NOSEFLASH!

Thank you everyone who left some advice or encouraging words about William's nose! I am happy to report he has gone almost 4 weeks without incident!! I'm praying it was just a passing phase(over a 5 week period), but we'll see... should it happen again, I believe we will make a trip to the doctor rather than me getting it out myself if only to impress upon him how serious and unpleasant it is/could BE if he keeps it up(that's what I'd had in mind and several of you suggesting it as well, made me think that was a really good idea!!! When I'd talked with his pediatrician before, she'd told me it would smell terrible if there was anything still inside(again, as many of you mentioned) and fortunately we never had that happen which is why we never went to the doc. Unfortunately, his interest seems to have shifted to some different body parts, but we're dealing with it LOL!

Hope you're enjoying your summer! Above is "the W"* enjoying a quarter of the cutest little "Personal Watermelons" I found at the store the other day, $2.99 and seedless (smaller than the regular seedless ones you see that are basketball sized, these are like a big cantaloupe, so easy to cut up and none going to waste, thumbs up!) I call this pic "Williamelon" hee hee!!

I'm in the middle typing up a post for a really cool trifold, it has about a billion pics to upload, sigh!!! I'm working on it, shouldn't be too much longer!

*Good thing for me it looks artsy to have your subject off center, William can rarely be caught in the middle of the frame, he's off like a flash and we're lucky if we catch a tiny sliver of him!!!

I'm So Lucky!

I didn't make this. The lovely and talented Joanne Basile did, and sent it to ME!* I am so delighted and honored to have this adorable "paper hug" in my home where I can look at it/touch it anytime I want, and I didn't have to make anything for today's post, hip hip hurray! :D (Wish I'd gotten better pics of it, sorry, these tied cards can be tricky)
I love how the simplicity of her layout and the monochromatic color scheme, you really focus on the image this way. I tell ya, she really does a card up right, the inside AND BACK look just as good as the front, the craftsmanship and "card-receiving experience" just goes on and on, LOL!
Here's the inside (after I untied the bow, which is always as fun as untying the ribbon to a big fancy giftbox) she added more DP to add a new unexpected POP of color, surprise! (It makes me think of garments that are finished on the inside with some gorgeous patterned fabric in contrasting color, that the only wearer sees, I LOVE that!) Then she added this large scalloped layer to the back, just because!! It adds such luxury and polish!

I've been so busy using my Papertrey White, I haven't used a vanilla CS in forever and I'd forgotten how rich an ivory looks with brown, although I used to almost always use vanilla instead of white when working with my Earth Elements, which are actually my favorite color family. (They added Ivory right after my last CS order for white) I'm not sure about the source for her DP... Joanne, help? She also used a shimmery vanilla (not sure who makes that either)for the cats, it looks so purrrrty ;) Now I need to go get some SU! 5/8" vanilla grosgrain, too, I'm totally inspired...

She ALSO enclosed THREE Fabriano cards and envelopes for me to play with! These will be my first time to try them out. I'm going to save them for now, because I know the perfect set coming up I want to use them for! (wink!) :) Thank you, Joanne!!

Check back to see the other gorgeous card she made with "Cuddles and Hugs", another delicious "chocolate confection"!

PS She even sewed on it (when someone sews on your card, it means they love you, it really does)

*It was for a secret swap she was hosting in the Gina K forum. If you like swaps, or have never done one before but been curious, you should definitely check them out, she has a few different ones running every month, and she always gives them some kind of fun twist! Sometimes you'll end up with a bunch of different cards, you might be paired up with a secret sis, or instead of cards receive lots of cardmaking bling (a "swapless" swap) We're cooking up a little something this next month which I'll be helping her promote, hope you'll come play, check back soon for more info! :)

Fashion in Fifteen: More is More

Here's the souped up version of my single layer card I promised. Had to make a red bag for ya! ;) I wanted to create a background with the shelf of purses, and then spotlight just one bag with color and punches, a tribute to that golden shopping moment when the perfect purse just pops out at you!

