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Infuse

Today's card uses a simple layout that Beate had as her weekend sketch challenge last week. I pulled out my brand spankin' new Basic Grey Infuse paper for this one. Just love these luscious new designs, and this one said safari to me so I reached for Changito.

I started by stamping Changito Safari by Stampendous in Ancient Page Coal Black and coloring with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. The image is matted on River Rock and then on an Always Artichoke mega scalloped circle. The sentiment is Penny Black stamped in Always Artichoke on River Rock and matted on Always Artichoke. The card base is Bazzill red. There you have it - short and sweet.

My brother and his wife drive in today from Los Angeles for a week. We only get to see them once a year, so it's always exciting when they come. My SIL has recently discovered stamping, so hopefully I'll still be able to fit some stamping in between all the 4th of July festivities.

Today's Bingo Numbers:
O63 {Daily Pick}
G53 {Courtesy of Erica}
N40 {Courtesy of Mary}
I27 {Courtesy of Sherrie}
I30 {Courtesy of Melissa}
G57 {Courtesy of Donna}
O67 {Courtesy of Julie}
G59 {Courtesy of Robin}

Sprinkle's Back!

A few people have said they were going into Sprinkle withdrawals, so since I hadn't had a chance to do Bingo Sketch #2 yet, I decided to pull out my favorite little Sprinkle. I actually made two similar cards, with some subtle differences.

The Cat's Pajamas Hula Sprinkle is stamped in Ancient Page Coal Black and colored with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. I then cut with my Creative Memories cutting system and doodled a frame around the edges. I matted onto a Mega scalloped circle and a Giga scalloped circle of coordination Crate Paper from the Carnival collection. I added some ribbon where the two background papers meet and paperpierced all around the edge. Next I used an orange stardust pen to complete the faux stitching and highlight the holes I made in the scallops.

The sentiment is from the Hero Arts From the Heart Greeting Set. I punched it out with my large oval punch and matted on Only Orange and used Provocraft mini-scallop scissors for the mat. A couple brads and some Stickles for highlights and the first card was done. The card base is Bashful Blue.

The second card is pretty similar, using a different sentiment from the same Hero Arts set. I only gave this one a Mega scallop and I added two EK Success photo corner punches that I pierced on opposite corners.


Okay, are you ready for some bingo numbers?


Today's Bingo Numbers:
N44 {Daily Pick}
O64 {Courtesy of Frances}
O61 {Courtesy of Karrie}
B4 {Courtesy of Julie}
B15 {Courtesy of Tanis}
G47 {Courtesy of Melissa}
I22 {Courtesy of Dottie}
N42 {Courtesy of Dede}
G48 {Courtesy of Tanis}
B13 {Courtesy of Robin}
O65 {Courtesy of Ida}
G55 {Courtesy of Mary}
G46 {Courtesy of Karrie}

Blogger Bingo Round 4

As promised, today's card is not a bee card. It is a card I made for an A Muse swap I was recently in. The designer paper is from the Making Memories Ruby line. I started by stamping the A Muse Chick in Ancient Page Coal Black on Very Vanilla and coloring and then randomly stamped the flecks from Itty Bitty Backgrounds for some ground. I colored the image with Prismacolors and Gamsol and did a light shadow around the chick with a Bordering Blue Watercolor Wonder Crayon and an aquapainter. I then stamped the chick again on the polka dot paper and cut out and paperpieced her little neck scarf. The ovals were cut with my Creative Memories cutting system and then matted on a Chocolate Chip Giga scalloped oval. I taped the two background pieces of designer paper together and tied a knotted bow with my beloved retiring Chocolate Chip 1/4" grosgrain to cover the seam.

The sentiment stamp is also from a Muse and is stamped on a piece made from a mega scalloped square punch and matted on a piece of a giga scalloped square punch. (Asela had a tutorial for this on her blog a while back.) I then added some little dots around the edges and two Making Memories aged copper brads. The entire thing is matted on a 4.25" square Chocolate Chip card base. The main image has Stardust stickles highights and is raised on pop dots. Here's a look at the wonderful cards I received in the swap...



Okay, on with the bingo!

Today we start Beach Blogger Bingo Round 4!!!
So make sure your bingo cards are clear! To win this round, you must be the first person to receive either an X or a Blackout. The prize for this round is another Memory Box acrylic stamp set called Spring Flowers. The current official sketch is Sketch 2.




Today's Bingo Numbers:
I29 {Daily Pick}
B10 {Courtesy of Bethany}
G58 {Courtesy of Kim}
G52 {Courtesy of Melissa}
I19 {Courtesy of Mary}

Bingo Round 3 Winner and RAKs!

We have a winner! Three people completed an X or H with the winning number I17. As stated in the rules, I did a tiebreaker by adding up the winning numbers of each card. The person with the highest total is the winner....

Gayle M.: 11, 18, 56, 75, 74, 47, 17, 9 = 307
Karen H.: 10, 25, 49, 74, 64, 50, 17, 13 = 302
Dede R.: 15, 17, 41, 54, 61, 34, 36, 3, 25, 43, 49, 66 = 444

Congratulations to Dede R., winner of Blogger Bingo Round 3 with an H. Dede will recieve the Memory Box At the Zoo stamp set.

