Another teaser

From the Rare Image GARDEN sheet coming in January!

Shimmering Wildflowers

Sorry it's so hard to see the shimmer in the scan - it's all over!! LOL

STAMPS: I Brake For Stamps

INKS: Staz-On Jet Black, Versamark

SUPPLIES: Lyra watercolor crayons, Tim Holtz distressing tool, water mister, copper Twinkling H2O, copper Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist

TECHNIQUE: Technique Junkies Twinkling Watercolors

NOTES: almost impossible to see but the background was stamped with the same flower and Versamark, and then spritzed with glimmer spray and has a pinkish red shimmer ~ the cardfront is shimmer blush

Thanks for looking, and don't miss the blog candy on the previous post!

BLOG CANDY!

Didn't get any stamps for Christmas? ;o(

Here's your chance to own some! I ended up with duplicates of these See-D's sets when they went on clearance so I'm giving both away here on my blog.

All you have to do when commenting is click here or on the Rare Images Rubber Stamps link box on the top of the sidebar, which will bring you to the brand new RIRS blog, then just scroll down THAT sidebar to the counter and come back here and put the number in your comment line. Sounds complicated - very easy! and yes, it's a shameless ploy to make sure everyone gets to see the new blog :o)

Be sure and click on these photos for lots more detail. See-D's stamps have a sticky side that will cling to your acyrlic blocks. Just use a dense foam mat under your cs when stamping for a perfect impression.

To give you an idea of size, the dragonfly in the first set measures 2" across, and in the second set, the diamond border is 4 1/2" long.

Best of luck, and you have till Jan 2 to leave a comment, so check back on the 3rd!!!!

Christmas raks sent to me!!!

Love the blessing of opening the mailbox and seeing a stamping friend's name on an envelope addressed to me!! :o)

These beautiful Christmas cards arrived this past week and having thanked the senders privately and begging permission to post I wanted to share them with you...

From Evelyn, this wonderful card featuring a whimsical winter tree in shades of blue from teal to lavender with glittery accents - hard to see in the scan but just the perfect amount of bling in real life. The card is actually on pure white cs but my scanner likes to make it a grey tone when blue is involved ;o) I always forget to do square cards but this reminds me again what an elegant look they give, as all of Evelyn's work is.

From Manna, an image stamped all in blue and highlighted with shimmery color, then sponged in blue around the edges. I would not have thought of this and look how awesome the effect is! The white cs layer is textured lightly with a pattern and has a shimmer to the finish.

From Trudy, who knows my love of mechanical cards, a super-fun card featuring a removable waterfall atc! Hard to see in a scan but the images are colored with a shimmer ink, and the pull-down tab reads Snow Flakes LOL And I can't believe it but even tiny this is the smoothest-functioning waterfall piece I've ever seen (including my own! LOL ;o)

Thanks again to you fabulous women - I treasure each of you and am thrilled to own a piece of artwork made by your hands :o)

A little teaser...

...from the soon to be released Rare Image Rubber Stamps GARDEN sheet!

This also features a faux brick technique from one of the Technique Junkie newsletters, perfect for a garden wall with morning glory.

The full card along with more sample cards will be posted starting the middle of January on the brand-new Rare Image blog. In the meantime, you can click the link at the top of the sidebar to go see a bunch of sample cards from the PETS sheet!

An antique Christmas card

Here's a card featuring images from a quarter sheet of I Brake For Stamps Christmas stamps plus a single flourish stamp. The set contains matching baby hearts which I used to make a 3D paper chain on the inside of the card.

