Rain Puddles Design

My card today uses all four of the flowers from the Flower Doodles set at DigiStamp Boutique . I love the whimsy feel to them and had to put all of them on the card. Yep. There are four separate images! I just made a curved line across the bottom of the vases to tie them all together. This card is a reminder that there's no other day like today, there is no other person uniquely made like you, and there is no other moment than the present to pursue being what you want to be. Any other day of our lives can be just as beautiful and in just as fun of a container, but it's the only one that is for us in today. Let's enjoy it in every way we can! Today I'm finishing my time as a guest designer with DigiStamp Boutique. I'm thrilled that I was able to design for such a sweet and talented artist and owner at DigiStamp Boutique. Thank you Sally-Ann! Here's my end of the month reminder to stop on over at the boutique if you haven't lately. She's got some wonder...

I'm dropping in with a jazzy card today. I've used Pippa and Sonny with Rose from this month's offer at DigiStamp Boutique. The offer has three adorable images with Pippa and Sonny. Pippa and Sonny are colored with Prismacolor markers without a color challenge or designer paper as the inspiration. When it came time to put the image on the card I had to dig pretty deep to find something to go with it and I found that in the Butterflies and Blossoms Stack pack. After finding the psychedelic paper, I cut out some hearts from my Cuttlekids collection of dies and colored them the same as the rose Pippa and Sonny are holding. Then I outlined them with black pen and added some dimensionals to make them pop. The sentiment is from Verve's Heart's Desire  is stamped in Graphite Black. When I got to the background I decided it's a new year and it time for a new background technique. I chose two shades of color from my Prismacolor set and started making circles. I...

The last day of 2010 is here! It's been so much fun to get creative and be inspired by all the crafters in this online community. I know I've spent many hours jumping over to follower's blogs for some fun ideas, to galleries for inspirations and community blogs for challenges. I hope to keep doing that in 2011. DigiStamp Boutique's EMILE invites you to 2011! Come and join in the fun of a new year, no RSVP required. (P.S. He can also be a great baby or toddler invitation card too!) I hope everyone of you will have a safe New Year's Eve and a joy for the New Year! God bless... Details: Stamps: DSB Emile and Balloon , Stampin Up Mark the Date and Please Come Paper: Scraps of paper, photocopy paper Ink: LaserJet, Prismacolor Markers, Basic Black Accessories: Spellbinder's Circle Dies, Stampin Up Spiral Punch, Tasteful Trim Bigz Die, Dimensionals, Paper crimper, Tim Holtz Mini Stapler

I'm stopping in for a quick post with another Beau image from DigiStamp Boutique's Offer of the Month. She's Birthday Beau . I used my prismacolor markers on Beau and sponged Vintage Photo ink around the edges after rounding the corners. Matting is a dark red from my local paper store rounded a couple of corners on that one too. I had made some background paper a while ago and had it in a stash pile that I rounded the corners and placed on some Crumble Cake cardstock. I believe the technique I used is embossing folder first, then ink up a brayer to run across the raised texture and lastly use a mister filled with water to spread the ink a smidge (tiny amount). I stamped a sentiment from Stampin Up's Fresh Cuts and cut it out with Spellbinders Large Labels to tuck underneath the mat. This is the first time I've done a ribbon technique like this and I didn't want to make a mess of my layout trying it out. My quick fix was to put some red line tape on a piece o...

Whoo-Hoot! or is it... Hu-it, tohoo! Hoot is coming to spread a bit of joy on my card today. The owl, Hoot, is colored with Prismacolor Markers and handcut with a craft knife. I had quite a few die cuts lying around on my table so I decided to just pull them together for this card. What was lying around? A tag die from Verve , a photo corner from Martha Stewart , jumbo ricrac from My Favorite Things and a circle from Spellbinders . I used Papertrey Ink 's rick rack for accent. In Basic Black ink, I stamped 2003 Stampin Up mini background onto the card base and the 2007 "joy" stamp on Neenah Solar White. The kraft circle needed a little something so I grabbed a sponge and white gesso paint and did some accent sponging around the edge. For some finishing touches I gave the tag some tails with hemp twine and three black rhinestones from American Crafts. Pile It On Challenge - Christmas or Winter with Animals Lil Red Wagon - Use some red Raise The Bar #43...

