Friday, October 30, 2009

Sketch Girl 8 and Word Art Wednesday

Hey there! Happy All Hallows Eve! It's a little bittersweet for me this year for several reasons;

1. My older two are thinking it's not so much fun if Mom tags along for trick or treating. They think they can cover more ground if they leave mom and little brother in the dust!
2. I think I've finally hit the point where I know longer have any say in what their costumes will be :0(

We had a near nuclear melt down last night because my 5 yr old didn't want to wear the adorable spider hat and web costume I was going to make for him. He was - stomp your foot on the ground- for sure going to be the store bought, mass produced Star Wars Storm Trooper that he was last year. After many attempts at coersion, bribery and near tears (on my part), I gave in. I decided there are bigger battles to win and that my days of coming up with cute, coordinating, creative costumes are over. Snif Snif . . . O.K., enough wallowing in self pity . . . onto the card! . . .


It's the 30th which means another Sketch Girl Challenge is up on the blog, you can click the link on the sidebar to take a look. I twisted the sketch on it's side so that I could use the main panel with this weeks FREE word art download from Paper Makeup Stamps. I thought this would be a cute card for my 5 yr olds teacher. I used PP from DCWV First Grader paper pack, coordinates well with the quote don't ya think?

I couldn't think of anything else to do with that extra little panel to the side of the word art, so I just added a nice big pretty bow with a cute little rubber button in primary colors. I also added a little bling in each corner to focus on the word art. I wish more of the feet and alphabet would have been visible, but the card is already 5 1/2 inches and I didn't want to go any larger.

Well, hope you all have a frightfully fun weekend with lots of treats, sweets, and cooperative little goblins :0) Have Fun!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Dingle Bats!


This should be the last Halloween card, I promise! Time is running out - the witching hour is almost here! The bags of trick or treat candy have been sitting in the trunk of my car for the past 3 weeks to keep some sticky fingers out!! It can be worse than Christmas around here with everyone sneeking around trying to find the hidden stash :0) I just hope that some of it hasn't melted!!

With Halloween
almost here, the stores are trying to get rid of their remaining seasonal items by giving deep discounts. That was the case with this dingle-bat fringe! I just thought they were soo adorable and there was only about 1 yard left and the price was right. I used some non-traditional colors here, not sure if I like them together, but I wanted the bats to stand out. I'm back to my go-to layout which can only mean that the mojo isn't flowing too strong right now :0)

Hopefully it will find it's way back. Maybe if I entice it with some hidden candy :0)

Have a great hump day everyone!

Recipe
Stamps: Whipper Snapper
Paper: SU!, October Afternoon Cherry Hill, DCWV Mi Casa
Accessories: Dingle Bats - JoAnns, Ribbon - Offray, CB and Nestabilities, Pearl gem stickers

Friday, October 23, 2009

Spooky Spider

Here's a quick little card I created for the PMS - Makeup for the Weekend challenge. The challenge is to use Halloween colors. It doesn't need to be a Halloween card, just the colors. But I have been in Halloween mode lately and I'm not quite done with it yet ;0)



I can't take credit for this adorable little button spider. I bought him like that!
I just needed to stick him onto my embossed spider web I created with the CB folder. The sentiment is from the PMS Halloween sentiments set. I stamped it in black and then colored in "spook" with a Copic. I added a little Sakura stardust pen over the top to give it some sparkle. Not a lot to this card, but sometimes simple is good!

It rained ALL day today, very dreary. I hope there's some sunshine in the forecast this weekend, and I hope your weekend is sunny too :0)

Recipe:
Stamps: Paper Makeup Stamps
Ink: Memento Black, Copic marker
Paper: SU!, the Paper Studio
Accessories: CB and Web EF, SU! Ribbon, Paper Bliss button accent

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Better Than a Sale - Word Art Wednesday!

Happy Word Art Wednesday everyone! What better way to kick off the mid week than to give something away :0) I love bargains, and well, FREE is a pretty good bargain! Here is the card I created with todays freebie for you:


Isn't this sentiment just so simply sweet. Not too mushy and could go with both genders. So, whats the deets on how to get your inky hands on this? Just head on over to the PMS Blog and you can download it for free. No hoops to jump through, no sign-ups, just save it to your computer and that's it. OF COURSE I'd LOVE to see how you use it!! Just leave a link!

