May Release Krafty Peeks....Day Three and a CHALLENGE!!!

Kay, so have you seen all the gorgeous creations out in blogland where gals are using this fabulous dotty background technique?? So I've been dying to give it a try but terrified that I'd make a big mess and wreck my image. Well, when I was trying to figure out what to do for this week's Kraftin' Kimmie challenge, which is to make Anything BUT a Card, and how exactly I was going to colour this amazing Perfect Poison image by Annie Rodrigue, I decided to take the plunge and give the fancy background a whirl!!!

So I stamped up the image on Neenah cardstock with Memento ink. Then I pulled out the markers that I wanted to use in my background and worked on that first....'cause I figured that if I coloured the main part of the image and then totally screwed up the background and it was ugly, I'd be more likely to hurl it across the room in anger. This way I could just start again if I messed up and I wouldn't be spittin' nails and spewing profanities.....as much.



I started with the darkest colour first and dotted close to the image and all around it, as that's where I wanted it to be the darkest. Then I did the same with all the other colours, adding more shading as I went....with the lightest colours filling in the white spaces and all the way out to the edge of the paper. I went back and did this a couple of times with each marker to get the dotty background to look just the way I wanted it to. It took me probably an hour or more just to do the background....but I just LOVE the way it looks!!! I won't be doing it on all my cards from now on, or anything crazy like that...but I do love the way it turned out! Doesn't happen very often, but my colouring mojo seems to be workin' right now. Yay!



Anyway, I matted the main layer on a couple of coordinating colours and then pop dotted it on this wine bottle tag that I made. The Perfect Poison image, which will be available at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Shop tomorrow, comes with two fantastic sentiments and two bonus accessory stamps!! I used one of them on my tag and added some super sparkly ribbon at the top! What a perfect hostess gift, yes??



Be sure to join us tomorrow for our Krafty Hop where you'll see lots more kreations featuring the new stamps....including a fabulous design by our very own Annie Rodrigue!!!!

Now hop on over to the Challenge Blog and check out the incredible samples made for you by the Krafty Girls to inspire you to make Anything But a Card!! And if you join our little challenge, you could win some fun new KK rubbah!!!!

Victoria's Baby Shower!!

I mentioned last week that I was helping my Mom throw a baby shower for my sister-in-law, right? Well, it was on Saturday and I just wanted to share a few pictures. I didn't get a lot of great ones as I was running around doing games and helping with presents and all that good stuff, but I've done the best with the ones I did get.

A lot of people have been asking about the diaper cake, so I'll show that first. I'd seen a lot of great designs on the internet, so I decided to make one for Rita. I used the size one diapers...you know, the teeny tiny ones....and it took 131 diapers to make it, so pretty much two packages. But I did make it a little bigger than most. It has three tiers with a bottle of lotion in the middle of the first layer and it goes up through the middle of the second layer also. Then there is a little bottle in the middle of the top layer with rubber duckies on the top. Each diaper is rolled up and tied with pink curling ribbon and then all tied in place in each tier. I made bands to go around each layer with pink cardstock and patterned paper.



I strung up four soothers with pink curling ribbon and lots of bunches of curls. The 'lollipops' you see were also party favours at each place at the tables. They are made using the dollar store baby washcloths, rolled up and wound around, taped and then taped to wooden dowels at the back. We then covered them with pink tulle and tied with the curling ribbon. The finishing touch was the fact that I personalized it by creating a streamer coming down the front with the baby's name on it, Victoria. I used one of my alphabets and my punches to create it. The diaper cake was a lot of work but everyone loved it, especially the mom.

Also the centerpieces were made using glass bowls with pink stones in the bottom and floating baby rubber duckies with pink ribbon around their necks. Then we sprinkled baby shower confetti around them. So cute.



There was SO much great food but the best part (for me) was probably the cake. It was a vanilla cake with strawberries inside and chocolate covered strawberries on the top. It says 'Coming Soon, Sweet Baby Victoria'. Yummmmm.



We played a few fun games...not too many for the party poopers....and Rita opened lots of wonderful gifts for the new baby. I also made her a ready-made scrapbook. I used an 8x8 pink scrapbook and completed all 20 pages using Baby Safari papers and embossed stickers and SU cardstock and added journalling boxes that say 1 month, 2 month...all the way to 12 months...., so that all she has to do is stick in the pictures. Lastly here is a picture of the four of us....Rita, Mom, Me and Emileigh. You'll have to forgive the fact that it's at the end of the afternoon, after we'd been running around like crazy....and my hair is a droopy mess. Sorry. *insert eye roll*



Well, Victoria is due to arrive on September 16th and Aunt Kim, Cousin Emileigh and Nana Diana can't wait to meet her...heehee!!

