A common thread...

I have two cards to share with you today...another Whipper Snapper quilt card and an Emerson Quillin image that I posted on the AAS blog yesterday. Their colors: red, black, kraft and cream make for a common theme. I didn't intentionally do this, nor did I even create them on the same day...barely within the same week. My brain must be drawn to these colors for some reason...I'd love to know why!

First is my quilt card using Anna Wight's Springtime Quilt...

Next is Group Therapy by Emerson Quillin for AAS...

Hmm...thinking my brain is secretly gearing up for Valentine's Day...thus the red and black? Have a great weekend all!

~Amy

From Visa

Oh what fun it is to shop with a Visa full of credit, eh?! That's what this wine-lovin' Emerson Quillin lady is thinkin'! These images make me smile and bring me joy, and you can see how much fun I had putting together this card. I actually picked up some "leftovers" on my stamp table (snowflake, tree, Jenni Bowlin patterned paper) and it all fell into place quite quickly last night. I got the inspiration to use of some of my scraps/stuff on my table from PC Go-To-Gal, Jess Witty and this post she wrote for the Paper Crafts Connection blog. Thanks, Jess!

The main image is colored with Copics and sponged around the edges for a bit of vintage. The die cut Christmas tree is from Cosmo Cricket (Oh Joy paper pack), the letters are die cut using CB's Red Tag Alphabet, and the buttons are from Foo-fa-la. Just to add a bit of texture to the tree, I stamped it with the double row of damasks from PTI's Damask Designs (if you don't own that set, do yourself a favor and just get it!). Be sure to check out From Visa at American Art Stamp, along with Emerson Quillin's other ladies.

Have a great Wednesday, all!

Big Bows!

I have two cards to share today and their common denominator is a big ribbon bow topped with a big button (of course!). The first is a card for the American Art Stamp (AAS) blog, but I'm only going to show you a bit of it, a teaser if you will, so you'll hop on over to the AAS blog and check out all the great designs posted by the AAS design team.

The second big-bow card is for TCP Tuesday--an inspiration challenge hosted by Toni Armstrong. I decided that the inspiration piece reminded me obviously of winter, and the colors made me think of Valentine's Day, so I pulled out Loving Mew and got to work. I stamped a background using the heart circles and then made a cute little love muffin button topper for the bow, coloring it with Copics. I crack up every time I read that sentiment, Love Muffin, and decided to flank it with mini pink rhinestones to help it stand out a bit more. Be sure to get those TCP stamps inky and play along with us this week!

Thanks for stopping today, and have a great Wednesday!
Amy

Can't scare a teacher!

Here's a peek of a card I posted on the American Art Stamp blog today, featuring yet another of Emerson Quillin's ladies, as I like to refer to them. I can totally relate to the sentiment, working as a school based speech/language pathologist alongside a group of robust teachers who can weather any storm that the educational system throws at 'em!

I embossed my image using Versafine Onyx Black ink and clear embossing powder (thank you for whomever it was that alerted me to the fact that the Versafine ink is emboss-able) and then got to coloring. I finally broke down and got me some of those "Copics" that all of my cool stamper friends are using, but please don't look too closely, I'm still learning! A few stitches around the perimeter, staples and a text printed (PTI Text Style) die cut flower (SU! Birds & Blooms) finish this one off. Oh, almost forgot to tell you that I used Mojo Monday Sketch #111 for this one, so that means I'd better give you the whole picture, eh?! Here it is...

Thanks for stopping by today...I'll be back tomorrow with this week's TCP Tuesday sketch challenge, but if you want a peek at the sketch and details, head over to Leigh's blog.

American Art Stamp Sale!

A quick post today, no time to chatter, but I wanted to share a few things I posted on the American Art Stamp blog today. If you think you "need" any of these stamps, they're all 30% off right now, serious deals!

Too Old


Holiday Fun


Vermouth


Wine Princess

You're a treat!

Quick post to share a card I posted on the American Art Stamp blog today. My card uses one of Karen Stolper's whimsical girls from the Halloween 2 cling set. Papers are from DCWV Indian Summer Fall stack, and the sentiment is computer generated (inspired by this card made by my sweet and enormously talented friend, Kelly Lunceford).

Thanks for stopping by today!

Note to say {hi}

A quick post to share a card I posted on the American Art Stamp blog today. The card uses Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday papers along with Karen Stolper's Writing Girl image from AAS. I just love all these leggy girls and noticed many of them along with a slew of other stamps are 30% off right now over at AAS, so check it out!

