Happy New Year

Happy New Year!  Instead of sharing a handmade card today, I'm sharing the photo card I sent out to family and friends (along with the handmade card I shared on Christmas day) featuring my dynamic doodle duo in their Halloween finery.  Bo (Superman) is a four year old mini goldendoodle and Chloe (Wonder Woman) is an almost nine year old standard sized goldendoodle.  They're quite the pair--opposites in many ways--and their adventures keep me on my toes.  I'm sure this year will be no different!

Season's Givings Blog Hop Winner!

***  Scroll down to the post below or click HERE to see my card for this week's TCP Tuesday challenge!   ***

Thanks to all of you who stopped by Inking Aloud for this year's Season's Giving Blog Hop!  I really enjoyed reading about all of the crafty things you'd like to try out this year--and I have to admit that I have some of the same plans and ideas for this year, too. I hope you'll keep up with my crafty adventures here or on Facebook or Instagram.

I used Random.org to pick a winner for my prize package. The number chosen was 68, which is Brandi lynn.  Brandi lynn, please send me an email (ltecler@verizon.net) to claim your prize!

During the hop, I had a few people ask about my goldendoodle, Chloe the cutie puppy, so I thought I'd wrap up my post with a new year's greeting from my sweet (almost 6 years old!) girly.  I don't share too much about her here anymore, but Chloe and her shenanigans frequently appear in my Instagram feed.  Thanks again to everyone for stopping by--and happy new year!

Pop, Fizz, Clink

This week's blogger challenge theme is "celebrations."  With New Year's Eve fast approaching, I thought it would be appropriate to put together a card to mark the occasion.  I went with a classic color combination and lots of sparkle on this one!

I'm thrilled I was actually able to pull a card together given the current state of my stamping space.  I've been working on reorganizing it since Monday and the reorganization has included moving pretty much everything out so I could take out old furniture and put in new pieces.  It's been lots of work, but it's finally starting to take shape.  I'm making one last trip to Ikea tomorrow and then I should be ready to get everything back in place.  When I sat down to make this card, I used my new table and overhead lamp for the first time (very nice!) and was actually able to find everything I wanted to use easily, even though some of it is still not back in the room.

I used a pair of glasses as my focal image.  They're die cut with one of the By the Glass dies from Clear and Simple Stamps and stamped with the matching glass outline and solid liquid images.  I used foam tape to adhere the glasses to a gold tag die cut from some glitter paper.  To hide the hole at the top of the tag, I used a black bow made with one of the Bow Trio Mini dies.   I set the tag on a white panel, then added the fun new year sentiment from the New Year Cheer set.  It's heat embossed in gold for a nice pop against the black Favor Flag die cut piece.

Materials Used:
New Year Cheer and By the Glass stamp sets, Perfect Little Black Dress ink, Perfect Little Black Dress, and A Blanc Check cardstock, By the Glass, Favor Flags, Tags 1, and Bow Trio Mini dies, Simple Adhesive (Clear and Simple Stamps); gold glitter cardstock (Michaels); Diamond Stickles (Ranger); foam tape

Wrapped in Peace, Hope, and Love

Happy holidays to all who are celebrating today!  Here's the simple card I sent out to family and friends this year using a lovely holiday sentiment from Clear and Simple Stamps.  Some lucky people even got a special photo of Chloe the cutie puppy, too . . .

I'm not celebrating today, but I am hard at work reorganizing my stamp room.  I got some new furniture at Ikea and I managed to get it into my house and put it together and in place all by myself, with a few big bruises to show for it!  Now that the furniture is together, I need to find places for everything I displaced while putting in the new stuff.  That's going to be a big job!

Materials Used:
All Wrapped Up stamp set, Dare to Be a Diva Red ink, Kraft Like a Rockstar cardstock, Holiday Divine Twine (Clear and Simple Stamps); red and white cardstock, patterned papers (Michaels); square punch (EK Success); foam tape

Winter Greetings

It’s been pretty wintery around here the last few days with rounds of snow and freezing rain and more expected today, so this snow themed design with its coordinating sentiment seems pretty appropriate right about now!

The card is based on the current Deconstructed Sketch. The focal panel is made by die cutting a large snowflake from a red stitched circle die cut piece, then filling in the negative space with a matching shiny silver snowflake die cut. It really shows off the pretty flake! And, the stitched details on the Lil' Inker Designs dies really add interest, too.  I added a clear crystal to the center for more sparkle.