And just so I'm not leaving anyone hanging with the second belated birthday card for my other sister... I've used this technique from Susan Liles a couple of times and I giggle everytime I do it... cutting a sliver from one of the coordinating cardstock makes for a very easy needle and "thread" on a button. Just love how quick and easy it is! Details: Stamps: DigiStamp Boutique Birthday Zoe , Verve Kind Words Paper: Textured brown cardstock and others from scrap bin Ink: LaserJet, SU! Chocolate Chip Writer (stitching), Graphite Black Accessories: Buttons, Papertrey Ink RickRack Border , American Crafts Chocolate buttons

I have two sister's who both have birthday's in the same month. So, of course, I tend to miss them both as not to show favorites! LOL Here is one card that I put together for my sister who appreciates a good cheery Mary Engelbreit image. I love this little Birthday Zoe from DigiStamp Boutique . She comes with a stack of gifts to wish my sister many blessings for another year! Why have I not thought of this before???? I wanted to make the red card base embossed with polka dots but I made the size of the card too big to go through my Cuttlebug AND inside the embossing folder. I opened up the folder on my table, placed the card base over the debossing side and just rubbed my stylus over the areas that felt like the debossed spots. Just spiffy! Have a great evening! Details: Stamps: Birthday Zoe , SU! Bold Check Frame ( ©2000 ), SandyLion Alphabet, Font: Pea Shelly Belly Paper: Neenah Solar White, LSS red Ink: LaserJet, Prismacolor markers, Brilliance Graphite Bla...

*Something happened to my promised post and so it is getting published much later in the day than scheduled. Hope you enjoy* This is my second post today demonstrating how I colored the pumpkin on the treat gift card from this post earlier today.   I'll let you all know that for the photos I started out with 6 images. That means you'll see certain colors magically grow and shrink from one picture to another. It shouldn't change how someone would color a pumpkin though, I just wanted to honest and clear about the photos.   When I color I first use the lightest color, something that I learned during classes in watercolor and colored pencils at college. Some people who use these markers and other brands start with the darkest color. I'm not sure that it matters, just be quick to get them blended so you won't have lines. Take a look at a photo or the real life object, in this case a pumpkin, to get an idea of the light areas and dark areas. This is figuring...

It's the last day of release week at InStyle Stamps with all the new images going live on the store later today, but for my post today I'll be sharing a Chloe image that released as a digital image in July. It's just perfect for this month. I put together a different kind of gift card. Instead of a plastic cash gift I packaged up my hubby's out of this world chocolate chip cookies in a glassine bag and attached it to a card. It's slightly larger than a business size envelope with all the fun embellishments of a card, but with a taste-y treat. If you want to try out my style of pumpkin coloring there will be another post today with tutorial Thought for the day: I needed to sharpen my edge punch in a bad way but was way too lazy to go get foil from the kitchen for sharpening it, so I saw my 2-inch wide foil tape and decided I'd use that instead. As long as the glue didn't gum get stuck in the punch, I now have a sharpened punch and metallic embellishm...

A sweet digital stamp from DigiStamp Boutique, her name is Zoe and she's offering a pink ribbon cake for a birthday celebration. (I wonder if there is such a color ribbon at the county fair????) Zoe and Cake is part of the October Offer of the Month . Thanks for stopping by! Details: Card Size : 6 1/4 x 4 1/2 inches Stamps: Zoe and Cake , TCP A Beary Good Year Paper: Lavendar Lace, unknown pattern paper and purple cardstock Ink: Laserjet, Prismacolor Markers Accessories: Buttons, Embroidery Floss, Paper Stack ruffle ribbon, round corner punch, Glue Arts adhesive for ribbon and Glider Pro

