Color Throwdown #62 with Looby Lou

The Color Throwdown is being sponsored this week by Digital Delights by Louby Loo and is being hosted by Broni! She chose this beautiful color combo for us to try today! I had my doubts about, but you really must give it a try! It's gorgeous!

Each of the Throwdown team members was given some digital images from Louby Loo to use for today's challenge, so I chose to use this Pumpkin Girl, and colored her with my Prismacolor pencils and OMS.
Check out what my Throwdown sisters have created today, too!

Broni * Cathy * Barbara

Danielle * LeAnne * Kristin

I hope you'll make time for the challenge today! Stop by the Throwdown blog for details about a prize from Louby Loo for one lucky winner, and how to be in the running to be our December Guest Designer!

Stamps: pumpkin girl (digital image by Louby Loo), sentiment (Impression Obsession)

Cardstock: gray (Core'dinations), Rich Razzleberry, Really Rust, Old Olive (Stampin' Up!), white (Neenah)

Inks: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)

Accessories: ribbon (Creative Impressions), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Cuttlebug Pumpkin Harvest embossing folder (ProvoCraft), button, linen thread, Prismacolor pencils, OMS.

Rubbernecker Halloween!

The newest Rubbernecker Red Hot Momma has been turned loose with her new stamps! The fabulous new Halloween stamps from RN were in my mailbox on Monday, so I just had to get busy with a few designs on Monday night! I probably could have gone to bed a lot sooner though, if I hadn't taken the time to cut them all out before stamping! I don't know what it is, but I am compelled to cut out all new, unmounted stamps before I can use any of them! Call me crazy.... I have to do it!

Don't you just LOVE this little dragon boy? He can't help it he's so cute, so give him LOTS of candy, OK? I started coloring him, intending to match the purple in the Bo Bunny paper I used, instead of a traditional green that I usually think of for a dragon. After awhile I started to realize he's kind of Barney-purple, isn't he? LOL

Of course, Barney had green spots on him (oh, how well I remember a certain now-17 year old daughter watching Barney over, and over, and over!) and my dragon has sparkly spots, compliments of my purple Spica glitter pen!
And another card using some new Halloween papers from My Mind's Eye! I love the rustic-ness of these papers! I stamped the witch twice with Versafine Onyx Black ink, and clear embossed each one, then cut one out to mount up on foam tape. Lots of sponging on this one with Vintage Photo ink to add to the rustic-feel!
And we have a winner from the Rubbernecker blog stroll that was held last Friday! "sewgirl" please be sure to check out this post to claim your prize... a Halloween set of your choice! Woo hoo!

Stay tuned! I'm SO in love with these new stamp sets, so there will definitely be more to come!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a fabulous day!

Dragon Boy

Stamps: dragon boy (Halloween set 3 from Rubbernecker)

Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie (Stampin' Up!), white (Neenah), designer paper (Bo Bunny)Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), markers (Copic)Accessories: ribbon (Creative Impressions), crystal swirl (Prima), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), button (Bo Bunny).

Flying By

Stamps: witch, sentiment (Halloween set 1 from Rubbernecker)

Cardstock: Kraft, Black OP (Bazzill), designer paper (My Mind's Eye)Inks: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukinkeo), Vintage Photo distress ink (Ranger)Accessories: oval punch (Stampin' Up!), clear EP, black brads, ribbon (craft supply).

Hope Stamps Eternal - Halloween Blog Hop!

The Hope Stamps Eternal Sweeties are ready to haunt you today with a Halloween Blog Hop featuring some of the great new products you can get in the Hope Stamps Eternal store to get your cardmaking in gear for Halloween!

If you didn't arrive here from Rachel's blog, you'll want to go back there and start at the beginning and believe me, it's worth the effort because we have some surprises for you! First of all, there is a Secret Sweet Stop somewhere along the way, so think of it like trick-or-treat commenting! You'll need to knock, and comment at each blog and one lucky winner from all those that do will win some sweet Halloween (Blog) Candy! Also, you will be wanting to look for a letter that is highlighted at each blog! Be sure you go in order, find all those hidden letters, and this will spell out a promo code giving you 25% off everything at the Hope Stamps Eternal store through Sunday, September 27th! Yes, everything! Including new and clearance items (but sorry, not on pre-orders!) Enter that promo code in ALL CAPS in order to get the 25% discount at the checkout!

