I recently purchased some super cute digi images from The Greeting Farm. I actually had this image in mind when I first saw the sketch. In retrospect, I probably should have scaled it down a tad. The little cuties are colored with Copics {of course} and the candy cane is covered in a Sakura clear glaze pen, so it's almost like it's embossed without all the hassle! Once I realized the dp I wanted to use was distressed or vintagey, I sponged around the edges.
Friday, October 30, 2009
SG8 ~ A Christmas Candy Cane
I recently purchased some super cute digi images from The Greeting Farm. I actually had this image in mind when I first saw the sketch. In retrospect, I probably should have scaled it down a tad. The little cuties are colored with Copics {of course} and the candy cane is covered in a Sakura clear glaze pen, so it's almost like it's embossed without all the hassle! Once I realized the dp I wanted to use was distressed or vintagey, I sponged around the edges.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
BHDH #8 First Bite ~
- Hello and welcome to another Wednesday in the Bombshell Stamps blog hop! Here's how it works: Start at any of the Design Team Member Blogs and take a peek at their Hump Day project. Leave them a comment and tell them what you think about it! Then follow the links to the other DT member blogs and leave them comments. The more comments you make, the more entries you will have to win a great prize from Bombshell Stamps at the end of the month! You could win: This week's Challenge is to make a coffin. Sounds a bit daunting, eh? The crafty queen Martha has made it rather easy! Hop on over to Martha's site, pick up the templates and join in the fun!
- I have to admit that this was a bit of a challenge for me. I had it all planned out in my head, things stamped out, dp that I *knew* had to be available {it wasn't, at least not at Michael's}, clothes that I cut up...all to only end up in the circular file! Back to the drawing board...I found some cute paper to line my Bombshell's coffin with - a nice textured pink paper. Assembled the template and set about coloring my vampire. She's just been bitten and turned and has now clawed her way out of her fresh grave - hence all the mud all over her blueish, dead body and nightie. Her nightie is pieced with a bit of satin and frayed at the edges - this girlie has been struggling!! I think she's also hiding something behind her back...perhaps her first kill. All that hard work makes a new vampire thirsty and any little thing will do! lol
- Angela ~ Terra ~ Kas ~ Miss Magoo ~ Sarah K ~ Glittery Katie ~ Gabby ~ Nicole ~ Kathi ~ and our guest Kellie
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Blog candy winner & Cards for Kiddos ~
#5 is: Scrapping Julie said... holy wow. check out this candy!!
thanks so much for visiting my blog today. i am so glad you did so i got a chance to check your blog out. very kewl. i see that you are from windsor co. my bestest friend in the whole world lives in windsor.
btw i am totally smitten with your blog candy! i so heart PTI. October 17, 2009 8:32 PM

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Scrapping Julie, please email me at critterlyss@hotmail.com with your address. I'll get your goodies off to you by either Thursday or Friday! We're expecting a BIG winter storm here, so I'm leaning toward the latter part of the week.
Switching gears on you here to a card drive. I really didn't want this post to go here, but I'm limited with where I'm posting from and what computer things are saved on. Anyhow, this story really touched my heart - #1 because of my own little guy and #2 because Eric's in a Superman shirt and Superman is my all time favorite superhero! So I just had to make him a SuperEric card! It was harder than I anticipated to write something inside. My heart just broke when I put myself in the mom's shoes. I just told him he is super and I hope he has a super birthday!

Also, here is a card I sent along for Kate. I just couldn't justify sending a card for one and not the other. I dug around in my stash and sent a cute card I had made (and photographed) a long time ago at a workshop.

Monday, October 26, 2009
‘Tis the Season of Wildflower Kids

Today is the day! Jen, owner and artist of Wildflower Kids, has released an adorable new digital stamp collection called 'Tis the Season. The little elves just bowled me over! Sadly, I only have one card to show you today b/c my little monster decided he wanted to be just like mommy and colored all over my sample sheet with a dark red marker!! Grrr...thanks, Zane! The good thing about digi stamps is that all I had to do was select the images I wanted and print them off - while I went and put him to bed! Ha!

One of the Merry Christmas sentiments is left open so you can color it...which is just what I did! I set up my page in Microsoft Word with the smallest available margins and inserted my file. Then I just right clicked to resize and put it just where I wanted it. A super simple way to add some life and color to the inside of your card!


SUPPLIES~
STAMPS: Wildflower Kids 'Tis the Season
INK: HP printer ink
PAPER: PTI Aqua Mist, Pure Poppy & SS White; SU Garden Green; Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly
OTHER: Sakura Clear Star & Gold pens; PTI Raspberry Fizz saddle stitch ribbon; white flock; Copics: RV14, R29, R59, G21, G28, Y21, Y26, E55, E00, E02, R20, BG10, BG13
These adorable stamps are only available through Tonya's store, Stamp Happens. What are you waiting for?? Go there now and get yourself some great deals and fun stamps! Before you go though, make sure to stop by these other ladies amazing blogs to see the samples they've readied for you today:
Senior Stamp Sistahs:
Tonya ~ Julie ~ Jen ~ Beth
Stamp Sistahs:
Deb ~ Donna ~ Gayle ~ Jacquie ~ Leigh Ann ~ Sarabeth ~ Stephanie
Friday, October 23, 2009
Pumpkin Bread Pickle

Where, you ask, can you get this amazing image? Why, at Stamp Happens, of course! It is part of the Autumn Splendor collection of digi images from Wildflower Kids. Please bop around to the other Stamp Sistahs blogs {links in my sidebar} as we've all been showing off these wonderful new stamps from both Wildflower Kids and StampInsanity Stamps.
While this is an autumn image, pumpkin bread is so easy to make {if you have the right ingredients, that is!} that these would make for lovely neighborhood Christmas gifts or teacher gifts! Hope it sparks something for you!! Have an incredible weekend! I've got a sick kiddo, so I don't know how much fun or how productive my weekend will be :o) lyss

SUPPLIES~
STAMPS: Wildflower Kids digi Pumpkins
INK: HP printer ink
PAPER: PTI SS White; SU Really Rust & DP Autumn Vines (maybe???)
OTHER: Spellbinders Labels 4; Fiskars metallic gel pens; Copics: YR04, YR07, YR12, Y21, YG91, YG95, G99, C1, C3, C5, BG10
A Card for Alison ~

Also, Katharina is having a blog candy for the new winter kit of Whiff of Joy stamps. Hop on over a pre-order your kit today!! Have a great day! ~lyss
SUPPLIES~
STAMPS: SU By Sea (retired); PTI Bitty Baby Blessings & Polka Dot Basics II
INK: SU Bashful Blue; VersaMark; PTI Enchanted Evening & Pure Poppy
PAPER: SU Bashful Blue; PTI Enchanted Evening, Kraft, Pure Poppy, SS White & DP Men of Life
OTHER: Twine; PTI Vintage button Pure Poppy; Spellbinders Tags Trio, Classic & Scallop Square Nestabilities; 1 3/8" Square punch
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
BHDH #7 "I Fall to Pieces" ~
Here are the deets on the challenge though: This week's challenge is to do some paper piecing. This challenge is perfect for those leftover scraps of DP that you just can't throw away. Now you can put them to good use! Instead of hoarding these precious pieces, stamp your favorite image directly onto the paper and cut it out. Voila! You have the perfect patterned paper to compliment your favorite Bombshell stamp.
October's Monthly Grab Bag Prize!!!

Here's how it works:
Start at any of the Design Team Member Blogs and take a peek at their Hump Day project. Leave them a comment and tell them what you think about it! Then follow the links to the other DT member blogs and leave them comments. The more comments you make, the more entries you will have to win a great prize from Bombshell Stamps at the end of the month!
I'm so excited to see what everyone comes up with!! -you never what's gonna be around the next blog corner! So stop by, add your comment, and then hop on over to the other Bombshell DT Member blogs, and don't forget to join us again next week!!!
Angela ~ Miss Magoo ~ Terra ~ Jacquie (Ms.October!) ~ Kas ~ Gabby ~ Glittery Katie ~ Sarah K
Monday, October 19, 2009
Spell Casting and all that Witchery -
Here's another card to set aside for the stash for hubby. It uses the little witch Morgan - I just love her! Sorry for the odd angle of the card - I was trying to show the dimension. I must tell you that fussy cutting around that little kitty and his tail is not something I plan on doing again! lol It's too bad it doesn't show up in the photo. I used the Bombshell Hump Day Challenge from last week to pull something out that you've been hoarding or just had to have and never use by using this dp again. This time it's the Rockabilly (maybe ??? now, I'm second guessing myself) paper pack from Stampin' Up! (retired).


Bop on over to the Stamp Happens store to get your exclusive Morgan's Spell set, designed by the fabulous Beth of StampInsanity stamps, today!! Have a good one!! :o) lyss

SUPPLIES~
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Sharing the Goods...

This post is now closed. A winner will be chosen later today! Thanks for all your wonderful comments! ~Alyssa
Yowza! I have blogged every day this week! That, to me, is insanity!! Guess I had lots to share {wink}. Speaking of sharing...
I was fortunate enough to win a ton of goodies from Dawn's fantabulous blog. I already had a couple of the button colors and one of the stamp sets. So, just for the fun of it, I am sharing those goodies ;o) Right now, the candy consists of:
~ Papertrey Ink Damask Designs stamp set
~ Papertrey Ink Vintage buttons in Dark Chocolate, Enchanted Evening, Orange Zest, Spring Moss and a few Sweet Blush (these are just some of the leftover from my own stash)
~ Some cute ribbons
~ 6x6 Memory Box papers in Aerial, Inspire & Sprout (1 page of each design) {just added}
~ 6x6 K&Company papers in Hannah (1 page of each design) {just added}
~ 6x6 DCWV La Creme Matstack (1 page of each design) {just added 10.26}
~ 6x6 Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly mini deck (1 page of each design) {just added 10.26}
~ Autumn Leaves Hand Drawn Alphabet clear stamps {just added 10.26}
As I find more stuff, it will get added to the loot. The rules are this: leave me a comment! Yep! It's that easy!! You may also become a follower but I don't want you to if you don't want to {I think that's silly}. You may share it on your blog, but you don't have to do that either - it keeps the numbers lower if you don't! LOL If your comment does not link to a blog, please make sure that you leave your email address in your comment so I have a way to contact you if you're the winner. This candy will remain open until Monday, 26 October. One last thing, this candy is open to all. I will ship anywhere on the planet Earth! Hope you are all having a spectacular weekend! :o) lyss
Friday, October 16, 2009
Inspired by Shakespeare

Straight from William Shakespeare's Macbeth: "Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. Fillet of a fenny snake, In the cauldron boil and bake; Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,— For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble."


SUPPLIES~
STAMPS: StampInsanity Morgan's Spell
INK: Memento Tuxedo Black & London Fog
PAPER: SU! Basic Black, Basic Grey & Green Galore
OTHER: Terrifically Tacky Tape; Celery Shimmerz; Labels 3 & Circle nestabilities; Martha Stewart drippy goo punch; My Timeless Templates Pack a Picnic small
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Sketch Girl 7 - Just for You
I used one of the images that I had colored up for the StampInsanity set Meet Henry & Morgan as the focal point. The graph paper is printed from the Robots in Disguise set by Julie Billingsley at Sweet Shoppe Designs.

For some reason, this portion of the image looked school bookish to me - maybe it's because of the graph paper. The last time I used that was in Calculus my senior year of high school! Anyhow, I chose some images for the background piece that were somewhat school-ish. Everything is matted on black for a simple punch. Hope you like it! Check out what the other Sketch Girls did with this sketch:
Annie {Leigh Ann} ~ Bonnie ~ Chris ~ Eve ~ Harriet ~ Jessica ~ Jennie ~ Julie ~ Katie ~ Randee ~ Sara ~ Tiffany ~ and our Guest Designer, Amber
Remember to use the keyword of SG7 if you play along with us this week. Have a superb day!! :o) lyss
SUPPLIES~
STAMPS: StampInsanity Meet Henry & Morgan; Inque Botique; Cornish Heritage Farms Kim Hughes Collection Ahoy Matey
INK: Memento Tuxedo Black; PTI Ocean Tides
PAPER: PTI Ocean Tides, Ripe Avocado & SS White;Robots in Disguise Digi pack
OTHER: Copics; Spellbinders small & large Classic Circle nestabilities
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Bombshell Hump Day Hop #6



Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Quick & Easy Gift
I decided to put her on a quick and easy gift. I left a white border around her as I trimmed her out, matted her on some green and trimmed a little border again...don't look too closely b/c it's not trimmed the best. lol
The wood frame is another $1 find at Michael's. I used a foam brush and some black acrylic paint - about 2 coats. After the paint dried, I applied some Starry Night Stickles, courtesy of Tonya at Stamp Happens, in a free handed flourish. I stamped Boo in white ink and covered it with Stardust Stickles. Ivy is mounted to the frame with Terrifically Tacky Tape. I love that tape! It's fun to make your own glitterfied background papers or when making something that you want to rest assured will remain intact for many years to come! By the way, these uber cute stamps are currently on sale! Make sure you go get a set - Ghoul Friends is out-of-this-world cute too!
The little cutie patootie in the picture is one of my best friend's daughter, Ryleigh. She'll be turning 5 this December, but it's such a great little chubby picture that I had to use it. I hope she likes it! Have a super great day!! :o) lyss
SUPPLIES~
INK: Memento Tuxedo Black; PTI Fresh Snow
PAPER: PTI SS White; SU! Green Galore; HP glossy photo
OTHER: Copics (sorry, I have a pic but can't find it); Stickles; wood frame; black acrylic paint and foam brush; Golden Wheat Shimmerz
Monday, October 12, 2009
Just Doodle it...

I covered a $1 notebook from Michael's by measuring the front and cutting a piece of Dark Chocolate cardstock about 1" longer on 3 sides. I lined the paper up with the binding and drew lines at each slot. The holes are punched with a Crop-a-dile and then snipped to create the opening. The binding slipped right in and I've got a recovered notebook for about $1.12. I just saved myself from buying a binding machine! You can't make a notebook for that kind of money! The background is stamped with various boyish stamps in VersaMark. I then stamped SKETCHES across the bottom but secretly wish {not such a secret anymore, eh?} I would've left that off. Here's another idea for a more girly type of journal. I had this finished before the release, but didn't post it because a couple of the other Stamp Sistahs had the same vision. Now I figure, why not? I didn't put this on a journal, but you get the idea. Just a couple of punches and Voila! a new covered journal!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Mojo Madness 107 & a stamping related injury

I'll have to come back and edit how to's and what not later. I just want to get this card posted in time for Mojo Monday 107 and the Moxie Fab Gradient Challenge ~lyss
K...I'm back. I have been creating like a fool this weekend - much to my husband's chagrin, I'm afraid. However, I had a goal of projects to reach and then found some challenges that I wanted to complete! Back again...had to put the kiddo to bed.
I love this set from Verve stamps - Because of You. Not only does it contain some incredible sentiments for amazing people in your life, but it also contains some killer floral images. The flowers on the outer edges of my focal piece are the main image that drew me to this set. They totally look like Dr. Seuss flowers...or maybe it's that I've been reading too many Dr. Seuss books before the Zaniac's bedtime! I cut out a classic circle nestabilitie and left the die on while sponging So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie and Really Rust inks {I tried the whole brayer thing and that didn't work so well with the die still on the image}. I then stamped the two floral images in Memento Tuxedo black - I did this after the sponging because it left a much stronger black color. Trust me, I tried this about 5 times to get the look I wanted and only ended up with one card! I then sponged the black around the base of the image. I ran the image through the Cuttlebug again to emboss the image. I then smooshed it into a VersaMark pad and embossed it about 5 times with Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE).

Hope you have a great evening! Please stop by tomorrow for a cool collaborative project with the StampInsanity set, Meet Henry & Morgan. My husband and I both had a hand in coloring this, and I am super happy with how it turned out! Night! :o) lyss
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Cheer Up!

Remember these awesome, deeply etched, red rubber stamps are only available at Tonya's store, Stamp Happens. She has some fun Halloween sales going on, so hurry up and go get yourself some great goodies and super cool stamps! Sorry for the short post. I'm trying to sneak this in before a meeting! Have a great day! :o) lyss
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
A Circular Color Challenge

Yowza! I have been a challenge maniac for the past week! I know I have DT stuff to finish; yet I can't get away from wanting to make Xmas cards and take part in some challenges too! You'll have to check back {hopefully} tomorrow for a fun little card made with the StampInsanity Stamps set Otherworldly Loves.
Have you seen the new online design publication Embellish? If not, you're missing out on a super blog with fun challenges and even the opportunity to be published! Check it out! Here is last weeks challenge that is open until Thursday, October 15th. I ran with the 'circle represents the world and the colors identify with the earth's natural elements, such as air, water, grass and ground.' I stamped a flourish from a Basic Grey Xmas stamp set, Winterland, on Aqua Mist cardstock in the new PTI Spring Moss ink. Let me just say that I think this ink has a bit of a learning curve on it. I was frustrated with the coverage, so I bopped onto the PTI forum and searched for threads about the new inks. Nichole responded to some unhappy users that you need to dab the ink pad on scratch paper about 6 times to condition the pad. This helped TONS!! Also, you only need a light touch for good coverage. If you press your stamp into the ink too firmly, you'll get excess ink around the edges of the stamp and a goopy image.
See my thought process was that the green on the blue would actually represent the Earth - you know...like the continents and stuff? Yes, I'm a nerd. The white hanger piece is cut and embossed with a long scallop rectangle, smooshed into the VersaMark pad and embossed with Iridescent Ice embossing powder...for the North Pole!! Ha! I then stamped the sentiment and embossed it in white embossing powder. I liked the color combo and wanted to experiment, so I reversed the colors. I thought they could be little Xmas ornaments with a picture of the kids inside. The backside is also stamped with the flourish images.

SUPPLIES~
STAMPS: Basic Grey Winterland (retired); Papertrey Ink Holiday Wishes
INK: VersaMark; Papertrey Ink Aqua Mist & Spring Moss
PAPER: Papertrey Ink Aqua Mist, Spring Moss & SS White
OTHER: SU! Iridescent Ice and White embossing powder; Crop-a-dile; PTI satin ribbon Aqua Mist; Spellbinders Classic Circle & Long Scallop Nestabilities
Monday, October 5, 2009
Viva la Mexico!
My inspiration photo is my arm. I recently had a Day of the Dead skull tattooed on my left arm.
I chose a black and white image from this site that shares some historical information on Las Dias de las Muertas. The image is by Jose Guadalupe Pasada and is entitled, La Calavera Catrina. A gorgeous image! However, I am so kickng myself for not getting any of the new Sugar Skull stamps from Bombshell yet! Wish that wallet was a bit fatter right about now ;o)
I printed it out in a 3x3 size and colored it with Copic markers and outlined with Golden Wheat Shimmerz. She's matted on black that is up on dimensionals and then matted on Plum Pudding, Aqua Mist, Regal Rose and black. The sentiment is handwritten with a Sakura black glaze pen - hence the slight clumpiness {grumble}.

Traveling to India...


I am a big baby when it comes to crazy bold colors...and gold! Gold is not my favorite - I've always been a silver girl; however, part of this challenge is to incorporate gold and rhinestones, sequins, etc. I pulled up saris on Google {don't you wish you had stock in that company as an up and comer??} and came up with these two inspiration pieces. Hello Raspberry Fizz and New Leaf! I actually tried the two together and just couldn't do it! The raised panel is embossed with gold embossing powder and matted on a piece of white with the exposed sides embossed with gold ep as well. The background is stamped with Raspberry Fizz and then dotted with a gold pen and accented with two sizes of pink rhinestones. The sentiment says 'Absolutely Fabulous' because all that glitter and gold could only go to a fabulous person! The Labels 4 Nestabilities are cut and embossed. On the black layer, I sponged a gold ink pad before the cutting and embossing to add a little something extra.

G'day, mate!

I chose to use a solid flower image from Verve Stamps. The dots kind of make it a busy card, so I kept the rest simple. A quick 'hello Friend' and this card is done. Now that it's finished, I love it! I kept the earthy tones due to the challenge and what I saw as traditional {read plant dye} colors. I'm thinking a fun set of these cards with bright color combos would be a great little gift! Hope you get a chance to play with these challenges! I have an India challenge card all done up too, but I do not like the photos I took this morning, so I'll have to take more and post again once I get home.
