Friday, February 5, 2010

Can you believe it...

I stamped for fun! I inked up stamps today that haven't seen ink in a long time. I love stamping and my design team commitments keep me very busy so I seldom get a chance to ink up those stamps that I love but aren't for one of my teams. Today when I was checking out blogs I came across a super cool challenge on Nichole Heady's blog. Her challenge is to use the Emboss resisit technique. To be honest, it has been years since I have done this technique. Honestly, I never ever use my heat gun for anything except fixing errors when I color with my Copics. I don't know the last time I pulled out the Versamark, LOL.

Anyway...I tried it and I was really pleased with the result! The picture as usual, doesn't do the card justice but this is the best I could do taking a photo at night, in a room where all of the light bulbs are burnt out. Luckily Tom bought me a photo tent for Christmas and I'm just amazed that I can take an ok looking photo in a pitch dark room, LOL.
I used one of my favorite card layouts for this card. I actually have 2 more cards to share in the next few weeks where I used this same layout. I think it works perfect when using a larger sentiment on the front of a card.
Does anyone else wish Spellbinders would make the labels nestibilities sets in a small and large so we could layer? I sponged the edge to give it a little bit of a layered look but man oh man I wish there were 2 sizes of the labels!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you all have a terrific weekend! Check back on Sunday for a super fun Little Paper Shop event!

Little Paper Shop Featured Stamp Set

Please stop by the Little Paper Shop blog today to see some awesome cards made with the stamp set, {Garden Gate}, that is being featuring this week. We could all use a little extra inspiration and eye candy, right?

I've shown this card before, but since {Garden Gate} is the featured set this week I thought I'd post it again. I actually have this card published in the current issue of Just Cards! magazine, too!
I hope you all have a terrific weekend! Thanks for stopping by today!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Paper Pretties Wednesday Challenge and Blog Hop!

It's Wednesday! That means it is time for another fun Wednesday Prettie Challenge and blog hop! This week our challenge comes from the incredibly talented Prettie Girl Frances! Frances always comes up with some incredible sketch challenges!

This week the design team will be using either the set Sealed with a Kiss or the set Time For Cake. Both stamp sets featured this week will be on sale for 20% off all week. Also be sure to check out the new digi stamp section of the boutique, Christie is adding new digis all the time!

Here is this week's sketch:

For my card, I used the set Time For Cake. This is a huge set full of wonderful wedding and anniversary sentiments as well as a bunch of fun build your own wedding cake stamps. I just love this set!
Supplies used: Time For Cake set from Paper Pretties, SU cardstock, Copic markers, DCWV glitter cardstock, Basic Grey Sugar Rush designer paper, Recollections self adhesive pearls, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, Offray ribbon, foam dimensionals, SU Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

If you are just starting at my blog, head on over to Christie's blog to start from the beginning. You definitely won't want to miss any of the stops! If you are following the hop, the next stop after my blog is the blog of Prettie Girl Wendy Bond!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you all have a terrific day!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Jacksonbelle Tuesday Challenge

It is time for another fun Jacksonbelle Tuesday challenge! This week Lynda gave us the fun challenge of using Buttons, Bows and Brads. You don't have to use all of them...but you can....any combination...use only 1 or use all 3! We'd love for you to play along with us! If you do, be sure to leave a link to your project in the comments section of the challenge post on the Jacksonbelle blog.

For my card I used another one of the fabulous Sugar Nellie stamps that Delia gave me for Christmas. I just can't even begin to thank her enough for these adorable stamps. I am totally loving them! I paired up this little cutie with some gorgeous Basic Grey Wisteria designer paper and matching Basic Grey Wisteria brads from Jacksonbelle. I also used my all-time favorite Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder.


For more inspriation, be sure to check out the blogs of all of the Jacksonbelle Rockstars!

Dawn Lusk

Julie Lacey

Heather Pulvirenti

Windy Robinson

Stephanie Severin

Amy Tsuruta

Pam Varnell

Lynda Benden

Tobi Crawford

Jill Dunn

Carly Robertson

Shemaine Smith

Lindsey Botkin

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you all have a great day! Be sure to check back tomorrow for this week's Paper Pretties challenge and blog hop!


Monday, February 1, 2010

Little Paper Shop Monday Challenge

Welcome back! I hope you all had a terrific weekend. It's Monday, that means it is time for another fun Little Paper Shop Challenge! This week Allison has a fabulous sketch challenge for all of us! We'd love for you to play along with us! If you do, be sure to leave a link to your card in the comments section of the LPS blog challenge post. One lucky random participant this week will win the set {Angelic Jenna}.

