Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Bah! Humbug! Meets Peggy Loves Vintage


WooHoo! Another Christmas card for Bah! Humbug! I know you guys are giving me a hassle about doing Christmas cards all year, but guess who'll be laughing come December. Which brings me to this week's challenge: Father Christmas, either vintage or modern. I immediately thought of the the huge assortment of vintage Santa images on my Peggy Loves Vintage Christmas CD Volume 1. The hardest part was choosing which image to use. I printed it out and cut it with my Nesties Labels 10, backed it with a foil frame. The DP and and little tag is from the K&Co Christmas Cheer collection. The gorgeous bow is silk May Arts ribbon from Stamp and Create. This card went together in a jiffy but still looks really cute and professional. That's the beauty of using Peggy's fabulous images and there are loads of them on each CD (350 on my Volume 1!) , and not just Santa. She also has downloadable Cut Outs, for those of you who want immediate gratification. In any case, if you want to make a gorgeous card in a hurry, Peggy's got the goods for ANY occasion. And BTW, check out the Peggy Loves Vintage Blog and you might just find a freebie or two. If you're interested in the Christmas CD's volumes 1-4 you might want to act soon. Peggy will be retiring them shortly so be sure to check them out HERE.

Okay guys, it's getting down to the wire. 3 more days 'til our 4th of July party so I may not have any time to craft the rest of the week, be able to participate in my fave challenges or do much blog hopping. Sorry if I neglect you, but I promise to catch up next week. In the meantime, be sure to come back each day to see the rest of the fabulous previews for the new Fashionista Lil Lolitas, and you never know what else might sneak in. LOL

Tickled Pink Fashionista Lil Lolitas Preview Day 3!


It's preview day 3 at Tickled Pink and today I have the adorable 30's Lylah. I love her so much, I colored her to look like ME! (Notice the resemblance? I WISH!) Anyway, I sort of dropped the ball on the vintage theme, I'm afraid, but I think Lylah is so stylish she could be of ANY era. I also think she's be perfect for any occasion so I made a thank you card (which is something you can never have too many of, don'tcha think?).

I colored her with Copics to match the sort of vintage double sided DP from Sassafrass. The mat is cut and framed with Nesties Labels Three. The cool border is part of the paper. WooHoo! Flowers are Prima and the sentiment is from a Cuttlebug Cardmaking combo, cut twice, and offset slightly for emphasis.

Both Lylah and the mat are popped and of course I used some of my signature adhesive beads. If you would like to WIN Lylah, be sure to leave a comment on the Tickled Pink Stamps Blog HERE and check out the fabulous creations by the Pink Ladies. If you'd like to win the WHOLE set, follow the leave a comment on each of the DT's blogs (including Peta's and mine) EACh day and you may be the lucky one to win ALL 6 of these fabulous stamps. If you've missed any of my previous posts, please scroll down. The winners won't be announced until after the final preview day so there's still time! Remember, Tickled Pink ships stamps (only) WORLDWIDE so NO ONE is left out! WooHoo! Preorders coming soon!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Lil Lolitas Preview Day 2! 60's Mod Ivy!


Welcome to Lil Lolitas preview day 2. Just look at this MOD chick! Isn't she groovy? This is Ivy, the second of the Fashionista Lil Lolitas coming soon to Tickled Pink Stamps. Love her outfit, I swear I had one just like it back in the day. (And that was EXACTLY my hairdo AND color. Didn't know I was a natural blonde, did you? LOL) I tried to stay true to the period with a color blocked background and grahic black and whites.


Ivy is colored with Copics (don't look too close, I did this LATE at night) and cut with my Nesties. I couldn't help the sentiment. The boots made me do it!

Just a bit of popping and some punched flowers and beads and she was DONE! Now be sure to pop on over to the Tickled Pink Blog to see the amazing creations by the Pink Ladies and leave a comment for a chance to win Ivy. WooHoo!

