Need a Raise?

I don't know about you, but my chances are better getting a raise in a hot air balloon than they are on my paycheck! LOL I think this balloon from Gina K's Eclectic Summer is so versatile. I've seen so many cards done with it. People have stamped them, colored them, paper pieced them and they are all just amazing!! You need to go check some out over on StampTV. I took mine and colored it and popped it up with Pop Dots onto a scalloped oval. I popped each layer of my ovals up and even popped it up on the base card. I wanted it to look like it was floating off my card. The paper I used was from Gina's Eclectic Summer kit as well. It sorta reminded me of layers of clouds but not the normal poofy white ones so I used it to stamp my greeting. The base card is done on Gina's newest COLOR Pure Luxury Heavy Base Weight paper. I LOVE using this paper...it makes your cards feel so "top grade". Gina has other colors as well you will want to try and check out over at her store. Have a great day!

Olivia's Ooomph!

How very cute is Olivia?? I just loved her from the moment I saw Melanie put her in HIGH HEELS!!! HA!! There isn't anything this girl can't do! I KNEW she'd make a great cheerleader as well. Pom poms in ummm feathers(?), she could make any team proud as their mascot! This was her audition... she danced to "Shake your Grove Thing (ya ya)" Hee Hee! Olivia is from Melanie's "Jumping for Joy" set and her pom poms are a true asset to her abilities from "Sporty Accessories". Now... please raise your numbers for Olivia... the cheering Ostrich! I give her a perfect "10" !!! If you'd like to "hire" Olivia... she can be found at Gina K Designs. Just throw her in your basket... she rides well. *wink*

I'm a Real Fan!!!

I am, you know??? A HUGE fan of Melanie Muenchinger's stamps!! So why not... a FAN from a fan!! Today I will share my latest "Sporty Accessories" project with notes on how I made it. I do plan to give this to my Aunt as a small gift... just because. SHE is a huge FAN of the Iowa Cubs (we are home to the farm team of the Chicago Cubs)' I've NEVER known her to miss a single game. My father buys season box seats to the games and every year we give them to whomever wants to go or/and if no one uses them, my Aunt gets them with a front gate/stadium parking pass. Most times she gets at least one of the seats because no one is as crazy about going as she is in cold, rain OR heat! I hope this helps to chase away a bit of that heat during those really hot games because I KNOW she will be there. I started with THREE pieces of Gina K Pure Luxury Base Weight white card stock. On the first side I sponged some clouds using a scalloped circle. THIS took probably the longest and was the worse part. About 4/5 of the way down I stopped and used my stipple brush to add some green in soft strokes upwards to resemble a bit of grass below. Next... I stamped the gloves in black using Memento ink and then colored them in with my Copics. Since the sky is a light blue, I didn't worry about it showing thru my Copic color since I was blending and adding a bit of oranges and tans along with the browns. I used the bats to go up the side and stamped in the same method as the gloves. On the flip side, I stenciled a big "C" on each sheet and sponged in the red. I then used a circle cutter shape I had from my old Creative Memories cutting pieces and went around each "C" using my blue Copic marker. Then I filled in around each "C" with the megaphones and baseballs. Again... on each outside sheet I stamped the bats and colored in with Copics. I took each sheet and used my Scor-Pal to score every TWO inches across the sheet. THEN.... flipped the sheet over and scored again.. every two inches. By flipping the sheet, you will get a score every inch across the sheet and with the opposite fold lines so that when you accordion the sheet it folds much easier and in the direction needed. Remember to match the next sheet up with the proper fold you need for the next fold in your accordion. BEFORE folding the accordion, I laminated each sheet separately with self-sealing sheets I got at Office Max. I used the repositional sheets because after 8 hours (or something like that) they become permanent. I used Scor-Tape to glue one panel to the next sheet, overlapping a one inch panel over the other sheet's one inch panel. If you go slow and make sure you place your fingers along the crease, it will fold correctly. Hold it down and press hard as you make each fold. This makes for a very sturdy fan and hopefully it will last at least one whole season. LOL I used my Crop-a-Dile to punch a hole every three or four folds.. just big enough for a clasp ring to fit through them all. Since this was for my Aunt... I decided to go pretty basic on the "dangles" from the ring. I just added a few wooden baseball buttons on some hemp and braided it. A more girly type fan I would probably add some ribbons and frilly items hanging from them. Since I wanted my Aunt to be able to carry this in her purse to the games, I needed to bind it somehow at the top so it was more compact. I added a simple brad and before sticking it thru the hole, I threaded a small wooden bat button on some silver stretchy cording from SU and tied it in a knot then stuck the brad thru and made sure when I opened it I put the cording around each bent end. Now when closed she can wrap it around the end and it helps to keep it more compact. Here are a few close ups of the stamped areas. Make sense? LOL I'm not sure I do well with "written" instructions but if you have any questions, please feel free to write me. If you make a fan... please be sure to let me know... I'd love to see it. Or... post it on StampTV so we can all see your wonderful one-of-a-kind creation.

