A Moo-velous Birthday

One thing I love about being part of a Stamp Club is sometimes the themes really challenge me.  The theme for February is to create a Pop-Up card.  Yay!

For the front of the card, I kept it pretty simple . . . I stamped the cow on X-Press It card stock and colored with Copics.  Of course, I wanted to add dimension, so I cut it out and used foam tape when I adhered it to the circle.

For the inside of the card, I used the Lots of Pops die set from Elizabeth Craft Designs.  I gotta tell ya . . . that die set sure made making a pop-up card really easy.  I did use the same cow stamp for the inside, but when I cut it out this time, I left the flower in her mouth.

The sentiment was printed from my computer and then I used my Spellbinders oval dies to cut it out. There was a lot of detail involved adding that banner . . . and I had no idea I could even tie bows that tiny!

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Another Journal Page

So, when it comes to art journaling, I have to admit that I'm not one to use paint or ink sprays very often.  It takes too long to dry. . . even with a heat tool.  So, I tend to use ink pads instead . . . very little dry time, if any at all depending on the type of ink I use.

Currently, my favorite inks to use are Distress Oxide inks . . . I really love the soft chalky finish. . . and how nicely they blend.

So for this page, I started by adhering a piece of sheet music for my first layer.  I did a light coat of gesso over that to tone down the sheet music.  Then I used a stencil by The Crafter's Workshop and added Worn Lipstick and Wild Honey Distress Oxide inks.  I used another stencil with Broken China Distress Oxide ink for another layer and yet another stencil with Fired Brick Distress Oxide ink.

It's still a work in progress . . . but I'm loving how it's coming together.

Thanks for stopping by today!

It's a Girl!

I made this card for a baby shower held for one of my husband's co-worker.  I knew I wanted to use the Unforgettable stamp set by WPlus9 because the elephants are so incredibly adorable!

I stamped that little elephant on patterned paper and cut it out with the coordinating die.  I stamped the balloon and the bow on pink card stock and cut them out by hand.

All of the patterned paper is by Memory Box . . . and it's been in my stash for a long time . .  . a really, really long time. . . so I was pretty happy to use it up.

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A Coffee Drinking Monkey

Sometimes you just gotta use stamps that haven't been used in a really long time, am I right?  So, I whipped up these two cards to send to my sisters with samples of Thrive Cafe.

On this card, I stamped Changito on X-Press it card stock and colored with Copics.  I then stamped the image again on patterned paper so I could do a little paper piecing for the pajamas. . . because a monkey in plaid pajamas is just too cute.

For this card, I decided to color the whole image . . . no paper piecing.  But the pajamas needed polk dots . . . so I added them in using my white Uni-Ball Signo gel pen.

The inside greeting reads, "Sometimes you just know it's going to be a two-cup kind of day."

Thanks for stopping by today!

A Garden Girl Birthday Card

Seriously, you guys . . . how cute is this stamp by StampingBella?!  When I first saw it, I just knew I had to have it. . . and the matching die, too!

I stamped the image on X-Press It card stock and colored it with Copics. . . all those tiny little areas . . .whew! My eyes were a bit tired after that.  Then I die-cut the stamped imaged and popped her up with foam tape for dimension.

Thanks for visiting today!

Perhaps They are Not Stars

When it comes to card making, I tend to be very structured . . . everything has to be just so.  And every now and again, I like to step out of that little box just to be a little less orderly. . .and that is where my art journal comes in.

Working in my journal gives me the opportunity to just be messy and not over think anything.  It also helps me get back to being structured, if that makes any sense.

Aaaaaannnnnyyyyywwhhoooo. . . . here's a page:

My sister passed away in November 2016. . . when I created this page, I had been thinking about her a lot.  I really miss her.  So I pulled out my journal, Distress Oxide Inks, and stamps from Power Poppy.

I chose the succulent stamps because my sister loved them . . .and she had a beautiful succulent garden in her back yard.