Tiddly Inks Challenge 10


This is post # 3 for today (do you belive it?) so if you're looking for the Tickled Pink Stamps Lil Lolita Preview Day 1 or the BBTB2 Blog Hop, please scroll down. (Even if you aren't, you don't want to miss them because there are PRIZES to be had. )


I didn't expect to sneak this one in today but you know how I LOVE the Tiddly Inks. The challenge this week is embellishments, but not just ANY embellishments. We must use lace or buttons or BOTH. I hadn't used my Petite Q stamp yet so I printed her out and colored her face and hair with my Copics and them paper pieced the tiers of her dress in 3 different DP's. I cut her out with my Circle Nesties and popped her on a square cut with my MS Crown Punch Around the Page set. (I'm FINALLY getting the hang of those, WOOHOO!) Her crown and scepter are brads.

For the embellies, I wove ribbon through my lace and strung it diagonally through the punched square. The bow is topped with a clear button I made to match using one of the DP's from her dress. Again I'm about down to the wire so I better get moving. Be sure to come back tomorrow to see The Lil Lolitas Fashionista Preview Day 2.

Monday, June 28, 2010

BBTB2 Genie Lamp Challenge and Blog Hop!


Lots going on on my blog this week! If you are looking for the Tickled Pink Stamps preview, please scroll down and be sure to follow instructions for a chance to win. Now here for BBTB2 it's BLOG HOP time again. WooHoo! Hopefully you've come from the fabulously talented CAROLE'S blog, but if not, you might want to start at BBTB2 so you don't miss a thing. BTW, there's a Copic giveaway at BBTB2 too, sponsored by iCopic.com (fab prices there!) so be sure to leave a comment on that post as well. WOW! So many chances to win stuff today. Is your head spinning?

This week our lovely and creative DT sister Julia chose the cut and it was a fun one; the genie lamp from Paper Doll Dress Up. I created a shaped card in DS using the Casbah, a moon (from George) and of course the lamp. The warm sparkly paper is from K&Co Portabello Road. the lamp is cut from matte metallic paper by Recollections at M's and embossed with the folder from the Ironworks Cuttlebug combo.
"Wish" is also from my Cuttlebug. This time it's the Birthday combo and I cut it in 3 different colors to give it a bit more impact. Guess I went kinda crazy on the adhesive gems and pearls , too. (Big surprise! LOL)
Here's the dimensional view. Paper Doll Dress Up is one of those carts with no shadows which always is challenging for me. I did try to enlarge the Casbah a bit, but it still didn't work perfectly for a shadow because of intricacy of the cut, so I did my little off set trick again which at least allowed for the layering I like to do. Now off to HOP to JOANNA'S BLOG where you're in for a treat, but not before you leave a comment here, to be in the running to win a $30 gift certificate to Custom Crops. WooHoo! I'll be announcing the winner on Friday so you all come back, ya hear? xxD

I'm Tickled Pink to be a Guest Designer at Tickled Pink Stamps


WooHoo! Today is the very first day of the preview release of the NEW Lil Lolitas and I get to be a part of it. Thank you sooo much Kellie for inviting me to participate in this Tickled Pink Stamps Blog world wide event. Each day this week we'll have a BRAND NEW stamp to show you. I KNOW you already love the Lil Lolitas at Tickled Pink Stamps and now they're back for more stamping fun!
First up is 20's Evie. Tell me she's not a DOLL! I inked her up, colored her with Copics and Tea Dye Distress ink. My sentiment is computer generated, inspired by the song "You Oughta Be In Pictures" because doesn't she just look like little starlette fom the silent movie days? (So how many of you remember that one? LOL)

I was inspired to make a side step card and use the Graphic 45 Communique papers which are chock full of the perfect vintage images.
The typewriter key letters are also Graphic 45 and I backed them with larger black dots and added clear epoxy stickers on top. This was sooo much fun to embellish! Be sure to stop by the Tickled Pink Stamps Blog to see the fabulous creations done by the Pink Ladies and my Guest Design Team partner Peta. Leave a comment there and you'll be in the running to win your very own Evie. I'm sure you'll be just itching to get your hand on ALL of the Lil Lolitas stamps. So if you'd like to win them all, follow the instructions on the Tickled Pink Stamps Blog and you could be the lucky winner of ALL 6! WooHoo! Tickled Pink Stamps is the ONLY place you can get them, and I'm SOOOO happy that Kellie has decided to ship her stamps internationally. Don't worry though. Even though they come all the way from Australia, the shipping is better than most of the US online stores I've ordered from. New release is coming SOON!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Haunted Design House Noxious Toxins


