a happy little box of HOME with Crafter's Companion

holy wow, chickens.  LOTS going on in my personal life right now, and i've got some HUGE hurdles to clear, but i'm confident it's all going to work out as it should and i'll be okay.  yesterday i received some big (and bad) news, but i also celebrated 10 years since the day my husband and i met.  we're off to NYC in a couple of hours and i'm SO excited, but it's bittersweet coupled with the other stuff.  still, i'm determined to enjoy myself, and his company, and it's going to be a nice little escape.  :)

today, i've got a post that was shared on the Crafter's Companion USA Facebook page yesterday - yet ANOTHER little box created with my Ultimate Tool (and i just got another of the embossing boards, so there will be many more forthcoming!):

this one's a simple box, the perfect size for some little trinkety goodness.  the nice thing about the box feature is that as long as the papers are the exact same size, you don't have to worry about the actual measurements.  just score, snip and stick. 

the floral stamp is from Sheena Douglass - "Lily of the Valley", stamped on Ultra Smooth Premium White cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  i colored this and select areas on my sentiment cut with my Spectrum Noir markers:

leaves - LG2, LG3, JG1
flower petals - TN1, GB2, LY3
flower centers - TN1, TN3, TN5
other (on sentiment panel) - GB2, CR7

some bits and bobs to fill the white space, everything coming from the Paper Issues Swag Bags, and voila!  a cute way to give someone a gift welcoming them into their new home!  or returning from a trip.  or just finding a way to relax and enjoy some down time with loved ones. 

have you signed up for the Crafter's Companion newsletter?  there's always something good coming to your inbox, and there are some awesome new stamps available from Sheena Douglass and Scruffy Little Cat!  ANNNNND, there's a whole new line of Die'sire DIES available, too!  sign up now and get all the latest news and deals hot off the press!

the Scruffy Little Cat collection is HERE from Crafter's Companion!

WOOT!  now available, these crazy-cute and ridiculously sassy gals - the Scruffy Little Cat collection, which includes stamps, embossing folders, papers and a CD-rom!  the whole she-bang!  Crafter's Companion USA released all of it YESTERDAY, so CLICK HERE to check it all out!  i'm up on the Crafter's Companion Facebook page today with this card...

isn't she sassy and fun?!  i added a little smirk and a mole just 'cuz...  here's my supply list:

Scruffy Little Cat EZmount stamp set "Autumn"
Memento Tuxedo Black ink
Ultra Smooth Premium White cardstock
Spectrum Noir blendable colored pencils:
5, 9, 34, 41, 57, 60, 63, 73, 85, 88, 89, 91, 96, 116, 119

i love the SIZE of these images - they really fill a card nicely, give the crafter a change to REALLY get their color on, and don't require much embellishing to tie everything together!   don't forget to check out the Crafter's Companion USA blog for more inspiration from my talented teammates, including lots of Scruffy Little Cat projects and tutorials using the new Spectrum Noir blendable colored pencils!  for inquiring minds that wanna know!  ;)

more of Sheena's lovely butterflies at Crafter's Companion!

hellooooooo chickens!  i'm headed for Washington, DC this morning and will be chaperoning a bunch of high school students for their chorus competition - wish me luck!  ;)  last year was Seattle (the OTHER Washington), and it was my first time going, both to Seattle and on the chorus trip.  it was AMAZING and there were so many fun things crammed into our stay!  while DC is much closer, i don't imagine i will have less fun!

today, i'm up on the Crafter's Companion USA Facebook page with a brand new card using the gorgeous Sheena Douglass sets - this one's from her A Little Bit Sketchy line and the set is called True Colors...

isn't the butterfly stunning?!  i colored it up using the following:

Spectrum Noir markers - CT1, PP1, PP2 in order to establish a base
Spectrum Noir blendable colored pencils - 005, 009, 024, 027, 028, 029, 031, 033, 071, 073, 093, 094, 111 and 116.

the butterfly and sentiment are both stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Ultra Smooth Premium White cardstock.  i also used the Petite Floral embossing folder (also by Sheena!) and inked it with Electric Yellow and Electric Coral Radiant Inks.  splattered with some Memento Fireworks spray in Bahama Blue, because it looks fab with the blue in the wings!

a few minimal embellies, and voila! 

i love the sentiment and think it's an awesome little message to someone in need of some encouragement - maybe someone going off to school, starting a new business endeavour, or taking a big leap to try something new.  regardless, LOVE IT.  and have i mentioned how much i am loving these Sheena butterflies?  :)

it's a SHEENA DOUGLASS HOP at Crafter's Companion!

