Howly Jowly Owly

Today's Limited Supplies Challenge on SCS was to make a Christmas card using animal stamps, only embellishing with ribbon. It's been a while since I had played dress-up with Dudley, so I pulled him out and dressed him up as Santa. When I got him all dressed up, I realized that his beard just didn't fit, so he's staying cool without one. I drew the suit on him, complete with belt and buckle and used liquid applique for all the fuzzies.

Stamps: U R A Hoot (by CHF)
Paper: Real Red, White, Green Galore, Black Small Dots (by Making Memories)
Ink: Black Stazon, Real Red, Garden Green (sponged onto holly)
Accessories: CB snowflake folder, red satin ribbon, liquid applique, red & white bling (chrystal stickers), brown Kohinoor pencil & blending stump with baby oil, gold pen

Happy stamping!

Love Me Tender

This project was made for the CHF Kim Hughes Blitz Combination Challenge. We were to combine Kim Hughes' stamps with other CHF stamps. The Farm has a wonderful line of Elvis stamps and I couldn't resist this guitar!

Well...it's Dudley at least one more time. I'll probably put him away for a while, although I do like dressing him in different outfits. I pulled another all-nighter tonight (very stupid of me) and came up with this:
It's a decorated CD and holder. I thought it would be fun to add some Elvis tunes and give as a gift. :)
The back lists the rest of the lyrics to "Love Me Tender," which was all computer-generated.
And this is the actual CD. I drew the hearts with a Sharpie and outlined them with a silver pen.

And here's a close-up of Elvis. His hair just didn't look right so I cut it off. And how do you like his flashy jumpsuit?! Can you see his microphone? Can you even tell that it IS a microphone?!

Okay, I'm off to get some sleep before church! Guess I'll need to drink a pot of coffee in a couple of hours! LOL

Happy stamping!

Congratulations on your retirement!

My mom and Eddie retired from teaching this year. I think they taught for 33 years and 10 years, respectively, and all in the same district. They got out of town quickly and moved way down into Mexico. I made this card for them (although it's late). They're having a fabulous time already and are looking forward to a new life there. So, mom, congratulations on so many years teaching, putting up with us brats. (I say "us" because she was my 4th grade teacher. How cool is that?!)

Unfortunately they'll see this before they actually receive it, but I just wanted to recognize them for all of their hard work and dedication. They were up there many nights after dark, preparing for the next day, catching up on grading papers, etc. So congratulations and I hope y'all enjoy Mexico!

Stamps: U R A Hoot, SU Print Pattern
Paper: SU Red, White, Creative Imaginations Fiesta dp
Ink: Black Staz-on, Black Versafine, and SU Cocoa & Pumpkin for watercoloring
Accessories: Sandylion Essentials stickers - Mexico, colored twine, green brads

Dudley's poncho and his blankets all have frayed edges and are roughed-up a bit to give it a more authentic look.

Happy stamping!

Lady Liberty and exciting news

I'm having more fun with the Kim Hughes challenges over at Cornish Heritage Farms. Today's was to use a winged creature. Thankfully, the owl stamps work for that, too, although I must admit to getting a little tired of using Dudley. I'm almost on Dudley burnout, but alas, there's still one more challenge. This brings me to my exciting news...my Kim Hughes stamp collection is growing. I won America the Beautiful yesterday! WOO-HOO! I'm SO excited. :) It's coming at the perfect time, as we're having a 4th of July party! I'll have fun doing some decorating with it.

Now, onto Lady Liberty.
Stamps: CHF U R A Hoot
Paper: SU Sage Shadow, Bashful Blue, Gray, Creative Imaginations polka-dot (unsure of exact name), Watercolor paper
Ink: Black Staz-on, Versamark
Accessories: Textured Trios Double-sided ribbon, K&Company Wedding collection rhinestones

I hand drew the crown, torch, and tablet. And to impart my newly-acquired Lady Liberty knowledge, I discovered that her tablet reads July 4, 1776 in Roman numerals. (Yes, the Roman numerals on my card are actually correct.)

Happy Saturday and happy stamping!

Wanna Roll in the Hay?

Just another card I made for the Kim Hughes sketch challenge.
Stamps: U R A Hoot
Paper: SU Navy, Hay dp from DCWV The Photo Stack
Ink: Black Staz-On, Versamark, White; For Watercoloring: SU Cocoa, SU Pumpkin, SU Navy
Accessories: Wire, brads, silver pen, dimensionals

To make the hay bale, I wadded up the paper, then used my scissors to fray the edges. I made two layers and put them up on dimensionals. This technique really gives gives the card a lot of texture.

I stamped Dudley in Versamark on the bottom of the card as if he was actually rolling. This fun card will go to my sweet hubby!

Happy stamping!

We Want YOU Back Home

The Kim Hughes blitz over at Cornish Heritage Farms continues on. I've never seen so many amazing cards! I've had so much fun participating. Onto today's card...

