Thursday, April 29, 2010

Wink Wink Ink "Mama" Kitchen Set

Hello! Today I have a kitchen set that I made with the 'Mama' image from Wink Wink Ink. I was inspired by Katie Smith's Applique Projects in the Paper Craft Planet Wink Wink Ink Group, that I decided to try it for myself. I made a kitchen towel, a covered mason jar, and a card. Here is a group photo. Because I thought the image was very country looking, I kept all my projects in the 'country style' and incorporated the same homespun fabric on everything. Lets start with the details on the towel. I bought a plain, white cotton towel from JoAnn's called "Aunt Martha's Flour Sack Dish Towel'. I printed the image onto photo paper called 'Art Wear Design Sheets', also purchased at JoAnn's. Because Wink Wink Ink Images also come pre-colored, you can do things (like applique) with their images that you couldn't do with regular black and white digital images. After I printed the image, I cut it out and ironed it onto the towel. Now, with the paper I used, you could stop there. There is no need to Applique if you don't want to or don't have a sewing machine. But I went ahead and did the applique (a zig-zag stitch around the image) just for extra stability. Here is a close up.

Then, to make my towel a little prettier, I sewed on some plaid homespun fabric, lace, ribbon, and a bow.For my next project, I decided to cover a Mason Jar. I first took a piece of Kraft paper and stamped a little chick and the word 'Cluck' all over it and glued it to the jar. Then I printed my image in black and white, and this time, I colored it myself with Copics. The top is covered with the same Homespun fabric used in the towel and tied in place with a ribbon. Won't this look cute sitting on a country kitchen shelf or it could also make a nice gift filled with dried ingredients to make a batch of chicken soup!


My last project is a card. I used the same Homespun fabric, but cut it into squares and frayed the edges. I then taped it in place using double sided tape. This is also a pre-colored image because I was running out of time to color it myself. That's the beauty of pre-colored images...they save you a lot of time when your running short on time! LOL! A button and Raffia was added for embellishment. The sentiment is from MFT.




I hope you enjoyed looking at my little country kitchen project today. Have a great day! Amy


Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Digital Tuesday Challenge 'Anything but a Card'

Hello and welcome to another Digital Tuesday Challenge. This week's challenge is 'Anything but a Card', simply make any project you'd like using at least one digital image. Our sponsor this week is Some Odd Girl and they are giving away one digital image of the randomly chosen winner's choice.

Because I am so far behind in my scrap booking, I chose to do a scrap book page as my project. I had these gorgeous pictures of a sunflower field from last autumn just lying around begging to be scrap booked. Last fall, on the highway that I drive everyday to work, there was the most beautiful field of sunflowers. It was such a joy to view this every single day that I decided to stop and take some pictures.

To make my page I used the 'Sunflowers' digital image by Some Odd Girl as my inspiration. Its in the lower left corner. The big sunflowers and the title were cut with the Cricut Expression.
Here is a close up of the "Sunflowers' Digital Image. Don't you just love those smiling faces? And here is a close up of the sunflowers cut with the Cricut Expression.


Here is a close up of the title and my daughter. Would you believe someone thought that was a picture of me? I WISH!


And finally, because I just loved the sweet sunflower image from Some Odd Girl so much, I decided to make a card too. The paper is from Cosmo Cricket and I did use a sketch from one of the on line sketch challenges, but I forgot which one it was. Sorry.




If you'd like to play along with us this week simply click on the Digital Tuesday Challenge Blinkie in my side bar and it will take you directly to the challenge site with further instructions.
Have a great day! Amy


