Hang In There

It's time for another Bellaholics Sketch Challenge! Here is this month's sketch:



And here is my interpretation of it:

I used some different DP's to create a sort of floor/wallpaper look to put around this little yogabella (I actually don't know if that's her real name, as I don't own the stamp - it was a gifted image. Sorry!). I just love the colors I used on her clothes. I'm pretty sure that's YG99 on the pants and E..... SHOOT! I can't remember the top color. It's an E though. E09 maybe? A nice earthy pink. I like to use it for lips and mouths too. The hair is E39. That I remember. :)

Anyhow, I hope you like it!

Have a great Friday! I'll be back tomorrow with an i {heart} papers card. Speaking of i {heart} papers, there's something going on over there this weekend. Stalk Splitcoast and look for their banner ad to figure out what it is! :)

I think my next project will be to get this dang snowflake out of my signature. lol! I'm ready for spring!

Missing the Fun

Hallooooooooo my stamping friends! And welcome to another Bellaholics Anonymous Sketch Challenge! I've been in a Valentine-y mood lately, so I went with pink and white for this one. Here's the sketch:


And here's my interpretation of it:

I'm loving the sentiment stamped on vellum. *Smacks forehead* Why didn't I think of that sooner? Oh yeah, because I hate working with vellum. I stamped this in Staz On though, and I *think* it dried fairly quickly. It KILLED me to not do the smudge test to find out for sure, but I learned my lesson on that a bazillion other times. I swear, no matter how dry you think that ink is, it's still wet. That's one of Murphy's Laws of Stamping. ;o)

I love that Katherine Hepburn quote, too (stamp from Stamping Bella, as is the dotted ribbon)! Kate is a woman after my own heart, I tell ya. Loved her. When I bought this sentiment (solely because it was a quote of hers, mind you), I intended to use it with something else... Something a little more edgy. But then I thought, hey, why not pair it up with Miss Goody-two-shoes here? :o) hehehehe. This girl is clearly obeying ALL the rules, and therefore will never have ANY fun. You see where I'm going with this? So what do you think? Do they work together? Or not so much?

Here is a close up:

Be sure to stop back tomorrow for an i {heart} papers card. Then I'm going to take Sunday off, and will be posting three days of sneak peeks Monday through Wednesday for Pink Cat Studio. The new stamps Melissa designed are sooooo cute. Just wait until you see 'em! Woot!

Enjoy the day!

Simply The Best...

Simply the best is such a fitting title for today's post, because I have some of THE. BEST. news to share with you! I am sooooo excited to tell you that I was chosen to be part of the design team for Pink Cat Studio. OMG. There are no words. Seriously. Did you see the other DT members? I feel like people look at the list and automatically start singing, "one of these things is not like the others..." when they get to my name. lmbo! Ok, so maybe it's not quite that drastic, but you know what I mean, right?

Here's the DT list for 2009:

Becky Carafa http://www.lakeshorestamper.com/
Janna Hull http://www.stampspaperglitterohmy.blogspot.com/
Jodi Ann Lee http://www.inkedinspirations.blogspot.com/
Lauren Meader http://laurenm.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Lise Roy http://liseroy.blogspot.com/
Maria Bell http://stampininspirations.blogspot.com/
Mariska van der Veer http://www.sendingyoualittlesmile.blogspot.com/
Nikki Fairbairn http://www.bunny-zoes.blogspot.com/
Sarah Anderson http://scrampinmama.blogspot.com/ (OMG. That's ME!)
Vicki Garret http://www.summerthymestudio.blogspot.com/

*big ol' goofy happy dance*

(we're talking the "running man" here, people! *snort*)

I can't wait to show you their A.DOR.A.BLE. new releases just in time for Valentine's Day. You'll love them. I promise.

And speaking of new releases, check out this cute set from Artistic Outpost. I saw this and a few other new releases posted on my friend Debby's blog this morning, and wouldn't you know it... I just HAD to pop over to AO and buy the dang thing. I hate it when that happens, but I think I've mentioned before that I'm a sucker for a retro image.

Finally, I have another Bellaholics Anonymous sketch challenge to share with you! Here is the sketch for this month:

And here is my take on it:

This card caused me nothing but grief tonight. UGH. I had the whole card almost done, and was sitting there with my crimson copic marker doing a little outlining on the cape. I started telling my dh about something, and looked down to see that the damn marker was DRIPPING on my image! WTH?! I was soooooo ticked. It wouldn't have been so bad if I actually owned the stamp, but I don't. I received two images of it from a swap I was in awhile back, and now they are both gone. I had to cut one out to piece it over the other, and had to color in a little darker under her arm than I would have liked to to compensate. I would have just started a different card, but I just didn't have the time tonight and I knew I wouldn't be getting back to my stamping room until late Saturday, so this had to suffice. I hate it when that happens.

