Valentine Mouse

I'm pretty sure that I've made a valentine or two with this set each year for the past 8 years. I just love my little meesies!! :) It took me *forever* to put this card together this morning. I started with a sketch and then kept changing things. Do you ever do that?? After 45 minutes I decided I would be done... LOL! It's pretty self-explanatory, but be sure to ask if you have questions.

Thanks so much for all the encouragement and well wishes that you sent on my switchover to TAC! It means a whole lot to me! If any of my friends, neighbors, or friends I don't know yet are interested in getting a catalog, please email me!! (tjtrax at yahoo dot com) I would so love to share my excitement with you!!!!

I've got tons on my plate today, so I'm going to leave this short and sweet. Hope to hear from you!!!!

I did it!!

Well, I finally did it. I emailed my resignation to Stampin' Up! yesterday and I will be signing on as a TAC angel as soon as I get my confirmation from SU. I am really, really excited about it, albeit a little nervous. :) Are you familiar with The Angel Company? Here are some of the things that I love about their company...

* EZ-mounted Stamps - TAC has top quality rubber stamps that you mount on a piece of EZ mount foam. (It's kind of like the rubber and foam layer of a wood mounted stamp, without the wood block.) The EZ mount is sticky on one side - to stick to the rubber - and sort of like a vinyl cling on the other side - to stick to an acrylic block. I've had TAC stamps for at least 4 or 5 years, and if they don't seem sticky I just wipe them (and the block- in case it's dirty) with a damp cloth and they're good to go!! Why do I like EZ mount stamps?? Well, they stamp the same, but the storage is SO much less. I can store 50 sets in a sweater size plastic box - all packaged nicely in CD cases. If there is one down side to the EZ mount stamps it would be that there's no sticker on the back - but it is possible to put the picture on the EZ mount itself, if that's a problem for you!

* Price - Because you're not paying for wood blocks, you can get sets for SO much less!! I can't wait to show you!

* Free Stuff! - For each $30 in orders placed, you get to pick a free gift with purchase stamp. They are so cute!! There are about 12 or 15 of them and there are new ones each 6 months when the new catalog comes out.

* Stamp of the Month - Each month there is a special stamp set available that is *very* inexpensive if you place a $30 order. I've gotten such cute stamp of the month sets!!

* Low Hostess Minimums - You can receive hostess benefits with only a $100 order! You receive a free set, a 1/2 price item (can you say... Bind-it-All or Scor Pal, or your favorite set??), and 20% on your hostess order (above the $100). Plus your free Gift with Purchase stamps if your order is $30 or more!!

* Style - I love the options that TAC has available! They have something called their Signature Series, that are stamps with a message... I love them!! They really have something for everyone.

* Cardstock Collections - TAC carries textured cardstock and much of it matches their exclusive designer paper collections... that are SO pretty!!

* Low Quarterly Minimums - On the business side, this is HUGE. To stay active as a TAC Angel you only need to place $100 in orders every 4 months. If you enjoy stamping, you may want to sign up as an angel just for the discount! Just think - that's only $25/month! If you spend $30/month you'll get a free GWP stamp and an opportunity to purchase the stamp of the month, as well!!

So, what do you think?? Be sure to watch my blog for upcoming events, card kits that you can order, a hostess club and other special offers!! :) Hope to hear from you!!!!

Pastel Love

The picture of the card looks kind of odd this morning. Sorry! The background is actually Paisley stamped in Cranberry on Real Red, and the L O V E is stamped with versamark and colored with pastels. First red, then a little burgundy in the corners. A simple card, but I need one for a MOPS group to make for their husbands, and thought this might be nice. In the interest of time, I think I'll do most of the work and let them assemble it and stamp the greetings inside and out.

Hope you'll have a chance to be creative today, and if you happen to be in the path of the blizzard conditions that we're expecting here, stay safe!!

Sweet & Simple

I needed a simple card today, but after working with bright & bold colors for the past little while this one seems a little 'blah' to me. I think it will grow on me when I don't put it right next to the others in my pile, so I decided to post it anyway. The colors are Brocade & Moss. The bird and sentiment are from TAC, and the feathers are from Stampin Up.

