Candy Jar and Migraines

I started to write this post yesterday, however, the migraine I had just wouldn't let me finish.


This was my entry for the June Ambassador Challenge in the My Favorite Things Forum. The challenge was to stamp something clear: packaging, acetate, whatever we might find. In fact, it was the fastest challenge I've ever done: start to finish even while on migraine meds.


I stamped my images with memento tuxedo black ink and colored with koh-i-noor pencils and a prismacolor blender marker. This has become one of my new favorite techniques because of the smooth results I'm getting and how portable it is. After coloring, I stippled Stampin Up! pretty in pink dye in all around the image, punched it out using both the giga and jumbo giga scallop punches and then highlighted the chocolate chip layer with a white signo gel pen. After adding prima flowers I found on clearance at Michaels, some uber cool ribbon from MFT, I was ready to fill my candy jar.


Now how simple is that!!!! Maybe 10-15min flat! And even while on migraine meds too!





Stamps: MFT How Sweet It Is
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin Up Pretty In Pink
Accessories: Stipple Brush, Ribbon, Mini Glue Dots, Snickers, Primas, Koh-I-Noor Pencils, Prismacolor Blender Marker

World Cardmaking Kincades

Second Post Today.

While cleaning out some of my computer photos, I came across a couple of Thomas Kincade cards I hadn't uploaded since they were submitted to Paper Crafts for their World Cardmaking contest last October. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of the finalists, however, I'm still a winner in my opinion because I actually got them done and sent in so that's an accomplishment for me. Submitting is always makes me so nervous to the point I sometimes back out and that just drives my husband totally nuts.

Stonehearth Hutch is one of my favorite Thomas Kincade images Cornish Heritage Farms produces. This image I stamped in pallet noir on watercolor paper and then watercolored using Stampin Up's Watercolor Wonder Crayons and an aquapainter. The Christmas tree lights and wreath ribbon were highlighted with Prismacolor markers.

Vintage Skating Pond was stamped in Stampin Up! basic brown dye ink on white paper and colored with colored pencils using the spotlighting technique. I only wanted certain areas of the house and the skating pond colored so your eyes were drawn to the middle.

The edges were distressed with Stampin Up's distressing tool and the main panel popped up on dimensionals. As a friend of mine would say, easy peasy!

Two different Thomas Kincade stamps, two different coloring mediums and two different end results, however, both still classy.

Stamps: CHF Thomas Kincade Stonehearth Hutch, Skaters Pond

Ink: Pallet Noir Black, Stampin Up Basic Brown

Cardstock: Handstome Hunter, Designer Paper, White, Brilliant Blue, Always Artichoke, Watercolor Paper

Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Prismacolor Markers, Colored Pencils

Rocky Shores

Anyone who knows me, understands my love of lighthouses. When GinaK Designs came out with the Guiding Light set last month, I had to get it.

My step-dad's birthday is coming up on Monday, June 15th and I thought this set would be perfect for a him. I wanted to tryout a new technique I had discovered with using Koh-I-Noor pencils with the Prismacolor marker blender with the set too. Unfortunately, the picture didn't come out like I hoped it would because the colors are just vibrant against GinaK's digital papers.

The distressed edges of the main panel are popped up on dimensionals as well as is the rowboat with Stampin Up soft sky lightly stippled in the background to give a "foggy" appearance over the ocean waters.

Stamps: GinaK Guiding Light

Cardstock: Brocade Blue, White, GinaK Designs Digital Jersey Shores Paper

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin Up Soft Sky

Accessories: Stipple Brush, Koh-I-Noor Pencils, Prismacolor Marker Blender, Netting, Dimensionals, Brads, Distressing Tool.

Gotta Learn To Relax

Now for those of us that have four legged children, learning to relax can be an issue......for them that is.

Now, take Midnight here for example. She's always sleeping on her back, paws in the air, and not a care in the world, Mom and Dad will take care of everything for her. However, do not wake her up. You will be told off! This cat does think she's talks, or at least chatters a lot at you and only she understands what she's saying.

Sometimes learning to relax means you have to learn to share the recliner with Mom after a long days work...

or learning to share the stamping chair with Mom or another four legged sibling. Sometimes this doesn't always work out, and a heated "discussion" breaks out between the fur children.

The hardest part about relaxing is when Mom doesn't understand that a box is more fun...

than the toys that came in it. Who cares that it was Mom's stamp toys in the box. Finders keepers!

My Favorite Bunny

The last several weeks, I have either been running a day late with the dollar short, or a week late with several dollars short. It took everything I had just to get the MFT Idol challenges done. Along this note, one of our MFT Junkies had a baby a little over a week ago, and you guessed it, I'm late sending my baby card out.

So I took the opportunity to finally get a sketch challenge done and finally complete her baby card at the same time....double dipping! Oh, that's only not allowed with the challenges. Sorry.

I stamped my Cuddle Bunnies twice on white cardstock and colored with Koh-I-Noor pencils and a Prismacolor blender marker....my new favorite technique; as well as the teddy bear. Babies have to have a teddy bear to cuddle with when they get older..right? Once the images were colored I lightly stippled Stampin Up soft sky ink over the main image, and then Stampin Up pretty in pink around the sides before adding my layers and ribbon. Cut out the second set of bunnies and popped them up on dimensionals as seen below.

Punched out the teddy bear and stippled the pretty in pink dye ink around him, also popped him up on dimensionals and covered one of the button brads.

Isn't mom and baby cute??? If you don't have this set yet, you need to get it!



