Freedom~

Freedom. Something many people of this world never experience. Other's take it for granted. Some abuse it. And many pursue a career protecting it.

This stamp combination is the CHF May Stamp Of the Month set. The Proud Eagle and Freedom sentiment are available tomorrow over at CHF. The Thank You is part of the next Kim Hughes release next week.

I started this as a tag and it evolved into a card. I love how it turned out and plan on sending it to a friend's husband who is on deployment right now. She's home with the kiddos minding the home front while he is away.

Anyway, the eagle is stamped in Brilliance Graphite Black onto Neenah Solar White and colored in with Copics: E37 and E53 for his body feathers, Y21 and YR21 for his beak, and a bit of shading with W1 on the white areas of his head. His eye is accented with a black Gelly Roll Glaze pen.

The rest of the card is pretty simple, the Lined Paper Backgrounder is stamped in Adirondack Denim, trimmed down, and mounted to the card front. A length of red striped ribbon by Bazzill is tied around where the lined paper meets the front. The scalloped, embossed image is accented with the Freedom sentiment, cut out star image, and attached with dimensional foam to the base. 2 additional stars and the thank you sentiment complete the card.

I challenge you to send a card to someone who is protecting our freedom, here or overseas, active duty or retired. It will make their day.

V. ~

Supplies: Stamps: Proud Eagle and Freedom by Kim Hughes (May SOTM) for CHF, Lined Paper Backgrounder by CHF, Foursquare by Kim Hughes for CHF, Cardmaker Shapes by Mona Lisa for CHF, Making the Grade by Kim Hughes for CHF, Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black, Colorbox Fluid Chalk Yellow Citrus, Adirondack Denim, Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Twilight Dark, Classic Red, Classic Yellow by Prism, Accessories: Copic Markers, Nestabilities Oval and Oval Scallop dies by Spellbinders, Staples, Black Gelly Roll Glaze Pen by Sakura, Dimensional foam

A Perfect Summer Day - Chalked~

It's Monday morning and that means CHF's DT Challenge Chicks Monday; today the challenge is using chalks. For the image itself, A Perfect Summer Day by TK for CHF, is inked it onto a larger piece of card stock with Versafine Vintage Sepia onto Neenah Solar White and then trimmed it to size after coloring it in. I chalked this card using I Kan' Dee Chalks by Pebbles, using the Basic Brights and Earthtone sets. Instead of using the cotton ball/alligator clip applicator included in the set, I prefer to use flat paint brushes in assorted sizes to apply the chalks. After chalking the image, I sealed it with a matte sealer before trimming, matting and adhering to the simply stamped card base. I wanted the image to shine and didn't want a busy background to detract from the image.

Chalking these intricate images is so fast and really easy, I was very surprised at easily the image came together. I Kan' Dee chalks are the Product Spotlight, which also means they are on sale, over at CHF, check them out here:

I-Kan'-Dee Chalks

And be sure to check out the other blogs by CHF DT members for the Chalk Challenge, the links are located on the right side bar.

Have a marvelous Monday!

V.~

Supplies: Stamps: A Perfect Summer Day by TK for CHF, Always on my Mind by TK for CHF, Ink: Versafine Vintage Sepia, Paper: Prism Baby Blue Light, Suede Brown Dark, Accessories: I Kan' Dee Chalk: Earthtones, Basic Brights, Asst. Flat paintbrushes, Silver mini brads, Ribbon (Michaels), Matte Sealer, MM Distressing tool, Dimensional foam

Morgan's 15~

15? Do you make it cute, grown up, funky, just what do ya do to avoid the roll of the eyes? Oh, I know, make a long card and insert moolah inside!

Today is Morgan's official 15th birthday, 3:02 a.m. to be exact, and I just finished her card. We'll give it tonight to her at dinner. On their birthday they have a choice, home cooked or a local restaurant. Morgan alternates, last year it was homemade lasagna and garlic bread, this year, Chili's. Hey Cami? Wanna come? It's just down the "5." LOL The other choice, once they hit 11, is to pick a nice gift from us or a party with their friends. Kyle, our oldest, always picked the gift. Morgan alternates, although since she's the social girl, the last couple have been parties; this year we expect about 25 kids here for her bash. Anyway, her card will have money for her to get the goodies for her party.

