One Year Ago...

One year ago today, at 5:48 pm, I married my sweet, sweet husband...in an old post office! So, to commemorate that special moment, here's the anniversary card I made for him.

The image of the calla lilies is from Rubbernecker's 2010 floral release. I stamped the image onto X-Press It cardstock with Marvy black dye and colored with Copic markers. I then cut around the calla lilies. I placed it inside of the postage stamp border, which was made using my Cricut, specifically the Sweethearts cartridge. The small heart was cut from a Nestabilities die, and I wrote "1st" with a Memento Tuxedo Black pen. The cancelled stamp image was custom-made for our wedding last year, complete with our names, date, and location of our wedding.

Patterned paper from Lasting Impressions, DCWV, and gold cardstock form the layers for this card. I used a white gel pen to dot around the larger panel.

July 31, 2010 was the best day of my life. I loved every second of it. It was truly like a fairy tale. Happy Anniversary, Chris!

Christmas in July

This week on the Outlines Rubber Stamps Challenge Blog, we are celebrating Christmas in July. It is never too early to get a jump start on all of those Christmas projects, so why not play along this week for your chance to win a $25 gift certificate from Outlines.


I chose to work with the beautiful image from Outlines called "Angels" (G-996). I stamped the image with Marvy Black dye ink onto Neenah Classic Crest Solar White cardstock. I colored the image with Copic markers, and did some sparkly white highlights around the wings and the word "Joy" with Moonlight Smooch. I sponged around the image panel with some Adirondack Latte dye ink. I then stamped the image again, colored and cut, so that I could give some dimension to one of the angels and a star.

Patterned paper from Hot Off the Press, black cardstock, and gold cardstock provide the frames and panels for this card. Sheer gold ribbon, and a golden star brad put the finishing touches on this card.



It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas on the blogs of the design team. Make sure you visit for some more holiday inspiration:

Jeanne Streiff
Jenny Gropp
Lisa Silver
Robin Kirkpatrick
Sandy Hulsart
Sue Kment

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today!

Whee! Humidity!

I made this card a few days ago, but I'm just now able to share it due to a photography issue. It is so hot and HUMID here, that whenever I take my camera outside (which is where I take photographs of my cards), the lens immediately fogs up with moisture. It has been so frustrating. I was thankful for a storm yesterday evening, that cooled things off, albeit briefly, so that I could take these pictures. (Santa, if you are reading, I think I need a light box).

The digital image is called "Swinging Cynthia". She is from The Stamping Boutique. I printed her onto X-Press It cardstock and colored her with Copic markers. I added Stickles to the image for a little sparkle. Patterned paper from Doodlebug Designs and My Big Ideas form the layers to this card. I printed the image again to cut out two clouds to place outside the image panel. Small butterfly brads were used, along with some Baker's Twine.

The sentiment was stamped on a scrap piece of paper (sorry, unknown source) with Versafine Black Onyx, and is from a $1 Studio G stamp from Michaels.

There are more cards to share on the horizon, and I will do so whenever Mother Nature allows me to do so. Until then, stay cool!

Meet Murray

Murray just has to be good buddies with Ralph, don't you think? I think they'd get along splendidly. I'm sure they must know each other.

The image and sentiment on this card are called "Murray with Catch" and "Fishes". Both are from the 2011 Rubbernecker's Old Characters release. And, in case you are interested, so is Ralph.

I stamped Murray onto X-Press It cardstock with Marvy black dye and colored with Copic markers. I then cut around the image with my Cutter-bee scissors ever so carefully.

I cut a rectangle panel with a Nestabilities die, and sponged it with a gradient of SeaShells Cloudy Blue dye ink. Patterned paper from The Paper Studio was dry embossed with a Cuttlebug folder, and sponged with SeaShells Cloudy Blue dye ink. I framed both the rectangle and patterned paper with brown cardstock. The funny sentiment was stamped onto the patterned paper with Versafine Onyx Black ink and cut apart into segments. I adhered embroidery floss as the fishing line.

