Bellarina

I have had the Bellarina stamp for quite a while, but never used her. Yesterday, I got the DCWV Glitter Stack! Everytime I went to Joann's, they were all sold out, but my dear friend Kathy was awesome enough to pick up an extra one when she found them! She didn't even know that I'd been searching. . .how cool is that? She called yesterday and asked if I'd be interested in one! Once I saw this black striped patterned paper in the stack, I immediately thought of a stage curtain. So, I thought I'd use my Bellarina and put her "on the stage". The "curtain" is mounted on dimensionals to give the card some dimension. I found this sentiment in my box of RARELY used stamps and thought I'd use it. I believe it's Penny Black. I'm afraid I ruined the card by trying to put a "splash" of color behind the words. . .well, maybe ruined is going a bit too far, but I'm not sure I like the colors. Maybe if they were a lighter wash of color, like just watercolored on. I don't know. For "live", I just used Stardust Stickles as a "splash" of glitter. Bellarina's dress is paper pieced. I stamped Bellarina on a pink piece of paper, cut out the dress and then ran it through my Xyron upside down so that the front would be sticky and dunked it in glitter. I LOVE how the dress turned out. It looks like a REAL ballerina's costume, all sparkly! Hopefully you can see the sparkliness of this card. I'm not sure it showed up in the picture. Thanks for visiting today! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Bellarina, Penny Black sentiment; Ink- Basic Black; Paper- DCWV Glitter Stack, pink, Whisper White; Accessories- Xyron, glitter, Stardust Stickles, light pink organdy polka dot ribbon, various SU markers.

My First Scrap Stash

I have been wanting to try Amy's Scrap Stash Saturday Challenge for a while. I just think it's great for using up some scraps rather than always cutting into new paper to make a card. Mind you, I would have to do at least a year's worth of Scrap Stash Saturdays to use up my scraps! LOL Amy always does such a nice job with the scraps she chooses. So, I had a little time yesterday and thought I'd give it a try. It was tough! Hopefully you think this card goes together alright. I wasn't sure about that cream/mauve patterned paper fitting in, but I used just a tad of it and I think it worked. It was a fun challenge, and I'm so glad I tried it. Hopefully it will get easier the more I do it! Thanks for visiting today and I hope you're having as beautiful weather as we are here! Finally, the sun's out again! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Edgy Eloquence; Paper- DCWV, Oriental Trading, The Paper Company; Ink- Lovely Lilac, Ruby Red, VersaMagic Dusted Mauve; Accessories- round tab punch, double rectangle hole punch, Making Memories brads.

Polka Dotted Boots

Today is rainy and chilly. What better day for rain boots that can cheer you up? I've seen some garden shoes at Joann's that are just the cutest, but never ended up getting them. These boots kind of reminded me of them. They're not the same colors, but I took the color combo from the patterned paper I used. This card made me happy on this dreary day! I hope it will make you smile too! I'm hoping to get lots done today, but that all depends on my girls. Right now, the 10 month old is napping. . .for more than 30 minutes, and THAT'S a record! LOL I'd love to get more stamping done, but I think I'll wait until my husband gets home for that. He's asked me to make a few cards sets for him to give as thank you's, but I haven't been able to work on that. Hopefully I'll be able to show you those later?! Thanks for visiting! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Green Thumb; Paper- DCWV Spring Stack, Whisper White, Basic Black; Ink- VersaMagic in Black Midnight, Red Magic, Tea Leaves and Turquoise Gem; Accessories- hole punch, Giga scallop circle punch, Mega circle punch, black grosgrain ribbon.

Make It Masculine

This was for today's Limited Supply Challenge on SCS, Make It Masculine. . .to make a masculine card using stamps that you wouldn't normally consider masculine. I haven't used my Sweet Shapes set in a while and I thought it would do the trick. The slit/fold down on the patterned paper was an attempt to give the impression of a collar. I was trying to embellish in a manly way. LOL This patterned paper, by the way, is the Prints Sampler from Stampin' Up! In May, for every $35 you spend, you can order this Prints Sampler for $9.95. It's called the Palette O'Prints promotion. It's a 6x6 pad of double-sided Designer Series paper that will be in the Fall/Winter Collection 2007! I love it so far! It has patterns in four different colors. I thought the green would work best for this masculine card. Hope you have a wonderful Friday! Thanks for stopping by! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Sweet Shapes, Rough Edges Alphabet; Ink- Certainly Celery, Old Olive, VersaMagic Tea Leaves; Paper- DCWV card base, Whisper White, Basic Black, Palette O'Prints Prints Sampler; Accessories- small circle punch, Making Memories brads, paper piercer, black grosgrain ribbon.

A Tough Kind of Purple

This was for today's Ways To Use It Challenge on SCS, to use Orchid Opulence on your card. It's weird, but I LOVE purple! It's my favorite color, but honestly, I NEVER use THIS particular purple. If I use purple I grab either Lovely Lilac or Lavender Lace, but never Orchid Opulence. So, I thought I'd use some of my DCWV Pocket Full of Posies paper to compliment Orchid Opulence. This card is a lot like the one I posted yesterday with the butterflies and Basic Grey paper. I was in a patterned paper kind of mood again and the layout from yesterday was on my brain. I really need to get my creative juices flowing again. I think I've been so wrapped up in choreographing this show that my brain just doesn't work creatively for anything else! Maybe it's time to switch my stamp sets! LOL I think I told you at some point that I have a "makeshift" craft room in the back part of my kitchen. Since I can't get up to my 3rd floor craft room with the kids, I brought about 10 stamp sets downstairs and various supplies and embellishments. Well, maybe my brain needs some new stamp sets to work with! I say new because a lot of my sets that are up in my craft room (and there are A LOT) haven't been used in a long time, so they would be NEW again! :) Thanks for visiting today and I hope you have a beautiful day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Remembering You; Ink- Orchid Opulence, VersaMagic Eggplant; Paper- DCWV Pocket Full of Posies, Red; Accessories- Large oval punch, ribbon from Walmart, paper piercer, purple gel pen, purple Stickles.

