Pretty White Daisies

Jen in Breck

2012-01-17T07:29:00.010-06:00

This is the latest scarf I have made. I also designed this one. The pattern will become available soon. I am still fixing some of the errors.

Little Ricky's Wedding

2011-10-25T19:21:00.007-05:00

Uncle Dennis and me

My brother Mike, my cousin Angelo and me

Garland

2011-10-16T21:20:00.001-05:00

Hmmm, not quite sure how to do this...

Cinnamon Rolls

2011-09-23T18:01:00.001-05:00

Here's the recipe I use for my cinnamon rolls.

Frosted cinnamon rolls
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (1 package)
1 cup of warm milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
4 to 4 1/2 cups flour (I only use 4)

Put ingredients in your bread machine in order listed in your manual.
** do not put on timed delay due to the eggs**
Roll out to a rectangle then:

filling
1/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

DS3's 4th birthday

2011-09-18T14:51:00.002-05:00

Here's the cake I made for DS3's birthday.

four-stitch reticulated pattern

2011-06-30T06:10:00.003-05:00

Finally! I finished a PAIR of socks! I saw these socks on the front cover of Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Church. I loved them and even went as far as to buy the same yarn and same colors as the pattern suggested. I rarely do this because I find that the yarns called for in a pattern are too expensive.

I started these socks in January and worked on them while DS2 was in wrestling practice. I finished one sock and started the cuff of the second sock. From there second sock sydrome set in and the socks sat in wait. I decided to pick this project up again and was able to crank the second sock out in a week. I wasn't as careful about making sure my floats were loose in the second sock so that one is a tad smaller. It's a bit difficult to get on my big honkin' feet but with a little struggling I can get it on.
I am very pleased with these socks and very proud of them.
Thanks for looking.

White Caps Fingerless Gloves

2011-05-06T20:27:00.002-05:00

4-28-11 I bought this yarn off of Ravelry, a knitter's social site. I absolutely love this yarn and I was glad i could help some one de-stash and get a deal at the same time!

Darn. I read (or rather just didn’t read) the directions correctly. Emailed the designer and she set me straight. I was only increasing the thumb gusset on the back of the hand and not doing the increases on the other side. Bummer. Ripped back and did it right.

4-31-11 Finished the first glove. I am not happy about how far the center panel pulls towards the thumb. I have large hands and didn’t consider this when following along the pattern.

5-1-11 Casted on the second glove. Wow! no Second sock syndrome this time! I moved the thumb gusset over by about 6 stitches and that was just the perfect amount. I also put in a life line before the start of the gusset incase I needed to change again where the gusset was going to go.

5-4-11 Outside knitting with my neighbor. Youngest son, age 3, is being a pill! Goofed up the cables (look closely you can see on the left glove where the cable went the wrong way) because I was distracted with his behaviors. I left it as a “I meant it that way” accent to the glove.

5-6-11 Finished it in the car on the way to Pizza Hut! I sewed in the ends on the way home!

SSS96-Happy Birthday, Beth!

2011-02-23T19:28:00.002-06:00

I desperately needed to make a card for my dork sister, Beth. It was her birthday on Feb. 11. Oops! I am a bit late! I had a bit of time last weekend to sit down and stamp. I needed a sketch so I popped (dork sister Lori, if you are reading this it doesn't say, "pooped") over to The Sweet Shop's Challenge Blog and found this cute sketch. As it turns out it is their sketch with a spin week! The challenge is to use the sketch and make it spring-y. I prefer fall colors to spring colors so I don't have a lot of spring papers to use, but I was able to muster up these pinks and greens. The cute little dog if from the stamp set, "woof you" from Sweet and Sassy.

Happy Birthday, Beth and thanks for looking!

My finished mystery sock!

2011-02-18T17:06:00.000-06:00

Mukluk test knit

2011-02-07T16:29:00.001-06:00

My parent's 45th Wedding Anniversary

2011-01-29T20:16:00.003-06:00

Hubby and I surprised my parents tonight by showing up at their house and taking them out for a formal dinner. Next Saturday is their 45th wedding anniversary!! This about plan D in trying to surprise my folks for their anniversary. First I was trying to have a small party with both my brothers. My brother's however had conflicts and we couldn't find a date on the calendar that would work. Then I was going to host a party at a local state park but again, I couldn't find a date that worked with everyone. So I was back to square one. We decided to take them out for dinner. I left my Aunt in charge of stalling my parents and keeping them to their house. The neighbors watched the kids, I got my hair done (see below!) and bought a corsage. I polished up the tiara I wore for my wedding and my jewelry. I had mom wear the tiara and I wore my jewelry.

They were definitely surprised to see us! My surprise worked!

Mom, Auntie and I went through all of her gowns and picked a purple velvet form fitting dress.

Enjoy the pictures below!

My hair do.

Ohhh, such pretty hair!

Here we are at the restaurant.

Oops, an x-rated one!

Lorna's Lace Shepard Sock Yarn sock

2011-01-17T20:11:00.003-06:00

Updated: 1/18/11. Photos above show my progress since yesterday

Here's another sock I just started. I saw the sock on the cover of Sensational Knitted Socks and really liked it. I usually do not use the yarn nor the color specified in a pattern. I just had to on this one though. This is Lorna's Laces in Pine and neon. I would never have paired these two skeins together if I hadn't seen it in this sock.

I wasn't thinking when I bought the yarn. I was thinking that I would be fine with one skein each to make the socks. After I got the yarn I realized that I would be knitting the sock in fair isle so I'd be using both skeins at the same time. That means I most likely will need another two skeins. YIKES!

5th Street Sock KAL I-Karjen

2011-01-15T15:58:00.005-06:00

1-18-11. Updated photo above.

Here is the start of my sock for the 5th Street Sock KAL (knit ALong). I bought some On-Line Supersocke cotton stretch yarn for both my neighbor and I for Christmas so we could do our own Mystery KAL. Okay, well, really it is only a mystery to her since I am making it up as I go!

The Karjen Sock

So, you are probably wondering about the name of the sock. It's quite simple. I am Karen, my neighbor is Jen. Original, I know...

clue #1:

Yarn: any sock weight yarn. I used On-line Supersocke Cotton Stretch

Needle: size 0-2 depending on how tight you like your fabric. I used a size 0 (2.0mm) needle.

Gauge: Gauge? What gauge? it's a toe-up sock. It doesn't need a gauge! Okay, if you must the little bit I have knit is about 10 stitches to the inch. As I go I will get looser and it will probably be more like 9 sts/inch.

Go to youtube and watch the video on Judy's magic cast on

Cast on 28 stitches.

Round 1: Knit

Round 2:*k1, M1L, knit to 1 stitch before the end of the needle, M1R, k1* repeat from *

Repeat rounds 1 and 2 until you have the desired width of the sock. Make sure it is a multiple of 4.

Clue #2

Row 1:

needle 1 & 2 (sole stitches) knit

needle 3 & 4 (instep stitches) k3, p1

repeat row 1 until you are 2 inches from the heel.

Happy Birthday! SSS90

2011-01-09T20:53:00.004-06:00

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Dork Sister, Traci! Happy birthday to you! I used the sketch SSS90 from the Sweet Stop. The paper is double sided and to make it pop a bit more I added pearls to each of the intersections of the diamonds. I wanted to use my new deckled ovals I got for christmas, but dang! I asked for the ones that do not fit with the ovals I do have. I was bummed about that.

Thanks for stopping today!!

Do you know this pattern?

2010-12-30T21:01:00.001-06:00

I am looking for this pattern. Do you know it? Where is it?

Mom's Angora Sweater

2010-12-20T14:20:00.003-06:00

Woo hoo! it is done! I found this yarn on Craig's list and purchased it on November 18, 2010. I got started right away making a gauge and then casting on for the sweater. I finished it on Thursday, December 16, 2010 with one day to spare. We had my family's Christmas on Saturday, December 18, 2010, but left on Friday, December 17. Whew! That was cutting it close. The yarn is an angora/merino wool blend and oh so lusciously soft. My hands would get quite warm as I was knitting it and even sweating.

Here you see my Mom wearing the sweater and then both of my parents modeling the sweater I have made for them.

SSS87,Japanese Tilda

2010-12-20T14:09:00.002-06:00

Hello everyone! It has been too long since I posted. Whew! I was busy finishing a knit sweater for my Mom so I didn't have time to stamp.

I just bought this Japanese Tilda and needed to ink her up. I went to The Sweet Stop's blog and used their SSS87 sketch. I the Far East pack of paper and some Japanese and Chinese stamps. I bought this Tilda to help fill out that collection. Over the summer I stopped at World Market and found these coins. I picked them up to add to my asian themed collection. The "dream" and the tea pot are from an SU stamp set.

The challenge for this week's sketch was to use some stitching either real or faux. I don't sew. I am horrible at sewing. I have a small sewing machine that has only one stitch to it and the very basics. I brought it out and stitched the origami paper to the colored card stock. The stitching isn't very straight (told you I can't sew) so I tried hiding it as best as I could with the ribbon and embellishments.

Thanks for looking!

