New Year, New Book...

...so a new year for me means trying something NEW!

When I try something new, it's always on the good advice of Marti from Pezadoodle.com and what's more new and scary for me than something from Tim's line??? GRUUUUNGEBOARD book!

So I've only just started dabbling into grungeboard...tackling a whole book made with it is still a bit confusing for me...I'm not even sure I'm using it right! But here is the cover and the first couple of pages...I'm starting easy and I'm hoping to really bust out the grunge techniques and distress inks and stickles and EVERYTHING!

I'll be leaving the pictures out though, because it's a present for my mom who's also just starting to get into stamping and fun things like that!

So far I am loving it though! I stopped to take a couple of pictures, but already I want to get back into my scraproom to get back to work, so short and sweet, here it is so far!

Thanks for looking! I'm off to PLAY!

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It's a NEW YEAR!

...well HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone! And welcome to the new 2009 blog! What that means is that I sorta, kinda made a resolution to actually have entries! *LOL*

So what have I been doing over the holidays? Besides gorging on delicious mashed potatoes and gravy, getting totally stretched thin trying to visit all the people we were expected to see, hauling a rambunctious little puppy around to all those places, saving that rambunctious puppy from grabby little children's hands who want to carry him and drop him on his cute little face and then haul him back up again and drag him all over the house and hugging and kissing and greeting every single person in my path and quite more than possibly catching more than one strain of cold that I am now currently suffering and trying to fight off all at the same time? Well, I've been creating and making!

Pez-a-Doodle.com Design Team is up to ALL kinds of EXCITING and I'm trying to make sure I'm part of all the fun! HAHAHAHA...

Anywho, to kick off my first post of the new year, I'm showing a little love with a little red, black and white!

Materials (all products from Pezadoodle.com except when otherwise stated):
Ink: Black StazOn
Stamps: Inkadinkadoo (soon being discounted)
Stickers: Personal stash
Color: Prismas with MCPT

Materials (products used from Pezadoodle.com unless otherwise stated):
Glossy cardstock colored with Fired Brick Distressed Ink and foam tool
Stamps (inkadinkadoo) stamped with black and white ink dabbers
White gel pen
Stickers from personal stash

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Can I have your attention PUH-LEAZE...!

...that time has finally come! I now know how it feels to be the only child and then have to welcome a little baby brother or sister...except this situation is totally different, but still kind of the same thing...HAHAHAHA, ANYWHO!!!

As the former sole DT member of Pez-a-Doodle.com, I would OOOOFFICIALLY loooove to welcome CHRISTINE RILEY to the family!!! I'm so excited for a new design member, because first off, the MORE THE MERRIER and second, it's because Marti's got bigger and better things coming YOUR way! How so, you ask...weeeeell, you'll just have to wait and see, but I can assure you, FUN announcements and surprise on the way!

To start off the fun and exciting, and to welcome our newest DT member, I've got a link you are NOT going to want to miss! ESPECIALLY if (like my mom) you're just starting out in stamping and inking and all things Distressingly Tim or if you've been into it and just want to build up your stash, Marti's having an amaaaazing SALE exclusive to individuals we deem worthy enough to share the link with!!! (And of course that would be YOU my oh, so fabulous readers!). So here it is:

http://www.pezadoodle.com/HiddenSale.html

Hel-lo?!?! I've posted the link, what are you waiting for? These sales won't last forever you know, so DROP THAT TURKEY LEG and get a-clickin'! The sale page comes down on December 4th and at that time, prices are back to normal and you just can't get as much stuff with the same amount of money!!!

After you've clicked to your heart's content and rest easy knowing that your FABULOUSLY fun goodies will be on their way to you, mosey on over and visit Christine and wish her a congrats and best wishes!!!

I'm so excited - how's that for being THANKFUL this Thanksgiving!? (Well...for American Thanksgiving, anyway!)

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A Kinkade Kind of Christmas...

...while doing some "blurfing" (as what RobynStamps likes to refer to it as), I came across a blogger who made a couple Christmas cards using Thomas Kinkade paper.

