Not your typical gym sock

Out with the old and in with the new. It's the time of year when Stampin' Up! retires some older yet beloved stamps, papers and accessories and replaces them with brand spankin' new stuff. And speaking of stuff one of the soon to be released sets is the Sock Monkey stamp set that is not only stuffed with some of that fluffy stuff you can use to fill your pillows but also a couch full of fun. Needless to say I couldn't resist ordering this charming fella on my demonstrator pre-order, as well as some pretty new cardstock and a fun punch. :) But enough chitchat and on to the notes!

Sock notes: The monkey was stamped twice. One time on Naturals Ivory cardstock and a second time on Outlaw designer paper. The body was cut from the designer paper and adhered to the monkey stamped on the ivory cardstock. The remaining parts of the monkey were colored with a Blender Pen and/or AquaPainter and Watercolor Wonder Crayons (Earth Elements collection). I used the AquaPainter mainly for washing out the blue shadow. A cupcake was stamped on a scrap of ivory, again colored with Watercolor Wonder Crayons and then cut out. Both the cupcake and the monkey were sponged with Really Rust Classic ink before adhering together with dimensionals. I also added a touch of Crystal Effects to the light brown parts of the monkey. Oh and added paper piercing. :)

The other item of note is the the scalloped border: I used the new Scallop Border Punch from Stampin' Up!. Oh yeah, no more having to use a corner rounder!!!

*Just a note the Sock Monkey stamp set and Scallop Border Punch will not be available to the public until August 11th... less than a month away! Woot woot!

All images copyright Stampin' Up!. Stamps: Sock Monkey. Paper: Blue Bayou, Really Rust, Naturals Ivory, Soft Sky, Outlaw Designer (retired). Ink: Black StazOn, Really Rust Classic. Other: Earth Elements Watercolor Wonder Crayons, vintage brads, 1/4" circle punch, Blue Bayou double-stitched ribbon, Crystal Effects, mat pack, paper piercer, sponge, dimensionals, Scallop Edge punch, AquaPainter, Blender Pen.

Orange you glad it's almost the weekend?!

I am! I have some new stamps to play with this weekend... how exciting! And of course the new Batman movie to see on Sunday. Yay! My inner geek is jumping up and down with excitement and my inner crafter is trying to trip the geek so she can get at the stamps. :)

In the meantime I do have a card to share. It uses the retiring Groovy Guava cardstock and the new Tangerine Tango cardstock. Don't they go together perfectly? I thought so and luckily I have a whole package of the retiring color so I'm set for a while. :)

Have a great weekend everyone! Hopefully I'll have some time to blog at you - maybe even post that 'colorful' card. Maybe...

All images copyright Stampin' Up!. Images: Always. Paper: Kraft, Groovy Guava, Tangerine Tango, Pink Pirouette. Ink: Basic Black, Groovy Guava. Other: Groovy Guava double-stitched ribbon, black brad, mat pack, paper piercer, dimensionals, sponge.

The weather outside is... hot!

So turn the air conditioning up and cozy in with a comfy quilt. Or if you would rather save a little on the electric bill, how about a virtual quilt? This weeks Paper Pretties Forum Challenge is to use this pretty quilt from House of Quilts as inspiration for your project. You can use the colors, layout, patterns... whatever inspires you!

I did pick out several colors from the image as a starting place but feel free to use different ones. Of course I did this after I made my card and realized there wasn't really that much yellow in the quilt. Apparently my attention span is very short. Next time I'll have to write the colors down first. :)

How does the Paper Pretties' challenge work? Make a card, scrapbook page, altered item or so forth using Paper Pretties stamps if you have them. If you don't have Paper Pretties' stamps, still feel free to join in the fun... the more the merrier! :) Then visit the Paper Pretties' gallery and upload a picture of your project to the Weekly Challenges category (also use the keyword PWC12 - aids in searching). You have until the following Thursday to upload your picture to the gallery to be entered into the contest to earn a little something something from the Paper Pretties' Boutique.

