Where does the weekend go!

Man, when you work all week those weekends just do NOT last long enough. One of the boys came home this weekend to go to the Detroit Auto Show with dad, so of course I had to do some cooking, and I've been busy planning for upcoming classes in Chatham and Toronto. By the time I got this card put together last night it was late and I was tired so i decided to wait until today. And guess what!...I'm still tired! But not too tired to drop in and say hi and show you this cutie Green Bean Baby by the name of Chloe!

She was stamped on Bella's bestest paper with Brilliance ink, coloured up with a mix of copics and prisma color pencils and paired with some Pink Paislee paper that I recently picked up. This was NOT the piece that I had envisioned using, but a girl can change her mind, can't she!

Well, sorry for the short post today, but I got a kitchen that need some cleaning so I'd better get to it! Don't forget, this week's challenge is twinchies! Use a twinchie, or any 2x2" square on your card. I have the most AMAZING creation that I can barely wait to show you. I'll just say that is my most fav card that I have made in a LONG time!

Thanks for dropping by...Linda

Lovey Dovey Friday!

It is here folks! Another Bellarific Friday and a Lovey Dovey themed release from Stamping Bella!

This little sneak peek I have for you today is one of my beloved Green Bean Baby images named Olivia and she is part of the release line up that Emily has planned for today! AND...shocking I know....but I made an attempt at colouring her hair something other than deep auburn! After that somewhat snide remark from my better half about colouring all my images with the same color hair, I felt it was time to branch out and try a blonde! It is not a 'yellow' blonde, but more of a golden blonde....resembling the custom mix that my hairdresser painstakingly prepares for me every 5 weeks! LOL!!!! I'm not too sure what colors I used, but I do know for sure Y26, 28, E33, 35 and likely E30 were in the mix! If you wanted more of a yellow blonde you could start with Y000 or Y0000 as a base. I really should make a little recipe card just like my hairdresser does! But, truth be told I'm a bit of a free spirit when it comes to colouring, I use a kajillion colours and rarely use the same combination twice.

Now, if you are in need MORE inspiration, I strongly advise you to check out the rest of the Belllarific Babes blogs to see what they have been up to because I KNOW there are more sneak peeks in store for ya! AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, watch Emily's blog throughout the day cause we all know that is where she introduces the new stamps!

After you have been shopping and are waiting for the new rubber to arrive, why don't you play along in next week's challenge and get Twinched...that's right, it's a Twinchie theme! Use a twinchie, or any 2" square on your card and show Emily some love by emailing your creation to her by Thursday Jan 21st.

Until next time....Linda!

I love Quickutz dies!

I recently picked up this 4x4 Quickutz die and as soon as I set eyes on it I had this vision in my head to pair it up with Stamping Bella's Maisy Ketto. I even knew that I wanted it to be pink, yellow and orange. I also knew I had to get on it quickly before I forgot about it, that happens to me more often that I care to think about.

But this time I brought the die to work to show my friend-pod mate Kathy and even sketched out the idea that was in my head. I think that kept the idea from getting away from me and I should do that more often! It is not exactly the same as my sketch because the scale of the flowers was a bit too large, but it is the same general idea. I think I may put my bind-it-all to some good use and make myself a little idea book. That way, when I buy something with an idea in mind on how to use it I can jot down the product with my idea in my little book and look thru that for inspiration when I'm in a lull! OMG!!!!!!!!!! I wanna make one NOW!



Whew...I'll get on with the card now that I have that creative burst of energy out of me...(good thing I have it jotted down in my blog here before I forget about it...LOL!!). As I always do...I stamped Maisy on Bella Bestest paper and coloured her with copics, shaded with pencil and sponged with chalk ink. Her wings are glittered and making memories crystals are added to her crown. I also knew I wanted buttons on the flowers but genious struck again when I realized that stamping one of Maisy's flowers would fit perfectly in the center to surround the button!

In the end, I could not have been happier with how it turned out!

Finally....don't forget....our Friday theme this week is Lovey Dovey and there is a reason for that...YUPPERS...it's gonna be a Valentine Release day over at Stamping Bella!!!!! How's that to give you a reason to make a Lovey Dovey card!...we all lovey a new release don't we! There MAY even be some sneak peeks involved so be sure to check out all the Babe blogs on Friday to see what we have been up to!

Party Animal

Alright, he's more of a party bug, but I don't like bugs...so humor me and let's just go with animal okay. This little huggybug is Miles the dragonfly and he is looking so cool and aviator-like in those goggles! I love that aviator look...you know....Robert Redford, Out of Africa...if you've been with me, you know I've talked about it before! LOVE that movie!!!! And you know what is REALLY COOL.....click on the link and you'll see this card...my card...next to Miles! It always makes me smile and giggle to see my cards 'up in lights' so to speak!

I coloured him up in copics on Bella's Bestest paper in nice soft colors to match the Cosmo Cricket paper. This is one of my absolute FAV papers....you know...that aviator theme again! And you just know....I added a big thick glaze of glossy accents on those goggles so they would pop right out! I shaded with prismacolor pencils and gamsol and added a bit of detail and glitter to give that illusion of fluttering around with those biplanes. I thought that was pretty darn clever, however I WAS skyping with Paula when I was colouring it, so I may have gotten some good vibes from her! And what do ya think of those Miss Mint Scraplines tickets! Aren't they cute!!!!! I LOVE THEM!

