Follow Your Bliss…

Oh I’ve been having fuuuun with my Rubber Soul/Wordsworth stamps! This little chickie is from the “It’s Your Day” set. I did something different with her.

This Memory Box Sugar cardstock is high on my list of favorites. I know–I have a lot of favorites, but it’s true! I had several pieces of scrap, so decided to use them in a patchwork layout. I machine stitched them to a coordinating Memory Box notecard, and set it aside.

This little chickie was stamped on the small floral pattern in Versamark ink, and embossed 3 times for a thick, glossy look. I cut her out, and colored in her eye with my black Copic Multiliner pen. Here’s a detail shot:

I used 2 more patterns for the circle, cutting and embossing it with my Nestability dies, and matting it with a scalloped panel. I added the sentiment, and adhered the chickie on dimensionals. The pink houndstooth panel was looking a little “blah” to me, so I added 3 Martha Stewart vellum flowers to liven it up a bit. I finished it off with some Michael’s ribbon, tied through 3 punched holes on the left.

This card has a lot of patterns going on, but I think it works? I hope so, LOL! Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great day!

Hello! Here I am writing my blog entry at 1am….zzzzzzzzz… It’s been a long day!

I went to the nursery this morning to pick out several plants for my new landscaping!! OMG I am SO EXCITED about it! Right now the front of my house is pretty “blah”, and I’ve wanted to have it landscaped for a long time. Thanks to Uncle Sam, it’s possible. I’ll be sure to share before and after pics with you!

I created this card this weekend, and am really happy with how it turned out. Hope you like it too?

I haven’t used my Lockhart La Fleur Couture stamps in awhile, and I don’t think I’d ever used this lavender/primrose one! It’s one of my very faves, though. I paired it with another fave…Memory Box sprout patterned cardstock. It’s colored with my Copics, (YG03, YG17, V15, V17, Y17, Y21) then cut and embossed with my petite oval Spellbinders Nesties. It’s matted with a scalloped Prism frosted amethyst panel, and popped up on another scalloped layer from the sprout paper pack.

I wanted to do something a little different with the Spellbinders double ended tags. I decided to cut and emboss the largest one from the striped pattern, then adhere it to the center of the cardfront. I then added some Bazzill eyelets, and threaded the Creative Impressions ribbon (from my LSS) through. I mounted this to a white cardbase, then adhered the focal image.

Lastly, I stamped the Verve Visual sentiment, and blinged up the dress with my favorite star dust Stickles!

Hope you all have a wonderful day! I’m going to BED!

I hope you are all having a great weekend!

I needed to make a card for my nephew’s graduation, but realized I didn’t have any graduation stamps! Sheesh. I was digging through my stash of Rubber Soul and Wordsworth sets, when I spied the word “graduation” in this Happy Everything set. YAY!

I chose some great masculine paper from Basic Grey’s Archaic line, also using the solid distressed green, and distressed cream color from the pad. I cut and embossed a narrow scalloped rectangle with my Spellbinders Nestability die, then airbrushed it with the die in place using my YG06 Copic marker. When I removed the die, it left the cream edge, which makes it look like another layer. Cool!

I stamped the sentiment, then colored it in using Copic YG17, and B95. I added some shadows with W3. This Martha Stewart ribbon is masculine enough, so I didn’t feel badly adding it to the card. Some aged copper brads, and dimensionals under the scalloped panel complete the design.

I think this works for a young man graduate~~do you?

Oh gosh, y’all know how much I love this Rubber Soul/Wordsworth owl, don’tcha? I decided to give him some love last night. He looks cute in pink!

Been dyin’ to use some of my Basic Grey Sugared collection, and when I saw this flower print, it was all the inspiration I needed. The owl and branch are stamped with Clearsnap fluid chalk ink on shimmery cryogen white cardstock, then trimmed out. I added some pink AMuse bling for his eyes, and set aside.

I worked on my sentiment next, stamping it on the same cardstock with Adirondack espresso ink. I used my new long rectangle Spellbinders Nesties for this, cutting and embossing, then airbrushing with Copic Y21 to bring out some warmth and tie in with the yellow in the patterned paper. (I used this to color in his tiny beak, too.) I matted it with a Prism frosted azalea scalloped panel, and added some narrow May Arts striped ribbon.

I assembled the card, using a Rubber Soul cocoa notecard for the base, and adding all my layers. The owl and sentiment panel are popped up on dimensionals. It needed a little something else, so I added a couple tiny Primas in the top left corner, and some cinnamon Stickles for the flower center.

I went out of town for a few days last week to my friend’s cabin in the Ga. mountains. I knew it would be a quiet, relaxing time with the dogs, so I decided to bring a few stamped images with me, and my Copics. I colored several images, and you’ll be seeing them in the next few days.

This was a bit different for me, because usually, I color my images to coordinate with my patterned paper. I knew I wanted these Karen Lockhart Tulips to be orange, so I just ran with it. This stamp is Ellen’s Stamp of the Month for April, so you still have time to grab it!

