Friday, April 29, 2016

Love That Chocolate

I am already missing some of the stamp sets that are retiring and here's a card using one of them.


The text and chocolate bars are from the set called Candy Shop.  I colored the images with Copic markers. I also used a retiring paper called Yummy Prints (the striped background), along with Bubble Gum, Whip Cream, and Beach Ball card stocks.  The LOVE die cut is from the Snapshot Frames die set


I have some cool markers from Wink of Stella line and used the Silver on the candy wrapper inside to look a bit more like foil. The candy bars and text were stamped with Black Licorice ink.


I used a sponge and added Lavender Fusion, Beach Ball, Pineapple Smoothie, and Bubble Gum inks before pop dotting the Love on the frame.  A few Reainbow Drops from the Spring catty (and hopefully these will be in the big catalog coming out in June) and a Mother's Day card is made!

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Full Moons and Desks

Wednesday, hump day... feels almost like Saturday since I didn't do much yesterday!  No Bible Study, well, there was one but I didn't make it.  I actually had an appt. with a locksmith to get a spare key made for my car, er... truck according to the paperwork on it.  He needed a key with only 2 buttons, lock and unlock, along with the panic button.  All he had was 3 button keys along with a panic button.  He's getting one ordered.  My back door is not automatic.  Oh well.  But the good thing is today is DESK day!  Actually known as What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday!  This is all put together by desk officianado (yeah, I don't know how to spell that) Julia over at the Stamping Ground.  So, at the end of this post please head over there to get the links to other desks.


My desk in in limbo at the moment.  I have a set of stamps with matching dies sitting  right in front of my stamp cleaning rag.  But this view shows most all of the front half of my desk.  I moved my crap, I mean scrap, bucket to the floor to get my Platinum die machine on the table.  I have been using it so much lately.  It used to sit where the crap bucket is now, on the corner in the extreme bottom right of my photo.  I have been busy making birthday and Mother's Day cards.  But since my post was so long last week I'm only sharing 2 photos this week.

We had such a beautiful full moon last weekend I just had to photo it.


The other night I just had to go outside and get a picture of the full moon just after it topped the mountain.  My camera isn't the best with night photos so I lightened this a bit on Photoshop.  That is a mesquite tree the moon is peeking through. (I did give a link about the tree, and we have LOTS of them on our 2.5 acres.

Ok, I'm done!  please head over to the Stamping Ground and enjoy more desks!  I'll be visiting and making more birthday cards.

Monday, April 25, 2016

Love Love Love

I seen another fun card on Pinterest and I was off and running.  The fun pin came from this BLOG but I didn't look for the exact post.  No stamps were inked in making this card.


 I used the Sweet Tape from the Yummy & Delicious collection but cut it in half to 1" wide.


The fun Love was also die cut using the Snapshot Frames die set and paper from the retiring Yummy Prints paper pack.  I used some fun pieces from the Rainbow Drops to embellish.


I used the Sweet Tape on a piece of Whip Cream card stock before die cutting the Love for this card.


Here you can see the inner heart better.  I'll be using these cards for Mother's Day for our kids.


Supplies Used:
Heart-Felt Dies
Sweet Tape
Rainbow Drops (from the Spring mini and hopefully will be in the Big catalog)
Snapshot Frames Dies
Yummy Prints
Whip Cream card stock

I didn't use a lot of product but I think the cards are very cool.  Lately my theme has been "if you pin it, do it".

Friday, April 22, 2016

Hearts for You

I had pinned a great card on Pinterest and just had to make my version of it.  I pretty much cased it as it was so good.  My inspiration came from this BLOG.


I used the same Watermelon Fusion bottom layer but switched it up between using Buttercream and Whip Cream top layers.


I die cut using the Heart Felt die set and embossed with Petal Wall on the Buttercream layer and Yummy Dots on the Whip Cream layer.  I love our Fun Filled Prints 6x6 paper and used 3 different pieces to back the hearts.


It took a bit of work and lots of pencil work but I did get the hearts centered on the fronts and paper hearts in the proper position under the top layer.  I stamped the top layer before embossing, just is much easier.


These cards will be birthday cards for a couple May birthdays.  I had a very productive day Wednesday getting 5 more cards made.  Still have about 5 more to go for all the birthdays and special events through the end of May.

Card Stocks:
Watermelon Fusion
Buttercream
Whip Cream
Fun Filled Prints

Stamps:
Ampersand Notes

Other:
Heart Felt Dies
Bubble Gum Thread
Petal Wall embossing folder
Yummy Dots embossing folder
Watermelon Fusion ink

You still have a week to order the retiring items at 30% off.  Some are already sold out and some are limited.  You can see the list on my FSJ Specials page.  And any who order $100 before ship/tax will get their name in a drawing for over $80 in retiring stamps. Right now I have 1 gal who qualifies, your odds are so much better than the lottery!

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Welcome to my Desk

Wednesday... again?  Wasn't it Wednesday just a few days ago?  It does seem that the days are passing quickly.  But soon they will begin to drag for me as I prepare to head to Wyoming to see our son, his wife, our grandson, our granddaughter and her husband, and our 2 great grandsons.  Seems when you're looking forward to something like that time starts to drag on and on.  But today is a special day.  It's WHAT'S ON YOUR WORKDESK WEDNESDAY.  Yep,  you get the opportunity to view my desk in whatever shape it happens to be in.  And you also get to view desks all over Europe and the U.S.!  This fun blog hop is organized by head desker Julia at the Stamping Ground.



I'm starting a project of either birthday cards (2 birthdays first few days of May) or maybe Mother's Day.  I send M D cards to our daughter, daughters-in-law, and oldest granddaughter.  I do get a bit sad when making these as I don't make one for my mom anymore as she passed in June of 2014.  But I get happy thinking about those I do send to.  Kinda strange to go both directions in emotions like that.

Oh, I need to tell you about my desk...  Far left is a set of Heart dies with the smallest on a piece of card stock in the center of my desk.   To the right are my tools (scissors, creaser, Bloom Tool (similar to Spellbinders Tool-in-One) and ATG adhesive gun.  Yes, I'm busy.

Last week was our daughter-in-law's birthday and she is so hard to buy for.  I found a fun sign at Hobby Lobby that I altered a bit.  Her and our son built a large patio in their back yard that prompted this purchase.


I didn't see a sign about a patio so I got this.  I added 2 different colors of Stickles to embellish the sign.


Hubby thought this was great.  I think it's a bit corny but I did make her a nice card.


I used stamps and paper that is in our Spring into Summer mini catalog.  A bit of Glaze to give the lemonade and lemons a shine and it turned out just like I wanted.


Ok, yeah, I know, my post is a bit long this week.  But now you're at the end and please head over to the Stamping Ground to get to the links to all willing to show you their work areas.  Grab your favorite beverage as the list of deskers is growing!

Monday, April 18, 2016

April Bloom Box Cards X 2

Last week a good friend, Angie, came out to my house and we made all 4 cards from the April Bloom Box.  What a hoot!  It took us all day with lots of giggles and lunch at the local food truck down at the highway.  There are some differences between our cards but we pretty much followed the directions.


This is the first card listed in the cool direction book.  Our colors are a bit different as is the placement of the Natural Thread.  We both used my Candy Dots to embellish.


These cards are almost identical but I see Angie placed her Whip Cream Thread a bit different.  She used Journey Glaze and Sparkle Dust whereas I only used the Glaze. Love how the Journey Circle cut Lavender Fusion piece overhung the edge then cut off.  Love the scalloped border from the Border Basics die set (from the Spring Mini catalog and hopefully in the big June catalog).


We modified this one since I didn't have the reinker used in the directions.  I sprayed the large Whip Cream layer with Cool Pool Splash then we sponged Cool Pool ink through the Bubble Bubble stencil and added more layers to make the center piece pop. Yeah, I think that worked great!  Angie got quite creative with her extra layer by cutting it in half diagonally and adhering it to the top Pool Play panel with the lanterns.  The above cards were also sponged with Whip Cream ink to make the lanterns look like they're glowing.  Cool! And did you notice that the lantern looks a bit more like a bouquet?  We stamped the large flower, cut it out after coloring, then adhered it over the lantern.


