A Bracelet

This is a bracelet I made from a kit I bought at the rubber stamp expo in Riverside. Tami had been handed a flyer when she arrived at the expo and it was for a booth called Yankiwi, so we headed on over there and we were both in AWE of what was going on there. Soon Heather joined us and we must've spent an hour in that booth. Well, it felt like an hour. The company is called Yankiwi because it is owned by a Yankee, Tray, and a Kiwi, Susan. Susan is from New Zealand and she is very passionate about what she is doing. It was so fun to talk to her and find out where she gets alot of her pieces for these bracelets. I bought a couple of bracelet kits. The "tiles" for the bracelets are actually bleached bamboo with holes pre-drilled in the sides and the ends. They are very lightweight and you can do just about anything you want with them. One of the other little GWO (Gorgeous Wee Objects) kits I bought had a lot of vintage watch parts in it. I love that. The other kit I bought had a bunch of little suns and stars in it, but that is for another bracelet. So, let me tell you how I made this bracelet. First off, you don't have to sand the bamboo. It's done for you already. All you have to do is run a toothpick or something through the holes to make sure they are clean an open. I put my tiles in a cardboard box lid and sprayed them with my Adirondack Color Wash Sprays, first in butterscotch, then lettuce and finally just a sprinkle of cranberry. When I could see it was almost dry, I spritzed them with water. That made the colors run a bit and get a bid mottled. After the first side was completely dry, I did the other side just the same. I then used a few of the stamps I bought from Yankiwi and stamped the tiles randomly with versafine black ink. I let that dry. Then I used my cystal lacquer and put a nice coat on the stamped side of the tiles. While that was still wet, I used my tweezer and put in a few gems and some of the vintage watch parts. I let it dry for a whole day before I strung the bracelet together with the elastic cording (included in the kit). I added some beads that I had in my stash. I can't believe the bracelet is so light and comfortable to wear. It's fantastic. I will definitely go back to the Yankiwi site to order more tiles. The tiles are so easy to work with and there are lots of GWO's for you to choose from for your bracelets. Oh, you can buy tiles for pendants, too. Check it out. Their prices are great and they have a lot of Gorgeous Wee Objects and Stamps to choose from.

To the moon, Alice!

If you're old enough to remember that quote, well you're at least as old as I am. Either that you know your vintage tv shows.

This is a new card I made last weekend at Johanna's. I love the submarine stamp. I've seen other design team members use the submarine stamp to make, helicopters, hot air balloons and blimps. Oh, and submarines, of course!

For this card, I used the submarine, full moon orange, flames, Lale right and Lale left, and space helmet left and right. I paper-pieced each part and then I colored the bands on the submarine/rocket with my Prismas. I think I will add some 3D lacquer on the helmets and then I will be done.

I've been busy working on a secret project. I think you might be seeing it in a few weeks. I'm also working on my Peeps Easter bonnet.

Put Some Peeps on Your Head

Some things are just meant to go together. Cheese and crackers, Brad and Angelina, Peeps and ME! OMG, my sister called me tonight to tell me she emailed me this article. A CONTEST TO MAKE AN EASTER BONNET MADE OUT OF PEEPS!!

Of COURSE I am going to do this. If you know me, you know I love Peeps. Yes, I like to eat them, but more than that, I love looking at them. I have stuffed Peeps, Peeps bubble blowers, Peeps flashlights, blinking Peeps, Peeps jewelry, Peeps recipes, and now I will have a Peeps Easter bonnet. Oh the fun! Did you know that I have even been to the JustBorn factory in Bethlehem, PA? Oh yeah, baby! Oh! Did you know that they are coming out with Tulip shaped Peeps this spring? You can go to the JustBorn website to check it out. Ok, so you're not as excited about Peeps as I am, but gotta admit you are curious to see what I come up with, aren't you? You know, I don't even know what the prize is. I don't even care. I'm just excited to make a Peeps bonnet!!

Tell you what: Tell me something about you and your experience with Peeps (eating, wearing, experimenting), and I will pick a winner from all the posts and send you a great Peeps gift. You'd bettery hurry. I'll be choosing the winner on Feb. 27, the same deadline as the contest.

CPS 51

Hi.

Over at Card Positioning Systems, they have a weekly sketch. Did you know that? I admit, I forget sometimes. Other times, I just can't think of something to do for the sketch, but this time, I just KNEW whatI wanted to do. I used Michelle's Big Scroll for the bottom and then the Paisley Heart. I colored in the scroll and the heart with Prismas. (Oops! I forgot to ist the colors I used. Sorry Patty!) I used PeeWee left and right for the top and added a small paper flower. I outlined the bottom section with my Stickles. This card is 5x5.

Cupcake Time

Have you heard about the justjohanna special deal for February yet? If not, you must still be hibernating. OMG, this is the sweetest deal! CLICK HERE to see my previous post. This first card is one I made using the special deal stamps. I just love the big cupcake stamp (officially called "Frosting First"). There are so many things you can do with this stamp. You can paper piece it like I did here or you can color it with your pencils or paints. Or how about a combination of coloring and piecing? Fabulous!