The colors for this card were inspired by the current Color Combinations #332 challenge on Splitcoast.

So glad you had a chance to catch my Murray card today. Thanks so much for visiting.

And, when you have the chance...make sure to visit the Rubbernecker Blog. There's lots of fun going on over there, every day that ends with the letter "y". ;-)

Calla Lily Sparkling Color Block

I had a chance to play along with Monday's Try A New Technique Challenge #334 on Splitcoast. The challenge was to Color Block, with a Twist. For my color block, I put Distress Ink Spun Sugar dye ink onto an acrylic block. For the twist, I sprayed the block with Tsukineko's Sheer Shimmer Mist. Then, I stamped the acrylic block onto Neenah Crest Solar White cardstock. I framed this with black cardstock.

The cally lilies image is from the 2010 Floral release from Rubbernecker Stamps, and the Thinking of You sentiment is from the 2011 Friends release. I stamped the calla lilies onto Neenah Crest Solar White cardstock with Marvy Black dye ink. I colored them with Copic markers. Carefully I cut around the flowers, and pop-dotted portions of the image. The sentiment was stamped directly onto the color block. A sheer white ribbon was attached to the color block panel. Textured white paper and more black cardstock frame the card.

I love calla lilies. Such a reminder of the beautiful wedding we had last summer.

I'm so glad you stopped by my blog today.

Did Someone Say Cake?

Yes, someone did say cake! This week's Outlines Rubber Stamp Company's Monday Challenge is definitely for your sweet tooth. The challenge is to create something with a sweet treat as the theme. Make sure you play along for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate from Outlines!



My card this week features two stamps from Outlines Rubber Stamp Company ; Sketchy Cupcake H-1016 and the sentiment Birthdays are...D-1076. I stamped both the image and sentiment onto Neenah Classic Crest Solar White cardstock using Marvy black dye ink. I colored the image with Copic markers, and then proceeded to cut the image panel into a rectangle, using the Out-of-the-Box technique so two of the balloons and the plate would emerge from the rectangle. Then for a fun sprinkles look on the cupcake, I applied Polar White Flower Soft using Flower Soft PVA glue.

Patterned paper from Doodlebug Design and Lasting Impressions were used to created the layers of this card, and all layers including the image and the sentiment were framed with black cardstock. I stamped the main image again, colored and cut out some of the confetti so that I could spill it over onto some of the other panels. A sheer white ribbon puts the finishing touches on this birthday card.



Want to see some more sweet, sugary goodness? Visit the rest of the Outlines Rubber Stamp Company Design Team for some more sweet treats.

Jeanne Streiff
Jenny Gropp
Lisa Silver
Robin Kirkpatrick
Sandy Hulsart
Sue Kment

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today. Have a sweet week!

Monkeying Around

Though I'm usually quite fearful of CAS cards, this one just came together as I was "monkeying around" with two new stamps from Rubbernecker Stamps.

Both the monkey and the "monkey around"sentiment are from the 2011 Animal release from Rubbernecker.

I stamped the monkey onto Neenah Classic Crest Solar White cardstock with Marvy black dye. I colored the image with Copic markers, and some slight colored pencil shading. I then cut around the image with my Cutter-bee scissors.

Next, I cut and embossed a rectangle from a Nestabilities die. I sponged Adirondack Lemonade and Adirondack Willow dye inks onto the rectangle. I created the "vine" with Baker's Twine and draped it over the rectangle.

The card base is of kraft cardstock, and the sentiment was stamped also with Marvy black dye ink.

After a busy week of trips to Cincinnati, Dayton and Cleveland (Hollo's !!!), I have some time this week to monkey around in my stamp room, so visit my blog again soon to see some new creations. Thanks for visiting today!

Dot, Dot, Dot!

