Sketch Challenge #2

Happy Friday to one and all. Last night I found a little time to stamp the second sketch challenge card. I am always in need of birthday cards, so I decided that I'd make one for a little girl. I am also always in need of using up the cute things I buy (sometimes without ever putting a dent in the amount of cute stuff!), so I chose some paper flowers, too. Pretty simple and straightforward, huh?

Have you had time to play along with some of the fun challenges and games? The Designer Match game is also going on this week. Have you figured out which card is mine? Hmmm..... Check out the A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA blog for more info.

card info: notecard, images, ribbon, twinkle stickers and sentiment by A Muse, Copic markers - pinkish white, sand, Prismacolor markers - jet black, grayed heather, white gel pen, superfine glitter, Prima paper flowers.

Sketch Challenge #1

For the challenge this week, Tisha posted two sketches for card designs. You can see these here. I decided to go with the square card first because I had an idea I've been wanting to try for a while now.

Has anyone ever seen a Good Luck Rooster from Portugal? My parents have owned a couple of these roosters (one black, one white) forever and I wanted to see if I could make one of my hen stamps into a rooster. The detail work on these painted roosters is amazing and each one is different. I used my Triplus fineliner pens for this, but I need to try it again.

All in all, I am happy that it came out, but I am probably going to try this again. This is a virtual card for my brother, who just started a new job on Monday - good luck PJ!!

card info: image by The Saltbox Studio, sentiment and blue and red cardstock by A Muse, black and kraft cardstock, Triplus markers.

Last Call

Not for drinks, but for your Out of the Box Challenge cards. Tonight is the deadline, so if you have time and haven't participated, check out >this post.

I have had this idea in my head for a couple of days but just found time tonight to work on it. I was in a hurry to get it done; I should have pulled out my stamp positioner! Oh, well, I still think it would be a fun card to send to someone.



I found the clip art of the ten dollar bill online which made it easy to accomplish my vision. Then I made a pocket out of cardstock so that I could slip some money inside. Everything else was from a stamp, except for the "M" in mad and the Boris banner. I definitely think that any money with Boris on it would be considered "MAD!"

info: stamps, paper, sentiments by A Muse, Copic markers - warm grays no. 2 and 4.

A Clue! A Clue!

Has anyone been waiting for a new clue from me? I've seen lots of clue cards so far, but I haven't got it figured out yet. Of course, I haven't given the game my undivided attention, either. This card is NOT an answer to the final card. I hope this will help out someone!

It Is My Turn!

You may have seen his card before, but it is just an example for the "Out of the Box" challenge that I am hosting this week on the A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA blog. Please check it out and play along! There are some great examples on the AP blog, in case you need some more inspiration. When you are ready to share your creation, post it in the special SplitcoastStampers gallery - here.

Thinking out of the box isn't too hard, so don't be intimidated. Here is one more card for you. For this one, the sentiment is used "out of the box." I gave my husband this card for our anniversary last Saturday. (The card was inspired by a scene in a movie, I think "Pee Wee's Big Adventure," when he was kissing a woman and they showed fireworks instead of the kiss.)





card info: sentiment, images (couple is discontinued), papers by A Muse, pop dots, cardstock by Bazzill,
Copic markers - raw silk, pinkish white, sepia, burnt sienna.

Playing Games

My kids finished school last Friday, so we are now in summer vacation mode. That means very early morning or late night trips to the grocery store. I may be crazy having four kids, but I am not crazy enough to take them all grocery shopping with me!

Before school ended, my kids wanted to get their teachers a little something to say thank you. We got them gift cards to the local Great harvest Bread Co. I made some gift card holders shaped like tags, using up some chipboard letters that have been wasting away in a drawer. I like the way these turned out, so I kept the pattern. Here is a peek at the tags:



I need to take care of some fun stuff now. If you've registered for A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA and have checked the blog, you've seen that there is a new game this week. You can see the post here for more info. What I need to do, is reveal that I have a playing card that is NOT a correct answer. Here is my card:





Check out the other Creative Team members' blogs for more CLUE help today!

AMAP - Inspiration Challenge

Here is my card for the Inspiration Challenge issued by Jenn. I don't use a purse (I only own one and it is a tiny thing), so I would never have thought to look at a purse for inspiration. I do love the colors, and the pattern has a lot going on in it. There is this cool swirly flower that is on the top of the bag that I just love, so I decided to mimic that a little (you can see the purse here). It isn't quite the same, but when I stick with a basic layout for a card, I tend not to be disappointed in the end result.

I hope you have a chance to play along with this challenge before tomorrow night!

card info: images, papers and sentiment by A Muse, Copic markers - lipstick red, manganese blue, Stickles, pop dots.

Here Chickie, Chickie!

Today is the day! The new mini release from The Saltbox Studio is ready to go. I have really enjoyed working with these chickens. Today, I tried polka dots again, just straight on the polka dot paper. And thank you to Nicole for the great information on the hens! I am going to have to look at some pictures of hens to see how many different ways I can color these.

I used LOTS of pop dots on this card. See below for a close-up.




I used a card sketch from Splitcoaststampers for this one. I am not good about doing the challenges, but sometimes I look there for sketch ideas. It is really a tremendous resource for any stamper. SCS is also one of the sponsors for A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA again this year. Julie has a great write-up about the website. Make sure you check out all the fun on the A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA blog for fun contests and challenges. If you haven't registered this year, make sure you do, or else you won't be eligible for the contests. Now, you wouldn't want that to happen, would you?

card info: images and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio, notecard and papers by A Muse, Copic markers - lipstick red, apricot, raw silk, sand, sepia, burnt umber, pop dots.

