Whimsy DT call times 2!

I fought and fought with my first entry for the Whimsy stamp team. I blame the jelly fish. You see, sea life and I haven't been getting along very well, as is evidenced by my recent trials and tribulations with the fish tank.

However, I was not phased, I jumped right back into the pool! Here is my 2nd and final attempt for the DT call.
The dolphin is from Starving Artisamps, the Tropics collection. Thee designer paper is Basic Grey - Urban Prairie and cardstock from SU! I had a great time coloring with my Copics. Those things are really cool and blend like buttah! (Yes, I'm new to the bandwagon and now have some colors that I can play with and blend together.)


Here's a close up in case you were wondering.

Are you interested in trying out for the call??? If so, check out the details here.

I have this set to post Saturday while I'm in NYC. I'm flying up to meet Kevin and his choir and I have a fun filled 2 days in the city. Then I fly to Pittsburgh to see the parents and to see my friend who I'm convinced is going to go into labor the minute I get to her house and then I'll have to take her to the hospital. Grin... Saturday is a LONG day but I can't wait!!! Needless to say there won't be much crafting next week, but I may post some updates while I'm on vacation!!!

Enjoy!!!

You ARE the Cat's Pajamas!

You know how sometimes you struggle over a card and sometimes everything just seems to come together? This was absolutely one of those. Carole came up with this awesome sketch and I knew I wanted to use my Chicken Soup stamp from TCP. I have had this stamp for almost a year and it never seemed to work when I tried it on other cards. This time it did!!!
I pulled out my Basic Grey - Offbeat paper and paired it with some yellow card stock from PTI and Chocolate Chip from Stampin Up! I colored it with Copics and added olive ribbon from PTI. I really like this one and I hope you do too!

Enjoy!

Whimsy Stamps Design Call

Have you checked out Whimsy Stamps yet? They are too cute and their animal stamps are adorable! They are having a DT call for their animal line and as soon as I saw the call, I knew I had to play. (They have a stamp of a narwhal whale. How cool is that?)

You had to make a card with an animal as the focal point using several layers of card stock and DP. The card also had to add some sort of embellishment. I had this jelly fish stamp from Starving Artistamps that I hadn't yet inked. That's where the problems started...

You see, I was convinced...convinced that that jelly fish should be purple. I had my fancy markers and colored away. Then I realized that I didn't have any purple designer paper. I had like 2 pieces of purple card stock. I fiddled and fiddled and fiddled with this. Finally I decided on DP from Basic Grey. I seriously I pulled this apart 4 times before settling on this version. I DO like the coloring a lot.

Honestly, I think Mr Jelly fish won this round. However, he has NOT won the war! Take that jelly man!

I'm going to make another entry tonight. Since it's just me and the kitties while Kev is away, I have a little extra time to stamp.

Enjoy!!!

Pink Cat Kiki Kitty

I decided to make Grandma a different card. I was inspired Kiki the Kitty from Pink Cat Studio. I had a few new Copics and wanted to try them out. Hence the brown/reddy-orange kitty. I found the DP in my scrap pile, (it's from SU! and retired.) The card stock is all from PTI as is the ribbon.
This is the one I put in the mail to Grandma, I think I'll make some more kitty cards for her box.

On a different note, we have replenished the fish tank and now have 10 happy fishies swimming in harmony. 2 black mollies, 2 striped darty fish, 3 tiny black and white polka dotted ones, 2 neon tetras and 1 new sucker fish. We named the sucker fish James Harrison cause he's a bad-a$$. Go Steelers!!!

Have a great night!!!
Lara

TCPTUES and cards for Grandma...

Saturday is my Grandma's 86th birthday. 86 years old, Holly Cow. Grandma lives in a nursing home in my hometown. She broke her hip almost 6 years ago and since then hasn't had the mobility to live on her own. Essentially she needs a walker and help bathing. Aside from that she is sharp as can be and gives the nurses a run for their money.

A few months ago I went to a stamp class where I made a sheet-load of cards. (Where you make like 10 cards from one piece of Designer Paper.) I sent them to Grandma and she LOVED them. She is forever sending my mom to the Dollar Store to get cards for her. (Christmas, birthday, sympathy, etc...) And really liked having nice cards on hand to send. Well, Grandma is out of the last ones I made her and needs some more. For her birthday I got her a card box from Stampin Up and have been working on filling it up. I'll put a bunch of cards in there and a book of stamps. I need to make a few more this weekend so I can take them with me when I go up there to visit the first week of March.

If you ever wonder what to do with your surplus cards, consider taking them to a local nursing home. Not only would the residents love them, they'd love to send them to their family and friends as well.

