sneaky peeky.....do you love chocolate????

SOOOOO does anyone ELSE feel like the last few weeks were a blur???? holy COW where did the month of december GO!?!??!?!?

now that the dust is settling i can get down to business! starting with a hint about my new set of stamps releasing on Jan 5th!

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM chocolate................

of course to celebrate the new stamps i'll also have a BIG giveaway i am dubbing a *blog truffle* with an *add on* giveaway over on the PCP Pez-A-Doodle group. so spread the word girls and stay tuned.........blog truffle will be revealed tomorrow........sneak peeks start friday.....

hugs

studio G news....guess what i've gooooooooottttttt......and NEW DT MEMBER

Valentine/spring $1 glitter glue from Studio G!!!
That's right! aren't those colors just right?? I do believe they match the little $1 ink pads perfectly! these were supposed to be a Joanne's exclusive but there were a few extra cases and my rep offered me first dibs!! so I will have these available to purchase on the website Wednesday. However i have a very limited number so once i am out then that's it for these. I DO NOT have these in stock but expect them very soon.

Here is another look at the matching inks and the series 26 stamps:

despite being on series 26 i STILL love these little stamps and this set is ADORABLE. i think my fave part of them is all the super sentiments. i have seen many people comment that they don't seem to put these cuties to use. in the hopes of changing that i have enlisted the help of a long time customer Robin (scrappintlc on the boards)- she has agreed to be my studio G DT gal! seemed i was "running into her" all over the place. i have some fun ideas and i hope robin will be able to help me pull them off! starting with a group on PCP dedicated to Studio G!! AND we have our first group challenge in mind to get these cuties INKED UP and in use!!! so if yours have been hanging out on the sidelines get ready!!!!!

stay tuned...more to come...but i MUST make dinner or hubby will be cranky hahahah!!!!! poor man puts up with SO much!!!

embellishments

hello hello!!!

oh how i miss my blog!! well family is gone and things are settling down. we had a wonderful visit with my dad and step mom - i rarely get to see my dad so it was awesome that he got to come too!


i have not had time to do much paper crafting BUT i did play around a bit to try my hand at making some of my own embellishments with clay and it is actually quite fun! of course pezzy got involved and next thing i knew i fulfilling her requests too - the first of which was cuppies of course! i did hers 3-d but would do them flat to use on cards and LOs.

She wanted one with sprinkles:


and one with a strawberry on top:

i think they look a bit more like a mushroon but pazzey was pleased! will work on a flat version next!















here are some of mine. can you tell i am ready for a change of holiday!!! i tried some using molds and some by hand. the molds are actually harder cuz getting the clay back out can be tricky! a "release" helps. some i used cornstarch but then on some i decided to try perfect pearls as my release and got a great little shimmer going:

these i formed by hand:












and this last batch i cut with cookie cutter things and then added to them:



my step mom also requested a snowman which was quite fun to make:

i hope to get back to my craft room today before withdrawals set in!!!!

i have a couple announcements planned this week that i am very excited about so be sure to stay tuned!!! one from studio G and one for the shop!

cutest bracelets on earth!!!!

hi everyone!
did you have a fab xmas???? i know i did! not a long post today but i was *strolling* through etsy and came across a shop with what has GOT to be the MOST adorable little bracelets i have EVAH EVAH seen - so adorable i HAD to run over here and share it with y'all!! so go check her out!

http://heysista.etsy.com/

hugs!

merry christmas everyone!!!! i hope your day is magical!!

Holiday Shipping Schedule

hello all! who is done and ready for christmas? unfortunately NOT ME UGH!!! so we will be out shopping today - mainly for the boys tog et a few gifts and to each get our last minute toys for tots gifts.

i wanted to post a note about holiday shipping - i will be taking a much needed break and visiting with my family so while orders can still be placed i will not be shipping or answering emails on dec 23-26 or on new year's eve - new years day. i DO hope to have all of the studio G series 26 and valentine ink shipped out by christmas, we'll see.....

i WILL have occasional blog posts along with another exciting release day TBD......and boy are y'all gonna love these!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SO due stay tuned!!!
hugs and happy holidays!

Bead pops are back!!

in a limited mix of colors matched up for upcoming holidays:

these come in a packet of approximately 150 bead pops. these are hand dyed by me and have just the right hint of shimmer to them - wonderful accents for cards and scrapbooking pages. the beads are flat-backed and adhere quickly with a dot of glue or a small glue dot. The beads are in two different sizes - so come on over and check them out!!

heritage album

i have been wanting to share a christmas gift i made for my brother - i think i may have posted some pages but not all of them - so i set up a slide show. the album is done with an SEI kit - the best kits EVAH!! lots of tim holtz distress and perfect pearls stuff here too!! i hope you like it!!!

tim tags with the new stamps!

hi everyone!

i have two more samples for you today using my new pine cone scroll stamps! today i used them more as a background stamp rather than the focal image. they also follow two of the recent tags over on tim holtz's blog.

