O Happy Day

Did you know that Dave Brethauer, owner of Memory Box, started a new stamp company? It is called Poppystamps, and has whimsical animal and people images. I started my collection with "Petunia Petals." Isn't she sweet? For some reason, she just spoke to me.

To make the card, I stamped my image onto some of the new Lemonade Basic Grey paper and colored her with Prismacolor pencils. I then added a saying from Memory Box and layered everything onto more Basic Grey patterned paper and Memory Box cardstock.

Here is a close-up of the coloring:

If you would like to check out more of the Poppystamps collection, you can click on the blinkie below:

In other news, the Impression Obsession and Shimmerz design teams are teaming up for a fun week of stamping and shimmer. Each day there will be new samples (some of them are sneak peeks of the HUGE Impression Obsession Fall/Winter release) that will inspire you to incorporate Shimmerz paints into your work. Shirley will post the IO information each day on the IO blog and you can also follow the Shimmerz blog to see what they are creating. I can't wait! I have been playing with Shimmerz a lot lately, and they are wonderful! I will be posting my card on Friday, so be sure to check back then!

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th everyone! I hope you all have something fun planned for today. My day involves a BBQ, so I thought today's card captured my plans pretty well. to make the card, I cut out letters and stars using my Cricut and then added some stamps from Memory Box. I have found that using a black gel pen on the grill really makes it look like metal.

For those of you in the DC area, have you been to Artomatic yet? I am really sad because it closes on Sunday. Artomatic is 9 floors of art and performance spaces and is really something to see! I especially liked visiting the Peeps dioramas from the annual Washington Post contest they hold each Easter. Here are some of my favorites:

Thelma and Louise


The Terracotta warriors:


Chinatown...notice the roasted Peeps hanging in the window. Perfect!

Man, people are creative!

Have a very happy 4th!

IO DT Challenge- Masculine Cards

For the current Impression Obsession design team challenge, we were asked to create masculine themed cards. I don't know how much my card fits that category because I colored the tiny fish in the boat to look like little Nemos. It sort of defeats the "manliness" of the card. To help counteract the Nemos, I added some of my favorite elements for guy cards.....dark blue paper, plaid paper, and cork.

To make the card, I stamped the sailboat (H2174) onto white cardstock using black Versafine ink. Because the stamp has a lot of small areas to color, I chose Prismacolor pencils over Copics to color my image. The life preserver and saying come from a clear set called "Sunshiny Day" (CL184). It has a lot of fun summer images that make nice embellishments. Here is a close up of the bottom of the card so you can see how I folded the paper with the saying to make it look like a banner:


I know many of you are always looking for ideas to make cards for men. I encourage you to check out what Daniela, Deborah, Dina, Jeanne, Jenny, Kelli, and Shirley have created. As an added incentive, one of the designers is even offering some blog candy. Yeah!

Working with Complementary Colors

This week's Hero Arts challenge was to make a card featuring complementary colors. I chose black and white but ended up adding a smidge of red to help separate the butterfly from the background patterns. Part of the reason I chose black and white is that I have had that floral ribbon for about 5 years now and never used it!

The top part of the card was made using white embossing powder and a Hero Arts floral background. I then layered some striped paper (I think it is Doodlebug), some white cardstock, and a floral ribbon. I then stamped the Hero Arts butterfly onto black polka dot paper and cut it out. The saying is from a Hero Arts clear set. To finish the card, I added some Memory Box white pearls to the flowers on the ribbon.

I am currently without much access to the Internet because of housesitting, so I haven't been able to visit blogs like I usually do. Does anyone else suffer blog withdrawal from time to time? It feels like I am missing out!

Fun at the Store

I wanted the chance to remind anyone that shops at Angela's Happy Stamper that Mitra, the owner of Impression Obsession, will be at the store today between 6-8pm for a meet and greet, demos, and a trunk show. You won't want to miss it!

In honor of Mitra's visit, I am posting an Impression Obsession card featuring a Tami Potter clear set called "circle calendar." I love it because it makes the best spur of the moment cards that are also personalized. I like to personalize birthday cards for people whether it is by using their favorite color, flower, hobby, etc. However, sometimes I don't know the person that well and I choose to hightlight the date instead. For this card, I personalized it for someone with a September 6th birthday. The set comes with a circle stamp to use around the dates, but I decided to circle it with rhinestones instead. Here is a close up that shows the rhinestones as well as the fact that the date element is popped up off of the card with foam mount tape:

I hope you can make it in to the store today to meet Mitra!

On an unrelated note, I want to revisit the card I posted on Tuesday. As I mentioned, I thought I colored my fish so that he looked paranoid. I decided to fix the problem by adding what I call a "non-google google eye" by A Stamp in the Hand. I think the 3D sticker makes him look a bit more normal.

Here is a close up:

Another Day, Another Mullett

Originally I thought I would post another card from my Saturday class today, but I changed my mind. Instead, I am posting one from my class last night. What can I say, I am a crazy and impulsive person! Okay, not really.