For those that have never used a digi before, I was pretty skeptical too. I will always love my rubbers :0) But for scrapbookers or those that like to play around with different colors, sizes, etc. digis are pretty sweet! I just save it to my computer as a jpeg in my picture file, then I open it up in powerpoint. It's the easiest way for me to play around with the size and copy and paste multiple images on one sheet. Then I just print it out on cardstock. Easy Peasy!

I'm hoping for good weather today. My little guy is going on his first school field trip to the pumpkin farm! He was so excited to have to bring a sack lunch and he's determined to bring home the "biggest pumpkin of all" :0)

Hope your Wednesday is easy peasy!

Recipe:
Stamps: PMS Digi stamp
Paper: SU!, Crafty Secrets
Ink: Ranger distress ink, Cool Carribean
Accessories: Recollections pearl stickers, Ribbon ??, Nestibilities, CB, SU! Little Leaves Sizzlets die, Martha Stewart BFly punch, dimensionals

Saturday, October 17, 2009

2S4U is Just Rite!

Happy Saturday everyone! I have been drooling over this weeks 2S4U sketch challenge all week and was determined to get this in by tonight's deadline. Why? Well first of all I LOVE Kazan's sketch. I had this idea in my head as soon as I saw the layout. And second, the challenge prize up for grabs is a $100 gift certificate to Just Rite Stamps!!! I've been seeing soo many gorgeous cards done with these stamps lately and they just look so versatile and fun that I NEED to try them :0) So why not try to get them for free!



I made the little center pumpkin by folding punched scalloped circles in half and gluing them together to give the 3-D effect. The little stem and leaf was ripped off some of my fake fall foliage I had laying around :0). The chipboard circle actually started out as black and white. I used a sponge and Ranger distress ink to turn it brown and better coordinate with the gorgeous Coffey background papers.

I decided to tie this card in with the Moxie Fab Challenge by adding a ruffled ribbon border above and below the center panel. I used a wire ribbon and just slid the ribbon on one side to create the ruffles. The ribbon is a nice copper brown and really shimmers IRL. Finally I added some 1/2 pearls in a nice coppery brown color to tie the panel and sentiment together.



I couldn't decide which picture I liked better so I posted both. I asked my oldest and he wasn't much help :0) I like the background in the first one, but I think elements of the card stand out better in the second one. Which do you prefer?


Well
, hope the rest of your weekend is Just Right !!
Recipe:
Stamps: SU!
Paper: K&Co., SU,
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink, Staz On brown
Accessories: DCWV Chipboard, Recollections pearl stickers, Michaels Ribbon, scalloped circle punch

Friday, October 16, 2009

Makeup for the Weekend - It's Finally Friday

Paper Makeup Stamps has switched things around this month and has now moved their Monday Challenges to Friday. Their new challenge will be called - "Makeup for the Weekend" . So since today is Friday - LET"S GET STARTED!!


Todays challenge is to create an ATC card (Artist Trading Card) . The typical size of an ATC is 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches. These are usually pretty easy to make and can either be used by themselves or as focal points on a larger card. You would think with the smaller space to work with they would be easier to create . . . I always have a hard time with simple . . .





I have always wanted to do a centerpiece of spooky black branches with little Halloween ornaments hanging off of them so when I saw how cute these ATC's were going to be I decided to add a little wire and tag to turn them into little ornaments! These things are soo stinkin' cute IRL they make me squeal :0) I was soo tickled when I realized how perfectly a few of the Monster Sayings sentiments coordinated with these images!! PMS rocks! The glittery chipboard letters from K & Company worked perfectly for this project and helped tie all 3 ATC's together.

We'd love for you to play along - you don't need to use PMS stamps. Just link up your creation Via Mr. Linky on the PMS BLOG

It's been a busy week and I'm excited for the weekend to be here. We don't have too many plans, but sometimes that's a good thing. Especially when the weather is crappy! There's nothing better than snuggling up on the couch with a blanket, and either a good book, a good movie or my DH!! I love lazy weekends :0)

Hope your weekend is comfy and cozy!!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Rainy Day "Sketch" Girl

It's the 15th of the month, that means it's time for another Sketch Girl challenge! I also took the opportunity to incorporate another challenge into this card - the Just Us Girls Challenge or JUGS for short :0). The JUGS challenge was to incorporate paper piecing into your card and as an option, use the color pink in coordination with October being Breast Cancer Awareness month. So, here is a close up of the paper pieced rain coat and umbrella . . .




