Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Bah Humbug!

Celebrating both Chanukah and Christmas with the attendant family gatherings sure took away from my crafting time. I do love the holidays, most of the preparation, the gift-buying, the wrapping, the gift-giving, and the family time, so I'm not really complaining so much as lamenting the lessening of my "me" time spent creating. I have managed to sneak in a few cards and projects here and there and will get them scanned and uploaded soon.

I got some stamps from The Cat's Pajamas and Bombshell Stamps for Chanukah and can't wait to get some time to ink up those babies! Thankfully, things should slow down soon! Yahoo!

Meanwhile, you should check out the Twelve Days of Christmas Sale at Odd Bird Planet. It's a progressive sale (storewide--including the adorable new release stamps) with another percent discount added for each of the twelve days. Plus, there are additional items on sale. Get the info at Johanna's blog!

If you're celebrating this evening, stay safe while being festive!

Monday, December 22, 2008

Happy Chanukah!


We braved the weather and traffic to celebrate the first night of Chanukah with my family. It was a wonderful and joyful get together. My mom loved her "2009 Outings" mini-book filled with coupons for days out with my sister and me. Everyone else liked their gifts, but the true gift was togetherness.

This card had been picked up by a magazine, but didn't appear. I think it's because all the other Chanukah cards in the issue (including one of mine) had the alternate "Hanukkah" spelling. Then again, they might not have liked the card in person. For what it's worth, Odd Bird Planet has a stamp that spells Chanukah the way that I do! Here's a link for you.

Anyways, I used Odd Bird Planet's Birdie Menorah on the card. I did NOT use patterned paper which is very rare for me.

Thanks for visiting today.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Whoooo's waiting for Santa?


I've been insanely busy with a gazillion things to do and absolutely no energy or holiday spirit to do them. The freshman returned on Tuesday evening and we did some shopping on Thursday. Then I was prepared to finish up most of it yesterday and it snowed all day long. People in New Jersey can't drive in the snow, so I stayed safely indoors.

I also had been postponing the creation of a gift for my mother and then discovered (to my stunned disbelief) that I did not have the correct size of a key element (binding coil) and a title for said gift. Eek! So, I'm going with "Plan B", copping out on the title, and then ordering the correct gizmo to fix it at a later date. You'd think at my age that I would have learned that procrastination isn't a good idea. *sigh*

I just spent most of the day doing the stuff I would have done yesterday: running the errands, doing more holiday shopping, and the stupidmarket shopping for a family party tomorrow. I was going to make crudités and dip and a fruit platter for the party. I just found out that we are, indeed, going to get the second storm, so we will probably end up cancelling our trip and I'll end up with a ton of fruit I can't eat (silly diet). But, on the plus side, I get more time to finish that gift properly (if mail order works in a timely fashion) and I now have 98% of my holiday shopping done (though not wrapped). Every cloud does have a silver lining though I'd much prefer that the cloud brought rain rather than snow.

Hee. Enough blather. The stamps used on this card are Kelly's Owl in a Hole Big and Kelly's Tree Trunk Pattern (imho makes awesome water too). The Santa hat is a rub-on from QuicKutz with some added sparkly glitter. It shows up better irl. Coloring was done with Copic Markers and the patterned paper is from the Holly Jolly collection by Flair Designs. I know that's a big shockaroo.

Thanks for visiting today.

Monday, December 15, 2008

I can't see the Santa for the trees!


Here's another card using Flair's Holly Jolly Christmas patterned paper with OBP stamps. I do love how they go together.

The stamps used are Kelly's Tree Gnome and Kelly's Ragdoll Trees.

Images were colored with Copic Markers, Spica Pens, and Stickles.

Thanks for visiting!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Don't use your fireplace on 12/24!


You wouldn't want to set Santa on fire, would you?

Here I used Kelly's Stitched Gnome and Cathrine's Gnome Home to create a holiday card. I also used "Yo Ho Ho!", but deleted the "Yo" and added another "Ho"! *snicker*

I added a bit of fluff to the gnome's hat and added glittery snow and embossed ice to the house to make the scene more wintry. I don't know if you can see the icicles, but they are there.

