JiFFy Time!

Happy Thursday! I'm so happy to be posting with my JiFFy friends today! Here's a little reminder of how it works: one of us sends the paper to everyone, and another of us chooses the image. We don't know what we're getting until it's in our hands. Sometimes it's a good combo, and sometimes it's a little bit tricky, but it's always Just For Fun. :)

This month Michele chose the paper, "Hide and Seek" from October Afternoon's Sidewalks collection, and Lori chose the image, "Ramona Fishing" from Stamping Bella.

I *love* this sweet image. She reminds me of my Caroline. :) Since the image is "sketchy" in nature, I colored a bit "loosely" and left some white spaces here and there. I colored and cut out a second heart and popped it up at the bottom of the fishing line. I distressed, sponged with Antique Linen ink, and did some machine stitching. I finished with corrugated and felt hearts, a button, and some twine.

Be sure to visit the other girls to see what they've done with this adorable image and papers!
Amy
Lori
Michele

Thank you so much for stopping by today! Have a great day!

Christina

Thanks a Bunch

Happy Saturday! We've had some gorgeous spring weather here -- sunny, blue skies, and temps near 70 degrees! My mind has been wandering outside during the day, but I did get a chance to make this card last night. I saw on Blogabella that the Bellarific Friday challenge for next week is a sketch, so I got an early jump on it!

I guess I had spring flowers on my mind, because I paired Daisybella with my new BasicGrey Green at Heart paper (I *love* this paper!). I paper pieced the flower and added a MFT Glittered Garnish to the center. I was able to curve the sentiment before attaching it to the acrylic block, and I cut a curved mat for it. I finished the card with some SU! ribbon and machine stitching.

Well, we have two birthday parties and a soccer game today -- I'm planning to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather! I hope you have something great in the works for your day, too! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Have a wonderful day!
Christina

Love Muffin

Happy Friday, eveyone! Boy, the days do fly by, don't they? I was so glad I finally had a chance to ink up my unloved Stamping Bella images and make a card for the Bellarific theme for this week -- Lovey Dovey. You can find out more about it on Emily's Blog HERE. This is Matilda Muffinbread, one of the Chichiboulie Fairies. She has a big ol' love muffin for her sweetheart! ;)

I colored with Copics and added some Stickles to the muffin top. I stitched around the paper panels. The hearts were cut with a Cuttlebug die.

The weekend is here -- YAY! I hope yours is starting well! Thanks so much for stopping by to visit today! :)

Have a fantastic Friday!
Christina

Stamps: Matilda Muffinbread, Hot Stuff (Stamping Bella) Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko) Cardstock: Barely Banana, Purely Pomegranate (SU!), Cream Perfect Paper Panel (MFT) Paper: Lemonade 6x6 pad (BasicGrey) Other: Copics, Cuttlebug, Concentric Hearts die (Provo Craft), Icicle Stickles (Ranger), So Saffron ribbon, corner rounder (SU!), button, twine, dimensionals, sewing machine

A Veggie Sketch!

Happy Tuesday! I have a fun card to share today -- I inked up one of my Bellas! I *love* my Stampingbella images, and I've collected quite a few of them, but I don't get to play with them nearly enough! I had so much fun with this card -- mostly because of this great Sketch for You to Try from Jen del Muro.

The first time I saw this Offbeat paper, I knew I wanted to pair it up with Veggiebella. The card just took off from there! I colored with Copics and paper pieced her overalls, and I had some fun with the details and embellishments!

Here's a closeup...

I stamped the sentiment on vellum so it wouldn't completely cover the bottom of the image. I used dimensional foam circles to attach the vellum over the image panel, then I placed Dew Drops on the sides so the dimensionals wouldn't show through the vellum!

That's all for today -- I'm so glad you stopped by! I'll be back tomorrow with the ATS Challenge, so I hope you'll be back to check it out! :)

Have a fantastic day!

Christina

Stamps: Veggiebella, sentiment (Stampingbella) Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), Kiwi Kiss (SU!) Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White (SU!) Paper: Offbeat 6x6 pad (BasicGrey) Other: Copics; Button Bouquet, natural hemp twine (SU!); Poinsettia Dew Drops (Robin's Nest); sponge, dimensionals, sewing machine

Lights On!!

We have electricity! Woohoo! It came back on around 4pm yesterday. There are still so many people without power -- please say a little prayer for all them! I have a new appreciation for the things I take for granted -- like flipping a light switch and being able to see! Since my stamping table is in the basement with no natural light, it was impossible to stamp anything during the day, and the night was definitely out of the question! Needless to say, I have a lot of catching up to do!

