Blog Candy Alert! Mark Your Calendars...

As I said before, I am doing two different blog candy offerings this week! Here's some important info: The first candy I'm giving away is my new set! The ninth offering of mine from Gina K Designs, it is one you are REALLY going to want and contains more images than any of my previous sets (I know, I still can't even believe it!)

You may leave a comment once per day during our sneak peeks, which start September 2nd. Then on Friday, September 5th (the day of our BIG RELEASE and party) I will draw a name randomly from the first three days entries and announce the winner of the set that morning (so you know if you're getting it free that night or need to go shopping!) ;) as well as show you a project made with it, along with providing info on the next candy offering!* (It is a prize package that has never been offered here before, but it's a BIG one! ) There will be multiple ways to enter that one, with the winner being announced the following Monday. I am so excited for all this fun stuff, so please plan on coming to play every day!

* There may be some hints the next few days as to what it is...or maybe if you play your cards right, I'll end up telling you early LOL! I LOVE spilling my own secrets ;)

Bunch o' Punch: Part 1

Here is the first installment in a series of posts sharing my findings on the Large Flourish Punch, aka "My New Favorite Toy"! When it first caught my eye in Gina's store, I thought of how pretty it would be on vintage cards or as an accent with flourish stamps and patterned papers, but the more I looked at it, I realized something very different about it from my other punches: unlike all my squares, circles, etc, the shape of this flourish is asymmetrical. This allows for some pretty amazing combinations and borders, which you will soon see. If you're not all completely sold that this is a MUST HAVE (and what a deal this thing is for $13.99!) by my last installment, I'll eat...some chocolate LOL! (to cheer myself up after learning I'm not as persuasive as I think:)

First, here are a bunch of punched flourishes, looped together and turned in different ways to make very different, dramatic larger flourishes!* (and they can all be flipped upside down for a different look, and this is not even all you can make)

Can you imagine how gorgeous they would be framed by themselves on a mat for your card or as an embellishment in a corner or below a greeting? Each "image" above one uses just two punched flourishes, with the exception of the "butterfly" in the center (uses 4)
and my single "monograms" at the lower left ("C" is for "Carolyn", "G" is for "Gina"! ;) You can make other calligraphic letters, too, have fun using your imagination...

After making a bunch of these, I began seeing some "Rorschach" type images pop out at me (a ladybug, owl, etc) kind of cool...what do you see?? :)

You like so far? Stay tuned for part 2!

* This reminds me a little bit of a sheet I saw a few years ago on the many ways the wrought iron corner punch from SU! could be modified with a craft knife cutting off different parts to make a new looking corner slot, it was way cool, but I don't think I ever actually made any (that would just take more time!) The above, though, require no cutting other than the basic punch, so I expect to use them other than justas one simple flourish a lot, and you should expect to see lots of cards from me using them in different ways here. A Quickie Glue Pen or Mono Multi is all you need to stick down those delicate parts! :)

Time Again to Rock the Vote!

Go to this link to check out the projects and cast your vote for that adorable tic tac toe "Hugs and Kisses" card from Barb* (poll at the top on the sidebar in the link)! I just think her use of the circle border for placing the x's and o's with the monogram stamper was SO clever/sharp-looking! Voting ends Monday night, be sure to get it in this weekend! Thanks!
Hugs and kisses,
Melanie


*and/or my other peep Julie Koerber, another insanely talented past Gina K Guest Designer, who I love and miss already! gotta give her props ;)

The Fastest Card I (N)Ever Stamped!

My new release sets came today (woo hoo!) which required lots of trimming and left little time for stamping! So instead of stamping, I put a few things from my very large order of stuff Gina K just recently added to the store to good use, assembling about the quickest card on earth! ta da!
This uses just part of one 6x6 piece from a brand new paper line Gina K will be carrying (she discovered them at CHA), available for purchase next Friday, September 5th! (Just wait til you see the rest of them (this particular pad's palette is a yummy mix of aqua, teal and dark cocoa), so many color option and designs, and if you've been paying close attention to Gina's blog, each 6x6 pack is textured and double-sided!) I mounted this on a piece on textured DCWV Earth Elements CS pack (a terrific match for the brown in this DP!) on white CS. That's it! Isn't the loopy, swoopy border and "love" element on the print to die for? Now kick it up a little bit with some white brads...
getting better, but I couldn't stop without a quick press of my new Large Flourish Punch (now available) into that same textured DCWV brown, hooking my punched flourish around the brads and tacking the ends down with a little Mono Multi.

