Sweet Sale at Sweet Pea Stamps!!!

I'm just popping in really quickly to tell you about the super sweet sale over at Sweet Pea Stamps. 40% off your entire purchase. That's an awesome deal!!! The link is in my sidebar on the right. Check it out! Better hurry, the sale is only for 18 hours!

And just to give you a taste of the awesome images Lynette carries in her store, here's a bunch of cards I've made with them in the past, using images from various artists.

Go ahead, it's okay! Clutch your pearls!!!

It's time for another challenge at Guylou's Inimitability. This time around, we WANT you to clutch your pearls. Yeah, I know, it's often a derogatory term to call someone a "pearl clutcher." In this case, though, we will applaud you for it. My dear friend Brenda is hosting our challenge and she wants us to make a project using lace, and...you guessed it...pearls! Now, we're calling this a "girly girl" kind of challenge, but only because it involves pearls and lace. You don't have to make a feminine card. In fact, I challenge you to think outside the box.

Here's my example:

As you can see, I used both lace and pearls, but my card is not about being girlie. It's a bit early, but Merry Christmas! LOL. I keep thinking to myself that if I can make a few Christmas cards per month, I might actually have enough made by December to actually send them this year. We'll see.

My card uses one of Guylou's wreaths that I cut with a spellbinders circle die, then added another spellbinders die behind it. I colored the image with watercolor pencils, so the leaves are a very light green. Then I used liquid pearls to make the berries. I used my copic opaque paint a bit liberally on this card, too. It has a bit of a vintage feel, I think.

Now it's your turn. Go ahead, clutch your pearls! Upload your project to Guylou's Inimitability by March 1 at 10 pm EST. See the GI blog for details on prizes and rules.

It is official. I am nuts. Excited, stoked, exceedingly happy, and...nuts...

I found out today that I have been invited to be a guest DT for a challenge at Belles n' Whistles. Since I'm not shy about telling you (and doing so repeatedly), I know that you realize what a huge fan I am of Elisabeth Bell's work. I own more than half of the stamps in the Belles n' Whistles store. Love, love, love her stuff! So, here's where the crazy comes out. I read the blog post and let out a yelp. Then I got an overwhelming urge to pee (ok, TMI). After my trip to our scary, high school reminiscent bathroom, I came back into the offices and rushed to tell one of my buddies. She started yelling with me. So, I'm in this big office space, jumping up and down and screaming, "yay! yay! yay!" My supervisor comes out and asks, "what in the hell was that noise?" Well, she said something a bit more PC, but you get the idea. I tell her my news, she says how happy she is for me, but she still can't figure out what noise I was making. At this point, the noise is a cross between laughter and yelps of happiness. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I let the crazy out. And at work, no less. The people here have long suspected that I am neurotic. Well, okay, they know it, because I embrace my neuroses and parade them before the world. Now they also know that I am not only neurotic, but batshit crazy on some other scales, as well. Not to mention being almost 40 going on 4. Yeah, that inner child came out, too. If there was some ice cream in this joint, I'd be celebrating like it was a birthday.

I entered this card in their Frosty challenge:

It's a card I made for a friend's birthday. I posted it to my blog last month. This card was one of those ones where I just started with an adorable image and started slapping stuff down on the card until it "looked right." Do you ever have days like that? You know the ones, where you don't really have an idea in mind, so you just keep playing with the paper and embellishments until it clicks? Well, it worked out great for me, so if you've never tried it, give it a shot. It might work out great for you, too! In fact, give it a shot with this month's love and hearts challenge at Belles n' Whistles. Come on, I dare you!

How about some cheese with that whine?

I'm feeling a bit whiny today. My cats are acting like idiots, hissing and growling at each other. My abs hurt from my workout class last night. I'm hungry, but there's nothing I want to eat in my house. I rented movies from the RedBox last night but now I don't feel like watching them. You know, typical poor-pitiful-me, I'm just a whiner because there's nothing seriously wrong whining. (and yes, I realize that many, many people have it worse today. I just feel whiny!). I don't feel sad or depressed, just whiny. My intention for this weekend was to make a ton of Mother's Day cards for Operation Write Home. It seems way too early to make Mom's Day cards, but I understand why they need them now. They've got to get organized and shipped, and it takes a while for stuff to make it to our troops sometimes. I just can't get into the groove of making them this early, so that's yet another whine. Mr. Mojo took a flying leap off a building today, or maybe he took a vacation to Hawaii, I don't know. He's not here, though. Another whine. I decided to power through his absence and my mood to make a few cards, anyway. My cousin spoiled me for Christmas and got me the Grand Calibur and labels 1. I used a coupon and got Labels 4, too. Although I unwrapped this fabulous gift about two weeks ago, I finally got the chance to pull out the machine and play with it today. I wanted to make a shaped card. My friend Brenda is the queen of shaped cards. In fact, it's her fault that even had the Grand Calibur on my Amazon wishlist. She really inspired me with her cards. You can check out her work HERE.

