WOJ Guest Designer Call

Once again, Katharina is looking for someone to be a Guest Designer for two months for her wonderful Whiff of Joy stamps. I am pretty sure if you visit my blog, you'll know I love them by the number of my posts that have WOJ stamps! I had a few images that I had already colored in and I couldn't pick between two, so I made two cards!

To see Katharina's sketch and for details on how to apply, please visit PCP here.

My first card uses Willow with Lantern.

• Stamps: Whiff of Joy, Verve Stamps for Sentiment
• Inks: Stazon Black, SU! Ruby Red
• Paper: SU! Red Riding Hood, K&Co, Making Memories
• Coloring: Distress Inks, Twinkling H20s
• Embellies: Snowflakes punched with snowflake punch, K&Co adhesive gems, May Arts Ribbon, SU! Hodge Podge
  

My second cards features Melinda the Guardian Angel with Presents.

• Stamps: Whiff of Joy - image and sentiment
• Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU! Blue Bayou
• Paper: SU! Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Basic Grey
• Coloring: Copic Markers, Sakura Stardust pen
• Embellies: Prima Flower, K&Co Adhesive Pearls, May Arts Ribbon
• Tools: Flourishes cut with EK success punch, border with Martha Stewart Punch, Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder
  
  

Lizzie with Muff ~ Sketch Saturday # 27

Thanks for stopping by! Here is my card for this week's Sketch Saturday. This week, Katharina is sponsoring us with this gorgeous Whiff of Joy stamp. If you'd like this sweet snowman to make his way to your home, then please join this week's challenge and maybe you will be the lucky one!

For this card I've used WOJ's new Lizzie with Muff stamp. She is so beautiful. I colored her with my copics and then masked her and airbrushed the background with my copic airbrusher. It is one of my favorite toys but I must take care when I use it as my sons are very intrigued by it! While I colored this image up, I took step by step pictures so I am one step closer to a copic tutorial. Please bear with me and I promise I will get it posted! It was only after I started this post that I realised I missed out on adding the sentiment! I had meant to make a small one and attach it to the bottom flower! So here's the sketch for you. My fellow DT members have made gorgeous cards so don't forget to hop on over to them as well!

Have a wonderful day. I hope you find some time to do a little crafting!

Reaching for the Stars ~ My First Whimsy Card

Yesterday I was so delighted to find my Whimsy stamps in the mail-box. I had to wait until last night to ink one up and make my first card with these adorable stamps.

I really love how they are packaged. They are make of really high quality ribber that is deeply etched so it is very easy to get a good image when you stamp. They are already mounted on E-Z mount! Yippee! One less step for me and I don't have to worry about not having any E-Z mount on hand when my stamps get here. Has that ever happened to you? They other great thing is that they come with a laminated card with the image stamped on it and your stamp can just stick to it. Perfect for keeping organized!

It was hard to pick which stamp to use first but I've had a crush on Kermit the Frog since I was 3 so I ended up using this sweet little frog first. His sweet expression just tugs at my heart. I used this Verve sentiment because he also reminds me of the story of the princess kissing the frog and turning him into a prince and also to honor Denise for following her dreams, reaching for the stars and starting her very own stamp company. Whimsy Stamps is sure to be a success and I want to thank Denise once again for asking me to join her talented Design Team!

• Stamps: Whimsy Stamps Frog, Verve Stamps Sentiment
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU! Chocolate Chip
• Paper: SU! Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand, Paper Trey Aqua, Daisy Bucket DP
• Coloring: Frog - Copic Markers, Background- Copic Airbrushing, Lily Pad- Koh-i-norr Pencils
• Embellies: Papertrey Aqua Ribbon, K&Co adhesive rhinestones
• Tools: Nestabilites, SU! Punches

Thanks for looking and you can purchase this cute frog and a few other sweeties at Whimsy Stamps.