Altered Tin Class at SGD!!

Hey there gals!! I just thought I'd let the local girls know about our upcoming class at Scrappin' Great Deals! I worked on it over the weekend and I think it's super cute!!!

First we take this little toploading tin lunchbox and make it look all pretty! You get to choose your own patterned papers and coordinating cardstock and dress up your tin. You'll decorate it with flowers, ribbon, brads, a Tim Holtz fragmentz tag and rubon! After that we'll be making little dividers to go in your tin, so that you can store your smaller cards, giftcards and tags inside.



AND as if that isn't enough fun for ya....we'll also be stampin a couple of cards to fill up your box! These cards will feature My Favorite Things stamp sets, pretty papers and some embellishments.



I'm sharing the photos of my tin and the card I created and my co-stamper Andrea, is designing the other card!

So if you wanna hang out, stamp, get crafty and have some fun....just call Sheila at the store (519-473-5751) and reserve your spot!!

Bling 'Bet Bounce!!!

Woohooooooo!! My Favorite Things has a really cool stamp set being released on Wednesday night so we thought we'd do a little 'Bounce' from blog to blog and show you some different ways to use it!!

If you want to start the Bounce from the beginning just pop back over to The MFT Lady's Blog and start from there.

This amazing new set is a whole new ball game for MFT. It's an Alphabet Set, called Bling 'Bet!! How cool is that?? It can obviously be used on your scrapbook pages but also on your altered doodads and personalized items!!

For my project I decided to finally make something I've been meaning to whip up for myself for some time now. I see so many wonderful sketches out in blogland and on Splitcoast but then I don't get around to using them and then I can't remember where I saw them! SO I decided to make myself a book to put them all in and jot down where I found them too, for future reference!

So I found these awesome giant recipe cards at the dollar store a looong time ago! They are 5x8, so I took some thin cardboard and cut two covers the same size for the front and the back. The patterned papers I used are Jolie Chocolat by SEI and they are super sparkly and pink and brown....my fave! So I covered the front with a solid dark pink dp then cut a smaller size from the glittery butterfly dp and sponged around the edges with Walnut Stain distress ink and a sponge.




Then I took my Bling 'Bet Stamps and used Archival Brilliance Pigment Ink in Orchid and stamped the word SKETCHES on white cardstock! It's so pink and sparkly!! Now the letters have small holes all over them and they are perfect for placing different things in them, such as brads!! I used my mat pack and pierced through each hole and then I attached SEVENTY-SIX antique copper brads in the holes!!! YES!!! It was PAINFUL to part with that many brads but I think it gives it a really cool industrial look!! (Plus I always know where to find them if I run out!! *snort*) Then I sponged around the edge of the title and matted it on Chocolate Chip cardstock.

I used my Bind-it-All machine to bind all the pieces together, then added lots of pink and brown ribbon through the coils. I used my Martha Stewart punches to add some 3D butterflies to the cover and I added a lock and key charm to the cover as well, because I really feel like sketches unlock the door to my creativity!!




So now you can 'bounce' on over to Michelle's blog and see what crafty goodness she created with her Bling 'Bet! Now don't forget that this set will be released, along with a couple of other cuties, on Wednesday night at 10pm EST!!

And be sure to come on back here later today, as I'll have another post with Day TWO of my Birthday Celebration Challenges!!!

A Shimmerz Tutorial!!!

I don't normally do much in the way of tutorials, because they are extremely time consuming and a LOT of work! But I was thrilled to be asked to do one for the How'd They Do That? section of the My Favorite Things forum over on SCS. So I thought I'd share it here too!

I am totally excited to share my Shimmerz Tutorial with you today because a) I LOOOOOVE Shimmerz and b) I’m debuting one of the new MFT February release stamp sets!! Heeheeee! With the MFT Lady’s permission of course!! (Actually she's away at CHA in Anaheim this week and from what I hear, she's lost her voice, so what could she really say, anyway, right??? *insert evil laugh here*)

Now anyone who knows me, knows that I love anything sparkly and shimmery and these lovely little paints definitely fit that bill! Shimmerz are non-toxic, water based paints that are ridiculously shimmery!!! And today I’m going to show you just a few of the ways you can use them!!!

The stamp set I’m giving you a peek at is another amazing creation from Stephanie Fizer and it’s called Tea for Two! I just love it! BUT you won’t be able to order it until next Wednesday, February 4th after the Release Party!! And after you see the pictures of these A-dorable images, I’m going to have to tell Kim to have plenty on hand and available on release night!!

