Stamp Club Project Part 1

Where did this week go? We all ask this question, don't we? It's been kind of a strange week for me, but I won't go into it too much, except to say that, like everyone else, it's back to school for my kids, and the weather is hot, which makes me sluggish. I'm glad this is a 3-day weekend... and that I have a/c.

Wednesday night was Stamp Club night. This is one of the two projects we did. I found the "seersucker" technique on SCS and had to give it a try. I must say, I love it and so did my girls! All you do is run the paper through your crimper, first in one direction and then turn it sideways and do it again... after you've done your stamping. I also used that technique on the background DP, which makes it look like gingham, don't you think?

The flower was stamped twice on shimmery white cardstock and then cut out... first the entire flower, and then just the center, and then both parts were mounted with Dimensionals. I got the idea for mounting the hummingbird inside a styled silver HPH label holder from the Fall/Winter Preview brochure that was sent to customers... there's a card in there with a butterfly mounted inside the frame. Cute! Mine doesn't show it, but the girls also stamped their hummer on shimmery white cardstock, painted it in with an aqua painter and ink from the lid of the Baja Breeze ink pad, cut out and then mounted with a dimensional. I used Real Red brads instead of silver for a little extra pop. And, finally, I couldn't resist giving the girls a chance to use the new scalloped edge punch. I think every person bought one! Good decision!

Recipe:
Stamps: Stampin Up Pretty Amazing
Paper: Stampin Up Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze, Shimmery White and Whisper White cardstock; Bella Rose DSP
Ink: Riding Hood Red and Baja Breeze
Accessories: Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, Real Red brads, crimper, scalloped edge punch

I'll be back later with the second project. Thanks for stopping by!

Taylor's Cupcake Challenge

Hello again! A second post in one day. I'm on a roll! Actually, I'm behind schedule, but what else is new?

I had to stop fiddling with this card... it's driving me crazy. I just can't get the coloring right, and I've tried at least five different versions. I'm determined to get it right eventually, but not tonight. I've got to move on to preparing for Stamp Club this week... it's Wednesday night and I haven't done a thing except think about it!

This is for Taylor's Cupcake Challenge #30. Instead of cupcakes, I thought I'd use this new stamp set I just received in the mail from Stampers Dream. It's by Impression Obsession, called "An Apple a Day." Reminds me of those Mrs. Prindables apples you can get around the holidays on QVC... yum!

I'm not much on making Halloween cards... not that I don't like Halloween. It's just that I don't send out Halloween cards, so it doesn't make sense to make them. But I couldn't resist this one! Maybe I should send out Halloween cards just for the fun of making them! LOL

Hopefully you can tell that my apples are covered with caramel and then with chocolate and other candy coatings. I used orange beads to substitute for candies, using Crystal Effects to adhere them.

Recipe:
Stamps: Impression Obsession An Apple a Day
Paper: Stampin Up Halloween Night (retired) DSP and Old Olive cardstock; Papertrey Ink white cardstock
Ink: Copic Markers: E26, E29, E50, E13, YR07, Y38, YR31, Ranger Archival Jet Black
Accessories: SU Bead Duo Orange, Crystal Effects, Dew Drops

Now, on to Stamp Club projects!

Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge is Back!

It's great to have Beate back in the blogging world after her summer break! She's kicked things off with her famous weekend sketch challenge. The sketch is by Jenn Balcer. Fun!

Ever since I saw the Berry Sweet DP by K&Company, I knew I'd have to whip out my new Stampin Up Sock Monkey set. I think it looks pretty good! I stamped the hearts from the same set, colored them with my Copic markers, cut them out and then layered them beneath the image. The Happy Birthday strip is mounted over the hearts with Dimensionals.

