No Place Like Home

Today I am bringing you a card that truly says how I feel...there is no place like home! While doing numerous loads of dishes and laundry, I was looking out the window at all the horrible rain we have been having I was so thankful to have these walls that surround me!

These walls keep the bad weather out and all of the coziness inside the house while keeping my family warm. My house isn't a big one and sure it needs some repairs and updates, but I wouldn't have it any other way...well, maybe without the house work and if only I could paint the vinyl siding this cool shade of turquoise ;) But, we can't have everything we want right? lol

This bright and cheery card was made for the June '09 Dirty Dozen gallery and these stamps are some of Anna Wight's adorable creations. They are so fun that they really do call for outrageous colours sometimes! In this case, I chose to water colour these images with my Tombow Markers and then cut them out and mount them on my Sponged Background. I paired it up with some Scenic Route papers and stepped out of my cozy box to bring you this really vibrant card :)

I hope that you enjoyed this creation because it certainly brightened my gloomy day to see it again :) Well...back to my laundry. Mt. St. Laundry is about to erupt any minute now!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Whipper Snapper Designs - Love at Home, Hello Neighbor
Paper: Gina K, Watercolour, Tempting Turquoise, Scenic Route DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Baja Breeze, Bordering Blue, Not Quite Navy, Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Corner Rounder Punch, Aqua Painter, Re-Inkers, Clear Embossing Powder, Sponges, Dimensionals, 1/4" Circle Punch, Ribbon, Brads

FS136 - A Bug for Shannan

How excited was I when I saw that THE FABULOUS Shannan Teubner (Steubner)was being honoured as this week's Featured Stamper? Pretty darn excited that's for sure! Not only is she incredibly talented but she is the biggest sweetheart too :)




So with that being said, of course I had to play along! Here is the card that I cased from Shannan. I made a bunch of changes but the card still has the same feeling, shape and colours...that's my story and I'm sticking to it *wink*



I watercoloured Anna's Whipper Snapper bug with both Re-inkers and Tombow Markers, then cut the image out and placed it on my sponged background. I added some stamped flies with my CDStamps Catchin' Flies Wheel because I thought it was a really sweet match and added the word window punched accents at the bottom with my computer generated sentiment.

That's all for tonight as it's really late here. Be sure to pop by Shannan's gallery to take a peek and if you get a chance, play along with the challenge. Let's show this diva some love people *wink*

Congratulations Shannan! You deserve it :)


Card Recipe:

Stamps: Whipper Snapper, Clear Dollar Stamps - Catchin' Flies
Paper: Gina K, Watercolour, Cosmo Cricket DP, Basic Grey DP, Scenic Route DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Dk Brown, Lt Brown, Dk Green
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilies, Embossing Folders, WW Punch, Brads, Corner Rounder, Oval Punch, Sponges, Pop Dots, Aqua Painter, Tombow Markers, Re-Inkers, Stickles, Computer Generated Sentiment

OCC - Colour Challenge with Chicken Soup

It's time for another challenge at Our Creative Corner. This week' s challenge was pick by yours truly and is a colour challenge. Are you ready ladies? Here are your colours: Bashful Blue, More Mustard, Not Quite Navy and a neutral of your choice. If you don't have those exact colours, don't fret! Simply choose colours that are similar and carry on with your fabulous creation :D



What came first, the chicken or the soup? *snicker* Sorry! I couldn't resist! I made this card with one of this season's new releases from Whipper Snapper Designs! This cute little fellow just happens to be one of Anna Wight's designs :)

Soooo, do you like this card? Wanna chance to win this card, and this one...oh and let's not forget this one? All you have to do is make a donation to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal to be entered in the non-raffle for a chance to win one of over 100 prizes! I donated a couple of my cards plus a stamp set and would love them to go to a generous person who is able to help out other's in need. For more info on how you can help please click here.




This Chicken Soup card has been watercoloured and paper tole'd. I coated the beak and cup n' saucer in crystal effects to give it a ceramic glazed feel and for added texture :) Let me tell you, over the past week I have been drinking a lot of this stuff! If you were by chance wondering where I have been since last Saturday, I was nursing my flu bitten kids back to health and in the meantime have been laid up with the flu bug myself! With 3 of us now on the mend my poor husband is down for the count! Hopefully all the germs will cease to exist soon!!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Whipper Snapper Designs- Chicken Soup
Paper: PTI White, Not Quite Navy, More Mustard, Basic Black, Bashful Blue, Watercolour
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, More Mustard, Not Quite Navy, Bashful Blue & Re-Inkers
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Corner Rounder Punch, Scalloped Edge Punch, Brads, Ribbon, Crystal Effects, Gel Pen, Dimensionals, Sponges

OCC - Add a Doodle

This weeks challenge at the OCC is to add a doodle! Yes ladies, that does mean pull out some pens and start to scribble, or use a doodley stamp or a doodle chipboard...the possibilities are endless! We would love it if you would link your creation back to Our Creative Corner so that we can see your wonderful creations :) If you are uploading your card to SCS, then please use the letters OCCC in the keyword box so that it automatically loads into the OCC gallery there.



