I can't throw away any stamping related scraps because my 90 year old grandma goes through my entire wastebasket, and saves the lives of every little scrap. Even the infamous Purple Kitty was granted a reprieve, lol!!
So today she comes out of her room and asks me if I have a Happy Birthday stamp. Get this...she made a bookmark with all of my scraps that she pilfered, lmao!! And, it's cute!! I guess the purple kitty was meant for something else, haha.
I ordered some new embossing folders for my Cuttlebug on Saturday from www.allthatscraps.com, they even have free shipping if you spend more than 10 dollars. Guess what? They are already here!! I am so excited...
The card base is Close to Cocoa stamped with the Canvas BG stamp. Then I ran the red strip through my precious bug. I tied the black grosgrain around it after it was embossed, and then added the red gingham ribbon.
The chicken is from the "Best of Cluck" set. I stamped him in Basic Black on Whisper White and then colored him with Prismas and gamsol, blending with a stump. The white looked pretty stark when I was done, so I took my black Stampin' Write marker and doodled around the edges. I mounted this on a piece of Basic Black cardstock, and then mounted this on the cardbase.
There was still "something" missing, so I got out my trusty Signo pen and paper piercer and faux stitched along the red piece.
Well, I gotta run...time to buy more embossing folders, hehehe.
Jaden and I went to the zoo today. He was so excited to see the giraffes...imagine his surprise when we got there and found out that you can feed the giraffes now for 2 dollars. He was so excited and had so much fun that I spent 6 dollars, haha. 
It was actually really neat to see them so up close and personal. And it made for some fabulous pictures to scrapbook! Jaden laughed so hard when he saw that they have blue tongues.
The weather was so perfect today too, it was partly cloudy and like 73 degrees. Super zoo weather.
I picked up this little cupcake the other day at Michael's. This card also uses the colors for this weeks color challenge. The colors are Pink Passion, Lavender Lace, and Gable Green.
The card base is Pink Passion stamped with the Paisley Print BG stamp.
I took a piece of ivory grosgrain ribbon and used my Stampin' Pastels and a couple of sponge daubers to color each side. (one side is Gable Green and the other is Lavender Lace) I took the two sided ribbon and tied it around a piece of Lavender Lace cardstock that I ran through my cuttlebug with the swirls embossing folder. Next I adhered it to the card base and then used my paper piercer and Signo white gel pen to faux stitch along the edges.
The cupcake was stamped on a piece of Whisper White cardstock and cut out with my colluzzle. I colored it in with my Prismacolor pencils and gamsol. Then I added some diamond stickles to the heart and the polka dots because no card is complete without some BLING! **wink**
Lastly I mounted the cupcake on a Pink Passion scalloped circle that I punched out with my Marvy Mega punch, and then used the white pen again to dot the centers of each scallop. I mounted this on the card and that was it.
Boy, 3 posts in one day...lucky ducks!! **wink wink**
This week's color challenge is a bright one, lol. The colors are Pink Passion, Gable Green, and Lavender Lace.
The card base was stamped with the "Paisley Print" BG (of course, hehe). Then I stamped the large paisley from "Polka Dots and Paisley" set on the Gable Green. I tore each end and then mounted it on the base.
Next on a piece of Whisper White, I used the PP ink to stamp the large flower from the "Looks Like Spring" stamp set. I also stamped the sentiment from "Happy Everything" set in Gable Green and Lavender Lace. I mounted this on a slightly larger piece of LL cardstock. I adhered this onto the card base and then added a bold bright button with some stitched grosgrain to the center of the flower. (The ribbon is also from SU!) Then I took my 2 way glue pen and made some squiggles on the petals and dusted them with some Dazzling Diamonds glitter.
The card still seemed to need "something" so I added 3 eyelets on the right side. This seemed to be just the "bling" it needed. Happy Sprinter everyone (Spring/Winter heeheehee)
Holy smokes batman!! I finally got on the scale today, it has been exactly one week since I started the beach and I lost a total of 12 pounds!!!! Whoa! I'm really loving this, lol. Here is my updated mini goal ticker....
