Thoughts of NEW stamps...

Ahhhhhh, there's nothing like a terrific batch {or two!} of new stamps to make your creative dreams grow....

Mmmmmm hmmmmm! Ready for some fun!?! Check out WPLUS9's two new releases for July ~ Mehndi Medallions & Hooked On You! Both sets are LOADED with original images and super useful and fun sentiments, yet each set is uniquely styled... Brace yourself ~

I went pretty elegant with these gorgeous images from Mehndi Medallions! {Not a look I'm accustom too... hee hee} But sometimes you've got to let stamps have their way - and these are some seriously classy lil' numbers, so I just let them do their thing!

If you want to see some pretty AMAZING variety and use of Dawn's new stamps, visit her blog AND please check out how the other DT members have made their own unique creative magic with these darlings!

Maile
Kerrianne
Hannah
Heather
Savitri

And, if you haven't treated yourself to the past few days of Dawn's delightful collection of pre-release inspiration, I hope you'll give yourself some time to explore and delight in her vision and design expertise! She's not only one heck of a talented Graphic and Stamp Designer, Business Owner, Wife, MOM and sweet friend, but I'll always recall her as the gal who quietly won MANY challenges and befriended me with the kindest comments and truly artistic feedback and vocabulary, back when the blog world was NEW (to me!).... So, I've been a huge fan for a while! Additionally, through the Design Team experience, I'm getting to know some of the other gals, and in particular, the LOVELY and talented Kerrianne, who is ALSO a professional graphic designer AND she is the artist behind Hooked On You!!! Check out Kerrianne's blog~ she's got some prizes and super-terrific inspiration of her own, so I know you'll be glad you dropped by!

I'm so excited for Kerrianne and her very first stamp set! I hope you'll check back with me tomorrow as I "cast out" a lil' keeper I crafted with Hooked On You! {SOOOOO much fun!}

Thanks for stopping by!


Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
D/P - Basic Grey
Stamps - WPLUS9 design studio
Bling - Michael's
Ribbon - Recollections by Michael's
Faux Pearl dimensional material - Tulip

Post fair {#1!} mania...

and some CHALLENGE fun!

Wahooooooooooooo! Howdy friends! So delighted to be dipping a toe back into Blog-land after the vortex of FAIR {and I don't mean that in a "so-so" kind of way...} excitement...! Thanks for all of the fun comments on my previous post! Those projects turned out to be a lot of fun AND the produce.... produced some RIBBONS!!! {But more on that later!}

My kitchen table is full of decaying produce creatures, scrapbook pages, decorated shoes, paintings, fimo art, mail art, textile art, a Christmas ornament, stale cookies... and all sorts of artifacts to celebrate the summer season, including a healthy pile-o-ribbons... But, friends, today I gave myself a chance to play somewhere WITHOUT cotton candy, carnival rides or hot dogs on sticks... SCRAPLAND {aka. my playland!} and I got some challenge on!

FIRST of all... add some c-o-l-o-r!!!!!! {MMMmmmmm, babies!} This was certainly my CUP-o-color palette, offered by the lovely and talented gals from Play Date Cafe....

Might of guessed I'd run with these little gems... and head WEST.... WESTERN THAT IS!

Plus, multi-fun combo possibility with this super fun sketch from Card Patterns....!

Can a girl get a "YEE HAW" !?!?!?! I sure hope so! THESE two challenges and my LACK of paper-crafting withdraw equaled a whole lotta' happy paper-play time for this old mare!!!



And, just 'cause I'm a little {heat stroke!} giddy... Here's a picture of my sweet BABY girl and her proud potato RECOGNITION! Best of Show, babies! {She was pleased as a pickle... or a potato... uh, you get the idea!!!}

Yeah, her mom was, too. {Hee Hee!}



Thanks, so VERY much for stopping by and let me share my challenge THRILL for the day and even, brag on my sweet one {aren't we mother-types predictable!}....

Have a GREAT rest of your day!


Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
D/P - Cosmo Cricket
Stamps - Dawn Hauser for Penny Black & PSX
Cloud technique - ME!
Chipboard Stars - S/U!
Ribbon and Charm - S/U!
Border Punch - S/U!
Circle and Star punches - Marvy
Flocking Powder - Doodlebug

Eat your veggies!

Orrrrrr! Use them to make some ART!

We all know that fresh vegetables are critical to healthy living... But here at Rancho Durenberger, we believe in "healthy crafting!"

{Yikes! It's a herd of wild POTATO pigs!}

Quick! Get them back in the corral!