The images were colored with Copic Markers and I added glitter with Stickles, Prisma Glitter, and holographic embossing powder. The patterned paper is by Flair from their Holly Jolly collection.

If you like the OBP gnomes, there will be some seriously cute ones coming soon. Check out the blogs of the other OBP DT members for "Sneak Peeks". I'll be creating some cards using them soon too, so check back here as well!

Thanks for visiting today!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Bargains Galore at the OBP Store!


Not only is this super-cute gnome part of the December Special Deal bundle of stamps and a great deal at 25% off retail, there are now other bundles & baskets on sale.

Johanna put together holiday-themed bundles of unmounted stamps, patterned paper, cardstock, and other goodies and then discounted them by 40-50%. She also took a bunch of related wood-mounted stamps, put those into baskets together with cards and other goodies and discounted those by 25%. Click HERE to check 'em out!

You'd better hurry though since those holiday-themed bundles and baskets are in very short supply! Don't you think they'd make great gifts for you from you with love? I do!

Thanks for visiting today!

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Jingle Bell Rock!


Even rockers celebrate the holidays! Who could forget Jimi's rendition of "Little Drummer Boy" or David Bowie's duet with Bing Crosby?

Here Brody No Drum Left & Brody No Drum Right lay down the beat for "Jingle Bell Rock"! Rock on dudes!

The Brodies and sentiment were colored with Prismacolor markers. The paper is from the Holly Jolly collection by Flair Designs, which I've obviously hoarded.

Thanks for visiting today!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Did you gnome?


There are more Odd Bird Planet Gnomes that will be released soon. Several of them are perfect for the holidays. I gnome you'll want all of them. I gnome that I do.

This card features Kelly's Gnome with Birds Left with Cathrine's Mushroom Scene. I turned the gnome into Santa using a bit of stuff that puffs when you heat set it. The entire scene is embossed and is glittery. I added additional glitter to look like snow. The patterned paper and sticker are from Flair Designs' Holly Jolly collection. Love that.

Thanks for visiting today!

Friday, December 5, 2008

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...


I have oodles of Christmas cards to share and am still making more! I love Christmas, though I don't really celebrate the holiday!

Anyways, here's Priscilla Cane Cat and "Meowy Christmas" with Holly Jolly stickers and patterned paper by Flair Designs.

Don't you like how the "Ho! Ho! Ho!" looks like "Oh! Oh! Oh!" upside down?

Thanks for visiting!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

My 10X Rule or Yes - Another Squirrel Card!


I have a rule that when I buy new stamps, punches, or dies that I must plan to use them at least ten times to assuage any guilt. Do you have any rules like that?

Anyways, this card features the acorn stamp, paper, vintage clip art, felt, and dew drops from the red version of the Squirrels, Limited Edition kit. Sadly, my scanner didn't like the dew drops so they barely show. You also can't see the Distress Stickles (also new) on the flowers on the top and bottom edges or the lovely texture from the felt. Silly scanner!

Thanks for visiting today!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

OBP's December's Special Deal!


The "Special Deal" is truly special this month as it features two (2) BRAND NEW stamps that I "gnome" you'll love. As always, the bundle is discounted 25% off of retail and available only for the month of December.

December's Special Deal includes:
Gnome on Branch Right
Tiny Bird Right
Fairytale Birdhouse
"Thanks a Birdie Bunch"

Here's a link so that you can get one for yourself because after all, you gnome you'll want it! *grin*

Thanks for visiting today!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Nuts about squirrels!


I'm nuts about the squirrel stamps from the Squirrels, Limited Edition Kit from Odd Bird Planet!

This card features the tree-hugging squirrel, who likely has a fear of heights. It has one of the nutty sentiments from the kit. The patterned paper and ribbon also came with red version of the kit. Sweet!

