Shopping With Friends...Priceless.

Hi All! I was beginning to think that I lost my mojo, but I'm pretty happy with this one. (Maybe later when I'm desperate for something to post, I'll post the card I made yesterday! lol) This is my first MFT (My Favorite Things, for those of you who don't know) card. They are really fun to color! I got this one and the bubble bath set right before I left for my trip, and I finally was able to play with it! I also like that they, like Papertrey sets, come with so many sentiments with them.

Well, I hope you're having a good Thursday! I've had a pretty relaxing day today. {My hubby even made dinner, and now there's a cake in the oven that he's baking! (wink)}

xox,

k

...............................

Fine Print...

MFT; Magnolia PP; CS - Rose Red, C. Chip, VV; Ink - Black Stazon, C. Chip; May Arts ribbon; Prima flowers; Pearl (from Ellen's store); Cuttlebug; Key Tag and Rectangle Punch; Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, and Stumps

Really, I Do!

This is the card that I made for the CPS Contest. I can't say that I'm 100% satisfied with it, but today is the day to post it! I used a set from the SU! last Holiday Mini, that I loved, but wasn't able to use enough before Halloween was over. So, I guess I'm starting early! The sentiment is from a retiring set (one I will miss), Quick Thinking. I love these two stamps together!

I watercolored this with ink pads and my aqua painter. That is something that I haven't done in a long while - well, since I got my Prismacolor Pencils in April! I think that both techniques are ones that you have to keep practicing to keep the hang of it. I also used my SU! markers to highlight the image in certain areas that needed darkening (thanks Ana for that tip! ;)).

I hope you like it! Wishing you all lots of love and another Happy Hump Day!

xox,
k

Fine Print...
Stamps - Flannel, Best Fiends, Quick Thinking; PP - SU! (can't remember the name of the line); CS - WCP, Apricot, Pumpkin, Olive, BB; Buttons; 1/2 in Circle and Word Window Punch; Linen Thread; Black Stazon, Mustard, and other ink pads to color; White Gel Pen; May Arts ribbon (from Lindsey's Store)

I've Been Tagged!

I have been tagged again, in the past couple days, by a couple of super sweet and talented chicks - Kendra and Lauren. This time, though, the challenge is to only answer with one word. It doesn't seem that hard, but let's see how it goes...

Yourself: outgoing
Your Partner: loyal
Your Hair: blond
Your Mother: missed
Your Father: smart
Your Favorite Item: computer
Your Dream Last Night: dream?
Your Favorite Drink: water
Your Dream Car: dunno
Dream Home: beach
The Room You Are In: office
Your Fear: roaches
Where You Want to be in Ten Years: beach
Who You Hung Out With Last Night: friends
You’re Not: shy
One of Your Wish List Items: Janome
The Last Thing You Did: medicine
you Are Wearing: capris
Your Favorite Weather: sunny
Your Favorite Book: Potter
Last Thing You Ate: soup
Your Life: busy
Your Mood: happy
Your Best Friend: numerous
What Are You Thinking About Right Now: sleeping
Your Car: YukonXL
What Are You Doing At The Moment: DUH?
Relationship Status: married
What Is On Your TV: nothing
What Is The Weather Like: nighttime
When Is The Last Time You Laughed: tonight

Yeah! It wasn't really too bad! Now for the tagging...I'm supposed to tag 5 people, so here goes. Don't feel like you have to play, but I'll try to pick ones that haven been gotten before (and I didn't pick on last time)....
Leslie, Lexi, Amy, Ana, and Bethany.

Heather's BRAK Card

First off, I want to apologize to Heather for the poor picture. However, I did want to get this card up here, I got it before we left for our trip, but had no time to upload it, and we have the worst love bugs (they sound endearing, but they're a nightmare - trust me!) and they're EVERYWHERE! I was forced to take the pic inside. I despise the stinkin' things...but enough about the bugs.

This lovely card was made by my blogger friend, Heather. Her blog is A Secret Garden Grows Here. I love the Papertrey butterflies and the Cuttlebugged swirls. Make sure you check out her site! Thanks, Heather, for the super sweet card!

*

So, I didn't ever get the chance to stamp today. Kinda bummed, but tomorrow definitely looks promising - I'm going to Mimi's house to play! I did want to give you some eyecandy, though, so for now, enjoy this sweet one from Heather.

xox,

K

Sleepy in North Port...

Hello. Quick post to let you know, if you're at all interested, that we're alive, well, and back home tonight. We traveled non-stop for around 23 hours (through the night so Wyatt could sleep), and we're super exhausted. We had a really great time and will miss everyone so much, but we're very glad to be home. There's just nothing like your own bed, kwim???
I'm 2 seconds from hitting the hay tonight, and I have nothing to show you, but I DO plan on making a few things (wishful thinking???) tomorrow to post in the afternoon.
Lots of love,
Kirsten

P.S. Thank you to everyone for your super sweet comments on my Featured Stamper post! I'm having SO much fun seeing what everyone is coming up with over there on SCS! I've checked out everything (with working links) posted on the first and second pages over there, plus a coupla others. I think a few of them are better than the ones that I made!!! LOL Head on over there and see what everyone's making! (Click here.)

