Penguins & Hippos & Monkeys are Here!

Yep . . .those ever so cute penguins from Memory Box are back in stock!

And don't forget about the Summer Penguin Contest! You could win 50 cards and 50 envelopes in 50 colors!

The July Stamp of the Month from Great Impressions has also arrived!

AND . . . what do Peppermint Taffy, Mint Julep, and Pomegranate have in common? Nothing really . . . except that they are three of the 12 NEW Twinkling H2O colors! Yep . . .I've got them on order and they should be here any day now . . . .

Eeeeee!!

Another squeal of delight!

Guess what???

I just booked another Guest Teacher! Nicole from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps will be here July 28th!

Ooooooooooh just wait till you see what she's planning!

Stay tuned for more info . . . .

Still fixated . . .

. . . on those scalloped punches (and googly eyes). I just love the new stamps from Gina K. that border the punches. They make great background stamps, too . . .those samples will be posted soon.

For the Crabby Dancer card, I stamped the crab using VersaFine Onyx Black onto Classic Red Prism cardstock and punched him out with my Mega Scalloped Circle. Next, I stamped the Dots using Rocket Red Brilliance ink on white stock. Then used my Giga Scalloped circle punch. The dots stamp is from the Large Circle set. Attached the crab to the white circle and mounted it on the card. Added the ribbon and, of course, the googly eyes.

All stamps by Gina K. Designs. Patterned paper by Kaliedoscope.

The Pelican card was just as fast and easy as the crab card. First, I stamped the pelican using VersaFine. Then colored with Prismacolor Pencils. Used the Mega Scalloped Square punch. Adhered that to a piece of Intense Teal cardstock from Prism. I tore the bottom edge of the teal cardstock before wrapping the string around. The string was from a manilla tag. Used foam tape to adhere to the card. Stamped the sentiment using Turquoise Gem VersaMagic ink.

All stamps by Gina K. Designs. Patterned paper is Seaside Dizzy Dots from Lasting Impressions.

Finally, for the Bee Daisy card, I stamped the Medium Circle Doodle using VersaFine Vintage Sepia. Stamped the Bee inside the frame and colored with PrismaColor pencils. Then, I used the Super Jumbo Circle punch. I stamped the frame too close to the edge, so part of the stamped frame was cut off when I punched out the circle. Bummer!

Instead of starting over, I just kept going. I stamped the Scalloped Doodle Frame on Classic Red stock from Prism and used the Mega Scalloped Circle punch. When I layered the bee on the scalloped circle, it didn't look quite right with the frame being cut off. . .so for a quick fix, I hacked off one side of the circles and made it look like "I meant to do that."

For the sentiment, I punched out the Bookplate QuicKutz and then stamped "just for you." (If you're looking for QuicKutz, by the way, go here. Excellent prices and service!)

Then I layered, and layered and layered some more (thank you Julee for your great samples using lots of patterned paper! So inspiring!). Viola! A card. . . almost. Final touches include the tiniest bit of Yellow Stickles in the flower center, Clear Glaze Pen on the flower petals, and a little bit of Stardust Stickles on the Bee's wings. There . . .now it's a card.

Stamps by Stampendous (Bee), Cat's Pajamas (sentiment), and Gina K. (frames). Patterned paper by A2Z Essentials.

And about that Bee . . . couldn't resist it. I actually bought it at The Stampin' Post in Temecula. Turns out there are a bunch of bees (and monkeys!) . . . ***sigh*** I have them on order . . . just had to have them . . . .

Mark Those Calendars!

Date has been confirmed!

Nathalie Metivier from Magenta will be teaching TWO classes at the Cupboard!

When: Sat., Aug. 4, 2007

Class 1 - 10:00 - 12:00
Class 2 - 1:00 - 3:00

Registration will be available soon! I just have to confirm class descriptions, supply lists, etc . . .

Stay tuned for more details!

Seafood Surprise!

I just love this little guy!

First, I stamped the Large Oval Doodle Frame with Lime VersaColor. Then I stamped Seafood Surprise with Black Onyx VersaFine. Colored with Prismacolor pencils.

I did use a Colorless Blender on the Lobster . . .everytime I try to blend oranges and reds with color, it always ends up too dark. The Colorless Blender worked perfect for this.

