Stampin' Up! Swallowtail

Hey! I'm back. :) Believe it or not, I managed to finish all 35 of the Dare to Get Dirty challenges.  I didn't think I would as I ran out of steam on Sunday, but I jumped back in on Monday and Tuesday and finished.  It was work, but yay! Now I have to send out all the birthday cards that I missed while I was stamping. Oops!

I love this giant Swallowtail stamp.  I didn't buy it when it was current in the catalog, but I think a nice friend might have gifted it to me.  I can't remember who though. I swear I struggle with memory, sometimes to the point that I almost make a doctor's appointment for it.  Anyway...  I used just the regular distress inks and painted them on with my fingers.  I added water to the paper, pressed the ink pads on my craft mat, spritzed those, and then painted away.  My fingers were only red for four days or so after. Ha! I did dry it at that point and then lay it on the leftover inks to give it more of the water splattery look.  Now I'm making up words...

Wednesday evening Laila went out to play and I noticed she was awfully quiet and not running in and out like she usually does.  I walked out and found her like this, sitting in the middle of mud.  She was having a blast.  I let her play until time for pajamas and then shooed her into the shower to wash that off.  I'm sure my washing machine is now full of sand from washing those clothes.  I debated about just throwing them away because they were gross! Today we went swimming with a friend.  She had so much fun! Jason ended up signing her up for weekly swim classes, so fingers crossed she cooperates and has fun. We start next Friday.

I'm off to finish listing some stuff on eBay and cleaning my room.  I'm hoping to have a giveaway on my blog soon, so stay tuned!

Dare to Get Dirty Day Something or Other

I'm back!  This card here totally derailed my creativity.  I struggled forever to find a layout that worked and tore it apart several times.  I had to color the girl a couple times.  It almost made me give on the challenges, but I'm back in the game now.  :)  I love this sweet little image.  Perfect get well card for a tea lover.

I've been trying to play with my watercolors a bit more, so this one is pretty simple.  A watercolor wash and then the die cut and sentiment.  I decided to add some sequins because I have so many!

I woke up at 5am today and couldn't go back to sleep. I figured I'd come color a bit.  I ended up with this card.  I love these little critters and it's been ages since I'd used them.  I don't have a lot of birthday cards for kids, so this will be gladly added to my stash. 

And finally this guy.  I don't have a clue about steampunk, but I found this image and thought it would be the closest to my style that I'd find.  It was fun and HARD to color, but I did it!  Whew!

I'm off to shower and then head out to the doctor.  It's a rainy blah day, so maybe I'll get more cards made when I get back.  :) 

DTGD Day 2

A bonus second post today!  I've been working away as much as I can today.  I have three more finished and three more to go to be caught up.  I don't know if it will happen. lol I'm getting tired.  I wish it didn't take me so long to make them.  I get caught up and it gets out of hand.  I don't even know how long this one took.  Have you tried the cling wrap background?  I thought it was easy and came out really neat.  It was a perfect under the sea background.  I love trying new techniques, especially the ones that work. :)  I'm doing good on my plan to use my Cameo more.  The seaweed was done with that.  I need to buy less dies, so that should help.

This was one of those throw things at it and hope it comes out looking okay kind of cards.  I can't really do the collage look very well, but I love trying it.  The background is made with Brusho.  I love the Stampin' Up! Butterfly dies.  Laila has already asked me to make a Monarch with it after she saw this one.  :)

This one is super simple.  That image is so pretty that I wanted it to be the focus.  I love trying to color it.  It is a nice test of using neutrals and coloring apples.  Plus, HEDGEHOGS!  Who doesn't love those!

Now I have to take a break and run back to the store.  We decided to have quesadillas tonight, so we need a rotisserie chicken.  At least it's only one thing to go get and there's tons of choices of where to go. 

Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow for more cards! 