Enjoy your day!

Project Complete!!

One of my goals this year is to actually complete a number of the craft projects that I have (hopefully close to 30 of them!!), using the materials that I have already purchased. My January goals were to complete my daughter's quilt (that I've been putting off because I love to piece quilt tops, but hate to actually quilt them together, especially if they are twin size or larger...), to put my 2007 pictures into a scrapbook, and to be half done with my daughter's Christmas stocking that I'm cross-stitching. Well, yesterday I finished the quilt, and I'll have all the scrapbook pages done by Thursday. The stocking is a work in progress, but I think it's pretty close to half done, especially if I spend some time each day working on it. I'm so glad!! :) The only thing that I've had to purchase so far was some batting for the quilt. All of the scrapbook pages used things that I already had. They aren't fancy... but they're done!! My reward for completing them will be to purchase the scrapbooks to put them in. I'm afraid it will take more than one book! I'm planning on purchasing them from TAC next month.

Here's some pictures...



I'll be posting a card in a minute or two!! Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs & Kisses

... and get well wishes! I don't know why I'm on a "Get Well" kick right now, but I saw this stamp on my shelf that I hadn't used for awhile and it seemed to call my name today. I used the same layout as yesterday, but colored the image with Prismacolors and OMS and added a little heart from one of the "Love Ya" sets from CC Designs. The colors look a little less "funky" in real life!! :)

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you and yours don't need the get well wishes right now... although I could definitely use warm wishes!! How about you??

Flowers from Fluffles

I really wanted to use some of this Uptown designer paper on a card today, so I swiped the colors and used them to color this little Fluffles image. The thanks in the corner is from an old SU set that I use quite a bit. I paper pierced the edges and added some ribbon to finish it off. It makes me happy to use Spring-y colors right now. I really don't mind the snow we have, but it is SO cold that I'd rather just stay inside and dream of tulips.

Hope you're having a good week. Mine's been so busy!! Remember the Sidetracked Home Executives book that I read at the beginning of the year? Well, I made up my "Happiness File" and love it! It's kind of like FLYLady Extraordinaire, only all of your reminders are in the box and not on the computer. I can't even imagine how much time I wasted before "the box". I'm constantly busy now, trying to get everything done - from making my bed, to posting on my blog, to washing the kitchen floor, to remembering to take out tomorrow's meat out of the freezer. I've written tons of letters, have actually *mailed* birthday cards, and I'm even pretty close to finishing a big quilting project that's been sitting in my closet for a number of years! All that to say... gotta run!! Things to do, places to be! Have a great day!!

Lucky Day!

No, I didn't win anything, but I got to used another Lucky image from CC Designs Wintertime Fun for this cute little matchbook that I found in my scraps. I put all three snowflakes on a block and stamped the background in Bashful Blue. Then I stamped and colored Lucky, cut him out and mounted him on a couple of the thick dimensionals that SU used to sell. I added a staple, to help keep the matchbook closed, put some stickles on Lucky and the sled, and sponged just a tad of pink on the background to pull it all together. Here's a picture of the inside...

Ahhh, yes. There's no day like a snow day... and chocolate. and hot chocolate. oh - and ice cream. Hmmm... maybe I need to go eat breakfast!! LOL

See you tomorrow!!

Not so Hot...

OK, so I don't feel this bad... but I do have a nagging headache, so I'm going to make this short and sweet. This card is made with a retired Stampin' Up! set that I sold. Why I sold it, I'm not quite sure. I really liked this one!!! I may have to look up it's name and find it again. :) I actually pulled this card out of my "like so much I'll never send to anyone" box of cards. Silly me!! So, if you're not feeling well tonight... This card is just for you from me.... that way I don't have to send it. Bwahahahahaha! :)

Have a great evening!

More Thoughts of Spring...