I thought about adding something else, like stitching, but then decided to leave well enough alone! You see, I'm learning! LOL

Recipe:
Stamps: Stampin Up Sock Monkey and It's Your Birthday
Paper: K&Company Berry Sweet DP; Stampin Up Always Apricot and Pink Passion cardstock; Papertrey Ink white cardstock
Ink: Ranger Archival Jet Black, Copic Markers
Accessories: Nestabilities Petite Scallop Circle Large, Standard Circle Large

I've been fiddling around all weekend with a card I made for Taylor's Cupcake Challenge. If I can get it to finally look right, I'll post that later this evening.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday Ava!

As I mentioned in my last post, my friend Lisa has two beautiful girls. The youngest, Ava, turned 4 on Tuesday. I made this card for her (which, ahem, is going out belatedly). I could give it to her in person on Sunday at church, but I'm going to mail it instead. Ava loves getting cards in the mail. What child doesn't? Seems like all the mail is for Mom and Dad. (Of course, we don't like to admit that it's mostly bills and junk!) So, I hope she feels special when she receives this in the mail.

I went a little crazy with my stitching. And here's a case where less probably would have been more... I added the Stickles to the package swirls at the last moment and decided I could have left well enough alone. That's my problem... not knowing when to leave well enough alone! LOL

The sketch is from Trina of Trina's Timeless Treasures. It's a blog candy challenge, so you should check it out. You have until September 5th to enter. Mine cheats a little... I couldn't put the felt ribbon behind the smaller layer as shown in the sketch. It just didn't fit correctly. Hopefully, Trina won't mind!

The felt flowers are from Stampin Up! The "pink" one was really Rose Red. I rubbed it on my Pink Passion ink pad to darken it up to match the rest. Turned out pretty well. I wish I'd made the center green, though. It's hard to tell in this picture, but I added Stickles to the brad instead.

Recipe:
Stamps: Pink Cat Studio Lily & Tweet
Paper: K&Company Berry Sweet DP, SU Pink Passion CS, Papertrey Ink white cardstock
Ink: Copic Markers and SU markers, Ranger Archival Black ink
Accessories: K&Company Berry Sweet felt ribbon; SU Flower Fusion and Styled Silver HPH; Stickles, Janome Sew Petite

Send a child a card today and make his/her day! Thanks for stopping by!

Introducing Ribbon Confections and Back Porch Jewels

We returned from Arizona on Monday evening, and I haven't accomplished a blessed thing since then. I think the heat zapped all of my energy! I really want to get into my craft room and work on a few challenges and play with some new goodies, but so far no luck. Hopefully soon!

Since I have none of my own creations to showcase, I thought I'd share some of my friend's. I am truly blessed with friends, and I don't mean maybe. When I use the term "BFF," I'm really just being silly. I don't think of "best" as a ranking of friendship, but rather as the quality of friendship.

One of my BFF's is Lisa, shown here with her beautiful daughters Claire and Ava.

Lisa is another crafting buddy, but of a different kind. She doesn't stamp, but instead makes the most beautiful jewelry and accessories for girls. One of her Etsy shops is called Ribbon Confections. If you have little girls in your life, you must check it out!
Lisa also makes gorgeous jewelry under the name Back Porch Jewels.I am the proud owner of several of her creations, and I get tons of compliments when I wear them. She comes up with all sorts of different styles, so check back often. You won't be disappointed. I see that right now she's experimenting with different mediums. And, by the way, I taught her to bead weave! LOL

Okay, I've gotta go and hit the sack, as my military father used to say. I will be back soon with some new cards, so stay tuned. Thanks for stopping by!

And The Winner Is...

lucky #7: JenMarie! Congratulations, JenMarie! She said:

"What a beautiful giveaway! Hmmm...well, used to be purple...but I'm leaning more towards the lavendar end myself actually...and pinks!"

JenMarie, I'm out of town right now, but will be back home on Monday and will mail your prize to you on Tuesday. Please send me your snail mail address. You can email me at lhjulberg@charter.net.

I just browsed JenMarie's blog, Taylor Made by JenMarie. It's awesome! Be sure to take a peek.