I colored tons of images over the last year or so. Some of them have just been sitting there, waiting to get slapped onto a card. This was one of them. Even though she is one of my favorite Elisabeth Bell images, it took me a while to get her placed on a card this time around.

I wanted to add flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts, but refrained since this card is for OWH. When the cards are too thick, they can't fit as many in the box that goes to the base, so I try to refrain from using overly thick embellies. That is very hard for me, and it caused me to discover that I don't have many flatter embellies in my stash!

The image is kind of cold weather-ish, with her heavy sweater and long pants, but since Mom's Day is in the spring, that wouldn't work. So, I used floral paper and butterflies to invoke warmer weather thoughts.  I used a butterfly punch, a half of a doily, and some pearls to fill up some empty areas. The colors are actually a light peach and sage green, but for some reason, it looks more orange. This card opens twice. The shaped area opens to reveal a note for the soldier's mom, like this:

And then the rectangular background opens to form a blank area for him/her to write a letter to mom. I made another card shortly after this one. Maybe I'll get up the energy to show you that one later. For now, I think I'm going to go chill out for a bit and see if I can shake this mood. Maybe I'll have some cheese and crackers. It would suit my whine. As always, thanks for stopping by. Hopefully, I won't be acting like such a spoiled brat the next time you come for a visit.

Helping more heroes to write home

This is the last of my cards for Operation Write Home. I was going to put off sending the box until I could add a few more, but I just don't know when that will be. So, I'll send this box and then work on the next one as I get the chance. One of these days, I'm going to start working on my Christmas cards for this year, too, in hopes that I actually get to send some! And in there somewhere, I need to work on some more scrapbook layouts and cards for birthdays and such. Well, I guess there's just not enough hours in the day or enough visits from Mr. Mojo, either. I'll do what I can and be happy with that.

Anyway, back to the cards. Images are (clockwise from upper left): The Greeting Farm, Sugar Nellie Gorjuss, Elisabeth Bell (for Belles n' Whistles), and Gruffies. All were colored with copics. I try to keep my OWH cards from getting too heavy or too embellie-happy, because I figure it's hard for them to write on both sides of the card if the back side of the image feels bumpy all over. Plus, I also worry about embellie-happy cards getting squished between mailing to the OWH rep, then mailing overseas, then coming back home when the soldier sends it. That's a lot of travel for one little card!
Please consider making some cards to help our deployed military keep in touch with home. Have a fantastic day!

Are you tired of me yet?

I know, I didn't post for a bit. I got caught up in all of the holiday madness, I think. Now things are settled once again (well, as settled as they can ever be in my household) and I'm back in creating mode. I'm still trying to make cards for Operation Write Home, but in between that, I need some cards for upcoming birthdays. Are you tired of seeing all of my creations yet? I think I've posted more this month than I have in the last two months combined, and the month is only a little half over. Yay for visits from Mr. Mojo! I'm trying hard to get involved in challenges again and take advantage of his visit, that's for sure!
It snowed here near Baltimore last night. Not much, but just enough to remind us that it's winter, and to make us slip and slide a little while walking on the sidewalks. It seemed the perfect time to finally make my card for the latest Belles N Whistles challenge. This time around, they've asked us to make a "frosty" creation. I colored this image last weekend, but it wasn't until today that I actually got the chance to put her on a card. Isn't she adorable?

