I hope you all enjoyed your Mother’s Day as much as I enjoyed mine. My family made me feel very special. First I was treated to a Dyan Reaveley class at Stampers Anonymous. Carolyn Ross and I went together and had lots of fun. I can promise you this is the messiest my hands have ever been in my LIFE! I think the one thing I really loved about Dyan’s class was she didn’t give you time to over think what you were doing when creating the background for the album. This is one of my issues with art journaling… I over think everything! I just need to do it and free my very detailed, over analytical creative brain. Dyan gave you the perfect amount of time to do the technique and move on… no over thinking allowed just do it and go. If you have the chance to take one of her classes when she is back in the USA do it… you will LOVE it and be so happy you did.

After the class with Dyan, Ansley and Alan took me to dinner at Fuddruckers (Poor Terri was sick). I had a super yummy salmon burger and laughed at how excited Ansley and Alan were with the amazing coke machine… so many flavors to pick from… I had a raspberry flavored Diet Coke and stuck with that, they on the other had tried several different kinds… Vanilla Root Beer, Peach Sprite and Strawberry Sprite. Not only was I treated to a class and dinner but I was also treated to some Faber-Castell Mix & Match Color Gelatos & Clear Stamp Sets in (Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Metallic and Neutral) as well as the Metallic and Essential Gelatos. These were all purchased from The Crafty Scrapper. So as you can see I had a wonderful arty family Mother’s Day.

And I just have to share this crazy family photobooth photo. While eating at Fuddruckers, I attempted to take a photobooth picture of all of us together… but it didn’t quite work out as well as I was hoping. The laughs I get every single time I look at it certainly was worth the attempt though…

Photo 1: Trying to get all of us squeezed in the photo.
Photo 2: Where is Alan? He didn’t know it was going to take three more photos and I’m telling him hurry squeeze in quick. Then Ansley got hit with some super bright lighting and is nearly blown out of the image.
Photo 3: Alan almost made it back in time and Ansley is laughing to hard to look at the camera and this time is half blown away with bad lighting.
Photo 4: Three again at last… it’s us and I’m just going to embrace it.

Hugs!

I cannot possibly explain to you all just how much I LOVE the new Maya Road Lisa Uppercase ~ Chipboard Alphabet. And not because they are named after ME but because they truly are my favorite font style and size chipboard alphas Maya Road makes.

When Maya Road discontinued their Philadelphia Uppercase alphas (my first true love) I nearly had heart failure and let Caroline know I was not happy with that decision and begged PLEASE NO NOT THESE but there I sat anyway with no more Philadelphia alphas. I begged some more, pleaded some more but they were gone, gone, gone!  BUT  NOW I have a new love and I really do love these more than the first so all is well, this new set is the perfect size and I’m super happy and Caroline just continues to roll her eyes at me and all my quirky loves.

Hugs!

Here is a beautiful tag created by Ronda Palazzari using the new Spring Release Antiquated Collection Mini Silhouettes & Monograms stamp sets. She used the Monogram alphabet letters to spell “FLY” then accented the tag using the frame and border stamps also included in the Mini Silhouettes & Monogram stamp set.

For this card Ronda used the new Antiquated Collection ~ Then Comes Baby and Mini Silhouettes & Monograms stamp sets. I LOVE the vintage pram so much. I think it will make the cutest baby shower invitations, cards, tags as well as new baby cards, decor piece or tags. To create the title for the card Ronda stamped the word BABY on shrink paper using the Monograms alphabet. Too cute.

And just so you know… Pink Persimmon is giving away a complete set of my new Antiquated Collection stamps (that’s 5 stamp sets) to ONE lucky winner on Pink Persimmon’s blog. This new spring release from Antiquated Collections celebrates vintage images of kids, babies and family. You’ll find all kinds of uses for these beautiful stamps. Entries close on May 18th at noon, so hurry on over. Lots of ways to increase your odds of winning by helping to spread the word about Antiquated Collection to your friends and fellow crafters.

If you want a chance to win the all five of the Spring Release stamp sets make sure you visit there blog HERE.

Hugs and Good Luck!

Yes, I’m in love with the new Maya Road Hexagons. They come in three sizes, basically small, medium and large and some are die cut which allows you to create a nice frame on top of another as I did with the hexagon that has the vintage sheet music inside.

This canvas is covered with circles punched from old ledger paper and sheet music and a few doilies here and there. Each item is attached with natural beeswax, then sealed entirely with beeswax. Each hexagon is coated with beeswax and accented with a vintage button, bingo butterfly motif and altered key.

The key is inked with Adirondack Pigment Snow Cap, covered with Glossy Accents and accented with a 5mm cream colored pearl.

The crocheted doily is one my mom made… I have her creating lots more for two classes I plan to teach. Her little doilies are the perfect size for my projects. Thanks, Mom.

Supplies Used can be found at the following links: Fiskars X-Large Easy Squeeze Circle Punch, Fiskars Large Easy Squeeze Circle Punch, Natural Beeswax, Melt Art Melting Pot, Vintage Photo Distress Ink, Blending Tool, Collage Glue Stick, Glossy Accents, Maya Road Bingo Motifs ~ Black, Adirondack Pigment Ink Pad ~ Snow Cap, Tim Holtz Sanding Grip Block Tool, Claudine Hellmuth Studio ~ Blank Canvas, Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paint Artists Brushes

Hugs!

Susie Moore created these three adorable projects using the new Antiquated Collection ~ Sweet Little Girls and Knick Knack stamp sets. Each piece is detailed to perfection with pearls, flowers and trims. As you can see by Susie’s projects these stamp sets are fun to color in with inks and markers. I love how Susie used the Scooter Boy. This little plaque just screams boy with the baseball accents, domino piece and all the red, white and blue. Thanks, Susie.

Karin Aguirre created these two super sweet tags using the new Antiquated Collection ~ Darling Little Ones and Mini Silhouette stamp sets. I love Karin’s dreamy style and eclectic mix of papers and trims and of course the way she adds little glitter here and there. The Mini Silhouette baby stamp looks adorable inside the altered mini frame. They are a perfect fit. Thanks, Karin.

Kristii Lockart created this gorgeous card using the new Antiquated Collection ~ then comes Baby stamp set. If you click HERE you can read the tutorial she put together instructing you how to create your own “the comes Baby” card. I love how Kristii double stamped the carriage image to add dimension to the card. Plus she uses the best Copic Marker colors in all her creations. Kristii’s frilly vintage style makes me eyes super happy. Thanks, Kristii.

So which is your favorite stamp set? I’d love to know. Make sure you leave a comment HERE for a chance to win a stamp set of your choice from the Antiquated Collection Spring Release. I will announce the winner, tomorrow. Good Luck!

Hugs!

I’m so blessed to have these two for daughters.

Terri and Ansley you make me the happiest mom, ever! Love you, bunches.

And here is a Mother’s Day layout I created of my mom and her mom for my book Delight In The Seasons.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. I love you!

It’s that time of year again! Sign ups for Artistic Journey 2012, sponsored by Maya Road and The Crafty Scrapper will open Wednesday, May 16th. I’m super excited to be teaching along with Maya Road Design Team Members, Dina Wakley and Angella Peardon.

This year, I’m going to teach a really cool project that includes chicken wire. I cannot wait to show you some sneak peeks!

So don’t wait around to sign up for this super fun and amazing event. It sells out FAST and when you hear your friends talking about all the fun they had you are going to be so sad you missed out.

I love this group of ladies… they were so fun and even made their own super cute t-shirts for the event!

Hugs!

First up is this adorable 4″ x 6″  “Mini Silhouette” stamp set. You will find mini silhouettes for Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, Dad, Daughter, Son and Baby. You can fill in the oval area of the frame with a solid color using the solid oval stamp then stamp the silhouette or monogram image in the center. Or you can leave the center of the frame blank and let the patterned paper peek through. There is also a separate border that can be used as an additional accent for your silhouettes or monograms. Purchase HERE.

This 4″ x 6″ stamp set is title “Sweet Little Girls” and sweet they are. You can stamp all the images, then fussy cut them out and layer them all along a card, or use them individually. I love their sweet little faces. Once stamped these images are perfect to color in with Tim Holtz Distress Markers or Copic Markers or leave as in stamped on vintage ledger paper or old book pages. And what sweet little girl leaves home without her doll? I just had to include one in this stamp set. Oh and these little girls are to scale with the ladies and gentlemen in the Fine and Dandy, Society Lady and Stylish and Fashionable stamp sets. Click HERE to see a tag I created using two of these little girls and HERE to see an embellishment I created using the doll stamp. Purchase HERE.

“Knick-Knack” is all about boys. This 4″ x 6″ stamp set has so much versatility for all you boy moms out there. These are designed to work perfectly on cards, tags and layouts. I love the vintage record player. This is perfect for a male birthday card and even a Father’s Day card. The little sailor boy with his puppy would make an adorable vintage themed card. I think it would work perfectly for a grandfather’s day card. These images are also perfect to color in with Tim Holtz Distress Markers or Copic Markers. Click HERE to see a tag in the works using the image of the little boy on the Scooter. Purchase HERE.

“Darling Little Ones” is a 3″ x 4″ stamp set. What I love about this stamp set is the babies are to scale with the ladies and gentlemen in the Fine and Dandy, Society Lady and Stylish and Fashionable stamp sets. So if you want you can have either of them hold a baby or placed as mother and father they can hold both. This image is perfect for to color in with Tim Holtz Distress Markers and Copic Markers as well. Click HERE to see a sneak peek of this image I colored with Tim Holtz Distress Markers. Purchase HERE.

And last but not least… “then comes Baby!” This 3″ x 4″ stamp set has so much detail in the carriage it makes me squeal with joy. It is so pretty and I feel the perfect vintage image of a baby carriage. This too is to scale with the ladies and gentlemen so you can have either mom or dad standing behind the carriage. Click HERE to see the carriage used in an altered tag. Purchase HERE.

Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I will be giving away a stamp set of their choice to one lucky winner who leaves a comment.

Hugs!

These sweet little darlings are part of the Antiquated Collection Spring Release sets and are the perfect size for ATC’s. And I might also add they are to scale with the ladies and gentlemen from Fine and Dandy, Society Lady and Stylish and Fashionable stamp sets. This means you can group them together with mom and dad holding them. I am so thrilled with all the detail Judi was able to keep of the image while she did all her computer clean up magic. The one thing I love about my stamp sets are their detail and for clear stamps that is really something.

I stamped the baby image onto watercolor paper using Jet Black Archival Ink. Then using the new ever so popular Tim Holtz Distress Markers, I colored in and around the image using Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy, Mustard Seed, Spun Sugar and Broken China. I only added color along the wrinkles on the dresses then using a Tim Holtz Detailed Water Brush I allowed the the water to move the color, creating subtle shading. Once the paper was dry I went back in and highlighted the wrinkles by darkening them just a bit with the same colored Distress Marker. For the background I added color using the Distress Markers and blended the color around the babies using both the Tim Holtz Broad Water Brush for the larger areas and the Detailed Water Brush as I got closer to the stamped image.

Once the piece was dry I then went in and accented areas of the dresses using Diamond Stickles. Now I have a perfect embellishment for a card or tag.

Products used can be found at the following links: Jet Black Archival Ink, Tim Holtz Distress Markers, Diamond Stickles, Tim Holtz Detailed Water Brush, Tim Holtz Broad Water Brush,

Hugs!

So excited about the new stamp sets for Antiquated Collection that will be released with Pink Persimmon on the 11th! These cute little dolls are part of a larger stamp set which is ADORABLE!!! Only one doll stamp is included in the set, I just double stamped the image for this piece. The top image shows the images stamped using Jet Black Archival Ink onto a square Maya Road Foundations Chipboard piece that I covered with vintage ledger paper. You can leave the Foundations square stamped as is and cover it with Glossy Accents or color it as shown in the photo below.

Just so you know, this stamped Foundations piece showcases two new stamp sets. Not only is the doll stamp new but also the border around the square. The border is part of another stamp set as well and I have a feeling you card makers are going to LOVE this new stamp set.

To finish my Foundations square I painted in the dolls dresses, hats and shoes using Perfect Pearls and a Water brush as well as the leaves along the border. I then inked all around the Foundations square using Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I stamped the word Darling, which is part of a third new stamp set using Jet Black Archival Ink. The hats, dresses and shoes are accented with Diamond Stickles. Once the Stickles dried I covered the entire Foundations square using Glossy Accents.

Now you have the perfect accent for a card, scrapbook page, mini album, magnet, pin for mom etc. This is such a fun way to bring a little creativity to a very busy day.

Products Used can be found at these following Links… Maya Road Foundations, Tim Holtz Detailer Water Brush, Perfect Pearls Powders, Jet Black Archival Ink, Blending Tool, Vintage Photo Distress Ink, Diamond Stickles, Glossy Accents, Collage Glue Stick

Hugs!