I matted the panel on a silver circle, then adhered it to a green cardstock strip. The strip and flake panel are attached to a gray card base on top of a piece of snowflake patterned paper that coordinates with the shades of red, green, and gray cardstock I used for the rest of the card. I stamped the “winter greetings” sentiment from the Winter Greetings set, also from Lil' Inker Designs, directly on the patterned paper, using a black pigment ink so the words would stand out nicely against the pattern.

And, while we're on the subject of snow, here's a little look at my goldendoodle, Chloe the cutie puppy.  She must be one of the only dogs--and certainly one of the only golden retriever mixes--that's not very fond of snow.  I took this on Sunday when we got our first measurable snow in quite some time.  I'm thinking that maybe her disinterest comes from not being familiar with snow.  There hasn't been much to see since I brought her home almost four years ago!  While she doesn't seem to enjoy the snow, she is quite fond of lying on her dog bed near the window, looking out at the wintery weather.  I have a feeling that's where I'll find her for most of today . . .

Materials Used:
Winter Greetings stamp set, stitched circle and stitched snowflake dies (Lil’ Inker Designs); Memento Luxe Tuxedo Black ink (Tsukineko); Simply Chartreuse cardstock (Papertrey Ink); Real Red cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); Fog cardstock (Avery Elle); Sterling Silver cardstock (Clear and Simple Stamps); North Pole 6x6 paper pad (Doodlebug Designs); clear crystal (Michaels); corner rounder

I Ruff You

As a devoted doggy mommy, I had to have Lawn Fawn’s new Critters at the Dog Park stamp set and matching dies as soon as they came out. None of the dogs in the set look quite like my Chloe the cutie puppy—the cutest goldendoodle in the world!—but they are perfect for making cards for my other dog-crazy friends.

Here’s my first cars using this set, made for the current Lawnscaping clean and simple challenge using this week’s sketch from Clean and Simple Stamping. I made the dog in the play bow stance my focal image here. Chloe does this a lot. Even at three years old, she’s still super energetic and always ready to play. The die cut and stamped image is colored with Spectrum Noir markers in a Chloe-like color scheme.

The dog is adhered over a strip of green cardstock punched with a grass border punch. I set the grass strip across a panel made from a pair of coordinating patterned papers. The set’s “I ruff you” sentiment is stamped on the grass strip in black ink. To finish it off, I added a simple silver heart brad just above the dog.

After all that talk about Chloe the cutie puppy, I couldn’t finish this post without a gratuitous photo of her. Here’s a recent shot of my golden girly in one of her favorite spots. She loves to stretch out across the steps and stick her head through the stair rails.  It doesn't look too comfortable to me, but from the amount of time she spends like this, it must be.

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: Lawn Fawn Critters at the Dog Park stamp set and Critters at the Dog Park dies, Crafter’s Companion Ultrasmooth White cardstock, Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black ink, Spectrum Noir markers (TN1, TN2, TN3, TN5, IG2, IG6), Simple Stories 24/Seven 6x6 paper pad, Sticky Thumb dimensional dots 

other: Sea Glass cardstock (Avery Elle); Blue Bayou and Kiwi Kiss cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); grass border punch (Fiskars); silver heart brad (Michaels)

Joyful Resolutions with Clear and Simple Stamps

Now that Christmas is over, New Year's Eve is the next big celebration ahead.  Today a few members of the Clear and Simple Stamps design team are sharing some ideas for party favors for the big night along with their crafty resolutions for the new year ahead.

I used the Limited Edition:  Joy set to make a topper for an easy to assemble sweet treat.  The treat is a bunch of Hershey's Kisses inside a tall shot glass I found in the dollar section at Target, so everyone can have a kiss--or two--at midnight!

To dress the plain glass up a bit, I wrapped a piece of silver striped decorative tape around the bottom of the glass. The filled glass is tucked inside one of CSS's clear treat bags.

The topper pieces are cut with the Toppers die.  I stamped the red topper with the matching dotted image from the Toppers Fillers set, then stamped the "wishing you joy" from the Limited Edition:  Joy stamp set in red ink on the smaller silver topper.  After layering the two pieces, I adhered them to the clear bag with some of CSS's Simple Adhesive.  For a festive touch, I strung a trio of silver bells on a length of silver cord, then tied the ends into a bow.  The bells are adhered to the topper with a glue dot.

As far as my crafty resolution for the new year, I'd like to try to keep my crafting space a little neater and more organized so I'm not working in a constant state of disaster.  My stamping space is shared with materials that used to live in my kindergarten classroom as as well as the usual stuff you'd have in a regular home office space, like home and financial records.  It's a lot of stuff in not a lot of space, so I need to do a better job of keeping it orderly.  Over the past few weeks, I've been working a lot on cleaning things up and to anyone other than me, it probably doesn't look very different.  I'm going to keep at it and hopefully I can get things under control . . .

