TeaPot Tuesday - Strawberry Milkshakes!

Today's card actually goes to an 11-year-old boy by the name of Tyler. You can read the teapotter story here. Tyler's medical problems began in 2002. To say the least, it has been a very long journey for someone so young. His full story can be found on his website. He is a typical little boy. He has his favorite characters, is as active as his health allows, likes jokes and strawberry milkshakes.

Part of our challenge was to incorporate a joke... the opening being on the front of the card with the punch line being inside. Oh yeah, and bring plenty of strawberry milkshakes.

I had a cow stamp from the $1 bin at Michaels. I'm not a cow person but it's one of those stamps everyone should own because someone, somewhere likes cows. LOL I also has a four seasons faerie stamp set from Sarah Williams stamp line. One of those wonderful freebies when you purchase the UK magazine. LOVE those! Anyway, the spring faerie was all about strawberries, complete with a vine of the scrumptious treats. So here's what I came up with for the front of the card...

Do you know?

I can't wait to see who we get to send to next week!

If you are not a TeaPotter but would like to play, just click on the button that says I Survived TeaPot Tuesday. It will take you to the SCS Teapot thread list where you can get all the details. Help spread the cheer!

Creative Blessings!
Kelly

A Sneak Peek and a Give Away

Later this week I'll be showing you my entry in a Creative Challenge at the Telling Stories blog. But today I want to give you the opportunity to win one of Courtney Walsh's books. You get to choose which of her books you'd like to have.

PLUS Studio Calico is giving away one of their September scrapbooking kits! Wowzers.  Courtney has a few ways you can rack up your chances of winning so scoot on over to Telling Stories and say Hi.

Magazine Monday - Halloween

I seem to be in a Halloween  mood lately. I found several cards of inspiration in the Fall 2011 issue of Paper Creations. I’ll be sharing my take on them over the next few weeks.

Today’s card was inspired by Trick or Treat by Jenny Gropp. (pg 62) Jenny chose to use a 5” square card. She matted a striped patterned paper in gray/ white/orange/ black print against a black mat. She used a white pen to create a running stitch line around the edge of the black mat to ‘enhance’ the frame effect.

Here layered ‘diamonds’ in an orange plaid and a gray print were matted on black. She then ‘top stitched’ the prints with a black pen.  She used the same prints to stamp Trick or Treat tabs.

Her shoes image (Outlines Rubber Stamps) was stamped on white CS, matted on a the orange plaid then again on black. She anchored everything with a black/ orange plaid ribbon.

I like working with what I have. I just bought these shoes as part of a Studio G Halloween stamp set. The set also included a hat and a crow. I stamped the shoes on white CS with Memento Black then colored in the stripes with LePlume yellow-green. The Trick or Treat is part of a 4-pack $1 from Micheals.

My background mat is from All My Memories. The other papers were all from a misc. slab I bought at Michaels years ago. The green and purple CS are from ValuCS packs. I used an EK Success corner punch for my mat. The ribbon is one of the new ribbons from Studio G Halloween collection. I cut it in half lengthwise to make it more narrow.

The only thing I wished I’d done differently was to mat the striped paper against black CS to help pick up the black mat in the center.

Next Monday… Spiders pay us a visit and I’ve used one of the embossing folders I picked up at convention.

Creative Blessings!

Recycle Wednesday

For today’s recycle I’m pulling out something I’ve been using for about 5 years. My marker holder.

This is full of all my LePlume markers, Permenant Markers, a few Copics and glitter markers…
Markers should be stored horizontally. In the issue of space we sometimes forget and just stick them in an upright pencil holder or similar on our work surface. I designed this holder when I was first creating all the storage and whatnot for the then new office/ studio space.

I found these 16 oz glasses at Menards. I believe they came cellophaned together 3 for a $1. I bought 2 sets. These are blue whereas the ones I used in the project are clear.

With the help of a little E6000 glue, I put them together in a pyramid. I wrapped them tight with a rubberband and let the glue rest overnight. This is what it looks like empty…

All it takes is looking at something a little differently to come up with just the item you need to get organized.