Now, on to my creations! First up is this scary black cat card I created to spook someone! And no, you're not seeing double! I used Mercy's Sketch challenge again for this card because I love it so much and it's a GREAT sketch for showcasing these amazing Eerie papers from Basic Grey! I love, love, LOVE the colors in these papers! My scaredy cat comes from Inkadinkado, and is stamped in Versafine Onyx Black, then embossed with clear embossing powder. The Moroccan Screen Cuttlebug folder I used and the Zva crystal flowers are available at the HSE store, as well as the Basic Grey paper and Inkadinkado stamps!

On the inside I stamped the sentiment from this stamp set, and embellished with a Martha Stewart punched border, also available at the HSE store!
For this second card, I've continued using the Eerie paper along with some Zva Flourishes in Jet Black. My mummy teddy bear stamp is an oldie but goodie that I got a few years ago from Serendipity Stamps! (I'm a sucker for cute mummy stamps!) I used yesterday's sketch challenge from SCS for the layout, too!
For the inside of the card, I stayed simple with another Martha Stewart punched border, and Accented some of the dots with Crystal Stickles from Ranger.
So I hope you like my Eerie-inspired creations and will take the time to do some shopping at the HSE store! Rachel has so many awesome products available, you'll surely find a ton of things you "need!"

Now, hop on over to Jessica's blog for the next stop, don't forget to do a little trick-or-treat commenting while you're there, and I thank you very much for stopping by my blog today!

Scaredy Cat

Stamps: cat, sentiment (Inkadinkado)Cardstock: Kraft, Vintage Violet (Stampin' Up!), black OP (Bazzill), orange (WorldWin Double-Mates), designer paper (Eerie by Basic Grey)Inks: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko), Black Soot distress ink (Ranger)Accessories: crystal flowers (Zva), ribbon (Creative Impressions), Cuttlebug embossing folder (ProvoCraft), border punch (Martha Stewart).

Mummy Bear

Stamps: mummy bear (Serendipity)Cardstock: black/white duplex (The Paper Cut), lavendar (Prism), orange (WorldWin Double-Mates), designer paper (Eerie by Basic Grey)Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), Black Soot distress ink (Ranger)Accessories: crystals (Zva), ribbon (Stampin' Up!), Stickles (Ranger), border punch (Martha Stewart).

Cupcake Inspiration #26

It's time for another Cupcake Inspiration Challenge, and this week Rachel has found these beautiful cupcakes to inspire you! Don't those flowers look just like the giant chrysanthemums we wore to the Homecoming dances way back when?? It's hard to believe that's frosting and not actual flowers, isn't it? They're way too pretty to eat, that's for sure!

My daughter just came home from her Homecoming dance earlier this evening! She looked so beautiful and had a fabulous time! I was working, so I don't have any pictures unfortunately, but hopefully some of her friends will get them on Facebook soon so I can see!

I chose a few elements from this photo as my inspiration... the color (gotta' love my orange!) and the beautiful edging on the china plate. And seeing as how these are flower-topped cupcakes, I went with a flower-topped pumpkin for my design, using Tracy's beautiful new stamp set from The Petal Press called Happy Harvest.
The designer paper I used is from the June Bug collection by Basic Grey, and I paired it with my fave of late, kraft cardstock. I pulled out my often neglected Prismacolor pencils and some OMS to color my pumpkin and flowers. What fun that was... it's been a long time! I really love blending the different pencils to get the desired shading and colors! I also realize how spoiled I am with the amount of Copic colors I have compared to Prismacolor! I definitely need some more pencils!

I also used the Weekend Sketch challenge #99 for my layout. My card meaures 3 1/2" by 6 1/4".
Check out the fabulous designs from the other Hope Stamps Sweeties, and play along with us! You'll find all the details at Rachel's blog!

Rachel * Bonnie * Carolina * Jessica

Kelli * Colleen * Natalie * Michelle

Don't forget that the big sale is still going on through today at Hope Stamps Eternal! Follow all the stops in order on our Halloween blog hop to pick up a discount code, giving you 25% off everything in the store! And one lucky winner from all the comments will win the Halloween (Blog) Candy!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you're having a fabulous weekend!

Stamps: Happy Harvest (The Petal Press)

Cardstock: Kraft, Festive (Bazzill), designer paper (June Bug by Basic Grey), cream (Neenah)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), Vintage Photo distress ink (Ranger)

Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinders), felt flower (Zva), Moroccan Screen embossing folder (ProvoCraft), scallop dot border punch (Martha Stewart), ribbon (Creative Impressions), Prismacolor pencils, OMS.

Rubbernecker Autumn Blog Stroll

(Be sure not to miss the Hope Stamps Eternal

Halloween Blog Hop here!)

