Thursday, December 31, 2009

The Other Two

Happy last day of 2009! I hope that everyone has a healthy and happy 2010. Was it really ten years ago that we were waiting for all the computers to crash?! It seems like yesterday.

I am currently working on a few things for CHA that I can't show quite yet. So, in the meantime, I thought I would post the other two cards from my redesigned Copics class. When I saw the new Hero Arts "What's Perking" set, I knew I had to have it. I think I am on a personal quest to be the person who accumulates the most coffee stamps before they die. Anyone out there my competition?

Be safe tonight wherever your New Years celebration takes you and be sure to check out the blue moon. A blue moon on New Year's is really rare, and only happens.....well, once in a blue moon.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

New/Old Class and More

Well, I said that I was reworking my Crazy for Copics class, and it is finally done! I had to redesign the class for a couple of reasons. First, several of the stamps I used in the original class have become discontinued, so I don't want to use them anymore. Nothing frustrates people more than using supplies that are no longer available! Second, I didn't really plan ahead when designing the first class in that I used stamps from 6 or 7 companies. That meant that Angela would have to place 6 or 7 separate orders just to get the stamps. Yikes!

I want to be clear to people who took the first class that the new class is exactly the same in terms of what markers are used, what information is covered, and what techniques we will practice. The only difference is that we will make new cards primarily using Hero Arts stamps with an Impression Obsession stamp thrown into the mix. Basically, the class is meant for new Copic students or people in need of a Copic refresher course.

On an unrelated note, mom and I went to Williamsburg for the day to see the Christmas decorations. They decorate using natural materials such as leaves, twigs, dried flowers, fruit, grasses, and shells. Aren't they beautiful?!


Really love the magnolia leaves!

Okay, MOSTLY natural elements with the occasional musical instrument added:

Love the non-traditional wreath base!

Here is a close up:


Wednesday, December 16, 2009

IO DT Challenge- Valentines/Love

Are you ready for some Valentines yet? Today the Impression Obsession design team is all about Valentines and cards that express love. I couldn't decide between my stamps, so I actually ended up making two cards.

The first card features one of the Cover a Card backgrounds instead of a heart image. I stamped the Tapestry background (CC025) twice onto white cardstock using Colorbox Chalk Warm Red ink. One stamping was used for the background and the other I used to punch out a heart using a craft punch. To finish the card, I added a saying from the Heartlines cling set (3107-XL) and used some red rhinestones to "color" the heart.

For the second card, I broke out one of my Leigh Hannan heart stamps that is a little different from traditional Valentine hearts. I stamped the Moon and Stars heart onto white cardstock using black Memento ink. I then colored the heart with Copic markers and added some silver Stardust pen to the stars and the moon. To finish the card, I added some blue and purple cardstock and layered everything onto a metallic silver card.
Want to see other all white cards? Check out what Daniela, Dina, Jeanne, Jenny, Julie, Kathy, and Rosemary created.

Want to make your own Valentine card? You have until December 20th at midnight to enter, and you could win a $25 gift certificate to IO! All the information can be found here.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Greenery

For the first time in a while, I made a card just "because." It wasn't for a class, a deadline, a contest, or a birthday. I just wanted to play with some of my stamps. I have to say, it was fun!

I know I am associated with Impression Obsession, but I really love their Cover a Card backgrounds. Doesn't the green leafy background look like paper? Love it! I stamped the background using Colorbox Chalk Warm green ink onto green paper. I added a flower by Wordsworth, a chartreuse button and some green twine to finish the card. Pretty darn simple.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Impression Obsession DT challenge- white!

The latest Impression Obsession Design Team challenge is.....all white. I think the first thing you will notice about my card is that I didn't exactly follow the challenge. I couldn't help myself. I had to add a little color so that the snowmen (Let it Snow CL195) would stand out from the background. Plus, it was a chance for me to break out my super pale Copic markers to add a hint of color. To coordinate with the white color scheme, I added a little color to the edges of my scarves and hats rather than color every part of the snowmen.

