Another Happy Birthday card

Happy Monday!!!! And what a wonderful Monday it is!! Well, it's rainy & miserable here, but I had a FAB morning helping out at the school library!! I am SUCH a geek ~~ I am happiest when I'm helping out at school ~~ whether it be cutting & gluing for the teacher, shelving books for the librarian, or yes ~~~ even helping out with the food service in the cafeteria. This is the first year I've been able to give my time (now that both boys are in school) & I am loving it!!

Last night I played some more with the new High Hopes images. Too bad this card doesn't have brads, or I could have used it for yesterday's challenge! I could have been an overachiever, with 2 cards posted!!! LOL!!


For this card I used Warm Wishes, along with an older sentiment. I stamped the image onto watercolor paper, then colored it with my new Peerless watercolors. I'm getting there with these colors, & I *am* using my waterbrush, just without the water inside. I prefer to dip my brush into a small jar of water ~~ I'm sure it's an operator problem but I still get too much water on my brush. Yes, Anna, I'm swiping the brush on the back of my hand like you showed me :) But the water keeps coming as I'm swiping, lol!

So....the cake is stamped twice, cut out & popped up. I do like dimension! I added Stickles to the flowers on the cake, & to the dragon's fire. I used Bazzill Bling paper, along with Basic Grey Sugared. I ran a piece of the BG paper through my Cuttlebug using......say it with me......THE SWISS DOTS FOLDER!!! I do use my other folders, honest! I just happen to show the dots folder a little more love than the others. For the ribbon, I used a technique I learned on SCS ~~ in fact, it was my very first technique challenge I participated in. It's called frayed ribbon, & you basically just cut the little ends from your ribbon, & take out the insides. Gather all the pieces & tie a knot around them, then attach to your card like you would any ribbon. I tried to find the actual tutorial on SCS but can't find it on the Resource page. Guess I'm the only one that still uses it, lol!!


I hope you all are enjoying the new releases as much as I am!! I have many more to play with, but sadly they will have to wait until tomorrow. My house has been neglected all weekend, & as long as the kids are at school & it's raining out, I may as well use my time domestically & do some cleaning :) Have a wonderful day!

And PS ~~ yes, there is a picture of me on my blog now!!! They wanted one for the High Hopes blog, so I broke down & had my son take oh.....I don't know....50 or so? LOL ~~ sadly, this was the best of the bunch!! Can you say middle-aged frumpy housewife mom?

Today's the day!!!!!!

So much excitement going on in the High Hopes world today!!!!!! New releases, plus a brand spankin' new High Hopes blog!!!!!!

First, you can go HERE to find all the fabulous new releases ~~ dragons & fairies & princesses, oh my!! Not to mention the wayyyy too fun Christmas stamps!!! You can never have too many of those!!! Go check them out now!! Run!!!

Our first challenge on our brand new blog is from Kimmie, & the challenge is to make a birthday card using brads. Simple enough, right? We didn't want to overwhelm you the first week!!! Since I didn't get my stamps until just a few days ago, I used one of my pirate stamps from the last release, Peg Leg Pete. He went so well with my Basic Grey Boxer paper, dontcha think?? I added silver brads to the corners, & lots of red & blue twine, which I frayed with my scissors. I was pretty happy with this card. until I saw all the wonderful cards created by the other divas. I always think mine look okay, until I check out what the REAL talent has created, lol!!!! Go take a look-see at all the FAB cards over on the High Hopes blog! And while you're checking out the new blog, go check out all the blogs of the fabulous divas ~~~ the links are over there ------------->>>>>>>>>>


If you create something for this challenge, be sure to leave a link in the comments so we can all check it out!! There's a FABULOUS prize this week ~~~ over a dozen of the new release stamps will go to one lucky stamper!! So get out your paper, get out your ink, & get out your creativity!! If you upload to SCS, use the keyword "HHC1" for High Hopes Challenge #1!

I of course also had to create a card with my new stamps once I had them!! I can't announce a new release on my blog, & not be prepared with a card to show you!! So here it is.......a beautiful princess, & her not so beautiful prince!! Well, okay, he's pretty cute......but probably not what she had in mind!!!


