A Big Thank You!

Hello friends! Well it's school week this week....classes start on Thursday for me!  WOW how the last 3 weeks have flown by....how I wish vacation could be a little bit longer!  At least this weekend (in the US) is a holiday weekend so I will have Monday off of classes...Yippy!  I don't have a card to show you today, but have some fun news to share with you! 

**SHOPPING ALERT** Susana of SCACD has gotten some NEW stamps in....Pergamano Stamps, which you can find -->HERE<--!  I picked up some of these at CHA and have finally inked them up...now to color them and then I will be able to share some cute fairies with you! Seriously these stamps are sooooo adorable!!!!  Go and check them out!!!

Ok, I have to apologize as I'm a little late in posting a lovely blog award that I received from my fabulous Mommy (Mary Lou)!  I am so touched...thanks so much Mom!!! Here's the award:

There are a few rules that go along with this blog award:

1. Thank the person who sent you this award.

Thanks Mom...You are the BEST!!!  You really have brightened my day and make my blogging so worth while, thanks for all of the sweet words you always leave for me!!!

2. Post the award on your blog.

CHECK!  :)

3. List three things about yourself:

• I love my family, and love to help them out whenever I can!
• I love would craft every day if I had time!
• I absolutely adore my hubby, Brent, and thank him for being supportive while I am in school!

4. Post a picture you love.

Here's my Mom, my Sister, and me...these two truly are my best friends!

Here's me and my hubby!


5. Pass this award on to five friends.
It's so hard to pick only 5 so I am sending this to ALL of my wonderful blog readers as you are all the inspiration and with your encouragement you keep me going! :)

**BLOG CANDY ALERT**  My Mom currently has some FANTASTIC Blog Candy...so go and check out her post -->HERE<--!! There's also a link in my sidebar!

♥ Thanks for stopping by! ♥ 

Stamps and Smiles Blog Hop

Welcome to the

Stamps and Smiles

August Release

Blog Hop

I hope you have enjoyed the samples of all the sets this week....I had a lot of fun creating them to share with you...and can't wait to create more projects....as the ideas are floating through my head...there are so many uses for these stamp sets!  

I hope you are having fun along the blog hop!!!  If you are here from Jennifer's blog then you are in the right stop and hopefully are adding all the amounts in the piggy banks as you go along.  If you happened to drop in, please head to the Stamps and Smiles Blog to start at the beginning on the hop...there are fun prizes to be won!  Now onto my piggy bank: 

Oooo that's almost enough to buy a new stamp set from Stamps and Smiles!!! :)  Yippy!!!

Now let's get onto my fun Blog Hop project...seeing how we are thinking piggies I thought I would share the lovely piggy bank set that I created.

I've used both of the Money Pig #1 and Money Pig #2 stamp sets for this fun project!  This set is a handmade piggy bank along with a matching card.  Papers are from the Basic Grey Oliver Collection. 

Here is the card using Money Pig #1.  Yesterday I have created a "Girl" version of this card....here is the Boy version using the stamp set! :)  Aren't those coins adorable too...those come in the stamp set!  Awesome or what?!  I love this sets to pieces!!!  I know you probably are sick of hearing me say that all week!  hee hee!

Piggy was colored with Copics and accented with a white gel pen!

And here are the coins again...they also were colored with Copics.

Now for my favorite project of this release....as soon as I saw these piggy stamp sets I knew I wanted to make a piggy bank!  Well I found an old plastic Prima jar and went to town. 

Here you can see the front, I left the lid so that it can still screw off so that the piggy bank owner can get to his/her money!

I used my craft knife to cut a slot in the top....see the money really will go in there....hee hee....I'm go giddy because this turned out exactly as I had it pictured in my head! :)

There's the money in there.  As you can see there is a red strip attached to the botton of the jar...that is a piece of cardboard covered by cardstock....it is so that the jar won't roll away.

And here's how you get your money out of the piggy bank! :)  I've hope you have enjoyed your stop here during our Blog Hop!  Now your next stop is over to Patricia's blog!

In case you get lost...here is the order of the stops:

Cindy B

Jennifer M

Jennifer S

Kim G (YOU ARE HERE)

Patricia

Rose F

Rose M

Sue

♥ Thanks for stopping by & Happy Hopping! ♥

Today's THE Day!!!

**This is my 2nd post today so make sure you scroll down to see the Stamps and Smiles Day 5 Preview Post**

After seeing sneak peeks all week from me and my DT Sister's over at SCACD are you totally in LOVE with the new Elisabeth Bell Collection for SCACD and ready to go and get your very own Animapeeps Collection?  They are on sale TODAY and you can find them -->HERE<--!!

