Prairie Fairy Stamps & the PaperTemptress Blog Hop

Prairie Fairy and PaperTemptress are going digital on Friday and Saturday.  Starting on Friday we are all going to visit Prairie Fairy’s design team’s blogs and then on Saturday we are going hopping to Paper Temptress’s design team’s blog!  Be sure to wear comfortable shoes, it is a lot of traveling LOL! But don’t worry, you have until the end of the day Monday to follow the crumb trail and enter the giveaway (and the sale)!


There is only going to be a starting blog listed so you are going to have to follow the crumb trail to find out how to enter the daily giveaway!  The next blogs link will be on each blog that will lead you right to the giveaway.  You can win 6 FREE digital images from  Prairy Fairy and a 15$ GC from PaperTemptress given away each day (Friday and Saturday) but you have to comment on both ending blogs to be entered to win.  You will have until the end of the day on Monday to follow the crumb trail  but you do need to enter a comment on both design team’s end blogs to enter the giveaway.  But please leave comments on the DT’s blogs( you know how much they love comments)  just know that those comments will not enter you into the giveaway.

On both Friday and Saturday Patricia will post the beginning blog here at the PaperTemptress Community Blog so be sure to visit early.

PaperTemptress carries many perfect card stocks to use with digital images so starting on Friday and going all the way thru Monday all  card stock listed under the Digital Paper Category will be 25% off, just enter the word  digital in the promotion box.  Be sure to read each product to discover why they work so great for digital images but especially the text weight White Diamond, Oh my goodness, the digital paper printed on this card stock is AMAZING looking!  It will take your breathe away!

My first card was done using Prairie Fairy's "Summer Fun" image.  I just love this cute little dog pulling at the little boy's pants.  Although...I admit, I had to color it so it looked as though his  undies showed. Hee Hee

I used PaperTemptress' Heavenly White Premium Ultrasmooth card stock to stamp my image on and color with my Copic makers. The base is from the Pop Tones, "Blu Rasberry".  It looks a bit different here because I used my Spellbinder Impressabilities Seascape to sponge over with some Vivid ink to make the shell design on the background.  I then ran my image thru my Cuttlebug and used the Large Scalloped Rectangles to cut and emboss.  After tying some twine around my card I made a bow and attached the little shell charm then cut the ends of the bow. 

My next card was created using Prairie Fairy's "Miss Mousey".  Now I admit... I am NOT a mouse, rat or any other kind of rodent fan, but you gotta admit.. She is just adorable in her bonnet and holding her basket of flowers.  Again I stamped my image on the Heavenly White Premium Ultrasmooth card stock and colored with my Copics. My card base is again done with the Pop Tones, "Bubblegum" paper. 

I used my circle Nestabilities and scalloped circle to cut and emboss my image.  And just to make sure my little mousey friend's flowers got noticed, I popped on an orange rose below the bow to accent.

Your next crumb to gather on the "digital hop" is at Dawn Mercedes' Blog.  Have fun and good luck!! You will LOVE LOVE LOVE the cute images at Prairie Fairy Designs and the wonderful paper at PaperTemptress!!!

YAYYYY the New Maggies are In!!!

I FINALLY got my new Magnolia stamps from the stamp club I joined!!!! I was so excited when they came!!  I have to admit though, I was a bit surprised they weren't mounted.  But... hey another reason to go shopping, huh? LOL

I used some double stick tape and my acrylic blocks to  stamp this adorable Mid Summer Tilda "Maggie" and the butterfly (actually called a dragonfly). My images were colored with Copic markers and cut and embossed with my Nestabilities.

I used Gina K Designs Pure Luxury Heavy Base Weight Bubble Gum Pink and Ocean Mist card stock.  The DP was from one of the Stamp TV Kits (sorry I can't remember which one).

You an pre-order these Fairy Tale Magnolias from 7 Kids College Fund or any stamp company that carries Magnolias.

I have more and can't wait to get back to stamping and coloring them!!!

Have a great day!! *smile*

You're a STAR!!

