Christmas Present

Sometimes you don't truly get to know someone until you've lived with them for a time. I have been blessed in my life to, not only grow up with a . . . uh . . . an "interesting" sister, but to have her invade--no, "share living space" with me as an adult as well. I give Shelby a hard time, but we have truly grown closer this past year.

So in the spirit of extreme sisterhood, Shelby and I decided to get each other one combined present that we can both use. Something that will greatly enhance both our lives (I'm so glad she finally embraced stamping). I'm not going to say what we bought each other, but it rhymes with "toe-pick barkers."

Cyndi, you opened them!

Maybe.

Did you make that card with them?

Maybe.

It's only December 20! I can't believe you couldn't wait five days! I'll meet you in the stamp room in 10 minutes.

Later,

Cyndi and Shelby

P.S. Stamp Credit: Impression Obsession

Shelby Stamps

That's right, boys and girls, I am a stamper now. I stamped this card all by myself with absolutely no help from my sister Cyndi. Okay, I did use her paper . . . and her stamps . . . and her gold paint pen . . . and her nailhead stickers . . . but the work is all mine.

And it's a good thing I did it, too, because this card is representative of 18 cards (three sets of six) that had to be made rather quickly. A friend ordered them from Cyndi as Christmas presents, but Cyndi hasn't had any stamping mojo since she got back from her cruise.

Hey, I was just thinking about making those monogram cards.

Yes, but these were ordered for Christmas 2009, so I thought I'd better lend a hand.


Okay, this is a shot of all the cards that are monogrammed with an S. I made S's, B's, and D's.

Shelby, I like how each set of notes is an assortment. I don't think I would have thought of that. Now each recipient can enjoy three different looks.

And what do you think about the new look of the blog?

Holy cow! You've been busy, Shelby.

Well, somebody had to do something. Do you realize we hadn't posted anything since September!

These are the cards in these great clear boxes that I found in the stamp room. Notice how the monogram on the band lines up with the monogram on the card? Pretty good, huh.

Hey, who gave you permission to use those boxes? I was saving them for a special project.

Those boxes are great! They're absolutely necessary when you're giving cards as a gift. Where'd you get them?

I got them from PaperTreyInk. And you can use the link, Shelby, to buy me some more boxes.

Until next time,

Shelby and Cyndi

Metal Collage--Impressive

Picture this: I'm in my studio and I want to make a card for our mom because her birthday is coming up. I decide to make something awesome out of the new metal I got from Ten Seconds Studio. And I can't find the metal. Which is really strange because I just got it in the mail last week. Let me clarify. I find small pieces of the metal, but not the nice sheets of metal. What's going on???!!! It's causing me to over-punctuate!!!

I have to confess, I used your metal.

Shelby, that was a LOT of metal. What the h**l did you do with it?

We were out of aluminim foil, and I had to take some food to a shut-in. The good news is, it made a lovely presentation of my food. You should get us some more of that.

Never, NEVER use my pretty Ten Seconds metal for food again, because: 1) It costs way more than aluminum foil and should not be wasted on food; 2) I don't even know if it's non-toxic for food usage; and 3) it's MINE. There have to be some boundaries, Shelby. I'm so mad . . . I banish you from the blog for the rest of this episode. Oh, and 4) being hung over does not make someone a "shut-in."

Wait a . . .

No, you are out of here.

So anyway, I had these scraps of metal. What would happen, I thought to myself, if I put these scraps together in a collage? Can I come up with enough metal to cover the Big Daddy Mold No. 4 (also by Ten Seconds Studio and shown here).

So I cut some shapes and even got out my punches and cutting dies. I cut out three red hearts, two big red leaves, and three "Brrrr blue" birds.

What is "Brrrr blue"?

It's a fun name for a color of metal. Go away, Shelby! You're being punished.

I also punched out some oval shapes. When my collage looked the way I wanted it, I ran it and the mold through my Big Shot, and sanded the color off the metal. The metal stuck together beautifully during the sanding, even though I didn't use the best adhesive (I just used my tape gun).

I am pretty pleased with the way it turned out, and I hope my mom likes her card/fabulous artwork.

Until next time,

Cyndi

Encaustic Art with Artistic Outpost

Do you love this or what? The stamp is from a new plate by Artistic Outpost, and the coloring technique is encaustic wax painting. I love to stamp, and I love to play with encaustic wax, but I don't usually do them at the same time. However, this stamp looked like it was going to lend itself perfectly to a little encaustic action.

