I was trying to come up with something new with the Zoofari set and this is the result. I took the rhino and snipped the poor animal's horn off and drew in a nostril, and the result a HIPPO. Now everyone can have their own house hippo. Isn't he so cute!!!

Give it a try, I dare you, go on now!!!!

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This weeks featured stamper is Cambria, so check out her gallery and you'll be glad you did. Here's the card I chose to case from her gallery. Her card is quite feminine, so I thought it would be cool to make a masculine version of hers. To make mine boy friendly I pulled out Treehouse designer paper. The colours on the Dp are ones I often use, More Mustard, Bordering Blue, Cranberry Crisp, Sahara Sand, and they work really well to make any masculine card. Cambria's card is very pretty and has a lot going on, like all that great stitching. I do wish I could do that too - it really adds a nice touch to her work. Anyway, my goal was to make it a lot simpler and just have a few touches, you can see I used my paper piercer and added some hemp.

There you have it, Cambria, this weeks FS. I hope you enjoyed this post.

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Anyone can play along in my sketch challenges, regardless of what supplies you use. All are welcome, more the merrier. I really want to see what everyone comes up with, especially when there are products I've never seen before.

So get stamping and put a post up so we can see where your creation is. Have fun!!!!

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Here's my submission for challenge #16. I kinda cheated on mine, I only used two solid colours, Tempting Turquoise and Certainly Celery but, I did manage to fit in some designer paper. As you can see that I chose Close to Cocoa for my neutral card base. No big surprise to see that once again I used Zoofari for my main image and I also used my Canvas background stamp. I'm not to sure about the doodling around the Zebra - let me know what you think. Oh and look another happy birthday card, how original for me to do a birthday theme. I really like the Zoofari set cause it really lends itself to do watercolouring with it. Lots of fun!

Well thats about all the explaining I'm going to do. Enjoy, keep the posts coming so everyone can see what has been made.

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Here's this weeks sketch. Remember I vary the rules from week to week, I don't even know what they are. For this week, you need to come up with a colour combo that has three colours in it. Second rule is that none of the colours you picked can be the card base. You'll need to pick a neutral colour for the base piece, which could be Vanilla, White, Ivory, Sahara Sand.

Have fun with it, remember to post a link so we can all see your creation.

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I have come across many comments on SCS that have to do with people having trouble making Masculine cards. To be honest being a masculine dude man, I have had trouble as well. I have found that the new 'Zoofari' as well as some older sets like 'Wild About You' and 'Monkey Business' work very well to solve the problem. After all, all men are animals and in both these sets you will be able to make a card for all the wild animals in your life. Though you can make some very cute feminine cards as well.

I think everyone should get the new Zoofari set, it really is an awesome set. I'm glad I have it, i know this will be a set that I'll be using for many masculine cards in the future. Check out my gallery to see some examples.

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Well when you look at these scissors a certain brand comes to mind. If you guessed Stampin' Up Craft and Rubber Scissors. I've tried my friends out when I purchased a mega load of Stampin' Up stamp sets from her. Stampin' Up's Scissors work amazingly well and I'm sure many of you have this brand and would agree with me. The scissors that you see here were given to me for Father's Day from my Mom and Dad. The reason why I received these is because my Mom has a pair and it caught my eye one day when I was over at their house for a visit. I asked my Mom if she could pick me up a pair when she was at the florist wholesaler on her next trip to pick up stuff for herself. The moment I saw these I thought of The Stampin' Up scissors immediately. I knew they would do the job, maybe not better but just as well. I have to say I was right, they cut through rubber like it wasn't there. These scissors are ultra sharp and no child should ever use them.
The scissors are made by Clauss and the two are actually corsage snips. One is a 7" blade and the ID# is FSS7. The second is a 6" blade , but it seems much smaller and the ID# is FSS6 . Also, they do have a bit of serration at the base of the blades and I haven't had any trouble with it. Clauss also makes another pair of corsage snips and it looks as though they don't have any serration. That pairs ID# is NK75848 and thats all I know. I don't have a price cause I didn't think asking my parents for the price of a gift. Somehow I think that would be a bit tacky. So, there you have it a pair from Stampin' Up and Clauss, Both awesome and it seems its a choice you'll have to make on which pair to get. I think I should offer an explanation as to why I haven't purchased scissors from Stampin' Up, it's quite simple really I wouldn't be able to purchase as many stamp sets.