It was a wonderfully nice day outside today and I just wanted to go play!! But.... alas... there IS work to do.  I did slip away during lunch and head to Borders to buy me a fun book ( Wreck This Journal ... hee hee ) and then to the office supply store to get a few things we needed in the kitchen at the office.  All in all, it seemed like such a bright, sunny and happy day I think it's perfect for my bright creation I made with the newest Card Kit stamp set, "Quite a Catch"!  How can you NOT be happy looking at these guys???  I think I'm gonna dive into making some "get well" cards with them because they say smiling can make you feel better.  (Whoever "they" are. Hee Hee)

I started with Gina K's Pure Luxury Base Weight Red Hot card stock.  I LOVE how bright this red is!!  I then layered it with "In the Navy" card stock. 

I colored my images with my Copic markers and cut them out.  I popped them up with some Pop Dots and added ribbon and a small oval Nestabilitie.

I initially thought I'd use this card as my Color Challenge over on Stamp TV but then remembered I had used red already and wanted to do something I hadn't before.  But watch out... I ALREADY have next week's colors picked and I hope I surprise a few people with my choices.  It wasn't colors I'd normally think of so I hope I get lots of people to play along... YOU included!! *smile*

Have a great day and for us... tomorrow promises to be just as beautiful as today!!!

My Fishing Dad

Seems I make a lot of cards for my dad and I admit, it is my honor and pleasure to do so.  My dad does so much for me.  Not only do I work for my dad, and have for the last 21 years, but I am also his secretary at our lake home as he is the president of the Association.  We spend a lot of time together and rarely a day goes by that we don't talk to each other.  Even on weekends.

My dad has been a VERY strong inspiration to me and my biggest hero.  As a kid I never thought (like so many of us do) that I'd ever hear myself say those things to my kids that he said to me.  And I honestly can say that also as a kid, I rarely was in trouble.  So, the things he said were either lessons I needed to learn, or inspirational words that I still believe in to this day.  Things like... "You're NOT like everyone else." (When I begged for saddle shoes because EVERYONE else had them.... or... "Do the best job you can because there is always someone better than you and you need to always give 110%.".. just to name a few.

Father's Day is very special for me and because there isn't much of anything I can give my dad that he either doesn't already have or can get, I seem to give those gifts that I feel will let him know that, yes, dad, I know what you like... I want you to know how much I love you... or no one on this earth could ever take your place in my heart.  So this year, I am giving him an "interactive card".  My dad is always amazed at my cards and I know this one will have him scratching his head as well. *smile*

Honestly, the only thing I KNOW dad will say is.... "That's not a bass, it's a trout." LOL  He is a bass fisherman to the bone.  But he will still love this card I created with Theresa Momber's newest set, "Gone Fishing".

My design came from the Interactive Cards book that Melanie Muenchinger was recently published in and posted on her blog.  I am really really enjoying making some of these cards.  Cute, fast and easy to follow. 

Now.... look what happens when you pull on the ribbon....

How COOL is that????  I love it!!!

My images were colored in with my Copic markers and I used the FREE Wood Digital Paper available on Stamp TV.  Thanks Gina K!!!

I can hardly wait for June to come to give this fun interactive card to my dad.  I hope you have a chance to get this book and give some of these awesome cards a try.

(NOTE:  If you haven't already been... stop by Craft Critique to check out some FABULOUS ideas for Father's Day this year!!)

Have a great day!! *smile*

YOU Pick the Colors this Week on StampTV Color Challenge!!

Yep, you read it right!!  This week on Stamp TV YOU can PICK the Color Challenge choice!

I so love the DP from Cosmos "Material Girl" that it was very hard for ME to pick just a few.  So... my Color Challenge for you is to pick colors for your card that coordinate with the sample I made above!  You don't have to pick the colors I chose to feature, just make sure that whatever you make, whether you have this DP or not, would go with the colors IN the DP!