Anyhow, if you play along with the sketch, be sure to link your creation up here for a chance to win a little prize from me!

Happy Stamping!

Ready To Pop?

I'm so excited to finally be able to share this with you. I made this back in July, shortly after I found out my friend Noelle was pregnant. One of the requirements of the application for that 3 Little Dreams design team I was on was to make an altered item, so this served a dual purpose. I wanted to send it right away, but decided to wait until she really was at that "ready to pop" stage. I finally mailed it out a few weeks ago, so I can FINALLY share it with you!

I used a Jiffy Pop popcorn container, and altered it like this:


See all of these pink dots? Each one was punched from pink paper and painstakingly placed by artisan craftsman.... well, ok, maybe just by me, but still... you get the picture. It took a lot of time.

At the time I had no idea what she was having, so I went with equal parts of pink and blue so I was covered either way. Turns out it's going to be a BOY (woot! I totally called it!), and he'll be arriving in February.

The large circle is all one piece, but the blue scalloped edge you see around the outside is separate from the main image. I used a circle punch, and cut each circle in half, then adhered each half directly to the jiffy pop frame.

I am not big on altered items, but I really am thrilled with how this came out. I hope she has it hanging on the wall in the nursery or something for all of the time it took me. LMAO. Ok, maybe that's pushing it. :o)

Before I go, I have to tell you about two FABULOUS blog candy opportunities that are out there in blogland! First, my girl Courtney is giving away some serious loot including a SU! set, ink pad, oodles of ribbon, and actual chocolate! Also, check out Debbie's blog - she's giving away 17 Copic markers (!!!), paper, stamps, etc. Yowza!

And if you're still reading, be sure to click over to MY blog, because I've decorated for winter. I'm now scrampin' in a winter wonderland. :) I also decorated my family blog for the winter, too. I just love snow. I can't help myself! If only it were this easy to decorate my house for Christmas. Anyone wanna come help me decorate a 9 foot Christmas tree? I made my Cherry Cheesecake again tonight. I can feed you!

Owie

Here's a quick card I made last week for a friend who was having her wisdom teeth taken out. I got this Dentabella stamp in a trade, and wasn't really sure what I'd do with it, but I guess you just never know when you're going to need a tooth stamp, right? lol!

The dotted paper is Hickups from i {heart} papers. I just love that paper. The large green piece is the reverse of the same paper. The sentiment is from Cornish Heritage Farms What A Pain set. I don't actually have the set, but my friend Dani was kind enough to send me some images to play with. I hate the dentist, so I thought this was a perfect combination! :)

***SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT***

Last night I spent a good chunk of my evening getting some things listed on eBay. I have been meaning to do this for a longgg time, so it feels good to have actually done it. I have a number of retired stamp sets listed (some new, some used), a set of all 48 old style stamp pads (SU!), my iPod, and Bose SoundDock (both barely used, if at all). All of my auctions start at $0.99 (yep, even the iPod stuff!), and run through Sunday night. Click over to take a look. Maybe you'll find something you need! I'm going to be buying a new DSLR camera soon, and am hoping to offset the cost by selling some of these things that I never use.

Edited to add: Apparently that ebay link only works for me. If you go to ebay, click "advanced search", then click "advanced search" again on the new screen that comes up. Then scroll to the area where you can enter a seller name and click the "from a specific seller" option, and enter "Sairabee". Then scroll to the bottom and click "search". Sorry for all of the confusion!

Enjoy the day!

You're Fabulous

Remember, you still have time to enter my i {heart} papers blog candy! There's a set of 11 stamps, stickles, and silver string up for grabs, so be sure to get your comment in two posts below this one!

Today is another Bellaholics Anonymous Sketch Challenge day, and here is the sketch I drew for this week:


I've been thinking lately that my sketches are too particular, so I tried to keep this one simple and allow for some creative interpretation. You'll have to let me know what you think. Do you like more detail in the sketches, or less?

Here is my version of the sketch, using bikerbabeabella:

This is actually a bi-fold card, with the opening in the middle. Here's a shot of the card when it's open:

The sentiment is by Verve Stamps, and the scalloped punch used at the bottom is Fiskars threading water punch. Colors are Cameo Coral and Certainly Celery.

I would normally be offering a little prize for people if they played along with the sketch, but have decided not to this week since I have the blog candy running (which is even BETTER than any little prize I would come up with!). If you do happen to play along with the sketch, be sure to link your creation here. I'd love to see what you come up with!