I LOVE IT! I have so many ideas for this punch (as well as the others) and can't wait to try them all out and show you some little mini tutorials!

Sneak peeks are just a few days away, with TWO blog candys going on! :) Have a great weekend!

PS REMINDER: This is the final weekend a portion of the profits from "Flowers for Daisy" are going to the American Cancer Society, buy your set NOW to contribute $4 to a cause that touches all our lives!

My Guest Designer: Week 5!

I love long months, don't you? So glad to have Cathy "take one for the team" so to speak and help me out one more week with one more amazing sample with "Little Tees". Could this be any cuter? I love how she made this patriotic track suit, talk about getting inspired by the games! As usual from Cat, tons of fun little details (charms, "stars and (Scor-Pal) stripes") beyond just the colors are all unified to make a top notch creation. (Brilliant Blue never looked so good to me, LOL!)

Still sick, so another short post! Please go seek more "creativi-tee" (sorry, couldn't resist, not to sick to make a pun!!) at Cathy's, and have a great day!

PS CRE A tiv i TEE (noun): the state or quality of being creative when stamping with (or while wearing) tees :)

How to Have a Birthday that Rocks!

Here's a card made with Rupa's elephant from "Whatever Floats Your Boat"(image is colored with Koh-i-Noor pencils and OMS). I had to repeat that cute little ball by grabbing some fun spotted DP and a way to get it moving. The scalloped focal point holds it closed, and when it opens, the focal point tilts back and forth.
For this Tilt Card project, you need:
1 9 1/8" x 11" piece CS, scored at 5 1/2" (SU! Ruby Red here)
2 coordinating DP prints (these are both Basic Grey "Cupcake"), 1 piece cut 4"x 5 1/4", the other piece cut 3 3/8" x 4"
(these measurements do not have to be the same on your card, just worked well with the size circle die I chose)
hobby blade
2 pennies
2 dimensionals
CS for focal point and scalloped mat (PT white and DCVW Textured Earth Elements)

Fold your CS at the score.
Adhere larger piece DP to the inside of the folded card.
Adhere smaller DP to the front short side of card.
Cut a circle through both layers of the short front that will just fit your round focal point, with your die or Coluzzle. (Just laying it on here to show you, don't cut on the Scor-Pal! (I should have put my mat underneath, this was just for the pic) :)

Make a square hole with your hobby blade under the center of where you will attach your focal point to the back of the card, big enough for dimensional to wobble around in.
Put one penny with a dimensional on top under the hole, remove backing and adhere a second penny with dimensional on top of that. Remove backing and place focal point on the center.
Wrap some ribbon around if desired to add interest.

Tomorrow: my last guest spot week with Cathy Tidwell! Coming up: Can you believe the Gina K Designs sneak peeks start in less than a week?! Not only am I excited about our new stamps, but I will be having my biggest blog candy offering yet during the peeks!! Be sure to turn out each day, can't wait to share what it is! :)

May your day rock!

Shrink Your Tees

Acck, I realized I forgot to post this Little Tees necklace I made before the release! (although if you checked out our release party thread you may have seen it there) The ringer and "super" "mom" are stamped on white Poly Shrink (be sure to use Staz-on or other permanent ink to prevent smearing) I carefully cut it out and used my Cropodile to make the hole for my jump ring in the corner (the larger hole, remember it shrinks up!) To shrink the tee, place it on a plate or self healing mat and hold in place with a tool like a piercer to embossing tool in the hole. Once you turn on the heat gun it will start to move around/curl but if you keep heating it will eventually flatten out. The arms tend to want to flip over, if they do this you can press then back down and then continue heating. Sometimes it helps while its still warm to press an acrylic block or other flat surface on top of it to get it nice and flat. After I was done heating, I accented the tee with the few pink self adhesive rhinestones, put my jump ring through and threaded it on to this simple ball chain I got at Hobby Lobby for less than 2 bucks. The finished charm is about an inch. Isn't that fun? I plan to make these "super mom" charms for a few friends. (I also wore it myself the other day*, hoping if I wore it, I might just act like one!!)