For this card I broke out my new 6X6 pad of DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Girl pad. They carry this size at Michael's now, which is perfect for me because my favorite size card to make is 5.5"X5.5" ~ like this one :) The beautiful princess actually has on 3 dresses. The first, I colored, but it just didn't look right. So I paper pieced it, but I didn't like the paper once I put her up against the striped paper, so I paper pieced AGAIN!! She's nice & warm :) The frog, the princess, & parts of the castle are all popped on dimensionals. The swirl is a Sizzlit ~~ I've been using this a lot lately!! Lots of bling & glitter & pink on this card ~~ but I like how it turned out. Of course, I haven't seen any of the other divas make a card with this set yet ~~ I may not like it any more once I take a gander at their creations!!!!!


Now go on over to the new blog (the link is also on my sidebar) & check it out, check out what the other divas did, create something & post a link in the comments so we can all check it out!!!!! Have a wonderful Sunday!!!!!

A quick thanks & some fun news....

to Trina, for passing this sweet award on to me!! I appreciate it so much, thank you Trina!!!!!


I told you yesterday there was some exciting news coming with this next release from High Hopes, & I've been given the okay to spill ~~~~ High Hopes now has a blog!!!!!! This will be gathering place for all High Hopes lovers. All important info regarding High Hopes will be on this blog, plus we will post Projects of the Month AND we will be taking turns each Sunday issuing challenges in which we want all of you to take part!! It's an exciting new adventure for us!!! Hope you all join in!! HERE is the link to this fantastic new blog!!! Check it out ~~ but be sure to check again tomorrow, when the very first challenge will be posted!

One little peek......

at the new High Hopes release is all you get!!!!! The stamps will be released this week Sunday the 28th ~~ & what a release it will be!!! I always say this, but Crissy has outdone herself yet again!!!! We, the divas, are extremely excited about these new cuties & can't wait to make many creations with them! I myself just received my stamps 2 days ago so I'd better get a move on if I'm going to have an actual card to show on Sunday!!!!



Along with this release comes some exciting news!! Lots going on behind the scenes at High Hopes ~~ I think you all will be thrilled with what the busy little High Hopes beavers have been up to!!! Stay tuned........

Check out this blog candy!!!

Again, not mine, lol! Michelle (same name though!) over at Stamps, Paper, Scissors & Donkey Smiles is celebrating 25,000 hits on her blog!! Woohoooo!! This was my first visit to her blog (love all the cute donkeys) but I know I've heard other people mention her blog & how fabulous it is. I know I'll have to go back later & dig through her archives :)

A sketch challenge card ~ on time!!!

Good morning!! It's Wednesday, & that means it's SCS sketch challenge day!! This has always been my favorite challenge, because layouts do not come easily for me. I swore once my kids started school that I would do each one ~~~ on the day they are posted!! Well, I think this is the first week that has actually happened, & I probably only got it done because I colored the image last night.


I got something fun in the mail yesterday ~ my new Peerless watercolors!! I first saw these last year on Gina K's blog & they've been on my wish list ever since. But ~~ I stink at watercoloring & I know it, so I did wait to purchase them. After my failed attempts at watercoloring with reinkers, I realized that no matter what I will never be Anna Wight. Not even when I grow up. For some reason I thought the Peerless would be easier & bought them anyway. Well, it's not the medium ~ it's what I'm using to apply the color. I just can't get the hang of that darn Niji waterbrush. I even bought a smaller one online, thinking the other one I had from Michael's was a lemon. Last night I got so frustrated at the amount of water coming out that I finally emptied it. Which defeats the purpose of having a waterbrush, right?? Well, I still like the brush a lot ~~ the bristles are just better than a regular paintbrush. So I used it that way, with a little jar of water. I guess for my first attempt, it didn't turn out too badly, but as with everything else I will need lots of practice!!

