Cycling in Corsica

Today is stage 2 of the Tour de France - just like yesterday, the boys are riding around the French island of Corsica. This is how I imagine they made their way to the island...

The stamps are from Dreaming of the Sea, a wonderful set from the now-closed Market Street Stamps. I picked it up on clearance at i {heart} papers. I believe this particular set is now sold out, but there are other great Market Street Stamps still available - check it out here. (Note - the prices shown are full price, but when you click on an item you'll see the 50% off price!) I used a wave-shaped border punch to create a mask for sponging on the background ink. The bike on the sailboat is a sweet little stamp Lisa Spangler picked up for me in Japan! It was the perfect size.

The message seemed to fit rather well - an easy bike ride never made a talented bike rider! Corsica is such a beautiful island, I'm enjoying the scenery during the coverage. It makes me want to visit!

But the roads are narrow and a bit harrowing for a big mass of cyclists to pass through together. The first stage was absolutely nuts, with finish line chaos and far too many crashes. Today they begin climbing up some of those hills in the background - can't wait to watch!

Dreaming of Corsica,


Stamps: Dreaming of the Sea from Market Street Stamps, bicycle stamp from Japan
Paper: MFT kraft, Georgia-Pacific white
Ink: Distress Inks (Salty Ocean, Broken China, Seedless Preserves, Scattered Straw, Vintage Photo), Ranger Archival Ink
Other: Prismacolor pencils, masking tape, Fiskars border punch, Lil' Inker Designs cloud dies

Let the journey begin...

Today marks the beginning of the 100th Tour de France. It's my favorite time of year! The bikes, the pain and suffering, the spandex, the drama, the crazed fans, the amazing landscapes of the French countryside. Sigh. I'll be daydreaming of France all month long! If you need to reach me in the mornings - don't bother. I'll be glued to my tv. ;-) Let the journey begin!

For this card, I played with a bunch of washi tape I've been collecting! The message is from an MFT set called Enjoy the Ride, which I think may be retired now. Just a fun, quick and simple card to kick off Le Tour.

I plan to be here for the next three weeks, sharing cards, scrapbook pages, recipes, or whatever else I'm inspired by the Tour de France to share. I also have six fantastic guest designers lined up, as well as giveaways every Friday. It's all for fun - mostly my own fun - but I hope you'll tune in!

Happy stamping and Vive le Tour!

Little One

Here's a card I made for my niece, her husband, and their beautiful new baby girl.

I punched out a bunch of heart shapes from my Echo Park Bundle of Joy paper pad from i {heart} papers. I must have subconsciously had the recent Gallery Idol challenge in my head to use a ton of embellishments on one card - because I did. :-) It was fun to play. The messages and little bowtie are from the Oh Baby set from Avery Elle.

Thanks for stopping by,


Stamps: Oh Baby from Avery Elle
Paper: Kraft & white cardstock, Echo Park Bundle of Joy 6x6 pad
Ink: Hero Arts (Black)
Other: Martha Stewart heart punch, Hemptique twine, Hero Arts gems, button, flower sequin, machine stitching

Truly Texas

It's Tuesday for a couple more hours so I'm sneaking in a Texas Tuesday post! This one is truly Texas. Yeehaw.

This boot from Texana Designs makes me smile - rustic and cute and fab! I added a little glitter to the design,  because blinged up boots are awesome (as are blinged up cards!).

That lasso? Yup, it's a real working lasso. Because lassos that actually work are so important on cards...! I had to google how to tie a lasso - and in the process learned something new, it's actually called a honda knot. I feel more in touch with my Texas roots now that I know this little tidbit. :-) Here's how to tie a honda knot, if you'd like to know, too:

The papers? Oh how I love these papers!! So perfect for my Texas card obsession. I found this Carta Bella goodness at i {heart} papers!

They have it in girlie colors, too. Squee! (Right here!)

Time to mosey on out of here. Y'all be good now, ya hear?


Stamps: Jam'n Boot, Truly Texas from Texana Designs
Paper: MFT (Kraft), Carta Bella (Giddy Up)
Ink: Tsukineko (Memento Tuxedo Black)
Other: Prismacolor pencils, MFT border die, Hemptique twine, Stickles

Party Time!

Do you ever go to a stamp company's website and sit and look at the stamps... stamp by stamp... clicking "add to cart" along the way. Yah. Never a good idea, really. But I was doing it last night anyway, at the MFT site. My wallet is empty, but I'll soon be getting some goodies in my mailbox, woohoo! :-) In the meantime I decided I better get using the MASS QUANTITY of MFT stamps I already own that have barely seen ink... starting with this adorable little girl!

This set is called Party Time and it's from the Doodle Garden collection. We go to a lot of little girl birthday parties, so I thought she was rather perfect for birthday cards. I played along with the latest sketch challenge (MFTWSC129) for the card layout - which resulted in lots of layers and dimension!

The gorgeous papers are from the Cool Summer 6x6 pad from Carta Bella - I picked it up from i {heart} papers. Here's the MFT sketch:

Thanks for stopping by!


