Redo Masquerade

I don't know, it's kind of blinged out now.  It probably would have been okay with just the butterfly on the top, but I started with the additional bling, so it is what it is.  I think it's better than the original anyway.

 I colored this one to match the pattern paper.  I had intended the chair to be more the color of the flower center, but it didn't turn out that way.  I didn't have an appropriate color for shading on the green, so I just did the same color over again.  Each time you you over it, it darkens it by one shade.  I think it turned out pretty good.  This is the same Yesteryear set.

Relaxing Day

Skip and Kevin came over and brought a nice roast that I threw in the oven, then the guys played war games while I got to play in my stamp room.  I actually colored these a week or so ago but just put them together today.  the first one is one of my new Yesteryear set by Carmen Medlin for Susana's Custom Art and Design.  I really like the way it turned out.  All the elements really came together for me.  The orange bling is some that I bought on sale when we were in Florida.  Didn't know how much of a call I would have for orange, but it went well here.  I actually cut a larger one apart for this card. 

This is also a Carmen Medlin from the Reflection Fantasy set called Masquerade.  I kept looking at this thinking it wasn't done.  I think it needs more, but guess it will have to stay like this for now.....unless I decide to take it apart and redo it.  I like the bling and the fabric flower, but it just seems to lack something.

Lucy

We survived this wave of winter weather in Washington and have the first major clean up done.  I haven't really been able to play much all week, still recovering from two day with no heat in the house.  I can live without lights, tv etc, but I really get nasty when I am not warm.  I thought that was why I lived in Washington because we didn't have extreme weather conditions.  Well, onwards and upwards and hoping that is the last of our extremes.

This is my second creation with Birthday Lucy.  I hope to get back in to the scrap room today.

Birthday Lucy and other not-so-fun stuff

We've all had some trying days lately.  On Tuesday we were to attend a memorial service for a dear dear lady who went to be with the Creator a few days before.  It was a truley beautiful service.  I didn't think we were going to make it because this was the first day of our first subsantial snowfall for the year.  I do not do well.... ok, I don't do... driving on snow.  But Dave was his usual, just-do-it self and got us there.  Was so glad that we were able to go.

The next couple days were really horrible.  We got an ice storm like I have never seen in Washington, and I've been here all my life.  I had to go out in it a couple times and if you weren't wearing a hat (which I never do), it pelted your head like little needles.  Everything turned to sheer ice. Our car had a layer of ice over every inch of it.   From the beggining of the snow this year I was not seeing any beauty in it at all.  I felt like the grinch that stole winter beauty.  Then when our power went off, it turned not appreciating to real ..... well, I was not a happy camper.  Especially when Dave tried to fire up the very expensive little Honda generator we picked up a couple years ago and have used less than a handful of times, and it wouldn't start!  The first day I did a little stamping... or tried to.... but the lighting just wasn't good enough to do anything of quality.  Our power was out for two days, and I swear I nearly froze to death.  The only time I was remotely warm was when I was in bed.  We really didn't even have the option of leaving for warmer parts (people who actually had power), because I felt like it would have been like the captain of the luxury liner that went down and he abandoned it.  With all the trees snapping and giant branches falling I just didn't feel it was right to walk away.

 We have already had to replace this fence three times, twice from trees falling on it.

 There was a whole row of these large 30' to 40' arborvitea's that were toppled

Tomorow starts the clean up, and oh what fun that is going to be!  Dave will surely earn his salary this week.  But as I had feared would never happen, our power came back on, and I am sitting in a nice warm house now.  There are at this writing still 15,000 homes without power in our city, so not everyone is as fortunate.

I did get back to my stamping today after church.  I had bought this digital stamp before the power went out but was never able to work it until today.  I really like the way it all turned out. 

I didn't really know what background paper I was going to use when I started but I think this DCWV paper went really well with her.  The stamp is by C.C. Designs and I bought it at AllThatScraps.com . I have other rubber stamps by the same company, and now three digitals. 

Little Hannah/JoJo

This is the little girl that I said looks like my friends daughter and granddaughter.  I just love this little stamp, but of course the orignal girls are much cuter!

This is a digital stamp colored with copics.  The design on the bottom is a EK Success border punch that I got some time ago, but this is the first time I've used it. 

A couple new little girls

The first one is my new digital stamp C.C. Designs Cupcake Brigitta.  These are identical to the rubber stamps that can be purchased.  It is so perfect for the "gotta have it now" mood, because you just buy it for a big disounted price (over the rubber stamp price) and printed out.  She is colored with copics and the cupcakes are topped with a glaze pen to make them look shiny and delicious.  Don't know that it can be seen in the picture.  Label is cut with Spellbinders die on my Vagabond.  The really cool thing about digital stamps is that you can edit them for size, or flip them for a mirror image.  Say, if I wanted to put a message on the left side of the image, I could flip it and have the cupcakes on the right side.  It's not such a big deal with this particular stamp but I can see how that will be very helpful with other stamps.

 This little giggly girl is one of the stamps that I bought in Florida at a scrapbook store "garage sale" where customers brought stuff they wanted to sell.  I have gotten some of the coolest stuff from these kind of sales and for terrific prices!  The die cut flowers in the upper corner are cut from dies that I also bought at that same sale.  Border cut on bottom of stamp mat was cut with EK Success border punch, as is the yellow flowers on the bottom.  .  Lavender flower is fabric cut with Tim Holtz die on the Vagabond.  The little pearls are from some misc stuff from my stash that I've had for years.  It is attached with Ranger Glossy Accents.  I love that stuff, it is so versatile.  I did find out though while in Florida that it takes longer to dry in humid climates.  She is of course, colored with copics. 

I have another card made with a different digital stamp and will post it afer it is received by the person I mailed it to.  Don't want to spoil any surprises :).

This year has started out great and I have found lots of opportunities to slip off to my stamping heaven to play often. 

A few

One of the residents at the community I manage blessed me with a whole bunch of older Stampin' Up stamp sets.  Some of them had never even been mounted on blocks yet.  They were from 1999 to 2001 sets.

The background script is stamped with an Inkadinkado stamp. Flowers are colored with copics.

 I just love this rainy day girl.  The flowers were made from coffee filters.  I used my scalloped circle punch and punched out several layers, then misted them with a mixture of water and re-inker.  Then I put them together with a brad and clipped between the scallops to make the petals. 

 The little girls following are some that I bought from iCopics.com, my favorite online stamp and copic supplier. 

 I have struggled so much with my bows.  I found a tutorial on utube (don't you just love utube?) with a florist trick for making perfect bows. 

 Another little girl with coffee filter flowrs and the fence is a Tim Holtz die.

So, I haven't been just sitting back on my laurels, I have been creating and continually making a disaster out of my craft studio.