I stamped the image onto watercolor paper with Stazon, then went to work. I didn't like how my pumpkins turned out, so I stamped a second image, colored the pumpkins differently, cut them out & popped them up on dimensionals. The pattern paper is from Karen Foster, & the olive & orange layers are DCWV papers run through my Cuttlebug. Love that Swiss Dots folder ~~ the Swirls folder was my favorite until the dots folder came out!! I added some ribbon, Dew Drops & lots of Primas & punched leaves. I HAD a ribbon blob on there (my version of Pam Bassett's ribbon blossom) BUT I had an accident. Actually two. First, I cut myself with the Cutter Bee's that I almost threw away because I thought they were getting dull. I guess they still work well on skin. Secondly, I used some Fray Check on my ribbon ends. I love using organdy ribbon but it frays so easily. Well, I was wondering why it was so sticky ~~I accidentally grabbed the Fabri-Tac!!! That'll learn me to double check the bottle before applying!! At this point I was so disgusted that I took the whole blob off & started over, adding just a few pieces of ribbon. Not as pretty as a blossom, but a blossom/blob with blood all over it isn't very pretty either.

I leave you with a picture of my mums. I planted these the first fall we lived here ~~ 2002. My, how it's grown!!! It spreads every year & now the entire plant (which I couldn't even fit into the picture) is about 10 times as big as it was when I planted it.


Have a wonderful Wednesday!!!!!!!!

Sew crooked....

Ok, I can't even FAUX SEW straight!!! Some of you know I am in the market for a sewing machine, but from the looks of this card, I don't think I'll be very good at sewing. I can't even poke holes straight. And that's WITH SU's mat pack!!

I am so lucky to have so many online friends. And I'm *really* lucky that so many of them have Magnolias that they are willing to share with me :) I heart these images ~~ they are on my wish list ~~ but for now I will have to count on my friends sending me images. THANK YOU to each of you who have sent me some!! Although, the more I play with them, the more I want my own!!!


I actually drew the sketch for this card before I even colored the image. That never happens. I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of stamper, lol, & usually just put it together as I go. Maybe I saw this layout somewhere (wouldn't surprise me, as much time as I spend on other's blogs & on SCS), maybe I have sewing on the brain (even if it IS fake) but I do like how it turned out. I colored Tilda with my trusty Prisma pencils & Gamsol, then cut her out & popped her on a couple of Nestie ovals. The leaf paper is from Karen Foster, & the other papers are Bazzill. I "sewed" the whole thing, added some Primas & some leaves I punched with my Martha Stewart branch punch & called it done. I fought with myself to leave it ~~~ I really wanted to add maybe a swirl here & a Dew Drop there ~~ but I didn't want to cover up the fun fall paper, or my PROFESSIONAL sewing job :)


On the subject of machines, I'm in a quandry. Obviously, I need a beginner machine. A lot of people on SCS have recommended the Janome Sew Mini. This was my first choice, because Gina K has a tutorial on her blog WITH PICTURES!!!! I could follow it if it has pictures!!! But I've also read that some people have gotten real lemons ~~ it's cost them more to ship it back & forth to Janome due to breakages & other problems, than the original machine cost. I guess you get what you pay for. I've been chatting with Wendy, who has told me she has the Janome which is a step up from the Sew Mini. A few more bucks, but more stitches & she hasn't had any problems with it. There's also a Beginner model Brother at Walmart, which a few people have said they like.

So.....the quest continues. And if/when I do buy one, how long do you think it will sit in the box????

My first game of tag.....

::sniff:: this reminds me of my childhood ~~ I *loved* to play tag :)

Now I'm playing grown-up tag! I was tagged by Lacey Stephens. I've only had my blog a few months, so this is my first game of tag :) Here are the rules, copied from her blog:

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Gotta warn ya ~~ I'm not that exciting!!!

1. I am deathly afraid of heights, & I am deathly afraid of flying. However, my fear of flying does not come from my fear of heights. The one time I did fly (honeymoon) I had no problem looking out the window ~ I found it fascinating. For me, it's a fear of crashing. I know, it's safer than driving. But you can survive a car crash ~~ I'm proof!! ~~ but how many people survive a plane crash?

