2-fer

I  love it when I can meet 2 challenges with 1 card!  

The first challenge is House Mouse and Friends challenge 70 -  good-bye  or farewell using one of their stamps. House Mouse is also having a blog hop with some great prizes, too!

The second challenge is  Gingersnap Creations challenge 54 - Pencils.  You can draw or color with pencils, include an image of pencils or even incorporate the real thing into your piece.

I have only have one House Mouse Friend stamp. . .it's a Gruffie stamp that my sweet husband picked up for me while I was spending most of my time at the hospital with my mom.  I stamped the images at home, then while visiting her I colored them with water color pencils, and "painted" with an aqua brush. 

The text is printed using MS "Elephant" font, all the paper is from my stash and not sure of the manufacturer and the bee is an "all dressed up" button.

Take Care

Linda

A little silliness

As many of you know Tim (Holtz) has had a "how do you distress" week on his blog, where you could leave a daily comment for a chance to win a coveted distress ink case.  You could also create a project using distress ink and send him ONE photo with a "brief" description of your technique.

I had thought about creating a card based on the journaling block that I used in one my fair layouts.  I was planning on using the card for Tuesday's Taggers challenge too.    I sat down to work on it this morning, but couldn't find my brown blending tool, so I started to clean my work table.   The table got mostly cleaned, then I got side-tracked and one thing lead to another and the card did not get made. (As I type this, I also realized I never did find my brown blending tool.  Guess I better clean the rest of the studio too! lol)  

Time is ticking down, the photos has/had to be mailed before 5:00 p.m. PDT TODAY, Friday, May 28!  Oh what, am I going to do?  With less than two hours before the deadline inspiration struck!!!!!  And I didn't even need my brown blending tool! 

I got all 36 inks plus my embossing ink out and made this:

I call it "tower of ink" 

(and yes I really did send this pic to Tim! Although I did not give a description of my technique, rofl) 

and then I made this:

I call this one "oops!"

Hope my silliness has made you smile!  

Have a weekend filled with lots of smiles. Be safe!

"Quilted" kitty!

One of the goodies I picked up at the Hanko Designs booth last Saturday at the Sacramento stamp show was the Washsi Paper Quilting "Friends" Kit.  I made 2 kitties using the pattern included in the kit.

My husband liked the red kitty best, so I used it to make a birthday card for my AWESOME mother-in-law!

I gave the white kitty to Atlas, a guy at work who makes his wife cards who happens to LOVE cats! 

I am working on another quilted card that I hope to have ready to post tomorrow.  Paper quilting is way fun and the Washsi paper looks like fabric!  

Take care

Linda

PS - I received notification from the State Fair yesterday. . .You are going to have to wait until July to see my some of my entries!  I received 2 - 2nd places for my Birthday card (hurry up dear) and my thinking of you card (bonjour).   I will post pictures of my other 3 projects - "Through the Years" double page layout (Award of Merit) , "Fun Times" double page layout (3rd place) and my "Believe" Christmas card (3rd Place) once I go to the fair and see them!  The fair is July 14- August 1.

Gingersnaps' Creations Home Page Artist of the Week!

Wow!  I was selected (randomly) to be the Artist of the Week on Gingersnaps' Creations Home Page!!!  I am super excited and honored!!!!   Next step, becoming a "Ginger Gem"!!!!

GC55: Random Redhead - Quotes AND Quixotic Challenge #26: How Sentimental!

I picked up some stamps in the Hanko Designs booth at the Sacramento Stamp Show on Saturday that are perfect for the May 19th GingersnapCreations Challenge - Quotes and the Quixotic Challenge #26: How Sentimental, also from May 19th! 

Here's what I came up with using some of my new treasures from Hanko Designs!

The quote stamp is one in a set of four by Komodo Inc and stamped with Stazon Jet Black on Ivory Kosome Floral Cardstock (I think).   The red Washi paper is from a pack called "Element Whirl". (I love the "distress" look of this paper!)  The charms are also from Hanko Designs.  The black card base is from my stash by Die Cute with a View and the gold at the bottom edge is Krylon 18 KT. Gold Leafing Pen (The little dragonflies are on the inside of the card.!) 

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look.  Please leave a comment, I love hearing from you!

And the winner is . . .

since they say a picture is worth a 1,000 words - here's the short version!  If you have any complaints talk to Josesph, my son, the one who drew the name!  lol

Congratulations Kim!!!!

Score!

Take your mind out of the gutter. . . . that message is for my daughter if she is reading this! lol

As I mentioned last night I helped HankoDesigns set up for the Sacramento stamp show.  What I didn't mention was I was a little early getting to the venue, so I stopped at a yard sale.  I scored 3 decks of (vintage?) cards, 1 set of dominos and 1 vintage pack of crayons!  The cards were 25 cents per deck, the dominos only a buck.  The crayons  -  25 cents!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SCORE!!!! 

Today I helped in the HankoDesigns booth.  It was a lot of fun and I got to meet some new "cyber" friends in person and see others I haven't seen for awhile!  It was great seeing all of you!  Norman is a great person to work for, I really enjoyed my day! 

Someone asked me to take lots of pictures at the show. . . I had my camera, but we were so busy all day, I didn't get out of the booth much.  I venutred to a couple of other booths, but didn't really have time to shop.  (My husband doesn't even know how lucky he is! lol)  I did get a bunch of goodies at the Hanko booth though!  Score!!!!!

Then after I left the Stamping Convention, I headed to Stampers' Corner.  We were not even close to being busy at the convention compared to Stampers Corner! I got there about 5:00 (an hour after the sale started) and my goodness!   I decided I didn't want to wait in line, so I left and went back about 7:30 (they closed at 8:00).  Talk about good deals!  SCORE, again!!!!!!

Before anyone notices Tim's texture fades and think I got a special deal - they were NOT on sale, had to pay full price for those, I was just so excited to get them I had to share!   Everything else, including the retro grunge paper stack was on sale!!!!!!

If you look carefully, you can see some of the "celebrate!" prize package!  Oh, are you having trouble picking out the prizes?  Fine, here's a little clearer picture of the prize, well at least some of it. 

There's a couple sets of cards and envelopes (10 each color), a Heidi Swapp "Heart" clear stamp, chipboard letters "J", "O", "Y",  Hero Arts "Friend" wood mount stamp, set of 3 Hero Arts "Dapper Gents" wood mounted stamps, Making Memory "Brooke" gem stickers AND "Basic Washi Paper Quilting" kit by Hanko!  I will also add Washi paper, just not sure which ones yet.   I may throw some more stuff in the package, just haven't had time to look and see what.

So if you haven't commented on the "Celebrate" post yet, you have until 6:00 p.m., Sunday, May 23, 2010 to go leave a comment.  Be sure to let your friends know too!

Fun, fun, FUN!!!!!!

No I am not talking about the Beach Boys' song, although I do like it! lol

Today was definitely fun! A lot of work, but fun! Totally different than my "regular" job, but FUN!!!!!  Do you get the impress I enjoyed the day?   What did I do you ask?  I helped Norman with HankoDesigns set up for the Sacramento Stamp Show!  He is going to have some FABULOUS deals tomorrow (Saturday) including a free gift if you spend just $20.00 - I've seen some of the gifts, you want them!    AND if you mention you read about HankoDesigns on "Linda's blog", guess what happens?  YOU get 2 FREE gifts for spending $20.00!!!

Wanna see a sneak peek of the booth?  Here you go!

See all that paper above?  I had to put in the rack, it took forever. . . I had to keep stopping to wipe up the drool (hope no one noticed) lol!  It's all textured and beautiful colors and - have I ever mentioned how much I love paper?   I pretty sure I will be bringing home some paper tomorrow!

Speaking of paper, there is lots.  It's all beatufiul and I believe all imported from Japan.  This is this one package of paper that is written in Japense, it's a little heavier than tissue paper, you "only" get three sheets, but when you unfold it it is HUGE!  No I didn't get a picture of it.   Good thing Norman had me do other things than put this goregous paper on racks! 