Creative Blessings
Kelly

Teapot Tuesday

Good morning, Everyone
A head cold has hit full force and don't feel up to creating today. I do want to do the card for Tyler. We're supposed to create a joke on the outside and the punch line on the inside. He loves Strawberry milkshakes. I have the beginnings of the card in my head... which at this point is really scary. So hopefully later in the week I can make it come together and share with you.

In the mean time, please read Tyler's story and consider joining us in sending him some funny love!
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/19627038-post310.html

Magazine Monday

With the cooler temperatures the past week, it's been easy to get into a FALL frame of mind. It feels like fall so much I'm in 'fall cleaning' mode around here. Not good when I have so many projects I want to get done. Like this card inspired by Jacki Jones.  I'd love to find a blog or website for Jacki. The only thing my search brought up was a profile of her on Hero Arts.  Her card - Natural Gift WRap Khad White - was featured in the May/June 2007 issue of rubberstamper (Yes, I'm about through showcasing artists in this issue lol)
She repeatedly stamped the Skeleton Leaves onto the gift wrap with CTMH's Autumn Terracotta, SU's Close to Cocoa, Ranger's Adirondack Earthtone Raisin, Tsukineko's Versam Magic Mango Madness and Brilliance Galaxy Gold. Wow! You gotta love a gal not afraid to mix her brands! She cut out 2 leaves, where

I only did one and tucked them behind 5/8" brown grosgrain ribbon.  My card is pretty much the same as Jacki's but I added the little tag attached to the ribbon with a gold jump ring. I used SU Dusty Durango, Pear Pizzaz as my paper layers. The leaves are stamped in SU Cajun Craze, Close to Cocoa, Really Rust, and Apricot Appeal. The ribbon is SU Pear Pizzaz seam binding.

Technique Series #3- Mono Printing!

Today we’re talking Mono Printing. Mono Printing is similar to letterpress except you use a die cut as opposed to an embossed image to take your impression from.

This is one of those projects where I should have warned you ahead of time. A good thing to have on hand if you’re playing with ink or paints is a piece of Plexiglass. You might even want a couple of different sizes. The one I used for this was 6.5”x7”. You can get them at most any hardware or lumberyard and they aren’t expensive. I have another one about 4”x6” and paid less than $5 for the two of them. Keep in mind the size of card front you work with most and go at least an inch bigger.

Aside from a piece of Plexiglass you’ll need:

2 colors of acrylic paint
A mister bottle
A brayer
Diecuts
Card stock (cut the piece a bit larger than what you plan to use it for.
Baby wipes or paper towels

Think what you want your background color to be vs. the image. I chose SU Almost Amethyst for my ‘sky’ background. Put a good-sized dollop or straight line or paint horizontal across the glass. Brayer it out to cover the glass then mist lightly with water.

Lay your die cut shape on a sheet of paper or craft mat. Craft paper, reused printer copies or butcher papers make great work surfaces for this.
Brayer your alternate color (I used green) and brayer the die cut shapes. Then mist lightly with water. Be careful not to ‘saturate’ the paint as the paint will run and you’ll lose the details of your image. You want just enough to thin it out a bit.

Turn your diecut, paint side down, onto the Plexiglass. Mist the entire area again with water. Then place a sheet of cardstock on top of the glass and gently rub your hand over it to transfer the image. Don’t ‘push’ as this might make your die cut slide.

Carefully lift the cardstock off the Plexiglass and set aside to dry completely. If it wants to curl let it dry completely then you can press it between a couple of books overnight or with a warm iron. (Yep I own two – one just for crafts LOL)

Vicki stresses this one might take a little practice until you get a feel for the paint to water ratio and the pressure of you hand. But the after effects can be beautiful.

This tree card looks a bit childish but my granddaughter will love it. One more Christmas card done! I used the Sizzix mini-ornaments for the bulbs/ lights/ star, adding gold and silver paint pen for adornment and a glitter pen for the light chord. The stamp is from SU – Holiday Best stamped in SU Marina Mist.

Remember to check out Vicki's blog  for great inspiration and pick up her book so you'll have full instructions and bonus tips for all 40 background techniques!

