Stop and Smell the Roses

As soon as Sketch Challenge #261 on Splitcoast was posted, I knew I had to use this large rose background stamp by Peddler's Pack. This stamp too is one I've had in my collection, just in case the Buckeyes should find themselves in the Rose Bowl. So, seeing this sketch, I knew this image was the one to use.

The Peddler's Pack image was stamped in Stazon jet black onto Strathmore Bristol smooth paper. I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils and Caran d'Ache pencils. I'm finding the Coloursoft pencils will make Stazon bleed.

I used black and white cardstock to complete this card, along with ribbon and Cuttlebug embossing folders.

Though this card initially began as a "just-for-fun celebrate the Rose Bowl" card, the more I look at it, I think it will serve perfectly as a "congratulations on your engagement" card for a friend of mine who also got engaged over the holidays.

Thanks for visiting my blog, and Go Buckeyes! Only two more days until the Rose Bowl!

Puffin

I absolutely love having the week off after Christmas because it allows me the opportunity to get on a roll with my cardmaking.

This card is made in response to Color Challenge #251 on Splitcoast, which was to use the colors barely banana, dusty durango and basic gray, along with our choice of neutrals. Well, I really have no idea on what those colors are exactly, but I eyeballed them and found some paper in my stash that I think is pretty close.

The puffin image is from Coronado Island Stamping. It is a stamp I bought in Arizona, of all places. The image certainly reminds me of my time in Alaska when traveling to St. Lazaria island, where puffins abound.

The image was stamped with Versafine Onyx black onto a cream colored cardstock. I colored the image with a variety of colored pencils that matched the color challenge, including some from Prismacolor pencils, Caran d'Ache and Coloursoft. I also used colored cardstock to coordinate along with patterned paper. A little bit of paper piercing and ribbon were used to complete this card.

Thanks for visiting today. And, by all means, if you ever get the change to visit southeast Alaska, do so!

Vincent Van Go Buckeyes

As you may realize, my beloved Buckeyes are playing in the Rose Bowl on Friday. Since the beginning of my rubber stamping passion, I started collecting rose images, just in case the Buckeyes ever made their way to Pasadena.

Here's an image from Rubbernecker. I decided it was perfect for the Try A New Technique Challenge (TLC253) on Splitcoast. The challenge was to color an image using markers similar to the style of Vincent Van Gogh. It was rather fun actually. Just simply coloring an image and adding small lines of a darker shade within the image.

The football is from PSX and the sentiment is computer-generated. Colored cardstock and paper piercing were also used to complete this card. The images were stamped with Marvy Dye black ink onto Georgia Pacific cardstock.

What a fun, easy card to make. Hopefully, the Buckeyes will have a fun, easy game against the Ducks.

Merry Kissmas

I don't normally talk about my personal life in this blog, but I wanted to share this special card I made for a very special guy that came into my life in July. This guy is the reason that I'm so happy now, so it is only appropriate he receive a limited edition card, rather than the mass-produced card I posted a couple days ago. Little did I know that when I made this card for my boyfriend, I'd actually be giving it to my fiancé. He proposed to me on Christmas Eve.

The hedgehog image is from Penny Black, and is stamped onto Neenah Solar crest cardstock using Marvy dye black ink. I drew in the snow, and colored the instant scene with Copic markers. I was inspired very much by this awesome card from Jane Wetzel. I added Mica flake glitter glue from Martha Stewart and used a snowflake punch to add to the scene. Patterned paper, vellum and colored cardstock were also used to complete this card, and the sentiment was computer-generated.

Thanks for visiting. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas filled with love.

Peace on Earth

This card happen by accident. I just finished up the official 2009 Christmas card and just needed to color for fun and switch mediums. I decided to take out my very neglected Caran d'Ache colored pencils (the ones I treated myself to last Christmas) and do a little coloring, Medaris-style.

I chose to do a Terry Medaris angel image. It is stamped with black Stazon onto Strathmore Bristol smooth paper. Image is colored with Caran d'Ache pencils. The sentiment of peace is from Hero Arts. This card is very CAS, but I'm a firm believer that Terry's wonderful images truly speak for themselves.