For more favor ideas, check out the rest of the CSS designers sharing projects--and resolutions--today.  Here's where to find them:

Dana Grothaus
Lori Tecler--you're here
Elena Roussakis
CSS Blog

Materials Used:
Limited Edition: Joy and Toppers Fillers stamp sets, Haute Red Couture ink, Dare to Be a Diva Red and Sterling Silver cardstock, Toppers Combo dies, clear treat bag, silver cord (Clear and Simple Stamps); silver striped decorative tape, silver bells (Michaels)

Blogger Challenge: Week 285

This week’s blogger challenge theme is “make a scene.” I used a new stamp set from Paper Smooches called Woofers & Tweeters to make a little scene for my focal image.

I stamped two of the set’s dog images on white cardstock and colored them with Copic markers, then cut out the colored images. They’re arranged on a panel with patterned paper grass and sky. The papers are from a Carta Bella paper pad--they're basically lightly distressed solids that are perfect backgrounds for a scene.  I added a little bone with a green twine bow between the two dogs.

The panel is layered on a blue card base with a navy blue and kraft panels to set it off a bit.  I used some green striped twill and a coordinating green button as accents.  The set's "for my best pal" sentiment is stamped underneath the image in blue ink.

I thought it was especially appropriate to post a dog-themed card today since today marks 3 years since I lost my Cosmo the crazy dog.  As much as he was a handful with all of his quirky behaviors and his medical issues, he was a special boy.  As has become our tradition on this day, I'll be leaving work a little early this afternoon so I can take Chloe the cutie puppy to the dog park to play before it gets dark.  Watching her where she's happiest makes me feel a little better about missing him. It's funny how in so many ways, she's his polar opposite--but every once in a while, she does something so Cosmo-like that I have to shake my head.

For more scenic projects, check out the link list below. And, feel free to create your own new project featuring a scene and add it to the list.

Materials Used: 
from i {heart} papers: Paper Smooches Woofers & Tweeters stamp set, X-Press white Copic blending cardstock, Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black and Nautical Blue inks, Copic markers (E23, E25, E31, E33, E35, E41, E42, E43), Carta Bella Traditions 6x6 paper pad, May Arts celery striped twill, Divine Twine Green Apple baker's twine, Sticky Thumb dimensional dots 

other: Soft Sky, Old Olive, and Not Quite Navy cardstock (Stampin' Up!); Kraft cardstock (Papertrey Ink); Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint distress inks (Ranger); green button (Michaels); hemp twine (Hemptique)

Happy Halloween

*** Scroll down to the post below or click HERE to see my post for this week’s Color Throwdown challenge.** 

It’s just about time for the costumed trick-or-treaters to start ringing my doorbell, but I couldn’t resist sharing one last Halloween-themed creation—along with a photo of my very favorite trick-or-treater, Chloe the cutie puppy (at the end of the post). I made this one for this week’s SCS sketch challenge using the Pure Innocence Li’l Pumpkin stamp set from My Favorite Things.

The pumpkin-toting cutie is colored with Copic markers and cut out. I used foam tape to attach her to a cream panel with the “Happy Halloween” sentiment from the Primitive Pumpkins set stamped on it. Once she was in place, I added some Stickles to her barrette and to the little heart on her dress.

I used two different patterned papers from a Bazzill patterned paper collection for the panels on the cardfront. A small dotted pattern covers the cardfront, while a more bold and busy chevron patterned one runs the length of the card. I added an orange scalloped strip to the left edge of the chevron strip, hiding the seam between the two papers with a black and silver striped ribbon. The image panel is set on the cardfront, overlapping the paper and ribbon strips. I added a little knotted piece of the same striped ribbon at the bottom of the panel as a simple embellishment.

And, as promised, here’s my annual photo of Chloe the cutie puppy on Halloween. This year, she’s dressed as a lion. Right now, she’s kind of fluffy and looks like she has a mane even without the costume, so it seemed fitting. While it’s hard to find good costumes for a girl dog who isn’t really “girly,” I had several costumes on standby to choose from (a dinosaur and a pig—and if you know Chloe, you know how appropriate a pig costume would be!), but in the end, the lion won out. She’s “helping” me answer the door and hand out candy. Like Cosmo the crazy dog before her, she loves to see the people at the door. She’d also like to get ahold of some of the candy, but that’s not happening. She snagged half of a sleeve of Fig Newtons at doggy day care last week (sigh . . .), so I think she’s already had her fill of treats for the Halloween season.

