Recollections and Resolutions-LAD Team Challenge

 It's Lizzie Anne Designs team challenge once again! This month our challenge was to create something based on a New Year's resolution. Personally, I'm not really into NYRs. I feel that if you need to make changes in your life, make them NOW rather than starting at some designated day. But, whatever works I guess. I really had to think long and hard on this subject. So many habits that I need to change, etc., but since my main focus lately has been caring for my MIL in her last days, I've really come to appreciate living life to the fullest. Therefore, my resolution is to be more adventurous in my life. Somehow when you hit the age of 50, you tend to become more timid about life. I want to challenge myself more, try new things, new experiences, travel to new places. These images from Lizzie Anne Designs "Lucky in Love" mix are perfect representations for this new adventurous

 spirit that I am aiming for. What are you resolved to do differently this year? For starters, jump into our Design Teams' inspiring blogs, visit the LAD web site, and purchase some of these images that are so perfect for every day life...the life we live now, and the life we aspire to live.

Lizzie Anne Designs Mix "Lucky in Love"
Bazzill cardstock
October Afternoon, Cosmo Cricket papers
Summer Sky, Rich Cocoa, Sand Dune Memento inks
Nestabilities Scalloped Ovals and Standard Ovals

Dream Schemes Sketch #2-A Celtic Valentine

This week's Dream Schemes is our second sketch challenge. I went with a Celtic Valentine theme. The focal point Celtic Heart Knot was paste-embossed in glossy white on a Nestie die cut circle and framed with a second Nestie Lacey circle. On the main body of the card, the Love 2 stencil was embossed in part red and part black glossy pastes on designer print paper. Paisley ribbon and black rhinestones finish off the design. I apologize for the short post. I know those of you regulars are used to me rambling on and on. Life is just getting away from me right now. Been staying at my MIL to care for her, and crafting in my free time. Access to a computer has been sketchy, so on this one day that I ran home (a two hour drive), I decided to complete this project, photograph it, and pre-post for the blog. CHA is only a couple of weeks away, and I'm still hoping that I will be able to go and check out all the latest. For those of you that will be there, and for those of you who want to drool over the latest and greatest, be sure to stay connected to the Dreamweaver blog, site, and the team's blogs. You will be thrilled and amazed at the wonderful
new designs soon to be released. Meanwhile, check out the creativity for this week at our team blogs, leave comments, and post your own creations. We want to see your version of this week's challenge. Have a very creative day!

 

LM178 Celtic Heart Knot from Dreamweaver Stencils
LL481 Love 2 from Dreamweaver Stencils
DGKP Glossy Black, DGRP Glossy Red, and DGWP Glossy White Embossing Paste
red linen, white cardstock
dot print, swirl print
Nestabilities Classic Scalloped Circles, Lacey Circles
paisley ribbon, black rhinestones

Let's Go to the HOP!!

Welcome to Stampendous! Rubber Stamps’ first official Blog Hop! We’re so excited that our stellar Design Team was up for this challenge so soon after the grueling work of producing all the samples for our January 2011 Catalog. Here’s your chance to see some really wonderful projects from BOTH the October 2010 Valentine, Easter, Spring Catalog (just uploaded to our website for your purchasing pleasure) and the January 2011 Catalog premiering at CHA at the end of this month (soon to be available in your local store for your wish list making pleasure). We’re so excited you can join us! There will be four prizes drawn at random from the eligible hoppers... We’ll give away two of the Busy Bunnies set from the October Catalog and two flower sets from the January Catalog!  All blog hoppers who comment on all the blogs will receive an email with a really cute bonus project and directions!!

Here are the
Official Rules:
1. Start the hop at the Stampendous! blog then hop through all the Design Team blogs.
2. Make sure to leave a comment on each Design Team Members' post.
3. We will pick 4 random winners from all the comments left at all the sites. You must comment on EACH site to be eligible.
4. You have until Monday, January 10th at midnight EST to hop and comment.
5. Winners will be picked and notified on Wednesday, January 12.
6. We can’t mail prizes internationally, but if you want to join the hop we will email you the cute project.
7. Have fun!

