Monday, June 30, 2008

Hanna Sneak Peek


New Hanna's are coming! That means there will be a release party in the SCS member forums on Thursday night. You don't want to miss it! Kristi always has tons of prizes and fun challenges at her release parties.

I tried to get all the glitter and shine to show on the images, but just didn't have enough sunlight today on the OR coast. The cake has a clear glaze on it that really makes it look like frosting. You just have to touch it, they are so pretty. Of course everything has a touch of glitter too. These are just a few images in a new wedding set... I know you'll love it.


The Recipe:


Stamps: Wedding Day (Hanna Stamps)
Paper: Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Groovy Guava.
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black, Copics
Other: Sakura Glaze and Glitter, Dimensionals, Cuttlebug, Nesties, Gingham Ribbon, Small Oval Punch, Embossing Folder, Scor-Pal.

Have a super day everyone! Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Note Cards In a Box To Go


Happy Saturday! I'm off to the lake to celebrate my Gramma's 88th birthday! She loves to send out note cards, especially when they are handmade by me. *wink*

We are all pitching in on a new swing for her new porch so that she can sit out in the evenings and read or enjoy the sunset. It's going to be such a surprise... and I can't wait to spend some evenings with her swinging and watching the kids play. You can't really wrap that up though, so I decided to make her something for her desk.

These are note cards... I believe the original idea was from the amazing Taylor and I saw some adorable ones by my friend Mish too.




I used all the sentiments from the Absolutely Fabulous stamp set... one on the top, and one in bottom corner. I LOVE that stamp set.. the font is SO pretty. So, now she can easily thumb through by looking at the top and see which card to pick. 12 note cards and envelopes fit nicely... with a bit of room to boot. The box is one piece of 12x12 matching designer paper. You can get the pattern here. The flower on the note card is punched out from the left over Die Cut Blooms (will take a photo and show you later). That idea was from the brilliant Patty Bennett. Use your Circle Punch and go over the left over spot from where you popped the small flowers out. Hope you didn't throw those away. Oh, and Monday is the last chance to order those fun flowers and the designer paper out of the Occasions Mini! :)

The Recipe:

Stamps: Absolutely Fabulous (Stampin'Up!)
Paper: Summer Picnic Designer Paper, Real Red, Bashful Blue, Whisper White.
Ink: Basic Black
Other: 1 3/8 inch Circle Punch, Round Scallop Punch, Die cut Blossoms, Dimensionals, Stampendous Dot Stickers, Scor-Pal.

Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, June 27, 2008

Paper Piecing is FUN!


Hey everyone! Today was another Hanna Stamp Challenge. You can check the member forums at SCS and play along each Friday. Or, play along over the weekend or week... just come and play, it's fun! Today's challenge was masking. Okay, so I didn't do any masking with other stamps, but I did mask before I got out my Copic Airbrush for the background.

I had quite a few emails asking about paper piecing so I thought I'd show ya real quick. It's fun and it adds dimension and fun to your cards.

Are you ready? Paper Piecing 101.



Step One: Stamp your image on the card stock that you will use as the focal point. color in the portion that you will not paper piece. Do any masking or other coloring.

Step Two:
Stamp your image again on to your designer paper.


Step Three:
Cut out the portion that you want to piece into your main image.

Step Four:
Glue your pieces onto the main image. I use the Quickie Glue Pen because you can get the glue in tight spots and only where you want it.

Hope that makes sense. I know having a visual sometimes makes it tons easier. I hope you'll give it a try!

Here is the recipe:

Stamps: Bookworm, Small Breed (Hanna Stamps)
Paper: Georgia Pacific White, Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, Chatterbox Rosey Villa Vines.
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers.
Other: Nesties, Cuttlebug, Dimensionals, Eclipse Masking Tape, Sakura Glaze & Glitter Pens, Heidi Swapp Pink & Brown Brads, Copic Airbrush System, Scor-Pal.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Happy 4th!


It's Friday! TGIF. I'm totally feeling like summer is making me crazy. I'm beat and the weekend is almost here! How's your summer going?

