KopyKat Creations

Hugs for a Friend

2012-01-03T11:35:00.000-08:00

I made this for the MFT's Designer contest. Love this cute image. I used Cosmo Cricket Social Club paper. I had not broken into that 6X6 pad yet and decided I wanted to use some unconventional dp for a winter card. Colored in Copic markers, and stamped in Memento Ink. I used the MFT's tag die as well as their Wonky scallop die-namic for the snow drifts. I used a Martha Stewart snowflake punch. And some stickles.

Now if I actually win this designer contest I am going to flip out, lol. Everything in life will be on hold for a month, lol. I'm not too worried about it though, there are so many fabulous design contest entree's. I figure the more I push myself to do, the better I will get at all of this. And of course, it is what I do for fun.

Wish me luck!

Nursey Time

2012-01-03T11:33:00.000-08:00

This is for the MFT's design contest as well as the sketch contest. LOVE this paper and this is the first time I've used it, lol.

When Jeep was eight

2012-01-03T11:06:00.000-08:00

I made a chip board album of my youngest son's eighth year. It's quite thick, lol. I found all kinds of wonderful card designs from the designers of My Favorite Things, and I had them all lined up in tabs.....but then the computer crashed and now I can't remember which was from whom. But the original designs belong to the designers and I incorporated my own things into them. LOVE their card designs and it inspires me to go further.

Many of the stamps and dies I used were from MFT's.

The cover reminds me of growing, so I decided to use the tree dies. The second page is Jeep's eighth birthday with Uncle David assisted in the present opening. The third is a snowman that Jeep, his dad and uncle David made, The fourth is learning how to ride a bike. The fifth is a camping trip he went on with the cub scouts and he is helping my grandson on the hike. The next one is working hard in Tae Kwon Do. The next one is bridging over to a Bear scout. On the next one, Joe took Jeep to a Dodger's baseball game for the fourth of July. The next one is Jeep getting brave and finally going on the ferris wheel at that fair. And then the start of soccer season and learning how to use a sling shot at another Cub Scout camp out. Halloween with his BMF, aren't they cute Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter....ready to take on the world. The next one is Aunt Nancy and Uncle David with Jeep on Dad's birthday. The next one is this past December, Jeep earned his black belt in Tae Kwon Do (watch out for him!), and finally the back of the album is a Tim Holtz clock die that reminds me of time passing by quickly. I have thoroughly enjoyed this year with Jeep and I had a lot of fun making this album. :)

Trick-Or-Treating 2011

2011-12-11T12:52:00.000-08:00

My 8 year old son and his BMF went trick-or-treating together this year. I wanted to do a chipboard book for his BMF's Mom because she invited us over this year and had a little pizza party all ready for them. The boys like to play "Mission" and go into this elaborate land of make believe and it seems like everything they do includes a mission. So I lined up the pic's I took and came up with a story about how they were on a mission. My son LOVES this story and the mission. He wants me to make him one next, lol. I had a lot of fun doing this one.

I love that I had Harry Potter and Luke Skywalker Riley's to add to this book. I'm working on some more chipboard books now. LOVE these.

çhumach Indian clothespin

2011-11-20T21:24:00.001-08:00

We made this with Jeep for a class project. The faux fur and pleather came from Joannes trim isle....less than $5.00!

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The reason I started blogging again

2011-10-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

What is this? It's the reason I started blogging again. My dear sweet Hottie made this for me. It's a light box to put my cards in and get better pictures. I need to learn how to decorate it up a little, but I just love how much better the pictures come out. He also taught me how to use some basic computer "fixes" to take out all the yellow and sharpen the images.

I have received several messages from people encouraging me to continue with my blogging or asking me if anything is wrong because I have not blogged in forever. Thank you so much for those, they mean the world to me.

Work hours have changed up a bit too, so now I have a day during the week, sometimes, to upload and blog. Sorry about the massive uploading today, but I have a feeling my uploads are going to be in fits and starts, lol. What with the new camping and all lol (see several blog posts down). So keep checking in, you never know where life will take me next! lol.

Thank You Debbie

2011-10-12T14:05:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago, I won blog candy from Scrappin my heart out. And I didn't want to touch it until I had a chance to take a picture and blog about it. lol. Debbie not only drew my name, but she also sought me out on Splitcoast Stampers and sent me a private message letting me know I won. I happened to be on a long weekend vacation with my family and picked up the message on my phone. Whooo Hooo! It made that time that much sweeter. Thank you Debbie! I love this CTMH scrap kit and now that I have posted it, I can't wait to use it. Love all the papers, the ribbon, the mini brads and matching pearls and my new favorite love....chipboard!

Thank You My Favorite Things

2011-10-12T13:58:00.000-07:00

I won a blog hop on the last My Favorite Things blog hop and I haven't quite figured out how to navigate their new website. So my prize did not get deducted from my total. They were not able to fix that part, but they did throw in this adorable stamp in my order and I LOVE IT! And amazingly, I do not have it. lol.

I have been so lucky and blessed the past 6 months with blog hopping, prizes and blog candy, that I just felt the need to blog about it and thank each one individually.

Thank You Michelle

2011-10-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

I recently won this blog prize from Stamps, Paper, Scissors, and Donkey Smiles blog. And my response won in the random drawing. WHOOT! Thank you Michelle, I love them all! And your card is so adorable, this pic does not do it justice.

Thank You to "There She Goes"

2011-10-12T13:34:00.000-07:00

Thank You "There She Goes"! Not only did I win the adorable sailor boy stamp set, but I also ordered some cute stamps recently and there was a glitch in the system and my order was frozen in time for a few weeks. But after I emailed Jessica, the owner, not only did she send out my stamps that were then available with free shipping, but she also sent me the one that wasn't available (when it became available) absolutely free! Now who does that these days?

I don't know about you all, but I LOVE stamping and crafting and it is my "fun" time. So when things get all hassled up, it is no longer fun and then I usually give up on that and find something else that is fun. And it tends to bother me more than the ordinary stuff in life would because I don't have that much time for fun-me-time. So when someone does something above and beyond I am so touched and grateful and I find it so worth blogging about, lol. So I hope everyone will go to "There She Goes" website and buy a bunch of her adorable stamps. And if you are reluctant to buy on line, I would say this one is definitely worth the chance.

Thank you Stampalicious!

2011-10-12T13:31:00.000-07:00

Thank You Stampalicous for the free stamps and prizes from your blog hop. I loved winning money off my stamp choices. These are so adorable and there are so many more, so many more to get. lol.

Thank You Riley!

2011-10-12T13:21:00.000-07:00

This is not the stamp I won, lol. But I did win a Riley stamp from their blog hop before last and I wanted to say thanks to the folks at Riley Stamps. Love these little moose folks. I also really enjoy blog hopping and prizes!

Cub Scout camping in Pine Mountain - The Jumpy House

2011-10-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

Have you ever taken your kids to the jumpy houses? They love it. The highlight of our camping trip was our jumpy house. We have a brand new tent. The last one leaked and was so miserable, I demanded a deluxe version. So Joe found us a fabulous tent and it even HAD a privacy screen. That was destroyed in mere moments. lol. Joe put up the tent and blew up the mattresses and I threw in the pillows and the kids discovered their new favorite jumpy tent. I think we had 10 kids in there at one point. Jumping, pillow fighting, hiding, laughing. From the outside, you could see shapes of arms, legs, heads, all bulging out the sides. For a while there I was not sure if we would actually have a tent by night fall. But how do you stop such a great time? You don't. We didn't. Instead, we were grateful we still had all four sides intact and no rips, except for that privacy screen. Joe added air before bedtime and I made the beds just before we got in them. They had a blast!

Now this was quite a day, we drove to the Ranch in the morning, drove to the campsite in late afternoon and set up, did the jumpy house, collected pine cones and sticks for the campsite fire, the kids played and explored. We ate dinner outside, hot dogs, hamburgers, Frito chili boats. We had a night time campfire site and all the boys sat around and told spooky stories. Like the gossip game, where one starts the story and then the next one adds to it and so on. Jeep is a natural born story teller and Reed was just as happy to participate. One story started off with a scary bunny, and Reed's part was, "And then the bunny jumped into the camp fire until there was nothing left but bones and a brain....." Of course with this age group of boys, no story is complete with out the poops and the farts. lol. And then there were smores! I love smores!