Welcome Autumn! If any of you shop regulary at the Rubbernecker Stamps store, you would know that Mr. Rubbernecker has been bringing in some new sets filled with fun! So to celebrate, let's stroll with the Rubbernecker Red Hot Momma's! Oh, and by the way.... I'm a guest Red Hot Momma on the Rubbernecker team! Woo hoo! I am SO excited to be joining the fabulously talented ladies on this team and have the chance to show you some of the newest designs, and fun, fabulous selection of stamps available at Rubbernecker!

Here's the scoop on how this stroll will work... We're giving away your choice of one of the three new Halloween sets shown here! How do you qualify for a chance to win? Just leave a comment at each blog along the stroll, including the Rubbernecker blog! The winner will be randomly chosen from all the comments left! The stroll is open until Monday, September 28th at noon. The winner will be announced later that day on the RN blog.

Are you ready to stroll? This is very easy.... just visit the blogs of the Red Hot Momma's listed below, enjoy the inspiration, leave a comment at each stop and you might be the lucky winner of your choice of one of the three new stamp sets! Here are your stops along the stroll...

Broni * Candy * Joan * Juliana

Kittie * Bev * RN Blog

So here is my card for this stroll! You'll most likely see most of the other team members using the new release Halloween stamps along the way, but I am anxiously waiting for them to arrive! So instead, I pulled out my Laundry Days stamps to use today and made my washing machine that awesome, retro-color... Harvest Gold (in keeping with the Autumn-theme!) I just love this stamp, because I can so see this exact same scenario with my ornery cat!

I took a dozen photos of the door on the washer so you could see the Glossy Accents I put over it, but the camera just wasn't cooperating tonight! Perhaps you can see it just a little bit?
So I hope you like my contribution today to the Red Hot Momma Stroll, and I hope that you'll share my excitement at getting to join this team! The Momma's have warmly welcomed me into their group, and I'm so happy for the chance to get to know them all better!

Don't forget that today is also Stamp Simply day over at Sharon Johnson's blog! I am sitting out the challenge today, but I know that Sharon and the girls have some great inspiration for you today!

Stamps: Washing Machine #82-18, sentiment #82-17 (Rubbernecker Stamps)

Cardstock: Always Artichoke, More Mustard, Certainly Celery (Stampin' Up!), white (Neenah), designer paper (Bo Bunny)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko), markers (Copic)

Accessories: Glossy Accents (Ranger), Distressed Stripes Cuttlebug embossing folder (ProvoCraft), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), ribbon (craft supply).

Color Throwdown #61 with Gina K Designs

Welcome to another Color Throwdown! This week I am the hostess and I have chosen five colors for you to "handle!" You can use all five, or just select whatever you want from this combination! And remember, the Stampin' Up! color names are only meant as a guide. If you don't have these, just use whatever you have that is similar. Remember to place a direct link to your creation with Mr. Linky on the Throwdown blog and maybe you'll be chosen as the Featured Stamper, a Top 3 Finalist, or the lucky winner of the prize this week, being offered by Gina K Designs!

For my card, I turned to my new A Year of Leaves stamp set by Melanie Muenchinger. I just love these leaves! I stamped the leaves with Old Olive, Rose Red and More Mustard ink, then just did a light colorwash over each leaf with the ink and an aquapainter. Then I stippled the cardstock with some ink from my Chocolate Chip marker and my good ole' color spritzer tool!

The layout for my card comes from Mercy's Tuesday Sketch #40 for this week!
The inside... can't forget that!
Check out these Gina K creations from the other Throwdown babes...

Broni * Cathy * Barbara

Danielle * Kristin * LeAnne

Thanks a bunch for stopping by! I appreciate your visits and comments!!! :)

Stamps: A Year of Leaves (Melanie Muenchinger for Gina K Designs)
Cardstock: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Old Olive, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip, Confetti Cream (Stampin' Up!)

Inks: Rose Red, More Mustard, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!)

Accessories: Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder (ProvoCraft), ribbon (Creative Impressions), scalloped border punch (Martha Stewart available at Hope Stamps Eternal).

Happy Birthday, Kaylie! - Paper Craft Planet 3-D Tuesday

Hello everyone! My precious daughter Kaylie turned 17 yesterday, and I'm still reeling.... where did the years go??? It gets harder and harder to comprehend every year! LOL Since we were celebrating here in our house, I thought I'd make a cupcake box for Kaylie and share it with you today for the Paper Craft Planet 3-D Tuesday challenge! You can check out all the details for the challenge by visiting the group forum at the Planet!

This cupcake box is an original design by Valerie Stangle, and since Val already does an awesome job of creating tutorials for her great projects, I'm not going to attempt to top her! Please just visit her blog for the instructions and I know you'll have no problem creating this! And hey... now you have a reason to visit the bakery! You will need a cupcake to complete this project!