Sunday, April 25, 2010

My Daughter's Senior Recital

Hello! I'm back from my weekend in Chicago to see my daughter's Senior Recital at College. Since I posted her recital invitations, I thought I should post some pictures of her recital. It was a very stressful time, because first we had to drive 6 hours to get there, then we quickly checked into our hotel and ran around town trying to find food for the big event. I think we had to go to 3 different grocery stores to find everything. Then we had to hurry back to the hotel to shower and change. Because we couldn't get into the recital hall until 6:15, we only had 1 hour and 15 minutes to prepare the food and decorate. Talk about STRESS! I made the mistake of asking my husband to slice cheese while I decorated and we ended up getting in the biggest fight of our marriage that pretty much ruined the weekend for me. That jerk ! Ugh! I'm still mad at him. Although, we are now on speaking terms. Would you believe he said 'I can't cut cheese in a suit. You should have planned better. I wasn't counting on this. I thought all I had to do was show up.' I don't know which statement I was more furious about the 'I can't cut cheese in a suit' or 'you should have planned better'. The first statement I think is just ridiculous, the second statement is INSANE. First of all, its not like I was not dressed up too. I bought myself a brand new $80.00 dress for the occasion. Secondly,cutting cheese is not a messy, sweaty job. And lastly, ' I should have planned better.' OMG I did EVERYTHING and he did NOTHING! I made the invitations, I bought all the supplies, I made the hotel reservations, I packed the totes with everything we could possibly need, how could I plan any better? UGH! Men. Thankfully, the women in my life showed up and rose to the occasion. A good family friend of ours also drove the 6 hour drive to Chicago and she just took over the food so I could just decorate. Then several of Ashley's college friends rolled up their sleeves and helped out. I never would have been able to able to do it without them. And they all had such sympathy for me when I told them what my husband said. But of course, he just became furious with me when he found out I told them. I said 'Sorry, but I needed to know that I was not crazy to not be seriously offended by your comment.' Don't worry, he never reads my blog, in fact, he's never read a single post, so he'll never see this. This is my little world to 'vent', and I expect lots of sympathetic comments from you all at the end of this post. LOL!

But OTHER THAN THAT, the recital was wonderful. Ashley sang like an angel, as always, and received a standing ovation for her performance. And she looked like an angel too in her sparkly eggplant gown. In my mad rush to have everything done, I didn't get any photos of the decorations other than this. I really wanted a picture of the food table, but people 'dove' into it right after the recital, so it was ruined by the time I got to it. And I didn't have any time before the recital to take pictures. Anyway, the stage is HUGE, so I couldn't do much. I just put two round tables on either side of the piano, added a couple of candles and some flowers. My dear friend Leni lent me all these gorgeous black candle sticks that had beautiful crystals hanging down. They were PERFECT for the recital. For the food table, I just made a row of these candles down the center of the table, added two more big bouquets of white and lavender flowers, and then threw on some pretty black fabric also lent by Leni. Everyone said the decorations were very lovely and so well put together. Thanks LENI!

After the recital was over we took these family photos. This is Ashley with her fiancee Jason.
Here is Ashley with her baby brother. He doesn't like to be photographed.





This is me and Ashley. I do not photograph well. I need to stop turning to the side and take my pictures straight on. I always look about 20 lbs heavier in a picture than I am in real life. I use to never let people take pictures of me, or post them, cause I hate the way I always look. I like the way I look in a mirror, I just don't like the way I look in a photograph. But then I stopped that nonsense, because I realized if there are no photographs of me, then there is no history of me. So now, I post photographs of myself whether I like them or not.


Here is a my mean old husband and my daughter. Sorry, but I'm still mad at him. I suppose someday I'll regret writing this post, but not now. Pray for me! LOL! I'm still so upset with him. I suppose I should not have told you all this, and I should have just pretended it was the perfect weekend and nothing went wrong, but that's not me. I'm honest. It gets me in trouble all the time, but I speak from my heart.






And finally here is Ashley coming out from back stage to receive a standing ovation. Doesn't she look so happy and glorious? She was so happy the event was finally over. It was a lot of stress and pressure for her. When it was over she said 'Now, I can just think and work on the wedding'. I sarcastically laughed and said 'YEAH! That's all I have been doing the past 6 months!'. LOL!




We go back to Chicago in just two weeks to see my daughter's college graduation. Pray my husband and I don't get in a big fight again so that event is ruined for me also! LOL! Ashley was chosen by her school to sing for the graduation service. She was chosen not only for her singing ability, but also for her Christian Character, Leadership, and Service to others. We are so proud of her. She said she is really nervous because this will be the largest group she has ever sung for before, and she has sung in front of audiences of thousands. So keep her in your prayers please.
God bless, and have a good day! Amy





















































Thursday, April 22, 2010

You're the Cat's Meow!