2. I was born in Orlando, Florida. I now live in Wisconsin. That's right ~ we moved FROM Florida TO Wisconsin ~~ who does that?? My parents have a picture of the sign "Future home of Walt Disney World". I will never get to go to Disney World. See #1. It's a loooong drive!

3. I write with my right hand, but I do almost everything else with my left. I count money, deal cards, vacuum, & sometimes even stamp with my left hand. I don't think that makes me ambidextrous, because I think that means you can do everything with either hand. I definitely can't write with my left. My son, on the other hand, writes with his left hand, & does most everything else with his right.

4. I'm an only child. I hate it. I've always hated it. I always begged my parents for a brother or sister. Little did I know that my dad was "fixed" shortly after I was born ~ no siblings for me :(

5. I was in choir for many years, & even played the piano for a few, but I canNOT sing worth a darn!! Is singing something that can be learned, or do you have to be born with that talent??

6. Ok, this isn't about me, really ~ but it's interesting. My uncle used to be a professor at Harvard. He had Matt Damon in his class. Matt started writing "Good Will Hunting" as a short story for his class. My uncle raved about it, & encouraged him to keep going with it. We all know where he went with the story! He has mentioned my uncle by name many times in interviews.

7. I have a bit of OCD. Ok, more than a bit. I do weird things like check my coffeemaker 16 times to make sure I unplugged it before I leave the house. I check to make sure the garage door is shut at least 5 times every night before bed. I always have to know exactly where my cats are before I leave the house. And don't even ask me how many times I check to make sure my curling iron is unplugged, even though I have the kind that auto shuts off after 30 minutes.

There ya go ~~~ weird & not-so-interesting facts about me. Don't you feel a little closer to me now? I need to tag 7 people so here's my list:

Tammi
Nikki
Jovi
Kim
Trina
Tori
Ila

These ladies all have fantastic blogs, so go check them out!!

I'm actually glad Lacey tagged me, it gave me something to post today!! I only made one card over the weekend & it's a secret......shhhhhh........I will be able to show you in a few weeks! This weekend was a busy one ~~ we spent Saturday with my mom, & Sunday I spent most of the day outside doing fall clean up & trying to take care of my sick hubby. He has what sounds like pneumonia ~~ just add it to the list of things making him miserable. He goes for another consult next week with yet another surgeon ~~ hopefully this will be the one!!!

Have a great Monday!!

Still struggling

This card took me roughly 4 hours to create, lol. I couldn't get my coloring right, I kept changing my mind about the papers, & the layout.....forget about it!!! Of course that 4 hours includes blurfing & checking my favorite galleries on SCS for ideas.....but still....I started this at 8:15 after my kids were gone, & I finished it about 15 minutes ago.

I got the SU Halloween Hedgie set last year at my LSS's rummage sale. I didn't get to use it ~ by the time I remembered I had it, it was Thanksgiving. That seems to happen to me a lot. Well, this year I got the set out in AUGUST & set it right next to my desk, where I could see it every day. It took me until now to create a card with it, but at least it's not Thanksgiving yet!!


I stamped the image onto watercolor paper with Colorbox black pigment ink, the embossed it with Iridescent Ice embossing powder. When I watercolor, I always like to emboss my image, either with II so it's sparkly, or clear EP so it's shiny & smooth. Either way, I think it adds a lot to the final outcome. I used my SU markers & I switched off between my aquapen (STILL learning how to use that thing) & my blender pen. The striped paper is from American Crafts, & the olive is DCWV which is a great Cuttlebug-using paper because it has a white core. I used my new Autumn Type folder, then sanded it lightly so more of the white would show. Of course, I didn't want to then cover it up, so I ended up putting the hedgie off to one side, added some ribbon & a whole bunch of the pseudo Dew Drops (the cheapie plastic baubles from Michael's). I used my 1/4" hole punch to punch a bunch of Old Olive cardstock, adhered that to the bottom of the baubles, then attached them to the card. I think just 3 baubles would have sufficed, but once I started I couldn't stop!


