Stamping In The Light: December 2011

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Hello Time - My Time Made Easy Pretty Pattern Sketch #41

Hello and Happy Early New Year!!! Has everyone recovered from all of the wonderful food and fellowship with friends and family over Christmas?? I know I missed out on some of the good food thanks to my migraines again, but that's another story for another time. It's Thursday and that means it's time for another My Time Made Easy Pretty Pattern Sketch Challenge. This week we're giving you another easy one since the new year is just around the corner.

Since the New Year is right around the corner, for my card I chose to go with a "time" theme and used My Time Made Easy's On Display's clock image paired with the Candy Shoppe Pretty Impressions digital paper. I kept my card very simple and colored my clock with only Rose Art colored pencils, added a pre-made ribbon bow, and some silk flowers from Michael's with Prima plastic floral centers.

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great day.

Stamps: MTME On Display Digital Images
Card Stock: White, Stampin Up! Celery, Pink, MTME Candy Shoppe Pretty Impressions Digital Paper
Accessories: Rose Art Colored Pencils, Ribbon Bow, Glue Dots, Silk Flowers, Prima Plastic Flowers, Silver Brad

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

It's Always Time For Tea...

Even nap time!!!

Hi there and welcome. Today I'm sharing a card I made with a stamp I received as a RAK (random act of kindness) from Beate. The card has been done for a week now, I just haven't been able to upload thanks to another massive migraine over the Christmas holiday.

The image is from Kraftin Kimmie Stamps newest Moonlight Whispers release and is called Dormouse. Isn't he the cutest?? Now I normally don't like mice, or rats for that matter, unless the mouse is in a stamp and is a cute one.

Once I had him stamped in memento tuxedo black onto MFT white perfect panels, I pulled out some retired Prima Nursery Tales designer paper and matching flowers, then allowed the designer paper to dictate the colors I used. After everything was colored and layered, I lightly stippled some Stampin Up! amethyst ink around the edges of the image and then pulled out a MFT Jumbo Scallop Die-Namic and cut three borders before running them through my dusty paper crimper then popping up my main image over the scallop borders. For my final touches, I pulled out some white & lavender organdy ribbon I picked up at Dollar Tree, lavender brads from my stash, and some Prima bling for the centers of the flowers.

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great day.

Stamps: Kraftin Kimmie Dormouse

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin Up! Almost Amethyst

Card Stock: MFT White Perfect Panels, Stampin Up! Lavender Lace, Almost Amethyst, Mint Melody, Pretty In Pink, Prima Nursery Tales Designer Paper

Accessories: Prismacolor Markers, Pop Dots, Prima Flowers, Bling, Glue Dots, Ribbon, Brads, Stipple Brush, MFT Jumbo Scallop Die-Namic, Paper Crimper

Monday, December 26, 2011

Clearly Inspired Birthdays

Hello and happy Tuesday. Today I'm sharing with you a couple of cards I made for the Clearly Inspired Birthday challenge.

I was inspired for my first card by some Imanginese cloud designer paper and decided to do a card with a hot air balloon. So I pulled out my Daisy Hot Air Balloon by Clear Dollar Stamps and stamped it twice onto white card stock using memento tuxedo black ink. Once my images were colored with prismacolor markers, I cut one complete balloon out to pop up on pop dots and added a "make a wish" metal sticker to the center of the daisy. Once that was done, I added some Recollections cloud brads I found on clearance at Michael's, a butterfly brad, and then added everything to the card.

My second card is a clean and simple style card using the retired Dairy Delights set from Clear Dollar Stamps. I pulled out some scrap card stock from printing digital images, folded it to make a smaller card, and stamped my image with saying in memento tuxedo black ink then colored it with koh-i-noor pencils and a blender marker.

Both cards only took a few minutes to make, yet are totally different in style and format. Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great day.

