Create-a-Monkey

It's the last Thursday in October already - this has been a fun month of Create-a-Cupcake Thursdays! Hope you've enjoyed my trips 'outside the box' with this set from Impression Obsession... thanks to Kelli for the fun challenge! I still have more ideas, so this won't be my last cupcake card by any means...but for now, it's about time to go back to the rest of my neglected and NEW I.O. stamps...

So this is Create-a-Monkey...when we first moved overseas there was a guy that came around the neighborhoods with a trained monkey and he'd do a show in our driveway for about 50 cents - all the neighborhood kids would gather around and then just migrate from driveway to driveway, wherever someone was willing to pay for a show. I haven't seen anything like that here, but drew on the memories for inspiration for this little guy. Good times.

I drew in the tassel for his hat, and drew in his little mouth - the rest is colored with Neopiko markers and Prismacolor pencils. I made the embroidery thread tassel with my Bow-Easy - I'll have to do that again and take pictures next time.

That's all I know today - I'll be back with 2 winners' names and one last cupcake card Saturday night - stay tuned!!

Update on Joe

Some of you may remember me asking for prayer for a family on our field, whose son Joe was sick with a rare blood parasite...we got this update yesterday from another friend:

"BJ and Joe were in Jakarta for more tests, on Monday, the 26th. Joe’s blood has not been clotting, and Drs were beginning to think something more might be going on than just the parasite problem, as the medicines he’s been on haven’t made any improvement. BJ called me yesterday afternoon to let me know that the Drs have pretty much concluded that Joe has a rare form of leukemia. Ken was getting ready to join her and Joe in Jakarta, and the other 5 kids were going to stay at home with their Christian house-helper taking care of them. This morning (27th), Ken, BJ, and Joe were going to fly to Singapore so that Joe can undergo a bone aspiration test, to confirm if it is leukemia."

Please continue to pray for them!

Monochrome Nativity

I set off to make this a monochromatic card, and then decided midstream to make it fit not only the Stamping Sisters in Christ Challenge (nativity card) (I know I'm late posting...sigh) but also the Peachy Keen Stamps challenge for this week (#14), which was a card recipe: use a stamped image, colors brown and pink, glitter, and a piece of ribbon.

I stamped the image (Nativity Scene from Heartfelt Creations) on kraft cardstock and used 2 Prismacolor pencils (Ivory and Dark Umber) to shade and highlight, blending occasionally with OMS. I added glitter highlights on the rays of the star, extending the downward ray down to the manger. To add some pink in, I found a bit of ribbon that was 2 colors of brown with a pink polka-dot, and sponged a little pink on my sentiment tag (Christmas Greeting). Just that little touch of pink softened the whole card without detracting from the image. Love it.

I can't seem to stop making Christmas cards - hopefully something I've made will inspire you in your Christmas card making this year while there's still time! I have a stamped gift in mind for our co-workers but I'm still thinking on a simple, mass-produceable card for Christmas.... Right now we are looking toward the end of our semester...planning a staff ladies' Christmas tea... brainstorming our Christmas/graduation celebration...and making plans to attend a wedding of 2 our students in a tribal location at the end of December. Exciting stuff!

Thanks for visiting my corner of the world today!

Happy (hoppy!) birthday, Susan!

The smARTworks design team would like to wish our Susan a very happy birthday!

This is the card I sent to her a few weeks ago...who knows whether it will arrive in time or not!

Stamp sets used:
Snails (toadstool)
Two Bunnies (sentiment & grass)
Five Little Froggies (uhh...froggie)

My toadstool is paper-pieced, and the grass is stamped multiple times with chalk ink, then blended with a Dove blender pen. The frog was stamped on watercolor paper and colored with markers, and you can't tell in the photo, but his head is popped up on mounting tape.

The rest of the team has posted birthday wishes as well - be sure to pay them a visit:
Trish @ Tah-Dah!
Giovana @ A Place to Praise and Craft
Donelda @ Wiggy’s World
Donna @ Dee’s Studio

...then hop on over to Susan's blog and leave her some "Happy birthday" love!

HOPE set at penny auction...

In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness month, I have an unused set called "HOPE" to share from Our Daily Bread designs, I just need a little help with postage. If more than one of you wants to bid on it, that's up to you! Click here to go to the listing at rubberstampauction.com. The auction starts at just a penny. This is the set:While you're there, take a look at my other unmounted stamps up for auction...little something for everyone. Thanks!

This is a card that resulted from........... cleaning my desk.