SSS85-Doggie

2010-12-06T21:08:00.004-06:00

Woo hoo! I won this adorable stamp set from Sweet and Sassy stamps! When I can I play along with their sketches so it is nice to have some of their stamps to use. This sketch is SSS85 and it works well with the doggie. I originally attended to make a set of these for a co-worker's birthday. It is not a bit past 9 pm and 15 minutes after my bedtime. It took the whole night to make this card so I don't see any mass producing happening any time too soon. Instead, I went through my stash of cards from the past and pulled out a few. That will have to do.

As always, thanks for stopping by!!

SSS83, Snowman poop!

2010-11-24T18:30:00.003-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all of the american stampers out there! I am having a wonderful time with my family right now and I hope you are too!

For today’s card I picked The Sweet Shop’s SSS83 sketch. I just had to get out these adorable snowman and create something with them. They are so darn cute! I couldn’t stop there. I also decorated the inside and used the famous snowman poop saying. I didn’t have any white mini marshmallows so I pulled out the green ones from the bag to tie the color into the card. I printed the snowman poop sentiment off of my computer and glittered the ends of the deckled rectangles.

Thanks for looking!

Stamp: Flaky Friends

Paper:

Copics: C1, C3, C4, R 27, R29, YG17, E99

Accessories: Ribbon from my stash, christmas cuttlebug folder, 2-way glue, glitter, mini marshmallows, small bagette

AI Contest, Christmas Around the World

2010-11-23T17:51:00.002-06:00

Here's my card for Art Impressions monthly contest. The theme this month is "Christmas Around the World". I wanted to go with a more traditional card and I think I achieved that here. I colored the image about 2 weeks prior to actually making the card this past weekend. I am glad I did because let me tell you, there's a whole lot to color! This patterned paper is two sided which is so nice because I didn't have to try and find matching paper. Thanks for stopping!

Explorer Big Brother

2010-11-14T16:25:00.003-06:00

I had the pleasure of being a pattern tester for this cute vest called Explorer Big Brother. It is knit in the most unusual way which allows for absolutely no seaming!! If you know me than you know that I hate sewing. I was on a time line to get this done and I managed to get it done much sooner than I anticipated. I finished it is 6 days (7 if you count the time I spent making the gauge). The striping was not part of the pattern but a little embellishment I added. The sweater vest pattern is a good template to use for the basics of the vest and then the knitter can add detail as she sees fit. If you are interested in the pattern, please contact Julie at

threefootwarrior@juji.co.nz

Here's the deets of the project

Vest size: 10

Child's chest circumference: 26 inches

Gauge: 18 sts/4 inches

yarn: Patons classic wool (worsted weight). 2 skeins red, 1 skein black. I only used about 1.5 skeins of red and about a half of black. If this was knit in a solid color I am sure it could be completed with only 2 skeins.

approximate yardage: each skein is 223 yards. I estimate I used less than 450 yards

Length from shoulder to bottom of ribbing: 21.5 inches

Happy 3rd Birthday, PWCO!!!

2010-11-09T10:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear PWCO!

Happy Birthday to you!!

This will be the only time or only way you will ever hear me sing any song on pitch. I have been told many times not to sing, even by my choir teacher in the 6th grade (how embarrassing!) Well now, this post isn't about me and my traumatic experiences it's all about PWCO'S 3RD BIRTHDAY!! Here's the scoop

( I stole the text from Steph's blog)

-Watch the PWCO Blog, Facebook & Twitter for special deals throughout the month

- Check out the blogs of the designers and special guests as outlined on the PWCO Blog; make sure you look closely at the project they've shown, because then you've got work to do. Match up the sneak peek to the designer who made it There are lots of great prizes to be had - including three $33 PWCO gift cards!!!

Here's the info about my project:

I created this little container for my cuttlebug folders. I saw it (dare I say it??) at Gina K's store in McFarland, WI. I've had the project filed away in my head for sometime and even went out to buy the square kleenex boxes so I could make one. I thought the birthday bash was a great time to finally craft one. There's no secret in it. Just cut off the top of the box and cover it with papers and decorate to your heart's content.

Stamp: Sugar and Spice

Paper: Cosmo Cricket Cherry Pie and Ribbon Sandwich

Ink: memento tuxedo black

Copics: E 57, 11, 44, 09, 33, 37, 99, 43, 00,,41

C89

Y00, 11

YR 09,21,07

R59, 24

Accessories: square tissue box, oval nestabilities, ribbon

ONE MORE THING!

Here's the sneak peek I am featuring:

Good luck!

AND the winner is....

2010-11-03T13:13:00.003-05:00

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 1 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Okay, so that is the best I can do to copy and paste the random number generator.

So, the winner is Traci M!!!

Thank you to the 4 people who participated in my blog candy give away!

For Traci M.'s parents, SSS80

2010-11-02T16:13:00.002-05:00

This card is for my Dork Sister's parents. She, rather, her parents are being featured in this week's Teapot Tuesday over at SCS. I didn't like the challenge for this week as it seemed too dark and grim for a cheer-me-up card. Instead, I took a little liberties with Sweet and Sassy's SSS80 sketch challenge and came up with this card.

Traci's parents live in Colorado. Her Dad needed surgery and he takes care of Traci's Mom. So, while Dad had surgery and during his recovery Mom is in a nursing home. From what I understand Dad is in the same nursing home for his recovery. I am sure it is hard on both of them being away from home and dependent on others. I can imagine that is hard for Traci, who doesn't live close to her parents, as well. Traci, I hope this brings a smile to their faces!!

Magical Christmas

2010-10-30T10:00:00.000-05:00

Here's my take on this adorable stamp. I picked Midnight Madness layout from last week (MMSC73) and used 3 Bugs in a Rug "let it snow" paper. I have some snowflake brads that I am using for my christmas cards this year so I borrowed some of those, punched out another snowflake and put glitter and bling on it. Finally, I added Offray-Galena Opal 3 ribbon.

Although I love this card I think I am going to give it to one lucky winner!! Leave a comment below and you are automatically entered. If I don't know you, you MUST leave some way of me to contact you. It could be your email or your SCS name, otherwise I can't contact you to let you know you've won. The winner will be chosen on Wednesday, November 3. Good luck!

Pretty White Daisies

Stamp: A magical Christmas

Paper: 3 bugs in a rug, "Let it snow"

Snow flake brads and punch

glitter

Copics: y38, e77, e00, e11, e09, y17, yg17, y00, r20, e000, b21, y15, v15

My new yarn to be

2010-10-27T09:06:00.002-05:00

I found this yarn on craigslist and soon it will be mine! The owner will be out of town for a few weeks so I will not get it until she returns and we hook up. I see a sweater in that yarn!

AI October contest

2010-10-26T09:10:00.000-05:00

Hmmm, don't know why this is so small. Anyway, this is my entry for this month's AI contest. The title of the card is something like "No, I am not IN my costume!"
Deets to come later.

Snowmen

2010-10-25T09:14:00.000-05:00

I forgot to post this on Saturday!! This was Saturday's card for PWCO.

My Chullo hat

2010-10-23T22:22:00.003-05:00

Here's a picture of my left ear flap for the Chullo hat I am making. I bought the kit, oh, two birthday's ago for myself and never got around to making it. I finished most of the right ear flap. I just have about 5 more rows on top to do and then I will block that one as well before starting the body of the hat.

DS3's sweater vest

2010-10-21T21:12:00.002-05:00

My last and final sweater vest. Yay!! Here DS3 is modeling it for me. Notice how he's wearing my boots?? Kinda cute! He's standing in front of the woodstove, but he didn't step aside so you could see the pretty flames. Instead, you can see the ash on the floor!

DS1's raglan sweater

2010-10-21T05:43:00.002-05:00

My first attempt to make a raglan sweater and it turned out beautifully!!!

The Release is on!!

2010-10-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

Tree and Bunny

Cute, Cute, Cute! What a fun image! I picked splitcoast stampers sketch SC301 for my layout. Then I used the 3 Bugs in a Rug patterned paper I got from Peggy's store. I have a snowflake punch that I used first with the same paper as mentioned before and then a glittery paper from my stash.

Stamp:

Ink: Memento Black

Copics: G85, BG95, E11, E13, R27, R20, Y17, B21

Accessories: Stickles, snowflake punch

Angels

Oh, I fell in love with these angels! The whole collection this month is awesome and I wouldn't be surprised if you want to buy the whole collection! I picked the sketch SC257 from splitcoast stampers for my layout and used the snowflakes cuttlebug folder for the large panel then layered white and red for the rest of the card. The triangles had me stumped but I finally decided on the sparkly blue paper. I used C1 or C5 to outline the white choir robes and clouds and then B21 around the image to give it some depth. Finally, I added the stickles to the wings.

Stamp: Angels

Paper: Real Red and White

Ink: Memento Black

Copics: E000, E00, E11, E13, E 37, E41, E 49, Y 38, Y 17, Y 15, R20, C1, C5, B21

Accessories: snowflake cuttlebug folder, Stickles

SNEAK PEEK!

2010-10-13T10:00:00.001-05:00

Here's my sneak peek for this month's release which is happening in only 2 short days! I can't wait to see what the other design team members created with these very adorable stamps!

