husband found some scrapbooking stores online and took me to them!!! Yaaaaaaaaay!! What a sweetie!! I even scored some deals!! At the second one, all the Hero Arts stamps were 50% off and so was all the paper I got which included some yummy Tres Jolie paper!! Mmmmm!

Anyway, here is today's card made with some of the new High Hopes Rubber Stamps that were released last Friday!! For this one I did the masking technique by stamping the sign first, masking over top of it and then stamping the small Guard Duty Rudy over top. There are several different signs to choose from and for this one I chose Happy Harvest. I coloured him in using my SU markers in various colours and doodled around the edge, then matted him on Pumpkin Pie cardstock. I then stamped the solid maple leaf stamp by colouring it with a marker, then spritzing it with water and stamping it. It gives it a cool effect, but I'm not really sure what this technique is called. I then cut the leaves out and attached them to the corner with an Around the Block acorn brad. The patterned paper is paper pierced all around the frame and also roughed up using my distressing tool. It is then matted on Old Olive and the card base is Pumpkin Pie!!

Now don't forget that the deadline for entries to the Kard Kontest is Wednesday night, so if you haven't entered yet......what are you waiting for?????

Crazy Daisy!!!

Consider this my Saturday/Sunday posting, because we're taking off for the weekend!! Yaaaaaaaaay!! Since this is my last weekend off before Emileigh goes back to school, we decided to take off to Toronto and do something fun!!

This afternoon we will be dropping off our maniacal Jack Russell Terrier at my in-law's house and then heading to the city! Our plan is to maybe do some shopping or something this evening and then go to the hotel, which has a pool!! When Emileigh was little, that was her favourite part of any trip.....staying at the hotel!!

Tomorrow we will be going to the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) which is right on the lake and has a TON of fun things to do. Check out the link!! There are tons of shows and a daily parade, concerts, rides and of course the best part, SHOPPING!! Apparently there are pavillions with outlet stores and lots of good bargoons!! I can't wait! The weather is supposed to be decent tomorrow too!

So this card I whipped up last night to give my in-laws for keeping the dog while we are away. This stamp, along with a couple of other cute Whipper Snapper stamps, were sent to me by my Secret Pal, Terri!! This little guy looks almost exactly like our mutt!! It's perfect!!

I stamped the image on shimmery white cardstock and coloured it using my SU markers and doodled around the square. I matted it on Chocolate Chip and then used some SU patterned paper (it's retired now) and distressed the edges. The card itself is a 4 1/4 square of whisper white, matted with Chocolate Chip and stamped with the little pawprint stamp Terri also sent me. Then I used some SU eyelets in the corners, added some wrinkled brown ribbon that I got at Julee's store and added a cute little metal Around the Block dog charm that says FETCH that I got at Stamp Art yesterday. We'll pick them up a little something in Toronto to thank them along with the card.

So I'm off and I'll see you on Monday!! Don't forget, you only have until Wednesday night to enter into the Kard Kontest, so get a-stampin'!!! *wink*

Three, Two, One.........Ta Daaaaaaaaaa!!!!

Today is the day!!!! The new release of High Hopes Rubber Stamps is today!!! Yayyy!!! **applause**

This card features one of my FAVES of the new releases (I have several)! This is Jolies Little Friend and I love the little girl's overalls and that worm is just too cute!! I stamped the image on shimmery white cardstock with Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink and coloured her in using my trusty SU markers. I took the colours from the beautiful dp I had from Three Bugs in a Rug and the cardstocks used to accent it is Regal Rose, Barely Banana and Brocade Blue. I doodled a frame and added this yummy big ric rac and a mixture of Magenta and Prima Flowers attached with SU brads. The sentiment is a new one made especially for this image, but would work with many floral stamps!!

Okay, okay!!! Hold your horses!! You wanna see ALL the new images!!!?? (Who am I kidding....you're not reading my ramblings.....you're just scanning down to the new releases, aren't you?? I know your tricks!!)

I've been waiting ALL week to share these amazingly cute images with you!!! Here they are!!!!!!!!








Aren't they AWESOME!!!!??? Of course they are!! Now head on over to High Hopes and put HOTP (for Hot off the Press) in the search box for the latest additions to the catalogue!! You KNOW you wanna order some!! And don't forget, they come in mounted and unmounted!!

So let me know which ones are your faves!!! And keep those entries comin'!! The Kard Kontest is still open until next Wednesday, so enter as many times as you like!! I love lookin' at everyone's creations!!!

Happy Friday!!!!

Sweet Angel!!

Ooooooooooo, I'm so 'cited!! Tomorrow is the big unveiling of the NEW High Hopes Rubber Stamps!!! I can't wait to share them with you!! They are all fantastic!! One more day!! Heehee!!

So last night (after working until 8:30pm) I came home and wanted to create!! So Emileigh and I hung out in my craft room, me playin' with my stamps and paper and her playin' on the 'puter!! So I pulled out a High Hopes stamp......nooooo, it's not a new one....thought you were gonna get another peek there didn't ya? You're so sneaky!! This one is called Lynne Angel. I think she is so sweet....I love all their angels!!