This card is funner. Is funner a word? Ok, more fun. But funner is a funner word to say. I colored the cupcake row and Kim's Bird with my Prismas. I put the birds on the cupcakes using my stamp positioner. Kim made three of these cute birds and I own them all. They remind me a bit of some of the silly birds in the Tiki Room at Disneyland. "In the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room, where the birds all sing and the flowers bloom...." Sing along with me.... Thanks for coming by today. I am working on some more tutorials.

Coloring frenzy

It has been a coloring-palooza at my house this past week. Jennifer has been doing so many cool cards with her House Mouse stamps that it inspired me to dig into my stamps and do some of my own. This first one is one of my newer stamps and it is right up there with my favorites. Can't you just feel their sugar burnout? Oh, so cute! I put some stickles on the frosting to make it shimmer. I used crystal lacquer on the candles. The bg paper is from DCWV Glitter Stack and boy, is it glittery! I used a scrap of really sparkly pink to mat the image. Then I used my scalloped blade for my paper cutter to cut the small scallops on the green cardstock (Prism). I used my 1/8" red tape on the outside edges of the green cs and then sprinkled some fine glitter on it. Boy, oh boy, this card is girly! This next one is very quick and simple. I stamped the image onto smooth white cardstock with black onyx Versafine ink and colored with my prismas. If this cute little mouse showed up in my teacup, I don't think I'd mind. Simple ribbon embellishment with some Prima flowers and gems. Done. This last card is a Paula Best stamp that I bought up at the rubber stamp expo in Riverside last month. I love the funky style of Paula Best. This card was stamped on white cs with black Versafine ink and colored with Prismas. I colored in "February" and the "11" because that is the birthdate of my coworker. This stamp will be so fun to use for anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, etc. I'm so glad I got it.

Video Tutorial on Coloring with Pencils

I made a video an uploaded it to YouTube. It's a quick 2 minute video on how I blend colors with my Prismacolor pencils. I had a more comprehensive video done, but it was 5 minutes long and for some reason, YouTube wouldn't upload the whole thing, so I remade the video and cut it down to 2 minutes. I'd appreciate your feedback. Did I leave something out? What should I add to the next one? Any suggestions for more videos? I used PeeWee, a justjohanna bird as the image to color.

Golfing Mouse

I've been coloring quite a few House Mouse images lately. I thought this on would be a great guy card. Hard to find a HM card that is manly enough for a guy. I love all the colored tees on this card. It's my favorite part.

I colored this image with Prismacolor pencils. No gamsol, no blenders of any kind. I just blend color on color on color. And then more color. And then I shade and then blend more color. The card is 6x6 overall. I hardly ever make cards this big so this was fun. Just layer upon layer of paper. The sentiment is from Great Impressions.

Mousie Coffee

Jennifer has been coloring some really great House Mouse cards lately, and has inspired me to get into my House Mouse stamps. This is a simple one to color. I colored the coffee cup with my favorite Prismacolor pencil, Limepeel. The cup and the paper match in real life.

I also tried something new here. I picked up a gray Tombow marker at the last rubber stamp expo. I've seen lots of card artists use it to give the image definition and shadow. I don't know that I succeeded in doing either of those things, but I tried.

Thanks for looking at my stuff. BTW, do you know where you can get House Mouse stamps at a great price? Right here. Dick is a great guy and he runs a tight ship over there. Well, I don't really know how tight his ship is. I'm afraid to ask. Anyhow, visit his store. He'll treat you right.

justjohanna special deal for February

Here is the special deal for the month of February from justjohanna rubber stamps. To get this deal, all you have to do is go here and click on the special deal. How cool is that? Did you know that justjohanna has a special deal every month? Hello! Did you have a good superbowl party? We sure did. It got really exciting at the end of the game. Lots of cheering in our house! John made his special dutch oven country-style ribs, sweet beans and cornbread. We had shrimp cocktail, cheese and chips and dip. We had so much food! I'm going to take the leftovers to work tomorrow. Happy day!

You can win this!

Would you like to win this cool book? Go to her website to find out how you can win. It's easy!

This gives me an idea. I need to give away some blog candy. I got stuff I need to give away. Stay tuned for details.

LOOK WHO'S HOME!!!

I am doing the happy dance! Cheeto is home!!

I had convinced myself that he was gone forever, and then what did he do but show up at the back door tonight. He came inside and went straight to the food dish. He is thinner and he is very, very thirsty and hungry. He must've been locked in someone's garage like I initially thought.

After he gorged himself, he came and sat up on my lap and let me give him lots of ear scritches and head rubs. He purred and purred. I was so happy he was home that John hugged me while I cried.

Thank you all for your prayers. I know it helped bring him home. I know I kinda made fun of St. Joseph last night, but on a previous post, ~missprissme told me a prayer to St. Anthony and I recited it. Many times. I am not a religious person, but I believe that the powers that be know when you ask for something with all your heart. Thank you with all my heart.

I think I will let Cheeto sleep on the bed tonight.