I'm a Diva - Saturday Spotlight Diva, that is!

The more I stamp, the more I love it. The more I do, the more I want to do. I can hardly believe it, but I’ve actually been able to put in time and work a bit ahead with my stamping so I’ve been able to try some different things. Heck, last week I made a card and was able to make a batch of home-made caramels to go along with it! So I’ve felt ready to take on another challenge. That challenge is in the form of being on the design team of Vicki Parson’s Saturday Spotlight With Hidden Potential! Yep, I’m a Saturday Spotlight Diva! I am so excited to have another challenge to bring to you and to participate in. I’m just thrilled to work with Vicki because I just love her work and there is a group of super talented group of ladies that I really admire that I get to work with and learn from and I’m so excited about that! So get ready because we’re going to be doing some challenging things on Saturdays! All the fun starts on October 3rd so be on the lookout!

You can see my talented Design Team cohorts on my sidebar. I hope you'll stop over and see their amazing work! Vicki and the others, thanks for taking a chance on me and I'll try not to disappoint!

Let's Blog Hop! The New Yummy New Belles N' Whistles Are Here!

Woo Hoo! It's Blog Hop Time over at Belles N' Whistles and if you've come here from Iris's blog then you are on the right track. If not, make sure that you start the blog hop at our Belles N' Whistles blog and make sure you follow Anki's directions there. There's some sweet and yummy candy that is up for grabs and I'd so hate for you to miss out on it.

So on to the cards! The time is here to show off some new Belles N' Whistles stamps that will be available to order tomorrow, Saturday, September 19th and to be shipped next week! If you've read much of my blog, you know what a huge Harry Potter fan I am and I was so excited when I found out I got to present The Scarecrow and Wizard for you! Isn't this just the absolutely cutest thing? I took one look at it and fell in love!


This cutie is colored with Prismacolor pencils and OMS and highlighted with Glossy Accents, Stickles, my clear Jelly Roller gel pen and my Glaze pen.



Don't you just love this close up of him handing the scarecrow a piece of candy? As you blog hop, you'll notice a theme with this release. They all have something to do with baking or food of some type. So we've got some recipes for you! When I saw this baby, I thought of the home made Caramels that we used to make so I want to share my recipe with you.

Caramels:

Ingredients: 2 cups of Sugar, 1/2 cup of light corn syrup, 1/2 cup of milk; 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 4 teaspoons of butter, 1 cup of heavy cream

Cook to stiff ball at 246 degrees. Add vanilla, pour into a buttered pan. When it cools, take it out and cut it into squares and wrap in wax paper. That's it!



I hope you give this recipe a try. I'd love to hear how it comes out for you! Before you leave here, make sure you leave a comment to be eligible for the blog hop prize. I'd hate for you to miss out. Now to continue on with the blog hop, make sure you go next to visit Rosette. I'm sure she's got something very yummy for you! Make sure you take your fork with you to visit!

Belles N' Whistles New Release and Blog Hop Announcement and Details!!!

I know this sweet cutie card, Sisters, was just up over the weekend, but my Design Team Sisters at Belles N' Whistles just want to make sure that you know about our new Belles N' Whistles release and blog hop we're having tomorrow! Yes, we've got six gorgeous and yummy stamps designed by the ever so talented one and only Elisabeth Bell That we are just so excited to present! You can order them on Saturday, September 19 for purchase and will begin shipping the following week. And there's going to be a little bit something else along the way so you won't want to miss it! The blog hop will start at our Belles N' Whistles Design Team blog and proceed from there. Can't wait to see you so make a note because we don't want you missing a single thing!

Ta Da! Basket for School with Belles N' Whistles!

I love baskets! I have such fun making these and they're just as easy as can be. And adding some of these cutie doll Belles N' Whistles makes it all the more adorable!



Here is a couple of different views of them. Would you believe that these are beer coasters covered with card stock? I punched the holes with an ice pick (can't find my crop-i-dile) and threaded some gingham ribbon through the sides. I love the paper here and filled this sweetie with push pins, paper clips and Post-Its.


