Long time, no see!

Did you think I'd abandoned you?  It has been almost a week since my last post...and what a craaaazy week it has been!  Not much time for stamping...or blogging!  Hopefully this week will be a little calmer!
On Saturday we attended my nephew's third birthday party.  He is a big fan of Toopy and Binoo, so I decided to try creating a punch art Toopy for his birthday card.  Here is what I came up with:

Punch Art Toopy birthday card with sentiments from Yippee Skippee, Just Sayin' and Remembering Your Birthday.

I wasn't too sure I had him right, but both my son (still a Toopy fan at 7!) and my nephew recognized Toopy, I figured I must have done alright.  For those of you wanting to try to recreate him, here is a list of the punches I used...all are from Stampin' Up!:

• Head - 2" circle in Sahara Sand
• Snout - 1-3/8" circle and Small oval (the current one) in Sahara Sand
• Nose - 3/4" circle in Basic Black
• Ears - Large Oval in Sahara Sand
• Inside of Ears - Small oval (the retired one) in Blushing Bride
• Mouth - Large Oval in Sahara Sand
• Inside of mouth - Small oval (the retired one) in Basic Black
• Tongue - Small oval (the retired one), trimmed in Blushing Bride
• Eyes - 1" Circle in Whisper White
• Pupils - Smallest circles from the Owl Builder punch in Basic Black
• Eyebrows - hand-cut in Basic Black
• Neck - Large Oval in Sahra Sand
• Body - 2-1/2" Circle in Sahara Sand
• Shirt - 2-1/2" circle, trimmed, in striped DSP (you can use whatever pack you have...just as long as it is striped...Toopy always wears striped shirts!)
• Sleeve - Small Oval (the retired one) in same DSP as shirt
• Arm - Word Window in Sahara Sand
• Hand - Petite Petals punch in Sahara Sand, trim off two petals, keeping three for the hand

 The key with any punch art is to sponged all of the pieces.  I sponged all of the Sahara Sand pieces in Sahara Sand ink, as I did the 1" circles for the eyes.  The Blushing Bride pieces for the insides of the ears are sponged in Blushing Bride ink.  The pink on the snout and tongue is Melon Mambo ink.  I added the little dots with the Project Life Journalling pen.  The black nose is sponged lightly in Whisper White craft ink.

The rest of the card is pretty straightforward.  I die cut a bunch of word bubbles using the Word Bubbles framelits, using sentiments from several different sets to create a little rhyme for the front of the card:  "Yippee Skippe, Woohoo, A Birthday wish that's just for you."  I thought it sounded like something Toopy might say!

The birthday boy quite liked it...well as much as a three-year-old cares about the card when it is attached to a present...lol!

Today is the day!

Today is a BIG day!  Not only does the Holiday Catalogue go live, but it is also my first challenge as a  Guest Designer for Just Add Ink!  I am so happy to be counted among such a talented group of artists!  So, without further ado, here is this week's challenge:

...and here is my project...inspired by the last fleeting days of summer:

Birthday card featuring the Shaving Cream technique and sentiment from the Yippee Skippee stamp set.

The minute I saw that yummy-looking inspiration photo I thought of the Shaving Cream technique!  Those marbled swirls of colour were exactly what I was going for.  I used Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo and Perfect Plum reinkers in my shaving cream.  I love the way it turned out!  I die cut three scoops of ice cream (really they're the thought cloud from the Word Bubbles Framelits).  The cone was punched from Baked Brown Sugar card stock using the new Tree Punch from the Holiday Catty and embossed using the Tiny Triangles TIEF.  Once I had assembled my triple scoop ice cream cone I covered the ice cream with Crystal Effects and left it to dry over night.  It gives my ice cream a great sheen...like it's melting and waiting to be licked!

The background layer is embossed with the Decorative Dots TIEF.  I added several scraps of ribbon for even more texture and colour as well as some Candy Dots in Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise and Daffodil Delight.  I layered it on a Melon Mambo mat and then a Daffodil Delight card base.
The sentiment is from the Yippee Skippee stamp set and is perfect for this card...after all, what's happier than ice cream??  I die cut the sentiment using the Labels Collection Framelits and layered it on a Tempting Turquoise label cut with the Deco Labels Framelits.

On the inside I added more scraps of ribbon for a faux-banner and stamped the sentiment from Sassy Salutations in black.

Such a fun and happy card...what a great salute to the end of summer!  I'd love to see your interpretation of the inspiration photo, so play along and be sure to post a photo of your creation HERE.

Today is also the LAST DAY to take advantage of the extra $65 in product in the Demonstrator starter kit.

Last chance to get $65 in free product!

Until midnight tonight you get to choose $190 worth of products of your choice for just $125, no shipping and no tax!  I'd love to have you join my Tri-City Stampers team.  To order your kit click HERE

Revving up for the Weekend

Its Thursday!  One more day to go till the weekend...not sure I'll make it!  I am SO tired and am still fighting this sinus infection.  Add to that summatives and exams at school and my marking pile is a mile high.  *sigh*
The weekend can't come soon enough!

