Bella Carta

In the Pumpkin Patch ~ Friends with Flair Friday

Feauturing the Sept 09 KOTM (Kit of the Month).  The background is created using the "direct to paper" ink pad method (I used this method alos earlier this week). 

Two great tutorials demonstrating the "direct to paper" ink application method are available from Michelle Zindorf's blog:

Todays:   http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2009/08/25/direct-to-paper-branched-out-tutorial-252/

The mountain scene shown on tuesday:

http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2009/09/26/direct-to-paper-mountain-scene-tutorial-264/

 

 

bevy of butterflies {WANDER} for the last HHH!

Today is the very last ever Hip Hop Hangover! But Angela assures us that the next thing will be equally as great or better than hip hop AND Fridays will continue to be a day for to showcase customers!  How wonderful is that?  So, this isn't a day of sadness, its a day of celebration!   The new thing will be Friends with Flair Fridays!

This project was inspired by a project on the Club Scrap showcase, and it features the Unity Stamp Co. stamp set "Bevy of Butterflies" on Tim Holtz grunge paper (like grunge board, only lighter and flexible!) and distress inks.  I punched a few smaller butterflies to match, then doodled them with my pigment ink pen.   Its in a shadow box style frame from IKEA (this is RIBBA in 5.5 in x 5.5 in) and features a metal tag {wander} also from Tim Holtz, and I removed the glass from the frame. 

I sponged the inks on the grunge paper (inks in Dusty Concord, Broken China, Peeled Paint, Mustard Seed, Orange Marmalaid and Worn Lipstick) in a ROY G  BIV pattern, then stamped over it and cut out.  I found my Tim Holtz/Tonic scissors works great for cutting the grunge paper! 

 

ETA:  I was inspired to do another project using  butterfly's after reading this over the weekend on the  Craft Critique's blog about the Butterfly project for the Houston Holocaust Museum.   You can read more on the Butterfly Project here <----- click.

Be the change .... or just be! {HHH 6/26/09}

Two of my fav stamps .... don't forget to check out Unity's Garage Sale ... going on all weekend long!  

 Just Be is on sale!  Also .... for you Twi and Team Jacob fans, Unity's found a few of the "My Werewolf" stamps.

I was saddened to see Farah Fawcett has lost her battle with cancer.  While I am sure she has been relieved of her pain, we've lost an Angel! 

 

One Krafty Bird {HHH week of June 12, 2009}

Welcome to Friday! 

Its been a long week for me - but I did get a chance to "play" on thursday evening and made this card for Unity's Krafty challenge (use Kraft cardstock) in your creation.

The bird is cut from a coke zero can using the Big Shot and Sizzix steel ruled die.    If you've missed my previous posts on using soda cans with your steel ruled dies, here's the general instructions:

Wash the coke can out when done, allow to air dry. Use your rubber scissors (I love the non-stick serrated ones from Tim Holtz) but your SU rubber scissors work fine too.  Very carefully, use the tip of the scissors to punch a whole in the top of the can and the bottom of the can, use this as your starting to point to cut the can away from the top and bottom pieces.  Then, cut the cylindrical piece the long way so that you end up with a rectangular piece.  Then gently use that with your two clear cutting plates (one bottom, the die, the can, the clear plate) and run through the Big Shot.

Stamps used:  Distressed dots BG, Unity May 09 KOTM (sentiment was masked from the whole stamp).

Everything I needed to know ....

(this stamp just really reminded me of this!)  This features the Unity KOTM for April 09.   Happy Friday my friends!

ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN

All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school.

These are the things I learned:

• Share everything.
• Play fair.
• Don't hit people.
• Put things back where you found them.
• Clean up your own mess.
• Don't take things that aren't yours.
• Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
• Wash your hands before you eat.
• Flush.
• Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
• Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
• Take a nap every afternoon.
• When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
• Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
• Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
• And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.

And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

[Source: "ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN" by Robert Fulghum.  See his web site at http://www.robertfulghum.com/  ]

 

It ain't easy being green! {Unity HHH}

I am soooooooo excited to be back this week with a Friday Unity project!  My life has been expressly busy these past few weeks and I've missed a few Fridays, I've missed hanging out with the Unity peeps!

I didn't get to upload my challenge last night .... but here it is!  It features a stamp from the March KOTM heat embossed in white (I live in a humid climate, sometimes my ep gets a little clumpy ....) The cardstock base is Kraft, the image is heat embossed on Shimmery White that has been baby wipes/swiped with reinkers in Baja Blue, Kiwi Kiss and just a dab of Always Artichoke.  The sentiment is from the "Feel the Joy" stamp set and the paper (its delish, isn't it???) is from My Mind's Eye Laundry List.  {its sparkly!}.  A button and some ribbon adorn it.

Please mark the week of April 20th on your calendars .... I will be "Growing in Unity" all that week and will be featuring five fun filled days of Unity projects!   {That's next week!}  

You guessed it ... Unity's HHH (week of Feb. 13, 2009)

Its Friday and time for another installment of Hip Hop Hangover - Unity's "day after" event.  If you haven't checked out Unity recently - please check 'em out! Great sales today (this sale ends today 2/13/09) with a get a free stamp for every $10 ordered AND for every order over $25 - your choice of some special stamp sets for just $3 (including an alphabet - guess who ordered it???).

This week's hip hop was to use a "love" them and to create an item with "something that flies"  Hmmmmm.... that could be butterflies, birds or TIME! LOL.

First up ... I *never* use white as my card base, but this week I did for this card.  I used some chocolate dsp from the NEW SU Parisian Nights textured designer paper (check back a few posts if you missed my proclamation on how much I love this new paper!).  I also used some felt heart GARLAND.  I scooped this up at Joann's at an after christmas sale for like 90% off!  It was tree garland - crazy, right? All of the TTIC DT received some in their goodie pack! I paired it with the "Home is Where Your Story Begins" - mine is from the Kit of the Month - but I believe this is NOW available as a single if you missed out the kit (although the whole kit is for sale, too).   I used a little Crystal Effects (diamond glaze) it it wasn't quite dry when I photographed it, hence that goobery looking thing over the bird.

 

And next ... my favorite!   I was inspired to try this card from Melanie Muenchinger's blog - for this challenge.  I cut my card stock into a regular half sheet (8.5 x 5.5) and then trimmed the long edge down to 7 inches - so the piece becomes 7 in x 5.5. in  And then fold it.  The circle piece sticks over the top, but the whole thing fits in regular A2 sized envelope :-) (the SU Medium envies).  How cool is that!  I also used my Basic Grey magnets as Mel did, so the bird can be used as magnet.  

The cardstock is SU Close to Cocoa, the paper is from the NEW Parisian Nights DSP (its textured!).  I love that rich damask piece.  I even stamped the bird from the floral pattern in that pack and then cut it out.  The sentiment is from one of the Kit of the Months (KOTM). The ink pad I used was one of my favs... its a Marvy Heritage ink pad in Sepia.  The most fab thing about it - when you use your aqua painter they become watercolor-like.   There are three little dewdrops in the corner (although the middle one doesn't look it its there!).