Even Better Than a Card

I have a card to show you, but I just had to share this with y'all immediately!  Yes, I have spent the entire morning watching it repeatedly.



Will you be watching the Royal Wedding?

Ea{s}t{er} Cake Graphics

Two fun Easter cards to share with you, using two Eat Cake Graphics bunnies:

Echo Park paper and Eat Cake Graphics stamps...what more does a girl need?  Oh, maybe just this.  I used it attach all the banner die cuts togehter, then attached just the ends onto the card so they're still loosely hanging.  The paper and stickers are Echo Park Little Girl mostly, and I paper pieced Flopsy bunny's got an egg.

This next one, I'm ashamed to admit, was started using a March Viva La Verve Sketch.  Yes, I realize that today is April 7th!  Hey, there's no deadlines on art, right?

Now, let me get out my "cute Easter card checklist" and see what we have here...SU square-patterned paper (retired): check!  SU dotted line paper: check!  Corner rounding: check!  Banner cut: check!  Polka dots: check!  Felted bunny made by crumpling up a piece of a paper and then slowly peeling the papers apart, then stamping & paper piecing Eat Cake Graphics Curious Cottontail Bunny: check!

Bunny butt?

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Follow The (Ink Blended) Edge!

I combined two challenges in making a card this morning: Splitcoast's Try a New Techinique "Follow The Edge" and PTI's Make It Monday "Ink Blending."

I first stamped PTI's Through the Trees tree using A Muse's French Roast and Fern ink, then clear embossed them.  I then used the Fern ink, along with A Muse's Sky ink, to ink up the background.  The sentiment, from PTI's All Booked Up, was stamped in French Roast.  I cut out the side (for the "Follow the Edge" challenged, adhered it to the Dark Chocolate base, then cut the base to match.   I wanted the inside to look book-y, so I added some Antique Linen distress ink to the edges, then stamped PTI's Text Style I using SU Crumb Cake ink.  I used PTI's Mat Stack 1 die as a mask for the PTI Enjoy The Ride birthday sentiment:

I didn't even plan it, but the curve of the mat stack die matches the curve on the outside.  Sweet!

Hello Out There!

Ok, this is getting ridiculous now.  My stamp desk and blog have been feeling so neglected.  On the other hand, my powerpoints for school have been rockin' recently, so maybe I should just start posting those instead, in case you wanted to catch up on your high school math in the middle of your crafting. 

What's that?  You'd rather see a card instead?  Ok, I guess you caught me in a good mood, so I'll share one.

After seeing this photo, I feel like maybe I should turn the card 90 degrees to the left (and also rotate the sentiment banners).  I used Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch from I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it weeks ago.  All sorts of October Afternoon Thrift store happening here.  Maybe too much?  I am in love with that Impress flower, though. 

Book Reports:
Book #9: Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer.   I was suckered into buying this when I read a review somewhere that compared it favorably to Malcolm Gladwell.  Yeah, notsomuch.  A few of the memory tricks were pretty neat, but there just wasn't much "umph" to the story.  Based on the other reviews, I may be an outlier. 

Book #10: This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper.  Perfect vacation book--laugh out loud with lots of good scenes.  Makes me want to read more of his books. 

Book #8 Update: The Help comes out in paperback Tuesday!

Why I Haven't Been Posting

I think Kitty Noodles from Eat Cake Graphics has had the same type of day (or week, or month) that I've had recently.  :)  It's been so crazy, I made this card for last week's Splitcoast's sketch challenge and a new one is already up.  I thought Kitty's whirlwind day would coordinate great with the Journal Blotch Circle.  I printed the sentiment on my computer, after doing a few test prints and using my stamp-a-mag-jig to make sure everything would fit.  Kitty Noodles is stamped and heat-embossed, then painted with an aqua painter and Wild Honey Distress Ink.  The patterned paper is Studio Calico's Anthology collection, and the kraft paper was stamped with Skipping Stones Design's Grunge stamp set.  Core'dinations paper sanding, sewing, distressing, and tim holtz tiny attacher attaching finished it all off!

I also have some happies to share:

I won this fabulous blog candy from Angela of Paper Cupboard.  Look at that fantastic card she included--she has magical powers when it comes to mixing patterns.  Maybe some of her powers will rub off on me when I use those great flowers!  Thanks, Ang!