And the last card. Angie used Spring Accent Dots from the Spring Mini catalog and I used Blue Skies Sequins.  We did all our coloring using my PrismaColor Pencils.  She LOVED the Glaze and Sparkle Dust!  We each lightly sponged Pool Play ink on the background and on the stamped Oval.   The Lavender Fusion satin ribbon does make this card pop a bit more!

I'm hoping more from Green Valley will subscribe to the Bloom Box and we can have monthly get togethers but we still can get together even if not all have the monthly box.

Saturday, April 16, 2016

April Showers Blog Hop!

Welcome to our Fun Stampers Journey  "April Showers" Blog Hop! I'm so happy you're hoppin' along! If you arrived here from Rosemary's blog , you're on the right track. If not, that's ok too! Just continue the hop and you'll come full circle!"

For our hop I chose the new "Hello Puddles Bundle", "The Light" ATS stamp set (from the Spring Mini catalog and hopefully it will be in the BIG June catalog),  "Fun Filled" Prints and "Spring Parade" paper pack (being retired and is on sale now!) along with Pearled Basics  (being retired and is on sale now!) ,  Whip Cream, and  Grape Fusion card stocks.


I wanted to make this card from the time I seen this fun Bundle from the Spring Mini catalog. (Hopefully it will be in the BIG catalog come June along with the Rainbow Drops.)  And this Blog Hop is the perfect theme to show it!


I had an issue with my paper piecing and my black edging showed up in the umbrella center way more than I expected.  Oh, and don't you like the fun Rainbow Drops on the rain boot?


The Pearl paper was fab for the lightening!  Made it just glow! Sad, but it is being retired and is only available I did stamp the cloud and text and sponging with River Stone ink otherwise I used Black Licorice for the elements and Pineapple Smoothie for the sun.

Thanks for hopping to my blog. Please head over to Susan's blog to see what she has to share. Here's a list with links of all of us involved.

1. Janice Whiting
2. Wilma Payne 
3. Ruth Cooper
4. Betsye Rose Cimino Erazo 
5. Sharon Venclauskas
6. Sandra Kay Tate 
7. Crissy Salima Rivas
8. Rosemary Roca
9. Carol Norby - ME!
10. Susan Berg

Hope you enjoyed your visit!  If you are so inclined please leave a comment!  Thanks!

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

My Desk and My April ATC

It's been such a gorgeous week with rain and sun!  We did have some wind but not too extreme.  But it's Wednesday and if you've been following me you know what you get to see today!  My desk!  It's "What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday"!  And this is all put together by the head desker Julia at the Stamping Ground!  If you are new to this head over to her blog at the end of my post and click on the What is WOYWW button  below her banner.


I have been busy!  I'm working on a card for a Blog Hop on Saturday through a group of us with Fun Stampers Journey.  You can see the possible layout on my desk.  There is also my paper trimmer, the dies and stamps, card, papers, and the edge of my Platinum die cut machine.  It's now in the place where my large crap, I mean scrap, bucket was because it seems to be in continuous use!  The bucket is now on the floor.

I'm in a monthly ATC swap also with a group of FSJ gals and this one was made using all new products from our upcoming June catalog (except for the white paper and sequins).


I'm loving the new neon papers, inks, Silks, and stamps! 


Can you see the yellow splatters on the text piece?  That's "Sour Lemon" Silk.  It's a liquid ink in a bottle with a brush like nail polish.  I do have a tendency to get it everywhere.  There's also some "Turbo Teal" silk on the background.

Hope you enjoyed seeing my desk and my ATCs.  Please head over to the Stamping Ground and check out oodles of desks from all over Europe and the U.S.!

Monday, April 11, 2016

A Black and White Sympathy Card

When I placed an order last month I got a few cool stamps that, unfortunately, are retiring.  Bummer.  But I will hang on to a bunch as they are some that I really like.  I do have a bunch to give away to some lucky someone who places a $100 order (before ship/tax) through my replicated site (click on the side bar Be Amazing logo).  Remember that not only are the retiring items on sale for 30% off (as supplies last) but the Summer (Mini) Catalog is now available to order from.

Anyway, a friend and I both needed some sympathy cards so this is what I made:


The black/white pattern paper and the tree stamp are retiring.  The text is from the Sentimental Prints set and I also used some Pearls to embellish.  The  black/white ribbon is from my old stash.