I thank each of you, with all my heart, for being my very first blog candy entrants! I hope you will visit again. I will definitely have more blog candy when I reach another milestone. I'll think about what that should be... but I promise it won't be long!

I'll be back with more posts next week, when I'm back in town. Take care, and have a great weekend!

Me and My BFF Susan!

I don't have a card to post tonight, but I wanted to let everyone know that I'm going to be gone for a few days to visit my mother-in-law in Arizona. Yes, as if it weren't hot enough here in So Cal, we're going to a place where it's at least 10-15 degrees hotter and never goes below 95, even at night! That is not my kind of weather, trust me.
But we want to check in on Jo, plus Paul's step- grandmother Ethelwyn (who is 98 years young) before Paul starts traveling again when school starts. (Paul is a university golf coach.)

So anyway, I thought I'd post a picture of me and my BFF Susan (coffeeforme on SCS), who was the big weener of the Anni-VERVE-sary contest. She is also a wonderful, totally hooked stamper. She is my number one crafting buddy, and a very dear friend.

I (or, rather, Avery) shall draw the name of the Blog Candy winner tomorrow night from Arizona and announce the winner. You can still enter for a chance to win by going to this post.

My dear son needs to use the computer, so I have to go now. Thanks for stopping by!

Featured Stamper Challenge - Blog Candy Below

Ahoy there! First, before I say a word about my card, I want to extend a huge congratulations to my dear friend Susan (coffeeforme on SCS) for being the GRAND PRIZE WINNER of the Anni-VERVE-sary contest! Yay, hurray!
Susan won all of the August release stamps from Verve. Wow! I'm so glad we're the best of friends because I just know she will share with me! However, I've told her I want my raffle karma back... I'm usually very lucky at raffles, but I've been missing my mojo lately and now I know where it went! LOL

Kim Teasedale (blondie090277 on SCS) is this week's Featured Stamper. I CASED this card. Kim does beautiful work! You should really check out her gallery and blog.

I've been wanting to use these Rosie's Roadshow stamps. I got the idea from this card by Anna Wight. I love Anna's artwork and her sense of humor, particularly when she creates with Rosie's Roadshow stamps!

Rather than use DP, I decided to texturize cardstock using my Cuttlebug embossing folders, and then sponged them with the same color ink. My image background didn't turn out quite the way I intended. I still need to practice more with my Copic air can. I added Crystal Effects to the water to make it shiny, and glitter to the scalloped frame. I didn't do quite as much stitching and layering as Kim, but I think it turned out pretty well. I think I'll try this layout again with different paper and images.

Recipe:
Stamps: Rosie's Roadshow
Paper: Stampin Up Old Olive and More Mustard cardstock, Papertrey Ink Lemon Tart and White cardstock, SU Bella Rose DSP (mat behind the image)
Ink: Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger, Copic Markers: B60, B95, YR21, YR14, YG95, Old Olive and More Mustard for sponging
Accessories: Cuttlebug embossing folders, SU Hodgepodge Hardware Styled Silver, More Mustard brads, 1/2" circle punch, label punch, yellow glitter

Tip: My Brilliance Graphite Black ink pad ran dry, and they were out of stock at Michael's, so I decided to try the Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger Industries to see if it would work with Copics. It does! Beautifully!

Thanks so much for stopping by. It's not too late to enter to win Blog Candy!

Blog Candy Below! Taylor's Cupcake Challenge #28

If you are looking for the Blog Candy opportunity, please see the post below this one.

I love Taylor VanBruggen's weekly cupcake challenge, but haven't had time to play in awhile. I'm glad I found time this weekend... I love this sketch! I don't often make "long" cards, but after doing this one, I've decided that I definitely need to try this size more often.

I'm loving the new Bella Rose DSP being introduced by Stampin Up! starting tomorrow. The colors and patterns are fantastic. I'm also loving the new In Color group. This card features Riding Hood Red and Baja Breeze.