the first one also uses Jen's sketch for last saturday's Sketch For You To Try->

and the card using tim's tag 11 tutorial:

i paired it up with some great pine needle patterned paper and accented the stamped images with my inkssentials pen.

here's a closer image of the main panel. the fragment charms are also stamped with pinecones and then embossed but the effect is hard to capture in a pic.

the next one is LOOSLEY based on Taylor's sketch from last friday->

And the card using tim's tag 9:

and a close up:

i used the pinecones to stamp randomly on the card base and then covered half with patterned paper from k & co. then on the main panel i also have pine cones peeking from under the "frosty - ness of the window pane i imaginethis snowman peeking thru :) yet another piece of tim holtz magic!!! just "flick a snow cap paint dabber on the top and bottom and then down each side. rub on the distress inks and stamp with distress inks and then wipe it off the painted portion which acts as a resist. how neat is that????? i just knew as soon as i saw tim's card that these pinecones would give the perfect hint of winter forest outside the window!!

all of the stuff needed for tim's tags can be found on my website too!!

i want to make another one with a few "whiffies" if i have time......

i would love to hear what y'all think!!

new stamps new stamps!!! check it out!!

i am so excited to add a new stamp set to my collection of exclusive designs!

these pine cones are so versatile - they work great as a focal image and as a background image. the solid bold scrolls are just gorgeous embossed. they are sold together as a collection and the largest image is approx. 3 1/4" x 3 1/4". This collection is UNMOUNTED - we suggest Tsukineko's Tack N Peel which makes it FAST, CHEAP and EASY to use all of your unmounted stamps as soon as they arrive!

Once again i have my mom to thank for her beautiful rendition of my attempts at explaining what i was looking for!

and now the stamps in action!

my first two samples use the sketch from MJ this week->

This is a technique we did last month at my SU tech club meeting - stacey always has something awesome lined up! i stamped on tissue paper with memento cottage ivy and rich cocoa - i ADORE the dew drops because the shape and size make it so easy to ink up a stamp in different colors with alot of precision. next i crumpled it, flattened it back out and then placed it on a piece of cardstock covered with adhesive. when i flattened it there were little wrinkles (hard to see in the pic). the ornament is seasonal grungeboard covered in antiqued bronze crackle paint - both available at Pez-A-Doodle.

and here is the second sample:

This sample uses one of the pine cone scrools as the focal image and then others as backgrounds. the main piece uses a technique from tag 2 of the recent 12 tags of christmas over on tim holtz's blog. i have been having alot of fun experimenting with all the ways to use these stamps!

the next sample uses Julee's sketch from this week->

in this one i again used one of the images as the focal image and this time i stamped with versamark and used distress embossing powder (LOVE these).

i added distress inks and finished it off with a piece of copper german scrap. the sentiment is a studio G of course!!!

This set of four elegant stamps is available for shipping now! i will have more samples posted for you tomorrow!!

~~**SALE**~~

yep i have another sale for you!!

i have ALL of my Inkadinkado clear stamp sets on sale - these retail for 9.99 - sale price is $7.00!!
includes fall sets, christmas sets, everyday sets AND THE NEW INCHIES!!!


i ALSO have all grungeboard letter sets on sale - retail is 19.95 - i have them marked down to 12.95!!!!!!!
this set includes 234 letters in all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this sale is FOUR DAYS ONLY AND LIMITED TO STOCK ON HAND so hurry!!!

tune in tomorrow for a big announcement - something new at the studio!!

guess what i have!!!! and early!! studio G goods.....

that's right!! they came early AND all of them are here!!!!!!!!!!!!! can ya believe it!!!!

so i will be getting all pre-orders out tomorrow and thursday. if you haven't ordered yours already be sure to get over and get them - they tend to go FAST!!! Once they are gone i will NOT be getting any more in.

STAY TUNED this week for several big exciting things starting with a SALE announcement tomorrow and then later some NEW GOODIES to add to your collection! Perhaps even some blog candy.......

it's been a WEEK!??!?!??!

good heavens has it really been a WEEK since i posted!?!?!?!

my brother has been in town to visit - he has a meeting in DC about 4 times a year and then heads over to our place. we decided to cook a big traditional cuban christmas dinner "noche bueno" so i have a couple pics from that - sorry no craftiness - i have not done anything crafty all week!!!!!


my favorite - homemade empenadas filled with picadillo - a ground meat dish with cumin, raisins, capers, hard boiled egg and a bit of tomato sauce.

















the finished products - pork loin marinated in an unbelievable sauce of garlic, spices and citrus fruits, black beans with sofrito just like my grandma's, fried plantains and all that was left of the 14 empanadas we made:

it's funny how the smell of food can affect you - the instant i smelled the marinade and the black beans i was whisked back to my childhood!

Saturday night we went to DC for kevin's work christmas party - i so rarely get "done up" so i made my brother take a pic:

i hope to get back on the crafty track this week!! i am off to print out all the card sketches i missed!! we also have our winter crop starting over on Scrapping Friends - oh can't wait!!! that gets me motivated!!!!!