Monday, December 28, 2009

Free Shipping Ends Soon

Don't forget the free shipping will end soon. Please accept our gift of Free Shipping for any order placed by December 31st, 2009. Please use Coupon Code SHIPFREE at checkout when it says enter coupon code if you have one (right after it asks how you heard about us).

Over The Moon Monday will return next week. Until then, my wish is that you stay safe, and that you be healthy, happy and prosperous in the New Year.

Monday, December 21, 2009

My Holiday Gift for You


Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays


Please accept our gift of Free Shipping for any order placed by December 31st, 2009. Please use Coupon Code SHIPFREE at checkout when it says enter coupon code if you have one (right after it asks how you heard about us).


Thanks so much for your support. We hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday season.

Over The Moon Monday - Challenge

Good morning! The kids are out of school here, and preparations are almost done for Christmas, but I wanted to leave you with 1 more Christmas offering. And if you don't have any time to play right now, perhaps you could use the idea for a Valentine. Just tweak it a bit to fit the occasion.

Tags are very popular right now, with Tim Holtz doing his 12 Tags of Christmas, and I have seen other websites that are doing the same, so I thought it would be fun to do a tag.For those of you who know me personally, you know I should be the Grunge Queen, because I don't shy away from getting my hands dirty.

For this tag, I spritzed on brown and pink inks, using a paper towel to smoosh them around. Then I used some drywall tape and gesso to add some texture. It still needed a little something for texture, so I used gold acrylic paint with the drywall tape. Then I spritzed the whole thing with gold.

I stamped the Christmas tree onto watercolor paper, then used markers diluted with water to paint it. When it was dry, I carefully cut it out and adhered it to the card. I used stickles to add glitter to the tree and star.

I stamped "Noel" onto the tag, then went over it with a black copic marker, to give it more definition. I also used green stickles to go over the letters to give it more oomph!

I punched out some pink snowflakes, adhered to the tag and then colored with stickles, and added some faux stitching around the edge of the card. I tied a gold ribbon and viola, I was done. The tag is grungy, but also feminine with the pink colors.

I challenge you to use a tag in your art. When you do, please leave a link in the comment section so we can see your artwork.

With the Christmas holiday I may not have a post for next week. Have a blessed Christmas.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Over The Moon Monday

Good morning and welcome to Over The Moon Monday. I can't believe the weather here in Florida. It's less than 2 weeks from Christmas, and it's still in the 80's. We truly need some cooler weather.

I did get some Christmas shopping done. We are only buying for the granddaughters this year, as their dad has been out of work for over 6 months, and money is tight. We try to help them out all we can, so money is tight for us, too. But the girls will be taken care of.

I had the opportunity to work on another Herringbone card (I shared an ATC previously), and wanted to share it with you. I love the look of these cards, each one has a different look, depending on the patterned papers you use. And it's surprisingly easy to achieve.


This week I wanted to work with the Layered Star stamp from My Paper Moon. This is a very versatile stamp, as you can see below.

I stamped the image onto the green, pink and red patterned paper and adhered to cardstock. I stamped the image also onto green solid paper and red solid paper. I cut out the triangles from the green cardstock and adhered to the patterned paper. Then I cut the red triangles out and used pop dots to adhere them over the green triangles. I then cut out the red star medallion from the inside of the image, and adhered it with pop dots to the center. I cut out the small green star and the small red star from the very center, and adhered them with adhesive.

I can make another and adhere it to the back, punch a hole, thread some pretty ribbon and use as an ornament for my tree, or I can adhere to a card and send to a friend. Wouldn't these look beautiful with different Christmas patterned paper and used as Christmas ornaments?

Here are some of the ways you can use this stamp:

Just by cutting the stamped image apart and using pop dots, or making cuts and folds, you can totally change the look of this image. I apologize for the smallness of this image, but it was resized for the website.

I hope you have a wonderful week.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Over The Moon Monday - Technique


Good morning and welcome to another Over The Moon Monday. I hope you had a great weekend. I spent it with my two granddaughters, which was great. We were keeping them overnight so Mom and Dad could go to her company Christmas Party, but decided to get them early and make a day of it. We picked them up, then went to the Flea Market, followed by a late lunch/early dinner at CiCi's Pizza. We did our nails and did card tricks and was silly. On Sunday we watched movies all day. It was great!

For today's card, I chose a technique from the current Technique Junkie's newsletter called Rachel's Coat.


