Speedy the Cat #88

Saying Good-bye

Our challenge this week is to use a snowflake.  The image and sentiment are from one of the new releases in Dec. called ice and snow.  It was fun to try a card with a bit of a different size.  This one finished measures 3” by 6 1/4”  The twill ribbon was easy to stamp with the sentiment customizing it for the project.  I used two square punches for the snowflakes and border. A scrap of BG paper sets off the squares nicely, don’t you think?  And then my Bow Easy, my friend I found I can’t live without. 
Today I reluctantly say good-bye to my term with MFP.  It has been a wonderful experience and I have learned so much.  It’s opened up a whole new arena of friendships and fun sharing with many many newfound friends and connected me to old friends. I will still be posting so be sure to stop in frequently and leave me comments so I know you dropped by.  My special thanks and appreciation to Patty Penn for her patience with showing me the ropes.
Come visit me on my other blog. http://goodbyefat-janeen.blogspot.com We are helping people drop their cholesterol, change their blood sugars and reduce their insulin with their doctors permission and lose weight.  All quickly, safely and naturally.  Helping people with these issues has taken the place of a major part of my craft room time  If I can help you or someone you know, please call.  With that I Wish you a Healthy and Prosperous New Year and bid you adieu’.

Speedy's Challenge #87

Wishing you all a peaceful and loving time of the year.
Happy Holidays from me and all the Design Team members
at Mark's Finest Papers. Speedy the Cat wishes you
a wonderful Holiday season.   The H on Speedy can stand for Happy Holidays this time.  :)

SPEEDY THE CAT CHALLENGE #86

HOLIDAY CARD

Patty challenged us to make a Holiday Card which fits right in with this time of the year for most of us. There is nothing prettier than nature and I really liked these diffused tree stamps from the New Pines set at Mark’s Finest Papers.  I used my scor-buddy to create the double lines across the bottom and anchor the trees.  In real life, the words show up with a nice gloss that didn’t pick up well by the camera.  A gold Viva Pearl Pen accented the greeting beginning and ending. A ticket punch notched the corners. Thanks for looking and remember to S-L-O-W D-O-W-N and BREATHE this holiday season.

Speedy’s Weekly Challenge

Create a Thank You Card

This was easy to do with the cutest stamp set ever from MFP.  What a Fox set.    The image you see is two different stamps from the set.  That’s what I love about clear acrylic stamps.  You can put them on a block and actually see how they are positioned to give you lots of possibilities to create a new look.  I sent this to my mom for giving up her bed to us for the week of Thanksgiving.  She slept on the hide a bed and gave us her room.  I think she’ll like it, don’t you?

All papers, ribbons and embellishments are from Mark’s Finest Papers.  They are offering a 15% discount this week and you might want to check them out. I used a Martha Stewart fence punch, a cuttlebug swiss dots folder, a sizzix wood grain folder, a corner punch and a stencil for the word THANKS.  It came together nicely and I really liked the way the flowers and brad topped it off.

Thanks for looking. I appreciate your comments. Have a wonderful week.  Be sure to take some time for you!

Speedys Challenge #84

Your favorite technique.

I like clean and simple.  This card for our favorite technique encompasses my three favorites.  Using a pearl pen, embossing and die cuts. I always enjoy the peaceful simplicity of a country church in the winter. This image is from the new set Christmas in the Country. Remember to check into Friends of Speedy TV and check out our challenges there too.  They are fun and you get to win a stamp set.  We have two challenges going on every week.  Speedy the Cat challenge and FOST.  So you  have a couple of ways to win.  The more that play the more fun it is. Thanks for looking. 

Speedy the Cat #83

Masculine Card

Masculine cards are fun to create and this was the perfect set to do this with.  I used a Sizzex folder to create the look of the trees on the bottom half.  The image lends itself well to being embossed in white.  It was simple to make and has a masculine elegance to it that made me very pleased.  Thanks for looking and be sure to join us over at Mark’s Finest Papers and jump in for a chance to win a new stamp set being released in December.