The card I made last night serves a few purposes. I played along with Amy R's sketch this week AND TCP Tuesday. I am a multi-tasker! Woo Hoo!!! The TCPTUES challenge was to make a card using cupcakes. I happen to have TCP cupcake stamps.

I used some really cute paper I got from Joanne's. I think it's Debby Mumm? The cardstock is from SU! and I colored the penguins with my Copics and SU! markers. I also covered the cupcakes with Crystal Effects to make them shinny. edit - I just realized that it said I covered the cupcakes with Crustal Effects. EWWWWW.... Not sure what kind of effect that would cause but it sounds unpleasant..

I'm not sure if this is going to be Grandma's birthday card or if it's going in the box. I guess it depends on if can make another card tonight. Grin....

Enjoy!!!
Lara

Spring-y Owls

I got this super cute designer paper a while ago. I used some and the rest went into the abyss that was my scrap pile. When I moved my crafty stuff into my new crafty space I was a tad bit anal. I organized my scraps by color. Yep, you read it right.... Organized by color and labeled. It was a very good thing and I now know what I have. (See, organization in 2009 a good thing...)

Well, as I was digging through, I found the rest of the sheet and thought it would be super cute paired with these owls from My Favorite Things. Actually I ONLY used scraps from the bin. I wish there was a challenge this week for that...

So, um, there's green, blue and brown. Yep, not sure of the exact colors but I would bet they are all SU! card stock.
Alright, have a great night!!!
Lara

TCP Tues

I am a lapsed TCP Tues participant. I know, I know, I haven't played in forever. But I found myself with a little extra stamping time and decided to dive back in.

The challenge was to make a card using black, grey, red and pink. Since it's the 15th, I had to stay away from Valentine's day... Here's my take on the challenge.

I masked poochie and stamped the presents behind him. Then I popped up his cup cake with some dimentionals. The DP is from Basic Grey and some left over Halloween paper from SU! (Nice re-purposing, huh?) I colored the whole thing with Copics and there you go!

Enjoy!!!

One last Valentine's Day card...

After yesterday's adventures, I realized that I hadn't made Kev a Valentine's Day card. Well, I planned to make it before we left for dinner. I needed a little inspiration and found it with this week's SCS sketch challenge.
I got the "Maid to Order" set from MFT especially to make a Valentine card. I stamped the image on white card stock and colored it with Copic markers. I took a piece of Regal Rose card stock and ran it through the Cuttlebug with the heart blocks embossing folder

All the patterned paper is Basic Grey - Bittersweet. I used another tag die for the sentiment. (I LOVE these!!!) and a few Bella Baubles.

Alright, off to spend some time in the craft room! Enjoy!!!

We have a WINNER!!!

Hooray!!! the Blog candy winner is... Tracy!!! She suggested that I name the fish George. I like it! I think George is a fine name for a sucker fish!

Tracy, e-mail me with your info and I'll mail out your goodies!!!

On a sad note, after I extolled George's longevity, he went to the big fish bowl in the sky the following day... So close, so close....

On a happy note, part of my Valentine's Day gift was getting some more fishies. 2 black mollies and 2 darty fish are now the proud inhabitants of my tank. It's been 4 hours and so far, so good! Wish me luck!

Have a Happy Valentine's day!!!

Super Quick Valentine's treat

A few weeks for the Super Bowl party I bought some Valentine's candy with the intent to package it in a pretty way and give it and some assorted football gear away as a door prize. Well, the game was more than a bit nerve racking and needless to say, everyone left and I still had a ton of candy.

No problem, right? I'll give it away to my employees. I only have 3 direct reports and I can make it all pretty and make a card... Again, time slipped away. I think it was all the planning for the giant hero....

Well, I get home from stamp club last night, take a shower and CRAP!!! I need to package up that candy and pass it out. I was more than tired, but it still needed to look good. I have a reputation to uphold, right??

I grabbed some buckets from the Target dollar spot that were sitting on my shelf and filled it with some red crinkle paper. I had some chocolate covered pretzel sticks (again from Target) that I had been planning on packaging as gifts. (Yep, that's what I said as I was putting them in the cart...) I took 2 and tied them with some red ribbon and threw in some of the left over candy.

Of course I needed a tag to go with it. I pulled out the "Birds and Bees" set by Kim Hughes at Cornish Heritage Farms I stamped the bee, colored him with Copics and cut him out. I also scored a set of tag dies from SU! at stamp club. I ran them through my cuttlebug and got these super cute tags. Then I stuck the bee on with a dimentional.

Punch a tiny hole and I attached it to the ribbon with some Crafter's Floss. Here's a close up! Alright all! Have a great night!!!

