HOLY COW! When in the world did my little stamp company turn 2?! Well, ok, so it turned 2 this month, but where did the time go?! It's kinda like my kids, they are just growing up SO fast! It seems like only yesterday I had this little seed of an idea in my head that having a stamp company would be kinda fun. With my husbands "if someone else can do it then you can do it babe" attitude and a dear friend named Rachel's support sending me links galore about here's this company that does this for you and here's this company that can do that" and a constant why havent you started already attitude, and then some online friends like Christi who said, um, YEAH i'd be behind you 100%.... my little company was born. I just can't believe it was so long ago!

Well, this month to celebrate, I decided it would be fun to do a blog hop a little bit differently! I have loved out Friends of PMS blog hops in the past. But since this hop was to be themed the things we love (partially in honor of valentine's day, but also because i just LOVE my stamp company and the friends i've made along the way) we decided to each invite a special guest to hop along with us! Our invitee is someone who's work we love and admire.

I just know that they will pull out all the stops and I for one can not WAIT to do this hop myself!

Ok, i can get long winded! Onto my CARDS!

My first card uses Billy and Bianca. I've actually have this image colored up for a bit.

I had planned to use this image in a class I'm teaching at Scrapnesia. For those who are local, Scrapnesia is moving to Spartanburg. I may not have as many regular classes, but I do still plan on doing some workshops now and then so keep posted! And I do still plan on teaching a workshop using this image and card. :D

The colors used on my card are from the E40 family. The paper used on my card is from Cosmo Cricket and the sentiment is from the Little Moments stamp set.

And then I have ANOTHER card! I know! hahah!

This is Natalie. Diem created her special just for our birthday month. Now since we dont have a release this month, we was released as a special digi stamp. She may be rubberized sometime in the future, but she's definitely not in the next release. I am not sure at this time when or if she will be in rubber form, but my oh my, she is cute isnt she?! :D You can purchase her HERE. The sentiment on my card is from the Birthday Cheer set.

Now I wanted to make this 2nd card because I do LOVE birthdays! I'm not sure i'm going to be a big fan of MY birthday this month since i'm entering another decade of age! But normally, i love birthdays and everything about them! So it isnt really a love card, but I just had to use this fairy to share with you all! My papers used on this card are actually recent digi paper releases from My Time Made Easy. If you are a digi fan, then you just HAVE to check out all the delish paper that MTME has to offer. Many of the stamps are available as digis as well. Ok, so that was a shameless plug inserted into my post today. hahahah! I have love for all my design teams! :D

In addition to our hop, we have some prizes today! First we are giving away a gift bag full of PMS goodies (valued at over $75!!!) In order to enter yourself in the drawing, you'll have to go back to the PMS blog to check out the details and leave your comment about which card was your favorite in the hop!

We will also be having one of our chat parties in our forum tonight at 9pm EST. We hope you can join us chit chat away. There may even be some sneak peeks on what we are releasing next month!!! You don't want to miss it!

Below is a list of all the fabulous players in our hop. Next in the lineup is Elaine Hughes. Elaine and I have become friends in this mad world of crafting! DId you know that Elaine owns the Quixotic Paperie web shop? Her shop is a UK based shop aaaaaaaand she carries Paper Makeup Stamps! So if you are also one of our friends across the pond and prefer to shop more locally... you can always order your PMS from her! She gets all the new releases as well as stocked many of our older and best selling designs!

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so many cards to make... so little time!

Sorry for the lack of posting! Last week was an extremely busy work week for me! I welcome the work, but i'm also welcoming the week without as much work! Often when I get busy working, i color to wind down. Now i have all these random colored images with no homes. Sad really.

Anyhoo - this is a card i DID manage to make last week. I used it in my Copic Class at Scrapnesia. Each month we color 3 images and make 1 card. This was the card we made.

The focus this month was a color family. We were focusing on using B32, B34, B37 and B39 as well as introducing a bit of high contrast coloring. We also played a bit with blender solution and the neat effect it can produce.

We used Wayne from the Beautiful Day Fairies collection from Paper Makeup Stamps. His overalls were the perfect example of both these beautiful blue colors and some neat stuff you can do with blender solution! The paper we used on the card is from Pretty Little Studio.

First we colors the overalls ONLY using B32, B34, B37 and B39. We were coloring on Xpress-It cardstock. Xpress It cardstock is much thinner than Neenah and much MUCH thinner than PTI or Gina K's paper. Because it is thinner, I personally feel like it needs less ink. THe bonus is that I can color from the darkest color in (good for high contrast blending) and still have an ease in blending the colors together. Sorry, i got sidetracked! First color the overalls completely, but ONLY the overalls. Then we took some blender solution and put a bit on a pair of jeans (it doesnt damage the jeans, so any jeans will do. We used my 2 year olds because they were easy for me to take to class!). Then press the jean material over the image. Just press down 1 time and lift. dabing will ruin the jean pattern you are stamping onto the image. See below.

