Wanted Quilt Card

How cool is this design? I received this from a SUDSOL Demo Friend Barb Mulliken. Barb made my month by sending me a Sale-a-Bration Double RAK AND this beautiful card made with the Wanted Stamp Set. So where does the "quilt" come in, you ask? Well, my scanner strikes again, and you cannot see this subtle detail - BUT, Barb scored at criss cross angles across the larger Always Artichoke piece of card stock after stamping it tone-on-tone with the paisley image in Always Artichoke ink. It is a lovely effect, that adds wonderful interest and texture to the design. And how about this color combination?! I would not have thought to pair Chocolate Chip with Always Artichoke - but Whoa! - what an eye-pleasing and very masculine combo! She also used Confetti Cream Card Stock. HOw was the horse in motion effect created? EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY [borrowing from a fav blogger gal of mine! Hi Erika! :)]TECHNIQUE: Stamping Off - stamp the horse image in Chocolate Chip, then stamp again and again moving the stamp slightly to the left each time, and without re-inking. And then there are the Accessories - the Cutter Kit to distress the edge of the smaller Always Artichoke piece; and BOTH SU! Star Punches, plus a gold Brad for the focal piece accent and a Dimensional to pop it up. THANKS AGAIN BARB! Enjoy everyone!!

Easter Punch

The happy punching is "egged on" - heehee ;)

These punches are so versatile! It seems like you can create endless designs - remember the adorable Scallop Circle Punch turkey from last November? Or the Santa Claus face using only punches?

So here is my basket of Easter Wishes! Stamps: All Holidays, Background Basics & Canvas Background. Cardstock& Ink Colors: Almost Amethyst, Certainly Celery, Barely Banana, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip & Whisper White. Accessories: Round Tab Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Large & Small Oval Punches, Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Certainly Celery 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon & Dimensionals.

I used the flower image from Background Basics to stamp tone on tone on the Almost Amethyst and the Barely Banana for a subtle background. (Use darker ink shades of those colors if you want the flowers to show up more vividly - like Lavendar Lace and So Saffron.) The "basket" is stamped with the Canvas in Creamy Caramel. For the Chocolate Chip top edge of the basket, just punch that part with the Round Tab Punch. The "eggs" are the Small Oval Punch - Tip: Stamp the egg colors before you punch them out if you want eggs with a design on them - use Background Basics, Itty Bitty Backgrounds, Boho Backgrounds or Sprinkles sets for this - or any very small image from a wheel, etc. You could also use Designer Series Papers to punch the eggs out of for some seriously funky egg designs!) ENJOY!

St. Patrick's Day Punch!

A card with NO STAMPS?! You betcha! How about this cute card? I didn't have any of the current St. Patrick's Day stamp sets, but the punches came through!

Leprachaun Hat - Round Tab Punch, 1/4" Square Punch and Spiral Punch. Colors: Glorious Green, Basci Black & Brushed Metallic Gold. Stampin' Write in Basic Black.

Pot of Gold - Round Tab Punch& Scallop Circle Punch. Colors: Basic Black & Brushed Metallic Gold, Zig Painty Pen.

Clover - Small Oval Punch & Word Window Punch. (Fold the cardstock in half first and insert at an angle until you see a half heart, then punch!) Color: Glorious Green. I also used the Glorious Green Eyelets, Crop-a-Dile and Black Gingham Ribbon. (Tip: You could also crimp each leaf for added texture.) The Large Oval Punch will make larger leaves!

Card Base: Glorious Green, Basic Black & Whisper White.

ENJOY!

Prayers for NIU

Please pray with my family and I for the hundreds, if not thousands, of people traumatized by the horrendous shooting spree that occurred at Northern Illinois University (NIU) on St. Valentine's Day - February 14, 2008. We are praying for the repose of the souls of those who lost their lives that day, as well as for peace, comfort, healing and eventually forgiving hearts for their families and friends. And the same for everyone else. THANK YOU for joining your prayers with ours! For where two or more are gathered in God's name - He promises to be in our midst.

(Note: The newspaper image is copyright Chicago Tribune and was in the Sunday edition. The black ribbon image I received in a NIU prayer chain email.)

St. Valentine's Day Greetings

Here's what I made and sent out for a few Valentine's this year. I used the SU! Level 3 Host set "Time Well Spent" for the heart image, as well as CreativePlayStamps.com for the 'Be My Valentine' sentiment. Colors: SU! Pretty in Pink, Rose Red and Rose Red Prints Double Sided Paper. Accessories: Versamarker, Ticket Corner Punch, Designer Label Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Silver Eyelets, Crop-a-dile, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Two-Way Glue Pen, Dimensionals, Rich Regal Brads and Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon. ENJOY!

Sketch Challenge

Another Mojo Chat & Challenge - another beautiful design that IS the layout sketch. This FAB design comes from Dannie Graves, a fellow demo and Sudsoler. She used a lovely new set called Embrace Life. Now it's YOUR turn! Pick your stamps, color combo and embellishments and create something using the layout of this card - then upload to your Gallery and leave a link here so I (and anyone else who visits here) can go and see your art! ENJOY!

Sketch Challenge Design

Here's my design for the sketch challenge I am hosting right now! Stamps: Close as a Memory, Print Pattern & Rough Edges Jumbo Wheel. Card stock: Elegant Eggplant, Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke, & Naturals Ivory. Ink: Mellow Moss and Elegant Eggplant. Accessories: Always Artichoke 1/4" Grosgrain ribbon, Ticket Corner Punch and Stampin' Writes in Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke and Lavendar Lace. Enjoy!

