CIC #14 Johnny Cupcakes...

Whew! What a whirlwind weekend. A trip to Alabama on Saturday and back on Sunday. And guess what? We get to do it again THIS weekend...except we're leaving Friday and will be back Sunday.

Anyway, I wanted to get Kristina's challenge done. And since I'll probably be packing, again, tomorrow night -- I decided to do it tonight. Here's the inspiration picture. I love that it's mostly B&W. And who doesn't love cupcakes?

I didn't really have a design in mind -- or any stamp sets picked out. But then I looked down at my B&W stripped pants and voilà, a card is born. Then Doodle This just hit me, and I went from there. I think the Ruby Red just makes it pop. I put Dazzling Diamonds (glitter) on the frosting. I don't know if you can tell that or not. And I ran the "cup" through the crimper and hit the ridges with River Rock ink. I think it's cute. I also water-colored the "leaves/stems" with River Rock. It kinda looks green IRL.

I hope you enjoy this too. Makes me hungry for a cupcake though...

G'Night!

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CIC#11

Just a quick post for Kristina's Color Inspiration Challenge #11. This is first one I've attempted to do. The idea is to take a color combo and create a card or scrapbook page using those colors as inspiration. This is the inspiration picture. You can get the details here. Then she picks her favorites and a few random ones.

I think these are pretty cool. I enjoy seeing everyone's interpretation. That also usually links me to other blogs -- blogs that I probably never would have found. There are some incredibly talented papercrafters on the WWW.


Anywho. Here is my card. I thought the colors were great. So Saffron, Rose Red, Old Olive, Going Gray, and Whisper White. I combined the challenge with a birthday card I needed for tomorrow. It would have been much better if it hadn't needed to be a masculine card.

I only have a few sets that are "masculine". And this one isn't -- necessarily. But it was quick and easy. The inspiration picture was mostly yellow and white -- so I tried to keep my card mostly those colors. I used the other colors sparingly. I never did see the Old Olive in the picture. Maybe I'm just missing something. I also added a little Taken with Teal for the bubbles.

Also, you can't tell from the pic, but I clear embossed the fish strip and the fish/words images. I was going for a watery look -- and it kinda looks wet IRL.

I think I could have done a better job with the challenge if I had made it more feminine. Oh well. Maybe next time.

I did make one more card for tomorrow. I used the same stamp set (Very Puny, a 2007 SAB set). It's also for a male, but this one is 3 years-old. It's totally more fun. And I had more fun making it. I guess it's because I've made a similar card before. This is one of my favorite color combos : Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, and Gable Green. Very "oceany" to me.

Ok, that's it for tonight (eeks! this morning). HEYYYYYY! Stampin' Up's retired list comes out in an hour. I can't stay up for it. I'll just have to check it in the morning....phooey!

Good night.

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Yikes...

It's 1:39am, and I should be in bed. I have to get up early for a Shoebox Swap tomorrow -- THIS morning. Geez!

I think I've got everything ready now. Thought I'd post my cards for the swap. It's taking place at my favorite LSS: Remember When Scrapbooking.

Anyway. Here's my first card. It's a Father's Day card. I hope Dad likes it. He's not really into cardmaking like Mom, Sis, and I are. Imagine that...!


I always think of Dad when I use this set (Bronc Buster from Stampin' Up!). But alas, he sold his last horse not too long ago. Bought two 4-wheelers.... Some things I'll never understand. Oh well, if it makes him happy -- he can have all the 4-wheelers/boats/etc. he wants. Just gimme my stamps...and yarn.


I hope the other participants will like it too. I can't wait to see what all they're bringing. I think we're only having 15 projects. We had hoped for 25, but didn't get that many takers. Probably a good thing for our first attempt at a shoebox swap.


OH, btw, I DID get the clear plastic paint cans finished. I don't have a pic yet. I'll have to get one tomorrow before they're given away.