I stamped Lynne on shimmery white paper with Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink (my fave). I chose my patterned paper first which is Kelly Pannaci dp by Sandylion and I pulled my colours from there. To colour her in and shade I used my SU markers in Blush Blossom, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Barely Banana, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel and Sahara Sand for shading. I used my Aquapainter and the SS marker to paint a light area under her feet to ground her. I used my handy dandy Sakura Stardust gel pen and added lots of sparkle to her wings and to the butterfly.....not sure if you can see it but it's really pretty in real life!! I doodled around her frame and matted her on Regal Rose cardstock. The card base is a 5 1/2 inch square with Chocolate Chip and then the pp. I used my ticket corner punch on the pp and added some purdy pink rhinestones in the corners. I just received my order from Verve Visual this week and got my new Thoughtful Phrases stamps, so I used the 'sending you smiles' stamp for the sentiment. I love these little stamps because they are the perfect fit for my Word Window Punch, which I used to punch it out!! Then I added a matching pink rhinestone butterfly on the end, some yummy May Arts ribbon from Lindsey's store and pop dotted the main image!! I really like the way she turned out!!

Just a REMINDER about the details for the Kard Kontest.....please EMAIL me your entries for the challenges!! I have been receiving entries daily and they are FABULOUS!!! But don't link them in a post....EMAIL them to me (see the link on the right hand side of my blog) if you would. It's much easier for me to have them in my email and keep them organized. Thanks a bunch!!

ONE MORE DAY!!! Be sure to check back on Friday morning (that's tomorrow) for the unveiling of the NEW High Hopes Stamps!! Heehee!! Have a stampin' good day!!

Joyful Hedgehogs!!

First off, sorry this post is a little late, but Blogger was down all morning!! Argh!!


I had SO much fun with the Tri-Fold Snowman card the other day, that I decided to make another one, but change it up a bit!

The first one was 4 and 1/4 inches tall, so this time I made one that is 5 and 1/2 inches tall so it fits properly in a regular envelope. I chose a new Hedgehog stamp that I got at Stamp Art last week! These two little cuties are flying down a hill on their sled! I stamped them on shimmery white cardstock in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink and coloured them in using my SU markers. The dp I used this time is some of my favourite Basic Grey Fruitcake paper which is double sided. I used the little snowflakes stamp from the SU set called, appropriately enough, Snowflakes! I used it to stamp some flakes in Old Olive along the green edge that shows on the right hand side...it just looked a little plain without them. The flap I punched with the Slit Punch is moved up a little farther this time, more towards the middle. The frame is punched with the Giga Scalloped Circle Punch out of Ruby Red cardstock and I used my Mat Pack to make the holes in each scallop. I stamped the sentiment on a scrap piece of the dp, attached it to the card and added the Hodgepodge bookplate to it and then added some grosgrain ribbon and some fibre I had that happened to match!! Yay, a hedgie Christmas card!!



Here is the image when the card is opened up!!

Well, I've been getting a great response about my Kard Kontest and I hope you'll all have a chance to play! I CAN'T WAIT to show you all the new release High Hopes stamps and the cards that I've made playin' with them!! But you'll just have to wait until Friday!!! Heehee!!

Cami's Tri-Fold Card!!!

I was so excited to see the Cami Tri-Fold Card as the Try a New Technique Challenge on SCS!! I've been wanting to do one of these fancy fold cards forever, but haven't taken the time. And it was SUPER DUPER easy!! No kidding....I was thinking it would be fiddly with the measuring and punching, but NO!! It was a breeze......so see this link if you wanna give it a whirl!! The instructions are awesome!

So I decided that a perfect stamp to showcase in the little circle frame on this card would be my new Snowman stamp by Penny Black that I got last week at Stamp Art! He is just so cute and happy, don'tcha think?? I stamped him on shimmery white cardstock in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink and then punched him out using my Giga Scalloped Circle Punch. I coloured him in using my Aquapainter and my SU markers and also SU ink. I added some Diamond Stickles on the snow and flakes and a little on his body to give it that freshly fallen snow sparkle!! The designer paper I used is from the Winter Bright Simply Scrappin' kit and I LOVE this paper. You want to use double side paper for this technique or you can stamp both sides of some plain cardstock to give it a pattern. For the front I punched a Giga Scalloped Circle out of coordinating Wild Wasabi cardstock and stuck it on the front, then I used my CM cutting system (you could also use your Coluzzle cutting system) to cut a smaller circle out of both layers of the card which creates the frame. Then I added the sentiment which is from My Favorite Things. I used my slit punch to make the little flap to hold the card closed, added an eyelet in the slit/flap and tied a cute little white organdy bow as a finishing touch!! It is a simple fancy fold technique (if there is such a thing......simple AND fancy...haha) and I will definitely be using it again!!

It sounds like you all are just as excited about the Kard Kontest as I am!! I've already received a couple of entries for the challenges!! You are so enthusiastic!! And I have lots of prizes, so be sure to join in the fun. See the post below for all the details on how to win some yet-to-be-unveiled stamps from High Hopes Rubber Stamps!! Yay!!!

