Cosmo Cricket projects

Thanks for letting me share my love for all things Cosmo Cricket! :) thanks for looking and stopping by! :)

more birthday cards?

Yes, its one more birthday card! :) I wanted to create something sort of beach/shabby/tropical. Very summery. The background was stamped with Polka Dot Basics. The patterned paper is from Fancy Pants. The chipboard frame was painted white, distressed with ink, and then a wood grain was stamped once the paint dried. Its a pretty subtle wood grain, so I think next time I will use an even darker shade of ink.
I am not certain of how much I will be posting in the next week or so. I always say that and end up posting, but with CHA deadlines staring me in the face, things are a bit busy. It is so much fun and such an honor to be creating, but it gets a bit nerve wracking. :) There are several things coming up quickly, but I can't share just yet. But, I promise that I will get back soon with some tutorials. I have one idea that is new and cool and I am having a hard time holding it back! :)
thanks, as always, for stopping by!!

Supplies:
Cardstock-Papertrey Ink, Bazzill
Stamps-Papertrey Ink (Everyday Classics), Hero Arts (Wood Grain)
Patterned paper-Fancy Pants
Ink-Palette (Chartruese), Clearsnap (Colorbox Chalk Creamy Brown)
Chipboard, Paint-Making Memories
Buttons-Papertrey Ink (Rustic)
Twine-May Arts

Happy Birthday Flower

(notice the crazy amount of birthday cards...I am finally filling up my stash! :))

This flower started from a desire to use my Around and About Sentiments stamps from Papertrey Ink. When I saw the circles, I knew I could make a cutsie flower from them. I stamped the sentiments first, then die cut them with my Spellbinders Nestabilities. I layered two other larger circles to make the flower center. The leaf on the stem is also a Nestabilities, a paisley shape. Once I discovered that little idea worked, I have been using it quite a bit. The background was stamped with Polka Dot Basics in watermark ink. I stitched around the outside and then stamped the happy birthday line sentiment along the border of the patterned paper. I am in love with all the papers in the Cosmo Cricket line, Early Bird, but I think that this flowered one *might* be my favorite. (Ask me again tomorrow, it may change! :))
Happy Monday!! thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps-Papertrey Ink (Around and About Sentiments, Polka Dot Basics)
Cardstock-Papertrey Ink (Vintage Cream, Aqua Mist, Kraft)
Patterned paper-Cosmo Cricket (Early Bird)
Ink-Palette (Dark Chocolate), Tsukineko (Versamark Watermark)
Button-Making Memories
Twine-Martha Stewart
Tools-Spellbinders Die Templates (Classic Paisley, Classic Circles Large and Small), Sewing machine


And thanks for all the help with the flower. It is so cool. I am going to try and dig a few of them up and plant them in another shady location that is closer to the house. The gardening bug has gotten a hold of me this summer. I have even been going to classes and buying books to learn more! Who knew? :)

what is this?

Isn't this the coolest flower? It is growing along our property line, under some tag alder trees, in the shade. I have no idea what it is, but I LOVE it! If you know what it is, can you tell me. And it will be ok if it is some invasive species...maybe. :)
Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!!

Happy Birthday Michelle!!!

Happy Birthday, Michelle!!! Thanks for not only being a great person to work for, but a great friend!!! Hope your day is wonderful!!!!! ((((HUGS))))
click on the photo to see the sparkle fluff for the frosting-so fun! thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps-Penny Black (Cheesecake Party), Hero Arts (Cupcake)
Cardstock-Neenah (Solar White)
Patterned paper-Cosmo Cricket (Early Bird)
Ink-Memento (Tuxedo Black)
Sparkle Fluff-Our Craft Lounge
Ribbon, Button-Papertrey Ink
Spellbinders Die Template (Tags Five)
Copics-ABS-1, Boo, YG03, YG25, YG91, E55, E57, E59, RV11, R08, R29, R59, YR04, B34, B37, Y11, Y13, Y15