Phew! Our pet lamb, Cauliflower, is in her pen!

Her pasture is the greenest! No need to covet thy neighbors grass....

But don't go overboard, though... Grains and proteins are important, too. If you don't have
a well rounded diet, you could turn into Produce Sally... She's had a little... too MUCH ruffage! {hee hee}

It's fun to play with your food... AND, it's healthy!

In case you didn't guess what we're up to, the wee-gal and I were finishing up our PRODUCE ART entries for a local fair...! Today was the LAST step and our last day to deliver exhibits to the Sonoma Marin Fair - tomorrow we'll be regular old civilians, enjoying the fruits {& VEGGIES!} of our labor! Can't wait!

So, yeah, I'm a little paper-deprived, but I couldn't help but share these funny {and somewhat disturbing} creations with my craftiest friends! Hope you're finding some GOOD craft in EVERYTHING you do!

All Eyes On... RIBBON!

So, if you haven't acquainted yourself properly with Dawn Woleslagle and her amazing blog, I sincerely hope you will, soon! She's really on a groove these days, between her dynamic stamp line, super sense of design and color, and the overall fact that she's just a crazy-nice kind of soul, she is featuring a monthly post, showcasing one particular technique... This month she was responding to a fair amount of inquiry regarding her amazing way with ribbon... {And BELIEVE me, she is a magician of technique and engineering on the subject!!!} Anywhoo, when she shared with the design team the subject of this month's "All Eyes On" feature.... I gulped, real hard.

You see, I have never ventured into much "ribbon art", unless it was a sweet lil' bow. That's about all that's on my resume, regarding ribbon.

Oh, and I hoard it. {But you probably already knew THAT!}




Determined NOT to let Dawn down, I "googled" hand made ribbon flower tutorials... And basically clicked on the first post that sounded applicable. So, for a novice, ribbon flower maker, I was able to cough up, this:




(*Gasp!*) I can't believe I made that!

The tutorial I found was awesome! Several terrific pictures and super easy to follow instructions ~ please visit here if you've never made one of these because it was super fun and easy, and brace yourself.... You'll be seeing a LOT more of these from me! hee hee

Here's my card in it's entirety. I had a LOT of fun using a variety of Dawn's stamps from three different sets and Cosmo Cricket's new line, DeLovely.... {and, it truly is DELIGHTFUL!}



I'm so excited about how this all came together! I decided not to add my own tutorial because this gal, Sharon, did such an outstanding job and being the "ranch gal" that I am, I'm saving you the burden of having to see my un-manicured hands close up... Nevertheless, I have to add just a few recommendations, including the use of "Fabri-tac", if you've never tried the stuff - it's fantastic! I use it with 90% of my ribbon/fabric gluing needs ~ it dried FAST, and in most cases NEVER shows through the ribbon and really sticks! I used it to attach the pearl to the center of this lil' flower and also to secure the ribbon to the card stock base. The only note of caution I have about this product is that it can produce the most microscopic and spider-web like strings... You might not even notice them - UNTIL PHOTOGRAPHY! And while this might be a desired look, say for a Halloween card..., otherwise, not so good. Just use your best eyes at clean-up time. I can't WAIT to try this flower technique with ALL kinds of material - I'm so glad that Dawn gave me a little creative push! Hee Hee

Now, I urge you, GO OVER TO HER BLOG! And learn from her amazing and fun tutorial.... Drool, drool, drool! BUT WAIT, there's more! {Hee Hee} Dawn runs with some pretty amazing friends... Please check out what the rest of the DT "pack" has up their creative sleeves.... You'll be glad you did!

Maile
Savitri
Kerrianne
Heather
Hannah

AND right now, a special, limited time offer ~ for even MORE inspiration, check out what my cutie patootie friend, Dana, has done with "burnt edged fabric flower" technique! It's right up the "ribbon art" alley and she has multiple links to tutorial sites, plus her own, riveting explanation of her collection-o-materials and technique. So much coolness in flower craft!!!

Thanks for checking in with me! I'm DElighted that you did and I hope you have a DElovely Father's Day and rest of YOUR weekend!

Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
D/P - Cosmo Cricket
Stamps - WPLUS9 design studio
Ink - Stampin' Up!
Border Punches - Stampin' Up!
Ribbon - Recollections/Michael's
Self-Stick Pearls - Kaiser Craft
Paper Leaves - Hand cut, hand embossed, coated with Crystal Effects

Astonishing CAS!

Astonishing because it's from ME!