Sketch Challenge

Woohoo - I'm hosting another Chat & Challenge on SUDSOL (a demonstrator only website) and you can play along! You pick your stamps, color combo and embellishments - then use the sketch I post here for the layout and let the MOJO Flow..... Yeah Baby...! ;) You have free reign on the design as long as the general layout is recognizable. (Eg - some would use circles or ovals for the focal piece, or wide twill tape in place of the rectangle strip). Upload your design to your Gallery or Blog, then post a comment here with the link! Flow MOJO flow...

Butterfly Bookmark

Since I decided on my Scripture Chicks project being monthly bookmarks - I have still got bookmarks on the brain! Here's another one using the Swallowtail Butterfly image from CreativePlayStamps.com. Butterflies are a standard symbol of Easter - and though Lent begins today, I am already looking forward to Easter! [ Of course - the veritable blizzard going on outside my window today (it's been going ALL DAY!) helps me look forward to Easter and Spring too!] :) So I paired this lovely Swallowtail with Jesus' words from John 11:25-26.

This would make a lovely Easter greeting, basket stuffer, get well greeting, etc. Or how about a 'just because' project for your Bible Study group?

Stamps: Monarch & Swallowtail Butterflies Set from CreativePlayStamps.com

All other supplies are SU!: Naturals Ivory and Brilliant Blue card stock, Versamark Ink, Black Embossing Powder, Aquapainter, Bold Brights Watercolor Wonder Crayons in YoYo Yellow, Brilliant Blue and Real Red, and the Ticket Corner Punch. I printed the verse from my computer using English Vivace and Book Antiqua fonts. ENJOY!

Retired Sets for Sale!

Here is my current list of SU! stamp sets for sale - all are in good condition, though some are more loved (aka stained) than others. Prices are listed and do not include shipping. Contact me if interested:

Aged to Perfection ($22.95) $15.00
All About U ($27.95) $20.00
All I Have Seen ($14.95) $7.50
All the Best ($19.95) $12.00
Around & About ($11.95) $6.00
Basket Full of Fun ($26.95) $18.00
Best of Blossoms ($17.95) $10.00
Beyond the Basics ($11.95) $6.00
Birthday Best ($12.95) $8.00
Classic Alphabet (double) ($38.95) $27.00
Classic Alpha Numbers ($16.95) $12.00
Flower Filled ($24.95) $17.50
Flaky Friends ($25.95) $15.00
Fun with Shapes ($24.95) $15.00
Good Times ($28.95) $14.00
Happiest of Holidays ($14.95) $10.50
In Full Bloom ($24.95) $15.00
Itty Bitty Borders ($12.95) $8.00
Just 'Cause I Like You ($17.95) $10.00
Lexicon of Love ($14.95) $7.50
Little Shapes ($11.95) $6.00
Love Without End + Classy Brass Template - $25.00(as a set)
Merry Minis ($29.95) $24.00
Mini Mates ($29.95) $18.00
Mini Messages ($16.95) $8.00
Nice & Easy Notes ($26.95) $16.00
Occasionally ($19.95) 10.00
Painted Posies ($19.95) $10.00
Reverse Prints ($22.95) $15.00
Sweet of You ($19.95) $10.00
Tag Time ($26.95) $18.00
Too Terrific Tags ($16.95) $10.00
Very Merry ($11.95) $6.00
Very Punny ($19.95) $10.00
What Could Be Better ($28.95) $14.50
Wishing You the Best ($11.95) $8.00
Word By Word (Bkgrnd) ($16.95) $10.00

Everyday Edges Classy Brass Template ($19.95) $10.00

Sketch Challenge

Woohoo! It's MOJO Friday Night - and I'm hosting a special two hour Chat & Challenge on SUDSOL. If you are a SU! demonstrator (and not already a SUDSOL member) you can go to http://www.sudsol.org/ and do a trial membership to be able to join us in the Chat Room there to play along. Otherwise - play along anyway - and leave a comment on this post with a link to your uploaded design using this fun layout by Paula Goff.

YOU pick the stamps, color combo and embellishments and create a design using this layout. You have a wide freedom of expression - this layout just needs to be readily recognizable in your design. ENJOY!

Scripture Chicks Prayer Board

Remember the post in January - my theme word for the year is Stewardship and I was aiming to join the Scripture Chicks in memorizing a favorite passage of Scripture each month in 2008? I am excited to report I have finally completed my project and first Scripture passage! Woohoo!

Project Inspiration: Prayer Board idea from the Mom's Retreat I gifted myself with in January. I was going to stamp the fabric for this, but that idea was not coming to fruition. so when I found this Waverly English Ivy fabric in a craft tote while looking for supplies for my kids - I was thrilled! I adore this fabric - even if it is over 10 years old! (I had planned to make a curtain for a small kitchen window in our apartment over 10 years ago.)

Scripture Passage: Psalm 51:10-12 This is long time favorite of mine, and appropo to my theme word for he year.

Bookmark Inspiration: This idea came to out of the blue, I call it a Holy Spirit Moment. I knew at once it was exactly what I wanted for this year long project. I can use the bookmarks myself, or give them as gifts. "Usable art" is my goal with most of my stamped projects. If there isn't really a "use" for it, I don't usually make it! ;)

January 2008 Bookmark: Swallowtail Butterfly image is NEW from CreativePlayStamps.com. Flower image and all other suplies are, of course, SU! Stamp set is Close as a Memory stamped in Versamark ink , then heat embossed with Winter White EP on Naturals Ivory card stock. I also used the Ticket Corner Punch. Color combo was inspired by the MOJO Color Challenge posted in January.

Have you decided to join the Chicks yet? The SCS thread is BVC08. I hope so! Enjoy!