A Moxie Fab Smile

Hello, friends!

I hope you are having a great weekend. I decided to put together a camera card for the current Moxie Fab World Clicking Cameras Challenge.

I have always loved cameras and I did quite a bit of photography in college with many hours in the darkroom.

For this card I tried a technique that Jennifer McGuire demonstrated on her blog. I went kind of psychedelic using stamps from the Tim Holtz Travel Blueprints set from Stampers Anonymous and Inkadinkado's Camera set.

I made several layers, all of which glimmer with Perfect Pearls mist.
  
Thanks for the visit. Keep smilin'!

Put a cork in it!

Good morning! I'm home from a little trip in time to post another card for Moxie Fab World's Handmade Cards Week, this one for the metal, wood and cork challenge.

Cork has such great texture and it's perfect for fall cards. I've had some in my stash for ages. Thanks, Cath, for inspiring me to use it.


I paired it up with a Hero Arts stamp (Tress of the Season, CG208) and some pearlescent watercolors from Yasutomo. The embossing folder is Sizzix and the sentiment is from an old CHF set (by Kim Huges).

I sure hope you are having a wonderful week. We have some amazing Indian Summer weather!

Thanks for the visit.

Spring Gift Set

I love to make card sets for little special gifts. Here is one I made a few months ago for a spring birthday. I like to keep gift set cards simple and one-layered for easy mailing and I always try to do a little something special with the envelopes.

I had fun coloring these cute images from one of my all-time favorite Hero Arts stamp sets (CL153). Embellished from my extensive stash.

I plan to enter this in Cath's Moxie Fab World Challenge for card sets. It is in celebration of the publication of "350 Cards & Gifts", which looks like it's just full of great ideas.

I'll also enter this is the current Simon Says Stamp "Anything Goes" Challenge. There will be many hundreds of entrants, but why not give it a shot?

Have a great weekend - we are heading out early for a long one in the wine country!

Thanks for the visit.

Soon to be Tomato Time

Every summer we give bags of Gary's home-grown tomatoes to friends and neighbors. I've always said it would be fun to make some special tags. A couple of current challenges spurred me into action. And my blogger buddy Dawn inspired me to dust off my Faber Castell Gelotos, which are perfect for colorful backgrounds.

This weeks paper Smooches SPARKS Picture
Perfect Challenge is this great photo. I wish I had more time to play with this great inspiration.

I made a colorful set of four tomato tags, two of each style. They will be perfect to tie onto a bag of yummy red jewels.

My other source of inspiration is Cath's current Moxie Fab World gift tag challenge in celebration of the publication of "350 cards & Gifts". How fun does this look?

I guess I'd better get out and do some weeding, or there will be no gifting!

Thanks for the sweet visit!


Stamps: Paper Smooches Geo-Graphic, Vegtastic, He Said, She Said
Dies: Paper Smooches Grocery Cart, Alphawhimsy
Other: Faber Castell Gelatos, Office Depot tags

Nifty Gifty

You all know that I am a huge fan of Paper Smooches stamps - they simply make me smile. Today I took advantage of the SPARKS Cool Shades challenge to make a fun gift card holder for a special young man at my YMCA.


 This is a wacky and fun-shaped card - a
modification of one I learned in a class I took several months ago. I like it because it is different, yet it fits into a standard A2 envelope.

The Paper Smooches stamps are "Sentiment Sampler" and Space Cadet", the patterned paper is from a great 8" x 8" pad called Rocket Age from October Afternoon. The die is Spellbinders "Banner Basics Three".

There is a perfect little pocket for the gift card on the inside.


I made this card with the current Moxie Fab World Challenge for Gift Cards in mind. Cath always has something super-creative up her adorable sleeve! This is to celebrate the release of "350 Cards & Gifts, Volume 2" . How cool is that?!

A great way to wrap up the week, I'd say. Hope you all have a good weekend.

Thanks for the visit!


 

Garden Set

I had so much fun the other day coloring up some images from the  Lockhart Stamp Company that I decided to make a little gift set of garden note cards. I was inspired by the Card Set Challenge over at Moxie Fab World. I haven't joined up with one of Cath's challenges for quite some time.

All the stamps are Lockhart colored with Prismacolor pencils, the patterned paper is Bo Bunny's "Country Garden" and the dots are Candi. For the simple packaging, I decided to keep with the grocery/kitchen theme and use a brown bag and a Sizzix embossing folder with some twine.

I particularly love this artichoke. When we first moved to California, there was a plant in the backyard and my parents had no idea what it was - they had to ask the neighbors! They are kind of crazy, but one of my favorite veggies. Dad always said that it is the one thing that, after you eat it, you have more than before you started!

There is still time for you to enter this fun challenge - do check it out! I can't wait for the Farmer's Markets to get into full swing so we can actually taste these garden delights.

Thanks for the visit!

In olden days, a glimpse of stocking.......

I am a huge fan of live musical theater. I recently won the chance for a "walk-on role" in the production of "Anything Goes" - I got a great costume and two lines! I had a total blast with it!

