Sneak-y Peek-y Time - Again!!!

Wow - can you believe it's that time already?? It's time for some sneak peeks of the new releases from Hanna Stamps for July!! And you are all in for a real treat - these new sets are absolutely fabulous!! There are 2 new mini-sets and 2 regular sized sets being released this month - the first sneak peek I have for you is from one of the new mini-sets - check out Baseball Hanna!!!!
This is such a great little set - not only do you get Baseball Hanna - but you get four other images - a baseball mitt, a cleat, a catcher's mask, and a base. How cool, huh!? For this card - I masked Hanna onto the base and then masked the entire image and used the Copic Airbrush System to airbrush the sky and the dirt on. Hanna was colored in with Copic markers as well. The felt flowers are by Making Memories and the little baseball brads in the centers of them are from Hobby Lobby. I did some machine stitching for the flower stems. The sentiment is from the "Things Hanna Would Say" set. This baseball set - along with the other new sets - will be released on Friday, July 4th. We are having a release party for these new sets on Thursday night - from 9-11 PM EST over on the Hanna Stamps forum at SplitCoast Stampers - hope to see you there!! And be sure to check out the other Hanna Stamps Design Team members blogs for other sneak peeks - I will be back with more tomorrow!! Thanks for stopping by!!

Masking and Airbrushing

Guess what I got!? The Copic Airbrush System!! Big thanks to the most awesome best friend in the world (yes, you, Jennifer!!) - she was able to get me the best deal on one of the starter systems at her local Dick Blick Art Store!! I got it early this week - but have been a little hestitant to bust it open - I have to admit - it looked a smidgen intimidating and if you know me - you know that I am so accident prone....and well...there are a lot of warnings on the airbrush system - LOL!!! Anywho - I finally tried it for the first time last night and I have to say that I really do love it!! It gives such a nice finished look - but it does seem to use a lot of ink and my little air can doesn't seem like it's gonna last me very long - sooooooooo...my airbrush system may be saved for "special occasions"...;) or I am gonna have to look into getting the air compressor hose - hmmm...we may have to invest in an air compressor too then!! LOL!!

This card is the second card I made with my airbrush system - my first card (with Plane Riley) is being displayed at Papertrix in Nashville - I'll have to see if I have a good pic of it to share with you. The card above is for the Friday challenge on the Hanna Stamps forum over on SplitCoast Stampers - the challenge is to use the masking technique on your card. I am a newbie to masking - but I can already seeing it becoming an addicting technique - I love the little scenes you can create!! If you love to mask - I also reccommend getting your hands on some Eclipse Artist Masking Tape - it rocks!! I got some at Papertrix today and it is sooooo nice to use! I used the new Car Riley for the main image on my card - and then I masked the Stop Sign and the Exhaust "poof" on the back of the car - both of these stamps are from the Route 66 Hanna Stamps set. I then masked the entire image and used the Copic Airbrush system to airbrush the sky and the road onto the image. The background paper is from the Die Cuts With a View Summer stack and I added a little stitching around the edges. The ribbon is from Hobby Lobby as are the little photo turn and screw brad. The sentiment is from the "Things Riley Would Say" sentiment set. Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Arrrr you ready for Pirate Riley?

I just LOVE Pirate Riley - can you just imagine him for a Pirate Party invitation?? I made these Pirate Riley cards for a Hanna Stamps card swap over on SplitCoast Stampers - there are 6 of them total. This card was inspired by this awesome card by Sherry Cheever (AKA BadSherry) - here's the link to her card http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/953458?si=hsdt - I loved her little treasure map she put behind Riley - but I didn't have the fabulous Rubber Necker stamp she used to make it - so I improvised a bit - I made a treasure map for my card with my Cricut - I cut the Pirate Map shape from the Paper Dolls cartridge - then I stamped on it with one of the stamps from the Stampin' Up "Ahoy, Matey" set - I inked the edges too with a Chestnut Roan Cat's Eye Fluid Chalk Ink Pad. Riley was colored in with Copic Markers. The patterned paper is by SandyLion - part of their Pirate line. I dug those cool brads out of my embellishment stash - not sure who makes them - but they are really cool - LOL!! And here is a pic of how I stamped the back of my cards - this is one of the stamps in the "Things Riley Would Say" sentiment set - isn't it just perfect for all those Riley stamped cards??

