Friday, January 30, 2009

Clean and Simple (and a little twisted)

Happy Friday!! YAY!! I am so glad Friday is here - it's been quite a week - with the snow storm and b-days and my in-laws are coming in for the weekend - so I am thankful that today's Limited Supplies challenge over on SCS was to make a CAS (clean and simple) card - something I can make quick - LOL!! (I've still got lots of tidy-ing up to do!) You can view today's challenge here. So this is probably my first ever true CAS card - if you follow my blog - you know I love my colors and layers and embellies - so this was an actual challenge for me! I am always so envious of those that can put a striking CAS card together - I think those are the most beautiful cards - and definitely a lot quicker than one with all the layers and such. So this is my attempt at a CAS card - I know - a bit twisted - but you know A LOT of boys would love this card for their birthday - LOL!! The original idea to hang the spiders off the card came from a STUNNING card made for our last release by the one and only Jeanne Streiff - you can view her card here. This card was SO quick to put together - I stamped all my bugs (from the Hanna Stamps "Backyard Dwellers" set) first - I colored them in with just a hint of color with my Copics. I then drew little dotted lines so that my poor little grasshoppers could quickly "hop" away from those advancing spiders - hee hee...then poked a small hole in the end of each of my spiders and threaded some white embrodiery floss thru for their "webs". I mixed up some Stampendous sentiments to get my sentiment the way I wanted it on my olive strip and then put a black brad on for an accent - and boom - all done - LOL!! I really do LOVE how this turned out - I've been having more fun with this Backyard Dwellers set than I thought I would - it's turning out to be one of my "go-to" sets - I would HIGHLY reccommend this set - it's fun!! Thanks so much for stopping by - hope you all have a wonderful weekend - I'll be back for release week on Monday - YAY!!!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

A Country Girl's Cocktails

Everyone knows that a country girl's cocktail of choice is beer - LOL!! (Well - unless you believe the Toby Keith song and then it's whiskey - hee hee...) This crazy card is my submission for today's Ways to Use It challenge over on SCS - today's challenge is to use alcohol - it can be alcohol inks, a technique with rubbing alcohol, alcohol markers, alcohol image, etc. - you can view the challenge details here. I used "Hay Hanna" from Hanna Stamps for my card today - she holds a special place in my heart as I grew up as a country girl here in small town Indiana. I colored her in with my Copic markers - which are alcohol ink markers - you really gotta love the amazing blendability of the ink in these markers. And then in the spirit of the challenge - I added an alcohol themed stamp to my image - I masked off my Hanna image and then stamped the beer image from the Hanna Stamps "Mikey" set behind her to look like she was holding it in her hands behind her back. I chose some red gingham DP to match her shirt - it is made by Die Cuts with a View. I added some black brads and some black layering to my cards to make that red pop a little more. I also tied some ribbon to one of those little swirl-y clips and attached it to my image for a little accent. The sentiment is from one of those little Inkadinkado $1 stamp sets. Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Slow Down and Stamp!

Happy Wednesday!! Well - we are buried under about a foot of snow here in central Indiana - so I took that as a sign this morning that someone was telling me to "Slow Down and Stamp!" - LOL!! We've been SO busy these past few days - we left Friday for a weekend trip to Chicago and then spent the past couple of days trying to get caught up from being gone and preparing for my hubby's 35 b-day yesterday! I hadn't been able to stamp since Friday - so it felt good to do some stamping this morning! I made a card for today's SCS sketch challenge - you can view the sketch here. I used one of my most favorite MFT sets of all-time - the "Maid For You" set - I paper pieced the wallpaper on the image with some MFT digital paper from the new Stephanie Fizer line - it's the Spring paper pak. I used the paper toile technique on the rest of this image and colored it in with Copics as well. I wanted to showcase my little flowers on my card - here's a close-up of them...
I didn't have any yellow Primas in my stash to match my paper - so I decided to use some of my new Shimmerz to make some pretty little punched flowers to match!! Shimmerz are this week's featured product for MFT's Weekly Wow - and they are YUMMY!! Here's a link to all the shimmerz in the MFT store. I made my flowers by first punching them out of white cardstock - I then colored them with a pale yellow Copic marker - the reason I did this was because the Shimmerz are a bit transparent in their color and wanted my color to by more opaque. Once I had them colored - I brushed a wash of Golden Wheat Shimmerz over then - and wow - did that really make a difference - my little paper flowers turned into some little beauties!! I put some black brads in the center and then put them on my card. Want more fabulous Shimmerz ideas??? Check out Kimmie's HTDT? Tutorial over on SCS - here's a link - it is FABULOUS!!!! Thanks so much for stopping by - we're off to play in the snow!!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