I chose to feature the yellows and greenish/blue from the DP on my card. I use Asela Hopkins' newest set, "Sew Pretty" to stamp my "pretty" gal. *smile*

I colored her in with my Copics and paper pieced her dress.  I used my Nestabilities label and added some Tim Holtz Distress Ink, "Antique Linen" to age it and the flowers a bit.

You have until Sunday, May 2nd at 8:00 PM CST to enter the contest.  The winner, drawn at random, will receive any stamp set of their choice from Gina K Designs valued at $24.95 or less.

Have fun and get those creative juices going!!

An Apple, a Peach and Cammie's Flowers...

I FINALLY got my new Magnolia stamps from the Magnolia Club that I joined oh so long ago!! I was soooo excited to get them!!!

I am sure there were many sites that had them available for "pre-order" and while I knew I would be getting mine before everyone else, I didn't take the time to either read about them,or to really look a what they might be!!  Silly, huh?? Wellllll... one thing I found out AFTER I stamped this cute little Maggie and colored her in, was the fact that she is actually holding an APPLE!!! LOL

I don't know about you, but I rarely see perfectly round apples!! LOL  So... I colored her holding a peach!  I used my Copics did a pretty simple card layout.

One reason for my not adding to much to my card was because I HAD to try and create those wonderful flowers that Carolyn King showed on her blog.  I could not believe how EASY these were!!  And with just one roll of streamers, you can easily make THOUSANDS of these adorable flowers.  I used my Copics to add just a touch of color the edges of the peach colored flower and for the yellow flower I completely colored my streamer.  I waited until after I did all the cutting and scrunching before adding the color.  This way I didn't have to worry about the paper becoming to wet and tearing before I got it layered and scrunched.  For my leaves, I simply cut out the leaves created from my Cuttlebug Leafy Branch embossing folder.  Head over to Carolyn's blog and check out her tutorial.  I can't wait to make more!! 

Have a great day! *smile*

Treasures from the Sea

Time for another adorable fishy from Gina K's newest, "Quite a Catch" set!  This big-eyed queen goldfish is no exception to the set. 

I colored her with my Copic markers and popped her up with some pop dots.  Next I stamped the seaweed along the bottom.  I colored them with my Copics as well and added some reds to the weeds.  Seems I have seen this often in our lake in Missouri.  Figured my gold lady would fit in well with a bit of red to camouflage her some. 


Again I added some of that wonderful paper included in the card kit to resemble her jewels at the bottom.  I added a few blings to her treasures and colored them as well with my Copics.  Doesn't she look like she's afraid someone will find her treasures??? Hee Hee

I put a small line of tiny seashells along the bottom of the seaweed too.  Colorful little treasures she's hiding her jewels under. Ha!!

I am sooo pleased to have this set of cute cute critters in my stamping collection.  I am betting I'll use them on just about every child birthday card I need this next year.  Watch out nieces and nephews. Ha Ha!

Have a great day and may your treasures be plenty!!

Scared Boyfriend

Hee Hee... isn't he cute or what??? This adorable guy is from one of Gina K Designs new sets, "Quite a Catch" which was released last night.  I just laugh every time I look at any of these sea creatures.  You will definitely want to take a look at the whole set.  Perfect for sooo many occasions!  

My card today was inspired by my DH... LOL  Once again I was remembering back long ago when I caught him looking at me (before we actually decided to marry) and laughing because of the look on his face when I giggled and said... "I can tell you love me by that look on your face.". LOL  

When we met he had these "rules"; which I don't mind telling you HE broke every one!!! LOL  One was, of course, never say the "L" word. LOL  He would say it in a low voice and when I would ask, "What?", he would respond with. "Huh?  I didn't say anything.". Hee Hee  

I swear this fish was a picture of his face when I told him how I knew he loved me. LOL  Of course he laughs now and denies ever acting this way. HA 

I colored my images with my Copic markers and mounted him on a Nestabilities label.  Do you love those two DP's??? They are part of the papers you will receive when you purchase this new set as part of the Card Kit set.  You NEED to have these stamps... I cannot wait to get stamping with them more.  

Have a great day and tell those you care about how much you love them.  *smile*

I Love You Sewwwww......

