What's Black & White & Cool Caribbean???

This card is my entry in the Stamp Shack's Creative Team Color Challenge for the week. We were to use Black, White & Cool Caribbean. I hadn't thought to use these three colors together, but I really like the combination and contrast.

The patterned background paper is by Doodlebug Design. The paper is really black & white, but I colored in the flowers with a blender pen dipped in the tray of my SU Cool Caribbean ink pad. The stamp set is an acrylic set by Stampendous - Happy Flowers. I stamped the little flower on the clear button with black Staz-on and tied it onto the cardstock with heavy black thread. The black & white polka dot ribbon is from Michaels. It really wasn't necessary and you can barely see it, but I used the Cuttlebug divine swirls embossing folder on the background paper.

Creative Team Challenge { To CASE! }

The Creative Team Challenge this week at The Stamp Shack is to CASE a card that we like and post it to the gallery. It didn't have to be an exact replica; we could put our own spin on it. The blue card to the left is my creation and the card below is the one that I "cased". It's a super cute little 3x3 card sent to me my Joanie (ccstampin12). I love how she used the scalloped punch with the sentiment inside.

Supplies: Cardstock is 4.75 x 4.75. Decorative paper is by Deja Views. I used the giga scalloped punch and mega circle punch. Sentiment- SU Happy Harmony set. Small flowers- Stampendous Happy Flowers. SU Night of Navy ink.

Aloha! { Virtual Swap }

This card is made with the Hawaiian landscape image that I'm sending out this week for a Virtual Swap I'm hosting at The Stamp Shack. I found this great paper at Archivers in Omaha last Saturday. Since our daughter moved to Honolulu last year, I'm always on the lookout for Hawaiian themed papers to create cards for her. :) I think she'll like this one!

Supplies: The Hawaiian landscape stamp is by RSP, Honolulu, HI. The cute little flowered Aloha stamp is not marked. Decorative paper is by Creative Imaginations - Art Warehouse. Also used SU naturals ivory, chocolate chip and kraft cardstock. Image is stamped with Timber Brown Staz-on and embossed with clear embossing powder. SU ticket corner punch to create the little tag, brad and ribbon to embellish.

{ Have FUN Every Day! }

While I had this paper and stamp set out, I decided to make another card with a little different layout than the one I made yesterday. For added texture, I used my Cuttlebug Stylized Flowers embossing folder on the left side. Also, I stamped the sentiment block with ruby red and embossed with clear embossing powder. The largest scalloped square is punched with a Marvy Uchida clever lever punch and then the edges are punched with a 1/16" hand punch. There is also a little paper piercing in the right corners, but that's difficult to see in the photo. Really, a very quick and easy card!

I just posted a Virtual Swap at The Stamp Shack using two of my new stamps. One is of Noah's Ark by Rubber Stampede. I got this on clearance at M's for $3 and the other is of a tropical landscape that I picked up on our vacation to Hawaii. So, I need to get busy stamping images now and get them in the mail tomorrow. I love the virtual swaps as it's so fun to see how different the cards can be using the exact same image. Everyone has their own unique design and coloring ideas! In case you haven't heard of this type of swap, this is how it works: someone decides to host and offers to mail one or two images to each one that signs up. After we receive the images and create our cards, we post them to the gallery at The Stamp Shack for all to see. I'm not sure whose original idea this was, but the first one I did were hosted by Nancy (directmailscrapper). It's a fantastic way to share ideas with little expense! : )

{ Precious Metal } Love this New Paper!

This patterned cardstock by We R Memory Keepers is even prettier and more colorful in real life! I don't think you can tell by the photo, that there is some silver in it. Yesterday, I was shopping at Archivers in Omaha and it caught my eye instantly! It's a double-sided cardstock from the "Precious Metals" line and the name is Silver Lining-Dazzle. I've teamed it up with SU ruby red, summer sun and silver cardstock. The sentiment is from an acrylic set called "Greeting Squares" by Impression Obsession. Hope you like it!! :)

{ Mission Accomplished! } A CLEAN Stamping Room!

