You're So Thoughtful

I am totally loving all this stamping time. I have been inking away with all the goodies I have accumulated while at school.

A while ago I won some awesome blog candy glitter flowers by K&Co from Heather. Today I finally decided to pull out the fun kit and start playing. I rubbed the sticky rub-on on white paper and sprinkled red glitter on it. Then I cut it out and sponged some 'Summer Sun' Ink by SU! on it. Then I got totally stumped. It took me a while to come up with a color combo that I liked and I really went though lots of colors. I finally settled on Summer Sun CS for the card base, a blue textured CS from Bazzil, some fushia scraps and my old stand by green straw. How green straw became my go-to paper I will never know, but I do love it :)

Then I stamped 'you're so thoughtful' by SU! on white paper and punched it out with the word window punch. That punch gets so much use! I just love it. Lastly I took a blue bazzil wings flower that I got at the expo and added a bling rhinestone to it and dotted some borders.

Enjoy!
Ely

Summertime and the Livin' is easy!

Ahhh...the sweet smell of summer. No more classes, a lot less stress and a ton more time to stamp! When I am at school I order stamps to be delivered at my house in miami. This means that when I come home I have lots to play with!

This card is a result of all those products. During background blitz from Cornish Heritage Farms I ordered a couple of backgrounders and this cute owl stamp set. The poem is from an older Stampin' Up set called Friendship Flowers.

I used Purely Pomegranate, Taken with Teal, Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Pie for my color scheme. That is one of my all time favorite combos!

I popped up the owl with dimensionals. Finally, I outlined the poem and colored the owl in copic markers. I used BG10, RV11, Y000 and V01 for the outlining. For the cute little owl I used E31, E33, E37 and YR23.

Basking in the glory that is summer,
Elyssa

Peace, Love, and Packing.

My dad just left! We managed to pack everything in less than 24 hours! Go us!!! Packing is never easy, especially when one person doesn't know what is what and where things should go, but we made it. Thanks Daddy!

I am getting totally addicted to sketch challenges. It is so awesome to start with a layout that I wouldn't normally choose and make it my own. This particular Hippie Birthday card is for Sketch Challenge 170. Every week SCS has a new sketch to play with!

This yummy card was made with Ballet Blue, Rose Red and Tempting Turquoise. I used my copics to color in the cupcake. I used B05, RV14 and YR23. I love my copics!!! The stamps are from an old SU! set called 'Groovy'. I actually had to order it off ebay, but it is just so me. I love peace signs and seem to be collecting everything from necklaces to posters with them, so I figured why not stamps? As the daughter of some children of the sixties I know this stamp set will be a hit for cards to come.

I also had to share my garage sale findings. The LSS up here in gainesville holds two garage sales a year where people can come sell their old stamps and scrapbook stuff. Well, I usually can't go due to scheduling conflicts, but this time it worked out! I got to go :) I got some great deals and only spent around 40 dollars. I got 'Roses for Winter' for seven dollars, the 'Headline Alphabet' and another set for 16 dollars together. I bought a house mouse stamp for 3$ and a couple of other misc. stamps. It was awesome!

Well, I'm off to finish my paper. I'll be home soon :)

Ely

Packing!

Just wanted to stop in to let you know why I've been MIA. My dad drove up for the weekend to help me pack, so we are quite busy over here! Hopefully we will be done tomorrow and I will able to update with a BEAUTIFUL card for y'all! OH and by the way I've seen some of the Little Paper Shop's sets for next month and you are going to be BLOWN AWAY!
:)

Postage

I love this card! It is so out of my normal realm of cutsy images and copics. It is actually made with a faux postage stamp grid and a matching template. It is very easy to do. I did each 'postage stamp' individually. First, I stamped my grid. Then, I taped my matching template over the image. Next, I masked my image off by covering the other stamps with post-it notes. I stamped my images in Basic Grey from SU! then colored them with chalk. Chalk gives such a great subtle effect on these funky stamps. I repeated the aforementioned for each stamp. EASY PEASY and so cute. I think this is such a fun and easy technique and works very well for note cards!

