I did WHAT?!

I actually STAMPED today. Whoa....

I have always felt that you never really lose your passions in life, sometimes you just let them recede into the background while you focus on what needs your most immidiate attention. And for me, now that I have delt with what needed to be mended (i.e.... me)... it is time to stirr up the passions again.

Before you can look at what I made, I want you to join me in a little spurt of brilliance by Albert Schweitzer...

"In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit."

And now for the pretty stuff.... yup, back with Stampendous again. Cute little birthday bees this time.. ;)

Thanks for stoppin in to see me again! Long time no see!! :)

Just a random card...or two...

I felt like making a couple cards the other day, so now you all have to look at them...bwahahaha. If you will excuse me, I need to go hunt down a Milo and Otis dvd and end a little crisis we have brewing...

Paper Craft Planet 100 Members Freebie...

**Note: Thank you all for making the Whimsie Doodles group so successful, now that we have surpassed 100 members, the image is no longer available as a freebie, BUT it is available for purchase on the website. Just head on over {HERE} to snag your adorable snowmen! OH and just wait, there will be another fun freebie for members when we get to 200**

Melyssa, illustrator and owner of Whimsie Doodles, is so excited to reach 100 members in the Paper Craft Planet Whimsie Doodles group that she decided to offer a special freebie to celebrate!! Isnt that awesome?!

You are registered at Paper Craft Planet, right? Okay good, I thought so...Make sure you also join the Whimsie Doodles group to play along with our weekly wednesday challenges and to find the surprise freebies now and again.

So no more delay, the 100 members freebie is called Snow Friend. Awww, isnt it the cutest?!

Dont forget to stop by the Whimsie Doodles blog for more information, sneek peeks of upcoming releases and a ton of fun!

Supplies for card:

Papers - Best Occasions cardstocks, MME Wonderful Winter DP

Glittered brads - Imaginisce

Fiber - basic grey

Image - Whimsie Doodles

Cupcakes and Edward...

Happy Sunday everyone! Time for another challenge brought to you by Hope Stamps Eternal!

This weeks cupcake inspiration went a little off track for me...on purpose. I really wanted to use my new Edward stamp from the Greeting Farm. Isnt he cute? I even made him sparkle...bwahaha. Then I realized I actually HAVE a stamp that says *you sparkle*, its an older clear stamp from studio g, from that line with the fairies and unicorn in it, if that helps any.

Well, now that you have visited me, be sure to hop on over to the rest of the HSE Sweeties blogs and see what they have been up to:

Bonnie ~ Carolina ~ Colleen ~ Jessica (taking the week off) ~

Michelle (taking the week off) ~ Natalie

and we have a new Sweetie permanently joining the group:
Teresa

Hop Hop Hop Hop....

Yippee! It is Blog Hop Day for Hope Stamps Eternal! (If you didnt arrive at my blog from Carolina*s blog then GO HERE and get the master list of blogs to hop and see where to start! You wont want to miss out, trust me!!)



So...details first, then fun...Deal? Okay, so this is a super special blog hop, because not only is it Halloween inspired, but there is a super secret code word hidden among the HSE Sweeties blogs. One letter will be highlighted on each blog, Make sure you write down all of the hidden letters from the blogs. Once you get all of those letters writteen down you will have the discount code to recieve 25% off at the Hope Stamps Eternal online store! The promo lasts from the 24th thru the 27th. How neat is that?! (Make sure when you fill in the code it is in ALL CAPS so that the system recognizes it.)



BUT that is NOT where it ends! Make sure you leave a comment on each of the blogs in the blog hop because one of us is hosting the secret Blog Candy! BUT you wont know until the winner is chosen from the comments! The prize will be supplied by Hope Stamps Eternal, and it will be awesome! (At the end of the blog hop you will land back at the HSE blog to be reminded of what the awesome prize is.) And dont forget to read all the way through my blog post, I know, sneaky huh? You dont want to miss the hidden letter, or the link to the next blog in the hop!

I dont even know where to begin with this card, I jammed so much into one little project...lol. First of all, there is the new Inkadinkado Halloween inspired tree...which I stamped over my harvest moon background. For the background I just layed down a circle mask and sponged distress ink all over the paper. I stamped the tree after removing the mask.

My shocked little boy is one of the older Basic Grey Gamma stamps, too cute to pass up! And he is even cuter standing behind the picket fence, that is a Martha Stewart punch by the way, I love it! Can you believe I almost didnt buy it? I have used it almost as much as my scallop border punch.

