Happy Birthday, Picklehead!

Tomorrow is my cousin's birthday.  His name is Brian Junior.  I grew up calling him BJ.  He hit high school and realized BJ would get him teased.  He refused to answer to anything but Brian.  I suck at calling him Brian.  Growing up, our beloved Uncle Greg dubbed him Picklehead.  Thus, I call him Picklehead.  Hey...it's not BJ.

Anyway, he's turning 29 tomorrow.  He's a veteran of two Iraqi tours which resulted in him being rewarded with a purple heart and an honorable discharge.  Now, he works at the VA Hospital in Oregon.  All in all, he's a pretty super kid.

I wanted to make him something I though he would like, so, per my Mom's suggestion, I busted out my Kraftin' Kimmie Betty. 

Here is his card:

I made the background paper by repeatedly stamping 'Happy' and "birthday', then separating with some shiny red ribbon.

I colored using Copics and accented with my Stickles.  I {puffy heart} Stickles.

Thanks for looking!

A Get Well Kimmie

I had another Kimmie I had yet to try, so I figured I would keep the Kimmie going!  I had the distinct pleasure of using Kraftin' Kimmie's Betty to make a get well card for a special friend.

 

The card base is Papertrey Ink's True Black.  The background papers are from DCWV's Dots, Stripes, and Plaids paper stack.

I colored Betty using:
Hair: E11, E13, E17, E19, and R35
Skin: E11, E00, and E0000
Eyes, BG15, BG18, C9, C7, and C5
Shirt: BG78, BG75, and BG72
Shorts: B69, B66, and B63
Lips: R35 and R27
Flowers: Y18, Y15, and E59

I blinged her up a bit with BBP white blings....

 ...and blue blings.

Lastly, I made her super fantastic with my beloved stickles.  I would let you know which ones they were, but by 140 lb dog is lying in front of that drawer and I don't feel like dragging him out of the way.  =o )

Thanks for looking!

Kraftin' Kimmies goes Monochromatic!

This week's Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge was to go monochromatic.  I had so much fun with the Some Odd Girl Monochromatic that I *had* to participate!  I believe this is my first official Kimmie Challenge card.  I had an absolute blast coloring Danny to make the card below for my Papa.

The card base is Papertrey Ink's True Black.  The background layer is ... I must've thrown away the strip...so, I'm not sure who it is!  Sorry.  It's a fanastic black and white plaid though!

 Both the Danny and the sentiment are from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps. I colored the image using C9, C7, C5, C3, C2, C1, and 0.

I highlighted areas of the image using a white gel pen.

The strips along the top, bottom, and around the sentiment are from DCWVs Alphabet Stack.

To finish it off, I added black and white eyelets at the corners of the image.

No Stickles!

Thanks for looking!

Hello Kitty Duct Tape Purse

What?!  You made a Hello Kitty Duct Tape purse?!  Why, Yes I DID!

A long time ago, a good friend of mine got my daughter (then 2 yo) a roll of Hello Kitty duct tape.  It's been in my purse for months!  What on Earth am I going to do with Hello Kitty duct tape?  I have to do something awesome, but what?!

A purse, you say?  A.purse.I.say.

The pictures are terrible, but I am so darn proud of myself right now.  =o )  I used the Hello Kitty duct tape and a roll of purple that I picked up.  I thought doing the entire thing in Hello Kitties may be overload to the point of creepiness.

It was actually really easy to do.  

The handles even worked out well.  I was very thankful for my Crop-A-Dile.

The inside of the purse is a random fabric I had lying around.  It was the only thing I had that was pink, so I'm not sure it matches, but Rizzo won't care.  I hope she's as excited about this as I am.

Simply Betty Stamps: The First Day of Halloween

Simply Betty Stamps is doing daily challenges as a countdown to Halloween.  See details on the Simply Betty Blog.

The first day of Halloween our challenge was to use an owl and a creepy tree.

Here is my card:

The background is intended to look like a sunset.  The scalloped look was created by punching out 1" circles of the coordinating colors and layering as shown.  The tree is from the Stretch Your Imagination Cricut Cartridge.

The owl is from The Cat's Pajamas Camping set colored using Copics E59 and E57.  His guitar was colored using Copics E53 and E11.

The little rocker is Oscar from Simply Betty's Jude & the Rockers line.

I colored him using:
Hair: C7, C5, C3
Skin: E11, E00, and E000
Shirt: R35, R27, YG09, YG07
Eyes: BG13
Pants: B66 and B63
Shoes: C9, C7, and C3.

...AND.... No Stickles. 

Thanks for looking!

Ccaaarrrroooootttssss. Hambo Hoedown Sketch

This week Hambo challenged us with a Sketch Challenge!

Here is our Sketch:

I had the pleasure of using Hambo's *adorable* Zombie Bunny stamp.

Here is my card:

This bunny is too much. 