When I have time, I'd also like to make a mix of t-shirts charms in different styles and colors with different sayings to make a little charm bracelet (colored pencils are a nice way to add color to the Polyshrink) Fun for a little girl OR a big girl(like you or me)! ;) I'm also going to make one to add to a keyring...and maybe a few other projects, too, why stop there?

Have a great day, thanks for stopping by!

* I did got some compliments on it actually, looks really cute and casual with, you guessed it, jeans and a tee! :)

EDITED TO ADD: Speaking of polyshrink, please check out Lee's fantastic earrings made with this set! oh and another set she just did, oh my! ("supporTEE'ng a cause", she cracks me up!!! :) Have a polyshrink tee project you'd like to share? Let me know!

Little Monsters

I had some time to ink up these sweet little monsters from the new My Favorite Things "Monster Squad" today and had to get out every color flock I own for their furry little costumes!

Some parts are colored with Koh-iNoor pencils and OMS, the remaining areas I covered with my Quickie Glue Pen and pressed in my flock, one color at a time. I cut out all the images, placed some on dimensionals, and then stamped the image again so I could cut out the rabbit face to add a third layer like it was peeping out through the hood. The DP is Basic Grey Sugared, I love the earthy tones they mix with the pink in this pack. (I drew a little shadow under each with a marker, but difficult to see now, the dark colors of the DP absorbed it, I need to go back over again) I added my black grosgrain and layered the DP on Basic Black and More Mustard, but the card needed a little something still, so I fished out a Zoo Brad to put on my tied ribbon and drew in some little spots with my black pen to match on one character. (I had a hard time getting this photographed to my liking, but I wanted you to see the layers.)

As I worked on each costumed child, I realized none are really "monsters", just sweet animal costumes, so with different colors I think you could use this image for lots of other occasions besides Halloween, use each child separately, piece their cotsumes from DP to look like footy pajamas, etc... :)

Short post, I'm sick! :( (and sick of dealing with "6 year-old angst"!!! Kids are cute or who could put up with them sometimes?! I'd bang my head against the wall over an incident at the mall Sunday but I still have my migraine from Friday!!! grrr...... don't worry 'bout me, though, I'll be in a better mood tomorrow... actually will probably be sad since school starts and I'll forget all about what happened after a few hours and start missing him ...)

For the Hostess with the Mostest

Here's a card I made with Basic Grey's Sultry pack, (4 different prints) I thought these patterns and colors would be fun to make a vintage looking, homey "kitchen" card. The dress and apron require stamping the tee twice on two different patterned papers. The brown "dress" is made by cutting on tee in half to separate and make it longer to mount under the apron), the apron is made by sketching on some straps and a waist after stamping the tee (plus pockets if you wish) and cutting. There are so many ways you could draw yours differently to change the style of your apron (to make it look more like a grilling apron, a retro frilly glamour apron, etc) I added "Domestic Goddess" to the chest, I love this script font, looks embroidered. (Would really look embroidered if you embossed it! But I didn't, lazy...)

This is a 4 1/4" card. I made a mat from the pack in anew apttern(kind of like oilcloth from a diner of wallpaper and added my Kelly Panacci stitch stamp aroud the edges. I made my a notch in each corner for my big white brads with the ticket punch, then mounted on Chocolate Chip and Certianly Celery layers, very pretty matches with the Basic Grey pack.



The scalloped, embossed white mat (a Square Nestabilitie, stamped with "Happy Birthday" a matching font sentiment from Carolyn's "Framed Flowers") is meant to look like a little napkin or placemat. It still needed a little something so I wwrapped a piece of SU! celery 5/8" grosgrain around and under the dress, then used my fourth and final print from the pack to punch a 1 " circle to mount under this clear button, I just love using DP and clear buttons this way. (Be sure to use a clear glue to add the paper since you'll see through it)



BTW, I found a super cute (easy!) idea in "Family Fun" magazine for using different DPs with clear buttons, will be back to share this you after I complete and photograph! :)

PS I am the Anti-Domestic Goddess IRL, but I can play one on my blog LOL!


Have a great day! Hope this inspires you to go make a card (after whipping up a batch of cookies, hee!)

I'm Baaaack!