OMGoodness!!!!!

I so feel like I'm famous for the day! Check out this week's Featured Stamper, and you'll see why!
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=252341
Beth, you are SO sweet - HUGE virtual hugs are coming your way!!! :)
xox,
Kirsten

One More Thing...

Did you check out the aDORable new Bella that Emily just added to her line-up??? She is SO on my wishlist! Her name is Veggiebella, and she has two sentiments that go along with her. Check her out here.

A Muse Sale!!!

You MUST check out the awesome SALE over at A Muse to celebrate their 6th birthday! You can find a bunch of stamps 25% off at this link.

I Couldn't Resist...

Well, I hope that you all are having a wonderful week, because we sure are! We've gone swimming, shopping, and yesterday, we went to a water park, called Schlitterbahn (not sure if I spelled that right???). There was a group of 20 or so of us, and we had a great time. Wyatt had one of those life vests that they give to kids, and he was swimming all over that place!!! He had the best time, and wore himself out so much that he didn't even make it to the car before he fell asleep on my lap! But then again, he didn't have his much needed nap. There were water slides for all ages, and we ALL left completely exhausted and STARVING! We found the most awesome restaurant in Gruene. (Grist Mill - thank you Malissa!!!) It was beautiful inside and out, had good live music playing, and good food. If you're even in the area, I'd highly recommend it - it's right beside the oldest dance music hall in the country, Gruene Hall (thanks again, Malissa!!!). Sorry, I can't remember the name - I'll try to ask around, and edit this later to add it! :) Now, enough about me...back to the card!

This is the last eye-candy that I have for you till I get back. It is another Triangle Trifold card. I just had to make another one, because they're just too cute! I used another one of my adorable Fluffles images, colored it with my Prismacolor Pencils, and added some Stickles to the flower for some shine. The ONLY thing that I don't like about this type of card is that it uses a heck of a lot of ribbon! That means that, if you adore your ribbon like I do, you have to send them to only those people that you REALLY like! {wink}

I am starting to go through some stamping withdrawals. I DID bring some stuff with me, and we DID get a couple of stamps the other day at Hobby Lobby (that my MIL and I stamped up to trade images), but it's just not the same! I WILL be looking forward to getting back to my super Happy Place when I get back home. Just had to voice that out loud. Feel free to leave any coping-related comments for me to use until I get home. :)

xox,
kirsten

Little fine print...
PP - Crate Paper; CS - Rust, Turq., WW; Prismacolor Pencils, Stumps, Gamsol; Michael's yummy velvet ribbon; Marvy Punches; Stickles; Stamps - Paper Tray and Fluffles

ETA an answer to a question: I would use a regular A2 envie, personally, only because there's no extra charge for postage. If you don't mind that, they would fit in a 4 1/2 A Muse envie fairly nicely.

Friends Always

So, I've been doing some shopping these past few days. We went to the Hobby Lobby today...and yesterday, and found a wonderful sale on some patterned paper. I got the big huge stack of MME Magnolia paper that I love so much, and a whole lot of my beloved AC paper. I was giddy! Also, they have such a better selection of stamps then they do in my local Michael's. I restrained myself, though, only buying one adorable House Mouse stamp. So cute - can't wait to use it!

Also, we went to an adorable quilt shop today, and I found myself wishing, once again, that there were several more of me, so that I could do everything that I love (ie., quilting, cards, and scrapbook...and take care of my beautiful child:)) all the time. I love making quilts. I am in the process of quilting an adorable quilt for Wyatt, and I can find no time to finish it. I'm ALSO in the process of appliqueing another quilt for myself (the first one that I made for ME). I ALSO (you getting the picture yet???) have fabric for at least 4 more projects. I ADORE fabric, and thread, and everything else associated with it. Can you see my dilemma??? I OBVIOUSLY adore everything paper related, also. Not a good combination for my bank account. I'm not sure why I told you all of that, except to maybe vent to a population of crafty people, and get any and all ideas for how to separate ones' self for more creative efficiency. Maybe I just need a schedule. Hmmm, must think about this when I'm not so sleepy.