There isn't going to be a scrapbooking post tomorrow. I'm in St Louis at a stamp convention/ writers retreat. I'll see you all on Monday!

Creative Blessings
Kelly

Recycle Wednesday

I'm not sure you'd really call this a 'recycle'. The only thing I've 'repurposed' is the 2x2 Bob had in the shop. We purchased the 1.25 inch PVC. But those two items are providing a ton of Stickle Storage!

I saw something similar in a magazine that could be purchased. Well, you know me, if it can be made I'm going that route. LOL We started with a 5' length of 2x2 pine board. Then using a keyhole bit we routered out a well about 1/4 inch deep for the PVC to nest in. Then we cut the PVC 2.25 inches and pushed one down into each hole. They are not glued in... they fit snug just worked in. When you turn the Stickles bottles upside down, you get about a 1/2 inch of the bottom of the bottle showing, allowing you to see the color and have room to get a hold of it.

If I remember correctly, there are 27 tubes for Stickles. I have added a couple basic colors of acryclic paint. Because this sits flush against the utility cubbies, I had to take the pliers out of the cubbies (the handles were in the way of the stickles holder) and have put them as well as my punches in some of the empty holes.

I'm hoping with the colors out in front of me all the time, I'll think to use them more often. I have a rack of 6 basic colors for the mixed media table, too. I'm think when I get the Studio and begin decorating, I'll paint and wrap the tubes for a little color but for now the plain PVC tone will work.

Creative Blessings!

Kelly

TeaPotTuesday for James

Nothing breaks my heart more than knowing something small is hurting in a big way. This week's TPT is all about bring smiles to a courageous little boy named James. You can read the TeaPot story HERE. Although the post has a link to his Caring Bridge page, I'm including it here as well where you can go directly to read about the struggle 3-year-old James is facing.

James loves Pirates and Puppies. Yep, he's all boy. I had purchased some pirate images from Bad Axe Trading (out of business) several years ago. The two things I didn't have was a pirate ship and a puppy so I turned to my trusty PrintShop program for both. I cut each of the wave sections separately and layered them so I could tuck the ship among them.

Please offer up prayers for this precious little boy that he may grow up to be a pirate someday!
Creative Blessings
~Kelly

Magazine Monday!

Happy Monday, everyone!

My in-laws left this morning after a weeklong visit that included a short road trip to meet up with our daughter and her family. The gathering brought four generations together for an overnight stay in Paducah, providing lots of time for just visiting and letting ‘Grandma Great’ and Grandpa Dick spend sometime with two little ones they don’t get to see as much as they do the other grand and great grand kids. This was the first time they got to see Abby (born last Oct.) and meet our daughter’s fiancée. It was a good time, but I’m happy to be back to work.

Today’s Magazine Monday card comes from the 2007 issue of Rubber Stamps. Anna Justice created a graduation card using CTMH and The Stamping Studio products. She revisited the technique of stamping an all-over image on solid cardstock to create our own DP. She used Congratulations in various fonts to make a graduation card.

My pic didn't turn out very good today. I had to shoot it inside because the wind is blowing like crazy! I think one of my next projects is a photo box. For now, let's see how this card came to be.

I seem to be in the Halloween spirit these days. LOL I think I’m just ready for fall. I chose SU Elegant Eggplant and Pumpkin Pie. I stamped the moon/ stars image from the SU Halloween backgrounds set all over the Pumpkin Pie in Elegant Eggplant. I was afraid the image wouldn’t stand out well if I did the tone on tone so I stamped the witch and ‘wicked’ with LePlume Black on the Elegant Eggplant background. Rather than stamp the entire Best Witches image, I inked the ‘witches’ part (not inking the ‘best’) of the stamp and ‘centered’ it on the mat then stamped the witch below it.

The ribbon is a newbie I picked up at Hobby Lobby last weekend. It’s not a ‘stiff’ ribbon, but it’s isn’t light weight flimsy either. It was easy to run the Tombo across and would have fed into the Xyron very easily. I raided my Halloween embellishment tub for fibers and the embellishment drawer for buttons and brads.