For tips on lining up your image for the background, see this post. I moved the shelf over a few purses as I worked up the card. Next ink up just the purse you plan to color or piece and punch out from white cardstock in a circle or other shape. Punch a mat for it with a larger punch. Stamp your purse again on DP or colored CS and mount on top with dimensionals (I stamped a third time to cut out the closure strap and mounted that on top of the cut purse). I added one of the metallic colored dots from the Gina K Bling and Dazzle Raindot Eyelet stickers for the snap, then outlined the purse with my Prismacolor warm gray 20% marker.
I found that the long greeting just fits on the longest Spellbinders Tag Trio die if you don't emboss it. TIP: Tags almost always look that much better with a mat! To make a perfect mat for this one (the Tag Trio dies don't nest together, they are three different shapes), trace the outside of the die with a pencil or embossing tool and cut. I didn't make holes in the black mat, just threaded my ribbon through the die cut tag.

Now go back and look at the finished card if you will: the trick to making the card really sharp I think is having all the elements "line up". See how the top of the matted tag meets the edge of the shelf and is centered between the curled shelf ends? And how the top of the circle tag just meets the curled shelves above it? The purse tag and the tied ribbon knot also follow the rule of thirds. Designing with these things in mind pulls everything together for a really eye-catching project.

Have a great day! :)

oh! You probably want to hear who won? If you've been counting, you already know, Cathy Tidwell aka Catdidit won the masses over with her showstopping zebra card!!! Congrats, Cathy, guess what?? The free stamps you won are going to be my next set, coming out July 24th! YOU ARE MY NEXT GUEST DESIGNER!!! (applause!!!!!!)

Kim Marie won my random drawing, she said "Cathy's is my favorite! Zach is so at home in his little jungle there and the "texture" of the card is phenomenal! The brads top it all off!! Great prize!!" Kim Marie, please email me if you want the OMS and stumps bundle or "Jumping for Joy" Thank you everyone who voted!!!

Kwik Koala Klip!*

It's funny how something "forgotten" can pop back into memory, (not once after I drew the koalas did I think of this until the stamps arrived at my house, which brought it back) but when I was was probably 6 or 7, I bought a little bottle of "designer" perfume called "Wild Musk" that had a little furry koala hugging the cap, you could squeeze it to clip or unclip it's grip. I have no clue what the perfume smelled like(probably vile) but I remember loving that little koala.** I decided to make a fun decorated clip for papers, a pencil topper or fridge magnet with the Cuddles and Hugs stamps and just a little binder clip, pop up glue dot to attach your koalas and a magnet for the back if you wish. (I originally planned to trim out the baby so it would look just like the clip from my youth like it's gripping the memo or whatever, but I couldn't bear to part them!) A few tied ribbons on both loops of the clips give it a pretty leafy, look.
I put a smaller piece of cardboard on the back to fortify the CS, but in hindsight I wish I had just glued it to a white piece of cardboard from the back of one of my mat packs and then cut it out. If you want to make it double sided so it can be clipped "right or left" , use a reversing stamp for your image(I used my bold label form What's in Your Tin? 1) to make the back side. The boys are loving it and I am too! We've been having fun clipping these little guys all over the house: the fridge...
the phone antennae(which has helped out several times the last few days in locating the phone since I am SO BAD about returning the handset to the base!!***),

our hand towels...
ends of pens, cabinet handles, etc! Hope you enjoyed this project, now don't forget to vote if you haven't already! You could win a free set of stamps or OMS and stumps!!

* Say THAT five times fast!

** I think I most often had it clipped it to my magenta "Members Only" windbreaker or my purple nylon unicorn purse... how OLD am I???

***BTW, I didn't get 21 calls yesterday, I just never get around to erasing them!

Challenge Follow Up! (Free Stamps!!)

The following projects were my faves from my multiple challenge challenge !!! (and I didn't include any of Laurie's, 'cause, you know, she already won!!)

SO! Can you help me figure out to whom I really, really need to send some free stamps ????!!!!! (Click on each name to see their entry, I did't want to lift the pics from SCS...)


Lee

Cathy

Theresa

Suzanne

Christi

Sarah

Let me know your favorite (please just vote for one) on this post, you have until Friday 10PM CST to leave a comment. I will choose one person randomly from all the comments, this person will receive "Jumping for Joy" or the OMS and blending stumps bundle, your choice! I will announce the winners on Saturday, please check back!