Good morning!! One of my goals for yesterday was to make a bookmark for my Bible reading. I don't know where they always disappear to, but as soon as I had finished this one, I found another!! That's ok. This was fun, turned out pretty, and was a good way to use up some of my stash. So, here's my challenge for the day. Use up some of your scraps to make a bookmark. It could be for yourself, for a child, or maybe just to have on hand when you need something "extra" to add to a card. Remember, most books won't take too kindly to tons of dimension!! So, see what you can do to make it interesting... but flat.

Oh - one more requirement! It must be spring-y. Enough of the snow already!! If you want a winter bookmark you can make that too... but be sure that you link to the spring-y one first. For my sample, I used a retired SU set... don't even know which one, cuz I sold the rest of the set... and a Bible verse, and used my swirl from A Season of Joy as the background.

Don't forget to link me to your creation. I'd love to see it!

Gift with Purchase Puppy

One of the things that I love about The Angel Company is that with every $30 you get in product, you also receive a free stamp and it's one that you get to choose yourself! The stamps I used for this card are actually my daughter's. We got them both free with an order we placed before Christmas. Isn't he cute?! I stamped the puppy in Chocolate Chip Ink on a scrap of Brocade DP and watercolored him with ink from the ink pad. Since I don't have full size ink pads anymore, I just swiped the ink spot across the top of one of the plastic boxes that SU stamps come in and picked up my color from there. I stamped the background with the swirl from A Season of Joy, used a scrap of crimped cardstock and a piece of cord that I found in my drawer, trimmed the edge of another scrap with my scallop scissors, and there you are!!

I really couldn't find a place for the sentiment on the front, so I inked up my stamp with River Rock ink and stamped it off once before I stamped it inside the card. It looks elegant... if a card with a puppy on it can look elegant!! :)

I hope you'll stop by tomorrow for Stash Challenge Tuesday. See you then!

Thoughts of Spring...

Aren't they "tweet"?? I couldn't resist using these little CC Designs darlings for another card. The base is chocolate chip, then river rock stamped with the Paisley BG stamp from SU. The designer paper (dp) is from Daisy D and the little birdies are colored with Prismacolors & OMS.

Just the card for your "tweetheart" :) Have a good day and stay warm!! It's only in the single digits here, with windchill somewhere around -10 or more! Sounds like hot chocolate weather to me... :)

Penguin Tin #2

Here they are again! I just can't get away from these Little Penguins! Aren't they precious! In fact I made a baby card today with them today, too... only I can't show you that one quite yet. It still needs something... :)

This little tin (an empty GFIC French Vanilla Cafe' tin, btw) greeted my daughter at her plate this morning, filled with little birthday treats... a candle that smells like cookies baking, some chocolate and some WebKinz goodies.

It was so easy to do... a little super sticky tape, some designer paper (BoBunny, I think), some ribbon and an adorable penguin popped up with dimensionals on a scalloped circle. I still don't feel "inspired" when I alter items, but I do like the look. In fact, I have an empty box that my last checks were in that is just begging to be altered!! Hmmm... I may wait and pick up the new Moose stamps that Hannah Stamps is coming out with in February before I play with that. :) We'll see....

Have a wonderful day!

The Real Me

I've been on a mission to do the layout a day for a month challenge over at Big Picture Scrapbooking. I have done probably 20 layouts in the past two years, so this is a big undertaking. I chose 8x8 pages, which I've never done before, and printed off about 130 pictures from my digital camera, all from last year. That wasn't all of them, but it gives me a good sampling of our year. My goal is to finish putting them all on pages by the end of the month. Then, as a reward, I'll buy the books to put them in. I'm realizing that I'm going to need more than one!! :)

This page is a picture of my son and I going to Clash Day during Spirit week at school last year. My 5th graders were sufficiently horrified! :) I hope to get at some stamping today... I have all sorts of ideas rolling around in my mind... just not enough time to put them on paper!!

Kit Ideas & Coloring Tutorial!!

It seems odd to me to be doing a coloring tutorial with so many talented stampers out there, but in response to my raving public (HA!) I'm going to share the steps I take when coloring an image. I needed to make some sample cards for my January card kit that will be mailing out this week, so I'll use those images to help me.