Materials Used:
Pure Innocence Li’l Pumpkin and Primitive Pumpkins stamp sets (My Favorite Things); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Memento Tuxedo Black ink (Tsukineko); markers (Copic); Always Artichoke, Pumpkin Pie, and Very Vanilla cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); Kraft cardstock (Papertrey Ink); All Hallows Eve 6x6 paper pad (Bazzill); ribbon (Michaels); Orange Peel Ice Stickles (Ranger); foam tape

Frightful and Delightful

There are still a few more days before Halloween, so I thought I’d squeeze in another Halloween card or two before the big day—and, I promise, I’ll share a photo of Chloe the cutie puppy in her Halloween costume on the big day. We (well, really, me) are still deciding between two super cute different costume options. It’s hard to find a good costume for a girl dog who isn’t really feminine or girly!

Anyway, here’s my Halloween themed card for today. It’s based on this week’s sketch from CASE this Sketch. I used a silver die cut spider web to fill in the open space in the orange gingham strip for a seasonal and spooky look. The gingham strip and web are attached to a gray card base. I stamped the “frightful & delightful” sentiment from Papertrey Ink’s Boo to You stamp set directly on the patterned panel, right beneath the web, in black ink. I was worried the stamping might be lost in the pattern, but it seemed to show up okay. For a final spooky touch, I added a spider button with pearl eyes to the sparkly web.

Materials Used:
Boo to You stamp set, Orange Zest patterned paper, Spider Web die (Papertrey Ink); Memento Tuxedo Black ink (Tsukineko); Basic Gray cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); silver paper (Michaels); spider button (Blumenthal Lansing); self-adhesive pearls (Zva Creative)

A Peek Inside the Michaels 2012 Blogger Event

I mentioned a week or so ago about a trip I took to Dallas, Texas to participate in the 2012 Michaels Blogger Event. Michaels invited 15 bloggers from across the country to take part in this event and we spent three days together, crafting, chatting, and checking out all that Michaels has to offer. Today I’m going to share a bit more about my trip. You’ll want to keep reading through this post—there just might be a thing or two in it for you at the end . . .

Upon arrival in Dallas, we were picked up at baggage claim by someone holding a card with our names on it, then driven to our hotel in a limo. Much different than my usual mode of transportation to and from the airport!

As part of the event, we were able to spend some time crafting with Jo Pearson, creative expert for Michaels and judge on the TLC show Craft Wars. She and her team prepared several fun projects for us, including a jewelry making activity and a mixed media piece. Here’s a photo of the pretty bracelet I created. I had a lot of fun doing this, which kind of surprised me since my prior jewelry making experience—at a local stamp store with soldering involved—kind of convinced me to stick with paper crafting! We also had the chance to hear from Jo about her job at Michaels and about her experiences as a Craft Wars judge. Jo and her team also gifted each blogger with a journal with a unique collaged cover. I’m totally loving this special keepsake!

While we were at the blogger event, we were able to walk through the company’s 2012 Holiday Preview show. This exhibition was set up for the Michaels store managers and leadership who were also in Dallas for company meetings. It was filled wall to wall with all of the latest and greatest products that you can find or will be finding soon at your local Michaels. We were able to check out the products and watch demos from famous names such as Tim Holtz, Duff Goldman from Ace of Cakes, and for paper crafters/Copic marker fans, Marianne Walker. Here’s a shot of Tim Holtz in action.

 We were also able to get a peek at MiDesign@Michaels, an online application that provides the ability to create and personalize all sorts of goodies from photo books, scrapbooks, invitations, and cards to party favors, napkins, and cups. Michaels is offering my readers a 30% discount on this service through August 29 with the code BLOGGER30.