DT Blog  Addresses in Hopping Order:
Jennie      http://just4funcrafts.blogspot.com/  
Wendy     http://paperinkandsmiles.blogspot.com/   
Rachel     http://gingerbreadgallery.blogspot.com/
Cyndi      http://scrappychickcyndi.blogspot.com/  

Kimberly http://kimberly-crawford.blogspot.com/

Pam        http://1pamperedstamper.blogspot.com/

So, now you know all the rules and regulations. Most likely, you've already read it before on all the other blogs for the team since I should be last. I'd like to say saving the best for last, but no way...everyone on this team is amazing and unique. For my creation for the October 2010 catalog, I made this fun Easter purse. Though you can't see it, the inside of the flap was entirely covered in Wild Plum embossing powder, with a second coating of Stardust embossing powder over the top. Yummy color with lots of sparkle. The outside of the purse is entirely covered in white embossing powder on the body, and Lettuce embossing powder on the flap. The fun DP was stamped with the Cling Egg Trio in a row and embossed with Bark embossing powder. The clasp for the purse was the Cling Paisley Egg stamped, embossed, reinforced, cut out and attached. A hook and loop dot was attached on the inside of the flap to hold it closed. Then I went insane embellishing. I added pompom trim, ribbon, ball chain with a tag (after all this IS a designer bag), lots of buttons, rick rack, borders, and a gathered fabric handle, flowers, etc.  

With my Manolo Blahniks,

a purse with buttons upon it,

I'll be the wackiest stamper

in the Easter Parade!  

(Sung to the tune of "Easter Parade", hee hee!)

Supplies from Stampendous:
CRH273 Cling Paisley
CRN229 Cling Egg Trio
CRE264 Cling Joyous Easter
EK09 Razzleberry Embossing Kit
EP100 White Embossing Powder
EP505 Bark Embossing Powder
Misc. Supplies:
purse blank (Creative Imaginations)
designer print paper
Blossom Bazzill Cardstock
flowers (Prima)
brad fasteners
fabric
ribbon (Creative Impressions)
rick rack, buttons, ball chain
Velcro dot

Now you have the opportunity for a sneak peak at new stuff coming from Stampendous at CHA the end of the this month. I freeform cut the flower pot-shaped card from a terracotta colored cardstock. The image on the card was from "Garden Beauty". I kept it simple, just stamping the image with Aquamarine Chalk ink on the base of the "pot", and Rich Cocoa Memento on the lip of the pot. More ink was used to distress and add some character. A jute tie and flowers completes the card.
SSC1113 Garden Beauty Perfectly Clear set from Stampendous
Aquamarine ColorBox Chalk ink from Clearsnap
Rich Cocoa Memento ink from Tsukineko
Bazzill cardstock
Prima flowers
jute twine


Be sure to leave a comment at each of the stops on the "Hoppian Way" (sorry...couldn't resist!), and another at the Stampendous blog, by Monday, January 10th, at midnight EST.

Hop on over this Saturday!

What's this you say? These are sneaky peakies of what you'll see tomorrow! Stampendous will be doing an amazing blog hop this Saturday, beginning at 9 am EST. Be sure to start from the Stampendous blog and follow the "Hoppian Way", packed with cute stuff and inspiration for all your papercrafting. You'll have the opportunity to view some "sneak peaks" of brand new, soon-to-be-released images, as well as the opportunity to win one of four prize packages from Stampendous, plus each commenter will receive an emailed special project to create yourself with some of the new images. Come have a Hoppy Saturday with Stampendous!