Glad I got the card finished before she gets home from school! Whew!

V.~

Stamp stuff:
Stamps: Numbers, Wishes, and Bracket by Unity Stamp Company, {happy birthday} by Mona Lisa Moments for CHF
Ink: SU! Certainly Celery, Tempting Turquoise, Regal Rose, Versafine Onyx Black
Paper: Neenah Solar White, Tempting Turquoise, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Regal Rose, Flowers for You DSP
Accessories: Turquoise ribbon from Michaels, Distressing tool, 3/4" circle punch, Staples, Dimensionals

A Long Smooch~

Another long card, 3.25 x 6.5 that has the kissing technique applied to the stem. This was the challenge yesterday over at CHF and is part of their Background Blitz. Blogspot wouldn't allow me to upload yesterday, I kept getting an error message. Anyway, the stem image is from Stem Silhouettes by Kim Hughes and it has been kissed with the Geometric Flowers II Backgrounder. The sentiment is from a soon to be released set called Friend Centers by Mona Lisa Moments for CHF. The rest of the card is pretty simple so I'll just list the supplies: Ink: ColorBox Fluid Chalk Olive Pastel, Ice Blue, Versafine Vintage Sepia, Paper: Neenah Natural White, Prism Spring Willow Medium, Baby Blue Light, K&Co Classic K Bailey patterned paper, Accessories: Velvet ribbon by Michaels Arts and Crafts, Dimensional foam

I'm sending this off to someone I met irl at Mania....I just know her a little bit from SCS; I really enjoyed her company and know if we lived in the same town we would become better friends.

Happy Wednesday!

V.~

Mission Accomplished~

Recently a friend mailed images to a number of us who are in an online group together....the images were random and the challenge was issued to create a card by the 20th and post it.

Well, the 20th was yesterday and well, yesterday and the week before were busy (see previous posts!) so I put this card together right after lunch.

The image she sent to me was the Stamping Bella image of the girls shopping....well those who know me, know that shopping ranks pretty low on my list of fun things to do, so I thought it was funny that this was the random image I received. Anyway, I used a card from Bethie's Featured Stamper challenge from yesterday as the layout inspiration. The girls are colored with a variety of Copic Markers which I tossed into the bucket before jotting them down, sorry. But I pulled colors to match the Amy Butler patterned paper that I had in my stash.

This card is another 3.25 x 6.5 card, I'm just loving this size card lately!

V.~

Supplies: Bella image sent to me, Inks: unknown black, Paper: Unknown white, Prism Razzleberry Light, Amy Butler patterned paper, SU! Chocolate Chip, Accessories: Various Copic Markers, May Arts chocolate satin ribbon, 1/8" hole punch, Chocolate mini brads, Dimensionals

An Epi and an Iris

I returned home from my stamping weekend to discover that one of my epiphyllums had bloomed and also discovered my newly divided Japanese Iris my dad gave me had blossomed.
I wasn't expecting the iris to bloom so quickly as in edition to being newly divided, I just relocated it in the backyard about a month ago. I love being able to share plants by dividing, both of these plants are excellent plants for sharing!

Enjoy, Doubled~

It's CHF's DT Blog Chicks Challenge Monday and today Leslie provided a sketch for us to follow. Here's my quick card done this morning after my coffee and before my walk, and also after a weekend of stamping fun with 120 plus SCS friends up in Long Beach, and then coming home and hosting a 15th birthday party to celebrate Morgan's upcoming birthday. I'm bleary eyed and very tired and should have planned better, and had this card done before I left, but the list of to do's was long and time was short!

It's doubled as in a double challenge, too. It's also part of the Backgrounder Blitz Challenge going on over at CHF and today's challenge is to stamp on anything but paper. I stamped on a transparency and on the buttons using StazOn white with 2 different backgrounders: Geometric Flowers and Weave.

