Heidi's Choice Retake and Lorraines Simon Says Candy

Hi everybody, hope your Monday is going good.
I think this happens to everybody now and then,
but I just wasn't loving my first attempt
at making Heidi, proprietor and heart of
Simon Says Stamps
a birthday card,
so as a personal challenge to myself,
I've redone the card.
Phew, this one I can send!!


Love this one, and will proudly send it,
although just a little late,
but that seems to be the way I operate,
we can turn it into a wonderfully long celebration, perhaps!?!
This started coming together
with the mixing of several distress inks
and all the wonderful fall paper patterns out right now,
along with some superlush Mina flowers,
organza ribbon, an EK Success fern punch,
Glimmer Mist, Stickles and DecoArt Snow Writer.
The stamp is called Tilda with Cowberry muffin.


The inside has some more punch work,
Martha Stewart doiley punch and EK Success retro flower,
and I stuck a little pearl in the center of the flower,
the DP is from Recollections.

*****************************************************

Now, as most of us know,
Heidi as well as all of the lovely ladies
involved with the Simon Says Circle
have a lot of heart and do a lot
out there to keep things fun.
This is no different.
Lorraine has a special prize on offer,
courtesy of Simon Says Stamps.
Take part in this weeks
Simon Says Challenge,
which is stitching, real or faux,
blog about this candy give-away,
which is specifically a
Magnolia stamp of your choice ,
go back to Lorraine's blog and tell her
that you've done so and viola,
you're in for a chance at winning,
well, you saw it,
the Magnolia stamp of your choice.

My fingers and toes and eyes are crossed!!
I've even braided my hair, haha!!

So, I am off to the post office!!
Thanks for looking at my card
and if you get the chance,
pop over to this weeks Simon Says Challenge,
you've still got time to enter :)

Take Care,
Stephanne

Candy winners have been drawn

Hi folks,
It's time to reveal the winners of my little candy give-aways.
I now know why RNG is the preferred method
for candy raffles, haha!!
After typing out all the names,
cutting and folding each name and placing it
into it's appropriate bag-O-names,
it was time for the big reveal.
So, I got a big nesting cup to substitute for a magic hat
and we got to work lettting the kids pull names.
Here's what happened, and note that my camera was NOT
cooperating and each picture had to be retaken repeatedly!!


Without further ado,
the winner of the Penny Black candy is:
Chris Olsen, Glowbug
and her favorite PB image is
critters having a picnic,
not sure what the image title is, me neither!!



The winner of the House Mouse candy is:
Rosanne
who narrated for little Monica with,
"Let me at 'em!!"



The winner of My Favorite Things candy is:
scrapperjulia
whose favorite embellishments
are currently pearls and gems.


The winner of the Stampavie candy is:
Heather, Rica's Haven
whose 'roo story hopped away, haha.
See hun, no need to be scared of the 'roos!!


And the winner of the Halloween candy is:
Carolyn Bounds
and she thinks that Scream masks and
girls that dress up like the little girl from The Ring
are the scariest Halloween costumes.

There were a few good ones in there
that I thought I would share with you all.
Though masks, especially the Scream mask,
seems to be the heavy hitter,
Count Dracula had a few takers,
clowns, spiders and ventriloquist dummies
got honourable mentions as well as
white face paint, werewolves and dripping blood.
Good ones ladies!!

Thanks to everyone who joined in.
I am happy to share some fun stuff with ya,
and won't wait so long to post these
little giveaways in the future.
Thinkin' I'll break them up a bit here and there.
Lucky ladies, if you could kindly
email me with your snail mail information,
eatwblimpy@yahoo.com
I'll pop these in the post for ya.

Hope your upcoming week is most splendid :)
Stephanne

Magnolia Down Under gets cute as a button!!

Hello to all of you,
hope your weekend has been stuffed
full of crafty time.
It's time for another challenge over at
Magnolia Down Under,
and this fortnight,
we'd like to see you use buttons on your project.
We have a $20 gift voucher from

Scrapbook Boutique
for one lucky participant.