Enjoy the day,

For Mimi

I made this card for the Bellaholics Anonymous weekly challenge. This week is a color challenge, given to us by Queen Christi. Christi based her color choices - purple, black, and cream - on some favorite colors of her grandma (called Mimi) who passed away recently. You can read more about Christi's inspiration for the challenge and see the adorable card she made on her blog here.

I used white instead of cream on my card, but only because it was a gifted image. Her apron looks more purple in person. For some reason it seems more blue in my picture. About that apron... note how she is not wearing any kind of shirt underneath it. lol. Let's just pretend she bakes in halter tops, mmmk? Because otherwise that would just be wrong. ;)

All of the dots on the card are punched and glued down. I got a little spot-happy. hee hee. I love dots. When I was in middle school, I remember filling out these little quiz things to show how much you knew about your best friend. My best friend was Pam, and Pam listed my favorite color as "polka dots". LOL. :) So true. My favorite color actually is purple, so this was a fun card for me.

In other news, I've been chatting it up a bit with my blogger friend Sue about how she has this cool little comment form on her blog, and how I can get it too. She was kind enough to send me some info she found tonight, and I thought I'd share it with you. If you like the way my comment form is set up (effective today) you can do the same on your (Blogger) blog by following these simple instructions:

To enable the embedded comment form for your blog, go to the Settings > Comments page and look for the Comment Form Placement setting. Change it to Embedded below post, save your settings, and go check out a post to see the new form in action.

Enjoy the day!

Bellaholic Sketch Challenge #1

This is my first sketch for the Bellaholics Yahoo Group. I love drawing these sketches up, and can't wait to see what everyone comes up with! So, without further ado, here is your sketch for this week:





And here is the card I made with it:



Pretty cute, no? :o) I love that ribbon. It was actually the insiration for my sketch. I've been wanting to use it for ages, but was never sure what to do with it. Did I mention it's elastic? That part is kind of a pain to work with, but I still love the ruffled edges.

Now for the fun stuff. Make something using this layout and at least one Stamping Bella image... it doesn't have to be a card, but stick as close to the layout as possible with whatever you make. Then link your project in a comment on this post, and next Friday I will use random.org to choose a winner for a little prize from me. You don't have to be in the Bellaholics Yahoo Group to be eligible to win, but if you love Bella's, why not join? It's a fun group with lots of great challenges, swaps, and ideas! So remember.... use the sketch, one Stamping Bella image, and have it done and posted and linked here by midnight on October 16th to be eligible to win!

I also want to talk for a minute about yesterday's post. I got a few comments asking what kind of black paper I used, because it seems shiny. It is just plain ol' Basic Black, from Stampin' Up! I used black stickles on all of the "spokes" of the web for a little extra shine. The rest of the shine is probably coming from the overhead lighting.

And if you read yesterday's post, you saw a few fun comments I've gotten about Bella's from my friends. (hee hee). I'll leave you today with another one. This was posted on yesterday's card by my friend Noelle, who always knows how to make me smile. :o)

Big thanks to my friend Michelle who sent me a HUGE envie full of images (including the one I used on this card!) this week. Thanks, Michelle!

Have a good weekend!!

A Dark Web Of....

...Bella? hee hee... This reminds of a conversation I had recently with my bff. Well, not so much a conversation, as a comment he made about my blog via email. It was something to the effect of, "What the hell? Is there a Bella for EVERYTHING?" LMAO. Why yes, yes there is, doll. ;o)

A few weeks ago, I created a blog signature for my blogger friend Kimmie. She offered to pay me for it, but instead I just asked her to send me some images of some of her Hanna Stamps and Magnolia stamps that I didn't have. She did just that, and tossed in a few Bellas and other fun goodies as well! Thanks, Kimmie!

Then I have another friend who emailed me shortly after this stamp was released... I think her words were, "What the hell? Why are her legs coming out of the pumpkin's mouth?" Hee heeeee! I love my friends. :o)

Speaking of friends I love, my friend Lorie is celebrating her birthday today! Happy Birthday, Lorie!! I have something I'm working on for you, but like everything else I've sent you, it will be fashionably late. ;o) Lorie and I found each other on SCS long before either of us was blogging. What brought us together? A mutual love for the GREEN BAY PACKERS! Woot! Go team!!

As for the card... it's ok. I think I liked it better before I added the tag, but what's done is done. You know how it goes.

Ok, enough from me! Don't forget to check back tomorrow for my first Bellaholic Sketch Challenge! There will be a little gifty for a random lucky participant! More details tomorrow... :)

Enjoy the day, and click over to my family blog for some yummy recipes I made yesterday!



