Nautical Sketch

Hello there!  Today I am showcasing the Nautical Collection from AiFactory!  This was so fun to work with this week, as PA was going through some nice weather!  It kind of got me thinking spring!!!  And then, right now as I type this post, snow is swirling all around outside, and our roads have a dusting.  I do have to say though that it looks like sugar being sprinkled!  It's just a shame that it's so COLD outside!  That's what I don't like about winter!

Ok, on to the card!  Our challenge this week was to work w/ a sketch, any sketch at all!  Along w/ this Nautical Collection.  So, I chose this week's sketch from Card Patterns and I think it worked out perfectly!!!!  What do you think?!  And yes, those knots are sailor knots!  I went on a search for a tutorial.  These knots are SIMPLE!!!!!  I was shocked and was SURE I was doing something wrong!  LOL!

You can still participate in the CardPatterns sketch challenge this week until Friday (tomorrow) night!
http://cardpatterns.blogspot.com/

Make sure you go and check out the rest of the team's fabulous creations!
Angie, Lola, Kerry, & Carole

You can do the challenge this week too!  Go to our challenge blog to get all the details!  http://aifactorychallenges.blogspot.com/

And tune in next week for the AiFactory blog hop!  We will have blog candy, and prizes!!!!  We have some fabulous news to share!!!!!  Go to the Challenge Blog, link above, to start the blog hop next Thursday!  We can't wait to see you!!!!

A Whale of a Hi!

Hi there!  Today I am featuring a new illustrator to AiFactory and her newest set called Sea Creatures!

Her name is Laurie Wilson, and she comes to us with loads of experience under her belt!  So, stop by her blog and give her some "whale" wishes!  ;)

Here is her newest set:

And she gave the DT 3 separate images to work with.  I chose Wylie the Whale.  I did absolutely no coloring on this!  This is what is nice about digital images!  They can come colored or uncolored!  I opened Wylie up in Paint, and used the paint can and painted Wylie dark blue.  I typed up my own little sentiment, and printed it all out on one piece of paper!  Part of our challenge was to use 5 embellishments.  I knew that I wanted to use pearls for bubbles and I used a pearl for the sentiment to tie it all together.  And I used a googly eye for Wylie!  I also used fishing wire to hang him so he can swim freely!   

I made my own little box.  I took a piece of 8 1/2 x 11 Ballet Blue, and scored it at 1", 5", 6" and 10"; turned it and scored a 1" bottom.  I actually had to cut half of the bottom tabs off as they were too long.  For the top, I drew the waves and then cut them out.  I sponged them w/ Ballet Blue ink and then topped them off w/ Frost White for that foamy look.  I don't know how well you can see it, but it's there!

For the hole for Wylie, I used my largest circle in the small circle nesties, and cut the circle out w/ my exacto knife.  It was too wide to fit through my cuttlebug.  Then, I ran one of my scallop circles through on white paper, and then used that same large circle and ran it through to get that look that you see.  I dabbed glue w/ my two way glue pen (why is it called two way?)  on all the llittle scallops and then placed on top of the circle!

Thanks for swimming by and make sure you check out what the rest of the DT has for you swimming in their bloggy oceans!  Check my sidebar for all the links!  I'm exhausted from trying to "free Wylie!"  LOL!  Sorry, I just had to go there!  Hahahaha!

You can swim in our ocean this week too!  Go to our challenge blog to see all the details!
Have a swimmingly stampy day!

Dirty Dozen Public Challenge submissions

Well, I have been a little busy making cards, and I decided that I am going to keep track of how many cards I make this entire year.  When I go on Splitcoast, people have in their signatures how many cards they have made in such an such length of time, how many scrapbook pages they have made, etc. etc.  Well, I'm going to keep track of my card making too!  Just a little thing for me.  Maybe I'll have a counter on my sidebar, if I can find one that counts up!  LOL!

