Rockin' Girl Blogger Award!

Frances over at Stamp Owl's Studio tagged my blog for the Rockin' Girl Blogger award. Thanks SO much Frances! Such an honor! So now I am supposed to tag 5 other bloggers and give them this award too.

Diane at My Little Stampin' Spot
Michelle at Painted Desert Serenade
Michelle at Michelle's Stamping Room
Cindy at Imagine, Dream, Create
Kate at Espresso Yourself

Another Challenge At Split Coast

This was the challenge at Split Coast Stampers last week. I forgot to submit it when I finished it. It's not too late so I'm sure I'll get it posted on there soon. The challenge sketch was a difficult one to look at without seeing any finished samples. I sometimes need to see a sample before I get inspired. This card is ok. To me it seems to need a little more finesse but I don't know what else I could do to it. I used the Flannel Plaid stamp and Creamy Caramel ink for the Always Artichoke background piece. I used the Noble Deer set. I stamped the deer in Close to Cocoa on Vanilla card stock. I also stamped the image again so I could cut out the wedge piece. I prepared the background by using the linen stamp and creamy caramel ink. I punched out a piece of Black card stock and set it on top of a larger clear button and poked holes in it to match the button. Then I punched another larger circle out of Always Artichoke and layered it behind the black piece. Then I set it in place with a dimensional. The black "things" are large paper fasteners from Office Depot. I heated them up (holding them with a clothes pin of course) and dipped them in black embossing powder and heated the powder until it was melted and smooth. Because the large paper fasteners have long prongs I decided I needed to cut them down. I just used a regular pair of scissors. Don't use a good pair of scissors. If you have time, give the Sketch Challenges listed on Wednesday's a try. I like to find new layouts and this is a perfect place to do it!

Thank you for stopping by,
Wanda

I Am Seeing Spots!!

This "Seeing Spots" set is a very fun little set to play with. There's SO much you can do with it. I haven't played with it much but I do have great plans for it, starting with this card. I saw a card using this layout and knew I had to make it. I did change it a little. I used Night of Navy for the main part of the card. Then the next layer is the new Groovy Guava. I also used Ruby Red card stock for the layer. Be sure to stamp your round images first and then punch them out. Doing it that way makes it a lot easier to keep the image centered! Under the "Thank You" circle is a dimensional. I like to use them when I use brads because a brad never really lays flat enough for me. Again, this was a pretty simple card to make.

Thank you for stopping by,
Wanda

SCS Challenge

WOW! This was one tough challenge for me. I like the sketch but I didn't really know how to work with it. But after some thought I decided it HAD to be a winter card and to me a winter card means a snowman card!! And you all know how much I LOVE snowmen!!!!

I used the Snowflakes Cuddlebug folder. I only caught a "little bug!!!!" LOL I don't have a Cuddlebug machine but I do have my Sizzix with the adapter and it works just fine. If you are a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, for the background you can use the snowflake stamp that comes with the Cold Play set or you can use another snowflake set and stamp the snowflakes in Bashful Blue on the Whisper White card stock. Once I was done with the Cuddlebug Folder I used Bashful Blue ink on a rubber brayer and went over the piece allowing the ink to pick up on the raised snowflakes and of course some goes where you don't want it but it's ok, it is after all a handmade card!!! Then I added the layers as shown in the diagram they present each week at Split Coast Stampers (SCS). I added three light blue buttons and called it finished. Once I figured out what I wanted on the card it went smoothly. It's that trying to figure out what you want on it that is the most difficult part. So there you have it, my little snowman card!! Nice thing to make on such a HOT and HUMID day here in Minnesota. UGH!!!

Don't forget to leave your comment for the Blog Candy drawing to be held on Saturday!

Thank you for stopping by,
Wanda

Scary, Isn't He?

I can't wait to tell my son I put a photo of him on the Internet. It could be worse, it could be the "potty chair" photo!!! LOL I'm saving that one to show someday to his fiance!!! Revenge is SO sweet!!! LOL

We had to blow out the candle because this kid LOVED fire! He was SO excited on his first birthday (a month before Halloween) and he just wanted to touch the flame.

Notice the background paper here, not just the paper on the page but behind it? It's from last year and of course it's retired. SO when you buy these decorative papers, USE them!!! I will eventually use these but they can not be used on anything you demo.

This page is done in the same size as the recipe card I posted yesterday. It's 6" x 6". It's a very nice size to display some of your favorite photos. It's more portable than a large album and it sits nicely on an end table or coffee table. I like the 6" x 6" pages. Plus you have less space to decorate!!!

Thank you for stopping by,
Wanda

90,000+ Hits Blog Candy!

I can't believe this blog has 90,000+ hits. I'm not far from 100,000 hits. What a celebration that one will be. I'll have to find some REALLY special Blog Candy for that.