Well, it took me a few hours, but I accomplished my mission of cleaning and organizing my stamp room today! And yes, I found a few things that I had forgotten I had! :) My room is rather small and very FULL with three desks and a wall of shelves, but at least I have a place for everything and can close the door when it gets as messy as it was earlier! My son made the awesome shelf unit for my 12x12 carstock and my DH made the two shelves for my wood mounted rubber stamps and all the desks too. My next project is to sort all my decorative 12x12 paper. How do you organize yours? Right now, I have mine by color group.

Yesterday, I got some beautiful new paper at Archivers in Omaha and I'm really anxious to make a card with it. OK, maybe I'll do that before I sort all my paper. :) I think I've had enough cleaning for one day...

My Mission for the Day... { Clean Messy Stamp Room! }

I swear my stamping room has never been this MESSY before! Well, maybe close, but not THIS disasterous!!! Soooo, my mission today is to get it cleaned up and organized so I can feel creative again. Yesterday, I went shopping in Omaha and have some wonderful new stamps and paper to play with. But, first things first!

Here are the BEFORE pix of my mess. I'll be posting the AFTER pix soon. At least, I hope it doesn't take me ALL day to complete my mission. Now, don't laugh, but this is what it looks like now.... yikes! : /

And the last photo is of my "assistant"... my dachshund Lilly. She took over my chair at the computer so I don't decide to sit down and read blogs instead of cleaning!! :) Isn't she adorable?! She's a sweetie and we love her!

And the { WINNER } is . . . drum roll please . . .

MANDEY! She left the following comment and quote and is the lucky winner of my "Serendipity Smiles" ~ a terrific acrylic stamp set by PrintWorks!

Mandey Koehler said...
"When you're looking for love, you never have to seek any farther than the heart of a friend."I don't know who said this, but when I stopped looking for love, I found my husband. We have known each other for 11 almost 12 years, and dating for nearly a year. Broke up and 3 years ago found each other again, we have been happily married for nearly a year now!!!
5/20/2007 7:11 PM

Thank you ALL for the wonderful comments with the motivational and inspirational quotes. It was a blessing to read them all and I will be saving them in my quote journal.

I'm in a meeting... { At the Beach! }

When I saw this stamp, I loved it and had to get it! It reminds me of my sister Judy, a very successful business woman, who knows how to vacation and *loves* the beach! I just know she'll be able to relate to this card. :)

Supplies: white 6x6 cardstock folded in half. Patterned background paper is by Bo-Bunny Press~Shabby Princess Collection. The striped paper was put through my Cuttlebug with the Tiny Mosaic embossing folder. Stamp is an American Art Stamp. Slot punch and ribbon to accent.

Did you happen to notice my spiffy new watermark on the photo? My new blog friend Dina made it for me. If you're interested in getting one yourself, the link to her site is http://digisigis.blogspot.com. I highly recommend her! :)

Don't miss out on the "Serendipity Smiles" Stamp Set Giveaway! ) See post below . . .

{ Wishing You Well Rowdy! }

This card is for Rowdy, a darling little 7 month old puppy who was seriously injured last weekend while chasing a car. His owner, Mary Jayne, is giving him lots and lots of TLC. Hopefully, he'll be healed up and out running and playing again soon!


Supplies: 6 x 6 white cardstock folded in half, background paper is from Recess- Tiki Shack Horizon. SU cardstock - creamy caramel, chocolate chip. Dachshund stamp is by Penny Black (#3685 a romantic dog)Colored with prismacolor pencils. Sentiment is from Papertreyink "Faux Ribbon" set. Punches used: slot punch with brad, 1-1/4", 1-3/8" & 1-1/2" circle punches for tag.

Don't miss out on the "Serendipity Smiles" Stamp Set Giveaway! ) See post below . . .

{ Serendipity Smiles! } aka "Blog Candy"

You may call it blog candy, shuggy snacks, oodagoodies or tawdry treats, but I'm calling my blog giveaway . . . { Serendipity Smiles! }

To celebrate my blog exceeding 10,000 hits, and to thank you all for your friendship and encouragement... I would like to give away a PrintWorks Clearly Defined acrylic stamp set (photo below), along with this inspirational card that I made today.

