Inking In the New Year!

Best wishes to all for a Happy and Healthy New Year!

I hope to share many new card designs with all of you in 2009! Please be sure to leave a comment whenever you visit--thanks!

Christmas Is Here!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Tree Trimming Time

I finally remembered to take a picture of our Christmas "Bird" Tree! After Christmas, instead of storing it in the attic or basement, we remove the icicles, unplug the lights and carry the whole tree into the living room where it resides for the rest of the year. Since it has no ornaments, the "natural" look fits right in with our country decor.

Notice the box Rick made for the base--it has an opening in the back so the cats can go in for a nap.

(Click to enlarge for a closer view of the birds and pine cones.)

Get Your Sun Glasses!

Winter has just begun in earnest with our latest snowfall, but I'm ready for some sun! This birthday card was very simple to make: just some plaid dp, a strip of coordinating yellow Bazill cardstock, a darker yellow ink and some gold brads. Orange crystals add a little extra bling to an already bright card...

January Birthday

This stamp from Verses Rubber Stamps (purchased at Michael's??) is the perfect saying for a January Birthday card! The dp is from the "Old World" mat stack by Die Cuts With a View. The round stamp is by SU and was from the special offer with a subscription to Country Living magazine. I like the versatility of the stamp since it could be used as a snowflake (in blue or white) or as a flower. Here I just picked up on the round shapes in the paper and buttons, matching the green, which is a little different shade from the Christmas greens I've been using. I like using just the tone on tone with white, and no ribbon.

Enjoy!

Snowstorm Stamping Again

A huge snowstorm has been predicted for tomorrow and Sunday, so I plan to spend hours in my stamping tower "playing" with all my stamping toys in the afternoon. First, I'm going to finish cleaning, gift wrapping and baking some Christmas treats.

Diet? What diet???

Cat-lover to Cat-lover

Here's a Christmas card I made for a friend who loves cats. First I taped the green cardstock to a white card, then added the double-sided designer paper below it. (dp by K&Co.) I then stamped the cat (Repeat Impressions stamp) on white and punched it out with the giga-punch, using the same punch for the striped side of the dp. The striped paper at the bottom is actually a strip on the inside of the card after using scalloped scissors to trim a half inch off the top layer.

The cat image is painted with watercolor crayons and mounted over the striped oval, then attached to the card. Buttons and bows complete the red and green theme, with a red gem (Hero Arts) for a little bling in the center of the pillow.

Another easy card!

Tip: When folding a card the long way, be sure to use a scoring tool. Because the grain goes the other way, it will leave wrinkles or a rough edge along the fold, if done by hand.

SLICE IS HERE!

My new Slice die cutter arrived, and I finally had some time to play with it today during the snow/sleet that kept us from getting to church. My first project was this Christmas card using the alphabet and a tag design that came with the machine.

After attaching the embroidery floss to what is now an "ornament," I turned it under the background paper, secured it on the back and taped the bg paper to the card. Next I popped out the letters and added a snowflake to the top of the "J" with dimensionals. For a little "bling" I placed a large pearl in the snowflake center and three tiny ones in the lower right corner. (...difficult to see on the scanner, but more noticeable if you click on the image...)

The Slice took a little getting used to, but it's fun!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Blessings to all my stamping friends. We have a lot to be thankful for!

Christmas Plaid

Here's a card made with a stamp set and some scraps left over from last year. First, I stamped the holly image on a piece of white cardstock, colored it and splattered it with a green "blow pen." Then I sponged the edges with dark green ink, glued on a bow of red metallic cord, placed dimensionals on the back and put it aside.

Next, I taped a piece of red and green plaid to the cardstock on the left side. After placing the image over the card, I added 3 red gems to the bottom right corner. The word "blessings" is stamped in black to the right of the image; but next time, I would use white or silver so it shows up more.

Finally, the sentiment inside is stamped in dark green on a piece of white paper.

