I can't craft like this!

I have crafted myself into a corner. It's horrible. This is only about 1/4 of the room I craft in. No, you cannot see the rest of it. Actually, the rest of the room is tidy, it's just this section where I sit that's such a mess. I like my supplies handy, but then I use them and then don't put them away. Yikes-a-rooni, I must go clean now or I won't be able to craft tonight.

I got some great stamps and supplies from the Paper Garden Projects store and I can't wait to share them with you, so off I go to clean the mess first. Forget dinner. I have priorities!

Happy Birthday to the Queen of Odd Bird Planet!

Today is Johanna's birthday. Happy birthday, my friend. I hope you have a fantastic day! One Caramelo with a cherry on top is headed your way soon.

Birthday Bag

Hey, have you missed me? I've been in a non-crafting mood, but I feel like I'm coming out of it. Hooray! I think I heard my stamps calling me. Whenever I feel stagnant in the crafting world, I try a challenge, either a sketch or a specific stamps. This project fulfills the Papertake Weekly Challenge for the past week. The challenge was to use dots and stripes in your project. For my entry, I got out my Basic Grey "Cupcake" paper to use with some stamps from Odd Bird Planet. I wanted to do something different than a card, so I went into my "bag stash" and chose a small bag. Ok, so a confession here: I am a gift bag hog. I love the ones you get at the dollar stores. So, do I give many gifts? Well, no. Not a lot of gifts, but I like having lots of choices when I DO give a gift. This bag is 4x7 and I chose it because I could cover the front and the side colors matched the cardstock I chose to use. Check it out below. One side of the bag is green and the other side is orange.

When doing this project, I realized I didn't have the right color of ribbon embellishment to use, so I got out my "I Want It White Embellishment Collection" from the Paper Garden Projects store. This kit is awesome. It comes with all kinds of ribbon and rickrack, prima flowers and dew drops. I used my Copics to color the rickrack in the colors to match my cardstock. One row of rickrack just wasn't enough, so I did three rows. I had some left over, so I used the scraps on my sentiment. I colored the dew drops in the same colors I used coloring the rickrack and the images.

Speaking of coloring the images... Since the BG paper is not a solid print, I wanted my image to match. The colors on the paper are a bit mottled, so using what I learned in the Copics Certification class, I texturized the image. Here's how you do it. Color your image first. Then, using a crumpled tissue and some Colorless Blender Solution, dab it on the image lightly. Put the blender solution on the tissue and then dab the tissue on the image. Let it dry before you dab the image again. The Colorless Blender will lift some of the color and the more you do it, the more color is lifted. Pretty nifty, huh? Check out the image below to see a close-up of my image.

These are all the items I used in this project. Did you know all these items are on sale right now at the Paper Garden Projects store? Oh yeah. From now until May 11th, you can take 15% off everything in the store, including sale items!!

I hope you like my little gift bag. Give it a try, it's fun and easy. Oh, and don't forget to check out the PGP store for some great bargains!

Supplies used:

Copics: Colorless blender, YR21 cream, R14 light YG63 pea green, B16 cyanine blue, C3 cool gray no. 3, C5 cool gray no. 5.

Versamagic ink: Sea Breeze.

Odd Bird Planet Stamps: Happy Birthday and Ellie the Elephant

I Want It White Embellishment Collection

House Mouse Monday Challenge #34

The theme for this week's House Mouse weekly challenge is "Springtime". I thought lots of cardmakers would be making cards with flowers, so I thought this image would be great for spring, too. Whenever the weather gets warm, I always go for the popsicles. My favorite flavor is orange, so that's what I gave these mice. Thanks for the opportunity to enter the challenge. It's always fun.

I used the spotlight technique for this card. It's easy to do. Stamp your image twice. Choose an area on the image that you want to highlight. This would be an area of interest, like the two mice and the popsicle. Color the area on one stamped image. Cut it out with your circle cutter. Since my stamped image is very large, I chose a large circle. If I would've chosen a smaller circle, it would've looked a little silly, I think. So I cut out the circle area and then I used a black marker to edge the circle for a little definition. Adhere the circle to the card. That's it. Try this technique sometime. It's quick and fun.

Earth Day winner!

Thanks to all of you who participated in my Earth Day Challenge. The winner of my challenge is: Jenn! Double N Jenn! Here's a link to the winning card. Congrats, Jenn. Please EMAIL ME and give me your name and address so I can get your prize out to you!