Emily of Art from the Heart sent this wonderfully glittery St Patrick's Day card--doesn't it just radiate happiness?  Thanks, Em!

I was also featured last week on The Facebook for PTI's Make It Monday challenge and I won Embellish Magazine's Music Challenge.  Yippee!!

Even more exciting, I've been awash in comments and followers.  Each time one of y'all takes the time to leave a happy or even, gasp, choose to follow me, it warms my heart!

But the best happy of all?  DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME, BABY!!!!

Share your recent happies in the comments!

Embellish Music Challenge

Just a quick post to meet the deadline for the latest Embellish Magazine challenge.  I hope these rockin' A Muse guitars count as the "with music."  I used this week's early Clean and Simple Fall-To Layout #132, flipping and elongating it.  A fun background pattern using Skipping Stone Design's Grunge stamp set (a prize from my previous Embellish win!) was stamped onto another sheet of kraft, which was of course torn to make it rockin'!  I also grunged everything up with Antique Linen and Vintage Photo distress inks, which I also used to darken the metallic studs that I used to "hold up" the guitars. Here's the whole she-bang:

Hope you are rockin' tonight!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Blog Follower (that's you):  Um, seriously?  She is not going to show more St Patrick's card, is she?  I don't think she even made this many Christmas cards.  I've also seen her use $24 sets less than she's used this $5 PTI Luck of the Irish set!
Blogger (that's me): Yes, yes I am going to show you more St Patrick's Day cards.
Blog Follower: Really?  Why did you not just put all of them in one post?
Blogger: I'm trying to extend the joy of the green, my friend.  Plus I was trying to wait until they reached their destinations, but I guess the last two people will just have to act surprised when they open their mail today or tomorrow.
Blog Follower: I'm not sure if you're using "their" correctly.  It's not their joint mail, is it?
Blogger: Ok, you got me.  I never know what to use in that situation.  But at least I know that you go to an isle for vacation and you go to an aisle to get a new thingamabob at Hobby Lobby.
Blog Follower: Well, I never would mistake one of those for the other!
Blogger: And that's why I'm....

lucky to count you as a friend!

Blog Follower: Wow, that was a lot of effort to get to that card.
Blogger: But wasn't it worth it?  Do you not see that fabulous retired Kiwi Kiss papers and ribbon going on here?  The white embossing?  The multiple dies?
Blog Follower: And the white inking!
Blogger: I know-white inking!  I told you it was worth it.  But should I have corner chomped the top right corner?
Blog Follower: But what if it had not looked good and you already did all the fancy stamping with the PTI vintage labels flourish and all that paper and ribbon adhered?
Blogger: There's the rub, my friend.  So I left it as is.  Hey, want to see yet another card?  If you say yes, I'll tell you a secret afterwards!
Blog Follower: Ooooh, I love secrets!

Blogger: Tada!
Blog Follower: Um, seriously?  Why are you putting black on a St Patrick's Day card?
Blogger: IT'S HUNTER GREEN.
Blog Follower: Of course it is!  That makes more sense.  Hey, what ink colors did you use?
Blogger: I think Memento New Sprout.  Or maybe SU Certainly Celery.  I know the dark is Peeled Paint Distress ink.
Blog Follower: Yeah, even I know it's Peeled Paint Distress Ink.  I'm a follower and that's the only thing you've mentioned in the all these St Patrick's Day posts.  What's next--a card using Echo Park paper?
Blogger: Uh, way to ruin tomorrow's surprise!
Blog Follower: Oh, was that your secret?
Blogger: No, my secret is that Amuse Art Stamps is having a 50% off EVERYTHING sale with code 50gone!  I think they are going to shut down their web presence and focus only on the new Amuse Studio (which will have its ordering website up and running April 1st).  Pssst....you didn't hear it from me, but you can get  some great deals when you click the "sale" category (at the end of the stamp category listing).  We're talking 20 sheets of paper for $2.50!  Stamp sets for $2.50!
Blog Follower: Ok, that was a pretty good secret.  Do you get anything from that sale since you're a demo?
Blogger: No, I'm just that nice.
Blog Follower: Hey, I have one last question.  Are you perhaps wearing sparkley green shamrock antennae right now?
Blogger: You know me too well, Blog Follower.  You know me too well.