And then I got cranky. Hot all day, now cold, and dog tired. All boys in bed. They were asleep within moments. But oh, if only Reed would have stayed asleep. He burrows up and out of his sleeping bag, gets cold and then cries out. It was 35 degree's out there at night. We were not expecting it to get that cold. Joe and I had one sleeping bag and two blankets on top. I felt like our pillows froze at some point. But you know, you burrow in and eventually exhaustion will take over right? Not if you have to get up 6 or 7 times to get Reed back into the sleeping bag. neither one of us slept. I finally put Reed into bed with us, which left no room for "us" and I sat on the edge of my blow up mattress peeking out the tent window at the mess hall. Looking for any signs of life other than the coyotes howling. At 5:35 a.m. I saw shadows in the mess hall. Not caring about the coyotes, (I would pity them for crossing me at this point), or what those shadows were, I bolted out the tent door and headed straight to the mess hall. Where there were two men with all the burners on and A POT OF COFFEE!!!!! Whoooo Hooooo!!!!

And Joe and I survived another cub scout camping trip. We, who agreed when we first met that camping was the last thing either of us ever wanted to do, have survived and are planning for the next one. lol. I love all the pictures Joe took on this trip and am sorry I didn't snag the camera and get some shots of him too. Next time.....see planning already.

Camping Trip at the Ranch - Dirt Skiing

2011-10-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

Dirt skiing is a popular sport. This is Reed's turn and he had a ball. I think Jeep had more fun pulling and organizing. Reed loves Jeep and this picture captures a familiar site. I hope they are always close. They sure do have fun together. I think the Cub Scouts has been the best thing for Jeep and a great way to include Reed in on the fun. I am so thankful we had this opportunity and a great weekend together.

Camping Trip at the Ranch - Tree Climbing

2011-10-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

Tree climbing. There are actually rules to tree climbing! lol. Who knew? For beginners, it's a 3 point system. Always have three points on a branch, two legs and one hand, two hands and one foot, etc. I think all the boys loved this. They learned to stay close to the trunk of the tree and about how to test for dead branches. I loved the safety tips in all these activities.

Camping Trip at the Ranch - Rock Bowling

2011-10-12T10:11:00.000-07:00

A pile of rocks, draw the line in the sand with a rope, stack up some carved out bowling pins and you have Rock Bowling! Well you know how much fun it is to throw rocks right? This was Reed's favorite activity and he was GOOD at it. He is much younger and much smaller than the rest of the crowd. But he picked up that rock with purpose and he knocked over more rocks than anyone is his little group. Jeep also had a lot of fun with this activity and knocked over quite a few pins himself. He loved the competition between all the groups.

Camping Trip at the Ranch - Archery

2011-10-12T10:06:00.000-07:00

Archery is over rated! lol. These guys tried as hard as they could but to draw back a real bow takes a lot of muscle. Still, they learned all about it and a lot of GOOD safety tips. Once I gave Reed a snack, he was a lot more agreeable to try this out. Thank God for little baggies of cheese crackers and some water.

Camping Trip at the Ranch - Sling Shots

2011-10-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

One of the activities at the Ranch was learning how to use a sling shot. Not as easy as it looks! This frustrated both of the boys because they wanted to be able to hit that target right off. Oh the concentration of it all! I'm there giving pointers like I know what I'm talking about, lol. Oh but they are so much fun to watch.

Camping Trip at the Ranch - Horses

2011-10-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we took the boys camping with the cub scouts. One of the things we did was stop at a ranch for quite a few activities. Jeep's favorite of all was the horseback riding. Reed would not brush the horse, get on the horse, or get near the horse until he was finally persuaded enough to feed the horse. And as long as that horse was in a cage, he felt much better about it.

Holly Ester's Tasty Toffeebread (tm)

2011-10-08T16:52:00.000-07:00

Oh I am so excited! I got my package of Holly Ester's Tasty Toffeebread tm in today from New Mexico. My Sister is a chef and she is extraordinary when it comes to yummy things. She created Toffeebread tm and decided to package and sell it. She called me a couple, yes a couple, weeks ago and asked me if she could use my picture and name on her labels. I am so flattered. So no, you are not seeing double, lol, that is me. And is my name really Holly Ester? Well it is now, lol.

I have to tell you, it is seriously a good thing my sister is making this in New Mexico and no where in California, lol. I would drive hours and hours for this little goodie. lol. Luckily, I do not have to. And neither do you. We can order it on line!!!! YES. My personal fav is the Pink Salt and if you chose this as an affordable Christmas Gift for someone, make sure you buy yourself a bag or two, otherwise they might just end up getting the empty bag, lol, it's really that good. Other flavors are the black pepper and sage blossom. Sister recommends the black pepper with cheese. So of course I had to try it, and it was so good.......

How Good Was It?
.....I only intended to taste one of each peice before I got to photograph this and upload. Unfortunatly the Pink Salt is almost gone. Not so much for the picture sake, but mine, lol. And half the Sage Blossom and Black Pepper are gone too, lol. And okay, now we need to get more cheese too. lol. This is the best thing I have eaten in quite a while. It's like cookie crack, lol. So if you would like to treat a family member or friend (AND you too!) to a tasty Holiday Season, go to:

Toffeebread@gmail.com or
http://www.hollyesters.com/ website now up and running!

Very soon I am going to have a Toffeebread tm badge on the right to just click on to order...... so easy peasy.

New business, great gals, you will love it and when you do taste it and love it, tell everyone you know!

Thanks for much for your support.

Holly.....AKA KopyKat.....AKA Holly Ester

Jana's Baby Board Book

2011-10-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

I recently took this baby board book class at Simply Scrapbooks here locally. Jana has such great designs and ideas. Even I am amazed I got this done in 3 hours. But it helps having everything cut out and organized for you, lol. I loved this and once I got the picture in it, it just came to life. This one is going to my daughter with pictures I have of my grandson.

Jana's Summer Wall Hanging

2011-10-07T11:25:00.001-07:00

I took a wall hanging chipboard class. This is my first Chipboard project and I fell in LOVE! This is super easy and the whole time I saw them displayed in the store, I was certain it was REALLY difficult and that I couldn't do one..... So glad I went ahead and took the class.

Cheri's Wicked chipboard book part 2

2011-10-07T11:10:00.001-07:00

Cheri's Wicked Chipboard Book

2011-10-07T10:47:00.000-07:00

Cheri saw the composition book that Sylvia designed and came up with her own version of a chipboard book that is too awesome not to share. And yes, I have to come up with my own version of this one too. lol. This Graphic 45 paper is too much fun and I have discovered the joys of chipboard books.

Halloween Journal

2011-10-07T10:34:00.000-07:00

I haven't uploaded an image and blogged in a million years, lol. So sorry. It's my life, it's gone completely in a million directions. But I have been having a lot of fun along the way.

This is my first altered composition book. I took a class here locally with Sylvia and she designed this awesome journal. It was a lot of fun to put together.

I had so much fun, I had to run out and buy more graphic 45 paper and make another one. One of my co-workers and fellow scrappers wanted to see a picture of it and she came up with a chipboard book version of this, which I will post next. I finally used my glossy accents the way it was supposed to by used, lol. The beads on the stockings were fun! And I had to buy my own key and lock die from sizzix because it was just too cute. But my favorite feature is the zipper side, covered with rhinestone ribbon. That was fun.

Hope you like this one as much as I do.

MFTGUESTDT0511

2011-05-02T18:24:00.000-07:00

I made this little gal for the MFT's guest designer challenge. The theme is blue jeans and bling. And I certainly have that, lol. It's not entirely what I was thinking but with little time to work on it after work today, I like the way it turned out.

I stamped my background stamp "jeans" onto white card stock and then stamped my image onto that and paper pierced the purse and shorts. Then I paper pierced her shirt, as I have limited pinks in copics. And finished coloring her up in copics. I added bling to the corners and the frame, as well as her bag. I did not forget the toenail polish, as she is wearing sandals, lol.

I love this dp from K&Co and wanted to use it on this card.

Thanks for looking!!!!

Happy Easter.....

2011-04-23T23:15:00.000-07:00

Has the Easter Bunny been by your house yet? Did he leave you any bright and shiny .... paper or little Copic sticks? How about stamps? I mean, how great would it be to wake up tomorrow morning and find a basket filled with the latest and greatest paper pads, new copics, and the really cute stamps you have been wanting? lol. I know, I'm still a child.

Today, I had my first card class at the local scrappy store. I was very nervous and unsure how things would go. It seemed to go okay with a few hiccups, but overall it seemed like everyone was having fun, chatting, and asking a lot of questions. And at the end, they were asking when my next card class would be. So that is a very good sign. And for me it was a milestone of sorts. It was a chance to give back all the wonderful advise and help I've had along the way. And they thought it was great and a few ladies declared that they were not giving their cards away, they intended to keep them for themselves. And that really says a lot. And it makes me happy.

