Snail Mail from Bethany

It seems to come up pretty often that I have to stick a check in the mail to a friend for this or that. I hate folding my checks to stick them in a regular sized card (4.25 x 5.5 inches). And I hate to just stick the check in the envelope all by its lonesome.

So, I created this cute, simple stationery set that will work for mailing checks. It's made with the largest megabilities long scalloped rectangle die cut as the base layer. The focal point is this darling "snail mail" stamp from the new Storage Units, Ink & More set, At a Snail's Pace (available August 1st). I made a couple of tall cards that just have my name (computer generated), and a couple of long cards that say "from the desk of Bethany Paull). I even fancied up the envelopes a bit with some patterned paper snippets to match.
Here's a close up of the long card version.

What's In It?
Stamps: At a Snail's Pace (SU Ink)
Paper: Core'dinations Grassroots, chocolate chip and very vanilla Stampin' Up!, brown and green polka dots K & Company
Ink: Tim Holtz's vintage photo distress ink
Accessories: circle nestabilities and long rectangle megabilities by Spellbinders, COPIC markers

You can also check out yesterday's peeks from Kimberly, Kathie, and Dawn. And Lauren has another one for you today.

Challenge Junkie

I think I'm getting addicted. I used Julee's Mojo Monday sketch for this week, Susan's Meet the Diva button challenge from the Verve Forum, and Verve's July Project Parade challenge to make an ATC. That's Artist Trading Card. If you'd like to join in, you have until noon Eastern time on July 31 to make your very own mini masterpiece. That will give you a shot at winning $15 in Verve Bucks. Check out all the fine print here.

And now for my pocket sized Picasso. I'd say it's pretty straight forward. I stamped the star and swirls, then cut it out to layer on the circles. I chose to actually sew on my buttons, which double as a scalloped edge, because I wanted the white thread to match the other white layers.

What's In It?
Stamps: Seeing Stars (Verve Stamps)
Paper: old olive, night of navy, pumpkin pie (Stampin' Up!); harmony: stripe (Paper Salon); pearlized white (Paper Accents)
Ink: night of navy (SU!)
Accessories: swiss dots cuttlebug folder (ProvoCraft); buttons (Dollar Store); ribbon (American Crafts and SU!); circle nestabilities dies (Spellbinders); thread; dimensionals

FYI-Check out some great sneak peeks from yesterday and today for Storage Units, Ink & More. Yesterday's peeks are at Leigh and Debbie's blogs. Today's are at Susan and Kendra's.

A Friend's Blessing

I made this card following the current MFT sketch. It uses a new Annie LaPoint - Peppermint stamp. Pretty, eh? I really like this new line from My Favorite Things. I stamped the image, minus sentiment. Then masked it to stamp just the top of the image a couple more times. I added an old vellum metal edge tag, for Laurie's Dare To Get Dirty Challenge, and water colored for Christine's. (You'll only be able to follow those links if you're a Splitcoast Fan Club Member.)

What's In It?

Stamps: Annie LaPoint's Peppermint (MFT Presents); A True Friend (A Muse)

Paper: river rock, soft sky, basic black (Stampin' Up!); white (Papertrey Ink); water color (Canson 100lb)

Ink: onyx black (Versafine); soft sky, mellow moss, bashful blue (SU!); C-1 COPIC marker

Accessories: square vellum metal edge tag, vintage brads (SU!); butterfly punch (Martha Stewart); ribbon (American Crafts); swiss dot cuttlebug folder (ProvoCraft); circle nestabilities (Spellbinders); dimensionals; water color brush; black gel pen (Sakura)

Free Weeds

Yesterday I found a little extra time to play along with the sketch challenge at Splitcoast. I included the little sketch image, since I had to flip it to fit my stamped image.

To get that image, I first stamped the wheelbarrow (All Things Grow with Love). Then I used a little sticky note to mask along the top, while I stamped the flowers and seed bag. Everything got colored (on watercolor paper) with Stampin' Up! markers, with an occasional swipe of my water color brush.

That cute red trim piece is just a strip of Core'dinations paper after trimming both sides with my corner rounder. Tah Dah! Paper frills in EVERY color! Then I added brads to the centers.

I also used a file to sand away some of the blue card base, so you could see a little white core.

