Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Tuesday with Tilda


Sorry for no posts the last couple of days. Today I am sharing with you a couple of Magnolia cards that I created for Enchanted Cottage. First is Traveler Tilda paired with some My Minds eye papers and Prima flowers.

And this is Sweet Tilda. She was colored to match the papers and felt flowers from Little Yellow Bicycle. I also used the Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Nestabilties die and some yummy silk ribbon. No new Magnolias at the Cottage lately but I will try to have a Christmas card class in July during the Stamp & Scrap Art Show in W-S.

Thanks for hopping by! Check in tomorrow for my last InStyle Stamps post for June, then a few days of Patriotic cards with Stampendous! images :)

-Cyndi

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Stampendous! Saturday sketch Challenge

TGIS! I actually got to sleep in this morning til almost 9 thanks to my little one! He's finally getting on summer hours! I took Michael and Taylor to see "Knight and Day" last night. Perry refused; he thought it looked stupid. It was definitely a date flick...action for the guy, romance for the girl, and lots of humor. As long as you don't expect it to be a true action movie you will like it. Tom Cruise is back to his Jerry Maguire charming self as the critics are saying :)

But alas, you want to see some eye candy, don't you? It was my turn again this week to draw up the challenge for Stampendous! I created a square card sketch for you, but it doesn't have to be square. My additional challenge is to use glitter as well.


Above is the sketch. If you would like to join us just create a card (or scrapbook layout) using the sketch and then link it back to the Stampendous! blog. You have until Thursday night 12AM PST for your submission. As always there will be 2 prizes up for grabs!!


This is what I ended up with using "Wildflower Sprigs" a clear set from Stampendous! I colored directly on the stamp with my copic markers then reactivated the ink with a spritz of Copic blender solution before I stamped it on the paper. This creates a nice watercolor effect. I also added a foreground layer of smaller wildflowers in Old Paper Tim Holtz Distress ink and then airbrushed lightly over the whole image while still in the Nestabilties die.


This is a closeup of the image once the glitter is added. I randomly dotted my Quickie Glue pen on the Magenta flowers then added Rose Jewel Stampendous! glitter. The sentiment and the 3 scallops are all stamped with other images from the same "Wildflower Sprigs" stamp set. The rest of my supplies are all listed at the bottom of the post, and below is a photo with my copics.

Thanks for visiting my blog today! Hope you have a great weekend :) -Cyndi

  • Supplies:
  • Stamps: Wildflower Sprigs (Stampendous!)
  • Paper: pp by Bo Bunny; Java (Bazzill); Ivory (Papertrey Ink)
  • Ink: Tim Holtz Old Paper Distress Ink (Ranger); Berry Sorbet (Papertrey Ink)
  • Accessories: Labels 4 Nestabilties & Fancy Tags (Spellbinders); Rose Jewel Glitter (Stampendous!); ribbon (stash); Mini mister spray bottle (Ranger); ABS1, Blender refill solution, & Copic markers (Imagination International)

Friday, June 25, 2010

InStyle Stamps Blog Hop!

Its the last Friday of the month so that means its time for a Blog Hop with InStyle Stamps! Our theme his month is Patriotic and The Great Outdoors. If you hopped here from Janelle's blog then you are right on track, if not why not start at the beginning of the hop at the InStyle Stamps blog!


For my project I used the digi download "Grill" because thats my absolute favorite part of summer and holidays...cooking out!! I am so not a hotdog girl, but I LOVE grilled burgers! Do you have plans for next weekend? We are planning to go to the lake one day with my hubby's work friends :)

Now, don't forget to hop through all the Design Teams' blogs and leave us all lots of love! Your comments make us so happy! (Really!!) After you hit all the blogs go back to the ISS blog and vote for your favorite project and leave a comment there too. You can win 7 Spica glitter pens this month!

From here head over to Jan's blog to see what fabulousness she has cooked up for you! If you get lost along the way, here's the list of the hopping order:


Thanks for hopping by my corner today! Have a great weekend and stop back in tomorrow for my sketch and card for the Stampendous! Saturday Sketch Challenge!

Also, don't forget InStyle Stamps is having a Design Team call! Head --->HERE for info!

