Steampunk Annie & a CARDS blog challenge...

Hello again my friends!  Today I wanted to share a mini-card... the challenge came from the CARDS blog.  Just click the link to find out the details :)

I love mini-cards... they do not have a lot of 'real estate' with which to work, so the challenge comes from trying to foof up a pretty small canvas :)  I worked with one of the new Steampunk Gang digis from Simply Betty Stamps... LOVE them!  She commissioned a new artist that has such a wonderful style.

I chose salmon, olive & mustard as a color palette, which I think compliments the image very well.  I added lace & velvet trims along with the metal elements to add to the whole vintage steampunk genre.

I packed this little 3x3 card with quite a bit of punch, no?

Digi:  Steampunk Annie (Simply Betty Stamps)

Paper:  Bazzill & Caboodles white cardstock

Ink:  Burnt Umber Palette

Other:  MM mini-eyelets & oval pearl, Nesties, misc. lace & velvet trims, metal findings, foam tape

Copics:  E000, E00, E01, R02, R05, R08, YG93, YG95, YG97, YR20, YR21, YR23, YR24

What do you think?

New catalogue & a Bonus Top Ten...

This weekend was so much fun!  It was The Angel Company's annual seminar, and I'm exhausted :)  But totally in a good way!  It was great to catch up with everyone and, of course, get the new catalogue :)  check out the new cover:

Pretty, right?!  And wait until you see the inside... fabulous!

Bonus #1:  you can start ordering on Monday... no need to wait until July 1st... ahhh... JOY  :)

Bonus #2:  87 NEW STAMP SETS.  Yes... 87... that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!

Bonus #3:  TAC has partnered with Copic and we now carry 7 exclusive Color Caboodles!  These are NOT new Copic colors... they have just customized the Sketch sets with natural blending groups and color families. 

Bonus #4:  Color Caboodles cardstock is available, too!  TAC has taken the guess-work out for you, and created 6-color cardstock packs that match the corresponding Color Caboodle Copic sets!  Sah-weet :)

Bonus #5:  new double-sided exclusive paper collections!  Emma & Maggie.  A glimpse of Maggie is shown on the cover project!

Bonus #6:  we now carry the Scor-Buddy, The Cinch binding system, a huge selection of clear & chipboard mini-albums, and so much more!

Bonus #7:  I have printed catalogues available right now!  Only $4.95 plus shipping, or place a $60 order & get it for free.  But why stop at $60?  Go for $100 and get some of the awesome items above for HALF OFF!


Bonus #8:  Free catalogues to all of my Hostess Club members :)  AND Sign-ups for my next round of Hostess Clubs are going on now!  The new clubs will start up in August, so get a hold of me soon for details!!!  My contact information is at the top of my blog:  FosterDesignHouse.com

Bonus #9:  I have seven card samples in this publication!  Talk about Sah-weet, right?!!  totally stoked about that... and you should see all of the other designers' cards... wonderful!

And finally, Bonus #10:  This lover-ly card I made with one of the new sets:

Stamps:  Art Gave Her Wings

Paper:  kraft & brown cardstocks

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo, Palette Burnt Umber, Walnut Ink spray

Copics:  0, E00, E11, YR23, YR24, E53, E57, BG72, BG78, RV10, RV13, RV14

Whatcha' think?

Another butterfly...

... gone vintage-y.  Sometimes I just love diggin' into my fabric & trim stash... it totally takes me back... back to WELL before I was born :)  This paper line does that for me, too, so why not put them together, right?

Stamps:  Life So Big

Paper:  Angelee SWIC, Angelee, brown, & white ultra smooth cardstocks, kraft packing paper

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo

Other:  misc. lace & trim (JoAnn's), misc. & PTI buttons, EK Success edger punches, Extra Jumbo flower punch, tan & white Scrapper's Floss

Copics:  YR20, YR23, YR24,W2, V01, V06, V09, G12, G21, G24, G85

See the swirly purple paper?  That is actually one of the die-cut tags from the Angelee paper pack... 

oh-so-pretty :)  And did you know that you can get this butterfly stamp set for ONLY $3.95 with a $30 purchase?  It is a set of three... click HERE to see the whole set... good thru June!

