Hey... I have a card to share!

Haha... yes, I have something to share with you. It does sometimes rather sporadic at times and I just have to say that its been hard for me to keep up. Just wait until the end of the month though... talk about a blitz... just wait and don't say I didn't warn you!

But today is a card that I made to specifically play with my Prisma colored pencils. I don't have a huge assortment of colors, but recently I've been enamored with Dawn's (My Stamping Thyme) use of them on her images and I wanted to play.

So, I have OMS (Odorless Mineral Spirits) and when I asked Dawn what she used she told me she used Goo Gone... hmmm??? well, I didn't have any Goo Gone, but I do have Goof Off. Now here is the deal. My hubby says that all these liquids have one or more things in common, but they point is that they are all solvents and you know what? They all work! I liked how my Goof Off worked, but the kicker is of course that those are very stinky and chemically, but if you can handle odors, try what you have on hand. Needless to say it was kind of fun to test.

Now you also need to know that I didn't use just Prismas... I did use 2 copic markers. The first one was for the skin because I don't have anything resembling skin in a colored pencil and the 2nd is a light blue for around my image. I love being able to combine these different coloring mediums like this.

Image is from Pink Cat Studio and is part of the Billy line... so terribly cute and the paper is October Afternoon (I believe... I won't stake my life on it and I'm too lazy to go double check.)

Thanks for "hopping" on by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Pink Cat Studio Card Challenge

Hi Everyone! I've been working like a mad woman on those sneak peek cards for Clear Dollar Stamps May new releases. You are going to love them and I'm actually really pleased with some of the things that I made.

But, I took a break because I really wanted to ink up the Sweet Pea set that I just got from Pink Cat Studio. (I got my set HERE) These are going to make the cutest baby cards. This little guy/girl/baby is just plain cute.

The challenge was to either do some real stitching on your card or use some 3-D layering on the card. I ended up doing both because they are both favorites of mine. I was also gifted some Stampin Up! paper and I have to say that I have really enjoyed it. This is my first foray into actually using their paper. I felt like I was cheating since I'm a Close to my Heart consultant. Paper was one area I hadn't tip toed across too (lol)

Anyway, I used my Copics to color in this little guy. I have really been enjoying embossing my image first and then coloring in. To me it gives me a little extra room and I don't have to be the perfect colorist, but don't look too closely!

I also applied some Shimmerz to the baby's wings as well as the center flower. I couldn't get a good picture to show both, so I decided on the wings.

As you can see, I did some sewing and then I just layered the entire baby.
So that is it for me and as always thanks for stopping and visiting. I wish you a very happy Monday!



Recipe: Card measures 5 1/4" x 5"

Cardstock: White, Sweet Leaf (Close to my Heart)
DP: Delicate Dots (Stampin Up!)
Ink: Versacolor Black, Black (Close to my Heart)
Stamps: Sweet Pea (Pink Cat Studio)
Other: Ribbon (Papertrey ink), Blossom Nestability, SU! punch, Copics, Shimmerz, Sewing

Howdy Partner

Howdy Partners - yeehaw! Look at 'ole Billy all dressed up ready to go to the rodeo.

Can you believe that I had this piece of cardstock and designer paper sitting around waiting to be used with this stamped image for probably a couple of months at least. Well, I finally got around to it.

I used a new EK Success border punch for the bottom and then added some embroidery floss to the holes and as accents towards the top of the card. I have to say that I really like those new punches. They punch really well and they also have a little switch that allows the handle to stay down. Very sleek for a border punch.

Although the card is done and I don't plan on re-doing it, but if I were, I would move my sentiment tag to the other side and change the direction of it which would also mean that I would have ended up with my stitching on the opposite too.

I don't have all the details and to be honest, you probably don't need them, but if there is anything you want to know, just ask.

Stamp is Billy from Pink Cat Studio and I used my Copics to color.

Thanks for visiting... its short and to the point. Its Thursday already... where does the time go??

Edited to add: I'm back and added some more info down at the bottom (in red) if you are interested!