I also thought I would share my favorite recipie of the week with you all. It is a phase one recipie from the SB cookbook.
Big Easy Shrimp
2 strips of turkey bacon or Canadian bacon
1 onion chopped
1/2 green bell pepper chopped
1 celery rib chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp hot-pepper sauce
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Crumble when cool (or cut). REmove and discard all but 1 tablespoon drippings from the skillet.
In the hot drippings over medium heat, cook the onion, bell pepper, and celery for 5 minutes, or until tender. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes (with juice), bay leaf, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and hot pepper sauce. Heat to boiling, Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Add rhe shrimp and bacon and cook for 10 minutes or until the shrimp are opaque. Remove and discard the bay leaf before serving.
When I made this, I used only 1/2 the onion and a whole pepper because I like peppers better. I also used chili powder (about 2 tbsp) instead of the hot pepper sauce, and I substituted 2 fresh tomatoes for the canned ones.
Makes 4 servings
(per serving) 185 cal. 4 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 26 g protein, 12 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 177 mg cholesterol, 329 mg sodium
I'll be back soon with a new card!!
This card was super easy and pretty fun to make. The card base is Bashful Blue stamped with the Weathered BG stamp. Then I wrapped some blue gingham ribbon around a piece of Barely Banana cardstock and tied it in a knot. I added a small piece of cream grosgrain next to the tie.
Next I stamped two large scraps of cardstock. The Bashful Blue is stamped with the Weathered BG again, and the Barely Banana is stamped in So Saffron with the Floral BG. (It is a little hard to see in the pics, sorry) After they were stamped, I used my large oval punch (from SU!) to punch out 7 blue ovals and used the small oval (also from SU!) to punch out another 7 small ovals. I adhered the yellow to the blue with snail adhesive. I mounted these on the side, overlapping them on each other so that they look like petals. The center is a 1 3/8 circle punched out of the same cardstock. I then used my Pumpkin Pie ink pad to distress the edges, and added some diamond stickles to sparkle it up. I mounted this over the tops of the petals and then trimmed all the parts that were hanging off the card.
Then I took my paper piercer and the Signo white gel pen and faux stitched around the flower to make it a little more interesting. Lastly I used my color spritzer tool with a So Saffron marker to spritz the Banana cardstock, and stamped the sentiment. It is from the Warmest Regards stamp set, and I used Bashful Blue classic ink to stamp it.
I am pretty pleased with this card...maybe my stamping mojo is back. **wink wink**
So I decided to go on the South Beach diet. No telling how much I am planning to lose, that is for later...but suffice it to say, it's alot. I found this neato ticker online and decided to use it to track my mini goal. I am going to weigh tomorrow for the first time (one week), so wish me luck. I'll keep you all updated on how it's going and if I find any really yummy recipies.
A few of you have emailed or posted and asked about my prismacolors and gamsol coloring.
Gamsol is an odorless mineral spirits that you can use to blend regular colored pencils with a blending stump. You can buy it at most art supply stores or online at quite a few craft stores (just google gamsol and you will find a bunch)
A blending stump is a little pencil like thing that is made with rolled up paper. You can use them over and over again by just filing off the used part with a nail file or a sanding block. I got my first set at Office Depot of all places. You get a whole little kit with some stumps, an eraser, sanding paper, and some other stuff that is slipping my mind at the moment.
The prismacolor pencils that I use are NOT watercolor, they are just the regular prismas. I bought them on ebay for a great deal...something like 17 dollars for a new tin of 48. This would normally sell at Michaels for over 50 bucks. Check out ebay if you are looking for some, just be sure to buy new unopened ones.
When using this technique, I tend to use Whisper White or Shimmery White cardstock from Stampin' Up. I love their cardstock and think that they look the best. When I do regular watercoloring, I tend to use reinkers and a paint brush or the Watercolor Wonder crayons (also from SU!) and a paintbrush. For this I use Stampin' Up's watercolor paper. It is a great quality paper, and it makes it easy to control your colors.
