Hey Chickie!

I spent some time in my stamp room over the past couple of days...just short amounts of time but I did manage to create two cards over the course of three sittings. I'm showing you one today but you'll have to wait for Friday to see the other one because it's for the Gettin' Hitched Bellarific Friday Challenge! By the way, have you submitted your card yet for this week's Bellarific Challenge? Think weddings, showers, anniversaries. You have until Thursday evening to send your submission to Em in order to be included in the Friday round up.

Alright...on to my card for today. With Easter being only a few days away I decided to use this sweet Daisy Birdie image from Stamping Bella. Well, to be honest, I also chose this image because there isn't a lot of colouring so I'm easing myself back into it.  :)

Isn't Daisy just the cutest?!? I couldn't resist pairing her with the warm fuzzy sentiment. I stamped the bird with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Paper and coloured it with copics. I added some sparkle to the flowers with my purple Spica glitter pen. The image is cut out with circle Nestabilities and I backed it with a purple scallop using my Big Scallop Circle Nestabilities...lovin' the big scallop nesties!!! Poor Daisy seemed a little lost in the circle of white though so I decided to try my hand at some grass with my Lyra pencils. I think it turned out pretty good for my first try!

The patterned paper is part of the Basic Grey Kioshi 6x6 pad. The sentiment was stamped onto the yellow layer then I ran it through my swiss dots Cuttlebug folder. I finished the card with a pretty purple bow and some medium lilac Glitter Dots.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Sweet Sunday Garden

It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch, SSC62. You'll find the sketch on Karen Giron's blog The Sweetest Thing.

My shoulder's still bugging me so I'm giving my solid image stamps a workout. I guess everyone will know when my shoulder is better when I start posting coloured images again! LOL!!! For this card I used Discover Your Wings from Taylored Expressions.

I stamped the flowers in Memento Angel Pink onto Choice Buttercream then trimmed the main panel to size. Although, I could have still made is smaller, but I didn't realize that until the card was nearly all assembled. I added a couple of pink buttons and stitched on a grass border that was punched with my Martha Stewart border punch. The quote and butterfly were stamped with Memento Lilac Posies. I stamped the butterfly a second time and cut it out, then misted it with Irridescent Pearls Maya Mist for a little shimmer. I added some Crystal Twinkles to the wings and the butterfly body. The patterned paper is from my Basic Grey Green at Heart 6x6 pad.

I hope you'll play along with this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch and link your project on Karen's blog. Now let's go see what the rest of the Sweet Sunday Stampers have created with this week's sketch.
Joanne Basile
Laura Fredrickson
Lynn Put
Sarah-Jane Kale'
Vicki Burdick
and Karen Giron

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Bellarific-ally Fabulous!

Happy Bellarific Friday!!! This week's challenge was a sketch...my fave!!! I decided to use a sentiment as my main image for two reasons. One, I love this sentiment and I've had it far too long for it to remain uninked any longer. Two, and probably the main reason, I injured my shoulder and I can't stamp for very long before it starts to ache...sigh...hopefully by resting it I'll be back in the swing of things in no time.

I flipped the sketch to fit my fabulous sentiment from Stamping Bella. After the sentiment was stamped onto Bella's Bestest Cream Paper I cut it out with petite oval Nestabilities and ran it through my swiss dots Cuttlebug folder. I layered up some patterned papers from My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary line (the Little Miss Muffet collection) with chocolate chip and vibrant pink...added a cup of stitching and a teaspon of border punch, then topped it off with some aqua bonbons and a fun burlap flower. I've been on the hunt for these burlap flowers ever since I saw them on Jody's blog...thanks for pointing me in the right direction GF!

Did you play along this week? Well I can't wait to see the round-up on Bloggabella and I hope you'll join me there for a look. Don't forget to leave some love while you're there for a chance to win some Bella Bucks.

Next week's Bellarific Friday Challenge is Gettin' Hitched. Create a wedding, shower, or anniversary card and email it to Em by next Thursday to be included in the Friday round-up. Now get stamping...you have all weekend!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Center of Attention Product Spotlight - Metal Squares

It's time for this month's product focus from Taylored Expressions. Today some of the Baker's Dozen will be sharing projects created using metal squares in copper and/or aluminum. I decided to work with the copper squares and wanted to give it a verdigris-ish look but I don't have any alcohol inks...hmmmm. Oh  wait...I have Copic markers which are alcohol based...and I have colourless blending solution (the 0 blending marker by Copic) so I decided to play.

This card is the end result of my aged copper look and I love how it turned out. I took step-by-step photos along the way and I'll share a mini tutorial with you later in this post. I wanted to keep the focus on the metal so I used Mercy's Tuesday Sketch, MTSC66, a nice clean layout and paired it with one of the lovely crosses from Easter Blessings. By not adding a sentiment this card can be used for a baptism or first communion instead of just for Easter.

