Spooktacular!!

I think everyone should send Halloween cards like they do Christmas cards! Why? because I just love the stuff that comes out for halloween! Spiderwebs rock and when else do you get to put purple, green and orange together without getting weird looks? And who doesn't love a good pumpkin?

What am I thinking? I can't even get Christmas cards out on time... but I am still gonna make halloween cards even if I never send 'em!

I used Distress inks to make the background a-la-Tim! Then just stamped on my images and added glossy accents to the spiders and Halloween. Ink the edges and you're done, piece of cake!

Playing with the Kraft again!

I've said it before and I'll say it again... I love Prisma pencils on kraft cardstock! I don't know if it's the inner 5 year old in me or what but I can't get enough of coloring in images! Kraft, colored pencils, throw in some glitter and I'm a happy girl!

Love this Hero Arts set, it's totally cute! I added a hand drawn border and accented with glitter. The cherry was stamped on a piece of scrap kraft and then colored and cut out. I used red liquid pearls to color the cherry and added a tiny gem for a highlight.

Yes... I started my Christmas Cards...

I have learned that I suck at getting them out on time even when I don't use handmade cards... so if there is any chanch of me getting cards made to send... I have to start before the leaves turn colors or there's no chance they will be done! I always play first before deciding on an "official" card, so this may not be the one people get in the mail, but it will definately be in the running!

I used Stampin' Up cardstock (sorry, can't remember the color right off), new (i think) Hero Arts tree stamp and Inkadinkado sentiment. I embossed both stamped images with white embossing powder and colored in the tree with Smooch to give it a subtle shine. Very simple card but I like how it turned out.

Crayon Resist

I saw a video on Stamp TV from Gina K a few months ago on crayon resist. I LOVE this technique! It's so easy and there's always a wow factor when you see the image appear as you add color! I just wish you could buy a whole box of white crayons!!

Anyway, here is one of the many cards I've done with this awesome technique! Stamps are all Hero Arts, inks are Memento and Distress.

Guitar Hero

Here's the LO I managed to do this past week-end. I took this photo a couple years ago when my brother first got Guitar Hero. I'd been meaning to scrap it forever but just never got around to it. I also have a photo of my father the same day but I'm trying to think of a matching title... but with less "Hero"! ;)

I used mostly Crate Paper... patterned paper, rub-ons and die cuts. I also used some of the new Rock Candy Distress Stickles on those star die cuts, Thickers, Bazzill dot cardstock and Me And My Big Ideas puffy stickers.

Missing Mojo Returned?

I always seem to be missing my Mojo in the summertime... I don't know if it's the heat or that there are so many things going on that I just don't have time to play... whatever the reason, now that the days are getting cooler I think my missing mojo is returning! Not only did I do a LO this week-end but I also started my Christmas cards and managed to get 10 done! It's a start anyway right?!

This isn't the LO I did yesterday, I haven't photographed it yet, but this is the only other LO I've gotten done this month! There's a whole mish mash of products on here... MM acetate sheet, Hambly acetate screen, Bo Bunny blooms, Prima flowers and felt, Doodlebug glitter, Fancy Pants chipboard, Bo Bunny patterned paper, Bazzill kraft cardstock and I can't remember who makes the green sticker letters I used...

Oldie but Goodie

OK, here's a card I made eons ago but kind of forgot about...

Made it with K&Co. paper and I made the crochet flower with some Turkish cotton thread I had laying around (from my tatting days). Other than that, I let the paper do the work and just threw on a few things to embellish!

Thanks for looking!!

Hurricane Bill

Well we just had Hurricane Bill blow through the Maritimes... Not as bad as we were prepared for, so I guess that's a good thing. We didn't even loose our power though several of the communities around us did.

All that prep didn't leave me with much time for crafting however... actually I haven't done much the past couple weeks... we've been in the middle of a heat wave and it's just too hot to be making stuff upstairs. Here is like the one card I've managed to do since my last post! I made some of my own pearl sprays with re-inkers and perfect pearls on the tags there.