I stamped the squirrel and the sentiment on patterned paper
and colored them with my Copics! I cut out the squirrel/tree image using my new Fiskar's Finger-tip Exacto thingy, which was recommended by Laura. Thanks Laura! I also used 1/16" eyelets. Yahoo. Two down, 539,003 to go!

There will be more squirrel cards to come, but I need to get crack-a-lackin' on those holiday cards too.

*Irony alert* -- the cute kitty on the right sometimes has an advertisement attached. They seem to run in rotation. But since I started posting more squirrel cards, the advertisement is for a gizmo to keep squirrels away from your bird-feeders. Hah!

Thanks for visiting!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Thanks!


It's raining acorns and the squirrel is happy!

The squirrel and the acorn are from the unmounted rubber sheet included in the Squirrels, Limited Edition kit. They were stamped on sky paper by Cosmo Cricket and colored with Prismacolor markers.

My inspiration was watching the squirrels in my yard combined with the song "Hallelujah! It's raining men!"

Yeah. My mind can be an interesting place. *snicker*

Thanks for visiting.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Thankful!


The freshman came home for the holiday and I am truly thankful that she's made a great adjustment to college. It was a joy to have her home, though the time just flew! Our Thanksgiving meal was delicious. We enjoyed both the meal and the post-meal movies!

This card was made last week, but I didn't get a chance to post it!

The squirrel and papers are from the Squirrels, Limited Edition kit - Blue that is available from the OPS store. Click here to go directly to it. "Thankful" is not included in the set, but is a wonderful size and good for both Thanksgiving and Thank You cards.

Thanks for visiting today!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!


All my wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving!

Harvest Scene was stamped on watercolor paper, colored with Pentel Arts' Color Brush Pens, and then aged with Distress ink. The patterned paper is by Daisy D.

Thanks for visiting!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Thanks for the ride!

It's shocking that I'm posting another card so soon. Wow! I can't believe it either.

I fell in love with the unmounted images from the new Squirrels, Limited Edition Kit and had to have it asap since I really like squirrels. They amaze me how persistent they are at getting to the birdseed in my "squirrel-proof" bird feeders and how clever they are in finding hiding places for their acorns, though I'd prefer if they didn't chew holes in my planters!

Anyways, I thought to myself, "Squirrels and gnomes live in the forest. See if you can get the new justjohanna Odd Bird Planet gnomes to somehow work with the squirrels." This card is my first take.

I used one of the squirrels and a sentiment from the Squirrels, Limited Edition Kit - Red with Kelly's Gnome Right. I masked off the gnome's legs and sat him upon the squirrel, drew legs and reins, and colored the images with Copic markers. The patterned paper is from a pad by Hot off the Press. It contains several woodsy papers that work well with the gnomes and squirrels. The background of the image and sentiment were stippled with Old Paper Distress ink, but it's not showing on the scan. Ah well.

Thanks for visiting today!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Love Match!


Here's another card using Irene's Fancy Flo Couple with some new "All Star" patterned paper and stickers from Flair Designs.

I masked the Flo Couple, added hand-drawn tennis togs, and clip-art tennis rackets. The image was colored with Copic markers.

Thanks for visiting today.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Tee for Two

I can't resist a good pun, nor can I resist anything by Flair Designs since they go so well with Odd Bird Planet stamps!

This one features Irene's Fancy Flo Couple with the new On the Green patterned paper from the All Star Collection by Flair Designs. The golf clubs are clip art, the photo corners are cardstock stickers by Flair Designs, and the sentiment is QuicKutz. The images and the grass were colored with Copic pens. The golf clubs were colored with a silver Pentel Metallic Gel pen.

Thanks for visiting today!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

November's Special Deal!



Yahoo! This month's special deal bundle features some of my very favorite justjohanna's Odd Bird Planet stamps at 25% off! Click here to get one for yourself!


