paper possibilities

light up the holidays...

...with love!

The month is zooming by and here we are almost in the middle of December! Can you believe it? Let's just jump into the goods, ok? Today is BellaRIFFIC friday and that means a challenge... did you all get your "bling on"?

When I was in Toronto for the CreativFestival, there was a booth across from Bella. This woman was doing demos with Glitter Ritz, it's micro fine glitter that gets applied and then when you rub it, it feels like velvet. I can tell you that is stays right where it's supposed to and you don't pick it up and turn into a disco ball. I, myself had purchased this Glitter Ritz at Bella, back in June...the colors were just out of this world! There are a ton of them to pick from and if you like dazzle, you won't be sorry. Why am I telling you this, because I bought the product and really didn't know how to truely use it. I was planning on sprinkling it on like my Glamour Dust. Nope...you used a double sided adhesive, available in different widths, and apply the glitter to that. Burnish with a piece of paper, your finger, and voila... you will not be able to look away, it's that shimmery! I promise! Here's what I did the other night... 

I colored ornamenty lamp in beigy/goldy/brown colors. I wanted "classy holiday", a little over the top maybe. So I lay the doublesided adhesive down and then poured on the glitter! A picture will never, never do this justice for the sparkle. {but you get the idea, heh?}

Nothing changed here folks...I colored on Bella's bestest paper with my prismacolor pencils and gamsol. The golden snowflake paper is from Graphic 45 and the reason I colored this the way I did. I added Rangers Glossy Accents to the ornaments, for some dimension. The sentiment is from my own hands.

We had last week off from a challenge, so I am looking forward to plenty of fresh ideas this week! hehe I really like "bling" it's just hard for Paula to do, I am a total "plain jane" kinda gal! Check out Emily and all the other Babes later to see who knows how to sparkle with class!

Saturday I will be spending the day at Flushmate...more money in my pocket, less coloring for my soul! Jim and Jordan are heading to his sisters for a day of baking. {Jim does make some pretty good choc. chip cookies, but I think more or less...he is a taste tester for the girls!} Until I see you again...happy weekend...

deck the hall with gifty trees...

Christmas is in the air in my neck of  the woods {metro Detroit area} The white 'stuff' has started flying and I come home from work and turn on the tree. Sunday I was coloring up some Bella Christmas-y images because seeing Linda's creations...I had to buy them myself the last time I was in the store. I am saving one for friday's "bling it on" challenge, but tonight I wanna show you "gifty tree" {you got your challenge card finished?} I am pretty happy with it, my little card...but I really thought that I picked up some white flower soft... I could have cried for like a split second. That is what I wanted on my tree branches. Instead I used a crushed glass called Diamond Dust. In person it's pretty, but I really wanted that white snow look. {guess what I will be on the hunt for now! lol} I colored this with my prismacolor pencils on Bella's bestest paper. The patterned paper is last years My Minds Eye...love it!  The ornaments have Ranger's Glossy Accents on them, adds a nice high dimension. I used a Martha punch that reminds me of the frosting on top of a Hostess cupcake.

I have finally crossed off the last of my to-do list, that I have been dreading...giving Jim a haircut and giving Niki a bath and a shave. I can not tell you how back breaking it is to wash the dog in the sink and he tries to get as far away from me as I can. Then we sit in the floor and get all dried up, just to go stand for at least another hour and get a haircut. Niki wants to just lay down and I gotta keep pulling his back end up and get the clippers around his legs. Down he goes, back onto the towel and we try it all over again. I dread it, but I cut him pretty short and then I don't have to do it for a couple months. On the up side, I save $60.00 cutting Jim and Niki myself. {and I did spend it this past weekend...haha}

Well friends, while I was assembling cards tonight, I was also washing my cozy flannel sheets and I need to make my bed because these eyes are closing! Peace out!!

a new kinda taco...

yowza...I know so many...if not all of ya! did that incredible Birthday Bash Hop on saturday. The winners are all announced and congrats to all the lucky shoppers who got the big bucks and to Jodi Collins who will be joining us for a month of Bella Babe fun!! {to be honest, when us girls had to give our votes for some of our favs in the contest..it wasn't easy. Not at all, and there were projects in there that were totally original and fab!}

So in case you are like sitting on the fence and not placed your Stamping Bella order yet {I did!} maybe this lil sweetheart is on your list. I am a sucker for cute anything, but animals & drawn by the Ketto artists...yummmm

***note, I am playing with different settings in my photo software... it always looks different on my laptop, to my desktop...this was done in Elements, lol It did not save my cropping, oops. Here is Taco...mine is actually named Belle in my heart, for my favorite fastfood. haha She is colored on Bella's bestest paper and I used prismacolor pencils and gamsol. The paper is a piece of My Minds Eye, Abbey Road. I thought it was a nice change for me since I don't normally pick blues like this. I had several sentiments picked out and ended up with this.. Wish BIG, these are tiny little dogs who act like they are 20x their size.

I was coloring yesterday for a while and I also got some Christmas images ready to mount. This friday our BellaRIFFIC challenge is called "Bling it on!" Oh, I am gonna have a card filled with sparkle and shine.