Be sure to check out the other gals who've participated in the Blog Chicks Challenge by clicking on the links under CHF Design Team over on the right side bar.

Happy Monday!
V.~

Supplies: Stamps: Tyson and Enjoy Your Day by Kim Hughes for CHF, Geometric Flowers and Weave Backgrounders by CHF, Ink: StazOn White, Versafine Onyx Black, Paper: Neenah Solar White, Prism Intense Kiwi, Crate Paper Cowboy Collection (orange underlay), Accessories: Transparency sheet (office supply store), Buttons, Gingham and Striped ribbons, Orange mini brads, Nestabilites Circle Die, Copic Markers, Dimensional foam

Backgrounder Blitz~

Today starts a week called Backgrounder Blitz over at CHF. For the next week there is a different challenge everyday, anyone can play, so check it out! There's prizes involved for those who submit their Backgrounder cards to the challenge categories in the CHF gallery.

The challenge today was a sketch challenge by Lisa Strahl. For this card I used 3 CHF stamps: the Plaid Backgrounder, Weave Backgrounder, and the {celebrate} sentiment from a soon to be released set called Birthday Centers (AWESOME new birthday sentiment set!).

CHF's Plaid Backgrounder was stamped onto Prism Baby Pink Medium in Adirondack Pink Sherbet ink and set aside. {celebrate} was stamped in Versafine Onyx Black onto Prism Baby Blue Light and matted onto Intense Kiwi and then adhered to the pink layer. Free hand cut the leaves from Intense Kiwi scraps and stamp with the Weave Backgrounder in Adirondack Lettuce ink and set aside.

The flower was made using Prism Frosted Yellow card stock and the Cuttlebug Asterisks die. A Making Memories Jumbo Pebble Brad adheres the flower head to the blue panel. The stem is pierced and the leaves are adhered with dimensional foam. Set 2 white brads in the upper left and this sketch challenge is complete!

Backgrounder Blitz...so who's hearing the Ballroom Blitz in their heads now? I know I am! :)

V.~

Cupcakes!

Cupcakes, ahh, who loves cupcakes?! I know I do, and these cupcakes from Anna's Happy Birthday set for Whipper Snapper Designs are scrumptious!

Card layout from PaperCrafts JOCM sketch , Papers are Neenah Classic Crest Natural White, SU!'s Chocolate Chip, and patterned paper by Pebbles inc. Ribbon is by May Arts, Jumbo eyelet by SU!, Nice juicy red (not sorta red like some other mini brads) mini brads by StarlitStudio.

The cupcakes are paper pieced, the frosting is up on dimensionals and accented with Stickles. The sentiment is stamped in Versafine Vintage Sepia. The tag is hand cut, scallops are added, a bit of piercing and the completed tag is attached with dimensionals to the card base.

I'm out of town for the next couple days playing with a bunch of Splitcoaststampers at the famous Stamp Mania in Long Beach. Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you later~

V.~

Anna's Ace of Cakes

Here's another card I made using the cake and candle images from Anna's new birthday set, Happy Birthday, available at Whipper Snapper Designs. This image reminds me of the fabulous, over the top, cakes that Duff makes on the Ace of Cakes - this one more subtle in color though!

Layout from Card Positioning Systems, Plaid Backgrounder by CHF, card stock by Stampin' Up! and Crate Paper, colored with Copic Markers, embellished with May Arts striped ribbon, SU! buttons, Puffy paint and Crystal Effects.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

V.~

Yahoooo! Let's Celebrate

Today is the release date for Anna's newest set, Happy Birthday, a cling mount set for Whipper Snapper Designs. It's all birthday, all the time! Cute images include a party hat, cupcakes, a present, an "Ace of Cakes" cake, fun sentiments and more. It's also time for my stint as guest designer to be over and welcome the newest bunch of designers! Have fun!

Click on the link below to head on over to Whipper Snapper!

