Glitter, Stamps, & Ink

Have you seen all the great new things at I Brake for Stamps? Della has been adding some new products to her store along with her awesome stamps, and I am drooling over everything! LOL

I Brake for Stamps is now the exclusive US retailer of the gorgeous Wild Orchid Flowers. There are lots of different kinds of flowers in many different colors. I ordered almost all of them as soon as I saw them in the store! LOL





I Brake for Stamps also carries the beautifully shimmery Creative Inspirations Paint. There are 25 colors in the store, and you will definitely want all of them.


I used Tutu Pink paint on this card. Isn't that shimmer just gorgeous??


BTW - that is a new collage stamp called Fleur Hydrangea Collage. I wasn't kidding when I said Della has added a lot of new things to the store, right? LOL You will also find some new bears (which I LOVE), some adorable new Bedtime Buddies, and some Humorous Seniors on the Latest Stamp Releases page. I'll share some of my cards with the bears and the bedtime buddies over the next few weeks.

You will also find some Spellbinders dies, Sizzix dies, and Prima flowers when you go shopping at I Brake for Stamps. To help you save some money, use this code - SAVE10HOLLY - when you place your order. I know you'll have a great time shopping!! :-)

Here we are with the next Cardabilities sketch! This is sketch #28, and I went in a totally different direction for this card.



Instead of looking for flowers or gears or sprockets, I went a little out of the box:


Here are three birds sitting on a branch. The branch and the birds are Maya Road chipboard pieces that I've painted and distressed a little bit. I added a little chocolate pearl to each of the birds for their eyes. The background is the Worn Wallpaper Technique from Technique Junkies, and I added a couple of clouds and distressed the edges.

This is actually my last project as a Cardabilities Design Team member. I decided to step down at the end of my term to give some other creative gals a chance to shine. You will see a lot of fresh new designers starting with the April 15th sketch over on the Cardabilities blog, and I can't wait to see what they do. Head on over to the Cardabilities blog to see what the current team has done with today's sketch and play along with us this week.

Stamps: Holly's Tattered Background from I Brake for Stamps (use code SAVE10HOLLY to save 10% off your order today)
Ink: Walnut Stain, Antique Linen
CS: Marina Mist, Jubilee dp (Memory Box)
Claudine Hellmuth Paint: Sky Blue, Landscape Green, Blank Canvas, Sable Brown
Other: Maya Road chipboard, distress tool, sponge, cloud die (MFT), chocolate pearls
TJ Technique: Worn Wallpaper

This is a fun little collage tag that I created a few weeks ago. I sponged some purple ink all over this Spring Bonnet Collage from I Brake for Stamps, added some orange to the butterfly, and then used a white gel pen to color in the pretty flowers before distresing the edges. I used the Torn Frames technique from Technique Junkies on the dark purple layer behind the collage image.

I sponged some of the same purple ink onto a white tag, distressed the edges, and then I saw this pretty white lace sitting on my table. I just had to see how it would look with a purple tag, so I cut small strips and adhered them to the bottom of the tag. Then I used a larger piece and looped it through the hole at the top of the tag. To keep the collage image from being too rustic, I added a little paper doily behind the image. Some purple buttons along the bottom finish off this sweet little tag.

There's so many different things you can do with the gorgeous collage images from I Brake for Stamps. You don't have to color everything - you can take a shortcut and sponge some color on and just highlight one or two items within a collage. I hope you are inspired to get inky today!

When you go shopping at I Brake for Stamps, you can save 10% by using this code - SAVE10HOLLY. Have fun!

Hey sleepyheads! Are you enjoying your Sunday morning? There is a new sketch over on the Heart Song Inspiration blog for y'all to play with, so go check it out. You could win free digis just for playing along with the weekly sketch challenges!

For my card, I used the beautiful March Daffodil digi from Heart Song Designs and I used some Stampin Up markers and the Marker Watercoloring technique (from Technique Junkies) to color the flowers. I pulled out some Kaisercraft patterned papers and some cardstock and then mixed and matched until I got some colors that I was happy with.