These metal squares are super fun to work with and would be perfect for guy cards too. They're the thickness of heavy cardstock which makes them easy to cut with scissors or Spellbinders Nestabilities, and they emboss beautifully, as you can see from my card. I used my altered copper square as a layer on my card and backed it with some suede brown dark that I cut out with my Big Scallop Squares, but you could also use it with shaped dies to create gorgeous embellishments like butterflies and flowers. I used my corner chomper to round the corners of the copper square and soften the lines just a little. The shine is what really sets the metal squares apart, in my opinion, and you can see the shine even shows through the altering I did on my copper square. The metal pieces are 4" square so after a little trimming it fit perfectly on my 4.25" square Choice Buttercream card base.

Here's how I achieved the verdigris-ish look. I chose four shades of green copic markers ranging from light to dark in both the Green colour family and the Yellow Green colour family.

Using the wide end of the marker and starting with the lightest colour, scribble YG25 all over the copper square.

Next scribble YG67. With each colour I added to the copper square I covered less and less of the surface.

Next scribble G28. And yes, as you can see, I do mean scribble. This entire process shouldn't take more than a minute...seriously...it's that quick!

Finally scribble G99.

Next I filled a Mini Mister bottle with Copic colourless blender from the refill bottle for my marker.

Then mist the copper square with the blending solution and you'll immediately see the greens start to move around and mingle. And look, all those scribble lines are gone!

Finally I blotted the surface with a clean, dry cotton ball just to help blend the colours a little. I don't like to get my fingers inky so I hold the cotton ball with a clothes peg.  :)

Voila...the finished copper verdigris-ish square just waiting to be cut out and embossed!!!

Metal squares are on sale at Taylored Expressions for 15% off until March 28th so I hope you'll give them a try. They're available in packs of aluminum, copper, and a combo pack of both.

Now let's go see what the other gals have come up with using Metal Squares.
Alex Maldonado
Carolina Butching
Jackie Pedro
Jeanie Witmer
Sankari Wegman
and Taylor VanBruggen

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

A Little Sunshine on a Rainy Day

Well, maybe not exactly sunshine, but I did make the cheeriest card possible to help brighten this dreary day!

My order from Stamping Bella arrived yesterday and I couldn't wait to play with my new rubbah. I chose to ink up Izzie has a Brelly first in honour of the rain that's been falling since yesterday...yuk! Then I decided to use my My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary papers for a cheery look (these are from the Mary Mary collection).

Izzie is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Paper and coloured with copics. I gave her a pretty pink umbrella and dotted it with my black Spica glitter pen for a little shimmer. Seriously...why are all the umbrellas in the world either black, grey or blue??? All dark colours that do nothing to cheer a person up on a gloomy rainy day. I bet you won't be surprised to hear this, but I have an umbrella with colourful birds and leaves all over it...kinda feels like I'm walking in a rain forest whenever I use it. I think dark umbrellas should be banned and only colourful ones sold in stores...don't you think it would help make people feel better on rainy days?!? I mean seriously...they're not a fashionable accessory anyway so why not make them fun!!! Just my humble opinion....I'll get of my soap box now though.

Oooh, oooh, look at my new Big Scallop Rectangle.....YUMMO!!! LOVE these new dies from Spellbinders!!! I used my SU border punch on the white layer then added a little bling to each of the dots between the scallops.

Don't forget about this week's Bellarific Friday Challenge...it's a sketch. I hope you'll play along and email your submission to Em by Thursday evening to be included in the Friday round-up on Bloggabella. You just might win some Bella Bucks for playing along!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

50 Rocks!!!

Happy Monday!!! Today I'm sharing a card I made for a friend to give to her brother. I'll give you one guess as to how old he's turning!! A while back I made a card for her Mom and she loved it, so she called last week asking if I had time to make one for her brother. I like to ask a little about the person the card is for and she told me he likes blue and brown and music.

So I reached for my You're My Hero set from Taylored Expressions to cover the music part, then I paired it with some new paper from My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary line, the Little Boy Blue collection. I used Taylor's Sketch Challenge, TESC105, for the layout.

To get texture and dimension on the guitar head I inked it first with sage shadow then tapped it once onto my night of navy pad, then stamped it onto Choice Buttercream. I really like the linen-ish look from kissing the stamp to the ink pad. The handle is stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa and coloured in with copics. I used my deckle mega rectangles to cut out the image. The word Rocks is part of a larger sentiment but I only wanted that word and it's so easy to ink only part of an image with the Memento Dew Drops. I used Rich Cocoa again and stamped the word onto Prism island mist light. Then I punched a star from Prism island mist dark and added an SU brad.

