chillin'...

a big happy 65th birthday 
to my dad today!!  

yesterday was may 17th. past the middle of may. and guess what happened?  yep, snow.  not a lot, but any amount is too much for the middle of freaking may!!! so i thought it appropriate to post a cool (hehe) set of atcs.  i used some glossy accents on the water to give it a wet look.  the picture doesn't show it very well.

just chillin'
stamps: inky antics, stampendous
cardstock: pacific point
ink: black craft, broken china, wild honey
embellishments:  clear embossing powder, glossy accents
tools:  prismacolor marker

think cocoa...

it has been freezing the past few days.  and there is nothing better on a cold day than a huge cup of cocoa.  ok, maybe a huge cup of cocoa with a little irish cream in it!!  this set of atcs has that cute penguin i love so much from bugaboo stamps.  it's for a swap that robin is hosting with a hot cocoa theme.  i paper pieced the cup with the cute echo park digi paper!

think cocoa

stamps:  stampendous
digi stamps:  bugaboo stamps
cardstock: night of navy, echo park digi pp
ink: night of navy
embellishments: prismacolor markers, silver glitter pen

hey dude...

funny story about this set of monkey atcs i made for a swap suzi is hosting.  i made a set for this swap, while watching the braves/giants game.  then i started thinking about another set of atcs i made and thought that i may have used the same stamp.  so i started looking through my blog.  and indeed, i did make a set with the same stamp in march.  and the same colors.  and both of them even had stars.  they looked so similar.  and the kicker??  it was also a monkey swap suzi hosted!!  so i decided to make something totally different.  and this is the end result.  if you are curious, here is the swap from march.

hey dude
stamps: stampin up, kim hughes
cardstock: night of navy
ink: pacific point, bordering blue, concord crush, soft suede, black craft

embellishments:  clear embossing powder

treasure...

another pirate themed atc swap, this one is hosted by robin.  i got this cute little changito pirate set, so i felt like i needed to keep joining these pirate themed swaps!  i'm always glad, after i'm done.  they whole set turns out pretty cute.  so with these on their merry way to robin, i can now eagerly wait for them to return so i can see the rest of the pirates!!  arhhhh!!!

treasure

stamps: stampendous

cardstock: sahara sand
ink: early espresso, old paper, tea stain

embellishments: glossy accents, prismacolor markers
other:  map from google

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

aye matey...

aaargh!!! be on the lookout for pirates. obviously the theme for this set is pirates! i used a few techniques on this set. i distressed the edges and then curled them while the paper was a little damp. i learned a new trick with distress ink the other day at archiver's so i tried that, too. then i sprayed on some perfect pearls to give it a little sand feel. and i embossed the pirate. i really like who it looks weathered.

aye matey
stamps: stampendous
cardstock: river rock-su; hot fudge-mft
ink: tim holtz distress ink: pumice stone, walnut stain, old paper; onyx black
embellishments: prismacolor markers, clear embossing powder, perfect pearls

my dream, my reality...

how i want to spend my summer...that is the theme of patty's summer circle journal. i decided that how i want to spend my summer and how i actually will spend my summer are probably going to be two very different ways. so i created this entry accordingly!!



my dream, my reality
stamps: dear lizzy+american crafts, riley, maryse carrier, stampin up, hanna stamps, stampendous, imaginisce
cardstock: pacific point, kiwi kiss; colorbox pp
ink: pacific point, baja breeze, soft sky, purely pomegranate, tangerine tango, onyx black
embellishments: prismacolor markers, stickles, me & my big ideas
tools: corner chomper, scallop punch, circle punch

play ball...

who doesn't love monkeys? i have a few of these little guys. luckily, my stamping friends do too! suzi hosted a swap using monkeys. i'm so ready for summer and sun so i thought i'd use my baseball changito monkey for the swap. play ball!!

play ball
stamps: stampendous
cardstock: kraft-su; candy apple-bazzill; three bugs in a rug pp
ink: night of navy, onyx black
embellishments: prismacolor markers
tools: corner chomper

don't feed the animals...

i love all the animal stamps i have. when i sat down to make the atcs for suzi's "let's go to the zoo" swap, i drew a blank. so finally, i just grabbed a couple of animals and started stamping. i almost never make a 'rough draft' for lack of a better term, before i make my projects. but this time i did. once i figured out what animals i was using, it needed some words. so i figured out where to put them and printed it out! then finished my stamping! here's the end result.



don't feed the animals!
stamps: stampendous, my favorite things, imaginisce
cardstock: hot fudge-my favorite things, recollections pp
ink: soft suede, onyx black
embellishments: buttons-bazzill, hemp twine, bic & prismacolor markers
font: ck roxy alternate

noel...

here come the winter/christmas themed atcs!! this one is for a christmas ornament atc swap that chris is hosting (one of the dozens she is hosting!). i love embossing and don't do it enough. i usually use black craft ink and emboss with clear, or use a colored ink. i'm not a fan of colored embossing powder, mostly because i'm messy! so i branched out and used silver powder for this stamp. i love how it turned out.



noel
stamps: stampendous
cardstock: baja breeze, cranberry crisp, basic grey pp
ink: true thyme, versamark
embellishments: silver embossing powder, prismacolor markers

chick magnet...