On a positive, not so crazy, note.... my Grandma is completely feeling better and back to her cribbage playing self. YES... she went to Cribbage this week! The Dr. is changing around some medication, but it was for sure NOT a heart attack and the pneumonia is almost totally gone! My daughter swam clear across the long length of the pool (and back), ALL BY HERSELF (teacher at her side), and one of my twins is thrilled he learned to Ollie on his skateboard. This weekend we celebrate my Grandma's 88th birthday! I have much to be grateful for... even through all the crazy


Here is the Recipe:

Stamps: Changito Fireworks (on sale at eP!)
Paper: Real Red, Neenah White, Designer Prints (hostess).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic
Other: Star Punches (Stampin'Up!), Corner Rounder Punch, Striped Ribbon, Sakura Glitter Pen, Gold Pen, Real Red Brads, Crafter's Tool Kit, Dimensionals, Sakura Glaze Pens, Scor-Pal.

Have a super weekend! Thanks for stopping by!


Thursday, June 26, 2008

Riley is Expanding


Oh baby..... I totally felt like a moose when I was pregnant with the twins. I told my husband people stared at me... he said I was being over sensitive. Then, the day before my c-section, we went to the mall and he whispered in my ear "OMGosh... they are staring at you!". Yah, I was HUGE. Two seven pound healthy baby boys three weeks early... it was worth feeling like a moose!

The designer paper is from a DCWV pack called The Pocket full of Posies Stack. It's really cool with glitter and embossing all over it. I paper pieced the dress with the same paper. Before I dressed her, I masked her with Eclipse Masking tape and airbrushed the sky and grass. I went back over the grass with a darker green, then added some texture with the blender juice and a wash cloth. Love how it gives the grass such a realistic texture.

The little flower in her hair is a made tiny punch that I got from the Target Dollar Spot, with a Dot Sticker in the center. LOVE those Dot stickers. You get a ton on a sheet and it all different sizes... .and they really sparkle! I take them off the sheet and attach them using my poker from the Crafter's Tool kit. Have you seen all the new Riley Meese? They are all just TOO cute. :)

Here is the recipe:

Stamps: Riley Moose (Hanna Stamps), Phrases for a Friend (Stampin'Up!)
Paper: Whisper White, The Posies Pack, Real Red, Brocade Blue.
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers, Real Red.
Other: Crafter's Tool Kit, Striped Real Red Ribbon, Nesties, Cuttlebug, Copic Air Brush System, Stampendous Dot Stickers, Dimensionals, Janome Sew Mini, Scor-Pal.

Hope you are having a great summer... I'm on the run again. See ya tomorrow for Beate's Weekend Sketch!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Watercoloring for Cheaters


Okay, so maybe it's not REALLY cheating, but I feel like I'm cheating since it's SO easy and fun! Remember when I told you that I dropped by my friend Nancy Morgan's house, and Nancy Littrel had left this stamp set? This is one of the techniques that Nancy showed me... which Nancy L. showed her, which I think she was taught by the amazing Leslie Miller. I've never been that great at watercoloring with reinkers and a brush. It seems I can't get the right amount of ink.. either too much or not enough. So, this is why I was THRILLED to learn how to do this.. and now I'm in love with my Stampin'Up! markers... at least with watercolor paper. *wink*.



Yep, you heard me... I used only my Stampin' Write Markers and my Aquapainter. Am I the last one to know about this? It seriously took under a minute, and it was a no brainer. I love no brainers... I NEED no brainers.

I'm going to show you just how easy! You ready? Did you get this set? If you didn't, you better hurry.... time's out at the end of the month. :)





Watercoloring for Cheaters:


Step One:
Stamp your image on watercolor paper with Stazon ink (or emboss).

Step Two:
Take your marker with the brush tip and draw on the lines in the image that indicate the shadowing. *Click on the image to see a larger version of the photo.* I colored the stem of the flower with the fine point tip.



Step Three:


Take the Aquapainter (or paint brush) and move the ink from the shadowed areas to the outer areas. Blend as much or as little as you want. If you get an area too dark, just dab the area with a paper towel. If you need more ink, go back again with your brush tip and add more to the shaded areas again.

Touch the tip of the Aquapainter to a tissue or paper towel until the red is out of the tip, then move on to the old olive on the leaves. It's okay to leave a little white area too.

Wham Bam, Shazam, DONE! Omgosh... how easy is that? The more it dries, the more it just pops from the paper. Can you believe it? Two markers and a Aquapainter!

