Little Autumn Girl

It is time for a new challenge time at All Dressed Up and the theme for this one is 'Anything But a Square'.

For my card, I used  All Dressed Up Little Autumn Girl 1  and paired it up with those fabulous Maja Design papers.  I won a gift certificate to the Funky Junkie Boutique (don't you just love that name?) awhile back and part of it went to purchase a 6x6 pad of the Vintage Summer Basics.  I need more of that paper... love, love, love it!

Be sure to head on over to All Dressed up blog to check out the rest of the team's creations, and maybe enter the challenge while you are there but remember,  in addition to following the theme, you have to use an All Dressed Up image.

Don't forget to stop by our Facebook Group to keep up to date with all the latest All Dressed Up news, and chat to fellow crafters plus we have a Pinterest Brag Board where you can find lots of inspiration.  I'll be back tomorrow for the new release at All Dressed Up.  I can't tell you what they are yet but I will say they are cute, cute, cute!
Copics:
Skin - E04, E21, E11, E00, E000, R20
Hair - E59, E57, E53, E50

Supplies:

Image - All Dressed Up Little Autumn Girl 1

Sentiment - Create With TLC's Just Be Happy and Papertreyink's Tiny Tags and corresponding die (my teamie Christine used this on a card and I thought it was just the cutest!)

Paper - Maja Designs Vintage Summer Basics

Dies - Papertreyink's Tiny Tags and corresponding die (my teamie Christine used this on a card and I thought it was just the cutest!) and Memory Box Fancy Blossoms

Embellies - Stickles, Frantage and Pearls from The Paper Trail
Challenges:
ABC - Q is for Quote
Allsorts - Favourite Things (mine is Frantage and Maja Design papers)
Bearly Mine - Anything Goes
Sister Act - Anything Goes
Ribbon Girl - Anything But a Square

Senior-ita Gloria and a DT Call!

Some exciting news to pass along to you.  The Paper Trail is starting a brand new challenge blog (and also having a DT call.  The first challenge begins on July 25th and has an easy-peasy challenge theme of Anything Goes so come on... this is going to be fun!  The Paper Trail also maintains a Facebook page where there's always something happening.  I always say, 'if she doesn't have it, she can get it'.  There's a huge sale going on until the 27th... 35% off plus you get free shipping on orders over $75.
This is Gloria.  Gloria is one of Stampingbella's Senior-ita gals and I love them!  You can find her here at The Paper Trail.  These are great stamps... crisp, clean images and the sentiments are always included.  Another thing I like about the Stamping Bella images is the size.  These aren't tiny stamps... no, they aren't!  My cards are 6" x 6" so you can see they fill it up.  I didn't add it but this stamp also has a weigh scale... I guess Gloria is eating her cake but there's no calories in it so hence... no need for the scale!
I found the sketch on Stampingbella's site but was too late to enter my card but I thought it was a great layout and I used it anyway.
I was given the Spellbinder's Floral Ovals for Christmas last year so I paired it with the Petite Ovals Large and set the image inside.  I'm not really liking this card... it seems so drab and frumpy and not at all what I intended it to be because Gloria is fun and one of those great gals with purple hair.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!
Supplies:
Image & Sentiment - Stampingbella's Senior-ita Gloria
Dies - Spellbinder's Floral Ovals and Petite Ovals Large
Paper - Basic Grey Plumeria
Emebllishments - Shabby White Frantage, MME enamel dots, Stardust Stickles
Copics - Slip BG13, BG11, BG10; Gown R24, R22, R20, YR24, YR21; Skin E11, E00, E000, R20; Hair C7, C5, C3, C00 BV11
Challenges:
The Ribbon Girl - Turquoise or Aqua
Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
Crafts Galore - Use a digi rubber stamp
Sisters of Craft - Anything Goes