Today I did another, I think, clean and simple card.  I am trying to keep with Gina K's challenge to send out 3-4 cards a month for no reason at all... just to make someones day.  *smile*

I used two sets by Nina Brackett, "Nana's Needlework" and "Nana's Needlework Sentiments".  I just LOVE these sets!!! My mom is such a seamstress.  Knitting, doilies, quilts... she's done it all.  In fact, do you remember back when tuxedo had those big ruffled front shirts??? LOL  Well.. my mom made one AND the  TUXEDO years ago. HA!  I am constantly amazed at her work.  So, this set seemed perfect to send her a message that even though she's a whole 8 minute drive away, and I see her very often... I still want to take time to make sure she knows how much I love her.

Very simply, I stamped my images and colored the buttons with my Copic markers.  When I was finished coloring them... I coated them with my Sakura Clear Gel Pen just to give them a bit of shine.  I did two lines of embossing with my Scor-Pal and then bordered that with ribbon.  Did a small amount of piercing in the corners and Wah Lah... done!

I hope she likes it.  In fact, I know she will.  She is so super supportive of my card making and I am so blessed to have a mom like her.

Have a good day and if you have a little extra time... send someone you know a love note.  Or... leave Post-It Notes all over the house like I use to do for my DH to find when he arrived home after I'd gone to work. *smile*

Still a Prince...

Ohhh how I love toads!! One in particular... hee hee.  My card today was made with Tami Mayberry's, "Fairy Tales" set from Gina K Designs.

I decided to do a CAS card this time around.  I simply colored my toad with Copic markers and ran him thru my Circle Nestabilities. The warts on my toad were done using my Copic blender pen.   I then stamped the sentiment in the corner and simply drew a line around the base of the card with a ruler.  I added the diamond ring using my Wild Live, Vivid ink pad.

My inspiration for my card came from my dear husband. Hee Hee.  When I first met him, his profile on AOL stated that he had a club foot, hunched back and warts.  Well.... his thought process went something like this.  "If a girl STILL wants to talk to me, she probably has a good sense of humor and/or isn't judgemental."  HA... little did he know!!! LOL

And to add to the inspiration for the card, the sentiment in this set was on the front of our wedding invitations. :-)

I think he will get a chuck out of this when I give it to him.  He was definitely a toad worth kissing. *smile*

Have a great day and go ahead... kiss a toad... you might get lucky.  I did! ;-)

"Who's that kid with the Oreo Cookie....?"

I LOVE those commercials!! LOL  My card today was created using Melanie Muenchinger's, "Have a Cookie" set.  Melanie is soooo clever.  A long while back when this set was first released, she showed how she made this awesome "Oreo" on her blog.  I just LOVED it then and still do!!

I had great plans to make one of these for my sister who is a true Oreo addict, but never got it done. And...thanks to Melanie being so creative and sought after, she has been published in a book.. "Interactive Cards"!!!  You can read about it HERE.  I am soooo proud of her and so happy to be able to call her a friend!  I immediately ordered MY copy.  Of course, the "cookie card" was inside and I went to work!!

When you twist the top... the message is revealed.  How cute is that???

This was not only a quick card to make, but it was soooo much fun to play with and show others which had never seen it or who aren't in the paper crafting world.  *smile*


A few Nestabilities, an embossing folder and Melanie's stamps and you are set!!


I cannot wait until my sister gets this!!!!  I also entered it in Gina's Inspiration Challenge over on Stamp TV.  Gina challenged us to not only make a card that would make someone happy, but to send it to them as well!!  My sister, I'm sure, will smile so big when she sees this wonderful card and... it simply says, "I love you.".  *smile*


Have a great day and send someone a card... make someone smile.  *smile*

And This Weeks Colors Are.....

Ocean!!! Ocean, ocean, ocean!!!!  Do you just LOVE these seahells??? They are from the new stamp set by Melanie Muenchinger called, "Gifts from the Sea" that Gina K and the Design Team previewed last night! 