All in all, it was a fabulous opportunity. I really enjoyed getting to know the people behind the scenes at Michaels and all of the other bloggers at the event and learning more about Michaels and the variety of products and services that they have to offer. I’m so appreciative that I had the opportunity to participate in this event—but have to admit that it was nice to get back home again to Chloe the cutie puppy, even if she insisted on giving me the cold shoulder for about 24 hours . . .  I'm looking forward to hopefully continuing an ongoing relationship with both Michaels and the rest of the amazing bloggers in the group.  Here's where you can find them:

Lorie Albright – be different act normal 
Nicole Balch – Making it Lovely
Kathy Barbro – Art Projects for Kids 
Mandy Beyeler – Sugar Bee Crafts
Lisa Blocksberg – Sweet Designs  (Amy Atlas)
Dee Brady – The CSI Project
Laura Bucci – Laura Bucci 
Beckie Farrant – Infarrantly Creative 
Amanda Formaro – Crafts By Amanda
Heidi Gustad – Craft Gossip 
Amy Huntley – The Idea Room
Marie LeBaron – Make and Takes 
Amy Locurto – Living Locurto
Courtney Whitmore – Pizzazzerie

Since Michaels was so generous with us, I want to pass along some of that generosity to you. I have a box of assorted crafting goodies, including some top-notch Westcott scissors, Martha Stewart and Mod Podge products as well as some items from the different Michaels private brand collections to share with one lucky Inking Aloud reader. Just leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite things to shop for at Michaels (or your other local craft store if there aren’t any Michaels stores near you—there are 4 near me that I visit on a pretty regular basis!) and I’ll randomly select a winner on Monday, August 27. Good luck!

Disclaimer:  Michaels was the sponsor of this event, but  did not require that I share any information about my experience on the trip--I'm sharing because I'm truly excited about the great experience I had!

You Are My Sunshine

Here’s my card for today’s SCS sketch challenge. When I saw the sketch’s large circle element, I thought of the sun and my new Hello Sunshine stamp set from Papertrey Ink.

I stamped two of the set’s skinny triangle “ray” images in Harvest Gold ink on a Harvest Gold circle. I definitely need more practice with this set! Fortunately, the smaller circle that I stamped and attached with foam tape hides where I didn’t line things up too well . . . For a sun-like sparkle, I gave the stamped shape a few squirts of shimmer spray—so pretty IRL!

The rest of the card’s pretty simple. I used an Aqua Mist card base, then added some dotted Aqua Mist paper to the top of the card. A strip of kraft cardstock, tied with a little baker’s twine, runs the length of the card with the image panel set over that. I combined two different sentiments from the set to create the “you are my sunshine” sentiment you see here. That phrase always makes me think of my late, great Cosmo the crazy dog. When he was sick or recovering from one of his many surgeries, I used to lie on the floor next to him and sing it to him to soothe him. Even with my awful singing voice, it always seemed to do the trick when he was agitated. He definitely was my sunshine!  Right now, Chloe the cutie puppy's not on my sunshine list.  Yesterday she stole and ate a sandwich at her doggy day care, then followed that up with chasing and catching a wild baby bunny in the backyard.  She is a handful . . .

Materials Used:
Hello Sunshine stamp set, Harvest Gold and Hawaiian Shores inks, Harvest Gold, Hawaiian Shores, and Aqua Mist cardstock, Aqua Mist Bitty Dot patterned paper (Papertrey Ink); Crumb Cake cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); circle dies (Spellbinders); circle punch (EK Success); Sparkle Shimmer Spritz (Tsukineko); Caribbean baker’s twine (The Twinery); foam tape

She-Devil

***Scroll down to the post below to see my CSS Preview Post!***

Our Craft Lounge is kicking off National Scrapbooking Day a bit early with this week’s challenge to include a photo on your project, whether it be a card or a scrapbook page. I don’t do much scrapbooking, but I challenged myself to create a page for the occasion. The subject of my page is my goldendoodle, Chloe the cutie puppy. She’s absolutely adorable, but, boy, is she a handful! Just last week, I got a report from her doggy day care that she’d been the ringleader in a small food snatching incident . . . Since she’s such a spitfire, when I saw a sparkly devil costume at the pet store last fall, I knew I’d found the perfect Halloween outfit for her. She was gracious enough to pose for some photos in her costume and even left the head piece on long enough for me to capture the moment.

I set the photo on a piece of red cardstock to match Chloe’s costume. It’s framed with black cardstock strips stamped repeatedly with the one of the chevron images from the Every Heart Beat set. The chevron shape matches the black piece at the neckline of the costume perfectly.

To fill out the rest of the space, I used some silver glitter-covered foam stickers to spell out “she-devil” on a piece of cream paper with a grid pattern—I’ll be cleaning up stray silver glitter from these from my workspace forever . . .

I did a little journaling on a cream panel in red ink. It says “Don’t let that cute, fluffy face fool you---that sparkly devil costume was the perfect match for Chloe’s personality!” I stamped the “oh, behave” sentiment from the Pat the Dawg House set in red ink on a cream notch-edged strip and set the strip right on Chloe’s photo.

