Don't pass out - it's a card!

I finally got my new camera!! Granted, this was the 2nd one I got since the first was defective (it wouldn't even turn on when I opened the box). I'm very happy with my purchase though & hopefully this will get me back into blogging.

A friend of mine requested a card with a "beach or tropical theme" & wouldn't you know it? I had no beach or tropical stamps. So.....I really did *have* to buy this set from Papertrey Ink, right? It's not like I had a choice or anything. That's my story & I'm sticking to it.

I lucked out & found some "sand" paper in my stash so I ripped it kind of unevenly hoping that the white remnant would look like the foam waves make when they come up on the beach. Mission accomplished? It's not perfect, but I'm happy with it.

Thanks for checking in!
--Janet

$20 Amazon.com gift card for $10?

Living Social has a daily deal going right now where you can get a $20 Amazon.com gift card for $10! Click here to purchase (if 3 people do....I get my gift card free!), plus refer your friends. If 3 of your friends purchase, you'll get your gift card free! The deal is only good for about 9 more hours though - so get cracking! Happy shopping!

Papercraft Star Giveaway & Camera Issues...

Papercraft Star is having a giveaway to celebrate reaching 1000 followers - they're not quite there, but they're awfully close! Winner gets a $25 gift certificate to Papertrey Ink or My Favorite Things....oh I hope they pick me!!

I have a card made & ready to post, but....I'm waiting for my new digital camera to arrive. It actually came yesterday, however it was a dud. *sigh* So disappointing. Darn thing wouldn't even turn on. Thankfully, the lovely folks at Dell are sending me a replacement camera and I can't wait!! Keep an eye out for that card soon.......

Don't forget to check out Papercraft Star for that generous giveaway!!

Over a year?! That's awful!

I just happened to pull up my blog today to tell you about an awesome new blog I found. And I see that it's been over a year since I posted here. Awful! Not that I've ever been a good blogger, but it's pretty bad that I posted on here to let you know that I'm still breathing & then backed it up with....well....nothing. My plan really is to do lots better - doing challenges helps me with inspiration & then gives me something to post, so I'll have to get into some kind of routine. Then maybe I'll actually make some cards, rather than just thinking about it!

Anyway, I found Paulina's blog Pretty Pink Posh through the Papertrey Ink forum. She's giving away a $40 gift certificate & you can choose from a list of seven places to buy your goodies! Not only is this a completely awesome giveaway, but her blog is completely awesome as well -- her cards are so cute! Paulina's got a new follower as of today! So, I hope you'll take some time to click on the link below & check out her blog. Come back here soon too! I will have some cards to post soon! (As soon as I find the charger for my camera battery.......It's always something with me)

I AM alive!

I know I haven't been posting on here but I promise to try to do something about that soon! Just a quick note to let those of who are (still) checking in know that yes, I am still alive.....just busy. I'll be off work Friday & my grandmother has requested some cards, so hopefully I'll have something crafty to post this weekend!

My very first Tilda

After months of coveting all these cute Tilda stamps, I broke down & bought some from Simon Says Stamp. They were so quick with their shipping & the Tilda's are so undeniably cute, that I placed a second order too - I think I may need help! So today I proudly present to you my first Tilda card! My friend Trina just lost her favorite cat & I wanted to make something to let her know I was thinking about her & this is what I came up with.

Front:

Lollipop flowers:

A close-up at an odd angle:

I know the last picture is at a funny angle, but this one shows the true colors of the card much better. For some reason the other two kind of wash the colors out. You can also see the 3-D aspect of the kitty's head here.

This card fit the bill for a few challenges: first, I used the sketch from Sketch Saturday which had the added twist of a pet theme (quite fitting). The ABC challenge for this week was "E is for embossing" & the whole front of the card is embossed with birds & vines. I tried my hand at making lollipop flowers (I think that's what they're called anyway) which qualified it for Just Magnolia's challenge of handmade flowers. Magnolia Down Under challenge this week called for buttons which are there on my flowers. Crafty Cardmakers wants to see ribbons & fibers - don't know if they'll count my measly little white satin ribbon, but since it was there I figured why not? It's hard to tell from the pictures, but I've used a little foamie to make the kitty's head 3-D & Charisma Cardz theme for the week is decoupage - does that tiny kitty head count?