Thanks so much for stopping by!!!

Oh So Sassy!!

Who knew Hanna could be so sassy? LOL!! Here's a little gift set of Hanna cards with a matching box that I made with the brand new sentiments set from Hanna Stamps called "Just What I Meant to Say" - it's a set of wonderfully sassy and very funny sentiments!! As soon as I saw it - I knew I had to ink it up right away!! Here is a pic of the entire set... All stamps used were Hanna Stamps and colored in with Copic markers...here are a few close-ups of the set...the box was made using my Cricut - it's the matchbox from the Tags, Bags, etc. cartridge cut at 6 1/2 inches and the little slider on the box was created using the Cricut Design Studio software - the card in this first pic was made with "Tool Time Hanna" and the paper is from the Die Cuts with a View (DCWV) Summer stack...

The brown/pink card in this next pic was done using "Cafe Hanna" and the paper is from the DCWV Glitter Mat Stack - the other card was made using the "Sweet Celebrations" stamps set and the paper is from the DCWV Blossoms and Butterfly mat stack - both sentiments were from the new "Just What I Meant to Say" Hanna set...

The blue card in the last close-up pic was made using the "My Best Friend" Hanna set and paper was from the DCWV Summer stack - the other card was made using the "Domestic Goddess" set and paper from the DCWV Summer stack - both sentiments are also from the "Just What I Meant to Say" set...

The "Just What I Meant to Say" sentiment set is now available for purchase at www.hannastamps.com - thanks so much for stopping by - hope everyone is having a wonderful week!!

Poo Happens!

Here's another one of the new Riley Moose stamps released by Hanna Stamps last night - isn't he SO cute?? I made this card for the Friday challenge over on the Hanna Stamps forum at Splitcoast Stampers. Here's a link to the challenge - http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10252667#post10252667 - now I don't have a whole lot of Stampin' Up cardstock - so I had to fudge on the colors a little bit - but I think I am close!! ;) I used Baby Riley for my main image - I colored him in with Copic markers. I cut out his head and adhered it over the original image with pop dots to make him peek over the circle. The big safety pin was cut using my Cricut - it's from the New Arrival cartridge. I heat embossed the bottom part of the safety pin with silver embossing powder. The sentiment is from an Inkadinkado set from JoAnn's - it's called the "Little Tyke" set. The patterned paper is from the Die Cuts with a View Nursery Mat stack. All of the new Rileys are now available at http://www.hannastamps.com/ - thanks so much for stopping by!!

Blog Candy Winner!!

Hope everyone is having a great start to their weekend!! I wanted to thank everyone who posted comments for my blog candy - thanks SO much for all the great suggestions ladies - some of the most suggested sets to be featured in a Copic Class were "But I Need It", "Fun In the Sun", and "Bookworm Hanna" - all EXCELLENT choices!! So without further ado - here is the winner of my Hanna Stamps blog candy...

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:31
Timestamp: 2008-06-21 14:41:40 UTC

Your comment:

deb said...
Well since your going to be visiting and its summer, how about the Cafe' set? What a great way to end your day with a cup of java at some nice little cafe.Sounds like a fun time! Wish I lived closer!! And I LOVE THE SET! hugz
June 19, 2008 10:01 AM

Congrats Deb!! Please e-mail me your address to candicelighty@sbcglobal.net and I will get your prize out to you - thanks again to everyone for playing!!

I also just realized that I have been tagged - so I promise to get right on that, Qweendavia!! ;) Be sure to check out the new Rileys now available at www.hannastamps.com - there are peeks in my previous post - they are OH SO CUTE!!!!

New Riley Sneak Peeks!!!

Are you ready for some new Rileys??? This is the big surprise release from Hanna Stamps tonight!! WOO HOO!!! Kristi is releasing 20 new Rileys which will be available for purchase on the Hanna Stamps website at 11:30 EST tonight!! They are all just to die for!! I used some of the new Riley stamps to make this Holiday Tin set - here are some close-up of the set...

Here are a couple of more sneak peeks...this first one was my first real attempt at masking - this card was a true labor of love!!