Here's my whole box, using double-sided paper from Kaiser Craft. For the lid, I cut a separate piece to have the contrast of the solid color on the edges.
Here's a little peek through the acetate window at the cupcake tucked inside. I boo-boo'd though... the bakery girl just dropped the cupcake into a bag when I bought it and I didn't take very good care of it. It's a little smooshed, but Kaylie said that didn't affect the chocolate yumminess of it!
I would love it if you'd give this a try, and post your creation in the gallery at Paper Craft Planet! Please tag your creation with 3d30 so I can find it and pull it into an album!

One other special treat I did for Kaylie yesterday was to alter an old Mentos gum container! I slipped this into her purse right before she left for school as a little surprise!
Inside were these sweet Jack-o-Lantern gumballs I found at the bulk food store!

And here's my "baby" with her birthday cheesecake, ready to blow out all 17 candles!

Thanks a million for stopping by today! Have a great Tuesday!

Cupcake Box

Stamps: Birthday Wishes Borders & Centers (JustRite Stampers)

Paper: Kaiser Craft

Inks: Memento Rose Bud, Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Scor-Pal, ribbon.

Gum container

Stamps: Tiny Words Borders & Centers, 1 3/16" Damask (JustRite Stampers)

Paper: Kaiser Craft

Ink: Memento Rose Bud (Tsukineko)Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinders), glitter (Great Impressions), button, ribbon.

Stamping Around Philly!

Hey everyone! If you're not doing anything the weekend of November 6th and 7th, and you live near the Philadelphia area, why not join me for a fun time of stamping at Stamping Around Philly? This event will actually be held at a beautiful bed and breakfast in the Lehigh Valley outside of Allentown. The weekend promises to be a ton of fun with 5 stamping classes being taught by some rockin' teacher including my former Kitchen Sink teammates Julie Masse and Becky Oehlers, the super-talented Charmaine Ikach, the fun-loving Kathi Rerek, and oh.... did I forget to mention? ME! I'll be teaching a class there too, and I'd love to see YOU there! Julie's class plans include using Kitchen Sink Stamps, Becky's class will be sponsored by Papertey Ink, Charmaine will be using fun stamps from Taylored Expressions, and the sponsor for Kathi's class is Bombshell Stamps. And my tentative plans are for a class using JustRite Stampers for some great holiday ideas!

I'm doubly-excited about this event because my wonderful stamping friend LeAnne Pugliese will be there and we're going to meet in real life for the first time after years of blogging, stamping and online chatting! Woo hoo! How many sleeps 'til then, LeAnne?

So, how about it? Come and join me at Stamping Around Philly!!! It promises to be a great time!

Cupcake Inspiration #25

Who wants a cupcake??? OK, wait... that's too many hands! Perhaps I should ask who doesn't want a cupcake? Yep, it's unanimous.... everyone wants a cupcake! These here look pretty yummy, don't you think? And they're here to inspire you to stamp! So c'mon... join the Hope Stamps Eternal Sweeties for another Cupcake Inspiration challenge!

I went with the general Fall-theme of these cupcakes for my card, using the new (and scrummy!) Indian Summer paper from Basic Grey which you can get at Hope Stamps Eternal! And you can get the Zva felt flowers that Rachel carries too, which match this paper perfectly!

I also used Kim's Saturday Sketch challenge from Paper Craft Planet for the layout of my card. However, it was not until after I had my oval stamped, and cut out and glued, etc. that I realized I put my sentiment on the oval instead of at the bottom as the sketch specifies. So hopefully Kim will allow me a little liberty and not call the Challenge Police on me! LOL Play along if you have time... it's a great sketch!
See what the other Sweeties have created today too, for further inspiration! And leave a link to your creation at the Hope Stamps blog so we can see, too!

Rachel * Jessica * Kelli * Michelle

Carolina * Natalie * Colleen

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you're having a great weekend!

Stamps: Autumn Blessings Borders & Centers (JustRite Stampers)

Cardstock: Bravo Burgundy, Really Rust, Natural Ivory (Stampin' Up!), designer paper (Indian Summer by Basic Grey available at Hope Stamps Eternal)Ink: Versamagic Jumbo Java (Tsukineko)Accessories: felt flower (Zva available at HSE), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), ribbon (Stampin' Up!).

Joslyn's Fund

I wanted to quickly share something with you today! Look at this amazing pile of hand-stamped creations!