Materials:
Hero Arts stamps
Mini Misters (Ranger)
Perfect Pearls
Distress Ink re-inkers
Prismacolor pencil
Cuttlebug embossing folder
Martha Stewart tag
White embossing powder

Quickie Today!

Just a quickie today... haven't posted in a few days so had to get on to post SOMETHING!

I actuall did this card a few weeks ago but just never got around to posting it till now. Enjoy!

Here's a card I made last night for the new challenge this week at the Hero Arts blog. I've had this K&Co. paper for a while but haven't been able to bring myself to cut it! I LOVE it... So pretty! But when I saw the first sneak peek (the challenge this week is to use the peeks as inspiration) I knew this was what the paper was waiting for... perfect colors and theme!!

Materials:
white embossing powder
kraft cardstock
Hero Arts background stamp
Hero Arts sentiment
K&Co. paper
Doodlebug glitter
gingham ribbon from Walmart

Thanks for looking!!

The Canvas Affair Continues...

Here is ANOTHER card using my new favorite thing... canvas!

I started this card for the weekly challenge over at the Hero Arts Blog. This weeks theme is tags, so I started by making a canvas tag by cutting a long strip and then folding over a flap at the top. I used my cropadile to set a couple eyelets to hold the flap in place, and then tied some raffia between them. I stamped the sentiment with paint so it would show up stronger on the canvas. I inked the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

The felt flowers are from Hero Arts. I stuck them down on yellow pp from K&Co. (Wild Saffron collection) and then cut them out. The leaves are also Hero Arts from a set of poinsettias, so I cut them up for use here.

Here is a full list of materials:
K&Co. Wild Saffron paper

Americana paint

HA CL129 Anytime Messages

HA CH179 Fancy Felt Flowers

HA CH152 Art Flowers

HA CH161 Felt Poinsettia & Leaves (I just used the leaves)

Also HA gems from the mini sets

Distress ink - Vintage Photo

Thanks for looking!!

Canvas Butterfly Card

I think canvas and Distress Stickles may be my new favorite thing! Thank You Jennifer McGuire!! It's still a little blingy without being over the top... lovin' it!

Anyway... This time I primed my unbleached canvas with Gesso and let it dry. Then I used the Hero Arts "Heart Winged Butterfly" stamp and Tea Dye distress ink to stamp on the canvas. The impression was a little too crisp for me, so I spritzed it with a mini-mister full of water until the ink started to bleed a little. Then I cut out my butterfly, inked the edges with Tea Dye and added distress stickles in "Scattered Straw".

For the card I free-handed a curve on the blue cs, then used deco scissors to mirror the curve in white. I put some green cs inside the card and inked the edges of everything with Tea Dye and a blending tool. Then I stamped the sentiment and flourish from the Hero Arts set "Dot Flourish" (again with Tea Dye) and colored in parts of the flourish with Prisma pencils. I put pop dots behind the butterfly wings to make them a little 3D, used some Prima staemens as antennae and added some Basic Grey pearls for the body of the butterfly.

It's Your Party!

Here's the second LO I've done from Ceilidh's birthday party... isn't she cute? Even when she's scrunching her face?? Papers are all Bo Bunny as are the buttons, flowers and bling. Also on there are some AC Thickers, some glitter letters I got at the dollar store, paint, felt border (I think Anna Griffith?) and some Bazzil just the edge cuts.

Canvas

Like everyone else I've been following the Thinking Inking videos by Jennifer McGuire on 2 Peas and am blown away by her creativity. The woman is TALENTED! Anyway, this week she's focusing on sticky back canvas and I just had to give it a try. I couldn't find any of that canvas so I went to the local fabric store and bought some unbleached canvas. I've never used sticky back canvas, so I can't give you a comparison, but I got the effect I wanted with the unbleached stuff.

To prep the surface before stamping, I watered down some Gesso and just painted it over the top and let dry. Then I stamped my greeting, inked the edges, rubbed some distress stickles over the surface, and that was it. Piece of cake! I also used some floral Hero Arts stamps, colored and cut out and a button for embellishments. The background is a Cuttlebug embossing folder with some distress inks around the edges.

Feeling "Kraft"y

I am still in love with Kraft... I love how you can do something so simple and it looks awesome! I made a few Kraft cards last night, all of them in under an hour... gotta love anything that quick and easy!

Little Mermaid Girl

I swear Ceilidh is part fish! This is a LO I did on the weekend, it's from her 4th birthday party (the week before... imagine! I did a LO only a week after the event!! Wow!!... that doesn't happen very often... I digress...)

Anyway, here's the LO. I think it will qualify for one of the challenges at ScrapCentral. Maybe the "more than 8 flowers" challenge... I think there are 11 on here.

Most stuff was from the Bo Bunny Calypso line with some MM letters, AC Thickers and a Martha Stewart tag thrown on there too.

Kraft & Colored Pencils

I think I'm in a kraft/ colored pencil phase right now... I'm loving the combination of the two together. Plus, it's just fun to have an excuse to color right?!

I made this card yesterday. The background stamps (dot and paisley) are both from Hero Arts and I think the cupcakes and saying are Stampendous? I made this at a friend's house and the cupcakes are hers, so I can't quite remember... I colored the cupcakes and paisley background with Prismacolor pencils.

Thanks for looking!

Garden Chic

It's finally starting to feel like summer here... 'bout time! It's almost August! Anyway, the flowers are in full bloom and I was in the mood for a floral card. Here's what I came up with. There's also a crop going on over at ScrapCentral so I think this may be one of the cards I use for the "Suprise" category.

Most of the supplies used are Bo Bunny (patterned paper, brads, buttons, rub-ons), the green ink is CTMH and those little leaf stamps are from K & Co.

Pink Chair

Check out what I bought at Staples! It was only $50.00 and something I desperately needed! I don't know if you can see that little wicker stool in the background there, but that is what I used to sit on! My back is going to thank me the next all-nighter I pull! And I love that I can swivel now!!! I also love that there are no arms because my space is in a tight u-shape and there's not much room. I'm constantly reaching somewhere, so they'd just get in the way anyhow... not to mention my arms are always on the table, so what did I need them for right??!!

Here is a birthday card I finished today for my cousin's daughter Ceilidh. I finished in the nick of time too cause her party's tomorrow! I wanted it to be bright and fun and cheerful, so I think I met my criteria.

I had just bought that Cornish Heritage Farms owl stamp and was dying to use it and pop up different layers. I love the way it turned out and I will be doing more of this I think in the future. I also used flower soft on the hat pom-pom and glossy accents on the candles, hat and owl eyes. I colored everything with colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits. The background cloud stamp is from Hero Arts, as is the branch the owl sits on, and the candles were from Scenic Route. I used CTMH inks, MM sticker letters and the 4 is Chatterbox. And I even recycled! The kraft dot background is actually part of the packaging from some K&Co. letters. I feel a little greener now!

Scrap Central Card Kit

So I'm a little slow at times... A while back ScrapCentral had a card kit that I just got around to picking up this week. I had to play with it right away once it was in hand though cause it was just so darned cute! This was just a quick card I did this week, but I hope to play more "in-depth" this week-end!

Papers, flower, ribbon all included in the kit, as was a stamped greeting which I used on the inside of the card. Additional items used were leaf stamp from Gel-a-tins, Spellbinders die, Distress inks, Birthday stamp (I think from Inkadinkado?) and a dot stamp from Hero Arts.

The bloom was originally a white prima flower included in the kit. To make it match the BG papers, I dyed it with distress inks. To do this, I always mist the flower with a little water first, this lets the inks blend together easier. Then I use a paintbrush and pick up a little color off the inkpad with it and "paint" it onto the flower in the areas I want color. I used "Peeled Paint" in the center and "Worn Lipstick" around the edges of the petals. When the flower was dry I stamped the dots on with "Vintage Photo" and Voila! Custom colored flower to match my project!

I'm Feeling Guilty...

When Hannah's sister was born, I don't think I'm stretching too much here, she was the MOST photographed child in the county. She was the first baby born to our group of friends, and every other second of the first year of her life is caught on film by somebody! Poor Hannah on the other hand was almost 9 months old before I took a photo of her! Gasp!! Don't get me wrong, there are still thousands of photos of the child, just not the millions like the child before, and none taken by me. But Hannah is a clever girl and she saved up all her cuteness for our first photo shoot! And now that I've taken some pics, I'm not in as much danger of losing my "Fav Cousin" title as I was. I'm usually months behind in my scrapping, but these photos turned out so adorable that I had to scrap one right away... I think you'll agree with me... And there may not be as many photos of her, but she's loved just as much. So without further ado, welcome Hannah to the blog! She's worth the wait!

I used Bazzill Cardstock, CTMH inks, American Crafts stamps, patterned papers, Thickers and pearlescent cardstock, and a Faber Castell pen for journalling.

Thanks for looking!

Another puppy Layout!

Keeping in theme with yesterday's post, here is a layout I made for our neighbour. This is Miss Sophie. She's a Pug and she gets along really great with our Boston Terriers. The three of them together is kind of like a fur tornado though and all three love to play chase, so when one gets a sock or a shoe it's a doggie Merry-Go-Round around the kitchen table!

Paper is all from the American Crafts "Amplified" line, letters are Thickers as are the white chipboard pieces (Thickers "Accents"), and I just drew along the edges of the patterned paper with my Sakura Souffle pen.

Voila Sophie!

First Layout in Months!

So I finally did a layout... it has been months since I'd done one, and when I sat down to do it I had the thought of oh no I've forgotten how to do this! But I love the end result! It was one of those fussy layouts I do from time to time that takes forever but I'm pleased with the result so it was worth the time.

I'm sure there are easier ways to get the look of the background, but what I did was glue bright green lace cardstock to neon orange cardstock and then painted the whole thing ivory. It took quite a few coats (I told you it was fussy!), and I kind of like that in some spots you can faintly see the green showing through. There is also some masking done in Distress ink (frayed burlap I think) and some stickles overtop, just underneath the photo and flowers, but I don't think you can see it in the photo, it's very subtle. The rest is a mixture of stuff I had laying around... the majority of the flowers are Prima but a few are ones I picked up at the dollar store. The butterfly was in the wedding section at M's, sequines you can pick up anywhere, the letters are K & Co. and the trims I picked up at Fabricville and Walmart.

There you have it! Thanks for looking!

I have been in such a card mood lately! Although I did actually do a layout the other day... the first one since April... That's bad right?? I haven't photographed it yet but as soon as I do I'll definately be sharing, I love how it turned out!

So I came across the Thinking Inking classes by Jennifer McGuire over at 2 Peas and WOW is all I can say as far as inspiration goes! It's like a one stop technique shop, so you just know I'm lovin' it! A few of the cards below were definately inspired by some of the stuff in there, so if you're intrigued and like techniques, you definately have to check out the videos here!

I know summer is really just getting started and here I am showing you Fall cards, but I just got that Inkadinkadoo set last wek and couldn't wait to play... so just ignore the fall feel on the 2nd and 4th cards!! I also got a new Hero Arts background stamp and a new clear set as well (cards 1-3). Hope you like what I've done with them! Thanks for looking!

Some Stuff to look at...

I haven't posted anything in like FOREVER, so here's some cards I just entered in the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol Contest. My first time entering, and I was checking out the gallery and holy moley there are over 1000 cards there so far... Some seriously talented cardmakers, should be a tough call for the Papercrafts people... don't know how they do it!

I've Been Busy...

Look what I got a last month! Isn't she adorable! Her name's Gracie, and she's a full sister to the male Rocky that we got last summer. She's so sweet and they get along together so well! I forget what the TV is, who needs it when you have these two to laught at and play with?! My cat is pretty pi$$ed at us right now, but he'll get over it... he has no choice!!



And Here's the handsome boy all grown up. He's pretty spoiled too... do you see what he thought he should be having for dinner??

Crazy Ice Beautifulness!

