Woodblock Wednesday - Crooning Cow

Hello and Welcome. 

A couple of days ago I happened to stumble on a post about,  Woodblock Wednesday and thought that sounded like a lot of fun.  I have tons (and I do mean tons) of Woodblock stamps.  Most sit in drawers or boxes just gathering dust (how sad) so what better way to give them some love then join in on this fun event.

Here is the card that I created: Click to Enlarge images.

The object being of course to use a, Wood Block stamp as your focal point. - I chose Crooning Cow (Whipper Snapper Designs, Inc.) for my card.  It's an oldie as the date is, 2006 on the stamp.

I started by pairing the cow stamp with some fun designer paper from Unity Stamp company, (Barn Yard Blowout).  The card base is White. I distressed the edges of the designer paper with a retired SU distressing tool.  The image was stamped with Versa Fine Clair Nocturne ink and colored with Prisma Colored Pencils which I blended with stumps and Gamsol.  I also used a piece of Crumb Cake card stock SU and distressed the edges both with Crumb Cake ink and the distressing tool.  I mounted the focal image with foam tape.

The sentiment is from Unity Stamps. - I didn't have any actual wood mount sentiments that I thought fit my image and since Unity stamps are Red Rubber and you use an acrylic block with them I figured that's about as close to Wood Block as you can get without the actual wood.

Embellishments include: Hearts punched from the designer paper using an old retired SU heart punch, staples, photo corner punch from EK Success and some small black pearls. Some Wink of Stella was added to the hearts for a bit of shimmer.  I also used a Fishtail Punch from MFT (which I believe is also retired). 

I hope to participate in this again next month.  It was so fun seeing an old stamp brought back to life again.

Growing in Unity - Day 2

 Hi,  Welcome back. - Today is Day 2 of my week as a featured,

Growing in Unity stamper.

Here is today's card: Don't forget to leave a comment if you want to have a chance at the $20 store credit prize.

For this card I used a stamp from the April KOM (Kit of the Month)

Before I go into the details of how this card was created I want to say if you are not a member of the KOM you are really missing out.  What a great bargain these kits are.  So many wonderful stamps in each kit.  Click on the link and you will see just how many stamps there are. - Another wonderful thing about Unity Kit memberships is that you are no longer required to purchase every single month.  You can view the kits and go to your account and skip any month that you may not be able to purchase a kit or if the kit just isn't your style (which rarely happens to me).

Okay on to the card:

I chose to use my Copic Markers to color this image.  I'm still learning how to use them and as there is no one around who teaches a class nearby I'm just going by trial and error with them.

I also wanted to showcase one of the BOTM (Background of the Month Stamps. This one is, Woodgrain Whisper

The image was stamped with Memento Tuxedo ink on Basic White card stock and colored with Copic markers (E13, 15, 19, YG09, and YG01).  That background stamp was stamped with Pecan Pie ink on BW cs.  I cut a portion off and layered it over a piece of Unity designer paper (yes, they have awesome paper too!) This one is Rainbow Alcohol. I also used a retired SU stamp, Itty Bitty Backgrounds to lightly stamp some blue dots on the image panel.

Other items used on card: Oval Dies (MFT), Retired Apple Green grosgrain ribbon, a heart punch, Fishtail Dies, glitter and foam tape.

Color Throwdown #761

 

 Welcome!

 

Joining this weeks Color Throwdown #761 

 

I really liked this color combo.

 

Below is the card that I created for this challenge:

 

 

 

 

Details:  Card Stock Used:  Night of Navy, Tangerine Tango*retired,

More Mustard* retired and Basic White.

Stamps - Unity September KOM (Harvest Hues)

Ink: Night of Navy, More Mustard*, Memento Tuxedo Black

Designer Paper: We Are Memory Keepers (Maple Grove)

Enamel Dots: Paper Studio

Colored Pencils (Prisma) blended with Gamsol

Foam Tape.
 

Hope you have enjoyed how I used these fun colors.

Color Throwdown#734 - NBUS#48

 

 

  Welcome! - Yep, it's been awhile since I've posted here on the old stamping blog.  I've been in a bit of a stamping slump lately and just haven't felt much like creating anything.

This week however I really liked the Color Throwdown colors so I got inspired and whipped out a card for the challenge.  Here are the colors: Green, Cream and Brown.

