Wednesday, April 30, 2008

May Dots

I missed last week's Tilda & Friends ATC challenge, so I have some catching up to do!! So first, here's last week's theme of "Going Dotty". I made the dots on the tub and figured the bubbles looked dotty, as well. Lots of Stickles on this one!! :)




This week's theme had to do with May - Think dancing 'round the maypole, spring flowers and sunshine. This sweet little Tilda has to be one of my very, very favorites. She's a little smaller than some of the others and I just *adore* her polka dotted boots!!!


Hope you have a wonderful, glorious, last day of April. See you tomorrow for the blog candy drawing!!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Don't Forget!

Hello friends,

Sorry I've been missing in action, but the sore throat, cough, generally feeling miserable bug found me a few days ago and I just haven't had much desire to do anything but sit on the couch with a cup of hot tea and moan.

Hopefully I'll be enough better to make a card for you tomorrow, but in the meantime, be sure that you've signed up for my blog candy (the post below this one) and have a lovely day!!

Friday, April 25, 2008

Blog Candy and Big Bird

Hello Friends!

I just saw that my counter has reached 15,000 - so it's time for some blog candy!!!! I've been so incredibly blessed in the image swaps that I've been doing lately that I'm going to share some of my plunder with you. There are Tildas and Sugar Nellies, and Elzybells (both US and UK), and House Mouse and Fluffles and Penny Black... all my favorites! Plus there's paper and primas and ribbon and even a little flower stamp set from The Angel Company. WooHoo!!!!

To enter, please leave a comment on this post and be sure I can reach you to let you know that you won! If you'd like to tell me what card I've made in the last few months that you really like, I'd love to know that, too. Or you can ask a question, or give me ideas for a tutorial you'd like to see... or whatever!! I'll draw the winner the morning of May 1st. Here's what you'll win...


One of the cute images that I received was this little Penny Black Duck. My husband looked at the card and said... "Oh. It's Big Bird." Men. Gotta love 'em!! *smiles*

Have a great day, and be sure to tell your friends about the Candy!!


Wednesday, April 23, 2008

More Tilda!

I made this background for a challenge group that I'm in, but didn't really like it, so I covered most of it up!! Tilda is out walking among the butterflies with her adorable Scotty dog... that is from the Stamp Of The Month set by The Angel Company!!!! :) Isn't he precious??

Remember, this Stamp Of the Month only goes through the end of April, so hurry quick and order if you would like to take this puppy home!!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Shades of Blue



The challenge at Tilda & Co was to make a girly card with shades of blue. I pulled out my stash of stamped images, and found this adorable one of Tilda sitting. Then I grabbed a piece of paper from my Vintage Blush digital paper pack and matched my colors from there. I colored Tilda with Prismas & OMS and sat her on a swirl in the paper. The sentiment is from Studio G. Here's a closeup...


Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Saturday Fun!

For my Saturday fun I stopped by Gina K's and got to make a couple cards. Can you see me smiling??? I got to use the CuttleBug and embossing folders, *and* the Nestabilities!!!!!! They are wonderful!! Here's the first card...



We used a palette of watercolors on the second card, which was really fun - but a challenge, since I've never watercolored that way before. I'm so thankful to Deb Olson for giving me a tutorial on the "real thing" (watercolors out of tubes) a few years ago! The cute border was just made with a scallop scissor and a little star punch. Isn't it adorable??



The last card is just a quick and easy Birthday card to add to my stash or send to one of my Magnolia buddies. :) Nothing too elaborate, but I like it!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Sleepy Meecy Mice


I had so much fun coloring this House Mouse image!! I chose my Prismacolors based on this Daisy D floral that I'd picked up awhile ago. They look so peaceful!! The sentiment is from Michael's. Pretty self-explanatory other than that!! Remember to double click on the image if you want to see it closer-up. (Is that a word??)

I got to stop in at Gina K's store today and make a couple cards. How fun!! I got to finally see the Cuttlebug and Nestabilities in action, and got to try out Peerless Watercolors. I'll post the cards I made either tomorrow or Monday.
Have a wonderful Lord's Day tomorrow!!

Friday, April 18, 2008

European Style

I love the number of elements that some of the European cardmakers use together. It's so not my usual style, but it is fun to try!! Here I have colored a Penny Black Hedgie with Prismacolors and OMS and layered it on two swatches of retired SU designer paper. The Rose Red piece in the background is stamped with the Polka Dot background stamp from CC Designs. I couldn't decide whether or not to add the flower, but I think I like it. I'm working hard not to hoard my flowers (Thank you, Mish, for the "no hoarding" helps the other day!!), so now I'm trying to use them up so I have a reason to go get more. *smile*

The gals on one of my YahooGroups are enabling me to buy some Tildas from the Magnolia site. We'll see how long I can hold out... I give myself about an hour. LOL!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Dreaming of Winter...


"Are you crazy??? Winter????" Nope, not crazy, but the ATC Challenge on Tilda & Friends for this week was to make something "wet & windy" - and seeing as I don't have that many Tildas to pick from I had to go with some frozen wetness. *smile* I colored Tilda with Prismacolors and OMS, made some snow on a little piece of snowflake DP by Stampin' Up, and punched out a couple of snowflakes covered with Stickles to add some sparkle. The sentiment and pearlescent brad are from TAC. What a fun challenge. Check out the design team's work, it's wonderful!
Sweet dreams!!