Well, I probably am letting you see more than I should so I am now going to send you on your way to Silvia's blog to see what awesome sneak peek she has in store for you!

Hopefully, I can meet you at the chat release on Friday. Last month my computer wouldn't let me go there.

Sweater in progress and DS3 on bike

2010-10-12T18:13:00.001-05:00

I am almost done with this sweater. All he can say is, "it's itchy!"

DS3's first day on his bike with training wheels.

October Release set for the 15th

2010-10-10T09:15:00.000-05:00

It’s that time again, and this time it’s all about Christmas!!! We have an awesome lineup of RAM stamps that we’re sure you’ll love!! So starting today, we’re posting up some teasers on our personal blogs, so make sure to check it out

but here’s our blinkie:

If you can post this blinkie on your blog too, that would be cool!

Release is on the 15th, and we’re doing a chat so come back and check it out!

the peek list is as follows:

October 9th: Peggy at: http://peggysmessydesk.blogspot.com
Jenny at: http://playingisapassion.blogspot.com/

October 10th: Cabio at: http://cabioscraftcorner.blogspot.com/
StephJ at: http://pinkstarcreations.blogspot.com/

October 11th: Bella at: http://isabelle1976.blogspot.com/
Danielle at: http://craftangeldanielle.blogspot.com/

October 12th: Kelly at: http://kelly.studiobeemusic.com/
StephS at: http://stephaniesstampinspot.blogspot.com/

October 13th: Karen at: http://prettywhitedaisies.blogspot.com/
Silvia at: http://mabiestampin.blogspot.com/

October 14th: Sunghee at: http://creativityinprogress.com/blog/
Lisa at: http://paperandpawprints.blogspot.com/

SC300, Toucan

2010-10-10T09:09:00.001-05:00

This is the card I made using Splitcoast Stampers sketch challenge #300. It was an easy layout and a great way to show off the designer paper from Doodlebug Designs. I did have to throw in the ribbon, which was not part of the sketch, as the card looked to sparse for me.

Stamp: Tiki the Toucan

ink: memento tuxedo black

Paper: Doodlebug Designs

Copics: Y17, Y38, YR 07, YR 09, G85

Accessories: gold ribbon

Nosy Neighbor

2010-09-30T19:35:00.002-05:00

This is my second submission for Art Impression's monthly contest. My original line of thinking was something along the lines that Hollis' buddies were telling him to "look out!" because Eunice was behind him. That just didn't seem perfect enough. Someone at work suggested that they were the nosy neighbors and asked what would nosy neighbors say?

Eunice. I struggled with Eunice only for the fact that I can't find her! I searched my closet high and low and she has gone MIA. I managed to find a colored image I did of her when I first got my first set of copics (hence, she is mostly hidden behind the fence!). Unfortunately, I wasn't paying attention when I adhered the trees to the paper. DH pointed out that my DP is upside down! Oh well! I hope you enjoy these two lovely characters. Oh, and by the way, do you know where I put my Eunice??

A day at the beach

2010-09-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

My last card to show you using the September card kit. If you haven't tried one of these it is well worth the money. It is nice to have all of the coordinating paper and embellishments all together. It's hard to see here but there are stickles all over the image and it looks really neat in person!

Stamp: A day at the beach

Paper: September papercard kit from Paperworks Co.

Copics: B 21, 23, 24; C00, 5, 8; 100; E 000, 00, 11, 13; V12; YRo4,07; R24, 27

Second Vest is done!

2010-09-28T16:30:00.002-05:00

Here is the vest I made for my oldest son. Again, this isn't the turtleneck I will have them wear with the vests. I just put something on him for the picture. I noticed this one turned out just a bit nicer than the first. I guess practice makes perfect! The only other change I would like to make would be to make the shoulders a bit narrower. Other than that this is a great pattern. I will take some time off from this pattern and switch to something else for a bit before starting the last (and smallest) vest.

Happy Owl-o-ween, MMSC#73

2010-09-28T05:55:00.000-05:00

How could I resist? I had to play along with Midnight Madness this week as it is featuring PWCO stamps!! Isn't this the cutest stamp? I was thinking it would be a great stamp to use long after fall is over. Just cut out the tree and the owl without the moon and bats and viola! you have a multi-purpose stamp!

I know that Peggy just LOVES orange so she just must love halloween themed cards! HA! Peggy, I couldn't resist. I do love this card and love how it came together.

stamps: Happy Owl-o-ween from Paperworks Co.

Paper: Reminisce

copics: y38, Y17, E43, E44,, C8, E11, E13

Hollis, MMSC #73

2010-09-26T14:35:00.003-05:00

My brother is a Physician Assistant at Children's Hospital of Milwaukee. My SIL is having a party for him this coming weekend as he won the Physician Assistant of the Year Award!! This is my card for him (although, he's not a hunter) which also is entered into Art Impression's monthly contest (the theme is "the great outdoors") and Midnight Madness's Sketch Challenge #73. The inside of the card reads, "Children's Health Systems found the BEST Physician Assistant!"

Congrats Mike! You have earned your title!

Claptois Shawl

2010-09-25T19:49:00.004-05:00

Here Hubby and I are showing off the Claptois shawl I made. I bought 100% silk yarn and paired it with a shimmery yarn, Lincate gold rush. I had a garage sale 2 years ago and the proceeds from that sale went towards this shawl. I had almost finished the project with a small corner left to do when, gasp, I needed to buy another skein. I contemplated about that because the yarn is super expensive. I bite the bullet and did buy the second skein. I am glad I did! Ah, the shawl is gorgeous!
We are on our way to a wedding. By the way, I bought the dress and the shoes at a second hand store!

What a model!

Thanks for taking a peek!

Leaves are falling!

2010-09-22T11:04:00.000-05:00

For today’s post I decided to use PWCO’s sunday sketch. What a nice and easy sketch to use for today and paired with September’s paper card kit you get one WOW card! I used the Faux Silk technique for the oval panel, embossed the brown paper, colored the image and budda-bing-budda-boom! here you go!
Stamp: Autumn Leaves
Paper: September paper card kit
Copics: B23, B24, R27, Y38, Y15, YG95, YR04, YR07, YR09, E77, BV17, E49, YR21
Accessories: oval nestabilities, embossing folder, tissue paper

RAM FAll Collection Release!

2010-09-18T10:00:00.001-05:00

These are the two card I made for the Rachel Ann Miller Fall Collection release that happened last night. Did you go? Did you participate in the chat release? I tried, but I had computer issues that wouldn't let me go there.

Here are the details for the cards:

Card #1

Stamp: A thankful Day

Paper: Green, Ivory, Bo-Bunny's 12" love Bandit Tweetheart

Copics: YR 04, 07, 09; Y08, 11;V09,17;YG63, 67; E43, 44, 77; B23, 24

Accessories: leaft brads, vine ribbon, edge punch

Card #2

paper: brown, orange, basic grey dp

stamp: the perfect pumpkin

copics:E000, 00, 11, 33, 43, 37; C5, 8; YR04, 07, 09, 21; R24, 27; YG 93, 95; Y13; v15, 17; G99

Peggy Says:

So here’s the DEALS! Now you probably want to know the details:

The stamps (including matching sentiments) are $7.75. All are on our signature PWCO rubber, and precut for you.
Of course for those who want them ALL, we have a special bundle deal for you! The bundle Price for these stamps are: $41.75 – thats 10% off!

To get these stamps, click here: http://paperworksco.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=49_253_523And a special offer for this weekend – ADDITIONAL 10% on ALL PWCO Stamps – Just enter the code “PWCOFALL” in the discount section when you check out! offer ends Monday night, Sept 20th – this offer cannot be combined with any other offers, local pickup discount is diasabled.THANKS FOR COMING!!!

Next month, we are going to kick into a high CHRISTMAS gear…. watch for more info next month…

Sneak Peek!

2010-09-17T10:00:00.002-05:00

By now you are well aware that the new Rachel Ann Miller Stamps are being released tonight! Here's my sneak peek for my card. Come on over to PWCO for our chat release tonight at 7:00 PM CST. At that time all of the stamps will be released, one by one, and you can see the awsome work the deign team did with the new goodies!!

Here's Silvia's sneak peek at: http://mabiestampin.blogspot.com/

Hope to see you there!

Vest for DS2

2010-09-16T17:56:00.003-05:00

Here's a picture of my middle son showing off the sweater vest I finished for him. I will be making one for each of the boys (what was I thinking??) to wear for the holidays. The shirt is not part of the look, I just grabbed one from his closet that was a button down.

I chose to make DS2's first so if it was too big it would then become DS1's and if too small then it would have been DS3's. As it turned out, my gauge was right on and the vest fits him perfectly.

I have cast on DS1's vest (the back) and I am on row 1. UGH! what did I get myself into??

Thanks for looking!