Wow... so this week I'm going to be back and forth to Moncton for work... Today was our first trip there and back and I was blown away by how beautiful the drive was both ways! A few days ago there was an ice storm between here and Moncton and the trees (not to mention power lines, fences, signs...) were lit up like neon signs in the sun! AND I DIDN'T HAVE MY CAMERA!! I know, I know... I should know better... but apparently I don't. As soon as we got home I rushed right out to try and capture some shots but I was losing light fast and only managed to get a few in the "light ice areas"... I swear near Amherst the ice was 10 times thicker!

Anyway... here are a couple of the shots after a little experimenting in photoshop, and I'm definately taking my camera for the next trip down! Fingers crossed it stays cold! (Did I just say that??!!)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here in Nova Scotia it is currently looking more and more like a blizzard outside! But Scrap Central is hosting a Valentine's Day Crop today so that's a good excuse not to go out anyway right??

OK... So let me tell ya what I'm totally excited about... I can't believe I've missed it until now.... you probably all already know... all... about... Flower Soft! I saw the video, a few cards, and I had to order the stuff.... I don't even know how to describe it to you, maybe like flocking on steroids or garden fluff? I dunno, just check out the website, it looks VERY fun, you can be sure I'll show you what I do with it when it arrives... I'll be stalking my mailman until then!

I couldn't post on V-Day and not show you a few Valentines... so here are a couple I made last night, Enjoy! Happy V-Day!

"Be My Valentine" Supplies:
My Mind's Eye patterned paper
Spellbinders Die
Martha Stewart heart sticker
All Night Media Fairie stamp
Impressed Obsession valentine stamp
Distress Ink
CTMH Ink
paper doilie
misc. ribbon and heart gems





"Happy Valentine's Day" Supplies:
My Mind's Eye patterned paper
Martha Stewart Rose sticker
Martha Stewart Lace Heart Punch
Distress Ink
paper doilie
misc. ribbon

Marley & Me

So I went to see Marley & Me this week, and even though I KNEW it had a sad ending, I still cried my eyes out! If you have ever had a pet or have one now, I am warning you now... take a BOX of Kleenex! It is worth the sad ending though, it was an excellent movie, very sweet and very true to real life. I highly recommend it... now I just gotta read the book!

So with the tears came some mojo I guess cause I managed to get a few layouts done... or maybe that's because I'm participating in a challenge over at ScrapCentral called ScapMap, either way, they got done and here they are... Both are wedding layouts from the wedding I stood in this past summer. Enjoy!

"Getting Ready"

Materials: BG alpha stickers "Sultry", BG paper "Peony", "Whisper", "Swell" and "Smart", Riff Raff "RRo6101", Glimmermist "Key Lime", MM Mini Shimmer Alpha "Gold Metro", CTMH ink "Desert Sand" and "Tulip", Prima Say it in Crystals, BG rub-ons "White Urban Border", a date stamp from Staples and me new favorite thing: Sequines!

"Mr. & Mrs."

Materials: Machine stitched vine & leaves border with white Gutermann thread, CTMH and MM flowers, CTMH ink, Autumn Leaves stamps - flourishes and journal block, Prima Say it in Crystals, Kaiser Kraft pearls, Doodlebug Paper Frills, BG Sultry line, MM Mini Shimmer Alpha, Heidi Swapp letter mask and chalks

New Year, New MoJo!

Well... my unexpcted scrapping hiatus is over! My mojo is back with a fury... so much so I actually sleep-sketched an idea in the middle of the night last night! I've even got a new sewing machine to play with on my projects, and I may try sewing some actual "fabric" too... stay tuned!

After 3 months layout free, I finally rang in the New Year with a new layout. Here's to 2009 being the bestest year evah!

Materials:

Hambly "Grandma's Wallpaper"

Pink Paislee "Hollow Moon", "Office Lingo Shapes", "Cubicle", "Outside the Box"

Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink "Ice Blue"

Riff Raff "Damask"

Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist "Bronze"

CTMH Ink "Desert Sand"

Cricut Cartridges "Storybook", "Plantin/Schoolbook"

Zig Writer "Platinum"

Misc. Date Stamp