Happy Turkey Day!

Cindy Haffner is the September challenge hostess for the CCEE Stampers, and she has challenged the team (and you) to make a fall-themed card. I decided to make mine a Thanksgiving card using Rubbernecker's Tommy Turkey image.

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I paper pieced the tips of his feathers with Amber Autumn designer papers, and colored the remainder of the feathers and Tommy with Copic markers.

Would you like to play along with us?  Visit our CCEE Stampers blog for all the details, as well as view the designs Tosha, Joanne, Shirley, Cindy, and Frances made.

Gobble!  Gobble!  Have a great day!

Supply List:
Stamps:  Tommy Turkey (#20-08); Happy Turkey Day sentiment (inside of card)
Paper:  More Mustard, Very Vanilla, Amber Autumn Matstack
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories:  Big Scalloped Squares Nestabilities, Sizzlits Button Die, Tim Holtz Alterations On the Edge die, More Mustard grosgrain ribbon, Square Lattice embossing folder, dimensionals

Pine Sprig Christmas Tree

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It's Wednesday, which means it's time, again, for my Wednesday's Worktable posting on the Rubbernecker blog.   I have a couple other pictures posted there, as well as the details on how I made my tree, if you're interested.

As always, I appreciate your visit to my blog.  I hope you're having a spectacular day!

Twinkling Koi

Happy Monday, my friends!  For those of you who are without power and/or have suffered damage due to Hurricane Irene, you are in my thoughts and prayers that things will be back on track for you soon.

My card today uses a koi fish image by Local King Rubber Stamp.  My card is also being featured on the Dolce blog with all the supplies I used, if you're interested.     I stamped the fish in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored the koi with Twinkling H20s.  I used a fine tip watercolor brush for his scales.  In real life, he shimmer so beautifully.

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Please visit the Dolce Stamps and Cards website to see what other fabulous images and products they have available!

Let's Go Shopping at Rubbernecker: Sales and More Sales!!!

Spellbinder Die Set Sale This sale will run from Tuesday 8/23 noon until Thursday 8/25 5 PM. The sale will be limited to stock on hand at our distributor. For best selection, place your orders early. No backorders or rainchecks will be offered. We will place the order for the material on Friday and will advise customers of unavailable merchandise and issue refunds on Friday 8/26 if necessary. Materials will be received by and shipped Saturday 9/3. This sale will not be combined with the stamp sale.

Rubbernecker Stamp Sale This sale will run from Friday 8/26 noon through Sunday 8/28 5 PM. It will include all items in each of our stamp lines and our free stamp program (Shoppers Rewards) WILL be in effect, so remember to incude your free choices with your order. If you have any questions about the program, rules are posted on the home page of the site. This sale will not be combined with the Spellbinders sale.

Just click on the titled links to take you there!

This post will stay at the top of my blog until Sunday afternoon.  Please scroll down to view my card creations. 

Gold Christmas

This is for the last August challenge I gave the CCEE Stampers, which is to be inspired by the word "Gold." 

I gold embossed my poinsettia and sentiment {both made by Rubbernecker};  I made a rolled ribbon flower out of gold ribbon using Beate's tutorial on Splitcoaststampers; and I used a gold leaf pen for the gold frame around the image and sentiment.

Here's a close up of the rolled ribbon flower

You can get all the details on our CCEE Stampers blog and see the creations my friends Shirley, Cindy, Joanne, and Frances made.  Maybe you'd even like to play along with us!

Polished Leaves

I made this masculine, fall-themed card for my weekly Wednesday's Worktable post on the Rubbernecker blog. Stop on over for close-up photos and all the details on how I made it, if you're interested!

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If you have any other questions, leave me your e-mail address and I'll get back to you!

Glittered Koi

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Challenges are good for us, right?  They help us to stop and think about what we're doing and how to approach a particular situation.  When I received this Local King Rubber Stamps Koi image from the owners of Dolce Stamps and Cards for my August designs, I really wanted to think outside of the box on how to showcase this unique image.  From the deep, dark recesses of my brain, I remember happening upon someone's card gallery quite some time ago and seeing that they had used glitter to color their image.  That's what I decided to use to color my Koi image.  I stamped the image with Black Stazon ink onto clear acetate, turned over the acetate and applied Glossy Accents and the various colors of glitter.  Through trial and error, I found it easiest to cut the image from the acetate before applying the glitter.

My card and a complete list of the supplies I used are featured on the Dolce Stamps and Cards blog.  I'd love it if you stopped over there and left a comment!  You can find this stamp image and a lot of other stamping goodies at their store here.  

I made the following card in honor of the featured stamper, Korin, on Splitcoaststampers.  I love how she did her right border by cutting around her butterflies.  I chose to use leaves for my design.  I used Ranger Adirondack and Distress inks for my leaves.

Framed Daisies

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I made this for my weekly Wednesday's Worktable with Charlene article on the Rubbernecker blog.  You might want to pop on over there to see what my design team mates have been creating for you, too!

Rubbernecker Blog Hop and Prize!

