You Quack Me Up!!!

My good friend Donna loaned me a couple of her Whipper Snapper stamps to play with and this is one of them! I just love the little Duckie playing in the bathtub!!

I stamped him on watercolour paper and coloured him in using my SU markers. The colours I chose were from the Cutie Pie Designer Papers by SU! I added some Crystal Effects on all the bubbles and around the water to make it shiny and wet looking. It's a square card base from Rose Red matted on So Saffron. The sentiment is from High Hopes and it just happens to go perfectly with this stamp! I added some Rose Red eyelets, some scalloped corners, some Prima flowers and pop dotted the focal image!!

Well, I'm working the afternoon and evening shift today at the library, so I won't be home to enjoy the little trick or treaters. I'll be spending the morning preparing for my two workshops this weekend.

Have a great day!!

Edwin and his Balloon!!

Well, I got a text message on my phone yesterday before I headed in to work. Al made it to Calgary okay and let me know he would call later. When I got home from work, we talked on the phone. His flight was fine but when you start out a conversation with, "Now I don't want you to be too upset honey, 'cause it's gonna get fixed.", I tend to start to get upset!! Don't you?? It seems that something happened to my brand new laptop as it went through the x-ray machine at the airport and now the screen looks like someone dumped black paint all over it. Nice. But it's under a 3 year warranty and will be either fixed or replaced, no problem. Thankfully.

Today's card represents a bit of a discovery for me. I've tried the Prismacolour pencil and odourless mineral spirits technique several times before and found that I have gotten a little better but I get discouraged because mine just doesn't look like other people's awesome creations that I have seen. Why is that?? Do they have better mineral spirits, better paper stumps than I do?? Do I just suck?? Hahaha. Well, I think I have discovered the answer........it's the paper!!

I've tried using my Prismacolours on Whisper White, on Very Vanilla....I thought I had found the one with Shimmery White and don't get me wrong!! All these different types of cardstock have their specific uses, but I couldn't find the right one for Prismas. Then I was going through my friend Inge's lovely Magnolia blog and she almost always used this technique and her colouring is SPECTACULAR! I HAD to find out her secret!! Well, after reading through many of her posts, I found out that she uses watercolour paper!!! Hmmmm.....I honestly had my doubts that it would make a difference for me, but I tried it anyway!! Well, it was like an A-HA moment for me, it seemed to make sense!!! The watercolour paper takes the mineral spirits so much better than regular paper that repels liquids!! It allows you to blend the colour with the liquid SO much better!!! SERIOUSLY!! You've GOT to try it!!!

SOOOOOOOOO, here is a card I made using that technique with watercolour paper!! I stamped Edwin with his Balloon from Magnolia in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink and used my Prismacolours to colour him in and blend. I don't have a lot of the pencils but I found colours that matched some retired SU designer paper along with Chocolate Chip and Brocade Blue cardstock. I used some Beary Patch chipboard and circle punches to create the tag along with a big white textured flower that I sponged and placed behind the tag. I added some CC corners and two little metal clips with some frayed grosgrain ribbon to finish it off!!

Now, it's not nearly as beautiful as Inge's colouring, but I finally feel like I'm on my way!!!

Nifty Notepads!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Saturday was a workday for me but yesterday was nice. I got a few things created in the morning and then my parents came over for supper and a visit, which was great.

My husband left this morning at 5am to go work out west. His flight left at 7:15, so he should be in the air now and it's a four hour flight. I've asked him to email, text, phone me or whatever when he gets to Calgary to ease my mind. I should hear from him before I head in to work this afternoon.



One of the little projects that I'm working on for Christmas are these cute little notepads! I used 4x4 lightweight coasters for the covers and cut blank printer paper into 3 and 3/4 inch squares for inside. I put it all together using my Bind-it-All machine and decorated the fronts and added some ribbon on the coils!!

These are great little gifties for stocking stuffers or gift add-ons and making them gives me a chance to use up some designer papers I have. Also whenever I stamp an image to work with, I usually stamp up at least one extra, in case I screw up or something with the first one. So I have a bunch of already stamped images on my desk to pull out and play with for these notepads!!



I took a couple of them with me to work one day and the ladies went NUTS for them! Sooooo I will be making up a bunch and bringing them in.....I'm sure they'll sell like hotcakes!! AND my Bind-it-All machine is finally getting used!!!

Tagged and Awarded!!

You ladies make me feel SO good!! I can't tell you how much I appreciate you all and your daily comments!! It really means so much and today is no different!!



My fellow High Hopes Design Team member Inge, gave me the 'You Make Me Smile Award', isn't that nice?? Because Inge and her blog of beautiful creations make ME smile every day!!! What a compliment!

SO, since YOU all make ME smile everyday, I'd like to tag you!! If you have a blog, feel free to copy this Award and post it on your blog and tell them Kimmie tagged ya!! Because you honestly put a grin on my face when I read your comments!!

ALSO, I was tagged twice yesterday! Once by Julia and again by Julee!!! So now I have to share seven random things about myself! I'm really not very interesting, but I'll try to come up with something half decent for you!! Here goes:

1. My favourite chocolate bar right now is Twix......I used to be faithful to only Reese's Peanut Butter cups, but I've found another and moved on.

