Tuesday, December 31, 2013

End of the Year 2013 Favorites part 2

July
 
Aug

 
Sept
 
Oct
 
Nov
 
Dec:
 
 
 
I don't know why I decided to do this, lol.  I was looking at other Bloggers year end fav's and decided I would go back and check out my own, lol.  That was fun.  Which one is your fav?
 

Year End Favorites for 2013

Jan -
 
Feb -

 
March
 
 
April

 
May

 
June

 
 
 
 

New Years Resolution

Hi Friends and Stampers,

Happy New Year!  I hope 2014 is just as exciting as 2013 was for me craft wise.  I do have some Good News, I have been invited to stay on the Loves Rubberstamps Design Team and remain the DT Coordinator!  Whoo Hoo! 


I never take advantage of the fact that I am invited back each Design Team Term.  I absolutely love Designing for Laura and the Loves Rubberstamps Store.  And I could not be more thrilled with our Design Team Members.  Here is our January thru April line-up:


Loves Rubberstamps Design Team

 
Be sure to stop by their blogs and see what wonderful inspiration they have lined up for you.  They are all a collection of wonderful designers and I am inspired all the time by their amazing talents.
 
Laura tells me she is going to add New Items like crazy this next month, so keep an eye on the New Items link on the store website.
 
This week we are asking you to make a card, scrap page or a project that reflects your New Years Resolution!   And here is mine:
 

 
Yes, this year I am going to avoid things that make me fat..... like scales, mirrors, and photographs, lol.  I love these new Creative Vision Stamps and plan on using a lot of them this year...okay, all of them, lol. 
 
Paper piecing the bed and shirt was a bit tricky, lol.  First I had to stamp the image on the bedspread paper, cut that out, then stamp on the polka dot paper and then stamp on white twice.  And then color the jeans and feet, color the other white image and then fussy cut and stack them up.  I do like to color the underneath - at least around the edges in case things don't align up just right.  For ground texture, I put blender solution in a S.U. aqua-pen and went around the edges and stroked outward.  I colored on clear plastic and picked that up with the aqua-pen and went to the edge of the image (bed), the color picked up darker in some spots and then fanned out in the wet blender solution and I kept working with it a little til I thought I had good shag carpet, lol. I also colored the bedspread designer paper in C00 where the creases are drawn in, just to add some dimension.  All of these things and more I have learned from fellow bloggers over time, so I can't exactly remember all the details and where I found them, lol.  
 
I can't wait to see your projects uploaded to the Loves Rubberstamps Challenge Blog!
 
Holly
 
I am using the Friday Sketch Challenge

Monday, December 30, 2013

Club 52

Hi Friends and Stampers,

I hope you are having a great Monday.  I am off today and so I had to get a few things organized for our Challenge tomorrow and then I wanted to squeeze in my my last weekly Challenge card this year for My Favorite Things Weekly Challenge!  Whoot!  I am still in club 52!   I haven't won one time this year, lol.   But I have won in the past couple years and I do love playing along. Here is the sketch:

MFTWSC156
 
And here is my card:
 
 
Candi - Icing Sugar - I colored with my Copic Marker BV08
 
I hope to see you back here tomorrow for our next Challenge over at Loves Rubberstamps!
 
I'm so happy to be off this week with the boys.  I have small things planned for us to do, but I am getting caught up on my DT Coordinator duties and then I will be by to check out all your blogs.  I have been so neglectful and for that I am sorry.  Please know you are all in my thoughts and prayers and that I truly do appreciate your comments and coming by here.  These past six months have been a zinger with my Grandson moving in.  We have had a lot of changes and my time on the computer has been cut to about a third.  But I think I do have my priorities right, even if it means giving up some of the things I enjoy doing.  He is totally worth it, lol.  So bare with me while I play catch up and hopefully I will get better at juggling it all. 
 