Yep, you guessed it....that means it's time to clear your cards and get ready for Blogger Bingo Round 4 starting tomorrow. We'll now be playing for an X or a Blackout.

I've received some fabulous RAK's this week, so I thought I'd share them with you. I feel so spoiled that y'all send me such wonderful cards!

The Surfafella card came from my Secret Sister. I just love that little happy place stamp and the 3 different sized primas in the corner. Thanks Sis!

The second card came from Shannan and uses one of the new Stampin Up stamp sets. I just love this black, white and red combo, and the swirls are just fantastic. I didn't think I needed this set until I saw it up close and personal. Such a classy card! You rock, Shannan! Thanks so much.

The next card came from Colleen and is positively ADORABLE! I just love this happy little ducky. Do you remember that Sesame Street song... rubber duckie you're the one, you make bathtime lots of fun? Well, this card just makes me sing that song. All of the bubbles have super sparkly glitter and the colors and layout on this card are just fab. Thanks Colleen!

The fourth little number came from Karrie. Who can resist Sprinkle in orange? Isn't this card fab? I just love all the cirlces in the design. And of course, all the stamps are from The Cat's Pajamas, so I'm in RAK heaven. Thanks so much, Karrie. I love it!

Blogger Bingo Sketch 1 Slideshow & Winner

Wow! There were 57 entries for the first official sketch. I numbered the entries in the order I received them and then used Random.org to generate the lucky number 10. So congrats to Kim B. for winning the first Bingo sketch contest! Kim will receive 5 new Studio G clear stamp sets and a little bling. Kim, please email me your snail mail address so I can get your goodies out to you.



Here's a slideshow of all the entries. Enjoy!




NOTE: If you get a message that says no photos found, please hit the refresh button on your browser or the F5 function key on your keyboard, and hopefully it will reload with the pictures!

One More Bee Card

Well, I hope you're not totally sick of this bee and paper yet, because I have this one more card to show you. I promise tomorrow's card won't have a bee on it! :) Today's card was inspired by this card by Amy Westerman. Amy's card is just so awesome, I had to try. However, once I got everything pulled together, my circles were too big to do the sentiments above and below, which is one of the features I loved about her card. Plus, I made a boo-boo which I had to hide with the designer label punch.

I started by stamping the Stampendous Daisy Bee with Ancient Page Coal Black ink and coloring with Prismacolors and Gamsol. The circles are cut with my Creative Memories circle cutter and matted on a Chocolate Chip giga scallop circle. The paper is once again from the Crate Paper Cowboy line, with the blue being the back side of one of the other designs from the line. I stamped the thanks sentiment from the Designer Label punch box in Chocolate Chip and then carefully trimmed a mat for it. The top and bottom scallops are done with a slit punch. I also used a 1/8" hole punch for the holes in the top scallop. For some sparkle I added Stardust Stickles to the image and although you can't really see in the picture, I added some cool little doodles around the scallops with my clear Stardust pen.

Okay, on with the bingo game. If you think you've got a winning card... please list the type of bingo you have (X, H or blackout) as well as the bingo number that gave you your win. I think there will probably be several bingo claims with all these numbers I'm calling today. The order in which the numbers are called determines the winner. Therefore a card that gets a form of bingo with B13 wins over a G56 bingo.

Today's Bingo Numbers:
B13 {Daily Pick}
G56 {Courtesy of Erica}
G49 {Courtesy of Donna}
I17 {Courtesy of Dana}
B7 {Courtesy of Kim}
N38 {Courtesy of AJ}
B1 {Courtesy of Melissa}
G53 {Courtesy of Mary}
G55 {Courtesy of Nancy}
G52 {Courtesy of Angel}
N33 {Courtesy of Dottie}
O65 {Courtesy of Ida}
I28 {Courtesy of Debbie}
I29 {Courtesy of Dina}
I16 {Courtesy of Frances}
O71 {Courtesy of Karrie}
I24 {Courtesy of Marie}
I26 {Courtesy of Amelia}

Splendiferous Bee

I was on a roll with the bee image and the Cowboy paper, so I made this card using Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge # 7. I really like this layout. So clean, but very versatile. I love how my card turned out. I started by stamping the Stampendous Daisy Bee in Ancient Page Coal Black and coloring with Prismacolors and Gamsol. I doodled a little frame around the circle and then used my Scalloped scissors to make a Chocolate Chip scallop circle to mat it on. Once again I used some scraps I had from the Crate Paper Cowboy collection. I absolutely love this star paper and need more of it.

I stamped the A Muse Splendiferous sentiment on the back of the DP in Chocolate Chip and then stamped the Paper Trey Faux Ribbon scallop across the top and bottom of the strip. Next I matted on Chocolate Chip. For a little visual interest I added a word window punch cut in two unequal pieces as tabs to the top. A little rhinestone bling and some Stardust Stickles added the needed sparkle to finish it off.