Details:
Stamps: Trickortreatabella (Stamping Bella)
Ink: Unknown
Paper: Elegant Eggplant, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, White (Unknown)
Other: Web Ribbon (Hobby Lobby), Copic Markers, Stickles (on web and pumpkin face), Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Small Tag (Avery), Black Brads (Making Memories)

There Are No Words...

I really have no idea what to title this post. I thought about a lot of things.... "When Good Cards Go Bad" ..... "More is More" .... "Color Combo's No Sane Stamper Would Choose" etc., etc., etc. LOL! This is like the dress that one girl wore for picture day. You were pretty sure you didn't like it, but couldn't stop looking at it, and by the end of the day you wanted one for yourself. hee hee.

Remember how I told you I was a Bellaholics Challenge Queen? Well, one of our other Queen's is in charge of an embellishment challenge, and this week's challenge was to combine ribbon or bows with at least five buttons and a Stamping Bella image. I received this image from my friend Lorie quite awhile ago, so I thought I'd color it and use it for this challenge. I love the coloring job, and the sparkling wings. I can even wrap my mind around the semi-stay-puff clouds. I tried to use the buttons as stars, but they kind of got away from me. I should have stuck with all yellow, rather than trying to incorporate all of the colors in the DP. Then there's the ribbon. Oye. I think it's a cute approach, but on the wrong card. How fun would it be with a Christmasy image in the middle under the ribbon? I can see it in my head, and it looks great. Of course, I could see this one in my head too, so maybe that doesn't say much. LOL.

You know what though? You have to take the good with the bad. Sometimes ideas work out, sometimes they don't. Life goes on, and I'll live to stamp another day!

I know I said I wasn't going to post daily anymore, but I had to make a card yesterday for World Card Making Day, so I thought I'd share it. I might have to post another one tomorrow night just so it isn't the first thing new readers see for two days straight. :o)

Anyhow, I hope I gave you a chuckle for your Sunday morning!

Enjoy the day,



Details:
Stamps: Halobella (Stamping Bella), Sentiment (Unknown - a gifted image)
Ink: Black (Unknown), Elegant Eggplant (sponging)
Paper: Eggplant Envy, Mint Melody, White (Unknown), DP (The Paper Studio)
Other: Buttons (The Paper Studio), Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain Ribbon (Stampin' Up!), Small Gemstone (on halo), Copic Markers, Dazzling Diamonds, Liquid Applique

Alzheimers Awareness

In case you haven't heard, there is a HUGE blog candy award going on over at My Blog by Cammie. You can go to the link for more details, but in a nutshell it is to help generate awareness for alzheimers and appreciation for those who care for alzheimers patients. I was immediately intrigued because this has long been a cause near and dear to my heart. Alzheimers runs in my family, and I have lost three relatives to it. Part of the entry process for the blog candy is to create a card to send to someone who is or was an alzheimers caregiver, so this is the card I created.

I received this Causabella image as a gift from one of the girls who participated in my bella card swap a few months ago. She only sent one image, so I've been hoarding it for a special card. When I see ribbons like this, I generally think of one of two colors... Pink (breast cancer awareness) or yellow (support our troops). I know there are other colors for other causes, but I wasn't sure what they were, so on a whim I decided to google "alzheimers ribbon color" and learned that the ribbons for alzheimers awareness are purple... hence the color scheme behind this card. I also found a cool site that creates a purple ribbon for your blog and when you do it, the site donates $10 to the Alzheimers Association. You can even have your ribbon dedicated to someone. I created a ribbon in honor of my Aunt Betty and added it to the sidebar on my family blog. I'm planning to send this card to the staff at the care home my Aunt lived at during her illness.

The card is a standard A2 invitation size, and I think this might be one of my new favorite color combos - Elegant Eggplant and Always Artichoke! So pretty! By the way! Did you know today is National Punctuation Day! No lie! Look it up if you don't believe me! Ok, enough of that. ;o)

Ok, now it's your turn! Show your appreciation and make a card for this great cause. And who knows, you might end up winning OVER $1000 WORTH OF MERCHANDISE in the process! Or, just send some good karma my way, because you have to know that there'd be some serious pay-it-forward blog candy going on here if I won that loot!

Details:
Stamps: Causabella (Stamping Bella), Many Thanks (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Black (Unknown)
Paper: Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke, White (Unknown)
Other: Rub-ons (Stampin' Up!), Elegant Eggplant Grosgrain Ribbon, Purple Brads (The Paper Studio), Copic Markers, White Gel Pen

All You Need Is...