Sorry for the short post, but I'm off to do class prep for tonight & tomorrow... More Mimi magic lid box... should be fun!  And thanks, Angelia, for making the champagne cuppie cakes... tastee!!  

What do you think?

A little scrappin'...

My mother-in-law needed a scrapbook page done.  Her nieces were creating a scrapbook for their parents' 40th wedding anniversary!!  {wow... that's all I'm sayin'... wow}  Bev enlisted my help in this little endeavor, since papercrafting is "my thing"  :)  And this is what I came up with:

 

I think it came out very pretty, for NOT having any FREAKIN' PHOTOS on it.  That's correct, my friends, this is a 12x12 scrapbook page without photos.  Bev wrote a wonderful little letter of memories and I printed it out in a dark brown ink on white paper... I then distressed and inked it to age it a bit.

 

I layered some old pink cotton pillowcase strips amidst some crocheted trim and patterned paper.  I borrowed my buddy Vicki's edger punches and then sanded the edges.  All cardstock has been sponged to add a little dimension.  Oh, and that big ol' pink felt embellishment... yeah, it's another Michael's $1 bin coaster... me likey.

 

Stamps:  Fanciful Vintage, Tag Tidbits ("love"), Edge Designs (tag flourish)

Paper:  Angelee SWIC & Angelee cardstocks

Ink:  Cognac & Burnt Umber Palettes

Other:  EK Success edger punches, MM pearl flowers, felt coaster, Brown Scrapper's Floss, buttons, Loopy Brads, ivory safety pin, MM felt heart, misc. trims & fabric

I think this last photo looks like a fabulous card, which I may be duplicating soon once I get my hands on those edger punches again :)

What do you think?

Spring... where are you?

{sigh}

The last couple of days have been sunny and warm, and now today:  blech.  Dreary.  Grey.  And it makes the backyard look EVEN worse than it is (which is pretty bad!).  SO, to help brighten things up in my world, I'm showing this card today :)

I've had the Scor-Bugged stamped panel in my I just might use this one day pile of schtuff, and look... I actually used it :)  I've got a few tags & panels that I had salvaged from a faux pas'd card front.

And just look at this bit of flowery goodness!  I have three boxes of Maya Road stick pins... they are fabulously beautiful!  I can't believe I paid full price... you know I hate doing that... but I'm thinking they're worth it :)  I am loving crocheted, fabric & vintage bits lately... don't ask... I have no idea.

Stamps:  Victorian Elements, Cuddly Critters, Seeds of Blessing
Paper:  Angelee, black & white UltraSmooth cardstocks
Ink:  Noir, Belle Rose, & Toile Pink Palettes
Other:  Crystal Lacquer, Copic markers, Scor-Bug, faux dew drop (Michael's), stick pin (Maya Road), crocheted flower (American Crafts?), paper flowers (Archiver's), Turquoise Stickles, grab bag ribbon (Hobby Lobby)

Once again, the Crystal Lacquer came out to play!  It really adds a nice finish to the ladybug... and I love it for attaching dew drops, too.

What do you think?

Vintage Bookmark / Tag

I had stamped this lovely little flower image awhile back and it has been sitting on my to-do easel ever since.  It was a practice image for one of the samples I did for the new Serendipity, and I just couldn't let it go to waste :)  I colored the stamp with markers, spritz with water, and stamped.  I love this technique... the watercolor look without the watercolors!

Mama had crocheted a couple of these little flowers for me last summer and I am just now using one!  They are so cute and dainty.  I'm hoping she had time to make me some more while snowbirding in Texas :)  I got into my fabric & lace stash and of course more Scrapper's Floss... have I told you lately how much I LOVE Scrapper's Floss?

Stamps:  Watercolor Plants
Paper:  Kraft, Monochromatic Purples & Greens cardstocks
Ink:  Tombow markers, Burnt Umber Palette
Other:  Lilly Anna Hardware, EK Success border punch, fabric & trims, White Scrapper's Floss, Tim Holtz's Mini Attacher, button, crocheted flower from Mama :)
 
What do you think?

Something a little vintage...

Real quick post today...

Occasionally, I'll get into an old-school, vintage mode... though I'll give it a little mod twist.  Case in point... this butterfly card.  Fabric & buttons oh my :)

Stamps:  True Beauty
Paper:  Toodle Loo, Angelee, White UltraSmooth, & Mulberry Meadow (retired) cardstocks
Ink:  Burnt Umber & Noir Palettes
Other:  Prismacolors w/ mineral oil blending, Cloud scissors, BG ribbon, PTI & misc. buttons, twine, EK Success punch, circle punch & fabric doily

A few weeks ago, I had soaked a white doily in a strong tea bath for several hours to age it a bit.  This is a quarter of the doily, so I have more for later projects.  I keep fabric scraps & such in a huge glass canister next to my table... it's really fun to go rummaging through it once in a while :)


What do you think?
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SCORE!

This past weekend was the annual Girls' Weekend with my aunt in BFE Kansas!  It is always so much fun!  My mom, two sisters and I all piled in mom's huge truck and went on the short trek to Aunt Linda's somewhere in the countryside near Abilene.

I've got to retrieve the photos of Linda's house from my sister... I forgot my camera, so I snatched hers so I could take pictures of the cute old farmhouse.  My aunt always has it decorated so homey... she totally should have been a consultant for that kind of thing.

She knows her antiques, and finds awesome deals on all kinds of treasures ;)  She found an old old Civil war stove (I think that's what she said it was) at a yard sale for $25... yes, it needed a lot of work, but you should see it now!  Fantastic.

The photos you see today are some of my lovelies that I purchased this weekend.  We love going into Abilene to the antique shops & boutiques.  Our favorite (can't remember the name!) still has this awesome old wooden nuts/bolts cabinet with a TON of drawers that I saw and wanted last year... if only I had a spare $3000 laying around ;)

I snagged a couple of old wooden cassette holders that are perfect for holding ink pads... $1 each!  The large one I have now cost me $20.  The birdcage was one my aunt had... I've already taken the woven wooden strips off the bottom. 
I've got a creepy black owl that will look nicely in there ;)

I've been starting to collect old wooden spools & bobbins. They are so cool looking, and with my latest hand dyed silk ribbon fetish, they will come in handy for storage!  I am once again re-thinking my ribbon & button storage, and so I picked up a bunch of Ball jars.  I've already got some ribbon on wooden clothespins and that is working nicely... it will look really pretty in all of the large jars I already have.  

I found a few old tonic and medicine bottles that I plan to witch-out, a cool wire basket, some vintage fabrics, and a Ball jar full of vintage buttons.  I did see ANY old card file drawers that I saw all over last year... I was hoping to score a few more of those.

The last photos are of some cool letter press metal dies I scored!  I'm going to display the whole grouping together except for the copper owl.  He'll go alongside some other copper stuff I have.

It's so weird to see how my tastes change over time.  I remember a day when there would have been NO WAY I would have any antique-y schtuff laying around.  Mod mod mod, baby.  Wait... does this mean I'm getting old?  ;)

What do you think?
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Vintage Santa

TGIF!!  This week has seemed to just freakin' drag on and on and on... and not in a good way.  When was the last time I said it... 

I want to be a kept woman... Somehow saying it just didn't help :)

Ok, on to today's schtuff!  How cool is this santa?!  The photos kinda look washed out, sorry.  The colors look much better in real life.  AND you can't see the subtle sparkle I added with the glitter pen, dang it.  Someone PLEASE teach me how to use a camera properly!