I'm rushing to get this in under the wire. These week's Macabre Monday is Noxious Toxins so I made a shaped card using Cricut DS and The Summer in Paris cart. The label stamp is Inkadinkadoo and the sentiment is Bombshell stamps. Bat is a Rain Dot. I'll come back and edit, but I gotta get it in NOW! Phew, made it!
I'm sorry I've been sort of MIA on some of my favorite blogs but I've been crafting my little heart out. Besides my Cuttlebug Spot and BBTB2 next week I am also one of the guest designers for July at Tickled Pink Stamps! (WooHoo!) All next week we'll be previewing the NEW RELEASE of the Lil Lolitas so check back every day to see what's coming. They're SOOOOOOO cute!! You will NOT want to miss it!

Friday, June 25, 2010

Oh Alice! Crazy for Daisy Chains Challenge


Yesterday I did not craft. My room was such a mess that I literally couldn't walk around or find ANYTHING. It was causing me so much duress I HAD to clean it up (and believe me, I have a huge tolerance for clutter, LOL). Fortuanately this morning I was able to get right in and do the challenge for Oh Alice! which is a sketch done by the fabulous DT member Tasha along with daisies or a similar flower. I LOVE this sketch and remembered I had what looks to me like a daisy chain trim right in my stash (AND I was able to find it, WooHoo!) so I used it to create the swish from the sketch. I followed it quite literally with a few extra embellishments. The gorgeous stamp is a Sweet Pea by Elaine Cox, colored with my Copics, cut and matted with my Petite Ovals Nesties. The sentiment is from Sassy Studio Designs and the gorgeous crocheted flowers are hand made by Leah at Paper Blossoms. (I'm afraid it doesn't look like she's selling them anymore, but they're lovely!)
The daisy chain created qite a bit of bulk so both the plaid mat (Basic Grey Kioshi) and the image are popped. (Who am I kidding? You know I would have popped them anyway. LOL) Thanks for another great challenge, ladies! xxD

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Cottage Cutz Thursday at The Cuttlebug Spot and a chance to win!


You all know I just LOVE the Cottage Cutz dies and this little froggy is no exception. Actually, on the package, he's hanging on a branch but I've turned him into a ballerina by repositioning the arms and adding a tutu! Too too cute, eh? I gave her a little added definition with my Copics and added some of those adoraable lidded google eyes I get in the kids crafting section of JoAnn's. You can find him (or her) at The Scrapping Cottage, along with loads of other adorable dies. Check out the new Summer release with barbeque and summer fun and the cutest bugs making off with the picnic food. Hilarious! Would you like to win some Cottage Cutz dies of your own? Well pop on over to The Cuttlebug Spot and leave a comment, then become a follower of The Scrapping Cottage Blog and you could win two of the fabulous Cottage Cutz dies. The blog features so many adorable ideas for using these wonderful dies along with tips and tricks you won't want to miss.
The Cottage Cutz dies work in your Cuttlebug (or Big Shot or the like) and I've used by Nesties Labels 11 to cut the frame for the front. It's popped along with the dancing frog for dimension. The photo corners are an EK Success punch.
The sentiments are computer generated and cut with my Nesties petite scalloped ovals. For once I actually finished the inside of my card. WooHoo! Now don't frogget to hop on over to The Cuttlebug Spot to see Nilda's fabulous assortment of Cottage Cutz cards (say that 3 times fast LOL) and follow the instructions for a chance to WIN!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Bah! Humbug! A Child's Christmas


Okay, don't laugh. I know this doesn't look like me but I was scrambling today and didn't want to miss another challenge deadline. This week at Bah! Humbug! the theme was a Child's Christmas. I have this cute digital stamp set that I've been dying to use so I thought it would make a fun Christmas card for a little boy. It's already colored, so how easy is that, but for the life of me I can't remember where I got it. (Any help would be appreciated here, so if you recognize it, let me know.) The small bugs were cut with Nesties and backed with an MS snowflake punch and the gem "Fa La La" is from the M's $ bin. I thought the long thin card would be perfect for sending cash so there you go. I worked seriously hard today on something special for next week so I think I just ran out of juice. Sorry ladies. UPDATE: The adorable buggy stuff is from Lettering Delights.

