Make It Monday #125 with Meljen's Designs



Time for linky party #125 to kick off at Make It Monday! We hope you'll share your creative talent with us this week and be our next featured entry and winning commenter. Our sponsor is Melissa Jenkins of Meljen's Designs and I'm using the Topsy Turvy Cake image on my card. It reminded me of a cake you might see on an episode of The Cake Boss and I love the fun layers and design. A sentiment from Hero Arts's Essential Greetings was also used and I blended Spun Sugar distress ink on the front to tone the white down. A turquoise chevron ribbon, Pixie-Licious button, MS border punch and bling finish it off. I should note that I used atyou Spica glitter pens to highlight this cake (which doesn't translate to a computer screen very well) and the Seeing Dots embossing folder by Cuttlebug for my pink panel. I think that's it. ;)


Here's a look at the inside featuring a dp from Glitz's Cashmere Dame collection.
 

  

 

A stamped sentiment from TCP's Greetings set and inked edges are all that was necessary on the inside. Simple and sweet! 

 

 

 

Pick of TheWeek is....

#5 Jessica Sporn 

 

 

with this fun and colorful city scape!!! 

I love the way she developed her background and the design.

Click her link to see more photos of this incredible piece of art

and leave her some comment love. 

TFS Jessica!

 

 

 

Sponsored by

 

Meljen's Designs Digital Stamps

Prize is winner's choice of 4 single digis!



So happy you stopped by and please click my teamies links on the right sidebar to see their inspiring creations. Have a terrific week everyone and happy crafting!

Hugs,
Lisa

The Squirrel and The Fox Challenge #36

 

Something New is the challenge for the next two weeks at TS&TF and we're proudly sponsored by The Digi Garden. First though, a big congrats to the winner and top three of our Anything Goes challenge! There were so many beautiful entries and it was definitely a popular challenge. :)

 

Sponsor

 

 

 

For my DT card I'm using The Digi Garden's Molly's Valentine Gifts image. I've paired her with dp's from Cosmo Cricket's Pixie-Licious and Basic Grey's Green at Heart collections. She's a cutie, that's for sure. Also, the sentiment is from Verve's Hearts on Fire stamp set and helps me meet my personal goal of using my unmounted stamps in 2013. If you are not sure what I'm talking about read this post here and it will explain everything. A big thank you to my blog buddy, Jeanne, of  A Kept Life for the beautiful Blushing Rose ribbon. It's gorgeous and I love it! A pink Pixie-Licious button, twine, Want 2 Scrap lavender pearls, Lavender Lace Liquid Pearls by Ranger, Prima Fairytale Roses, Recollections resin roses and a MS Lace Heart punched border round out the finishing touches.


 Here's the inside and I've used two more stamps to help me meet my goal. :)



I used lavender pearls to accent the lacey circle die, sentiment
and anchor the corners of my Green at Heart dp. The Heart &
Swirls die is by Verve and the coordinating stamp was inked up in
Worn Lipstick Distress Ink by Ranger. Be Mine is from Verve's
Twitterpated set and Worn Lipstick was used for it as well.

 

To see the inspiration created by my teamies visit The Squirrel and The Fox or click their links on my right sidebar. Ok, now it's your turn to show us your Something New and if you're unsure what qualifies drop by the challenge blog for all the details.

Thanks for dropping by! 

 

Hugs,

Lisa xx

My Heart Belongs to You

Good morning, or afternoon/evening, everyone!

 

I hope you are doing well and that the new year has been good so far. Mine has been a bit hectic and as a result I feel like I'm constantly playing a game of catch up lol. I guess that's to be expected with all the hats I wear but it does get overwhelming sometimes.

 

When Mona Pendleton, owner of the CR84FN Color Challenge announced recently that the challenge is coming to an end with CRFN8470 I was sad but not shocked. I've never been able to fathom how Mona keeps up with everyday life commitments much less her hefty crafty ones too. I will miss this challenge but more importantly I want to see Mona fulfill all of her creative endeavors and understand her need to lighten the load. It was a special moment when she asked me to be her January Guest Designer and I'll always remember my time at CR84FN fondly. Before it wraps officially, I thought I'd sneak this card which I originally created to submit for the CR84FN69 challenge in. I started second guessing myself and made another card so I am sharing it now. You can visit CR84FN69 to see my color choices and here's a little close up.

 

 

 

 

I used a stamp wheel to create the script background and a sentiment from Verve's Love Notes set to convey my message. Both of these stamps will count toward my goal of using my unmounted stamps and stamp wheels in 2013. Dies from MFT, TE and Verve were used and Lavender Lace Liquid Pearls provide the perfect accent. Some gray/white twine wrapped around my panel and tied in a bow put the finishing touch on this card.