Back to the card... This is a Tent Topper card style, originally designed by Michelle Wooderson (see link, Mish Mash, on sidebar - will try to add when I get back). Her design makes the cutest cards. I love the main image sticking up from the smaller square card. I used some more of my Imaginisce paper for the color inspiration. To match the green ink for the Oval to the PP, I had to stamp off first with my True Thyme ink pad, and then Rock and Roll the Thyme again for some dimension. I created the scallop strip with my Slit Punch, and detailed it with my White Gel Pen. I hope that you like it. :)

Tomorrow is my brother-in-law's graduation, and it looks like all of us girls are going to be getting pedies, so I think it's going to be another good day! Hope you all had a wonderful Hump Day!

xox,
kirsten

Some fine print...
PP - Imaginisce; CS - Rose Red and WW; Stamps - Papertrey (Faux Ribbon), A Muse, and Flowabella (Stamping Bella) - all links found in my sidebar; White Gel Pen; Palette Noir; Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, stumps; Primas (from Jody's share); Bazzill Brad; QuicKutz photo corner; Key Tab punch; SU! ribbon

Best Fishes

Hello from Corpus Christi, TX! We've finally (sorta) recouped from our 23 hour drive from Florida. We drove straight through, only stopping for food, gas, and utilities. We drove at night, so that Wyatt could sleep most of the way, and it ended up working quite well. We got one of those little DVD players, and between night night time, Naptime, movies, books, and the few toys that we brought, he did remarkably well! As for us, well, Dave (husband) put a full-length float, covered by a sleeping bag, in the back of our very large vehicle, and I slept on that most of the time. I did drive for about 5 hours, though, while he tried to sleep, but he couldn't. So, all that being said...anyone know of any great stamping/scrapbooking stores around here??? :)

This is a super quickie card that I made minutes before we left for our trip. It took literally less than 10 minutes, and all of those with a 2-3 yr old clamoring for my attention...oh yeah, also a 30-something man begging me to finish up and leave! (Can anyone relate to this scenario???) This is for my brother-in-law's graduation. He loves to fish, and I wanted to use my new A Muse stamps, so this is what I came up with. Also, I used the same A-Muse-A-Palooza 3rd Challenge sketch for 4 1/4 square card.

I simply stamped the Best Fishes stamp to make a tone-on-tone background on the Caribbean. Then I used my Scallop Scissors (Michael's) to make a reverse scallop on another piece of Caribbean to make "water". I stamped the fishing pole on the white first, and then used my Stamp-a-ma-Jig to line it up for the Caribbean piece. The delicious ribbon is from Jacksonbelle's store - man, is she a sweetie! (I will definitely be back to her store - starting with more of this double sided striped stuff!!! I'll add a link when I get home, if I remember, but check out her store link, Jacksonbelle Embellishments, on my sidebar for now!)

Well, that's all for now. I'll be popping in here and there to say hi! Hope you're all having a great week!

xox,
k

Some fine print...
CS - Papertrey White, Caribbean, Turq.; Stamps - Papertrey's Little Lady (sentiment) and A Muse's Best Fishes and Fishing Pole; Marvy Punches; May Arts Ribbon; Ink - Caribbean and Jet Black

A Happy Life

Reposted: This card was published in the October issue of Cards, pg. 71.

So, I couldn't leave without stamping a few card from my new sets. I was totally planning on stamping some up to upload while I was gone, but I can't wait! This set is too freakin' cute! The colors, again, do not do it justice. The PP colors are washed out in the photo. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong today - probably not enough patience! :)

Anywho, this is a very simple card, but I really like how it turned out. It kind of reminds me of the clean style of a couple of really super stampers, Kristina Werner (starofmay) and Tracy Durcan (Tracy-Stamper). Hopefully, I didn't overshoot clean, and hit boring! LOL I, like Nichole showed on her blog, used Versamark on some Crate Paper (after I stamped the body in Black Stazon) to stamp the wings, and embossed with some Extra Thick Clear EP twice. The antennae are stamped on the white paper, and the sentiment is stamped on a transparency. This is also a 4 1/4 square card.

Oh yeah, I had to try the new white paper, available at Papertrey, and I really like it. To me, it's just like the SU!, except way more sturdy. It also comes in 40 sheets to a pack (for only $6!), like SU!, but the pack is about 50% thicker! I'll probably mostly use it for card bases, and use my WW for layers as I have plenty of both, but so far, I give it 2 thumbs up! :)

Well, I'm going to see how much more I can get done during Naptime!

xox,
k

Fine Print...
Crate Paper (Samantha Collection); Papertrey White CS; Bazzill Brads; Papertrey (Little Lady); transparency; UTEP; Versamark, Jet Black Stazon

Sweet Makenna

This is my very first 4 1/4 square card, and they are so stinkin' cute! I just got my order from A Muse (in 2 days from Seattle - so psyched about that!), and I received 2 packages of 4 1/2 square envies in it. I really like this size. (Although, I read on the A Muse blog that they are a bit more expensive to send, so some people send this size card in a standard A2 envie to save postage, or hand deliver it in the coordinating envie.)