Lizzie in Town

This is a card I made "just because". I love this sweet little WOJ Lizzie and I thought she would look very quaint paired up with this winter village scene that I got a while back from The Stampin Place. Everything is colored with my copic markers. Lizzie has been cut out and placed on top. I added a little flock to her hat and the cuffs on her boots to make them look fluffy and warm. I masked the village and lights and colored the sky using my copic air brusher. I didn't color it uniformly so that it would look more realistic. I added some stickles here and there on the snow and a little on Lizzie's coat. I loved they way it turned out so I have used the card to make a Christmas banner for my blog! Now back to the more mundane aspects of my life: laundry, dinner, general cleaning!

Snowflakes ~ Cute Card Thursday Challenge

The challenge at CCT this week is to have snow or snowflakes on your card. I have both! This is one of my favorite images from Magnolia's Winter kit. Little Edwin is taking such good care of Tilda. It reminds me of my hockey player boyfriend (now my husband) teaching his klutzy girlfriend (that would be me) how to skate!

I had originally bought this DP because I knew it would make a fantastic background for some of my stamps. It is a 12 x 12 piece and I cut out the piece that makes my happy couple look as if they are on an outdoor rink! I kept my coloring to just a few colors in hopes that it would look soft and dreamy! I added some flock to the cuffs of Tilda's coat.

• Stamps: Magnolia Winter Kit 2008, Stampin up Circle of Friendship
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black. SU! Blue Bayou
• Paper: SU! Blue Bayou, Best Creations Inc. Dp
• Coloring: Distress Ink
• Embellies: SU! Felt Snowflakes, Stampendous Fun Flock

Have a great day! I will have a new card with a fun background scene tomorrow!

Sweet n Sassy PCP Challenge

Here is a card I made for a Sweet N Sassy Card Challenge that was on PCP. It was a recipe challenge! LOL! I'll explain. First you had to choose five items from a list of baking ingredients. Then you were told what each card element that ingredient represented! I picked:

1. Chocolate chips = Brads
2. Brown sugar = Baubles (dew drops)
3. Butter = watercoloring
4. Vanilla = Scallop or edge punch
5. Flour = chipboard

So when I saw these elements I wondered what I would do! I don't own chipboard so I punched some flourishes on thick cardstock and sponged them. I ended up with a card that I actually really like but wouldn't have made anything like it without this challenge! You should give it a try but don't peek at what the elements are before choosing your ingredients. If you haven't joined up at Paper Craft Planet, then you really should. You will, like me find all your favorite blog buddies there and you get your own page and so much more!

Awards

This morning I couldn't believe what I found. I had been given this very beautiful award by so many sweet and talented ladies! Thank you so much. I am so honored and you have no idea how uplifting this is. I am very, very grateful to each one of you!

The award has a special sentiment, which is…….

This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of the prizes are cut, even more friendships are propogated. Please give more attentions to these writers! Deliver this award to eight blogger’s who must choose eight more and include this clevery written text into the body of their award.

I received this award from Tanja, Michele, Jacqui, Amanda, Chrissie

I would like to give this back to the sweeties who gave it to me and also to all of you who stop by and take the extra time to leave such kind comments!

And this one from Jakki. Thank you so much, I love yours as well!

Joy to the World ~ Sketch Saturday #26

Where did the week go? I can't believe it time for another of Jo's fabulous sketches for Sketch Saturday! I have fallen so far behind this week as we have been busy with the renovations (I feel like it has been going on for more than the actual 2 months). They are still not close to being finished and I am finding it less "charming" to be missing the use of half my house! Hopefully I will find the time in the coming weeks to visit you all more! Just want to add that all the wonderful comments you all leave are so appreciated!

This card came together quite quickly! I wanted to make a Christmas card that would suit a young girl so I went added pink to the classic Christmas red & green. I used my new Tilda with the garland and colored using Prismas & Gamsol. The paper is SU! Red Riding Hood, PaperTrey Blush and Daisy Bucket DP. The sentiment is by Verve.

Have a great day and hope you can participate this week! Here is the sketch!

Lots of Blog Candy

There are so many fabulous blog candies out there. So this post is dedicated just to putting the word out!

Debbie (my fellow Sketch Saturday DT member) has a tremendous candy and it involves Copic markers! Can you believe her. She is so amazing!

