A birthday flower...

i finally have something new to show, and i was able to sign on today! It's a good day! Here's a card i started Friday and finished this afternoon.

i stamped then cut out each petal and curled them before adhering them with pop-dots. i kept the rest simple since the flower was such a dominant main image. i like the sentiment stamped in white, but it seems i just can't find a nice, crisp white ink that shows up really well on dark paper. Has anyone had good luck with a certain brand? If so, i'd love to hear about it!

Ingredients: CS - Paperbilities; PP - My Mind's Eye; stamps - Tech. Tuesday's Loves Me, Loves Me Not, Papertrey Ink; ink - Pallette Hybrid, Colorbox Fluid Chalk; brads - American Crafts; button - American crafts; pop-dots.

Thanks for visiting! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Just a quick update...

i just wanted to let everyone know why i've been MIA lately - my computer has finally kicked the bucket. Sometimes i can sign on for 10 or 15 minutes before it shuts down, sometimes not even that. i can only get dependable service over at mom's, so my posts will be few and far between until we resolve this situation.
Hope everyone's well!

Mojo Monday #3...

i had a lot of fun with Julee's sketch this week. i recently got a couple new stamp sets and made use of them here. These petals from Technique Tuesday's Loves Me, Loves Me Not reminded me of snowflakes so i went with that. i've been thinking about Christmas cards lately and it's time i got started on this year's batch.

i had some harlequin PP i wanted to use here, but only a small piece, so i recreated it with my harlequin foam stamp (i forget who makes it). The circle piece peaking out at the bottom is from another new set, Bumble Bee by Inkadinkado. i embossed it in silver and then pierced the holes (hard to see here). The main image was actually stamped first in Colorbox' Fluid Chalk ink in Ice Blue, then Royal Blue pigment ink. Unfortunately, you can't see the Ice Blue in the picture. The little "snowflakes" floating around the petals are stamped in silver and then i added some Stickles that don't show in the photo. The center contains a shiny snowflake sticker, then a punched circle and brad. i took this picture tonight so the light was a bit off. i may try for a better shot tomorrow - if so, i'll repost this pic.

Ingredients: CS - Paperbilities, Colorbok textured; PP - Hot off the Press (blue snowflakes); stamps - TT's Loves Me, Loves Me Not, Inkadinkado's Bumble Bee, harlequin foam stamp, Alphabet Pixie's Love Letters; ink - Colorbox pigment in Royal Blue, Colorbox Fluid Chalk in Ice Blue, Ink It Up in silver, Ranger Archival; chalk; silver EP by Stampendous; brad - MM; ribbon - Offray; sticker - EK Success; Star Dust Stickles; pop-dots.

ETA: i uploaded a new photo of this card (see top of post) this morning.
Thanks for stopping by! Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Two cards, same idea...

i love Autumn; it's my favorite season. A few days ago i noticed a change in the light and i could smell fall around the corner. Today we didn't even have the air conditioner on, and the nights recently have been downright chilly! i get so excited this time of year. In this spirit, i've been working on a few Autumn cards. i did these two designs today, making two of each so that i could keep two and also add two to the batch for a customer.
Both these cards follow the same basic design. The fronts of these are a little shorter than the backs, just to make things interesting.

i like this one, but i'm having issues with my eyelet setter. It's the one by Making Memories, and although i prefer it to my old hammer/setter, it often squishes the eyelets and distorts them a little. i'm going to just make the best of it for now as a new one's not in the budget. What setter do you guys prefer?

Ingredients: CS - stash; PP - Provo Craft, Basic Grey; stamps - Leafy Silhouettes by Stampendous, Papertrey Ink, Art Warehouse's Ribbons and Lace set; ink - Pallette Hybrid, Colorbox Fluid Chalk, Ranger Archival; ribbon - Wal-mart (it's plain white ribbon that i stamped a design onto); brads - MM; pop-dots; faux stitching.

i'm really happy with how this one came out.

Ingredients: CS - stash; PP - Basic Grey, brown script from Dollar General; stamps - Stampendous' Leafy Silhouettes, Papertrey Ink; ink - Pallette Hybrid, Colorbox Fluid Chalk, Ranger Archival; ribbon - Bobbin ribbon from A.C. Moore; brads - MM; pop-dots; faux stitching.

