Welcome!

Welcome to my blog. Over the years that I have been stamping and paper crafting, I have so often been inspired by the ideas on other sites and blogs. I hope I can pay that back in some measure with my own. (In between laughs -- or cackles as my son calls it!)

April 29, 2012

Girl Talk and Hearts

Don't you just love these new Humphrey stamps? They are so much fun. Today I am using the "Girl Talk" set from this line.

Because of the image size, especially after I added the greeting, I decided to do a 5.5 inch square card, which I don't do too often.  But it worked out great for this image.

I colored the image with my Spectrum Noir alcohol markers (of course!) and then layered it on black. Note the grey shading around the whole image.  I have been using color IG1 for shading and like the results. Here are the rest of the marker colors I used. The markers that you can't see the labels for are IG1 and IG2, and the blender.

The matted image was layered on a mix of designer papers from my stash -- polka dot yellow and gingham red - to pick up the colors in the dresses.  I love the cheery look that the bright primary colors give. This was layered on black for cohesiveness.  I added a white ribbon and a narrower blue polka dot ribbon.  Then it was mounted on a white card base.

The final touch was to add two glittery red hearts in the upper right. I started with red card stock, and covered the whole surface with Versamark ink.  I then used tinsel red embossing powder and my heat gun.  Once I had a shiny, glittery sheet, I punched two hearts and popped one up with a dimensional.  By going over the edge of the black mat, you visually tie the different elements of the card together.

April 23, 2012

Blog Hop winner (my site)

The winner of the give-away on my site, by random number generator, is Emily H. 

Emily, please email me your shipping address so I can send you the Cute Companions Romance set and other goodies.  Email me at stampinmarge@yahoo.com

Congrats!

April 22, 2012

Tool Bookmark

Today I have a bookmark using sneak peek from the new Stamp It release from Crafter's Companion.

The original stamp had the tools in a diamond shape, surrounding the words 'Happy Father's Day'.  Sadly, my father has passed on, so the greeting wasn't appropriate, but I still wanted to use the images to make a masculine bookmark for my son Tom, who is an avid reader.

So, I simply colored them with my Spectrum Noir markers and cut them out!   These tool images are crisp and open, and lend themselves to coloring.

I used some paper from my stash that had a tone-on-tone gears design, rounded the edges with my corner punch, and layered it on grey card stock, also rounding the corners. Then I simply adhered the tools in a vertical fashion.  I snipped through the scissor blades to position the paint brush handle through it.

I added some alpha circles at the top to spell "READ".

The final touch was to use my 1/4 inch circle punch to punch the ribbon hole at the center top. I selected various ribbons from my stash - a very broad grosgrain red, a measuring-tape twill, and a thin seam binding to tie it and to thread some beads through.


Here are the marker colors I used.  Fun and functional, I think he'll like it!



 






April 20, 2012

Scavenger Hunt Blog Hop

Blog Hop Badge
Welcome to the Crafter's Companion Scavenger Hunt Blog Hop!

I'm so happy you hopped by today - if you got to me, I'm your twelfth stop and you are almost done hopping with your tired fingers. (If you haven't started the blog hop yet, see below for the order.)

Before you finish the blog hop, I wanted to share the project I made for you today. It is a 5.5 inch square card using an image from Sheena Douglass' "Busy Doing Nothing" set. I dusted off my colored pencils for this one, they have been sorely neglected lately. The card assembly is easy - just layers of designer paper (on which I used embossing folders for extra interest), a scalloped border punch, and some lacy ribbon.  I added three tiny butterflies with pearls and glitter for the final touch.


Now let's get back to the Scavenger Hunt. Here is your twelfth and final clue: 
Who hops and wears a cute blue jacket?

Your next step is to leave a comment on my blog, and then hop over to the Crafter's Companion Store to find the answers. After you have found the answers to the twelve questions, you will then post that you finished the blog hop on the Crafter's Companion Information blog, and finally put the answers in an email to Bindy at bindy@crafterscompanion.com .

If you do that and follow the other requirements you will be entered into the drawing to win the Grand Prize which is the entire Peter the Rabbit Collection of Stamp Sets, a total of nine stamp sets! 


Peter Rabbit Collection of Stamp SetsCute Companions Romance

Today I'm also giving away a Cute Companions -Romance stamp set, two embossing powders (one white and one blush rose) and one sheet of EZ mount foam.

This blog hop will run from Friday, April 20th at midnight and end at midnight PST on Sunday, April 22nd. Winners will be announced on the Crafter's Companion Information blog on Tuesday April 24th.

Here are the requirements to win:

To be entered to win on my personal blog:
1. You will need to be a follower of both me AND Crafter's Companion Information Blog.
2. You must leave me a comment letting me know you stopped by to hop along.

To win the Grand Prize you must also:
1. You must leave a comment on each Design Team members blog.
2. You must leave a comment on the Crafter's Companion Information blog.
3. You must find the answers to the scavenger hunt questions in the CC Store
4. You must email the answers with the the subject line:  CC Blog Hop to Bindy at bindy@crafterscompanion.com. 