Impressabilities Possibilities

I just wanted to share a couple of really fabulous ways to use your Spellbinders Impressabilities. I went ahead and broke down and cut apart my Impressabilities. Yes, you may gasp. But, once I cut, it was so freeing! LOL! :)
Letter press has become my new obsession. It is a look that is used in high end stationery and is so elegant. The flower on the left card was created using the letter press technique. Push ink all over the piece of Impressabilities you desire to use. Place your paper over the top, followed by the embossing mat, and then run it through the machine. A beautifully inked impression is left behind.
The card on the right is highlighting using a piece from the Impressabilities as an accent. (The colors on it are a reflection of my kitchen.) I added some gems to the center of the flowers.
So, go ahead and cut your Impressabilities apart and have fun! :) thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Spellbinders-Flower Impressabilities
Cardstock-Neenah (Solar White)
Ink-Clearsnap (Colorbox Chalk Primary Que)
Patterned paper-My Mind's Eye
Stamps, Ribbon-Papertrey Ink
Gems-Hero Arts

more playing around

How can I not have any birthday cards in my stash? Seriously, you would think I would have something, but no. The other thing I don't have is Happy Birthday stamps. I have a couple, but not ones that fit the vision in my head. Hmmm...must remedy that problem! :) I am head over heels for this Sassafras Lass Whale of a Tale paper. So fun, funky, and yet cute.

I had the best day yesterday. I got to spend the afternoon with my oldest and dearest friend. We have been friends since the day I was born, she is six weeks older. We played ball together, went to camp together, got braces together, grew up together. She lives in Chicago now, so we don't get to see each other much. It was so good just to sit down and talk, talk like we are still attempting to spend the night on my parent's screen porch, but freak ourselves out from every noise we hear. We never made it the whole night, ever! :) So, have you talked to your oldest and dearest friend lately? If not, call her, or better yet, send her that card sitting on your desk. thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Cardstock-Papertrey Ink (Smokey Blue)
Patterned paper, Border-Sassafras Lass (Whale of a Tale)
Stamps-Papertrey Ink (Star Prints, Everyday Classics), Hero Arts
Ink-Memento (Tuxedo Black), Palette (Belle Rose, Charcoal)
Label-Martha Stewart
Gems-Hero Arts
Punch-EK Success XL Star EZ Squeeze Punch

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday

"It is time for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge(FTTC21). This week Silke Ledlow is hosting. Silke is challenging us to a sketch she has designed. As far as sketches go, there is not much explanation necessary. You can turn it and enlarge the sections to fit your card size. However, in the end, it should still look like the sketch. Good Luck!!!! Looking forward to seeing what you create with it!!!"
Make sure and visit the rest of the team:
Betty Wright
Cindy Haffner
Dee Jackson
Silke Ledlow

The stamp set I used is called, Patriotism on Parade. Not only is this set truly iconic, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to The Wounded Warrior Project. Here's a little history about this non-profit...
"The Wounded Warrior Project began when several individuals took small, inspired actions to help others in need.One night while watching the evening news, a group of veterans and brothers were moved by the difficult stories of the first wounded service members returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq. They realized then and there that something needed to be done for these brave individuals beyond the brass bands and ticker tape parades. The resulting objective was to provide tangible support for the severely wounded and help them on the road to healing, both physically and mentally. What had been initially viewed as a small contribution (compared with what the warriors had sacrificed while serving our country) has become WWP's signature program:WWP backpacks delivered bedside to wounded warriors."

There is quite a bit more information about this program and a fun challenge happening at Splitcoast Stampers, Please check it out HERE.

Pretty great incentive to buy stamps, huh? :) thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps-Flourishes (Patriotism on Parade)
Cardstock-Flourishes (White)
Ink-Memento (Tuxedo Black)
Patterned paper-Jenni Bowlin (Farmer's Wife)
Twine-May Arts
Copics-R29, R59, B34, B37, W3

Check out Debbie Olson's blog today for the Spellbinders Blog Frenzy day 2 post
and check out Moxie Fab World today for another day celebrating the release of Card Creations 7! I got my issue yesterday and WOW! Amazing eye candy!!

rain or shine

SORRY! This card has been removed for publication in Paper Crafts Stamp It, which will be out in January 2010.

Just having a little fun creating cards on the weekend. :) Got some new loves here-Papertrey Ink Scattered Showers, Hero Arts Cloud backgrounder, and Sassafras Lass Whale of a Tale papers, oh and of course, some Spellbinders dies. :)
Its a busy week this week-Paper Crafts Card Creations 7 celebration, Spellbinders NEW Pendants are revealed!!, Flourishes special announcement and Timeless Tuesday, and I have a ton of projects to complete for the all-to-soon arriving CHA!! I cannot believe that I will have projects at the show! Just to be there is amazing, but to go to the second show with my work present is amazing! If you are going to the wholesale show, let me know. :)
Hope you had a wonderful weekend! thanks for stopping by!!