Oh, and don't forget to check out Jessie's cards in the post below! I'll be back later with a fun 3D project!

PS I didn't want to go by the number of comments left on SCS because some were entered earlier, linked to more challenges, etc therefore had a lot more views... Thanks for your help!

MY Guest Designer,Week 3: Chocolate Flamingos!

(I'll be back with the post I meant to add about my contest earlier, sorry for the delay, I will just say "what a day!". and leave it at that! KIDS! UGH!! (Sorry, I couldn't just leave it!)

Ahem!! If you check my blog regularly, you might be tired of reading "I've been meaning to make...(fill in the blank) LOL! But since brown and pink is one of my fave all time color combos, I really have been meaning to dip these birds in chocolate!! Thanks, Jessie for beating me to it!

When I opened her attachment, I had to know, (because you'd want to know also), just what this yummy DP is and where she found it! Here is her repsonse: "3bugsinarug and it is part of their Coco line. I wish I could find it somewhere, but no one seems to sell it any more, but I am still looking. They still have it at the 3bugs site, but only available to wholesalers."*

I just LOVE flowers with stripes. Just like she did here, I almost always put the flower DP on top of the card and the stripes going vertically to look like flowers on stems, ya know? I also like how her thicker scalloped rectangles and thinner mats for the base match the different widths of the stripes, really sharp! AND you know the ribbons, brads, and clip, of course!! (did you see I bought some honking white brads???)

Once again, she's surprising me with another sample this week on her blog, so let's go give it a look-see together, shall we?? :)



*In the meantime, may I suggest trying out the new Basic Gray 6x6 pads Gina K is selling??(or did you already throw them all in your cart last week?) Here's some info I found for the pads that I thought might be helpful :)

There are 36 sheets in each pack, 2 sheets of each of 18 different prints (not just the ones you see on the front of the package!) I'll also be back with a list of Bazill olors each coordinates with( I don't have Bazill, but I can find some good matches with my SU! and DCVW textured CS)

I'd love to hear what YOUR favorite pack is so far of the 7 offerings, lemme know! ('m really digging the Cupcake, Two Scoops, Euphoria , Sultry, etc!! guess I didn't narrow it down much, did I?)

And the Winner is...

Jonathan shut his eyes and pulled out the winning name this time, the winner is...
Virgo5! Congrats Laurie! She made 5 terrific samples for the contest, but managed to work in a TON of challenges on each, good strategy! (And she's gotten a mention in my contests before, her coaster book was one of the top vote-getters that month, so I'm excited it was in the cards for her today!) Laurie, please send me an email ASAP about which prize you want! (although I'm just guessing from your samples you DON'T need "Jumping for Joy"!!) ;)

There are a lot of other REALLY awesome samples in the MMGKDMC challenge, please go take a look (click on the link in this post or at the top of my sidebar) and leave a comment on your faves or here, then come back for another announcement shortly!!!

PS FYI The time for qualifying entries in the contest is OVER, but feel free to add to this gallery any time you are combine my stamps with other challenges, just use the keyword :)

Sweet Birthday Hugs

When someone is celebrating a birthday far away, let them know you're partying right along with them in spirit with this snuggly, festive card. :) This little party hat on the Hugs is from Hip Hop Accessories.
Doh!!! I just realized forgot to add my closeup pic, BUT hopefully you can see the fuzzy wuzzy texture on the koalas??(click the pic for a better look) It's not fun flock or a coloring technique, instead just peel apart your CS by inserting your fingernail into the corner and it will separate into two plies with the inside having this furry nap! Stamp your image on the inner layer and you are good to go, no flock required. I added a little white Koh-i-noor pencil to the ears and bellies. :) The hats were stamped on white CS and then colored with my mathcing pink SU! marker.

I wanted to continue the polka dotted theme from my hat with the SU! Designer Prints paper and a round card and tag. To create the scalloped circle shape, cut and score 4 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of CS and score in half to make a square 4 1/4" card. Place your largest scalloped circle Nestie die on your folded card, just overlapping the score in the middle and cut. I ran mine through, and then back and forth two more times to make sure it cut through both layers. I added some white dots with my gel pen to the scallops. The "hugs" tag was made with a tiny Cuttlebug die hung on a safety pin, ribbon is SU! Basic Gray taffeta.
As you can see the scallops just barely touch on the score, but it is still so sturdy and fits into an A2 card. I added a white embossed CS circle on the inside the same size as my pink DP mat on the front, and stamped "sending birthday hugs and smiles from across the miles" .