Kimmie's Kard Kontest!!!

Well, it sounds like you are all up for a contest!!! Woohoo!!! How fun!! I love challenges and contests and from all the comments, I think YOU do too!! So let me give you the deets!!

Now since everyone likes different challenges and I want everyone to be able to play along....what's say we have FOUR different challenges??? That way you can pick which challenge you like OR do them all!!! Sound good??? And when I tell you about the prizes, trust me, you're gonna wanna do them all!!!

Here are the categories:

1) Sketch Challenge - Didja notice the card in this post, or are you all just too busy reading the contest info?? Hahaha!! I just love this little guy, hangin' out with his best pal fishin'!! This is a sneak peek of the new High Hopes stamps that will be unveiled and available to order beginning this Friday!!! Well, this is the sketch for the challenge! I made it a really easy one, nothing too fancy. Do you like it??? Isn't it just adorable??

2) Colour Challenge - Another really simple challenge! I'm not going to be too specific and pick exact colours because I don't want to exclude anyone if they don't have certain colours, sooooo.....just use FALL colours!! Whatever colours are fall colours to you!!

3) Theme Challenge - Animals!! I think everyone has stamps of animals......dogs, cats, mice, zoo animals, farm animals, wild animals....even bugs!! So just include an animal of some sort in your creation!!

4) Supply Challenge - You may have noticed that I'm a sucker for embellishments......ribbon, brads, eyelets, stickles, rhinestones, glitter, buttons!! So be sure to use embellishments for this one!!

Now you can enter each challenge as many times as you like but you CANNOT combine challenges! You must make a separate card for each challenge to be included for judging and prizes.

And speaking of prizes.........did I mention that High Hopes is revealing a bunch of new images on Friday??!! Well, Tina at High Hopes has generously offered up some of the NEW STAMPS AS PRIZES!!!!! Yay, Tina!!!!! And there will be....not one but TWO winners in each category!!! Didn't I tell ya you'd wanna enter each challenge???

I will accept entries for Kimmie's Kard Kontest until Wednesday, August 29th at midnight EST and I will post the winners on Friday, August 31st!!! Just email me a small pic of your card(s) and specify which challenge each one is for.

Exciting, huh??!! So go on, get busy.........go stamp somethin'!!!

35,000 Visitors!! Woohoo!!!

Can you believe it?? I just hit 35,000 on my visitor counter this morning!! It's so cool that so many of you have stopped in to say hi since I started this baby back in February!! And to say thanks I'm gonna do something special!!!

But first, my card!! I'm having so much fun playing with the My Favorite Things Penguins that I made another card. I just like the idea of flying down a big hill of snow on a sled......I said the IDEA! I don't know if I'd ever actually do it!! Heehee! Anyway, I stamped the sledding penguin on Whisper White cardstock in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink and coloured him in using my Prismacolour pencils and OMS. I drew in the hill and shaded the snow, doodled the frame and then added some Waterfall Stickles to make it all sparkly, like real snow! I layered it on Bashful Blue and a Giga Scalloped Square Punch in Wild Wasabi. Also the card base is a square of WW layered with white and then the patterned paper is from the Winter Bright Simply Scrappin' kit. I added some grosgrain ribbon, two fabric covered brads which just happened to match and then stamped the sentiment at the bottom!

I am posting super early this morning because I am going to a Scrapbook Garage Sale this morning at 8am!! How fun, right?? I've never been to one and I've also put 3 boxes of my own stuff in the sale, so hopefully I'll sell more than I buy......but you know me!! Hahaha!! I'll let you know if I score some good deals!!

Now onto the celebration!!! To celebrate a) my 35,000 hits and b) the unveiling of new stamps (happening later on next week) over at High Hopes Rubber Stamps..........I will be having a contest!!! Don't you love contests and prizes??? Didn't I say there will be prizes?? Well there WILL BE!!! So leave a comment here and let me know what kind of contest you would like to see?? A sketch contest, a colour combo contest, a theme contest, an inspiration contest........what do you think?? Maybe a contest with ALL of these categories!!! I've got my thinking cap on and I will post all the details on Monday!!!

Now off to scoop some deals........and then work all day! Hmph!!

Happy Birthday Pardner!!!

I have had SO many people email me and ask about this particular stamp.....my Magenta Horsie!! Isn't he just so cute??? Well I have some good news!!

Yesterday was my day off and of course, I made a trip to my favourite stamp store, Stamp Art!! I picked up some great new stamps by Inkadinkadoo for Hallowe'en and Thanksgiving and got some adorable new winter Hedgehog stamps by Penny Black!! I can't wait to play with them and share them with you! And the coolest thing happened while I was in there shopping with Emileigh!! A lady came over to me and said, 'Excuse me, are you Kim Reid?' and I said 'Yes.' and she said 'Oh I recognized you from your blog!!!!!!!!!!!!' Like how cool is that?? Apparently we have been in a few swaps together and she visits my blog......hi Mary Beth!! I sometimes can't get over the effects of the internet! I've 'met' so many wonderful people through stamping and I feel like we're all truly friends!! Do I sound like a sap??

