Inspiration Challenge - Skating Costumes

I've been watching the Olympic skating events over the last 15 days and have enjoyed them even though they are airing very late here on the east coast.  Today's Inspiration Challenge on Splitcoast was to be inspired by the skating costumes.  Here's the costume I chose.....

And here's my card......

The card base is Whisper White with a diagonal panel of Summer Sun that I sponged Regal Rose onto.  The sizzlit scribbles were punched fromn Regal Rose and the sparkle sizzlet from Summer Sun.  I added a 1/2" circle of Regal Rose to the center of the sparkle and a sticky jewel over that.  The white was a bit plain so I added some punched splats in Whisper White.  The sentiment is from SU's set - Best Yet.

What do you think?  Got a favorite costume?

Splitcoast VSN Olympics

They're holding a Virtual Stamping Night Olympics over at Splitcoast this weekend and I thought I'd participate in a few of the events.

The first was a sketch challenge which I may get back to.

The second was to be inspired by the Hudson Bay sweater that is the official olympic sweater for the Vancouver Olympics. 

The next challenge would be right up HWNSNBP's alley as it refers to Curling - something he's now mentioning that he would be interested in learning (when pig's fly, I think!).  We were to use the Marble Technique.  For anyone unfamiliar with this technique, it involves a container, reinkers, and marbles.  You take a flat plastic container that has a lid and drop some ink into it.  Add some marbles, close the lid and roll them around in the ink.  Then open carefully, put your paper down on the bottom, close the lid and roll again.  You get a pretty cool background this way.  Here's my card.......

Challenge D was called Snow Blind and required a white card with a little color.  I've about had it with winter so I had virtual target practice with some paper snowballs......

Up close you'll see the punched snowball splats that I tried to obliterate the word WINTER with and some paper snowballs in the lower corner.

The last challenge for the evening yesterday was to use snow and sky as your inspiration - a blue and white theme..........

I'm thinking of sending this one to myself!

I'm off to see what else I can participate in today.  Let me know if you have any questions about any of the ingredients or how to's for these.

See you later!

Thursday's Throw Aways and a Free 4 All

I hadn't gotten to my Thursday Throw Away yet and saw the new Free 4 All Challenge on Splitcoast today so I decided to combine the two. 

The throw away I used this week is a thin piece of packing material.  I think it came wrapped around something delicate...........

The challenge requirements were to make a card with textures, patterns, and a color that you don't usually use. 

I used the Floral Fusion Sizzlit to punch out some flowers from this textural material that I joined with yellow brads in the center.  Then I took a piece of Glorious Green CS and ran that through the Big Shot using the Dots folder.  I punched out little hearts and glued four at a time to a 1/2" circle to make shamrocks.

The pot was made with the cupcakes sizzlit out of Creamy Caramel CS and I used a dauber to age it with Bravo Burgundy and Handsome Hunter ink.  The leaves are punched from the Little Leaves sizzlit out of Gable Green and daubered with Glorious Green Ink. 

For the background I took a piece of Confetti Cream CS and embossed it with the diamonds folder.  Then I got out my watercolor crayons and added some Glorious Green to the diamonds to punch it up a little.  The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes and is stamped in Close to Cocoa and punched out with the small oval punch.  I daubered the edge of that with Glorious Green.  The ribbon was a leftover from a Christmas gift that I just gathered up and sewed the button to. 

To add just a little more texture (as if there weren't enough already!) I crinkled up some Creamy Caramel CS and then ran it over an inkpad of the same color to highlight some of the wrinkles.  This was added to the corners. 

I've used green in cards before but not to this degree - so that would be my other requirement fulfilled.

Bluebirds on a Bleak Day

Yesterday, in a dogwood tree outside our office window the bluebirds, there were several of them,  gathered to check the tree for berries and the newly unsnowcovered ground for insects.  This is grainy because it was shot through the window and screen.  I hope they come back today!

