eye can stamp

2010-09-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

A stamping friend had to undergo some surgery recently. This is a card I created for her. Owl stamp and sentiment by Joanny Sheen, wavy lines by Judi Kins. I used a little bit of Judi Kins' Diamond Glaze to make the owl's eyes more impressive (hard to see on the photo). The owl is colored with watercolors, dp by CreaMotions, cut and embossed with Spellbinders Nestabilities.

I couldn't stop giggling when I saw this stamp by American Art Stamps for the first time... We have two dogs, and their name is quite often "No no bad dog"... well, more frequently they're called Baxter and Vivaldi... Nevertheless, I had fun with this card which I created for this week's Splitcoaststampers' Sketch Challenge. I bought my first Copic markers recently, and I colored the image with them. Guess I need to practice a little more with the Copics, but I already fell in love with them! Dp by DCWV. Ohhhhh... what are the dogs doing while I'm uploading this????? No no, bad dog!!! ;-)

Beautiful Geisha

2010-09-29T03:18:00.000-07:00

My wonderful stamping friend Anne Ryan just sent me a parcel full of incredible stamping goodies - key charms, a white gelly pen, white Shimmer spray AND... drum roll... the Asian dreams SU set!!!!! Can you believe it???? I still can't!!!! So I had to create a card using my new stamps right away - this is what it came out.

The background for my stamped images is watercolor paper colored by pressing some green and brown Ranger Adirondack ink pads onto a craft sheet, then misting the craft sheet with water and putting the watercolor paper onto the craft sheet, then I dried the paper with my heat tool. When the paper was completely dry, I sprayed some Glimmer Mist onto it and again dried it with my heat tool.

I stamped my images with Versamark onto the colored watercolor paper and embossed the images with red-gold embossing powder. The Geisha was punched out with a Marvy Uchida oval scallop punch and edged with purple Colorbox Fluid Chalks. Everything was mounted onto cuttlebug-embossed cream cardstock (Plum Blossom folder), then onto burgundy cardstock.

Stamping Again...

2010-09-04T15:49:00.001-07:00

It's been such a long time without stamping...
Yes, I said without stamping - not just without posting!!!
And I do hope so much I will be able to stamp more regularly again now that I changed some organisation things in my office - new employees, new office hours...

Well, here's two cards I created two weeks ago at a stamping retreat.

I love watercoloring, and this image (by Crafty Individuals) was just stampend and then watercolored on some canvas-textured watercolor paper. Sentiment by Stempelmeer saying "Congratulations".

Something more funny... I'm known for loving coffee, and well, though it's not my style of clothing, this might just be what I'm dreaming of sometimes - sitting with a friend having a cup of coffee, ready for a shopping adventure...
Stamp by designs by Leerè, colored with Tombow markers.

Age Happens...

2010-05-31T12:58:00.000-07:00

I was asked to create some funny birthday cards. I LOVE those American Art Stamps images with all those more or less young ladies struggling with age, diet, husbands and other minor problems... So I had a lot of fun creating these quick cards!

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Colorbox Fluid Chalks to sponge the edges.
Images colored with Tombow markers. Dp by 3 Bugs in a Rug (Flower design) and Basic Grey (stripes design).

Black and Purple

2010-05-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

You all know the Black Magic technique? To stamp an image with white ink onto some dark cardstock and then color it with pencils? I really like this technique, so I was happy when I fund out that today's Splitcoaststampers Technique Lovers Challenge was to use the Black Magic technique.
Stamps: Stampington (main image), Innovative Stamp Creations (background flourish), Stempelmeer (sentiment saying "congrats"). Ink: Adirondack Snowcap White, Memento Sweet Plum. I used Karisma pencils to color the image and a purple gelly pen to add some definition and highlights. Border punch by Martha Stewart.

Amy Atlas Inspired Retro Card

2010-05-22T13:05:00.000-07:00

When I browsed the Amy Atlas Events gallery for today's Splitcoaststampers Inspiration Challenge, I was fascinated by the colors Amy Atlas used for her dessert table on photo No. 108.

I would never have thought of combining red, olive, beige and purple. Nevertheless, I wasn't as brave as Amy Atlas was with these colors, so I chose a stamp with only an outline design to get not too much color onto my card, but added a cardstock stripe and flower taking up the colors of the stamped background. The stamp I used is the Fifties Fabric cube by Judi Kins, and for the flowers I used my EK Success punches. I used the Memento inkpads Lady Bug, Sweet Plum, Bamboo Leaves and Desert Sand.
Guess I'll have to add this color combo to my "Definitely YES!" list!

Back again... at home and in my stamping room!

2010-05-18T13:03:00.001-07:00

I haven't had any time to stamp during the last weeks, so finally I had to start with something simple again - I'm totally out of practice, LOL!
The flowers are created out of some old book pages. I colored the paper with some Tim Holtz distress ink pads, then punched and embossed the flowers with my Nellie Snellen flower punch, then added the golden lines with a gelly pen.
The main image is by Stamp-Iit Australia. For the blue background cardstock I used a flourish stamp by Innovative Stamp Creations (stamped with Versamark ink and hard to see on the photo). I distressed the edge of the main image with my distressing tool.
The sentiment says "Happy birthday" and is handwritten.

I'm In A Meeting...

2010-04-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

Today's Splitcoaststampers Free For All challenge "Take A Virtual Vacataion" made me smile... I'm so much longing for some vacation... AND next Saturday I'm going to travel to Florida BUT NOT for holidays but for a scientific meeting. I'm going to stay in a wonderful hotel at Fort Lauderdale beach... and probably won't have the chance to enjoy beach life!!! How cruel is this???? So I had to grab this American Arts stamp out of my drawer and create this virtual vacation card... perhaps I should try to make ot real, not only virtual, LOL!!!!
Wavy lines stamp by Judi Kins. Colored with watercolors. Stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and Colorbox Fluid Chalks Paris Blue.

Dream of (or on?) Wood

2010-04-20T10:37:00.000-07:00

One more card stamped onto veneer leftovers I recently got from a neighbour who works as a carpenter. I'm totally intrigued with this fantastic material which gives so unexpected effects because there are no two pieces alike. I tride to stamp onto the veneer with dye ink, but the dye sinks into the veneer so that the image looks kind of faded. Then I used Colorbox Fluid Chalks - and they work GREAT!!!! I used the colors Dark Peony and Chestnut Roon - wanted to use Red Lipstick instead of Dark Peony at first, but my Red Lipstick ink pad was dry :-(
Nevertheless, the Dark Peony doesn't look that "pinky" on the veneer it looks at the inkpad, and I'm pretty content with the color shades I achieved with it. The film strip stamp is by Stamp-It. The background was created with Gel-A-Tins clear stamps stamped onto some bamboo specialty paper (again stamped with Colorbox Fluid Chalks Dark Peony and Chestnut Roon).

Easter Cards... NOW??????

2010-04-18T10:45:00.001-07:00

After Easter is before Easter, isn't it?
A neighbour asked me to create some Easter cards RIGHT NOW - don't ask me why she needs them two weeks after Easter, anyway I tried to be a good girl and created Easter cards NOW...

I love this two-step-stamping tulip by Stampin'Up. I stamped it with Colorbox Fluid Chalks onto white cardstock. The Easter Wishes background stamp is by StempelBar, stamped onto some BasicGrey dp.

Image by American Art Stamps, dp by Basic Grey. Edge and corner punch by Martha Stewart. I colored the image with Tombow markers.

For this card, I used a Sizzix BigZ die to cut the window into the card. I cut it again in a different color and placed it over the actual window. Then I stamped a bunny (Penny Black) onto the inside of the card and colored it with watercolors and Tombow markers. The outside of the card was decorated with some flourish die-cuts (punch by EK Success) and ambossed flower die-cuts (punches by Nellie Snellen). I stamped the cardstock for the flowers with a Hero Arts swirl pattern first, the die-cut and dry-embossed them, and finally placed a little red wax dot in the middle of the flowers.
And this is how it looks inside:

This is a fun one, isn't it? I stamped this bunny stamp (A Muse Artstamps) eight times and colored the images with watercolors. Hard to see on the photo, but one of the bunnies has a cotton ball with stickles on it for his tail. Dp by Basic Grey, edge punch by Martha Stewart.

For this card I stamped my Easter Wishes background stamp onto some dp by CreaMotion. The bunny had been part of my crafting stash for at least ten years... Scallop Oval Punch by Marvy Uchida, dots created with Liquid Pearls.

Peeking Bunny

2010-04-04T06:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter to you all!
Hope you've got some more sunshine than we have...
When I saw this peeking bunny, I had immediately the idea of letting him look through some striped paper... The dp is by All My Memories, the bunny stamp by Inky Antics. Sentiment handwritten.

Easter Bunny

2010-04-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

Isn't he a cutie??? I love this smiling bunny with his spring flowers! He makes me smile whenever I see him. So I decided after stamping this card not to tidy up my desk but let this stamp stand on my table - outside it's raining, but I'm sure where this bunny is scampering along, the sun is shining!
The image (Penny Black) was stamped with Black Memento ink, then colored with Tombow Markers and a waterbrush. Flourish punch by EK Success, border punch by Martha Stewart, flowers by Prima, flower brads by Making Memories, dp by Provo Craft.

Big Easter Egg

2010-04-02T15:36:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit late with my Easter cards... as always, LOL! I bought this wonderful American Art Stamps image last year just one week after Easter, so I finally had to ink it up now! I colored the image with Twinkling H2Os, th dp is by Basic Grey.

Flowers On Wood

2010-03-28T13:18:00.000-07:00

One of my neighbours is a carpenter, and he gave me some veneer rests to use for stamping. This was my first attempt to use them. I stamped the image (by Stampington) with StazOn Jet Black onto the veneer, then tore the image (my cutting machine was not able to cut it exactly, so I preferred to tear it). The flourishes are created with my Spellbinders Nesties, and the dp is by Diane's Daughters.
What do you think about stamping on wood?

Who Can Resist Beautiful Poppies?

