Sparkle & Shine with Asian Flair!

Oh My Gosh- I feel like a blogging maniac lately! I swear I'm getting carpal tunnel with all this typing! Trust me, I do take care of my kids and have somewhat of a life outside of stamping, even though it must not look like it lately;)
Today's Kraftin' Kimmie challenge is Sparkle and Shine! I have a few sets that I've been dying to use and this one seemed best fitting for the theme. I used Natsuko, and I just love these asian inspired Moonlight Whispers!

I paper-pieced her dress, the hair buns, and the lantern, and then added crystal effects to the dress and buns to give them that satin shine of asian dresses. The red parts of the lantern, as well as the slippers, red dress trim and eyelids have Spica clear glitter pen added. A silver baby brad was used on the lantern tassel and a tiny twinkle rhinstone was adhered into the CE at her collar. The little glittery purple button adorning the satin ribbon is so super-sparkly IRL! I've had it forever just waiting for the right card to use it on....it matches this sweet paper perfectly:) I punched little black CS circles (leaving the edge of the paper off the punch to leave a straight edge and then stuck my fave SU! rhinestone in place.

Here is the inside, where I used my copics to airbrush again (BG11, 13) and punched corner circles and adhered SU! rhinestones again. The sentiment is so perfect I think! And dontcha just LOVE the paper!! I used a larger pattern than seen on the front, to showcase the sweet larger-scale girls!

Okay peeps, if you want to have the chance at winning some amazing KKS rubber, all you have to do is play along with this weeks challenge, and upload your card to the KK blog here!
Happy Stamping:)
Supplies: Stamp- KKS; Ink- memento; CS- SU!; DP- Creative Imaginations; dies- spellbinders; brads, large rhinestones, ribbon- SU!; small rhinestone- TE; sparkly button- stash; circle punch- SU!; Copics; spica; CE; Copics airbrush; eclipse masking tape;
Sketch: Tuesday Morning Sketches #112

Oh Chute- it's Sneaky Peek Day 4!

Gotcha!! I mean the title of my post in the greatest way! Today we are giving you a peek of the sweet new set Oh Chute (love the name of this set btw Alma!!), that will be released Tuesday, October 11! And I LOVE this set! Anything that can be switched up, by say, adding twine in place of stamped lines, makes me think of all the fun possibilities for artistic expression!
So, since I already spilled the beans about my little 'rope fetish'....lol, I'll show you my card.

So, I've seen in blogland lately, that people have been stamping images in light, or clear ink and then colouring with their copics. It really does lend to a softer look and overall feel, so I decided to try it with this new little bunny. I stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with clear powder, I then coloured as usual with my markers. the bunny was trimmed out and 8 strings of Ivory linen thread were attached to the back of the bunny with score tape. Okay folks, here is where it gets tricky! I wanted the parachute to be really light and airy looking (like the ones the kids play with in a big circle at school!), so I stamped and embossed the parachute on velum! And I hate the look of glue under velum (even the velum stuff I think you can still see), so I placed the cut chute where I wanted it on the oval panel, then used my piercer and poked through all the little stamped holes (where the stamped lines would have joined the chute). Then all I had to do was feed each thread through the hole left by the piercer, secure them on the back with score tape and sneak a brad in on top. Once the brads were set from behind, the parachute stayed perfectly in place. No need for adhesive! Here is a close up looksie:

Would this make the cutest baby card, or what??? I also used the previously released Cloud Border Cutup die to airbrush my sky in! I love this look and so easy!

And here is the inside, using the amazing new Circus Border Cutup die! I actually used the negative side of the die here and stuck rhinestones in the 'holes'! And here is one of the cute little sayings, stamped on a curve...I love the way you can bend and turn these stamps to get the desired effect!

Okay, time to head on over to Alma's blog to see what the other Catpackers have in store for you! And don't forget about In It To Win It at SCS!
I'll be back Monday with another TCP sneak, but check in with me this weekend for some other challenges:)

Sketch- Tuesday Morning Sketches #113

Step Right Up for Sneaky Peek Day 3!

Welcome to Day 2 of TCP's sneaky peeks! Today I have a super fun card that I made using the new Step Right Up set, featuring everyones favorite bear, PJ!! He is decked out in his ringmaster attire, and he comes with all sorts of little accessories that you can add to him to get a customized look! I am also featuring a fresh and funky new die, the Big Top Cutup! Sooooo muuuuch funnnn!!!!! I am loving this circus-y theme going on today!