Well, finals week is almost over! I am actually going home on Tuesday, but my dad is coming up on Saturday to move me out (isn't he great?!?). This year totally flew by, but I am excited for this summer and looking at law schools. The good news is that I think I am getting straight As again!!! I'm very happy about that!

I just finished 4 hours of LSAT prep, so I'm off to bed. I hope you like this card, it's always a challenge to stray from my usual style :)

Ely

You're my Cup of Cocoa and a Funny Story

I love House Mouse Stamps! They are just SOOO yummy and fun to color. But, they are also hard to color. The intricate lines and the shading is a fun challenge for me. This particular stamp is from Hobby Lobby and is very detailed. It is actually one of the first images I colored with copics! My shading is a little off and they are colored with markers I would never use now. (E09 for one of the mice...yucky)

But, I wanted to show you how far I've come! These markers are not easy but they are wonderful once you get started!

I wish I could tell you the exact colors I used on this card, but it has been a while since I made this card. I do know that I used the Aida Cloth background from SU!.

Have you checked out the Background Blitz at Cornish Heritage Farms? I broke down yesterday and ordered 3! Hopefully they will arrive in Miami when I do (in a week) and I can show you all my creations.

And now for my funny story...

So this is a picture of my Bubbie (grandma in Yiddish) and me at Passover. Isn't she pretty???m She wore this fun outfit from JCPenney (or Penne like the pastas, as she likes to call it, sorta like targe for target). The ENTIRE Seder I kept staring at it because I couldn't get over it's resemblance to the 'Wonderful You' set and 'Stems and Silhouettes Wheel' from Stamping Up! It totally looks like it was stamped in Night of Navy, Real Red and River Rock on Whisper White.

I know I'm loosing my mind. BUT... I wanted to know if this ever happens to you. You see a color or a design and you instantly think of a stamp or a color ink?

Oh the mind issues of stamper! I might need therapy. JK!

Officially off my rocker,
Ely

Sweet!!!

Do you ever hear an expression from a kid and think "What does that mean??? I must be getting old!" I know y'all (I live in gainesville now, so I can say Y'ALL) are thinking "She's only 19 how could SHE be old." Well when I handed a gift to my 10 year old cousion last holiday season and he opened it he responded with "SWEET!". I was totally confused. I had just given her a game boy game and was hoping she wasn't planning on eating it (lol) when his mother, my aunt, explained to me that "Sweet" meant awesome.

A couple months later I saw this stamp from Stampendous which said "Sweet" along with a matchig 'Tiers of Treats' stamp. Well, I thought this was the perfect Thank-You card for my cousin. I made a whole batch and sent them off to her.

It really is a fun tween card. I colored the image in copics and stamped the sentiment in Regal Rose by SU! . The faux stitching is from Hero Arts. The CS is Basic Black from SU! and the patterned paper is old Cosmo Cricit. The shiny silver ribbon is actually from a flower basket my mom received. The big wavy green ribbon is from May Arts.

ALSO, in the next couple of days I am going to re-do an add lots of blogs to my blog roll. If you are interested in having me add your blog, please comment here. I do request that you add my blog to your blog roll in return, but it is not mandatory. I love the comradely out there and love to refer people to other new and unique blogs :)

Enjoy!
Ely

Little Paper Shop Design Team : Now Accepting Applicants!

I have two finals tomorrow, so life is very hectic. However, Julia emailed me that she is looking for more members for her design team so I thought I should alert all of you ASAP! She is such a doll to work with and her stamps are just so wonderful!

If you are interested please take a second to look at Little Paper Shop website to see all the great stamps. They are so fun to work with. Then, if you are interested, click here to contact Julia!

Also, I have gotten quite a few questions over the last couple days. If you have any questions about my blog, the products I use, the techniques I love or basically anything, feel free to PM me them as I am going to have answer a bunch and post them here Wednesday!

You're Barrels of Fun

Seder (the prayers before and after dinner for Passover *Seder means Order in Hebrew*) went really well. There was one major snafu, however, the air-conditioner broke. Luckily, it wasn't too hot out, only about 75-80 degrees with a breeze. So we opened all the windows and my mom tried to stay out of the kitchen (a little difficult for her lol). My dad was running around trying to fix it and assess what was wrong and he is usually the one who leads the Seder.

