Sunday in my Hide-away

I got some stamping time this morning and needed to finish up some birthday cards for the month of June. I decided to use up some of the images that I received in an image swap on SCS.

This first card I just LOVE! I don't usually do flowers- not because I don't like them, but because I don't think I can do them justice. The image is called Rose Bud, but I don't know who makes it. I had little confidence that I could make a nice card...well...I am totally THRILLED with how this card came out! I'm going to send this one to a dear friend, Leah, whose birthday is next week. Isn't the rose the flower for June?? Anyway- I used SU Old Olive, Basic Black and Bella Rosa DSP papers. The white is unknown since I didn't stamp the image. I used two different patterns from Bella Rosa, and although you can't tell by the picture, the dotted piece is torn on the right side. The verse is from SU's A Rose in Winter set. The ribbon is SU white grosgrain and the rose image is popped up on dimensionals. I colored the image using my Copics and I'm actually happy with my shading on this one! I sure hope Leah likes it!

I made this next card for the BRAK group on SCS. This image is called Mouse with Flowers and is by Whipper Snapper. He has such a cute face! Again, I colored with Copics and used SU Chocolate Chip, GP110 white and Au Chocolat DSP. The ribbon is SU Close to Cocoa grosgrain and I glued clear Dew Drops along the ribbon. The Au Chocolate dotted panel I embossed in the Cuttlebug using a flower embossing folder. The "Hi, there" stamp I got at Queen's Ink but can't remember who makes it.This is another card for the BRAK for June. The image is Tilda (not sure of the exact name) by Magnolia. It's a simple card but I thought the image was so cute that she didn't need a lot of adornment. Again, I used SU Chocolate Chip and Au Chocolat DSP. The image is colored with...what else?...Copics! :) The gold metallic ribbon is from Michael's, as are the gold brads. I also 'colored' her wings using a gold metallic pen.

I also made a graduation card for my niece, but I think it's going to end up in the trash...her school's colors are brown and yellow and I used those...ick! I guess it'll be back to the drawing board to see what else I can come up with, but I doubt that I'll be using her school colors!

I hope that you've all had a wonderful weekend. See you soon!

It's almost June!

Wow, I can't believe that June is almost here! I need 7 birthday cards for June and thought I'd get a start on them using my brand new Pink Gem Designs stamps. Here are 3 cards that I made tonight while DH and DS went to the Orioles game (I was supposed to go but wasn't quite feeling up to the rain and heat...) I have a love, like, hate relationship with these cards! ;)

This first card I absolutely LOVE! The stamp is called Daisy and she's just too cute! I stamped her using Momento Tuxedo Black ink onto GP110 white cardstock. The other papers are all SU- Real Red, Basic Black and Bella Rosa DSP. The image is colored using my Copics markers. The flowers are Primas, the large gold brad is from Recollections, and black organdy ribbon is from Michael's. This is a fairly simple card but I love the way it turned out!!
This second card I LIKE...again it's a simple card, but this image- Birthday Milly- is just so cute how could you not like her? Like the card above, the image is stamped with Momento Tuxedo Black onto GP110 white cardstock and colored with Copis. The panel looked a little bare so I doodled around the edge with the SU Basic Black marker. The other papers are SU- Buckaroo Blue, Basic Black and one of the SU DSPs.

This card I HATE! I LOVE the image- she's called Mrs. Hoot and she IS a hoot! ;) I just don't care for the way that the card came out...maybe it's the colors, maybe it's the layout...I don't know. Anyway, I'm posting this card so you can see the image, not because of the card. Just in case you're interested, I used Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi and one of the retired SU Christmas DSPs from a couple years ago...the flowers are Primas and I glued pale yellow Dew Drops to the center of the Primas. The sentiment is computer generated. I do love Mrs. Hoot and will have to play with her again soon to come up with a more deserving card for such a cute image!

So- that is my LOVE, LIKE and HATE relationship for today! :) Thanks for looking!

...a brighter place...

Saturday I'll be going to an impromptu shoebox swap at a friend's house. It will be a small group, but it'll be fun!!! The Meade Girls are ALWAYS fun! ;) Here is the card that I came up with to take.
I have had this SU set- A Light Unto My Path- for a while and hadn't used it, yet. I wasn't quite sure of a good layout for it. I stamped the image using Momento Tuxedo Black ink onto GP110 white cardstock. I used SU Basic Black and River Rock- a color I rarely use. I ran the black background layer through my Cuttlebug using the Mesh embossing folder. I originally wanted to make this as a Father's Day card, but I couldn't find a Father's Day sentiment that I was happy using with this layout, so I pulled out an old SU sentiment set that I've had for ages. The edges of the image and sentiment are sponged using Momento Tuxedo Black. The sentiment is popped up on dimensionals and I placed a silver brad at the bottom of the oval. The ribbon is some I found in the $1 bin at Michael's and it's a perfect match for River Rock. I hope the girls at the shoebox swap enjoy making this card.

Take time to remember...

Happy Memorial Day! I hope that everyone is enjoying their holiday and that you all will take a minute to remember the service men and women who so unselfishly served our country...and to those who are currently defending our great country. Without them we wouldn't have the freedoms that we do today.

It's a quiet day for us. DH went for a ride and I immediately went to my stamping room. DH put the window air conditioner in my stamping room window so I would be nice and cool while I stamped. Boy, it sure can get HOT upstairs!! I was able to finish the Relay For Life thank you cards and those will go in the mail tomorrow. I also made another birthday card for the SCS BRAK group.

