'Cause I'm dreaming of you tonight...'till tomorrow, I'll be holding you tight...

Happy Monday, peeps! How was your weekend? Ours was fun, but busy, as always! I realized today that I hadn't shown you my Bellariffic Friday sketch card from last week, so here she is!


I used Daydreamabella for Nicky's sketch, stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Copic Markers. The image was cut and embossed with my Rectangle Nestabilities, and I added a scalloped mat of Prism Suede Brown Dark cardstock. The Happy Thoughts sentiment is from Billboardabella's Words, but I cut it apart to stamp it in one line instead of two.

I mounted the Prism Suede Brown card base layer to the kraft card base, then added a strip of Bo Bunny Coral Double Dot paper and a strip of Soft Sky cardstock. I stitched around all the edges to add a little "something" and of course had to add some Diamond Stickles as well. *grin* I hope you likey!

Good news...Emily has already posted next week's sketch, so you can check it out HERE. We'd love to have you play along.

Ok, I gotta run...my stamp room is a WRECK, and I need to clean before I can do anything else. Have a fabulous afternoon!

I don't know if I'm being wise, but it's something that I must believe in...and it's there when I look in your eyes...

Happy Sunday, everyone! I had a moment of quiet while doing laundry, and the boys are at a friend's house playing, so I thought I'd pop in and post a quick card.

I made this one a while back, but had hoped for it to get picked up for publication. I haven't heard back, so you guys win! *wink*

I fell madly in love with the Love in the Air set from Unity the second I saw it. I actually made this the day I got the set in the mail. There's nothing better than getting new stamps in the mail, and going straight in to ink them up!

This is a clean and simple card...super easy. I stamped the balloon in Memento Black ink and colored it with Copic markers. I then cropped the image, but cut around the balloon so it sticks up over the edge. Then I added the sentiment and a thicker black mat. For the background, I stamped the sentiment repeatedly on an angle in Versamark ink on Kraft cardstock. I love how this looks! A little red ribbon and Diamond Stickles finish it off.

Well, the dryer just buzzed, so I have to run...thanks for checking in on me today! Have a fabulous Sunday!

Then every head turned with eyes that dreamed of being the one...who will dance on the floor in the round...

Happy Friday, y'all! I don't know about you, but this has been a busy week. Whew! Today is the day of the newest release from Verve Stamps, and you won't want to miss this!

This is the card I posted on the Verve Blog for a Sneak Preview of a new set called Forever in Our Hearts. Check out the posts over there for chances to win the new sets as well!


Isn't that a gorgeous image? I wanted to try a different approach than normal, so I misted my watercolor paper with water first, then colored my image with Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke, and Real Red markers and stamped it on the wet paper. Once the paper was dry, I colored the image again and re-stamped a clearer image over the top of the softened one. This technique is an old favorite, and it worked perfectly for the look I was going for. I finished the card off with the large branch image and a sentiment from this set. I think this would be a great encouragement card in addition to a sympathy card...the beauty of Julee's wonderfully thoughtful stamps.

We'd love you to join us tonight in the Verve Forum for the Release Party. We'll start hanging out at 8 PM Central, and I'm sure there will be some prizes too! I'd love to see you there!

Have a wonderful day!

A......happy, happy birthday, and we are here to say...HEY!

Happy Thursday, everybody!! It's a special day, because it's Stamping Bella release day, and it's also Emily's Birthday! We're all celebrating by doing a little Birthday Blog Skip, Hop & Dance...and you're invited! If you've just happened upon my blog, you can CLICK HERE to start from the beginning at Bloggabella.

This is the birthday card I created in honor of Em. It's not her actual birthday card...that one is in the mail on its way to Canada! I used Cakeabella, Magical Day sentiment, and some aqua ribbon that looks like it's out of stock at the moment. Keep your eye out for it...it's my favorite!

So....what a birthday would be complete without presents? To spice things up a little, we have decided to hide a prize somewhere along the hop! One pre-selected blogger will draw a random winner from the comments on her post, and the winner will receive a $40 Gift Voucher to Stamping Bella!!! The fun part is...we're not telling you who it is! So as you hop, make sure you leave comments on every post so you have a chance to win!! We will announce the winner on Monday in the Splitcoast forum. MWAH!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Now it's time to hop on over to Amybella at Prairie Paper & Ink. Have a great day!