And one more - this is for one of the PJ Party challenges - the challenge was to use something fuzzy - do you think it's fuzzy enough?? Hee hee...

Thanks so much for stopping by!! Be sure to RUN - don't walk - over to http://www.hannastamps.com/ to get your hands on all these fabulous new Rileys!!

Chicago Fun and a PJ Party!!

"Hold on to your hats!" - hee hee - that's what I am calling this pics of my youngest son, Calvin - these pics were taken during our ride on the Seadog - the speedboat ride in Lake Michigan at Navy Pier here in Chicago. Hope everyone has been having a wonderful week!! Thanks to all of you who have left comments for my Blog Candy - there is still time to enter to win if you haven't done that yet - just check out my previous post! ;) We are winding down our few days of Chicago fun and I was browsing thru my pics this evening and thought I would share some...here are some pics at the Cloud Gate sculpture in Millenium Park...

Here are a couple from two of our favorite stores along Michigan Avenue - my oldest, Andrew became a Hershey factory worker for the day (Calvin was a little leery of the giant candy machine) and in case you couldn't tell - they are both BIG Lego Star Wars fans!!And one more - we went to the Field Museum today so that the boys could see Sue - the T.Rex - Andrew has become a big dinosaur fan ever since he studied them in Kindergarten...

It's been a great few days up here in Chi-Town - but all good things must come to an end - and I am gearing up to head home so I can be there in time for the Hanna Stamps PJ Party tomorrow night!!! I hope you will join us - it's gonna be SO much fun - challenges, prizes, and a big surprise from Kristi as well!! The "Stamping in Your Jammies" night starts tomorrow night - June 20th - at 7 PM EST over on the Hanna Stamps forum at SplitCoast Stampers - so grab your ink and slip into your most comfy PJ's and come join the fun!!!! Hope to see you there!!! Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Blog Candy!!!!!

Greetings from Chicago!! My husband has a conference up here this week - so me and my two little guys decided to tag along and are hanging out in Chicago for a few days! We spent the morning at Millenium Park and then took a tour thru the Art Institute - my 6 year old learned about famous artists this past year in Kindergarten - so he was so excited to get to see paintings by Van Gogh, Monet, Picassso, etc. up close!! Anywho - since I don't have any cards to post while I am up here - I thought I would giveaway some blog candy!! So what am I giving away?? Why, a set of Hanna Stamps, of course - along with some coordinating goodies to have fun with! Here's a pic of the stamp set and goodies the winner will receive - the ADORABLE "Getting Physical" set, a roll of orange polka dotted ribbon, and a pak of basketball brads - Kristi was so incredibly kind and sent me some of the previously released Hanna sets - this one was in the package and I already had it - so she told me I could share it all with you as blog candy - isn't she the absolute best!?

So what do you have to do to win my blog candy?? It's easy really!! I need your help - I am going to be teaching a Copic class at Papertrix in Nashville, Indiana starting in late July and I am going to be featuring Hanna Stamps in my class. My only problem is that I can't decide which set to feature because they are all so darn fabulous!! This is where you come in - post a comment telling me which Hanna Stamps set you would like to see featured in a class about coloring with Copics - if you are not familiar with the Hanna Stamps - follow this link - http://www.hannastamps.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=69_91 - and you can browse thru the sets to see which one you think I should use in my class!! And as a thank you for your help - I will draw one lucky winner on Saturday morning to receive my blog candy - you could be stamping away with your own brand new Hanna set next week!! Again - all you have to do to be in the blog candy drawing is to leave a comment telling me which Hanna Stamp set I should use in my Copics class - thanks in advance for your help - can't wait to see all your suggestions!!!

Also - don't forget about the Hanna Stamps "Stamping in Your Jammies" party over on the Hanna Stamps forum at SplitCoast Stampers this Friday, June 20th from 7-11 PM EST - there are gonna be lots of awesome challenges and maybe a surprise as well!! ;) Hope to see you there!!

One of my Favorite Things to Make...