do you ever see a stamp and know you have to have it, but really have no real reason to buy it? or to use it? that's how i felt about this cute stamp from amuse. this is an atc for jennifer's "chick, chick, chick, chick" swap. i knew as soon as i saw the swap title, that i wanted to use this stamp.


chick magnet
stamps: amuse, stampendous
cardstock: dusty durango, recollections pp
ink: onyx black, dusty durango
embellishments: hemp twine
other:prismacolor markers

sleigh surfin'...

it's funny how you think you have a ton of something. like i joined sherri's santa atc swap because i just knew i had a ton of santa stamps. truth is, i have about 3! i did recently get this cute surf santa from amuse, so i knew i wanted to use it sometime. then i remembered i had this cute sleigh (coincidentally, also amuse!). so i came up with this fun little piece!

sleigh surfin'
stamps: amuse, stampendous, river city rubber works
cardstock: pacific point, riding hood red
ink: riding hood red, pacific point, onyx black
embellishments: twine

a bunch of atcs...

i've been busy with a few more atc swaps!! i am absolutely addicted to these tiny creations!! the themes for this group are: the great outdoors, life's a beach, and planes, trains and automobiles.

marty moose
stamps: my favorite things, purple onion designs
cardstock: river rock, sage shadow, true thyme
ink: soft suede, always artichoke
other: prismacolor markers, paper piecing

happy place
stamps: stampendous, stampin up, maryse carrier
cardstock: buckaroo blue, sahara sand, riding hood red, imaginisce pp
ink: night of navy, yo you yellow
other: crab punch

road trip
stamps:scrappy cat, inkadinkadoo
cardstock: bordering blue, river rock, night of navy
ink: majestic blue versafine, buckaroo blue

more bargains...

i kind of went a little nutso last two weeks and did a little (ok, a lot) of online shopping. amuse loves me...but i got great deals!! like these four stamps. 2 rileys and 2 changito monkeys for the bargin price of $11! wood mounted at that!! that's like a little over two fifty each!!! woo hoo!!

giveaway...

so i found a killer sale at archivers today. i rarely go there, not sure why, but i went today and found so many things on sale! i got a cute changio monkey set and i already have one of the stamps. so i want to give the wood mounted one away to a good home (it is slightly used, but great condition!) so please post here and i'll draw a random name on monday, july 13th.

update: and the lucky winner from my trusty random number picker (aka my husband!) is joan aka lakeslady!!

woot woot!! send me your address please!!

new circle journal in the house...

or out of the house, i should say. and just as the last cj ends, another one begins. this is sort of turning out to be a yearly tradition. the holiday circle journal swap has begun. here is my version this year.








christmas quotables
stamps: amuse, stampendous, rubber moon
cardstock: cranberry crisp, river rock, sei doodley doo holiday patterned paper
ink: onyx black, cranberry crisp, certainly celery
embellishments: sei doodley doo holiday stickers, rubons and buttons
fonts:ck wonderland, ck morgandorfer, ldj elf note, ldj shortbread hand, ld string bean, pea sam, pea stacy fancy, pea scrapbrandy thin, haettenschweiler

a free day...

ahh!! i got put on call today for work. but i didn't get the message until after i had already been in the shower (at 520am!). i tried going back to sleep, but couldn't. so i decided to spend some time crafting in the quiet morning!!! i was pretty productive!! i finished two swaps!

changito
stamps: stampendous
cardstock: night of navy, ballet blue(all su)
ink: blue bayou (su), onyx black (versafine)
embellishment: ribbon
other: spellbinders dies, bic markers

whoo-la-la
stamps: stampin up
cardstock: purely pomegranate (su)
ink: purely pomegranate (su); timber brown stazon

playing with one color...

my friend sherri is hosting a couple of color swaps over at the shack. i'm in the bluer than blue and the let's be brown atc swaps. i did one a while ago that was all purple. i had a hard time with that one. i also had a hard time with the blue one. then i was at the store the other day and walked past the paint isle. i was drawn to the sample wall and saw the cards that have like 4 shades of the same color on one. so i grabbed a few of the blue ones and this is what i ended up with!!!

brrr
stamps: stampendous
cardstock: blue bayou
ink: onyx black (versafine)
other: bic markers, paint sample cards

the brown themed one wasn't as hard for me to think up an idea. i love this little stamp set that i received from a friend and thought the little hedgehogs (at least that's what i think they are!) were so cute!! so i added a quote to it and viola!

love and hot chocolate
stamps: walmart
cardstock: chocolate chip, close to cocoa, river rock
ink: timber brown (stazon)
other: bic markers

monkey business...

i had another adventure with fun flock. i took some advice from some friends and used a different kind of glue (i used a 2 way glue pen this time) and it worked much better. this is an atc i made for patty's monkey atc swap. i made the banana background in publisher, then printed it on cardstock. i love the little monkey with the banana on his head!!

bananas
stamps: stampendous
cardstock: close to cocoa, chocolate chip
ink: close to cocoa , black craft ink
embellishments: fun flock, clear embossing powder
other: bic markers