The colors didn't come out great in this pic. The lolly that she's (Makenna) holding is actually a Regal Rose patterned piece of paper cut out and elevated just slightly with a glue dot. I also pieced her dress from the same Loves Me PP. I masked her feet and stamped the "floor" with the Big Block (1/2 off online!). I like this effect for the oval punches.

Well, I had to make one of the challenges before I left with my new stamps! Make sure you check out the A-Muse-a-Palooza blog, to check out this and other challenges!

Lots of Love,
Kirsten

Fine Print...
Stamps - A Muse (Makenna, Big Block, and sentiment); PP - Loves Me; CS - WW, Regal Rose; Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, and stumps; Basic Grey ribbon; Marvy punches

Friends Forever

This is the second and last (for now, at least) card from my page kit. I wasn't sure what sentiment I was going to put with the "u & i", but then I saw this one from the Faux Ribbon set (Papertrey Ink). I think it works pretty well! The flower is from another QuicKutz Revolution die, and the font is from the new alpha (Sophisticate - I think???). Both the sentiment and circles were stamped with White Stazon on a transparency. The corner PP treatment was simply created with 2 squares I folded in half diagonally. Hope you like it!

Well, we are leaving for TX on Sunday. We're driving there. That should be fun with an almost 3 year old boy. (Insert eye rolling here.) Well, it should be interesting anyways! :) I've made a few cards, and my thought is that I can take our laptop to post them on the road. I'm not sure that this will happen, but I will try.

In other news, we have a realtor meeting us today at our house. That means that we will be officially putting it on the market. Not sure how I feel about that. We would be moving somewhere in the same round-about area, but still... The keeping the house spotless every second, and packing, and setting up somewhere else (probably further away from all of my friends)... I just don't know. With the market the way it is right now, who knows how long it'll even take for it to sell. We'll have to wait and see what happens!

Well that's enough blither for now. I hope that you all have a super weekend!

xox,
k

Some fine print...
PP - Imaginisce; CS - Bazzill, BB, transparency; Bazzill Brad; AC ribbon; Stamp - Papertrey (Faux Ribbon); QuicKutz dies

Miss You

I edited this post because I retook and replaced the pic. I think I like it better with the white bkgd. :)

I was part of a QuicKutz club at my LSS, and one of the monthly projects last month was to create a scrapbook page with this Imaginisce paper and the new Revolution dies (that I am TOTALLY going to buy as soon as they restock! --- Did you know that you can use Revolution/QuicKutz standard dies in your Cuttlebug??? And if you don't have one of THOSE...well, you should be getting in your car right now to get one, instead of reading THIS!!! :)). Well, I have a little boy, and I don't really scrap about myself, so I'd much rather use this paper and flower for a card! I ended up making two of them from that page kit. Both are 5 1/4 in. square cards. I like making those once in a while. Mix it up a bit, you know!

Well, there's not very much stamping on this (or the other one that you'll see tomorrow), but I really like how it turned out. Most of my cards end up so bizzy (not that I don't love all of the "shtuff"), but it's nice to do something a bit "clean-er" here and there, too. I hope you like it!

xox,
kirsten

Fine Print...
PP - Imaginisce; CS - Bazzill, SU! BB; Stamp - Papertrey (Papertray); QuicKutz Revolution die; Bazzill Brads; Tool Kit; Michael's ribbon

Happy Hump Day

I've been commenting on everyone's Trifold Triangle card for weeks now, telling them how much I really need to make one of those cards, and now I finally have! It's such a fun and cute little thing - it's would be hard to make them any other way! Click on the link and check out Beate's awesome tutorial!

I used an image that I stamped from my dear friend, Mimi's new Stampendous chick stamps. I love this image! I have now acquired a HUGE collection of both Fluffles and this Chick images - you'll be seeing a LOT of them - but I'll try to space them out a bit for some variety! LOL

Well, I hope that you had a Happy Hump Day! (What a silly name for it!) I did - I spent it stamping with a friend! Tomorrow's card should appear earlier in the day.

xox,
k

For the fine print...
PP - Imaginise; CS - Rose Red, Teal, WW; Palette Noir; Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, Stumps; Marvy Punches and SU! Small Oval; Amuse Twinkle Stickers; Michael's ribbon; Stamps - Stampendous and Papertrey (Faux Ribbon)

Birthday Wishes

Thought there weren't going to be any new posts today??? Well, I did, but I was able to finish this before there wasn't enough light outside to take the pic! I used my underused Papertrey sets (Green Thumb and Faux Ribbon), in honor of today's new set, Little Lady (did you order yours yet???). The new one is a smaller set, and only $15! The ladybugs are so cute, though!

The layout came from Amy Westerman - I'm starting to really dig these layouts! I need to start doing the Sketch Challenges on SCS again - it's so nice not to have to think so much, once in a while...or always! {wink} The bucket idea came from (I think, and correct me if I'm wrong???) Julie Masse. She (and I) used one of the stems from the set to create a handle for the flower pot, to make a bucket. I stamped off for the bucket, and rock-n-rolled in Grey, and used Grey full-strength for the handle. The flowers are rock-n-rolled, as well, and dotted with Stickles for shimmer.

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful Tuesday. Hopefully, I'll be able to stamp a few things tonight. I'm leaving this weekend for Texas for a few days, and I'd like (maybe wishful thinking???) to have some eye candy for you while I'm gone.

I haven't forgotten about the Naptime Nuggets. I'm planning on something really cool for the 30,000 mark - I just need to figure out what that something is first! LOL That's the hardest part for me!

xox,
k

Fine Print - PP-Scenic Route; CS-Ruby, Cameo, Olive, WW; Stickles; Marvy Giga Square (punched twice with the seem covered by the dotted strip); Circle and Key Tag Punches; QuicKutz photo corners; Michael's ribbon; Ruby Brad

Card for a Cause

Reposted: This card was published in the October issue of Cards, pg. 164-165.You may remember, way back in this post I told you about Joanne's Blog Candy to raise money for breast cancer awareness. Well, she had asked me to make a "pink card" for her to add to the enormous and wonderful pile of goodies that she was collecting and would be giving away. Here it is. I hope that it's worthy! :)
I used Bazzill Bling for all CS layers except for the Basic Black and the transparency. It's a lot more shimmery IRL. The top of the card was "pieced", by cutting 1/4 in strips of light and dark pink CS on a 45 degree angle, and adhering them down on the white CS. The transparency was stamped with Heidi Swapp Snap Stamps ("believe") and Autumn Leaves v.2 (flourishes) in White and Black Stazon.
The main image was made from a QuicKutz die and Marvy punches. The "pink ribbon" was made with two "ribbons" cut and stacked using Dimensionals. The white scallop is dimensional, as well. The bling was found at the $1 Store.
I feel so honored to participate in this cause. It is something that is near and dear to my heart, as my Grandmother passed away due to breast cancer. Please make sure that you go and check out Joanne's blog to learn what you can do to help.
Have a Happy Monday, and Joanne - it's on it's way! (Went out on Saturday.)

xox,
k

My Only Sunshine

This card was created while playing at my friend Mimi's house the other day. I took over my Petey, and we did a little Prismacoloring. This little guy is so much fun to color, especially with his Bermuda shorts and surf board! I know, I'm enabling again, but who can keep them a secret, huh???

I got my color inspiration from the PP (Creative Imaginations) - such fun colors to play with! After I colored him, I sponged some color around the top and sides of the main image (and main card) in both Bordering and Caribbean, to match the light "teal-ish" color in the PP. I had already "grounded" him under his feet with a "caramel-y" pencil, to resemble sand. The Pumpkin was sponged with Rust. I think he turned out pretty cute!

I hope that everyone has an awesome weekend and Mother's Day. Hopefully, we all can stay healthy enough to enjoy it! (It's not been a good winter/spring for us, cold/flu-wise.) This holiday is kind of bittersweet for me. My husband is wonderful, but it makes me remember that much more how much I miss my own Mom. So, if you're lucky enough to still have yours, try not to ever take her for granted. And that's all I'm going to say about that.

xox,
Kirsten

Fine Print - PP (CI); CS (WW, Pumpkin, Teal, Cocoa); Cuttlebug; Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, stumps; bling (???); SU! ribbon, Stamps (Inky Antics and A Muse); Ink (Chocolate Chip and Pallete Noir)

I Can't Wait!

Just wanted to tell you how excited I am about the new Papertrey set coming out on the 15th! It is SO mine! Make sure that you check out Nichole's blog for her 5 days of previews. Today (in case it's too early to do math;)) is day 4, but I was sold on yesterday's ladybug card! Just some more enabling!!! :)

A Ter-Ruff-ic Day

I'm continuing on with my farewell to the retiring sets with this card, using Ruff Day. I loved this set when I first got it, and like so many of my sets, used it only once or twice. Quite sad, actually. But having said that, I'm okay with it retiring, and therefore, selling it.

Did I mention how much I love Chatterbox paper? The colors and patters are SO me, and I really like the wallpaper texture. I've always loved blue, and the blue and brown combo is just so nice and soothing to me. This started out as a Sketch Challenge card from a month or so ago, and then changed too much for me to even call it that! I'm kinda happy with how he turned out, though.

Thanks for checking in! Tomorrow...more enabling. I've got another Inky Antics number for ya! ;)

xox,
k

Now for the fine print...
PP - Chatterbox; CS - Bashful, Cocoa, Celery, WW; Ink - Olive, Timber Brown and Black Stazon; Tool Kit; MM tab (sanded for more readability); Blue Gingham; Stamps - Ruff Day, A Muse Skinny Oval; Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, and stumps

ETA: Thank you for the wonderful comments on the piercing (among the other ones :)), but I wanted to make sure that I mentioned that I got the idea for the "inside out" piercing from Jen del Muro and the ATC that I received in her swap. She rocks, so make sure that you check out her blog here.