Earth Day Challenge

** Holy guacamole, my post didn't post on time! I had it set to go but I must've put in the wrong time. A million apologies. On with the post: Happy Earth Day!! When I think of Earth Day, I think of doing things that save the earth and the earth's resources. When I buy things, I try not to buy things that have a lot of packaging that will be thrown in the trash. That's just me. When I read magazines, it bugs me so much that they put in so many of those little inserts, attached or not, that want you to subscribe to their magazine. I've found 4-6 of them in just one magazine! My challenge to you, is to take one of those subscription inserts and use it somehow on your card. You can color it, tear it, stamp on it, ink it, paint it, whatever! Here's what I did with one of the inserts from my magazine: I used all OBP stamps and stamped them on white cardstock, cut them out and mounted them on top of the subscription card. I pop dotted the earth topiary and the kitty. The chaise is cut out and adhered to the card and the chandelier is stamped, embossed, colored and glittered directly to the card. I colored my subscription card with Copics. I gave it a good base coat with one color, then used a tissue soaked with colorless blending solution and another Copic color and dabbed it on. You could do the same thing with alcohol inks if you had a glossy cardstock. Let's see what you do with your subscription cards. You have until midnight tomorrow to finish this challenge and all the other challenges by OBP design team members. You do NOT have to use OBP stamps, but if you have 'em, use 'em! Here's what you do. Make your card and post it on your blog. Make a comment to this post with a direct link to your post on your blog. Here's some more info: OBP's Design Team will be hosting challenges on their blogs. These challenges will also be posted on OBP's Group area of Paper Craft Planet. You'll have until Thursday at midnight to complete any and all challenges. Do you want to know what you're playing for, other than the satisfaction of making some awesome cards and projects? One winner from each of the challenges will receive either an Earth or a "Limited Edition" Al on Earth stamp. That one winner will then be entered into the drawing for one of the grand prizes:
 o One winner will receive $100 in Odd Bird Planet stamps
 o One winner will receive $50 in Odd Bird Planet stamps
 o Five winners will receive a 25% discount coupon when they place a Odd Bird Planet order. Here's the schedule (all times are PDT), challenge hostesses, and their blog urls: 6:00 am – 9:00 amRina, Sparkle, Suzy, Godelieve 9:00 am – 12:00 pmNicole, Tracy, Dianne 12:00 pm – 3:00 pmKim, Tanis 3:00 pm – 6:00 pmBeth, Marnie, Teresa 6:00 pm – 9:00 pmLaura 9:00 pm – 12:00 amDebbie, Kathi Ok, enough information! Let's get crafting. I want to see what you can do with those pesky subscription cards!!!

Happy Earth Day!

Well, 6am came and went. I overslept. Check HERE for the schedule of Earth Day events. Each person on that schedule will be hosting a challenge in that time slot. Follow the instructions on each blog so you know where to post your card. Don't forget to check out the OBP forum on Paper Craft Planet. Lots of info and happenings there, too. My challenge is at 9pm tonight. Come back and see me!

Earth Day coming up tomorrow!!

There is going to be a HUGE Earth Day celebration tomorrow, Wednesday, April 22nd over on Odd Bird Planet. Many of the OBP DT members will be hosting challenges on their blogs - with prizes!! You will have until midnight on Thursday the 23rd to finish any and all challenges. Check back at 6am tomorrow for more information. Get ready to be crafty!

Chilly Spring Day

I know I shouldn't complain about the windy, chilly weather here in San Diego County, but I am. I live in North County for a reason - I like it warm, almost hot, so when the weather turned out to be only 58 and windy (15 mph), I was disappointed. It did rain a bit yesterday and that was nice, but it was over by evening. Now it's just cold and I want warm spring days. I'm actually more ready for summer, but I know spring has to come first.

Here is my attempt at feeling springy. I made this spring banner last weekend at craft night at Johanna's. I used my Hero Arts alphabet set for the big letters. The paper is from a DCWV spring pack I got at Michael's over a year ago. I have this banner hanging on the outside of my cubicle wall at work. It needed some brightening up, that's for sure.

For each section of the banner, I cut a 8.5 x 11 paper in half to 5.5 x 8.5. On the 5.5 side, I measured to the middle of the side, which is 2.75" and then cut from the opposite corner to the middle of the paper to my mark. I did that from each corner. I covered each triangle with paper from the DCWV pack and then embellished simply with flowers and sparkle gems. I outlined each letter with black diamond Stickles. Each section is bordered with lace from my stash adhered with double-sided red sticky tape.

It was fun to get out my box of Primas and see which ones matched, and I've come to one conclusion: I don't need all those flowers in all those colors. You know why? Because I can just buy white or cream AND COLOR THEM! Look at the picture above. In the "S" section. See the orange flower? Now see the yellow flower? Well, those started out as white Primas. Check it out below.

The yellow came out a bit brighter than I wanted, but hey, this was an experiment. The orange matches my paper perfectly. So do you know how I did it? With Copics!! It was super easy and if you put enough ink on the flower, you can blend the colors nicely.

That's it from me today. I'm getting geared up for Coachella. It's going to be a fantastic weekend. The weather will be hot - in the high 90's - and the nights will be cool - in the 60's. I can't wait to hear all the new bands as well as the well-known bands. Did you know people come from all over the WORLD to this music festival? It's so awesome!