But you probably want to see the card I made, so here it is. Yeah... the yellow doesn't quite match the inspiration piece but I like it. So besides the colors from the picture I also liked the idea of using lots of squares. So much that I actually built my very own mini quilt!

First step was to stamp a bunch of different colors of cardstock. I used the SU! Solitude wheel and Sahara Sand Classic ink. Then I punched out a bunch of squares using the 3/4" square punch. I sponged all of the edges with Close to Cocoa classic ink and adhered to a Sahara Sand mat. I poked a hole in each corner of each square as well as the center. Next I squeezed teeny tiny dots of Crystal Effects over each one and let dry. To finish this layer a piece of wide stain Chocolate Chip ribbon was added.

The second step was to add a focal point. To do this I stamped the jars from Sweets for the Sweet on Georgia Pacific white cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. The image was colored with Copic markers and a touch of glitter added with a Melon Spica pen. To finish mat this on a piece of Sage Shadow that had been sponged with more Close to Cocoa Classic ink.

The third and final step was to assemble the card and add a sentiment. The finished card is 5" x 5". Yeah - it was easy as that. :)

Stamps: Sweets for the Sweet (Paper Pretties), Solitude Wheel (SU! hostess). Paper: So Saffron, Sahara Sand, Brocade Blue, Sage Shadow, Close to Cocoa, Georgia Pacific white. Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers (0, W1, W2, YG91, G21, BG93), Melon Spica Pen (Copic), Sahara Sand Classic, Close to Cocoa Classic. Other: wide Chocolate Chip satin ribbon, Crystal Effects, paper piercer, 3/4" square punch, dimensionals, sponge.

Paper Pretties Wednesday: A Bit of Treasure Hunting

Two weeks ago Jules challenged the Prettie Girls to turn trash into treasure. How about if I use trash to make a treasure? Hope that counts! :)

For the trashy part: I took some bubble wrap I had lying around and inked up the bumpy side with Brocade Blue Craft ink. I then laid it over a piece of Kraft cardstock (inky side to the paper) and pressed on the back of the bubble wrap until the ink transfered to the Kraft cardstock - this created a fun crinkled dotted background. I then coated the dots with Iridescent Ice embossing powder (Craft ink was still wet) and heat set to add some sparkle. So the trash isn't part of my card... but I did use some. :)

Other notes: image was colored with Copic markers (although you knew that was coming). A bit of sparkle was added to the belt and boats with Spica pens. Also, all layers except the card base were sponged with Close to Cocoa Classic ink.

I can't wait to see what treasures the other Prettie Girls rescued from the circular filing bin. Have you rescued something? If you did, let me know so I can check out your wonderful creation. Have a great day!

All images copyright Paper Pretties. Stamps: Howdy Girlfriend. Paper: Bashful Blue, Brocade Blue, Kraft, Georgia Pacific white. Ink: black, Brocade Blue Craft, Close to Cocoa Classic, Copic markers (W1, W2, 0, B34, B41, B91, E00, E33, E39, E57, Y17, Y21, YR21), Copic Spica pens (gold, silver). Other: Iridescent Ice embossing powder, small oval punch, Pewter Hodgepodge hardware, Bashful Blue Taffeta ribbon, dimensionals, sponge.

P.S. The main image is Paper Pretties Stamp of the Month (aka SOTMC) for August.

Can ya dig it? I can't!

Dig holes that is! I bought plants a couple of weeks ago and I have yet to plant them! But I will this weekend... yes I will. Of course I'll also paint my front porch, return the extra flooring supplies, buy a closet organizer for my craft room and install it, see the new Hellboy II movie and make bunches of swap cards for convention. Ha ha ha! Yeah, I may just skip painting the front porch... wish for rain!

However in the meantime I can share this cute gardening card that I actually made a week or two ago and forgot to upload to my blog. The shame! I actually have another card that I could also post to my blog but I'm debating whether to share it... looks like some super bright markers ralphed on it. But it is sort of cute in a somewhat colorful way. Ehh... we'll see how I'm feeling towards it tomorrow.