I love how the patterned paper I used (DCWV Mi Casa) for the umbrella ends up looking like raindrops! The raincoat pp was a little tablet of mat stack adhesive paper. The adhesive backed pp made it a snap to just cut it out, peel off the backing and glue it down. And here's the full card showing my interpretation of the awesome sketch Annie B came up with . . .



This little girl (well I'm assuming it's a girl :0) is one of my favorite images by Anna Wight for Whipper Snapper. I love pairing her with this awesome sentiment by Paper Makeup Stamps. I tried to keep the card pretty simple and I followed the sketch pretty closely. I popped up the umbrella on dimensionals to give it some height. And I sponged around the edges of the circle (while it was still in the Nestie) to emphasize the girl more. The gloves, buttons and umbrella handle were colored right on the pp with Copics.

Sorry the picture isn't up to par (ETA: I updated the post with another picture I took in the daylight). My DH was away with the computer and I didn't have a chance to use any photo editing software. I really need to get a light box figured out. Can you tell me what light source you use? I've tried a 100W daylight bulb, but that doesn't seem to make any difference. Maybe I'm just setting it up wrong. I've heard about the Ott lights, but I'm looking for something a little less pricey if I can help it :0)

Whether the weather is sunny or rainy, hope your day is great!!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Things That Make Me Happy!

First of all, I was so excited to wake up this morning and learn that I was the first winner of this awesome new challenge!


Thanks sooo much Courtney, Kelley, Kelly Marie, Ann, Lynette, and Winter for choosing my card. This challenge is so fun and fabulous and really gets you thinking outside the box!! I can't wait for the next challenge!!


This is our new car. We ordered it waaaay back in August and we just received it this past week. This makes me very happy too :0) It's the new Ford Flex and it is perfect for our family! It seats seven very comfortably and has all the bells and whistles that we've never experienced on any of our other cars. My favorite - the seat warmers :0) DH's favorite - satellite radio. Boys favorite - it's a toss up between the auomatic flip up seat to get into the third row and the feature that lets the car dial through your cell phone for you!

I thought it was very "ugly" when we first looked at them, but once you get inside, the exterior becomes more appealing! It's got Flex Appeal !! :0) We think it looks like a Mini Cooper on steroids, and we love it. As the boys would say . . .it's "beastamonius"!!

Just thought I'd share a few of things that made me smile already today!! Hope your day is full of smiles!

Toodles -Randee

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Courage Bear Release Party and Stamp Something Challenges

Isn't this sentiment awesome?! It's one of those sayings that gives me the shivers. It reminds me of our service men and women, those persons going through hard times put somehow pushing through, and even the little kid so scared to do something for the first time. It's that inner strength that says "there is no other option" . . .



This card was created with two challenges in mind. First of all, the 2nd release party challenge from PMS - play along and link up your card to SCS using keyword pmsrp17;
  • Use a large sentiment or quote - check
  • Use 3 or more layers - check
  • Use fall colors - sort of (modern fall colors maybe)
  • Add distressing - Gotta love Ranger distressing inks!
  • Add brads, eylets or something similar - Stick on 1/2 Pearls are the best!

The second challenge was the Stamp Something Challenge to use the color brown -somehow, someway. I used lots of coppery brown colors in this card so I thought I would link it up. This week's prize winner will receive a 12 marker set from icopics! How cool is that?

Today also marks 11 weeks before Christmas, do you know what that means? It means that Paper Makeup Stamps is offering another week long special - and it's a great one!! Place any order and get a small sentiment for free!! Better yet, for every $10 you spend, you can choose one free sentiment stamp!! Checkout the PMS Blog for all of the details. This special will last for one week only, so don't be a lazy - next Saturday a new special will be posted.

I'm off to run my weekend errands! Mail some packages, pick up some Marketday, Trip to Walmart, yada, yada, yada . . . maybe I'll take the long way past the local craft store ;0) Have great weekend!