Stamps: MFT Cuddle Bunnies, She's Having A Baby
Cardstock: White, Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, DCWV Nana's Kids DP
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin Up! Soft Sky, Pretty In Pink
Accessories: Stipple Brushes, Dimensionals, Ribbon, Brads, Koh-I-Noor Pencils, Prismacolor Blender Marker, Circle Punch

Ice Cream Sundae Three Ways

My husband recently broke his ankle in three places, called a tri-malleolar fracture, and had to have a plate with screws put into the ankle to fix everything. While he was in the hospital waiting to be discharged, I took a bunch of pre-stamped images with me to color. Since I work at the hospital, I know it takes just about as long to do the paperwork for discharge, as it does to get the ok to get the patient out of there. So, I was going to make sure I was not bored at all. The ice cream sundae image is from a retired Stampin Up! set called Sweet Treats which is perfect since I needed to have several birthday cards ready to send out.

Once I got my husband, and my images home, it was easy to get to work. All that's necessary, is to take the colored image and using the same color scheme make three different types of cards; using scraps, full cardstock like a one sheet wonder, just moving the image around on the card.

For my first card, I chose to do a traditional layout with metallic stickers on the side.

The second card has the image off to the right side with felt flower stickers overlapping the image and bling in the center.

The third card has the image up in the top right corner with flowers on the left with bling in the centers.

Each card only took about 10 minutes to make and each have Stampin Up! pretty in pink dye ink lightly stippled over and around the image.

Pre-stamping images to take along to color at a doctor's office, hospital, or anywhere you're going to be stuck for long periods of time is a great way to have images ready to use at a later date when you're in a hurry and need a "quick card".

Stamps: Stampin Up! Sweet Treats, Birthday Greetings

Ink: Black, Pretty In Pink, Close to Cocoa

Cardstock: Pretty In Pink, Close to Cocoa, Regal Rose

Accessories: Stipple Brush, Silk Flowers, Bling, Felt Flowers, Markers, Metallic Stickers

We Love Rock N Roll

I may be dating myself here, but I grew up listening to Joan Jett & the Blackhearts song I Love Rock N Roll. Can't you just see these girls playing that?

They are part of My Favorite Things newest release by artist Stephanie Fizer. This weeks My Favorite Challenge was to use three different types of designer paper; not a problem if you have a lot of designer paper lying around or a lot of designer paper scraps like I do. :) So I pulled out my box, and gallon baggie, of scraps to see which ones would match up with each other and look cute as little girls dresses since I was planning on paper piecing the dresses instead of coloring. Halfway through my project I ran into a slight problem. Since the girls were being stamped on scrap cardstock and being popped up on mini pop dots, that meant I either had to paper piece the dresses twice, or color the bottom layer. Do you know how hard it is to match markers up to designer paper? Very hard. However, it can be done. A very slow process, but it can be done.

Once all of my coloring, and paper piecing was done, it was time to pop up my musicians and add a little background color. The bottom picture shows the dimension.

After stippling some Stampin Up creamy caramel and close to cocoa dye ink for a stage, I added soft sky for a light "curtain" effect the spritzed a Stampin Up! rose red marker to add a "light show" effect around the girls.

Stamps: MFT: The Poppies

Ink: SU Creamy Caramel, Soft Sky, Close To Cocoa, Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: Stipple Brushes, Mini Pop Dots, Post It Notes, Prismacolor Markers & Blender Marker

Cardstock: SU Brocade Blue, White, Designer Paper Scraps

Pencils, Kincade and Mice!

Have you ever had a total "oh duh!" moment? I had one of those in Michaels the other day when I was pricing their Koh-I-Noor woodless pencils and comparing them to the prices online. I have an old set that needs replacing plus a Prismacolor 72 pencil set I bought on ebay several years ago and have never gotten the "full effect" out of them since I can't use mineral spirits or gamsel with my asthma. While I was in that particular aisle, I saw Prismacolor's new "pencil accessory set" that contains their blender pencil, alcohol marker blender, eraser, pencil extender/extension, and some other do-hickey I've never seen before.

What really caught my eye was the alcohol marker blender. I use that to blend my Prismacolor markers!!! Well duh! You mean to tell me I could have been using that blender marker all this time with my pencils? After seeing that set, I got out of Michaels in record time to get home and try it out on a couple of images I had colored when my husband came home from the hospital after having surgery for a broken ankle.

The first image I tried blending was a House Mouse one from Stampendous, and it came out beautifully! Just like I do when I'm blending with my markers, I started with the lighter colors first, beginning in the middle and then working to the outside.

Once I was done blending everything, I then stippled Stampin Up soft sky ink lightly over everything to give a soft "satin" feel to the image and the card once I started assembling it. I made sure the embellishments used were small to match the "size" of the mouse.

Here's a close up of the card details:

After finishing with my House Mouse card, I began to wonder how this technique would look with a more detailed image so out came one of my Thomas Kincade images I had received in a swap. Now this image was a little bit of an unknown since it was stamped in Tim Holtz walnut distress ink so I wasn't sure if the ink would run when the pencils were blended. As you can see, the ink stayed put and everything blended great. In fact, I think this technique works great with Cornish Heritage Farms Thomas Kincade images. With the image below, I didn't color in the sky, but chose to stipple it instead with Stampin Up soft sky dye ink again.

And a close up of the card:

I'm really happy with the way these cards turned out and just wish I had discovered I could use my blender marker a whole lot sooner. Needless to say, I have a bunch of blender markers on order. :)

Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms Thomas Kincade Church In The Woods, Stampendous House Mouse
Ink: Tim Holtz Walnut Distress Ink, Black, Stampin Up! Soft Sky
Accessories: Stipple Brush, Brads, Photo Corners, Ribbon Bow, Mini Glue Dots, Koh-I-Noor Woodless Pencils, Prismacolor Marker Blender
Cardstock: Mauve Mist, Celery, Soft Sky, White, Close To Cocoa, Going Grey, Garden Green