Today's Bingo Numbers:
I27 {Daily Pick}
I25 {Courtesy of Paula}
O74 {Courtesy of Kim}
G54 {Courtesy of Kim}
B11 {Courtesy of Dana}
O73 {Courtesy of Mary}
N43 {Courtesy of Colleen}
G46 {Courtesy of Melissa}
B10 {Courtesy of Chris}
G50 {Courtesy of Kim}
B2 {Courtesy of Karen}
G59 {Courtesy of Shirley}
N36 {Courtesy of Bethany}
N37 {Courtesy of Ida}
O64 {Courtesy of Natasha}
G47 {Courtesy of Dottie}
N40 {Courtesy of Dede}
O66 {Courtesy of Julie}

Oh, and to make it easier to find, I've added a little Beach Blogger Bingo picture to the sidebar. If you click the picture it will take you to the Master Bingo List with all the picks for the current round. :)

It's a BEE-utiful Day!

Happy Monday, everyone! I really like seeing my cards at the top of my posts, and it's been bugging me that they've been relegated to the bottom, so I'm switching the order. Card first, then Bingo! :)
I made today's card for the CPS #18 sketch challenge. I really liked this simple layout, but of course....I couldn't keep it simple!

I started by stamping the Stampendous Daisy Bee in Ancient Page Coal Black and coloring in with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. I then added a little doodle frame and matted on a Chocolate Chip Mega scalloped circle and a Crate Paper Giga scalloped circle. All of the DP is from the Crate Paper Cowboy line. I then cut a square of the patterned paper and pierced around the edges and used my Creative Memories circle cutter to cut a circle large enough for the Giga scalloped circle to fit in. I then pierced around the edges of the circle and matted on a 5.25" square Chocolate Chip card base. The sentiment is from the PaperTrey Faux Ribbon set and I made sure to stamp it on a star. I added a little EK Success sticks rhinestone bling for accent and also to the corners I made with a Mega scallop square punch. Finished off with Stardust stickles on the wings and flower and scallops.

Today's Bingo Numbers:
N45 {Daily Pick}
I19 {Courtesy of Chris}
B15 {Courtesy of Mary Anne}
G51 {Courtesy of AJ}
B9 {Courtesy of Holly}
G57 {Courtesy of Melody}
I18 {Courtesy of Robin}
B8 {Courtesy of Julie}
I23 {Courtesy of Julie}
I20 {Courtesy of Rhonda}
O75 {Courtesy of Rhonda}
O63 {Courtesy of Ida}
N44 {Courtesy of Jodene}
N32 {Courtesy of Donna}
N34 {Courtesy of Bobbie}
B14 {Courtesy of Jennifer}
N41 {Courtesy of Julie}

Beach Blogger Bingo Round Three

Can you believe we're already on round 3? I had no idea this would go so fast! Since we had a T winner yesterday, be sure to CLEAR your bingo cards and start fresh today. We're playing until someone gets an X, H or Blackout. The prize for this round is another Memory Box clear set. This one is called At the Zoo.

We also have a new official sketch(see below). For bingo numbers, I will still accept cards with the first sketch, but to be in the drawing for the prize for the first sketch challenge you must have your card for Sketch #1 submitted by Tuesday June 26, at 10:00pm Mountain Time.

Today's Bingo Numbers:
I22 {Daily Pick}
O70 {Courtesy of Sarah}
I30 {Courtesy of Melissa}
B3 {Courtesy of Ida}
O61 {Courtesy of Robin}
G60 {Courtesy of Bobbie}

New Official Blogger Bingo Sketch:

My sample card was made a while ago for a specific magazine submission. Of course, being the basketcase that I am, I completely spaced the deadline and forgot about the card! Oh well, I guess I just have an early Halloween card! LOL!

All stamps are from The Cat's Pajamas. I started by stamping the Spooky House in Ancient Page Coal Black on Glossy White Paper. I then used a white crayon on the spots I wanted to appear white and then brayered the whole thing with Pumpkin Pie ink. This technique is called Crayon Resist. I then cut the circle out with my Creative Memories circle punch, matted on Summer Sun cardstock and then on a Giga Scalloped Circle. The designer paper is from the Memory Box Spooky line. The bats and sentiment are stamped on the brayered glossy paper. I used the Giga and Mega scalloped square punches to make the sentiment and border. The tiny brads are from Doodlebug, the ribbon is from Michael's and I added a little Orange Peel stickles to all of the scallops for a hint of sparkle.

We Have a Winner!

Congrats to Erika!!!
She's the winner of Beach Blogger Bingo Round 2 with a T.

Wow! That was so fast! Now it's time to reset those cards again and start Round 3 with a clean slate tomorrow. For Round 3 the eligible wins will be an H, X or Blackout. I've included little diagrams for your viewing pleasure. :)


Bingo Mania

Y'all are still going strong with your bingo entries. Here's another long list of numbers for Beach Blogger Bingo Round 2. You can view all the Round 2 numbers on the Master Bingo List.


