Bellarific House Circle

Happy Bellarific Friday! Did you play along this week? The challenge was to Ink Up What You Haven't Used Yet. Well, with several (make that seven) Bindahs full of Stamping Bella's fabulous images, I must admit that I do have a few (ahem, I mean more that I care to admit) images that haven't seen ink yet.

I dug through my older images though and found this cute House Circle that hadn't seen ink yet. Why??? It's so adorable...why have I not used it until now??? Hmph...I'm gonna blame it on time, or lack there-of.

Anywho...I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Cream Paper then coloured it with copics. I added some clear Glaze pen to the window and the sun, then dusted the sun with Glamour Dust glitter before the Glaze pen dried. I used my Marvy 2" circle punch to punch out the image then layered it onto some Prism Suede Brown Dark. The layout is SC273 and I added the sentiment and ribbon to the rectangle panel because it was looking a little plain. The patterned paper is Cosmo Cricket's Earth Love.

Next week's Bellarific Friday challenge is May Flowers...you know...April showers bring My flowers. All you have to do is use one or more flowers on your card...either an image, patterned paper, paper flowers, any type of flowers count but don't forget to pair your flowers Stamping Bella images. Don't forget to stop by Bloggabella to see this week's round-up and leave a comment while you're there for a chance to win some Bella Bucks!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

I Miss You...

I whipped up a quick little card a few minutes ago and instead of waiting I thought I'd share it with you right now. When I was blog surfing earlier today there were a few challenges that caught my eye and I've combined them on this card.

The first is the Three Cheers for Chairs challenge on the Moxie Fab blog. What a perfect excuse to use my new Chair-ished set from Papertrey. Then I saw a new challenge blog, The Papertrey Paper Dolls and their first challenge was a sketch (I'm too late to link my creation to the weekly challenge but that didn't stop me...really, you're never too late to play along with any challenge if it gets the creative juices flowing, right?). And finally, my friend Jeanie has a Krafty Thursday feature on her blog and I decided to jump in and use kraft cardstock on my card today, in honour of her! Phew...that's a good mix of challenges in one card. I hope you'll play along in a challenge that gets you stamping just for fun!

I had so much fun making this card though! It came together super quick and the paper piecing was easy peasy. I liked to combination of papers I used yesterday from my Green at Heart 6x6 pad so I used them again for this card. The floor is a stamp from the set then I just coloured it in with copics. Probably the longest part of the card was stitching the ribbon into pleats, but even that only took about 5 minutes. The buttons coordinate perfectly because they're Basic Grey buttons. It's funny, I have a LOT of buttons and when I bought these I KNEW I didn't need them, but I wanted them, so I bought them, and I'm so happy I did because they coordinate perfectly!!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

A Little Lovin' from the Oven

Happy Wednesday!!! As I said in my last post, my birthday card stash is kinda low so I'm working at building it up a little. I received some happy mail yesterday...my latest order from My Favourite Things so I cracked into it right away.

I decided to use Lovin' From the Oven and pair it with this week's Card Positioning System sketch, CPS164, which is sponsored by MFT. I stamped the baking image several times with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White and two of the patterned papers from my Basic Grey Green at Heart 6x6 pad. Then I put the image together with a combination of paper piecing and copic colouring. I added a layer of clear Glaze pen to the bowl for a little shine.

I matted the image on black to make it stand out more then paired it with Prism blush red light, SU rich razzleberry and kiwi kiss cardstock. AND, most exciting of all, there's a brand new product on this card that arrived with my VIP kit...LOVE it!!! I'm not gonna spill the beans, but I know you'll die when you find out what it is!!!

The finished card size is 3.25 x 6.5 inches. I'd just like to add that I totally agree with the saying on this card: Birthday cake has zero calories! It's true...really!!!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Up and Away and a Seaside Picture

Gosh...is it really Monday night already? I was hoping to get this card posted much earlier in the day...oh well...better late than never! The day slipped away from me then I had to watch Dancing with the Stars and get my votes in!  :)

I got this fun Daisy Balloon image from Stamping Bella way back when it was released but I haven't used it yet, until now, that is! I wanted the colours to be bright and cheery so I went with (big surprise here...) some Quite Contrary paper, the Jack & Jill collection. Hey, it's been a few days since I used any Quite Contrary so I think I can go back to it now!  :)

The image is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Cream paper, twice, so I could pop the flower for dimension. I coloured it with copics and added a little sparkle with a turquoise Spica glitter pen. I used a Sweet Stop sketch from a couple of weeks ago for the layout, SSS51.

I paired the polka dot paper with some Prism frosted teal, vibrant teal and intense kiwi. I turned this into a birthday card because my stash is critically low. Really, any image can be a birthday card, right??? Maybe this one will be for someone who's "over the hill"...LOL!!!