Usually, except for the sketch, I make the card & then see what challenges it may fit so it's fun to see how many I can squeeze in there. This week, though, the Just Magnolia challenge inspired me to try making these cute flowers. I've seen other people make them before &, although I definitely need more practice, I like the end result.

Supplies:
Paper: Lavender from my stash, DP from Basic Grey Wisteria
Stamps: Swing and Tilda with Kitten by Magnolia, sentiment from the $1 bin at Michael's
Ribbon & buttons from my stash
Other supplies: Marvy scallop circle punch, Cuttlebug and birds & vines embossing folder, colored pencils

Thanks for stopping by!

Buggy full of bunnies baby card

It's been forever since I posted a card on here but I finally got my act together! This is a card for a friend who looks like she's about to pop any day now. Four babies in the buggy is just about perfect - no, she's not having quadruplets but she is having baby #4.

Speaking of the #4, there were 4 challenges that worked with my card this week. I used the sketch from Sketch Saturday but changed it a tiny bit to suit my materials. Creative Card Crew's challenge this week was to decorate the inside of your card and, since that's something I've never done before, I decided to give it a shot. House Mouse and Friends Challenge is to pick your favorite challenge from the last year. I was so excited to see that because a while back I missed their white on white challenge - everything on the card had to be white except your image - and I really liked the effect. Finally, the challenge at Die Cut Dreams is to use ribbon your card & I just happen to have a velvet ribbon on the front & a satin-y ribbon inside.

Front:

A little more in-close on the image:

Inside:
I had to take like 13 shots of the white on white inside before I finally got this one!

Supplies:

Paper: the card is a pre-made card I got in an 8-pack for $1 at Michael's, other paper from my stash
Stamps: Happy Hoppers Bunny Buggie from Stampabilities, sentiment from the $1 bin at Michael's
Other supplies: colored pencils, Martha Stewart lace border punch, Cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder, and for the first time ever (!!!) my new Spellbinders Nestabilities

Quick question about Copics

I've been looking into getting some Copics & have a quick question for all you experts out there: is there a big difference in quality between the Sketch markers & Ciao? The Ciao markers are a couple dollars cheaper & they're already kinda pricey so I'd prefer to stay with those but wasn't sure if that would be a mistake.

Or, if you've only tried one type of Copic I'd really take any hints or tips you can give about using them. The tutorials are helpful but sometimes there are little quirks, ya know? I'm looking for all the help I can get! So if you're familiar with Copics I'd really love your input!! Thanks in advance :)

Passion for Promarkers Blog Hop

Check it out! The ladies at Passion for Promarkers are having a blog hop & they're giving away a full set of the new Promarkers colors!! This is the first blog hop I've ever done & I really had fun with it.

Card for a cause (& a couple of challenges too)

So, as you may have noticed I didn't get crafty yesterday. I have to say this is totally & completely my sister's fault because she talked me into going to JoAnn Fabrics with her so I could buy more craft supplies. What can I say? She knows my weakness.... Actually, I guess I should take that back - I did get crafty but I didn't have time to post about it until today.

If you read my last post, you may remember that I mentioned Erin's efforts to get lots & lots of cards for her 13-yr-old neighbor, Paige, who lost her arm as a result of a boating accident. If you missed it, please visit this post for more information. Anyway, I looked through my stamps & decided to use this cute bear - love Gruffies stamps! The lilacs he's sniffing lent themselves to the color combination of lilac/purple & grey for the Creative Inspirations challenge this week. I also used Heidi's lovely sketch from Friday Sketchers. This is the first time I've used this stamp & now that I've inked him up I'll probably be using him again soon. I 3-D'd both the image & sentiment with foamies again.