One of my favorite handmade gifts to give is a coordinating card set - I love picking a theme and making card sets and then altering a tin or other container to hold them in. I started giving them as gifts two Christmases ago for my oldest son's preschool teachers and then gave them to teachers again this past Christmas. I thought it would be fun to share some of these card tin sets that I made in my pre-blogging days with you now - and there is another reason I want to share this with you - but it's a super secret surprise for you later in the week! ;)

This first one is a set I made for my niece as a house-warming gift back in April - this set was so last minute - I literally put this one together in one afternoon. This was also before I was a member of the Hanna Stamps Design Team - and I was already SO in love with Hanna Stamps! I was in desperate need of a gift for my niece's housewarming party the next day - so I grabbed all my Hanna Stamps that I owned at the time and started stamping away - it was SO much fun - just an afternoon stamping with Hanna! And my niece loved the gift too - so much so - she was having a hard time actually using the cards!!

Here are some close-ups of this set...

This is one of my Disney tin sets that I made for my sons' teachers this past Christmas - I ended up making 3 of these - one for my oldest son's Kindergarten teacher and 2 more for my youngest son's preschool teachers. I used my Cricut Disney cartridges for this set - I am probably a total glutton for punishment - but these are my most favorite Cricut cartridges!!

And here are some close-ups of this set...

This last set that I want to share with you is a very special set that I made. This is a Snow White set I made for one of my very best friends!! We actually met on the Cricut messageboards and have just become incredibly close - well - she is a BIG fan of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves fan - so I used the Happily Ever After Disney Cricut cartridge for this set - I did a card with each of the seven dwarf cuts and then used Snow White for the outside of the tin...

And here are some close-ups of this set...

I hope you enjoyed these - I know I had a blast making them!! Be sure to stop back by on Tuesday and check out my blog candy giveaway!! Also - we are having a "Stamping in Your Jammies" PJ Party over at the Hanna Stamps forum at Splitcoast Stampers this Friday night - June 20th - from 7-11 PM EST - it's gonna be SO much fun - lots of great challenges and a special surprise from Kristi - so find your most comfy pair of jammies and stop by for some stamping fun!!

Beer, Chips, Fishing and Golf...

the perfect Father's Day!! LOL!! Check out Riley - looks like he is definitely ready for some relaxing - he's fishing and he's got his beer and chips - and his golf tee and balls just in case Sophie let's him stay out a little longer! ;) This card was so much fun to make - it's for the Hanna Stamps Friday Challenge over on the Hanna Stamps forum at Splictcoast - Niki made an awesome sketch for this challenge - you should definitely pop over and play with us - here's the link...http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=355265

I used Fishing Riley for my card - he's one of my favorites - oh - who am I kidding? ALL the Rileys are my favorites - hee hee...all images were colored in with Copic Markers. Including those in my stamped background - I have a CRAZY obsession with using all those great little accessory stamps that come in the Hanna sets to make my own background paper - I can't stop myself really - it's just too much fun!! The potato chips and the beer stamps are from the "Mikey" set and the golf tee and ball are from the "Anthony" set. The striped and solid papers are from a My Mind's Eye stack from Hobby Lobby. I did a little machine stitching - threw on some ribbon and added a sentiment from the "Things Hanna Would Say" set. Thanks so much for stopping by!! Please do come back - I promise lots of surprises in the coming week - including a shot at some super blog candy...;) Have a great weekend!!

A Little Naughty....But Oh So Fun!!

Check out this box I made with my Cricut yesterday - hee hee...the box was cut with my machine as well as the "Parental Advisory" label on the slider - the cut is from the new Indie Art Solutions cart cut at 2 1/2 inches. (Big thanks to my sweet hubby who went and got the cart at Cord Camera for me yesterday!!) So are you curious as to what is in the box??

Here is what is in the box - it's a naughty little card set made with some stamps from "My Favorite Things"! Sometimes a project just has to be made - LOL - I have had this project in my head since I got my hands on the MFT Twisted Sentiments set a couple of weeks ago - and I just couldn't get my mind to let up until I got it done - hee hee...do you ever feel like that?

Here are some close-up pics of the cards in the set - this was such a blast too make!! These first two carts were make wit the "How Sweet It Is" and "Ride 'Em Cowgirl" mini sets from My Favorite Things - both sentiments are from the "Twisted Sentiments" set - also by My Favorite Things. All images were colored in with Copic Markers.

Here is a close-up of the middle card and the box...I used the "Say Charge" set from MFT for this one - sentiment is another one of the Twisted Sentiments...