Hop on over to Melanie's Blog to see another 3D item I created using her "Sporty Accessories" set!! Have a COOL day! *snort*

Caring.... for a Man

Today I wanted to share the card I made for my father-in-law who recently lost his sister. I always seem to use "earthy" tones when it comes to making a card for a man and this was no exception. You all know how much I love the seahorse stamp in Gina K's Eclectic Summer set so it should come as no surprise I chose him again when making this card. My kids found my tiny box of seashells that I had bought some time ago and I thought they were perfect to compliment this card. Jake, my father-in-law, loves fishing, hunting, walking and just being outside so I knew he'd like anything dealing with water, sea life. He's also a very content and happy person and I just thought the relaxing look of the seahorse and seashells would fit him perfectly. He never seems to ask for much and honestly.. I don't know that I've ever felt more than respected and loved by a nicer person. I, in turn, feel very happy and lucky that HE is my father-in-law. I am blessed by having him in my life. He has the greatest smile and little chuckle of a laugh that just makes MY heart smile. I hope he knew how sorry I was for his loss and that I care very deeply for him as well. He's been going through a lot and I pray God will watch over him and keep him smiling for a long long time.

Have a Bright Summer!!

Today I wanted to share something to BRIGHTEN your day!!

I LOVE the papers that came in my StampTV kit this month and one of my very favorites, because I AM such a colors person, is the rainbow pin striped design! Seems all weekend long all I heard from my daughter was... "Mom... can we get some sherbet!.. Mom.. can we get some Jelly Bellys." Well once she got her sherbet, I remembered Gina K's new "Free with Three" stamp set "Lazy Days of Summer" and the yummy little bowl of ice cream in that set. OF COURSE Emily had to have ALL three flavors of sherbet so I sat down and using my Copic markers, made them as bright as I could.

I decided to border the edges a bit with my metallic bling "drops" and thought it sorta reminded me of those lighted billboards you see with all the little bulbs flashing around to draw your attention.

I used my Sakura Gel Pen to color the bowl and spoon making it a bit shiny and slightly raised. When I finished the card and took it upstairs, Emily shrieked.. "HEY! That looks just like the ice cream I had today!" LOL I was hoping! LOL

My husband is a HUGE ice cream fan as well and a couple years back we decided to start a new family tradition. Once a month, during the summer, we all go out for ice cream... for DINNER!!! That is by far, my kids' favorite dinner all summer long... even better than FFY night (fend for yourself!). LOL A busy mom needs some breaks too, right?

Oh, and.. Emily didn't get her Jelly Belly's, but... summer isn't over yet! Hope your start of summer is turning out bright and cheery.

Not So Steel Magnolias!

Today I wanted to share with you some of the cutest little images I've seen in awhile. These little Magnolia stamps are just as sweet as can be! My good buddy, Jessica Fick, hooked me up finding these darling little dolls and I just loved getting my hands on these and coloring away. There are so many ways you could mount this stamp. I used a stack of books which also came from the Magnolia stamp line but how cute she would be perched in front of a house, on a rock next to a tree, or even on a crescent moon?? The possibilities are endless. I wanted to send this to a friend who LOVES to read so I used the books. I also wanted to use the new lined vellum I got from the Paper Temptress. I thought a soft background would look nice behind her and this seemed to do that along with somewhat add a bit of a feminine look. My background paper is from Gina K's digital paper pack called Springtime In Paris. I just love all the purples and blues in that pack. Remember, Gina offers FREE digital paper over on StampTV. You can't beat that for a bargain (no bags needed)!! While I am becoming a die-hard Gina K Designs fan, this little image was a fun card to make. Enjoy your day and smile simply because you're loved. *hugs*