Lil Lolita Boutique Challenge 2



I can't believe I did it AGAIN! I missed the Lil Lolita Boutique #2 challenge deadline here too! Why didn't I post when I got back from the city last night (too tired!). I could KICK myself! ( I just need a secretary to keep me on track with the deadlines and the time zones although this one is in Australia, soo...) Either that or the linky thingy is on the blinky again. Anyway, this was an inspiration challenge using the photo above and I'm afraid I took it very literally. The cake is done in multiple layers using the Wildcard cartridge and I embossed with the new Tim Holtz Swirls folder. The flowers are wedding confetti and prima and of course brown and pink adhesive pearls. The paper is iridescent by Recollections.

I turned Ivy into a bride masking the apron on her dress and stamping it several times to give her a layered skirt. she's colored with Copics and I added a tulle veil and popped her hat. fun challenge, just wish I hadn't missed it. (Can't wait 'til the next one, I should start on it today! LOL)

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

The Cuttlebug Spot Tag Challenge


This week at The Cuttlebug Spot it's all about embossed tags. I chose to use the Baby Frame from Spellbinders to make my tag which means it's really BIG! I envision using it on a large gift bag for a baby shower. It was cut and embossed in my Cuttlebug along with the cute teddy from the same set and colored with my Copic Air Brush System.
The blue background is embossed with a baby set by Sizzix and the bib is a smaller folder that comes with that set and then cut out by hand. To make it a little more special I backed the entire tag with a lacy mat done with another of my (seems like thousands) MS punch around the page sets.
The frame is popped for dimension along with the bib and bear with a few adhesive pearls (colored with my Copics to match) and a yellow gingham ribbon to top it off. Stop by The Cuttlebug Spot to see the terrific tags made by my DT sisters and play along for a chance to win a $20.00 gift certificate to Custom Crops.

Monday, June 21, 2010

The Burtonesque Dolls Creepy Birthday Challenge


Wow, ANOTHER post today. If you're looking for BBTB2, scroll down a bit. I'm on a roll with these challenges having soooo much FUN! This week at The Burtonesque Dolls the challenge was to create a creepy birthday card the Burtons would be proud of. I chose to use the Twisted Tea digi stamp from The Greeting Farm. I've always thought a birthday tea party would be fab, and a creepy one so much the better. I colored the image with my Copics according to the adorable Skull Cupcake digi paper from Tiddly Inks that I shrunk down and cut with my Labels One Nesties. The image is cut with Labels Nine. I made my own striped glitter paper by using strips of Terrifically Tacky Tape and sprinkling it with Doodle Bug glitter. The top and bottom cupcake skully labels are popped and the image is popped a bit higher for dimension. Then all I added was some ribbon, a glitter foam skull, some adhesive gems and Alpha Beads for the sentiment. Oh BUMMER! I missed it! Gotta remember that time difference. Better luck next time, eh?

BBTB2 Rainbow Challenge


This week at BBTB2 our our sweet and fabulously crafty DT sister Joanna chose the Rainbow cut from Once Upon a Princess. (No surprise she used that cart because she has one of the cutest little princesses EVER!) I just couldn't get "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" out of my head so this sort of turned out with a Wizard of Oz theme. I started designing a card but I couldn't get all I wanted on it so it grew into a door hanger. I'm just in love with that cloud paper (oh no! I can't find the strip I cut off so I don't know who made it, so sorry!) Anyway, the door hanger itself is from My Community cut at 11 inches. I made a mat for it using Design Studio and George and the sun was done with my Pinking Circle Nestie and a little trimming. The rainbow and castle shadows from Once Upon A Princess and the house from DonJuan were welded to the base so there would be extra support for the layers.