I REALLY missed you!! (huuuuuuuuuuuuugggggggggggggssss, squeals, jumping around!!) I'm really glad though I had more posts set than I needed so I have a little time to stamp some new things and write up some new posts after I get our mountain of laundry done and get my oldest ready for school Monday! I'm busy with some new release stamps I'm inking up and getting all my pics from Disneyworld downloaded to share here. This one above is me getting to play out one of my favorite scenes from the classic "Singing in the Rain" at the Hollywood Studios backlot (they had a button you pressed to make it rain over the umbrella but I don't think you can see it in the pic)

Gosh, a week is a LONG time there, you can do almost everything! (I'd only been for 3 days at a time before) We had SO much fun, but don't envy me too much, you can't have the "highs" without the "lows" (which would be both my kids having some stomach bug for several days of the trip and washing out their underwear two to three times a day in the sink at our hotel or AT the theme parks, ughhh!! (or stripping pukey bedsheets at night) :(

Thankfully, my husband and I did NOT get sick*, and, when you're 3 or 6 years old, a stomach bug is NOT enough to keep you down when you have Disneyworld to conquer, we just kept moving forward (when they weren't sick they were having the time of their lives, here's some proof!) J getting in on the fun in front of the castle at Magic Kingdom:

My little chipmunk William trying on a Chip (Dale??) hat (which we did not purchase)
I will probably share some tidbits here over time about our favorite things from the parks and vacation along with some tips I'd have for if you are planning a Disney getaway of your own soon. (We did have some incredible luck on more than one day that I will put in another post. :)
And, although I left "my pad" at home I got some inspiration for two new sets I'm really excited about and doodled them on the inflight magazine on the way back. (No, they're not characters or toys! you'll never guess)

I came home to 230 emails, oh my goodness! (want to feel really popular? Don't check email for a week LOL! It really beats checking every five minutes and seeing no one's written you for 10 whole minutes, hee hee!) Thanks for all the comments, leaving pics in the guest book, and well wishes for our safe return. I'm almost caught up and have been able to stop by a few blogs and say hey, but not nearly enough. I'm working on it!

BTW Are you trying out for the In the Spotlight Guest Designer for Gina K Designs? I've had a few people email me links but I'm sure there are a lot I've missed. Please let me know if you have a special entry you'd like me to see (I have a little influence with Gina, ya know... ;) hee! **

I'll be back with a few new things soon (not shirts!) ;) Oh, speaking of shirts, I just had to take pics of a few of my favorite tees I saw at the parks for the blog (didn't buy them, I have the pic and that's all I need :) Here's one from the front:

and the back:
This one really resonated with me (and not just because I love Yoda) because my son William was just barely 40" with shoes and hair so this was another way we got lucky, they let him ride all the "40 inchers", which there are a LOT of at the parks, I was holding my breath every time they checked him. Had they turned him away, we would have either been separated or missing out on lots of things each day, I was so happy (and so he was he, thrill seeker that he is, he loves the fast, scary ones the best)

More later, again, glad to be back!! :)

*Actually I've had a migraine since yesterday and as I write this am starting to get nauseous (uh oh!), hopefully it's nothing, but I'll accept my fate happily if that's what it is, now that we're home!

**no more than the rest of the team LOL! :)

Balloons and Cupcakes

Here is a super simple card I made with a few papers from the Basic Grey's Cupcake pack. I really like the colors (a mix of rich earthy tones plus pastels) and the whimsical images they use on these papers, not just cupcakes, ice cream cones, bicycles, and as you see here, balloons! (Aren't these fun colors?) I used the distressed red page from this pack to make my tee (and for the red mat behind the balloon DP) I stamped it in the corner of the page so I could pick up a lot of that cool distressing in blue. Gives it such a comfortably worn, vintage tee look. I added "birthday" "girl", and cut out, that's it!

I thought it would be more interesting to mount it on a color so I took a yellow distressed page from the pack and die cut a large oval using my Nestabilities to match one of the balloons. I mounted this off center and extending off the top of my square 4x4" card (so it will still fit in an A2 envelope) lined up over one of the strings so it now looks like it's tied and drifting right off the DP!

