2 more challenges!

 This card is for Gina K's challenge of use metal.  So I used an old pop can, cut off the top and bottom and used my flower dies in the Big Shot.  I used the Copic airbrush system to color them.  The background is a Technique Junkie herringbone that uses left over strips of paper.   I've had that piece sitting around for MONTHS and for some reason today I was able to think it would work for this.  I have done the thing to cut some things out of old pop cans before but this is the first time I colored it with the airbrush.  I really like it too   The tag is from Gina K's Fanciful Tags set stamped on the Spellbinder Fancy tag die.
Since I also used something I would have thrown away (or recycled), this qualifies for the Our Creative Corner Challenge too.

This one is for Gina K's Sketch challenge.  I must admit, this was a little intimidating and a real challenge.  Those little squares are hard to figure out what to put in them.  I finally decided on Friends Forever set.  I was able to stamp a piece of each one of the flowers on the larger squares.  Then used the stamp positioner to get the greeting (unknown) on the smaller ones.  I colored them with Prisma pencils and gamsol. Really the purples ones don't look like such a crappy job in real life.   Please don't ask about the background.  This is another one I've had stuffed in my 'backgrounds to use later' drawer and I don't have a clue what I used anymore.  All I can tell you is was on glossy paper.  I looked through my 'stuff' to see if I could tell what I used but can't.  Sorry.

Friends through Rain or Shine

I had a free day in the rubber room today.  So I took advantage of it and did some challenges. 
This one is for Clear Dollar stamps Clearly I stamp sketch challenge and Crazy for You color challenge of pink, kraft, turquoise and brown.

Din-O-Mite!

My great nephew's birthday is coming up and I know he's a dinosaur crazy kid so I had to make this for him.
It qualifies for:
Gina K color Challenge - Grass Green, Mango and Dandelion
CCEE Wear green AND the PPA85 sketch

Colored with Copics and sponged with Wild Honey Distress inks. 

Yes, I'm alive!

And I was finally able to stamp and have time to blog about it! My muse has been on vacation so I've done a little stamping but nothing great, at least that I considered blog worthy so I found a few challenges and here we go!

This card uses Gina K's Year of Borders and Year of Flowers along with Stamps of Life greetings.
I made my own DP. I forgot how satifying it is and fun. I used Distress inks and just stamped the flowers in Honey and Weathered Wood and made sure I stamped again without reinking to get a 2nd generation image. Then I used the spotlight technique.

This card qualifies for:
Gina K color challenge
Just Us Girls - spotlight technique
OCC - Cut it out - see the flower on the border right of the spotlight?
CCEE - Use embossing folders

I love it when I can combine some challenges. The color combo is out of my comfort zone, I don't think I'd ever have picked them but it's ok.

This one uses Gina K Mugs and Kisses and qualifies for her sketch challenge.  I used Paper Studio DP and paper pieced the cup and saucer.  It will also qualify for Crazy for Challenges to use a heart...see it on the tea bag tab?  I thought I was pretty clever to do that.  LOL  Also see the sewing...fooled you.  It's a stamp from Hero Arts!  I love that thing when I realize after the fact I should have sewed.   


I hope Spring is close to all of you.  We finally were warm today...42 but the wind was blowing that strong too!  Maybe it will melt some snow. 

Challenge cards

Hi friends. 
It's been a LONG time since I had time to stamp and post.  I've done a little stamping but mostly finishing up Christmas stuff so it was fun to get back into the rubber room to use some of the new stamps and things I got for Christmas.

 This one is for Gina K's color challenge and the JUGS matching envelope one.  I used stamps from Quite a Catch on the card and Year of Borders on the matching envelope.  The colors were Mango, turquoise and red.  You can't see it in the picture but the starfish was colored with Copics and then coated in Crystal Effects, cut out and mounted on the circle I airbrushed with my Copic. The punch is a Martha one

 This card is also for a Gina K release color challenge, turquoise, chocolate brown and kraft and the I Heart sketch. Which I turned sideways.  The Gina K sets are Mugs and Hugs, Botanicals (background on the turquoise) and Lovely Labels.  I embossed the mug using Walnut Distress Ink with clear powder, cut it out and then stamped lovely labels on my Stamp-ama-jig and lined up the portions I wanted on my mug.  I embossed that the same way.  I used Spellbinders and some unknown DP and it's hard to see but I did use a Cuttlebug folder on the Kraft.

This is a stamp set I've been dying to use to make a card for my daughter.  I used a sketch from Friday Sketches (flipped) and the Dog Hair set from Impression Obsession.  The dog stamped on white, cut out and was colored with Copics and around the rug is some fringy ribbon.  I mounted the dog on mounting tape to pop him up.  The DP is Basic Grey Origins pad.  A Martha punch was used on the border of the black.  The faux stitching is a Hero Arts stamp.  I have a dog print brad in the upper corner....to cover a mistake, I stamped the zig zag crooked.  Opps.  :)


Besides stamping today, I cleaned out my closet (it was bad, my dresser and watched some football.  I sure wish I had another day to play.  Tomorrow is a shopping, basic cleaning day and more football

2 more challenge cards - Gina K and OCC

 This card is for the Our Creative Corner sketch challenge.  I took a little liberty and switched the bottom 2 layers as I liked the look better with the lattice punch (Martha).  It's hard to read but the greeting reads Everything OK?  This card is going to my sister-in-law and her husband...she slipped and broke her shoulder then a few hours later her husband was blowing snow and fell and broke his wrist and tore his rotator cuff. 
I used Basic Grey's Origins DP and the stamp is from Clear Dollar stamps - Sorry Charlie. 

