Tuesday, July 29, 2008
My American Iris
Palmolive and the Pool
Monday, July 28, 2008
A Groovy Lovely Toonie Tuesday
Toonie Tuesday is my opportunity to show you two samples, this week one from Stampin' Up! and one from my new stamps from Flourishes in this weeks' color challenge colors at SCS (CC177). Today I want to show you how you can achieve a similar yet unique look with two different stamp sets.
Sample One: Flourishes
I seem to be stuck on this magnolia image from this pretty set called Lilac. I think I like it because it has several images that can be intertwined to form a branch and the blossoms are small and really easy to color. This is on watercolor paper, and I love using the out of the box technique. Just a tip on how I manage making these cuts. I stamp and color all my images first, then use my paper cutter to trim in a spot that will "cut into* the main design on each side of the flower...but just near the out of the box section not through it. Then I get out my handy dandy paper snips and cut out those parts that extend beyond my straight sections. You do have to be careful but with watercolor paper having a much heavier weight it isn't difficult. And I LOVE the effect it gives.
Because todays colors are Groovy Guava, Sahara Sand and White, I wanted to create some soft looking blossoms in the shade of white and guava. The lighter colored blossoms are given some beautiful shimmer with Lumiere and then once dry a light touch of of guava reinker, the other blossoms are just given some light watercoloring. The branches are colored in with a Sahara Sand reinker.
I really love the scallop punch. Have I said that already? :) It's just so easy to use and gives you such nice polished look. Some nice silver brads and a pretty organdy bow to finish it all off.
Sample Two: Stampin' Up! and Garden Silhouettes
I haven't used this set in so long, and with all the silhouette work that's out there I thought I'd pull it out again. I think it gives that similar *vine-like* look that you can have with the Flourishes Magnolia stamps too.
I stamped the flowers and vine several times in both Groovy Guava and Sahara Sand on Whisper White. I carefully trimmed out several of the guava flowers and added them to the Sahara stamped piece with some teeny tiny dimensionals. I added Crystal Effects and some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to give it some shimmer.
I think what always gives a card zing is some well placed piercing and accents. So here I pierced around the sentiment and also on the top row and added brads and double stitched ribbon and some scallop work too.
Similar designs, similar sets, similar effects, but beautifully different looks.
Glad you stopped by today!
Recipes:
Sample One: Flourishes Stamps: Flourishes Lilac; Paper: Sahara Sand, Groovy Guava, Whisper White, Watercolor Paper, Ginger Blossom DSP; Ink: Black Stazon, Groovy Guava, Sahara Sand; Accessories: Brads, Scallop Edge Punch, Dimensionals, Word Window Punch, Lumiere, Reinkers, Aqua Painter, Organdy Ribbon
Sample Two: SU: Stamps: Garden Silhouettes; Paper: Sahara Sand, Groovy Guava, Whisper White, Ginger Blossom DSP; Ink: Sahara Sand, Groovy Guava; Accessories: Piercer, Dimensionals, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Groovy Guava DS Ribbon, Brads, Piercer, Scallop Edge Punch
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Sweet and Fragrant Jenn
Thank you sweet friend, you are one in a million!
The Little Things - Support *Not A Raffle*
There are some FABULOUS things in the gallery for this *non-raffle*...donations of many company's stamp sets, accessories, hand crafted items... All to support a good cause. Here's the gallery link: SCS *Non-Raffle* Gallery
Thanks for your help in making a difference. It's the little things that often make the biggest difference.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Simplicity
This card is all about crispness and simplicity. I used some brand spankin' new stamps from Flourishes that I think are STUNNING. I lightly colored in the Magnolias with reinkers (I'm not sure if Magnolias can be a light Pomegranate shade...but we're going with it - I've never been to the south - oh ok that's not totally true I was in Atlanta once, but I wasn't noticing any magnolias!...sorry I digress) And I cut the ovals with my coluzzle cutter. I will very much miss this Pomegranate color....(sniff)....so I had to do a color combination with it that I really always love. It always comes out classy to me.
The Designer paper is from SU's 2007 Christmas Collection...and you can't do a Sharon card without some fabulous ribbon. I added a light shimmer with Lumiere (only visable in this closeup) a couple of brads ...and can you see the tiny shimmery ladybug??? So precious!
Simple, elegant...and it only took me...less than 30 minutes!