Cute Card Thursday & Mouse Sighting!

The challenge for Cute Card Thursday is to make a card for the Men & Boys in our lives, so here's one with the Limited Edition frog set from The Angel Company. I *love* the card - but I couldn't get the color right in the picture at all!! Picture River Rock and Chocolate Chip and it will help! Really, though, I think I prefer the card I posted yesterday for my challenge card. Can it be Cute Card Wednesday this week?? I'm pretty sure it was already Thursday in the UK!! *smiles*



As for the Mouse sighting... It's a House Mouse!!! :) I received a marvelous package of stamped images the other day and now I have a whole bunch of House Mouse Stamps to color!! :) Oh, how fun. But when I sat down to color this one, I really got kind of nervous. "What if it turns out ugly??" So here it is... I colored it with Prismacolors and OMS and left it fairly plain. Too many fal-da-rols and it seemed to take away from the cute image. I did use an idea that I saw on someone's blog (I'd give credit if I remembered whose!!) to mount the vanilla of the image on another sheet of vanilla cardstock to give it a "faux nestabilities" look. Pretty snazzy!! :)




Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!!



Wednesday, April 16, 2008

A first...

I received a package of adorable Penny Black Hedgie images in the mail the other day and challenged myself to try something new. Can you believe that in all my years of stamping I have never watercolored with reinkers? I've used watercolor crayons and watercolor pencils, and even watercolored with markers or by squishing down the top of the inkpad, but never with reinkers. I wonder what took me so long! It's quick and easy and the color is incredibly brilliant. I simply put a drop of each reinker I wanted to use into one of the plastic boxes the TAC stamps come in, and then used a little watercolor brush. So much fun!! The "boy" stamp is from a clear Studio G set that I picked up awhile back. In fact it was in my "give away" pile from lack of use... but it's not there anymore! :)

Have a wonderful day!!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Have you ever...

made a card and not really been thrilled with it?? I did that not long ago and tucked the card in my box, cuz it wasn't bad enough to toss, just bad enough not to send to anyone.

Well, today's stash challenge on ASB is to find one of those "has been's" and make it a "have to have." Here is my "before" card...

It's... OK. The monkey is cute, but the card just didn't jump out at me...


and here is my "after"...

I took off the bow, redid the picture with one of the new TAC Stamps of the Month (who is definitely a "have to have" in my book!!!) and used one of my new Gift with Purchase stamps from TAC to stamp the greeting. I added some of my treasured Prima daisies and a pearlescent brad from TAC (love these!!) and VIOLA! A new masterpiece!!

If you decide to take me up on the challenge, I'd love to see your work! :)

Monday, April 14, 2008

Friendship Stays


I've some to the conclusion that I am a "cute card" person, and I think I'm ok with that. I love Fluffles, and House Mouse and Elzybells and Magnolia Tilda stamps. I'm crazy over Lucky & Lulu and Riley the Moose and the Happy Hoppers and Gruffies. I like Ellen Hutson's flowers in vases, and little kleenex boxes, and I'm crazy about Penny Black Hedgies and Mice. I "oooh" and "aahhh" over my friends' creations with beautiful solid flowers and elegant classy cards and projects, but I have a hard time making them myself. I guess that's what makes this such a fun and diverse craft. We all have our niche. We just have to find it and be happy there!!

I colored today's card with Prismacolors and oms, and used up a small piece of retired Stampin' Up! DP to mat my image. The flowers in the background were stamped with Rose Red and then I colored some of them with a light pink prismacolor to give them the "bleached" look. I like it! No smells, and I don't have to worry about bleach spots on my clothes!! (Don't ask....)

Have a wonderful day. Hope you take time to drop a note to a friend this week!

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Projects, projects, projects!!



Sorry I've been sporadic at posting this month! At the beginning of the year I made a goal of completing 30 projects - about 3 a month - that I already had most of the ingredients for. My list consists of things like ... finish cross-stitch Christmas stocking, complete 2007 scrapbook (done!), finish quilted tabletopper, finish challenge quilt, layer and quilt Christmas quilt, quilt in closet and quilt on couch, make cross stitch for Love Quilts, cross stitch 2 small samplers... etc. Stamping is actually not even on my list, but I've been doing so much of it that my other projects have been on the back burner. Not so this week!!! :) I've completed a baby blanket to put in my gift box (made from scraps from a quilt I made for my son years ago, and backed with fleece), I have my Christmas stocking almost ready to be outlined, I layered and quilted a tabletopper that I just love...


I layed out my challenge quilt - which is due back to the quilt shop next Tuesday...


AND made a card or two! Yay for me!! My posting may not be as frequent while I try to catch up with more projects, but I do have some stamped images coming from a few stamping sisters & I know I'll have some things to show you, so keep checking in!! :)

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Cooking up an ATC

I just love these Tilda & Friends ATC challenges! I have a few Tilda's left that Annie sent me, but I'm going to have to beg some more images from my bloggy friends if I want to keep playing!! (I'd be glad to swap you some cute images in return!!)