Anyway.....on to the good news!! I was chit chatting with the owner of Stamp Art, Nancy Kleiber and I was mentioning about my Horsie stamp. Well, Nancy carries SO many lines of stamps in her store.....just take a look at the pics on her website. She has Hero Arts, Stampendous, My Favourite Things, Anna Griffin, Penny Black, Hero Arts, Memory Box, and the list goes ON!! Well, she also carries Magenta who makes my Horsie stamp, my Kangaroo stamp and many other gorgeous designs. Well, Nancy told me yesterday that although she doesn't have an online shopping cart system on her website, she does do mail orders!! All you have to do is email her what you are looking for and she will get it all packaged up and send it out to you!! AND she only charges exact shipping, no packaging or handling fees!! How great is that?!! Now she doesn't have the Horsie stamp in right now but will be ordering soon and you can email her to preorder right now!! Her email address and phone number are right on the website and she is a wonderful lady to work with!!

I was in there yesterday and I did see one or two of the Kangaroo stamps, I saw many adorable Penny Blacks (you know they are my favourites), remember those adorable little Snowmen I played with a week or so ago? Well they are a clear set of stamps and she has them in stock. She has lots of My Favourite Things sets........I know I saw some of the Penguin ones I LOVE!! And that's just the stamps!! She also has punches and adhesives and Sakura gel pens (I lovey them!), she has inks and stickles and so much more! If you are looking for something....just ask Nancy!!

So here is a new card made with the famous Horsie stamp!! I made this one especially for my nephew who's birthday is next week! I just got the new Outlaw papers from Stampin' UP so I thought they would go perfectly with this stamp for a western themed card!! I stamped my Horsie in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink (Nancy's got that too) on shimmery white paper and coloured him in with my SU markers. I sponged around the edge with Walnut Stain distress ink and mounted it on Really Rust, Sage Shadow and Chocolate Chip cardstocks. The card base is CChip with Very Vanilla and the star patterned dp from the Outlaw series. I added the square antique bronze brads in each corner, then added a strip of the lovely striped patterned paper with two lots of linen thread. For the sentiment I used happy and birthday from my Everyday Flexible Phrases by SU in the corner of the main image and then I stamped 'pardner' using my Karen Foster Snap Stamps on a separate strip of Very Vanilla. The star is made using a piece of chipboard and layering some Outlaw pp on top and distressing the edges. I of course, pop dotted the horsie part and there ya have it.

So if you would like to preorder this Horsie stamp or are looking for anything else in particular, just head on over to Stamp Art and tell Nancy that Kimmie sent ya!!

Have a wonderful Friday!! Oh and hey, I have some exciting news coming up next week, so stay tuned!!! *giggle*

Third Time's a Charm!!!!!!!!!

I won, I won, I won!!! I just got an email from Lindsey to tell everyone who entered her Lizzie Anne contest that the winners had just been posted!! And colour me surprised to see my card right up there at the top of her blog!!!!!!!!

As the old addage goes, 'Third time's a charm!!' I guess, because it was my third entry that won for Best Colour Combo!! Heehee!!! I'm so 'cited, I just HAD to share!!

Hey.........whaddya think about me having a contest of some sort over here?? Are you up for a contest??

I also just wanna say thanks so much to everyone who comments on my blog. I honestly can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to stop in and look at my creations and share your thoughts! I don't blog for the compliments, but it sure makes my day when you stop by and say hi!!! Smooches!!!

Last Lizzie Anne!!

This is my third and final entry for Lindsay's Lizzie Anne contest!! I really wanna win, can ya tell?? I have no idea how many other entries there are, but I did three, each one being very different in style and colour.

For this one I had the idea to make my own patterned paper using the Lizzie Anne stamps while we we traveling in the car last weekend. I was sitting in the back seat with Emileigh (we were both napping a little), and I sat straight up and said "I have an idea for a card!! Turn around, we need to go home!!" and she and my husband both just rolled their eyes at me! They think I'm insane sometimes. Of course I was joking.........sort of.

Anyway, I started out by making the patterned section using two of the flower stamps from the Jolies Fleurs stamp set. I made a mask for the biggest flower by stamping the image on a sticky note and cutting it out. Then I stamped the flowers around on the shimmery white cardstock, using the mask and gave it that layered look. I then coloured in the piece using my SU markers. I got the colour combination from a piece of Three Bugs in a Rug patterned paper which you can see in the picture....the card is sitting on it. I went back and shaded certain areas of the flowers with the markers. Then I stamped the largest flower twice more on a separate sheet of cardstock and coloured and cut it out and then layered them on the middle image for the paper tole/3D type look. I also added a LOT of sparkle, which I don't think you can see too well in the photo, all over the flowers and even on the tiny flowers that I stamped on the lower portion of the card base, which is Rose Red. I also sponged around the base with Rose Red ink. The main section is matted with Certainly Celery designer paper.