2. I HATE to exercise........so I don't. Fits real well with #1, don'tcha think?? *sigh*

3. Right now I am addicted to Magnolia rubber stamps and High Hopes stamps. Never thought I'd enjoy colouring so much........I don't remember loving it as a child...hmmm. What does that mean?? My memory sucks, I think that's what it means, but that's another 'random thing' about me.

4. My 15 year old daughter and I are best friends. We hang out and do stuff together, play games and giggle, shop and trade clothes. NEVER thought THAT would happen, that tradin' clothes thing.....it's amazing but true!

5. Every night I crawl into bed and read for at least a half an hour. I always have at least one book on the go. Last night I finished the new release Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris.

6. When I'm at work, I often catch myself thinking about card layouts and designs and what I will create the minute I get home. Shocker, I know.

7. My husband is leaving on Monday to go work out in Calgary for a couple of weeks. I'll miss him terribly.

So now you know a little bit more about me. Instead of tagging people I already know, I'd like to know a little more about YOU!!! So if you'd like to play, leave a comment with some random things about yourselves!! If you want to do all 7, go ahead. Or you can just share a couple!

Have a wonderful day and happy stampin'!!

Petunia and Audrey!!

If cute and whimsical is your style, then High Hopes has GOT to be one of your favourite companies!! They are just too adorable for words!! And in MY humble opinion, this new release coming up is their CUTEST YET!!! Not jokin' here ladies!! I got SO excited when I saw the new images and I'm just burstin' to share them with you........but I can't! Alas, I don't have them in my inky little fingers yet! But I've been thinkin' about them in my head and I'll be quick to ink them up when they do come!

So to tide you over until the new unveiling, here is a card that I made using Petunia and Audrey from the last release! I stamped the pair of them on watercolour paper in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink and coloured them in using my SU markers. I used the colours that are in the Fancy Pants Sweet Pea designer paper! The cardstock is Regal Rose, Certainly Celery and Pretty in Pink and the dp is double sided so I was able to fold it over, distress the edge and add some of the jumbo eyelets and added a little pink taffeta bow! I used Simply Said to create the background paper, added some hardware on the corners and the sentiment is stamped on a piece of RR cardstock and I rounded the corners and pop dotted the main image!

Well, I'm off to work the whole day.........sigh......but you have a wonderful weekend!!! Do some stampin'!!!

Someday My Prince Will Come......

I had the day off from work yesterday and I got SO much done!! Do you ever have those days where you feel like you've gotten so much accomplished?? Well, that was yesterday for me!! Yippeeee!! Wednesday was a great mail day for me as I received some more of my Magnolia stamps from Phebe, so I couldn't wait to stamp them up and get playing! And....I did!!!

I pulled out some Fancy Pants designer paper from the Aged Florals line! I just love the colour combination in these papers! Fancy Pants paper is such a beautiful thick cardstock with wonderful texture....I used their stuff a lot!! I stamped Tilda with her Prince in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink on Stampin' Up's super thick Watercolour Paper. I've tried other watercolour papers, but honestly, they are not nearly the same quality. It's expensive, but SO worth it!!

I coloured in the image using my SU markers, which of course are waterbased so they look gorgeous on the watercolour paper. There are NO lines when you colour on this paper, it all flows together for a solid look with NO streaks!! I used Pale Plum for her dress which is not a colour I normally use, but it was perfect with the paper. I watercoloured her some grass to stand on and added some Diamond Stickles to her pretty fairy wings!!

The cardstock I used was Pale Plum and Blush Blossom, I added two little strips from the Word Window Punch for added interest in the corner with some little pearly gems, as well as in the centers of the Hydrangea flowers by Prima.

For the layout, I tried to use more of a European style to my card. I've noticed when surfing the Magnolia Design Team blogs that they use more layers and more of a scrapbooking looking layout. So I tried my hand at it and I was SUPER ecstatic about the way this card turned out!

Don't forget that Phebe still has some of these awesome stamps left and I'd be happy to share her email address with you if you'd like to get your inky little hands on them!!! Heehee!!

A Birthday Bella!!

A friend from work made a special request for a card this week. She has a birthday party for a 12 year old niece and needed something she would like. Well, it just happens that I have some Bella stamps that are PERFECT for a young girl, don't you agree????

I also have been visiting the new Member Company forums on Splitcoast and Stampingbella has one. Well, they've started posting challenges and so I decided to use a sketch challenge that they posted!! There's never a shortage of challenges over on Splitcoast, that's for sure!!!

I started by choosing the paper which is by Paper Studio. I love the colour combo of Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip and Certainly Celery. I pulled out my new Billboardabella 'cause I thought she could pass for a teenager and stamped her in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink. What makes this stamp great, is that it comes with several separate sayings that you can stamp on the billboard!! I coloured her in using my SU markers and used my aquapainter to make her some ground to stand on. I doodled a border and pop dotted the main image. I just added some stitched ribbon that I got at Jacksonbelle's store and there she is.

Well, I brought it in to work yesterday and before I showed it to her, I told my friend that if it wasn't what she wanted, I would totally make something else and it wouldn't hurt my feelings at all!! She took one look at it and hugged me!!! That was so nice.

Final Lizzie Anne Contest Card!!