Holly
 
 
 

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Hang In There

Hi Friends and Stampers,

Welcome to our Loves Rubberstamps Sunday BlogHop:

Laura Love -
 Holly Flores -
Olivia Marmara
Ceal Pritchett
Shanna Shands
Marcy Dangcil
Dangina Martinez
Athina Emory
Joni Mastronardi
Nina AKA PaperDaisies

We want to remind you:
Just two more days to get into our special HOLIDAY BLITZ - ANYTHING GOES CHALLENGE!! We have a huge list of Sponsors who are all set to give away some amazing prize packages to lots of our lucky players!!

KENNY K STAMPS - 2 PRIZE PACKAGES
QKR STAMPEDE
AURORA WINGS
MILK 'N COFFEE STAMPS
CRAFTY SENTIMENTS DESIGNS
EUREKA STAMPS
C.C. DESIGNS
and... Loves Rubberstamps is giving away a $50.00 Gift Voucher!


 
Today I am using Tiddly Inks - Hang in there.  She is reminding us all that the holly-days won't last forever and Spring is on it's way, lol.  I had to try out something different with my Copic Markers.  I used a S.U. aqua-painter and put blending solution in it, colored BG13 on some hard plastic and picked it up with the blending solution for my background.  I did this before I colored the image.  I was reading about this on Make it Crafty blog.  So I am going to keep doing this on my backgrounds until I feel like I have mastered it, lol.  It's been a while since I've used the Aqua Painter, so I forgot all my tricks to get the paintbrush just right, lol.  But it will come back to me. 
 
I love this adorable image and I know I will be using her again.  I love how happy she is and it reminds me that seeing the world through the eyes of a child is the best way to view it. 
 
How was every one's Christmas?  Did you have a great time?  Are you glad it's over?  Any plans for New Years?  I have to work this weekend but then I have the rest of the week off and I plan on cleaning this place up!  lol.  Christmas was wonderful for the boys.  They were excited and had a great time.  They loved everything they got.  The next day  was Jeep's real birthday.  So we had a friend come over and we took the boys down to Chuck-E-Cheese and let them play games and ordered pizza.  Unfortunately Jeep ate too much pizza and ended up with a stomach ache..... but he felt fine the next day.  His big party will be in the middle of January, where we will have 10 kids over for laser tag in the backyard.  There is a place in town where we can rent them and a commando for two hours, lol.  Should be lots of fun. 
 
So once again, I want to remind you about our special HOLIDAY BLITZ - ANYTHING GOES CHALLENGE!! We have a huge list of Sponsors who are all set to give away some amazing prize packages to lots of our lucky players!!   Head on over to the Loves Rubberstamps Challenge Blog and check out all the sponsors and prizes!    You will also want to check out the NEW ITEMS Laura has in her store!   You know, just so you can mentally spend the gift voucher, lol. 
 
Thanks for Hopping along with us!
 

 
Holly
 
I used Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch for this Card.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Missing You



Hi Friends and Stampers,

Whewwww, I almost didn't get this sketch in.  I am a club 52 member and I wasn't ready to give that status up, lol.   So instead of wrapping and more baking, I wanted to take an hour and a half to get this card made tonight.  lol.   I'll forfit sleep tomorrow night, lol.  I did work a 10 today and have to go back tomorrow for another 10 but I feel lucky to have Christmas Day off. 

Have you had a change to play in our current challenge over at Loves Rubberstamps?  For the next WEEK we will be running this special HOLIDAY BLITZ - ANYTHING GOES CHALLENGE!! We have a huge list of Sponsors who are all set to give away some amazing prize packages to lots of our lucky players!!

Today I am using:
MFT PI - Warm Winter
MFT Die-namic Photo Corners
MFT Die-namic Wonky Scallop Border
Memento Ink - Tuxedo Black
Copic Markers
X-Press It Copic Paper
MME 6X6 Paper
Best Glue Ever!

Thanks for Looking and I hope you all have a Very Merry Christmas!

Holly

Monday, December 16, 2013

For My Blogging Friends

Hi Friends and Stampers,

Today starts a special HOLIDAY BLITZ challenge at Loves Rubberstamps Challenges where we will be giving away TONS of prizes with multiple winners! The Holiday Blitz is your favorite.... ANYTHING GOES...theme AND it will last from now until December 30th so you have plenty of time to get your entries in! We will have prize packages to give away from the following companies:

KENNY K STAMPS - 2 PRIZE PACKAGES
QKR STAMPEDE
AURORA WINGS
MILK 'N COFFEE STAMPS
CRAFTY SENTIMENTS DESIGNS
EUREKA STAMPS
C.C. DESIGNS
and... Loves Rubberstamps is giving away a $50.00 Gift Voucher!

You will DEFINITELY want to play along with us :) Remember you have until December 30th to get your entries in :)

Do you ever feel like you may never catch up?  lol.  I owe so many of you visits to your blogs and comments that I had to make you all a card, lol. 

 
I can't wait to see your beautiful entrees and remember, you can enter more than once and since it's anything goes, it's anything you are working on!  Whoo Hoo! 
 
In case you want to Mentally Spend the $50.00 gift voucher, check out The Loves Rubberstamps Store to see what Laura has!  And you will want to keep tabs on the NEW ITEMS because she is adding all the time!!! 
 
I hope to get around to all of your wonderful creations soon!
 
Holly
 
 
 
 

Friday, December 13, 2013

Elf Girl Tag

Hello Everyone!

Happy Holly-Day Friday. It's my day to show you some inspiration on the Loves Rubberstamps Blog.  Whoo Hoo, I am so glad to see this weekend here! What a week. We went to a School Winter Concert on Wednesday and my son played the violin with the other newbies, OMGosh they were adorable. We had our company Christmas Party at the Country Club on Thursday, OMGosh my aching feet are not made for heels, lol. And tonight we are off to another Christmas party. I'm hoping we get our tree decorated this weekend, lol. We got it up on Sunday. In all this holly-day madness, I have another full week next week. The job just gets in the way of all the fun, lol. I decided I needed a tag for a teachers gift, so I whipped this one up in a hurry.

I love this Tag Die and Stamp set, so perfect for making really quick tags and the little PI is one of my fav's, next time I will fussy cut her before I apply the adhesive glitter, lol. This would work for our current Challenge - Anything Goes with a Christmas Theme.
Don't forget about our current design team call! We would love to see what you have been making and have you join us for the Jan-April term.
Keep your eye on the New Items list in the store! You never know when some super cute new images will show up expectantly.
 
Thanks for Looking and for your kind Comments!!!
 
Holly 

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Anything Goes With a Christmas Theme.

Hello Friends and Stampers,

It's time for a new Challenge over at Loves Rubberstamps - Anything Goes with a Christmas Theme.

 
CC Design Henry Claus
 
I am going to come back tomorrow evening and finish this post, lol.  I am so far behind my life this month! lol.  Come on over and join us.
 
Well, I lied, lol.  Where does the time go?  I hope you have a chance to get inky and join us.
 
Holly

Monday, December 9, 2013

Christmas Chocolate for the Teacher

Hi Friends and Stampers,

I had a couple hours to sneak this weeks MFT sketch in!  Yippee!!!  I have been in a Christmas Frenzy since Saturday night when it dawned on Joe and I that yes, Christmas is right around the corner and we have procrastinated as long as we could. lol.   Thank God for Amazon! 

 
MFTWSC153
 
For my card I used MFT PI A Box of Love and the sentiment is from PI Little Elf Girl, I colored them up with my Copic Markers and Inked them up in Memento Black Ink.  I used MME paper 6X6 pack called Merry Little Christmas.  My Die-Namics are Pierced Circle Stax and BluePrints 8.
 
Thanks for Looking and I hope you are having a blessed season.
 
Holly

Friday, December 6, 2013

The Ornaments of Life....

Hello Friends and Family,

I hope you are doing the Happy Holly-Day dance with me, it's Friday!!!  Whoo Hoo!!!  It's my turn to share some inspiration with you over at the Loves Rubberstamps Inspiration Blog.  So here is my project:

 
I love this adorable Snowman and the cute ornaments hanging from his tree branch limbs.  He was fun to color up and easy to fussy cut out.  I am trying to channel some CAS cards, lol.  I simply layered on the two designer papers, stamped my image, glued the fussy cut image onto the image on the kraft and then cut out the ornaments.  I used some glaze glitter for the limbs and the ground and then got out my trusty white jelly roll pen.  I should mention that I colored the image first, lol, then cut it out. 
 
Do not forget we are having a Design Team Call going on right now.  I cannot think of anyone better to work for than Laura.  If I do a smidge over what's expected, she is so grateful.  She is a lot of fun to design for because she does truly love everyone's projects and she is very active in our design team process and lives.  So if you would like to be part of a big happy family and design team, please apply.  See this LINK for further information. 
 
Don't forget about current challenge, Anything Goes!  Whoo Hoo, everyone's favorite!!!  I"m off to check out the NEW ITEMS in the store, come along with me.....
 
Thanks for Looking and for your Kind Comments.
 
Holly

Monday, December 2, 2013

Gotta Tree?

Hi Friends and Stampers,

Wow, hard to believe it's time for a new Challenge over at Loves Rubberstamps.  Time is really flying by now!  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!  We had such a relaxing and lazy one, I almost hate to admit it, lol.  I made a card.  I watched a lot of football.  Joe cooked the Turkey and most of the dinner.  All I did was serve pie and make the gravy.  I'm spoiled right?  I know.  I just love him for making my holly-days so much better.  Now don't worry about Joe, I allow a lot of gaming time and when it was crunch time on Saturday, I was out there with him working away, lol.  But we had a great dinner and much to be thankful for this year. 

Okay, onto Christmas!  Who's done shopping and decorated?  I really have not started either.  So we will have a busy month ahead of us, lol.  First we need to get a tree.

 
 
Isn't she the cutest little thing? She is all ready for decorating that tree.  I did make a few Christmas cards and I hope to get making the bulk of them this next week, when I get off work, after dinner, after study time and before bedtime, lol.  We shall see.  But our current Challenge - Anything Goes, is sure to help you along with your card making this winter. 
 
I was on facebook a lot this last weekend.  Wow, I cannot believe the stamp companies closing!  Makes me so sad.  Our LSS has closed and the one over the hill on the way to L.A. has also closed.  Is this a sign of things to come?  Do you think people are losing interest in stamping?  I think we need to find some new addicts, lol.   I want to keep it alive and well so our store can stay open as well as my hobby replenished.  So invite new friends and show them what they can do!
 
Speaking of inviting new friends.  We have posted a DESIGN TEAM CALL for our next term which will be from January 1st - April 30th. You can see all the details in this blog post! We hope you will apply - you don't have to have any experience in design team work, so if you have never been on a team before don't let that stop you from trying :)
 
I hope to see your fabulous creations!
 
Holly
 
I am submitting to this weeks MFT sketch:


 
 

Friday, November 29, 2013

Black Friday Sale

Loves Rubberstamps Black Friday Sale!
 


For those of you that don't want to brave the crowds...but want some awesome deals... we have a Black Friday Special that will be going on until MIDNIGHT - Monday December 2nd!!
You can save 25% off any size order!! Just use the coupon code:


BLACKFRIDAY
 
Now that's a sale we can't afford to miss!
 
Holly

A Day of Thanks

Hello Friends and Stampers,

I hope everyone who celebrated had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Did you go out shopping for the Black Friday Deals? Yikes! I'm staying in! I have plenty of scrappy things to do and I am not buying anything this year that is worth the small savings for all the crowds and traffic. But I do like to hear about everyone Else's experiences, lol.

It's a Happy Holly-Day over at the Loves Rubberstamps Inspiration Blog! I hope you have today off as well. 



Okay well it's close enough to Thanksgiving that I thought I would give it one more card, lol. This goes along with our current challenge for Thanksgiving, Thank You, Thankful. I also thought I would try a CAS design, but now I feel like there are layers missing, lol.
Have you seen all the NEW ITEMS that were added to the store? I know the Some Odd Girl fans are going to be very happy!
Have a great day and don't forget to check in tomorrow for Indah's Video Tutorial Post.
Holly

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

So Thankful For You

Hi Friends and Stampers,

Welcome to a new Challenge over at the Loves Rubberstamps Challenge Blog.  It is only fitting that our theme is a Thanksgiving Themed Card or a Thank You Card.  I would like to thank our sponsor this week, Saturated Canary, so providing the design team with such fabulous images.    Here is mine:

Saturated Canary - Cornelia
 
Now you will want to check out the Saturated Canary Stamps available at the Loves Rubberstamps on line Store.  Did you know that shipping is never more than $5.99 here in the states?  That's an amazing bonus!  If I start to order on line and discover that shipping is any more than $5.99, I usually cancel out the order.  I hate spending money on shipping, lol.  It's just one of those things I really dislike.  And if you spend more than $75.00 the shipping is free in the states!  I love Free Shipping best of all. 
 
So I obviously went with a Thanksgiving themed card.  I am half Native American Indian so I really love this image.  She reminds me of my Sister.  Who was lucky to have big blue eyes and dark hair.  I am especially impressed with her basket.  I have seen a lot of Native American baskets in the Pow Wow's and museums, so I really like that she thought about how ornate and decorative they made them.  The Indians used berries and other plants and fruits for pigment to color.  If they are watching us now, I know they are loving the Copic Markers!  lol.
 
This Thanksgiving is going to be quiet with just my immediate family and some much needed rest, football and family time.  I think this is a first for us, but this year I am thankful that it is just us.  What are your plans for Thanksgiving?  Whatever your plans, I hope it is a low stress day and that you have some to relax and just be with family.  I have been loving the "Today I am Thankful For...." posts of Facebook this month.  So much to be thankful for.  And I love seeing and reading what everyone else is thankful for. 
 
I just had an opportunity to go through my blog looking for certain posts.  Wow, I have made some cards and projects! lol.   I was really pleased to see that I  have settled into a certain card design.  It may not be the best, but it's mine.  My husband tells me he can pick out and spot my cards in a line up of a lot of cards.  He tells me I have a specific design style.  I love that!  I am Thankful for all the designers and bloggers out there that have helped me shape my design and how I view things.  I am also very grateful for the sketch makers because without a great sketch, I am at a real loss. And for my followers and my friends who comment, thank you so very much!  You are the reason I feel compelled to carry on when my mojo is low and your comments mean the world to me.  Thank You. 
 
Thanks for Looking and for your kind Comments.
 
Holly
 
I am using a sketch from Seems a Little Sketchy
 
 

Friday, November 22, 2013

Flying Butterfly Friday

Good Morning Friends and Stampers,

Happy Holly-Day Friday!  I have a card to show you for my Loves Rubberstamps Inspiration Friday Post.




 
Originally I was going to make the PI Butterfly.  I searched and searched through my stash and discovered I do not have that one, lol.  I do have more than enough PI's, lol, but I thought I had that one too.  So I chose the on a picnic and fussy cut her out.  I used the negatives from the butterfly on the bottom for leaves around her.  I also used some of the negatives from the flying butterflies for inside the card.  It is a bit orangey, but the rain just started to fall and the trees just started to really turn and I have had a pretty nasty bronchitis and it definitely feels like fall here.  So I was in the mood for fall.
 
Do you have weekend plans?  I am working this weekend but I'm not that upset about it, I do have some time off coming up next week for the Holly-Day and I've got our Thanksgiving planned out.  We are going to  have a quiet one, just our immediate family.  This will be the first one in a long time, if ever... and we are due for a bit of a break.  Plus there is football to consider and you all know how much I love football, lol.  I'm actually very excited and hope there are at least a couple games on Thursday.   But if you are off this weekend, I hope you have plans to get inky and join us in our Challenge!  Also you do not want to miss out out on Indah's video tomorrow at the Loves Rubberstamps Inspiration Blog.  And you want to be sure to check out the New Items.
 
Thanks for Looking and for your kind Comments.
 
Holly
 
I am using this weeks sketch from MFT:


 
 
 

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Shabby Chic


 
Hi Friends and Stampers!
 
Welcome to a NEW Challenge over at Loves Rubberstamps Challenge Blog! This week we are asking you to show us your Shabby Chic or Vintage Designs.  The Design Team would like to Thank The Paper Shelter for providing us with fabulous images and they are sponsoring us this week, so it's double the prize!
 


 
 
You know at first I was a little freaked out about Shabby Chic.  I certainly love it and admire many designers who excel in this style, but I hadn't ventured out in that direction...yet.  I had to go to my "go-to" Shabby Chic expert's blog, Iralmaija, to get some inspiration, tips and ideas, lol.  Not that there are not many experts, but this was the one that was in my in-box at the time, lol.  And I do love her beautiful designs.    but I will confess, someone needed to tell me to step away from the Walnut Stain, lol.  You can not see the glimmer shimmer behind the gal, but the circle die-cut is shimmery.  So find some inspiration and go for it!  Join us! 
 
One of the many things I love about being a Designer for Loves Rubberstamps is that it pushes me to go further, try new things and of course, the Great Products and Sponsors.  We will be having a Design Team Call again in January and we are looking at All styles and All entrees equally.  So you do not have to be a well known Rock Star or do super intricate projects to qualify.  Just think about it for now and keep your eyes peeled for the DT call and of course, I will let you know here as well. In the meantime, check out what NEW ITEMS Laura has added to the store! 
 
I am using Karen's SSS this week:


 
 
Thanks for Looking and for your kind Comments!
 
Holly
 

Monday, November 18, 2013

For The Record




Hi Friends and Stampers,

Of course I am going to play in this weeks MFT sketch!  I am a Club 52 member and it's so close to the end this year, I can't stop now.  I love these fabulous weekly sketches, if you are looking for a good sketch, check out their weekly sketch and the archival sketches as well. 

For this Card, I used:
MFT LLD Journal it - For the Record
MFT Die-Namic Piereced circle stax
MFT - Die-Namic First Place Award
Memento - Gray Flannel
Tim Holtz embossing folder
Pebbles - Front Porch 6X6
brads
cardstock

I wanted to offer some thoughts and prayers for the people in Washington, Ill.  I can't imagine what they are going through. 

As for me, I am going to go back to bed now, I woke up feeling rough and it's not going away or getting better. 

Thanks for Looking and for your kind Comments

Holly

Friday, November 15, 2013

And they lived Happily Ever After

Hi Friends and Stampers,

Thank Goodness it's a Holly-Day and TGIF! lol.   It's my turn to show you some inspiration on the Loves Rubberstamps Inspiration Blog.  Today, I decided to keep with the current Challenge, Black and White or Sepia.  I already showed you my Sepia on Tuesday, so today, it's B&W!




 
This one was a lot of fun to color as well.  They are such a cute couple!  I am using the current sketch from Sketch Saturday.
 
Have you seen the New Items that Laura has added to the store?  I am so excited!  I love all the new stamps and fun toys!
 
I hope you will join us for the Challenge and I look forward to seeing your wonderful creations.
 
Holly