Santa over the Palms

Okay, I know it's a little early for Christmas cards but this was done for a Christmas in July swap. I got the idea from my Stamp It magazine. I stamped the plam trees (StampScapes) with Stazon, on glossy cs, punched a circle for my mask (moon), sponged about 5 different tones of blue inks, a little glitter on the trees, edged it all with my silver Krylon & then stamped Santa & his crew (Amuse) & the little message (Simply Stamped).

Music with Attitude

These 2 I did for a music swap - I think this lady has real attitude, I've had her for a few years now but this is the first time I've actually used her for a card.

More Red ATC's

These are also for a red ATC swap. I colored the flower stamp with markers before stamping. The light house is a partial stamp from Stamps Happen but fits well on an ATC. The sky is colored with chalks & I used my Copic markers for the rest. The glitter strip on the side is a sticker a good friend of mine brought me back from her trip to Holland plus some other cool goodies that I can't wait to try.

Highlighted Herbs

I've been spending a lot of time on the Hero Arts site lately & these are just a couple more that I had to try using the same stamp but different colors.

Lacquered Flowers

Oh I've been busy playing inside as it is way too hot to be outside. Here I made a birthday card & matching envelope. I embossed with my CB, punched the flowers, colored with inks & added Crystal Lacquer, I really like the look of them.

Red ATC's

I'm in a red ATC swap & so far this is what I've come up with - thank goodness for color swaps as I've noticed I do use a lot of blue, so, this way I get to experiment with other colors. The one on the left I'm pleased with but I feel the one in the middle is too dark. Well I took it partially apart added a bit of white to lighten it up, I'm liking it more now.

Squirrel Inchie

Another idea from the Hero Arts Blog - they've been doing inchies, punching 1 inch squares, securing to your work surface, then stamping, coloring & layering. Thought I 'd give this a try & I quite liked it. The little squirrel is from Hero Arts & the background tree from AlexStamping, I colored the background with chalks.

Girls just like to have Fun

I had so much fun making this card it was for a friend's 50th birthday. I just love this image that I got at SparkleNSprinkle along with the saying "Fun after Fifty". I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the background inking the folder & using my stylus to create texture in the flowers I punched & colored using my pearlesent chalks.

Hidden Message

This again is one of my firsts - I found the idea in my Cardmaker magazine & of course had to give it a try. I made a frame with acetate, stamped my message & stamped my little flower fairy so she could slide out to show the message stamped behind her. This one is a little more time consuming with all the cuts & measuring but well worth the effort.

Etched Butterflies & Flowers

This is a new technique to me that a friend told me about. I stamped the butterflies & flowers first with a white ink, then overstamped just a little off center with a blue ink that almost matched the cs & I really like the look of this. I can't wait to try this technique with other colors of inks & cs. I think it would be a quick easy way to make my own backgrounds. When it is laying flat on my table I didn't really notice the contrast till I held it at a horizontal level - then I was really impressed with this technique.

Birds on a Branch

Another new stamp I got last week on my trip into town at my favorite stamp store Country Lane Crafts, this one is from Inkadinkadoo. The card on the right I stamped the birds on white c/s using a pale blue ink & then colored them with my Prisma color pencils. The one on the left I stamped the birds with white ink on black c/s & again colored using my Prisma color pencils. I really like this technique as it gives me more use of my solid stamps.

Flower Fairy

Well the weather here has been cool & cloudy but I'm not complaining as it just means less time for gardening & more time for stamping. This is a new stamp I got from Great Impressions that has no name, so, I named her Flower Fairy & I think she is just so adorable I want to hug her. I've just been having too much fun with her.

ATC's

I wanted to share some of the ATC's I've been working on. I've just recently gotten into making these & I can see another addiction happening.

Swap Cards

Here are 2 more cards I've done for swaps. The one on the left was done using Rub-Ons I received as a gift, I'd never tried these before but they were something I'd always wanted to try & I must say they sure are fun & quick to use,I outlined the card using my Krylon gold marker. The one on the right I did using my Cricut & Cuttlebug, added some glossy accents & glitter.

Pretty Pastels

These 2 cards I really had fun doing. The one on the left was done using my Hero Arts flowers, various pale inks on white CS with a vellum overlay & layerd on green & white. I also used a couple of punches, Ranger's Glossy Accents & glitter, I just love glitter. The next one has no stamping on it at all - I embossed with my Cuttlebug, inking the folder, used my Cricut to cut the gardening border & watering can, punched the flowers & "bugs" & used my ink pads for color. The little flower/gems on the watering pail are actually used to decorate your nails but since I don't live close to a craft store I use what I have available to me without having to take a long drive.