Ladystamper

Here is "THE CAKE!" This is it at the actual reception. It looks better here than on my counter where you can see all the mess we made! I think it turned out wonderful. Everyone just raved about it! I have to give credit to Kristen Grissom for helping me. Well, I mean, I baked the cake and stood around trying to help, but honestly, she did the work. She is an amazingly talented person. If you need a cake, call Kristen! She is going to Culinary Art School in Orlando right now. I am so grateful that she took time out of her very busy life to come and help me with this. Even with her help it took hours to complete. The cake is an Italian creme, full of coconut. SOOO yummy! It is so heavy tho...I had to put it on a Pampered Chef pizza stone because nothing else would have held up! It was heavy!! You can see a corner of one of the sheet cakes I did all by myself. I didn't get it very smooth so I filled in the top with piped swirls. "Opportunity for creativity!"

I am still learning how to post things! I just posted three pictures thinking they would be in a certain order and they are in opposite order! So, start with the third picture and work your way up! I'll get it.....

I actually made three cards today! I have to thank my dear friends Jesse and Shiela for making it possible today. Jesse came and stamped with me and Shiela came over and took a big mess of recipes I have been collecting and magically turned them into a cookbook! That is why I could sit and stamp today without guilt. My final card of the day (so far!) is again with the doodle set. For this card I started by stamping the three yellow flowers on the 5" square of white. I just kind of visualized how I wanted the finished card to look and spaced them accordingly. The purple flower is stamped and cut out, along with the green leaves. I colored everything before I stuck it together. I used the watered down marker technique to color in the flowers. The way that works is first you take your marker and scribble it on the top of one of your stamp cases. Then you use the aquapainter to pick up the color and paint with it. You can also use a blender pen for this. I used a blender pen for the f

This is the next card I made. I was dying to use the doodles stamped in White on Black...to me, that is just what it was made for! I stamped this in white and then colored it in with the metallic pencils. I used a blender PENCIL that I got from the art store to soften the metallic pencils. It is great for blending the colors and getting rid of those pencil lines. The card really has a shimmer in person. I added a big glob of crystal effects to the center of the flower and sunk a rhinestone into it. I also added drops of CE to the little blue flower middles and the dots along the bottom leaf. I used my white gel pen to dot the corners, added a silver Mini Brad to the upper right and lower left corners and tied on some black gingham. It really looks nice in person....you'll have to come see it!

I FINALLY had a chance to play with my new doodle set today. yay! It is SO much fun! I have seen tons of cute stuff and was dying to try my hand at it. This is the first card I made. I actually had this patterned paper sitting out on my work table from a class I did yesterday so I decided to start with it. The paper is actually two sided. You are seeing both sides here. I cut one strip smaller than the other so I could layer them. I LOVE the two sided paper! It takes the guess work out of matching papers. I just use both sides together! I distressed the edges of the patterned paper a bit by not changing my dull trimmer blade, layered them and stuck them on the Chocolate chip card base I had made. The card is 5-1/2 square. I stamped the doodle swirls in Choc Chip on the green strip and then mounted my flowers on. I had stamped the flowers in Basic Brown on Vanilla, then I colored them in with my Many Marvelous Markers or M3 as they are called in the stampin world. (as of now...) I us

I have been so busy! I apologize for not getting samples and updates on here for a few days. I will get back on track. For now, I would just like to share a couple of things I learned today. I have a dear friend that I really look up to. She is one of those people that is just inspiring. We were e-chatting this morning about all the things we were involved in and all the directions we were being pulled and she said something that just really stuck with me. She said, "there are some things any willing person can do and some things only you can do, and I think sometimes we need to focus on the things only we can do. and let somebody else do the other things." That just really made me think. I've been thinking all day about the things that Only I can do. I have to admit that the only things I could think of are things that relate to my family. Only I can love my children like nobody else, only I can support my husband in all he does, only I can be me. Think about it. The oth

I was inspired last night by Michelle's post ( www.painteddesertserenage.blogspot.com ) where she used the flirty ribbon combined with another ribbon. I decided to use my Carte Postale set again since it is leaving soon. I will miss it! Actually, I will keep it and hoard it and use it for my own personal use! It is a very versatile set. I just love it! The cardstocks I used are Regal Rose, Mellow Moss, and of course, white. I colored on the stamp to get the multicolored image for the 'background' paper and stamped twice from each coloring to get different intensities and add depth. The focal point is embossed with detail gold embossing powder and then chalked. I added some crystal effects to the flower to give it a bit more presence. I punched the holes on the side with my 1/16" hole punch and sqeeeeeezed the ribbons through. I chose that size because I didn't want to really see the holes. (You still can, but don't tell me) Looking at the card now, I think I pr

