Fresh and Fun New Stamps Have Arrived!!!

Welcome my friends... old and new : )  I must apologize in advance if there are mistakes in my post today...  I broke my glasses and am positively blind without them.  Actually, I can see in the distance, but for reading I can not make the font BIG enough to see clearly lol!!!

A quick update on hubby:  His shoulder surgery went well, but he thinks he may have re-injured it : (  We'll see if there's been damage at his next doctor appointment.  You'd think that he would listen to his wife and call the doctor to let him know what's up, but nooooooo.  You got a hubby like that too?  hee hee.

On to the order of the day... Hop Time!!!

You are on the right track if you've come from the fabulous, Melanie!  So you don't miss out on the great inspiration, you may wish to start at the beginning.  Head on over to see Danni's awesome work!!!  If you get lost along the way, the entire line-up can be found on the store blog.

Today SCACD releases fun and fresh stamps from the Susana Loves Stamps Collections!!! We start off with the Oddly Sweet Curiosities Set which harbors the cutest little Curiosities with matching sentiments. These are Fab and definitely year around fun!!! The second Set are four wonderful little ladies that make up The Little Sassy Crew. Check 'em out - they are the gals that have a sweetness and attitude factor that are off the charts!!! We are also introducing a fun little set of Mixed Media houses called M’s Place that makes them a must have for those that love cute in their Mixed Media.

So grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the ride!!!


From The Oddly Sweet Curiosities Set by Susana Loves Stamps, I'd like to introduce you to:  Monster Mash!

Just gotta SMILE seeing this oddly sweet curiosity 
dancing with freedom and joy!!!

The gorgeous papers are from Teresa Collins Sweet Afternoon (on Sale!).  LOVE these!!!  I also LOVE how these awesome Garden Corners Dies mimic the lacy feel of the doily.  Oh how I adore lace!!!


To get the white rim around the circle die cut (using Classic Large Circle nestie) - after running through die cut machine, I left the die in place and sponged Spun Sugar Distress Ink around the inside edges and close to the image.  Since I forgot to emboss, I did so after sponging...

The sentiment, 'Dance Like No One's Watching' is included with the purchase of Monster Mash.  I really appreciate a 'free' sentiment, don't you?  If you know me, you know that I am terrible with sentiments.  It's just not a gift I possess... oh well, I can't have everything lol!  That's why we have YOU ♥


You can see a bit of floss peeking out from under the flower... it's Princess from the pink Sew Easy Floss trio.  I just discovered that the store is out of this color, but you can find other yummy colors *Here.*

Ha Ha Ha...  I know this is a rather LARGE photo of the Garden Corners die, but I wanted to make sure that you saw the Ice Silks Acrylic Glaze I painted on.  I also wanted to make sure that you saw how clean and crisp they cut.  I did not sand or trim a thing!  These Dies by SCACD work really well - which I soooo appreciate.


***Here's a tip for intricate dies:  There are a bunch of tiny pieces that will need to be removed from the die cut/die.  This is what works for me... I gently tap the end of the die on my work surface and some of the pieces just fall out.  Then I gently tap the other end.  Doing this (emphasis on gently cuz I don't want you to bang up or break anything!) removes every single piece quickly and easily!  However, I know there are holes in the back which you can use to poke out the pieces, but when I'm in a hurry, this works for me!!!


For my second card, I have More Celebrate Cake from The Little Sassy Crew by Susana Loves Stamps.  Don't get me started on what kind of cake this is... you know how much I LOVE ♥ LOVE ♥ LOVE ♥ C H O C O L A T E !!!

I chose this shot because it makes the stars shine!!!  Sorry if it's a little 'glare-y' for ya.  I covered 'em in Ice Silks Acrylic Glaze (as well as the roses).  B L I N G ! ! !