Stamps: DG Party Time from My Favorite Things
Paper: MFT (kraft cardstock), Stampin' Up (pink cardstock), Copic Xpress Paper, Carta Bella Cool Summer
Ink: Tsukineko (Memento Tuxedo Black), Copic markers
Other: BasicGrey (Candy Buttons), Sizzix (chevron embossing folder), MFT (Open Simply Scallops border die), Spellbinders (circle die), Stickles

I {heart} NY!

This week over at the Stampotique Designers Challenge blog, Nellie has asked us to make anything but a card. But but but... I *like* making cards!! Ah well, I guess what doesn't kill me makes me stronger... ;-) Just kidding, this was FUN to make! I created a little framed piece, honoring one of my very favorite cities...

I joined the Stampotique Originals design team nearly a year ago, just after visiting New York City with my family. So of course I squeee'ed when I saw this adorable Central Park stamp, and had to include it in my first order! I printed off the I {heart} NY logo from the internet. The frame was a something I picked up in the Target dollar spot a while back, it's been sitting here in my craft room waiting to be used!

Turns out "anything but a card" could have been a tag or a journal page, somehow I wasn't thinking along those lines when I decided what to make. So - this really isn't a tough challenge at all, and YOU should come along and join us!!

Thanks for stopping by,

More Texas Bluebonnets

The bluebonnets may have finished blooming in Texas, but they never stop in my stamp room! The Texana Designs bluebonnets bloom year-round! :-)

I had this Jam'n Bluebonnet image stamped, trimmed & distressed with Vintage Photo ink, sitting on my desk, for a while now. It was about time I do something with it! I got out my Inktense pencils - they are so much fun! I colored the bluebonnet with Sea Blue and Teal Green, then blended it all together with a water brush. Love the colors so much! I went back and added another shade of blue with my Prismas, and a touch of gray as well. The corners were decorated with a bit of Vintage Photo Distress Stickles.

Thanks for stopping by,


Stamps: Jam'n Bluebonnet, Texas Bluebonnets Background from Texana Designs
Paper: MFT (Kraft), Archivers (Teal), GP (white), Echo Park (Bundle of Joy Dots & Stripes)
Ink: Tsukineko (Memento Tuxedo Black), Ranger (Vintage Photo Distress Ink)
Other: Derwent Inktense pencils, Prismacolor pencils, Vintage Photo Distress Stickles, Hemptique twine, crimping tool

SDC104 - Faux Metal

This week's theme over at the Stampotique Designer's Challenge blog is faux metal! Fun!

Heart Shirt from Stampotique is one of my favorite little guys - he's so stinkin' cute! The message is When Heart Speaks, I just cut it apart after stamping. I created my little "metal" heart using embossing powder. The texture actually comes from the Hexagon stamp, pressed into the EP while it was still warm and melty.

This is also my card for the current Catered Crop Recipe Swap. Linda's theme is "For the Boys" - she's asking us to make masculine cards in honor of Father's Day. Blue, green, a boy on it - I think this qualifies! :-)

I hope you'll play along with both the Stampotique Designer's Challenge as well as the Recipe Swap this week!


Stamps: Heart Shirt, When Heart Speaks & Hexagon from Stampotique Originals
Paper: Kraft, blue, white cardstock, Echo Park (Bundle of Joy Dots & Stripes)
Ink: Tsukineko (Memento Tuxedo Black), Hero Arts (Green Hills), Copic markers
Other: My Favorite Things Die-namics (Blueprints 1), copper embossing powder, Hero Arts die (heart), machine stitching

Texas & Bluebonnets

It's been a while since I've posted a Texas Tuesday (or posted anything on this neglected blog, for that matter!) so I have a little Texas goodness for you today from Texana Designs...

Bluebonnets. Texas. A pretty watercolored background. Yes, this card just makes me happy. :-) The stamp is called Jam'n Texas Bluebonnet. The background was made with Distress Paints & water. I added some dimension to it, just for fun.

Quick and simple and Texasy. :-)

Thinking of Hummingbirds

Today I have a lovely little hummingbird visiting a hibiscus for you.

This beautiful stamp is called Hummingbird/Hibiscus and it's from Texana Designs. Oh how it makes me miss Texas - both the hummingbirds that would visit our yard, and also the gorgeous hibiscus I had planted behind my house. Hmm do hibiscus grow in Georgia? I think I need to plant one...!

I tried out a technique I've been wanting to play with since I saw it on an MFT Academy blog post - coloring with colored pencils on kraft paper. I used my prismacolors on this, starting with a base of white and then adding color and blending. I love how it looks!

A little Stickles on the swirls makes me happy, too.

Oh how I love my Texana Designs stamps!


Stamps: Hummingbird/Hibiscus, Thinking of You from Texana Designs
Paper: Kraft & black cardstocks
Ink: Hero Arts (black dye ink)
Other: Prismacolor pencils, Stickles