I do this way too often - start cleaning and making a stack of scraps to sort away...then a color combo in the stack catches my eye, and I end up making a new mess as inspiration hits. The bird had been stamped weeks ago but only partially painted - the sentiment was leftover from a card that didn't work out the way I wanted it too and the scraps were waiting to be stored away.

I used 2 stamps from Heartfelt Creations - the bird is a piece of my beloved Rejoicing Bluebirds stamp - remember how I cut it into pieces? Bad habit I have, but this birdie is soooooooo cute alone... (click on the link above to see the full image - and woo hoo - I had lost the sentiment piece of that stamp (on my desk) and finally found it yesterday! Sad when I lose things right in front of me...).

The sentiment I used here is from a full sheet of images called Mini Message Cursive Set, which has a little something for every occasion. The main image is watercolored using Derwent watercolor pencils. Remember you can see more of my Heartfelt Creations cards here <-----!

What a long day today.....my allergies were in full swing, and on top of that there was a transformer that blew at the power company, and our power was out ALL DAY - usually if I'm having an allergy day, sitting in our air-conditioned office will help things a bit, but there was just no relief with no fans and no AC. Couldn't wash dishes either, because we have an electric water pump...sigh...so a day's worth of unrinsed dishes will be waiting for me in the morning. Thankfully - I don't think we lost any of our fridge and freezer contents - I had just told DH that if it stayed off all night we might be eating a lot of meat Sunday...a few seconds later the power came on. Whew!

Allergies.....does anyone else out there have trouble taking allergy meds and do a saline rinse instead?

Create-a-cupcake, with apologies to my mother....

"A good friend is like a good bra...hard to find, comfortable, always lifts you up, never lets you down or leaves you hanging, and is always close to your heart."

This card idea popped into my head soon after I got Impression Obsession's Create-a-Cupcake set, but I tried very hard to put it out of mind, since my Mom reads my blog...! But in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, sorry Mom...here is Create-a-Cupcake with a message of hope to those who have been affected by breast cancer.


This year a dear Indonesian friend's wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, and because of a recent stroke she is unable to undergo an operation to remove the cancer. They were encouraged to try an alternative route for treatment, and it was unsuccessful. So sad... Her husband is my husband's language helper, and we have seen him struggle through this as he cares for his wife. Very hard situation. We're glad we can be an encouragement to them, at least in small ways. Reminds me - I need to send her a card or bake her something this week.

I stamped my...ahem... 'cupcake tops' with Colorbox chalk ink, and added some glitter pen around the edge, blending with a Dove blender pen. The ABC stickers were a gift from a friend (Hi Kara - thank you!) The ribbon is tacked with a small stitch to keep it crossed in the center.

Hard to believe...only one more week of cupcakeness to go! I have more ideas than 1 more Thursday can hold...but...I'll be ok. This has been lots of fun! Hope I've inspired you to think outside the box a little.

another birdhouse card...

I haven't made a shaped card for a while, so I pulled out my book of templates and decided on this birdhouse one. I love this card - and the Indigo Bunting image from smARTworks was the perfect size for it.

I got the template from an older Paper Crafts magazine... sorry I can't find one online that's similar to share, but maybe you can get a general idea for the template from the shot of the opened card below. I'm not sure what PC's copyright policy is on sharing scanned templates...so I'd better stay safe. I probably have the magazine somewhere to find the date of the issue, but sigh...I don't want to dig through boxes for it. Sorry...

On the front of the card I went for a faux wood look, using pencil lines and some other inks directly on the pearlescent cardstock. I stamped the bird image twice, and popped the bird up on foam tape. The bird is colored with Neopiko markers and Prismacolor pencils.

You still have time to participate in smARTworks' monthly smART-Word challenge - link up your Fall-themed project over at the challenge blog by Oct. 27th for a chance to win a fun prize!

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back Thursday with another Create-a-Cupcake card...!

Maxwell House

What a clever recycling idea, huh? I want a coffee can birdhouse... I do have margarine cans about the same size that have become flower pots, but a birdhouse - now that's cool. We do have some birds that have taken up residence on our porch columns, and then there is a mud swallow nest on the side of the house... This image is called Maxwell House, and it's from Heartfelt Creations. You know me by now - I am such a sucker for bird stamps and coffee stamps! Combine the two, well...

I wanted to have patterned paper as the base of my focal image, so I pulled out my acrylic paints for this one, and used a white souffle pen when everything was dry to highlight the text and cup. It doesn't show well in the picture, thankfully, but the clouds are actually a bit pink...ACK - don't forget to clean your brushes!!