First off... Here's the kit. I usually choose my coloring colors around the paper I'm going to be using. Sometimes I go the other way around, but that's harder for me. I'm extremely color challenged when it comes to picking out my own colors. There are WAY too many to choose from.

When I know my colors, I pull out the lightest matching base color that I can from my SU markers; one to match each color I might need. For this project I used Celery, Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue, Apricot Appeal, Blush Blossom (for the skin), Going Grey and Creamy Caramel.

The first thing that I do is to color my images with marker only. I color with light strokes and don't worry too much about the streaks. They'll get covered over later. Here is a picture of all of my images in step one... marker only.

I'm going to be using the little girl in the lower left corner to demonstrate how I use watercolor pencils to shade and add depth. Why watercolor pencils? They seem to blend well into the waterbased marker. I don't know if this would work as well with Copics. I seem to think that since they're solvent based, maybe regular Prismacolor would work better.... Don't quote me, though. I really haven't had any experience with them!

My watercolor pencils are a combination of Staedtler and Prismacolor. I don't use the SU ones much anymore, because I've found the Staedtler ones match the SU colors better. Here's a picture of the color pencils I've chosen to use for this project. You'll notice that I usually have two or three of each color in varying degrees of intensity.

After coloring with markers, the next step is to take the lightest color watercolor pencil and shade around the inside edges, darker on the outside and feathering in until you still see marker... See the shadows in her hair?? (That's all I've done just yet... so you can see the steps.)

Now take the next darkest color and do the same thing...

Then take the third color - the dark one and just do the nooks and crannies... the corners... What a difference!! See how her hair is left with areas of all three colors?? She has highlights!! :) OK... here's a picture of her with step one (the light shading) complete (and her hair all done).

It's really hardly noticable, but you can see that I added some grey to her tights and some black to her shoes, along with shading the heart and her dress. Here's step two... the medium color... Not much difference.

And finally, the completed picture, with the dark shadows added. Isn't it amazing how much that final step adds?? I also like to add a light yellow watercolor pencil around the outside to give my subject some... light. I'm really not sure if I do it "right". I just try different things and see what works. For example, sometimes I'll just do a shadow on one side of my subject, and sometimes I'll go all the way around. Oh, I used a tiny watercolor brush on the grey of her tights to soften it, as well.

OK, as a reward for staying with me this long... here are some close ups of the cards that I put together this morning from the card kit. Remember, I've already done one, besides these, and I still have another little boy image and some animals and cardstock and ribbon and brads and cello bags left over to play with. Contact me if you'd like one of the last couple kits!! (Or if you'd like a set of Stampin' Up! markers... I'll even give you free shipping if you place a $40 or more order before Wednesday at midnight!) Thanks for stopping by!!

Belle

I got to use another of my Elzybells images for today's card. Isn't she precious?? The dp is retired SUand the ribbon is retired SU & some I got at Target's $$ spot. I colored Belle with prismacolors and OMS and popped her up for some dimension. The "hugs" is part of a TAC set that I just love. The sketch for the card came from Kim on this post here. Who wouldn't want to try for one of the sweet Magnolia stamps???

Have you ordered your card kit yet?? I only have 2 left, so be sure to email me soon if you're interested. First paid, first served!! :)

Also you only have another day or two to send me your card for the stash challenge! Let's see what you've come up with!!

Elzybells!!

Oh my!! I received an envelope in the mail yesterday from stampzy on SCS with some stamped Elzybells images! Isn't that wonderful?? I love the Wish RAK forum on SCS!! I have a number of these little penguins to play with, so I used some of the Petals and Paisley DP that I received from Lynn for winning December's card contest (she has one on right now, too - Be sure to enter!!) and made this 4.25"x4.25" quick card.

