Lauren in Love!!!

Today's card features a new company to me....Papermakeup Stamps! Have you heard of them?? They are very new and I was SUPER excited when Katie asked me if I'd like to play with a few of the images from her new stamp line! Ummm.....is that a rhetorical question? OF COURSE!!!

Well, I love fairies, so it was a no-brainer to play with this adorable Lauren in Love image from her line of fairy stamps. First off, I have to tell you that I was extremely impressed with the quality of these stamps. They are deeeeeply etched red rubber on nice, thick ezmount (you can get 'em naked as well, if you prefer.....ya pervert....baaaaaaahahahaaaaaaa!!!). They ink up and stamp like a dream!

So I stamped her on.....say it with me now..... "Wausau bright white cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink!" This lovely dp I chose is from American Crafts and it has lots of fun colours to play with, not to mention hearts!! I coloured her in using my Copic markers, matted her on Pretty in Pink and added a trio of tiny pearls. The card base is Bazzill cardstock and I used Chocolate Chip for matting the dp. I finished it off by adding two rows of pink satin ribbon, pop dotting the main image and making her sparkle with some Clear Spica pen on her wings and those hearts!!!



Wonderful images and superb quality! You can check them out on her website or if you live locally, The Town Scrapper will soon be carrying Papermakeup Stamps!!!

Okay, I'm off to work today....no fun. *boooooo*

Bottom's Up, Bella!!!

Heeheeee! I had a whole uninterrupted day in my craft room yesterday and I got to play with this Bella for the first time. I used Winobella to design a card that I will be teaching with Andrea, my partner in crime.

We are preparing for a super fun paper piecing (not piercing) class using two Bellas and two High Hopes images. I found this fun Bo Bunny line that had a small polka dotted piece that I thought would look FAB for her fashionable dress! And I was right!!!

First, I stamped Bella on Wausau bright white cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured her in with Copics, all except for her dress. Then I stamped her again on the polka dotted paper and cut out just the dress, then glued it onto the original image. Just like playin' paper dolls, isn't it??

The card base is black Bazzill and I used some green and some soft blue Bazzill bling....love the way that stuff shimmers! I scalloped the bottom of the black using a corner rounder to dress it up a bit and then I attached some Prima flowers with green brads. I pop dotted the main layer, added the sentiment and then finished her off by adding some sparkle to the wine and the wineglasses using my Stardust Sakura gel pen!




I'm sure the ladies will have a blast playing with this Bella and we'll also be making THIS High Hopes card, along with two more awesome cards designed by Andrea!!! If you'd like to come and hang out with us, laugh, stamp, colour, paper piece....maybe laugh some more....who am I kidding, we'll be laughin' all afternoon long......then be sure to call Sheila at Scrappin' Great Deals. There are a few spots left and we'd love for you to join us!! It's this Saturday, April 4th at 2pm!!

Kay, I gotta go to work this afternoon.....maybe I should take a page from Winobella's book and have a little sippy-poo before I face the unwashed masses.....no, really....I'm not kidding.

High Hopes Challenge #24!!

Good Sunday morning, stampers!!! It's a rainy and dreary one here in Ontario but a perfect day for stampin'!!

This week's High Hopes Challenge is all about Creative Borders! You can simply use a border punch, like I did, or you can be more creative with your borders. Some ideas might be tearing your edge, distressing it, doodling on it, make a fancy border using lace, ribbon, eyelets, brads, rhinestones, pearls....the possibilities are endless!!

The card that I made is actually a card that I will be teaching at a Copics 101 class at Scrappin' Great Deals on Saturday April 4th and also on Monday April 20th, for those that can't make it on the weekend. We will be making a total of four cards featuring High Hopes stamps.....I'll show you another design later this week! There are a couple of spots left for Saturday if you'd like to come and the weeknight class has lots of spots! Just call Sheila to sign up....OH and here's some great news....we know how tight things are for everyone these days, so we've lowered the prices of our classes!! How cool is that??? We just wanted you all to come out and have a fun night of stampin' and colouring, learn some new stuff an save some $$!!

Soooooo, I inked up Brayden's Backside.....oh, that doesn't sound too good! heehee! I stamped him on Wausau bright white cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured him in using my Copic markers. Then I used a really cool technique that we learned at the certification class and you will get to play with it too at the class! I took an old piece of towel and put some colorless blending fluid on it and carefully dabbed it onto Brayden. The fluid on the towel pushes away the brown ink, leaving lighter spots on his fur, giving it that cool texture. You can use all sorts of different items to give your designs different textures! Now it looks like Brayden is a furry donkey!! Feel free to click on the photos to get a closer look!