2010-03-26T14:12:00.001-07:00

I have a problem with negative image stamps: I always fall in love with them suddenly but struggle hard with how to use them afterwards. So it was with this beautiful poppy negative stamp by Hero Arts. I love, love, LOVE poppies, so I couldn't resist this stamp, but then I found it difficult to create an interesting image with it. Here's what I came up with finally, and I am quite content with the result.
I first painted an old book page with a thin layer of gesso, dried it with the heat tool, then stamped the poppy image with Versamark ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder. Then I sponged the whole image with green and red fluid chalks and wiped away the excess ink.
By the way, this card is for this week's Splitcoaststampers' Ways To Use Challenge - "Let's Celebrate", and the German sentiment on the card (by Stempelmeer) says "Congratulations".
Large flower punch by Nellie Snellen, little one and Flourish punch by EK Success. I used champagne Liquid Pearls for the little dot in the middle of the flower.

52 Bears for Cathy

2010-03-21T16:21:00.000-07:00

Today's Splitcoaststampers' Featured Stamper is Cathy aka Mutnik - she's such a great and creative stamper, and one of the sweetest SCS ladies ever. Recently, she sent to me a smiling dog card (she drew the smiling dog herself, WOW!) and I still owe her a Thank You card for that. So this was the perfect opportunity to create a Mutnik-CASEd card for her!!
I CASEd this card by Cathy.
While Cathy used several inchie stamps, I used a single stamp by the German manufacturer StempelBar which contains all these bears. The bears on the stamp are drawn by the German "Bear Painter" Chris Schlag. If you have a second, take a glance at his website!
Cathy popped up one of the bears on her card - I did the same, but you can't see this very well on the photo (it's bear No.4 in the 4th row...). He's got a three-dimensional glossy nose, too, thanks to some Diamond Glaze. Some other bears have one single sparkling tooth - take a close look at the picture!
Cathy, if you like this card, it will go on its way to California!

New Punch to Play With...

2010-03-21T15:51:00.000-07:00

I wanted to play with my new Nellie Snellen flower punch today. It is a double punch for die-cutting and embossing, and I used it for the blue flowers on this card. The pink ones are punched with an EK Success punch and embossed after punching with a cuttlebug embossing folder.
The border punch is by Fiskars.
The flower stamp is by Autumn Leaves (Rhonna Farrer). The sentiment is by Stempelmeer and says "Congratulations". I used pink Memento ink.
I don't know the manufacturer of the dp, it's a Dutch one, this I know for sure.

Art Journey Dagen

2010-02-21T11:22:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I had the chance to take part in the Art Journey Dagen. Louise Kolker from Art Journey and her team made these days a real celebration for their clients. We were spoiled with fantastic workshops, excellent catering, fun, laughter and goodies. Star teacher was Rachel Greig, the owner of Darkroom Door stamps, but not only her workshop was great, Sija, Leonie, Corine, Tineke, Jeanette and Liesbeth taught us lots of new techniques. We created a "book of techniques" which meant that we created in eachg workshop a sample for a special technique, and at the end of the day, these samples were assembled to a little book which we can keep and expand.

The chipboard frame on the cover was decorated with Terra paste, then stamped into the paste, then colored with acrylic color and metallic color. Heating the paste with the heat tool causes tiny bubbles which add texture to it.

Rachel created with us this wonderful photo card with her beautiful cottage image. The background pattern was stamped onto cardstock colored with a black Adirondack paint dabber, and clear embossed, then sponged with some brown color and wiped off the excess.

This page was created in Sija's and Leonie's workshop. They taught us to take masking a step further and to create resist effects with oil pastels. The colors used are Adirondack inks. I love the Ingrid Bergman stamp we used (by Stampendous)!

This is part of a page of glossy cardstock we sponged with Adirondack inks. The resist effects were achieved by stamping with clear embossing ink before sponging. Then the sponged background was overstamped with lots of different stamps with StazOn Jet Black. We created a whole A4 page within only ten minutes, and the pieces can be used in so many different projects. And it was fascinating to see how different our pages looked though we only had five Adirondack colors to choose from!

But this was only part of the fun. Look at these photos:

Louise explaining the time schedule.

Leonie and Sija teaching masking and sponging techniques.

Rachel teaching.

Louise's Mom Willy was responsible for the catering. Great job, thank you so much!!!

Well, sitting and stamping a whole day long??? These two nurses made us do some sports in between the workshops - okay, laughing that much, it was not really sports what we were able to do...

So, let's rock...

Louise, this was such a fantastic event!!! So much inspiration - thank you so much for all the great work you and your team did for us!

A Simple Thank You

2010-02-03T13:47:00.000-08:00

Recently my Mom created some address labels for my MIL. Now my MIL asked me to create a thank you card for my Mom. I was inspired by this week's Splitcoaststampers Clean and Simple challenge sketch and the three-colors-mushroom card it was based on, so this turned out as a three-colors-flower card. I hope my Mom will like it.
Flower stamp by Stampendous, sentiment by Heidi Swapp, flourish by Tim Holtz. Design paper and fibers by Basic Grey.

Virtual Stamping Night - Part 4

2010-02-01T14:05:00.000-08:00

This is for the Mini VSN Spotlight On Ice challenge.
The challenge was to feature one's favorite olympic game using the spotlight technique. When I read about the challenge, I had immediately in mind this cute Peanuts stamp by Stampabilities...
I know that the original spotlight technique leaves the main image monochromatic and colors only the spotlight piece, but I considered it such a pity to leave Charlie Brown monochromatic... guess he would have got a severe depression if I did that, LOL! So i cheated a little bit and colored everything, nevertheless, there's a spotlight, isn't it?! I used all the olympic colors in my image (yeah, where's the yellow??? Take a close look on Charlie's cap!), and I added some Stickles for the snow - hard to be seen on the photo. And because it is hard to see as well: The tab on top of the card says "Snowball Fight", and the epoxy sticker says "Sleigh Ride".
I hope you have the same fun looking at this card I had when creating it...

Border punch by CreaMotion, epoxy stickers and tab by Around The Block, background cardstock embossed with the Cuttlebug Snowflake embossing folder. The image is colored with Tombow markers.

Virtual Stamping Night - Part 3

2010-01-31T13:48:00.001-08:00

One more challenge during the Virtual Stamping Night: to use snow or ice on your card, and the snow had to be created either with Flower Soft and Tacky Glue or with white or clear embossing powder. I used white sparkling powder with this cute image by Penny Black. The sentiment is by Stempelbar.

Virtual Stamping Night - Part 2

2010-01-31T13:45:00.001-08:00

The next Virtual Stamping Night challenge was about the red mittens worn by the Olympic torchbearers. We were to use the colors red and white and some wool or yarn on our cards. I found these little mittens from my Christmas stuff quite close to the original Olympic ones, so I just HAD to use them on my card! This card is speaking right out of my heart... We've been stuck in the snow for almost four weeks now here in the North of Germany, and it just won't stop snowing...
Snowflake border by HeroArts, brrrr by Stampin'Up. Background created with the Cuttlebug Snowflakes embossing folder.

Virtual Stamping Night

2010-01-31T11:22:00.001-08:00

There was a Mini Virtual Stamping Night at Splitcoaststampers yesterday. It was all about the Winter Olympics, and the first challenge was to create a card using the color of one of the participating nations. I think, one of the main things about the Olympic Games is to make friends from foreign countries, so I chose a friendship theme for my card. And though I'm always struggling with these colors, I chose my own nation's flag colors - black, red and gold. The stamp is by Hero Arts, I stamped it with Palette Noir and highlighted it with a gold gelly pen. The added butterfly is die-cut with the Cricut machine.

In Love With Polka Dots

2010-01-13T10:41:00.000-08:00

I didn't have the chance to upload my card for last Friday's Limited Supplies Challenge "Love You Much" at Splitcoaststampers earlier. But hey, better late than never, right?
The challenge was to create some "Love" card restricted to the colors red, pink, black and white, and it had to contain polka dots.
I got this heart stamp (Hero Arts) from my Mom on Thursday, so I had to try it... It is stamped with Palette Noir ink and colored with Tombow markers and pink Stickles. Polka dots are in the little hearts, on the ribbons and cuttlebug-embossed on the red cardstock. Oh yes, and on the scallop-punched black oval. The sentiment says "Best Wishes".
Do you like it?

Inspired by an Alarm Clock...

2010-01-03T10:27:00.000-08:00

Can an alarm clock be inspiring??? Well, if it's about Splitcoaststampers Inspiration challenge, it can be indeed, LOL!!!
The challenge was to choose a piece of this recycled glass art web site as inspiration for a card.
I chose this Alarm Clock as my inspiration piece:

I had fun with creating this colorful card, and in case you can't see it on the photo, this is an overall sparkling bird with tons of Stickles on it, LOL! The sentiment is handwritten (saying "Congrats"), and I added some "Markie's Mom dots" along one of the frames with a gelly pen. Bird stamp by KaiserScrapbook, swirly flowers by See D's. Frames cut with a Sizzix BigZ Hello Kitty Frame die cut.

Thank you, Dani!

2010-01-03T04:06:00.000-08:00

I wanted to show you a gorgeous Christmas card I got. It was sent to me from my stamping friend Dani, together with some special treats for my dogs - and they want to say "Woof-Woof" for that!!!
It's hard to see at the photo, but the card is made on a clear acetate base to which the brown design paper was mounted and accomplished with those gorgeous sparkling stars. Thank you again, Dani, and hey, you all should have a look at Dani's blog which is crammed full of wonderful cards and gift ideas!

My New Flower Stamp

2010-01-02T04:23:00.000-08:00

My Splitcoaststampers friend Anne Ryan sent me such a wonderful Christmas present with this gorgeous card and that BEAUTIFUL flower stamp.

Yesterday's Splitcoast Limited Supplies Challenge was the perfect chance to try this stamp for the first time. We were to create a

Happy New Year

card... no, not really, but it had to be created HAPPILY in less than fifteen minutes, using something NEW we got for the holidays, and the card should be dedicated to some yearly occasion like a birthday. So this was the perfect chance for me to use my new flower stamp!

- Happy: the card was created in only twelve minutes
- New: the new flower stamp, thank you so much again, Anne, I'm totally in love with this stamp!
- Year: it's a birthday card, the sentiment says "Congrats"

The stamp was inked with several shades of Colorbox Fluid Chalks, and I added a tiny amount of glitter to the flowers (hard to see on the photo). Sentiment by Stempelmeer, but sorry, I don't know the manufacturer of the flower stamp.

Happy New Year Everybody!