I really need to find out what is wrong with my scan disk. Scanning my cards just doesn't do them justice. I recieved my Spring Mini goodies yesterday and just had to play a bit! This card is made with the Eu Chocolate designer paper and the new Office Accoutment set. I also used the Seeing spots for the faux brads and flower middles and the Happy Everything for the greeting. I just love the way colors coordinate at Stampin' Up! The chocolate paper goes perfectly with the Chocolate chip ink and cardstock. Today is baking day at my house. I am helping a friend with her wedding cake so I will baking all day. I am baking her the Italian Wedding cake I had at my wedding way back in the day. It is the yummiest cake ever! Wish me luck...I know it will taste good, I just hope it is level and all that. Have a great day! :o))

Since today was a holiday, I decided to spend the day not doing my normal 'chores.' Don't be fooled into thinking I took it easy tho, I ended up shredding 50 pounds of junk mail and working in the yard. I don't know which activity made my hands more sore... I am truly pathetic when opening junk mail strains my muscles! My junk mail pile is a bit smaller and my yard looks a bit better so, I must have done okay. I also had some fun with Ben on the trampoline and a great family home evening. The kids were all in attendance (minus Maegan) and actually listened and behaved! Life is good! I have to admit that I wasn't thrilled with this set when it arrived from Stampin' Up! I just didn't see the possibilities with it. I did like the words but the paisley...well....now that I have seen all the awesome samples made with the set I have decided I just need to play with it more. Here is one of my first attempts. I used my traditional purple and green (perfect plum and

Okay, so this isn't a stamped item. I just wanted to share it any way! My scrappin friend Lori Udy shared this awesome quilt idea with me recently. It is what I call a "Journal Quilt." It is amazing in person. What she did was to take a flat sheet and starting in one corner, sew a scrap piece of fabric to it. She does a different fun stitch around each piece she adds. Some pieces are from children's clothes, blankets, or other memory items, and some fabric pieces are just remnants she picked up at the store. She has all kinds of fabric from denim to velvet. After she gets some "crazy pieces" on there, she goes back and embroiders words on them. Some are important dates in their family. Other words are from church hymns or quotes or just memories. I think this is just such an amazing piece of art. Not only is it hand done, it is so very personal! My friend Lori is a wonderful person that I admire greatly. She is a terrific mom, wife, friend and all around go

Sellabration is almost over! I had a workshop tonight and showed the sets again. This was a very simple card using the Treehouse patterned paper. I love this paper! It is so "boy" and fun! I I used the back of the spotted paper to put behind the clear button. I stuck the button to the paper and the paper to the card all with crystal effects. Gotta love that stuff! The ....is from under the "sorry" stamp in the So Very set. The card base is cranberry crisp. A very simple card. I will be "so very" sad to see the Sellabration sets go. I have had such fun with them. I especially like this one and will probably continue to use it lots in my scrapbooks. Today I had three friends from Norway come over to stamp with me. They are so sweet, I thoroughly enjoy them. I was going to snap some pictures to share here but totally forgot! Next week! I taught them how to make mini albums. They were all so different and wonderful. That is one of the things I love the most

I made the topper for this card a few days ago but it just ended up sitting on my desk til now. I decided that today I was going to finish some stuff. This card is made with the SU square premade cards. I love them because they have lots of room to have fun with and the envelopes actualy fit them! I inked up my canvas background with Brocade blue and then, because I couldn't find my squirt bottle...imagine that...I wet my hands and flicked water on the stamp. I wanted to go with the "water/rain" theme on this one. The splash made little water spots ont he background. It looks cool in person. I stamped the canvas on my card base but it was a bit short on the top and bottom so I added strips of brocade blue cardstock all the way around. To finish them off I added the silver mini brads. I brushed a bit of white memory paint on the background and stamped "sparkle" over it so it would be seen. Kind of a reverse puddle if you will. The image is actually stamped o

Here is a fun Valentine for you all. I used the Dream come true stamp set and the Loves me paper. I LOVE this paper! In person, this card has a bit of a lingere feel to it. The flirty ribbons are silky and fun. I cut the heart out on the tag, put packing tape behind it and dumped daz diamonds all over it. Gee...lingere and diamonds...this is the perfect Vday card! But of course...don't forget the Close to Cocoa cardstock...if it had been Chocolate chip...the cards would have been the perfect gift! Or maybe...a 'dream come true' Have a happy day!