Here is the sketch:

For my card I used the newly released set {Lily and Lucy Messages}. This new set is filled with adorable images and coordinating sentiments!

For more inspiration be sure to check out the blogs of the rest of the fabulous Little Paper Shop design team!
Thanks for stopping by today. If you didn't get a chance to check out my review of the new Prismacolor Illustration markers yet, scroll down to yesterday's post. You definitely should check them out! I hope you all have a terrific Monday!

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Product Review: Prismacolor Premier Illustration Markers

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. Today I wanted to tell you about a product that I recently got to try out. As most of you all know, long before I ever owned a Copic marker I was (and still am) a huge fan of Prismacolor markers. My Prismacolor colored pencils and markers are a permanent staple on my craft table. A few months ago, I was asked if I would like to try out some new Prismacolor Premier Illustration markers. You know me, I'm always game for trying out something new! I have been using them for the past few months but with vacation and Christmas and illness, I haven't had a chance to post about them here. Today I wanted to share a little bit about these markers with you.

I had a chance to play around with the fine tip, brush tip and chisel tip versions of these markers. Here are some details about each style of marker:
  • The Premier Fine Tip Illustration marker is ideal for creating crisp lines and detail work, such as quick sketching, outlining and adding texture. Five point sizes (005, 01, 03, 05, 08) allow for versatility and translate to precise, controlled application when detailing or making fine marks.
  • The Premier Brush Tip Illustration marker gives artists the control, flexibility and signature detail of a paint brush with the unique qualities of Prismacolor’s vibrant ink to create thick, thin or varied lines in one stroke.
  • The Premier Chisel Tip Illustration marker features a tip style that allows for varying line and stroke widths – from smooth lettering to easy outlining to the ability to cover large areas with broad strokes.


The retail price for these ranges from $3 for a single marker to around $20 for a package of 8. You can find these at Michael's (use their weekly coupon and these are a total steal!!), Hobby Lobby, A.C. Moore, Dick Blick and lots of other fine retailers. For a complete list of retailers, click HERE.

The first thing you will notice about these markers is that they are the size of a regular pen or pencil. They are not the big thick marker like the regular Prismacolor Premier markers. This makes them really easy to use.

Here are my opinions/observations of each of the 3 styles of marker:

The Chisel Tip: The chisel tip markers are really nice quality but for the work I do, I really didn't have a huge use for them.

The Brush Tip: I really liked the brush tip markers. These aren't markers to use for blending and coloring large areas but they are absolutely AWESOME to color in small detailed areas. Because the brush tip is a bit firmer and much smaller than a Copic brush tip, the color is much easier to control in tiny detailed areas. The number of colors is very limited but these are definitely worth picking up!

The Fine Tip: These are an absolute MUST HAVE! I LOVE these markers. They sit on my stamp table where I have access to them at all times. I have used these over and over again!
The fine tip black set comes with 7 markers...5 different size fine tips along with a brush tip and a chisel tip. The fine tip markers are truly invaluable. I mainly used the fine tip markers to fix stamping imperfections or add background scenery to my image.

Here are some of the ways I used them:

With this adorable Cooper image from Paper Pretties, I wanted to use a layout that had a circular main image panel. This image is more of a rectangular image and when cut out in a circle looked strange because the falling snow was just falling down the center of the circle and not along the sides.

Not a problem...I used one of the fine tip Prismacolor Illustration markers and added the extra snow flakes to fill the circle. You honestly can't tell that the drawn snow isn't part of the original image. I use Momento Black ink and the markers are an exact match.For my next example I had a sentiment that didn't fully stamp. The letter A in "Always" misstamped.
Once again I just grabbed one of the fine tip markers and viola...you would have never known.


I have used these fine tip markers to fix several images. Because I mainly only use premium quality white cardstock nowadays, I hate to throw even a 1/4 sheet away because of a misstamped image. For this next image you can see that the right edge of the umbrella and her right arm didn't stamp fully.
Once again, the fine tip markers did the trick! I can't tell you how much I LOVE these! The great thing is, is once the image is fixed you can go ahead and color with your regular Prismacolor markers or Copics and the black ink where you fixed the image will not smear.

Here is the fixed/colored image.

Here is another example where I fixed an image that didn't stamp correctly. Look at her shoe.


