Celebrate good times, come on!

Awwww... my last card of 2011.
What a year it has been. Time flies when you're having fun, doesn't it?! :)

I'm not usually one to make a bunch of resolutions because past experience has only proven that I am no good at seeing them through. Besides, if the ancient Mayans are right about this coming year I figure I can keep my "que sera, sera" attitude for a bit longer, LOL. ;)
Seriously though, this past year was pretty good to me and I'll just be happy if I can keep the momentum going through 2012. How about you? Any big dreams you'll be chasing this year?

So when it came time to create my card for New Year's I wanted to do something fun and upbeat. I started flipping through my stamps and came across little Kiyoko here. With her sparklers ablaze she seemed the perfect choice. Plus I had just received this fab pack of Japanese origami papers from my December Secret Sister, Mimi. The gold and red combo seemed quite fitting so I even paper pieced her kimono to match. It's all very shimmery in real life though as always it's hard to pick that up in the photo.

Well, I'm going to ringing in the new year with some pals tonight so I'll be taking one more break here on the blog tomorrow. But I'll be back on the 2nd and diving right into some Sweet November preview goodness to kick off 2012's releases.
Have a safe and happy celebration tonight and I'm wishing you all the best in the new year! :)


Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- Japanese paper (SS RAK from Mimi... thanks Mimi)
stamps- Sister Stamps (Kiyoko), Hero Arts (sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black
Pebbles glitter candy dots
Ranger Stickles
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
hair- C4, C6, C8, C10
clothes- Y26, Y28, Y00, Y02, Y08, Y0000

Dark but cute...

TGIF!

This will be a short and sweet post... today is my last working day of 2011 and so far I'm running a bit behind. Perhaps I should make a resolution about better time management in 2012, LOL! ;)

Something about this card turned out kinda dark but I'm still diggin' it. I used one of the Pergamano flower girls and just trimmed her out from her surrounding flowers so that she could sit on the ribbon. She looks a little lonely so I'm thinking this could work as a sympathy or "cheer up" kind of card. I was even feeling all crafty like by making some coordinating rolled roses out of the reverse side of the black text paper.

Alrighty, well I suppose I should go do the hair and make-up thing. Have a great weekend everybody!
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill, We R Memory keepers stitched and Copic X-Press It
paper- Creative Imaginations (text), October Afternoon (stripe), My Mind's Eye (polka dot)
stamps- Pergamano (Flower Girls set), Papertrey Ink (sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox dark brown
My Favorite Things rolled rose dies
Martha Stewart leaf punch and 3-in-1 butterfly punch
Kaiser Craft gems
ribbon
Sakura stardust glitter pen
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
hair- N4, N6, N8, N10
clothes- E81, W00, BG49, R05, E07

Romantic Gwen, the sequel...

Howdy friends!

So does anyone have big plans for the upcoming New Year's celebration? I'm still not sure what I'll be doing yet... hopefully it's something fun. :)

I think this may be a first time that I've used the same stamp on back-to-back cards here on the ol' blog as I usually try to mix things up a bit. But I made this one back during the SOG Valentine previews and didn't get a chance to post it here yet. Then when I started looking at my upcoming January calendar schedule it is already going to be chalk full of new and fun stamps so I had to take advantage of one of these few 'free' days before January hits to get this one on here.

It's a different take on Romantic Gwen, this time she's looking pretty in pink. And of course I couldn't resist piling on the flowers and pearls to go along with this beauty. Oh, and I even paper pieced her dress this time. I guess it's kinda cool to be able to see the different looks you can get with Gwen here... going from the sassy and dramatic look of the red card to the more sweet and demure look of this pink one. We'll go with that anyway. ;)

Thanks for stopping by!
TTFN!
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- My Mind's Eye (Lost&Found Market Street)
stamps- Some Odd Girl (Romantic Gwen set)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and rich cocoa, Colorbox creamy brown
Prima pearls and leaves
crinkled ribbon (from Kiara... thanks Kiara!)
CC Designs mini roses
Sharpie white marker
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20, W1, W3, W5
hair- E27, E47, E49
eyes- YG93, YG95, BG99
clothes- R32, R35, R37, Y13, Y21, Y26, Y28, YG93, E81, G99, E77, E79, BG70, BG72, G00, R11, R21

Give them your heart

Good morning!

