Gone Fishing

For the sketch challenge this week at Splitcoast (SC226) I decided to make a Father's Day card. I used two stamp sets from Clear Artistic Stamps: I'm Just Saying and That's My Boy. At the store there is a great special this week--The That's My Boy stamp set along with 25 sheets of shimmer paper for only $13.95.

Also, Belinda is having a customer appreciation celebration all during the month of May. Each order that you place during the month will give you a chance at some fantastic prizes. You can see the details here.

Have a great Thursday evening everyone.

I Love My Pretty Girls!

I made this page just because I like looking at their smiles.

I used Splitcoast Stampers sketch SBSC186 and papers from the Piggy Tales Collection--The Ballad of Mulan.

Here's another cute face, wearing a doll tiara (thanks to my kids, of course).

Acrylic Paint Resist Technique

I posted this card yesterday on the In the Cottage Studio blog, so details can be found there. But let me tell you that the technique I used is called Acrylic Paint Resist, and it is really fun. I found a great little video that demonstrates the how-to very clearly. It's on Terri's blog. You even get to use vaseline on your card! Check it out.

Have a good Tuesday. We are getting thunderstorms today. I guess no yard work for me. Just need to work on reducing "laundry mountain"........

Dutchman's Puzzle Quilt Block

My quilting group on Yahoo does a Keep-Your-Own Block of the Month each month, and in May it is my turn to choose the pattern. I decided on Dutchman's Puzzle, which you can find at Quilter's Cache. This is a very fast and easy block to make. It would also look good with a dark background (like black) and then jewel tones for the triangles. And of course, it lends itself to being a beautiful scrap quilt. (I love scrap quilts!)

Have a great Monday everyone. Hope you are having some of the fantastic weather that we are blessed with here in SW Ohio.

A Couple Cards for Saturday

I received this card in the mail from Etha:

Isn't it gorgeous? She did a wonderful job on the gesso resist technique that I can't seem to master at all! And look at the paper piercing! Thanks so much Etha--you're the best!

Here is a card that I put together last night with my new Xyron machine:


The beautiful peacock stamp is from Flourishes, and the papers are from BasicGrey. I've been itching to put the two together, and finally did!

Have a great Saturday!

Smile, You Got Mail!

I always smile when I get real mail, like a card, instead of a bill or an advertisement. This card is in shades of rose and grey, with the papers and cardstock being from SEI. Stamps are from Clear Artistic Stamps, the Friends are Forever stamp set. I colored the image with chalk pastels from SU. This is my card for this week's sketch challenge at Splitcoast SC225.

I just got back from an all-day field trip with my daughter's kindergarten class to the Children's Museum of Cincinnati. Wow! I'm exhausted. I need to rest now.

Have a good Thursday evening.

Puzzle Lover's Birthday Card

Do you know a crossword puzzle lover? Well, here is a birthday card for someone just like that. I used this week's sketch from Mojo Monday to make this card, and I didn't do any stamping! Strange but true! The papers and stickers are from Sassafras Lass, and the glittery letters are from American Crafts.

Ya Gotta Love this Grasshopper

Well, I'm just crazy about the grasshopper stamp that Belinda included in her Whispers in the Woods set. This is the second time it has been featured on one of my cards, and I know it won't be the last. I always like her dragonflies and butterflies, but this little grasshopper is just over the top!

I made this card for Card Positioning Systems sketch challenge CPS112 and the Res-Q challenge #5 (put something shiny on your card). I used Blingz paint in Gold Glimmer to highlight the small images in the circles.

Isn't this designer paper pretty? It is from Chatterbox Inc.

Have a good Tuesday. (Tuesday is pizza night at our house, which is always good!)

Cottage Rumble Sketch Challenge

How about a really fun sketch challenge where you can win a great prize? Clear Artistic Stamps Design Team member Lee has created a great sketch to work with:

And here is a card that I made using this sketch:


If you want to participate, go HERE to see the rules and how you can enter to win. Go ahead, it's easy and fun! And we would love to see your work!

Happy Saturday!

Shimmer Paper at the Rumble!

Would you like to win a package of 8.5 x 5.5 shimmer papers in the colors above? Simply go the Cottage Studio blog and participate in the Cottage Rumble! You will be glad you did--these papers are gorgeous in person.

Fun in Chicago

We are in Chicago for a few days, having some Spring Break fun.  Here are a few pics.

Erin and Audrey with Sue--the largest and most complete T. Rex ever found:

Audrey "freaking out" in the Egyptian tomb:

Shopping 'til they dropped in the American Girl Place:

Gary pouring his heart out to Bob Newhart:

We are heading out in the morning.  Tonight we are going to a stage production of Mary Poppins.  Fun!

Easy Note Holders

Here are some Post-It note holders that I made from a tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers:

This is what they look like on the inside:

For details on how I did these, see my post on the In the Cottage Studio blog.

We are on a trip to Chicago for spring break, so I won't be online as much as usual until the weekend.  Have a good week.

Spring Cards

Imagine how surprised and happy I was when I received this beauty in the mail yesterday:


I had been admiring this card in Etha's gallery, and now it's in my hot little hands! It's not the greatest photo, but I wanted to show the shimmer on the leaves. It's gorgeous! Thanks Etha!

This card is one that I made yesterday for the Card Positioning Systems sketch challenge CPS110 and the ResQ Challenge "Diamonds and Daisies":


I used a grungeboard flair and painted it, then applied 3D crystal lacquer and diamond dust. I also got the chance to use some fun papers that I received recently. Stamps are from "Friends are Forever" by Clear Artistic Stamps.