Thomas Kinkade. Has. Scrapbooking. Paper.

*mouth slightly ajar*

Well of COURSE I had to get some and oh boy, are these papers FAAABULOUS!

These days, I only have time to shop and not so much time to actually play with the fun things I buy, so I kept the cards pretty simple - it's Thomas Kinkade! you hardly need to dress it up anymore!

The paper is from Cornish Heritage Farms and the only thing this needed was STICKLES (Pez-a-Doodle.com)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

CURRENT MOOD: HIGHLY IRRITATED CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: I DO (WHATCHA SAY BOO) - JON B.

Think ink - part two...

...so I posted that birthday card I recently made on the Cricut board and a few people mentioned that they were a little bit intimidated of inks.

My only thought was, "Don't be!" I used to be, too - but you just have to be willing to play around and get dirty (your desk, your papers, your projects, your fingers...LOL...and in my case, the floor and what you're wearing) and you'll come up with some pretty fabulous things!

I thought I would put together a few things to show what fun things can be done with ink pads!

Inks pictured: Kaleidacolor, Studio G, Brilliance Dew Drops, Adirondack
Other materials: Glossy cardstock, Rubber Brayer

As always, supplies (unless otherwise stated) are from Marti over at Pez-a-Doodle! (Actually, I'm looking at the picture now and ALL materials are from Pez-a-Doodle! What are you waiting for? Get over there!)

First I just started by playing around with background stamps and glossy cardstock (I heart glossy cardstock!) Take your background stamp and pick a few random ink pad colours. Mix them up, they don't really need to be all one brand! The only thing to remember though is stamp light colours before stamping on the darker colours - less likely to contaminate a darker coloured ink pad with light colours than it would be the other way around! And voila, you get something like this:

Background Stamp a Pez-a-Doodle exclusive!

Pretty! Just an easy, simple way to dress up a background stamp - rather than have it being one solid colour!

Another way to get some colour on that glossy cardstock:

You can NOT go wrong with multicolour inkpads! I used Kaleidacolor in Fruit Cake and Cappuccino Delight and using a brayer, applied all the bright pretty colour onto my cardstock! The whole technique was so laid back, I didn't even worry about where the colour was going, I just brayered the whole piece like crazy until I was satisfied with the colour. Decorate to your heart's desire!

Did these sound easy to do? Well then what are you waiting for? Get out your inks and play!

CURRENT MOOD: CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: MISS INDEPENDENT - NE-YO

Think ink...

...and the rest will fall into place!

I had exactly half an hour to get a card together before I got back in my car with The Mister and headed over to Red Lobster! I have no idea how long my cousin and I have had this tradition going, but every year on her birthday we always go to Red Lobster - and for some funny reason, we always end up in the same section of the restaurant, at pretty much the same table. The people seem to change too, the only people who are in all the pictures throughout the years are her and I. *smiles* Okay, can you tell she's my most favourite cousin, and one of the most favourite people ever?

So anywho, when I went to the States for my shopping trip we went to a Guess Accessory outlet store and HOLY MOLY, look what shimmied and said, "Yoo-hoo, look at ME!"

...and I said, "Well hel-loooo BEAUTIFUL!"

Can I tell you how much my cousin ADORES all things Guess? So I admired and coveted and thought this would be the perfect gift for her, and "guess" what? it was 50% off! 50 FREAKING percent OFF! Guess how fast these were in my hot little hands, paid for and in the trunk of the car? HAHAHA...I actually bought a second pair in pink for another girlfriend of mine.

Anywho, I'm so digressing. I needed a fabulous card to go along with my FABULOUS gift! Weeeell, imagine how buckling all the pressure was!

I get into my scraproom and wade through all the fun stuff and I stumble across tons and tons of Studio G inks! I figure now is definitely the time to use them and taaaa-daaaa!

Pretty colours! And the perfect way to accent pretty Studio G ink colors was a piece of paper from the Glitter Stack!

