Sweet 'n Sassy Summer

Just a little extra post for you today since I didn't have anything scheduled :)  Since its soooo hot out I'm bringing you a tropical hello with Palm (Coconut) Tree and Sunshine digi stamps from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps!  

I just had to color these in bright fun colors with my Spectrum Noir markers to match some old but loved Echo Park papers from the Splash and Summer Days collections.

Sentiment is also from the Sunshine digi stamp collection from SNSS.  Ribbon from Bo Bunny, and edges were inked with Versacolor pads from Tsukineko  (Canary, Celadon, and Lime)

I used this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch for my layout.

And don't forget you still have a few days left to play along with this weeks Fun Fold Challenge at SNSDC!  Then this Friday is new release and Blog Hop day!!

Challenge List:

Sweet Sunday Sketch: layout

Pile it On: Kick back and Relax!

Crafty Bloggers Network: anything goes

Inspire me Friday: anything goes

Totally Papercrafts: lots of layers

In between the Newsprint

Mmmmm...fall is finally in the air. Kept thinking yesterday that I wanted cooler weather, not rain. Ask and ye shall receive! Its a beautiful 78 or so right now. All I need is a bit of a breeze!

So, on to todays card...Our challenge at Pixie Dust STudio this week is to use Black and White (or shades of gray) and one other color. I chose Teal, a really pale teal inspired by the My Minds Eye argyle print that I pulled out of my scrap pile...yeah me!

For my image I used Dumbledore, from the last Pixie Dust Studio release...the Harry Potter collection! He is such a sweet image. When I wanted to add a bit of sparkle to him my girls thought I was nuts, but just a hint of multi and Silver glitters on his beard and robe were just right! He is magical, is he not? Can't he have some pixie dust??

Don't you want to play along with us this week? You could pick the Pixie Dust Studio image of your choice if you win! You don't even have to use a PDS image for your entry if you don't have one, but we would love it if you did! Head over to the Pixie Challenge blog for all the details and for more eye candy!

Thanks for stopping in today! Hope you have a great one :)

-Cyndi

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Dumbledore digi (Pixie Dust Studio); Fairyland (Crafty Secrets)
• Paper: Basics pp (Basic Grey); Mary, Mary (My Minds Eye); cs (Bazzill)
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
• Accessories: Labels 10 (Spellbinders); Silver & multi glitter (Stampendous); copics & ABS1 (Imagination International); buttons (Basic Grey); ribbon (Bazzill)

InStyle Stamps Color Challenge

Its time for the InStyle Stamps color challenge this month! Taylor has picked an inspiration photo that has me truly yearning for the colors and smells of autumn. It just cannot get here fast enough for me.

So, from this photo I pulled out my inspiration pattern paper...can't help it, that just how I create anymore. I am a complete paper junkie. The little strip of glittery leaf paper to the right edge of my card is from a new collection by Best Creation. Not a paper brand I normally gravitate to, but I really liked this one!

I chose Jet for my image since he looks so ready to go back to school in his cute sweater and khakis! I even hand-drew an argyle pattern in his sweater to pull the look together and add a bit more color to his ensemble.

My card base is 5.5 x 5.5 and then I trimmed about an inch off the top layer so that there is a wide strip exposed on the bottom. Thats where I put my leafy paper. My next layer is a scrap of Olive that I ran through the Cuttlebug with the Argyle folder. My leaves are cut from the Spellbinders Maple Leaf Nestabilities dies that were also embossed with an Impressabilities Flourish. All pieces were distressed with Tim Holtz Old Paper. As you may have noticed, I am not so into the distressed look as I was years ago, But I am trying to get out of the proverbial box!

Ok, so if you'd like to play along with us this month you have a few weeks! We have 3 challenges every month which each run for a whole month, so there's plenty of time! The winner will receive either 1 or 2 digi images from InStyle Stamps depending on whether or not you used an ISS image for your creation.

So be sure to head over to the InStyle Stamps blog to get all the details and to view some more eye candy! Thanks for stopping in with me today!