Speedy the Cat #82

Black and White and one other color

Harriet challenged us with this color recipe and it’s always fun to see what goes through everyone’s brain with the same challenge and all the different interpretations of it.  Pop on over to Mark’s Finest Papers and join this fun challenge this week.  You could win a free stamp set.  You may use any stamps you have on hand.  Share your interpretation with us for your chance to win.  This little guy is from one of the brand new releases titled Peaceful Nuthatch.

That’s a shapeabilities Spellbinders die cut and Martha Stewart punch.

Having fun at the STAMP SHOPPE in Weston

Heidi and JoAnn are friends from long ago

Heidi and Joann are my friend Edith’s granddaughter and daughter.  Joann invited Edith and I to a stamping Monday at the stores work shop.  They are closed on Mondays so we could all play without being interrupted.  What fun!  It was so fun to pick out the paper and then walk through the store and choose all the parts and pieces that matched.  We purchased what we chose unless it was from their working bins of scraps in the back room.  Edith stamped out seventeen of her holiday cards and kept very busy at that.  I just played with all kinds of things and came up with my own designs.  Heidi and Jo were busy making cards that they will be selling at a craft show down in Texas. We all got a lot accomplished and had such a wonderful time together.   Subway next door was a great place to grab lunch.

Here’s my batch of fun from Monday a week ago.

Isn’t he a cutie? I used stickles on the snowflake and that little brad just set it off. The paper came in the double color like that thought it looks layered it isn’t.  I made two of these.

and something completely different for me. I used finger daubers to color the entire image with a variety of Tim Holtz distress inks.  What a beautiful Sizzex embossing folder this was.

Using my favorite technique of all, STENCILS!  The BG is one stencil moved around and filled in with sponge daubers and the butterfly is a huge stencil both from Dream Weavers who is also my favorite stencil company.  A tag from spellbinders and pearl pen accents finish it off. This one was one that I CASED from Heidi.

And this adorable snowman.  You will have to click on the picture to see that the cheeks are pearl pen and to really see the detail of the stamped image. I think this was Whippersnappers but I’m not positive about that.  Anyway this was a very fun image to work with.

There you go.  Thanks for taking the time to look and comment.  The stamping community is just a GREAT place to have fun.

LiveJournal Tags: the stamp shoppe,dream weavers,stencils,weston

Speedy the Cat #81

Favorite technique

You really need to click on this picture to see the great detail in this stamp. Thanks.
Oh what fun.  Patty challenged us with our favorite technique.  You know, some of those oldie but goodie things are still my favorite.  I love digging out my brayer.  This was with one of the spongy softer rollers.  I love the peaceful evening look.

Come join the fun with Speedy the Cat.  We are now a new company owned by the Heinrich Corporation and lots of fun changes are taking place with the new ownership but one thing that has stayed the same is a FREE stamp set winner for every challenge. 

This is one of the new images and sentiment from the What a Fox set to be released on Tuesday.  I finally found a home for one of the many pins I have.  Isn’t this a great masculine card and even incorporates a ribbon.  That’s pearl pen on the ribbon.

Speedy the Cat Challenge #80

Brenda suggested a winter themed card.  Well I don’t have any current MFP stamps with winter so I made some very charming Winter Butterflies.  I really was happy with how this turned out.  I had the idea in my head when I went to bed last night and could hardly wait to get it on paper.  Hope you enjoy it.

If you play along at Mark’s Finest Papers you could win a F*R*E*E stamp set from next month’s releases.  Come join the fun.

I used silver embossing powder on the wall and then gold embossing powder on the light blue butterflies.  A few dots of ice white liquid pearls and there it is you have a wintery greeting card.

Speedy the Cat #79

Use up them scraps

Christmas is coming.  Want to win a free stamp set to use as a gift?  Or something fun to play with for your own cards?  You can win a free stamp set if you enter our weekly challenges and we draw your name.  Come on over to the Speedy blog and join the challenge.  This week, we get to play with our scraps.