Thanks for visiting. May we all have a happy, peaceful holiday.

The Rose Bowl Strut

I am so sorry I haven't posted in almost a month, but I've been very busy mass-producing times 40. A lot of work, but I'm pleased with the results.

I entered into the month of November without a solid idea for my 2009 Christmas card. However, once my beloved Buckeyes clinched a spot in the Rose Bowl, I knew my holiday card would have a Ohio State feel to it. My personal challenge was to celebrate the Rose Bowl berth, but yet have it still look Christmas like. I think I pulled it off.

This adorable image is from Penny Black. I have had this image for years, in anticipation/hope of perhaps using it one day for the Rose Bowl. I stamped the image onto coated paper with Marvy Dye black ink. I colored the image with Copic markers. Layers of patterned paper and black cardstock were used to create this card (along with almost a whole bottle of Zip Dry Paper Glue and rolls and rolls of doublesided tape). Ribbon was also used to adorn the card. I initially used plaid ribbon, to bring out all of the red in the rose, but then ran out of that ribbon and had to switch to gold. The inside sentiment reads, "Tis the season".

Here's wishing all of you a very happy holiday season. And, a resounding "Go Buckeyes! Beat the Oregon Ducks!"

Celebrating the 70th

No, this isn't my 70th card of the year. I sure wish I could claim that, as I would love to have that kind of output in my cardmaking.

Rather, this is the card I made to celebrate my Dad's 70th birthday. As a kid even, he insisted that I make his Father's Day and birthday cards, rather than buy them from a store. It seems like every time I make a card for my Dad, it always is very whimsical, juvenile-like, rather than masculine. Oh well, maybe that's my way of holding onto childhood and the look of those cards I made him early on in my life.

The bear image is from Darcie and was stamped with Marvy dye black ink onto coated paper. I colored the image with Copic markers. The sentiment is from Inkadinkado. Patterned paper, colored cardstock and ribbon were also used to create this card.

I'm celebrating being able to celebrate his 70th birthday. He's such a great dad.

Let's "Potty", Buckeye Style!

ROSE BOWL BOUND BUCKEYES!!!

But, the most important game is the one on Saturday against scUM. Going to the Rose Bowl will not be as sweet if we don't take care of business in Ann Arbor this weekend.

I decided that I wanted to use this adorable peeing dog image from Eat Cake Graphics and have him pee on a scUM letter "M". Ingenious,huh? The letter is from an alphabet set from All Night Media. The football is an old image from PSX.

The dog image and football are stamped with Marvy black dye ink onto Georgia Pacific cardstock and are colored with Copic markers and some slight Prismacolor pencil shading. The "M" is stamped using a Zig Color Brush Marker directly to stamp. Highlights of yellow were added around the letter. I drew the pee myself. :-)

Patterned paper, colored cardstock, ribbons and brads were also used to complete this card.

The inside sentiment reads, "Let's Potty, Buckeye Style".

And that is what we shall do, when we beat the snot out of the Wolveweenies! Go Buckeyes!!!

Autumn Fields

Over the past year, I've been fortunate enough to take a few Zindorf classes at Marco's in Centerville. However, most of the time, when I make a card, I rarely reach for my brayer. I decided I should perhaps, every now and then, take it out and see what happens. This card is a result of getting out the brayer.

I first stamped the pumpkin patch image from Great Impressions with Marvy dye black ink onto Georgia Pacific cardstock. I colored the pumpkins with Copic markers. I then covered the pumpkins with a Versamark markers and clear heat embossed the pumpkins. Once that was complete, I brayered Sea Shells Conch Shell dye ink onto the paper about 1/3 of the way from the top. I used a mask of Post-It notes for the horizon. I then brayered Sea Shells Sandal dye ink onto the bottom half of the card. I then sponged some Vivid Taupe dye ink onto the Sandal ink, using masks. I also sponged some Adirondack Sunset Orange dye ink onto the very top of the Conch Shell for the sky. I proceeded to then stamps some tree images from Sky Kids and Rubber Monger) with Marvy Dye black ink.

I mounted the scene I had created onto black cardstock and patterned paper. I used a corner punch to make the black corners and attached with gold brads. I then stamped along the bottom of the card and swirl from Innovative Stamp Creations with Adirondack Lettuce dye ink.

