HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIANA!!

My friend Diana is having a birthday today - the big 3-0! Please go visit her blog and leave her some birthday wishes! (She'd also love a comment or two on her beautiful cards and other papercrafting projects!)


Diana LOVES the color brown and she loves Magnolia stamps, so I included both in this card for her.

Happy Birthday, Diana!

A quick card...

There's been a lot going on lately, but here's a quick card for today:



I used Amy's current sketch and the "winged" theme from the Stamp Something challenge blog.

A Sweet Sketch - with a Twist!

This week's sketch on Sweet Sketch Wednesday had an extra twist - a color challenge! I loved all the colors in the challenge so I had a lot of fun making my card:

The color challenge called for bright pink, light pink, orange and apple green. I used papers from my stash, a button from "The Paper Studio" and some Lime Scrappers' Floss (TAC). It seems that so many of my images are more tall than wide - I had to trim this Changito image quite a bit to get it to fit, but I think he's a nice contrast to all the pastel colors in the papers.

Sweet Magnolia

Whew! Just got this one in on time. I had a lot of fun coloring in these Magnolia images! I made this card for the Summertime challenge on the Roses on Paper challenge blog as well as the current Magnolia theme on the Scrappy Frogs challenge blog.

Enjoy!

Another Midnight Madness Sketch

This card is based on Sketch #MMSC11 from the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge site. I have to admit I had a little bit of trouble getting started with this sketch. The whole "hanging picture" effect kind of threw me and it took a while to find an image that was the correct size. But, once I picked my floral paper and this Fluffles stamp, it came together pretty quickly. I used a large scallop decorative edge scissor (left over from the decorative scissor scrapbooking craze) for the bottom edge. The scroll at the top is a diecut that a coworker gave me - it was just the perfect color and size for the card. Gotta love when that happens!


Poor Fluffles! He seems a bit unsure about those grasshoppers! Fluffles does seem to get himself in some predicaments... kind of reminds me of a certain curious kitty I know:


There's Tiggy thinking "Oh! That's where the humans keep all the guinea pig stuff!". He likes to eat the guinea pig's hay. Seriously. The cat is weird! We were just waiting for him to fall head first into the chest! (He managed not to.)

Here is being held by "Grandpa". (Since Jessica is his "Mommy" we are prematurely grandparents. As long as this the only kind of grandchild I see any time soon, that's OK by me!) Somehow, Tiger doesn't look too happy about this.... (tee hee).

Something to Crow About...

Wow, it was a banner day for me! First, I had a wonderful surprise when I opened my mailbox this morning. My Toodles & Binks prize that I'd won at the Copic Colour Challenge blog had arrived from the UK. Wahoo! Later in the day, I found I'd won a $10 to StampingScrapping from the Scrappy Frogs challenge blog. Yay!

I was expecting two Toodles & Binks stamps from Stamp Galaxy but instead I got 3 - "Clive Cochran", "Puddleduck Paddington" and a new image called "Explore". Among my other goodies was a package of Basic Grey "Mellow" buttons. Wow! I loved it all.

Whew! This card sooo nearly did not make it onto my blog tonight! It's been longer than I intended since I last made a card, so I was a little overwhelmed with my list of current challenges. But I really wanted to use my new stamps & buttons, so once I found a challenge that was a good fit - the current sketch a Card Positioning Systems - the card came together pretty quickly.

However.... (you knew that was coming, didn't you?) tonight my camera was taking HORRIBLE pictures. Lens clean? Check. Photos from our day trip Wednesday look OK? Check. Wait... what is that strange little icon with the letters MF doing on my display? Obviously, it was not the "MF" that came to my mind! Turns out there is a little button on the top of my camera where you can override any camera settings and choose "Manual Focus" - aka "MF". Turned that off and I was back in business. Whew!

Supplies: Clive Cochran (Toodles & Binks), base card - PTI cardstock, striped paper - Daisy D's, brown paper - CM, red cs - TAC, Copic markers and Prismacolor pencils, BG "Mellow" buttons, tan Twistel.