Image is one of Elisabeth Bell's from Belles N Whistles snowbaby collection. Again, isn't she cute? If you don't think so, look a little closer:

Come on, you gotta admit that she makes you smile! I colored her with copics, leaving some hard lines at the edges this time rather than totally blending them. Then I added some flowersoft and liquid applique to the image for texture. I cut her out with a spellbinders die and added some silver liquid pearls around the edges to make her stand out even more on my embellie-happy card. The embellishments are all from my stash. Papers are Heidi Grace. I'm entering her in the Frosty challenge, but also in hopes of joining their GDT. I'd love to be on an Elisabeth Bell DT, or two, or three....Wouldn't it be exciting to be on their DT and get to work with her new images??

Hey, baby, it's cold outside!

Well, not as cold as it usually is for this time of year, but it's gettin' a wee bit chilly out there now. At least, near Baltimore it is, and in honor of winter, we're having a cool color challenge over at Guylou's Inimitability. It's our leader G's turn to host, and she's chosen a beautiful color combination to start off our year. Happy 2012!

What do you think? Pretty and cool, huh? I really love this combination of colors. At first, I was going to go with a whole winter theme, since the colors seem to inspire that. I was sitting here, thinking about it, when Abie, my newest cat, walked over and started chattering at me. He stared up at me with those big blue eyes, and it gave me a different idea. How about a kitty card?

This is one of my favorite G images. I just love cats, and I love how these two make a heart shape as they snuggle. I actually have a picture of my girls doing something similar. In keeping with the color challenge, I used my copics and colored the kitties in shades of grey, then used blue ribbon, as well as blue, white, and grey paper. I ran the top paper through my crimper, and now the texture of it reminds me of the blanket I have on my bed. Yeah, I make loose associations like that. Anyway, I was going to go all embellie-happy on it, but something told me to slow it down and look at the card again. I decided that I like the simple look of it, so I put the flowers and other bits of embellishments away. I hope you like it!

Now it's time to make your own card. What inspires you about this color combination? Use that inspiration and get crafting, already!

Challenge details:
Your project must be in this color scheme. One entry per person. Upload to Guylou's Inimitability by 10 p.m. EST on February 2nd. You don't have to use a GI image, but if you do, your entry counts twice! You could win a $10 gift certificate to G's store, a one year subscription to Through the Craftroom Door magazine, and a chance to be a guest DT on a future challenge. Pretty nice prizes, aren't they?!? So, what are you waiting for? Stop reading my rambling chatter and go make something! And if you're still feeling low on inspiration, check out the work by G's fabulous DT (links in my sidebar). Those ladies inspire me, and I know they'll do the same for you. Happy crafting!

By the way, here's another challenge blog to check out: Charisma Card Challenges. The challenge this time around is Clean and Simple. Check it out, my card fits!

Helping our heroes write home

Finally, Mr. Nasty Cold has decided to vacate the premises. I felt much better today, but still didn't really have the energy to run the errands I needed to run. I did sit down to make some cards for Operation Write Home, though. For those of you who aren't aware, OWH is an organization that collects handmade cards for our deployed military to use to write to their loved ones at home. I have been so busy with Soldier's Angels lately that I've been neglecting OWH. Granted, I send each of the soldiers a blank card when I write to them each week, but that's no excuse. So, I decided that I need to get a bunch of cards together for OWH. So far, I'm up to 14. I'm hoping to make a few more before I send the box off.

I made these two cards tonight:

 As you can see, both are rather flowery and feminine. I decided I wanted to make a card that could be sent to a child, since many of our military have children at home that miss their parents something fierce. It's also a bit more masculine than the above cards, so it could be sent to an adult male relative who isn't skeered of a few hearts. I went to OWH's Stars and Stamps for some inspiration, and found it in a sketch. Go check it out! My card doesn't follow the sketch exactly, but as you all know, I have a really hard time with that. I tend to use a sketch as a jumping off point more than a strict map to follow. Here's what I came up with:

 I thought that a House Mouse image would be perfect, since they're just too cute. Thanks to my friend Tracy for the sentiment, which I have used several times now. Ok, now you've seen what I've got for tonight. Now how about giving it a shot...make some cards to send to our soldiers, so they can connect with home. I know, I'm bossy, but hey, it's a good cause!

You would think that Mr. Mojo would be like most men...