March usually brings change and it sure has at the OCC. Some of the girls have moved on to other commitments and we wish them the best of luck, but will miss them deeply :) With that said...we have some surprises for this month over at Our Creative Corner. We have welcomed 5 new girls to the design team! Please help me extend a warm welcome to the newest members of the OCC:

Vicki Garrett
Jenny Gropp
Frances Bryne
Robin Willis
Loretta Lock

Now for some info about my card :) I used my new stamp from Whipper Snapper Designs to make this card. I love this particular stamp because every time I look at it, he makes me laugh! The sentiment was computer generated and then cut out with my word window punch. I choose to use the sketch from this weeks mojo challenge and I actually made a regular A2 sized card! Whoa, nelly! I can't even remember the last time I made a card that size!

My main image is watercoloured and then the jar part was coated in crystal effects. I added some texture by embossing some of the designer paper, stitching with my sewing machine, adding eyelets and adding hemp twine with some knots for some fun.

Just a reminder about my 100,000 hit blog candy! If you haven't already entered to win it, you can do so here.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Whipper Snapper Designs
Paper: PTI White, Basic Grey CS, Basic Grey Granola DP, Watercolour
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Baja Breeze, Creamy Caramel, More Mustard, Close to Cocoa, Basic Grey, Bordering Blue
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Crystal Effects, Eyelets, Hemp Twine, Dimensionals, Sponges, Re-Inkers, Aqua Painter, Corner Rounder Punch, Word Window Punch, Computer Generated Sentiment

OCC - Sketched Valentine Challenge

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope that you all enjoy your day get spoiled by your special someone :)

Today the challenge over at Our Creative Corner blog is a sketch challenge provided to us by our very own Laurie Schmidlin. The sketch was only half of the challenge! Because today is Valentine's Day we were to mail our card off to someone special....so one lucky person is going to be receiving this sweet Valentine :)...Oh and it already went postal earlier in the week *wink*



I decided to try something a little different with the sketch. I ended up flipping the design upside down to fit with my Whipper Snapper Bear Hugs set. I needed the comment bubble on the right hand side so of course the whole card had to be reversed to fit. Apparently I like to make things more difficult than they need to be! lol



Isn't this little bear cute? He's been accented with Pink Pirouette and Rose Red to fit right in with my new Bittersweet Basic Grey Collection that's perfect for Valentine's Day! I just love this paper with it's hint of soft pinks. Mmm...pinks and browns, it has sweetness written all over it *wink*

We would love for you to participate in this week's challenge, so just pop by the OCC Blog to see the sketch and when your done your card pop back in a leave a direct link to your blog or gallery so that we can take a peek too! If you are uploading your challenge card to SCS then don't forget to add OCCC into your keywords :) Now that I'm done babbling, click over to see this week's guest designer Tosh Leyendekker's card and all of the fabulous samples that the OCC Design Team has come up with :)

Jennifer Meyer

Amy Sheffer
Laurie Schmidlin
Dawn Easton
Cindy Haffner
Julee Tilman
Lynda Benden
Silke Ledlow
Jackie Pedrow
Lori Boyd

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Whipper Snapper Designs - Bear Hugs
Paper: PTI White, Chocolate Chip, Watercolour, Pink Pirouette, Basic Grey DP
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Creamy Caramel, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Various Re-Inkers for Watercolouring
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, Button, Ribbon, Aqua Painter, Dew Drops, Crystal Effects, Dimensionals, Sponges, Mat Pack, Piercing Tool, 1" Circle Punch

OCC - Charmed Butterfly

This is my card for today's Inspiration Challenge over at Our Creative Corner. The challenge is to pick one of your favourite embellishments and take inspiration from it - easy peasy! My inspiration was this sweet little pewter butterfly charm :D I chose to use this cute butterfly to match from my Whipper Snapper Designs set called Love at Home (Anna Wight Designs). I was severely lacking in a sketch that worked with my card so I went to Julee Tilman's Mojo Challenge blog and chose Mojo72 to work with. If you haven't been to the Mojo blog, you are missing out! Julee is the queen of sketches!