Here is a fun card I designed for my Card buffet tomorrow night suitable for a teen or tween boy:

Birthday card featuring the Rev up the Fun stamp set

The inspiration for this card was one designed by the uber-talented Heather Summers that I saw on Pinterest.  I borrowed Heather's colour scheme and layout for the focal image.

I love the fact that I was able to use up several small scraps of ribbon on this card...I hate throwing even an inch of that stuff out!

Inside view with sentiment from Really Good Greetings.

I know a couple of young men who would love this card...boys who love their toys!  Have a great Thursday everyone!!

Yippee Skippee...

...it's Friday!!  Why is it the first week back after a vacation seems sooooo long??  With the crazy weather we've had here it seems like last weekend was a month ago!  I am SO happy to see the end of this week.
Today's project perfectly reflects my mood today.  It is another birthday card I designed for my All About Birthdays Buffet coming up in a couple of weeks.  Check it out...

Birthday card for a child featuring the Storybook Friends, Yippee Skippee and Just Saying stamp sets.

I love this image of a little dog running with his ears flapping in the wind!  So cute!  Paired with the Yippee-Skippee and Woo-hoo sentiments he is even more adorable.  The dog is from the Storybook Friends stamp set.  I stamped him using black Staz On and then coloured his spots with a Crumb Cake marker.  The word bubble woo-hoo is from the new Just Saying stamp set from the Occasions catalogue and was die cut using the coordinating Word Bubbles framelits.  The DSP I used is from the Fresh Prints DSP stack, which is also in the new Occasions catalogue.  I added a bit of white Baker's Twine and some sparkle with an arrow cut from Silver Glimmer paper using the small arrow from the Label Card Thinlits die set.

Inside view with sentiment from the Bring on the Cake stamp set.

For this inside of the card, I punched several little banners using the new Banner punch from the Sale-a-bration brochure and glued them across the top.  The sentiment is from the Bring on the Cake set and is stamped in Real Red.  This card could easily be changed to a congratulations card by simply switching out the birthday sentiment inside.  Gotta love versatile!

If you are interested in attending my All About Birthdays Card Buffet but haven't registered yet I have good news and bad news for you.  The bad news is that the Friday evening session is now full.  The good news is that I have added a second session on Saturday morning, January 25th from 9:30-12:30.  The same projects will be available at both sessions, so hopefully everyone who wants to attend will be able.  I'd hate to have to turn anyone away from a stamping event!  Be sure to register soon so you aren't disappointed!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

More Magical Masking Tape

Happy Friday!  Where did this week go??  Today I have another design that uses the Magical Masking Tape technique.

Any-occasion card featuring the Gorgeous Grunge (130517) and Hello,Lovely (130243) stamp sets and using the Magical Masking Tape technique

Sentiment from the Yippee Skippee stamp set (131344)

Yesterday I showed you a very CAS design, so today I want to show you one that has much more going on.  We did this at my monthly techniques group last night and my gals loved it!  Here are some quick tips:

• I used Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz and So Saffron ink for the Masking Tape technique
• I stamped using the Gorgeous Grunge set with Bermuda Bay, Strawberry Slush (stamped off), Basic Gray (both full strength and stamped off) inks.
• I used Washi Tape from the Epic Day This and That pack (131269) and the Season of Style pack (132155)
• The front panel is embossed using the Honeycomb TIEF (129378)
• The Calypso Coral label on the front is die cut using the Chalk Talk Framelits (129983)
• The sentiment is from the Hello, Lovely stamp set
• I used Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine (retired), but you could substitute with Island Indigo or Calypso Coral instead
• The sentiment on the inside of the card is from the Yippee Skippee stamp set

I hope this weekend holds some time to play with ink and paper for you!  Enjoy!!

Another Sketch Inspiration Sample

Today is the day!!  I leave for Salt Lake City at 7:30 am!  I am so excited!!!  My swaps are done, I'm all packed and I even have room in my suitcase for all the fabulous freebies we'll be getting at Convention!  So pumped!
Today I want to show you another sample I did for this month's Sketch Inspiration.  In case you've forgotten, here is the sketch:

July's Sketch Inspiration

And here is another spin on it...

Multi-occasion card featuring the Perfect Blend stamp set with sentiment from Yippee Skippee.

Now, I'll admit this is a bit of a stretch, but all of the elements of the sketch are there:  three layered items in the middle and a horizontal element.  I did add the label for the sentiment, but it is still true to the sketch.  I used some of my favourite Soho Subway DSP for the heart and then stamped and fussy cut the two coffee cups.  The sentiment is die cut using the new Deco Labels Framelits...love those!!  I used some Linen Thread for the horizontal element and a couple of little button brads from the Vintage Trinkets.  The background is embossed using the Woodgrain TIEF.   You just never know where a sketch will lead you...give this one a try...it's a fun one!
I'll check in tomorrow from SLC with some pre-convention buzz and also have a fun kid-friendly project for you.  See you then!