A Week of Presents

While I was in Brasil two of my friends sent me little packages.
I love gifts. Who doesn't?

This package was from my friend Marcia. She sent me beautiful ribbons, some hat pins, some rubber stamps, stamped images, a fantastic t-shirt (I love graphic t-shirts), some Pedras da Lua, and a great cake made of Fubu and coconut.

Check out her blogs here -
http://marciamattos.blogspot.com/ - this is her personal craft blog, and

http://estampandoalegria.blogspot.com/ - this is a blog that Marcia started with some friends in which they make cards for people who have cancer - to let people know that they are being thought of and to bring some color and happiness into their lives during their treatment.

This package was from my friend Carla. She is a master teacher of quilling in Brasil. The items in the photo are all used for quilling. Her husband made the template of circles. Carla is a very talented person.

Check out her blog here -
http://www.carla.prediger.nom.br/EnglishVersion.htm - in English, and
http://www.carla.prediger.nom.br/aberturaport.htm - in Portuguese.

Xmas Tree Ornament or Mandala

Here is another mandala or xmas tree ornament I made today. The image is from Outlines Rubber Stamps (www.outlinesrubberstamp.com). Although Outlines has it under their ornament topper section, I consider it a Mandala. It's called Sparkle Topper.

Desk/Note Pad - Stampin Up!

Wow!! Can't believe that I finally completed a project from start to finish AND put it up on my blog. Go figure. I'm in Brasil and had some time to play with stamps, papers, glue, embellishments.

It's a desk/note pad. Stamp set is from SU called Sense of Time. I wrapped a piece of cardstock with papers and then made the back side out of cardboard. Although it's not a real clock, I used some of Tim Holtz' game pieces on the clock face. I have to try to make this using a real clock.

Stamper's Quest - Search For A Trail Master

As many of you know, I have been part of the design team for Stamper's Quest (www.stampersquest.com) since its inception. Well our 1 year anniversary is quickly approaching. To celebrate our 1st anniversary, we're hosting a contest!! We are in search of our first ever Trail Master!! The contest will last the entire month of August, with winners of each round moving on to the next for a chance to win the position of Trail Master for 2009-2010. As Trail Master, you and your blog or website will appear on our Designer's page during your reigning year. You don't need a blog or website to enter - we want everyone to play - but this might be the perfect time to start a blog and show off your talents. Could the new Trail Master be you? You have to enter to win.

For all the details and rules, head over here and enter your creations -

http://stampersquest.com/2009/07/15/in-search-of-our-trail-master-its-a-contest/

Stamper's Quest - August Edition - Sneak Peeks

It's been a while since I've posted anything and I really need to be more proactive with my blog.

Here are 3 sneak peeks at my next 3 projects for the August 1, 2009 edition of Stamper's Quest. So check back then at www.stampersquest.com for the full photos, detailed instructions, and a list of supplies.

Can you guess the theme for August?

Petal Belle Cafe

No stamping related blog entry today. Just sharing some photos I took last night at my friend Elisa's cafe - Petal Belle - in SOHO. She was SUPPOSED to go to a dinner with me last night but had a last minute booking at the cafe. Here are just some fun shots I took of items around her cafe. I love macro photography!! Enjoy.

The pastries through the looking glass.

Birds in the window. I love this photo.

A painting done by Barbara - a friend of Elisa's. A great addition to the cafe.

The famous liege!!

Old fashioned spoons.

Ahhh, Easter M&Ms. Could life get any better?

Ahhhh, jelly beans. Life just got better!!

Announcing mini cupcakes. Delish!! You have to taste these.

Coffee!!

Real sugar.

Those mini cupcakes - again.

What could be better? Great cappuccino from Petal Belle (it really is good coffee), some gelato, and a liege. Get the liege warm and put the gelato on top. Delish.

Mojo Monday

There is a blog I was recently told about - Mojo Monday - http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/. Each week they post a sketch for you to use for the week. Here is my card for this week's sketch. Hope you like.

Paper" Black textured cardstock, patterned paper is from The Angel Company (retired).

Images: 3 flowers from the Botanical Bulbs sheet (INR-024) from Stamping Sensations (www.stampingsensations.com), circle image and phrase from Circle Sampler T2691 from The Angel Company (http://trent.ismyangel.net).

A New Year and 50% Off Sale!!

WOW! What a way to start the New Year.

The Angel Company (TAC) is having a HUGE SALE....from January 6, 2009 through January 26, 2009, all T-coded stamps in the Fall/Winter Inspiration Book & Catalogue, as well as the Fall 2008 Supplement are 50% off. That's half off the retail price listed in the catalogs!!

Choose 1 set, or 20, or all of them.