Amazingly enough there are LOTS of stamps in the HankoDesigns booth not to mention all the other booths that were being set up.. . . Imagine that, stamps at a stamp show! lol   It was hard to keep my eyes and mind on what I was doing, I wanted to wander and look at all the other booths!  I should have a little time tomorrow to have a look around.

Here are some cards they have on display. Totally AWESOME cards!  I think my favorite card is the dog card in the lower left of the first photo.  Norman said it is really easier to make.  Hopefully he will have a few minutes to show me tomorrow.  He said something about the dog is just some triangles.  

Hope this glimpse whets your appetite for tomorrow!  Remember to mention "Linda's blog" to get a second  free gift when you spend $20.00. 

Hope to see you tomorrow, for now I am going to go kick back, put my feet up and enjoy a good book!

Take care,  Linda

PS - If you haven't seen the post below this one, you might want to take a peek at it - something about some blog candy or something like that.

Celebrate!

Hi!  I know I have been AWOL for a while. . .I was working on projects to enter in the California State Fair.  Today was judging day!  I won't know how I did for another week or two.  I was told they would send letters to all entrants. . .either a "Congratulations - here are your free tickets to see your project on display" or "thank you for your entry, please pick it up".   Obviously I am hoping for a "congratulations! letter.   I'd share pictures with you, but I forgot to take pictures before I dropped them off! 

I did take pictures of what I walked into when I got home from work tonight!  I should have known something was up when I had to unlock all the locks on the front door.

Yep, it's my birthday today!  To celebrate I am giving someone a present!  I don't know who the lucky person is yet and I don't know what the lucky person will get yet. (This is kind of a spur of the moment idea I had! lol)   I do know you have to leave a comment on this post before 6:00 p.m. PDT on Sunday, May 23, 2010, to have a chance to win.  I also know it will be an awesome prize package.  (I am going to the stamp show on Saturday and my FAVORITE store [Stampers' Corner] is having a huge moonlight sale from 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. on Saturday after the show.)  Who knows, I may even add stuff from my stash!    The more comments I get, the bigger the prize package!   If you are not a follower, become a follower and I will give you an extra chance to win!  If you are already a follower and leave a comment on this post, I will give you 2 extra chances to win!  I will ship internationally.  One last thing, make sure I have a way to contact you!  (You can e-mail your e-mail address to me if you don't want to post it in a comment, there's an "e-mail me" button on my side bar).

We are off to dinner!   Hope you leave a comment!

Edit -  10:36 p.m.

We went to Vince's for dinner and had a great meal!  Erinn & I shared a huge steak sandwich!  Dave & Joseph each had a steak.

Responding to X-needles' (Charlene's) comment - Dave gets credit for the card and the flowers. Erinn went shopping for the decorations. Erinn and Joseph put up the decorations. Erinn also made some awesome mini chocolate cupcakes with homemade cream cheese icing!! Yummy! Joseph washed the dishes Erinn used for the cupcakes and icing!  Rebecca (in Hawaii) and Kristine (in Texas) both called to wish me a happy birthday too!

Am I lucky or what? I love my family, they are AWESOME!!!

EDIT #2 - May 23, 2010 

Here's a picture of the prize pack so far. . . if you want details, go to my "Score" post dated 5/22/10. At the bottom of the post there are details as to what is in the picture. Good Luck!  

Leftovers

Nope, you don't get hear about what I am having for lunch tomorrow, even though it will be very yummy.  I am talking about the card I started last night for the challenge at Collage Obsession.  The theme is "mother", and the art work is a Marcus Gheeraets the younger's painting  called "Barbara Gamage with six children"   I bet you are looking at the title and then my card and thinking to yourself someone can't count.   Barbara was in the picture along with 6 "children", however I could not handle them all (think creepy baby dolls).  So I cropped the youngest and used her.   Conveniently she is in a sitting position and I just happened to have a bench "stamp" I made in an art class a while back. I adjusted her size and  printed her on cardstock, cut her out, stamped the bench, cut that out and started trying different backgrounds.  I stopped when I got to this arrangement. I decided she looked lonely and needed a puppy so I made her one! 