This is the first time that I've used this Riley stamp from Hanna Stamps...and I actually had a hard time coming up with a layout for it. This is what I ended up with. I guess it'll do. I used SU Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery and one of the retired SU DSP packs. The image is stamped on GP110 white using Momento Tuxedo Black ink and colored using Copics and SU markers. I sponged Certainly Celery around the edge of the image. The Old Olive ribbon is from SU (narrow twill) and the white is from Offray. I glued on pale yellow Dew Drops using Crystal Effects. I love the sentiment and thought it went perfectly with the image.
Well, that's it for today. Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend!

Saturday's Stampings...

It was such beautiful day here in Maryland that DH decided to go on a looonnnngggg motorcycle ride down to the Norfolk area and back again...he and some friends are going to Sturgis in August and they need to get their butts in shape before those long 600-mile-a-day days on their way to South Dakota...so...while he was gone I got back into my stamping room to get a few more cards made...

I wanted to make thank you cards for everyone who donated to the American Cancer Society for my school's Relay For Life team. I needed something simple since I was going to have to make so many, so this is what I came up with. (If you dontated to me, don't peek!) I used SU's retired Hope Is... stamp set. All papers are SU- Tempting Turquoise, Basic Black and Tempting Turquoise designer papers, although the white is GP110. The verse is stamped using Momento Tuxedo Black. The ribbons are SU's black organdy ribbon and 1/8" white grosgrain from Offray. The stick-on gems are from Michael's and I used black Prima flowers from the Halloween collection. Inside I stamped the ribbon heart in Tempting Turquoise and then stamped "Thanks for your support" in black over the ribbon. I really do appreciate everyone who donated to our team. The Relay holds a special place in my heart- moreso since we lost my niece, Julie. I decided to use turquoise since that is the color for cervical cancer. (Sorry for the crooked scan!)
This next card I made for the BRAK group on SCS. The image is Hopeful Ant from High Hopes Stamps. I have had SU's Watercolor Wonder crayons for a long time and have never used them, so I thought I'd give them a try...not so sure I care for them now that I've tried them. I used the Aqua Pen with them to color the image. The papers are SU's Pumpkin Pie, Green Galore, Basic Black and a Halloween pack of DSP (sorry, I can never remember the names of the packs!) The image is stamped on watercolor paper using Momento Tuxedo Black.

I hope you all are enjoying this holiday weekend!!!

I'm baaaccckkk!

Well, after dealing with a minor medical issue and getting the brand new computer set up, I was finally able to stamp again! I needed to catch up on a few cards and here are the results of my efforts...

This image is Birthday Tilda by Magnolia. I colored her with my Copics on GP110 white CS. She's mounted on SU Pretty in Pink and Green Galore. The patterned paper is from a retired pack of SU DSP mounted on Chocolate Chip. I used Glitter Adornments by My Favorite Things and adhered them with Crystal Effects. The ribbon is Pretty in Pink. My good friend, Gloria, gave me a Bow Easy and this was the first attempt using it...I do still need alittle practice, though! This card will be for the BRAK group on SCS.
I made this card for my senior friend, Miss Laura, who hasn't been feeling too great these past few weeks. This image is called Milly in the Rain and she is by Pink Gem Designs. Isn't she adorable? She's stamped on GP110 CS using Momento Tuxedo Black and colored with Copic markers. All other cardstock is by SU- Green Galore, Basic Black, Bliss Blue. The Bliss Blue panel is embossed using the D'Vine embossing folder in my Cuttlebug. I sponged around the edge of the image using Green Galore and used green brads by Recollections. I hope that it will cheer Miss Laura up a bit!

This last card is another card I made for the SCS BRAK group. I love this image by Whiff of Joy! Again, it's stamped using Momento Tuxedo Black onto GP110 CS. All other papers are SU- YoYo Yellow, Real Red and Basic Black. The YoYo Yellow panel was embossed using the Happy Birthday embossing folder in my Cuttlebug. The red stitched ribbon and silver brads are from Michael's.

It feels good to be able to stamp! I have lots more cards to catch up on, so come back soon to see what I've been up to!

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Memorial Day holiday!!

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope everyone is having a fabulous Mother's Day! It's a beautifully sunny day here in Maryland and the Orioles are beating the Yankees (so far!), so what could be more perfect? :)

This coming Friday and Saturday, I will be participating in our county's Relay for Life event to raise money for the American Cancer Society. This is the second year that my school has had a team, but I have participated many years in the past. The Relay is a 16-hour long event filled with laughter, tears and remembrance of those lost. I am walking in memory of my 31-year old niece, Julie, who passed away in September 2007 from cervical cancer.

If would like to make a donation, you may do so here---> My Participant Page. Thank you.

Pink Gem Designs Launches Brand New Website!

Pink Gem Designs has taken the world by storm! Following the HUGE popularity of their designs since starting their business in November 2008, they've finally launched their brand new website-http://www.pinkgemdesigns.com/. Congratulations, Janet!! To celebrate, they're having a drawing to win 6 of their stamps! To be entered into the drawing, all you have to do is create an account through the website by June 10th and you'll be entered. Easy as that! Also, the first 10 people who order 20 British Pounds worth of stamps from the new website (that equals just a little over $30 USD) will find a special surprise in their order when they receive it! (That's okay if you don't know the exchange rate, you can switch to US Dollars at the site!) Check 'em out! I just LOVE their images and I bet you will, too!!!