Don't feel limited to using the circle that was in the sketch. You can use any shape as long as your finished card resembles the sketch. I used an oval shape here because it fit my daffodils better than the circle. The leaves were just a tad too big for the oval die cut, so I used the Out of the Box Nesties technique from Technique Junkies to make it work.

Head on over to the Heart Song Inspirations blog to see the new sketch challenge and drool over what the Design Team gals have created. Upload your own creation based on our sketch and you could win free digis!! :-)

Be sure to come on back here on Friday, April 1, for a very special Spring Showers blog hop. We will be showcasing all the new April digis from Heart Song Designs, and you really have to see all this wonderful new artwork!!!

Happy Friday, everyone! This is the last Friday of the month, which means it's time for a challenge with the Chapel Road Design Team over on the Class Act Insider blog.

The Class Act stamp company is actually divided into two stamp lines - Class Act and Chapel Road. I am on the Chapel Road design team, and we will have some fun challenges on the last Friday of each month. The Class Act design team has different challenges on the first Friday of each month, so that's just more fun for you to play along with! :-)

For today's challenge, we have to use the color blue and some kind of edge punch on our projects. I pulled out the small butterfly stamp from the Butterfly Square set and stamped it three times, painted them with blue shimmery paint, and cut them into diamonds. I also pulled out the Edwardian Birthday set and stamped a sentiment at the bottom of my card.


For the "edge punch" part of the challenge, I decided to do something a little different. I pulled out my trusty pinking shears and cut the triangular edge so it coordinated with the three butterfly diamonds.

How do you like that background? I used the Dabbed Shimmers technique from Technique Junkies along with some Aqua Marine Creative Inspirations Paint. You can see the awesome shimmer here:


Check out what the other Chapel Road design team gals have created by going to the Class Act Insider blog. We'd love to have you play along with us in our challenge - you could win free stamps! :-)

Stamps: Butterfly Square & Edwardian Birthday (Class Act)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento
CS: Black, White
Other: square dies (Spellbinders), Aqua Marine paint (Creative Inspirations Paint), pinking shears
TJ Technique: Dabbed Shimmers

This is one of the gorgeous new collage images that was just released over at I Brake for Stamps. I colored this Belle Jardin Rose Collage with Copic markers, and then I used the Glimmer Lace technique in the background to echo the lacy hanky that you see in the upper left corner of the collage.

I also used a glitter pen on the "Belle Jardin" letters:


I wanted that little bit of sparkle to make the letters stand out from the background and the leaves. Go check out the new collage stamps in the IBFS store. They are all so gorgeous!


Stamps: Belle Jardin Rose Collage from I Brake for Stamps - use code SAVE10HOLLY to save 10% off your order
CS: white, black
Other: Copic markers, black lace (May Arts), glitter pen, Vintage Pink Glimmer Mist
TJ Technique: Glimmer Lace

Happy Sunday! You're going to love today's new releases from Heart Song Designs! Leah has created some great new digis that you don't want to miss:


There is a new sketch over on the Heart Song Inspiration blog for y'all to play with, so go check it out. You could win free digis just for playing along with the weekly sketch challenges!

For my card today, I used the gorgeous May Lily of the Valley digi. I colored it with Copic markers and added some soft yellow shading around the flower so it looks like the sun is backlighting it. Leah's flowers are such a dream to color. I really love her Birth Flowers collection.


Head on over to the Heart Song Inspirations blog to see the new sketch challenge and drool over what the Design Team gals have created. Upload your own creation based on our sketch and you could win free digis!! :-)


Stamps: May Lily of the Valley from Heart Song Designs, Scripty Words (retired CHF)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento
CS: Marina Mist, White, Minuet dp (Memory Box)
Other: Copic markers
TJ Technique: Curled Corner

These butterflies from Class Act (the Chapel Road line) were just begging to be used with some flowers, so I created this Trellis Window card. I had seen this great trellis technique over in the Technique Junkies yahoo group, and I knew it would be perfect with these butterflies.

I morphed the technique a wee bit by starting with a die cut card from Creative Cuts and More. I built the trellis according to the tutorial from Technique Junkies, and then added leaves and flowers to the left side. The butterflies from Class Act were stamped with cocoa ink and then fussy cut. I stamped the sentiment, also from Class Act, directly on the card with the same cocoa ink.

