paper possibilities

happy birthday...

to my dad {yesterday} and to Jeaniebella/the chicken {today}! I have a card in the works for Jeanie, but my dad got a card from one of my other fav companies/artists...Anna Wight from Whippersnapper Designs. Have I told you that I have a small thing for barnyard animals, LOL!!  Now my family is not a Ford family, my dad worked for Cadillac, and walked to work every day. I love this image so much, I won't hold the Ford emblem against it! hehe  

This car is not pink, by the way. I was asked this by my friend...I was like, is that how it will come across on the computer!? I guess it is a different shade of red, isn't it...

This is colored with my prismacolor pencils and blended with gamsol. I didn't add glitter, but I used my Ranger Glossy Accents on the headlights and Ford emblem. This stuff is just so awesome, thick & crystal clear!

I think the paper is Cosmo Cricket? Maybe it was October Afternoon? I am gonna need to look for that scrap of paper...it drives me a little crazy when I don't remember.

Hope you are all having a fun weekend and see ya when I get back from  Toronto!! ...adios

go team bella...

Happy BellaRIFFIC {snowy?} friday!!!  wooHOO! Now normally I wouldn't be concerned about if it was falling white stuff from above, but this sister is making her way to Toronto at 11:30 or so today and I am hoping to miss the snow. Keep your fingers crossed for me! I have some major coloring to share & teach...

...now, as Mickey Mouse would say..."on with the show!" The Olympics have inspired the Babe's & our challenge was given to us, winter sports. Now, if ya didn't have something to use for this sporty theme, you could do a winter theme as well. I happened to have hockeymomabella. Was I lucky or what!  I have had her {mostly} colored for a couple weeks, but I needed to finish her up this week and I had no idea how she would turn out. I was working and mulling a layout over and then it just came to me, because I wanted to personalize her bag & jersey. Why not "team BELLA"? I bet you would be hard pressed to find a hockey mom as snazzy as this sistah.

I started by stamping out my bella on Bella's bestest paper and coloring with my prismacolor pencils. I had my paper, from Memory Box, picked out and ready to inspire me. I wanted "wintery" & brown...I LOVE how these two go together, don't you? Brown is the new color to go with anything! I added glitter, white dots {made with a white souffle pen} and I used my trusty .005 pen for the personalized name and #1 on the jersey.  What do ya think of my new font from Sizzix? It's called Wingo Zingo and these are fast becoming addictive to me. I found it at Archivers and just happened to have a 30% off coupon in my pocket! score...

Get on over to Emily's blog and see what has inspired the other Babe's and the sistahood gallery. There are always new names joining us in the fun, and there is no reason you can't as well!  :)

Well, I still need to make sure I am fully packed and my stuff is all gathered in one spot. Leaving for work at 6:30 a.m. could cause me to forget something, and I don't wanna have to come back to the house. See ya later peeps!!

remember duran duran's...

...hungry like the wolf, well that is me tonight sister! Yowza, I have not said anything on here, but I went back to Weight Watchers. Why did I fall off the wagon? I did so good the last time! But I'm saddled up and ready to roll, but if ya ever followed this program, then you count points & ya gotta eat your points. I think I have not been following that to a "T" and kinda been hungry this past week. Today I came home to cut Jim's hair and now do this{my post}, while I am eating...I am that hungry! lol oooh, and I love a cold glass of milk {skim of course} to go along with dinner. Somehow milk really does fill me up.

Since we are on the food subject, how about a card that actaully ties in pretty well! How did that work out?  Amplee 'tude is colored with copics and another image I colored in Lindabella's class in October.   Linda and I use Bella's bestest paper for our 'students', so that is what my 'tude girl is stamped on. I added all my finishing touches here at home,  glitter and clear glaze pen. The color surrounding my girl is done with pencils though, I would have a small hissy fit if after all my copic coloring, I messed up my outsides. I used some very summer paper for this, since it looks summery...I used my 6x6 pad of Lemonade from Basic Grey. {it is just yummy!} Now that purty bow there was compliments of some awesome ribbon I bought at Michael's last year. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they carry this again this year in the bridal area. For me, this bow could be in the bow makers Hall of Fame. haha, yeah, I am that pleased with it.

Now notice that yours truely did not put a sentiment on this and *whew* I am glad I didn't. I just got asked today for a card for someone who is getting a surprise care package from home..Girl Scout Cookies! How "sweet" did this work out!!  Hehe  ok peeps, I am outta here because the colorer never rests...my dad's birthday is coming up on saturday and I am working on that right now... peace out!

 

 

it's monday...

A while back I was linking up my post so that you could link to one of Stamping Bella's artists Christy Croll. She is the chica who draws the huggabuggs and now the newest lines she has are the Izzie & the mouse couple Eunice & Irving. While I was doing this, I saw that there were cards made using some images that I had not seen...how could this be?  

Sure enough, there was some digi images and I had to have them! This is the first one I colored and I gave it to friend at work who seemed a little quiet this week, and I though she could use a card and a flower. Happy Bugg is printed on Bella's bestest paper and colored with my prismacolor pencils and gamsol. {fyi, My printer is an Epson and I have no issues with smearing.} I used some paper from My Minds Eye, sent to me from a friend...{Hi Sylvia!!} and I used Martha's loopy punch on the bottom. The cupcake comes with black dots on the top, and I switched those "sprinkles" to white, using my liquid applique pen & some glitter.

Well, this sister is just about finished getting ready for her visit to Toronto..woohoo!!   Have a great day and keep on colorin'!

...here comes baby

Hope you are all having a sunny day! I am, except for the cold hands & feet...LOL Sun, yeah! warm..NO! Ok, with my lower half bundled in a blanket I am ready to show you two versions of the Stamping Bella's KETTO clothesline, that I did for this week. We have a "daddy in re-training" at Flushmate, and then I made a card for a little boy baby shower. But first, here's Bryan our expectant father!

Bryan and his wife Mylie (sp) have two boys (14 &10) already and a little girl should arrive within a month. Obviously, we figured that Bryan was lacking in the "PINK" dept, and needed a little surprise on wednesday morning. He had no idea. Bryan works in the lab, and it's been called the 'fish bowl' since it has windows all around except for one very short wall.  

Three of us only managed very little pink decorating, because time was short, but I had dreams of how I would have done it, had we had the time. EVERYTHING would have been wrapped in pink, including the desk! haha  My peeps, Dana and Jessica started on the inside, while I prettied up the outside window, which is on the shop floor.

It was a princess's dream come true!

The pink sign I hung outside on the floor said "Daddy re-training in Progress". I told Bryan to make sure that went home with him in case he needs a beer and his better-half gives him a hard time.  :)   He will need something in another 14 years when he is shooing the boys away from his house. Can't wait to meet Elizabeth Rose when she makes her debut. Bryan left with lots of sweet baby girl clothes, a crocheted blanket and a couple of bouncy seats.

 

 

Here's the card I made using the KETTO clothesline and the Baby Lingerie. I could not get enough pink on here, LOL   I also decided that I didn't want any patterned paper either. Pink/brown and glitter.

 

 

 

 

Then, I stamped this out at the same time because I had to pull out my stamp-a-ma-jig...and made a boy card. It KILLED me to put this in a clear envelope  

and flatten that bow out a little. Now, as with everything I do..the more I do it and it changes, the better I like it. And this was only the very next day! On the boy card...do you see how I added the halo of color around the little black dots in the flower areas? I wanted some colorful flowers, but it was too sparse with just the few I actually colored, so I made little colorful puffs. I got the little bunches of color I wanted and I love the effect! I teach this in class for huggabugg antennae and Christmas lights, candles...gives a nice glow.

Well, I hope you are inspired to pull out that clothesline and give it some lovin'. I am gonna wash mine up and make some more... Plus, I need to get my dad's birthday card made and my card for BellaRIFFIC friday... don't forget! It's winter/winter sports themed. see ya soon, love, paula  :)

pink & orange & aqua, oh my...

...ohhh, it feels like these yummy colors are getting me to think about spring! YEAH!! Did you give the newest BellaRIFFIC challenge a try? I didn't have anything that jumped out of my patterned paper stash, that screamed "girly ballerina", so I used a small border of some Basic Grey 'sugar rush' around my Avery lollipop. Is that cheatin'? haha I have been wanting to color up another one of Lori Boyd's Lollipop's, from Stamping Bella, and this was looking at me from my desk. Anytime you see a tu-tu, you automatically think pink, right? I do!

I stamped Avery out on Bella's bestest paper and colored with my prismacolor pencils and blended with gamsol. I cut my oval with a nestie and then used my Making Memories slot punch, so I could slide my ribbon behind my image. I also used a faux button, from Bella's scrappy line of stamps, and a sentiment that kinda ties it all together. {like a pretty little package!}And, let us not forget that every ballerina needs some glitter on her tu-tu.

Check out how many sistah's played along with this weeks challenge at Bella's blog, but lets get thinking on next weeks challenge, shall we? With the Olympics still in the air, as well as a chill, you are challenged to do a winter or sport card. You could always get a jump on a...shall I whisper it... Christmas card! I am excited to see how we all interpret this, LOL I even have my image picked out and paper...  Put your thinking caps on peeps and bundle up...it's a "wintery" challenge upon you!

see ya soon!

rollerskating is not an olympic sport...

What is the matter with me...I am enjoying the heck out of the Winter Olympics! No, I am nota skating fan though...the routines are just too long for me, and Sunday night I was watching the SHORT program! LOL I do enjoy rating those costumes though, I think the Ukrainian couple must have been drugged to put their shocking blue jumpsuits on.  So, that I find entertaining, and I mean no offense to any skating fans...I do know it is a favorite event. {and I would be in the minority} Any ways, it's fun to watch but I don't have cable in my 'room' so I have to pull stuff into the living room to work on. Is there like still 2 weeks of this?

This sistah will not neglect her crafting projects because there are way too many uncolored images in my pile. Here's a KETTO I have not colored until now {shame on me}and do you see why I had to use this Sassafraslass paper! Rollanda is a perfect match and she rolled into my heart when the KETTO's came out. {do I have them all yet? I gotta check!} 

I just wanted some fun colors that come inspired from the shades in the paper. There is a lot of visual texture goin' on here. haha

At one time I know that I mentioned that I would prefer to leave my cards without a sentiment on the front. Lately I have been trying to include some, heck I do keep adding them onto to my orders! But, I don't care for the harshness of the screaming black bold lines...so I have been stamping off once, then using the second stamping. I like this look better and that is why you might notice this sentiment looking a little washed out. I added some black dots with my black glaze pen, to match the dots on the tips of Rollanda's hair.

Everything else about my card is the regular supplies. Bella's bestest paper {check!} Prismacolor pencils {check!} gamsol {check!} nesties {check!} card for the new BellaRIFFIC friday challenge {check!} Wait...did I say that? Yes, there is a new color challenge my friends. pink/orange/aqua {someone was thinking spring!}

I know the Bella is vacationing with her family, but I think we should still keep her busy. Submit your card with the challenge date in the title, so da Bella doesn't miss it. Forward your JPeg image to emily@stampingbella.com.  Then be prepared to see your name in lights... I mean, on the Bella's blog! haha   Enjoy your day peeps for February 2010 is more than half over!!

 

house mouse bunnies...

I'm back!  I have celebrating Valentine's Day with a slight headache and I thought maybe if I create something it'll go away. {with the help of advil too} So far no luck, a nap might be the ticket though!    :)

I have had this House Mouse stamp for a long time..notice they are the bunnies though.. I wanted something I hadn't colored in a while and I wanted to use this gorjuss paper up. I paired this with one of Stamping Bella's definition blocks, together. Do we not have a 'family' one?? I'll have to talk to Emily about that! haha I noticed I was missing a couple that were out of stock when I bought mine. Gotta make that list for when I am back there in a couple weeks, I never remember what I have. I have used my last frame that I found on clearance at Target and I love the way this came out. It is all colored with my prismacolor pencils and blended with gamsol, stamped on Bella's bestest cream paper. It may get personalized at the top, but I need to see if Jessica, mommy to Sydnee would like to have it.

Jim and Jordan went to see Avatar, Jim still had not seen it yet, Jordan is going for round 4. I loved it but notsitting there for 3 hours again. While the house is still quiet, except for the hum of the dryer, I think I should close my eyes.

Enjoy your day!

a few recent questions...

...a few questions answered. Happy Sunday, from a girl who stayed up until almost until midnight watching the Olympics. Things I would NEVER do intrigue me...flying down moguls and having to do flips & skating almost sideways while flying around the short track. {Apollo Ohno is nice to look at too...lol} But, back to answering questions on my hobby, because sports really isn't one of them! 

1. No Video, no online classes. Sorry guys, but I just don't have the time. I get emails and questions on this every week, and were I retired it would be possible. I actually went onto the My Creative Classroom site, just to look around...but I didn't stay long because I could tell it was too time consuming for me. I also went on to YouTube and looked for video on prismacolor technique and they do have many to watch. I have sent a few email inquiries to Elzybells website too. Elizabeth did an awesome two day picture tutorial and I could not have done anything more! I was impressed and I emailed her recently to see if she minded me adding it to my sidebar. It's HERE & day 2 HERE to look at now and will be added soon to my blog for a more permanent home.

2. Stumps. I don't order my stumps online, I pick them up at Hobby Lobby, or a local place in Michigan called Du-ALL. Du-All has wonderful service and you can talk to someone if you have questions on the stumps. I like dealing with people who have an interest in what they are selling and know the product. They carry all the Prismacolor pencils and Copics and I hear the online ordering was fast.  I did buy some super skinny and jumbo stumps there and they were the coveted 'beige' color from Taiwan.

3. Stump care. This is something that is usually a mystery to some ladies in class....and it's important! haha When you get your stumps they arrive in a nice point and that is how you need to maintain them. If you let too much color built up on them they get waxy and don't want to blend the color like they should. I am talking like, if you are doing a large area in red/green, and that color just isn't moving around and looking smooth...check that tip. Clean some of the built up color with your sanding block, emery board or sandpaper. It takes time to keep the tips pointy, so if you let them get into a bullet shaped end, there will be lots of elbow grease and dust flying to get back to the point you need. Keeping your stumps in shape will allow you more control over where you are coloring and from going into other areas that have been colored. If your tip does get 'fuzzy' you will need to snip it off with a pair of scissors. The tiniest bit of another color that your tip could grab and you can end up with a muddy color you did not want. Reds are notorious for their softness and grabbing ahold of small fibers and ruining other colors.

4. Sponging and the nestibilities. I love this look! I use it a LOT. When I use a nestie for my shading I always use chalk inks or pigment inks. I cut my image out with my nestie then lay it down on a piece of chipboard with the die back in place. You need to make sure your image is 'locked' into the grooves of the nestie so it won't slide around, but I still hold both when I start sponging. I use a wedge of sponge {Hobby Lobby or Stampin' up} and blend some color, starting from the outside and moving slowly towards my image...in small circles. ALWAYS, when applying your color to the sponge, dab it off on a piece of scrap paper first. If you dip into a very juicy ink pad and go right to the image, you might as well kiss it goodbye.

5. Shading closest to my image. This is done always with pencil and gamsol. I put some color down on the outside and blend out. I don't mask anything off, I just have to be carefull and not grab color from the colored image. Sometimes I do and I don't mind it, but I still have to watch out for reds!

'love me do' blog hop...

Welcome!! & Happy Valentine's Day!!

I hope you have enjoyed the hop and you only have two more Babe's after me and then you are DONE!! Wait, did you just pop onto my blog and not realize there was a hop?? If that's the case you can start from the beginning at Emily's blog...HERE. On with the show, shall we!

I am so happy to get to show off these adorable mice, called Eunice and Irving. Now, I am not a fan of having mice in my house unless they are of the stuffed or rubber variety, haha

These two are staying! I am soooo hoping that the talented artist Christy Croll has a few more mice up her sleeve... *wink*

I started by stamping these guys onto Bella's bestest paper, coloring with my prismacolor pencils and blending with gamsol. I used my nesties to mask the shape and sponged some wheat ink around the edge. I did coordinate my colors to match the Pink Paislee paper...I had been secretly dying to use this paper! The twill ribbon is from Martha, who else! and I wrote the little sentiment on myself.

I don't wanna keep you, so I am sending you off to my sistah Jeaniebella, who is the Spotted Chick... I only have one word of advice...get ready to drool because she is also a very talented chick!! See ya later and good luck! ...peace