Gayle is offering some Sugar Nellies so go visit her and maybe you'll be the lucky one who wins some sugar! She was chosen to take on the Sugar Nellie blog so give her some congrats while you are there.

Lacey is giving away some High Hopes stamps in honor of her birthday.

Kristine is celebrating her blogoversary with lovely candy.

Clare is celebrating 1000 hits!

Stop by to enter but be prepared to spend some time drooling over their fabulosu creations!



I will have a new card for Sketch Saturday tomorrow and also have a few that I haven't had the chance to post yet! Hopefully I will find some time to get those on!

Have a great day!

WOJ Candle

Ever since Whiff of Joy's Design Team decorated candles with their stamps, I have wanted to give it a try... but I have to say...I was a little hesitant. Bev's tutorial helped change my mind. She takes you through step by step with pictures. It worked beautifully! You can also find the same tutorial at PCP.I know that this year, I will make a bunch of these up to give as hostess gifts and those "just-in-case-someone-drops-in" gifts! (Yes, little sister, you can request which stamp you want!) All you really need is some tissue paper, a white candle, a heat gun (I think a hairdryer would work) and some waxed paper. I colored the images with distress inks and was able to combine these two Lizzie stamps. I think next time I will add a sentiment. I am really wishing that I had ordered Katharina's beautiful WOJ Christmas sentiments! They would have been perfect. I will fix these bottom pics tomorrow but right now I have to run off to choir practice!

So don't be afraid of giving this a try. It really is straight forward and the results are just gorgeous!

Introducing Whimsy Stamps

Some weeks ago, I was contacted by Denise of "Stamping with Denise". She asked me if I would be interested in being part of a Design Team for her new stamping company. I was really surprised but delighted, especially once she showed me the designs - they are adorable and perfect for my style. It has been so hard to not say a word about it!

Now I can show you a sneak peek of the first line of Whimsy Stamps:

Aren't they sweet? If you would like the chance to win these cuties, then head over to Denise's blog for details. She is also taking pre-orders!

Here are Whimsy's Design Team : Catherine, Erin and Hanne and myself (still pinching myself to make sure this is true!)

Birthday Cards

My sister-in-laws will be celebrating their birthdays soon. Here are the two cards that I made for them!

This first one is based on the Friday Sketchers Challenge. After I finished it, I realized that I had forgotten one of the layers! Oops! Hope it is alright! I used this sweet image of Macbeth which is from Sugar Nellies' brand new line called Soft Centers. You can get him (and other cuties) at Funky Kits.

• Stamps: Macbeth from Sugar Nellies Soft Centers
• Ink: Stazon Jet Black
• Paper: Daisy Bucket, SU! Navy
• Coloring: Distress Inks
• Embellies: Prima Flower, Dollar Store Charm, Hero Arts Buttons

For this one, I used the sketch from a challenge that I have wanting to participate in for a long time. It is called Stamp Something. I used my new Martha Stewart border punch. I was a bit worried since I just read that sometimes it doesn't work well with SU! cardstock, but I didn't have any problems! It works so well and I just love the detail it provides! I decided to cut out the faces of my WOJ stamps to do something a little different!

Stamps: Whiff of Joy, Sentiment from Stampin Up

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper: Daisy Bucket, SU! NAvy

Coloring: Copic Markers

Embellies: SU! Taffeta Ribbon, Prima Flowers, Hero Arts Pearl, Hodge Podge Vanilla

Thanks for stopping by and I'd love to know what you think!

Tomorrow, I have some more exciting news to tell you. I have been bursting to spill the beans and now I only have to wait one more day! Stop by tomorrow to find out!

Christmas Trees ~ Whiff of Joy Challenge

This week's challenge is to make a Christmas card for a boy without using the color blue! I looked through all the new papers I bought last weekend and found this paper in the DCWV Christmas Stack. I pulled my shades of green from there! It is a wee bit bright but I think a little boy would probably love it!

• Stamps: Whiff of Joy, Sentiment from Cornish Heritage Farms
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
• Paper: DCWV Christmas Glitter Stack
• Coloring: Copic Markers
• Embellies: SU! Wild Wasabi Ribbon

A couple of weeks back, I took a poll on my blog regarding which type of coloring tutorial people would like to see. The winner was Copic Markers. Just wanted to say that I will work on one as soon as time permits!