LiveJournal Tags: Speedy the Cat

Stamping for Oscar

Filigree images

I was so excited when my package arrived from Oscar.  Could hardly wait to see what she had sent for me to play with.  Whoa!!! I’ve never worked with images like these before.  What to do?  What to do?  Just dive right in and get started.  The mojo will hit once you get going!  (I hope…..)  Yep, it did.  So here’s what came out of my hands with stamps that were waaaaayyyy out of my comfort zone.  But you know what??  I really, really like them.  They do stamp a gorgeous image and take embossing and glitter like a charm.  There’s lots of pics here and I will group them by image.  Thanks for looking and go see Oscar when you are in Door County.  Sarah and I are going to a Pizza/Salad Halloween Stamping Class she is offering at Stamp University in Egg Harbor this weekend.  Should be LOADS of fun.

Both of these are just inked, no embossing.

Here’s the Eagle ones.  He turns out so distinguished.

All three of these are embossed.  The green one isn’t showing the paper true to color.  The green cardstock is closer to the ribbon in color.  Clicking on the image and you can see the diagonal cut one is a gorgeous textured paper also sent in the package. I pierced along the blue diagonal piece.  Love how these all turned out.

Next up: the Rabbit.

Used copper UTEE on him.  Extra Thick Embossing Powder. He turned out beautiful and this is a pretty large stamp.  Karen Foster stickers helped me out with this one and the bakers twine is a bit like the finish line of a marathon.                                                    

Peter rabbit trying to get out of Mr. McGregors garden?

run peter, run.  You better hop to it, dude!!  ~~Background is made with another stamp that Oscar sent along.  Looking forward to creating with that one too.  It says autumn to me.

And a door hanger for Baby Boy.  See how versatile? 

 

Okay, there’s more but I won’t post them all today.  I’ll give you a peek at those another time.

Thanks for visiting.  Your comments mean a lot. 

 

LiveJournal Tags: Door County Rubber Stamps,Filigree,Rabbit,Eagle,Whale,Door Hanger

Speedy the Cat Week 78

To go along with the 12 days of Christmas Blog Hop taking place at Mark’s Finest Papers, our challenge this week is to fit our project in with something from the hop. 

I chose coasters.  These are going to be a little birthday gift for Edith, my 93 year old stamping friend.  She will turn 94 on Tuesday.  She still lives alone in a big farm house, drives most everywhere and stamps more cards than you can believe.  She uses a Cuttle Bug and Copics.  She’s really with it.  We have so much fun sharing supplies and stamping times together.

I will get these laminated before I give them to her.  We drink a lot of tea and coffee together and she will like these. (she loves stamping cardinals)

How it was done.  I cut some very heavy duty chipboard with a professional paper cutter.  Using a linen textured white paper cut to the same 4 x 4 size I really glued it to the top of the chipboard.  Then a post it note went in the exact middle.  I used a versa mark pad and went all around the edges keeping the post it in the middle as a mask so the versamark ink didn’t get into the middle.  Then it was sprinkled with gold embossing powder and heat embossed.  Then using Mark’s Finest Papers stamp  and copics for coloring, all that was left was a bit of sponging for the wintery sky.  You can click on the blinkie to the right and it will take you right to the new sets. Hope you enjoy it.  I’m pretty sure Edith will.

LiveJournal Tags: MFP,Cardinal,Winter,Coaters,Edith

Speedy the Cat Challenge #77

Seeing Double

This is a great set from Mark’s Finest Papers.  It’s called Ginger Cookies and it’s for sale now.  I took the large sprig part and actually stamped it three times.  The challenge was to use the same image more than once on your card.  The sentiment is from the same set.