And here's my project.
Happpens to be the perfect time
for a button challenge to come along!!


I've used an image called Tilda with Flower Basket,
coloured in distress inks,
wings are a GlimmerMist/Stickles combo,
papers are K & Company and Basic Grey,
flowers are made with several distressed and curled
layers from an EK Success punch,
and the fabulous buttons are from
Mina's delicious blog candy that
I was lucky enough to win,
(see, told ya I'm due for a karmic cash-out...)
and I strung them with hemp, and also
the buttons in the flowers have a
touch-O-hemp as well.
I've gone around the circle and image
with my crap stitch machine and then
added the stitches with pen.


I decided, since I was lucky enough
to be crafting with Mina's buttons,
I'd use one of her sketches as well.
This is one I saw on the
Truly Scrumptious Challenge Blog,
(the link above will take you to the sketch)
and as it seems to be all too natural for me,
couldn't make the cutoff for the challenge,
so I tucked the sketch away for a rainy day.
As I like it quite a bit,
I'm thinking about doing some scrapbooking with it.
And here's a piccie of the yummy stuff:


I just love getting handmade cards.
I seriously sat and stared at her creation
for, ohhh, I don't know,
enough time for the hubby to ask if I was okay,
hahahaha, just gorgeous and the colouring is PERFECT!!
Thanks again for this bundle of fun, Mina!!

Well, I guess that means that I get to play along
with a few more challenges.
Stamp Something wants us to create
with out favorite sketch or layout,
and I LOVE this even more now that I've actually used it, lol.
Simon Says Challenge is saying
to use stitching, I entered there already, I know,
but Lorraine said I could enter again, teehee,
heya, GOOOOoooooOOOOOOooo 200!!!
I also get to play with
Roses on Paper Challenge,
they want to see some stitching.

Welp, thanks for coming by my blog.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend
and can't wait to see what everyone's been creating!!
Take Care,
Stephanne

Simon Says get to stitching your House Mouse card!!

Hi there folks.
Ever get the feeling like the week has evaporated.
Seriously, it's Friday and I have accomplished
what seems like NOTHING all week!!
I've, at long last, completed a project
that I can't wait to share with you.


It's for this fortnights, yes, fortnights
House Mouse challenge,
they are celebrating their 1 year milestone
with A Year In Review,
so we are to go and find a past challenge that
we'd like to revisit and DO IT!!
Can you guess which one I've opted for?
Well, if you hadn't figggured, it's #8, Halloween!!
Why do their little bags look empty?
I want to stuff little tootsie rolls in there,
look how cute and eager they look!!
If I saw these dolls at my door,
I'd pour the whole candy bowl in their little bags!!
Awww, clearly I need to House Mouse more often.


And to pay homage to my mommy-on-the-go lifestyle,
I have incorporated the help of several other challenges
to arrive at one completed project.
Creative Inspirations Challenge Blog
have provided a wonderful sketch
for their 17th challenge.
(Scroll down to see the sketch)
At CREATIVE INSPIRATIONS,
their 28th challenge is to use an autumnal theme.
At Cupcake Craft Challenges
their 58th challenge is distressing.
And over at Simon Says Challenge
they want to see some stitching.
Or, errrrm, Simon Says STITCH!!

I've used an image called Just Clowning Around,
coloured with distress inks,
Martha Stewart and Recollections DP,
jute, hemp and buttons from stash,
I used my hunkajunk Smart Stitch without the string
for the faux stitching and
I've gone over the designs in pen,
the ribbon that looks like those itchy
car seat covers people brought back
from Tijuana in the 70's
is by Making Memories Autumn Splendor collection.
For the distressing, I've sanded, torn,
and also used my fingernail alongside the paper
to ruffle it up a bit and I've gone over it
with Vintage Photo distress ink.
And here's a look at that fab sketch,
which, of course, I flipped.


I was going for a vintage colour scheme,
and wanted to find something basic but stunning
to let the image shine.


