Tuesday, May 31, 2011

SOS Challenge #2 - Oldies But Goodies

It's time for our 2nd Challenge over at Shopping our Stash Weekly Challenge Blog and this week it's another fun challenge titled "Oldies but Goodies".  We are asking you to dig deep into your stash and find the oldest stamp or digi that you have or your oldest supplies and show us what you come up with using them!  As soon as I heard about this challenge I knew right away which stamp I would use.  It's an old (dated 1993) PSX stamp called Vine & Rose Heart.  I actually used it on my wedding invitations back in 1999.  Sadly my marriage only lasted 10 years but I still have the stamp because I love it.  The funny thing is I haven't used it since then so I'm really digging deep into my stash!  Here's my card using it:
I also used scraps from my scrap bin on this card (sorry don't recall manufacturer) plus some ribbon and pearls from my stash!  No new supplies used.....how's that for shopping my stash?  I hope you will play along with us this week I'd love to see what oldies but goodies you have in your collection!  Be sure to check out SOS to see the other creations by our talented design team.

I will be entering my card into the following challenges:

Monday, May 30, 2011

Critter Sketch Challenge #71 - A Sketch by April Lower

It's time for another challenge over at The Critter Sketch Challenge Blog #71 - and it's a sketch by our very own April Lower!
The twist is to add some bling!!  I used the sketch as inspiration for my card and since I used all Glitter Paper that is my added bling:

The image is from our monthly sponsor Wags n' Whiskers and is called Magical Friends.
It was coloured with copics and I added cotton candy stickles to her wings and shoes.  I hope you will play along with our sketch this week.  Looking forward to see what you come up with :)

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Paper Sundaes Challenge #71 - Vintage/Shabby Chic

I'm so excited about this weeks Paper Sundaes Challenge #71 - Vintage/Shabby Chic!!  Normally I absolutely dread vintage challenges and steer far, far away from them but not this week!  I was determined to ROCK this challenge & I totally think I did.  I studied the cards made by the awesome DT over at Tickled Pink Stamps (our sponsor this week) because they rock vintage like nobody I've ever seen and got to work.   You can check our their work over at the Tickled Pink Challenge Blog.  It took me forever to make this but I love it:
The fabulous image by Tickled Pink Stamps is called 30's Lylah, isn't she just gorgeous?  I coloured her with copics and added glossy accents to her eyes to make them shine.  All paper used on my card was by Bo Bunny, except for the flourish & leaf dies which were by K&Company which were distressed with Tim Holtz Distress inks.  The flowers are by Petaloo but the cream colour one was also distressed with TH ink.  All the butterflies and the border punch were from Martha Stewart punches.  The clock was cut from the Bo Bunny Paper as well and I used Tim Holtz Crackle medium on it.  I have 3 different ribbons as well and some sewing and folded and distressed paper but there are so many layers I'm not sure if you can see it.  I think I should have entered it in some kind of PILE IT ON Challenge :)
I'm so in love with Vintage now!!  

I will be entering my card into the following challenges:
Tickled Pink Challenge #21 - Use 3 (or More DP) I think I've got that one covered LOL
Craft Your Passion Challenge #59 - Let it All Hang Out (have something hanging over the edge)

Be sure to check out the other Sundae Girls creations over at Paper Sundaes and play along for your chance to win a fabulous prize from Tickled Pink Stamps!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

To Cheer You

I'm so glad this week is finally over and it's the weekend!!  Even though it was a short week for us here in Canada due to Victoria Day it felt extra long to me.  I needed something bright and cheery to make me smile so I decided to make a card with this fabulous whimsical image from The Stamping Boutique called "Dilly-Dally".  How can you not be happy when colouring a fun image like this one?
The image was coloured with copics and then mounted on top of a nesties lacey squares die.  I added a couple of brads and a sentiment I've had for ages and kept it simple.  I LOVE this image!!  You still have time to enter the Monthly Challenge over at The Stamping Boutique Challenge Blog for your chance to win some free TSB images!!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Shopping Our Stash (SOS) Challenge #1 Ribbon Rewind!!