Check out the great stamps in the Class Act store. The butterflies are simply gorgeous, and I'm looking forward to stamping with more of the Chapel Road stamps every week. There will be a new challenge on the Class Act blog next Friday, so be sure to go check it out next week. You could win free stamps!



Stamps: Butterfly Square and Butterfly Angle from Class Act, Inc (Chapel Road division)
Die Cut: Filigree Rectangle Window Square Scallop Card - use code CC&M10Holly to save 10% off your order
Ink: Close to Cocoa
CS: pink, white, moss
Other: Martha Stewart leaf and flower punches, pink rhinestones (Kaiser)
TJ Technique: Trellis Window

This week's Belli Challenge is to create a project and use embellishments that begin with the letter "C." Some examples would be chipboard, cats, cash, charms, Crystal Effects... anything that begins with a C.

For my card above, I used several things to fit this challenge:

chipboard
cameo (the two chipboard pieces put together)
Claudine Hellmuth Studio paint
Curio papers from Basic Grey

I started out by painting the chipboard pieces with some Claudine Hellmuth Studio paint. While they were drying, I used Holly's Tattered Background stamp from I Brake for Stamps to do the Worn Wallpaper technique (from Technique Junkies). It's hard to see it on some of the papers, but I did stamp all of them.

The white silhouette piece was a bit too white for my liking, so I lightly sponged on some Antique Linen distress ink. The brown paint on the second chipboard piece wasn't dark enough, so I smeared some Walnut Stain distress ink on the edges and smooshed it around with my finger (which is a lovely shade of dark brown right now LOL). The two pieces put together resemble a gorgeous old-fashioned cameo.

I used the sketch from the Sweet Stop Sketch blog (SSS99) to put this card together. The peach toned flowers were a lucky find in my Prima stash so I added those along with some wrinkled ribbon.

Check out what the Belli Girls have created for this challenge. I bet you have something in your stash that would be perfect for this challenge. Why not pull it out and create something and share it with us? We'd love to see your creations! :-)

Stamps: Holly's Tattered Background stamp - use code SAVE10HOLLY to save 10% off your order
Ink: Fresh Snow, Walnut Stain, Antique Linen
CS: dark brown from stash, Curio pp (Basic Grey)
Other: wrinkled ribbon (May Arts), flowers (Prima), buttons, sponge, chipboard (Maya Road), Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paints (white, brown), Scallop Diamond edge punch (EK Success)
TJ Technique: Worn Wallpaper

It's time for another Cardabilities sketch, so here is sketch #27:


To be honest, I don't sew. Nope, not a lick. In fact, my hubby does what little sewing needs to be done around here. LOL Sooo...... I ignored those little "sewing" lines when I created my card.



My little concession to the sewing thing is to thread some buttons with linen thread. There's no stamping on this card - just papers, die cuts, flowers, and lots of distressing. This will make a great "just because" card to send to someone for a little surprise.

Why don't you check out what the other Cardabilities DT gals have done over on the Cardabilities blog? There's so many fantastic takes on this sketch! I hope you join in on the fun and come on back here on March 30 for sketch #28.


Stamps: none
Ink: Kraft (sponged on edges of doily die cut)
CS: kraft, not quite navy, Hattie pp (My Mind's Eye)
Other: prima flowers, linen thread, buttons, doily die (PTI), distress tool, scallop square punch, suede ribbon (May Arts)
TJ Technique: Distressed Papers

Here's another one of my favorite Humorous Seniors from I Brake for Stamps - Movie Maven Maude! She's ready for the newest flick, all settled into her comfy chair with her hot buttered popcorn.

I paper pieced the chair and the cushion on the footstool with the same paper that you see in the background of the card. I love her big hairdo, so I gave her some blue tints in her gray hair. But she's not a boring ol' senior, now... she's gotta have her hot pink eyeglasses! None of those basic black or gold frames for Miss Maude, no siree. Hee hee hee!