I colored my images with Prismacolor pencils and OMS and added some Glossy Accents and Stickles to them and cut them out and framed them with my nestabilities.



I added a couple of buttons and cut out flourishes and waves from my EK Success punch.



Here is Belle Sitting With Teddy. I just adore her big bows in her hair!



And my Sweet Teddy Bear Picnic is a perfect way end this post, having a cookie! I hope you enjoy making one of these cute baskets and fill it with whatever you like! So tell me, what's your favorite back to school item?

Try It Out Tuesday #36 - Triangular Trifold Card!

I had a great time making this tri-fold card for our Try It Out Tuesday Challenge over at Follow Your Heart, our Design Team blog for Susana's Custom Art and Card Design. You can find the instructions here. Super Easy and goes together really quick.

This Adirondack Chair stamp is a scene that you could find in just about any card up here in the Maine area. There's something very New Englander about this chair and is just cries to be looking out over a beach or bay, water of any kind. It is from the Lockhart Stamp Company and I colored it with my Prismacolor Pencils and OMS and added a bit of Autumn Flower Soft and a touch of Glossy Accents to the chair. It will be time to have the mums out for the fall and I thought they would be a nice touch to the pot of flowers. This ribbon reminded me of the colors of the sunset and it just made me think of an early autumn evening. Hope you enjoy it!



Sorry the picture doesn't show the beautiful aqua and rust colors of the papers. I need some new batteries for my camera I think. Make sure to stop by all my design team sister's blogs and see their great and inspiring take on this tutorial. I just know you'll be off making one of these of your own!

Card Ingredients:

Adirondack Chair by Lockhart Stamp Company, Autumn Flower Soft, Glossy Accents, Prismacolor Pencils, OMS, brads by Colorbok, BasicGrey ribbon.

Sketch Saturday, Sisters and a Fairy

One of my favorite sketch challenges to participate in is Sketch Saturday. I went looking for a sketch for one of my images and imagine my surprise when I saw they were looking for some new design team members! They hold a very near and dear place in my heart because I was so honored to be their first Guest Designer! How exciting it would be be back there on a regular basis! Here's the sketch they put out:



Here's my sweet Bildmalarnas, that Summer at Roses on Paper is now carrying:



I love these new sweeties and can't quit coloring them up! This is Tosse Flower and I think this sweetie came out so adorable! I colored this cutie with Prismacolor pencils and OMS, added a bit of Stickles, Glossy Accents and some Kaisercraft Rhinestones and think this baby came out adorable! The paper is from the Lemonade collection from BasicGrey and the ribbon is from my stash.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look at my card. I'd love the opportunity to work with the ever talented stampers at Sketch Saturday again!



"Sisters, sisters, there were never more devoted sisters..." Isn't this sweet stamp, Sister by Belles N' Whistles, just adorable? Me and my sister are so close, but back in the day we were more into picking on each other than the sweetness of this loving pair! This would be us now though! It's just amazing what you learn with time!

I colored these sweetie girls with copics and used GinaK Luxury paper. I had to use some stickles on their sweet tops and on the big sister's cap. I used some ribbon around the card and added some Prima Flowers with spacers and pearls and some Dew Drops in the corner.



I love Glossy Accents and added some to the ribbons in their gorgeous hair and around their cut tops. Aren't they just precious? And now for a bit from the fairy world!



These fairies from Mo's Digital Pencil are just too vivacious for words! I love the maturity and fullness of these these cuties! She is colored with copics and I added a lot of stickles to her and to the gorgeous Wisteria paper from BasicGrey.



Doesn't she just look like the happiest, most serene pixie? I just love the versitality of Mo's images and have a lot more to share with you!

It feels good to be back to posting on a more regular basis. I've missed sharing with all of you and thanks so much for hanging in there with me during this past summer. It means the world to me!

Card Ingredients:

Sisters by Belles N' Whistles, Stickles, Dew Drops, Prima flowers, spacers, BasicGrey Bling, MS branch punch, ribbon and paper from my stash, copics, nestabilities.

Fairy from Mo's Digital Pencil, Stickles, copics, Wisteria paper from BasicGrey, BasicGrey Bling, ribbon from stash