All bummed out?

I made time to do the SCS Bella Sketch Challenge today. I love to play along with those; plus one of the participants wins $15 in Bella Bucks! What could be better than that?

As I was looking through my stamps, I came across this one and decided I would do some paper piecing too. I found this paper on a recent shopping trip and just fell in love with it; it's so dainty! I thought it would be perfect for baby jammies. I included a close up so you could see the texture.

I had a heck of a time figuring out what to use for an embellishment. I searched and searched for a certain flower punch and after I finally found it, I didn't like it. I punched a bunch of different flowers and nothing seemed right. I finally settled on this flower; it was only after I crumpled it up that it seemed to work.

Image/Sentiment: Stamping Bella

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper: PTI Stamper's Select, SU! Melon Mambo and Garden Green, g.c.d studios DP

Embellies: SU! Sizzlits Dies "Floral Fusion" and "Little Leaves", Spare Parts Brad

Extras: Crayolas/Goo Gone, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in "Pearl"

I hope you had a great weekend!

Angela

Paper: PTI Stamper's Select, SU! Melon Mambo and Garden Green, g.c.d studios DP

Embellies: SU! Sizzlits Dies Floral Fusion and Little Leaves, Spare Parts Brad

Extras: Crayolas/Goo Gone, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in "Pearl"

Hebrews 11:1

Good Sunday morning to you!

My card today is a combination of 2 challenges:
1. Mojo Monday---sketch challenge; we could make a round or square card.
2. Tuesday Morning Sketches---color challenge; the colors were cream, brown and light orange. The suggestion was SU! Apricot Appeal; I took out a sheet and I just wasn't feeling it, so I opted for Groovy Guava instead.

This card was pretty simple; I went with a dot theme as the DP, the embossed CS and the butterfly all have varying sizes of dots. The butterfly is by Cuttlebug; first you use the die to cut the shape, then you have a choice of 4 folders to emboss with. I have had the set for a long time, but hadn't used it; it's really pretty neat. I embellished with some satin ribbon and Swarovski flatbacks.

Sentiment: Verve
Ink: Palette Burnt Umber
Paper: PTI Vintage Cream and Dark Chocolate, SU! Groovy Guava CS and DSP
Embellies: PTI Dark Chocolate Satin Ribbon, Swarovski Flatback Crystals in "Smokey Topaz"
Extras: Spellbinders Nestabilities, Cuttlebug Swiss Dot Embossing Folder and Butterflies Cut and Emboss

I am still stuggling with the photo...contrast and all that good stuff.... I know what looks bad, but not always how to make it look good!

I hope you enjoy your Sunday!

Angela

Easter Greetings from The Cat's Pajamas

Good morning!

I received my order from All That Scraps (ATS) this week and this fun set was included. When I first saw Sprinkle the cat, I was hooked on The Cat's Pajamas stamps. Since then they have introduced the penguins and I love them too!

I used this weeks sketch challenge over on SCS; SC269. This is also for TCP Tuesday challenge which was to make a spring card. I don't know about you, but I am ready for spring!

The image is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Prismas/Goo Gone. The little eggs were stamped on a scrap, colored, and cut out...let me tell you, they are miniature! I had a hard time holding onto them to cut them out! I added a bit of "Pink Smoothie" glitter to the large egg.

Image: The Cat's Pajamas
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: PTI Stamper's Select and Dark Chocolate, SU! Soft Sky, The Paper Studio DP
Embellies: PTI Dark Chocolate Satin Ribbon, Barbara Trombley's Art Glitter in "Pink Smoothie"
Extras: Prismas/Goo Gone, Spellbinders Nestabilities, EK Success 3D Dots

I am trying to improve the quality of my pictures and it's very hard for me; I just don't have the "eye" for it like some do. Some of my SCS friends have been helping me; if you have any tips, be sure to leave a comment as it would be much appreciated!

Have a great Saturday! Thanks for stopping by!

Angela

It's Bellarific Friday!

Happy Friday!

Our challenge this week was Olympics or Winter Sports. I went with "Glideabella" and a layout that I use often for the Bella stamps; it works really well with tall, thin stamps. Glideabella is colored with Prismas/Goo Gone and I used Spellbinders dies to make the snowflake embellie. I couldn't find a cream colored brad for the center of the snowflake, so I used a small circle punch and glittered it up. The taupe colored paper says "Winter Wonderland" on it; it's very faint in the picture.

Image: Stamping Bella "Glideabella"
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: PTI Vintage Cream, SU! Cranberry Crisp, KI Memories DP, Kelly Panacci DP
Embellies: PTI Vintage Cream Grosgrain Ribbon, SU! Burgundy Grosgrain Ribbon, Barbara Trombley's Art Glitter in "Angel Dust"
Extras: Spellbinders Snowflake Dies, Foam Tape

I hope you will head over to Em's blog to check out the other entries for this week: Blogabella

Thanks for stopping by today; have a great Friday!