This was a fun departure from my typical whimsical style. It's certainly not a Zindorf, but I appreciate the trip outside of my comfort zone.

Forgotten Pumpkin Mouse

I'm on a roll. Speaking of rolls, doesn't a pumpkin roll sound good? I love pumpkin everything.

This card accidentally happened. I was looking at my stamps, and somehow found this adorable, though forgotten about, image from Stampabilities House Mouse hiding behind some other stamps. It seemed like the week to ink it up, so I did. What resulted was this card.

I stamped the image with Marvy dye black ink onto Georgia Pacific cardstock. I colored it with Copic markers (including G99, V17, and YR68, which happens to be the colors for Copic Colour Challenge #36). The sentiment is a $1 stamp from Michael's stamped on paper cut from Nestabilities. Patterned paper, black cardstock and ribbon were also used to complete this card.

Come back to this blog tomorrow, for yet another card. Told you I'm on a roll.

What a Treat!

Really, it's me.

I was slammed by a icky germ this weekend. I missed the Buckeye's home game against Minnesota...yep, that's how bad I felt. But, come Saturday evening, I began to feel a bit better and ventured into my stamp room. And, low a behold. A card was made!

This adorable image is from Eat Cake Graphics. I stamped it with Marvy black dye ink onto Georgia Pacific cardstock. I colored the image with Copic markers. Patterned paper, black cardstock and ribbon were also used to create this card. The sentiment is from My Favorite Things.

I'm going to use this card for the Copic Creations Challenge #14, which is to use black. You can see I did just that on the cute little witch.

This really is a trick-or-treat kinda week. Sloopy, my dachshund, has her trick-or-treat night on Wednesday, and beggars will be ringing my doorbell on Thursday. I'm glad I finally made a Halloween card. I have so many Halloween stamps, but I never make Halloween cards.

Come back this week for at least two more cards. No trick, I promise! My mojo is back!

Woman with Bowl on Head

Yesterday, I gave a colored pencil lesson to a good friend. We practiced using images from one of my Terry Medaris coloring books. I thought I would go ahead and turn this image into a card as well, like I did earlier in the week when I was doing some coloring practice.

The image is colored with Prismacolor pencils only (no gamsol). Colored cardstock and brads were also used to complete the card. The layout is pretty simple, because I believe all of of these awesome images from Terry Medaris truly make the card and not much extra is needed.

As always, thanks for visiting my blog. I do appreciate it.

And, just a note...the use of blue and orange in no way suggestive of support for the Fighting Illini of Illinois (our opponent for the day). Go Buckeyes!!!

Angel Star Coloring Practice

Over the weekend, I was in the mood to get out my very neglected Prismacolor pencils. I decided to have-a-go at an image from a Terry Medaris coloring book. I used Terry's example as my guide as I really just wanted to practice coloring and study his use of bright colors. I turned my end result into this card. I added the big yellow star and pop-dotted it to add dimension. Colored cardstock, patterned paper and brads were also used to complete this card.

I am so fortunate to have taken Terry's classes in Peoria, IL and in San Diego, CA. He is totally worth the efforts of traveling, so if you ever get a chance to take his colored pencil classes, do it!

Buttercream Dachshund

So, yeah. It's me again.

I needed a birthday card for the lady who watches Sloopy during the day while I work. So I thought that this adorable dachshund image from Cowtown would be quite appropriate. I stamped the image with Marvy Dye black ink onto a scrap of Georgia Pacific cardstock. I colored the image with Copic markers. I used various colored cardstock and patterned paper, utilizing Splitcoast's Sketch Challenge #244. It has been ages since I've completed a challenge, as you know. I also used brads, a corner punch, and ribbon to also complete the card, along with some paper piercing.

I'm sure Sloopy's sitter will like this card fine. I'm just liking that I had a reason to create. Felt very therapeutic after yesterday's Ohio State loss to USC.

Hang in There

I know. I know. I'm a bad blogger. It has been quite a while since my last post. But, be happy for me, because I've been having lots of fun lately doing nonstamping kinds of things. Just trying to get the most out of my summer, and sometimes, thankfully that involves things other than stamping.

