Hi Ho, Hi Ho It's Off to Work I Go...

Alas, my vacation is at an end. It's been a very busy two weeks and I'm not ready to go back to work, but unfortunately I have to. Work on my new stamping studio has been progressing, but there's still quite a bit to go. I know it will get done eventually, but I'm impatient (and I want my dining room back). Since I've been on vacation I've been able to get quite a bit of stamping in. This card is for the MOJO110 sketch challenge. It's been nice to get these challenges done the same day they are issued, and I hope I can keep it up. I'm going to send this card to a friend of mine who moved to Florida a couple of years ago. I've decided that I'm going to launch a campaign to remind her of all she gave up when she moved to a warmer clime. My diabolical plan is to send these winter-inspired cards to her every couple of weeks. I'm mailing the first one tomorrow. Hopefully, she'll get a chuckle. Thanks for stopping by. Here's the recipe for this card:

Stamps: Non-SU! (Sorry, I can't tell you which one)
Paper: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Ski Slope
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Little Felt Flurries, Chocolate Chip Ribbon

Let's Celebrate MOJO Style!

I have been dying to use the Thoroughly Modern paper and today was the first chance I got. And of course, since it's Monday, I decided to use it with today's MOJO sketch challenge. I think this may be the first time I've used Bermuda Bay, and I've got to say that I love it. The color is so vibrant and cheerful. Now I've got to spend some time thinking of how I can incorporate it into my Christmas cards! Thanks so much for stopping by! Here's the complete recipe for this card:

Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, On Your Birthday

Paper: Bermuda Bay, Sahara Sand, Rose Red, Whisper White, Thoroughly Modern

Ink: Black Stazon, Rose Red, Bermuda Bay

Accessories: Blender Pens, Ribbon, Punches

Snow in October!

When I made this card on Thursday it was cold here in Massachusetts, but certainly not snowing. I thought I was safe from the white, fluffy stuff for a while yet. But then Sunday afternoon I turned on the tv to watch the football game that was being played in a town about 15 miles from where I live and it was snowing like crazy there! The field was covered in snow and it looked to me like there were several inches on the ground. Ugh! I'm not a big fan of snow, winter or cold weather, but I do think these little snowmen are kind of cute! They seem to be happy anyway, smiling despite the cold wind that is whipping their scarves around. Brrrrrr. I colored in those little guys with a bunch of SU! markers: going gray, basic gray, basic black, real red, glorious green, summer sun, certainly celery, and pumpkin pie and used the Pals Paper Arts sketch challenge for my layout. Here's the rest of the recipe:

Stamps: Snow Buddies, Warm Words
Ink: Black Stazon, Real Red
Paper: Very Vanilla, Real Red, Merry Moments
Accessories: Punchs, Markers, Ribbon, Dimensionals

Bella Bleu Birthday

I've been on vacation this past week and despite being busy around the house, I have managed to get quite a bit of stamping done. What I have not been very good about is posting pictures of what I've been doing! This card was made for my sister-in-law's birthday which was on Sunday. I used the very pretty Bella Bleu paper and Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge for my layout. I seem to be using Kraft quite a bit lately. I just love how it seems to go with everything. Thanks for looking! Here's the complete recipe:

Stamps: Matchbox Messages, On Your Birthday
Paper: Kraft, Not Quite Navy, Very Vanilla, Bella Bleu
Ink: Not Quite Navy
Accessories: Dimensionals

Fall is in the air

It is downright chilly here in Massachusetts. I actually turned on the heat in my house. :( I'm on vacation this week so I broke down and turned it on since I didn't want to be stuck in a cold house. Although, as you can probably guess, I'm not a big fan of the winter, I do like autumn so I was happy to do an autumn themed card for the latest MOJO sketch challenge.

I embossed the leaf in some rather odd-looking embossing powder that I found in my stash. I thought it was sort of a burnished gold, but it came out looking sort of olive. I colored in the leaf with Really Rust and More Mustard markers and the effect (in real life) is kind of cool. The acorns are embossed with dark brown embossing powder and colored in with Close to Cocoa and a blender pen. Thanks for looking, and happy autumn! Here's the complete recipe:

Stamps: Autumn Splendor, non-SU sentiment

Paper: Chocolate Chip, River Rock, Really Rust, Very Vanilla, Apple Cider

Ink: Really Rust, Close to Cocoa

Accessories: EP, markers, ribbon

MTSC42

I hope this qualifies for Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge. I took a few liberties and offset the circle panel and the rectangular panel from each other and moved the placement of the brads. The proportions of my circles and rectangles suited this layout a little better. I'm planning on giving this card and the one I made for last week's MOJO sketch to someone as a gift. I think she will really love the neutral palette. I know I do! Thanks for looking! Here's the recipe:

Stamps: King & Caring Thoughts

Paper: Kraft, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Urban Oasis

Ink: Sahara Sand, Black Stazon

Accessories: Punches, Brads

Technique: Shadow Effect

MOJO107

When I first saw this MOJO sketch I had no idea what I wanted to do. Then all of a sudden, the light dawned and I knew I had to dig out my Urban Oasis paper. I have no idea where the inspiration came from but I just knew that I had to go with it. Turns out, I like this card very much. I love the Kraft and Basic Black together and the shadow effect on the stamped circle is cool in real life. I stamped Upsy Daisy in Sahara Sand first, then using my Stamp-a-ma-jig, I stamped it again in Basic Black slightly to the right. I hope you can see the effect in the picture. I also paper pierced the black band across the front before adding the ribbon. Here's the complete recipe:
Stamps: Upsy Daisy
Paper: Kraft, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Urban Oasis
Ink: Sahara Sand, Basic Black
Accessories: Kraft Taffeta Ribbon, Brads, Dimensionals, Scallop Punch
Technique: Paper Piercing

Halloween Goodies

Last night I was at my friend Carol's and we made some great halloween stuff. The matchbox dies are filled with Hershey's milk chocolate nuggets, the treat boxes have plain and peanut M & Ms (yum) and the test tubes are filled with M & Ms. I don't know about you, but I think those test tubes are awesome. I found the tutorial for making the holders at Lisa Somerville's blog. Happy haunting everyone!

MOJO106

What a crazy week! Although I made this card on Monday for the MOJO sketch, I'm just getting around to taking a photo and uploading it now. There's a lot of home improvement going on around here and I finally took a break so that I could get back into the blogging world. My niece Rebecca's 18th birthday was last week and I'm heading over to her house in an hour or so for the big birthday bash and this is the card and gift card holder I made her. I've used these colors before and I just love them.

Quite often I decorate the inside of a card (especially when I use dark cardstock). However, I almost never remember to take a photo. I did this time. I love the way it came out. Here's my card recipe:

Stamps: Great Friend, Framed with Love, On Your Birthday

Paper: Basic Gray, So Saffron, Whisper White, Walk in the Park

Ink: Basic Gray

Accessories: Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon, Modern Label Punch and Sizzix Die