In case you're wondering, I haven't forgotten about the coloring tutorial... Life has just been a little hectic here for the past week. We started schooling again, I started the SHE Happiness File - which I can only describe as FlyLady deluxe!, our element in the oven burned out - complete with fireworks, and the dog had to go to the vet because he was throwing up everything in his stomach every time he ate. How's that for a week?? :) It's amazing how my "word" for the year has helped me keep focused on what I know to be right. "Satisfied" I can be satisfied because we had meals we could cook on the stove top, satisfied because I know the Lord will provide the finances to cover the dog's stay at the vet, satisfied because my house is clean, satisfied because I'm up to date on the scrapbook page-a-day challenge, satisfied because I got my TAC catalog (which I absolutely love!), the Elzybell images and the DP pieces to play with this week and satisfied because we're caught up with school for the most part.

Don't forget the January Card kit and the Challenge Candy that are available right now!! Scroll down if you need info on either of them!!

Life in the Big City

There was a challenge issued by My Favorite Things last night at their pre-release party on SplitCoastStampers to make a card that was not square or rectangle. This little landscape scene "came to me" last night. :) Fun, fun, fun! There are some incredible designs in the SCS gallery. Wow! Use MFGD02 as the keyword and have fun browsing!

Here's a quick card I made up this morning from the January kit. Hopefully I'll have time to put together a few more cards today... but I'm not counting on it. I'm not sure, but I think I'm about 3 hours behind in my schedule for today!! :)

January Card Kit Available Now!!

Oh, fun, fun, fun!! :) The January card kit is full of bright, cheery cardstock, ribbon and designer paper. Here's what you'll get for just $10 + $2 shipping (US):

6 - 6x6 sheets of SU's new Bali Breeze designer paper

4 - 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" pieces of cardstock (One each of Turquoise, Rose Red, Old Olive and Certainly Celery)

3 - Whisper White cards (4 1/4" x 5 1/2")

3 - Whisper White mini cards (3" x 3")

3 yds of ribbon (1 yd each of White narrow organdy, turquoise and rose)

3 mini cellophane bags

25 gold brads

Lots of Stamped Images ready to color!!

A color picture of some cards and projects made from the kit

I'll be back later with some ideas from the kit. I cut one for myself and I'm going to see just how many cards and projects I can come up with. How fun! Be sure to reserve a kit for yourself right away. Email me at tjtrax @ yahoo . com, (No spaces in the email address, of course!) and I'll send you a Paypal invoice. I'll be shipping on Thursdays and Saturdays.

Check back this evening for some ideas made with the kit, and don't forget the challenge and prize in the post below!!

Challenge... Prize!... Long post.... :)

The Challenge...

Good morning!! The challenge today is easy. I want you to use a cellophane bag in your project. The easiest thing I can think of is to make a little treat bag and topper, or use a cello bag to enclose a set of notes and make a tag for it, but anything goes, except just tying it closed with a ribbon!! :) If you don't have a cello bag, you may use a baggie... (or go to the $$ store to find some!)

The prize...

Anyone who posts a comment here or in the forum at ASB by midnight on Monday, with a link to your creation, will be entered to win this little prize package of goodies. I'll pick a name Tuesday morning before I post the next challenge. Be sure to check back to see if you won!!

Speaking of Blog Candy...

I received this wonderful tile before Christmas, compliments of Tiffiny's Walls of Wisdom. I was so surprised that I won!! It has a place of honor in my house...

And something old and new to look at...
And, just in case you wanted something else to look at besides the adorable little CC Designs animals... here's a Valentine just for you. I do appreciate all my blog readers. You make my day!! The paper is from my Daisy D Chasing Butterflies pad, the little boy is from an old SU set, and the words are from Biblical Impressions. I colored him with Prismacolors and OMS. Just a note, I found out that the Prismacolor Verithin pencils blend nicely with the OMS if they're not too sharp... and they're cheaper, too!! :)

See you tomorrow!!

Let it Snow!