First I stamped the image with Tuxedo Black Memento ink (I love this ink, by the way) onto glossy white cardstock. After heat setting the ink, I applied the sky and the ground with an encaustic painting iron, then I stippled yellow, green, and red wax onto the tree with a wire brush head attached to an detail stylus. These tools can be found here if you are interested. Also, if you are interested in this technique, check out John Vandebrooke's website. His tutorials are wonderful, and his demeanor makes you want to invite him to a dinner party.

So you basically "ironed" colored wax on top of the stamped image, is that right?

Correct, Shelby. I put colored wax all over the iron and smoothed the wax on.

How come the house is still white? Did you use one of your fancy "resist techniques"?

No. I just scraped the wax off the house with my fingernail. (But good for you for paying attention when I talk about "resist" techniques.) Then I drew the birds in with wax using the detail stylus with a drawing tip.

Okay, enough about you and your wax. There are people who tune into this blog to hear about me.

How's that project going?

The project you assigned me so I could work on my stamping technique?

Yeah.

I have finished the long and boring assignment, and I will never believe that you let me do it for you just so I could work on my technique. I know you were just using me for grunt work. People, she had me stamp 125, yes 125, Christmas card insides.

Wow! That turned out great, Shelby!

It's a verse and a flower thing in the corner. The art world is all a-buzz.

No, seriously. It turned out way better than I thought it would. I can't believe how straight you stamped the verse.

I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig.

Then you, my favorite sister, are at least half way to being a rubber stamp artist. You would not believe how many of my experienced stamping friends never use that fabulous tool. But you have already learned the value of the stamp placement device. You need never suffer the despair of having an inked image appear anywhere except where you want it. You are the master of your stamping destiny.

Great, can I make a card front now?

Well, I'm not sure you're quite ready for that yet. Maybe if you stamp the 125 matching envelopes . . .

Cyndi and Shelby

House of Dreams (and a Dream Job for Shelby)

Look at this house and tell me that's not the cutest house ever! You wouldn't believe it but the plain paper mache house sat in my stamp room for months without creating inspiration. Then one day I got out my light green metallic paint, and this lovely version was completed within days.

Every light green metalic painted house I've ever seen has had that exact same effect on me.

Hey Shelby! What do you think of the house now that it's done?

It's whimsical, alright. What's with the little red tiles?

Glad you asked. As everyone may know, I am totally addicted to the little pearl stickers and the nailhead stickers. Well, when I was at Archivers last weekend I found these mosaic tiles and fell in love with them. I bricked the "walk" around the house and the chimney.

What's going on here (see picture above)?

Here you can see the wisteria on the side of the house and the ornamental iron door. Actually that's not the best photo of the door because there's too much detail of the copper fireplace inside. The top picture shows the door better. It was created in a very complicated process using black wire and a wire jig. The green wire wisteria vine actually helps to hold the whole think together.

How did you make the wisteria?

With flower soft. The window treatment is just a little piece I embossed and cut out using Ten Seconds Studio's Big Daddy #4 mold.

Okay, here's the detail of the roof from the front. I embossed metal using Ten Seconds Studio's Kabuka #2 embossing plate and the trim is Dresden foil that I got from Rock Candy Studios.

This is the roof at the back of the house.

Look! I even did the inside of the house. Note the copper fireplace. When the roof is back on the house, there is a red tile brick chimney that fits on top of the fireplace, but since it's attached to the roof part of the house box, you can only see it when you have the roof on and you look through the windows.

Or the door?

Correct. I made some really cute baseboard and chair rail out of tiny strips of white chipboard. The floor is just a piece of caramel cardstock with lines and dots drawn on it and then distressed with ink.

I see lines in the floor, but I don't see any dots.

Well, in real life, I added two "nails" on either side of where the planks join together.

That's a lot of detail.

Well I don't want my imaginary floor to come up.

This house looks better than the room you gave me to live in. I don't get the ornamental iron door. What's it protecting? Are tiny men going to break in and steal the firewood? There's nothing in this house.

Which is why it looks a lot neater than your overcrowded room.

Onto another topic, I need you to teach me how to stamp because . . . drumroll please . . . I have a new job!

Woohooo!!! Shelby that's fabulous! What are you going to be doing?

You are going to be so jealous. I got a job at Archivers scrapbook store.

NO, YOU DID NOT! I am so freaking jealous!

They needed someone to help customers in the store and teach stamping classes.

You don't stamp, Shelby. Why would they hire you to teach stamping?

They asked me if I knew how to stamp and I said, "I have thousands of stamps at home, and believe me, they are well used." So anyway . . . could you teach me?

Until next time,

Cyndi and Shelby

Sympathy Card

Well, now that I have a giant card rack up at church all the time, I am feeling the pressure to actually put cards in it.

So this morning I got up an hour early so that I would be able to make a few sympathy cards before work. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do, but it was going to have to be quick and easy. Unlike some people, I try to be on time for work.

I know, I know. Can you believe they fired me the other day for coming in late?

Yes, Shelby, I can. You were almost two hours late. Waitresses cannot show up for the lunch rush at almost 1 p.m. But back to my story . . .

I sat down to peruse my latest Catch-Up issue of the Stampers Sampler . . .

The one you keep in the bathroom?

That's the one. I found the perfect card to CASE. It's on page 108 if anyone has her copy close by. I studied it really close, read the description to make sure it didn't have a tricky technique that would take me more than an hour to replicate. Then I happened to look at who the artist was who made it. The card was made by Shelly Hickox!!!

Your friend who lives in the country and doesn't throw anything away?

If I could make art out of refuse, I wouldn't throw anything away either. Anyhow, I just thought it was cool that out of a magazine full of stamped cards from the US and abroad, I would pick out my friend's card to CASE. Anyway the birds are by Penny Black, the words (both English and French) are by Stampin' Up!

I stamped the coordinating envelopes so she wouldn't be late.

Until next time,

Cyndi and Shelby

Faux Dry Embossing

That's so strange. I just found this card by the computer, which was apparently going to be uploaded today, but I guess Cyndi didn't have time to scan it this morning. The weird thing about this card is that the embossed medallion isn't really embossed. I know this for a fact, because I touched it and was surprised that it is as smooth and flat as Oklahoma. Click on the picture so you can see it real good. You won't believe it!

Shelby, what are you doing with (1) my card and (2) my computer? And when did you start uploading stuff on your own?

Well, you're at work, so I assumed you weren't going to get this done today. I was just being helpful. I have to leave for work in a few minutes, so why don't you quickly tell us all how come that center medallion looks embossed, but it's not.

I guess you're talking about the red part and not the silver brad and it's cute filigree enhancement.

Naturally.

Let me start by telling you that this card was made for yesterday's Splitcoaststampers challenge where everyone was invited to scope out Christy S's gallery, pick a card we liked and change a few things. I picked out this card, which is fabulous, and since I just received the Stampin' Up! Circle Circus stamps, I CASED it.

The medallion is made using a technique called Faux Dry Embossing. First I stamped the image in white craft (pigment) ink, and then, using my Stamp-a-ma-jig, I moved the image over just slightly and stamped it in Rose Red, the same color as the cardstock. Actually, I discovered that it works better when I stamped it twice in Rose Red, holding the Stamp-a-ma-jig in the same place both times. It covered the white better.

Thanks for the explanation. I'm late for work now. I just took a new job as a waitress, and I'm pulling a lunch shift today.

Lunch shift! It's 12:40!

I know, I said I was late.

Until next time,

Shelby and Cyndi

Challenges, Challenges

This card started as a response to a color challenge on Splitcoaststampers, to use Ruby Red, Baja Breeze, and Whisper White. I also wanted to play with some of the techniques in the Technique Junkies Newsletter.

Specifically, I wanted to know what could be done with the Bargello technique. I remember as a teenager doing some Bargello with yarn and plastic canvas, and I remembered that we did a lot of variations on the pattern.

I also got into a conversation today with the very talented Shelly Hickox about whether or not you could make your own alcohol ink out of . . . well, alcohol and ink. More about that later.

I just got this new Stampin' Up! set called Rustic Rooster. I would link it, but it's not even available yet except to the million and a half (intentional exaggeration) Stampin' Up! demonstrators out there. I thought this fine fellow would look good using the Clear Collage Technique, again from the Technique Junkies Newsletter. But I cheated. The rooster was colored with Ruby Red dye ink after it was covered with clear embossing powder and heated. "How did she do that?" you may ask your computer. "There's no way to get regular dye ink to stick to what amounts to a plastic surface! It will just bead up, smear all over the artwork, and wipe off! She's messing with the very laws of science and nature!!!!"

Woah! Settle down. It's okay; I just bent the laws of science and nature to suit my own purposes. As I hinted at earlier in the post, I added a little alcohol to the dye ink and painted it on with an empty water brush. It didn't bead up, and it didn't wipe off. It didn't even come off on the glass of my scanner (which is good because it would have been very hard to explain to my husband how the "cat" got red ink on the glass of the printer).

The other stamping was done on a sheet of acetate, because the Bargello, while very cool looking, is not a very smooth surface to stamp on. I put a little warm white acrylic paint on the backside of the acetate so that "Thinking of You" would show up against the background. It turned out to go pretty well with the Clear Collage part.

Cyndi

New Card Rack

Yesterday I just happened to stop by my local scrapbooking and stamp store, Eclectica, where they were having a "garage sale." Among the treasurers for sale were two racks formerly designed to hold Transfer Titles. I bought one rack for $10 and brought it home.

My husband deftly cut off every other "pocket" on the rack and repainted it, I made some acetate pocket liners, and now it's a 30-pocket greeting card rack where I can sell cards at my church that support our mission project.

Not a bad investment.

Cyndi

Stencil Stamping

For those of you who are subscribers to the Technique Junkies Newsletter, you might recognize the new technique "Stencil Stamping" on this pear. You will notice that this pear has a subtle pattern in it, that's from a brass stencil!

Wait a minute. The flower thingy is not part of the stamp?

Good morning, Shelby. I didn't realize you'd be up before noon today.

Your cat woke me up 10 minutes ago by sitting on my bladder. So, the pattern that's in the pear isn't a pattern that's in the stamp?

No, the stamp is from the Oxford Impressions plate Field Notes. The samples I've seen using the Stencil Stamping Technique use a solid stamp, but as you might remember, Shelby, the pear stamp I used is a photograph of a pear, thus giving me a natural highlight on the left side of the pear.

Oh yeah, I remember that stamp exactly. I have memorized every stamp you own. All 12,973 of them. How did you get the pattern onto the pear?

I don't think I'm allowed to tell. It's a Technique Junkies secret. Suffice it to say that it involves a stamp, a brass stencil, and craft ink.

That does not suffice at all. I don't think you know what "suffice" means.

Go back to bed, Shelby.

Until next time, happy stamping!

Cyndi and Shelby

Memorial Day Weekend Stamping Extravaganza

Guess what I did this Memorial Day weekend? I stamped. I stamped a lot. A whole lot.

See, here's what happened. There's a group based in my church, Maanza a Leza, and we make jewelry, sell the jewelry, and use the money to support a village in Zambia. (I went to Zambia to meet them. They are the nicest people ever! They had an unrealistic desire to educate their children. Now that desire is being realized. Yeah!!!) This coming weekend we're going to sell our jewelry at the Memphis Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in Jackson, Tennessee. Anyway, a sideline to the jewelry is hand-stamped cards. But we didn't have any to sell, because I've been a slacker lately. I spent the three-day weekend catching up. Here's what I made:

I started off with the above card because I had made some that were very similar last weekend with my friends in Missouri. The layout is from an Anna Griffin advertisement that I loved and tore out of a magazine several years ago. (You don't have to keep the entire magazine. Just tear out what you like and toss the rest.) The stamps are Anna Griffin. I made 15 of these cards. My husband immediately bought the two packs of six because he has some thank-you writing to do. The cream background was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder.

Okay, you might notice that this one looks REALLY similar. Instead of using cream cardstock for the background, however, I used my favorite Anna Griffin background paper, Cuttlebug-embossed it, and then sanded it. Again, the stamps are by Anna. I made 18 of these cards. My BFF Joyce bought six of them. (You're thinking I'm not going to have any to sell at General Conference, aren't you?)

Oh, and those wayward spots on the main images of the above cards are actually gunk that was on the glass of my scanner. I have since cleaned my scanner. I don't want you to think I'm a sloppy stamper!

The above card contains no stamping at all! The main image is embossed and sanded colored metal from Ten Seconds Studio, and behind that is the same embossing on cardstock and then inked. I only made 6 of these because I need to figure out how to be neater with the spackling. You have to spackle the back of the metal so it won't cave in during the mailing process, but I end up inadvertently getting it on the front, and then it dries, and it looks not so good.