 

 

Here is the card I created for the challenge:  COLOR THROWDOWN #734

 

and NBUS#48

For this card I used the images from January (KOTM) Kit of the Month from Unity Stamps.  The leaf/plant circles were stamped with Garden Green ink on Very Vanilla card stock and cut out with SU Stylish Circle dies.  Then I mounted them on a punched circle of Early Espresso card stock.

The card base is Garden green, layered with Early Espresso & Very Vanilla cs. - I added a strip of old SU designer paper (long retired) and a punched border (Martha Stewart) of Early Espresso.  The sentiment is from another Unity KOTM set. I stamped it with Early Espresso ink & punched it out with a stylish die from SU and edged the border with the garden green ink.  The sentiment was mounted with foam tape & I added some light brown sequins to complete the card.

I also received a birthday card for my upcoming birthday in the mail that just happened to have the colors for the challenge so I'm just sharing that because it was so cute.  Thanks to Candy Gray for sending it to me.

 

Paper Players #594

 

 Hooray I finally stamped a card!

Today I'm sharing a card I created for the Paper Players Challenge #594

 

 

I recently purchased some new paper at JoAnn's (well new to me) with lemons on them so I thought this would be the perfect time to use them. - I remembered that I had an old StampinUp

stamp set that had a lemon image in it so I located the set and got busy creating the card below.

 

 Card Base: Old Olive (SU)

Lemon Designer Paper - American Crafts

Yellow Dot Paper - Core'dinations

Lemon Stamp - SU (retired) set, Sun RipenedII

Sentiment - Inkadinkado

Enamel Dots - Paper Studio

Swiss Dot Embossing Folder

Oval Nestabilitie Dies

Basic Black Embossing Powder - SU

Prisma Colored Pencils

Foam Mounting Tape

I stamped the image in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, colored it with pencils and blended with Gamsol then fussy cut it out.

Be sure to check out the Design Teams inspiration and the other entries as well.  - Have a great day.

BC - Black, White and A Splash of Color

Welcome! - It's still Friday so I'm not late getting my card posted for the Blogger Challenge.
This week Lisa gave us:  Black, White and a "splash" of another color.  Fun challenge.

I used a technique that Andrea demonstrated here:  using Copic Markers to create my colored strip.

You can click on the image to enlarge.

For this card I used the following:

Sentiment Stamp: Mint Motif , Background on Flower, Sanded by SU

Card Stock: SU: Basic Black, Whisper White

Amuse Studio - Sky for the Flower

Flower Die - Amuse Studio

Punch: EK Success

Circle and Lacey Circle Nestabilitie Dies

Copic Markers,

Kaledicolor Ink Pad (used on the flower)

Moroccan Screen Embossing Folder

A BIG thanks to everyone who commented on my White Card from last week.  I am still trying to get around to your blogs and leave comments.  Hopefully this weekend.  Take care.

Now it's your turn. Join the fun by linking up on Lisa's blog:

BC224 Color My World

It's FRIDAY!!! - Wow, the summer is flying by quickly. School starts here in just a little over 2 1/2 weeks. Coleen is ready though to head back to school. She loves learning and being with other kids so it's not going to be a problem sending her back to school. Now getting her to go to bed earlier is another story as she's been up past 9:30 all summer long.

Well enough "chit-chat" as you all know it's Blogger Challenge day and our list mom, Lisa gave us a "Color" challenge today. Here it is:

Now I don't know about you or anyone else who did this challenge but I was certainly "Challenged" to use these colors. In fact I emailed to ask if we had to use the exact colors listed or if any shades of (Green, Purple and Brown) could be use. Lisa assured me that any shades of the colors would work fine. My problem was that I just couldn't seem to get past the colors of the IP photo and then when I looked through my stash of paper I just couldn't seem to find the right shades of each of the colors. The "brown" really threw me for a loop. My stamp room is a disaster of papers strewn all over the desk in my attempt to find something that would work. So what may you ask did I finally come up with...