I started by applying the inks on the page using a blending tool.  Then I splattered a bit of water to get the ink to oxidize.  I drew the moon by hand and added some doodles and some highlights with a white gel pen.  I stamped the succulents along the bottom in Distress Oxide ink as well.  The sentiment was printed from my computer.

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Celebrate

So, here's a pretty quick and easy card I created.  I really love the look of shadow stamping.

I started by stamping the Flourish and Dandelion (Unity Stamp Co.) in Gray Flannel Memento Ink on gray kraft cardstock.  Then I stamped them again in white pigment ink, but offset the stamp just a bit to create a "shadow."  The sentiment (Hampton Art) is stamped in Gray Flannel Memento, as well.

Add a few sequins and viola . . . all done!

Thanks for visiting today.

Oh Happy Day!

I'm all caught up!  So now I can get back to posting all things crafty. . . like this card.

I'm in a Stamp Club and each month, we create a card according to a specific theme.  For this month, the theme was "Oh Happy Day!"

The stamp is by Whipper Snapper Designs.  I used Copic Markers to color the image.

Thanks for stopping by!

The Last Two Years . . .

. . . have been a whirlwind.  And I have definitely slacked on keeping this little blog o'mine up to date.  But ya know what?  My blog(s) have always been crafty blogs . . . mostly stamping and card making, with an occasional art journal page and paper crafting project thrown in for good measure.

And I've wanted to get back to a crafty blog . . .sooooooooo, I'm going to sum up the last two years using bullet points (so as not leave you hanging) . . .you know. . . like bullet journaling . .. only on a blog.

Ready?  Here we go:

* We lived in a hotel for six weeks until we found the cutest little house that is perfect for us.

* Six weeks later my beloved car of 17 years, Emily finally gave out.

* Two weeks later, our sweet little Jacob found us. . . Morgan got a brother!

* Two weeks after that, we celebrated our first Christmas in Texas.

* Three months later, our sweet little Jacob got sick. . .very, very sick.  He caught Leptospirosis and spent a whole week in the hospital.

* We were so happy (and relieved) when he finally got to come home.

* I finally decided on furniture for my craft room . . . I think that was the most difficult room to unpack and put together . . . and it took a really long time to get things organized and put away. . .

Once I did though . . . I started crafting right away . . . but all those will be posted a bit later. . .

*Spring 2016, Morgan blew out her knee . . .we opted not to put her through the surgery due to her age and she has anxiety issues, too.  Since she injured her knee, we had to shorten our walks. . . until we got her a cart.

At first, they weren't too sure about it, but they got used to it pretty quickly.

* One of the things we like to do is go on long walks down by the river . . . spring is the perfect time, because, well . . .summers are definitely hot here.

I gotta tell ya . . . the wildflowers here are absolutely beautiful.

Summer 2016, because it does get so hot, I learned how to make lemonade concentrate from scratch.. . it turned out amazing!  And, I tend to cook outside during the summer . . .and Jacob proudly watches over whatever is cooking.  And, I finally got a flag for the front of the house.

Fall 2016 . . .  Fall is definitely my favorite season . . . I love a good thunderstorm, and of course Halloween . . . oh, and, after almost a year of being without one. . . we finally bought a car.

Winter 2016 . . . We have been in our house a little over a year and absolutely love living here.  We've settled in to a "routine" as it were.   And I started stamping more and more since we were finally settled in.

Jan. - Mar. 2017 . . . 

April - June 2017 . . .

July - Sept, 2017...

I decided to take a Yoga Teacher Training Class that was offered at YogaPod . . . it was 200 hours in nine weeks.  It was intense . . . but the instructors were absolutely amazing . . . and my classmates were awesome, too!  Beautiful souls . . .each and every one of them.   

And . . . I got some stamping and coloring squeezed in there, too . . .

 And we also went to our first Baylor game . . . it was sooooo much fun!

Oct. - Dec. 2017 . . . 

And we finished out 2017 with snow. . . 

And there you have it . . . two years in one very long post.

Thanks for stopping by!