Have You Heard the News

Pink Cat Studio has gone digital--digi stamping, that is! They are still offering traditional rubber stamps, but in addition to their line of rubber stamps, Pink Cat Studio will be having weekly releases of digital stamps. And, boy, are  they ever cute!!! There is already a great selection of Halloween, Christmas, and adorable in the store, but new ones will be released this Thursday, too. If you haven't jumped on the digi stamp band wagon yet, giddyup!
I had to have this little frog-filled pumpkin. The froggies look like they are trying to escape a witch's brew and I just want to help them get away. Digis are so easy. Just insert them into Word, resize them if necessary, and color them with your favorite medium. I used my beloved copics, but I just can't seem to resist using a little stickles these days either.
The little treat bag/purse is a project I created for the members of The Paper Dolls (our local papercrafting group). I filled theirs with delicious treats and a few useful products. I used this tutorial to design the purse from a paper sack. Super cute and easy. Don't ya just love that polka dotted ribbon--cheap find at Hobby Lobby.
Be sure to check out the great offerings at PCS for some cute digi images to get your projects ready for Halloween, birthdays, or Christmas. And stay tuned for new ones this Thursday, too.
Project Recipe
Paper: PTI Orange Zest CS, SU Elegant Eggplant CS, PTI Autumn Abundance PP, Paper Studio The Basics PP, GinaK White Pure Luxury CS
Stamps: Pink Cat Studio Froggy Fun 
Accessories: Orange Stickles, cuttlebug, Spellbinders Classic and Scalloped Circles, black paper sack (Hobby Lobby), purple button (unknown), HL Halloween Crafts ribbon, copic markers

Happy Birthday, Honey

My husband's birthday was Thursday. We went to a football game (HIS favorite activity) and then dinner with family. Since it was his 50th, I had wanted to have a big party, but he was vehemently opposed to the idea. So, this small family gathering was the compromise plan.
When he's not watching football, my husband loves to fish. I bought this stamp a couple of years ago with him in mind. This is the first time it's seen ink. I used SU Chocolate Chip Craft Ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder. I wanted to be sure the card had strong masculine appeal. So I used sponging and great fall colors to "guy it up". I also added twine instead of ribbon and some great brass brads.
Project Recipe
Paper: SU Mellow Moss, SU Really Rust, SU Chocolate Chip, My Mind's Eye DSP
Stamps: Fisherman Stamp Oasis, Verve Wishing You
Accessories: Paper Studio brads, twine, Zing embossing powder, heat embossing tool, cuttlebug, Spellbinders Oval dies

Happy Fall, Yall

It's finally here...our first cold front! So it's still 80 degrees, but that's better than upper 90's or the triple digits of the summer!!! Anyway, I'm feeling Fall-ish! Lindsay's Stamp Stuff has done a lot to get me in that mood with some great digi stamp SETS in the store. This flourished crow is part of a whole set of stamps called "Creepy Crow Stamp Set". You get seven really cool images from scary to amazing for only $5. This one was so easy to color. In fact, I'm loving how easy it is to work with this set. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE my copics, but sometimes you just want something quick and simple to color but still has a "WOW!" factor to it. That's what this set has to offer. I used three copics for blending my color and I was done. The flourishes and swirls give this image the "WOW!"
The background paper has the look of crackled paint. I don't know if you can see that detail in the picture, but I decided to mimic that with the stamped image. I printed out the crow onto some PTI Rustic White CS, masked the bird, and then stamped over the paper with an SU Weathered background stamp in Close to Cocoa ink. After cutting out the image with a Spellbinders Labels die, I inked the edges and stamped the sentiment. I tied ribbon to the image and then frayed the ribbon a little. My next door neighbor will be getting this card today for his birthday. (I was sorely tempted to add a little sparkle to the bird, but wasn't sure if that would promote a masculine feel to this card, so I left it off. But my fingers were itching!)
Be sure to head over to Lindsay's blog today. I bet there's a freebie on there somewhere. Then, head to the shop to get some of these great digital stamp sets. Don't forget that at LSS if you spend $5, you get a free digital image of your choice emailed right to your computer's doorstep with little or no waiting! Go look at the Halloween sets....C*U*T*E! Now, I'm off to check out what the rest of the LSS design team cooked up. Those ladies are so inspiring!
Project Recipe
Paper: PTI Rustic White CS, PTI Dark Chocolate, PTI Autumn Abundance PP, SU Dusty Durango textured CS
Stamps: Lindsay's Stamp Stuff Creepy Crow, SU Weathered Background stamp (retired), Verve Birthday Surprise (sentiment), PTI Vintage Labels