I hope your weekend is a blessed and happy occation. I'm very grateful for all that I have and all the wonderful people around me. Oh, and all I'm going to buy myself next month....lol. Sort filling my own basket of sorts. lol. Yes, I am a child.

Happy Easter

Thank You KelliJo!!!!!

2011-04-18T21:46:00.000-07:00

You know I spend a large part of my day giving to others. It's my job, it's what I do. But I am always so surprised when someone gives me something out of the blue. And then when it's a total stranger, I am just blown away. I had an ISO add at Splitcoast Stampers for a reading Flopsey and some other stamps I was looking for used. And I only got one respond and that was from KelliJo offering to send me this cute stamp out of the kindness of her heart. Would let me pay for it, wouldn't even let me pay the postage. I am so Thankful and so Happy. And then she sends it with this adorable card.

I love the paper she used and how well the butterfly goes with the image. I'm still feel so blessed about getting this. My little Jeep is so into reading in bed right now before bedtime, that it's the perfect stamp I need to mark the memory. Not that Jeep is a bunny, but you know, it's just cute!

Thank you KelliJo, words cannot describe how you made me feel. You definetly made more than just my day! KelliJo has been a guest designer for MFT's and is as addicted to this line as I am, to see more of her wonderful cards, click here.

QFTD52 Flowers for you

2011-04-18T21:33:00.001-07:00

Connie's beautiful flower card, reminded me of this adorable card I saw with three flowers and then I totally had to Kopykat it! Plus I got to use my daisy die from MFT's and the cute little Pure Innocence stamp, which I paper peirced with MME Hazel. I also loved the black hair and I've been trying to get the perfect hair combination and technique down.

Like that wild twister on the button? I've recently discovered Karen Foster card floss and I wrapped it around a pencil and it worked!!! lol.

have a great day!

QFTD51 boyscout scene

2011-04-18T21:26:00.001-07:00

Jill has a fabulous gallery and she very recently uploaded this adorable card. Taking her mojo for a cute boy in a scene, I went ahead and used the sketch from MFT's sketch scene this week to make another boy scout. My little cub scout is enjoying the great outdoors.

Stamps: MFT's boy scout, Kitties Kits

Dies: Tree Die from MFT's, PTI Cloud (I cut it in half)

Ink: Memento black. copic markers, Tim Holtz

DSP: MME Hattie with SU cardstock, Night of Navy

thanks for looking.

QFTD50 Luv Poppies

2011-04-18T21:18:00.000-07:00

Oh I just love poppies. California has them in bloom everywhere right now and I could not be any happier.

I came across Kim's (Luvflowers) beautiful card and wanted to ink up these Hero Art's poppies stamps I just got.

Now it sat on my creative space for a while. It's a large image and it's hard to know what to do exacally with a large image. None of my paper seem to fit, if you can beleave that. lol. I finally settled on MME Mabel papers because it's sitting on my desk. I can't seem to get enough of these yummy paper packs. lol. It was still not quite right and so I sponged it with cantelope and tangelo Memento ink and it seem to be just what it needed. I colored the poppies with copics and I'm working on my "light source", lol. I am having the best time with these markers at the moment. I was able to add a few to my collection and it gave me just the boost I needed to get started again using them.

Thanks for looking! Have a very Scrappy day.

QFTD49 Sending smiles

2011-04-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

I came across Karen's Pure Innocence checking her list. She wrote smile on the paper and I thought that was so cute, I had to do it too! I Kopykat'd an earlier design that I just can't seem to get enough of, using different paper. I'm working on different hair color which doesn't always come through on the camera, lol.

Stamp: Pure innocence

DSP MME mabel

cardstock PTI and SU

Oval spellbinder

S.U. punches

S.U. ribbon

Taylored Expressions scallop die.

QFTD48 Motorcycle

2011-04-18T20:57:00.000-07:00

Well I am still several Queen's behind, but I am sure having fun going through their gallery's and getting my stamps all inky. I came across BigFootBecky's bike card and wanted to make one too. Does it look like it came sliding in for a Birthday "Hi" lol.

Motorcycle stamp is S.U. retired
The ink color is also S.U. Night of navy along with the cardstock. The DSP is retired and called travel journal.

You know, I stamped the image, moved the stamp a little and stamped again and then again. I think they call it "stamp off." I LIKE IT!

Queen for the Day 47, Make Your Own by Hero Arts

2011-04-10T20:27:00.000-07:00

I am uploading to my blog as fast as I can, lol. It might be another three weeks before I can do this again. lol.

I think I am less than 10 Queen's behind now. Bev had this in her gallery:

Coincidence? I think not. I think I was made to pick this little goodie up just mear days before I was searching in Bev's gallery for a good KopyKat victim. lol.

I paper pierced with Melody Ross DSP and water colored with Tim Holtz ink. The flower punches are Martha Stewart and the I died my own seam binding. Still trying to perfect the "sloppy bow" lol.

If I do not get back for a while, please hang in there with me. I really appreciate all my viewers.

Hero Arts Sew Artsy, QFTD46

2011-04-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

Well I am still well behind on my Queen for the Day cards, but I am determined to keep at it til I'm caught up again.

Susan was QFTD46 and I love her card using the dress model. Is that was they are called or is it dress form? Either way, I had picked up this stamp set to start making some sewing cards. For no particular reason at all, just like them, lol.

I saw Kharmagirls dress model card and fell in love with the design and I had the larger version of the paper, so I got busy. This time I used my prisma colored pencils and gamsol for the coloring. I still love the blend they create. Then I sponged it with cantaloupe Memento ink.

My Favorite Things, checking my list

2011-04-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

Is this a direct KopyKat? Why yes it is. Here is the orginal. I had to try out some blond. I had not made any of these blond. I also used designer paper from Stampin' Up. The flowers are punches from S.U. as well as the ribbon, and label punches.

I used my spellbinders Oval and Two embossing folders.

Copics: E00, E21, E93 for skin. Y0000, Y02 and Y06 for hair. Kinda light, I may go darker next time. I also used cool shadow on the paper fold. E93 doubled for hair heart clip and shoes.

Thanks for looking and have a great day.

Happy Cub Scout Camper

2011-04-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

Here is my Happy Cub Scout Camper now. Next time I ink up my stamp, I need to color up the right colors, lol.

Is that a restaurant? Why yes it is, a MAN has to eat on the way to camping you know! lol.

My Favorite Things Boy Scout

2011-04-10T15:22:00.000-07:00

Isn't he the cutest image? I know, I got a little wild on the shorts, but I could not help myself, lol. The cub scout pack my son belongs to does not require full uniform, so this works for us, lol.

I used the sketch from My Favorite Things Challenge. Recognising that I have only been inking up little girls, I decided to get some little boys too and took some time this weekend to use them.

Very recently we went camping with the cub scouts and oh what a trip that was. Our tent had two leaks and it rained all night. I think I got about 3 hours sleep and am just now recovering from that trip, lol. The boys had a great time though and so in the end, it is worth it to us to pack it up and let them have the experience.

My dsp is October Afternoon's Campfire 8X8 pack. I used River Rock from S.U. and Kraft from S.U. card stock. I also used my Spellbinders circle and my new Fleur DE lis punch from Martha Stewart. I had a cuttlebug fleur de lis embossing folder for my background.

Again, this little guy comes bald with a cowlick. So I had to go out on an artistic limb to draw in hair using my copic markers. lol. I also stamped onto the River Rock for the shirt and socks, and then further colored with my copics. Somewhere in my drawer I found a silver pen to color in the belt badges. I also used a circle punch instead of brads for this.

Copics: Skin E00, E21, E93, Hair E33, E35, E37. Clothes BG16, BG 93, YG 95.

Thanks for looking and I hope you have a great day!

My Favorite Things Splish Splash

2011-04-10T15:13:00.000-07:00

I used the sketch for My Favorite Things Challenge, using my little splish splash guy. He had no hair, just a cow lick. lol. My little guy has lots of brown hair, so I fooled around a bit and created a head of hair using my copic markers. Very recently, I acquired a few more copics to my collection, so playing with them now is a lot more fun. Okay, so I need a couple hundred more colors, lol.

I used Seaside collection from October Afternoon papers. My labels 2 from Spellbinders. Not sure if I ever used this set, but I was glad to have it today. Instead of find brads that matched, I took the lazy way out and just punched little circles and glued them down. I also used a S.U. button with Karen Foster floss. My background card stock is cool Caribbean and Pacific point, both are from S.U. I sponged with Memento sky. My MoJo muse came from this card.

