TMS26: It's Your Day!

Melissa had a fun sketch this week on Tuesday Morning Sketches (see here) . I flipped the sketch and moved the sentiment to the other side since it seemed to fit there better. The card has no embellishing except for glitter; I wanted to go with something else, but just couldn't find the right thing.... Anybody have any ideas?

I have quite a collection of Stampendous Calendar Chicks; I bought one and was hooked! Besides being darling, they are fun to color. Today I colored with my Prismas/Goo Gone; I really liked how the chick turned out this time, I was able to do a bit of shading.... I also used the American Crafts DP I found on an out-of-town shopping trip; I wish I would have bought more...I love the colors!

Image: Stampendous "Bertha Chick"
Sentiment: Hero Arts
Paper: PTI Sweet Blush, Dark Chocolate, G.P. White, American Crafts DP
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Embellies: Martha Stewart Crystal Fine Glitter
Extras: Prismas/Goo Gone, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Foam Tape

Thanks for visiting! Have a fun, safe New Year's Eve!

Stella Needs a Prezzie

I like to participate in the Stamping Bella challenges because I just love the stamps! They are fun and make me smile! I just beat the deadline of 12-31-09 with this one; it was a sketch challenge (see here) . I again used the paper piecing technique. Other than ribbon and a bit of glitter, I choose not to embellish further because I didn't want to detract from this fun technique. I have long been a fan of pink/orange, so I choose to pull those colors from the DP.

Stella is colored with Crayolas/Prismas/Goo Gone. Most stampers who know me know that coloring is not really my forte. I have recently been practicing my shading.... I have found that even when I am not trying to shade, the Goo Gone works well to blend the colored image for a smoother finish. I also dotted her eyes with a black glaze pen; a trick I learned from my friend Larissa.

Image: Stamping Bella "stella needs a prezzie"
Paper: SU! Pink Pirouette and Pumpkin Pie, PTI Vintage Cream, My Mind's Eye DP
Embellies: SU! Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain Ribbon, PTI Orange Zest Grosgrain Ribbon, Doodlebug Yellow Glitter, Martha Stewart Crystal Fine Glitter, Sakura Black Glaze Pen


I found when putting this card together that the SU! Pumpkin Pie and PTI Orange Zest ribbons were a perfect match! Can you believe it?! I am a fan of both companies papers/ribbons and have noticed that many of the colors are quite similar. I wish I had some Orange Zest paper to compare with my Pumpkin Pie, but I forgot to order the paper when I ordered the ribbon. It would really be interesting to put them side by side....

High Hopes Card Kit Swap

I'm participating in a swap on SCS (see here) and have been working on the kits for my 2 spots. My kids help to do the cutting and embossing. It's a win-win; I get help and they get a little extra spending money! Kit #1 features the pizza guy; I just love his heart-shaped pie! This is what the finished kit looks like all packaged up; it's a bit hard to see because of the shiny baggie.

These next 2 shots show what's inside the kit:

Image/Sentiment: High Hopes

Paper: Flair Designs DP

SU! Ruby Red CS

PTI Dark Chocolate CS

Embellies: Wright's Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon

Red Organdy Ribbon

Spare Parts Antique Gold Brads

PTI Buttons

Extras: Cuttlebug Heart Embossing Folder

SU! Photo Corner and Round Tab Punches

QuicKutz Frankie Alphabet (Amore)

I like to include a list like this detailing what's in the kits, along with my name. I hope the other swappers like them!

Ooops, I forgot the cards!!!

Here they are....

A Fun CASE....

I was visiting my friend Jessica's blog and came across a pretty card that really intrigued me. See here. I have always loved piecing, whether in the form of fabric or paper. (I had great plans for quilting but found that after I had cut and pieced the fabric, I no longer had any interest in the rest of the process....) Thankfully with paper it goes together much faster and easier. It was actually quite fun; just cut varying widths of paper and glue them to a base. Actually I believe you are supposed to use scraps for this, but I am really loving this Bella Blvd. DP right now and ended up cutting from new 12 x 12 sheets!

My first card was very basic: PTI Kraft base, pieced panel, SU! Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon and a Stampendous sentiment stamped with SU! Chocolate Chip.

For my second card, I thought it would be fun to mat the panel using PTI Dark Chocolate. I also added a candle which is a really fun and inexpensive embellie. I believe the box of 36 Cake Mate candles was 69 cents at our local grocery store. The sentiment is from Pink Cat Studio.

I used a larger panel for my third card and found a cute sentiment from my Pink Cat Studio stash. I thought the ring of stars around the sentiment really complemented the paper; the stars are colored and accented with Doodlebug yellow glitter. I cut it out with my Nestabilities and mounted it with foam tape over a band of PTI Dark Chocolate satin ribbon.

I found this was a really fun technique and will definitely do it again! The possibilities are endless....

Have a great day!

Smells like cake....

I was in the mood to create something non-Christmas and remembered this fun sketch. It is from The Cat's Pajamas Tuesday Challenge, dated 12-15-09. See here. I love this Bella Blvd. DP; it has such a wonderful variety of colors and today I choose to bring out the orange. I used SU! Pumpkin Pie CS and grosgrain ribbon, and some sparkly Bella Dots. I also added some Martha Stewart Crystal Fine Glitter which has a great subtle sparkle; it kind of looks like granulated sugar. Just for fun, I finished it off with a candle! The adorable penguins are from TCP "Smells like Cake" clear set and are stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Crayola colored pencils (a long-standing favorite of mine!). What do you think? Can you smell the cake?!

Welcome!!!

Welcome to "Just Monkeying Around...."! I have been wanting to join the blogging world for quite some time now and thought there's no time like the present.... I just hope to enjoy the creative venture and learn and grow as I go.

On SCS I am known as monkeymama and that name originated from my 2 kids who we call our little monkeys. They are not so little now, but the name has stuck. I have long enjoyed crafting of one kind or another and have been stamping for over 11 years now. I call it my "therapeautic recreation". Sit back and enjoy; I hope you will visit often.