Hippo Baby Card

2010-09-15T10:47:00.002-05:00

I am really loving the paper card kit for this month. I love the ribbon with the little balls hanging off the end. How fun is that?!? I decided with all of the pink that this would be a really good baby card. I don’t have anyone in mind yet, but there is always someone at work who is pregnant so it will be used soon enough.
Stamp: Harriet the Hippo
Paper: September card kit
copics: RV 11, 13; Y13, 15

Birch trees

2010-09-12T11:44:00.002-05:00

I made this card for Peggysue. We meet recently in Janesville, WI which is half way between our houses. We were at the stamp store together and she spied this stamp. We both wanted it, but I knew she wanted it more. I also doubted that I would use it much because of all of the detail. With much coaxing she took the stamp and in return sent me a few images. It took me awile to get around to stamping, but I finally did and made this for her. Unfortunately, you can't see the pretty, pretty stickles (glitter) on it in this picture like you can IRL.

September card kit, Monkey on a swing

2010-09-08T10:00:00.000-05:00

Ohhh, the new card kit is wonderful!! I love having coordinating papers and embellishments all together so I don’t have to wonder if the papers in my hand match. What a great idea! I modified the stamp a bit by only having the monkey on the swing. I stamped the image, cut the image in two and slid the two halves together to make it look like only the monkey is there. I love the paper that I picked in that it looks as if the monkey is swinging at the park. Again, what fun and how cool to have it come all together!

Stamp: Side by Side

Paper: Echo park paper (September paper card kit)

Silhouette card

2010-09-01T10:00:00.003-05:00

I thought I would share with you this very easy technique that I love. This is a silhouette card. I started by using my brayer and coloring in the sky then I did the blue of the water and the mountains. I stamped, “standing beneath a tree” drew in the ground and colored in the image and ground with black marker. I like how it looks like the kids are looking at the sun rise or sun set! My brother in law’s girlfriend, Amber, sketched in the mountains just by shading in with a grey marker. She also drew in the birds. I hope you liked this technique and will give it a try!

Baby card, SC294

2010-08-28T09:29:00.002-05:00

Here's a card that I didn't intend for it to be what it turned out to be! I was just going for any old card and when I was done I decided to use it as a baby card for a co-worker. I used SCS's SC294 for the layout and 3 bugs in a rug for the paper. The white paper came with embossed swirls on it which matched perfectly with this card. A simple ribbon and flower embellishment and ta-da! here's my card!

Stamp: Paperworks Co, The beary best of friends

paper: 3 bugs in a rug

PWCO's Ultimate Summer Challenge--Colors

2010-08-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday, Stampers! I was on the team to do the color challenge found here at Paperworks Co. The theme for this week is animals and our challenge was to use the colors yellow, red, green and blue.

I used stickles for the lion's mane and a sticker above his head and paw print stickers in the lower right corner.

For the inside I decided to make a pop up, which is my favorite 3D card and they are sooo easy to make. This time for the lion's mane I used flock. I drew in and cut out a branch for the bird and the snake in the tree is a sticker. The sentiment was typed out on my computer.

I sure hope you enjoyed my card today and don't forget to leave a comment!

You are my #1

2010-08-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday, Stampers! For today's sketch I picked SCS #291. A very simple but adorable sketch. I was surprised at how well this Basic Grey paper went with the image and the card. The whole sheet of paper, called Liquid Candy, is quite busy, but this small section of it works really well.

I like how I colored Zach's hair. It reminds me of my boys who still don't know what a comb or a brush is. They cringe when I try to comb their hair. Zach looks like he's earned his hair-do through all of his hard work playing soccer.

Image: Zach the soccer player, Bonus Stamp from Sport Series II set

paper: Liquid candy by Basic Grey, Red, black and white

Copics: 100, C00, C5, C8, R59, B21, B95, B97, E44

Accessories: circles cuttlebug folder

Toucan

2010-08-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday, Stampers! For my Saturday Sketch I picked the sketch challenge # 283 from SCS.

I love the toucan and decided to use that stamp again. I didn't want the bird floating in nothingness so I drew in branches and leaves and then sponged in some old artichoke to fill in the background. From this comes my tip for the day, draw in other elements to add to the image as necessary. Don't tell me you can't draw. You have such talent in your fingers and hands, just look at the wonderful creations you make! You can do it!

I decided to color the bird blue instead of green to match the pretty basic grey papers. Finally, I used the cuttlebug folders on the blue and brown panel.

Stamp: Toucan

Paper: Basic Grey Cardamon and blue, Lime Rickey Rob Roy, Orange Coordinations

Copics: E49,77,57; Y17,38; B24; YG93

Accessories: flower sticker, argyle folder, happy birthday folder

Meet and Greet with Radio Connie and Curtis McSmertus

2010-08-06T19:56:00.002-05:00

This evening I got a chance to meet the radio DJ's I listen to in the mornings. I am on the radio at least once a week trying to answer a question for a prize on Jump Start Trivia. I am known as "Cardmaker Karen" (original, isn't it?) and us regulars each have our own unique and bizarre names. Also in attendance tonight was Mother Teresa. It was nice to meet another JST regular. So, here I am with Connie and Curtis.

Cross Stitch Eagle

2010-08-06T10:11:00.003-05:00

In December of 1999 I started this cross stitch. I know the exact date because I wrote it on the masking tape that borders the fabric. I got tired of it and put it away until about 2 months ago. I picked it up again and felt overwhelmed with the detail and where to start. I finally took the plunge and started going at it again. When I started again I had the whole top half done (see where the break is on the left side and continue that across as well as a bit under that on the right. I have made good progress since I started this again. I included the photo on the cover of that pattern so you can see what it will be when it is finished. I didn't realize how cool it looked until I saw this picture of my progress. Up until now I have only seen it as I have been working on it. By the way, it's kind of eerie having the eye looking at me so intently as I am cross stitching the darn thing. The detail of this cross stitch is unbelievable. The color changes on it are maddening. I counted and there are 60 colors in this cross stitch! Well, I hope you enjoyed looking at it!

PWCO Announces....

2010-08-01T19:35:00.001-05:00

Here's what Peggy at Paperworks Co. has to say....

Wanna meet new friends? Challenge your skills? Share your work? Most of all WIN SOME PRIZES?!?

I know alot of you out there are in the summer funk – that is not really motivated or have much crafting time.

We have been wanting to so something interactive for the longest time, and thought, why not now! For the past little while, we’ve been lightly teasing you about some fun and games, so its time to actually throw out the details!

Welcome to our first annual Ultimate Summer Challenge! – ANIMAL Edition

What is it?

Make sure you have some crafty friends – this contest is designed for you to work in groups of 4!!
Starting on August 15th- 18th, we will be throwing out daily challenges for your team to play! – that is, each person in the team will be doing one challenge.
as this is an animal edition, make sure you have your PWCO and RAM Animal stamps handy! - if you dont own any PWCO stamps, dont worry, we’ll have you covered
this is a contest, so of course there will be some competition.. and MAJOR PRIZES!

What kind of PRIZES:

GRAND PRIZE: $100 Gift Cert from PWCO (to be shared by the entire team)
SECOND PRIZE: each member from the winning team will get an Animal Bundle (4 characters with matching sentiment set) of their choice.
THIRD PRIZE: each member from the winning team will get 2 animal stamps of their choice.

BONUS PRIZE: EVERYONE who joins this challenge will receive a 15% discount for the upcoming RAM collection in Sept - you dont want to miss out, it’s OH SO CUTE!

How to start:

form a team of four, make up a team name, and delegate a team captain – team captain will act as the liason between the team and PWCO.
submit your application by emailing our Coordinator: Jenny@paperworksco.com, subject title: PWCO CHALLENGE TEAM SUBMISSION with the following info:
- Team Name
- members’ name, email, and blog addies
- Once you are approved, your team will be posted on our blog

If you want to play along, but do not have a team of 4, just comment on the bottom of this post, and we will assign you with a team. Deadline for sign ups is Aug 12th. – we will post the official team list on August 13th

How are you going to be graded:

the DT along with 2 guest Judges will cast their votes on their favorite projects from each category.
After we collected our favorites, we will set it up for public voting.

And just because we are nice, we’ll even let you know what kinda challenges we have in store (in no particular order):

Technique Challenge
Sketch challenge
Inspiration
Color combo challenge

So thats it for now! If you’re interested join us for a week of FUN FUN FUN…..

If you have any questions, please feel free to post in the comment section below.

Zucchini Bread

2010-07-30T17:36:00.002-05:00

My dork sister, Leona asked for my zucchini bread recipe. Here it is:

3 eggs

1 C. Vegetable oil

2 C. grated zucchini

3 C. flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

3 tsp cinnamon

(add milk if it looks too dry)

Mix together and put into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake ~60 minutes or until done.

Accordion style card box

2010-07-29T10:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Thursday, Stampers! This is my last Free for All posting for the month of July. For this week I decided to try the Accordion Style card box found HERE on Splitcoast Stampers. I really like this box! It's so cute. I used 3 Bugs in a Rug designer paper, which happens to be double sided. Then I used RAM's Puddles of fun stamp for the image. Does the image look familiar? Of course it does, silly me! Okay what I am getting at is that I was short on time on getting this project done and wanted to use this stamp for the box. I went back to my debut card for PWCO DT posting and pulled off the image from that card. SHHH! Don't tell the card police. I tried and tried to add embellishments to the box but I kept pulling it off and finally realized less was more and kept the box simple, showing off the paper.