I hope this helps all of you a little bit. If you have any more questions please feel free to email me at coribravo1014@aol.com or just leave a comment. I'm so excited to see when someone posts one! tee hee hee I'll be back later tonight to post a card or two for ya!! Thanks for checking in!!
I went to Michaels today to pick up another Cuttlebug embossing folder. Imagine my surprise when I found the most awesome stash of the cutest ribbon ever! It is even wrapped around little wooden spools. How cute is that? I also picked up a couple of really cute Valentine stamps in the dollar bin!! Hit the jackpot today, tee hee hee!
I used both the ribbon and one of the stamps on this card. The main image was stamped on Shimmery White cardstock with Basic Brown ink. I then colored it in with a prisma pencil and gamsol. I cut this out with my Colluzzle and then mounted it on a Mega scalloped circle of Pretty in Pink. Because no card is complete without using a white pen, I used my Signo gel pen to dot around the scallops. The pink ribbon wrapped around the card is from the Stampin' Up Flirty ribbon collection. Then I added a piece of white grosgrain around that and used some of my new brown and pink polka dotted ribbons on either side of the little white bow tie. The card base is Chocolate Chip stamped with the Paisley Print BG (what else could I use lol) in Chocolate Chip ink. The image is mounted on the cardbase, over the ribbon with some pop up glue dots. For the finishing touch I added a sentiment from the Curvy Verses stamp set in Whisper White craft ink. I really like this card, and can't wait to get back to Michaels for some more little wooden spools!
Ok, so my intention with this card was to get to play with my new Making Memories grommets and use the Paisley on a grey card (cuz it looks so cool). It turned out to be a big purple mess, lol!
The card base is Going Grey stamped with the Paisley Print BG stamp with Going Grey ink. Then I used my new grommet kit and set the two super mondo flower grommets in it. Next I took a piece of medium sized twill tape and some eggplant grosgrain ribbon and tied them between the two holes into a double knot. I thought it actually came out looking pretty well.
Now comes the yucky part. I had the whole eggplant and grey thing going, so I decided to make a purple cat. Hmmmm....maybe not such a good idea. I stamped him on Whisper White and colored him in with Prismas and gamsol. Then I used my Colluzzle to cut him out in a circle. I mounted him on a scalloped circle of Elegant Eggplant cardstock and mounted this to the card.
Lastly I stamped the "Happy Birthday" from the Warmest Regards set in black below it, and used my white gel pen to dot around the edges of the scallops and created the white stripes on the kitty.
Looking at it now, I actually like the card, minus the purple kitty. Maybe I'm in a stamping funk...I think I'll go fix this card now, lol!
A scrapbook store here in town is now with new owners, so they are trying to liquidate a bunch of old stock. All of their wood mount stamps were 50% off...holy cow! Luckily for me and my checking account, they were all pretty dated and not too many of them really caught my attention. I did however buy this baby shoe stamp. I thought it was pretty cute, and I don't have too many baby stamps.
The image is stamped in Stazon on Whisper White cardstock and then colored in with Prismacolors, gamsol, and a stump. Then I used my ticket corner punch to do the corners. I mounted this on a piece of Blush Blossom cardstock and punched the corners of it as well.
The card base is Pretty in Pink stamped in the same color ink with the Paisley Print BG stamp. The cross piece is Going Grey (which I never seem to use) also stamped with the Paisley Print BG. I really love how the grey looks with the Paisley, I think I will use this again soon! Then I tied a piece on pink gingham ribbon around the piece and added a few strands of silver cord. I mounted this on the base and then mounted the stamped piece over it.
The card just didn't seem finished so I used my paper piercer and added some faux stitching around the outside. Lastly I stamped the phrase "One little baby, many happy hearts!" from the Curvy Verses set in black on the bottom right corner. I'm not 100% thrilled with this card, but it's late lol. I'll take another look at it in the morning!