You can enter your name in the drawing for this set, by leaving a comment with one of your favorite motivational or inspirational quotes. Hopefully, it will be uplifting to all of us that read them. I'll draw the winner next Saturday, May 26th, so please stay tuned! Happy Stamping & Smiles 2 U All! :) Pam

{ Serendipity Smiles! } Q005 Scripture Clearly Defined Clear Art Stamps by PrintWorks.


(5-21-07)
OMG! I am enjoying the awesome quotes you've all been leaving in the comments. What a blessing! Please keep them coming and have a WONDERFUL day! ~ Pam :)

Today I put up a new smiley face poster at work. The saying underneath says, "See the good in everything!" :) There are days we need to be reminded of this!

Luv You! { A Romantic Dog}

Isn't this just about the cutest stamp EVER?! (I know I say that every time I get a new stamp!) But really!

Well, I wasn't going to admit that I did this, but I might as well confess... last Friday when I was shopping at my favorite LSS Scatter Joy in Sx Falls, SD I found this *adorable* Penny Black dachshund stamp and *had* to have it. What I had forgotten, is that I had seen it online and mentioned it to my DIL Jami just a couple weeks ago. Being the wonderful DIL that she is, she ordered it to surprise me for Mother's Day and I spoiled it! : / Have you ever done anything like this? Please tell me you have. : /

More Card Info: 6 x 6 white cardstock folded in half, Basic Grey background paper, Stampin' Up! chocolate chip cardstock. Rubber stamp is Penny Black #3685 a romantic dog, colored with prismacolor pencils. Luv You tag made with TAC "Nobby Neez" set. Martha Stewart 1" scalloped punch. SU 1-1/4 & 1-3/8" circle punches. SU choc chip ribbon.

{ Tea with Me? } Another Virtual Swap

I'm loving these "Virtual Swaps" at the Stamp Shack! I've received so many unique images that I wouldn't otherwise have had an opportunity to use. This image of the tea cups was sent to me by Joanie (ccstampin12) and it is from Magenta Rubber Stamps. Honestly, I had no idea how to color this image so simply went with all blue. The blue paisley background paper is by Daisyd's. The sentiment was printed on the computer and punched with my new 1" scalloped Martha Stewart punch from M's. Layered with the 1-1/4" & 1-3/8" Stampin' Up! circle punches. Slot punch used on the left side, brads, ribbon and paper pierced the edges for added detail. Now, let's have some tea! : )

{ A Very Special Gift } Mother's Day!

These photos really don't do justice to the gorgeous Mother's Day card and gift box I received today from Andy & Jami. It is absolutely beautiful in real life ~ the colors more vibrant. My DIL Jami, "Crazy Daisy Creations", is always amazing me with her fabulous creations. She recently bought the "Five-in-One Card Cover Template" from Stampin' Up! and that's what she used to design this incredible little gift box. She said the patterned paper was from Target, as were the fun embellishments. The handmade card and box was a very special gift in itself, but inside was an extra special surprise... a beautiful aqua glass bead charm for my Pandora bracelet and an adorable dachshund rubber stamp that I'd been wanting! I *love* it!! :)

I hope you've all had as great a day as I have. There was time to stamp, enjoy the sunshine, and spend precious time with family! It doesn't get much better than this! Hugs & Smiles, Pam :)

"The best things in life are the people we love, the places we've been, and the memories we've made along the way."

{ Happy Mom's Day! }

Wishing you all a very Happy Mom's Day!

This card was made for Joanie's "Virtual Swap" at the Stamp Shack. She sent me this awesome image and I loved coloring it with my prismacolor pencils.

Other supplies: floral patterned paper by Daisyd's and orange plaid paper by Frances Meyer. I ran a piece of the plaid paper through my Cuttlebug with the mesh embossing folder, accidently upside down, but I liked the look anyway. The "bless you" tag is from the Tag Tidbits set and punched with the small scalloped circle punch by Martha Stewart from M's. The image is "Double Square Flower" by Magenta Rubber Stamps.