My Heart is Yours


So are you loving the new BC Dzyns chica as much as I am??? I just adore the Heartbreaker set - and do you know what else is cool about these images?? The images of our sweet gals are so defined and crisp - that the facial recognition on my camera is able to focus on the faces of the BC Dzyns girls - talk about great images! I went a little challenge happy with this card - it's for the MFT sketch challenge for today and also for today's Ways To Use It challenge - today's challenge was ways to "pizzazz" up your patterned paper. I took some of that adorable digital paper from MFT (from the Stephanie Fizer summer pak) - and added blue gemstones to the centers of all the white hearts to "jazz" up my paper. In the spirit of the challenge - I also spruced up some plain ol' white cardstock punched flowers with some of the same blue gemstones - kinda looks like the paper and the flowers came in a hit, doesn't it? I colored my entire image in with Copics and cut her out. The sentiment is from the new "Heartbreaker" set as well. Thanks so much for stopping by (again) - hee hee...!!!!

Bad to the Bone

Hee hee...OK - so Riley's really not that bad to the bone - but he sure likes to think he is on his motorcycle - LOL!! This is a card I did for yesterday's sketch challenge over on SCS - you can view the challenge and the sketch here. I wanted to do a nice clean masculine card with this Riley and I've been thinking about him with these colors for a long time - and metal of course - when you think of motorcycles - you definitely think metal. I colored my Riley in with Copics - then cut him out using my Labels1 Nesties - I really like this shape. My skinny gray panel was embossed with the Cuttlebug Skeleton Scroll embossing folder (from Halloween) and the paper on my bigger panel is from the DCWV Rock Star stack. I used a metal bookplate from my stash to display my sentiment (which was computer generated) and then accented my card with some brads. Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

A Heartbreakin' MFT Blog Hop!

It's that time again - welcome to today's MFT Blog Hop Around the Block!! If you haven't hopped over here from Kim's blog - then hop back over there to start and I'll see you when you get back! ;) MFT is releasing 2 must have sets today - the new BC Dzyns "Heartbreaker" set and a sentiment set designed to go with the Isabelle Paper Doll set - the sentiments are SO adorable in it and very versatile too - I'll be reaching for this one quite a bit! The first card I have for you today was done with the new BC Dzyns chica - isn't she absolutely adorable!? I stamped her first - then colored her in with Copics and cut her out. I paper pieced her heart she is leaning on - I actually stamped it twice on my patterned paper - pieced it on once - and then drew a crack for a broken heart on the other heart I stamped - cut the "broken" half off - then pieced it on the first heart with pop dots, make sense? LOL!! I used some of the new MFT digital paper on this card - from the Stephanie Fizer summer line - I am LOVIN' the new digi papers - you must try them out - they are so fun! Once I had my chica cut out and her heart pieced on - I adhered her to some circles I cut with my Nesties - then placed some Hero Arts gemstones around her. The pink panel was embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder. The sentiment is from the new "Heartbreaker" set as well. But that's not all I have for you today...

Now I know we all {heart} little Isabelle from the previously released Paper Doll set - so how about a sentiment set to go with her?? Kim has put together just the most adorable little set of sentiments to go with the Paper Doll set - this one is just perfect for Isabelle dressed up in her tutu. I did some masking to get Isabelle in her tutu - then drew in the flooring, ballet bar and mirror behind her to look like she is looking oh so sweet in her Ballet Studio. I mounted the new sentiment on hearts cut with my Nesties. The background was embossed with the CB Swiss Dots folder. I did the ribbon treatment with a mix of a couple of ribbons - I started by gathering a piece of pink organdy ribbon into folds and then sewed a seam at the top once I had it gathered to hold the folds in place. I topped it off with some beautiful ribbon done with flowers and pearls and then added my ribbon to the bottom of my card.