The papers on the card are Basic Grey (Eerie) and the plaid is an old DCWV pattern that just happened to look aswesome with the Basic Grey. I love mixing old patterns with new, it really freshens up my old papers and helps me use them before they get ruined under all the dust...lol.

Well, thats it for me kids, make sure you HOP on over and see what Colleen has going on at her blog to continue the fun!!

My Entry for the Sweet Stop Saturdays sketch 22

Heres my entry for the Sweet Stop sketch challenge, SSS22. This challenge was to follow their sketch AND use the colors Red Black and Tan....YUM!! I had just the stamp in mind for this! I snagged this awesome Penny Black stamp set off of etsy a few weeks ago, I have a favorite seller on etsy, I get almost all of my stamps from her because her prices are regularly 50% cheaper than I could get them if I walked into Michaels. So etsy it is...lol. Anyway here is HER SHOP.

And onto the sketch and my card:

Birds...meet Stone.

Okay here are the birds I am killing with this stone...my sketchy thursdays entry, my new baby announcement sample for my sister, and posting my cute story for the day. Got it? Okay, then lets get to it...

First off...my sketch entry. Have you been to Sketchy Thursdays by Diana yet? This is my second week participating. And I am still enjoying it!

Here is the sketch for this week:

And I actually chose to make a card from the sketch...mainly because I need to whip up a few more samples for my sister. I offered to make her baby announcements for her. And to do that I need to make some samples to show her an idea of what I can make for her, and to show her that really, it can be whatever she wants. She is not really a crafter, and I dont want to show her one thing, ask her opinion and then have her feel stuck with what she is getting. I want her to really understand that these are going to be totally custom announcements. I think that will make it more special. Because really, this is her first baby, it is very special.

So without further delay, my card.

My card is a combination for the stamps. The large image is House Mouse by Stampabilities, and the small stamps in the circles are all studio g. The pattern paper is cosmo cricket, and the ribbons are offray (solid green) and holiday ribbon from michaels. yep thats right, pale pink and green CHRISTMAS ribbon...LOL.

Now for the next bird. So my 4 year old was spazzing out on me today. She desperately wanted to play with her safety scissors. Only thing is, she got into my scrap stuff yesterday and cut up my pretty ribbon. So the scissors are taking a little vacation. She really didnt like that.

After the screaming ended, she started freaking out over some of my blue painters tape. I caved and tore off a huge strip of blue tape and told her to go nuts.

I heard some muttering, and *toddler swearing* which was really just her assortment of phrases from toddler television...so it was stuff like: oh my goodness....great googly moogly!...golly gee!...

Then came the kicker. She furiously slammed her hands down and yelled: Mommy these scissors are just not CUTTING!

At this point I turned and looked over...and OMG what a hilarious sight!! She had found two little wrenches that came with my Gazelle exercizing machine, and taped them together to make scissors!! Thats right, my kid went all MacGuyver on me! ROFL!

Well, I am over and now....gotta go clean up those birds...LOL. Have a wonderful weekend!

CIC 24 - ARRRRG!

Another yummy Cupcake Inspiration Challenge for you all to try! In case you are new to my blog and this challenge, it is sponsored by Hope Stamps Eternal and occurs every Sunday. I really do encourage every one to give this a try, just take a look at the inspiration photo above, and pull out your supplies and get busy. You dont have to use cupcakes in your project, just go wherever the mojo takes you!

Well, whattaya think? Too Piratey? Not Piratey enough?

Supplies:

Papers - MME, Cosmo Cricket

Stamps - Stampendous, Heidi Grace, Cloud9

Inks - VersaFine, Tim Holtz Distress Ink

Dont forget to stop by the rest of the HSE Sweeties Blogs!! The fun never stops with this group!

Bonnie ~ Carolina ~ Jessica ~ Michelle ~ Natalie ~ Tammy

live {life} to the fullest

Have you ever been flipping through your patterned papers and thought to yourself *oh wow that would make some funky wallpaper!* LOL. Well I had just one of those moments while trying to figure out how I wanted to use this chair image. (Which by the way is from the new Whimsie Doodles Have a Seat digital stamp set!)


So I had one of those sudden ideas that I could not let go of...the idea being the ball of yarn. I have recently become a big fan of adding real elements to my paper images, like the balloon strings and ropes on the hot air balloons.