Who has fun plans for the weekend?? I have no idea what we're doing. At this moment I am very crabby. I'm crabby that my mojo went away (apparently IT has fun plans for the weekend ~~ somewhere else.....). I am crabby about something that happened at the Cub Scout meeting last night. I'm crabby that my 9 yr old gave me a bunch of 'TUDE this morning before getting on the bus. The only thing that has made me smile so far today is the yummy GINORMOUS cup of iced coffee I had this morning. Iced coffee always makes me happy :)

I seem to have lost my mojo!

Seriously, I had such a great idea in my head for this card, but this wasn't it. Something went terribly wrong, lol. I knew I wanted to cut the owl out, I knew I wanted to put him on an embossed circle, but I don't know.....maybe it's the colors. This past week I've been making fun Halloween & fall cards, with lots of color. Maybe these colors are just too......drab....for me!

Anyway, the stamp itself is cute as the dickens!!! I love this owl from High Hopes! It's from the jungle release a few months ago, & since I don't have my NEW release stamps just yet I thought I would play a little more with some of these cuties. I colored him with Prismas & gamsol, then cut him out, which was very painful. I'm not a fan of cutting, but I'm even less of a fan when it includes reaching these teeny tiny places. I'm not great with a craft knife ~~ I prefer my Cutter Bees ~~ but I did just buy one of THESE with my coupon at Michael's. It's still harder for me to use than my scissors, but I do feel I have just a bit more control now. I used my scalloped circle Nesties, embossing the olive layer with the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder. Added some Basic Grey paper & some ribbon, & lots of punched flowers & leaves. The swirl is a Sizzlits die I bought a while ago & kept forgetting about. I needed something to fill that top right corner & I thought it fit perfectly. As you can see from the next picture, I also added that same swirl to the inside of the card.


So there you have it. It is what it is. Not my favorite card, not my worst, lol! Thank goodness I used a High Hopes image ~~~ no matter how the rest of the card turns out, the image itself is always adorable!!

Now I need to get outside ~~ this card took wayyyyyy too long & I have some digging to do!! I bought some new mum plants yesterday that I need to get into the ground, & I have lots of cleanup to do. The bees here are just ferocious so hopefully I can get it done quickly without pissing them off! LOL!!

Scaredy cat

Oh, how I love Fluffles!! I about died when I saw the new Halloween & Christmas images ~~ but I just couldn't afford to buy them all. Tammi to the rescue!!! She sent me all kinds of images recently, & this was one of them.

This card is a 5.5" square ~~ my favorite size lately. It's so much easier for me to balance everything with a square card. I recently invested in the Enveloper, so I'm finally able to make envelo-boxes to go with my cards. I use a lot of layers & embellishments, & the boxes are 1/4" thick so nothing gets mooshed.

Anyway ~~ I colored the image with my Prismas & gamsol, making a purplish "glow" around him. Because he's trick-or-treating. At night. Of course. I did a lot of distressing to the papers, which really stresses me out. I hate the feel of using that tool, & I hate the sound it makes. But I do it, usually because I can't cut straight so everything comes out crooked, lol. The bat paper behind the image is from the Debbie Mumm Harvest & Holiday pack, the striped paper.....ummm.....I've used almost my whole sheet so I don't know who made it. All that's left is the name of the paper, Cat Stripes, but that probably won't do you much good. I used my Martha bat punch for the 3 bats in the corner ~~ punched out of Bazzill Bling cardstock. They still needed a little something, though, so I outlined them with my Sakura glitter pen for a subtle shimmer. I added Stickles to the pumpkin, clear glaze to the candy, added some brads & some ribbon......& I love how it turned out!!


I also decorated the inside with some of the same paper, a spider web (also a Martha punch) & some faux stitching. Because I have yet to break down & purchase a machine. I'm very afraid of sewing machines. I guess *I'm* the scaredy cat!!!!

More blog candy!!

This time the candy is Penny Black Xmas stamps, & some fun papers!! Go visit Gina's blog ~~ the Card Kabin ~~ to find out how to enter!!!! You only have until the 17th so HURRY!!!!!!

Is it a full moon???