Anyway, the Fan Club on Splitcoaststampers is up, and I found the challenge thread and decided to do a couple.  There are 4 total, and I only got to two, but hey, I at least made it to two!  I remember when I would do the challenge of the day every single day.  Now, I sleep in til 9 and then start my day.  And when I was doing the challenge every day, I had two of my own kids (my third wasn't born yet), and I watched two other kids.  And I still managed to get them done every day.  I think I need some structure in my life!  LOL! 

So, this first challenge was to make something flirty, feminine and floral.  Well, I don't do flirty, so I threw that one out the window, and went with feminine and floral.  When I think floral, I instantly think of and go to my Kitchen Sink Stamps!  I have almost all of the floral sets that KSS comes out with!  Can you smell a dedicated shopper or what?!  Anyway, so I went through all of my stamps and then I remembered that I just purchased a 8x8 Basic Grey Origins paper pad from My Favorite Things at the last release, so I pulled that out as well and together I came up with this card!  The daisies are stamped in Dandelion and Canteloupe.  The leaves are Cottage Ivy and New Sprout.  I used Rich Cocoa for the centers.  For the baby daisy centers, I just inked the middle of the second stamp and stamped it again.  I like to do these daisies backwards.  It's easier to place them.  So, I did #3 first in Canteloupe.  Then #2 in Canteloupe as well.  Then #1 was stamped w/ Dandelion.

And of course I had to stitch on it!!!!  I envisioned it in my head, so I had to do it to see what it would look like!  I like how it turned out.  I'm getting better.  I just need to keep practicing!

And I finished the inside of this to complete the look.

The second card was the color challenge with inspiration.  The inspiration?  A Tiffany & Co. box!  Oooh la la!  I'm married to a teacher, so the only way that I'll get to see a Tiffany & Co. box is if I go online to look at one! LOL!  So, after reading the challenge, I went to http://www.tiffany.com/ to check things out, and I saw that their new thing that they are featuring are extravagant key charms.  "Tiffany keys" they are called.  Well, I have some "Tim Holtz keys" ;) that I have been hoarding!  So, my card came together really quickly!  I wanted to make something that really speaks of Tiffany & Co., esp. since the color challenge was blue and white.  Well, duh!  I found that Tempting Turquoise is the only color from SU! that is even remotely close to the world renowned Tiffany box.  So, I went w/ it, and I made my submission literal.  Of course I would do that.  Because I'm a literal thinker!  I scoured my SU! sets and found To Have & To Hold which has type print sentiments that went perfectly w/ my card!  Because I wanted a type font just like the Tiffany & Co. logo on all of their boxes!

And I decorated the inside just to finish the card.  No big deal.

And that's all folks!

Have a STAMPTASTIC day!!!

Swap cards for SCS

Hi there!  I signed up for a Women's Swap on Splitcoast, I want to say in November, early December.  And I thought, I'll do the swaps now and get them done and over with.  Well, then Christmas came, and I had other things going on, and oops, January is here!  Well, I just finished them and they are due at the end of January!  So, I got them done on time and will ship out Monday.  But, jeez, not like waiting til the last minute!  LOL!  I have so many other things I NEED to be doing, yet, I HAD to get these done!

I signed up for two spots, why I did that, I have NO idea!  The first card came out ok.  I had a vision of what I wanted to do, and it didn't take me long at all to complete 6 of these.  The second card took me an entire week, and then only 1 day to really get it together.  I completely scrapped by first idea for my second card.  After I spent time painstakingly paper piecing.  Then, I looked at them and thought, Oh my God, what horrible paper choices!  So, those are on my desk ready to be thrown away.  I started over and am SO glad I did!  They turned out better than I anticipated!

Here's the first card.  I tried my hand at sewing in a circle.  Not bad for my first time.  Not the best either.

This card features the Party Girl set from My Favorite Things.  I took her horns and tail off (again...).  The houndstooth background is from the retired SU! background stamp.  I used a circle and scallop circle nestabilities.