Punched out Seafood Surprise with my Mega Oval. Punched out a Giga Scalloped Oval from Prism Cardstock and layered Seafood Surprise. Adhered the ribbon to the card, adhered the ovals, and stamped the sentiment. Final step was to add those Google Eyes, which I adhered with Mini Glue Dots.

All stamps by Gina K Designs. Patterned paper is Kaliedoscope. Finished card size is 4" x 4".

Happy Summer

For this card, I used the Scribble Garden clear set from Memory Box. I stamped the branch with Tea Leaves VersaMagic ink and the flowers with Pink Grapefruit VersaMagic. For the butterflies, I used Mango Madness VersaMagic and Black Onyx VersaFine.

I really like this set because it has the "solid" stamp (the butterfly wings) and the "outline" stamp (the butterfly body) . Since it's a clear set, lining up the stamps is easy-peasy! (Thanks Deb for that term!)

The butterfly trails were hand-doodled using a fine tip black marker. The sentiment is also by Memory Box. Patterned paper is by Sassafraslass. Finished card size is 5.5" x 4.25."

Scrap-o-Dex

Have you seen this thing?? It is soooooo cool! It's like a Rolodex . . .only the base, shown above, is more sturdy (and you can paint it, decoupage it, Alcohol ink it, cover it with fabric or paper, stamp it . . .) and the pages are made from chipboard. . . good chipboard. . . white on one side and gray on the other. Here's a sample of a decorated one:

And it comes packaged in a Gable Box! Sooooooo alterable! And refill pages are available, too. I think one of these goodies is going home with me today . . .

On to other goodies . . . the latest issue of RubberStamp Madness has arrived . . .filled with lots o' good articles . . .and fantastic artwork (of course!)

Okay . . .back to dusting the shelves . . .

Wait! You gotta see this . . .

Pretty Package All Tied with a Bow

Just look at this lovely bundle of cards and envelopes from Memory Box! There are 50 cards and 50 envelopes wrapped up in this prize package. . . .and you can WIN it!

Participate in the Summer Penguin Contest by submitting a card using one (or a combination) of the new Penguin Stamps from Memory Box. Click here for all the details.

Eeeek!

. . .that would be a squeal of delight!

I found more great goodies for you! Stay tuned . . .I'll be posting them soon!

Wax Resist Webisode . . .

. . .now playing on Craft TV Weekly!

Judi from Judikins is resisting her paper crafting projects . . . with wax! She protects photos and inked items with a little wax and then she gets creative with some resist techniques for scrapbook pages and cards that look like batik. You won’t be able to resist this Webisode! Click here to watch it.

Oooh! Oooh! Oh MY!

***Updated***

Yep . . .got my order in . . .wanna pre-order yours? Click here.

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So . . . I was shopping around . . .and guess what?? There really IS a Giga Scalloped Rectangle punch . . .and Mega . . . and Hearts, too! AND, and, and . . . Super Jumbo (the blue punch) Scalloped Circle, Oval, Heart, Square, and Rectangle!

Oh yeah . . .I'll be ordering these for sure! Stay tuned . . . I'll be posting them on the site soon!

Oh Sheesh . . .

I was so happy to have my galleries back . . .and then . . .well, that's neither here nor there. Just a head's up . . . I am working on another "new" gallery . . .will post when it's all completed.

In the meantime, here's a little inspiration for those of you planning on participating in the Memory Box Summer Penguin Contest:

Want even more inspiration? Click here to see more ideas using the new penguin stamps by Memory Box.

***sigh***

yep . . .Mercury is definitely about to go into retrograde . . .more on that later. For now I'm just going to go play in my craft room . . .

Get Glittery!

Mixed media artist, Tammy Scott, will be at the Cupboard this Thursday to teach her Glitter Critters class! You're sure to go home quite decorated, along with a cute project and lots of ideas to incorporate the techniques you learn. Click here to register. (Hurry! Space is limited!)

July Stamp of the Month

Get ready for summer with these EVER so cute stamps! Here's a sneak peek of the July Board:

Remember: You'll receive 50% off the Stamp of the Month with ANY $25.00 purchase, plus a picture of the board and instructions to complete all six cards! Pre-order them today!

