Carpe Diem

There's a brand new Twilight Tuesday Sketch challenge "TTSC7" that posted this morning over at Twilight Tuesday! Check it out!



Here are the details for the challenge:
Twilight Tuesday Sketch Challenge Guideline:
1. Have fun! This is a no pressure, do it when you can challenge.
2. This sketch will not limit your creativity in any way. Use it to create and have fun!
3. Make anything you want – card, bookmark, scrapbook page, quilt, drawing…
4. It can be Twilight themed and be based on the 5 books, movies and or soundtracks.
5. Tell us where your inspiration comes from. We want to know!
6. Let us know where you post your pictures of your project. If you upload to SCS (or anywhere else) please use the keywords TTSC7.
7. Our Basic Challenge Rules also apply.

Carpe Diem:



Supplies:
Paper: "Voyez en Arrière" & "Mon Ami" ~ Christine Adolph (Creative Imaginations)
Stamps: "Carpe Diem" ~ Marah Johnson (Hampton Art)
Ink: "Tuxedo Black" & "London Fog" (Memento)


Inspiration:

I'm going to go off in a tangent with this one... hope it's okay with the Twilight gang!

I love poetry... especially Robert Frost.
This one poem keeps going through my mind when I read the Twilight series.


"Carpe Diem" by Robert Frost

Age saw two quiet children
Go loving by at twilight,
He knew not whether homeward,
Or outward from the village,
Or (chimes were ringing) churchward,
He waited, (they were strangers)
Till they were out of hearing
To bid them both be happy.
"Be happy, happy, happy,
And seize the day of pleasure."
The age-long theme is Age's.
'Twas Age imposed on poems
Their gather-roses burden
To warn against the danger
That overtaken lovers
From being overflooded
With happiness should have it.
And yet not know they have it.
But bid life seize the present?
It lives less in the present
Than in the future always,
And less in both together
Than in the past. The present
Is too much for the senses,
Too crowding, too confusing-
Too present to imagine.


Thank you for visiting!
Twilight fans... give this challenge a try!

It goes this way and that way!

My August class at Memories Live On is fast approaching!
Date: Saturday, August 1st
Time: 2p – 5p
Fee: $25

Have you ever seen these cards go this way and that way?









Each of the two cards have a wonderful element of surprise that are easy to replicate and so much fun to receive!

I have a third card to show how you can use a punch to create a window for an unexpected layer and use a stamp to make it pop!




All of my classes come with colored pictures with detailed instructions. Most of the materials are pre-cut.

Please bring with you:
- paper trimmer (black scoring blade) / Scor-Pal
- favorite adhesive
- scissors

The following items are not necessary and will be provided but it helps to have them if you do not want to have to wait too long for your turn.

- Copic markers (0, G14, YG13, Y13, Y38, R20, Y00, RV14, B1, E59)
- Alternate colors: anything similar and close is fine. G82 & B32 also works well.
- Copic atyou Spica pens (Clear)
- Clear acrylic blocks and Black Tuxedo Memento ink pad
- Penny Black: Toadily, Dino Party

Hope you can join in on the fun!
Seats are limited. Call MLO to reserve yours today! (408) 446-9901

Lazy Days of Summer & a Limited Copics Challenge

The lazy days of summer has caught up with me! I have spent most of them at a local pool (Rancho Rinconada) with the boys. They recently took swim lessons there and we have fallen in love with the place. They even have Kids Night Out on Friday nights for $5 per child from 6p - 9p! I get to go hang out at the mall or go over to a friend's house while the boys get to play. So the big news is that I am going to be taking swim lessons with the boys starting Monday. Nope, I don't know how to swim. Scared of the water really... well up until this week. I managed to get in all the way up to my chin so that I don't freak out (hopefully) on Monday. Wish me luck! LOL! At least the teachers are all lifeguards so if I happen to get myself into trouble, I'm sure I will be okay in the end. :)

Here are some pictures that I can share... more to come later:

















Now for my "Limited Copics" Challenge over on the Crop Spot Blog...
This is a card I put together, using 5 Copic markers and the Blender.






How many of you have wanted to start using Copics but are a little intimidated by either the challenge of using them or the cost of the markers? How many of you have a whole bunch of markers but feel frustrated when trying to get them to coordinate together? How many have colors that you have received in a set that you don't ever use?

