Just Give Me Stamps...

Hot Stuff...

You might need some sunglasses to look at these projects...I definitely used some bright colors!!  I'll admit, I rarely use Bold Brights...except when pairing them with another color family (like earth tones).  But, these new sentiments from Verve Visual (from the Great Expectations set), are just so fun and fresh that they just have to be partnered with bright colors! 

   

I'm telling ya...when I saw these sentiments, my mind started racing with fun ways to use them!  One of those ideas was to use this "Guess You're Pretty Hot Stuff Now..." stamp with some Red Hot candies!

Even though I'm not normally drawn to bright colors...this patterned paper from My Mind's Eye really caught my attention.  I like the unique color combinations...and of course the polka dots! 

I stamped the flowers from Thankful Blossoms onto Pearlized White c.s. and colored them in with my Copic markers.  (I always forget to take a picture of the colors I use...it's such a habit just to put them away as soon as I'm finished with them.  :-)  I will try to remember next time...)

The pattern for my box, actually came from this Dove Chocolate box!!  I removed the chocolates (no, I didn't eat them...well, all of them...hehehee!) to use with another gift and gently took the box apart.  I then traced it on Pumpkin Pie c.s., scored on the fold lines, and then cut the box out. 

I used my circle Nestabilities to create the "window"...so you can see the bag of Red Hots peekin' through.  :-)

I hope  you all enjoy your evening!

Recipe   Stamps: Great Expectations, Thankful Blossoms   Paper: Cool Caribbean, Pumpkin Pie, Pearlized White c.s., Patterned Paper (My Mind's Eye)   Ink: Adirondack Espresso, Real Red   Other: Pumpkin Pie striped ribbon, Real Red (5/8" & 1/4") ribbon, Circle Nestabilities, Paper piercer, American Crafts large copper brads, Antique copper brads (Making Memories)

Cupcake with a Sugared Cherry on Top...

Happy Tuesday!!  I don't know about all of you...but I am sitting here trying to figure out where in the world April went to?  Wasn't it just the end of March??  I think it's all of the snow we've been getting...yeah, that's it.  LOL!  We are supposed to get our first thunderstorm of the season today (HOORAY for rain...and not snow!!)!

I received some new Inque Boutique stamps in the mail the other day!  I really am enjoying these stamps!!  This fun cupcake (from the Party Cupcakes set) is part of a "mini" set.  I put quotations around the word mini...because they are actually quite large! 

I stamped the large cupcake onto Shimmery White c.s. using Adirondack Pitch Black ink.  I used my Copic markers to color the image in.

I stamped just the cherry onto a scrap piece of Shimmery White c.s....colored it in with my Copics, cut it out, & adhered it on top of my cupcake.  (I did this so that the stem would hang off of the edge of the circle).

I added Stardust Stickles to parts of the cupcake liner (If there was such a thing as edible cupcake glitter...I would buy it in a heartbeat...because ALL cupcakes need some sparkle!)  LOL!

To make the cherry look "sugared", I first covered it with a thin to medium coat of Diamond Glaze.  I then added Micro beads (while the Diamond Glaze was still wet).  For just a bit of sparkle, I sprinkled on a little bit of Dazzling Diamonds glitter over the Micro Beads.

Here is a close up picture of the cherry.  You can also see the Diamond Glaze that I added to the chocolate sprinkles!

My color choices were inspired by this piece of Memory Box patterned paper (from the Flirt Collection).

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day! 

Recipe   Stamps: Party Cupcakes (Inque Boutique)   Paper: Shimmery White c.s., Cameo Coral, Close to Cocoa, Memory Box (from the Flirt Collection)   Ink: Adirondack Pitch Black, Adirondack Espresso, Cameo Coral   Other: Diamond Glaze, Micro Beads, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Stardust Stickles, Dew Drops, Nestabilities, Copic markers

I Scrapbooked!! (Well, Sort Of...)

Happy Sunday!  Today, I'm going to share with you a mini album I made to give to my DH on Father's Day.  I'm not sure why, but if I call it creating a mini album...and not scrapbooking...it is much less intimidating to me!  LOL!  When I go back into my stamp room, I have a limited amount of time in there...and I like to leave having accomplished/finished something (and it seems like my scrapbooking will never be done)!!  Heheee!  These little mini albums are usually the perfect project for me, as I'm able to finish one in just a short while.

When I saw the new Father Figure set from Verve Visual, I knew right away that I wanted to make a little photo album (using my DH's favorite photos of our kids) and give it to him for Father's Day!

When I was rummaging through my collection of patterned papers...I found some scraps of this paper (from Stampin' Up!'s retired Treehouse DP)...and knew it would be perfect for my little  Coaster picture book!  (The front and back covers are chipboard coasters...and I adhered the DP to them and then sanded the edges for a clean edge.)

I started my focal piece by stamping a Sahara Sand rectangle with the small outline star stamp (from Seeing Stars) with Sahara Sand ink.  I then stamped it with the "Dad" stamp in True Thyme (last year's In Colors).  I wanted some extra dimension...so I stamped the Dad stamp in Buckaroo Blue onto some scrap Sahara Sand, cut out each of the letters, & glued them onto the True Thyme colors (offsetting them just a little).  I added some stars for accents (stamped with the outline stars from Seeing Stars and then punched out with Stampin' Up!'s small and large star punches.  I also stitched along the bottom with some Linen Thread (I first poked holes using my Mat Pack guide (from Stampin' up!).