What's In It?
Stamps: All Things Grow with Love (SU Ink)
Paper: Tranquil Blue, Raspberry (Core'dinations); water color paper (Canson 100 lb.); multi dot (Sandylion)

Ink: onyx black (Versafine); various markers (Stampin' Up!); C-1 COPIC

Accessories: brads (Creating Keepsakes); corner rounder (EK Success); water color brush; dimensionals; precision file set (Basic Grey); micron pen (Zig Millenium)

Glittering Hibiscus

This card is 4.25 inches square. Which I love, because you can still mail it in a regular envelope, which I always have on hand, and not have to pay extra postage.

I inked the flower petals with my Real Red ink pad, then colored the stamen directly to the rubber with a More Mustard marker, then stamped. Once it was on the paper, I added ruby red and basic black highlights, by coloring over top parts of the image I had just stamped. The leaves were inked in celery, then marker to rubber highlights with an olive marker. I just trimmed around the circles to get that scallop at the bottom, then rubbed the edges with a black marker. Stickles and brads and voila!

What's In It?
Stamps: Garden Isle, Sketch Sentiments (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Paper: white (Papertrey Ink); basic black (Stampin' Up!); Romani (Basic Grey)
Ink: Real Red, ruby red, more mustard, basic black, certainly celery, old olive (SU!); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories: fruit punch and lime green Stickles (Ranger); circle nestabilities dies (Spellbinders); black licorice brads (Lasting Impressions); dimensionals

Fun with SU Ink & More

That reminds me of the movie Fun With Dick and Jane. It was on tv recently. Quite funny. But, to get back to your regularly scheduled paper crafting...

I just wanted to pop in to share the fun I've been having with my Storage Units, Ink & More stamps. These stamps are just so darned cute and fun to color. You know... not too overly taxing in the coloring department. Just fun.

This first one uses the Leapfrog stamp set with some great solid papers from Core'dinations. I can't remember the last time I made a card with basically no white showing! But I like it. The frog is stamped on the green paper, then again on a scrap of white (colored with COPICs, cut out and popped up).

What's In It:
Stamps: Leapfrog (SU Ink & More) Paper: Yellow Sunshine, Citrus Oranges, Sky Blues, Grass Greens (Core'dinations); white (Papertrey Ink) Ink: graphite black Brilliance (Tsukineko) Accessories: oval punch, soft subtles button (Stampin' Up!); circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders); COPIC markers; ribbon (American Crafts); dimensionals

This is the sweet little dog from Boys 'n' Bugs. I stamped him with Versafine's Onyx Black and colored with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. Then I worked him into this design from Splitcoast Stamper's Sketch Challenge number 182.

What's In It?
Stamps: Boys 'n' Bugs (SU Ink & More) Paper: Berry Reds, Sky Blues, Grass Greens (Core'dinations); white (Papertrey Ink); Cutie Pie (Stampin' Up!) Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine); brocade blue (SU!) Accessories: Prismacolor pencils; Gamsol; black marker (Zig Millennium); gold and clear glitter pens (atyou Spica); neutral Cheeky flat clip (Making Memories); Ticket corner punch (SU!); white gel pen (Signo Uni-Ball); square nestabilities die (Spellbinders); dimensionals

Finally I have this happy little garden scene I put together with the All Things Grow With Love set.

What's In It?
Stamps: All Things Grow With Love (SU Ink & More) Paper: Berry Reds (Core'dinations); white (Papertrey Ink); Nana's Nursery Baby Girl (DCWV) Ink: Graphite black Brilliance (Tsukineko) Accessories: black pen (Micron); COPIC markers; circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders); Crystal Effects (Stampin' Up!); gemstones (Darice); dimensionals

Surfboards and Sunshine

Are you having a good Monday morning? I can't seem to get into the swing of things today, so I'll just leave you with a brief post. I can't seem to put down this Garden Isle set from Lizzie Anne. I stamped the hula girl and colored her with COPIC markers. I wanted her hair to be all dark and shiny, so I colored over it with a black gel pen. The surfboard is done in white embossing powder on some designer paper, with a fresh coat of wax (clear gel pen).

What's In It?
Stamps: Garden Isle, Sketched Sentiments (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Ink: graphite black Brilliance, Versamark (Tsukineko); perfect plum (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Pale plum, perfect plum, certainly celery (SU!); white (Papertrey Ink); Fresh Prints: plum blossoms (Deja Views)
Accessories: winter white embossing powder, celery grosgrain, earth elements brad (SU!); Kissy Fit Sassy Sequin (Queen & Co.); COPIC markers; black GellyRoll pen, white and clear glaze pens (Sakura)

Hang Ten?