Since I live in "Wine Country" - Yeah, check out Walla Walla Wineries in a Google search and you'll see what I'm talking about...I decided that these colors would work well using Grapes for my image. I chose the only Grape stamp that I have from a retired SU set, (Sun-Ripened II) and colored the image with Copic markers. Sentiment is from Amuse Studio (Essential Sentiments) Once that was done I went in search of a sketch to use and since Allison
has a page of the Weekly Sketches on her blog I picked one out from there. I went with the sketch from the Crafts Meow which worked well with my Grapes. The background was done using a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (Victoria) which I reminds me of Vines for some reason. I used a piece of Chocolate Coordinations card stock which has another color that when you sand it shows through. So that's where the "greenish" color comes from, pretty cool I think.
I also wanted to use my new punch, MS-Beaded Arch that I bought this week (yes, I'm addicted to punches). I added some Zva pearls and a flower (of sorts) by punching a circle, crinkled the edges with my fingernail and added a button with some faux thread (actually thin pieces of the brown card stock)- Of I also used some Shimmer Spray-Copper on the image which you can see in the close up here:

So now it's your turn to play along. Create a card and then link back so we can all see what you created. Have fun!

BC202

Happy Friday! Are you ready for the BC challenge this week. It's a "Color" challenge (Peach, White, Green) or Blue/Teal.
Now this one presented a bit of a challenge for me since I couldn't locate any paper that I thought fit the colors.

With that said I did manage to find something that I think works. Let me know if you think I pulled it off.

I love the Bird image from Inkadinkado's Best Friends stamp set. I colored the image with Copic Markers.
My paper is a piece from DCWV and has Peach, Green, White, and Blue in it!
The punch is a new EK Success punch.

You can give this challenge a try yourself and link back using the Mr. Linky feature:



It's been a "Busy" week here adjusting to the new puppy, Cricket. She's quite a little bundle of energy and certainly keeps me busy and entertained.

See post below for a picture of her and Coleen.

BC194 Color Challenge

Please scroll down 1 page for the current AnnaBelle Challenge.



Hello and welcome to the first BC Challenge of the New Year.  For this challenge we were to use the colors:
Brown, Green and Yellow. 
I started to panic a little when I couldn't locate any DP with those 3 colors in it.  However I persevered and came up with this card.

My card base is Chocolate Chip layered with Pear Pizzazz and some DP from Cosmo Cricket (DeLovely) line.  A favorite of mine from last year.  I added a border of Daffodil Delight punched with an EK Success punch (Daisy Scallop).
The focal piece was already stamped and colored and laying in a box of "project" hopefuls.  You know stuff you start but never quite get to a card but you hate to throw it out because you never know when it might come in handy.  Yep, it came in handy.
The stamp is from a retired SU set:  Sun Ripened II - It was stamped with Basic Brown ink on Very Vanilla cs and colored with markers.  It was crumpled and spritzed with homemade shimmer spray and dusted with some Aztec Gold Powder as well. I added some Brown Twill ribbon, 3 brown brads and the sentiment from Mint Motif (Very Square Sentiments).

I really like how this turned out and am happy to have used up one of my scrap "hopefuls." 

Be sure to check out the other BC members blogs (Click on the Icon on my sidebar) and leave them some comment love.

Hope the start of 2011 is going well for you.

BC169 - I pulled it off!

If you are here for the Annabelle Holiday Preview #2 please click HERE - You won't want to miss this Blog Hop as the sets are really Cute!


Wow what a week it's been (didn't I say that last week?). Seems like the story of my life anymore.  As you know last week I had a Root Canal done and apparently during the numbing process they hit a nerve (Lingual Nerve) which has caused part of my tongue to remain numb.  It feels like I've burnt it all the time and there is an odd taste on that side of my mouth.  The "good" news is that eventually it should heal up.  Went for a follow-up visit and was told this can take from 6 weeks to 6 months to happen.

Okay on to the card cause that's really what you came here for, right?  Since I've been busy with the Previews for the Annabelle Release and have had company all week I wanted something fairly easy for the Blogger Challenge (use Brown/Green/Blue for your card) and this is what I came up with.  I've had this piece of Geometric patterned paper (DCWV) in my stash for some time so I got it out and went to work on my card.  The card base is Chocolate Chip and I layered some Baja Breeze and the DP. Then I stamped one of the tress from (Trendy Trees-SU) with Garden Green and Chocolate Chip inks on Whisper White card stock.  Layered this to Chocolate Chip, Garden Green and Baja Breeze cs.  Added punched photo corners, tiny blue gems and pierced a row under the sentiment with my paper piercing tool.  Also added a punch chain border of Garden Green.  -  Normally I'm not very good at CAS (Clean and Simple) style of cards but I think this one really turned out well and hope you like it as much as I do.