The puzzle this time is a "Tic Tac Toe Challenge." I'm telling you, this is the most difficult one yet!!! The challenge reads:

"You are battling for the tic tac toe championship of the world. (Of the world, mind you! NO stress there!!! lol) You have the last move and one open square is left. Can you win the championship with only one move? You are x. Good luck!"

SO, the question here is obvious, "can you win the championship with only one move?" I know it's tough but give it a try! Sorry to say that this is the last of those puzzles. I do not know where on the internet I found them and no one has contacted me to tell me they belong to them. We will probably have to play some "real" games for Blog Candy in the future. LOL

Have fun!




The Blog Candy posted here is some fun stuff! Yet useful!

There's a package of square double-sided foam "dots" a package of round double-sided foam dots, double-sided tape, a package of purple fibers, 3 rolls of ribbons, a package of baby charms and two packages of the small clear rubber stamps.

I will draw a name/number sometime on Saturday afternoon July 21, 2007.

Good luck!

Scary Monster!

Switching gears a little here. I mostly do cards. But when I think about it, there's probably as many cards on here as there are little gift items, etc. But I can say I don't do a lot of scrapbook pages and that is something I am going to be challenging myself to do. I need to keep a good balance of stamp crafting, cards and scrapbook pages!!!

This set is SO adorable but not as cute as the "Best Fiends" set was. But this will still do for this 6 x 6 recipe swap card. I LOVE making these for my recipe book. I have been collecting recipes since I was 16 (A VERY long time!) and I want to put my favorite recipes on these cards. It really dresses up a recipe card now doesn't it? These make great gifts too.

You set up your computer to print out your wording within a 5" x 5" space. You want to have some room on the sides for layers and sponging and just space to make it look even. I typed in my recipe and I printed out about 6 of them. I plan on keeping 4 so 6 is usually pretty close! I lose one or two with experimenting. And when I don't I have an extra for a gift for someone special!! Now once you set up your page, save it. This way you can just go in and make the changes for another recipe and do a "save as" for it and you've got another page saved. Though I usually just do a regular save since I REALLY don't want to make any more of the pages I've already done. They never turn out the same anyway. I just make the amount I want with the first run and that's it.

Once you print your recipe on card stock cut it to 5 3/4" x 5 3/4", enough room for the 6" x 6" piece of background layered card stock to go behind it. You don't need to do a layer but it does make the card look better. Stamp your images on the recipe and color them in as you like. For this one I used googly eyes on the spiders and Frankie. I glued them in place with Crystal Effects. I didn't want any glue to show. Once it dried and my layering was done I slipped it into the 6" x 6" scrapbook sleeve along with the other recipes! Eventually my book will be full of cute little recipe cards that are also fun to look at. And the bonus to doing this is that each page is in a plastic sleeve so there will be no sticky recipe cards!!!

Thank you for stopping by,
Wanda

WOW! It Looks Like More Blog Candy Is On The Way!

Didn't we just do this a little while ago??? LOL

I will put together some blog candy and post it to celebrate 90,000 hits!

Wait until you see what I have in store for the 100,000 hits!!!

Stop back tomorrow!

Thank You Motif

OK, last Baroque Motif card, I promise! But I really do like this set!

This card did take a little longer than the other ones because the illusion of a "reflection" was done using Baroque Burgundy ink. The words were added and then the White Craft ink was added on top of that. The card was set aside to dry. Craft ink takes a little longer to dry than the regular water-based inks. While the white was drying I stamped the flower and cut it out by hand. I didn't cut the dots around the flower image, I didn't feel they fit with the design on this card. I added a pink rhinestone brads from the new "Fire Circles" group. I affixed it to the card with a dimensional. The brad doesn't really match the burgundy card stock but once it was all assembled it blended in just fine. Those are very fun and pretty brads. And here's the shocker! I'm actually using the new stuff instead of hoarding it until it retires and then I can't use it in swaps! Imagine that, using your new stuff instead of keeping it around!!! Interesting concept! My favorite thing about this card is how the first image was stamped in Bravo Burgundy and it really makes the white just pop. And it REALLY does give the illusion of a shadow there! Just way too cool how that worked out!

Thank you for stopping by,
Wanda

I've Been Tagged Again!

I have been tagged (again) by Jennifer at Stampin' Crazy. Since I've already done this I will post a link to the 7 random things about me! You can view that here if you'd like.

Thanks So Much Motif

Ok, here I'm trying out a color combo I think actually worked!! I started out stamping my image on Very Vanilla card stock. I embossed it in black, doing the words at the same time. Then I cut a piece of Elegant Eggplant and taped it on behind that and put the two layers on top of a half sheet (folded) of the new Blue Bayou color. The colors blended together well and give a nice warm look to the card. The photo doesn't do the colors justice. And again, this was another quick and simple card but it doesn't give the appearance of being neither quick nor simple. Don't you just love that??? For those of you who read my blog frequently, can you tell I'm having sponging withdrawals?? LOL

Thank you for stopping by,
Wanda

Altered Note Paper & Pen

Oh my, it's NOT a Baroque Motifs card! Not even a Baroque Motif notebook!!!! LOL I am sure having a lot of fun with that set. I just can't believe how quick you can make a lovely card with so few stamps!