O70 {Daily Pick}
G50 {Courtesy of Dana}
N42 {Courtesy of Holly}
B15 {Courtesy of Kimberly}
B4 {Courtesy of Dottie}
I24 {Courtesy of Mary}
B14 {Courtesy of Erica}
B8 {Courtesy of Amelia}
N45 {Courtesy of Melody}
B11 {Courtesy of Donna}
O62 {Courtesy of Donna}
B5 {Courtesy of Tanis}
I22 {Courtesy of Jennifer}
N32 {Courtesy of Shannan}

As I was trying to catch up on my blog reading last night, I ran across Heather's post on Ribbons and Ink. She had colored a piece of Au Chocolat paper and wanted to know what to do with it. Well, I had a piece of Au Chocolat sitting on my desk, and I thought it looked like a cool idea, so I sat down to make a card using the paper and a neglected set for yesterday's Limited Supply challenge. This set sadly has never seen ink in it's 6 months in my home. Poor neglected set! I started by coloring in my piece of Au Chocolat with Pretty in Pink and Bashful Blue Markers. Next I stamped the Love Ya Bunches image in Timber Brown Stazon on Very Vanilla. I colored the image with Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery markers and prismacolors and Gamsol. I then doodled a frame around it and matted on Chocolate Chip and Bashful Blue.

I adhered the Au Chocolat piece to a Bashful Blue card base and ran it through my Cuttlebug using the Textile folder. Next I added a light pink, and light blue grosgrain knotted bow and added the image panel on thick foam squares. The final touch was just a hint of Stardust Stickles to highlight the image. Nothing too fancy, but I've been sick, so it was a triumph just to be able to finish a card!

Oops! I forgot...

Forgive me, gals! I totally spaced posting what the prize for this round of Bingo is. I have been feeling a little under the weather yesterday and today, and just completely forgot until right now.

So drumroll please.......
The prize for Beach Blogger Bingo Round 2 is an acrylic In the Garden stamp set by Memory Box. Ladybugs, bees, flowers and sentiments... this little set has something for everyone.

Beach Blogger Bingo Round Two

Are y'all having fun with Bingo? Since we had a winner yesterday, we're starting Round 2 today. Already lots of numbers to pick, too. Be sure to clear your cards, because everything resets. So, use a different color to mark, or print a new copy of your card. (If you can't find your email to reprint, let me know and I'll resend your card.) We RESET each round and then continue playing for the other categories. I've put all the numbers back in the pot and cleared the Master Bingo List, so let's get our Bingo groove on! For this round, the available wins are an X, T, H or Blackout.

There have been some super great cards, so if you've got time, be sure to check out the links below to everyone's cards.

Today's Bingo Numbers:
I23 {Daily Pick}
O72 {Courtesy of Sarah}
I27 {Courtesy of Rhonda}
O68 {Courtesy of Karrie}
O63 {Courtesy of Dana}
G58 {Courtesy of Beth}
N43 {Courtesy of Beth}
I25 {Courtesy of Mary}
O69 {Courtesy of Shannan}
G52 {Courtesy of Dottie}
G49 {Courtesy of Lila}
N36 {Courtesy of Rachel}
B12 {Courtesy of Kimberly}
N35 {Courtesy of Alexis}
B7 {Courtesy of Melissa}
I21 {Courtesy of Ida}
I28 {Courtesy of Florence}
G51 {Courtesy of Barb}
O64 {Courtesy of Karrie}
B2 {Courtesy of Dina}

Today's card is one I made a few weeks ago for the CC116 color challenge, but I just found on my computer. I think I was having SCS issues and so it never got uploaded. Anyway, the color challenge was Cool Caribbean, Chocolate Chip and Garden Green. I stamped the Hero Arts Butterfly With Ferns on Watercolor paper and colored in with Cool Caribbean, and Chocolate Chip reinkers and an Aquapainter. The fern fronds are colored with a Garden Green Marker. I then stamped some Asian characters from a See D's set of stamps in Garden Green on the Garden Green cardstock and in Chocolate Chip on the same colored cardstock. Layers are matted with Cool Caribbean. The sentiment is from Circle of Friendship and is punched out with a circle punch. I added some Bazzill Ocean Splash brads to the corner and some May Arts Brown ribbon with a Hodgepodge swirl clip. The final touch was a little bit of Stickles on the inner sentiment circle, the brads, and the butterfly spots.

I also received this beautiful RAK from Jennifer over at Doodle Blog. I love Symbols of solicitude and this sweet little layout is so cute, especially with the spiral punches on the side. Thanks Jennifer!

B-I-N-G-O Winner!

We have a winner!
Congrats to Sarah for the first BINGO!
She wins the Autumn Leaves Build-a-Flower set.

What does that mean for the rest of you? Well, now it's time to CLEAR your cards for the next round. So, use a different color to mark, or print a new copy of your card. (If you can't find your email to reprint, let me know and I'll resend your card.) We RESET each round and then continue playing for the other categories. I've put all the numbers back in the pot and cleared the Master Bingo List, so let's get back to Bingoing! For this round, the available wins are an X, T, H or Blackout. We will continue with the official sketch until I post a new one next week. If you're bored with the sketch by now, you can submit cards using the layouts from any cards I've posted since June 19. Happy Stamping!

I will post the prize for Round 2 tomorrow morning when I post the new Bingo numbers!

Pattern of Friendship

Today's card I made for my friend Squirrellyshirley. She finally received it so now I can share it with y'all. Now that I'm posting it, I see it totally meets this week's SCS color challenge, even though I made it over a week ago. Funny! Anyway, a while back Shirley was sweet enough to send me these images from Pattern of Friendship. She makes so many wonderful cards with this set and I was so excited to be able to play with these images. She stamped the ladies and the dresses on a 4" coaster and I colored them in with Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol. I then added a few shadow with my N95 grey Tombo marker. Since I didn't have the stamps or extra images to do the masking I decided to make a photocopy of the images and cut them out and use repositionable glue to do the masking. I masked around the girls, the pattern numbers and each of the dresses and then stamped Linen in Creamy Caramel and then sponged more Creamy Caramel all around the edges.

