The Stamping Boutique Blog has a blog hop today

Welcome to the Stamping Boutique July blog hop! I'm unfortunately not part of the blog hop (due to a clerical error) but if you want to hop through here is the list:

> > Aletha http://ajsdesigns.blogspot.com/
> > Amanda http://colouringourworld.blogspot.com/
> > April http://allaboutthelowers.blogspot.com/
> > Ashley http://scrappinash.blogspot.com/
> > Collette http://collette-heavensent.blogspot.com/
> > Crystal B http://crystalscraftycreations.blogspot.com/
> > Crystal D http://creationsofasparetimestamper.blogspot.com/
> > Donna http://www.scrappydonna.blogspot.com/
> > Jan http://www.jans-gonestampin.blogspot.com/
> > Jennifer http://jennlovestostamp.blogspot.com/
> > Kym http://kymkreations.blogspot.com/
> > Maria http://joyfulstamper.blogspot.com/
> > Michele http://whimsicalcreations.blogspot.com/
> > Melissa http://melissaccreates.blogspot.com/
> > Robyn http://robynstime.blogspot.com/
> > Sherri http://www.finkshappenings.blogspot.com/

My card features "Back to School Audrey" which is part of the back to school collection. If you haven't visited lately, the Stamping Boutique website has had an extreme makeover and it looks fabulous.

Thanks for stopping by.

Raindrops Keep Falling on My Digi Shack Sketch

Welcome to Sketchbook Wednesday at The Digi Shack. This is pretty exciting week because Brian Lock has drawn a bunch of new images and this will be the last Sketchbook Wednesday for a while. But no worries- the design team will be doing some new and exciting stuff. The Digi Shack also has a new group at the Crafter's Digital Art Center. Finally, TDS is hosting digi night on Saturday August 7th in the TDS group on SNR.

And if it wasn't enough, today is my father's birthday. This card if for him- tonight we'll go have cake and sing happy birthday.

An unusual love story

Today is Saturday and it is release day at Squigglefly. Check out the new releases HERE. This image is called "Time for a Get Together" and hasn't been released yet. I am going to rename it "Three's a Crowd" because the snail and ladybug only have eyes for each other.

I'm going to a Pampered Chef party this afternoon. I love kitchen gadgets. When we visited our former neighbors last weekend, they had a cool PC tool that cut corn off the cob. It was so cool that I know I'll be ordering one today.

Itsa Pizza Partee

This is brand new Squigglefly image called "Pizza Chef" which will be released tomorrow. As soon as I saw it I thought "invitation" so I added the text at the bottom of the image. Please forgive my picture quality because it is a gloomy day and no matter how many lights I turn on still can't capture a decent picture.

Sunday we are going to my parent's house for dinner. I'm bringing deviled eggs. I make really good deviled eggs because I use lots of mustard. Everyone always scarfs them up!

Anybody following "Hell's Kitchen"? This season isn't as good as previous seasons but I'm rooting for Holly. Chef consistently likes her food so hopefully she will have an edge.

Card Tag- Round 4 reveal... It'll mow you down!

A few weeks ago my friend and former SheetLoad founder, Alicia Ekermans sent an email to some of us who had played in previous rounds of card tag that she was starting a new round. I immediately signed up because it is as much fun as a swap but since you play virtually there is no postage and goes quickly from start to finish. Alicia is also a rocking hostess and kept the game moving- in fact the ladies were so good at moving it along we finished the round early!

Card Tag is essentially a game of telephone for stampers- Player 1 creates a card and it is emailed to Player 2 who creates their card based on the 1st- using sketch, color or whatever as their inspiration. The #2 card is emailed to player #3 and so on. So you only see the previous card and your own card until the reveal.

I used an lawn mowing man image drawn by Marlene Shaw for The Digi Shack. I never considered the image for a housewarming card until I started laying out with green paper. Sometimes it is just fun to play- you never know where you'll get a new idea!

I am always amazed at how the card morphs from beginning to end!

Wanna see the cards?