Welp, thanks for stopping by.
Hope you have a fabulous weekend.
Take Care,
Stephanne

Merci!!

This is the second edition
of the thank you cards el hubb-O
is forcing me to make for him.
This one's for my mom though.
I went ahead and took some pictures of it tonight,
as it's been overcast lately,
so even if I wait 'til sun-up,
I don't think it will much of difference.


This stamp has been on my wishlist
for a long, long time
and I finally have it, yay!!


The image is called Merci,
DP is Basic Grey,
pearls and lace are from stash,
I've coloured with watercolour pencils,
and played with Stickles and Smooch.
I bought the embossed white cardstock,
feel like a cheater, but I think of it like this:
$1 for a paper,
much more for an embossing machine and pattern.


I'll be entering this in a few challenges.
Charisma Cardz theme is flower power,
the main feature should be flowers.
Basic Grey's challenge is embossing,
and while I would like to hold out until
I make a project that is COVERED in BG
and a bit more embossing than this store-bought paper,
if I wait, I will miss the cutoff,
such is the story of my life at the moment!!
Over at Penny Black Saturday Challenge
they want to see lace and pearls.
Mmmmmmhmmmm, I can do that!!
I've also used the slendiferous sketch from
Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge.


Thanks for coming by!!
Enjoy what is left of your weekend :)
Stephanne

Hug Time, big time!!!!

Hello my dear Blogger buddies,
it seems as though the week has run away from me,
and as I thought my little "vacation" from work
would be CRAFT-O-RAMA,
it is turning into anything but...
Alas, I have a card to share, and hooray,
it goes along with a few different challenges,
so that makes me feel a little better about my creations,
or lack thereof.


**indoor lighting photos, sorry :(
I've made this for my husband to give
to my dad for the birthday present he received.
Sort of a double negative, don't you think?
Firstly, my husband receives a present from my dad,
which happens to be 4 times the quantity of gifts given to me,
then I have to make the thank you card?!?!
This system is flawed!!

I've played along with Lili of the Valley
where there is a colour challenge of
brown, green, and orange.
Over at A Spoon Full Of Sugar
they want to see Fall-inspired projects,
because of colours used and my thankful theme,
I get to play over there.
At Papertake Weekly,
the challenge is Faking It, hahahahaha,
so I get to play there because I've faked my
flower, doiley and lace with punches.
I've used the wonderful sketch from
Stampin' For The Weekend,
and even though the blog is on hold at the moment,
I loved the sketch and wanted to make sure to play,
as they are one heckuva bunch of sweet ladies,
sending warm thoughts and big hugs your way ladies!!


Now, a little bit about the card,
my image is called Hug Time
and it's from Lili of the Valley,
I've coloured with watercolours,
the papers are from a lot of different packs,
so if there's one you like, ask, I'll give you the deets,
the fern and flower are EK Success punches,
used the MS doiley punch
and a Fiskars circular lace punch.
Ribbon, eyelets and button from stash,
and the sentiment is from the same set it's always from, haha.

Welp, I hope your week has been treating you well.
I hope my week will start treating me well, haha.
Take Care,
Stephanne

Sinatra has Midnight Madness!!

Hello Blogger Buddies,
I hope you've had a fabulous weekend.
I stayed true to the namesake and
took part in a bit of Midnight Madness
last night and finished up today,
and here is what I've come up with:


Sort of a tricky sketch, I thought,
but after I actually started putting it together
instead of just thinking about it,
it was rather enjoyable,
like a math project for me,
trying to line up grommets and measurements...
Here's the MMSC sketch this week:


And I've also used Dutch Dare's
colour inspiration to muse off of:


In addition to those,
I will pop this in over at Stamp Something,
as their challenge is to use our favorite embellishments,
as opposed to keeping them around to gawk over perhaps?
As of late, I am loving the grommets
and organza ribbon, and as of... always,
love love love pearls!!
And of course the MS punch, who doesn't love that?

If you can, I hope you'll hop over
to see what these amazing design teams
have provided to inspire us,
along with the delicious prizes on offer.

For my card, in addition to the favorite things,
I used a freebie Mo image called Sinatra.
I am used to my cats treating my hand
like that ball of yarn, those meanies!!
I've used Prismacolors and left the image
to look "brushstroked" which goes against
everything typical, I like to blend blend blend.
The DP is My Minds Eye
and I had my first romp with this little
Smart Stitch toy I got for dirt cheap
at a scrap-yard sale.
As you may notice, I'll need some practice, lol.
Nevermind, don't look...

Thanks for taking the time to visit me,
it's truly appreciated!!
Stephanne

DT Magnolia Down Under Project

Hello dear blogging buddies.
I hope the day (or night) finds you well.
As the observant folks have noticed,
I have a splendiforous new badge in my sidebar.
But in case it got lost amoungst other things,
allow me to make an official announcement:
The wonderful, amazing, Divalicious Kellie
has asked me to jump on board over at
Magnolia Down Under Challenge


My first thought upon reading my email was confusion...
Me?? On a Magnolia-based DT? Whaaaaaa????
Of course I wanted to say yes without thinking twice,
but then, started thinking (uh ohhh....that's never good),
what in the world would I do challenge after challenge
with my HUGE stock of 4 stamps...
I'm new to Maggie's, am I really cut out for it?
My inner-demons lost out, and I said YES!!!
So folks, bare with me as I build a supply up,
I've got some stamped images to play with
from my dear bloggy buddy and fellow teamie Sue
in the meantime, so yeah, here we go!!

******************

Now, let's get down to business, shall we?
This fortnights challenge is
Anything BUT a card.
Well, how ideal is it that I join in for this???
And get a load of the prize...


brought to us by Just Scrap and Stamp.
Just Scrap and Stamp have a wide range of products for any need from cardmaking to scrapbooking. They also stock a wide range of Magnolia stamps. They have a gorgeous range of shimmerz and just got in their first shipment of Unity Stamp Company! Just Scrap and Stamp are committed to bring you the latest in scrapbooking and cardmaking products, tips and techniques. Be sure to check it out yourself HERE….


And here is my project...


It started out as a paper mache hide-away book,
and I podged it up with some yummy stuff
and some really fun images to bring us to my
Butterfly Dreams stash box!!
I just adore this image,
it reminds me of being little
reaching out to try and catch butterflies,
and just today, my dear son
took off running after a monarch butterfly
and I had that warm fuzzy feeling,
the same one I get from seeing this stamp.
That was after I caught up with him, of course...


The main DP is by Websters Pages,
one of those gorgeous papers that you
just cant stand to cover up,
so I didn't!!
I've used to as scenery
and added Butterfly Tilda in the mix
(she's coloured in Prismacolors,
her wings have stickles in spots
and her antennea are beading wire,
and she's popped up on foam mount)
as well as some handmade butterflies,
channeling Priscilla here...
You MUST go and take a look at this
wonderful butterfly safetypin tutorial
Priscilla, founder of the
Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge,
has put together for us,
you will be plenty inspired!!


I bet you're sick of reading by this point,
so if there's anything I've missed
that you're curious about, just ask.
Thanks for stopping by,
Stephanne

Kellie's Sketch Challenge #3 sponsored by Softpencil

Hello my blogger buddies!!
I hope the day finds you well.
It's time for round 3 over at
Kellie's Sketch Challenge
and this month,
in addition to this delicious sketch,


we have Softpencil sponsoring us!!
So that means 1 lucky lady, or gent'
will be chosen to receive a $10 gift certificate
to use on adorable Softpencil digi stamps!!