SO, because my mom was cooking and my dad was trying to fix the air, I got to lead. My mom had already asked me to help my dad because there was so many people there, but I was not prepared to lead the whole thing. I think I did a pretty good job and everyone seemed to be appreciative, so all and all I think it was a success.

This morning we got someone to come out and fix the air so it is back on, it was just bad timing. My Aunt, Uncle and Cousin left this morning which gave me time to stamp. How adorable is this little piggie from The Paper Shop? I love it! Of course I colored it with Copics ( E31, YR31, YR68, C1, E33, E37, RV11 and G21). I had a little trouble getting the right color for the pig but I ended up using a combo of E31, E33, YR31, YR68, RV11 and let me just tell you, he is fully saturated with all the layers of color that I used.

I punched him out with the Scallop Punch by SU! and used my old light green EK Success 2" Punch behind the Scallop Circle to accent the focal point. The paper and ribbon are leftovers from the place cards and are from American Crafts.

This particular card was actually for a sketch challenge 147. I rarely do sketch challenges but this seemed really fun and great for this image. What'd ya think?

Enjoy!
Ely

Passover Place Cards

As some of you know I'm home for Passover. It is always nice to go home, especially for holidays. I linked the word Passover if you're curious about the holiday, but basically it is holiday spent around the dinner table reciting prayers and talking about Jewish History. It also means a day of cooking and cleaning. It's always chaotic around here for Holidays and this one is no different.

We are having 17 people for dinner and my mom gave everyone tasks. Mine was to make the place cards. I had a lot of fun picking a spring palette from American Crafts (of course, right?). I stamped the Hebrew words in Real Red from SU!. The stamp is from Tin Can Mail from the LSS (that's why I don't have a link). The American Crafts paper and ribbon is from their 'Spring and Summer' collection. I printed everyones name with 'CK Letter Home'.

It was a lot of fun making them, but I got a tinch OCD with the ribbon. Ugh, I am a real perfectionist when it comes to a knot. If you have ever wanted to learn how to tie a 'stampers knot' you should check out Kwerner's video tutorial.

Classes will be over Tuesday, but finals don't end until next Tuesday. It feels so good to be almost done and I can't wait for my summer to begin! This summer means a trip to Russia, the LSAT, a New England trip, a Help-Elyssa-Find-The-Perfect- Law-School-Trip, working at the LSS, interning with a judge and hopefully relaxing and stamping!!!! What'd ya think!?! Am I lucky or what....I just have to survive finals!

Also, I have been stamping up a storm here, so get excited for lots of great LPS, SU! and more cards :)

Enjoy,
Elyssa

YAY LPS!

It's open for buisness!!! Stop by Little Paper Shop to see all the great sets I've been displaying. I also wanted to draw the Blog Candy. Thank you to all who participated!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

12 

Timestamp: 2008-04-18 09:49:04 UTC

So if TracyTracy could please PM me at EBEART @ SCS I will ask Julia to send out her free 'Nature's Garden' set!

April 13, 2008
Tracy said...

Hmmm.... birdhouse... so glad you pecked me... but thats more for chickens... in the Jerry Maguire tradition, "you had me at Tweet tweet tweet"....

TracyTracy

Well, I'm off to catch a flight home, I'll post some stuff later :)

Enjoy!
Elyssa

All Things Grow with LOVE

I give lots of gifts. I love making things for people and there always seems to be a birthday, graduation or holiday coming up. As such I make lots and lots of gift tags. I try to keep them simple because I mass produce them and truthfully I think they have a higher percentage of just getting thrown out.

So today I thought I would show you one. I kept it super simple with Georgia Pacific CS and a piece of ribbon from American Crafts. Have a mentioned how much I love AC ribbons? It just so fun and matches all of their papers.

Ok, so back to stamping. I used the set 'Delightful Garden' from Little Paper Shop. Remember this is the last day to add your quote on the April 13th post for Blog Candy and to win this very set! Tomorrow I will post the winner! Tomorrow is also the release of all the fun stamps you have seen in the past week!!

The sentiment and Watering Can are both from the same set (Delightful Garden). I colored the can with W1, W3 and the colorless blender. I did the shadow for the can in Y31 and BG10. I also shadowed the sentiment with BG10.

