Flowers in My Garden

Okay here are a few things going on in the garden, or I should say in bloom in the garden. The little yellow thing is malampodium. These are annuals and I only bought three but I really like them. They stay nice and neat and bushy. The yellow daylilly is Happy Returns. Most folks go for the Stella D'Oro yellow lilly but Happy Returns blooms longer. The peach lilly is Double Siloam. Then there's my huge old common garden variety hydrangea and my all time favorite, the lace cap hydrangea which this year is really all blue and purple. Such a delicate thing she is. My red High Society rose which knocks you down with it's smell and my old galvanized herb bucket. The mini bush basil is going to town. Enjoy!

Redemption

Okay I had to redeem myself today but I'm feeling lazy for some reason. So I put these two together from scraps and bits from last Halloween. The card on the bottom just has ribbon and yellow stickles for embellishment which you can see closeup if you click on it. The other one just uses a vintage image and a few embellishments but don't you love those corners!!!

Do as I say, not as I do!!!

Two things about making cards:
1. Know when to stop with the embellishments
2. Always test anything sprayed on scrap first

This card was on it's way to being semi-cute. I had embossed the sentiment and added black stickles for little sparkly eyes. THAT"S when I should have said "Enough!" Instead I decided to spritz with Glimmer Mist Autumn Leaves. Shook the bottle real good. Sprayed.....big blobs of spray! I was able to wipe some off but that last extra step sort of ruined it. Soooooooooo, do as I say not as I do!!!
PS This isn't even a good picture! Should have cleaned today instead!

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Black Magic (and I don't mean voo doo)

I have been itching to try my hand at the black magic technique. It was easy, really! I stamped the large stamp from SU Fabulous Flowers on black cardstock with Brilliance Moonlight White ink 3 times. Then I used two colors of Prismacolor pencils and a blender pencil to color in the petals. After that was done, I outlined all the petals with my trusty Signo white pen, then cut out all three layers carefully. I was testing a new glue for UHU called Twist and Glue and it worked wonderful with the paper layers. It's especially good if you use an embossing folder like I did with the Swiss Dots. Don't know if you ever noticed but using snail adhesive flattens the embossing. The Twist and Glue didn't do this. So I recommend this for paper work. It didn't glue the bow down as well because this ribbon is sheer. I used the snail adhesive for that. Try this technique. It takes awhile to do the coloring but it's worth the effort.

Stampin' Up! Retired List

Just wanted to let my readers know that I have a special on retired stamps. First of all to see the retired list go to http://www.stampinup.com/ and click on Fond Farewell. Follow the prompts and it will take you to the retired list. These stamps are only going to be available for a short time. If you order your retired stamps from me before July 1, you get 10% off any retired stamps you order. Great savings! We are all anticipating the new catalogue in early August but now is the time to get those stamps you still want from the old one! Click on Email Me below to order. Thanks!

Funny Cheap Stamps!!!

While standing in line at JoAnn's they have all their dollar bins set up next to the check out aisle. I mean who can resist stamps for $1? And a lot of other stuff! Anyway, I made this quick little one up today and added a Sizzix cupcake die. This is SU Berry Bliss paper and the image was colored with Prismacolor pencils.

What is this character anyway?? And what is wrong with the crease on the inside of this card! Shame on me.

Lockhart Images from Ellen Hutson's store

I got my order of Lockhart stamps and other goodies from Ellen Hutson's store yesterday and today I sat down to play! Ellen gives wonderful service and she included this colored image, which is her stamp of the month BTW, and some beautiful red ribbon I used on the card below as a freebie. Thank you Ellen! Check out her store http://www.ellenhutson.com/servlet/StoreFront for more wonderful goodies. These Lockhart stamps are so much fun and so easy to color. The sentiment on this one is SU Define Your Life and the cardstock is SU as well. All four images I posted today are Lockhart stamps. Three were colored with Koh I Noor pencils and few Prismacolor pencils. This one was sent to me by Ellen. You do know you can mix your coloring implements??? It's A-OK! Both Mike's and JoAnn's now have the Koh I Noor pencils and with a 50 off coupon, they are less than $8 a set of 24. Try them....I think you'll agree they are easy to use and give a great result. Have a great evening!

This was a fun card to color. I used the Koh I Noor pencils on all these images and they are wonderful. These Lockhart stamps are great to color. You don't have to do a lot of shading because of the size of the images. I used yellow Stickles on both the butterfly and the bouquet. The ribbon is SU as is the cardstock.