My butterfly has been embossed, watercoloured with re-inkers , cut out and popped up. I thought that I would give the trio of flowers embossing folder at try, but I'm not sure that I like the effect of it 100% - it may still grow on me though *grin*

Don't forget to pop by the Our Creative Corner blog to play along and to check out what the other girls have been designing just for your viewing pleasure :) - We have a new designer to introduce you to as well *wink*


Card Recipe:

Stamps: Whipper Snapper Designs - Love at Home
Paper: PTI White, Always Artichoke, Soft Sky, Watercolour, 29th St DP, Basic Grey DP, Messlia Frances DP
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Bordering Blue, Soft Sky, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Embossing Folders, Half Pearls, Charm, Taffeta Ribbon, Aqua Painter, Clear Embossing Powder, EK Success Corner Punch, Linen Thread, 1/4" Circle Punch

A Rose For You - Mojo68

Yay! Preschool is finally back in for my kiddo's and I am joyfully listening to the sound of nothing in my house :D Those of you with small children understand the simple joys of public education and the need for a peaceful house once in a while *grin* So to honor this festive occasion I thought that I would share with you a completed Mojo Monday Challenge #68! This is the first one that I have ever complete in the same month that it was actually happening! lol



The 3 Bugs in a Rug designer paper was my inspiration for the image that I chose. If you look closely at it, it has some funky roses on it that matches the rose in this lovable little guy's hand. I used one of the new releases from Whipper Snapper called Bear Hugs to make my card as cute as can be :P



I switched up the Mojo68 sketch just a little buy substituting some dew drops for the half circle that attaches itself to the main image. I made Mr. Bear 3D and added some crystal effects accents on his nose, rose and the leaf. I put a little bit of an ink wash around the bear and then sponged some more ink lightly around it to make sort of an air brushed effect. The xoxo heart is a stamped image that has been watercoloured and cut out with some white gel pen for highlighting.

I hope that you enjoy my little card today, now if you will pardon me...I'm off to revel in the solitude that is my empty house for a few minutes before I have to go and get my little noise makers from preschool! :D


Card Recipe:

Stamps: Whipper Snapper Designs - Bear Hugs
Paper: PTI White, Close to Cocoa, Watercolour, 3 Bugs in a Rug DP
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Regal Rose, Garden Green, Close to Cocoa, Bashful Blue, Re-Inkers for Watercolouring
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Dew Drops, Gel Pen, Crystal Effects, Aqua Painter, Clear Embossing Powder, Mat Pack, Piercing Tool, Dimensionals, Sponges, Lg & Sm Oval Punches, Martha Stewart Scallop Punch

Primitive Button Tree

Hi. My name is Kim and I'm a texture-aholic! I think I hit a new level of texture with this card! I know that this isn't my usual style, but I gained a whole lot of inspiration from Anna Wight's feltie Christmas Ornaments :) And since the inspiration was from Anna, I thought that I would use one of her stamp sets too! Last week while shopping with my friend, I was convinced to buy a clearance baggie of wooden buttons - I had no idea what I was going to use them for but I knew that I would use them one day...more sooner than later in this case!



Anna's wool felt ornaments remind me of a Christmas in the country with all of the handmade critters. I wanted that feel to my card and this was my approach. I used some recycled warm and natural cotton quit batting for the background of my primitive "tree". I then took some tracing paper and stamped the tree from the new Whipper Snapper set called Hello Neighbor on it and pinned it to my batting. I used some basic embroidery techniques and backstitched the outline of the trunk following my stamped image and then filled it in with crude stitching. I decided not to create the outline of the leaves and used my buttons to create the shapes. After the stitching was all finished I tore out the tracing paper from underneath my image as the stitching perforated it for easy removal :)

I sewed the image to some cardstock to even up the edges and then added some decorative cross stitching once I adhered it to the base of my card. I added the sentiment and distressed the edges before I finished it off with a blanket stitch. This card allowed me to have a taste of something that I haven't done in quite a while... both quilting and embroidery. I was part of both of the local guilds before I had my kids and just never got back into it...then I was bitten by the papercraft bug! The rest is history!