Easy Cuttlebug Card

This couldn't have been easier! Just taped the cuttlebug Holly image to the card, added red "berries" and attached the tag with a piece of ribbon. I saved on ribbon by punching a hole through the card on the right side only. After stamping a sentiment inside, I was done!

Over 100 Christmas Cards...

...ready to go! With a wide variety of designs, I'm finally finished with my creations and all I have to do now is address the envelopes.

This one was done using a Stampin' Up stamp set, red and green markers, a black "gem" for the eye and a red button with green embroidery floss. The bottom leaves were stamped twice without reinking, then mounted on a green Hero Arts card. After coloring the cardinal and leaves, the image was cut out and mounted with foam mounting tape.

Now all I have to do is clean my house!

SAD NEWS

No time for stamping:

On Wed., November 5, my mom passed away after a stroke that left her unconscious for a week. She was 88. This Saturday will be her memorial service, so I will be at my sister's to help with the preparations.

Although it is a sad time, we are all grateful for her long life. She was always cheerful and ready to have fun, even through all her health problems over the past two or three years. It's a real blessing that my children and grandchildren got to know and love her, too.

She will be missed...

The Ups and Downs of Life

After an extended visit and having such a wonderful time at Disney World with our whole family, Laura and family returned to Prague. The very next morning, I got a call from my sister that my mom was in the hospital and would have to go to a nursing home from there. So without even having a chance to clean up or do the laundry, I had to repack warmer clothes and head out to Long Island to help. She had been hospitalized with uncontrollable coughing due to some fluid in her left lung. While we waited for her to recover, my sister and I started the Medicaid application process with a voluminous amount of xeroxing records to attach. We spent 3 1/2 hrs. using 2 copy machines at my sister's office to get it all done--what a job! Mom was recovering nicely and all set to enter the nursing home the next morning. Then things changed literally overnight. She had a stroke (as far as the drs. can tell) and as of today is still unconcious with a respirator and all sorts of tubes and wires attached. The drs. are optimistic that she will recover enough to go to the nursing home, but at 88 yrs. old nothing is certain.

Needless to say, I have done no stamping in the last month and a half. I just wanted to let my blogging friends know why I haven't posted for such a long time. It may still be awhile...

HAD A WONDERFUL TIME!

Disney World was great--we just got back yesterday! Unfortunately, one of my souvenirs is a full blown head cold (miserable) so it will be a few days before I get back to stamping. Check back again soon...

ON VACATION...

We'll soon be off to a much-needed vacation at Disney World. Meanwhile, I'm playing catch-up here and will post when I get the chance to stamp again!

SOCK MONKEY

This is the sock monkey I remember from my teen years! Did you have one too?

Anna Wight Does It Again!

This new "Give Thanks" set from Whipper Snapper Designs is just right for autumn and Thanksgiving cards that are simple to do. This one was done with Versamark and chalks for a soft, colorful look. Mounting the image on two sides of one sheet of designer paper from K and Company finishes it off.

Thank you Anna for yet another beautiful design!

(Looks better IRL--scanner made it look washed out.)

Another Thankyou Card

Using my Cuttlebug, some metallic paper and some crystals, I'm ready to respond to the many birthday cards I've been receiving. Whether you use the full folder image or just a partial piece, this CB design gives you a lot of options. One of the other cards I made uses the bottom half of the embossed piece on a horizontal card for a different effect. Either way, it makes for a look that is simple, yet elegant.

Mothers Class

Mothers Class went very well today. Everyone loved making the cards and are looking forward to the next class. It's always fun when you get a chance to introduce the art of stamping to someone new, which was the case for a few of the moms. They were happy to hear that by the end of the semester, they'll have made a dozen Christmas cards!

(See Mothers Class Design post below.)

Technique Tuesday Thankyou Card

This card was made at Cyndy's Technique Tuesday class, which was actually held on Tuesday --imagine that!