Copics: B05 for frame. W1 for shadow. BG10 for water. BG23, BG 34, B34 for overalls. Y17, Y06, Y15 for jacket, R14, R05, R 27 for shirt and boots. E33, E35, E37 for hair. E21, E25, E27 for the dog. E21, E00, E93 for the skin.

And yes, it's about time I had a blog upload! Been busy with work and family. Hope you are having a wonderful Sunday!!!

Punch Art Tractor........

2011-03-21T22:46:00.000-07:00

I've been seeing these punch art tractors on Splitcoast for a while now. I just LOVE them! I have always wanted to make one and by the time I got all the punches, I was on to other things.....

So thanks to my QFTD45, Heather, I was able to make one. This is Heather's card. Of course I am just now getting around to noticing how much more I like her wheels embossed than my own, lol.

I went to the couple links from Heather's card to get the card recipe.

I used all SU punches: large tag, word window, heart, circles and large scallop that I snipped the edges with the arrow punch. Tricky! I just cut the steering column and hand cut the wheel. I used the blossoms flower punch for the smoke stacks and sponged them going grey. I used the words from Loads of love and the wheat from Autumn Harvest. I got that card floss on the tag today from the local crafty store, It's Karen Foster and it's made from paper and super easy to work with. LOVE it! I stamped the wheat it more mustard after sponging the ground with creamy Carmel and the sky with bashful blue.

In order to catch up with two more QFTD's tonight, I had to stay up an hour past my bedtime and leave the dishes. I have tomorrows QFTD all set up ready to KopyKat, I figure I have enough dishes and pans to make dinner for tomorrow and then by Wednesday we'll have to eat take out so I can do the many loads of dishes, lol. And the really funny part is that all the other card makers out there are shaking their heads in acknowledgement, lol.

Okay, going to bed now. :)

A Morning without coffee! Yikes

2011-03-21T22:40:00.000-07:00

Why does the camera decide the colors? lol. I'm not sure what happened here but the ribbon is not bronze, rather it's a very soft color called crumb cake with a hint of shimmer, and the blue is baja breeze, not really this dark. But you know, the same ol' same ol', it's late and the pics don't always come out the way I want or imagine. lol.

This little card is for the Queen for the Day #44 Pam. Here is her cute card. I used the same color palate and dsp and mixed it up a bit. I don't know why, I like her card design too, but I was in the mood for lots of kraft, lol.

I love this little stamp set and was so thrilled to see she had used it. It's the perfect excuse for me to get it inky again.

Hope you are all having a good day.

Stamping Up club night

2011-03-20T22:37:00.000-07:00

I just love club night. My demo always has the cutest projects ready to go. She cuts it all out and we get to play with the stamps and the punches and glue stuff together. It's wonderful. I love hearing the excited chatter about what's coming next and who needs what and why. I get all inspired to dig out my neglected stamps and start in on new cards and try out new toys. If you don't belong to a Stampin' Up club, you might want to look in your area for someone who has them. Even if it's not your style or what you want to make, it's a great time and fun to get new toys. Plus, there is always some new trick to the trade or easier way of doing things that you don't think of and it's like a light bulb goes off. It's a lot of fun.

QFTD43, Sweet Thing

2011-03-20T21:18:00.001-07:00

I love paper piercing little girl images! I am so far behind the Queen for the Day challenges, that I wonder if I'll ever get caught up. Come on Lotto! This one is for Judi Rose (joviajudi) who has the most amazing gallery on Splitcoast and has been so willing to message me back with my pesky questions. lol. I picked her pure innocents card here. Isn't it the cutest thing!

I just picked up a new Penny Black stamp called "sweet thing" and she is very cute and easy to color match with paper. My paper is My Minds Eye, Stella and Rose, Mabel papers. I used my 6X6 paper pad. And a whole lotta Copics (well a lot more than I have ever used, lol) E00, E21, E93, BG 10, R17, Y11, YR07, E95, E11, E25, E33, E31, YR 82, E95, R24. I also used Tim Holtz shabby shutters for the greenery and my go-to stamp set for any scenery is Kitties Kits - "cause a scene." I sponged around the top with Memento Cantaloupe and tangelo. I used a clear spica pen on the wings so they shimmer when you move the card. Come on, wings must be shimmery, lol. I cut out the image with my big scalloped oval Nestie from Spellbinders and finished off the card with sheer ribbon (it is my thing tonight) and Bling. I used my Bow Easy for the bow. Oh and I inked her up in Memento Tuxedo Black and used PTI Aqua Mist paper.

On a side note, did anyone forget to Spring forward last week? I did. I not only slept in and awoke in a panick, you can image the hustle I was in once I figured out that no, actually, I am more than an hour late now. lol. And yes, I was working. Luckily, my co-worker expects this out of me and yes, I did stay longer to make up the time. It felt like a normal day, lol. But it has been difficult to make the transition in time. I do like the daylight savings time much better than standard, I just wished we could stay on it all year. lol.

Happy Napping!

Easy Rider

2011-03-20T17:01:00.001-07:00

Oh I just love Penny Black's MiMi stamps. This one is called "easy rider." I have had her for a while now and then moved her over to my desk to look at. I went to my local Scrappy store and talked with the lady who orders. She finally did order a few of them and I cannot believe how fast they flew off the shelves! Wow. I was also trying to talk her into getting the pure innocent line from My Favorite Things. Can you imagine, MiMi's and Pure Innocents under one roof? OMG!!! That could be very very dangerous, lol.
I was crusing through foxy67's gallery and came across the cutest whimsical card, so this is also in honor of her reining QFTD42. Hope it was great Pat.
My nickname as a child was MiMi, but that is not why I love these gals. I just love her little face and wild hair. I colored her skin tones and tights with copics (E00, E21, E93, YG03, YG06) and her bike and hair flower with copics (RV13, YR02). I started off by sponging the background (weird huh) with Memento new sprout, cantaloupe and tangelo. I inked her up with Memento Tuxedo Black. I paper pierced with Basic Grey's new hello luscious 6X6 pad. And then I got out the Kitties Kit "cause a scene" stamp set that I just love. I used Tim Holtz shabby shutters for the grass and greenery, and then spun sugar for more of the greenery. Still, it did not have that "done" look to it. So I got out my tree die from My Favorite things and added a tree and the leaves paper are from the same paper pack. I added a background punch, Martha Stewart fence punch. And some sheer ribbon to finish it off using my Bow Easy. The main apricot colored paper is from Papertrey Ink.

Hope you like her.

Berries and Cherries

2011-03-20T16:49:00.001-07:00

How come every time I go to take pictures of my cards, it's dark and rainy? lol. Oh well, at least I can share them with you. My dear Sister bought me this taylored expressions stamp set and the "ingredients" that T.E. sells to go with the stamps. Okay, she bought them for me a year and a half ago and I dearly love and treasure them and the kit. So I was waiting til I got good enough to use them. lol. That day will never come and that has been a good lesson to me these past few months. Use it anyway! Do it anyway. Because there is always going to be seriously cute stamps and paper. Oh, but I do love this combination of colors and papers and ribbon....oh my. I also really cannot say enough about the quality of T.E. stamps, wow, what a great surprise that was. So now T.E. is a member company of SplitCoastStampers and they are having a challenge. Well a win = free stamps and who doesn't love to win? I do! In fact, I was just emailing a favorite blogger of mine back and forth about how great it is to win. Even if it's a small thing, because then you feel compelled to order more (it's a great excuse isn't it?) and then you end up getting all that really great stuff you've been holding out on. lol.

I do remember a year and half ago, seeing these beautiful cards and I so wanted to make them, so I did!

I used prisma colored pencils and gamsol to color. Something my friend Jodi taught me all about over the Internet waves. While I am still working on how to get the best effects and lighting, I do love how well everything blends together. Everything else, except the circle and scallop nesties, were included in the kit. I love matchy matchy!

Joan's Gardens Just Rite Challenge

2011-03-08T23:07:00.000-08:00

Holy Smokes, did you see the prize in this weeks Joan's Challenge? It is definitely worth losing sleep over and here I am at after 11:00 pm uploading my card, lol. This is a Just rite stamp image my friend let me have. I love this floral set. With not much time to spend on this, I took the idea to use Webster Pages dsp from one of the designers on Joan's blog hop. I matted with another Webster page and use brown ribbon. With the same matting, I made my little butterfly's and used chocolate Kaiser Craft Pearls in the center to match. I water colored the image with Tim Holtz distress inks: dried marigold, spiced marmalade, peeled paint, shabby shutters, wild honey, and pine needles, and then sponged it with scattered straw.

Cross your fingers I win in the drawing.....I love the prize!!!

Bliss

2011-03-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

I saw this card and I loved the sketch and colors. Something I do not ordinarily use, so I wanted to make one too.