Card Recipe:

Stamps: Whipper Snapper Designs - Hello Neighbor
Paper: PTI White, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Kraft
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Warm and Natural Quilt Batting, Wooden Buttons, Emboridery Thread, Needle, Cuttlebug, Dimensionals, Mat Pack, Piercing Tool, Sponges, Craft Knife, Tracing Paper

SC209 - Enjoy the Little Things & Good News!

I have some fantastic news to share with you today, but you will just have to wait till the end of the post so that I can shout it from the roof tops and not distract you from ready my blabber! lol Now on with the challenge...I pulled out two of Anna Wight's newest sets called Hello Neighbor and Love at home to complete today's sketch SC209. I ended up changing the shape of the card to a square and this card measures 4 1/4" x 4 1/4". I think I might have a slight addiction to square cards!!




I particularly love the Hello Neighbor set because you can mix and match the images to create little scenes :) I masked off the mail box so that I could perch my little blue bird on top of it - doesn't he look like he's singing into the wind?



I added this sentiment from Love at Home because it was ideal for my little mail box. Who doesn't enjoy little things like happy mail :) As usual, I stitched around the entire card because it adds interest to my more simple design. The mail box and blue bird have been stamped twice, cut out and popped up on dimesionals. I felt the card still needed some more texture, so at the last minute I decided to run the blue DP through my cuttlebug with the birds and swirls embossing folder - rather appropriate don't you think? *grin*

So now that you have listened to me drone on about my card, I have some great news to share with you that I have kept under lock and key for the last couple of days! I was recently asked by Jennifer Meyer to join the Our Creative Corner Design Team!!! Yay! Not only do I get to be a newbie there, but so does Silke Ledlow and Jackie Pedrow :) We are all so excited to be part of such and inspirational team! Please stop by the OCC blog to congratulate the other girls and to see some more hints of things to come in 2009!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Whipper Snapper Designs - Hello Neighbor, Love at Home
Paper: PTI White, Close to Cocoa, K&Co DP, Watercolour
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Re-Inkers
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Clear Embossing Powder, Brads, Button, 3/4" Circle Punch, Dimensionals, Sponges, Corner Rounder Punch, Aqua Painter

FS99 and IC160 with Love at Home

This was a fun little card to do although it took me the entire weekend! Every time I sat down to create a card for Saturday's Inspiration Challenge (IC160) I got called away by my kids and never did have enough time to return. I did have a chance to pick out the papers that I was planning on using thank goodness! This Pashmina was my inspiration piece.

So for today's Featured Stamper (FS99), Stampfilled Dreams (Barbara Schram), I was bound and determined to put the two challenges together! I just so happened to have had my new Whipper Snapper Designs butterfly handy from the new release called Love at home when I ran into this card that I ended up CASE'ing.



Barbara's colours on her butterfly and the layout for the card fit nicely for what I had in mind so here we are today with me finally being able to show you a finished project :) I used the butterfly and one of the sentiments from Anna's new set. To be able to make the sentiment work with my card I actually used a marker and a stamp-a-majig to move around some words. I added some Kaiser Pearls, cuttlebug embossing and a hatpin from my Pretties Kit to dress up my simple card :)

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Whipper Snapper Designs - Love at Home
Paper: PTI White, Old Olive, K&Co DP, Basic Grey DP
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Old Olive, Rose Red, Creamy Caramel, Re-Inkers for Watercolouring
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Kaiser Pears, Pretties Kit, Clear Embossing Powder, Aqua Painter, Sponges, Dimensionals, Stamp-a-majig, Basic Black Marker, Organza Ribbon

Home Sweet....Somebody Else's Home!

This is where I want to be right now because at our house we are buried in 2 1/2 feet of snow that doesn't look like it's going to melt anytime soon! Normally I don't complain about our wonderful snowfalls as we don't get as much snow compared to most Canadian cities, however it is starting to hinder my last minute Christmas shopping! ...I might be a bit of a last minute shopper... but I'm not saying for sure *wink*



Earlier today while I sat here watching my husband shovel the driveway *snicker* I felt the need to create something bright and cheerful that felt like the beginning of Spring. This is what I came up with :) I used one of the new releases from Whipper Snapper Designs called Hello Neighbor and masked some of the images to create a fun little "forest" of trees behind the house. I pulled out my much loved Martha Stewart Fence punch and created a picket fence with some puffy white clouds and bright green blades of grass (most of which I ended up covering up!) Apparently it's all in the details for me even if you can't see them! lol



I tried to show you the Crystal Effects on the windows in this photo, but I didn't quite capture the shine as I had hoped...use your imagination :) Some of you know that this particular set of label's dies from Spellbinders doesn't come with a nesting set that has a smaller border. I created the chocolate chip border by eyeballing it and hoping for the best! lol

All of my images are watercoloured with an Aqua Painter and Stampin' Up! Re-Inkers that I specifically chose colours that would coordinate with the designer papers. I know...you probably recognize these papers from my last post, but I can't help it...honest! They were sitting next to me on my desk staring at me and silently whispering..."use me" *grin*

Just to reiterate that I would like to be in this card right now....



because this is what I am in for if I go outside! We have had another 18 inches of snow since this picture was taken! Brrr!