Blush Butterflies

This was for today's Sketch Challenge on SCS.

I wasn't able to upload until this evening. I used my Polka Dots & Petals set for the very first time, if you can believe that! I stamped it on top of the striped paper in VersaMagic Red Brick and Jumbo Java. All of the patterned paper is Basic Grey Blush. . .I just LOVE it! I've tried to use more patterned paper recently, mainly because I have a lot of it. . .especially scraps! I really like stamping line art images on patterned paper for a "quick fix" since you don't have to color it in or line up the "filler" stamp. I added ribbon and "bling" to the butterflies to give them some dimension, as well as mounting them with dimensionals. I used the small oval punch and extended the oval by cutting a strip of paper to fit through the punch so that only ONE end gets punched. The other end is through the "hole" of the punch, if that makes sense. On a side note, I was browsing some of my favorite blogs while waiting for this to upload and saw that Allison stamped these butterflies on the SAME patterned paper! Isn't it uncanny how that happens? I guess it's not THAT uncanny if you have the same stamps and the same papers, but the chances of picking two of the same supplies and combining them in the same way! Maybe I'm just easily amazed! LOL You can check out her gorgeous card here. Allison was using an ad as inspiration for the card she made. Thanks for visiting and have a good night! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Butterfly Kisses, Polka Dots and Petals; Ink- VersaMagic in Red Brick and Jumbo Java; Paper- Basic Grey Blush; Accessories- grosgrain ribbon, small oval punch, paper piercer, bling from Walmart.

Tagged!

I have been tagged by Julie (Stampin with Julie)and Rita (L8ybug Stamper). In this game, I tell you 7 things about myself that you might not know and then I tag 7 other bloggers who can play if they want to! Let's see:

1. I come from a very large family. I am the oldest of 6, and my parents are each one of 10 children.
2. I have spent most of my life as a musical theatre performer having graduated from Point Park University with a B.F.A. in Musical Theater. I traveled A LOT from national tours to regional theaters to working on a cruise ship.
3. I am now pregnant with baby #3!
4. When my very good friend Kathy approached me the first time about stamping or having a stamping party I said "Me? No, I don't stamp. Crafts are not my thing." She got me to try it ONCE and I was at Michael's that night buying stuff! LOL Now she is my upline!
5. My husband and I met in a Big Band show we were doing together. He was the MC (or bandleader) and I was one of the U.S.O. girls (think Andrews Sisters).
6. I strongly dislike mushrooms!!
7. My favorite type of food is Mexican.

Okay, now to tag 7 people. Hmmmm. . . .Jami Speidel, Pam Speidel, Barb, Beate, Ally, Jeanine, and Michelle. I don't think these people have been tagged yet. Check out their blogs if you'd like to see their answers! Have a great day!

VT Color Challenge

This is for today's Color Challenge on SCS, VT Sympathy, cards for families of the Virginia Tech victims. If you'd like to make a card to send, please check out the color challenge at the link above. There is an address that you can send your cards to. I cannot imagine what those families are going through. I know how I was affected, and I didn't personally know anyone involved in this tragedy. My thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families who have experienced this firsthand. If you'd like to offer your support, please make a card and send it to the address listed within the VT Sympathy link. Thank you! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Doodle This, Faux Ribbon; Paper- Pumpkin Pie, Bravo Burgundy, Glossy White; Ink- Bravo Burgundy, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black; Accessories- Cuttlebug Swirls embossing folder, large and small oval punches, grosgrain ribbon.

Flower Faux Ribbon

Well, I've concluded that if I think of the Faux Ribbon set less for making "ribbons" and more for making patterns, it's much easier for me to create something I like with it. I don't know if any of you find this to be true, but that's what works for me! :) This is my favorite card I've made with this set so far. Hopefully I'll continue to make things I like and it will come easier! :) Hope you have a great day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Faux Ribbon, Butterfly Kisses; Ink- VersaMagic in Midnight Black, Purple Hydrangea, Spanish Olive and Perfect Plumeria; Paper- DCWV; Accessories- Prima flowers, circle punches.

More Faux Ribbon

I'm still trying to make the Faux Ribbon set work for me. I like it a lot, but I can't seem to make the "ribbons" work for me. The sentiments are wonderful. I decided to make a "manly" birthday card. I used the Cuttlebug Traffic Jam embossing folder on the card base and then pierced the insides of the blocks for some added visual interest. I thought the card turned out really well for a male card. . .not too frilly. Hopefully I'll get to stamp a little more today and have more to share with you! Thanks for stopping by! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Faux Ribbon; Ink- VersaMagic Dew Drops in Midnight Black, Pumpkin Pie, Hint of Pesto and Eggplant; Paper- DCWV, Whisper White; Accessories- Cuttlebug Traffic Jam embossing folder, paper piercer, Making Memories brads, Ticket corner punch.