Dream Schemes-Lesson Learned

Fortunately for me, this week for the Dreamweaver Stencil's Thursday Dream Scheme, is a free-choice week. Since I am going to be helping my MIL for awhile, it helped that I had a card on my computer that I hadn't posted as yet. It also helps that you cardmakers are moving into Valentine mode, which this card would obviously work for, or for a wedding, anniversary, or some other smoochy celebration. Now, here is where I have to admit that I made a big boo-boo when I created this card. I was attempting to use a version of the "Double Glitter" technique made popular by Dreamweaver Stencils, but I did a man thing...I didn't read the directions first! So, before attempting that technique, I HIGHLY recommend that you follow the instructions. Instead of using glitter, I used flock and embossing powder. This was NOT the boo-boo. Hmmm...I guess I'll tell you what I SHOULD have done, and then I'll tell you my mistake. First of all, you place a piece of double-sided adhesive on your cardstock panel (in this case, bright pink). Remove the top carrier sheet. Rub a high-fat content bar of soap over the back of the stencil (Dreamweaver sells the perfect bar from Hawaii with coconut oil...smells yummy!), and place the stencil on the adhesive surface. Now you pour your flock over the entire surface,pressing into the adhesive. Pour off the excess, and brush off any loose bits. Then carefully remove the stencil. Now you have exposed areas that you will fill with, in the case of this card, black embossing powder. Shake and snap off any excess powder. Heat the powder until it melts. And that's it! I did cut the panel into several pieces and adhered them to a black cardstock panel with space in between, reminiscent of mosaic. It looks really pretty, don't you think? You want to know where the goof was, right? If you think it was the embossing powder and that the adhesive reacted to the heat...nope, that was fine. Where I goofed was that I did NOT apply soap to the back of the stencil before placing it on the adhesive. Therefore, when I went to remove it from the extremely sticky surface, it didn't want to let go. Fortunately, I didn't rip the panel that I just carefully created, but the stencil is not looking so great now...quite bent out of shape. This made me a little bent out of shape as well! Lesson learned! So please leave me a nice sympathetic comment, hop on over to see what the rest of the instruction-reading team has been up to this week (as listed at right), leave them some love as well, and over to the Dream It Up! blog for inspiration from the stencil guru, Lynell! Post your own creations with a link so we can see what you've been up to as well.
"Long Heart" from Dreamweaver Stencils (LL311)
Double Sided Mounting Paper from Dreamweaver Stencils (MPDS)
Handmade Hawaiian Soap from Dreamweaver Stencils (DHHS)
Midnight Black Embossing Powder from Stampendous (EP111)
Pixie Pink Fun Flock from Stampendous (FL803)
Rouge Chalk ink from Clearsnap
bright pink and black cardstock
EK Success print paper
silver heart charm, ribbon, jumpring

Muchas Smooches!

 The card for this post is based on the Monday Sketch Challenge designed by Joslyn Nielsen of the Lizzie Anne Designs team. What I love about her creations, is that she's never afraid to leave white/blank space on her cards. They always have a deceptively CAS look to them. I tried to do the same with my card, but as usual, it just didn't happen. I always feel like I need more...more color, more texture, more stuff. Maybe that needs to be one of my New Year's resolutions...to leave some blank space. On my cards, on my pages, in my home, and in my life. Hmmm. It's worth a try!

For this card, I tried to just stamp one heart on the white panel. Then I added a black heart, but that was like a gaping hole. So, I cut out a print heart center and adhered it on the fold for dimension. Still seemed like too much white space, so I cut another print heart in half and adhered each half on the sides. I intended to just stamp the sentiment three times across the card, but since they didn't stamp straight, I created little tiles of the sentiment and deliberately made them crooked. At this point, I determined that the three images with the three sentiments was too even, so the bow and button were added...probably the only part of my card that is like Joslyn's. Oh, well, I tried...sort of. Be sure to check out Joslyn's version on her blog, as well as the rest of the team as listed at right. Create your own and post it to the Lizzie Anne Designs Facebook page!