Best Witches!

Two Great Books!

I'm jumping in with an additional post this morning to introduce you to two blogs I'd love for you to check out. This might sound a bit confusing, but hang with me and read carefully. You only have a day or two to take advantage of this.

One is Creative Foundations author, Vicki Boutin. Vicki is good friends with Courtney Walsh, who is also a scrapbooker and wonderful author. Friends support one another so they've teamed up to give us a chance to WIN a couple of books.

Go to Vicki Boutin's blog post HERE for a chance to win a free autographed copy of Courtney's latest fiction release, A Sweethaven Homecoming. This book is part of a 3-book series that all have scrapbooking at their core. Vicki has a question on her post you need to answer by leaving a comment for your chance to win.

But wait... there's more! Vicki is actually drawing TWO names on Thursday. Not only is she giving away the copy of A Sweethaven Homecoming, but she's also giving away a copy of Courtney's scrapbooking eBook - Step Up Your Supplies!

When you've left your comment there, go over to Courtney's blog post HERE  for a chance to win an autographed copy of Vicki Boutin's book, Creative Foundations, which  I've talked about on here. Courtney is giving you multiple chances at winning Creative Foundations. Leave a comment on her blog, plus if you tweet, FB, blog, etc about the book, go back to her blog and leave a post for each one. The more you spread the word, the more chances you have to win your very own copy of Creative Foundations! How cool is that!

Good luck and Creative Blessings!
Kelly

Recycle Wednesday

I started this project last week but just could't get the time to finish it until this morning. I rearranged an entire bookcase unit to accommodate my excess mixed media toys - you know the ones that wouldn't fit in that rolling bag I bought earlier this year. I wanted to have the  items I used frequently at my finger tips, not stashed in the bag.

In looking at the May/June issue of Paper Crafts magazine, a storage idea caught my eye... something they would be showing in their special publication Practical Solutions. If you can get a copy, look on page 34 - Found Objects for Mother's Day. They took a variety of empty cans and turned them into a decorative storage unit for your desktop.

So here's what I started with:

 I spray painted them all white. I didn't want the traditional colors I'll be using in the studio. I wanted something more about the 'artsy' side of me. Well... I picked up on my witchy colors and came up with this:

I left approximately a 1/4" of the white showing above and below the edge of the base of the deep wine ValuCardstock. Then I reached for the folder containing homemade papers. The green layer is almost tissue paper weight with a bit of leaf pattern through it. Then I added the heavier orange/ purple/ silver handmade papers.I adhered each layer with ModgePodge.  The can in the far back (hard to see) and each of the two cans flanking it (fabric markers and smaller brushes) are glued to another inverted can with E6000 to stagger the levels. 

Now I have my large OneStroke burshes in one can - great for spreading modge podge or gel medium, a can for a variety of smaller brushes, one for fabric markers, another for a variety of texturing tools and one for pallet knives. I'm not sure what I'll use the tuna can in the very front but it helps fill the space. They are not glued to the lazy susan but appear to be stable. 

Next week I'll have a storage solution I designed based on a sample I saw on-line. I saw a storage unit for Stickles and decided I could make one of those. Well, like most of my projects - though I could make it - I design it and hubby builds it. Can't wait to show you!

Creative Blessings!

Teapot Tuesday - Formal for Laura

This week’s TeapotTuesday card is on it’s way to a young lady in Denver, Colorado. Laura received massive injuries to her brain and body when she was struck by a train last November. When most people would have died, Laura has persevered and overcome insurmountable odds. She has survived not one, but two brain surgeries, a stroke and pneumonia. Please read her story of blessing and recovery HERE.

Before going away to college, Laura loved going on cruises with her parents. All girly-girl, she loved dressing up. So this week I chose the image, Belle, from Cuddlebug Cuties for Laura’s card. I used all Pearl Ex watercolors to color the image so although it doesn't show up here, the gown and her hair have a slight sparkle to it.

Every gown needs bling so I added a 'amethyst' stone to hold the gold sashing on her gown and a string of pearls. I used the same bling to enhance the flowers.  In keeping with the formal occasion she is dressed up for, I kept the base colors to simple black and white.