 

 

Thanks for visiting me today and please don't be a stranger. You are welcome anytime! Also, if you are unsure what the acronyms mean for the products used click on the Crafty Acronyms page at the top. :)

 

Hugs,

Lisa



Laviously Lucious Layers at Top Tip Tuesday

Hello and welcome, it's time to kick off a new challenge at Top Tip Tuesday and this one is all about layers. Paper, buttons, ribbon/trim, flowers, bling-the more the merrier! A friendly reminder that if you would like to be in the running for our guest designer spot then leave a tip on your blog and put (Tip) beside your name when you link up. Good Luck!

My card features Scene It-Ladybugs digi image by Bugaboo Stamps and I colored it with Copic markers and added a touch of bling to the flower centers. A white gel pen accents the eyes of the cute ladybugs and the large leaves. This image reminds me that spring is just around the corner (sorta) and I'm so ready. To see more fun images drop by their online shop and browse their fantastic selection. There's something for everyone! 

Here's my Tip-to achieve an easy sky background simply stamp (with a blending tool) Tumbled Glass Distress Ink all over. Work quickly and keep it light adding more depth as needed. Note: I always color my image first.



 

My inside sentiment is from Hero Arts Thoughtful Messages and the bling ladybug is by Zva Creative. The red panel was embossed with a Cuttlebug Polka Dots 5x7 embossing folder and the black panel was the negative of my frame die on the front. A white gel pen was used to create the border and I stamped the sentiment on the negative of the smaller frame die (part of the set by Spellbinders) and popped the smaller frame up on foam dots for dimension. I do hope I haven't confused anybody lol.

 

 A big thank you to Bugaboo Stamps for providing the design team with images    

 

 

 

and for offering the winner 7 Digi images of their choice.  



 

 Top Tipper Prize - Fred She Said $20 voucher!

 

 

 Our fabulous January Designer Clarissa wowed us with two amazing creations this month. 
Thank you Clarissa for joining us!  



That's all for me today, glad you dropped by and spent some time with me. I do hope you'll pop by my teamie's blogs to see what they have in store for you. You can view their beautiful work at TTT or click their links on my right sidebar.

Have a wonderful day everyone!
Lisa xx

Make It Monday #124 with Bugaboo Stamps

 

 

Welcome to the new linky party starting at Make It Monday!

 

We're sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps this week and I'm using JJ Calendar Months-January for my calendar page. I love this sassy gal and she certainly knows how to have a good time!

 

 

 

 

Bugaboo Stamps is offering a very generous prize of winner's choice of 7 single digi's.

 

 

For my January calendar I also incorporated a calendar stamp from Just Rite Stampers and alpha's from Hampton Art. The calendar was drawn by freehand and I spelled out my sentiment with a Dymo label maker. Easy peasy!

 

 

Pick of the Week

 

#111 Linda R

 

 

I love this tag!!!

Linda is playing along with T!m's 12 Tags of 2013 and this is her January tag. I'd say she's off to a fabulous start. :) Click her link to see more photos and leave her some love.

Thanks for sharing your talent with us at MIM Linda.

 

 

So happy you dropped by and I'm sure my teamies would love for you to visit them too.

 

Hugs,

Lisa xx 

 

 



 

The Kindness of Another

 

 

 

Hello! It is a dreary, rainy day here in the western part of Tennessee where I live and I do hope the weather is better wherever you are. We've had rain for the past week and I am so ready for it to go away lol. On the bright side, we did not get the freezing rain that the weather man said we would. :)

 

I'm back with a thank you card that I made for a business associate of my husband. This particular gentleman learned that my DH wanted to take our son and his new wife (both are in the Army) to the Chick-Fil-A Bowl game in Atlanta on New Year's Eve (hubby & son are huge fans of LSU& our new DIL is a Clemson fan). Before my DH had time to call and buy tickets he received a phone call saying five tickets were on the way via Fed Ex. His associate wanted to treat them (us too) to the game because he appreciates their willingness to serve our country and realizes the sacrifices that they, like so many, make on our behalf every day. That was the inspiration for my patriotic thank you card and I'm using, Rescue Remedies Additions, from Waltzingmouse Stamps to convey our gratitude to him. We had premo seats in the Georgia Dome and were treated like VIP's. One thing is certain, kindness never goes out of style. 

