Noel - 1" x 1"

I made these for Cindy's Christmas inchie swap over on the Stamp Shack. I took the wreath that Cindy bought me at Smudges/MOA (thanks Cindy) and stamped it with Palette Landscape ink. I colored the ribbon and added holly with Stargazer glitter pens. I added Palette L'Amour ink to the edges with a sponge. "Noel" was stamped with Noir ink using the Tag Tidbits set. I really like how they turned out.

This is Theresa's last week of purse challenges. I got in late and only did 2 of the 12 ... but it was fun! Here is this week's purse for inspiration:

I decided to go with a Halloween theme and make a treat bag. I used the purse for my inspiration, but I changed up the colors.

I used black card stock and scored it with my Scorpal. I punched all of the squares out with a 3/4" square punch. The patterned paper is from TAC (retired). I used my Crop-a-Dile to punch holes in the top for the coordinating purple eyelets. I threaded the B&W ribbon through those and then added the "Trick or Treat" from the Trick or Treaters Stamp Set.

If you like my creation please make sure to vote for ME by leaving a comment on Theresa's blog. I am very behind in the votes and could use all that I can get!!! :)

I needed to make a few nice and special thank yours for some of my TAC customers for their recent orders. I came up with this card. The butterfly is from the Seeds of Blessing set and is colored with colored pencils and OMS. Some of the image is highlighted with Stardust glitter pens. The scallop was punched with my Marvvy Uchida Scallop punch and then dotted with a white gel pen. The thank you is from a retired TAC "you words" set and it is pop-dotted on the card. Added the B&W polka dota ribbon and viola!!!

I had found this unfinished spider web with spiders at the Provocraft Outlet store in Utah when I was out there in June. It was on clearance for 25 cents!!! I had to pick up 2!! One for me and one for my friend Kim.

This week Kim made hers and posted it on her blog. She put her kids faces on each of the spiders. Her creation inspired me to get going on mine.

I went with more of a "blingy" look though. And I found my new love ... Martha Stewart Glitter!!!! Yes ... it is the BEST!! I picked up a Halloween pack at Micheals that had silver, black, and orange in it. It was on sale under $10 and came with some glue.

I had seen this glitter on QVC. They have a great example (video) showing how to use it with her stamps and then they also had an example (video) on how to apply it to objects. They explain that their glitter is different ... and I have to tell you I believe it. They mix 3-4 shades of the same color in the glitter to make it pop more and seem more dimensional. All I know is that the finished product is spectacular!!! Look at my close-ups below.

Black Onyx on spider with Googlie Eyes

Fire Opal Orange on K&Company glitter pattern paper. "Halloween" letters and "BOO" is from Scrapworks. They already came with glitter on them ... but I HAD to use the Martha glitter on them!!

Hope you are inspired as well to get your Halloween projects done .... Halloween is JUST a week from tomorrow ... BOO!

I made this ATC for my friend shuggy's swap. The "JOY" circle is from the Christmas Circles set. I punched it out with my clever lever punch and then cut the center out. The moose was stamped and colored with colored pencils and OMS. I then cut it out and pop-dotted the antlers. In real life it does look like he is popping through the circle.

Needle

For this ATC we were supposed to incorporate an object into it and for this month the object was a needle. I found this quote "when life throws you scraps make a quilt" on quote garden ... I found that to be the perfect quote as I have TONS of scrap paper.

Santa's Hat

This ATC was to use a cottonball. I used TAC's retired Fall Sampler set and paper pieced Santa together. To do this I had to stamp the image on pink, white, red, and cream paper and then cut out the various pieces. I found this great patterned paper and ribbon to finish them off. I used my cotton ball on his hat.

Oopsie Daisy

This ATC was made using TAC's retired Oopsie Daisy set. I loved this set ... wish it was still around. I colored the daisies with stardust pink glitter pens. Used my circle and scalloped circle punches and added a black and white checkered ribbon.

"3" Amigos

We had to use the number 3 on this ATC ... I wanted to do 3 amigos but didn't really have any stamps to go with it ... so I came up with these boys and pop-dotted the middle one. These boys are from a retired TAC set called All Stars. They look as devious as my son so I thought it was fitting.

Aster

For this ATC we had to use an Aster (September's flower) ... I recently picked up this stamp on my trip to MOA and thought it fit. Colored it with Versamark and chalk. I love the soft look/feel that it has.

Christmas ATC

Really it's not ... the temperature is still a nice upper 60 or 70 ... there are signs of Christmas in Hobby Lobby or Target or Hallmark though ... SCARY!!!

I made this ATC for Awna's swap over at the Shack. I used one of my new TAC sets called Sweet Goodies and Christmas Minis for these. I colored the main Santa with my prismacolor markers. I used a square scallop punch and a regular square punch on these. I like the thin faint look of that scallop.

