Fall Post-Its

I found these cute little Fall themed Post-it note pads in Target's Dollar Bins last Fall. I found them in my stash yesterday along with some coasters. I found this design on someone's blog a long time ago... I am sorry I can't give credit to that person. I don't remember where I found it.

I love this new polka dot ribbon from SU in the new In Colors, so I decided to use this opportunity to play Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply Challenge #101 - Let's Polka! and put all of these things together. The challenge is to get some polka dots in somewhere on your project, and the more, the merrier!!! Perfect!!

I Cut a 4" square piece from SU's (retired) Autumn Vine DSP and used the corner rounder on all corners. I used sticky strip to adhere the Post-It notepad to the coaster, then sanded the edges to give it a distressed look. I covered a binder clip with a strip of SU's Cast-a-Spell DSP and added the SU polka dot grosgrain ribbons to it.

My favorite part of this project is the little oval detail on the left of the clip.
I came across a post on a blog (so sorry again. I have to find out where i saw this and I will post it. I think it was Cindy Lawrence's blog...) about using Copics to color directly on to an image, then spritz it with alcohol and stamp. I tried this using the acorn from SU's (retired) Dotted Autumn set using a variety of browns and greens. I stamped it on Buttercream cardstock from Taylored Expressions, cut it out with Nestabilities and added a scalloped background piece. I LOVE the way that technique worked, and I want to experiment with it more.

Thanks for visiting! See you again soon, I hope...

All Hallow's Eve

I love SU's new background stamp - All Hallow's Eve. There are so many things you can do with it. I decided to use it for Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge this week - MTSC36. I also wanted to try UTEE (Ultra Think Embsooing Enamel). I thought the skull on this stamp was perfect for that. What happened on my white skull here was a mistake, but I actually think it works well for this particular image. I had embossed it first with black embossing powder on VersaMark ink. Then I decided to use the UTEE to pop it more. The black embossing powder ran, but in this case, I think it makes the skull look more spooky, so I left it alone.


The base of the card is Basic Black. The next layer is Basic Gray embossed with the Cuttlebug spider web EF. The next layer is SU's Cast-a-Spell DSP with a torn piece of Elegant Eggplant on the top and Pumpkin Pie on the bottom. I used Martha Stewart's Spider Web Border Punch to make the bottom border under the torn piece of Pumpkin Pie.

For the focal image, I stamped All Hallow's Eve with Versa Mark, embossed it with black embossing powder on Pumpkin Pie, and cut out the piece I wanted to use. I placed the white skull from my UTEE experiment on top of the Pumpkin Pie, and popped it up with dimensionals. The ribbons are from MFT's Halloween Collection . The sentiment is from Su's All Holidays. The Black Jute String that I used to tie the tag is from Sharon Johnson's Ribbon Store.


Thanks for stopping in today!

Simple Halloween

I decided to try this week's Stamp Simply Challenge over at Sharon Johnson's Blog today. Sharon is an amazing artist - I love her work. I recently bought some Cotton Scraps and Ribbons from Sharon's store and I was anxious to use them. This weeks challenge - ssnotime102 - is to leave your Comfort Zone... to leave your stamping style comfort zone and do a card or project in a style TOTALLY unlike what you normally do.

Well, this is very unlike what I normally do. I don't normally use a lot of white, yet I am very attracted to cards with lots of white space. I don't usually make cards with little or no stamping. On this one, just the sentiment is stamped. I love this Cuttlebug embossing folder and I LOVE these ribbons. Sharon's ribbon selection is absolutely YUMMY! I used the Bow Easy to make this beautiful bow. That is a tool to have!! You can also get it at Sharon's store.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Books Fall Open...

Here is my second overdue teacher card! I am thrilled that I got them both done this weekend. I just LOVE this new MFT set - I {Heart} Books. I can tell already that I am going to get LOTS of use out of it! I used this week's MFT sketch MFTSC95 for my layout and turned it on its side. Seems to be the trend for me this weekend.

I was browsing on SCS for a little inspiration, and came across THIS post by Michele Boyer. I loved her project, so I went to her BLOG for more details. She had the brilliant idea of switching the heads from another image in this set so that she could have a girl head on this image. That was just perfect for my card!! Thanks Michele! I wish I had thought of that, but I am glad you did!!!!!