2009-12-31T14:22:00.000-08:00

This is a very simple card, but I love the background stamp (by Stampers Anonymous) with its soft floral texture. I inked it up with several Adirondack inks and stamped it onto rough watercolor paper. The sentiment is stamped on a piece of cardstock I colored with the same Adirondack shades. If you take a very close look, you can see a lighter-colored swirl pattern on it which is stamped with Castaway (some bleach ink). The sentiment (by Kaleidoskop) says "Congratulations".

And now... countdown for 2010!!!!
What a great topic for today's Splitcoast Stampers' Ways To Use Challenge - time! Here in Germany, it's about one hour left in 2009, we just had a delicious fondue dinner, and sparkling wine is waiting for me to stop with my blogging activities for tonight and to clink glasses with my husband and the neighbours at midnight...
But before, I wanted to upload this card I created for the WT challenge. I recently snatched that wonderful SU! set of clocks, cogwheels and this great sentiment at a second hand stamp market, and this was the perfect moment to use it for the first time. Hope you like it!
Happy New Year everybody!!! See you all back in 2010!

Let It Snow...

2009-12-20T09:51:00.000-08:00

When we woke up this morning, we had a wonderful snowy winter landscape outside... We haven't had so much snow for such a long time. Mostly it's only foggy and raining, so we really enjoyed a wonderful snow walk this morning. It was the first time our younger dog Vivaldi saw snow - it was so exciting for him, and Baxter, our elder dog, and Vivaldi had so much fun playing in the snow together.
Look at that Video clip!

Vivaldi Wishes Merry Christmas

2009-12-13T04:05:00.001-08:00

When I visited Louise's blog yesterday, I detected such a fun little movie she had created and posted. So I just had to try it myself featuring my little dog Vivaldi... Have fun!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Pink Polka Dotted Gingerbread Man - Or: What To Do If You Eat Too Much Delicious Food During The Holidays...

2009-12-06T09:36:00.001-08:00

This week's Res-Q-Challenge
was kind of complicated... In honor of all Alka-Seltzer, Pepto-Bismol and all these other things helping us to get along with all this wonderful food through the holidays, the challenge was to create a card with some food element, polka dots representing the bubbles of Alka-Seltzer, pink to represent Pepto-Bismol and some round element to represent Rolaids...
I found it extremely difficult to combine a brown gingerbread man brad (which was the only holiday food piece in my stack) with pink and polka dots, until I found a piece of this dp by Rayher...
The gingerbread man brad is by Hot Of The Press, the rickrack ribbon by Lil Davis Designs. The sentiment stamp is by Autumns Leaves, I punched away the center part which was a Christmas Tree to replace it with my gingerbread man.

White Snowflake

2009-12-06T09:12:00.000-08:00

White Snowflake, what a silly title for this post, are there any other snowflakes than white ones??? Well, look a the card and read about the challenge, then you'll understand why my mind is some white-confused today...

No time to stamp during this week - so I took my chance to spend a rainy and foggy Sunday in my craft room.

This week's Splitcoaststampers Limited Supplies Challenge was a real challenge - only white cardstock, white or clear embellishments, white ink - white ink??? Just kidding, ONE single color of ink was allowed, thank you for your generosity, Holly!!!
The background cardstock was embossed with my new cuttlebug Holly Borders embossing folder. The snowflake was cut and embossed with my cuttlebug snowflake die, then I added a clear rhinestone. The sentiment stamp by Kaleidoskop is originally square and
says "Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year". I used Versamark ink and silver embossing powder, cut it with a circle punch because I thought a circle would fit better to the card than a square, and edged it with a silver Krylon pen. The ribbon is by Panduro.

Anyway, I had fun with this challenge, and I like the result.

Sponged Snowflakes

2009-11-29T14:12:00.000-08:00

We haven't had any snow yet here in Germany, but in my craft room it is snowing all the time, LOL!
For this card I used a Spellbinders Impressabilities template and sponged it with several blue and violet shades of Adirondack inks. I love the soft, somewhat blurred result.
Sentiment by Der Bessere Eindruck, using Versamark ink and white embossing powder.

Oh Christmas Tree

2009-11-29T14:10:00.001-08:00

I had to try my new EK Success border punch today... So I came around with this quick and easy card using a Christmas tree sticker (thanks again Julia for your recent Splitcoaststampers stickers challenge - it made me get all my old stickers out of the drawer and USE them!!!!).
Sentiment by Butterer, golden snowflakes stippled with Liquid Pearls, doodling with a gold gelly pen.

Soft and Silent Snow

2009-11-29T14:06:00.001-08:00

I really love this sentiment by George W. Bungay. I detected it on some Around The Block dp, and as it seems I was stamping snowflakes today all day round (well, at least those sixty minutes I managed to stay in my craft room, LOL), I thought this would be the perfect day to use this scrap on a card.
This week's Res-Q-Challenge was to use felt on a card. So I die-cut this felt snowflake with a cuttlebug die and added a rhinestone. I sponged the dp with Colorbox Fluid Chalks Blue Iris a bit darker in the top right corner to make the snowflake contrast a bit better. Snowflake dp by Frances Meyer.

Admire The Snowflakes!

2009-11-29T13:39:00.000-08:00

Snowflakes are so beautiful!
This week's Splitcoaststampers Limited Supplies Challenge "Instant Replay - create two cards with the same main image and color scheme but different layouts" was a real stretch to me - I love to play around with different stamps and rarely use the same stamp twice a day - another day, yes, of course, but not twice the same day... But I really love this American Art Stamps image, so I tried to create two cards in the same color scheme but with different layouts.
Thw snowflake background is by Hero Arts, sentiment on the tall card is by Butterer, sentiment on the square card is handwritten. Both cards are colored with Twinkling H2Os. The snowflake background on the tall card is stamped with blue Memento ink, the snowflake border on the square card with Brilliance.
Which card do you like better?

Two Snowmen

2009-11-20T14:03:00.000-08:00

This evening my friend Dagmar visited me to stamp Xmas cards. Well... finally we talked more than we stamped, LOL, but nevertheless, I finished this one and started a few more which I hopefully will be able to finish during the weekend.
I love these funny snowmen by Whipper Snapper Design - seems as if the little one is just asking: "Daddy, is there a Santa Claus?".
Sentiment (saying "Merry Christmas") by Stempelmeer, background snowflakes by HeroArts (stamped with Adirondack white pigment ink). Everything is colored with watercolors.

Sticky Christmas Tree

2009-11-05T13:55:00.001-08:00

This is for today's Ways To Use It Challenge. I didn't expect to have the time to take part in the challenge today as I have to prepare for a lecture I have to hold in Munich on Saturday, but Julia challenged us to use stickers on our cards - what could be quicker and easier??? Julia, you're the greatest!!!
So I took my "Xmas Emergency Card Pack" out of the drawer (which contains some stickers, ready cut white cards and some Xmas paper) and created this quick card. I'm not a natural sticker lover, but I have to admit, it is really a fun and easy way to create last minute cards - and isn't it already last minute for this year's Xmas cards???!
The sentiment (saying Merry Christmas) is by Stempelmeer, stamped with Versamark ink and heat-embossed with violet embossing powder by JudiKins. Design paper by Around The Block. Sticker by PickUp. I added some rhinestones.

A Really Red Reindeer...

2009-11-04T13:39:00.000-08:00

Yeah! My first Xmas card this year!!! Yes, I admire all you well-organised ladies having completed your Xmas cards already in May...
I'm not sure if this card really counts for this week's Splitcoast color challenge - neutrals with a pop of color - it's more red with a pop of neutral, LOL! But it should count for the Splitcoast Clean and Simple sketch challenge, and as well for the ResQ Challenge (monochromatic holiday cards).
The card is very sparkly IRL as I used stickles on all the red circles, and the reindeer's nose is a red rhinestone.
Stamp by Outlines Rubber Stamp Co., dp by Tim Coffey.

Autumn - Season Of Change

2009-10-31T13:46:00.000-07:00

This is for this week's Splitcoast Sketch Challenge and Limited Supplies Challenge: What's the Weather? Well, we've got typical German autumn weather: some fog, a little sun, some rain - changing all the time. And as for the Limited Supplies Challenge we were not only to create a card about weather at home but also to use two things of a kind, I used:
2 different dp designs
2 color staples
2 rhinestones
2 pieces of ribbon
2 colors of cardstock
Thanks to Jean AKA naturecoastcrafter from the Res-Q-Challenge team (look at her wonderful gallery) who sent this wonderful cuttlebug pumpkin and the autumn clear stamps (and much more) to me - I love all these goodies!!!
Dp by Basic Grey, ribbon by Just Write, Stamps by Studio G.

Dream...Imagine...Inspire...

2009-10-28T11:01:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late with this card because it's for last week's Splitcoast Sketch Challenge, but I had so little stamping time that I wasn't able to finish it earlier.
I love this wonderful film strip stamp by Stamp-It Australia (though I have to admit that it is not so easy to achieve a really perfect impression with it). The border was stamped with a Penny Black stamp. I used SU Chocolate Chip and Taken With Teal inks, and the background papers were created with my favourite cuttlebug folder.

Surprise From The Res-Q Team!!!

2009-10-28T10:31:00.000-07:00

Recently I discovered a wonderful "medical" blog, the Res-Q-Challenge. It's a fantastic stamping blog, and their challenges often are about "medical" topics... not to be taken too seriously. I was totally excited when I discovered that blog and immediately sent a comment there. And what do you think? Today I received this wonderful blog candy from the Res-Q Team!!!!

Thank you so much, Jean, for sending these goodies to me - I love those bright pumpkins, leaves, owls and of course the clear stamps!!!!

Look What I Got!

2009-10-28T09:50:00.001-07:00

Today I got a wonderful Halloween Card from Dani. I admired that card already on her blog (you REALLY should visit her blog, it is worth while!!!!), and now I found it in my mail - what a wonderful surprise! Thank you so much, Dani!

What Do You See When You Close Your Eyes?

2009-10-16T12:46:00.000-07:00

As an ophthalmologist, I've got a natural affinity to all eye images and sayings. So I once got this photo card but never used it. Today's SCS Limited Supplies Challenge was to use a pre-made card as a base for a stamping creation, so this was the perfect chance to combine this old eye postcard with this "What do you see when you close your eyes?" saying (by B-Line design) I do love so much.

I added the flower eyelet (by Whoo-Whoo-Wowies) and some rhinestones on the upper lid (hard to see in the photo) and one rhinestone on the pupil light reflex, stamped and silver-embossed the saying and mounted the photo card onto a white double-fold card.