Supplies:
Stamps-Papertrey Ink (Scattered Showers), Hero Arts (Cloud Backgrounder)
Cardstock-Papertrey Ink (Stamper's Select White, Raspberry Fizz, Smokey Blue)
Patterned paper-Sassafras Lass (Whale of a Tale), Cosmo Cricket (Early Bird)
Ink-Memento (Tuxedo Black), Palette (Charcoal, Raspberry Fizz)
Gems-Hero Arts
Tools-Spellbinders Die Template (Labels Four)
Copics-Y15 (to color gems)

give me a squeeze

I cannot get enough of the new Flourishes set, Life Love Lemons. Not only can you make lemons, but it works as oranges or limes. WAY fun and great sentiments too! Hope you have some wonderful Father's Day plans lined up for your weekend! thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps-Flourishes (Life Love Lemons)
Ink-Memento (Tuxedo Black)
Patterned paper-K&CO (Carolyn Gavin Greenhouse)
Cardstock-Papertrey Ink (Vintage Cream, Kraft, Ripe Avocado)
Ribbon-Maya Road
Twine-Wright's
Gems-Hero Arts (colored with Copics)
Tools-Spellbinders Die Templates (Tags Five, Classic Squares)
Copics-R08, YR04, YR06, Y61, B32, BV23, BV20, O

peek a boo

Today I get to share another Spellbinders design team project with you! I am very happy with this layout. It just makes me smile, but who could resist that face? The photos were taken when the little man was about 18 months old. We were out in the yard, he jumped behind the tree, peeked out at me, and broke into giggles. Then he peeked out the other side. I have never been happier to have the camera in my hands! The way the photos turned out, I knew I needed to create a tree for the layout. Knowing that I didn't have a tree die, I would have to create one.

Here is a close up look of the tree. I stamped brown cardstock with a wood grain image stamp and added a scalloped heart for a finishing touch. Here is how to make your own tree:

And there you have a tree! :)

I also made a sunshine for the top of the page using the Inverted Scalloped Circles and a Classic Circle. Don't the creative possibilities with Spellbinders die templates just amaze you? Oh, I love using them!!!

thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Spellbinders Die Templates-Petite Oval Small, Labels One, Classic Circles Small, Inverted Scalloped Circles Small, Scalloped Hearts

Patterned paper, Letter stickers, Rub ons-Crate (Lil Sprout)

Patterned paper-My Mind's Eye (Feeling Groovy) (Heart)

Stamps-Hero Arts (Wood Grain Background, Anytime Sentiments)

Ink-Clearsnap (Colorbox Chalk Creamy Brown, Dark Brown)

oooh...did you see this? Spellbinders NEW Pendants announcement? :) :) :) :)

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday: Inspiration Challenge

"It is time for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge(FTTC20)! This week Betty Wright is our host. She is challenging us to get inspired from Kimberly Poloson at AllPosters.com. Search through the many posters to find an inspiration piece. As with all inspiration pieces, there may be one or two things in the photo that inspires you whether it is an, image, element, layout, or color scheme, or you may want to recreate the whole look. There are so many wonderful ones to choose from you will probably want to play several times. Make sure you include a link in your write up as to which one you chose and why. We would love to see what you create!!!"
Here are the cards created by the inspired team members:
Betty Wright
Cindy Haffner
Dee Jackson
Silke Ledlow
Connie McCotter-Guest designer

My inspiration piece can be found HERE. It was tough to choose one poster! To re-create the damask, I used the only stamp that could work, and it was from the set, Autumn Flourishes. It worked well and unless you look really closely, you might not even know that it is a fall stamp. Inspiration pieces really push you to use your stash and to look at your supplies differently. It forces you to use something close and very often make a happy discovery!!
I also think the leaf motif on it coordinated with the Topiary stamp. The sentiment is from Life, Love, Lemons. A score line was added, along with some Distressing Ink in Old Page.
thanks a million for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps-Flourishes (Autumn Flourishes, Life Love Lemons, diy Topiary)
Ink-Memento (Tuxedo Black), Distressing Ink (Old Page Ranger/Tim Holtz)
Cardstock-Papertrey Ink (True Black, Stamper's Select White)
Tools-Punch (EK Success Parisianne), Scor Pal

winner and the new deck color

The winner is Heather J:
Hi Kim, My lucky number is 13 - it was my HS number for sports and I've just always liked it!Thanks for the continued inspiration.Heather J.
June 13, 2009 1:40 PM
Heather, please email me at the address under my avatar and Congrats!!! And THANK YOU to all of you!! Your number stories and sweet and some of them are just plain uncanny!! Thanks for sharing!! :)

