Mother's Little Helper

The Cat's Pajamas ATC Blog Hop: SHIP HAPPENS!

Perfect example of *ship* happening?  That I flubbed up the blog hop!  Sorry for breaking the chain for hours, girlies. 

 

I am filled with shame.

But I'm also filled with delight - you can be filled with more than one thing at a time, you know.  Why am I delighted?  Because thanks to Linda's wonderful organization, and some WOW-ZA Cat's Pajamas lovers, I am the proud owner of TEN mini works of art!  That's what this blog hop is all about, you know.  To see 'em all, start at JULIE'S blog.  And if you've been following the hop in order, you should have arrived here from my buddy, pal, and lifelong (well, stamping-lifelong) friend, SUSAN'S blog.

Ready to see my tiny canvas?

and here's a group shot...

I used the three porthole images from BY THE SEA and the sentiment from SHIP HAPPENS to create this nautical number.

Ready to resume the hop?  Of course you are!  Then skeedaddle on over to the explosive, dynamic, extraordinary, and legendary LINDA's blog, and thank her for getting this swap a-goin'!  And keep an eye on our SCS Member Company forum, because I'm thinking that after everyone gets a glimpse of these wee creative canvases?  There'll be more ATC swaps in the future, and YOU can get in on 'em!  You know you want to...

 

MFTDT ATCs! (How's that for a bunch of CAPs?)

A few weeks ago, I showed you the ATC I made for a small swap with some of the MFT gals.  Yesterday, I received these gorgeous little masterpieces in the mail, and I couldn't resist taking a pic to show you before I put them on my 7 Gypsies ATC Carousel.  Aren't they stunning?!  The amazing designers responsible for this ultra-happy mail are, from left to right (bottom row): Mary Jo Albright, Kirsten DuBosque, and Joanne Basile; (top row): Kimmie Reid, Michelle Giraud, and Toni Armstrong. 

Thanks, girlfriends -- you rock and I treasure these tiny beauties.  And thanks, too, to Jen for coordinating the swap!

Dirty {not so} Little Secret

As some of you may already know, I've been carrying around a big ol' secret for the past month: I was tapped to become one of the Dirty Dozen for Splitcoaststampers!  It feels so weird to write that, and I really still can't even believe it's happened. 

Practically from the moment I logged on to SCS (and certainly after the first couple of uploads -- I need my instant gratification, you know.  Can't be waiting around for moderator approval, especially when working on a challenge!), I've been a member of the SCS Fan Club and looked forward to the 15th of each month to see who the latest Dirty Girls would be.  When stamping crossed that borderline (do NOT start singing that song by Madonna and thinking about what she's up to these days.  What's her marriage really like?  Is she going to adopt any more children from Malawi?  Has she had plastic surgery?  What's her workout routine?  No, don't go there!  Pay attention!) Where was I?  Oh, yeah.  When stamping stopped being a mere hobby I dabbled in when I had a bit of free time to a daily priority (that seems coincide with when one starts doing the SCS challenges on a regular basis), I began to fantasize that maybe, just maybe, one day...

Well, it's just really and truly a dream come true for me.  And for those of you who are a wee bit irritated that I didn't tell them before the reveal... I'm sorry!  Please forgive me!  It's the rules, you know?  And as all of you know, I would NEVER break the rules... (*so glad my mom doesn't read my blog*)

Anyway, my roomie during my Dirty stint is Denise Marzec (aka peanutbee).  We're the same age (she looks younger, but I'm sure I'm wiser ; ) ), and she looks so much like one of my college roommates (shout out to Nancy (Martin) Williams of Saint Augustine, FL!  Hi, Nance!) it kinda freaks me out.  Oh, and speaking of FREAKING OUT, that's what y'all are going to do when the new wave of Dirty Girls are revealed next month.  Hee hee!  I know, I know, that's mean of me to taunt you like that.  But I swear, when they were announced last night, I just about lost complete control of my bodily functions!  Don't ask me who they are because I won't tell you.  After all, I do know how to keep a secret...

After all that blah blah blah, how about a little eye candy?  Here's a ATC I made for a swap with the MFT gals, depicting me walking my canine soul mate, Gretel.  By the way, that German Shepherd stamp?  Specifically created in honor of the one and only Gretel Burrage!  It's true!  Woof to Kim and Christy!

 

 

Here's a group shot...

And yes, of course I always walk her in a skirt and heels...

I'll be back tomorrow for TCP Tuesday -- I'm the Hipster Hostess with the Mostess and I'll be serving up an inspiration challenge you won't want to miss!

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Gone to the Dogs,  by My Favorite Things; Paper: Berry Sorbet, Blush Blossom, patterned paper by PTI, Georgia Pacific White; Ink: Brilliance Archival Graphite Black; Accessories: Copic Sketch markers, Fun Flock, Dimensionals, embroidery floss.