Have you seen the preview for Lizzie Anne's new Garden Isle set? If you click that link and scroll down a bit, you'll see it. Can you tell what I've done? I used the surfboard to make this big, cool flower. It makes an awesome (or perhaps gnarly!?!) eight-petaled flower. Since it was such a graphic look, I just paired it up with a couple of circles.

Tonight's the night! If you can grab a few minutes for yourself tonight, stop in for the Lizzie Anne Luau, in the LAD forums 5-7 pm Pacific, 8-10 pm Eastern. There'll be priiiiizes! (You'll just have to imagine the sing song voice.)

What's In It?
Stamps: Garden Isle (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Paper: Bashful Blue (Stampin' Up!); white (Papertrey Ink); Romani (Basic Grey)
Ink: Graphite Black (Brilliance)
Accessories: COPIC markers; Cheeky flat clip in neutral (Making Memories); Big Brads in green (Queen & Co.); Celery grosgrain ribbon, 1-3/8" circle punch (Stampin' Up!); circle Nestabilities die (Spellbinders)

Desktop Photo Frame

I used a couple of chipboard coasters to put together this desktop photo frame. I just love the sentiment in this Storage Units, Ink & More set, "All things grow with love", also the name of the set. To go with that saying, I thought it would be so cute to put a baby or toddler picture on one side of the frame (inside) and a current picture on the other side. So you can see how your "little girl" has grown up.

I covered one side of each coaster with Chatterbox paper and the other side of each with the Basic Grey paper, applying with Mod Podge. After it had dried, sitting under a couple of heavy books to prevent warping, I sanded off any excess paper around all the edges. I used Basic Grey's precision file set, though a nail file can work as well.

I made the "hinges" with ribbon. Make sure the frame is fully closed when applying the outside ribbon, so there is enough to close the book. I stamped the sentiment directly on the ribbon with Onyx Black Versafine. The little girl and her flowers are stamped with Graphite Black Brilliance ink (heat set) and colored with COPIC markers. The little gir's shirt is paper pieced with the Chatterbox design. The flowers are from the Brides confetti canister from Michael's, with rhinestones added to the centers. It was so fun picking out which accessory stamp from the set to use inside too. You can customize it with whichever look you want.

What's In It?

Stamps: All Things Grow With Love (Storage Units, Ink & More)

Paper: Urban Couture: Loselle (Basic Grey); Scrapbook Walls: Nook Garden Floral (Chatterbox); regal rose, chocolate chip (Stampin' Up!); white (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: Graphite Black (Brilliance); Onyx Black (Versafine); Vintage Violet (Stampin' Up!)

Accessories: Brides flowers (Michaels); ribbon (American Crafts); icons gemstones (Me & My Big Ideas); photo corner punch (Stampin' Up!); rectangle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders)

Lizzie Anne Sneak

Is she too cute?!? I love her. She's part of the new Lizzie Anne release, Garden Isle. The release party will be at the Lizzie Anne forums Friday, July 18 from 5 to 7 pm Pacific time, which would be 8 to 11 for any of us East coasters. Be sure to stop by and say "hi". There'll be a customer gallery stroll and the announcement of the huge sketch challenge contest winner. Check out Tricia and Meredith's blogs today through Friday to see the full sets and individual stamps being released.

My chickie is stamped with Graphite Black Brilliance ink (heat set) and colored with copic markers, as is the flower trio too. I dotted all of the flower centers with Fruit punch Stickles and cut them out as a little accessory for the corner. Some dimensionals and paper piercing finished off this clean, simple design.

I admit, I had to do a quick internet search to know what "mahalo" meant. And it means "thank you". Perfect!

What's In It?
Stamps: Garden Isle (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Paper: white (Papertrey Ink); Pumpkin pie, regal rose (Stampin' Up!); Pink Squirrel and Orange Creamsicle (Pink Martini)
Ink: Graphite black (Brilliance)
Accessories: COPIC markers; fruit punch Stickles; paper piercer and template (Stampin' Up!); dimensionals; rectangle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders)

Blog Candy Winner

Thanks to all of you for entering the Lizzie Anne blog candy drawing. I enjoyed reading about your favorite seasons and the whys. Now, I'm not sure of my favorite season, you make them all sound so good! LOL.

And the winner is:

Here are your random numbers:137
Timestamp: 2008-07-12 11:29:19 UTC

Number 137 is:
Kelly Jo said...
My favorite thing about summer is that fall is right around the corner!Thanks for the chance...

Yay Kelly Jo!