Stamps: CDS Daisy Hot Air Balloon, Dairy Delights
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin Up! Baja Breeze
Card Stock: White, Stampin Up! Baja Breeze, Barely Banana, Imanginece Designer Paper
Accessories: Prismacolor Markers, Koh-I-Noor Pencils, Blender Marker, Pop Dots, Brads, Metal Sticker, Stipple Brush

A Winter Fox - Friends of SpeedyTV Challenge#13

Hello and welcome to Monday. I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas with family and friends yesterday. It's time for another Friends of SpeedyTV challenge by Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company. This week our challenge is to use the color blue or make a winter scene.

For my card, I've used a couple of sets: Winter Wonderland and What A Fox. After stamping my main image on Mark's Finest Papers Snow Storm Smooth Premium paper in memento tuxedo black, I pulled out my koh-i-noor pencils and blender marker to color the images before adding diamond and waterfall ice stickles to highlight the image after layering and adding brads. My background is stamped in Adirondack Sailboat Blue ink onto Mark's Finest Papers Bang Up Blue Linen premium card stock. For the final touch, I added a cut out fox in the bottom left corner popped up on dimensionals. I plan to give this card to my husband for our anniversary later this week.

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great day.

Stamps: MFP What A Fox, Winter Wonderland
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Adirondack Sailboat Blue
Card Stock: MFP Snow Storm, Bang Up Blue Linen, Black
Accessories: Koh-I-Noor Pencils, Prismacolor Blender Marker, Silver Brads, Dimensionals, Ice Stickles

Monday, December 19, 2011

Elf Anya & Ho Ho Ho - The Greeting Farm Customer Blog Hop

Second post for me today. If you're looking for my CAS SpeedyTV card, please scroll down one post.

Happy Monday and welcome to The Greeting Farm's Annual Customer Blog Hop. Make sure you are starting at The Greeting Farm's blog Splendid Stamping for links to all of the hoppers and details on how you can win one of three, that's right, THREE huge prizes being given away during the hop. Two participants and one random hopper will win the ENTIRE January release!! Now doesn't that make you want to grab a cuppa, sit down to relax and hop along with us??

For my project, I chose to use the Elf Anya digi, for the holiday project contest, colored with prismacolor markers with Tim Holtz old paper distress ink stippled around it before layering it onto Stampin Up! handsome hunter and burgundy card stocks. Once that was done, I pulled out some Michael's Recollections Christmas paper I had picked up a couple of months ago and layered it onto the card itself, then cut a small Recollections designer paper snowflake border layered on handsome hunter card stock.

For the final touches, I added some sheer hunter ribbon I picked up at the dollar store with a gold clip, gold brads, and a jingle bell brad in Anya's hat before pulling out some retired K&Company die cuts for my saying and inside decorations. Here's a look at the inside of the card.

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great day and week. Make sure to stop by all of the hop participants for a chance to win the entire January release. You can find the links to all of the hoppers at TGF blog.

Stamps: TGF Elf Anya
Ink: Tim Holtz Old Paper Distress Ink
Card Stock: White, Stampin Up! Handsome Hunter, Bravo Burgundy, Michael's Recollections Christmas Designer Paper
Accessories: Prismacolor Markers, Stipple Brush, Gold Brads, Gold Jingle Bell Brad, K&Company Die Cuts, Ribbon, Gold Clip, Glue Dots

What A Fox Clean & Simple - Friends of SpeedyTV Challenge #12

Hello and welcome to another Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company Friends of SpeedyTV challenge. This week we are challenged to come up with a CAS, or clean and simple, card.

For my card, I chose to use Mark's Finest Papers What A Fox set stamped on to Corn Husk premium paper and colored with koh-i-noor pencils and a blender marker. I then took a cuttlebug embossing border folder for the side of the card. A nice, simple, clean design that took about 10 minutes to make. Which was really cool considering it was made with another migraine. Ugh!!

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great day and hope to see you participating in the challenge this week.