Stamps:  Vintage Santa, Thinking of You (Hostess Level C)


Paper:  Ivory UltraSmooth, Brown, & Amelia cardstocks, Mulberry Meadow cardstock (retired)


Ink:  Burnt Umber Palette


Other:  Prismacolors w/ mineral oil, Copper Hardware, misc. ribbon & twine, Fiskars border punch, distresser

I think he turned out pretty cool.  Even though I'm not really into vintage-style stamps, I HAD to get this one... it was one of the first ones that jumped out at me from the new Inspiration Avenue magalogue.  


I added shimmer to the snowflakes, santa's hair & beard, and to random areas of the toys.  

I wonder who gets this card come December?

What do you think?

Brown Bag 4 U... Mojo Monday #98 & 365 Cards #160

It's been forever since I've had a chance to participate in the Mojo challenges, so I'm happy that I was able to come up with this little lovely last night. It's got a vintage feel AND it uses smaller bits from my pile-o-scraps... bonus! Go HERE to see the MOJO98 sketch! AND 365 Cards Day #160 calls for lace... yep I've got a two-fer!

Back-story: my sister, Debra, makes all of these awesome quilts. She has learned to use every bit of fabric from a cut, except for the salvage edges & little slivers that she ends up with because it wasn't trimmed straight at the store. Well, she saves these little gems for me & I've used one today. See the little 123 boxes... that's a salvage edge... cute, no?

Stamps: Watercolor Plants, Enjoy Nature (Hostess Level A)

Paper: Reece SWIC, Reece, basic brown & kraft cardstocks, paper sack

Ink: Burnt Umber Palette, Champagne Dazzle VersaMark

Other: Lemonade & misc. buttons, Circles and Extra & Super Jumbo Flower Punches, Chatterbox aqua trim, twine, fabric scrap, foam tape & Pop Dots

The paper sack is 6.5"x10" folded in half twice... this is not the gusset-style bag, but the flat sack kind. I glued the first fold (long edge) together... my intent was to create pockets on the end for tags, but the way my card was progressing, it really wanted to be a vertical layout, so bye-bye pockets :) I'll just keep it in mind next time.


What do you think?

TECC #76 Cuppie Cake Friday!

Time for another sketch challenge from Taylor! This is for TECC76 and I'm hoping I made it in time to post... nothing like waiting until the last minute!

First off, let me apologize for the bad lighting in these photos. My OTT light is perfect for working, not for photographing!

I found this ABSO-FREAKIN-LUTELY awesome hand-dyed silk ribbon at a little boutique a couple of miles from my office. It is beyond lovely :)

Stamps: TAC's Little Cupcake

Paper: TAC's Angelee SWIC & Cardstock, White UltraSmooth cardstock

Ink: Burnt Umber & Haystack Palettes

Other: uber-cool silk ribbon, Prismacolors w/ mineral oil, Brown Scrapper's Floss, PTI & misc. buttons, foam tape, Nesties

I know, I know... the bow is a little too big, but I was rushing to get it done and so it goes :) The whole thing has a bit of a vintage feel, no?

What do you think?

Can you believe this...

... A Christmas card! I KNOW! I'll wait for you to close your jaw, which I am SURE has dropped to the floor...

...

...

Yep, I switched it up a bit today, but isn't she SO worth it?! :) This looks WAY better in real life, but I'm not the best 'photographer' {in the LOOSEST term possible}! And let me say this... the kraft packing paper DOES NOT LIKE THE MINERAL OIL BLENDING very well... I am so spoiled with how it works on TAC UltaSmooth & Premium cardstocks.

I used the Scor-bug to add texture at the top & bottom and ran my ink pad across the entire surface hitting here & there for a little sumpin' sumpin'. I had received these Bazzill border strips in a freebie kit from a scrapbook store... me likey paired with the kraft color! Kinda has a homespun feel, no?

I am in love with my white gel pen. Seriously. 'Nuff said.

Stamps: Hello Snow (please let this be in the new Fall Magalogue!!), Tag Tidbits

Paper: Premium White Cardstock, kraft packing paper, Bazzill border strips

Ink: Burnt Umber Palette

Other: Prismacolors w/ mineral oil, Micron journaling pen, jute twine, PTI & misc. buttons, VersaMarker, Scor-Bug, White Gel Pen

I forgot! This is for Melisa's button challenge this week!! You should definitely pop by & see her schtuff!