Here's a better look at the pearls and the tree.  I also used my Journey Circles and Piercing Elements dies.  Love how this card turned out but I don't like making sympathy cards.

Stamps:
Imagine ATS
Sentimental Prints

Paper:
Black/White Paper Pack
Whip Cream
Black Licorice

Ink:
Black Licorice

Embellishments and Dies:
Pearls
Journey Circles 

I have noticed that items go in and out of stock as orders are made.  If you have an item you want to order, go ahead.  FSJ will ship it to you when it is back in stock.

Friday, April 8, 2016

March ATC Swap

This past Monday I finally got my March swap of ATCs.  Funny because Wednesday I mailed my April swaps!



I sure enjoy this fun swap.  I have a notebook where I keep these and get inspiration for mine.  I'll post my ACT next week sometime as their due to the hostess by the 15th.  Some of the stamps used are being retired such as the set the gumball machine is from.  That is a great set and I will probably keep it for personal use.

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Desks and a Nautical Card

We are getting back to our warmer temps but do have a chance of rain tomorrow.  I'll take it!  We are a hot and dry climate and rain really greens up the countryside.  But you can visit all over the world without leaving your desk today!  Yep,  it's What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday!!!  The lovely Julie at the Stamping Ground has been hosting this fun blog tour for over 6 years!  Today is week 357.


I'm in the process of making a card for a FB challenge through a fellow "coach" at Fun Stampers Journey.  It was to be Easy Peasy.  I don't know if my card would qualify for some but it was very easy for me.  Oh, what do you see...  paper trimmer and dies on the far left, card in the process in the middle, and tools to the right.


This is the card I was working on.  I used a variety of FSJ products so if you are interested, contact me.


I decided to knot my twine but the knots didn't show so I added some sequins under them.  A bit more pop that way.

Are you ready to head over to the Stamping Ground and look around?  I'll be there and everywhere.  And for those of you who have been following the problems with my car.... I bought a different one on Saturday and got it Monday!  I have pics on my previous post!  Now to sell the old...

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

A New Beginning

I had such a hectic weekend and Monday that I didn't get my post made!  I do have a "special" for you but I will put it in another post.  But this is what happened yesterday....




We bought a car!  It's a 2007 Honda CR-V with only 51,000 miles!  Yep, gave up on my old Buick.  I was told the Buick is worth $1500 which is what I put into it in March for parts and labor.  Would like prayers that it will sell.

Here's a full view of the car....


So, is this a good excuse for not posting?  I wasn't home but for about 2 hours in the afternoon then later as hubby and I went out to eat to celebrate.  When I get home today from Bible Study and grocery shopping I'll get tomorrow's post put together.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Happy April First!

I have to admit that I have NO foolishness for you today.  No pranks, nada.  But I do have a card to share that I sent out for my Technique Junkies 1 on 1 swap this month.


I used the Sunburst technique that I taught in January but I used the new neon papers and card stock that will be available in our upcoming BIG catalog in June.  Isn't that heart paper wild!  It's part of the Be Amazing paper pack (12 x 12) along with Sour Lemon (base), Outrageous Pink (top layer) and Electric Lime (die cut border). The text is from the Little BIG Greetings set.


The heart was die cut from the Heart-Felt die set and I embellished with Special Celebrations sequins.  I cut the border using the Border Basics die set.

I hope you don't get too pranked today.  I do have a picture of the April Bloom Box cards for you.


The new stamp set is called Light Up.  What a fun summer set! Just click over on the FSJ Specials page (bottom of banner) to see the info you need!

Also yesterday our retiring list came out.  About 200 items are on that list and effective today they are on sale at 30% off!  I will post the list as soon as I get the web version of it.  About 30 items of mine are now retired and I plan on selling some of those or even maybe use some as blog candy/drawing.  Stay tuned!

And a quick update on my car.  It is fixable but not worth it.  We are going car shopping.  Hope to find something this month or next.  That old 2002 Buick LeSabre just won't make the 250,000 miles with me. (It's at 232,000 now.)  Not sure what I want but it will be either a Buick, Honda, or Toyota, and maybe even an SUV style.