Quick notes: main image was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Copic markers. The seed packs, little flower and watering can were stamped on scraps, colored, cut out and adhered to the main image with dimensionals. A little sparkle was added with a Copic clear Spica pen.

All images copyright MFT Stamps. Stamps: Can You Dig It. Paper: Brocade Blue, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink, Neenah Classic Natural White, True-Blue True Designer (Fancy Pants). Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers (RV11, RV34, B21, B34, YR16, YR21, YR68, YG63, YG67, YG91, E09, W2, T5), Copic Clear Spica pen. Other: small corner rounder, mat pack, paper piercer, 1/16" circle punch, linen thread, dimensionals.

Pretties Thursday: Tryin' to keep it simple!

It's another Thursday which means it is time for a new Paper Pretties weekly challenge. I do so love a layout challenge so that is what you are getting this week. :) If you participate in this challenge don't forgot to upload your card to the Paper Pretties gallery (in the Weekly Challenge category) and maybe you could win a little something something. :)

For my sample card I used the Sophia from Rainy Day Friend and a couple of the new Stampin' Up! In Colors. I'll be so sad to see Soft Sky, River Rock and Blue Bayou retire but I'm a bit psyched to have some new colors in which to play. Now I just need the matching ink pads to complete my collection of colors!

Quick notes: Sophia was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black on Neenah cardstock and then cut out with a Petite Scalloped Circle Nestabilitie. She was then colored with Copics and her hat and unbrella were accented with Crystal Effects (adds shine). I then had to, really I had to, add a bit of paper piercing - one poke per scallop!

For the background of the card I used the raindrop and a VersaMark pad to ad just a touch of texture.

All images copyright Paper Pretties. Stamps: Rainy Day Friend. Paper: Pacific Point, Baja Breeze, Neenah Classic Natural White, Gracie designer (Melissa Francis). Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, VersaMark, Copic markers (E00, E33, W2, B34, B91, Y21, G21, BG93, 0). Other: vintage brads, wide chocolate satin ribbon, Petite scalloped circle Nestabilities, small corner rounder, foam tape, dimensionals, Crystal Effects.

Paper Pretties Wednesday: Show me the green!

Two weeks ago Christie challenged the Prettie Girls to make a card using Green and White. I of course had to deviate just a tad, really just a little tiny bit, and add a touch or two of Chocolate-y brown to my card. Can you tell I was thinking of peppermint patties and mint chocolate chip ice cream? :)

Quick notes: Howdy Girlfriend Sophia was colored with Copic markers. For the background I cut a 3 7/8" square piece of designer paper which was then cut in half diagonally. These pieces were both sponged with Close to Cocoa Classic ink and paper pierced before adhering to a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Certainly Celery cardstock. Some brads, hodgepodge hardware and ribbon were added as finishing touches.

All images copyright Paper Pretties. Stamps: Howdy Girlfriend (August SOTMC set). Paper: Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Georgia Pacific White, Chick-a-doo Pee-wee's Kiwis designer (SEI). Ink: Close to Cocoa Classic, black, Copic markers (T5, W2, 0, E00, E27, E33, E79, Y21, G99, YG13, YG63, YG91), Copic Spica pens (clear, silver). Other: Kraft Taffeta ribbon, Pewter Hodgepodge Hardware, brown brads (Queen & Co.), mat pack, paper piercer, dimensionals, sponge.

In other news: The fabulous Jules, our product reviewer at Paper Pretties, did a great write-up on ribbon slides which you can see in the forum. A great review is cause for celebration don't you think? I agree and so does Christie of Paper Pretties and she has put all of the ribbon slides in her boutique on sale for 25% off. Yay! And to sweeten the deal she has also included some pretty ric rac ribbon in the sale. :) And while you are over there checking out the sale take a gander at the Stamp of the Month Club. If you sign up during the month of July you will be one of the first to receive the Howdy Girlfriend Sophia stamp that I used on the above card. She is available to club members beginning August and then goes on sale to the public in September. Oh and be sure to let Christie know that I sent you there if you sign up. :)

Happy Happy Birthday Charmaine!