Amy

Best of Breed

I have two cards to share with you today, both of which use another hilarious Emerson Quillin image from American Art Stamp, Best of Breed. The first card uses this week's Mojo Monday sketch, and the second card uses a pretty standard layout with the addition of what else--a circle! I seem to be sticking circles in everywhere lately. Both images are colored with reinkers and colored pencils with sponging around the edges.

The gals on the American Art Stamp design team have been posting some really great cards on the AAS blog, so be sure to check them out!

TCP Tuesday Sketch

If you follow along with our TCP Tuesday challenges, you already know about the fun sketch that Leigh presented yesterday. My card today uses TCP's You Sick Thing, in the colors: turquoise, red, chocolate and kraft. The chick and soup bowl are paper pieced and highlighted with a bit of Sahara Sand ink for shadowing, as well as some Polka Dot Basics 2 dots on the bowl. I hand drew steam lines with a Sakura Gelly Roll Stardust pen and then pierced each of the steam lines for a little extra sumpin'. The sentiment is stamped, cut and supposed to follow the steam lines, just for fun. Patterned paper is from Bo Bunny Press, Raspberrie Red by Jan Lanoy.

I had so much fun with Leigh's sketch that I also made an American Art Stamp card using one of my hilarious Emerson Quillin images, Single Bar, with a reversed masked cuppa, stamped with PTI's Polka Dot Basics 2 in Eggplant Envy. A bit of added texture with a SU! embossing plate (Texturz Backrounds 1) and a trio of PTI's Perfect Plum buttons and ribbon finish out the extras.

I hope you can find a little time to play along with the TCP Tuesday challenge this week. If you do, please link your upload to Leigh's blog post, and/or use the keyword: TCPTUES75 at SCS or PCP. Thanks for stopping by today!

Mojo Monday Halloween

I've combined this week's Mojo Monday sketch with an adorable image from American Art Stamp called Cat by Robin Pickens. I also added a sentiment from their Halloween 2 cling set, cutting each word separately to form the rectangle layer of the sketch. Once I started doing things in three's, I couldn't stop! There are 3 buttons representing the horizontal layer; 3 circles forming the main image layer (I'm counting the button as a circle); 3 mini black dots on kitty's belly; 3 larger black dots on the corner; and 3 medium black dots to the left of the sentiment as called for in the sketch.

Thanks for stopping by today, and be sure to pop over to the American Art Stamp blog for more inspiration using their eclectic line of stamps!

Halloween: Day 3 {SFYTT}

When I saw Jen's sketch for this week, I immediately thought of my skinny witch stamps from American Art Stamp. The image used today is from the Halloween 2 cling set that you really should check out, so I'll link you to it right HERE! Ü

I've stamped Miss Witch onto a Jenni Bowlin 4x4 paper and colored her with watercolor pencils, blending with a blender pen, and then adding bits of sparkle here and there with a Sakura Gelly Roll pen. The papers are from Recollections Halloween 8x8 pad with a button embellishment and ribbon from Papertrey Ink.

Time to see what the rest of the SFYTT gang has for us to feast upon...

Jen & Megan (August guest designer)
Amy
Kelly

Carole and Susan won't be posting today, but don't worry... they'll be baaaack!

That 4 Letter Word: Grey!

I get the biggest kick out of the Emerson Quillin images from American Art Stamp! The stamp featured on my card today is aptly named, Grey, and let me tell you, it's one of many that you just have to check out, especially right now at 25% off! Scrolling through the images is like standing in the funny card aisle at Hallmark, except you can snort and laugh out loud in the privacy of your own home!

Deets on the card include some purty stuff from PTI--New Leaf cardstock, ribbon and vintage buttons; Jenny Bowlin mini 4x4 papers (so darn sweet!); and some fun Smooch pearlized accent ink in green apple.

Thanks for stopping by here today, and be sure to move on ahead to American Art Stamp for great deals!

Fun, fun, fun!

New stuff from American Art Stamp--hilariously fun images by Emerson Quillin in a variety of sketches using the following materials:

• kiwi kiss, kraft & bermuda bay card stock
• K&Co. patterned paper (Carolyn Gavin Greenhouse Collection)
• scallop edge punch
• dies: Spellbinder's oval and scallop oval; SU! Top Note Bigz
• bermuda bay polka dot grosgrain
• buttons
• SU! Texturz plates #1
• watercolor and pure color pencils
  

If you like what you see, hop on over to American Art Stamp for more fun! You can see more creative bliss on the American Art Stamp blog as well.