This one is for Gina K's Spotlight Color challenge. Violet, Asparagus and white.  I used her last week sketch for this one as well as a faux marble Technique Junkie technique for the background.  The stamp set is Botanical and the saying is from Candles on Cake set.  I added a few pearls and there you go. 

So there you go. 

Peebo

 

I opted for non-traditional Christmas colors, even though the DP was out of an old Hobby Lobby Christmas pack.  The large snowflake is from a mini-ornament pack I picked up.  

My dear friend Barb entered a picture in Rubber Hedgehog for their contest to make a stamp.  She won and send me a stamp of her winning entry.  Here is the card I made for her.  Thanks Barb for this great stamp.

Birthday graduated accordian fold card

Here's a wow card that's so easy to do:  Figure out the size of your envelope.  Multiply time 3, (remember to leave room so it fits) cut from as shown, score and fold.    I'm sure you'll figure it out.  I had some gifted envelopes in a strange size I wanted to use so unless I know what you have, I can't give you measurements. 

 

I used ivory cardstock for the base.  Used Cuttlebug folders and DP is from an awesome Hobby Lobby Paper Studiopack called Mirabelle.  Sponging ink over the cuttlebugged folders adds depth as does edge sponging.  The horse is a stamp from The Angel Company and the greeting is one from The Stamps of Life.   Now you may ask about the cool brads...they are actually paper!  I used a small circle punch, punched one from the DP, and layered that on 2 cardstock pieces.  I use a drop of glue between each.  Then a mini-wooden bowl from a craft store that I used a rounded piece to push the 'brad' in to make it look like a brad.  To give it a good shine I put a piece of wax paper in it and rubbed it some more.  Then a dot of home-make glue dots* to adhere them.  I can't take credit for the brad idea but not sure where I saw it so if someone knows let me know so I can give them credit.  I think the lace was from Hobby Lobby too. 

*GLUE DOTS- drops of Eileens Tack it Over and Over glue on left over scraps of Xyron paper, label/sticker sheets or what I use, ATG roll paper.  Let them sit 45 min then put another layer on top.  You can make whatever size you want and they only cost pennies for hundred, not $5!  It has to be TACK IT OVER AND OVER and you can't use wax paper.  I sent my hubby to Michaels to get the glue as Hobby Lobby didn't carry it here.  He comes home with 3 bottles.  I can make glue drops till the cow come home or I'm 120 whichever comes first. 

CD Christmas ornaments

My very first post on my blog was CD Christmas ornaments.  That is the post more people look at than anything.  I realized I could do better and saw a Dutch Dare challenge to make one (or a tag or card) and thought...hmm, I love a  challenge when I have time to stamp so here is what I came up with.  Now why I have time to stamp, remember, I just had pins out of my ankle so am supposed to take it easy.  I'm really doing quite well but shhhh, don't tell.  :)  I'm enjoying all this time in my rubber room.  So keep coming back I have a bunch of projects to post and leave some love.  I'm going to do some blog candy sometime before Christmas.

So, since I was it, I made 2 today.  I've saved a few of those clear plastic CD saver things that are on the bottoms of the blank ones thinking they could come in handy.  I had thought glitter...then remembered that glitter gets on EVERYTHING.  So I was pondering what to use and saw the Twinklets Diamond Dust (really chunky glitter stuff) I found at Hobby Lobby in the Christmas section.  I then had to figure out what kind of the 8 different kinds glue I should use.  First choice was Diamond Glaze (crystal effects) but it's pricey.  So thought I'd try Perfect Paper adhesive (PPA) as it said was ok for glass and knew it dried clear.  I brushed it on with a wet brush as suggested.

Next I put it on a coffee filter and dumped that Diamond Dust on it.  I pressed it in and set it aside.  The next one I tried plain old Elmers School glue, the kind you get or 25 cents before school starts.  I brushed that on THICK and left it while I was cleaning the brush to flatten out.  Then dumped the Diamond dust on that and set it aside. This one had a much thicker coat of DD on it.  The first one was more translucent.   Now it was time to decorate.

So I took the more see through one and decided to try to stamp some snowflakes on the back with StazOn.  Hey, that worked pretty good!  I knew it wouldn't show through on the other one though.  Now it if your going to try to make one, you might want to stamp BEFORE you put the DD on.

