One of my nephews is a crazy and fun-loving guy. It was birthday night at his family's home the other night and I wanted to make an unexpected card for him. And here it is . . . I've loved her since the day she arrived at my studio. She's one of the Slapstick Cling stamps from Penny Black. I stamped with VersaMark and heat embossed with gold embossing powder. I colored most of her with Copic markers. Yes, the entire stamp was colored even though some of it is hidden by the s

I'm loving the five new colors in the Nuance watercolor powders from Magenta. I've posted a card previously using the new colors, and I've made another card using only the new colors and one of the new Magenta stamp designs. My cousin, who is like a sister to me, celebrated her birthday the other day; unfortunately, she was quite under the weather and is just coming back to life. I hope this will brighten her day. Stamped with VersaMark and embossed with gold embossing powder

Today's major activity was taking a wonderful book class at The Urban Scrapbooker in Edmonds, WA. It's on Edmonds Way as you make your way to the Anacortes Ferry. Donna was the instructor, and she teaches several classes at The Urban Scrapbooker, especially Graphic 45 book classes. Today's book featured their new papers from the Voyage Under the Sea collection. When I have more of my book together, I'll post pics. I've been wanting to send a condolence card to a friend who is

It IS a wonderful world. I can even say that on a Monday! The sun was out in full glory today . . . our thermometer read 88 degrees this afternoon. Its too early in the year to enjoy that kind of summer day on a regular basis, so we'll take it when it shows up. It was our nephew's 47th birthday too. I spent the day making potato salad and homemade apple pie for the family celebration. My card today was inspired by Penny Ward; she's always creating beautiful cards. She posted

It's a Magenta kind of day. After Dianne Johnson's Nuance class yesterday at Art 'n Soul, I couldn't resist purchasing Magenta stamps from their latest summer 2016 release. Mixing it up, I made this card as a result of looking at the "Freshly Made Sketches 232" challenge. On linen cardstock, lightly applied Bright Yellow & Turquoise Nuance watercolors. Once dry, stamped flower image over it with VersaFine. Colored with Copic alcohol markers. Fussy cut image and applied to a s

This afternoon the stamp club I belong to enjoyed a play day. We brought our MISTI's and stamped away. We're all learning that the MISTI is a must-have tool for many reasons. I not only love it for the repeated impressions that can be made; I also love it because it allows me to stamp sentiments exactly where I want them and in a straight line! I've been wanting to use this Penny Black stamp for a long time. I had tried it without the MISTI and I wasn't very successful. With

I was prepared to post from Anaheim and discovered, to my chagrin, that I was unable to use my iPad for editing purposes. Something new to research and learn. The Scrapbook Show in Anaheim, CA was a busy time for Local King Rubber Stamps where I worked. It was such fun to watch people, who had no idea about stamping, discover the "magic" of Lisa's stamp designs and coloring techniques. We flew back to Seattle yesterday afternoon. Naturally, I had to run to my stash of Local K

The term "black gold" is one used quite often by asphalt producers. They lay down millions of miles of black asphalt on our roadways every year. It's black and they make money. My card today is a "thank you" card to an asphalt paving company who invited us to their annual employee awards and recognition breakfast last month. All employees from all over Washington State and northwest Oregon are invited to attend; there must have been 3-400 people. Everyone is like family; this

Wow! March is a blink in the rearview mirror and it's already April. This month is so busy I don't think it will vanish with a complete blink. Yikes! And 15 years has gone by in less than 2 full blinks! Today is our sweet Hannah's 15th birthday. This little Bichon Frise has been the petite princess in our household since she flew to Seattle from Oklahoma 15 years ago. Everything revolves around those 4 paws of hers. We've enjoyed every single moment. Both of us think that she

Yesterday didn't go as planned but that's okay; it was a terrific day. I was supposed to drive to Bellevue for my haircut and my head started doing its thing, so I rescheduled and drove back home. On the way, though, I stopped at Happy Donuts here in Puyallup . . . the BEST donut shop ever! My comfort food was donut holes and they filled the spot. Later, I went to Costco and found the perfect salad kit for dinner. I continued my organizing and purging, and I even managed to c

Yesterday's Easter celebration with family was a wonderful time spent. My 2 year-old great granddaughter provided us with lots of love and loads of entertainment. The food was yummy, too! Easter has always been filled with children; in addition to my great-granddaughter, we had 4 other small ones to prepare an Easter "basket" for. On Saturday, I discovered the sweetest stencil from Echo Park Paper Co. I had to purchase it because it was perfect to make Easter cards for the li

Yesterday morning we awakened to the horrifying news taking place in Belgium. The tragedy and unspeakable terror shook any peaceful calm of the morning. My cousin and her husband are traveling in Europe, arriving in London yesterday from Venice. I'll be so relieved when they're back on American soil later this week; I think they will be, too. I came across this stamp from Magenta and it expressed what I was feeling. I found the stamps designed by Dina Kowal for Impression Obs

Yesterday was another day of not a lot of time in the studio for anything. So, I spent a good deal of time last night into the wee hours continuing to undo what is visible in the main area of the house from my organization and purging project. My dear husband is getting somewhat anxious because we have a St. Paddy's dinner party for 12 on Thursday. In between clearing away, I had to do something in the studio. I had come across these mixed media boards we had worked on at a M

I was mesmerized watching a posting on Sandy Allnock's blog; the background music and lack of chatter added to the "zen" atmosphere. It inspired me to try out what she was doing. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a similar stamp that didn't include foilage of some kind, so I found the second best in my stash. I've used this stamp before for a posting last month. Another challenge I had was the darkest tone Copic Marker; I didn't have one as dark as the one Sandy used. Really mad

It's only a short day because daylight savings time begins at 2 a.m. tomorrow morning, meaning we "spring" forward and lose one hour in our 24-hour day. The good news is that means the real days of spring, summer and hours of daylight are around the corner. Yay! It's been a full day. It started with an Awards Breakfast for a family-owned business that we know quite well. It may be family-owned and spread throughout western Washington, but it's certainly not a small company as

Another slow day. My back is better but has little twinges now and then, especially if I lean over to pick something up. What to do? Clean out some paper piles (i.e., receipts, statements, etc.) and find a little play time in the studio. In the same British magazine that I discovered how to make yesterday's card with washi tape, I also came upon a technique to use powdered watercolors with clear plastic wrap. Coincidentally, Dianne Johnson also used a similar technique in the

I was moving several of the boxes to the garage for temporary storage while I sort through them. Luckily, the cleaning lady helped me. We had a common mission . . . free up the floor space in the living room and hallway so she could clean the floor! As we finished up, my back gave out. So, my progress was stifled while I iced and laid on the sofa with sweet Hannah. There was an article in a British stamping magazine that really caught my eye. Washi tape was partially applied

While beginning the 'serious' clean out of my studio, I rediscovered my Zig Clean Color Real Brush water-based markers from Kuretake. It's been quite some time since we've known each other, so it was a quick learning curve that I delighted in. I'm not saying I'm totally back but I felt we made some progress in our relationship. This Penny Black stamp was shouting at me, so I paired them up. Layer the colors, starting with the lightest and then the darkest; blend with the mid-

Today I am hosting a casual birthday lunch for 3 friends who celebrated back in late November and early December when I was out of town. It's taken me this long to "catch up". The first card I made was borrowing from the many, many cards that I have seen using the "black and white" color theme. Rubbernecker Stamps: "Daisies Background" (699) Fiskars' Cloud 9 Design Stamp: "Simple Thoughts--Happy Birthday" (16 pieces) VersaMark watermark ink; VersaFine in Onyx Black; Ranger