And this is only the start of another amazing MFT Blog Hop - continue on to the uber-talented and super adorable Chelsey's blog for more MFT eye candy - oh - and be on the look out for BLOG CANDY as you hop! Be sure to check out all the What's Up Wednesday? fun on the MFT forum over on SCS - there's a new tutorial, challenge and you know Kim'll hook you up with an awesome MFT deal too!! Enjoy - thanks so much for stopping by!!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

When Pigs Fly!

A card on a Sunday!? Am I on the right blog!? LOL!! Hee hee...yup - you aren't seeing things - I have something to share on a Sunday - woo hoo! I decided to take the leap and play in the SCS Featured Stamper challenge this morning - and what an awesome week to start playing in this challenge - this week's featured stamper is the very talented Lori Craig - you can view the challenge here. I chose this ADORABLE card from Lori's gallery to case - I changed the main image and the color combo. I also moved my ribbon to the bottom of the card - my little piggies weren't cooperating with it up by the mail panel - LOL!! I kept the layout of Lori's card and the overall sweet "punny" feel of her card. I didn't have a background stamp to match my piggies - so I did my background with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder. The pig image is from the Hanna Stamps "Hay Hanna" set - I had to do some masking to get the wings on my pigs to make them fly - hee hee...I colored them in with Copics and added some Stickles to their wings. The sentiment is from the Hanna Stamps "Just What I Meant to Say" set. Thanks so much for stopping by - have a wonderful Sunday!!

Friday, January 16, 2009

My Funny Valentine

TGIF!! And OMG - I hope you are all staying warm - our school has been cancelled for the day on account of the fact that it's just too flippin' cold to be outside - we are just north of Indianapolis and I know those of you even further north and into Minnesota are REALLY feeling all of this - so PLEASE be careful in this arctic air - it's scary how fast frostbite can set in out in this. So we are bundled up inside today - my kiddos are having fun with new birthday toys and I was able to do some stamping this morning. There is the most fun limited supplies challenge on SCS today - it's such an adorable challenge - you can check it out here - but basically it's to make one of those little cheesy valentines we used to get in school when we were little - and it has to be simple enough to mass produce - so limit layers, embellies, etc. I modeled mine after those little valentines we use to get where you could slide the suckers into them, remember those? Well - this one is definitely NOT appropriate for a child's valentine - but how fun would it be to pass out to our friends, co-workers, etc.!! Hee hee...a little cheesy grown-up valentine...LOL!! I used the new "Backyard Dwellers" set from Hanna Stamps - I am LOVING this set by the way - I am started to really understand the fascination with insect sets - they are fun and versatile to boot. I stamped some white bugs from the set all over the black panel using Moonlight White Brilliance ink. I didn't have one of those heart lollipops - so I had to make my own using heart nesties and a candy stick. The mosquito is from the Hanna set as well - I stamped him and then just added a hint of shading with my Copics. The sentiment was done using Doodlebugs Simply Sweet rub-ons - but had I been mass producing these - I would have printed them out using my computer. To finish off my funny valentine - I added some ribbon to the bottom and cut some slits so I could slide my "sucker" thru. Thanks so much for stopping by - STAY WARM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Lotsa Flopsey Love

Brrr....OMG - it's cold today!! Our temps here in central Indiana are well below zero and our windchill is about 25 below zero - needless to say - I am staying bundled up inside with my stamps today - LOL!! Our schools were on a 2 hour delay this morning because of the cold - which worked out perfectly for my oldest DS - it's his birthday today (he's turning 7) - he got to sleep in and Mommy made him cinnamon rolls and everything! Hee hee...I can't believe my baby is 7 years old - he's just an amazing little boy really and I am truly blessed to have him for another year - so Happy Birthday, baby boy - I hope you're having a wonderful b-day afternoon at school!! Anywho - I made this card for today's MFT sketch challenge - you can view Frances' awesome sketch here. I am starting to think I have a weekly theme going on around here this week - masking. I masked my image yesterday and I did lots of masking with sweet Valentine Flopsey to create this little scene of Flopseys today. Once I had all my Flopseys stamped - I colored them all in with my Copics. That fabulous paper in the background is MFT Digi Paper from the new spring paper pak - this paper is delish I'm telling ya!! My heart accents were cut using my heart nesties - I also embossed them with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder. I am not sure where the "XO" ribbon came from - I think it was Michael's - it's been in my stash for a loooooooooong time. Thanks so much for stopping by today - I hope you are all having a wonderful Thursday and STAY WARM today - I'm off to frost some cupcakes!!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Running Nose??