As you may or may not know the Shimmerz come in over 35 different iridescent colours and My Favorite Things has almost all of them in stock!! They come in little pots and all you need is a paintbrush or empty aquapainter to use them! You can use Shimmerz over top of your stamped and coloured images just like paint. You can add a little shimmer to a dress, some flowers or some fur....like I’ve done!!

I stamped the images using Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Wausau bright white cardstock and coloured them with my Copic markers.




I painted each of the colours of Shimmerz that I currently have on a spare piece of white cardstock so that you can see what they look like with no colour underneath them.




I decided to use the Gold Glimmer on the mouse and bunny fur. This pic is of the mouse image after I’ve painted it. Keep in mind it’s difficult to catch the glimmer and shimmer on camera but I think you get the idea!




Next I decided to add some sparkle to my Prima flowers, so here is a before shot,




.....an after shot.....




.... and a closeup shot. The paint goes right on and dries so quickly and leaves them super shimmery!




I wanted to try Shimmerz on my ribbon too! So I tied a little bow using grosgrain ribbon (don't know why the pic is sideways...can't get it to go straight....anyone????)...



... and painted the Shimmerz directly on the top of the ribbon. Again, it didn’t take long to dry and it was ready to go on my card! Keep in mind that you don’t need to saturate your ribbon or flowers or paper. You only need a little to add some extra glimmer to your project.




I figured why not go all in?? So I decided to try painting my bland, flat looking brads with some Shimmerz too!! Here’s the before .....



.... and after! It takes a little longer to dry because it’s a smooth, non-porous finish.



And here are the finished cards, all pretty and sparkly!! Don’t forget, this stamp set is not available until the release on February 4th, but the Shimmerz are over at the store now!





I hope you enjoyed my attempt at a tutorial!! And have a very SPARKLY day!!!

Double Pocket Bag Challenge!

Brrrrrrrrrrr! It's cold out there....at least it is here! It's -14 degrees outside and mighty chilly! So I'm glad I don't have to work until this evening....lots of warm, snuggly stampin' time for moi!!

There's a fun challenge going to be posted today over at the All That Scraps blog. This is the first time that I've ever made this particular style of gift bag, called the Double Pocket Bag. All you need is a 12x12 piece of designer paper and some ribbon! Here are the instructions: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/double_pocket_bag/

I used a sheet of the new Irresistable dps by My Mind's Eye that I got from The Town Scrapper. Just a few scores and folds and you've got a cute little treat bag! I also used one of the little cuties from Hey Cupid! I coloured her with my Copic markers and used my Marvy punches to make the main layer with some Tempting Turquoise cardstock. I just added some ribbon across the middle and some for the handles and....all done! Easy peasy!!



Head over to the ATS blog and see all the lovely designs the other DT gals made! Should be up there soon! And have a wonderful day!!

You Make My Heart Hop!!

Hey ladies!! It's going to be another quickie this morning....POST that is....sheesh you guys have your minds in the gutter!!! Haha!! I am on my way out soon to go stamp shoppin' with my gal, Andrea!!! We plan to hit Michaels of course, hope there's some good sales 'cause I don't have a coupon today, and then she's taking me to Scrappin' Great Deals. I've ordered online from them before but have never been to the actual store. Then I'm taking Andrea to The Town Scrapper because she's never been there!! Hopefully the snowstorm they are talking about holds off. We didn't get one snowflake overnight, so that's good!!

Anyhoo, just thought I would post one of the little diddys that I created for the MFT release party this past week. I didn't get a chance to show you it before.

I picked up this cute little lidded jar at the dollar store and decided to make a cute gift out of it. I used Valentine Flopsey and some retired SU dp and went to town! I stamped Flopsey a couple of times, coloured him with my Copics and pop dotted just his heart and hands. I used my Nesties to make the main layer and added some fuzzy ribbon around the neck and finished it off with a button!! Then I filled it with kisses!! It's sitting on my shelf right now and I'm having a hard time not eating them!!!



Anyhoo, have a wonderful Saturday!! Be sure to come back tomorrow for a wonderful High Hopes Challenge......'cause I'm the hostess!! *giggle*

LAD Warm Wishes Project!!

Happy New Year to all my wonderful stampin' pals!!! Best wishes for a healthy and joyful 2009!! I can't wait to see what this year will bring us....can you??

Well, today I am posting my first official design as a member of the Lizzie Anne Designs DT!! I'm so excited to join such a wonderful company with so many amazing women!!!

As my January Project of the Month I was asked to create something for a Warm Winter Wishes theme, so I pulled out one of my favourite winter sets by LAD, called Christmas in the City (which, by the way, is on sale this week!!). Over the holidays, I found some wonderful individual packages of flavoured hot chocolates and coffees, so I thought it would be fun to design a sleeve to put one in and give as a little decorated gift.