So which one of the three Lizzie Anne cards is your favourite?? I like each of them for different reasons but I think my fave is the Summery one........but I like the Dirty one too.........and this one is so bright and fun. Oh well, maybe one of them Lindsay will like.

Now I need to go and play with my other new stamps which are feeling terribly neglected right about now!! Have a great day!!!

August's Kool Krafter!!!

Sorry my post is late this morning, but we had some visitors from my old hometown! It was nice to sit and visit with them, but now I'm in a rush to post and get ready for work!!

Anyway, on to today's fun!! This month I am featuring a wonderfully talented lady who I'm sure you ALL know........and if you don't, you will now!!! She truly inspires me and she is one of the few blogs that I visit EVERY morning!!! Please welcome...........Julee Tilman!!!!! **insert applause here**



I was so excited when Kimmie asked me to be her August Kool Krafter. Little ole’ me? Who would have thought this is where I’d be? Would you believe that when I was in 3rd grade I was working on a school project and the teacher brought in a 1st grader to collaborate with me because I didn’t have any “artistic ability”! That tiny little comment so many years ago steered me clear of art classes and the failure I knew I would find behind those doors.

Well, thankfully a good friend in college convinced me to go to a stamping party about 13 years ago, and I was instantly hooked. I was immediately drawn in by the fact that I could create beautiful things and express my creativity without having to put my artistic chops on the line. That coupled with the fact that I could surround myself by beautiful colors, ribbons and sparkles drew me head first into the world of stamping.



Through the years, the success and joy I’ve had creating cards and scrapbooks eventually lured me into the world of graphic design. I figured if I could design layouts for cards, isn’t it the same concept for a brochure, website, etc.? So my darling and ever-supportive hubby signed me up for some computer day classes to learn how to build websites. One of the classes was a class in Adobe Illustrator where in one day we learned how to use the program and created the most adorable elephant just by using shapes. There was no drawing involved! I think that’s the day I became an artist. From that moment on, my life changed. Shortly thereafter I switched careers and began life as a web and graphic designer in the corporate world. And after several years of giving my heart and soul there, I decided to take a wild plunge for myself. Just this month, I launched Verve Visual, my own online craft boutique, and am slowly designing my very own line of rubber stamps. Not bad for a girl with no artistic ability, huh? :)

Well, that’s the scoop on me. My crafting style has a little bit of everything rolled into it. I think the details are what make a card unique, so I spend lots of time on the little things – paper piercing, doodles, sparkles and embellishments. My favorite cards have a clean, well layered look with lots of mats and oodles of sparkle. If I had to pick one thing I couldn’t craft without it would be glitter – you can almost always find something sparkly or shimmery on my cards – and everywhere else in my house! LOL




Yay!!! Isn't she awesome?? Julee has released a new stamp set today which you can preorder at a discount, so head on over to Verve Visual and order yours!! She also has an awesome sentiment set that is not only versatile, but SO reasonably priced!! Be sure to order yourself one of those too!!!

Dirty Lizzie Anne!!!

Today is the last day to get your entries in to Lindsey for her Lizzie Anne contest. So here is another one I did with the Jolies Fleurs stamp set, which I am lovin'!!

This one is a more distressed, 'dirty' lookin' card and I LOVE the way it turned out!! I started out with my Blush patterned papers by Basic Grey and stamped the two smaller flowers in Chocolate Chip on the red distressed patterned paper then I sponged the edges with a cosmetic sponge. I did the bigger middle strip just by distressing the edges with the sponge and layering it on top of some Chocolate Chip cardstock. The smaller strip was the pink distressed patterned paper and I stamped the little flourish in Chocolate Chip along the center and sponged the edges. Then I layered that strip on a piece of Close to Cocoa cardstock that I had paper pierced all along both edges using my Mat Pack. Don't know if you can see it but I also pierced in the corners of the red layer. I stamped the big flower on shimmery white cardstock with Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink and coloured it in with my SU markers, making sure to shade around the edges to make it look 3-D. Then I cut it out and pop dotted it in the center of the card. The whole piece is layered on Close to Cocoa and the card base is Chocolate Chip. Lots of layering and lots of little details!!

Keep your fingers crossed for me.........I'd love to win a gift certificate to Lindsey's store......wouldn't you???

Also, I have August's Kool Krafter coming up soon!! So stay tuned!!

Happy Me!!

I'm having a lot of fun with the Simply Scrappin' Kits for Stampin' Up lately. Both of today's projects feature the Happy Me Level 3 Hostess reward and I LOVE it!! The SS kits really take the guess work out of a creation and give you an awesome jump off point with the fabulous colour combinations in each one!

The card I made used those awesome little penguins from My Favorite Things. This one is skating on a little pond which I stamped in Soft Sky on my Shimmery White cardstock. Then I stamped the little skater penguin in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink and coloured him in using my Prismacolor Pencils and OMS and also my SU ink and blender pens, since the new In Colors don't come in the markers. I doodled around the edge and then layerd on a combination of mats which the final layer being Purely Pomegrante which I punched with my Giga Scalloped Square punch. The card base is PP with some of the awesome designer paper from the SS kit and the top portion is some of the Soft Sky designer paper. I stamped the sentiment (which actually says Warm Winter Wishes, but I just inked up the portion I wanted) in Black Onyx ink on the Soft Sky dp and punched it out using the large oval punch and attached it with some white brads. Then I added two little pieces of the gorgeous Groovy Guava double stitched ribbon with two more white brads and then pop dotted the main image!



The second project was one that I finished for a Virtual Scrapbooking Challenge on SCS. It is a two page layout featuring the photos and memorabilia from the night that Emileigh and I went to the Midnight Magic Release Party for the new Harry Potter book. I used the same Happy Me SS kit which was just perfect for this layout! The main pages are the 12x12 textured Purely Pomegranate cardstock which are included in the kit (love these) and I also used strips of the awesome dp with that great colour combo of PP, Groovy Guava and Soft Sky. Love that combo!!

I included pictures of some of the fantastic costumes, our badges from being sorted into Gryffindor, the gold galleons we each received, the tickets for the Hogwarts Express that we received from the conductor at the door and the tickets from the Order of the Phoenix movie that we saw twice the week before!!

The quote reads: And now Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure. - Albus Dumbledore

The journaling reads: This was such a fun evening for Emileigh and I! We went to the Midnight Magic Release Party at Chapters for the final book in the Harry Potter series. There were so many fun things for the kids to do. Emileigh and I got 'sorted' into Gryffindor, which was fun. The atmosphere was so wonderful and so many people were dressed up! We saw Rita Skeeter, Hagrid, Professor Trelawney, Professor Snape, Moaning Myrtle and of course, Harry! It was an evening of adventure!!

So these awesome SS kits are not just for Scrappin' as you can see. They can be used to whip up some very cool cards too!! Hope you like 'em!! And thanks for stoppin' in!!

Summery Lizzie Anne!!

I just received my very first Lizzie Anne stamps from Lindsey (Jacksonbelle) the other day. She is having a little contest where you could win a Gift Certificate to use in her online store........how great is that?? There is still time to enter, so go here for details!!

Anyhoo, they arrived in my mailbox on my day off so I got to make a couple of cards with my new Jolies Fleurs set over the last couple of days. I have been eyeing this set for a while now and the contest sort of pushed me over the edge......like that was really hard!!

For this card I used the daily Limited Supplies Challenge on SCS to make a summery coloured card and combined it with a Dirty Girl Challenge which was to use a lot of brads on your card. Well, I am a hoarder by trade ya know, so using all those brads was really HARD, but I did it!! Anyway, my jump off point was the We R Memory Keepers patterned paper with all those lovely colours. I stamped the big flower image on Shimmery White cardstock with Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink and used my SU markers to colour it in. I went back with the same markers and went over certain areas in the same colours to shade and I don't know if you can tell in the photo, but in real life, it almost looks 3-D. I punched out the image with my Mega Circle Punch and layered it on a Giga Scalloped Circle Punch in Ruby Red. The card base is Old Olive with a layer of Ruby Red, two different coordinating patterned papers then a strip of Old Olive with some Ruby Red brads. I added some Old Olive brads in the four corners and pop dotted the center image. The sentiment at the bottom is done using my Paper Tray stamp set and the word window punch!

So I've entered this one in the contest and another one too, but I'll share it on another day. I've gotta get ready to go to work now........work on a Saturday....boooo!! Have a great weekend!!

Magenta Kangaroo!!!

Okay, sorry about not posting yesterday. Ya know how life gets in the way sometimes. Well, remember the laptop I was so excited about a couple of weeks ago?? Well we got it.....yippee, right?? Wrong. We were promised a 3 year warranty but when the thing came, the paperwork said only a 1 year warranty. Needless to say, we were not impressed because that's the whole reason we went with it. So we were on the phone with BELL for a while trying to get it straightened out and of course, it has to go through the different channels and we might not know anything for THREE WEEKS!!! My honey was a might perturbed and asked to speak to a manager!! He explained that we weren't asking for anything more than what we were promised and that if we don't get the full warranty, they can not only have the 'pooter back (sniff, sniff), they can cancel all our services and we will be changing providers!! So there!!! So now I have to look at the box in the corner with my wonderful laptop in it........and not touch it!! Hmph!!

Anyway, on to the card!! Yesterday was my day off so in between loads of laundry and cooking.....I made several cards!! Yay!! Don'tcha love when the creativity just flows outta ya??!! And since you like my Magenta Horsie cards so much, I picked up this cutsie pie Magenta Kangaroo stamp the other day!!! Do you lovey???

I stamped the image in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink on shimmery white cardstock and used my Prismacolor pencils and OMSpirits to colour it. Then I shaded around the image with my Sahara Sand marker and doodled around the frame. I used my yummy dee-lish Basic Grey Blush patterned paper for this one and another card I made yesterday too, but I'll share that one another day. The card is a 5 1/2 inch square Chocolate Chip base matted with Real Red and the patterned paper. I added some American Crafts polka dot ribbon and the Prima Flowers in the corner with an SU brad. The phrase, 'Hoppy Birthday' is from the Unfrogettable set which I stamped on pp and cut out using my Word Window Punch and added a couple of brads to them. Of course I sponged around the edges of the pp and also the sentiment strips and pop dotted the Kangaroo image!! So sweet, right???

Simply Scrappin' Penguins!!

I had some more fun with my Penguin stamps from My Favorite Things!! I love the smaller images because they don't take over the card. Plus I don't have to colour a huge image before I even start on the rest of the card. Also I think the small stamps make a great focal image.

So these two little penguins are decorating their rather pathetic, Charlie Brown type Christmas tree!! Heehee! I used both Prismacolour pencils and SU markers to colour them in and sketched a frame around them. Then most of what I used on the card was from the new Winter Bright Simply Scrappin' kit from Stampin Up. These kits are fabulous as they come with 6 sheets of double sided designer paper and 8 sheets of textured 12x12 cardstock. Also they each come with 6 sheets of these fantastic cardstock stickers, so even if you're not a scrapbooker, they are great for whipping up some quick cards, as you can see!!

Cumberland Capers

I had so much fun working on my scrapbooks this weekend!! Virtual Scrapbook Weekend was fabulous as usual and the challenges gave me so much inspiration!! The challenges are all still up and open at this point. If you have some time to scrap over the next couple of days, be sure to go and get inspired and then upload your creations to the gallery!! The deadline is Wednesday afternoon.

So I thought I would share another layout with you today. This one is for my Florida trip scrapbook and features pictures from our drive down south and here we stopped at Cumberland State Park in Kentucky. I used these delicious patterned papers called Tres Jolie by My Mind's Eye along with some Very Vanilla cardstock. I did a lot of distressing on all the papers to give it that 'dirty' look. Some of the letters in the title are raised on pop dots and I just love the circle made from those awesome antique bronze brads with the heart one in the center. The journaling reads: So after driving all night, this was our first morning of our trip. It was VERY early in the a.m. on Saturday Feb. 24th. We were going on very little sleep and as you can see, we were acting a little silly! I was laughing so hard I could barely take the photos!

Have a fabulous day!!

One For the Money......

I did this layout a few weeks ago, but since it was the sample plage for my Virtual Scrapbooking Challenge, I couldn't share it with you all!! But VSBN started yesterday and my challenge was posted at 6pm EST, so here it is!!!

The theme for VSBN this month is to 'Curl Up with a Good Book', so all the challenges have to do with authors or titles or books!! It's been lots of fun so far and there will be more challenges posted today!! One of my favourite authors is Janet Evanovich and all the titles of her books have a number in them, so that's my challenge! Just include a number in the title of your layout and maybe throw some good ole bling on there, for good measure!! Oh and there is an awesome sketch to go with the challenge and I LOVE the sketch!!



So for my sample I used some pictures from the evening that Emileigh and I went to see the musical Oklahoma with my parents at Stratford. The title of my layout is 'One for the money.....Two for the Show'. I used my new Basic Grey Infuse patterned paper, matching diecuts and alphabets. I also added some lovely Prima flowers and for bling I put a bunch of clear glass beads in the centers of the flowers. And of course, I included our tickets from the show!

Now, the challenges are open until the middle of the week, so be sure to join in the fun!! You must limit your time to 2 hours for each challenge and then upload them to the SCS gallery by Wednesday afternoon. I'd LOVE to see some of you do my challenge, so if you do, be sure to link it back here!! I don't wanna miss any!! Go to this link to get all the deets for MY challenge!!!

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!!!

Dashing Through the Snow....???

I can't believe I am playing with snowmen and penguins while sitting here in my tank top and shorts!! It's sweltering outside and I'm thinkin' snow........hahaha!! Well, it's all Nancy's fault at Stamp Art!!! She had a great Christmas in July sale last weekend and I HAVE to play with my new stamps, right????

So I did another one of the Dirty Dare challenges on SCS yesterday and this one was just to use chipboard on your card. So I pulled out my new Winter Blast stamp set from My Favorite Things and started stamping out some of those cute little penguins!! I stamped the little sledding penguin on Whisper White cardstock with Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink and I stamped him on sort of an angle. Then I drew in the hill for him to sled on and used a combination of Prismacolor pencils with Odorless Mineral Spirits, my SU markers and my Aquapainter to colour and shade the image. The patterned paper I used is from Basic Grey's Blitzen line and for the main piece I sponged the edges with Mellow Moss and then Old Olive and mounted it on a square white card. I added the trio of antique brass brads in the upper two corners first though. The tag was made by using one of the die cuts with my Cuttlebug, which I don't use nearly enough. I cut one using a thin piece of cardboard and then another out of patterned paper. I stamped the sentiment which is actually all one stamp in a wavy line. I inked up each word or set of words separately and then stamped them on the slider. I pop dotted the slider and added some olive organdy ribbon. The image is backed on Soft Sky cardstock and pop dotted too!! This is a bit of a different style for me, minimal on the stamps and heavy on the distressed look, but I like it!!!

