From the Heart...

Well hello out there, for those of you have stuck with me, thanks a bunch! It means so much to know that ya likes me stuffs ;) While this summer was filled with lots of fun things and fun family time, there was also A LOT of drama behind the scenes of the Lampone household. Our house sold and we were so excited to be able to purchase the future Lampone abode. This all started late June and what we thought was going to be a very easy transaction turned out to be a royal nightmare. But with a lot of prayer and a lot of trust, that what is meant to be, will be, I think we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. No official closing date still, but we are very hopeful to hear something soon!!

So, after alot of summer activities, my oldest Kayla starting Kindergarten, my littlest Sami starting 2 days of preschool, starting to pack my house, my anniversary... oh no, my anniversary, in the midst of chaos, I needed my stamping oasis. The very cute NEW Greeting Card Kids was a must have on my list that was still unused (*GASP*), and I was late for a very important date ;) ...

* I inked up the adorable little girl w/ heart image in Basic Brown and stamped her on a 3" Circle, kreated with the Circle Scissors Plus tool, of Watercolor Paper.

* Ahhh, the wonders of clear mount... I took the 'school' image of the girl and boy and placed it next to my stamped image. With a pencil, I lightly traced the outer edge of the boy, so I could place him next to my girl and her heart. Following me?

* Next I inked up the boy in Basic Brown and removed his school books and lunch sack using a Blender Pen to completely remove all traces of ink from those areas and then I stamped him next to the girl, following my pencil marks as a guide to place him.

* Now I know the hand over his shoulder looks a tad out of place, but hubby didn't even notice ;) I added a few fingers to the other hand and just thought it so super cute that it looks like she is handing off the heart to her guy ;) Love that sheepish look on her face

* Colored in my images with my Aquapainter. Kreated a pool of ink in the lids of my SU pads by simply squeezing the center of the closed pad together and upon opening, the lid will have enough ink to dip your aquapainter in to begin coloring. The colors used were Pale Plum, Rich Razzleberry, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Pretty in Pink and a Blush Blossom Marker. And few hints of highlighting with my Signo White Gel Pen

* Added a few small Basic Pearls to bedazzle her dress. These kids are Caauuuute!!!

* Inked up additional images to snip out and use as a mask. With my masks in place, I took my Color Spritzer and went a little spritz crazy with a Soft Suede Marker. Then I distressed the edges with my Dauber and more Soft Suede ink to give it that vintagey feel.

* Following the MOJO155 sketch, I used Jolly Holiday DSP to kreate my background. To add a touch more vintage, a piece of Victoria Crochet Trim to hide the 'seam' between papers.

* Dangling from a piece of Linen Thread, I kreated my Heart punched 'tag' with the sentiment from the Simply Said set. TIP: Isolated the words by applying White Craft ink with a q-tip. Distressed the edges with Soft Suede to give the heart some dimension and finished with a little spritz from my Color Spritzer

Hubby seemed to like it ;)
and From the Heart, I Thank YOU for coming back to check in and get a little dose of me [although today ya got quite a dose, huh?!) I may continue to be sporadic until I am into my new home, but I think as I become more and more knee deep in boxes, I am going to need to retreat to my oasis (at least occasionally to keep me sane! - if I can keep track of all my supplies!! I have a plan though - last packed and first opened hehe- just don't tell hubby) Be back soon! Anxious to play with some challenges and to catch up with all my Pals!! Make sure to check out their amazing talent!!

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Happy Kreating

Love Birds

Anything look different? Kool right?! My awesome new blog banner was kreated by my dear friend Kris from Kween Bee Kreations using My Digital Studio software. Isn't it so pretty? I have to try and do some tweeking as I can't figure out how to make it a bit larger and flush to the edges, but I just couldn't wait to get it up there!! Let me (and Kris) know what ya think of it!! She captured what I wanted perfectly!! Thanks my friend!!

