Just a quick note...

Hello Everyone,
I just wanted to give a quick heads up... My crafting will be put on hold for a bit - much to my dismay. We had a flood in our basement which is where I have my craft space. Thank God, none of my cardstock, inks, stamps etc... were damaged, but everything needs to be packed away while they do the repairs. The good news is that we were going to redo the basement at some point anyway - so, this has moved that project up - new floors, new drywall, new paint - yay! So, I am hoping to be back in my craft haven by the end of September (they say two weeks, but in real life I am banking on a month).

Happy Stamping,
Meg

One More for Paper Smooches Sparks

Hello Everyone,
It is an "Anything Goes" challenge over at PS Sparks. I have one more entry (you can see my first entry here). I used the PS set "Just a Note" for the focal image and the PS set "Scripty Sayings" for the sentiment. This is a very CAS card.

I got the idea for this one from Lisa Adessa of "I'm In Haven" blog. She posted a while ago that she is a supply teacher and leaves a thank you card for the teachers she replaces. My first thought was, "They should be thanking you." As a teacher I know how invaluable it is to have a reliable supply teacher when you need to be away from the classroom. So, I decided to make this card to leave for my supply teachers when they replace me in the classroom. Especially since I teach grade 7/8, so I really am endebted to them for covering for me!

Thanks for stopping by - I love to hear your feedback!

Happy Stamping,
Meg

CASology 109: Java

Hello Everyone,
This week at CASology the cue card is "Java". Gotta admit that a morning is not complete without my cup o' java. As a matter of fact, every Sunday morning, I get up and meet my BFF for a long run and breakfast. We sit and chat and have cup after cup of coffee. So, she is the inspiration for this card. The image and sentiment are from the My Favourite Things set "Hot Stuff". I love this little set and although I don't pull it out all the time, it is perfect for this kind of card.

I coloured with Copics, but didn't have a flesh tone for her arms. So, I used my lightest shade of pink and then went over it with the colourless blender and it lifted just the right amount of colour.

 

Thanks for stopping by. I love to hear your feedback too. Don't forget to swing by the CASology blog to see all the fantastic entries there.

 

Happy Stamping,

Meg

 

Muse and Paper Smooches Sparks

Hello Everyone,
Today i am playing along with Muse and Paper Smooches Sparks. The Muse card this week is by the fantastic Marion Vagg. Here is the card she created for our inspiration:

I was inspired by the striped background with a white focal point. I decided to take a page out of the Stretch Your Stamps 2 lessons and use a non-traditional stamp to create my "striped" background. I have been a little obsessed with the Paper Smooches set "Just a Note" lately - I just can't get enough of it. Ihave been making all kinds of cards to keep at school with it. So, I chose the fat pencil image and coloured with Blue, Green and yellow. For the white focal point, I used a word bubble die (not sure what company it is from, and stamped the "Just a Note" sentiment in it. The sentiment is from the Paper Smooches set "Sentiment Sampler". I love this card - I will be mass-producing this one and keeping it in my desk drawer at school.

Hard to believe that it is back to school the week after next. Much as I enjoy my summers, I am keen to get back and meet my new batch of students! Thanks for stopping by - I love to hear your feedback!

Happy Stamping,
Meg

Time Out Challenge: Inspiration - Anita

Hello Everyone,
When I was checking in on My Paper Craft World (the blog of Anita in France), I saw that she is guest designer over at the Time Out Challenge. I never need any encouragement to take time out to craft! So, I decided to play along. I pretty much cased Anita's card with a couple of changes. I changed the orientation from portrait to landscape, embossed in gold instead of white and created the die cut shadow with a single shade. I am really pleased with the way this card turned out - thanks for the inspiration Anita!

Thanks for stopping by - love to hear your feedback!

Happy Stamping,
Meg

Last Day of Class at Stretch Your Stamps 2 :(

Hello Everyone,
I am sad to say that today is the last day of class over at Stretch Your Stamps 2. Today we were to play with the things we have been taught over the last two weeks. I cased one of Laura Bassen's cards - she encouraged us to use an unusual stamp to create a background. I used an embellishment stamp from the Avery Elle Rounded Diamonds set to create almost a direct CASE of the card Laura did.

I used Pale Tomato, Orange Soda, and Butter Bar inks ( all Hero Arts) and Ranger Archival balck for the sentiment. The sentiment is from Neat and Tangled's "Kindness Matters" set. Then I decided to look for a stamp that I wouldn't typically think of as a background builder. I pulled out Paper Smooches "Just a Note" and used the crayon to create the next card. The sentiment is from the PS set "Sentiment Sampler". I think it turned out okay.

I was thinking that I could make a bunch of these and keep them in my desk at school, so that when I have a bravo to report on one of my students, I can send home a little card instead of just sending an email.

Thanks for stopping by - I would love to hear your feedback!

Happy stamping,
Meg

Stretch Your Stamps 2 Day 10: CASEing Laurie Willison

Hello Everyone,
I have long loved Laurie Willison's very minimalist style. So, I was thrilled to see that she was a guest teacher today at SYS2. This card is pretty much a direct case of the cards she demo'd. Essentially you do some tone on tone stamping using a silhouette floral stamp; then on white cardstock, you create your won designer paper by stamping with the same colour and stamps. This paper is the panel out of which you die cut your sentiment. I really love the very simple look it creates.

I used Pale Tomato Hero Arts Shadow ink and dug out some old coloured cardstock to match. Here is my second card - not as direct a case - I added a little dash of Megness to it!

 

I am super pleased with the way these two turned out.

 

Thanks for stopping by - love to hear your feedback!

 

Happy Stamping,

Meg

Stretch Your Stamps 2 Day 9: Gettin' Squidgy and Scribbly!

Hello Everyone,
Dawn Wholeslagle of WPlus9 demo'd this technique yesterday and I have to admit that it scared me a bit. Then i was over at Shirley Bee's (please go to her blog immediately if you have not already been introduced to this stamping genius) and loved her description of it being squidgy stamping and then scribbling. That was all the encouragement I needed. I must admit that as my card was coming together I was trepidatious - I did not think I was doing a good job at all. Then all of a sudden it was done and I loved it. All the scribbles that had me going "Uhoh" just worked! If you haven't tried this technique, you really must. In particular I love the scribbly freehandedness of the background juxtaposed with the crisp bold sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by - I would love to hear what you think!

Happy Stamping,
Meg

Stretch Your Stamps 2: Ghost Stamping

Hello Everyone,
Over at SYS2 Yana Smakula demonstrated a ghost-stamping technique using some silhouette leafy stamps. It made me think of this gorgeous card I had seen over at Maureen Merritt's blog. This card uses white pigment ink to create a faux Bokeh effect. Dawn at WPlus9 had done a video at her blog. The technique demo'd today at SYS2 inspired me to case Maureen's card and this bokeh technique. Since this uses the Spring Blooms set from WPlus9 on which we are focusing in class, I thought i would uplaod it! My circle inking was a little splotchy, so I think I would prefer to use circle stamps - great excuse to get the circle set from SSS!

Thanks for stopping by - I love to hear your feedback.

Happy Stamping,
Meg

Stretch your Stamps 2: Day 9 Multi-colour inking

Hello Everyone,
Today over at SYS2 Jennifer McGuire demo'd a multi-layer inking technique to add shadows to stamps. So that is the technique I decided to try. Instead of stamping then re-inking in darler shade and wiping some of the ink off, I used a q-tip to add my shadows. I pretty much cased Jennifer's card. I didn't use a background stamp though. I also didn't add the "gilding" to the leaves. I am pleased with the way it turned out. This card uses WPlus9 "Spring Blooms" and Winnie and Walter's "Big, Bold, and You".

Happy Stamping.
Meg