Doesn’t this look like a fun set to play with?  You could win one of the really neat sets from next month just by playing along in our challenge this week.  Just ink up a stamp and hit the paper twice, submit it to Mark’s Finest Papers blog page and your name is in there waiting to be drawn.   I have had so much fun with this set.  I used a bit of red acrylic on the berries to really make them pop.  Hope you have fun with this challenge.

LiveJournal Tags: MFP,Ginger Cookies,Holiday

Awwwwww! Baby Birds

Baby Cardinal

We are still being blessed with baby birds.  We have a baby red bellied wood pecker coming to the feeder.  Yesterday Gilbert was talking to a baby red breasted nut hatch.  The little thing was all fluffed up and so cute and friendly. 

Here is Gilbert’s story about the baby cardinal he found under the feeder today.

10-14-11-written by Gilbert

Baby Cardinal and I met this noon by the bird feeder.  He was picking up seeds that had fallen out of the feeder.  I chased him to catch him and then realized he was a baby that couldn't fly but about ready to.
I reached down to pick him up thinking he had the gentle nature of a Chickadee...WOW, sure got fooled as he latched on to my little finger with his bill, his red feathers on his head stood straight up and my pain was if a got bit by a large parrot... and he hung on !
Thank goodness he let go when I tipped him upside down holding his legs.  Warning...do not pick Red Birds up with a bare hand.   He almost drew blood.
Got a glove and took him in the house and found out he can peep quite loudly.  He would bite my glove and hang on.  No wonder they can crack safflowers so easily.  Got some pictures and let him go.
Mom and dad Cardinals came in shortly after.
Thanks Sarah for getting us into birds a few years back...We have enjoyed all of them so much and learn lessons from them as well...Ouch !

LiveJournal Tags: baby cardinal,cardinal,birds

Speedy the Cat’s Challenge # 76

no using designer paper

Here’s a sneak peak of one of the sets being released at Mark’s Finest Papers on Tuesday.  Doesn’t this little guy look like you could just eat him right up?  I was so glad to be able to find a way to use that little embossing folder that came with my cuttlebug,  Yep it took me two full years to use it.    I used acrylic puff to look like raisins and then glaze for the frosting.  Looks so real.  I baked him with copics.  (as in the coloring looks like he got baked.)   Thanks for looking and why not join us over at Speedy the Cat’s blog for a chance to win a free set?

LiveJournal Tags: speedy the cat,christmas holiday,postage stamp

need a little “pig”me up?

HYCCT challenge on SC

Ha-Ha.  The challenge was to make a masculine card but include pink on it in remembrance of  NATIONAL BREAST CANCER AWARENESS month.  (isn’t it cool to see all the sports players sporting pink on their uniforms this month?) This was a pretty simple card to make and I love being able to use that dancing pigs stamp that I purchased so many years ago.  I used it a couple of times for cards for Gilbert because he works at Nueskes’s and pigs are his business.  But otherwise it kind of sits there in the bin, cute as can be.

Birds

A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.
Chinese Proverb

A good capture yesterday.  We just love those little birds.  I love the finches and how they are always chattering and cheeping.  Such a friendly sound.

Can you find the finch in this picture?

autumn beauty

all about fall

Happy Fall Ya’ll

Here it is October already.  Can you believe it?  It’s finally gorgeous.  I do think it has rained for seven days straight.  It was so good to see the sun I just had to grab some outdoor pics to share with you all.  What is prettier than a Wisconsin Autumn Sky?

It froze this morning and the impatiens bit the dust but the mums love it.  Most everything survived but I spent the day emptying the flower pots and got ‘em all cleaned up.  I can’t stand to throw away a living plant.  They have a new residence in the worm bed at the edge of the woods in the back yard.  What a mixture.  Marigolds, impatiens, petunias, and I don’t even know the names of some of the others but they are all cohabitating in that spot til nature does her thing.  In the meantime I still have some pretty blooms to see from the kitchen window.

The hydrangeas were HUGE this year and they are turning purple, finally getting some sunshine.  They are so beautiful.