Please don't forget to upload your entries for my challenge by tonight(Tuesday) 10 PM CST!! can't wait to pick my winners!! :)

Fashionably FABULOUS in Under FIVE Minutes!

Here is a super easy, quick card that makes a bold statement! Here is a single layer white card(PT Stampers Select) that follow the rule of thirds, uses only a couple colors and just a touch of bling, minimalism at its best! So what do you think of this plush "corduroy bag"?? Can we say a little "ribbon piecing"??! Go ahead, click the pic!
First, let me say the lines and proportions in the images in Rupa's newest set "Retro Boutique" make lining them up an absolute dream! TIP: When you place these long "shelf" images on your gridline block, line up the shelf with one line of the grid.
And here is a pic also showing how you can trim out the greeting, but easily put it back in when you want them together, just so. :) See how the top of the sentiment then also lines up with the gridline below it, and the purses line up with the one above it?! (if it looks a bit off it's because of the angle I took the photo)
Stamp in Palette Noir ink on your card, (black and white always looks super chic!!) and then select the color of you choice to add your ribbon and spotlight just one purse(I chose the third bag over, not only because I like the shape, but also this worked best for my layout). This little bag just happened to be a perfect fit stamped onto the SU! 5/8" grosgrain (Rose), YES!!! (Pick an ink like craft, Stazon or a hybrid for a crisp image, as classic inks will bleed a lot when stamped on ribbon and fabrics) I used my Fiskar scissors I dedicate to ribbon only to cut it out(even thought they are super sharp since I don't use them on anything but ribbon, you still need to cut carefully to prevent fraying). I covered my stamped image on the card (minus the handle) with Mono Multi and then pressed my ribbon piece down on top of that. Doesn't the sheen and texture of that ribbon add such luxury as well to the realism of the purse? To finish it off, I colored in the handle with my SU! Regal Rose marker and added one little clear adhesive Stampendous rhinestone sticker for the clasp, then tied a piece of matching grosgrain around the card and knotted it.

How easy was that? I just love the results, and I was able to quickly move on to another project!! Want to see MORE quick cards here on this blog? let me know!! :)

Please don't forget to try to get something uploaded for my contest, which ends Tuesday night! And guess what? I'm offering an ADDITIONAL prize to one lucky person who enters, but you'll have to check back to find out what it is! Don't wait, just go stamp something!!! ;)

Kindred Color Blocking

When I first saw this adorable Kindred Spirit "Little Guy at Play"*, I thought it would be terrific to use on a card with color blocking and stacked up punched squares to make a border!


Because of the solid blocks in the image, I decided to skip any DP, which allowed me to use any and as many colors as I wanted rather than having to pick a paper that would match. I kept it bold, usin my Koh-i-noor pencils, and coloring eveything a little more solidly, rather than doing much blending. I loved that I had at least two shades of each color in the pack for a dark and light side of each of my blocks in the tower, click on the pic for a closeup. I used my Skin Flesh Copic on the boy and my Pale Aqua Copic to make the shadow. Image and greetings were stamped with Palette Noir.

I added a few large white brads and the square a the bottom to balance out my white focal point. I love how the black makes all the colors pop! I used my favorite Real Red CS, but instead of putting it with other Bold Brights (which can sometimes be a bit TOO bright for me), I used textured DCVW paper for the green, blue and yellow 1 /14 inch punched squares. Several, but not all, are popped up on dimensionals. The sentiments are all from Kindred Greetings for Kids, with the exception of "you rock!" which is from my "Jumping for Joy" set, I thought putting this one on the "falling" tilted block would add more whimsy to the project.

I made this card for my William, just because. We'll see how long it lasts in his 3 year old boy hands, or if I decide to just let him look at it and then put it up on the shelf for another year! ;)

CONTEST UPDATE: I have extended the deadline! Please get your entries uploaded by Tuesday, July 8th, 10PM CST! Drawing will be on Wednesday!