It's basically a Joseph's Coat technique, except you use designer paper for the background. I chose a candy cane striped paper for my background, stamped and clear embossed the snowflakes and saying, then covered it with black ink, removing the ink from the embossed areas. I matted it on a pink cardstock, and used my scalloped edge punch. The whole thing was then adhered to the black cardstock.

I think I will make another, but after matting it on the pink cardstock, I will then adhere it to the same candy-cane striped background paper.

Anyway, the possibilities are endless. I hope you get to try this technique and post a link to it in the comment section.

Happy Crafting!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Countdown to Christmas

Lisa Vollrath is once again doing the countdown to Christmas, with new images every day from December 1 through Christmas. Click here or go here: http://countdown.tentwostudios.com. You will need to check back there every day for the new image.

Enjoy!

Monday, November 30, 2009

Over The Moon Monday - Digital Images

Good morning and welcome to another Over The Moon Monday. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and got some shopping done. Now it's time to sit back with a nice cup of chocolate and relax a bit. The Christmas holidays will soon be upon us, so relax and enjoy it while you can.


I am a diligent reader of a blog called Dear Paperlicious (you can find it in the sidebar to the right). The author is witty and talented, and I enjoy reading her blogs. Last week she had a post about digital images. I rarely use digital images. To me that almost seems like cheating. There is nothing more satisfying that to put ink to rubber and stamp an image. Now, if you are a digital image fan, that's fine. It's just not something I usually do. However. You knew there was going to be a "however", didn't you?

I went to the Daisie Company website, http://www.daisiecompany.com/freebies/xmas.php and downloaded a free digital image. I chose the one of the bank, because I like to make a special card for the bank I do business with, and this one will be more personal.

Here is the card I made.
To make it my own, I used an x-acto knife and cut out the windows and door, then put a piece of clear acetate behind it to look like real window panes, then used glitter glue to make some frost/snow on the panes. I think I will use a black marker to write in the bank name above "Bank & Trust". I used a lot of glitter glue on the card, even though some of it is hard to see in the scan. I think the girls at the bank will like it.

If you use a digital image, why don't you share a link in the comment section?

Have a great week!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving


I am thankful for my family, my friends, my health and well-being. So, from my house to yours, Happy Thanksgiving. I'll be eating way too much turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie to move, but tune in on Monday for a peak at a special Christmas card.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Over The Moon Monday - Challenge

Good morning and welcome to Over The Moon Monday. I hope you had a great weekend. I went to a cookout for my nephew, who just finished Marine Corp boot camp. He has to leave to go back before Thanksgiving, so this was his Thanksgiving dinner. He wanted a cookout so his friends could come and visit with him.

Let's get started with today's challenge, shall we?

From my beginnings in scrapbooking, I have a ton of stickers. For today's challenge, I want you to use a sticker on your card. I needed a card for a baby shower (where the mother doesn't know the sex of the child ahead of time). Not having many baby stamps, I decided to improvise with what I had.

To make this card, I used:

  • 2 pieces of white cardstock, 1 cut to A2 size, and the other 4-3/4 x 3-3/4
  • a piece of green cardstock 5 x 4
  • a contrasting piece of yellow cardstock 3-1/2 x 3-1/2 (you could use patterned paper)
  • a Mrs. Grossman baby carriage sticker
  • Stampin' Up canvas background stamp
  • green dye ink
  • yellow ribbon
  • decorative border punch
  • words are computer generated


I stamped the green cardstock with the green dye ink using the canvas background stamp and set aside. I printed the words onto the yellow cardstock before cutting it out, then placed the baby carriage sticker.

I punched out the edge of the white cardstock, then layered the yellow cardstock close to the edge. I turned back the left edge of the cardstock (in this case by 1/2"), punched 2 holes and threaded my ribbon through it.

I then layered the green cardstock onto the folded white A2 cardstock, and lalyered the white cardstock on top of that.

A pretty simple card, but still looks elegant.

Now let's see what you do with this challenge. Please post a link to your creation in the comment section so we can all enjoy it and be inspired by your creativity.

Last week I got to spend an afternoon with my dear friend, Shelly, and I had a great time. We hardly ever get to see each other, with her illness and my work schedule, so it was really fun to be able to get together.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Don't eat too much turkey, and we'll meet back here next week for another Over The Moon Monday.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Over The Moon Monday - Christmas Cards


Good morning and welcome to another Over The Moon Monday. I have been off work for a few days, so it's going to take me a little while to get back in the saddle, so to speak. I had a productive few days, though. I had some stuff that needed doing at home, but with hubby always underfoot it never seemed to get done.