Here is a card I didn't get to upload before the power went out. I made it for Jen del Muro's Sketch for You to Try. The challenge this week is to combine the sketch with a Stamping Bella image. I've been wanting to ink up Lattebella for quite a while, so this was the perfect reason! I colored with Copics and sponged the edges of the image and sentiment panels with River Rock ink. I tied natural hemp twine through SU! clear buttons for the trio of embellishments. The patterned paper is from the Archaic 6x6 pad by BasicGrey.

I didn't yet get a chance to play today's ATS Challenge, but I wanted to give you the details so you can play along! It's a color challenge -- if you don't have the new SU! In Colors, just substitute something similar! When uploading to a gallery, use keyword ATSDTC18. I'm hoping to get my sample done today! :)

Thanks so much for visiting today -- I always appreciate it when you stop by! Have a great day!

Bella Card Recipe:

Stamps: Lattebella, sentiment (Stamping Bella) Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), River Rock (SU!) Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White (SU!) Paper: Archaic 6x6 pad (BasicGrey) Other: Ciao markers (Copic); clear buttons, natural hemp twine, vintage brads, stamping sponge (SU!); dimensional foam, glue dots

Springtini, Anyone?

It's hot today. Really hot. In the 90's, for about the fourth day in a row. I know some of you have hotter weather than this, but this is usually what we get in July or August. Not early June. I'm not a big fan of heat, so a nice cool drink would sure hit the spot. That got me thinking that I haven't inked up this image from Stamping Bella since I got it about a month ago! Today was the day! I colored it with Copics and sponged around the edges. I couldn't help using this sentiment from The Cat's Pajamas -- it makes me smile every time! :) The background is from C.C. Designs. It's stamped in white craft ink and heat embossed with white EP. I Cuttlebugged the half circle with the Bloom Dots embossing folder. The layout is Jen del Muro's Sketch for You to Try -- it's a fun one!

The girls are running through the sprinkler, and I promised them some ice cream, so I'm off to see what they're up to. I hope you stay cool today -- thanks so much for stopping by! :)

Stamps: Springtini (Stamping Bella), sentiment (TCP), Polka Dots Big Ol' Background (C.C. Designs) Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko); White Craft, Regal Rose, Basic Black (SU!) Cardstock: Summer Sun, Regal Rose, Old Olive, Whisper White (SU!) Paper: "V" Monograms (American Crafts) Other: Copic Markers; Cuttlebug and Bloom Dots embossing folder (Provo Craft); Old Olive and Regal Rose 5/8" grosgrain ribbon (SU!); scallop circle punch and 1 3/8" circle punch (SU!); white Gel Exel pen (Marvy); scallop scissors (Fiskars); stamping sponge, dimensionals, heat tool

Alphabet Sentiments

Happy Friday!!! Geez, where do the weeks go? Here's a card I made today -- it was supposed to be for the Limited Supplies Challenge, but I kinda strayed from the challenge. The challenge is to use alphabet stamps as a sentiment and as the focal image of the card. Well, I used alphabet stamps for my sentiment (Playful Caps from CTMH), but it's not exactly the focal image! I needed a graduation card for my neighbor, and I HAD to use Diplomabella, so I guess the sentiment and the Bella are sharing the stage on this one! The school colors are -- you guessed it -- blue and gold. The paper is SU! More Mustard Prints, and the cardstock is SU! Night of Navy and Whisper White. I colored with Copics, sponged the edges with More Mustard ink, and added Xmas Red Stickles to the roses. I pierced around the edge and embellished with SU! brads and May Arts satin ribbon.

While we're on the topic of alphabet stamps as the sentiment, I have something exciting to share with you!! This card is in the June/July 2008 issue of Paper Crafts Magazine!! It's my first Paper Crafts pub!! WOOHOO!!!

Thanks so much for the visit today -- I hope you have a great weekend!! :)

Bella Birthday

Happy Monday! Here's a card I made for today's Technique Challenge -- using mixed patterns of paper (two or more). I pulled out some Piggy Tales Ba Ba Black Sheep paper and thought it would make a fun birthday card. Cakeabella is colored with Copics, and her apron is paper pieced. I added some red Stickles and some white Liquid Applique to the cake. There are Sugarcoated Brads through the Prima flowers, and the two-tone pink ribbon is from May Arts.