Bless You

I had so much fun creating this card - it took me most of a day, with lots of interruptions. I worked off of two challenges:

1. Friday Sketchers sketch challenge #74 (Thanks, Carole, for the great sketch!)

2. Peachy Keen Stamps challenge #13 - Use Blue and Purple ; Use a stamped image; Must include at least 3 snowflakes (can be more); Must include a Greeting. I love these multi challenges...!

All stamps are from Heartfelt Creations - this is Chickadee Surprise and God Bless border (full sentiment is God Bless You on your Birthday...but...I cut it in half, and then only used part of it!)

I colored my little girl with Neopiko markers - didn't anticipate how they would work on a semi-glossy tag, and wasn't really happy with the streaking, but a little pencil shading and texturing with their blender pen made it better. Her hood is covered with Ivory Flower-Soft. I masked some hills of snow with a torn paper edge, and then went along the lines with glitter to highlight the snow.

For the snowflake trails I pierced along a flourish template (really technical...I printed it on the computer, traced onto a clear envelope, then pierced holes along the lines) and connected the dots with hand-stitching. I think the dimensional snowflake was from Jolee's...not sure. The falling snow is just small dots of acrylic paint, applied with a small stylus.

This was one of the backgrounds I made the other night with the ladies, which didn't make it onto a card that night. It turned out to be a perfect fit for both challenges, so I'm glad I saved it! I ran it through my Zip-e-Mate with a Fiskars texture plate, and lightly sanded the raised swirls.

Hope you have a great weekend!
Blessings,

My Friday

Just a few fun pictures from yesterday - little slice of life on a good day worth remembering. :)

Our ladies have been challenged by an outside soccer team twice now, and this time I got to fill in. Orange...ahem....not my color really, but I did my best anyway. Blocked a lot of balls and DH said I had a good game - so I can't complain.

Last night was our turn to host the staff fellowship...we wanted to do something different so after announcements and prayer requests we split up and each shared what we love to do to relax in our spare time - the men played Wii and the ladies...well...yeah, we made cards. (*gasp*!) I don't often stamp with other people, but I love how open ladies become when their hands are busy - when we were in mission training we used to have a weekly craft night where ladies - whoever wanted to - would bring whatever project we were working on and just be together. I wonder if that would work here? Hm.

I chose a simple card, using the scrap strip background technique, and some scalloped square punches, with a limited number of stamps and color choices... I had made 50 card kits, so there was plenty for everyone (I overplanned, just in case people brought their daughters) - happy to say there are plenty of scrap strips left for next time with the single girls. Everyone loves to have extra cards to give, and everyone was happy with their creations. The important thing was being together, and just enjoying each other's company without any agenda or expectation. So these are the lovely ladies I serve with each day!

And some action from the other side.....a little boxing match...All in a day's work!

FALL!

This month the smARTworks design team launched a new challenge blog, the smART-word Challenge. Whatever our word-of-the-month inspires your cardmaking genius to create, go with the feeling....then link up your post with Mr. Linky over at the challenge blog.


This month's word is FALL...so this is the card I created. I'll admit, I don't have any of smARTworks' Fall sets, but Susan included some small leaves in a set with some of my artwork, so I used those to create a multi-layered leaf wreath (try saying that 5 times fast...)...it was one of those create-as-you-go experiences, so I can't remember all the inks I used...some faded to nothing, so I ended up making another layer...the final leaves, though, were stamped in Brilliance Copper ink.


smARTworks stamp sets used:
bonus rubber (enjoy)
Combo Companion
Together
Almost There
Big n' Bold

Even if you don't have smARTworks stamps your Fall-ish entry still qualifies you for the prize drawing. We'd love to have you join us!

Impression Obsession DT Challenge: Winter

My Thursday cupcake challenge collided with our design team challenge to create a winter card, but never fear.......we can do both......!

There have been a few times during this Create-a-Cupcake set challenge that I have laughed right out loud at an idea that popped into my head - I think Cupcake Santa was the first one. :) Today he is accompanied by Create-an-Elf...whose pointy ears were my 6YO's idea. Great, huh? I colored with Neopiko markers and added some shading with Prismacolor pencils. The little loopy border made the elf's hair (I masked the hat and stamped it several times along the edge).

If you have winter stamps from Impression Obsession and you'd like to join in our challenge, head over to the IO blog for details on how you could win a $25 gift certificate! (If you don't have any, you should check them out at the link above...there is such a gorgeous variety from all of IO's artists...)Remember, the other team members will be posting their winter cards as well today - be sure to click on their links to the left for more samples and inspiration!

Just life stuff.....