Today I want to share one of the Christmas cards I have been working on. The stamp set is from Dream Impressions. I don't think they are still in business. I got the set used online. I really like it. I stamped the building onto glossy cardstock, and masked it. Then I masked the bottom part of the cardstock with post-it notes. I brayered an aqua blue onto the top part of the cardstock, then blended in a darker blue towards the top. Then I removed the masks.



I stamped the large star in the sky and heat embossed it with gold. I used glitter glue in the center to give off a star-like shine. I used a white gel pen to make stars in the sky.



For the bottom part of the cardstock, I used various brown markers to make the ground. I wanted it to have a sand-like color, and the textures of the markers on glossy were okay for this application.



I stamped the wise men onto regular cardstock, colored with markers and cut out, adhering them to the card background.


How are you coming along with your Christmas cards? Will you be done in time to mail them out? I have found I'm a little behind, so now I'm rushing to play catch-up. But I'll get them done.

Have a great week!

Monday, November 9, 2009

Over The Moon Monday - Technique


Good morning and welcome to another Over The Moon Monday. This past week I saw a video on making "fluff" for your stamping. So I decided to try it out. It's really quite simple to do, and the results so far have been great.

I have left mine white, so far, and it looks like snow! It has a little sparkle to it, just like real snow. I put it on the large snowflake below. I wish you could see it close up. But, according to the video, you can color it with reinkers to get any color you want, and you can use it for flowers or grass (or anything else you can think of).

To make this wonderful faux product, you simply need white styrofoam balls. I got a bag of them at Michaels so I could try this technique out, but you can get them at any craft store. Then I simply rubbed them together, and they come apart. Do this over a sheet of paper, then transfer the rubbings to a zip lock bag. I left all mine white, but can take out any amount I want to color them for flowers, or grass. It goes a little quicker if you use a kitchen grater with very small holes.

Anyway, the video is here. Or here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_tz3P9NOcY

If you try this out, let me know what you think. I have never tried Flower Soft, so I really can't compare, but leave us a comment with your observations.

Have a great week!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Over The Moon Monday - Faux Marble


Good morning! I hope everyone had a safe Halloween. The consensus with most of you was that you liked the green background on last week's card.

I hope everyone remembered to set their clocks back this weekend. Daylight Savings Time is my hubby's biggest pet peeve. He says it gets his body and his routing all out of sync, and he complains for at least 2 weeks when the time changes. He's not as bad in the fall as he is in the spring.


Let's get on with today's card. I used the Faux Marble technique, which can be found in this month's Technique Junkie newsletter. If you aren't a member, you should check it out. Pat always has lots of interesting techniques, and I like the fact that it comes to you at home in a colored brochure, and there are lots of samples and bonus tutorials online. Instead of using a marker to make the marble veins, I used a cube stamp (Stampendous)I had had for awhile. I used 2 colors of brown inkpads with scrunched up waxed paper to make the marble. I really like the way it turned out. Just wad the waxed paper up and tap it on your inkpad. I did the light color first, then re-scrunched up the paper again and tapped it into the darker color. There is still plenty of the background showing through, so you don't need to feel like you have to get color on every little bit of cardstock.

The Autumn stamp is from The Angel Company. I used a nestability punch to punch out the white cardstock and the background. I colored the stamped area with copic markers.

I matted the whole thing onto copper stardream cardstock. I was pretty happy with the results.

Have a great week. And craft something.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Halloween Card #2

Good morning! This is the re-make of the halloween card I showed you yesterday. This time I used a green background and put yellow behind the windows. I added some "mist" to the sky and put a spider in the upstairs window.

Which do you like best? Please leave a comment and let me know.

Happy Haunting....

Monday, October 26, 2009

Over The Moon Monday - Halloween Challenge

I hope you had a restful weekend. One of my favorite holidays is coming. Can you guess what it is? If you guessed Halloween, you are absolutely right. My husband and I usually dress up to hand out candy to the little trick or treaters, although I don't think that's going to happen this year. We have also been known to attend a party or two (and even win prizes), but that's not going to happen either. We have made some pretty elaborate costumes over the years, and always enjoy it.

