DUUUUUDE! Happy B-day!

Today's project was a combined effort...my 14 1/2 year old son, Cordell did some artwork on this card, because it's for his best friend's birthday today. They both are REEEEALLY into sk8ing, so I figured I'd let Cordell, well, BE Cordell! As you can see, he's already perfected his "artist's signature," complete with the LRG logo "tree" underneath...Some of his "tagging." Hey! At least the boy is doing it on paper & not walls, train cars, or signs like other boys that are bored out of their trees this summer! *LOL*
And of course no birthday is complete without balloons. Okay, it's a PSYCHO balloon, but it's still a balloon! {OW! I took a poke in the ribs for that one! *ROFL*}
A look at the entire inside of the card...Gotta say, I'm pretty proud of him. He got a little of Mom's artistic side & not everything from their father. (I was beginning to worry there for a bit!) He & his brother, Devin, are always doodling in altered journals that I make for them (like I said, it's better than paint cans and someone else's fence or walls!). Cordell is into the graffiti & sk8t logos, Devin draws anime' and manga art. Not sure WHAT little Aidan is going to do, but he's starting to ask for art journals now too! *LOL*

And here's my contribution to the card project...wheat-colored 5x7 base by K&Co, "skate collage" paper from Karen Foster Designs (just 10 minutes down the road from me in Centerville, UT!), & "sports extreme" stickers from Christine Adolph for Creative Imaginations. Skateboarding paper & embellies are NOT easy to find, lemme tell ya, so when I found these, I bought multiples!
Finished with a $10 bill tucked inside & we're good ta go! *LOL* Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

Sumbuddy WUVS me!!!!

I got ribbon, a baggie of brads n' buttons, & some Studio G clear stamps. It's kinda tough to see, but the rubbah is a crown & this really cool ATC-sized KICKIN Halloween image. (can't wait to play with THOSE!) And just look at these sweet images! I'm running them through my copier now onto some cardstock (I want to practice & have plenty to play with!).And these fantastic "N"s. I see an altered journal or two in my future, or maybe even a cute chipboard wall hanging with these on 'em...I got all of this in the mail today & I feel like a kid who just had Santa visit! *LOL* My bloggin buddy, Vicki, over at Stamped Smiles sent me this package & I've gotta tell ya, I'm just blown away. It was almost like winning blog candy that I never signed up for! *ROFL* GF, I'd like to thank YOU - it's because of your blog & the fantastic ideas you post about that have inspired me to spread my wings & step off that cliff a couple times - and now you're spoilin me! I've had a couple of rough days, too, so this little surprise really lifted my spirits. You're Da Bomb!

For those of you that have never been to Vicki's place...GO, run, get there now! You'll be inspired, just like I was, I guarantee it! Now, I'm gonna go play...thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

Remember earlier today?

When I was antiquing? Well, here's what came out of that little adventure...Even the inside got "that look."
I didn't like any of the rub-ons that I had in my stash, but I found a cute clear epoxy with a nice phrase that didn't take away from where I was going with this project...
And voila! Finished card...so whaddya think? These grungy, shabby cards are some of my favorites to do.Of course, I had to do the envelope, too!!!Card base - 5x7 from K&Co
Distressed aqua paper - My Mind's Eye
Swirl Stamp - Lil See Ds
Ink - Ranger Vintage Photo, Brushed Corduroy
Pewter Butterfly - out of my stash
Twine
Epoxy Sticker - Cloud 9 Design
Punch - floral lace Martha Stewart border
Image Stamp - Flower Collage Trio (T-899) by The Angel Company, colored with COPIC markers

Well, it's dinner time. Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

I'm antiquing!

*LOL* No, I'm not out shopping for antiques, as much as I'd love to. It would be cool to find some antique dressers & hutches to use in my she-cave for crafting storage. Nope, I'm doing the next best thing...making things look old! And I'm doing it at NO COST, because I'm using things that I already have on hand. I've been up since 0630, thanks to my sinuses, so I started playing around with some stamped images that were mailed to me by other Angels from The Angel Company & I thought I'd show you before I turn them into cards. I've been using my COPIC markers and these...To take pretty flower images like these...And make them look like this!My oldest son, Cordell, just came upstairs from his room, took one look at them and said, "Mom, those are TIGHT! They look like something you found in a trunk in an attic or something."

Now, I'm off to find the perfect papers, I'm thinking K&Co or My Mind's Eye, to make them look their absolute best. As soon as I have them on cards I'll be back to share with you again. Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

Ten cards - one day

Yes you read correctly, ten cards in one day! I volunteered to make some samples for new Angels coming into T~A~C. Today I made eight (still have more to do) and will mail them out tomorrow. Thought I'd share them with you. They're not my best works, but I had to limit myself to using only T~A~C products for the cards & my stash is small. All of these (two cards using each image) are on A2 bases, images are from the set "An'udder Birthday" (T-2642)...

Image is done with colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits & a chalked sky.

These two (one up, one down) use the paper pad "Rustic Chic" (V-928) from the Wing It Collections...they were also colored with COPIC markers & I chalked the skies.
This one (below) was colored with pencils & odorless mineral spirits, I chalked the sky, used a Stardust clear gel glitter pen on the stars, & a white gel pen by Sakura for the sentiment.
This card (below) is the thank you card for Rita, the Senior Angel that puts together these sample packets. I had other angels stamp & mail me some images to play with, so of course, I just HAD to use one of them. This image is from Flower Collage Trio (T-899), stamped in brown on ivory cardstock, colored with pencils & odorless mineral spirits, trimmed with deckle scissors & mounted on double-sided K&Co paper.
And finally, card #10...black & white image from Carolee Jones at PC Crafter (Little Sentiments), colored with COPIC markers, chalked background, cut with large classic oval Nestabilities, pink rhinestones on tail bow & "O", glaze pen in Clear by Sakura on mouse's nose, paper out of my stash (I think I got in on clearance at Michaels a few month's back).
I still have more that I need to get done...COPIC Colour Challenge, more Angel samples using my Seeds of Blessing stamp set (T-2544), and a few others, just because I can, but they're gonna have to wait. I'm bushed, so I'm headin off to bed. G'night! Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

The weekend

What a day it's been! Up early with Aidan; Chris off on a ride for fallen brothers of his club for nearly the entire day; the boys just wound up because it's the first official day of summer vacation. My nerves are frazzled! I've been doing laundry all day & trying to keep my house under some semblance of control. I think I've succeeded...sorta. I did manage to make a card about 30 minutes ago & I thought I'd share it with you.Don't you just LOVE this paper?!? Credit goes to Wade, The Craft Guy, over at Ben Franklin for turning me onto it. The background paper and the image (there are 12 to a sheet) are both by Graphic45 & the line is called "Fashionista Collection." I ADORE the vintage Vogue look. I could easily see myself in one of these dresses, sitting at a streetside cafe, sipping coffee or lemonade. {always did say that I was born in the wrong era...} Paper flowers are from Prima; antique pewter brad is from JoAnn's; base is tan pre-made A2.Inside I used some black paper ribbon from K&Co that I picked up on Clearance at Michaels.
And to pull it all together, I used more of the paper ribbon on the envelope flap. I love the lacy look of it. Very yummy!

I also wanted to share a freebie with you from The Angel Company. It's a set of paper dolls, designed by Melanie Montes de Oca & they're just precious! Here's how she decorated hers, so you can get an idea of how to use them...The clothes are pieced with TAC papers, ribbons, stamped trims, tiny buttons, & other embellishments...She used one of the larger boxes that our stamps come in to make pretty storage for her dolls.Pastel twill for the handle...Brads hold the paper to the box AND become cute little "feet." What a clever lady & so generous of her to let us share this sweet gift with you!

I'm off to make supper, get these rowdy boys into bed, then work on some sample cards that one of our senior Angels mails out to new Angels. She did this for me & I'm replenishing some of her stock in return. I'll show you what I make before I mail them to Ohio. Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

The Last 2 Manly Cards

Hi! Sorry I'm a bit behind on posting these. Didn't feel very well over the weekend (pancreas was cranky - not ugly, but just enough to leave me feeling "blah") so I didn't get to make these cards until today. This first one will go to my brother-in-law.


I used a 4.5x6.5 pre-made base; image is from PC Crafter ("Road Rippers" by Lori Lynn Simms); "chrome" on the car is highlighted with a Clear Sakura Glaze pen; Black Sakura Glaze pen used on wording; Inside reads: "Hope you have a road rippin' & happy Father's Day!"

This next one will go to Chris. Being a biker, he has one REALLY annoying thing that he does - like all bikers, they call their wives "old ladies." Just crawls up my fanny & dies a horrible death. I'm NOT old! He's NINE & a HALF YEARS older than me, for goodness sakes!! I cannot begin to count the times that I've requested he PLEASE not call me "the old lady." *sigh* But I can't change those leopard spots either, so for Father's Day I'm gonna get just a tad even with the stinker...

This is what he'll see when it comes out of the envelope. It's really nice. Classic even. Vintage bike almost in his Club's "colors," 5x7 black background (his favorite color - matches his leathers), great sentiment "Loud, fast, built to last" (which BTW totally fits that LOUD 99 Heritage Softail that he rides), screws in the corners for that added lil sumthin extra. Then when he opens it up...

BAM! *LOL* I absolutely could NOT resist this paper last week when I was over at Ben Franklin Arts & Crafts visiting with Wade, "The Craft Guy." It's double-sided - the bike and "Old Guys Rule" was on one side with a distressed ivory ground & the other side was a charcoal gray with the "brand" emblem in a diagonal repeat pattern. I loved it & it totally fits him. Showed it to my boys this afternoon & they thought it was "Wicked, Sick!" so that means it passed the guy test! *LOL*

Well, that's it for now. I'm off to update the rest of the blog with my June specials from The Angel Company - make sure to check them out, because we've got some really good deals running this month. Over 100 stamp sets are being retired with the prices already discounted at my store (just click on the shopping cart). AND...it's getting close to my 1yr anniversary here at Handmade & Heavenly, so I'm planning a surprise for y'all very soon. Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!