Weeds & More

 I have a couple of sympathy cards to show you today.  Like everyone else, I hate making these and I always put it off and never have any on hand.  I really dislike making them when I 'need' one so I thought making them ahead of time might take some of that pressure/stress off.  The funny thing is that most often when a sympathy card is needed, I go buy one yet I know from experience that I cherish the handmade cards I received.  I am going to try to make more so I have some on hand.
Chelsea from The Paper Trail sent me a set of stamps called Weeds & More by Stacy Stamps. This set has three separate stamps and I've used two of them.  Great quality stamps made out of deeply etched rubber and you get such a crisp image each time.  In addition to the stamps, she also sent me an ink pad of Hero Arts Wet Cement which I used on the card above.  Below, I used Memento's Espresso Truffle which I use on nearly everything I stamp.  I also like the Memento Black but the Truffle is a little more subtle and I love the colour.  I wanted to compare the inks and yes, you do get a different look with each.  I liked the Hero Arts because it gives more of a watercolour look when you stamp it and the Memento is crisper and clearer.

With both images, I stamped the faded areas by first stamping the image on a scrap piece of paper and then on the cardstock and then one crisp one with lots of ink.  The sentiments on both cards are from Stampin' Up's Close as a Memory set.  I sponged in a little of Tim Holtz's Tumbled Glass Distress Ink on the dandelion image and added some Shabby Blue Frantage.  I used Shabby White Frantage for the top card.  That's it... the cards were very simple to make and took maybe 20 minutes each.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!
Challenges:
Sister Act - Anything Goes
Charisma Cardz - Anything Goes

Bella with Friend

Hi to all and a warm welcome to my new followers.  It has been ages since I added a card and although I'd love to be able to tell you I was missing because I was making my house is spotless and alphabetizing the spices, that is not what happened.  To be honest, I'm not really sure where my time went to but I've been very busy at work and then for some unknown reason, I decided to clean out my craft room.  Clean out is not a good term... it was more like rearrange.  Cleaning out implies I got rid of things - I did not.  hahahhaa... I got a new desk so then I had to move things around.  Good grief, it took me days!  I have no idea how I manage to fit everything in this tiny room but it worked.    Anyway... on to my card.
Chelsea from The Paper Trail had sent me a fabulous package of goodies to try out and among the treasures was this sweet little Wild Rose Studio stamp called Bella with Friend.  I do love these little elephants but I'm not so sure why the butterflies look orange when in fact they are pink!
Make sure you check out The Paper Trail's blog to see what the new products are and also the Facebook page.  A heads up... if you are looking for Copic Sketch Markers, Chelsea has the best prices I've seen in Canada, which does make a difference now that our dollar has dropped in value.
Supplies:
Stamp - Wild Rose Studio Bella with Friend
Sentiment - Papertrey Ink Mega Mixed Messages
Dies - Tim Holtz Alterations File Tabs
Paper - Authentique Irresistible
Misc - My Mind's Eye enamel dots, Stardust Stickles
Copics - Elephants C4, C3, C2, C0, C00, R20; Butterflies R85, R83, R81, R00
Challenges:
Pink Elephant - Anything Goes
Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
7 Kids College Fund - Anything Goes

Twinkle Toes - All Dressed Up Challenge

Time for a brand new challenge at All Dressed Up and the theme for this one is Use Some Bling.  Who doesn't like glitter, gems, sparkle so what a perfect challenge!
For my card, I used Twinkle Toes which is available on the Facebook fan page as a 400 follower freebie and what a little cutie she is. 

This card is for a special lady who is having a birthday.  I made one of those envelope boxes to send it in so the flowers wouldn't get crushed and it was easy peasy to do.

 Be sure to head on over to All Dressed up blog to check out the rest of the team's creations, and maybe enter the challenge while you are there but remember,  in addition to following the theme, you have to use an All Dressed Up image.

Don't forget to stop by our Facebook Group to keep up to date with all the latest All Dressed Up news, and chat to fellow crafters plus we have a Pinterest Brag Board where you can find lots of inspiration.