So apparently I'm not that bright!! I saw the announcement about the Lizzie Anne Designs Card Contest, read the specifications, got totally excited because of how much I LOVE LAD stamps and went to town!!! Unfortunately when I read that the cards must 'feature Lizzie Anne stamps', I didn't take that to mean that ONLY LAD stamps could be used on your cards in order for them to qualify!! SO I used sentiments from other companies as I don't have a lot of LAD sentiment stamps! I guess the rule is ONLY LAD stamps......whoops!!

SO out of the several cards that I sent in, this is probably the only one that will count. My chances just got much slimmer. Poo. Anyway, it was fun to create the cards and all the cards sent in are being donated to Cards for Cancer, so I'm sure each card will brighten someone's day, no matter what stamps are on it!

This card I am especially proud of......well, I like it a lot anyway!! I think it is my favourite out of all the ones I made for the contest! I started with my Chocolate Chip base and Cool Caribbean, which just happened to match that yummy ribbon that I got in a big box o' ribbon from Costco about a year ago!! I may have been hoarding it.....hehe. I made the panel for the top half using shimmery white paper and stamping different sized snowflakes from the Christmas in the City stamp set in Cool Caribbean. I sponged around the edges with a cosmetic sponge and matted it on Cool Caribbean cardstock. Then I made the little 3-D tags to go across it and this was the first time I had used the little hot chocolate mugs and they are so fun!!! Of course I sponged those edges too and added some plaid matching ribbon with silver brads to each tag and then pop dotted them. For the bottom half I tied the thick satiny ribbon across the middle and stamped the phrase on the large oval punch by inking up the first half of the stamp and then the second half, so that I could get it all on the oval. I sponged around the oval too, paper pierced across to the oval and added two sugarcoated snowflakes that I punched out using my Martha Stewart Snowflake punch! Love this card....it makes me think of a crisp snowy day!!

Another Magnolia!!

I think I'm obssessed!!! What do you think?? I just love these little Magnolia characters so much!!

This design actually started out as Julee's Mojo Monday sketch from last week....I swear it did!! But then it took on a life of it's own!!! And that's okay too!

For this one I used my Prismacolour pencils and odorless mineral spirits. I stamped Tilda on shimmery white paper with Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink and used the colours from the Loves Me dp by Stampin' Up. I used Regal Rose for the square base and Chocolate Chip to mat. I added some Prima flowers that matched perfectly and attached them with a pink rhinestone brad. I made the circular tag using my circle scalloped punch by SU and several different sizes of circle punches. Lastly I added a length of pink and brown stitched ribbon that I got from Lindsey's store!! Oh yah, and I pop dotted everything!!

Now I think that Phebe is currently sold out of this particular stamp and Tilda with the heart shaped balloon but she still has about 18 different other ones if you want to email her and order some!! Just let me know!

Sorry this is short and sweet today ladies, but I'm off to work today.....blah. Have a good one!!

Friends for Heifer!!

Good Monday morning, Stampers!!! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! We had beautiful weather for most of it in Southwestern Ontario!! A perfect fall weekend, I think. We went out shopping one day, had friends over for dinner and a movie last night AND I got a LOT of stamping done!! Yippee!

Well, I never thought I'd enjoy a COW stamp so much!!! Isn't it just too cute?? High Hopes just makes all their animal and children stamps SO unbelievably adorable!! This little couple of cutie pies just makes me smile, along with the wonderful sentiment!!

I stamped the image on watercolour paper this time with Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink. Then I used my SU markers to colour them in. I also used my Aquapainter in spots to take away some of the colour and make the area look lighter. I sponged around the image and around the sentiment tag with a cosmetic sponge and Creamy Caramel ink. I stamped the prize ribbon, coloured it and cut it out and put it on the corner of the focal image after matting it on Sage Shadow and Chocolate Chip. The patterned paper is Wanted by Stampin' UP with Chocolate Chip for the square base and I added four antique copper square brads, some brown linen thread and pop dotted everything!! I'm super happy with this card!!

And I have a secret.........don't tell anyone.....let's just keep this between us! High Hopes will be releasing some new winter stamps VERY soon and I have seen the images with my own two eyes!!! Not a word of a lie....these are my FAVOURITE High Hopes stamps to date!!!! They are just SO perfect!!! I can't WAIT to share them with you!! So keep your eyes peeled (and your wallets too, heehee!)!

Magnolia Birthday Girl!!

Okay, I'm hooked!! I looooooooooove these Magnolia stamps!! My gal Phebe is awesome, 'cause her store has them!!! I'm addicted....and she's my 'dealer' and I gotta have my fix!! Haahahahaa! The images are just SO cute and fun to work with!!

So I was able to play with this one last night. Her name is Tilda med Ballong and I think she is perfect for a birthday card and I can't wait to use her for Valentine's Day too!!

They posted 4 challenges last night as a Mini Virtual Stamping Night on Splitcoast, so I was able to play along. The challenge was to use Abundant Supplies!!! Well, I got THAT one covered, no problem!! Hahaha! You had to use 2 stamped images, 4 layers, 6 colours and 8 embellishments. I went over on a couple of them....can you imagine.....me....going overboard??? Also I used Beate's awesome Weekend Sketch Challenge for the layout!!