To make my ball of yarn, I used a regular office supply hole puncher on a piece of scrap cardstock. I tied a loose knot in two strands of embroidery floss and glued it to the hole punch. Then I just started wrapping it around the punch to resemble yarn, when I was getting close to the size I wanted, I put another drop of glue on the back and wrapped the threads a few more times around to fasten it. After waiting for it to dry, I glued it to the chair, leaving a LONG tail. I adhered my cat with a large pop dot so that I could easily get that thread wrapped and tangled all around my kitty. I put a drop of glue just to the edge of the kitties head, on the chair, and glued down one of my loops. I also used a dot of glue on the lower front of the chair where the strands dangle to hold them in place there also. After letting it thoroughly dry (which didnt take long, I used the Tombow mono multi glue in the green and white bottle) the strands of thread were pretty sturdy and stayed put nicely.

Oh and to accent that awesome chair design, I used some super mini brads from Recollections in a brushed coppery color. They are substantially smaller than regular mini brads, which I used in the upper corners of the cards. Arent they so cute?! LOL. I am such a nerd about mini brads, I have them in nearly every color, and am planning on going to buy some more this weekend. (I keep running out of my metallic colors, antique metals are my favorite colors to use on cards since they match everything!)

And since I am sure someone is curious, the awesome ornate frame on the *wall* is cut from the Cricut Home Accents cartridge, I love that one! I have probably used Home Accents more than any cartridge I own, which isnt saying much since I only own like 5...lol. I have a wish list a mile long for cartridges though. One day....lol.


supplies:
Papers - Bazzill Cardstock, Patterned papers by K&Co and October Afternoon (Weathervane collection)
Stamps - Whimsie Doodles digital stamps, Studio G (sentiment)
Hardware - Mini Brads (lasting impressions), super mini brads (recollections), Ribbon (from a CK kit)
Coloring medium - Prismacolor and Odorless paint thinner

gotta start sometime...

Okay you knew it would happen eventually...sooner or later the Christmas cards were going to start popping back up. I wanted to try to hold out as long as I could, but lets face it, I have to start sooner or later unless I want to resort to buying those yucky mass produced cards to send out this year. Seriously, I dont want to do that. I have sent out handmade cards for the last two years, why go back now? (Besides, I have to put all my stamps to good use otherwise I will just feel guilty for buying so many...lol)

So, question, for those of you who make your own cards, do you make them all the same or do you just make a variety and send out the best? The first year I made cards I made them all the same and they turned out cute. But then last year I just made whatever I felt like making. Some turned out better than others though. I am thinking that this year will be the same, just making what I feel like making. (And hoping for a good outcome...LOL)

Well, I tried to keep it pretty simple on this one, in case I end up mailing it...but then I put those darn buttons on and lets face it, those are not going to make it any easier to mail. (Unless I put it in a bubble mailer) So this may go to someone I end up hand delivering cards to. I have been eyeballing some nice new Christmas scrapbooking supplies and stamps over at Hope Stamps Eternal...I just have to order before I lose my nerve. I usually end up filling my shopping cart and then at the last second I change my mind because what if something better comes out next week? LOL

Supplies:

Paper: Bo Bunny Double Dot carstock, Imaginisce Polar Expressions patterned paper,

Stamp: Imaginisce Snag em

Other: Buttons, Ribbons, Cricut Home Accents Cartridge, Fiskars Threading Water Punch

Ahhhh, Saturday at last. Although, my weekend is going to be very short-lived. I have to work tomorrow. Ugh. I have a feeling it will be a LONG sunday shift too, since its the end of the month we are pushing out as MUCH work as we possibly can to get it in Augusts books. Joy.

Well, now on to a happier subject...LOL. Here is a card I made from the Cat and Friends digital stamp by Whimsie Doodles. I absolutely love pumpkin images, they make me so happy...lol.


Working with digital stamps has totally opened up a whole world of possibilites to me when it comes to card making. Not only can you avoid the mess associated with stamping, not that I mind terribly, you can still do many of your favorite stamping techniques! You can paper piece still by printing your image on several different patterned papers. You can do paper tole, you can even emboss! For embossing, just get an embossing PEN and trace over your lines and then sprinkle the powder as usual. (My embossing pen dried out on me, but I will post this technique when I buy a new one.)

I do hope everyone has a lovely Saturday!! Thanks for visiting my blog today!!

My first chunk of rubber....

