It's That Time Again!

     It's time for  this weeks Art Impressions Challenge!  It is called Lots of Dots, and it was such fun to create!  I was fortunate enough to have my DD come home this weekend and bring me all of her Art Impression stamps to use.  Woo Hoo, now I have more to choose from!

The AI stamps I used are:

E-2824
D-2820
I-2821

     I did a narrow card and it will be a thank you for some friends we dined with the other night!  The base is soft suede from SU!, with white card stock and a perfectly matched polka dot scrap I found hiding in my stash.  The images were stamped in tuxedo black, Memento ink, and colored with Copic Markers.  Sponging was created with VersaMagic inks, and images were cut out and layered with Spellbinders Big Scalloped Ovals dies.  Some shimmer was added with a Sakura clear star pen.  For accents, I used twine and a red button to coordinate with my cheese, and add a pop of color. 

     It is raining with a chance of flooding again.  Mother Nature is sure not happy this summer!  It was another weekend of wedding chores.  Time is moving so quickly!  I am just happy to be able to squeak in the couple challenges I am trying to be faithful to.  Thanks for stopping by, and all the notes of encouragement I have been receiving!

No Cookin' Recipe Card Challenge # 103

Well it's time for another House Mouse Challenge and we are asked to create a card and incorporate a recipe.  I drug out all my mousy stamps and since I used the apple on last time, I decided on the corn.  The stamps is called "Juggling Corn", and it is from 1998.

I use a base of Pure Luxury Pure White card stock.  My designer papers are from K&Co.   I printed and distressed my cornbread recipe.  My stamp was colored with Copic markers and the corn was glazed with 3D Crystal Lacquer.  My gemstone flowers are also from K&Co.

What a fun challenge this was, Mary!  I never would have thought of it.

This Week At Art Impressions......

The theme for AI's challenge #29, is Summertime.  I created a background scene and then used 3 of my Art Impression stamp.

I-1240  Norm

BB-1486  Buzzin Fly

E-2619  I'm retired

All of the papers are from a paper pack by Marcella called Clove.  It works well for masculine cards.  Coloring is done with Copic Markers.  Sponging was done with VersaMagic inks.

How can you not smile at these stamps!  Hope you are having a great start to your week.

Olga's August Rose's Challenge

     I was on the phone with Olga Rose when she realized it was her month to choose the challenge.  In my head I kept saying please, please, please, make her pick anything but flowers.  Well, my anguish became a reality when she said " Maybe we should do 3D flowers!".  Ugh, my heart sank.  Anyone who knows me, knows that this is not my speciality.  I gave it a go.

     I further challenged myself by using shades of purple.  I just never get the right shades.    Most of my card is all the usual stuff.  White base, scrap dp, MS border punch, and a Fancy Tag 3 Spellbinder for my sentiment.  I used some Prima leaves and a small spray of mauve and grey posies as my back ground.  Now, as for my 3D flowers that I made, I made roses from spirals that I cut out with pinked edge scissors.  I rolled them up, inked the edges, and used ZipDry glue to secure Hematite beads in the centers.  I am pleased, and think the card came away with a very Victorian feel.

     Please stop by to visit the other Roses in our bouquet:  Unsure who is posting today, as some have been MIA.  Give them a try!

Olga
Sue
Kerrie
Betty
Patti
Connie
Kym

     As for Hurricane Irene, she is still causing flooding and high winds, here in my little part of PA.  God is good and we have only some tree damage and we lost power briefly. Nothing that the chain saw won't fix.  We were however, under tornado warning all night and chose to sleep in the basement next to our wall that is underground.  Boy, was our doggie confused!  It is so crazy that we may actually see sun this afternoon. 

     Hope all is well with you and those you love.  Please stay safe.

Art Impressions Challenge #28 Anything Goes

Wowzer!  Here I am with back to back AI Challenge posts.  That just goes to show you how late I almost was with my last entry.  This week it is "Anything Goes".  I had fun creating this card for many reasons.

1.  I did not even know I owned this stamp.  Found this Art Impressions,  Little Dress-Up Girl in my bags of unmounteds and she is #H940.  I colored her in Copics and added some sparkle pen to accent.

2.  I always love when I can use up things from my stash.  My chipboard letters and the Prima flower w/pearls are both from when I did nothing but scrapbooking, and QVC sold us things in bulk.  LOL!

3.  My plaid background was made using the reinkers on a baby wipe, drug across glossy card stock.  I love the results and you can customize to fit your needs.

4.  I have really been trying to decorate the insides of my cards more, and I was able to use an Art Impression sentiment there.  It is # G941. 

My card stocks are Fresh Asparagus and Pure white from Gina K. Designs.  My inside has a bit of Melon Mambo from SU!.  Pearls and punched leaves are used for embellishments.

Thanks for stopping by and a happy TGIF!  Kids are coming in to do some wedding stuff, so I am sure it will be busy around here.

Art Impressions Challenge #27 Favorite Technique

     My absolute favorite technique is to use multiple stamps from my collection to "Create A Scene".  So glad I was able to use it for the currnent challenge over at the Art Impressions Blog.  When you start having a stamp to cover most any request, it becomes fun to combine and see what you can come up with.  I used 3 different Art Impression stamps to create this one.  My clouds are E-1025, The little girl is a front T1519 and my fence is P1499.  Coloring is done with Copic markers.  I used a small weed, and sentiment from different companies. Stickles, pearls, tiny Prima's and PopDots were used to embellish.  The card base is Tanned Leather and Pure White Pure Luxury cs with a layer of DCWV designer paper from the Nana's Kitchen collection.

      Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!  I wish you sunny days.

House Mouse Monday Challenge #102

I have been AWOL for a few days, and I do apologize sincerely. I have been working on wedding type things that I can not post.  Life is getting in the way again, but I just hate to miss my favorite challenges, so here goes!

The newest House Mouse Monday Challenge is #102 and is called Let's Get Fruity!  My choice of House Mouse stamps with fruit is a party of one.  My stamp is called "Spitting Apple Seeds".  I used Copic Markers to color my images and added 3D Crystal Lacquer to areas for a shiny effect.  I stamped and colored the apple 2x so I could cut it out and pop dot it.  My scene was cut out using the largest size of Labels Fourteen, Spellbinder die.  Sponging was done with Taken with Teal ink from SU!, and Memento Rich Cocoa.  I used a cranberry card stock for my card base and a scrap of an apple graphic paper from my stash.  A little red and white bakers twine and a button/leaf embellishment was added to the corner.  My sentiment is from A-Muse.

Thanks for taking a peek, and I hope your weeks is off to a good start.

Just Had To Share

Many of my followers had prayed for my dear niece, and her son Flynn Patrick, this past spring, when Flynn came into the world 9 weeks early, weighing just 2.9 lbs.  I finally got to meet him in person in July, when we attended his Christening Party. He is just the sweetest!

The other day, I received a thank you card and this is the photo that was on it.  Ahoy there, Master Flynn!  This was too cute not to share.  May he always have sweet dreams.

Thanks for stopping by!

One For The Boys!

It's time for the Art Impressions Challenge for this week, and it is #27.  Time to create one just for the boys.  I have used Harv and an AI sentiment, G1446.  I just found this fun guy in my unmounted stash the other day.  Didn't know I had him, and was thinking of buying him after I saw an adorable card by one of the DT members at AI.  Phew!

I have an ivory background of Pure Luxury cs, with a striped layer from Basic Grey Granola.  The Spellbinders Sprockets have been laying on my desk cut out for months. (Thanks Carol!)  I knew I would find just the right card to use them on.  My image was colored in Copics and I popped up some places and then added silver drops to make it look like machinery.  I did put the large open sprocket on the inside as a frame for my greeting.  I am sure it will be either a Happy Birthday, or a Happy Retirement.

Thanks for stopping by, and I am so glad I did not miss this weeks entry!

Heartfelt X 200

Sorry I have not been around to visit every one's blog this weekend, but my DD was home and we had major wedding stuff to get done.  It just so happens my Gina K. Designs order arrived on Friday, and when I saw Theresa Momber's new set called Heartfelt, my wheels started turning.   Well Theresa, you saved the day.  Not only did we use the new set 200 times, we were able to use a sentiment from one of your older sets to create the tags for my Daughters wedding favors.  Sharon Harnest did a tag that was very similar and that was our main inspiration.

They will be tied onto jars of yummy goodness, using jute twine, and placed at each place setting.  My hands are cramping so bad, I can barely type this, but we are both so excited about how they came out, that we could not wait.  We are thrilled with the results!

My daughter loves quotes so she opted for that on the backs rather than the typical bride, groom, and date.  The 4 colors of Distress Ink used are Peeled Paint, Tea Dye, Rusted Hinge, and Walnut.  The Clear Detail Embossing is from Stampendous. 

Thanks so much for letting me share, and I hope to be back to challenges and commenting tomorrow.  Gotta go scrub my inky fingers!!!!  Hope you had a fun weekend.

Winner!

Good morning!  After everyone's name went into the hat, the winner of my Blogoversary prize, as drawn by my DH, is Kathy and Lucky.  Kathy, please email me your mailing address to ma54k@comcast.net, so I can get your prize to the P.O. tomorrow.  Congrats!

I want to thank each one of my followers for making year #2 so special for me.  I really enjoy sharing a little part of myself with you. I consider each one of you a blessing.

 I hope you will stick around for year #3.  I think we will have lots to share!

Hugs,
Mary Anne

 

Stamping the day away!

Today I would like to share a card that I made to utilize some stashed items.  We all have them, don't we?  It just makes me so happy when I can use something that has been tucked in a drawer for ages. 

My card base is Pumpkin Spice PL card stock.  There is a layer of white PL and then a layer of Basic Grey from the Life of the Party collection.  I added leaves from the newer Spellbinders set called Foliage.  Next came my stash items, which are this adorable felt rounds, that I decided to use as flowers. They were something that Target sold a few years ago.  My sentiment is from my unmounted stash of unknowns.  There are pretty green DewDrops added to the corners. 

Speaking of my stash of unmounted, unknown stamps......... please don't laugh.  Here is a photo of the part of my life that I can't get a handle on.  I do have many, many, that are neatly in CD cases, but this is the overwhelming overflow.  I know it is not good for them to be in these bags, but it is what it is right now.  If I had one wish, it would be to use each one at least once, to make something beautiful.  Stop laughing!  Most of this was one Ebay win for $27.00.  I would go to the poor house if I tried to do binder boxes!  All but a few have been remounted onto cling.

On to other things.  Today, I have been blogging for 2 years.  If you leave a comment here before midnight tonight,  I will choose a winner for a little surprise.  You must be a follower and reside in the USA. (sorry, but shipping is a killer)