Happy Wednesday!! Hope everyone is having a wonderful week - it's cold and snow-y here in central Indiana and after trudging around all morning in the snow getting kids to school - it was so nice to sit in my warm studio and do some stamping - LOL! Which brings me to the card I have to share today...so last week I was in Archiver's - cruising around - drooling over all the new stamps when I spotted some familiar stamps out of the corner of my eye - and there - right on the front counter - with a big sign that said "New at Archiver's" was stamps by Our Craft Lounge!! OMG - I totally geeked out - I have been wanting some of these stamps ever since they were released and it's just so cool to know where they came from, kwim? (Our Craft Lounge is co-owned by Cami Turnbow, Marianne Walker and Joy Kennedy.) Soooooooooooo....I snagged a couple of sets and am so excited to finally get a chance to ink them up today and OMG - I am in love with this "Running Sick" set - the images and sentiments are SO funny and just right up my alley!! I made this card for today's sketch challenge - you can view the sketch here - I had a blast with this one. I flipped the sketch and made it longer to fit my image. For my image - I used the tissue box and nose from the OCL set - I did have to do some masking to get the tissue boxes chasing the poor nose. The entire image was colored in with Copics. The paper is from the My Mind's Eye Just Dreamy glitter stack. The stars are die cuts cut with my Cricut and the star brads are from JoAnn's. I accented the bottom star with some ribbon and a button. Thanks so much for stopping by - and the next time you are in Archiver's - check out the OCL stamps - they are AWESOME!!!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Caught In Your Web of Love

Happy Friday everyone!! What a week - I feel like I have a "Release Week Hangover" right now - LOL!! I wanted to share my card I did using the new "Backyard Dwellers" set released last night by Hanna Stamps. This set is the ultimate insect set - it has all kinds of creepy crawlie bugs in it and the detail on them is amazing!! I used the spider and some of the little bugs in the set to make this card - I colored the spider in with Copics and then did some shading underneath him which I think makes him look even more real. I stamped little flys all over the gray panel. I punched a tiny hole behind the spider and threaded some white embrodiery floss to make him look like he had just spun his web around the heart. I did the sentiment using Simply Sweet rub-ons by Doodlebug. Be sure to check out Vicki's challenge to buy the new Backyard Dwellers set and use it in conjunction with any other stamps - you could win 2 stamp sets of your choice at the next release party - WOW!! I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday - I am off to do some birthday shopping for my soon to be 7 year old - yikes - SEVEN!!??? Where does the time go?? Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Riley's Getting "Pumped"!!

OK - so I was going to stagger my blog posts today a bit more - but after dragging one child out of bed for school this morning and chasing a 3 year old clad in nothing but a pull-up thru the house (it's been one of THOSE mornings) - I decided to use this few spare peaceful moments to go ahead and post this other card I did for today - LOL!! This is the other new Riley that will be released tonight along with motorcycle Riley and 4 Hanna Stamps sets. I did this card for today's Ways to Use It Challenge - today's challenge is to use stars - and I knew the EXACT paper I wanted to use - I am in love with this stack I got at Hobby Lobby called the "Just Dreamy" stack by My Mind's Eye - and it has fun bright glitter-y paper in it - this star paper is from the stack. I colored in Riley to match the colors in the paper and then used my circle nesties to cut him out. I used star brads for the corners of the top panel - I put a little orange Hero Arts gemstone in the center of each one - I think it jazzes those brads up a bit. The sentiment is from the previously released Hanna Stamps "Everyday Sentiments" set - I mounted it on star die cuts I cut with my Cricut machine. To finish off my card - I went nutso with my white gel pen and added all the dots - LOL!! The release party is tonight over on SCS - from 9-11 PM - I hope to see you there - there are LOTS of fun challenges tonight - with prizes for every one of them - fun chatting - and you know how Miss Kristi and Miss Vicki LOVE to ask those little "give-away" questions during the party ;) - so be on the lookout for those tonight as well!! SEE YOU THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love Owl-Ways

Happy Thursday!! So did you guys get your new MFT releases last night?? If not - make sure you head over to www.mftstamps.com and get 'em while they're hot - LOL!! I LOVE this new Stephanie Fizer owl set from MFT - my favorite part is all those little extra "doo-dad" stamps that come in the set that you can use to decorate your branch for your owls - makes them perfect for any occasion!! And don't forget to check out the GORGEOUS new digi papers that Kim has in the store - I used some from the Stephanie Fizer Spring line for this card - the papers just print out beautifully!!! This is a card I did for today's MFT sketch challenge over on SCS - you can view Cindy's sketch here - check out the new sketch challenge forum too - now you can find all the fabulous MFT sketches in one place - WOO HOO!! Thanks so much for stopping by!!!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Hanna Loves Her Garden!