See that lovely little dragonfly? Yup, I drew it myself, and then Unity Stamp Co. put it in rubber!! Its part of their August Kit, and now that I have it in my hands, I absolutely love it!! It turned out much better than I could have hoped for.

Oh and those awesome patterned papers, those are cosmo cricket Early Bird, got those from Hope Stamps Eternal. {insert winky face here}

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #20!!

Challenge time!! Are you all ready for another Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal? Well too bad, you are already here on my blog so you may as well take a peek...lol. Okay, what stands out most about this new cupcake inspiration photo to you? For me, what stands out is the multi toned purples, the flowers and the silver centers. That is what was rolling around my mind while figuring out just what I wanted to do with this challenge. And Oh was I ever inspired!

No surprise, I again loaded my card with layers...was there ever a doubt?? I forgot to make note of my measurments this time though, sorry!! But as a rule of thumb, I like to add about 1/8th of an inch extra to all of my mattes if I am going to be distressing them like I have done here. It also helps that distressing stand out a bit more I think.

Oh and this awesome owl image is my new love, you can snag it from Hope Stamps Eternal!! While you are there, check out the rest of the awesome stamps available right now, what a fabulous selection!! And if youre getting stamps, dont forget the ink!

Before I forget, Hope Stamps Eternal just got in a huge shipment of awesome new Cosmo Cricket paper pads, the smaller 6x6 variety!! Score! Scroll down a post or two and you will see some pictures I snagged. I am in love with that earthy one! And the early bird one...and who am I kidding, I want all of them...lol

Well thats it for me this week, make sure you check out what the rest of the HSE Sweeties did with this inspiration photo!! Oh and make sure you leave some extra special shout outs to our guest sweetie this week, Maureen Wong at My C.A.S.E. Studies !!!

Bonnie ~ Carolina ~ Colleen ~ Jessica ~ Michelle ~ Natalie ~ Tammy

Yummy Cupcake Day!!

Happy Cupcake Day everyone! LOL. Time for another Hope Stamps Eternal Cupcake Inspiration challenge!! Yippeee!! How delish do these little cakes look?! I want to eat the rainbow one...do you think it really will taste like skittles?? ha!

Okay, My first instinct when I saw this weeks inspiration photo was to reach for my K&Co. Berry Sweet paper pad. But when I pulled it out all I could think was HOLY NEON PAPER! Seriously, that stuff is BRIGHT. I dont know what I was thinking when I bought that...LOL.

I opted instead for my new favorite paper, the Basic Grey Lemonade paper pad. I actually used three different sheets from that collection, the grungy yellowish pink solid, the red polka dotted pattern and the fun berryish floral. I really love coordinated papers like this, it totally takes out the need to spend forever digging through my stash of paper to find the most perfect stuff.



So I am going to try something a little different this week adn give you dimensions for the layers on this card! Leave me some feedback and let me know if you want me to try to continue this trend or not...

So the card base itself is a 5.5x5.5 inch square card. The first layer, the grungy yellow, is a 5.25 inch square. The Floraly layer is a 4.75 inch square. Those two layers were inked and adhered together but not to the card base yet.

Next I cut four scalloped squares using my McGill punch, its a 1.25 inch square folding just off center. With scraps from cutting my card base I cut a 1.5 inch strip of yellow cardstock. I then tore a strip slightly wider than my yellow strip, I used the same patterned paper as the scalloped squares. I slightly inked the torn edged and glued it to the back of the yellow cardstock strip.

At this point I adhered it across the center of the first two layers and wrapped the ends around the back and secured them. I then adhered my folded scalloped to all four corners with a small dab of adhesive to hold them in place while I punched holes for my cute button brads. After attatching the brads I finally secured all the layers to my card base using about 8 foam adhesive pieces. I prefer to use a LOT of these pop dots, they are cheap and I dont want my card to sag in the center.

At this point the basic structure of the card is done. Pick out your favorite stamps and decide on your focal image. I chose a cute changito image and sentiment from two different stamp sets. I also went with the tag shape, that was a stamp too. I stamped, colored, cut and blinged out my focal images and those got ribbon tails and were attatched using pop dots as well.

Thanks for stopping by for another Cupcake Inspiration Challenge!! Make sure you go check out what the other Hope Stamps Eternal Sweeties did with this inspiration cupcake!!

Bonnie ~ Carolina ~ Colleen ~ Jessica ~ Michelle ~ Natalie ~ Tammy

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #18!! Hoot Hoot!