If you don't have a current catalogue you can view all the sets, or order them online, at http://trent.ismyangel.net/ or you can email me with your order or any questions at michaeltrent@gmail.com.

http://www.theangelcompany.net/Promos_Flyers.html

Halloweenie Cards

Just thought I would upload some cards I did recently for my LSS as samples - for Halloween. I really love this holiday. Love seeing the kids dress up and the smiles on their faces when they get cool candy or ... cool cards. LOL

This is such a great skeleton stamp from Hot Potatoes (http://www.hotpotatoes.com/). It's called Skeleton Pieces N580. After you stamp the image, you need to cut out each section and then put him back together again. I actually stamped the image and then enlarged it on my xerox to make him larger. Very cool image!!

This main image is from Outlines Rubber Stamps.

This image is from Stampendous (http://www.stampendous.com/) and it's called Pumpkin Plaque, V142. Would be cool to stamp on sticker paper too and adhere to a jar of candy.

OK folks - 1 week to go until we elect a new President. For all the elections I have voted in, I cannot remember a more important election than this one!! With that said, and, no matter which candidate you favor, please, just VOTE!! Too many people take for granted what their vote means.

In the spirit of our election, I have stamped a few things. The image used is the Statue of Liberty from The Stampsmith (http://www.stampsmith.net/). It is a beautiful rubber stamp made from a photograph. Estelle, the owner of the Stampsmith, recently explained to me that the photo was taken by a dear friend of hers from Holland who she had met on kibbutz 25 years ago. One year her friend came to the USA and took this photo of the statue and it was made into this beautiful rubber stamp. Knowing the history behind an image just makes it more special.

This card started out as a congratulations card for someone that just took his Citizen oath - another new citizen of the USA.

The above card was done for a sketch on http://stampersquest.com/. Check them out to see other cards made with the same sketch.

This started out as a white photo frame from Michael's. I added Glimmer Mist in reds and blues, the added the stars, and matted the stamped image as a photo.

Another Great Blog Candy Contest

Well, another stamp company that I love - Starving Artistamps - is having a blog candy contest. You can win some great new halloween sets they are releasing. Just head over to their blog and leave a comment. Here's a link -

http://starvingartistamps.blogspot.com/2008/09/delicious-candy-just-in-time-for.html

Good luck everyone.

Great Blog - And A Blog Give-A-Way

Blogs continue to amaze me. No matter how hard I try, I cannot get myself from blog searching. I love to click on blogs and links from blogs, to other blogs. The amount of creativity flowing in the world is astonishing.

Today I fell across a pretty neat blog - Paper Imagery Designs. If you love Stampington, Character Construction, Tim Holtz, and altered art, this is the place to stop and stay for a bit. And, Lori is having a one year anniversary blog give-a-way. So if you want a chance to win some great Halloween sheets, as well as Tim Holtz' new Halloween stamps, head over to http://paperimagerydesigns.blogspot.com/ and leave her a comment.

Tomorrow I will try to post some of my favorite foreign blogs for inspiration.

Faux Suede - My First Tutorial

Yesterday I was cruising some blogs and I came across an amazing tutorial (at least to me). The blog, Out To Impress by Julie Koerber (and, trust me, she does impress), had a great tutorial on using Liquid Applique to make faux suede backgrounds or sheets of paper. Her blog, which you must check out for yourself, is http://outtoimpress.blogspot.com/.

Thank you Julie for allowing me to get this technique out to others. This is my first tutorial so I hope it's okay and understandable. Now, on to what you need to do....

Supplies you will need are a heat gun, card stock, liquid applique, and a brayer.

Next, lay your card stock on a piece of scrap paper or craft sheet and squeeze a thick line across the middle or squeeze some all over the card stock as I did.

Then, using your brayer, roll the liquid applique across the whole card stock and cover the entire surface. It will not come out perfect and you will have imperfections. I feel this just gives it more of a suede, vintage, or distressed kinda look.

Your card should end up looking like this.

Now use your heat gun to heat the liquid applique until it is set and dry. This will not take long.

This is the finished product. I hope the photo shows the texture of the card. It will look and feel like suede. It's really cool.

Below are some samples I made. I hope you like this technique, use it, and pass it on to others.

Friendship Card

I call this my "friendship card". Paper used was the Hopsack Black & Fossil Square Card Overlay Kit from The Papercut (www.thepapercut.com). I love their papers, the different sizes they cut, and the colors.

Stamp flower image (G165 - KB's Silphium In A Jar from Endless Creations www.shopec.com). I colored the water and flowers with watercolor pencils, coated with a versamark pen, the heat embossed with clear embossing powder. It really makes the colors pop.

Wrap ribbon (from Michael's) around the black cardstock and adhere to front of card.

Stamp the phrase stamp (Flowers In Bloom, FS1119-D from Verses Rubber Stamps (www.versesrubberstamps.com). Use corner ticket punch (Stampin Up) and adhere to front of card - over ribbon.

