Play Time

Happy Tuesday Everyone!  Today I am featuring Play Time, a celebration of having a full day of play with my papers, stamps, and die cuts.

I started by stamping one of Janie's Girls stamps from Hot Off the Press, and coloring in with Copic markers.  I then cut out the design very close to the edge, and set aside until I arranged my paper scraps  in a favorable arrangement. I also had some flowers stamped and colored in my embellishment folder, and the colors seemed to blend with the coloring on m hula-hoop girl.

I adhered a background stripe paper to the card front, and then attached a small dot print covered with vellum with foam tape for dimension.  I then place my cut outs, flowers and girl on the papers. I then stamped the word PLAY on a coordinating scrap using my Deadbeat Design Alphabet stamps. To finish off, I stamped the Poppy Flower center from Deadbeat Designs in various positions on the card to set off the background.

I am so thankful to have Play Time in my studio.  I love getting in there to create something fun to send to family and friends. Until next time . . . . . . 

Mindy

Blossom Beauty

Welcome Friends! Today's post is a page from my Art Journal, using the New Stampendous Stamp Set, "Blossom Beauty!" I was so excited when a friend, Diane Hover, brought it to my attention, that I knew I had to order it at once! (she is one of my enabler's)  It is a two stamp set, with a large face, and a large flower. Since the images were larger than normal, I knew I would need help in shading and coloring this image. I searched the Internet, and found a class coloring just this set at My Creative Classroom, with the renown artist, Jennie Black.  She is a wonder with Watercolors and most markers, including Copic Markers (my favorite!). I am in the process of taking this class, and have many practice images to play with, that don't look half bad. This is my first attempt at coloring the face and flowers. Please enjoy!

I'm sorry I won't be able to give a step-by-step tutorial on how I colored the stamps, but there are classes available if you are interested.  Once your coloring is complete, there are other videos available on You

Tube, that will help you add hair, dresses, etc. to your stamped images from Stampendous.

To create the journal page I made, I first applied a layer of fluid Cream acrylic and fluid Ultramarine Violet acrylic paint from Golden Products to the blank page in dots.  I then blended the two colors somewhat with my brush, and then let them dry.  I die cut my large flowers from the Blossom Die set that is also available through Stampendous.  There are three dies in the set that cut the full flower, the small center area (like her necklace) and the center with the next layer of petals, to give you a stacked set of petals in case you want to give your flower more dimension. I fussy cut around the face, and the dress (downloaded from one of the YouTube videos).  When the background was dry, I stamped on it with a texture stamp and Love Letter Memento ink, and a small Hibiscus stamp from Deadbeat Designs stamped in Grape Jelly Memento ink. The single Hibiscus stamp from Deadbeat Designs was stamped on her dress in Grape Jelly ink also. 

I then attached them to my page with Regular Gel Medium from Golden Products. I love the Golden Mediums because their water content is low, and they don't leave the paper images or pages warped or wrinkled. I first attached the face, and then layered on the dress, and then the two large flowers. I set this all aside to dry, and then came back with the small center of the large flower and used foam tape to attach it to the page.  I used it to cover a smudge of ink on her chin that I couldn't remove or erase. 

Each time I color the face, I get a different look, which I really enjoy. There are so many ways to use these stamps, and I have several ideas already on projects I want to use them on. I hope you will enjoy, and leave me a comment on ideas you think would look good with this stamp. I also hope you had a wonderful National Scrapbooking Day on Saturday!  I don't do much scrapbooking, but I do enjoy working in my Art Journal, which is what I did on NSD this year.  Have a great week, and I will see you again soon.

Mindy

Hey Neighbor!

Howdy, Friends! Welcome to May 2014.  The start to another new month, boy how these months fly by!  I have a fun card to share with you today.  A scene stealer if I have ever seen one. i started out with a piece of watercolor paper that I had spritzed with several different Dylusions  Inks.  I cut it into smaller pieces to fit on the A2 size card base, so I have several different ones to pick from.