When you go shopping at I Brake for Stamps, use code SAVE10HOLLY to save 10% off your order. There are some gorgeous new collage stamps that just arrived in the store yesterday, and you can get the awesome Creative Inspirations Paints as well as gorgeous Prima flowers.

Good morning!

I hope you have some sunglasses on, because you might need them before you look at this card:


LOL! That's a bright springtime card, isn't it? For those of you who are sick and tired of the white stuff, this ought to warm you up. It's been beautiful here in Texas with afternoons in the 70's - I love it. I hope this sticks around for another 6 months. Anything to avoid the 100+ degree temps that we usually get in July, August, and September!

There is a NEW feature on the Heart Song Inspirations blog. We will have new sketches every week, and the card above is based on our very first sketch. Check it out on the Heart Song Inspirations blog and play along with us every week!

I used the Bird House digi from Heart Song Designs and colored it with Copic markers. Who says bird houses have to be brown? LOL I was just having a fun time coloring this image and ignoring the "rules."

Now before I forget, today is Sunday, which means NEW RELEASES from Heart Song Designs. Leah is introducing two great new images, and one comes with sentiments!!! I love these!

Vintage Blooms:



Chick Parade with Sentiments:


I haven't had time to play with these yet, but you can see some sneak peeks of these on the Heart Song Inspirations blog. Some of the DT gals used these along with the sketch challenge, and they did a great job. Take a gander and play along with our first sketch challenge. We'd love to see what you create!


Stamps: Bird House digi
CS: Green Galore, White, Green at Heart paper (Basic Grey)
Other: Copic markers, rectangle dies (Spellbinders), corner punch, brads, Glam Pink Stickles
TJ Technique: Out of the Box Nesties

I just got the latest Technique Junkies CD this week (Emboss or Die), and when I saw the Embossed Image technique, I knew it would be perfect with these butterflies from Class Act. Ohhhhhhhhh I just love the way this turned out!

I wanted a soft, spring-y, rustic-y feel for this card, so I used kraft, lilac, and vanilla cardstocks. The lilac cardstock is punched with the Dotted Wave Edge Punch from EK Success and I wrapped some linen thread around the stamped piece. How lucky is it that these Prima flowers were the same purple tone as the butterflies I stamped?? I was having a good stamping evening when I created this. :-)

Be sure to check out the fun challenge over on the Class Act blog. I'll be playing along with the challenge at the end of the month (for the Chapel Road team), and you don't want to miss what we are doing for that challenge. You could win free rubber just for playing along! :-)

Stamps: Butterfly Angle, Butterfly Square - all from Class Act
Ink: Iris (Palette)
CS: kraft, vanilla, lilac
Other: linen thread, Dotted Wave edge punch (EK Success), Prima flowers, button, embossing folder
TJ Technique: Embossed Image from Emboss or Die CD

Have you seen the Humorous Seniors stamps over at I Brake for Stamps? This is one of their newest ones called Chef Charlotte, and I can sooooooo see myself looking like this in another 20 years. LOL

I stamped Chef Charlotte and colored her with Copic markers, and then cut her out. I used the Distressed Papers technique on the designer papers in the background, and you can see where I got a little too carried away with the distressing on the upper left side. Oops! :-)

Just a little tip - you can use Copic markers to color your brads if they are not quite the right shade. I used a green Copic marker to color some yellow brads on this card. It worked out pretty good, huh?

I hope you have a wonderful week. Just a few more days til the weekend!!

Stamps: Chef Charlotte, Every Day Phrases from I Brake for Stamps - use code SAVE10HOLLY to save 10% off your order
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento
CS: Suede, White, Marjolaine dp (Basic Grey)
Other: Copic markers, brads, oval dies
Technique: Distressed Paper (Technique Junkies)

Happy Sunday! You're going to love today's new releases from Heart Song Designs! Leah has created two new flower digis. The first one is the innovative Bloom Trimmers One:


Leah designed this so that each element could be cut out and arranged in multiple ways. This is going to be such a fun set to play with - think of all the different possibilities with this - coloring, paper piecing, mixing and matching, and in any size you want.

The second digi is this Lovely Tulips image. I swooned when I saw this, and immediately printed it out:



I wanted this Lovely Tulip in red colors so it would match the background paper. This flower digi is so easy to color and it's absolutely gorgeous.


See what I mean about swooning? I used the Pencilled Twinks technique to color in this image, and then I cut it out with an oval die. The paper was too white and I wanted it to blend in with the cream tones in the background paper, so I sponged some Antique Linen distress ink all around the flower and the sentiment.

Here is a close-up so you can see the gorgeous shimmer:


Check out what the other DT ladies have created with these two fabulous new digis from Heart Song Designs:



Stamps: Lovely Tulip (Heart Song Designs), Birthday Basics (PTI)
Ink: Dark Chocolate, Antique Linen distress
CS: Chocolate, White, Stella Rose patterned paper (My Mind's Eye)
Creative Inspirations Paint: Rustic Red, Green Olive
Other: oval dies (Spellbinders, watercolor pencils, water brush, sponge, May Arts ribbon and lace, pearls (Kaiser)
TJ Techniques: Pencilled Twinks, Wisped Frames

Today is my first post for the Class Act/Chapel Road design team. The Chapel Road team is working with butterfly stamps this month, and let me tell ya. These butterflies are gorgeous!


I embossed the Butterfly Background with white embossing powder, and then I sprayed Seafoam Glimmer Mist all over. I repeated the process with the sentiment from the Butterfly Square set. You can see the gorgeous shimmer in the picture below:



I used a dark gray cardstock and ribbon to tone down the brightness of this card. Black was a bit too harsh because I wanted to keep the fun spring-like feeling, so a dark grey worked better.

By the way, there are some fun challenges on the Class Act blog on the first and last Fridays of each month. Come check them out - we'd love to have you play along with us!

I just got some great news from the owner of Creative Cuts and More:

"I am offering for the first time ever – free shipping on all domestic orders over $25.00. The coupon code is freeshipping0311 and is good for today and tomorrow."

How cool is that??? Now is the time to go shopping at Creative Cuts and More and stock up on your die cut milk cartons, purses, bags, boxes, window cards, and more. Remember some of these projects that I've done?







Have fun shopping at Creative Cuts and More!! :-)

Howdy! It's time for another Belli Challenge, and this time it's all about animals. I took a break from the Belli Challenge last month to focus on my guest designer spot for Gingersnap Creations, so now I'm back with an adorable little bunny bag for y'all!


Isn't that bunny just adorable? This is one of the two new stamps that was released on Sunday over at Heart Song Designs. This bunny's name is Theadore Tulip, and I can't decide if I like the bunny or the tulip best. LOL

I wanted to do a bright, fun, spring-y project with this bunny, so I colored a sky and some grass with Copic markers, and then I colored the tulip with some shimmery Creative Inspirations Paint (Buttercup). That gorgeous yellow paint just begged to be used again, so I sponged it all over a generic white bag that I picked up at a dollar store. You can see the shimmer on the bag and the tulip here:


This will be a fun gift bag to give away either for a birthday or for Easter or just to surprise a special someone. :-)

Come join us over at the Belli Challenge blog and see what the other Belli Girls have created. Pull out your animal stamps and share your artwork with us. Happy Spring!!


Stamps: Theadore Tulip digi (Heart Song Designs)
CS: Turquoise, White
Creative Inspirations Paint: Buttercup
Other: sponge, circle dies (Spellbinders), Copic markers, ribbons (Offray), white bag (dollar store)

I tried something different with this card several weeks ago. There is a paper lantern technique from Technique Junkies, and I wanted to see how this would look. I pulled out this Fennel Silhouette stamp from I Brake for Stamps and then tried the paper lantern technique on it. I rather like this neat effect!


Stamps: Fennel Silhouette stamp from I Brake for Stamps - use code SAVE10HOLLY to save 10% off your order
Ink: Artichoke, Kraft
CS: Artichoke, Kraft, Vanilla
Other: buttons, linen thread, distress tool, kraft tafetta ribbon, oval dies (Spellbinders)
Technique: Paper Lantern (Technique Junkies)