Now here's a fun picture of my good buddy Jodi and I. We met up in Maine this past weekend for a super fun day together and the weather was absolutely perfect! Miss ya Jodi!!!

This week's challenge is to Ink What You Haven't Used Yet!!! C'mon...I know you have uninked rubbah...I certainly have more than a couple images to choose from, so let's all get that uninked rubbah inky for next week! Email your submissions to Em by next Thursday evening to be included in the Friday round-up.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Sweet Sunday Volkswagen

It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch, SSSC66. You'll find the sketch on Karen Giron's blog The Sweetest Thing.

I really really really love this week's sketch...I love working with circles! But I wasn't sure just what I wanted to stamp until happy mail arrived on Friday containing my order of new stamps from Papertrey Ink! I tell ya, I was all over this month's release because it was so masculine, and with all the boys/men in my family I'm always on the lookout for masculine goodies.

Enjoy the Ride couldn't be more perfect for one of my brothers...he's a VW fanatic (he owns three bugs) and I simply had to buy this set to make his birthday card. I'm totally working ahead on this one though because his birthday isn't until October! And don't worry...he doesn't read my blog so I'm not spoiling the surprise. I stamped the outline of the bug first with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream then I used the solid image stamp to fill in the car with Baja Blue ink. I added a few touches with copic markers then cut out the image. The headlights got three coats with my clear Glaze pen so they'd have that rounded look that VW lights have, but I only went over the windshield with one coat to keep it more flat.

I broke away from the Quite Contrary papers for two days in a row now and reached for my October Afternoon Farm Fresh 8x8 papers for this card instead. I used two different Cuttlebug folder for texture and balanced the offset car with three buttons. I love love LOVE how this card turned out!   :)

I hope you'll play along with this week's Sweet Sunday sketch and link your creation on Karen's blog. Now let's go see what the other Sweet Sunday Stampers came up with using SSSC66.
Jen Tapler
Joanne Basile
Laura Fredrickson
Lynn Put
Nancy Riley
Sarah-Jane Kale'
Vicki Burdick
and Karen Giron

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

A Hootin' Good Time

Happy Saturday!!! I couldn't resist creating a card with Taylor's Sketch Challenge, TESC110. As soon as I saw the sketch I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Don't you love it when that happens???  :)

So, thanks to my friend Leslie (waves...hi Leslie!) I've become a little obsessed with watching a live streaming webcam of an owl box in California. There are four growing owlets in the box that I've been watching...I didn't start watching early enough to see them hatch, but it's still interesting. The owls are completely wild and they've nested in an owl box that Carlos and Donna (don't I sound like they're my best friends!!! I've never met them of course...oh the wonders of the internet!) set up in their yard two years ago. Well, Carlos and Donna are the sweetest people...they've even gone to the trouble of setting up cameras both inside and outside the owl box and have infared lights so we can watch at night too. Carlos comes online once in a while and gives updates/shares information, does live chats with classrooms that sort of thing. Anywhoooooo...I've gotten so much enjoyment from watching their webcam that I wanted to send a card to say thank you for all their time, energy, and devotion.

Branching Out from Taylored Expressions is the set that popped into my mind when I thought about a card for the "owl people" and of course, Branching Out Coordinates is perfect with the sweet owl image. I pulled out some long retired SU patterned paper, I think it's called Tea Party or something like that, and groovy guava cardstock then set to work.

The branch is stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa onto chocolate chip then I cut it out. The tree oval is stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa onto one of the patterned papers then I sponged some Desert Sand and Bamboo Leaves ink before crumpling it and distressing it a little. The flowers are punched from another patterned paper and I added a Crystal Twinkle to the center of each. The owl is stamped onto Choice Snow White and coloured with copics. Each of the squares measures 1.5 inches and I stitched them down to the Groovy Guava. The finished card size is 5.25 inches square.

So yesterday I was skyping with my friend Leslie and we were watching a different webcam of a family of bluebirds and we actually watched one of the little chicks hatch!!! It was SO cool to see, then not long after it was opening it's beak begging for food...my goodness they can open their beaks really wide! I'll be back to watching the owls tonight though...they're nocturnal so it's most interesting at night, but it's definitely not for the squeamish because they're also carnivores. Woot Woot for the owls and the people who share their webcams of animals!  :)

Taylored Expressions is hosting a Blast From the Past blog hop on May 18th and you're invited to participate! We'll be featuring any and all TE stamp sets released in 2008 and 2009. To join the hop simply send an email to bloghop@tayloredexpressions.com. In your email include May 18th blog hop in the subject line then list your first and last name, your blog name and blog address. You must agree to post your TE creation on your blog on May 18th at 8am Pacific time and include links to the rest of the participants in your post, according to the hop rules. One random participant will be chosen to win a stamp set of their choice from Taylored Expressions. The deadline to sign up for the hop is May 13th. I hope you'll hop along with us and have a Blast from the Past on May 18th!!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

An Orchid for Mom

Happy Bellarific Friday!!! This week's challenge was a Mother's Day theme. That celebration will be upon us before we know it so it's good to get the creative juices flowing early.

