one shot...

here's another installment in the mixed media file.  on monday, tracy threw down a challenge.  she dared us to do something out of our comfort zone.  we had to create something using this quote, "let go of whatever holds you back and no longer serves you because you only get one shot in life."  check out her blog post here.  i saw a mixed media canvas the other day while surfing the web (my guess is on pinterest!) and of course can't find it now to save my life.  but what i got out of it was inspiration for this.  and i thought the quote went well with it.

strength

stamps: hero arts

cardstock: fancy pants pp, basic grey pp, authentique pp

ink: burnt umber

paints:  acrylic, gesso, gelatos

embellishments:  glimmer mist; cardstock stickers-october afternoon, authentique, dear lizzy-american crafts

other:  india ink

here's a little more detailed view.

you should join along with the dare!!

journey like no other...

some days do you ever feel like this? that you are on a journey like no other? good, bad, or indifferent, i guess every day is a journey like no other...

this is a set of atcs i made for a swap where we had to use an acrylic block for the background.  i have to say i like the effect!

thanks so much
stamps: unity
cardstock: white, soft sky, basic grey pp
ink: old paper, broken china, spun sugar
tools:  corner chomper

bowl of cherries...

another set in the "paper brand" themed atcs that suzi is hosting.  for this swap we had to use cosmo cricket paper.  i love this cherry paper.  and i even had a cherry stamp set that matched!

bowl of cherries

stamps: basic gray

cardstock: cherry cobbler, cosmo cricket pp

ink: riding hood red, burnt umber

tools: scallop square punch

floppin' in the wind...

so funny story. sherri, the queen of hosting swaps, posted two swaps that i could not miss. (i know, there aren't many that i can not miss.) they don't really have anything to do with each other. i joined her annual flip flop swap. then she added the clothesline swap (which i posted a few days ago)and i had an immediate idea. a clothesline with flip flops!! i love how it turned out!


floppin' in the wind
stamps: basic grey
cardstock: wild wasabi, hot fudge, my mind's eye pp
ink: cantelope, wild wasabi
embellishments: hemp twine
tools: flip flop punch

got snow?

it's been so hot lately. and i've loved thinking of cooler days. not that i love the snow. i mean, it's pretty to look at. but i don't love it. i do love this cute tinsel glitter by martha though. it makes great snow. this is for cindy's "christmas in july" atc swap, so i hope this is okay. i found the cute "got snow?" stamp at the enchanted cottage in nc (isn't that a cute name for a stamp store?) so i wanted to use it.


got snow?
stamps: amuse, close to my heart
cardstock: soft sky, buckaroo blue, basic grey pp
ink: soft sky, certainly celery, cantelope, onyx black
embellishments: prismacolor markers, tinsel glitter

cherry tree...

i know you've gotten used to h{ippity} hop monday, but i didn't get signed up (and mostly forgot!) so hopefully, next monday i'll be playing along.

one of my shackie friends has decided to jump into the world of digi stamps. and she is awesome. her creations are amazing and so are her digi stamps. i used this set of trees that she made to make the atcs for a swap. suzi is hosting the...wait for it..."it's all fun and games until someone loses and eyelet" swap. that has to be the best title in a long time! so we had to make atcs that used eyelets. i decided that it would look like cherries on kirsty's cool trees! go check out kirsty's blog here.


cherry tree
stamps: basic grey
digistamp: kirsty j
cardstock: certainly celery, riding hood red
ink: wild wasabi
embellishments: prismacolor markers, eyelets

surf ducks...

been hanging out with a bunch of shackie friends. it's been three days of crafting, stamping, laughing, raining (boo!), and generally good times. sherri's been an awesome hostess! so far i've gotten a few sets of swaps completed. i love this one. it's for the swap i am hosting with the theme of duck, duck, goose. the nice thing about all the stamp stores we have been to is i was able to find the perfect sentiment for the card!

surf ducks
stamps: basic grey, amuse
cardstock: my mind's eye pp
ink: prussion blue, baja breeze
embellishments: prismacolor markers

birds of a feather...

so i adore this little bird. he came in a set that i got at archiver's with some other little stamps. but he's got so much character! i also got the chair from a unity set. it's awesome. when i finished stamping the birds and chair, then colored them, i had an epiphany. ok, maybe epiphany is a strong word, but i wanted to see if i could figure out how to make some carpet. the chair was just begging for it! so i used some fun flock and hoped it looked a little like shag!

birds of a feather
stamps: unity, basic grey, hambo stamps
cardstock: certainly celery, tangerine tango, hot fudge, my mind's eye pp
ink: tangerine tango, onyx black
embellishments: prismacolor markers, fun flock

hippos and things...

my niece turned 16 a few weeks ago. old news. sad part was her birthday bbq was snowed out! so we had a make up on saturday. and the weather was absolutely gorgeaous! i had a crazy busy week last week, so i was in a rush to make her card before her party and didn't get a chance to get a good picture. so sorry about the phone quality of this photo!! the party was fun and her cake was crazy!

hippobidietwoewe
stamps: basic grey, maryse carrier
cardstock: kraft, cloud 9 pp
ink: riding hood red, onyx black
embellishments: su ribbon, prismacolor markers, staples
font: snf playground blacktop


inside of card

cute syd and her cake

hey, friend...

i hate to even admit this, but you can find some stamps and craft goodness in some pretty odd places. like this stamp of the little turtle, the one standing on the rock (yes, that's a rock...or my interpretation of one!) it's from a set of stamps that ek success has released from the american girl line. yep, even the american girl is getting in on the stamping action! i saw them at michael's and love the little animals that were in the set. go figure.



hey, friend!
stamps: basic grey, ek success, stampin up, inkadinkadoo
cardstock: going grey, american crafts pp
ink: pacific point, always artichoke, old olive, baja breeze-su; onyx black versafine; pumice stone distress ink-tim holtz
tools: 1 1/4 circle punch

i'll pull you through...

i made a couple of different versions of this card, at palooza. the first one i made for the unity blog hop, then fiddled with it a little. this version i used a different color scheme. i also added the inside sentiment that reads "i'll pull you through". i'm so digging these unity stamps (if you didn't notice!)

i'll pull you through
stamps: unity, basic grey, purple onion
cardstock: hot fudge-mft; fancy pants design pp
ink: onyx black, baja breeze, soft sky, certainly celery
embellishments: prismacolor markers
tools: tim holtz on the edge scallops die

cute as a button...

happy national scrapbook day!! of course i'm not a scrapbooker, but i certainly use all the products!! speaking of, do you sometimes wish you never would have discovered something? i could say that about a lot of things...chocolate, good chips & salsa, coke! but what i'm really talking about are unity stamps. (i swear i'm not a paid advertisement for them...i know it seems like i am!) i feel like a junkie. i see a set and i have to have it! but i can't help it. they.are.so.stinking.cute! perhaps i need an intervention. nah. there are worse things i could be addicted to!

i worked yesterday, came home and watched the jazz beat the nuggets (which is rare that i even watched a whole basketball game!), then headed to my craft room. i've learned that i do a lot of my best work late at night. i made this card for a challenge over at splitcoast stampers (another stamp message board!) for unity's 2nd birthday celebration. it was kind of a challenge because i've never had to be restricted to using only one brand of stamps. i'm sure i've made cards before with only one brand, but not intentionally. i like to have lots of options. you also had to follow a sketch and use ribbon and 3 buttons somewhere on the card. this made me think a little...ok a lot! and i love how it turned out.

cute as a button
stamps: unity
cardstock: old olive, very vanilla-su; fancy pants pp
ink: walnut stain, old paper distress ink-tim holtz
embellishments: buttons; ribbon-basic grey; prismacolor markers; mini staples-bo bunny
tools: 1, 1 1/4, 1 1/2, 1 3/4 circle punches

just saying hello...

howdy! that's what i feel like this little guy is saying. i love this little digi stamp. this is for my "what's up with ewe?" atc swap. another set i finished at palooza!

just saying hello
stamps: basic grey, purple onion
digi stamp: whimsie doodles
cardstock: kraft, we r memory keepers pp
ink: onyx black, certainly celery, baja breeze
embellishments: prismacolor markers
tools: nestabilities

by a thread...

it's time for another friends with flair friday! what is that? unity stamp co does this every friday and it's blog hop where you have a chance to win a bunch of fab stamps! so pull up a chair, grab a drink and start hopping through the blogs and check out the fun creations that everyone has made!! here is my creation. i love this little clothesline! and i was looking through my friend, chris, latest kit of the month and found this sentiment and knew it would be a good fit with my stamp! don't forget to check out all the other blogs and look for the special blinkie so you can enter to win some stamps!! you can start {here} if you didn't in the first place. happy hopping!