I've only been successful with clean and simple cards when... well, pretty much NEVER! Or, when there's some kind of, OUTSIDE circumstance.... {possibly pointing a proverbial gun to my head!}



"Outside" referring to, say, MY HUSBAND, giving me 15 minutes notice that he needs a card for an event.... In this case, he needed these { 8! to be exact... and don't forget sentiment and heartfelt gratitude from my 9 year old!} AND he needed them quick! For me and CAS, that's the ticket, I suppose! Anyway, I was rather pleased, to be honest - and completely surprised by the way they turned out. I liked the look of this ink on Kraft SO much, that I decided to take them OUTSIDE for a photo shoot!


I didn't LOVE this shot, except that Mr. Pee Wee {the Wonder horse} took immediate notice and came racing over for a closer look...




I THOUGHT I might get a cute shot of this guy investigating the card, but as soon as he realized this was not a carrot, he lost interest...





Anyway, it was worth a try.

Last month, my girl's school held a walk-a-thon to raise, extremely NEEDED, money. With the way things are, economically, in our area, I didn't feel entirely comfortable having the girl do much asking, this year. HUSBAND, however, wouldn't hear of her having an empty donation envelope... He was able to get some VERY kind benefactors to step right up, and then we got a bit more brave about talking to family... And, well, the kid earned a limo ride to a local pizza establishment...

Yup! LIMO!

Anywhoo, we got these bad boys inked and written in time for husband to attend an event where most of these kind folks would be assembled. Thank you cards DONE! (Check!) hee hee I truly wasn't planning to tackle this job until AFTER the girl child completed her fair entries, but, what's a mother to do? We got 'er done and I {me! myself... I!} made some CAS cards that I kind of like!

I know! Go buy your lotto tickets, quick! {The sky might be falling!}

Hey, now! Thanks for stopping by and humoring my over-share...{!}


Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Stampin' Up!
Ink - Stampin' Up!

I'm buzzin' with gratitude...

It's time for ANOTHER Color Cue challenge by Dawn Woleslagle, the masterful designer of WPLUS9 design studios, and the gal who beckons us... Stamp Away With Me...!

I get it. Now I really do. What a super clever blog title... I wonder if Dawn knew she was going to design such brilliant stamps when she started her blog...? Whether or not you are transported by the fantastic and appealing card design, she makes look so easy, or you are mesmerized by the images in her stamp collections, she's just a whole lot of fun! Take this swatch, for example...

Oh, it just feels like summer! {And it's about time!} Aren't these smashing!?! I immediately pulled out the {appropriate} ink, and just started playing with the darling images from Dawn's latest release, The Bird & The Bees. Once I created this sunny little scene, I knew this would lend itself to the use of sentiment inside...

*Speaking of appropriate!* Just a note on my interpretation of the color... When I first viewed this swatch without the color labels, I interpreted the "green" as Crushed Curry from S/U's current In-Color collection. After being DAZZLED by all of the gal's work on Dawn's blog, I can see that the color was interpreted a variety of ways... Sorry for any confusion.. DEFINITELY make sure you see how Dawn used the color... and don't HATE me because I see color on the computer screen and just JUMP in! {Doh!}

*Swoon!*

Aren't those bees + kraft.... {wait for it...} THE BEES KNESS! {Tee Hee!} Soooo many adorable images in this set!!! But, wait! Don't take my word for it! See what Dawn and the rest of her amazing design team have done with the exciting colors from Color Cue #5 and more, more, more of Dawn's stamps....

Dawn
Kerrianne
Savitri
Maile
Hannah
Heather


I sure hope you'll grab some color and play along with the latest Color Cue!
I can't wait to see what YOU do! Giddyap, friends!
Stamp away with ALL of us!

Thanks for taking a peek! I can't wait to return the favor!


Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - WPLUS9 design studio
Ink - Staz On & Stampin' Up!
Stickles - Ranger/Tim Holtz
Embossing Folder - Cuttlebug
Die Cut Letters - Sizzix/Stampin' Up!
Ribbon - Recollections by Michael's

Whazzzzup, DOG?

I'll tell you whazzup....

COLOR! Good color challenge, fantastic sponsor and some wonderful composition inspiration.... WOOF, WOOF! {?}



For weeks I've been trying to make a "date" with myself to get back over to the ever-fun and coffee inspired, Play Date Cafe! And, FINALLY, I'm sitting here, having been all challenged by their delightful colors... Actually, I grabbed some inspiration... uh, from a lot of places...

First let's start with the color!




Now the card!


But, for fun, let's back it up to where I had NO idea how to handle these colors.... {You must be at the edge of your seat.... hee hee *note the sarcasm!*} First, there's color, of course.... BUT, then, there's the gorgeous, hilarious and super talented Courtney Baker, who is sponsoring this week's challenge!!! {Treat yourself to a gander at her super-fabulous blog!} Although I have a VERY long wish list of her fantastic stamps that I'm dying to own, I sadly only have ONE at this time. Inspiration, #2 - "Look Up!" stamps!

But then, looking around my scrap room for some good ju-ju... I spied THIS funny card that my cute nephew sent a while back...

Soooooo, bare with me... You might not be familiar with my smallish dog, Oatmeal...

{I needed the girl to help capture ultimate cuteness...} Anywhoo, this wee-lad is a Chihuahua & Boston Terrier, but I thought of him after viewing that silly card, and THIS scene that took place this morning...



Much to Oatmeal's fury, Auntie Cow walked right up to the back door of Scrapland! He barked and fussed and let her know that she is NOT welcome... {Although, I get no end of enjoyment out of a scene like this... That's just how I roll...} Due to lack of grass and the unkind welcome, she eventually strolled away....



So, THAT was fun {for me}... And upon my desk was some very small, very cute new stamps from Basic Grey... and this one dog LOOKED AT ME! His expression, a sky full of CLOUDS {ala WPLUS9, Birds and Bees...} and HOT AIR BALLOONS... and that funny sentiment...

AND this awesome new sketch from Card Patterns!
WHAT luck! Inspiration fireworks all around!

This was the final push I needed to marry all of this fun influence into one silly little card!

Inspiration is all around.. we just hope it jumps out and barks at us, when we need it the most!

Ruff! Ruff!

Have a great day!

Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
Ink - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Practicing Creativity {Balloons & "up"}/WPLUS9 {Clouds}/ Basic Grey {Dog}
Embossing Powder & Craft Ink - Stampin' Up!
Embossing Folder - Tim Holtz & Sizzix
Die Cut Oval and Scallops - Sizzix
Die Cut Letters - Sizzix
Scallop Punch - Stampin' Up!
Water Color Wonder Crayons (WHITE) - Stampin' Up!
Stickles - Tim Holtz/ Ranger

More CLOUDY fun with WPLUS 9...

and the Just Us Girls Challenge!

Feeling all "Farm Fresh" and sassy, I HAD to let the livestock out of the pen today!

Hold on to your chicken feed, I'm in love with... another!

FARM FRESH, rocks! October Afternoon {*sigh!*} and their delightful, down-home papers and play things....! Yee Haw! Yet ANOTHER reason to pull out the CLOUD image from the Birds & Bees Collection from my darling design rock-star, Dawn/WPLUS 9 {NINE-thousand reasons to STAMP!}..... Let's say, expect CLOUDY, but cheerful, skies!

On another note, is it okay that I ADORE, both October Afternoon AND Cosmo Cricket? I don't want to speak ill of my morals, but it's hard to be completely loyal to ONE amazing paper company, when there are so MANY others, deserving of my love... So, how's THAT for over-sharing!?! Sorry, but in my last post, I went on and on about CC... now I'm back to OA... I hope we're all on the same page {Hah!} here - WE JUST LOVE OUR PAPER! That's the deal!

So, take this super-fun sketch from the Just Us Girls Challenge site...

And combine it with..., little old me..., letting go of one
of the finest pieces of printed paper in my collection...

Can I get a "YEE HAW?"

I can't HEAR you....




YEE HAW! And thank you, friends! First, for being friends... second, for bearing with me and my wacky posts... And always, oh, always, for your kind comments and generous sharing of your own, fine, fine creations! {*sob!* - I love ya guys!} Have a Farm FRESH kind of day!



Supplies -

C/S - Stampin Up!
D/P - October Afternoon
Stamps - WPLUS9design studio
Embossing powder - Stampin' Up!
Ink - Stampin' Up
Brads - Stampin' Up!

Happy Cows come from CALIFORNIA!!!

And... Cosmo Cricket!



Oh, just LOOK! What an incredibly darling illustration! This little gem is included in the "Elements" page of Cosmo Cricket's "Garden Variety" collection and I'm in LOVE! {Could you have guessed that, after considering my blog title? hee hee} Yeah, so, every time I purchase an Elements page, I try to tell myself I can do with only ONE. Ha ha! We all know they are double-sided, so c'mon! Well, needless to say, after I recently scored the entire collection pack of Garden Variety, I quickly REALIZED I couldn't live without MORE!!!!! More, more, MORE! Thank goodness I was able to secure at least 5 more Elements sheets, and now, it's okay to use... some.

Yeah, so I've been known to hoard a lil' bit of paper every now and then...

But regardless of my [*now*] handsome stash, parting with this image STILL doesn't come that easily.... Rest assured, I used it for a card that I was inspired to make for an incredible lady...





And, as I sat down to create this card, I realized I'd better shop for a little inspiration, too! So, off to CARD PATTERNS Challenge site I went! Once again, time has been extremely short and I have been Challenge-challenged...

I am DELIGHTED to have found this week's sketch and to be influenced by the powerful talents of the Card Patterns ladies!!! Yee Haw! {Thanks for making this project come together for me!}



I flipped that lil' baby and had me a FARM-THEMED card-craftin' party! Moooooooowweeee! I did, indeed! What a fun, festival of some of the MOST adorable and inspirational paper - EVER! I wish I could decorate my ENTIRE house in this line! I love it SO!

So, back to the lovely gal to whom I was inspired to thank... She's not a blog personality, but IRL, she's the generous soul who opens her home to our local 4Hers, at least once a month and then some! She also happens to be the AUNT of a fantastic blog {and REAL LIFE} friend, and she sets family graciousness and charm to new heights in my experience. I won't say too much more, because I have a feeling that she'd prefer her privacy... {Not like you will be driving up her driveway, any time soon... hee hee...} What I really want to express is that I am so impressed by the way she lives a life, in complete accordance with the guidelines of what makes 4H so impressive to me. Tomorrow night we'll be celebrating the end of the 4H year with a picnic and party at this gal's ranch, and I will be giving her this card along with some drippy sentiment, much like what you {might!hee hee} have just read... and THANKS for indulging me, if you did!



Anywhoo, not a lot of stamping went on here, but I do want to refer you to the FANTASTICALLY fun clouds from WPLUS9's latest HOT-HOT-DARLING, and HOT!!! release, The Birds and the Bees!!! It's very subtle, but I used the solid cloud form the B&B set behind the button "barn" image. {Dawn, you clever thing!} I'm so happy to have a cloud in that size, I can't even TELL you!!! Anway, loves, I'm off to complete some more goodness for our 4H party tomorrow night. Hope all is well in your neck-of-the-woods!

Have a great rest of your weekend!


Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
D/P - Cosmo Cricket; October Afternoon (background "script")
Stamps - S/U! - Sentiment; WPLUS9 design studio - Clouds
Ink - Stampin' Up!
Button - My stash!
Scallop and Circle Punches - Stampin' Up!

A little somethin'...

...about the Birds and the Bees!

Birds and Bees and Butterflies... DARLING expressions and sentiments abound! Oh, friends! Dawn has knocked it OUT of the park, this month! Have you seen the cuteness going on with her new release samples? If not, treat yourself to some super hot/ADORABLE images and creative inspiration galore ~ head by Stamp Away With Me! THEN, set fourth on an adventure for FUN card craft with Dawn's other Designers, including the newest members, Heather and Hannah, who are ALREADY super well known, paper craft rockstars... I'm on the edge of my seat with anticipation to see what they have in store for Dawn's new stamps!!!!

Meanwhile, I'm singing my HAPPY song! {Is this not the MOST adorable, wee-little chicky ~ EVER!?! Shhh, he's little! }

Oh, gosh... MORE ADORABLE CHARACTERS for me to place in a little SCENE! What's a girl to do? I want to hold this little fella'...! Have him, hold him, and whisper to his lil' softy-soft feathers... SO STINKIN' CUTE!!!! So, YOU know what I did...{?} I made him a little "place" of his own....

Complete with reflected images in a sweet lil' pond, and babies, I'm JUST getting warmed up!!! I've lost count of how many images and sentiments are included in this set, GO CHECK it out for yourself.... Dawn got way carried away, but WE'RE glad she did!!!!

I hope you'll treat yourself to see what the rest of the Design team did with these cuties.... Take a deep breath and ENJOY!!!!

Maile
Savitri
Kerrianne
Hannah
Heather

As always, I'm positively delighted that you dropped by my little creative spot! We are NEARLY across the finish line for the END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR! I can HARDLY believe it! I hope you all had a relaxing, but hopefully crafty and meaningful Memorial Day. I always LOVE to hear from you, and even better, I look forward to seeing what you've been busy with! Yipeeee!


Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
D/P - October Afternoon
Stamps - WPLUS9Design Studio
Ink - Stampin' Up! & Staz On
Border Punch - Martha Stewart Crafts
Thread - Gutterman