Back during WWI, there was a popular poster created by James Montgomery Flagg to support the American war effort. It consisted of Uncle Sam in the middle, pointing at you with his index finger, and read "I Want You in the U.S. Army." Although I wasn't alive during WWI, this image has remained popular and has been around for as long as I can remember. The idea to combine this with Dudley the owl has been in my mind for a while now and I finally got the opportunity to put it to paper. :)

Stamps: CHF U R A Hoot
Paper: SU Navy, White, Red, Watercolor
Ink: Black Staz-On; For Watercoloring: SU Cocoa, Pumpkin, Navy
Accessories: Clear bling stickers, old button, white and navy ribbon, White EP, dimensionals, and white stuffing

His suit and bow tie are hand-drawn. I also drew his hat, using the base of the Santa hat from the U R A Hoot set as the base. Pillow stuffing came in handy for his beard and hair. And of course, finished him off by pointing his wing at you. I am sending this to a friend's husband who is currently serving in Iraq. I hope he feels appreciated!

Happy Stamping!

Harry Potter Graduates!

He finally did it, and is moving on from Hogwarts...at least in my blog book. :-) I must admit that I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan and I have no idea if he does in fact graduate, but I couldn't get the original idea out of my head. When I made the last Harry Potter card, Expelliamus, I made two owls, markering one and watercoloring the other. I liked the bold colors of the markers with the bold burgandy, gold, and black, so I used the other one. I found the watercolored one sitting on my craft table, lonely and feeling unloved, so I slapped him on some cardstock for the Kim Hughes Blitz limited supplies challenge over at CHF. It's been so much fun to look at what others have come up and it's wonderful to see some new faces, too. :) Anywhoooo, have a wonderful day!
Stamps: U R A Hoot (CHF), SU Simply Circles
Paper: Kraft CS, SU Pumpkin CS, Misc. green polka-dot dp
Ink: Black Staz-On, Brown Staz-On, Versamark, and SU black, burgandy, cocoa, and pumpkin for watercoloring
Accessories: Aquapainter, misc. buttons, American Crafts Orange Polka-dot ribbon, green polka-dot ribbon (sorry, don't know who makes this), gold paint pen, and googlie eyes

Happy Stamping!

Expelliamus!

Dudley loves Harry Potter, and I caught him in the dress-up bin! Although I'm not a crazy Potter fan, I couldn't get this idea out of my mind since I first saw this set, so I decided to give it a whirl with Beate's sketch for the week, and this is what I came up with. Hand drew the Hogwarts emblems, his wand, and his shirt, tie, etc. I also hand drew the lines for the background to mimic the tie pattern. Microsoft Word supplied the starburst from the AutoShapes>Stars & Banners menu. For Expelliamus, I used my scallop circle punch to create those neat ends.
Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms U R A Hoot
Ink: Black Staz-on, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Sharpies (black, orange, burgundy), Zig painty - gold, gold gel pen, black Zig pen
Paper: Black, SU Bravo Burgandy, Paper Reflections corrugated scrap pack - gold, watercolor
Accessories: Ohio Artist Materials gold glitter, Crystal Effects
Tools: Scallop punch & my trusty pencil

Happy Stamping!

Hootin' Tootin' Cowboy

It's Friday...let the round-up begin! I'm having more fun with Kim's owl. {Don't you love how I speak of the artist Kim Hughes like she's my BFF?!} She already has 2 more amazing new sets out at Cornish Heritage Farms: Baked with Love & Nature's Silhouettes.

I think this guy just looks like a "Dudley." I used SC170 for the layout, drew the belt on the limb and cut out, and added his buckle and lariat. Dudley is up late, "early" for him, ready to round up some strays.

Stamps: U R A Hoot, SU Smile Accessories (hat)
Ink: Timber Brown Staz-on, So Saffron & Creamy Caramel for card edges, & for watercoloring: Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Bravo Burgundy, Taken with Teal, Old Olive
Paper: SU Whisper White, Cosmo Crickett Wanted Collection: Buffalo Bill & Doc Holiday
Accessories: MM antique copper mini square brads, yellow hemp

Have a fantastic weekend. The VSN Fashion Weekend kicks off today at SCS, 6pm ETD!

Owl Be Yours Forever

I've had the "U R A Hoot" stamp set from The Kim Hughes Collection (Cornish Heritage Farms) for about 2-3 weeks and finally cut them out this weekend. While I was cutting, the wheels started turning and I wanted to come up with different outfits for the owl. Well, I couldn't get this out of my head! I finally got some time to implement it. I drew in the tuxedo, bow tie, and boutonnière.
I'm still in the stampin' dark ages and don't have any Copics, so I must use what I have: stamp pads and an aquapainter. Maybe someday I'll get some Copics...maybe. I had trouble with photographing this where you could see the details, so here's a close-up of the owls on the embossed black paper.

Stamps: CHF U R A Hoot, Rhonna Farrer Scroll clear stamp
Ink: Staz-on Jet Black, SU! Black, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Only Orange, Silver
Paper: SU! Whisper White, Frances Meyer, Inc. Bulk paper (dry-embossed black paper) - I've had this for years...seriously, Watercolor paper (for owls)
Accessories: Jolee's by You flowers and stems, tulle (for the veil), Jolee's bow, A Muse creative candy, and Ultra Fine Prisma Glitter (that was my mom's many moons ago {I remember using this for making ear rings in the 80's!})

Happy stamping!