I then stamped out my parts of my scenery on Express Blended Card stock suitable for Copic coloring. I used the Thelma standing stamp from Deadbeat Designs, the Garden fence and bucket from Art Impressions, and the Bloodhound dog stamp from Art Impressions. I stamped the dog stamp first, and then masked it off, using a post-it note, before stamping the gate with bucket  Garden stamp. After coloring in the pieces with my Copic markers, I fussy cut around the dog and gate images leaving a small white border around the images. I also cut around Thelma after coloring her with the Copics, and then set the pieces aside to dry.  I then used my Cloud Stencil from Memory Box to stencil Golden Light Molding Paste in several of the cloud cut outs. As the clouds were drying, some of the Dylusion Inks bled up through the molding paste. I learned through my Art Journaling class I have been taking, that if you will be stenciling on your background, do that first, then apply the water based ink colors. 

This is what happened on this card. I applied the paste over the inks, and they re-activated with the wet paste and bled into the cloud shapes. So, to repair the clouds, I applied a layer of white Posca acrylic paint pen over the top of the stenciled cloud to make them whiter.

To complete the card, I die-cut a banner die, and then stamped it with a sentiment from the Howdy clear stamp set from My Favorite Things. I attached the fence and dog section with foam dots on the background to give it dimension.  I then placed Thelma behind the fence to look as if she was leaning on the other side of the fence. I attached the banner with foam tape to the right of the image, and glued a tiny gold star sequin for accent.

This card makes a great Friendship card, Thinking of You, or Welcome Neighbor card. I hope you all have a great weekend, and enjoy the beginning of May!

Celebrate Fiesta !

Celebrate Fiesta, San Antonio!  Our city wide celebration is drawing to climax, with the two BIG parades, The Battle of Flowers Day parade on Friday, and the Fiesta Flambeau night parade on Saturday!

Today's card "Celebrate" with the Chili Ristra strand stamp from Deadbeat Designs reminds me so of Fiesta days gone by.  Since the Chili Queens of Texas had so much to do with the original celebration years ago, I thought it would be symbolic to use this stamp to show the "HOT times in the BIG city!"  I stamped the chili pepper strand on Xpress Blending stock and on white card stock and colored both with my Copic markers.

I cut out the peppers from one set and used foam tape to pop up the peppers on the card front.  I then stamped the "Celebrate" from a Hot Off the Press Birthday Sentiment set and added "Yipee" and the background "Moon and Stars" from two other stamp sets, to complete the background.  Using my Wink of  Stella dark blue glitter marker, I then touched the letters and some of the moons to give it a spot of bling. I also inked the edges of the card stock with chestnut roan chalk ink before attaching it to the card front with double-sided tape.

Enjoy the weekend, Saturday is just around the bend.

Thelma's Cottage

Hello Friends!  Another wonderful week is upon us, and the card I have to share with you was so much fun to make. The cottage and scenery is from one of the New Art Impressions Try-Folds stamp sets; "Cottage".
The birthday sign is from the "Gazebo" Try-Fold set, and Thelma is from Deadbeat Designs Stamps.

I am a big fan of Art Impression stamps because they make stamps that are bits & pieces and you combine them to make your own scenery.  I learned how to watercolor with their stamps years ago, but this set I colored with my Copic markers.  The Try-Fold line of stamps is a play on words of a three-fold card.  But this time I stamped two of the designs together on one layer, and then added Thelma and the birthday sign popped up with foam tape for a second layer, all on the card front. 

I stamped the image on Blending card stock especially made for Copic marker coloring with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and then colored it in with my Copic markers.  Thelma and the birthday sign were stamped on scraps of this stock, fussy cut and adhered with dimensional foam tape.

I will probably stamp this card out on the three panels instructed by the stamp set, and will share it with you soon.  I just thought you might like to see how you could also use this set on a one-layer card to decorate the entire front of the card. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week, and join me again soon for another card. Keep on Stampin'!

Mindy

Chill Out, Take It Easy

Chill Out Folks, Take It Easy! Spring officially starts today, and I am looking forward to warm sunny days and evenings so nice you can sit outdoors and "Take It Easy"!  

This is a card I submitted in the Texas Independence Day Card Challenge at Deadbeat Design Stamps the first of March. I started by cutting a piece of lavender card stock 4" X 5 1/4", and using the Relax Background Stamp from Deadbeat, stamped an all-over background using Versamark clear embossing ink and Lindy's Stamp Gang Two-toned embossing powder to cover the card.  I then took a large heart shaped Spellbinders die and cut-out the heart shape in the middle.  Using another white card stock piece, I used my Gelatos to add sunset colors and then with a baby wipe blended the colors to make the evening sky. Then, by stamping the adirondack chairs stamp from Deadbeat Designs, I colored them with my copic markers and fussy cut them out. Using 3-D pop dots, I adhered them right inside the heart cut-out. I also added a few flourish swirl die cuts from Memory Box in a purple translucent paper, and added the banner on which I stamped one of the phrases from the background stamp, "take it easy".