Anyway, I wanted to share a card that I made using my cuttlebug. As usual, after I finished the card, there were a few things I would have done differently, but I still like the way it turned out.
To begin, I ran a sheet of white cardstock through the cuttlebug, using the haunted house template. Then I smeared purple ink over it. (This is one of the things I would do differently - I would just use purple cardstock next time.) Set this aside to dry.
  • Then I ran a piece of black cardstock through the haunted house embossing folder. I took an exacto knife and cut out all the windows and around the door, and I cut out the basic haunted house shape. I smeared white Brilliance ink on this to give it a grungy look.
  • I put green cardstock behind all the cut out windows, and put a little glitter on it to give it some shine. Then I adhered the black cardstock to the background.
  • I cut out the moon with an exacto knife from the purple background. I put a piece of yellow cardstock behind the cut out circle, and added some depth and shading with copic markers.
  • While I was at it, I colored the bats black, and used a white gel pen to make white dots for their eyes. When the white was dry, I colored over the white with red marker, making them have red eyes.
  • I took a gold gel pen and colored in the fence on the roof and also to the left of the house. Also, the balls on the top of the house.
  • I used a silver gel pen to color the stair rail on the right side of the house. I also colored in the shutters.
  • I stamped a ghost border from My Paper Moon, and cut out a couple of the ghosts. I used pop dots to make them stand out.
  • I used a white gel pen to write "Happy Halloween" on the bottom of the card. (I had a small stamp, but it didn't look quite right.).
  • All in all, I like the way this turned out. I think I might make one with a bright green sky background and see how that looks.

    I hope you have enjoyed the card today. If you have a halloween card to share, please post a link in the comment section.

    I have added some more cards to the gallery at My Paper Moon. I hope you have some time to take a look and let me know what you think. If you have any cards that use My Paper Moon stamps and would like to see them in the gallery, please email me or post a link in the comment section. I'd like to see them, too.

    Have a great week!

    Monday, October 19, 2009

    Over The Moon Monday - Technique


    Good afternoon and welcome to another Over The Moon Monday.

    I am totally enjoying the cooler weather. I have the windows open and the air conditioner turned off. Can I tell you how much energy I have with the cooler weather? I feel like "spring cleaning".

    I am having internet issues, so I will go ahead and get on with today's card. I like this card because you can cut 3 from a 12 x 12 piece of cardstock, and the finished card fits in a #10 envelope.

    Anyway, to get started, you will need a piece of cardstock cut 4" x 12". I used a color that coordinated with the background paper I was going to use. On the 12" side, go in 3" and score so that you can fold the flap over. (This is the part that "To A Very Special Friend" is attached to.) Next I cut a piece of light olive cardstock 8-3/4" x 3-3/4" and adhered it to the base cardstock. I cut a piece of coral cardstock 8-1/2" x 3-1/2" and adhered to the olive cardstock.

    For the outside flap, I cut a piece of patterned paper 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" and adhere to the flap. I stamped "To A Very Special Friend" (Hero Arts) onto light olive cardstock with lettuce dye ink. I trimmed to fit and adhered to the patterned paper.


    Using the same patterned paper, I put a piece onto the coral cardstock.

    I brushed white gesso on a piece of white cardstock, and left brush marks. While this was still wet, I applied pearl-ex in a gold and interference green to give it some shine. The texture is great, also.

    Then I stamped the birds on a limb (Inkadinkadoo) with black permanent ink and trimmed the cardstock. I used a needle to punch holes in the ends of the cardstock, and ran a black inkpad around the edges, then adhered to the patterned paper.

    When you are finished with the card, there is room to open the flap and write a note to the recipient.

    I hope I have inspired you to create something this week. If you do, please post a link in the comment section. Happy Crafting!

    Monday, October 12, 2009

    Over The Moon Monday - Sponging Tips



    Good morning and welcome to another Over the Moon Monday. Did you have a good week? The weekend was great...too short, but great. I am having computer issues, and it's driving me nuts. For the last year I have used both McAfee Virus Scan and Webroot Spysweeper together with no problems. I had to renew my McAfee and now I learn they are not compatible, so I have to decide which one to use. I like them both. If you have any experience with either one, please email me or leave me a comment on why you like it.

    Today I want to give you some tips on sponging. It's a very simple technique, but can give you lots of interesting results. In the card sample below, I have used a couple of different sponging techniques.

    I sponged a light blue onto the background cardstock (with the swirls). I sponged the sky and also the grass. I used a green marker to draw in the distinct blades of grass.

    Types of sponges:
    • cosmetic/facial sponges
    • porous everyday sponges
    • natural sponges
    • bathtoy sponges

    Methods of use:

    • cut or tear sponges to get different textures.
    • use sponges either dry or slightly dampened with water.
    • use different amounts of pressure to get darker or lighter effects
    • tapping, smudging, smearing and circular motions are all ways to get different effects and textures.