You're totally going to be singing that song in your head all day now, aren't you? hee hee. You're welcome. ;o)

Here we have wedding card #3 of the 4 I need to make. I actually think this is my favorite one so far. I just love the way it all came together. Big thanks to my SCS Toddler Mom friend Merry for sending me some images of this hitchedafellabella stamp! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!

The sentiment is from a little clear stamp set (that yellows horribly, btw) at Hobby Lobby, and the ribbon is the old wide organdy from SU!. On one hand I miss not having easy access to all of that organdy, but on the other hand I kind of like the weight of the grosgrain better. Funny how that works.

Anyhow, I'm really pleased with how this turned out and would love to hear your thoughts. And remember, I'm giving the house mouse card below away in a random drawing this weekend, so be sure to leave a comment on that post too if you'd like a little happy mail!

We have a wedding to go to today, so I'm not sure if I'll be home in time to make a card to share tomorrow or not... we'll see. If not, I might take the day off from blogging, OR, I could show you some of the cute swaps and RAK's I've gotten recently. Be sure to check back either way!

Details:
Stamps: Hitchedafellabella (Stamping Bella), Sentiment (Hobby Lobby)
Ink: Memento (bella), Basic Black (sentiment)
Paper: Basic Black, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Paisley Paper (The Paper Studio)
Other: Copic Markers, Sakura Gel Pen (sparkles on shoes and tiara), Journal Writer (doodling), Wide Black Organdy Ribbon

Good Question!

I found this Whipper Snapper sentiment stamp the last time I was at the Creative Pals store in Milwaukee. The sentiment actually reads, "If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?" but I thought I could have a little fun and change it a bit. I used my black SU marker to ink all of the words except "Barbie", and then hand wrote "Bella" in the open space. I'm impressed with how close I was able to get my handwriting to match the font used on the rest of the stamp!

The Bella is Dogwalkabella, but I masked the dog. She does pretty well on her own, but I have to question who leaves the house all dolled up like that with no shoes on? ;o) I made the dots on her purse and in the centers of the flowers on her dress with my white gel pen. My SU pen died, so I replaced it with some from Hobby Lobby. They don't seem to stay white though. The white ink absorbs whatever color of marker is underneath it. I've tried letting the marker ink dry for some time before applying the white but it doesn't seem to make any difference. It's kind of neat though, because it gives you a nice complementary color totally by accident!

Cute, right?

Speaking of cute, I drove past this sign today on my way to the mall and it made me snicker. If you heard anything about the Brett Favre saga of recent weeks, you might get a grin out of it too.

Oh, and I have to give a shout out to Scrappie Jessica (a.k.a. Glitterbella), who recently awarded me with the Javablu Award. Thanks so much, Jessica!

Details:
Stamps: Dogwalkabella (Stamping Bella), Sentiment (Whipper Snapper)
Ink: Basic Black marker (SU!)
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, DP (Unknown, it was a gift)
Other: Pink Flower Eyelet (SU!), Black and White Gingham ribbon (Hobby Lobby), Copic Markers

Pearlicious

How many pearls are too many? Since I managed to use ten on this card, let's say the answer is eleven, eh? *wink* And if anyone reading is a fan of Project Runway, this post title is for you... and Blayne. Because with Blayne, everything is "licious". His dress is "girlicious", his drag name would be "Neon Licious". Frankly, he's annoyalicious, but I digress. And then there's Suede. Suede likes to talk about himself in the third person. Sarah thinks Suede needs to get a grip.

Ok, why do I watch this show again? Oh yeah, because Heidi Klum is hilarious. Not necessarily on the show, but have you ever seen her on Ellen or somewhere similar? Too funny. I love her. And I love Tim Gunn. And Michael Kors. And Nina Garcia. And the way Heidi says, "Nenagahseea" like it's one word. Ok, enough of that. hee hee.

Anyhow! Both the image and the sentiment were sent to me from fellow stampers. The image in a Bella image swap, and the sentiment from the WRAK forums on SCS. I couldn't even tell you who the sentiment is by, but I thought it fit the image perfectly with the little flowers on it.

And about that image... do you see anything missing? Anything, oh, let's say, slightly disturbing? As I was coloring the image, I was debating what to do for a floor. I usually like to do something at the bottom of the bella to sort of ground the image, rather than leaving it to float in space. As I looked at this, I considered my options. First I thought about drawing in a floor line, and then I thought maybe I'd just do a little shading around the base of the desk and chair... wait... where's her chair? What is she, glued to the desk by her upper thighs? I love this stamp, but I'm not sure I can get past that. It really bothers me. As you can see, it bothered me so much that I left her floating. lol. You think I'm kidding, but my mind will linger on this chairlessness for days.