I decided to use this gorgeous Pot'o Orchids for Lulu image from Stamping Bella. I love orchids...they're so pretty and the seem to defy gravity the way they grow...it's so cool! I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Paper and coloured it with copics. It's cut out with square Nestabilities and I mounted it on a Big Scallop Square of Prism Vibrant Pink. I added some stitching around the edges for detail and a smattering of Glamour Dust glitter.

The patterned paper is, ahem, My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary, and I backed it with Frosted Pink then added a Soft Sky scallop piece to break up the colour a little. I finished the top corners with some Pearl Baubles.

Don't forget to pop over to Bloggabella to see this week's Bellarific Friday submissions, and leave some love while you're there for a chance to win Bella Bucks! Next week's challenge is to Ink What You Haven't Used Yet!!! C'mon...I know you have uninked rubbah...I certainly have more than a couple images to choose from, so let's all get that uninked rubbah inky for next week! Email your submissions to Em by next Thursday evening to be included in the Friday round-up.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Wake Up Beans!!!

Mmmmmmmmmm....Coffee....there's really nothing better first thing in the morning than the smell of fresh brewed coffee. Well, that's my opinion anyway!!! I love my morning coffee...that first sip is always the best!

So for my card today I used...yes, you guessed it...the new Let's Do Coffee set from Taylored Expressions. And I used Taylor's sketch challenge for the layout, TESC109. I don't often make cards this size and the sketch seemed a little challenging, but I was up for it and I love how my card turned out. The finished size is 3.25 x 6 inches.

I stamped the bag of beans with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream twice and also onto kraft. I paper pieced the bag with kraft cardstock and added a smidge of shading with my W3 copic. What doesn't show in the photo is that I crumpled up the kraft bag then flattened it out again before adhering it to the image so it has a little texture. The rest of the image is coloured with copics and it's cut out with circle Nestabilities.

The patterned papers are from My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary line, the Little Boy Blue collection. The papers were still out on my stamp table from yesterday's card and I thought the colours were perfect for a coffee themed creation. Confession: all my Quite Contrary papers have been lying out on my stamp table since I got them in March...I can't seem to put them away and move on...they're just too pretty!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Ethan's a Star

For my card today I decided to ink up one of my Lollipop stamps from Stamping Bella while I eagerly await my new rubber from the latest release. You can see all the new release images for April HERE.

I used Jen's Sketch for You to Try for the layout. Ethan is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Paper and coloured with copics. I realized after he was all coloured that I should have stamped him on cream paper instead, to better coordinate with the patterned paper, so I went over the white cardstock with my E40 copics to give it a creamy colour.

The patterned paper is My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary line, the Little Boy Blue collection...so perfect for masculine cards! I used my Martha Stewart star border punch then added a couple of punched stars topped with a chocolate brad. I'm kinda getting tired of only having one masculine border punch...everything else I own is far too feminine or scallopy...Does anyone have another suggestion for a masculine punch? Help!

Don't forget about this week's Bellarific Friday challenge...Mother's Day! Email your submission to Em by Thursday evening to be included in the Friday round-up. You could win some Bella Bucks just for participating!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

New Crafter's Workshop at Taylored Expressions

Today the Baker's Dozen is showcasing the new Crafter's Workshop Stencils that are available at Taylored Expressions. These 6x6 plastic stencils are available in a wide variety of patterns/images and the creative possibilities with Crafter's Workshop Stencils is virtually unlimited! I'm sure you'll see several different applications on the hop.

Heck, once I got playing I just couldn't stop and I have four different cards to share today! So, without further delay, let's jump right into the cards. I have a photo tutorial for two of the techniques at the end of this post.

I chose to work with the Flurries template...I know I know...big surprise I'd choose the winter themed template! Hey, I'll take any excuse to get some Christmas cards made...LOL! To keep things simple I used the same layout on all four cards and all the patterned paper strips are from October Afternoon's Good Cheer 8x8 pad.

This first card uses the Joy image from Wings of Joy.

I used the Flurries template to create the background by simply using my foam brayer to apply Versamark ink.

On the Let It Snow card I took the Versamark technique one step further and used a sweet Cuppie image and sentiment from Home Sweet Home.

After applying the Versamark I covered it with Heat & Stick powder, heated it with my embossing gun then sprinkled glitter all over it. Presto...super sparkly snowflake background!