Take a Deep Breath

Fun new stuff today: a new SFYTT, a fun new yoga pose from American Art Stamp by Robin Pickens, called Triangle Pose, and new SU! In Colors--Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry & Soft Suede. My yoga queen is colored with a blender pen and reinkers with a curry glow all around her. A couple of other stamps used include the sentiment from MFT's Serenity Now set and the flourish from Autumn Leaves.

Let's see what the other SFYTT gals are doing with the sketch today!
Jen & Ashley
Amy
Carole
Kelly
Susan

Have a serene weekend!

Mom Words by American Art Stamp

I've created a variety of Mother's Day cards using American Art Stamp's set, Mom Words by Kathleene Callei. This is a stand alone set that is easily used with other stamps, such as Angel with Child, or with patterned paper as you see in the other three cards today.

The first two cards have a totally different feel although they feature identical layouts. You can easily customize your cards by selecting patterned paper that matches the recipient's personality and then simply add one of these versatile sentiments.

The next card features paper piecing on the angel and child with added pearl-escent glimmer to their wings, hair and bouquet with Smooch pearlized accent inks in Gold Lamme, Moonlight and Green Apple (Clearsnap).

The final card is probably my favorite because of it's off kilter-ness. I immediately thought of Christmas when I read this sentiment: Merry Mommy's Day, and wanted to somehow incorporate a Christmas theme. I (hopefully) achieved my goal by stamping the sentiment in matching pink ink (Colorbox pigment ink in Razzberry) on a silver {Christmas} ball and giving it the appearance of hanging from a {razzberry} branch/bow.

Thanks for stopping in and good luck with those Mommy's Day cards! Hope you found some inspiration here today.

A {big} blog candy SFYTT!

Good morning, peeps! Lots to share with you today, so I'll get right to it. The ultimate sketch gal, Jen del Muro, is having a huge blog candy giveaway to benefit Dallas Baptist University students, so first and foremost, check it out! You can find the details right here: Jen's Blog Candy Giveaway! You are asked to donate a card(s) in order to be entered in the giveaway; cards that will be going to university students from over 50 different countries in the world who are attending Dallas Baptist University. There is a crazy amount of gift certificates and stamps sets included, so you are sure to be pleased and motivated to stamp a card or three once you view Jen's BCG!

Speaking of Jen (nice segue, don't you think?!)...there's also this weekly Saturday SFYTT thang going on today and here's my sketch card:

My card features a great rooster stamp from American Art Stamp designed by Adriana Cirstea. I have roosters adorning areas of my kitchen as a remembrance of my late Dad. Besides being an all-around great guy, he was a dairy farmer, and every once in awhile, he'd add a few Bantam Chickens to the farm (I always thought there were "Banty" Chickens...good thing I googled it!). Unfortunately, the chickens never lasted too long due to lurking area farm dogs, probably including our own. Anyway, about a year before Dad died, he started collecting cool rooster memorabilia (that's when roosters were popping out everywhere in home decor), and after he passed, I began picking up rooster "stuff" here and there in his memory.

Deets on the card: a variety of papers from TAC, SU! and Daisy D's; colored using watercolor pencils; JoAnn's jumbo vintage brads; flower embellishment derived from a Heidi Swapp flower, layered with a Prima flower and topped with a SU! felt fusion flower--all held together with a vintage brad. Almost forgot about the (crooked) sentiment, but that's probably because it's crooked and it was too late to start over, so I'm suppressing it! It's from CHF's Motivational Centers.

Here's a list of the SFYTT peeps along with Jen and January Guest Designer, Kirsten! Thanks for hanging in there with all my chit-chat today! Hope you can play along and for sure check out that blog candy over at iheart2stamp.com!

Jen & Kirsten
Susan
Shannan
Carole
Amy

Noel

I don't know how she does it every week, but Jen just keeps coming up with one great sketch after another, and this week is no exception! I really enjoy being part of the SFYTT team because it really forces me to think outside the box and get out of old sketch habits. I'm not saying it's a bad thing to have a "go-to sketch", actually that's a good thing, but to improve your stamping skills (or as Napolean Dynamite would say: skillzzz), I really feel that you need to try new sketches, new technics, new bellies! 'Nuf said.