Whipper Snapper Designs

And click on these links to see designs by:

Anna Wight
Meg Shumaker
Shellie Daniel
Michelle Boyer
Yvette Ashe

Have a great day!

V.~

CHF Challenge Chicks Monday~

Today's CHF challenge by Alli was to list 3 things we love about CHF. My post will be heartfelt and short, as I am just not a wordy or an overly exuberant type of gal.

1. The owners, Richard and Liz Pomeroy, are wonderful down to earth people who believe in us, our ability to represent their product, and provide us with the tools to make designing for them exciting and fulfilling.

Numbers 2 and 3 fall under number 1 and are the direct result of Richard and Liz and their dreams: the stamps, the gallery and forums, the design team members, paper, ink and crafting products, the coordinators, and more are all things I love about CHF.

You may check out the other design team blog posts by clicking on the links in the sidebar under CHF.

Told ya it would be short!

V.~

p.s. Still shaking today...even with my trusty SAMJ I just couldn't get the sentiment as straight as I prefer it to be. :)

Supplies: Stamps: The Art of Framing, Beauiful by Rummage Bin for CHF, Motivational Centers by Mona Lisa Moments for CHF, release date coming soon, Ink: Brilliance Black, ColorBox Fluid Chalk ink Rouge, Paper: Neenah Solar White, Prism Intense Kiwi, Baby Pink Dark, Black, Accessories: Prima flower, Pink mini brad, Dimensional foam

Bodacious Kharma~

For Bethie's FS challenge over at SCS. Been feeling out of sorts today, I don't think my half and half coffee was half and half.....got the fluttery heart beat and shakes going on, so no chatter, sorry. :(
If you'd like to see additional information, you can view it here in my SCS gallery:

FS62 Bodacious Kharma

Happy Sunday!

V.~

Blogs I love~

Someone asked where my Blogs list went that was on the right side:

Val,
You used to have a list of other blog sites that you enjoyed, but I no longer see that list?????

Thanks for all your great ideas!

I found that it was the most neglected part of the sidebar so I am revising it. I'm trying to come up with list that isn't soooo long that it makes the front page ginormous. I'm not sure if there is a way to link another page like in typepad. So, I'm searching and reformulating.

V.~

First Rose and a Hummer ~

I always like to take a picture of the first rose of the season, and today there it was when I went out front. We have a tiny rose garden, only about 8 plants, and they are getting ready to bloom, buds are everywhere. This unknown variety (when purchased it was supposed to be a red variety) beat them all. If anyone knows the variety, please let me know.

The hummer, well, it was feeding on the salvia we have on our walkway, I've never actually been successful getting a picture of one, they usually fly off so fast when they hear a person approach.
So I stayed back, zoomed in, and snapped away. I was able to get this picture of him (or her) feeding.

Haven't stamped much this week, stay tuned for something over the weekend I hope!

V.~

Just ~

And have a great day!

V.~

Supplies: Stamps: Photo Op! by Rummage Bin at CHF, release today, The Art of Framing by Rummage Bin, Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, ColorBox Fluid Chalk Azurite, Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Prism Black, Intense Orange, Basic Gray, Accessories: Silver brads, Distressing tool, Dimensional foam

Distressed, you could say that~

Monday means challenges over at CHF. We can sign up to play along, no pressure though. It could be a layout challenge, a product highlight, a stamp set, anything goes. Today's challenge was to use Ranger Distress inks for a project. Well, I have one. Vintage Photo. I tried for 2 hours to come up with something photo worthy, nada, zip, kaput. I have a bit for the recycling bin, however.

Looks like I should stock up on more colors and I couldn't have picked a better time, they are the product spotlight right now. Look at all the colors that are available:
Ranger Distress Inks

Okay, I'm going to go clean up the whirlwind that just happened. Maybe a clean and fresh surface will bring an idea along with it!

