Altered X 4........

This is a card that I created from several different stamps. I like to mix up stamps to create something new and different.

He's the King...........no I'm not talking about Elvis...........

This is a stamp from Lost Coast Designs. I got a set of 6 different ones.......

Oh how the girls loved to get gussied up and take the QE2 across the pond for a holiday!

About the Stamping Convention.....

Saturday I went to my first Stamping Convention in Akron, Ohio with my friend Donna. Donna is a hard-core stamper and she was the perfect person to go to this convention with. Not only is Donna a super nice person, she is a wonderful stamper and is quite knowledgable about stamps and all the stuff that goes with it. I did find a few vendors which I gave most of my money to. They have the most amazing art stamps. Artful Illusions was my favorite company. I could have spent all of my money there. They had this line of stamps called "moonpies" which I l-o-v-e-d! I created the ATC below with one of the moonpie stamps I got. All of their stamps are unmounted so they are about half the price as the mounted ones.

So I spent about 3 hours today cutting out the rubber stamps, putting the foam mounting on the back and making covers for the CD cases where I'm storing them.

One of the other companies I liked was Lost Coast Designs. They are the best collage stamps!
Below is an ATC card I created with one of the collage doll stamps. I also used the moom from Artful Illusions in this one.

Here's what I did today! I didn't have the special scissons for cutting and mounting so I used my Fiskars and Cutterbug scissors. Boy were they gummed up by the time I was done cutting but I got them clean with Goo Gone!

Here are some of the stamps I bought......
There is another Stamping Convention in Pittsburgh in July and I'm already planning my list of what I'd like to get!

A Rabbit, A Pin and a Truck.....

This ATC is entitled "Michael". I named the rabbit in the old band uniform Michael after the best principal I ever worked for. He plays in a band too.



I thought that the little fairies I made on ATCs would look cute as a pin to wear so I made this little guy. He is on a piece of 1/4 inch birch. Isn't he cute? I did it with a bandsaw but I should have had a scroll saw.

Lastly, this is my husband, Gary and his new truck. He's just beaming! He has always wanted a Toyota Tundra and he finally got one. We picked it up yesterday. It's going to be nice to haul the boat withH. I love the color.......fire-truck red!
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and here's to a great week!

Clowning Around

When I look at old photos, sometimes I see versions of people I know. For example, the girl in this ATC reminds me of my niece, AJ. Does anybody else have this happen to them with old photos? The title of this ATC is "Is that the end of the story?" My answer to the questions is "yes, all good things must come to an end".


Life's a party, so "clown around"! I made the background for this ATC from a page from book text. Here are the steps: 1. lightly paint a page from a book with a very light pink acrylic paint
2. brush a red stamp pad here and there after the paint dries
3. punch out flowers from decorative paper and glue on
4. add black paint centers to the flower and let dry
5. stamp all over with black rubber stamps
6. color in a and glue the clown on
7. stencil top of card with sequin waste
8. Ta-da! You're done!

Both cards are available for trade!

Military Gals, Dogs and Mermaids.......

I thought of the saying "tough times never last but tough people do" when I came across the vintage picture of these two gals. They look like the kind of girls that are tough, smart, funny and would be fun to go out for Happy Hour with!

Lately the news is full of stories about people who have had their houses foreclosed and as a result they had to take their beloved pets to the pound or some of them just left them at the house to starve (that's despicable)! I ran across this photo and thought I had to use it in an ATC. This little girl is dedicated to her dog and her dog is surely dedicated to her! He looks like a cute, scruffy little biscuit-eater (mutt)!

And finally, it's starting to look like fishing season around here! My husband is getting geared up for crappie fishing in the area. Inspired by all this talk of fish I made this ATC. All of these ATCs are available for trade or even if you see one you like and don't have any ATCs to trade, let me know and I'll send it to you.

A Little Birdie..........

A little bird to me that it is suppose to snow tonight and possible snow showers tomorrow!!! Those poor cold little birdies thinking it's spring outside. I guess not! This card is part of my ATC a day for a year project. I find the magazine "Birds and Blooms" provides great photos of birds which are just the right size for ATCs.


My husband has been taking about fishing lately and it inspired me to make this card. It would be nice to have a magic wand to catch fish instead of a fishing pole! I found this great paper at the dollar store today. Guess how much? Yes, that's right a dollar!!!

Ok, now this website, I found by accident and found it very amusing. My husband asked me what I was laughing about while I was on it and I told him that is a site that is a "Royal Title" generator. You just type in your name, choose male or female and it will make up a crazy title. It will keep generating them until you find one you like. It's fun, mindless entertainment! My title is at the bottom of my blog page. Go here to generate yours:

http://www.masquerademaskarts.com/memes/peculiartitle.php

New Batch of ATCs..........

A new batch of ATCs. Who wants one??? These are in my "ATC a day for a Year Project". To see all of them up to this point go here: Flickr

The Story of Chi-Chi Jones

It's funny how memories from the past pop up and suddenly you find them in your art. I was doodling the other night while watching TV and suddenly Chi-Chi Jones popped into my mind! Now you ask, "who is Chi-Chi Jones?" Well, Chi-Chi Jones was little scrawny chihuahua dog with bulging liquid brown eyes, a quivering damp nose and a veracious appetite for microscopic crumbs! He belonged to our neighbors Chuck and Edie Jones and he was like their little kid, they took him everywhere with them. Chi-Chi Jones was always shaking....either because he was cold or scared or perhaps it was a little of both. Sometimes they would stop in and visit and would always have Chi-Chi with them. Edie would put him down on the floor and immediately his little nose would hit the floor like a tiny heat seeking missile locked onto its' target. His little skinny tail would go up and he'd start to make his way across the carpet in the kitchen vacuuming up every microscopic crumb he could find into his mouth. My mom would get so mad because she vacuumed every day and insisted that her floor was CLEAN and that damn dog was just pretending to find things to eat on the floor!!!! I'm still laughing about it some 30 plus years later! Anyway, this ATC is a tribute to Chi-Chi Jones!