I'm Totally Full of Sheep...

... as if you didn't know that already!
Do you ever make the same card over and over again, but with different stamps?  The Diana Sweater is definitely a leitmotif in my stamping.  If I have a stamp of a little lamb -- and I love me a lamb stamp, so if I see a cute one, chances are I will eventually have to have it (dang that Anna Wight and her adorable new Bo Peep set!) -- it will eventually end up stamped multiple times, and on a field of red there will be one black or gray among the white.   

So why do I call this persistent image "The Diana Sweater"?  Well, see for yourself...

When the late Princess wore this sweater to a polo match in 1983, she caused a fashion sensation.  I was 12 at the time.  I remember thinking that was the coolest sweater ever, and wanting a knock-off so badly.  I loved Princess Diana; she was so beautiful and glamorous, and her favorite band was Duran Duran (see?! We had so much in common!  Well, except I had glasses and braces and was in the middle of what had to be one of the most painfully awkward adolescences known to girlkind).  Never got one, but now I make one for myself every so often out of cardstock and ink.

The above card is the latest incarnation, using what has to be the most quirky-but-cute little lamb in my whole collection, Basel by DoodleFactory, available from Starving Artistamps.  The background is SA's Ornate Tooled Leather background, which is one of my very favorite backgrounds because it adds a lot of depth and has a lot of detail without distracting from the main image or taking away from the cardstock color.  (<-- does that make sense? I hope so.  To explain further -- skip this if you've already got what I'm saying -- I use this bg now instead of my SU! paisley bg.  The SU! paisley bg covers up most of the underlying cardstock with ink because it's such a solid image, but this SA one gives the same paisley-ish effect but is much more 'open' and thus you retain more of the color of the original cardstock.  Another benefit of this background?  It looks AWESOME with the western-style stamps that are all the rage these days.) 

{Buy/By the way: through Feb. 27, SA is having a special where if you buy full sheet of stamps -- like say all of the DoodleFactory animals, which includes Basel -- you get a free sheet of EZ-Mount.  And, if you add in my special discount code -- caroledis -- you'll get 10% off your entire order!  I'm always looking out for you, dear reader, trying to save you money any way I can... I'm a giver -- I give!}

Okay.  Done with the puffery.  Here are a couple more examples of my Di impression.  This first one was done as a project for my stint as Gina K.'s Guest Designer for February (stamps from her Down on the Farm set):

  And here's one I made for an ATC swap last summer (image by Heather/JudithI even added a pic in the background to let gallery browsers on Splitcoast know where I was coming from.  Pre-blog I had to do stuff like that.  Now I can pontificate at my leisure...):

  Anyway, the odds are that I'm not done exploring this theme.  Now that I think about it, I haven't done this yet with the lamb from MFT's Punny Farm.  Hmmm....

Figure 8

I just finished these Elzybells ATCs for one of Taylor Vanbruggen's famous ATC swaps. This is first time to participate in one Taylor's swaps, and I'm excited to see what I get back. I just love things that are miniature, and ATCs are kind of a miniature card, don't you think? This ATC was inspired by the classic Schoolhouse Rock episode, "Figure 8" ("If you skate, you would be great/If you could make a figure 8..."). I have to say, I think it's pretty darn adorable!

Elzybell's skating tracks were made via paper piercing, and she's colored in with a combination of Copic Sketch and Spica markers. Her jade-colored outfit was colored with Tombow ABT marker # 281. The image layer was a tiny bit plain on it's own, so inked the edges with silver chalk ink, and then added a bit of Martha ribbon and snowflake brads on the empty corners. The background patterned paper is by EK Success, and the base layer cardstock is Soft Sky.

Supplies used -- Stamps: Elzybells NA Ice Skater; Paper: Soft Sky and Shimmery White by SU!, patterned paper by EK Success; Ink: Brilliance Archival Graphite Black, Colorbox silver chalk ink; Accessories: Copic Sketch and Spica markers, Tombow ABT marker # 281, paper piercer, ribbon by Martha Stewart for Michael's, Making Memories snowflake brads.

Diva Update!
A week or so ago I posted about how our Lab puppy, Diva, was at dog-training boot camp. Here's the latest email I received from the trainer:

Diva has had a little set back with her stay. This is normal. Looking at 2 weeks, she is sitting immediately when you stop. Her down is reluctant but there, there is no more jumping on people. She will move into our house this weekend to finish her house breaking, and house etiquette. All in all she is doing great. Her only fault is her pray drive, wanting to chase anything that runs, but she will listen to you to come back and as she matures, so will her focus. I know she is as excited about going home as you are.

I interpret this to mean she should be home in a couple of weeks? We miss you, Diva!