I got my ThinkGeek order in the mail today.  I had ordered an "Infectious Disease Stress Ball" for my cubicle at work.  My infectious disease of choice!  ZOMBIE!  It's an orange ball that "pusses" green.  It's super fantastic.  It was the inspiration for my background paper.  I made it using Papertrey Ink's Winter Cheer set with Stampin' Up!'s Garden Green and Orange Inks.   The middle layer is just Recollections purple with the Winter Cheer flourish stamped through the center.

I colored the bunny using Copics YG09, YG07, YG05, G02, G00, E59, E57, V06, V04, V02, and my oranges.  They are new to me and I don't know the numbers off the top of my head.  My Copics are too far away from me right now and I'm super tired and even more lazy.  If you really need to know, post a comment and I will put forth the effort for you.  =o )

Lastly, I accented with my beloved Stickles.  I think I can stop saying that I use Stickles.  It should just be assumed.  I'll note when I don't use Stickles.  It happens, really.   =o )

Thanks for looking!

Some Odd Girl Monochrome

This week's Some Odd Girl Challenge is to only use Black and White.  I was excited to do this challenge because I've never colored with a pure monochrome shading technique, so it was new for me.  I also used this opportunity to complete this week's CPS Sketch #240.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my take on the card using Some Odd Girl's Sigh Mae in her unsaturated glory:

The card base is Papertrey Ink's black cardstock.  The background paper is from DCWV's Alphabetics paper pack.  The 'H' and 'I' are from the same back.  I cut out and framed each letter.

Sigh Mae was colored using Copic's C9, C7, C5, C3, C2, and C1.  To color the skin, I used C2 and C1, then used the colorless blender to shade.

Lastly, I used my Black and Frost Stickles to accent her dress, shoes, eyes, and hair.  I used liquid pearl to add some shiny to the highlights in her hair.

Thanks for looking!

My First YNS Challenge and CPS 239

Like many of the challenges, Your Next Stamp has entered by register as another first for me this month.  I've decided I need to take a break from card making.  I've been making 1-2 cards a day ever since Dad went into the hospital.  I'm seeing my crafty exhaustion portrayed in this card.  =o )

So, I'm new to YNS.  The YNS team is offering a free digi as part of this challenge to allow us n00bs the opportunity to play along.  THANKS, YNS!  I took this opportunity to also complete CPS Sketch #239.

The YNS challenge was a Halloween theme and below is CPS Sketch #239:

Here is my take on both challenges:

I used so many different stamps on this card.  First of all, this cute little Witch is from Your Next Stamp.  The 'Splats' on the moon are from Recollections Splats set.  The clouds are from The Cat's Pajamas Camping set.  The swirls are from a Recollections border set. 
 

I used Memento's Long Fog to splat the moon and Memento's Tuxedo Black on the swirls and the clouds.  I then swirled Papertrey Ink's fresh snow ink within the clouds for a floaty effect.  I really like it.  I'll do it again.

I colored Witchy with Copics: Cy, YR09, YR07, YR04, V09, V06, V04, YG09, YG07, YG04, R22, Y18, Y15, E11, E00, E000, E57, and E55.

No Stickles.  I know.  Tragic.  It's been a long week and I'm tired.  I skipped out on the Stickles to save time.  I'm sure I'll regret it in the morning.  =o )

Thanks for looking!

All Wrapped Up: Hambo Hoedown

This week's Hambo Hoedown challenges to use the fantastic Halloween color combination of black, purple, orange, and green.  I used the Hambo digi All Wrapped Up digi to complete this challenge.  I haven't quite decided yet if I like the card.  I made a lot of mistakes (i.e. Hello, upside down sentiment!), but I really do like this color scheme.

Welcome our little mummy:

 The card base is Papertrey Ink's black cardstock.  The pattern paper is Moxxie.  The black and purple layers under the Mummy are Recollections plain.  I stamped the spider webs onto the cardstock using a stamp Recollections Halloween set.  I stamped the spider webs using Memento Tuxedo Black and Papertrey Ink's Fresh Snow.

The Trick or Treat ribbon is Celebrate It Halloween.

 I colored using Copics E000, YR09, YR07, YR04, C7, C5, and G02.

The sentiment comes with the All Wrapped Up digi.

Oh!!  ...and Stickles.  Frosted Lace on the Mummy.  Rust and Black on the pumpkin.

Thanks for looking!

Some Odd Girl Challenge

Welcome to my first Some Odd Girl Challenge.  I am new to Some Odd Girl Stamps.  I've been broadening my horizons in attempt to keep the creativity going.  This is the 12th card I've sent to my Dad in the hospital in as many days.  It's difficult to make a card every day to send to the same person just to keep his spirits up.

Rambling aside, Some Odd Girl has challenged us with the following sketch:

Here is my take on the card:

Once I got the card done, I realized it was *way* to girly to send to my 61 year-old veteran, Harley riding, Daddy.  So, I sent him a card from the stash and mailed this one on to a very special friend.

I used Some Odd Girl's Sigh Mae digi and colored using Copics.