Hop on over to check out their images,
I am a little bummed out I can't win this prize,
because there are some images that are right up my alley.
Kitties, cupcakes, kitties AND cupcakes!!
Wahoo!!! Go take a look and get some idea's of which
images you'll choose if you win the sketch challenge,
wink wink, nudge nudge ;)

Here's my take on the sketch this month:


I used a wonderful Mo image,
(yes, I will learn to digi, I will!!)
I, of course, flipped the sketch,
coloured with Prismacolours,
papers are My Minds Eye (pumpeekins)
and The Paper Studio,
flowers are Prima and the little mulberrys
are from my local scrapbook store,
I've used Inkadinkado flourishes in the corner there,
and an Imaginisce sentiment,
I layered the image 4 times,
not the wisest move for a digi rookie,
but in the end, I was victorious!!
There is a lot of distressing
done in frayed burlap, and the border is
done with good, old-fashioned Fiskars shears.


And here, for your viewing pleasure,
Mr. Luscious, the sultry, the swankadelic
BATMAN!!
You can see why this image sang to me, huh?


A few more deets for you about
Kellie's Sketch Challenge.
The challenge will run until September 27th
(down under time)
and we will have a winner by the 28th.
Feel free to combine our challenge with
any other challenge out there,
and feel free to use whatever image you fancy,
so long as you use or "interpret" Kellie's sketch,
you are good to go.
I can't wait to see what you all will come up with!!
I was absolutely blown away last challenge.
So many beautiful works,
and it is so very touching to see people playing along
and creating with us, so thank you!!

One more thing before I go,
The super swingin' luscious lumpkin once again!!


Thanks for looking,
hope you'll join us,
Stephanne

Birthday Cuppicakes

Hi there,
Boy, have we ever been hit with some
weird weather here in Kansas.
Presently, it is pouring buckets,
which is, naturally, right after I washed my car.
I have given up hope on taking a fabulous picture
of my card, I will just have to show you what I have.


It's a special challenge week over at
Simon Says Challenge.
Heidi just had a birthday,
so she chose the challenge
and put together a scrummdiddily prize for us.
So, knowing how much Heidi and the other
Simon Says babes do for us out in blogland,
I absolutely want, nay, HAVE to join in!!
Heidi chose this sketch bi Iris,
isn't it gorgeous??!!!

From my many stalkings of the
Simon Says Stamp Blog
I've picked up that Heidi is a fan of Tilda,
and I think, think.... she likes pink,
and well, EVERYONE likes cupcakes, so,
here we arrive at my card.
I got this Tilda in the mail,
and what do you know,
it's from their store, haha,
and have been anxious to ink it up,
the perfect occasion!!
Poor Tilda had a rosacea flair-up though,
I tried to apply some soothing ointment,
and look what happened. Nuts.
I've used a wonderful oval dresser-upper
tutorial by the amazing Kellie, you can find it here,
coloured with watercolour pencils,
dressed up my image with Stickles,
Crystal Lacquer, and white gel pen,
the buttons are BG,
the ribbons are from my stash,
and I am sorry but don't know who made the paper.

Thanks for looking,
and happy late birthday, Heidi!!

Take Care,
Stephanne

Morris and I have Midnight Madness!!!

Hello happy blogger buddies,
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.
I've got something to share with ya.
I've been yearning to play with Morris
since he arrived in my mailbox
but had a vision of what I wanted to make
and couldn't find the papers to do it.
Well, this past week, Hobby Lobby
had all of their woodmounted stamps on sale
for 50% off, so I bought this gorgeous stamp
you see behind Morris and it all came together.
I will make my paper, yes, yes, I will!!
And you know, I won't run out of it this way...


The turn of the season has brought some delicious
ribbon selection to my local craft stores,
I found some yummy organza ribbon and
the fabulous jute on this card,
as well as lots of others that I can't wait to use.
I also discovered Mod Podge.
I know, where have I been for the past 3 decades?!?!
It sure did help out when it came to
prettying up this guitar.