To make the shaker part, I used an IO large circle shaker, a pre-cut layover by Paper Cut, and Polar White Flower Soft as a filler. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but I repeatedly stamped the white paper with the IO Medium Snowflake (E6266) using Versamark ink. I then embossed the flakes with opaque white embossing powder. Here is the same card with a black background. Can you see the snowflakes better?

To finish the card, I added a Nestabilities snowflake. The snowflake comes with 5 possible layers, but I chose to only use 3. I used foam mount to separate the layers, added some Diamond Stickles, and added a white pearl to the center. Another thing that is hard to see from the picture is that I used a white pearlized metallic paper as my background card.

I thought the challenge was hard to get started, but once I got going, it was a lot of fun!

Want to see other all white cards? Check out what Daniela, Deborah, Dina, Jeanne, Jenny, Julie, Kathy, and Shirley created.

Want to make your own white card? You have until December 5th at midnight to enter, and you could win a $25 gift certificate to IO! All the information can be found here.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Christmas Snowglobe


As someone who often writes about her animosity towards glitter, I seem to be using an awful lot of it lately! However, to be fair, how can you make a snowglobe card without glitter looking like it is floating around in there?

For this card, I colored the snowglobe (Impression Obsession Snowy Tree Globe D8285) with copic markers and then added about 3 layers of clear ultrathick embossing powder the the globe to make it look like glass. To do this, I covered the globe with Versamark, added the powder, heated it, and while it was hot, added more powder. (Repeat this at least three times). I added some glitter during one of the layers so that it would look like glitter was floating around in the "glass." Here is a close up of the globe:

To finish the card, I added some twine, some Memory Box pearls and paper, and stamped a saying I made from the IO Sentiments 1 clear set (WP16). I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Pumpkin Card

I promised to post a card using my pumpkin Nestabilities, so here it is! When you cut out the pumpkins using the dies, you get the outline of a pumpkin (umm....duh). However, I thought it looked a little too 2-D. I decided to add a bit of dimension by drawing lines onto the pumpkin using a brown Copic marker. I thought it helped my pumpkin look a bit more realistic. If you follow my blog, you know that I have an ongoing love affair with Basic Grey's Indian Summer line of paper. I used some of the papers from that 6" x 6" pack to layer my pumpkin onto an acetate card. I finished the card by adding some leaves I cut from one of the Nestability Maple Leaves dies. I drew the veins into the leaves using a fine detail green pen.

In other crafting news, many of you know that I am not too fond of glitter. I love the look, but hate how glitter can get onto everything you own within 2 seconds of opening a jar. I made a card on my other blog and experimented with mixing Diamond Glaze and glitter onto acetate. I keep rubbing that card, and the glitter isn't coming off. Woohoo! I just wanted to share that idea with every other glitter-phobe. You can see the end results here.

Don't forget, tomorrow (Sun) is the last day to get 25% off of everything at Angela's. You cant beat that!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

IO DT challenge....shaker cards!

Have you tried the new Impression Obsession Shake It pouches yet? I have to say, this was the easiest shaker card I have ever made. With older shaker cards, I would make a square out of foam mount tape to hold whatever I wanted to be "shaking" in the card. I always had to make sure that there weren't any gaps in the foam mount or the shaker material would escape.

The new Shake It pouches from IO are nice because they are self-adhesive plastic shape forms that fit on top of your background image. For this card, I shaped the cake from the CL203 Birthday Cakes set onto white cardstock using black Versafine ink. I colored the cake with colored pencils and gamsol and then piled a bunch of beads onto the cake. After I peeled off the adhesive background of the oval shaker, I stuck it over the cake and beads. For the oval overlay, I used an overlay from the Paper Cut that was designed to fit over my oval shaker. The overlay came in white, so I colored it with a YG03 Copic marker to match my card. To finish the card, I added some Basic Grey Lime Rickey paper and stamped a saying from the same clear set. Easy!