Here is a cute and fast card. Used the Cuttlebug Stylized Flowers A2 embossing folder (www.provocraft.com), colored in with chalks, added the phrase and adhered to cardstock.

Easter Bunnies

Okay, I know it's after Easter, but I wanted to share some cards and puzzle cards I made for a coworker. All images are from Sparkle & Sprinkle, www.sparkleandsprinkle.com. They were so much fun to do - but a lot of masking to get them behind the fence.

Well, it's been a long time since I posted anything. Hmmm. As a joke, I sent an underwear ad to my good friend Heidi. Well she told me that my project for the night was to make a card with it. This is what I came up with. LOL. Brasilian penguins in their speedos!!!

Penguin stamp - Art Impressions, M-3154

Holiday Window in 3D

A coworker of mine (Rachel L.) asked me to do a card that celebrated both Hanukah and Christmas. Not that easy to do - but I like the way this turned out. On white cardstock I stamped the Fireplace 2-2057E from www.amuseartstamps.com, the menorah (company unknown), and the Xmas tree 96847-P from www.inkadinkado.com. On another piece of white cardstock I stamped the window frame (www.toomuchfunrubberstamps.com), cut it out, colored it in, covered it with acetate, and then, using long strips of double sided tape, applied it over the other image. It sits about 1/4" above the image. Then pop dotted the mice (Viva Las Vegas).

Elzybell Ornament

This is a very simple card to make. The branch is Ponderosa Pine Y013 from www.stampendous.com. Then I stamped the ornament from www.outlinesrubberstamp.com - H183, cut it out, put some gold stickles around it, then stamped the mouse on the inside - Mouse Bauble H0004 from www.elzybellsna.typepad.com.

African American Woman

This image of the African American woman is called Pearls II from Coronado Island Stamps (www.cistamping.com). I used gold stickles in her headpiece, a little blue chalk on her eyes, and red glitter on her fingernails and lips.

Xmas Snowglobe Cards

Snowglobe images from www.judikins.com (think they are retired). The 2 girls holding the tree is Girls With Tree E0002 from Elzybells (www.elzybellsna.typepad.com), the snowflakes and star are from Holiday Snowglobe, 2425R, from www.plaidonline.com.

Snowglobe from www.judikins.com (think they are retired). Fishing Penguin, E0029, from Elzybells (www.elzybellsna.typepad.com), the snowflakes and star are from Holiday Snowglobe, 2425R, from www.plaidonline.com.

Snowglobe from www.judikins.com (think they are retired). The skating couple is from the Winter Wonderland set T2585 by The Angel Company (http://trent.ismyangel.net), the snowflakes and star are from Holiday Snowglobe, 2425R, from www.plaidonline.com.

Another India Themed Card

This is another card I made using the India papers from www.doveoftheeast.com. The elephant image is from www.stampfrancisco.com. I stamped the elephant in black pigment ink, clear embossed, and then colored in using Ranger's Stickles.

Holiday Penguin

Here is a cute little card I did. Stamped the penguin (Chillin Penguin, 60083, www.stampshappen.com) on white card stock. Used black sparkle glitter. Cut him out. Layered him on green cardstock, then black, then the red card. The Holiday Magic message is from The Angel Company (http://trent.ismyangel.net).

Xmas Reindeer Pig

So, I have a thing for pigs. And Christmas. Here is my version of a Christmas pig. LOL. The pig image is 93909M (www.inkadinkado.com), the antlers, small bird, ornaments are from Memory Box Stamps. The message is from Hero Arts. Colored using Prisma pencils.

Hanukah Angel Card

This is a Hanukah Card I made using images from Jen Lowe (http://jenlowedesigns.com/LMC/Lucy_stamps.htm). Used glitter and H2Os.

Hoppy Holidays

Another cute and easy card to make. Stamp the frog from Viva Las Vegas, color with green Prisma pencils and add 2 googlie eyes from Darice. Then stamp the message, Happy Holidays from www.amuseartstamps.com. I added another googlie eye in place of the "a" so it spelled Hoppy Holidays.

Gone Fishing For Xmas

Another easy card to make. Stamp the Floating Ice (E-PSH061 from www.sundayint.com) and color with glitter. I then stamped the polar bear (F-7481 Knut from www.thecatspajamasrs.com) on top of the floating ice. On another piece of white cardstock, I stamped the polar bear again and cut him out. Colored his scarf in and layered it with pop dots.

Taxiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Same card as below but without the Lady Liberty stamp. This would work for any city other than New York City.

New York, New York

This was such a fun and easy card to make. I stamped the Cityscape image (www.stampendous.com), masked the left side and stamped Lady Liberty (www.amuseartstamps.com) over it. Then I stamped the taxi (from American Art Stamps), cut it out and layered it on top of the cityscape using a pop dot.