Anyway, I started by stamping Tilda on this awesome white cardstock that I got from Papertrey. It's the first time I've used it and it totally rocks!! It's super white and super thick and takes the markers beautifully!! I used my Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink. As you can see, I just can't seem to get away from this yummy dp by Fancy Pants!! The colour combination is so ME and they match perfectly with SU colours. I coloured her in using my SU markers in Blush Blossom, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Bashful Blue, Barely Banana, Certainly Celery, Creamy Caramel and Close to Cocoa. I used my Aquapainter to create somewhere for her to sit and then I added some sparkle around the balloon and around her wings with my Sakura Stardust gel pen. I also added some white with my Signo gel pen. Then I made the little pop up sentiment area using several different punches and a Bella sentiment!

Do you love her???? If I've got you hooked on them like me, (insert evil laugh here) I'd be happy to give you Phebe's email address!!! And she'd be more than happy to help you get some!!

Pink Cat Studio Card Contest Winners!!!

Firstly, let me thank you all for your wonderful participation in this contest!! There were 177 entries into the four different challenges..........WOW!!! And they were ALL amazing!!! You have no idea how terribly difficult it was for the team to decide on the winners!! So difficult in fact that we are awarding not two, but THREE winners in each category!!!!!!!!! WOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Thanks to Melissa at Pink Cat Studio for sponsoring this awesome contest by donating the wonderful prizes and thanks to YOU for sharing your creativity with us!!! I hope you all enjoyed the challenges!!

Now........here's what you really came for..........the WINNERS!!!!!

Pink Cat Sketch Challenge

Ila



Tricia



Marianne




Pink Cat Colour Challenge

Pat Gingrich



Pat (foodpartyfun)



Julee Tilman




Pink Cat Supply Challenge

Monika




Colleen




Elizebeth




Pink Cat Theme Challenge

Janine Brain




Trixie




Beth




So all the winners can email me their mailing addresses and I'll get those stamps out to you next week!! Head on over to Pink Cat Studio today and check out their awesome stamps!!! It's not just Cats, ya know!!! And Melissa has her own contest going on right now, called Itchin' for Inchies!!! Sounds ............. interesting!! Hahaha!!!

Have a wonderful Friday!!!!

Fancy Pants Fall Fairy!!

I FINALLY got to play with my new MAGNOLIA stamps!! Wooooohoooooo!!! Phebe at the Town Scrapper is the only store that carries this line of Swedish stamps, that I know of and I was totally thrilled to be one of the first to play with them!! Heeeee! I love new rubbah!!!

These stamps are so unique and have such an adorable style!! They all have Swedish names though, so it's hard to tell you what they are called in English!! I call this one Fall Fairy....does that sound good???

I started out by.....(I'm sure you can fill this in yourself, by now!)....stamping him on Shimmery White paper in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink. Then I chose my fall coloured papers which are from the True line of papers by Fancy Pants. I coloured him in using my Prismacolor pencils and odourless mineral spirits. I'm not fabulous at this technique yet, but I'm gettin' there. I doodled a swirling frame around the image to mimic the falling leaves swirls and I added some sparkle around the fairy and his wings and the heart on his head with my Sakura Stardust gel pen. He is matted on Cranberry Crisp and Pumpkin Pie.

I used yesterday's sketch challenge on SCS for the layout which worked perfectly. The card is a Pumpkin Pie square with the dp on top and I wrapped two rows of stitched grosgrain ribbon around the middle. The sentiment is stamped using Paper Tray on Creamy Caramel and punched out with the Round Tab Punch. I added some Magenta fall flowers with a glittery brad and pop dotted the whole thing!!! Hope ya like it!!

Now if you like these stamps too and can't find them anywhere, Phebe takes phone and email orders!! Yippee!! She doesn't have an online store yet, but she would be only too happy to help you get these stamps in your hot little hands......if they aren't all gone yet!! So email me if you would like more information!!!

Pink Cat Card Contest!!! All I have to say is WOW!!! I cannot believe the number of entries I received, most of them in the last couple of days, right up until midnight last night!!! I haven't counted them all up yet but there are a LOT!!! I will be choosing the winners tonight with the second opinion of my stampin' helper and will be posting the results tomorrow. Let me tell you....this is NOT going to be easy!!!

A Snowman's Best Friend.....Dasher!!!

Okay, I love sketches.....we've established that!! So I try to get to Beate's weekly Sketch Challenge when I can and I was able to squeeze this one in!! It's a perfect layout for a large stamp like this one....A Snowman's Best Friend by Whipper Snapper!

I stamped this cute and cuddly pair on watercolour paper with Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink.....what a shocker!! Then I used my SU markers to colour them in. I also used my Aquapainter to shade the snow, my Sakura Stardust gel pen for the shiny bits and a 20% gray Prismacolor marker to shade around the whole thing! I added Stardust Stickles to make the snow all sparkly and I used my white Signo gel pen to add a little somethin' somethin' to the black areas.

I sponged all around the main image, around the Dasher patterned paper by Basic Grey and around the scalloped circle punch. The card base and matting are Old Olive and I added a bit of Real Red to mat the sentiment and two strips of red grosgrain ribbon. And OF COURSE I pop dotted the main image!!

So ole boxer boy Floyd got the boot on Dancin' with the Stars tonight.....I say it couldn't have been too soon!! But I was stunned when Mel B. was also in the bottom two!!! NOT good! She and Max are superb.....not to mention that I love to watch him dance with his shirt off.....whew!!!

And today (Wednesday) is the last day to get your entries in for the Pink Cat Card Contest!!! You have until midnight EST tonight, so you still have time!! There are some fabulous entries and I'm so thrilled that you all took part!!! I can't WAIT to give away these stampin' great prizes!!! Woohoo!! So what are you waitin' for?? Go stamp something!!!

Lizzie Anne's Fancy Pants.....Take Two!!!

When I was playing with my Jolie Fleurs stamps the other day making THIS card, I just couldn't stop there!! I like the combo so much, that I made another card with the same dp and colour scheme!!

I stamped the flower in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink on shimmery white paper (you know the routine by now, don't you??) and coloured it in using my SU markers. I coloured the flower differently than on the last one and matted it on a Giga Scalloped Circle in Barely Banana this time. I dotted each scallop with my white Signo gel pen too. The card base is regular size in Bashful Blue with a Certainly Celery layer. Then I used two different styles of the Fancy Pants Sweet Pea designer paper, one on each half of the card. For the middle strip I used Regal Rose with Bashful Blue and then added a Certainly Celery brad on each side. I stamped the 'smile' sentiment from Paper Tray and punched it out using my Word Window Punch. I pop dotted the main image and stapled two pieces of coordinating ribbon in the corner!

This is another card I will be submitting for the Lizzie Anne Designs Card Contest!! I'm mailing them today to be SURE that they get there before the deadline! Sometimes that postal system takes SO long!! HEY!! Didja see that Lizzie Anne, along with several other awesome companies now have their own forums over at Splitcoast??? How fun is that????

So did you see Dancin' with the Stars last night??? I'm tired of that boxer dude and the millionaire guy. Everyone else is really gettin' good!! Who do you wanna see get the boot???

AND don't forget!!! Only two more days to get your entries in for the Pink Cat Contest!!! I'm seeing some great creations......where's yours?????

Sugarcoated Knut!!!

I've had a lot of fun playing with the Cat's Pajamas stamps this week!! As you know, I was able to purchase the Clearly Swanky Stamp Sets last weekend and they are just a hoot!! Love those penguins and Poochie and Sprinkle, but today I'm sharing my pal Knut!! I'm not sure if he's supposed to be the same polar bear named Knut that hangs out with Leonardo, talking about global warming and such, but he's just as cute!!! And of course, if you can't find the Cat's Pajamas stamps near you, just email Nancy at Stamp Art and she can mail you out some!!! The clear stamps are great because they are flat and light and cost very little to mail!! Tell her Kimmie sent ya over!!

This is a card I designed for my Christmas Card orders and I've already received an order for a set of them! I used my Archival Versafine Black Onyx Ink, which is PERFECT for using with clear stamps and I stamped him on Shimmery White paper. I used my SU markers and my Aquapainter to paint him and matted him on Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery. The card base is Whisper White with a layer of Bashful Blue which I ran through my Cuttlebug with the Snowflake embossing folder. Then I punched out the photo corners and a couple of Martha Stewart snowflakes using my white Sugarcoated cardstock. I got it, along with several other colours at my local sb store, but it doesn't have a company name on it so I don't know who makes it. I'll try to find out. But some people have asked what it is exactly.....it's cardstock that is totally glittery!! So of course, I HAD to have it!! The white is perfect for snowflakes as you can see!!

****Don't forget!! You only have a couple of days left to enter my contest to win some awesome Pink Cat Studio stamps!!! I've received a bunch of entries over the weekend and there is still time!!! So get stampin'!!!

Christmas Angel

Well, I'm feeling much better today! Thank you SO much for your prayers and hugz!! I truly appreciate your thoughts! It was a rough couple of days, especially since I couldn't call in sick because there were too many people off on holidays in my department. Oh well, I have a day off to recharge!!!

Here is a simple but elegant Christmas card! I have always loved this stamp set which was a Stampin' Up hostess set I believe. It was one of the first ones I ever got and it's a favourite for Christmas cards. I designed this one as an easy one to duplicate for orders (which by the way, I already have orders for 55 cards from 3 ladies at work....yikes!!).

I stamped the angel in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink on watercolour paper. I coloured her skin with my Blush Blossom marker and then used my Aquapainter and inks to colour the rest of her.....Close to Cocoa for her hair, Elegant Eggplant for her dress, So Saffron to surround her and my Sahara Sand marker for shading her wings and the dove. I pop dotted her after matting on SS and EE cardstock and added some narrow organdy ribbon and then stamped the sentiment straight on the card base. Simple.....but lovely!

You may have noticed my attire in my Cartoon Kimmie picture there!! I don't generally dress like that everyday.....only on special occasions.... *giggle* I'm hooked on Dancin' with the Stars.....does anyone else love this show??? I have my early favourites and I must say I'm glad that Wayne is finally gone. Emileigh and I love to watch it together on Monday nights!! Anyone else watch it??

Don't forget about the contest going on to win some awesome Pink Cat Studio stamps!!! There are lots of challenges to choose from and you only have a few days left!!!