But, I did attend Stampaway in Cincinnati this past Saturday. My favorite booth this year was Starving Artistamps. Totally fun images!

This is a card I made for my aunt who is recovering from hip replacement surgery with some of my newest stamping acquisitions from Starving Artistamps.

I stamped the images onto Georgia Pacific cardstock with Marvy black dye ink. I colored the images with Copic markers and Prismacolor pencils. Colored cardstock, patterned paper, pop-dots to raise the monkey, vine and some of the leaves. A Sakura glitter pen was used to do some highlighting on the snake, and the sentiment is from Hero Arts.

Hang in there, readers. More cards coming when I can.

Thrilled to be the Guest Designer, Just Bee-Cause

I was absolutely delighted when Jenny Gropp of Our Creative Corner asked if I'd like to be guest designer for this week's sketch challenge. Thank you so much, Jenny, for this opportunity. I had so much fun.

Decisions, decisions with this sketch. I was really in the mood to color a new bee stamp I picked up earlier this summer from Stamps Happen. The problem was, the stamp had three bees on it, and I needed to fit the image in the oval. I then remembered my recent purchase of a Memento ink marker, which allowed me to directly ink one of the three bees with the marker, and stamped the one bee into the Neenah Solar crest oval shape cut from Nestabilities.. Problem-solved. Cropping, if you will.

I then proceeded to color this adorable little bee with Copic markers and Prismacolor pencils. Patterned paper, colored cardstock, brads on the bee's antennae, computer-generated sentiment, and some flower embellishments were also used to complete this card.

I had possession of this card for about three or four hours, and then needed to use it. I'm thinking I'll be making some more "Just Bee-cause" cards, bee-cause you never know when you might need an all-purpose card.

Thanks for the great sketch challenge. I can't wait to see what everyone else creates!

Waggy Birthday

Maybe I just have a lot of time on my hands. This is a card I made for Sloopy's friend, Gracie. Her birthday is in a couple of weeks.

I used last week's Sketch Challenge #235 for the layout. I had this card in mind last week, but needed to make a few Nestabilities purchases before I could complete the card. Great excuse to go to Marco's.

The adorable dog image is a Sue Dreamer image from Inkadinkado. I bought it a couple of years ago when I was visiting Sioux Falls, SD on business. It was way over priced, but I remember that I just had to have it. You've been in that situation before, right? Well, I thought it was about time that I use this image and thought this particular sketch would be perfect for it.

The party hat dog is stamped on Georgia Pacific cardstock circles with Marvy Dye black ink. The circles were cut using Nestibilities. I colored the image with Copic markers. I also cut hot pink cirlces from colored cardstock using Nestabilities. Patterned paper was also used to complete this card, as well as paw print ribbon and bone brads. The sentiment, "Waggy Birthday" was computer-generated. The little paw prints on the sentiment are from a small portion of a Stampendous stamp.

I'm not sure how much Gracie will like this card. Sloopy isn't so sure either. But, it was fun to make. It's all about the process, they say.

Candy Apples

Don't think I am rushing summer. Please don't, because I'm not. I know I posted about football season yesterday, and today here's a Halloween card. But still...in real life, let's slow summer down a bit.

I made this card in response to the Copic Colour Challenge #20, which was to use colors E47, YR68 and YG23. To me, these colors together looked very fallish, and so I opened my unmounted drawer labeled "fall" and thought these apples would be perfect.

This yummy image is from Impression Obsession, along with the sentiment. I stamped the image with Marvy dye black ink onto Georgia Pacific cardstock and colored the image with Copic markers, using the challenge colors and then some. I put some highlights in with Prismacolor pencils as well. Patterned paper from Lasting Impressions incidentally with names like "Cashew" and Fudge" and black cardstock were also used to create this card.

Now, back to summer.

Self-Portrait?

Two months from today, this will be me. Football season starts in just two short months. I can hardly believe it.

I created this card for the Copic Creations Challenge #7, which was to color brunette hair. I immediately thought of this fun Suzy Toronto image from Art Gone Wild. I love everything Suzy Toronoto, just like I love everything Buckeye. So, with that, I love this card.