For more information, hop on over to:

The Crop Spot



Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

xx

Birthday Month Giveaway!

** This giveaway is now closed!! **

Thank you, everyone, for helping me celebrate my birthday all month long! Don't forget to come back again later this week for another giveaway!

I put everyone's names into a box as I received your comments and yes, I have been shaking and mixing your names up well all month long! :)

CONGRATULATIONS TO PATTY W! Hooray!!

Patty, email me your mailing address and I will get this out to you this week.

Terri and Joni, your packages are also on their way.

xx

Jane

** REMEMBER ** Every week, I will be adding something new to the pile! Check underneath the pictures to see! **

It's my birthday and I have some goodies to giveaway!
Some are compliments of Memories Live On (thank you Vivian and Mort!!) and some are from me. These are a few of my favorite things!

Here you go!


June 7th


June 15th



June 22nd


So... what do you think? Pretty awesome? See anything you would like to win?

Well, I love my readers. I have a new project coming up where I will be blogging for Memories Live On with the uber talented Irene Tan. I would love to get a head start blogging again and find my creative side... kinda lost it a little this month with the end of the school craze. Will you all help me?

All you have to do is be a follower (click on the left side). That gets you one entry to this giveaway! Leave me a comment here. That's another entry! Link me on your blog. That's another entry! If you don't have a blog, then just email a few of your crafty friends and send them this way (just have them refer you).

Then come back and visit me as I post more stuff!
Did I mention more goodies will be added every week? The more entries I get, the more goodies you get!

I will pick a winner randomly after 11pm, Sunday - June 28th.

Here's a sneak peek to what's coming up tomorrow!



Thanks to all of my friends who have encouraged me this far with this blog!
OH! I received a few emails worried about the music that used to be on the blog.
If you go to this post I explained why I took the music off and where it is now. Otherwise, just click on the "music" link that's on your upper left hand , under "Whoopsie Daisy Favorites". You will go straight to my Playlist!

Have a cupcake with me today!

hugs,

Stamp-a-ma-jig!

I met this really sweet girl in the rubber stamp aisle at the local Michael's who is getting married soon and she wanted to know if this Stamp-a-ma-jig was necessary or not and how it worked. I tried to explain how it worked but it's kinda hard to do that without really demonstrating it in person. SO... I told her to buy it and let me get a mini tutorial going on my blog and then she can decide for herself if it's worth it or not.

My two cents? It's a great handy tool to have... especially if you are particular about lining things up.

Some might remember that I have already done a Stamp-a-ma-jig tutorial. You can view it HERE. The stamp set that I used for that is slightly different in that I was trying to line up an outline stamp onto a bold stamp... or something to that effect. This tutorial is more for those trying to line alphabets across or in my case, initials.

Let's get started!

We have the "T" shaped tool which is the "Stamp-a-ma-jig" and it comes with an "imaging sheet". The tool is "T" shaped for left/right handedness. You can use the tool in any direction. I prefer to use mine with the "T" going upside down.

First thing is to line the "imaging sheet" flush against the corner of one side of the Stamp-a-ma-jig.






Just a side note here but the imaging sheet has two sides to it. One side is slick and the other side is slightly rough. Use the smooth side when using most "regular" ink pads. Use the rough side when stamping with other ink like "Craft". Regardless, I tend to use the rough side because I found that the ink likes to grab and hold better. The smooth side is a bit too slick for me and the rubber stamp tends to slide sometimes. HOWEVER, for taking pictures today, I found that using the smoother side made for a better tutorial because it was shinier! LOL!


Ink up your stamp and slide it down against the Stamp-a-ma-jig and flush into the corner. Press down firmly onto the imaging sheet and then pull straight up. Now you have a "copy" that you can use to decide where to stamp on your project.







Take the Stamp-a-ma-jig away and place your imaging sheet where you want that stamped image to go.







Line the Stamp-a-ma-jig up against the imaging sheet EXACTLY the way you had it the first time you stamped it onto the imaging sheet.







Take the imaging sheet away. Keep one hand on the Stamp-a-ma-jig while you ink up your stamp and then carefully slide the stamp against the tool and into the corner. Press down firmly onto your project and lift straight up. Voila! You should now have your perfectly placed stamped image!

Repeat for the next initials:



Make your template:





Place it where you want to stamp:





Put the Stamp-a-ma-jig back in place, remove imaging sheet, ink up stamp and press:





AGAIN...