And one more close-up - these last two cards were made with MFT's "Serenity Now" mini-set and the "Time for the Bubbly Set" - sentiments are from the "Twisted Sentiments" set - the "stamp-gasm" one is my favorite - hee hee...;)

Thanks so much for stopping by!! I hope you had as much fun looking at this set as I had making it! Check back often as I am working on some oh so yummy Hanna Stamps surprises for you!! ;)

My Little Slice of Heaven...

So I have recently decided that my hubby must REALLY love me - LOL!!! Not only did he agree to let me have the guest bedroom for my scraproom - but he used money from his hard-earned bonus to have it completely re-modeled into this fabulous room! It's so wonderful having a supportive husband!! So here are some pics of my new studio - my husband laid the floor on his own - and then we hired a good friend of ours to do the rest of the work in the room. It's not 100% finished - I have window coverings on order and we have to have the track lighting installed - but it's up and running and I am LOVING having all this workspace!! If you have any questions about anything you see in my room - or are in the central Indiana area and would like the info of the contractor who did the work - please feel free to e-mail me.

This first picture is as you walk in the door of my studio - this is a custom built work island built just for this room - it's about 7 feet in length I believe with cabinets and drawers on both sides...

Here is a pic of the other side of the island...

Here is a pic of the inside of the main cabinet on the front of the island - it's a custom built paper shelf and it can slide it and out of the cabinet...it perfectly fits 12X12 paper and all those paper stacks too!

Here is a pic of the other side of the room - this is the desk area where I keep all my electronics - my laptop, Cricut, sewing machine. etc...

Here is a pic of the custom built stamp shelves - I think I will probably have to have more of these built in the future - LOL!!

And one more pic - just for fun - here are my big scissors hanging on the wall - I have had these forever - I found them at Hobby Lobby ages ago - so it was a big day when they finally got hung up!! :)

Stamp Out Illiteracy - Read a Book!!

Happy Friday everyone!! Hope it's been a good one for you so far! My boys and I went to see "Kung-Fu Panda" today and what a great movie - we loved it!! I've got a couple of cards to share with you today - with a very special message attached to them...first - if you have not gotten over to http://www.hannastamps.com/ and ordered your new sets - you must do that - they are now available and ready for you to ink up!! I chose to feature the new Bookworm Hanna set for you today - I have to say this is one of my favorite sets. I am a total bookworm - always have been - I always had my nose in a book when I was a kid - I have just always loved to read. My parents were very encouraging as well - they never minded spending money on books - I think they probably figured there were worse things that an adolescent girl could have been into - LOL!! Anywho - this is why Bookworm Hanna holds a special place in my heart - I love the sentiment that comes with her too - "Stamp out illiteracy - Read a Book!" I would also encourage those with children to read to them - start young - it's a great habit to get into - my 6 year old gets a bedtime story every night and I am getting ready to start the same tradition with my 3 year old. My boys have that same love of books already - and it's a joy for me to watch them read!! So why not take 15 minutes out of your day and read to your child or just curl up in that nice comfy chair with a book!! Thanks so for indulging me for a moment - hope you enjoy the cards....

Here is my first Bookworm Hanna card for the day - I wanted to create a really beautiful card around her. I colored her in with Copic Markers and did some paper piecing on her chair. All the patterned paper used to make this card is from a My Mind's Eye stack from Hobby Lobby - this is one of my favorite stacks - the paper is SO pretty and so very versatile. I used a couple of big Prima Sprites for this card and the flourish is from a Quickutz die. The sentiment is from one of the Michael's Studio G clear $1 stamp sets.

Here is my second card of the day made with the Bookworm Hanna set - this was made for the weekly Hanna Stamps challenge over on Splitcoast Stampers - this week we were to use circles on our project - I love circles - I think they are just really appealing to the eye - so I for this card I broke out my circle Nestibilities. All stamps are from the Bookworm Hanna set - check out that little library card - that is the CUTEST stamp - Hanna even signed her library card - LOL!! My images were colored in with Copic Markers. The paper is from the Die Cuts With a View Summer Stack available at JoAnn's. Thanks so much for stopping by this week - I have so enjoyed my first release week as a Hanna Stamps Design Team member!!