I saw this card base done on YouTube, listed as a File Folder Card.  Using my We R Memory Keepers Envelope board, the indention's cut at the top of the card make it look like a triple-cut file folder. Something different to send your friends and family.

Have a great day, and enjoy the weather, if it is nice where you are.

I Love Texas Bluebonnets

Card #2 of my entries in the Classy Cards N' Such blog Weekly Challenge : Rainbows (or colors thereof). I used one of my New dies just received from Deadbeat Designs, the I Love Texas die, and two of my bluebonnet stamps.(Texas State Flower-starting to bloom now!)also from Deadbeat Designs.

I saw this technique done last week, and fell in love with it, and knew I must give it a try. I started by cutting an A2 size card front from Neenah white card stock.  I centered the Texas shaped die on the white card, and ran it through my Cuttlebug machine. I shook out the "innies" and set them aside. I then stamped the bluebonnet flowers on the card front, using colors the flowers are grown in;  blue(most common), burgundy, and white Memento inks. To highlight them, I used my twinkling H2O's and gave them a darker shade, and a little sparkle.  While the H2O's were out, I used the rainbow colors of  ROY G BIV (described in a previous post) to color each of the letters punched out by the die. Again, I put these aside to dry. I drew three lines of barbed wire through the images to look like fencing, and added some light blue dots across the top of the card to represent clouds in the sky.  I also used my white Posca paint marker to highlight several of the bluebonnet flowers.  

I trimmed 1/4" off two sides of the white card, so a small border of the Lapis Metallic base card would show, and attached the white panel to the dark blue metallic card. I then adhered the multi-colored letters back into the die cut image, as you would place pieces in a puzzle. To complete the card, I stamped the phrase "Mosey on over, friend!" to the lower right corner.

The following supplies, available in the Classy Cards N' Such online store were used to make this card:

TPC Stardream Lapis Pearlized Metallic Paper

Twinkling H2O- Basic Rainbow Set #H2kit13-28412

I hope you will pop on over to the challenge blog, and check out the inspiration, and maybe even submit a card or two of your own.  Enjoy, and I will visit again with you soon.

Mindy

Love is in the Air!

Today's card is one of my entries in the Classy Cards N' Such blog Challenge of the Week; Rainbows (and colors thereof).  I have combined the challenge with St. Patrick's Day, which is celebrated early next week.

I have titled it "Love is in the Air" so after I painted my rainbow on the front of my card, with my PanPastel chalks, I stamped tiny hearts in coordinating colors on each stripe using Memento inks.  I didn't have a shamrock stamp, so I pulled out my heart shaped Fiskars hand punch, and punched out six hearts from white card stock.  I colored them green with Copic markers and then stamped a decorative heart design on each punched heart shape.  To assemble the shamrock, I glued the three hearts  to a stem shape using white glue from Art Glitter. Of course, it dries perfectly clear in 15 minutes or so.  I also stamped one of my favorite cloud stamps from Deadbeat Designs around the rainbow, then added a little white from my Posca paint marker.

For the sentiment banner, I stamped a saying from My Favorite Things on white stock, and then adhered to a stripped label.  Using foam tape, I adhered it to the front of the card and overlapped the shamrock shapes using foam tape and a 3D Zot Dot.

The following supplies used are available in the Classy Cards N' Such Online store:
PanPastels Flower Coloring Kit- #PP30115
Art Glitter Clear Adhesive-NM-DDCA

I used the color code phrase that most artists use when organizing and coordinating their colors to "build" my rainbow. It is: ROY G BIV. (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet) Early on, I was instructed to make a sign for my studio with that phrase, so that I could use it as a reminder when using color on my projects. I did as I was told, and it is amazing how many times a day I glance at my sign when creating.  Give it a try, and enjoy your Art!

Texas Independence Day!