My tip for today is to tell you it is okay to recycle items off of other cards...even other cards that you have received. As much as we would love to keep each and every card we (or I should say "I") don't have enough room for them all. I keep the cards, display them for a time and then recycle embellishments, images, ribbons, etc. Believe it or not the Card Police will not come for you!

Stamp: Puddles of Fun

Paper: 3 bugs in a rug

markers: copics Y08,B21, B95, YG63, YR04

Accessories: cuttlebug and nestabilities

Haven't these humans heard of tofu?

2010-07-27T19:35:00.006-05:00

Viola! I managed to play along in Midnight Madness's sketch challenge this week. This card is for Art Impression's monthly contest in which the theme is "my other craft-Stamp a card about another hobby". I love to cook and bake so I went with the chickens looking in a cookbook. I can imagine they think it is quite disturbing to see a cookbook about 1,001 ways to roast a chicken! I can make a very good chicken, but my claim to fame is my cheesecake. Just ask my good friend Peggysue! We met recently at a location half way between our houses and I surprised her with a cheesecake. Ohhh, it was sooo good!! Are you drooling yet? Sorry, back to the card. Anyway, the dp is cooking from nana's stack. It sure is cute paper! The ribbon is something I picked up at Michael's.

Wish me luck on winning in the contest!

Stamp: Birdies and the girls

DP: Nana's stack

copics: a few yellows and a few oranges

accessories: ribbon

Thanks for looking!

Dig This!

2010-07-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Thursday, Stampers! I again went to SCS to find a project to do and right at the top was this tutorial for a drawer box. I thought I would give it a try and I liked it! I used Zoe the Volleyball player and some left over stickers I had from last month's blog hop release. I made 6 cards. They aren't all quite identical, but pretty close. I didn't have enough of any one embellishment so I used an assortment. Same holds for my solid card stock. I did manage to color each image and not cut it out. Wow! Go Karen Lynn!

I really wanted to color Zoe's hair as nicely as Cabio did on her blog hop project. I went to her blog to try and copy it and lo-and-behold she has a whole tutorial on how to color hair! Here's the link to Cabio's tutorial. I am pleased with how I did the coloring especially since this is the first image I colored like that.

What I like about this box is that it holds both the cards and envelopes. I also noticed that it is large enough to hold some copic markers. Great gift idea!!

Stamps: Zoe the Volleyball player by Paperworks Co.

Copics: Y13, 15, 17; E000, 00, 11, 37, 49; YR21; B24

Paper: The paper studio Boy multi-stripes and boy multi-dots

Accessories: volleyball stickers, cuttlebug and folders

Card for Connie, Sketch Saturday Week #112

2010-07-18T20:19:00.003-05:00

I found this sketch at Sketch Saturday's Blog. I liked it and thought I would give it a try.

I really needed to get out my Tilda for some good coloring therapy. I find a lot of comfort in coloring Tilda and I don't know why. This Tilda, which is Sweet Tilda, is my favorite Tilda that I own.
This card is for the radio announcer of the radio station that I listen to at work. Each morning at 6AM they have Jump Start Trivia. The radio announcers ask bizarre questions and we, the listeners, call in to answer the question. The question might be something like: 45% of woman do this each day. What is it? (this is a made up question so don't try to answer that!) The first person to answer correctly gets a small prize.

Okay so that is the first part of the story. The second part of the story is that there are a few of us listeners who call in with "call names". There's Trucker Jeff, Quality Colleen, Jackless Jill, Mother Theresa, Mini bike Mike and Cardmaker Karen (That's me!!) There's more of course, but I can't keep tabs on everyone's name. Well, Trucker Jeff had a hat made with his name on it. Then Quality Colleen had a hat made and now I have one too. When I call in I say, "Good morning, this is Cardmaker Karen!" and they now know who I am and I have nice quick chats with the radio announcers.

The third part of the story is that I was in the final running for Midnight Madness Priscilla Award (Which I won!!). I called into the radio station and mentioned it on air. The DJs gave me a few moments to talk about my card and make a plea for people to go to Midnight Madness's blog and vote for my card. How sweet is that?

So, in August it is Connie, the DJ's, birthday. I made this card for her.

Whew, that was a long story, wasn't it??

Thanks for looking!

I would give you the deets on this card, but I have no idea what papers I used. Thanks to PS for telling me to add the grass on the ivory panel. It helps break up that piece.

July Paperworks Co. Blog Hop!!

2010-07-17T10:00:00.004-05:00

Welcome to Karen Lynn's Blog!! If you came here from Stephanie's Blog then you are in the right spot. If not, please start HERE at Paperworks Company.

Woo Hoo! It's that time again when we all get to see some new awesome stamps from Paperworks Co. and Rachel Ann Miller!! Today I have the honor of showing off "A New Adventure". Since I have been doing the Free for All Thursdays and have been in the mode of doing 3D projects I decided to keep going down that avenue. I had an extra tin that I bought eons ago and never used. I felt that the tin and the stamp just went together. I colored the image and sponged in the sky and the grass. I then took the backside of the double sided pattern paper and used the corner rounder to make the scallops. A few extra embellishments and butta-bing, butta-boom! Here it is!

So enough about me and my project and back to the blog hop. Peggy is giving away 8 stamps this blog hop (2 of each design). If you want to jump in and get your hands on the goodies here is what you have to do:

1. Leave a comment at each DT member's blog
2. Become a follower of this blog if you aren't already
3. If your name is Linda look back through my blog and see if you are the Linda that won last month's blog candy and contact me! I can't give goodies away unless you give me contact information.

Finally, there is a sale at PWCO, 10% off all stamps!!! Discount code is: PWCO stamps. Enter this code into the discount section.

So, here's the order of the hop:

PWCO BLOG
Steph S
Cabio
Kelly
Lisa
Silvia
Jenny
Steph J
Karen Lynn <---You are HERE!

Bella
Danielle
Sunghee
PWCO BLOG

So off you go to Bella's blog!!

Got Cash?

2010-07-15T10:00:00.003-05:00

Happy Thursday, Stampers!! I wanted to try something new this week so I perused through SCS’s resources and I saw the wallet tutorial and decided that is what I wanted to do. I thought it was going to be a complicated project and was pleasantly surprised when it was rather easy. The solid paper is embossed. I forgot how much fun it is to emboss paper. I have all of the tools to do it but I just don’t think to pull it out. It really gives the paper a leathery look in this instance.

For the inside of the wallet I wanted a wild look so I went with the Basic Grey Lime Rickey paper again. At this point I knew I was giving this to my niece for her 16th birthday and I would put the lipgloss I bought for her inside. Since she’s young she can pull off the wild look. I had some velcro circles in the house and used those as a fastener. The only problem is that the velcro is stronger than the paper and pulled away from the paper and ripped it!! OH NO! I tried different ways of hiding it but eventually just adhered it back in place as best as I could.

Here’s the side view of the wallet. The main image is from the Freckle stamps love collection, “Standing beneath a tree”. The wallet isn’t big enough for the whole image so I just used the girl. I was about 2 minutes away from finishing the project and adhering the girl and circle to the wallet when I placed it face down in adhesive! OH NO, AGAIN! Have no fear I salvaged the image by just reinking her face, coloring it, cutting it out and putting it on top of the ruined face. TA DA! From that comes my tip for today. Do what ever you can to use part of your mistake or cover up your mistake to avoid remaking your project.

I hope you enjoyed today’s project.

Stamps: “Standing beneath a tree”

Paper: Basic Grey’s Lime Rickey

Copics:R 24, 27; E 000, 00 11 37, 99; RV11, 13, 14; YR 21

Accessories: cuttlebug, folders and nesties, ribbon.

SCS Tutorial: Faux Leather Wallet

BLOG HOP!!

2010-07-13T17:00:00.002-05:00

Guess what, Stampers?? Paperworks Co. is having a blog hop party starting this Saturday! Start at Paperworks Co. and follow the design team through the hop to look at cool new stamps and great new products. In the end Paperworks is giving away (I think the number is)8 stamps!

Hope to see you there!

3 x 3 Card Box

2010-07-08T10:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Thursday, Stampers! I decided to stretch myself outside of my comfort zone and try a 3D project since I am on a Free For All day. I looked through SCS and saw a tutorial on 3×3 card boxes. I decided to give it a try. I wanted to use the Freckle face kids but found that the stamped images was too large for the project so I colored and cut out the boy and girl and put them together in the middle of the box. I then made 5 cards and only used one image per card. I was able to make the box and the cards with one piece of 12 x 12 CS and 1 piece of 8 x11.5 colored coordinating card stock.

I learned that I shouldn’t have used the decorative edging that I used around the box as it is too delicate for repeated use. I then made little envelopes for the cards. I found a you-tube video to see how to make that.

Stamps: Standing beneath a tree

Paper: Lime Rickey

Copics: R 24, 27; E 000,00,11, 33,99: yr21; G19; B29

Accessories: Cuttlebug, nesties, ribbon, flower gem embellishment

Thanks a latte!

2010-07-01T10:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Thursday, Stampers and Welcome to July! Today starts a whole new line up for the design team members. Peggy is shaking things up a bit by moving us DT members to different days of the week. Today is Thursday and that means it is a Free for All.