Stamps: MFP What A Fox
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Card Stock: MFP Corn Husk
Accessories: Koh-I-Noor Pencils, Blender Marker, Cuttlebug Border Embossing Folder, Big Shot

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

New Pines

Second post for me tonight. For my My Time Made Easy sketch, please scroll down one post. Thanks.

Hello! Welcome to Mark's Finest Papers a Heinrich Company's December Blog Hop!

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

Pucker Up Featured December 13

Pussy Willows Featured December 14
Ice and Snow Featured December 14

New Pines Featured December 15

Please hop along with us! You have a chance to win one of the above stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each day for more chances to win! We will announce all four winners on December 16, 2011 on the Mark's Finest Papers blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. The winners will be chosen at 11PM EST on Thursday December 15, 2011.

Connie

Dawn M.

Today Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company is featuring the set New Pines. For my project, I chose to make an altered frame I picked up at the dollar store. I wanted my frame to look as if someone was "looking out a window to the outside" with a Christmas swag over the window. After I stamped my images in memento tuxedo black onto Mark's Finest Papers Grandma's Snow Covered Porch card stock, I pulled out a couple of different shades of green prismacolor markers and colored my pine trees before stamping the saying over two of them. Once I had stippled some clouds above and around the saying, I took the two remaining pines, cut them out and popped them up on dimensionals and pop dots to get varying levels of dimension. Then came adding the swag.

Following Kittie's flower spray and pine cone tutorials, I punched several different colors of Martha Stewart pine branches and added those over a couple of ferns to use as a base. Once that was done, I punched out some poinsettia's using a Martha Stewart punch I had found online, some small hydrangea flowers, and two cardinals to add to the swag and scene. Once all of that was added, I put some Tim Holtz distress stickles in the centers of the poinsettia's and used a black marker for the centers of the smaller flowers. Here's a close-up:

Thanks for stopping by today. Don't forget to continue hopping along to the rest of the designers blogs and leave a comment for a chance to win today's stamp set. Have a great day.

Stamps: MFP New Pines
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin Up! Bashful Blue
Card Stock: MFP Grandma's Snow Covered Porch, Olive, Card Stock Scraps
Accessories: Prismacolor Markers, Martha Stewart Punches, Black Marker, Ranger Crystal Accents, Stipple Brush, Dollar Store Frame, Tim Holtz Distress Ice Stickles, Pop Up Glue Dots, Pop Dots, Dimensionals

Dr. Seuss' Brains In Your Head - My Time Made Easy Pretty Pattern Sketch #40

Welcome to another My Time Made Easy Pretty Pattern Sketch challenge. This week's card I chose to dedicate to my 19 year old son who was just diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. For those who don't know, Type 1 diabetes is also known as juvenile diabetes. His dad was diagnosed at age 2 and has grown up with it, so to dad it's no big deal. However, to a 19going on 20 year old, life is a whole new ball of wax. So many bad habits to suddenly have to change. Someone who was considered healthy up to this point, suddenly has so many things to watch and keep track of on top of college, finals, a wonderful girlfriend who's having a hard time adjusting to the diagnosis too, and trying to find a job in a very rough economy and in an area of 20% unemployment. So I decided to bend the sketch a bit, and go out of my normal creating comfort zone by making a paper bag card with a school theme.

I started out by printing out My Time Made Easy's Back To School digital stamps and Academic Hodgepodge grade book digital paper. Once my images were colored with prismacolor markers and cut out, I layered the grade book paper onto the paper lunch bag, added the three cut out images, ribbon, and the ABC cork stickers from Targets $1 spot from a few years back.

I then layered Dr. Seuss' saying on some teal scrap card stock before placing over my cut out images. I chose this particular sentiment from the Back To School set because I've heard my son, and my daughter, put himself down for not doing good on exams during this last month of school. I've especially heard more of it right after his diagnosis after Thanksgiving. I wanted him to know, he has God given brains and he is a smart young man and not to listen or believe anything otherwise.