Hi Everybody! This weekend we celebrate Texas Independence here in our fair state! I usually don't mail out too many cards for this day, but a friend, Mark Jetton, who owns Deadbeat Designs Stamps celebrates by having an Independence Day card challenge on his blog . Most of the stamps Mark makes are Texas themed stamps, although he does have many others that may be used for multiple occasions

If you are interested in "good, old fashioned, wood mounted, top quality rubber stamps", then check out Mark's web site Deadbeat Designs.and do some serious shopping. 

I submitted two cards to his challenge, but am waiting for his posting of the contest before I describe my cards. You can visit his blog to vote on which cards you like best, beginning this weekend. Using scraps left over from my submissions, I put together this card to send to a friend who used to live here in San Antonio.

I took an A2 size card base and added two strips of brightly colored washi tape to the top. I then popped up the Texas banner from Deadbeat Designs on foam tape and centered it on top of the tape. I then stamped the large "happy" stamp from Winnie & Walter, along with a little handwriting for the sentiment on the front. The Texas shape stamp with the swirl filigree is also from Deadbeat Designs, and it was popped up on foam tape to cover a tiny doily stamping I didn't like after stamping it. To finish off the card, I used my clear Wink of Stella marker to add a bit of twinkle to the images.

Periodically, I enjoy using my "scraps" to make a few cards, thus using up some of my spare stampings and scraps of papers. (they stack up so quickly)  I hope you all have a great week, and visit with me again soon.  

Mindy

Cowgirl Becky

Hello friends!  I wasn't sure I would get this tag posted before our Stock Show and Rodeo closed this weekend.  February has been a crazy month for me, with the cold, cold weather, holidays, and an unexpected death in the family, I haven't been able to post any goodies this month.  I have been working on a few, but time just seems to slip away from me before I get them posted. Hopefully, I am back on track, and it will be much easier to post projects and card ideas in the future.

Today's card is a tag front using one of the New Julie Nutting Doll Stamps from Prima. I love, love, love these doll stamps, and "Becky" (the cowgirl) really spoke to me!  Ha Ha, I made a funny. . . . "spoke" . . . . . wagon wheel. . . . . Yee Ha!  The wagon wheel stamp is a new one from Deep Red Clingstamps, made in the USA.  Living here in Texas, I love all types of stamps that portray western life. I also picked up a wonderful clear set from My Favorite Things, called "Howdy"!  From this set, I used the star circle with dots as a hub cap for the wagon wheel, and the lasso rope that "Becky" is holding. The tiny random stars are a stamp from Deadbeat Designs, and the large word "hello" is from Winnie & Walter.  The background tag is one of the New tags from Prima, the Aquarelle Tag Pad which consists of beautiful pastel colors.

The Large Tag Pads from Prima are so wonderful, not only are they large enough to highlight the Julie Nutting Doll Stamps, they also give you lots of room for other mixed-media techniques. The other New Julie Nutting stamp I recently purchased is the doll stamp called "Mindy".  Of course, you may notice the connection of why I had to purchase that one, because my name is Mindy, and I will highlight her on a new tag early this coming week.

With the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo coming to a close this weekend here at home, and the Winter Olympic Games closing also,  I will probably be glued to the TV a few more days. (I also love the winter Olympic sports!)  We have also been forewarned there is another Arctic Front moving south from the North Pole, that should arrive here in So. Texas midweek.  So, I have a few more outdoor projects to tend to before the cold weather hits us again. Stay warm and safe, and have a pleasant rest of the weekend.  I will visit with you again soon.
Mindy

Let Your Dreams Take Flight

Happy Saturday Friends!  Today is one of those chilly and cloudy days that make you feel like staying in bed and pulling the covers up over your head! The card stamping process is hard to do when your fingers are cold, and don't want to work correctly. I am dreaming of spring today, with the birds singing and chirping outside my window. I am therefore creating this card, to celebrate springtime and all the lovely birds that come out to SING!

I started with a side-fold A2 size card and stamped the large feathers radiating from the left corner using my London Fog Memento ink pad.  Then using the solid style feather stamp again, inked it up with the London Fog, and then touched the edges with Tumbled Glass Distressed ink before stamping it on a sheet of Neenah white card stock. I also stamped my left facing Funky Bird stamp in Tuxedo black ink, and colored it in with my Copic marker and Souffle pink ink pen.  I then fussy cut the feather and bird out, and mounted them to the card front with foam tape, to give texture and dimension to the card.  The sentiment was stamped in Tuxedo black ink and stars and dots with the London Fog ink.  I then took some Light Blue corrugated paper, and cut two strips for along the length and base of the card. This gives more texture and dimension to the card, along with a pleasing element that draws the eye to the little bird in the left corner of the card.