The Prettie Girls are celebrating Charmaine's birthday in style... virtual style that is! :) Each Prettie Girl is bringing something to the party as well as a very excellent birthday card.

I'm bringing some yummy Chips and Dip that I found on the Martha Stewart Living website. Nom nom nom!!! I used the tasty colors and the placement of the dip bowl as inspiration while making my card. I even drew up a slick Inspiration Color Card (as I call it) with color cubes and everything for reference. If you are inspired by the piece add a comment to this post with a link to your creation. I would love to see what make. :)

Don't forget to check out what the rest of the Prettie Girls have brought to the party. There is bound to be plenty of inspiration and beautiful cards to see! To make it easy to blurf here are links to all of their blogs (and Michelle from Stamper's Dream is joining us in the fun!):

• Carolina: www.creativepad.typepad.com
• Christie: www.littlepinkflowers.typepad.com
• Colleen: www.creative-expressions-papercrafting.blogspot.com
• Donna: www.stampamaniac.blogspot.com/
• Jana: www.stampwithjana.blogspot.com
• Jackie: www.stampingsister.blogspot.com
• Jackie P.: www.thescallopededge.typepad.com
• Jessie: www.canyousayaddictedtostamps.blogspot.com
• Jodi: www.stampingalatte.blogspot.com
• Julie: www.stampinwithjulie.blogspot.com
• Michelle: michellerodgers.blogspot.com

But hey, you probably want to see the card that I made for Charmaine! I really like how this one turned out and the velvety texture of the flocked paper and ribbon adds a bit of a decadent touch to the card... ohhh... so fun to touch! :)

Notes: I first tried knotting the velvet ribbon but really didn't like how that turned out for two reasons: 1.) the knot was HUGE and way to bulky and 2.) after knotting the back of the ribbon was visible and well just not that pretty. So I untied the velvet ribbon and squished out the wrinkles with my fingers. I overlapped the ends of the velvet ribbon and then knotted a small piece of Very Vanilla Taffeta ribbon around the overlapped pieces. After knotting I pulled the velvet ribbon taut, trimmed the ends, and adjusted so everything looked pretty. Hopefully that makes sense. :)

Now I just need to buy a couple of stamps and mail this card out on Monday (along with a bunch of other ones I have waiting to go!)

Have a great weekend everyone! And Happy Happy Birthday to you Charmaine!

Stamps: Look Who's Perky (Paper Pretties), One Smart Cookie (SU!). Paper: Really Rust, So Saffron, River Rock, Neenah Classic Natural White, Madera Island Sarmientos flocked designer (SEI). Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers (E31, E33, Y17, Y21, YR00, YR14, W2, 0). Other: mat pack, paper piercer, Classic and Petite Scalloped Circle Nestabilities, Yellow Velvet Ribbon (American Crafts), Very Vanilla Taffeta ribbon, silver brads, Word Window punch, dimensionals.

A Prettie Thursday: School Colors

At the Pajama Party on Tuesday the second challenge was to make a card using your high school colors. Hmmm... well first step was to actually remember what my school colors were and yes it did take a few moments! Luckily the school mascot is... well... memorable and it even uses one of the school's colors. Ya, we were the Blue Devils. And the other color is white. Yes, this is quite the color combo: Navy and White. Very inspiring. Not! So I added a couple of more shades of blue to the mix as well as a touch of green... because I'm bad like that. >:)

Quick notes: The white flowers from the SU! Pretties Kit were airbrushed with a couple of different shades of blue Copic markers. The flower centers are made up of a half pearl, silver brad and self-adhesive rhinestone.