Check out Alicia's post with all the cards!

Sketchbook Wednesday- 3 alarm sketch!

It is Sketch Wednesday at The Digi Shack! I absolutely love today's sketch because it is all about squares and rectangles. Perfect for a more masculine card. I used Phat Fireman drawn by artist Marlene Shaw and an accompanying sentiment. If you look at the sketch the sentiment is supposed to be bordering the image but I used artistic license because I really like the sentiment where I placed it ;)

We have some exciting things happening over at the Shack. Next week will be our last sketch challenge for a while- Toni has some new ideas to wow you. Plus we have a new release coming out and we are having a fabulous Digi Day coming up on the first Saturday in August.

We got back from our vacation Monday night and we have been running ever since. Work, chores, laundry and art camp. My daughter is attending art camp 1 door down from where I work this week (just lucky). The owner of the studio is a friend of mine and not only is she scary talented but she loves kids and the kids have been making just amazing stuff this week- collages, banners, shaped journals, clipboard journals. Did I mention my friend Joanne also teaches adults? Yes- sometimes I go and have fun with other adults ;)

I used to hate puns...

Years ago I HATED puns- they reminded me of bubblegum wrappers or cheesy elementary school valentine's. In more recent years they have had some really cute ones as sentiments for cards... and I have changed my ways... Ruffled Song Bird was drawn for Squigglefly by artist Revi Devi Paat.

Coincidentally, Revi Devi Paat is currently the featured artist on our Squigglefly Paper Craft Planet group. OK not so coincidental- I was one of the people who chose her! We are also having a challenge on the group featuring punches and die cuts.

My daughter finished colonial craft camp today. The kids churned butter, made apple butter and did some other stuff today. I don't know all the details because the big reveal was supposed to be after camp at my parents' house so we could show them the loot from camp but they weren't home.

I'm visiting someplace special tomorrow. Take a guess- if you are right I'll draw someone from all the correct guesses and send them a small prize.

Cloudy with a chance of.... genies?

Happy Wednesday (yawn). I've been burning the candle at both ends this week making stuff, working and making more stuff. This card featured The Digi Shack's Sketchbook Wednesday sketch and an image by Marlene Shaw.

This week my daughter is attending a colonial/ pioneer days camp at a local historical home. The kids have been cross stitching, knitting, stenciling and learning new songs and dances. When I arrive to pick her up in the afternoon the kids are always very intently doing some craft project. My daughter always has tales to tell of her day and has already asked me if she can go there again next summer... that is how you know you picked a good camp for your child! Don't worry I won't let it get to my head!

Mr. Roboto

This robot image was drawn by Brian Lock for The Digi Shack. My gut instinct with him was a boy's birthday card but I decided to explore him feminine whiles and make my card more girly with purples, polka dots, scallop and ribbon.

Hope you have a wonderful Saturday. We are going to drop by a neighborhood garage sale in a bit. And because my life isn't busy enough, our A/C isn't working so we get to have that repaired. Always something!

Hidden me time

I have been blessed to be on several design teams and each one is a bit different. At The Stamping Boutique we get to choose our own images. It can be quite fun to "shop" but sometimes I find myself second guessing myself- I like image A but can I make a good card with it- do I have the right embellishments or sentiment to get it right? Sometimes I just let my inner voice help me pick and sometimes I'm not even sure why I am drawn to an image.

Last week I got to choose my images from The Stamping Boutique and I was really drawn to this one, which is called Hidden and is part of their Enchantment line. I fell in love with the curve of the stem which sort of cocoons the fairy. As I colored her she gave me a real sense of peace and femininity- like she was meditating or prayer time or just some special time to reflect.

Have some fun today- take some time for yourself and nurture your creative self- make cards, scrapbook, garden, draw, knit, cook-- just make something!

Sketchbook Wednesday at the Shack

Today is Sketchbook Wednesday at The Digi Shack. This was a challenging sketch for me so I kept it very simple. The sketch above features a new Superbird image by artist Brian Lock.

