You Look Marvelous!

More stamps-offs from my Group Gathering a couple weeks ago. I love these stamps! They are from Stampin' Up!, I believe. I colored her with Copic markers. I cut the conversation bubble out and mounted on foam squares. The inside of the card says, "And on my birthday, you must say I look marvelous!"


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Four Cards - Same Stamps

 I borrowed Andrea's set from Gina K called Petals and Wings while I was at our Group Gathering. This set is very cool, and I loved these little birds. (You can find it on this page.) I made four cards with it, paper piecing the birds each time and finishing the cards differently. I hope you enjoy them:) The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

I got our house mostly back in order. I still haven't done any stamping for a whole week! I do have enough cards done to last almost a month, though:) I had a great streak for a while. I'll keep sharing them. Have a great weekend!


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Repeat Impressions WHAT IF? Wednesday

This week's challenge from Repeat Impressions is a WHAT IF? Wednesday sketch. The sketch that Wendy has challenged you with today is the one above. We ask you to make a card or project using this sketch, upload to your blog or an on-line gallery, and then link it up to the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built. One random winner for the month will receive a $25 gift certificate! You can find all the details on the blog, also. You will find the creations by the Rock Stars there, too. Or, you can follow these links to their blogs:

 Cheri ~ Dawn ~Joy ~ Karen ~ Kecia ~ Maki ~ Patti

For my card, I started with a pretty Single Rose, found on this page. I colored it with Copic markers and added Diamond Glaze to it. I also added a doodled border. I matted with Nestability-cut circles and added dots to the scallops. The rose panel is mounted on foam squares. The card base is ivory and the patterned paper is from The Paper Studio. I'll add a sentiment when it's time to mail it out.

You still have nearly a week to add a card to last week's Designer's Choice Challenge, "Head for the Beach." The prize for the Designer's Choice Challenge is a full sheet of unmounted rubber of your choice.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Another Sympathy Card

Another simple sympathy card to share today. I have lots of cards to share. I actually do like them all, but there is nothing exciting!


I stamped the leaves when I was in Des Moines. I only inked up the stamp once, and then stamped it three times. I used Versamagic ink and I don't know what company the stamp is from. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink. I mounted on Always Artichoke cardstock from Stampin' Up! and I scored some decorative lines on the right with my Scor-Pal.


We get our new carpet this afternoon. Then we have the huge job of putting everything back! We should actually do some painting while the room is empty. The family room could use a fresh coat of paint, but the computer room is fine.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Humor

 I stamped these images while at my Group Gathering, also. Not sure what they'd be used for, but I did find humor in them:)

I colored each of them with Copic markers. The matting paper is from Recollections. Edited to add: the stamps are from a Gina K set.

My stamping area is all packed up at the moment. We are getting new carpet in the family room and my stamping area, and also our computer room/den, on Tuesday. What a mess our house is right now! We're thinking of selling and moving into a town home. Not having much luck finding one we like, though.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

"Christmas Sunday"

Here is the Christmas card I made this week. I'm submitting it to the Christmas Card Challenge blog. There is a theme, but the main point is to make a Christmas card. (Edited to add: the theme this week is to use rolled paper flowers.)


I believe this stamp is by Northwoods - I stamped it while at my Group Gathering. This card is a case of my friend, Georgia. I was finally putting away my Christmas cards and found the one she sent me last year. I already had the stamped image out, so I decided to add glitter all over the image, like Georgia did. I first colored the image with Copic markers. I ran it through my Xyron, then added ultrafine glitter to the entire panel. I matted with red, and mounted it on a white cardbase which I embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Happy Day Flowers

Another stamp-off from my stamping group gathering.


The stamps are both from Gina K. I cut the edge with a rotary-edged paper cutter at Archiver's. The matting is from Papertrey, I think. The patterned paper is from Die Cuts With a View. I colored the image with Tombow markers. I added some sparkly stickers for the flower centers and added a bow that has been tied and laying around my stamping area for years! 


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

The Sky's the Limit

I stamped these images and sentiments while I was with friends. Sorry, I don't know who they are by. (I can find out, if anyone wants to know.) I paper-pieced the balloons and stamped the sentiments underneath. I thought they would make wonderful graduation cards, or possibly starting-a-new-job card. The balloon layer is simply adhered to the card base.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

White on White Butterfly Birthday

I love the look of white on white. Here is a quick card using it.