Special quotes for Mom's:

"Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children." ~Charles R. Swindoll, The Strong Family

"All mothers are working mothers." ~Author Unknown

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~Elizabeth Stone

{ Put On A Happy Face! }

Just a little stamping humor today! This is one of my favorite cartoons... probably because I'm a stamper and a smiley face collector! Anything for ART! LOL :)

It's just an incredibly beautiful day today here in Nebraska with temps in the 80's! Just Heavenly! I've taken my dachshund Lilly for a walk, did some yard work, lounged on the deck reading my new Paper Crafts magazine that came in the mail today, and later we plan to grill out and enjoy a deck beer! I totally *love* this time of year. :)

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of shopping my favorite LSS ~ "Scatter Joy" in Sioux Falls, SD. Oh my, I love that place! They had all the Cuttlebug embossing folders that I've been wanting and almost every acrylic and rubber stamp you could dream of. Also, I bought several more of the prismacolor pencils and one of the Versafine onyx black stamp pads. One disappointment is the new mega circle Marvy Uchida punch that I bought ~ it just doesn't punch very well! I'm going to send it back and they'll ship me a new one. No problemo! She said they're made in China and once in awhile they get a defective one. My scalloped punches are awesome, so this really surprised me when it didn't work right. Oh well!

I also made stops at Michaels and JoAnnes, but didn't find too much. The new Martha Stewart line was fun to look at ~ wonderful colors and very well displayed! I bought one of Martha's 1" scalloped circle punches for 9.99, but that's all. M's had a few new wood mounted $1 stamps, but none of the acrylic ones. : ( Dang!

I've got several graduation cards to make yet, so plan to stamp it up later this evening. For now, I'm going back outside to soak up some SUNSHINE!!

Smiles 2 U All, Pam :)

Stampin' { Buds * Pals * Friends }

To all my stampin' buds * pals * friends ~ this card is for YOU!

I appreciate your encouragement as it motivates me to continually expand my creative thinking and try new layouts and techniques in cardmaking. For this card I used another of the wonderful images sent to me by "Lady2cu". In case you didn't read my post on Monday, Michelle is a wonderful seller on eBay that I bought Cuttlebug dies from and she included these terrific images in my package. If you like to shop on eBay, I highly recommend her. She is very professional and ships immediately! Also, she has a wonderful blog "Stamper's Dream" that you'll want to check out too! :)

This flower image is "Dotted Petals" by Penny Black. I've colored it with prismascolor pencils and blended with gamsol.

Other supplies: Stampin' Up! cardstock - lavendar lace, lovely lilac. Stampin' Up! paisley background stamped on upper third of card. Decorative paper and sentiment tag is from Deja Views fresh print apple pack. Purple MM brad, Offray apple green dotted ribbon and paper piercing to embellish.

{ Best Fishes! }

Last night when I was surfing some of my favorite blogs, I discovered the card contest at "Poetic Artistry". Julee has created some wonderful sketches for us to use "when we want to stamp and don't want to think!" :) She says, "sketches are absolutely perfect for those times when I don't want to be bothered with layout decisions. Just pure stamping bliss." :)

What a terrific idea! So tonight, I used her card sketch, selected my paper and stamp set and before I knew it, I had created my card! Believe it or not, I think this is the first time I've used my "Very Punny" set from Stampin' Up! Whatzup with that?! :) The background paper is by The Paper Studio ~ aqua dots & aqua texture.

{ Hello Friend! }

Last week I bought two new Cuttlebug dies on eBay and the sweet seller included a surprise in my package ~ several wonderful images! This is one of them and it was stamped with the BEST ink on the nicest quality cardstock! It almost looks like it is embossed with black detail powder as it is so sharp and shiny. I colored the flowers with prismacolor pencils to coordinate with the background paper. The piece of barely banana cardstock behind the image was cuttlebugged with one of my new dies ~ tiny mosaic. The scalloped edges were created using the corner rounder punch. I paper pierced the edges of the image for added detail and attached the Hello Friend tag, stamped with TAC "Tag Tidbits".