You Make Me Smile

In a previous post, I told you that Beate Johns sent me a beautiful RAK card, as well as some images of both the bee stamped on her RAK and this group of three bees. Well, the images (by Stampendous) have been sitting on my stamp table since then, just waiting to be put onto a card! Here it is.

I saw this sketch on Amy Westerman's blog, and thought that it would be perfect for this image. She does a sketch once a week, and I also found her via Beate's blog! It's so nice to take part of the thinking process away when making something once in a while! My friend, Mimi, once gave me a "Me Album", by Lisa Bearnson, and it was all cut and paste - I loved it!!! When you do so many classes, not that I have in a while :(, but when you do, it's nice to have something already thought out for you. But I digress...

Thanks, Beate! This card will be going to a good home. Who's? I'm not sure yet, but definitely good! Hope you have a wonderful day!

xox,
k

Some deets on the stuff I used...
Chatterbox PP; CS - Cranberry, Buckaroo, Marigold, Bashful, Confetti White; Black Stazon; Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, Stumps; Tool Kit; Small Sayings set from the Winter Mini (SO hope it makes it!); Prima Flowers, Pearls (purchased at Ellen's store)

Happy Tuesday!

Here is another little boy card that I made for a friend's son, up in Ohio. I hope that he likes it!

I'm SO glad that Wild about You is not going to be retiring, I LOVE this set!!! I was a bit sorry about Fontastic, although I think I've used it twice...counting this card! LOL I do think it'll be good for scrapbooking, though, so it's one of the few sets that I'll hang onto, for a while anyways. I don't like to hang onto too much. I'd rather have more money for NEW STUFF! KWIM??? Plus, it kind of feels good to purge! I guess I'm one of the few of us that isn't crying over the Retire List. Most of the ones that are retiring, certainly with some exception (A Happy Hi, Baby Talk, Classic Alpha), are ones that I'm ready to get rid of, like Favorite Teddy Bear, Treat Yourself, Fun Filled, and Love Without End. I'll try to make a card or two from the ones that I still like, and then bid it farewell! I have a total of 34 retiring sets, and 4 wheels. I'm planning another big Open House for all of my customers to come and shop, as well as pick up the new catty. I can't wait!!!

So now, I guess, I'll tell ya about this card! :) Like I mentioned before, I used Wild about You and Fontastic, as well as an A Muse sentiment that says "have the funnest birthday ever!". Oh yeah, I also used All in a Row for the row of dots between the ribbon. I stamped the lion three times to get the dimension on his face/mane. I love the tilted head look on this guy, and no, I didn't dream that up. (Not sure who did.) The ink colors that I used were Pumpkin, Marigold, Navy, and Buckaroo. For the flower, I also used a Celery and Cranberry Marker (Cranberry made with a Blender pen and reinker). The gem in the center of the flower is an A Muse Twinkle Sticker. I used my Marvy Giga Scallop Circle and Mega Circle punches for main image. The PP is Chatterbox - I LOVE this piece! Need to get more!

Well, I hope you like the card, and now I need to go stamp something for tomorrow!

xox,
k

Petey Goes Fishing

I guess since it's been so hot and humid down here lately, I wanted to make something to make me feel a bit cooler. His name's Petey, and he's a total Cutey! You can find him at Inky Antics.

I used a recent Sketch Challenge as inspiration, and mixed it up a bit. I flipped the center panel of the Chatterbox paper to break up the stripes, and added the strip across the middle. The strip was Cuttlebugged with one of my newer A2 folders. The brads are from Bazzill. The black clip on the edge of the main image is from Heidi Swapp, and the ribbon is May Arts (black) and an unknown polka dot.

I colored Petey with my Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, and stumps. BTW, my latest must-have tool for Prismacoloring is my Magic Rub eraser. That sounds funny, but it is an incredible shading tool. I color the whole image, then touch it up with the eraser to add dimension to the images, like light bouncing off of it. For example, the "shine" on Petey's arm was made simply by taking some color off with the eraser.

The sentiment comes from A Muse, and says "dropping you a line". The CS is Brocade, Glorious, Bashful, and WW. Lastly, I finished it off, as usual, with my Tool Kit to add the piercing at the bottom.

Have a great Monday!

xox,
k

You Are FAR OUT.