* I don't think Gina K could have chosen anything more appropriate for a "little guy at play" than building a tower! Several of the very few scrapbook pages I've completed consist of punched squares in bright colors; add some brads and eyelets, and it's just so easy to put together a block or Lego layout that way!

Flag in a Flash!

Hope everyone is enjoying a great holiday weekend!
So far ours had been uneventful, our 4th was full of chores we'd been neglecting, preparing our holiday meal (tried this new dessert for a change), watching the end of the "hot dog contest"(are you familiar with this? my DH grew up with it, but I never knew about it til last year!), one Olympic trial swimming race (Torres is the Bomb!!!), and TV firework celebrations (I know that sounds like a lot of TV, but atually it only added up to about an hour (less than usual for them!), I kept the TV off the rest of the day and kept the kids busy with other stuff. I managed to get a little stamping done to share over the next few days and whipped together a quick flag craft* in the evening before dinner, above are the boys outside with their creations. Thank heavens for the star punch!! ( I was planning on gluing white stars on blue (but J's idea to just punch through the blue and let white show through was MUCH better!)

Below is the pic I took of the boys at the beach in May. In my photo editing program under "Effects" I changed it to B&W and using the paint brush tool, I colorized the flag with red and blue, this is such a fun way to play with certain elements of your photos.
We're heading to Dallas in the morning ( no computer!!) but will be back Sunday. I've extended my contest to Tuesday night, so please don't make any unnecessary sacrifices trying to complete something by Sunday(I also forgot about the no upload rule for non fan club members)! Details of the contest have been updated with the time change in this post, so please enjoy your family time now but then get busy stamping Monday! :)

* two sheets of 8 1/2X11 white CS, Brilliant Blue scraps, and one sheet Real Red CS, cut into 14 strips, yields two flags!

Happy Dance! Hidden Shaker #2

I've been meaning to make a hidden shaker (with beads enclosed between my two white focal point mats) for this little Kindred Spirit image "Summer Fun", and I finally got around to it! (We are heading to a backyad barbecue this weekend and thought it would be fun to give our hostess (my DSIL)). Give it a little shake and the little "ch-ch-ch-ch" sound makes me think of running through garden sprinklers!
I colored my image with Koh i-Noor pencils and OMS, and outlined the spray with Stardust Stickles for shimmer. I decided to keep the card fresh and simple with a white on white scheme and just a touch of a green with my striped ribbon(think garden hose! ;). A few strategically placed page pebbles give the feel of stray water drops. The little "happy" is from Just So Hippy, the font that looks really sweet with these Kindred Kids. (and wouldn't the "kick up your heels!" from Jumping for Joy be CUTE with this , too? :)

Have a very safe and happy 4th!

PS I have a bit of NEWS to share later this weekend, please stop back by if you get a chance!

PPS I'm thinking I should extend my contest a few days(Monday or Tuesday), too, with the holdiay weekend, I'm afraid a Sunday deadline just won't give enough people time to participate, what do you think??

My Guest Designer: Week 2

Here is the second peek from Jessie with "Cuddles and Hugs", don't you love that sweet, little blush??


The harlequin patterned DP, multiple ribbons and black add such drama and elegance to this card!

Her three ribbons in black, olive and black & white gingham at the top perfectly balance out the layered black, olive and black and white punches at the bottom in both color and proportion, isn't that fabulous?! I love how she chose the black brads to accent her corners (like little koala noses, hee! :) The simple piercing in the corners and the white dots on the scallop are such a nice tie-in to the delicate white dots on the DP.

I could see giving this card to my hubby :) Now go check Jessie's blog and see what she has cooked up for you! (I get to be surprised too, can't wait!)

Don't forget to get the scoop on my contest in the post below!! please enter before you get too busy celebrating the 4th this weekend, there's free stamps (or supplies) at stake!! :)

Pick a Challenge, Any Challenge! (Contest! PRIZES!)