Front:

Close-up of 3-D flower & sentiment:


Close-up of image:

I inked around the edges of the sentiment - this is the first time I tried it & thought it looked pretty good - the slightly messy look of the ink is actually on purpose. You may also notice that those 3 dew drops just appeared in the last photo; it just seemed to be missing something & those seemed to complete the picture I had in my head. Hopefully it'll bring a smile to Paige's face :)

Supplies:

Paper: Sorry but I can't remember the brand of the DP - it's a loose piece that I purchased, I think it may be from Sassafras Lass; plain papers from my stash
Stamps: Gruffies Lilac Bouquet from Stampabilities, sentiment from the $1 bin at Michael's
Colored with colored pencils
Other supplies used: Dew Drops, Cuttlebug Flowers & Hearts embossing folder


Have you heard.....about the new Saturday Spotlight Hidden Potential challenge? They're still looking for DT members for those who may be interested & the 1st challenge is coming up on October 3. Help spread the word & you can be entered to win some pretty awesome blog candy!

Thank goodness for long weekends!

This has been a busy week & I haven't had the time to even think about making any cards, and the weekend's not looking good either! I'm hoping maybe I'll get around to it Sunday night as I still have another baby card to make. Now I just remembered that Monday is a holiday & I don't have to work! Yay! Ok, so maybe if I can't squeeze in a little craftiness Sunday, I've got Monday to be creative.

I did have to take a minute to mention a couple of goodies I found this week - happy browsing!

Don't forget Bev's weekly Simon Says Stamp giveaway - it's Tilda with bird cage. This is my favorite Tilda & I want it so bad I can taste it! So, although I'm giving you the link, how about staying away so I can win it?? Yeah, I figured that wouldn't work but it was worth a shot!

<<<<------Sem has a triple celebration going on & she's giving away 3 different blog candies with 3 ways to enter. Go check out her sparkly blog. Closes Sept 26.






Sue is getting close to 5000 hits & when she does, she's going to be giving away this beautiful chocolate clutch ------->>>> While you're entering, see what other pretty things she's made!

Ida is celebrating her third blogoversary with 3 candies (seems to be a popular number on this post, doesn't it?). There are 3 ways to enter this one as well. Closes Sept 24 - and Oct 1.

Helen's just gone over 15,000 hits & is celebrating her 1st blogoversary. Go see the yumminess that is Helen's candy! Closes Sept 13.

Wowsa! Julie's giving away $125+ worth of goodies to celebrate going over 100 followers! Closes Sept 18.

Check out Vikki's surprise candy - she's giving sneak peeks over the next couple of weeks! Looks good so far :) And she's adding more goodies for every 50 comments. Closes Sept 30.

Danielle is giving away a Slice Starter Set, some top secret stuff from Shimmerz, & Prima stash - 6 total people can win (one Slice, 2 Shimmerz, 3 Prima = 6 if my math is right!). Closes Sept 14.

Tara appreciates long weekends too - and she's giving candy away to prove it! There's some K & Co goodies in there! Closes Sept 6.

Caroline is going on holiday & she's so excited that she has a Tilda up for grabs on her blog. Closes Sept 16.

Finally, and most importantly, Erin is asking all of us out here in blog land to help cheer up her young neighbor who's just been involved in a serious boating accident. She's asking for us to make cards for this young lady & is offering up some candy for those who do so. Even without the candy, it's definitely a good cause! You can get all the details here in her post.

Sweet Baby card for 3 challenges

I know a couple of people who are pregnant at the moment, so I thought I'd make at least one baby card so I don't leave it till the last minute (I'm a horrible procrastinator!). This week I used the sketch from Pink Elephant challenge and - in proof of my procrastination - am getting it in by the skin of my teeth! I'm also entering this card in Stampin' for the Weekend challenge which has an "Anything Baby goes" theme this week. Cute Card Thursday's theme was "New Beginnings" & that fit just perfectly.

