Observation of the Day: I need more Steampunk in my life. Just say'n.

I love the Steampunk style, but for some reason creating in it is a bit intimidating. Quite frankly, that is silly because it suits me really well.

Last night I had one of those nights - you know, where you know you should go to bed so you do and then you abruptly pop out of bed a few restless minutes later causing one dog to jump out of her skin and the other to sigh, annoyed that you have disturbed her comfy position on the bed. You know...one of THOSE nights. Why did I pop out of bed? Because I HAD to make something. It simply HAD to be done. And it had to be with this stamp.

This is Flight of Frank from Scrolls Work Stamps. Yup. I pretty much love this stamp. And now that I have inked it and used it. I pretty much love it even more!



*sigh* Happy Frank. He's flying. I love flying. I want to fly. You may have noticed that a lot of my art steers in the flying direction....*sigh*. Love it.



I also incorporated the Cog Set from Scrolls Work into this card. To create that sort of weathered look I stamped them in gold pigment ink and then embossed with a copper ultra-thick embossing powder. Using only one coat of UTEE allowed for there to be some minor cracks and then I bent the paper to add some more distressing. I love the slightly aged look that resulted!



And...just in case you are curious, Frank is flying over London at the moment. Just say'n.

And now, my friends, I feel a desperate need to go buy lots of fun cogs and doo-hickeys of various kinds because I REALLY love Steampunk. Just say'n.

I am joining the following parties:

What's on Your Workspace Wednesday? A DOLL!!! And lots of other stuff...as per usual...

This is my desk as of this morning. (Well, taken last night, but nothing has moved, I promise.) I have another doll in the works, which is pretty exciting, considering I am just finishing up another one. I love making dolls! They are just too fun! This one, if all goes well, will be a witch of some sort. She may end up green. I'm leaning in that direction, actually. I am working on a skirt for her and basically just playing around and having a bit of fun!

You can also see the plastic pumpkins that I plan to create fabulousness with very soon! I bought some Rigid-Wrap for the first time and I can't wait to play with it on these pumpkins!!!!



I got my hands on a couple of these fabulous little bird cages from Mike's! They are totally in the dollar section!!! I saw a couple other artists creating with them and decided that I needed some, so off I went! I am excited to use them! At least one is totally going to have a little fairy in it! Just say'n!



Also gracing my desk this week is a stack of fabulous fabric! HAPPY MAIL!!! Yup, this lovely stack came all the way from Israel! It all came from the FABULOUS Carmel and I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

So, there is this week's peek into my studio! What do you think? Leave a comment! They make me smile!

For more workspace coolness check out The Stamping Ground!

It's the MOST Wonderful Tiiiiime of the Yeeeeeaaarrr...... {Wordless Wednesday}

For REALS! I love having candy everywhere all the time! It's pretty happy making. Just say'n.

For More Wordless Wednesday (or not so much...) posts check here and here!

You've Been Boo'd!!! (SSD #45)

Have you ever deleted an entire post? It is a sad thing to do. Just say'n.

Okay, now onto the fun stuff. Have you ever done the whole 'Boo' thing? Have you ever HEARD of the whole 'Boo' thing? Well, let me share because it is wicked crazy fun and you should know about it! Basically, you create a treat - big or small- whatever suits your fancy - and then attach a nifty little poem that says something to the effect of 'someone likes you and so they are giving you this treat, now copy this poem and pass it on.' Okay...so the poem should be *slight* more eloquent than that, maybe, but THAT, my dear friends, is why Skipping Stones Design rocks so much! You see, they have kindly created a stamp set that is JUST FOR THIS VERY THING! I mean, of course you can use if for lots of other stuff, too, but it is AWESOME for creating boo treats!



Here are the pieces I created using the awesome new stamp set! LOVE! I used American Crafts cardstock as my base and then layered a random stamped circle over the Rusty Pickle Thriller patterned paper. I love the spooky designs in this paper line!



I added a black strip across the circle with the little Boo poem and then finished off the card with some black organza CTMH ribbon and a stamped hat that I colored with Prismacolor markers and finished with Liquid Glass. It looks SO neat in person!