One of our neighbors is in some sort of veggie co-op group. The good thing for us is that I guess the crop is really really good this year and our neighbor can not eat all of the vegetables that they are getting ... so lucky us we have been getting some. It's been tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini mostly ... all fresh and all delicious. So I made this card for her using TAC's retired set called Seeds. I colored the tomatoes with colored pencils and OMS. I punched a black strip of paper with my Fiskars Threading Water punch. "Thanks" is from Squiggle Ladybugs.

and here is my card inspired by the purse:

I love the fact that there are so many layers to this card. I added the dots along the side with my white gel pen. The sentiment is from Ordinary Greetings. Added gold bookplate and gold brads. Simple but sophisticated!

If you like my card ... and care to vote for me :) ... follow this link to her web page and cast a vote starting on Saturday!

I needed to make a few Thank You Cards lately for some of my TAC customers. I love giving my customers a handmade card with every purchase. I hope it inspires them to start using their new purchase. This card uses the Welcome Home set by TAC. I colored the houses with colored pencils. The sentiment is from Ordinary Greetings .. one of my favorite new sentiment sets from TAC ... it basically has a sentiment for everything and I love the whimsical look of this font. I used my white gel pen to create the dots. I love the color combo of black, white, and red.

This was all 7 that I made. Details and close ups of each one are below.

Versamark & Kaleidacolor on Glossy

With this technique you stamp your image with versamark on glossy paper. Then you take a brayer and ink it up with a Kaleidacolor ink pad. I used Autumn Leaves here. After you brayer it you wipe off any ink that remained on the stamped image ... and viola ... just gorgeous and pops! Using black Stazon I stamped the sentiment in the lower right corner (from the Goodness of God set) and added a decorative brad in the upper left corner.

Colored Pencils and OMS

For this technique I stamped the image using black Palette ink. I colored the image (just the outer edge) with my Koh-i-noor colored pencils and then blended them with blending stumps and Odorless Mineral Spirits (OMS). I then stamped the saying (retired TAC GWP) in the lower corner and attached 3 green brads.

Perfect Pearls

This images was stamped with the Perfect Medium and then had Perfect Pearls applied. These products come in a kit and are one of my favorites. You can't see by the picture but these are very shiny and metallic. I stamped the saying below (retired TAC set) and then added the 3 gold eyelets.

Twinkling H2Os

This image was stamped using brown Palette Ink and then colored with Twinkling H2Os. I love the glistening and glittery look of these paints. I little goes a long way and I love to use these with just a tad of water (makes them more shiny). I added the ladybug button as a neat accent and then used this sentiment from another retired TAC set.

Versamark with Chalk

With this technique you stamp your image with versamark. Then you take a pom with chalk and rub it into the versamark. Using green landscape Palette ink, I stamped the sentiment (from the Oh How! stamp set) across the bottom.

Joseph's Coat

This was the first time that I tried this technique ... and it was really really cool!!! First I brayered glossy cardstock with a Kaleidacolor ink pad. I used Autumn Leaves again here. Then you stamp on top of the color with versamark and then emboss with clear embossing powder. After that is complete and dry then you brayer over the entire card again in a solid color (I used burnt umber Palette Ink). When that is done you take a cloth or paper towel and wipe all of the ink off of the embossed image ... just magical!!! I added a ribbon and a metal tag holder to finish it off.

Opalites

This is the first time that I have ever done this technique as well. The photo doesn't really do this ATC much justice .. it is much more sparkly and vibrant in real life. First you start with black card stock and you stamp your image with versamark and then emboss with clear embossing powder. Then the magic starts .... using Opalite inks use a direct to paper method to cover the paper with the Opalite ink pad. Then using a water brush and the reinker ink (I used artic emerald), you color in the leaf and again all I can say is WOW .... it really pops! Added ribbon and green metallic snaps for the finishing touch.

I love how they all turned out ... which one is your favorite????

October 2009

This is the second year that I am participating in a TAC Calendar swap with other demos. I was lucky enough to get assigned October and use my Halloween stamps. Each person makes 12 calendar pages of their month and then you will get back January - December that are all made by other swappers. This was really fun last year and every month was inspiring. I can't wait to see what everyone else did this year.

For this calendar page I used the TAC set Trick or Treaters. I stamped the orange paper with "trick or treat" in black ink. I then stamped 3 of the trick or treaters on white paper and colored them with colored pencils and OMS. The "October" is TACs Double Line Bet that I colored in with orange colored pencils and OMS. The pumpkin is from the For All Seasons set and is also colored in with colored pencils and OMS. I edged the edges with black ink and matted the calendar and month with black cardstock. I found a great web site to print calendars too.

Personalized Thank You

"Reid-mobile"

I made this card for a family in my son's class. Due to a recent injury my husband could not drive for 1-1/2 weeks. That made it really tough when it came to driving my son to and from school everyday. The Reid's stepped in and helped and I am forever grateful for their generosity. She is a huge fan of my cards so I made this one for her and put a gas gift card in it as well. The cars are from a retired TAC set called Let's Race. I colored them with colored pencils and OMS. I die cut out the letters with my Sizzix and typed "-mobile" on my computer and added a ribbon. The inside of the card said "Thanks for All of the Rides". I really liked how it turned out.