Angels are among us

Hi there!  Kathy's internet is still out. :(
Tonight I have a card of a very unique angel.  I collect angels and this particular stamp is from Guadalupe's Stamp Store (Stampa Fe) in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  It is their own creation.I've cut her out to make her pop and put svarovski crystals all over her dress.   (Martha Stewart bird punch). Enjoy! - Margaret

Living in the country

One of the downfalls of country living is when things go awry, it is not so easy to get them fixed. Our Internet is down so there will be no card from me today. I don't know if windstream works tomorrow but I sure hope so. I can't imagine an entire weekend with only my iPhone for Internet! Hope to be back soon! Kathy B

Happy Birthday Mom, and Mandala fest

Hello dear readers,
I have been ON A ROLL with cardmaking this week and have loved every second of it.  Today, I am posting a card I made last night for my mother's 66th birthday in a week and a half.  This is an Outlines stamp and a Cheery Lynn Diecut framing the stamp.  I popped out one of the flowers, its center, and the center of the yellow flower.  All were colored using Copics. You may not see it from this photo, but the card is super sparkly with lots of glitter and svarovski crystals (Details below). I think they still have the stamp available on their website.  As you may know, Outlines is closing their doors.  I am so sad over this as this was the stamp company that was one of the first few which hooked me into stamping.  I just adore their mandalas, one of which I'm posting below the card.  Unfortunately, I believe they're sold out of most of them.

Here you can see the parts that I cut away separately and popped up on foam tape.  I like to use the 3M foam.  Very strong adhesion.

The photo doesn't do it justice but I tried to capture some of the bling.  There are some Svarovski crystals on the pink and green flowers.

Now, onto part II.  As a tribute to with Outlines, I'm posting a mandala I made last year with one of their Blossom series stamps.  All papers were embossed card stock, with lots and lots of Svarovski crystals.  The pieces are adhered with 3M foam tape.  Kathy discovered that this tape provided the best adhesion and she's right!  I made numerous mandalas using the regular scrapbooking pop up foam circles, and they all fell apart after a year.  These just stick forever.  When you mount one of these in a shadow box, the bling just sparkles!  I hope Kathy posts some of her Mandalas because she does an awesome job of them.  In fact, that's who got me hooked on it!  And she uses these teeny tiny Svarovski's which are very hard to adhere -- so I'm just saying, her mandalas are a work of art!

Blossom Series stamp from Outlines Rubber Stamp Company.  Bling is all Svarovski Crystals.  White embossing powder.  All pieces attached with 3M foam tape.

Here you can see the different layers

This is another mandala, but here I used a medallion from Holly Berry Stamps.  If you have never heard of them, you must check them out...their medallions are GORGEOUS!  I don't think this one is in production anymore because i couldn't find it on their website, but as you can see they're very intricate.  There's also lots of opportunities to glitter them up.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful Friday. -- Margaret

Happy Holidays

Before I tell you about today's card, I have a little brag.  I was featured over at Freshly Brewed Blog yesterday for a card (We're In This Together) I made for their challenge, .  I am excited about this because it is the first time I have been featured, so pardon the self-indulgence here. 

Okay, today's card is a little out of season, but I decided that these Christmas challenges are actually a good thing.  If I start now, I can have all I need done before Christmas and not have to spend so much time near the holidays trying to get something made.  This card is for the photo inspiration challenge over at ABC CHRISTMAS Challenge.

It's a simple card, using Basic Grey dp and a Penny Black image colored with Copics and Spicas.  The sentiment is from PaperTrey.  I used a die from Clear Dollar Stamps for the sentiment and nesties for the rest.  If you haven't figured it out by now, I have an affinity for all canine creatures, so you will see a lot of that here.  I thought this little guy was absolutely adorable.

I have taken a vacation day today so perhaps I will be back later with another post!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

kathy b 

It's Never Too Late

Today's card features a saying from Tim Holtz and  I used the template from The Deconstructed Sketch.  I am also entering this in the challenge at Party Time Tuesdays.