I stamped the image with Marvy dye black ink onto Georgia Pacific cardstock. I colored the image with Copic markers. Patterned paper, colored cardstock, and Ohio State ribbon were also used on the card. The little pom-poms are actually from a chalk set (which I sadly never used). I just colored the white pom-poms with a Copic marker and adhered to the card. I like the effect, though it is not a new idea. I did the same thing last year with this image.

But, this was the first time making this girl a Buckeye fan with her scarlet and gray. I think I'm going to make another card just like this, so that I can use them as thank you cards to two former co-workers. They are letting me buy their football tickets this year.

Two months from today!!! Go Buckeyes!!!

Happy Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July, Friends!

Today I was able to play along with today's Our Creative Corner Challenge which was to use the colors red, white and blue. Perfect color challenge for today!

I inked up one of my favorite images ever, that I just purchased from Paper Garden. I ordered it earlier in the week, thinking it would be great to have it for next year's Independence Day. But, with the service being so fast and awesome, imagine my surprise when it was in my mailbox in time for this year.

The image is from Eat Cake Graphics, and I think the reason I like it so much is not only for the adorable picture, but because the sentiment rings so very true. Let us not forget that.

I inked up the image with Marvy dye black ink and stamped it onto Georgia Pacific cardstock. I colored the image with Copic markers. I used colored cardstock, brads, paper piercer, and a ribbon to make this card.

Thanks for visiting! Freedom for all.

Thanks, Again

I promise this will be the last dachshund thank you. For the time being, at least. As I addressed all of the recent cards, I realized that I needed one more. So, here it is. It is using SCS sketch challenge #234 for a layout. The dachshund image is from Cowtown Stamps and is stamped using Marvy dye black onto Georgia Pacific cardstock. Patterned paper, colored cardstock, paper piercer, ribbon, brads and Cuttlebug embossing folder were also used to complete this card.

You would have thought that 12 thank you cards would make a dent into my blue scraps. Not the case.

Dreaming Mouse

I enjoyed last week's Copic Colour Challenge so much, I just had to play again this week for Copic Colour Challenge #19, which was to use G00, RV02, and BV00. I thought this week's color combination was challenging (I guess that's why it is a challenge). These colors are so light, hence the low numbers on the right, that they barely show on coated paper. So, I had to figure out what image I had that would look good with softer, lighter colors...and I had to use matte paper so the colors would actually show up.

I decide this mouse image by Great Impressions would be appropriate. I stamped the image with Marvy dye black ink onto Georgia Pacific cardstock. I colored the image with those three colors, along with B60, W1, and W2. So, I had to use six markers to pull this one off. The sentiment is from Penny Black and seems to go so well with the mouse image. I used patterned paper, black cardstock, textured white cardstock, ribbon, brads, and Nestabilites to complete this card.

Thanks for visiting!

Tulip Windows

Here is a card I created after stumbling upon the Copic Creations Challenge blog. The challenge was to create the look of wood using Copic markers. Though I've done better wood jobs (gee, that sounds dirty), I'm pleased overall with this card.

The beautiful stamped image is from Stamps Happen. I stamped the image with Marvy Dye black ink onto Georgia Pacific cardstock. I colored the image with Copic markers and just a touch of Prismacolor pencil highlights. Patterned paper, paper piercer, pop-dots, tag punch, ribbon, brads and a sentiment from My Favorite Things were all used to put the finishing touches on this card.

I had fun coloring this image. It wasn't too difficult, and I used the label as a guide. I'm trying to work up to a Kinkade, Medaris or another Stamps Happen image as my summer masterpiece.

Thanks for looking.

Extra Practice Doodling

How is it that I'm still on week one of the class? I think this is actually week three, with week four already being posted for those who are working ahead. Guess I don't want to be an overachiever. LOL.

Stephanie gave us an extra sheet of word doodles just for practice. This was an extremely relaxing process for me. Coloring and doodling. That's what it is all about. I recommend clicking on the picture so you can see the actual size of the doodles.

Life's A Beach

The more we get into summer, the more I'm believing that I need a beach in my life. I'd really like to getaway soon...to relax, read, and simply veg. Not that I'm doing any thing now. I'd just like to change locales, if you will.