You get the best of both worlds...Chill it out, take it slow, then you rock out the show...

Happy Wednesday, y'all! It's an especially fun day because today is the day that the Sneak Previews start on the Verve Blog! Are you excited? I know we are...Julee has really created some fabulous stuff for you this month!

I was up a little late last night, and I was so excited to see the Sketch Challenge had been posted on Splitcoast in time for me to whip up a little something.

The set I chose today is called Kindred Spirits, and it will be released on Friday night in the Verve Store. I stamped the largest fleur de lis image in Tangerine Tango (stamped off once) on Classic Cream cardstock and then cut the panel out & embossed it with my Labels One Nestabilities die. I then added the sentiment in Versamagic Jumbo Java and sponged the edges with Close to Cocoa. I really wanted to add a small mat to the main panel, so I glued it down onto a scrap of Prism Suede Brown Dark and cut out a mat by hand. The edges are distressed to cover up any imperfections. *wink*

For my card base layer, I pulled out a piece of the Everafter collection from Cosmo Cricket. Love these colors!! I sponged the edges and then stitched it to a mat of Suede Brown Dark. I added the rectangles from another pattern in the same collection, matted with Suede Brown Dark again and stitched around the edges. The card really needed some ribbon by this point, so I wrapped a piece of 1" Satin May Arts ribbon (YUM!) around the base and tied it in a knot. The main image was popped up on dimensionals, and I finished the whole thing off with a few Light Cocoa pearl flatbacks from Stamping Bella. I hope you like it!

Well, that's about it for me for right now. I'll see you back here tomorrow for the Bella Birthday Blog Hop! Have a fabulous day!

Where is your light? I wanna see you, so you can make me smile...

Hey, y'all, I'm back again! Told you I was busy! *grin* We're about to head over to my mom's to swim, but I wanted to post my Jacksonbelle Embellishments Tuesday Challenge card before we left. This was a quick and easy sketch brought to us by Lynda. You can see the sketch HERE.

For this card, I used a funky print from the Basic Grey Porcelain 6x6 Pad, a cute little stamp from Inkadinkado, some yummy May Arts Satin ribbon, and my favorite...Basic Grey Bling swirlies. Cute little cards like this totally make me smile "all over my face", too!

Be sure to check out the blogs of all of the Jacksonbelle Rockstars for more sketchy inspiration!

AJ Otto

Jennifer Buck

Jill Dunn

Lindsey Botkin

Lynda Benden

Maren Benedict

Melissa Bove

Michelle Woerner

Kimberly O’Rosky

Heather Lee-Reppen

See y'all tomorrow! Have a wonderful day!

Just like the white winged dove sings a song that sounds like she's singin'...

Hey y'all! Happy Tuesday! I have been a busy bee for the last few days, sorry I went missing. But I'm back, and it's time for the very first Serendipity Stamps Design Team Challenge! This month, our challenge was a Garden theme. Hmmm...that's a tough one...I don't know if I have any "Garden" themed stamps...*wink*

I chose the English Rose stamp (yes again! I think I'm addicted...), and stamped it in Memento Tuxedo Black on Neenah Classic Cream cardstock. I decided to colored the image with Copic Markers...boy did that image pop out so easily! Then, using my Stampamajig, I placed the "And the Song" Longfellow quote alongside the roses...I was so happy it fit so perfectly! Once that was all finished, I cut and embossed my main image panel with the Deckled Rectangle Nestabilities, and sponged the edges heavily with my Close to Cocoa inkpad.

To create my card base, I cut a piece of Neenah Classic Cream cardstock to 5 1/4" x 10 1/2" and folded it in half to create a square card. I cut a 5" square panel of Prism Suede Brown Dark for the base panel, and added a panel of River Rock cardstock that I embossed with the Textile Embossing Folder and sponged with Old Olive and Close to Cocoa ink. Of course, I needed a little more color, so I added a strip of Prism Intense Pink cardstock and punched the edge with my Martha Stewart punch. As a finishing touch, I added some sparkly, sheer ribbon, tied in a bow.

Well, I hope you like seeing something a little different than my normal stuff...I love working with these stamps! What do you think?