Your colors for the Stamp TV Color Challenge this week are  OCEAN MISTand TAN!  If you don't have Ocean Mist... you can use light blue.  I used Gina's Pure Luxury Heavy Weight Card Stock Tan Leather for my tan.  You may use kraft or soft sand if you wish. 

With these awesome seashells from Melanie and the wonderful colors from Gina K Designs, how you can you NOT be relaxed and feel s serene??

Join me on Stamp TV for this week's Color Challenge.  EVERY challenge on Stamp TV gives away a stamp set of your choice valued at $24.95 or less.  FREE stamps???? WHO does NOT want that???? 

Be sure to keep Gina K's blog on your favorites list to see every new stamp set that will soon be available after the Release Party.  Not to mention all the awesome creations and inspiration from Gina's Design Team!

Have a great day and think, serene. *smile*

A CAS of Spring Fever

I am not sure what inspired this card other than the Nestabilities video on framing that Gina K demonstrated over on Stamp TV one week.  Then again, it could have been a past card I created that I did a "spot lighting" technique on and used daffodils for that had just the daffodil flower in the spot light.  Either way, I wasn't initially sure how much I liked this card, or if I even liked it at all!!

But times goes on and the more I looked at, the more I liked it!

My daffodils are from Theresa Momber's set, "Sending Sunshine".  I simply colored just the flower in with my Copic markers and left the leaves and stem untouched.  I did use my grey Copic to shade around the flower AND stem/leaves. 

I grabbed my Nestabilities label and took a green Sakura Gel pen to trace around it leaving the sentiment without a line going through it.  LOVE that look!!

Now I just sit with it awhile.  And I do mean awhile!  I had this done about 3 weeks ago before I actually posted it and, like I said... I really like it now.  *smile*

Have a great SPRING filled day!!

Bath Time Tag!!

This little tag would look so cute hanging from a bottle of  bubble bath for my daughter!! 

Karen challenged us, over on StampTV, to make a "dimensional" tag that we would tie to a bottle or a gift.  One that would not be mailed due to the texture of it.  THIS was my tag and I am sooo thinking I need to go find some bubble bath!

I used Gina K's, Stamp TV Kit, "Eclectic Summer" for the seahorse stamp.  I cut around him and mounted him on some DP.

I used my Cuttlebug "D'vine Swirls" embossing folder and inked it up as Gina's demonstrates on her video for the base tag.  I then used my MS branch punch to act as coral.

And don't you just love those little bitty shells???!!!  I found them one day at Hobby Lobby.  They were packed neatly in this cute tiny mosaic printed box and I hadn't a clue what was in them or why anyone would want such a tiny box until I opened it! Awwww... definitely had to buy those and I'm so glad I did!!  I also used a few little Dew Drops for the water bubbles coming from my seahorse.

Have a great day! *smile*

Neat Stamps!

Karen Knegten has been doing an awesome job on the Anything But a Card Challenges over on Stamp TV!!   It has been so much fun playing along with her.  Today I am sharing TWO of the cute and USEFUL postage stamp keepers she presented for us to design.

Karen provided us with a pattern and all we had to do was fold and design!!

I really enjoyed making these.  On both I used Tami Mayberry's, "Special Delivery" stamp set.

On this one I did the same using Tami's set but also pulled out Melanie Muenchinger's set, "Little Tees" and used the small flowers to accent my stamps.

I made both of these for my mom and her friend at the lake.  They were thrilled to get them.  Not only can these be made for stamps, but can you imagine using them to store things like Band Aids, ticket stubs to movies you want to remember or keep for scrapbooking?!  There are all kinds of small items you can put inside of one of these cute images.  Click HERE to get Karen's wonderful pattern.

Have a great day! *smile*

CSS Recipe Blog Hop!!!

It's time for another CSS Blog hop!

Several members of the Center Stage Spotlight Alumni team have gathered some of their favorite BBQ Picnic recipes together for us to make another cookbook!  The cookbook will be available for FREE over on the StampTV Freebie page for you to download and print at your leisure.