Lizzie Anne's Fancy Pants!!!

I'm not feeling so hot this morning, so forgive me if this is short and sweet. I've got a touch of a stomach bug and I'm going back to bed and trying to sleep it off and get charged up before I have to head in to work at 1pm. eeeecccchhhh.

I got a lot done over the long weekend and here is another card I created for the Lizzie Anne Card Contest! My local scrapbook store just got this lovely Fancy Pants Sweet Pea line of double sided dp and I LOVE it!! So I pulled out my Jolies Fleurs stamp set and played with the flowers and swirls.....it's such a lovely set.

The colours in the paper are so pretty together! I stamped the flower several times on Shimmery White paper, because I knew I wanted to play with the colours on the big flower and find my favourite combo. I think I did 3 or 4 in different combinations and finally decided on this one. I used my SU markers in Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink and Barely Banana. I then coloured the middle part again, cut it out and pop dotted it on the first one. I used my Mega Circle Punch and My Giga Scalloped Circle Punch and dotted each scallop with my white Signo gel pen. The card base is a Regal Rose 5 1/2 inch square with Bashful Blue on top. I stamped the little swirly in the corner.....I actually did more swirls initially as a background, but it seemed to be too much. Simpler seemed better for this card, so I just stamped it once in the corner. I added the striped piece of Fancy Pants paper and used my mat pack and gel pen to do the faux stitching around the dp and also used my distressing tool to rough up the left hand side. I stamped the sentiment on coordinating dp, punched it out using my large oval punch and attached it to some pink taffeta ribbon with a piece of hardware in antique pewter. I'm really happy with it!!

Okay, back to bed for me! Happy Friday everyone!!

Mojo Monday Snowman!!!

I can't stop playing with my Snowman from Christmas in the City!! He's just so crisp and clean and easy to colour!!! I'm entering this card in the Lizzie Anne Designs contest this month along with a few others I'll be sharing soon!

I stopped over at Poetic Artistry (as I do every day) and saw her Mojo Monday sketch challenge!! And you KNOW how much I love da sketches!!! I was also inspired by Julee's colour scheme on her sample card (Cool Caribbean and Close to Cocoa) and remembered that I have lots of Cool Caribbean cardstock in my drawer (since I totally stocked up before SU discontinued it), so I thought to myself, 'Self...that would be a great colour combo for my Snowman!!'. And that's how this card came about!!! And I'm so thrilled with it.....don'tcha love it when a plan comes together??!!

I stamped my Snowman on Shimmery White paper in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink and used my Aquapainter and inkpads to colour him in. I also made the background piece with the same paper and stamped two different sized snowflakes in Cool Caribbean and Close to Cocoa. Then I sponged around the edges of both pieces, matted them and then paper pierced them with my mat pack. I used some Taupe grosgrain ribbon and threaded it between the layers of the snowman piece. I used my new scalloped circle punch by SU for the first time and added the Happy Holidays sentiment from Riveting and pop dotted it. THEN I added my favourite part!!! You know how much I love da bling.....so I remembered I had some sugarcoated cardstock (it's totally glittery) in different colours and can you believe this one matched perfectly with the Cool Caribbean???? What luck!!! So I punched out two snowflakes with my Martha Stewart punch and added them to the corner. They look awesome on there!!!

Now this card would have fit for either the Theme Challenge or the Supply Challenge for my Pink Cat Contest!!! How are those projects coming, ladies?? I've already received some great entries, so keep 'em coming!!!!

Sweet Sundae!!

Another busy day today at our house.....so I am posting today's post a little early!! I don't think I'll have time to do it in the morning, so instead, it's going up before my head hits the hay!!!

Here is another delicious design using some Pink Cat Studio stamps!!! For this one, I used Beate's Weekend Sketch #22 for the layout!! LOVE her sketches!! Those are my favourite challenges....sketches!! Wednesday is always Sketch Challenge day over at SCS, so be sure to go check it out if you have time. Hopefully I'll get a chance to join in later!

I stamped the yummy Sundae stamp on Whisper White cardstock using my handy dandy Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink. I pulled out my Loves Me designer papers again and used the colours from there on my sundae! I used my SU markers in Taken With Teal, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa and Sahara Sand to shade around the whipped cream, or as my nephew calls it, 'whippy doo'!! I matted it on Regal Rose and Close to Cocoa cardstock, used my ticket corner punch and added some pink rhinestones in the corners. The base is Close to Cocoa with that great dp and I used my CM cutting system to make the half circles. I added some pink grosgrain ribbon, used my word window punch for the sentiment and pop dotted the main image. I finished it off with some Stardust Stickles on the little heart on top!! Makes me hungry just lookin' at it!!!

So are you all busy workin' on some projects for the contest???? Hmmm?? I can't wait to see them!!

Questions about the Contest!!!

Okay, a few people have asked now, so I will post it here instead of emailing everyone!! NO you do not have to use Pink Cat images on your contest submissions. Feel free to use whatever products and companies you wish, just stick to the challenge guidelines. Pink Cat Studio is sponsoring this contest and providing the yummy prizes, so that's why I called it the Pink Cat Contest!! Get it?? Got it?? Good!!! Heehee!! Feel free to ask any other question you might have!!

Have a Cool Yule!!