ETA, 2:40 pm: Clean up, toss all the previous attempts, eat a p,b & j sammy, and start from scratch. Sometimes that's all it takes. Kind of like a restart on the computer. Okay, I cheated and used a layout from the previous post. I know many people can't see beyond the images when CASEing, this shows 2 totally different cards with very different feels but having the identical layout.

V.~

Supplies: Stamps: Grunged Flower, Garden Friends (Hello), Scalloped Lace Backgrounder, Inks: Ranger Distress Vintage Photo, ColorBox Fluid Chalk Yellow Citrus, Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Natural White, Prism Sunflower Dark, Sunflower Medium, Suede Brown Dark, Accessories: American Crafts Elements brads, May Arts striped ribbon, 1 1/4" circle punch, Dimensional foam

It Figures!~

Just when I am posting about my disillusionment with SU!, I find the Featured Stamper Challenge and the set I use, Ahoy Matey! by SU! Go figure. Well, it was an easy set to choose as the inspiration card used a Lizzie Anne cowboy. A refresher for those who may not remember what the FS challenge is: select a card from the featured gallery and change at least 2 things about the card. Sometimes my cards have minimal changes, other times, the original card is harder to find in the finished piece, no matter how it turns out, it's the one challenge I try to play in every week.

Anyway, it was a late card making session after watching Short Circuit with Brett and his best buddy Alec. We've been seeing trailers for a new animated movie coming out that features a robot and I was telling Brett the robot reminded me of the one from Short Circuit. Today at Target we saw it on an end cap for $5 so I picked it up. Such a fun move, although, a few tame cuss words and adult like comments ( which zinged over their heads) than I remember it having for being a PG movie.

Anyway, back to the card, the pirate and his parrot sidekick are stamped in Adirondack Espresso on Neenah Solar White and colored in with Copics. Patterned paper is by K & Co, other papers are Prism: Intense Orange and Mystic Medium. The coordinating wheel is added to the base, the Label punch for the sentiment, a bit of distressing, antique brads, striped grosgrain, and he's ready to sail the high seas.

V.~

Supplies: listed above

Beautiful Daisy~

This scrumptious flower image is actually part of a new background stamp that is being released on Tuesday, April 8th, over at CHF. It's designed by Leslie, illustrator of the Rummage Bin line of images and coordinates wonderfully with those images as well as so many others.

Most times when I take Riley, our pooch, on her daily walk I think about all sorts of things, from the to do list around the house, to people to call, appointments to schedule, and projects to create, all while I've got my tunes playing on my iPod. Sometimes I just tune out from the daily grind though and bop to the music! My teenager would be mortified! *grin* I'm kind of known around here as the one who walks her dog with the leash tied around her waist. LOL More people stop me at the grocery, Costco, school, etc. and make a comment regarding how Riley just trots along side of me tied to my waist.

Anyway, the other day, as we were walking and I was observing the colors of spring coming out all over the place along our 3 mile route, I thought it would be fun to play with this new background stamp in an Andy Warhol type of way. Blocks of color with a touch of black.

I stamped the image in assorted Adirondack inks: Pool, Citrus, Cool Peri, Mountain Rose, Watermelon, and trimmed them down to equal sizes. Three of the images were matted onto Prism Black. The 4th image on bottom right, was over stamped with Versafine Onyx Black with images from Beautiful, a set from The Rummage Bin, and added to the black panel. The 5th image was mounted onto a black mat and embellished simply with 4 black mini brads before adhering atop the other panels with dimensional foam. The completed image panel was attached to the card base with dimensional foam.

The finished card is 5.5 square.

Have a Beautiful Day!

Joan Fricker said...

I love this! It is so refreshing!
Great job.
I love the square cards, but then I don't know what to use for an envelope. what do you do?