Becky Inspired *sneak peek*

I've been looking at some of Becky's sneak peeks and she is just making the most darling polka dotted hens. I can't remember the name of that particular breed of chicken, but I have seen black and white hens at farms and even a few children's picture books. So I decided to try my own. I think it has way too many dots (need more white space!).

I thought Mother Hen would look great on a little welcome banner, perfect to send to a farming family. I am gearing up for a trip south in a couple of weeks and I cannot wait to be in farming country. These hen and chicks cards are making me anxious to pack my bags and hit the road.

card info: images by The Saltbox Studio, Prismacolor markers - crimson, cinnamon toast, pumpkin orange, raspberry, black fine tip pen, ribbon from my supply.

Chick Magnet

Here's another card featuring the mother hen from the new release from The Saltbox Studio. I covered the hen with one of the A Muse clear stickers, then cut off the scallop edge. I had intended to add a magnet to the back of this, then adhere a glue dot to stick it to the ribbon so it could be used as a magnet, but I couldn't find the package of magnets in the drawer, so I nixed that idea. It would have been cute, though. I have a couple more cards to share, just got to get those photographed.

On the home front, I had a child come home from church with "Nurse Maid's elbow." It is a slight dislocation of the joint. It was worrisome enough to take a trip to the E.R., but the doc was able to just pop it back in place with very little drama. It was my first trip to the E.R. and I was so glad that we were there for less than an hour!

card info: image and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio, papers and clear sticker by A Muse, ribbon from my stash, pop dot, Copic markers - sepia, lipstick red, canary yellow.

Unexpected Guests and a *sneak peek*

Yesterday was a strange weather day for us. We had a very swift moving storm (including some reported tornadoes) blow through the area yesterday around 2:45 and it was a bit destructive. Lots of big trees down and power outages. The schools even kept kids at the schools until 4pm because we were under tornado warnings. So all of the buses were running late. My kids didn't even get home until 4:45 and I went to pick them up from school! Who knows when the bus would have come through our neighborhood. The school had been without power for about an hour and a half and a custodian was stuck in an elevator.

What else does weather like this cause? Airport cancellations and closures. My sister and her family, as well as my parents, were passing through here on their way to Arkansas. Their flight was cancelled yesterday and they were in need of places to hang out for the night and today. So last night, in the second storm of the day, my husband drove to the airport to pick up my mom and dad and deliver a car seat and diapers to my brother-in-law's mom. My kids were happy to see their grandparents and spend some unexpected time with them, though, so it wasn't all bad.

In all the craziness of the last 30 hours, I never got around to posting a sneak peek for you from The Saltbox Studio. I used some unusual colors for this one, mostly to give it a feminine feel. Some days I think a "chick retreat" would be so nice. But, then I think about what would be going on at home and I get antsy to return to my roost! Hope to be back tomorrow with another sneak for you!



card info: image and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio, notecard and paper by A Muse, ribbbon by May Arts, Prismacolor markers - sunburst yellow, deco pink,

A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA 2008 - Color Challenge

Guess what? Two posts in one day! Yay! I knew this color challenge was coming up, so I wanted to make sure I posted the card I made to play along with all the stampers. You can find the rules here. I would never have thought to put these three colors together. I also made myself use the first stamp I saw when I opened up one of the stamp drawers. Lucky me, it was a cupcake :) I don't know when I'll send this one, but I like how happy the lone cupcake looks.

If you haven't checked out the A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA blog, be sure to do so, lots of fun games and challenges and PRIZES!!!!!

card info: notecard, papers, twinkle sticker, image and sentiment by A Muse, Copic markers - dark pink, sand, glitter by Stampendous, Quickie glue pen, pop dots.

Chicks *sneak peek*

Here is a little sneak of the new images from The Saltbox Studio. I am quite partial to all of the farming images because these provide me with lots of memories of trips to Arkansas and my grandparents' farm. These little chicks are fun. I wish I had some yellow flock to fuzzy them up a bit! This mini set will release on June 10, so I will have a few more sneaks for you before then. I have a couple more ideas for the images, too, so back to the stamp room for me!

I'll be back soon with some more fun stuff for you! *wink*

card info: images and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio, notecard by A Muse, Copic markers - canary yellow, pale olive, sand, manganese blue, blush, apricot, grass green, warm gray no. 2.

Easy Thank Yous

My son received a few gifts for his First Communion two weeks ago, so last week I made him some thank you notes. I used that cute church birdhouse from The Saltbox Studio again and I added a little scored-line all the way around the edge of the card (which just doesn't show up in pictures). These turned out so lovely, just simple and easy with no frills, a perfect compliment for a boy's chicken scratch handwriting.


In other BIG NEWS: A Muse A Palooza events are starting this week!!!!! I am so excited to be behind the scenes this year. Everything that is planned sounds like a lot of fun for the participants, so make sure you have signed yourself up here if you haven't done so already.

In more BIG NEWS: I get to share some sneak peeks starting Tuesday for the new mini-release from The Saltbox Studio. Beth has already shared a cute card sample. Love those chicks!

Get ready for a fun week!!!

notecard info: image by The Saltbox Studio, sentiment and paper by A Muse,
Copic markers - sand, powder blue.