And here's the second card that got a second chance!  LOL!

I used Core'dinations cardstock for the red swirly background.  I ran it through my cb w/ the d'vine swirls folder, and then sanded it.  I cut out 3 stars at the same time using my stars nesties.  Everything else is from My Favorite Things.  Stamp set used is from Chick Flick.  Ribbon is from MFT.  And then my brads.

And that's it!  So, these will be going postal!  And my next 3 projects will be recipe boxes that my grandmother's sister ordered for her daughter and future granddaughters in law!  The pressure is on!!!  In between that, I will be back w/ more awesome stamps from AiFactory!  They have some new illustrators, and Ms. Ella just does something new every day!  I can't wait to see what she does next!

Hope to see you again!

Have a STAMPTASTIC day!!!

Challenge #20: Ella on Cloud 9!

Hello there!  Today I am featuring a new stamp from AiFactory called Ella on Cloud 9!  Well, I renamed her!  Originally she was Ella in Love, but I like my new name for her better!  LOL!  So, she's Ella on Cloud 9!  What do you think?  Isn't she cute?!  I really like this image, and she was fun to make into a card!

You can win this little love bird for free if you participate in our challenge HERE!  Our challenge is to make a Valentine card and use something lacey!  I used a heart doily that I had picked up at my grocery store last week.  I don't usually do any grocery shopping, so when I do get to go, I always scour the aisles for something new to eat and something new to add to my cards!  Thus the reason why I don't shop!  LOL!  Impulse shopper!!!!  So, anyway, I found these little hearts, and big ones too!, and wanted to incorporate them into my card.  And I will say this again and again, the nice thing about digital images is that you can resize them to fit your needs!  I had originally printed out a larger Ella, but after I colored her and cut her out, I screwed something up, and had to start over.  So, I made her smaller, and I'm so glad that I made that mistake!

The music background is from Nina Brackett's Vintage Borders by Gina K Designs. 
The sentiment is from Kitchen Sink Stamps' 3 Step Hearts and Roses.

Well, that's it folks!  Now you can float on over to my other team members blogs and see their fabulous creations w/ Ms. Ella!

Lola, Angie, Sherri, Kerry, & Carole

Have a STAMPTASTIC day!

Another recipe box - wait! It's a CARD box instead!!!

Today I am showing you a card box for a friend of mine for Christmas.  I haven't seen her since before Christmas, so it works!  She used to babysit my children, so I have a special bond with her.  Her sons and I went to school together too!  When she babysat for me, I got her hooked on stamping.  She's a very simple stamper, doesn't have to have all the millions of stamps out there, all the ribbon, all the embellishments.  Yet her cards are very sweet and you know they come from the heart.  So, I wanted to make her something special, and thought that she could use a box to store her cards in until she's ready to send them out.  I have acquired quite a few recipe boxes.  Well, really they are just file boxes found at your local office supply store.  I think I mentioned that before... Anyway, I can't find them at MY local office supply store, so I am constantly on the hunt and when I spy them, I buy several!  Just in case!  So, back to my story.  So I have this file box, and if you read my blog, you know that I have made several, I think it's up to 7 recipe boxes now!  So, that's my thing it seems like.  But, I didn't want to make ANOTHER recipe box.  Even though my friend is a great cook!  I thought about her cards, and I formulated a plan to make it a CARD box instead!  There are 18 slots to fill, so every two are the same thing.  It makes for more storage per subject, ok?!  ;)
Here are my subjects:  Stamps (postage); envelopes; Holidays; Thinking of You; Thanks; Weddings & Anniversaries; Sympathy; Birthdays; and Blank (for note cards).  All stamps are from Kitchen Sink Stamps, by the way.....!  I used the following sets: Mix It Up!, Letters from the Past; 3 Step Hibiscus; 3 Step Poinsetta; 3 Step Hearts & Roses; Never A Loss 4 Words; Whole Family; & Other Important People.
Most of the stamps were ready made, but envelope?  Yeah, needed Mix It Up! for that one!  LOL!  And I LOVE LOVE LOVE the KSS fonts, so it worked out perfectly!  I also used Mix It Up! for the letters CARDS on the top of the box as well!  I love this set, and find myself grabbing it ALL THE TIME!