Falling Leaves Thank You

2009-10-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

Last week's Splitcoast Limited Supplies challenge asked for "just stamped" cards without any ribbons, buttons or other embellishments. So I went back to my beloved Teykol and made a Teykol resist card...once again.
The image (by Inkadinkado) and sentiment (by Heindesign) are stamped with Black StazOn onto glossy white cardstock. Then I brushed beside the lines with some Teykol, let it dry, then sponged over the whole image with several shades of Adirondack inks. For the borders, I used an EK Success border punch.

Germany Meets Asia - Happy World Cardmaking Day!

2009-10-03T14:36:00.001-07:00

This is for the Verve Stamps World Cardmaking Day challenge - pick a flag and use the color scheme of the flag. For some personal reasons, LOL, I chose the German flag though I have to admit that I personally do not that much like the black, red and gold combo of the flag. I first thought of a Christmas card with these colors, but couldn't get along with the black, so I chose an Asian image (by Inkadinkado) which worked much better for these colors. Hey girls, THIS is WORLD Cardmaking Day - Germany meets Asia!!!!

I used red and black cardstock, a Sizzix embossing folder inked up with Brilliance Galaxy Gold ink, Versamark ink and black embossing powder for the main image and mitsuhiki cords for the knot (which is the only complicated thing on this card...) and a gold gelly pen and Krylon pen for the highlights on the image and the edging.

World Cardmaking Day

2009-10-03T13:15:00.000-07:00

Today it is World Cardmaking Day, and Splitcoast celebrates that with a whole lot of challenges. The first challenge was to use a quote as the focal image of a card. I love this quote - isn't it that often that we forget about our own strength? And that exactly this forgetfulness makes us really weak? So I made this card to always remind myself of it - guess I'll put it onto my office desk...

And... yeah, right at the moment, I'm bigger than the pain in my right middle finger which I bruised in the ring of the dog leash this afternoon when my dog started for a new world record without waiting for my permission to do so ;-)

Stamps by Stampers Anonymous. Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa and Desert Sand. Design paper by Basic Grey. And I used: Cuttlebug embossing folder, ribbon by The Paper Studio, heart brad by You Do Creative (Sweden), Martha Stewart border punch, Prima flower.

First Christmas Tree

2009-10-02T14:28:00.001-07:00

My first Christmas card for this year... well, I know, I'm late!!! Today's Limited Supplies Challenge at Splitcoast gave me the chance to try my brand-new Christmas Tree stamp (by Outlines Rubber Stamp). The ornaments on the tree are perfect to use with rhinestones or stickles. And as I couldn't decide what I like better - stickles or rhinestones, I used stickles AND rhinestones - is this too much supplies for the LIMITED Supplies Challenge??? Giggle...
Sentiment by Der bessere Eindruck,

Beauty of the Butterfly

2009-09-30T13:44:00.001-07:00

Finally I have the chance to take part in a challenge again!!! I missed that soooo much during the last months!
This is for todays sketch challenge, a wonderful, versatile and easy sketch. I brayered the background with Kaleidacolor inks and overstamped the image (Stamp-It Australia) with Palette Noir. Design paper by Basic Grey. Hope you like it! And don't you love the sentiment?

Back again...

2009-09-27T13:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since my last post - too much work and too many other things keeping me busy here. But I'll try to keep up my blog more regularly again, so let's start with my first autumn card this year:

Leaves by Inkadinkadoo stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa, small leaves by HeroArts stamped with Fluid Chalks Burnt Sienna, sentiment by Kaleidoskop stampid with Memento Rich Cocoa. Design paper by Crea Motion. Highlighted with a white gelly pen and pink stickles.

I attended a stamping demo by Judi Watanabe from JudiKins recently. She used MicaMagic refill ink to create very rich and shimmery backgrounds. Here I tried to do something similar. I used metallic Palette refill inks to sponge the wavy line on the black cardstock (masking the rest of the cardstock). After this had completely dried, I overstamped the star images (JudiKins) and embossed them with green sparkling powder. The sentiment is stamped with Versamark ink and embossed with gold detail powder. I edged the black cardstock with a gold Krylon pen.
The card is much more sparkling IRL than on the photo!

I experimented with some new two-tone acrylic colors recently. They can be used as a quick and wonderfully shimmering background. I just brushed them onto white cardstock and overstamped with Palette Noir ink, added some white highlights with a gelly pen - voilà!

Flower stamp by Inkadinkadoo, sentiment by Magenta. Twin Color apricot-gold by Eberhard Faber.

And another card using the Twin colors, this time the applegreen-gold one. The main image was stamped onto a wooden paint chip. Swirls by Tim Holtz, branches by Penny Black, sentiment by Stempelmeer.

I'm so happy to be back in stamping and blogging world again! Please leave me a comment if you like the cards! Show you some more soon!

Sailboat Sympathy

2009-07-08T13:28:00.000-07:00

One week ago, there was a horrible gas explosion in my home town. Yesterday one of the injured men, a 43-year-old father of little twins, finally died by his burnings. He was a passionate sailor and a sailing buddy to one of my neighbours. So my neighbour asked me to create a sympathy card with a sailing theme.
I used this wonderful old Stamps Happen stamp, but cut away the sentiment. I watercolored it with shades of grey and black, added the sentiment ("With heartfelt sympathy", by Stempelkeller) and a ribbon.

Sad day, sad card...

2009-07-06T13:05:00.000-07:00

A sad day today... The father of one of the nurses in my office just passed away. Exactly one year ago, she already lost her husband. It's impossible to find the right words for that.
I used Saturday's inspiration challenge for my sympathy card. My inspiration piece was this beautiful poster:

Here's my card:

The leaf (Stampendous) was stamped with StazOn Stone Gray, Memories Soft Celery and Versamagic Hint of Pesto, the flower was stamped with Versamark and embossed with black detail powder. Sentiment (with deepest sympathy) by Stempelkeller.

On Your First Day At School...

2009-06-24T10:09:00.001-07:00

A little girl in the neighbourhood is going to have her first day at school soon. In Germany, children are given a cardboard cone filled with sweets or small presents on their first day at school. I didn't have a stamp with a girl with such a cardboard cone, so I used this little boy stamp by Stempelbar with a pink-violet color scheme and hope the little girl will like it nevertheless...

The image is colored with Karisma pencils and Sansodor (Gamsol Magic technique). Design paper by CreaMotion. Background stamp unknown.

Good Old Times

2009-06-21T14:06:00.001-07:00

This is for this week's Splitcoast Inspiration Challenge. I used these little shoes as my inspiration piece:

The sentiment on my card says:

Now are the good old times to which we will long to return in ten years.

Oh, so true!!! LOL!

Swirl stamp by Rhonna Farrer, sentiment unknown (maybe by Der Bessere Eindruck), brad by Panduro.

Swedish Poetry - Javisst gör det ont...

2009-06-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

At Splitcoast, they had two wonderful challenges this week. The Ways To Use It Challenge was about to use text in the design, and the Limited Supplies Challenge wanted us to use text in a foreign language. I was long time thinking about which language to use - I decided to use neither English (though it is of course a foreign language to me) nor German (though this would be a foreign language to most of you).
So I decided to us a Swedish poem by Karin Boye for my text element. For those who are interested in the poem, here's the text and its translation:

Ja visst gör det ont när knoppar brister.
Varför skulle annars våren tveka?
Varför skulle all vår heta längtan
bindas i det frusna bitterbleka?
Höljet var ju knoppen hela vintern.
Vad är det för nytt, som tär och spränger?
Ja visst gör det ont när knoppar brister,
ont för det som växer
och det som stänger.

Of course it hurts when buds burst.
Otherwise why would spring hesitate?
Why would all our fervent longing
be bound in the frozen bitter haze?
The bud was the casing all winter.
What is this new thing, which consumes and bursts?
Of course it hurts when buds burst,
pain for that which grows
and for that which envelops.

I like this poem - what do you think about it?

I stamped the text (HeinDesign) with Versamark onto violet cardstock and embossed it with white powder. Then I stamped the rose (Stampin'Up) with versamark onto white cardstock, embossed it with violet powder and colored the rose with Stargazers Palette metallic watercolors.

Wind In My Hair

2009-06-15T01:19:00.000-07:00

I bought a fascinating stamp last week at a second-hand stamp market. Unfortunately, I don't know the manufacturer as I bought it unmounted. Now I used it for the first time - I thought it would be perfect for the SCS Inspiration Challenge. As my inspiration piece I used this wonderful chocolate package:

And the card I created referring to this inspiration piece is this one:

I sponged and brayered several shades of Ranger Adirondack ink onto Chromolux cardstock, then overstamped the image with StazOn Jet Black. The sentiment is by Penny Black and stamped onto black cardstock with Ranger Adirondack Snowcap White Pigment ink. I added some rhinestones and a small jewellery piece.

Cards To Say Goodbye

2009-06-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

I was asked to create several farewell cards for a colleague who is going to leave our town. I wanted to mirror the different personalities of the people who ordered the cards, so I created very different cards - from cute to monochromatic.

This would have been the card I would have chosen for myself. I sponged the background with several shades of Adirondack inks, then stamped the plane (is it by B Line Designs? I'm not sure.) with Espresso Adirondack ink. The swirls (by Rhonna Farrer) are stamped with two shades of Adirondack inks. I added highlights with a white gelly pen.

For this one I used a very classical Penny Black stamp, colored the rubber with Tombow Markers, sprinkled it with water and stamped onto watercolor paper. Simple, yet I like the technique. I added some glitz into the center of the flowers, but you can hardly see this on the photo.

For this image I used a VERY old HeroArts stamp and watercolored the image. The background is stamped with Adirondack Sandal ink and a Rhonna Farrer swirl stamp.

Who doesn't love good old Riley by Hanna Stamps? I stamped and watercolored him, the sentiment on the banner ("farewell") is handwritten. I added some Diamond Glaze onto the plane to give it dimension, but this is unfortunately invisible on the photo.

Now tell me - which one is your favorite?

Cards for Baptism

2009-06-04T13:50:00.000-07:00

I think it is always difficult to create cards for people you don't know at all. I was asked to create a card for baptism, and I don't know the one who will send the card neither the parents of the baby. I don't even know if it's a girl or a boy! And should it be more a baby card, or a more religious card???
So I decided to create two cards to choose from.