-Cyndi

Back to School with Pixie Dust Studio

First post of two again today! This is my card for this weeks Pixie Dust Studio Challenge...Back to School! I used Ron from the new Harry Potter collection at PDS. Look at the cute trunks on the paper I found! Love it! The rest of the card is pretty simple, but I did stitch all my layers since the machine was already out :)

Be sure to play along with us this week! Go to the Pixie Dust Studio Challenge blog to get the deets and to leave a link to your creation. Remember, you don't have to use a PDS image to enter, but we sure love it when you do!!

-Cyndi

Pixie Dust Studio...Harry Potter release!!

He's here! Harry and all the crew are being released to day as digi stamps at Pixie Dust Studio! Just look at how cute he is! And if you scroll down to the bottom of the post I have a pic for you of all the images in this release...Hermione, Ron, Dumbledore, and even Scabbers, Crookshanks and Hedwig! A Harry Potter fans' ultimate stamp collection!

For my card I kept with the Gryffindor colors using the same Graphic 45 paper as yesterday's card. The "H" is a chipboard letter that I inked with Old paper distress ink and a touch of Fired Brick. The H can also stand for his pal Hedwig, hehe! I am so in love with these images!!

Here's the rest of the crew. And don't worry, if you can't decide then you can get the whole collection and save a bit! So rush on over to Pixie Dust Studio and pick up some magic!

Thanks for visiting today...look out, this is the first of 3 posts for the day! AND I will be back with more tomorrow!

-Cyndi

Its off to Hogwarts...

One more day til Harry and his fellow wizards arrive at Pixie Dust Studio! But today you can have a peek! For my card I used Hermione. No, she's not my favorite character, but this did turn out to be my favorite card of the bunch this week :) And yes, my jaw dropped to the floor when Kathy showed us this release! It is magically magnificent!!

I used Wendy's sketch for Papercraft Planet this week and in keeping with the simplicity theme there I went with the Dyeing for Punches challenge at Cute Card Thursday also...to use NO punches or diecuts. Wow, thats hard. Just a trimmer.

I was stressing finding any burgundy or gold paper in my stash...but Betty had the perfect group of Graphic 45 papers in stock at the crop this weekend! Totally Gryffindor, eh?

OK, head to the Pixie Dust Studio blog for more peeks today and tomorrow, and check in at the Pixie Dust web store later for the full release! Its scheduled for tomorrow, but hint...Kathy never waits!

Thanks for flying by today! I have lots for you this week including challenges, new releases, blog candy, and maybe even an announcement, so check back in!!

-Cyndi

InStyle Stamps Blog Hop

Happy Friday! Its the end of the kids first partial week of back to school. The girls have their first football game tonight...Taylor is a Dancing Boot this year and Rachael is in Marching Band. Its an away game so I am not going. I will have the evening to spend with just Michael. Perry is at work :) He finally goes back to school on Tuesday since he's at UNCSA.

BUT, today is the last Friday of the month which means its time for the InStyle Stamps blog hop! Virginia has an extra special prize for the winner this month so be sure to hop through all the blogs then go back to the ISS blog and vote for your favorite project!

Be sure you started at the beginning, at the ISS blog. If you came from Patti's blog you are right on track!

For my project I needed to do something 3D and end of summer and Jax was the image I left myself to work with...so I decided he would be cute as a title on a Mini journal for my son. You know how they always want the kids to talk about what they did over the summer? well, this way he can write about all the things he did then pick one memory for school :)

I simply covered a plain notebook with this Piggy Tales paper then printed Jax out really small and stamped "Summer" and some dots on the tag. The "Memories" is hand written. Tag was colored with copics. Pretty simple!!

OK, so now its time to hop on over to our fearless leader's blog...and I am sure that Taylor has something extra special in store for you!! Thanks for hopping by today, have a great weekend! I am going to an ALL day crop with Denise tomorrow, I can't wait!!

-Cyndi

Just another Manic Monday

And we are off to finish back to school shopping. Michael wanted to go to daycare today and tomorrow, thanks goodness... So I am taking the girls out today to Target and the Mall to finish up some last minute stuff. We of course stopped by the Starbucks at Barnes & Noble first to have "breakfast".So, while they chat I am typing :) Here is a card that I created last week for the new releases at InStyle Stamps. Isn't that tree swing an adorable end of summer image? I paired it with fun "Olivia" papers by Basic Grey and an eco-friendly sentiment from a Unity set called Earth Love.