When I first saw the Hanna Stamps "I Love My Garden" set - I thought - OMG - this is such a pretty set - and then I started coloring the images from the set in and thought - OMG - this is a BEAUTIFUL set!!! The images in this set are just gorgeous and I am finding that this set is VERY versatile! The first sneak peek of this set I have for you is using the main Hanna image in the set - I colored her in with Copics and added some shading around her. The flower was stitched using a Bazzill In Stitch'z template and just regular old embrodiery floss - I added some gemstones to the center - I only stitched half the flower so that it would curve around the image. The paper is from the My Mind's Eye Just Dreamy stack and the sentiment is from the Everyday Sentiments set.

Here is my second sample I made using the new "I Love My Garden" set - this sunflower is SO fun to color and could be used for so many different occasions. I colored it in with my Copics and then added a button for the center of the flower. I embossed the yellow panel with my Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder and then used my Martha Stewart Zig Zag edge punch on the bottom. The buttons are just random buttons from my big ol' button jar. The sentiment is from the "Things Hanna Would Say" set. The new sets will be released Thursday night - January 8th - after the release party over on SCS - the party is from 9-11 PM - hope to see you there!!!

An MFT Blog Hop that's "Maid For You"

Welcome MFT Blog Hoppers!! Are you having fun yet?? Enjoying all the yummy eye candy that you've seen so far?? If you haven't hopped over here from Cammie's blog - then head over to Kim's blog and that will take you back to the start of today's blog hop - I'll still be here when you get back. ;) Today I've got a MFTeaser of the new Who's That Girl? set being released tonight - I am in LOVE with this set!! I've used it to make a little Valentine coupon book that you could give to your hubby or sweetie. On my image - I drew in her fishnet stockings and the hardwood floor with my multiliner pen and then colored my entire image in with Copics. The sentiment is from the new Maid set as well - I stamped my sentiment first and then stamped a little kiss mark onto it in red. ;) The red background was embossed with the CB Hearts embossing folder. I added a lace edge to my image using the Martha Stewart Lace Doily edge punch. The heart was cut using my nesties and then I went around the inside of the heart with some adhesive gemstones from Hobby Lobby. And it gets even more fun - check out the coupon pages on the inside of this book...
I made these Valentine's coupons on my computer - I left them blank so this way you can make them as "PG" or as "R" rated as you want, kwim?? *wink* *wink* LOL!! You could make the coupons good for "One Back Massage", "Breakfast in Bed", "One Night Out Together", etc. - the sky's the limit - you can be as tame or as wild as you please!! ;) I printed off my coupons first and then adhered them to cardstock. Once I had them all done - I used my Bind It All to put my coupon book together - and this way our dear hubbies can just tear the coupons out - because if you read closely - the coupon must be surrendered at the time of use - hee hee...I hope you have enjoyed my preview of this set - this set as well as 3 other fabulous sets will be released tonight after the MFT Cocktail Party over on SCS from 9-10 PM EST - I hope to see you there - there's always fun chatting and the Guest Designer challenge will be revealed - so pop in to find out how YOU can be the next MFT Guest Designer!! Are you ready for more eye candy!!?? The next stop on the blog hop is the amazingly talented Christina - enjoy!!!!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Celebrate Valentine's Day with Flopsey

Check out the new Flopsey from MFT!! Isn't he just the sweetest!? And the best part about the new Flopsey?? Well - that little heart he is holding is blank - the set comes with lots of sentiments you can stamp into his heart and you could probably stamp any other sentiment you want on his heart to make him appropriate for whatever occasion you are using him for - pretty, cool, huh? Since Valentine's Day is on the horizon - I made a little Valentine card and envelope set to tuck away to give to one of my sweet little bunnies - hee hee...I stamped Flopsey - colored him in and then cut him out before I put him on my card. The base of my card is 4.25 in. X 4.25 in. - I cut a big heart with my nesties and then let it overhang from the top so the card is almost 5 1/2 in. tall. I added some ribbon and heart brads to accent and then decorated my envelope with a matching heart and designer paper. And don't forget...