I used the other sentiment stamp from the set, inside the card, along with a tiny flourish stamp. The inside sentiment states, "Don't let life ruffle your feathers!"  These are the supplies I used for this card:

cardstock:  Smooth white- My Favorite Things and Neenah white for embellishments

stamps:  Feathers Clear Stamp Set from Hot Off the Press, Funky Bird-left from Deadbeat Designs

inks: London Fog and Tuxedo Black from Memento Ink, Tumbled Glass Distressed from Ranger/Tim Holtz

According to the weather maps on TV, the Polar Vortex is covering most of the US with winter-like conditions.  Stay warm and safe this weekend, and enjoy time with your crafting or your families.

See you again soon.

Mindy

Happy Thelma Holidays!

Happy Thelma Holidays Everyone!

I am playing with many of my New stamps I received this past month. This is the "Leaning Thelma" stamp, and the Texas Santa Hat stamp by Deadbeat Designs Stamps. 

I started out by using my Spellbinders Labels Twenty Six die and cutting out a white card stock card, and then attaching a smaller size sheet of green print scrapbook paper to the background.  I also cut a wreath shape from darker green stock from the Spellbinders Asian Accents die set and used foam tape to pop it up on the background.

I then stamped the Texas shape with the Santa hat on white card stock, and used my stamp positioner to stamp the Leaning Thelma stamp next to it, to make it look as if she was leaning on it.  I then colored in the stamping with my Copic markers and fussy cut around the design leaving an 1/8" border all around. It was attached to the card with a square of foam tape behind the state.  I then tied a small bow with satin ribbon and attached to the punched wreath to complete the card.

It finally feels like winter in most areas of the United States, so I decided to start my Christmas posts.  It is so hard to start thinking about Christmas when it is 90+ degrees outside, but now that it is in the 30's and 40's, it is much easier to think about snowmen and icicles, mittens and muffs. Have a great week, celebrating Thanksgiving with your family and friends, and I will check in with you very soon with more great holiday cards and ideas. See you soon!
Mindy

A Few More Thelma Tags

I finished a few more tags with the "Thelma" stamp my friend Mark Jetton at Deadbeat Design Stamps sent me.  He also promoted my blog on his post yesterday, so I thought if someone came looking for his link I would have more than the one little tag I posted yesterday.  Thelma is so much fun to stamp, color, and even paper piece! 

I have been adding scraps of scrapbook paper to tags for backgrounds for several weeks now.  If you viewed my blog last year before Christmas, you saw the tags I made to decorate a Christmas tree for our church group.  This year I am doing something different with the church group, but we haven't quite decided yet what it will be.  I do, however, like to have some tags prepared for decorating, "just in case I need them!"  Since many of Mark's stamps are Texas themed, I thought I would use another themed set by Paper Wings Productions (also Texas based) for the Texas sayings. These were from the Texas Quotes set.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend, preparing for Thanksgiving which is not too far away. These tags also make  wonderful place cards for your Thanksgiving table. So why not make up a batch to decorate your table, "and let your creative juices flow!"  See you soon.
Mindy

Crafty Friends

Hello Friends!

Today's quick post is a "Thank You" for a friend, Mark Jetton from Deadbeat Designs Stamps.  He sent me two of his newest wood mounted stamps, Thelma, and Small funky glasses.

I love these new designs, but hadn't had a chance to order them yet. Thelma is so cute, and there are several styles of her that Mark designed. There is also a full length version, called Thelma leaning, that is so creative and fun to work with in your card making.  The Funky Glasses also come in two sizes, and just add that special touch to your backgrounds and other images. You can view Mark's Gallery at his above mentioned web site, just click on the link and it will take you there.

To make this tag, I first took the Thelma stamp (in the square) and stamped it in the middle of the tag.  I then stamped a mask on a sticky note, fussy cut around it, and then placed it on top of the tag image.  I then inked the small glasses stamp with Tuxedo black Memento ink and stamped it around the masked image.  I then removed the mask, and colored in the image with my Copic markers.  To add some interest and texture to the background, I swiped the Old Paper Distress Stain from Tim Holtz around and then lightly spritzed the entire tag with Lindy's Stamp Gang's Desert Moon Purple Sage Glitz Spritz.  For bling, I added tiny pearls to the glasses frames, and a shiny ribbon to the top of the tag.  I then stamped the "Crafty Friends" sentiment from My Favorite Things, PI Crafty Things Stamp Set.