Once the front was done, I taped down the inside flap and added some digital binder paper before adding the rest of the grade book paper to the inside of the card and my one remaining image from My Time Made Easy's Lunch Box Love Notes digital stamp set. I also taped down the lunch bag opening to seal it enough, but still allow an opening for a gift card to stick out from the inside.

For my first lunch bag card, I'm pretty please with how it turned out. They're really easy to make too.

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great day.

Stamps: MTME Lunch Box Love Notes, Back To School Digital Stamps

Card Stock: White, Teal Scrap, MTME Academic Hodgepodge Digital Paper

Accessories: Prismacolor Markers, Computer, Printer, Fiber, Lunch Bag, Cork Stickers

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Pussy Willow and Ice & Snow

Hello! Welcome to Mark's Finest Papers a Heinrich Company's December Blog Hop!

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

Pucker Up Featured December 13

Pussy Willows Featured December 14
Ice and Snow Featured December 14

New Pines Featured December 15

Bonnie - that's me!

Today's featured sets are Pussy Willows and Ice & Snow. Both of them are going to become favorites of mine easily because they both can be used for scrapbooking, altered items, framed art, all kinds of cards, etc. I have two cards to show you today with the Pussy Willows set.

My first card shows how some of the images can be used to create backgrounds to go with the main bird image as well as the sayings in the set. I love to color birds blue as they remind me of the little glass bluebirds my mom used to have while I was growing up. Once I had stamped my background in Adirondack Sailboat Blue ink onto Bang Up Blue Linen card stock, I then stamped the bird image onto Grandma's Snow Covered Porch in memento tuxedo black before coloring with prismacolor markers and layering. I added some Making Memories pearl heart brads I had found at Michael's (note to self - get more) before popping the entire image up over Mark's Finest Papers Royal Blue Satin Luxury Ribbon.

My second card not only uses the Pussy Willows stamp set but also the newly released Winter Crocus stamp set too. For this card, I chose to go with a spring theme to show how with different colors, you can get a totally different look and feel to the same set. Once again I used the large pussy willow stamp to create my background by stamping it in Stampin Up! green galore onto Mark's Finest Papers Spring Leaf card stock before layering onto Deepest Mahogany card stock. Once that was done, I took a scrap and punched out a vase, then stamped it using the small pussy willow stamp and some Tim Holtz dusty concord distress ink before tying some thread around the neck and adding a charm. After I was done coloring and layering my main image, I took three Lily Premium Paper Flowers since they resembled the crocus, added them to the card using a pop up glue dot, then added the vase with a fairy brass charm.

For my final project, it is featuring Ice and Snow and I chose to frame it using one of my favorite techniques - color crayon resist. After stamping my images in memento tuxedo black onto Snow White Glossy card stock and coloring with crayons where I wanted the ink to "resist", I then stippled three different Stampin Up! inks in gradual layers to create an "early morning" effect across the snow. Then I pulled out my diamond ice stickles and highlighted the snow, trees, and part of the moose's antlers to look "frosty".

After that, I did the same thing with the icicles, colored them with crayons, stippled over them, and after applying them to the top of the frame, I highlighted them using Ranger Crystal Accents. I then added some teal fabric snowflakes I picked up at Hobby Lobby on clearance to go with the teal snowflakes stamped in the background. Here's a close-up:

Thanks for stopping by today. Don't forget to stop by the rest of the designers blogs and leave a comment for a chance to win one of the two sets featured today. Have a great day.

Stamps: Pussy Willows, Ice & Snow

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin Up! Green Galore, Taken With Teal, Bashful Blue, Tempting Turquoise, Adirondack Sailboat Blue

Card Stock: MFP Grandma's Snow Covered Porch, Snow White Glossy, Bang Up Blue Linen, Deep Mahogany, Speedy the Cat Black, Pink

Accessories: Prismacolor Markers, Pop Dots, Pop Up Glue Dots, Brads, Charm, Thread, Making Memories Pearl Heart Brads, Ribbon, Fabric Snowflakes, Dollar Store Frame & Mat,

Monday, December 12, 2011

Pucker Up!