    Stamping tips:

    • sponge around paper masks which you have cut or torn to create cloud-filled vistas. Then sponge on a bit of light blue, pink or violet to accent clouds.
    • sponge through paper doilies, lace, or netting for a delicate Victorial look. You can also make borders using sponging and masks.
    • for beautiful grass, sponge on shadings to lay down base colors of greens, blues and yellows. Then use a grass stamp for distinct blades (or use a marker to make blades). Stamp it over and over without re-inking to add depth.
    • sponge over nautical designs to give them the impression of being under water, in fog, etc.
    • use the full width of the sponge for large areas or backgrounds or cut your sponge into your own design, such as a star or heart. For example, you can create a brick wall by using a small rectangular piece of dry sponge.
    • use your sponges slightly damp instead of dry, for a softer, more blended look.

    I hope you can use some of these tips. You can leave a link under the comment section on this blog.

    Have a great week!






    Monday, October 5, 2009

    Over The Moon Monday - Technique

    Good morning and welcome to another Over The Moon Monday. I hope you had a great weekend. Did you do anything fun? Just leave a comment and let us know!

    Today we will be doing a technique with striped paper. This gives you a whole new way to use up that striped paper you didn't like, and I think you will like the results. I happened to need a birthday card, and wanted to try out the technique anyway, so I just combined the two. Let's get started, shall we?

    Supplies you will need:

    • striped patterned paper
    • stamp of your choice
    • coloring media of your choice
    • embellishments to compliment your design
    • adhesive (the xyron works great for this)
    • cardstock base (to adhere the strips)
    • cardstock for the card

    To begin with, you will need to get out your striped paper. You will need more than the standard 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 because you are going to turn the paper at an angle to cut the first set of strips. You can cut these strips as wide as you want. I chose to cut mine about 3/4". After you cut 3 or 4 strips (depending on the width of the strips you cut), turn your paper 90 degrees and cut 3 or 4 more strips. As you can see on my first attempt at this technique, I didn't get my paper turned a whole 90 degrees, but I like the effect anyway.

    Now you will adhere your first strip of paper to the cardstock base. Next pick a piece of the paper that was cut on a 90 degree angle and adhere it next to your first strip. Now pick up a strip like the first one and adhere it, so that you form an alternating pattern with the strips.

    When you are finished, trim off any excess paper that is hanging over the edges, and adhere to your card. You could change the degree you turn the paper, creating different looks.

    Now you are ready to finish your card using an image of your choice.

    Share your creations with us by posting a link...and enjoy the rest of your week!

    Monday, September 28, 2009

    Over The Moon Monday - Pick 3 Challenge



    Good morning and welcome to another Over The Moon Monday. I hope you've had a great week. It was a busy one for me, but I got to enjoy some good barbeque at Q-Fest this weekend, so that was a lot of fun. My oldest granddaughter has had the flu and been out of school all week and she had cabin fever, so she spent Saturday and Sunday with me, and we had a great time.

    This will be another Pick 3 challenge this week. I love the variety you get when you have multiple things to choose from. So, without further ado, here are the 6 things for you to choose from:
    • Webbing Spray
    • The color purple
    • Glitter
    • Ribbon
    • Something nautical
    • Cuttlebug folder

    That's a pretty eclectic group of items. And you only have to pick 3 for your creation.

    For my card, I chose the webbing spray (I always forget I have this), ribbon, and something nautical (stamp from TAC).

    This is a card I made for a friend's husband, who had been ill. Masculine cards are sometimes difficult to make, but this one came together nicely. To begin, I took a piece of light blue cardstock and sponged some blue ink on it randomly. Then I sprayed gold webbing spray on it. I always forget I have the webbing spray, and I love the way it looks when I do remember I have it.

    I used alcohol ink in denim and stonewash on a piece of glossy cardstock, then stamped the ship with permanent ink. I let it dry, then distressed the edges. I mounted this on white cardstock for a fram, and distressed the edges of that cardstock, also.

    I punched out a buckle from a scrap of white cardstock, and embossed it with white embossing powder to make a white buckle that had some texture. I threaded a piece of navy ribbon with white polka dots through the buckle and adhered to the webbed cardstock. I mounted my ship on top of that and I was done. It looks much better in real life.

    Why don't you choose 3 items from the above list, make a card, and share a link with us here in the comment section. I'd love to see what you do with it.

    I also want to mention that I am creating a gallery on my website, so you will be able to see card samples made using My Paper Moon stamps. Check it out here. If you have a card or project made using stamps from My Paper Moon, and you would like to see it in the gallery, please send me a scan and I will be happy to upload it. Check back often, as I am just getting started uploading the cards, and it takes awhile...