If you like to shop on eBay, I highly recommend this seller ~ "Lady2cu" (Michelle in Louisiana). She is very professional and ships immediately! Also, she has a wonderful blog "Stamper's Dream" that you'll want to check out too! :)

Virtual Swap #4 { Happy Day Tulips }

April showers bring May flowers!

This card is for Nancy's Virtual Swap #4 at The Stamp Shack. She mailed several of us the tulip bouquet image and we were to create a card with it. I've colored it with my prismacolor pencils, using gamsol and tortillions to blend. The background paper is by Basic Grey. The sentiment is from PapertreyInk. I have a layer of brocade blue cardstock behind the image and floral paper that I've put through my Cuttlebug with the script embossing template. As it turned out, this really doesn't show anyway and wouldn't have been necessary. Oh well! :/

Wishing you all a HAPPY DAY! :)

Quote for the Day! { Creativity in Motion }

"There is nothing so relaxing, so calming, and so therapeutic as listening to the heartbeat of my soul as it dances to the beat of creativity in motion." ~ unknown


{ if any of you know the author of this quote, please let me know! }

{ Office Accoutrement } Congrats Grad!

For as long as this card took me to complete, I'm still not totally lovin' it. I think it's because I struggle to do the distressed freestyle. You'll appreciate this...I had the "congrats grad!" stamped on the memo at an angle the first time and I had to redo it until it was straight. LOL Did someone say OCD?? :)

I've got several graduation cards to make for next weekend, so thought I better get rollin'! So, this is the first and you'll want to stay tuned for more to come!

My DSL connection has been off & on today because of the stormy weather we're getting here in Nebraska. Talk about withdrawals from the internet!

Supplies: Basic Grey Hang 10 background paper, Stampin' Up Office Accoutrement & Riveting sets. Basic Brown classic ink. Brown cardstock put through Cuttlebug with Tiny Mosaic embossing folder. Punches used: SU Spiral Binding, 1/2", 1-1/4", 1-3/8" circles, corner rounder. (I love my punches!)

p.s.
For those of you who were wondering how our "Scrap Day" (that's STEEL scrap, not paper scrap :) went today (see previous post), we got rained on and we had over an hour delay because of the lightning. But, we still checked in over 400 vehicles with steel scrap, old appliances, tvs, computers, aluminum cans, etc. It's amazing! On Monday, our Environmental Coordinator will have the tonnage info to report. Such a great cause that I'm glad to be a part of. :)

New Paper! { My Mind's Eye }

Goodness, it's been a busy week and I can't believe tomorrow is FRIDAY already. TGIF!!! :) I really do have a great job, but I *love* my weekends and look forward to them so much. This Saturday morning I've volunteered to work our company "Scrap Day" when we allow the entire community to bring in old appliances, computers, etc to be recycled. And we also get TONS of aluminum cans because we pay more than the market price. In past years we've had people come in with horse trailers and pickups FULL of bags of cans. The funniest thing we've ever seen was a station wagon bringing in a refrigerator tied to the back end. Seriously! lol

Yesterday was a beautiful day and after work I took my dachshund Lilly for a walk. She just gets *so* excited to go and loves it so much. So, I didn't get any cards made yesterday, but I did get two new SU sets "Office Accoutrement" and "Riveting" assembled and ready to use.

Don't you just love this paper I've used to make this card? My sweet DIL Jami (Crazy Daisy Creations) bought a large 12x12 pad called Magnolia by My Mind's Eye at Hobby Lobby last week for 50% off and she shared it all with me! Yeah! :) There are some awesome colors . . . florals, stripes, plaids and polkadots!

For this card, I started with a natural cardstock base and layered on the plaid paper after I put it through my Cuttlebug using the Tiny Mosaic embossing folder. (Yes Jami, I got another new one on eBay this week! :)

The tag is made using the Stampin' Up! "Riveting" set. "Thanks so much" was stamped twice in tempting turquoise. For the main tag, I punched it out with the 1-1/4" circle punch. For the center, I punched the other one out with the 1/2" circle punch and attached it with a dimensional. I layered these on the orange and turquoise 1-3/8 & 1-1/2" circles, attached a word window tab punch folded in half with a brad and ribbon. This was a very simple card to make! : )