This saying is so true, one of my favorites: "Crafty Friends are the Best Friends!"  See you all soon! Keep on Craftin'.

Mindy

Relax, Take It Easy, Let Yourself Go!

Happy Friday Everyone!  I posted on Wednesday that today's post was going to be special, something that has been a long time in the making, and I wasn't kidding!

Several months ago I broke down and purchased one of the Art Journals that Ranger makes, just like the one Dyan Reaveley uses with her Dylusions Ink. I thought this would help me in journaling my thoughts, and help me try out products to see what they can do.  I stared at the blank book for weeks and weeks, before finally jumping right in and smearing some ink on a page.  I worked on one double page layout for weeks, letting the various layers of paint, gesso, and glue dry well.

Then it finally hit me!  You don't have to concentrate on one single page until it is done!  Now I have 6 or 7 pages started with backgrounds, and each day I have time to work in it, I add a little something to the pages I have started.  Wednesday I finally completed one page, and here it is in all it's glory!  Taa Daa!

I know it may not be exactly what I had in mind when I began, but I have to remember that " I am still a work in progress!"  I learn something new everyday, and that is really all that life is about.  AND, that is what this journal is all about! 

Learning new things, trying out new products, and creating something that speaks to me.

Sharing it on my blog will also give me the opportunity to receive constructive criticism from my bloggie friends and help me produce pages that I know will speak to others, too.  So feel free to share your comments with me, but just remember I am NOT a professional artist, I do this for fun and my own personal enjoyment. I hope everyone has a wonderful and productive weekend.  Stay safe, and if you get the chance, "Create a  little something that makes you HAPPY!"

Mindy

Chocolate for Mom!

Happy Tuesday everyone!  I am in a chocolate mood today, the darker the chocolate the better!

This card is made with two of my favorite stamps from Deadbeat Designs, the Chocolate Background and the "forget love * fall in chocolate!" stamp. I stamped the background stamp twice, side by side with Versacolor Sepia Ink on natural kraft card stock.  The image stamp was then stamped with the same ink on white stock, edged with the sepia ink and matted on a piece of Pool Layering paper from Hero Arts, and then foam taped to the right hand side of the card.  I forgot to mention that I also tied a knot with the striped ribbon before I adhered the image. I also outlined the pool of chocolate on the image with a light blue gel metallic pen to give it a little bling!

Mother's Day is a great time to give chocolate to the one you love!  Better yet, give it to yourself, beings it is so good for you! Enjoy some everyday, and until I see you again, have a great day!

Mindy

Peace, Love, and Margaritas

Fiesta in San Antonio is drawing to a close this weekend. The cards for today celebrate every day here in South Texas, not only during Fiesta. We have mariachis, sombreros, and margaritas that flow 365 days a year.

The backgrounds for these cards were made from the Firefly 6 X 6 paper pad from Prima, and the guitars were cut from the Folk Art Festival cartridge from Cricut. The phrase stamp, "Peace, Love, and Margaritas" the small sombrero, the margarita glass, and peace sign are all stamps from Mark at Deadbeat Designs.  The peace sign was stamped with the Blue Raspberry ink from ColorBox and the phrase, sombrero, and margarita were stamped with Tuxedo black ink from Memento. They were then colored in with my Copic markers and the margarita glass was highlighted with Icicle Stickles.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend, whether you are out enjoying the great outdoors, or staying in. I personally, am staying in this weekend to work on some cards for next month, Mother's Day cards for the 12th of May, and a new project for a dear friend who is having a birthday near the end of May. Thank you for stopping by for a visit, and don't forget to leave a comment on my blog, to be registered for my 1 year Blog-aversary Give-Away.  See you soon.

Mindy 

Happy Fiesta 2013!

Happy Fiesta, San Antonio, 2013!

It is party-time here in San Antonio. Although many think we party everyday, our BIG party event started this weekend through next weekend. Fiesta consists of lots of food, family, and FUN throughout the city. There are carnival rides for the kids, parades and pageants for the adults, and lots of food and drink for all!