    Monday, September 21, 2009

    Over The Moon Monday - Pick 3 Challenge

    Good morning! I hope you had a great weekend. I am so wishing for cooler weather. I am tired of the heat...by this time of the year I am so over it. I'm thinking it's kind of the same as some of our northern friends being over the winter, only in reverse.

    Did you do anything fun this weekend?

    Now, on to the weekly challenge....another Pick 3 Challenge. In case you haven't participated before, here is how it works. I will give you 6 items to choose from. You need to pick 3 and use them on your card. Then, you can post a link to your creation in the comments section so we can all enjoy it.

    Here are the items to choose from:
    • a rectangle shape
    • a buckle
    • anything with stripes
    • frame of any kind
    • buttons
    • chipboard

    That gives you a pretty wide variety of items to choose from. The three I chose were the rectangle shape, stripes, and a frame.

    The card is pretty self explanatory. The striped paper is a patterned scrapbook paper from the Dollar Tree. The rectangle shape and the frame are red cardstock that have been punched with a nestability scalloped rectangle die. The image is Jimmy Pin Drop from My Paper Moon. The whole thing is layered on a red card.

    I made this card for my great-nephew, who is enduring Marine boot camp. I thought the guy with the big ear was perfect, since I hadn't heard from him yet and I'm "all ears" waiting on a letter.

    Come on, share your creation with us....and have a great week!

    Monday, September 14, 2009

    Over The Moon Monday - Pick 3 Challenge

    Good morning, and welcome to another Over The Moon Monday. I hope you had a good weekend.

    I love the Pick 3 Challenges. I think they give you a lot of lattitude, yet still have some confines. And the possibilities are endless. So, today we will have another Pick 3 Challenge. Are you up for it?

    Okay, let's go. Today's options are:
    • The color purple
    • Gemstones (crystals)
    • Ribbon
    • Border Punch
    • Pearl Ex
    • Leaves

    I have chosen the color purple, ribbon, and a border punch for my 3 choices. Below is the card I made:

    The coloring is off because I used pop dots to raise the cat sitting in the window. It doesn't really look like I singed the paper in real life

    I used a Copic Marker to color the ribbon the same color as the night time sky. I used a white gel pen to make the centers of the stars, and I used a Martha Stewart border punch to punch the bottom of the patterned paper. I used tiny pearls to make a collar for the cat, just to give it a little pizzaz.

    I hope you take the time to do something crafty this week.

    Monday, September 7, 2009

    Over The Moon Monday - Technique Challenge



    Good morning and welcome to another Over The Moon Monday.



    Happy Labor Day! I have the day off, and I hope to spend it doing something fun. Yesterday we had a cookout with my daughter and her family, and that was a lot of fun. We don't do things like that often enough.

    I've had intermittent issues with the internet, and so I won't be spending much time surfing the web.

    Today I want to share a technique called Double Cuttlebugging. If you like the shabby chic look, you'll like this one.


    To begin, I chose a cuttlebug folder (d'vine swirls) and ran my cardstock through it. I used a blue colored cardstock. When it was embossed, I ran a black inkpad over the raised area, which highlights the swirls. When the ink was dry, I took my bone folder and ran it over the cardstock so that it was flat again.

    I ran the cardstock through the cuttlebug again, this time using a floral embossing folder. I again ran a black inkpad over the embossed area.

    I added some irridescent sprays to the cardstock to give it a shimmer.

    I stamped "Wish" (TAC) onto a piece of shimmery paper, rounded the corners on one side, and adhered to the embossed cardstock with 3 brads.

    I trimmed and mounted the embossed piece onto a light brown cardstock.

    I hope you have a wonderful holiday today...

    Monday, August 31, 2009

    Over The Moon Monday - Pick 3 Challenge

    Good morning and welcome to another Over The Moon Monday. We had some pretty bad storms during the night, and the electricity went off often. Which means every time it went off, I had to get up and reset the alarm clock. It's funny that I would wake up when it went off, but I guess with all the rain and lightning and thunder I wasn't sleeping the best. Anyway, I did manage to get up on time this morning.

    Several years ago I became friends with a salesman that came into the office where I work, and after he retired, he still kept in touch with us. I'm sorry to say that he didn't get to enjoy his retirement very long before he became ill, and I used to send him cards frequently from all of us here at work. His wife told my brother that he enjoyed those cards immensely and always kept them where he could see them. I'm sorry to say that George passed away recently. He was the kind of person who always had a smile and a joke, and he will be greatly missed.

