Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #3

This is my first time trying out the new Waltzingmouse sketch challenges, but better late than never I guess. :-)


This was the sketch that was provided for this week's challenge:




And here is my take on it:

I started with a base of Ripe Avocado (PTI) and used patterned papers from Memory Box (Gossamer) and Basic Grey (Infuse). I used my Labels 4 Nestabilities die for the sentiment piece. It was stamped in Dark Chocolate (PTI) using a stamp from Waltzingmouse's Fancy Phrases set.

The ribbon is Dark Chocolate Swiss Dots (PTI) and the button is one that I found in a multi pack at Walmart. I distressed the edges a little and put it all together.

I'm hoping to be able to participate in more of these challenges. There is a blog dedicated to them and it can be found here: http://waltzingmousesketchchallenge.blogspot.com/
The more the merrier, so why don't you play along too?

Friends of Waltzingmouse Stamps Blog Waltz

It's time for the June Friends of Waltzingmouse Stamps blog waltz. The theme this month is "let's hear it for the boys" (yes I do sing those words in my best Deniece Williams Footloose voice every time).


I used stamps from Pic-Nic Patterns and Seasons of Love - Tags by Waltzingmouse and a star from PTI's Star Prints.


Inks used were Broken China and Shabby Shutters (both Distress Inks) and Dark Chocolate (PTI). The stars are stamped on Rustic Cream cardstock (PTI) and I really like how it looks with the twine--definitely gives a more rustic look. I pulled the twine tight to make the paper bow out a little bit--it gives it a little added dimension that you can really see in person.

One thing I realized while making this card is that I really should use eyelets more often. My Crop-A-Dile makes it almost effortless and I have a ton of them in my stash so I have no more excuses! LOL

Thanks for waltzing with me. I've really been out of my grove with stamping, but I hope to make some more time this weekend. I need to get my stamps inky. :-)

Waltzingmouse May Blog Waltz

I was very excited to receive my new stamps in time for the blog waltz this month. In honor of the first birthday of Waltzingmouse Stamps, the theme this month is Happy Birthday!

I went to work immediately and created 2 cards, one with a feminine touch and one that would make a good masculine card.

First up is the girlie one. I used stamps from Pic-Nic Patterns, Off Beat Backgrounds, and Fancy Phrases for this. The plaid is made from Summer Sunrise and Hibiscus Burst and I also used Dark Chocolate (PTI) and Shabby Shutters (distress ink).

I went for a clean and simple approach with my next card. I used stamps from Fancy Phrases and Off Beat Backgrounds. The colors used were Dark Chocolate and Ripe Avocado.

I hope you're enjoying the blog waltz. Thanks for stopping by.

Is it the 17th yet?

So I got received my new stamps from Waltzingmouse and created a few cards for the Blog Waltz, now I just have to wait so I can post them!

I hope to have more time this weekend to do some creating, so maybe I'll have something to post before Monday. Until then here's a pic of my little Bonnie taking a cat nap.

WaltzingMouse Stamps Blog Waltz

Monday, May 17th is the next WaltzingMouse Blog Waltz. The theme is Birthdays in honor of the first birthday of WMS being celebrated this month. You can find the details on Claire's blog here: http://waltzingmouse.blogspot.com/2010/05/friends-of-waltzingmouse-stamps-monthly.html

Last month I ran out of time, but I'm hoping to be able to participate next Monday. It will be even better if my new WMS stamps arrive in time!

More changes

I'm still playing around with some new looks. One of these days I'll figure out how to get it exactly how I want it to look. :-)

New Look

I've been playing around with some new background templates and I think I'll give this one a try considering how much I love the beach. The photo at the top of the birds/coastline was taken on the first night of our honeymoon. We went for a walk just as the sun was setting and it was so peaceful, just the two of us and the birds. I can almost smell the ocean now just thinking about it.

Waltzingmouse Stamps 1st Anniversary

(This is going to be a short post since I'm supposed to be working right now.)

Waltzingmouse Stamps is celebrating it's 1st Anniversary in a big way. Claire has a sketch challenge on her blog and the winner gets all 8 of the new release stamp sets! If you haven't yet, be sure to check out Waltzingmouse Stamps and Claire's blog (links on sidebar).

I apologize for the photo quality (or lack of), but I had to borrow a camera from work and I'm not used to all of the bells and whistles. LOL

I decided to make a Christmas card for this challenge because Christmas will always be the first thing I think of when I think of Claire and Waltzingmouse Stamps. She has grown in many different directions since, but Christmas is how I was first introduced to her beautiful creations.

All stamps used were from Very Vintage Christmas. I tried to keep with a vintage sort of theme by not inking the background stamps evenly for a distressed look. The snowflake at the top has Stickles (icicle) on it so in person it really shines.

I hope you enjoyed my card and more importantly I hope that this is just the first of many anniversaries for Claire and Waltzingmouse Stamps!