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The snowshoe rabbit, a great white owl, an arctic fox or polar bear all blend into their surroundings making them almost impossible to see against the stark whiteness of the snow.  Look carefully.  You will also see the tender blossoms of the Chrysalis plant designed by nature to provide a winter home for the very colorful and elusive Aurora Borealis butterfly. 

The plant itself is striking in it's beauty.  Silver stems support delicate pearl white petals with centers of gold.  The butterflies remain protected inside the closed flower until they are touched by a breath of spring.  The pods open and tiny little butterflies emerge.  When this happens en masse the bobbing and weaving of these colorful creatures ripples across the sky giving the appearance of the Aurora Borealis.  This is how they got their name. 

We are lucky today to be traveling to a teaparty where these magical flowers can be found.  To read all about it, please visit the Teapot Tuesday challenge or Cindy's glob for all the details. 

Our card was to have a white background today to reflect the inspiration teapot.  I embossed my white panel and then highlighted the flowers and stems with my Shimmer paints.  The butterflies were made using the new Butterfly embosslits die.  The corner punched with the new scallop corner punch and the rainbow ribbon wrapped in gold were the final touches.

Please visit the Teapot Gallery to see all the wonderful cards from this week. 

Birds on a Wire

The Limited Supply Challenge today was to use a border punch and ribbon.  No other embellishments.  I've been dying to use my new MS Birds on a Wire punch and finally matched it up with the little bird from Picnic Parade.

Of course you knew I had to make it a bluebird. The bird was stamped in Basic Gray and was colored with ink pads and my blender pen.   I used a scallop circle and scallop oval and a sponge to create the cloudy sky.  I cut one of the birds off the wire because I wanted the colored bird to look like he had just left to fly away.  The white and blue taffeta ribbons complete the requirements for the challenge. 

Thursday's Throw Aways

Ahhhh, Valentine's Day can provide some pretty nifty items to repurpose.  Of course there are candy boxes and such, but I was given something else and I knew exactly what I wanted to try with it.  One of the teachers I work with gave me this piece of fabric that was wrapped around the bouquet of flowers she got for Valentine's Day.  The hearts are metallic gold.

I used my Scallop Circle Die to punch out 10 large and 10 small scallop circles.

Then I cut eight scallops off the large ones and four scallops off the small ones.

Next I used a needle and thread to sew a running stitch along the straight edge of each scallop. 

First I stitched all 10 large ones and tied that off. And then I did the same for the smaller ones.

Then I gathered a corduroy brad, a circle of stiff felt (I punched this out with a 1 3/8" circle punch and made a whole in the center), and a pin backing.

I sewed the pin backing to the felt making sure to keep the center hole free.

Once that was done I took the brad and inserted it through the rings that were created with the scallops and then through the felt circle making sure the brad came out the center hole of the pin back. 

Turn it over and you have a cute pin or package topper. 

(This was not my creation.  I expanded on a ponytail holder designed by someone for Stampin' Up.)

For something that was going to end up in the garbage can I think I've managed to make it pretty one more time. 

I'll be trying this with cotton fabric very soon.  Stay tuned!

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It's Fat Tuesday!    A truly fat Tuesday when you take into consideration that the Valentine parties at school were postponed until today because of the snow days and holidays.  It's so hard to always say no to the sweets - so I didn't.  See what I mean about Fat Tuesday! 

Getting back to Teapot Tuesday - Cindy provided us with another great story and a really cute Mardi Gras teapot.  How fitting for today...........

This brought back some memories for me even more memorable this week as it is my son's birthday on Friday.  When he was in 8th grade the theme for the dinner dance was "Mardi Gras" and I designed the table centerpieces.  They were pretty cool and consisted of masks - the kind on sticks - in an over-turned top hat with green and gold and purple "grass".   The kicker was that the kids had taken them apart to "play" with the masks within the first 30 mins of the dance.  The ladies who were working there that night (you weren't allowed to be at the dance if you had an 8th grader) managed to put aside a centerpiece for us and believe it or not, I still have those masks.  Here is a picture of the card I made with the masks.........