My friend Barbara purchased this tree set and let me use it before I delivered it. Isn't that sweet? I had fun with it. I followed Debbie's advice and sponged the tops of the trees with a lighter brown to soften up their "flat-top." Then I sponged on some Old Olive and stamped the leaves randomly with the same color. I used a stencil brush to plant some grass and then stamped the flowers with Cranberry Crisp on the ground. The trees looked happy so I stamped "Happiness." I added a bit of hodgepodge hardward to the upper corner to anchor the whole think. I mounted the trees on some Cranberry and then Choc chip and the card base is Confetti white. This card is actually a 5-1/2 x 5-1/2 card. I hope you like it....I just love it! The next card I made was what I call a "season" card. I stamped the trees in Chocolate chip and then put vellum over them with the saying on it. The other squares are stamped with the different "season" stamps and

I have been sent on a blogger's guilt trip by Michelle. Thanks for that. I am sorry I haven't posted anything in a couple of days. I tell ya, life just never slows down over here! I don't remember what I have been busy with, but it was something important I am sure. I went on a wonderful Valentine date last night with my sweet hubby and our friends Kim and David Elmore. It was an extremely nice evening with a fancy dinner and dance at the church and then a drive to the movies to see the Pursuit of Happyness. I highly recommend this movie. I admit it stressed me out during 80% of the movie, but...it has a great message and sends you home with a great sense of urgency to get your life in order. I have a greater commitment to getting and staying out of debt and being more self reliant after the movie. But, on to stampin topics! I have actually stamped the last few days, but decided to share this scrap page that I did a while back. It is one of my favorite pictures of myself

Okay, this card is WAY cuter in person! I don't know what my computer did to it, but...I really like it. I was inspired by a scrapbook page in my latest Simple Scrapbooks magazine. The page was all white with a cluster of pictures in the lower right hand corner area and a title running up the side of it. This is kind of close....the white was a bit too much with the white behind the critters so I used the good old Canvas bkgrd with my celebration spectrum pad. Did you know you could use those on stamps?LOL I have used them so much with the brayer lately, it felt almost like a new idea to use it on a stamp! Anyway, I don't know if you can see it, but I put crystal effects on the elephants eye and the giraffe's spots. I tried to use it on the lion's eyes but...it made him look like he was wearing goggles! Not the look I was going for, so he got the white gel pen on his eyes. It really made them pop so I decided to use the pen on the flowers too. I just LOVE this pen! I t

My brayer class was lots of fun last night. We had a full table. I was going to do it upstairs in my craft room, but the lighting needs some work there. We actually video taped the class...(I haven't seen the video yet,) so lighting was pretty important. Here are a couple of the cards we did. The top one is called "ghost imaging" or resist. We stamped the cirlcles and flowers on glossy paper using the Versamark pad and then brayered over it. It is a fun technique to do because the images appear like "magic!" The other card is called brayered Madras. It is a technique I learned from Pat Hunton ( www.patstamps.com ) where you brayer in one direction and then turn the paper a quarter turn and brayer over that. It looks really neat in person. I tired a couple different things for the top layer and ended up brayering it and then bouncing the brayer on it in different places to give it a cool look. I think I'll go watch a few SuperBowl commercials now...they are

I was playing with the watercolor crayons last night. I need to do that more. I still haven't totally mastered them. They have such potential tho. I love it when I make something I like. This stamp from the SAB Happy Harmony just needs to be watercolored. I love how soft the flowers look. You can't really tell here, but I used glitter on them. I know, glitter again! The glitter intensified the color of the flowers and added a little more fantasy feel to them. I did actually use watercolor paper for this. I colored onto the stamp with the crayons and then stamped onto watercolor paper I had already spritzed with water. I think this is my favorite way to use these. The colors used were always artichoke and almost amethyst with a touch of ballet blue. I love how you can blend colors and shade with the crayons! It makes me feel like an artist! The paper is Mellow Moss and Barely Banana. I added a couple mini brads to anchor the whole thing. I stamped the French Flair background wit

I have been working on a lot of things, the HOF, RS Craft day tomorrow, working out (made it to the gym again today!!), and of course cleaning the house....but I actually found time today to stamp. I needed to prep for a brayer class I have this Saturday night so with that focus I came up with some cute brayer cards. This is the one that Maegan liked the best. I used the All about You set as well as a tiny flower from Something sweet. I brayered my glossy paper with pretty in pink and then taped lines using strips of painters tape. Then I brayered over that with the cotton candy. After that dried for almost long enough I took of the tape and stamped the love, hearts and flowers all over the background in the rose red from the cotton candy pad. I stamped the U on another piece of glossy using the middle of the cotton candy pad and just traced around the edges with a regal rose marker to make it pop. It is hard to see, but I rubbed the edges of the paper with the U across the rose red on