QFTD40, RRR19

2011-03-06T19:22:00.000-08:00

Jo, so sorry I am behind on the times. I saw this lovely card of yours and love the green and the flowers. I set out in search of some ideas to use with this stamp set and saw this card. I just had to try it out. This also qualifies for Really Reasonable Ribbon challenge to use green and ribbon on a card.

I hope your week was the best ever!

QFTD41

2011-03-06T19:17:00.000-08:00

Kathy, hope your week was bliss! I am so sorry I am soooooo late! I saw this card. And I loved the dp you used. I had seen this card as well and wanted to try my hand at some vintage.

Vintage for the Queen, RRR19

2011-03-06T19:10:00.000-08:00

Bridget so sorry I am late on your QFTD39 challenge. I loved this card. And set about looking for paper with roses. Then I remembered I saw this awesome card and had to make it. It has roses and ribbon! lol. Oh and it also has green, so I am submitting into the Really Reasonable Ribbon challenge as well. I hope your week was super!

Mud Buddies...MFTWSC9, RRR19, QFTD 38

2011-03-06T19:01:00.000-08:00

I am several challenges and cards behind, lol. So many cute things, so little time. This one is for a few challenges. My Favorite Things sketch challenge this week, Really Reasonable Ribbons challenge to use green and ribbon. And Most important, my favorite Peeps on Splitcoast is the "Queen for the Day" gang that I have seriously neglected. I am 12 queens behind......YIKES! This one is for Sheri AKA KsNurse, love this cute card! Cute little girl, cute paper and cute sketch.

Stamps: MFT mud buddies

Paper: PTI green, MME Hazel

Ink: copics, prisma colored pencils and gamsol, distressed ink tumbled glass, Memento black and brown.

Other: spellbinders blossom and circles, ribbon. BowEasy.

Casing Lori

2011-02-27T20:01:00.000-08:00

I saw Lori's card and I knew I had to make this! Love it. I have seen so many wonderful scenic cards with balloons, and I was thrilled to find not one, but two different balloon sets for sale on splitcoast stampers buy/sell threads. I used the balloon from "there she goes". The cloud dies are from PTI and the tag is from SU's teeny tiny wishes. The punches are SU's window and modern label. The paper is a mixture of Basic Grey's and PTI's, and I think the grey paper is from S.U. lol.

Okay, well if you were wondering if I got anything done this weekend, the answer is no, I was making cards all weekend. A little bit of laundry, but Joe mostly did it, lol, and I cooked dinner twice. Oh hum, I need to win the lotto so I can just sit here and make cards all day.... day after day! lol.

More Lovely Labels

2011-02-27T19:57:00.000-08:00

I saw this idea somewhere on the Gina K website. I am not sure where now, lol. I just loved the peek-a-boo effect with the Webster pages and the way she positioned her pearls. I used different Webster pages and made my card smallerish.

I shows this to DH Joe, and he started reading the text on the label. I mean who does that? lol. It's a scripture, the one that reads, "though I lead you unto the valley of death....." OMG!!!! So this needed to be a sympathy card and not a love card, lol.

I like it anyway.

Casing Jody

2011-02-27T19:51:00.000-08:00

I just saw this on Jodi's blog and I was like, "OMG, I just bought that paper and this is so cute!" So I had to case it! It's one of the new 6X6 packs from MME. I also used PTI I think that is ocean something, and black. I sponged with cantaloupe and this is something I got from Jodi directly and just love the effect. The ribbon is from a free pack I got from totally reasonable ribbon from a blog hop win. I used my S.U. border punch and a nestie eyelet circle die, along with 3 others circles. The trick was to use the big and small circles interchangeably.

One thing is for sure, if you are going to be casing Jodi, you gotta be prepared to work for the look, lol. This is so many layers, but oh, I love the effect.

Casing Mary

2011-02-27T19:44:00.000-08:00

Have you seen Mary's blog? This is my first version of her cute little card, lol. I saw her card and had to have this new S.U. die. Okay, so I needed to follow Mary's advice a little bit more and not use my stylet to make the grooves show, lol. I do love the shape of this flower and plan to use it again and again.

Floral die from the mini S.U.

free dsp from sale a bration

teeny tiny wishes from SU

label and modern label punches

contraband brad and EK punch, lol.

Casing Sharon

2011-02-27T19:34:00.000-08:00

Have you been to Sharon's blog, "no time to stamp?" It's awesome! She not only sells really cool stuff, she also uses it and shows you some great examples. The kind where you see a card and think, "wow, I'd like to make that" and then there it is, all the stuff you need to order to make it. lol. Way way too convenient. lol. I love her beautiful cards and so this time, I had all the stuff to make this. My friend was making this the other night and I was like, "oh yeah, I totally forgot how beautiful that card was." lol.

Paper: graphic 45, SU blush blossom.

Other: nesties heart die, champagne silk ribbon, recollection flower, velcro button (I am so glad we had these from another project because it's one of those things you don't think about until it's like, "oh yeah." lol) and bow easy. I love my bow easy, it makes perfect bows that are easily placed on my cards. Somehow it decreases the overall bulk and I love mine.

RAK from Jamie

2011-02-26T17:40:00.001-08:00

What is a RAK? It's a random act of kindness. Jamie is so good to me, in my on line club, she included these cards in my box of stuff. I love them all! Thank you so much Jamie. To see other fabulous creations by Jamie, please see her blog. She also has ribbon, paper and button shares with each new mini and catty that comes out. All Stampin Up!

Quilt card: see Jamies blog for the pattern on this one, she used vintage paper from the mini and I think that is Pear Pizzaz with it.

Bliss: is a free set with the sale a bration going on right now. It looks like she paired it with sahara sand and marina blue, so pretty.

Sweet summer - is also a sale a bration set, and it's so cute, I love that little bird and all the stamps that come with this one. I think that is peach parfait and marina blue and it's so adorable!

And last but not least is my favorite one. Morning cup. She ran the scallop edge through her crimper to add a bit of texture. LOVE IT!

Lovely Labels 2

2011-02-26T17:34:00.001-08:00

Oh I love these new lovely labels 2 stamps as much as I love the first set!!!!

I saw this card and had to make it. In fact, I have many of this designers cards in my fav's and have to make them! lol.

Stamps: lovely labels 2, Sincere Salutations
Ink: creamy carmel (retired SU), cool caribbean (retired SU).
DSP: October afternoon thrift shop
paper: PTI white, PTI dark chocolate, Kraft.
Other: nesties, seam binding that I died to match, and other ribbon from my stash. The button and twine are SU. Oh and a cuttlebug folder ~ mosiac.

Thanks for looking, hope you like these, there is more to come!

Lovely Labels

2011-02-26T17:27:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting the Gina K lovely labels set one and two forever and finally found a great deal on them together. I am so happy to have these, I have many many projects in mind for these....

I saw this card and fell in love with the design and the colors, so I had to KopyKat it.

Stamps: Lovely Labels

Ink: Brocade Blue, blushing bride, and pear pizzaz (SU!)

Paper: PTI white and SU blusing bride.

Other: Nesties label 1 and SU white ribbon, SU embossing folder.

How great is that?! A stamp designed around the nesties, I love it.

It's Springtime

2011-02-21T16:54:00.000-08:00

Isn't this the most amazing tree? I look forward to this blooming every year. You think it's winter around here and then bam, this tree decides when it's allergy season, lol. I had to run in and get my camera and make Joe go down the street to capture these photo's today because after a week, two tops, all the petals fall on the ground and the tree is all green. But the wait is so worth the miracle of colors for this one or two week stretch.

We got caught by our neighbors who drove up, lol, and there we are, taking pictures of their tree. lol. Probably thinks I am completely nuts (actually he's not too far off there, lol) but I had to have the pictures. We all stood there marveling over the beauty for a few more moments. Now that this tree has bloomed, all the others will follow it's lead and there will be white poofs and yellow poofs and pink poofs, but this is the only one who just goes ahead and gives us perfect pink and purple petals.

I hope your day is filled with a moment of excitement and beauty today.

It's like learning how to ride a bike......

2011-02-20T19:52:00.000-08:00

Jeep learned how to ride a bike without the training wheels today. We had meant to do this a lot sooner than now, but you know, time and money, lol.

First he had to learn how to get on the bike. With a little help from Dad. Then he was on his way downhill and loving it. Of course there was a wipe out or two, or five, but hey, how else did you learn how to use the brakes?

Overall he did amazingly well and he had a very good time. oh and so did we!

Joe's Valentine's

2011-02-20T15:36:00.000-08:00

I found this card on SCS and wanted to make my dear husband this card for valentine's. I just love her cute scene and the colors changed with my editing a bit, but the greens match perfectly, lol.