Go figure that 14 years later I would still have them and the bag of feathers stashed away.  What I couldn't find this afternoon was my gold ink pad.  You stampers out there, do you have days like that?  Last week I couldn't find the stamp I wanted to use and this week it was an ink pad!  Well, in the absence of gold ink, I went with gold embossing powder.  In my search I came across a little fleur de lis punch which I also embossed and added to the motif from Carte Postale to make the handle.........

I had this card in my head all day and if I hadn't spent so much time looking for that darn ink pad I would have gotten it done a lot sooner.  It seems I'm always so late posting these! 

I used two background stamps for this - En Francais in black on YoYo Yellow and Print Pattern in Glorious Green on Whisper White cs.  The fleur de lis comes from Carte Postale and it was first embossed in gold on Rich Razzleberry and then I embossed the whole piece in clear several times.  That square is backed with metallic gold cs. 

I think this will be Chris' birthday card on Friday and I might just ask for it back cause I really like the way it came out.  Let's see if he gets the connection! 

Okay, please check out the other challenge cards in the gallery this week and make sure to check out Cindy's glob to see her wonderful creation.  You won't want to miss it!

Some Final Valentine's

This is what I woke up to on Valentine's Day.  This wonderful Heart Tart.  It's custard in the middle with all that gorgeous fruit on it!  Yum!  This came along with a very nice little package from Vera Bradley - a cute little tech case for either my phone or my camera.  He's the best!

And this is something I was working on during those snow days.  I had borrowed the Bigz Tree Die from my upline Debbie and came up with this. 

First the outside...........

Then the inside..........

I got the idea from Karen Burniston's blog (I'll be back with the link later).  She had a beautiful tree that was actually all hearts.  Well, I tried that and it didn't look half as great after I got done folding those larger hearts to put them through the slots.  So I took my heart punches, punched out the smallest hearts in shades of pink and ran them through the Xyron to make them into stickers (so much easier than gluing all those individually!). 

The medallion stamp is centered on the cardstock and I surrounded the tree with more hearts I had previously cut from I {Heart} Hearts.  The sentiment inside is from Teeny Tiny Wishes and on the front from (? forgive me, I'm trying to get this posted before work and I've forgotten the name).

HWNSNBP liked this tree a lot more than the other.  What do you think?

Just Had to Share

Today is a holiday here - President's Day - for those that work in education for the most part.  It's one of those optional days, but HWNSNBP has it off so we're fitting in as many "fun" errands as we can today. 

I hope to be back later today with some challenges but I had to share this first thing.  What a sight to see at 8:25 this morning..........

Isn't he beautiful!  (click on the picture to see it closer)  It's taken from the house and about 100' away and I zoomed in as much as possible without having it become too grainy.  There was actually another one in the box and had I not been so upset that he flew away I would have been able to snap a pic of the second one leaving the box.  Don't know if it the one inside was male or female, but I have to say that I've never seen bluebirds and snow at the same time.  What a treat.

Okay, now on to IKEA!

Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine Bookmarks

I couldn't believe that I hadn't inked up this new Valentine stamp set - Love Bandit.  Here's a little bookmark project. 

I used the Two Tags die to punch out the bookmark base in Tempting Turquoise.  Then I stamped the images from Love Bandit on Whisper White cs, colored them with markers and blender pen and cut them out.  I punched a Pretty in Pink heart and stamped the sentiment in Rose Red ink as you see it using the Stamp-a-ma-jig.  All were adhered to the base.  Lastly, I used the Crop-a-dile to punch a hole in the top and added the Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon.  (The heart in the picture is pierced.)

Thursday's Throw Aways - February 10

I've accumulated these pretty appointment cards over the course of the last year.  They're from my oncologist's office. 

They really pay attention to detail there.  They took my picture at my first appointment and it's in my file.  Now when I walk in, they refer to me by name even before I tell them who I am.  Strangely, it makes me feel a little more relaxed. 

Then there's the examining table.  They're not the usual stark white paper covered tables.  The paper is printed and the drape is a beautiful shade of pink.  (Don't worry, I'm not reusing this, I just took a picture of it!)