Lara

Spring has Sprung?

Hi all, this is going to be a quick post, I've been up since the wee hours of the morning in meetings today. After the meetings I coordinated a luncheon for my staff which included 25 feet of hero sandwich. That's a LOT of sandwich let me tell you.... Then it was off to stamp club. PHEW!!!

So, here's a card I made last night with the Limitless Limbs set from Pink Cat Studio. I love the versatility of the set, you get 2 trees and a ton of little doo dads to hang off of them. (Love the candy corn stamp!!) Well, with the 70 degree temperatures, I felt compelled to make a spring-y card.

I LOVE the little birdies! Too stinking cute!!!

Alright, off to shower, see you tomorrow!

Supplies used: Limitless Limbs - Pink Cat Studio. Cardstock - SU! Baja Breeze, Chocolate chip and yellow DP. Nestabilities, Copic Markers, SU! Chocolate Chip ribbon, Baubles from Stamping Bella.

How abut some BLOG Candy!!!

I think it's time for a little blog candy! This note is a little long, so please read to the end to see how to win the candy!!!

I have a bit of a sad story, you see I cleaned the fish tank last night and this morning when we awoke I had Kev check to see how they were doing. He gets out of bed and walks into the hall to the tank. It's quiet for several seconds...

Me: Is everything OK?
Kev: Can fish be dead on the bottom of the tank or do they float to the top?
Me: They don't always float
Kev: Ooooo... it looks like you got them all this time, even the sucker fish.
Me: Owwww... that sinks (sad) Well, maybe this is a sign that we should put away the tank and stop having fish.
Kev: But I LIKE having fish... Oh look the sucker fish is moving!!! He survived!
Me: How about that....

Here's the thing, this is not the first Fish Holocaust I've been responsible for. It's actually the second. The last time I gave the tank a good cleaning I killed them all then too... EXCEPT for the sucker fish. That guy has survived numerous attempts on his life and lived to tell the tale.

This fish is at least 5 or 6 years old and may have moved with me from Pittsburgh to WV. Then he definitely moved from WV to NC. He rode in a bucket on the front seat of my car and stayed in the bucket for at least a week until the tank was set up. Then a move from the apartment to the house and he's been in the house almost 3 years. He survived the Great Fish Holocaust of 2007 AND 2009. Many of his brethren have fallen, yet the sucker fish remains...

He's even survived the harassment of 2 curious kitties.

(Titus is in the front and Godiva is behind the tank.) Yeah, I'd hide too...

So, here's the candy! I have a "Bundle Up" stamp from Studio Calico (check out my project a few posts down.) a jar of red Stickles, a Warm Gray 01 Copic Ciao marker, stamps from Studio G, some awesome designer paper from Debbie Mum and some stamped images! Wanna win??
Here's what you need to do:

1. Leave a post on my blog and suggest a name for the sucker fish. After 5 years he needs a name!

2. Spread the word! Tell others about my candy and let me know how you did it!

That's it! The candy ends on February 13th at 8pm. I'll post the winner on the 14th!

Enjoy!

Lara

Little Monkey's Storage!!

Each month a different member of the Design Monkey's was asked to alter their storage system and show it of. Welllllll, February is my month!

Here's a picture of the decorated box. I chose paper from Basic Grey's Urban Prairie. I bought the 12x12 pack and I really like it for larger projects.
Here's the system with the sleeves inside. That pretty yellow is part of the Apple Set of Sleeves. I think it coordinates rather nicely with the paper, dontcha think??

Last but not least, a side view so you can see just how many sleeves of stamps you can fit in 1 box. If you look closely, there are 9, yep, 9 sleeves full of stamps in the box. I also have a few empty sleeves in the back. I could absolutely fit at least 2 more full sleeves in there.

The stamps are a combination of rubber stamps mounted with EZ Mount and acrylic stamps. They both work beautifully with the system.
Isn't it versatile??? If you want one for yourself, head over to Little Monkeys! Take it home, alter it and show us what you've got!!!

Enjoy!
Lara

Bundle Up!!!

Brrr.... is it still cold where you are? Here it was 60 degrees today. :) Well, I wanted to show you a little something before all the snow completely melted!!

Over in Little Monkey Land we have our very own stamp set made especially for us from Studio Calico! Bundle Up! How stinking cute is that? I love the versatility of the set, especially the dotted frame.

I think the font has a retro feel to it. It reminds me of a sign you'd see at a ski lodge in 1950.

I stamped the image with Chocolate Chip ink on vanilla cardstock. Then I stamped the dotted border with Baja Breeze. I added Stickles on top of the dots for a little extra bling.