These fun papers are from Authentique Lively Collection (on Sale!).  I made the cool black pearls with my Graphite Paper Pen.  I had some tags already cut out from my old Cricut (yay new Silhouette!!!) so I stamped a small sentiment on it, but you can find Memory Box Dies Classic Tags at the store *Here.*  The button is tied with Sew Easy Floss (on SALE) in Bubble Gum (out of stock, but there's lots of others!), and topped with a self adhesive pearl.

... and here's the Garden Corners die in my fave PINK!  It's also covered with Ice Silks Acrylic Glaze.  What I love about Ice Silks is that you can cover any paper, the color shows through, and you have a wonderful shimmer and shine!


Everything (except for the panel I sewed the image to) was adhered with Best Glue Ever!  It came in very handy applying small dots to portions of the corner die cut...


Oooooops!  I made a boo boo...  I was supposed to include a stamp or two from M's Place!  Since I didn't, I'm including them all here (sorry M!!!)

Aren't these fun???  They are available to come home with you now : D

You can get them *Here*

For our international friends, you can find all of these collections at Quixotic Paperie.  Say hello to Elaine!

Your next stop is Jeanne!

I love that you've chosen to drop by... thanks so much!!!  Happy Hopping!!!

May God bless you, keep you and comfort your soul~

Making Your Own Backgrounds

Hello friends and welcome back!  I have some fun planned for ya today : D  If you've read my last couple of posts, this will be somewhat of a review, but I'm sure you'll pick up a few ideas or maybe even have an 'a-ha!' moment lol!

I've been having SOOOOO much fun playing with my new goodies from Susana's Custom Art & Card Design.  Susana carries the best products, it's hard to choose what to use first!

I finally decided on this little cutie called Knowledge is Power Angel by Elisabeth Bell for SCACD.  I even dusted off my Lacey Ovals Nestabilities die which I paired with Classic Large Oval Nestabilities die : )

This stamp has been been released before, but because she's one of our favorites, Susana has decided to Re-Release the whole collection of beauties!!!  She's from the Guardian Angel Collection.  But wait... there is one Brand New Angel you may spy at the store (or have seen on my blog!).

Here's the full background.  You can see the great texture the Embossing Paste provides.  Susana carries different colors of Embossing Paste so you can create just the right look!

The flower (although not handmade) was stained with Vintage Photo Distress Stain.  I've decided that I LOVE distress stains.  At first I thought, "Why?"  there are re-inkers... but now I see the difference cuz the re-inkers will lose the intensity of the color when you add water, but you can see the richness of the dark brown in the bottom petals.  The top petals were pressed on the already distressed petals, so it got a kind of 'second generation' distress : )

Tulle behind, and a cute li'l button center and it's ready to glue on using... you know it - ScraPerfect Best Glue Ever lol!  Yes, I am in LOVE with glue ♥

Oooooh, a better shot of that texture lol!  If you look closely, you can see the bottom layer, which is stamped text.  Lots of beautiful layers to enjoy : )

Wanna know to get this look?  Here ya go...

Making Your Own Background

Of course there are many many ways and products one can use to create different backgrounds.  I'm going to show you how I created the background I used on my card today.

First step:  Using Archival Ink *Here* or *Here* and rubber stamp, I stamped the text on a sheet of 8 1/2"x 11" four times.  Any size paper/stamp can be used.  This isn't the stamp I used, but is a cool text stamp (which I want!).

Second Step:  Tape down the Damask stencil (using removable tape) and apply Black Embossing Paste, icing as you would a cake!

Third Step:  Carefully lift up the Damask stencil, revealing a beautiful design!  After about an hour, reapply the stencil and tap an embossing pad (I used VersaMark Dazzle) on open areas of stencil.

Fourth Step:  Apply Stargazer Mica Powder (or color of your choice) with a soft brush.  Stargazer is a beautiful blue color, but on top of the Matte Black Embossing Paste, it turns a pretty teal color!

For my card today, I spritzed the paper with water and brushed on more Stargazer.  When that was dry, I added Ice Silks and used my finger to add Solar Gold Mica Powder on bits and pieces.