Dare to Get Dirty Day 1 Continued

I managed to get four cards and a background for the fifth completed yesterday.  I swear it's impossible to stamp without interruptions, so I'm proud that I was able to knock out that many.  Why do husbands need you to come look at stuff when you're busy crafting?  I swear it's ONLY when I'm stamping.  There's nothing that needs looked at any other time.  lol  Crazy! Anyway, I thought this card was kinda fun. The paper seemed to go well with the sentiment.  I kept it black and white to match that. I used the Geek is Chic set from My Favorite Things, as well as their Blueprints 18 that I scored in the retirement sale last week.  It's been on my wishlist for ages, so I had to get it while I could.  :)

This was my card I made after everyone was in bed last night.  It was way too messy to attempt with a kid and kitten constantly invading my room.  I don't usually like heat embossing because I make a mess and it always looks bad.  I think this one turned out okay.  The distress inks distract from any bad embossing. ;)  It's made with the Flora background and Sketch Ranunculus sets from Simon Says Stamp.

I'm off to watch some morning shows and try to do a bit of creating before laundry.  Enjoy your Sunday!

DTGD Day 1

Happy Saturday! I hope you are finding some time to get crafty today.  If you are a member over at Splitcoast, the Dare to Get Dirty challenges start today.  I've been working on a couple this morning and thought I'd share them.  This first one is for a fun challenge from Lydia.  She always has fun ones that push me to try something hard.  I think the result is fun, so yay!

The second challenge was from Dina and I enjoyed creating for it as well.  I feel like we need more rainbows and sunshine in our world right now, so I may make up a few of these to send out.  It was a pretty simple one, so that shouldn't be too hard.

That's it for now. I'm going to go grab lunch and then come back to work on the next challenges.  I found a good comedy to keep me company.  There's nothing better than creating and laughing!

DTGD 2016 Two More

Ice cream!  It's so hot in Texas so ice cream sounds great to me.  I went a bit more grown up with my icy treat today and a frappuccino with an added espresso shot.  You'd think it would have me a bit more awake after that!  lol   Anyway, this is another card for the Dare to Get Dirty challenges.  I love this cute ice cream set from Simon Says Stamp.   I was feeling orange today, so I went monochromatic and did some shades of orange.  I like it!

Stamps:  Simon Says Stamp Ice Cream Dream, Stampin' Up! Happiest Birthday Wishes
Ink:  Memento black, Stampin' Up! Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Stampin' Up! Pumpkin Pie
Dies/Etc:  MFT Stitched Mini Scallop Circle dies, Wink of Stella
Copics:  YR01, YR01, YR04, YR07, YR09, E33, E35, E37

And my second project is using a favorite set, Neat & Tangled Origami Map!  I love the fun geometrics of it and it's even more fun to use now that I have the matching die.  If you get this set, grab that at the same time.  You won't regret that.  I used my distress inks again to make some fun backgrounds.  I stamped and cut out the map after I made the green background.  It was way easier that way!

Stamps:  Neat & Tangled Origami Map
Paper:  Canson 140lb Cold Press watercolor paper, Neenah Solar White
Ink:  Distress inks:  Twisted Citron, Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers, Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Mermaid Lagoon, Ranger Archival
Dies:  MFT Blueprints 22

Laila has been having a blast learning geography with her USA puzzle and our new globe.  I recently asked my FB and Instagrm friends if they might be willing to send her a postcard from their state/country so we can make a little scrapbook to go along with our learning.  If any of my blog readers would also like to send one, just email me at kyann22 at yahoo dot com and I'll send you our address!  I can't wait for them to start to arrive.  She loves mail and is always sad when none of it is for her.  Poor dear.

DTGD Day I'm So Behind

Okay, honesty here.  I haven't made a card in a very long time that I truly loved and was proud of.  I have been in a major slump and not enjoying stamping that much because I didn't like what I was making.  Now this card?  This card makes me HAPPY!  It's nothing special, but it just makes me happy.  So yay!  This was another DTGD challenge from Splitcoast.  I just got my first set of Verve stamps in today and the sentiment was so perfect.  Isn't that gorgeous?!   LOVE!

This one isn't as fancy as that one, but it also makes me happy.  Why?  It was a technique that was totally out of my comfort zone.  I struggled with it, but I went back and tried again and I did it. That makes me proud of myself.  For those of you who also struggle with depression, you know how failure can feel and how it's hard to get your head back in the game sometimes.  So again, proud of myself for doing it. The stamps in this one are Altenew (flowers) and the Verve set again for the sentiment.

I'm off to clean my desk and see if I have the energy to make another card. I had planned to try to do all the DTGD challenges but that just isn't going to happen.  I hit two rough days and well, that's tough to catch up from!  But at least I did some!  :)

 Enjoy your Friday tomorrow and Happy Almost Weekend!