I've seen other people stamp the image on the paper & then stamp it again, cut it out, & pop it off the paper and I've always liked the look of it. So, I tried that on this card. It's not as cleanly done as I've seen others do but I'm pleased with it for my first try.


Front:


A little closer:


Closer still....:


3-D detail:




Supplies:

Paper: pink by Bazzil, patterned from Nana's Nursery (girl) stack, plain from my stash
Stamps: Our Craft Lounge cling rubber stamps from the "Tree-mendous Love" set
Ribbon: from my stash
Colored with colored pencils



I just wanted to take a minute to tell you about an awesome giveaway: The Scrapping Cottage Blog is trying to reach 500 followers and, when they do, they're giving away a $250 shopping spree in their store! Click here to find out more.

Check out Prima's favorite picks & the beautiful things people have made with them! I don't know if these are available where any of you are but I've never seen them in my area - that's probably a good thing as I'd have to have them & don't have the cash to spare at the moment! Click on the picture to learn more.

A card for my Grammy

My grandmother is one of the few people who regularly corresponds with me by snail mail & I "owe" her a letter. In fact, bad granddaughter that I am, I've owed her a letter for a while but wanted to send a handmade one rather than store-bought & it's taken me forever to get around to it. I know she'll appreciate the time spent on it so I'm pretty sure she'll forgive my flakiness! At least I hope so :)

The whole color scheme for this card started from the watering can/flower ribbon; it's not a color combo that I'd use all the time but I do like it. I wanted to make this card a little 3-D, so I popped the flower w/ some foamies. Now I'm wondering if I should've popped the whole image but it's glued down now - too late! Something to try next time I guess.

I've entered this card in a few challenges as well: I used the sketch from PaperPlay Challenges - by Mandy - for challenge #31. Cute Card Thursday had the theme 'Lazy Days' this week for a summer themed card. Nothing says summer like flowers & gardening! Stamptacular Sunday is a 3-D challenge; I know it's only a tiny bit of 3-D so I'm not sure if it qualifies, but I thought I'd try anyway. Finally, Crafty Cardmakers challenge for this week is Complimentary Colors - check out their color wheel lesson, it gave me some ideas for future combinations.

The orange cardstock is very lightly textured & I ran the 3 blue rectangles through my Cuttlebug in a flowered embossing folder. Image is stamped on white cardstock & colored with colored pencils. I cut out the flower & popped it with foamies for a 3-D effect. Haven't got up the nerve to try decorating the inside yet so it's completely blank.


Front


Trying to show the 3-D aspect




A close-up



Supplies used:

Papers from my stash
Stamp by Penny Black
Ribbon from the $1 bin at Michael's
Dew Drops from The Robin's Nest
...........................................................................................................
Some goodies!!!!!

Moni is celebrating the 1 yr anniversary of Everybody-Art-Challenge by giving away some stamped images, ribbons, & more. Closes Aug. 31.

Sassy Designs is giving away 100 stamped images to their followers - this is another challenge blog I just stumbled onto. Closes Sept. 27.

Carolyn has a massive assortment for her blog candy! Check out the inside of her cards - maybe she'll give me some ideas. Closes Sept. 22.

I just found Ingvild's blog the other day & had to become a follower right away - she has a romantic, victorian style that I just love. And her candy is fabulous! Closes Sept. 30.

Jo has new Basic Grey papers & more in her blog candy. Closes Sept. 5.

Maria's candy is a huge assortment of goodies including stamps, ribbons, & more. Closes Aug. 31.

Emma's celebrating her blogoversary with a beautiful array of images, embellishments, & more. Closes Aug. 31.

Erika is giving away some goodies from her stash. Check out her CHA pictures too - I'm jealous! Closes Aug. 29.

Vivi is celebrating 100 posts by giving away 100 Tilda images! I want to win this one! She does quilling - something I want to try........ Closes Aug. 30.