Here it is, the new deck color. We are still waiting for the railing pieces to arrive from Lowe's...I am pretty happy with the color, no, I am totally thrilled!!! :) My body is aching after staining Friday, Saturday, and Sunday however. I did all the staining because I can't build anything, but I can operate a paint brush! :) It seemed only fair to my hard-working hubby. That light fixture is going to be replaced, along with the landscaping from around the front of the house, and I bought some fantastic furniture at Target today! Can't wait until it is completely cured on Wednesday evening! :) thanks for stopping by!

Blog Giveaway!!

How about starting your weekend off with a chance to win this blog candy? :) Sometime this week, I passed 200,000 hits! I am completely blown away! THANK YOU so much for visiting, leaving comments, emailing me, and just plain old taking an interest in what I am up to!!!! All of it is greatly appreciated and I am sending out giant hugs!!!
You have until Monday at 6pm CST to leave a comment telling me what your favorite number or lucky number is and why! :) Please play fair and leave one comment and sorry to my international and Canadian friends, but this candy will be for United States mailing addresses.
have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by! :)

Blog Candy:
JustRite Wood Stamper 2 3/8" with bonus Times Font
JustRite What's Cookin' set
Spellbinders Nested Butterflies
Copic Markers G07, Y11, Y13, YR04, and a Spica glitter pen

thinking of you

Today is the last day of Impression Obsession week at Stamper's Dream and this stamp is just way too fun! I thought, ooh, 4th of July, red white and blue, but then, my new favorite papers, My Mind's Eye Andrea Victoria, were just staring at me. I thought, why not color them to work with the papers? On paper, it just didn't work. But on thin muslin, it did!!

I cut the muslin out with my Spellbinders Long Rectangle Nestabilities. It had to be run through twice, but it only needed a couple of threads snipped. The banner was stamped with Palette ink and colored with Copics. Keep in mind, if you try this, they will bleed a bit, so use a light hand and scratch paper underneath. I also went over the stars with the *new* Spica color, Buttermilk. I finished the shabby look off with lace, buttons, twine, and distressing all the paper edges.

See what Tosha Leyendekker and Michelle Rodgers created to cap off a fabulous week!

Remember my BIG blog candy drawing coming tomorrow! *wink, wink*

have a super weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps-Impression Obsession (Stars and Stripes Pennant), Hero Arts (sentiment)

Patterned paper-My Mind's Eye (Andrea Victoria)

Ink-Palette (Noir)

Fabric-Wal Mart

Lace-Wrights

Twine-May Arts

Buttons-my stash

Tools-Spellbinders Die Templates (Long Rectangles Small), Sewing Machine

Copics-W10, Y11, Y13, Y15, YG91, Spica Buttermilk

lemons, life, love

It is new release week at Flourishes! Yay! Oh, you NEED to be checking out all the new stamps! I am stil picking my jaw up off the floor!! The Lemons set is tons of fun, with great images to color. I paired this image with some fun, new papers from Cosmo Cricket, called Early Bird.
Make sure and check out my first post of the day, just below with another great Impression Obsession new summer release stamp. :)
thanks for stopping by, again! :)

Supplies:
Stamps-Flourishes (Lemons available Friday 6/12)
Ink-Memento (Tuxedo Black), Clearsnap (Colorbox Chalk Creamy Brown)
Cardstock-Neenah (Solar White), Papertrey Ink (Spring Moss)
Patterned paper-Cosmo Cricket (Early Bird)
Ribbon-Offray
Twine-Wright's
Tools-Spellbinders Die Template (Tags Five, Classic Squares Large, Classic Scalloped Squares Large), Clearsnap Stylus
Copics-Y11, Y13, Y15, YG03, G40, G82, BG10, RV19