I masked the center cupcake to stamp the two cupcakes beside it. The cups are colored with Copic markers, but the cakes are paper pieced, again using Bella Rose DSP. The flower on top of the center cupcake was stamped on DSP, cut out, and then mounted with a Dimensional. I put a Dew Drop in the center of the flower. I couldn't help but add a bit of sparkle to the cupcakes with my Crystal Stickles. I chose the "bubble" Cuttlebug embossing folder for the bottom panel to echo the dots in the cups. The ribbon is from a stash I bought at the recent Long Beach Quilt Festival from a vendor called Nifty Thrifty Dry Goods. Man, is that booth ever a feast of for the eyes!

Recipe:
Stamps: Hero Arts
Paper: Stampin Up Bella Rose DSP, Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze and Whisper White cardstock
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black, Copic Markers BG10, RV11
Accessories: Crystal Stickles, SU Button, misc ribbon, Dew Drop

Thanks for stopping by!

Blog Candy!!!

I promised Blog Candy once I received 1000 hits on my blog, and here it is...a little late, but better late than never, right?

I chose this set of prizes to honor my friend Susan (coffeeforme on SCS), who is my #1 stamping fan. She never fails to encourage and support me in everything I do. And, she got majorly addicted to SCS because of me! Anyway, Susan's favorite color is purple... or maybe I should say lavender. So everything here has the color purple.

The cards in the back are by The Paper Cut, called Square Overlay Kit in Husk & Eggplant, and includes 5 of each scored square window cards, window overlays, envelopes and text inserts. The patterned paper pack is by Creative Memories and includes 24 double-sided photo mats called Serene... all in shades of lavender, soft blue, and soft yellow... great for either scrapbooking or making cards! The stamp is by Hero Arts and measures 4 x 5 1/4. The ribbon is a cool purple stripe by Offray. Fun!

To win this blog candy, simply post a comment and tell me your favorite color... and why, if there is a why. For instance, I always say that green is my favorite color because it's the color of money! (LOL) My son Avery will draw a winner on Friday, August 15th at 7:00 pm PST.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Sew Nice of You!

When Melissa Rodger at Pink Cat Studio issued a challenge to use fabric in a card for her September Guest Designer Contest, I had to play along. Not only do I love to stamp, but I'm also learning to quilt. And I LOVE Pink Cat Studio stamps...and Melissa for always being so sweet to answer emails and post comments. She's the best! And did I also mention that I love Canada? It's all good!

Anyway, I'm in the middle of a quilt project and just happened to have these fabric scraps on my craft table. They are by Moda. I layered them and then stitched them down with my little Janome, using a zig zag stitch. I used a swipe of glue stick to hold the pieces in place until I could finish the stitching... my tape runner didn't want to have anything to do with fabric! LOL

The "bow" is made of more scrap fabric that I cut into strips and tied together. And what better image to use than Tweet mending a sock. Isn't she cute? And if you click on the photo, you'll see little rhinestones on the tips of her horn rimmed glasses... she is definitely on the cutting edge of fashion!

I know the stamped image is a little off center. That was not originally my intention. I had stamped and colored Tweet and then decided I wanted to cut the image into a circle. So I positioned my circle Nestie over the image and cut. Well, I guess the die slipped a little, and it came out off center. I was just about to toss it aside and do another when I realized that it was pretty cool just the way it was!

I finished off the card by stamping "Sew Nice of You" onto the bottom fabric scrap. Trust me, I was really nervous that I'd mess it up and this was my only chance... I had already stitched everything down. (Note to self, stamp first, stitch second!). So I practiced a few times and decided it was best to go with a completely clean stamp, freshly dabbed into the ink, and then a light touch to the fabric. Voila, it worked!

I really like this card. It is so much nicer in person. I will definitely keep putting my quilting scraps to good use on my cards!

Recipe:
Stamps: Pink Cat Studio Tweet
Paper: Stampin Up Soft Sky, Real Red and Whisper White cardstock
Fabric: Moda
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black and Copic Markers
Accessories: Janome sewing machine, Stampendous rhinestones

Thanks for stopping by! Will be back soon with more cards and blog candy!

Belated Dare To Get Dirty Challenge Cards

Yay, hurray, my computer is fixed! And I must say, it works better than ever. I think there was more junk creeping around in my computer than I thought. And, guess what. They said that I get the award for the dirtiest computer they have ever seen! Yes, I'm so proud. What an honor! The guy asked me if I'd ever watched the old TV version of Star Trek. Of course, I have (which dates me). He said that when they opened up my computer, it looked like it had been attacked by Trebbles!

Really, I'm totally ashamed of myself. I knew that I needed to get down on my hands and knees and clean it, vacuum around the cords and such, but I kept putting it off. I'm lucky that the virus got me... if it hadn't, and I hadn't taken my computer in, it's quite likely I would have burned up my hard drive. The good Lord is definitely looking out for me! I'm turning over a new leaf when it comes to computer care and maintenance.

Anyhoo, I can finally post the rest of the cards I managed to finish for the Dare to Get Dirty 08 Challenge. I don't have time to post all of them tonight... I'll post more tomorrow.

This first card is one of my favorites. This was in response to Christine's challenge to use a watercoloring technique. I chose reinkers and my paint brush. I hadn't watercolored in awhile and was reminded how much I enjoy it. The key is to use watercolor paper... and don't get your brush too wet. I always dab off on a papertowel before going to the paper, but I still get "bleeds" every now and then.

Recipe:

Stamps: image is by PennyBlack; greeting is by Inkadinkado

Paper: SU Certainly Celery and Baja Breeze cardstock, watercolor paper, Certainly Celery DSP

Ink: SU reinkers... I mainly used the new colors, plus Going Grey and Blush Blossom. I forgot to write them all down... sorry!

Accessories: Prima flowers; SU brad

This card was in response to Jenn's inspiration challenge... a black and white cake tied with a green and yellow bow. It's hard to see in this photo, but I brayered a piece of glossy white cardstock with Certainly Celery and So Saffron inks... sort of a gradual fade from green to yellow...and then embossed the image over it using Versamark and black embossing powder. The greeting was stamped and then punched out with the large oval punch, and then mounted with Dimensionals. This was one of my projects for July's stamp club, to give the ladies a chance to try a brayering technique.

Recipe:

Stamps: Stampin Up Fresh Cuts

Paper: SU Basic Black, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, and Glossy White cardstock

Ink: So Saffron and Certainly Celery, Versamark

Accessories: large oval punch, black embossing powder

Thanks for stopping by! Check again tomorrow for more belated challenge cards. And stay tuned for Blog Candy. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Yikes, I Was Bitten by a Virus!

A computer virus, that is. Actually, I think technically it is riskware. All I know is it took over my computer. It's called Antivirus XP 2008. My DH unleashed the beast on Wednesday afternoon. He had to go into hiding for a couple of days because I was pretty upset! (LOL) My son Collin and I tried several things in a failed effort to clean it out ourselves, but I finally had to take it into a local computer place. It will be ready no later than Wednesday. In the meantime, I'm using Collin's computer. He's basically sitting on his bed right now, playing a video game, and repeatedly asking me how much longer I'll be on his computer (and making other snidely comments about how goofy and weird I am as he occasionally glances over to see what I'm up to... where does he get that idea?). I told him I might camp out here all night. Ha!

So, I will be back to post some cards soon, hopefully on Wednesday. Since I've also hit the 1000 mark in visits to my blog (thanks everyone!), I will cook up some BLOG CANDY. So be sure to check back for a chance to win some cool prizes.

Note to self: buy a hard drive and get all pictures and important documents off of the computer! (At least they will all be okay, not gobbled up by the malware and riskware, but this sure gave me a wake-up call!)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!