This card seems sort out of season today, here in Wisconsin. It's warmer and we're supposed to have thunderstorms, of all things! I made this card for my challenge over at ASB last week. And, yes, once again it's CC Designs!! :) I just can't help myself. They're so cute!! The challenge was to use your least favorite shade of green. Mine is sage. I bought it first when I started SU, used it all the time, then bought moss and never used it again! So... here you are. Lulu is colored with markers. She's not paper-pieced, in case you're wondering! I just used a darker marker to add some details. I also got to use my Stickles again. I'm growing very fond of them. They make wonderful snow!!

Tomorrow is challenge day again, so be sure to stop by! I think I may be offering a prize!

Tag... I'm It!!

With all of the fun sneak peeks that I've been providing, I almost forgot that I had been tagged by Kim Hughes of Paper Hugs! Have you been to her blog lately? If not be sure to check it out! Kim designs adorable stamps for Cornish Heritage Farms, she gives great tips on her blog each day and is super sweet on top of it all.



So here we go... 7 random facts about me...



1. I am reading the Sidetracked Home Executive books right now and love them. I've just started a cardfile to help me stay more organized this year.

2. I really, really don't like flourescent light.

3. I love my Mary Engelbreit day by day calendar.

4. I go to Ponderosa and buy Sweet & Tangy salad dressing by the bagful. :) It's wonderful!!

5. I miss Krispie Kreme donuts. There aren't any near here... :(

6. I don't really like coffee, but I love White Chocolate Mocha Frappes from Starbucks. (Hmmm... I must be hungry or need sugar, I keep talking about food... )

7. My cousin, Joel, was the host for Mystery Science Theater 2000. Anyone heard of it??



I'm supposed to tag 7 other people... hmmm... how about I give you the first 7 links that have unread posts on my google reader right now and you go and say "hi" and that I sent you. If you'd like, you can consider yourself tagged, too!!

Stampin' Gal Val
Me, My Stamps & I
Kraftin Kimmie's Corner
Letters from Lizzie
Berkerblog
Little Treasures
The Scrappy Chick

See you tomorrow!! :)

Candy and Card Candy

A Shade of Blue papercrafting forum is having an Altered Arts Challenge... (with a prize!!) for the next few weeks. You need to alter something that you've never altered before. Well... yesterday I was meeting in person a new stamping friend that I'd made online, so I thought I'd whip up something to take along. I found this little tin in my drawer and pulled out my Bali Breeze paper from SU. I traced around the lid of the tin, cut out the paper and adhered it with tacky tape (for the life of me I can't think of it's name right now... you know - the red stuff). I put turquoise grograin ribbon around the edge - adhered with the same tape - and then added the ribbons to the top. The flower is actually three layers. The teal layer is punched with the SU scallop punch, the pink layer is from a sheet of DP and the Orange flower on top is the center of a flower from another sheet of dp. I used stickles and my white gel pen to add some highlights to the flower and just curled up the petals just slightly. There's a NQ Navy brad in the center.

Inside the tin I put a number of pieces of Dark Dove Chocolate and 4 pieces of "card candy" - little scallops of dp with colored penguins attached; ready to be made into tags, or attached to cards or scrapbook pages. Yes - the Little Penguins from CC Designs. :) Have you gotten your new sets yet??? (These stamps are my absolute favorites. I have an idea for a baby card floating around in my mind, but I haven't put it on paper yet... ) I actually cut a piece of DP to line the bottom of the tin as well, but I didn't decorate the outside bottom of the tin... I didn't think it needed it. All in all I was so pleased with it that I had a hard time giving it away! LOL Maybe I'll have to make another to hoard. :)

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your weekend!

New Notebook

I needed a new little notebook to fit inside my Bible cover for taking notes during church. Usually I go to Michael's and pick up a Mary Engelbreit journal for $1, but since I'm really trying to use my stamping supplies and not buy what I could very easily make, I decided to make a little notebook instead. I cut a sheet of River Rock cardstock to about 6 1/4 x 7 1/2 inches for the outside, but any size will do. Then I took 6 pages of lined notebook paper, cut it about 1/4" smaller than my cardstock, folded the stack in half and stapled it into my notebook cover. (See picture below) To staple it, I actually just opened my stapler up flat and stapled into the mat from my mat pack. (A mouse pad would work, too.)

