Flight of Celebration

Happy Birthday to the Texas branch of the Fine Feathered Friends of Flamingos!  The card is in the mail.  Gotta love those Viva Las Vegas Stamps!

Flight of Autumn

It is already mid-October and the leaves are taking their time changing in my neck of the woods.  I saw this image in the UK magazine Simply Cards & Papercrafts (Issue 88) and I had to use it.  It is in the digi-stamps and sentiments by David Parkins page insert.  Though the photo doesn't show the dimension well the little leaves are some I pulled off an oak leaf mini garland and are actually silk.  The ribbon was floating loose in the drawer so I don't remember its source.  The same goes for the light blue card paper.  The light brown paper is a page out of an old Sizzix catalog and was just the right color.  Every thing else was colored with Copic markers.

Squirrel: E31, E33, E35, E37, E39
Shadows:  W1, W3
Highlights: Y0000
Ground coloring:  G45, E27
Ground airbrushing: E13, E27
Acorns:  YR21, YR23, E55, E33
Sky airbrushing: BG10

Now if it would only stop raining so the squirrels around here can start strutting around juggling acorns!

Flight of a closed door, day nine

Today brings us to the end of the Door ATC series. This one is called Door & Poultry. This all started on August 2, 2001 so you can go back to that post to see the stamp credits. I recently read that today only 16% of Americans are considered to be living in "Rural America". You don't know what you are missing living in the city. I have a black and white cat( and many others in a rainbow of colors) outside my door quite often. I've had a brown dog outside my door and a Dalmatian used to live across the street. There are horses and chickens next door. Pigs and cows live nearby. Quite a few hamburgers and BBQs are in the area. I didn't make an ATC with a peacock or an ostrich or a slug or a frog or a praying mantis outside the door, but I've had them all. I've lived in other rural areas and had deer regularly outside my door. Once there was a bear. Some days it's the Schwan's man at the door, or the Watkin's lady, or the Avon lady, or the "Church" lady or man. In years past I've even had a student asking for help with their homework! Grab a door stamp and create your own Door ATC series!

Flight of a closed door, day eight

Here is a pink piggy with some friends outside the door. The ATC is called Door & Piggy (w/ flies). Stamp credits for this ATC series are on the August 2, 2011 post.  I forgot to check and it
appears that blogger failed to load the day eight and day nine posts when they were supposed to.
I don't think anybody is reading anyway so I guess it doesn't matter!

Flight of a closed door, day seven

There is a new dog on the block. This ATC is called Door & Dalmatian.

As always see the August 2, 2011 post for stamp credits for this ATC series.

Flight of a closed door, day six

With all the strange things going on outside the door perhaps these doors are on Wisteria Lane. Today's ATC is called Door & Kitty.

Remember to check the August 2, 2011 post for stamp credits for this ATC series.

Flight of a closed door, day five

Whoops! Yesterday's cow had a run in with the butcher. The ATC is called Door & Burger (w/BBQ). The BBQ and burger stamps are from the Basic Grey Limited Edition Alpha Set, which I also purchased on Crop Chocolate. You will find more product info for this ATC series on the August 2, 2011 post.

Flight of a closed door, day four

There are two visitors outside the door today. This ATC is called Door & Cow (w/Hen).

Please see the August 2, 2001 post for stamp credits.

Flight of a closed door, day three

Perhaps you will open the door and find a piggy who has been playing in the dirt. This ATC is called Door & Piggy (w/dirt).

Stamp credits for this ATC series can be found on the August 2, 2011 post.

Flight of a closed door, day two

What else may be outside a closed door? Today you find a horse!
This ATC is called Door and Old Gray Mare.

The shrub stamp I believe is a Stamp Francisco Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers issue.

I have no idea who made the punches used.
More stamp credits for this ATC series can be found on the August 2, 2011 post.

Flight of a closed door, day one

The next few days you will get to see all of the ATCs I have prepared for the Summer ATC swap on Crop Chocolate. It was a lot of fun using Copic markers to do all the coloring. Some of them even include use of the air brush at which I am a real novice. The animal stamps all came from Crop Chocolate and are part of the Basic Grey Limited Edition Epsilon set. The door, many of the foliage items, and the pots and baskets are from the two English Garden sets by Art Impressions. Some of the other leaves and flowers are from Rubber Stamp Tapestry. I hope you enjoy this series of Artist Trading Cards. Today's card is called Door & Brown Puppy.