Hi everyone! I am just posting this card for today and letting you know that I got that really cute stamp from Limelight Papercrafts. Mandy has tons of great new stuff at the store, plus new weekly specials - which one of is the new Pink Cat Studio stamp set!! I just ordered one (hehe).

This is such a lamo post, but I wanted to get some eye candy up for you. I'm off to go rock some babies and I'll be back and then will put details in the post and share some other news with you.

Have a great morning!

-Katie

Ha, I was in such a rush I didn't even put a title on... well, we are back from "work". It is always fun to take the boys to "school". They get the chance to interact with other kids and I get a chance to earn a little bit of extra money and hold babies. Not too shabby huh? Plus its only 2 times a month too.

So, I just wanted to add that the 2 little Pink Paislee stamps I bought I have thoroughly enjoyed thus far. I love this little heart.

{Recipe}: Cardstock: CTMH Black, GP White, Papertrey ink Pure Poppy, Ink: Versamark, Versafine Black Onyx, Papertrey ink Pure Poppy, Stamps: Pink Paislee, Other: Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Kaisercraft black rhinestones

Here is the other card that I made using this heart stamp, so this time I wanted to do a bright and bold version. I love black and red together - who doesn't?? Since I used the red as my background I decided to emboss a black heart and use it as my focal point. Then I added those awesome Kaisercraft rhinestones in the corner. You can find the stamp and the rhinestones at Limelight Papercrafts.

Speaking of Limelight and Mandy, I will be ending my DT term there at the end of this month. I could serious gush about this lady - she has been a blast to design for and the team she picked has been awesome. I won't be designing, but I as sure as heck will be participating in all those awesome contests and challenges - talk about yummy prizes... plus, the store only gets better and better. I'm always psyched to click the "Newest Product" tab!!

Thanks Mandy and Drew for 2 great terms and congrats to the lovely new Chicks joining the team. Lee Murphy is continuing on as a full member and Lorie Ames will be joining the group. Can't wait to see what you guys do!

But don't worry, there is still some things to see from me. This Thursday is another Sketch and Product Challenge so make sure to come back and play if you can.

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Another piece of fun news is that I am going to be attending CHA this weekend. I've never been to one and don't really know what to expect, but I going to just have fun and ogle all the great products and the "celebrities" of the papercrafting world. I hope to be posting some pictures if I can of whatever I can.

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Also, I posted another Stamp Spotlight over at Clearly iStamp (Lori's Clear Dollar Stamps Blog) along with some more watercoloring tips. The stamp set I used is called Ballerina and is truly one of my favorites for Ballet/ Girly stuff. Go check it out if you have time.

Ok, I think that's it - phewww. Hope you continue to have a good day!

I'm either way behind or super early...

Good morning everyone! I was so excited to get the Christmas Kitty stamp set from Pink Cat Studio, but just never got around to inking any of it up. But I finally bit the bullet and said that it was just time.

I originally thought that I would use it for a birthday card, but then it just turned itself into a Christmas card. Isn't she a cutie.

I got all my supplies from Limelight Papercrafts during the holidays and I still love this paper even though Christmas is over. Its from Little Yellow Bicycle.

That's it for today. Have a wonderful day!



{Recipe)

Cardstock: GP White, Christmas 8x8 Pad from Little Yellow Bicycle
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, CTMH Green
Stamps: Christmas Kitty (Pink Cat Studio)
Other: Copics, Nesties, Oval Punch

Limelight Papercraft - "Its for the Kids" Challenge

Good morning everyone! Today's project was inspired by a Limelight Papercrafts challenge ala Mandy. She challenged us to create something with your kids or for your kids. Because of the timing of the challenge I immediately thought of thank you cards.

So how many of you have thank you notes galore to make/write/send out? For me, the most important thank you notes that I want to make sure I send are the ones from the kids. I believe that's important that the boys realize that its a must to show ones appreciation for things given to them.

In the past, I've had Hunter decorate his own cards and write in them, but since there are 3 boys now, I decided to make the cards myself. But, I wanted the boys to have a lot of interaction with them so I decided to stamp my images and let them color them. Hunter being 9 could do all the writing inside, although I did leave a couple for him to color in too. The twins are smart, but not that smart to write anything legible at 3 (lol).