Now for some exciting business!...The date has been set!

I'll be holding two classes again at Stamping Bella Saturday February 27th so if you are interested please contact the store and reserve your spot...I only show up...I don't take reservations...LOL! After a hiatus over the holidays I'm looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and hopefully some new ones!

Later....Linda!

Back to School!

That is our Bellarific Friday theme this week and are you doing the back to school happy dance, cause I am! LOL! So is Mark! hehehehe!


I chose Stamping Bella's Spencer the Bookworm for my card and paired him up with Cosmo Cricket's boyfriend paper. Those little atoms and molecules, pencils and computer paper made this a perfect back to school card to give Derek. After giving Alex the Batman, I couldn't let Derek go back empty handed without something special from Mom. If I lived closer to Paula I would have scooted over there to have her write his second semester course names on the books! I wasn't about to try it for fear of messing it up.

As usual, he was stamped on bella's bestest paper and coloured up with copic markers with shading done in prisma pencils and gamsol. Don't forget to head on over to Emily's blog later today to check out what the sisters have been up to. And leave Emily some love...she thinks she is losing her muse!

'till next time...Linda

Denby Inspired

I love Denby dishes, I have them, but totally regret not buying the mix and match nice bright colors. In my heart that is what I really wanted but my little conservative voice said..."NO, you might hate them in a few years!"...why did I listen.

Needless to say, when I saw Stamping Bella's CUPPA TEA image I knew it had to be nice rich funky colors and when I stumbled upon this scrap of Basic Grey Indian Summer paper it was just the inspiration I needed. In keeping with my resolution to use more sketch challenges I also worked this one into Mojo Monday challenge 120. It came together quite easily! The tea cups were coloured with copic markers and the ground shading was done with prismacolor pencils and gamsol. Keeping the nestie in place, I also sponged the edges with Versamagic Bisque pigment ink.

Now for some Bella business:

Did you know our Bellarific Fridays are back? The challenge this week is Back to School so be sure to get your entry in to Emily by Thursday at 5pm to see your card up in lights on her blog and be entered into a chance at winning some bella bucks.

And finally, did you know there is a new Babe on the block! Jodi Collins! She won the Bella Birthday Challenge to be a guest babe for January, but Emily couldn't let her go! Once you see her cards, you'll quickly know why! Be sure to go show her some love!

That's it for today! Thanks for stopping by.

Jake

Good Morning on this VERY LAST DAY OF MY VACATION! {sulk} Back to reality tomorrow, the boys are heading back to school today and I'll be sending them off with a full belly. My tree has not come down yet because I thought I'd wait until they leave. Then at least when I clean up the family room, it will STAY clean.

On to another topic...do you have a New Years resolution? Oh...I have the obvious ones, eat healthier, exercise, get to work on time! LOL!....but I also have decided to work more challenges into my life...NO NO NO...not the dreaded kind of challenges...FUN ones! I am sketch challenged! I love to color, but hate trying to come up with some unique fantastic layout that will blow your mind. So why bother I say! There are sooooo many sketch challenges out there so this year I think I'm gonna use them. AND....I just popped onto Paula's blog and SHE ALSO USED A SKETCH CHALLENGE! Honest...WE DID NOT PLAN THIS!!!!! It must be that sistahly bond between us that makes us think alike! LOL!



For my first challenge play along this year I chose The Sk8tr Boy and Happy Birthday from the Stamping Bella Tiddly Inks collection. I knew I wanted to use the boyfriend paper and when I saw sketch challenge SASSC46 from Our Creative Corner I knew it was a match meant to be. The card will be stashed away until Mark's nephew Jake has his birthday this summer so I used one of my quickutz tabs and my snap alphabet to add his name to the card...kids always like that!!! He was stamped on Bella's bestest paper, coloured with copic markers and grounding and shading was done with prismacolor pencils and gamsol. I also left the nestie in place and sponged some thatched straw ink on the edges.

That's it for today...off to start a nice big lunch for the boys before they leave! Bistro Steak from Cuisine at Home magazine. I most definitely see a nap coming on this afternoon!

Happy 2010 Everyone!

WOW! Hard to believe another year has past...25 years ago today I was making my trip from Windsor to Chatham to start my first day of a real job! I'm still here and tomorrow will be my 25th anniversary of working at Union Gas. So many things have changed in that time and I'm probably the last of a dying generation who will work 25 years at the same company. I've also been in the same house for 20 years...clearly I'm a girl who doesn't need a lot of change in her life to make her happy! A new stamp, maybe a new pair of shoes and the occassional piece of jewellery is all I really need!

The last week of 2009 I was busy making cards for my mom to send to family and friends birthdays and anniversaries. I have some new ones that are coloured but not mounted and I have these that have been in my stash for a while. I figure it is time to part with them. I think all but one was done pre blogging days but they may have been posted in my SCS gallery.





Lastly, I just HAVE to show you a pic of my little girl all dressed up her sweater ready to go for a walk with her daddy! Isn't she just the cutest little devil ever!

That's it folks! Thanks for stopping by all the time and saying Hi, it makes me happy and keeps me inspired!