With the long skinny rectangle as the focal layer, I once again went to my American Art Stamp stash and decided on this image from their cling mount set called Holiday Fun. The other stamping includes the sentiment from CTMH's Say It With Style set, and the snowflakes from CHF's Joyeux Noel. All stamping is done in Ranger Walnut Ink (love that stuff) with the exception of the snowflakes which are stamped in Versamark and embossed with Irridescent Ice embossing powder. Paper is Kraft, True Thyme, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White and Basic Grey's Figgy Pudding 6x6 pad. As for the embellishments, or as I like to call 'em--bellies: Felt Flurries snowflake, Basic Grey buttons and that yumm-O ribbon from SU! found in the holiday mini catalog.

Ok...here's your chance to stretch yourself: play along with Jen's sketch today and if you decide to upload your creation to SCS, just use the keyword SFYTT; and/or if you have a blog, leave a link to your blog in the comment section of Jen's blog entry for today. Last but not least, don't forget to check out the SFYTT team, including Jen and her super-duper October guest designer Nancy Riley.

Shannan
Susan
Carole
Amy

Have a great weekend!

Kiwi Skinny!

I decided to turn things upside-down a bit with Jen's sketch this week and with my use of non-traditional Halloween colors, with the exception of black. Pink Passion and Kiwi Kiss were still in my head and on my stamp table from the card in my previous post, so I decided to change it up a little and use those colors along with black for my leggy witchy-woman! And, since she's so darn tall and skinny, I had to flip the sketch to accommodate her, he he!

Just a couple of notes on the stamping part: my skinny witch is colored with reinkers and a blender pen; her black boots, hat and cat, as well as the pink portions of her skinny outfit are all shined up with Crystal Effects (even though its a bit hard to detect in my photo).

Jen has a new and fabuloso guest designer lined up for October--Nancy Riley/stampinat6213, so be sure to stop at Jen's blog to see what those two have done with the SFYTT. Also, check out the other witchy-women (just kidding, girls!) while you're out blurfin' around, and if you can play along, remember to use the keyword: SFYTT when uploading to SCS, and/or leave a link to your blog on Jen's blog.

Carole
Amy S.
Susan
Shannan

Supplies
Stamps: AAS Halloween2
Paper: Bella Rose dsp, Black, Kiwi, Pink Passion
Ink: Palette Noir Black, Kiwi & Pink Passion reinkers
Accessories: blender pen, Chills & Thrills rub-ons, Crystal Effects, scallop edge punch, clips asst

Monkey business!

Have you ever made a card and didn't know if you really wanted to share it...you liked some parts but not the whole? Well, this is one of those cards! It's a combination of this week's SCS Color Challenge 186 (Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip & Really Rust) and Sketch Challenge 196. It's also a combo of two different stamp companies: American Art Stamp's Women and My Favorite Things sentiment (from the naughty set, as I call it--winky-wink!). The part of this card that I'm not crazy about is that the sentiment just doesn't quite fit, and of course I mounted my layers on the base BEFORE sizing up the sentiment...ever done that before?! I'm also not overly crazy about the big Baja button bc it really doesn't match, color-wise, and it's supposed to, but I'm going with it! The parts that I really like about this card are the Really Rust panel with my flying lady stamped repeatedly and the main image panel itself.

Accept my apology for sounding a bit whine-y about this one...not meant to come off that way, just one of those love/hate cards that I'm guessing you may have had the same experience with at some point?! Ü

Almost forgot to say...thought I might just leave this in Ed's work truck some morning--ha! He won't care about the big button or the sentiment, he'll just think I'm getting "fresh" with him!

Working in 3's

Have you ever noticed how things go in 3's? This is my third card using Karen Stolper images available from American Art Stamp this week. Today's card features a couple out caroling, snuggling close to stay warm, or maybe the fact that they're sharing music?! Whichever is the case, I think they're having a grand ol' time.

The main image and sentiment (I know, it's hard to see...look closely--bottom right corner) are both part of a cling mounted set. This particular set isn't showing up in the AAS store right now, but it should be back soon. If you like the fun and whimsy of these Karen Stolper images as much as I do, pop on over to AAS and look around because there are some fantastic holidays set that are currently available. Click here!

My main image and sentiment were stamped in Versafine Onyx Black ink and then colored with a blender pen dipped in Soft Sky, Always Artichoke, Sage Shadow and Certainly Celery reinkers. A piece of textured Soft Sky cardstock was cut to mimic a wide piece of ribbon and then held tight with a fancied up button. The button is from Basic Grey with a snippet of velvet ribbon secured with silver cording. Lastly, the patterned paper is retired SU!.

Thanks for stopping by today!