So the first stamp I thought of was Billy from Pink Cat Studio. I chose the Billy from Dress Up Billy and it would have been absolutely perfect if the card had been just from the twins, but I needed to figure out a way to

What I ended up doing was stamping the first Billy, masking him, then stamping the second Billy. Its perfect too since their hands match up so well.

Then I had to mask both the 1st and 2nd Billy and mask off the bottom half of Billy and stamp just his upper portion. Next was to just ink up the bottom of Billy, but I had to stamp him quite a bit lower to give him the appearance of being much taller than his "brothers". I then went in and fixed and added any leg, shirt, and pants lines.

Would you believe me if I told you that I did this all flawlessly the first time and each consecutive time I did this? NOT!!! Seriously, it was a bit crazy and my intentions were to stamp my original and then photo copy enough for my others, but the ink wasn't printing out dark enough. It just looked bad and we couldn't have that could we?? Oh, and for the background I just stuck all the little pieces to the stamp set onto an acrylic block and stamped a whole bunch of them at one time until the background was full.

For my names, I word processed those on the computer and then used my word window punch to punch them out.

One note here though is that if it had worked I would have photo-copied but I want everyone to remember that it isn't ok to photo copy for resale purchases.

I wasn't able to get a picture of all 3 working on them, so the little ones will have to do. I will have to say that they loved it.

Did you notice the little sock monkey in the hand of one of the boys? Since the set doesn't have a little bear or aka "baby" I had to use the monkey, but everyone will get the point. I should really have stamped 2 of them too, but it would have gotten a bit squished so one just had to do for little Natey.

Overall, it was a bit time consuming, but since I didn't have to do any coloring it wasn't really all that bad.

Thanks for coming by and visiting and make sure that you visit all the other Limelight DT members blogs for some awesome inspiration.

Brandi
Becky
JenMarie
Lisa
Ryann
Lee
Mandy

And one more little thing.... Go visit Mandy's Blog - she's having another DT call and you could be in the Limelight too!

Oh, I guess I have another thing... (lol)... it just doesn't end huh? I've got a great stamp set I'm featuring over at Clearly iStamp. Its a great one and if you want to see how I use my Copics then head on over too.

And I swear that's it. Have a great day!



{Recipe}

Cardstock: White GP, Twilight (CTMH)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Stamps: Dress up Billy (Pink Cat Studio)
Other: computer, Word Label Punch

Birds of a feather HOOT together

Its funny because I do not think of myself as a cutesy, heartsy, pinky person, but I am loving the pink recently. I think I mentioned it the other day, but Mandy let us know that she had Basic Grey Bittersweet at Limelight and I have it on order, but I also happened to be at Paper Zone and they had some 12x12 Bittersweet in stock and I couldn't resist. I picked up a few sheets and let me tell you its just to die for.

Well, I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it and as I was going through my stamps, this one from Pink Cat Studio (I got mine from Limelight) just jumped out at me. I just love the Q.T. Owls on the branch and they make me think of my crafting friends out there. I stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored my image in with my Copics. I used my long rectangle nestabilities to cut out my image and mat it. I added 2 rows of lace from my stash and then added pink stickles down the center.

The hearts were stamped with the new Martha Stewart Valentine stamps (I got at Michaels) and then punched out with a Martha punch too. Its not an exact fit so you won't get a border out of it, but it works for this purpose. Both the owl stamp and the hearts are pop dotted off the card. I then added some black dots using my black Spica Glitter pen.

I can't wait to get this card out in the mail. It has somewhere special to go :) Plus it works as double duty because it is my example for the Stamp Something Challenge which is to use something new - my Martha punch and stamps. Take care everyone and I hope you have a wonderful day!