Have a good one and thanks for stopping by!

Copic Colours:

Dress - G05, G02, G00, G000, G0000, G17, G14, G11

Skin - E11, E01, E00, E000, R20

Hair - E35, E33, Y23, Y21

Supplies:

Image -  All Dressed Up Twinkle Toes 

Sentiment - Verve's So Happy

Paper - Prima 6 x 6 Nature Garden Collection

Dies - Die-Namics Fish Tail Flags, CC Designs 5 Point Flowers

Misc - Glamour Dust, Star Dust Stickles, Shabby Green Frantage
Challenges:
The ABC Challenge - Monochromatic 
Loves Rubber Stamps - Anything Goes
Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
Card Mania - Flowers

The Paper Trail Product Review - Elizabeth Craft Designs Peel-Off Stickers

I have a couple of projects I want to show you today and they feature the Elizabeth Craft Designs Peel-Off Stickers.   Chelsea from The Paper Trail sent these to me and asked that I use and give a review of them.  There's so many to choose from but these are the Gold Dragonfly ECD2394. 
Well... I looked at these and was completely stumped as to how to use them because I am normally a card maker and use Copics to colour, flowers, brads and Frantage to embellish so... what to do, what to do?
I decided I should first of all stay within my comfort zone and make a card.
What I made:

I thought I'd keep it fairly simple because this was new territory for me and I'm actually quite pleased with how it turned out and it was quick too!  I simply peeled one of the flowers and some of the circles off and stuck them down.  Then I took some Stickles and filled in the lines... like colouring with glitter and who doesn't like to do that?  Next step was to sponge in some distress ink colour, add a sentiment, use my Copic Multiliner to do some doodles around the edge and then finally add some Frantage.

Then I decided to try one of those little pop up boxes I see all over the internet so I went hunting for a tutorial and found one at Splitcoaststampers. This was a little more work because to make sure the images were sturdy enough to stand, I stuck them down on a piece of card stock and then cut around the gold outline.  Then various colours of Stickles were used to fill in the lines.

 

What I liked:

Surprisingly, I did like working with these stickers and yes, I will use them again.  I have some black ones which I will do up at a later date.  I like the look the sticker gives... as you can tell with the sentiment, it's a very different finish than you will get with embossing.  The stickers adhere really well but you are also able to easily pull them off if you decide on a different placement.  Also, the gold outline did not lift or pucker at all as I added the stickles.  Lastly, the price is so reasonable that you simply can't go wrong.  The package was $2 and for that I got the card, the box and have a few left over. 
What I didn't like:
Once I got over my initial nervousness about using the stickers, I found I quite liked them and there's nothing I don't like about them.  Different projects for me and I'm glad I got to try something out of my ordinary.  Think out of the box... that's what I had to do.

Card Supplies:
Sentiment - CC Designs Birthday Sentiment
Elizabeth Craft Designs Peel-Off Stickers - Gold Dragonfly EXD2394
Misc - Tim Holtz Weathered Wood distress ink, Shabby Blue Frantage, Copic .3 Multiliner, Stickles

Pop Up Box Supplies:
Elizabeth Craft Designs Peel-Off Stickers - Gold Dragonfly EXD2394
Sentiment - Lili of the Valley Dreamy Days Sentiment
Dies - Cheery Lynn Fancilful Flourish
Paper - Imaginisce Baby Powder Tiny Tantrum
Misc -  Golf Embossing Powder,  Stickles

SENIOR-ita WANDA

 Today is a very fun post.  This is Stampingbella's SENIOR-ita WANDA and I love her!  As soon as I saw  these senior-ita gals, I had to have them and have been wanting to do them up ever since.  This beautiful babe is Wanda and I'm pretty sure we all know a Wanda.  She's a lady who has a wonderful sense of fun and the biggest heart you will ever find.  I actually wouldn't mind being a Wanda!
I haven't entered a Stampingbella challenge for ages and as soon as I saw this week's sketch, well, I knew Wanda was my gal!  Here's Em's 'Sketchy Poo' and it's easy peasy:

 

I have to tell you, I started off great and was feeling pretty smug, thinking that for the first time in ages, a card was just going to 'fall into place' for me and it did... until I looked at the sketch again and 'oh..noooo...', I had not realized there was a division from corner to corner.  So off came everything... and I do mean everything because if I remember correctly, it was when I was taking the pics that I realized my mistake.  No, not mistake... they are not mistakes, they are 'creating opportunities'! I have a few people this card will be so perfect for.  The only thing I would change is I wish I would have put a little bit of PURPLE in her hair!

You can get this image from Chelsea at Paper Trail - I don't see it in the shop but she's got terrific customer service and will order it for you in a heartbeat.  She's got a great selection too.  And... she sells Frantage and I LOVE Frantage!

Or... you can scoot on over to Stampingbella and snag it there.

I'll be back this weekend with my first product review for Paper Trail so thanks for stopping by and see you later!  MWAAAAAH!

Copics:  Dress - E37, E33, E31, E43, R85, R83, R81, R20; Skin - E11, E01, E00, E000, R20

Supplies:

Stamp & Sentiment:  SENIOR-ita WANDA

Paper:  Moxxie Filly Beauty

Dies:  Cherry Lynn French Pastry Doily Die; Verve's Heart Quartet

Misc:  Frantage, Frantage, Frantage

Challenges:

Crafting by Designs - Friends/Friendship Make the World Go Round

Stampingbella - Sketch

Sister Act - Anything Goes

Through The Craftroom Door - Anything Goes

One Crazy Stamper - Anything Goes plus an embellishment

Loves Rubber Stamps - Fun with Your Name (M - Mwahhhh sentiment), A - adhesive to hold it all together, R - rectangle shape for sentiment, I - ink, L - Lush Lips (hahha... it's all I could think of), Y - Yelllow flower centers, N - new stamp)

Some News!

I have some exciting news to share.  Chelsea from Paper Trail asked me to join her new design team and I am thrilled to bits about it and it took like... oh, maybe a nano second for me to say 'YES'!  My official start date is May 15th but I can announce it today.  Paper Trail is a shop based out of Kamloops, BC Canada with lots of goodies, free shipping with a minimum order (free shipping is a BIG deal).  Chelsea also has a blog with plenty of tips, reviews, new product showcase, etc.  There's also a Facebook page to check out.
I'm still nosing my way around everything but to celebrate my good fortune, I created a card for a very special little fella who will be turning 6 next month.  It's ok for me to post this because as a 5 year old, he doesn't give a hoot if I have a blog or anything else about my crafty ways except that he likes to play with the glitter... big, gooey gobs of glitter!

Love this image... it's a stamp from Paper Trail  called Underwear Hero by A Random Fan.  Perfect image for Reid who is such a little character with a great sense of humour and he would put his underwear on his head just like this!

 

And a side view:

**** To let you know, Paper Trail is having a 20% off sale for May 1 & 2!!!!*********
Supplies:
Image:  Underwear Hero by A Random Fan
Sentiment:  Stampendous - Montage Capitals.  The name and #6 are computer generated
Papers:  Jennibowlin Classic Red & Black paper pad
Dies:  MFT, Verve
Copic Colours:  Undies - B23, B21, B00, C3, C2, C00;  Cape - R29, R27, R24, R20
Distressing Ink:  Tim Holtz Gathered Twigs
Misc:  Stickles, Memento Black ink
Thanks for stopping by!
Challenges:
One Crazy Stamper - Anything Goes with an Embellishment
My Mum's Craft Shop - Lots of Layers
QKR Stampede - Card for a Young Boy (how perfect is that!)
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Sister Act - Anything Goes
Crafting by Designs - Anything Goes
A Random Fan - Anything Goes