* Solar Gold Mica Powder doesn't have a base color, but on top of the color I already laid down, it shows up beautifully!

I cut the paper for my background (5"x5") and had some left over which I will show you on my next post!

Why Do I Need ScraPerfect Best Cleaner Ever?

Well, to be perfectly honest... you don't!  However, there are some definite benefits to using this amazing cleaner!  Take a peek below.  Nothing has been retouched.  These are 'as is' photos!

I scrubbed as best I could, but I didn't want to rip the intricate design...  Soap and water removed the major part of embossing paste, but certainly left a lot behind!

Look how CLEAN the ScraPerfect Best Cleaner Ever worked on this stencil!!!  I mean even the nooks and crannies of this intricate stencil got clean.  It's AMAZING!  You can click on the photo to make it larger so you can see in detail.

...and of course, I used ScraPerfect Best Glue Ever to adhere my ENTIRE card!

Whew!  I bet you thought that I'd never end..

Interested in some CANDY?  Need a Brand New Paper Cutter?  I've got one to give away!  It's a whopping 12"x12" and it's a TONIC - I just LOVE ♥ LOVE ♥ LOVE ♥ mine!!!

Enter Candy *HERE*

Lots and lots of love to you!!! ♥

May God bless you, keep you and comfort your soul~

Garden Butterflies, Angels and a Mini Tutorial!

Mixed Media Garden Scene

*SCACD Hop is Here*

Welcome back friends!  Happy Friday... and YAY, it's the weekend!!!  Do you have some fun planned for the next couple of days?  Either Saturday or Sunday, hubby and I will be going out to celebrate 5 years of being breast cancer freeeeeeee : D  I say breast cancer free cuz two and half years ago, JESUS healed me from uterine cancer.

I can imagine you might be a little skeptical at my last comment.  That's OK...  Here's my story:  JESUS came to me in a dream.  He was on the right side by my head.  I felt wetness on my chest and looked down to see that it was His Blood.  I rejoiced as I knew in my heart that He was fulfilling what He had spoken to me previously:  "Healed By the Blood of the Lamb."

At that point, He reached into my abdomen (which I felt, and moaned in pain) and took something out.  He left then, walking away on my left side...  There's much more to my story, but the main point is to share with you how JESUS HEALED ME!!!


I will continue to shout on the mountaintops that JESUS still heals today.  I have lots more stories of His healing power and His presence.  In case you don't know Him, here's a simple truth:  He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life... He is REAL!


Have you entered my Celebrating 5 years of Healing Candy?  You can enter following the link at the end of this post...

*...and now it's PEEKER time!!!* 

Aren't they just the BEST ever???  If you're following the hop today, you should have come from Donalda's blog.  This is Donalda's last hop with us as a DT member : (   We will miss you, sweetie!!!  If you'd like to start at the beginning, hop on over to Danni's blog.  You'll want to see every bit of inspiration from these oh-so-adorable images!  If you get lost, the entire Hop List is on the Store Blog.


Here's mine... Meadow Peeker by Elisabeth Bell for SCACD from the newly released Peekers 3 Collection.  What a cutie pie!!!

Of course she's stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and colored with my fave copics.  I've used the following colors:  Fence - E19 E18 E17 E15 E13 E11; Hair - E25 31 YR21, Skin - E11 E00 E000; Dress/flowers - R85 R83 R81 RV00 RV000/Y19 Y11; Grass - G28 G24 G21 G20.  A bit of bling was added to the flowers on her dress with Stickles and I popped on tiny gold pearls for the flower centers and the butterfly bodies.

Everything on this card was adhered using ScraPerfect BEST GLUE EVER!  You already know how much I LOVE this glue!!!

Did you get a good peek at the garden scene at the top of this post?  I LOVE using all the gorgeous colors of Luminarte' micas.  Today I've used:  Pink Azalea, Snap Dragon and Fern.