Blog candy!

I've been a fan of Irina's cards since I found her blog recently. I just found out today that she is starting her own stamp company - La-La Land Crafts. Even better - she's giving away some cool blog candy on her blog. Check it out!

Enter the Dragon

This cute little Whiff of Joy dragon, that is. Yes, a rarity - a double post from me today! I just bought this dragon and I thought he'd be a good choice for the paper piercing challenge due today on the Whiff of Joy challenge blog. There's not a lot of embellishing to do with a dragon, not even one this cute. Ribbons and flowers were definitely out of the question! But the paper pierced photo corners had a "masculine" feel that I felt was just right for this card.


The patterned paper is just the thing that feeds my "if I keep it long enough, I will find just the right card for it" theory. It's an old, discontinued paper line from Basic Grey. I chose it because the herringbone pattern reminded me of scales. I colored in my dragon using a combination of Prismacolor watercolor and regular colored pencils, using the watercolor pencils for the larger areas and the regular pencils for the details/smaller areas.

I'm planning a day trip with the family tomorrow so I won't be posting anything until Thursday. Have a happy "hump day" on Wednesday! :)

Mr. Roboto

Here's my card for Sketch #6 on Sweet Sketch Wednesday challenge blog:


Supplies: Robots (TAC), Cha Cha printed paper (TAC), cardstock (DCWV), Prismacolor pencils with OMS, heart shaped button (source unknown), yellow Scrapper's Floss (TAC).

A Walk in the Park

This was a fun day! I had a nice afternoon with the girls and got in a little cardmaking tonight. I made this card for Priscilla's Midnight Madness challenge #10. I missed the deadline but I really enjoyed making the card, so all's good. :)


I'd had this Lilly Anna paper forever but never used it. I thought the fun, girly colors were perfect for this image from TAC's "Just Dream" set. (Other supplies: Lilly Anna ribbon, flower & buttons from the Audrey Embellishment Jar, green Scrapper's Floss, Prismacolor pencils and OMS, SU! paper piercing/stitching template and MM paper piercer.)

This is my favorite part of summer. Summer school has ended and the back to school stuff has not yet begun. The girls and I took advantage of beautiful weather and a free day to visit Rock Bridge State Park.

Rock Bridge was once its own community. You can see the foundation of a house that was stood on the property. (You can see Ali hiking along it on the right.)


We're not quite sure what this is, but it was kind of cool anyway...

Dixie thought this was a pretty great way to cap off a long walk - with ice cream! :)


(Unfortunately for her, her day would ultimately end with a brushing and a BATH, but she didn't know it at this moment, lol!)

TCP Tuesday

I just love these little penguins from TCP's Smells Like Cake! I just had to use them for this week's TCP Tuesday sketch challenge. And, FYI - The Cats Pajamas is having a 25% off sale through Sunday! So hurry up and check these little guys out along with the rest of the TCP critters. :-)


The printed papers are from an Imaginesce paper stack that I bought from Cindy at StampingScrapping.com. The cupcakes accent on the circles are stamped from the same Smells Like Cake stamp set, colored & cut out. The ribbon accent is something I learned from the MFT technique forum on SplitCoastStampers.

Happy Birthday Hedgehog

I love my Penny Black Critter Party set! I used the cute little hedgehog on this card for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge. The layout is based on this sketch on the Saturday challenge blog.


Happy Friday! :)

Under the Sea - Under the Weather!

I had intended to post this card last night but I was *not* feeling well and just couldn't get it finished. Good thing the challenges were all due today anyway! :-)

I decided to use this adorable digistamp mermaid, Marissa, to fit the Scrappy Frogs challenge "Under the Sea". I used Amy's current sketch from the Prairie Paper and Ink site. And the color scheme was chosen for this week's pink, green and yellow scheme on the Stamp Something blog.