I used a combination of glitter card stock from the DCWV mat stacks and card stock I glittered myself by running it through the Xyron right side down and using my Doodlebug sugar coating. (Such yummy colors!) My castle is green to represent the Emerald City.
The clouds on the background paper are a mixture of solid glitter, striped glitter, and dotty glitter. When I did the rainbow I used white glitter card stock which doesn't emboss well so to add texture I added dots to match with my stickles. I also colored a few tiny adhesive stars with my Copics and added them to the stars on the rainbow.

I had a hard time deciding what to use for the house and finally came upon this print in the DCWV Nana's Kids mat stack which was the right scale and had all of the colors I had already used. (I don't want to tell you how many rejects I cut. LOL) I kinda wanted to add ruby slippers (being a shoe fanatic and all) but it just didn't fit in with the color scheme. Then I went back and forth on how to do the sentiment. Was gonna use Alpha Beads but didn't have all of the letters in the right colors and I didn't like any of the "home" cuts I was finding and to be honest I was running out of time with DH wanting to go out for Father's Day and all. Thank heaven I remembered my Melissa Francis rub-ons. Love the whimsical font and it was just the perfect size.

Geez, I sure took alot of pix of this! Here are the dimensional views. To achieve the really 3D effect here I made sure that each element had a full shadow when it was in the foreground so that means the house had 4 shadows (counting the one welded to the card base), the rainbow 3, and the castle, 2. I really ended up loving this and it fits. We've become such homebodies since retirement and it's fine with me.

Be sure to check out the lovely creations by my BBTB2 DT sisters and we invite you to play along. If you haven't this particular rainbow you certainly can use one from one of the other carts. We love to see your take on the challenge and hope our designs inspire you.








Sunday, June 20, 2010

Jezebel's Card to Daddy


Jezebel was really bent out of shape this morning because Mommy spent too much time on challenges this week and not enough time (read NO time) making her a card to give Daddy. (Goliath didn't much care because he had a gift but Jezzie thinks she a gift enough but loves to remind Daddy how precious she is. LOL) I printed out this Purrfect Princess stamp from Pixie Dust Studio and colored her with my Copics. The paper is sort of a joke because Jezebel NEVER comes when she's called. The placement of the kitty and the sentiment came about by accident. I wanted the whole "Here Kitty Kitty" to show, but my room is such a mess that I couldn't find my repositionable tape to tape the mat to run through the printer so I grabbed some used stuff that was stuck to my table. It came unstuck and the "From Your Princess" was printed cockeyed at the bottom of the page. CRAP! I was in a hurry and didn't have any more paper so I decided it sort of looked like where a kid would write and I added the "To Daddy" to the top corner. Then stuck a bow on to fill up the empty space on the side. Not too bad.
Both Goliath and Jezebel are Pixie Bob cats, a breed that supposedly has some bobcat ancestry in their background from barn cats breeding naturally with them in the wild. Goliath is a big old sweetie, but Jezzie still has that wild flight instinct and although she comes around to wake us up every morning and purrs around our ankles, when we reach down to pet her she scoots away. She's definitely a Daddy's girl and cries at the door whenever Daddy leaves (even to go out to get the paper). Only occasionally however, does she come up and sit on Daddy's lap. (Forget Mommy, unless she has tuna fish. ) Lately she's been particularly skittish which upsets Daddy to no end, hence the inside sentiment. She found it very amusing.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Macabre Monday Truebie Challenge


I can't believe I missed last week's Macabre Monday Challenge at Haunted Design House so I was determined this week to play along with the Truebie Challenge this week. For those of you not in the know, True Blood is the HBO Vampire series and the new season is coming right up. I had a number of thoughts for this challenge including stamping, pix I found on the web, and even another Cricut card featuring a bottle and glass of Tru Blood, but finally decided upon making this shape card using Cricut Design Studio with the lips and blood drop from the Indy Art cartridge and the sentiment from Forever Young. Indy is one of my favorite Cricut cartridges and I so love the campy feel of these lips. I used a number of metalic card stocks here (so fitting since doesn't blood taste a bit metallic, heehee) including shiny, matte and holographic. The fangs were free handed out of white glitter card stock and colored with a permanent marker.
Here's the dimensional view. A bit of popping here and there and of course red adhesive gems to embellish the sentiment. D-LISH ! , don't you think? If you're a vampire lover, be sure to check out the great entries for this challenge HERE and come on and play along. A girl's just got to have a creepy fix every once in awhile.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Oh Alice! Mad Watch Challenge


My Mad Watch Creation



The Inspiration Photo
What a fun challenge at Oh Alice! this week. there was a fabulous inspiration picture to draw from. At first I was bummed because I've yet to receive my Clockworks Cuttlebug folder so I scrambled to find some stamps. Then upon rifling through my drawers I came across the TONS of cool Tim Holtz stuff I've been hoarding and decided to go a different route.