Hello! For today's card I am using a sleeping kitty image from Wink Wink Ink called 'Cat Nap'. This kitty image reminds me so much of my own kitty 'Simba'. And this is the only time Simba is so well behaved and looks sweet, when he is sleeping. LOL!

To make my card, I pulled out my trusty old DCWV 'The Pet Stack' papers that I use for almost all of my animal cards. Its really getting low, either someone has to come out with new pet papers, or I'm going to have to buy another stack! LOL! I added ribbon and a photo hinge for embellishment.

So what does the phrase 'You're the Cat's Meow!' mean anyway? Does anyone know that could enlighten me? I have several cat stamp sets, and every set I own includes this phrase and I can't for the life of me figure out what its suppose to mean.

Although the image comes available pre-colored or in black and white, I colored it myself with Copic Markers. Here is a close up so you can see the coloring. The sentiment is retired Stampin Up!

Have a great day! Amy

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Digital Tuesday Challenge 'April Flowers or April Showers?'

Hello and welcome to another Digital Tuesday Challenge. This week's Challenge is all about April Flowers and Showers. Simply make a card or project using at least one digital image that shows either Flowers or Showers on it. This week's sponsor is Di's Digital Downloads and they are giving away 4 digis to one lucky randomly chosen winner.

Well, since its very dry here in Northwestern Wisconsin (we could really use some rain!), I decided to make my card with flowers. I chose the image 'Memories' by Di's Digital Downloads'. Because the image is so beautiful and thought provoking, I decided to keep my card as simple as possible and just let the image take center stage. I colored the image with Prismacolored Pencils and Gamosol. Here is a close up so you can see the coloring better.

If you'd like to play along with us this week, simply click on the Digital Tuesday Challenge Blinkie in my side bar and it will take you directly to the Challenge Site with further instructions.
Have a great day! Amy

Friday, April 16, 2010

A Little Birdie Told Me

Hello! Today I have a new image by Wink Wink Ink called 'Little Bird'. I absolutely squealed with delight when I first saw this image because I love images of little children, and I am a big bird lover. As always, this image is available in black and white, and pre-colored, but it also comes with three sentiments to go with the 'A little Bird Told Me' statement; they are 'the happy news', congratulations', and 'that I should wish you a happy birthday'.

To make my card, I chose the birthday sentiment and the black and white image. I colored it with my Copic Markers and used Spellbinders Nestabilites to cut the image out. The paper is Cosmo Cricket, and the crochet flower is from Stampin Up. Here is a close up so you can get a better view of this adorable image.


And just another reminder, if you haven't played the Wink Wink Ink Challenge yet time is running out. Be sure to make and link your card soon for your chance to win some fabulous new Wink Wink Ink images.
Have a great day! Amy

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Digital Tuesday Challenge 'Paper Piece with Digitals!'

Hello and welcome to another Digital Tuesday Challenge! This week's Challenge is hosted by me and I decided that we should Paper Piece with Digitals! Now, most of you have probably already paper pieced with stamps, but paper piecing with Digitals might be a new thing for you. Its very simple to do: first, just print your image onto white card stock like you normally would do, and then, print it again but this time onto patterned paper. Then just cut out the portions of the image where you want printed paper, and glue it onto your white card stock image. If you don't have an 8 by 10 piece of patterned paper, you can just cut a 12 by 12 sheet down so that it fits in your printer, or you can even use 'scraps' like I did. I simply taped scraps of designer paper down to a sheet of copy paper where I knew the image would print, I then inserted that paper into my copy machine.

Our sponsor this week is the fabulous My Grafico and they are giving away one digital set plus 30% off an in-store purchase to one lucky randomly chosen winner.

To make my card, I used the My Grafico image from their 'Birthday Girl' set. This set is designed by Chi Chi Memories. This is a fabulous set filled with two different birthday girl images, cakes, presents, etc. There are so many options available with this set. It would come in handy to make a fun birthday page for a scrapbook too!I used one of the birthday girl images and the cake from the set to make my card. I paper pieced her dress and hat, I put liquid applique on the hat and the cake, and even added some Stickles to the cake to make it sparkle. Here is a close up so you can see the detail better.


