Stamping Bella Blog Hop

Happy Halloween! Welcome to the Chichiboulie Blog Hop sponsored by Stamping Bella! If you've just happened upon my blog, you can CLICK HERE to start from the beginning at Bloggabella...you are at the very end of the hop! Since it is the eve of November I wanted to use Poppy Bittybloom because here in Canada we celebrate Remembrance Day November 11th!

As many of you know reds can be really tricky to work with in the copics. They are dye rich and can get away on you quite easily! The trick is to not add too much ink and give yourself a "buffer zone" around the outline of the image...don't color too close to the lines. To color I used R11, R14, R24, R29.

I love the shape of her flower so I HAD to use my blossom dies from Spellbinders. I colored my image first then ran the smaller die through my machine using the embossing mat...so that I didn't cut my paper. I left the die in place then airbrushed around it so that when the die is removed you see that pretty white border. I then took my largest blossom die and cut out my image. That top flower is only ONE layer of paper!

The beautiful scrolling felt piece is from Prima, I manipulated it a tad so that my sentiment would fit. This sentiment is also new to me from Stamping Bella, so glad I bought it!
Here is a really close shot of the coloring....if you click on the photo you can see it even bigger! Eeeek, remember that I am working with red....
I did my shading and grounding around the image with my prismacolor pencils. I said it yesterday but don't want you to miss this....make sure you do your marker work first!

How about a prize? In addition to the fabulous eye candy, we have decided to hide a prize somewhere along the hop! One pre-selected blogger will draw a random winner from the comments on her post, and the winner will receive a $25 Gift Voucher to Stamping Bella!!! The fun part is...we're not telling you who it is! So as you hop, make sure you leave comments on every post so you have a chance to win!! We will announce the winner on Monday in the Splitcoast forum. MWAH!

Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #89

Happy Friday! Wouldn't this be perfect for someone turning 40?....I'm not there YET....
Retro is so hot you will love this new ATC set coming out by Cornish Heritage Farms. It is due to be released November 3rd! There are a lot of fun little sassy sayings but this one in particular I use quite often...lol!
Nothing says retro quite like the Early Bird paper from Cosmo Cricket! I love this stuff! I colored my retro vacuum with my copics then did my shading with my prismacolor pencils. When you are combining coloring mediums such as this...make sure you do your marker coloring FIRST. This will keep you from damaging the tips of your markers:)
Here are all my card deets:
Stamps:
Domestic Love (ATC), Invitation Essentials (MLM) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink:
Tuxedo Black memento (Tsukineko)
Paper:
Early Bird (Cosmo Cricket)
Simply Smooth Vanilla (Prism)
Accessories:
Copic Markers
Chipboard (Cosmo Cricket)
Prismacolor Pencils
Sewing
Corner Rounder (Marvy)

Here is the sketch so you can play along in TAYLOR'S challenge.
Don't forget to see what the rest of the sketch crew came up with:
Jami Sibley: More is More
Monika Davis: M.A.D. Stamper
Jackie Pedro: The Scalloped Edge
Lynn Mercurio: Stamperosity
Melissa Sauls: In Stamping Mode
Rachel Sztonyk: Gingerbread Gallery
Alice Lihsuan-Wertz: Alice's Little Wonderland
Lisa Hjulberg: The Craft's Meow


Come back tomorrow....I played along in the Stamping Bella Blog Hop....oh man..love how my card turned out! (Big self hug)....see you then!

Fall Fabric Card

Ah, the crispness of fall. Do you see all the texture in clothing that is out there this fall? I wanted to make a textural card using fabric today.

I was inspired by the plum color challenge over at Moxie Fab World...this is quite a cool plum (perfect for fall!)


No...I have not been able to put my creatopia away yet...and yes, the fabric adhesive cartridge is wonderful!
The only paper on this card is the card base, image and ribbon tag.
I took inspiration from my quilting and cut 5x1.5" strips of the grey and patterned fabric. I was able to run the felt base and my strips through my creatopia and place them on like a quilt block. I sewed the edges (just for decoration) and added one of "My Favorite Things" a coffee image!

Here are all my card deets:
Stamps:
Hot Stuff (My Favorite Things)
Paper:
White Neenah
Ink:
Rich Cocoa Memento (Tsukineko)
Accessories:
Fabric
Brown Felt
Copic Markers
Tag Trio Die (Spellbinders)
Ribbon (Offray)
Button (PTI)
Creatopia Fabric Adhesive (Xyron)
Prismacolor Pencils
Sewing

See you tomorrow for Taylor's Sketch Challenge!