If you're still with me (yay for you!) don't forget to check out all the fabulous creations from the other Serendipity DT members.

Amy
Anya
Jennifer
Kathie
Kelli
Lynda
Sue
Yvonne

Have a fabulous day!!

I'm dreaming of a white, pink polka dot Christmas....

Happy Friday, everybody! I hope you've had a fantastic week! I have enjoyed a little bit of "me time," but that ends today...the boys will be home and back to the normal stuff this afternoon. Fun, fun! It was nice while it lasted...*wink*

So since it's Friday, you know it's time for my Bellariffic Friday card! This week's sketch came from Paula, and I'm gonna get her for this one. Seriously...was it hard for anyone else??? EEK! I mulled it over in my brain for a few days (which usually does the trick), then stared at my stamps till the very last minute, and then came up with the idea to take little squares of different images. Not sure if it worked or not...you tell me...

I'm still not convinced. But it has pink & sparkles, so it at least makes me happy. *grin* The images are as follows: Maisy Sunshine (top left), Gardenia Greenthumb (top right), Wendy Papillon (bottom left), and Eloise Greengrass (bottom right). I colored them all with Copic Markers and added Fruit Punch Stickles to the flowers and butterflies. I punched the images out with a square punch and rubbed the edges along my Memento Tuxedo Black inkpad. Then I matted each square with Prism Iced Pink cardstock, and then matted all four onto a 3 1/4" square black panel. I thought the Kraft card base set the colors off nicely. I added a thin white strip across the middle and tied a sheer turquoise pinstripe ribbon around and in a bow. The main panel is popped up on dimensionals, and I added the Think Pink sentiment edged with a Copic Marker & matted in Black. The finished card measures 4" square...just perfect for these new 4 1/8" square envelopes in the Bella Store.

Well, hopefully you like my crazy and a little busy card...if not, you can always say you like the stamps! *giggle* To see what the Babes and the Sistahood did with this insane sketch, check out Emily's blog. Have a fabulous weekend!

Please wear the face, the one where you smile because you lighten up my heart when I start to cry...

Hey everybody, what's up? My boys are back tonight, so I just have a quick second, but I wanted to post these cards I made for the Clean and Simple Challenge and Color Challenge on Splitcoast this week.

I have been missing some of my older Verve sets lately, so I pulled Petals & Stems out for this one.
I cut a white square to 3 1/4" square and stamped the flowers in Baja Breeze and Ruby Red ink. I stamped the sentiment in Memento Tuxedo Black, and decided to add the flower centers in black also for a little extra pop. After rounding both bottom corners, I matted the image panel with black and popped it up on my Baja Breeze card base. The finished card measures 4 1/4" square. It was quick and easy, and I think the colors give it a nice, bright, happy feel.

I had so much fun making that one, that I decided to ink up Abundant Blessings and make another card!
This card was created the exact same way as the one above, except I decided to distress the edges of the white panel instead of rounding the corners. I also added Diamond Stickles to the flower centers. The sentiment is from Fluttering By.

Well, that's about it for this afternoon. Oh, by the way, if you haven't made a project for the Verve Project Parade yet, what are you waiting for? You have until Saturday, so get stamping! You can find all the details on the Verve Blog. Have a fabulous evening!

I could make you happy, make your dreams come true...nothing that I wouldn't do...

Hey peeps, what are y'all up to? I just have a quick second, so I thought I'd post a quick card I made last night while I was on a stamping spree.

I used Jen's Sketch for You to Try this week...kind of a toughie with the three panels, but I took the easy way out, using some of my favorite Bo Bunny Double Dot paper. Yes, AGAIN!

I stamped Suzette Ketto in Memento Tuxedo Black on Prism Simply Smooth White and colored her with Copic Markers. After trimming her down, I matted her with Suede Brown Dark cardstock, and cut out a card base layer from the same brown. I cut my strips from the Coral Double Dot paper, and decided to give them a white mat to pop off the brown base. Love it, although I wish I had taken time to stitch around the edges. Sadly the stamp cave is in desperate need of cleaning again, and I would have had to clean to get to the machine. So, no sewing today. *grin*

Before I popped the image up on dimensionals, I added the Thinking of You sentiment, and a button on top from the Pink Button Bonanza. Then I had to add my usual Diamond Stickles...they make everything just a little bit better, don't you think? *wink*

Well, I'm back to the stamp room...off to play in some of the Splitcoast Challenges. Don't forget the Bellariffic Friday sketch for this week...you can check it out here.

Have a wonderful night!

There's an awful lot of breathing room, but I can hardly move...

Hey, y'all! Long time no see! *grin* I have been busy getting the boys ready for day camp this week, and haven't had a stitch of stamping time. Now that they're off, I had a night to myself to hang out, watch whatever I wanted on TV, and stamp!

I had Amber's Viva la Verve Week 3 Sketch for June sitting out, so I thought I'd give it a shot. The twist this week was to use white space and no more than 2 colors of cardstock. Hmmm....


I went very literal with the "white space" interpretation...not sure if it works or not, but I do love the splash of coral polka dots. *wink* I inked up a sentiment from Dare to be You in Memento Tuxedo Black and cut it out with my Circle Nestabilities. After matting it in black, I set it aside to work on the rest of my card. The Solar White card base measures 4 1/4" square, and I pierced the corners with my paper piercer and mat pack. Then I cut a 3 1/4" square of white, added a teensy black mat, and adhered that to my card base. Then I added the scalloped Coral Polka dot piece (from Bo Bunny), and finally popped the circle sentiment panel up on dimensionals. Super easy!

Well, that's it for me right now...I'll be back with my Jacksonbelle Sketch card later today! Have an awesome Tuesday!

I'd build myself up and fly around in circles...waiting as my heart drops and my back begins to tingle...

Morning, Sistahs! It's not so much morning now...but it was when I started this! *grin* I am back from Austin and POOPED! We had a great time, and of course my favorite part was shopping at Archivers with Libby before I headed home yesterday. We left just a *few* things there for you, but not much. *wink* Hi Libby!!!!

So it's Bellariffic Friday again, and this week we had a sketch from Jenabella. It looked tough, but ended up being pretty easy.

I ended up being on sort of a limited supply challenge, as I had my image colored & die cut, but nothing else done. I grabbed a few things before I left and hoped for the best. Thank goodness, I think it worked out.

Yes, I know that's a lotta dotsssss, but I couldn't stop myself!!! I stamped Twinkle Fairy by Chichiboulie in Black Stazon on Hot Press watercolor paper and colored her with a waterbrush & reinkers. I used Soft Sky, So Saffron, Close to Cocoa, Pink Pirouette, and Rose Red. I cut her out with my Nestabilities Labels Four Die, and sponged the edges to soften them a little. I cut a 5" Chocolate Chip panel and pierced around the edges. Then I cut my Ocean Bo Bunny Double Dot paper down to 4.5" square and anhered it to the center of the Chocolate Chip Panel. Then I cut a strip of another Double Dot (Sorry, it's either Bashful or Wild Berry, I can't tell!) to go across the card. I adhered the image panel in the center, and then added a strip of Polka Dot Chocolate ribbon tied in a bow just to the left of the center. To finish off the card, I added three white buttons, and some Diamond Stickles to the image. Cause Twinkle Fairy has to Twinkle, right??

Well that's about it for me today. After leaving the boys and Josh home for three days, the house is a WRECK and there are no groceries. So much to be done! I shall see you later, friends.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the Bellariffic Friday eye candy on Em's Blog. Have a wonderful Friday!

Dancing through life, swaying and sweeping, and always keeping cool...

Happy Wednesday, y'all! How's your week going so far? I'm working hard here in Austin, but I left you a little eye candy while I'm gone. Aren't I the sweetest? *grin*

I have this quick little Bella card to show you today using an image I colored last week. Did I mention that I love having a stash of pre-colored images? I usually do it when I'm feeling my mojo slipping or when I need a break from stamping. So I pull up the coffee table, turn on some good TV, and color away! It's quite relaxing, and productive, too. You oughtta try it!