Be sure to check out the other BC Members blogs to see how they used these colors.

That's it for me this week.  Come back on Saturday for the next preview from Annabelle Stamps Holiday line.

Encouragement

Hello and welcome to the start of a new week.  Today I am sharing a card that I made for a couple that I have never met.  One of my stamping blog friends,  Allison had this post on her blog last week.  I asked for the address and made this card (and actually sent it!) to them.

I wanted to encourage both Sue and her husband even though I don't know them personally.  As a Christian it is important to uplift others who are in need and quite often I find myself guilty of neglecting to do this so I'm happy that I actually followed through this time.

Stamps used:  Sentimental Bluebells (Annabelle Stamps) - Aren't they gorgeous!  Annabelle Stamps is a relatively "NEW" stamp company in Australia so if you haven't yet visited Andrea's store be sure to do so.  She'd love to have you stop by and check out the new stamps which just came out.  They are wonderful to work with so please drop on over and maybe add a set or two (or three) to your stamp collection today!

Card Stock:  Handsome Hunter, Real Red, Bashful Blue and Very Vanilla
DP:  Scenic Route
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Prisma Color pencils.
Punch:  Swirl - EK Success,  Oval and Scallop Oval-SU
Nestabilitie Dies
Paper Piercing Tool, Prima Flowers (Colored with Copic markers to match DP), Brads from Pink Hedgehog

absc23 - Thinking of You (Prize Week too)

Hey it's Friday and we all know that that means...Yep, it's time for a new Annabelle Sketch Challenge!  This weeks sketch is really fun and we'd love it if you joined in on the fun.  Beside's a PRIZE is available so why not give it a shot.  The prize this week is a jar of gorgeous 3mm and 4mm Black Currant Metallics.  Let me tell you these Metallic Sprinkles are divine so you don't want to miss your chance at winning some.

Here is my card for this challenge.  It's bright but I just love how this one turned out. 

My card making process sometimes varies and for this card I started by picking out my paper first.  I went with some fun bright patterns from the new Cosmo Cricket - DeLovely Mini Deck.  They are so cheery and with all the rainy weather we've been having here I needed something bright to keep me feeling upbeat.

Next up I chose my image.  The flower is from, (Floral Stems) and the sentiment is from, (Swirl Tree).  I stamped both with Memento Tuxedo black ink and watercolored the flower using Summer Sun and Kiwi Kiss ink pads and an Aqua Painter.  I highlighted the flower with a Yellow Spica Glitter Pen.  See how shimmery it looks in the close-up. YUM!

My card base is Taken With Teal, layered with YoYo Yellow (soon to be retired from SU) and then the DP from Cosmo Cricket.  The focal image was mounted on Kiwi Kiss card stock.  At the bottom I added 4mm Lime Sprinkles and the flower has a 6mm Waterfall Sprinkle in the center.

So that's it for this week.  Be sure to stop by the Annabelle Blog and the other DT members blogs to see their take on this great sketch.  Be sure to leave some "Comment Lovin" because it's just nice to know you stopped by.

Have a great week and remember COMING SOON...New Annabelle Stamp Sets (You won't want to miss them)!!!

BC149 - Embossed for you

Please Click HERE for my Annabelle Challenge Card.    -  Now it's time for the Friday Blogger Challenge.  This weeks theme is: Embossing of any kind.  I've actually done 2 cards this week.

First up is this card base on this sketch:   If you haven't yet purchased your copy of Paper Crafts: Go to Sketches I urge you to do so now.  This is a fantastic issue filled with sketches and then several samples done using the sketch.  I've had a lot of fun browsing through it looking at all the great samples and have started using the sketches now for my own cards.

