Almost ready to craft again!

I've been busy the last 3 days cleaning, throwing out stuff, organizing my craft room. What a job! I have promised myself that I will make a point of putting things away after I use it and to take time once a week to clean my craft room. I'm almost done and should be ready to start crafting again tomorrow, which is good because I have a very important birthday card to make!

Meanwhile while I was busy cleaning I was given this fabulous blog award by Becky.....thank you Becky. I stumbled onto Becky through another blog which was pretty much right at the beginning of her starting her blog. I fell in love with her style of cards and have been following her since. You can check out Becky's fabulous creations HERE.

To accept this award I need to list 5 addictions that I have. Here goes!
1) Caffeine.....love my coffee or tea!
2) Love popcorn with lots of melted butter! I know.....it's not good for me!
3) I can't get enough cardstock and printed papers....always buying more.
4) Reality TV shows...love Survivor, The Amazing Race and Project Runway to name a few!
5) Lifetime TV......love that station!

Now I need to pass this on to 5 more people. Wish I could do more but 5 it is and here are my choices:
Judy
Rosette
Heidi
Christy
Patti

I've linked the above names to their blogs so be sure to check them out and their awesome creativity!

Craft Room Temporarily Closed!

Yes you read the title correctly! My craft room is temporarily closed for a much needed cleaning. When you can't see the floor any more and you have about a 10" square of working space left on your craft table that isn't cluttered....it's time to clean. I need to clean, reorganize and get rid of unused and will never be used stuff. So I'm closed till Friday. No creating just cleaning......sigh.

Thought I would post two cards that I found tonight while cleaning that I made last year. The first one is from the last Asian swap I hosted on the old PCMB site before it was shut down. The image is by Hampton Art and was a gift given to me by my friend Judy. I sponged Colorbox ink on the background. The poppy is colored with Prismacolor colored pencils and then cut out and pop dotted. I used my favorite color combination, black, green and cream.

The second card was for a swap I participated in where the challenge was to make a card using ink and paper only. No layering or embellishing was allowed. That is not an easy challenge when your use to layering and adding all kinds of embellies. The leaves and doodles are by Hero Arts. The sentiment is by Inkadinkado. All ink used is by Colorbox. Card base is parchment cardstock by Wausau.

I think it is interesting to look at these two cards and the ones posted below and see how my crafting style has been changing in the past year! I'll see you all in a couple of days.....with a clean and organized craft room....ready to take on challenge blogs!

CK Challenge - Tall Flamingo Card

The CK challenge this week, hosted by Anne / boobash was to make a card with a bird(s) on it. It could be a stamped image, printed paper, embossed etc....as long as it had some sort of bird on it. I needed to make a thank you card so I decided to incorporate the two,

The flamingo image is by Inkadinkado and is colored with Prismacolor colored pencils. Sentiment is by Hero Arts clear stamps. White card base is Wausau cardstock. Color cardstock is Bazzil.

You can check out the CK challenge for this week HERE.

One more giggle...

I had so many people that liked my "giggle" card below that I thought I would share one more with all of you.

I just finished hosting a "Merry Go Round" swap on the CK site. For those of you that might not know what a merry go round swap is, it is where the participants of the swap pick an image they own that they would like to see what other people do with it. After picking the image you stamp it the number of times the swap host requires, send it to the host who in return gives everyone in the swap your image to work on and make a card with it. All cards are then sent back to the host and the host then sends your original images, now made into cards, back to you. In this case I had set the swap for 6 people to work on six different images.

The above image was sent in by Heidi ( check my sidebar for a link to her blog), someone I have been swapping with for probably about 3 years. I took one look at the image and my first thought was, "Oh my, what does she expect me to do with this!" Then I remembered something I heard a chef say once on a show I had watched and I got to giggling. Then the idea came to me on what to do with Heidi's image. Heidi is not only very creative but she has an awesome personality with a sense of humor. I thought she might appreciate the idea that was brewing in my head for her image.

The sentiment is computer generated. I colored the image with Prismacolor colored pencils and then cut it out to pop dot onto the card. Scallops were cut with Spellbinder's Nestabilities. Paper and cardstock is from my "stash". So what started out being an image I dreaded, ended up being an image I really had fun with. I thought this made a cute "giggle" card. I might just have to beg Heidi to stamp me some images! LOL!

Thanks for the challenge Heidi and the giggle.

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge 43 - "Have A Giggle"

The challenge over at Cute Card Thursday is "Have A Giggle".....make something humorous. This is my first time to participate in the Cute Card Thursday challenge. I couldn't pass this one up! This image makes me giggle every time I see it!

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: Wausau and Bazzil
Printed Paper: Scrap from my stash
Sentiment: Computer generated
Image: Art Impressions
Embossing: Cuttlebug embossing folder
Scallops cut with Spellbinder's Nestabilities
Techniques: Image colored with Prismacolor colored pencils and blended with Gamsol

Be sure to check out the other entries for the Cute Card Thursday challenge for some more grins and giggles!

Cozy Shoe / House Mouse / ATC

I originally colored this image with the plans to make a card with it but it wasn't coming together just right for me. Then I saw the challenge for this week over at House Mouse & Friends Challenge Blog, which is to make an ATC using a House Mouse or Friends image. I knew this image would be perfect for the challenge.