So anywho, I stamped Cakeabella in Black Stazon on Fabriano Cold Pressed watercolor paper, and colored her with a waterbrush & reinkers. After I trimmed the image down, sponged the edges, and matted it with Chocolate Chip cardstock, I took a peek at the Clean and Simple blog to find a layout that fit the size and shape of my image. I settled on Sketch 38, and after folding my Kraft card base, I cut a strip of Kiwi Kiss cardstock down, stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and sponged the edges with Close to Cocoa ink. After I adhered the strip down, I pierced a row on the top and bottom of the sentiment panel, then popped the image panel up on dimensionals. For the finishing touches, I added a white button and Diamond Stickles. Simple and easy!

Well, I'm off...thanks for coming by today! Don't forget to check out the latest Bellariffic Friday sketch...we'd love for you to play along! Have a great day!

Back when I was a child, before life removed all the innocence...my father would lift me high, and dance with my mother and me...

Hey y'all, what's up? It's Tuesday, and I'm headed to Austin, but I have a cool project to share with you today, and something scheduled for tomorrow, too! (Go me! *grin*) Today is my day on the Verve Blog for the Project Parade, so I thought I'd share that here as well.


When I was at Stamp Asylum last week, I stumbled upon this cool stuff called Sophisticated Finishes. It's a two-part process that involves painting a surface with a Metallic Surface finish (I used Copper), and then applying an Antiquing Solution (I used Patina Green) to areas to create a cool finish. Off to Hobby Lobby I went to look for something to antique! I happened upon this unfinished wood cube with inserts for photos, and it is on a little turntable so it spins. I thought it would be a perfect addition to my dad's desk.

After the antiquing process (which I have the urge to do on all non-moving objects at this point), I went to work on the inserts for the cube. They measure just over 3 1/4" square, so I cut some Classic Cream cardstock to size and then decorated them with my stamps. For the first square, I stamped the second generation image of the background from the Protector set in Distress Tea Dye ink. I repeated that image until the entire square was covered. Then I stamped Whimsy Tree in Distress Walnut Stain (stamped off once), and added the sentiment from Dare to Be You in Walnut Stain full strength.The edges were then sponged with Tea Dye and then Walnut Stain.

The next square was stamped with the "another name for love" stamp from World's Best. I then stamped the frame from Dad's Day in Tea Dye ink, and the sentiment in Walnut Stain, and finished by sponging the edges.

For the third square, I inked up the "DAD" image from Protector in Tea Dye, and then created a pattern from the strip of dots from Father Figure in second generation Tea Dye. The sentiment is also from Father Figure, and I stamped it in Walnut Stain before sponging the edges.

The last square is probably my favorite. I stamped the Dad image from Protector repeatedly in second generation Tea Dye to create a background. Then I added the sentiment (my favorite!!) from Dad's Day in Walnut Stain before sponging the edges.

Once I finished all four of the inserts, I glued some Natural Jute along the bottom of the box, along the trim. I also covered the top with the same jute, wrapped in a square pattern working from the edges to the inside.

All in all, a very manly, rustic gift that took me about an hour and cost less than $10 to create! I'm pretty proud, if I do say so myself. *wink*

Don't forget to check out the rest of the projects on the Verve Blog...the Divas are rockin' it so far!! Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Let's go surfin' now...everybody's learnin' how...come on and safari with me...

Happy Monday, y'all! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

I just have a quick boy card to share with you that I made last week...why is it that my stash is always so short on boy cards, even though I have two??? Anyone out there have the same problem?

I try to buy all the cool boy sets I can find, so when I saw the new Hangin' Loose with Kona set from Our Craft Lounge, I was all over it!! Turtles are always good, but SURFING TURTLES??? Heck yeah! My boys love love love this set, and it's a blast to color (for them and me!).

Kona and the sentiment were stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black on Neenah Solar White cardstock and cut with my Oval Nestabilities. Then I colored him with Copic Markers and added some White Liquid Applique to the waves for some foaming action (a great idea I borrowed from my genius friend Carole). The Soft Sky piece was cut with my Long Rectangle Nestabilities and embossed with the D'Vine Swirl Embossing Folder. Then I swiped my White Craft Pad over the raised edges for a nice background piece. After adhering it to my 5" square Kraft panel, I added a strip of Only Orange matted with Basic Black and used a zig-zag stitch along the edges. Some black brads, a black mat, and popping Kona up on dimensionals finished the card off. The finished dimensions of the card are 5 1/4" x 5 1/4".

Now, if you're wanting to have Kona for your very own, remember that he's exclusive to eclectic Paperie, so you can find him HERE. They have tons of other fabulous things that jump right into your cart (isn't it amazing how that works??) if you stay too long. *wink*

Well, that's about it for me today...thanks for coming to visit! Have a fabulous Monday!

It's the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance...It's the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance...

Good morning, everybody! How's your weekend going so far? Great, I hope! I've been catching up on some stamping and laundry (ugh) and enjoying my boys. They are really silly and fun these days, and they always keep me cracking up. So fun!

Well, I promised you something fun and different yesterday, and I aim to please! Lately I've been wanting to expand my style and work with more detailed images, but I really didn't know where to start. I had noticed some really fabulous horse images on my friend Lynda's blog, and after following the link, I found a fabulous new company called Serendipity Stamps. Holy cow! In a matter of minutes I had a wish list of over $300. YIKES! A few weeks later, I saw a call they had posted for a design team, so I threw my name in the hat. I was so excited to get an email from Mary, the owner, a little while later, saying that I had been selected to be a part of their team!

So today, my friends, I am sharing my very first Serendipity Stamps card with you! You ready?

Is this stamp not GORGEOUS??? It's called English Rose, and it called out to me immediately. I stamped it in Black Stazon on a Fabriano notecard and watercolored it with a waterbrush and reinkers. I wanted these to look like my favorite Tropicana rose, so I used Blush Blossom on the rose as a base color, and then Tangerine Tango as a shadow. You can let your layers dry and go back in with more color to make your shades more intense, which is something I love about watercoloring. I did a wash over the image with a light yellow-green (I think it's Adirondack Citrus), and then did shadows with Old Olive. Then I remembered that rose stems are usually brown, so I went back with Close to Cocoa ink on the stems.

To finish off my card, I stamped the swirly Thank You Sentiment stamp in the bottom left corner in Black Stazon. That stamp was only a BUCK! Yep, $1! SCORE! And Mary says the dollar stamp section is always changing, so keep your eye on it. *grin*

And speaking of score, Mary is running a FREE SHIPPING special until June 10th. (my favorite kind...y'all know how I hate paying for shipping) Here's the blurb from the newsletter:

Free shipping on orders over $35!

Applies to U.S orders of any product.

Applies to Canadian orders of only unmounted stamps.

Overseas orders will receive a $5 shipping refund.

Non-US orders will receive an email notifying of shipping differences.

Shipping Special Ends June 10th

So just in case you were feeling enabled, I thought I'd share! *grin*

And in case you're still reading, make sure you check out the rest of my fabulous teammates...talk about amazing!

• Amy Cokley
• Jennifer Woodward
• Kathie Bailey
• Kelli Richardson
• Sue Eldred
• Yvonne Hagane
• Anya Schrier

So, what do you think? Do you likey? I hope so! You'll be seeing more in the future...fun stuff like horses, barns, and more flowers! Oh, and quote stamps...y'all I am in love! *happy sigh*

Have a great Sunday...see ya tomorrow for some Our Craft Lounge goodness!

Love, you're all I ever could need...only one good thing worth trying to be, and it's love...

Hey, y'all! Happy Saturday! I'm sitting here enjoying the quiet since my boys are with their "granny" going to see a movie. I'm about to head to Stamp Asylum for my Copic Class, but I thought I'd squeeze in a little stamp time first. *grin*

I decided to use this week's Mojo Monday sketch to get me going...what a great one! And I tell you, it's a lot quicker now that I'm building my stash of pre-colored images. You gotta try it!

I stamped Veggiebella in Black Stazon on Fabriano Hot Press Watercolor paper and colored her with a waterbrush & reinkers. For the teensy tiny areas, I used a blender pen...much easier! The image was cut and embossed with my Rectangle Nestabilities, then matted with Prism Suede Brown Dark and a Kraft Scalloped Rectangle. I found this Jillibean Soup paper (Thin Zucchini from the Minestrone collection) that complimented my image quite nicely, so I mounted that onto a 5" square of Apricot Appeal sponged with Tangerine Tango. (Apparently all of my card today was based on food?? Weird!) After matting that with more Suede Brown Dark, I added a strip of the same across the card where the two papers came together, and then wrapped some New Leaf Stitched ribbon around it. I finished off the card with some Jillibean Soup Bean Seeds (felt flowers), held together with an antique brass brad. My finished card measures 5 1/4" square.