I'm super excited because today is the day that Shopping our Stash (SOS) Challenge Blog celebrates our first ever challenge!!!  Now the whole idea behind our blog is to use items from your stash of supplies!!  I LOVE this because it means I'm using stuff I already have rather than rushing out to buy more stuff that I don't really need.  For Challenge #1 we are calling it Ribbon Rewind and we would like you to pull out your oldest ribbon, or use the colour of ribbon you have the most of or even show us a new technique that you wouldn't normally use for your ribbon.  Sounds fun right?  For my card I attempted to make a ribbon blossom from this SCS tutorial using some of my ribbon stash in pinks & browns (all old and colours I have the most of).

I used 4 different ribbons for my flower!  The paper I used for my card is by Bo Bunny and the large flower I added is by Prima.  I coloured my Magnolia Birthday Tilda image with copics and then cut out using my nesties.  Other supplies used:  Fiskars Border punch, Magnolia Happy Birthday Sentiment.

Be sure to check out the SOS Challenge Blog to see the other DT creations they are FABULOUS!!  There are all kinds of different projects, not just cards!!  There is also a fabulous link under our RESOURCES tab for you to get some ideas on how to use your ribbon.  I hope you will play along with us this week and a big THANK YOU to all the participants in our Show Us Your Stash 2 week Open House Kick-off!!  It was great to see your crafting spaces!!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Delight in Spring - TSB

Oh how I wish spring would arrive and bring with it some nice warm weather for a change!!  We had two really nice days of sun and then back to rain!!  I guess that is a normal spring for us here in BC but it seems like forever since I've seen the sun for more than a day or two :(

I coloured up this image by The Stamping Boutique called Picket Fence because it reminds me of Spring and brought a touch of spring into my day!!  I love all the flowers and those little butterflies!!


I kept everything fairly simple and just coloured this amazing digi with copics, added some ribbon & a Making Memories Ribbon charm I've had for a REALLY long time!  

I hope you are enjoying beautiful spring-like weather and if you are PLEASE send some of it my way :)

The Stamping Boutique (TSB) I was featured!!!

I'm so excited to announce that I was featured in the The Stamping Boutique's most recent newsletter issue!  Did you know that you get a free image in every issue of the TSB newsletter?  All you need to do is sign up and once a month you get your newsletter & a free image.  How great is that?  This month the free image was Emo Quote and I made this card using it:
Now I know when you hear the word Emo you think dark colours but I wanted to lighten it up!  I used lighter copic colours paired with paper from Bo Bunny and added some flowers by Mulberry Street and some pearls.  Cute right?

To sign up for the newsletter you need to go HERE!!  Don't miss out on the next one.  You can hear about  all the upcoming TSB events, learn new tips/tricks and don't forget your free image in every issue!!  

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Shopping Our Stash Blog Kick-off Reminder!! Enter for your chance to WIN!!


Just in case you forgot I'm here to remind you that Shopping our Stash (SOS) Challenge Blog's Open House Kick-off is on for one more week only so there is still plenty of time to show us your stash!!  If you share with us by posting a photo of your scrap space over at the SOS blog you are entering for your chance to win some gorgeous seam binding ribbon from Prairie Bird Boutique!  If you win you will get to select which bundle you would like from her assortment and get three colours of 5 yards each.  We hope you will play along with us!!

Be sure to check out some of the amazing photos of the scrap spaces posted!!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Critter Sketch Challenge #65 - Hip to be Square

This week's Critter Sketch Challenge #65 has a theme and it is HIP TO BE SQUARE!!  That's right you need to use a square somewhere on your creation!  Easy-peasy, right?  For my card I used another image by our fabulous monthly sponsor Wags n' Whiskers called Speed Racer!  I thought this card would be perfect for one of my nephews birthdays!
I used Bazill Cardstock and the glittery background paper is from the Grade School Paper Stack from DCWV.  The image was coloured with copics and as well as cutting out the image and card in square shapes I also had some square brads that I've had forever and thought they would be perfect so I added them too!!  Now since our challenge this week is super easy we'd love you to play along!!
Have a great week everyone :)