If you'd like to play along with us this week, simply click on the Digital Tuesday Challenge Blinkie in my side bar and it will take you directly to the Challenge Site with further instructions.
On a side note, if you haven't played the Wink Wink Ink Challenge yet for a chance to win some Wink Wink Ink images, there is still time! We'd love to see your creations!
Have a great day! Amy

















Thursday, April 8, 2010

Wink Wink Ink Angel Animals

Hello! Today I have a new set of Angel Animal Images from Wink Wink Ink to show you. Melanie, the creator of Wink Wink Ink received lots of requests for animal images that could be used for pet sympathy cards. So she created a angel cat, angel puppy, and a angel bear. I used all three images to create three different projects: a pet sympathy card, a prayer journal, and a bible book mark. Here is the group photograph. In keeping with the angel theme, I wanted the colors and papers to be soft and serene, so I used Cosmo Cricket's 'Earth Love' paper.
This is a pet sympathy card that uses the puppy angel image. I used the SC274 sketch from Splitcoaststampers to make my card. The inside reads 'Thinking of you during this time of loss'. The image is colored with Copic Markers.
This is a prayer journal I made using my Bind It All. The inside is just blank copy paper. This is the kitty angel image. I chose to use the pre-colored image Melanie offers, because I didn't want to dry out my Copic Markers coloring in such a large image. The title is computer generated. The embellies are buttons purchased at JoAnn's.



And finally I made a Bible Book Mark using the Angel Bear Image. I used the Blossom Nestability Die to make the cloud for the bear to lay on. The sentiment is cut with the Cricut Expression.

Have a great day! Amy



































































Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Recital Invitations

Hello! Today I have a Recital Invitation to show you. As most of you already know, my daughter is a Classical Voice Performance Major. She is graduating this Spring and is having her Senior Recital. The Senior Recital is a big event at her college because it showcases all the student has learned in their four years of study. In honor of this big event, I made invitations to send out to all our family and friends.

I picked the color combination of white, black, and red for several reasons: the formality of the event; the fact that music is printed in black and white; and to match the colors in the photograph of Ashley. To make my card, I first stamped a musical score on white card stock. I then covered it with vellum that had the sentiment printed on it using my computer. The vellum is held in place with the photo corners. I then stamped more music notes on top of the vellum and added ribbon and a flower for embellishment. This is the inside of the invitation. I blurred the date and time to keep Ashley protected from all those 'pervs' out there. I used my computer to print the information. I took the photograph myself.

Here is a close up of the photograph. We took it outside on a cold winter day so we could get the best lighting and the backdrop of the snow. Ashley kept her coat on till we got the right angle, then quickly took her coat off for the photograph.


I know most of you don't have children who plan on making careers in the music industry like mine are, but I hope I have inspired you to make invitations perhaps for their piano or dance recital. Its a nice memory keeper too for family and friends to put in a scrapbook or display on a shelf too.
Have a great day! Amy




Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Digital Tuesday Challenge 'Blue, White, + 1'

Hello and welcome to another Digital Tuesday Challenge. This week's challenge is a color combo: Make a card using blue, white, and one other color of your choice. Our sponsor this week is our very own Digital Stamp Oasis and they are giving away 3 digis to one lucky randomly chosen winner.

Now first of all, I'd like to let you all know that I mistakenly read the challenge wrong. I thought the color combo was black, white, and one other color, so if my card looks black to you, instead of a dark navy blue, your probably right. LOL! I have no idea how I made this mistake, probably because of all the stress I am under, but I did a big boo-boo! But I don't think it really matters, cause you still get the idea....right?

For my card, I used a new Digital Stamp Oasis image called 'Happy Hedgie with Flowers'. Isn't he a cutie? I colored him with Copic Markers and I used last week's Mojo 132 sketch. Because there was so much white and black space, I embossed all the different layers with my Cuttlebug to make the card more interesting. Here is a close up so you can see the coloring of the image better.