If you are going to get a pair of these scissors, try looking at your local nursery or maybe Home Depot.

Thanks for looking, I hope you enjoyed this post. If you have any question please post a comment.

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Here's the latest cards I have made. I received a lot of new sets from my family. I just love love them.....well yes my family and the new sets. LOL. The top card is made from Wild Wasabi, More Mustard, Regal Rose and Certainly Celery. I used My new Doodle That, My ever trusty Canvas, and bits and pieces of AYC1. The hardest part was deciding on what colours to use for the flower. I tried a few samples and it is a lot harder than you think or maybe its just me.















This Pick a Petal set is going to work out very well for me. I love mixing many colours together to make a nice and bright card. I used Wild Wasabi, Cool Caribbean, Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery and Summer Sun. One of my favorite techniques to use is paper piercing, it can add so much to a card. Give it a try if you haven't already.
















I really like this last card. I was aiming for a masculine card and I think it turned out well. Zoofari is just soooooooooooooo cool, and those wee birds are just excellent. I used Old Olive, Tree House, Soft Sky and Really Rust card stock. I was so happy the watercolouring turned out so well.

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I'll be posting about a new pair of scissors I received from my Mom and Dad. I need a few days to get it together. Also, I'm here to stay. Thanks for all the kind comments that have been sent. Take care.

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Here's challenge #15. I usually send this out to my friends via email, but I'm going to place it on my blog from now on. This is the first time that anyone can do it.

Now for the rules:
1. Follow the layout given.
2. The colour combo is up to you.
3. You must use ribbon or fiber.
4. Since it's Fathers Day tomorrow, I'm looking for a masculine card. Not a fathers Day card, but a different theme.
5. You can use tags and tabs if you like.
6. Have fun!!!!

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On Friday I received my first Random Act of Kindness (RAK). The best part about it is my good friend Carrie the Artistic Avenger
sent me it. I really think this card is me in a nut cell.....er ah I mean nut shell. he he he he. I really like and big thanks goes to Carrie.

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Starting this weekend, I'm going to post my friends challenge here on my blog, and everyone is welcome to join in. I've had a few requests from some readers of my blog to do my challenges, so I say that is cool. So I say that is cool......I sound like some dopey ruler. Man I'm such a goof!

Come on and join the fun!! YEA HAW!!!!!! We'll have a rootin tootin good time!!!!!!!

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There's one set that will never get old for me, and that is the Toy Box set. Every so often I pull it out and make a card with one of the many stamps in that set. This time I chose the little alien. This card really is a no brainer, simple layout and it's kinda cute. BARF!!!! Man I'm full of cheese.

As you can see above this is the outside. Sorry no models to show it off, waving their hands all over. The Price is Right wouldn't let me have the models.






This is the inside. I thought it would be fun with a pop out. Kinda fun.


Let me know what your one set that will never get old for you and why. Post a comment so everyone can see.

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I made this card for two challenges, one is for a SCS challenge (LSC119) and the second is for Challenge #14. The later is a challenge I do weekly for my friend's. This card applies to the SCS challenge because I had to make a card without using a typical background stamp. I used a flower from the Tagger's Dozen set for the background, which is just random stamps of the flower. The layout of this card is what I came up with for my Challenge #14 and the rest of the card was up to my friends. They could do any colour combo, any embellishments, you get the idea. My card was totally designed around the ribbon which I got at Old Navy, yah I said Old Navy. The best part is I paid 97 cents for the roll of three metres.