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Paper Sundaes Challenge #69 - Birthday Celebration

It's time to celebrate!!  It's Paper Sundaes Challenge #69 and we are having a birthday celebration!!  Not our birthday but one of our DT founding members Christine just celebrated a birthday and we decided Birthday Celebrations would be the theme this week!  HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY CHRISTINE!!  Our fabulous monthly sponsor Simon Says Stamp is sponsoring the challenge this week and I used a Magnolia Image called Balloon Tilda   which I coloured with copics.
Now I decided to make my first ever box instead of a card this week and I'll definitely do it again.  I used DP by imaginisce and Stampin UP.  I cut the image out with nesties and added some white liquid applique to add some texture around the scallop oval.  I also added glossy accents to the balloon.

The above picture shows the box from the side.  To open you slide off the band which has the image attached and the box opens.  

NOW....I would love to tell you what is in the box however it is a SURPRISE!!  I will be mailing out to our DT member Christine for her birthday.  Shana, another founding member of Paper Sundaes is having a contest in honour of Christine's birthday.  It is only open to 40 participants and in order to enter you need to create a birthday card and send it to Christine.  The prize will be a $20 gift certificate to a store of the winner's choice - which will be doubled to $40 if you post about the contest on your sidebar!!  The winner of Shana's contest will be drawn once all cards have been received by Christine.  This will coincide with our Paper Sundaes Challenge so you can enter in both!   How perfect is that?  A chance to win two separate contests with basically the same challenge!!  I sure hope you will play along with us! 

We also have a few new Sundae Girls joining our DT!!  A big welcome to the new girls:


Be sure to check out their blogs, their work is AMAZING!!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Exciting News!! - SOS Challenge Blog Kick-off

I'm super excited to officially announce that I was chosen to be on the design team for the SOS (Shopping Our Stash) Weekly Challenge Blog!  We don't officially have our first challenge posted until Tuesday, May 24th however we are having a 2 week Challenge Kick-off and thought what better way to start than to share photos of our crafty spaces/stash.  We are asking you to show us photos of your stash or crafty space as well and win a great prize!  Now some of you may not want to post photos of your crafty space or all your hoards of supplies for fear of embarrassment however don't feel bad at all!!  Some of the other girls on the SOS Design Team have quite the crafty spaces and as some put it their "crap space" or space that looks like a "tornado ran through it".  Now when I had my own house and had a craft room my space looked EXACTLY like theirs.  When I downsized to a 2 room condo I just didn't have the space for my own craft room unless I made my son sleep on the couch every night.  So here are some photos of my craft space & my stash of supplies:
All the white storage cubicles I got at Michaels when they were on sale.  I love them for the most part however the handles keep coming off so I think I'll be crazy gluing them or something.  I still haven't labelled each drawer (which is easy I know) and should do soon since I spend half my time trying to remember what drawer holds what items! 
My space (AKA my kitchen table) and is usually covered so we rarely eat here.  Sad I know!!  Usually it is messier however it wasn't too bad when I took the photo.

All my mounted stamps below and all my unmounted I have in the Stampendous storage containers (love them) and they are stacked somewhere in my cubicles.   
The drawers make it look like I am organized however this is so not the case!!  I haven't shown you all of them but here are two of my ribbon drawers.

and my distress inks which I have rarely used but hope to use more soon!!   
So there you have it some photos of my scrap space & my stash of supplies.  Many of which I will be  using more of once the SOS Challenge Blog kicks off!