Be sure to check out the OCL blog for all of the challenge details. And, don’t miss out on the National Scrapbooking Day special OCL is offering today and tomorrow—use coupon code NSD2012 for $10 off orders over $30 (offer good on May 4 and May 5; only valid for in stock items; not applicable on wholesale orders)

Materials Used: 
Every Heart Beat and Pat the Dawg House stamp sets (Our Craft Lounge); Real Red, Basic Black, and Very Vanilla cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); Memento Lady Bug ink, Memento Rhubarb Stalk marker (Tsukineko); Fresh Snow ink (Papertrey Ink); Memorandum Tiny Tablet (Lily Bee Design); foam silver glitter Doll Thickers (American Crafts)

Puppy Love

Two years ago this week (can’t believe it’s been that long!), I brought a teeny, tiny Chloe the cutie puppy home with me. When I look at her now, it’s almost impossible to believe that she was once a 13 pound ball of fluff (even though she did have a hair cut after this photo--LOL!). She’s still just as much fun and brings just as much joy as she did when she first arrived. There’s never—and I mean never—a dull moment when she’s around! She’s such a social creature and the friendliest dog you’ll ever meet, maybe even too friendly sometimes, but I guess that's a good problem, right?

I couldn’t let the occasion pass without marking it with a puppy themed card, so I made this one for this week’s My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club sketch challenge using the new Pure Innocence Puppy Love set.

I colored the image and paper pieced the dress with a dotted green on green pattern. The puppy is a sort of chocolate-y brown and has a purple collar, but if I were to be true to Chloe’s coloring, I would have gone more golden and used a pink collar (she wears one like this since she’s chewed off all of the identifying information on her dog tags multiple times . . .).

I used the same green patterned paper along with another coordinating pattern with larger dots for the panels on the cardfront. The image is set on an aqua panel using foam tape and accented with a lavender doily die cut placed behind it. I stamped the set’s “it’s puppy love” sentiment in purple ink on a white panel and set that across the cardfront.

Materials Used:
Pure Innocence Puppy Love stamp set (My Favorite Things); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Memento Tuxedo Black and Lilac Posies ink (Tsukineko); markers (Copic); Aqua Mist, Lavender Moon, and Simply Chartreuse cardstock, Doily Details die (Papertrey Ink); Lime Twist-Happy Go Lucky 6x6 paper pad; foam tape

Pawprints Thank You

While I was in California for CHA, Chloe the cutie puppy stayed behind with my mom and dad. Since I live with Chloe on a day to day basis, I understand how a few days with her can be quite an adventure, especially when you haven’t had a puppy in your home for a while—and that when you did, your puppy wasn’t quite as energetic and excitement seeking as this one is. I figured a thank you card from Chloe (and me) was in order now that I’ve returned home.

I used the Pawprints on Your Heart stamp set from Market Street Stamps for my focal image, coloring up the big dog image to look somewhat Chloe-like in shades of brown with a coating of yellow over top for a golden look. I made sure to stamp the collar in pink, just like Chloe’s is. There’s not much else that’s girly about her, so I make sure she at least wears a collar in a feminine color--LOL! The little ID tag is colored with a silver gel pen. The ID tags on Chloe’s own collar are a whole other story—they all have teeth marks and rough edges on them from where she’s chewed the identifying information away. Sigh . . .

A pastel plaid paper circle sits behind the image, directly on the pink card base. I ran a strip of aqua cardstock across the card, overlapping the circle, then added the colored image over that using dimensional dots.

I used just the pawprints part of the sentiment on the front of my card. On the inside, I completed the sentiment on my own, adding “and on your floors and furniture, too. Thanks for taking such good care of me! Love, Chloe.” I think they’ll get a laugh out of it!

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: Market Street Stamps Pawprints on Your Heart stamp set, X-Press white Copic blending cardstock, Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black and Angel Pink ink, Copic markers (E23, E25, E33, E35, Y32), My Mind’s Eye Hip-Hooray Girl Collection Kit, Spellbinders circle dies, Divine Twine aqua baker’s twine, Sticky Thumb dimensional dots

other: Blushing Bride and Regal Rose cardstock (Stampin’ Up!) Aqua Mist and Hawaiian Shores cardstock, Hawaiian Shores button (Papertrey Ink); silver gel pen (Signo)

Happy Turkey Day

I sure am thankful that it’s the start of a long holiday weekend here! Even though it’s been a short work week, it’s seemed extra long with the dreary, rainy weather and the super slow traffic (it took me an hour to make my 9 mile trip home from work last night!), plus a high-energy puppy who hasn’t gotten in enough exercise. I’m glad I was able to get home early today and that the rain let up enough this afternoon so that Chloe the cutie puppy and I could sneak in a little walk, even though we got wet.