Hello! Welcome to Mark's Finest Papers a Heinrich Company's December Blog Hop!

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

Pucker Up Featured December 13

Pussy Willows Featured December 14
Ice and Snow Featured December 14

New Pines Featured December 15

Today we are featuring the set Pucker Up. I am in love with this set because of all of the different things you can do with it - scrapbooking, cards (funny, birthday, sarcastic, etc), altered items, and the list goes on. Both of my projects today feature cards arranging the images as if you're looking out of a window at the branches of a lemon tree. In California right now, the winter citrus crop is on the trees and just about ready to be picked. As you can see from my photos, the lemons on the trees in my backyard are ready for picking.

After all of my images were stamped in memento tuxedo black onto Grandma's Snow Covered Porch card stock, I colored them with prismacolor markers before stippling Stampin Up! bashful blue ink around the edges and center for sky. Once my coloring was done, I then stamped my background in green galore ink onto Mark's Finest Papers Spring Leaf card stock and layered using Morning Sun card stock before adding primas, gold ice stickles and faux brads.

My second card uses the same color combination as the first (only replacing Scrabbled Eggs card stock for Morning Sun) with a little twist. Once everything was stamped, colored, and layered, I added some primas with gold ice stickle centers and some Martha Stewart velvet ribbon I found in Michael's $1 bins a year or so ago. My biggest find in the Michael's clearance section is found on the inside of the card. Featured around the saying are some Jolee die cut dimensional chocolate bars I found at Michael's about 5yrs ago for only.49 cents!! That's right..only .49 cents!! Here's the inside with that famous Jolee buy -

Thanks for stopping by today. Don't forget to continue hopping for your chance to win a stamp set each day from the release by leaving a comment on each of the designers blogs. Have a great day.

Stamps: MFP Pucker Up

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin Up! Green Galore, Bashful Blue, Tim Holtz Scattered Straw

Card Stock: MFP Grandma's Snow Covered Porch, Scrambled Eggs, Morning Sun, Spring Leaf

Accessories: Prismacolor Markers, Stipple Brush, Primas, Ribbon, Small Hole Punch, MS 2-Way Glue Pen, Gold Ice Stickles, MS Velvet Ribbon, Jolee's Chocolate Bars Dimensional Die Cuts, Glue Dots

Peaceful Wreath - Friends of SpeedyTV Challenge #11

Hello and welcome to Monday and another Friends of SpeedyTV by Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company. This week our challenge is to make Christmas cards. Easy peasy, right?? We're all making them right now last minute anyways so why not pull out your favorite Mark's Finest Papers stamp set and make one more for this week's challenge to send out.

For my card, I chose to use the Festive Wreath Mini stamp set. I really like this wreath because it's so different not to mention all of the pine cones that are in it. After I stamped my main image in memento tuxedo black and colored with koh-i-noor pencils and a blender marker, I lightly stippled Stampin Up! wasabi ink around the edges before layering.

Pulling out the newly released New Pines stamp set, I stamped only the pine cone in memento rich cocoa ink on scrap chocolate chip card stock to create a border before stamping the card background in riding hood red and over stamping the saying in memento black. The whole card took about 20-30min to make and is so easy to mass produce.

Thanks for stopping by today. Don't forget the Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company December release blog hop starts tomorrow beginning on the Mark's Finest Papers blog. Hope to see you there. Have a great day.

Stamps: MFP New Pines, Festive Wreath Mini

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Rich Cocoa, Stampin Up! Riding Hood Red, Wild Wasabi

Card Stock: White, Stampin Up! Riding Hood Red, Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip Scrap

Accessories: Koh-I-Noor Pencils, Blender Marker, Stipple Brush, Brads

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Country Kitchen - My Time Made Easy Pretty Pattern Sketch #39

Welcome to Thursday and another My Time Made Easy Pretty Pattern Sketch challenge. This week's challenge is all about focusing on the center.