The 5/8" olive grosgrain is SU! I used my 1/2" circle punch to bite out just the corners at the top and bottom and stuck in my big white brads from Hobby Lobby to finish it off

Have a good one, (celebrate the day like it's your birthday!) thanks for stopping by! :)

A Suit that Flatters

By now you've all read about Gina's daughter Rina's success in swimming this season! So I had had to make her a celebratory "swimsuit" card :)

The "suit" is pieced from Sultry Basic Grey DP. The circles punched from that same piece and solid brown and pink papers from the same pack echo the pattern on the suit and create a fun, "bubbly" border. In the pic below you get an idea of how I changed up my tee with a few pen lines to "suit" me (hee!)
Notice how this suit on white looks a little sportier/youthful that the pieced one on the card, which looks a little more "womanly". Same stamp but, it's because of the way I drew the neckline! For a young girl like Rina who's on a swim team, this second one would have been better IMHO, a higher neck (angled at the arms) makes the suit look narrower and gives it a racing look, whereas" scooping" out my neck lower (accidentally!) on the DP one I think it made the whole suit and chest look wider, (interesting no???) (But I wasn't redoing it at the point, not wasting good DP!!) Just something to consider when your creating your own swimsuit (or shopping for one!! LOL!)



Ribbon is SU! Chocolate Chip Satin, tied above the hanger (it and "go girl" are also from "Little Tees")



SO what would YOUR swimsuit look like? Mine are starting to need the "skirt", no cropping of tee at the bottom necessary LOL!!!)



Have a tee-rific day!! Hugs!

My Guest Designer, Week 4: Be Happy

Cathy's "Latest and Greatest" project using "Little Tees", can you help but smile?

Isn't her tie-dye technique great here, just doing markers direct-to-stamp in stripes so that they meet/blend in the middle, how that's for a dye job, I LOVE it! She did the same smiley face brads similar to mine just on smaller scale, aren't the minis cute? and made a cusotm medallion with her Just-Rite stamper. I love the the different colored layers and smiley paper, it all just works. The highlight she added with her white gel pen to the shades is perfect, makes them extra cool and a slick feel to the card, and makes the shiny smileys in her DP extra dimensional, they just pop off the page.

Now please go see what Cathy is going to surprise you today and leave her some love, you know it'll be tee-rific!!

T-Skirt: the Perfect Pleat

Here's a card I made with a certain "cheerleader" in mind, I wanted to shown how easy it it to alter two tees to make the perfect little cheer outfit! The uniforms at your school may have been different than this, but ours* were sleeveless with a v-neck and a slight v at the bottom. For the tank top, stamp your tee and draw in a v at the neck and diagonal lines to take off the sleeves. Adding another line next to each for piping allows you to add color and make it sportier-looking. Cut out the excess and color.

For a simple pleated skirt without having to draw extra lines or mask, stamp the shirt several times, off- setting about a 1/4 inch each time you stamp.
Now you can cut around the parts to you don't want! Color and adhere under your top.
I finished the card layering embossed die cut Nestabilities Stars in DP from the Basic Grey Sultry pack, and added a few of the Rain Dot eyelets in pinks and green to add more shine and dimension. I just love being able to stick these on wherever you need a little sumthin'! A few of these around my "supergirl" (also from the Little Tees set) draws attention to the sentiment. I decided to leave my stars hanging off the edges rather than trimming because I like seeing the whole shape, more dynamic and interesting. It is A2 size, but I would need to put this in a larger envelope to mail (To get this recreate this card and make it fit an A2 envy, though just start with a narrower card base, or trim the points off the stars...)

Have an awesome day! woo-hoo! U ROCK! (herkie!!)

* by "ours", I mean "our school's", not a uniform I also wore, I was not a cheerleader

(Super) Baby on Board

Every mom thinks hers is a superbaby... :)

The safety pins and binkys on the background are from my "Hip Hop Accessories". I filled in a few places with my white gel pen to make them stand out a little more. The little doodle from my Kelly Panacci border set worked well with these little curved accessories, so I stamped that across the top and bottom. To color in the shirt, I swiped my pad across the bold shirt instead of tapping it on the pad, gives it kind of a brushed cotton look. A little strategic shading with a matching marker gives the shirt a nice pregger shape! :)



TIP: When two step stamping the line and bold tshirt images from "Little Tees", a stampamajig will ensure perfect placement, but if you want to "eyeball", stamp your first image, then ink your second image and peek under lining up the points of each side of the COLLAR and then lower onto paper, which I swhat I idd on the card above. (Lining it up fom the bottom or either side at the sleeve can wind up too high or low, at least when I tried it that way!!)

"The Future's So Bright..."

