Simple Joys & Happy Times

Time to share my glittery contribution to this month's smART-word challenge... I started out by stamping the plant silhouette from the Cookie Botanicals Plate, and then added the lovely dragonfly from Rossetti. I filled the dragonfly in with 2 different types of stickles - distress rock candy for the wings, and tiara glitz for the body. Definitely an eye-catcher in person! The sentiment is from the latest "cookie" plate, Vintage Variety. I love the single-layer layout (which I'm always drawn to but have a hard time actually producing) - and hey, it could even work for a guy! :)

Glittery {heart} Day

Can't believe it's February already! And a new month means it's time for a new smART-word: glitter! You can see some great examples (and get details about playing along) here. Also, smARTworks is back up and running! Get caught up on the news here.

For my card, I started with a dictionary I picked up from the Dollar Store. I ripped out the page that included "love," then masked off that entry and painted over the remainder with white acrylic. I used the words from Combo Sentiments, and grabbed a punched heart that's been floating around in my scrap box. A coating of ruby red stickles definitely added some punch!

On a funny note, when I was looking at the photo, I suddenly started cracking up and my daughter came running in to see what was so funny... somehow I couldn't bring myself to explain that I was laughing at the word "booty" on my Valentine's card. I'm thinking that a bit more white paint may be needed before this gets mailed out :)

Glitterin' Good Tea Party

Our first Tea Party of '09, and Donelda challenged us to bring on the bling - specifically of the glittery variety.

I really love the sentiment and the bird in the Shelley set, and thought it would work well for this challenge. I pulled out the granola BasicGrey pad, and selected this simple blue print as well as several coordinating "solids." I stamped the bird and the sentiment onto the lightest one, then trimmed away. I traced the bird with stardust stickles - my favorite way to add sparkle while still allowing color to come through (plus I always seem to make a big mess with loose glitter!). I cut the bottom of the printed paper with decorative scissors to add a bit more interest, and then layered a narrow strip of paper under the sentiment (which is a better option than ribbon if you're planning to mail something out).

Be sure to go visit Susan, Dina, Giovana & Donelda to see what sparkly goodness they have to share! :)

Sparkly Teddy Bear

A simple but fun card to share today, featuring a glitter window. If you've never made one, you really should - they're easy, and always guaranteed to impress. You can find a good step-by-step tutorial here.

Anyway, this card features the Teddy Gals set. I used the flower image on the front of the card, and then punched the circle. I then laid that on a white card base and carefully punched another circle. Next, I traced the circle onto the inside of the card (very lightly), then stamped the teddy using my trusty stamp-a-ma-jig, so that she'd be featured nicely in the opening. The SAMJ made it easy to position the greeting on the opposite side, too (from Semi Say #2). I tied ribbon onto the red panel before doing the glitter window, then glued everything together. The process was a bit more meticulous than my normal "fly by the seat of your pants" routine, but nothing too difficult - and it's very cute, if I do say so myself!

So did you notice the circular window? Well, that's also a good lead-in to tell you about the next Tea Party on November 12. Donelda has challenged us to incorporate a circular element - the card itself can be a circle, or it can have circular images or embellishments, or you can even use punches :) We'd love to have you join in the fun, so hopefully you can find some time to get circular.

Happy Day!

I thought I'd shake things up a bit with glitter and bright, happy colors!! The papers are all from DCWV Glitter Stack, and I arranged three patterns for the blocked background. I stamped the little bird (Studio G - the original stamp also includes the word "merci"), then added the words (PaperTrey). I added just a bit of color with my prismacolor pencils, then punched it out with a scallop oval. I then punched a larger scalloped oval from another one of the patterned papers, and it's all set! These glittery papers really are fun - lots of sparkle on the paper, but none in my eyebrows. Shiny, happy bliss!