-Cyndi
  • Supplies:
  • Stamps: Grill only digi (InSTyle Stamps); Free Spirit (Close to My Heart)
  • Paper: Block PArty pp (Bo Bunny); Blue cs (Core'dinations); white cs (Neenah)
  • Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
  • Accessories: Polka Dot Frameabilities (Spellbinders); ribbon (Stamping Up!); glaze pen (Sakura); buttons (Stash); black precision pen (American Crafts); Copic markers

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Twilight Fever

OK, I have to admit that I did read all the Twilight books, took about a week the way I love to read, if its a good story I will fly through a series like there's no tomorrow. I was completely obsessed for a couple of months, but then as always I moved on. I read a LOT, LOL.

And I have to say that I find it amusing the way so many ladies are totally obsessed with Twilight...but then again Robert Pattinson is HOT!! I'm not as wild about the movies as I was about the books, but of course I have seen the first two and plan to see Eclipse in just a few days :)

BUT, what I do get giddy about are stamps of my favorite characters, from books or movies. I LOVE that Kathy at Pixie Dust Studio has drawn most of the important Twilight characters as digis...still waiting for the rest of the Cullen family though!


So, I had to break down and download a few Vampires for the latest challenges over at Pixie Dust Studio challenge blog. I missed finishing Victoria for last weeks challenge (see below) but I did get Alice done in time! She is also using the sketch...very loosely...for the Oh, Alice! challenge this week and she is another Alice, right?


The Pixie Dust challenge was to use Red, Black, White and Silver. So I hunted through my paper stash to find a starting point. I came up with paper from Making Memories and Basic Grey then used those colors to pick out my copic markers. I used lots of different Spellbinders dies for this one and lots of Primas. All supplies are listed out at the bottom of the post. Heres a shot of the copics I used...


And here is last weeks card that never got finished in time. This is Victoria, another digi from Pixie Dust Studio. She was colored to match the greens and blues from the Making Memories paper I picked. Also had fun with this card by pulling out a it of Glimmer Mist and a Glimmer Screen for the background. AND I found this yummy Blue Velvet ribbon from my stash.

Again, here are the copics that I used and the rest of the supplies are listed below. Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a great Hump Day :)


-Cyndi

  • Supplies for Alice card:
  • Stamps: Alice digi (Pixie Dust Studio); Wicked (A Muse)
  • Paper: Scarlet's Letter pp (Basic Grey); 5th Ave pp (Making Memories); Black (Bazzill); Red (Bo Bunny; White (Neenah)
  • Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
  • Accessories: Double end Ribbon Tag, Contemporary Hearts Border, Labels 5, and Curvy Rectangles Nestabilites (Spellbinders); Red bling (Hero Arts); Silver/Red/Gold Dewdrops (Robin's Nest); ABS1 & copics (Imagination International); Primas; ribbon from stash
  • Supplies for Victoria card:
  • Stamps: Victoria digi (Pixie Dust Studio); Bite me (A Muse)
  • Paper: 5th Ave pp (Making Memories); Blue cs (Core'dinations); Black cs (Bazzill); White cs (Neenah)
  • Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
  • Accessories: Curvy Cutter (EK Success); blue bling (Basic Grey); Prima flowers; ribbon from stash; Tuxedo & Azure Smooch; Lime Twist Glimmer Mist & Regal Glimmer Screen (Tattered Angels); Tag punch (SU!)

Monday, June 21, 2010

Stampendous! Sketch Challenge!!


Monday night and I am sitting in the bed typing while my little guy is watching The Simpsons. We re-organized all the million DVDs we had tonight and he forgot we had a full season on DVD. Urgh. I sooo prefer Spongebob or The Clone Wars.

So, wanna hear about the card? Its Saturday a few days late over at the Stampendous! blog :) Our Saturday Sketch just went up today, hehe, so I am just now posting mine too. Had to work today so I didn't get any computer time.

I am finally using this sweet little knight I have had for forever. It seemed just right for my hubby for Fathers Day yesterday. I paired "Knight Shield" with "Shining Knight", both from Stampendous! for my card. I wanted to pull out the gray in the knight so I found this fun gray polka dot print in my "Sugar Rush" Basic Grey paper pad. I also added the red love print from the same pad for a splash of color.

The cool border is done with my new EK Success border punch. All the little bling dots in the corners are fun Holographic stickers from Stampendous!...these are "Dot Sparklers Class a Peels".

OK, so if you would like to play along with us there are prizes available as usual!! Head over to the Stampendous! blog to get all the details. Here is my buddy Debbie's fabbo sketch for this week:

Also, why not head over to our little group at Papercraft Planet. Its still young and growing and we would love to get to know you better!