Basically, the class involved creating non-specific, non-detailed backgrounds and then adding detail later to create a focal area. Very cool. For today's card, I am posting one that involved bleaching black paper with a fish stamp and then adding watercolor for a fuzzy, nondescript background. I then added white ink detail to the face, side fin, and top to focus interest there while leaving the rest of the body fuzzy. To finish the card, I added Prismacolor pencils to the face and neck area. I did something weird when coloring his eye though because now he looks a little freaked out and paranoid. Not good! Here is a close-up of the head. Doesn't it look like he is thinking, "AAAAGGGH!"?

Oops, I just noticed the top left corner was peeling away from the blue card. Imagine that I had stuck it down BEFORE taking a picture of the card. It doesn't look that the green mat goes all around the fish, but it really does. :)

Fun in Class

My unplanned trip to VA Beach at the end of the week was a blur, and although it was sad to be attending a funeral, I am so grateful for the time I got to spend with friends and family. Funerals have a way of putting things into perspective.

I missed one of my Fred Mullet classes on Friday, but made it back in time for my Saturday class (just in the nick of time). I can't tell you how wonderful it was and how much I learned! Fred's theory is that it is boring to just stamp an image and emboss it in just one color because you are left with a flat picture. Instead, he had us combining various inks with opaque as well as transparent embossing powders to get a more dynamic effect. I will never look at embossing powders in the same way again! We then worked on watercolor techniques and color theory to complete the embossed images. I am still processing everything I learned.

The card above is one I made when he let us take the techniques he taught to create something of our own. I liked it enough that I matted it to be 5" x 7" in case I want to put it in a frame.

I will post one of the fish images we made in the class soon because you can see the various embossing powders and paints better with those images. I still have a class with him tomorrow night, and I can't wait!

IO DT Challenge- Just Stamping

Time again for another Impression Obsession Design Team challenge. This time the theme was "stamps only." We weren't allowed to use any patterned paper. Embellishments were allowed, but no decorative papers.

For my card, I chose Leigh Hannan's new Watermelon Slices (F2338) and colored them with Prismacolor pencils. I made my own decorative background by cutting out little seeds from black cardstock and gluing them onto red paper. As a finishing touch, I added some Doodlebug scalloped strips. I have no idea what they are called. You could make something similar with white paper and decorative scissors. It might be hard to tell from the picture, but the watermelon slice is actually popped up on the card with some pop dots.

For the stamped saying, I used words from the CL233 Fun in the Sun set. One of the nice things about clear stamps is that you can cut them apart and reassemble them as you want. In the set, the phase I used said "Vacation Fun." I cut the two words apart and then paired the "fun" with the "summer" saying. Practical!

If you want to see other "stamps only" ideas, check out what Daniela, Deborah, Dina, Jeanne, Jenny, Julie, Kelli, and Shirley have created.

Sad Day

Today my friend Tricia lost her mom to pancreatic cancer. Trish and I have been friends for over 25 years, so I knew her mom Mary when I was an adolescent as well as an adult. Mary lived for her family and especially her kids. As a friend of one of her daughters, I received that love and kindness through extension. Yesterday was Mary's 40th anniversary, and I know in my heart she waited till today to pass.

I wanted to make a card for Tricia's dad to send my condolences. I realized that I was obsessing over the card and trying to make something that said the right thing and had the right image. I wanted to chose the right colors and layout as well as have it be masculine instead of floral. Then I realized that he isn't even going to notice what the card looks like and that I was being stupid. In any case, it comes from the heart.

To make the card, I brayered glossy paper with the Creole Spice Kaleidacolor pad. I then stamped a tree by Just For Fun and a saying by Impression Obsession using black Memories ink. I was having a hard time getting the saying to photograph so that you could read it. If you can't it says, " Wishing you hope in the midst of sorrow, comfort in the midst of pain." To finish the card, I added some black pearls.

That Stinks

I knew when I saw the Lockhart saying for this card, I had to have it. Isn't it fabulous? Plus, it is a phrase I say a lot. Actually, I say, "well that just stinks." Close enough.

The card was made for this week's Hero Arts challenge which was to create a card using die-cuts. I made mine using the Labels Two Nestabilities set I just bought at Angela's. After all, I had to play with my new toy! I ran a white piece of paper through my Cuttlebug machine using the nestability die. Then I ran it through again to emboss the edge. To finish the look, I colored the embossed area with a black Sharpie to make it stand out more. I then layered it onto a silver label I cut from a slightly larger die.

The image is from Hero Art's Woodland Creatures set. I love those clear stamps! It is the same collection I used for my raccoon Rockettes. As with that card, I colored the animal using Prismacolor pencils. I tried to make the background card resemble a skunk, so I used black and white paper and a duel-color ribbon to enhance the effect. The paper is some of Bazzill's dot paper, so it comes with a nice texture to it. One less thing to run through the Cuttlebug!