As always, thanks for visiting!

Mojo Monday...on Wednesday!

Here's the card i'm going with for Julee's Mojo Monday sketch. This week's sketch has a twist - you have to include some scraps or pieces that almost made it onto a card in the past but for some reason were not used. My "almosts" here are the sun image, the bleach-stamped brown cardstock and some scrap PP (the sun's "rays"). Thank you to those that commented and helped me make a decision! (For supply info on this card, see previous post.)

Help me decide...?

Art has been hard to find time for lately, and even when i found the time, it seemed i'd lost my mojo. i just wasn't happy with most of the things i'd turned out. i think Julee's Mojo Monday sketch over at Poetic Artistry has helped turn the tide! Although i'm not completely satisfied with these results, they are a marked improvement over my other attempts.
Julee's sketch has a twist - you have to incorporate something from your scrap pile, like images that almost made it onto a card but for some reason were put aside. This first card is one i whipped up yesterday. The main stamped image was an "almost" and the faux ribbon was a scrap. i didn't like this one enough to enter it into the Mojo Monday contest, so today i tried again.
Ingredients: CS - stash; stamps - Papertrey, Inkadinkado, Art Warehouse; ink - Colorbox Fluid Chalk, Versamagic, Ranger Archival; PP- Rob and Bob; brad - MM; stickles; pop-dots.

The following two cards also include some "almosts" - i stamped, chalked and inked both suns a few months ago, and the brown CS on the first one was something i bleach-stamped just the other day. My problem is this - i can't decide which of these two i like best and want to enter. Advice? Do you like...
CARD #1...

...or CARD #2?

...Or, maybe you like the first one that i decided against! Either way, i'd love to hear some feedback.

Ingredients for both cards: CS- stash and scraps; stamps - sun - unknown, sentiments by Inkadinkado, label frame from SU's Noteworthy set; ink - Palette Hybrid, Tim Holtz Distress Ink; chalk; PP - My Mind's Eye and unknown scraps; ribbon - stash; brads - MM; pop-dots.

Thanks, and have a great day!

ETA: Thanks for the comments, ladies! In response to your questions and observations, Dana:
The faux ribbon on the flower card was made using a ribbon stamp from Art Warehouse's Ribbons and Lace set. i stamped it with chalk ink, wrapped a piece around and then wrangled with another piece until it was "tied" like ribbon. i also agree that sun card #1 could use some ribbon peeking through, and i wish now i had matted it on brown. Here's the problem - i adhered these two so well that yesterday i tried to switch the sentiments and they wouldn't budge (pop-dots)! i also used both snail adhesive and Tombow Mono-Multi because i didn't want these coming apart. Well, now i can't get them apart! Hehe... i thought about making a new card using the things i like best in both of these, but then i wouldn't be using my "almosts"... i think i almost confused myself with this post!

i'm back home...

...after an unexpected vacation to Myrtle Beach, paid for by one of Paul's close friends. We only had a few days to plan and pack before heading out on Saturday to Tennessee to meet up with our friends. Sunday morning we hit the road and arrived at MB State Park that afternoon. As expected, the place was packed due to the Labor Day holiday, and our tent campsite sat smack in the middle of a ton of other campers, mostly RV'ers. By Monday evening, the bulk of the crowd had cleared out and we had the place pretty much to ourselves.
We had not had a real vacation in years, and our last major road trip was back in 2003 when we drove here from California. Being a traveler, i've had the itch for so long now to explore, and this trip was just what i needed. We had a wonderful time and even avoided any rain. i spent most of my time down on the beach, ofcourse, swimming by day, going out at sunrise for picture-taking oppurtunities, and on the pier late at night. i breathed in as much of that ocean as i could, because i don't know when i'll return again. The Atlantic has it's charms, but for me the Pacific is just magical. Regardless, just being near the ocean is intoxicating.
These are a few of the pictures i took while there. They were all taken at sunrise when the light is ideal for good ocean shots. i have nothing new in the way of paper-crafts to show as i haven't had a chance to create something new in maybe 2 weeks. Hopefully, that will change today!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope everyone has a lovely day!