Things to remember:
  • Works best with watercolor paper
  • You need waterproof ink (main image)
  • Just dab with tissue if you get too much water or ink.
  • Copics do not work well with this technique. You can use Copic reinker to "paint' with but you will not get the same results by using Copic markers to color directly on to watercolor paper.
Here is the recipe:

Stamps: Bloomin' Beautiful (Stampin'Up!), Pretty Petals Background Stamp.
Paper: Watercolor Paper, Rose Red, Old Olive, Basic Black.
Ink: Black Stazon, Rose Red & Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker, Black Craft Ink.
Other: Poly-Twill Olive Ribbon, Dimensionals, Rose Red Brads, Vintage Brads (second card), Circle Punch, Aquapainter, Crafter's Tool Kit, Photo Corner Punch,Stamp-a-ma-jig (second card), Scor-Pal.

Hope you all had a great day. Thanks for stopping by! If you try this technique, I'd love for you to leave me a link so I can see!

Monday, June 23, 2008

New Riley's in DA House!!


Have you seen all the new Riley's? Oh man... they are all SO cool. So many Meese, so little time. LOL. I'm in Meese heaven and can't wait to stamp them all!

I missed the PJ party at SCS on Friday. I was so sad. I had a very scary weekend. My sweet Grandma called and told me she couldn't breathe. My heart sank when I got her to the hospital and they thought she was having a heart attack. Filled my big girl panties, then called my parents. I managed not to cry in front of Gramma. They admitted her and took good care of her. They now think she was getting pneumonia an it wasn't a heart attack. THANK GOD. She gets to come home today! Her new house will be done soon, and she will be right next door.... I can't wait to have her closer so that we can all be there for her and make sure she is always comfortable and safe.

Back to the card. I got those pretty brads from Hanna Stamps. They are the pink and brown collection from Heidi Swapp. I'm so happy to have some brown brads! And, well, you know I can never have too much pink of anything. The designer paper is from Chatterbox and it's called Rosey Villa Vines. Riley is colored with Copic Markers and paper pieced with the same Chatterbox paper. The antlers are covered with glue from the Quikie Glue pen, then covered with Caramel Latte Tan Fun Flock.

The Recipe:

Stamps: Riley Stamps (Hanna Stamps)
Paper: Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Chatterbox Rosey Villa Vines.
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers.
Other: Copic Air Brush System, Nesties, Cuttlebug, Heidi Swapp Brads, White Taffeta Ribbon, Crafter's Tool Kit, Quickie Glue Pen, Fun Flock, Dimensionals, Janome Sew Mini, Scor-Pal.

Hope you all had a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

Friday, June 20, 2008

DD/DDA June Challenge- Inside & Out!

Here are the rules:

Challenge Focus:
"Inside & Out"......stamp and decorate both the inside of your card AND the outside of the envelope.


Required Element:
Patriotic element - interpret this any way you like (ex. color scheme, sentiment, image, whatever)

Restricted Element:
No ribbon

Keyword: DCIO608 (for Dirty Challenge Inside Out June 08 )


Optional - Send your card to the troops so that they can in turn mail it home to family or friends (all themes and occasions welcome). If you choose to do so, Beate has agreed to accept them and send them to her husband. Please include the envelope with the card and mail them to Beate. Thanks!

Yikes! No ribbon. I did it! Another set by Lizzie Anne Designs named High Hellos. I also used the set In The Background.

Here's the inside and the envelope:
Here is the recipe:

Stamps: High Hellos, In The Background (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Paper: Ruby Red, Whisper White, Brocade Blue.
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink Black Soot, Whisper White Craft, Copic Markers R24, B45.
Other: Sakura Glitter and Clear Glaze Pens, Small Star Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Earth Element Brads, Dimensionals, 3/4 Circle Punch, Crafter's Tool Kit, Scor-Pal.

Again, I'm in my summer quickie mode, but by adding a little glitter and shine, I'm happy with how the card turned out. This one fits into Stampin'Up!'s Long Note Envelope, and it's headed to Beate today. Thanks Beate for sending cards to our troops. You are bomb baby!




Have a great weekend everyone! I'm off to pick up Grandma and head to the beach to see my cousin and his family. Averie is so excited to see her cousin.

Thanks for stopping by!

Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #53


Hey everyone! It's Friday again! Lots going on today too. First things first though, it's time for Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge! Love these challenges!

This is a set from Lizzie Anne Designs called In The Treetop. I also used the set In The Background. The tree set does come with a swirly stamp, but I discovered that the background swirl goes perfectly on the tree too. I'm afraid as summer officially approaches, the busier it gets at my house. I'm going back to simple stampin' mode. It doesn't get much easier than this, but I loved how it turned out.