My first ever blog award

Wow! What a pleasant surprise to receive this friendship award from Cheryl - thank you so much! I just recently found her blog & she has some really beautiful things there. I especially like her victorian scrapbook page with the adorable pictures of her little girl. The tool belt for Dad is pretty cute too - full of sweets, now that's my kind of tool belt! Drop by & visit her blog - you'll be glad you did.

Thanks again Cheryl, you made my day!

Do you know Mo?

I haven't tried digital stamping yet as I don't currently have a printer, but I think I know where I'll be getting my first digi from. During my blog hopping I found a link to Mo Manning's blog & fell in love with the cute images there! Mo is an illustrator of children's books & she's making her art available as digital stamps. I've been making a mental list of which ones to get - maybe I should start with one though ;) Anyway, if you want to see what I'm talking about, check out Mo's blog or her shop - you won't be sorry, unless it's because you're spending too much money there!

Another treasure I found yesterday is Helen's blog, Scrap A Little, which has several neat tutorials for flowers & more. Some I'd seen, some I hadn't but I'll definitely be going back - her instructions are clear & I like that it's a picture tutorial rather than video (sometimes video goes too fast for my brain!!). Anyways, figured I'd pass it along since I thought it was informative.

I have a card in the works but don't know if I'll get a chance to post it tonight, if not I'm shooting for tomorrow. Here's some sweets in the meantime...........

Crafty Suzy is celebrating 2000+ hits with some cupcake candy. Closes Sept. 6.

Beccy's had some good fortune lately & is sharing the wealth. Closes Sept. 16.

Check out Linda's generous candy to celebrate 15,000 hits! Closes Aug. 31.

Melissa is having a huge 'just because' giveaway! Closes Aug. 31.

Caz is having an embellishment blog candy with lots of goodies. She's just accepted a DT position with Squiggle Stamps - I'd never heard of them before but they have some adorable stuff! Closes Aug 26.

Happy together...........6 years & 5 challenges

As promised I'm back with the anniversary card I made for my sister & her husband - happy 6 years Jenny & Paul! Since I'm not giving them the card until tomorrow, when they come over for dinner, I told my sister she's not allowed to look at my blog before then. Is it sad that you're seeing the card before she is? Normally I would have waited until later but I used the sketch from Friday Sketchers this week & I figured I may as well post it.

I really like the turquoise/red combination and, although this isn't quite what I envisioned, I'm very happy with the way the card turned out. Besides Friday Sketchers #65, I've also entered this card in Stampin' for the weekend "Days Gone By" challenge, Color Throwdown #56 - my colors are a tiny bit off but I think they may be close enough, Crafty Cardmakers #1 - Blossoms, and Papertake Weekly Challenge #100 which is your choice of any of the 99 previous challenges - I chose My Favorite Things as I absolutely love all things victorian! That makes 5 challenges - not bad considering I didn't really plan for any of them except for Friday Sketchers!


Front




A few detail shots





Inside




The couple is stamped in brown ink & embossed with clear embossing powder. I thought about coloring the image in but thought this was really a case of less is more. The papers have a glossy/glittery aspect to them & I was afraid adding anything else would be too overwhelming. Hopefully Jenny & Paul will like it too :)


Supplies used:

Patterned papers from Jen Wilson's Laundry Line by My Minds Eye; plain paper from my stash
Sticky pearls from Martha Stewart Crafts
Flowers cut & red strip embossed with my Cuttlebug
Blue Darice ribbon
Stamps: Victorian couple from Inkadinkado, "Happy Anniversary" & "together" from Fiskars Romance clear set


One more thing.......Rach is at it again - she has another adorable Rachelle Anne Miller stamp up for grabs on her blog!

Another giveaway by Rach

Today Rach is giving away a clear stamp by Rachelle Anne Miller from Stampavie! In fact, she usually has a little giveaway each & every day - I just don't always get the chance to blog about it :) There are no R.A.M. stamps in my collection yet but only because I haven't gotten around to purchasing any - they are adorable. Closes today at 10pm.