So, how do you get this snazzy set? Head over to Store More Stamps and you can get one for free with any purchase over $25. OR, for $12.99, you can pick up the Bundle Up special set. Get 3 sleeves and inserts in awesome wintery colors AND the Bundle Up stamp set. It's great for those last minute winter projects!

Enjoy!

Lookie! A Valentine's Day Card!!

Don't you just LOVE these Kim Hughes birds from Cornish Heritage Farms?? It's called "the birds and the bees" Tee Hee... I am a huge fan of all of her images. I love the whimsical feel and they are SO fun to color.

I pulled out some more Raspberry Fizz paper from PTI and My heart embossing folder. It was really simple and easy to pull together and I really like the way it turned out!

Alright, off to get some work done!!!
Enjoy!

Materials Used:
Paper: Paper Trey Ink - Raspberry Fizz, Basic Grey - Bittersweet
Stamps - Cornish Heritage Farms - The birds and the bees
Colors - Assorted Copic Markers
Accessories - Hearts Cuttlebug folder, baubles from Stamping Bella, Ribbon from Michaels.

Mr. Gnomey-pants

As you know, I have a slight "thing" for gnomes, especially the gnomes from OBP! I don't know if it's their faces, the hats or the general gnomey-ness. (Yeah, I know that isn't a word, but it's my blog, so there...) Grin....

With Kev being a choir director, I love images of singers, especially fun, adorable ones like this one. He needs thank you cards, right? Kev needs to send cards for various music related things, eh??? That's why I NEED the stamps... I can justify it, see???

Well, it's almost tour time and I wanted to make Kev a "good luck on tour" card and these gnomes called to me. (I know, I should run when stamps call, but I blindly obeyed.)
Someone got Raspberry Fizz paper from PTI in the mail yesterday.... I wonder who???? So yummy....

Enjoy!!!

Lara

Materials used:

Paper - Paper trey ink: Raspberry Fizz; Basic Grey - bittersweet.

Stamps - Caroling Gnomes - Odd Bird Planet

Accessories - Raspberry Fizz ribbon - Paper Trey Ink

Colors - Assorted SU! and Copic Markers

Where has the month gone?

I would LOVE to get some crafty stuff done. Really I would. Sigh... the craft room is still 95% completed. So right now I can't get much done because I want to clean the last little bit and be done with it.

This weekend I was getting ready for my Super Bowl party and cleaning the room just didn't happen. We had been planning to have a party for the last 2 months. Obviously we didn't know which 2 teams would be in the big game but since Kev and I are both Pittsburgh fans we reserved the right to make it a Steeler themed party.

To honor the big game, I decided to serve some tail gate food, "Pittsburgh" style. It consisted of meatballs in sauce, Italian Sausage in sauce with green peppers and onions, wings, perogies (thanks Christy!), pigs in a blanket (thanks Carrie!). Cupcakes, cookies, brownies and it goes on and on....

Well, I needed some bread to make meatball and sausage sandwiches. I had heard about a place that made really good bread, so I called. Here's how the conversation went.

Me: Hi, I had a question about your Italian bread. I'm having people for the Super Bowl and need it for sandwiches.
Bread Guy: Super Bowl eh? I make the best Italian bread. Get a big loaf, get your meatballs, chicken cutlet, what evah you want it'll be the best they ever ate. How many people you having?
Me: 14-16 people.
Bread Guy: So eh, how many feet you want? 3, 4, 5 feet?
Me: What?? Feet of bread?
Bread Guy: Yeah, I sell by the feet.
Me: Uh, OK, how about 4 feet? Can I pick it up Saturday?
Bread guy: No, I make it Saturday, you come Sunday morning.
Me: Uh OK...

I tell Kevin about the 4 feet of bread.

Kev: It isn't 4 feet, it's 4 one foot loaves.
Me: No, it's 4 feet in 1 loaf.
Kev: That's ridiculous. That's 2 niches per person, it'll be too much bread.
Me: I think we'll be OK.
Kev: That's a LOT of bread...

I tell my mom about the 4 feet of bread...

Mom: 4 feet, that isn't enough, that's only 2-3 inches per person.
Me: I think it should be OK
Mom: You're going to run out of bread.
Me: I REALLY think we'll be OK.
Mom: You should get 2 more feet.
Me: 6 feet of bread won't fit in my car. I'd have to stick it out the sun roof.
Mom: You really need some more.
Me: I have a Mazda, really, it won't fit.
Mom: well, at least you'll have other food.

Sorry for the picture, I took it with my phone.

For the record, we had too much bread and WAY to much food. I had to take it to work today. They ate meatballs and sausage at 9am for breakfast. Wow....