Oh me oh my- the paper piecing on this one had me screaming for Tylenol Arthritis, but I persevered;) My hubby thinks this is what Elton John would wear to the circus (he might wear pants though;), but I think the plain fact that there is no glitter anywhere on this card, says otherwise! Well, I guess there is a little red spica glitter pen on the bow-tie, but not nearly enough for Sir Elton's taste (that reminds me that my middle son wore a red bowtie to supper last night at my moms;)! This definately is not an outfit for those that want to 'blend'.
Along with some copic colouring to go with all that pattern, I popped up his sweet snout with a dimensional and added some silver baby brads for buttons. The oval panel was embossed with a star folder and then inked a bit with chalk ink to add some definition.
For that fabby circus tent, I cut about 4 dies with black CS, adhering them together, then one with the pattern, and finally a pop of red on the roof and curtains...the roof portion was also embossed using the swiss dot folder. It came out really sturdy! Sort of like a mock-chipboard.
Here is a closer look at some of the details:

I did some more embossing with a larger dot folder on the patterned panels, as well as silver brads and black stitching. You'll notice alot of inking going on with me lately..seems that I am addicted to inking edges and sewing!! Not to mention dimensionals! Lord, the stamping monkey's on my back!! Unless a card doesn't fit through the slot and cost $7 to mail, then I'm just not that into it (right, Leigh *wink-wink*)

Notice how the roof part can be popped out a bit? Seriously- I had so much fun with this die, I even surprised myself a little!

Okay, check out Alma's blog to see who else is playing in todays previews! And don't forget about our In It To Win It thread over at SCS...quite possibly the easiest way to win new stamps on the web;)
Catch you back here tomorrow for another peek!

Sneaky Peek Week~ Day 2

Hey my stampy friends!! Did you like what you saw on Day One of Sneaky Peek Week? Such diversity, if I do say!
This next set is just too darned cute for words! Any Big Bear fans out there? Well, you are in luck, this Big Bear is a sweet little girly bear cub with her little bow on top! And another versatile set I think...I made a feminine Christmas card (could be for a birthday, new baby even!)...this sweet set is called Bearing Gifts.

I stamped her onto some cream TE cardstock, coloured her with copics and paper-pieced the gift box and lid (separately, to change direction in the pattern, to make it look like the lid and box would have the same pattern if the lid was actually on the box). Now, I don't get to crazy about this (no measuring the degree of tilt on the lines or anything- just a general 'eyeball' will do). I stamped the ribbon part of the parcel again on cream cs, colouring with copics and adding to the top of the dp. Makes everything look 'right' in the sense of depth.Same with the paws...they were added on last, with a little bit of a pop up dot on the very bottoms and flat glue on the top.  Her little bow is also pieced and glued down only in the centre, with the edges bent up a bit to show a little dimension. A super sparkly SU! rhinestone (you know they are the prettiest;) sits in the centre.
My edges were all inked with chalk ink and machine stitched with chocolate thread. I added a rhinestone flourish, which you'll hardly ever see from me (for two reasons: 1) I am cheap in certain aspects of paper-crafting, and rhinestone floursihes are at the top of my 'highway robbery' list, and 2) I get right out of control with them...they are freakishly hard for me to control and it usually ends up stuck to itself or in the complete wrong place on the card. Luckily for me, I found that my local dollar store carries flourishes and I feel that $1 is an acceptable price for something that only has a 50/50 chance of survival.

The sentiment banner is made using the Easy Rosettes Cutup die and is my go-to die for a skinny sentiment. I just cut another strip of CS to stick it on and then snip the ends in a 'V' with my scissors.
I also used a pencil and 'curled' the banner to shorten it up to fit better on my card and add some dimension. Little rhinestones adorn each end of the banner.

Supplies: Stamps- TCP; Ink- memento, colourbox chalk (creamy brown); CS- SU!, Taylored Expressions; DP- Jillibean Soup Christmas Chowder; Dies- TCP; rhinestones-SU!; flourish- dollar store; Copics; sewing machine and thread; Bigshot

Check out Alma's blog to see a list of the participating designers in todays peek. And remember to comment on the In It To Win It thread on SCS for your chance to win Bearing Gifts!
Thanks for stopping by!

TCP's Sneaky Peek Week!

We are gearing up for our October Release! It's been awhile since our last release, and boy, is this release going to be a fun one.

With 7 New Stamp Sets and 4 New CutUps Dies, we'll be giving you a Sneaky Peek on our SCS forum each day. Want to win something?! All you have to do is comment on the In It To Win It  thread!
Then each day during our Sneaky Peek Week, starting Tuesday October 4, we'll randomly choose a winner from the comments on the thread. The winner will win the set that we are Sneaky Peeking that day.

And all you have to do to win is comment! The more comments the better. Easy Peasy. We'll announce the winner each day on the Sneaky Peek thread.

Ready? Set? Go!

Today our first Sneaky Peek is being combined with TCP Tuesday179. This week Susan is our hostess, and she is challenging us to HYPE THE TYPE! Use any Alphabet or sentiment stamp!
Perfect for this soon to be released set Admit One.

Pretty cool, huh? Wonder how I cut those fabby tickets??? The matching Big Ticket Cutup, of course;)
I went for a shabby-chic look on this one, with loads of distressing edges, crumpling, imperfect stitching, and inking. I crinkled up a Cream Seam Binding bow, and added three little adhesive pearls and some hearts from the Heart Trio Cutup die and a button threaded with a Beige linen thread double bow. The Big Scallop Cutup die flanks one side of the cardfront.