Here are the ingredients and complete instructions, in case you want to make one too!!

Stamps: Christmas in the City
Other: Four colors of cardstock, scrap of white cardstock, patterned paper, ribbon, black ink, coordinating coloured ink, Word Window punch, circle punch, scalloped circle punch, pop dots, Copic markers

1. Cut first coloured cardstock for base to 12 x 3 3/4 and score at 3 3/4 and 9 1/2, add patterned paper to cover as desired.
2. Cut second coloured cardstock to 1 1/2 x 8 1/2 and score at 2 1/2, 2 5/8, 6 1/2 and 6 5/8 and stamp with same colour ink.
3. Stamp desired image on scrap of white and colour with markers, punch out with circle punch.
4. Stamp sentiment on coloured cardstock and punch out with word window punch. Punch out scalloped circle from coloured cardstock.
5. Put flavoured coffee packet in holder, fold, wrap belly band around and attach at back. Tie ribbon around the middle and attach sentiment beneath knot. Pop dot the image layer overtop. Ta daaaah!!

Well, I have much to do today, inkwise, so I'd better get to it! Happy New Year to ya!!

Magnolia Gift Card Holder!!

I love to give gift cards at Christmas time, so when I saw this cute gift card holder over on Tori's blog, AND that it was part of the challenge on Our Creative Corner....I knew I had to make it!!

I stamped out the Magnolia snowman and coloured him up a bit using the colours from the Frosty Day dp by SU. The card base is Tangerine Tango and I also used Bashful Blue to mat the snowman. I added a little dp inside on the pocket to dress it up. I added a sparkly snowflake punch with a glittery brad and tied it closed with some ribbon that matches Kiwi Kiss.

Now this particular one is going to Emileigh's best friend's mom. I just wanted to say a little thank you to her for giving Emileigh rides home from school on the days that I have to work and can't pick her up. I got her a gift card from Tim Horton's....and if you're Canadian, you'll know what that is!!



Tori has a little tutorial over on her blog and it was super easy to make this adorable gift card holder.
I whipped this one up in no time and I'm sure I will make more!! Thanks Tori!!

Well, I'm off to work all day today. I'd much rather be home stamping, but what are ya gonna do??!! Have a stampin' good day!!

I {heart} Christmas!!

Haha! I was trying to make a funny.......with this heart-shaped Christmas card!! Magnolia sent me a couple of items to alter and send back to them this month and one was this heart card!!




I just got my new Nesties from All That Scraps, so of COURSE I had to use them!! I stamped Tilda on Wausau bright white cardstock and coloured her in using my Copics. Then I cut her out and embossed her with my new shaped die Nestabilities. Then, while it was still in the die, I sponged around the edge of the image with distress ink. I think it looks super cool, don't you? Everything else on the card was sent to me by Magnolia....love those metallic heart-shaped brads!!




They also sent me this adorable little round paper mache box. So I pulled out my old acrylic paints and sponge brush and painted it vanilla. While it was drying I coloured my special Christmas package using my Copics and then cut it out. I put 'studs' around the top of the box with antique gold brads and pop dotted my package on it. I finished it off by attaching some yummy red lace around the rim and adding a bow!!



These lovelies are on their way to Sweden now! In other Magnolia news, I just received the Winter Stamp Club Kit yesterday and can't wait to mount them and ink them up. Unfortunately, it won't be today as I have to work all day....again!! Sheesh, don't they know I have better (and more fun) things to do??!!

Have a super stampy day and be sure to come back tomorrow for a sneaky peek of the newest BCDzyns stamp set from My Favorite Things!! Take it from me, it's like, totally slammin'!!

Spooky Mini Pizza Boxes!

Okay, WHO ordered the snow??!! That's what I wanna know! I said to Al last night that when we left for our holiday it was barely then end of summer here and then we come back and it's winter already!! Where the heck did FALL go??? Ugh! The buses are even cancelled here!! Anyway, it's a good day for stampin', right??? *wink* On to the crafting.....

Today's challenge at All That Scraps is to make a mini pizza box! And I thought what better container to make for little treats for my little ghouls!




The tutorial for this cute design can be found HERE. It's really very simple, so I went ahead and made two of them!

I used dp from the DCWV Fall Stack and the images and sentiments are from the Sugarplums Halloween stamp set. I coloured the images in with my Copic markers and added matting, sentiment layers, ribbon and embellishments. I hope my favourite little goblins enjoy them.....well, let's not kid ourselves, they'll be more interested in what's INSIDE the boxes, but that's okay. I had fun making them and now that I know how, I can make them for other gifties too! What a great challenge!



Be sure to head over to the ATS Blog later on today and check out what some of the other DT members have done with their pizza boxes!!