my attempt at being less girly......

a little bday set i put together - trying for something that i could maybe give to my dad.....

notice i still couldn't resist the stickles (as icing)....ah well. overall i am pleased with the look - i have had the polkadot paper forever. i paired it with some SU designer paper, solid cardstock and luscious velvet paper from SEI.

Both Images are Polkadot Pie - Chocolate Treats 1 - i colored with copics. then i used crystal stickles as icing, nut brown flower soft as cake, paper pieced the cupcake holder (stamped the image on patterned paper and then cut out just the cupcake holder and glued it to my main image), and stamped a second strawberry, colored it cut it out and glued it over the main image using foam pop dots. i cut the images with my nesties an edged them with versamagic in Ocean Depths using my foam ink blending tool (seriously this tool will change your life!)

Some close ups...

the nut brown flower soft is in stock right now along with some other flower soft goodies. i am also working on additional tutorials so watch for those! Acetate boxes are also in stock.

MOJO 72 contest

i got a chance to play with the MOJO sketch this morning - which is good because it is contest week :) - here is the sketch->

and my card (i know, minus a layer but i liked this better so......):

Here is a closer look:
i couldn't decide on a paper for the background so i made my own using the little hearts from the Polkadot Pie Loveys with Pezzy stamp set and Versamagic Red Brick dew drops (all on sale 25% off right now!) I filled in the blank spaces with Fired Brick distress stickles. the black dot paper, red patterned paper and dotted ribbon are from the bo bunny Pezzy's Pick kit. The main image is from the Polkadot Pie Chocolate Treats 2 and colored with copics. i crocheted the heart and border and stamped the sentiment in more versamagic with a studio G sentiment from series 29 *blowing kisses to iceepenguin/charlotte for sending them to me*.

be sure and check out what else is on sale as i continue the markdowns!!

Business first and then the goodies

two items of business first:
hurricane gustave - for those that don't know i am from louisiana - outside of new orleans to be specific. katrina hit my family hard altho they were all luckier than ALOT of folks down there. well now gustav is headed directly at them again it seems. my mom and one aunt are staying put - they live in lafourche parish - raceland/thibodaux area to be specific if you watch things unfold. another aunt and my cousins in new orleans have already evacuated. my cousin has only just recovered from katrina. so keep me in your prayers and know that i will likely be fairly tense this week. the emotional tole of watching what katrina did to "my town" and "my people" was really difficult....

next item of business - fighting hunger!! my friend mary jo is participating in a hunger walk. her goal is to raise $1000!! we can help!!! not only that but everyone who donates is entered in a drawing for a HUGE prize mary jo is giving away too - check it out here

and now some fun stuff.

first up is this FUN little bookmark pattern posted over on the scrapping friends msn group i have been thoroughly enjoying. it came from this blog.

i printed it out and then copied it at 50% so mine are tiny:

PERFECT for some little studio Gs! the purple-y-green one is a leftover scrap from some reinker smooshing i did that you may remember. i experimented with varying the edge design too. these are just too fun and easy. i have a few more cut out and waiting for some dressing up...

next up is a 2-pager i did of pezzy at the playground. did another banadana technique piece - and let me just take a moment to encourage you to check out technique junkies where i got the idea/instructions. seriously one of the best little investments i have made hee hee!!!

so the background piece was SOOOO easy - just used two versamagic dew drops and smeared them on directly to the paper. then, because these inks dry a bit slower, i took my foam ink blending tool and rubbed them into each other really well - that ink just blends so beautifully! the white is my inkssentials pen.

the kids playing are from a ctmh stamp set and colored with copics. the grassy areas are some really cool stuff called flower soft in two colors {thanks cat!!} - i used glossy accents to stick it on which works really well - good for doodlebug flock too!

the tree area was another one of those silly little inkadinkado clear sets i found while stocking their holidays sets. it has all sorts of bits and pieces to make up different sorts of trees. do you see the little bird and nest - hee heee i love cute & tiny!!! the super cool font i used for the journaling was the weekly freebie over on scrapping friends - LOVE it!!

still working on some excitig changes over on the website - cross your fingers and i should have the big announcement ready by tomorrow so STAY TUNED!!!!!

TSSC little cutie

todays card is focused on a cute little stamp set i came across when placing my Inkadinkado order:

It's a bunch of tiny pieces and parts with a bag of tiny embellishments - how cute is that??? i have a tree one as well i need to play with....both are available on the website.










I used Mary Jo's sketch - the little squares seemed perfect for a couple little "scenes."















And here is my little card - what a quick one with this little set!


The card base is dark green - a little hard to see in the pic. i inked everything with versamagic - gave me a chance to try out some more colors too. the little bow and buttons were in the embellishment bag.

and now i need to pick a winner for some inks :)

and it's Maria! drop me a line so i can get your "order" and address.

now back to inventory!
hugs
M

skitterbugs minus the skittles for OCC challenge

So I have been doing my best to keep up with the challenges on my friend Amy's blog she does with a very talented group of girls - Our Creative Corner. The challenge is posted on Saturdays and the last one was a limited supplies challenge - NO designer/patterned paper and FOUR layers or LESS. So here is a 3 card set i came up with using some as yet uninked stamps from My Favorite Things. In addition they each have one of my newly released skitterbugs stamps.


Now i DO LOVE them with the altered skittles for their little bodies (see pic at right) but i wanted to show everyone they can be just as cutie patootie on their own!