Because I am feeling REALLY out of sorts!! I keep dropping things, losing things & seeing things! It took me all morning to finish this card ~ nothing was going right. The image turned out to be bigger than I thought, so I had to make a 6X6 card, but I had no 12X12 paper to use as a base so I had to run to Michael's (pity shame, right?). Then I searched *everywhere* for a big ole sunflower that would have been PERFECT for this card, but I couldn't find it anywhere. I probably threw it out when I reorganized my space, thinking it was too big & I'd never use it. Or....it's hiding on me & as soon as I finish this post it will suddenly be right under my nose!!!


Well, so, instead of the big sunflower, I chose to stamp a trio of pumpkins & cut those out instead. All stamps are from High Hopes. The scarecrow is Guard Duty Rudy (there are 2 different sizes of Rudy ~~ if you are ordering him, be sure to check the dimensions), & the pumpkins are the Chubby Pumpkins. I stamped Rudy onto Papertrey Ink white paper with Timber Brown Stazon, then colored with my Prismas pencils & gamsol. The striped paper is from American Crafts & the sunflower/leave/crow paper is from Debbie Mumm's Harvest & Holiday pack that I picked up at Joann the other day (on sale, of course!). I used twine behind the pumpkins & in the corner (I unraveled it & shredded it a bit with my scissors first), then added 3 Michael's baubles in the corner. They're clear, but I used my 1/4" hole punch to punch out 3 Old Olive circles, then attached them to the bottom before adhering them to the card. Now I have Old Olive pseudo Dew Drops :)

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, & that everyone in the Galveston area stays safe!! We are supposed to get rain this weekend, but that's a pinch compared to what that area will be hit with!!

Blog candy alert!!!!!

Check out these 2 blogs for your chance to win some fabulous goodies!!!

Crissy's Art & Heart ~~ Crissy just started her blog & is already giving away stuff!! Here's your chance to win 2 High Hopes stamps from the recent circus release!! And while you're visiting her blog ~~ check out her artwork!! I'm sure you already know Crissy AND her art, but her blog is a great place to see it up close & personal!!

Bunny_Zoe's Blog ~~ Nikki is celebrating 20,000 hits ~~ WOW!! Her candy includes an adorable High Hopes snowman.....I mean, snowLADY.....the Glorious Day sentiment, & a 6x6 pad of Basic Grey paper!!! Hop on over (get it?? Bunny?? Hop??) & check it out!!!!

9-11-01.....where were you??

Matthew & I usually watched Nickelodeon in the mornings. Blue's Clues was his favorite show & we never missed it. For some reason, on the morning of 9-11-01, I turned the news on instead. I have no idea why & I don't remember Matthew's reaction to me turning that on instead of Nick Jr. But I do remember my reaction when I saw the image of the first tower burning....on the tv screen....I kept thinking I had turned on a movie instead of my local news. But it wasn't a movie, it was very real. To say the least, I was glued to the tv for the rest of the day, as was the rest of the world. I watched the second plane hit. I watched all day as news came in about the Pentagon......the Pennsylvania field......all that smoke......all those people.........I cried. I didn't know how to explain it to Matthew, who was almost 3 at the time. He's almost 10 now, & still doesn't understand. Do any of us understand???


My thoughts & prayers are with the families who lost loved ones on this horrible day that changed America forever. Where were you when this tragedy occurred??

Double challenge

Whew!! Did I ever work quickly & furiously on this one!! LOL!! I have so many things to do today ~~ none of which include stamping ~~ but I SO wanted to play along with SCS's sketch challenge today. It's been so long since I've done one, & I was also itching to play with some of the Magnolias my friends have sent me. When I saw the SC this morning, I knew it would be perfect for one of these cuties!!

This particular Magnolia comes to me from Inge. She has sent me soooo many adorable Magnolias, it was hard to pick one!! But I picked this adorable little guy with the flowers ~~ reminds me of Michael this past summer. Although, instead of roses, I got dandelions!! I wouldn't have it any other way!!