Angela

Secret Sister Fun

Happy Monday! Today was indeed a happy day for me...I received a package from my Secret Sister! I hadn't even posted the pictures of the goodies from the last package, so here they are.

The first picture shows all the goodies that were in the box; there were 3 awesome Valentine's card kits, a package of cards/envies, a beautiful shaker card, and a box of decorated Hershey Nuggets (my favorite candy!).

The second picture shows the card close-up. Isn't it gorgeous?! The colors are so beautiful and when you shake it, you can see the red and silver glitter! I love it!

I will post pictures of what came today at a later date. I just wanted to share my fun and to encourage you to try out a Secret Sister swap if you ever get the chance. It's fun putting the goodies together to send, getting happy mail, and hearing about what everyone else gets too!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope your week is off to a great start!

Angela

MOJO126: Bundle of love

Hello again!

I was able to combine 2 challenges with this card:
1. Mojo Monday sketch challenge. Julee always has awesome sketches!
2. ...just a little something... paper piecing challenge. I like to follow TCP DT blogs and I found this on Joanne's blog. She will be having her 3rd Blogaversary and is holding weekly challenges! Fun!

I didn't exactly follow the sketch with this one; it was supposed to have a row of scallops on the top and bottom, but I thought it was just too busy, so I left them off. They probably would have worked if I had done less layering with the card base.

Image/Sentiment: Verve "Practically Perfect"
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: PTI Vintage Cream, SU! Pretty in Pink and Pumpkin Pie, My Mind's Eye DP
Embellies: SU! Pumpkin Grosgrain Ribbon, Barbara Trombley's Art Glitter in "Pink Smoothie"
Extras: Crayolas/Prismas/Goo Gone, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Foam Tape

Thanks for stopping by!

Angela

Hang in there...

Hey there! I have a Christmas card to show you today. The sketch is from the Inspired Crafters challenge blog; a bunch of my PTI friends got together and hold weekely challenges. Most are scrapbooking, but there are a few card sketches thrown in as well. The idea is to get ahead on those Christmas cards for next year. The sketch this week was Jen's; check out her blog here.

I don't know about all of you, but I know that I tend to get a bit stressed out over the holidays. I try to do too much in too little time, so I thought the sentiment "Hang in there..." was appropriate.

Changito is colored with pencils/Goo Gone and embellished with a bit of glitter. The ornament is paper pieced and there is a touch of glitter on there as well. I love this Making Memories DP; it's fun and funky!

Image/Sentiment: Stampendous
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: PTI Stamper's Select and Vintage Cream, SU! Basic Black and Cranberry Crisp, Making Memories DP "Mistletoe" Collection
Embellies: PTI Vintage Cream Twill, Barbara Trombley's Art Glitter in "Polar Bear", Martha Stewart Crystal Fine Glitter
Extras: Spellbinders Nestabilities, Foam Tape

I used white to stamp the image on and cream for the card base. I never used to mix the two, but I am finding that I like them mixed together. What do you think? Do you ever mix them, or do you go with one or the other?

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope your day is a great one!

Angela

Woo Hoo: 2 challenges/1 card!!!

Happy Friday! Don't you just love it when you can combine 2 challenges into 1 card? I do! There are so many fun challenges out there to play; unfortunately there is too little time.....

Melissa had a fun sketch for us this week. Check out her challenge blog here.

The Cat's Pajamas Tuesday challenge was to use olive/light blue/cream. Joanne was the hostess with the mostest; check it out here.

Since it's snowing here, I went with a winter image featurning Poochie trying to catch a single snowflake on his tongue. I used DP from Basic Grey's Dasher line; I ran them through the Cuttlebug with the snowflake folder, but it's hard to see. The snowflakes are Spellbinders dies. I wanted to glitter them up, but my glue pen went kaput, so I settled on some fancy brads.

Image: The Cat's Pajamas

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper: PTI Vintage Cream, Ripe Avocado, Basic Grey "Dasher" DP

Embellies: Making Memories Brads, PTI Ripe Avocado Grosgrain Ribbon

Extras: Spellbinders Nestabilities and Snowflake Dies, Cuttlebug Snowflake Folder, EK Success 3D Dots

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Angela

Bellarific Friday

Hello there! It's not quite Friday, but we're close.... This week we had a color challenge; the colors chosen really remind me of spring! Isn't just about everyone longing for spring right now?! I know I am! The colors were aqua, peach, and rose.

I made a 4.25 inch square card this week. Every time I make one in this size, I remind myself that I need to do so more often. I think they make the cutest little notecards!