But, since we are paper crafters - we challenged them even further to make a project with their recipe in mind to share with us tonight on their blogs!  (The projects are also included in photos on the recipe booklet as well.)  

Please check out the links of all the participating designers and then download the Recipe booklet and let us know how you like them!

• Jessica Fick: Grilled Pizza
• Betty Neville: Mom's Chinese BBQ Ribs
• Joy Hadden: Whiskey BBQ Sauce
• Tina Gilliland: Homemade Enchiladas (You're Here!)
  
• Sue Van deVusse: Midwestern Kabobs
• Melissa Shultz: Foil Babies
• Geri Utterback: Oven Baked Beans
• Pam Imholz: Foil Potatoes
• Sharri Seffens: Calico Beans
• Carla Suto: Grilled Vegetables
• Dawn Lusk: Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salad
• Peggy Wainman: Bean Salad
• Karen Knegten: Miss Lucy's Rice Salad
• Jennie Harper: Picnic Coleslaw
• Cheri Weston: Fiesta Pie
• Brenda Turner: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
• Lori McAree: Dessert Pizza
• Giovana Smith: Peruvian Alfajores
• Carolina Buchting: Vanilla Cupcakes with Butter Cream Frosting
• Jen Charboneau: Dirt Cake

Here is the card I made to go with my Enchilada Recipe!

I started by stamping Melanie Muenchinger's, "Mosaic Inspiration" onto my white Pure Luxury Heavy Base Weight Card Stock.  Then I colored in the corner boxes with my Copic markers in traditional "Mexican colors" of red, white and green.

For my sign, I grabbed that from Theresa Momber's, "Happy Camper" set. For us... FAMILY is how we learned to make enchiladas and WHY we make them 60 dozens at a time on occasion (like for wedding receptions, etc)!  In the next box I stamped the chips and dip from Gina K's "My Tailgate or Yours" set.  The serape  I made myself by drawing it onto some bright colored DP and cutting it out. 

Now the FUN part!! I couldn't believe my eyes when I realized the rolled up towels in Rupa Shevde's, "Perfectly Polished" were dead ringers for enchiladas!!!! WooHoo!!! LOL  I simply used marker to stamp and did not color the flower in.  Then I used my Copic Multi-liner pen to complete the lines of the enchiladas! HA!  A bit of shredded paper colored yellow and there you have it... an enchilada WITH cheese!! HA HA

What was even cooler was when I sent a photo of the enchiladas, after I colored them with my Copic markers, to my mom... her comment was... "I had to look twice! I thought they were real!" LOL  LOL

I completed my card with coordinating ribbon and it sure reminded me of a Mexican dish.

Enjoy the hop and what's more... don't forget to go grab your FREE recipe book!!!  *smile*

Postal Anniversary

Being the only person in my office 99% of the time, when someone comes by (yes even the postman... hee hee), I get a chance to talk to another human!! LOL  Such is the case with EVERY postal worker we've had on our route.  I've become good friends with quite a few of them and actually, since my husband works for a mail contract carrier, we even talk "shop". LOL

The mailman I have now is a  younger guy who is always showing me pics of his family. He's quite funny and one day told me his anniversary was coming soon.  Soooo... you KNOW I couldn't resist offering a card!  He decided it would be a good idea since (like a lot of men) he rarely picked up a card for his wife.  Ha!  Never fear... I was on the job!

I used Rupa Shevde's, "With this Ring" for the bouquet.  I colored it in with my Copic markers and mounted it to an oval Nestabilitie then again onto a scalloped oval Nestabilitie.  I embossed the top half of the card with my Swiss Dot Cuttlebug folder and added DP to the lower half.  I added the ribbon, which I couldn't believe match the Pure Luxury Base Weight Ocean Mist card stock to the front and below it added a strip of lace.

I used the Fancy Tags Nestabilitie to stamp my sentiment from Melanie Muenchinger's, "Hand in Hand" set then sponged on Memento Lulu Lavendar Ink.