When I completed this one I thought "hmm, this is kind of a formal layout for such a down home image" but I like it. I wanted red, white, and black and the grey colander tied right in. Ellen sent the ribbon in my order...free! Thank you again.

Here's that green DP again! I'll be sorry when it's gone. It's a nice soft vintage looking paper. The garden clogs are really neat I think. They could be cut out too. The sentiment is from Papertrey's Green Thumb set. I also used the new Threading Water punch from Fiskar's that is so hot right now.

A Surprise at the Good Will!

Was I a happy camper at the local Good Will store today. While perusing the books, they have a shelf for empty journals and albums. I almost didn't look but pulled this one out and saw that it was a Dolly Mama's journal. I hope most of you are familiar with the Dolly Mama's stamps, the most famous one being the one that says "put your big girl panties on and deal with it". Well when I opened this journal, there is a heavy chipboard figure inside and her sign says "Don't bother me. I'm in a creative mood." Is that perfect or what. The chipboard figure is inside the front page on a hinge and you use it as a bookbmark. YAY!!!!!

Strawberry Colors!

I received this little colored image which is a Lockhart stamp as part of a Pay It Forward blog candy package. I'm sorry now I can't remember who sent it but they did a great job. I decided to use it on a card and as I was finishing it up all I could think of was "strawberries." The colors are perfect. We're enjoying the tail end of the strawberry season here, having had them on cereal, ice cream, vanilla butternut pound cake (my personal favorite), shortcake, etc. Usually I go and pick but this year I didn't but we have a farm right behind us who sells them and they're great. Hope you got to enjoy some where you are. On to blueberries and cherries!!!!!!

Stampin' Up! New Catalogue Coming Soon

Well those two pictures on the left will soon be gone and be replaced by the new Fall and Winter catalogue. If anyone would like to order one through me, they are $10 including shipping. I will get them to you at the earliest possible date. OR if you place an order for $100 with me in July, it's FREE!!!!!!!!! Think about it.

Loving Lavender!!!

I am in love with lavender...the plant, the fragrance, the color. I also love Lockhart stamps and have had this one for ages. I stamped two images on watercolor paper with black Stazon, then colored with the new Koh I Noor pencils (not much room for shading here), popped them up on dimensionals and while the one paper looks blue it's actually two shades of lavender and a scrap of lavender paper. The other is a green you might recognize from the little chipboard dress below. I also added some dots of Purple Stickles on the lavender on this one. The ribbons make it. Sometimes, you can make a little simple card like this and one embellishment will bump it up from OK to WOW. I hear lavender is good in ice cream too!?!?

Sweet Chips Dress

I have had this Sweet Chips dress from Crafty Secrets sitting in my chipboard drawer for a looooong time. I'm trying to use some things I've already purchased. I don't even know the source for the paper but I used Tim Holtz Vintage Photo ink for all the inking and stamping and the SU Priceless stamp set. The poem on the inside is one I particularly like about childhood (from an adult's perspective). As a kid my favorite poem about childhood was The Children's Hour by Robert Louis Stevenson. Have a great weekend everyone and stay cool!

New Stamp Clubs Forming

The new SU catalogue will be out in August and I'd like to get six people interested in joining a monthly stamp club. It works like this: Each month you order $25 of SU products and with the new catty this will be easy! One month of the six, you are the hostess and guaranteed a $150 workshop and you collect the hostess benefits and free stamps. It's a great way to acquire some wonderful products and when it's your month to be hostess you can get outside orders to add to your total and make your workshop total even higher. Sound like fun? You bet.....contact me if you are interested!

Koh-I-Noor Woodless Pencils

Based on what I read on Gina K's blog, I bought myself some Koh-I-Noor Woodless Pencils. JoAnn's had them and with a coupon, the set of 24 was less than $8. While I still love my Prismacolor pencils, these are really nice. The colors are vibrant, creamy to apply, and easy to shade. This card is my first effort. The checked background is actually gold, as is the flower. I used 2 shades of yellow and black. The center is a rather flat black button which I highlighted with Black Diamonds Stickles. I'm really enthused about these pencils and you can't beat the performance and cost.

We finally got a break from our triple digit temperatures here due to a severe storm last evening. God is good. Just when we thought we couldn't stand another day, He sent us some relief. Stay cool and enjoy your day!

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Vintage....in 100 Degrees!!!

Here's a vintage tag I composed this week. I used several images from thousands I have stored on my hard drive, a little Tim Holtz Grungeboard key, some Primas, mother of pearl buttons and two stamps sets: Crafts Secrets Sew Special and See D's Victorian Dressmaker. A little stickles on the crown and a real needle stuck in the side....done! This was a fun little project.