Hope you enjoy!
Elyssa

A Mother's Day Card

I am very happy with this card and it looks even better in real life! I made this cute little scence with stamps from three Little Paper Shop sets: Farm Yard Fun, All Occasion Sayings and Delightful Garden.

First, I stamped the bench from 'Delightful Garden' with Adirondack Pitch Black. Then, I masked the bench with a post-it and stamped the fence from 'Farm Yard Fun' in Adirondack Pitch Black. Next, I Stamped the bird image from 'Delighful Garden' in Adirondack Pitch Black twice, without re-inking (the second bird is technically 'stamped off').

I then colored the scene with COPICS! I used BG10, YR31, YR23, G21, G24, G28, E31, E33, E37 and V01.

I used more of the American Craft ribbon and paper from the 1930s card car. There is something wonderful about using scraps!

The Sentiment is from LPS's 'All Occasion Saying's set. Let me tell you that this set has EVERY sentiment you would ever need, and in such an elegant font!

I hope everyone is getting their quotes in for the blog candy! I am very excited to be able to give this set away thanks to Julia!

My life is really hectic this week! I have a ton do before I can go home this weekend for Passover, but I am very excited to see my family.

Loving these stamps!
Elyssa

Loads of Fun

How fun is this set from Little Paper Shop, it's called 'Caution-Construction Zone'. Allison is actually giving it away for blog candy. Speaking of blog candy, make sure you comment on April 13th post with one of your favorite quotes. The odds seem really good and once you see my card that I have ready for tomorrow you will know that you need this set.

Remember these stamps will be available April 18 and will have free shipping to Canada and the US with a $15 dollar purchase.

I colored the image with COPICS (of course, right?). I used B21, Y15, Y17, R39 and B39. I used my Marvy punches, giga and mega, to cut the squares out of the paper. I love the three layer cut out look. How awesome would this card be for a play-date invite(I have lots of little cousins). I also love the sign and Julia has outfitted it with a lot of sentiments to stamp on it (you'll have to wait a little to find out just which ones). The patterned paper and cardstock is from Hobby Lobby.

Hope you enjoy!
Elyssa

LPS 1930s Truck Copic Video Tutorial #14

Don't you just love this truck image?!? My dad is a totally into cars so when I saw this stamp I immediately thought of him. He loves to collect toy cars and has a real appreciation for older cars. When I was 16 we went to a car show to look for ideas for my first car. Ford had a special display where you could take pictures with an old truck, just like this one. So this image really is special. I also love the 'Boys and their Toys' stamp from the 'Caution-Construction Zone' set from Little Paper Shop. It totally captures my Dad's attitude towards cars!

I used SU's Only Orange CS and some random patterned paper from M's. The ribbon is from American Crafts. The stamps are from Little Paper Shop.

This image really shines with the copic markers. LOVE MY COPICS!!! The tutorial I did is a great intro to coloring line images, since they are slightly harder to shade. I used BG10, YR04, YR09, YG94, G99, W1, W3 and YR23.

Also, make sure you comment on April 13th's post with your quote of the day in order to enter for blog candy! Julia has been kind enough to offer up a free garden set! Also, make sure you are checking out Allison's Blog for more candy and also sneak peeks of the Little Paper Shop's new releases :)

ETA: Since I explained all about my dad's toy collecting, I thought you all might want to see HIS website!!

Enjoy!
Elyssa

LPS card and BLOG CANDY!

How AWESOME is this birdhouse! This is from the set 'Delightful Garden' from Little Paper Shop. It will be released April 18th. Do you want to know what the best part of this is??? You can win this stamp and the lovely set that compliments it! How generous is Julia??? Julia and Allison will also be giving away different LPS sets!

I am addicted to quotes, I think the right quote can help any mood. SO, all you have to do is comment on this post with one of your favorite quotes! You are allowed one quote/comment per day and I will be using the Random Number Generator to pick the winner on April 18! So make sure you come back daily to see each new card I post and to add your daily quote. That's right, it's a week's worth of Little Paper Shop!

But remember to comment your quotes on this post!