Ask....and ye shall receive!!! Last week Sharon in NE requested that I play with some Cat's Pajamas images!!! And wouldn't you know, I've been drooling over their new line of Clearly Swanky Stamp sets that they just released but I hadn't ordered any. WELL!! On Saturday I made a quick trip into my favourite stamp store, Stamp Art, and what did Nancy JUST get into the store?????? ALL three new Clearly Swanky Stamp sets!!! How about that?????

These adorable winter images with Poochie, Sprinkles, Knut and of course those cute penguins are so much fun!! I played with them all this weekend!! This card features one of the new penguin stamps, a little swirl stamp and that awesome sentiment!! This card is going to be one of the easy-to-recreate cards that I will be taking Christmas card orders for. It is also convenient for me that I had some new critter stamps to play with for Jeanne and Sherry's Just Because We Wanna challenge to make a card with a little animal friend on it!!!

I stamped him on Whisper White cardstock with Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink, which by the way, is fabulous on clear stamps!! I coloured him in with my SU markers and watercoloured the ice he is standing on, doodled around the frame, added some red Stickles on the candy cane and his hat and matted him on three colours of cardstock! The card base is Vintage Violet with a piece of Soft Sky dp and I stamped the sentiment and swirls directly on the dp. I added some stitched grosgrain ribbon (which is no longer available) and pop dotted the main image!! Totally fun....and easy!!

Now when I left Stamp Art, Nancy still had some of these awesome stamps available, so if you are looking to purchase some, just email her (her info is on the website) and she will be happy to help!! She only charges actual shipping and if you are Canadian, they won't be crossing the border, so no duty charges or anything!! Yay!! And don't forget to tell her that Kimmie sent ya!!!

Don't forget to check the post below this for all the details on my Pink Cat Studio contest!!! Lots of fun and lots of prizes!!!

Pink Cat Studio Contest!!!!

Remember how I said I had something exciting coming up for you???? Well, here it is!!! Pink Cat Studio is sponsoring a contest here on my blog!!! I'm celebrating 50,000 visitors and they are celebrating their recent stamp releases!!!

Totally exciting right??? So would you like a chance to WIN some of their awesome stamps??? Well, here's all the deets!!!

The Challenges:

1. Sketch Challenge - Use the yummy Cupcake Card above (which I made using Pink Cat stamps!), as inspiration for your creations! It doesn't have to be exact, but just use it as inspiration!! And it can be a card OR a scrapbook page!!!

2. Colour Challenge - The colour challenge this time is one of my FAVES!!! Please use a combination of pink and brown on this beauty!! Mmmmmmm!

3. Theme Challenge - Let's work ahead and get some cards or gift ideas made using a Winter or Christmas theme!! It doesn't have to be a card.....I would love some ideas for gift giving and you can help me!!! Heehee!

4. Supply Challenge - I'm a girlie girl and I love SPARKLIES!! (Do you see the sparklies on my cupcake??) So use them on your card....whether it's Stickles, rhinestones, glitter....whatever!! But make sure you have some on this one!!

Now for the specifics!! Please EMAIL me your creations and make sure the pictures aren't too big. Resize them and EMAIL them to me....that way I can keep them organized according to challenge!!

Each creation can only be entered into ONE challenge. You can enter as many cards or projects as you like, but each item can only be entered once. There will be TWO lucky winners in each category!!

If you are uploading your projects to the Splitcoaststampers gallery, please be sure to include the following keywords, so we can all check them out!!! PCSKC - Pink Cat Sketch Challenge, PCCC - Pink Cat Colour Challenge, PCTC - Pink Cat Theme Challenge, PCSC - Pink Cat Supply Challenge!!

The deadline for this contest is Wednesday, October 17th at midnight EST!!

Now go get stamping!!!!!!!!

Edited to Add: NO, you do not have to use specifically Pink Cat images!! ANY images and products can be used in your submissions!! It's just that Pink Cat is sponsoring the event and providing the prizes, so it's called the Pink Cat Contest!!

Happy World Cardmaking Day!!!

Heehee!!! How fun to have a day dedicated just to us cardmakers!!! And there are all sorts of sales and specials going on ALL over the stamping world!!

Firstly, Stampingbella has a FREE SHIPPING special on today only, so stock up, doesn't matter how much it weighs....shipping is FREE!! Check out Emily's blog for the details and a coupon code! Then over at Lizzie Anne Designs, they have released a new stamp set and several sets, along with the new one are on sale today only!!!

AND.....High Hopes Rubber Stamps has uploaded their new line of stamps and are now available for purchase!!!! Yippee!!! Also they have a new Project of the Month which features a grouping of AWESOME stamps on special!! Go check 'em out!!!

(And you're welcome!!! I love to enable my pals!! *snicker*)

Anyway, here is a new card that I made with my Lizzie Anne set, Christmas in the City. I don't know what it is about this snowman, but I love him!!! This card will be included with the ones that my coworkers can order their Christmas cards from. I used Bashful Blue for the card base and Cuttlebugged a piece of Whisper White with the Snowflake folder. I made a little tag with some circle punches and stamped the small snowflake first and then stamped 'joy' from one of the new Papertrey sets in Rose Red over top. I added some grosgrain ribbon overtop but the tag isn't actually attached to the ribbon, it's just an illusion!!! I punched a hole in the top so it looks like the ribbon runs through it, but it's actually just laying over top of the hole and the tag itself is attached to the card, that way it lays flat but still looks attached. Does that make sense.....am I rambling??

