Wild Rose Stamper

Autumn Roses and great news about chronic fatigue syndrome research

 

Finally, my latest card! I hope it's worth the wait.  (Where did that month go???)  I was really inspired by the gorgeous autumn colors in this Country Living vignette and knew I had the perfect idea for my newest (to me) stamp.  The combination of plum and orange was intriguing to me and a real challenge to translate them into a card.  In the end, just a touch of plum seemed to be just the right amount of contrast.  There's more green in my card than in the Country Living photo, but it just seemed right and I really like the results.

And now for the great news!   A recently discovered retrovirus, XMRV, previously found in prostate cancer tumors, has now been found in chronic fatigue syndrome patients.  The study was published in Science journal, which is highly respected by the medical and science community.  Check out the press releases on the National Cancer Institute website and on the Whittemore Peterson Institute website.  This is a huge discovery with implications for future research, treatment, and possibly a cure for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome!  I'm waiting for a test to become available to the general public to see if I have the virus and I'm going to also apply to participate in research studies at the Whittemore Peterson Institute.  CFS/ME patients have been ridiculed and looked down on for so long by people who thought we were malingerers or just crazy, but this is our vindication!

Thanks for visiting and letting me share my exciting news!

 

I used Copic markers

Copic Colors:

R20, R22, R35, R37, R39, YR04, YR09, Y38, YG03, YG63, YG23, YG00, YG91, E43, G24

Prismacolor pencil colors: Cream PC914, Jasmine PC1012

Materials:

stamps: Stippled Rose retired SU!

Paper: vintage music paper, Neenah Solar White Classic Crest, Perfect Plum, Riding Hood Red, Marigold Morning

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Barely Banana, So Saffron, Ranger Distress Ink Vintage Linen

Accessories: New Leaf grosgrain ribbon from Papertrey Ink, distressing tool, dove punch Martha Stewart, lace, braid trim, rose sticker, sewing machine, Copic Markers, Prismacolor pencils, gamsol

Caroling Mice

Aren't they the sweetest!  I was inspired to post this card by the Moxie Fab holiday card-making challenge.  The snowflakes, a la Anna Wight, are covered in two kinds of glitter.  They're messy, but I know I'll be making more of them because they look so cool!

I've been ruthlessly sorting out my stamping magazines and I have about 20 Somerset Studio magazines that I'm willing to part with (it was a difficult decision and I'm actually still keeping 30!)  Please email me if you're interested and we can discuss shipping and all that good stuff.  Each magazine is $4 and all are in good, used condition from a non-smoker's home.  Or make me an offer!

Somerset Studio issues for sale (click here to see photos of the covers and sneak peeks of what's inside):
Mar/Apr 1997
May/Jun 1997
Mar/Apr 1998
Jul/Aug 1998
Sep/Oct 1998
Sep/Oct 1999
Mar/Apr 2000
Jul/Aug 2000
Jul/Aug 2001
May/Jun 2003
Jul/Aug 2003
Sept/Oct 2003
Nov/Dec 2003
Jan/Feb 2004
Mar/Apr 2004
May/Jun 2004
Sept/Aug 2004
Nov/Dec 2004
Jan/Feb 2005

Have a great day!

Materials:
Stamps: Penny Black clear Christmas set
Paper: Close to Cocoa, Cranberry Crisp, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Melissa Frances dp
Accessories: SU ribbon, Marvy Snowflake punches, Martha Stewart twig punch, rhinestone sticker, Martha Stewart doily lace border punch, white Liquid Applique, Nestabilities, buttons, Copic markers, glitter

Angel Kitty

Wow, lots of you must have been crossing your fingers for me last week for the Flourishes contest!  I won and got to pick a stamp set of my choice.  You'll be seeing this gorgeous Strawberries set on card soon.  :)

Sadly, this is a sympathy card for my cousin, who had to have her kitty, Timone, put down a couple weeks ago.  He was a special kitty and would come running when she called his name.  Once she caught him on top of the fridge whacking dog treats onto the floor for the dog to eat!  I'm so sorry for your loss, Steff.

I had a difficult time getting a dark black impression because the stamp was so solid, so I used my Warm gray and black Copic markers to enhance the shadows and add depth.  I used BG10 on the wings and added some clear glitter, then used the gold glitter pen on the halo, with a little clear glitter on the sparkle spot.

Steff likes the Americana style, so I kept the card simple and used mainly red and black.  A little stitching, sponging, and distressing give a vintage look.

Thanks for visiting!

Materials:
Stamp: PSX
Paper: Ridinghood Red, Kraft, Neenah Solar White Classic Crest, K & Co.
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black, Creamy Caramel, Summer Sun, More Mustard
Accessories: Copics, button, twill tape, sewing machine, crochet thread, Nestabilities, Spica gold glitter pen, Sakura clear glitter gel pen, distressing tool

Birthday Snail Ride

This is my card for the Flourishes birthday contest for a chance to win a free set of my choice.  Cross your fingers for me.  ;)

I wanted a thread color other than white, so I found some beautiful thread by Gutermann when they were on sale at Joann Etc.  This one is #602 and coordinates well with Soft Sky and Making Memories' Flower Patch papers.  My Hello Kitty Janome is still going strong, yay!  I've had such poor luck with sewing machines before, that I'm just thrilled to find a machine that holds up well.  It even winds bobbins evenly!