The butterfly stamp is from Recollections. I inked it up with a Tim Holtz Distress marker (I got a package of five of them at Michael's last week with my 50% off coupon.) This is the second stamping of it. You'll be seeing the first stamping on another card at a later date. The sentiment is a Papertrey Ink stamp inked up with the same marker. I used my Martha Stewart scoring board to add the decorative scoring. For the finishing touch, I rounded the corners with a Fiskars punch.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Repeat Impressions Designer's Choice Challenge - Head for the Beach!

Today, being Wednesday, starts a new challenge from Repeat Impressions. This week it's a Designer's Choice Challenge, and the "chooser" is Cheri. Cheri has chosen the theme "Head For the Beach!" (For some reason, I was thinking "hit the beach," hence the sentiment on my card!) The Rock Stars have all created a card for this theme, and we invite you to play along. One lucky winner will win their choice of a full sheet of unmounted rubber - an awesome prize! Simply make a card with this theme, upload to your blog or on-line gallery, and link your post or photo up to the Repeat Impressions blog. For all the details and the design team's creations, go to the RI blog, The House That Stamps Built. You can also follow these links for inspiration from the Rock Stars:

Cheri ~ Dawn ~Joy ~ Karen ~ Kecia ~ Maki ~ Patti

My card features the Sand Castle stamp, found on this page. I colored it lightly with Copic markers and added a little shimmer with a Spica glitter pen. (Repeat Impressions has these pens available on their website, here.) My card base is Papertrey Ink's kraft cardstock and I matted with some Stampin' Up! cardstock (Soft Suede) and then mounted on Pop Dots. I hand wrote the sentiment - to match the theme, or so I was thinking. :) We'd love to have you join us!

You also have nearly a week to participate in the current WHAT IF? Wednesday challenge for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate from Repeat Impressions. You can find the sketch and the information on this post.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Four Very Similar Cards

 Here are four cards I pretty much made in Des Moines last week. The flower stamp is from Stampin' Up! I believe. I colored the stamp with markers before stamping. The sentiments (two different ones) are from Papertrey Ink. After getting the stamped images home, I just embossed them with various folders and matted with coordinating cardstocks. I have made a lot of cards lately. I'll be sharing them with you over the next month.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Repeat Impressions Stamp of the Week - Happy Summer

Repeat Impressions' new Stamp of the Week is Happy Summer. You can find it on this page .It's available for this week only (through Sunday evening) for 50% off. Please visit the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built, for all the details and the Rock Stars' creations. Or follow these links:

Dawn ~Joy

I used the watermelon stamp, available on the same page. I colored with Copics. The butterfly and the edge punch are by Martha Stewart. The paper is from Die Cuts With a View. I also used my Scor-Pal to score some decorative lines.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Father's Day

Here is the Father's Day card I made for my husband. (No Christmas card today - didn't get any made this week.) The inside says, "Recliner, Remote, TV tray...there's a 'nap' for that."


I stamped this while I was in Des Moines. Thanks, Andrea! I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils and Goo Gone. I had stamped it at a bad angle, so I had to cut him out. I mounted him on foam squares. I put him on ovals cut with Nestabilities. The background was embossed with a Sizzix folder. I sponged some navy ink on both white layers.


Edited to add: The stamps are by Art Impressions. Their website is here.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Group Gathering 2012

I thought I'd share a few pictures of our Group Gathering. Six years ago I joined a Yahoo! group - a small, friendly group. We started meeting annually five years ago. What an awesome time we have - so much eating and laughing and stamping! Then Harriet, from California, comes home with me and stays for a couple more days. I took her to the airport yesterday. So, it's over for another year. We've already got our rooms reserved for next June, though!


The picture above was taken at Biaggi's in West Des Moines. It was our last meal together. The group, from left to right: Me, Sheri, Georgia, Joyce, Vicki, Joanne and Harriet. Andrea had already left to catch her plane and wasn't able to join us.

Joanne, Joyce, Andrea, Harriet, me, Vicki, Georgia and Sheri. We hail from California, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota.

Hard at work in Archiver's. (Georgia, Joyce and Joanne.)

OK. One of me:)


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Card Parts - For You

This lacy oval was in my "Card Parts" box. It was given to me by a friend in our stamping group a couple years ago. She had stamped it and cut it out. Thanks, Annie! You'll eventually be seeing more parts from Annie, too. She is very generous. :)


I thought the style of the stamps I used matched the style of the oval, since they both have "stitching." The stamps are from a set from Stampin' Up! called "For You." I colored with markers and added a brad to the flower center. The oval is mounted on Pop Dots. The bottom panel is embossed with a Swiss Dots folder. Before embossing, I stamped the sentiment.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

One-Layer Wednesday - On the Edge

I made this card for Susan's One-Layer Wednesday. The challenge this week is to stamp on the edge, but don't go over.