The image is colored with Prismas/Goo Gone and the pink dots are coated with Martha Stewart Crystal Fine Glitter. I was hoping to be able to show that better in the close-up, but I'm not sure you can see it in the small picture. I also stippled the background with Cool Caribbean ink.

Image/Sentiment: Stamping Bella

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper: PTI Stamper's Select, SU! Regal Rose

Embellies: Martha Stewart Crystal Fine Glitter, SU! Rose Grosgrain Ribbon

Extras: Spellbinders Nestabilities, Sakura Black Gel Pen, Foam Tape

I hope you have a super Friday! Thanks for stopping by!

Angela

CASE from SCS

Hello and happy Monday! Today I have a card that I CASE'd from the SCS gallery. I just fell in love with the simplicity of the card when I saw it; I knew I had to try and replicate it. I thought it was really classy and that it was easily adaptable to any occasion. I did tweak the card by changing the definition used, and I also used a different color of crystals for embellishment.

The definition was stamped on vellum. To avoid the appearance of glue behind the vellum, I left the edges a bit long and folded them over the white panel and adhered them into place before adhering it to the black panel. After adhering the black panel to the card, I placed a small amount of glue on the heart before sliding it into place. The crystals are Swarovski flatbacks in "Rose". I really love these; the have such a rich sparkle. I adhere them with either SU! Crystal Effects or Mono Multi (green lid). I know a lot of people prefer the crystals that come with sticky on them; what do you prefer?

Image: SU! Define Your Life
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: PTI Stamper's Select, True Black, and Hibiscus Burst, The Paper Studio Vellum
Embellies: Swarovski Flatback Crystals in "Rose"
Extras: Spellbinders Nestabilities

I'm glad you stopped by today! I hope your day is a good one!

Angela

Stamping Bella "LOVE ME DO" Blog Hop

Good Saturday morning! Welcome to the "LOVE ME DO" Blog Hop sponsored by Stamping Bella! If you've just happened upon my blog, you can start from the beginning at Bloggabella

My card for you today features "Love Bug" Huggabugg Isn't she cute? She's colored with Prismas/Goo Gone and I paired her with some Basic Grey DP. I added a touch of glitter and a button to finish the 6 x 6 card. I hope you like her!

Image/Sentiment: Stamping Bella "Love Bug" Huggabugg
Paper: PTI Stamper's Select, Lemon Tart and Smokey Shadow, Basic Grey DP
Embellies: Barbara Trombley's Art Glitter in "Polar Bear", Martha Stewart Crystal Fine Glitter, PTI Button, DMC Floss
Extras: Prismas/Goo Gone, Spellbinder's Nestabilities, Foam Tape

How about a prize? In addition to the fabulous eye candy, we have decided to hide a prize somewhere along the hop! One pre-selected blogger will draw a random winner from the comments on her post, and the winner will receive a $25 Gift Voucher to Stamping Bella!!! The fun part is...we're not telling you who it is! So as you hop, make sure you leave comments on every post so you have a chance to win!! We will announce the winner on Friday in the Splitcoast forum.

MWAH! Thanks so much for stopping by! Now it's time to hop on over to see what Joanne has created....

Angela

It's Bellarific Friday!

Happy Friday! The theme for Bellarific Friday this week was "Lovey Dovey". I chose "Phoebe Ketto"; aren't her little heart bouquets sweet? I also used more of my Bo Bunny DP; I've been using it a lot since it is so versatile with all the pretty colors.

Well, I learned a lesson the hard way with this one.... Don't try something new after your card is assembled! I had the "great idea" to use a black gel pen for Phoebe's hair. Well...I'm not loving it! I think maybe if it was more of a finer line, I would. I just had hoped to add some glossy lowlights. Maybe not.... I also had the perfect blue pencil for her dress, but I couldn't find it until after I colored it with a different blue! Ack! I think it was just not my day.....

Image: Stamping Bella "Phoebe Ketto"
Ink: Tuxedo Black
Paper: PTI Stamper's Select, Hibiscus Burst, and Dark Chocolate, Bo Bunny DP
Embellies: Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in "Pearl", Sakura Black Gel Pen, Bella Dots
Extras: Prismas/Goo Gone, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Foam Tape

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you'll hop on over to Em's blog to check out all the other creations for Bellarific Friday.

Have a goodie!

Angela

TMS#32: Wee Henry Cupid

Hello! Once I saw Melissa's sketch for this week, I had to get right to it! I bought a new digi stamp yesterday and was so excited to see that it would be perfect for this sketch.... I think "Wee Henry Cupid" from Hambo Stamps is just the cutest! He just makes me smile.... Is it the impish grin, his scraggly hair or his pudgy toes? Not sure, I just love him though!