Anyway ~~ on to the card. I also used yesterday's color challenge combo ~~ Green Galore, Going Gray, & Riding Hood Red. Well, okay, I don't have any of the new in colors yet, so I had to go with Read Red. I stamped the gray with my new flourishes from Inkadinkadoo in Basic Gray ink, then ran it through my Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dots folder ~~ probably my most used folder. The designer paper comes from my DCWV Xmas Glitter stack ~~ who says it's just for Xmas?? I colored the image with Prismas & Gamsol, & added Dazzling Diamonds glitter to his wings. Sponged a bit of cream colored ink on the background & added some Primas & a brad. My very first Edwin ~~ finished!!

And now I am off to get started on my to-do list. I have cleaning & laundry & lots of errands to run. With the kids in school you'd think I'd have tons of extra time ~~ but boy does my day go fast!! LOL!!

BOO to you, too!!

I guess I'm on a Halloween kick ~~ can't seem to stop making cards for this holiday for which I had never sent cards before I started stamping!! I got this adorable Penny Black stamp at my LSS a couple of weeks ago. They had a rummage sale, & I brought stuff to sell. Instead of cash, they give store credit. Works for me!! I bought this stamp & some paper & some ribbon & didn't have to pay a dime!! That's the kind of shopping I like!!


This card is roughly 5.5" X 5.5" ~~ I really do better with square cards ~~ more space to fill with "stuff". The orange designer paper is from Karen Foster, & the striped is from Reminisce which I had in my stash from last year. The "Boo" is from a 2/$1 set from Michael's from last year? The year before? Heck, I have so many of their cheapie stamps I forget! I used my little oval Nesties to cut & matte it, then hung it from the gobs of black ribbon. Yes, I probably should have mixed a little orange ribbon in with it, but I thought all black would look cool. Instead, it looks like a big black blob!

I colored the image with Prisma pencils & Gamsol. I stamped the image 3 times ~~ I cut the costume & hat out & mounted those, then cut the pumpkin yet again & mounted that on top. Lots of dimension!!


Here's the inside ~~ albeit a little blurry. I think my camera doesn't like all that white space. My camera is rather picky, isn't it?? I think next time I'll try adding some ribbon or brads on the table next to the card ~~ maybe it will help it focus a little better. I never claimed to be a good photographer!!!


I'm off to get my son from school & take him to the ortho ~~ he's getting his appliance out today! The bad news is that he gets braces in two weeks. He's really bummed about that, but he doesn't realize that kids have it good nowadays. Back in my day, we got full braces for at least a year, sometimes 2. He's getting braces just on the front, for 6 months. And can you believe they have *colored* braces now?? That's just crazy!! In my day kids tried to hide their braces by not smiling, lol. Now they show them off in all kinds of colors!!

Have a great Tuesday!!

Ch-ch-ch-changes.....

Do you have that song in your head now? You're welcome :)

As you can see, I'm fiddling with my blog again. Because, again, I have nothing better to do. No laundry or dishes.......no cleaning or errands......nope, nothing.......cough cough

I need to know what you think ~~~ I ending up stretching the template because I was trying to add a slideshow of my art, but it kept getting cut off on one side in the other template. I intend to pay someone eventually to do a complete overhaul, but that's so far down the list of necessities that I had to do something else in the meantime.

So......does this look okay???? Or do you like the narrower middle part better?? Is it easier to read now, or harder?? At least my slideshow fits, lol!! But I want to know what you prefer. I don't want any of you unable to read any part of my blog. Before I got my laptop, I wasn't able to read some blogs because my screen was too small, so parts of them were cut off. I don't want that happening here, so please be honest!!!!

I will hopefully return with a REAL post later, lol!!!

High Hopes Project of the Month

Well, after much futzing & fixing & redoing, I finished my High Hopes POTM card!!! There were a few glitches along the way, but I do like how it turned out. Again, my camera is not liking red, & there doesn't seem to be much I can do about it. It's cloudy out right now, so I can't take a a picture outside. I will try to play around with it more later, but I wanted to get this posted so I can return to my regularly scheduled domestic duties!

For the month of September, you can purchase these stamps as a set at 25% off the regular price!! The set includes Max the Magnificent, Sammy Seal, Popcorn, & You're A Class Act! What a deal!!!! Click HERE to order your very own set!!

