Snow Day

I have a friend at school that is a big fan of snow....I think she's the only other person I know that loves a big ole snow fall. Since it's that time of year to start seeing snow (and there is a forecast of snowflakes later on this week), I figured that it was time to make a snow card, and it gave me an excuse to use the Pure Innocence stamps from MFT. This card uses Snow Day and Flurries of Love (so cute!!!). This card went way bright, and it's so not me in terms of colors, but I love it. The scarf is so fun, and I spent a while making sure the colored pencils matched the paper. I've been using my Prismacolor pencils a lot lately, but I need to whip out the Copics on some upcoming cards as well. My DH is concerned that I'm using this new coloring medium and not using the Copics which I invested a lot of money into....they are pretty different, so it's just another option. The sketch for this card comes from the Card Patterns blog. I had used their sketches a lot over the summer, but have not gotten to them very often lately, so I have quite a few to catch up on :). As I look at the picture, I realize I didn't put the pic up that had the shading around the little girl. Whoops! So now that this card is all done, I can give it to my friend after the first day that it snows :) Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Snow Day, Flurries of Love (MFT)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper: Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly DSP, Bermuda Breeze, Summer Sun, Pure Poppy, Hibiscus Burst, Rustic White

Accessories: Poppy Ribbon, Autumn Leaves Buttons, PTI Jute Twine, Sewing Machine, Stickles, Prismas, Nesties, Liquid Applique

Joy to the World

Hi! The voice is back (kind of). I rested it all weekend, but I'm still trying to be quiet so it can be back at 100%. It was a nice weekend....after the craziness of Little Shop, it was nice to know I didn't need to rush off anywhere. Since I was still in the process of shaking the sinus infection, I took things easy, meaning I sat around for an hour on Sunday nursing a sinus headache playing around with getting a new background for my blog instead of grading papers. This made my headache worse, but I think that it turned out OK (love the bird...wish it was not as pink as it is, but it's really cute....and it was FREE!). I have learned that blog backgrounds are like furniture in a room....you always want to move things around and get something different, which is why I'll never pay to get my blog done...I'd just want to change it in a few months anyway :) Here's another card I got done over my sicko weekend :) It uses the latest Taylored Expressions sketch. I never get them done on time, but when I'm home on a Friday, I have the time to get it done. Good thing you don't need to talk while making cards :) I finally used some pink on a Christmas card....and there's pink on my next winter themed card too which I'm posting tomorrow. It's actually pretty for the holidays. I don't think it shows up, but there is glitter pen on the snowflakes on the Joy to the World medallion. Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Signature Christmas, Polka Dot Basics II (PTI)

Ink: Baja Breeze, Memento Tuxedo Black, Rich Razzleberry

Paper: Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses, Rich Razzleberry, New Leaf, Baja Breeze, PTI White

Accessories: New Leaf buttons, Felt Flurries, Sewing Machine, Nesties, Autumn Leaves Button, Crochet Thread, Pearls

Out For the Count

Well, when I last posted I had lost my voice. I've lost it for 12 hours at a crack before, but this time, wow....it's been gone since Wednesday afternoon and has made no signs of coming back any time soon. I left work early on Thursday so that I could go to the doctor and find out what was going on. Turns out the sinus infection that I thought I had last weekend....well, it was in fact a sinus infection that has gotten a little out of control, and I have a hefty case of laryngitis. The doc (who has been my doctor since I was 7.....kinda cool!) told me that I needed to stay home yesterday and give my voice a break. It's been really really hard not being able to talk. I need to talk for my job, and I'm a bit chatty at home too. I spent Wednesday and Thursday morning squeaking through classes with a sore throat and my chest hurt from trying to talk too much, so it was nice to have time to spend at home. So after lots of TV (17 Kids and Counting, Little People, Big World.....no Jon & Kate though...too sad to watch now....and of course watching Oprah break her big news), and some card making, I'm hoping that I can show up on Monday with a little bit more of a voice than I have now. The funny part of this whole thing is my students were emailing me about the project they were working on all day today because the sub didn't quite follow my directions and they were confused.

So here's one of the cards I made on my sick day home to go out to a friend of mine. I saw the layout on the Pink Cat Studios blog, and I thought it was a nice one to work with. The paper comes from Basic Grey's Noon & Pantry line....I have a half finished card on my desk using this paper line too. Thanks for stopping by today...have a healthy weekend (cough, cough!)...pass that hand sanitizer!

Stamps: Tea for Two (MFT)

Ink: Palette Burnt Umber, Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper: New Leaf, Crushed Curry, Tangerine Tango, Rustic White, Dark Chocolate, Basic Grey Nook&Pantry, Soft Sky

Accessories: Lace, Flat Backed Pearls, Sewing machine, Prismas, Nesties, Vintage Brads

