Etsy Inspired fun!

I am so excited - Pez-A-Doodle is sponsoring the Etsy Inspired challenge this week! YAY! i only recently discovered this challenge and have been emailing back n forth with ashley ever since and i just think she is SUCH a sweetie! so I am so happy to have a chance to sponsor a prize for her challenge as I think she does a tremendous thing getting some etsy shops a little exposure! i LOVE to shop on etsy! The prize is a $20 gift certificate to my website and ashley also has a coupon posted so head over there and have a look!

This week's featured shop is TR Mack and wow i had just tons of ideas for this one - BUT only time to create one so here it is:

the main panel is a little trick i learned from tim holtz's class at CHA. i cut the flower out on my cricut and then glued it to a piece of cardstock. i ran that through my xyron putting the sticky ON THE FRONT and then covered it with heavy duty tin foil. i used a large paper blending stump to smooth the tin foil down and get the design to show through really well. next i alcohol inked it really well. then i sanded lightly and brushed over the flower with staz on ink.

the background is the double cuttlebug technique i learned over on debbie's die cuts. i added larger inked circles with various objects on my table like the end of a pen.

i used this week's SCS sketch challenge for the layout.

and now off to finish prepping for class tonight! can't wait to see everyone!

be sure to tune in tomorrow when i announce the next studio G challenge!

don't forget tomorrow is the last day to submit for the design team call!

all that shimmers...OCCC and then some...

The layout of these might look familiar - it is a sketch by Jen i found in a mag (Stampers Sampler Take Ten) and i just LOVE LOVE LOVE it! i posted a couple last week and here are a few more. I have been playing with some of the new inkadinkado stamps that came in (more will be in very soon) and the shimmery brilliance and encore metallic inks.

The challenge over on OCC today was holiday cards so i have several here :)
The picture doesn't do this one justice - i used silver, denim and stonewashed alcohol ink on glossy paper and then ran it thru the Cuttlebug (my new folders shipped saturday *waving to Hailey Jo over at Crop Stop!*)

The stamps are from on eof the new Inkadinkado sets that just came in to my website - Holiday Wishes. i used blue and silver encore metallic inks.

The border is accented with blue Swirley Pops and i used silver ice stickles - another new item in the store.

I did the double cuttlebug technique here (run it thru the cuttlebug, ink VERY lightly - the small pads work better for me), once dry flatten with your bone folder, repeat with second folder. This gorgeous bird stamp is from the Halloween Trails Inkadinkado set. i stamped it with copper encore ink and colored the moon yellow with a copic marker.

Accents are bead pops and tiny mosaic glass squares. The little cats are black felt with some sparkle, dots are copper stickles.

Next up is a New Years card:

The background is alcohol ink on glossy paper (red pepper, pitch black and gold mixative.) The black panel is doodlebug velvet paper from Paper Patch Crafts.

The stamps are studio Gs. the gold ones are stamped with gold encore ink and the red is stamped in versamark and brushed with forever red perfect pearls. i filled in the champagne in the glasses with a clear sakura glitter pen.

The corners each have a Hot Tamale Jewel Pop (JUST got my new ones in from catherine - oh so yummy - she is the BEST!) Stickle accents are the neW Glitz Designer stickles - i used Champagne and Ruby Slippers - they are available on my website. I also used the Champagne stickles to fill in the punched border.

Next up is my favorite - i used the alcohol ink over tin foil technique using meadow, lettuce and gold alcohol inks and ran it thru the cuttlebug.



the large stamp is from the Winter Trails Inkadinkado Set. I "inked" it with the Essential Glue pad and then covered it in green and gold Martha Stewart Ultra Fine Glitter. the sentiment is a studio G done the same way. i was really impressed with the glue pad and like how these turned out.

The accent dots are Lettuce Dimensional Pearls and the three bead pops are oscar gold swirly pops.

and there is my christmas (and Halloween) in July! I have UTEE tutorials scheduled to start tomorrow but i am a litlte uncertain whether i will get to them in time - i am leaving Friday for the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Valley Forge. SO looking forward to a weekend devoted to me!!!! looking forward to learning some great new stuff in classes and doing some shopping!!

anyone else going to be there???

a big honor!! and Technostamper Monday lunch sketch

Do you LOVE your cuttlebug??? i KNOW i do and so when i heard i could put in a "request" - not so much a pre-order - for the folders coming out at the end of the summer of course i jumped on it - Haylie-Jo over at Crop Stop is FABULOUS!! She is your one stop shop for all your QuicKutz, Boss Kut, Sizzix and Cuttlebug dies, embossing folders and storage sleeves AND she ships FREE to the US and Canada!!!!!!!!! Well she contacted me and would like to use my creations as examples of the versatility of the cuttlebug folders! What an honor!! i am looking forward to working with Crop Stop and creating fab new things for them! and now i NEED to buy more cuttlebug goodies - HA HA HA!!