Okie dokie, gotta be fast so we can scoot! Hope you have a great week..I will be back on and off with a few challenges this week. Kids start up Wednesday and I have a big Friday deadline so it may be a bit slow. Ciao!

Cyndi

Pixie Dust Studio NEW release day!

Welcome to the Funhouse! Here's Frankie to welcome you to a whole new world of fun :) Here's a peek at the rest of the gang in the Funhouse! Today all these adorable images are ready for purchase at the Pixie Dust Studio webstore!

For my card today I used "Frankie Funhouse Fairy". I think she is my favorite of the bunch, but then again I adore Halloween and everything to do with it, so I love them all! I used up some of my favorite scraps from a Fancy Pants Halloween line. So sad they are almost all gone.

Be sure to head over to the Pixie Dust Studio blog for more of the Funhouse gang. also tomorrow will be a new challenge at the PDS challenge blog so check back for that too!

Thanks for visiting today!

-Cyndi

Funhouse Sneak Peek

Its time for a sneakie peekie for you of Pixie Dust Studio's new Funhouse collection!

Sorry I am a bit behind today...we had the last day of band camp and performance/potluck this afternoon. I am so impressed at all they have accomplished in just 8 short practice days! AND my youngest DD Rachael got an award tonight...you see she's an oboeist and they don't normally march, so she has taken it upon herself to memorize all of her music!

So, on to the eye candy! I used the Funhouse "Just Batty" for my card. Isn't he just the cutest? Wait til you see the rest of this release! I will be sharing more tomorrow as well as a graphic showing all the images from this collection :)

I made my sample into a Big Buckle card since I hadn't done one of those in a long time. My papers are the wee bits of leftovers I have from last year's Fancy Pants Halloween line. I am seriously trying to use up some of my old stash!

Here's the view of the card partially opened. All the supplies are listed below.

Be sure to head over to the Pixie Dust Studio blog to see more peeks using this collection. AND don't forget to head to the store to pick up some of these adorable images tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by tonight! Have a great one :)

-Cyndi

Supplies:

Stamps: Just Batty digi (Pixie Dust STudio); Boo! (A Muse)

Paper: pp by Fancy Pants; cs (Bazzill)

Ink: Palette Noir (Stewart Superior)

Accessories: Designer Label punch, word window punch, & circle punches (SU!); ribbon (Michael's); dog tag punch (EK Success); Copic markers

Summer Breeze

Its release week over at InStyle Stamps! Mainly we are releasing baby images, but there are some really cute end of summer images as well :) This image is called Summer Breeze...isn't it just the cutest scene of flowers? You can see more new images all this week at the InSTyle Stamps blog.

I used this weeks Sketch Saturday sketch for my layout. Papers are from an old scrap pad in my stash..Amanda Blu. Below are the copics I used. Thanks for hopping by today! Peeks start tomorrow for Pixie Dust Studio's Funhouse Collection :)

Quick Post...and cute baby kitten

OK, so you all know that I am definitely the crazy cat lady. We have 4 indoor fluffballs at the moment, but we temporarily have custody of this sweet little booger. His name is Noah and he is about 4 weeks old right now. Taylor's friend Savannah brought him over last week and we are Kitten sitting. She found him outside on a hay bale all by himself. So we have been bottle feeding him this week. His favorite place (besides being tucked under someones chin) is in this toboggan.Now, on to my card for the day. I have one more for you from the "Gnome World" collection from Pixie Dust Studio. We will begin peeks from the Funhouse collection in just a couple of days!
This is "Gnome Playtime". He was colored to match this bright paper line from Cosmo Cricket. The layout is based on this weeks sketch at Oh, Alice! and the theme is summer fun for The Pink Elephant challenge. ALSO, since there is a tree involved in my Gnome's tree swing it qualifies for Cute Card Thursday challenge "Treemendous".
OK, that was longer than I intended. Gotta scoot, a million things to do!!

-Cyndi

InStyle InSpiration Wednesday

Its time for Inspiration Wednesday at InStyle Stamps! This month Taylor picked this adorable little nursey as our source for inspiration. You can go with the colors, the theme, the layout, even the lamp shade...whatever inspires! Be sure to head to the InStyle Stamps blog to check out all the details and see what you can win as well as to get eye candy from more of the DT! BUT, note that not all of the DT's samples are up today...we are spreading them out now so you need to keep on checking back!

For my sample I used digi Ellie, the cute little baby Elephant who will be available in the InStyle Stamps store next week! I sort of picked up the colors but mainly I noticed the cute sqaure frames and wanted to make a frame to hang in a nursery!

Thanks for popping by today! Sorry such a short post but its been one of those weeks :)

-Cyndi

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

No doubt! I have a HUGE box of goodies that just arrived from Stampendous! Mostly Christmas, so I am feeling very inspired and in the spirit! Thanks Laura!! Hope you had a great vacay, ready for the next catalog girl?? I am totally psyched to dig in on my goodies, but in the meantime I am giving you a touch of festive eye candy.

This is the Mouse King (from The Nutcracker). He is part of Pixie Dust Studio's Nutcracker release from a couple of weeks back. Is he not the cutest little thing?!! I wanted a soft color theme for him so I chose this paper from Basic Grey to base my copic choices on. (Pictured at end of post)

Here's a closeup of the King so you can see his face and the shimmer of his crown. I added Silver Smooch to it and his buttons. A bit more subtle bling... The center panel was cuttlebugged with "Ornaments" folder then I sprayed it with Vanilla Shimmer Smooch spray. (And yes, I cut out his whiskers!!)

OK, gotta go! I am off to finally watch The Lightening Thief with Michael and Taylor!

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Mouse King digi (Pixie Dust Studio); Christmas Sentiments (Amy R Stamps)
• Paper: Eskimo Kisses pp (Basic Grey); grey cs (SU!); blue cs (Bazzill); white cs (Neenah)
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
• Accessories: Ornaments folder (Cuttlebug); Dog tag punch (EK Success); Silver Smooch & Vanilla Shimer Smooch spray (Clearsnap); Grey taffeta ribbon (SU!); copic markers

If the Shoe fits...

A little more witchy cuteness for you. You all do realize that this is my fav-or-ite holiday coming up!! Prepare to be haunted with these colors for a while!

This is “Witch shoes”, my absolute favorite image from the Hallowwen and Christmas release at InStyle Stamps last week. I love the shoes…dude! I want some! This was a really fun image to color, as were all the others by this artist who addd that cute little scalloped border….there are at least 3 that I know of in this release.

For this image, I used the remains of an old K & Co pattern paper pad to draw my colors from and to use as background pieces. The circles were all cut either with my circle Nestabilites or circle punches. The layout is loosely based on a sketch a number of weeks ago at the Pink elephant Challenge blog. I think it turned out wickedly cute!

-Cyndi

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Witchy shoes digi (InStyle Stamps); If the Shoe…(Northwoods)
• Paper: K & co pp; White cs (Neenah); Double dot cs (Bo Bunny)
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
• Accessories: Circle Nestabilties (Spellbinders); circle punches (SU! & EK Success); buttons (Basic Grey); Tigerlily glitter (Stampendous); black glaze pen (Sakura); copic markers

InStyle Stamps Blog Hop!

Its Blog Hopping time again at InStyle Stamps! If you arrived her from Jodi's blog then you are right on track! If not...why not start at the beginning of the hop at the ISS blog!

This month our theme was "fathers". When Virinia gave us some image choices I had to laugh when she included the "Milk Man", and so of course I just had to use him!

I wish I had a sentiment or were even creative enough to create one on my computer about the milk man, but its humor enough to me just to use this image! I printed him really large so I didn't have a lot of space to add much to the card, so I just kept it very simple. He is available in the Retro section of the InStyle Stamps store :)

OK, so do you want some more eye candy?? Head from here over to Taylor's blog!