The card base and matting cardstock are Bazzill Bling (love the way it sparkles) and the dp is by Sassafras Lass. I sponged around the dp and the main layer using a sponge and Walnut Stain distress ink and stamped the sentiment on the focal image layer. I used my Threading Water border punch and also a couple of little flower punches and attached them with a brad. Then I pop dotted the main layer! A very simple card, but the fur technique just makes it a 'wow' in my opinion. I can't wait to make all my animals furry!! heehee!

Now, hop on over to the High Hopes blog and check out the amazing border creations that the other Divas have designed for you!! Be prepared with your ohhhhhhs and ahhhhhhhs!!

Have a super stampy day!!

Truly Scrumptious Tilda!!!

I got a chance to play with one of the new Tilda stamps from the Spring Kit, just before I went to Toronto last weekend. I must say that these new images are the cutest kit yet!! Usually there are one or two that just don't 'do it' for ya, but these ones are ALL so cute and springy!!!

I used this one holding the little ladybug along with the bigger ladybug accessory stamp. I used some Twitterpated papers by Imaginisce along with Basic Black, Certainly Celery and some soft yellow Bazill cardstock. The fabulous sketch is from the Truly Scrumptious challenge blog from last week. I used my Copics to colour in the stamped images and sponged So Saffron ink around the edges. SO super cute, right???



Anyhoo, I am off working at the library all day today....not fair! I'd much rather be stamping....hope you get to stamp!! *wink*

Seventeen Years Ago Today.......

.....I gave birth to the most precious little baby girl!! I named her Emileigh Elizabeth and she's been the number one thing in my life since that day!

We have always been like two peas in a pod, best friends, since she was tiny, right up until today. I couldn't ask for a more wonderful, generous, loving child. She makes me want to be a better person.

Today she turns seventeen years old and this will be the last year that I can call her my little princess, my little angel, my puddin' pop. Next year she will be an adult, technically....so I took this last opportunity to make her a little girl card! I hope she likes it.

Happy 17th Birthday to my one and only beautiful daughter. You are my everything.



Have a wonderful Friday.

Paper Piecing Mama!!!

Not that I really have to tell you, but I simply ADORE the High Hopes images! They are perfect for so many things! I just love being able to colour them in as they are wonderful for trying different techniques with my Copic markers. And they are great for paper piecing too!!

This is one of the cards that I will be teaching at a Paper Piecing Card Class for Scrappin' Great Deals on Saturday, April 4th. I thought that it would be fun to do Busy Mama's dress! So I picked one of the patterned papers in the Kaitlyn line by Crate Paper with a small pattern and stamped her on it. Then I stamped her again on Wausau bright white.

I coloured everyting in on the white image, except her dress, with my Copic markers. Then I cut her dress out of the dp and glued it on top. I also cut the pockets out of some purple paper and added them on top. The cardstock is all Bazzill Bling and I used a coordinating Crate Paper pattern for matting. I added some of this luscious, stretchy purple garter ribbon that I picked up in Toronto and pop dotted the main layer and the sentiment. I added two purple pearls in the left corner and finished it off by adding some dots on the bunnies' cheeks using white acrylic paint! SO cute, right??



Anyway, if you're in the London area and you'd like to take our Paper Piecing class, just call Sheila at Scrappin' Great Deals and book your spot!! This is just one of the four super-cute cards that you'll be making....we'll also be using some Bellas!!!

Have a stampin' good day!!

Copic Certification Day!!

So I left you on the last post, as we were just about to fall asleep after a fabulous but looooong day of stampin' fun. Well, sleep came well to three of the ladies in our hotel room....one was not so fortunate!!! One poor soul was awake alllllll night long, listening to the CONSTANT rumbling noises of a freight train beside her in the bed. She tossed and turned, she tried sleeping with the pillow over her head, she tried plugging her ears with her fingers, she tried plugging her ears with the bed sheets....all were fruitless efforts. Eventually she put on a sweatshirt and fuzzy socks and crept into the bathroom. She brought in two pillows and laid down several of the bath towels and curled up on the hard, cold floor!!! STILL, she could hear the freight train but eventually she did get a half hour's sleep. When she woke up, her back was killing her, so she had to get back in bed beside the freight train but she was SO exhausted that she finally fell asleep for an hour and a half before she had to get up to start the day!!