Winter 2011 Mix, "Lucky in Love" from Lizzie Anne Designs
Onyx and Satin Red Versafine ink from Tsukineko
black, white cardstock
dot print
ribbon, button, twine

A Hug and a Squeeze

Quickie post as I head down to take care of the MIL. This card was created for the Stampendous October catalog 2010, which featured new release stamps for Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Easter. So many super cute designs with bunnies, Changito, owls, chicks, etc. Head over to the Stampendous site to view them all! I'm into a paper piecing thing lately, so I selected a variety of small prints. I free form cut the heart on the front, cut a white scalloped mat for it, and even punched 1/16" holes in all the scallops. Crazy, but cute. Changito Squeeze was stamped on five papers, some with pastel blue embossing to highlight the images. Parts and pieces were cut out and adhered to the image on the blue paper. A few bits were popped up with double-sided foam adhesive. This cutie would obviously make a fun Valentine card, but would also be perfect as a "just because" card. Who doesn't want a hug and a squeeze?

Perfectly Clear "Changito Squeeze" from Stampendous (SSC1085)
Clear Bark Embossing Powder from Stampendous (EP505)
Baby Blue Pastel Embossing Powder from Stampendous (EP162)
light blue, dark brown cardstock
MMe and American Crafts print papers
decorative scissors
1/16" hole punch
sheer ribbon
double-sided foam adhesive

I'm a CHICK!

Yeah, I know you are either going, "Huh?", or "Duh!", am I right? But...I'm just a little excited! Today was the announcement on the InStyle Stamps blog of their latest design teams. I'm fortunate enough to be included with some amazing talent. There will be three teams...Chicks, Chickies, and Chicklets, and all will be having a blast creating with the InStyle Stamps designs, including brand new rubber stamps as well! For more info on their big announcement, head over to their blog. Keep checking back for new inspiration and new designs!

"It's a New Year, It's a New Day, It's a New..." LAD Singles Release!

 Happy New Year! Happy Lizzie Anne Designs Singles Release Day. Hard to believe we are now in 2011. Why is it the older you get, the faster time seems to go by? Time is kind of my theme for today's post. Lizzie Anne Designs just released two new Singles stamps, "Love You a Latte" and "Wise Man's Treasure". Obviously, the second is the stamp that I am featuring. I love the old-fashioned clock/watch style of it, and somehow it made me think of a man's pocket watch, so that's what I created with it. For the vest, I used this Graphic 45 paper that I love (and just ran out of!). The pocket slits are actually strips from the Nestabilities "Wonky Squares". I

attached a chain from an estate sale grab bag to the stamped, cut out, and distressed image with brad fasteners, and tucked it into the "pocket". The edges of the "vest", as well as the rest of the card were distressed with ink as well, and I used a piercing tool to create stitch lines around various parts of the card. I would have actually stitched them except I put my sewing machine away before the holidays when we had guests, and just haven't pulled it back out again. I doubt this snappy dresser would have used twine knots to attach his buttons, but they add character! The sentiment at the bottom is from the Winter 2011 Mix, "Lucky in Love". Don't forget to hop around to the rest of the Team's blogs. Be prepared to be inspired by all of these super-talented ladies. Then hop on over to the Lizzie Anne Designs web site to purchase your own Singles, and of course, anything else that catches your eye! On a more somber note, I guess the main reason for my theme on time, is that my MIL is in the process of losing her battle with lung cancer, and it has become extremely obvious to me how precious time is. Grab it with both hands and spend it lavishly on those you love.

"Wise Man's Treasure" Single from Lizzie Anne Designs
"You've Got Style" from Winter 2011 Mix "Lucky in Love" from Lizzie Anne Designs
Rich Cocoa Memento ink from Tsukineko
Bazzill cardstock
Graphic 45 "Proper Gentlemen"
Creative Impressions brad fasteners
Nestabilities Wonky Squares and Labels Four
buttons, twine, chain