If you want to check out other shaker card ideas, visit Deborah, Dina, Jenny, Julie, Kathy, Kelli, and Shirley's blogs to see what they created.

Also, don't forget that you can make your own shaker card and enter it to win a $25 Impression Obsession gift certificate. You have till Saturday night to submit a card, and all the information can be found here.


Sunday, November 15, 2009

Pumpkin Place Card

Thanksgiving is approaching, and I was inspired by Sharon Harnist's idea to cut 9 pumpkin Nestabilities, fold them in half, and glue them together to make a 3-D pumpkin. I sponged the stem and the edges of the pumpkin with brown ink so they would stand out better. I have enjoyed playing with the pumpkin nesties, and I plan to post a card with a pumpkin cut out real soon.


Monday, November 9, 2009

Ho Ho Ho

It seems like a hard time to find things to post. I have started working on Christmas presents, but it might be a bad idea to post what I am making before the 25th. I have made a couple of birthday cards, but the recipients haven't received them yet. I am working on a couple of things to try and have published, but you aren't supposed to blog about them until you know they aren't going to be used. Humm...not much else is left! So, I decided to post another card from my upcoming 10 in 10 holiday card class. I promise to think of something else to post soon.

For my card, I used images from the Impression Obsession Ho Ho Ho set (CL248). So cute! I colored the Santa with watercolor pencils and a blender pen and added some decorative paper from Bo Bunny Press.

I feel as though I have been a Christmas card making machine lately. The good news is that I think I have all my cards made for this year. If you need more Christmas ideas, I have posted quite a few cards on my Color Whimsy blog.

On an unrelated note, I wanted to thank the anonymous person who called Angela's Monday morning and left a message saying that they had seen my name on the 97.1 Wash FM website. I emailed the station to collect my Panera Bread gift certificate. Woohoo! Man, I love Panera's, and I think I will like free Panera's even better!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

IO DT Challenge- Make a Wreath

It is time for another Impression Obsession Design Team challenge, and this time the theme was "make a wreath." The irony of my card is that I used a clear stamp set (CL238 Fall Wreath) that has a wreath image in it. Essentially, I put that wreath aside, stamped a bunch of individual leaves from the set, and made my own wreath. The good thing about doing that is that I got to use up lots of my Basic Grey Indian Summer scraps. It also allowed me to make a much larger finished wreath. To finish the card, I added my favorite new saying (Share Gratitude A5517), some gold pearls, and a gold ribbon.

Do you love wreaths as much as I do? Check out what Daniela, Deborah, Dina, Jeanne, Jenny, Julie, Kathy, and Shirley created.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

10 in 10 Christmas Classes

It is that time of year again. I just scheduled my 10 in 10 holiday card classes. I was a little slow in reserving dates to teach at Angela's, so I ended up with weekday nights. I apologize to all the weekend class people that I wasn't able to get a weekend date.

The card I am posting today is one of the quick cards we will be making in the class. The stamps are by Impression Obsession, the paper is by Bo Bunny, and the image was colored with Copic markers. It is hard to tell from the picture, but I used a gold Spica pen on the package to add a little sparkle.

I hope to see some of you in class!

Friday, October 30, 2009

And it continues...

Yep, another card using the Which Witch set. And yep, I paired it again with some Basic Grey paper. That is my theme, and I am sticking to it!

There really isn't that much to say about my card. I cut the circle from one of my Nestability dies and colored the witch with Copic markers. Wow, I really didn't have that much to say!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Continuing a Theme

While I had my Which Witch set out from Impression Obsession, I decided to make a couple more cards. For this card, I stamped the spider from the set three times onto cream cardstock using black Memento ink. I colored the spiders with my Cool Gray 5 Copic marker and then added a saying from the same set. I chose my Copic markers for the saying to match the Basic Grey paper I used in the background.

I am running out of time to post Halloween cards, so I guess I better post the others soon!

Monday, October 26, 2009

Okay, Okay...

I can take a hint. A person doesn't blog in a week and a half, and the phone calls and emails start to arrive. I guess it is time to post something.

