silliness, stamping, photoshop, and BOYS

a little conversation with Queen V yesterday..
picture this:
we're in the van coming home from Burger King where we met the other mama's we hang with
Mr. T is asleep in his carseat because of going to "bounce time" at the library prior to this field trip
Queen V: mama, I kissed a boy!
me: huh?
Queen V: I kissed a boy!
me: where?
Queen V: on the forehead!
me: where were you when you kissed the boy?
Queen V: in the tunnel
me: Why did you kiss the boy? (makes me hear the song from Little Mermaid)
Queen V: because I like boys!
me: ok.. you can like boys but why kiss them??
Queen V: because I love to kiss them!
me: almost wrecking the van by now... ummmmm where do I go from here.. searching my brain... uhmmmmmm
I mean, what do I say? she is not even in school yet!!!
did I mention this is a friend's son..... he is homeschooled.... uhhhhhhhhhhh

so tonight at church I discuss this little show of affection with my friend... looks like we'll be drinking margaritas and dirty martinis- whatever they are- they are my friend's favorite... lol! soooooo now what???

My friend goes to talk to Queen V and asks her what was up... she puts one shoulder up and has a coy smile.. lol!
oh boy!! AM I EVER IN TROUBLE! LOL



this card is by
Cindy Lou Who What a talented stamper she is!!! If you haven't been to her blog she gives away FREE blog candy every Friday!!! Who doesn't like FREE??? lol! All you have to do is sign up and see if she draws your name. I got the first ever blog candy she made- and those petals for the flower- she made them with the extra rubbah you have when cutting out unmounted stamps- gotta love a girl on a mission!! This card glitters so much with all the dimension she added!!! If you haven't joined in on her FRAKs as she calls them then you are definitely missing out!!! She is also having a tutorial on her word phrases she uses and how she does it - makes it look so smoooooooooooth! lol! Her tutorial is accompanied by a deal on getting these cute little stamps.. seems she knows somebody that knows somebody.. lol! If you get a chance to look at her gallery it TOTALLY cracks me up! She has a quick wit about her!

I joined an image swap by her and I can't wait to see what all I get back! Several of the girls are using Bella Stamps. I can't wait to get some images of these gals! lol! So fun and sweet!!! I will have to find some sassy sayings to go with them!! Now... for me.. I have to figure out what to stamp for these gals... I am leaning toward Spring things.. I jump from image to image- it will all be a surprise.. hope Cindy doesn't mind... lol!

So from RAKS to stamps to Photoshop...
I went to Jessic Sprague's blog and wanted to look up some ideas to use for my photos. I love her style!!! Anyway, if you know me from The Shaker Box you know I am longing to learn about PSE2 and digi scrapping.... more of nursing babes sucking out my braincells.. I swear when I taught history and ESL I showed my kids how to do presentations using all this stuff and now.. kaput... nada... nothin' registering upstairs... until I found Jessica and now my new digi friend Verna. I have learned so much in the last few days following their lead.. lovely!!! ***clap like Paula Abdul*** lol! Such clean cut descriptive directions.. and when I posted on Jessica's blog a question refering to not being able to do something she walked me through it where I *could* figure it out!! yipee!! She will update her blog now with the little adendum to help out others in my perdicament!! Yea, Jessica! Yea, me! lol!

and last but not least... an SCS Valentine Blog!!!


I love what Amanda Sewell did with this card- really adult!! The lips change from red to black when going from one layer to the next- gotta remember to do something like this- take a stamp and just change the color from one layer to the next.. What a simple thing but it makes it stunning!! love that! You have to stop by her blog Inkspirations and check out her creativity!! From recipes to family to her card making - it is so fresh and inviting!! like going to a friend's for a cup of sugar! lol!

shaking out the cobwebs!

yep, I finally figured it out.. I made a watermark into a brush..
it took 3 scrappy/stampy websites to figure it out for all the cobwebs in my brain.
I commented on Gina K's blog that it was either lack of sleep, kids running around or how much they nursed...
sucked the brain cells right out of me!! lol!
I hopped from The Shaker Box where the owner, Michele C., gave me her input (thanks, girlie!) to Two Peas in a Bucket to SCS to figure out what I was doing right and wrong! whew- finally figured it out!!! and in the mean time not only did I figure out how to make a watermark but created a brush!!! Have you see how fun those things are? If you are a digiscrapper it is so cool!!! I've seen Rhonna Ferrer use them on her things- lovely!!! (I am so envious of digiscrappers... it seems to fast to me.. make a mistake- no worries "control z" that baby outa there! lol!

Anyway, I hope to make a "class" at The Shaker Box on how to create a watermark and a brush. It really is easy and fun to do!! It's a brave new world when I shake out a cobweb or 2! lol!

So.
onto posting a swap I was in at SplitcoastStampers! Sarah had a fabulous idea about creating a Valentine's swap just for bloggers! How cool is that?? The idea was that we would create the cards, send them to her, she would swap them out and send them back to us. We had 12 in the group - it might seem like a lot but when I got into the grove of it I had a great time and had a ball working with my new stamps! (more on that in a minute) Anyway, so we each got one card from all the other players- love this- we get to see someone else's creativity and share in their excitement!! The catch to this special swap was to post all the cards on our blog and a link to that person's blog- great idea, huh??? I LOVE It!

Without further a do... here is the first card I want to share:

I used DeNami Design Stamps and American Crafts paper. The ribbon I have had in my stash for quite some time. The heart and cupid are both on foam tape and have also been colored with PrismaColors and then blended using Gamsol and stumps. It did take some time but it was all worth it. I had first stamped the cupid and then masked him off and stamped the heart around it....and then followed it up by restamping the cupid and using foam tape to pop it up again! I love the pink tushy it has! lol! The wings are covered in glitter glue just for that extra sparkle! gotta love glitter glue!


This second image is by Stamperosity. I think her style is clean and simple.. I love checking out what she has come up with lately... did you see what she got for Christmas for taking photos??? really an awesome set up! gotta love that! Do you know when you see a card from far off and there it is- the one that stands out because of the unexpected?? This is the card- the unexpected is the teal blue- really striking in a Valentine!!! The textures of this card are super in that Lynn used glitter, embossing, lots of layers, and 2 types of ribbon- lucious!
here is her recipe for success:
technique (thanks for doing this one- I had never seen it in person!) alchohol Polished Stone, Heat Embossing
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa, Glossy CS, Temping Turquoise, DS PP/Loves Me
In: Craft Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Real Red
Misc: rubbing alcohol, embossing powder, stickles, ribbon, dimensionals
Stamps: Noteworthy, Double Line Doodle, Floral