Stamps: valentine defined

And everything else but the nestie scallop is S.U.

2011-02-20T15:32:00.000-08:00

We made these in our S.U. club night as well. I love the vintage and the Aviary set and colors so much. We had so much fun making all the wonderful projects and getting together again to chat. I haven't been able to upload as fast as I would like to my blog, and now I am out of time.....my guys are waiting for me....but I got them uploaded here, yeah!

a playdate kopykat

2011-02-20T15:24:00.000-08:00

I saw this card on Colleen's blog and I literally squeeled! I had just come from my S.U. club night and my demo had made the most beautiful flower to show all of us. I was in the flower making mood and when I saw this, I realized not only did I love it, I had ALL the stuff to make it!!!! Yippee.

This is the first time I have inked up my Now and Always ippity Unity set. I also used my October Afternoon Thrift shop paper and my nesties. This was fun to make.

reinker cards

2011-02-20T15:17:00.000-08:00

Sandi Mac had the cutest cards on her blog. I just loved them. I had wanted to make these roses for a while now and this was the perfect incentive. And now that I've made them, I can see I am going to be using my reinkers a lot more than I thought, lol. I can't seem to find the link to her blog, but will attach it again when I find it.

stamps: fifth ave floral, Unity leaves

cardstock: kraft, old olive

dsp: newsprint and some scraps of S.U. and Kaiser

other: seam binding that I dyed myself using reinkers or glimmer mist and rubbing alcohol. S.U. crochet trim.

Pinwheel cards

2011-02-20T15:13:00.000-08:00

We made the green and purple pinwheel in our S.U. club and I forgot to leave a border, lol, so I wanted to do another one the right way. I am so in love with this vintage paper....I must get more, it's not something I want to run out of. Hopefully S.U. will make more vintage dsp for the new catty. The pinwheels are two 2 5/8" squares glued together and we used 11/4" square punch for the dsp blocks. I used not quite navy and baja breeze cardstock and the vintage folder.

Quilt Card

2011-02-20T14:49:00.000-08:00

There is a tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers on how to make a quilt card. OMG, what a lot of work cutting those into 3/4" squares, but it's so cute. This is my first quilt....and of course it's with paper, lol. I saw this card, and wanted to make one.

My friend Jamie is having a blog contest today. We are all busy making quilt cards.

I love these new vintage papers from S.U. I am going to have to order some more so I don't hoard this away, lol.

Batmobile Pinewood Derby Car

2011-01-30T21:36:00.000-08:00

This is this years Pinewood Derby Car, "The Batmobile". Joe and Jeep worked all weekend perfecting this. Joe drilled holes in the sides to place weights, cut this out, added vents to the sides (lego pieces, lol) and tricked it out. The big race is tomorrow night, but in my eyes, it's already a winner! Love it. Who wouldn't want a Dad like Joe?

SU Club Cards

2011-01-30T16:54:00.001-08:00

We made these in club recently and I love them! The treat holder is from a set I love in the new mini, "eat chocolate". We punched the hearts with the new glimmer paper, also in the mini and used real red card stock and choc chip ribbon with white ribbon. And it's so true, I'm no quitter! lol.

The second card uses the "create a cupcake" in the mini, along with the build a cupcake punch. I was totally going to not buy this set until we made this card, lol. All of the sudden I had ideas popping in my head and I had to have it, lol.

The third card we used Bliss from the Sale-A-Bration catty and OMG, I love this set! And it's free!!!! Well, of course I spent the minimum and then some, lol. After all, if you do, you get free sets and what could be a better justification? lol.

Many thanks to Rhonda for such wonderful designs and ideas. She is so patient with me and she always has such great ideas. My cell phone picture gallery is nearly full from all her "models" lol.

Hope you are having a crafty day!

Making Pansies

2011-01-30T16:48:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah, I had some crafty time today and came across a video tutorial I have been meaning to try for over a year, lol. Here is the card I saw and then clicked onto her blog and watched her tutorial. The pansies are still a bit damp, so I will flatten them out a bit, but I like them a lot.

The punch I used is S.U. butterfly's and I punched out the shimmery white paper, but it did not come through so well. So I made my own glimmer mist using the S.U. champagne mist and mixing it with liquid hair spray. Works well!

My reinker combinations were: elegant eggplant and summer sun, pretty in pink and summer sun, cameo coral and summer sun.

Hope you are having a very crafty day!

Country Cookin'

2011-01-17T21:13:00.000-08:00

Another card I could not resist KopyKating. Here is the original. I just love this Kitschy Kitchen dsp pack, I think I may drive my readers nuts with this image and this paper, lol. It's been so therapeutic this week.

I finished this card tonight. I used my prisma colored pencils with gamsol, copics for the skin and paper pierced again.

I know, I know, but I just got a few of these really cute stamps in and now I want to go back and KopyKat all the fabulous cards I saw during the designer blog hops.

Hope you have a very crafty day!

Happiness is Homemade

2011-01-17T21:10:00.000-08:00

Another "what's cooking?" image with mitten weather dsp. I saw this card and had to try out the color combination, I love it!

What's Cooking?

2011-01-17T21:05:00.000-08:00

I love it when My Favorite Things, comes out with a new image. They have blog hops and all the fabulous designers get to work and come up with the best card designs to use with the designer papers and toys. I saw this card and had to make my version.....which is so close that it is absolutely a kopykat, lol.

I used October Afternoon designer paper, PTI red, Spellbinders nesties oval and oval scallops, MFT dynamic die, ribbon and pearls. I paper pierced the apron because I just love that! And I used copics to color. Scattered straw distress ink to sponge around the image.

My Favorite Things sketch 2

2011-01-17T20:59:00.001-08:00

I got this one in under the wire! MFT's is having their second sketch challenge and I wanted to try to do as many of these as possible. Mostly for the chance to win the prize, lol. But it also helps me build a foundation for card sketches.

I just got this A' La Mode stamp called "what's cooking?" She is so darn cute, I just love this image and the sentiments that come with the set. I used some new papers I bought, Melissa Frances and the pad is called Kitschy Kitchen. Cute designer paper. I paper pierced the bowl and the apron, used copics and prisma colored pencils with gamsol to color her up, and some pinkish pearls to finish. Oh, and a flower punch.

I went on to make another three cards with this image, lol.

Hope everyone is having a great day and can whip up something special for themselves today.

A place to start

2011-01-09T22:01:00.000-08:00

Start each day with a "weeee"! My Favorite Things, is starting up their new years challenges with a sketch challenge and I NEEDED to get scrappy today. This was not what I had in my minds eye when I started, but to be honest, I am just grateful I got inky today and completed a card. lol. I used the new graphics 45 designer paper, and I LOVE IT! And of course my pure innocents stamp from MFT's.

So this is my first card of the new year and I feel happy now. My New Year resolution was easy, "to get to the gym once this year, lol." I had no scrappy resolutions, because it's fun and it's therapeutic and I did not want to stress myself out with a bunch of deadlines.

I was able to get my area "clear" of old debris before I started this today and now I feel like the juices are starting to flow.... just a little, but I am already thinkin' about my next project and right now, that is a good sign.

Hope you are all well and happy!

Stamps: MFT pure innocents, "start each day with a wee"

Paper: blush by PTI, graphic 45 once upon a springtime, PTI green ???

Other: copics, memento, sponged with distressed ink "tumbled glass", large scallop nesties, scallop and grass punches.

January Snow Go

2011-01-09T14:43:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!!!!

I have been busy, busy, busy since just before Christmas and I wanted to wish everyone a late but great Happy New Year.

We went to the snow yesterday, and yes, while most of the country is blanketed with this glow white cold stuff, we Californians will literally drive hours to go see it and play in it. lol.

This is Jeep and his snow angel. The best quote of the day was, "It's okay, I have life insurance!" Seems Mr. Jeep has been listening in on his dad and I's benefit elections from work and he's figured out he has life insurance. I am not sure he knows exacally what that means, but it gave him great confidence when it came to sledding down the hill. lol.

Wonderful Cards

2010-12-24T09:00:00.000-08:00

I have recieved so many wonderful Christmas cards this year, but check out these four handmade cards, aren't they wonderful? I wanted to share these works of art with everyone because I just treasure them. Thank you Jodi, Jamie, Liz and Trina, I love them!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T08:52:00.000-08:00

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Unfortunately this year I just did not get it together in time, so I only whipped out a few of these that are going in the mail today, lol. Oh the card makers friends and family never get any cards, just like the shoe makers kids have no shoes. Isn't that the way though? This has been a busy season for me and most of this month, my extra time was spent shopping and just spending some time with my wonderful husband Joe (we are addicted to "Friday night lights" which we are watching on his X-box through net flicks.) and my son Jeep. Jeep has had a wonderful Christmas Season and is just chomping at the bit for tomorrow. His Birthday is the 26th and so this time of year is a double whammy for him and he LOVES it!