Reposted: This card was published in the October issue of Cards, pg. 78.So this is a card with which I was trying to stretch my creativity. I need a couple of boy cards, and with this set, By Air, retiring, I thought that I'd pull it out. I have noticed that I've been sticking pretty close to my favorite layout a bit too often, lately, so I tried something different. The "far out" sentiment is from a Autumn Leaves clear stamp set. It also has a lot of really cute images, but I get to those another day! :)
The paper is S.E.I., and I also used BB, WW, and Transparency. I used both Black and White Stazon on the Transparency sentiment layer. (The "you are" was made with Karen Foster Snap Stamps.) The corner treatment was created with the new Cuttlebug die and SU! brads, and the aliens were created with a QuicKutz die.
I used SU! Markers for the spaceship {Mustard, Buckaroo (stamped off to match paper), and Olive}, and cut out the blue piece for more dimension. Lastly, I added the piercing, doodling, ribbon (May Arts and Basic Grey fibers), and Making Memories clip.
Hope you all are having a great weekend, and stay tuned for tomorrow. I've got some Inky Antics coming your way! :)

xox,
k

Last Blogger Swap Card, courtesy of Anna

This cute card was made by Anna Zuniga, from Stampanna. She used one of my favorite new sets, Green Thumb, from Papertrey Ink. I really like the background that she created with the different circles, and the dimension of the top boot. Make sure that you check out her blog for more of her creations. Thanks, Anna!

Chris' Swap Card

This is another cute Blogger Spring Swap card, made by Chris Smith. She is known as "inkpad" on Splitcoast, and her blog is From My Inkpad to Yours. Make sure that you check her out!

This is a great sketch, and I love jewel tones! This is a set that I need to use more often. Chris used her Cuttlebug on the circular layer, and inked it with some green. Also, she used some glitter and gems on the crab to depict some jewel encrusted crabs that she saw in her recent travels.

Thanks, Chris, for such a great card!!!

Hey Cupcake

This is my husband's belated (how pathetic is that???) birthday card. I know it looks kind of childish with the little "birthday boy" tag (Making Memories), but I couldn't resist! I got my color inspiration from the Chatterbox paper, since it looks rather masculine. I actually was going to do the Sketch Challenge from the other day, but I screwed up the cutting of the strips, so I just went with this! LOL
I used my new House Mouse stamp and my A Muse sentiment. To be honest, the House Mice never appealed to me enough to buy them, but then, in a shameful shopping spree one day, I decided to buy 1 or 2 to see what the fuss was about. Well, I now know why people like them so much. Besides being really cute, they are really fun to color! The tiny shading dots make an expert color-er (for lack of a better word!) out of a beginner! (I know, more enabling! :)) I used my Prismacolor Pencils to color in the image.
I cut the "hey cupcake" strip with my Word Window punch by sticking one of the ends out the top of the punch (hope that makes sense???), to make it longer. The CS is Pumpkin, Bashful, and Buckaroo. The ribbon and brad are SU!.
Hopefully, I'll be able to crank a few more things out soon! Got lots of cards I need to make! (Jeanine, Amy, Kim, Beth, Mimi --- I didn't forget your thank you cards from my birthday! They're on my list! LOL)

xox,
k

Julie's Swap Card

This is a cutey Bella card, made by Julie Masse. She does great work, and also had a super blog. One of her cards was an "honorable mention" over on Nichole's blog. I love the Chatterbox paper that she used, colors, and ricrac. I also think her "wardrobe piecing" is very cool. Make sure that you check out her blog, Stampin with Julie.

Donna's Card - Second Swap

I almost forgot... I do have something to show you! How cute is this card!? This is the second card that I received from Donna Baker. I love her coloring! And the tab with the ribbon on the side is really adorable. Make sure that you check out her blog here. Thanks Donna!

More Good News

You may have noticed a bunch of green boxes floating around this blog lately. That's because I got a bunch of good news yesterday from a magazine! They have accepted 6 of my cards to be included in an upcoming issue! Yippee!

Also, you might have noticed a decrease in my cards posted as of late... It's been a very busy week! I've gotten very little stamping time. (Insert sad face here.) Between Dave's birthday and Wyatt lacking napping time, there's not a whole lotta stampin' goin' on. He's been in a very challenging mood lately (ugg) too, so by Night Night time, I'm exhausted! (I'm sure that there's a Mommy or two who can relate (wink), right???) BUT, I hope to get something done tomorrow?!?

Dave and I had a nice evening out, though. We saw the movie Blades of Glory (a bit of corniness, but it made us laugh so much, we didn't mind that much) and went to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. We hardly ever go out on our own (thanks Amy and James:)), so we had a real good time.

Well, that's about all that I have for you! Hopefully there'll be something more "visual" tomorrow!

xox,
k

Finally I Got to Stamp!