(click photos for more detail)

Card measures 5" x 6 1/2"

STAMPS: All - I Brake For Stamps

TECHNIQUES: Watercolor Distress and Burnt Edges from the Technique Junkies newsletters

INKS: Distress Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy and Walnut Stain, Staz-On Jet Black and Timber Brown

SUPPLIES: sheer brown ribbon, foam tape, Ranger Cut n' Dry pads, craft mat, vintage onion skin paper

NOTES: the flourish is second generation Brushed Corduroy ~ the heart is double foam tape pop-dotted in the center and single height on the edges ~ the onion skin was stamped with the brown Staz-On and the small heart repeatedly ~ the knotted ribbon is attached with a glue dot ~ to make the cardfront match I ran the Corduroy pad in from each edge direct to paper ~ to make the heart paper chain on the inside I stamped the hearts in a row so the edges were touching, cut out the row, folded the center on in half and secured the two end hearts to the inside of the card (I used thick masking style tape on the reverse to reinforce the area where the hearts are hinged together)

Hope you enjoyed this - I had fun putting it together :o)

Christmas haircut

Warning: non-stamping related post!

I splurge very little and I am the lowest maintenance girl, but one area I can't allow myself to budget is haircuts! I've got stick straight hair that can be hard to do much with and any little mistake in cutting shows. I've been seeing the same stylist for years and if she ever moves I might follow her LOL When I went in today (for my once a season cut) I was teetering with getting bangs and Allison told me she'd love to cut them, so here I am! I wasn't sure at first, but I've decided I'm happy :o)

I actually don't wear any make-up - internal intolerance to anything on my face - don't know if that's allergies or what, and totally unable to use any scented products on my person or in our home ;o( (sad face because I love scented candles so much...) so that darker eye area and ruddiness is part me but mostly bad lighting! LOL Sorry for the poor photo quality - and it looks like the mirror could use a little better cleaning next time LOL

More Freebie vintage photo images!

Here's some more fun stuff to incorporate into your paper crafts. Feel free to print these out and use these vintage images in any of your personal artwork.

this one's marked Aug 19 1937 on the reverse - go Google fishing quotes, print the best one out and you're all set for that sporting guy in your life's birthday card!

ah, what an awesome family! wish someone had recorded something about the particulars. At this point you'll need to make up your own story...

a boy and his wagon - this one has a little pen and ink notation on the back that reads Clair - 6 yrs.

ENJOY! :o)

Exciting News!!

Where to start?! Okay, let me make a list to make sure I don't leave anything out!

• I've added some background wallpaper to the blog - if you have any trouble with the time it takes to download the page compared to before please please please let me know...
• You can get your choice of your own very cool bkgds for your blog by clicking on the turquoise box link about halfway down my sidebar!
• I've started a blog for all things Rare Image Rubber Stamps - click on the link at the very top of my sidebar...
• and I think the most exciting news - there is a new RIRS sheet available in January, titled Garden, and the most awesome stampers ~ Lisa S and Manna ~ will be doing some sample cards for you to enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stay tuned - I'm hoping to get some more freebie vintage photos posted for you soon to print out and play with in your stamping :o)

A Meowy Christmas

I'm SORRY - how could I resist saying that?! LOL

Here's a card I did for this month's Technique Junkie newsletter - it utilizes Painted Mesh and Masked Frames - thought you might enjoy being able to see more of the detail.

(click photo for detail)

STAMPS: cat - Rare Image (see my sidebar), greeting - Savvy, berry branch, pine bough, and pinecone - Stampin' Up!

TECHNIQUES: Painted Mesh and Masked Frames for the Technique Junkie 12/08newsletter

INKS: Staz-On Timber Brown, Stampin' Up Kiwi Kiss (I think!)

SUPPLIES: brass brads, grosgrain ribbon, brayer, SU slot punch, sponges, white acrylic, circle punch, colored pencils, mesh

NOTES: the wide ribbon is under the greeting ~ the brads are nice and shiny light brass irl ~ card is quite large to accomodate the cat head with as much extra around as possible

Thanks for checking in - hope your week is starting out good!!