With Liz Brenna Strycker, my mentor

With Howard Stateman

While I am a real ham and love performing, I am not at all good at rote memory (I never did master my multiplication tables!), so I can't really be a serious performer.

But when I get a chance like this, I am in my glory! Here I am with a couple of the real actors, Howard and Liz, who were both so talented and sweet.

The producer and the entire cast were so amazingly supportive and kind that I wanted to make them some thank-you cards. Since the theme of the show is a cruise ship in the 1920's, I chose that same theme for my cards.


I used Hero Arts E2493, Cloche Hat, which is perfect for the 1920's and CL371 with Die-namics "Just the Ticket" in this collage-style card. Some kraft and travel-themed pattern papers and some hand-dyed seam binding tie it all together.

Because this design incorporates movement, I am submitting it to the Moxie Fab World movement challenge, based on some of the tips in the great Card Design Handbook.

Thanks again to the South Bay Musical Theater for giving me this chance and for being so gracious and fun! Love you guys.

Thanks for looking in and break a leg!

Retro Fun!

The current picture perfect challenge at Paper Smooches Sparks is this yummy photo. Love the mid-century modern look!

As many of you know, my house is a 1950's rancher and we decorate with lots of mid-century fun things.




 I decided to combine this with Cath's Card Design Handbook  "Repetition Challenge" over at Moxie Fab World.

For this one-layer card I used Paper Smooches "Boob Tubes" and "Hip to be Square" stamp sets, Copic pens and masking.


I just bought some Ranger Super Fine Detail embossing powder, but I am finding it very difficult to work with. Anyone else having problems?

There may not be enough contrast between the background and the first tv, but I really wanted to keep this card flat.

Thanks for checking in - I am off on another adventure, so I will be "unplugged" for about a week. I miss you all already!

 

Minty Pears

I decided to jump on board Cath's Minty Fresh Challenge over at Moxie Fab World. I haven't done a challenge over there for some time and I've missed it! Cath is such a source of sweet inspiration.

As you know I am a huge fan of Lockhart Stamp Company stamps. Several months ago I took an amazing class from Karen Lockhart where she taught us great techniques for coloring with Prisma colored pencils. I hope to take another class from her in October.

I thought pears would look just peachy on a mint background. Have you ever had a minty poached pear? Yum!

For this card I used Lockhart's #2068 pears stamp, Paper Smooches Sentiment Sampler and some Lawn Fawn paper. I wanted to keep it pretty simple to focus on the image.

Green is probably my least favorite color, but I do like mint green. My hubby's favorite flavor of ice cream is mint chocolate chip, but I think it tastes like mouthwash! We are still the perfect "pear"!

Thanks for being here and have a minty-cool day! Have a glorious weekend - see yu next week.

Streeeetching

into Summer!

This card is the result of inspiration from many sources (other than great long sunny days, beautiful sandy beaches and the ocean, which is my second home).

First there is the current challenge over at A Blog Named Hero to stretch our stamps. For this card I used the same stamp as a background stamp and as the feature element. Double-duty!


I was reminded of using the technique of repetition from my amazing bloggin' buddy Virginia Lu who is doing a wonderful series on "How I Stretch My Stamps" and it worked well for this background, which I stamped with Hero Arts Soft Brown Shadow Ink.

       In addition, one of the current "Stamp It!" challenges over at Moxie Fab World is the Hello Card Challenge which reminds us to make and send a card just to say hello, check in and stay connected. Thanks, Cath!

Finally, this month's contest at the Hero Arts blog is about summer adventures and using neon (there are touches of neon on the flip-flops and the reflection on the sunglasses), so this card fills the bill. The stamps are Hero Arts CL512 and CL456 and, yes, that is real sand (thanks, Gary!).

Going Postal

Hero Arts S5215, Papertrey Ink "Fly Away"

Good Morning - hope you all had a lovely weekend. We celebrated Memorial Day here in the USA and it was the coldest I ever remember. This usually marks the start of summer, but we had our heater on. Crazy!

I recently wanted to recognize the exceptional work of my local postal worker, so I made him this little card (I also wrote a complimentary letter to the Postmaster).

How many canceled stamps do we toss out everyday? And stamps are so cool - great colors, great images (who designs them, anyway?) and different sizes. I have a whole box of them!

Here I used stamps as an abstract skyline, paired with a Hero Arts background stamp and a Papertrey Ink airplane.

I am submitting this to the Moxie Fab World's "Postal Challenge" and  the Simon Says Stamp "Father's Day/For a Special Male (Mail?) Challenge" .

Take good care and have a great week!

I Scream

for ice cream! I am actually not a big fan of ice cream, but whatever - it is cute.

Hi, pals! I am just home from a few days away in time to quickly post another entry for the current Simon Says Stamp challenge, "Sweet Tooth" and for the Gingham Challenge at Moxie Fab World.

This is another wonderful Lockhart Stamp Company image that I colored with Prisma Pencils. I kept it clean & simple, too.

I hope to catch up with most of you tomorrow, but then we are off again on another week-long road trip. Having Gary retired has certainly changed my crafting life!