For the scalloped border, I used two Barely Banana Giga Scalloped Square punches pieced together and cut in half to put just a little fringe of a border on the top and bottom of the coaster. I sponged the Pattern of Friendship sentiment with Creamy Caramel and then cut out with pinking shears. The red polka dot paper is from a Self-Adressed kit, and I did som faux stitching around the edges and then used pinking shears to cut the edges. The whole thing was mounted on a 5.5" square Creamy Caramel card base stamped with Linen. The final touch was two layered Prima Forever Flowers attached with a brad. I then added stardust Stickles to the brad and just a hint on the sashes of all the dresses.

Don't forget to scroll down to see today's bingo numbers! :)

And the BINGO numbers are....

Okay, you gals ROCK! I had no idea so many of you would want to play. Do you see what Katie's been up to while I've been making and sending out over 125 Bingo cards? It's a rough life, isn't it?

Everyone that has requested a card should have one now. You've all been busy making some awesome cards, too! I think there may have been a little confusion on the sketch, but we're all having fun and it will all work out.

So, my original intent was that you had to make a card using the official sketch to get a new number. Some of you sent in cards using the card I posted yesterday, which was actually a variation of Amy Westerman's Super Sunday Sketch. (She's the bomb, so if you like sketches, be sure to check her blog out!) Since there was some confusion, I've decided to also accept card entries using the layout of the card I post for each day. For every card submitted using either the official sketch or the card-of-the-day layout, I will call one new bingo number the next morning. So, here's hoping that all makes sense now! :) Oh, one last thing... there is an additional prize raffle for all of the entries submitted for the official sketch challenges, but not one for the daily layouts. Crystal clear? LOL! It really does sound more complicated than it is!

So, that said, here is your huge list of numbers. I think there are still a few links to cards in my inbox, but I'm too tired to go through it right now, so those numbers will have to wait until tomorrow. Sorry girls, but the list is already huge, anyway! ;)

I29 {Daily Pick}
G48 {Courtesy of Lisa}
O73 {Courtesy of Tanis}
G58 {Courtesy of Nancy}
B6 {Courtesy of Renee}
N32 {Courtesy of Melissa}
G56 {Courtesy of Kimberly}
O68 {Courtesy of Amelia}
G50 {Courtesy of Mary}
O72 {Courtesy of Dottie}
I27 {Courtesy of Denise}
G53 {Courtesy of Rhonda}
N31 {Courtesy of Donna}
O65 {Courtesy of Ida}
N36 {Courtesy of Melissa}
B3 {Courtesy of Sherrie}
B11 {Courtesy of Robin}
I28 {Courtesy of Donna}
O71 {Courtesy of Aldona}

So what happens when someone gets a Bingo?
If you have a BINGO you must email me or post on this post to claim your prize. I will then verify the numbers and if there are multiple claims I will use the order the numbers are called/listed to determine the winner. (For example, someone whose last number they needed for a Bingo today was B3 would win over a card in which the last number they needed to complete Bingo was O71.) In the event there is still a tie, the winner will be decided by adding all of their winning Bingo numbers together. The card with the highest scoring Bingo will win.

Once a winner is named, that category is no longer active. We then CLEAR the bingo cards (place all the numbers back in the pot) and start over with the same cards until we have a winner for each category (Bingo, X, H, T, Blackout).

This is super long, so I'm going to post today's card in the next post.

On Your Mark...Get Set... Go!

Wow! I'm amazed at how many of you are up for my little game of bingo. As of 1:00 AM this morning, I have mailed out a bingo card to everyone I received an email from. If you emailed me and have not received your card, please check your junk mail, and if you're still cardless, let me know. :) If you haven't emailed me to receive your official bingo card, then what are you waiting for???

Let's get this game started! Each day I'll draw one number, plus another number for each card that was submitted the previous day. You all start with your free space in the center of the board. A total of four sketch cards were submitted yesterday by Colleen, Kimmie and Nancy. Each day I will add the new numbers to the Master Bingo List, so there's one place you can always go for the full list of numbers.

Today's Bingo numbers are....

N44
N38

G47
O62
B13

Since I spent a good portion of yesterday sending out Bingo cards, today's card is super simple. I started out trying to do Amy's Super Sketch Sunday sketch, but it just didn't look right when I tried to put the ribbon on the card. I think the panel was just too long and skinny to make it work. So we'll just say this card was inspired by Amy. :) Everything is pretty self explanatory, so this will be short and sweet.Stamps are all from PaperTrey TextBoxed and Faux Ribbon. Inks are Colorbox Chalk Aquamarine, Warm Red and Chestnut Roan. Cardstock is Real Red, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White. Background is done with the Cuttlebug Textile folder, circle and border are done with a Cuttlebug die and the scalloped edges are done with ProvoCraft minis-calloped scissors. A Jolee's rhinestone sticker for the center of the flower, finishes it off.

Master Blogger Bingo List

Round 5 will begin Monday, July 9, 2007.