...I gotta wear shades!" I love smiley faces (when I write I always put two exclamation points at the end of sentences so I can add a little smile underneath =: ) Remembering how popular this happy face was was growing up I am having a hard time not making it yellow when I'm using it on my "Little Tees"! Guess there's actually a chance now I might finally make a dent in my Yoyo Yellow CS and ribbon LOL!

I am loving putting a cut out focal point onto a colored mat instead of white really pops. I figured a yellow round mat framed by black would most appropriate with the happy face theme.And here I lost the ribbon to make it a little more manly. My son just loves this card. (You may or may not have noticed the ringer tee is a little less "shapely" than the short sleeved one and works well for guy cards(plus the ringer style is sportier), Jonathan looked over the set and right away said "this one's the boy shirt" LOL!) In this view you can also see the dimension and shine the Sakura Glaze Pen adds to the "2COOL" and shades. Aren't these brads cute?? I took my big white ones from Hobby Lobby and colored them with my Cadmium Yellow Copic, then drew on a smiley face with a black Sharpie.

Thanks for looking, have a nice day!!

His & Hers: Write On!!

There was really no way I could provide stamps to express all the things I heart(in this set anyway!) so I stuck with the biggies, U , chocolate etc LOL ! But I knew you could easily fill in the blank for these in your own way, a glitter pen is perfect for some scripty names (I lettered our names with my Silver Copic Spica), just like personalized tees from theme parks hee hee ;) ...

Here I made an anniversary card for my husband, we celebrate 9 years of marriage next month. Although he would never wear matching shirts like these with me somewhere (unless we were on a team or something) I thought having a his and her version declaring our love would be really fun on a card. I two-step stamped my solid and outlines tee to make the images, rolling the bold stamp on my gray pad to give it a nice gym shirt (I love those heather gray athletic tees) feel. Christmas Red Stickles gives the heart puffy, sparkly dimension.

"Mirror, Mirror..."

This was such an easy project to make (but very hard to photograph, not allowing you to see my house of me without makeup reflected in the pic!!) I found this sparkly magnetic mirror at the Target Dollar Spot (for $1) and knew right away I wanted to make a fun locker mirror for my niece who is on dances (the only 8th grader to make their elite school dance team)

After stamping my tee on s sheet of Basic Grey "Sultry" pink paper, I added a stripe of black to each sleeve, filled in the collar, and cut out. I pressed a few sticky stars I got from Jody onto the mirror, frame and shirt, then dumped on Dazzling Diamonds glitter after peeling off the plastic backing, it turned out so sparkly cute! To make the star on the shirt show up a little better, I traced around it with my black pen after "glitterfying" it with a pen the same width as the stamp outline to make it all look uniform. Last I stamped star from the same set under it.
And here I am holding it up (conveniently hidden behind my camera) I would have loved to have had something like this in my own locker in school (even though I wasn't on dance team!) TIP: When I send it to here I'm going to suggest she uses a black permanent marker to add her name or a quote she loves around the frame, doodle or let her friends autograph it , etc, but I really want that part of the project to be her own, to "make it her own".

Hope this inspires you to explore the possibilities these tees provide for teens and tweens alike! Happy creating! I'd love to see your ideas!

PS I like the shirt kind of offset at an angle like I did here just to be decorative, but a fun/ funny thing you could do would be to put the tee in the middle at the bottom going straight up and down so that when the person looks into it their face is lined up with the collar!! (can you picture it?) HEE!!

(She) Will Rock You (or, "Party Like a Rockstar")

How's this for some grrrrrrl power?! Kind of a "Hannah Montana" style card, fun for girls of any age who just wanna rock!!



To make the belt, I stamped the t-shirt image on black CS, then punched the five holes through the bottom at a slight diagonal (in a row like a hip belt) and added my silver eyelets (Cropodile makes this a breeze!!) Then I cut around the eyelets to each edge of the tee, cut another strip and then adhered the second strip to this white stamped tee and the eyelet strip on top with dimensionals so the belt look layered around the waist. (Honestly, it actually started out as a black tee with eyelets through it like a peekaboo holes, but I ended up not liking the way I cropped the tee and I didn't want the eyelets to go to waist LOL! Salvaged that strip by making it into a belt for a brand new shirt, score!! The rock star was on that black shirt , too, so I just punched it out with my 1" circle to make a logo for my new white, turned out pretty cool, huh? I think the new look was better than what I planned , I love when I get lucky that way! :) I gave the white tee some "edge" by drawing in some wavy lines to make a wider neck and "ripped" bottom and sleeves before cutting and mounting on dimesnionals. I put it at an angle cuz she's really rockin' out! (or about to jump off the stage!)