Next I used the Flurries template with some translucent embossing paste by Dreamweavers and another darling Cuppie and sentiment from Home Sweet Home.

The translucent embossing paste dries clear so it looks like clear embossing powder, which you could also use with the Versamark...hmmm...why didn't I think of that earlier?!?

Then after using blue for three cards I had a lightbulb moment I decided to try snowflakes with pink! I used cuppie from Season's Sweetings along with white embossing paste.

I love how well the white snowflakes show up on the pink background.

And look at the dimension you get from the white embossing paste!

Now for a couple of picture tutorials. The first one is the Versamark/glitter technique. I started by taping my cardstock to my work surface then I taped the template in place so it wouldn't move.

Apply Versamark ink to the Flurries template using the foam brayer. Be sure to use enough pressure and roll in every direction to ensure full coverage in all the small nooks.

Next sprinkle on the Heat & Stick powder, tap off excess and heat with embossing tool

Finally, coat everything with glitter, tap off excess and give it a quick heat with the embossing tool again to set the glitter.

Now the tutorial using Translucent embossing paste.
Start again by taping everything down to your work surface.

The embossing paste is similar to icing and I used the back of my offset spatula to apply it to the stencil.

Be sure to apply a smooth, even layer of embossing paste.

Remove the stencil and set the cardstock aside to dry for a couple of hours.

I told you I had fun with the Crafter's Workshop stencil!!! Now let's go see what the other Baker's Dozen gals cooked up with their stencils.
Alex Maldonado
Carolina Butching
Charmaine Ikach
Jackie Pedro
Jami Sibley
Jeanie Witmer
Jodi Collins
Karen Giron
Melissa Sauls
Sankari Wegman
and Taylor VanBruggen

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Friends for Life

I switched gears today and stamped a card that required no colouring at all. When I was blog hopping I came across a sketch/Zva/colour challenge on Lisa Johnson's blog and thought it would be fun to play along.

I'm impatiently patiently waiting for my order of new stamps from Papertrey Ink to arrive so while I wait I reached for my Life set. I dug out (and I really do mean dug it out from under several inches of stacked patterned papers) my SU Urban Garden patterned paper because the colours are perfect for this challenge. I used Night of Navy and Kiwi Kiss inks and added some zig zag stitching around the patterned layer. The entire Zva crystal swirl didn't fit in the spot I wanted to place it so I cut it off and used the leftovers to dot the blue flowers. I added a little more texture by running the patterned piece through my swiss dots Cuttlebug folder before stitching it down.

That's it for me today...

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Sweet Sunday Christmas

It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch, SSSC65. You'll find the sketch on Karen Giron's blog, The Sweetest Thing.

I've been slacking with my Christmas-card-a-week plan lately so I decided to use this week's sketch for a Christmas card. Then I saw in blogland that MFT is showcasing the Who's That Girl line for this months greatest hits line-up. OMG...my Who's That Girl stamps have not seen enough love lately (I mean really...it's that original line that got me hook line and sinker in love with MFT!!!) so I pulled out my Merry Christmas set (which I couldn't find in the store to link to...sorry) for my card today.

I used a combination of paper piecing and copic colouring for the image. It's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream and four of the patterned papers from my October Afternoon Good Cheer 8x8 pad. I paper pieced in layers starting from the back, the wall paper, the tree, the chair and the list. Then I cut out the girl, the presents and the ribbon spool from Choice Buttercream and coloured them with copics. I added some Stickles to the tree in Christmas Red and Waterfall.

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

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Bellarific Strummin'

Happy Bellarific Friday!!! I was so lucky this week to get to play with new rubbah!!! Did you check out the Stamping Bella release yesterday? Did you fill your shopping cart? I know I certainly did!!! Well this groovin' Bella is part of the new release...she's called Strummabella.

She's on Bella's Bestest Paper and coloured with copics. The patterned paper I used is from Crate Paper's Paper Doll collection and it has a subtle cross-hatch pattern all through it so I tried to mimic that with the carpet. If you look closely you can see the cross-hatch pattern I drew in with my colourless blender after the image was completely coloured. I really like this effect! I also coated the vase with clear glaze pen for some shine.

This image comes with the sentiment "you make my heart sing" but I wanted to use "just a note" instead, and I think it coordinates quite nicely! The layout for this card is from Card Positioning System, CPS162. I really love this simple layout with the narrow strips of patterned paper.

Don't forget to pop over to Bloggabella to see this week's round-up for Bellarific Friday. As always, leave some love while you're there and you just might win some Bella Bucks!!! Next week's Bellarific Friday challenge is Mother's Day...use whatever Stamping Bella image that represents Mother's Day for you! Email your submissions to Em by next Thursday evening.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen