Karin, Ruby & Britt's Blog Candy

Karin is celebrating her older daughter's 6th birthday in August and she's celebrating with some wonderful blog candy. Visit Karin here for details and have a look at her beautiful cards. You have a chance to be entered 3 times by doing the following:

1. Make a card, treat bag or a birthday party invitation and post it on your blog. (1 entry) - It can be an old one posted earlier on your blog.
2. Post about her challenge (1 entry)
3. Link her on your blogroll (1 entry)

Here's the party invitations I made for my daughter's 8th birthday and posted back in April. Can you believe I actually made 19 of them!

Karin's daughters, Ruby & Britt, have some blog candy as well and their challenge is to make a "HAPPY CARD" (it can also be one you've posted before). Here's a card I posted earlier this month which is for my younger daughter's 6th birthday in August too. Visit Ruby & Britt and have a look at their sweet creations.

Have a great night, Maria

More Candy

Checkout the work of these lovely ladies and enter for a chance to win their generous blog candy.

Tanja's celebrating 5,000 visitors to her blog here.

Hanne's also celebrating her 10,000 visitors here.

Camilla's celebrating here as well.

Janet here is celebrating 15,000 hits and the launch of her Max & Millie stamp designs over at Spiral Whisper.

Congratulations ladies and Happy Blogging,
Maria

Whiff of Joy Guest Designer Call

Here's my submission to Katharina for the Whiff of Joy Guest Designer Call. It took me a while to complete this card and I will be back later with more details on the how to and what I used.

Whiff of Joy is now OPEN to take preorders on Charlotte and Charlie. Go here to preorder yours today!

Thanks Bernie!

Wow, I'm so lucky to have received this award from Bernie too! It's an honour to receive it from such an awesome crafter as Bernie. Visit her blog here to see her beautiful creations and you'll see why I'm a regular visitor there.

I received this award earlier this week so I'd like to pass it on to my blogging friends who haven't received it yet as a thanks for visiting my blog and for taking the time to leave such wonderful comments.

Happy Blogging!

Magnolia Cancer Card

Here's a card I've had ready for a while for Phebe at the Town Scrapper. The yellow is meant to be gold for childhood cancer.

Thought I'd try something new and used a Martha Stewart Punch for the bottom edge of the card. CS is Stampin' Up and the DP is from a DCWV mini stack. Ribbon from Michaels and brad is Doodlebug sugar-coated. Image was inked with Archival Brilliance Graphite Black and coloured with Copics. The sentiment I put together with some alphabet rub-ons I had in my stash and added glitter to the wings and tag.

Have a great stamping day!
Maria

Blog Candy Alerts

Jacqui's hit the jackpot with 10,000 hits. Congrats Jacqui! She's celebrating with amazing blog candy so checkout her site here for details on a chance to win and while you're at it have a lookie see at her great work.

Funky Fairy is offering a full year of Funky Fairys papercrafts. How awesome is that!!! Wow, pop on over to check out their products and don't forget to enter.

Congrats to Bev as well who's celebrating 10,000 visitors on her blog - WOW! Here's your chance to win some beautiful Hanglar & Stanglar images as well as some great embellies. Don't forget to checkout her wonderful creations while you're there.

Happy Monday!

I am so honoured to have received this award from two very talented ladies that I consider friends. Thank you so much Nikki and Karin. You've made my day! Hop on over to their blogs for a visit and to be amazed.

The rules of this award are:

1. You can give it to one or one hundred or any number in between - it's up to you. Make sure you link to their site in your post.


2. Link back to this blogsite www.tammyvitale.com so Tammy can go visit all these wonderful women.

The purpose of this award is to send love and acknowledgment to women who brighten your day, teach you new things and live their lives fully with generosity and joy. Here's a group of wonderful ladies:

** Claudia ** Inge ** Ila ** Bernie ** Sophia ** Camilla ** Rach ** Michelle ** Kimmie ** Dawn ** Bela ** Nixe-Moni ** Katharina ** Bonnie ** Aud ** Lauren ** Fran ** Valerie **

Have a great Monday!
Maria

Whiff of Joy Stamps

The very talented Katharina is following her dreams and starting her very own stamp company called Whiff of Joy. Congratulations, Katharina!

Checkout some of her upcoming stamps below - Charlotte, Willow & Charlie - Aren't they adorable must-haves?! Well, she's taking preorders as of Wednesday, July 30th with FREE shipping - Yipee! Also, you have a chance to win either a Charlotte or Charlie stamp so go here for details before July 30th.

Hubbie's 40th Birthday

Yesterday was my hubbie's 40th Birthday and the next few days are going to be busy so I won't be posting until Sunday. We're going to have a party for my hubbie and we've got a lot of out-of-town guests coming so the house needs to be tip top.

Here's the card I made for my DH. The sketch is Kimmie's and can be found here. CS and ribbon all SU and DP is K&Co. Brads are from Doodlebug and 'laugh' charm from the $1 store. I came up with the saying at 2 am - actually woke up with it on my mind - so I got up and typed it on my laptop and then printed it out. It took me about 3 tries to get this card done - talk about pressure! Initially I was going to use a stamp but opted to use something more personal from our recent camping trip. This is a beaute - a picture of my DH and sweet girls. They returned from fishing to show me their loot and then went back to put the fish back in the river.

Here's the card my 8 year-old Isabelle made for her Daddy. She's used a Riley the Moose stamp by Hanna, the Divine Swirls Cuttlebug folder and Hanna sentiment. She really likes the Prima Flowers so she added those with a button in the middle from my Paper Studio stash. I'm proud of her work. She's quite excited because I'm going to let her enter a challenge on Crafty Monkeys in the next few weeks.

Here's the card my five year-old Juliette made for her daddio. She chose these High Hopes stamps because she said daddio likes to use tools and made her and big sister their swing set a couple of year ago with slide and monkey bars to boot. Gave her a hand with cutting out the main image though otherwise she did it all on her own - good job if I say so myself. Sentiment is by Hanna as well. Daddy was impressed by all his birthday cards.

Anyway, that's all for today. I didn't get a chance to enter as many challenges as I would have liked this week, but there's always next week, right?! I'm planning to enter another challenge before the end of the weekend though so I hope to post it on Sunday.

Have a great day!

Maria

Sparkling Award

Yesterday, I received this fabulous award from Karin. Thank you so much for this award. It's a pleasure to visit your blog and see your beautiful creations.

Rules for award:

1. Only 5 people allowed
2. 4 have to be dedicated followers
3. 1 has to be someone new or recently new to your blog & live in another part of the world
4. You must link back to whoever gave you that award

Most of the ladies I'm dedicating this award to have already received this award but this only tells you how great they are. Thanks for your comments and for sharing your inspiring work:

Nikki

Bernie

Annie

Claudia

Camilla

Have a great day, Maria

Kraftin Kimmie's Magnolia Challenge #1

Here's my submission to Kimmie's KKMC1 Challenge. Click here for details and have a lookie at her awe-inspiring creations.

Pic is slightly blurry as I was trying to get a really good close-up. I love this sketch and had a great time making the card. I chose 'Maya' by Papiliostamps for the main image. Isn't she just adorable! The 'Maya' image was oh so kindly sent to me by Nikki and I coloured her in with my Copics. Matting around 'Maya' done with Spellbinder oval dies.

CS is SU and I will make an effort from now on to look up the actual colours if you're interested in more detail. The DP is double-sided Imaginisce Baby Powder-Oopsie Daisy - currently one of my Faves. I used Prima flowers and Doodlebug sugar-coated brads to embellish.

Don't forget about my blog candy here.

Have a great day!
Maria

Sophia's Blog Candy

Here's a look at the awesome Magnolia candy on Sophia's blog. Checkout her beautiful creations while reading the details. Sophia will pick a winner on Friday, July 25th.

Ila's Magnolia Blog Candy

Pop over to Ila for a chance to win Magnolia stamps. She has some beautiful creations as well so grab a cup of joe and sit a while.

Happy Monday!