Recipe: Stamps: Lilac Set (Flourishes); Paper: Purely Pomegranate, Basic Gray, Whisper, SU White, SU Christmas 07 DSP ; Ink: Basic Gray, Purely Pomegranate; Accessories: Silver Brads, Satin Ribbon, Coluzzle Cutter, Piercer, Dimensionals, Lumiere, Aquapainter, Reinkers
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Delicious Inspiration
So here's my very elegant looking Delicious Inspiration card.
Another peek at how the new In Colors work. This is Kiwi Kiss paired with Vanilla and black, and I really like it. The flourishes are from Baroque Motifs and stamped in Vanilla. Lots of great ribbon, lots of brads and the essential black row of felt ribbon from Creative Imaginations. Here is a closeup of the felt ribbon....it really does mirror part of Jenn's inspiration photo....head over to here: if you're a Fan Club member to check Jenn's inspiration out.
Thanks for stopping by today!
Recipe: Stamps: Baroque Motifs, All Holidays Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Very Vanilla, Basic Black Ink: Black Stazon, Vanilla Craft Accessories: Felt Ribbon (Creative Imaginations), Brads, Wide Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals, Piercer, Scallop Edge Punch
Follow in Your Footsteps
Monday, July 21, 2008
A Dare to Get Dirty Toonie Tuesday!
Well, it's a very happy Toonie Tuesday for me today! I am hosting my first EVER challenge at SCS....one of today's Dare to Get Dirty 08 Fan Club Challenges. Our theme is *A Day in the Life of a Dirty Girl!* I'm inviting YOU to come and play too! See yesterday's posts for links to joining the fan club and here's a link to my challenge and Michelle and Julie's. I'd love to see you there! JulieHRR and sf9erfan are also our hostesses today. You don't want to miss it! Come chat with me in this thread too I'd love to hear from you!
Sample One: Friendly Spring
This is an all SU Toonie Tuesday using my favourite technique - Watercolor! Here's the adorable new Serene Spring hostess set that will be unveiled in the catalogue in just a few weeks. It's an adorable set that's perfect for scenic type watercoloring, here using reinker and then Stampin Write Markers blended in for depth. I've used the new SU In Colors and new Designer Series Papers for this card too. They are definitely deep bold colors, but in the right combinations I think they will look GREAT. For me it's all about the Designer Series Paper. If we can get great patterned paper everything else just falls into place!
Love this pretty flower pot and sweet little bird, and I was trying to give it all sort of an earthy feel. See the CUTE little ladybug???
And the new scalloped edge punch is AWESOME! No more corner rounder punch for me!
Sample Two: Embracing In Colors
Another beautiful set to me is Embrace Life...so much you can do with it from a coloring perspective because it's such an open image. This is watercolored with reinkers alone. I love it's depth and wow factor. I've used the out of the box technique to really showcase the blooms and then added simple embellishments. I use brads and pierce everything ...it's sort of my thing I think. :) But I wanted to keep it more simple for these flowers.Thanks so much for joining us!
Recipe: Sample One Sets: Serene Spring Paper: Pacific Point, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Bella Rose DSP, Watercolor Paper Ink: Black Stazon Accessories: Reinkers, Aqua Painter, Scallop Edge Punch, Vintage Brads, Wide Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon, Rectangle Slot Punch, SW Markers, Piercer
Sample Two: Sets: Embrace Life Paper: Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Watercolor Paper Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, Black Stazon Accessories: Reinkers, Aqua Painter, Brads, White Taffeta Ribbon, Piercer, Dimensionals, White Gel Pen.
It's Time to Get Dirty!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Bella Baby Double Pocket
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Toonie Tuesday
Sample Two: SU's Bloomin' Beautiful!
You know how some sets are just in your *groove*? Just your style? Well for me this is one of those sets. I knew it from the minute I saw it in the mini. Every card I've tried with it I've loved. I think it's because its so easy to watercolor and you get such wow results.I also love the out of the box technique where you extend your images beyond the borders of the shape. With the three colors today I tried to mimic that design in the main image and the papers. (BTW... these patterns on the Wasabi and Amethyst prints paper are the flip side of the argyle). I watercolored with reinkers and Stampin' Write markers on watercolor paper. I used chunky glitter in the center and on the bee's wings, and it REALLY adds pizazz. To give your flowers a pretty effect, try outlining them with a light colored marker and the blending with an aquapainter. (see close up image following).