For this card I have been dying to use this piece of patterned paper (Garden Tour - S.E.I.) - I just loved the colors and the patterns.  Not to mention that this paper is "embossed!" - Okay so I cheated (but just a little) by using pre-embossed paper.  It's gorgeous don't you think. For my Focal Flower I embossed this adorable floral pattern from SU-Background Sampler (retired) with Dewy Geranium embossing powder - Comotion and punched it with 1 3/8" Circle Punch.  I layered that to a Scalloped Circle of Kiwi Kiss (oh why didn't SU decided to bring this color back instead of River Rock)...I digress though.   I added some pretty little gems from Zva and then layered that to a Nestabilitie Circle of Basic Gray.  The sentiment is from:  Hero Arts) and I used the same Embossing powder that I did with the flowered circle piece.  I added some Lime Green Sprinkles (Annabelle Stamps) and some ribbon, Purely Pomegranate-retired SU along with Silver Cord.  I also used the Scallop Punch and pierced holes with a paper piercing tool. CS: Basic Gray, Rich Razzleberry, Kiwi Kiss and Whisper White.

Card #2 - Is also based on a sketch from the Go To Sketches magazine:  I liked one of the sample cards as well that was made by Lisa Johnson so my card is a "case" of her card done using different items to make it my own.  Thanks though Lisa for the inspiration.  For this card I used a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder and brayed Tangerine Tango ink over the Apricot Appeal cs.  For the border I used my brand new EK Success Punch, Scroll and Dots (I love this punch) and added a piece of White Grosgrain ribbon.  The sentiment is from SU Sincere Salutations and I added a flower from Sassafrass and Pineapple Sprinkles from Annabelle Stamps.  I hope you've enjoyed two different views on embossing and will give these techniques a try yourself.  Don't forget to stop by the other DT members blogs (click on the BC Icon on my sidebar) and check out their fabulous embossed creations.   Have a fantastic weekend!

BC116 - Thinking of You - Times 2 and a bit of Blog Candy (not mine)

Hello and Happy Friday! - It's time for the Bloggers Challenge and this weeks theme is: Thinking of You. I've actually done 2 cards for today's challenge - Amazing huh!

First up is an ALL SU ONLY - Yes you read that right, card. It's so rare anymore for me to just use strictly Stampin'Up! products that I wasn't even sure I could pull it off. I found a layout in the SU catalog on Page 22 that I really liked so I decided to create a card using that layout. I also wanted to use up some of the "In-Colors" so I based my color scheme around them. I colored the bird image using Ink Pads and the Aqua Painter. Which I'll admit I'm really not that good at as I just can't seem to control the amount of water that comes out of those darn things.
The Card Base is: Soft Suede and I used Dusty Durango, Old Olive (textured), Crushed Curry and a tiny strip of Rich Razzleberry along with Shimmery White CS.
The Stamp Sets I used were: Friends 24-7, Sincere Salutations and Woodgrain BG. I wanted to keep everything "current" on the card as well.
Inks: Crushed Curry, Soft Suede, Basic Brown (I stamped the bird in that), Dusty Durango, Old Olive, and a tiny bit of Bermuda Bay on the birds Eye.
Other: Filgree Brad, Fire Brad, More Mustard Brads.

Now card number two is a bit of a "take-off" obviously on the Thinking of You theme but the idea popped into my head and I just had to get it out!
I started with my little Witch image - Another of my Studio G $1 finds from JoAnn's
The image actually has a sentiment (see part of the inside of my card) Best Witches but I masked that off and just stamped the Witch and colored it with Prisma Color Pencils.
Other Stamp sets used: Hero Arts (Thinking of You) which I covered with the (BOO) from Papertrey Ink's-Spooky Sweets stamp set. Also on the inside I used the (Happy Halloween) from Spooky Sweets and hand wrote the "for a" part of the sentiment.
Card Stock: Basic Black, Only Orange, Green Galore and Whisper White.
Designer Paper: SEI Eerie Alley Line (Black Wavy pattern) and the reverse side I cut out 3 of the Black Embossed Bats to use on my card as well.
The (Green Circular Pattern) is from My Mind's Eye-Feeling Groovy "Pure Jo" Happy Stripe pattern.
Other: Orange Ric Rac (JoAnn Craft Essentials), Orange Brads (Queen and Co.) and Glitter (Lemonade-Art Institute)
Inks used: Basic Black, Palette Noir Black, Only Orange

Hope you have enjoyed these cards as much as I did creating them. Please drop by the other BC Member's Blog (Click on the Icon on my sidebar) and leave a little, Comment Lovin. Then I hope you'll do a Thinking of You (or Boo) card and send it to someone to let them know you care.

ONE LAST THING before you go: I just found out about this Blog Candy over at: A Walk on the Mild Side which looks like a lot of fun so be sure to check it out.