One Sweet Card

My friend Diana told me about another great sketch blog, Sweet Sketch Wednesday. I love this week's sketch! Simon Says Stamp was having a fun challenge, too - paper piecing - so I paper pieced the balloons on my card. It's a great way to use up your small scraps!

For my stamped image, I used this very sweet kitty from Pink Cat Studios (Kitty Plate #1).

Another great challenge site

I recently discovered a new challenge blog, Priscillastyles. Wow, what gorgeous sketches! I made this card using the current sketch, MMSC9. Since this card is a thank you card, I'm also submitting it to the "Thank You Miss" challenge on the Cute Card Thursday blog.

My friend Diana gave me this sweet little stamped image. I think she's a Sugar Nellie stamp designed by Elizabeth Bell. It was the perfect image for using the cute little rhinestone butterflies that I'd bought at Michaels.

I {heart} Mojo Monday Challenges!

The Mojo Monday challenge blog always has great sketches! Even when I don't get a chance to play along, a save a copy of the sketch to use for a later card. The first sketch of every month offers a wonderful extra bonus - the chance to win a set of Verve stamps!

Here's my card for Mojo challenge #94 as well as the current "heart" challenge on A Spoon Full of Sugar. (I used a pink heart shaped button on my flower accent.)


I love this Basic Grey Bittersweet line of papers. In keeping with the vintage feel of the papers, I distressed the edges of my layers with my distressing tool and then sponged Palette Burnt Umber ink on the edges.

Supplies: Bittersweet paper (Basic Grey), brown cs (TAC), kraft cs (The Paper Company), tan Twistel fiber, Palette inks in Burnt Umber and Noir, Copic markers.

Pile It On!

I recently discovered a new challenge blog that I really love - the Pile It On challege blog. Their challenges are all multi-part so you really use different items from your stash. I got my due dates mixed up and missed the cutoff for the Make It Different! challenge (use 3 different kinds of embellishments). However, part of every Pile It On challenge is to combine it with at least one other challenge, so I had already planned on submitting this card to the current color challenge on the Copics Color Challenge blog.


This week's color challenge was to include YG03 (Yellow Green), B45 (Smoky Blue) and/or Y28 (Lionet Gold). I used all 3 and was actually pretty close - YG03 (Yellow Green), B34 (Manganese Blue) and Y17 (Golden Yellow). I also used another cute new July release - "New House" - from the DigiStamp Boutique. The blue dotted paper was a digital purchase from the Funky Fairy. (My friend Diana is a member of their design team.) I love polka dots so it was fun to be able to choose the exact color I wanted and print it out. Instant gratification - who doesn't love that? ;-)

A Shapely Card

Whew! TGIF. It's been a long week, so this will be a short post. :-) I made this card for two challenges: the shaped card challenge on the All Sorts Challenge blog and the animal themed card challenge on the True Friend blog. (An owl counts as an animal, right?)

Bernard the owl is one of the July releases over at Digistamp Boutique. I thought the branch paper from We R Memory Keepers was a perfect match! I used my Creative Memories Shape Cutting System with an oval template to make the shaped card. I use my CM ovals and circles on my cards as much as I do my scrapbooks. I really love it.

Monkey Thanks!

Man, did I struggle with this card tonight! Originally, I was going to do a wedding card with Mia from DigiStamp Boutique, but I accidentally cut my background paper - that I didn't have any more of - too small. (Don't you just hate when you do that?!) Next, I was going use a cute Sarah-Kay image but couldn't find the right papers to go with it. Finally, I went through my stack of already colored in images, and found this cute Changito monkey from Stampendous:


Whew! I didn't post a card yesterday and really wanted to get one done tonight, so I'm glad I found this little guy. The layout for the card came from Challenge #58 from the Sketch Saturday blog. It was a fun sketch!