Yippeee! It is time for another Cupcake Inspiration Challenge for Hope Stamps Eternal!!
Okay how cute are these owls on this cake and cupcake stand?? I totally went with the outdoorsy color scheme here...My first thought was the DCWV Green stack, but alas, I dont own it...I own one solitary sheet of the papers and I didnt want to use it for my card. Goofy huh?

I actually opted to use the supplies in the photo below...although I left out some of the sheets of paper used...sorry! I went with a neat circular pattern by Rhonna Farrer, a floralesque pattern in the Basic Grey Porcelain line, wicked cute studio G owl stamps, and of course my glittery brads by Imaginisce!!

So heres my card!! I LOVE how it turned out! I am so so glad I went and inked all my layers too, it was an afterthought. I had the whole card layed out and was about to assemble it and at the last second I reached for my distress ink.

Dont forget to check out the cards by the rest of the Hope Stamps Eternal Sweeties!!

Bonnie ~ Carolina ~ Colleen ~ Jessica ~ Michelle ~ Natalie ~ Tammy

Yippee! It is Release Day!!

Happy Saturday Everyone! Today is the official release day for some wonderful new digital images from Whimsie Doodles!! If you have visited the Whimsie Doodles Blog then perhaps you have already seen sneeks from this particular image, but the nice thing about these images is that you can really put your own spin on them.

Uh oh more bling...LOL. Look at these teeny weenie flowers! I am so obsessed with these by the way! Just for a comparison, these are standard MINI brads on the card, now look at the bling flowers! Holy tiny sparklies batman!

Step aside...its the Lawn Ranger...

I know, I know, I do the paper landscaping a lot lately. I promise I will give it a rest...LOL. But how flippin cute is this little guy?? This is from the last release by Whimsie Doodles, I cant believe I forgot to post it sooner!! Seriously, I need to sent to my {scrap} room to think about what I have done....hehehe.

OH and you had all better get ready because it is darn near release time agian for Whimsie Doodles!! Coming up on the 1st there are some FABULOUS new digital stamp sets just begging to be colored! You are all going to LOVE them! For more information make sure you visit the Whimsie Doodles BLOG.

Cupcake Time Again!!

Ahh yes, cupcake inspiration challenge day has arrived!! Woohooo! This week is CIC #17, if you decide to play along with the Hope Stamps Eternal Cupcake Inspiration Challenge this week then please use the tag *CIC17* when uploading to galleries...makes searching easier. {wink}

Just look at the delicious inspiration photo! Mmmmm. I love the bright pops of color too, so summery!
Without anymore delay here is my card. Once again, pulling color from the photo for this one! I am patiently waiting on my order from Hope Stamps Eternal to arrive...which is funny because I just placed the order on Friday night...lol. I have a few more days to wait yet...But I am so stinkin excited for when it gets here, mostly because I ordered up the new Basic Grey Lemonade papers! As well as two sets of the super adorable gamma stamps!!

I have to confess something...I dont like to do cards without layers anymore. And I mean TONS of layers...lol. I usually have at least two layers popped up on dimensional foam, but on this card I totally held back and only popped one layer (and no that little thought bubble doesnt count as a layer...lol)

Look I even took a detail shot for ya this week...I wanted you all to see the tiny bling flower on his apron!! Isnt this the cutest dang thing EVER?! I also used more of the glittery brads on this card too, I am so in love with those!!

Okay I am going to go settle down now and watch some cartoons with the kiddos. Thanks for stopping by!! And please do be inspired by the cupcakes and come back and share your creations with me and the other Hope Stamps Eternal Sweeties! Dont forget to go check out their blogs too!! Here are the links:

Bonnie ~ Carolina ~ Colleen ~ Jessica ~ Michelle ~ Natalie ~ Tammy

What's New for Whimsie Doodles??

Okay, how stinkin' cute is this little piggy?! This is an upcoming release from Whimsie Doodles, it'll be available for purchase on July 1st! And this isn't all either, there are several fun new designs on the way so make sure you go check out the Whimsie Doodles blog everyday for new designs!

Oh and dont think that I'm done with these either, I've got plenty more up my sleeves too!

Supplies:

Cardstock - Bazzill

Patterned Papers - Chatterbox and K&Co.

Digital Stamps - Whimsie Doodles

Flourish - cricut

Coloring Medium - Prismacolor Pencils