On the inside I simply stamped my sentiment from the "Thanks a Million Stamp Set" and added "Happy Anniversary" also from Rupa's "With this Ring" set.  I used the Vivid Dye Ink Aqua which matches the Ocean Mist paper wonderfully to stamp the rings behind the sentiment.

My mailman was very pleased with the card and as luck would have it... their weddings colors included lavendar!!!  He thought the card was perfect and decided he had to show it to his mom before their anniversary because he was so proud he had gotten one for his wife this year.  LOL

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Pippi Longstockings!!

It's Color Challenge Time!!!

So if you saw my card yesterday for the "Happy Spring Blog Hop", you will recognize the colors! I just LOVED this combination when I put that card together for the hop that I couldn't wait to use them again.  So.. here we are... new colors... new BRIGHT colors!!! WooHoo!!!  ROYAL BLUE, RED and YELLOW!!

My card started with Melanie Muenchinger's, "Mosaic Inspiration".  I paper pieced a few of the square and then used Melanie's, "A Beautiful Life" for the tulips.  I cut them out and applied them to the Mosaic stamp.  Then came Theresa Momber's, "Sending Sunshine" in which I used just the large daffodils.  Again, coloring them with my Copic markers then cutting out and applying.

My pearls are the self-adhesive WHITE pearls from Gina K Designs.  I never buy anything but white.  Then I can use my Copic markers to color them and make them match most anything!!!  I do this with my clear rhinestones as well.  Such a money saver!

zI decided to show the inside again on this color challenge due to the chat room once having a question as to how everyone did the insides of their cards if it had a dark card base.  Well... I always do the inside and so adhering a piece to compliment the front of the card in a lighter color always seems to work best for me.

I hope you take time to come play along over on StampTV.  Just go to Challenges, Current Challenges and the Monday, Color Challenge. Also, be sure to check out the gallery by typing STVCCTG7 in the search bar and grabbing inspiration from all those who have entered this color challenge. 

Have a great day and get stampin! *smile*

Happy Spring Blog Hop

Several designers are joining together to share even more samples for the Happy Spring stamp set.

My card was designed thinking of my Aunt's house.  She has this beautiful red water pump out in the front and it has become sort of a landmark as she describes how to get to her house.  She has had it ever since I can remember.  I also used the butterfly from Melanie Muenchinger's, "A Beautiful Life" to accent my card with yellow.

I colored my image with my Copic markers and added just a bit of Red Gel Pen to the pump to give it a bit of a shine (kinda hard to ell in this pic).  I used the Paisely Cuttlebug embossing folder and also used a Nestie to outline around the pump using a royal blue gel pen.  As always, I used white pearls and added the color from my Copics to match my card colors.

Please visit the following blogs for their projects:

• Jessica Fick
• Colleen Schaan
• Suzanne Dean
• Carolina Buchting
• Jennie Harper
• Karen Knegten 
• Selma Stevenson
• Shannon Bracken
• Sharri Seffens
• Tina Gilliland (you're here)

The free card kit will be available with every purchase of the Happy Spring stamp set until Thursday, April 22nd at 10pm when the new card kit stamp set is released!  Be sure to take advantage of the freebie while it's available!

Also, remember to enter your project for GinaK's Illustrator Challenge by Monday April 12th at 8pm!  We can't wait to see who the next Guest designer will be for April's release!

Come back tomorrow night to see the new colors for this week's Color Challenge over on Stamp TV!!!

Mirror Mirror... a Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes...

Have you stopped over at Gina K's blog???  Gina has posted a challenge for you to create a card that is inspired by a favorite book you remembered from your childhood.  The winner of this challenge will be joining the Gina K Design Team during the next month and receive ALL of the new stamps being released during that month!!! How awesome is that??!!!