So last week I had a discussion with Shelly Hickox (yes, the Shelly Hickox) about upcoming trends. She assured me that I cannot go wrong with an Indian/Persian theme. Okay, I'm using that as an excuse to buy fabulous Persian-themed paper from Basic Grey, and also an excuse to get out the Mehndi set from Sugarloaf Products (now Inque Boutique--but it was just Sugarloaf when I bought them--I used Inque Boutique for purposes of complying with the Angel Policy). The gold stripe across the middle is a piece of red-line tape covered with tiny gold beads. I made 12 of these.

Some more Basic Grey and some more from the Mehndi set. Oh yeah, and the sentiments on these two cards are Stampin' Up! I made 15 of these.

This is a blatant CASE from the most recent Take Ten issue of Stampers Sampler. I added the flower at the bottom, changed the sentiment, and you can't tell it from here, but the black background has been Cuttlebugged with Swiss Dots. All the stamps are from Verve. I made 12 of these.

Since we're supporting Africa, I had to make a couple of Africa cards. The giraffe is by I Brake for Stamps, and the verse is by PSX. Look real hard at the left of the stamp and you can tell it was Swiss Dot Cuttlebugged. I don't think you can see that it is also scored with a Score-It just to the right of the Swiss Dots. The scoring line gave me an excuse to have the card open not at the edge, but at the score line, which is different and kind of cool, although there is less writing area inside the card. I made 12 of these.

Okay, I've got to admit, I LOVE this one. You've got to love these running zebras by Beeswax. The tree is by I Brake for stamps, and the verse is from Stampin' Up! The paper is from Graphic 45, and I may have to buy stock in this paper company. What I love about the background papers is that they remind me of the chitenge cloth that the women in Zambia wear. And the sentiment definitely captures the spirit of my Zambian friends. I made 18 of these.

That, my friends, is a total of 108 cards made in one weekend! Whew!

Cyndi

Metal, Metal Everywhere

This is a tag I made using some more of that metal from Ten Seconds Studio. The big tag is plum and the heart-shaped lock is pearl. The child carrying flowers is by Oxford Impressions, and the paper behind the kid is by Graphic 45. Oh, and the heart-shaped lock is from a Spellbinders die.

I colored the kid and learned that you can use Twinkling H2Os with a blending pen for very pretty pastel coloring. It's not as shiny and twinkly as using a water brush because you're not using as much of the product. However, as I was using fairly glossy paper (semi-gloss?), I didn't want to use a water brush.

Anyway, I thought this was pretty cute.

Cyndi

The pastor of my church has started a discussion time following the worship service. It's a great idea, and it gave me an excuse to make a little note-taking book.

This book is 5" X 5" and incorporates soft colored metal (Periwinkle and Pearl) from Ten Seconds Studio. The trim strip on the left side is made by using a Kabuka mold, and the cross is an embossable die from Spellbinders. The paper is from Stampin' Up's Bella Bleu designer paper pack.

If you have never used the soft metal from Ten Seconds, I'll let you know that I really love it. After embossing, you gently run a sanding block over it, and the silvery metal is revealed only from the raised parts.

Since I've started working some with this metal, I have learned a very important tip. If you can emboss using a die cutting machine (mine's a Big Shot from Sizzix) rather than by hand, use the machine. It's unbelievably simpler than doing it by hand--faster with a perfect impression.

Cyndi

A Golfy Card

So, it's one of my boss's birthday today, and he is an avid golfer. I usually make him a card that uses a picture of a golfer, or a golf bag, or a golf ball. This year I went a bit subtler.

I hate that the background came out so blurry in the scan. I guess that's the price one pays for using the big pop dots. The other thing you can't really see is that the brad has a "K" on it for his last name.

The tree image is a new stamp by Magenta, and is actually just a portion of the image. You can see the whole stamp by clicking here. It's embossed with brown embossing powder and then color was sponged on.

I could explain the background in detail, but Gina K explains it much better than I could in this tutorial. Basically, it's just your reinkers-on-a-moist-towelette technique that some of you may already be proficient in. It's nice because it allowed me to perfectly match the background to the foreground.

Are you planning to address the elephant in the room?

What elephant, Shelby?

The fact that you haven't posted anything since March 20! I'm sure all your blog fans were suffering from withdrawal.

Sorry about that. Life gets in the way, and I forget to blog.

Plus she's been working on her drumming.

That's true! I've been playing with Corky and Shelby in their jazz combo, "Shadows." It's really been a lot of fun, and I'm getting really good.

Don't quit your day job.

At least I have a day job. Somebody's got to support your lifestyle.