Let's Celebrate with BLOG CANDY

We're back and knee deep in laundry and unpacking! Our vacation to the Pinery in Ontario was perfect and not at all the 'roughing it' I was worried about. Great getaway from the hustle and bustle of daily life. We went to the beach, canoeing (1st time for me & so nervous about tipping), biking, fishing and saw the sunset. All this but at a leisurely pace. Here's a picture of the yurt we stayed in, which housed 2 sets of bunk beds - thank goodness cause I just can't do the tent sleep on the ground thing - LOL. We all loved it so we'll definitely do this again.

Today's title gives away my surprise. I'm celebrating YOU, my 3,000 blog visitors, by giving away my very first blog candy! Thank you so much to everyone who visits and for all the wonderful comments. I've been making some fabulous friends while having fun stamping. How awesome is that!

There's a 1st and 2nd prize so each of my girls can pick a name out of a hat. The candy has been generously provided by Phebe at the Town Scrapper. She carries an assortment of High Hopes, Magnolia, Penny Black, Rakle, Hanna, Whipper Snapper, MFT stamps and wonderful paper and embellishments too numerous to mention. Checkout her webiste here or give her a dingle at 519-882-0623 to speak with her directly. Phebe can also be reached via email at townscrapper@sympatico.ca.

1st Prize: Rakle 'Sitter' stamp, 12 Prima Painterly Petals and a Heidi Swapp edge distresser.

2nd Prize: Whipper Snapper 'Field of Daisies' stamp, 10 Queen & Co. 'oh orange' bold round brads and 6 Imaginisce brads from the 'A Shore Thing Collection'.

The chance to win is open to everyone until 12 midnight on Saturday, August 2nd and I will ship internationally. All you have to do is post a link to this blog candy on your blog and leave a message on THIS post. If you don't have a blog, email me at cossa@cogeco.ca for a chance to win.

Best of Luck,
Maria

More Blog Candy Alerts

Here's a list of ladies offering blog candy. Checkout their sites to view their projects as well as for a chance to win their generous candy.

Tina's celebrating 5,000 hits and will draw a winner on July 28th.

Sam's celebrating 100 hits will draw a winner on July 28th.

Lorraine's celebrating her birthday and will pick a winner on July 30th.

Krisitine's celebrating 20,000 hits and will draw a winner on August 3rd.

Congratulations ladies!

Marlene's Blog Candy

Checkout Marlene's blog here to see her amazing creations and for your chance to win an adorable Hanglar & Stanglar stamp and images.

Donalda's Blog Candy

Donalda's getting really close to 10,000 visitors on her blog and she's going to give away a Magnolia stamp. Checkout her blog to see her wonderful creations and for a chance to win here. Congrats Donalda!

On Vacation

We're taking a family vacation and will be camping for most of this week. I will neither have access to technology while "roughing" it or any of my crafting supplies - not even colouring.

I keep telling myself that this will be fun but the last time I went camping was when I was in Grade 7 and even though that was decades ago, I remember vividly disliking the experience.

Alright, I'm going to be positive and focus only on the fact that my DH and girls are ecstatic about going. I also need to focus on the plan - going to the beach to soak up sun, fun and relaxation during the day, going to the beach at night to watch the sunset and roasting marshmallows and making Smores at night while my DH and darling girls giggle. So I need to forget about the bugs, racoons, dirt and lack of a private facility, right - LOL.

Have a great week and see you back on July 20th when I'll have a little surprise for you,
Maria

Penny Black Saturday Sketch Challenge

Quick second post to introduce my submission to the Penny Black Saturday Challenge. I used DCWV cardstock and DP from the Spring stack collection. The image was stamped on Wausau paper with Archival Brilliance Graphite Black ink, coloured with Copics and pop dotted. Button embellishments from Paper Studio and sentiment is an SU rub-on.

Really like the wonderful sketch which was new to me and a bit more challenging than I originally thought. But , heh I think it turned out pretty good. This is going to a friend as a thank you.

Happy stamping and blogging,
Maria

A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge - Boy Card

Here's my submission for this week's A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge. The theme is to create a male inspired card. I don't have any Rachelle Ann Miller, Sugar Nellie and/or any of the adorable Hanglar stamps on my growing wishlist. But I have some stamped Sugar Nellie images I received in a PIF from Bernie - thanks again - which I will use for these challenges.

I've used and slightly modified the sketch from this week's Friday Sketcher's Challenge and added an element from Becky's DT sample on this week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge. Becky flipped the right corner of her dp over and added a brad. I thought the flip was pretty cool so for this card I flipped the same corner over but added a button for embellishment instead of a brad.

I find making a male card the most challenging from what image to choose, what dp works and what embellishments are considered gender neutral or masculine enough. For this card, I used Stampin Up CS, K & Co. DP, Copics for colouring, Paper Studio buttons and an SU rub-on sentiment.

Hugs,
Maria

Friday Sketchers & Cute Card Thursday Challenges

Here's my submission to 2 challenges: Cute Card Thursday and Friday Sketchers. The challenge on Cute Card Thursday is to make a card for a child. I've been wanting to ink up this stamp for a while and thought it was perfect for the Cute Card Thursday Challenge. For the layout of my card I used the sketch on this week's Friday Sketchers Challenge.

Cardstock is SU and DP is with a sparkley Imaginisce (All Kinds of Happy on one side and Tied Up With Strings on the other). I bought the DP from Phebe at the Town Scrapper. Image stamped on Canson Manga Paper for Copics with Archival Brilliance Graphite Black ink, coloured with Copics and cut with the larger Spellbinder classic circle die. I tried to do something new this time and inked the edges of the circle with Pink Pizzazz Ancient Page dye ink. The edging didn't turn out as planned so I guess it's something I need to practice. EK Success Paper Shapers "Retro Flower" punches created the flowers and the centres are my favourite Bella BonBons from Stamping Bella. Stickles placed on Tilda's wings, top of hat and on her shirt - not sure you can see it in the pic and any close-up I took turned out blurry. SU Hodgepodge hardware and one of my fav MFT sentiments finish the card.

I'm going to surprise my 8 yr-old daughter by putting this in her lunch box on her first day of Grade 3 in September. A couple of months ago when I started making cards she asked me if I was going to leave little notes for her in her lunch box everyday. I'm thinking that I might surprise her with a card or two once a month - only Wonder Woman could do it everyday! I think I'd better start working on them now especially because I have 2 girls so what I do for one I do for the other.

Well, I gotta run to start packing for our camping trip next week.

Happy Sunday,
Maria

An Award and More Yummy Blog Candy

Wow, wow and wow! I'm so thrilled and honoured to have received this award from Nikki! Her creations are just fabulous and this award just made my day coming from her. Stop by and have a look at Nikki's blog and get inspired.

I'm passing the award to these 3 great ladies. See for yourself why I think their work is wonderful.

Claudia
Dawn
Michelle

Don't you looooove the idea of winning some blog candy? Well, here are 2 more opportunities for a chance to win.

1. Hop over to Deb's blog for a chance to win her blog candy. She's celebrating 30,000 visits and when you stop by you'll see why. WOW - congrats, Deb!
2. Andrea also has some yummy Magnolia blog candy to give away. Visit her blog, leave a message and post a link on yours for a chance to win.

Happy day,
Maria

Tilda & Co ATC "Perfect Pearls" Challenge

Wow - this is my 3rd post today - record for me! Here's my submission to this week's Tilda & Co ATC Challenge. This week's theme is Perfect Pearls so you can incorporate pearls, pearl paint, pearl paper or pearl shimmer.

I used one of the Tilda's from the Shabby & Chic collection for this ATC - she is just adorable. The image was stamped on Canson Manga paper for Copics with Archival Brilliance Graphite Black ink and coloured with Copics. I placed 3 Stampin Up half pearls as embelishments on the ATC as well as a half pearl on Tilda's hat ribbon and on the flower charm. All half pearls were glued with Tombow. The flower charm is part of a mixed package of craft charms from Dollarama and the ribbon is from Michaels (Dots & Dashes). I tied the ribbon through the ring on the charm and pop dotted the charm onto the DP. Imaginisce DP (Baby Powder + Oopsie Daisy) was also incorporated onto the ATC. Tilda image cut out and pop dotted onto the pink Stampin Up CS.