Yikes! I just got my package from PWCO on Monday and it shows that I am up for a posting today. I quickly starting thinking of what I wanted to do. Meanwhile, I opened a thank you card from a neighbor for lending them our booster car seat for their grandson. What a serendipitous moment when I opened that card! I knew at that moment that this card was meant to be! The card I received was in the shape of a coffee cup with the little cup sleeve on it. I traced the cup and quickly got to work. I bought the toucan because I have thing for birds (we own three) and just thought Tiki was so cute. I drew in the branch by myself because I wanted Tiki to be perched on something. I used the computer for the sentiment and glossy accent on the beak and feet. Finally I added the red rhinestones for a little bling. My tip today is to look for inspiration in places you might not expect. Who knew I would get a fantastic idea from a simple card.

Stamps: Tiki the Toucan

Copics:YR04, R29, YG11, 13, 17, Y08,C3

Paper: Basic grey and coredination

accessories: cuttlebug and folder, rhinestones, glossy accent

PWCO SC #39

2010-06-28T10:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday, Stampers! Oh, my what a fun sketch! Ever had a card that literally fell together? It is almost like you threw the papers up in the air and poof! of their way down they magically fell into place? This was one of those cards. I had no intentions of cutting out the main image as I always do. I wanted to challenge myself not to do that. I did it! But then I realized my paper was too large and covered too much of the pretty circle paper. So, I wound up cutting out the image anyway. My BIL (Brother-in-law) was visiting when I made this. I need to give him credit for coming up with the idea of the grass. He also challenged me to find a different way to use the vine. I originally had it where the grass is. You may notice that I embossed the white paper behind the snake. I used the circles embossing folder for that to tie into the circle Basic Grey paper. Finally, I found some snake stickers and used the “Ssss” from that near the snake’s mouth. I wasn’t too sure how to color the snake. I looked on the back of the package that the stamp came in and there is a nice example of the colored image on it. That’s my tip for today. Look on the back of the PWCO stamp packages to give you an idea on where to put the shading and how to color the image. I have used this little tip frequently.

This completes my run as your featured stamper for Monday. Starting July I will be found on another day of the week.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamp: Sammy the Snake

Paper: Basic Grey Lime Rickey

Ink: memento tuxedo black

Copics: YG 95, 97; Y17

Accessories: Nestabilities, cuttlebug, vine ribbon, sticker

Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #60

2010-06-27T19:47:00.002-05:00

Happy Sunday, Stampers! I am back in the game with Midnight Madness. Life gets crazy and I can't always find the time to play now a days, but I carved out some time this weekend.

I bought a Nana's Kitchen Stack because it was sparkly and pretty and with my coupon, 40% off. I had no idea what I would use it for. I don't make cards about cooking and I don't scrapbook, but it was such pretty paper I just had to buy it!! When I saw this week's sketch I knew I need to get out my Tilda's and play with her. Then I thought of my new stack of paper and the started coming together in my mind. Baking Tilda was just what I needed for this card. I cut out the flour and sugar pictures from the patterned paper in the stack and used them as the embellishment on the bottom right corner which, in the sketch, was a flower.

I hope you enjoy my sweet, sweet Tilda and my interpretation of the sketch.

Art Impressions monthly contest

2010-06-25T19:23:00.003-05:00

Good Saturday Evening, Stampers!! This is my first submission for Art Impressions monthly comtest. The theme this month is "set o'wheels: bikes, cars and wagons. As always these characters just crack me up!! I used the Midnight Madness sketch challenge for this week. I decided to move the loopy-de-loopy thingy that was supposed to be in the upper corner to the bottom because I think it looks like dust coming up from the back of the bike and it helps the image give the feeling of movement. Although the embellishments are sprockets, I thought it tied in with the gears of the bike. I think I might send this to my brother as a belated birthday card (June 1). Hey! at least I am still in the same month! The saying says, "Eat your heart out, Lance Armstrong!"

Thanks for looking!

BLOG CANDY WINNER!!!

2010-06-25T05:48:00.003-05:00

I have an announcement! I used the random number generator to pick my winner for my blog candy and the winner is.....

Linda said...
She's a cutie! And I am subscribing to your blog as soon as I write this!

Congratulations, LINDA!

Linda, please contact me so I can send you your goodies.

prettywhitedaisies@gmail.com

SC # 38

2010-06-21T10:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday, Stampers! I gave myself a little creative freedom on this sketch from Paperworks Co. this week. I substituted the orange (sorry Peggy!) circles instead on the top right corner and the orange flowers on the bottom left. I also add a triangle in the corner and punched it out with a corner punch. The sentiment comes with the robot. I inked only part of the sentiment at a time and used a stamp positioner to get it to line up correctly. I didn't have enough room on top for the whole saying and just wanted to break it up a bit to make it balanced. This was trickier than I expected because my black marker is a bit old and lost its pointy tip. I had many tries at making that right! I decided to experiment with the main image. I used Tim Holtz rock candy distress/crackle. I liked the texture it gave the robot as it kind of adds a metallic feel to the image. So, that's my tip for today. Go outside your comfort zone in either modifying a sketch to suit your needs or try a new technique or product. You might be surprised with what you create! I didn't have any one in mind when I made this card, but I am sure it will come handy some day.

Stamps: Buckley Tinheart

Paper: Basic Grey Lime Rickey

Copics: C3, 4; R27; B21,

accessories: flowers, circle stickers, Tim Holtz distress crackle paint rock candy, nesties, corner punch, stamp positioner

Game on!

2010-06-19T10:00:00.010-05:00

Welcome to Paperworks Blog Hop!! Woo hoo! I hope you are ready to win some free stamps and blog candy!

Here is a list of all the wonderful blogs showcasing the new Sports Series 2 stamps this month.

Peggy
Cabio
Jenny
Steph J
Bella
Lisa T
Danielle
Silvia
Sunghee
Karen Lynn <----You are HERE

Steph S
Kelly
PWCO BLOG

If you came from Sunghee's blog then you are in the right spot!! Yay, you! If not and you want to play along and enter to win fabulous prizes please start here at Paperworks Co.

Here's a few of the perks with this blog hop:

1. **This weekend all PWCO stamps are 10% off** This is a great time to stock up on Zach and Zoe images, some RAM stamps and PWCO stamps. Get them today!

2, If you buy the complete set of Sport series 2 you also get BONUS STAMPS!! Woo hoo! who can resist a discount and free stamps?? IF you ordered the complete sport series set 1 you will get the bonus stamps included in your next order for free!

3. If you play along with the blog hop you will be entered to win the grand prize which is the complete sports series two stamp set and the bonus stamps. Yay! More free stuff!!

4.Each DT member will be giving out prizes!! Oh my! Oh my! Be sure to visit each blog to enter your chance to win!

5. I, of course, will be giving out some goodies as well!! Free is sooo good! To be entered to win my prize pack you need to leave a comment AND become a follower of this blog. How easy is that? I will randomly draw a name from the list of comments.

I was pleased as punch when I was received the volleyball stamp. When I was in high school I played volleyball. I wasn't very good, but I did my best! I still love to play volleyball even though my game hasn't improved.

For the card I used a computer generated sentiment on the top and a sticker on the bottom. The buttons are from Basic Grey and the jewels in her hair are from my stash.

I am not an expert on using copics. I confess, I learned how to color with copic markers by watching You Tube videos. I literally colored along with the video as I was watching it pausing the video often to catch up. I am left handed and find that coloring with the darkest color to the right is the easiest for me. On most of my images you will see "the light source" coming from the left and the shadowy part on the right. On this image you will notice I did it the opposite way. How? you ask. Easy. I turn the image upside down and still color from right to left. That's my tip for today! Do it the same way only differently. I am so smart!

Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoy this card as much as I do!

Stamps: Zoe the volleyball player

paper: Lime Rickey Catawaba

copics: YG 11, 13, 17; B21, 95, 97; E000, 00, 11, 13, 33, 37,; C1

accessories: cuttlebug folder argyle, nestabilities

Off you go now to Stephanie's blog which is found HERE.

PWCO SC #37

2010-06-14T10:00:00.004-05:00

Happy Monday Stampers! Here is my interpretation of this week's sketch challenge. I had fun with this sketch and the card came together rather easily.

Berly (prounounced Barley) is a co-worker who also is a stamping friend. It is her birthday this month and I used this week's sketch for her card. For my birthday she gave me the Happy Birthday embossing folder. I found it fitting then to make her birthday card using the folder. I cut out the image as always and decided to cut off all of the curliques because it would have been too difficult to cut around them.

Berly's name is spelled out in letters from doodlebug and covered with flock. Originally I had green letters, but the greens didn't match up. I pulled the letters off and made her name again with pink letters. I then colored the main image using some pink to tie the pink into the main image. finally I added the flower in the upper corner. That's my tip for today. Experiment with different colors that might not necessarily go with the papers you decided to use. Tie the colors together by using the extra color in coloring the image.