    I wanted to make a special card for his wife, so I chose the Fossil Stone technique for the background. I love the way the background always comes out different, but beautiful. I don't think I have ever seen a bad background, even if you use funky colors. For my card I wanted to use muted earthy colors, so I used browns, yellows, tans, and greens.

    I squirted small amounts of those colors of reinkers into my "fossil folder" (a page protector that has been cut upon on one side to allow easy access), closed the folder and squished a bit with my fingers just to gently blend the colors. Then I cut my glossy cardstock into 6 pieces. I put the first set of pieces back to back and put into the folder and pressed, making sure I got most of the cardstock covered with color. I did the same thing with the other 2 sets of cardstock. As you can see, each successive time a new set of cardstock went into the folder, the colors became more muted and muddied. After they have dried, you can use them for fabulous backgrounds.

    I like the fact that any imperfections (bubbles, lines, etc.), will show up in the colors, hence the name fossil stone. It looks like little fossils in the paper.

    I chose to use the last set I made because of the muted colors.



    I used a dark brown cardstock as the base of the card. I stamped a large dragonfly onto my fossil stone background. I mounted this onto a dark green carstock. I tore the bottom edge of the green cardstock, and used a black inkpad to go over the torn edge to give it depth. I stamped "With Deepest Sympathy" (from Hero Arts, I believe) with a pigment ink and then heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. I mounted this onto the dark brown cardstock and I was done.

    I hope you have a crafty week!


    Monday, August 24, 2009

    Over The Moon Monday


    Here it is, another Monday. Where does the time go? The weeks go by so quickly, and sometimes it doesn't even seem like I had a weekend. Do you ever feel that way?

    The granddaughters started back to school today. I think they were very happy...they were quite bored there at the end. I can't wait to get home and see how their first day went.

    I have a new blog award, thanks to my friend Andrea!




    A big thanks for the award.


    With this prestigious award comes the fine print: In order to accept this award you must:


    1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award


    2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog


    3. Link the person who nominated you for this award


    4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting


    5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers


    6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate


    7. Leave comments on all 7 blogs letting then know you nominated them


    Here are my 7 Kreativ Bloggers:




    1. Paper Friendly

    2. Inky Hugz

    3. Amazing Paper Grace

    4. Stampin' with Markie's Mom

    5. Mel Stampz

    6. It's All Rosy

    7. Artistic Extras


    And my 7 ”interesting” things about me:


    1. I love pizza.


    2. I can tie the stem of a cherry into a knot with my tongue.


    3. I work during the day as an office manager in an automotive repair shop.


    4. I own my own rubber stamp company


    5. I met my husband on the internet.


    6. I play the piano.


    7. Sweet tea is my all-time favorite beverage. (No lemon, please)


    Thanks for all the inspiration ladies! Keep it up! Love you all!

    I received a beautiful spirelli ornament from a lovely lady who I had the pleasure of doing business with. I ordered some stamps (imagine that!), and she undercharged me on the postage. I sent her a check for the difference, and she told me that nobody had ever offered to pay the difference when she undercharged them. And she sent me this lovely spirelli ornament.


    (I didn't get the picture cleaned up too well).

    Have a creative week!

    Monday, August 17, 2009

    Over The Moon Monday - Pick 3 Challenge


    Good afternoon! Wow, what a weekend. My dear hubby was ill and I didn't get a chance to stamp all weekend! I think I'm having serious withdrawals. He never gets sick nor complains of being sick, and when he got me up at 3 a.m. Saturday morning to go to Wal-Mart to get him something for the pain, I knew he was really ill. It started with a sore throat, and he stayed home from work on Friday (another thing he NEVER does). He told me later he almost had me take him to the emergency room, that's how severe his throat hurt. He's allergic to doctors, so I can only imagine how sick he really is. He's home again today, but I went to work.

    Anyway, on to our weekly challenge. Today is another Pick 3 Challenge. In case you are new, this is how it works. I will list 6 items and it's your job to choose 3 and make a card or project using those 3 items. Todays items are:
    • something night time
    • swirls
    • buttons
    • the color yellow
    • corner punch
    • jewels

    I chose something nighttime, the color yellow, and jewels. I stamped the nighttime window stamp from My Paper Moon onto white cardstock. Using copic markers, I colored the moon and sky. I used a glitter pen to color the stars. I stamped the same image again, and cut out the cat, which I adhered with pop dots.