An ATC is an artist trading card and measures 2 1/2" by 3 1/2". I thought I would make mine bright and vibrant so I used colors that were popular with the kids years ago for shoes. I have seen these colors coming back lately! I used the neon colors that Prismacolor no longer makes in their line of colored pencils. Thanks to my son he donated his neon colors to me to use!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Wausau Astro Brights
Printed Paper: Purchased at Hobby Lobby
Sentiment: Hero Arts
Image: House Mouse "Cozy Shoe" by Stampabilities
Techniques: Image colored with Prismacolor colored pencils
Circle Nestabilities and SU tab punch were also used

I wish the scan would show the true colors because the colors are really bright neon colors. I also applied Judikins Diamond Glaze to the tip of the shoe lace which doesn't really show in the scan very well.
Be sure to check out the other fabulous creations over at the House Mouse & Friends Challenge Blog!

Mojo 69 - Sketch Challenge - Cuddly Buddly's Birthday Emmy

I made this card for the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge. This is Mojo challenge #69. The challenge is to follow the sketch below for the layout of your creation. I decided to challenge myself a bit further and use a type of image I'm not use to working with. My usual style has been artsy and Asian theme. Since I started this blog I have been trying many different styles, colors, layouts etc. I have found that yes, I can do other things! I usually don't do cutesy for the exception of the House Mouse line but I ventured out of my box and tried one of the Magnolia images a week ago and was quite pleased with the results. Going a little further with the cutesy theme, I chose to use an image for this challenge that was given to me by my friend Rosette (thanks!). This is Birthday Emmy from the Giggles Gang by Cuddly Buddly. I think she makes a cute and adorable birthday card!

Supplies Used:
All cardstock: Bazzil Basics
Printed Paper: Purchased from Hobby Lobby
Circles: Cut using Spellbinder's Nestabilities
Embossing: Made with Cuttlebug's Swiss Dot Embossing Folder
Rhinestones: Hero Arts Gems
Techniques: Image colored with Prismacolor colored pencils and Gamsol
Don't forget to check out the other fabulous creations over at Mojo Monday. Considering joining in on the challenge and consider challenging yourself into trying a new style! You might find out you like trying something new!

Be Mine Heart and Sole / House Mouse

I thought I would squeeze in one more House Mouse Card before the week was over!
I chose to use the sketch challenge for this week at SplitcoastStampers for the layout for my House Mouse Valentine card. This is sketch challenge SC210 and can be found HERE for more info.
Supplies Used:
Card base is Wausau cardstock
Color cardstock is Bazzil
Printed Paper: The Paper Studio
Stamps: House Mouse by Stampabilities (Be Mine Heart & Sole), Hearts are from the $1.00 rubber stamp bin from Michael's
Techniques: Cuttlebug Swiss Dot Embossing folder used for embossing. Images colored with Prismacolor colored pencils and gamsol.

Everything Is Coming Up Roses / House Mouse

I participated for the first time in the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge Blog. Every Monday a new sketch is posted. You may flip, stretch, resize etc the sketch but you must be able to see the sketch layout in your creation. I needed to get my House Mouse fix for the week so I chose to use one of the House Mouse images for this sketch.

Image: House Mouse by Stambilities ( Everything is Coming Up Roses)
Printed Paper : My Mind's Eye
Cardstock: Pink and brown is Bazzil, Cream is Wausau
Ovals: Created with Nestabilities
Ribbon: Offray Satin
Image is colored with Prismacolor colored pencils and gamsol.
Fiskars "Treading Water" border punch was used for scallop edge.

Be sure to check out the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge Blog to see all the amazing creations for this week's challenge.

Birthday Wishes - Cupcake Tilda

I have been wanting to try working with the Magnolia rubber stamps but have been very intimidated with them when it comes to coloring. I see so many beautiful and cute cards made with the Magnolia images. I have received some images in some image swaps I have been in and decided it was time to take the plunge! I believe this image is "Cupcake Tilda". I colored her with Prismacolor colored pencils. I added Stickles for sparkle to her wings and the cupcake icing, which doesn't show well in the picture. I then cut her out and pop dot her to the card. All ovals were made using Spellbinder's Nestabilities. Sentiment is by Studio G Clear Stamps. Flower embellishments are Prisma flowers from my Stash. I scanned the card this time instead of taking a picture of it with my digital camera. The color is a little off but it's close to what it looks like in real life.

I'm happy with the end results. I just may have to look into buying a stamp or two from the Magnolia line!

First card of 2009!

My first card of 2009 and to my friends and family....YES, I can make a card that doesn't have mice on it! LOL! I have some cardstock that I bought ages ago in the pastel colors with envelopes in the same colors. I want to make a set of simple note cards for someone I know and thought it would be nice to make one each using all the pastel cardstock colors that I bought. For the first one I chose to use the yellow. The envelope I will be providing with this card is also the same yellow as the cardstock.

The image I chose to do is a $1.00 stamp that I purchased at Michael's. I am guilty of thinking those $1.00 stamps are cute, I buy them, then bring them home and never use them. So I finally inked this one up to use as my image for this card. I thought it would be a cute but fun image with bright and fun colors which I colored with Prismacolor colored pencils. Oval shapes were cut using the Oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders with my Sizzix BigKick. Dry embossing was done with Cuttlebug's D'Vine Swirl embossing folder also using the BigKick.

I participate on the Creating Keepsakes Papercraft message board where we currently have a 2009 card challenge that started today. We have challenged the scrapbooking side of the site to a challenge to see which side, the scrapbookers or the papercrafters, can make 2009 cards first. A thread has been started on the message board for both sides and as we make a card (s) we add it to the running total. So the race is on to see which side will win and how long it takes. If your a member of this site and you make a card, don't forget to add it in. Every card counts! If your not a member then please come check us out and consider joining in on the fun.

Happy New Year Everyone!