Welcome to The Stamping Boutique's Back to School Blog Hop - If you've popped over from Ashley's Blog , you're on the right track. If you need to start at the beginning, please visit Aletha's Blog, AJ's Designs .

These cards were created using the new digital images from Tracey Malnofski, artist extraordinaire of The Stamping Boutique from her Back to School line.

This one on the right was colored with Copics. The pencil was cut out & popped up on dimensionals. I added some Glossy Accents to the apple then finished off with a polka dot ribbon. The DP is from ScrapGirls.com which I added some arithmetic free-hand.

This card was also colored with Copics. I added the handwritten sentiment, some clear glitter gel for the sparkles and matted on some red/orange/kraft layers. Only 3 weeks left before school starts up again here in the midwest - where DID the summer go ???

To continue on with the Back to School Blog Hop, click on Crystal's Craftin for Caitlyn .

As an extra BONUS - I'll pick a name out of the hat from all people who comment on this post by August 3rd, 2010. Prize: 3 Copic markers - brand new - YOUR color choice!

For more fun on The Stamping Boutique's upcoming goodies, become a follower. Thanks for stopping by!

Here's some fun cards I made for the Dirty Girls' challenge. If you're a fan club of Splitcoast Stampers, you get to see the challenges and play along.

This first card's challenge was a sketch challenge - I went 5x5 on this one. The image is a digi from Bugaboo that I colored with Copics. I stamped with plum on plum for the background paper and highlighted with eggplant mats & ribbon.

This next card was for Suzanne Dean's Favorite Movie challenge. Um, Gone With the Wind, hello ?! This image was from Digi Doodles - in the Vintage section. (Thanks Neva - SCS's "n5stamper" - for showing me the way. I love all the digital images they have - had to stop myself before I heard the debit card groaning. I colored her in red - all those folds - was a challenge, but I think Scarlett herself might be proud. I don't know where this designer paper came from, but a small stack pack - absolutely love it !!! Finished off with a ribbon/bakers twine.

This care was made for the challenge: TV Dinners - be inspired by an old tv show ... can you guess? Lost in Space ... "Danger, Will Robinson" ... I stamped the image with memento and colored with Copics. The dp is actually just a bunch of clip art images of screws & bolts that I randomly scattered on the paper. The silver back is Brushed Silver from Stampin' Up that I stamped a rivet-inspired border on. I've got nuthin' as far as sentiments go, so I made this on the computer.

This altered "T" was made from the Lost & Found challenge - I've had this particle board T in my drawer for over a year. I covered it with a sheet of KC floral designer paper and then added some Tim Holtz distressed ink. Along came some crocheted cream trim which I also distressed. I don't know if it shows in the photo, but added some stamped images of butterflies, dragonflies, leaves & feathers along with a couple of charms. The munchkin immediately spied this and claimed it for her room (who else? no one else has "T" for their name, you ninny!)

This was the first time I've inked up this precious Princess & her "prince", so I used the Strut Your (new) Stuff challenge. I colored her with Copics and used my Creative Memories circle cutting system for the card base & layers with a little help from QuicKutz scallop die & some of the Stampin Up punches. Because the card is 5.5 x 5.5, I actually took 2 panels of the white embossed and flipped them sideways before cutting the circle. Ribbon covers up the seam. I finished off this card by adding some diamond Stickles to her wings and some glossy accents to the frog-prince.

Can you guess the theme here? Okay - Rural - anything down on the farm or animal related or rural related. I love this High Hopes set of chickens & the sentiments. "Guess What, Chicken Butt !"

For this card - Girly and Gingham was the name of the game. This is a digital image from The Stamping Boutique - LOVE, Love, love Tracey's new Enchantment Line - Keep 'em coming! (please!). I colored her with Copics and added some clear glitter gel pen - nice 'n sparkly IRL. I love how the gingham ribbon matches the gingham background paper to a T.