Stamps: Paper Makeup Stamps, Ink: Staz On Black, Copics, SU! Chocolate Chip, Taken with Teal, Soft Suede, Ranger Distress ink,Paper: SU White, Taken With Teal, Copper pp, Accessories: Copper ribbon, CB EF, Nestibilities, pearl accents

Friday, October 9, 2009

Case of Dreck

Paper Makeup Stamps had their October release on Wednesday night and all though I had some computer issues, I think there was a lot of chit-chatting fun going on!! Some really great prizes were awarded, and a couple of fun challenges were issued too!

Being the Newbie to the group, the gals at PMS decided to haze, I mean initiate me into the group by making me the subject of the 1st challenge!! Hee hee, I was actually very humbled and honored.

So, the first challenge was to CASE a card from my blog or SCS gallery and change at least two things. I actually think that's kind of funny considering sooo many of my cards are CASE'd as well :0)

So, since I always love a good challenge , I'm playing along too! Here's the card I chose to CASE. And here's my "re-creation" of it:


I actually stamped this image at the same time as the other one. It has just been sitting around in my pencil box waiting to be useful! I changed the colors, added some sponging and used a different shaped Nestie this time around. I used the same sentiment as the first card (I think it goes so well with this image) but made it more of a focal point with the tag and ribbon.

So you want to play along? Just upload a card to SCS using Keyword PMSRP16. There's sure to be a fabulous prize up for grabs!

On another note, my friend Tiffany told me about the Picasa 3 free download. It's a great simple photo editing software for the novice like me that doesn't have Photoshop! This is my first card using it. What do you think? I was able to create one of those cool watermark signatures like I've seen sooo many others do. Easy as Peasy pie!!

Thanks for stopping by seems like
I was rather chit-chatty today! I must be making up for the fun I missed on Wed. night :0) Thanks for stopping by - have super fabulous weekend - the weathers supposed to be crappy here and the Bears have a bye week. Time to get crafty!!

Recipe:
Stamps: PMS, Rosies Roadshow, Michaels $1 bin
Paper: SU! black, Neenah white
Ink: Memento black, copics, Ranger distress ink, SU! Cool Caribbean, Soft Suede
Accessories: Nestibilities, SU! ribbon

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

PMS October Blog Hop/Caardvarks

ETA: This card is being submitted for the Caardvarks ribbon challenge! The creations currently posted are awesome! Amazing the effect ribbon has on a card!


Happy Wednesday
and welcome to the October Paper Makeup blog hop!!! If this is your first stop you need to go back to the PMS blog and start from there. If you came from Katie's blog then you're in the right place. :) Remember that each of the PMS design team members have a letter and each letter makes a code that you can use in the PMS shop to get 15% off the new releases!! Woot!!


My letter is R ...


I am showing off this fabulous word art sentiment. I think it would be perfect for Thanksgiving, Valentines, or just a simple thank-you.

Your next stop on the hop is the ever so talented Meli !!

Enjoy the rest of the hop and I hope to see you at the release party TONIGHT on the Paper Makeup forum (9pm CST)!!! Have a wonderful day!!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

PMS Sneak Peek Day #5

What could be more fitting for PMS than "Moody Girls"!! These stamp images are relatively new to Paper Makeup Stamps line-up and are the creation of artist Cynthia Liu. This month there are 3 new Moody Girls being released. Here's a sneak peek at one of them . . .



This girl is called Moody for Pie. I was a little intimidated at first by all of the coloring required, but I actually found it rather enjoyable. I had fun playing with my Copics and trying to get the skin tone, eyes and apples just perfect. The sentiment is actually from the Apple Additions set that is also being released tomorrow, but it fits perfectly with this image as well! I might have got a little carried away with my sewing, but my machine has been in the shop so I was really excited to have it back!! I'm thinking it just lends more to that homespun feel I was going for (he he).

Be sure to check out all of the other sneak peeks on the PMS Blog. And tomorrow is release day! It all starts off with a blog hop, so stop back by to hear all the great stuff PMS has planned!!

Thanks for stopping by, hope your day is as sweet as pie!