For the treat topper, I used all coordinating papers and such and stamped the ghost from the SSD set to pop off. And...I would like to state on record that all candy that you see in this treat bag that I created over the weekend is STILL in that bag with the staples secured. That's pretty amazing. At least with me around. Just say'n.



So head on over to Skipping Stones to check out the new set AND get the great news about the Blogs for Boobies event! And don't forget to check out what the other stamp tramps created!

Kandi Phillips
Amy Tsuruta
Ann Kranitz
Barb Turpin
Brenda Weaver
Gladys Chia
Jennifer Ingle (That's me!)
Tammie Beaton
Wendy Jordan

Today I am linking with the following parties:

Some Notes To Some Folks and Classroom Posters

It's a cloudy, rainy, Monday here in Massachusetts. And, as it would seem, it is likely going to be a cloudy, rainy WEEK here in Massachusetts. Hmmm...I like the sun. Just say'n.

BUT...I did get some crafting done over the weekend. The problem is that I worked on my World Card Making Day stuff, which I posted on Saturday...and then I worked on a doll, which is not yet finished, and then I worked on my Skipping Stones DT stuff, which I can't post until tomorrow. Hmmmm...lots of fun stuff, none ready to post today...That means, FUN STUFF TODAY!!!!! (Well, that's all fun stuff, too. Actually, everything I post is fun if you ask me, sooooo.....hmmmm...yeah, well, anyway...moving on.)

Dear Dairy Queen,

Why do you make me hug your food? No. For reals, here, people. You put the combo meals in those convenient little boxes and then slide two boxes into a paper bag for take out. All well in good, in theory, however, because I can't carry the bag upright without all of the food sliding to the end of the boxes and getting all mixed up and squooshed and such, I have to essentially 'hug' the bag to keep it in it's right and proper position. Is this a marketing ploy? 'Cause it's a pretty funny one if it is. Just say'n.

Dear Buffy,

Thank you for making a cool, cloudy weekend more bearable. Oh, and tell Hulu thanks for having your entire series available. Just say'n.

Dear Monday,

We are not friends. Just say'n.

Dear Mary Engelbreit Planner,

Thank you for making me smile with your adorableness. The bird cage on this week's page is my favorite. Just say'n.

Dear Hubbums,

Thank you for being interested in my hobbies and supporting me and even asking me to make stuff for your classroom. Thank you for going on those lovely trips to Michael's that you *love* so much and for paying separately so I can use coupons to the max. You rock. Just say'n.

AND....for those wondering what I have made for his classroom, well, I have those to show you today. They aren't super fancy, but they work well for a middle school Social Studies room. He has them get news stories each day and so he wanted simple definition posters to put on each of the four computers they use to get the news. Here they are!









Aren't they fun? I mean, they aren't like the most glorious scrapbook pages ever or anything, but for their purpose I think they are perfect! AND...what is better, is that the lesson is working and kids are reading the news and sharing it!

I hope you have an awesome Monday!

It's World Card Making Day!!!!

Yup! Today is officially World Card Making Day!!! (No...really....click the link, folks. I don't make this stuff up!)

And that means LOTS of fun happy cardness!!!! Today I am participating in a blog hop with Skipping Stones Design 'cause, well, we like to stamp and stuff and stamping and card making are like Nutella and Vanilla ice cream! (For REALS...have you ever tried that? It's freaking amazing. No...really. You just put a tablespoon or so on top of your ice cream and mix it in....HOLY YUM!)

Oh...sorry....we were talking about cards and stuff, huh? Okay, so on to the fun of the HOP!!!!

Hopefully you are starting RIGHT HERE on my blog! (Well, you may have come from Skipping Stones Design, too. Either one works!)



Here is my super fun card! I love HUGE ribbon bows! I really do. They are just too fun! Plus, this one totally inspired a hair clip that I know MUST make this weekend! HA! I used the Friendly Fruit set from SSD along with some super cute papers from Pink Paislee!



I accented with the giant bow, some super fun lime green buttons, and Liquid Glass.

And...because it is World Card Making Day, I went and made ANOTHER super fun card using Scrolls Work Stamps!