November's Special Deal Bundle:

Charles Cardinal Left
Charles Cardinal Right
Birdbath
Nest with Eggs
"A Bird's Gotta Do What a Bird's Gotta Do"

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Today's PSA: VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

Check their qualifications, check their plans, check their history, check their choices, weigh your options, make your decision, then vote!

If you don't vote and don't like what ensues, imho you've lost your right to complain. Too bad, so sad.

So, naughty or nice? You choose and VOTE because unlike the card below, your action (or inaction) has consequences.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Our Halloween Candy Jar


I made this jar several years ago when I was on the FiberMark dt. That was a fun gig. Anyways, I sort of went nuts with punches and dies and the lovely FiberMark textured papers, plus a few DoodleBug stickers thrown in for good measure.

This jar is sooooo very me. Mini scenes, some with a little macabre humor, and loads of color and texture. Not surprisingly it was never picked up for publication. I guess the decapitated paper dolls were too much. Heck! The dolls are not even holding their bloody dripping heads the way they were in a haunted house scrapbook layout that I did years ago.

BTW, the freshman received her Halloween package and loved it. I'm a cool mom once again. Go me! And she HAD read my blog after all, but at least the rest of the package was a big surprise. Best yet is that it arrived and was opened in time for Halloween.

Thanks for visiting today.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Halloween Treat Box


This mini-gable box won't hold a lot, but I figure it'll hold something sweet and cute, that will be a surprise for the Freshman, who I don't think looks at my blog. If she does, woopsie! :D

Anyways, I sprayed the box with home-made shimmer mist made from Perfect Pearls, Concord Grape Distress Ink, and water. The stamps are Crafty Priscilla (no longer available), Priscilla Devilish Cat, Priscilla Perfect Cat, Priscilla Witchy Cat, Tricky Priscilla, and "Happy Halloween" by Odd Bird Planet.

Thanks for visiting today!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Sneak Peek #3


Here's the last Sneak Peek of the upcoming Limited Edition kit from Odd Bird Planet. I'll be sure to let you know when it's been released and available for purchase and all the other details.

Thanks for visiting today!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Sneak Peek #2



Here's your second sneak peek of the next Odd Bird Planet Limited Release kit. It will be available soonish.

Meanwhile, why not indulge yourself in a treat? After all, it's almost Halloween!Here's a link to the other kits currently available at the OBP shop!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Sneak Peek #1: New OBP Limited Edition Kit!


Here's a sneak peek of the next Odd Bird Planet Limited Edition kit. This is Part #1 of 3!

Bwa ha ha! I'm wicked and like prolonging the anticipation.

Suffice to say, the images on this kit's unmounted rubber sheet are really, really cute! Better yet, this time, the sheet includes sentiments!

Stay tuned for further peeks!

Thanks for visiting!

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Feline Arachnophobia!


Kelly's Ragdoll Cat is definitely afraid of Teresa's Spider and thinking "EEK", though she has the Kelly's Patchwork Pumpkins to guard her.

The patterned paper is very old KI paper and the images were colored with Copics.

This is NOT a realistic scene. My real Ragdoll/American Tabby cat and my Tuxedo cat stalk spiders and them eat them for the added protein. Yeah. You needed to know that.

Thanks for visiting today!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Getting into the spirit!


What spirit? Why Halloween spirit! Ghosts make the best spirits, don't you think?

Kathi's Ghost Priscilla has used her pen to write Halloween Greetings to you using the ink from Kelly's Inkwell.

The ghostly papers are from the Spellbound Collection by Flair Designs.

Thanks for visiting today!

Sunday, October 12, 2008

OBP's October Special Deal


This month's special bundle includes:
Submarine
Little Cloud
Five Petal Flower
Grass
Owl-bert Big

You can purchase your bundle at a 25% discount by clicking here.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Fall/Halloween invitation

I've been remiss in updating the ol' blog, but I've got two good excuses. (1) I went to visit the Freshman for "Family Weekend" and had a great time. (2) While there, we went to the Aquarium and some children sneezed on me or something since I've been sick since Tuesday, complete with chills, fever, weakness, dizziness, muscle aches, muscle cramps, sinus headaches, stuffed nose, runny nose, sore throat, and a cough. Lovely. Just lovely. I've been napping a lot and drinking inordinate amounts of tea. I'm totally irritated because I had lots of cleaning, exercising, crafting, and job hunting to do and all I've been good for is sleeping and whinging. Lots and lots of whinging.