I loved hosting the upload challenge at our last release and giving away free stamps to the winner so I would like to do another one this week with an added twist: that you also incorporate another challenge! Upload a new card or project to your Splitcoast gallery* using any of my stamps with the keyword MMGKDMC (along with keywords for your other challenges, whatever they may be) by EDITED TO ADD: TUESDAY, July 8th, 10PM CST. I will do a random drawing of all entries and announce a winner on my blog Wednesday July 9th. That person will get to choose ONE of the following THREE PRIZE OPTIONS:

"Cuddles and Hugs" set
"Jumping for Joy" set (each set is valued at 19.95!)
or
Gina K Designs OMS / blending stumps bundle! (15.90 value! (does not include pencils))

There are no rules for my challenge other than you have to use stamps from one of my sets and it has to follow the rules of at least one other challenge (some reqiure you link it to thier post etc just check out each challenge's rules). IMPORTANT: Be sure to incorporate the proper keywords for my challenge and the other challenges to play, and that your keywords are separated by commas. You will receive one entry for each challenge you incorporate with mine! So let's you say you use my stamps and play the color challenge on SCS: that's ONE entry. Let's say you ALSO incorporate the SCS sketch challenge on that same project: that's TWO entries! There are challenges posted every day this week on SCS (list of all here) along with challenges in the member companies forums and countless others on the blogs you read each week, Taylor's Cupcake Challenge, Card Positioning Systems or Card of the Week sketch challenge, just to name a few (I see Beate's not doing one for awhile or I would have mentioned it)!! There is NO limit to how many challenges you use or how many times you enter, go crazy!!!

What makes this extra fun is that you 'll have a TON of people viewing your stuff, leaving comments, and you could win a prize for one of these challenges even if you don't win mine (or maybe you'll win in addition to mine?!) Several have prizes of their own or choose the winning project to be featured on their blog at the end of the challenge! So have fun and use the challenges that YOU want to play, maybe you have a favorite you do regualrly or there's a new one you want to try! I can't wait to see all your entries!!

If you would like an extra entry into the contest (!), let me know HERE in the comment section you have linked this post on your blog (after linking it!) to help spread the word and get everybody playing in the contest! Thanks for your help! :)

I will be back to post a card sample using a sketch and color combo to illustrate this, I have been SO busy with my son celebrating his 6th birthday yesterday AND putting the finishing touches on my JULY STAMP SET!!!!!! can't wait, can't wait for our next release!

* All these sets from from Gina K Designs so be sure to list that and the name of the set in your keyword description! :)

Copic Atyou Spica Pens: Coloring BLISS!

Wanna add some real razzle-dazzle, sparkling color to your cards? Copic atyou Spicas are a must have! I had a clear Spica already, (which amazingly just puts down shimmer, no color. This pen is nice to layer over colors). When Gina K added this new 12 color pack to her site, I just had to try them out! I'm so glad I did!
I couldn't wait to use them on the mosaic vase from this month's free with Free with Three "Friendship Blooms" set. Just a dab to each little section gave such a vivid, sparkling color! Turn it back and forth in the light and it looks like like shimmery, colored glass!! The coloring went so quick, they're really juicy, just touch it to the paper, its like it drops a dab of ink and then quickly dries, I LOVE 'EM!! Be sure to enlarge the pic to see more detail, but trust me it even looks better IRL!*) I used my regular Copics on the flowers(still would have been pretty but I didn't want the flowers to look like part of the vase!).

I couldn't be more pleased with the results, they are even more sparkly than I imagined and the twelve shades offered in the pack are terrific! (all the colors of the rainbow PLUS a few more and metallics, I used 7 of them in the vase) The way each colors reflects the light also allow them to coordinate with even more shades of your CS, which is such a bonus. Color, sparkle, and FAST drying time all in ONE easy step make these a terrific value! Thumbs up! They aren't even in the same league with glitter gel pens you see at craft stores in case you're wondering, the quality of these are just top notch.

To finish up the card I cut it off-center in my Classic Rectangle Nestabilitie to make it look like it was sitting in a window sill(didn't have time to make a whole window today!) and thought it would be fun to create a mosaic strip for the middle with the self-adhesive rhinestones (these colors look sooo gorgeous with the Spica colors)! The many sparkling stones in different sizes remind me of all the little facets that make up a friendship, just like the greeting says. :)

*and really cool, it puts kind of a lacquer glaze on it to that you can feel when you rub your finger over it, like glass! :)