Waltzing Mouse Blog Waltz

It's that time again! Time for another Blog Waltz over at the WaltzingMouse Stamps forum. www.waltzingmousehouse.com

I got sidetracked with an organizational project and ran out of time to make a card for this one, but you can still join in the fun by visiting all of the blogs and seeing what everyone has been up to. There is also a contest where the design team members have hidden an image in their posts. Count the number of times you see that image and post it in the forum for a chance to win a new stamp set from WMS.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend and hope to see you waltzing. :-)

A few new cards

DH's niece has a birthday in a few days so I needed to make something fun for an 11 yr old girl. I figured the combo of bright colors and a little bling would be the way to go.
I started with a base of PTI's Hawiian Shores and stamped it with HS ink using Polka Dot Basics. I layered some purple from my stash and Hibiscus Burst after using another EK Success edger punch on them (Morocco Lace) and tying them up with purple gingham ribbon.

For the sentiment I used Fillable Frames #1, but the frame and coordinating die are from Fillable Frames #2. The little flourishy things on the side of the sentiment are from the Waltzingmouse Stamps set Very Vintage Labels No. 1. The bling is a rhinestone sticker from Michael's that was only $1--I bought a few so that I would make sure to use at least one instead of just hoarding them. LOL

Next up is a quick card that I made using a neutral color scheme. I started with a Kraft base and stamped it with Inkadinkado's Dot Flourishes using Dark Chocolate ink. I accented with a few brown rhinestones and a little bit of glitter for just a touch of sparkle.

I cut out a Labels 1 shape in Vintage Cream with my Cuttlebug and stamped it in Dark Chocolate using one of the stamps in Very Vintage Labels No. 1 (WMS). The sentiment is from K & Company's Que Sera Sera set and I thought the flourishes around Thank You fit perfectly with the fancy frame that Claire designed.

I finished up with yet another accent piece using an EK Success edge punch (yes, I am still in love with them) and some chocolate ribbon from my Stash.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you're having a great weekend.

Another Stamping Around Challenge

Waltzingmouse Stamps is hosting another contest over at the Stamping Around blog and this time it is an inspiration challenge chosen by Anya. I have been thinking about this one for a while now and today I finally had time to create something (just in the nick of time since the challenge ends tomorrow).

I wasn't 100% sure where I was going with this card, but I do know that I need to find a better adhesive for lace. It was driving me nuts the way it kept moving around on me (that it why it looks so wonky--LOL). This card is very different from my norm, but I'm really enjoying using these challenges as a way to branch out.

I started with a base of Lemon Tart and strips of Lavender Moon, New Leaf, and Raspberry Fizz. I stamped each one with Fresh Snow ink using some cute Studio G stamps from the $1 bin at Michael's. I added two types of lace, some soft blue velvet ribbon, skinny hot pink dotted ribbon, and ivory decorative trim that is called "mini gimp braid" (that's what the roll says) from Wrights Creative Classics line. The sentiment is from PTI's Paper Tray set and it is stamped in Hawaiian Shores onto linen vellum.

Thank you for checking out my card. Be sure to check out the rest of the entries at www.stampingaround.com .

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'm sorry that I'm posting this a little early. I've had it ready to go for a week now and I can't wait any longer. LOL

This is my first ever blog hop and I'm very excited to see what everyone creates. My card came together pretty quickly because as soon as I saw Claire's beautiful shamrock digi stamp I knew I was going to attack it with my Copics.


I tried to make all of the shamrocks look different so I used a few different shades of green and just started coloring. I cut out the image and mounted it with dimensionals on Rustic Cream, New Leaf, and purple cardstock from my stash.

The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's mini set Luck of the Irish--so is the tiny shamrock that I stamped randomly in New Leaf ink all over the Rustic Cream base.

I'm embarrassed to say that I've had my Copics for quite some time now and I rarely use them. I usually gravitate towards stamps that are solid images that don't require coloring, but I guess when I find the right images I can be inspired enough to get them out. (Thanks again to Claire!)

Thank you for coming to visit. I hope you enjoyed my first ever blog hop card. :-)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Stamping Around Color Challenge

Last night I made a card for the Stamping Around Color Challenge from Bonnie who is part of Waltzingmouse's Design Team. The winner of the challenge gets a prize from Waltzingmouse Stamps--so of course I had to play along.

I started with a base of Kraft and layers of Berry Sorbet, Lemon Tart, Spring Moss, and Vintage Cream. The Berry Sorbet and Spring Moss layers were stamped with VersaMark using Background Basics: Tin Types, and then I used the bracket edge punch from EK Success for all 3 colors.

I used Dark Chocolate ink to stamp the trail from Little Lady, one of the smaller butterflies, and a sentiment from Butterfly Dreams. I used my Copics on the butterfly and a strip of velvet ric rac in a coordinating color to tie the colors together.


These colors just make me think Spring! It's such a nice change after all of the cold and snow we've seen the last few months so I am more than ready for it.


Thanks for stopping by. You still have a little more time to join in on the challenge. It runs until Sunday the 14th on www.stampingaround.com

Are you ready

for the St. Patrick's Day Blog Hop with Waltzingmouse Stamps?