Welcome to our little HOP!!  We are SO happy that you could join us in celebrating some NEW stamps!  Mr. Rubbernecker released some SUPER cute images, on the down low, a few weeks back and we wanted to share them with you.  They are SO adorable that we just HAD to show them off!  We have sweet SCOOTER KIDS, some new ANIMALS, and we even got some cute new FRIENDS.  You can find them by visiting RUBBERNECKER STAMPS and clicking on the 2011 NEW RELEASES.  Hey, wait, there is MORE!!  We also have something else to CELEBRATE.  Our design team has a NEW name!!  We are SO excited!!  I bet you were wondering what was up with that  weren’t you?!  We are NOW the……………………………..

                                               

Cool, huh?  We are going to have SO much to share with you!!  It will TRULY be a SISTERHOOD , for sure!!! 

OK now, a HOP would not be a HOP without a little PRIZE!!  Right?  Of course!!  SO, in honor of our news AND our new images, if you visit ALL the participants and leave some LOVE, you will have the chance to WIN a………………………………….

$25 RUBBERNECKER STAMPS CERTIFICATE!!

WOW, more coolness!!  Our winner will be announced on TUESDAY, so you will have plenty of time to hop! 

Now onto what I designed for today's hop.  I chose to use the Ewe image from the Animals set and incorporate it into a scene on a small white purse template (by DeNami Design).  I colored the entire template with distress inks.  For the grass and tree leaves, I used Crushed Olive, Shabby Shutters, and Peeled Paint with a blender tool.  For the sky, I used Tumbled Glass and a post-it note punched with my scallop punch to use as a template for sponging the clouds in my sky.  The tree trunk was stamped in Vintage Photo; I colored it in with Copic markers.  The ewe was also colored with Copic markers.

I set eyelets at the top of the purse with my Cropadile and strung baby blue fiber ribbon through the holes. 

Here's an inside view so you can see how the scene carries to the inside, as well as the sentiment I stamped.  Since I didn't want the backside of the eyelets or my fiber to show, I covered the inside with blue designer paper.  You can also see my Velcro closure.

Here's a partial side and back view of the purse so you can see how the scene work carries throughout the entire template.

OK, better get HOPPIN’!! Thanks SO much for being a part of our excitement!! Here's the HOP ROUTE!! Have an AWESOME day!!!

Charlene Merrick (that's me!)

• Frances Gumprecht
• Jacquie Peifer
• Jen Charboneau
• Joan Ervin
• Judy Rozema
• Julia Aston
• Juliana Swanson
• Kecia Waters
• Kittie Caracciolo

Flowers, Flowers...Everywhere Flowers!

Hello, my stamping friends!  I love flowers and designing cards with them.  I have two cards to share with you today.

First, here it is another Thursday already, which means it's time for another CCEE Stampers' challenge.  I am the August hostess and this week I'm challenging everyone to incorporate glass into their design whether it be a glass image, a cracked glass technique, or actual glass!  You can get all the juicy details and see Shirley's, Joanne's, Cindy's, and Frances's creations on our CCEE Stampers blog. 

I chose to make a bookmark for my design.  I love these beautiful Aztec Gold Sunflowers by Heartfelt Creations that I bought at the rubber stamping show last weekend!  There are actually three sizes in this stamp set, but I only needed the two smaller ones for this creation.  What's really cool about them is that they match the Blossom 2 Nestabilities!  Woot!

For the glass challenge, I used Vintage Glass Glitter for the center of my flower and around the Memory Glass frame laid over my friend to friend sentiment.  Once the glue dried, I colored the glass with my Sepia Copic marker. Here's a close up view.

The sentiment and weed stamp are by Rubbernecker.  The ribbon is actually made from the same blue and white gingham checked designer paper at the bottom of the bookmark.  I used a checkerboard embossing folder on the Brilliant Blue cardstock.

I'd also like to share with you the fourth card in a set I made for Dolce Stamps and Cards with JustRite's Beautiful Blossoms set.  Dolce Stamps and Cards has been featuring each card on their blog over the last month.  Today's daisy card is the last one in the set and all the details are outlined on their blog.

Here's the entire set I shared with you back in July.

These lovely stamps made for a beautiful gift set and are available at Dolce Stamps and Cards.  If you visit the blog to see my card, you'll see a link to the Dolce Stamps and Cards store at the upper right entitled Shop at Dolce Stamps and Cards.

Wednesday's Worktable - Music is the Voice

I hope you'll stop over at the Rubbernecker blog to read my Wednesday's Worktable posting and leave a comment!  Here's the card I designed and am writing about this week.

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Speaking of Rubbernecker, I had a lot of fun working the Paper Arts Festival in Novi, MI this past weekend.  Here are a few photos taken with my phone camera. 

(Jen--aka Miss Boo on SCS--and I each had a work station and had a lot of fun demonstrating techniques with Rubbernecker stamps.

Jen's station

I was so tickled that Roxie (aka Rox71 on SCS) came to the show, and I was able to meet her!!  For those of you who are Splitcoaststampers, Roxie is the weekly sketch challenge hostess.

Here's Jen and I with another one of our Rubbernecker design teammates, Juliana.  Jules worked the show with me last year, but had another commitment this year that precluded her from doing so.  She was able to swing by for a few minutes Sunday afternoon and say hi to us!