I'll be contacting you right away for your address, but just in case it goes awry, you can drop me a line, too. Thanks.

There's still more blog candy to be won, through July 14. Stop by to say hi to Kendra today.

Lizzie Anne Blog Candy Bash

The anniversary celebration continues as Lizzie Anne Designs turns TWO! And today I've got the candy. As a matter of fact, so does Joslyn. So when you're done here, head to her blog, what i do, for another chance to win. You may also want to go to the Lizzie Anne Anniversary Celebration page, where you can check out all the happenings for the celebration, like the sketch challenge contest where you can win THE ENTIRE SUMMER RELEASE COLLECTION. Oh yeah, and the schedule for all of the remaining blog candy give aways.

So, how do you win?
Leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite season of the year. Be sure I can get hold of you! Leave an email address. If I can't contact you, I'll pick another winner. You have until midnight tonight to enter. I'll choose a winner and post by tomorrow morning.

Me? I LOVE SUMMER!!! More comfortable and relaxed clothes, flip flops, and sunshine!

So, what do you win?
A surprise gift from Lizzie Anne Designs.

Tranquil Beauty

I really liked the sketch this week from CPS, so I pulled out my new Feeling Groovy set from Verve Stamps and set to work. I liked the colors in this LaJolla paper from Me & My Big Ideas (double sided), so I just stamped the flowers in black on vanilla and cut them out. I accidentally made an extra blue and black rectangle, so I layered it under the sentiment circle. Kinda cute, huh?

The card is four inches wide by six inches tall. You could use 12 inch long paper, but I don't know that I have any in vanilla. So I cut two six by four pieces and glued them together at the top, then hinged them for the opening. (By scoring both pieces one half inch down.)

What's In It?
Stamps: Feeling Groovy (Verve Stamps)
Paper: very vanilla, basic black, bordering blue (Stampin' Up!); LaJolla (Me & My Big Ideas)
Ink: onyx black (Versafine)
Accessories: 1-1/4 and 1-3/8 circle punches (Stampin' Up!); Straight 'n' Narrow ribbon (Offray); dimensionals

My Vacation, Finally!

Yes, I am finally sharing some pictures from my trip to Paris and London. They're not the very best pictures. Everything is so big, it's hard to take a picture of it. And so crowded that you can hardly stop long enough to get a picture that isn't just full of more tourists. I told my husband that I was making a pictorial tribute to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, because my pictures were all so crooked. So, they've now been edited, brightened, and somewhat straightened. Here are some of the highlights.

PARIS:

The Eiffel TowerVersailles, from the back. This is really only about half of it. I couldn't get the whole thing in the picture. Yes, it's that big!One of the gardens at VersaillesThe Hall of Mirrors at Versailles

Winged Victory at the Louvre. We also saw the Mona Lisa, but a photo just can not do it justice, and the Venus de Milo.

Notre Dame. You can actually go up into the bell towers, but we ran out of time and had to catch our train back to London.

LONDON:Leeds Castle in Kent

Peacock at Leeds Castle. I swear this thing was following me all around the grounds.

Tower of London. This is actually only the oldest part of what people call the Tower of London. It's called the White Tower because it was whitewashed and the Norman Tower I believe because of the time it was built.

Big Ben and the London Eye in the background, which is across the river. And in reality, Big Ben is only the name of the large bell in the tower.

The Garden Walk in Hyde Park. This was so beautiful. I was very impressed by London's parks in both size and beauty.

Green Park just across from Buckingham Palace. (ETA: Sorry, we were meandering that day and one park leads to another. I just looked at a map and do believe this is in St. James Park.)

From a bridge in Green Park with Buckingham Palace in the distance. (ETA: Also St. James Park I believe.)

So, I guess there were more highlights than I had thought at first. Hope you enjoyed the little overview. I always dreamed about a trip like this in the true sense of a dream. I never thought I'd get to go. It was stressful, not knowing how to get around and not wanting to pay for taxis. I was starting to think I was going to have to sleep on the streets of Paris our first night, because we couldn't find our hotel. LOL. But we figured it out and actually crammed in all of the creme de la creme that we wanted to see.

Thanks for visiting.

Untie the Ribbons

Hint: Sew BEFORE adhering hardware! LOL. I added the stitching as an afterthought, and the foot on the sewing machine (is that called a zipper foot?) DID NOT want to go over top my two pieces of hardware. So my sewing is even messier than usual. But I still really like the look.