I framed the images with piercing added the pretty sentiment in layers. Totally my kind of card.
Recipes:
MFT: Stamps: Be Calm Anna LaPoint, Ink: Black Stazon, Paper: So Saffron, Shimmer White, Wild Wasabi, Almost Amethyst and Wild Wasabi Prints, So Saffron Retired SU paper. Accessories: White Taffeta Ribbon, Chunky Glitter, Piercer, Dimensionals, Prima Leaves, White Gel Pen, Brads, SW Markers, Reinker
SU: Stamps: Bloomin Beautiful, Ink: Black Stazon, Almost Amethyst Paper: Watercolor, Whisper White, Almost Amethyst, Wild Wasabi, Wasabi & Amethyst Prints, So Saffron (retired) DP Accessories: Chunky Glitter, Mono Multi Adhesive, Silver Brads, Dimensionals, Piercer, SW Markers, Aqua Painter
A Big Day
The DD girls work so very hard every month to create fabulous projects for the Fan Club Members. It's like a paper crafters art gallery of inspiration. Well worth your investment in a GREAT site that has given me amazing creative gifts almost every day for the past 4 years.
This month's theme is super fun...and you can have a sneak peek at part of one of my projects on this page here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/news/comments.php?id=745_0_1_0_C
So COME on over! There's two great girls being revealed this month too :)
Some other great news...in just less than 1 week at Splitcoast you won't want to miss A Day in the Life of a Dirty Girl - The Dirty Girl Fan Club Challenges 2008. It's a whole week (July 21 - 27) of challenges for Fan Club members to participate in led by Dirty Girls present and alumni and a chance to take a peek into the creative process of what it means to be a Dirty Girl. More news coming on this one!
I've been tagged a couple of times by some sweet other bloggers to tell you 7 Random things about myself.... in case you might want to get to know me a bit better
So here goes:
1. I absolutely LOVE Coca Cola. But, I'm trying to give it up (gasp!). I could seriously drink it all day long...but I know it's not good for me. Not the sugar...and not the caffeine...or that stomach eating bubbly wonderfulness....and with the craziness of our life and needing to take better care of me...and hey where'd those hips come from????....I'm trying to give it up. So far, so good....we're about 2 weeks in.
2. I need sunshine. Which in Canada in the summer is no problem, here in summer we get like 19 hours of day light....but in December however it's more like 7 hours of daylight. And about December I start feeling a little funky. And since we're not going to be moving to Florida any time soon, I think it's an excuse to go tanning in the winter! (hee hee - I haven't done it yet, just using it as an excuse in case I need it!).
3. My favourite color (my kids ask me this all the time)....well, it's really hard for me to choose. I love color period. I can find an excuse to love most ANY color. If I'm wearing a color I like warmer bolder colors because I'm blonde and fair. I love lime green to wear probably best of all.
4. Speaking of hair...I'm still a natural Blonde (and I mean that in the best possible way :))...I've never colored my hair ever...and I'm almost 40! Sometimes I am *blonde* though through and through.... I'm always asking my husband...*have you seen _____* *can you help me find _______*. He smiles knowingly and helps me see what's right under my nose usually :)
5. I'm extremely afraid of heights. This seems to be getting worse as I get older. When we were in Disneyland as a family for the first time, we went up on the Sun Wheel at California Adventure (it's a big Ferris Wheel over a lagoon...extremely high up). Our then 18 month old son started to throw a temper tantrum while inside the enclosed car we were in ...at the top of the Sun Wheel...he was crying and trying to GET OUT!!!! of the car and banging on the door....and I began to have a panic attack. I was terrified he'd fall out, I was terrified to be up there myself. Not my most shining moment as a mommy.
6. When I was 21 I moved from Canada to South Dakota to take my Master's Degree in Counselling at a Seminary there. I was one of the youngest students in my program, and those years were some of the best of my life. I learned so much, I grew so much, I had some amazing people invest in me and believe in me, I re-met my husband, found my calling and career and calling, got married and stayed there for 8 years. If I had to move somewhere....I'd choose to move back there.