While you are over at SCACD make sure you check out all the amazing NEW products that Susana has recently gotten in....they include:
     *New Spellbinders
    * New 6x6 paper collections (including Kaisercraft, 7 Gypsies, Prima, SEI, and Memory Box)
    * New Crafter's Workshop Stencils
    * TonerTex (make sure you CHECK THIS OUT....this tool rocks...I can't wait to get mine!)

♥ Thanks for stopping by and Happy Shopping! ♥

Stamps and Smiles Release - Day 5

Welcome back SAS Friends!! We are on the last day of our Stamps and Smiles samples and giveaways for the NEW stamp release!! Thank you all for stopping by during this fun week...I hope you have enjoyed the samples!  Make sure you stop back tonight from 8 - 9 pm CST for our Blog Hop - One lucky winner will win 5 sets from the NEW stamp release.
 
Now for the last two stamp sets to be previewed!  They are....Little One & Bundle of Joy. All 10 stamp sets will be released TONIGHT after our Blog Hop at 9 pm CST at the Stamps and Smiles store.

Here is my sample using the Little One stamp set!  Papers are from K&Company.

Image has been colored with Copics .   I've taken Star Dust Stickles and accented the moon, cloud, and stars!

I went for the champagne pink look, again with the flowers.  Flowers consist of Curly Wild Rose, 15mm roses, 10mm roses, and Clear Crystal Stems.

Little One has been surrounded by White Flock to give the cloud a nice soft feel.

I've also altered a black photo frame with this fun stamp set.  First I took white acrylic paint and covered the frame.  Then I took my TH Crackle Paint in Picket Fence and used it to distress the frame....love the antique look the crackle paint gives.

Some more Copic coloring done on this image too! :)

Here you can see the sentiment from the set and a close up of the crackle/distressed look.  I hope you've enjoyed this fun project!

Now here are the stamp sets:

**Make sure you set your alarm for the Blog Hop tonight!  It's going to be LOADS of fun...I promise....and I have a special project to share with you!!  8-9pm CST!**

♥ Thanks for stopping by! ♥

Stamps and Smiles Release - Day 4

Hello everyone.....WOW we are already on day 4 of our BRAND NEW STAMP RELEASE by Stamps and Smiles. So far we have revealed 8 NEW stamp sets, and tomorrow will be our last day of samples and the reveal of 10 NEW sets - WOO HOO!!!  Want more fun and a chance to win more FREE stamps??? Join us tomorrow night for our Blog Hop from 8 - 9 pm CST.  Everyone is invited, AND one lucky winner will win 5 FREE stamp sets from the NEW release.  Now that should make you want to come and have some fun!!!


Today I'm on a mini vacation before my classes start next week!  Hubby is taking me to the Milwaukee Zoo...it's about a 2 1/2 hour trip....we are also going to hit the outlet mall close buy and then stay over night somewhere.  A nice little get away!


Now let's check out the two new sets of stamps for today.....we have Money Pig #1 and Money Pig #2.

This first sample features Money Pig #1....I decided to turn it into a girl buy using the bow from a stamp set that will be revealed tomorrow (oooo a secret...aren't you excited to see what it will be?!)  Then I took my Copic multiliner and drew some extended eyelashes on Miss. Money Piggy to add extra girliness!  Went for the distressed vintage look again...sorry I just can't help myself...especially with having the Distress-It-All makes it soooo easy!  Papers are from the Basic Grey Olivia Collection.  Guipure Lace is from the wonderful Wild Orchid Crafts.  Corners have been accented with my Viva Decor Ice White Pearl Pen.

Miss. Money Pig was colored with Copics and accented with a white gel pen.  She's been popped up onto an oval nestie that has been airbrushed with my Copic ABS and then placed on a scalloped oval nestie.  The scallops were accented with my Viva Decor Glitter Liner in Hologram.

Flowers are from WOC and consist of Classic Sweet Rose, two 30mm Wild Roses, 15mm Roses (that started as white and were airbrushed to match the dark blue paper), Aster Daisy, 5mm closed rosebuds (that were also airbrushed).  All flowers (of course *wink*) were glitzed with star dust stickles.

Here you can see all the shimmer and glitz.  Star Dust Stickles was added to Miss. Piggy's bow and collar.

Now onto Money Pig #2....I did a girl and a boy version of this stamp set.  First we will start with the boy card:

Isn't this piggy so cute?  I love these stamp sets!!!  (Oh, did I already say that...hee hee)  I've used the sketch from MMSC68 for this card.  Papers are from the Basic Grey Oliver Collection.

This little piggy has been colored with Copics and accented with a white gel pen (naturally)!  Piggy has been popped up onto a Nellie die, which has been stamped with the 5 cent stamp from the stamp set in Hero Arts Shadow Ink...it's very faint on the kraft cardstock.  Then that die is on a Big Scallop Circle nestie.  My Viva Decor Graphite Gloss Pen was used to add the little pearls along the right side of the die.

To get the nickles to stay within the ribbon I laid my nickels where I wanted them and then poked holes into the paper with my paper piercer.  Then I wove ribbon through the holes to hold the money on the card....it's almost like magic! :)

Here you can see the dimension of the card.

Now for the Girl version of the same stamp set:

I love how you just add a bow and you can make this card for a girl...so versatile!  Papers are from the DCWV Linen Closet Collection.

Miss. Piggy was colored like the rest of the cards.  She's been popped up onto a Nellie die.

Flowers and Pearls are from Wild Orchid!  All flowers have started as white and were airbrushed...on the teal ones I have also used a brown to make them more vintage.  Arrangement consists of a 35mm Wild Rose, 20mm roses, 15mm roses, 10mm roses, and an aster daisy.  Pearls have been placed in corners of card, on corner flourish and on flowers....they are 5mm and 3mm Brown Pearls.

Second flower arrangement!  All flowers have been painted with Illuminate Smooch....first time I put this one flowers and I have to say I LOVE the look it gives!!!

Hopefully from this angle you can see the flowers decked out in the smooch.  It also has been applied to Miss. Piggy's bow and collar! :)  Hope you have enjoyed my piggies!!!

Here are the full version of the stamp sets:

***DON'T FORGET....Today's the last day to sign up to win the Elisabeth Bell candy over at SCACD!  Click -->HERE<-- to go and enter....plus don't forget to check out the sneak peeks over there!!!***

♥ Thanks for stopping by! ♥

WOJ #86 - Jane's Sketch

**WOW...I sure have a busy blog this week....another double post day today please scroll down for my Stamps and Smiles New Release Day 3 Preview post!  There is a FREE DIGI IMAGE available so make sure you check out that post!!!**

 
Hi Whiff of Joy Friends!  How are you all doing this lovely Wednesday...wow another two weeks have come and gone...where does the time go?!  Before I know it I will be back in classes....NOOOO can't I stay and craft all day? hee hee!

Before we get to this fortnight's challenge we have some sad DT news over at the WOJ Challenge Blog. Unfortunately, both our beloved team members, Donalda and Jacqui, have decided to step down from their positions with the team. You both are going to be missed extremely!  You both have been a HUGE inspiration to me and got me to where I am today and are such amazing friends!!!  Thanks so much to both of you!!!

Now onto our new challenge which is a sketch by our beloved Jane!  This week you have a chance to win a gift certificate of $25 to Simon Says Stamp thanks to Heidi!

Here's my take on Jane's Sketch....sorry hun, I added a few more layers in there...my fingers wouldn't stop!

I've used Willow with Coffee to Go for my card.  I can't believe I haven't colored her until now...she's definitely one of my favorites...although I like to think she is drinking chai as that is my FAVORITE drink...have to have me a cup every day...sometimes two!  (*Wink* to my friends Jennifer and Jennifer....at CHA I got them hooked on Tazo Chai too!!!  Love you two!) For my card, I went again with a vintage feel...I am really liking the vintage/shabby chic look!  Papers are from the Basic Grey Green at Heart Collection and have all been distressed with TH Tea Dye ink.  My Distress-It-All was used to distress the edges of the dp!  Love that thing makes distressing sooooo easy...although my hubby says "Gee that's a loud tool you got there!"  Like his tools in the garage aren't loud!  Geesh!

Here's Jane's Sketch.  As you can tell I did go a bit askew by throwing in a few more elements and swapping the Circle for an Oval.

Willow was colored with Copics and accented with a white gel pen.  I've added Diamond Glaze to her sunglasses for the gloss look.  My Viva Decor Rose Paper Pen was used to create the pearls on her bracelet.  Image was cut out with my SB Mega Ovals and popped up on a SB Mega Scalloped Oval.  3mm Spice self-adhesive pearls (from Wild Orchid Crafts) were used to accent my scalloped oval.  To finish off the image I used my stampabilities stamp to create the border around Miss. Willow.  For the heart....I took an already pink dolie heart and spritz it first with Cotton Candy Shimmerz Spritz (that's 25%off -->HERE<--) and after that dried I then spritzed it with Tattered Angels Bronze Glimmer Mist for more of an antique feel.

Of course we can't make a card without using some amazing Wild Orchid Craft flowers! :)  I went with the two tone champagne-pink look for this flower arrangement and used a flat Gardenia, two 30mm Wild Roses, and two 15mm roses.

Now make sure you head over to the WOJ Challenge to see what the other DT members have made! :)

Recipe:
Stamps:  Willow with Coffee to Go (WOJ), Whimsical Words (SU), Flourish (Stampabilities)
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Memento Rich Cocoa, Copics, White Gel Pen, TH Distrees Ink in Tea Dye
Copic Colors Used: Skin: E000, E00, E11, E21, R02, R11; Hair: E39, E99, YR24, Y23; Shoes: N2, N5, N7; Cup: E30, E31; Dress & Purse: R00, R11, R21, R22; Shadow: W3
Papers:  Basic Grey Green at Heart
Tools: Spellbinders - Mega Oval and Mega Scallop Oval, Labels 4, Large Scallop Edge Die (MFT), Nellie Corner Die,
Embellishments: flat Gardenia, 30mm Wild Roses, 15mm roses, 3mm Spice self-adhesive pearls, (Wild Orchid Crafts), Diamond Glaze, Viva Decor Rose Paper Pen, Cotton Candy Shimmerz Spritz, Tattered Angels Bronze Glimmer Mist, heart dolie.

♥ Thanks for stopping by! ♥

Stamps and Smiles Release - Day 3

Hello SAS Friends!! Thanks for stopping by!  If this is the first time you are stopping by, we are on day 3 of our stamp release. We have 10 BRAND NEW STAMP SETS, with 2 NEW sets being revealed each day this week!

So are you ready for Day 3 previews?  I absolutely love all of the new sets but these two sets today are near and dear as I am a total flower girl....even though I can't grow or keep flowers alive to save my life...but I love how beautiful they are!  Today we are sharing Martha Flower Set and Rose Flower Set!

First I will share my sample of Martha with you:

This card was made with the help of a VERY SPECIAL Girl!  During CHA, I got to stay with Jennifer (the owner of Stamps and Smiles) and her family (thanks again hun!!!)....and while I was there we of course had crafty time.....Jennifer's daughter Hannah helped me create this card!  I had her pick the colors she wanted me to use...she wanted PINK, ORANGE, and YELLOW!  So that's the story behind this card and how I ended up with a very colorful Martha...and I have to say I LOVE the color combo!!!!  Thanks so much Hannah for the wonderful help hun...you are the BEST!!!  Papers are from the Cosmo Cricket DeLovely collection.  Corners were accented with my Viva Decor Ice White Pearl Pen.

Martha was colored with Copics and accented with a white gel pen!  She was cut out with a SB circle and layered on a SB scalloped circle.  Diamond Stickles was added to the main flower on Martha.

These flowers were made using the scalloped circle punch and then accented with more Diamond Stickles!  On the orange flower I used only cardstock, and on the pink flower I used a mix of cardstock and dp.

Here you can see the 3D of the orange flower and Martha's hair that has been popped up.  Diamond Glaze was added to Martha's eyes for some shine.

Here is Miss. Hannah....isn't she the cutest!!!  I surprised Hannah and when we were done and told her she could keep Martha. :)  She was all excited and I was so happy she liked it!

Now onto the Rose Flower Set:

For this set I decided to make a sweet gift set.  Don't you just love the sweet basket?  (Thanks to my dear friend Suzanne for her inspiration!!  I adore this girl!!!)  Papers are from MME Home Collection.

Here you can see the card closer.  The pendant that Rose was popped up on is a felt pendant that I got on one of my trips to Michaels.  I saw it sitting in my supply bin and thought that it would make an awesome background for this beautiful flower girl!

Miss. Rose was colored with Copics and accented with a white gel pen.  Then I took Glamour Dust and and edged the petals for lots of sparkle!

Flowers are Primas consisting of Pink Mini Roses and Hydrangeas.

From this angle you can see the sparkle of the Glamour Dust and the Diamond Glaze that's one Rose's eyes.

Then we have this cute basket.  This was made using the same flower stamp sets!  I love all the sentiments that you get with these sets....you can use the flower girls for any type of card!

The top view.

Yep, the basket opens for you to put goodies or a gift card in for someone!  I hope you have enjoyed my samples with today's fun new flower sets!

Here you can see the full stamp sets:

Don't forget about the Stamps and Smiles Blog Hop this Friday, August 27th from 8 pm – 9 pm CST!  Now hop over to the Stamps and Smiles Blog so you can see what my fellow DT members have made with these adorable sets!  AND...Jennifer has a BRAND NEW Daffodil Flower Digi FREE for you today...so now you REALLY have to get over to the SAS Blog NOW! :)  Hurry because this digi is ONLY available for a SHORT TIME!!!!

Martha Card:
Copic Colors Used: E000, E00, E11, E21, Y04, Y06, Y08, W3, YR00, YR12, YR15, YR16, R02, YG00, YG03, YG06, G07, RV02, RV04, RV06, RV09, RV14

Rose Card:
Copic Colors Used: E000, E00, E11, E21, E99, G03, G14, G19, W3, RV23, RV25, RV29, R02, R11, YR00, YR24, Y21

♥ Thanks for stopping by! ♥