I used a stamp by Magenta, borrowed from my friend Harriet who is spending a couple days with me after our return from Des Moines and our Group Gathering with friends. I colored the stamp with Tombow markers, using the "thumping" technique on the flowers. The sentiment is also from Harriet. She got two of them from Papertrey Ink and gave me her extra. How lucky am I!


We had such a WONDERFUL time in Des Moines. It was filled with laughing and stamping and laughing and eating and laughing. Did I mention we laughed a lot? :) Can't wait for next year.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Repeat Impressions WHAT IF? Wednesday

Today starts a new WHAT IF? Wednesday challenge from Repeat Impressions. Wendy gives a sketch to us and challenges us (and you!) to come up with a card. You can find the sketch and all the details on the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built. You will also find the cards made by the Rock Stars. Or you can follow these links to their blogs:

Cheri ~ Dawn ~Joy ~ Karen ~ Kecia ~ Maki ~ Patti

For my card, I made a mask and sponged the color on the card front. I used a couple Tim Holtz Distress Ink pads. I stamped the butterfly on the card front, and also on a piece of scrap cardstock, cut it out, and popped it up. The strip across the bottom was a tiny scrap. The sentiment is from the new "Big Boys Toys" release, found on this page. I added a couple flowers with pearl centers, and also the same pearls to the bottoms of the triangles. We'd love to have you join us!

You also have almost another week to participate in the Designer's Choice Challenge. The challenge is to use two images and one sentiment. You can find that challenge here.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

One Image - Two Different Cards

I used the same image stamp for these two cards. In fact, I only inked it up once. It's from a set by 2RedBananas (no longer in business.) I inked it with Stampin' Up!'s Soft Suede ink. Then I colored the leaves with an Always Artichoke marker and the flowers with a black marker. The first card shown here is the second stamping. I added the sentiment (from Papertrey Ink) in Soft Suede and matted with pink and mounted on Pop Dots. The Creamy Caramel piece was embossed with a Quickutz folder. I also added small gems to each flower.

This was the first stamping. I colored the flowers with a Melon Mambo marker. The sentiment is from a Stampin' Up! set. I stamped it with Soft Suede. I matted with Soft Suede and mounted on Pop Dots. The strip across the background is Soft Suede, also.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Enjoy Today

This is another "card part" that I did last year at our Group Gathering. I stamped the frame and punched it out. Both are from Stampin' Up! I believe.


I lightly colored the flowers and leaves with Prismacolor pencils and a blending pencil. The sentiment is a little free stamp I got with a Verve order a while ago. I mounted the frame on Pop Dots. The patterned paper is from Recollections and is matted with black.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

"Christmas Sunday"

I stamped the holly image three times across the cardstock, cut it out, colored it with Copics and matted with red. I added red Sparkles (like Stickles, but a different brand) for the berries. The sentiment is from a Technique Tuesday set.


I am linking this up to the Christmas Card Challenge blog. The optional challenge this week is to use woodgrain. 


Note for Ruthie who left me a comment yesterday on this card: Thanks for the comment. That embossing folder set is retired. It's called Winter Borders. Here is a link to what it looks like. Here are a few links to places that have them. I am not endorsing any of them, but helping out a bit. Here, here and here. Sorry I couldn't write to you personally, but I didn't have your contact information.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Birthday Bird

Last year at our Group Gathering, I punched a bunch of these birds and branches, and I don't think I had used any of them yet. It was about time, as we are "gathering" again TOMORROW! (We'll be at the Archivers in West Des Moines all day on Monday and all morning on Tuesday, if you want to stop in and say hello. :) )


I sponged some navy ink around the edges of the bird pieces. I had cut the oval out last year, also. I added a tiny brown pearl for the bird's eye. The patterned paper is from a stack from The Paper Studio, matted with navy. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink. The card base is ivory. The punch is from Stampin' Up! (Edited to add: The card base and bird are ivory, not white.)


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Embossed Sympathy

Another sympathy card for my card sale - a very simple one. I embossed this panel with a Cuttlebug folder and sponged some True Thyme ink over the embossing. I did this for yesterday's card, but liked that one better without this layer. So, it was a "card part" sitting on my desk. I stamped the sentiment (from Papertrey Ink) with True Thyme and sponged a little more ink around the edges. I matted both pieces with black, and mounted the sentiment on Pop Dots.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Sponged and Stamped Sympathy

A simple sympathy card to share with you today. Luckily I have no need of it at this time. A friend (who buys some of my cards) said that she has people interested in buying some of my cards. Very cool! I am bringing them to her house in just over a week to try to sell some. I thought I should maybe have some sympathy cards to bring with me. I really need more variety, too, as I mostly make birthday and anniversary. Not enough time, though!