There are also lots of arts and crafts on display and for sale all over the city, especially in the venues where the special activities are being held.

My card today, is a celebrating Fiesta card, with the Pure Innocence girl from My Favorite Things stamps. The Serenity set has the cute little girl sitting in a yoga pose, but works well for a girl sitting outside with her sparkler fireworks, celebrating Fiesta!  The letters spelling out fiesta, are cut from the Folk Art Favorites cartridge from Cricut, and the fireworks are from Deadbeat Designs stamps with a piece of twine used for their stick handle. I  stamped the Serenity Girl with  Memento Tuxedo black ink on white card stock, and then colored her with my Copic Markers. The fireworks were stamped with white Color Box ink and then Stickled over with Diamonds and Starburst Stickles. The die cut letters were cut from various colors of card stock, glued on to the black card base, then outlined with a white gel pen and glitter gel pen to really make them sparkle.

The weekend is here again, and if you are out celebrating Fiesta, celebrate responsibly, and have a wonderful weekend!

Thank Ewe Mark, from Deadbeat Designs Stamps

Thank You Mark, from Deadbeat Designs Stamps!
My post today is a card I made after the mail-lady came. I received a small package from Mark Jetton at Deadbeat Design Stamps, with stamps that he sent thanking me for entering his Texas Independence Day Card Challenge.

I think I liked the "thank you gift" more than the prize offered, especially since the stamps I received aren't even on his web site yet! The shadow Texas stamp, the barn/house with Texas Flag roof, and the small distressed Texas cut-out stamp, are the new stamps and when I added a few others from my stash of Deadbeat stamps, I had a cute landscape card to play with.  Of course, I will have to work on my content and perspective a little bit more, along with my shading and coloring, but all things considered, I think it made a pretty cute "quickie" card.  Adding Deadbeat's Clouds and Buzzards stamps, and a little banner that said "Thank Ewe!"  covered part of the "coloring" I really didn't care for. 

On the inside of the card, I typed with the computer; "No sheep, you say! They are inside the barn, hiding from the buzzards!"  That's my slight attempt at humor since thank EWE, (refers to a female sheep) and there are no sheep in the picture...... OK, I didn't say I was funny!

If you are interested in checking out Mark's great stamps, visit his web site http://www.deadbeatstamps.com/. He has all types of fun and interesting stamps, not only Texas stamps.
 I hope you are all having a wonderful week. Take care, and thanks for visiting my blog. Happy Stampin'!

I Heart Texas!

Boy, where does time go when you are busy with other projects?  I started in January posting on a rather frequent basis, but somewhere in February I went terribly wrong. Of course, sickness will do that to you sometimes. Well, now I am feeling much better, and hopefully back in the groove of blogging!

Today's post is a card I have been working on for celebrating Texas Independence Day, which is March 2, 2013.  I decided to make a business size card or #10, therefore having lots of space to decorate about my home state!  I started with a piece of 12"X12" scrapbook paper that I cut down to 8"X9" to fit inside the business size envelope. I then scored it in half width wise, and used a circle template to round off the left side to make the front of the card.  Using stamps from Deadbeat Designs, I stamped the barbed wire, Republic of Texas post mark, and the open star, on the beige background with Pumice Stone Distressed ink. I also stamped the Texas Forever Star, and the pick-up truck on white card stock before coloring the star in with prismacolor pencils, and the pick-up with copic markers. I cut around the Texas Forever star and mounted it on a scrap of the Country Heritage stripe scrapbook paper, and mounted the pick-up truck with foam adhesive to make it stand out from the card. I then went to work with my Cricut machine, and the Going Places cartridge.

For the inside of the card, I cut a half circle of card stock to display activities one may partake of to celebrate the holiday. Along with more background stamping, I cut out a tent, a fisherman with his boat, a camper,  a hiker, a young couple (for inside the pick-up) and the words "ENJOY" for the card front, and  "INDEPENDENCE DAY" with two stars for inside the card. The small lettering was from a Cricut cartridge called Word Collage.

After adhering the blank card inside for a handwritten message, I closed the card and glued the tiny Independence Day letters so they would be visible from the front of the card. I am entering this in the following challenge:
           
                +Deadbeat Designs- Texas Independence Day Card Challenge

I even decorated the envelope, which was not required, but every little bit helps! Right?

I hope you all have a wonderful day, and take a little time to enjoy the place where you live!