Here I colored the small flowers using one of the brush tip markers. Fine detail and small areas are ideal for these markers.
For my next example, I used the fine tip markers to extend the ground line to the edges of my die cut piece of paper. These super fine tip markers make it easy to add your own ground or grass and make it look like it was part of the original image.
I haven't had a chance to scrapbook in quite some time but these would also be perfect for journaling on your photos and scrapbook pages!

Overall, I highly recommend these. The fine tip set is a must have for any papercrafter, the brush tip are perfect for coloring small detailed areas and the chisel tip are high quality markers for those of you who use a chisel tip.
These markers were designed for Illustrators but they are also a perfect fit for any stamper or scrapper.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you are all having a terrific weekend! Be sure to check back tomorrow for the Little Paper Shop Monday Challenge!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Happy Thursday!

Just thought I'd do a quick post today. I made this card last fall but never had a chance to post it here. I used a super cute Penny Black clear stamp set that my friend Kisa sent me. I just adore Penny Black stamps. They are so cute!


Check back this weekend for a product review. I recently got a chance to try out some absolutely FABULOUS Prismacolor products and I can't wait to share them with you!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

A Prettie Birthday Blog Hop!

Welcome to another fab Paper Pretties blog hop! Not only is today our regular Wednesday blog hop but we are also celebrating the birthday of Prettie Girl Wendy Bond! Happy Birthday Wendy!

If you came from Frances' blog you are on the right path! If you are just starting at my blog, head on over to Christie's blog to start from the beginning. You definitely won't want to miss any of this week's fabulous creations!

We have a fun challenge for you this week. Prettie Girl Jackie gave us the challenge of using buttons on our project. We'd love for you to ink up your Paper Pretties stamps and play along! One lucky challenge participant will win a $15 coupon to the Paper Pretties Boutique. Here are the challenge details:

How to Enter:
make a card following the challenge criter
ia and use any Paper Pretties stamp set(s) you have. Upload the card to the Paper Pretties gallery. Please include it in the Weekly Challenges album and use keyword PWC88.
Deadline: 6pm EST Tuesday, February 2nd.
Prize: $15.00 coupon to the Paper Pretties Boutique


This week the design team will be using either the set Made with Love or the set Dream Boat. Both stamp sets featured this week will be on sale for 20% off all week. Also be sure to check out the new digi stamp section of the boutique!

For my card I used the super fun Dream Boat set.



Next stop in our birthday blog hop is Prettie Girl Kristy.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you all have a terrific day!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Jacksonbelle Tuesday Challenge!

It's time for another fabulous Jacksonbelle Tuesday challenge! This week's challenge is a bit tougher than our past couple weeks...we thought we were going too easy on you, LOL. Our challenge this week is to create an everyday card using unconventional designer paper. What? What we mean is, make a birthday card with Halloween paper or a thank card with Christmas paper or a Christmas card with Easter paper (that would definitely be a challenge)...or something like that. We'd love for you to play along! If you do, be sure to use keyword JBE090 when uploading to SCS or PCP, or leave a link to your project in the comments section of the challenge post on the Jacksonbelle blog!

I got this amazing Sugar Nellie stamp from my friend Delia for Christmas and even though Christmas is over I thought I would make one more Christmas card. For unconventional designer paper, I chose the Pink Paislee Cupid line for my Christmas card.

For more inspriation, be sure to check out the blogs of all of the Jacksonbelle Rockstars!

Dawn Lusk

Julie Lacey

Heather Pulvirenti

Windy Robinson

Stehpanie Severin

Amy Tsuruta

Pam Varnell

Lynda Benden

Tobi Crawford

Jill Dunn

Carly Robertson

Shemaine Smith

Lindsey Botkin

Thanks for stopping by today! We hope you all have a great day!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Little Paper Shop Monday Challenge

Welcome back! I hope you all had a great weekend! It's Monday, so that means it time for another AWESOME Little Paper Shop challenge! This week we have a super fun color challenge from for you! We'd love for you to play along. If you do, be sure to leave a link to your project on the LPS blog and/or use keyword LPSC52 when uploading to SCS or PCP.
One lucky participant in this week's challenge will win the LPS set {Puppy Love}. You have until Sunday night to get your project linked on the LPS blog!

Here are the colors:


For my card I used the stamp set new stamp set {In Love}. I LOVE this new set! It is full of some gorgeous sentiments and coordinating hearts!

For more inspiration be sure to check out the blogs of the rest of the fabulous Little Paper Shop design team!
Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you all have a terrific Monday!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

A Prettie Challenge and Blog Hop!

Welcome to another fab Paper Pretties blog hop! If you came from Frances' blog you are on the right path! If you are just starting at my blog, head on over to Christie's blog to start from the beginning. You definitely won't want to miss any of this week's fabulous creations!