I sponged the  blue and the green (Buckaroo Blue and True Thyme from Stampin' Up!) onto the white cardstock, then stamped the image (from Inkadinkado) and the sentiment (from Kaisercraft). I matted with Buckaroo Blue and then a larger piece of black.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Repeat Impressions Designer's Choice Challenge - Joy

Today's Designer's Choice Challenge from Repeat Impressions was chosen by Joy. Her challenge is to use two images and one sentiment. Another fun challenge! You can find the details and the creations by the Rock Stars on the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built. One random winner will win a full sheet of unmounted rubber of their choice! Won't you join us and have some fun? You can also follow these links to the Rock Stars' blogs:

Cheri ~ Dawn ~Joy ~ Karen ~ Maki ~ Patti

For my card, I used two of the tiny bird images. (You can find them both on this page.) I colored them with Copics and punched them with a Martha Stewart punch. I mounted them on rounded-corner squares cut with a die from Papertrey Ink and matted them with black. I mounted the entire panel on Pop Dots. The sentiment is part of a stamp found on this page. I matted that with black also and mounted on Pop Dots. The background paper is from a matstack from Recollections.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

"Beautiful Days"

I have another card to share with you today using stamps from Repeat Impressions' new release. Have I  mentioned how much I love these stamps? :) (You can find them all here.)

I stamped my image with Versafine Black Onyx ink and colored with Stampin' Up! markers. I added some Prismacolor pencil to the centers of the flowers. I also added Stickles to the bee's wings. I matted with black - the sentiment, also. The sentiment panel is mounted on Pop Dots. The background paper (love those little dots!) is from Recollections.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Repeat Impressions Stamp of the Week - Iris Window

This week's Stamp of the Week from Repeat Impressions is Iris Window. You can find it on this page. (Just scroll down a bit.) It's available for this week only - through Sunday evening - for 50% off. You will find everything you need to know to get this stamp on the Repeat Impressions blog, The House That Stamps Built. You'll also find the wonderful cards by the Rock Stars there, too. Or, you can follow these links to their blogs:

Cheri ~ Dawn ~Joy ~ Patti

I stamped the Iris Window on a piece of scrap cardstock and colored it with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. Then I glued it on the card front. The purple top layer is Pale Plum from Stampin' Up! I stamped the sentiment (from Repeat Impressions, of course) on  it and embossed it with a Sizzix folder. It's mounted on Pop Dots.

Check out the WHAT IF? Wednesday challenge and the Designer's Choice Challenge on the Repeat Impressions blog, too. There are chances to win great prizes! We'd love to have you join in the fun! Just make your cards, upload them, and link them up.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

"Christmas Sunday"

Last Sunday's SplitCoastStampers Featured Stamper was Susan Bridgman. I really wanted to participate because Susan's gallery is wonderful and she is always so great about leaving comments. Congrats, Susan! The card I chose is case is this one. 

The embossing folder is from Cuttlebug. I did the embossing and cut out the center. I matted with gold and added the sentiment (from Echo Park), embossed with gold. The ornament is from a Recollections set and I embossed with gold, stamped again on red, embossed, cut out the ornament, and added it to the card base. The dry embossed panel is mounted on pop dots. I wish I could have gotten a better picture so the gold was more shiny, but alas, no such luck.


I'm also linking this card to the Christmas Card Challenge. The challenge this week (which I obviously didn't do, and which is fine) is to only use a sentiment.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Send a Smile 4 Kids - Guest Designer!

I was asked to be a guest designer for Send a Smile 4 Kids - very cool! (Thanks, Karen!) The challenge this week is Bright Colors for Kids. It's sponsored by Little Miss Muffet and Prairie Fairy. There are some great prizes up for grabs, so check out the SAS4K blog for details.


For my card, I used images from Prairie Fairy. (There were three that I combined into one picture.) I colored the images with Copic markers. I rounded the upper corners and matted with black. The patterned paper background is from a Die Cuts With a View matstack. I rounded the upper corners on that, too, and matted that with black. The image panel is mounted on Pop Dots.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

June Calendar Page

Here is my June calendar page for this year. The dandelion stamp and the Happy Summer stamp are both from Repeat Impressions. The cute little bee is from a Studio G set. I added Stickles to the dandelions and also the bee's wings.


If you are interested in making your own calendars, you can find the links to my Excel and Open Office files at the top of my blog. I'd love to hear from you if you find them useful!


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!