Well, I'm pretty sure that I jinxed myself. Here I was complaining about the lack of snow for Christmas and then it went and snowed all day yesterday. That's what I get for opening my big mouth, LOL! :)

Last week the new challenge went up over on the Some Odd Girl blog and due to the holiday I'm just now getting around to sharing my card for it here. This time around we have a little Valentine photo inspiration challenge for you... something that will get you thinking about the season of love and the new SOG stamps that were just released. ;)
There are plenty of different elements in the photo that you can pull inspiration from, like the wood grain, hearts, the color red, book pages, tickets, etc etc etc. The biggest inspirations that I incorporated onto my card are the hearts, color red and the use of ticket embellishments. I paired those all up with the lovely miss Romantic Gwen. Isn't she dreamy? I have to admit that when I was putting this card together and coloring her up the "my Spanish Harlem Mona Lisa" line from a Rob Thomas song kept playing over and over in my mind. What can I say? I'm kind of a nerd like that, LOL!

So this challenge runs through January 3 and all projects entered must be new as of this challenge, no back linking. You don’t have to use a Some Odd Girl Stamp but if you do you’ll have two entries into the draw! Gotta love that.
Have fun and good luck!


Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- American Crafts
stamps- Some Odd Girl (Romantic Gwen), Inkadinkado (valentine ticket)
ink- Memento tuxedo black, Colorbox dark brown and Nick Bantock vermilion lacquer
handmade crinkled ribbon
hero arts crochet lace
Sticko epoxy heart stickers
Sharpie white marker
Copic Spica glitter pen
Copic markers:
skin- E00, E21, E13, R00, R20, R14, R17
hair- C6, C8, C10
eyes- C2, C4, W2
clothes- R05, R08, E19, R02, T5, T7, T9, E31, E40, E41, E42, Y21, Y26, Y28, Y13
rose- R14, R17, R46, R89, G99

Cool dude

Olo!

Hey guys, I'm back... missed ya bunches but I had a wonderful Christmas and I hope you did too. :)

Today we've got a review preview of the Sweet November Winter Kids over on the ATS blog. So I inked up little Zach again and created a fun winter themed boy card that can work for a number of different occasions. I know that I've used this Winter Park paper on a previous card but the great blues and reds were too good to pass up here. Plus the paper pack came complete with a sticker sheet that provided me with the sentiment and Zach's cool inner tube.

Aww, Zach and his snowy fun... can you believe that this was the first year in quite a long time that we didn't have any snow on the ground for Christmas? It's no secret that I'm not a huge fan of the white stuff but I'll admit to being a bit sad that we didn't get any. Sure it's been freezing cold but that's just not the same thing. ;)

Alrighty, well back to work I go... talk at'cha manana. :)
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper/stickers- Echo Park (Winter Park)
stamps- Sweet November (Winter Kid Zach)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox dark brown
American Crafts twine
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
hair- E35, E57, E59
clothes- T2, T4, T6, T8, T10, R05, E07, E19, BG75, BG78, C7, B95, B97, B99, 0

Oh, holy night...

Merry Christmas friends and fellow crafters!

I wanted to put that out there as this will be may last post for a couple of days. Lots of fun things planned for Christmas with my family and friends so I won't have much crafting time this weekend. But it's good to take a break, step out of your routine for a bit and just have fun! :)

So this is my very last Christmas card for 2011 and I wanted to play along with another Monday Funday challenge over at the Farm Fresh Challenge blog. This one is a recipe to use kraft cardstock, twine and button(s). With those ingredients and a Christmas theme in mind, I couldn't think of a better stamp to use than this sweet Shepherd Ian. Can you believe I've had this set for a couple years now and this is the first time he's been inked up? Slaps hand! Bad stamper... bad! Oh but it was totally worth the wait because I love how this card turned out. Again, a fairly CAS design and yes, I've used that star paper already this Christmas, but it sets the scene for this cute pair better than anything else that I could think of. :)
Slight tangent... this starry night paper that I've fallen in love with for Christmas cards isn't even part of a Christmas collection. It's actually from the October Afternoon Campfire line, and that got me thinking... ya know, I can't recall a single Christmas line of paper that has included a starry print. Sure there are plenty of snowflakes to choose from but no stars. Seems to me that if a paper manufacturer included one or two in a collection next year it would be a nice change of pace and set them apart from the usual offerings. Here's hoping! ;)

But enough of my slight paper obsession, LOL!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa, and Happy Festivus to all!