This one should also qualify for today's Splitcoaststampers' Ways To Use It challenge: creative images. The challenge was to create the main image not with a stamp but with punches, torn paper, brads or something else. So I made this stroller with the help of my circle punches. I added a lot of rhinestones and stickels. The dotted background is by Kaleidoskop, the sentiment by Stempelbar.

This is my second card (I think my favorite one). I used psalm 91 for my sentiment:

For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.

I think the angel image (American Art Stamps) is perfect for that psalm. I colored the image with Stargazers Palette watercolors. And I used my new flourish punch.

Just Moved ... and I'd love to have more German sentiment stamps!

2009-06-03T13:51:00.001-07:00

Nothing spectacular today... just a little card for someone who is going to move. I couldn't find a suitable stamp for the sentiment, so I had to computer generate it, it says "Good Luck in Your New Home".
Hmmm... does any stamp company read this? I'd like to have a beautiful German "just moved" stamp, or something like "Good Luck In Your New Home" - why don't you produce something like that in German????
The truck stamp is by Stampin' Up, I colored it with Tombow markers and an Aqua Brush Pen. Design paper by Daisy Bucket Designs.

Countdown for the 60th Birthday

2009-05-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

I needed a quick card for a 60th Birthday - a masculine card, which is always a difficult task for me. I chose this numbers image and pointed onto the 6 and the 0 with two arrows which I had stamped, embossed and cut out.
Stamps by: Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz Collection (numbers, scratch background), see d's (arrow), Stempelmeer (sentiment).

Tired of Wedding Cards?

2009-05-24T13:16:00.001-07:00

Are you already tired of wedding cards? Well, I guess you'll have to stand some more, LOL!

I tried to keep the design of this card quite simple. I always love the red and white together for weddings. The red paper I used is very special - it feels like some mulberry paper, but it has a glossy pattern. The heart stamp is by Inkido, the sentiment stamp by LaBlanche.

Yeah, and still I don't have enough wedding cards to cover all needs... So, one more... Nevertheless, I wanted to take part in todays Splitcoaststampers' Featured Stamper Challenge. Today Mercy is the featured stamper, and Mercy has a wonderful gallery INDEED!!!
I chose this card:
Thinking Of You
I kept the white card base, but didn't create a grid pattern with the ScorPal (I was too lazy for that, I admit...) but embossed it with a cuttlebug folder. I kept blue as the main color as Mercy did in her card, but added red instead of green as additional color. I used the same way to tie the ribbon as Mercy did, but I didn't do the paper piercing and placed my sentiment differently. I think I should create one more card keeping closer to Mercy's card, using a different image, but anyhow - I needed one more wedding card, so I was a bit limited with the selection of my image...

2009-05-23T07:25:00.001-07:00

One more wedding card... seems I need hundreds this year, LOL!
I used my cuttlebug heart die and embossing folder to create the hearts using the cuttlebug negative effect: I sponged the embossing folder with Colorbox Fluid Chalks Maroon ink. To be honest, I sponged the wrong side of the folder, but as it is so often with those crafting accidents, I like the effect with more color on the hearts than initially intended.
The sentiment stamp is by La Blanche, the background stamp by Hero Arts (stamped with Adirondack Sandal ink)

Wedding Cards A Galore

2009-05-22T12:40:00.001-07:00

Sooo many weddings in may and june, and I'm REALLY late for creating my cards, just returned from my trip to the U.S. and my new puppy keeping me busy! So I had fun creating a card using this fun image - here it seems the wedding couple is a bit late...
The image is stamped with Versamark ink, then black embossed and colored with Stargazers Palette water colors.
Stamps: Artemio (wedding couple), LaBlanche (sentiment)

One more wedding card... I love these beaded hearts elements, they make a wedding card without needing any sentiment. I saw them once ready to buy, but I decided to make my own beaded hearts - it's really easy!

And this was for the Splitcoaststampers' Ways To Use It Challenge: Stamp It Again! The challenge was to use the same stamp at least twice, and what could be more perfect for a wedding card than to stamp a heart twice?!

The hearts (October Stamps) are stamped with Versamark ink, then embossed with dark red powder and colored with Stargazers Palette water colors, and I added some gold beads. Sentiment stamp by La Blanche, small scallop oval punch by Atelier Terziev.

Who's Keeping Me Busy? ...a New Puppy and an Asian Birthday Card

2009-04-19T13:19:00.000-07:00

No time to stamp!!!!
And if it were not for such a cute little reason I would be VERY angry about that fact, LOL! But... we've got a new little puppy for a week now... His name is Vivaldi, he's an Australian Shepherd and such a sweet little rascal!!! So he's to blame when I had no time for stamping this week... okay, a few minutes today, and this is what I made out of those. A simple Asian-inspired birthday card. The button is from my stash, I stamped a bamboo pattern on it (you can't see this very well on the photo).
Stamps by Hampton Art Stamps (Asian collage), Magenta (sentiment), Inkadinkadoo (bamboo pattern on the button. Ink: Palette noir. And I used a red Tombow marker, a red button, some black fibers and a black skeleton leaf.

Close Your Eyes ... This Is Not Mainstream!!!

2009-04-02T15:14:00.001-07:00

Okay, this is no mainstream card. But it's a very ophthalmologist card... Look at the sentiment, LOL!
I got the inspiration to use this stamp with today's Splitcoast Limited Supplies Challenge, Foiled Again, by Judi Watanabe from JudiKins who also used some metallic foil to bring life to the women's hair on a card I saw a long time ago and I always wanted to case. Today's challenge was to use metallic foil on your card.
The image (Judi Kins) is stamped three times: on acetate, on double-sided adhesive and onto a piece of cream cardstock.
From the image on the double-sided adhesive I cut out just the hair parts from the double-sided adhesive. Then stuck it onto the acetate and brushed copper foil over it.
On the cream cardstock, I painted the non-faces-areas with blue Lumiere paint, and then stuck the acetate-double-sided-adhesive-copper-foil-piece onto the colored cream cardstock. Sounds difficult, but it isn't, it's just a little time-catching.
I tried several design papers as a background, but felt it was "too much" for the message. So I used just some Glimmering Mist on my card. The sentiment is stamped with Versamark and embossed with copper powder. And I used some peel-offs for the frame of the image.
Well - I already said - I don't expect very much comments on this card, it is no mainstream card for sure. But it's totally my style... hope you understand the strange thoughts of an ophthalmologist...

2009-03-31T11:28:00.000-07:00

This is a card I created some weeks ago, but when I wanted to share it with you finally. I stamped the image with white pigment ink (SU) onto black cardstock and added silver stickles... MUCH silver stickles... The image is by Crafty Individuals, the border by Fancy Pants Design.
I like the elegant effect very much. What do you think?

2009-03-20T14:14:00.001-07:00

Finally... I had some free minutes for a Splitcoast challenge today: The First Day Of Spring. Oh, I'm so much longing for spring!!! It's still much too cold here, so I haven't seen any cherry blossoms yet (we usually would have at this time of the year).
I used my new Penny Black stamp - isn't it a beauty?!? I colored the stamp with Tombow markers, then misted the whole stamp with water and stamped the image for this watercolored look. The design paper is by Wild Asparagus.
The sentiment translates "Congratulations".

A Bunch of Cards Today...

2009-03-15T14:19:00.000-07:00

I was asked to create a card for a 50th birthday with some rose image. I chose this old stamp (Sugarloaf) which I haven't used for a while, stamped it onto watercolor paper and colored it with Twinkling H2Os. The sentiment (Abracadabra) is embossed with burgundy embossing powder. Finally I added some rhinestones.

A neighbour needed a card for a 2nd birthday - so I finally decided to cut up my beloved Disney paper (by Studiolight)... I just stamped the sentiment (Happy Birthday by Kaleidoskop) and added a chipboard number which I first coated with Rose Lumiere paint, then covered with Ranger crackle paint. And I added LOTS of Stickles, LOL! A fun card!

This is a very quick and easy Thank You card I made today. I wanted to try my new border punch (CreaMotion), and then I thought the border was so beautiful that I felt I shouldn't add too much else on the card. So I just stamped the sentiment (Thank You by Stempelbar) and added a punched flower (EK Success LARGE flower punch) with some primas.

I was asked to create a "music" birthday card. As I wasn't sure about the recipient, I created two music cards - one decent and somewhat calssical, the second rocky...
This is the classical card. I used my cuttlebug embossing folder with color-core cardstock, then added some Versamark Dazzle Frost ink. I stamped a large music sheet (JudiKins) onto light blue paper, punched out a flower (EK Success large flower punch), added a music button (Rebecca Sower Designs) and a light blue ribbon on which I stamped the sentiment (Happy Birthday by Stempelmeer). Finally, I added some tiny primas and Perfect Pearls.

And this is the rocky birthday card! I must admit that I copied this card from myself, I already stamped the same design last weekend for a stamping friend, and as I liked the black-white-red color combo and the image, I wanted to do it again! Images by Inkadinkado, swirl by InnovativeStampCreations. The image is stamped with Palette Noir onto red cardstock, then I added highlights with a white jelly pen.

Back from a Stamping Retreat

2009-03-08T13:28:00.001-07:00

I'm just back from a stamping retreat, and I had a blast of creativity there! Among many other techniques, I experimented with Gesso there, and I LOVE this medium.
This card is created on an old book page using the Gesso resist technique.
I brushed Gesso over the whole page, let it dry, then overstamped the flower image (Innovative Stamp Creations) with clear ink and embossed it with clear powder. Then I sponged the whole page with several shades of Adirondack inks.
The background is stamped (Stampington) and embossed with clear powder onto dark blue cardstock, and the same stamp as for the background I also used to stamp onto the Prima flower.

Another Gesso card: The background is created with Gesso on dark green cardstock, then I wiped some green acrylic shades over the gesso. The image (Darkroom Door) is stamped with Adirondack white pigment ink and then a little beside the original image again with Memento green ink. Then I masked the image roughly and overstamped it with the SU Linen background.
The sentiment is a bit difficult to read on the photo. It says: all the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today (Indian proverb).

And one more Gesso card... This card is created on an old colorful journal page which I brushed with Gesso. Then I overstamped the image (Stampington) with Palette Noir ink. Mounted on black cardstock, added the sentiment (American Art Stamps), that's it. And I love the result.