Nifty, huh? Now you can finish coloring the image. Here use used E25 and E21. Thank goodness Copic is coming out with an E23! I do have a makeshift E23 that i let my class use if they needed help blending the 2 very different different in value colors together. :D

And thats my card! Now it's time to go snuggle my little boys so they go to sleep and I can snuggle my big boy! Have a good night!

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My Mind's Eye altered chipboard album

It's no lie i love the my min'd eye's papers! When i noticed that my local store, Scrapnesia, had these chipbard books (that were already printed on with the new line from MME) i knew i just HAAAAD to have one! Bonus is that i used scraps some some layouts and cards I made for the rest of the book included left overs from the embellies packs i got and since it was already printed, it was VERY easy to put together! My pictures arent the best because i took them in low light and didnt realize how fuzzy they were until i got them on my computer, but i think you'll get the idea! And look, ma, no stamping! hahahahaha!

Ok, so i'm in love with this book. No way i can give it away for a christmas gift as i originally thought i would do! Perhaps i'll just have to make more!

Have a great day everyone!

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Oh where oh where has my....

phone gone?! And the time? It seems like a week flew by in a matter of days!

I hope everyone had a wonderful thanskgiving holiday (for my friends here in the US).

We had our bought of fall colds, mine is in full force today. yippie.

I had my anniversary with my hubby (5 years!) this past week as well! We saw harry potter. Hahaha! And by the time we bought our tickets, popcorn and drinks and paid the sitter, it cost 60 bucks to see a movie. Ah well... it was fun!

Now i'm finally going to share a card i've had ready for, oh, 2 weeks now! I'm really out of the blogging habit with all the busy schedules that have been going on!

Here is my card...

For this card i used my favorite color combo (bet you never would have guess it! haha!)

Grey and Pink!

The stamped image is Moody for Coffee from Paper Makeup Stamps. She is one of my all time favorite moody girls! Scroll down to the post just before this one, and I showed a video tutorial on how i color the moody girls. It's in color, but I do use the Moody for Coffee image and show both the color and black and white final version. :D

The sentiment is from Caffeine Trip also from Paper Makeup Stamps.

This card was made for my Copic Coloring Class at Scrapnesia. We worked on a few different black and white images and then also made this card. I'm VERY excited, but I think my new camera is going to allow me to link up to a monitor while teaching so everyone can closely see what i'm doing! VERY excited about that! SO for those who are local - be looking for word on my next coloring class!

The paper used is in this card is from from Kaisercraft and is called Blush. Also perfect for me, right?!

Ok, thats all i have for today! Once i find my camera, i'll get some more things posted as a lot of my pictures i take with my camera phone!!!!

have a wonderful weekend!

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Crisp and Clear Fall is HERE!

It's finally starting to feel like fall around here! The leaves are turning a bit and the weather is cooling off. I love fall... the colors... the smells, the foods and the holidays! Yep! I love fall!

My project to show to you today is actually the final product of an altering canvas class i'm teaching at Scrapnesia, a local scrapbooking store near me. The cost of the class is $30 but will include EVERYTHING you need to create this canvas (including the canvas!) The only thing you need to supply is the photo!

To create this canvas we will be starting an 8x8 bare canvas. Using the cricut machine, we will cut some stencils and masks AND I will show you how to create your own stamp using the cricut. Then we will get to work airbrushing the canvas using the Copic Airbrush system.

We will create our own background paper using the stamp we cut from the cricut. Last but not least, i will show everyone how to create custom colored rhinestones for your project.

If you are interested in taking this class on November 11th, from 7-9, please call Evelyn at Scrapnesia to reserve your spot!

864 288 7771

Have a wonderful day!!!!

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A birthday card for my mama!

My mom's birthday was this past saturday. I didnt want to post her card online until i was sure she had actually gotten the card i sent her! But you should go and leave her some birthday wishes on her blog. (fyi - i love that my mom has a craft blog now!!!)

Here's my card...

This hair color combo is one that i've been playing with a lot lately. It's great for fall cards!

If you happen to be local, this is one of the hair color combos we will be adding to our hair chart in my copic class this thursday at Scrapnesia. If you havent been to one of my classes at scrapnesia before, dont feel like you'll be behind. I can give you a hair chart and get you caught up on the colors we've done so far. I promise you will feel right at home! To register for the class, please call the Scrapnesia store...(864) 288-7771.

Here is a closeup view of the image...