The requirements are:

• Challenge: Choose your favorite children's book and make a project inspired by the book. Include a photo of book along with why you chose it and how it inspired your project.
• Requirement: use any of our March Release stamp sets: Friends, A Beautiful Life, By Your Side, Fairy Tales, Happy Spring, Nana's Needlework, Nana's Needlework Sentiments, Sending Sunshine, Spring Mix, Spring Has Sprung
• Post: Post your card here in the gallery at StampTV using the keyword-APRILBOOK (Since my blog is not working tonight, we will not be using a Mister Linky.) Please put you blog link in your photo notes so we can read all about why you chose that book.
• Deadline: Monday, April 12th at 8 pm central time
• Prize: The winner will become our CenterStage Spotlight Designer for April (the winner will receive the entire April release!, participate in our previews, release party and next month's DT search challenge!)

I have made two cards for this challenge.  My first card was created based on none other than Snow White.  "Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all??"  SNOW WHITE, of course!!!!  Hee Hee

I remember wishing I had a magical mirror that could talk back to me and tell me the answers to all my questions.  Of course, mine wouldn't have been used for evil!! Just to tell ME I was beautiful was all I needed! LOL

I used the Stamp TV Kit, "Spring Mix" for my oval/mirror.  I cut it out with my oval Nestabilitie and added a piece of Gina K's Pure Luxury Metallic Cardstock, Silver Lining, as the center "mirror" piece. 

Next I stamped the crown from Tami Mayberry's, "Fairy Tales".  I colored it with my Copic markers and my Sakura Glitter pens and adhered it to the top of the mirror.  My sentiment is also from Tami's set and I simply stamped it so that it would fit into the oval. And of course.. EVERY girl wanted a magic wand so I HAD to add that to my card. *smile*

Next...ohhhh the dress... and the wonderful glass slippers.  *sigh*  Cinderella will probably always be first in my heart and my memory as a child.  And now... she is indeed a memory of my adulthood.  My husband and I were married in what I like to call... a "Cinderella Wedding Ceremony".  My colors were light blue, white and everything crystal.  My Prince wore white and I, a light blue gown with many many glass beads and lace and a tiara to boot!  We had little glass (acrylic) shoes on every table with scrolled thank you notes wrapped in blue satin ribbon printed on an image of Cinderella's castle in the background.  And yes... I wore glass (acrylic) pumps, just like Cinderella. Our wedding cake held a beautiful music box which had the Prince and Cinderella dancing on top.  My mother created a gorgeous white satin box covered with lace and holding the truly fabulous glittered white horses and pumpkin coach on top as our gift card box. *smile*  It was indeed a magical day for us.

Do you remember the version of Cinderella on TV that stared Lesley Ann Warren?? OMGosh... I thought she was the PERFECT Cinderella.  It took me many many years to find that movie and I did!!  To me it was the BEST Cinderella ever because it had REAL people in it and not just animated figures.  I believe it was recorded back in the 60's.  Anyway... if you ever get  chance... you MUST see it!!  I think it hit home to me because Cinderella was always a blonde; but in the movie with Lesley Ann Warren, she had brown hair... just like mine. *smile*

My card reflects that wonderful blue dress that was made by all of Cinderella's adorable critters (though I noticed if you search around... lots of images show the dress in pink as well.  I prefer to remember the blue. *smile*). I used Rupa Shevde's, "Retro Boutique" for my dress. I especially loved the birds tying the satin bow in the back and the cute bird from the Stamp TV, Spring Mix, set reminds me so much of them.  I used my Reverse Image Stamp to create the same bird on the other side of the dress.

I propped the birds up to add depth to the image and to allow for the flowing of the satin ribbon around the dress.  And my adorable "mouse" (also from the Stamp TV, Spring Mix set, holding the "wish".  And of course, those beautiful glass slippers from Tami Mayberry's, "Fairy Tales", waiting to be stepped into by only the right size feet.  I stamped them in Memento Summer Sky then covered them in a layer of Sakura Stardust Pure Glitter Pen. Perfect for the glass image! *smile*

Gina's challenge has certainly made this a day of smiles and memories for me and I am ever so glad to be given such awesome inspiration. 

I hope you take a trip back in time and remember what your favorite story book was and create something for this awesome challenge.  I bet you will be smiling just like I did all the while making it.  Have fun and enjoy the challenge.

So many are already popping up on the Stamp TV Gallery... go see! You'll find so much inspiration!!