Accessories: copic markers, cuttlebug, Spellbinders Labels Two die, Fiskars corner edgers scissors, SU Slot punch, PTI Orange Zest Saddlestitched Grosgrain ribbon

Button Balloons

Just a quick little post to show you one of the projects I got done this weekend. I've been really busy updating my blog, working on some projects for my papercrafting group, and organizing the craft room. I have a co-worker who has a birthday today, but I will be giving this to her tomorrow at school. I finally inked up this Papertrey Ink set called Everyday Buttons. If you haven't seen this stamp set yet, it's cleverly designed to coordinate with buttons of all colors and sizes. I threaded a little embroidery floss through the buttons before adhering them to the stamped balloon strings. The sentiment is also from this stamp set. Inside is a couple of delicious cookies for the birthday girl. For more information about and examples of the mini pizza box, see my earlier posts.
Project Recipe
Paper: SU Basic Black CS, PTI White CS, PTI Bitty Dots
Stamps: PTI Everyday Buttons
Accessories: cuttlebug, Spellbinders Labels One Die, buttons (source unknown), PTI Lemon Tart Satin Ribbon

The Birds

 

Lindsay has done it again! She's pulled together another awesome, albeit creepy, set for Halloween. This particular image from the set has left my copic markers crying from neglect because I just printed it out with no coloring at all. I printed on top of some SU Night and Day paper that looks worn and distressed. Then, I "flicked" some blood, I mean red ink across the page after spraying the whole thing with Pearl Glimmer Mist. You can't really see the glimmer in this picture but it's there and looks stunning up close. I went all the way with the distressing on this one. For the background I used the cuttlebug distressed branches folder with brown ink inside the folder. I added a scrap of Basic Grey Wassail red paper which comes distressed. And for good measure, I distressed the edges of the main image. My goodness this looks like something you might find in the cell of a serial killer---BWAHAHAHAHA!

Take a look at this brand new set you can find now at Lindsay's Stamp Stuff:

   

Lindsay's also got a freebie that goes along with this set on her blog today. Be sure to check it out here.

And because this was just too much fun, I've got another project that came together in just minutes using this same set.

 

 I created the paper I printed the ATC Crow on by using a brayer to spread Tangerine Tango ink on PTI Shimmery White Cardstock (a glossy paper works best for this technique). Then, I misted the paper with a little water and sprinkled salt on it. I let it dry all day while I was at work and then, came home and brushed all the salt off. It left the paper with speckles on it. (BTW you can read more about this technique in the October issue of  Scrap and Stamp Art Magazine) Then, I just printed the image on my paper--easy. I used Coredinations Spell Caster CS in my cuttlebug leafy branch folder and sanded the paper after embossing so that the orange showed through.

I think I'm going to make some Halloween goody bags filled with treats for my papercrafting club that meets in a couple of weeks. These cards will be a cute/creepy touch on the outside of the bags.

Not in the Halloween spirit? That's okay. Lindsay has lots of other fabulous images including a set of cupcake wrappers that are cheery and sweet. Take a look:

Glad you could stop by. Happy Haunting!
Project Recipe
(Top Pic)
Paper:SU Basic Gray CS, SU Basic Black, SU Night and Day DSP, Basic Grey Wassail PP
Stamps: LSS Creepy Crows, PTI Spooky Sweets (sentiment)

Accessories: Basic Grey brads, toothbrush and SU Ridinghood Red ink refill, SU Modern Label Punch, white craft ink and embossing powder, cuttlebug, cuttlebug distressed branches embossing folder
(frightful ATC Crow pic)
Paper: SU Dusty Durango Textured CS, Coredinations Spell Caster CS, PTI White Shimmer CS
Stamps: LSS Creepy Crows
Accessories: scrapNfonts Fright Night font, SU large oval punch, SU scalloped oval punch, cuttlebug, cuttlebug leafy branch embossing folder, PTI black twill ribbon, brayer, tangerine tango ink pad, salt

Rainy Day Projects

It's been raining here on and off all day which considering that we've been in a drought for the past year is absolutely FANTASTIC! I'm watching it lightning across the lake right now and it is a beautiful sight. What a great day it's been for working on projects.
The Pixie Cottage, a new stamp company with some ultra cute stamps coming out soon, is sponsoring a design team call. I spent the day working on projects to enter in the call, but then I went and checked out the competition and "Wow!" am I ever blown away! You need to check out the store when it opens just to see the work from their new design team because there is some great talent in the running for it.
Pink Daisy May

This project is for the Cute Daisy May challenge this week to use pink and ??? We could pick whatever color we wanted to go along with pink. So I decided to go with pink and pinker and then I threw in a little green, too, just to keep it interesting! This is just the sweetest image EVER! And do you love the flower? I took an inexpensive flower from a "silk" flower stem and inked it up with coordinating inks. The smaller flower in the middle also got a coat of Versamark ink and iridescent embossing powder. See it sparkle. I love taking plain (inexpensive) flowers and making them coordinate with my projects.
Christmas Treats

On this next project I was playing around with some ideas for Christmas (yes, I realize it's only September, but gotta start sometime!) Stampin' Up has these little treat cups and a coordinating stamp set. You punch a hole in the cardstock and slip the treat cups in from behind. Then, you just fill them up with some small goodies and cover the hole in the back. I wanted something a little non-traditional in terms of color, so I pulled out some of the new Bermuda Bay which I think makes quite a statement paired with black and white.

Too Cute to Spook

I also managed to get another Halloween card done. I'm not sure what I  will do with this one but it was a lot of fun to make. The little witch is from Lindsay's Stamp Stuff. I thought this little trick-or-treater would work perfectly for the Digital Tuesday challenge which was to include a digital image of a teen or child.
There's a lot going on with this one. The sketch is this week's sketch over at Tuesday Morning Sketches. I dusted off my cricut and with the help of Design Studio and SCAL I cut out the swirly oval  and the drippy goo border. The drippy goo is an SVG that I got from the talented Tamara Bennett. I cut it out in black and some DCWV glitter paper. The "Boo" sentiment is a dingbat I got from scrapNfonts for a $1 (the $1 sale continues through Tuesday). I used my copics to color in the little witch and then used my deckle Spellbinders die to cut out and emboss the image. I sponged around the edges before I took the die off. Since I didn't have any Halloween patterned paper, the patterned paper in the background was created using some PTI Black and White Basics patterned paper colored in with an orange copic marker.
Well, that's today's fun! Tomorrow I need to work on some projects for my students and I've got to start planning out the project my papercrafting class is going to do in a couple of weeks. Maybe it'll rain some more--I seem to be very productive when it does!
Project Recipe
(Pink Daisy May)
Paper: PTI Sweet Blush CS, PTI Berry Sorbet CS, Shimmery Green paper (source unknown), PP from Chatterbox Page Kit, GinaK White Pure Luxury CS
Stamps: Cute Daisy May Sheet 59, PTI Spring Tags (sentiment)
Accessories: copic markers, cuttlebug, cuttlebug Victorian embossing folder, Spellbinders Label 4 dies, SU slot punch, SU eyelet border punch, PTI Berry Sorbet Ribbon, PTI linen thread, button (unknown source), flowers (Walmart), Versamark ink, Ranger Holographic embossing powder, heat gun

(Christmas Treats)

Paper: SU Whisper White CS, SU Black CS, SU Bermuda Bay textured CS, SU Night and Day DSP
Stamps: SU Sweet Centers, SU Teeny Tiny Wishes (sentiment)
Accessories: SU Sweet Treat Cups, Kaiser Kraft pearls (colored black with copics), PTI True Black Twill ribbon, SU Large Oval Punch, SU Scalloped Oval Punch, EK Success 1 3/4 circle punch, Tic Tacs candy

(Too Cute to Spook)

Paper: SU More Mustard CS, CTMH Black CS, PTI White CS, DCWV Spring Glitter Mat Stack, GinaK White Pure Luxury CS, PTI Black and White Basics PP (colored with copic marker E07), SU Tangerine Tango DSP (retired)
Stamps: LSS Cute Witch
Accessories: DB Fright Night and LD Classy Charm font (ScrapNFonts), copic markers, cuttlebug, SU Movers and Shapers Modern Label die, Spellbinders Large Deckles dies, Cricut Expression, Storybook and George and Basic Shapes cartridges, SCAL and Design Studio software, SU Modern Label punch

Coffee Break

I am NOT a coffee drinker! I love the smell of fresh brewed coffee. I like the idea of flavored coffees and sitting in a coffee house with a cup and a book or good friend, but the reality is I am more likely to have a cup of tea or hot cocoa in my hand. That being said, I am over the top about this new digital stamp set (yes, I said set complete with sentiments!) from Lindsay's Stamp Stuff (LSS). So many stamp companies have come out with coffee stamp sets, but I waited for them to go digital and it has been worth the wait! I just love the polka dots on the cup and this could definitely be tea or cocoa if I didn't want to go the coffee route. You need to RUN to LSS and see this set in its entirety--just fabulous! And it's only $5!!!
I used my cuttlebug divine swirls embossing folder with some SU Close to Cocoa ink on the inside with the cardstock. I wanted to mimic the swirls of steam coming out of the cup. The flower was dyed with SU Dusty Durango ink, sparkled up with some copper stickles, and then filled with a scalloped circle punched out of one of the sentiments in the Coffee Talk digistamp set.
What's coffee without a delicious side treat? Well, Lindsay has several "treats" for you today. Check out her blog where she has a FREE digital image, background paper and tags, and if you join the LSS Group at SNR Card Universe, she's got another FREEBIE for you! Is that woman a sweetie or what! But wait....there's more! (I know I'm starting to sound like an infomercial, but this IS exciting stuff)
The sketch for this card is brought to you courtesy of Inspirational Card Sketches #33. The sponsor this week is none other than our very own Lindsay. Go take a look at the sketch, pull out some stamps (or better yet, grab this coffe set at LSS) and enter your take on the sketch for a chance to win 10 DigiStamps from Lindsay's Stamp Stuff.
One last thing...the LSS design team has lots of inspiration for you today. Be sure to check out the incredible projects that can be made with digital images! Have Fun!
Project Recipe
Paper: SU Soft Suede, SU Sage Shadow, SU Really Rust, My Minds Eye PP, Ginak Ivory Pure Luxury CS
Stamps: Lindsay's Stamp Stuff Coffee Talk set
Accessories: copic markers, Ranger stickles (copper), Spica Atyou Glitter pen, cuttlebug, Divine Swirls embossing folder, 1 1/4" scallop punch, SU Pretties kit flower, SU Dusty Durango marker

Dragonfly Delight

Awww! Last day of the long holiday weekend! I've managed to do a lot of crafting this weekend even though my son and his girlfriend have been staying with us. It's been great seeing him, but all the extra cooking has really worn me out (of course, any cooking wears me out!). Anyway, they have just headed back toward Dallas and I have headed up to my craft room.
I prepared this little mini pizza box for one of my co-workers who has a birthday today. These little boxes are super easy to make and you can find the tutorial on SCS. Inside I have placed a very large, high calorie, birthday treat!
The recipe for the Coffee House Cookies can be found on Lauren Meader's blog. I baked up a large batch and keep them individually frozen so I have one ready to go whenever a colleague has a birthday. Now, even though I've only given out a few so far this school year, my stash is getting a little low. I wonder how that has happened (hee, hee, like I don't know).
The Copic Creations Challenge blog challenge is to use your favorite copic color combination. Lately, I've really been "feeling" the purple. I don't know if I have one favorite combination, but thanks to this SU Cottage Wall paper, I've been really drawn to the purples and greens. So I printed out the beautiful dragonfly digistamp from Lindsay's Stamp Stuff, and grabbed some purple and green copics to color her in. I added shimmer with my Spica Atyou Glitter pens.
The Digital Tuesday Challenge of the week was to add pearls and lace. The lace was created with a Martha Stewart border punch and the pearls are a combination of Kaiser pearls and Making Memories pearl brads. Got those pretty flowers at Hobby Lobby this week at half off. I know no one does flowers quite like Prima, but these are looking pretty good for Paper Studio!
Project Supplies
Paper: SU Rich Razzleberry CS, SU Old Olive CS, SU Orchid Opulence CS, SU Cottage Wall DSP, GinaK White Pure Luxury CS
Stamps: Lindsay's Stamp Stuff Dragonfly, PTI Tags for Spring (sentiment)
Accessories: copic markers, Spica Atyou Glitter pens, Making Memories Wedding brads, KaiserKraft pearls, Paper Studio Spare Parts paper flowers, Martha Stewart Lace Doily border punch, SU 5-Petal flower punch, scorepal

Punchy Pumpkins

I'd love to say I'm feeling "fall-ish" but it's waaay too hot here for that. However, everyone else seems to be getting ready for the fall holidays, so I guess I'll fake it till I make it!
I was just playing around some more in my craft room and decided to squeak in at the last minute Mel's sketch challenge number 9 over at Tuesday Morning Sketches.
I did very little stamping on this one. Everything was punched out or cut out. I did use a CTMH Playful Flourishes set for some "vines". I used SU's large oval punch to make the cute little pumpkin. The leaves I cut out with SCAL and my Cricut. And that's one of my newest Spellbinders dies--Peony nestabilities. I colored some adhesive pearls with my copics and set them on top of some retired SU Autumn Vines papers I punched out with the SU modern label punch.
Great sketch, Mel. I'll try to get the next one done in a timelier manner!
Project Recipe
Paper: SU Really Rust CS, SU Old Olive CS, SU More Mustard CS, SU Autumn Vine DSP (retired), SU More Mustard DSP (retired), PTI Green Tea Leaves PP
Stamps: CTMH Playful Flourishes
Accessories: SU Large Oval Punch, SU Modern Label Punch, SU Movers and Shapers Modern Label Die, Cuttlebug, Cricut, SCAL, Spellbinders Peony Nestabilities Dies, Paper Studio Pearls, Copic marker

My Time Sketch 35 and Flower Soft

I've spent most of the long weekend in my craft loft. I did sneak away to pick up some nestabilities dies at Hobby Lobby with a coupon for a little while, but mostly I've been fortunate to get some crafting done. I've got a Stampin Up workshop on Tuesday that I've been preparing for. It will be my first and last one since I cannot comply with Stampin Up's new policy. No hard feelings any more. I've just let it go and realized it's not for me, so that must mean there are lots of new things waiting for me.
Speaking of new things... I picked up some Flower Soft at Scrapbook Gadgets the other day and have finally given it a try! To be honest, I'm not sure if I love it or not. Up close, I'm not crazy about the look, but when I hold it away from me, I think it's gorgeous. But I'm determined to keep trying it on different images. I bought it, I may as well use it (no hoarding...that's my motto!).
Something else I haven't done in a while is one of the My Time To Create Challenges. This week's is a sketch challenge. I stamped out my mailbox images and then colored it with copics. After that, I added some glue and poured on the Flower Soft. The Flower Soft is easy to work with, that's for sure. The cute little butterfly brads are for Lauren. I know she's partial to butterflies! Hope she gets a chance to drop by and see them.
I've got some more projects to work on this weekend and some more to post, too. So check back soon to see what I've been up to.
Project Recipe
Paper: PTI Sweet Blush CS, PTI Spring Moss CS, PTI Bitty Dots PP, SU Melon Mambo CS, SU Whisper White
Stamps: Make an Impression Mailbox, PTI Vintage Picnic Sentiments
Accessories: copic markers, Sweet Pea Flower Soft, Mod Blackbird brads

Scared

I've been bitten by the Halloween bug. I don't really do much for Halloween as a general rule: my kids are grown, we live out in the country so no trick-or-treaters, I don't care for dressing up (I do good to pick out something decent to wear on a normal day!). But, in spite of all that, I really wanted to create a cute Halloween card. This isn't it!!!! I don't know what happened to me. I'm EXTREMELY tired and just nothing is coming to me. I love the image, love the colors, love the idea of my spider web, but I just couldn't get all of the elements to come together like I had wanted. I will be working on a "do-over" sometime soon!
Those spooky pumpkins are just great and were a lot of fun to color. You can pick these up at Lindsay's Stamp Stuff for only a dollar and wouldn't they look just great on a kid's treat bag filled with candy corns or something!? The spider web is a Cricut cut but it looks like I need a new blade. I wasn't overly happy with the cut.
Man, I sound like a real downer and I don't mean to. I think I need SLEEP! Okay, here's some really great stuff you need to know. The digi stamp can be found here. And if you, too, are in the Halloween spirit, Lindsay has some other really adorable Halloween images for you and they are so affordable you can pick them all up and qualify for a free one!!! Also, generous Lindsay has a bonus freebie on one of the design team blogs. Start at Lindsay's blog and head over to all the design team blogs to see who's got a treat for you this week. And, folks, stay tuned because I hear Lindsay has some really great stuff in the works in the coming weeks and you won't want to miss anything!
Project Recipe
Paper: SU Black CS, SU More Mustard CS, SU Day and Night DSP, GinaK White Pure Luxury CS
Stamps: Lindsay's Stamp Stuff Spooky Pumpkins, PTI Spooky Sweets (sentiment)
Acessories: Cuttlebug, Sizzix Top Note Die, Spellbinders Circle Nestabilities, Cricut, PaperDoll Dressup Cartridge, copic markers, Basic Grey black brads