I did have a bit of trouble with this card, though.... Henry is a digi image and was easy to resize and print; I had no trouble coloring him with Prismas/Goo Gone. The trouble came when I went to apply the glitter.... All went well with his red arrows, but when I got to his wings the ink bled. I really wasn't going for blue wings! They were supposed to be pristine white! Darn it! I'm a bit sad about this because I REALLY like glitter! No kidding! If anybody out there has any tips for me, please share them...thanks.

Digi Image: Hambo Stamps

Paper: G.P. White, PTI New Leaf and Dark Chocolate, Bo Bunny DP

Embellies: Bella Dots, Barbara Trombley's Art Glitter in "Polar Bear", Martha Stewart Crystal Ultra Fine Glitter

Extras: Prismas/Goo Gone, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Foam Tape

I hope to have some more Wee Henry cards for you soon!

Thanks for stopping by; have a great night!

Angela

TMS#31

Hi there! How is your Monday going? I have my TMS card from last week to share with you today. Melissa will have another new sketch for us tomorrow.....

I was really having a hard time with this sketch; I think I was making it to difficult. My friend Jessica showed me with her card that it could be simple and look great, so I "stole" that idea from her and patterned my card after hers.

I colored my Stampendous Calendar Chick with Prismas/Crayolas/Goo Gone and cut her out with Spellbinders Nestabilities. I like how the circle fits in the blossum die; I hadn't tried that before. I also used a touch of glitter on her bouquet.

Image: Stampendous "Flower Chick"

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper: PTI Stamper's Select, SU! Pink Pirouette

Embellies: SU! Pink Pirouette Ribbon, Barbara Trombley's Art Glitter in "Angel Dust"

Extras:Prismas/Crayolas/Goo Gone, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Foam Tape

I'm glad you stopped by today; have a good one!

Angela

Woot, woot!!!

Guess what? I was just notified today that I was the lucky winner of the Bella Twisted Challenge. This is my card. The winner gets $15 in Bella Bucks! How cool is that? I see some Bella goodies in my future....

Rebecca, who left a comment on one of my posts, asked if Bella Dots are like Dew Drops. They actually look a bit more like a brad. The dots are round and flat on both sides, and come in solid, glitter, crackle and marble. There are 2 sizes (5 mm and 10 mm). They also come in mixes so you can sample more than 1 shade. I love them because they are easier to place and you have no prongs on the back. Have you ever lined up the holes for your brads perfectly and they appear off kilter? That sometimes happens to me.... With the dots I can eliminate that. I apply them with Mono Multi (green lid) or Crystal Effects. I am not saying I don't like brads, because I do.... I have to admit I tend to love all the goodies!

Bella also has baubles, which are like the Dew Drops.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope those of you with a lot of snow are staying warm!

Angela

Bellarific Friday: Who loves you?

Happy Friday! Today is Bellarific Friday and this week our challenge was a sketch! I love a good sketch challenge; they are my very most favorite! I went for a CAS approach due to time constraints since we attended DS's musical tonight.

The image is colored with Crayolas and Goo Gone and I used a bit of glitter to accent the roses. I tried to pair a little "shabby" DP with some "chic" glittered CS. The card is embellished simply with some Bella Dots. I love them! For me, they are easier to place than brads; I can always move them a bit, before the glue dries, if I need to.

Image: Stamping Bella "lady OWLY on her sign"
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: PTI Stamper's Select, Kraft, Dark Chocolate, Doodlebug Sugar Coated CS, Bo Bunny DP
Embellies: Bella Dots, Barbara Trombley's Art Glitter in "Angel Dust"
Extras: Crayolas/Goo Gone, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Foam Tape

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy your day!

Angela

Yay, I got inky!!!

Hi there! I am so glad I finally had the time to get inky! I've been working some different hours and havn't had much opportunity to get crafty....

Today I have the Bella Twisted Challenge from SCS. The challenge was to use black/white with a twist of bright. It sounded really fun, so I had to give it a go. As I was making this card, I had a lot of ideas for other cards...too bad I don't have more time....

I am also going to use this card for the Saturday Spotlight With Hidden Potential challenge. This week's challenge was "Bigger is Better". I thought the oversize daisy and black brad would work nicely.

The picture doesn't capture the true pink color; the lighting was poor, but I went ahead because today was the deadline. One lucky stamper will win $15 in Bella Bucks. (The pink is actually PTI Hibiscus Burst, which is a gorgeous shade of pink.)

Image: Stamping Bella

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper: PTI Stamper's Select, Hibiscus Burst, Doodlebug DP

Embellies: Doodlebug Glitter, PTI Hibiscus Burst Twill, Spare Parts Brad

Thanks for stopping by! See you again soon!

Angela