Here is Beate's Sketch:

Hope you can play along... or at least find some time to stamp this weekend. Are you finding it harder and harder to squeeze in some stampin' time? You'd think without homework and school activities, I'd have more time, but it's just the opposite. Oh well, summer only comes once a year right?

In a couple hours, I'll be back to post again for the Dirty Dozen monthly challenge... yah, can you believe it? I did both! I'm not telling you what time it really is..... thank goodness for scheduled posts. *wink*.... and *yawn*.

Check out Beate's awesome sketch team for more samples of this sketch:


Charmaine Ikach

Jenn Balcer

Laurie Schmidlin

Lori Craig

MaryJo Albright

Sharon Harnist

The Recipe:

Stamps:
In the Treetop, In the Background (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Paper: Whisper White, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip.
Ink: Brilliance Coffee Bean, Old Olive.
Other: Crafter's Tool Kit, Circle Punches, Dimensionals, Ticket Corner Punch, Old Olive Poly-Twill Ribbon, Old Olive Brads, Scor-Pal.

See ya in a few..... whooo hoooo, two posts in one day!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Pink Beautiful Blooms


HA... did you think I would post something else today? LOL... I wanted to, but I just haven't had any stampin' time. This is another one that I colored when I got the images from Nancy and just now had time to put together.

And, I'm on the run again today. So, sorry for the short post.

I have a workshop this weekend, and a birthday party, and some relatives coming down to camp at the beach that I want to see. I told yah, summer has officially started. :)

Hope you are all having a great start to your summer. Thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

More Birthday Fishes


Summer is crazy busy. It's officially started. Swimming lessons, bowling, back and forth to the lake. Where does the time go? I'm playing with scraps on my desk and some Sushi images I colored and set aside. Trying to get caught up on June birthdays. I totally adore these sets!

I love how just a little bling and some shine can really make a card. It still amazes me... after all these years of stampin. I added some Crystal Effects to the bubbles, some glitter with my Sakura Stardust pen and Stickles, then cut around the top of the fish to tuck in the birthday hat. She also has Crystal Effects on her lips and big black eyes raised up with the Sakura Black Glaze pen. So much fun!!

Here is the recipe:

Stamps: Sushi Platter
Paper: Taken with Teal, Georgia Pacific White, Print Pack Designer Paper (hostess gift SU!), Pretty in Pink, Real Red.
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black, Copic Markers/airbrush system.
Other: Crafter's Tool Kit, Real Red Brads, Dimensionals, Crystal Effects, Sakura Stardust Pen, Sakura Black Glaze Pen, Stickles, Grosgrain Ribbon, Cuttlebug, Embossing Folder, Eclipse Masking Tape, Uniball White Gel Pen,Scor-Pal.

Now to get caught up on the laundry. :) Thanks for stopping by!!


Monday, June 16, 2008

Another Bloomin' Birthday


Lots of birthday's in June. I can never keep up. You'd think I could keep up, but it seems I'm always behind.

Here is another one made with the Bloomin' Beautiful set. This set is only available until the end of June, along with the other die cut sets in the Occasions Mini. I started by stamping some images off with a friend's set, then ordered my own. I'm bad... what can I say?

Here is the recipe:

Stamps: Bloomin' Beautiful, Sincere Salutations, Pretty Petals Background.
Paper: Prints Pack (hostess), Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White, Basic Black, Bashful Blue.
Ink: Adirondack Pitch Black, Copics
Other: Nesties, Cuttlebug, Blue Gingham, Styled Silver Hodgepodge, Dimensionals, Sakura Glitter and Glaze Pens, Scor-Pal.

Hey... the retired list is out! Did you see it? What is the one set you are totally sad to see go? I always hate to see background sets go... and I love Flannel Plaid. I can't wait to see what's in the new catalog though. :)

Have a great day everyone... I am trying to catch up on laundry today. Tomorrow the kids start bowling... they are excited. Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Hanna Challenge #21



In the member forums at SCS, every Friday, there is a challenge by a Hanna Stamps design team member... this week was a sketch challenge. Thanks for the fun sketch Nikie! Want to play? Check out the thread in the Hanna forums, and include HSC21 in the keyword section when you upload. Hope to see you there!