Hop on over to the Tilda & Co ATC Challenge blog to see the adorable samples by the DT.

Have a great weekend and happy stamping,
Maria

Alota Blog Candy

Congratulations to Shary for joining the Alota DT. She's celebrating with some cool blog candy so checkout her beautiful cards and leave a comment and link on your blog for a chance to win.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by,
Maria

Happy Mail

I have met some of the nicest people since I started papercrafting and blogging. One of them is Nikki, whose creations I recently discovered and find to be inspiring. She has kindly sent me these beautiful stamped Papilio images that I have been drooling over ever since seeing them on her blog for the first time a couple of weeks ago.

Well, imagine my excitement the other day when I picked up the mail and saw Nikki's package. Yipeeee - It contained the stamped images of 3 of my favourite Papilio stamps. I will be playing with these images very soon and will post what I create in the next few weeks.

Thank you so much Nikki. I appreciate your kindness and generosity.

Hugs,
Maria

Spiral Whisper & Giveaway

There's a new stamp company called Spiral Whisper with an upcoming launch date of July 21st. It's a UK stamp company specializing in clear stamps. Check out the Spiral Whisper blog to see a few of their wonderful sneak peeks and enter for a chance to win some special blog candy to celebrate their upcoming launch.

Enjoy your day,
Maria

3 Challenges in 1 - Cute Card Thursday, Our Creative Corner & Kraftin' Kimmie's Korner (KKHHC1)

We've been having some funny weather here in Southwest Ontario. One minute its sunny and warm, the next overcast and muggy and then bang a rain/hail storm. Go figure! Hard to know whether to stay inside or outside.

Here's my submission for 3 challenges this week: Cute Card Thursday, Our Creative Corner and the Kraftin' Kimmie's Korner High Hopes Challenge 1 (KKHHC1). It took me a long time to complete this card but it was worth it as I'm really pleased with how it turned out. This special card is for my baby who turns 6 in a couple of weeks - oh how time flies. She loves being outside and swinging on the swingset daddy made for her and big sister. She also loooooves this adorable Tilda, which I purchased from Phebe at the Town Scrapper. By the way, Phebe's received a new shipment of Magnolias so contact her if you're looking for these adorable stamps.

I'm quite excited about this new paper I used for the card- at least its new to me. It's the Canson Manga Paper for Copics which can be purchased from none other than Stamping Bella. My Copics did not bleed and the colour looks perfect. Tilda is pop dotted and placed so she's sitting on the swing. CS is Stampin' Up and DP is Imaginesce Baby Powder/Oopsie Daisy - love this DP. Sentiment is a Stmapin' Up rub-on and flowers are Prima with a sugar-coated Doodlebug Design Inc. brad in the center. I used the Stampin' Up corner rounder for the corners of the CS and DP. Since I don't have any chalk and haven't had enough practice with my Prismas, I used the CS and DP to provide some background for the sky and the funky DP for the ground under Tilda's feet. Of course, this meant there was a lot of scissor cutting around the images and let me tell you the swing is pretty tricky.

Have a good evening and if you get a chance pop over to the 3 blogs to see the wonderful work there and get inspired to join in on the fun.

Hugs,
Maria

Blog Candy Alerts!

You have to checkout Fran's blog at Franmade Cards and Things. She's celebrating over 25,000 hits with some very generous blog candy. Congratulations Fran!

Pop over to Ying's to check out her latest card with the newly released High Hopes stamps. The blog candy is some of the new High Hopes stamps - gotta love them!

Brillante Award

YIPEE!! What an honour to receive this award from Valerie. Wow, this is my first award and I am so overwhelmed with joy.

Checkout Valerie's blog to see her fabulous projects. By the way, she's in the process of starting a new blog here so check it out as well.

The rules for this award are:

1. Winner to put the logo on their blog.
2. Winner to link the person you receive the award from.
3. Winner to nominate 7 other blogs.
4. Put the links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you've nominated.

Here are my nominees:

1. Bernie
2. Sophia
3. Bonnie
4. Nicky
5. Amy
6. Emily
7. Debbie

Now check them out for fun and inspiration.

Thank you to Valerie for the award, to those who visit my blog and to those who visit and leave such wonderful and encouraging comments.

Have a Brillante Day,
Maria

Penny Black Buttons & Brads Challenge

Checkout the Penny Black Challenge blog. A new challenge is posted everyday Saturday. I really like the Penny Black stamps as the images are deeply etched and therefore ink and stamp well.

The card is my submission to this week's buttons and brads challenge. One or both are required for the challenge along with one PB image. My daughter's friend turns 8 this week and the card's for her. I'm not 100% happy with how the card turned out being that this is the first image I've coloured in using my Prismas and Gamsol. I know I need a lot more practice before I'll be happy with colouring done with this medium. Anyone have a good tutorial on using Prismas and Gamsol/OMS? Also, I'm not a big fan of buttons because I can't seem to figure out how to use them properly as an embellishment. Again, I likely need practice.

CS for background is Pink Passion by SU and the image is matted with SU's Lavender Lace. Since I stamped the PB image called Cinnamon early last week, I've forgotten whether I inked it with Memories Black or Graphite Black Brilliance onto Wausau white paper. The image and the matting were cut with the Petite Oval Scallop Spellbinder dies. I'm liking these petite dies more than the classics. Sentiment is from Hanna and stamped with Pink Pizzazz dye ink by Ancient Page. Buttons are from the assorted pastel bag by Paper Studio and the sparkly brad is by Doodlebug. The image and the matting were pop dotted for added effect. All in all a very simple card (no dp or ribbon either) but challenging nonetheless given my first experience using Prismas and Gamsol.

Have fun stamping,
Maria

High Hopes New Releases and Blog Candy

Did you hear the news! Did you hear the news! High Hopes has released some awesomely cute new stamps. Yipeeee!! When you're on the website, type HOTP (Hot off the Press) into the search box under online catalogue and you'll be able to view 9 pages of new images. Your wallet might not be happy but the stamper in you will be ecstatic.

Ila at Artfully Ila is celebrating the new release by offering all the above new High Hopes images on EZ mount foam as blog candy. Another yipeee! I hope I win because I have a lot of scrapbooking to do from our trip to Discovery Cove and Seaworld in Florida this past year. Visit Ila to see the wonderful card she made with these images plus all her other amazing cards. Maybe you'll be the lucky winner.

Well, no card today because I didn't get a chance to finish the one I was planning to post so maybe tomorrow.

Have a good night,
Maria

4th of July

Sorry to be posting so late. My little girl has been sick for the past 2 days and we finally saw the pediatrician this afternoon after waiting over 2 hours in the office. Well, she's on antibiotics now and on the mend.

This is a short post to wish my friends across the border a Happy 4th of July. Enjoy your picnics, BBQs and day for family and celebration.

Check back tomorrow for a card.

New Releases

What exciting news - High Hopes and Magnolia are both releasing new stamps! Yipee - who wouldn't be excited about this except for the wallet - giggle!

High Hopes releases their new stamps tomorrow Friday, July 4th and Magnolia is releasing 30 new stamps on Saturday, July 5th.

Check back later - actually posted below now - for a peek at my Tilda and Friends ATC Challenge submission.

Cheers,
Maria

Tilda and Friends ATC Challenge

Here's my submission to the Tilda and Friends ATC Challenge. I really enjoy creating these ATCs and look forward to it whenever possible. This week's challenge is 'Lavender and Lace'. Checkout the blog here to see the wonderful DT samples.

The most difficult thing for this card was finding the lace and incorporating it on such a small space. I usually have lots of lace at home but for some reason can't find any - uhm! I remember my darling girls finding my stash of lace trimmings and ooohing and awing. In fact, I recall seeing it on their dolls and them saying - look mommy, look - just adorable. Well, I had to get me some lace and guess where I got some- yup you guessed it from my mom. Does anyone else notice a pattern here - giggle!