Anyway, this one is very easy to make. Starting on the yellow cs, we stamped the trees, then masked them, randomly stamped the leaves and sponged white ink around them. Using the reverse mask, we sponged green and orange over the trees. After stamping "thanks", we used the ticket punch on the corners, mounted it on orange cs and then mounted it on green cs. For the button, we backed it with yellow cs, knotted a piece of twine through the holes, then mounted it on an orange circle. The edge of the circle was roughed with our fingers.

Since I've been getting a lot of birthday cards from my Silver Stamper friends, I'll be using this as a thankyou for one of them.

Thank You Card

Here's a simple card I made with Evelyn today, using her "Gratitude" stamp. After cutting it out with the scallop punch, it was mounted on a piece of metallic paper that I ran through the Cuttlebug. The "black" strip is actually a piece of shiny metallic purple paper that looks black only on the scanner. With a purple crystal gem added to the letter G, it was done...another easy card...

Mothers Class Design

Here's the first card for opening day of the Mothers Class at my church on Monday, the 15th. It's a top fold, with a scalloped edge on the bottom of the top flap. Although they look purplish here, the flowers are a soft pink to match the lighter color in the dp (looks better IRL.)

I plan to teach the class how to cover a slide frame, giving them the choice of which side of the dp to use. The flip side is used for the bottom and background of the white piece with the greeting. Embroidery floss is used around the white cardstock and just tied in a knot. The crystals are Hero Arts--one large for the center of the punched flower and two small as accents on the white.

Although there are several different steps (and skills) involved, this is really easy to do in a class setting. I hope the moms enjoy this one!

Tropical Storm Hannah

Rainy days make such good stamping weather! I was able to spend my whole day yesterday in the Tower getting ahead on my Christmas cards, thanks to TS Hannah.

This one was done with one of the clear sets I got from Hero Arts. I stamped it in dark green, then colored the pine cones with 2 shades of brown and added a speck of white ink on the tips of the cones. The inside is stamped with a nice bold "merry Christmas" that was included in the set.

As of this morning, I have 76 Christmas cards done--only 24 left to go! Then I can concentrate full time on the cards and kits I've designed for the Mothers Class this semester at our church. (See "Ready for Fall" below.)

Pocket Silhouette Thankyou

Here's another card using one of the 5 new sets I just got from Stampin' Up, "Pocket Silhouettes." I've made one card using each of the 4 main images in the set, all using this cardstock and dark green ink. Some have button embellishments, some with embroidery floss, etc. This one has twine and a ripped edge on the bottom, which I curled slightly with my fingers.

Three more new sets to play with as soon as I get caught up...

First Christmas Card Ready

Here's the first Christmas card I've made so far with one of the new SU sets for this year. The image is so simple, I didn't want to overwhelm it with a lot of color or embellishments. First it was stamped on off-white cardstock with Versafine Olympia Green ink. The light blue sky was dabbed on with a tissue, the church colored with markers, and a piece of torn white cardstock was added to the bottom for "snow."

The sheer ribbon has a little shimmer to it for a subtle bling.

Somehow, the steeple and treetops remind me of the spires of Prague (where my daughter and her family live.) Overall, the image has a serenity to it. For those of you in the Deep South or West, I hope you've had the opportunity to experience the hush of fresh-fallen snow, which I think this image captures...

Ready for Fall!

I've been busy getting all the designs ready for the Fall Semester at Bible Study. This year, I decided to try something new: an "After School Activity" for those who want to make holiday cards. As soon as Bible Study is over, I will demo that week's card for 15-20 minutes before offering kits to take home and make. The images will be pre-stamped for them to color and mount on the card. I've kept them as simple as possible, as seen in this first card for Sept. 16th. (The same cards will be done in the Mothers Class at church, except that they'll stamp and assemble them there.)

Each kit will contain all the pieces (and envies) for 2 cards, at a charge of only $1 to cover the cost of materials. There are 3 autumn designs, 1 Halloween, 1 Thanksgiving and 6 Christmas cards, for a total of 11 designs.

Inkadinka-dude!

Yesterday, I had a 40% off coupon for AC Moore that I just HAD to use; so I bought a packet of Inkadinkadoo clear birthday stamps and made this card. The eyes, which have adorable lashes, were in my stash from ages ago. I used a yellow watercolor pencil and green Twinkling H2O for the Gecko body. Another easy card!

Meanwhile, my Hero Arts Christmas order came in today; so I'll be playing tonight and hopefully posting some new Christmas cards later...

(Click on card to see the eyelashes.)

Technique Tuesday on Monday Class

Last night was Cyndy's monthly technique class rescheduled from last Tuesday. She always comes up with great "recipes" for us to try, and these are no exception.

The first was the hardest, but a lot of fun. I think it would be easier to stamp the smaller squares separately after cutting them. Otherwise, it was pretty straightforward. Cyndy chose really nice colors to use.

The middle card features a fancy folded card using the retired set "Carte Postal." The double-sided dp has "bonjour" on the reverse side in keeping with the French words and images. I chose "Mon Amie" to give to my friend, Lucienne, the "Queen of France" as her friends call her. We thought it appropriate to use this set with Mary, whose husband works for the post office.

The third was a brayered process and the easiest to do. It is embellished with white gel pen and glitter "snow."

(Click on the photo for a better view.)

Old Supplies, New Card

Here's another Christmas card made with last year's leftovers, a new stamp set and my favorite Martha Stewart punch. Most of my Christmas cards will not have coordinated envelopes due to the high number (100) but this is one exception. The Swiss Dots strip is actually the reverse of a yellow piece of cardstock that I ran through the Cuttlebug awhile back. The "i" in Christmas is dotted with a tiny crystal.

Meanwhile, my SU order from the new catalog should be here soon! Here's what I ordered:

A Wish for Peace
Christ Is Born
Sock Monkey
Pocket Silhouettes
Heard from the Heart
Riding Hood Red cardstock
and matching Designer Series Papers

Ooooh, the anticipation...

Got the Catalog--Woohoo!

Now I'm just waiting for my order to come in, hopefully before the end of this week. I'll post some cards as soon as I get my hands on the new stamp sets--especially the Christmas ones!

See ya then!

While I'm Waiting for the New SU Catalog...

The new Stampin'Up catalog is taking so long, I've resorted to borrowing old sets and going back to leftover designer paper from last year. When you need to make 100 cards by Thanksgiving weekend, you need to jump start in July.


The first card uses a piece of black and white dp from a pack of Christmas designs I bought a year or two ago. The poinsettia stamp is from a set I borrowed from Mary this week. I used a Fiskars corner punch to highlight the burgundy paper on the bottom of the inside. Silver rhinestone stickers from Michael's add bling. I also used black Stickles for the flower center.

The next two cards feature designs I came up with using the new CB border folders.

The tan card features the dotted border which I criss-crossed and mimicked with the red twine. The polkadot paper also carries the theme. The gold beads in the flower center on the burgundy card are also from Michael's.

All the cardstock is from a package I bought several weeks ago on sale at Michael's. It has 50 sheets, which translates into 100 cards.

Since I'm working with scraps and leftovers, all the cards so far are one of a kind. Not bad, actually; but it's slow going. I'm looking forward to settling down to one design just as soon as I get my hands on a SU catalog!!!

Meanwhile, Back to Summer:

Here's a card using leftover scraps from my scrap drawer--once again, it pays to keep some handy! I even had some leftover purple-tinted gems to dress it up.

Variation on a Theme

Here's the same card recipe as the previous post in a different color scheme. I used the holly and berry peg stamps in place of the pine and pine cones, metallic gold paper in place of the brown and a different designer paper. Isn't it amazing how a change of color can make such a difference!!

Notice how the large button has the words "twenty-five" printed on it. How appropriate is that! (Unfortunately, it's the only like it in the whole assortment.)

I've done 10 of this design--90 cards to go--and working on a new design for the next batch of 10, so stay tuned!

1Down, 99 to go!

Christmas is coming! I'm late getting started this year because the SU catalog won't be coming out until Aug. 11; so in the meantime, I got started using my new Hero Arts postage set and my old Rubber Stamp Tapestry peg stamps for the pine and pine cones. This took awhile (too long for 100 cards) so I'll be switching to a simpler design later, say Aug. 12th??

Thank you, Anna Wight!

Just made my first card with my new Whipper Snapper Designs set, and I love what you can do with this one. The flowers and butterfly were painted with Twinkling H2O's. The leaves were stamped with Memories dye ink, Soft Leaf. I used gold Tw.H2O to highlight around the flowers to give them a sunny glow.

Looking for Depth...

...of color, that is. Even though I usually like to use pastel colors for summer, this poppy gave me the chance to make a summer card that has a little more punch, colorwise. Plus it brings back memories of the bright red poppies I saw growing wild in Tuscany.

(All stamps were from the Bloomin' Beautiful set by Stampin' Up with Icicle Stickles added to the bee's wings. Flower and leaves were painted with Twinkling H2O's.)

IT'S BEEN AWHILE

Now that we're getting a break from the heat and humidity, the Stamping Tower is comfortable for stamping again. (Even though we have central air, it doesn't keep up with the sun beating in the window upstairs on really hot days.)

Anyway, this card features some squares: the dp, the buttons and the brad. The flower was stamped twice so I could cut out the blossom portion and pop it out. The petals were watercolored with two shades of yellow/gold, with a little more contrast than shown here in the photo.

Speaking of dp, I love the Sizzix "Little Sizzles" pads of dp with matching cardstock sheets. Easy to coordinate, and takes up less storage space than full sheets. They have them at Michaels.

Stay cool!

New Hero Arts Stamp

Today, I took out my pad of "real" watercolor paper and tried out my new Hero Arts stamp. Using my watercolor crayons and an aqua painter brush (my favorite coloring medium) I chose to make this a vase of Peace roses. I started with yellow, then edged the petals with pink; next came the leaves in two tones of green.

...not sure if I like the bow where it is, or the rounded corners. What do you think?

P.S. I removed the floss and just re-mounted the bow in the same spot. It looks much better!

And the Winner Is...

Diane of Diane's Designs--Congrats! Check out Diane's blog when you get a chance. She does great work! (Click on link at right.)

Easy Card!

This card couldn't have been easier! I found the saying in my stash of pre-stamped images, already punched out. When I saw this designer paper in one of my Basic Grey Paper Pads (Lilykate) I cut it to size, made the slit around the goose's beak and mounted it on the green cardstock. Then I edged the oval with green ink, added blue the dots with a marker and slipped the oval into the slit. After adding the brad and lining the envelope, I had a quickie new card!

Does this count as a bird card for the SCS challenge???

Martha Stewart Punch a Hit!

I'm just lovin' this Zig Zag Martha Stewart punch. Not only does it cut, but also embosses.

Here are two cards I made yesterday. The chicks will go to someone for a birthday. Unfortunately, I needed to make the purple one for a sympathy card which will go out today.

Easy peasy...

Great Saves!

Here are two cards that required correcting for various defects. Both cards are done with the Hero Arts Patterned Butterflies (set of 4.)

The orange butterfly card started out with a miss-punched scallop, covered up by one of the butterflies. Then I stamped the greeting on the bottom, not realizing that it said happy "bird-day"--duh... So I covered up the word with a letter B for butterfly!

The blue butterfly card was even more complicated! First, I punched the bottom edge too high above the blue strip on the inside, so I had to attach an extra strip of blue beneath the top flap.

Then, I inked the bottom edge in dark blue, but when I laid it down, the ink was touching the blue underneath and left a faint mark across the bottom. So I got out my sewing stitches stamp and covered that up.

Next, I tied the blue check ribbon around and snipped the ends just right; but when I opened up the card, I discovered the ribbon was twisted on the inside. So I tied a piece of embroidery floss in a bow to make it look intentional. I think it looks better that way actually! (The message inside came out fine, but the scanner made it look uneven.)

Last, but not least, I stamped the word "celebrate" across the front. Can you see where I had to fill in with a pen?

Just goes to show that there are lots of ways to save a card! (BTW, all the blues match better than it looks here.)

A CHALLENGE FOR YOU!

Actually, I could use some help!

Here's the scoop: I just became an instructor for card crafting at my local AC Moore.

Here's what I've come up with so far: for the first class, they'll do "Versatile Versamark" making 3 cards with Versamark ink techniques (shown here.) I plan to do a follow-up class using Versamark again for more advanced techniques.

Here's the problem: since I can only use what they sell in the store (no exceptions!) and students have to pay for materials, the cards have to be kept very simple. This store sells no Stickles, self-stick crystal embellishments or plain white cardstock in bulk (I buy mine at Walmart--obviously a no-no for the class.)

Here's the challenge: create a card appropriate for all levels using simple designs. Keep in mind that I need to keep supplies to a minimum so they can afford the class!

Here's how: post your card on your blog and send me the link in your comment below.

Here's the reward: I will choose a winner at random from all your comments to receive a $10 gift card from AC Moore! I'm going to have one of my Wednesday stamping buddies pick the winning number from all those who respond.

Here's the deadline: Midnight (Eastern time) July 1st

Thanks for your ideas!

For Stampaholics Over 50

For those of you who expressed interest in learning more about Silver Stampers:

Silver Stampers is a wonderful, caring group of card makers from all across the country. I've been a member since 2002 and have made many new friends through the mail as we exchange birthday and holiday (or whatever) cards!

For more information, some card samples of our members and the person to contact should you wish to join, simply click on the Silver Stamper link to the right. You'll be glad you did--if you're "mature" enough, that is!

White on White Challenge

...and a challenge it was! There's still time to join in until June 15th, so click on Stampin' Granny's site (at right) for further details.

For the background, I used my Cuttlebug directly on the card front. Then I dry embossed the flower, added Stickles in the center and mounted it to the card (over the ribbon) with pop dots. For a little bit of bling, I added a clear crystal in the lower right corner.

Enjoy!

Successful Workshop

Last Saturday, Joyce, Lucienne, Ruth and Joan each made six cards using my Cuttlebug machine for some interesting embossed backgrounds. After proudly displaying their creations for the camera, Joan took another picture with me in it.

It was a good way to spend a hot and humid afternoon with air conditioning and lots of iced tea!

I've Been Tagged--Again!

At first I thought this was a "duplicate" tag, but the questions are slightly different. Here goes:

1. Ten years ago I was a star on Broadway and had my own TV show (gotcha!) Actually, I did do some Broadway tunes with an accompanist at local nursing homes for several years on a volunteer basis.

2. Five things on my "to do list": clean house in the morning before it gets too hot (there's a severe heat/humidity warning for tomorrow and Tuesday); go to Bible study on Tuesday morning; stamp here with friends on Wed.; visit my sister and parents on Long Island Thursday through Saturday this week; and plan a nice Fathers Day celebration for my husband.

3. My favorite snacks are (top 3 from a list of hundreds!): ice cream, cookies, and of course, chocolate!

4. If I were a millionaire, I wouldn't do anything differently than I do now except that I would enjoy having more to share!

5. Places I've lived: I grew up on the north shore of Long Island and married someone from the south shore. When our son was 2, we moved to Hawthorne, New Jersey. From there, we inched our way west all the way to northwestern New Jersey, where we are now--we were originally aiming for Montana!

For more on our adventures here in our little corner of New Jersey, check out my blog (at right) for Fox Mountain.

Now it's your turn! Here are the five bloggers (at right) I've tagged:

Toni at Inky Fingers
Amy G
Diane's Designs
Rochelle
Vivlyn Designs

Please post the answers to these 5 questions on your blogs so we can all get to know you better! Then choose 5 others to do the same! Meanwhile, the rest of us can click on the list at right to visit your blogs. TFS!

On the Subject of Smudges

The question came up on SCS about what to do with a smudge, otherwise known as a "creative opportunity." Can you find it on this card? (Click to enlarge.)

Somehow, I managed to get a tiny splotch of red ink in the upper left corner, so I stamped "What's New?" over it; but that wasn't enough. To balance it out and make it look "intentional" I got out my matching red marker and added dots around the tree and on the ends of the blossoms. Then I took the red ink pad and added a few more smudges on the edges--I think it's done now!

Monogram Card

Here's another example of correcting a minor flaw. By adding 3 dots at the end of the line, it's now centered under the monogram. That one was easy...

Stamping Suspended

For the past week or so, we've had painters in the kitchen and family room. Everything was piled up in the dining room while they worked, and now it is my intention to put back only the things we really need and use. While I take this opportunity to de-clutter the downstairs, there is little time (or energy!) to do any stamping.

However, Rick and I will be taking time to celebrate our 41st anniversary tonight over dinner at a local steakhouse.

See you back here in a few days!

Birthday Butterfly

Here's a card that was fun to make, complete with matching envelope and bookmark. The stamp I used was from Stampin' Up years ago and still in my stash. I cut off the antennae from the image and replaced it with purple wire. The wings are painted with Twinkling H2O's to give them a shimmer. The dp is from Michael's and is what I used for the coordinating envelope, using The Enveloper. I also used a strip on the bookmark mounted on purple cardstock with another piece of the yellow ribbon.

Not bad for someone who got konked on the head last week... (See previous post.)

First Card Since I Got Back

Things have been interesting around here since I got home. Monday night (after a 9 hour flight home) I got vertigo, went to bed at 7:30 and woke up an hour later on the floor--don't know how I got there. I was bleeding from a gash on the back of my head and throwing up. My DH came running upstairs to see what had happened and figured I hit my head on the corner of the night table on my way to the floor. What a mess! Being an Eagle Scout, he knew just what to do, cleaned me up and tucked me back in. After 2 days and nights of almost no sleep and feeling awful, I finally started to perk up on Thursday and even went grocery shopping. I know stamping withdrawal can be severe, but this was definitely over the top!

Finally, on Thursday afternoon I finished up this card I had started before I left. Now that I'm feeling almost normal (whatever that is!) there will be more cards to follow...

OWL Be Seeing You...

...when I get back from my trip to Prague. (For updates during my trip, check out the Fox Mtn. link to the right.) Meanwhile, here's another card I made using my new Hero Arts owl and branch stamps. The colors used give it a masculine look. It's still blank inside, so I may use it for Father's Day!

Thanks to Kristina Werner

Here is my CASE of the card that Kristina posted on her blog (noted below.) If you haven't visited her site yet, don't wait another day--she has such great ideas, and her videos for Make-a-Card-Monday are terrific!

My version of her MACM for today is a 4" square with matching envelope.

For the flower on the front, I used Versamark ink and chalk. For the one on the tag, I used markers directly on the stamp (Barely Banana and Really Rust) and spritzed the stamp with water for a water-color effect.

Thank you Kristina for your great design! (Check out her video at www.kwernerdesign.com/blog.)

Colorful Coffee Cups

Here's a card I made today with one of my new stamps from the Show in Allentown. I used lacquer on the cups to make them pop, but next time I think it would be better to emboss the image in black first. The colors are fun, though!

Judith Would Be Proud (I hope!)

At the Stamp Show yesterday, I purchased a DVD at Stamps By Judith. She's the lady who was seen many times on the Carol Duvall Show with her little peg stamps and huge talent. We got to meet her in person and watch her create at her booth. One of my purchases there was her 2-hour DVD. This card is the result!

In addition to stamping techniques, she stresses several ways to enhance stamped artwork, such as using a light gray marker to make the image pop. Another is the use of a stamp with little dots to fill in some of the open areas around an image. Both are shown here, though faintly. (Click to enlarge.)

I'm really enjoying her DVD and hope to incorporate more of her tips in future projects!

Stamps by TAC (which would NOT make Judith proud...)