In honor of tomorrow’s Thanksgiving Day celebration, I have one last turkey themed card to share with you—and some information about a big Black Friday sale at i {heart} papers that you don’t want to miss. Let’s start with the card I made using this week’s SCS sketch challenge and Lawn Fawn’s Turkey Day set.

I colored up the turkey image with Copic markers for the cut out portion of the sketch. I trimmed around the colored image and used dimensional dots to set it in the semi-circular opening I cut from the dotted paper panel. The panel's scalloped edge was cut with an Edgeabilities die.

I wanted to keep things simple, so I wrapped a length of orange baker's twine around the card and secured it with a wood button. An orange tag with the set's "happy turkey day" sentiment hangs from the button. It took me a while to settle on the sentiment placement and in the end, the tag seemed to work out best.

As promised, here’s the info on the big Black Friday sale—going on NOW through Sunday—at i {heart} papers. Everything in the store is 25% off (in stock items only, not valid on gift certificates) using code (min. order $35): black25dt. And, if you buy a gift certificate, IHP will add an additional 10% to the value of the gift certificate during the sale (the 25% off does not apply to GC’s). As always, you’ll get free shipping with your $50 US order or $150 CAN order. From stamps to papers to markers, there’s something for every paper crafter at IHP. Happy shopping!

I'll be back in the morning with another Lawn Fawn card . . .

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: Lawn Fawn Turkey Day stamp set, X-Press white Copic blending cardstock, Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black ink, Copic markers (E20, E23, E25, E33, R12, R14, R17, YR15, YR16, Y23, Y32, Y38), My Mind's Eye Six by Six Blink of an Eye paper pad, Spellbinders circle and classic scallop Edgeabilities dies, Divine Twine orange baker's twine, Sticky Thumb dimensional dots

other: Crumb Cake and Pumpkin Pie cardstock (Stampin' Up!); Sweet Corn cardstock (Gina K Designs); wood button (Simplicity); tag die (Clear and Simple Stamps)

Nuts About You

Here’s my super quick card for today’s SCS clean and simple challenge to use red, cream, and brown. I used the acorn die and matching stamp set from Li’l Inker Designs along with this week’s sketch from Clean and Simple Stamping to pull this together in less than 10 minutes.

I started with a panel of red and cream designer paper that I matted on a chocolate brown panel. The panel is attached to a cream panel, then a chocolate card base. I die cut the acorn pieces from kraft and chocolate brown scraps. To add interest, I stamped one of the matching acorn top stamps on the top of the acorn before attaching it to the card with foam tape. I stamped the “nuts about you” sentiment on a notch-edged strip and set that on the cardfront with one end tucked under the acorn.

Now, as promised, a photo of Chloe the cutie puppy all decked out in her Halloween costume. This year, I found one that was just perfect for her feisty personality—a super sparkly red devil. She looks absolutely adorable in her costume, though I probably should have bought it a size smaller and I’ll be cleaning up stray teeny, tiny red sequin-y things from my kitchen floor for the rest of my life . . . Chloe’s been a real trouper about wearing it. She wore the costume at a local pet store’s Halloween event for an hour and a half yesterday and is wearing it again tonight to help answer the door. I think she associates wearing the costume with food and if there's food involved, Chloe's all in! The matching devil’s horns are another story completely, though. She is not a fan of anything on her head, no matter how cute it makes her look!


Materials Used:
Acorn stamp set and die (Li’l Inker Designs); Memento Rich Cocoa ink (Tsukineko); Vintage Cream cardstock (Papertrey Ink); Riding Hood Red Classic ink, Chocolate Chip and Crumb Cake cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); designer paper (October Afternoon); foam tape

Teacher

This week's CAS-ual Friday challenge is to create a project inspired by a book using black, white, and red. The card I came up with for the challenge also fits this week's Crazy 4 Challenges back to school theme and The Play Date Cafe's black and white with a splash of red challenge. Lots going on on this simple card!

Here's the story behind my card. I've always been a pretty voracious reader from just about the time I first learned to read. I read a pretty diverse selection of materials--some of my recent reads include The Boys of Winter (about the 1980 US Olympic hockey team), the entire Hunger Games trilogy (finished in less than two weeks), some professional articles for work, and Room (a novel about a mother and young child held in captivity). As a kindergarten teacher, I also have an extensive collection of children's books and after some thought, decided to base my card on one of my back to school favorites, Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten. It's the first in a series of rhyming books that are always a hit with my students and the author is local to my area, too.