The cover of my notebook is decorated with one of the Penguins from CC Designs Little Penguins set, and the saying is from an SU Sell-a-Bration set from last year. One of the things I really like is that the notebook will last about a month or so, and then I'll be able to make a new one to correspond to the month/season. At the end of the year I'll be able to tie them up with a ribbon and not only have all my sermon notes, but a set of stamped notebooks that I'll get to keep!! :)

Now, lest you give me credit for more creativity than I possess... I got the basic idea for the notebooks from a blog... I think kwernerdesign.com/blog, but I can't remember for sure. I made one of these for my purse awhile back with regular copy paper inside and I've just loved it. Let me know if you try one. I'd love the link if you post it!


Thanks for stopping by! I should have my Kit of the Month up by next week and - just possibly - some blog candy for the new year! See you tomorrow!

Sneak Peak #6 - The Cat's Meow

It's today!! Tonight at midnight, from what I hear, these sets will be available for purchase at All That Scraps!! Yippee!! Which is good, because this is the last image (well, main image... there are more sayings that you haven't seen yet!) in the sets. I do still have some other cards that I want to show you, though! I'm having so, so, so much fun!! These little animals are so my style!!

Today I used some of my retired Brocade paper from SU and my new Chasing Butterflies DP from Daisy D. Lulu was stamped with Java Versacolor on Ivory Naturals and watercolored with my watercolor crayons. I masked out Lulu's head and stamped the Ivory lightly with the Linen Background stamp. The organdy ribbon was colored with my Ruby Red marker, and the words were stamped on River Rock and punched out with my Word Window punch.

On another note... I'm participating in the Big Picture Scrapbooking "Page-a-Day" challenge for January. I am so behind on my scrapbooking. I really have done very, very little since I found rubberstamping and cards. Isn't that sad?? So, my goal is to make a book from the pictures on my digital camera from last year. I'm not a great photographer and I didn't print them all, but I think I have about 130 pictures that I'd like to do. I'm doing 8x8 pages, with 2-3 pictures per 2 page layout.... Hmm... 40 -60 pages?? Just about right if I do a 2-page spread each day. We'll see what happens!! Be sure to check it out if you need some scrapping accountability!!

See you tomorrow!

Sneak Peak #5 - Funny Bunny

It's Day 5 of the CC Designs sneak peeks!! Tomorrow I'll show you the last of the main images in these sets and then Friday at midnight you can start shopping!! Don't forget to check out all the other fun stuff at the store while you're there. I see there is new paper in stock from Basic Grey and Daisy D. Too fun!

My little funny bunny was stamped on glossy white cardstock, colored with markers, cut out and mounted on a piece of pink cardstock that was also stamped with the bunny image. (Otherwise he wouldn't have had any whiskers!). He was layered on rose and black cardstock that had been trimmed with my scalloped scissors. The printed vellum is some from SU that has been retired for a couple years.

The saying is stamped on a piece of glossy cardstock that I had colored with the polished stone technique. I wet my cotton ball with a little alcohol and added a drop of rose and burgundy refill ink.

Hope you'll stop by tomorrow!

Sneak Peek #4 - Birdies!!

Happy New Year!! There are just a few more days to wait before you can order your new stamps from CC Designs/All That Scraps!!! Yippee!! As far as I know, they will only be $11.99 for the sets on EZMount. That is *so* reasonable!! And there are still stamps in these sets from CC Designs that I haven't shown you yet! Here's one of my favorites. Isn't it adorable??? I've seen these birds colored in blue, guava and yellow and they're always sweet. Red birds would be good, too. Either for Valentine's Day or Christmas, or just because! I used some more of my new Bali Breeze designer paper from SU - available now! - along with turquoise cardstock and not quite navy. The birds are colored with markers and watercolor pencils. Speaking of which... would anyone be interested in a tutorial on how I color?? I know it's a little different look than the Copics.

I hope you all have a fabulous New Years! See you tomorrow with Sneak Peek #5!!