Anyways, this card is to kick off the Halloween season. Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love to wear my teeth-chattering skull pin, one of my head bands with devil ears, cat ears, etc, and my ever-so-fashionable plastic skeleton earrings. Plus, I really love watching the little ones come to the house Trick or Treating.

It'll be a bit bittersweet as this will be the first year that I don't have a herd of teenagers hanging about. But I'll get over it and save candy for the little people too.

Anyways, the card features the Spring Tree and a variety of owls from Odd Bird Planet stamps. The paper is by Flair Designs' Autumn Harvest line, which is one of my favories. The sentiment is computer generated. Coloring was done with Prismacolor pencils.

You should definitely visit Odd Bird Planet's store since there are four Halloween-themed kits, including a special edition A La Tarte kit! Check them out by clicking here!

Thanks for visiting today!

Monday, September 29, 2008

Oh no! Not another Gnome pun?!?!

Yes. It's true. Sorry. I couldn't help myself.

Kelly's Stitched Gnome has the honor of being the "Gnome on the Range" and the range, of course, is the Plain Stove, which reminds me of the stove I grew up with 500 years ago, when dinosaurs roamed and all that.

I used the "What's Cooking" patterned paper by Flair Designs. The arrows are cardstock stickers from Flair too. I just blinged them up a bit.

Thanks for visiting today!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Feeling (h)Edgy?


Don't you just love the new OBP hedgehogs? I know that I do! When we lived in England, we had a pair of hedgies that lived in our back garden. I used to love to watch them from the kitchen window whilst washing dishes.

Anyways, Cathrine's Mushroom Scene, Kelly's Hedgehog Left, and Kelly's Hedgehog Right were colored with Copic markers. The patterned paper is Basic Grey.

Thanks for visiting today!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Happy Fall, Y'all!



This is one of my most favorite cards ever, which means that it didn't get picked up by any of the magazines. Yeah. Oh boo-hoo! So sad. Anyways, it seems that my favorites are passed by and my not-so-favorites are the ones that get picked up or lots of praise.

Anyways, the squirrel is from Memory Box, Hearts Branch is from justjohanna's Odd Bird Stamps, and the sentiment is from Purple Onion. I did substitute teeny weeny maple leaf punchies for the hearts on the Hearts Branch.

I used colored pencils to color all images and the papers are Mellow from Basic Grey, though the sky paper is Cosmo Cricket's "Chicken Little" paper. I love that sky. It's perfect as a stamping background.

Thanks for visiting today and Happy Fall!

Yay for time zone differences!


This weekend I wasn't able to participate actively in the "Talk Like a Pirate" party over at the Odd Bird Planet forum at Splitcoast Stampers. I finally got a bit of time to work on two ideas today and snuck these in on time because of the three hour time difference. Yahoo!

The "Wishing You Loads of Loot" card was created for the challenge to make a regular critter into a pirate. I drew an eyepatch onto Priscilla Cat and added a pirate hat, complete with skull and crossbones, to Chester Parrot Left. Cake Stack was added to be the "loads of loot", so I could use the card as a birthday card. The papers are from the Oh Baby! Boy collection by Basic Grey.

The "You Are My Treasure" card was created for the challenge to make a card that used the sentiment "You Are A Treasure". My old and beloved K & Company stickers came to the rescue! The stamps are Treasure Chest and Little Al Pirate Owl.