Here is the Recipe:

Stamps: Riley, Things Hanna Would Say.
Paper: Brocade Blue, Whisper White, Cottage Pixie Garden Chatterbox Desiner Paper.
Ink: Ranger Distress Soot Black, Copic Markers.
Other: Coluzzle, Round Scallop Punch (Mary), Dimensionals, Crafter's Tool Kit, Grosgrain Ribbon, Tiny flower Punch (Target) Black Sakura Glaze Pen, Sakura Glitter Pen, Janome Sew Mini, Scor-Pal.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and all the Father's out there were feeling the love! Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Bloomin' Brithday


I know, I know, you are probably sick of me posting stuff with this set, but I can't help it... and I finally got it too! Not that it's mounted yet, but will be soon. :)

This is a card I made for my Aunt's birthday. She is the most kind hearted, thoughtful Aunt. It took just one time holding my embossing gun to hook her into my addiction *cough* hobby. I have to admit, it's super fun having someone in the family to talk "stamp" with. She lives too far to get together very often, but when we do, boy is it fun. Happy Birthday Roseanne!

Yesterday was wonderful. I got my husband all to myself... uninterrupted conversation... a movie and dinner. I can't believe it's been 20 years of marriage.... I hope we have at least 20 more! It went by SO fast too. I met Steve when I was 17. He was 22. He went home that night and called his Mom to tell her that he'd met the woman he was going to marry. He asked me to marry him two weeks later.... I thought he was a bit crazy. Maybe that's why he was so attractive.
I made him wait three years. 23 years later, four kids, many ups and downs, and I love him even more than I did at 17. I am feeling very blessed. Thanks for all the anniversary wishes.

The Recipe:

Stamps: Bloomin' Beautiful, Wonderful Favorites, Circle of Friendship.
Paper: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Prints Pack Designer Paper.
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black, Basic Brown, Whisper White Craft.
Other: Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, Pretties Kit, Crafter's Tool Kit, Circle Punches, Taffeta Ribbon, Nesties, Cuttlebug, Dimensionals, Sakura Glitter Pen, Copic Markers, Janome Sew Mini, Scor-Pal.

Today, we are headed to the lake to celebrate Father's Day. The kids are already up there with my parents and the sun is out! Off to pick up grandma soon. Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Friday, June 13, 2008

Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #52


OMGosh.... I love this set from Stampendous! Actually, there are three sets and they are SO MUCH FUN! I've never had Sushi, but I love this Sushi Platter baby! *wink*

It's Friday... right? Man, the kids are outta school so I lose track of which day it is. It is, indeed Friday, and that means it's time for Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge!

My friend Jami is throwing my friend Taylor a virtual birthday party today! Actually, Taylor's birthday was yesterday, but today is her "party". So, this is for you Taylor... sending you virtual Birthday Fishes. I hope your birthday was as SWEET as you! :)

Here is Beate's sketch:
Check out the rest of Beate's sketch team... they are always knocking my socks off:

Charmaine Ikach
Jenn Balcer

Laurie Schmidlin

Lori Craig

MaryJo Albright

Sharon Harnist

Here is the recipe:

Stamps: The Sushi Combo Platter
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Taken with Teal, Real Red, Real Red Prints DS Paper, Georgia Pacific White.
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink, Black Soot, Copic Markers.
Other: Copic Airbrush System, Eclipse Masking Tape, Glossy Accents, Sakura Clear Glaze, Black Glaze and Stardust Pens, Dimensionals, Grosgrain Ribbon, 1"Circle Punch, Photo Corner Punch, Crafter's Tool Kit, Cotton Candy Stickles, Brads, Cuttlebug, Embossing Folder,
Scor-pal.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!! The sun is finally out on the OR coast... now if it would just warm up! Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Bloomin' Beautiful Thank You


Oh, how I love this set! I cannot wait for my own set to arrive. I colored the flowers and vase with Copic Markers, then added some shine to the centers with my Sakura Stardust pen. The Thank you is a part of the set called All Holidays. I stamped it directly on the ribbon. The vase is raised up with Dimensionals. The blue polka dotted paper comes in te Pints Pack in the level one hostess gift. The layout is inspired by a layout that I saw Nancy Morgan do..... I love her layouts. :)

Okay... sorry for the short post today, but it's my 20th wedding anniversary! I can't believe I've been married for 20 years! We are going to celebrate on Friday... I can't wait. :) I love my man! :) You should see the pretty flowers I got today! :)

The Recipe:

Stamps: Bloomin Beautiful, All Holidays
Paper: Purely Pomegranate, Prints Pack Designer Paper, Basic Black, Bashful Blue, Georgia Pacific White.
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black, Copic Marker.
Other: Cuttlebug, Nesties, Janome Sew Mini, Dimensionals, Taffeta ribbon, Vintage Brads, Crafter's Tool kit, Scor-Pal.