Just a couple of pictures of some of the fruit we have been enjoying here lately. Our campus has enjoyed a bumper crop of rambutan this year, and we were fortunate to share the fruit of one of the trees with another family. (rambut=hair - see how they're hairy?) I have blisters on my hands from opening so many yesterday - we had 4 huge bags plus a big tub full, so we decided to turn one bag into popsicles, and I ended up opening all those....ow...

The other fruit here is called durian...it's often referred to by foreigners as the "stinky fruit" but I've actually (yes, I admit it) grown to like it...sort of a sweet onion-y smell (google "durian smells like" for more colorful descriptions...). Yes, those spikes (duri=spike or thorn) are really sharp!! I was told when we first came here that you have to eat it 6 times before you're allowed to say you like it or you don't - I can't remember if today was my 5th or 6th time eating it, but my tastes have gone Asian on this one - I like it...though the creamy texture of it sometimes still gets me a bit.

Still wearing my soccer clothes...as part of our campus routine and extension of teaching/discipleship, we play sports as a campus 3x a week, and Wednesday is the ladies' turn to play soccer. DH has been reffing for us and he told me I had a good game, which makes me feel good...I'm waiting for my granola to finish baking....so many blessings in one day!

He Knows #2

Just a quickie today - this is another card I made at the same time as Sunday's cards, so all the details are the same, except these flower centers have gold glitter glue in them instead.

Enjoy!

His very best.....

I absolutely love this stamp - ! This is "He Knows" from Heartfelt Creations. It is huge...that is the only thing. **But** as soon as I got mine, I carefully cut it into 4 sections. There were a couple spots that were pretty tight - not surgery for the faint of heart... it fits right back together like a puzzle if I want to stamp the full image, as I did here, but I can also rearrange the pieces (move the first 3 lines over, for example, or stamp them on a card front with the rest of the verse inside the card, stamp just the bottom roses with the last sentence, stamp the roses alone or with another sentiment, etc, etc, etc.......) for an entirely different look.

I stamped the full image on Canson watercolor paper, then stamped the two rose clusters separately, and painted everything with a combination of Shimmerz, watercolor pencils, and reinkers. I haven't cleaned my palette for a while...I just let whatever I have in there dry, and revive it again when I want to paint. I use mostly the same colors anyway...

I trimmed and shaped the roses and a few leaves, then glued them onto my base panel to create dimension. Each flower center is filled with tiny glass beads. I cut the square and deckle edge with Coluzzle templates...why oh why did they have to discontinue Coluzzle? I just can't give it up...love the way the deckle template works with the square, and how easy it is to trim right up to the edge of something I want to trim around.... Sigh....

My co-worker's 5YO came in the house the other day and looked at me in amazement, and said, "My mommy said you're famous..." FWIW...thanks for visiting my humble corner of the world...!

His Splendor

I hadn't posted this card yet and it turns out to be perfect for the challenge over at Stamping Sisters in Christ Challeng blog. The challenge (#7) is, "to show the "earth rejoicing"... flowers blooming, oceans roaring, trees bursting with fruit, mountains and hills 'clapping'... whatever comes to mind for you as long as your card or project shows the earth rejoicing." This verse, one of the new releases from Heart & Soul Rubber Stamp Co., fits the theme perfectly. Cool. (Hey, I just noticed that Sue has posted the new catalog pages - some cute stuff there! If you appreciate inspirational and encouraging sentiments and verses, you have got to take a look through the online catalog......'nuff said.)

The day lilies are also from H&S - I colored them with Prismacolor pencils and markers. I embossed the corners of the panel by hand, using the tool from my Scor-Pal and a Fiskars texture plate - just to add some interest in the empty spaces. I lightly rubbed an ink pad over the raised areas - I should have used a chalk pad...maybe next time! Sort of reminded me of those embossed tin hangings...do you know what I'm talking about? The charm is one I bought in bulk (maybe 60 in a pack?) from a wholesaler in Hong Kong who offers free international shipping.

That's all I know!

Create-a-Butterfly?

It's time for another cupcake card! In case you missed the kick-off, this month I've been challenged to see how many non-cupcake-y things I can make with Impression Obsession's Create-a-Cupcake set. So far - an ice cream scoop, a turtle, a pilgrim - this week the cupcake is.......a butterfly!

I stamped the cupcake outline twice on patterned paper and cut out the tops as wings. After I had positioned them on the floral print, I laid vellum over the top and stamped two cupcakes again. I cut the vellum out inside the stamped lines - didn't look right with black edges after all...I should have used a lighter color. Next time!

The dotted trail was done with another dot in the set - there are lots of possibilities with those little decoration stamps, too...! Once I had the wings adhered, I sketched in antennae and laid down adhesive pearls to create the butterfly body.

Other stamps used: Believe