Embrace the White Space - I have so much trouble with these clean and simple cards - Yet when I try them out, they look so great - I need to push myself to do more (or less, actually). I stamped the sentiment, then some flowers in pink pirouette to give just a hint of an image then ran the panel through my Cuttlebug with the new(er) Stampin' Up Lattice folder. This is probably my MOSTEST favorite embossing folder (so far). I punched slot holes to thread the ribbon through & that was it - Easy Peasy, right!?

This was my Anything but an A2 size card as well as a sketch challenge - okay, so I was boring and went square. This is a digital image from Elisabeth Bell - colored with Copics. I used some of that magic core paper (name escapes me as I'm writing this) and ran it through the paisley embossing folder then sanded down to expose the core. I flipped the paper over for the horizontal peice (which is covered by the ribbon, drat!) and sponged it with some chocolate. It actually looks SO much like leather, it's not funny! I added some clear glitter gel pen to highlight her 'wand'.

This little lovely digital came from Paper Cupcakes - The challenge was "All that Glitters" ... Those of you who know me, I'm a glitter phobe, so the closest I could get was adding Stickles after I colored this with Copics. I love this Sweet Pea designer paper!

Last, but not least - "Just Faux You" - No real embellishments or sewing. I used a border to stamp the faux stitching around the edges ... added some flowers I stamped then colored with blender pen & reinkers for my primas.

And that's all I was able to accomplish for the Dare to Get Dirty Challenges ... Now I need to get ready to head downtown for the CHA Super Show - Here I come ...

Thanks for stopping by !

Just went to CHA'S Copic Certification class yesterday & met Lori Craig & Debbie Olson - Great teachers - can't say enough nice things about them. Lots of tips and tricks learned ... Can I say I "need" that airbrushing system ? (after CHA I'll start saving up again)

Now comes the hard part - waiting til Thursday nite before I head back down there for the SUPER SHOW!

Guess who got picked for a guest designer for the month of July for Sketches by {tamara} ... Yay me!

I created this card based on her sketch and used all Basic Grey's Capella paper pack for the pieces. Even the flower was cut from the paper pack using Sizzix flower die, then distressed with soft suede before 'crumpling' it a bit. I love when I sew on my cards, just need to get an inexpensive machine to keep near my papercrafting cuz it's tiresome to walk all the way up 2 flights to get to the danged machine, lol.

I love the way this turned out. Thanks, Tamara, for the opportunity!

Hope everyone gives this sketch a try - it was lots of fun!

The Stamping Boutique

As guest designer for the month of July, I've been cranking out cards based on the images found over at The Stamping Boutique ... Here are some more goodies.

Erin Bailey, over at Stamp Scrap and be Merry , has been sponsoring a blog hop for a little girl, Bella, who earlier this year developed a serious infection which resulted in the amputation of her limbs. This blog hop was started to get a slew of cards sent to Bella in an effort to give her some cheer. For more information on Bella's story, click on this link. While you may have run out of time to participate in the actual blog hop, it's never to late to send Bella some love.

My first card used Audrey with Ice Cream, colored with Copics. I used some dp from Paper Studio's sweet pea pack & coordinated with some guava and wasabi (what, my 2nd fave combo, lol) for the mats. As hot as it was today, I sure could have used that triple ice cream cone she's got.

This next one on the left is Audrey in front of her wishing well. It's actually 5.25 squared. I colored with Copics and layered with garden green & med blue c/s. DP is from Provo Craft packet. May be hard to tell, but the clouds have angel hair Shimmerz on them and Tracey's little stars & dots were traced with a clear glitter gel pen for sparkle. Finished off w/sentiment from Gina K, which I punched & then layered w/2 pieces of the scallop oval punch in green.

Here's a gorgeous flower image that the Stamping Boutique offers - I absolutely love the shapes of the petals on this & it was a joy to color. I kept the colors on this soft to go with the flower color, adding some white embossed cardstock and some pink and white ribbon then some buttons.