No Gesso card...LOL! This is my well-known beloved Teykol technique. I stamped the image (Stampington) onto white Chromolux cardstock with StazOn Jet Black, then brushed Teykol resist medium just a little beside the stamped lines. Then I sponged the whole image with several shades of Adirondack inks, mounted it onto green and brown cardstock, added the sentiment (Stempelbar, the image translates "Thank You"), some dewdrops and a pre-printed leaf (Prima Marketing).

More cards soon...

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2009-03-03T08:46:00.000-08:00

Today's my Dad's 66th birthday. I was asked last minute to create a card for him by my MIL, so this was what I came up with quickly.
The chipboard numbers are painted with Ranger Distress Crackle paint, then overstamped with brown StazOn (number stamp by Hampton Art Stamps). The design paper is by Cosmo Cricket, I overstamped a swirl by Prima Marketing with Ranger Distress ink Tea Dye. The ribbon is by Elsie, and the Fastenater and staple I used are by EK Success. Embossing powder by Judi Kins, sentiment stamp (saying "Happy Birthday") by Stempelbar.

And this is my own card for my Dad. He's GREAT at solving problems, so I thought this image would be perfect for him - this guy has a BIG problem, doesn't he?!? The image (manufacturer???) is stamped with Palette noir onto watercolor paper, then watercolored. The little stamp I used for the brad means "Good Luck" and is by Kaleidoskop. I stamped it with Blue StazOn onto the brad, then added a silk flower and tiny metallic brads (by Rayher). The card was cuttlebug embossed with the Swiss Dots folder.

Dog Accordion Book

2009-03-01T10:50:00.000-08:00

What a fun afternoon!
I had two friends at home - both dog lovers - to create accordion fold dog albums featuring our dogs!

The accordion fold books are by Cloud9Design. We used a lot of materials, e.g. dog brads and paper clips by Around the block, die cuts by Cricut and design paper by DCWV. The stamps we used were by HeroArts, Whipper Snapper Designs, Magenta, Penny Black and Elzybells (did I forget anyone?!?). We used Colorbox Fluid Chalks, Brilliance, Palette and StazOn inks and colored the images with watercolors and pencils.

Oh...and I MAY NOT forget the main persons: my dog Baxter (an Australian Shepherd, 2 and 1/2 years old), and my friends' dogs Jerry Lee (a cocker spaniel) and Kaya (a husky).

And this is my finished book:

One More Virtual Stamping Night Challenge

2009-02-22T13:34:00.000-08:00

After having missed a few birthdays recently, I thought it would be clever to have some belated birthday cards stored up...
So I used the FEB09VSNO challenge (Joy Fold Card) to create this snail birthday card. I used this image (by Whipper Snapper Designs) recently on another card, but I had so much fun trying it for a joy fold card. The sentiment is by Stampendous. I stamped the image with Versamark and embossed it with black powder, then colored it with Tombow markers and watercolors. The design paper is by Basic Grey.
Look at this wonderful tutorial written by Beate to create a Joy Fold Card, too!

Virtual Stamping Night at Splitcoast!

2009-02-22T09:59:00.000-08:00

This weekend there's the Virtual Stamping Night at the Splitcoaststampers Forum! This means that there are posted challenges every hour at Friday and Saturday evening, and you have 45 minutes to complete a challenge. You can do as much challenges you like, and the best cards later will be presented in an honor gallery. GREAT FUN!!!!

This is for the FEB09VSNL challenge: A Wee Bit O' Love.
The challenge was to use at least three inchies on the card. I decided to use stampoboard inchies and an African theme.
The images were stamped with Palette Noir ink onto the stampboard inchies, then colored with Tombow markers and sponged with Fluid chalks. Finally I scratched some white highlights into the stampboard with a carving tool.
Images by Judi Kins, "wild" by Art Impression, zebra brad by Eyelet Outlet, ribbon by Basic Grey, dp by Bo-Bunny-Press.
Do I have to explain that I would really love to travel to Africa some day???

Okay, this is a FUN card. It's for the FEB09VSNH challenge: You're My Obsession. Well, my obsession is...surprise, surprise... STAMPING!!!!
I own a lot of funny "stamping stamps", so I combined the Traffic Sign (by Stamps In Motion) and my Stamping Bella (by Stamping Bella) - looks like she just jumped out of the car and let her husband drive his way alone - she has to make a stop at the stamp store first...you know this situation?!?
Design paper by Crea Motion, heart brad by Rayher, images stamped with Versamark, then embossed with violet embossing powder and colored with Tombow markers.

This is for the FEB09VSNG challenge: As You Wish.
The challenge was to stamp something about a quote from The Princess Bride movie.
I chose the quote: You be careful. People in masks cannot be trusted.
I have this wonderful large mask stamp (by Judi Kins) and wanted to use it. I stamped it onto shrink plastic so that the size would fit onto my card, colored the image from the back with pencils, shrinked the image and added some wire and beads. The sentiment is handwritten. Design paper by Junkitz, I stamped some hearts onto it from the Build-A-Swirl clear stamps set by Prima marketing.

Hey, take part in the challenges, too! It's FUN!!!

Loriot's 60th Birthday

2009-02-15T11:15:00.000-08:00

I needed a masculine 60th birthday card... As I'm VERY bad at masculine cards, I wanted to combine it with today's Splitcoast featured stamper challenge to get some inspiration. Today's featured stamper is Julie - you have to visit her wonderful blog: Stamps and Taxes! Julie creates really beautiful cards in a very distinct style - many layers, clear and crisp layout.
I used a stamp with a scene from a German animated cartoon comedy which I really love. It has a very special subtle humor, and I was soooo happy when I once got these stamps...
I took Julie's Halloween Frights card as my inspiration piece, but changed the number of layers, the dp (thought it is also striped), the cuttlebug folder and the size of the whole card. Yeah, and I'll NEVER be able to tie such perfect bows as Julie does...
And... I used the tiniest of all my tiny flowers on the man's suit. You know what the problem with tiny little flowers is? Hmmm, they are TINY and SMALL and hide behind my whole stash of flowers, LOL!!!
So...this card was stamped in two minutes... but it felt like hours to assemble it with this ... bow and this TINY flower!!!!

Card details:
* Loriot stamp: manufacturer unknown. Sentiment stamp: Kaleidoskop. Numbers stamps: Hero Arts
* Ink: Palette Noir
* Colors: Tombow markers
* And: Green and brown cardstock. The dp is from a series called Bohemian Christmas, but I don't know the manufacturer. Burgundy sheer ribbon. Black metallic brads (Making Memories). Cuttlebug embossing folder. TINY Prima flower. Red rhinestone.

The Red Bridge

2009-02-12T13:10:00.000-08:00

This is for this week's Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
I didn't know this movie before, so I ordered it and received it on Wednesday - just in time to create a card for the challenge. I was very impressed of the whole movie. It was totally different from what I expected. Almost no blood and cruelty, but beauty everywhere: the dresses, the swords, the architecture, the landscape.
For my card, I used an Asian landscape which I stamped with Palette Noir ink onto watercolor paper. I watercolored the image with Twinkling H2Os and other watercolors, then mounted it onto some green Asian dp (by Far and Away Scrapbooks), added an Asian brad (by Where Memories Are Created) and a die-cut Chinese symbol. My "splash of red" which was demanded in the challenge is the bridge which I colored red - I call the whole card "The Red Bridge".
I hope you like it - anyway, it was fun to get to know a new movie and to create this card!

A Flowery Thank You

2009-02-10T12:52:00.001-08:00

Today's Splitcoast challenge was to use the color combination pink - plum - kiwi. I don't do color challenges very often because I don't own much Stampin'Up inkpads, so I'm never sure if I use the right colors. Nevertheless, this time I wanted to give it a try, and I hope I managed to get close to the right colors.
I got this new Hero Arts clear stamps set one week ago and finally had to use it. The flowers are stamped with plum Memento ink onto pink cardstock, then cut out. The branches are clear-embossed onto green cardstock. I added some buttons from my stash and finally sponged the whole card with green Fluid Chalks.

Find Joy in Little Leaves

2009-02-09T13:07:00.000-08:00

Today's Splitcoast technique lovers challenge is to cut out embossed pieces and create a design with these pieces. What a simple and stunning idea! I had to try this with one of my cuttlebug folders immediately! I sponged the embossed image with several shades of fluid chalk inks (Colorbox), then cut out parts of the embossed image. Some design paper (7gypsies), a sentiment (Stampin'Up), a ribbon - voila!
What do you think?

Pawprints On Your Heart

2009-02-06T15:56:00.000-08:00

Today I had some time to stamp... and, as I felt some stamp withdrawal, I really longed to stamp. I checked out today's Splitcoast Limited Supplies challenge - and at first, I was a little bit disappointed that we were to use only ONE stamp... you see, I'm in kind of a stamp withdrawal, LOL! We were to use a sentiment stamp, a single sentiment stamp, no more stamps... But then I thought of this wonderful sentiment - it is oh so true... and I really enjoyed this challenge!
The stamp is by Eureka Stamps, the design paper by DCWV (Scrapbook Kit in a Stack - Dogs), the heart brad by Reprint of Scandinavia, the clips by Around the Block, and the dog is die-cut with the CuttleKids Hamilton die.
This card is for Baxter, my wonderful Australian Shepherd, who really leaves his pawprints EVERYWHERE at rainy days, having had fun in the mud... and each and every day on my heart...

Birthday Changito

2009-01-28T13:24:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine just came back from Africa where she worked as a pastor for a while. So I wanted to create some Africa-inspired birthday card for her, and Changito was just perfect because I had some salt an pepper pots looking like little apes sitting in a banana boat as birthday present for her...
The Changito clear stamps are by Stampendous. They are stamped with palette Noir and colored with tombow markers. The sentiment is handwritten. I used some green natural paper for the background and added some raffia instead of a usual bow.

Snail Birthday Mail

2009-01-28T13:20:00.001-08:00

Crazy times here... seems like someone pushed the fast forward button in my life and I just can't find a way to stop it. So I missed the birthday of a former colleague, and I'm so sorry about that. I stamped her a snail card for some late congrats - hope she likes it and excuses my forgetfulness...
The snail stamp is by Whipper Snapper Designs. I stamped it with versamark ink and embossed it with black powder, then I colored the image with Tombow markers. The sentiment is stamped with Palette Noir ink. The design paper is by Basic Grey.

An Affair to Remember

2009-01-01T11:24:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everybody!