Birthday Girl

Seems like I've been making a lot of birthday cards lately....it seems like in my family there are the most birthdays concentrated in October, November and December. The rest of the year is WIDE OPEN. This card is not for a family member, but for a friend's daughter instead. I took it as an opportunity to ink up one of the Pure Innocence stamps I ordered a while ago from MFT. All of them are so cute....actually I'm keeping this post short so that I can go play with another one of them :) I took this as an opportunity to use my Prismacolor pencils again....practice makes perfect, right? I had fun blending in some blues together to make her jumper, although I would have liked it to be closer to navy blue, it is still cute and matches the card. The sketch came from Stamp Something's challenge for this week. I have not played along with their challenges for a while, and I can't let a good sketch challenge go by :) Paper is from Little Yellow Bicycle. Grabbed a sheet on clearance from Archivers this summer and I forgot it was there, but am glad I found it in the hunt for fun, perky girlie paper in my stash. I also used some of my texture plates from SU. I have not used them in a while, but wanted something on the green layer on the card, but not heavy texture like a CB folder gives...nice finishing touch! Can't see it in the picture, but trust me...it's there :) I think I've burned all of my spare energy stash typing this post (running a fever, have a sore throat and sound like a man when I talk....when I have a voice, that is....lost it during 6th hour yesterday, but for some reason I have a problem deciding to stay home sick...), so I'm going to call it quits for now. Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: My Balloon (MFT)

Ink: Mememto Tuxedo Black

Paper: Spring Moss, Purely Pomegranate, Lovely Lilac, Ripe Avocado, PTI White, Night of Navy

Accessories: Prismas, Nesties, Primas, Earth Brads, Linen Thread, Sewing Machine, SU Texture Plates, Scallop Edge Punch

Little Shop Thank Yous

Now that the show is over, it's time to thank all the people who helped us pull it off, whether it was lending us props or picking up costumes (or a dentist chair) or painting us a picture of one of the characters to hang in Skid Row Florist Shop. Of course I had to pick a gardening themed stamp for this one (too bad I couldn't get my hands on a Venus Flytrap stamp!). I bought this one from Elzybells during their clearance sale this summer when I could score some free shipping :) Coloring the image was a first for me because I used the Gamsol Magic technique, which means that after careful deliberation (and the selling of lots of old stamping supplies) I purchased a set of Prismacolor pencils and a container of EcoHouse solvent and went to town. As this was my first attempt, it is probably not the best that I will end up doing, but practice makes perfect, right? I was pretty rough when I started using Copics and I'm pretty decent with those now, so it's just a matter of time until I figure how to use the pencils to their full potential. The card layout came from Clean and Simple Stamping (my favorite spot to hit for inspiration). I always seem to be a few weeks behind on getting those done....I'm hoping I can speed that up now that the show is over. And I had to keep these relatively simple as I had to make 10 of them! That's all I've got for you for now....thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Elzybells Art Stamps, Cupcake Collection (PTI)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Palette Burnt Umber

Paper: Cosmo Cricket Early Bird DSP, Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Dark Chocolate, Not Quite Navy, Rustic Cream

Accessories: Eyelet Border Punch, Cuttlebug Swiss Dot Embossing Folder, Sewing Machine, Nesties, Colored Pencils, Earth Elements Brads, Enchanted Evening Ribbon

Phew!

Wow....whatta weekend! Our performances of Little Shop were this weekend and I don't think any of us expected the show to be the enormous hit that it was....packed houses for 3 nights straight! I have to say that of all the shows I've worked on, this one was my favorite by far! So tomorrow is set strike, then hello free time! I don't know what I'm going to do when I get to leave school at 3:10 instead of 7:10 :) Unfortunately, to go along with my extra free time this weekend I came down with some sort of bug, complete with sinus congestion, fever, and aches. So I'm starting out the week a bit tired, but it's the last week before Thanksgiving, so I think I'll make it.
Anyway, on to the card. I ended up missing my nieces's birthday party today because I was sick, so I spent all day grading papers, then rewarded myself with some card making time afterwards to try and distract myself from missing the party. I took this week's Limelight Papercrafts sketch and product challenge, the product being chipboard. I'm a huge chipboard fan, and the prospect of winning some more to add to my collection was too much to pass up. This card came together really quickly once I found some chipboard snowmen in my stash...his little scarf and buttons are so cute! The paper is from Basic Grey's Eskimo Kisses line...I thought about making the pink holiday card with it, but I'm still not ready for pink being a Christmas color :) A little sponging around the edges completed the look.
Well, it's time to hit the hay and get ready for a busy day tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Signature Christmas (PTI)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Palette Burnt Umber
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Rustic White, Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses
Accessories: Wide Gingham Ribbon, Linen Thread, Making Memories chipboard, PTI Buttons, Nesties, SU Felt Flurries, Cuttlebug Snowflake Embossing Folder

Keep the Birthday Hits Rolling....

There is a certain little gal that I know that has a special birthday coming up :) Couldn't let that go without a happy birthday card. I wanted to avoid the little baby trap, but make something that was extra cutie, just like her. I went for the Bittyblooms stamps from Stamping Bella to pull this off. They are fun to color with Copic markers, and it was fun to practice blending with them on this image. I have used this sketch from MFT before on one of my Halloween cards, and I really liked the combo of patterned paper and edge punches. This paper from Cosmo Cricket's Earth Love line totally matches the stamp and went with the earthy look I wanted for this card. A sweetie card for a sweetie girl :) Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Bitty Baby Blessings, TextStyle Background (PTI), Stamping Bella

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Palette Burnt Umber

Paper: Summer Sunrise, Melon Berry, Spring Moss, Dark Chocolate, PTI Rustic Cream, Cosmo Cricket Earth Love DSP

Accessories: Nesties, Primas, Copics, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Vintage Brads, PTI Buttons, Sewing Machine, Eyelet Border Punch, Distress Stickles