Here's another Audrey blowing bubbles image. Colored with Copics& layered with some chocolate and artichoke - looked great with this DCWV Green Stack designer paper. I did the same thing with the sparkles in her image as well as the bubble outline - traced them with the clear glitter gel pen.

This last one is from Tracey's Enchantment Line - Swan Song ... I love the way she framed them, too ... After I colored her dress, Pink and white screamed out to me again. I actually used some Cryogen Irridescent white to print out the image on - so the whole thing sparkles, even through the Copic coloring. Because it was shimmery, I went to my DCWV Luxury paper stack & picked a faded pink pattern for the background. Everything else is pirouette or pretty in pink.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek at these fabulous images from The Stamping Boutique. All my cards made this month with The Stamping Boutique's images are going to be sent to little Bella. Please also take a moment to look at Bella's blog and consider sending her a card or a note of encouragement.

Stay Cool (as in the weather) ...

These are the quietest baby birds I've ever Not heard. They're right outside my daughter's bedroom window. I Can't imagine how they all fit in there when Mama Bird is in there, too.

Just wanted to share a little bit of nature.

The Stamping Boutique - LOVELY Enchantment Line

Oh Boy, if you like digital stamping - you should check out The Stamping Boutique . They're one of my favorite sites for digital images, that's for sure. Tracey Malnofski does a fabulous job with her illustrations. She just came out with an Enchantment line that's ... well, ENCHANTING!


Well, super excited to say that I was picked as one of their guest designers for the month of July - Have I been having a blast creating. Make sure to come back later to see even more goodies I've created with these fabulous images!

This first card was made using her HIDDEN image - I love the bleeding hearts! One of my favorite flowers. Loved coloring this and putting it all together.

 

This image is Mermaid. I wanted to have it look like she was in a fishbowl, so I offset the blue mat and added some liquid pearls then stretched the knotted ribbon across the top (kind of a fishbowl look, right?) You may not be able to see it, but for the water, I added some handmade glimmer mist (hair spray, reinker, liquid pearls) ... very subtle, but you can see it in real life.

This next one is called Alone. While I'm very happy with the way this turned out, I'm thinking I may want to try to enlarge the image to get a bit more detail in the mermaid sitting on the rock. We'll have to see. Maybe check back again to see what I come up with.

Be sure to check out The Stamping Boutique blog . This is a link to The Stamping Boutique Store There's even some super fun ones that haven't been released yet that I'm sure you'll have fun with. There's going to be a blog hop at the end of the month, so come back here for more information later in the month ... Enjoy.

Thanks for stopping by!

Some fun Odd Girls ('n guy)

Here's some fun cards I made with the digital images from Some Odd Girls:

Here's Tiny Tia, colored with Copics with a bit of a subdued color palette.

This image just screamed "S'up, Dude" ... Anyone here remember Spicoli? 

I think Surfer Kody was Spicoli in another life.

Loved this Shy Mae, too.

You should check them out - lots of super cute images to choose from

Some Odd Girl

Shabby Ribbon Flower

These were for today's Technique Lover's Challenge on SplitCoast Stampers. Today's challenge was to create a flower without using the standard pre-made dies/punches.

This pink one is my favorite of the two. I spied a card that Teresa (SCS's va.sunshine) made, and she included a tutorial from Jenni Ingerick found here for a Shabby Ribbon Flower. Omygosh - I'm in love! (and off to the fabric store for some more wide ribbon!!) I absolutely love this flower, have I said that? While I was watching her tutorial, I couldn't get this set out of my head, so this card is also a CASE of Jenni's tutorial card - best compliment, right? I used Stampin' Up's Vintage Vogue set with Certainly Celery and Pretty in Pink to create the card. Love how soft it turned out!

This next card was actually my first attempt. Looked all well and good til I loaded the picture - then realized it's kind of more of a medallion look than a flower. Oh well, I still like it.