I stamped the pink squares, then stamped the butterfly and bamboo shoots on top with chocolate chip and wild wasabi, as well as the sentiment. The scallops were made with my trusty slit punch again. And I layered a glazed Sultry brad by Basic Grey on a round Hodgepodge Hardware piece for a little bulkier look.

What's In It?
Stamps: Asain Flair (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!); Sultry (Basic Grey)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi, Pretty in Pink (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Ribbon (American Crafts); Sultry brad (Basic Grey); Slit punch, Pewter hodgepodge hardware (Stampin' Up!); thread, sewing machine, dimensionals


I also wanted to give you a head's up that I'll have Lizzie Anne blog candy on Friday! You'll only have one day to enter, so be sure to stop in on Friday. By the time you get the email subscription, it may be too late.

Verve's a Member Company

That's right. As of yesterday afternoon, Verve Stamps is officially a member company at Splitcoast Stampers. Check out the entire Verve forum here. You'll find a free shipping code good through July 15, a Starry Challenge with $15 in Verve Bucks going to two random winners, not to mention all of the just for fun Verve chatter. Hope to see you there. You can stop in any ol' time.

Here's my sample for the Starry Challenge. I used a couple of shades of purple cardstock from the Grapes Core'dinations pack, along with Certainly Celery. These great stars from Verve's Polka Stars coordinate perfectly with Stampin' Up's large star punch. I love not having to cut things out. It always looks cleaner with a punch anyway. A litle bit of celery scalloped trim on the bottom, and it's good to go. I really like this clean "tall card" layout. Card is 3.5 by 6.25 inches.

What's In It:
Stamps: All About You, Polka Stars (Verve Stamps)
Paper: white (Papertrey Ink); certainly celery (Stampin' Up!); grapes (Core'dinations)
Ink: Perfect plum, elegant eggplant, old olive (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: gemstones (Hero Arts); scallop scissors (ProvoCraft); large star punch (Stampin' Up!); spring moss grosgrain ribbon (Papertrey Ink); dimensionals

The deets:

1. Simply make a new project using any kind of star (a stamp, a shape, an embellisment, paper, a punch, text, etc.). Doesn't matter what it is, it just has to have a star on it. Verve stamps are not required, but if you've got them why not show 'em a little love?

2. Upload your card to the SCS gallery using keyword VSCSTAR by Midnight ET (10PM Mountain time) on Tuesday July 8 and we'll select two random winners to receive $15 in Verve Bucks!

Lizzie Anne is Turning Two!

Lizzie Anne Designs is turning two! And we're all celebrating with blog candies, a "biggest prize ever" challenge, a gallery party, and...what could be better...NEW RELEASES! Check out all the not-to-be-missed details on the anniversary celebration page.

And now, a Lizzie Anne card. I used this week's Lizzie Anne sketch challenge and the totally cute Out of This World. I embossed the top panel with D'vine Swirls embossing folder and layered an extra navy piece on the bottom. The navy is stamped with stars and trimmed with pinking shear style scissors. The left planet and spaceship were colored with Copicmarkers and the right planet is a two-step stamp.

This is a tri-fold card, so here's a close up side view for you too.

What's In It?
Stamps: Out of This World (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Paper: pearlized white (Paper Accents); night of navy, pumpkin pie, real red (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: ruby red, more mustard, pumpkin pie (SU!); cloud white, VersaMagic, VersaMark, graphite black Brilliance (Tsukineko)
Accessories: 1-1/4" circle punch (All Night Media); circle Nestabilities die, detail white embossing powder (SU!); D'Vine Swirls embossing folder, Tiny Tags die (Cuttlebug); zig zag scissors

It's ALIVE!!!

Okay, so maybe just "It's Live" would be a better description. What is "it"? The Storage Units, Ink & More online ordering! Check out the stamps, check out the card stock, ink and markers. But before you go, check out my card. I mean, unless you really can't wait another second.

Look at all of these cuties. They really crack me up. They're just some of the options you'll find in the Leapfrogs set. I colored them with Copic markers and added a couple of bugs (also part of the set). I figured they could really use the matching sentiment "You have to kiss more than one frog to find your prince". HaHa!

What's In It?
Stamps: Leapfrogs (SU Ink)
Paper: berry reds (Core'dinations); old olive, Petals & Paisleys (Stampin' Up!); white (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: graphite black (Brilliance); Not Quite Navy (SU!); various Copic markers
Accessories: vintage brads, turquoise grosgrain ribbon, slit punch (SU!); circle nestabilities dies (Spellbinders)

Okay, now GO!