...and avoid me when I'm sick. After all, I'm a bad patient. I whine. I'm cranky. I want you to leave me alone, but be close enough to get me anything I happen to yell for. Most men would run for the hills, but it seems that Mr. Mojo likes it, because not only did he show up yesterday, but he came over to my house today, too. Granted, I was feeling better today. Not 100%. I had to cancel my day out with my gram and aunt because I didn't feel quite well enough for excursions to another state (and didn't want to make them sick), but I was feeling a bit better. I colored a couple of images today. For the first time, I tried stamping on kraft paper and coloring it with copics. Now, THAT was an interesting endeavor. The copics come out very differently on kraft paper, as you'd imagine. It was a lot differently than I expected, though, but I guess the results aren't bad. Check it out:

Paper is kraft, bazzill (brown cardstock), and Webster's Pages. Flowers are Wild Orchid Crafts. The brown pleated ribbon came from Hobby Lobby. I added liquid pearls around the image, which was cut out with Spellbinders nestabilities. I added flowersoft below her little foot. Isn't she too cute? She's another Elisabeth Bell image from my collection. I'm pretty sure I got her at Sweet Pea Stamps. I have so many Elisabeth Bell images now that I sometimes forget which great store they came from! If you get the chance, swing by Lynette's store. She's got lots of great rubber stamps from awesome artists, and her customer service is fantastic.

This card is for the following challenges:
BnW challenge blog: warm earth colors
Charisma Card Challenges: birthday card
Simon Says Stamp challenge: spots or stripes
Sketch Saturday: week 190

As always, thanks for looking! And wish me luck; I hope to feel well enough tomorrow to get to Target so I can buy some stuff for my new soldier. I don't know if I told you, but the marine I adopted through Soldier's Angels is coming home (yay!!! I'm so excited for her!). So, I adopted another soldier and I need to send him a kick ass care package to introduce myself and remind him that his sacrifices and dedication are not forgotten.

Being sick sucks, but Tylenol cold is some good stuff!

I didn't go to work today. When my alarm went off at 7:00 this morning, I pretty much felt like my body had met with a truck, and the truck had won. I went back to sleep for a bit, woke up long enough to realize I still felt like crud and that moving further than grabbing my cell off of my nightstand just wasn't a good idea. I called out and went right back to sleep until lunch time. At that point, I got up long enough to shove some food down my throat and plant my butt on the couch. All afternoon, I plied myself with Tylenol Cold and didn't move from my couch. Around 4:00 or so, I got a spurt of energy. I came upstairs, checked out some blogs, and started to make a card. Dizziness took over, and I went back to the couch. Then I came back up here and did some more to the card. Then I laid down again. Got up, did some more, then laid down again. You get the idea. Here it is, almost time for bed. I still feel achey. My head hurts, and I feel a little bit dizzy. However, this card kept calling to me to be finished. It took quite a few hours, and many stops and starts due to Mr. Nasty or whatever this is, but I finally finished my card. I really think Tylenol Cold helped out quite a bit, too. It seems to work better for me than most OTC drugs for knocking out the nasties.

Anyway, here it is:

Let's see if I can remember all I used on this card.
Paper and effects done to it: Well, there's plain old craft paper from the value paks at either Michael's or Hobby Lobby. There's some Basic Grey white basics paper. Most of the paper was distressed and one piece was crimped. Then I played around with some Copic White Opaque paint on it. I am in love. It gives a great effect and dried quickly. I used a fiskars border punch at the bottom. Oh, and the scallops and oval for the image to rest on are from Nestabilities dies.
Sentiment: The stamp is from Inkadinkado, and I stamped it on Kraft paper then cut it with a Magnolia tag die. I added some twisted twine to the top of the tag, as well as the white opaque paint.
Embellishments: The flowers and silver corner piece are from Wild Orchid Crafts. The ribbon is from Michael's. The lace is old lace that I got in a big basket of lace at an antique shop. The butterfly is from prima's canvas collection; I embossed it and then I misted it with three different Glimmer Mists.
The image (the most important part!): She's an Elisabeth Bell image from Whiff of Joy. I've had this one for a while and she remains one of my favorites. I colored her with copics, but it's been so long that I have no recollection of the colors I used. Then I covered her with Crackle Effects. It's hard to see that in the photo, but she has a really neat effect with the little crackles everywhere.

I'm entering this card in the Digi Bells "anything goes" challenge for guest DT spots. I'd love to be on their GDT. I have been a fan of Elisabeth Bell's images for a long time, and probably have 75-100 of them. They're just too cute to do anything but buy them and bring them home!!! I'm always so excited to get them in the mail (or email, for digi).