 Are you wondering about the title yet?  It's because the only thing on this card that was not "leftovers" were the cardstock I used to print the girl!   My favorite leftovers are the "trees"!  I save pretty much every scrap of paper including the pieces leftover after using a die (cut) because I might need it someday! lol  (Do you do that too?)  The trees are just that - leftovers from some Christmas tree die cuts I experimented with last year (or perhaps the year before, who knows)!  I just turned them upside down and had 2 ready made trees!  And yes, even the card base came out of the scrap pile! lol

I am still debating whether I like it or not.  On the one hand I think it's kind of cool.  On the other hand it is not something I "normally" do (mixing styles).   What do you think?  Do all the elements work together?  If not, which don't fit?

Oh, there was another product that was not leftovers - the black on the nose and the eye is "Enamel Accents". It is something I picked up the other day when Charlene and I went shopping.

Speaking of leftovers, I need to go pack my lunch for tomorrow!  Hope your week is going well!

Take care,
Linda

Something novel, a short post!

Just a quick post tonight!  I thought I was going to have another challenge to show you tonight and I would have except I used a new product tonight.  Just 2 little dots of it, that was all.  Then I read the directions.. . "for best results let dry overnight."   Since I was going to be lazy and scan the card instead of take a picture, I think I will wait until tomorrow before I complete it - just in case.  I'd be very upset if the product ended up on the platen of my scanner. 

Instead of showing you a card, I will show you fabulous blog candy!  Lynn Stevens is giving way this scrumptious goodness on her Trash to Treasures blog.    Hop on over and see what she has to say!  While you are there, check out some of her awesome work!

Good luck!

Linda

Another challenge - this one for Sunday Postcard Art

I got a third challenge completed today and I went out to lunch and shopped with Charlene!  It was a busy day, but I loved it! 

The week's theme at Sunday Postcard Art is sewing.  I finally  used the Wendy Vecchi stamps I won awhile back!  The skirt and the saying are from the "Fashion Style and Art" set.  I started with an old pattern, using Claudine Hellmuth's Studio multi-medium matte I added 3 layers of pattern to the cardstock base.  I stamped the skirt on to a piece of the pattern (tissue) paper, then pinned it (with "real" straight pins!) to some fabric.  I stamped the saying directly on another piece of fabric.  I sewed the button on the fabric, punched two holes in the paper and pinned using a safety pin.  I sewed the red buttons directly to the card (I used my craft pick to punch holes in the paper to make sewing easier).   The thimble and spool of thread are "Dress It Up" Tiny Collection - Sewing.   I used some alcohol ink metal mixative in silver for the thimble.  I wrapped some red thread around the spool and left a "tail" hanging down.  The tape measure is a photocopy that I had lying around.  The snap is a real snap I used a glue dot to adhere.  I pinked the edges for a finishing touch!

There it is, my first completed Sunday Postcard Art challenge!  Thanks for looking! Have a fabulous week!

Take care,

Linda

On a roll! GC52: Color Challenge - Kraft completed

I completed a simple birthday card for the Gingersnaps Creations #52: Color Challenge - Kraft! 

I crumpled up a brown (kraft) paper bag, added some vintage photo distress ink, crumpled it up again and added some pumice stone distress ink.  I gave it a quick spritz of water then ironed the paper smooth.  I used Staz-on jet black ink on the Tim Holtz stamp.  I added a compass from Tim's "salvaged stickers" and a small spinner.  The "Happy Birthday" was computer generated at some point. . .it fell out of my stash of scraps when I was looking for some background paper.  The background was a leftover of "road trip" by Reminisce, it's hard to tell in the picture, but there is a map.  The card is a kraft cardstock.

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you take a few minutes to leave a comment.

Linda

Collage Obession Challenge 14 - completed!

I used the challenge at Collage Obession for the basis for a Mother's Day card for my mother-in-law.  The theme for the week is flowers and the challenge image for this week is a still life painting of Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder. 

I "collaged" the picture on to itself!  In some parts, there are 4 layers, and I added stickles to the outter most layer.  I also added the little tag.   I mounted it on some mulberry paper and then on a pink cardstock base.   It was a fairly quick (except for all the cutting) card.  Inside is stamped "happy mother's day".

Thanks for stopping by, hope you take a moment to leave a comment!

Linda