This image is one of the latest releases from Paper Makeup Stamps called Moody for Chocolate. There are so many sweet tooth images to this latest release. So fun! And can be used year round, which is always a benefit!

Here she is colored with the following copic markers....

YR04, YR07, YR09, E99, E00, E21, E25, E27, R20, R21, R22, R24

The sentiment used is from the set Sprinkles and Cherries.

My papers and such used on this card were all from the scrap bin! GO ME!

Have a wonderful day!!!!

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A Card for no reason....

I have no real reason for my card today. And sometimes, those are the best cards! When you dont feel like it has to be one way or another. :D

Not to mention the fact that i have be hard at work on a new craft adventure with my hubby.

Hopefully i will have more to show you all on that very soon!!!

Ok, back to my card...

Here's Webster the Owl from Paper Makeup Stamps.

The colored image is from a class i taught this past week at Scrapnesia.

We were working on a few brown families (E21, E25, E27 and E33, E35, E37)

I wanted to be sure to point out to my students that the brown tones look AWESOME colored on kraft paper. Not only are they very fun to use this way, but they provide a different final color since they are colored on a brown paper and therefore, give you a different look making you FEEL like you have more markers than you really do! WOOT WOOT!

Here's a close up view...

Here i used the following browns... E25 and E27 make up the darkest parts of the feathers. The medium is E25 and E21 (which while tricky to get the right blend on white paper is MUCH easier on kraft paper) and then the lightest parts are E00 and E21. I did add a little R32 on the owls cheek just for run. Remember, you need a brighter pink (or any color for that matter) when you are coloring on kraft cardstock as some of the vibrancy will be lost.

That brings me to the package... believe it or not... those are YG03, YG05, YG07 and YR04, YR07. They dont seem nearly as bright, do they? The paper you use greatly affects the outcome color. This is even true of white cardstock... your colors will look much brighter if you use for example, Neenah Solar White verses Georpia Pacific white. This is why your chart should alway be printed on the paper you most often color on.

The whites in the owls eyes were made with a simple White colored pencil.

My paper on this card is a design from the city park pack from AC (a division of American Crafts). There are 6x6 pads of this paper available in the PMS store, but you might want to act fast, i think there may only be a couple left of City Park!

The dotted paper is from Bo Bunny.

Well... thats all i have for ya today!!!! Have a good one!!

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2 Sketches 4 You with Paper Makeup Stamps!

This week PMS is sponsoring the sketch challenge at 2 sketches 4 you! That means i got to see the sketch early, WOOT WOOT! This week is going to be a mad crazy posting week so I'm very thankful that i got that preview of the sketch! I'm very excited to be sponsoring the 2S4U challenge site because I really admire all the stuff they do there! It's another one of those places I dont get to play along nearly as often as i'd like. And to see their amazing design team use PMS stamps is going to be just awesome! So head on over to the 2S4U blog to see the sketch and to play along yourself. By playing along, you'll be entered to win a fabulous prize of PMS goodness!

Here is my take on Kazan's sketch!

I used Danni and You Make the World stamps with some Echo Park paper from the Walk in the Park collection. The butterfly is also from the EP paper, the backside of that fn cavnasie yellow are different journaling bits, tags and such. The butterfly was by itself on a little patch looking piece and I cut it out so that I could pop it up on the card. My sewing machine, as you can see is working again! YIPPIE! It's still a little finicky and I still want a fancier machine that stitches cool borders (so jealous of you, Ginger!) but hey, i can stitch a card again AND i can do a few MINOR sewing projects i've been wanting to do! here I used orange thread all the way around my card (minus on the sentiment, i was hoping to help make the sentiment stand out a bit by having the thread lead to it) as well as over my ribbon pleating to help give the pleating a little more security.

The Danni image was colored with Copics. This is one of the other images we colored in my Copic Class at Scrapnesia. We were working on blonde toned hair (remember my Moody for Dreams card from last week). Here I used copic colors YR31, Y21, YR23. For the shirt and butterfly it's YR18, YR15, Yr12. Pans are B91, B95 and the grass is G94, G99. I airbrushed around the image with B91 as well and Used B91 in her wings.

Now be sure to go over to the PMS Company Blog (the Paper Makeup Artists have had a lot of fun with this sketch!) as well as the 2 sketches 4 you blog to see some amazing PMS inspiration and of course to play along!

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Stop the presses.... i scrapbooked!

Thats right, you read the title correctly, i actually scrapbooked! It doesnt happen often, not NEARLY as often as it should! I'm going to try to work on that! And since i've been added to the Design Team for Scrapnesia, one of my requirements will be to do some layouts for the store! YIPES! THE PRESSURE! I hope i can fulfill my obligations to fullest potential!