Here is the full order of the blog hop:
1. Stacy - http://scrapwithstacy.blogspot.com
2. Dawn L - http://www.dawnscraft.com
3. Jen J - http://jljdesignscraftingblog.blogspot.com
4. Dawn B - http://dipndotscreations.blogspot.com/
5. Tracy - http://Tracysstampingcorner.blogspot.com
6. Carolyn - http://mspetuniascrafts.blogspot.com/
7. Trena - http://trenastampinhq.blogspot.com/
8. Kathy - http://www.kathysdouble-k-krafts.blogspot.com
9. Lisa - http://kycrafter.blogspot.com/
10. Steph - http://blog.artycarty.com
11. Paula - http://phcountrycreations.blogspot.com/
12. Marge - http://www.cacklincrafter.blogspot.com/
13. Finish up on the Crafter's Companion Blog - http://crafterscompanion.blogspot.com/


Good luck!

April 15, 2012

Altered Sunflower Box

Today I have an altered box to show you, that uses the sunflower image from the new Art-Kure 'Britain in Bloom' collection. These floral images are so crisp and realistic, they are a joy to color. Speaking of which, my image was colored with the affordable Spectrum Noir alcohol ink markers, which have become my go-to coloring tool.Here's the front view:

I started my project with an empty jewelry box from Coldwater Creek.  It was serendipity that the top and bottom were this marvelous tan/kraft color - so no painting on covering needed! I stamped the sunflower image on white, colored it, and sponged the edges with Tim Holtz distress ink in Vintage Photo. This was matted on dark brown card stock, and then adhered to the box lid.

Next I went to my ribbon stash and found this leopard print ribbon.  It was wide and pulled in the brown tones, so I went with it. I think it gives it a fun and funky, slightly unexpected look. A second narrower ribbon in golden yellow was placed on top.

The final step was embellishment.  The sunflowers just cried out for these micro seed beads, which I glued on with crystal lacquer. I was careful not to cover the entire circle with seeds. The final touch was punching three leaves and putting a mini sunflower in the upper right corner. 

Notice how the leaves are textured.  I hold scrap card stock under the water tap, crumple it into a ball when wet, and then smooth it onto the counter to dry.  You get marvelous creases and texture with that easy method.  Sometimes I'll confess I might iron the result, if it is a little too bumpy.

Enjoy your Sunday, and go look for old boxes that you can cover! I think I'll use mine to keep address labels in on my desk.

April 8, 2012

Oh my, Oh Duck!

I had to laugh out loud when I saw this Oh Duck! image from Sheena Douglass.  It reminded me of a time when my boys were little, and we were walking in Fullersburg Woods, a local park.  Well, we saw a duck trapped in the ice exactly in this position.  I remember thinking, "What a predicament, you think you're going for a snack and look what happens!" Every time I see a duck in that position, even now twenty years later, I silently encourage them to hurry up and get upright again before winter comes. So of course, I had to use this one.


The beauty of this card is how quickly it went together.  Truly the image says it all! Wouldn't it be perfect for someone who had a hard day at the office or who is having some of life's little annoyances?

After coloring with my Spectrum Noir markers, I matted it on black and than mounted it onto a celery green card base.

I added a few rain dots because I felt guilty only spending 5 minutes on a card, LOL!  



And then she was done. If you have a quirky sense of humor, be sure to check out Sheena's new designs! Hope the rest of your Sunday is happy, and that you are enjoying your Easter!

April 1, 2012

Welcome Neighbor!

Ooh, look what I've made with the wonderful new Beatrix Potter designs from Crafter's Companion.  How I loved her story books with their marvelous illustrations as a child. 

A house just sold in my neighborhood (in itself cause for celebration in the still-slow real estate market) and I thought this Timmy Tiptoes image was perfect for a welcoming card. My design team member Trena used a different image from this collection for her welcome card; I love it when the images are versatile like that. This would also be cute to welcome a new baby to a growing family, don't you think?


Today I broke my rut of side-opening cards and went with a top-fold design.  I also used vanilla as the base, instead of white.  I wasn't sure how the Spectrum Noir alcohol markers would perform on the uncoated vanilla card stock, but I think the coloring turned out nicely. After coloring the image with the markers as shown, I mounted it on a black scalloped mat. This was layered on a vanilla background on which I dry embossed a leafy design.

The greeting was stamped in black at the center bottom.  Using a scallop border punch, I reprised the scallops and then did a second row on a black strip, which I adhered behind the vanilla.  I think this took advantage of the open bottom.

My final touch was to punch some leaves and put a spray in the lower right corner of the image, and then add three small flowers that picked up the blue, red and vanilla from the image. Notice how some of the leaves are embossed with dots? I had some card stock scraps left over from another project that was previously embossed.  I thought it would add nice texture.  Never throw those small scraps away, they are great for punching small leaves, flowers, circles and the like. Heck, if the scrap is over an inch, I save it! In fact, Trena once took a photo of frugal me tossing something (small) into a wastebasket to prove that I actually do throw some things away, LOL!

I hope this design inspires you in some small way to head off to your craft table!