7. I'm a super light sleeper. This has not been FUN as a wife or mom. But, one of the best investments we ever made was 12 years into our marriage....a King Sized bed, not just any mattress either, but one of those individual coil ones where you don't feel the motion of the other person in bed. My husband is like 10 inches taller than me and close to 100 lbs heavier....this bed is a wonder! I sleep a lot better now :)
Alright, I'm supposed to tag 7 other random bloggers, but I know that people often don't have time for this....so I'll just direct you to 7 of my favourite bloggers, how's that?
(besides my DD buddies listed to the right).
Sharon at notimeto stamp, Debbie at Thinking Inking, Kristina Werner, Amy at Pickled Paper Designs, Mary Jo Albright at Beauty Lies Within, and our two newest DD girls: my neighbour down the street Dawn Easton at Treasure Oiler Designz, and the color challenge wonder woman herself Emily at Stamping and Stuff go over and visit, it will be worth your time!
I HOPE to be back later to day with your Toonie Tuesday!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Wonderful Boho Cake
I embossed all the medallion shapes on the cardstock or patterned paper with VersaMark and clear Embossing powder. Each circle was cut out with the 1 1/4 inch circle punch and the pink circles were sponged.
I so rarely use buttons that I chose these pretty pink ones and pink taffeta ribbon, the buttons are more centered than they look. The sentiment medallion was done twice, the bottom half added over top (left over from some of the main *cake* cutouts and a little sponging and coloring with a SW Marker to give it some zing. Here's a closer picture of the embossing:
Recipe
Stamps: Boho Backgrounds
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Berry Bliss DSP
Ink: VersaMark, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: SW Marker, Circle Punch, Embossing Powder, Sponge, Soft Subtles Brads, Buttons, Pink Taffeta Ribbon, Dimensionals
Busy week ahead. Lots of deadlines for me. The DD gallery opens next week Tuesday...and you won't be disappointed there are some fab creations this month for Fan Club members to feast their eyes on! And some great surprises at SCS next week....(not any more of a peep out of me!). We're also polishing off the last bits on our Sermon tomorrow. Yep that's right we're preaching at our church this Sunday. My husband and I are blessed to serve together as Student Minstries Pastor's working with JH through College age students. But as a part of being on our Pastoral team, we all take turns preaching in the larger church setting a couple of times a year. This Sunday is one of our Sunday's (we get to preach together which is really a great privelage) and here's our sermon title *Joseph- Character doesn't come in Microwaveable Packages* ...how's that for a youth pastor sermon title?!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Toonie Tuesday
Because the image is so vivid I kept the basic card simple. Just stamping the barely banana layer with on of the sentiments from the set which reads "Just living is not enough said the butterfly, one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower". I think that's so suited to summer! Then I sponged the edges with barely banana, groovy guava and a little chocolate chip.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Featured Stamper
This is based on Teneale's card here: Sweet Motifs I'm crazy about Baroque Motifs again. I kept the basic design, but changed the color palette (I'm getting ALL the use out of this years In Colors I can!), added Zig Painty rather than shadow stamping, and also added extra ribbon and a pearl to the ribbon treatment. Flowers are popped up...simple but so classy don't you think?
Recipe:
Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Define Your Life
Ink: Basic Gray, Basic Black, White Craft, Purely Pomegranate
Paper: Basic Gray, Whisper White
Accessories: 1/2 Pearls, Wide Satin Ribbon, Gray Taffeta Ribbon, Dimensionals, Zig Painty
Tangy Enamels
Thanks for stopping by today!
Recipe:
Stamps: Tart and Tangy, Lovely Labels
Paper: Rose Red, Always Apricot, Cardstock Vellum
Ink: Rose Red, Always Apricot, Pumpkin Pie, (dye and craft)
Accessories: Pumpkin Striped Grosgrain, SW Markers, Clear EP, Scallop Punch, 1 3/8 circle punch, 1 inch circle punch, piercer, dimensionals, EE brads
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Toonie Tuesday - Canada Day!
Recipe:
Ink: Basic Black, Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegrante, Certainly Celery
Paper: Basic Black, Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Accessories: Dimensionals (my best friend), piercer, black brads, Pomegranate Satin Ribbon, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Photo Corner Punch
Sample Two: SUO Cherish Kindness
Stamps: Baroque Motifs
Ink: Basic Black, Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, Purely Pomegranate
Paper: Basic Black, Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White
Accessories: Black Brads, Pomegranate DS Ribbon, Dimensionals, Piercer, Corner Rounder