Today the girls are off school for spring break, and we will go shopping for Easter dresses for them. Have a good day.

Pat's Star

This is the April block for my block of the month quilt:


The pattern is called Pat's Star and you can find it here. I think it is such a pretty pattern, sort of a star within a star. One lady in my quilting group made this pattern in red, white, blue and gold--it looks great in that combination.

Today I'm going grocery shopping for our Easter dinner. It's the one day of the year that we have leg of lamb. Yum!

Have a good Thursday.

I Want Spring!

I'm ready for Spring to come, and stay this time! After a few days of cold wind and snow flurries, I really needed some Spring color. So when I saw the Technique Lovers Challenge on Splitcoast (TLC215) I decided to use light green, pink and yellow.

I made this flower pot pocket card using SU cardstock, Pebbles paper, Oriental Trading ribbon, Prima flowers and stamps from Clear Artistic Stamps.

Here is the assembled card:


And here is the card with the pullout removed:




And now, how would you like a chance to win this stamp set:

These letters are 3/4 in. high, and the entire set retails for $23.95! How can you win? Simply make an ATC with the theme "April" and post it to your blog or gallery. Go to this post on In the Cottage Studio and leave a link. Voila! You are in the drawing! And if you use Clear Artistic Stamps or a Technique Junkies technique, you name will be added twice! Great deal, huh?

Ready to hear a little secret? As of Wednesday morning, there were no entries yet. That makes your chances of winning very good! Go for it!

Here is the ATC that I made to help inspire you:


Have a great Wednesday everyone!

A Card and A Block

In yesterday's mail I received this adorable card from Belinda and Traci Landtroop of Clear Artistic Stamps:


Isn't Little Mary Cheeryberry just the cutest stamp? Thanks ladies!

Also, I finished working on my block of the month for my quilting group. The pattern is called Card Trick, and you can find it here. This is my version:



Well, I guess it's back to laundry and housework for me......

I'm hoping to get another quilt block done tonight.

Goofy!

Just finished this page showing photos of our trip to Goofy's Candy Co. in Orlando. It makes me crave chocolate just to think about it. They have a place in the store where you can have a custom-made treat created according to your own instructions. Erin had a giant Oreo topped with so much stuff that you couldn't bite into it! What a blast!

I used the Splitcoast Stampers sketch challenge SBSC184 for this page.

Quick Gift

In February, I won a great prize from Papertrey Ink. They sent their "Friends 'Til the End" stamp set along with the coordinating Quick Kit. Cardstock and ink and ribbon, oh my!

Anyway, I wanted to make a quick gift for a friend, so I made a set of 5 cards using primarily the Friends 'Til the End supplies, along with some American Crafts rub-ons and a few other embellishments from my stash.

Here are the 5 cards (which were incredibly easy to make with the Quick Kit, by the way):







Have a great Sunday! I probably won't get much crafting done today since we are having nice weather--I plan to spend time out in the yard.

I Baked Bread!

Check it out! I wish my blog had a "smell" function that I could activate, because you would love how this bread smells!

I couldn't believe how easy this recipe was. No kneading! Yep, you heard it right! All you do is mix a few things together and keep it in the frig. When you want fresh bread, you take out a handful of dough, let it rise and bake. Awesome!

I got the recipe from the Instructables website HERE. This is a really fun site to browse through, by the way. People have submitted their own little tutorials on how to do all kinds of things--some normal, some not so normal.

PS. I cut the artisan bread recipe in half, and still have lots of dough. So unless you are feeding an army, you won't need to make a full batch.

PPS. We are celebrating my Mom's birthday today--She is 82!

Cottage Rumble #4 *and* 3 Scrapbook Pages

First and foremost: Be sure to visit the In The Cottage Studio blog today! All of the designers for Clear Artistic Stamps have made ATCs and there is a giveaway for anyone who would like to participate by making their own ATC.

And now, I think I set a personal record for myself last night by completing three scrapbook pages in one evening!

Here is the first page, called "Rock Star". It was easy to put together, since I just used supplies from my March kit from Scrapbook Takeout.



Here is the second page, called "Poinsettias in Disneyworld". I used the sketch from Mojo Monday Week 80 for this one.


And my third page is called "Legos". I used the Splitcoast Sketch SBSC183 for this page, and it worked perfectly for all of the photos that I took of the Lego sculptures at Downtown Disney.



Have a great Friday! I'm hoping to get to my sewing machine this weekend to do some quilting.

Best Friends Forever (aka BFF)

This week I decided to do two sketch challenges, both using the same stamp set and the same set of papers and ink. I've discovered that I'm becoming strongly addicted to the Stampin' Up color Tangerine Tango. It's very strange really, because I'm not much of an orange lover at all. But I keep reaching for TT without thinking about it, so I must like it, right?

For both cards I used the Friends are Forever stamp set from Clear Artistic Stamps. The designer paper is from Sassafras Lass. All cardstock, ink and brads are from Stampin' Up. I also used Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits for coloring.

This first card is made using Card Positioning Systems sketch CPS109. I followed the sketch as drawn pretty much:


The other card is made using Splitcoast Stampers Sketch SC222. I made the card 5 x 6 1/2 because the stamped image is quite large.

Also, I'm usually uncomfortable turning a large page element on an angle, as shown in the sketch. So this time I decided to turn the cardstock, but then stamp the image straight vertically. Also, the sentiment is read vertically, so I think it prevents the eye from being confused by strange angles and giving you the urge to turn the card sideways.

BIG NEWS: Stay tuned tomorrow April 3rd. I will tell you about a challenge where you can win a prize valued at $23.95. You'll love it!