Fun little tip - the inks weren't expensive anyways and I wanted a more colorful approach for the sentiment, so I stamped a bunch of ink colors all over the stamp and voila!

All Studio G inks can be found at http://www.pezadoodle.com.

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Oh to be American...

...if only to have daily access to all your fantastically FABULOUS craft stores!

I crossed the border this past weekend my friends, and let me just say, I was *SO* jealous of you Americans!

I mean, you have a Michael's which is fine because I do too, but you have a Michael's with STUFF! And more than that, you have a Jo-Ann's, a Hobby Lobby and I didn't even get a chance to find a...crap, I forget the name of the other craft store I was jealous of you for. Plus your Wal-Mart's have TONS of scrapping stuff. *sighs wistfully*

Anywho, a little peek-a-boo at my trip:

Well, who can say no to 50% off? *giggles* They were Christmas presents though, I was a good girl!

The Queen is *SO* jealous of me right now...

I seriously sat down on the ground and stared...

Okay, I was a good girl up until this point!

Oh, how I love thee...

*whew* That last picture there...HOLY MOLY! If we had one of these in Canada...

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Clearly Stickle-licious...

...well look at me go! I am so happy that I seem to be back into the groove of things! I feel like scrapping and playing and I have TIME to do it! And I'm back to my regular ol' shopping ways, which is kind of bad right now because I'm trying to lower my debt! HAHAHA...

Anywho, there's nothing like getting back into the swing of things than by getting out your STICKLES!

I snuck a peek at Marti's blog (http://pezadoodle.blogspot.com/) while I was at work to see what she's been up to and my eyes were wonderfully assaulted by fabulously GLITTERY and SPARKLY YUMMINESS! So with the instructions already there, I couldn't NOT try it out!

Here's my take!

Look out! Picture-heavy because I am LOVING all over this card if I do say so myself!

Here we go: I cut down a piece of acetate (transparency paper, overhead paper - whatever you like to call it) and Cuttlebugged it with my choice of folder (the designs with bigger embossed "wells" work the best for this type of project. I had to add a thin piece of paper in between the plates to really get the sheet embossed. Next I just chose my stickles and filled in the wells. I had to do two sessions of Stickle-ing and drying until I had the right amount of glitter in my wells.

'Nuff said, get your Stickle on!

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Love: Plain and Simple...

...in black and white! Well, I couldn't do ONLY black and white...for some reason, I kept insisting on adding a tiny bit!

A co-worker of mine requested a plain black and white wedding card for her niece's wedding. I finally hit my stride and ended up with a few...

She only wanted to choose one, but I just gave them all to her. When she said black and white at first, I flashed on something SusieB-esque and pretty much went with that.

Not much to really go on about, embossing folders and a Cuttlebug. The only cool thing that I haven't ever worked with before is the curly felt - right now I'm drawing a blank on what the name of it is...everything else that was used was generic ribbon and generic Dollarama chipboard.

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Trick-or-Treat...

...in a box! I totally lifted this from Katie's (http://katiespaperhaven.blogspot.com/) blog and I had a TON of trouble with it! LOL...it's not my fault you make everything look so easy, Katie! If you haven't had a chance to visit her blog, I suggest it be the next place you visit! I love her work!

I had originally planned on making six of these for my co-workers (with little treats inside) but the amount of work it took to make this one...well...

But it's SO CUTE! (I mean, if I do say so myself!) Each opposite sides of the box I stamped using two stamps (Inkadinkadoo's All Hallows Eve line). The bats, I stamped in Adirondack's PIGMENT (aka creamy yumminess) ink and I added BLACK Stickles to accent some of the bats. The other sides, I stamped the witch in Studio G silver ink and used Stickles to accent.

Gotta love Stickles against a black background! Other accents was a white gel pen, and Halloween 3D sticker from Dollarama. Ribbon was 50% off from Michael's (which sucks because it was still $1.99 after being half-off!)

And that's the inside - Halloween patterned paper from Michael's.

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