Stressed? Who says I'm stressed????????

My dh been working in Utah, and coming home every other weekend. He recently got a job in Arizona and starts here next Monday, the 28th. SOOOOOOOOO, I have been trying to find just the right home for us, near where he works. It is exhausting and trying, but still kind of exciting. So the hunt continues.

I took a little time to stamp using the color challenge from SCS. I love these colors together. I also inked up some brand new stamps from Treehouse that will be debuting on Friday, April 25th! You have to check them out. This set is called Home Grown and has lots of little garden images and sentiments in it. I also got my new oval nesties. Can you tell? lol I love them, don't you?

I hope you like today's card.

Hugs,
Karen

Inspired Dahlia

The inspiration on SCS today was some beautiful fabrics. Of course, this new stamp by Treehouse came to mind immediately. It isn't the same kind of flower, but it works for me. I love the SU Afternoon Tea designer papers too, and used them on this card as well. The image was stamped with rose red ink and clear embossed before being watercolored. I used a little cuttlebug embossing too, and a touch of the gorgeous taffeta ribbon. How do you like my delightful dahlia?

Butterfly!

I just love butterflies. This is another sneak peek of a new image by Treehouse stamps, coming Friday, April 25th!

I stamped the image onto a window sheet with staz on. I stamped it again on barely banana cs and colored it there, then added two way glue and dazzling diamonds on the wing. I mounted the window sheet with dimensionals, so that it is floating above the colored image. It has a neat effect. I covered the dimensionals with the buttons. The card base was embossed with the cuttlebug, of course. The sentiment (another new image) was stamped and then the clear dew drop added. I punched it out with a circle punch, and added dots around the edge. Of course a little black really makes things pop, so I used the black matting and the gingham ribbon. I think it is a happy card, what do you think?

Treehouse stamps is coming out with a bunch more images on Friday, April 25th. This is a sneak peek at one of them. I just love this littls set, as it has children with their daddy. I'm sure it will bring back fond memories for many of us.

I chose to keep this one pretty simple, by stamping and clear embossing the image rather than coloring it in. I did distress the edges to give it a more masculine look. The sentiment has many different layers on it, and the Dad in the Ruby Red really makes that stand out, don't you think? I also added some of that hardware I really don't use very often.

Be sure to go to Treehouse Stamps on Friday to see all their great new images.

Color me blush, guava and basic gray!

These were the colors for the SCS challenge today. I love the Basic Gray with the Groovy Guava and Blush Blossom. And the taffeta ribbon is so nice to work with. It is so soft and beautiful.

The sentiment, in case you can't read it, says, "Enjoy Life's Simple Pleasures." Isn't that a great thing to remember, as our lives are so crazy and time flies by? So, take some time today to reflect on the here and now and enjoy what you have.

Double Pocket Card

The SCS technique challenge was to make a double pocket card. This is really easy and has a beautiful result. My friend Judy has a tutorial on her blog, found here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/884550?cat=500&ppuser=5282

I used a porcelain print designer paper from Stampin' Up! and I love the result. What do you think?

Creating my own designer paper 2

Thanks to waking up way before dawn this morning, I had time to make another card for the SCS challenge of creating your own designer paper.

For this one I stamped the flourish from Priceless onto the Almost Amethyst card stock with versamark and brushed over it with a blue pearl ex. It has such a nice shimmer in just the right light. For the front panel, I embossed with my cuttlebug, went over it with versamark and the pearl ex once again. I put a thin line of two way glue on the edges, again brushing with pearl ex. Added the center pearl, mounted the layers on black and popped up the main image over the layered ribbon. Of course I had to heat the ribbons just a tiny bit. I think they look better heated. What do you think?

Creating my own designer paper 1

The cupcake was stamped with versamark onto glossy cardstock, then I sponged on pixie pink and lovely lilac ink to pop them out. You can't see it very well in the photo. Then I stamped the main image cupcake onto another piece of glossy and colored it with markers. Mounted onto the two colors of card stock and added Faith dots. Lots of ribbon and layering of the ribbon, again. I love that look too, don't you?

Whooooo loves yooooooouuuuuu?

Hee hee hee. I made these owl eyes to use on the card just below this, but they didn't work on it, and then I noticed how much they looked like owl eyes. So, I had to design an owl they would fit on. Here it is. The face is just a rectangle of chocolate chip cs which I ran through the cb with the D'Vine swirls folder. I added some fun little ears and the eyes and a little triangle for the beak. The sentiment is computer generated. I like the result, how about you?

Jumbo eyelet

Today's SCS challenge was to use eyelets on your creations. I came up with this flower, while thinking of a sunshine friend I have made on the web. She is such a sweet and cheerful person. I hope this creation brings some sunshine to your day! Hugs to you! Karen

Wednesday's sketch challenge!

When I saw today's sketch challenge, I got this idea into my head and here is the result. It's kind of a different look, but I think I really like it. What do you think?

Wow! What a day!

I just checked some of the comments on my blog and found this very sweet one from Joan, saying she has nominated my blog as "You make my day". Isn't that kind of her?

Here are the rules: In order to display this 'You Make My Day Award' proudly on your blog you must re-present it to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blog land. Let them know through email or by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware, you may get the award several times yourself, and if you do, consider yourself really, really loved.


Here's the link to Joan's blog. You may want to check out her list.

http://a-jcreations.blogspot.com/

Now I need to find ten to nominate so I can display the "You Make My Day Award".

Thanks Joan! You really did make my day!

Real Red, Glorious Green and Night of Navy

So, today's color challenge was using these bright colors. Glorius Green is a little bright and one I don't reach for very often. I kept it to a minimum on my card, just using it for a bit of greenery.

I stamped the roses using Real Red. I inked the first stamp with the ink pad, and then the other two with the marker, as it gives a much denser color. I really like the way the roses turned out. I also stamped the sentiment using the real red. It was still a bit harsh, so I sponged the edges with real red and even went over the roses to give them a little softer look. I like the result of that.

I also did the layered ribbon again, punching holes through the image panel with the crop a dile and threading the ribbons through, then adding more and more ribbon to the "bow".

Lots of dimensionals on this one too. I went around the edges of the cuttlebug embossed panel with a real red marker to make it stand out a wee bit more from the main card. You can't really tell in the photo, but the main card was stamped with the Fine Lace bg in real red too. Looking at it now, I think I should have added some red to the ribbon bouquet.

So, how do you like this creation?

Ribbon, Ribbon, I love ribbon!

I just love ribbon, so when I saw Monday's technique lover's challenge, I had to jump on it.

I created this card by stamping the flourish onto the designer paper using chocolate chip ink. I used a few layers on the motif, and a little rhinestone bling in the center. Lots of dimensionals for added zing. I wish the photo came out better. The ribbon really matches beautifully in real life. Oh well!

Thanks for dropping by!

VSN #1

I didn't get much stamping in this week, but I finally did a few of the VSN Challenges.

My first one is using some of the Treehouse Stamps! Aren't they cute? The grass and bushes are so easy to use. I really like them. And isn't Elsie a cute little cow? lol I hope you like it. This was for the animal prints challenge.

You can now click on the Treehouse logo on the front page to zip you right over to their website so you can purchase these fun stamps for yourself. Let them know Karen sent you, will ya'?

VSN #2

And here is number two!

For this one, I didn't even do any stamping! I used my cuttlebug to emboss (fancy corners folder), then added silver lines above and below the embossing, a little silver ribbon and some bling rhinestone brads. I mounted the entire thing onto black card stock. Does it look red carpet like?

VSN #3

This is my paper piecing card. Can you tell her dress is a pink and white checked dp? It is! Then I went back and outlined and colored in. What do you think?

Finally! A triple combo!

I haven't had much stamping time this week, what with Connor's broken leg and my DH finally got a job here in Arizona, so I've kind of been looking at housing near his work. I'm excited about that, let me tell ya'! Anyway, back to the stamping. I combined three challenges on this card: The Sketch for the week, The Ways to Use It - rub-ons, and the Limited Supply - using only one color plus white. This card worked up really fast and easy, and not one stamp was inked to make this card. That feels kind of strange, and like I'm cheating a bit. lol Oh well, this is what I came up with. Please let me know if you love it. If you don't like it, you can just leave quietly. lol wink wink Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!

Poor baby!

So, being the good Nana I am, I took two of my little grandchildren to the park yesterday. Connor loves to swing and get that tickle in his tummy. I was pushing him on the swing and getting him higher when he lost his grip and went flying! He landed on the thick rubberized mat, but was really crying about his leg hurting. I really hoped it would get better after the shock wore off, but it didn't - in fact, it got worse. So, off to the urgent care for an x-ray. His leg has a small break in it. Poor little fellow. He is the youngest in his family and is the only one that has had stitches, and now a broken bone. I feel so sorry for him. Poor little guy!

Layered flower

I really enjoyed Monday's technique of paper tole, so for Tuesday's color challenge, I used a flower (which was prohibited from Monday's challenge). I really love the look it gives a card.

This flower has three layers, the bee has two. I also used the cuttlebug negative color on the horizontal layer, inking the folder with cameo coral ink and using apricot appeal card stock. How do you like it?