Have a great Fourth of July weekend everyone! May the barbecuing be great and the fireworks bright! :)

Stamps: Off to School Sophia (Paper Pretties), So Many Sayings (SU! sentiment). Paper: Night of Navy, Naturals White, Georgia Pacific white, Bashful Blue, Periphery designer (Basic Grey). Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers (E27, E33, E57, B26, B39, B95, B97, YR00, W2, T1, T3). Other: Pretties Kit (SU! - flowers and half pearls), ribbon (American Crafts), rhinestones (Brenda Walton), silver brad, large oval punch, dimensionals.

Paper Pretties Wednesday:

Two weeks I issued a challenge to the Prettie Girls to make a card that somehow uses a circle... easy peasy! I really felt I had to go easy on everyone after my last Wednesday challenge to make a masculine card which was actually quite difficult. For this week's super simple circle challenge I decided to make a circular card.

How did I do it? Well I took my largest Classic Circle Nestabilitie and traced it onto a folded piece of Bashful Blue cardstock (8 1/2" x 4 1/2" folded in half). I made sure to leave part of the circle hanging over the cardstock fold. Then I used a pair of sharp scissors to cut the circle out. Quick and easy... just make sure your scissors are sharp so you can cut through both layers at once.

Next step was to stamp the main image on white cardstock, color, and cut out and emboss with a Classic Circle Nestabilitie die. I then used the embossed line as a guide to add paper piercing about the image. Layer this image on a slightly larger Petite Scalloped Circle (Cool Caribbean) and adhere to card base with dimensionals.

For the ribbon I then punched a whole through the image and cardbase with the Crop-a-dile. I threaded a piece of ribbon through the whole and tied around the left edge. To finish a couple of prima flowers were added with dimensionals and a touch of glitter was added with Copic Spica pens.

Images: Simply Special (Paper Pretties), Many Happy Returns (SU!). Paper: Bashful Blue, Cool Caribbean, Georgia Pacific White. Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers (BG05, BG45, BG93, YG63, YG67, YR14, YR24, E57, T5, W2) Copic Spica Pens (olive, melon, orange, gold, turquoise). Other: striped ribbon (American Crafts), flowers (Prima), silver brads, mat pack, paper piercer, Petitite Scalloped Circles and Classic Circles (Nestabilities), dimensionals.

P.S. This is quite the dainty card. Probably has a diameter of less than 4"!

Paper Pretties Release

Whoo hoo... the Stampin' in your Jammies party was a blast! We even overloaded the server a bit... heh heh! :) Charmaine our wonderful party hostess had three great challenges. The first of which was a great sketch challenge and this is what I came up with using the new Soak Up the Sun stamp set. I really really like this set because it is so fun, fresh and summery. :)

Quick notes: Image was stamped and then colored with Copic markers. A bit of glitter was added to the flower on Sophia's top and the puppy's collar. I outlined the image with the W2 marker before cutting out. For the Creamy Caramel background layer the sun and cloud image from the Rainy Day Friend set were each stamped randomly on the layer with Creamy Caramel Classic ink.

All images copyright Paper Pretties. Stamps: Soak Up The Sun, Rainy Day Friend. Paper: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Creamy Caramel, Georgia Pacific White, Chocolate Chalet designer (Cloud 9). Ink: Creamy Caramel, Copic markers (E00, E33, RV10, RV34, Y21, R83, YR00, YR24, B00, W2), Copic Spica pens in Clear, Gold and Sky Blue. Other: mat pack, paper piercer, dimensionals, 1/2" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, Promenade Trim (We R Memory Keepers), brad flowers (Queen & Co.).

P.S. If you have been wondering were all my SU! cards are... well just wait until August... I'll have a ton of samples that I will finally be able to share with you. In the meantime I plan on giving my retiring sets a bit of lovin'! :)

Quick Sneak Peek

Whoo hoo! the Paper Pretties party is tomorrow (Tuesday) at 8PM (EST). Can't wait to chat, do some challenges and have a good ol' time! Will you be there? :)

One of the sets being released at the party is Off to School Sophia. She was the June SOTMC set and will now be available to the public. She is such a cutey and looks great as a red head! Don't you think so?