On the first page, I used this wonderful sentiment (included in the Father Figure set)...to set the "tone" for the book.

I used one of my rectangle Nestabilities to cut out/emboss this rectangle after I had stamped it (I like to stamp...then cut out, but that's just my personal preference).

 

The first photo is of my DH and our son Bryan (Bryan loooooves the Four Wheeler) and the second photo is of our daughter Alison.  One thing that our kids love to do, is go with their dad on the Four Wheelers to check on various water tanks in the summer.

 

The picture on the left is of our oldest son, Jared.  He had just gotten back from helping his dad move some cows.

I inked up part of the "When I grow up..." sentiment and used the first part on the left picture (cut out with the Word Window Punch).  After cleaning my stamp, I then inked up the other half of the sentiment and stamped it under Ali & Jared's Four Wheeler picture.

 

On the left page (under the picture of Jared, Ali, & Bryan), I stamped the sentiment "I'm so glad you're my", and then on the last page I adhered (with stampin' dimensionals) Dad at the top of the page.  (Again, I stamped the word Dad onto Sahara Sand c.s. with True Thyme ink and cut them out).

I didn't have any pictures of our youngest son, David (you know...the one that climbs on top of our refridgerator...escapes out his window...and many other things that scare me half to death) on a Four Wheeler with my DH or helping on the ranch...so I chose this picture of the two of them posing for a picture at the Salt Lake City Zoo (it's one of my favorite pictures).

I also wanted to tell you about the Star Studded Sale that Verve is having right now!  Now, through May 15th you can save 15% off any of the Star sets...plus some fun paper, ribbon, & embellishments!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!!  Have a wonderful day!!!

Recipe   Stamps: Father Figure, Seeing Stars (Verve Visual)   Paper: Tree house DP (retired), True Thyme, Buckaroo Blue, Cranberry Crisp, Sahara Sand   Ink: Sahara Sand, Buckaroo Blue, True Thyme, Cranberry Crisp   Other: Chipboard coasters, Vintage brads, Linen Thread, Hemp, Jumbo eyelet, Large & Small star punches, Paper piercer, Mat Pack, 1" circle punch (to create the tabs on the front cover)

Birds Galore...

Happy Friday!!  It's so hard to believe that it's the weekend again!  We are still waiting on Spring here...at least the snow is gone (even if it's taken it's sweet time to melt...LOL!).  It was helpful to hear from those of you that are also experiencing a winter that doesn't want to leave...thank you for your emails/comments!

   Friday means that it's time for Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge!  This week's sketch, I thought, really lent itself to showcasing some beautiful patterned papers.  I've had this Crate Paper (Twill Collection) for a while now (isn't it sooo pretty??), and thought this would be a perfect sketch to use it with! 

  I inked up one of the birds (from Inkadinkado's Birds Galore set) with two different colors of Versamagic Dew Drops...starting with the lighter color, then adding a bit of the dark around the edges)...and stamping it onto my Ivory rectangle.  After the ink was dry, I stamped the En Francais background (which was inked in Close to Cocoa ink and stamped off once).  I then stamped the same bird image again...this time in Close to Cocoa ink...on another piece of Ivory paper, cut just the bird out, and glued him onto my stamped rectangle.  To tie in some of the pink, I added some mini pink Primas with rhinestone centers to the leaves.

The Inkadinkado stamps and Hero Arts Pale Pink rhinestones are both available from Stamper's Dream store.

Make sure you check out what Beate, Cambria, Charmaine, Jenn, Lori, Mary Jo, & Sharon have made!  I know I can't wait to see their creations!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Have a wonderful Friday!   

Recipe   Stamps: Birds Galore (Inkadinkado), En Francais  Paper:  Crate Paper patterned paper (Twirl Collection), Close to Cocoa   Ink: Aloe Vera & Key Lime Versamagic Dew Drops, Close to Cocoa, Sahara Sand   Accessories: Rectangle Nestabilities, Sewing machine, Mini Pink Primas, Pink rhinestones, Close to Cocoa velvet ribbon, Dew Drops

Big Bucks, No Whammies! (Sneak Peek)

Good morning!  This will be a quick post this morning, as I am headed out the door in just a few minutes.  I just had to share this card/money holder with you....and tell you about the NEW stamps from Verve Visual!

Great Expectations is just one of the two sets that will be released this Friday...and let me tell you...you're going to love them!!  This is a set of 13 sentiments....but they aren't just ordinary sentiments...they are unique and fun!

I had a hard time choosing which one to use on my Sneak Peek...but it was this "Big Bucks, no whammies" stamp that just kept me giggling!  I thought it would be fun to make a money holder with it.

I know, this is SO different from my normal "style" of cards...but I really wanted to try something a little more hip and fun!

I  used some brightly colored polka dot paper from S.E.I. ad my inspiration for my colors (which also happened to be gender neutral).

The stars are from Verve's Seeing Stars set...and I thought they accented all the circles perfectly.

I made the circle with my Nestabilities...and the chipboard bracket is from Stampin' Up!'s On Board collection.

Here's a close-up of the inside.  I used Happy Thoughts on the inside...and carried some of the same elements over from the front.

Make sure you check out the Verve blog!  Half of the designers are showing a sneak peek of Great Expectations today...and the other half will how you how cool the new Father Figure set is!

Have a wonderful day!  ~Laurie

(P.S.  I'll be back later to post the recipe info....)