I'm working on Christmas cards and hoping to make enough to send to family and if I get any more done I'll be sending them out to some of my friends. That's if I don't come up with a bunch of homemade gifts to do for family. LOL Today I'm remembering moments of Christmas. I'm wondering how many out there have actually been kissed under a mistletoe? Legitimately, now? No chasing around the intended with arm raised high holding the infamous sprig of bush. I don't remember ever being in that position. Either by luck or by chase. LOL Here's a happy couple from DigiStamp Boutique, Marty and Matilda having an Xmas kiss moment under that mistletoe. Aren't they just adorable. I grabbed my color palette from the pattern paper and used my Prismacolor markers. Before I printed out I added a frame in PowerPoint and the sentiment in Leftovers font. See ya on another post tomorrow! Details: Stamps: Marty and Matilda Xmas Kiss Paper: Pretty Papers...

Another early post because I'm sneaking in a card using a September Offer of the Month stamp at DigiStamp Boutique. It's that adorable Coco with Presents ~ I actually started this color palette from pattern paper, but didn't use it in the end because my digi-print was SO big. The paper was such an inspiration though that I kept going with the present theme and pulled out my collection of Cuttlekid dies and found a present to use. I cut them out on white CS and colored with the same pattern as I did on the Coco image then outlined it with my PITT artist pen. I overlapped the presents into a line and used them as a strip for the bottom of the SC300 sketch. I tried to be clever and repeat the color pattern from Coco by creating a light blue ribbon strip above the presents. Can you see it? Well, I thought I was clever enough at such a late crafting hour. LOL This card is all wrapped up in challenges with prizes! Check out the challenge list below! Pile It On - Cute and...

I have another InStyle Stamp project for you today, it's all about saving and organizing! I've been trying to use coupons more lately and I just couldn't put the money down to buy the supplies for go all out...so I made a wallet to hold a shopping trip worth of coupons. I don't think it's made for storing coupons, but it sure would work nicely for that one trip to the store. Now if I only knew what kind of sorting system I would want to use. What do you use? By aisle, alphabet, expiry date? I think I'm going to go by categories, but I'm not sure yet. Molly is a digital and rubber stamp from InStyle Stamps. I used her for a tag on the closure of my coupon holder, a quick way to find it as I'm dashing out of the house to the store. I've had a few inquiries to directions for this coupon holder and I will update this post when I complete a tutorial. Tomorrow is the last Friday of the month and that means InStyle Stamps Design Team is going to h...

This is a post from last month that never made it live, so I'm sharing it now even though it's an image from July's Offer of the Month at DigiStamp Boutique. I'm back today with an adorable DigiStamp Boutique image on an interactive card. I'm calling it a Birthday party in an envelope and you will soon see why! Since my daughter's birthday this summer, I've been absorbed in her favorite colors. Pink, green and purple. "In that order", she would say, and so of course you'd guess that this card would have those three colors. How am I ever going to get this past her and in the mail to my niece????? LOL I've been wanting some time to play with my birthday presents that I got over a month ago, and slowly I'm getting to each one. Now what part of this card is interactive???? Well just pull out Tallulah from the "sleeping bag" envelope and she's ready to celebrate with a cupcake and balloon. Details: Stamps: DigiS...

Hello everyone! I apologize for being such a post-lackey lately. I've been changing around some of my life and trying to improve it a bit. You know the sleep and healthy eating are at the top of the list, but one of the changes is to be more organized in my posts and projects. You'll see some of the change here in a week or so, but until then I wanted to at least post something. Then Thursday night happened! Last week was busy with MoPS (Mother of Preschoolers) day at the zoo and my hubby was off of work for three days to do projects around the house, but then Thursday night our irrigation water spigot wasn't turned in the off position and when the whole system came back on, our window well became flooded, half full in fact. It leaked through the window and soaked our carpet in one whole room and part of the landing to the stairs. No damage was done thankfully, but a lot of water to get sucked up, which we did ourselves. At one point we had the carpet padding line dr...