This is one of those little notebooks from the dollar bin at Michaels. I took the ink pen out and opened up the cover. I didn't remove the note paper. When I say I opened up the cover I am saying I pulled it open until it's glue didn't hold anymore. I laid it flat and measured a piece of Rose Red card stock. I made the card stock 1/8" longer than needed. Once you fold the card stock you lose a little in the folds. I marked where the original cover was scored and scored the card stock accordingly. I taped it in place. I usually use the Anywhere Glue Stick by Stampin' Up! but I ran out and my order is not coming until Monday. So you just make due with what you have. After the cover was on I glued the seams shut with tacky glue and clipped them in place. You can use clothes pins or paper clips for that. I just wanted to have my hands free so I could move along with this project. As the glue was drying I took some of the smaller pieces of the Prints designer papers that I had in a pile and cut them to fit the front of the notebook. I added a piece of ribbon to cover the seam where the two sheets of paper meet. I added a layer on top of that and the flowers. Stampin' Up! has come out with some flowers. I have not seen them yet but if you want to make this a Stampin' Up! project you can replace these Prima flowers with theirs. For the words I had gotten a rubber stamp made (for free) from Vista Print. They have business cards, note pads, post-it notes and many other office items. I have ordered from them several times and have been pleased with every order I've received. For the "notes" I just entered in that instead of my name and address. It's a quick way to stamp something you stamp often. It's a pre-inked stamp which makes these projects go even quicker! My "notes" had a black border around it but I cut it off because I was using a piece of black card stock on the layer and the black border didn't look right.

Now for the brads, those are the new ones from Stampin' Up! I didn't want the backs to show so I took a pair of utility scissors (not really the official word for that pair of scissors, they are a pair of old ones that it doesn't matter what I cut with them) and I cut off the prongs fairly close to the back of the brad. I left about 1/8 so I could take a pliers and fold it back. I "glued" the flower and the brads in place with Crystal Effects. I LOVE how that stuff sticks metal to paper. Once it dries it will be ready for gift giving. These also make great craft fair items but I recommend you purchase your own pen, paper and make your own pattern for the cover or you'd have to charge a lot for them at a craft fair and they won't sell as fast. Rule of thumb in selling your crafts is "Materials times 3." In some cases it doesn't work. I've made things from scraps amounting to 15 cents and in cases like that you use your best judgment. Shop around and see what other items close to what you make are selling for. It's a tough call to make. And you have to ask yourself if you want to sell a few at a higher price or sell them all for a lower price. Either way you are making money and that is why you're selling them, isn't it???

So back to the notebook. These do not take long at all to make and remember what you add for embellishments costs you money too! I tend to give more of these away as gifts than I sell.

Thank you for stopping by!
Wanda

Anniversary Motif

WOW, if you need an anniversary or wedding card in a hurry, this is the one to make! I can't tell you how quick this card was to make. And no sponging either!!! I used VersaMark on the Whisper White card stock and sprinkled it with silver embossing powder. Do the words at the same time. If you overheat embossing powder it no longer stays raised, it sort of melts into the card stock and especially the black will look like a big grease spot. Just slowly move your heat gun across the area and watch the powder melt as you go.

After the embossing I put it on a layer of Basic Black card stock and then adhered that to a half sheet of Whisper White card stock. SO quick and SO simple!

Thank you for stopping by,
Wanda

More Motifs

I SO copied this card (CASE) from one posted on SplitCoastStampers. I made some color and wording changes but for the most part it's a CASE. It's been a LONG time since I've done that. It's not that there aren't a lot of cards on there to CASE, believe me, there are. But I usually try to come up with my own design. But once and a while a card comes along that you just can't add or change it much but yet it's so inspiring to you. Well, that is what happened with this card. It's ok to CASE, just give credit where credit is due.

For my card I used Sahara Sand for the center, behind that is Bravo Burgundy and the main part of the card is Night of Navy. I wanted something dark but not black. On top of the Sahara Sand I used the Fine Lace Background stamp and Sahara Sand ink pad. For the swirls on the card I used the larger stamp from the Baroque Motifs set and Night of Navy ink. The tiny flowers are also in the set and those were put on using Bravo Burgundy ink. The larger flower in the middle was stamped on Very Vanilla card stock with Bravo Burgundy ink. I used a silver brad in the center. I cut it out by hand (too bad there isn't a punch to go with that one!!) and I used a dimensional on the back to pop it up off the card. I also used the Sincere Salutations "Best Wishes" stamp for my wording. I needed an anniversary card. Then I assembled the card. And I just realized, I made a card without any sponging on it!! Rare occasion!!!

Thank you for stopping by,
Wanda