I tell you all this, so that when you look at all the pictures below, you will excuse my disheveled, exhausted look. In most of them, I look like a deer caught in the headlights and my hair was not cooperating (plus I was simply past the point of caring by then) and the headlights are bouncing off my gigantic forehead. There...that's my disclaimer!!

Anyhoo, we got up (some of us more slowly than others) and had Timmie's for breakfast, then headed to the hotel ballroom for the Copic workshop. It was fabulous meeting so many of the wonderful gals that I've 'known' through blogging and emailing for the last couple of years!!



The first one I met was Kerry Johnson!! What a fun and vivacious gal!! We're instant friends, I'm tellin' ya!! OH and she's up for the MFT Idol right now and her week two project is an AMAZING children's counting book! I got to see it in real life, so be SURE to go and vote for her before 10pm EST tonight!!! You're a shoe-in Kerry!!! *wave*




Then my pal Tara arrived!!! It was so fun to finally meet after months and months of yakking and emailing and doing our challenges together!! Tara is exactly how I imagined her to be....so sweet and lovely!! Tara just got invited to be a Guest Designer for Whiff of Joy and I'm so excited for her!!! Way to go Tara!!! *hugs*




Of course here are the High Hopes Divas that all made a loooooong trip in order to meet up with each other.....oh and of course the Copic thing too! haha!!!



Janette is from Buffalo, NY and even though there was a Copic workshop right where she lives, she made the trip to Toronto just to meet Crissy and I!! It was her first trip away from her kiddos and her first to Toronto!! I'm SO proud of her! Janette is SUCH a super sweetie!! Love you, Janette!!

I already told you that Crissy came the night before and she and Andrea and I hung out in the hotel room and coloured. I ran down the hotel hallway to grab her and hug her when she arrived! What a doll! She is truly an awesome artist, both in her drawing and her colouring. (I'm not gushing though!) She showed us some cool tricks that I've been practicing. I SO wish we could have spent more time together! Love you, Crissy!!




Julia Stainton and I FINALLY got to meet! After two years of talking back and forth through emails and blogging, we finally met! Can you believe that we live only about 20 mins apart and we had to travel all the way to Toronto to meet?? Crazy, right?! She's so sweet!



And Sherrie Siemens and I were on a Design Team together briefly a while back, so we know each other too! She was a co-teacher of the Copic workshop and it was fabulous to watch her work and learn from her. Sherrie is a fantabulous artist!!!



The workshop was awesome and we learned lots. We got some cool stuff to take home and got to play with different techniques that we'll be using for sure! Here are Janine and Amy workin' away!!

Overall it was an awesome day, I just wish it could have lasted longer. I have a beautiful new Copic Designer certificate that will be proudly displayed on my wall and now I can add that little Copic badge to my blog. I'd better do that before I forget.

Let me leave you with one last pic. If you haven't figured out who the noisy freight train is....here is a shot of her trying to apologize and make it up to me!!! Love ya girl!! *giggle*

Bella Heaven!!

Could we BE having any more fun??? I think NOT!!! What a super fantabulous day!!

We started fairly early (after a night of SOMEONE snoring.....wasn't me, that's all I'm sayin')...here's me waiting for Andrea....



Andrea was a super navigator and kept me calm while driving through Toronto to our favourite place.......Stampingbella.....it's our 'happy place'!! We arrived in the morning to warm hugs from Emily and she had tables all set up for us to play on. Of COURSE we went shopping first!! Nicky came in a little bit later and we got MORE big warm hugs!! We stamped and coloured and took LOTS of pictures!!!



Here's me and Em (she's stressin' over a big show she's leaving for in Boston and I think at this moment she caught sight of some rather non-crafty business cards she ordered....*yipes*). Of course, her 'stubby' (stampin' hubby) Ryan is hard at work on the phone over there too. Let's just say that he and I got to know each other well, during several trips to the cash register throughout the day!!! *wink*



Here's me and the colouring goddess, Nicky!! I spent all day learning at the hand of the master!! I sat beside her all day and just watched her colour with her Lyra pencils. And I shared some of my Copic techniques with her....not that I'm any better, she just wanted to see how I do things, like faces and hair. heehee! Nicky is such a wonderful, generous person and such a good teacher! She came in to work even though she was feeling pretty rough from a sickie weekend, JUST to hang out with us!!I love you , Nicky!!! I miss you already! Mwah!!