I embossed the sleigh and reindeer (Flourishes) in gold, colored the deer with Copics (E 31, 33 and 35) and the sleigh with pencils and blended with Odorless Mineral Spirits.  I used a Spellbinder label to cut out.  Note it was to big but I used the Technique Junkie, Out of the Box to make it fit.  TIP: I found that Copics sort of eat up EP so probably would use pencils next time.  I added some Diamond Stickles on the edge of the sleigh and as snow flakes.  NOTE: in the picture I have the reins on the reindeer but took them off as I ended up rubbing my Versamark pad over the image and clear embossing the whole thing.  It gave it more a porcelain look.

I took a large embroidery needle and stuck it through where I wanted the gold 'reins' on that piece of foam and knotted it in the back.

I used a gold brad to hole the reins.
It ended up needed a layer so I cut the next size Label out of red mirror cardstock and cut around that for a small border.  The Dreamy Moments sticker is one I've had for a long time and the snowflake on the sleigh is a silver charm I colored with a gold marker.

 By now the CD was dry.  I added some puckered Christmas ribbon by putting Red Line tape on the BACK SIDE of the CD.  Don't try the front, it won't stick to the DD...don't ask.

Then I puckered the ribbon around the edge.

I punched a hole for the ribbon to string through to hang on tree with the Crop A Dile.  That thing works slick.


I used the Glossy accents to attach the stamped images on the side of the CD with the DDust on.  Weight down the image to dry.



The Skiing Bear is from High Hopes and mounted on the CD with the blue snowflaked on the back (you can see them IRL).  I stamped and colored him with Copics then ran another piece of cardstock through my Xyron and attached to the back for 2 reasons, to cover the copic bleed through and 2nd to add more stability.  I don't think even 120 pound cardstock would be thick enough.  I also did the clear EP on that whole image and glued him down with the Glossy Accents as is the snowflake border which is a garland from the mini-tree aisle.  Check that out for awesome cheap embellishments.

I think the worst part of making these is the waiting for things to dry...so while your doing that, try making the Irish Stew receipe below.

Oh and this is what my son-in-law makes.  They are Santa's from around the world hand painted on Turkey feathers!  This is Father Clause.  He has some awesome ones and sells them...for the people who have everything this is great.  If anyone wants one, they are $22 (includes postage).  Tell me what you want and he'll make it!  They look great stuck in a tree or just about anyplace.  If you don't want a Christmas theme, he can do just about anything.

Irish Guinness Stew

Now, why you ask when I usually do a stamping stuff would I have a stew on my blog?  Well, if you notice, I love to cook and bake too (If someone would clean up after me I'd be the happiest person on earth to do that all day).  Anyway, I thought this would be good to share since we are all so busy this time of year.  It's a crockpot recipe that you can let cook all day while you craft the day away smelling the delishishness of this stew.

First, you need stew meat, bacon and a bottle of Guinness.  I have only used Guinness, a stout Irish beer.  It's very dark.  I don't know what other ones have the same flavor as I'm not usually a dark beer person but buy a six pack, it's that good!

Cook your bacon in a large pan.  Feel free to cut in in more manageable size as your going to crumble it anyway.

 Make sure it's nice and crisp.  I use about 7 slices of thick bacon.  You can do more if you want...go ahead you might want some.  Save that bacon grease in the pan unless there is a lot, you need about 4 tablespoons.

 Then get your stew meat.  You can either buy it or cut up some round steak into bite size pieces.  I check to see what's cheaper when I'm getting it.

Now you can braise it (fry it in the pan to sear in the flavor and juices) in the bacon grease.
You can omit this step if you want to save time but if you already cooked the bacon, why not?  Don't overcrowd it, you might need to do a couple pans of beef.

 Next cut up your veggies.  Now what you use is up to you and how big you cut is a big debate in my family.  I used to make them a lot bigger, then my nephew complained that he wanted bit size.  Whatever.  I use potatoes, carrots (the mini cut carrots are so handy, no cutting) onion, and a rutabaga (known as Swede in England...what do they call a person from Sweden there?) See the picture, they come in a waxy coating.

Peel that coating off with a sharp knife and cut up that wonderful goodness.  Now, my hubby and son don't know I even put this in they must think they are a different kind of potato as they are a little yellow cooked but a much better veggie for you.  YUM.  Try one, they're great.  You can add celery or cabbage too but I'd have a revolt from my men.

 Start putting the meat and veggies in your slow cooker.   Have that Guiness ready.

 Press in a couple cloves of garlic, add a couple teaspoons of Kosher salt (more flavor), 1/2 t. fresh ground pepper, 2 T. Worcestershire sauce, throw in a bay leaf and 2 t. Paprika .  Don't forget the crumbled bacon.

YUMMY.  Oh and notice the liner?  Whoever invented these crockpot liners should receive a Nobel Peace Prize.  I mean it sure saves lots of fights as to who will clean that mess out of there!










Then pour in the beer.   Look at that lovely foam.  YUM.  Let it cook and go stamp or shop or wrap presents.  You can smell that goodness.  I cook it on low for about 7 hours.  It was done before that but we weren't ready to eat and I was so excited to eat I forgot to take a finished picture.  Trust me, it's heaven.