I hope his card holds a promise to Laura that she will be cruising and dancing again.
Creative Blessings!

Check out Cuddlebug Cuties!

If you'll look to my sidebar on the right, you'll see some blog candy offered up by Anna Stillwell. She has some really cute digi images. Aside from offering up freebie digis frequently, she has an Etsy shop where a wide variety are available.

If you click on the blog candy picture, it will take you over to Anna's blog. I hope you'll take a couple minutes to cruise over there and check her adorable images out. While you're there, follow her so you don't miss new releases!

Creative Blessings!
Kelly

Magazine Monday

Squeaking in under the wire tonight.


This week’s Magazine Monday challenge comes from the May/June 2012 issue of Paper Crafts Magazine. They showcased a Designer Challenge of creating a Feminine and a Masculine card using the same product. I knew I wanted to use DCWV Once Upon A Time. I fell I love with this slab when it was first introduced about six years ago. With a mixture of lights and darks, burgundies and deep purples with a mix of fairies and dragons, I knew this would be an easy challenge.

I paired the DCWV papers with SU Very Vanilla. For the feminine card, I also added SU Cherry Cobbler. With a few antique pearls and a rich double-layer flower, a bit of vintage lace and decorative ribbon is all I needed to pull everything together. I used the SU Vintage Labels for the sentiment.

The guy card came together just as well. I have very few ‘guy’ images. (I can work on fixing that problem when I go to the convention in a couple weeks) But with the blues in mind, I flipped through my binder of UMs to the Coastal/ Maritime collection by InkaDinkaDo. I chose the small sail boat and a sentiment from what I believe may be a Gina K designs collection. I created a pendant flag to stamp the sentiment on. The backgrounds of both mats was inked with SU Baja Breeze.

 I then stamped both the image and the sentiment by first inking the stamps with Baja Breeze then over-inking with Perfect Plum. The ribbon is from Michaels.

This one I’m going to sneak into my husband’s suitcase when he goes back out on the boat in a couple weeks. He knows I made him a card but I told him he never knows where it will show up. I’m ornery like that.

What happened to Wednesday?

LOL So, how many of you were asking that question? Or Thursday for that matter?

Bob and I got home from Eureka Springs Tuesday night very late. We'd walked all over the downtown area during the day then made the three-plus hour drive home. Verrrryyyy tired.

Wednesday morning when I would have been getting up and enjoying my coffee I got a phone call from a dear friend saying 'we're just leaving Ash Flat. We need directions to your house. Mind you, they were in Arkansas. They LIVE in Illinois and I didn't even know they were in the area. The dear friend actually encompasses an entire family of five (though the oldest girl, Jess, wasn't with them). But they all know the youngest, Kassie, is my baby. She has been from, the first moment she entered my daycare at 5 weeks old. She will be 16 in December. For those of you who've followed me awhile, you've heard me talk about her before. She spent three weeks with us last summer.

By the time they'd stopped in for an hour-long visit before starting their long drive home, Bob and I decided to just take the rest of the day to get household stuff out of the way. Stuff like lunch at our favorite chinese buffet, snooping through a flea market, seeing a movie and having dinner.. capped of with the grocery shopping trip. Getting this stuff done in what was already a late-start day would let me start the catch-up process today.

Of course, that meant three days worth of email and a blog hop I couldn't pass up. hehe. I still have the Recycled Wednesday project sitting here. All I need to do is put the 'wraps' on everything and glue it together. So it will be posted next Wednesday.

I also haven't made any more progress on the house book. I decided I needed to reorganize this room - not my usual stamping room - because I need my big cutting table to fine-tune the layout of the album cover before I can start on the pages. The room is almost finished. The cutting table declutter is all I have left. I'm praying for time to work on everything on Sunday and get a jump on next week's posts. Why?

Because my mother-in-law and her husband will be here on Monday for a week-long visit. One that includes a quick meet-up trip in Paducah to see my grandbabies. :-D

Does it every slow down? LOL
Creative Blessings!