If you'd like to play along with us this week, simply click on the Digital Tuesday Challenge Blinkie in my sidebar and it will take you directly to the Challenge Site with further instructions.
If you'd like to purchase this image, simply click on the Digital Stamp Oasis Blinkie in my sidebar and it will take you directly to their Etsy Store.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. Mine didn't go accordingly as planned. Unfortunately I woke up at 5:00 a.m. on Good Friday with a bad case of the Stomach Flu and diarrhea. So I spent the entire day either with my head hanging over the toilet, or my bottom hanging over the toilet, also accompanied by the chills even though it was a beautiful 70 degrees outside and I was wearing a chenille robe and wrapped in a fleece blanket. I had quite the pity party for myself that day. I was so upset because I had looked forward to the holiday weekend for so long; I had so much work to be done and I had so much I had wanted to do. It was my first full day off in a week, and I was completely incapable of doing anything. Then, of course the very next day I had to go back to work for 9 hours. Although the worst was over, I still wasn't feeling well enough to be standing on my feet that long, but being the trooper that I am, I did. Yesterday however, was wonderful. We decided to skip the Easter Breakfast because I still didn't have my appetite back, but we did go to church in the morning and I got to wear a brand new Easter dress to church. I know that probably sounds stupid to some of you to hear me be excited about that, but I usually work EVERY Sunday afternoon and I have to leave for work directly after the church service is over, so I have to wear my work clothes to church. It just felt so good yesterday to wear a nice dress and high heels for a change! Anyway, after church we went to our friends new home and just had such a lovely meal and visit. So, in the end, even though I didn't get the weekend I had planned for, we still had a nice Easter Sunday. And, the best part is, my appetite returned just in time for lunch! LOL!
Have a great day! Amy

Monday, April 5, 2010

Our Very First Wink Wink Ink Challenge!

Today I have some great news to share: Wink Wink Ink is having a monthly challenge where you will have the chance to win some fabulous Wink Wink Ink Digital Images! The challenges will be posted on the first Monday of every month. To play along, all you have to do is use Wink Wink Images and follow the instructions for that month's challenge. If you don't have any Wink Wink Images to start with, you can use this cute 'freebie' pictured on my card below. Its available HERE.



The challenge this month is to make a card or project using border punches. To make my card, I used the 'Free Stamp' available at the Wink Wink Store. This stamp comes pre-colored or in black and white. Because I love to color, I chose the black and white version, and colored it with Copic Markers. The paper is by Cosmo Cricket, and I mounted the main image panel up on dimensionals. I used the Stampin Up! Scalloped Border Punch on the side of the main image. The sketch is from Paper Craft Planet and the sentiment is computer generated. I used the Spellbinders Nestabilities 'Blossom' Die for the sentiment because I thought it mimicked the clouds in the designer paper very well.
Here is a close up of the main image so you can see the coloring. Doesn't this bear look so sad? He looks like he could really use some sunshine.

I hope you all can find the time to play along with us this month. You can find further instructions about the challenge HERE.
Have a great day! Amy

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Love Cats

Hello! Today I have a Wink Wink Ink card to show you. The image is called 'Love Cats' and comes with many options. It is available in black and white (where you color it in yourself), pre-colored, silhouette black and white, and a colored silhouette. Because I did not think I could ever color a sunset as beautiful as this one, I chose to use the colored silhouette for my card. The paper is by K & Company and I used this week's ''I Heart to Stamp" sketch. I added dew drops, a heart die cut, ribbon, and a button for embellishment. The main image panel is up on dimensionals. Here is a close up so you can get a better look at the image and the embellishments.
Oh, I'm tired. I worked a lot of hours this week. And to make it worse, I had to spend one of my days off in a dentist chair, only to find out I have two existing fillings that need to be replaced, so I get to go back on Monday. Yippee! Not exactly the way I want to spend any of my free time or money. Next week doesn't look much better for me either. I'm beginning to feel overwhelmed trying to hold down a job, maintain a house and very large landscape, plus prepare for my daughter's college graduation, bridal shower, senior recital, son's high school graduation, and my daughter's wedding all in the next 2 months. CALGON TAKE ME AWAY! LOL!
I hope your days are less stressful and tiring than mine! LOL! Have a great day! Amy