Well, folks, it's about time for me to get ready and hit the road, so I'm gonna say 'bye for now! Stay tuned...I have some fun stuff for you tomorrow that is a break from my "usual"...I think you will love it!

Have a fabulous Saturday!

Pullin' like a magnet and she don't turn loose...sure enough powerful stuff...

Mornin' sistah-friends! It's Friday...YAY!!! Yesterday was the last day of school...how did my boys get so big so fast? It's insane, really.

So this week's Bellariffic Friday challenge was another sketch...this time issued by Karenabella.

This was an easy one...thank you, sistah!!!! Here's my card:

Last night I sat and watched So You Think You Can Dance and pre-colored a bunch of images. Stella with an Olive on Top happened to be one of them, so I pulled her out to use for this week's sketch. She was stamped in Black Stazon ink on Fabriano Hot Press Watercolor Paper. I like to use it sometimes...it's so smooth and yummy....love it! Anyway, then I watercolored her with a waterbrush & reinkers.

After she was all colored, I added Diamond Glaze to her lips & shoes, and Diamond Stickles to her wand and tiara. Then I set her aside to dry. I took my Kraft base layer and added a strip of Basic Grey Sultry paper with a scalloped Chocolate layer. I matted the whole Kraft layer with Chocolate Chip, then mounted it to my Prism Iced Pink card base.

Once Stella was dry, I matted her with Chocolate Chip and Prism Intense Pink and mounted her to my card. I stamped the Bottom's Up! sentiment in Black Stazon on a scrap of the Hot Press watercolor paper so it would match my image. I added two layers of Prima Flowers (one was light pink, so I dyed it with my Rose Red ink pad), and then a large Strawberry Parfait dot in the center. As a final touch, I adhered three small Strawberry Parfait dots to the right of the image. I love these dots, because I am forever thinking, "MAN! I should have added a brad there!" after my card was assembled. Now I can just glue on a dot at the last minute and not worry about "brad butts." *grin*

Well, that's about it for me today, folks! Don't forget to check out Emily's blog for more eye candy using this week's sketch. And have a fabulous day!!

But a room is not a house, and a house is not a home, when the two of us are far apart...

Hey y'all, it's me again! Yeah, I know, 2 posts in one day! This is a quick one, I just wanted to share a project with you that I created for my LSS, The Crafty Scrapper, to display at their booth at the Great American Scrapbook Convention this weekend. I was dying to get my hands on the new Cosmo Cricket Early Bird collection, and Sherri was a doll and let me play!

She gave me a little Bungalow house from Maya Road to decorate, and I immediately wanted to create some "shingles" with paper. ETA: You can click on any of the pictures for extra-jumbo views. *wink*
After painting the house in Antique White acrylic paint, I covered the sides with the Farmer's Market and Ribbon Sandwich patterns, swiping the edges of each paper with my foam brush before adhering it to the house. Then I cut little 1" squares out of all the patterns and adhered the tops of them to the roof in a brick laid pattern. Once they were all adhered, I curled the edges up with my fingers to "fluff" the shingles and give them some movement.

I painted the door and window chipboard shapes included in the kit, and adhered them to the house. For the doorknob, I used a dark Cappuccino Bauble from Stamping Bella, and one of the Ready, Set, Chipboard shapes from the Cosmo collection.

To create the grass, I cut a 1" strip of Prism Frosted Kiwi cardstock to fit the width of the sides and front, and then created the grass-like texture with fine-point scissors. Then I sponged it with Old Olive ink for a little more depth and texture.

Here is a detail shot of the window:

I created a "backing" out of Ivory cardstock for the window so the pattern wouldn't show through, and then created the curtains out of white lace colored with my Copic E37 Marker. I tied them back with brown twine and added a button for a fun little detail.

Anywho, I wanted to share this...I'm pretty proud of how it turned out, and hope everyone loves it at the show! I hope you like it too. *grin*

Have a great afternoon!

And a halo of patience and a less sporadic pace, and I'm learning to be brave in my beautiful mistakes...