Man's Best Friend

As you can see from my photos I'm definitely a cat person, but I feel sure if I had a dog and got to know it (and it didn't bite me like dogs in my past) I would love it like my cats. This dog image and play-ball are from my Rare Image sheet of rubber titled Pets. Scroll down the sidebar for all ordering info, and if you say you read it hear (click on the Email Me area) my Christmas gift to you is free shipping in the US ($3 off International) till Dec 25th :o) If you'd like to see more card samples using these images click on Rare Image under the index of posts, also on the sidebar...

(click photo to enlarge)

Card measures 4 3/4" x 6"

STAMPS: dog and play-ball - Rare Image Rubber Stamps (my little company! - see sidebar) "Pets" sheet, word circle - Autumn Leaves "Sentiments Circles" set by Katie Pertiet, bkgds - plaid and Love words - Stampin' Up!

TECHNIQUES: Faux Fabric from the Technique Junkies 12/05 newsletter

INKS: Staz-On Jet Black, Distress Weathered Wood, Antique Linen, and Brushed Corduroy, white Uni-ball Signo gel pen

SUPPLIES: SU label punch, sponges, blue brads, embossed metal word tag with chain (from Archivers bargain bins), white twill, sandpaper

NOTES: hard to see but the antiqued brass metal tag reads "Loyal" which is pop-dotted in the center to keep it centered ~ I sponged Corduroy ink lightly onto the twill edges to age it, and Linen onto the main image panel

Have a great weekend! It's going to be 30 something today before it dips to 0 next week so I'm pretty tickled :o) And stay tuned - I have a Christmas cat card coming up next...

Birds Arch

You know how I love using everyday items for my cards sometimes - this time it's the daily news :o) Not archival but it's just a card LOL

I was totally inspired to make this card after oogling Shelly Hickox's card in the current TJ newsletter. Although I still like hers much better I had fun making this...

(Click for more detail)

TECHNIQUE: Burnt Edges, Technique Junkies 02/07 newsletter

STAMPS: all I Brake For Stamps, a mix of the new Birds sheet, Foliage sheet and the Time To Stamp birds sheet

INKS: Distress Antique Linen, Tea Dye and Walnut Stain, Staz-On Jet Black

SUPPLIES: grosgrain ribbon, large flat top metal brad, newspaper, sponges

NOTES: the Staz-On works great for stamping the brads, but if you screw up and take the ink off with Staz-On cleaner it can remove the antique gold finish too LOL ~ I freehand cut the arch from newspaper after drawing it with pencil, then sponged it with Antique Linen ~ to age the large piece of newspaper I rubbed the Antique Linen on a non-stick pad, laid the paper on it and brayered over it to transfer the ink ~ for the cardfront I used the two darker Distress inks and just applied them lightly direct to paper from the pads

Thanks for checking in - have a great day!

Finally, another card!

Hi all :o) I've been working on Technique Junkie sample cards for the NEXT newsletter and very much enjoying trying the fun stuff Pat's got coming up for you guys. You're going to love the February 09 issue so if you're due to renew your subscription, get goin'!! LOL Seriously...

(click on photo for more detail)

Card measures 4 1/2" x 5 3/4"

TECHNIQUE: Faux Fabric 12/05 Technique Junkies newsletter

SKETCH CHALLENGE: TechnoStamper #47

STAMPS: branch and joy - Penny Black, holiday words bkgd - PSX, viney bkgd - Stampin' Up!

INKS: Stampin' Up! Sahara Sand, Distress Aged Mahogany and Peeled Paint, Staz-On Stone Grey

SUPPLIES: circle punch, SU hardware, sandpaper, brayer, sponges

It's getting late and I'm tired so no more yakking right now :o) Thanks for stopping by!

Some of my favorite things, or

why I can't get enough stamping done in the evenings!! LOL My husband couldn't resist taking this photo the other night so I thought I'd share it with you, since it IS my stamp room/home office.

How ironic, huh? - he caught me watching Top Chef, eating what was left right out of the Breyers strawberry ice cream carton! There's a small TV in the corner, and as you can see, no shortage of company on a chilly winter night :o)