While I'm praisin' Kris for my wonderful banner, check out her monochromatic challenge too. I've showed you a few cards using the gorgeous paper from the Bride Specialty and Groom Specialty paper (scroll down to see more), I think this will be the last post - I have more, but I don't want to bore you, and I know you get the idea how fabulous this paper is :)
My dad had requested some Valentine cards with birds and hearts to give to my mom and this was one of the samples I had given him (he went with a watercolored cardinal instead - forgot to take a photo in the rush!). Anywho...
This would be great for a wedding or anniversary too, don't ya think? Since I needed something quick, within a few hours (nothing like a man to ask the night before Valentines Day, but I give Dad lots of credit for wanting to add a more personal touch!) and I wanted to give him more than one option - I reached for the gorgeous Bride Specialty paper
* Used a standard card base of Whisper White
* Cut a piece of the Bride Specialty to layer on top
* Before mounting on top, I tucked my White Organza Ribbon behind the layer and then added it to my card base. Tip: This saves you a bit of ribbon over time and also allows you to make it nice an taut by adhering the edges down on the back. Made a pretty bow and attached it with a glue dot
* Ran a piece of Shimmery White cardstock through the Big Shot with my bird from the Birds and Blooms 4 pk sizzlit dies.
* Using a Sponge Dauber inked with Sahara Sand, I lightly inked up the edges and wings of the bird to give it some dimension.
* Punched out a small heart in Real Red and coated it with some Crystal Effects
* Popped up my birds and heart on dimensionals and used tiny pearls to accent the eyes.

Quick and simple card, not entirely monochromatic, but I like the little pop of color :)

Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts, love it when ya do ;) Happy Stamping...

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Bride and Groom

I hope you had a very Happy Valentines with the ones you love! And maybe you even had the day off yesterday to relax or do whatever it is you enjoy (hopefully both!!). As a stay at home mom of 2 little ones, there are no 'days off' for me but it was nice to have hubby home for a little extra 'support' :). No stamping time over the past few days, it was all about family time, but I do have a stash of cards from a recent class that I am ready to share.

We used the gorgeous papers from the Bride Specialty Paper and Groom Specialty Paper. Shine, pattern and texture make this paper so pretty that you don't want to hide it! It is fitting for this first card to show you the 'bride and groom'. With Valentines Day just behind us, there may be news of engagement and weddings in the near future for some of you! Wish I could take credit for this idea, but this is the card that I CASE'd. Don't you just love it!! Anniversary, Engagement, Wedding, perfect!!

*Punch out a Full Heart from the black 'swirl' Groom Specialty Paper.
*Punch another Full Heart from Shimmery White cardstock. Snip this to become your tuxedo shirt. Adhere to your heart 'tux'
*With Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon tie a knot for your most bodacious bow-tie
*Punch out a Full Heart from the white 'swirl' Bride Specialty Paper.
*Adorn your 'bride' with a sm Brushed Silver bloom from the Boho Blossoms Punch and a Clear Rhinestone Brad in the center.
*Mounted on a panel of Brushed Silver cardstock with dimensionals, then on Whisper White cardstock which was given a decorative edge with the Scallop Trim border (only available in the Sale-a-bration brochure with any order of $50+), layered on the final Basic Black panel. All mounted on a standard card base of Shimmery White cardstock.
*The gorgeous font from the new Well Scripted set was inked in Jet Black Stazon.
Isn't this a cute card?! Quite simple too.
I love to know what you think, so won't you please take a moment and leave me a comment - love it when ya do!!
Happy Stamping!!

You can purchase all products online with me or email me with your orders. Don't forget your Sale-a-bration FREEBIES with orders of $50+ (before shipping and tax)



Supplies:
Stamps: Well Scripted (Occasions Mini)
Paper: Bride Specialty, Groom Specialty, Shimmery White, Basic Black, Brushed Silver
Ink: Black Stazon
Accessories: Scallop Trim Border (SAB), Full Heart, Boho Blossoms, Clear Rhinestone Brads, 1/4" Real Red Grosgrain