For my very large (6" X 6") card, I used Bo Bunny's Organic Poppy paper, plus SU's Bordering Blue & So Saffron. I stamped the image onto Papertrey white paper & colored it with Prismas & Gamsol. I did lots of cuttin' & poppin' on this card ~~ Sammy's collar thing is glitterized, cut & popped up, & the popcorn is cut & popped up, with the actual popcorn cut & popped yet again (ha ~~ popcorn.....popped.....lol). I added the stars in the background at the last minute, because I smudged!!! Grr......I hate when that happens!! I tried erasing it & I was just making it worse, so I decided to stamp the stars from the platform, cut them out (after adding glitter, of course) & strategically popped them on the background. Voila ~ error fixed. I was sure wishing I had a star punch though ~~ cutting those stars was NOT fun!



Another mistake, which you can't see here because I canNOT get a good picture of nicely decorated inside (that red factor again) is that I mounted the whole shebang THE WRONG WAY!!!! Luckily it wasn't upside down......lol.....that would have been tragic. But I did mount it sideways, so instead of opening from the bottom, like most of my cards do, it opens from the side. The *right* side, lol!! It definitely could have been worse!!

Speaking of High Hopes.....guess who just started a blog?!? Crissy Armstrong, the fabulous artist for High Hopes!! You all know her as #1artist4highhopes on SCS, but she just started her very own blog, Crissy's Art & Heart. You will love it!!! Click HERE to check it out!! Congrats, Crissy!!!

I hope you all have a fabulous Monday!! It's actually chilly here ~~~ low 60's ~~~ my boys wore *gasp* LONG PANTS to school!!! Guess summer really is over!! *sob*

Whipper Snapper Halloween

Weekends seem to be a bad time for me to try to stamp. There is always so much going on, & now that my kids are in school during the week, I really want to hang out with them as much as I can on the weekends. They are 6 & 9, & I know that soon MOM will be the *last* person they want to hang out with!!

So....I haven't had a chance to stamp at all this weekend. But I do want to share a card with you ~~ one that I made last year with a cutie ghost from Whipper Snapper. I love this stamp ~~ it has seen a LOT of ink!! I actually did this card for a challenge on SCS last year ~~ which was simply to make a Halloween card!! If I remember correctly, the dotted paper is from Doodlebug ~~ love their papers!! Always such cute designs!! I also used SU's Pumpkin Pie & Basic Black, plus Whisper White for the image. I actually just added the 3 dew drops at the top, the spider & the bats (the spider is an EK Success punch, the bat a Martha Stewart punch). I also added some ribbon behind the sentiment, but I'm not sure I like the outcome of that. I futzed around with it so much, though, that it is staying :)


Unfortunately I can't sell this card on Ebay. Whipper Snapper is not an angel company. So......I may just have to send it to a friend. Or one of my readers. Or one of my readers who is a friend, or a friend who is a reader......lol!!!

Stay tuned tomorrow for (hopefully!) a High Hopes card, using this month's set of stamps that are on sale!!

I love happy mail!!!

Happy Sunday everyone!! I just had to share some happy mail that I received last week, from 2 of my very favorite stamping friends!!

The first is from Tammi ~~ aka LOTRFAN. Tammi recently started a blog, Tropical Dreams, & I couldn't be happier about it!! I've been a fan of hers for a long time ~~ she uses the cutest images, & her layouts & coloring always make me smile. Along with this adorable card, she sent me a ton of Fluffles & Rachel Anne Miller images. Thank you so much, Tammi!!


The second card is from Inge, my fellow High Hopes diva. I love Inge's style ~~ her coloring is always the best, & she has such an eye for patterned papers! She always knows exactly what to put on each card to make it absolutely perfect!! Her cards are always a joy to look at. She already sent me a card & some images for my birthday last month, so imagine the smile on my face when I opened up this card & found even more fun Magnolia images!!! Inge, you spoil me!!! Check out her blog here!


Don't I have the best friends?? Thank you so much, ladies! Your friendship means the world to me!!!!