This stamp set (Little Hellos) was still sitting on my desk from when I made the baby card earlier this week, so I decided to use it again tonight. I think this is the first time this kitty stamp has ever seen ink...pretty sad considering it is like 2 years old and actually quite cute. I just hate to have dusty stamp sets sitting around...kind of embarrasing for a Stampin' Up demo, lol.
Anyhow, first I stamped the kitty on Whisper White cardstock in Black Stazon. I colored him in with my Prismacolor pencils and some gamsol with a blending stump. After he was colored in I used two different tones of grey to make the shadows below and on the one side of him. Next I punched it out with my Marvy mega scalloped circle punch and sponged the edges with some Bashful Blue ink. It was still looking a little stark, so I used a Bashful Blue marker and my color spritzer tool to add some sprinkles of color. Lastly on the image I added some Diamond Stickles to the flower and added some black dots to the center of each scallop.
The card base is Bashful Blue, and stamped with two backgrounds. I know it may be a little hard to see in the picture, but first I inked up my Floral BG stamp, stamped it once on a piece of computer paper to take some ink off, and then stamped it onto my cardbase. This made the floral print visible, but sort of faint. Then over the top of that I stamped the Linen BG stamp in full strength Bashful Blue ink. This made the card base look like an actual piece of linen cloth with a floral print. It's actually really cool looking in real life. Next I mounted a piece of Apricot Appeal cardstock that I stamped with the same color of ink with the flower from both the Big Pieces and Little Pieces stamp sets all over it in a random pattern. Then I tied a piece of blue gingham ribbon around this, since no project is complete without some ribbon, lol.
At that point I thought I was done, but the card seemed to be missing "something" so I took three of the small square Apricot buttons and threaded them with some blue gingham ribbon as well. Then I cut the pieces evenly and used mini glue dots to adhere them to the card base. When threading the gingham ribbon through the buttons, you need to use a large piece, cut each end at a really steep angle and then try and push some through the holes. Once you see a little piece, you can use tweezers (or your teeth, lol) to pull it through. Then thread it to one end and tie the knot. After the knot is tied, you can cut the ends and start over. I really recommend using a large piece of ribbon because it is much easier to use and then cut, then a little piece, which turns out to be really difficult to tie, KWIM?
Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday!!!
Today I took Jaden to the Desert Museum. For all of you who don't live in Tucson, the DM is a huge outdoor museum that is built into the natural desert habitat of all the animals. It is really pretty neat, but it is so hot here that you only want to go in the winter, lol. Funniest part of the trip was that Jaden's favorite exibit was the hummingbirds. They are in a huge "cage of sorts" that is actual desert, enclosed in like a greenhouse, with a little path. The hummingbirds are so used to people that they will just fly right up to you. One actually landed on Jaden's shoe. I really wanted a picture, but since I was so close to Jaden, I couldn't move to get the camera or the little guy would have flown away. Oh well...here is a picture of the little one that landed on Jaden. He stayed on this branch for a long time so we could all get some pics of him. I'm loving the new camera...I'm amazed at some of the pictures.
I even got to the color challenge today!! The challenge this week was Whisper White, Basic Black and Cool Caribbean. I have been challenging myself to use stamp sets that are gathering dust, so for this card I decided to use Simply Said...I really like this set so I'm not quite sure why I haven't been using it.
The base of the card is Cool Caribbean stamped with the French Script bg with Basic Black ink. The flowers are stamped on Whisper White with Basic Black and then colored in with a blender pen and Cool Caribbean reinker. Then I went back with some Icicle Stickles and glittered the centers. I tore the bottom edge and then mounted it on Cool Caribbean (which I also tore the bottom of) and Basic Black cardstock.
For the finishing touches I added two Basic Black eyelets on the bottom right corner and tied a piece of black gingham ribbon between the two. Then I used my white Signo gel pen and made a row of dots around the edge of the black paper. I added a bow on the left side with black gingham ribbon to balance out the card.
I was unsure about the card at first, but after I went back and added the polka dots, I am more happy with it. What do you think?