Okay now for the sketch challenge!!! I had some beautiful entries that's for sure!!! There were even a couple that came in at the last minute last night!! Now by random draw, the two winners are...........Monika and Diana!!! Yay!! Congratulations!! Will you please email me with your snail mail address and I can get your prizes out to you later this week!!!

Well, I'm off to prepare my stamping area for the Virtual Scrapbooking Weekend Challenges that will begin at 10 am EST....YAAAAAAAAAY!! If you are a scrapper, you can join in the fun at any time!! There will be challenges all day today and tomorrow!! (Just a hint.....the coolest challenge will be posted at 6 pm EST today.....it's MINE!!! Heeeheeeheee!!! So be sure to take my challenge!!) Have a great Saturday!!!

Julie's One Layer Challenge!!

Another one of this week's Dirty Girl Challenges was to do a one layer card. Now this, as you may have guessed, is quite a challenge for me. I am of the mind that 'more is more'.....I love adding layers and embellishments, stickles and rhinestones!! So doing just a one layer card was definitely going to be a challenge and I really didn't think I could do it!!! Really!!!

But I pulled out some new clear stamps by Stampendous!! My favourite Stamp store, Stamp Art, had a fabulous Christmas in July sale last weekend and I scored some great holiday/winter stamps!! This was the first time I had been able to play with this set, which is called Winter Family. It has a whole bunch of snowpeople plus a snowcat and snowdog, as well as a couple of sentiments and snowflakes! It's not too big either so the stamps are perfect for little notecards or tags!!

Anyway, I grabbed some Whisper White cardstock and made a square card. I also decided to make this one a window card and used my Mega Scalloped square punch to make a window in it. I stamped my little snowman and snow dog and then used my SU markers to colour them in. Then I thought, 'Hmm. Where is my Liquid Applique?'. After searching my craft room, I finally found it and used it on the balls of their little hats and made them all puffy and 3-D! I stamped the snowflakes and sentiment on the outside of the card and added Diamond Stickles on the flakes and on the ground. Then I just added the new Bashful Blue grosgrain ribbon and some silver thread. Hey. It turned out pretty cute for a one layer card..........so I decided to make another one.



This time I didn't make a window, but just decorated the front of the card. I used two snowmen plus the snowdog........he's just so cute!! I used a different colour scheme with the markers and added Waterfall Stickles on this one and red grosgrain ribbon!! I really like them and they were so easy!!

I am very excited today because I don't have to work for the next FOUR days!!! And this weekend just happens to be Virtual Scrapbook Weekend on SCS!! Woohoo!!! I am so behind on my scrappin', so all the challenges are going to inspire me to finish some pages!!! If you are a scrapper, you HAVE to join in the fun!! There will be challenges posted on Saturday and Sunday and you will have until later in the week to upload your creations!! Don't miss the scrappin' fun!!! And have a fantastic weekend!!!

It's gonna be another scorcher!!!!

Today is going to be another VERY hot day here!! I don't know how people without air conditioning can stand it!! I'm so thankful I don't work outside, like the guys out in front of the library pouring cement right now.....ick!!

Anyway, I wanted to share this card with you, that sorta has that African feel!! I just LOVE the SU set, Wild About You and this card I created for one of my classes.

I started out by using Close to Cocoa for the base and then stamping the small circles from Seeing Spots on the upper half and the larger circles on the bottom half, in CTCocoa. The strip across the middle is Ruby Red with the sentiment stamped on it in CTC. I stamped the giraffe in Summer Sun on Whisper White cardstock and matted on Ruby Red and Summer Sun cardstock. I then used my 1/16th punch to make two holes on the upper right side and added some linen thread, which I think added to the African feel! A simple card but an eyecatcher! And I think the little boys in my life will love it!!

Now don't forget about my challenge!! I only have 3 entries so far, so you'd better get stampin'!! You have until midnight on Friday night!! Heehee!!

Beate's Sketch Challenge!!

I'm having so much fun with all the challenges this week! They give me so much inspiration! Sometimes I feel like I've lost my stampin' mojo, but then I find a challenge and I'm rarin' to go again!!

This one was for Beate's Sketch Challenge (you KNOW how much I love sketches) but it was also a big challenge for me to feature a sentiment rather than an image! Well, I took that challenge and I'm happy with the way it turned out!!

I grabbed my new Basic Grey Infuse papers and also a piece of Bazill Bling cardstock that a friend sent to me. I've never used this paper before but it is a coloured cardstock plus shimmery sparkle, plus texture all rolled into one piece of cardstock!! And this particular colour goes great with the Infuse!! So I stamped my sentiment right on a piece of the patterned paper in Chocolate Chip ink and I sponged around that piece and the patterned piece on the left to really make it distressed. The card base is a square (again with the squares???) and I added lots of Prima flowers and some antique brass brads. So simple but so rich in colour and depth. I know I'll use this sketch again!!

And speaking of sketches..........don't forget to enter my Sketch Challenge!! You have until Friday night and I have some awesome stamps to give away!!! Have a great day.....it's gonna be a hot one here!!!