 

For sketch inspiration I played along with Jen's Deconstructed Sketch No. 84 and it's a keeper. One slight change is that I flipped it because I wanted a horizontal orientation instead of vertical. I left the bow, or fussy embellishment, off because this is a masculine card. Otherwise, all the required elements are present. Be sure to check out this sketch and the archived sketches at Deconstructing Jen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you, Mr. McDonald, for your generosity and also for your service to our country!

 

Hugs,

Lisa xx

 

Use Every Stamp 2013 Challenge

Use Every Stamp 2013 Challenge

 

 

Jeri Parks, founder of My Creative Classroom, is offering a FREE class to help you use the unmounted stamps you have and organize them in 2013. It's a challenge I chose to accept because I have so many stamps that have never seen ink before and that's a shame. While Jeri shares that feeling guilty about the unused stamps you own is a wasted emotion and that it is far better to just start using your stamps, I do feel some guilt lol. That's why I am here today, sharing this information with you in the event you too have stamp guilt and want to do something about it.

 

A few steps and you'll be on your way:

 

1. Click the link under the graphic 

2. Follow the directions in Jeri's post

3. Count your unmounted stamps

4. Set your goal

 

Now for the moment of truth, how many unmounted stamps do I have. I'll fess up in a minute but here's how I categorized my stamps. Note: Foam, alphabet, and number sets are Jeri's exceptions to this challenge so I am following suit as well and not counting them.

 

Full Sets (10+ stamps) 

 

Mini Full Sets (2-9 stamps) 

 

Singles
 

**Stamp Wheels**
 

I initially wasn't going to include this group because several of my wheels have been used but I changed my mind because at least half still have the wrapper on them and that just won't do lol.  

 

 

My unmounted stamp total is 506

Ugh!

18 Stamp Wheels

373 Full & Mini-Full Sets

115 Singles

 

I know :(  and now you see why I choose to participate in this challenge. While my total is higher than Jeri's count of 316 it is lower than some of you out there. ;) Seriously, how am I going to use all of these stamps? I am committing to use at least one stamp from every mini full set, two from my full sets and all of my singles & stamp wheels. Whew! So how is that possible, here's a few of my ideas for completing my task goal. :)

 

Cards

Scrapbook Layout's

Mini Albums

Mini Books

Art Journal pages

Mixed Media Art projects

Altered Art projects

etc.

 

 

Okay, there's my plan and I can always use more than the specified stamps from each set if I want to but I'll be doing well to use what I committed to. It's important to remember that this is your own personal goal-it's not meant to be rigid but fun. One more thing, the challenge officially kicks off today but I am starting from January 1st because I've already made two mini books using a lot of stamps and every stamp counts. A notebook will help me keep track of what I use along the way and I'll have pages labeled for each company's stamps. That way I can quickly record the stamp and I plan to place a dot label on the stamp package when I use the required number from each set/stamp wheel. If you come up with a better system please feel free to share with me. :-)

 

So, why did I write all this in a post? Your chances of completing a goal vastly improve if you write it down. Yep, it's true! So I not only wrote it down in my journal, I decided to make it official by blogging about it. By doing that, it brings in accountability on my part and hopefully I will be able to mark this goal accomplished on December 31st.

 

Thanks for dropping by today and I hope you'll check in tomorrow to see the thank you card I created for a very special person.

 

Happy Stamping Everyone!

 

Hugs,

Lisa xx

 

 

Make It Monday #123 with Milk Coffee

 

 

Welcome!

 

I am so excited to introduce our new sponsor this week, Milk Coffee, and the beautiful image Fairy Tiffany I was given to play with. Honestly, you have to see it in person to take in all of the detail. It's stunning! This card was not planned out and came together step by step. I colored my image first with Copic's and chose a glittered dp from a 12x12 paper pack by MME which I've had for a while now. As some of you know I am on a quest to use my current paper up before purchasing more. So far so good but not too sure how long I can hold out lol. I have another goal but I'll share more on that in a minute. Here's a close up of this beautiful fairy and her sparkly wings.

 

 

 

 

I used matte gel medium to adhere the glitter to the inside of each wing and it worked like a charm.  The sentiment from Verve's Birthday Surprise set was stamped onto a Spellbinders Lattice Pendant and Pink Flamingo liquid pearls were used to highlight it. A few paper flowers and hot pink pearls complete the embellishments for this birthday card.

 

 

Sponsor

 

 

Prize: 3 fabulous digi's of winner's choice!

 

 

 

 

Ok, time to share with all of you what my next goal this year is. I decided to accept a challenge that My Creative Classroom founder, Jeri Parks, issued at the turn of the new year. She's on a personal quest to use all of her unmounted stamps in a year and to make it official she started a blog, Use Every Stamp 2013 to keep her on track.