Some of our friends from home came too! If you are from London and have ever attended any classes at Stamp Art, you may having learned from another colouring genius, Janine!!! She just looooooooves getting her picture taken, don't you Janine??!! *giggle*

Then our brave girl Amy, (who showed up after all the picture taking) drove all the way to downtown Toronto to go to Curry's!! She'd NEVER been to Toronto before and she braved the traffic of downtown TO!! What a girl!!!

The peeps at Bella ordered in pizza and pop for us, to keep us energized for many hours of stampin', colourin' and gigglin'!!! Heehee! SUCH a fun day.....really....couldn't have asked for more!!

We drove back to the hotel and Crissy and Janette arrived! Crissy had met up with Janette in St. Catherines and we got back to the hotel and there they were!!! Hugs all around....again! Then we went out to Casey's for dinnah!! (I'll have pics of them tomorrow!)

We came back to the room FULL of food ....... and ready to stamp! We spent a couple of hours trading images and stamping out hearts out!! After a long day, we turned in. What a night!!! Well....I'll save that story for tomorrow! Along with many more pictures!!

To be continued......

We're Heeeeeeeeere!!!

Just thought I'd give you a quick update and let you know that we arrived in Toronto safely!! I was a bit worried as I've never driven here before, but it was noooo sweat!!!

We got to our hotel about 4:30 or so this afternoon and we were thrilled to find that our hotel parking lot is shared with a movie theatre, a Casey's restaurant, an Applebee's restaurant, a Wendy's and a Tim Horton's!!! How awesome is that??? We can run out for coffee and cappucinos whenever we feel the need for caffeine!!!

So we got to our room and dropped everything off (only took us two trips...haha!) and then we went over to Applebee's for a wonderful supper! Now we are back in the room stampin' and colouring our little hearts out!!! Would you like to see??





Well, that's all for now! I think we're going to head over for some coffee and do some more stampin'! Then we're getting up early to go visit da Bellas!!!! Will post more tomorrow!!!

High Hopes Challenge #23!!

This week's hostess with the mostess over at the High Hopes blog, is the totally talented Niki!! She wants us to use BUTTONS!!! Not a problem here!! haha!!

I just picked up the new Marrakech buttons and brads by Basic Grey over at Scrappin' Great Deals this week, so that was perfect for the challenge!! First, I stamped Ally Rose on Wausau bright white carstock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I also stamped her on a post-it note and cut her out. Then I put the post-it note overtop of the stamped image and stamped the Bale of Hay overtop and voila...she's sitting on some hay!! I picked my Copic colours out to match the dp and coloured her in.

The card base is a 6x6 square of Ballet Blue and the rest of the papers are dp. I stamped the Take a Break sentiment directly on the dp, attached some Prima flowers with a BG brad and pop dotted the focal layer. Then I finished it off by adding three coordinating buttons with some linen thread!!! Ain't she cute??



Be sure to pop over to the High Hopes blog to check out the other Divas' amazing designs, then be sure to play along! There are some fabby stamps to be won this week!!

Well, this morning I am busy packing my markers, my ink, my paper...oh and a few clothes too...heehee! I'm headed off to Toronto today with my pal Andrea! We are meeting so many wonderful stampers this week including Crissy, Janette, Janine, Tara, Kerry and so MANY more!! There will be lots of photos, so I'd better remember to bring my camera....AND batteries!! haha!

Anyway, I must be off! I'll try to post while I'm gone!! Have a super inky day!!!

Meet Ivy Ketto!!!

I can't believe that it's been almost two weeks since I visited Bellaland and I haven't shared any of my fancy schmancy new Ketto cards!!! 'Cause I've made several already!!

This one features the lovely Ivy, sitting on a branch! So sweet, yes?? I stamped her on Wausau bright white cardstock, using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and used my Copics to colour her in. (Are ya gettin' sick of me saying that every time??) The patterned paper that I used for inspiration, is from the Marrakech line by Basic Grey. I used Mellow Moss for the card base, Baja Breeze and Pink Pirouette for matting. I cut and emboss a large flower using my Nesties, added some ric rack and pop dotted the sentiment. I also popped up Ivy, added a pink button with white Scrapper's Flos and made her purdy hair all sparkly using my Stardust Sakura gel pen! Super duper!!




Have I mentioned that I'm going away this weekend?? I can't imagine that I haven't because I'm prit' near bursting with excitement about my little excursion! My gal pal and stampin' soul sistah, Andrea and I are going to Toronto on Sunday and hangin' at the Bella Boutique ALL FREAKIN'DAY on Monday!!! What could be better, I ask you??? We're hangin' out with the bellariffic Emily and the super sweet Nicky and stampin' up a storm!!! We're just a TAD stoked...I mean we've been planning this for like, two months!! And hey! If you happen to be in the area on Monday, why don't you stop in and hang out too??? We'd love to see ya!!

We're also meeting a BUNCH of amazing stampers and bloggers that we've met online, at SCS, through Design Teams etc. I think we're pretty famous, 'cause like Crissy (the artist who draws the wonderful High Hopes images) and Janette (one of the amazing DT members with me) are our ROOMIES for the weekend!! We can't wait to finally meet, hang out, laugh, take photos, stamp, colour, eat, and....all that good stuff!!

THEN, as if that isn't enough, we're all going to the Copic Certification workshop on Tuesday together!! I'm excited to learn how to use my millions of Copic markers to their fullest and learn some new techniques. Yippeeeeee!!

Anyhoo, here is my wonderful Ivy Ketto card and you can be sure that I'll be picking up a couple more Kettos on this trip to Bellaland!! Have a happy Saturday!!!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!!

People look at me funny when I say that I don't like spring....people look at me funny when I say a lot of things, but especially when I say I don't like spring! I'm not a big fan of this season because of all the rain and mud. I don't like spending an hour in the bathroom on my hair and makeup and then it getting ruined when I go outside and it gets blown all around and spit on. Ick! So this little Gingersnaps girl is ME!!! haha!

I stamped her on Wausau (as usual) and coloured her in using my Copic markers (as usual) and I used the colours that are in the Flower Patch papers by Making Memories. The card base is Kraft cardstock and I used Soft Sky for matting. I attached some Prima flowers using a Flower Patch brad and put the sentiment on the bottom! Perfect for spring!!




You might check over at the ATS Blog later on today, as some of the other DT gals have whipped up some adorable designs using this fabulous Spring Thing stamp set.

Have super stampy day!!!

Kisses Tilda!!

I'm warming up with my Tilda colouring, getting ready for when my Magnolia Spring Kit arrives! I've seen some gorgeous creations with the new images out in blogland, so I'm checking my mailbox with anticipation EVERY morning!! But nothin' yet!

So I decided to play with one from the last release called Kissing Tilda! I actually made this card last week, on my time off, and I used a Basic Grey sketch from the challenge blog. I used Chocolate Chip for the card base and the rest is Basic Grey Bittersweet papers! Yummmmmm!




I stamped Tilda on Wausau bright white cardstock and coloured her in with my Copics using a really light pink for surrounding her. Not sure if I like it or not, but oh well, gotta try these things out, right?? I used my curved rectangle nesties to cut and emboss her and added BG brads in the corners. I used some American Crafts ribbon across the center and some pink heart rhinestone brads. I finished her off by adding some highlights with a white gel pen and some sparkle to her wings with a Stardust Sakura gel pen.

By the way, if you are lookin' to get your inky hands on some of the Magnolias from this release, just give Phebe a call at The Town Scrapper!!

Kay, I gotta work again today, but then I've got 5 days off...from the library at least! Have a good one!!

Twisted Thursday!

It's that time of the week again, when those zany ladies from Shirley's 2 Girls want to challenge stampers everywhere to participate in their fun sketch challenges. And of course it's called "Twisted Thursday" because there is a twist to the sketch.




This week's twist is to ADD HARDWARE. We'd love to have you all play along with us! If you have Shirley's 2 Girls stamps, please use them!! We'd love to see what you do with them. If you don't own any S2G stamps (YET! hehehe), we'd still love for you to play along with us.

Now I was also challenged to use this dp that was sent to me Was I EVER challenged as these are not my usual colours or patterns. But I think I rose to the challenge!!



So create a project using this week's sketch AND add hardware (brads, clips, staples, or any other type of metal hardware that you might have in your stash!). For more crafty info and details about how YOU can win a Shirley's 2 Girls stamp of your chance, hop over here!

Need some inspiration? Some of the other gals at S2Gs have whipped up some fun stuff with that sketch!! Go to my sidebar, where I have all their links and check them out!