See ya later tomorrow friends...still have that dang day job to go to! lol

bella turns 3 blog hop.....

***mwah*** Happy Birthday Bella!!  {and many more....}

...note, I gotta tell you it's a good long Hop...86 of us! and you can start at the begining where it always starts...with da Bella herself!! If ya get lost or the link breaks...HERE is where you will find the next person on the list.

Since I am bringing up the later half of the Hop...How ya all doing??  {Man, did Linda dazzle you with something gorjuss or what!! I gotta follow her?}I hope you are having as much fun as I know I am! A quiet saturday doing what I love the most, or almost as much as coloring...lol Wanna know what I have for you?? They are peeks at some NEW release images...did I hear a "yessss"? I will confess right now...I was only gonna show ya one and then I stayed up into the wee hours {past mid-night} coloring up this... How could

I not have her be my lead...she coming outta a box and it is a birthday celebration isn't it, LOL

Her name is popUPbella and obviously she is as stunning for the holidays, as she would be for an anytime birthday surprise.  She is colored with my prismacolor pencils and gamsol...on Bella's bestest paper and I dressed her in a pretty, putty beige SPARKLY dress! The papers are from Cosmo Crickets Holiday 6x6 pad, Jolly by Golly.  ohhhh, did you catch it?? There is no sewing on this card! I know, it's rare, but when I started assembling I just kept going and didn't stop.

ok, so there is a new Bella in town, but this is from one of Bella's newest artists..Greenbean baby. She is Spikey and she's what I reached for first in my new images. 

Yeah, it's the hair I LOVE, lol...I am always trying to achieve that height with my own and it just doesn't wanna go that high! Little Spikey is also on Bella's bestest paper and colored with my prismacolor pencils. She got her colors from the My Minds Eye Bloom and Grow paper, from this spring. Her orangy glow is from another piece in the line, but the scale was not working for me when I started to make the card, so I ditched it. Then looking at it last night I tried to sort though my scraps and find another piece to answer for that orange I put around her. I wake up this morning and look what I put my hands on...a piece of Bloom and Grow paper with a good pattern scale. I guess a good night sleep says alot!  :)

It's time to get a movin' on to the next sistah on the list and it's Wendy, who has a love of color just like myself! yeah...color!

Have fun sistah's!!

 

santa's lap...

It's the happiest spot in the house when you're a kid! {unless you're too young to realize why you are sitting there in the first place...} LOL I colored up another amazing image from Mo this week and it's off to a chickie with two  boys! When I downloaded this last week, I thought to myself..it would be great for someone with boys and I found the right family. I just happen to be stopping by tomorrow for a Holiday Open House...card in hand and some {hot} Chicken Enchilada Dip...yumm 

So... Here is "and I want a...", printed on Bella's bestest paper and colored with my prismacolor pencils and gamsol. {The skin is all colored in copic markers} I LOVE the detail and this detail makes it a slow coloring process. Since it was my first time coloring it, I had to be careful when coloring the little boys coats, arms, Santa's coat...I didn't want anything mixed up.  :)  Santa's beard is a cool grey, while his fur trim is "putty beige" for a warmer grey. I added my dots of white Glaze pen to the white fur trim areas, then glittered. In Santa's beard, I really wanted to add solid white lines, but I had noting to do the trick. I did add a little pearl smooch, but you can only see it in person. Then the hunt through all my Christmas papers wasn't so quick. Needed something 'traditional', not funky, not bright. I decided on Cosmo Cricket from last years collection.

Card made... I tried buttons, punched evergreen sprigs, ribbon, bows...I just had to do the brads. I tried to add something else to the front, but it never looked right. I did use some Fiskars stamp edge scissors, so it looking a little like a photograph was taken & mounted.

I am beat today and I got one Christmas tree done at work and still mine to decorate at home. Jim had the nerve to ask if I was decorating it or leaving it plain???  What is he thinking?? lol

Tomorrow morning is the Bella Blog Hop...woohoo, Happy Birthday Bella!!

 

tutuface is tutucute...

Time to shake things up and get out the tools to make a nice, big ol' round card! By that I mean, I had to break out the Creative Memories cutter...whew, those circles have not been outside the drawer in a loooong time. 

On my last trip to Bellaland, I grabbed some little girly stamps. I been eyeing them for a while and I decided it was time to expand my Christy Croll collection. Tonight I introduce you to tutuface!! I used yellow...ack! I am always saying in my classes how I have a strong dislike for using this color. {I like the color, it's just that I think it looks good on small children & sports cars...LOL} It's hard to explain, but I used it and I do like it, haha I stamped this on Bella's bestest paper and got out the Creative Memories cutter system, cause that's all I have to make circles this large. It took me a while tonight, with making dinner and all...to get this all pulled together and I am still trying to master the new sewing machine. {did I mention I am also babysitting the grandkitten? she chews all my extra cardstock and when she fell asleep on me after dinner, I hated to move her}

Back to the card... I set Daisy {the kitten} on the floor next to me and set about making a bow for my card. Never works out well with round cards, so I came up with a seperate bow and some tails attatched to the main circle. It's a big card, so it would have to go into a BIG envelope...so I wanted to break the circle and add my Birthday definition block... I like it, no...I LOVE it! hehe

Before you leave, think about this...if you have not read about the Bella Birthday Bash contest...get over to SplitCoast Stampers...Emily is giving away some BIG bella bucks!! Click the link I provided above this post! see ya soon friends!!