{Recipe}

Cardstock: Textured White, Hollyhock (Close to my Heart), Basic Grey Bittersweet
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Hollyhock (Close to my Heart)
Stamps: QT Hooty (Pink Cat Studio), Martha Stewart Stamps
Other: Long Rectangle Nesties, Copics, Glitter Pen, Martha Stewart Punch, Lace, Stickles

Yum

Good morning! Well it looks like all my computer problems are solved. Kevin was doing his thing and ended up taking my hard drive from my old lap top and installing into his old lap top and voila all my stuff is on his computer. It was almost like a slight of hand. I'm very pleased though.

Well, today's card is just that "yum". When I was done with this card and getting ready to take a picture of it, Will saw it and started screaming "ice cream, ice cream". Then he said "yum" and did his usual slurpy noise to imply "oh yeah, I like that". It was actually endearing that it was all so recognizable for what it is - a yummy looking card.

I love this sundae. It is a Pink Cat Studio stamp set called Sweet Treats and its available over at Limelight Papercrafts. If you didn't know, Mandy has quite the selection of Pink Cat Studio stamps. In fact, you should head on over and check out Pink Cat's newest release, Christmas Kitty. Its definitely one at the top of my list.

This image is so easy to color and spruce up. It was a lot of fun adding all the "little" details to this image that makes it look so yummy and real. I first colored my image with my Copics and then added Liquid glass to the fudge, cherry, and my sundae bowl. I also pop dotted my cherry to give it an extra bit of pop. Then I used liquid applique for the whip cream and some stickles to look like a few sprinkles. I really love how it turned out.

This is my last weekend home before we head off for another vacation of sorts next Thursday. We get to fly with the twins and this will be their first plain experience. It will be fun and crazy all at the same time. I hope to get together with a new stamping friend this weekend too, if she's up to it.

I wish you all a very happy and relaxing or happy and busy/crazy weekend - whichever you would prefer (lol)


Recipe:
Cardstock: Dark Chocolate, Lemon Tart, Berry Sorbet (Papertrey ink), Georgia Pacific White
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black Stamps: Sweet Treats (Pink Cat Studio) Other: Papertrey ink Ribbon, CTMH Liquid Glass, Liquid applique, Stickles, Copics, Signo Uniball White Gel Pen

Be Happy and some Musings

First for my card and then you can decide if you want to read on :) I have to be honest and say that I love my craft space down in the basement. And the word basement is misleading because it makes it sound like its a basement (lol), but its all refinished and is a wonderful family space. Anyway, I generally don't do crops and I really don't enjoy taking things elsewhere. I have a horrible time deciding what to take and what to make and when I get there, I'm missing the one most important item that I really want. For our trip, I did bring some stuff and luckily my Mom brought some stuff as well. I kept it all in 2 12x12 bags though, so it was very minimal. I actually brought a lot of stamped images that I wanted to color, so my Copics actually took up the majority of space in one of my bags. So take that into consideration when looking at my card.

This is for Lauren's Saturday sketch and guess what, no circle punch so I used a glass to outline my circle and then hand cut it out. For the mat I cut free hand and then roughed up my edges so the crookedness wouldn't be noticed as much. The designer paper is the Basic Grey Sugared Paper Pad from Limelight Papercrafts (don't sigh too much - I know, more of that paper) and the stamp is Pink Cat Studio and finally, the sentiment is CTMH. I would have loved to "bling" up my image, but I had to settle for bling elsewhere.

My other musing is that I am sad that the Olympics are over. I really enjoyed staying up way too late to watch all the events. The next one to look forward to are the Winter Olympics in 2010 and guess what, they are in Vancouver. All you Canadians have got to be stoked about that. Our plan is to try and get up to Whistler again for it - I believe that most of the outdoor events will be around here. We shall see...

And finally, don't forget that Mandy is having 10% of on everything over at Limelight. I love the fact that she always has a little something going on over there. Plus, she has new Stampendous and Unity Stamps too! Go check out the goods! :)



Recipe:
Cardstock: GP White, Baby Pink (CTMH)
DP: Basic Grey Sugared
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Stamps: Q.T. Hooty Owl (Pink Cat Studio), Your Special (CTMH)
Other: CTMH Bling

Don't foget and a Sketch - you make life sweet

Good morning all! The rain has come with a vengeance the last couple of days. A taste of what will come in not too terribly long. I just hope it goes away by tomorrow since the boys have 1 week of swimming to do.
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Just a reminder that you still have today to play along in the Limelight Papercraft's Sketch Challenge. Go HERE for the details and make sure you upload to THIS POST. Your prize could be 20% off your entire order and remember FREE shipping for orders $35 and over.