Joan, I purchase different size square envelopes from the local paper supply store, they offer them in 1/2" increments starting at 4" and going up to 7" ( I think). Of course, there is also the option of making your own envelopes. But I generally just buy them! :)

V.~

Supplies: Stamps: Shady Daisy Backgrounder, Beautiful by CHF, Inks: Adirondack: Pool, Citrus, Cool Peri, Mountain Rose, Watermelon, Versafine Onyx Black, Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Prism Black, Accessories: Black mini brads, Dimensional foam

Just Because in Celery~

No stamps, no ink, talk about a Limited Supply Challenge! Well, we could have used stamps and ink but I went the rub on / patterned paper route. Second time using the rub ons, still not so sure about them....the one shot deal is tough on a perfectionist brain. :)

The LSC was all about one color plus white, not shades of one color, and no other neutral other than white. Celery and white are a fresh, clean combination. I did this card in about 10 minutes before heading out to an awards ceremony down at Brett's school.

Patterned paper is from an ages old mat pak that SU! made available sometime last year, maybe? I can't remember....

The card is pretty self explanatory, stem is pierced with a piercing tool and a foam mat, ribbon is May Arts, White mini brads are from StarlitStudio.

Now to a more serious situation, ever stayed in a relationship longer than you should but haven't the gumption to leave? That's sort of how I am feeling about SU! these days, well, months actually....ever since the Fall/Winter catalog came out last summer I haven't been feeling the love. Not smitten any more. For the past 5 plus, gosh almost 6, years I've anticipated and longed for new product, mini catalog offerings, SAB...oh SAB, I couldn't wait for the sets. Not so much anymore.....it's a tough place to be, SU! is my roots, where I began stamping, but they no longer excite me....I'm not sure what to do about it. I know that there has been a shortage of SU! posts here, which is why some have stopped subscribing, but when you aren't inspired by a product, it's hard to create with them, ykwim?

So, I'm fence sitting for now.

V.~

Happy Birthday, Darthy!

May your day be filled with everything you desire!

Flowers from my garden~

For those of you missing spring, here's a little dose of spring in a bouquet from my backyard. The bearded iris are so dependable, blooming several times a year without much care to begin with. They are always the first flowers to bloom after our winter is on its way out. The alstroemeria are also dependable and the long lasting blooms love the pots on our front walkway and make for wonderful cut flowers as well. The iris stalks are very tall so it was hard to capture them in the photo, but they sure look purty in the vase in the family room!

Lawns are mowed, flowers clipped and now the expected rain can come this way!

V.~

Vanilla Cupcakes~

Vanilla Cream EP and yummy images first thing in the morning, YUM! LOL Here's another card showing images from Kim's new Baked with Love set coming to CHF on Thursday. Layout based on one I've done previously and one that was posted on PaperCrafts website sometime ago.

The cool thing about unmounted stamps is the ability to group them together on a larger block and make your own background stamp, which is what I did for the pink layer. After arranging them on the block I stamped them in Versamark and quickly sprinkled the stamped images with the embossing powder. The cool hinged dispenser lid on this EP is like a spice container, one side has a sprinkle side, the other a larger opening for a very small spoon. YUM, when you heat it up it smells delightful! Even Jay noticed it when he came home from work. :) The gingham strip is made with the Gingham Backgrounder from CHF; to me the perfect stamp to accompany a delicious treat set.

The images are stamped in Palette Burnt Umber, colored with Copics, and the frosting was covered with Glossy Accents and sprinkled with loose fine glitter. The sentiment, also from Kim Hughes, is stamped in Rouge ColorBox Fluid Chalk ink. After the image panel was dry, it was double matted, distressed on the pink layer, and attached to the card with dimensional foam. All edges of the card and image panel are dtp'd with Creamy Brown ColorBox Fluid Chalk ink. A couple of antique brads and a caramel twill tape bow and this delicious card is ready to head to a new friend for her birthday!

Have a terrific Tuesday!

V.~

Stamps: Baked with Love, Enjoy Your Day, Gingham Backgrounder © CHF, Inks: Palette Burnt Umber, ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink Creamy Brown, Rouge, Versamark, Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Natural White, Prism Baby Pink Dark, Tawny Dark, Accessories: Copic Markers, Vanilla Cream EP, Antique mini brads, Glossy Accents, Loose fine glitter, Caramel twill tape, Dimensional foam