Other than that though (lol), what do you think? Is it in, or is it out? ( <---another Project Runway reference.... my last, I swear.)

Details:
Stamp: Clickabella (Stamping Bella), Sentiment (unknown)
Ink: (Unknown)
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, Basic Grey DP, White (unknown)
Other: Pink Satin Ribbon, Lots of sticky Pearls, Scalloped Punch (SU!), 1 1/2" Circle Punch, Copic Markers

Ready? OK!

It's Tuesday, and that means it's time for another CBC Challenge! This week's challenge is to make a 3x6 card. Yes ladies, that's right, size really *does* matter. ;o) HA. Here is my card for this challenge. I didn't realize just how big this bella was until I tried to put the card together, but thankfully everything fit. I made this for my niece who is on a dance team called "The Blue Revue". Hence the color combo. The pom pons actually are almost identical to the ones the kids use, I just wish I hadn't colored them blue on the main image first. I debated leaving them white, and then thought blue would be better. Now I wish they were white. Oh well, minor detail! Anyhow, be sure to click the links to the other CBC Challenge Chicks on the right to see what everyone else came up with!

To make the pom pons, I punched four holes in each one with my 1/16" circle punch as shown below (blurry, but you get the idea):


I used this fun wired ribbon...

...and cut the wire between each burst (or whatever you want to call it), then threaded the two ends of the wires through two diagonal holes. Then I took a second one and threaded it through the other two holes, over the top of the first one. Get it? I thought it was a fun, and maybe unexpected, addition to the card.

I also finished my second set of swaps tonight! Woot! So here they are, all ready to be packed up and shipped to Virginia tomorrow. You can see a close up of the frog card here. I posted it a few days ago.



I also need to thank my blogger friend Jacquie for this great award. She created the award herself, and I was in the first group of recipients. If you haven't been to her blog yet, take a minute to check it out. She has some cute cards and some cute kiddo's! As much as I'd like to play along, I just don't have time. I've been putting off even posting this in hopes that one of these nights I'd have some free time but it just hasn't happened. And y'all know I love awarding these dang things, so you also know I'm not just blowing it off!


Jacquie and Holly also awarded me the "I Love Your Blog" button recently. Big thanks to both of them for thinking of me. Be sure to check out Holly's blog too. She is very talented and also has a card give away every Wednesday on her blog! Oh, and did I mention her daughter is designing a few sets for My Favorite Things? Yeah. How cool is that? I guess they'll be released some time in September (correct me if I'm wrong, Holly!). I'll keep you posted!

Finally, I leave you with this.... Remember those cupcake links I shared yesterday? My slightly twisted blogger friend Debby (totally the reason I love her - lol) introduced me to a blog called Cake Wrecks. You seriously have to check it out. All of the cakes were made by professional bakers, meaning people actually paid for these gems. Some of them are hilarious.

Ok, I'm done now! :)

Card Details:
Stamps: Pompomabella and sentiment (both Stamping Bella)
Ink: Adirondak Pitch Black
Paper: Shimmer Silver (SU!), Brilliant Blue, Georgia Pacific White Cardstock
Other: Copic Markers, Wired Ribbon, Black Grosgrain Ribbon

Destination Unknown

Ok, I don't know about you, but I need a break from the bird. LOL. :) I do love that set, but I needed to lighten things up for a day. Today is another 3 Little Dreams challenge day, and the challenge this week is to use stitching on your card. Here is my take on the challenge, using materials from my August Globetrottabella kit. I just love that map paper (It's called Passport, and it's by Making Memories... I checked. *wink*), and I thought the little puffy tag was just perfect for this image.



Now I really want someone to make that sentiment into a stamp so I can use it with this Bella. Em, are you reading this? Wouldn't that be fun? Yeah, I thought so. ;)

As for the card, I adhered everything together except for the base, and then drew little dots where I wanted my punches. My long reach punch didn't fit over all of the layers of cardstock though, so I used my old paper piercer for setting brads (you know, the one with the hammer) to punch the holes. It worked great, and thankfully both boys slept through all of my banging. hee hee. I thought the holes looked a little too big, but in the end I kind of like them that way. Then I just threaded the hemp cord through by hand, and secured it at either end. I also stuck the tag down with a mini-glue dot so it didn't flop around.

And there you have it! What do you think? I kinda think I love it, personally.

Want more samples? Check out the rest of the design team blogs (links at right), OR looky here... Lauren Meader herself played with this very same kit and made some super cute things too.

I'll be back tomorrow with my final sneak peek card, and then an altered item on Sunday... that I shoplifted from Target. *sigh* It was under the carseat, and I didn't notice it until I got to the parking lot. So now I have to go back and let them look at me like I have two heads for coming back to pay my $1.05 for a dollar spot item.