I have another card to post but it's an anniversary card for my sister & I have to wait until I've given it to her or she's agreed not to look at my blog! Keep an eye out for that today or tomorrow.......

Looking for a challenge

I've been browsing around looking at all the different challenge blogs out there - it really helps sometimes when you have a specific sketch, color scheme, or theme to work with. I don't know, I guess it just helps to get the creative juices flowing. There are even more challenge blogs out there than I thought! It seems like I see a lot of the same ones on other people's sidebars, but I did find a couple of new ones.

I was quite pleased to find a House Mouse challenge blog because I think their stamps (Happy Hoppers & Gruffies too!) are really cute, and I actually have some! Looks like they're on vacation right now but hopefully I'll be able to enter their next challenge on Aug 31.

If you're ever looking for a challenge, I found a whole list of them on Boni's blog. She's posted all kinds of beautiful cards & the "Are women born this way?" video alone is worth the trip. Hope you head over to her blog the next time you're blog hopping.

Not a challenge blog, but if you want to see something adorable check out the new babies at Michelle's place!

And now......a little more blog candy.........

Carolyn is celebrating a year of blogging with a fabulous giveaway. Closes Aug. 18.

Check out Naoual's sparkle-y candy! Closes Aug. 22.

Elisabeth Bell wants to know what you do in your free time. Closes Aug. 23.

Bev has an adorable Tilda Magnolia stamp for her weekly Simon Says giveaway. Closes tomorrow.

Dianne just posted her new blog candy & is already planning for more! She has links to lots of challenges too.... Closes Sept. 7.

Georgia has had over 6000 hits on her blog. She makes some pretty amazing cards - even more amazing when you realize she's only 13! Closes Aug. 29.

Jacqui's blog counter is over 130,000 and she's got some fabulous stuff up for grabs! Closes Aug. 22.

Kim is celebrating the start of her new Magnolia Only blog with, what else but, Magnolia candy! Closes Aug. 20.

Launch of La-La Land Crafts

Irina at Everything Paper Crafts is officially launching her own stamp company: La-La Land Crafts! The official Launch Party is taking place in a couple of hours at Cranberry Hill Mercantile in Sunnyvale, California - tonight! If you're not close enough to to check out the stamps in person, La-La Land Crafts online store will be opening at 11pm PST &, for the first 24 hours, they are offering a storewide 10% discount. Since I'm on the east coast I don't think I'll be able to stay up until 2am (my time) for the unveiling but I'll be sure to check it out tomorrow. Irina's been giving sneak peeks on her La-La Land Crafts blog & it looks like they're going to have some really cute designs. You may be able to snag some blog candy by spreading the word about this new venture - there's a lovely assortment, including a couple of Magnolia stamps! Candy winner to be drawn tomorrow @ 10pm PST.

If you have a moment take a look at the blogs for each of the DT members - they have some real talent & it's no wonder they were chosen. I make my little cards & I'm completely happy with them until I see the things other people make - there are so many interesting techniques & creative people - they're on a whole other level........

Phew! My blogs are back!!

Thank goodness - my followed blogs are back! Not that the blogs themselves disappeared but my "following list" vanished. I know I'm not the only one who was having problems with it, so hopefully everyone else got their lists back safe & sound too. Despite knowing that Blogger was aware of the problem, I was a little nervous that a blog or two would be missing but it looks like they're all there. Last night I was scrambling around trying to bookmark as many of my regular stops as I could remember but now it looks as if that wasn't necessary. Oh well, that just means I have a backup if it happens again!

A quick blog candy note..........

Tab is having 2 giveaways with Magnolia stamps, pretty papers, & embellishments. Be sure to spend a little time browsing her blog; she makes some pretty fantastic cards! Winners drawn Aug. 22.

Carly's blogoversary is coming up & she's celebrating with 2 giveaways too! 1 is the Magnolia Stamp Club kit from Summer 2008 & 1 is a handmade box full of images. Check out all the cute stuff she has on her blog. Closes Sept. 23.