Psssst . . . .

.... those punches are back up on the site.

Silly Bears!

Just look at what Wilson and Simon are up to now!

Yep . . .Rosie's bears are back in stock . . .along with more of the other new images!

AND . . .Judikins goodies have arrived . . .EARLY! These are the products that will be used on Craft TV Weekly beginning Friday, June 15 . . .don't forget to watch this webisode . .. it's going to be sooooooo cool!

We Have Winners!

Congratulations to Julie, Patty E. and Julee! The correct answer for Blop Quiz #2 was "Bubba." Stay tuned for more Blop Quiz fun!

Blop Quiz #2

Who was cooling off in front of a fan because they were "Havin' a Heat Wave"?

The first three people to post a comment here on the Blog with the correct answer will receive 10% off their next on-line order.

Here's a hint: the answer is somewhere in a previous post on the Blog. . . maybe even in the Archives.

The fine print: This offer not valid on Class Fees and may not be combined with any other offer or coupon.

It Started With . . .

. . . the Card Concept I saw on Kim's Blog. Then I saw that she had a Card Concept Archive . . .so I poked around in there. . . and then I started "blurfing" (Blog Surfing -- thank you Julie for that term) . . . and was soooo inspired by Poetic Artistry . . .

I actually finished three cards! Yahoo!

The Strawberry Stamp and Sentiment are from Hero Arts ("S" ClearDesign set). The Wire Tap Background stamp (behind the strawberries) is from Art Declassified. Green Polka Dot paper is from Sassafraslass, Pink strip is from Prism (Razzleberry Light), Green Scalloped Circle was punched from Die Cuts with a View cardstock. The Card Concept Sketch is #3 in the Archives from Paper Squares.

Not sure if the picture shows it very well (photography is not my forte) but on the pink strip, I randomly stamped the strawberry with my Castaway Ink Pad and let it dry really well. Heated the cardstock with my heat tool so the color would "bleach" out. Then, I randomly stamped the berry again with VersaMark for a tone-on-tone look. I used PrismaColor pencils to color the strawberries.

For the "Time to Celebrate" card, I used the same Card Concept Sketch. All stamps are by Rosie's Roadshow. And I admit that I started becoming fixated on those scalloped circle punches! Card base is paper from Sassafraslass, Brown strip is from Prism (Suede Brown Dark -- one of my very favorite colors from them . . .at the moment.), Blue scalloped circle . . . I think it might be Bazzill . . .

Used my PrismaColor pencils again . . .and sponged the white circle and sentiment tag with Spiced Marmalade Distress ink.

The Ice Cream card was inspired by Poetic Artistry. I just loved the colors and patterns and layout she used to create her Birthday Bees card. . . .and it was hard for me at first not to use those same colors. . .they are just so bright and cheery! But alas, I wanted to have strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate ice cream so I chose a more pastel pallette.

The ice cream stamp and patterned paper are from Memory Box. I actually stamped the ice cream three times to get the three scoops. The strawberry and vanilla scoops are cut out. Of course, I colored with my PrismaColor pencils . . . love those things! Solid Pink paper . . . .um, it was in my Box o' Scraps . . .so I'm not sure what brand it is. Used those good old fashioned cloud scissors for the scallops.

Off to the craft room . . . I'm going to see if these projects were a fluke or if my creativity really came back from vacation . . .

Welcome Rain . . .

. . . Radiant Rain, that is!

Yep! All twelve shimmery colors of the NEW Radiant Rain Daubers from Luminarte have arrived!

Oooh . . .they are so pretty! I shook every bottle to see the colors mixed . . . and to make sure that there were ball bearings in the bottle for easy mixing. (Yes. . .my arm is sore).

I don't have pictures yet, but the colors are the same as the Twinkling H2O colors.

"I just gotta have that sparkly!" -- Jeremy from The Secret of Nimh

Card Concepts :: just a note

Here's a little card I created using the Card Concept posted on Paper Squares.




My creativity went on vacation without me so I've been stuck for weeks now. This sketch was the kickstart that I needed.

More Butterflies . . .

. . . and Pears. . .and Flowers! Here a few samples from Lockhart . . .don't forget about the Recipe Card Contest!