There is a family at my church with a little girl named Joslyn. Joslyn suffers from a chromosome disorder, and is the only person known to have this diagnosis in the United States. You can read more about Joslyn here, and about a benefit being held next Saturday to raise funds for Joslyn's care and this benefit includes a silent auction.

So I had an idea, and just about 3 weeks ago, I sent an email out to some of the most diva-licious stampers around and asked for their help in creating a gift basket full of stunning creations. And these stamping divas responded with incredible generosity, as you can see from the photo! My daughter Kelsey called me at work on the first day that packages started arriving wanting to know if it was National Send-Stuff-to-Tammy Day! Oh my word... each day felt like Christmas, to open these envelopes and packages and marvel over the amazing creations from some of the most talented ladies in the stamping world! I was totally blown away by the outpouring of support! I'm not sure yet how I'm going to have them displayed, as there are so many more than I anticipated, but I'll come up with something. These cards will be on their way to Grandpa's Cheese Barn where the auction will be held during the benefit next week. I hope there is a lot of money raised as a result (a sentiment echoed by many in the notes that were included with the cards and the emails I received!)

Many, many thanks to...

Dawn Lusk

Rose Ann Reynolds

Colleen Wold

Libby Hickson

Carolyn King

Erika Martin

Stephanie Severin

Kendra Wietstock

Jami Bova

Kate Baldwin

Susan Roberts

Kittie Caracciolo

Jen del Muro

LeAnne Pugliese

Adela Rossol

Sharon Johnson

Becky Carafa

Beate Johns

Christina Fischer

Lori Tecler

Tracy Harp

Barb Schram

Bonnie Sharp

Susanna Boyd

Julee Tillman

Jenny Gropp

Barbara Anders

Denise Marzec

Jodi Collins

Janine Orchard

Charlene Driggs

Maria Gurnsey

Kim Howard

Jerri Jimenez

Julie Koerber

Carolina Buchting

Jessica Colligan

Lisa Silver

Lynn McAuley

Cathy Indelicato

Danielle Kennedy

Kim Burmeister

Julie Masse

Charmaine Ikach

Valerie Stangle

Rachel Hope Baird

Forty-six stampers, and a whopping total of 175 cards and two 3-D projects!

Many, many blessings to all of you for being so generous and helping me with this project! Please keep Joslyn in your prayers, and prayers for good weather next Saturday during the benefit and a lot of money raised for Joslyn's Fund!

Have a great weekend!

Stamp Simply #105

TGIF! I am ready for the weekend! How about you?

Since it's Friday, that means Sharon Johnson has another great Stamp Simply challenge for you! The challenge today is CAS/BIO! What's that mean??? That means Clean and Simple, Black (or brown!) Ink Only! Can you handle it? No coloring allowed, and let the beauty of your papers and embellishments create the WOW factor!

Now, I will admit that as I made my card, the clean and simple part of the challenge kinda' flew out of my head! I honestly forgot about that part, so my card isn't too over the top, but I wouldn't call it clean and simple, either! Forgive me, and we'll trust that my Stamp Simply sisters have better inspiration to provide you with today!

I bought this sentiment stamp at a stamp store that I went to the with the Stamp Simply girls while in Shipshewana this past summer. I do not remember the name of the store, and I believe the owner made the stamps herself so unfortunately I can't tell you where it came from. This tree is from an Impression Obsession clear set, and my scrumptious gingham ribbon is from Sharon's ribbon store!

On the inside I stamped the tree again in second generation, then stamped the sentiment.
Stop by Sharon's blog for her beautiful sample and all the challenge details, then stop and see what my Stamp Simply sisters have created today to also inspire you!

Barbara Anders

Julie Koerber

AJ Otto

Jennifer Buck

Janine Orchard

Jenny Gropp

Deb Saaranen

Charlene Merrick, September Guest Designer

Also, don't forget... today is the second day of the JustRite Font Mega Blog Hop! There are still more awesome designs to see using so many of the font sets from JustRite and that mystery blog candy is still up for grabs! Stop by the JustRite blog for the list of all the designers in the hop today!

Thanks for keeping up with me this week! I know it's been crazy/busy around my blog, and I appreciate your visits and comments! Stop by on Saturday if you have time... I have an incredibly special project to share with you!

Stamps: Branches of a Tree (Impression Obsession), Psalm 46:10 (unknown), With Sympathy (Hero Arts)

Cardstock: Black OP (Bazzill), Natural Ivory, Kraft (Stampin' Up!), green (Core'dinations)

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)Accessories: gingham (May Arts from Sharon's ribbon store), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), clear embossing powder (Ranger), Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder (ProvoCraft), concave corner punch (EK Success).