I hope the recipient likes it -- I had fun making it! Thanks for visiting -- I'll be back with more tomorrow! Have a great day! :)

Stamps: Cakeabella and sentiment (Stamping Bella) Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black, Basic Black Cardstock: red and apple textured cardstock (Bazzill), Whisper White (SU!) Paper: Ba Ba Black Sheep (Piggy Tales) Other: Copic Markers, two-tone textured ribbon (May Arts), Got Flowers (Prima), Limeade Sugarcoated Brads (Doodlebug Designs), Christmas Red Stickles (Ranger), Liquid Applique, sponge, dimensionals

Cupcake Birthday

Happy Monday! Well, at least I hope it's a happy one! Our week isn't off to the best start. I have two sick kids (one started vomiting at midnight, the other at 8am), so I wanted to sneak in this post while both of them are sleeping! The other two kids had this "bug" last week, so now we'll just hope that Chris and I can dodge the bullet!

I wanted to share this Bella card with you. I just got her last week from Stamping Bella, and I couldn't wait to ink her up! This was a fun card to make -- I really need to get my Bellas out more often!! :) I'll just leave you with the supplies -- if you have any questions, just ask! I'm off to check on my sick ones -- have a great day!

Stamps: Cuppacakeabella and sentiment (Stamping Bella) Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black, SU! Regal Rose Cardstock: Regal Rose, So Saffron, Whisper White (SU!) Paper: DCWV Other: Copic Markers, Primas, Rich Regals Brads, Bazzill white brad, Cotton Candy Stickles, Candy Cane Stickles, corner rounder, paper piercing tool, stamping sponge, dimensionals

Happy Birthday, Chris!

Today is my husband's birthday. I hadn't made him a card until today (gasp!), but the Sketch Challenge at SCS gave me the right inspiration! He loves to grill, so Grillafella from StampingBella was the perfect choice for my focal image. I Cuttlebugged the Chocolate Chip base with my D'vine Swirls folder. Grillafella was colored with Copics, and the edges of the panel were sponged with Close to Cocoa ink. The sentiment is from Think Happy Thoughts. I used four different circle punches to create the ring, then I pulled the ribbon up through the middle and tied it in place. I really like this card -- I think he'll like it, too! :)

Tomorrow I'll have a Valentine card featuring those adorable penguins from C.C. Designs. I hope you'll come back to visit! Have a great day!!

Stamps: Grillafella (StampingBella), Think Happy Thoughts (SU!) Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Crafters Select White (Papertrey Ink) Paper: Hot off the Grill (Flair Designs) Other: Copic markers, Cuttlebug & D'vine Swirls embossing folder (Provo Craft), 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1/2" circle punch, 1/4" circle punch, Vintage Brads, Real Red 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Chocolate Chip stitched ribbon (from retired Seaside Originals ribbon), sponge, dimensionals

Believe

Did you notice something different about my blog? It's PINK! I went pink for October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Fortunately, breast cancer has not affected my family directly, but we have several friends who are survivors.

I made this card in honor of all those who have been affected by breast cancer. I used Causabella from Stamping Bella. I paper pieced her dress and the pink ribbon, and I colored the rest of her with my Prismacolor Pencils. I replaced the flower on her dress with a mini paper flower and a rhinestone. I sponged around the panel and the small oval with So Saffron ink. I used a ticket corner punch and paper piercing tool on the corners, then I added brads and ribbon to finish it!

Girls, this is your reminder to get your mammograms! And go pink for October! :)

Stamps: Causabella (Stamping Bella), sentiment (Michael's $1 bin), Paisley bg (SU!) Ink: Basic Black, So Saffron Cardstock: Barely Banana, Regal Rose, Whisper White (SU!) Paper: Stella Ruby, Romani (BasicGrey) Other: ticket corner punch, oval punches, Rich Regals brads, Crafters Tool Kit, stamping sponge, stampin' dimensionals (all SU!); mini paper flower (Making Memories), sage organdy ribbon, rhinestone Techniques: paper piecing, sponging, piercing

Girls Night Out!

My friend Traci and I put together a Girls Night Out ensemble to be used as a silent auction item for an upcoming fundraiser. I wanted to show you my contribution. The container is the Celebrations Bowl from Southern Living at Home. It is shaped exactly like a martini glass! Inside the bowl are six note cards/invitations with coordinating envelopes and six drink charms. I also added a Cranberry Nut Mix from Dean and Deluca. Once Traci adds the Cosmopolitan Mix, glasses, and sugar rimmer, we'll be in business!

