Ice Fishing

Looks like I am definitely on an animal kick lately doesn't it? Guess I'll have to dig out some of my floral stamps to change things up a bit.

I love the new winter theme stamps from The Cat's Pajamas. The polar bear, flourish and sentiment are all from this set. The bear's scarf is paper pieced and the scalloped border was made with SU's slit punch . I stamped the image on Strathmore cold press watercolor paper. It makes such a beautiful clear impression. I then colored it with Copic Markers and used Spica markers for the water and gift ribbon.

Looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Hope you enjoy yours.

Lonely Beaver

I have been wracking my brain trying to come up with something to use to create a card for the SCS Fan Club's Central Theme for September, "Lost and Found". The object for this month was the "Use of "found" objects, including nature items such as twigs and leaves, recycling items normally destined for trash, such as altering those AOL mailer CD tins or the CDs themselves, using bubble wrap to ink up your brayer and create a funky background, bottle cap jewelry". Well, I was stumped and then tonight, as I was emptying my electric pencil sharpener, it hit me. Pencil shavings!!!

I stamped this little lovesick beaver from Inky Antics and colored him with Copic Markers. The PP used is from Scenic Route's Sumner collection. I am crazy about this paper. The sentiment is from a Hero Arts Clear Design set. I glued the pencil shavings to the base of the tree and added some buttons. You have to click on the image to really appreciate those shavings. :-)

Birthday Cat

I wanted to take part in Julee's Mojo Monday and here it is Wednesday already! I bought this Stamps Happen cat years ago and had never used it. It took quite awhile to color with Copic markers, but I really like the end result. I used the Cuttlebug for the background and added some SU DP for one layer and to frame the sentiment which is from The Cat's Pajamas. Of course I had to embellish the hat with a touch of Stickles. It is a party after all!

Have a terrific Wednesday.

Four Leaves

My tribute to fall... I could definitely feel it in the air today and I loved it! I don't know what it is about Autumn but I actually feel younger, more energetic, and happier than at any other time of year.

I stamped the four leaves stamp from Judikins on four different PP and cut them out. I then placed them on foam squares for depth. I added a sentiment stamp from one of my Scrap Goods kits and used Technique Tuesday faux stitching around the layered card stock. I added touches of cork stickers by Creative Imaginations (one circle cut into quarters) on the corners.

I hope you are embracing the new season too.

Kat

In a Pickle

This week's JBWW challenge is to use stamps that have never seen ink! That fit right into my plans as I just received some new stamps from Sassy and Sweet Crafts and was anxious to play. These stamps from Lockhart Stamp Company crack me up. They were super fun and easy to color with my Copic markers. The PP is one of my all time favorites from the Wild Asparagus line of MME.

Thanks for another fun challenge.

No place like home

Gee but it's great to get back home. I love to travel but I relish the trip home as well. The 5 1/2 hour flight to Orlando from Seattle is just about as long as I can stand and I start getting really antsy about 4 hours in. We had a terrific time though. My conference was informative and productive. There isn't much downtime, so we just trekked around Downtown Disney one evening and then last night we attended the final event of the conference which was a private party at Seaworld. Really fun time!

I can't believe how much I miss creating when I'm away. I tackled the featured stamper challenge as soon as we got home. This week's FS is Kristina Werner (starofmay) and you can find her gorgeous gallery here. I chose to CASE this card. I changed the card to a Halloween theme but I tried to follow the layout as closely as possible. The PP is Doodlebug Design, the sentiment is by A Muse and the spider stamp is from Whipper Snapper designs. I colored the spider with Copic markers and added some ribbon by KI Memories.

Cluck, Cluck, Cluck

Here is another one of my many stamps with nary a hint of an ink stain. Not from a thorough cleansing mind you, but rather from a neglectful owner. I don't know what took me so long to pull this out and use it. I think it turned out really cute. It also gave me another opportunity to practice my Copic marker skills. I have decided it really is a skill! Have you seen the incredible work of Michelle Wooderson or Kathy Sanders? That's what I want to be when I grow up. :-)

The PP used in this card is from the Love Elsie set by KI Memories. I couldn't believe how well it with with the colors I used in the image which was not (as usual) pre-planned. The stamp is from Penny Black and the sentiment is from The Cat's Pajamas. The ink is Reflection Blue by Pallette (Hyrid) and I used the SU Mat Pack and scallop punch to dress it up.
I am leaving on a business trip to sunny (and no doubt muggy) Florida tomorrow so I won't be posting again until next week. Be sure you keep on creating those beautiful cards because I'll be taking my Mac with me and I'll be checking in daily. Got to get my daily fix!

See you next week....

In a Holiday Mood

Ok, I'm in a festive mood, so I have to create as many cards as possible before it disappears. Here's another holiday card to cross off my list. That makes three so far, so I am officially way ahead of my normal schedule.

I think this Big on Christmas set from SU is so cute. Love the little snowman! The PP is one of my all time favorites by Chatterbox. I used it last year on several cards. The white border is from the Martha Stewart collection. I colored the image with my SU markers and aquapainter and my Copic markers. Stickles added just the right frosty touch.

An old fashioned Christmas

Isn't this image scrumptious? I just love the vintage feel of this set from Sunday International. I thought it was just made for this PP by Foof-a-la. The ink used is Fired Brick Distress Ink and then I sponged over the whole image and PP with the Old Paper Distress Ink. The sentiment is from the same stamp set and was stamped on SU vanilla card stock. I tore and inked around it to add more of an aged feel.

The Inaugural JBWW Challenge

Don't know what a JBWW challenge is? Well, then head on over to Jeanne Streiff and Sherry Cheever's blogs (links below) to get the scoop.

I love how this card turned out. Thanks Jeanne (Inky Paws) and Sherry (Walkin' on the Bad Side) for the challenge. I needed that little nudge (read that as kick in the pants) to pull out a bottle of glitter from my stash and actually use it.

I glued some of the petal edges in this beautiful Flair Designs PP and covered them with Martha Stewart's Fire Opal glitter. It makes the flower really pop! To get the full effect, click on the photo for a closer look. The stamp is from Impression Obsession and is called Soothing Nature. I stamped it on Bazzill card stock with Adirondack Raisin Ink and added some Offray ribbon and a small bee charm from Pixie Press.

Can't wait for the next JBWW challenge. Bring it on girls!

BRAK #2 and SC140

This is the proverbial killing two birds with one card method. I chose the sketch from SC140 at SCS to use for my second Birthday RAK. I had to tweak it ever so slightly by adding a layer at the bottom of the card. I initially just sponged my card stock but I was really unhappy with how it looked so I added a little PP. All of the PP used is from the new Basic Grey Periphery collection and the card stock is a mix of SU and Bazzill. The stamps are from Verve Visual's Fancy Florals set. I absolutely love the versatility of this set. I also added just a touch of Stickles to the flowers for some sparkle.

I'll have a second post tonight because I want to tackle the JBWW (Just Because We Wanna) challenge that was started by Jeanne Streiff of Inky Paws and Sherry Cheever from Walkin' on the Bad Side. This is going to be fun!

See you in a few....

BRAK #1

is on its way to the 1st person on my list. I am loving making these cards for the SCS BRAK Committee. Sure hope the birthday girl likes pink. :-)

I used the Stamps for a Cause ($7.00 from each set goes to the Make a Wish Foundation) set from Gina K Designs for both the image and sentiment and you'll never guess what PP I used, yep, My Mind's Eye. I colored the cake with my Copic markers and accidentally splattered it with ink when I was removing the cap from one of the markers. So, rather than start over, I just went crazy with more splatters. Gotta love serendipity. I rather liked the effect. The velvet ribbon is from Cosmo Cricket and I just had to add Stickles to the candles and icing for a touch of sparkle. Be sure and click on the photo for a closer view.

I just realized that I am living vicariously through my stamping. I mentioned before that I have been on Nutrisystem since April and so far I have lost 47.4 pounds. This, folks is how I am indulging my sweet tooth.!

SC 139

This card for the SC139 challenge at Splitcoast Stampers has a special place in my heart. When my daughter was carrying my grandson, we called him Turtle for the entire pregnancy. He's now 18 months old, (and the cutest grandchild ever!) but I can't look at a turtle without thinking of that special time. We found out recently that grandbaby #2 is on the way and should arrive in April. They're calling this one "Beany". Now that's going to be a little tougher to stamp!

This little turtle is from Art Impressions and the sentiment is from another Clearly Wordsworth set. The PP is from Doodlebug and has the sweetest little turtles on it. I used rub-ons for the stitching, doodled around the sentiment and added a Prima flower with an MM brad.

I'll have another post for you soon. I've started my BRAK Committee cards for September and just finished the first one.

For my Sis

I am so blessed to have two sisters. I'm smack dab in the middle of two wonderful women. My "baby" sis lives in Taiwan and is coming home for a visit in a little over two weeks. I am so excited to see her. My "much older" sis (as I like to call her. We're actually only thirteen months apart.) is having a birthday in 3 days, and this card is for her.

I have been using a lot of My Mind's Eye PP lately. I just love their color combos and distressed (but not over the top) look. I sponged the edges with Creamy Brown Colorbox Chalk ink and stamped Happy Birthday in Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The sentiment is from Everyday Greetings, a Clearly Wordsworth set. I added some ribbon and a brad from S.E.I.

Hope you had a great Labor Day weekend. I love holidays but I dread the first day back to work after one. Sometimes I wonder if they are really worth it!