Birthday BASH...

Guess who's turning 3!!

It a HUGE celebration with a Blog Hop, and you can join in if you sign up...here. There is a Birthday Bash contest and you can be a guest Babe for the month of January!! How awesome is that? The details on the prizes and contest for the guest Babe can be found...here. Come on and join us for a celebration full of FUN! 
...you really don't wanna miss out on a chance to be a Babe!! 

merrybella puts up her tree...

I'm back and my tree isn't up yet, so I decided to color a Bella who's decorating hers, merrybella! I may get to putting mine up tonight and I am a little affraid the new kitten is gonna like it too much. {she likes everything and is super nosy!} I still have a few other things to get to tonight, before I even think about it... 

This whole cookie frosting look came from this paper by American Crafts. I colored up my Bella, who is stamped on Bella's bestest paper, with my prismacolor pencils and gamsol. Then I cut out with nesties and went to work making it extra delicious, using lots of glitter, glaze and liquid applique. All the little dots around the main image are liquid applique with glitter on top. I even cut out a tree and added it to the front of my card.

I bought a new sewing machine friday night at Target. The Brother machine that I had originally bought back when my sister-in-law gave me hers. Now, it's a machine that has that vine stitch I been wanting...but man the machine is not a quiet as the big old Kenmore. I am keeping it though because I gotta have that stitch! lol. On this card I was using the new machine and I am getting used to where the stitch actually goes...and I didn't do a very good job! Oh well, I need to practice some more! haha {I'm sure I will}

We are not having a BellaRIFFIC friday gallery this week. Saturday there is a hop and I still need to get all that info loaded onto my blog. Bella is turning 3!! Emily has all kinds of stuff going on and that is my next task for tonight..updating my sidebar on my blog here...I don't do very well with it  :(  I can never remember how to do it. Have a relaxing sunday night and see you soon!

kraftin' kimmie's at it again...

kraftin' kimmies blog hop...

Today marks the release of the December images from Kraftin’ Kimmie Stamps!  There are 4 new images from Crissy Armstrong, 4 new images from Annie Rodrigue, two new sets of sentiments and two new images from a brand new artist, Jean Grant!  You’ll get to check out all the images throughout our fabulous blog hop!!  If you want to start from the beginning, just head over to the Kraftin’ Kimmie Challenge Blog!  As you hop from blog to blog, be sure to leave a comment at each and every stop because three lucky stampers will win packages of stamps from the new release!!  And when you’re done hoppin’, be sure to head over to the Kraftin’ Kimmie store, because ALL the new images are NOW available!

If ya wandered over and didn't know about the hop, you can start from the beginning which is at Kimmie's Challenge Blog...here, then follow the links and see what's new and ready to come to your doorstop! I got a change to whip up some lovin' with Josephine and isn't she a vision in pinks!!

  I played around with light pinks in the swirls around her potion bottle and glittered all over the hearts. Josephine's dress bottom isn't all that many colors, can you believe it! It's just a little pressure and then some burnt umber for shading. I added glitter to her dress and lots of clear glaze pen to the jewels hanging on her dress. I really got the idea to color Josephine from this Bo-bunny paper, but ya can't see much of it, I know, lol

I don't wanna take all your time and if you are hoppin' along it's time to get over and say Hi! to Niki and see what she has to tempt you with...you may just wanna shop from the comfort of your home when you're done hoppin! Have a nice day..{ big wave!}

drucilla loves you...

I hope everyone has had their fill of turkey and all the trimmings, shopped their hearts out and got some good deals. Me, I got a few little deals, nothing to brag about...came home and put together some cards. ***note to self, the crying sound coming from the box is the tree...it wants to come out! find some time...lol  Has anyone else put their tree up yet?

On to card business. I have something *new* from my pal Kimmie and this here is a little sneak at what is being released on Sunday 11/29 at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps. Her name is Drucilla and I think she is looking for her someone to love! {oh, this could so be me with my lil' george doll, wishing he would love me...}

Kimmie is already shooting for Valentine's Day, so this was fun to color a non Christmas-y image. I personally was smitten with the artist of these images, Annie Rodrigue, that I ordered a few prints from her. My inspiration for Drucilla was the plaid paper from October Afternoon and it is all colored with prismacolor pencils and blended with gamsol.

 Ms. Kimmie has gotten her DT together and she invited some lucky stampin' friends {me!} to help her launch her newest stamps. There will be a Blog Hop that is gonna start Sunday @ 1:00 a.m. est. and I have another card/image by  Annie Rodrigue to show ya... Not too many hours away so come on back and see what's going on! adios!!