Thanks for stopping by my corner of the world! Have a great weekend :)

-Cyndi

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Milkman digi (InStyle Stamps); sentiment (CTMH)
• Paper: Joy Ride pp (Cosmo Cricket); white cs (Neenah); Java cs (Bazzill)
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black)
• Accessories: Circle & corner punches (SU!); copic markers

Hula week Day 1: Island Sun

Good morning Monday! It is the start of Hula Week over at InStyle Stamps and you do NOT want to miss out on all the fun! ISS is releasing 6 new images this week with a Hawaiian flare. Virginia has posted some fun facts on Hawaii today at the InSTyle Stamps blog. Janelle has given us a really fun flower tutorial over at the blog as well for Method Monday.

BUT the best news is this...you can get a FREE Leila digi image by helping us spread the word about Hula week, PLUS you could be one of 6 lucky winners to receive ALL 6 of the new releases! OR you could be the lucky Photo Contest Winner! There are lots of ways to win :) Be sure to hop over to the blog to check out all the details!

So, now on to my card. Todays image that we are previewing is "Island Sun", this adorable palm tree! I used the sketch for the week over at Friday Sketchers blog for my layout. Again I pulled out my new Labels 10 from spellbinders for the main image. well, actually the main image is cut from Large Ovals, the it was matted on Labels 10. The sentiment is from Stampendous! and was cut out with a die from Ribbon Tag Trio, then I trimmed the ribbon ends off.

Here is a side view. The main panels and the sentiment are both popped up on dimensionals. The large circle element was cut out with my Curvy Cutter from EK Success. My paper is from an old pp pad by K & Co. All my supplies are listed below along with a pic of the copics I used. Please stop by all the other InStyle Stamps DT's blogs to see more previews all week! The list is on my sidebar to the right------>

Thanks for surfing by today! Have a great week and check back in tomorrow for another preview fro Hula Week!

-Cyndi

• Supplies:
• Stamps: island Sun digi (InStyle Stamps); Summer Messages (Stampendous!)
• Paper: Happy Trails pp (K & Co); white cs (Neenah)
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
• Accessories: Labels 10, Large ovals & Ribbon Tag Trio 2 (Spellbinders); Fresh Mowed Grass Dew Drops (Robin's nest); ribbon (stash); Curvy Cutter (EK Success); Copic Markers BG0000, BG11, BG15, YG0000, YG01, YG03, YG05. E0000, E31, E33, E35, E55, E57, E59, E79 (Imagination International)

Oh Alice! I'm Mad about you!

OK, so its down to 2 days and counting til we get to go see this movie! I simply can't wait! Can't be late! Have you stumbled upon the new Alice in Wonderland Challenge blog yet? How exciting that there are other fanatics out there :0 And all the lovely companies are inspiring with all the new releases of Alice & friends images!

This weeks challenge is "Running in a sketchy Circle"...and you can see the sketch HERE. I ordered up a few digis just for the occasion and the first one I couldn't wait to color was this jolly mad hatter called "A touch of Depp" from Pixie Dust Studio. Mwaahh! Love him, and what better name could he have I ask?

I colored hi with my copics to match this fun and quirky Sassafras Lass paper called Monstrosity. It just seemed to work! I added a touch of ribbon and buttons and of course a Ribbon Tag Trio sentiment. The sentiment is from a digi set called "Sassyland Sentiments" from Sassy Studio Designs. Warning! I got a couple of digi Sassy Alices while there I will use soon!

OK, I am outta here! Gotta long day at work tomorrow (Thursday) so you'll make my day if you say hi! I can read comments on my Blackberry while trudging through the day! Thanks for stopping in!

-Cyndi

• Supplies:
• Stamps: A touch of Depp digi (Pixie Dust Studio); Sassyland Sentiments digi (Sassy Studio designs)
• Paper: Monstosity pp (Sassafras Lass); white cs (Neenah), other cs (Bazzill)
• Ink: none
• Accessories: Large and Small Circle Nestabilites & Ribbon Tag Trio (Spellbinders); buttons (Bo Bunny); ribbon (stash); Copic markers: E0000, C3, C7, C9, 0, Y15, Y19, YG13, YG17, R27, YR68, BG10, BG15, BG45, BG18

CAS #7

Hey guys! I am back with more from InStyle Stamps today for the Club Anime sketch challenge this month! You can see the sketch HERE at the Club Anime Blog. There is a fantastic prize this month you don't want to miss out on so what are you waiting for??

I used Wanda for my card. I have wanted to do something with her for a long time and I was just in the mood for something bright and retro! Why? Well, its snowing...again. Hurmph. Oh, well, my kids got out eraly and all are occupied eith friends and whatnot so I hope to stamp the afternoon away!

So, back to Wanda. I colored my first Ethnic skin tone that I didn't toss in the trash because it looked like a mess! I think her skin turned out a really pretty shade! I used Copics E27, E25, E13, and E11. I also got to pull out my brand spankin new Labels 10 Nestabilities!

I cut her out centering the die over Wanda. Then I wanted to mask her so that I could airbrush my background. Well, I had already closed out the settings on my computer from having printed her, so how do you do a mask for a digi without stressing the size? I photcopied her in black & white then cut that out as my mask, and volia!

Hehe, I am so proud of myself. I also added some clear glaze pen to her gogo boots and leatherette belt so they would be shiny! This card is also entered for:

Papertake Weekly Challenge: Buttons, Bows, (Brads & Bling)

The Pink Elephant Challenge: Add some Green to your layout

So, all the supplies are listed at the bottom of the post. Please check in at the Club Anime blog to come play with us and to see the samples from all of the DT. Each of our names above our projects is a link to our blog posts so that you can get all the details about the cards and projects!

As always, thanks for hanging out with me a bit today! have a great snowy Tuesday!

-Cyndi

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Wanda digi (InSTyle Stamps)
• Paper: Carob & Mango cs (Bazzill); white cs (Neenah); pp (Anna Griffin)
• Ink: Paprika & Pinecone Versacolor cubes (Tsukineko); Rose cats eye (Clearsnap)
• Accessories: Labels 10 Nestabilties (Spellbinders); flower (Prima); button (MME); dew drops (Robin's Nest): ribbon (SU!); clear glaze pen (Sakura); Copic markers: E11, E13, E25, E27, E29, E79, Co, C1, 0, YR61, YR63, YR65, YG01, YG03, R30, R32, R35, C5, ABS1 & Spica Melon & Silver (Imagination International)

InStyle Stamps Blog Hop!

Its Blog Hop Time! If you arrived her from the awesome Maylee's blog then you are in the right place! If you just hopped in, you can start at the beginning of the hop at the InStyle Stamps blog :)

Our theme this month was flowers...so I used Ginger, out in her garden, planting flowers. She's one of my favorite Retro images from InStyle Stamps! I used the layout from last weeks Friday sketchers blog. My background green pp I ran through my Cuttlebug with a QuicKutz embossing folder...Diamonds, then rubbed over the top lightly with my Split Pea Versacolor cube.

All the pattern paper is from Fancy Pants, the flowers are all Primas from my stash, and he sentiment is by Unity. Nothing much else too hard here. I just love to color nowadays! The rest of the supplies are listed below.

OK, so from here its time to hop on over to the mega-talented Janelle and see what she has cooking for you today! Have fun on the rest of the hop! Please don't forget to check back in Monday when I am hosting Method Monday for InStyle Stamps, I'll be doing a tutorial and previewing some new release images!!

Until then, have a great weekend...I may have another post for you in the meantime! Thanks for visiting and please say hi!

-Cyndi

• Supplies:
• Stamps: Ginger digi (InStyle stamps); Eco Chic (Unity)
• Paper: Fancy Pants
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versacolor cubes: SplitPea, Mountain Lake (Tsukineko)
• Accessories: Label punch & circle unch (SU!); brads & button (Basic Grey); flowers (Prima); Diamond embossing folder (QuicKutz); Copic markers: E00, E000, E11, E25, E27, E02, E09, E07, E33, R39, YR18, YG23, YG25, BG32, BG11, W1