I love being a mom. I love being a mom. I love being a mom.

Details:
Stamps: Globetrottabella (Stamping Bella)
Ink: Adirondak Pitch Black
Paper: All from 3 Little Dreams August Bella Kit
Other: Tag from kit, Staples, hemp cord, copic markers, stickles (on scarf)

My World

The other day Katie issued a little challenge to her 3 Little Dreams Dream Team members to create something with the little container that holds the brads in the August kits. I thought it was going to be one of those round, hard, plastic containers (do you know which ones I'm talking about?), and had all these visions of a pretty Christmas ornament dancing around in my head. I was so psyched to get my kit so I could start creating. Then my kit came, and this is what stared back at me:

Ummm, what? What is THAT? That's not a brad container. LOL. Ok, so maybe it is, but it's not the one I wanted! hee hee. So, back to the drawing board. I thought about it for a bit at my desk and then thought I really should get busy doing some of the things I've been neglecting. Like mailing out the kid-pics that were taken in the beginning of July. I have to send some wallets to Jenn, and.... wait a minute.... wallets.... hmmm... that looks like it might be big enough to hold a wallet photo.... (seriously, this is a real time conversation in my head people! Don't you feel enlightened? LOL!).... And then the light bulbs went on and the clouds parted and the angels sang and well, it was good. *wink*

A few layers of cardstock later, this is what I came up with:

I measured each layer of Cardstock and then cut the rectangles out with my exacto knife (Note to self: Buy Nestabilities). I stamped the sentiment and cut it apart, then layered it and freehand cut that as well so the edges are all a little angled (on purpose... honest.), then stuck each word to the front of my frame in a random pattern. I adhered the whole thing to the back of the brad container with dimensionals, and then had to adhere a 1/4" strip of white paper around the inside edge to finish it. Everything I used is from the August kit with the exception of the Riding Hood Red (SU!) paper I used behind the sentiment words. Oh, and just so you know, the wallet photo fit PERFECTLY with no trimming needed!

Is that not the cutest stinkin' baby? That's my Jack at 3 mos. :o)

Once the frame was done I added a piece of adhesive magnet to the back (no idea what brand it is as we've had it forever, but it comes in a roll and you just cut off what you need and adhere it to whatever suits you), and popped it up on the fridge.

Here's a pic of my messy freezer door:


That's my Henry in the bottom left pic (taken awhile ago - around 9 mos old, maybe?), and those magnets in the top right corner are made with SU stamps on tile. They're sooo cool. They were a gift from my first secret sister on SCS. She spoiled the daylights out of me. Some day I'll show you some of the things she sent me in a close up when I need blog fodder. :o)

Meanwhile, tell me how you like my frame!

Details:
Stamps: Sentiment (Stamping Bella)
Paper: All from 3 Little Dreams August kit
Ink: Basic Black
Other: Stampin' Dimensionals, Brads from 3LD August kit

Butch & Mimi

Ok, so I know I said I was going to take a little vacation from blogging, but I really wanted to get this challenge posted since technically it was due yesterday. This is our second 3 Little Dreams challenge, and this week we have a sketch challenge. Dream Team member Dani Marcus drew up this nice little sketch for us:

If you don't have a 3 Little Dreams kit, we are asking that you please use either Stamping Bella or Sweet n' Sassy Stamps on your creation. You can load them in our yahoo group, or to SCS (with keyword 3LDAUG) for a chance to win a little something from Katie at the end of the month. You know you're going to be stamping a card soon anyhow, and you know you own at least one bella *wink*, so why not play along?!

Here is my take on the challenge, using Stamping Bella's Butch and Mimi stamp:

Aren't these dogs just adorable? I actually don't have this stamp, but my good friend Lesley (SCS: Hoosierstamper) was kind enough to send me some images of it in a bella image swap we did recently. Thanks Lesley!

I opted not to use a sentiment on the front of the card because there were already so many words on the DP and it just seemed so busy already. I'm thinking of something like "for my best friend" on the inside, but haven't gotten quite that far yet.

I did a double row of paper piercing at the top of the page and drew in some faux stitching with my Chocolate Chip SU! marker. The rest is pretty self explanitory. Ok, seriously now, I probably won't be back until at least Monday. I need to spend some time getting things done around the house that have been neglected in favor of stamping. Like what? Oh, you know, little things... like laundry, dishes, etc. All of that fun stuff! :o)

Enjoy your day!