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Here is the card that I did for Lauren's Saturday Sketch. If you didn't know, the Summer Olympics just started on Friday. I remember as a kid and young adult being glued to the tv watching all the events, even the "boring" ones (lol). I love all the amazing stories that emerge while learning about the sports and all the amazing individuals participating. Sooo.... when I saw Lauren's sketch I saw Olympic Rings, which definitely caused me to "play" with her sketch.

I used a stamp from Pink Cat Studios called Sweet Treats. I got this lovely set over at Limelight Papercrafts where Mandy has a great selection of stamps, papers and embellishments. I colored in my image with my copics and used punches to make my rings. The sentiment is from an Impression Obsession set.

And one more thing. I'm going to try and post the gift bag tutorial tomorrow. I just need to get a couple of pictures taken, so stay tuned.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.



Recipe:
Cardstock: Baby Pink, Hollyhock Chocolate, Vanilla Cream (CTMH), GP White
Ink: Memento Black, Chocolate (CTMH)
Stamps: Sweet Treats (Pink Cat Studio), Cupcakes (Impression Obsession)
Other: Ribbon, Circle Punches, Copics

Pink Cat in the Limelight

2nd post for today :) If you haven't heard yet, Pink Cat Studio has 2 new releases called Limitless Limbs and Lilly and Billy Accessories and you know what?? They are both available over at Limelight Papercrafts. Check out these 2 sets:












Remember that Limelight has several things going on right now. Envelopes are 20% off, rub ons are 15% off, place an order and be eligible for some freebies, and finally, FREE shipping for orders of $35 and over.

Here is a little birthday tag of Lily to celebrate! I have to admit that I wanted just an oval tag to attach to a gift bag, but then realized at the end that I didn't have enough space to punch a hole - thus a rectangular tag with a hanger :)

Have a great day!



Recipe:
Cardstock: GP White, Lemon Tart, Aqua Mist (PTI)
Ink: Memento Black, CTMH Black
Stamps: Dress up Lily (Pink Cat Studio), Happy Birthday (CTMH)
Other: Copics, Nesties, Stickles, PTI Ribbon, Hero Arts rhinestone flower

Misc, RAK, and Howdy Partner!

Hi everyone! Today is Sunday and I'm pooped and achy. I went to the Doctor a while ago with some complaints and of course the Dr. couldn't figure out anything - mind you I HARDLY EVER get sick or have anything wrong with me. He suggested some very basic blood work, but to be honest, I never went and then all my symptoms subsided. Then this past week, things have been acting up and I just hope they go away on their own again.

Then on the home, home front, I feel like I can't keep up... I'm just playing catch all the time and can never get ahead... I'm sure most of you feel the same way. I might feel all caught up and maybe even a little ahead for one day and then BOOM, back to feeling behind again the next day.

So, that is what is going on in my world, but I always go back to my fun stuff. It just makes me feel better :)

Yesterday, I got a lovely RAK from Cherisse. She sent a wonderful card and a cute little bookmark using Papertrey ink stamps. She used PTI's Garden of Life set and I really liked the look of her card. I forget that black is such a great compliment to the look of a card. If you are reading Cherisse, thank you so much. It was a wonderful surprise and I appreciate you taking the time to make me this lovely card.






I also have some stamps that I got in the mail that I haven't had time to play with yet. One of them is the Billy Dress Up from Pink Cat Studio that I purchased from My Little Stamp Shack. Carrie is great, so check out her little shack when you have time.