The Timepieces and Game Spinners sort of clinched it. I mounted the largest face to one of the ornate frames using Glossy accents. I added a sprocket gear and 3 hands to make it look more mad. the top of the watch is decorated with Metal Foliage. Love the mix of metals!

I used Type Charms to spell out "LATE" and attached them with jump rings to the bottom. Then I remembered a small ladies antique enameled pocket watch I had (pretty sure it was my grandmother's) which was the gorgeous blue from the inspiration photo.

I added a Swivel Clasp for a watch fob and filled a 1 x 3" Memory frame with Graphic 45 paper and a tiny Alice playing card of the White Rabbit that I cut up to fit. Finally, I glued additional gears and sprockets, another metal flower and a pearl to embellish, again using glossy accents. (Love how that stuff glues ANYTHING!) I really enjoy challenges that make me think outside the box and craft with the fun things I've been collecting. I tried to hang my creation in one of the glass domes I have some of my other antique pocket watches in but it was too large. Guess I'll have to find a way to display it in a shadow box or something. Thanks ladies for a particularly fabulous challenge this week. Update!!!! WOOHOO!!! I won the challenge!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Two with Tiddly!


Father's Day is really a tough time for me. I will always be a Daddy's Girl but I lost him 5 years ago to Alzheimer's. When I saw this adorable image at Tiddly Inks (called apppropriately "Daddy's Girl") I HAD to have her. I think I cried the whole time I was making this card but I really love how it turned out. (I'm not doing that good a job holding back the tears while typing either so if I'm messing up, sorry.)

After cutting her out with my Nesties I finally decided on an easel card so the sentiment will always be visible. The papers are from Miss Elizabeth's and unfortunately I don't know who did the plaid, which I picked out first, as it inspired the entire color scheme.

The letters for Daddy are stamped with an old set from Stamp Craft and cut out. She's done with a combo of paper piecing and coloring with my Copics, with the hat, tie and shoes colored again and popped.

The sentiment is computer generated and is how I will always feel. I love you Daddy and miss you very much! This is my second entry in the Cards for Men Father's Day Challenge, my first for the One for the Boys Cupcake Crafts Challenge, and it's been way too long since I've entered a challenge at A Crafty Little Place, #34 also One for the Boys.

On a lighter note, on the Tiddly Inks Challenge Blog this week the challenge is Bleep, Bleep Boys and Their Robots. I got both the adorable images FREE from the Tiddly Inks PCP Group. WooHoo! Roboto came already colored in the freebie but he is available for purchase uncolored along with tons more adorable robots and other cute boy stuff Here. The free pressie was not colored so I printed it a couple of times and used my Papertrey Ink Distressed Stripes Clear Stamps I got from my dear friend Leah for my birthday to do the wrapping and then colored and cut and popped the bow. I love the fact that you can resize digis so I made the present large enough to turn into a shaped card and then just folded some cardstock, traced around the image with a bit of a shadow, and hand cut it with scissors. The little paper clip letters came from JoAnn's. The letters seemed to easily be popped off the clips (I found this out quite by accident, LOL) so I glued the o and r under the f on the first clip with glossy accents. I thought the square letters tied in perfectly.
The entire present was popped on the card base as was the ribbon on top of the colored pressie. Roboto was popped a bit higher and his shoes and one of the balloons were cut out and popped as well. LOVE that dimension! I love these challenges so much! If you've never worked with digis before and are unfamiliar with Tiddly Inks, this is a perfect challenge to get your feet wet since the images are available FREE for this one just by joining the Tiddly Inks PCP group. In fact every Tues there's something FREE being offered there so what are you waiting for?