Both cards were stamped with Memento Ink and colored with Copic Markers. I used Spica markers on Priscilla's collar, Al's eyes, and on the gemstones and jewels in the treasure chest. I used the Pentel Gold Gel ink pen to color the chest's lock and the coins, crowns, and other treasure in the chest. I used two different Distress Inks (Old Paper & Tea Dye) to color the stamped oval image and the sentiment of the Treasure card. I think I went a little overboard. I've got to remember that "Less is more!" Oh! I used mini eyelets. I can't remember the last time I pounded eyelets, so that was fun!

I used Faded Jeans Distress ink on the edges of the birthday card.

My scanner does not like reflective anything, so the bling from the Spica markers is not showing up.

Thanks for visiting today!

Friday, September 19, 2008

Ahoy me hearties! We're having a party!

In honor of "Talk Like a Pirate" Day, we'll be celebrating all weekend long at the Odd Bird Planet forum at SplitCoast Stampers. There will be challenges, games, and perhaps even some treasure to be found.

My card features Big Al Pirate Owl and Lovely Skull and Bones. You can find both of them, plus several other Al Pirates, Pirate Chicklets, Skulls, Parrots,and even a tiny Pirate Ship at the Odd Bird Planet Store.

However, you don't need Odd Bird Planet stamps to play along. You can use other stamps or dress up your Odd Bird Planet stamps in Pirate clothing.

I hope to see you there!

Thanks for visiting today!

Monday, September 15, 2008

It's all in perception!

Kelly's Tree Trunk Pattern is clearly meant to be a tree and makes a wonderful one. However,the first time I saw it, I saw a river!

Then I decided to create a Bon Voyage card using the Gnome Trio in a Boat. Only problem is that apparently, I forgot to add the stamped, punched, and "xyroned" (<---new word) sentiment, which I discovered when I cleaned up after making a bunch of cards. Even worse is that I didn't notice when I scanned the card. Oops. Bad me.

All images were colored with Copic Markers. The sky is chalked. I so love my chalks too. The patterned paper is Basic Grey Blush.

Thanks for visiting today.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Gnome Sweet Gnome!

Another gnome pun, but this one's not mine! "Gnome Sweet Gnome" is available as a stamp.

Cathrine's Gnome Home was colored with chalk pencils. Kelly's Gnome Girl Right, , and Kelly's Sad Gnome Girl were colored with Copic markers.

Thanks for visiting today!

Monday, September 8, 2008

Another day, another Gnome pun...

Oh no! Not another lame Gnome pun. Oh well too bad, so sad.

Here's my "Gnome Man is an Island" that I turned into a friendship card. It also qualifies for a monochromatic challenge over at SplitCoast Stampers. Yahoo.

This card features "Kelly's Sleeping Gnome Right", which I colored with Copic markers.

Thanks for visiting today.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

September Special Deal!

Here's September's Special Deal! You get this specially selected bundle of stamps for 25% off retail. Yep! It's a bargain and I know you love bargains.

Personally, it's my birthday month and it's my firm belief that everyone should get themselves a treat as a way to help me celebrate my birthday. After all, the world is Kathi-centric!

Anyways,the bundle is comprised of:
Ragdoll Unicorn Right
Pick-ish Fence
Stems
"Make a Wish"

Hey! If you do buy this bundle, you can make me a birthday card! Isn't that a great idea? Yep. It is.

Here's a link to the special deal. While you're at the Odd Bird Planet store, you might want to take a look at all the cool new Limited Edition kits, the Lime Tart kits, and the screamingly adorable new stamps. Oh. The older stamps are screamingly adorable too.

Anyways, thanks for visiting!

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Finally! More fun with gnomes!


Sorry it took me so long to get back to blogging. The teenager and I had to finish shopping for college, visit friends and relatives, squeeze in some more nagging/hectoring/life lessons/quaity time, plus I had to crack the whip to make her sort her stuff into "staying", "going", and "tossing" piles. It all finally got sorted and packed. We drove her to college, helped her settle in, and left her there, which was probably the hardest thing I ever had to do. However, her phone call, emails, and text messages have sounded euphoric. She's happy, making friends, and managing things. Classes start Wednesday. If she manages to get over her predilection to procrastinate, she'll do fine.