Thanks for visiting with me today! Have a great week!

-Cyndi

Method Monday with InStyle Stamps

Good Morning! Today I am in charge of Method Monday at the InStyle Stamps blog, but first I wanted to send you to --->THIS post to see all the details for the new InStyle Stamps Design Team Call!!

Today I want to share with you one of my favorite types of specialty fold cards...what Splitcoast Stampers has dubbed the "Joy Card". First you want to gather all of your supplies: cardstock, stamped or digitally printed image, embellishments, a trimmer and a scoring tool.


Above are all of my pieces precut. My bottom base card is 4.25 x 9.75. My top base card measures 3.75 x 7.5. To embellish the front of the bottom base my layer is 4 x 4. The layer atop my top base card is 3.5 x 3.5. ( My main image I chose to run through my Cuttlebug with a Layers 4 Nestabilties, but it could be any size square smaller than about 3.75 x 3.75.)


Using a scoring tool you want to score the bottom base card along the long side at 5.5 and fold. The top base card will be scored at 3.75 and folded. I used a Scor-Pal for my sample but there are many other ways to score a card.

Lay the 2 card bases out so that the larger is on the left, and both openings are to the center. If you want a layer on the inside back of your card add that now. Layer the open top base over the open bottom base so that the bottoms are adhered together. The left edge of the top base should be about 1/2 inch or slightly more in from the edge of the bottom base. First fold the bottom card closed, then the top one is closed to overlap the bottom.


This is a picture of how the top card is opened up leaving the bottom card still closed. I used a button attached only to the bottom card so that I can tuck the top card under (see last photo of card) The top card opens to the left (backwards)


Then the bottom card will open to the left as usual. A sentiment or message can be added to the inside. I used the digital anime image "Trent and Justin" from the InStyle Stamps web store.


This is the final card. Below is pictured the copics that I used and also a list of the supplies that I used.


Thanks so much for joining us today for Method Monday at InStyle Stamps! We would love for you to show us your version of a Joy Fold card if you create one! And don't forget to stop back in this Friday for our June Blog Hop!
  • Supplies:
  • Stamps: Trent & Justin digi (InStyle Stamps); Starbright, Starlight remix (Verve)
  • Paper: Dude Collection pp (Prima); black cs (Bazzill); white cs (Neenah)
  • Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
  • Accessories: Labels 4 Nestabilties (Spellbinders); button (Autumn Leaves); Scor Pal; Copic markers; Black precision pen (American Crafts)

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Care for some tea?


This sweet little doormouse I downloaded from Pixie Dust Studio a long while back. I printed him out and he has sat on my desk just waiting for a challenge. Well, a specific one never came along so I just decided that he needed to be colored.

I had pulled out this paper from my Citronella pad for a different project and when I spotted the cute cherries and polka dots I knew what I wanted to use it with! For my layout of the card I used Lori's sketch from this weeks Pink Elephant Challenge blog.


Here he is a bit closer so you can see how precious he is. After I colored hi I cut him out and then layered him on a couple of Nestabilities pieces...one is Labels 4, the other is Labels 10. Other products used include: Copic markers, Creative Impressions ribbon, Prima flowers, Christmas dewdrops, and sentiment from Sassy Studio Designs.

OK, I am off for the night to go watch the second installment in our "Lord of the Rings" marathon. Have a great evening! Thanks for visiting :)

-Cyndi

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Welcome Home

Hello Saturday! My first Saturday off from work in a while and I ended up with a headache this afternoon. So, in between laundry and dishes I snuck in a nap. Would have been great had I not had a 7 year old jumping on my bed every 15 minutes wondering if he could go to the pool, go to the park, have a friend, go buy silly bands, go ride his bike....aarrgh! Well, I finally gave up and we attacked his room.
Made a LOT of progress so I caved and let him get more silly bands. Anyway, that was my day. Pool tomorrow for sure...hopefully after it cools down a bit. Daddy will be stuck at work all day since Fathers Day is one of the 4 or 5 busiest days of the year in the restaurant business so I get the kids all by myself.

OK, on to the eye candy. Here's a card I made using the Lizzie Anne Designs set Welcome Home . I lined up the same little house all in a row and added some fence pieces in between. Used up some of the My Minds Eye scraps on my desk and also pulled out my new EK Success border punch...so cool.