I am so happy with this card, and even happier that I can cross this off of my to-do list. It's about time!! Thanks for stopping by today!

Peace, Love & Literature

I LOVE this new MFT set by Stephanie Fizer - I {Heart} Books. I work in my sons' school library and I {heart} what I do. I work with books and kids!! Now if I could just stamp for a few hours in my work day...

Summer has screamed by. The end of the school year was crazy, and I never got the boys' teacher gifts to their teachers in June. I still have 8 days until school starts... better late than never, right??? The gifts are books that I chose very specially for these two wonderful teachers. I wanted to make cards to go along with their gifts, of course.

For this one, I used this week's Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge MTSC35 for the layout. I turned the sketch on its side to make it work with this image. The colored and patterned papers I used are all from Taylored Expressions Easter Key Ingredients Kit as is the cording that runs between the 2 DP's. I used Choice Buttercream cardstock, also from Taylored Expressions, for the base of the card and for stamping the image and sentiment. This paper is an absolute DREAM for coloring with Copics. The image is stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa ink and colored with Copics.

You can't see it in the pic, but I used some crystal effects on the glasses to make them look - well - glassy. I got this idea from a post by teacher114 on SCS that you can see HERE. Thanks for the idea teacher114, and good luck with the upcoming school year!

I really love this card, and it is perfect for the person for whom I made it. I love it when that happens!!! Now I have to get to work on the other one.

Summer Fun Gift Card Holder

I had intended this project for the August '09 WICKED challenge on SCS which is SU only. Then I re-read the directions, and boy! I really did not follow directions very well! The picture above shows the outside front of this little purse. The picture below shows the inside. The gift card goes in the little slot. I love the summer fun feel to it. It took me a long time to make it, but I do love it!

The recipe:

Stamps - Cheers to you, Wow Flowers, Oval All.

Ink - Melon Mambo, Memento Tuxedo Black, YoYo Yellow, Only Orange.

Paper - Tea Party DSP, Almost Alythist, Old Olive, Melon Mambo, White.

Accessories - Copics, Word Window, 1 1/2 & 1 3/4", oval and scalloped oval punches, Basic Grey. Magnetic Snaps, Melon Mambo pokla dot grosgrain ribbon, Crystal Effects, Crop A Dial.

Christmas in August

I love this "Dasher" image from SU, and when I saw that the OCC Challenge this week is to make a Christmas card, I knew I wanted to use it. I used Mercy Kerin's MTSC34 sketch for my layout. What a great combo!!

Recipe:

Stamps - Dasher, A Cardinal Christmas.

Ink - Versa Mark, Momento Tuxedo Black.

Paper - Carden Green, Very Vanilla, Riding Hood Red, Brushed Gold, Merry Moments DSP.

Accessories - Riding Hood Red striped grosgrain ribbon, Nestabilities, Mini brads, Gold Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Dimensionals, Ticket Corner Punch, 1 1/4 & 1 3/8" Circle Punches.

Happy Birthday Sean!

I needed a birthday card in a hurry for a special teenager who is an amazing guitarist, so I used Inkadinkado's Rock Star set, and CASE'd myself for this one. HERE is the original. I love the new Cast A Spell DSP from SU, and knew it would be a perfect background for this.

Here is the Recipe:

Stamps - Inkadinkado~RockStar
Ink - Versamark
Paper - Black, Shimmery White, Old Olive, Brushed Silver, Cast A Spell DSP
Accessories - Black and White Embossing Powder, Mat Pack & Piercing Tool, Ticket Corner Punch, Black Brads, Star Buttons, Ribbon, Mini Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Merry Mouse

This is my take on this week's Wednesday Splitcoast Sketch - SC240. I colored this adorable mouse with Copics and added lots of sparkle with my atyou spica glitter pen. The picture does not do it justice. It is very snowy and sparkley!

Here is the recipe...

Stamps - Impression Obsession~Christmas Tree Mouse.
Paper - Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Riding Hood Red, White, Brushed Gold.
Ink- Memento Tuxedo Black, Versa Mark, VersaColor Gold.
Accessories - Cuttlebug/EF, Nestabilities, Copics, atyou spica glitter pen, black embossing powder, Riding Hood Red striped grosgrain ribbon, Dimensionals.