The crocheted flower is one I made myself.  I just wanted to try it to see if they were something I could do quickly enough to be worth making more of for my cards.  Nope!  I'll be quite happy paying 50 cents a piece for them from someone else, thank you very much.  ;)

And check out this blog candy!  Wednesday, Aug. 5 is your last chance to enter an amazing giveaway from Melissa Bove at Creations from the Heart blog.  And when I say amazing, I mean it!!

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Materials:
Stamps: Penny Black clear stamps
Paper: Soft Sky, Making Memories dp, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Bloom Journaling frame from Creative Imaginations, Autumn Leaves buttons, Papertrey ribbon, Nestabilities, Copic markers, sewing machine, handmade crocheted flower

Strawberry Picnic Basket

I have always loved picnic baskets, so naturally I had to get Papertrey's Vintage Picnic stamp set!   This picnic basket came blank and I stamped the strawberry on it and colored in with my Copics.  I got lots of inspiration for coloring ideas from Flickr by doing a search for picnic baskets.  Apparently I'm not the only one who loves them!

The gingham background is actually a large stamp from Impression-Obsession.  I decided that I "needed" to be able to make my own gingham paper in any color I wanted, so I had to get this stamp!  I wish the pattern was more of a realistic fabric look, but I still like it.

Thanks for visiting!

Materials:
Stamps: Papertrey Ink Vintage Picnic; Impression-Obsession Large Gingham Background
Paper: Real Red, Neenah Classic Crest solar white
Ink: Real Red, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: lace, button, trim, Copic Markers, Marvy Giga and Mega Scallop circle punches, crochet thread #10

Morning Glory Convolvulaceae

I just love it when a card finally comes together and I get that feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction.  It took a while with this one because I'm trying to incorporate all the embellishing and techniques that I see other stampers and card makers using, but don't necessarily come naturally to me.  And look!  I'm not hoarding my pearls, although, I confess, I did have to order more this week because I would be sad if I ran out!  lol

Ribbon cutting tip: I've just discovered how to cut notches in the ends of a piece of ribbon more evenly.  Simply fold the ribbon end in half horizontally pinching it with your fingers, then cut at an angle, starting from the open end into the fold.  Otherwise, the ribbon is likely to splay open and you'll get an uneven cut.  Maybe everyone else knows this already, but it was a lightbulb moment for me!

Card making tip:  It helps me when I get frustrated with balancing the elements of a card to walk around the other side of my desk and look at the card upside down from a few feet away.  It's amazing how all of a sudden I'll see where I need to either take something away or add an element.

Notice my zig-zag stitching, how there are no skipped stitches?  Yay!  I'm still loving my new Janome Hello Kitty machine.

I have to give props to Bethany Paull, as I took the sketch from her card as the base for my card.  Isn't her card beautiful?

Thanks so much for visiting my blog.  I know I've been sporadic with my posting lately, so I appreciate your patience.  I've actually done a lot of stamping and coloring this past week, just not a lot of card making.  Papertrey Ink's Vintage Picnic set is so much fun!  Hopefully, next week I'll have a picnic basket card to share with you, if I can just stop stamping and actually get a card finished.

Copic Markers: B60, BV00, BV02, BV04, RV10, Y11, Y15, G21, G28

Materials:
Stamps: PSX Morning Glory Botanical
Paper: Garden Green card stock, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, SU retired dp, DCWV Nursery Stack
Ink: Memento Black
Accessories: self-adhesive pearls, satin ribbon, button, lace, cotton crochet thread, sewing machine, Nestabilities Labels One, SU slit punch for scallops, Copic markers
Meaurements: My card measures 5x7 inches.

Hollyhocks

I'm back!  I had every intention of posting last week, but I needed a little more recovery time than I thought I would.  The surgery went well and I got to go home that day.  Other than some issues with swelling (because I accidentally slept on it, oops!) I'm just fine.  :)

I'm really happy with how this card turned out which is a good thing considering how I agonized over it!  I've been really inspired by certain bloggers lately to use richer more vibrant colors and to combine several different elements, such as chipboard, stitching and ribbons on one card.  This gorgeous new Madeline stuff fit the bill.  Being able to combine papers from different designers is something I admire, so I gave it a shot.  As usual, they go together better in real life. 

The image is a gorgeous old PSX botanical stamp.  I sure wish I'd bought more of those things when they were available, but they were expensive, I didn't know how to color well, and they weren't very versatile.  Using my Nestabilities dies increases their versatility by just highlighting part of the image.  (Don't ask me how they got so crooked when I cut them.  I think I was dizzy that day, probably from the surgery, and possibly the Copic fumes.  lol!)

I can't believe I still don't have enough pink Copics!  But I guess it was a good exercise for me to use what I had.  These are the colors I used:

Copic colors: RV13, RV10, R02, RV23, R59, Y15 for the flowers.  I'll have to double-check on the leaf colors.