Stamped some of the other adorable houses from the set while I was at it and I can't wait to color them in and create something with them too :) Rest of the card is simple, Kraft cardstock as the base and a big polka dot Bo Bunny bow.

OK, check back in tomorrow for more!

-Cyndi

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

OHDBCGA with InStyle Stamps

Hump day...ho humph. I usually get Wednesdays off, but with everyone at work taking vacations I find that I have to go in extra days this week. No stamping time. But at least its extra hours.

But for this Hump Day at least I have some cute eye candy for you. Its the "Over the Hump Day Blog Candy Giveaway" at InStyle Stamps! Our theme this month is graduation, so if you still have a special someone who needs a quick Congrats card...head over to the ISS blog for lots of inspiration from our Design Team!

For my image I chose Jessica in her cap and gown. I didn't need a card right now so I went with our High School colors, Orange and Black. It seemed a bit too Halloweeny (which I do love mind you, but this was looking cheesy halloweeny) so I found this fun striped pattern in my stash to add a bit of color. Jessica is colored with copics and my sentiment is from an older Verve set calle Starlight, Starbright Remix.

Thats it for me for now..be sure to go check out the rest of the DT's creations and enter for a chance to win an awesome prize this month!

On a personal tangent...I took the girls and Michael to see Prince of Persia this Sunday and we loved it! Who wouldn't enjoy drooling over Jake Gyllenall for 2.5 hours?? He has such dreamy sad eyes. Hurm, anyway...lots of action...non-stop in fact. Well worth the ticket price!

OK, have a great day. Thanks for visiting!

-Cyndi

Saturday, June 12, 2010

InStyle Stamps Color Challenge

If you are looking for the Stampendous! Saturday Sketch Challenge, click HERE.

If you are here for the InStyle Stamps Color Challenge then you are in the right place! Our challenge this week was a spectrum of reds, greens, oranges and yellows. I pulled out these colors in my papers from K & Co (Citronella paper pad) and in the shorts on Beach Dude.

I think he is more of Bach Stud, but who asked me? He's a hot new summer digi design from InSTyle Stamps available now! The sentiment is from A Muse. You can check out the other hot eye candy in these bright summer colors from the rest of the DT over at the InStyle Stamps Blog.


So, have a great rest of the weekend! Its supposed to rain here in NC, but no sign of it yet :)

-Cyndi

Stampendous! Sketch Challenge!!

Its that time again...time for the newest edition of the Stampendous Saturday Sketch Challenge! This weeks sketch is brought to us by the fabulous Wendy Price. She added a twist to hers...we're going back to the basics... stamp your background!


For mine I stamped the entire card with one stamp set...the adorable little "Patriotic Pair" fromStampendous! . The background was done with Tim Holtz distress inks in Faded Blue Jeans and Lipstick using the fireworks stamp from the set. Lady Liberty was colored then masked and airbrushed.


OK, check back in a bit for todays InStyle Stamps Color Challenge!

-Cyndi
  • Supplies:
  • Stamps: Patriotic Pair (Stampendous!)
  • Paper: Bo Bunny, Neenah
  • Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko); Tim Holtz distress Worn Lipstock & Faded Blue Jeans (Ranger)
  • Supplies: Labels 3 & Standard Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Multi glitter (Stampendous!); brads (Basic Grey); ribon (Bazzill); paper piercing tool & mat

Friday, June 11, 2010

Monstah Bash!



Oh, Happy Day!! Here's a little crew of monsters for you today. This is another card I made for Enchanted Cottage with one of our new Stamping Bella images, "Monstah Bash".

I picked up the colors from the My Minds Eye "So Sophie" paper for the card, using my copic markers. I also got to use one of my newest embossing folders from Tim Holtz...this one is "Retro Circles"...totally cool!! All products are available at the Cottage. (Also used Spellbinders Labels 10 & 11 and sentiment by A Muse)

OK, gotta boogie off to work for the afternoon! Thanks for visiting!

-Cyndi

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Ladybug Tilda

Just a quick post for you today...trying to catch up on some projects before awards day at the Middle School then End of the year party at the Elementary. My High schoolers are finishing their last exam this morning.

Here's another card fro my "Going Buggy" class at Enchanted Cottage. For my local readers, his class will be held again next Tuesday morning at 11am. Space is limited so call in now if you are interested!

This is "Ladybug Tilda" from Magnolia Stamps in Sweden. She is one of my absolute all-time favs. Also use: vine & labels 5 from Spellbinders, bo bunny ribbon, tear drops from Robin's Nest, copics & spicas, and sentiment from Hero Arts.