Recipe:
Stamps: PMS Moody for Pie
Ink: Memento black, Copics, Ranger distress ink, SU! Marigold Morning
Paper: Basic Grey, SU Soft Suede, Neenah
Accessories: CB, Nestibilities, Michaels Ribbon, sewing machine

Monday, October 5, 2009

The Mummy Returns !!

Happy Monday!! I thought I would show you all another card I made using this adorable mummy imge from PMS. I think he is just the cutest. I colored him with a N3 Copic marker. The sentiment was a dollar bin find at JoAnns. I used a Nestie to cut it out and then with it still in the Nestie, sponged it with SU's Going Grey. This was the first time I tried this technique, but it was soo easy and I love the effect!




This guy and all of the other PMS Monsters are 10% off until this Friday. Just use the code MONSTER103. Tomorrow I will be posting another Sneak Peek leading up to the PMS October release on Wednesday. Thanks for stopping by, hope your week starts off great!

Recipe:
Stamps: PMS, Joann Dollar bin
Ink: Memento black, SU! Going grey, Copic Marker
Paper: Cosmo Cricket Lil Man, Neenah White, SU! Black
Accessories: Faux stitching tool, Nestibilities, CB, Twill ribbon (Michaels), Sparkly brad

Saturday, October 3, 2009

I'm PMS' ing!!

Ha Ha Ha!! Did the title of this post have you wondering " What the heck?!" Well let me tell you, it's the best case of PMS I've EVER had!!

Any of you that
have visited my blog before should know that I LOVE a wonderful little stamp company called Paper Makeup Stamps (PMS). I fell in love with them back in February when I saw this card. And I have been hooked ever since!! So let me just say when the owner, Katie Cotton, asked if I would like to be a member of the design team, it took me about 1 milli-second to think it over and scream with delight a resounding "OH MY GOSH ARE YOU KIDDING ME - YES!!!!"

So here is my first official card as a design team member :0)



This card was created for todays sneak peak of upcoming stamps for the October release on the 7th! Aren't these apples just the cutest?! These images are from last months release of Apples to Apples, but THIS month there is even more apple goodness to enjoy!! Hop on over to the PMS blog to check out the other design team sneak peeks and get yourself in the running to WIN the ENTIRE October release!!

If that isn't incentive enough to get you hopping, how about this . . . today starts a special promotion. I hate to tell you, but did you know that there are only 12 weeks until Christmas!! I can't believe it! Each week Paper Makeup Stamps will be offering a different special to get you into the Holiday gift giving spirit :0) With Halloween just around the corner, this weeks special is 10% off ALL monsters and Spooky Sentiments. Just use the code MONSTER103 and you're set!

I've got some other cards lined up for the next couple of days so be sure to check back in! And before I sign off, I just want to thank Katie and all of the other wonderful and very talented design team members for making me feel so welcomed. I'm looking forward to some fun times ;0)

Friday, October 2, 2009

Mail Art Pumpkin

Today I'm showing a card I made for a recent NEW challenge started by a few of my blogging buddies . . . Doesn't the name just sound fun! This challenge will run monthly and will definitely get you thinking out of the box. You see, the challenges will be focused around everyday household items. This months challenge was to use something from the mail! And here's what I came up with:



So where's the mail? Well, the large pumpkin itself was actually a postcard advertisement from a bank asking us to stop by and guess the weight of their giant pumpkin (and to set up an account, yada, yada, yada)! I cut out the pumpkin (in sections) and layered it onto the largest scalloped circle Nestie I had. Part of the print ran onto the image so I used some swirly chipboard pieces to hide as much of it as I could. The little green leafy collar was an SU! felt flower that I cut in half. And I used a sentiment from Northwoods that just seemed to fit perfectly.

This kind of challenge is actually right up my alley. As a high school and college student This is the way I would decorate my assignment notebooks and photo albums! I would scour through magazines and mail and cut out words, pictures and phrases. I would always make things out of non traditional items. One of my college buddies used to call me "The McGyver of Arts and Crafts" - He would say "You can make something cute out of anything!"

So anywhoo, I'm looking forward to th
e next challenge. Sound interesting? Stop by Courtney's blog and check out all of the deets and see what everyone else has come up with!

And stop by tomorrow for some extra exciting news from ME!

Happy Friday!!!!!!!!!
Randee