Stamps: A Surprise Cheer

Ink: Memento Tuxedo black

Markers: Copics YG 11, 13, 17; RV 13, E 43, 44, 57, 77

Accessories: Cuttlebug Happy Birthday embossing folder, Doodlebug Loopy Lou Adhesive stickers, daisy flower

Paper: Lime Rickey Catawaba patterned paper

Turkey

2010-06-11T13:08:00.002-05:00

Viola! the turkey is out of the oven!!! Doesn't it look great?? It took 5.5 hours to bake and lots of basting to make this beautiful, organic bird. I took the second picture so that you all could see my brand new stove in the back left of the picture. As you can see I have a very tiny kitchen. It is hard to imagine a smaller kitchen, but this kitchen used to be smaller than this! Where the peninsula is now a wall used to be. The wall was at the end of the peninsula that is closest to the sink. The refrigerator is on the left of the peninsula on the other side of the wall. Well, thanks for stopping! Too bad you can't share some of this turkey with me. It tastes really good! I gotta scoot and go carve it now.

SSS59

2010-06-10T06:55:00.002-05:00

Good morning Stampers! Here is my card for Sweet and Sassy's weekly challenge. I made this card for my sweet Dork Sister, Linda R. Linda had some blog candy and I was one of the winners! This is the card I made her as a thank you. The flower is from the SU set, embrace life (one of the things she gave me). I love the SU pattern paper. They look so elegant and really give the card that nice touch. Linda also gave me a pack of this rub-on borders. The ric-rack you see here is one of them. I goofed on the right side. The ric-rack veered a bit to the inside of the paper and it looked really bad. I moved the oval to the side to cover it up. The problem then was the rub-on wouldn't come off the ribbon! I solved that by adding some big pearls on the side. Whew! side stepped that disaster!

PWCO sketch Challenge #36

2010-06-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday, Stampers! Here's a nice easy sketch for this week from Paperworks Co. I did not have any coordinating paper to go with this Lime Rickey paper so for the 4 smaller squares I just used the same paper from the background paper. I decided to go with the tennis player for my images this week. She is a fun one to color! Her hair gives you plenty of room to play around with your copic markers (or coloring medium of your choice) without becoming an overwhelming space. I needed to fill in a bit as the card seemed a bit bare so I added the flower and the pearls.

I do like the color orange. I think it is a color that most other stampers shy away from and even some don't like. When all of us gals on the DT were getting to know each other and writing about ourselves Peggy, owner of PWCO, revealed that she does not like orange. Boy, am I going to have fun with that! I have a Dork Sister, Vikki Jo, who is afraid of butterflies. I am sure you can image what the rest of the Dork Sisters send her all of the time: cards with butterflies all over them!

I love copic markers. I notice that when I color with copics no matter how hard I try a bit of color goes outside the image. I have learned how to hide that mistake by cutting out the image. So, that's my tip for today. don't worry so much about coloring outside the line because then you can just cut it out and no one will be the wiser. If you do cut out the image make sure that you take the corresponding marker and touch up the edges to cover up any white areas.

Thanks for looking!

Here's the details of the card:

Stamp: Zoe the tennis player

paper: Lime Rickey Tart and Tiny

Copics: E000, E00, E11, E33, E44, E99, yr21, yr04, yr07

Accessories: flower, orange pearls

I am on the design team for Paperworks Co!!!

2010-06-04T10:00:00.001-05:00

Yipee! Yippee!! I have been selected to be a design team member for Paperworks Co.! You don't know how much it has been killing me not to be able to tell all of you. I felt horrible about keeping something so big from my dork sisters. My debut is here and I can FINALLY shout this news from the roof top!
I received my welcome package in the mail last week and let me tell you it felt like Christmas!
I have a whole stack of pretty new papers and stamps with which to play. I felt a little nervous about sitting down and making a card. First, anxiety set in as I want to make sure I do my very best work and live up to expectations second, I typically buy 2 sheets of pattern paper so if I goof up really bad I have one other sheet to cut into. I decided to just make a card to warm up. I used my own pattern paper first (see reason #2) and then after that card went on to using the papers I received from Peggy. I wound up making two cards. I liked both and couldn't pick one over the other so I posted both. Below is the first card I made. A very simple one, but it got my mojo going.

Now for a little info about the cards.
Duckie card

Stamps: Puddles of fun

Paper: Lime Rickey hoboken and howdy doody

Copics:Y08,B21, B95, YG63, YR04

Accessories: EK success Daisy boarder punch, yellow grosgrain ribbon, flower punch, pearls, nestabilites oval and scalloped ovals

Layout: CASED card from Linda Borneman

Robot Card

Stamps: Rocko Tinheart

Paper: Lime Rickey Liquid Candy

Copics: B21, B95, B97, Y17, G99, R27

Accessories: metallic ribbon, sprockets, nestabilites labels 2, various cuttlebug folders

Layout: loosely based on SCS SC#234

Please leave me a comment so I know you stopped by!

I won the Priscilla Award!

2010-06-01T16:02:00.004-05:00

Can you believe it? I got around 122 votes for my Hollis card! Thank you for voting! Due to your support I won The Priscilla Award! I shall wear this badge proudly!

MMSC#56 and AI contest

2010-05-30T20:20:00.003-05:00

Here is my card for today. The layout is based on Midnight Madness's sketch challenge #56. It is also my second submission for Art Impression's monthly contest. This month's theme is, "Feel like dancing". This character's name is Dotty. She just cracks me up! She's got a lot of skirt to color so my previous card I paper pierced and this one I covered up most of her body with the fence. Smart, aren't I? I used the vine to look like grass or some sort of foliage in front of the fence. I needed something in the upper left corner and this rub-on was perfect for it, because of course, Dotty is unforgettable. I added pearls around her neck, because she just needed a little bling on her ensemble.

Thanks for looking!

2010-05-30T18:13:00.002-05:00

My dork sister, Traci, had not heard of a doggie backpack. So I put one on Sophie and took a picture. We are going camping/hiking this weekend and I need to start getting her used to the pack. Yes, I am mean, I make my dog carry her own water and provisions.

There, I think this is better

2010-05-25T20:00:00.001-05:00

I added a small strip of paper, the same as her dress, for the horizontal piece. I had a piece of sheer ribbon and it wasn't noticeable. I like this better. Now, to go to PWCO blog and upload and to AI contest.

I need your vote!

2010-05-25T06:03:00.002-05:00

Midnight Madness announced today that I am a finalist in their Priscilla Award!!! This award goes to the person with the most votes. If you haven't voted yet, I would appriciate you voting for me! My card is #5 and it is the hunter looking through binoculars.

AI contest and PWCO SC #34

2010-05-24T20:44:00.006-05:00

AI's Stamp Contest this month is "I feel like Dancing". This is Dotty. I love how at peace Dotty is with her self as she twirls around. I imagine herself home alone with the music blaring and letting it all loose. I used the sketch challenge from Paperwork Co for this week. I thought the butterfly patterned paper went well with Dotty. She's as pretty and light as a butterfly!

Unfortunately the sheer ribbon that runs horizontally between the layers of DP doesn't show very well. I tried putting pearls on either side to make it show more. The card looks 100x's better IRL. The picture here really isn't capturing it as well. I think I have decided to give this card to Foster Grandma Virginia (remember the round blanket I made her?) from work. It is her birthday on June 12. I think she'll be 83 or 84.

**Addendum** I enhanced the photos and posted it here. Wow! Makes a difference doesn't it??

baby hat and socks

2010-05-24T18:43:00.002-05:00

I finished this project today. There are a lot of women pregnant at work. This lady is expecting a girl. I had this skein in my stash. Another co-worker gave me a bag full of yarn she didn't want last year and this was one of the skeins. Turned out cute, I think!

This is the picture that is supposed to be on my header. I can't seem to downsize it to make it fit. If you can help me please do so!

Lamb Blanket

2010-05-23T18:53:00.003-05:00

Finally! The Lamb Blanket is done!! I made this for a CNA at work who is adopting a baby boy in June. The colors did not show well here. The yellow is a soft yellow, not this mustard looking yellow you see here. This blanket is made in pieces and then sewn together. I am not fond of sewing pieces together. Yikes! that's a lot of work! I am pleased with the way it turned out.

AI contest

2010-05-23T18:48:00.003-05:00

Hmmm, not to sure about this one. This is a possibility for the AI contest this month. The theme is Dancing. I just had a hard time making Dotty work. I mean, she is such a lovely lady she deserves a beautiful card! Well, let me know if you think if I should try again. I think I should!

***addendum*** I enhanced the photo quality and posted the picture here. I think it makes a difference.

MMSC#55

2010-05-21T16:16:00.002-05:00

The sneak peek for next week's Midnight Madness sketch challenge was posted today. I was home early because daycare closed early which means I had time to stamp while youngest DS was napping. Yay! I stopped at Joann's before going home and picked up this new paper. I think it is very pretty!! I also picked up this Smile Stamp in the $1.00 bin at Michael's. I apologize for using my ducky stamp again. I love this stamp though and it just screamed at me to be used today. Now I guess I need to go back and do this week's sketch challenge! Nothing like doing it backwards!

SSS56

2010-05-16T20:55:00.003-05:00

This is my father's day card for my Dad. Sweet and Sassy's sketch challenge this week was to use this layout and make it a card for a man. Guido, the "young" man you see here, is a new stamp I bought using the winnings from my second place prize at Art Impression's monthly contest. He is a front and back stamp as you can see from the two photos.