Details:
Stamps: Butch and Mimi (Stamping Bella)
Ink: Basic Black
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, SU DP, Whisper White, Dog DP (The Paper Studio)
Other: Pink Satin Ribbon, Paper Piercer, Pink Brads, Copic Markers, Stampin' Pastels, Signo White Gel Pen (SU!), Chocolate Chip SU! Marker

B is for....

When I did that 3 Little Dreams embossing challenge yesterday, it occured to me that even though I didn't have my kits yet, I DID have this stamp that is part of the September kits. In hindsight I wish I had used it for the challenge, but now you get it a day later instead!

I thought teachabella matched this lined wheel from Stampin' Up! pretty well. I originally bought that wheel thinking it would come in handy for making paper to help Henry (at that time he was an only child) learn to write at some point down the road. I never really aniticipated using it on a card, but it just kind of connected with this one, so I had to ink it up. I drew in the letters by hand (as if you couldn't tell - lol!). I thought a B would be appropriate. B is for.... Bella (of course). B is for.... Back to School (not so much fun). B is for.... Becca (my favorite first grader (!!) and the intended recipient of this card). See, it just jived every which way!

How do you like the floor? Almost every school I went to had these yellowish hard wood floors, so I had to try to draw one in for Ms. Bella! And those buttons... yeah. They have adhesive on the back. Reeeeally sticky adhesive. I'm not totally happy with the placement, but there was no moving those bad boys! Oh well, it's still cute, right?!

A couple points of business:

First, I listed some uber-old Stampin' Up! sets (and a few newer ones) for sale or trade on Splitcoast. Click >HERE< to see the goods.

And second, I was reading through one of the threads I frequent on SCS, and learned that Gina (aka ginapier) has a blog. I had no idea. Don't know her? Well, she's the lovely lady responsible for organizing and maintaining the RAK list for SCS... A huge job by anyone's standards. Take a look at her blog and show her some love! She's got some cute ideas, and stamps I've never even heard of (much less seen) on her cards (as well as MFT, Thomas Kinkade, etc.). And, as if that's not enough, she turned Kinibella into a Playboy Bunny. LOL. I love it!

Details:
Stamps: Teachabella (Stamping Bella), Wheel (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Basic black, Adirondak Pitch Black
Paper: Garden Green, Real Red, Whisper White, Basic Black
Other: Sticky Buttons (VERY sticky - once they're on, they're on. UGH!), Black Brads, Copic Markers

Come Over for a Spell!

Here is a fun little card I made last night for this week's 3 Little Dreams Yahoo Group Challenge. My fellow design team member Dani Marcus is in charge of this month's challenges, and her first choice was to do something embossed. It didn't matter if it was heat embossed or dry embossed, so I put my Cuttlebug to use and made a dry embossed background for this card using their paisley flower embossing folder . It's hard to see in the photo, but trust me - it's there.

You don't need a kit to participate in the challenge, but if you have one you might as well use it (I don't have mine yet, hence the witchybella). We'd love to see your creations too, so please post it in the August Challenges folder in the 3LD Yahoo group or, if you'd rather add it to your Splitcoast gallery, just use the keyword "3LDAUG" so we can ogle over all of them in one place! Everyone who participates in any of the August challenges will be eligible to win a mystery prize from Katie! Same deal for future months as well, but for now let's just focus on August!

Are you familiar with 3 Little Dreams? Here's the skinny: Each month Katie (owner, queen bee, mama dreamer extraordinaire, etc. :) ) puts together TWO fabulous kits - one using a Stamping Bella and one using Sweet n' Sassy Stamps. The kits include the stamp(s), paper, and random embellishments. Basically all you need (except for ink) to make some seriously cute cards. The August kits are sold out (!!!) already, but she is taking pre-orders for the September kits now, and both can be seen HERE!

The Bella kit for September features the Teachabella stamp, and the SnSS kit for September features the GORGEOUS My Lil' Chickadee set. Seriously, how great would either (or both!) of those kits be for fall cards? I'm tellin' ya, you need to check it out. It's a super deal (and Lord knows I'm all about a deal), and a super company, with a KILLER design team *wink*!

So go on! Show me what you're made of!

Oh... and tell me what you think of my card. :o)

Details:
Stamps: Witchybella (Stamping Bella), Arachnophobia Wheel (Stampin' Up!), Happy Fright Night (Stampin' Up! - sentiment)
Ink: Elegant Eggplant (sponged), Basic Black
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Eggplant Envy, Tangerine Tango
Other: Black Stickles, Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain Ribbon (SU!), Clementine Dotted Organdy Ribbon (Stamping Bella), Signo White Gel Pen (SU!), Scallop Punch (SU!), 1/16" Circle Punch (Fiskars), Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Copic Markers, Prismacolors, Gamsol