Sprinkles on a Sweet Day

I just bought a cute picture for my kitchen/hallway. It is a dessert on a table and it says, "life is sweet." I guess that's why I decided on this message today.

I love the sprinkles in this stamp set. I thought they would make a great background. I am sure I will use these a few more times before I move on to something else...watch for more!

This is a loose translation of Heather Rolin's layout challenge . My new home is decorated in a contemporary theme, which is probably why I went with this design.

The sets I used are, All About Birthdays (sentiments), and Christmas is the Time for Cookies by me for

H &M Stamps



Thanks for visiting...come back soon!



~Bev

My Saltbox

I am working four days a week...

How's THAT for an excuse to not blog? I did get up at five this morning to draw. I decorate cakes all day at work, so for three weeks (that's how long I have worked this job) I have been TIRED. My body is finally getting past the aches and pains of being on my feet for 8 hours...so I am FINALLY getting into a routine which includes ART.

I made this card when I enjoyed an afternoon of stamping with two of my new friends here. These two women are AMAZING. They are both legally blind (not blonde...) and have to use special machines to see what they are doing. Their dedication and persistance put me to shame.

The paper background is by Reminisce. The other side of the paper is the same pattern in red. I LOVE black. I use it on almost all my cards, except for the vintage ones. I prefer to use a dark purple...almost black on those, so the image isn't as harsh.

George and I are getting settled in. He dug up the whole front yard and bagged it. SO MUCH red mulch. I prefer dark mulch. We also need to replace a whole lot of plants. Tropical plants are a whole new thing for us. We love them, we just need an education in them!

For this card, I also embossed the brads with green and yellow. The stamps are from my Old English set for H&M Stamps.

Well...off to work. It's MY Friday!

~Bev

A Little Cottage is Always Very Snug...

You would be surprised how different it is, to take a stamp image you yourself designed and turn it into a card...

This card began as a whole scene, then I actually cut off the beautiful sky I chalked and turned it into this oval window. I love the feel of looking into a frame like this. It makes me feel like there's a world in there (think I said that a couple of cards ago...).

The background is stamped with little stamps from this set, which is called, Old English. The accessories (fence, tree, path and many more) are from the accessories set is sold separately.

This cottage reminds me of a cookie house. And speaking of cookies, I just got a job decorating cakes at the local WalMart! Hmmm...maybe I will get inspired and do a cake set...not that THAT hasn't been done before!

~Bev

I Love Autumn!

If I only had more storage! I am still working on organization, so my work is sporatic at best...hang in there with me. You guys know how we stampers need a place for EVERYTHING! Without that, I have PILES upon PILES...everything gets buried...

OK, enough excused...

This card is has a touch of Autumn, as I am experiencing Autumn without the colors I am used to up North. I usually go straight for the oranges, reds and umbers, but this year will be different...as I have a new venue.
I brayered the plum gingham, vintage CTMH B&T paper, with River Rock ink from SU!. The lace edge is from Crafty Secrets' Kitchen Classics. I stamped the cs with the flying crow from "Old Fashioned Hayride", one for the sets I illustrated for H&M Stamps...actually, the very FIRST set I ever designed.

I curved the font, to make it fit the oval, which I cut with Coluzzle. The little glass beads are from Walmart.

Gotta go...got some drawing to do.

~Bev

Finally...I am back, and armed with stamp sets!

Hey Everybody!



Big News! My very first original stamp sets are available online for purchase! There are five of them, and I am working on 10 more for release next year. Check them out! Right now you can get FREE SHIPPING! Go to: http://www.handmstamps.com/


As for my move to Florida, we're "in". George and I still have alot of loose ends to take care of, but we did manage to take a trip to IKEA to purchase tables for me to work at in my very own craft room. Storage pieces will have to wait, and I have to try a different connection for my computer (wireless doesn't work here), but other than that I am able to function enough to get back to blogging...



Here is a card made with my stamp set, "Old Fashioned Hayride". What fun!


My camera is charging, so as soon as I can, I will post more angles and close-ups of this card. Finally time to use the Fall stuff (although it's in the 90's here and doesn't feel at all like Fall!)


This card is for Heather Rolin's layout challenge, HMSC11. It's a loose translation. Rocking stamps is one of my favorite things to do. I used three colors: Old Olive, Summer Sun and Bravo Burgundy. I curved the cute sentiment and cut the three corn cobs out of glossy paper. I used a sponge here and there, and edgers to make the scallops. The image in the oval is chalked, and the sky was done with my good 'ol CTMH cloud stencil. The paper and cs are vintage CTMH.


With all the adorable cards I have seen on this blog, I have some catching up to do!


Have fun with your stamps,
~Bev

Second Post Today...

I am playing catch-up today...this card is for two challenges: Crafty Secrets' Vintage Black challenge CSSC24, and Heather Rolin's layout challenge on her blog... HMSC2. (see last post for a link to her website)


I just love to play with realistic images, and recreate scenarios on cards. This one was too much fun! I heat curled the ribbon with my heat tool, and curled the stamps, too!

If you look at some of my past posts, like the windblown blouse, or the wallpaper card, you will see the lacey border stamp.

For this card, I trimmed away some of the extra acrylic on the stamp, and adhered the image to the block on a curve, so I could make these plates. I used my empressor stylus to make the plate indentations.

I just ordered three more sets of Crafty Secrets stamps...it's about time, too

~Bev

H&M Stamps Release!

Congratulations, Heather! Two new stamp sets are released today, and this card is made with one of them. I love the little flip flops, and dressed them up with some beads I picked up in Walmart...in the bead section.
Shabby Chic, the sister style to Vintage, was my choice here. I used my empressor tool to make weather-worn wood (say that 3 times fast!) reminiscent of New England cottages at the beach in CT, where I spent some happy hours as a child. Ah, the memories...

So, check out Heather's newest stamps here:http://www.handmstamps.com/

~Bev