My husband started me on the trek to using TV and movie quotes in my sentences and communication to make it a bit more fun to have conversation with each other. I rarely remember them, but "These pretzels are making me thirsty" is one quote I remember. I have no idea what the context was when Jerry Seinfeld used in his TV series by the same name, but I'll use it literally today for my project post. Published in Scrap Street Magazine October 2010 I'm using a cocktail image from DigiStamp Boutique called Summer Quencher . It's adorable and so fun to color with that big petal flower. If you look close enough you'll see something tied into the bow. It's these single serving drink mixes that are just right for a bottle of water. I didn't come up with idea and I really don't know how behind I might be on this crafting trend, but until I received one of these in July I had no idea how neat this gift really can be. I was rushing out the door for my...

I have a quick share for you today. I made a CAS card for one of the Dare to Get Dirty Challenges on SplitcoastStampers and aside from never getting a decent photograph of the card AND the sentiment at the bottom, I had overcome a fear while creating this card. I fear grayscale coloring so this card was my personal challenge for the month. I did give myself an exception to use color on anything organic, but I must have been enjoying the grayscale because I left out the tree and wreath in the window, and I'm sure that the bags and clothing would be consider organic. I did catch myself saying that I enjoyed coloring in grayscale, so I must have conquered the fear this time around. Detail of Mother Detail of Daughter Have a great Wednesday, and thanks for stopping by. Janelle Details: Card Size: 4 1/2 x 6 1/4 inches Stamps: A Day in the Life " Mother and Daughter " (computer generated sentiment Shishoni Brush TF) Paper: Neenah Classic Crest White Ink: Col...

I am so in love with InStyle Stamps Chloe images. I get excited every month to see the new images, but until next month comes along I'll just keep using these adorable christmas images. My card today is with Ornamental Chloe. The last creation with her was a soft blue and dainty image so this time I wanted to go bold! Did you see the tutorial from Angela last week for InStyle Stamps Method Monday? She absolutely is the best I've seen at coloring. She made an awesome tutorial on hair and skin and if you haven't seen it, you need to hop on over there and check it out.  I was so inspired by Angela that I had to try it out on Chloe even if I don't have Copics. You know how I love my Prismacolors. I have been meaning to try and use this pack of pre-printed acetate since almost the beginning of the year. I decided if I could cut out the ornament area and place it behind the image that it might have the effect of a clear glass ornament. I traced the cut out area on ano...

Good afternoon everyone! InStyle Stamps has done away with Over the Hump Day Blog Candy Giveaway! Just the name though! It is now called InStyle InSpiration Challenge. So our inspiration today is Halloween and I've got a set of invites made up to get the ideas started for that holiday party you've got coming up. I used the Country Bumpkin image from InStyle Stamps and resized him to fit in an A2 size envelope. I colored with Prismacolor Markers and then added some Martha Stewart Glitter to the shadows of the pumpkin. When I printed them out I had two on a sheet and that allowed me to use a ruler and embossing tool to create my score line. I cut them out while folded so that I could get the same shape in the back side of the invitation. A small amount of green organza ribbon it this pumpkin is ready to go out in the mail! The design team has some amazing inspiration at the store blog today, so hop on over and get your inspired designs. All the images we have been using ...

Happy Second Saturday of the month! We are at our new challenge turn around using a winter-y bit of gorgeousness with our inspiration coming from retro paper. It's a swatch from Olive Paper called Polar Holiday:  Retro Snowflakes Blossom Wrapping Paper . It is delicious isn't it? I just had to use Snowman Chloe with this delightful color palette. She is so fun to color and a simple cute and bold image you are going to want to have in your shopping cart on July 16, 2010. InStyle Stamps Color Challenges are always fun and have incentive too! It's possible to win some digital images of your choice, so it's just more reason to try out these colors on your next project. Submit to the InStyle Stamps blog . The winner of this challenge will get to choose some digital images from the store. If you use InStyle Stamps images on your project you'll get 4 images of your choice. Don't worry if you don't have any InStyle Stamps, STILL enter, because you could win...