Holiday Hoot

This was a fun card to make. I used the branch from the Bird Sanctuary set (M4746) by Stampington - stamped it in Eden Green Stazon ink. The owl is from Impress (www.impressrubberstamps.com). Added the atlers and ornaments from the Deer to My Heart set (CL114) from Memorey Box (www.memoryboxco.com). Love, love, love their stamps. The message at the bottom I did on my computer.

Snow Covered Pine Tree

This card was made using just 1 image - 96847-P by Inkadinkado. Stamped in Eden Green Stazon ink. Added Frosted Lace stickles where the snow would be. Layered it on red paper and then red paper with snowflakes on it. The "seasons greetings" message is from Hero Arts.

Day Of The Dead Card

Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos is a very cool holiday. It is a 3 day Mexican holiday in which people honor those loved ones who have passed on. The card below consists of Ghostly Night 3218K by Penny Black (www.pennyblackinc.com) and 4 images from Viva Las Vegas. I used only black ink on white paper and layered.

Halloween Cards

Below are some Halloween cards I made today. Although they are basically the same as the puzzles, these have been layered on cardstock and there is a pocket inside that the puzzle will sit in.

Halloween Puzzles

Several people asked me to make a Halloween puzzle for their children. These are what I made this weekend. The craft puzzles are all 5" x 7" from http://www.inkadinkado.com/.

Witch image (Night of the Witch - 2812K) is from Penny Black (http://www.pennyblackinc.com/) and the word phrases are all from The Angel Company. All images were stamped in pigment ink and clear embossed.

This pumpkin image is from Peddler's Pack. I found it yesterday on my stamp store road trip at Kathy John's in Storrs, CT - with my good friend Sue Macken!! I stippled Pumpkin Stazon ink in the pumpkin image and Dove Gray Stazon around the image. The yellow is just a Marvy Brush Marker clear embossed. Oh, to get the yellow inside the pumpkin I cut the eyes, nose, and mouth out.

The scary tree and graveyard image (Ghostly Night - 3218K) is from Penny Black (http://www.pennyblackinc.com/) and the kid in the ghost costume is from Too Much Fun Rubber Stamps (http://www.toomuchfunrubberstamps.com/). I stamped and embossed the left image first, then stamped the kid, masked him, and stamped the right image over him/her. The background colors are all different inks that I stippled over the images.

This is the Peddler's Pack pumpkin again but this time I used an orange and yellow Marvy brush marker on the pumpkin and clear embossed. The edging is stippled Dove Gray Stazon ink.

Noel Xmas Card - Acetate

This is a card I did for a swap I was in. Had to do 8 of them. Fun but time consuming. Stamped image (Holiday Pear Collage, 3429R, http://www.rubberstampede.com/) using Stazon black ink onto the smooth side of an acetate sheet. Trim. Turn over and, using alcohol inks, colored in the different areas of the image. Gold on the star and pear, some greens on the holly leaves, reds and greens over the rest. Layered on gold paper, which was layered on red cardstock, which was layered onto the card. On the front of the image I used Stickles glitter glue to highlight certain areas of the card.

Friendship Card - The Angel Company

This is a card I made for a yahoo group I am part of. The paper and stamp images are from The Angel Company (TAC). I also used lots of glitter on the flower and the leaves. The phrase is from the Friendship Quote Sticker Stack from DCWV.

Indian Card

This is an indian themed card I made. The paper is from www.doveoftheeast.com. The stamp is called Painted Elephant Large from www.stampfrancisco.com. I used archival ink, watercolor crayons, added some stickles from Ranger on the flowers and the spots surrounding the flowers, and a bead in the center of each one. Layered it on the Fall Cardstock colors from DCWV.

Abigail's Picture Frame

This is a photo frame I made for my niece, Abigail. She is turning "1" on September 8th!! Boy, how times flies. The frame itself is an unfinished frame from Michael's, which I painted with Ranger's daubers using Pink Sherbet and Raspberry. The stamped images are from Stampin Up's "Doodle This" and "Delight In Life" sets. I stamped them on white cardstock, colored with Lyra's Watercolor Crayons and adhered to the frame. The flourishes I stamped right over the paint. Some buttons, glitter, and a few layers of Mod Podge, and it's done.

Tree Of Life

I call this card the Tree of Life. The image is from Just For Fun (http://www.jffstamps.com/). I stamped the image on white cardstock with archival black ink. Layered it on a piece of double sided sticky paper. Rubbed gold leaf flakes on the edges of the sticky paper. Adhered it to black textured cardstock by DCWV. I also cut a piece of white paper and adhered it to the inside of the card in order to write something.