Fa la la la la

Thought I would play along with the sketch challenge on SCS today. I just wanted to stamp for fun and this new image from Stamping Bella was calling for some ink!

On the sketch there were 3 background panels. I used my ribbon and my felt strip to represent those panels.
The music paper from the Jolly by Golly collection (Cosmo Cricket) was perfect for this theme.
Here are the rest of my card details:
Stamps:
The Choir (Stamping Bella)
Paper:
White (Neenah)
Olive (PTI)
Jolly by Golly (Cosmo Cricket)
Ink:
Tuxedo Black Memento (Tsukineko)
Accessories:
Copic Markers
Prismacolor Pencils
Rectangular Dies (Spellbinders)
Ribbon (SEI)
Felt Strip (Making Memories)
Glitter (Martha Stewart)

Have a great day!

Reading is Chic! Taylor's Sketch Challenge!

This is one of my daughter's favorite books...it has seen better days as the condition of it's cover is quite poor. Enter CREATOPIA! I Love the fabric adhesive and it made doing this book cover very quick and easy! I used Taylor's sketch for the layout inspiration.
CLICK ON THE PHOTOS IF YOU WOULD LIKE A CLOSER LOOK!
Who says books can't be chic...not me! This is Michael Miller fabric...did you notice the shape of the pattern? Very similar to the labels 9 die by Spellbinders. The book is covered with fabric that I ran through the creatopia machine to apply adhesive to the backing. All I did was measure the dimensions of the book (spine included) then added an inch to each side.
I took a piece of an old sheet and stamped "Betty the Bookworm" from Stampingbella in versacraft ink. I heat set it with my iron, colored it with my copics and then ran the rough square through the creatopia to get the adhesive on the back.....THEN I ran it through with the spellbinder die. LOVED IT!
I cut a smaller nestie of the same label 9 die in cotton batting so that the image would puff. See the dimension in this picture. It is really sweet in real life!
Here is a close shot of my paper version of coloring "Betty"...she looks a lot like my adorable little niece with her chic glasses! I didn't deviate too much from the colors in the fabric. BG01, BG05, YG93,YG95, YG99, YG01, YG03.
Wow, was this ever a FUN project....now that I have tested it out my daughter says she wants to cover her hardcover bible from school....it's cover has seen better days too!

I think this would make a great gift idea...add some cool factor and cover a book to give away!


Here is the sketch so you can play along in TAYLOR'S challenge.
Don't forget to see what the rest of the sketch crew came up with:
Jami Sibley: More is More
Monika Davis: M.A.D. Stamper
Jackie Pedro: The Scalloped Edge
Lynn Mercurio: Stamperosity
Melissa Sauls: In Stamping Mode
Rachel Sztonyk: Gingerbread Gallery
Alice Lihsuan-Wertz: Alice's Little Wonderland
Lisa Hjulberg: The Craft's Meow

Enjoy blog hoppin' around and make sure you give the new gals a welcome hello!
Have a great weekend!

More Ruffles!

Ok, couldn't stop with the ruffles so I made another card. Not much stamping in this one but the sentiment....it is also "coming soon" to CHF...but it is a little early so I can't give you the full deets on that yet :)
Seeing my sis the other day made me think of the beauty of the pregnant womens' shape. This card draws attention to the pretty "baby" shape. I love how it also looks like the letter "B". I cut my polka dot paper with circle spellbinder dies and then applied the ruffle ribbon I made around the shape.
All paper is Melissa Frances (love the faint little mother goose in the corner). The chipboard button is Jenni Bowlin.

Play along in this challenge HERE!

Now to take care of my sick little baby (13 year old) on the couch. See you all tomorrow!

Winter Fashionistas

Have you been able to play along in the Moxie Ruffle Challenge yet? I thought I would create a couple of winter fashionistas.
I love skirts that have a flirty ruffle on the bottom (I have a cute black one) so I thought....why not on a card?
The bottom is a sheer ribbon that I ran through my sewing machine in a basting stitch so that I could simply pull the threads to gather. I also added a lace trim (Melissa Frances).
The color scheme is very soft (cool palette of winter) and this Melissa Frances paper captured the "mood" I was looking for perfectly!
The snowflake was done on acetate with my spellbinder die and then airbrushed with YG93 to bring out the soft green.
The stamps are from the ATC set "Haute Couture" by Cornish Heritage Farms.
I thought I would ground my image with a little holiday sparkle (Martha Stewart glitter that is).


Here is a close up of another "ruffle" I created with some basic grey ribbon.
Want to play along...the challenge you can find HERE.