This card is a fun and quick note card! I actually made about 10 of these to give to my mom for Mother's Day! As aforementioned they use the bird house and bird from 'Delightful Garden'. I colored it with the following copics: G24, E33, YR04, YR09, YR14, Y000. The white parenthesis rub-ons are from American Crafts.

ETA: Make sure you stop by tomorrow for another chance to enter to win this card AND a brand new COPIC tutorial using Little Paper Shop stamps!!! I haven't done one in a while because I have been so busy, but after turning in two huge papers, I have a more time to share with you!

As always,
Enjoy!
Elyssa

The Big News!!!

I was asked to be on a DESIGN TEAM!!

How exciting is that!?! Allison and I will be revealing all the details this week! We will be the design team for Little Paper Store along with Julia , the owner. There will be a total of 7 sets and 4 individual stamps available for purchase on April 18! Then there will be monthly releases.

They are HIGH quality photopolymer stamps! She has a quite a comprehensive collection coming out and without giving away too many details, they include lots of masculine sets! I've been brainstorming lots of great fathers day cards to show you!

I am hoping to start showing you samples later today (the whole lot should be arriving today!)

VERY EXCITED!!!

Ely

It's the little things that make life BIG.

Just when you thought I was all about simplicity I go ahead and show you this card. I utilized a Stampin Up Set from Sell-a-bration last year, Happy Harmony. I love the sentiments that came with this set, especially the one I used here. I also used some flourishes from a set I won at CKU from Fancy Pants called Chic Alpha. I like how the flourishs mirror the 'B' in the sentiment.

The ribbon is from American Crafts. I used the following ink pads from SU!: Mellow Moss, Pumpkin Pie, Almost Amethyst, and Pixie Pink. I stamped off a lot as well as 'rock and rolled' my stamps to get darker outer flowers. SCS has a great tutorial on it here. I used Pumpkin Pie paper and some random Bazzil paper for the first mat.

Now my favorite part of this card is the distressing. You can use the side of your scissors or you can purchase an Edge Distresser. These handy dandy tools are about .99 cents and are basically a razor blade in a circler frame. After distressing I ran my ink pads on the sides of the mats to create dimension.

So, you may be wondering....when is the big news going to be announced??? Well I will let you know Saturday!!! So get excited :)

Enjoy!
Elyssa

I Herd it was your Birthday!

Wow!! The semester is almost over! I seriously can't believe that in 2 1/2 weeks it will be SUMMER. But, I also can't believe how much I have to do before then. I have my Sierra Leone paper due tomorrow, I'm up to 11 pages, though. I have another paper due Saturday for Political Theory. Then, finals. Yuck.

However, I have some great news that I just can't wait to tell you! But, it will have to wait a couple days so keep checking back :)

Also, thank you so much for voting in the poll! There was a total of 53 votes! WOW. Most of you like any type of tutorial or coloring ones. Very little of you wanted Twinkling H20s only and a couple were only interested in Copics. I will definitely take all of this into account in the next couple of weeks. I will also be posting a couple of copic tutorials at the end of this week! Also, please add me to your Google reader :) I even have a button on the right column to quickly add it! It is a very easy way to keep connected!

So, now to the goods! How great is this card?!? It utilizes the MFT Set Punny Farm. I love to color these babies!! I also paired this set with the party hat from Stampendous Changito the Monkey. I love getting creative with mixing and matching my sets, it makes them so versatile. The inside says 'Herd it's your Birthday' which is also in the Punny Farm set. The background paper is Brilliant Blue from SU! and the green texture paper is old from my lss.

I colored with the following copics : G40, B05, C1, C3, G24 and 110 Special Black.

Well, I'm off to finish my paper!
Enjoy :)
Ely

Good Morning!

Good Morning. I just woke up after sleeping for 18 hours! Why? You may ask. It's because I stood for 26.2 hours straight this weekend. That's right, no sitting, no sleeping, lot's of eating and all standing!

You may ask again, Why??? Well, it's for Children's Miracle Network!!!! At the University of Florida we have a HUGE fund raiser for CMN called Dance Marathon which you may have seen older posts about. It is such a heart warming, foot hurting, back aching, eye-crying (because they have 'miracle families' who discuss how the medical purchases made possible by CMN funds helped save their children's lives) and all around a great experience.