Love Always

Earlier last week my husband and I celebrated our anniversary. The traditional gift for our year is Bronze.
* Soft Suede became my 'bronze' and my standard card base.
* A piece of Very Vanilla and the 'swirly' Backgrounds I Texturz Plate took a zip through my Big Shot
* The edges were spruced up with some Soft Suede sponged on the edges
* Three Antique Brass Eyelets found a home in the upper right corner using my Crop a dile
* My heart from the Always stamp set was first inked in some VersaMark and then onto Soft Suede. This enabled me to use my Clear Embossing Powder to give my hearts some dimension much like Craft ink. In Colors do not come in Craft ink, so I kreated my own. I have heard that this technique is safe to your ink pads, but an alternative if you are worried might be to ink with VersaMark and using a dauber apply your Classic ink color, maybe? I'll have to try that next time.
* After my Clear Embossing Powder was set on my hearts and cooled slightly, I used my paper snips to cut them out and popped them up on dimensionals.
* The reverse side of my Soft Suede polka dot ribbon and a 1/4" Real Red Grosgrain ribbon layered on top, kreate my horizontal 'strip'
* My husbands favorite color, Real Red, had to spice up the card a tad more. So I added a little extra with a 1-3/4" Circle to matte under my Soft Suede inked 'a-always' stamp, which was punched out with the 1-1/4" Circle Punch

Simple, and I think I pulled off masculine-ish :) LOL He had only nice things to say, so it works ;)

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Supplies:
Stamps: Always (113620)
Paper: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Real Red
Ink: Soft Suede, VersaMark
Accessories: Big Shot, Texturz Background I plates, Eyelets, Crop-a-Dile, Soft Suede Polka Dot Ribbon, 1/4" Real Red Ribbon, 1-1/4" & 1-3/8" Circle Punches

Manhattan Flower

Oooooh, aaaaah I wish you could see this card in person. And it took under 15 minutes to kreate. No joke!! Sorry the first photo is a tad blurry, I was trying to play with my photo program the best I could to try and get the glisten of the Iridescent Ice to show. If you click on the photo you may be able to see it a bit more clearly.
*I ran a piece of Vellum Cardstock through my Big Shot with my very neglected Manhattan Flower Embossing Folder. That in itself was so pretty, BUT I needed more :)
*I cut out the flowers and then lightly went over the embossed area with my VersaMark pad. Getting it all over the raised edges of the flowers and also hitting inside some petals.
*Sprinkled Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder all over and set the sparkle with my Heat Tool. SO pretty!! The shimmer and glisten from the Iridescent Ice screamed Rich Razzleberry.
*Placed the Vellum on just a 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 piece of Rich Razzleberry with a single Clear Rhinestone Brad which allows you to swivel the vellum to reveal my message. *My sentiments were inked in Craft Whisper White and again given some pizazz with Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder.
If you have the Big Shot and this folder, give yourself a few minutes and try this, you will see just how pretty this is in person. Hope you like it!












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Supplies:
Stamps: Sincere Salutations (115068), Heard from the Heart(111644)
Paper: Vellum Cardstock (101856), Rich Razzleberry(115316)
Ink: Whisper White Craft(101731), VersaMark(102283)
Accessories: Clear Rhinestone Brads(113144), Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder(101930), Heat Tool (100005), Big Shot(113439), Manhattan Flower Embossing Folder(114517)

Happy Anniversary Dear

I really wanted to use the Tres Chic Background stamp for my anniversary card. The plan wasn't to make it this simplistic, but for my hubby simple and non-frilly was my best bet. Quick card to kreate as well, definitely under 15 minutes. My card base is Whisper White and I layered a piece of Basic Black on top. The top layer is my Tres Chic background stamp inked in Whisper White and stamped onto a piece of Brushed Silver paper. I then covered the paper except for the word love and as carefully as possible sprinkled a reddish non-SU embossing powder over my word. Then to accent it a bit more, I used the circle piece from my Hodgepodge Hardware. I played with a few other embellishments, but kept coming back to the 'plain Jane model'. The Brushed Silver paper gives it enough pizazz, too much more and I would be overstepping the 'masculine boundaries' :) Ah well, I can't complain, pretty easy and quick and I know he won't complain either! LOL

For now, go kreate
Kim