Here is a closeup of the card and envelope (you can click on any of the photos for an even closer look). When I was at Michaels yesterday, I picked up a box of textured card fronts with envelopes from DCWV. The color I used on my cards is a perfect match to Regal Rose. I added some Petals & Paisleys paper to the bottom, and I used All in a Row, stamped in Tempting Turquoise, to create the faux stitched border at the top. I then tied Tempting Turquoise grosgrain around the middle and attached it to the So Saffron card base. The image is Cosmobella, from Stamping Bella. The sentiment is from The Cat's Pajamas. I smile every time I read it! Both are stamped in Basic Black ink on Whisper White cardstock. The sentiment was punched out with a 1 3/8" Circle Punch. I sponged Regal Rose around the image panel and sentiment. Both are matted on Tempting Turquoise. The sentiment mat was punched with the Scalloped Circle punch, and I added dots with a Marvy white gel pen. I colored Bella with Prismacolor Pencils and I paper pieced her shirt with the Petals & Paisleys paper. Both the image panel and sentiment are mounted on Stampin' Dimensionals.

I used the same martini glass image on the envelope and drink charms. It's from Village Arts Press, and I found it in the Michael's $1 bin. To make each charm, I stamped the martini glass and the sentiment from Stamping Bella on a Confetti White circle tag. I again used the Prismas to color each martini a different color. For the final touch, I applied Crystal Effects lacquer to the entire glass -- it intensified the colors and made the glasses look more realistic! I added Silver Cord for the tie-ons.

I can taste those Cosmos now! Do you have a favorite martini flavor? Mine is the Lavender Cosmo -- complete with the Lavender sugar rim! :) Have a great Friday!

All products Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.

Limited Supplies Kickstand Card

When I saw the Kickstand Card that Kirsten Dubosque (aka ked) created and posted on her blog, I thought it was the cutest thing! I've been dying to try one, so I combined it with today's Limited Supplies Challenge at SCS. I would have put more "stuff" on this card, but hey, it was a limited supplies challenge! :) I used SU! River Rock, Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, and Naturals Ivory cardstock, and the patterned paper is BasicGrey Stella Ruby. The challenge had us use an image that we could color, so I chose Flowahbella from Stamping Bella. We had limited embellishments to use also, so I chose ribbon (Offray) and my ever-present paper piercer. We could use one sentiment, so of course I picked up this Stamping Bella sentiment to go with my Bella. I stamped with SU! Chocolate Chip ink and colored with Prismacolor Pencils. I blended the pencil with Turpenoid and blending stumps. Pretty simple and straightforward, but I like it! Be sure to check out Kirsten's blog -- she is so talented, and her Kickstand Cards are fantastic! :)

Tonight is our school's Corn Roast, sponsored by the athletic boosters. It's our end-of-summer festival, with grilled corn and other food, games, raffles, rides, and a live band! We'll be there all night, visiting with lots of friends and celebrating Megan's birthday! I hope you all have something fun to do this weekend -- enjoy! :)

Megan Made a Card!

It's not often that Megan will stamp with me, or stamp at all, really. So, I was pleasantly surprised when she sat down the other day at my table (after I'd just finished stamping and it was covered with "stuff") and made this card. The only assistance I gave her was to tell her where to find some of the supplies she needed. The colors, the stamps, the layout -- ALL HERS! Isn't it great? *proud smile* The cardstock is SU! Cool Caribbean (retired), Chocolate Chip, and Whisper White. The paper is from My Mind's Eye. Emmybella and sentiment are from Stamping Bella. She stamped with Basic Brown ink and colored with Prismacolor Pencils. The ribbon is from SU!'s retired Seaside Ribbon Originals. She sponged So Saffron ink around the edges of the Whisper White cardstock.

I think she's planning to give this to her friend as a birthday card! She was really happy with the result -- I hope this means more stamping time together for us! :)

A Grumpabella Birthday

I *love* the Bella images from Stampingbella. They are so fun -- there is a Bella for every occasion or mood! :) There are even some Fella images too! I have several of them and just don't use them enough! Lauren Meader (mytime) had this card sketch on her blog. I thought it would be perfect for Bella (or Fella) images, so I decided to make a birthday card for my friend. We both have a love affair with/addiction to coffee, so this image and sentiment (both from Stampingbella) just seemed perfect!

The card base is River Rock, and I stamped the Sanded background with Old Olive ink. The designer paper is BasicGrey Stella Ruby. All panels are matted on Chocolate Chip cardstock. I stamped Grumpabella and the sentiment with Basic Brown ink on Very Vanilla Cardstock. I colored the Bella with my Prismacolor Pencils. I then blended the pencil with blending stumps and Turpenoid to get even color without "scribble marks." I sponged around the image and sentiment with Old Olive ink, then mounted the panels on Stampin' Dimensionals. I finished the card with olive grosgrain ribbon and Vintage Brads. This image and sentiment just crack me up! I hope my friend likes them, too! :)

All products Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.