So here are my 3 cards:

Colored with copics. New cuttlebug folder along the bottom and then inked with a versamagic dew drop (also available on my website). stickles in the center of course. The strip across the center is velvet paper. shape is the new storybook cricut cartridge, dots are liquid pearls and then each corner has a kaiser stick on pearl. little bee skitterbug.

another new CB folder and lots of the new glitz stickles - ruby slippers, colored with copics, red is another velvet paper. scallopped oval is cut with nestabilities. Little ladybug skitterbug.

finally, top and bottom are velvet paper embossed with CB borders. stickles dots and a little snail skitterbug.

for an update - my altered beads for these are completely sold out :( but no worries!! order away and they will be shipped straight from sugar n scraps in canada. i still have stamps left but they are going fast! in addition i have three more in production that i am sure you will love including one for halloween!

don't forget to sign in for blog candy on yesterday's post!!!

now off to work i go - meaning holy mess batman - my kitchen looks like an explosion!!!!!!!

LO challenge on Scrapping Friends

Getting back in the saddle....



I was recently invited to join a FAB group of girls in a group over on MSN called Scrapping Friends. MSN groups are alot different than the yahoo groups i am used to but I am getting the hang of it little by little. OF COURSE i wanted to check out the challenges and found weekly LO sketch challenges. so here is the first one - a Got Sketch from previously i believe:



i really lke this sketch AND i had some pictures sitting on my table of Trev's chinchillas. they had been sitting there since before i went to CKC and i was at a loss as to what i wanted to do with them. Then i brought this sketch down and i thought hmmmmm i think i can do something with this. so i started playing and this is what evolved:

I took the colors from the pics and while i would not have normally put them together i think it works well. threading water punch along the bottom. Title and upper left corner design are cut from the new cricut storybook cartridge - OMG i love this one!!

I used versamagic ink which i just started stocking on my website and i really love it. The bracket here is a studio G stamp - a little notorious for being a bit difficult to stamp because the ink beads up but you can see here it works beautifully with the thick & creamy versamagic ink. In addition the ink does really well on textured paper too!

Next up is the grungeboard pieces - i chose a lock and key (and that is what the smaller title says) because we used to let them run around the basement til they started getting into the treadmill and chewing apart the wiring. now they don't get out much :) grungeboard comes a lightish gray color. using the same versamagic dew drop ink pads i first colored the grungeboard completely in a light color then went over it gently with a darker color to make the details of the pattern show up well. the versamagic covered VERY WELL i am pleased to report. hhhmmm as i look at it i realize i need some little brads on that lock :)

The next detail i want to point out is to show you what NOT to do. the border across the top is a series 18 studio G stamp. you can see on one side (Bottom) the stamp is clear and looks like little twigs but on the other side (top) the detail is lost. this is because i put TOO MUCH ink on the stamp and then i also pushed too hard when stamping.

Tomorrow i will post some pics from CKC (FINALLY) and then this week i will get back to my tutorials AND some blog candy! i got a few extra goodies for y'all at CKC plus i got a CHA gody pack from tsukineko and i already have a lot of the products so i am passing them on to you!! i am not sure how i will be doing them but be sure to stay tuned!!!!!!

WOW is it really friday?????

my gosh!! where on earth did the week go??? has it really been since monday that i last posted? well i sure hope y'all missed me HAHAHA!!! i have a card for you today - it is for a sketch challenge on Our Creative Corner:



I took the SEI velvet paper class at CKC and i am SO in love with that paper. i came home with a stack and it was the first (and - so far - the ONLY) thing i pulled out to play with. this stuff is so versatile - you can really do anything to it - stamp it, cut it in the cricut, emboss it, ink it. it comes in ALOT of colors too. so here is my first little prject with it:













the camera does not really SHOW the velvety-ness of it but the purple - dark and light - is the velvet. the green side is stamped with a chinese calligraphy solid stamp i got for my bday *waving to Cat* which i stamped in versamark and then dusted with interference green perfect pearls and spritzed lightly with water to set. i tried to capture the shimmer with the camera but it's hard...

the brown circle cut out was done on my cricut with the new storybook cart - a must have if you are on the fence. i rubbed the leaves and flowers a bit with versamagic ink. i ran the dark purple velvet thru the cuttlebug with the new Floral Screen folder and then inked the edges with versamagic. the sentiment is a studio G stamped right on the velvet with versamagic. i mean how cool is this stuff!!!!

showin some mojo love for my stampscapes!

oh how i love when i get time to do sketch challenges! this one is this weeks Mojo Monday Sketch from Julee:

i left off the top strip because it didn't add to my design but i want to make another one now - if only i had time.....i also did this one using Tuesday's color challenge over on SCS - sahara sand, groovy guava and white. so on to my card:

This one was SUCH fun to do. i used a new stampscapes stamp, new versamagic dew drop ink pads i just stocked on my website AND my new cuttlebug folders!!

the background piece is run through the cuttlebug and then i ran a versamagic dew drop over it in sage to highlight the embossing. these are chalk inks which i have never used so i don't kow what others are like but these are DEEEElish!! coverage is vary opaque and creamy and they blend SO WELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (i will get them up for ordering this weekend i hope!!) i cut the 2 circles with George and the scallop with celebrations on my cricut. then i ran the white circle through the cuttlebug with one of the decorative circle embossing folders. this one was highlighted with versamagic pink grapefruit and the foam blending tool - perfect for highlighting embossing.

the stamp is autumn brook. i inked it with various colors of versamagic (dew drops are perfect for this sort of precision inking) and then stamped it on white cardstock. many people get very fancy with their coloring of stampscapes but this shows it can be simple too! i mounted it on sahara sand and embossed the edge with one of the new embossing borders. again i inked it with the foam blending tool. the piercing across the top was done with the tim holtz ruler so i get perfectly spaced dots.

i will definitely be playing with these versamagics more!!!
PS - remember our UTEE tutorial with the cracked glass? you have GOT to run over and see what catherine has done with it on her blog!!!!