The reason why I chose the title I made for this post is because the SCS challenge is from last week and I just sent out Challenge #14 today. I was supposed to send it out on Sunday. AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!

I hope you enjoy this card, let me know what you think.

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This weeks featured stamper on SCS is Seewah.
I had a much easier time choosing a card to make for FS18. I've had a pack of Sage Shadow for some time and I thought I better use some before the colour bleaches out. LOL. Anyway, I really like how More Mustard looks with Sage Shadow. In the end my card turned out very well, but Seewah's card is still awesome.

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I received my sample of UHU glue the other day from Maria Filosa's UHU Project Blog. I got right to work figuring out what I could use this glue for. First I would like to say this glue is amazing what it can do, its bonding power is excellent and I love how it remains flexible.

Here's a list of uses I have found to work well for someone who stamps, scrapbooks, even general crafts:

1. If you have a piece of card stock that you're going to add to a card, take it and run a line of the UHU Creativ Glue the whole length. Next, take a piece of scrap card or a spreading tool and spread the glue to all edges. Let the glue dry, which doesn't take long. Now what you have is a re-positional adhesive on your card stock piece that you card place and lift up to three times before you start to loose stickiness. I love this technique because if you don't like where you put it, the piece comes up easily, but once the glue has set it's quite permanent. This use I described could come in handy if you're out of Sticky Strip.

2. The second use that I discovered is what the UHU Creativ Glue was intended, flexible materials. I had a stamp that needed repair where the rubber was separating from the foam backing. Also, I had another stamp where the foam was coming off the wood block. In both cases I would have use my Crystal Effects, but now you can save that for better purposes. This glue not only fixed both stamps but when it was dry it remain flexible which is very important for stamping to get a nice even image. Also, I should say I didn't prepare the surfaces either.

3. Now this third use is awesome. It has to do with ribbon, and adhering ribbon to a card or scrapbooking. What you need to do is take a strip of ribbon and run a thin and I mean thin bead of the UHU glue the full length of the ribbon or add a couple of small dabs at each end. Then you want it to dry like I stated before in use #1. Now its a easy a putting the ribbon where you want it, simple. This example would seem to work with those faux flowers everyone is using(something I don't have). You must a thin bead on the ribbon because if you put too much on it may seep through and show.

4. Other ideas I came up with but I've yet to try: fixing shoe soles, use it to patch a bike tube(smear a good amount onto a piece of kitchen wrap to make patch), children's toys, model building, attaching ribbon to homemade Christmas ornaments. As I come up with more I'll place them here.

The one thing that is a bother is the smell, so caution is needed to prevent overexposure from vapors. That wasn't a problem for me. Also, this product is flammable and it is recommended not to smoke while using the glue. The biggest precaution is to keep out of reach of children.

I have to say it was so awesome to get a free same of this glue and I had a fun time finding some uses for it. I think anyone stamping or doing crafts in general should have UHU Creativ Glue as one of their adhesives.

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I just completed SCS Sketch Challenge #127. I'm not sure what I even think about it. The Designer Paper (actually vellum) is called Pickle from Stampin Up which is a retired design, but still its very cool looking. I really like the colours and pattern, but, what I'm not sure about is if its had its day in the sun. Also, its not easy to add extra colours to it and that makes it limiting. I find this card does look a bit barfy but at the same time I like it. Oh well, I'll just give it to someone I don't really like.

Let me know what you think, be honest. Thanks for looking.