Well... my first assignment was to use this new paper collection called Alphabet Soup by My Mind's Eye. I had my own eye on this collection when i saw it at CHA. So i was ecstatic to be assigned it! The papers are BEYOND adorable! So much that i worked on a few layouts! And i'll be using it up on some cards too because it's just SO cute! You'll be seeing a lot of this paper line from me, so i hope you dont get tired of it! ;)

Here's my first layout!

These pictures are from when the boys and I went to the Indianapolis Zoo with my parents this summer. The boys LOVE going to the zoo and the Indy zoo is FAR more spectacular than our zoo (our zoo is adorable, and we can get thru it in about 45 minutes... it's a great treat/reward for the kids... the indy zoo takes all day and you STILL dont see everything! But thats why it's so cool!) Anyhoo - this is gabe at the giraffe exhibit. Be still my mother's heart, giraffe's are her favorite! And apparently gabe's too! He REALLY wanted to get closer as you can see!

I knew i wanted to scrap these pictures, and when i saw the extras in the Alphabet soup collection that had giraffe's i was so excited! All the papers are double sided which of course gives you lots of options. I did happen to use 4 different sheets for this layout. The giraffe cut out and word bubble are from the die cut sheet which i just loved! I dont always like die cut sheets... this one is really great! With lots of stuff you can do with it! You wont be stuck with a bunch of left overs... so it's well worth it! I'll show you other uses for this sheet later!

The giraffe playing card is from the card deck. The deck retails 4.99 BUT there are 2 of every card and there is a card for every letter of the alphabet! So i will cut the deck in half and have 1 half of the deck for crafting and the other half of the deck will be some fun playing flash cards for Gabe. You could also use the cards to play memory! I may just do that with the leftovers (be sure to remove the matching card that you used on a layout or craft project! hahahaha!)

Ok, so thats my SCRAPBOOK LAYOUT! I'm still proud i scrapbooked! And without coloring or stamping! ACK! ;)

On one more note... i am soooooooo close to 100,000 hits! It's exciting for me! I'm going to have a nice BIG blog candy when i get there! So stay tuned!!!!!!

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A PMS card for fun!

Ok, so normally PMS and FUN don't go together! But when you're talking about Paper Makeup Stamps, it's definitely fun!

Last week I taught a copics class at Scrapnesia and we focused on coloring blonde hair. This image is one of the ones that we colored in my class.

This one in particular using my favorite blonde hair combo... Y21, YR23, E99.

The stamp image is Moody for Dreams. I also stamped the background on the blue cardstock with stamps from the Swirlie Buds set.

After I got home from the class I decided to turn her into a card... and i decided she needed to be blinged up a bit! You can catch traces of the stardust gel pen i used in her hair in the above photo. But I also used lots of spica pen in various colors throughout that are a little harder to capture on film. I also stamped the leaves from Swirlie Buds on the blue cardstock in versamark dazzle ink and it gives just a little but of sparkle. I havent used the dazzle ink much... but this time i also used it to sponge the edges of the white cardstock and fell in love! Again, next to impossible to capture that kind of subtle sparkle on camera (well, at least on MY camera! haha!) but in does look rather special in real life!

This sentiment is also an oldie but goodie from Paper Makeup Stamps. You can find it HERE.

I used Liquid Pearls (falling in love with those!) all around the cardstock border... but didnt have the color i wanted for the orange patterned paper so i decided to use distress stickles. I was NOT pleased with the outcome and even less pleased when i knocked my card over before they were dry! *sigh* oh well. I guess i just need to buy every color of liquid pearls!

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Hello World...

An ironic subject title.

Today I will be heading to North Carolina to go to my grandma's funeral.

She lived a good life, to 95 years old. Somehow it doesnt make it much less sad. So i'll be away from the blog world for a few days, but then i'll be back, and then i'll be gone to CHA! Thats my silver lining right now.

However, this is a card that I've had done for quite some time... and i just keep forgetting to post it! Silly me. The card was done in my copic class last month!

The stamps (both image and sentiment) are from an Inkadinkado set called Welcome Baby.

I truly adore this set. The baby images are just precious! There is also a turtle, puppy and bear as well as some other sentiments.

In the copic class, we were working on blending some tricky colors. I love these Blue Greens, but getting these tones to not look too bright and still give you some depth can be tricky. I started with BG10 and BG11. I added BG23 (the rest of the BG1_ family is too bright for shadows in my opinion) and BG72, BG75. The red patches are R24 and R27.

The paper is all from the My Mind's Eye Love me Love me Do pack. I totally heart my mind's eye!

So thats my card for you today. I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend. Cherish your time with your loved ones!!!

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