This card features the sketch rotated and a genie image by artist Marlene Shaw. This genie in the bottle was a lot of fun to color- I even colored the lamp and her accessories with metallic markers.

Are any of you fans of Joan of Arcadia? I have recently discovered the show on DVD and I really like it. Sadly, I find I am now relating more to the parents of teenage characters than to the teenagers themselves... and on more shows the parents of teenage characters once played teenagers in some of my favorite movies... did that make any sense?

HIC

HIC! I just love this tipsy guy drawn by Marlene Shaw for The Digi Shack in their latest release. The sketch is a SFYTT by Jen Del Muro whose work is just fab.

Yesterday I had the privilege of taking my 9 year old sneaker shopping. Not only are we blessed with a heatwave, but my daughter wasn't embracing the process of trying on shoes. But don't worry we got to enjoy this process through 4 stores! I don't know what the deal was but the stores had slim pickings for sneakers- maybe the stores are preparing for back to school next month? All's well that ends well- we found a pair that my daughter and I both liked. Don't worry- we get to do this again next month for back to school ;) I'm sure those of you with grown children miss this... NOT!

New release at The Digi Shack 7/5/10

Post #2 for me today, this time featuring images drawn by the very talented Marlene Shaw for The Digi Shack. Today's release features image from both Marlene and from Brian Lock. Check them out at the store.

Mini-Me (aka my daughter) very brutally critiqued my samples and told me everything I did wrong with them! How many days until the kids go back to school? LOL

Squigglefly Challenge #56

For this week's Squigglefly challenge, the theme is OPEN- anything goes! The new design team really rocked it out so be sure to check out their work. I used the classic Boogie Board Girl because she is such a fun summer image!

If you haven't visited the new Paper Cratf Planet Squigglefly group today is a good time to do it- lots of freebies and challenges with prizes. Pop on over! I hear one of the moderators is fantastic ;)

I can't believe it has been a year since I discovered Squigglefly through another design team. I swore I would NOT ever spend the money on Copics until I laid eyes on Camo girl and some of the other images... the rest they say is history!

Squigglefly News

Wow is there a lot going on at Squigglefly this weekend!

This weekend is the grand opening of the new Squigglefly group on Paper Craft Planet. Challenges, FREE IMAGES, challenges (with prizes) and more. Check it out HERE.

There was a new release today- lots of new Shy Bears, 2 new artists are making their debut and lots of other images. Check them out HERE.

Want a 30% discount on your images? Check out this post on the Squigglefly Challenge blog ;)

If you like the flower image above, it is free for the taking on the Squigglefly Challenge blog HERE.

Just playing with Digi's

A few weeks ago this plucked chicken image by artist Brian Lock, debuted at The Digi Shack. I colored this chicken immediately- complete with the bloodshot eyes and slightly less than healthy complexion. However, I didn't feel it was in good taste to use this as a showcase for the image. It still isn't but I do think it is funny. The hungover chicken is lying on a chair drawn by Nina Brackett for Squigglefly. I absolutely love this chair and it deserves a more fitting living room!

If you scroll down to the post prior to this, you'll see that the "heart" is actually a snail image created by artist Brian Lock for The Digi Shack. From the beginning I thought the snail looked a lot like a heart. This is just me being silly and playing around- i really can't imagine sending this to anyone.

Sometimes you just need to play with your stamps- rubber or digital!

SLOW glad to see you again

Happy Thursday! This morning I'm highlighting another new Brian Lock image to be released on 7/5 by the Digi Shack. Don't you just love this snail? To me it is almost Anime with the large eyes. Serendipitously, the 2 background layers just happened to be on my stamp table and they were both the same width- so I built the card around them.

You'll see another variation of this image later today!


See what my friend Brenda gave me yesterday? Someone gifted her 3 jars of these flowers and she gave me a WHOLE jar! I was so excited- actually I still am. I love the colors and these are a great size.

Enjoy the day and I'll be posting another card using this image in a unique way later today...