XOXO
♥
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- October Afternoon (Campfire)
stamps- The Greeting Farm (Shepherd Ian set), Technique Tuesday (sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox creamy brown
Papertrey Ink twine
Karen Foster star button
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
clothes- E30, E31, E34, E37, E55, E57, W7, YG91, G99, G85, C7, E44, E47, E81, 0, W2, BG93, BG96, BG99
ewe- E40, E41, W0, W3, W5, W9

Angels we have heard on high...

TGIF once again my crafty peeps!

Twas the day before the night before, and all through the house... LOL! :)
I've got a quickie card to share today, seeing as I've had Angel Celestina all colored up ever since the "lights/whites" video that I did a while back it would be a shame not to get her on a card before Christmas. She is such a beauty that I thought it best to keep things fairly CAS so I stayed with one subtle print and a touch of silver and sparkle to pull it all together. I think the whole thing looks quite peaceful and serene.

And while I hate to cut this post short, I really must "dash away, dash away, dash away all!"
So much to do and so little time left... I found a recipe on Pinterest for eggnog pound cake that I want to make for this weekend's festivities and that means a trip to the grocery store for some eggnog. Wish me luck that I don't botch the dessert. LOL

Toodles!
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- My Mind's Eye (Dear Santa)
stamps- Kraftin' Kimmie (Angel Celestina), Inkadinkado (sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox creamy brown
Knot & Bow silver twine
Kaiser Craft gems
Sharpie white marker
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R11, R20
hair- B0000, B000, B32, 0
eyes- B41, B45, B99
clothes- BV0000, BV20, 0
wings E40, E41,0

The lights on my tree, I wish you could see...

Hi-dee-ho!

Does anyone else feel like that mad Christmas rush is on? Like I mentioned before, most of my Christmas prep is actually done and taken care of but these last few days I just feel like I'm running, running, running. I guess I just have to chalk it up to be that crazy, wonderful time of year. :)

I think this may be the first Pure Innocence cutie that I've used on a Christmas card this year... shock! I know, I know... I can't believe it either. As quick and easy as they are to color, they are usually a regular go-to for me when I'm short on crafting time. Now, here I am with only a couple cards to go before the big day and this little Christmas Caroler may be the only holiday PI that I'll ink up for 2011. I'll just have make sure the others fulfill their inky destinies on next year's cards. LOL

Once again, this is another mish-mash of different paper scraps that were running loose on my table and needed a home. Looking at it now, this card may be a bit busy but something about the mix of prints brings to mind the crazy print and color combos young kids tend to put together when trying to dress themselves. And since this PI looks to be about that age, we'll say that it works for her. ;)

Ok, now it's time for me to go be merry and bright for my customers at work.
Later gators!




Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- Simple Stories (green dot), The Girls' Paperie (red snowflake and ledger), American Crafts (trees)
stamps- My Favorite Things (Pure Innocence Christmas Caroler), Hero Arts (sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox dark brown
Doodlebug tree doodlepop and white flock
Kaiser Craft gems
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
hair-E25, E27, E29
clothes- T6, T8, T10, R24, R27, R29, E19, YG21, YG03, YG95, G20, E40, E41, 0, Y02

The stockings were hung...

Mornin' folks!

Hope you aren't tired of Christmas cards yet. Just a couple more days of them, I promise. Then it will be time for me to pack up all my Christmas stamps for a few months and move on to other things. :)

Though for now, I've altered up one of the newest Gorjuss Girl stamps to turn her into a little Christmas eve cutie. This stamp is actually called, Sowing the Seeds, and she has a little bucket and stars in the original image. I simply wiped away the stars and drew in an empty stocking for her to hold instead. Now she's ready to hang it on the mantle and try to get some sleep so that Santa will come and fill it with gifts and treats. I was going for a soft, fleecey texture on her night gown but I'm not 100% in love with how it turned out... I think I was a bit heavy handed with the color combo. But reds can be tricky so I'm not stressin' over it too much.
Most everything else on this card comes from the Making Memories Twinkle collection. The background is simply a page torn out of the