I can officially say that I am. I have my card made and my blog post saved, just waiting for the go-ahead on the 17th.

Usually I have every intention of joining in on blog hops, but somewhere along the way I run out of time and ideas and have to bow out--not so this time. Claire has generously supplied some digital images that make it easy to join in even if you don't have any of her stamps. As soon as I saw them I had ideas brewing and my card came together pretty quickly last night.

The more the merrier! If you would like to join in, visit Waltzingmouse stamps or Claire's blog (both are listed on my side bar) to get the rest of details and the free digital stamps.

I hope to see you on the 17th! :-)

Butterfly Dreams

I finally got a chance to ink up my newest PTI set Butterfly Dreams and I can tell that I {{{heart}}} it. There really are so many different butterflies to choose from that you can find whatever you need. The coordinating die cuts beautifully too and made adding 3-D butterflies a snap.

I started with a base of Orange Zest and then a layer of gray from my stash that was stamped with VersaMark Dazzle Champagne. The sparkle is very subtle, but it is there. I added a Summer Sunrise strip that was punched with yet another EK Success edge punch (arrow) and stamped with True Black ink.

The butterflies were first cut out of Soft Stone cardstock with the die, then stamped with black (Memento) ink and colored with my Copics. It was so easy to line the stamp up with the cut out image. I added black Stickles to the bodies of all of the butterflies and then sprayed the entire card with a layer of Tattered Angles Glimmer Mist (pearl). I really like the subtle shine it gives a finished card.

I can't wait to have more time to play with this set. I already have so many ideas swirling around in my head.

Spammers Bite!

I'm temporarily changing my blog settings so that anonymous posters cannot leave messages. I've been getting a lot of spammy comments for some reason and I'm hoping this will help cut down on it. I may change it back after a while, but I'll just have to see how it goes.

Moxie Fab Challenge

I was on a roll last night and made another quick card for the Moxie Fab Lace Challenge. I wasn't really sure where I was going with this one, but I like the end result. It's way different from anything I normally do, but here goes.

I started with a base of Terracotta Tile from Papertrey Ink and I used Vintage Cream ink and clear embossing powder on the scalloped lace backgrounder stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms.

I added some Vintage Cream ribbon, some rusty/gold ribbon from my stash, and a button. Then added some shiny/glittery stickers from Stampendous and Making Memories for the sentiment and flourish. I sprayed the whole card with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Pearl because you can never have too much sparkle.

Compose a Card with Becky

Well, it only took me 6 weeks to be able to join my first "Compose A Card" challenge with Becky, but I did it.

Her challenge was to use Enchanted Evening as a base, Soft Stone as a mat, white embossing powder, satin ribbon, and a button. I am not a measurer when I craft, but I was able to get the required sizes right (after my second try-LOL).

I used stamps from Heidi Swapp and Me & My Big Ideas and the sentiment is from PTI's Mixed Messages. I put a small rhinestone in the center of the button for a little extra bling to go along with the "fabulous" theme.

I noticed after I had finished heat embossing that I had a line from the edge of my stamp that wasn't supposed to be there. But considering I was already fighting for my stamping space with 2 kitties and was afraid I'd heat emboss one of them, I decided to just go with it. Oh well, at least I tried. LOL

The good news is that my headache is gone and I've had the evening to myself to relax and get crafty.

Baby Shower Card

Some friends of ours are having their first child (a baby girl) and the shower is this weekend. I got out Bitty Baby Blessings from PTI and went to work. I've only used the set a few times, but I can see having more chances in the next few years--seems like another baby boom is going on lately.

I used Hibiscus Burst and Sweet Blush cardstock from PTI and some pp from Basic Grey's Sultry line. I used Dark Chocolate ink and stamped the sentiment on a Cuttlebug Tiny Tag. Yes, I got out one of my EK Success edge punches again--I'm addicted to them. LOL

This is the inside of the card using the baby carriage from BBB and the sentiment is from Simple Little Things, the first PTI anniversary set.

I really hope Tara likes the card. Joe seems to think she'll be blown away--but he always seems shocked whenever I make cards by hand. He's very supportive, a great cheerleader. LOL

I love it when a plan comes together

So after waiting almost a year to order from Papertrey Ink I finally got to place a small order to catch up on the colors that I had missed out on. My plan was to order the paper and one ribbon of each color, but to wait on the ink in case I had something close enough to work in my already large ink pad collection.

I just had time to look and I found inks that will work for all 4 colors.

Scarlet Jewel = Aged Mahogany Distress Ink or Chianti from Color Box

Enchanted Evening = Faded Jeans Distress Ink

Orange Zest = Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink

Terracotta Tile = Sepia Archival Ink **Edited on 3/5/10 to add that I'm not really loving this one and I may go ahead and order the PTI ink, but hey 3 out of 4 ain't bad.**

They may not be exact matches, but they'll be close enough for me and it saved me enough money that I could justify buying that new Butterfly Dreams stamp set I've been eyeing. LOL

I know I'm not the only one who has to keep a tighter eye on the budget, so I thought I'd share how well my latest plan of attack worked out. :-)