Today we had to follow a recipe...

Use 1 ribbon - 2 flowers - 3 colors - 4 brads or gems. Here's what I came up with. Actually I forgot the flowers the first time around and had to go add them, and the little gem on Tilda's shirt... So much for my reading skills!! :)

Glad you stopped by. Have a wonderful day!!

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Scripture Challenge...

This isn't a great picture today, but it is definitely a great reminder to me. All that I *need* He will provide. I too often get my *needs* and *wants* confused. And my priorities out of whack. And I *say* that I will trust God to provide, but then I go out and put stamping stuff on my credit card when I really don't have the money set aside for it, rather than waiting for Him to work. I wonder how many blessings I've gypped myself out of by doing that? The few times I have waited, neat things have happened... stamped images sent in the mail, a little extra "fun" money available, even a great garage sale or Hobby Lobby find! If you're reading this, and claim Christ as your Saviour, I challenge you to live like you believe this verse... even in the area of stamping. Hugs! Tricia

Monday, April 07, 2008

Smile!

Happy Monday! Isn't this little Elzybell image adorable and spring-y?? It makes me smile. Hence the ...smile written on the card. :) The luscious paper is a digi paper pack from Creative Dreams called Vintage Blush. It's SO pretty!!!!!

I colored my chicky with my 3 copics and some of my SU markers and doodled around the edges to frame it in. Simple, quick and cute! :) Remember to smile at someone today!!

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Angel Company News!!

Sorry, no picture today, but wonderful news from The Angel Company!! In addition to an adorable Stamp of the Month set, *and* to the fact that you still get double hostess benefits and Gift With Purchase stamps with your order, The Angel Company is releasing 4 Limited Edition stamp sets on Monday - for only $2.95 each with a purchase of $30 or more!!! You just *have to* take a look at them! As a customer I always loved the Limited Edition sets because they were miniature versions of the big sets and I love little things. That's why I make more cards than scrapbook pages - they're littler!! :) These four sets are so useful and fun. I'm going to get one of each. :) And don't forget to check out the Spring Supplement!

The bad news is that the Big Bite CropADile isn't available yet. I think the company that makes it is redesigning it a little because it wouldn't fit in its case with its feet on. They'll let us know as soon as they get them and I can't wait!

If you're at all interested in joining TAC, April is a great time to do it. Drop me a line and let's talk!! :)

Friday, April 04, 2008

By Wagon


The Cute Card Thursday theme for this week is Transportation, so - after really thinking about what stamp I had that would work - I pulled out my old Bear Necessities set from SU and got to work. I colored the image with prismas and oms, and used some of the dp that I got in a paper keeper from JoAnns... I don't even know who made it, but I really liked the Americana theme. By the way - if you click on the picture you can see a larger version of it. It's cuter in the big picture!! LOL :)

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Check it Out!

For this week's ATC challenge at Tilda & Friends we were supposed to use "checks", so I pulled out this blue gingham paper and colored Edwin to match. I found the "brother" brad in my stash and thought it just added the right touch. Have a great night! Hopefully tomorrow I'll have a chance to work on my Cute Card Thursday card and another card with the CC Designs set It's My Birthday that's available tomorrow! Have a great night!!

Beautiful Butterflies


Here's a peek at another set by CC Designs that will be available tomorrow at All That Scraps. I used the polished stone technique for the background... well, sort of. First I embossed the butterfly with clear embossing powder. Then I wet a cotton ball with alcohol and swiped a few of my pink toned ink pads across the lids of one of my cd cases. I picked up the color with the cotton ball and swirled it on. Worked for me!! :) The butterfly and sentiment are included in the CC Designs set, and the pretty swirls are from The Angel Company.

So, do you have a favorite CC Design set so far this month?? If you've been checking out the design team blogs, you'll see that there are even more sets than I've shown you. So many stamps. So little time. SIGH!!


I was out of town all day yesterday, so I feel WAY behind. I would love to show you a few more cards with the It's My Birthday set, and I need to make my Cute Card Thursday Card and Tilda ATC... *and* The Angel Company has a great promotion coming up next week... (Hint... stamp sets for $2.95!!!!) Be sure to check back later!!


Tuesday, April 01, 2008

It's My Birthday!!


No, not really!! :) But today's CC Designs Sneak Peek is of the flying monkey (heeheehee) from the new It's My Birthday set. I love this set!! Hopefully, I'll have a chance to play some more with it this week, cuz it has Lucky and Lulu and presents and a cute cupcake, besides a couple of birthday sayings. A perfect birthday set, IMHO!! :)


I colored my monkey with Prismacolors and OMS and used Sketch Challenge #113 on ASB for the layout. Hey, would you like to join in this week's Stash Challenge over on ASB?? Here's the rules. #1 - Use a stamp that hasn't seen ink yet (New or Old!!) and #2 - Use a sketch or color challenge from ASB to help you lay out the card. Be sure to upload it to the gallery and put the link in Stash Challenge #19.


See you there!