Both glittery DPs are from DCWV "All Dressed Up" pack. (The "stars and studs" look like a big lightshow to me!) I cut a strip from the graduated circles paper for my border, planned it so that the large circle would be two thirds over for me to stamp my U" on (also from the "Little Tees" set), and matted it on a white strip of CS, then placed this two thirds down on my card. I used Palette Noir ink for the "U", and even though this is a fast drying ink for any surface, stamping it on top of glitter I found I had to blot it with a scratch paper a couple times, it wasn't drying, just FYI)


The finishing touch was to give my trim a holey look to match my cool belt. These rows of small repeating glittered circles look so similar to eyelets and the inside was just the right size for my large Cropodile hole punch so I followed along with that through both the DP and white layer. (Didn't even need to add eyelets, hee hee!) :) This cool little detail really ties it all together and looks fun when the card is opened, seeing that row of holes through the white inside... :)



May your day totally rock!!

My Guest Designer, Week 3: "The Hottee"

That Cathy is just too hot to handle, check out her latest guest designer submission titled "Hottee" (hottee! she cracks me up!) What a hunka, hunka burnin' love!!!

You'd have to ask Cathy if the paper inspired her to do the flames or she just got lucky digging through her cast DP collection and finding this fiery print to match this sizzling shirt she hand- colored with markers. (it's got me thinking of BMX racing and flame broiled burgers at the same time LOL!) Anyway, she is having way too much fun with this set, don't you think?! (did I say "too much fun"? you're right, not possible!) I love that she used this zig zag pinking edge for the bottom and border (adds to the heat!) and the red wrapped wire makes the whole project a little more "twisted"! ;) She has a tee project on her blog today too, don't forget to check it out!



So, has sassy Cathy brought out the "Little Tees" in YOU yet??? Email me your favorite tee creations or send me a link to them if you post them on your blog or SCS) You just might be the one to find your artwork showcased in my Guest Design Spots in September, my next release is a doozy!

"Designers! Gather Round..."

"Designers, your challenge for today begins with the basic white tee. A classic shape that can be dyed, cut trimmed, torn, embellished, use it as your inspiration to create the most fashion forward outfit imaginable. Be sure your creation shows your point of view... Your time begins now!" (said in my best Tim Gunn impression)


Any Project Runway fans reading my blog? I love that show (any early favorites? email me to dish about them later!:) partly because I would love to be able to design clothes(without having to mess with sewing!!) What would YOU do with a tee? What would your say about you and who you are as an artist? No crazy budget or material constraints here, you have complete creative freedom to make what you want... :) (I have pages and pages of tees I've stamped out on plain white paper and altered in different ways like these you see here... I'll get around to them all some day!)

Now, I will not have access to my email for several days (including when the Gina K Designs Guest design auditions start), wahhhhh!! :( (I'm going to have a lot to catchup on!!) But if you post something you would like me to see with the tees and are interested in a chance at guest designing with my set next month, please email me the link and I will be sure to come check it out as soon as I get back! "Make it work!" :)

Speaking of, tomorrow is Cathy's guest spot, please come check it out!

How Cheesy!*

Not the image, the card LOL! Give me a mouse with a piece of holey cheese (from "Whatever Floats Your Boat" by Rupa Shevde and I've gotta get out my punches! ;) This was very easy to make...
This an A2 size card, that opens longways, makes it easier to get the punches all over/where you want them. I used the large hole in my Cropodile and my SU! 1/2" and 1" circle punches for all the holes. I did this pretty quickly, just trying to get a random look but varying the sizes. I also went off the sides with a few.
The image is colored with SU! markers, Koh-i Noor and and OMS, AND Copics! I sponged on a little Barely Banana ink with the Nestabilitie die still in place like a stencil to make the background to match my card base. I added a layer of Apricot Appeal inside the card so that the holes would appear to have a little more depth and "pop". The curved sentiment in the set was fun to stamp around them, too! :) A more fun ribbon than plain white would have been good, but digging through my stash I just didn't have any that worked with these colors, oh well!