See you tomorrow for Taylor's Sketch Challenge....meet the new girls of the sketch crew!

Have a Ball

Here is a peek at the newest friendly kritter! They do look like they are having a ball!
This release is happening October 23rd at Cornish Heritage Farms....
A really quick post today as I have a friend coming over to catch up and craft!
I, too, will "HAVE A BALL"!
Here are my card deets:
Stamps:
Turtle Sled (Friendly Kritters), Doggie Expressions (Mona Lisa Moments) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink:
Espresso Adirondack, Snowcap Pigment (Ranger)
Paper:
Simply Smooth White, Suede Brown Dark (Ranger)
Jolly by Golly (Cosmo Cricket)
Accessories:
Copic Markers
Grungeboard Snowflake (Tim Holtz)
White Acrylic Paint (Claudine Hellmuth)
Glitter (Martha Stewart)
Button (Making Memories)
Sponge

Have a great day!

Soooo much to share...grab a cuppa!

How about a project that is
ALL FABRIC
NO SEWING
using all of your PAPERCRAFTING TOYS? Let me show you how today....
Have you heard of the CREATOPIA? I received it today and couldn't wait to get into that fabric adhesive!
This is my interpretation of Taylor's sketch. The butterfly is the center "circle" the ribbon is the divider across the middle. I was going to add another ribbon up the middle but took it away later as it didn't "go". So if you will indulge me a little artistic freedom today I get to show you this cool album that I made IN MINUTES!!!!
I stamped the middle of my butterfly with a vintage butterfly (from SEP line at Cornish Heritage Farms) and then colored it with my copics.

Here is the sketch so you can play along in TAYLOR'S challenge.
Don't forget to see what the rest of the sketch crew came up with:
Jami Sibley: More is More
Monika Davis: M.A.D. Stamper
Jackie Pedro: The Scalloped Edge
Lynn Mercurio: Stamperosity















This is what I started with:
2 rectangular chipboard coasters and a piece of very pretty fabric
You can click on these photos to enlarge them. This "fabric adhesive" cartridge is
"GOLD, JERRY, GOLD" ....my best Seinfeld voice. This creatopia machine is brand new from Xyron. This is only one of the many applications this machine has to offer!
Just lay your fabric out on the tray and crank the handle.
Out comes the fabric with a liner on top and adhesive on the bottom. I cut my large piece of fabric in half after running it through the machine. Each half to cover one piece of chipboard.
After peeling the liner off the fabric I peeled the fabric away from the bottom piece and flipped it over (adhesive side up). I just lay my chipboard piece in the middle.
It was so easy just to turn up the edges and stick them to the backside of the chipboard. I then taped on a piece of brown card stock to hide the frayed edges.
Here is the finished front panel on the inside.
Here is the finished front. Nice and smooth and the durability of fabric....love it!
I hadn't "played" enough yet so I cut some more dies with my spellbinders and fabric. The smaller butterflies are cotton batting. The large butterflies are complimentary fabric.
Here they go through the machine. Nice 12" work surface too!
This is what it looks like when they come out. I give the edges a bit of an extra press so the adhesive sticks right to the very edges.
I thought it would be cool to place one of the cotton batting butterflies in the middle of my large butterfly.
This is the result....as I pressed the adhesive tight to the surface the "puffy" small butterfly you can see....awesome dimension. It holds my ribbon in place too!
Easily created holes to hold paper with my crop-a-dile and a couple eyelets.
Here is what the binding looks like.
The coolest thing about the inside is that I could bend the butterfly tips around the edges to the inside because it is one sheet of adhesive. Yes, really excited about all the possibilities for my paper projects as well as my quilting ones!

Did you notice that I didn't have to sew one thing?!!!! Anybody could work with fabric!

Whew...if you made it to the bottom, thanks for listening to me. I know it was a lot of photos but I just had to share!

Leaf Fun!

I definitely had more than ONE leaf to choose from on our front lawn. This is our first autumn in our home and WOW do we have a lot of leaves to rake this year!
Julia challenged us on SCS today to make a card using leaves. The leaf in the photo was the perfect mask for my project.
I lightly tacked the leaf down on my white paper then took my airbrush and various copic markers and sprayed around my leaf. I then took my vintage text scrapblock and stamped while my leaf was still in place. For a little extra umph....I stitched around the perimeter too!
I then stamped my image and sentiment and colored with my copics. I had this gorgeous ribbon in my stash and thought the beautiful pumpkin color would be perfect. Tied a bow and added the prima leaf and button. I thought of adding a real leaf but wanted the card to last so I opted for the prima leaf.