So here is a card that I made in the past, can't remember if it was 4 days, 6, days, or 2 weeks ago. This little guy is just too cute. I love coloring him in too, with Copics of course. I'm ok with the blending thing, but I still think I need to take a course on the correct shading. I find it personally difficult to shade correctly as in "realistic lighting". Where are the natural shadows going to fall? I know the concept, but applying it is rather uncertain. Anyway, something to work on...

One thing that I love to do is use the actual designs from the designer paper I'm using and cut them out to put on my cards. That is what I did with the circles and the stars on my card. Its hard to tell because most of the paper is covered, but the stars and circles are cut out, some are torn (using scissors) and then they are all pop dotted for dimension.

So, all of the above is my story of today and I'm sticking to it. I'm off to run on the treadmill which I haven't done in weeks. The twins are napping and I sent nephew and Hunter off to the mini mart. Hope everyone is enjoying the last of their weekend.



Cardstock: GP White, Indian Corn Blue (CTMH), PP: Kaiser crafts, Ink: Palette Noir Black, Indian Corn Blue (CTMH), Stamps: Billy (Pink Cat Studio), Other: Copics

Thinking of you - Sketch Card

This card is based on Beate's weekend sketch. I used some American Craft printed paper that I picked up somewhere. I thought it would perfectly with Pink Cat Studio's Tweet stamp. I colored her in with my copics. I've been using Palette Noir to stamp my images, but I think I might have to switch over to something. I've been having some bleeding issues with the yellows and lighter colors. If I'm mored careful then there isn't an issue, but I would like something wehre I don't have to be that careful. I think I'll try Brilliance ink since I've read elsewhere that it works well. I guess I'll let you know.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by. Hope you have a great week. We are working on our last week of school - ack!!!




Cardstock: GP White, American Crafts, Ink: Palette Noir, Stamps: Pink Cat Studio Tweet, CTMH Say it in Style, Other: PTI Ribbon, Dew Drop or Equivalent, Darice Rhinestone, Copics, Nesties

Hoppy Birthday

Good morning! Oohhh, this Billy set from Pink Cat Studio is SO cute. I first saw Lily on Lauren Meader's blog, but I opted for Billy and Tweet - love the birds too. I got my sets from My Little Stamp Shack. I thought he turned out very cute and he was a lot of fun to color. I saw the My Minds Eye paper at my local scrapbook store and immediately thought of Billy. I love the colors - I also think this paper would be perfect with Billy dressed up as a cowboy.

Cardstock: Cranberry (CTMH), Printed Paper: My Minds Eye, Stamps: Billy (Pink Cat Studio), Ink: Versacolor black, Other: SU! Scallop punch, 2" EK Success scallop punch, CTMH ribbon

And that's it for now. I would really like to get to some challenge cards, but I also have to cut stuff out for my club meeting tomorrow and a small get together on Sunday. Fun, fun, fun!

Thanks for stopping by and hope everyone has a great day.

Welcome Home

Here is a card that I did for the My Favorite Things challenge for their New Releases the other night. I ended up using a non MFT stamp set since I only have one and the challenge was to use some sort of animal. So, I decided to use a new stamp set from Pink Cat Studios that I purchased from Carrie over at My Little Stamp Shack. Go check her out, she has a great shipping deal as well as a monthly coupon plus a great blog!!

This stamp is called Tweet and has the cutest dressed up bird. I also used my cricut to make my birdhouse and then stamped on the birdhouse with Garden of Life from Papertrey ink. The front of the card is cut out and the head of of the bird is stamped, cut, and then pop dotted for dimension. Then when you open the card, I used a pop up technique to attach the entire Tweet. I colored her in with copics and then matted her using the long rectangular nestabilities. The paper is that fabulous orange and pink combo that I can't quite get enough of right now. I combined that with some PTI cardstock and you end up with a very bright and cheery welcome home.

Cardstock: Lemon Tart (PTI), Collage Press, Ink: Noir Palette, Lemon Tart, Summer Sunrise (PTI), Stamps: Tweet Plate 1 (Pink Cat Studios), Garden of Life (PTI), Other: Cricut, Nestabilities, Copics, Hero Arts Bling, Ribbon, Circle Punch

Thanks for checking it out! Have a great day!