Anyway, I stamped Mr. Snowman on Shimmery white cardstock in Archival Versafine Black Onxy ink and coloured him in with my SU markers and Aquapainter. I used my CM circle cutting sytem to cut him out, my Mega Circle Punch to punch out the Rose Red matting and my Giga Scalloped Circle Punch to do the Bashful Blue layer. I used my mat pack to make the holes in each of the scallops and pop dotted the whole piece!!

Now go celebrate World Cardmaking day and go stamp something!!! Actually I'd love to hear your plans for today and maybe share what you made in this post here!!! Have a stampin' good day!!!!

Let's Play in the Leaves!!!

OH I love Fall!! It's actually going to be pretty warm this weekend, so I'm taking advantage of it!!! Today I'm working until 5pm but after that.....woohoooooo!!! I have three days off in a row and I'm going to make the most of them!! I have big plans to organize my stamp room (yes, that a big IS undertaking), spend some time outdoors with the family maybe hiking through the woods, visiting a park, taking pictures fer sure and of course I will spend some time STAMPING!!! What are you doing this weekend???

Yesterday before work, I was able to squeak out a couple of cards and I wanted to share this one with you today!!! It's another new image from High Hopes!!! I talked to Tina yesterday and she says that they should be up on the website and available to purchase over the weekend!!! YAAAAAAAAAAYYY!!

I don't even know what this guy is called....that's how new they are....but isn't he a cutie??? (I call him Fall Out Boy, 'cause I love that band!!) hahaha! I picked up some fall patterned paper that I had (Mom gave it to me....thanks Mom) and I chose my colours from there. I stamped him on Shimmery white paper in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink and coloured him and shaded him using my SU markers. I love the Earth Elements colours for Fall, don't you?? I used Really Rust (which I never use), More Mustard, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Pumpkin Pie, Brocade Blue, Certainly Celery, Barely Banana and Blush Blossom, of course. I doodled him a little frame and matted him on Really Rust and Chocolate Chip. The card base is CC with the two different (unknown) patterned papers with a strip of Pumpkin Pie across the middle and I added a tie of brown linen thread on each side. I stamped one of the new HH leaves and added the 'fall' word from Everyday Flexible Phrases and punched it out and then punched out a tiny scalloped circle from PP using my new Martha Stewart punch and popped it up on the card!!! You like???

Hey!! Didja notice that I just past 50,000 visitors???? Hmmmm....do you think we should do something to celebrate????? Well, I just might have something up my sleeve and you'll have to check back and see!!! *wink*

Have a wonderful weekend!!! And hey.....go stamp something!!!!

Take a Bough!!!

Some of the ladies at work have talked me into making their Christmas cards! They would like to have some handmade cards to give to family members and special friends. And I'm trying to design some nice cards that are fairly easy to duplicate, so that I'm not spending hours and hours watercolouring or embossing like a fool until the wee hours of the morning every night from now until Christmas Eve!!!

So here is my first design. I used the new Papertrey set called Take a Bough. I've done it on three different cards with basically the same layout, just changing the colours, sentiment and embellishments.

The first one was done using the Colour Combination Challenge on SCS from Tuesday. It is a non traditional combo and I really like it!! The colours I used are River Rock, Blue Bayou, Chocolate Chip for the tree branch and gold for the star and the ornament hooks. I also used my ticket corner punch and gold cord.



This next one is a more traditional colour combo and one that I use a lot at Christmas. I used Real Red, Brocade Blue, Certainly Celery and Close to Cocoa for the tree branch and the sentiment. Then I used my slot punch to make a little slot for my grosgrain ribbon. On this one I don't know if you can see it, but I added a Page Pebble on the centre ornament which is like a clear epoxy sticker that covers it, makes it shiny and make it more of a focal point.



And for this last one I used Always Artichoke, Soft Sky, Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip for the tree branch and silver for the ornament hooks. I changed up the sentiment again and added some silver cord this time.

I'm using a 6x6 scrapbook album and inserting a card in each of the pages and I will number them so that people can pick which card they want. Then I will include a sheet with all the sentiments for inside the cards and they can choose which one they would prefer.

Let me know which one you like the best!!!

Pumpkins 10 Cents!!!

Sorry gals, but this post is gonna have to cover today and tomorrow!! I've gotta rush and get ready for work now, so this may be a short and sweet post!! Then again, this is me we're talkin' about......so maybe not!!! Baaaaaaaahahahaha!!

I played with some brand spankin' new yet-to-be-released stamps from High Hopes!! Heehee!!! Remember the ones I told you that Tina gave me last weekend!! So fun!! This image is my favourite of the new ones!! I don't even know the name of the image yet, but they'll be up on the website soon and available to order!!

I used some new Fancy Pants designer paper, some Fall coloured Prima flowers and some lovely brown linen thread!! I think it's pretty self-explanatory, but feel free to post any questions you might have!! I also used a great sketch on Sherry and Jeanne's blogs!!

Kay, I gotta scoot, so have a great day.........and do some stampin'!!!