I chose Copic YR14 and YR09 for the flowers, with YG03 and YG17 for the stems/leaves. The sky is B00 with some shading of B23. The pot is E39, 99, and 27. As it turned out, the colors worked beautifully with this Memory Box Aerial patterned cardstock! The image was trimmed, and mounted on a Prism intense orange square scalloped Spellbinders mat. The plain embossed square is also a pattern from this Aerial pack.

I couldn’t wait to use my new Spellbinders double ended tags, so I cut and embossed one from that same subtle pattern, and added some orange eyelets to dress it up a bit. I added the Lockhart sentiment, then attached to the machine stitched panel with some orange striped May Arts ribbon. A few orange Bazzill brads, and some Stickles on the tulips finish off the design!

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

I wish computers had scratch ‘n sniff, so you could smell this heavenly scent. I’ll be back with some card inspiration, but wanted to share some natural inspiration with you first. Click to see full size! Enjoy!

Happy Friday!  Hope this brings you a smile!!

Hello there!

I am rushing to start work today, but wanted to post some inspiration for you.

This design features Karen Lockhart’s chintz butterfly, as well as 3 CHF backgrounders. The image was colored with my Copic markers, then cut, embossed, airbrushed, and matted with my Spellbinders circle Nesties. All of these items are available in Ellen’s store!

Prism cardstock, and Adirondack inks (from CHF) were used, as well as some Creative Impressions ribbon (from my LSS). A bit of Stickles on the butterfly make her sparkle.

Supplies:

Paper: Prism nautical blue med, sunflowers med, intense kiwi, cryogen white. Ink: Adirondack denim, butterscotch, lettuce, pitch black. Copics: B23, Y21, 38, YG03, E27. Backgrounders: paisley, spanish script, leaves.

Have a great day!!

I just realized that I never shared this with you! I created this for Spellbinders and CHA.

I used the petite oval and circle Nestability dies. Patterned paper is Cosmo Cricket Hey Sugar, with a Making Memories pewter brad. Here’s a closeup:

Wouldn’t that be fun to put on your desk? Since the Cosmo Hey Sugar paper is double sided, it’s just solid colored on the back, but still looks finished.  The “stem” is two strips of paper glued together, with the “leaves” sandwiched in between.

Hope you like it! Make one for your desk in your favorite paper! Hmmmm I can see this using the new Basic Grey Sultry… *drool*…

Have a great day!!

Ohhhhhh it’s Friday….Beautiful, glorious FRIDAY!

A couple days ago, I mentioned that I had some exciting news, and that I’d be sharing it with you today, as it is one of my VERY favorite things.

Rewind to about 8 years ago. I was flipping through a car magazine (you may not know this, but I am a car geek. I love cars. I can tell you the make and model of pretty much any car on the road.) and laid eyes on the most fabulous car. The Mini Cooper. I was instantly drawn to it. The small size, the cool shape, those round headlights, the big sunroof. It was the perfect little package for me. At the time, I was living in Charleston, SC. I would watch them unload the Mini’s off the ships, and park them in the huge gated area. A virtual sea of Mini Coopers. I thought to myself…Some day, I am going to get one of those.

Time passed, and several cars had come and gone. I had 3 large dogs, and the Mini never seemed to fit in to my lifestyle. That didn’t stop me from going to the dealership and test driving it half a dozen times over the years, though. Getting behind the wheel of that cute, fun, zippy car made me smile deep in my soul.

Last year, a friend of mine showed me the new Mini Cooper that they were making for production. It was called the Clubman. It was all the same fun as the regular Mini, but with something I desperately needed. More space for the dogs. I was going through some major changes in my life at that time, and thought once again…Some day, I am going to get one of those.

Last Saturday I went to the Mini dealership in Greenville SC and test drove the new Clubman. I got behind the wheel and said to the salesman, It’s been a few years since I’ve driven a stick, so I might be a little rusty. So off I went, pulling out of the parking lot. I accelerated, threw that baby into second gear, and instantly it all came back. The salesman looked at me and said “Well, I guess your memory came back! You’re driving this car like you were born behind the wheel!” LOL! We went to an office park that was under construction. A perfect place for a test drive! I could not stop smiling. My cheeks were hurting from smiling so hard. It was bliss.

Well, guess what? That Some day… is here! On Tuesday, I placed my order for my 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman S! Allow me to introduce my soon-to-be new car…Lady Godiva.

AAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!!!! Is she not the cutest thing you’ve ever seen??? The paint color is “Hot Chocolate Metallic”, and she will be built in Oxford England, which is why I have decided on her Lady Godiva name. (Don’t worry, I won’t be driving her butt nekkid like the “real” Lady Godiva, LOL!) She will have Tuscan Beige leather interior with English Oak accents.

The dealer said she should be delivered in July. I am ever hopeful that I’ll have her for my birthday, July 2nd. I’ll need all of you to help me think positive and get her here by then, OK?

Thanks so much for allowing me to share my news. Joy is multiplied when you share it with others, and I hope it brings you a giggle, picturing me behind the wheel of this fabulous car~zooming around these mountain roads.

Is it July yet?