 

 

 

 

It officially kicks off tomorrow, January 14th, so you have time to check it out.  You will be asked to count all of your unmounted stamps and you might be as surprised as I was to see how many you've collected through the years. I'm a realist and honestly there is no way I can use every single stamp this year which is why it's great that she allows you to set your own goal. I will announce how many sets I have and my own personal goal on Monday along with a card or project to officially kick it off. If you're interested in using the stamps you already own that may have been sitting there collecting dust then I hope you'll join me. It will be fun and rewarding!

 

 

Thanks for stopping by today and please pay my teamies a visit and see their amazing creations. You can click their links on my right sidebar or visit the MIM challenge blog.

 

 

Hugs & Happy Crafting,

Lisa xx

CR84FN70 Guest Designer

Hello and welcome!

 

I'm back with my second and last Guest Designer project for January. It has been fun to join Mona Pendleton and her talented CR84FN design team this month. If you've never played along with this challenge I encourage you to as they welcome all skill levels and styles.




I made a mini book (see my previous post) that inspired me to create this mini as a gift. It's full of stamped quotes that I personally like and hope the recipient will too. The main challenge colors are  aqua, tan, and light yellow with neutrals being the exception. I stayed true to the challenge requirements on the front cover and for several of the pages but did incorporate a few dp's from the MME Follow Your Heart-Be Amazing collection that featured additional colors.

Side View


All of the quotes are Verve stamps with the exception of two. The Albert Einstein quote is from the Words of Wisdom set by Waltzingmouse Stamps and the Jean De La Bruyere quote is part of the Faith & Hope set by Taylored Expressions. I will include the stamps I used by Verve in my supply list at the end of this post. A Cinch binding machine was used to punch through the chipboard and to bind the book together.

Thanks for taking a look and I hope you will drop by the CR84FN Color Challenge and leave some love for the talented designers who work hard to inspire all of us.

Hugs and Happy Crafting,
Lisa xx

Stamps by Verve: Plain Janes-Grace, Light Tomorrow & Hope Perches; Sets-Text Objects, Autumn Splendor, One Person and Blue Skies



The Squirrel and The Fox Challenge #35

Front View of Mini Book

 

 

Welcome to the first challenge for 2013, Anything Goes, at The Squirrel and The Fox!

 

We're sponsored by Robyn's Fetish and I'm using their Sunflower 1 image on the cover of my mini book. I love sunflowers and you might note that I've used this image before but what can I say, I really like it. :) A big thank you to Robyn's Fetish for providing the design team with images to play with! You can visit the challenge blog to see what my teamies created with their images or click their links on my right sidebar.

Now for my Mini Book which features some of my favorite quotes and Scriptures. It will sit on my desk and provide instant encouragement, anytime. I should note that I used black medium weight chipboard for the base and cut each one to 4.5" square. A Cinch binding machine made it a snap to put this project together and I opted to bind it at the top so each page will flip easily.

pg. 1

pg. 2

pg. 3

pg. 4

pg. 5

pg. 6

Side View

I used dp's from October Afternoon's Modern Homemaker collection and cs in my three main colors of red, yellow and black. All of the edges were distressed with Black Soot Distress Ink and black alpha's from The Paper Studio and red tiny type alpha's from Cosmo Cricket spell out the title on the front cover. Throughout I've used various stamps and dies and you can check the supply list for those details.

 

Super fun project that inspired me to make more of these to give as gifts. Everyone can use a little encouragement, right. Thanks for taking the time to visit me today! 

 

Congrats to the Winners and Top 3 of Challenges #33 & #34!!!

 

Happy Crafting,

Lisa xx

 

 

Stamps:

pg. 1-Words of Wisdom & Borderline (Verve); Friendship Blooms (Taylored Expressions)

pg. 2- Philippians 4:13 & Curvy Cross Plain Janes, Borderline Set (Verve)

pg. 3- Faith & Hope (TE); Sewing Box-Hugs (Waltzingmouse Stamps)

pg. 4- Thankful (TE); Borderline (Verve)

pg. 5- Jeremiah 29:11 Plain Jane (Verve)

pg. 6- Unity Quote Bundle (Unity Stamp Co.)