I took a strip of Basic Grey's Granola dp and border punched w/a Martha Stewart scalloped lace punch then ran it through my crimper several times to break down the paper a bit before attaching to a smaller circle with red sticky tape. I matted this on a scalloped blue circle and added a ribbon tail and a white pearl. The base is Bayou blue with NQN layer and the Basic Grey Granola dp. The sentiment is computer generated.

Thanks for stopping by!

Some of this week's Gina K challenges on Stamp TV

These cards were made using some of Gina K's challenges over on StampTV. This first one was to use at least 9 circles. I wanted to contrast different designer papers agains a stark striped designer paper, so rummaged through my scraps and found these. I punched them with a 1" punch then matted on 1-1/8" rose circle. I affixed them all with floral brads. The sentiment was stamped from Gina K's Botanicals set, circle punched and matted. I added a heart brad to the larger circle, and finished off with a rose ribbon. I like the way the circle dp's look against the stripes - what do you think?

This 2nd card was made with the colors blue and green in mind. I stamped one of the frames from Gina K's Lovely Labels in Wasabi on whisper white and then the sentiment in not quite navy before cutting with the Nesties label die that coordinates. I took a piece of SU dp and cut it in decreasing sized strips then flipped over the middle piece before matting all 3 on wasabi. I wrapped some navy ribbon & knotted at top & bottom before attaching to base of NQN. The image panel is popped up on dimensionals.

This last one is my favorite, based on a photograph for inspiration. Since it's the 4th of July weekend - you guessed it, red, white, blue. I've had this Nana's Needlework set from Gina K for weeks, but this is the first time it's seen ink! I colored the image with Copics and cut out before popping up on dimensionals. The dp is an oldie from Debbie Mumm matted on real red. I added some striped ribbon and computer generated sentiment matted on blue and also popped up on dimensionals. The base is soft suede to go with the shelf.

So, what do you think?

Midnight Madness Sketch #60

This was for Priscilla's Midnight Madness Sketch #60 ...

I used a digital image from My Favorite Things printed on GinaK's Luxury 120lb card stock, and then colored it in with Copics.
Papers: Stampin Up's Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose and DP.
Accessories: paper flowers, flower brad, pink & orange stickles.

Thanks for looking!

Operation Write Home Independence Day Blog Hop !!

Hop on over to Operation Write Home's site to start the Independence Day Blog Hop ! I'm going to be in and out all day, but hope to make it through this weekend. See ya there !

Catching up with Sketch challenges ...

This was for the #39 Sketch challenge over at SplitCoast Stampers. A few gals in the Chat Box Chicks thread are starting over with the sketch challenges and I'm at #39 -

I hate lagging behind!

I made 2 of these because I didnt' want to waste the paper that I had cut, so just reversed everything on the 2nd card. Both images are from Whipper Snapper (from L-R: Heather & Leah). I added a green eyelet to each before threading purple embroidery floss through the eyelet & popping up on dimensionals. I used my PTI rickrack trim die to cut a piece of coordinating c/s for 'ribbon'. The sentiment is in a set of 6 but there's no identifying marks on them, so not even sure where I got them.

This card is for the Sketch #40 challenge - It's actually 5x7 - I don't normally stray that large, but I misgauged the size of the image and still wanted to use it for this card. I added some K&C Company designer paper as well as some cream crocheted trim. The sentiments were from Gina K's Lovely Labels set, and were punched with the small oval from SU.

This card followed the 41st sketch challenge. The Tree with Quote image is a digital image from Beccy's Place. I colored it with Copics and then matted onto Artichoke & pierced the sides. All the designer paper is from the Basic Grey's Boxer pack.

This was one of the simpler layouts, Sketch #42.

I stamped the Tim Holtz lace border in caramel onto vanilla and trimmed bottom with scissors. I punched the edges with slot punch and threaded a chocolate grosgrain ribbon through before popping this sentiment up on dimensionals. I finished by stamping the sentiment from Gina K's Botanicals' set.

Thanks for stopping by ... Any comments are welcome !