Gotta hurry. Here is the other card I'm offering. One of the ladies had to drop out -- so I decided to make another card in her place. This was a fun card to make. It smells good too. I put a little bit of Avon's Orange Blossom body spray on the oranges. I decided to do that rather than the scratch & sniff technique. Didn't want to make a mess tomorrow. This is the Tart & Tangy set from the Occasions Mini. (I'd link to it but I'm too tired!)

Anyway. Guess that's all for now. I've REALLY got to go to bed now. I'm exhausted!

I'll try to post pics of the other projects from tomorrow later. Good-night/morning.

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Gettin' some Inkin' done

Well, I didn't get to work on the clear paint can on Sunday afternoon. Yep. I took a nap. Out like a light. I'm pretty much a night owl, and mornings are not my best time of the day. Needless to say I only get about 4-5 hrs. of sleep a night. I know it's my own fault -- I'm just usually not sleepy when it's "bedtime". Sooooo, Saturday is catch-up day for sleep. But then I stay up late because I've slept in that morning...a vicious circle!

BUT, I did get to work on then Sunday night after church. I worked on the medium sized one. It turned out SO cute, IMHO. I'll try to get pics when I'm done with them all. Did I mention that I have to have these done by May 31st? They are a prize for a contest at our shoebox swap. I need to work on the other ones -- but no, I'm bloggin'. Oh my! What have I gotten myself into?

But to prove that I really have been inkin' lately I'm going to try to upload a couple of things I've stamped. I've said that I love to watch ink go on paper -- but my favorite way of gettin' it there is to STAMP it there. Rubber stamp it there. That's what I do.

And what I do, mostly, is make cards. I LOVE CARDS! (I know. I use LOVE a lot! You'll just have to get used to it.) I have probably 90% of the cards I've been given over the years. I know I haven't thrown any away since the early 80s. I had my appendix removed in 1983, and I remember keeping all the get well cards that I received from that. It just kinda stuck.

I think, no, I know the reason I love cards so much is that they are hand-picked. Hand-picked to convey a wish, a blessing, a word of cheer or sympathy...a "hang in there", "I'm there for you", or "way to go!" When you give a card to someone -- you put a little bit of yourself into it. Just by the card you choose. It can be serious, funny, quirky, funky or just plain silly! Something that's just YOU!

For instance (before I started hand-making cards) -- my bff, Michelle, and I sent each other the same card the same week. Now we don't send cards to each other very often. Just a spur of the moment type thing. But it was the PERFECT card for that time in our lives. It was hand-picked by each of us, to convey our thoughts/feelings/emotions for the other friend. It was the COOLEST thing.

[oops! IM interruptus. having a convo w/my SIL. brb]

Ok, I'm back. So, cards are personal usually. Most people DO think about the card they're sending. You don't just go to the card rack, close your eyes and say "eeny, meeny, miney, mo" [GUYS! this means YOU]. So that's one of the reasons I started sending my own, handmade/handstamped cards. I get to make the card special, for the recipient...personalized in ways that no store-bought card can do. A one-of-a-kind! AND, I hope that the recipient I send it to feels like they are SO special -- the way a card is supposed to make you feel. Or at least I feel special when I receive a card. I know that someone took the time out of their day to pick out a card or handmake a card for me...ME. THAT makes me feel special.

So (geez I'm windy tonight), here's the card I made for my mom for Mother's day. I found this gorgeous card at Pattystamps by Lee Conrey (sorry, I don't have a website for her). It uses a bleaching technique. I loved it so much that I we made this at our May S-10 (Stamper's 10) club meeting. I let them choose the sentiment, because not everyone needed another Mother's Day card. I also made one like this that said happy birthday. It was for my DH's aunt. The colors are Blush Blossom, Ruby Red and Black (black embossing powder over VersaMark). The stamp sets used are Stampin' Up's Embrace Life and All Holidays. Love it! Love it! Love it!


Ok, I've GOT to go to bed now. I've been working on this post for 5 hours. That's crazy. But Kristy & Mark won Dancing with the Stars. I think David Archuleta should be the next American Idol, and I'm voting for him. The cats are fed and happy. DH is at work, and my eyes are very heavy. More tomorrow -- maybe!

L8R

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