I love this saying!!! I used Bo Bunny dp and added 2 doubled up Prima flowers with Memory Makers silvery brads in the center.  I used a border punch from MSM and added three silvery Robins Nest dew drops complete the design. 

That's it for now. Thanks for stopping by.

kathy b

Birthday Diva and Product Review (Storing dies)!

Good morning everyone!  I'm about as amazed as you are that I'm posting twice in one week..but we have Spring break right now so I'm on a more relaxed schedule.  And the stamping bug has hit me hard this week.  So today I'm very inspired to share TWO things with you.  A card and a product review.  But let's get the important thing done first.

My daughter Claudia will turn 11 next week.  On Good Friday...much to her dismay (since that means no party and celebrations until the following week).  I come from a Polish background and growing up we were so strict we weren't even allowed to watch TV, listen to the radio, or even use scissors from Holy Thursday night through Easter morning!  Anyway, this child of mine is a DIVA through and through so I was happy to have this UPTOWN girls stamp in my stash.  The background is a lovely glitter paper from American crafts...You can't tell from the card but it is SUPER sparkly!  her shoes are stickled in gold.  This is most appropriate since since she is getting gold sandals similar to this style(the heel not so high...LOL).  Inside, the sentiment says "Wishing you a birthday that is just your style" which comes with the stamp.  By the way, her dress is covered in stickles so it is also super sparkly, just like this child!

Stamps: Stamping Bella (Uptown Girl Posh), sentiment from Stampin Up.  Die cuts: Nestablities.  Leaf Punch: McGill (old).  Flowers: Flowers are from Michael's Recollection line.  Paper: (blue) POW! Glitter paper from American Crafts; Flower paper is Crate Paper Farmhouse Collection; orange strip is Basic Grey. Stickles used on dress and gifts.

 

 

Now, onto the product review.  Have you ever wondered how to store your Nestabilities?  I should probably do this with all my dies, but Nesties are so large.  So I have 3 systems, which I will show below, but I think I will convert to System 1...the newest system called the Art Bin which I purchased from Archivers, but also saw that 7 Kids College Fund sells them too (currently on preorder).  I just love this new little case!  See below for explanations.

System 1.  The Art Bin.  Has magnetic pads within 1 bin.  The pros are you can store everything in one place and it saves room.  You can purchase 3 magnetic sheets in one package.  In the photo, there are 6 magnetic sheets in the bin with plenty of room left to add more.  The downside is that you have to flip through all the sheets to get what you want but it really isn't too much of a burden.  I love the compactness of it all

System 2.  I purchased these wooden things in Michael's and painted them.  Then I added a magnetic strip.  LOVE the fact that it's all there in front of you so you can see it all, but it's very space consuming (and time consuming to make them).  You can hang these on the wall or stack them. 

System 3.  The oldest system.  These are old CD cases to which I added magnetic strips.  I don't really like this system at all because I feel like I'm constantly flipping through all the cases and it's hard to compare the sizes (the basics come in a larger and smaller version).  The other downside is that most newer nesties won't fit in the cases.

Hope you enjoyed today's post.   Thank you for stopping by and see you soon (sooner than you think!) Margaret

We're in This Together

Happy Tuesday! 

I have a cute card for you today that uses a stamp from Freshly Brewed Designs. 

Isn't she fun?  I thought I would give this to a friend who is trying to exercise more, as I am.  We can be motivating for each other!  I colored her with Copics and Spicas.  I added 2 Teresa Collins rhinestones and used Papertrey ribbon.  DP is from my stash, old KI, I think.  The challenge at Fresh Brewed is dots.  I used the sketch over at The Sweet Stop.  I am also entering this at Card Crafters Circle (bling, ribbon & diecuts [BINGO]).

Thanks for stopping by!