We have a fun challenge for you this week. Prettie Girl Kristy gave us the challenge of using her favorite color Pink along with our favorite color and white. She added a couple extra requirements to the challenge too: Ribbon and to use a new technique you've never used. We'd love for you to ink up your Paper Pretties stamps and play along! One lucky challenge participant will win a $15 coupon to the Paper Pretties Boutique. Here are the challenge details:

How to Enter:
make a card following the challenge criteria a
nd use any Paper Pretties stamp set(s) you have. Upload the card to the Paper Pretties gallery. Please include it in the Weekly Challenges album and use keyword PWC87.
Deadline: 6pm EST Tuedsay, January 26th.
Prize: $15.00 coupon to the Paper Pretties Boutique


We also have a new feature this week... each design team member will be using either the set Unknown Blessings or the set Simply Special. Both stamp sets featured this week will be on sale for 20% off all week. As an extra bonus this week, all clear stamps/sets are 35% off! It is a great time to pick up some of your favorites! Also be sure to check out the new digi stamp section of the boutique!

Ok, now on to my card...I used the set Unknown Blessings. I absolutely love love love the cute mailboxes in this set. They are perfect for any occasion! I paired up my favorite color Green with Kristy's Pink and White challenge. I really love this card but to be honest, I just couldn't get a good photo. It just doesn't look as pretty in the picture as it does in real life. Do any of you ever have that problem. Any photography hints for me?

Next stop in the blog hop is Prettie Girl Wendy Bond.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you all have a terrific day!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Jacksonbelle Tuesday Challenge

Welcome to another fun Jacksonbelle Tuesday challenge! This week our challenge is to make a Valentine's Day project! We'd love for you to play along with us! If you do, please use keyword JBE089 when uploading to SCS or PCP or leave a link to your project in the comments section of the challenge post on the Jacksonbelle blog!

For my card I used the super fun new Sugar Rush designer paper from Basic Grey. I'm not usually a brights kind of girl but I just love the fun patterns in this line. I added some ribbon, bling, crocheted flower and a Basic Grey stitched brad to finish things off. I absolutely love the matching accessories that Basic Grey releases with their designer paper. I honestly buy the matching brads, buttons and stitched brads for every pack of designer paper I buy. I LOVE them all!

Be sure to check out the blogs of all of the Jacksonbelle Rockstars for more Valentine inspiration!

Dawn Lusk

Julie Lacey

Heather Pulvirenti

Windy Robinson

Stephanie Severin

Amy Tsuruta

Pam Varnell

Lynda Benden

Tobi Crawford

Jill Dunn

Carly Robertson

Shemaine Smith

Lindsey Botkin


Oh yeah, and I thought I would mention....Jacksonbelle has FREE SHIPPING on any order right now! Use Discount Code FREEJB until Thursday to take advantage of this! When you are in the store be sure to check out the fabulous deals in the Inkadinkado section...All Inkadinkado stamps and stamp sets are 75% too - stock up before they are gone! Sale price is valid on in-stock items only.
Also...NEW to the Jacksonbelle store: My Favorite Things. Lindsey has a bunch of super fun My Favorite Things stamp sets in stock now!

Thanks for stopping by today! Be sure to stop by tomorrow for a fabulous new Paper Pretties challenge and blog hop!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Sorry

I had to add the word verification...the spam is crazy. I seriously got over 15 just today on current posts. I'm hoping the word verification stops this. I HATE word verification ...I'm sorry.

Little Paper Shop Preview {In Love}

It's day 2 of the Little Paper Shop January releases! Both of the January release sets will be available to purchase in the LPS store tomorrow, but the design team has some fun sneak peaks for you today! Since it is Monday we also have a challenge for you! The challenge this week was given to use by design team member Silvia. Silvia's challenge is us is to use buttons on your project! We would love for you to play along. Remember, if you do, be sure to leave a link to your project on the LPS challenge blog post for a chance to win! Today's preview set is called {In Love}. This set is totally GORGEOUS...It is perfect for Weddings, Valentine's Day or just everyday cards! For a chance to win this set, be sure to stop over at the LPS blog and leave a comment!
Be sure to check out the blogs of the rest of the LPS design team for more fabulous sneak peaks!


Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you all have a great day!