So, to "take me away" for a bit, I decided to color this image from Outlines. I stumbled upon the Copic Colour Challenge blog, and decided to take a stab at Challenge #18 which was to use Copic colors BG05, R85, and Y15. I really liked this, because it just goes to show you that you don't need all of the Copics to do a decent coloring job. Those three markers, along with E13 and the Colorless blender are the only markers I used on this image. That's just 5 markers.

I stamped the image on coated paper with Marvy dye black ink. Various patterned paper, tag punch, computer-generated sentiment, brads and paper piercer were also used to complete this card.

Thanks for visiting my colorful beach.

The Sweetest Father

As promised, I have a Father's Day card to share. I'll be giving this to my Dad, who just happens to be the sweetest Dad out there.

It felt so great just to sit back and color last night. It has been a while.

This adorable House Mouse image is from Stampabilities. I stamped it with Marvy Dye black ink onto Georgia Pacific cardstock. I colored the image with Copic markers and with a little Prismacolor pencil highlights. I used patterned paper and black cardstock to create layers for the card, and added ribbon and a computer-generated sentiment.

Wishing you all a very sweet weekend. Now, I'm off to get a few gift cards to put inside the card.

More Dachsie Thank Yous

This week has found me making thank you cards, and along the way, trying to make a dent into my stash of blue scrap paper. So, here are some more thank you cards that I have to share...all using that adorable thank you dachshund image from Cowtown Stamps. This was a great exercise for me, considering that I'm layout challenged. For the card pictured above, I did use this week's Sketch Challenge, #233, on Splitcoast. And, like always, all images were stamped with Marvy Dye ink onto Georgia Pacific cardstock. Sometimes paper piercing was done. Sometimes a Cuttlebug was used. Ribbons and brads adorn these cards too. Amazing that for all eleven dachshund cards, not a single piece of new paper was cut. All eleven were made from scraps. Yay me!

Now I am pleased to report that I have the thank you cards that I need so that I can properly thank some students for some end of the year gifts they gave to me.

I need a Father's Day card, so I'm guessing that will be my next post, so stay tuned this weekend for that.

Speaking of the weekend, enjoy it!

Summer Doodling

Hey! Thanks to all of you that made it here for the first blog post. I'm happy to know that my stamping buddies have followed me over from the old blog.

As I was setting up this new blog, one night I was just randomly surfing stamping and scrapbooking blogs trying to look for some type of inspiration. Quite by accident, I landed on Stephanie Ackerman's blog entitled Homegrown Hospitality and quickly discovered that she is a doodler. I was quite taken by her work, and learned that she is offering an online course on doodling this summer. I quickly signed up. I was so excited because I've always been interested and intrigued by the art of doodling. Also, I thought that maybe it would loosen me up a bit, and help explore my creativity and get me out of the creative funk that I have been in for almost a month.

Allow me to share with you the results of our Week 1 assignment. Now, don't get too excited. These are Stephanie's doodles, not mine. Our assignment was to color them and add swirls, dots, dashes, etc. It was fun and relaxing. Stay tuned for the next eight weeks of my learning attempts at doodling. I can see some possibilities in terms of integrating this art with my stamping.

Welcome to the Stamping Deets

Welcome to my new blog!

My old blog was so sorely in need of an updated look, but as I started to play around with things, I discovered it was much easier just to build a new blog. You know, kinda like how so often buildings are built new rather than being renovated. I also wanted to have a stamping specific blog. It seemed like my last blog was a catch all for everything in my life.

So, my first post is photo intensive. I am in the midst of trying to reduce the huge amount of blue scraps that I have and I'm also in need of many thank you cards. This past weekend, I stamped several images of this cute little dachshund from Cowtown Stamps onto Georgia Pacific cardstock with Marvy Dye black ink. I colored the image with Copic markers. The various patterned papers are from my blue scrap drawer (and brown scrap drawer too). I did lots of paper piercing too on these cards.

I can't guarantee a post every day like some, nor can I promise you a six card post when I do, but again... welcome to the Stamping Deets. I hope you'll visit again.