by a thread
stamps: unity, basic grey, purple onion
cardstock: purely pomegranate, pink pirouette, my mind's eye pp
ink: onyx black, purely pomegranate, baja breeze, soft sky, certainly celery
embellishments: prismacolor markers
tools: tim holtz on the edge scallops die

seeing spots...

oh my. i've discovered basic grey stamps in the hot spot at archiver's. they are so cute! i bought about 5 of them the other day. and giraffes are so cute! and i probably have about 4-5 giraffe swaps already, but i figured i could join the one suzi was hosting anyway! so here's my creation. the colors are a little off, the button is really a light yellow.

seeing spots
stamps: basic grey, stampendous
cardstock: hot fudge-mft; very vanilla, stampin up pp
ink: chocolate chip, certainly celery
embellishments: prismacolor markers, buttons

bridie diggs...

the whole time while i was making this set of atcs, i was singing "make a little birdhouse in your soul" by they might be giants. i found this paper (lime rickey by basic grey) and bought only one piece, not really sure why, since it's so stinking cute! i used fun flock on the trees and noticed the holes in where i used the glue pen after i put the flock on. but i think they add a little touch of character to the atc! the theme is birdhouses.

birdie diggs
stamps: studio g, chicken girl design
cardstock: green galore, basic grey pp
ink: onyx black, vintage sepia
embellishments: fun flock, prismacolor markers

so again, another swap i joined and thought later "what did i join that for?" i've been thinking of this swap for weeks and trying to figure out what to do. when i sat down to create this atc, i had a whole other idea in my head. this is what turned out after i was done. i like this version much better than the one that was in my head! i used some cool platinum ink on my stamps and i was surprised at how well it worked.
queen
stamps: basic grey, kim hughes
cardstock: perfect plum, pale plum
ink: pale plum, perfect plum-su; tattered rose, old paper-distress ink tim holtz/ranger; platinum all purpose ink-tsukineko

and so it begins...

another circle journal swap, that is. this one is a summer theme. i had a hard time coming up with my cj for this theme. i knew what i wanted to do for my pages (then did something completely different as i got going!) but couldn't figure it out for the journal part. i had an idea sunday morning and just went with it. this is the result. now that i look at it, it's kind of minimalist, compared to some of my others. but i love the simplicity of it. and i can't get enough of this cute paper and stamp set from stampin up. i originally used the hemp twine to hold it together during the mailing process, but i think i may leave it once i get it back. i think it's cute!









2010 summer cj
stamps: basic grey, eat cake graphics, kim huges, imaginisce, purple onion designs, riley, stampin up
cardstock: river rock, stampin up pp, bo bunny pp, my mind's eye pp, we r memory keepers pp
ink: baja breeze, pacific point, melon mambo, crushed curry, chocolate chip; onyx black, vintage sepia, majestic blue
embellishments: prismacolor markers, stickles
fonts: ck fun, ck new years day
tools: corner chomper, bind it all

two pots...

ok, i branched out on this atc and tried a new technique.  amy from the shack posted a link to this tutorial and i thought i'd give it a shot.  it took a little experimenting, but i finally figured it out.  i {heart} this flopsey set.  it is so cute!  and i hope this works ok for the swap that my fellow shackie, kristy, from australia is hosting.  the theme is 'emotions' so i figured this is a very real emotion!

 two pots
stamps: my favorite things, basic grey
cardstock: pink pirouette, purely pomegranate
ink: onyx black, purely pomegranate
embellishments: prismacolor markers,
other: nestabilities

dear santa...

a few more atcs for swaps. the first one is for chris's santa atc swap. i love the little santa and forgot i had him until i was digging around for a different stamp!!! the other one is a swap suzi is hosting that is a christmas atc using basic grey papers. i need to stop using this little owl. he ends up on everything because he is so stinking cute!!









dear santa
stamps: river city rubber works and unknown
cardstock: riding hood red (su), sweetwater patterned paper
ink: riding hood red (su), versafine onyx black
other: bic markers, ribbon (su)

merry christmas
stamps: hero arts
cardstock: baja breeze & blue bayou (su), basic grey figgy pudding
ink: blue bayou(su), versafine onyx black
other: bic markers