Have a super day and thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

In The Treetop


I totally love Lizzie Anne Designs. Love the cd cases that their sets come in, love the deeply etched rubber, love that they have such great stamps included in each set for endless possibilities. Love those two girls... they are beyond sweet.
I truly enjoy being on their awesome design team... I hope I never get booted.

K... enough gushing. This set is called In The Treetop, and it's awesbomb. I stamped the outline or bushy part of the tree first with Rose Romance stamped off on a scratch piece of paper first, then added the tree directly over it. I masked it with Eclipse Masking Tape, then used my Copic Air Brush system to do the sky and the ground. I added the flowers using two pigment inks. One is called Pearlescent Orchid by Brilliance and the other is a cat's eye by ColorBox in Pink. The Brilliance is all glittery and shimmery. Nothing better than a pretty pink tree, don't ya think? *wink*

Here is the recipe:

Stamps: In the Treetop (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Paper: Wild Wasabi Textured, Wasabi Prints, Pretty in Pink Prints Designer Paper, Whisper White, Bashful Blue.
Ink: Palette Burnt Umber, Rose Romance, Brilliance Orchid, Cat's Eye pink, Copic Markers.
Other: Copic Air Brush System, Crafter's Tool Kit, Dimentionals, Cuttlebug, Nesties, Wild Wasabi Stitched Ribbon, Word Window Punh, Soft Subtle Brads, Circle Punch, Black Glaze Sakura Pen.

My kids are out of school for summer, so it's back to the crazy all day. I wish the sun would come out.... it's not suppose to rain during the summer right? I'm going to go and sign them up for summer bowling league later today. This year, Averie can bumper bowl, so she is super excited to go with her brothers.

Hope you have a great day... thanks for stopping by. :)

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Bloomin' Beautiful


Dang..... every single mini, I tell myself to only get a couple sets.... do I listen to myself? NO. I think I bought almost every set in there. This set, I'm blaming on the Nancy's. Yes... Nancy's.... Nancy Morgan and Nancy Littrell. Both are VERY talented stampers and very sweet friends, but so very bad for my pocket book.

I dropped by Nancy Morgan's house the other day and she showed me the coolest thing (I will share later, I promise). As she was showing me, I spied this set out on her counter. Well, come to find out it was Nancy L's set that she was returning. So, I quickly stamped out a few images just to play with. I should have known better. You'd think I'd know better. This is a sickness.... I am indeed a sick woman. LOL. I needed a couple sympathy cards, so this is what I came up with.

Of course coloring is so much fun now that I have some Copic markers. I started by adding just a touch of blue to the flowers with B21, then I added the darker shaded parts with BV01, then I want back and blended it all together with BV00. I went back one more time and added a little more BV01 to the centers. Then, I added just a touch of sparkle with my Sakura Stardust Pen, then to finish it off, added black centers with my Sakura Glaze pen... it raised just a bit, so they look embossed. SO pretty in real life.






If you click on the photo you can see a larger version and see some of the shine and shimmer. It's so hard to capture with photos.


Here is the recipe:


Stamps: Bloomin' Beautiful, Pretty Petals Background, Brighter Tomorrow (Stampin'Up!)
Paper: Whisper White, Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, Almost Amethyst.
Ink: Adirondack Pitch Black, Copic Markers, Whisper White Craft.
Other: Crafter's Tool Kit, Cuttlebug + Nesties, White Tafteta Ribbon, Vintage Brads, Dimensionals, Photo Corner Punch, Sakura Stardust Pen, Sakura Glaze Pen, Colorless Blender Pen (Copic), Janome Sew Mini, Scor-Pal.

Oh, speaking of my love/obsession with Copics..... my Copic Idol and stalkee Marianne Walker has a blog now! OMG, if you haven't been there, you MUST go. That woman is AMAZING. Be warned though... if you are on the fence about purchasing Copics, DO NOT GO. There, you've been warned. Now, go and check it out... click at your own risk: I Like Markers.

Hope you had a great weekend. I'm going to be stalking my UPS man this week waiting for my very own Bloomin' Beautiful set to arrive. After all..... you can only get it until the end of June. Time is running out on everything in the Occasions Mini, so check it out and make sure you have everything you "NEED". I'm so happy I'm not the only one with this sickness. *wink
*