My Favorite Things (http://www.blogger.com/www.mftstamps.com) is having a New Release Cocktail Party on Wednesday, January 7th from 9-10 p.m. Eastern time. This month there are FOUR new sets being released including a Who's that Girl set that is Maid for You!Head over to the MFT forum on http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ to find out all the details and to find out how YOU can be the next MFT Guest Designer. We hope to see you there on Wednesday night!!

Ahoy, Hanna!

Ahoy, there!! Today I have 2 sneak peeks of the ADORABLE "Ahoy, Hanna" set - doesn't Hanna look like she is having a blast on her boat? For my card with the main image - I wanted to keep with a nautical theme - the colors, embellishments, etc. The little "SS Hanna" lifesaver is actually a seperate stamp from the main image - I stamped it - colored it and cut it out and then adhered it with foam tape to the front of the boat. The entire image was colored in with Copics. I added some silver eyelets for accents and then threated white embrodiery floss thru them. The star is a brad from Making Memories. The sentiment is from the new set as well.


Here's another card I made using the Ahoy, Hanna set - I LOVE this Lighthouse image!! I chose a sentiment from the "Things Hanna Would Say" set - wouldn't this be a pretty card to send to someone to cheer them up? I stayed with bright colors - added some ribbon and black brads to accent. And I'm not sure if you can tell - but the orange panel is embossed with the CB Swiss Dots folder. The new Hannas and Rileys will be released this Thursday night, January 8th after the release party - which is from 9-11 PM EST over on the Hanna form at SCS. Hope to see you there - and don't forget about the New Year's coupon code from Kristi - use the code SUPPORT to take 10% off your entire order - the code will expire January 31st, 2009. Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Monday, January 5, 2009

Maid For You

Talk about an MFTeaser, right!? Hee hee...OMG - the new Who's That Girl? set is gonna knock your socks off !! Isn't she awesome!!?? Here's a little teaser of the new "Maid For You" set being released by My Favorite Things this Wednesday night, January 7th. Now I did a little embellishing to my little maid - I added a wood floor for her to clean and made her an even bigger tease by drawing in the fishnet stockings on her legs (with my Copic multiliner pen) - hee hee...I paper pieced the wall paper - the rest of the image was colored in with Copics. I used my nesties to cut out the hearts and the sentiment is from the new set - just WAIT until you see the sentiments that come in this set - they are the best!! I accented the image with a lacy border done with the Martha Stewarts Lace Doily edge punch. I added some ribbon and adhesive pearls to finish off my card. Hope you enjoyed my first MFTeaser as an MFT Design Team member - I am so honored to be part of such an amazing team and am looking forward to sharing more MFT creations with you!! And don't forget...

My Favorite Things (www.mftstamps.com) is having a New Release Cocktail Party on Wednesday, January 7th from 9-10 p.m. Eastern time. This month there are FOUR new sets being released including a Who's that Girl set that is Maid for You! Head over to the MFT forum on www.splitcoaststampers.com to find out all the details and to find out how YOU can be the next MFT Guest Designer. We hope to see you there on Wednesday night.

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Hanna January Sneak Peeks - Day #1

It's sneak peek time - YAY!!! You guys know how much I love sneak peek week and I have SO much to share with you this week - I thought I'd get off to an early start with a couple of Hanna Stamps sneak peeks. You are gonna LOVE the new releases for this month - there are 3 new full size Hanna sets - one adorable new mini-set - and 2 new Rileys!! The new stamps will be released this Thursday night after the release party. I am gonna start this post with one of the new Rileys - check out Riley on his motorcycle - isn't he awesbomb!? I thought the sentiment was appropriate - after all - we chicks do dig Riley, don't we? Hee hee...I created the scene using the new motorcycle Riley and stamps from the previously released Hanna Route 66 set. The entire scene was colored in with Copics. The orange panels behind Riley were embossed with the Cuttlebug Traffic Jam embossing folder. And yes - those are all brads - LOL - there are 43 brads on this card!! I used some Hobby Lobby brushed nickel brads on this card - and lining them all up wasn't that bad - I used a ruler and the Tim Holtz piercer. So are you digging the new Riley?? I've got a peek for you at one of the new Hanna sets as well...allow me to introduce "Hay Hanna"...
Isn't she adorable!? I created this scene using the stamps from the new Hay Hanna set - Hanna, the bale of hay, the pig and the cow are all from the new set - this set is adorable - it has a lot of other little farm animals in it as well! I drew in the window and the barn - I just used a ruler and a Copic multiliner pen. The scene ended up being so big and detailed - that's about all this card is - LOL!! I did some machine stitching around my scene and added a sentiment from the previously released "Things Hanna Would Say" set. The entire image was colored in with Copics. I hope you enjoyed the sneak peeks I have for you today - stop back by tomorrow morning for a couple of sneak peeks of the new "Ahoy, Hanna" set. I hope to see you all at the release party on Thursday night at the Hanna forum over on SCS - it'll be from 9-11 PM EST - fun chatting, challenges, giveaways, etc.!!! Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Friday, January 2, 2009