Sweet Melinda

OK, well actually the song title is "Sweet Melissa" (by the Allman Brothers), but in this case, it's sweet Melinda - "Melinda Blowing Kisses" by Whiff of Joy. (The stamp company, not a band. lol) I am (impatiently) awaiting my recent order of Whiff of Joy stamps so I used one of the images that my friend Diana so kindly shared with me. :-)


Of course, this is another multi-challenge card! :) This one incorporates the Whiff of Joy Challenge #37 (use 3 patterned papers, 3 flowers and 1 ribbon); Copic Colour Challenge #20 (colors: E47 Dark Brown and YG23 New Leaf - I used E37 Sepia and YG03 Yellow Green and YG06 Yellowish Green); and, A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge #59 (hearts - mine are on the Basic Grey pink paper and in my image).

Marissa

Sally-Ann has just released some great new images, including this adorable mermaid named Marissa. You can find Marissa and the other July images here. I've been dying to make a card with this cutie since I saw her. She's my favorite July release. :)


I'm submitting this card to three challenges: A Spoonful of Sugar challenge #58 ("Summer"), Simon Says Stamp (use some combination of lemon, orange, apple green and pink - I used everything except lemon) and DareU2digistamp's embossing challenge (I used my Cuttlebug to dry emboss the bottom pink panel).

I used a combination of Copics and watercolor crayon with Dove blender pen to color in this image. The shells are stamped images (MFT's "By the Seashore"), which I colored and cut out.

More sneak peeks... and a card

First, the card...


Supplies: "Robots" stamp set (TAC), Raspberry Fizz cardstock (PTI), "Nonsense" paper stack (We R Memory Keepers), button (Paper Studio), pink Scrapper's Floss (TAC) , Copics markers & Prismacolor pencils.

Now, more sneak peeks from the new 2009-2010 Angel Company catalog:



The catalog is organized by paper collections (such as the Winchester collection featured on the sample page). You'll note that each section also lists what other TAC products (cardstocks, inks, ribbons) coordinate with that paper collection.

It's Here!

The new 2009-2010 catalog from The Angel Company is here!


Here's a peak inside the back cover at some great card samples featuring some of the new sets in the catalog:

Interested in obtaining a copy? It can be yours for only $4.95. If interested, email me at lisajtmo@yahoo.com.

I'll be sharing more of the catalog as well as a card or two featuring the cute new robot set (see card in the top right hand cornder) later this week.

For now, we're headed down to the lake for some holiday fun and fireworks. Have a happy (and safe) 4th of July!

Papermakeup Stamps

I used my two new Papermakeup Stamps to make these challenges cards. The first card is based on the current challenges sketch from Truly Scrumptious blog:


This fairy is called "Lauren in Love". Isn't she sweet?

My next card is for two challenges. First is the "recipe" on the Use It challenge blog : 1) something something inspired by nature; 2) use polka dots; 3) use your favorite embellishment (I love lots of them, but buttons are one of my faves); and, 4) mail it. (This card is going to my mom next week as her birthday card. She loves gardening!)

The second challenge is the "Embellished" challenge on Stamp Something blog - use at least 3 embellishments. (I used 3 buttons plus the ribbon).


This fairy is called "Sprout". She's one of my favorite PMS fairies. :)

Charisma Card Contest

Now, try to say that 3 times fast! ;-)

I bought this stamp from Rubbernecker a few months ago but hadn't made a card with it yet. So, it seemed fitting to use it for this week's "anything goes" challenge on Charisma Cards, as Rubbernecker is the sponsor (and the prize!) for this challenge.


Purple seemed the logical choice for this image, so I used a base made from my favorite Plum Pudding cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I am trying to put more of my scraps to use, so I chose accent paper from my collection of scraps. The ribbon accent is something I learned about on the MFT boards on SplitCoastStampers. (There is a weekly technique tutorial and this one was on using buttons on your cards.) I love how this accent looks and it's a great way to use up small bits of ribbon! I colored in my image with Copics and then smudged some blue chalk with a Q-tip to add some color to the sky background.