After winning the Audrey Award of the Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge last week, I wanted to take part in this week's challenge, too: An Affair to Remember. Now I'm a little bit late, nevertheless... I love this movie, and I was inspired from the New York skyline and wanted to use this stamp which has been laying in my drawer for years (I don't know the manufacturer, maybe Lost Coast Designs, but I'm not sure about that, sorry!) ... I stamped it with Palette Noir ink onto some glossy cardstock and heatset the ink. Then I brushed some highlights on the buildings with Teykol (a resist medium), then sponged the background with Adirondack inks. I hope I could catch the sunset mood... I added a metallic heart brad on which I wrote "My Love Affair" with a white jelly pen. The background card is cuttlebug embossed.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T12:19:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas To You All! May you all have your holidays filled with the spirit of love and peace!
I just wanted to post some more of my Christmas cards - hope you like them!

This little guy (Inkadinkado) is just stamped and embossed onto some snowflake design paper. One of the quickest and easiest cards I made.

The peeking snowmen are created with a stamp (Peddler's Pack) I found in a stamp store in Marietta, GA, when I recently had the chance to visit the U.S. and wonderful SCS Sharon (sharonw05) took me for a shopping trip! I love these cute little guys, they make great cards with just a little color and stickles!

This is a no-stamp card creeated with my cuttlebug folder, then sanding on some color-core black cardstock. And I used my tag curler to tie the little sign onto the ribbon.

I don't want to make political statements here, and I'm not a really "green" person, but when I look at those large amounts of foil and glittery paper we use to wrap our Christmas presents - just dedicated to be torn up in a few seconds, I'm not sure if this is the right thing to do. Not to think about all the things we do without thinking throughout the year... When I recently flew over Greenland on my way to the U.S., I saw only very few ice - compared with my travel to the U.S. some years ago, it was MUCH less! Maybe the pilot took a different flight route, but maybe it is REALLY less ice... So I'm dreaming of a green Christmas these days - we haven't had a white one for years, anyway. The stamp I used is by Inkdinkado, the pine branch I used for the background is by Stampendous.

This fun card is created just with a single stamp (Inky Antics), colored with Tombow Markers and finally drawn a border with a blue InkEssentials pen. This was my main Christmas card this year - quick, easy and making me smile!

Stampboard Angels...

2008-12-25T08:39:00.000-08:00

It's months ago that I had the chance to take part in Sankari's and Brooke's Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge. I love this challenge, but during the last weeks, either I didn't know the movies or I didn't manage to get along with my cards in time. When I took a glance on this week's challenge, I was a little bit disappointed at first - again a movie I had not seen yet... But then I found out that it was broadcasted on TV at Holy Night, at midnight!!! Okay, a little late, but I recorded it, watched it this morning and was BLOWN AWAY!!!! Such a touching movie!!! I'm sure I'll watch it over and over again! But before watching it again, I had to stamp my creation for the challenge.
I chose the angel topic, too, as most challenge entries did. And I found a sentiment which I thought would be just perfect to catch the spirit of the movie.
I first sponged four stampboard tiles with different shades of blue Fluid Chalks (Colorbox), heatset the ink, then overstamped the angel images (Stampers Anonymous) with Palette Noir ink. Then I scratched white highlights into the images with a carving tool. I sealed the tiles with some spray varnish.
The sentiment and the scrolled lines are by Tim Holtz and stamped with Adirondack Snwocap White pigment ink. I dry-embossed the lines onto the card with my ScorePal.

What do you think about the result?

A Snowman's Right for a Rest!

2008-12-21T12:59:00.000-08:00

This snowman seems to need a little rest and enjoys his life lying in the snow...
I stamped the image (Kaleidoskop) with Palette Noir and added some color to his nose with a Tombow marker, finally I added some stickles for the snow.
The design paper is by Frances Meyer.

Some different Christmas Card

2008-12-21T12:35:00.000-08:00

After all those cute snowmen and Santas... I was in need of some different Christmas card. Don't get me wrong, I love snowmen and Santas, but well, they are only half the truth about Christmas...

I have an incredible love for old books, and I just had to buy this stamp when I saw it.

I send a Christmas card to our retired priest each year, and this year this will be the card. I stamped the image with Palette Noir onto cream cardstock, then colored it with Twinkling H2Os (several layers to get this extreme shimmery appearance the images in old books have). Then I just mounted the image onto gold cardstock, then onto blue cardstock. Ready. A totally different Christmas card, yet I love it.

What do you think?

2008-12-19T13:26:00.000-08:00

Today's Splitcoast challenge was to create mainly blue holiday cards... with almost no embellishments... I had a lot of fun with this challenge!
Isn't this guy just lovely? I just stamped him (Inkadinkado) with Versamark ink and embossed him with dark purple powder, then sponged blue chalk over the image. He really makes me smile!
Perhaps I would have added some rhinestones or sparkles - but well, it's the Limited Supplies Challenge, isn't it?!?
The sentiment says "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!"

Teykol Forest

2008-12-19T09:19:00.000-08:00

Finally... some time to stamp today.
I URGENTLY need to get ahead with my Christmas cards (...why does it get Christmas always so unexpectedly?!?).
I created a very simple and calm card with just stamping the snowy forest (Just for Fun) onto white Chromolux cardstock with black StazOn, then painting the "snow" with Teykol resist medium and finally wiping blue Adirondack shades over the whole image.
I can never get enough from this simple yet effective Teykol resist technique!
The sentiment says "Merry Christmas" and is stamped with Adirondack Snowcap White pigment ink which is great to use on dark cardstock.
Hope to get ready some more Christmas cards during the weekend! Guess otherwise I won't need them any longer, LOL!

Award Time!

2008-12-05T14:26:00.000-08:00

You bloggin' ladies are the greatest!
Even when you don't hear a single word and see a single card from me FOR WEEKS, you still keep an eye on my blog, and the dearest blogging friends of all, Sankari from Sankari's Sunshine Corner, even sent me this award!

I feel totally embarrassed - YOU are MY inspiration, Sankari - how could I be an inspiration to you, looking at your gorgeous cards????!!!! And you all are my inspiration - I LOVE browsing through all your wonderful blogs, even if I don't have the time to create something myself or even to write comments on all of your great work!

So I want to pass this award on to these wonderful stamping friends, just in place of all you other talented ladies out there:

Dani
Sanne
Louise

Make sure to check out their wonderful blogs!

Back and Alive...

2008-12-05T13:45:00.000-08:00

Where did the time go???
This is my first FREE WEEKEND after two months without a single free day... Time flew by with the work in my office, holding a lot of lectures and my travel to Atlanta, GA, for the Joint Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the European Society of Ophthalmology. It was such an inspiring meeting! I learned a lot, met the most interesting people and got lots of ideas to work on in the future! Nevertheless, getting along with the jet lag and after that with all the routine work which had been delayed during my time in the U.S., I had a really hard time and had to go through a real STAMPING WITHDRAWAL!!!! UUURRRRRGGGGHHHH! There were so many creative challenges on the web which I would have liked to try my hands on, but no way...
But now things get back to normal, and OF COURSE I had to get ink on my fingers IMMEDIATELY!!!

I have neighbours with very close connections to Israel, and as it is very hard to find Hannukkah cards for sale, they asked me to create some Hannukkah cards. As I only have two Menorah stamps, and one of them obviously buried under tons of other stamps - no chance to find it quickly, LOL - I made my personal challenge: to come up with five different cards, all only with stamping, no Cricut, no computer-printing, and all using exactly the same stamp (by Stampin Up). This is what I came up with:

For this card, I stamped the image with black StazOn onto acetate, then adhered it onto double-sided adhesive tape. After peeling off the backing foil, I brushed thin silver foil onto it. It makes a really lustrous and shiny background which doesn't show well on the photo. I matted the image onto blue and silver cardstock, then on a blue card on which I randomly had stamped a Rhonna Farrer star swirl.

This one was stamped with silver ink onto blue cardstock, then embossed with silver sparkling powder, and finally matted onto silver cardstock. I added a blue sheer ribbon with some rhinestones. The background is a sheet of vellum run through my Cuttlebug.

For this card, I used a K&Company design paper for the background and stamped the image onto green cardstock, embossed it with gold powder and colored with stickles. An easy one, but I love the bright colors, though it's not the traditional Hannukkah color scheme.

Again a piece of K&Company design paper, and this time I stamped the image twice: first with white Adirondack pigment ink, then (just a tiny little bit beside the first print) with Brilliance Galaxy Gold. This gives the image a bit more depth. I added some color with a golden glitter jelly pen and a blue marker. The sentiment is stamped on a blue tag, mounted on a golden tag.

And this is - tatatatahhhh - the last card in this little series: I took some double-sided adhesive tape, stuck it onto white cardstock and embossed the whole piece several times with gold embossing powder to create a thick layer. Then, while the layer was still hot and fluid, I stamped into it with black StazOn. If you try to do this, don't panick when the stamp sticks onto the embossing powder and it seems as if it never ever could be removed from it again... just wait until the embossing powder cooled down, then the stamp can be removed easily. The background paper is created with some blue cardstock which I ran through my Cuttlebug after having inked the embossing folder with Brilliance Galaxy Gold.

Which one is your favorite?

Grease - The Disney Version...

2008-11-03T13:48:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!
I'm a fan of Brooke's and Sankari's Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge. This week's movie is Grease. Okay... to be honest, I didn't see the movie when it was new, but of course I know the songs. And it always reminded me of some squeeking mice when I heard "You're the one that I want, oh, oh, oh...". And when I look with 2008's eyes on Olivia Newton-John with her 1978 makeup and dress... doesn't she look like Minnie Mouse??? LOL! I hope I don't offend your feelings towards this movie - of course it is a fun one, and I enjoyed watching it now, but well, sometimes I'm a little bit goofy with those 70's and 80's movies. And I'm a Disney fan... Anyhow - I WAS reminded of Minnie Mouse, and when I saw Sankari's card for the challenge, I knew what I had to do: just change her wonderful cupcake people into Mickey and Minnie Mouse!
I cut Mickey's car with my Cricut and used an All Night Media stamp for Mickey and Minnie. They were colored with markers, then cut out, and I can tell you, I'll never again just THINK of cutting them out - it took hours (at least it felt for me like hours, considering my lack of patience)!!!!! The street was hand-cut and shaded with pencils. I added a hand-written sentiment and some lines.
I HAD FUN! Hope you've fun, too!