Patchwork Beautiful Blossoms

I made this card for Dolce Stamps and Cards using JustRite's Beautiful Blossoms set.  The full details are on the Dolce blog, and I'd appreciate your stopping over there and leaving a comment!

Here's a close up of how I layered the flower.

I'll be back tomorrow to show you some pictures from what I was up to this past weekend.  I hope you'll swing by then, too!  I always appreciate your visits and comments.

Have a spectacular day!

Violet Card

This card I designed is being featured on the Dolce Stamps and Cards blog.  I'd love it if you'd swing by there and leave a little love!

 Thanks!  I hope you're having a great day!

Glitter-fied Shoes

Hello, my stamping friends!  It's Thursday, which means it's time for another CCEE Stampers' challenge.  I am the challenge hostess for the entire month of August.  For today's challenge, it's all about shoes.  You can get all the details about my challenge on the CCEE Stampers' blog, plus see all the MAHVELOUS creations my friends, Cindy, Joanne, Shirley, and Frances made.  I hope you'll join us!

(click on photo for a larger view)

When I was employed, I worked in an office, which meant I wore business attire.  I use to wear high heels with my suits, and a lot of times I would buy a pair of shoes that I loved in various colors.  That's what I used for my inspiration today:  shoes of every color!  I also had to gussy my shoes up by adding glitter.  This card is FULL of glitter and so is my stamp table and room!  ha!  ha! 

I stamped the shoes in their respective colors and then I used a two-way glue pen on them to adhere the glitter.  See those glittery brads?  They are faux brads!  Yep.  I wanted glitter brads to match my shoes, so I made my own with my 1/4" circle punch.  I punched each color three times and glued them together.  I applied Glossy Accents on top and then added the glitter.  Attached to my silver ribbon is a pewter flower I found in my stash, and I just had to glitter-fy it, too!  I sprayed Krylon Preserve It on top of my card to help reduce the amount of glitter that will flake off so that my recipient doesn't have glitter all over them, too.

Well, that's all for now.  Thanks for stopping by and your comments.  I really do appreciate them!

Dare I Do Christmas in August?

Yes I do!

(you can always click on the photo to make it larger)

Not only is it time for my weekly Wednesday's Worktable posting on the Rubbernecker blog, but it's also time for another Dare to Get Dirty design for the daily challenges the Dirty Girls are hosting on Splitcoaststampers for Fan Club members!   I hope you get time to check both out!  

Oh, and one more tidbit of information....did you know that Rubbernecker customers' designs are being showcased on the Rubbernecker blog on Saturdays?  Yesssirrreee, Bob!  Come join us!

Continuing the Dare

Here are two more projects I made that include challenges issued by the Dirty Dozen team on Splitcoaststampers for their annual Dare to Get Dirty challenges open to Fan Club members.

First up is this polkadotted cupcake card.  I love polkadots and had a lot of fun incorporating them with embossing folders, circle punches, crystal gems, and french knots!  Yes, can you believe that moi' hand stitched french knots onto those 3/4" circle punches?  It was a bit of a challenge with the arthritis in my hands, but I had so much fun making them and this card!  I used my Cricut Sweet Treats cartridge for the cupcake card shape. 

My next card was inspired by Cindy Motherway's inspiration teapot for Teapot Tuesday. 

Our Teapot Tuesday inspiration this week are the Three Tea-Migos in blue, yellow, and green! It's a party for Tink, LaRue, and Sunshine, too! We are to bring light-hearted, upbeat, beautiful, wonderful, and colorful things.  My card

 will be sent to a very special young child at Hugs and Hopes Club for Sick Kids for children battling critical illnesses.

I loved the goofy faces on the inspiration teapot and immediately thought of this goofy duck image I have. I stamped him three times and watercolored him with Twinkling H20s in Sunflower, Fresh Oregano, and Evening Primrose, and then shaded the background with Stargazer. I colored their bills with an orange marker and then put orange glitter on them. After I cut my Brilliant Blue cardstock with the film strip die, I watercolored it with the Evening Primrose so all my blues would match. I did the same thing for the circle punches so they would shimmer, too!

The "You Quack Me Up!" sentiment is computer generated. On the inside of my card, I also computer-generated in bright blue ink a duck joke that reads:

"What do you call a crate full of ducks?"

A: A box of quackers!

Dare to Get Dirty 2011

Wow!  How fast this past year has flown by!  Here we are at another Dare to Get Dirty (DTGD)  week on Splitcoaststampers for Fan Club members.  There are a lot of challenges packed into each day, but you can combine them which helps if you're a busy gal on the go.  They are a lot of fun to do.

Last night I was able to make this 3 x 3 note box that I made as a birthday gift box combining three of the DTGD challenges.

Here's a close up of the flowers I made using my MFT trio flower die-namics, Stampin' Up's 5-petal flower punch, hydrangea and punch (small flower in center), as well as my pine leaf and leaf punches.
After I cut the flowers, I embossed them with the Square Lattice embossing folder for dimension.

I'm off to an appointment for now, but I'm looking forward to returning to my stamp room and participating in more of the challenges!