It's a Cupcake Thing

Cupcakeabella is one of the images I received in the image swap I participated in a few weeks ago. Although I do love me some Bella's, she is not one that I would normally buy for myself (that's the whole point of an image swap though, eh? To get things you don't already have?). I wasn't entirely sure what to do with her, but then I came across Bella Sketch Challenge #33 on SCS, and decided to give it a whirl.

I love how the ribbon matches her dress, and I love how her leg sticks out beyond the main rectangle image. I even love the way I cut up the sentiment. What I don't love is the black border around that same main image. It started out as a dotted border, made with my black Sakura gelly roll pen. In hindsight (gotta love hindsight), I should have left well enough alone, but did I? Of course not. After the dots were dry, I decided maybe I'd like a solid line better. Wrong! The dots kind of stick up because the ink from the gelly pen is so thick, so it looked more like a stitched border than anything. I hated it. So then I decided to sponge black over the edges to hide the gelly stuff all together. Bad idea. You can still see it. Of course if I had this actual stamp I would have just started all over again, but being that it was the only image I had of her (originally got two, but the first one smeared when I tried to color it with my copics... grumble, grumble) I was determined to salvage her somehow. Ultimately I think a squiggly doodled edge would have been the best option, but it's too late now! Ugh!

Details:
Stamps: Cupcakeabella and Sentiment, Small Flower stamp by Clear Dollar Stamps
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue

Other: Watercolor Pencils, Blender Pen, Dazzling Diamonds (on frosting), Sakura Gelly Roll Pens - black (edges), sparkle (base of cupcake), Non-SU Ribbon, Copic marker (shadow of cupcake)

More Happy Mail!

Looky what I got in the mail on Saturday!! Are you jealous? I thought you might be. ;o) lol. I participated in an image swap that my friend (and fellow Packer Backer ;) ) Lorie hosted, and I'm thrilled with the results. The only down side is that most of these images are of stamps I have been contemplating purchasing, and as it turns out I love them ALL so I'm going to have to do some serious budgeting this summer! That quad square with the bugs and flower in it at the bottom was my contribution. I'm feeling a little silly for sending something that wasn't "up and coming" like most every one else did, but hey... who knew?!

Things are definitely interesting around here lately. Henry taught himself how to climb up on the ottoman in the library on Friday while I was in the living room nursing Jack. I could see him, and it all looked very safe and innocent but I still asked him to please get down. He started to scoot forward to get down and must have leaned forward in the process, because he tumbled off. Head first. And to add insult to injury he landed smack on a little car (see photo below).


FF to Monday night when he woke up crying three or four times. He was fine Tuesday morning, but woke up from his nap that day with a temp of 102 and complained of pain in his tummy, mouth, and ear. I took him into the Dr and he has another double ear infection. He has been congested and coughing for a month now, and I don't think the ear infection will go away until that does because the liquids seem to be backing up into his ears. *sigh*

And then there's today, which for the most part went off without a hitch... until Henry went outside with his Papa tonight and took a digger on the cement sidewalk out front and split his lip. Blood everywhere. Hubby mildly freaked out. Mama to the rescue. ;o)

Never a dull moment here in toddlerville.

My Bella Swap

Just a quick note to let everyone know I've started a Bella swap on SCS. Check it out, and please join in if you are so inclined! The requirement is only 5+1, so it's super easy to play along!

I just recentlt closed a kid-themed card swap and had such amazing results with it, that I knew I had to start another one! I hope you'll join in!

Need inspiration? Browse through the Bella Gallery on Splitcoast!

From me to You

Here is the second set of cards for my kid-themed card swap. The picture didn't turn out very well, but you get the gist. The ice cream is pink, matching the torn pink cardstock to the left of the image. It is accented with dazzling diamonds, and the dish is covered in crystal effects for a little added dimension. The sentiment at the bottom is "from me to you" from the So Many Sayings set.

Details:

Stamps: Sweet Treats, So Many Sayings

Paper: Ruby Red, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink (? can't remember for sure)

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Basic Black

Other: Prismacolors, Gamsol, Crystal Effects, Paper Piercing, Dazzling Diamonds, non-SU! Ribbon

A Little Sparkle

I started a Kid-Themed Card Swap on Splitcoast last month, and promptly signed up for two spots. It was a 5+1 requirement, and I just finished my first set last night so I thought I'd share. This card was heavily inspired by a card I made at a Stamp-a-Stack held by my (now) up-upline, Renee Kohnke. I changed the color combo, ribbon, used a Cuttlebug instead of a bg stamp, and added a second fish to the mix.

This is one of my favorite cards ever, and the original was what inspired me to buy the set in the first place! What do you think?

Details:

Stamps: Fishy Friends, Warm Words (? - can't remember for sure)

Paper: Green Galore, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White

Ink: Basic Black

Other: White Grosgrain Ribbon, Non-SU Pattered Ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds, 3/4 Circle Punch, Prismacolors, Gamsol. Cuttlebug Embossing Folder

A Few Cards...

I don't participate in swaps very often, but decided to sign up for a friend's "Girl You Rock" swap, where the requirement was to make cards to let your girlfriend know you were thinking of them (or something like that!). I went with this cute little skunk. You can barely tell from the photo (if you look at the bottom), but the black is stamped with the Print Pattern background stamp in Versamark ink. It looked *so* cool when the ink was wet, but after it dried you could barely see it. Ugh. Live and learn! It's still a cute card though! I colored him with chalks, and added dazzling diamonds to the white areas on his back/tail/head.



I wanted to make an Easter card for my Mom and Grandma, but didn't think I had any Easter stamps (must add to wish list before next year!). I was searching through my collection for daffodils or tulips or something else that would look "springy" when I spied this little egg in my Tag Time set. WHO KNEW?!!? lol! I used the smallest Karen Foster snap stamps for the sentiment and added dazzling diamonds in random dots around the eggs.