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This post is in response to some questions that have been asked. First, I was asked what type of mat I use. I use a self healing mat, I have used this flavor of mat for many years and have found it to be quite adequate. Though I do have a Fiskars mat that I use just for my circle cutter. The second question refers to how I actually cut card stock. I tend to go slowly and angle my craft knife while cutting, I find doing this makes cutting easier than having the blade perpendicular to the project. Cutting with the blade perpendicular to the work can make cutting jerky and your finished product won't have a nice smooth edge. So keeping the blade at an angle, and when you pause to reposition what your cutting don't lift the blade. Doing this makes your finished work nice and smooth with no jagged edges. This is how I cut, this may not work for everyone. Keep on trying and don't give up because your card or whatever project you work on will be worth it in the end.

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I have had many people ask how I cut out images (i.e. flowers, animals) that I add to my cards. I thought it would be a good topic to discuss, so in this post I'll show which craft knives I use and ones that no one should use. Also, I'll show some examples of my past work.

If you want to add an extra pizazz to your work then using a craft knife to cut out any stamped images which would be placed on your card with dimensional's (foam mounting adhesives). Here's a few examples to show how adding cut out stamped images makes a project look beautiful.

In this card I added the branch with flowers over top of the same image and it made the card so much more interesting. The stamped image is from Artfully Asian. This particular stamp is quite hard to cut out because of it's fine features.


For this project, an important dates book, I cut out many different stamped images to dress up the front of the book, which otherwise would be very dull.


On this card I was originally going to just stamp the image on the Whisper White card stock, but thought it was going to be too plain. However, I did stamp the curled leaf stamp in Old Olive, that's where I stopped and added some dimension to give the card some life.




Now, for the tools I use. You can buy the cheap dollar store craft knife, but the collet (the part that holds the blade) is usually made out of plastic, this is very inferior. This type of knife won't last long from the pressure that's put on the knife while cutting card stock. I don't have a picture of that type of knife because I don't use them, but I have tried unfortunately. The X-Acto brand knife is a very good choice of knife to use. The collet on the X-Acto knife is made of the same material as the shaft, which is aluminum. I find that the X-Acto knife is to small for my hands to hold and ultimately cutting can be less accurate. Changing the blade on this type can be difficult to change because the aluminum shaft sticks to the aluminum spindle piece (it's the part that locks the blade in).


This next knife I picked up at Canadian Tire. It is a craft knife, but I find it's too big for small jobs. However, I think it's good to have for cutting heavy card or chip board. The blades are easy to change, just sliding the yellow lock back is all it takes. The handle is also a storage for more blades, so they are always at hand.


The last knife that I'll talk about is the best in my mind. This craft knife is made by Fiskars. The handle is made of molded rubber which allows easy grasping and handling. It fits very nicely in any size hand and is very comfortable. Also, the handle is bigger than the aluminum craft knife, but not nearly as big as the one from Canadian Tire. The collet is made of aluminum as is the rest of it's parts. Replacing blades is easy, especially with the tension release at the end of the knife. After you put in a new blade you can tension it as much as you want and the design of this knife allows you to position the blade as you wish. The fiskars knife does cost a bit more, but it's well worth it. This craft knife is far superior than any knife I've tried.


I hope this was of any help, and helps cutting down (LOL, no pun intended) the time you spend on deciding on which craft knife to use.

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I made this card for Challenge #13. Every week I design a card for my friends to make. I come up with the layout and some of the elements they need to put into their card. Those elements can be a certain colour combo or a technique like doodling, but for this week my friends had to use two punches in any way they wanted. In my card I used my two oval punches to make a tag.

In this card I wanted the to use a colour that would POP, so with the Vintage Violet, Certainly Celery and Old Olive I chose Rose Red, against those colours it really stands out. Choosing the colours was easy, choosing the stamps to use was not so easy. I thought of using one of my favorite stamp sets, Bodacious Bouquet, so I started stamping berries using Rose Red for the central image. Next I used the leaf stamp to add lots of leaves to the Certainly Celery. I didn't want to use the same leaf with the flower, so I chose the leaf stamp from Best Blossom. I tend to make most of my cards for birthdays because there always seem to be one that come up.

I hope you enjoy this card, let me know what you think.

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