Ok, on to the pictures!  This first one is of the box itself.  I really think I outdid myself on this one.  The other ones were very nice, subtle, themey.  This one was just a little wild and crazy.  I'm sure my mother would agree!  But, I had so much fun with this!  3 whole days of fun!  LOL!  Oh, and the paper is from Me & My Big Ideas.  It was a 12x12 stack and was half off at JoAnn's when I happened to go in there looking for something different!  I also used Baja Breeze scraps since I felt it went well w/ the paper, as well as Rose Red.  The flower in the bottom center is from Fifth Avenue Floral (SU!).  Oh, and I cheated a little bit on the circles that I have on the front and top of the box!  I learned this technique from Melanie Muenchinger!  I took my paper and used my scallop circle nestabilities and cut my circles out.  Then, I took each one and turned them ever so slightly so that the scallop part of the paper is in between the scallop parts of the nestie.  Then, I ran them through my cuttlebug and they came out like the pinked nesties that Spellbinders sells!  So, I don't have to spend $50.00 buying the pinked circles!  I can make my own!  They don't look half bad, either!  My husband said he liked the way I was thinking!  LOL!

Full View of box

Front View of box

Front View of box w/ top opened

Top of Box showcasing CARDS - see my pinked circles?!  ;)

Top of Box showcasing Prima flowers (in case you really wanted to see them!)  LOL!

How about this close up of my fabulous stitching!  Look at the top stitching!  (Not the bottom!  Came that way from SU!)  I wanted a thin ribbon, and SU! only comes out w/ so many types of ribbon. *eye roll* Plus, this is Baja Breeze, which has since retired.  Boo hoo!!!!  So, I folded it over, used some pins to hold it in place and started stitching w/ my sewing machine!!!  I now have my sewing machine on my desk full time!  After figuring out how to sew, and how to put that darn old bobbin in correctly, I'm becoming a fast learner!!!!  So, what do you think?????  ;)

Here's the inside tabs, just so you can see how I have them displayed.                                                          

And here's a close up of the tabs, so you can see the different fonts I used from different sets.

This is my favorite tab!  I'm SUCH a literal thinker, and when I was going through all of my KSS stamps, I realized that the Letters from the Past had a two step stamp of a postage stamp, and that it would be PERFECT!

I really love how this turned out!  I just hope my friend loves it too!

Have a STAMPTASTIC day!!!

AiFactory Thursday challenge! - Emboss It!

Here's a close up of the Fleur de Lis where it's embossed and then cut.

And here's a close up of the inside, same thing.  Embossed, and then cut out.                                            

Today I am showing you a new girl that Mia, the owner of AiFactory, has created!  This is Ella, the Bookreader!  And her friend, the little bird!  How sweet are they?!  Our challenge was to emboss on our card.  Well, I decided that I wanted to make a gift card holder for a Border's gift card.  Since the image has books!  LOL!  So, I made this shaped card, and the inside is where I have the gift card!  I just taped (with sticky strip) three edges and left the right side open to slide te gift card in.  My embossing is w/ the Fleur de Lis (am I spelling that right?!) and the shape of the card. 

Here's what the image looks like all alone.  You can get it for free if you participate in the challenge HERE!

Have a STAMPTASTIC day!!!

Kitchen Sink Stamps note cards

Hi all!  I'm back with another post with Kitchen Sink Stamps (KSS).  Every Christmas I make the women in my family something stamped and something just from me.  I have this hobby, why not share it?  This year, however, I ran out of time.  I only had time to make 3 sets of note cards for my cousins.  I used the recipes that Maria from KSS has created and posted on the main website.  Since I didn't have time to experiment!  LOL!  For the lilies, though, I did use the purple/lavender recipe from the 3 step Hibiscus recipe list!  It worked!  So, here they are.  And keep in mind, low on time, so I had to keep them simple.  Which, the CAS type is popular right?  Or have I missed that boat?