I pulled some chipboard numbers from my stash and coloured them with a blue copic. But I wanted a more mottled colour so I spritzed the letters with Avocado Metallic Maya Mist...I really love the effect and it's so much better IRL!

I used my stars embossing folder on the brown patterned paper then sanded it lightly. The background paper has a lot of texture that doesn't show through in the photo because I crumpled it up into a little ball then flattened it out again. And for that manly touch all the edges are distressed.

I hope he likes it...well, for that matter I hope she likes it! I'm bringing it to her tomorrow...wish me luck!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Sweet Sunday Splashing

It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch, SSSC61. You'll find the sketch on Karen Giron's blog The Sweetest Thing.

The weather was soooooooooo gorgeous in New England yesterday...sunny, warm, 75 degrees (that's 24 for my metric friends) and a perfect top down day (on the car of course!). I even had hubby take a picture to document the top down on March 20th!!! I think it was a perfect "gold star on the calendar" kinda day. But all this gorgeous weather has me longing for summer so I reached for my By the Sea set from The Cat's Pajamas.

The little penguin in the floaty toy was calling my name. Could also be because we're in the midst of deciding on a spring vacation and I'm hoping to look like this soon...I mean floating around and snorkelling, not looking like a penguin...doh! Oh my goodness, this chatter is getting out of hand...maybe it's the two glasses of wine I had before typing this up...sorry! LOL!!! Gosh, this may not even be appropriate for Sunday reading.  :)

So, back to the card...I stamped the penguin with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White and coloured it with copics. I added a little sparkle with my Spica glitter pens and coated the goggles with my clear Glaze pen. The image is cut out with circle Nestabilities and layered onto a circle of Prism vibrant pink. I decided to layer with a black scallop to really make the image pop.

The fun patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary line....loooooooooooooooooove it!!!!! I have plenty so you'll be seeing much more of this line...hope you like it too...wink! The two shades of blue are Prism frosted teal and vibrant teal. I added a little texture with my swiss dots Cuttlebug folder then stitched everything together. The polka dot ribbon adds a fun contrast and the pink flower is from Stamp New England...yes, I've been hoarding it for a year! I tucked the little sentiment under the flower...it reads Stay Cool (the S is hidden in the photo).

I hope you'll play along with this week's sketch and link your project on Karen's blog. If you're looking for more inspiration with this week's sketch then hop along to the rest of the Sweet Sunday Stampers' blogs. We're lucky to have Joanne Basile joining us for March...
Jen Tapler
Joanne Basile
Laura Fredrickson
Lynn Put
Sarah-Jane Kale'
Vicki Burdick
and Karen Giron

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Bellarific Monochromatic Snowman

Happy Bellarific Friday! This week's challenge was to create a monochromatic card. I have to admit, this challenge was my suggestion and I was a little afraid of it, but I {heart} how my card turned out!!! It was super fun to think out of the box and stick with tones of one colour.

I hadn't done my Christmas-card-of-the-week yet so I decided to use the Snowman Circle image from Stamping Bella. I stamped him with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Paper and coloured him with copics. I added a little sparkle with two of my Spica gitter pens then cut him out using my 2" circle punch. The image is layered onto Prism island mist light and a scallop circle of Prism island mist dark. I used Jen's Sketch For You To Try from last Saturday for the layout. 

The colour palette started with my new My Mind's Eye Lush patterned paper that I picked up last week while shopping with my BFF. I added texture with two different embossing folders and punched a scallop border with my new SU border punch (thanks Leslie!). The pompom trim has been in my stash forever and I think it's a fun, whimsical addition to the card. Of course I couldn't make a Christmas card without adding a ghost snowflake, which I topped with a baby blue Bonbon. 

I can't wait to see all the submissions for this week's challenge. Perhaps you'll hop with me over to Bloggabella to have a peek? Next week's Bellarific Friday Challenge is a sketch...woo hooo!!! Here it is so you can get started this weekend. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

You Always Measure Up!

I made this card using the CPS sketch with is sponsored by Stamping Bella this week. It would be fabulous if you play along too! I flipped the sketch on it's side to work with my image.

Be sure to link your project over on the CPS blog if you play along.  :)

Leila Always Measures Up is part of the adorable Green Bean Baby Line from Stamping Bella...isn't she so sweet!!! I stamped her with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Cream Paper and coloured her with copics.

I used kraft cardstock to layer and compliment the fun floral paper from my October Afternoon Report Card 8x8 pad. The alphabet strip is also from the same paper pack and I thought it was perfect for this image. The sentiment is included with the Leila image and I know it doesn't exactly follow the sketch but I think it still works. I found the perfect cream flower button in my stash...score!