For my card, I chose to showcase My Time Made Easy's digital set What's Cookin' and the Farmhouse Fresh digital paper. With Christmas coming in just a few short weeks, I'm thinking about all of the wonderful Christmas dinners that will be shared across the country with friends and family. Once I had downloaded my images, I colored only a few select dishes, pot holders and eggs to showcase on the front. For the inside, is all of the spoons, spatulas, and whisks along with the newly released digital Warm Sentiments sets.

I kept the rest of the card simple by adding only three pre-made bows to the top with some glue dots. Here's a look at the inside:

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great day and don't forget to join us this week at My Time Made Easy.

Stamps: MTME Digital Warm Sentiments, What's Cookin'
Card Stock: White, MTME Farmhouse Fresh, MFP Red Scrap, Stampin Up! Garden Green, Baja Breeze
Accessories: Prismacolor Markers, Bows, Glue Dots, Circle Punch

Monday, December 5, 2011

I Believe In You - Friends of SpeedyTV Challenge Week 10

Welcome and happy Monday. Just a few more weeks until Christmas folks - my how time flies when we're having fun, right? This week the Friends of SpeedyTV by Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company challenges you to use those silhouette stamps. That's right, those solid sometimes blocky stamps we all have a hard time using.

For my card, I chose to pull out Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company Garden Wishes Mini set and stamped the main image and saying in memento tuxedo black onto Mark's Finest Papers Snow White Glossy card stock before stippling Stampin Up! wild wasabi, bashful blue and dusty durango inks over the top it and blending the inks together.

Once that was done, I took two more sayings and created my background by alternately stamping them at a diagonal in dusty durango ink onto the same colored card. A chip board premium paper scalloped border separates the image and saying from the bottom mums which are adhered with Ranger Glossy Accents. I'm really happy with how this turned out since I made it with one of my nasty migraines again.

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great day. Take a few moments out of your busy day to stop by all of the designers blogs and leave them some love for the eye candy they've made for you and we hope you'll take some time to participate in the challenge as well.

Stamps: MFP Garden Wishes Mini

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin Up! Wild Wasabi, Bashful Blue, Dusty Durango

Card Stock: MFP Snow White Glossy, Chip Board, Stampin Up! Dusty Durango, Wild Wasabi

Accessories: Stipple Brushes, Mums, Ranger Glossy Accents, Mini Brads, MFT Die-namic, Ribbon

Sunday, December 4, 2011

O Little Town Of Bethlehem

Hello and welcome to Tuesday. I discovered a really cool Christian stamp store called Clear Dollar Stamps and their challenge blog called Clearly I Stamp. One of the new stamps I chose to purchase is a Christmas stamp called Little Bethlehem and decided to participate in one of their challenges. I chose the Christmas one and inked up my Little Bethlehem with memento tuxedo black ink and colored it using koh-i-noor pencils and a blender marker. Once all of my coloring was done, I lightly stippled Stampin Up! night of navy ink around the edges before lightly stippling Tim Holtz tea stain and vintage photo inks over everything to "age" the image a bit.

Once the stippling was done, I lightly distressed the edges of the town with my fingernail before layering and adding some vintage brads then adding it to the card. Tim Holtz pine needles is stippled around the edges of the card to darken the edges. I'm really happy with the way this turned out since I made it with one of my nasty migraines again.

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great day.

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps Little Bethlehem
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Pine Needles, Tea Stain, Vintage Photo, Stampin Up! Night of Navy
Card Stock: MFP Corn Husk, Chip Board, Michael's Recollections Christmas Designer Paper, Stampin Up! Night of Navy, Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Koh-I-Noor Pencils, Blender Marker, Brads, Stipple Brushes, Dimensionals, Fingernail

Pages

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Monday, December 26, 2011

Monday, December 19, 2011

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Monday, December 12, 2011

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Monday, December 5, 2011

Sunday, December 4, 2011