Along with some new items,
I've used some ancient material,
the golden thread I've used to restring Morris'
guitar for him is about 15 years old,
my Aged and Confused BG paper has been
my most hoarded sheet ever, I love it
and will be soooooo sad when I have used it all,
now I am that much closer :(
The gems are from who knows when,
maybe 12 years ago, maybe longer, I don't know.
My new supply of jute and organza,
the Stampabilities stamp Composer's Dream,
and the Podge were a great compliment to these
oldies but goodies and my dear Morris.
There is gold vellum punched with the MS doily punch,
papers were distressed in Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap,
Morris was coloured with watercolour pencils.
I added a little bit to the image,
I lined his eyes so I could add a green iris,
then I put Stickles in the little glimmer area,
and added Crystal Lacquer over the top.
I added "gold leafing" to his guitar,
and popped the heads with Pewter Perfect Pearls,
the bridge and fret markers were glazed with Crystal Lacquer,
on top of the peicing and popping,
I added a layer of Mod Podge and laid the thread on,
then, as you can see, I tolled and pieced Morris' arm & hand on.
It is neat IRL, I did not attach the arm
so if one felt inclined to let Morris strum his gitfiddle,
he most definitely could.
And I used this most fabulous sketch,
I had to skip out on a few elements around the image,
but hey, they are more like guidelines than
hard-fast rules, sketches? Eh.


Now, here's where I've played:
Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge
Sketch above
A Spoon Full of Sugar
Distressing
Colour Create
Ruby, cream and gold, with the extra challenge of adding gems
Although my cream turned into eggnog, haha.

Thanks for coming by and visiting.
I appreciate your time,
especially on my windbag posts like this one, lol!!
Take Care,
Stephanne

Little things for little ones...

Hello out there!!
I always get a kick out of
making things for little ones.
I find it amusing because of the battle
I go through with my own lil' turkey
just to keep him amused for a minute or two
while I try and weasle in a crafty moment.
This was no exception.


Yes, all of you out there with tots know
that you'd better just wait until
they've gone to bed to get crafty.
What happens when there's a house full of night owls?
It's nearly midnight before I can get
my grubby little mits on my supplies...
All that aside, I have at long last
completed this project and am ready to share it.


This was really fun to put together,
and I will revisit this template in the future,
now that I know the cuts and folds,
the project will be a breeze.
Lovely breeze, huh?
I have used my wonderful Tina Wenke stamp
that Simon Says Stamp
Lucky Duck-a-fied me with,
coloured with watercolour pencils,
Stickles and Crystal Glaze on the water,
Stickles in the flower centers,
Pearls are Martha Stewart and Liquid Pearls,
DP is Basic Grey, the border was cut
using Fiskars shears, and the ribbon
and grommet are from my stash.
Oh, and let's not forget the wonderful
Inkadinkado Brenda Walton clear set sentiment!!



And here are the challenges that I've played along with:

Cute Card ThursdayNew Beginnings
***I've missed the cutoff. Crud.***
Stampin' for the WeekendAnything Baby!!
Create4Fun Milk Carton Template
Stamp SomethingAnimal Somethings

And this one is a little different.
Simon Says Stamp Blog
has allowed us the opportunity to share with them
projects that we have made using items from their store,
and on September 18th,
they will draw a winner who will win a
$25 shopping spree (shipping included)
and have their work showcased on their blog.
I wanted to take the time to show them
that I LOVE the stamp they gave me
and selected products that can be purchased
in their store to make the project,
some of the items used were purchased there!!
Can't say ALL, truth is, I lose track of
what came from where, but SSS do carry
all of these product lines,
except for the Stephanne Stash,
they don't carry that at the moment, lol.
And just an aside here, OMG, love those charms!!
The above link will take you to it,
you ought to check it out!!
I love the idea of showing your work,
so thanks for the perfect outlet to do it!!

Thanks for your visit.
I am so grateful for my friends and visitors
to my projects, it means a lot to me
that you'd take the time to stop by,
and I truly TRULY appreciate your support!!
Take Care,
Stephanne

Edited: I forgot to tell you what I want to do with this!! What can I say, it was late, lol!! I will be giving this to my cousin when she has her son this October/November (who knows, baby's have their own way of doing things!!) and I will be putting little baby booties and a gift card inside!!