I'm a bit of a wreck, but was finally able to sit down and work on some cards today, w hich left me feeling a bit less weepy and more centered.

So, here they are.

The "Happy Bird Day" card features Cathrine's Mushroom Scene with Kelly's Gnome with Birds Left. The paper is Mellow by Basic Grey.

"Metro-Gnome Missed your Birthday" is completely computer generated. I found a photo of a metro/subway station and dropped in an image of Kelly's Skating Gnome Left. I erased his skates to make it look like he was running for a train. I printed out the scene and colored the Gnome. Dymo tape (one of my favorite things) added my sentiment, plus some color and texture.

Thanks for visiting!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Meet Johanna in person!

The Johanna from justjohanna's Odd Bird Planet Stamps will be live-in-person at Auntie Amy’s rubber stamp store in Riverside, California, from 10AM to 6PM on Saturday for a trunk show.

There will be free make and takes all day and free pack of paper with every purchase.

Johanna will have some of the brand-new-just-released images with her, as well as a sneak peek of the upcoming holiday images.

If you’re in the Southern California area, don’t miss this event. Johanna only does public appearances about once a year.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Fun with Gnomes!


I've been having big fun with the little gnomes from Odd Bird Planet's new release. Being me, I've been coming up with all sorts of silly word-play and puns, which will probably prove that my mental processes are a bit wonky. Oh well. At least I'm amused.

Kelly's Gnome Girl with Heart Hat
is getting married to Kelly's Stitched Gnome. The laws of the Odd Bird Planet allow second cousins to get married, so no one should object or tear them asunder.

The Metro-Gnome Birthday card features Kelly's Tree Gnome and some altered clip art.

Both cards were colored with Copic Markers. The not-so-festive Wedding card also has Spica Glitter pen on the gnome's beard and pigtails.

Patterned papers are Basic Grey, Fancy Pants, and 7 Gypsies.

BTW, I have another take on the Metro-Gnome theme on my desk, so tune in later in the week.

Thanks for visiting today.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Mail Art!

We were asked to create mail art for one of our design team projects.

This was a fairly new thing for me since I never delved into the world of mail art and rarely decorate my envelopes. But, it was actually lots of fun to do a one layer project and not worry about placing a sentiment!

I stamped Aldenville, the Hot Air Balloon, and the Little Cloud and then colored the stamped images with Prismacolor pencils. The sky, walkways, and grass were chalked. Spica Glitter pens were used to add some twinkle to the clouds, windows, and street lights.

Fairy Chicklet decorates the "postage" stamp.

Thanks for visiting today!

Saturday, August 2, 2008

jj Odd Bird Planet August Special Deal

justjohanna's Odd Bird Planet August Special Deal bundle is a great selection of stamp at a 25% discount. As the teenager says, "Sweeeet!"

You'll get:
621AA "hoot"
1396B Madricaine
607D "You are"
636M dotty corner
250F debbie's flower

Click here to see and buy it for yourself!

***
In further news, August 1st was the date for the HUGE new release, comprising themes including "Owloween", Potions, Gnomes, and Babies. Johanna has outdone herself since they're all phenomenal. Click here to take a look for yourself. I'd love to hear which ones you want. There are so many on my wish list!
***

In furtherer (<--new word) news, you now have a choice. You can get the traditional wood-mounted stamps or opt for unmounteds -- where you'd get just the rubber.

Thanks for visiting today!

Monday, July 28, 2008

Variations on a theme!


Whenever I see the Mixed Mushroom Group stamp, I think of magic mushrooms. Their magic is not to cause hallucinations, but to cause actual color changes.

Of course, when I think of "magic", the song "Do you believe in magic" plays in my head. Hmmm. Maybe those mushrooms DO cause hallucinations after all.

Anyways, the stamps are from July's Special Deal at justjohanna's Odd Bird Planet. You still have a few days to take advantage of this special deal and get this great bundle of stamps at 25% off. Gotta love a discount!