Multi Step Sunflower
3: Potter's Clay s.o. 1x; 2: Desert Sand; 1: Dandelion; 5: Imperial Purple; 4: Potter's Clay twice
Stem: 3: Cottage Ivy; 2: Cottage Ivy s.o. 1x; 1: Desert Sand then Dandelion on top; 5: Imperial Purple

3 Step Hibiscus

3: Lilac Posies; 2: Rose Bud; 1: Canteloupe and dab edges in Tangelo; 4: Grape Jelly; 5: Rich Cocoa

Leaves: 1: Bamboo Leaves; 2: Cottage Ivy; 3: Olympia Green (versafine)

3 Step Hydrangea w/ Multi Step Harvest

Hydrangea blooms:  1: Bashful Blue (SU!); 2: Brocade Blue (SU!); 3: Night of Navy (SU!)

Leaves: 1: New Sprout; 2: Bamboo Leaves; 3: Cottage Ivy

Barrel:  1: Creamy Caramel (SU!); 2: Close to Cocoa (SU!) s.o.; 3: Chocolate Chip (SU!) s.o.; 4: Chocolate Chip (SU!)

3 Step Daisy

Daisy: 3: Potter's Clay; 2: Tangelo; 1:  Canteloupe; 4: Imperial Purple s.o.

Leaf: 1: Pear Tart; 2: Old Olive (SU!)

3 Step Hearts & Roses

Rose: 3: Rhubarb Stalk; 2: Rhubarb Stalk s.o. 1x; 1: Rhubarb Stalk s.o. 2x's; 4: Rhubarb Stalk

Leaf: 1: New Sprout; 2: Bamboo Leaves; 3: Cottage Ivy

Multi Step Lilies

Lilies: 1: Lulu Lavender; 2: Sweet Plum; 3: Grape Jelly; 4: Rich Cocoa; 5: Imperial Purple

Leaves: 1: Pear Tart; 2: Bamboo Leaves; 3: Olympia Green

Multi Step Trees

Tree: 3: Olympia Green; 2: Cottage Ivy; 1: Bamboo Leaves

Trunk: 1: Rich Cocoa; 2: Rich Cocoa; 3: Rich Cocoa (recipe calls for 2 times for this last step, but it looked fine w/ one) 

This tree looks a lot better in real life than on here.  Darn camera!  LOL!

PS: All colors are Memento or Versamark unless otherwise noted.

So, there you have it.  Very simple note cards! I embossed around each one w/ different kinds of nestabilities that I have.  Just to add a litte detail.  And ribbon for each one because without the ribbon, these cards were even MORE boring than they are now!  LOL!

Have a STAMPTASTIC day!

Get Well card - KSS style!

This is my very first sewing experience.  Now, it's not the best work.  Please don't judge too harshly!  I just got a sewing machine this Christmas, so I'm still brand new at this sewing thing.  I'm sure over time I'll be better.  It's nice to go back though and look at how far you've come.  So, I wanted to post this so that I can go back next January and laugh about how sorry this poor teddy bear is!  LOL!

The teddy bear is from Kitchen Sink Stamps, 3 Step Get Well Teddy.  I came up w/ my own recipe for him, because my SU! inks just weren't cutting it.  So, here is MY recipe:  1. Desert Sand; 2. Toffee stamped off once; 3. Rich Cocoa; and 4. Onyx Black.  I used black thread for my stitching, mainly because it was already in the machine threaded and I didn't want to re-thread!  So, I used black thread for my buttons.  Brown brads are in the center of my brown and cream prima flowers.

This month Kitchen Sink Stamps has a sewing challenge!  You can check it out HERE!

Have a STAMPTASTIC day!