Here is a close up of the darling little image. The apples are DELICIOUS right now. If you haven't tried the "honey crisp" variety you really should! We get ours from Willowview Farms in Abbotsford. YUMMMM, even the kids LOVE them!

You never know what you can use for an airbrush mask. There are so many possibilities! I loved how the shape is irregular....just like the real thing!
Here are all the deets:
Stamps:
Can It, Autumn Harvest (ATC), Vintage Text (Scrapblock) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink:
Fired Brick, Antique Linen Distress Ink (Ranger)
Rich Cocoa Memento (Tsukineko)
Paper:
White (Neenah), Brown (Prism)
Accessories:
Copic Markers
Air Brush System (Copic)
Ribbon (Offray)
Leaf (Prima)
Button (Making Memories)
Stitching

See you all tomorrow for Taylor's sketch challenge!

Thanksgiving Photos and Fabric Project

I have a fun fabric project to show you today. This one is using the "Fruit Basket" and "Vegetable Harvest" sets from the Shady Tree Studio line at Cornish Heritage Farms. I made these tea towels and then stamped in Versacraft ink from Tsukineko. I colored the images with my copic markers. I used scraps of my Michael Miller Fabrics and tied the colors together with hot ribbon by Junko. I carry one of these along with me to certification events so you may have seen one up close.
Here is a closer shot of the stamping....the artichoke and the olive are my favorites!
We had a fabulous weekend with family and GORGEOUS thanksgiving weather! I posted some pictures if you are interested....keep scrolling.
The tradition lives on....early in the season Grandma is out in the pumpkin patch scratching the names of each grandchild into the pumpkins...as they grow the name scars over the pumpkin. We all LOVE that! These now sit at my front door....my most favorite of all our thanksgiving decor....Thanks Grandma!
Here is my son with his pumpkin. We could only bring one of his home, the other one stayed in the field...it was HUGE! Too heavy to bring home:)
A quick close shot of my daughter enjoying the sunny day. We were loading up on the trailer making our way up the hill and to the back of the property to enjoy the marvelous view!
My son running around, I love the joyous expression on his face!
My father in law snapped this photo of Mike and I. We both really enjoyed the day at the farm, we have so much to be thankful for.
Hope you had a wonderful weekend too.
Back to my studio.....and it is all clean too (bonus)!

Quick Thanksgiving Pumpkins

These are fun pumpkins that I made out of wire from the hardware store today....I know, no stamping, no paper but they are cute so I wanted to show you! It may be too soon for my Canadian friends to make these for thanksgiving but my American friends have time! I bought the wire for an eventual leaf wreath that will adorn the front door but these pumpkins are for centerpieces on my table for thanksgiving dinner.
The wire is silver and cheap at the hardware store (don't buy this at a craft store, you will pay at least double!) I painted the silver wire with white paint....no too carefully as it was the "shabby" look I was after. The bottoms are just key rings that I attached the wire to. I used the twine to evenly space my wire as well.....I was making it up as I was going along...lol!
Here is a little close up of the pearl leaves. They are just beads strung on a light gauge wire and then I formed them. The "black" wire is some remnants that I had that I just twisted around my pencil and then stuck in place.
It will be fun for something different this year at the table....so easy and cheap that I won't feel guilty throwing them away after the season!

I hope you all enjoy thanksgiving with your families...see you next week!

Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #86

Happy Thanksgiving weekend all my fellow canadian friends! We have a full weekend in our house...gatherings on both the Saturday and Sunday. I am posting quickly this morning then I'm off to attack my house (clean up mode).
Funerals in our family and such has caused me to pause and enjoy the sweet moments. It is so easy to be caught up in the rush of life....my schedule, the kids' schedule etc....that it can really seem that life is passing me by!
The quote on this card reminded me......"that it shall never come again" so I need to enjoy the sweetness of the moments. I am really looking forward to having my family here this weekend and spend some time just "being" with them.
Here are all my card deets:
Stamps:
School Primer (ATC), Sweet Bee (Rummage Bin) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink:
Slate, Denium Adirondack (Ranger)
Paper:
Patterned Paper (Melissa Frances)
Accessories:
Copic Markers
Ribbon (Melissa Frances)
Cheeky Clip (Making Memorie
Brads (Heidi Swap)
Scallop Border Punch (EK Success)
Sewing

Do you like to use card sketches as a jumping off point when you create? Do you enjoy inspiring others with your creations? What about a discount at the TE Store…would you enjoy that? Well then read on to see how you can join the Sketch Crew each week as they provide weekly inspiration using the TE Sketch!