The images on both cards were colored with Copic markers. The papers are from MAMBI and Basic Grey. The backgrounds (sky/ground) are chalked, but you can't see the blue sky on the top card. Oh well. Darned scanner!

Thanks for visiting and have a magical day!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Exciting and Special Sneak Peek!

Introducing Kathi's Ghost Priscilla! I'm excited because this is the second time that one of my alternate Priscillas was made into a stamp! Ghost Priscilla is holding a fountain pen because whereas she wears her ghost costume during Halloween season, she earns her living as a ghost writer the rest of the year.

Ghost Priscilla and scads of other new stamps will be released on August 1st. You should most definitely sign up for justjohanna's Odd Bird Planet Newsletter so that you can find out about all the new stamps, the monthly Special Deal Bundle (a bunch of stamps for a very special price), and the monthly card sketch! To sign up, click here!

By the way, other dt members will be showing sneak peeks on their blogs. Plus, other stamps created by non-dt members will be shown on their blogs. You can likely find links to them at the justjohanna Odd Bird Planet forum at Split Coast Stampers! Here's a link.

On a personal note I've been sort of swamped here with pre-college appointments, shopping, and other stuff. Additionally, I've been playing the role of nurse since the teenager had all four wisdom teeth surgically removed on Monday. I hope to get to card making again soon. I miss it!

Thanks for visiting.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Sneak Peeks!

Go check out Johanna's blog to see sneak peeks of some of the new justjohanna Odd Bird Planet releases that will be coming soon.

The Halloween peek reminds me of the jingle from the Addams Family:
They're creepy and they're kooky,
Mysterious and spooky,
They're all together ooky,
The Addams Family

And the Gnomes, well all I can say is that my brain is atwitter with card ideas using bad puns.

Stay tuned...

Monday, July 14, 2008

Cupcake Challenge!

Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge includes a sketch. I'm beginning to really love sketches these days.

Anyways, the Strawberry Cupcake was stamped on paper-baggy-colored cardstock. I used Copics to color the paper skirt part and the strawberry. I used a Fantastick to swirl and dab on the Pearl Ranger Paint Dabber for the frosting. It is shiny and kind of textured in person. The scan flattened and drabbed it out. I stamped a second strawberry, colored it, cut it out, and then popped it on top of the other strawberry to give it a bit more depth.

The paper is from the Keep on Cooking line by Flair Designs. I cut out a circle that said "Yum", went over it with Distress Ink to make it stand out a bit more, than went over it again with a Spica pen to make it glittery since it clearly needed a bit of blling.

I colored the brown & white gingham ribbon with my Copic marker. I'm really pining for more of those, but have the first college tuition payment due in the beginning of August.

Anyways, thanks for visiting today!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Card #4

Here's the fourth card I did from one piece of Sweet Tooth patterned paper from Flair Design's Keep On Cooking! line.

I do have a few more pieces from that one sheet and ideas to use them, but since my life (and craft room) are in complete turmoil right now, I don't know where I put 'em. I'm sure those scraps are "somewhere safe" aka "The Black Hole". If they turn up AND I remember my ideas for them, I'll make and share those cards.

Anyways, this card was quick and easy, which is sort of rare for me. I simply stamped Happy Birthday (jj mix), colored it in, added some ribbon, and some rhinestones.

Thanks for visiting today!

Friday, July 11, 2008

Card #3

Here's the third card created from just one piece of patterned paper! I must say that creating several cards from one piece of patterned paper makes me begin to feel thrifty, then reality sets in as I look around my craft room.

Anyways, I used more of that one sheet of Sweet Tooth paper from the Keep on Cooking line by Flair Designs and used a photo corner sticker from that line as well. I also dug up some older Flair rub-ons from my stash. I spelled out "Be Cool" and then stamped Shady Al to perch on the top of the "l". Thank heavens for my Stamp-a-ma-jig cause my aim just isn't that good!

Al's colored with Prismacolor Markers to look especially cool on his perch.

Thanks for visiting today and stay cool!