Cyndi and Shelby

Faux Flocking by Sanding

My stamp club, River City Stampers, is having a "Demo Day" tomorrow where various die-cutting and embossing-with-die-cutter techniques will be taught. I am actually teaching one of the embossing techniques, but not this one.

This is one I came up with just because I have Cuttlebug on the brain.

Now before everyone leaves comments telling me that this is already a technique that some famous stamping goddess has published and is already all the rage in some stamping circles, I must say that I am quite sure I am not the only person to stumble across this.

Oh, stop being so diplomatic and just get on with it, Cyndi.

Good morning, Shelby! I didn't even know you were awake yet.

The technique . . .

Oh yeah. The cool background piece was made like this: I started with plain old white cardstock and brayered some ink onto it--something purple but lighter than Eggplant. Then I stamped a postage stamp background from River City Rubber Works in Elegant Eggplant ink. Then I ran it through the Big Shot in a Cuttlebug embossing folder. Then (and this is the cool part) I sanded the raised parts, leaving the Cuttlebug design white and really, really soft. In fact it feels JUST LIKE FLOCKING!

I am normally not too impressed with this stuff, but I have to admit the texture on this background is very nice. Wouldn't it be easier, however, to just use pre-printed background paper?

Maybe, but this way I got exactly the color I wanted to use, and I'm not sure the thinner paper would end up being so soft. But maybe it would. Why don't you try that today while I'm at work?

Corky and I are rehearsing and meeting a guy for lunch.

I forgot to alert our readers about this new development. As you may know, Corky and Shelby's band broke up some time ago because . . . well, because the band was not very good.

HEY!

But they have found a new genre. Jazz. It actually sounds way better than the rock cover band ever did. So far it's just Shelby on vocals and Corky on bass.

We're having lunch with a possible percussionist today.

You're adding drums? Won't that be a little overpowering?

Just someone to play a maraca or cymbal--something light and jazzy. And also someone who knows how to speak jazz so he can interpret for us. The only jazz-speak we know is from an old Andy Griffith episode.

Until next time,

Cyndi and Shelby

Anniversary Card for Dennis

My friend Dennis will be married for six years in a couple weeks, and he asked me to make him an anniversary card to give to his wife. I really hope she likes it.

I've been doing some things recently that are French and Marie-Antoinettey, so I started off with by making the big white label shape and embossing it with Swiss dots. In order to make the "Swiss" dots "French" dots, I brayered black ink over top of them. Thanks to Mel McCarthy for this idea!

The owl and the swan are from the new Inkadinkado clear set Patterned Birds and Bugs. I am going to have so much fun with this set! They were embossed, cut out, and colored with Stampin' Up! markers.

Speaking of French things, have you checked out Oxford Impressions new Marie Antoinette plate? Fabulous! I understand Suzanne over at Oxford Impressions is going to be releasing another plate really soon that will complement this plate. I should probably make some of these polka-dotted labels for her!

Cyndi

Well, here it is! This is what Shelby and I came up with for our challenge (see post below). Unfortunately, you can't see the color on two of the hearts, but in real life this is a pretty cool looking piece of art.

What happened to the color in the two dark hearts? This is much prettier in real life.

Well Shelby, it turns out that copper (any metal for that matter) doesn't scan real well.

Why don't you photograph it instead?

I would have done that, but last night when I tried to do so, my camera wouldn't work. I checked the batteries and . . . there were no batteries in the camera. Do you know anything about that?

Oh. I might have needed them for something else.

Okay, so this is how we made the card: Shelby punched the hearts out of the copper, then I ran them through the Big Shot in Cuttlebug embossing folders. I colored them with alcohol ink to get a base coat, and then used StazOn pads to color the embossed parts separately. Then I popped them with Pop Dots onto another sheet of copper which had been run through the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder. The sentiment is embossed in white. Finally I folded the corners.

The corner scrunching was my idea.

You, Shelby, are a creative genius.

Cyndi and Shelby

I know, I know, I haven't posted anything in a long time.

I've been dieting and exercising though, and Shelby and I are looking better and better.

Instead of posting something I made, today I'm posting something I found in the Acacia Catalog. It's a piece of metal wall art, that I thought I would use as an inspiration piece.

I tell you what we'll do: I'll make a piece of artwork inspired by this wall art and post it to this blog. If you want to make a piece of artwork inspired by this, post it to your blog and leave a link to your blog in the comment section of my blog. Or, if you don't have a blog and you know me, email me your artwork and I'll be happy to post it on my blog.