Here's how I got this look:  I used removable tape to keep the Mini Butterfly Meadow stencil in place on my blue cardstock.  I placed Black Embossing Paste over the open areas (using a small spatula, like icing a cake). Susana carries a Squeegee which would work great too.

Make sure to wash off the embossing paste right away or it will be more difficult to remove.  The photo below shows what it will look like after carefully lifting up the stencil (note:  I decided to use blue cardstock after I took this photo... back to the drawing board!)

At this point, it needs to dry for about an hour.  When completely dry, put the stencil back over the design.  The easiest way to add the micas (for me) is to use an embossing ink pad (I used VersaMark Dazzle), so I tapped the pad over the exposed design.  You can then 'paint' the micas over your design!

Here's my mess before I brushed the excess mica away...

For today's card, I cut and paste various objects of the stencil to fit the space I needed.  As you can see in photo above this one, the whole stencil is a beautiful scene!

I love to add Ice Silks on top of the micas.  It gives it a protective coat and even MORE shimmer!  However... it will make the micas into 'paint' - as in the full grass behind the peeker...  I still LOVE adding the Silks : D.  You can see a close up of this result at the top of this post.  The whole background was painted with Ice Silks!

Time for a Re-Release!!!

Kind of...

Susana is re-releasing the beautiful angels that Elisabeth Bell designed a while back.  They've always been favorites of hers (and yours too???) so here we go (again) lol!

However, I have a special image that is Brand New and exclusive to SCACD.  This is Earth Angel by Elisabeth Bell for SCACD from the Guardian  Angel Collection.

Oh... isn't she a beauty?  I think she's so much fun!!!  I began by stamping the image with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and colored her with copics:  Hair - E59 E37 E35 E34 YR21 E50; Skin - E11 E00 E000; Pants - B97 B95 B93 B91 B000 C3; Red hearts/patches - R29 R27 R24 R22 R20; Earth - BG05 BG02 BG01 BG000 C3/G20 G21.

Here I want to show you two things... The first is the incredible shimmer and shine from the Solar Gold Silks Acrylic Glaze/Solar Gold Mica Powder combination.  Separately, they are nice... but together, they POP!!!  Actually, the Solar Gold Mica on it's own doesn't have color, but will compliment another color.  So if you want the gold color to come through, you'll need to use the Silks first.  LOVE LOVE LOVE this technique!  I want more Silks lol!

Oh, the second thing I wanted to show you is her wing and the shimmery red cardstock.  I simply painted on a coat of Ice Silks.  On the white, it takes on an elegant look.  On the red, it gives a richness that I haven't been able to reproduce any other way!

The entire card (layers and embellishments) were adhered using my FAVE ScraPerfect BEST GLUE EVER!  Here are the layers:  1. Solar Gold Silks/Mica combo. on all edges of a piece of white cardstock; 2. Red cardstock embossed with Pinstripe embossing folder by Couture Creations, 'stained' with Picket Fence Distressed Stain  and covered with Ice Silks;  3. The decorative circle was cut out with my Cricut and painted with the Silks/Mica combo.; 4. A red circle die cut from largest Classic Large Circle and painted with Ice Silks;  5. Image die cut from largest Classic Small Circle using 'out of the box' technique.   Oooooweeeeeee... get out your sunglasses!!!

My craftroom has been rather warm lately, and I can tell by the way the Opal Paper Pen pearls turned into brads : (   I usually don't have a problem with that!  To finish off the card, I cut a strip of gold tulle which I found on sale at Hobby Lobby - yay!!!  A red heart button from my stash I thought was the perfect touch!

**Our International friends can get these stamps at Quixotic Paperie**

Oops, almost forgot... Here's the link to my Celebrating 5 Years of Healing Candy:  JESUS Heals.

Your next stop is Alex!

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope to see you soon!

May God bless you, keep you and comfort your soul~