I know that it's been a while, but I finally got a card up here stamped by me! (Not that the RAKs and swaps that I've been posting aren't totally FAB!) I used one of my Whipper Snapper stamps, my Faux Ribbon (Papertrey Ink) set, and some doodads that I've been hording! I'm pretty happy with how he's turned out. {Ana, I feel like we're having a showdown! LOL (Make sure that you all check out Ink a Stamp for more absoLUTEly adorable Whipper Snapper cards - and yes, I'm perfectly aware that I'm enabling you all! HeeHee:))}
I used my Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, and stumps to color in the little guy. (I'm sorry, I never remember what colors - I just try to match them to the paper, and I can't even put them back in the box, for fear I won't remember which one I was using! LOL) I HAVE found, though, that the pencils work MUCH better on WW paper, as apposed to WCP - in case you were wondering.
Both the sentiment and "ribbon" came from my Faux Ribbon set. The bling was from the $1 Store, and the clip is from Making Memories. Ribbon is May Arts (pink) and SU! RicRac. Paper is Loves Me PP, WW, Turquoise, Celery, and Pretty in Pink. I used my Oval Punches for the sentiment. I sponged the edges with a dauber and a Turquoise ink pad, and stamped the sentiment in Celery.

PS I think what I decided, based on some of your comments on the A Little of This... post, is to do a "modified" Card of the Week. I'll try to post the complete directions for a card each week, hopefully, on or near Monday. I won't necessarily use ONLY SU! products every time, but I'll try to give tips for finding a SU! set/image to work in place of the "contraband" (smile). I hope that this will make everyone happy!

PSS GRRRrrrr! It looks as if I'm going to have to start all over with my Stamping Top 50 rating! How annoying!

Lots of Love,
Kirsten

Who Wouldn't Want a Card From Beate???

I saw this aDORable card on one of my FAV blogs the other day, and said to myself, "I REALLY need to make one of these neato (yes, I said neato) folded square cards." Can you imagine how big my smile was when I opened up my mailbox, and saw it in there??? Beate Johns is a SUPER talented stamper, but also a SUPER sweet person. She also sent me some stamped images of this bee, and a group of 3 bees. Thank you SO much, Beate, I LOVE it! Check out her wonderful blog, Fresh and Fun, you won't regret it.

Mimi's Card - Second Swap

Isn't this adorable? This card was made by Mimi Hornberger, and her blog is here. I love the colors my sweet friend used, as well as the stitching, Cuttlebugging, and punched flowers. If you can't tell, the flowers are behind a layer of tulle. So cute! Thanks Mimi! :)

Quick Question...

Has anyone ever had their Stamping Top 50 number disappear??? I click on it, and it basically says I don't exist! I was 85 before I left for Orlando, and now nothing?!? Any thoughts???

I have one thought, maybe if I get the heck off of this darn computer I could stamp something!!!

xox,
me

Fairle's Swap Card

This card was made by Fairle Carroll. She did a wonderful job cutting and embossing, and colors are so nice, too! She used the new Doodle This set to create this very pretty card. Make sure that you check out her blog here!

A Little of This and a Little of That

I have not deserted my blog. I'm only trying to get to things as I can. We just got back from Disney, and had such a good time! We went with some friends of ours, and even got a babysitter (Disney's service) for the kiddies on Sat. night! What a treat! We hit Downtown Disney, Wolfgang Puck (big yum), and a little of Pleasure Island. Can't wait to go back! Our little ones had a TON of fun, too!

Nursing License renewal stuff is all done and taken care of! A relief off my mind! Good for 2 more years! Not that I'm using it now, anyways, but it's good to have in my back pocket - just in case.

The back lanai that my hubbie is building is almost done! Yeah! It looks so good - can't wait to use it!

Hubbie's birthday is Thursday. Says he wants a "steering column for his boat". How boring is THAT to shop for??? Oh well. I guess he just made it easy on me!

I'm thinking of discontinuing the Cards of the Week. For some reason, they seem to be more work for me than other cards that I make. I think because I created a weekly deadline for myself - I don't want to do it??? Please let me know if you'd like me to continue them by leaving a comment. If enough people would like to see them continue, then I'll keep 'em up, but if not, I'll just keep making the multi vendor cards that I love so much!

I'm a finalist in a card contest over at Serendipity Kits. There are 4 of my cards there that you might recognize. This card seems to be the fav. Make sure that you check it out here and vote! :) Make sure that you don't click the "vote" button before you click on the bubble beside the card! I did that...didn't turn out so well. :(

Did you see that the SU! Retire List is up on the website??? All I can say is, Kirsten's a-havin' a sale! I have 30 something sets that are retiring, and I'm not in love with enough to keep. (And 3 wheels.) Gotsta make room for more stamps! KWIM???

Well, I think that that's the gist of my updates. I've got a swap card to post in a bit, and I will eventually get to some stamping, although Naptime doesn't look good, since I now have an almost three year old rummaging through my cupboards. I checked on him, and he was busily dumping all of his raisins in a gallon-size Ziplock bag, hiding behind the trifold door. Aah...good times.

Hopefully I will be stamping soon! Hope to hear from ya soon!

xox,
k