DTGD 2016 Day 3

Back for more cards.  Laila went to school today so I spent the morning stamping!  It was nice and relaxing.  :)   You knew I'd have to pull out the coffee stuff soon and here it is.  :)  I tried Copic no-line coloring which is HARD peole.  H-A-R-D!   I used a set of 5 E40 somethings to get some different, yet cooridanting shades of brown. 

Last week I watched an awesome technique video from Kay Miller and I just had to try it out.  It was so fun! I even made two cards because I had so much fun with it.  I used regular Stampin' Up! inks for the ink, so no special inks required.  The stamps are Hero Arts that I got after the holidays on clearance at Michael's.  I'm glad I picked up those up now!  

And lastly, a bit more fun with distress inks!  So fun.  I loved the idea of a stormy day, so I added some grays to my rainy way.  I have a friend who has been having a tough time, so I made this one with her in mind.  The stamps are from WPlus9. 

And that's all for today.  I don't know how much I'll get done tomorrow.  It is Eli's birthday and I never know how I'll wake up and feel about it.   I can't believe he'd be 8 tomorrow.  

DTGD Day 2

I'm back today with 3 more cards!  I haven't even started on today's challenges, so I'm already behind as usual.  lol I got really sick last night and wasn't able to stamp.  I don't know if I had a small stomach virus or an allergic reaction to something, but the splatters I would have made on my cards were not ones that anyone would have wanted.  Thankfully it calmed around midnight and I was able to sleep.  Feeling much better today, but just a little tired and dehydrated.  Anyway...  This card using a Brusho background that's been in my to-use pile for a bit.  Dina's challenge was a perfect way to use it. The words are from a MFT set.

Susie presented a fun challenge and I couldn't want to color this adorable unicorn from Paper Smooches.  It's so fun!  I used distress inks to make a background for him.  

And finally...

...here  is a card for Lori's challenge.  I had a rough time coming up with something for this one and this is actually my second design.  I'll share the other next week after the challenges are over.  It uses distress inks and a lovely stamp set from Ellen Hutson. 

Butterflies on Watercolor

I wanted to share one more Dare to Get Dirty card before the deadline tonight.   This is the last card I managed to make for it and it's probably the most special.  The first card I made to send to the Strong family just didn't feel right so I didn't send it.  I found this stamp on a recent shopping trip and it was so perfect.   If you'd like to take a minute to read this post, you can see where I was inspired.

I'm off to get my girl to bed and then relax a bit.  My anxiety has been so out of control for a while now and this morning really did me in.

Someone is obsessed with our car.  :)

Grumpy Birthday

I wanted to share another card I made this past week.  I needed a birthday card for my person.  You know that friend who really gets you.  The one who would always welcome you and hug you even if you hadn't showered and smelled like you ate a loaf of garlic bread all by yourself.   That's my friend Brandi.   Unfortunately she lives in Maryland and I miss her so much.   She was my best friend in graduate school and I love her so much.  I keep hoping for something to happen so we can live close, but no luck yet.   Anyway...  I got this hilarious set from Taylored Expressions recently and I love it.  It makes me laugh so much!  It's called Birthday Grumplings and it's new my favorite set.  They just released a Halloween version and I want it so bad too!  It's so awesome!  Obviously you can't send these cards to everyone, but they are totally me and I think they will work for a lot of my friends.  :)

This is for Angie's Dare to Get Dirty challenge on Splitcoast.  

Laila and the cats are always wanting what the other one has or doing what the other one does.  Bandit got out of this bag and Laila decided she would climb in it.  lol  Never a dull moment around here!

Sew Freshly Made

Welcome to Wednesday and Freshly Made Sketches.   Cindy L. is our hostess and I am in love with the sketch she created.   If you check out the design team blog, you can see why!  It can be used so many different ways and looks good in all of them!   :)  I combined it with another of the Dare to Get Dirty challenges and the Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge.

Come play along with us this week!   And mark your calendars for a big celebration on our 200th sketch!   It's only two weeks away!  

Dare to Be Crazy

I decided to put together another card with the red and yellow papers that were left from my last card.  It's always nice to use up some supplies for more than one card.  I don't usually like making the same card more than once, so I rarely end up using the same stuff.  This worked out great though.   And seriously?!  These birds!  I love them.  This is for Susan's Dare to Get Dirty challenge.

Stamps:  Tim Holtz Bird Crazy, Taylored Expressions Birthday Grumplings
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Stampin' Up! Daffodil Delight, miscellaneous patterned paper
Ink:  MFT Black Licorice, Copics, Stampin' Up! Real Red
Embellishments:  MFT Red Hot buttons, Stampin' Up! Crushed Curry Baker's Twine

Two Paper Divas Strawberries

I'm so sorry that this didn't post yesterday.  I don't know what I did, but I messed up my post somehow.  I didn't notice until this morning and I haven't had time to sit down and redo it until this evening.  So, so sorry!    

This is my card for Two Paper Divas this week and it uses the Large Seed Packet stamp along with Seed Packet Accessories #1.  I wanted to combine my design team card with another of the Dare to Get Dirty challenges, so this one uses a challenge presented by Dina.   I don't know how many of the challenges I'll actually get done, but it's always fun to play along.

Stamps:  Two Paper Divas Large Seed Packet, Seed Packet Accessories #1
Ink:  Memento Black, Copics
Paper: Neenah Solar White, miscellaneous designer paper
Embellishments:  Stampin' Up! Daffodil Delight ribbon, $1 bin enamel dots

Yesterday was my sweet Eli's birthday.  It's hard to believe he would have been seven now.   It was a hot day, but we took him a balloon, some flowers, a new wind chime, and bubbles.   And tears.  Lots of tears.  

Dare to Get Dirty 2015

After a huge case of the blahs and major anxiety this week, I finally managed to make a few cards!  I am going to share the first two I made for the new Dare to Get Dirty challenges on Splitcoast.   If you are a member of the Fan Club over there go check them out!  It's a ton of challenges in one week, so I know I probably won't even get close to finishing them.   They did get me out of the funk of the week and start this month off stamping, so that's fabulous!

This card was super fun to make.  Laila talked me into buying this mermaid stamp last week and I have to say, it's scary!!!    I am definitely not an expert at coloring people and she's a super hard one to do.   I think a little girl will love this one though.  :)   It's for Lydia's first challenge.

Stamps:  Penny Black Mimi the Mermaid, Altenew Super Script,MFT Polka Dot background
Ink:  Tim Holtz Peacock Feathers Distress Ink, Copics, SU Bermuda Bay
Paper:  Neenah Solar White
Tools:  Simon Says Stamp Stitched Circle dies, Simon Says Stamp Medium Dot die, MFT Blueprints 20
Embellishments:  Stampin' Up! Brights Collection Buttons, SU White Baker's Twine, Pretty Pink Posh and SSS sequins

My second card is for Teresa's challenge.   I had so much fun with this one!  I love making these backgrounds!

Stamps:  Unity
Ink:  Lots of Tim Holtz distress inks, MFT Black Licorice
Paper:  SU Elegant Eggplant, Neenah Solar White
Tools:  Simon Says Stamp Stitched Circle dies
Embellishments:  Studio Calico Wood Veneers Stars, Heidi Swapp Color Shine Tinsel, water

I have a few more in the works, including a Two Papers Divas card for this week and I'm off to finish those up.  It maybe be later tomorrow before you see those as the good lighting is gone for the day and we have plans for early tomorrow.   Stay tuned though!

Happy Mail

This might be my last of the Dare to Get Dirty cards.  I was hoping to do a bunch of stamping yesterday and today, but it just didn't happen.  Sometimes I wish I could just have an entire day to do what I want.  Maybe I should ask for that for my birthday or Christmas?  :-)   I never realized how much I'd miss peeing alone or silence!   I know time is short, so I try to remember that time alone and silence will come and probably before I'm ready for it.   Anyway... this is a pretty simple card.  I used the awesome bee from Nature Walk. It's retired, so I hope you have it in your stash.  Great set for sure.   I sponged some So Saffron and Crushed Curry over a Heidi Swapp stencil for my hexagons.  The awesome sentiment is from Winnie & Walter.  I love that big happy.  

Laila got a late birthday present from my cousin Kelly this week.  She had a blast opening it all up.  It was nice for a bit of a distraction.   It was not a good week in many, many ways.   She is on a fake crying kick and it is so exhausting.   Tuesday was horrible as usual and I ended up crying and wondering what I was doing having a child.   Lately I just feel pulled in so many directions and so behind on everything.  The house never stays clean no matter how hard I try to work on it.  The laundry usually gets done, but folded is another story.   If I fold with Laila here, she unfolds faster than I fold.  The cats and Jason add in a lot of mess as well.  I do what I can, but that means most of it is halfway done or not at all.  I am thankful to get to stay home with Laila, but sometimes I think going to work and hiring a house cleaner would be heaven.   I keep thinking that maybe it is time to give up Stampin' Up! so that I'm not pressured to hold events.  I'm trying to hang in there in hopes of Laila getting in to a mom's day out program.  We are first on the waiting list and I'm crossing everything that someone drops.

Enough rambling... the dishes are waiting.  I just wanted to get my card posted so I can have all my DTGD cards on Splitcoast.   Thanks for listening to my rambling.

Stampin' Up! Branch Out

I didn't get to stamp yesterday, but I still have another card that I haven't shared with you yet.  This is another Dare to Get Dirty challenge card. I don't know if I'll get anymore made for the challenges, but I've had a lot of fun so far.  For this one I used two favorite stamps, Hardwood and Branch Out (Thanks, Pat!).   The window is from my Cameo.  That thing sure comes in handy!   Chocolate Chip and Island Indigo are a very lovely color combination aren't they?

Laila's Hope Calendar pictures were yesterday and we got a little preview of them already.  They turned out great!   Debi is just such a great photographer.   After the pictures wasn't good and we had a bit of a rough day, but we survived and are here to try another day!

Post by Debi Gomez, Life's Images Photography.

Stampin' Up! Blue Ribbon

How about a bit of a manly card today?!   I used the fun colors from colourQ along with another Dare to Get Dirty challenge to make this one.  I love this club ribbon set and just don't use it nearly enough!  I paired it with Gorgeous Grunge to add some fun distressing.

Aren't those fun colors?   Now I am NOT a Summer Yuckfruit fan and don't own any, but the new honey in color was a nice substitute.  

She needed to wear a towel just like mommy.  lol   We had a nice day yesterday.   I braved Target with her and we bought 3 bags of school supplies to donate to our local assistance ministry.   I love school suppplies, so it was such a treat to get to shop for them.

Stampin' Up! The Open Sea and Flower Frenzy

Happy Sunday.   I thought I'd try to do a quick post before lunch to share a couple of the cards I made for the Dare to Get Dirty challenges yesterday.  This one was a fun one.  I stamped and heat embossed the Hardwood background and then painted over it with some white paint.  The flower is using the Flower Frenzy die which I just used for the first time!  I put it on my first order from the new catalog and somehow forgot about it.  (Or I was still protesting the retirement of Fun Flowers)   I used white tissue paper to cut two different sizes and then spritzed them with a mixture of alcohol and reinkers.   The sentiment is heat embossed on vellum and is from the And Many More set.  

Now the masculine card.  It features a bit of watercoloring of The Open Sea set.  I pulled out some retired designer paper because I have got to use up some of that stuff.   It's out of control!  lol   I can't really share the details of the challenges, but if you are a Fan Club member over on Splitcoast, be sure to check them out.   If you aren't, go join!  :)  

Always in on the picture action!  lol  She has her Hope Calendar pictures on Friday, so I hope she likes the camera then.   We got the most adorable dress for her to wear.   She's already had a meltdown wanting to wear it.  Shocking, I know!  lol

I Scream

Just a quick post from me tonight.  Today is my sweet boy's birthday, so it's been a sad day.  It seems a bit crazy that he would now be six.  The five months we had him with us seem so long ago now.  To distract myself, I decided to play along with some challenges.  I don't have the best of mojo this time of year, but stamping keeps my mind occupied.    I made this for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge and one of the Dare to Get Dirty challenges on Splitcoast.  

I love watercolor washes so much.  I used Coastal Cabana and Strawberry Slush along with my Aquapainter to make this one.   The stamps are from the August kit from SSS.   Twine and sequins are Stampin' Up! 

A parent holds their child's hand for just a short time, but holds their heart forever.