Cupcakes are in

Cupcake cards

With all the cupcake themed cards I've seen lately, I decided to make some of my own. I made this card for my friend Valoria for passing her Hewlett-Packard Project Management test. She studied so hard for it, and there were many weeks on end when we couldn't really hang because of her studying/cramming. It took about a year or more of studying to prep for it. I really admire her!
Stamps: Maya Road, Dee Gruenig
Paper: K & Co


This card was for my mom's birthday in October. There were a lot of October birthdays - I still have a few more bday cards from October I haven't shared yet! I made this one to fit into a business sized envelope. All the cupcakes are popped up on dimensionals.
Stamps: Michael's $1 stamp, Scrappy Cat
Paper: Basic Grey & unknown

Soldier's Angels

I Adopted a Soldier!


I recently joined Soldier's Angels (http://www.soldiersangels.org) a couple months ago.

Soldier's Angels is a support organization for United States service personnel.

From the website: Soldier's Angels is a volunteer-led nonprofit that has over 20 different teams and programs supporting all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. Through special projects, dedicated teams and individuals supporting the troops, they make a visible difference in the lives of service members and their families.

--I wanted to do this to show my appreciation for our troops. I was especially moved to do it when I heard that there was suicide going on and troop morale was low. I cried so much when I heard that. So now I have been assigned a soldier and I write him encouraging notes/letters once a week, and one small package per month. (that's the requirement, but I'm more than glad to do it).

I just checked the site right now and in the upper right hand corner you can see that there are 6 Heroes waiting to be adopted. I've never seen the number so low, that's good! When I signed up there were 123 Heroes waiting.

So these cards have gone out to my adopted soldier over the past couple months and I just sent him a Thanksgiving package today. I hope he'll get it in time. I believe he's in Iraq, the address is an APO address so I don't exactly know where he is, but it doesn't matter. I just pray that he is safe and warm.


top card
stamps: unknown
paper: SU real red, night of navy, whisper white
inks: SU real red, pacific point
accessories: star punch

bottom card
stamps: SU The Free & The Brave, SU Stars & Swirls (retired), The Angel Company (retired military set)
paper: SU real red, night of navy, confetti white, pacific point
inks: SU real red, pacific point, copic markers

Kreativ Blogger Award - Thank you Juli!

Hey everyone! Doo - do- doo!!!!!! (blowing pretend horn) Julie Smith (http://www.stampinjewels.blogspot.com) has chosen me as a Kreativ Blog Award winner/recipient!!!!!!

I am so honored, I've never received one of these blogs awards before! I've seen a lot of them going around but was never nominated to get one until yesterday. Yippee!!!!

I love making cards and sharing them on my blog. I try to make 1-2 cards every day (but some days I can't). Also, even though I make a lot of cards I don't always have time to photograph them, upload them to my computer and then post them to my blog. The process takes a while!

So I'm very happy to have received this award! THANK YOU JULI!!!!!!!

Now I must choose 5 bloggers to give this award to as well. Stay tuned, I will narrow them down soon. There are just TOO many to choose from!

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alcohol Inks on Metal & a Sample without Blending Solution

I've done a test here to show what the alcohol inks look like without using the Blending Solution:


Here you can see what it looks like on the left. I used the applicator tool with felt and two alcohol ink colors, Denim and Red Pepper, without any Blending Solution. And for the piece on the right I used a few good squirts of Blending Solution on the felt pad before I pounced it onto the paper. If I wanted the colors even more subdued I would have put even more of the Blending Solution on the felt pad. Neat, huh?

ALCOHOL INKS ON METAL:

I found these metal letters at Michael's in the $1 bin a while back and decided to try the alcohol inks on them too:

I put a few drops of Cranberry and Butterscotch alcohol inks on the felt pad with just a teeny bit of Blending Solution. If you're applying the inks to metal you don't need much of the Blending Solution because the metal kind of spreads the ink out on its own. Look how nice it turned out! Below is a clearer photo.

Isn't it purty?

Here's two more. I didn't use any applicator on these because I wanted to experiment a little. I put the inks on directly -- one drop at a time and I did them in 2 layers. I let the first layer dry and then put more drops of ink on again later.

colors used: Stonewashed, Denim & Meadow

colors used: Wild Plum & Eggplant

Alcohol Ink Doggie Card

Here is the finished card I made using the sample piece from the Alcohol Inking Basics on Glossy Paper tutorial I did a couple weeks ago. The bone was hand drawn and cut out and then distressed with sponges.

Stamps: Inkadinkado Dogs, Stampin up Best Yet
Paper: White Glossy by Ranger, Stampin Up Old Olive, Choc Chip, plain white cardstock.
Inks: Ranger Alcohol Inks meadow & ginger, Stampin Up Choc Chip, Close to Cocoa, Real Red, Creamy Caramel
Accessories: gold cord, large brads, cuttlebug houndstooth embossing folder, punches, awl, brayer, sponges.