WELCOME!  the brand new (utterly stunning) Sheena Douglass "A Taste of India" release is NOW.  we are HOPPING!  we've been waiting for this day, and it's finally here!

we've shared lots of sneak peeks over the last week and these gorgeous new stamp sets AND embossing folders (!!!) are all available NOW at Crafter's Companion!

there are 8 prizes to be won.  EIGHT!  so be sure to comment at each of the blogs to maximize your chances to win, and you have until Monday, April 21st at midnight EDT to get in on the action!  winners will be announced on Tuesday at the Crafter's Companion US blog.

if you've arrived here from Giovana's blog, you're well on your way (with only a few more stops to go!)...  if you've randomly arrived, that's great too!  but here's our full hop list, just in case:

Crafter's Companion US Blog

Kendra Wietstock

Allie Gower

Chrissie Tobas

Christiana Reuling

Jenn Cochran

Jennifer Ingle

Laurel Beard

Mary Dawn Quirindongo

Tenia Nelson

Trena Brannon

Wendy Price

Stephanie Severin
Annette Allen

Giovana Smith

Leah l'Orange (you are here, natch!)
Lori Barnett

Roxanne O'Brien

Swarup Murthy

the Inspiration and Education Teams have rocked out some seriously amazing creations to showcase this beautiful new line, and i've got a card for ya!

i LOVE Indian patterns and all the gorgeous bright colors they incorporate into the designs, so this fabulous image from the Henna Mango set really grabbed me.  the trim on the bottom is from the Mandala set - everything works so wonderfully together, you'll want them all!  i shared my first sneak for A Taste of India on Saturday, so click here to see several of these new sets in action!

zoom on my card!

i love the little details!  i combined my Spectrum Noir markers and Spectrum Noir blendable colored pencils using the following:

Markers: LY2, LY3, OR2, CR7, PP3, BP2, BP4, BT3, BT5, TB5, CG1, CG2
Pencils: 008, 026, 030, 038, 061, 066, 088

the images were stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Ultra Smooth Premium White cardstock and i went for clean and simple for maximum POP! 

so JOIN US in celebrating this fantastic new release at Crafter's Companion from the brilliant and talented Sheena Douglass by HOPPING!  enjoy the eye candy, and thanks for visiting!

 

Sheena has these lovely FLOWERS at Crafter's Companion!

told you i like my Sheena Douglass stamps!  

i'm up on the Crafter's Companion Facebook page today with a new card, and it's all about Sheena!  this gorgeous flower comes from another of her new sets from the A Little Bit Sketchy line - the set is called Bloomin' Beautiful (the sentiment comes from Only Words - Through the Rain) and i'm kinda LOVING this card...

i used a bunch of things i don't typically use, including some Smooch ink, those paper flowers, some Ranger liquid pearls and those AWESOME gold hexagon sequins...  the rest are basic staples (the doily, vellum and loads of pop dots!).

the Sheena flower is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Ultra Smooth Premium White cardstock and colored with my Spectrum Noir markers:

flower center - LY1, OR1
petals - CR1, CR7, CR10

the sentiment is also stamped with Tuxedo Black, and the flower is shaded with colored pencil (coming soon!).

so, no, this is NOT my typical style, but i love how it turned out!  there's a shabby/gritty feel while still being feminine and (i hope) kind of elegant at the same time.

and from another angle, to show the yummy gold:

pop over to the Crafter's Companion store to see the new stuff (more Sheena coming next week, and i can't WAIT to share!), and if you haven't already checked out the new StazOn midi inks and the Radiant Neons, what are you waiting for?!

the OAK from Crafter's Companion!

you've seen me use this stamp before - it has SUCH a presence on a card, and the sentiments are simple but LOVELY.

here's my new card for Crafter's Companion today, featuring Sheena's A Little Bit Sketchy - "The Majestic Oak":

nice and simple, this one, but with a stamp this big, it does all the talking!  all i needed to add (or had room for!) were a sentiment, and little backing panel and a couple of little pearls.

The Majestic Oak and sentiment (from same set) are stamped with Memento Luxe ink (Espresso Truffle) - have you tried these inks?  they're all the fab colours of Memento with lots of juice on a cushier inkpad.  PERFECT for covering large areas and for sponging backgrounds and such.  it's a thicker formula and i'm rather smitten!  check out the whole range of colors HERE!

drop by the Crafter's Companion Facebook page to see this one and all the other gorgeous creations from the Inspiration and Education teams - there are SO many products to show off, so we're constantly sharing there!

dreaming of DAFFODILS at Crafter's Companion

morning, chickens!  i've got a Crafter's Companion card to share with you today that is up on the Facebook page (have you "liked" it yet?  there are ALWAYS lots of gorgeous inspiration pieces, fun questions, great ideas, and lots of giveaways!)...

this one features the beautiful Daffodils set from Art-Kure by Mike Goss, along with a sentiment from Mulberry Wood "Love You" set:

i stamped the Daffodils on Luxury Centura Pearl cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and used my trusty Spectrum Noir markers to color them up... 

Flowers - CT1, CT2, CT4, LG2, LG3
Flower centers - CT4, GB3, GB7
Shading - BG5
Stems - CG3, CG4
Background - GT1

matted the image on a piece of copper foil cardstock, added my sentiment, some fabric and paper tapes, plus a chipboard flourish and wood veneer heart, then a handful of sequins to finish it off. 

here's a close-up in an effort to show some of the shimmer:

whatcha think? 

Crafter's Companion has a HUMPHREY and now I do, too!

morning, chickens!  and happy HUMP DAY to you all!  hope the week's been treating you well so far - i have a LOT going on and have to share my computer with the hubbin as he's taking graduate courses, so i don't have an issue chillin' in my craft room instead to while away the hours.  ;)

i'm up on the Crafter's Companion Facebook page today (where you'll happen to find some awesome deals, HUGE giveaways, and loads of inspiration from my talented teammates!), and i have a sweet little critter to share.  since people everywhere seem to be having BABIES, i figured i ought to build up my stash because these cards will go quick! 

this one features the sweet little Humphrey, from Crafter's Companion.  i used the Welcome Little One stamps from the "A Year With Humphrey" line, and i love the versatility of this set!  good for a boy or girl, new baby, baby's 1st birthday, or, heck, just use the flowers for a cute little thinking of you card...  loads of options!  heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Humphrey!

the sentiment and flower are from the same set - cute, right?  and that fab embossed background?  that's one of the new Sheena Douglass embossing folders - "Petite Floral" - and i love how it goes so well with the flower stamps!

i stamped Humphrey using Memento London Fog ink, then coloured her (!) up with my pencils on plain ol' business card stock (i liked the added bit of texture i got from it):

stamped the sentiment with StazOn Jet Black ink, punched it out, added some little scraps behind the sentiment, tied my ribbon and added just a HINT of yellow Wink of Stella to the flower centers (though it's not visible from the pics)...

 

my little heffalump and the sentiment are popped up and i am LOVING all the fun textures going on here!

drop by the Crafter's Companion Facebook page and see what else is going on!

inspired by DELICATA at Crafter's Companion!

morning, chickens!  a little bit of inspiration for ya (hopefully), because i am absolutely LOVING the Delicata Golden Glitz ink, and i have used it on a TON of projects already.  it's juicy, it gives great coverage, and the shimmer is unbeatable!

so yep.  i'm up on the Crafter's Companion Facebook page today with this project... 

 

i inked the debossed area of the Die'sire 8x8 Embossalicious "Regency Swirls" folder with my Delicata Golden Glitz inkpad and put my cardstock in it to "stamp" my main panel...  see, i love the pattern, but i can't emboss this size with my Cuttlebug.  i still managed to find a way to enjoy the gorgeous pattern!  :)  i just pop the panel in, put a piece of rubber on top, close the folder and press down with my hands to get a nice impression.  voila!

used a sponge to dab around the edges with gold, then stamped my sentiment from the Sentimentals "Imagine" set using StazOn in Teal Blue (i love how the gold peeks through the negative space in the stamp!). 

and that flower?  added some of the same gold ink to the edges before spraying the heck out of it with Memento Fireworks in "Summer Sky".  absolutely LOVE the result! blinged and added my ribbon, and i'm quite pleased! 

go on over and visit the Crafter's Companion store, and be sure to check out the left sidebar for Special Offers, and to sign up for our Newsletter!  (there might just be some awesome promo codes coming your way!)

you and me and things by the sea

hey there, crafty chickens...  hope all's well in your respective necks of the woods!  it's still stinkin' COLD here in New Jersey, and each morning i wake up and hope that spring has sprung!  i know it's only nearing the end of January, but it's been an unseasonably cold winter, and darn it, i thought i left all that junk behind when i moved from Canada!

at any rate, the cold weather means lots of opportunities to colour, since nobody wants to go outside in this! 

i coloured.  i busted out my pencils and coloured a couple of the individual shells from the Sheena's A Little Bit Scenic set, Sea Shells, and i'm really enjoying this set!  lookie:

i stamped the shells with Jet Black StazOn, and the sentiment (from the Sentimentals Everyday - "Imagine" set) in Timber Brown StazOn - both are stamped on Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock...  added in some gorgeous textured mulberry paper for the back panel, a simple distressy panel on top, inked my edges and added my little bits and bobs to finish it up.

the deets:

for the record, i totally cheat when i colour stuff like this!  i do a Google search for images of shells (or flowers, or lighthouses, or whatever) and mimic the style of an image that catches my eye.  but i've never been one to draw or colour from memory, so it works for me.  :)  Google is handy.  yep.

so that's my Crafter's Companion project for today - i have more shells from this Sheena set stamped out so i have a feeling you'll be getting more beachy projects for a little while yet!

BY THE WAY, did you notice the brand new Bebunni lines available ON SALE?  oh. my. goomie.  CLICK HERE.  enjoy!  

i LOVE this Lily stamp from Sheena Douglass

helloooooooooo chickens!  i'll be at CHA when this post goes live, so hopefully it all goes off without a hitch!

today, i'm sharing a clean and simple project for Crafter's Companion that features the gorgeous "Lily" stamp from Sheena Douglass.  i totally love her realistic but sketch style, and this particular stamp has become a favourite of mine to colour.

i stamped the lily on Ultra Smooth Premium White cardstock, using StazOn jet black ink, and coloured it up with my beloved pencils:

the sentiment comes from the Sentimentals Everyday "Imagine" set...  i cut a piece of a transparency and a little snip of paper from Cosmo Cricket's "Social Club" line, stuck on a few enamel dots, and i was happy with this one.  believe me, i was TEMPTED to add more patterned paper behind the transparency, or some ribbon or washi, but i decided that less was definitely more given the detail of the image.  the cardstock has a super shimmery pearlescent finish, so it's very feminine and elegant, but doesn't photograph worth beans (not to mention it looks more red than pink!)...  STILL!  i like it.  and i need more of these types of birthday cards for those who DON'T prefer the cute.

so there you have it!  i'll be back from CHA in a couple of days, but i hope you're all doing well and gettin' yer craft on and watching all the CHA action!  the internet absolutely blows up with the blog feeds from the show, and you can bet i've been drooling at some of the fab new product!  see you soon!  xo

linking up for the "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" issue at Paper Issues - show us your FLOWERS, or your toes, or whatever might fit the theme!  :)  

More Barkley sweetness from Crafter's Companion!

annnnnd didn't i tell you this little dude was one of my faves from Crafter's Companion?  well not only is Barkley adorbs, but he has a cute little kitty cat friend, and i couldn't help but fall in lurve with this set, from Barkley Everyday, called "Special Friend"...  check 'em out!

these two cuties are stamped on Ultra Smooth Premium White cardstock using StazOn jet black, then coloured up with my pencils...  the sentiment (and frame) comes from the Sentimentals Everyday "Imagine" set; "you & me" is stamped with StazOn timber brown and the frame with Delicata Golden Glitz (can't tell you how much i LOVE this ink - it's so juicy and shimmery and just utterly gorgeous!).  i added some Cosmo Cricket "Creative Girl" papers in behind, some enamel dots, triangle brads (brads - i know!), a few teensy pearls and a little ribbon for texture.

loving Barkley?  he and his friends are too stinkin' cute, and i see myself using them for LOTS of different occasions!

i'll have another Crafter's Companion project to share this time next week, but hey, if you're one of the lucky ones attending CHA, you might catch more glimpses of these cute critters at the Crafter's Companion or Spectrum Noir booths!  :) 

Happy New Year! Celebrating with BARKLEY at Crafter's Companion!

woo hoo!  and here we are, welcoming another year, and i'm feeling OPTIMISTIC about 2014!  let's celebrate with some super cute BARKLEY-ness, shall we?

this dude's one of my FAVE characters from Crafter's Companion, and i decided to make a card that reflects my big game plan for this year.  :)

meet Barkley! 

this is from the Barkley Everyday series - it's called "Let's Party" and i think that crown's just a bit too big for his little noggin.  :) 

he's colored with my pencils, and then i did some other fun stuff using Memento's Fireworks sprays (Summer Sky, Bahama Blue, Danube Blue) on watercolor paper - embossed with this Darice Chevron embossing folder.  little bit of doodling and popping things up, and VOILA!  FUN!

yep.  you know how people do that One Little Word thing for a year?  i think, even though i don't DO the One Little Word thing, i will just try to keep this little word at the FRONT of my mind and remember to have lots of FUN in 2014.  how's about you?