I hope you have a very enjoyable October and maybe we’ll get that Indian summer that the old folks talk about.  Lots of rain this fall, Lots of sun this summer and the trees are all more yellow than red, so we have lots of rust but not a lot of vibrancy.

Are you seeing Spots?

Speedy the cats challenge #75

Come on over to Speedy the Cat’s blog and play along in our challenge to use DOTS. You could win a free set of stamps. 

If you click on the picture image you can see the dots on the pretty paper better.

All these papers are from Mark’s Finest Papers.  Most were from the Premium paper pack the SpringTime pack.  The dark mahogany brown that is super luxurious looking is from the newest pack that has been put together for you.

Mark's Finest Papers Neutrals Premium Paper Combo Pack 28 sheets for only $7.99

It’s a great way to purchase a variety of papers and MFP has THE best prices on paper packs.

I used a bit of Stardust clear on the butterfly spots. The pearls are done with a pink pearl pen.  Love that stuff!  The gatefold just seemed to be the perfect fold for this creation.

Thanks for stopping by. (it’s been raining all week)

LiveJournal Tags: Speedy the Cat,Butterflies and Wisteria,Gatefold,Sympathy

Speedy the Cat Challenge # 74

Things with wings

What a great time to have a challenge using things with wings.  I’m thankful for this brand new set by Mark’s Finest Papers called Autumn glory.  Isn’t this pheasant gorgeous.  You could join us over at Friends of Speedy the cat and win a beautiful soon to be released set.  They stamp so beautifully I am always amazed when I look at the stamped image how crisp it is.

Colored with Copic markers

LiveJournal Tags: MFP,MFPDT,AUTUMN GLORY,SPEEDY THE CAT

Speedy the Cat Challenge #73

one layer card

Linda challenged us with a one layer card.  Now this really is a challenge for some of us who are used to layering for depth and contrast. However, when I first started stamping I never layered anything and I didn’t have a lot of cardstock or back ground papers so I used to cut my own templates and make masks like this.  The image is a new one from Mark’s Finest Papers, called Autumn Glory. This set is a beauty and you get a lot of stamps for the price of ONE wood mounted stamp.  Check it out here.

This looks like a multi layered card but the only layer is the corner pieces.  Shown below is a tutorial I have put together for you to see how to do this, especially if your supplies are limited.

First cut a piece of CS just slightly smaller than the front of your card.  I did a quarter inch all the way around. Adhere it to your base piece with removable tape.

Next sponge around it with the color you want to look like a base piece. In this case I chose Forest Foliage.

 

Sponge all the way around the mat or mask that you have laid on the base.  Take a coordinating pen and outline your mask before removing it.

 I use this wonderful little gum rubber adhesive remover to get the temporary adhesive off the base.  LOVE this tool.  Grateful to whomever thought this up and informed the rest of us.  I use it a lot.

Now you will cut out a mask for the next layer, if you don’t have a die cutter you can trace around an object you have at home like an odd shaped jar bottom or just cut a template you like.  I use old calendar backs b/c they are a bit sturdier and I don’t need to waste a piece of card stock. (keep the templates you cut) I cut the calendar piece to the size of my card base and center the die cut and then run through the Cuttlebug.

Once again use removable adhesive and tape the mask over the entire front of your card.  This time you will sponge inside the mask.  Notice the first time you sponged outside the mask.

Final step, I leave the inside a bit lighter so my image will be highlighted a bit. Take a marker in a coordinating color or a dark color and carefully trace around the inside lines of the template.  This will take away from the flat look of the stencil design and give the illusion of a piece of cardstock layered on.  Clever, eh?

Now remove the mask and use the gum rubber eraser to remove the adhesive again. Now you have a layered look, like the top picture . to stamp your image on. 

Fun technique, eh?  I hope this is useful for some of you and you can practice with it. Happy Autumn.

LiveJournal Tags: MFP,MFPDT,AUTUMN GLORY,TUTORIAL