It's Monday. You know what that means...time for another challenge from Outlines Rubber Stamp Company. This week the challenge is to incorporate Polka Dots somewhere in your design. Make sure you play along too for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate from Outlines. You can find all of the details on the Outlines Blog.



I love working with Polka Dots. I think they are so fun and whimsical, so a fun bright card is the result of my efforts.

I stamped the gorgeous image of Olivia 1002-I from Outlines with Marvy black dye ink onto Neenah Classic Crest Solar White cardstock. I colored the image with Copic markers. Wanting to add dimension to Olivia's hair, I stamped her again onto the Neenah cardstock and colored the hair again. I pop-dotted the hair and adhered the pair of sunglasses from Dress It Up Buttons on her face. To give her the pearl necklace she is wearing, I dotted a line around her neck using an Ice White Viva Decor Pearl Pen. The Polka Dot shirt Olivia is wearing is paper pieced using patterned paper from Doodlebug Design, along with the flower centers, and the three dots along the bottom of the card. The white flowers, stamped from a portion of the Olivia image, was ran through the Cuttlebug with a Swiss Dot embossing folder to give them a little texture.

Patterned paper from Jillibean Soup's Watermelon Gazpacho pad are used for the green and white Polka Dot background, and the sentiment..."summer time is the best time", which came from a fun piece of paper that had summertime text. I thought it went nicely with the overall feel of this card.
A little bow of Baker's Twine was adhered to the card, and some pearl drops using the Ice White Viva Decor Pearl Pen put the finishing touches on this card.



I had a blast making this card, and I'm sure you will have a blast visiting the rest of the design team's blogs to see their Polka Dot creations.

Jeanne Streiff
Jenny Gropp
Lisa Silver
Robin Kirkpatrick
Sandy Hulsart
Sue Kment

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today.

I'm RED-y!

Imagine how uplifting it was for me to receive an email from Jenny Gropp as I was pulling into my driveway on a Friday afternoon in May after what had been a very trying week at work. She asked me if I would want to join the Outlines Rubber Stamp Company's Design Team. HELLO??!! YES!!! OF COURSE!!! It brightened my mood so much, and since then I've been sitting on this secret. I feel so very honored to be joining such a talented team for a company I have admired for years.

Every Monday, Outlines Rubber Stamps posts a challenge on their blog. If you play along you have a chance to win a $25 Gift Certificate every week! So get crafting!



This week's challenge is called "Red Hot!", to make the color red prominent in your creation.




For this challenge, I elected to use a stamp from the Serendipity line called "Fairy Ring" I-1146. I stamped the image with Marvy black dye onto X-Press It cardstock. I colored the image with Copic markers. I framed the image with red cardstock and patterned paper from Jillibean Soup. For the finishing touches I tied a red polka dotted bow around the card.

Make sure you get "Red Hot" too this week. For some more "Red Hot" inspiration, don't forget to visit other members of Outlines Rubber Stamp Company Design Team:

Jeanne Streiff
Jenny Gropp
Lisa Silver
Robin Kirkpatrick
Sandy Hulsart
Sue Kment


Thanks for visiting my blog today.

Eh?

Some members of The Stamping Boutique's Design Team are getting together to show a little Canadian and American patriotism. If you came from the amazingly talented Collette's blog, you are in the right place. If not, you'll want to start from the beginning of the hop...The Stamping Boutique's Challenge Blog.

We had our choice of two images, a Canadian moose or an American eagle. Though I am American, I had to go with the Canada Day Moose. He was just too cute to pass up. So, I made a Canada Day card.

I printed the image from The Stamping Boutique onto X-Press It cardstock and colored it with Copic markers. I then placed the image panel onto a piece of red cardstock, with the intention of somewhat mimicking the Canadian flag. I then used my Olivia Cuttlebug alphabet dies to cut the sentiment. Pretty cute, but simple, eh?

I wish all of my blog visitors a safe, happy weekend, from wherever you may hail.

Now, go visit the very talented Stacie, to see what she has to share.