I saw this card and could not resist! Santa to me represents the spirit of giving and love for all children and mankind. St Nicholes is my fav!

I hope you have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.....for those that celebrate the season only, Have a wonderful time and Season Greetings.

Lucky and Blessed

2010-12-16T18:10:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

Well, I have not had time to sit down in a creative mood and make anything this week, but I have been lucky and I have been blessed.

A few weeks back I blogged about work stress and asked for some prayers. I want to thank those of you who prayed because God indeed opened up new doors. My last day of work is tomorrow and I start my new job on the 27th. I am really looking forward to working with some great ladies who also share in my passion for stamping! What could be better than that? More money and better benefits! lol. God doesn't hand mediocre blessings.

You know lately I have been into being compliant with my medical checks. I'm a nurse and we are notorious for not practising what we preach. lol. So the first thing I did was go for a mammogram. It was only a year overdue, so I am not feeling too badly about that. But it came back "suspicious." So I had to go back and get a "cone mammogram" (OUCH) and an ultrasound. Did you know when you get a mammogram you are not supposed to wear deodorant? They think that might have been the suspicious looking creature on my first mammogram, lol. Did you know when you get a chest ultrasound that they also ultrasound your armpits? Weird huh? I wasn't expecting that one, lol. The initial mammogram did not hurt, it was not uncomfortable, it was more of a awkward thing than anything. The cone mammogram however, was a tight squeeze and just when I thought she was squeezing all I could stand, the machine squeezed a little more. The girls were not happy, but they understood the necessity. So anyway, I did not realize how much I was holding my breath over these results until today. I actually went to the radiology facility and asked for copies of my results. And thankfully, I know what I'm reading. Benign is a very good word. And under recommendation: regular mammogram check next year. Yippee! This was another great blessing.

First thing this morning, I learned that I had won blog candy from Ann! Whooo Hooo! The only thing better than stampin' up bling is free stampin' up bling! Thank you Ann for the wonderful blog candy! And Colleen sent me a message to let me know! That was lucky.

I won a blog hop from My Favorite Things and just used my $15.00 winnings tonight, can't wait to get the cute stamps in the mail! Thank you My Favorite Things! That was lucky.

I won the blog hop for Joan's ginormous challenge and got some free cuttlebug folders and a snowflake die from Spellbinders! Thank You Joan! That was lucky.

I met my husband for lunch today and the sandwich place was jammed packed, no parking that I could see from the corner. So I decided to go ahead and look in their very small parking lot, because the street parking was taken. As I went to pull in, someone was pulling out of a spot right next to the door and I got in it! That was lucky.

I was picking up some things I needed from Walgreen's the other day and the magic machine spit out a $15.00 off coupon. You know those annoying coupons for things you don't use or never would buy that come out of those? Wow, $15.00 with few restrictions and no limit. So I bought some stocking stuffers today! That was lucky.

So I decided to buy a lottery ticket today, lol. Pushing my luck and blessings or just ready to keep receiving? God has no limits, but he does know what is best for me. So I am asking for a winning ticket knowing that would be in my best interest, lol.

But quite honestly, I feel like huge burdens have been lifted from my soul and my heart and I'm ready to let go and enjoy every single thing, luck or blessings, and be thankful.

Happy last minute holiday stuff!
Holly

Blue Belt Testing

2010-12-12T09:52:00.001-08:00

Friday night Jeep had his Blue Belt testing in Tae Kwon Do. He currently has a purple belt. He was a bit nervous, but he knew his form well. Isn't he just the cutest thing ever in his little uniform? We are so very proud of him, he works really hard to memorize and perfect his form.

Merry Keurig to me!

2010-12-12T07:38:00.000-08:00

This is what I got for Christmas! I know, I should not pick out my Christmas gift, but I NEEDED it! lol.

Not trying to keep up with the Jones' but my long time coffee maker friend died a few weeks ago. I made Joe run out and buy any cheap coffeemaker because I don't even try to function first thing in the morning without coffee. The cheap coffee maker made weak and luke warm coffee. For a while I tried to "make do." But just before my long time friend coffee maker died, I had a cup of coffee at a fellow Stampin' Up club members home. It was so space age tech that I had no idea how it worked. But once I learned and I had a cup of that FABULOUS Paul Newman's Own Organic Bold, I was in love!

We searched for the same coffee maker we had before. After all, it did make perfect coffee and we still had many many filters for it. lol. They have a newer version and it somehow did nothing for me as far as my "want" button goes. So while out Christmas shopping for the little ones yesterday, Joe kept bringing me by the coffee makers and pointing out that Keurig had less expensive versions. UH HUH, and we also have a less expensive version of a "real" thing, I rationed. So I told him that this was the one I wanted and no, I didn't think that spending so much for a coffee maker was a rationale thing for us to do. Because OMG that is a lot of stampy stuff you know? lol. I told him perhaps for Mother's Day or my Birthday or some occation after the mad Christmas rush. This is a luxury item, after all. And by the way, they are more expensive on line, in the stores they are quite a bit less expensive.

And then we walked into Sam's Club and they had it. A whole stack of them. They came with 60 K-cups and a fill it yourself K-cup filter. OMG! Joe did not need to convince me very long. It was the right price, it had lots of extras and it was the beloved one I wanted and now it's in my KITCHEN!!!!! Yipppeeee.

On the cold winter nights, I like to drink Starbucks Calm tea and I have the teabags at home. So if Joe and I want tea, I have to microwave the water for 3 minutes, each cup. Not anymore, now I can brew out hot water in less than a minute for each cup!!!!

Prior to tasting this coffee at club night, I would never have given this coffee maker a second glance. I am not a "one cup" of coffee person. It's not really in my budget, lol, and it's not something I would have ever considered. So beware! If one of your friends offers you a cup of coffee from their Keurig and you are a coffee lover, you will never be satisfied until you can have this in your kitchen! lol. Now if only Sister could send me more cookie crack to go with my new coffee crack! lol.

Thank you Joe for the wonderful Christmas present, I LOVE IT! And I love you. Because if I want it really really super bad, you will insist that I have it no matter how irrational I am.

hollyesters.com

2010-12-09T13:37:00.000-08:00

Sister's website is up and running now, okay to order your toffeebread (cookie crack!) lol.

Another Cattitude Card

2010-12-08T14:10:00.000-08:00

Last week, when I made my last Cattitude with the same dp, I saw Jodi's card and I loved it too, so I had to Kopykat her as well, lol.

Hope you like it.

JG1202, QFTD posey's

2010-12-08T13:59:00.001-08:00

Oh these posy's! I love them. This card satisfies three needs. The Queen for the Day challenge on Splitcoast where ksnurse, Sheri, is our 38th Queen. I chose her card here.

Then there is the Joan's Gardens Challenge and this is the last day to upload any new entrees. The rules are to use Heartfelt Stamps only, this uses Posy Patch flowers HCPC 3303. And Elegant single leaves HCPC 3314.

Then there is the fact that Joan's mother is going to be 96 this month and we shall shower her with cards for a very special birthday indeed. So this will be mailed out to her this week.

I love these posy's and seem to find different ways to use them. the leaves are so great, perfect sizes for any floral. I used my Stampin' Up designer paper, cottage wall. I also died my own seam binding to match. I love seam binding for ribbon! I used two martha stewart punches for the lattice and the foliage.

Hope you are having a great day!

Remembering Elizabeth Edwards

2010-12-07T18:12:00.000-08:00

No, we were not besties, lol, but I had a lot of respect for Elizabeth Edwards. I cannot image losing a child, that would be the single most devastating thing I can think of. I am not sure I would be able to breath or even want to, but she did. And she continued to be grateful and try to make a difference. And then she got breast cancer and she tackled that face on. And then it came back when she was out there trying to get her husbands name out there and telling everyone how wonderful he was and bring votes coming in. Meanwhile, he was out cheating on her. So she was dealing with Cancer and he was cheating. And then she had to publicly deal with the fact that he was cheating on her. And still she was well poised and grateful. And when she found out he had a child out of wedlock, she had enough. She continued to fight the cancer until very recently and she died today. And I want to say that she made a difference to so many women both Republican and Democratic, she was so strong. And I also want to say that I hope she turned his indoor basketball court into a great big scraproom! lol. And if given the opportunity, I hope she can come back to haunt him often.

Snowman tag card

2010-12-07T09:31:00.000-08:00

I don't know where I got this idea, but I love these easy little gift tag cards. I bought 6X6 samples of Candy Cane Christmas with Jamie's dsp share and I have been able to make the most from these and the scraps. LOVE it. The snowman is from Tags til Christmas, both SU.

Tags!

2010-12-07T09:21:00.000-08:00

When I saw Inking Idaho's tags, I had to scraplift them right away. These are going out to sister for her toffeebread packages, she is having a display this weekend.

I love this love letter dsp from SU, I used Riding Hood Red and Old Olive as well as ribbon. I used the tags til Christmas SU set for the sentiment. I could not find a To and From stamp that I know I have around here somewhere, lol, so I used my white gel pen and wrote it myself. I also used my tab punch and ran it through the big shot with the lattice folder. LOVE it!

Joan's Garden Challenge JG1202

2010-12-07T08:59:00.000-08:00

Joan is having another great challenge and when I read the prize, I knew I had to take some time out and whip this up. The color inspiration came from this card.

I used Heartfelt Creations posy patch swirls HCPC 3304 and Posy Patch Flowers precut HCPC 3303 along with a border punch, my Spellbinders Nestie and Ella Blue gcd paper. Ink: Versafine Vintage Sepia - I was so thrilled to find out this matched so well. I sponged it onto the bg of my frame as well to keep the same color combination.

Hope you like it and cross your fingers I win, I would be so thrilled!

Push Mobile Cub Scout Race

2010-12-04T17:55:00.000-08:00

This is my Jeepy driving and it looks like he had a wonderful time today. He is so proud that his dad is the one who builds these for his pack every year. He goes around telling everyone, lol.

They won the most spirited award this year! Whooot! We love trophies.

Cub Scout Push mobile winners!

2010-12-04T17:51:00.000-08:00

This is Jeep (right), Joe (middle) and fellow cubscouter, Rory. And the push mobile that my Hottie (Joe - yeah he's taken girls, so sorry) made. The right is a cut out Wolf head (they are the Wolf pack) and the left is the tail. And the middle is the "most spirited award". The boys painted it with their scout colors and apparently they had a wonderful time at the races today.

My First Teapotter Tuesday

2010-11-30T14:54:00.001-08:00

I've been seeing the Teapotter's on Splitcoast Stampers for over a year now, but this is the first time I have been able to participate in one of their Tuesdays. Luckily, this is a special Tuesday and this card will go to someone who needs cheering up and loves cats.

When I read that she loved cat's, I immediately thought of my uninked "Cattitude" stamp set by There She Goes. And so I went there for some inspiration and found this card. Yes, I am a shameless KopyKat aren't I? lol.

I didn't even realize that the teal was wrong until I was done, but it's still good. I also did not have a green card stock to match the pixilicious dsp, so I used a prisma pencil and went all around the edges and then used the gamsol to spread it around. I love that. I also had some seam binding that I dyed with olive green and it came out light, so this was a good match as well. I colored the cat with prisma colored pencils and used gamsol. I paper pierced around all those edges but I don't know if it really shows up well in the picture. The purple cardstock is some PTI I had in my stash, it matches the pixilicious really well. I used my SU punches for the sentiment and added brads and a heart wire.

Thanks for looking, I hope you are having a fabulous week.

It's in the bag

2010-11-29T12:16:00.000-08:00

I saw this bag uploaded on SCS and wanted to make a larger version, I just love this. Any ideas what I can put in the bag? Oh yeah, I am sending this to Sister to put a bag of Toffeebread into for a gift. lol. It's the perfect size.

I used bells and boughs stamps on a regular lunch bag. Colored it in with Always Artichoke and Cherry Cobbler ink using blender pens. I also used my tags til Christmas set on the tag with C.C. ink. The beautiful silk ribbon was a gift from Linda, thank you! I used my scallop punch to punch the top of the bag and the bottom of the tag to match.

2010-11-29T11:56:00.001-08:00

I saw this card and wanted to finally use my PTI set, on my couch. I didn't really like this dsp I got in a sampler from my friend/on line demo Jamie, until I saw this card and was inspired to use it. It's Perfect for a fall couch card! lol.

Stuff: On my couch and additions from PTI. buttons from SU, dsp: Autumn Spice from SU mini, Memento black ink, Cajun Craze ink, Spellbinders nesties, early espresso and pear pizzazz card stock. Ribbon is May Arts from my stash.

Wood Grain Tag Holder

2010-11-29T11:45:00.000-08:00

I saw this card on SCS and wanted to try to KopyKat using my wood grain background stamp. I really like the rustic feel to this one.

I used my wood grain background stamp and stamped soft suede onto vanilla card stock. Then I sponged with soft suede, crumb cake, creamy Carmel and vanilla. I used my fancy tags spellbinders die with vanilla card stock. I used old olive and riding hood red card stock. My Martha Stewart branch punch and some dew drops I had in my stash. I also used vintage brads (retired from SU.) As well as the retired gingham ribbon in real red.

Tags some more

2010-11-29T11:35:00.001-08:00

**************************

*******************************************I found my sizzix tags die! lol. On the prior tags I had to use my Spellbinders large scallop squares die to make the tops of the tags and then while rummaging through my stuff, I found the tags die I forgot I bought! I love that! It's like Christmas to find something you need right that minute. lol.

I used Patterned pines on these two tags and bells and boughs Christmas greeting on the one.

I have looked at numerous tags on line and so I cannot recall who did what, but thanks to all the lovely crafters out there for sharing their ideas and inspiring me!

Tag, your it!

2010-11-29T11:24:00.000-08:00

I saw this cute little card and wanted to KopyKat it into some tags for Christmas. What a great idea to make the dsp into packages, I love it!

I used Candy Cane Christmas dsp, oval punches, and tiny tags and matching punch from SU. I got the Bakers twine from Really Reasonable Ribbons. And I used real red cardstock as well as Baja Breeze.

Queen for the Day 37, for Kathy

2010-11-29T11:11:00.000-08:00

Congratulations Kathy, I just love this card you made. Of course I don't have that pure innocence image......yet, lol, but I did use this one. Part way into Kopykating your card, I just decided I could not cover any of more of this cute little designer paper, so I left out the other panels and made it a quick and simple card.

I got a sample of this designer paper from my on line friend/demo Jamie. Now that it's sold out I wished I would have just bought a whole pack, lol. Isn't that the way it goes though? lol.

Details: My Favorite things Pure Innocence "merry kissmas", Stampin' up Candy Cane Christmas dsp, real red and baja breeze card stock, red bling by Kaiser Kraft, branch punch from Martha Stewart. And yes, I used cool shadow copics on my snowman, lol. Dazzling diamonds glitter.

Queen For the Day 36

2010-11-29T10:55:00.001-08:00

Congratulations to Maxell on her rein last week for the Queen for the Day challenge. My goodness, what an amazing gallery. I saw her card using the retired S.U. Peaceful Wishes and came across this upload as well. I have had these tiles waiting for me to do something with for over a year now, lol, and wanted to make some festive Christmas tiles. Maxell, thank you so much for sharing a wonderful gallery and for your inspiration.

Tiles were purchased at home depot in the flooring department. I have 4 ink pads in Craft ink from SU and used three here: Chocolate chip, old olive and Rose Red. I then used some Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint from S.U. that I mixed with rubbing alcohol and stored in a mini mister, just gives it a subtle shimmer. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes, let cool and then spray on crystal clear semi gloss finishing spray (I added some more shimmer mist while this was wet) and let dry. I will place some cork with adhesive on the bottoms.

Tags til Chrismas treat holder

2010-11-21T17:49:00.000-08:00

This was the final project of our SU club. We used an envie and sealed it, cut it sideways at the two inch mark. Ran the bottom through a crimper, layered the top with Candy Cane Christmas dsp and real red card stock and then used real red ribbon. We stamped the tag with real red and cut out with the square Scallop punch, and layered on a piece of baja breeze. Inside is a mini bag of skittles. So cute!

Contempo Christmas Gift card Holder

2010-11-21T17:44:00.000-08:00

We made this in our Club night as well, and I am loving the Contempo Christmas set. I told myself I had ordered enough Christmas sets and to just be good, but oh, I could not do it and for $11.95 for the clear set, I just could not be that good! lol. That top layer is adhered to the left hand flap, as well as the bottom tag. Under the top flap is a slot for a gift card. When I first saw this card sample, I was a bit confused and thought it might be difficult, but it turned out to be very easy and so cute. Love the little rhinestone brad on the top of the ornament too.

I THINK this is pear pizzazz, real red and melon mambo.

Thanks for looking