Thanks for visiting!  Sorry the posts have been so sparse lately; hopefully I'm back on my regular schedule now.

Materials:

Stamps: Hollyhock by PSX
Paper: Rose Red, Raspberry Tart dp, retired Su dp, Madeline paper by K&Co., Neenah Solar White Classic crest
INk: Whisper White Craft, Brilliance Graphite Black
Accessories: Madeline layered sticker by K&Co, Madeline Butterfly chipboard, Hero Arts Pearls and Gemstones, Nestabilities narrow ovals, paper distressing tool,  Copic markers, retired picot taffeta by SU, lace, sewing machine,

Lilies of the Valley

This card has a lot of steps to it!  I stamped the image twice on Certainly Celery card stock, the second time on just a scrap. I colored in the leaves of both stamped images with my Copics, and the flowers of just the first with the white gel pen.  Then I cut out just the bottom leaves of the scrap piece.  I stamped the lilies image again on cream cardstock and traced over the lines of the sign with my Copic gold glitter pen and then shaded a little with yellow chalks.  The leaves were also colored in, even though they would eventually be covered up.  I cut out just the bottom part of the image that included the "happiness" sign and the bottom two leaves.  This was then layered over my main image, then, over that, I layered the Certainly Celery scrap leaves with double-stick foam tape.  All this was to not only achieve dimension, but it also allowed me to have a cream colored sign without it looking weird.  Clear as mud?

Everthing else was pretty basic.  The main panel was layered to a cream panel that I sponged with Antique Linen Distress ink and trimmed with the Flourish punch.  I love how it reminds me of a Victorian calling card.

I made this card for my mom for her birthday, as Lilies of the Valley are May's birth flower, and she said it was her favorite card I'd ever made!  You just never know what someone is going to like!  But, it made all the hard work I'd put into this card worth it.  :)

Thanks for visiting!

Materials:
Stamps: Anna Griffin's Language of Flowers by All Night Media
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black
Paper: Certainly Celery, Neenah Solar White Classic Crest, cream
Accessories: Copics, White Gel pen, silk flower, adhesive half pearls, chalks, lace, gold cord, Martha Stewart Flourish border punch, Tim Holtz Distress ink Linen, Cuttlebug embossing folder Textile, Prismacolor colored pencils

A Spring Sparrow

Can you stand to see one more card made with pink and green?  LOL!  I can't help myself.  It's spring!!  Although, yesterday it did snow here, today the sun is shining and the buds are coming out on the willow tree and the mourning doves have built their nest.  Mr. Mourning Dove worked for days bringing the missus lots of sticks fallen from our willow tree, although at first he got a little carried away with the size of sticks he brought!  One was a forked branch that had to be three times his size and I don't know how he carried it in his beak to the top of the deck where Mrs. MD was building the nest.  She tried her best to sit on it, lifting her feathered derriere as high as it could go!  It was hysterical to watch and I'm sure she heard me snickering at her.  The awkward stick finally fell on the ground and after that, Mr. MD brought much smaller sticks, so she must have set him straight.  They are quite the comical pair. 

This card started out as a masculine card with no pink at all, and really looked pretty boring.  When my mom asked me to make it into a bridal shower card, adding pink accents seemed like the perfect solution and I'm happy with the way it turned out.  The card lacked balance before, but now the three flowers, pink scallop, and pink photo corner, form that artistic triangle that pleases the eye.

The bird is colored with Copics, but I can't remember exactly which colors.  Probably E31, E47, C1, B00, G21, W3, 0

Thanks for visiting and have a blessed Easter!

Materials:
Stamps: Spring Song, Canvas background
Paper: Bella Rose, Old Olive, Pink Pirouette, Neenah Solar White Classic Crest
Ink: Old Olive, Brilliance Pigment Graphite Black
Accessories: Kiwi Kiss satin ribbon, scallop edge punch, Trio Flower Punch, half pearls, square punches to make photo corner, Nestabilities Classic Square, stylus, Copic markers

Egg-juggling bunny

 
  

I just love how this card turned out!  Of course, it helps that I used my favorite colors, pink and green, and one of my favorite animals, a bunny, and some of my favorite daisy trim.  I could go on and on.  :)

The little flowers were punched out and then shaped using the fat end of my embossing stylus by placing the blossom on the backside of a squishy mouse pad, then rolling the stylus around the center of the flower until it curled up.  You can then use the other smaller stylus end to "draw" lined in between the petals to accentuate them.  I only had white half-pearls, so I used my R83 Copic marker to color some pink!

The banner was typed on Microsoft Word using the Blackadder ITC font, size 18.

Thanks for visiting!

Copics
G20, YG95, R83, R81, E00, C-1, 0

Materials:
Stamps: An Egg-cellent Easter, Bella's Border Wheel
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, Bella Rose DP, Whisper White, Neenah Solar White Classic Crest
Ink: Whisper White, Brilliance Graphite Black
Accessories: Scallop Edge punch, Button Bouquet, Trio Flower Punch, daisy trim, white crochet thread, Classic and Scallop Oval Nestabilities, white half-pearls, Copic markers