Be sure to check out the SOS blog to meet all the SOS DT girls and see photos of their scrap space!  There are some really great ideas for storing nesties and ribbon that I saw so you may get some new ideas for your own space too!  I can't wait to see the photos everyone posts and get some other ideas for storage!  The Kick-off will run from May 10th to May 23rd so be sure to link to our blog for your chance to win your choice of crinkled seam binding ribbon bundle from Prairie Bird Boutique!  All entries will also be entered into a draw for our May prize as well.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

She Who Paints the Forest by The Stamping Boutique

Have you seen the Enchantment Line of Digi images over at The Stamping Boutique?  There is such a wonderful selection of images in this collection and I used "She who Paints the Forest" for my card.  I coloured her with copics and then used some stickles and shimmerz to add some glitter to her wings, dress and the pretty flower she is painting!
I added some glossy accents to all the little red berries and parts of the flower and added some flowers by Mulberry street and some clip by Making Memories to hold it all together.  I think the paper was Bo Bunny but it was from some leftover scraps I had so it wasn't marked.  

Did you know that The Stamping Boutique has some exciting news to share??  On Tuesday May 10th The Stamping Boutique is having Digi Dollar Day!!  This means that all digi images in the What's New Section of the store are only $1.00.  Perfect time to stock up and such a great deal.  There are many wonderful images listed there including 3 images I've used recently!!  Be sure to stop by and take advantage of such a great offer.

Paper Sundaes Challenge #68 Magical & Mythical Worlds

It's Sunday which means it's time for another Paper Sundaes Challenge!!  Challenge #68 is sponsored by Pink Cat Studio and our design team got to work with some of their fabulous images!  Our theme this week is Magical & Mythical Worlds and what is more magical than Fairies?  I chose to use Fairy Lily Dancing for my card:

I used the fabulous sketch provided by the Sweet Sketch Wednesday Blog and it is their 100th sketch and they had a fabulous blog hop to celebrate.  I entered my card in their challenge this week.
I used all scraps from my scrap file and I knew right away when I chose the image the paper I wanted to use because it had lots of glitter.  I also used Bazill cardstock and embossed with my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder.  I used nesties to cut out the image which was coloured with copics and also cut out some flourishes with a Sizzix die.  I added the pearls to complete.  I will definitely be using this sketch again it was a lot of fun to work with!

Be sure to check out Paper Sundaes for the rest of the Sundae Girls creations and play along for your chance to win some fabulous images from Pink Cat Studio!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Critter Sketch Challenge #63 - Sketch by Melanie

It's time for Critter Sketch Challenge #63 and this week it's a sketch drawn by our very own Melanie!!  I love this sketch it was super easy to use and just perfect for this image I used called "Sip 'n Sun" by this month's sponsor Wags 'n Whiskers.  These fabulous images are available in the US & Canada from Stamp & Create!

Here's the sketch:
Here's my card:
I was able to use up scraps from my scrap pile which was great so I'm not sure of the manufacturer.  The sentiment is from an old called "From the Heart Greetings" by Hero Arts.  The image was coloured with copics and I added a few pearls as well.  I hope you play along with us this week!!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Paper Sundaes Challenge #67 - Favourite Hair Colours

For Paper Sundaes Challenge #67 this week we are asking to see your favourite haircolours in whichever medium you choose.  You can use copics, prismacolour pencils, crayons....anything you like but please tell us which colours you used so we can learn some great new colour combos!  I know that my hardest thing to colour is hair and it's something I always tend to go so dark on so I definitely will be checking to see what everyone comes up with and am sure I'll learn lots along the way!  This week we have a fabulous sponsor Karen's Doodles and I'm sure there will be a wonderful prize up for grabs so check out the Paper Sundaes site for more details.  Here is my card and I used copics to colour and my hair colours were E57, E47 & E34:
I used an image from Sugar Nellie's Simply Sassy Line called "Luv you a Latte" that my friend Sandy brought back for me from Scotland when he last visited.  I think she is so cute!  I paired her with paper from Bo Bunny Gabrielle paper pack and added a sentiment from an older CC Designs Kit.  The fabulous sketch is from The Sugar Bowl Challenge #58 Marlena's Sketch with an option to include buttons.  I love Sugar Nellie images so I'm super happy to be playing along this week!  

Paper Sundaes is also having a DT call and you can read all the details here!