 

Dies:

Front Cover-Spellbinders Classic Ovals Lg. & Scalloped Ovals Lg.

pg. 1- Friendship Blooms, Leafy Branch  and Frame It Up Dies (TE)

pg. 2- Curvy Cross & Tagged Rectangle Dies (Verve)

pg. 3- Classy Label Die (Verve)

pg. 5- Spellbinders Label Eight; Layering Doily Die Lg. (TE)

 



Fur or Feathers at Top Tip Tuesday

 

 

It's a brand new year and the first challenge of 2013 at Top Tip Tuesday! We are excited to be back and Samantha has lined up some awesome new sponsors starting with our current sponsor, Zlatoena's Designs at Etsy. This adorable bunny was one of three images the design team was given to create with so be sure to hop on over ;) to the challenge blog to see what my teamies did with their images. Oh, and while you're there you might notice a few other changes that Samantha implemented and you will definitely want to note the new challenge rules as well.

 

 

One of my goals for the new year is to use the current paper supply that I have before buying any more. We'll see how long that lasts but I am going to try and stick with it lol. Today's card was made using MME Tickled Pink dp's and I stamped a simple sentiment from WMS at the bottom making it an all occasion card. After coloring this adorable image, Rabbit Traveler Bicycle, with Copic's I added a little shimmer with atyou Spica pens in yellow, pink and silver. You can't really see the effect in this photo and since Blogger is being such a pain at the moment with photo uploading I didn't include a close up but might add one later. A MS border punch added 'a little something' to the bottom of my image on this tri-fold card. The design was inspired by a Christmas card I received from my blog buddy, Margaret. :) I trimmed a 12x12 piece of white cs to 4.5 inches wide and placed it horizontally on my Scor Pal. I scored it at the 5" & 10" mark and used the bone folder to press my score lines. The image was attached to the 2" fold over flap and all of the edges were distressed with Antique Linen Distress Ink by Ranger.  

 

 

 

Fur or Feathers Challenge

 

 

 

Zlatoena's Design

 

Prize is 2 Digi images of winners choice.

A little bit about Zlatoena:

My mom and I used to make handmade cards and that`s how everything started. I'm last year graphic design student and I have always had to passion to draw and doodle and one day someone came with the idea for digi stamps and .. 3 years since then.. I am creating digital stamps and.. The Cats Pajamas Rubber stamps are producing my designs into real stamps.. and I am as happy as can be.

 

 

 

***One of the new changes this year is that the Top Tipper Prize is a one month stint as our guest designer.***

 

January Guest Designer is Clarissa!

Please drop by her blog and leave her some comment love.

 

 

 

Oh, and one more thing-be sure to check out DT member Jen Scull's card as well. We are thrilled that she is back and hope the worst is over for her as she has spent the past year fighting her own battle with breast cancer. You can view her card at TTT or on her personal blog. Welcome back Jen!!!

 

 

So, will it be fur or feathers? Can't wait to drop by and see your amazing creations.

 

Hugs,

Lisa xx



Make It Monday #122 with Saturated Canary

 

 

Hello and welcome to the first Make It Monday linky party of 2013!!!

 

 

I am excited because we are starting a new year and Michelle has lined up several new sponsors, the first being Saturated Canary. I used Krista's Salute Her digital image on my card & it's in honor of my daughter-in-law, Jessica, who works as a Pharmacy Technician in the U. S. Army. She is the first member of her family to join the military and she has truly dared to be different.

 

I colored the image with Copics and fussy cut it, a kraft panel was embossed with a Stars Impression Plate by TE and I stamped three stars onto vanilla cs with Mossy Mix'd Media Inx by Clearsnap and fussy cut those out too. Pop dots were used to add dimension to my digi image and the kraft panel was adhered to a green base. The sentiment and stars are from Verve stamps and I finished it off with a button and twine combo.

 

 

Pick Of The Week is...

 

#3 Asha 

 

 

As they say, you can't judge a book by its cover and there's more than meets the eye when you see the inside of this card too. I've included one of several photos Asha shared on her blog of the incredible view of the inside.  Yummy cupcakes, colored to perfection await you and a side shot reveals the amazing design of this card. You can see what I'm talking about by visiting her blog Sunny Summer Crafts and checking it out for yourself. Congrats Asha and thanks for sharing!   

 

 

On another congratulatory note I'd like to wish Michelle the best of luck with her new online store, Pink Paper Paradise Stamp & Colour, which she officially opened yesterday. You can check the details out on her blog here. Congrats Michelle!

 

 

 

 

Be sure to check out the inspiration by my teamies at Make It Monday or click their links on my right sidebar. As for me, I'm happy to be back in blogland after taking some time off to celebrate the holidays with my family. It was fun to be together again but it's also good to get back into the groove of normal everyday life. ;) 

 

Thanks for dropping by and spending some time with me today! 

 

Hugs,

Lisa xx