In addition to some lovely art prints on the walls, there is a mobile hanging over each table - gives you something to focus on when looking up. 

Basically, in a place that can cause a lot of tension, the attention to detail really helps allay it. 

So today I'll share a couple of projects with you.  My Thursday Throw Away is a set of notecards made from the appointment cards............

I trimmed off the writing from the top and mounted them on a piece of watercolor paper to add some texture.  The kraft ribbon was first tied around the watercolor paper.  Then I added those pieces to some Kraft cardstock to complete the cards. 

The second project is a card that I made for the staff in the doctor's office.  After my surgery last year I had been visiting the office quite regularly at first and around Valentine's Day I shared with them some of my homemade cinnamon and vanilla marshmallows.  I got kudos on the marshmallows so when I was there a couple of weeks ago for an exam I asked if they wanted some this year.  I got a resounding "yes!" 

During the snowstorm last Saturday I made the marshmallows and packaged them up earlier this week and go them in the mail.  This is the card that went with it..........

I love the way this came out.  I almost didn't want to send it but I know I can make another one if necessary.  I used the I {Heart} Hearts set as well as Vintage Vogue.  The new scalloped border and corner punches make the pink layer and the white is embosed with the Perfect Polka Dots folder.  Some of the hearts and flowers are popped up on dimensionals. 

So now I'm hoping that the snowstorm we got yesterday will not delay the package.  I had it labeled perishable and have always had good luck when I send something that is perishable.  I just don't know how the marshmallows will hold up in near freezing temperatures.  I guess I'll find out at my next appointment in May.

Teapot Tuesday 80

I can't figure out whether I've been working in slow motion these last couple of days or if I've just had that many interruptions.  Maybe it's a bit of both.  Today was no exception.

But let me get on with it.  This week our lovely hostess Cindy gave us this little beauty as our inspiration along with a very long story that I think had about 42,000 words in it.

This teapot reminded me of my sister.  I remember that she had made a beautiful iris stained glass piece and she had a plethora of cats.  Maybe that's another reason why I took my time with this one. 

I couldn't find my one and only iris stamp (which happens to be a stained glass window - go figure) but I did find the bag of stamps that my mother brought to me just before Christmas that they found in amongst my sister's things.  Almost all of them were cat stamps.  So I decided to put something together like this........

The flower is a retired SU stamp called From the Garden and the cat face is by PSX.  I used a mask to get the cat face into the center of the flower - in between four unexpected phone calls.  I stamped this Basic Gray ink on watercolor paper and used my watercolor crayons to color it - in between a quick errand to pick something up.  If you're wondering how this fits into the story let me say that Belassiz is hiding in the flowers to keep an eye on Bodacious and his decorating escapade. 

Ahh, but I didn't mention that I wasn't too sure about how this was going to come out, so I started another one.  You know when you are looking to make some decorating changes and you don't have a lot in the lines of cash flow.  Adding a few floral pieces here and there will brighten things up.  In my pursuit of the iris stamp I came across a stamp I had picked up in a clearance sale somewhere some time ago. 

The stamp is called Spring Wreath and it's by Rubber Stampede.  I stamped it in Basic Gray on watercolor paper and again used my watercolor crayons and an aquapainter to color it.  I backed the image with a Pretty in Pink panel punched with the Pinked Hearts border and corner punches.  Then I mounted that on a Lavendar Lace care base. 

The ribbons from both cards came from my ribbon stash.  It's been snowing here all day so the bright colors in these cards are just what I needed.  How about you?

Twenty Years and Cabin Fever

My daughter is a teacher in Delaware and they have been out of school due to the snow all week.  Needless to say, she's getting a touch of Cabin Fever.  The highlight of the day - shoveling out your car dressed as a fairy..................

And here's a blast from the past................

and today..............

Don't you love it!!!!   I do!

And check out this link http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPublicPhotoGallery&plckGalleryID=68e67165-7f45-47f6-b356-3d38f012bdc7 - pictures 35, 36 and 38.  ETA:  apparently the numbers change - you'll have to search her out.  There are three photos.