Sorry I haven't shared anything on the Stamp Journal blog, but I have been working on a few classes rather than personal stamping or participating in challenges. I am almost done with my annual "10 in 10 Christmas" class, so I will be posting info about that soon.

In the mean time, I wanted to share a treat bag I made for Halloween. I was inspired by the eyeball border from the Impression Obsession "Which Witch" set (CL241). I knew it would be fun (and a little gross) to pair with some eyeball candies. The only problem was that once I designed the bag in my head, I couldn't find any eyeball candies. My good buddy Marilynn found some at Harris Teeter for me so that I could finish my project. Thanks Marilynn! Of course, I had to ask her, "Doesn't it creep you out that I brought plastic bags to your house to collect eyeballs?"

Here is a side view of the bag:


I used the Accu-Cut machine at Angela's Happy Stamper to make the bag, but if you don't have access to an Accu-Cut machine, it should be easy enough to fold a paper tent of your own and punch a window with a square punch. I stamped the eyeballs onto cream paper with black Memento ink and colored the irises with E53, B12, BV02, and YG11 Copic markers. I spelled out my saying with Technique Tuesday's Williamsburg font and glued all of my pieces down. I thought it was a fun project and different from the candy corn and "Happy Halloween" bags I usually do.

On an unrelated crafting note, I went to Great Country Farm's annual pumpkin glow to see the 1,500 lit jack o'lanterns. It was truly a fun thing to see, even though it was hard to photograph!



Wednesday, October 14, 2009

IO DT Challenge...Winter


It wasn't hard for me to be inspired to make a winter themed card tonight. After all, the temperature dropped dramatically today, and I began to think about winter rather than fall. I am really hoping we aren't going to skip autumn altogether and move straight to winter....even if winter cards are fun to stamp.

To make this card, I stamped the Four Flakes (F2358) onto patterned paper from Memory Box using Blue Iris Colorbox Chalk ink. I colored the flakes with a uni-ball white pen and cut out images using a Nestability die. To accessorize the flakes, I added a ton of clear rhinestones. To finish the card, I layered more Memory Box paper and added a white ribbon.

Need more winter card ideas? Check out the cards by Daniela, Dina, Jeanne, Jenny, Kathy, and Shirley.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

I'm Back!

I had such a wonderful vacation in New Mexico, but now I am back and back to posting. Did you miss me? Don't answer that.

For today's card, I used one of the latest Impression Obsession Leigh Hannan Halloween images. I just love this pumpkin chandelier. The stamp has so many fine details that I decided to color it using colored pencils. It is hard to tell from the picture, but I added some Candelight Shimmerz around the candle flames and added some Memory Box jewels to make my chandelier sparkle. To finish the card, I added some paper from Basic Grey.

Speaking of Impression Obsession, come back Thursday for a design team "winter" card challenge.

In non-crafting news, I wanted to post some pictures from the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. I always enjoy going, but my friend Deedee scored us some VIP passes which gave us access to a seating area, free food and drinks, and real bathrooms instead of porta potties. It was an unbelievably wonderful day....thanks Deedee!

Before light, the dawn patrol goes up to check out wind conditions. This year they increased the dawn patrol to 10 balloons. When they "burn," they light up like fireflies. The effect is quite beautiful. Can you see the tiny dot on the right side of the photo? You will probably have to click the photo in order to enlarge it enough to see. It sort of looks like a star in the sky. That is one of the balloons in the sky. They are camouflaged in the night sky when the burners aren't going.

At sunrise, balloons start inflating. This year was a bit smaller, and only about 550 balloons participated. Some years they have 800-1000.

More balloons inflating. I loved the tie-dyed one!

Balloons starting to lift off.

We sat at the South end of the park, and the balloons flew right overhead.

Love some of those special shapes. Here you can see the football and soccer ball.

Sometimes the balloons are quite close to each other.

The balloons really start to fill up the sky.

I highly recommend seeing the fiesta at least once in your life. Of course, if you can score some VIP passes, it is so much better! :)