Good morning, everyone! I hope your week is going great. Mine is craaaazy! It's the last week of school, and the kiddos get out early the next two days, and I just found out that Caleb has a piano recital on Friday. ACK! The whirlwind won't be over any time soon...it's off to Austin next week for work. Fun stuff! (Libby...wanna meet at Archivers???) Speaking of, here's a quick pic of me and my girl Libby at the N Texas Shoebox Swap on Saturday.

After emailing back and forth, it was so nice to finally meet her! Thanks for letting me swipe your pic, Libby! MWAH!

After all the crafty craziness of last week, my stamp room was more of a wreck than normal...I could barely get in. So I spent a while tonight cleaning, and then rewarded myself with a little stamp time. There's nothing better! I already had this image of Lilly Loveaboo stamped and watercolored, so I put this little card together fairly quickly.

Isn't she adorable? I stamped her in Stazon on Watercolor paper and colored her with reinkers and a water brush. I cut and embossed the image with my Deckled Rectangle Nestabilities, and matted her with Chocolate Chip. The Kraft panel was sponged with Close to Cocoa ink (as was the main image), and distressed with the edge of my bone folder. I love doing this because it kind of "curls" the edges instead of actually tearing them, and gives it a super cool look. I tied a quick little bow with yummalish Polka Dot Baby Girl ribbon and adhered it to a base of Prism Frosted Pink. Super girly and fun!

Before I go, I want to remind you about the Bellariffic Friday challenge this week...a sketch from Babe Karen Motz. You can find out all the details and how to play HERE. I hope you'll join us!

Thanks for stopping by to see me, and have a fabulous day!

On the waves of the air, there is dancin out there...

Happy Tuesday, y'all! It's time for another Jacksonbelle Tuesday Challenge, and this week we have a sketch for ya! I love this one, and actually didn't butcher it. *grin* Here it is:

And here's my card:

I started out with my Life in Colors paper from Prima, and added some Basic Grey Bling and some White and Brown Prima flowers. To finish it off, I added some brown Dew Drops to the flower centers. The stamp set is Sweet on You from Verve.

To see all the other fabulous creations with this sketch, check out the following links:

Jacksonbelle Blog
AJ Otto
Jennifer Buck
Jill Dunn
Lindsey Botkin
Lynda Benden
Maren Benedict
Melissa Bove
Michelle Worner
Kimberly O’Rosky
Heather Lee-Reppen

Have a wonderful day!!

Oh turnin' corners is only a state of mind...Keeping your eyes closed is worse than being blind...

Top of the mornin' to ya, everyone! I hope you had a wonderful weekend and are ready (like me) to send the kiddos back to school for one last week! *grin* I had a blast at the North Texas Shoebox Swap...had a great group of girls to stamp with and made 48 cards...holy cow, we were pooped! My house was a disaster, so I spent most of today cleaning, and had a momentous event occur. Are you guys ready? I have waited NINE WHOLE YEARS for this day, and was so happy when it happened that I almost cried. Look:

Can you believe it??? Caleb not ONLY cleaned his room, but I taught him how to vacuum. It's a proud, proud day. *happy sigh*

Anywho, to celebrate the occasion, I decided to stamp a little card. It started out as a card for today's Clean and Simple Challenge, but as you can see, it's not quite simple. 5 layers usually disqualify that. *giggle*

But even though it's not simple, it's clean, and I sure do love it. How about you? When I saw this beach towel from Land's End, the repeated pattern reminded me of my Damask Designs set, which sadly hadn't seen ink yet. My girl Dawn designed it, and I love love love it! Looking through my sketches, I thought Mary Jo's Weekend Sketch Challenge #82 was perfect for what I had in mind.

Since I was attempting the CAS challenge still at this point, I chose Prism Intense Pink and intended to use some kind of turquoise with black. Once I got going, I just couldn't work in the turquoise, so pink, white, and black it is! I stamped the more frilly damask pattern in Rose Red on Neenah Classic Crest Solar White and rounded the corners. The sentiment is from Mega Mixed Messages, and I used Nichole's cool button treatment (that I can't find right now) to finish it off. *wink*

Anywho, that's about it! I'm off to work, so I hope you have a fabulous day!