Quick notes: Sophia's dress was paper pieced from a scrap of Ginger Blossom designer paper and then the rest of the image was colored with Copic Markers. I used a couple of different markers to achieve the red hair color - I think it turned out natural looking. I used a sentiment from the MFT Stamp set Going Places. Finished card size is 4 1/4" x 4 1/4". And I added a lot of paper piercing - I just cannot resist!

Stamps: Off to School Sophia (Paper Pretties), Going Places (MFT - sentiment). Paper: Cameo Coral, Ruby Red, Groovy Guava, Neenah Classic Natural White, Ginger Blossom designer. Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers (YR00, YR14, YR31, R02, R43, E00, E33, E39, W2, 0), Gold Spica Copic pen. Other: mat pack, paper piercer, 1" circle punch, designer label punch, gold brads, Groovy Guava double-stitched ribbon, Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon, dimensionals.

SOTMC: Bunny Slippers

Have you heard about Paper Pretties Stamp of the Month Club? No? Well, here is the scoop: each month Paper Pretties will send you one pre-released stamp. This stamp will not be available for sale to the public until the following month. Yup... it means you can get the stamp before all of your stamping friends and can tout your smart shopping sense in a really classy way. For example you could say: "Neener, neener, neener... lookie what I have and you don't!". :)

July's stamp is the really cute Bunny Slippers Sophia. Take a look at those bunny slippers... makes me want to go out and buy a pair or two and that sentiment is perfect (at least for me and all of you other night owls!). If you are lovin' this set and want to receive it early you have until 11:59PM on the 30th to join the SOTMC. You can see the full details on the club at Paper Pretties. And if you sign up let Christie know which Paper Prettie Girl convinced you to join the club by entering their name (for example: Danielle Lounds) or their blog (such as: www.fatcatstamper.blogspot.com) in the "Where did you hear about us" field. Aren't I just so subtle? :)

Quickie card details: Sophia was colored with Copic markers. I used the Colorless Blender marker to fade the robe in a few places. The Clear Spica Copic pen was used to add a hint of glitter to the robe lapel and belt and to the bunny slippers.

All images copyright Stampin' Up!. Stamp: Bunny Slippers Sophia (available July 1st to SOTMC subscribers). Paper: Cool Caribbean, Soft Sky, Certainly Celery, Blue Bayou, Georgia Pacific white, Chick-a-doo Hickups designer (SEI). Ink: Certainly Celery Classic, Copic markers (0, W2, E00, E33, E57, Y21, Boo, B99, BG10, BG15), Clear Spica Copic pen. Other: dotted ribbon (American Crafts), black brads, small oval punch, mat pack, paper piercer, 1/4" circle punch, dimensionals.

A Comfy Chair and Chocolate Ice Cream

Can it get any better than that?! Well, maybe a good book to read and a couple of uninterrupted hours. :) But if that is not possible how about a fun card to share?

Quick notes: Image was stamped on Georgia Pacific white cardstock and a couple of pieces of designer paper. The wall paper, flooring and flowers were cut from the various papers and adhered to the image stamped on the whit cardstock. The remaining blank spots were colored with Copic markers. To finish the image a bit of Crystal Effects was applied to the flower centers. I used the PWC9 sketch challenge for the cardbase and then just added my colored image on top of that! The finished size is a 5" square.

All images copyright MFT Stamps. Stamps: Here's the Scoop (MFT Stamps). Paper: River Rock, Ruby Red, Wild Wasabi, Georgia Pacific White, Sugared designer (Basic Grey), Fairytale Floral Chic designer (Fancy Pants). Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Wild Wasabi Classic, Ruby Red Classic, Copic markers (E00, E33, YR16, YG63, YG91, R46, R81, T3). Other: mat pack, paper piercer, Ruby Red brads, striped ribbon (American Crafts), Pettite Scalloped Circle and Classic Circle Nestabilities dies, sponge, dimensionals, Crystal Effects.