Hair: Y28, Y26, and Y32.
Dress/Shoes: BV04, BV01, BV00
Socks: B02, B00, B000, E000
Skin: E11, E00, E000
Eyes: BG18, BG15, BG13

I then accented with my beloved Stickles, although you can't really tell from the photo.
Socks: Frosted Lace on E000.
Hair: Yellow on lines
Dress: Purple around edge

I used Nestabilities and printed the sentiment off of my PC onto Papertrey Ink's white cardstock. The purple cardstock is Recollections from Michaels.  Honestly, I have no clue where I got the purple bling hearts.  They were in my embellishments bin and I only had three left...

The card base is Papertrey Ink's white cardstock.  The patter paper is Little Yellow Bicycle Loose Leaf and Blue bubbles (1 sheet, double sided).

The ribbon is Celebrate It Holiday wired edge ribbon (I removed the wire prior to adhering it to the card.)  I stuck the card together using a combination of Tombow tape roller (who recently changed their tape...and I don't like it), and glue dots.

Anywhose, I think that covers it all.  I really enjoyed by first SOGgy.  I've stalked the blog for awhile, but never jumped on board.  Yay for the SOG Hop.  =o )

Thanks for looking!

The Ugliest Card. Ever.

I made the monster below for this week's Hambo Hoedown and CPS Sketch #238.  The challenge is to use a technique on the card that begins with the first letter of your first name.  My mind immediately went to TIE-DYE!   Epic genius, right?   Fail.  The idea sounded so fantastic in my head.

I got the card colored and hated it.  At this point, I was committed.  So, thanks to the gaudy tie-dye and a horrid watercolor mixture it is *insert introductory trumpets*  THE.UGLIEST.CARD.EVER.   Now I {puffy heart} it.  Ok, no...really don't.  It's terrible.

Seriously, though?  Committed, so here it is.

I'm not even going to provide a supply list...because you don't want to make this card.  However, don't let this horrific execution fool you.  Flower Monster is adorable when used properly.  If you *love* him as much as I do, head on over to Hambo and pick him up.

......

 

.......


/Facepalm.

My First Hambo Hoedown

I was introduced to Hambo Hoedown by Operation Write Home.  I wanted to play immediately, but hadn't had the inspiration to rock one of their adorable digi stamps.  Luckily, this week's Hoedown didn't require much creative ability.  It's CASE week!  I hopped on to the Digi Store and picked up the awesome little Monster Sax that I had my eye on and got to work.

I CASE'd the card linked to the stamp.  It was done by Melissa Edwards.  It's pretty fantastic.  I'm not going to lie.  I was super excited with how my monster came out.  In fact, I immediately threw a stamp on him and walked my dog up to the mailbox.  This little jazz is on his way to see my Dad.

Supples:
Stamps: Monster Sax [Hambo], Sentiment [Smart Pants, Stampin' Up!], Background Basics: Music Notes [Papertrey Ink]
Paper: Papertrey Ink white and black.  Recollections Blue. Basic Grey Pattern Paper.
Ink: Memento Black
Copics:  YR04, Y11, E11, B66, B63, B000, G05, G02, G00
Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities

Thanks for looking!

Captivated by Silence. Sweet Pea July 15th Challenge

Once again I have the pleasure of creating using Sweet Pea Stamps.  Honestly, there are some Sweet Pea lines that I just lovelovelove.  The stamp I used for the July 15th ATC Challenge captivated me from the moment I laid eyes on it.  I can't do it near the justice that this artist did.  I'm not sure which of the design team actually made this card, but it is incredible.

Here is the ATC before I applied it to the card:

And then on the card base:

Supplies:
Captivated by Silence stamp by Sweet Pea Stamps.
Papertrey's Framed Stamp Set
Papertrey Black and White Cardstock
Paper Pizazz Pattern Paper

Copics E0000, E00, E11, YG06, YG07, YG09, V04, V06, V09, BG15, BG13, BG18, B69, C1, C7, C9, E55, E57, E59, 0.
Cricut Picturesque Cartridge (Flourishes). 
Papertrey Fresh Snow Ink.
Memento Tuxedo Black.
BBP Bling

I really wanted to overplay the purple.  I love deep purple and I thought it went well with this image.  To contrast it, I wanted to use the teal for the eyes and butterfly, so the image remained dark.

 I dry brused the flourishes with Fresh Snow ink.  I thought they were boring plain black.  In my head, this made it more dramatic.

I outlined her using Papertreys Framed Set, and filled the space using gemstones the same color as her eyes.

Thanks for looking!

Happy Birthday, Jammer! SFYTT August 2011

Remember Little Lilly?  Who just turned 2?  Well, it's her Daddy's birthday today.  I used the August SFYTT to make his birthday card:

I wanted something masculine and AWESOME.  Which means....you guessed it:  Tim Holtz.

Card base is Papertrey True Black.
Pattern Paper from the Tattered Time Mini Pack.
All other paper was Papertrey white, distressed with Tim Holtz Fresh Burlap Distress Ink.
Stamps are all Tim Holts.
No Stickles this time!  *gasp*  Tragedy.

Thanks for looking!