It's 100 degrees here with no relief in site. Went down to get the mail and thought I'd die before I got back. Say an extra prayer for all those folks who dont have the benefit of air conditioning. I watered the garden well last night to try and stave off the inevitable wilting of the flowers and so far so good. Poor hydranges just bow their heads and curl their leaves in this heat!

PS BTW, pay no attention to the date on my pics. That feature on my camera is wonky!

Backyard Wildlife Habitat

We have had our yard certified by The National Wildlife Federation as Backyard Wildlife Habitat # 103,708! I know it doesn't mean much but I think it's kind of neat.

And finally.........

This is a close up of some of the fish and an eye level shot of the waterfall which my son Chris built. He did all the rock work for the pond. It's all slate from a quarry here not far from home. And all these pictures are courtesy of my talented daughter, Kathy.

More of the Pond

The black and white guy is Sampson, one of our Boston Terriers. He would stand out there staring at the fish all day if you let him. He's fixated! A nice hobby for a dog. We have a koi, comets, shubunkins, and gold fish and the plants are really taking off.

How Far We've Come in Just 2 Months!

This little guy is one of our resident frogs in the pond. He has friends, along with a gazillion tadpoles and tiny little frogs. They are SOOOO loud at night, you wouldn't believe it.

A Rose By Any Other Name......

My daughter took some photos in the garden this afternoon when she was visiting. Is she good with a camera or what? This is the most gorgeous yellow/peach rose bush. It's such a soft shade of yellow with just a hint of the peach. I am so glad she captured these before the Japanese beetles arrive and eat my roses to pieces. Only God could make something so breathtakingly beautiful. Enjoy! More to follow.............

Garden Colors

Well I did this card in colors I am seeing in the garden. Lots of pink and purple coming along out there now. Scabiosa, ageratum, impatiens, astilbe and the cool greens of Lady's Mantle, daylillies, and spirea. This is the Designer Print Real Red paper with Garden Green and Whisper White and I used the Priceless stamp set. I also used Frames with a Flourish and masked the frame to use the scrolly stamp on either end. With the Photo Corners punch I think the lines of the card turned out pretty good. Wherever you are, stay cool and enjoy the summer that's finally here.

A Hot Sticky Weekend!

We in Maryland are in for a hot sticky weekend. Maybe that's why I turned to cool colors today. This is Brocade Blue and Elegant Eggplant and I used the Wanted stamp set. Maybe what we "want" is air conditioning! Ours will be cranked up. Hope you are cool where you are and have a wonderful weekend!

Lovely Lilac Lanterns

Just had to try my hand at Jan Tinklenberg's Lantern technique which is nothing more than using a crimper on your stamped image but what a "pow" it packs! I tried both a vertical and horizontal orientation and for this stamp I think I like the vertical better. I wonder how the crimper would work on a background stamp??? I had the Fiskar's crimper for I bet 20 years. I used to use it to make little cardboard tree ornaments and I even crimped fabric for doll clothing with it. Now it's popular again for cards and papercrafting. See....don't throw out all the old stuff....because it will get popular the minute you do! Have a great evening!

Only Solid Colors

Only four solid colors of cardstock, two stamps, and some creative play with punches! I got the sentiment slightly crooked....I promise to do better next time! Enjoy!

It's Fall in June!

I used the Touch of Nature SU stamp set for this little autumn card. The acorn is a really sharp image. Would make a great border on a fall card!

Blog Candy Winner!!!

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One More for Fall

This is similar to another card I posted a while back except this one uses all SU product, again for submission for a contest. Using the Fabulous Flowers and One of a Kind sets with a little chocolate chip and pumpkin pie ribbon layered. I again used the heat and stick on a q tip, heated it and applied the gold glitter. Fall is my favorite time of the year and over the summer you will see lots of cards and boxes and such with fall and Halloween themes. My favorite!

Another Fall Offering

I was thinking of apples in the fall and this layout came to mind. One green apple in all the red ones dictated the You are One of a Kind sentiment from that set. This would be a great teacher appreciate card.

Fall Cards

Here's a fall card I plan to enter into a contest. It uses all SU products and their Lovely as a tree stamp and s sentiment from thoroughly Thankful. I thought it needed some bling so I used a q tip to apply Heat and Stick powder, heated it and applied gold glitter to the trees. Click to enlarge to get the full effect.