Onto the ATC: I used Lavender Lace SU cardstock as a base/matting and stamped the Tilda from the Magnolia Lilac Collection onto Wausau paper with Brilliance Black Graphite ink. I then masked her and placed the masked image over the one on the Wausau paper and stamped the stone wall over top - sounds confusing as I write this but it is easy peasy. I removed the masking and coloured the images with Copics. I added the SU Love and Happiness chocolate chip rub-on sentiment and butterflies. The wings were coloured with the gelly roll pen but I added icicle stickles over top. As for the lace, I made a bow and added a lavender butterfly brad to the centre. The image was then pop dotted onto the SU cardstock and voila!

The lavender scent is one of my favourties and I've planted some throughout my garden this summer. I can't wait for it to bloom! So head on over to the Tilda and Friends ATC Challenge and join in the fun. A new challenge is posted every Wednesday.

Happy Stamping,

Maria

Caludia's De-licious Candy

Woweeeeeeee! Congrats to Claudia for her 170,000 hits! Checkout her blog at Pretty Pressings and you will see why she has had sooooo many visitors. Her creations are just gorgeous and inspiring. I visit her blog regularly and am always amazed by her creativity. Check it out for yourselves and post for a chance to win the above generous candy.

Cute Card Thursday Challenge

Here's my submission to the Cute Card Thursday Challenge - oops forgot to link up the picture earlier this morning. I finally inked up my High Hopes stamp Lizabeth Biking Angel. Isn't she cute as a button - reminds me of my girls riding their bikes.

The only restriction for this challenge is NO store bought designer paper so I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the cs I purchased from Mary Maxim a while back. I added some SU wide organza ribbon and dollar store floral ribbon to match. I matted the main image with SU cs. The image was stamped with Memories black ink and coloured in with Copics. The tag was made with the Tiny Tags Cuttlebug die - I rounded the corners with the SU corner rounder punch - and the sentiment is an SU rub-on.

FYI - Memories ink works well with Copics as long as you heat set the ink after stamping or let it dry overnight. The Copics will smudge the ink while colouring if its not heat set or left to dry overnight but the image is so crisp and clear. I usually use Brilliance ink for images I colour with Copics because you can colour almost instantly after stamping without worrying about heat setting. But you never really know until you try something new for yourself.

Well it's back to work today so have a great day and happy stamping.

A Spoon Full of Sugar Circle Challenge

What a gorgeous day in Southwestern Ontario today. We've been having so many storms and a lot of rain lately that I expected more of the same today. I've been stuck inside doing laundry. Imagine my surprise when I opened the front door only to hear the birds chirping and feel the warmth from the sun.

It's so nice that I decided to take the picture of my submission to A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge out on my deck. This is my first challenge on A Spoon Full of Sugar and since I have some beautiful Rachelle Anne Miller images kindly sent to me by Bernie at Craftyb, I decided to use one for the challenge. The card is for my niece who turns 6 on Christmas day. Isn't it nice to combine a challenge with an event - lol?

Designer paper and cardstock is from DCWV's Spring matstack. I used the Spellbinder dies for the large circle accent pieces and ran them through the Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dot folder. The small flowers were punched out with EK's small Paper Shaper Flower Power punch and Hero Arts Gemstones attached to the centres. I shaped the Hanna sentiment into a semi-circle and stamped it with Memories ink right onto the circle. The image was coloured with Tomobow markers which I haven't used in ages.

Check out A Spoon Full of Sugar to see the beautiful cards by the DT and join in on the fun!

Happy Canada Day

Happy Happy Canada Day! One way to celebrate is FREE shipping to feed this obsession - oops I meant hobby - lol. Hurry on over to Stamping Bella cause the FREE shipping ends today.

I feel like my mojo for stamping is coming back so come back later to checkout the card I'm finishing up for a challenge. I'm so excited I think I'm going to enter a challenge a day for the rest of the week.

Enjoy your day!