Have a crafty weekend and we'll catch you on the flip-flop.

OBP Sale is almost over!

Happy Sunday! Hey, you didn't forget about the sale over at Odd Bird Planet, did you? Ok, good. I'm sure you were just waiting for pay day, right? Yeah, me, too. I love this stamp. It's Larry Strongbird. Regular price for this stamp is $10, but you can get him for only $7 until April 8th. I colored him with my Prismacolor pencils. I can't remember which colors I used. I always forget to write that down. I Cuttlebugged some violet shimmer stock and matted it with black. The reason I chose violet and yellow is because they are opposite on the color wheel. In other words, they are complementary colors. Whenever I can't decide what colors to use on a card, I get out my color wheel. It comes in very handy. That gives me an idea. Do you think a tutorial on using the color wheel would be beneficial? Here's a close-up of Larry Strongbird. I love how his leotard is leopard-spotted. I think that's funny. I'm working on my shading. I think my perseverance is paying off. I'm learning how to shade in details, like his muscles. Kind of gives the arms/wings definitition. Here's the list of stamps on sale over at OBP. There are so many, I'm sure you can find something for yourself or maybe for a gift? Have a great week!

Another bunny!

Yes, I've been busy today. The old creative juices are flowing today, that's for sure. Most times I can't think of a single card to make, and yet today, I've made 4 or 5 cards. Geez. This is another cute bunny from the Lucky Bunny set. These bunnies are just too cute! Did I mention this set is on sale right now?

Summer is coming, I'm sure of it!

Here are a few more cards made with the Eat Cake Graphics images. When I decide which images to use for a card, I always stamp extra images. I use those extra images to practice color choices and shading. These two cards were made with a few of the extra images I used from the previous post. I think this little guy is supposed to be wearing floaties and I somehow colored him like he's wearing a t-shirt. Oh well, who really knows, huh?

This little girl reminds me of me when I was little. I had long blonde hair most of the time and I had freckles when I was younger. This sentiment is an old one from the $1 bin at Michael's. It's a colorful card, that's for sure.

Is it summer yet?

It's gorgeous outside today. About 80 degrees, I'd say. AND it's still March. You never know what you're going to get from one day to the next in Southern California. In some areas, it's still snowing, but here it's warm. Well, I am ready for summer and so I thought I'd make a card to show how much I want it.

This card uses a combo of Eat Cake Graphics and Odd Bird Planet stamps. The tree is the OBP stamp and the others are ECG, which can be found in a cute set over at PGP. The sun is a QuicKutz die colored with Copics. I colored everything with Copics. I drew in a few tufts of grass with my Copic Multiliner pen. Sentiment is from a label buddy. Quick and easy.

How was your weather today?

Another cute bunny

Yes, I do love me some of these bunnies!

This is another image from the Greeting Farm collection of stamps over at the Paper Garden Projects store.

I paper pieced this card, too. For details on how to paper piece, see previous post.

To cut the opening in the front of the card, I first adhered my background paper. Then I positioned my Nestabilities die over just the front of the card in the position I wanted and ran it through my Cuttlebug. I removed the inside cutout piece. Then I put the die, face down, on top of the front of the card and using a black felt pen, I drew around the Nesties die. This gave it a frame effect. Then I used the same Nesties die and cut out the orangy-red piece. I positioned the red piece inside the window and adhered it to the inside of the card. I paper pieced the image. I used my clear Spica pen on the gift to give it a little pizazz.

I layed some cardstock on the bottom of the card added some ribbon and a couple of sparkle brads. I stamped the sentiment on white cardstock and then layered it on gold and cut around it to leave a shadow color. The sentiment is pop dotted off the front.

Thanks for stopping by today. I appreciate your comments.

Be Happy

Is this little guy cute, or what? I think he is just too adorable and I want to squeeze him! This cute bunny and two other bunny images along with four sentiments is part The Lucky Bunnies Cling Stamp Set currently being offered over at the Paper Garden Projects Store. The paper I used is from Basic Grey's Ambrosia collection. Isn't it gorgeous? I love the bold colors. The 6x6 pad has printed paper as well as solid sheets. It's all just so yummy. I decided to paper piece this card instead of coloring it for a change. I know, I always color, but today I felt like piecing. It's so relaxing to me to cut out pieces and glue them down. If you don't know what paper piecing is, I'll tell you. It's very simple. You stamp your image on whatever cardstock or paper you choose and then cut it out. You stamp your main image into your paper and then glue down your pieces. Simple! I cut out the gold circle with my Marvy circle punch and stamped the image so that the balloon hung over the edge. I cut the black scallop out of a Nestability die. I paper pieced the image and then adhered the circles together and used pop dots to raise the scalloped circle from the background. The background is two pieces of BG cardstock with a black ribbon adhered at the junction. I stamped the Be Happy sentiment from the stamp set on the background paper. That's it!