For this one I used multiple layers of different textured papers. I started with cardstock and patterned paper (Graphic45) and then layered some kraft tissue over the black panel and the really light paper is actually tea bag paper. I just dumped out the tea after it was used and dried the paper out! It comes tea dyed and EVERYTHING! LOL!



I love how well the images stamped on the tea bag paper! The images are from the Costumes set from Scrolls Work.



This one is finished off with a key hole from Tim Holtz. I love the way this piece anchors the design so well!

So, those are my cards for today! I hope you get a chance to create something fabulous today and I hope you have SUPER TONS OF WICKED LOTS OF FUN hopping around and checking out the WCMD posts out there!

Your next stop on the Skipping Stones Blog Hop is Wendy's blog!

Leave a comment and let me know you stopped by! They make my day!

Blog Content: Per The Hubbums - Oh...and a really fun card, too!

Wifee: Hubbums, I don't know what I am going to post tomorrow.
Hubbums: Well, from what I can see you just write about random stuff and people read it....soooo...you could post about....

Wifee: *listening intently, cause, well, quite frankly, this is bound to be good! HA!*

Hubbums: I know! You could post about The Butternut Squished!
(For those following along, that would be the butternut squash soup from Whole Foods that is wicked good, but my dear Hubbums insists on referring to it as Butternut Squished because there is no squash that he can see - just squish!)

Hubbums (continuing with his ideas): OR....you post about this stuff I keep in my belly button to keep me warm! (Yuck.)

Hubbums (still continuing): OR you could post about the Pumpkin TAHTS. (Our dessert last night.) (Apparently you have to say that. However, it isn't in a Boston accent...nope...I made that mistake ('cause, you know...we live here), but rather, it is in an 'East Side' accent.)

Wifee: And that would be the 'East Side' of what now?

Hubbums: I don't know. I just know that's the way they talk.

Wifee: *sigh* *giggle* *sigh*


(Pumpkin Taht)

Hubbums (yup...he had more...)
OR you could post about THIS! *promptly points to my little orange mushroom on my studio door*

Hubbums: It's mushroom poo.* (*Edited for cleanliness. Just say'n.)

Wifee: And what makes it 'poo' exactly?

Hubbums: Well, because it's stuck to the wall and people are always throwing poo* at the wall just to see if it sticks!

Wifee: *Thinking that one was actually rather amusing*


(Mushroom Poo. Just say'n.)

Hubbums: *really getting going at this point* Or you could post about how this room is pretty much useless (yup...that would be my STUDIO of which he was speaking at this point!!!!!!) because, well, I can't really use much in here (which is quite false, actually...he uses stuff in there all the time. And he totally supports me having my Studio and spending large amounts of time in it, so don't worry...he was just being a dork.)

Hubbums: *getting off track at this point...* How come cards say things like 'warm and fuzzy' but never 'cold and spikey?'.....'I like my tarts hot and spicy.' (again...back to the pumpkin TAHT thing...only now worse...)(Although...the card question is actually something to consider...)

At this point I stopped keeping track of his insanity because, well, I was laughing too hard. And then I remembered that I hadn't shared this amazingly fun card with you guys yet because I had totally submitted it, but it wasn't chosen this time, and that's okay, because that means I can share it with you all and I HATE withholding cuteness from you guys! Cause your wicked awesome and stuff. Just say'n.



The stamps are flourishes (image) and CTMH (sentiment). I stamped the fruit on October Afternoon text paper and then built up multiple layers of American Crafts and CTMH cardstock to create the base of the card. I added color to the image with Prismacolor markers and some fabulous handmade paper for the leaves. The black flourish background paper is Basic Grey.





Well, I hope you have enjoyed this random post that is my Friday post for this week! HA! Tomorrow...it's WORLD CARD MAKING DAY!!!! So, of course, you will see some cuteness here, along with all over the crafty web, so come on back now, ya hear!

HA!!!!! That was even funnier than the Jingle Out thing!!!! Seriously, folks. If I don't crack myself up, who will? Oh...wait.....

P.S.!!!! I totally almost forgot to tell you my wicked crazy exciting news! I am now a brand new member of the Scrolls Work Design Team!!!! I'm so excited! I've had to keep that a secret for nearly a MONTH! That was near impossible. Just say'n.