I'm leaving town tomorrow, won't be back for days and days and no computer where I'm going!!
But don't worry (not that you would), I have everything on autopilot here, though, so please keep checking back each day for new projects, and cut me some slack trying to get caught up on email when I return LOL! Talk to you soon!

*or "Holey Moley!"

PS Can you add yourself to my new guestbook down at the bottom while I'm gone, pretty please? Your smiling faces would be the perfect welcoming committee when I get back! :)

Newsflash!

I'm SO excited! (I just can't hide it...!)

PS Cards N Things 2009 :)

Pretty Place Holders

Here's a little gift idea using a "one sheet wonder" sheet I stamped with Gina K's Summer Harvest, August's Free with Three Set. I put three bookmarks, (1 3/4" x 10.5 " strips of Pink Passion , scored at 5 1/4" and folded in half) in a clear CD case. These are a little different from traditional bookmarks because they hold not only your page, but your place, as I will show below! Packaged together with these binder clips clipped to the spine, they are not only decorative but can be attached to the folded end of the bookmark or used separately for papers and photos. (and the recipient can also repurpose the case...)



These clips were the inspiration for my color scheme, (I have such a hard time getting away from my favorite Red unless I'm smacked over the head with something else!) I was at my favorite Target Dollar Spot a few weeks ago and thought these light and hot pink and peachy berries and cherries were so summery and festive and perfect to go with the "Summer Harvest" stamps!
The narrow grosgrains I tied on are SU! Apple, Apricot, and Rose, and that crazy spotty dotty one I had completely forgotten I had (Ribbon FX from Hobby Lobby $1.99) I picked it up a few months ago planning to use it with my circus animals! :) Could the colors be any more perfect? (now that I know I have it again, expect to see it with another little animal from this past release, coming soon!)

I stamped the cherries and berries all over my CS (4 1/2" x 5") in Palette Noir, turning the stamps as I went , going back and filling in ares as needed. I colored them with my Copics (minus shading to match the bold, solid look of the fruit on my clips) and added some white dots for a cheery highlight and berry seeds with my Signo gel pen (which is dying by the way, I think it's time I go try the Inkssentials pen, do you have one...?)

I cut that one piece into 1 1/2" strips and adhered them to my folded bookmarks. I went and ahead and attached the clip at the folded end after taking it out of the case (isn't that cute?) I like that it is multipurpose, and you can take off the clip (instead of just having ribbon permanently attached) if you need it for something else. I made one of these for the Dirty Dozen gallery years ago (a more masculine one, very different looking from this!), I'd seen this snap on type of bookmark at a bookstore, and thought it was so clever, and necessary for some like me, who aways seems to reread an entire page before figuring out where I left off the night before, do you do that?? Here you just slide it on and snap it shut at the line you left off....


I wanted to use two short pieces of a long roll of adhesive magnetic tape on the insides, but of course I couldn't find it today so I had to use some of these larger magnets (not necessary to have such strong magnets for this project though) I toyed with the idea for a minute of using the Basic Grey snaps I bought last month, but decided against it because I really want to save them for things I want a more professional looking closure on, mini album, purse card, KWIM? (But they would have worked!) :)
TIP: Here you see if you decorate the back also (either with more stamping, DP, or maybe a verse or your own handwritten message, the bookmark looks nice facing either direction (here I have the same bookmark, snapped onto the right hand page...)

You might not think someone needs three bookmarks from you, but if they're like me (or at least like me back when I had time to read LOL!) I often have several books I'm into at once (which makes it extra hard to remember your spot!) ;)
EDITED TO ADD: This finished bookmark measures 1 3/4" x 5 1/4". (which means they are short enough to tuck into an A2 card if you want to send one per person in the mail. See above for additional measurements for each piece.) :)

I have to confess I'm not really reading Jane Eyre right now, just had to find something off the bookshelf that wouldn't look silly in my pic) :) Something I did read recently and highly recommend for the beach, plane ride etc: "No, I Don't Want to Join a Book Club!" by Virginia Ironside. It's been several months now since I checked it out and read it, but I think I'm going to go ahead and buy it, it was one of the funniest things ever, ( lots of insight and tender moments, too), kind of a Bridget Jones diary if Bridget were 60!! ) Warning, this woman can be very naughty, but she is a hoot!

Have a great day! (BTW, how do you like this new formatting...? never mind it looks like it did the wrap around in some places and not others...?)