My First-Ever Blog Candy!

THIS BLOG CANDY IS NOW CLOSED.  Click HERE for the winner. :)

Okay all of you lovelies, I have finally gotten my act together and have put together a little package of crafty goodness as a great big thank you to all of my wonderful followers and visitors who give me encouragement each and every day!  I've won some lovely blog candy along the way, so it's high time I return the favor. ;)

So... to have a chance of winning, please leave a comment on this post.  Simple as that.  If you'd like a little prompt, I would love to hear about what your favorite crafting item is at the moment... a favorite stamp, a tool, paper line, chipboard, ink, mist, inspirational site... whatever - I'd love to know.  That's what it's all about - learning from each other. International entries are welcomed - I will ship anywhere.

Now, if you'd like to become a follower (or already are!), I will put your name in a second time. However, following is not necessary - you'll still get one chance at winning just for commenting.  Please leave *another* comment if you are already a follower or if you become a follower, so that I don't mess up the count, LOL!

And... if you'd like another chance.... give my blog candy a little mention on your own blog (sidebar is cool).  And of course, let me know, with a link, in another comment.  I am going to try that Random.org thingy, so I want a clear accounting of entries!

Please leave your comments on THIS post by midnight EST (USA) on October 27, 2010.  I will randomly pick a winner the following day.  Please be sure I have a way of contacting you . :)

So, what's in the package? Stamps, ribbons, ephemera... yummy stuff.  Some of it for fall and Christmas, some just general yum.  A listing:

*Santa Collage stamp by Rubber Stampede
*Angel Stamp (CI - 154) by Crafty Individuals
*The Little Paper Shop topiary set and truck single clear stamps
*Two teensy stamps by Serendipity (one image is of buttons, one is of a stack of postcards)
*Dear Santa and Damask stamps from Hampton Arts
*Rayon seam binding (over 20 yards!) in luscious colors for autumn and Christmas
*Alterable "stuff"... a 7Gypsies accordian kit, a teensy composition book, some library pockets and cards, some tags in little bags
*Vintage paper ephemera - pages from French and German readers, poetry, study questions, storybook pages, and a three-page spread from a vintage German atlas
*A little assortment of inspirational crafty goodies that I am compiling as I go... fave stuff, like buttons, shimmery tulle and frosty fuzzy trim, some posies, little bits of fabric and vintage trim - you get the idea :)

Here are some close-ups.  I hope there's something you like.  Good luck! :)

Little Paper Shop Masculine Birthday

A little birthday card for my hubby. His birthday request was for cymbals to go with our Rockband drum set, so that inspired me to go with the "Rock Star" stamp set from The Little Paper Shop (the guitar, the U Rock sentiment, and the little border of notes). I stamped a music score in the background (Stampendous) and added a little badness with a skull from Inkadinkado. I then distressed the entire image and colored it with Copics. I stamped the guitar again on the card background. All patterned papers are from My Mind's Eye, and the inks are from Stampin' Up! (Riding Hood Red), Colorbox, and Ranger Distress.
Hope you have a wonderful, musical Saturday! :)

Quick and Easy Big Boy Birthday Invites

These are the invitations I made for my son's 8th birthday party, which is being held at one of those places with giant inflatables to bounce in, and lots of big screen TVs with Wiis. Okay, I know what you're thinking.... why in the world would anyone do handmade cards for 8-year-old boys, who are very probably going to be the least appreciative recipients of anything artsy/scrappy? Well, I'll tell you my excuse(s)....1) the only invites available from the inflatables place were the kind you print out on a sheet of A2 paper (phfewie! these daggone things were u.g.l.y.!!) AND 2) they cost next to no time or money (no embellishments except for staples from a regular old desk stapler).

Anyway, the skateboarder image (and "Air") are from I Brake for Stamps, the guitar is from the Little Paper Shop, and the bingo numbers in the corner are from the Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous line at Michaels. A little stamping, a little ripping and tearing, a little distressing, and I was almost done. I computer-generated the "You're Invited" using a free font I found online (called S'Awesome), printed it out on regular letter paper, stapled it on, and DONE!! So it really won't matter that much that it goes into the trash almost immediately. As a card-maker, I just couldn't bear to send out a printed-out sheet of paper with ugly graphics... so I still have my pride :) Thanks for looking and have a great day!

SCS Featured Stamper Challenge

Sunday's Featured Stamper challenge over at SCS was to emulate Sandra, a.k.a. "B-gin-r". I chose this card from her gallery. The topiary image is from The Little Paper Shop. For her card, Sandra embossed her image in white, then applied distress inks to add color, with the embossing acting as a resist. I wanted to use chalks to add color (not sure why I had that idea....) Anyway, after much trial and much error, I learned that the best way to approach this design was to rub a few different colors of green chalk on a white panel, THEN stamp the image in VersaMark and emboss with white embossing powder. My other unsuccessful attempts were to emboss with clear and white embossing powder first, thinking that the embossing would act as a resist for the chalk. Not so, at least not in my hands!! Anyway, the rest is pretty simple. The patterned paper is by Anna Griffin, and the cardstock is SU's Soft Sky, Kiwi Kiss, and Always Artichoke. The sentiment is from Hero Arts. Bling and ribbon are from my stash. Really, this would have been a 10-minute card if I'd done it right the first time, LOL!! Ah well, live and learn. Have a great Monday, everyone!