I expect great things from my friend Becky who has recently purchased metal and tools from Ten Seconds Studio.

Cyndi

Friends 24-7

I made this card with my new stamp set, Friends 24-7, and my new Stampin' Up! designer paper, Parisian Breeze. I added three brown stripes to the background paper with red-liner tape and Martha Stewart's brown glitter. The stripes are very sparkly in real life, but the card itself is not "too" sparkly, just the right amount for the dignified person I'm sending the card to.

Thanks for the glitter, Cyndi. Apparently it got not only on the card but on a couple of cats, who then decided to play on my bed.

I noticed you looked a little more sparkly than usual this morning, Shelby. Actually I think it becomes you.

Tell everybody how faithful we've been with our new walking regime.

Shelby and I are walking two miles six nights a week. I wear a heart rate monitor to make sure we're keeping our heart rates where we want them to be.

I don't really see how you wearing a heart-rate monitor tells you anything about my pulse.

Don't start. I let you wear it once and you refused to keep an eye on it. So now we have to walk according to my pulse. Anyway I think we're doing pretty good with our diet and exercise plan. The scales aren't moving as fast as I would like, but my pants are noticeably looser today.

Tell them the other thing about the heart-rate monitor.

What other thing?

When one's heart rate exceeds 85% of maximum the alarm goes off. On the last part of our walk last night Cyndi decided to see how high she could make the numbers go. She got it up to 87%. Your heart is not a toy, you know!

Shelby's just jealous because she can't keep up with me when I'm walking that fast.

Until later,

Cyndi and Shelby

Fun with Fairies

Well, what do we have here?

Hey, Shelby. What you see to the left here is a cupcake fairy.

What in the . . . I don't even think I want to know.

No, it's pretty cool. You see, two big trends right now are fairies and cupcakes, and when you put them together . . . well you can see how cute that is. Plus, as you may know, 3D art is stepping way out of my comfort zone.

Is that what you were doing at your friend's house Tuesday night?

Yes, I went to Suzanne Melvin's house and we played with Oxford Impressions' new Fairy Sweets stamp plate. I actually MADE the cupcake out of a tart tin, air-dry clay, and flower soft. The fairy, as you can tell, is pretty glittery; and I think that's exactly what one would want in a cupcake fairy.

Now, this little fairy to my right is set in a tiny little flower pot with faux moss and flowers. She has flower soft on her dress and stickles on her wings.

So, Cyndi, can we expect more angel art from you?

Shelby, they're not angels. Angels have bird wings and fairies have insect wings. Please keep your mythological figures straight.

You know you're probably going to hear about that.

About what?

Calling angels mythological figures.

Well, sometimes I have a hard time differentiating between who's real and who isn't. Maybe angels are like that. Who knows what's real and what's not? Maybe fairies are real. Maybe angels are real. Maybe I'm real.

Maybe I'm real.

Maybe not.

Cyndi and Shelby

No Time to Stamp

I regret to inform you that Cyndi has no time to stamp right now. She and I have commenced our New Year's diets and are busy scoping out healthy new recipes and scheduling time to exercise. Cyndi has actually done some exercise (I plan on walking with her tonight if it's not too cold). We are drinking lots of water and therefore spending lots of time in the loo.

Between the two of us, we plan to lose 100 pounds in 2009. I won't be so crass as to tell you how that's going to be allocated.

Shelby

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

So while many of you were out partying last night, I was home making this card from my new Oxford Impressions plate "Winter Snow". The backgrounds were made with the Faux Designer Paper technique from the Technique Junkies Newsletter. The little girl was stamped in black, but then lightly colored with chalks using a Q-tip.

Because of the glossiness of the paper and my camera's flash, the image of the girl didn't turn out as clear as I would like, but the girl is popped up on foam dots, and when I tried to scan the image (instead of photographing it), my backgrounds were blurry.

Although it is past noon, Shelby is not awake yet, but I did want to share some sad news about her. Her band was playing last night at a party, and Kelly, the wife of guitar player Chris, was there. It was the first time Kelly had heard the band play, and she told Chris that if he was going to be away from his family, staying out until all hours practicing with his band, he had to find a better band to play with.

This suited Kevin the drummer because he had also been getting a lot of static from his partner Ron.

So now Shelby and Corky are at loose ends band-wise. Perhaps they should find jobs or something.

Cyndi