next up is last Monday's Technostamper sketch from Mary Jo- yes i know - i am a wee bit late!! so here is the sketch:

and the card - a birthday card for my sweet (and a bit neglected) hubby:

how ADORABLE is that stamp?!?!??!?! got it from stamping bella - hubby has this huge obnoxious jeep he goes rock crawling in - well pezzy LOVES to play in it in the garage while daddy is working on it. so when i saw this one i knew i HAD to have it! the trees are a stampscape stamp and i stamped it on the back of a transparency and then alcohol inked the front in attempting a camo look. Stamp is colored using prismas and gamsol and then i used clear skittles for the headlights.

now back to work for me!

wishing you all a very Happy Mother's Day!!!

Ranger Paint Dabbers

I am beginning to add the Ranger paint dabbers to the inventory in the store and played with them for the first time. i saw this tutorial and could not pass it up. (this whole blog is amazing).

the first card was done for sketch challenge #5 over on the board at Paper Patch. we were given this sketch from pencillines.com but were challenged to turn it into a mother's day card.

and here is mine:



I used gold paint dabber but laid it on smooth. then alcohol ink over that. then the texture on the corner and strips was added by dabbing the paint dabbers and then drying with a heat tool. went over it again with alcohol inks. and of COURSE the dots down one side SCREAMED for some pops from Sugar and Scraps and I just so happened to get some brand-spankin new ones in that matched PERFECTLY! Sands of time - shades of gold, bronze and deep burgandy and all shimmery. Below is a close up of the pops and the texture.


next card is based on the mojo monday sketch over on Julee's blog if you play by sunday there is a prize up for grabs!!!

For this one i used the bronze paint dabber, alcohol inks and then the background squares are smudged with matching peeled paint distrass ink and sprayed with pearl mist using the bronze perfect pearls. it is cloudy today so i just could NOT get a pic that really showed the shimmer on this one.



The sentiment is printed out and then i used one of the newest Studio G stamps for the frame.

well i am off to tech club (pray the baby is good for her sweet dada!!)

Final Coasters done!!

ahh so those of you who have been following along - i finished my last three coasters last night. i didn't have a card sketch to use but i did this first one based on a portion of this LO sketch from Got Sketch that i had laying "in line" on my table:


and here's the sample - i used alcohol ink press from the tech junkies newsletter, primas as the scallop piece and SWIRLYpops in Starry Night Blue for the skittles.


Next up i caved and used no card sketch - i was too impatient to wait for monday to roll around. of course now i am wondering what i will do with the monday sketches.........the tech junkie technique used is reinker splash with peeled paint and tempting turquoise reinkers. crackle paint is also peeled paint. the skittles used on these are JEWELpops in Strawberry Daquiri - SO could not get a pic good enough to do them justice!!




next up is the back cover, however you don't get a whole pic - just a SNEAK PEAK as it is something that will be coming in a big announcement VERY SOON - so make sure you STAY TUNED! the skittle here is a PRINCESSpop in Yolanda Yellow - the princess pops have some colored and some clear - all glittered so these are the clear ones. tech junkie technique is pouncing using ranger's dimensional pearls in eggplant and bottle (bottle being my new fave ranger color)


the letters are from the new grungeboard minis set. i inked them up really well with eggplant reinker and then covered with a thick layer of Glossy Accents. All of these materials, including the pops embellishments and the blank coasters, can be purchased on my website


now to figure out how i will put them all together.......

New Product announcement!!

As you all know I LOVE using the "skittles" embellishments and i especially ADORE the altered ones I ordered from Sugar and Scraps. well i love them SO much i have decided to offer them on my site - check them out if you haven't seen them! Sugar and Scraps

and now for the next installment on my never-ending coaster album. The first sketch is from poetic artistry:

and the coaster:



So this is a pretty loose following of the sketch but i find i am occasionally a little limited....the technique junkies technique i used is artsy dimension. i really liked it alot more than i thought i would. In fact i promptly ordered more of Ranger's dimensional pearls and will be adding those to my inventory as well so look for them on my website soon! the Skittles used here are my most favorite - SUGARpops in Galactic Grape - they look good enough to eat!!

Next up is the sketch by MJ over at Technostamper:

And the coaster:

i really love this one. i may have to use this theme on more things! the technique used is a variation of the aged metal technique using alcohol ink and tin foil then embossing thru the cuttlebug (oh boy do i LOVE my cuttlebug!! Look for an exciting new announcement about that coming soon!) for the strip under the pic i used a bow and some skittles instead -these skittles have a sort of aged gold/green patina distressed look to them and just fit PERFECTLY with the background. i brayered the coaster with matching distress ink before attaching everything.

Have a stampin happy day!!!

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.