Taylor is looking to add three new people to the Sketch Crew! If you’re interested in joining us, just create a card using today’s sketch and post a direct link to your creation on Taylor's blog by Friday, October 16th at 8 am PST. You may enter as many cards as you’d like. We'll be searching through your creations for the most clever and creative of the bunch! Taylor will notify the winners on Saturday, October 17th and they’ll join the Sketch Crew for the first time on October 23rd. Check out Taylor's blog for more details!

Here is the sketch so you can play along in TAYLOR'S challenge.
Don't forget to see what the rest of the sketch crew came up with:
Jami Sibley: More is More
Monika Davis: M.A.D. Stamper
Jackie Pedro: The Scalloped Edge
Lynn Mercurio: Stamperosity
Don't forget to check out the SASI blog as well....there is a sample on there too!

To you and yours....have a very blessed thanksgiving!

Moxie Thanksgiving

I had a chance to play along with the Moxie Fab Gradient Challenge. I've had this Martha Stewart gradient paper sitting around forever...what a great chance to use it! I colored the pumpkin with my copics to mimic the paper. The frame is chipboard that I painted white and them sprinkled clear beads. I even played along the gradient idea in my numbers....sanding the edges.
We have thanksgiving here in Canada this weekend....seems so early to me this year! It was fun to do a non traditional harvest card! Moxilicious (I hope)!
Here are all the card deets:
Stamps:
Happy Harvest (GM) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink:
Black Memento (Tsukineko)
Paper:
Patterned Paper (Martha Stewart)
White (Neenah)
Accessories:
Copic Markers
Chipboard Frame, sticker letters (Basic Grey)
Microbeads
White paint (Claudine Hellmuth)
Twill (Martha Stewart)

See you tomorrow for Taylor's Friday Sketch!

Forest Hello

Goodmorning...I have a fun fabric card to show you today. As you know I do a lot of things for publications and this often means that I am working "out of season". Sometimes it is far enough in advance that the seasons overlap a little but today I am showing you something very spring!
I was so pleased with it that I couldn't keep it to myself...lol!
The patterned layer is fabric (fabulous Michael Miller) and I used my oval nestie to cut out the shape for my images. I sewed around the oval so that I could fray the edges and see the texture of this fabric. I also used a scrap to make a little covered button as well.
I love these felt prima branches too, helps add to all the dimension going on in this card.
Here are the deets:
Stamps:
Forest Friendzy, Christmas Critters (Kim Hughes Collection) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink:
Olive Brilliance, Rich Cocoa Memento (Tsukineko)
Paper:
White (Neenah)
Accessories:
Copic Markers, Mint Spica Pen (Copic), Felt branch and Flowers (Prima), Crocheted Flower (Made by Me), Fabric (Michael Miller), Sewing, Oval Die (Spellbinders), Button cover kit

What did I do with World Cardmaking Day....I cleaned my studio! My mojo felt very stiffled as my studio was shrinking as I keep adding "STUFF"....so it was time to purge. Ahhh, feels great! I can create again!

World Card Making Day!

It's here, it's here!

Want to join in on a day that is made for us card makers? Click HERE to find all the festivities!
This is my "playing" for the day. I wanted to do vintage but in fresh, fun colors...not the typical "brown" palette that you think of when going vintage. This darling Melissa Frances paper was the perfect color palette springboard for me.

A couple of details....notice the Eiffel tower in the background of my main panel, I was sure to stamp it off of my white panel but to line it up with one I had stamped on my background paper.
The jewels I placed on my bottom layer but also overlapped it on my ribbon...and I loved stamping directly on that ribbon with my sentiment.

Here is a close look at my main panel. It was just a white piece of paper that I stamped the vintage text, Eiffel tower and then these fashionistas from the "Haute Couture" ATC that is going to be released at CHF October 6th! Perfect set for all that vintage paper that I hoard.
Coloring these ladies...I wanted them to match my paper but not stand out too much. I took my new lightest markers and paired them up with the dark colors that matched my paper. I used the palette technique to transfer the dark color to the outfits. I loved the high contrast effect that this created.
This is a close look at that pretty resin corner piece as well....Melissa Frances does resin pieces beautifully!

Enough chit chat from me....enjoy the day crafting. I know I have a lot of fun images on my desk right now to color....makes me happy!
Thank you so much for coming to visit me here on this intensely busy blog hoppin' day.....ENJOY!