My Dad is the guy that wears black dress socks YEAR ROUND and pulls them up as high as they can go, which is either lower calf or mid-calf depending on the length. My Dad has huge calves and he really doesn't need to accentuate them any more than they already stand out. He also has a tendency to wear black dress socks with sneakers with the laces undone. Finally, my Dad thinks he looks HOT in pink shirts. Dad really thinks he can dress himself nicely. No matter how many times my Mom, poor Mom, tries to dress him nicely, Dad just can't pull it off. Even when Mom gets him in nice clothing he then pulls his belt too tight or up too high. Oh, and Dad is the guy that loves to have his pants unbuttoned (Think Frank Barone here) any chance he can get. At least Dad is secure enough in his manhood to wear pink.

Okay, despite my Dad's faux pax (is that a X or a Z?) with dressing and thinking he looks devilishly handsome, I have the BEST Dad. If I need something, Dad is there. He has literally dropped everything to come running when I have needed him. One time my DH was in the ER for dehydration. I didn't know what I was going to do with the kiddos while I was with DH so Dad started the trek up to our house despite doing something for someone else. That is only one small example of the things he does.

So Dad, I know you are waiting for GQ to call, but I need to be honest with you, it just ain't going to happen! Love you, Dad!

SC 280

2010-05-16T19:24:00.003-05:00

I decided to try a Splitcoast challenge this week. This is SC 280. Cherry Dress Tilda is a new Tilda for me. I just think she's adorable (even without a mouth and a nose). I wanted to put more into this than the sketch called for, but I didn't have the appropriate embellishments. My stash consists of 99% flowers and 1% other. I did find the cute little lady bug and added it on the corner.

Thanks for looking and please don't forget to leave a comment.

PWCO sketch Challenge #32

2010-05-09T19:37:00.003-05:00

This is my submission for Paperworks Co sketch challenge. As I was looking through my stamp collection I saw the ducks which were right on top. I absolutely giggle every time I see this stamp. I couldn't resist using them again. I decided to make a birthday card because I am behind on my SCS birthday RAKS for this month. I have sent out zero, zip, nil. I did start to cut some extra pieces to make a few more, but then ran out of paper. The ducks are from Penny Black, the other two stamps are SU. I never know about the paper because I just pull it out from my stash. I made the flower on the upper right hand corner.

Thanks for looking!!

SSS55

2010-05-09T16:43:00.007-05:00

Oh boy, am I behind on making christmas cards. I try to make 10 cards a month. This is May and this is my first card. I haven't done too well this year on keeping up! I love the way this card came out. I don't like how time intensive it was. I opted not to go for a shading effect on the coloring as I was trying to save a step. I think for a mass produced card I would skip all of the bottom embellishments on the card front.

I used Sweet and Sassy's sketch challenge for this week as my layout. I gathered scraps of christmas paper for the dp and I bought this cute, cute little snowman from Whipper Snapper.

I then added a very tiny bit of a cotton ball around the bottom of the snowman for a snow effect.

Pictures of Sophie

2010-05-07T21:37:00.001-05:00

The first picture is of Sophie tucked in for the night (not really. I have to let her out before I go to bed).

The second one...Well, kind of speaks for itself. I can't believe I have a bird and dog who don't understand the predator/prey relationship.

SSS54

2010-05-07T19:32:00.003-05:00

Here's my submission for this week's Sweet and Sassy's challenge. I decided to use this sketch for my Mother's Day card for my Mom. I completely blanked that it was Mother's day this weekend. Thankfully my parents are coming tomorrow (Saturday) to watch the boys do a kid's triathlon so I can give it to her then. I posted 2 pictures of it because I couldn't decide if it looked better with the white background or the gray. Thanks for taking a peek!

PWCO sketch #31

2010-05-07T16:11:00.002-05:00

This is the first time I have played along with Paperworks Sketch Challenge. The challenge was to have a main circle with little circles around it. I used one of my new Tilda stamps named, "cross-stitch Tilda". I started with the polka dot paper as the background paper, but it was too much. I used this pretty paper instead and paper pierced it for her dress. The embellishments are various buttons and flowers I have in my stash.

2nd card for AI's April contest and Sweet and Sassy weekly challenge

2010-04-25T19:48:00.004-05:00

This is my second submission for Art Impression's monthly contest. The theme this month was to use the airplane picture you see in the upper right hand corner. I saw Sweet and Sassy's weekly sketch challenge and thought that fit really well with what I had floating around in my head. I had a bit of a stumbling block at two places and my muse, Peggysue, helped me out on both. Her first suggestion was to make the plane travel on a map like what is seen in Indiana Jones, the movie. Viola! I had this topographic map stationary paper I had tucked away. I have had it for years and barely used it. I then picked up the colors of the purple and green for my coloring and accent colors. The image of Annie peeking over the fence just came together (yes, it is a fence, not a barrel as my husband calls it). The next obstacle was the sentiment. I was having difficulty combining the mail plane with Annie with the hopeful or dreamy look in her face. Here's where Peggysue helped me again. She thought of the song, "Mr. Postman" by the Marvelettes. Thank goodness for the power of the internet. I typed in "postman Lyrics" and POP! the lyrics were right there at my fingertips. The rest of the card just fell into place. So, Peggysue, thank you for all of your inspirations!

MMSC#50-Happy Birthday, Peggysue!

2010-04-23T15:39:00.002-05:00

Woo hoo! I found my mojo! I had no idea it was hiding behind this card for Peggysue's birthday! This card is my Midnight Madness submission for this week. I loved this sketch. It was just a perfect fit for me. It also helps that Sweet Tilda is just adorable. This Tilda is a fun one to color as well. I also love the paper. I have noticed over time that I really gravitate towards papers with stripes and polka dots. Such fun stripes and colors in this paper.

So, Peggysue, Happy Birthday!!

Hip, hip hurray! The mail plane is here today!

2010-04-18T15:49:00.004-05:00

Here is my submission for Art Impression's April contest. The theme this month was to use the picture of the mail plane. I liked the idea of a tent card for this one, I don't know if that shows up very well, though.

I love getting snail mail. I am like a little kid each day when I check the mail hoping, just hoping for some happy mail. Happy mail from my Dork Sisters is the best! Actually, any unexpected happy mail is the best!! I equate myself with Harv here as he does his happy dance that the mail plane showed up. What could be better??

I used crackle on the picture to help antique it a bit. As the crackle was drying I placed the picture out of the way....or so I thought. The kids managed to find it and still put something on top of it! Thankfully, their mistake added to the antique look to the picture.

I managed to come up with this layout all by myself. I am very impressed as I tend to be layout impaired. I rely heavily on Midnight Madness for my card layouts each week. I love Priscilla's layouts as they do stretch my creativity each week.

The paper I bought a couple of weeks ago. It was either at Joann's, Wisconsin craft market or Michael's. Sorry for not knowing. I don't keep track.

Here's the deets:

stamp: Harv by Art Impressions

paper: Designer paper (pretty sure it was Michael's)

Markers: Copics

Accessories: Cuttlebug, cuttlebug folder, nesties and Basic Grey buttons

Hey, as always, thanks for looking! Please leave a note below. I enjoy hearing from you!

MMSC#48

2010-04-09T17:39:00.004-05:00

Ah, not one of my stellar cards but it is okay. My mojo left me again. Darn mojo. That's so not fair. I tried and tried to find my mojo. I looked in my closet, I looked under the bed, I even went to Walmart and Target to see if I could buy some mojo. Sadly, it is not for sale. So, in the meantime, my faithful followers (ie my dork sisters and the design team from MM) you get to look at this. Don't try to butter me up and say it is a great card. I know better!!

What you can't see is the ribbon is actually a purple. It looks more black here though. The ribbon elements that were supposed to be on the top and side of the image were too overwhelming so I just used pearls. I do like the ribbon though. It is very pretty. The center flower is a rub on.

MMSC #47

2010-04-04T19:43:00.003-05:00

I have been asked by a co-worker to make a stack of cards. I used this week's Midnight Madness sketch for my layout. Both the duck image and the "Thank You" came from Hambo Stamps (I love their pigs). I found this paper in my stash and I think I bought it recently. Where did I buy it? I sure can't remember now. I think it might have been Wisconsin Craft Market??? I used stickles and glossy accents to help the image pop a bit. I was not fond of the stitching part. I don't sew. I HATE sewing. I don't own a sewing machine. I poked holes in the paper and then used embroidery floss to sew it. I learned the hard way that I added way too many holes!! It took too long to sew. No matter, I like the card. It brings a smile to my face.

Okay, now you are wondering why there is a bird on my head. Zena, our cockatiel was flying around the room and needed a place to land. Obviously she thought my head was a good spot. This is strange on many levels. The bird has bonded with my hubby and doesn't go to me unless she is desperate. Secondly, she usually flies to something other than my head. The kids thought it was funny so I took a picture.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Duck and Thank you by Hambo Stamps

Paper: unknown

Markers: SU! barely banana, mellow moss, bashful blue, only orange

accessories: stickles, glossy accent, embroidery floss.