Have a great Thursday! I am off to skedaddle for all the events today before work :) Thanks for visiting!

-Cyndi

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Spencer the Bookworm & Fundraiser

Lori Boyd, the artist behind Lollipops, Puddle Jumpers, and Sugar Sticks has started a Mission 4 Macie. Macie is a little girl with a rare disease and you can read about the details HERE. You can donate $5 to Macie's fund and Lori will email you the file for this Macie's Rainbow digi.

Isn't she adorable? OK, so now on to the eye candy. I have a card for you today for 2 challenges.


This week over at The Pink Elephant Challenge Blog, there is a recipe challenge: red, scallops, and a bow. I took on this recipe with a new image at Enchanted Cottage from Stamping Bella, "Spencer the Bookworm". Since it was a card for the Cottage I also used new My Minds Eye papers...SO Sophie collection. Wish we had gotten the whole she-bang, but we only got the 2 patterns. Sigh.


So here is the final card...I used an EK jumbo scallop border punch and Labels 11 Nestabilties. All of the copics I used are shown below...used a lot this time for such a small image! The layout is based on this weeks sketch at the Paper take Weekly Challenge blog.


Thanks for popping by! I'll have quite a bit more for you in the next few days to come!

-Cyndi

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Nothing is as it Seems...


Tuesday was June 1st, and do you know what day that was? The release on DVD of Alice on Wonderland. Of course I bought it first thing at Target, while still at a cheap price. So we had family night last night. Daddy starting snoring just a bit in. No surprise he didn't like it.

So, anywho I as all in the mood for a bit of something curiouser and curiouser. Time for the "Oh Alice" Challenge! I used this darling white rabbit from Pixie Dust Studio. So of course I just had to do the Pixie Challenge too. They actually coordinate well together, as the Alice challenge is to incorporate swirls and the Pixie challenge is to use something round.


I picked my papers accordingly too...using this fun Whale line from Sassafras Lass. Picked up the paper pad at Michael's last year. There are swirls on the pattern (which also goes round) and then I got to use my brand new Clockworks Cuttlebug embossing folder on the grey panel...lots of round clocks and gears on that!


Also picked up some old "stuff" from a basket in my stash...buttons, brads and flowers from a scrapbook kit from ages ago...no idea the make of any of that! The pom poms (also round) are from Bazzill, and the black ribbon is I think Creative Impressions. Sentiment was downloaded from Sassy Studio Designs in a set.


OK, off to work this morning! Thanks for stopping in, gimme a hollar!

-Cyndi

Challenge day!

Happy Hump Day! Its also time for this months InStyle Stamps sketch challenge! Our sketch this month was created by our own fearless DT leader, Taylor Usry! We would love for you to play along with us this month...just head over to the ISS blog to check out the details and see more eye candy using this sketch!



For my cards I used the InStyle Stamps digi image "Surfer Girl". Isn't she just hot and sassy? I picked some old papers to pair her with because I was in a bright sort of mood! This weeks challenge over at The Pink Elephant Challenge blog is TPE69: "Gotta Wear Shades!" so bright colors it is!

The sentiment is from a Stampendous! set called "Sun Elements" and for once I didn't hand draw the dots...I stamped them from "Summer Messages, also by Stampendous!


I also added some glitter to her bikini and jewelry and a clear shiny glaze to her lips and glasses. Its easier to see in the close up but you can also see better where its not so perfect on her lips. Geesh. Oh, and I added polka dots to her surfboard, cause what hip chick wouldn't want a polka-dotted board?!

I gave her a bit of a suntan with E00, E11, and E13. The rest of the copics are pictured below. So thanks as always for visiting me! Have a great day, its sunny and hot here in NC. My kids want to hit the pool which makes me shiver just to think about that water...

-Cyndi


  • Supplies:
  • Stamps: Surfer Girl digi (InStyle Stamps); Summer Messages, Sun Elements (Stampendous)
  • Paper: Summer Travel paper pad by Marcella; white cs (Neenah)
  • Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko); Crushed Olive & Wild Honey Distress inks (Tim Holtz for Ranger); Aqua Mist (Papertrey Ink)
  • Accessories: Tiger Lily & Ocean Spray glitter (Stampendous); quickie glue pen; white gel pen; tab punch (SU!); brads (Basic Grey); Copic markers