Whimsy stamping tryout

This little pink elephant represents my entry for the Whimsy design team. I originally heard about the call through The Card Universe and the link to the call can be found here:
Whimsy Design Call


I used Bazzill cardstock, the elephant image is Stampendous and stamped on plain white cardstock with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Black soot and colored in with my Mulberry and Violet Prismacolor pencils. I placed it on a piece of Making Memories paper (from the (Sydney) line) and cut by my Fiskars Threading Water punch.
I stamped the enjoy sentiment using a Hero Arts clear acrylic stamp (from the ClearDesign: Tree, Birds And Messages sheet) with the black soot ink.
I embellished the whole thing with a paper flower that I had in my embellishment drawer and I adhered the petals together to let it stand up and made the middle glittery (a critical component!) with a dot of Goldenrod Stickles.
I plan on giving this card to someone with a baked good--to be a bit neighborly. Yum!

Pardon the lighting and angle of the photo. My camera isn't being cooperative (need a firmware update), so I had to use the cellphone. Eeek!

Being Good is So Hard!!!!

I've resisted the urge to buy supplies for a bit. I ran out of adhesive a couple of days ago and was planning a painful trip to the 'pretty' store (meaning anything scrappy), but I was going through my photobox and found the forgotten refill I had put there (I store refills there on occasion because I use them when I scrap and of course I use photos when I scrap!)--a very welcome and happy surprise, but not a surprise.
Tonight I'm going to work on some layouts and some cards. I've gotten a few ideas that I scribble on the margins of my notepad, and ideas to try. There are so many inspirations around us, seriously, the internet is wonderful. It's the best place to share ideas and inspirations and learn new things!
For example, in the last couple of days, I've signed up for some new sites to help inspire me.
www.monamememories.com
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/
http://snrcardiverse.ning.com/

I'd heard of splitcoaststampers.com a long time ago, but I'd never actually signed up for an account. WOW! It's wonderful. There is so much to look at and to read. It's definitely a project for this weekend--getting accustomed to their massive site.
SnrCardIverse was something I heard about from a friend, and I like the tutorials it has, I also like a lot of the onboard video applications. It seems like it'll be really easy to upload the videos, so that's really cool. Mon Ame Memories is a really cool forum and store. There's a real sense of community there, and no drama, which is really cool. They're even having a design team call until tomorrow. I would suggest stopping there and seeing some of the wonderful work. There are a lot of talented artists there, and a lot of diverse projects.

Of course, I still visit Stamphaven (and you really should too) and TwoPeas (mostly to talk to people and to participate in swaps)...Seriously, there is SO MUCH out there on the internet. And, I faithfully follow a lot of creators online, both through blogger and through bloglines (an RSS reader). We're living in a great time I tell you.

Wishlist

I've been tagged on another journal, and I decided to post it here because I think it will help me stay good. In the next few weeks, I'm trying to abstain from buying anything scrap related except:

• Adhesive
• Photos
• Some crafty stuff purchased from a contact selling Stamping Up

Other than that, I'm really going to be cutting back and NOT getting a bunch of stuff that i don't need. However, if it's a good price, or I've been really good, I can buy things off my wishlist after next month.

My wishlist includes:

(aren't hero arts stamps awesome?)
(Repeat sentiment above)
(again, repeat!)
I've got a bit of a bird phobia, but I love the two below:




(I don't have one, but there are a lot of things I want to try, and apparently it's a good tool to have!)
(A bone folder is a great tool for cardmaking!)

I'm thinking I also need some sentiments (which I might get from stamping up) and some embossing powders (gold, silver) from there, too. Eventually I want more colors of ink, but that can wait...
And there's one other thing that's on my wishlist, which should not be a surprise to those of you who have read my blog as of late:

Yes, I've caught the Prisma bug, maybe I'd get some copics at some point, but I think at this point my money would be much better spent with the colored pencils. I've even got a little list of what I want to pick up the next time I'm in the store with some money. Which would also mean getting more stamps that I can color (because I have a lot of stamps that aren't open and blendable, I used to choose stamps I fell in love with to watercolor versus ones for blending... They have a lot of small detail areas, very closed space, KWIM?)...

Oh, and I have a new stamp company love--Anya by the Greeting Farm. Within minutes of discovering this company, I bought some digi-stamps and can't wait to buy more. Also hoping to buy some physical stamps, after this spending ban I have has been lifted--it's so HARD! Be prepared to fall in love.
I'm not posting all of the stamps here that I really love, because it would be the entire site! There's something adorable about all of the stamps, and the Anyas (the little girls) are so adorable!!!!! I love this company... And look forward to seeing new things from them.


So what's on your crafty wishlist??? This inquiring mind wants to know...

So much to do, so little time

I have a lot of things on my to-do list right now. I want to develop my site a bit better, work on a creative resume and also finish up some design team applications. And it looks like I'll have a bit of time to do that this week...
My SO is going to be out of the state for about a week, come home for a day, then leave for another week, come home for a day and then leave for a week. He should be back for a bit on March 20. Craziness!
So look for some creative stuff this week from me. I'm working on a video, and going through some other things--and cleaning off my work area to make a really awesome spot where I can craft and scrap and card-make to my hearts content. Yay!

So, what have you been up to?

Blog Candy from Marks Paper Company

Marks Paper Company is having an awesome blog candy giveaway. You can win papers from their August or Old Fashioned courtship collection. They even have a facebook group.
For more details, please click the link--good luck!

Post and Win!

Head on over here to the Everyday Scrapper and pick up your own button (mine is in my Pieces of Flair box down to the right) and link up to this great scrappy resource!
You can enter to win a great album from one of my favorite sites. The contest rules are in the above link. Go on now, and check it out!

**Original post was eaten by the Blogger monster, eek!**

Brand New Coloring Technique

So, as I said in my last post, the Coloring Challenge over at Stamp Haven's Winter Haven, has you submit two pieces, one featuring something you usually do (mine was twinkling H2Os) and the other that you've never done.
I knew once I saw Sandy's Amazing video on Magic Coloring that I had to do it. And so I experimented the better part of the week and just didn't get it right. So then I saw a webisode on Hero Arts, where she explained it as well. Then I watched Sandy's video again, and I GOT it! Finally!!!
Now, let me point out that if I were to read about it, I would have been fine because I can learn anything from a book. The video took me some time. At first, I was just using once color, and then last night, it was like a creative wind ran through the house, inspiring me--I was supposed to use 2 colors!!!!
Here's a link to Sandy's wonderful video. I like hers a bit better than the one at HA. Why? Well, first off, the kitty is wonderful, and secondly, I like that she keeps her points sharp.
I am unable to keep all my points sharp, however. My four favorite colors of my prismacolors (Mulberry, Crimson Red, Tuscan Red and one other one) seem to keep breaking, which I've heard could be a fault with the pencil themselves.
I love this Hero Arts Peacock! It took a while to color it, but I LOVE the result, which I thought I wouldn't be able to do. So I turned on a Netflix movie (Shelley DuVal's Fairie Tale Theatre Disc 6--anyone else remember this early 80s ABC staple?) and kept at it. I took my time, didn't rush through, and I was really pleased with how it turned out. So pleased, in fact, that I'm giving the card to someone at a birthday party tonight (shh!).
It's on the same glittery cardstock from DCWV as my other one. With BG's Urban Prarie Buttons, and some green ribbon that I had a piece of. I really like this ribbon, but have no idea who made it.

So, what's the moral of this little blog entry? If you're nervous to try something, try it any way. And if it doesn't turn out, it's a learning experience. If it does turn out, you'll love it...Good luck and Happy Creating!