This week's Bellarific Friday Challenge is a monochromatic colour challenge. You decide which colour to use then create a monochromatic look. I'm working on my card today and I'd love to see your card in the Friday roundup on Bloggabella so don't forget to email it to Em by Thursday evening.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Easter Basket and the Rockies

My vacation with my BFF is over today and I'm headed home.  :(

I really lucked out with the weather in Calgary though...it was beautiful the entire week, which was both good and bad. Good because we were out and about doing things, seeing people, taking day trips...bad because we really didn't do much stamping at all. We only spent one afternoon in the stamp room and I created this Easter card.

I used Taylor's Sketch Challenge, TESC104, for the layout and reached for my Favourite Peeps stamp set, along with my Easter Key Ingredients.

The image is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White and coloured with copic markers. I added a little shimmer with my Stardust pen then coated the basket with my clear Glaze pen to give it some shine. The patterned papers are from the Basic Grey Kioshi line (included in the Easter Key Ingredients). My center panel ended up larger than I originally thought it would be so my card doesn't really follow the sketch but that's ok...sketches are for inspiration, right?!? I added a gorgeous flower from the Kioshi Bloomers pack to finish my card.

One of our day trips was to Banff. I'd never been there so it was a real treat to get up close and personal with the majestic Rocky Mountains. Here are a couple of photos...

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Bellarific Izzie Bunny

Happy Bellarific Friday!!! This week's theme was completely freestyle so I hope you played along. I mean really...no restrictions except to use your Stamping Bella images...what could be easier! But if you didn't play along you can still see this week's entries over on Bloggabella.

In addition to it being Bellarific Friday it's also release day...woo hooo!!! I was lucky enough to have three new release images to play with this week and I've saved this sweet Izzie iZ a Bunny (get it...the "Z" instead of an "s" in "is"...that Em is so clever with her stamp names!!!) for today...LOVE her!!! She was soooooooo much fun to colour and jazz up with plenty of little details. I used TESC103 for the layout.

First thing I did was cut out the egg (and her hands) and run it through my swiss dots Cuttlebug folder. Then I popped it for dimension. Then I couldn't resist adding some Sugar Sparkly Fluff to her bunny ears...it's super cute in real life!

I used my new MS grass punch and stitched it onto the orange strips. The background needed a little texture so I ran it through my D'vine swirls Cuttlebug folder.

Be sure to stop by Bloggabella to see all of this week's Bellarific entries and the new release post, then head over to Stamping Bella for a little Friday shopping. Have fun!!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Bella Izzie Sneak Peek

I have another sweet Stamping Bella sneak peek for you before the big release tomorrow!!! How CA-ute is this darling Izzie has a Prezzie image?!?

Have you seen the other sneak peeks from the Bella Babes this week? I can't wait to see the rest tomorrow...hint hint!!! :)

I used Jen's Sketch For You To Try for the layout. Izzie is on Bella's Bestest Paper and coloured with copics. Then I cut her out and popped her on the circle for dimension (and also because I didn't want to use a larger circle to cut her out and the presents didn't fit inside the size I used). So there...I'm stubborn, and I'll make it work my way, one way or another! LOL!!! I used my Spica glitter pens to add a little sparkle to the presents and the bow in her hair.

The patterned paper is from my October Afternoon Farm Fresh 8x8 pad. I paired it with Prism blush red light, suede brown dark, and sunflowers medium, then stitched around the patterned paper for some detail. I happened to have the perfect matching ribbon in my stash...gotta LOVE it when a plan comes together...and I tied a sweet bow with my Bow Easy.

You still have a little time to submit your entry (using Stamping Bella stamps) for this week's Bellarific Friday Challenge...FREESTYLE! Email it to Em by tonight to be included in the weekly round-up on Bloggabella tomorrow. Oh, and you just might win some Bella Bucks for participating!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Stamping Bella Sneak Peek!

If you haven't heard yet, Stamping Bella is having a release this Friday and I have a little something to whet your appetite today!!!

When I was blurfing on the weekend I saw this gorgeous card on Mercy's blog and I simply had to shamelessly case her layout! I {heart} the cluster in the center of the card, although my cluster ended up a little larger, but that's ok.

This sweet Easter Butterfly image will be available at Stamping Bella from Friday, March 5th. The image is on Bella's Bestest Paper and coloured with copics. I cut it out with Blossom Nestabilities then pierced around the edge. I cut out a second image so I could adhere the butterfly body then bend the wing up for dimension. There's a little sparkle on the image courtesy of my Spica glitter pens.

The patterned papers are all from my Basic Grey Kioshi 6x6 paper pack. I distressed the edges then stitched them together. I also distressed and stitched the base layer before adhering it all to the white card base. A couple of layered flowers from my stash finish the image nicely.

Don't forget to play along with this week's Freestyle Bellarific Friday Challenge. Simply email your submission to Em by Thursday evening to be included in the Friday Round-up on Bloggabella.

I'll be back later this week with another Stamping Bella sneak peek for you!!!   :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen