studio g series 11 michaels stalking take 437 :P

ok so i have been stalking Michaels forever and buttering up the floor manager for months in an attempt to get an in. i stopped by thursday (to get scribbles glitter paint to compare to scribbles - **waving to the cricut board for that one**) i digress. SO here is what i saw - they were cleaning out the usual dollar bins where they have the studio g stamps and almost all of it is clearanced for 50 cents. the sales girl said they are making way for a whole new slew of dollar items. then i asked for the manager and as soon as he saw me he said dollar stamps right? :P they probably make fun of me when i leave. ANYWAY, he said he is fairly sure that there will be new dollar stamps coming in sometime this coming week. he is going to check on it (yea right but we can hope). so i figure we could be on the verge of spying these stamps. i will be digging out as many sets as i can IF they do show up. but if ya'll are in Ms and see them cleaning out the bins keep your eye out.

i also have a call in for an update on the next series i will be able to carry on my website. i hope they call me back on Monday!! If anyone sees the series 11 - brown packaging out at their Ms post in the comments and let us know!!

Like chipboard? Ya gotta see this!

so I made a cool "discovery" - i use quotes because i sincerely doubt i am the first to do this. i LOVE anything that shimmers and glitters. so i thought - how could i make an embossing pearl color with what i have right now. well i pulled out some chipboard, some grungeboard, some UTEE and of course my perfect pearls pigment powder. And here is what i came up with:



i used the pieces in a LO for Got Sketch #54:





the pics look funny cuz photoshop tried to "fix" red eye = oops. anyway....i am so excited about this cuz it just looks SO COOL!! so i took the pieces and smooshed them into versamark real well and covered with UTEE then melted. i did this a couple times to get a good thick layer of UTEE. then when it was mostly cooled i brushed on the perfect pearls powder. i did one last quick warm up with the heat tool but not enough to re-melt it - just to get it sticky to hold the perfect pearls on. i tried several other ways like mixing the pearl powder with the UTEE and with other embossing powders. but this is the best i think - i got the best results and there is less waste since you don't really know how much to mix. and an added plus - this fulfills the requirements for a challenge on one of my yahoo groups - YAY!! we were given a list of Ranger products and had to use at least one of them in a LO - from the list i have used sunflower sparkle perfect pearls, milled lavendar distress ink and lavendar stickles. The flower stamp is from a CTMH Easter set that i ADORE!!

i swear i have crafting ADD - i have not posted anything for ya'll all week but i have been scrappin and creatin like crazy! i have no less than 8 different projects on my table in some state of progress but nothing completed - :P well off to post my entry!! stay tuned for news of studio g series 11 tomorrow!!

Surprised myself

i really surprised myself with this LO AND I killed two birds with one stone so to speak. the LO is based on a recent SCS sketch challenge - SBSC130:


and it also fulfills a contest challenge on the stampingscrapbookers group i am in. this LO was an interesting process since i was not going to do either the sketch or the contest when i first saw them. but then i looked at them again and for some reason i just got inspired - go figure!

the challenge was to use flowers in a LO but you had to stamp them - any kind of flowers. i used die cut flowers from the Walk In My Garden cricut cartridge for the leaves and critters and George cart for the flowers. i stamped them with a new stamp - tooled leather from artistic outpost - in versamark and then embossed most of them with rainbow embossing powder by Ranger.

I may never be able to do plain die cuts again! this LO was somewhat uncharacteristic of me but i like it. can't wait to see what else i can do with this stamp too - really love the design. hhhmmmm maybe some magic pattern technique next......here are a couple close ups of the flowers.




The cute little critters are cut from some alcohol inked scraps i had leftover from a slew of cards i am working on to give my mom for a show she will have a booth at in a couple weeks. the pics are from our trip last week to see her.

grungeboard is here and studio g news

HOORAY!! i ordered grungeboard to stock in the webstore but was told it was all back ordered until late april. imagine my surprise when i got home from my mom's and opened my latest shipment from Ranger and found grungeboard!! not all of it mind you but i did get elements in swirl, dots, stripe and harlequin and some of the uncut sheets in plain. this stuff is so cool and fun to play with. i hope to have some more things to show you with it coming soon.

in addition i wanted to give you all the latest update on the studio g stamps. a set is in the works that WILL be available to me. they expect to release it in 6-8 weeks but DO NOT have pics available yet. SO more are coming :P still no sightings of the series 11 yet.

well lots to do since i got back - got cabinets for the basement and got them home and decided we didn't like them so instead of getting my area re-organized today i have to wait until tomorrow :( guess i get to do some house cleaning yay.....ha ha!!

Alcohol Inks, Rub-ons and ATG guns, oh my....!!

SO, i FINALLY broke down and got myself an ATG gun because I am going through so much adhesive AND i was finding the tombo just doesn't stick as well as i'd like to some of my backgrounds. so OF COURSE the first thing i did was alter it!!




My friend Melissa brought some Krylon Fusion spray paint over and we both painted our guns together. well that slick, shiny surface was just crying for some alcohol ink so i figured what the heck. i am in LOVE with the color combination and have ordered everything else Ranger makes in these colors so i can use them on everything as we re-do my craft area. I used Meadow, Currant and Eggplant - they are Adirondack Earthtone colors.

i also have a LO to share - yes i got one done :) hooray!! so many more to go and just took 100 more pics here at my mom's! i have really been LOVING the got sketch blog by valerie salmon and used another of her sketches for this one (sketch #40):

I made a few adjustments and i really love how it turned out. i used fall colors of alcohol inks on Ranger's glossy paper and then cut out the leaves and the title on my cricut. instead of brackets i cut out leaf and acorn borders.

Ahhh more cards for ya'll....

This first card was done for the sketch challenge last week on SCS. Again using the alcohol inks on tin foil and then embossing with the cuttlebug. Then Fluffles and the cracked glass technique.



The next three are variations of the same basic card. I used some of the Series 9 and 10 studio g stamps *waving hi to Kim over on the CK message board for the series 9!* and each one has a big Prima on it. The stamps are colored using Gamsol and prisma pencils. All papers are Stampin Up

Mmmmm....crawfish!

In case you've never had the pleasure of attending a crawfish boil here's what it looks like :)

I have a few Easter cards to post today. Not much time to "talk" as the 17 year old woke up the baby so i said he has to watch her while i finish this....may not last very long!






The first two use the emboss resist technique with Ranger's bridal embossing tinsel, perfect pearls spray mist made from perfect pearls powder and stamps from CTMH. The third one is just a Fluffles stamp colored using the Gamsol technique and then the cracked glass technique and SU papers - LOVE SU papers incase i haven't mentioned it before!

Try to be back with a few more to post tomorrow or Wednesday. I am also working on changes to my website - i hope everyone likes it!!

more fun with alcohol inks....

hi everyone!! i have been a bit MIA lately - I am out of town at my mom's. She lives outside of New Orleans and we have a big family reunion/crawfish boil (YUM)/easter egg hunt every year. but i took some picks of some of my easter stuff and will be posting them while i am down here. This first card however, is not an easter card. i wasn't really sure what i would use it for but then a friend's dad passed away and so it became a sympthy card. i like how it turned out:



I used alcohol inks - stream, stonewash and bottle plus pearl mixative on a transparency. then i stamped the waterfall stampscapes image on the other side with black stazon. i attached it to the card with the white brads.

next is a pail i found for a buck at walmart - can't pass it up when it's only $1. i got four of them and this one i decorated for my mom. the top and bottom are alcohol inked and then i used white rub-ons from the Stampin Up Sale-A-Bration mini catalogue. the buckets come already painted. i also have one in purple, pink and green.

technostamper sketch and i've been tagged

I decided to give the sketch on technostampers a whirl and ended up with an easter card from some leftovers of another project i was working on. here is the sketch:



here is the card:



The base is orchid opulance (SU) and the lighter purple is bazzill bling. the embossed piece is my modified version of faux antique metal and is done with alcohol ink colors meadow, eggplant and currant - i have decided these will be the colors of my craft area as we begin re-designing it :) the stamp is Fluffles and the flower is a prima sent as a gift to me (waving *HI* to anne over at Paper Patch Crafts). i added the flower as an after-thought and couldn't believe how well it matched!

in other news - i've been tagged by my friend Amy over at Pickled Paper - if you have not checked out her blog yet hurry over there - you are in for a treat!

So i am supposed to list 7 weird or random things about myself:

1. i attended 16 different schools from kindergarten to high school
2. i listen to the same music most parents of teenagers are trying to ban :)
3. i have to eat a bowl of cereal EVERY night before i go to bed whether i am hungry or not
4. i was heavily OCD until i had kids and had to give it up to keep my sanity. however a few remnants remain - for example the way the dishwasher is loaded. if DH loads the dishwasher i have to re-arrange it all :P the milk has one spot in the fridge and only one spot....
5. i am part Cajun and part Cuban - how's that for a fiery combination?? my dad came here from Cuba when he was 12 and his family was fleeing Castro right after the takeover - i anxiously await the day i can go visit cuba
6. i am only 4' 9" and have been mistaken for a student when picking up my son at his middle school :P
7. as a child instead of playing "house" and "baby dolls" with the other girls i dressed up as a bandit with my brother and raided there playhouses, kidnapped the babies and threw the dishes out of the window.

I am tagging Mandy, Sandie, Jackie, Chris, Julie

and lastly here are the rules:
And last, the rules:
• Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
• Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog, we all want to know them.
• Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
• Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Stampscapes - Sketch for you to try

I decided to play with Jen Del Muro's Saturday Sketch for you to Try and used my new Stampscapes stamps. These things are SO awesome but i have alot to learn about using them! If you haven't seen these i strongly emcourage you to go take a look! so here's the sketch:



and here's my card - made for a great friend - i hope she likes it!!



i used all SU inks and the ranger foam ink blending tool but find the tool to be a bit big for this type of detail work so i am going to make my own smaller version....

happy tuesday everyone! time for me to get to work around here!

Design Team - Woohoo!!

FAB NEWS!! i was chosen to work on a design team!! what an honor! the team is for a new online store - run over and check it out - Paper Patch Crafts. I came across this store right as it was starting out at the beginning of the year. it is small and specializes in a few things just like i have done in mine. anne has a GREAT selection of prima goodies and kaiser alterable items with more stuff coming in and being added all the time. i am part of a great group of talented ladies and can't wait for my first assignment! one of the greatest things about the store has been the message board. i have really enjoyed it - it is small and warm and friendly and the members are VERY creative.

in other news.....i was reading Amy's blog yesterday and she mentioned a contest on SCS for My Favorite Things stamps - well don't you know i was intrigued and just HAD to play along! the guidelines were that it had to be monochromatic - you could have neutrals like black or brown. so here is what i came up with:



the paper and stamps are Close To My Heart. I have had the paper for about a month and had been wanting to us eit. i thought of it as soon as i read the challenge. the flowers are primas - a gift *waving to anne at paper patch crafts* and i also got to use my new cinnamon stickles for the flower centers and the dots i added on the printed paper piece. the stamp is colored with prisma pencils and gamsol.

whew! on a roll...sketches

SO...i have NEVER used sketches before - even when i tried i never stuck to them. but i am suddenly really enjoying them. i got inspired to start trying them from Amy Sheffer's blog - she does them alot and i wanted to get more involved on SCS SO here ya go.



This first one is for the Ways to use it Challenge WT155 - i had to use something that had to do with music. I had read this challenge a few days ago and blew it off but as I was working on this card this morning it suddenly came to me that I had this CTMH paper with musical notes on it that would match my cracked glass image perfectly.

the next few are for the sketch challenge this week SC166.



Two are cracked glass and one is embossed.






I have just begun an SCS gallery but I need to be much better about keeping track of the names of the stamps i use and colors and such so my details are better :P

all of these will be going to my mom who has requested some everyday cards she can use for thank yous or just to say hello type cards. hope she likes them!!

more LOs - Halloween Told you i'm behind!!!!

Two more layouts incorporating techniques from the Technique Junkies newsletters and sketches from the Got Sketch blog.

the first one uses this sketch:





the pics are from a trip to a local farm just after Halloween where there were several different set ups for smashing jack o lanterns. My 14 year old and his best friend had a blast of course! the embellishments are "faux metal" - alcohol inks on tin foil - attach the tin foil to a piece of cardstock first so it is stable. the Friendship stamp is CTMH.

the second layout uses reinker splash with this sketch:





i wasn't too happy with the color choices at first - don't have alot to choose from at the moment :P but in the end i like how it turned out. i used my cricut to cut the photo corners. An interesting discovery during this session - the three reinkers i used are distress inks and i use Stampin Up paper - the three inks - broken china, dried marigold, and peeled paint match three SU colors exactly. I may work on compiling a complete list for all of the distress colors.

well off to bed!! more tomorrow woo hoo!!!!

Scrappin'!!!!!

hooray - I am scrappin' like I have been saying i need to! too layouts to show you - the first one uses a technique called cuttlebug smoosh from the technique junkies newsletter i just started getting. i also used sketh 39 from the got sketch blog i found recently - there is a link to the right. first the sketch:



and now my LO:



this next one is one of my faves ever. not only do I love the content of the pics - remember the diaperhead gang?? but i am really pleased with the LO and feel it is unusual and really works for this. the funniest part is the grungeboard - i was sure i would NEVER use the skull and it was the first one i used! paper is SU.



some close ups:





i LOVE the tim holtz crackle paint and the grungeboard too. i have some more pieces on my table right now :)

lots of playtime :)

I have several completed items to share. I did not do these all in one weekend they have just been in various stages of completion. i don't know why but i seem to do lots of things at once instead of one thing at a time.
the first card features crackle paint which i love in fired brick.



the next two cards feature technique junkies techniques

the first has a pounced background using iridescent glass paints. the stamp is embossed with Ranger's gold detail embossing powder.



Next card is opalite infusion - hte shimmer doesn't show as well in the photo. the cut out dragonfly also has this technique used on it. I am not as happy with this card but wasn't sure where to go with it :P

prize package!

i received my prize package from the Layout I entered and won in the Mother's and daughter's creations challenge - it is a paper and embelli pack by SEI called Jolie Chocolat and let me just tell you it is GORGEOUS! oh the pics did not do it justice! now what to do with it....something special...

thanks ladies for the great prize!!!!! wish i had more time but WAY to much to do around here!! Hubby is gettin a little cranky!