Wednesday, February 17, 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 Jane! Jane challenged us to CASE a card from the Paper Pretties gallery but change at least 2 things about it.

This week the design team will be using either the set Crafty Emergency or Game On. 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!

For my card, I used the set Crafty Emergency. I picked THIS CARD by Danielle Lounds to CASE. I have always liked Danielle's stamping style and her card just really drew me in. I changed the color scheme and the sketch orientation for my card.
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 16, 2010

Jacksonbelle Tuesday Challenge!

Welcome to another fun Jacksonbelle Tuesday challenge! This week our challenge is to try a new fold. There are tons of tutorials on SCS for fun and funky folds! We would love for you to play along with us! If you do, be sure to use keyword JBE093 when uploading to SCS or PCP or leave a link to your creation in the comments section of the challenge post on the Jacksonbelle blog!

I had never tried an easel card before so I thought I would give it a go. These cards are super easy and fun to make and I definitely see more of these in my future! For my card I used some fun Cosmo Cricket Jolly By Golly designer paper.

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

Dawn Lusk

Julie Lacey

Heather Pulvirenti

Windy Robinson

Stephanie Severin

Amy Tsuruta

Pam Varnell

Lynda Benden

Tobi Crawford

Jill Dunn

Shemaine Smith

Lindsey Botkin


There are tons of new things in the Jacksonbelle store right now....Lindsey just got a bunch of adorable Pure Innocence stamps from My Favorite Things in. She also has the 3 new Cosmo Cricket lines (Garden Variety, Joy Ride and Material Girl). The new Sarah Kay Stampavie stamps aren't in stock just yet but they are available to pre-order (I pre-ordered mine yesterday!!!! The new stamps are totally adorable!!!).

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

Monday, February 15, 2010

Little Paper Shop Preview Day 2

It's day 2 of the Little Paper Shop February releases! Both of the February 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 Ann. Ann's challenge for us is to use distressing 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 {Tweet Wishes Lucy}. This set is totally adorable. 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, February 14, 2010

It's Preview Time!

It's preview time at Little Paper Shop. The February 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 {Moments}. I absolutely LOVE this set! It is full of beautiful sentiments! For a chance to win this set, be sure to stop over at the LPS blog and leave a comment!


For more fabulous sneak peaks 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!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Cricut Valentines

I've been busy this past week making Valentines for Annabelle and Beckett's classes. I used my Hello Kitty and Dinosaur Tracks Cricut cartridges for these. All the girls get Hello Kitty and the boys get dinos. The Hello Kitty cards are 5 1/2 inches tall. I attached both the Hello Kitty cards and the dinos to Martha Stewart treat boxes filled with candy.
The sentiment on the Hello Kitty cards is from an old Stampin Up set.

I did the sentiment for the dinos with my JustRite Monogram stamper. The heart is punched with the Stampin Up heart punch.

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

Wednesday, February 10, 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 fabulously talented Prettie Girl Jennifer! Jennifer's challenge is to make something Valentine inspired.

This week the design team will be using the sets Sassy Shoes, Sassy Circles or Flirty Fortunes. All of these 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!

For my card, I used the set Sassy Shoes. My Valetine inspiration comes in the form of a color combo. I just love this stamp set. It is full of fun and sassy shoes along with coordinating sentiments.
I'm not sure why I'm having such a hard time photographing reds but once again today my red looks more orangy in the photo than it should. I used Real Red cardstock.


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 Kristy!

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

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Jacksonbelle Tuesday Challenge!

Welcome to another fun Jacksonbelle Tuesday challenge! With Valentine's Day just around the corner, we thought we would do a "Love is in the Air" challenge this week. Make a project that represents love to you! We'd love for you to play along with us! If you do, please use keyword JBE092 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 me, the biggest loves of my life are my kids. For my card I chose an image that truly shows the meaning of love in my mind. I paired the image up with my absolute favorite Basic Grey line ever...Origins! I LOVE the greens, browns and yellows in these patterns! I added some Prima flowers and some matching Basic Grey brads. The background was done using the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder.

Be sure to check out the blogs of all of the Jacksonbelle Rockstars for more LOVE 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


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

Monday, February 8, 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.
One lucky participant in this week's challenge will win the LPS set {Friends}. You have until Sunday night to get your project linked on the LPS blog!

Here are the colors:


For my card I used the new stamp set {In Love}.

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!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Something special going on at Little Paper Shop!!!

CHD Awareness Week

Today is a special day for my fellow LPS design team member Allison and the entire Little Paper Shop team. Julia was so sweet to allow Allison to design a stamp set for charity in recognition of Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week which starts today! This is a subject that is very near and dear to Allison's heart. You can read Allison's story on her blog, Stampin When I Can.

This digital stamp set, titled {Broken Hearts for Broken Hearts}, will be available at the Little Paper Shop for a donation of five dollars. All the proceeds (minus paypal fees) will be donated to the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton to aid in research and the purchase of specialized equipment.

This digital set is like no other I've seen. It is serious and hilarious and a total deal for $5. Plus, that $5 (minus paypal fees) goes to support this great cause!!!

Be sure to check out the amazing creations the other design team girls have made with this wonderful set!

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you are all having a terrific weekend!

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!