Card Recipe:

Stamps: Whipper Snapper Designs - Hello Neighbor
Paper: PTI White, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Scenic Route DP, Watercolour
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Always Artichoke, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Various Re-Inkers for Watercolouring
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Brads, Ribbon, Sponges, Dimensionals, Aqua Painter, Decorative Scissors, Cloud Stencil, Martha Stewart Fence Punch, Mat Pack, Piercing Tool, Embossing Powder, Crystal Effects

Whipper Snapper Release Day!

Whoo Hoo! It's December 15th and Miss Anna Wight has not one, not two, but 3 new sets out for purchase today! Get those pens and paper out ladies, it's time to make out your wish list for Santa *wink* For my card today, I used one of these fabulous new sets called Bear Hugs. It's so sweet and perfect for Valentine's Day.



Just look at this handsome brown bear all dressed up in his little red bow tie. He is just so irresistible...you know you want him! He is paper toled and tethered to a fabulous red glossy heart balloon via some linen thread.



Just to bring out the enabler in me, I thought that I would share with you what all the new Whipper Snapper releases are. Just click on the picture below to see the images on a larger scale or visit the Whipper Snapper Website.



And because I'm a really big meanie, I highly recommend stopping by all the Whipper Snapper Featured Designers blogs to see what they have created for the big release!

Anna Wight
Cindy Lawrence
Lana Lepinski
Cindy Haffner
Tori Wild

Happy Shopping everybody! lol

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Whipper Snapper Designs - Bear Hugs
Paper: PTI White, Close to Cocoa, Basic Grey DP, K&Co DP, Watercolour
Ink: Basic Black, Close to Cocoa, Versa Mark, Riding Hood Red, Various Re-Inkers for Watercolouring
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Crystal Effects, Clear Embossing Powder, Grosgrain Ribbon, Linen Thread, Dimensionals, Sponges, Corner Rounder Punch, Embossing Folder, Aqua Painter, Mini Glue Dots

Hot Cocoa Anyone?

Mmmm, doesn't this brimming ceramic cup full of hot cocoa and marshmallows look delish? A perfect remedy for any chilly day! This was the card that I was working on the other day when I was interrupted by my little "angels". You can read that fun filled story here in case you missed it. Warning - this post may cause you to reminisce and break out in fits of giggles at my expense!



Just look at the glossiness of my faux ceramic mug created with my crystal effects :) I added some dots with my gel pen to create some more interest. I used my Whipper Snapper Winter Schminter set get this card going with a little help from last Friday's LC195 and this week's Sketch Challenge.



I used the emboss resist technique for the snowflake "steam" coming off the cup. I pulled out my much loved Versa Mark and heat embossed the image with clear embossing powder before I sponged my Sahara Sand on the background. Doing this adds some more interest to your card and allows the stamped and coloured images to "pop".



I decided to round all the corners on my card and sponge them with chocolate chip ink as well - you just never can have too much chocolate! (My waistline would disagree) lol

I ran my polka dot paper through my cuttlebug snowflakes embossing folder to create more texture and to help distress the paper a little. All papers used on this card are from last year's Basic Grey Figgy Pudding collection. I'm pretty sure I only ever remember the Basic Grey collections because I love them and hoard them!

Before I end this post I would like to wish all of my American friends a very Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels :) I would also like to let you all know that Kelley has decided to offer FREE SHIPPING on all orders this weekend (Friday-Sunday) on all US orders. Yay! Free Shipping equals more money for new rubber :)



Card Recipe:

Stamps: Whipper Snapper - Winter Schminter
Paper: Papertrey White, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Watercolour, Basic Grey DP
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand, Re-Inkers for Watercolouring
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Liquid Applique, Corner Rounder, Scallop Edge Punch, Dimensionals, Aqua Painter, Sponges, Embossing Powder, Martha Stewart Snowflake Punch, Dew Drop