Flight of Cool, Green and Shady Creativity

Since I became "Copic Certified" I have just been a Copic coloring fool. Practice, practice practice. I pulled out this stamp from Rubber Stamp Avenue and I'm trying all sorts of

experiments on this leafy lady. I colored her face with E000 first and then added E00 on the left and then blended with E000. Then in some places I added a little E02 and then blended using E00. I was trying to get the effect of the light coming from the lower right. Lips were colored with R02 and R20. I don't remember what greens/blues I used. I cut leaves with my Slice (Spring Design card) and assorted punches from Emagination, Punch Bunch and unknown, since they didn't put their logo on the punch. Some of the leaves were folded in half and then ran through my Fiskars crimper to give them veins. I used foam tape on some of them to give the card a little dimension. This was the first time to use my Making Memories Tag Curler that I bought from Crop Chocolate. I ran one of the YG Copics over the Happy Birthday on the metal tag though you can barely make it out in the photo. The ribbon is also Making Memories (Cheeky Trim - appropriate, huh!) also from Crop Chocolate. I printed the inside sentiment with my computer on Green Gingko paper that I bought at Tuesday Morning. Unfortunately they didn't identify the manufacturer. I'll probably give this away in August when somebody could use a little cool and green and shady!

Flight of Blog Hoppin'

Greetings! You have arrived at the fourth stop on the first of two days of the first ever Unofficial Crop Chocolate Blog Hop. If you accidently stumbled upon this (slightly more likely than seeing flying pigs) and you would like to start the blog hop from the beginning please click here . This will probably be of interest to you as those who visit each blog on the hop and post a comment on each blog will become eligible to win by random draw some blog candy that is being featured on that beginning blog.

The nice thing about Crop Chocolate is that rubber stampers (me) and card makers (me) get along great with all the die hard scrapbookers (not me). We play nice, share when items are limited, giggle (or not) at middle school boy potty humor and get along like a big happy family. If you would like to join us click here.

Since this is a Crop Chocolate (CC) Blog Hop (though "unofficial") I thought I would challenge myself to make a card using mostly supplies I have purchased or could have purchased from CC.

Here is a list of the supplies in that category:

Making Memories Kids Large Sam Stripe (from Hot Chocolate) - card base cardstock

Making Memories Smooth Poppy (from Hot Chocolate)- stars & words cardstock

Making Memories Slice & Slice Hands Free Kit (CC may have the best prices you'll ever see)

Making Memories Slice Design Card Basics 1 - stars and enjoy (oops...I forgot to dot my "j")

Making Memories Slice Design Card Calendar - 4th of July

Making Memories Slice Design Card Paws and Claws - best

Sassafras Lass "This way" stamp set-pointing finger stamp

Basic Grey Clear Stamps Alpha Series - Happy New Year set - fireworks stamp

Supplies that came from my stash but not available on Crop Chocolate:

Stamp Pad Co. - Uncle Sam pointing stamp (I think this image bears a resemblance to the Travel Channel's Anthony Bourdain and since you don't need "No Reservations" to drop into my blog I guess that is appropriate!)

Copic Markers for coloring stamped images (I am "Copic Certified as of June 18th...WooHoo!)

Pioneer Embellishment Glue stick with the red cap (for sticking down everything...great item!)

ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink in Warm Red for stamping fireworks

Viva Las Vegas Chinese New Year's Embossing Powder for fireworks

Sparkle n' Sprinkle Sparkling Snow Glitter applied over Xyron adhesive on "4th of July shadow" which was made by making an identical 4th of July image to the first and slightly offsetting the glittery one underneath when I glued them down on the card.

Before you depart don't forget to leave a comment. Now click here and you will be transported from the beautiful Pacific Northwest in the USA to Central New York and blog hop stop number five. And BTW, Happy Canada Day to all you CC and non-CC Canadians who are visiting today. I'll wave a maple leaf in your honor!

Flight of Anticipation

It's coming .... it's coming. No, not the end of the world. No, not a giant asteroid (that already came and went the other day). It's the first ever unofficial Crop Chocolate Blog Hop! Mark your calendar for Friday, July 1st (and Saturday, July 2, though it won't be here that day). There will be blog candy. Come as you are. No reservations needed.

Flight of Escape

I got to thinking about my poor neglected blog the other day. What would it do if it could somehow escape its cyber world and get out into the real world. I'm sure it would want to ride away on a bike. So this card is in honor of my blog.

To create it I used my Making Memories Slice with a Slice Travel design card and the middle sized Slice embossing tip, a hands free Slice collar and the embossing side of the hands free Slice mat on a piece of medium weight aluminum. I colored the embossed words and bike with Copic markers (100, Y15, R29). I made "tire tracks" on the top and bottom of the metal with one of my Ten Second Studios design wheels. Next I used my Making Memories Instant setter to punch holes in the metal and red cardstock and then used it to set the four black eyelets. I ran the yellow cardstock through the Sizzix Texture Boutique inside a Sizzix "Twizzle" embossing folder. I cut two small pieces of Celebrate It Basic Basic Red Metallic ribbon (from Michael's) and taped it down to the yellow card stock with my big pink Scotch ATG. Using the same tool I taped the red card stock to the yellow and the yellow to the black card. Finally I trimmed the the ends of the red ribbon so they were flush with the black card.

Actually the whole purpose of this exercise was to try out the embossing tips on the Slice. But we'll keep that to ourselves. Don't tell the blog!