HUH? - A Twisted Friday Challenge

Poor Sophie - looks like she indulged in one too many holiday meals - but who doesn't feel this way this time of year, right? ;) This is my card for today's Hanna Stamps challenge - it's my turn to host and I have come up with a Twisted Sketch Challenge for you guys - you can view the challenge here. My challenge is to use the following sketch to create a funny card - funny image, sentiment, etc. -anything to show off that twisted or goofy sense of humor I know we all have! I used Diet Sophie for my card and added a couple of extra thought bubbles with my Copic multiliner pen - I found some Studio G clear $1 stamps in my stash of a turkey and a pumpkin pie that were the perfect size to go with this Sophie - I stamped them over her first and then drew in the thought bubbles around them. The entire image was colored in with Copics. The sentimene is from the "Just What I Meant to Say" sentiments set. The patterned paper is from an old DCWV Fall Stack and I embossed the bottom panel with the CB Number Embossing Folder. I accented the corners with some brushed nickel brads. Here is the sketch...

I hope you'll pop over to the Hanna Stamps forum and play along!! Also - as a way of saying "Thank You" for all of your wonderful support of Hanna Stamps this year - Kristi is offering you all a coupon code for 10% off your ENTIRE order - WOO HOO!!! To take advantage of this coupon code - just enter the code SUPPORT at the time of checkout - the coupon code expires January 31st, 2009 - enjoy!! Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!! Hope you all are having a wonderful start to 2009!! First of all - I wanted to thank everyone for their well wishes for my little guy and his ear - I am happy to report - he says his ear feels all better today! So another year is gone, huh? It seems so cliche to say - but time sure does fly, doesn't it? In stamping terms - I know things sure have changed for my since the start of last year - I feel like I have come a long way and am so grateful for all the wonderful stamping friends I made in 2008 and looking forward to continuing those friendships and making even more in 2009. Ok, ok, enough mush-y stuff - hee hee...I do have a card to share with you today - it's for today's MFT sketch challenge - you can view Frances' awesome sketch here. It's SO cold here in central Indiana again today (my hubby put on a big pot of chili for New Year's) - so I decided to make a spring-y card to try to warm up - LOL!! I just love this MFT "Tote-ally Fantastic" set - she does look like she's looking for the hot new spring lines in bags, doesn't she? I drew in the bricks and the lines on the sidewalk with my multiliner pen and then colored the image in with my Copics - her skirt was paper pieced. The designer paper is from a My Mind's Eye glitter stack I got from Hobby Lobby - I am in love with the colors in this paper! I did the scallops at the bottom of the card with the Fiskars Threading Water punch. The flowers are a mix of Primas and brads - and then I finished them off with some Hero Arts gemstones for the center of the green flower. I've got one more pic I must share with you guys today...

This is my youngest son, Calvin, ringing in the New Year last night - isn't that hilarious!? Even after being up late from the ER visit on Tuesday night - both my boys wanted to try to stay up until midnight to ring in the New Year - and they both made it!! In fact - they had more energy than my hubby and I did as you can tell by this pic. About 11:55 or so - Calvin just started hopping around and hollering - it was so funny - and yes - that is one of those horn blower thingies he's holding in his hand - they made a LOT of noise come midnight - LOL!! I even got kisses from all 3 of my guys at midnight - how lucky am I? It was a lot of fun - a tradition I hope we continue - we played Wii and Monopoly until midnight too - it was definitely a fun way to ring in 2009!