Here's my story inspired card. I used chalkstock and the notebook line image from the Mint Motif School Basics set to make a notebook striped panel. The word "teacher" is stamped inside one of the lines in the same white ink. I layered the black panel on a red mat for a chalkboard-like look.

The set's apple image is stamped in black and filled in with the matching solid image in red. I cut the apple out and placed it on a white circle using dimensional dots, then added a black button tied with red baker's twine. The circle is set at the left edge of the chalkboard panel. I slipped a folded piece of black and white gingham ribbon underneath the circle as an accent to add a little texture to the design.

The weather forecast for today calls for rain, so I have a feeling I'll be spending a little time on my day off curled up with a book . . . not a bad way to spend the day in my book!

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: Mint Motif School Basics stamp set, Canvas Corp. chalkstock, Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black and Lady Bug inks, Spellbinders circle dies, Sticky Thumb dimensionals, Divine Twine Cherry Red baker's twine, May Arts black and white gingham ribbon

other: white cardstock (Xerox); Fresh Snow ink (Papertrey Ink)

Way to Go

Today’s the first big day of the college football season. My team—the Wisconsin Badgers—played in front of the bright lights at Camp Randall on Thursday night and racked up their first victory of the year, and a big one at that. In honor of the season’s start, I went with the à la modes All-Star set for my card for this week’s My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club Challenge.

I colored the a la mode girlie in Badger colors—cardinal and white—so she’s dressed and ready for the game. The pennant is stamped on a scrap of red cardstock, cut out and added to the image panel with foam tape. I stamped a “W” from the Banner Day Alphabet on it in white ink.

The cardfront is covered with a red on red striped panel. I added a star patterned panel, then stretched two strips of red twill across the panel before attaching it to the kraft card base. The image panel is matted on a kraft piece and set over the twill strips.

I stamped the set’s “way to go” sentiment on a kraft scrap in red ink and punched the edges with a ticket corner punch for a decorative look before slipping it underneath the star panel. A red button finishes things off. Given the theme of this one, I figure it's only appropriate to end this post with what my dad often writes at the end of his emails to me--Go, Badgers! I'll be back later on today with my project for this month's MFT guest designer challenge . . .

Materials Used:
à la modes All-Star and Banner Day Alphabet stamp sets (My Favorite Things); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Memento Tuxedo Black ink (Tsukineko); markers (Copic); Riding Hood Red Classic ink, Real Red and Crumb Cake cardstock, ticket corner punch (Stampin’ Up!); Fresh Snow ink, Pure Poppy twill, Pure Poppy baker's twine (Papertrey Ink); Dots and Stripes-Metropolitan designer paper (Echo Park); Campfire-Tent Trailer designer paper (October Afternoon); red button (Michaels); foam tape

Sunny Days Ahead

At least I hope they are! We're feeling the effects of Hurricane Irene today with lots of rain and wind, so if you don't hear from me again for the next few days, it's because the power has gone out here. Our power company is notoriously unreliable during any kind of inclement weather and has a history of taking days to get things back up and running once they're out, so it's definitely a concern with the possibility of lots of wind and rain. It's been quite a week around here between Tuesday afternoon's earthquake and this weekend's hurricane! I never imagined that I'd experience both of these within one week . . .

With that in mind, the sentiment on this card is most appropriate for today. I made the card for this week's My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club sketch challenge. I used the a la modes I Spy image along with some scraps from a My Mind's Eye paper pad for my card. The girl is colored with Copic markers and her magnifying glass is coated with some Glossy Accents for a glass-like appearance.

After embossing a pale pink panel with a concentric circle pattern, I attached the two patterned paper strips to it, then wrapped a piece of pale pink ribbon around the panel, finishing it off with a little bow. I added the colored image panel, then slipped the small panel with the "I see . . " part of the sentiment under the dotted paper panel. The "sunny days ahead" is stamped just under the image panel to complete the sentiment. With any luck I'll be seeing some of those sunny days soon!

Materials Used:
a la modes I Spy stamp set (My Favorite Things); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Memento Tuxedo Black ink (Tsukineko); markers (Copic); Berry Sorbet and Sweet Blush cardstock, Sweet Blush satin ribbon, Sunshine impression plate (Papertrey Ink); Fine and Dandy Tickled Pink 6x6 paper pad (My Mind's Eye); Modern Label punch (Stampin' Up!); Glossy Accents (Ranger); Bow Easy