One, two, sixty...

2008-11-02T13:46:00.000-08:00

I was asked to create two cards for a 60th birthday. This is the first one I came up with. It's a no-stamp card (sorry for that!), but I like it nevertheless. The flowers are cut with the Cricut machine, and I used this wonderful dp from CreaMotion. The sentiment is Word-printed, then punched with a Marvy Scallop Oval punch. I added some light brown rhinestones.

This is the second one I came up with. Today's featured stamper on SCS is Becca - look at her wonderful gallery! I used this wonderful card by Becca as my inspiration piece.
I tried to imitate Becca's wonderful subtle chalk coloring (I guess I need some more practice for that...) on a cuttlebug-embossed background, added a decorative corner (cut with a Sizzlits die) like Becca did and used some little pearls as embellishments (hard to see on the photo) - Becca used rhinestones. I changed the size of the card, the way of displaying the sentiment, the ribbon and the layers, and I added a flower (stamped with SU "Both Way Blossoms" stamp and colored with metallic watercolors (by Yasutomo) and Tombow markers, cut out closely and mounted on foampads).

What do you think about both cards?

Baby Bath

2008-10-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

I always love to create baby cards. Friends of us just got a little baby boy, so today I made this card for them. It is just stamped and embossed with black powder, then watercolored with metallic watercolors (by Yasutomo). The stamps are by Woodware (Baby in Bathtube) and Heidi Swapp (Baby Writing). I added some dewdrops and stickles. The design paper is by Déjà Views (Sharon Ann Collection).

Nothing sophisticated, but I like clean and easy cards for babies...
Here's a close-up:

No Pink Leaves!

2008-10-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

I finally managed to do a Splitcoast challenge again: Friday's Limited Supplies Challenge suggested to create a card with leaves on it (easy thing, I thought, and already had some green-brown colors in mind) and some pink on it (in honor of the breast cancer awareness month). Pink? Piiiink??????? Did they really mean PIIIIINK??? Okay, I use often pink color combos for my cards, no problem with this color, but how to combine leaves with pink????
I decided to use some pink rhinestones - I hope that counts, LOL!

I stamped the image with Versamark onto cream cardstock, then embossed with Autumnal Impressions sparkling embossing powder. I colored the image with metallic watercolors (by Yasutomo) and sponged some tea dye distress ink onto the cardstock. I didn't cut but tear the image. Do you know how you can easily achieve precise tearing? Use a wet brush to draw the wanted tear line onto the cardstock - it then will tear exactly along these wet lines! I edged the torn cardstock with tea dye distress ink, then added the pink rhinestones and attached the whole thing onto some green cuttlebug-embossed and gold-wiped (Brilliance Galaxy Gold) cardstock and then onto a butterscotch card.

What do you think?

And, hey, don't you forget: Tomorrow there will be another Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge!! Get a sneak peek today!

Silver Wedding in No Time...

2008-10-20T13:35:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for the overwhelming echo to my turorial! I'll add some more turoials soon - please contact me if you wish some special topics!

A colleague asked for an elegant card for a silver wedding. As I had little time, no, actually I had NO TIME AT ALL, I decided to use a very simple card design and catch the eye with this wonderful stamp by Butterer which symbolizes life-long love in a perfect way, as I think. I stamped it with Versamark onto ivory cardstock, then embossed with silver sparkling embossing powder. I watercolored the image with Twinkling H2Os, Stargazers and PearlEx. As I wanted to give the image a somewhat understated look, I chose very light color hues and blended them all with some silver color to keep in the color palette I chose. I added some green torn cardstock and a cuttlebugged silver piece of cardstock. Between these layers I put a sheer silver ribbon with palettes which I used as closure for the card. As there fell down some palettes when I tied the bow, I collected them and used them as embellishments for my round tag (which I made with the Making Memories Tag Maker). The numbers are hand-written.

I hope this card is elegant enough...

Have a great evening, everybody!

Breakfast at Tiffany's and Lacy Glitter Tutorial

2008-10-18T15:27:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody,

I'm on call for this weekend, and as long as there's no patient calling me, I've got some time to play... There's a brandnew Challenge Site by my wonderful blogging friend Sankari and her friend Brooke who both love movies: Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge. You HAVE to check out this challenge! Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to play along with the challenge "Pride and Prejudice" last weekend, but how could I resist today's challenge "Breakfast at Tiffany's"?!?
So... What is my association with Breakfast at Tiffany's? Diamonds, glitter and bling, of course! So I decided to create a REALLY glittery card...and I added a lacy glitter tutorial to let you know how I created the glittery paper I used.
Okay, let's start with the hint that you should close all your windows before working with this technique...otherwise there'll be glitter everywhere in the room, LOL!
This is what you need: a piece of lace, removable labels, two contrasting colors of glitter, and a brush. And something like JudiKin's Snappy Tray can be REALLY helpful to keep all that glitter away from the floor and your clothes...

First, peel off the protecting foil from the label and attach the lace onto the label. It is important to press it firmly down, otherwise glitter will find its way under the lace and you won't get clear lace designs with your glitter.

The next step is to pour glitter over the whole piece of lace. The glitter will stick to the label in the lace pattern's open spaces.

Gently tap off the loose glitter... and don't laugh, cough or sneeze now! LOL!

Now peel off the lace from the label. This is how your piece should look like by now:

Pour glitter in a contrasting color over the label. It will fill in all free spaces - they are still sticky.

Again, gently tap off the glitter excess - you should have a wonderful glittery lace pattern on your label. I usually press the glitter onto the label firmly with the protecting foil I kept from my label and use a fixative, but you don't need to do this necessarily.

Can you imagine how glittery this piece is in real life?!!!

I attached my glittery label to a black card, then just added two curved stripes of black and silver mirror cardstock and some rhinestones to finish my Breakfast at Tiffany's card. Oh, and I couldn't resist to use this little stamp from River City (of course, using silver sparkling embossing powder)... YES, I KNOW I HAVE GLITTER ON MY FACE!

Okay, maybe this sentiment doesn't really catch the emotional part of the movie, but at least I got the glitz!!!

Thanks to Sankari and Brooke for this inspirational challenge!
Have a nice weekend!

Africa - Expect Miracles!

2008-10-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

A very close friend of mine goes to Africa as a pastor for a while. I wanted to give her as a farewell present a little book to use to write down her experiences. I chose an African-themed design paper (Bo Bunny Press) for the cover and punched out a square. Then I stamped an African scene (Art Gone Wild, one of my oldest stampes, I'm pretty sure that it is discontinued) with Palette Noir onto butterscotch cardstock, watercolored it and attached it behind the punchout. I added a copper charm from Pixie Press ("expect miracles" - I think one CAN expect miracles when travelling to Africa!) and some fibers.
I hope my friend will like this little book and use it often!

Large Tree? Small Car?

2008-10-05T14:58:00.001-07:00

One more for the Cardmaking Day Challenges! I took the the Splitcoast Stampers Ways to Use Challenge "use a tree on your card!" as the perfect opportunity to make a first attempt on this year's Xmas cards. A Christmas Tree IS a tree, isn't it??!? LOL! And this is even a LARGE one!!!
I think this image is so funny - I know scenes like this IRL just too well... With my husband trying to fix a two and a half meters Xmas tree on our car...
I stamped the image with Palette Noir ink onto white cardstock and colored it with watercolors. Hard to see on the photo, but parts of the car and the red clothes are very sparkly IRL, I used a glitter pen on them. The sentiment and snowflakes were stamped with Snowcap White Adirondack pigment ink, but I added some white gelly pen to make it pop out a little bit more. The brads are from Sweden - I think they were originally intended to be used on baby cards, but I think they make the perfect snowflake brads...
The card did not turn out exactly what I wanted it to. I think I have to work some more on the coloring or add more paper piecing. Nevertheless, it's okay for a first attempt - or what do you think?

Wet Leaves

2008-10-04T14:47:00.000-07:00

Yippeeee! Creating two cards on one day - what a luxury, LOL! I enjoy a long weekend (yesterday it was the National holiday here in Germany) - so there could be no better date for the World Cardmaking Day!
Here's my card for the Cardmaking Day Insipiration Challenge on the SCS site. I chose the title of the Inspiration catalog as my inspirational piece and created a no-stamps-card (sorry!). The card catches up the wheather we have right at the moment: stormy and rainy!
I sponged my cuttlebug embossing folder with copper Brilliance ink and ran it through my machine with some black cardstock. The leaves are punched with my new Woodware punch (WHAT a tool!!!!) which not only punches the leaf but also embosses the strands. I sponged the leaves with copper, pearlescent ivy and gamma green Brilliance inks. I added some green fibers, green and brown leaves ribbon. The rain drops were created with Diamond glaze.
Wishing you all a great cardmaking night!

A parcel from Kim (SCS Luv Flowers)

2008-10-04T13:20:00.001-07:00

Look what I got!!!!
My wonderful SCS friend Kim (aka Luv Flowers) sent me this treasure chest of SU goodies along with a gorgeous card. She is such a talented stamper with always clear and clean designs, and she typically combines a variety of different papers and textures in her cards. Check out her gallery!
I love these blue and green colors she chose for me, but the dp she sent me is just too beautiful to cut into pieces for cardmaking!!!
And - can you believe it - my first SU ink pads!!! After ten years of stamping (or even longer?)! Europe is a SU desert...but now I've got my own SU oasis, so to say, LOL!
Kim, thank you so much, my wonderful and dear friend! I can't wait to use all these things (okay, except of the dp, perhaps, this I would rather keep for a while and just admire its beauty!!!!).

World Cardmakers' Day

2008-10-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

I had the chance to play along with the World Cardmaking Day Challenges on the Splitcoaststampers forum today. I wanted to use some Teykol resist again - it's one of my absolute favorite techniques.
I stamped the image with Black StazOn onto glossy cardstock, then brushed some Teykol resist medium a little besides the lines of the image. When it was dry (it takes only a few minutes), I sponged different shades of Adirondack inks over the whole image. Finally, I added some highlights on the flowers with a white gelly pen. I matted the image with some black cardstock onto Basic Grey design paper and added some strips of cuttlebug-embossed cardstock. I sponged some cream and white Prima flowers with Adirondack inks and added brads. The sentiment is stamped onto a punch-out circle, the black border is drawn with a black marker.
Hey, I had fun with this card! I hope you like it!