Eligible Wins for Round 5: Blackout




Round 5 Bingo picks (Numbers reset after each round):

-B-
B1
B2
B4
B3
B5
B7
B8
B9
B10
B12
B11
B13
B14
B15


-I-
I17
I18
I19
I20
I21
I22
I24
I25
I26
I27
I28
I29
I30


-N-
* Free Space
N31
N32
N33
N34
N35
N36
N37
N38
N39
N41
N42
N43
N44
N45

-G-
G46
G49
G50
G51
G52
G53
G55
G56
G57
G58
G59
G60


-O-
O61
O62
O63
O64
O65
O66
O67
O68
O69
O70
O71
O73
O74
O75

Please visit this post for the rules.

Official Sketch Challenge 1
Official Sketch Challenge 2
Official Sketch Challenge 3

Round 1 Winner: Sarah
Round 2 Winner: Erika
Round 3 Winner: Dede
Round 4 Winner: Kim

Beach Blogger Bingo!





So, who's up for some fun & games this summer? It's time for a new card contest, but this time we're going to shake things up and get this party started bingo style!

Here's the skinny on Blogger Bingo...

Prizes: The first prize up for grabs is an Autumn Leaves Build-A-Flower acrylic stamp set. The prize for the next round will be announced after each win. There will be a minimum of 6 prizes (one for each type of Bingo, plus a random winner from all the entries for each sketch challenge). We will play the game in rounds. So for Round 1, we will play until the first person gets BINGO, T, H, X or Blackout. Then whatever type of Bingo they win with will be excluded from the next rounds. So Round 2 was a T, Round 3 an H, and Round 4 is currently for an X or Blackout.

Eligibility: You must email me with your first and last name to request your official Bingo card. I will then email each player a unique card that is assigned specifically to them, so that I can verify all winners. Only one card will be issued per person. Anyone can play, and you can join in the fun at any time. I do reserve the right to swap out the posted prizes for gift certificates if your shipping address is outside the US or Canada. Be sure to hang onto a clean copy of your card, because the game board resets each round.

Ways to Win:
Round 1: Be the first person to have a bingo. (5 consecutive spaces diagonal, across or down)
Round 2: Be the first to have a T (9 filled spaces forming a T going through the center square)
Round 3: Be the first to have an H (13 filled spaces forming an H going through the center square)
Be the first to have an X (9 filled spaces forming an X going through the center square) Be the first to have a Blackout (All spaces on the card ar filled)
Be randomly picked as a winner from all card contest entries.
You must email me or comment on a post stating that you are the first to have Bingo, T, X, H or Blackout, to claim your prize. All claims will be verified against my master list. The order the numbers are called/listed on each day's post is the order I will use to determine the winner if there is more than one claim. In the event there is still a tie, the winner will be the one with the highest total when their winning numbers are added together. Once someone has won in any given category, that category is no longer active and we will clear the Bingo cards (put all the numbers back in the pot) and start the game again until we have a winner in each category.

Bingo Calling:
I will call (post) a new number each day starting Wednesday June 20. I will also maintain a master post with all called numbers for the current round in case you get behind or start late. If you want to speed up the bingo calling, just enter a card in the contest. Make a card using the following official card sketch and post a link to it in the comments of this post. For every card entered, I will call a new bingo number. Depending on how long the game goes, I will post new challenges every few weeks.

I tried to keep the sketch fairly simple. No rules this time, just use the sketch as inspiration.

I made my card sample using the new PaperTrey sets I received yesterday. I stamped the star box from Text Boxed in Soft Sky on Whisper White and then matted on two Chocolate Chip Mega Scalloped Square punches pieced together. I then cut a 2.5" x 5.25" strip of Soft Sky and randomly stamped the two star images with the same color ink. I then cut a 2.5" x 4" strip of patterned paper from the Trends K & Company line. The sentiment and scalloped border are from the Faux Ribbon seta and are stamped in chocolate chip and measures 2" x 1". For the larger chocolate star I stamped the star box on Chocolate Chip and cut out the reverse of the image. I then stamped a star with Soft Sky, cut out and layered onto the Chocolate Chip star and added some Stardust Stickles. I am really loving Soft Sky - can't wait until I can get my hands on more of it!

Okay, so there you have it... who wants to play???

Nugget Box

It's already Monday? I can't believe how fast the weekends go. I always think I'll be able to get a ton of projects accomplished over the weekend, and then Monday morning rolls around and I realize there's no way my goals were even remotely achievable in a 2 day period! Are any of you like that? My father-in-law calls it trying to pack 10 pounds of spuds in a 5 pound sack, and it's kind of a way of life here in our overachiever household. So, while I thought I would be able to make a ton of cards for upcoming birthdays and events, I was only able to find enough time to do the most urgent ones. We spent Saturday evening with the in-laws and then spent Sunday afternoon with my parents, so it was a good weekend, even if I didn't get to stamp as much as I would have liked.

I made this little nugget box to match the birthday card I made for my mom. These boxes are so much fun to make, and I'm so glad Chris Simon did all the work to make the templates of the various sizes available on SCS. I used the 3x4 short template, so the box fits 12 nuggets.