I made it through pretty well. I took a lot of IB profion and my feet are still aching, but I feel great mentally! Overall, between 650 dancers we raised almost 1/2 million dollars!!! That is truly amazing!

If you would like more information about the Children's Miracle Network or Dance Marathon, please see the links above. If you have any questions for me, please PM me.

So, I thought this card would be apropos considering my weekend. I wanted to also say that the 649 other dancers at the even really warmed my heart with their passion and endurance.

This card is from the set that I made for my Grandparents! I used So Many Scallops and Friendship Flowers in Real Red and Certainly Celery, all from Stampin' Up! I also used gold ribbon from May Arts. All of the aforementioned matched the patterned paper from American Crafts and Real Red from Stampin' Up! I also used the Scallop Punch from Stampin' Up! and Ribbon Punches from Making Memories.

Also, last but not least, please take a minute and vote for the poll on the right hand corner of this blog. Your opinion counts and I will be making my tutorial decisions based on it!

Also, please check back in the next couple of days for some VERY exciting news :)

Enjoy this LONG post!
Ely

Stampin' and Scrappin'

Life has certainly been crazy the last couple of days. Yesterday, I had 9 hours of class followed by a 4 hour diagnostic LSAT prep class. Boy was I tired! I also wanted to let you all know that I will be MIA for the weekend, as I will be participating in Dance Marathon at the university, it is such a great cause (Children's Miracle Network), but I will be exhausted afterwards. Today I have lots of exciting things to do, including a reunion lunch with some friends who I went on Birthright Israel with.

In honor of this luncheon, I decided to post a layout from a different trip to Israel, which I went on last summer with my family. I have been getting a lot of requests for pages which include stamping and this one certainly does! It highlights the Loves Me, Loves Me Not set from Technique Tuesday.

First I used Black CardStock from Bazzil. Then, I laid down a piece of sparkly silver paper from the LSS. I then tied a piece of ribbon from American Craft. Next I layed down some old Phrase Cafe stickers from EK Success.

Then, I stamped my Loves Me, Loves Me Not set from Technique Tuesday in Craft White from Stampin up and embossed with White Embossing Powder. I then used my Versamark pen to color in the flowers, following with chalking (poppin' pastels).

Finally I printed My title: "Am Yisrael Chai" which roughly translates to The People of Israel Live, to accompany my picture of my family on Masada. I used colorbox petal ink pads to rough up the border and then I stapled with my Fasenator from EK Success. I then added a Quickutz heart punch.

Peace. Love. and Stamping!

Last night was my sorority's paddle party and Stamp Club (a lot of fun for one night!). In my sorority, we do creative paddles!! My little sister made me the best one! I love LOVE love it!!! Thanks little!

Stamp Club was awesome (thanks Mary!). It is so awesome to get to stamp with these ladies every month! Some of them (Hi Kat!), even read this blog!!!!

Today I have so much to do! I already went to volunteering at the elementary school and did my errands, but I still have research, writing my paper and some other homework to do!


This gorgeous page is done with Bazzil Bling paper! This is one of my favorite lies of paper for scrapbooking because I really am a shiny blingy girly scrapbooker! The page is obviously from my graduation party in highschool. My Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, and cousins all flew in! How great is family. You can also see a cameo from my puppy! The sticker letters are from Creative Imaginations, I must own like 3 sets! I love this page!

Enjoy,
Elyssa

Twinkling H20s Dragonfly Video Tutorial

Last week I ordered two 12 packs of Twinkling H20s, which just came yesterday. I played with them for a while and quickly realized that although their learning curve is not quite as high as copics but that they do take a little play time. This video tutorial goes over the basics as to what twinkling H20s are, shows some pieces I have colored and then goes into detail about how to paint the Dragonfly(by Magenta), that is shown above. Also, please click on the picture to see the shimmer, it doesn't show well unless its enlarged.

I am really looking for feedback as to whether or not you found the video helpful as well as your personal experiences with Twinkling H20s. I know they were really popular a couple of years ago. Do you want more videos or do you enjoy the copic ones more? It is not necessarily one or the other, but I was just wondering. I am going to put a poll up on the blog (right toolbar), so please vote!