I can't leave a project unfinished, so I'll show you a quick and easy way to decorate this envelope. Here I am masking the front of the envelope with some Tim Holtz mask. Aren't these masks beautiful? I love them! So much so that I am adding one of these packages to the birthday giveaway!! :)









I took a sponge and used it to sponge in some colors over the mask:

I added some TH Distress Ink Tea Dye to the middle area and then peeled the mask off.

I will be off the computer until Sunday... will back late Sunday night to draw a name out of the box that is holding all of the entries for my birthday giveaway. Can not wait to find out who the lucky person is!!! I can not believe that I won a blog candy today! I did!! HERE! Thank you, again and again, Julie! Those of you who say "I don't ever win"... well, there's always hope! :)

xx

Pink Cat Studio wrangling Weiman donations for Make-A-Wish Foundation!

Now this is something that really touches my heart.
Y'all know how much I love Pink Cat Studio.
In the past, I have posted for a few families that have been going through chemo so this story about Ethan Weiman moved me deeply. Little Ethan passed away on June 12th from Neuroblastoma cancer. Ethan was a true cowboy and loved horses, balloons and Knock Knock jokes.

Well, so the story goes like this...
Lauren Meader contacted Melissa of Pink Cat Studio (who was in the midst of moving!) and together with the design team and My Time To Create team, they came up with this super cute NEW Digi Stamp release "Weiman Wranglers":



That's right! DIGI Stamp means "digital" download... NO shipping, NO storage, and INSTANT gratification! All for a worthy cause: Make-A-Wish Foundation. By purchasing these digital stamps you will help brighten the day of a sick child as the money raised will go towards making one of their dreams come true.
Click here to purchase: WEIMAN WRANGLER

Here's what Melissa posted from Pink Cat Studio:
"Last week Lauren Meader, a member of my DT, contacted me to ask if I could make some digi stamps to help raise some money in order to honor Ethan and the Weiman family. I thought that was such a wonderful idea and got right to designing. Lauren told me that Ethan loved my Cowboy Billy stamp so she suggested that I design a new Cowboy stamp for Ethan and one for his little sister Ava too. Ethan loved horses and balloons so that is how we came up with the design of the kiddies riding their horses and holding a balloon.

We would be so grateful if you would help us to raise some money in Ethan’s honor. All proceeds from the sale of the stamps, after Paypal fees are deducted, will go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois as requested by Alicia and Dave Weiman. "


Want to win a Pink Cat Studio gift certificate or three??

Lauren Meader, Vicki Garrett and Heather Schlatter are all generously offering the chance to win some moola to buy PCS stuff. Lauren's is a card making challenge using the new digi stamps and Vicki's and Heather's involve helping to spread the word about our fundraiser. Thank you so much ladies for your generosity! Please visit Lauren's, Vicki's and Heather's blogs to read about how you can win.

Here's what I came up with...



I worked on this all night long, thinking of ways I could make my "mistake" work. What mistake? Well, I accidentally printed the cowboy on my Gina K Pure Luxury cardstock in FULL SIZE! Yikes! lol! Then I looked at him and the shadow box idea popped into my head.

I have been wanting to show you how easy it is to color an image with just a few Copics. I have had students in my classes at Memories Live On ask me what colors they need to start with and comment on how they are holding off on starting because of how expensive they are. I always tell them that they don't need a set of three for every color if they can't afford it. Seriously!! Why not color with just one and shade with the same color? Then use the "0" Blender to get another shade from it? Not making any sense? Take a look...



What do you think? That's right! Three colors plus the skin color and the "0" Blender. :)

The horse's head is popped up for a 3-D effect.


I used E00 and Copic atyou Spica (Sand) Glitter Pen on the round buckle. The "rope" is hemp twine.


Then I wrapped the end of the "rope" around the "Howdy" sign, which I had distressed with a sponge and TH Walnut Stain.


Now it's your turn! If you have already purchased this Digi Stamp release and have made something with it, then post your link here! I would love to see your creation!

Are you a member of Paper Craft Planet? Then be sure to upload your project to the Ethan Tribute Album, created by Susanna Boyd!

BTW, the last time I checked, it says that $1381.59 has been raised at Pink Cat Studio so far!! Way to go, crafty wranglers!!

xx