Supplies: Stamp- TCP; Ink- memento black and brown, distress ink, SU-pink; CS-SU!; DP- Authentique; Seam binding- SU!; Linen thread- TCP; button- unknown; Dies- TCP; pearls- unknown; sewing machine; thread; bigshot

Check back tomorrow for another Sneaky Peek, and don't forget to comment on the SCS forum for your chance to win this fun new set! And if you want to play along with Susan's challenge, upload your projects to Alma's blog or SCS using the keyword TCPTUES179!
Thanks for popping in!

{TSG124) Blind Squirrel

Hey all! Just want to sneak in a quick post for this week's There She Goes challenge. This week Trendsetter Debby is challenging us with a colour challenge...and I must admit, this one had me a little stumped! I love the colours, but I find that yellows and greys have such different undertones and to make the colours really click together, you have to have an eye for cool vs. warm undertones....Enter Authentique designer paper!! I was hunting through my paper packs, trying to pull different sheets from each pack, never quite happy with my results, and then, like a ray from the heavens, light was shed at the back of the basket onto Authentique's Blissful 6x6 pad! Phew!
Here is a little inspiration to get your creative juices flowin'!

So, here is my card, based on this week's Mojo Monday 209 sketch:

OMG- this is the cutest sentiment in the world, if you ask me!! The sentiment, as well as the main image is from the SUPER CUTE Torico set Pumpkins On The Vine. This is one of my fave TSG sets!

I made this card for my sweet BFF and cuz, Susie. She will laugh her hiney off when she reads it, cuz she's totally gonna get the inside joke.....this year is a special Thanksgiving for her, because after a long time as a single girl, she has found Mr Right...so she has one more thing to be thankful for and it's having met your soulmate at long last! I often joke to her that she is probably the biggest dork around guys and inexplicably and subconciously outs off a 'not interested' vibe wherever we go...well, her main squeeze must have seen through her awkardness and found the real chick underneath the dork-suit, because she is the most amazing girl I know and deserves someone who sees the true-Sue (as I like to call it;)...So now do you get the humour in the sentiment? She is the blind squirrel of the dating scene and be darned if she didn't stumble across an acorn anyway;)!!!
Sue, if you're reading this, don't be mad that I told the whole world about your terrible man-hunting skills, cuz the moral of this story is I love ya and Rick does too!! So I hope this is your happiest Thanksgiving yet!!!! xoxo

Here is a close-up of my little Sue and her squirrel friend. I paper-pieced her hat and the dress and coloured the rest with copics, popping the squirrel up on dimenisonals.

And the inside, keeping with the same scalloped edge and papers, as well as the paper-piercing and inked edges. I used another fall sentiment that comes with this set.

For details on this week's challenge, as well as more inspiration from the Trendsetters, check out the TSG Blog! You could win yourself some new goodies just for playin'!

Supplies: Stamps- TSG; ink- memento tuxedo black, colorbox chalk ink in charcoal and creamy brown; DP- Authentique; CS- SU!; ribbon- SU!; dies- MFT scallop; brads and wire ribbon holder- SU!; copics; dimensionals; paper-piercer

Sweet Little One

Happy Saturday everyone! I have some great news to share with you today...not to long ago Kimmie Reid (THE Kraftin' Kimmie!!) emailed me and asked if I would be interested in being Kraftin' Kimmie's guest designer for October!! Ummmm...Duh Kimmie! Of course I would:):) hehe! I absolutely love their sweet stamps (Annie Rodrigue's Moonlight Whispers images especially make my heart flutter;)
Our first challenge of the month is paper-piecing, and oh how I love to paper-piece! It's almost a sure thing that I will develop arthritis from my paper crafting hobby- that fussy cutting can be BRUTAL on the fingers! But it will all be worth it!
I have an abundance of KK stamps that have yet to get inked up, so I grabbed this little new mama Diana, out of the bin and got to work!

I paper-pieced her jeans and hairbow (just a denim patterned paper), and the blankets. Although, who the heck wears jeans weeks after delivery? Lord knows I didn't!!! I should have maybe paper-pieced her some flannel PJ pants or nice cotton sweats!! Hahaha!
Everything else is coloured with Copics.
Here is a close-up of the paper flower embellie made with one of my new dies that I got in the mail the other day...so pretty;) And the little rattle accessory stamp included in the set, stamped onto a tag diecut and tucked under the flower.

And Diana- so proud of her new little bundle:)

And here is the inside, using one of the sentiments that comes with the set.

Check out the Kraftin' Kimmie blog for more paper-pieced inspiration from the talented Krafty Girls, as well as info on how you can play along for your chance to win a new KK stamp!
And guess what other exciting news I have that will surely blow your hair back?? KKS is having a HUGE Krafty Sale this weekend to celebrate World Cardmaking Day! Over 100 stamps are 25-50% off and the sale lasts until Monday night!! Go check it out!! I know I will:)

Supplies: Stamps- KK; Ink- memento, colorbox chalk ink; DP- Authentique, denim paper- scrap; CS- SU; die- Spellbinders (square, scallop square), MFT (flower, scallop, tag); pink brads- SU; brown brad- American Crafts; copics; embossing folder- cuttlebug; dimensionals- SU; sewing machine; brown thread; Bigshot