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Little Paper Shop January Preview Day 1

Before, I post my Little Paper Shop info, I wanted to let you all know that I have enabled the comments moderation on my blog. Unfortunately I have been getting WAY WAY WAY too many spam emails. The past month the spam comments had been mostly on old posts but in the past 2 days they have been on new posts (6 just last night). I hate word verification and moderation but this is the only way I'm comfortable posting right now. Sorry for the inconvenience. I only enabled the moderation (not the word verification) so your comments will not show up immediately; they will show up as soon as I approve them. This will hopefully keep inappropriate comments from being published on my blog.

OK now onto the good stuff....It's preview time at Little Paper Shop. The January release sets will be available to purchase in the LPS store on Tuesday but the design team is giving sneak peaks of the sets today and tomorrow! Today's preview set is called {Lucy and Lily Messages}. This set is totally adorable...great for Valentines' Day and more! For a chance to win this set, be sure to stop over at the LPS blog and leave a comment! Be sure to check out the blogs of the rest of the LPS design team for more fabulous sneak peaks!



Check back tomorro for another fun sneak peak and a LPS Monday challenge! I hope you are all having a great weekend!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Just had to share this...

Annabelle hung out with me while I stamped tonight. She is an amazing little artist herself. While I worked on some design team stuff, this is the card she made...all by herself! She has some mad coloring skills for a 6 year old!


Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to come back tomorrow for the first peak at the Little Paper Shop January release!

Paper Pretties January Release!

Last night was the Paper Pretties January release party! Happy 3rd Anniversary Christie and Paper Pretties! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a part of your team!
All of the January releases are now available to purchase in the Paper Pretties store!
Another new feature in the Pretties boutique is digital stamps! Right now there are only a few digital stamps available but there were be new digi stamps with each month's release!

If you remember, on Wednesday the design team blog hop showed only snippets of one of the newest Cooper stamps. Today we get to show you the whole card.

Just in case you forgot, the challenge this week is to use STITCHING on your project. We would love for you to ink up your Paper Pretties stamps and play along with us. One lucky challenge participant will win a $15 coupon to the Paper Pretties Boutique. Here are the challenge details:

How to Enter:
make a card with stitching a
nd any Paper Pretties stamp set(s) you have. Upload the card to the Paper Pretties gallery. Please include it in the Weekly Challenges album and use keyword PWC86.
Deadline: 6pm EST Tuedsay, January 19th.
Prize: $15.00 coupon to the Paper Pretties Boutique


Here is the peak of my card that I gave you on Wednesday. Could you tell my picture was of snow and boots?
Without further ado, introducing Bundle Up Cooper:
Isn't he just adorable! I think I say that every single time a Cooper or Sophia are released but I truly think they are adorable!

When I first saw this stamp I thought it could be used as either a Cooper or Sophia so I colored one up as Sophia to show you the versatility of this stamp. Isn't she adorable, LOL!

Thanks for stopping by today! Be sure to check out the blogs of all of the Prettie Girls to see their full Cooper cards! Hope you all have a great weekend!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Have a great weekend!

It has been a long time since I've had a chance to just post for fun. Life has been totally crazy for us the past few months. I'm sure many of you have noticed I haven't been commenting on blogs much lately. With vacation and Christmas and unfortunately a lot of illness, I haven't been able to get back on track. We are also trying to get our house ready to put on the market so I've also been spending a lot of time trying to make it appear like our house actually has some storage (not an easy thing to do when every closet in the house is packed floor to ceiling). I'm hoping to get back in the swing of blogging and commenting on blogs ASAP. I also missed my blogiversary a couple weeks ago so be on the lookout for some fun blog candy coming soon. Thanks to all of you how have stuck with me even when I haven't been around to your blogs!

With all that being said I thought I would share a card I made a few months ago. I absolutely LOVE this image from SCACD. Isn't she just adorable!

I also have a few little annoucments to share today:

My blogging friend Erika is giving away some INCREDIBLE blog candy. Check out her blog HERE.

All Inkadinkado stamps are on sale 75% at Jacksonbelle! Sale applies to in-stock items only. Lindsey will no longer be carrying Inkadinkado stamps so these will no be re-stocked. All of the remaining stock is under $3 and there are still some awesome stamps left!

Today is the big 3rd anniversary party for Paper Pretties. The fun starts in the Paper Pretties forum at 7pm CST.

The Little Paper Shop January release sneak peaks start Sunday. The sets this month are AWESOME! You'll definitely want to check them out! The design team will be sharing peaks on Sunday and Monday with the sets being available to purchase on Tuesday. Be sure to check out the LPS blog on Sunday and Monday for a chance to win the new sets!

I think that is about it from me today. I hope you all have a terrific weekend!