I made the base and top of the box from Rose Red cardstock and then stamped the Both Ways Blossoms stamp randomly on white cardstock and colored with Prismacolors and gamsol. Next I matted on Basic Black and glued to the box cover. I then wrapped a black organdy ribbon around the front cover flap and tied a bow. The little nuggets are just strips of the Palette O Prints paper wrapped around the Hershey's Nuggets chocolate bars and secured with Terrifically Tacky Tape. Easy peasey, but it sure wows the recipient. My mom absolutely loved this box of chocolates and her card.

Birthday Blossoms

Today I'm showing you the card I made for my mom's birthday, which is tomorrow. She's not really into frills, so I tried to keep the layout and embellishments simple. She also loves bright colors, which is a love I simply do not share! LOL So basically, this card really isn't my "style", but I like how it turned out.

I pulled out some Rose Red and Certainly Celery scraps I had from my Stampin Up POP (Palette O Prints) pad and pieced them together to make a background. I then matted on Basic Black and tied a knotted black grosgrain bow around it. Next I stamped the tulips from Bothway Blossoms randomly on Conqueror White Cardstock in Ancient Page Coal Black. I colored the flowers and stems in with Prismacolor pencils and gamsol, adding a little shadow below each of the flowers with a light gray Tombo marker. It then looked a little bare to me, so I stamped the flecks from Itty Bitty Backgrounds in Creamy Caramel on the lower third of the panel. Next I stamped Birthday Wishes from PaperTrey Butterfly Kisses at the top and matted on Basic Black. I adhered it to the background panel with Stampin' Dimensionals and then matted the whole thing on a Certainly Celery card base. The final touch was just a hint of Stardust Stickles on the darker parts of the tulips.

Keeper of the Lighthouse

Today I decided to set aside a little "me" time during my favorite part of the day (afternoon) to do a little stamping. I have been mulling over what stamp I wanted to use for my Dad's Father's Day card and when I saw Kimmie's sketch challenge today I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

I rediscovered this stamp last weekend during my big studio reorg. A few years back I made a series of frames for my Dad using a series of these lighthouse stamps by D. Morgan. I think he still has them hanging in his study, so next time I'm over there I'll try to get a picture so I can show you how different my style is from what it used to be! Although I absolutely love this image, it's always been a hard stamp to use on cards, due to it's size. Kimmie's layout was just perfect.

I started by stamping Keeper of the Lighthouse by Stamps Happen on Conqueror Diamond White cardstock and coloring in with prismacolor pencils and gamsol. Next I masked off the inner rectangle and lighthouse to sponge Bordering Blue ink around the frame and then cut out the image. Next I stamped a piece of Bordering Blue with Linen in the same color ink and then stamped the lighthouse image in Ancient Page Coal Black. I then lightly sponged around the edges of the cardstock with Bordering Blue ink and matted on a piece of Real Red cardstock. The DAD letters are miniature Scrabble tiles from Jolee's Boutique. The You're the Best is from Card Greetings I by Green Grass Stamps and is stamped in Real Red and punched out with the small tag punch and matted on the larger tag punch. I then glued everything down to a Bordering Blue 7" x 4.25" card base and added a knotted bow of May Arts double-sided ribbon at the top. I finished off with some White Glaze pen dots around the blue layers and highlights on the waves and seagulls. I also added a few little accents with a clear Stardust pen for a little bit of shimmer.

Good Enough?

I've been a little busy with non-stamping stuff *sigh* lately, so I'm going to share a card I made last week, but then decided it wasn't "good enough" to post. Hey, they can't all be winners, can they? :) I guess it's grown on me, because it doesn't look as bad to me now as it did last week.

This card is actually just the result of my playing around with the new stamps and paper I bought. I started by stamping the Stampendous Thank You Word stamp on Paper Accents Pearlized White paper and then coloring with prismacolor pencils and gamsol. I then shadowed around the image with my Bordering Blue Watercolor Wonder Crayon and an aquapainter. I doodled a little frame around the edges and then colored around the frame with prismacolors and gamsol. The oval shapes are cut with the Creative Memories Cutting System and I used a paper piercer to pierce holes all around the edges.

The patterned paper is from the Tres Jolie My Mind's Eye line. One of the tricks I like to use for contrast is to take the same piece of patterned paper and turn it so the stripes are going the opposite direction. The pieces are all matted on Chocolate Chip cardstock and then I used my Mat Pack and a paper piercer to pierce holes across the middle strip of chocolate chip. I then ran the whole piece through my Cuttlebug with the Traffic Jam folder and used sandpaper to roughen up and highlight the embossing. I attached the card front to a Beige Bazzill Basics card base I had laying around. The corners are made using the four corners of a Mega Scalloped Square punch, I then used a 1/8" circle punch in each tip to allow the patterned paper to show through. Finished off with som Stardust Stickles on the image.

Well, I've got an awesome idea for my next card contest and will be posting it within the next week or so. I just have to get a few last things pulled together, but it's going to be fun... and you're definitely going to want to participate!

Happy Feet

Mark and I rented Happy Feet the other day and I was extremely surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I just loved those singing, dancing penguins. It was a much-needed night of laughter and I'm so glad we rented it. Anyways, because of this movie I'm now on a penguin kick. I've always liked penguins, but when I saw this little guy I just had to buy him to make a Father's Day card. Doesn't he look like he's about to bust into a happy little song and dance?