    While I was at it, I used tiny jewels to make a collar for the cat. I put crystal glitter glue on the moon, which added a little pizzaz. I matted the image onto yellow cardstock, which I then matted onto light blue cardstock. I stamped and cut out the sentiment (from Sparkle and Sprinkle), colored the star and outlined the banner. I used pop dots to adhere it to the blue mat. I then matted this onto black cardstock.

    On the white cardstock, I stamped a swirl stamp from The Angel Company (retired), and mounted the whole thing onto a black card.

    It's your turn. Stamp something using 3 of the above items and share your creation with a link in the comment section. I can't wait to see what you come up with.

    Hope you have a crafty week!

    Monday, August 10, 2009

    Over The Moon Monday - Pick 3 Challenge


    Happy Monday! I'm glad to see you join me for another Over The Moon Monday Pick 3 Challenge.

    But first, I want to tell you about my couple of days with my granddaughters. We had a blast. We went swimming, shopping, had lunch out both days, and saw G-Force, which is a delightful movie. They had a really good time, and they are all set for going back to school, since we got both school supplies and school clothes. Their dad was laid off from his job recently, so I was happy to be able to help out.

    Also, I am thinking of renaming the blog. I would like you to submit names and maybe we can have a contest to pick out the new name...post your suggestions to the comment section.

    Now on to the challenge.

    It has been soooo hot lately, and I wanted to stamp something that was cool. I have these stamps that I got some years ago at a convention, and I have the sheet that goes with them, but there isn't a name on it anywhere (and I didn't think to write it down at the time), so I have no idea who makes these stamps. But they were perfect for my purpose.

    For this weeks challenge, pick 3 of the following:
    • acetate
    • lace
    • beads
    • circle punch
    • the color orange
    • brads
    Here is my creation, using acetate, the color orange, and beads.

    Now, let me tell you how I made it. First I stamped the citrus stamp on white cardstock for the background. I randomly stamped it with yellow ink, orange ink, and lime green ink. Then I colored in the images with their respective color markers, leaving some of the white show (like in real citrus).

    I stamped the margarita onto white cardstock, and colored it with markers, cutting off the top part of the image (where it's supposed to be the clear glass). Then I stamped the whole margarita onto acetate, using black staz-on ink. Be careful in this step because it will have a tendency to slide. I let that dry, then glued the colored margarita onto the back side of the acetate. Now it looks like I have a real margarita in a glass.

    I applied glue to the top edge of the margarita glass and adhered clear glass micro beads and let dry. This looks so much like the salt on the rim of a margarita.

    Next I stamped a section piece of citrus and colored it to look like a lime. I used pop dots to adhere the lime and the margarita to the front of the card, giving it a dimensional look. I matted it onto yellow cardstock and lime green cardstock, and stamped "Cheers" on the inside.

    Now, let's see what you came up with...post a link in the comment section to your creation so we can all admire it and get inspiration.

    Have a great week!

    Monday, August 3, 2009

    Over The Moon Monday - Pick 3 Challenge

    Good morning! Welcome to another Over The Moon Monday here at the blog.

    I was a little disappointed that I didn't have any suggestions for having a fun time with my granddaughters, but we will manage to have a fun time anyway. I plan on taking them to the beach (even though I hate the sand), one day, and to see G-Force and school shopping at the mall another day. That way both are happy. :-) It's sometimes hard because of the age difference (one is 6 and the other 12), but I think we will all 3 have a good time.

    It's another Pick 3 Challenge day, so here are the choices:
    • flower
    • scalloped edge
    • the color pink
    • a person stamp (man, woman, child, etc.)
    • newsprint or a page from an old book
    • something lacy
    Here is my creation. I used some cardstock by Basic Grey, and although you can't tell it, I sponged brown ink on the left side of the card also. The cardstock already contained the writing.




    I love the Rachel stamp, and use it quite often. Today I stamped her on a page from an old book I had previously altered. I used Tattered Rose Distress Ink on the page before I stamped the image, so it would have some color. I colored her in with alcohol ink markers. I stamped a flourish from Cherry Pie Art Stamps and took a tiny hole punch and punched some holes in the flourish so the cardstock underneath would show through. I then stamped "dream", a stamp from My Paper Moon. I also tore the edges and applied brown ink, then matted it on a scrap of cardstock that had previously been run though the cuttlebug with an embossing folder and distressed. (If you visit Cherry Pie, tell Marina I sent you).

    I mounted the whole thing onto the distressed Basic Grey paper and adhered a golden rose at the corner. It turned out really nice. I like the way the printed paper comes through the stamped images.

    I hope you take some time this week to play. I will be playing with my granddaughters for at least a couple of days, and I'm sure we'll have fun.