Out at Sea

I have been having a blast with my QKR Stampede stamps. The stamps are exceptional quality and the more I peruse the website, the more creative possibilities I see. I must admit, I have put together quite a wish list. This is a card that I created with the stamp Out at Sea. Look at this cute little guy just paddling about in his little "boat", battling the waves! The waves were created using my Cuttlebug and the D'Vine Swirls embossing folder. For the waves, I used just two pieces of 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" card stock (one in each shade of blue). After embossing, I cut the first (front) piece, layered the second right behind it and cut, then did the same with the other halves of each piece of card stock. I popped every other set of "waves" using pop dots, sponged the sun and the clouds and tucked this little guy in there. I hope he stays afloat!

There will be more to show later.  Thanks for stopping by!

In the Rain

As you saw the other day, I received my QKR Stampede stamp images on Saturday, trimmed them, and they were ready to stamp. Since I kind of/sort of "featured" this little guy when showing my trimmed stamp images, I am going to show you a card I made with him. The stamps used for this card are In the Rain and Mama Said. As you can see, these images are perfect for coloring and I chose to watercolor him. I added crystal lacquer to the umbrella to give it some dimension and to give it a "wet from the rain" look.

I hope you enjoyed this first project featuring QKR Stampede stamps and will come back soon to see more. Thanks for stopping by!

QKR Stampede Stamps

All Design Team Members were to pick three or four stamps from the QKR Stampede catalog and, as of April 1, will be posting cards to their blogs as well as to the QKR blog.  My stamps arrived in the mail yesterday and can be seen below.

As you can see, they are unmounted red rubber stamps.  All I had to do was a little trimming . . .

. . . which took all of about five minutes (if that), and I am ready to stamp! I can either add EZMount static cling mounting foam to the stamps or merely put some double-sided tape on an acrylic block and stamp away. For now, I am using the double-sided tape on the acrylic block. Some sneak peeks will be coming . . .  Thanks for stopping by!

EXCITING NEWS!!!

I found out two days ago, and have held off posting until I knew it was official and announced by the company.  Since that announcement was made yesterday, I can officially announce that I applied for and have been accepted as a Design Team Member for QKR Stampede rubber stamps for an initial six (6) month stint. This was my first time applying for a design team and I am very thrilled to have been chosen. As you will see on the website, QKR Stampede stamps are "somewhat cute, somewhat quirky". Take some time to peruse through the many stamp images and sayings . . . I guarantee you won't be able to settle on just one!  I am really looking forward to working with this line of stamp images. As a Design Team Member, at least once a week, beginning April 1, I will be posting a project or creation made using stamp images from QKR Stampede. Since this is the first Design Team for this line of stamps, and things are being put in place even as I type this, I am sure there will be a lot to come in the next six months with blog hops, etc.  I will be sure to keep you posted, as well.  If you have a Facebook account, become a fan of QKR Stampede and receive immediate updates as to happenings, events, and new project postings. In the meantime, check out the blogs of the other Design Team Members and get ready for some fantastic projects in the coming months!

Laralee Ganske

Barb Best

Sarah K

Holly Brown

Jerusha Borden

Chris Dickinson

Jessica Stockmeyer

Ceal Pritchett

Jennifer Koss

Desiree Havenga

Jessie Ross

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Today, many people will be "wearing the green" and celebrating the Irish or their own Irish heritage. Some may celebrate by attending or participating in a St. Patrick's Day parade, drinking some green beer, or having a meal consisting of corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and soda bread (and a little more green beer).

St. Patrick, for whom the day is celebrated, taught pagans about the Holy Trinity through the use of the shamrock which, today, is the National Flower of Ireland. Legend also has it that St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland; to this day, there are no snakes in Ireland. To celebrate the day, I will be listening to a lot of good Irish music and doing some stamping. To get started, I have made this simple card in celebration of today.  This card uses stamps from the Pinch Proof set from Stampin' Up!  As always, thanks for stopping by!   Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!

Faux Aged Paper Challenge

A Technique Junkie turbo team member is hostessing Challenge Wednesday at the Design Junkies blog.  This week's challenge was to use the Faux Aged Paper technique from a 2004 issue of the Technique Junkie newsletter. The technique is accomplished by covering your card stock with lemon juice (I used lime juice; I think anything with a citric acid will accomplish the effect) and heating with your heat gun. The more heat you apply, the more concentrated and deeper the aging will be (this technique reminds me of a similar technique using Sweetened Condensed Milk). The card I created with this technique is shown below.  Stamps were from the Antique Autos set by Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by!

Virtual Stamp Night - Silver Medals

I am absolutely amazed! I received an email from Splitcoaststampers indicating that one of my gallery photos that was submitted for the Virtual Stamp Night (VSN) challenges was moved to another gallery. I was curious to see where it had been moved to since I was careful to upload it using the correct VSN keyword. There was a link to follow, so I clicked on the link and my card had been moved to the 2010 VSN Olympic Medal Winners category; that gallery can be seen here. A few minutes later I got another email with the same message for a different card I entered. Two of my cards won "silver" medals and are pictured below! There were prizes offered by Spellbinders. I do not yet know what the prize is or if it is only for "gold" medal winners, but just to have been chosen is quite an honor since this was my first participation in a VSN challenge event.  The stamps used for these cards were from the All Holidays, Mini Mates and Wild Rose stamp sets by Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by!

Virtual Stamp Night (Saturday)

Wow! That's about all I can say about the Splitcoaststampers Virtual Stamp Night (VSN) activities which can be found here. If you are looking for a challenge, this is the event to do--I can see get-togethers of stamping friends working on the challenges together. This was a great way to revisit techniques and try new techniques and folds, etc.  Overall, the challenges were not as limiting as I had expected, but each had its own set of rules and stipulations to follow. The event is very organized--from the shopping list to a spreadsheet so that you can keep track of the challenges and whether you have shared the project (if you choose to do so). The picture below shows the cards that were made for the challenges that posted on Saturday. All of the cards have been uploaded to my gallery, as well. Stamp images used were from Gina K Designs, Stampendous, and Stampin' Up! Thanks for stopping by!