What do you think?!

Brown Wrapped Christmas

I'm sure by now, O-loyal-readers-o-mine, you have figured out that I am {a total cheap a$$} uh oops, I mean, Fabulously Frugal! :) Yes, I am coupon user {when I remember the darn things} and I love to find a bargain! Well, lately I've been getting brown packing paper in-lieu-of peanuts in my order boxes from TAC... yeay! We all are trying to do our part for mother Earth, and those peanuts aren't it :)

Anyway, this packing paper is like a heavy duty grocery sack... a beautiful kraft brown where you can still see the individual fibers. I was lucky last time and got a sheet that wasn't too bent up or wrinkled so I can use to cover card bases in the future. For this card though, I picked up a wrinkly section and went to town sponging the edges.

I can't remember where I found this huge clear button, but I covered the back with Crystal Lacquer & glued it to a piece of burgundy cardstock. I waited until it was almost dry, peeled it off & added more Lacquer & a piece of brown cardstock, waited until dry & trimmed off the excess.

Stamps: Holly Jolly (new PWP stamp!), Fresh Air Favorites (retired)

Paper: Amelia SWIC & Cardstock, recycled kraft packing paper

Ink: Burnt Umber, Bordeaux, Chartreuse, & Jardin Moss Palettes

Other: misc. ribbon, jute trim & button

BTW... the cool jute rick-rack trim? It's from that bag of awesomely cheap ribbon from Hobby Lobby that I told you about HERE!

What do you think?!

Sketchy Challenge...

Time for another 365 Cards Challenge! This is for yesterday's Day 92 Super Sketchy Sunday. I didn't get as many challenges done last week as I wanted to, but alas... work gets in the way :)



This is a VERY simple card, but kinda homey-feeling. It reminds me of my Aunt Linda, who is always quilting and lives in an old stone farmhouse.


Stamps: Sweet Goodies, Script Background Paper: Bazzil Mono-Reds, DCWV brown, Kraft Ink: Belle Rose & Burnt Umber Palettes Other: Lemonade Blossoms & Buttons, Nesties, Brown Scrapper's Floss, old cotton fabric & trims, pink velvet ribbon



I inked up the background stamp and stamped-off once before stamping onto the card base. This just gives a hint of the stamp, but still has the right shade of pink :)



What do you think?

Homespun Christmas...

Hello again, to all of my loyal and wunnerful peeps! :) Today, I have a little bit of Christmas for you... yep, I'm trying to actually reach my goal this month in the Paper Wings Christmas Card Club. I'm supposed to do 9 per month, which if I would do multiples of each design it wouldn't be a problem! :) I'm trying to see which ones are going to be easy to reproduce and mail, but then I keep adding stuff to them :)

Stamps: Ready Set Snow, Criss Cross (Hostess Level B)

Paper: Scarlet & Ivory Ultrasmooth CS, Mulberry Meadow CS (retired)

Ink: Burnt Umber, Landscape, & L'Amore Red Palettes, Champagne Dazzle VersaMark

Other: Giga Square Scallop punch, misc. ribbons, jute trim, Frosted Lace Stickles, CutterBee Piercing tool, foam tape

Let me just say that the Dazzle VersaMarks (champagne & frost) are the SCHIZZ-NIT!! Same great watermark as before, but with just a hint of shimmery goodness. You totally can't see the effect in the photos, but trust me... you will want these bad boys!

I LOVE this jute trim I found at Hobby Lobby in the clearance section of the fabric department {yes, we all know how I love clearance sections :) }. It frays wonderfully easy and really gives some great texture to a card. One of the red knots are actually helping to hold the trim on... I did have to put down a bit of Crystal Laquer to hold the other end down securely.

I think this has a vintage or homespun kinda feel to it...

What do you think?