The paper is from the Tres Jolie Tres Bien line. I stamped Dressy Penguin by Memory Box in Ancient Page Coal Black on Pearlized White paper and colored in with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. The tie and scarf on the hat are paper pieced. I then used a Tombo grey marker (#95, I think - it's absolutely the perfect color for shadowing) for a shadow around the penguin and a little ground for him to dance on. Next I doodled a frame around the panel and matted on Basic Black. I stamped Happy Father's Day from All Year Cheer II. I sure hope there's a replacement for this retiring set - it has my only Father's and Mother's Day stamps. A few ticket corner punches around the edges and a May Arts velvet knotted bow and the card was finished. Since my dad really hates ties, this card will be going to my Father-in-Law, who as an elected official spends a lot of time wearing these little accessories.

I got an adorable little RAK from Amy at Heartfelt Greetings this week! Such a cool little thank you card using the Dog & Flower stamp I sent her as a card contest prize. It doesn't show too well in the pic, but just about everything on this card is traced with a Stardust gel pen and it just SHIMMERS! So adorable! I love how she punched out the word window and stamped the sentiment on the main card base. That girl is so talented! Thanks Amy!

Y'all had a BUNCH of questions in your comments and emails yesterday, so I'll answer the ones I can remember...

How do I do my doodles? All my doodles are drawn free-hand. I find it best to use a smooth cardstock so your hand can glide freely across the paper. I almost always use a .03 black Micron Millenium pen by ZIG. The best way to doodle is to practice on scratch paper until you find a combination of squiggles, dots and lines that you like. Once you start, you want it to be a rhythm and to go quickly - too much thought and it looks like you put too much thought into it. ;) I like to use squiggles because it tricks the eye and makes it less obvious that my lines aren't necessarily straight or even.

I bought the shelf I put my monitor on at Wal-Mart in the home improvement section. It's actually a shoe shelf. The over the door shoe holder also came from Wal-Mart (same aisle as the ironing boards). I do stamp with my door open. My cat has a serious control freak problem and can't stand it if any of the doors in the house are closed, so all doors stay open at my house. I guess if I had kids running around, I probably would have put the punches on the other side of the door, but since it's just me, hubby and the cat I left it so it's easy for me to reach.

The green and blue boxes on the shelf are the $1 snap together boxes from the Target $1 Spot. They hold my 30 bottles of Stickles, 12 bottles of Ice Stickles, various bottles of loose glitter, and foam sponges and daubers. And.... just for Colleen... the walls have been blue ever since I painted them over a year ago. The color of the paint is so soothing. Everyone I asked told me not to paint it blue because it was too cool of a color, but once I finished, everyone just loves it and comments on how soothing it is. The paint is Ralph Lauren Durango Blue. I wanted a beachy feel. I love lighthouses, and have a huge black and white framed photo of a lighthouse that has been wating to be hung on the wall where the monitor is until the room was finished. Might have to see if I can get hubby to help me one last time!

Spic And Span... Finally

I finished reorganizing my studio yesterday! Yay! I've got pictures to show too, but first the important stuff! This is the first card I finished in my newly organized studio. I stamped and colored the images with Prismacolors and Gamsol at Lila's on Monday and then finished up the card last night.

The main image is Stampendous Agapanthus Cluster and is stamped in Ancient Page Coal Black on Conqueror Diamond White card stock. The sentiment is Penny Black Special Treasures. I doodled around both panels and matted on Marachino Bazzill Basics and Basic Black cardstock. The patterned paper is by American Crafts and came in my June Self-Adressed kit. I added two grosgrain knotted bows across the DP and then matted on a 6 x 6 Basic Black card base. To finish it off, I added Crystal Stickles to all the flowers and then added an EK Success photo corner punch to the main image panel and added a few doodles with a Gold gel pen.



Okay, on with the after photos from Operation Organize Chaos. My investment in my reorg was...
$10 Shelf for monitor and extra storage space
$24 Four plastic storage drawers for my desk
$12 Over the door shoe organizer for my large punches





Everything else I already had on hand. I traded 2 bookshelves filled with books and a card table for an empty dresser from the spare bedroom. This gave me some flat space to store my big tools and some great storage to store everything that was in the small dresser (which will be going to the dump as soon as I buy a lateral file to put in it's place. If you look closely, you can see that the top of the dresser is just resting on the top, instead of actually being attached to the rest of the dresser! I was SO upset when it came off in my hands! Hopefully it will safely hold my ink caddy until its replacement can be procured). The lateral file will also give me more room for cardstock and make the plastic filing drawer under the table obsolete! Yay! The large dresser also stores everything that was in the wicker bookshelf in the corner, thus freeing up space to return my reading chair to it's rightful place. I added the shelf to raise my monitor to a better height and am now able to keep all my Stickles and Primas right at my fingertips! I left one of the bookcases in the room, but cleared out the books that were in it to store my Stampin Up stamp sets. I saw this on Colleen's blog and liked the idea so much I just had to try it. Oh, and hubby helped me hang a shelf I bought almost two years ago when we bought this house. It's perfect for displaying cards! Okay, I'm done showing off my new room. I'm so glad it's finally finished and I can get on with the very exciting project I've been working on that I will soon be sharing with y'all.