Magnolia Christmas Planner

I saw a tutorial on how to make a Christmas Planner on Paper Crafters Planet. You can view the video here. I have to add that I watched it and then made it a few days later with a slightly different folder. So I didn't really follow the exact instructions but the folder turned out pretty similar! I made the lists with Word. Printed them and adhered them to some card stock to make sure they would be sturdy enough. I have the lists on both sides of the cardstock because I know I am going to fill them all in!

I think it will help me keep track of the comings and goings in our house as well as everything that I need to do during the Festive season. It has the added bonus of having all my new Christmas Magnolia stampson it! The only thing I forgot to take a picture of is a little calender (the same as I used here) that I slipped into the "Special Dates" pouch. I took loads of pictures so bear with me!

Stamps: Magnolia Christmas & Winter 2008 Collection

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper: SU! Alpine, Folder from Staples

Coloring: Copic Markers

Embellies: Su! Red Riding Hood Ribbon

Award

It has been a really rainy, cold day but I also had time to do a little blog hopping and make a few cards so I am not complaining. It was one of those rare quiet days around here! I wasn't able to take any pictures of my Magnolia project or rather I did but they weren't very nice as it was so dark outside. Hopefully tomorrow!

I have been given this beautiful award by two really amazingly talented girls! Michele and Maria. It really is so nice to know that others appreciate my cards. It really makes my day!

EDIT: I have also received this from the incredible Heike. Wow! My head is spinning! Thank you so much!

I'd like to pass it along to:

Denise, Korin, Heather, Anki, Carole & Ruby.

Ruby also has an amazing set of blog candies. Yes, it is plural! So, head on over and enter!

Winter Wishes ~ Sketch Saturday #25

What a fun sketch Jo has come up with for this week. There are so many layers! I used this very sweet WOJ Matthew stamp because I hadn't had the chance to ink him up yet and he really does have the loveliest expression on his face! One of the things I tend to do, is use small portions of fabulous DP and set my stamped images against them. It looks like I painstakingly embossed that white snowflake that Matthew is resting against but no....I cheated and used DP that is already embossed! You can see other examples of what I mean here and here!

• Stamps: Whiff of Joy, Verve Stamps Sentiment
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
• Paper: SU! Pacific Point, Whisper White, Best Creations Inc., DCWV Glitter Stack
• Coloring: Copic Markers
• Embellies: SU! Snowflakes, May Arts Ribbons

Today is Mariska's birthday please join me in wishing her a wonderful birthday!

There's a prize up for grabs this week too. Make a Christmas card using Jo's sketch and you can win a lovely bunch of Christmas goodies. See Sketch Saturday for all the details! Onlythose of you who have made a christmas card will be entered into the draw.

Here's the sketch:

Have fun and enjoy your week-end. I have been working on a really fun project and I hope to be able to take photos of it tomorrow and post it on Sunday! If you love Magnolias, you'll want to make one too!

Magnolia Fold Card ~ Ismaki Challenge

As soon as I saw the Ismaki challenge this week, I knew that I had to give it a go. I love this idea and it was not hard in the least to make. I decided to decorate the front with another sweet Tilda as well as have one on the inside. This Tilda is popped up on dimensionals on top of the flower. The medallions are made with circle nesties and an EK success punch. I got the idea here. I am super happy with this one. I used paper that I got while on my shopping week-end! Let me know what you think.

• Stamps: Magnolia Winter & Christmas Collection, Verve Stamps Sentiment
• Ink: Stazon Jet Black, Distress Fire Brick for sentiment
• Paper: SU! Red Riding Hood, Making Memories & K&Co DP
• Coloring: Distress Ink
• Embellies: SU! RRH Ribbon, Dollar Store Brads, Flowers by Petaloo, K&Co Pearls

There is a new stamping company starting up by Janet Roberts. It is called Pink Gem Designs. I have fallen in love with her sweet images. For a chance to win them, visit here. I know that they will be coming home to me whether I am lucky or not. They are so sweet!