I hope everyone had a terrific Monday.  I truly didn’t do much of anything and finally ventured into the studio around 4′ish or so.  My morning got away from me, then it was time for the soaps and I have to admit that I fell asleep on the couch for a short nap.

I thought it would be fun today to finish up the all occasion guy cards.  Of course these cards have a theme . . . . automobiles.  We’ve already had the Mustang and the Corvette.  The final in the series is a Ford Thunderbird.  Now here is my dream car!  One I would love to find in an old barn, long forgotten.  Mine would be a ‘55, painted turquoise with a white hardtop.  Oh yeah baby!!

The T-Bird was colored with Copic Markers and Ranger Glossy Accents was used on the headlights and windshield.  I’ve once again used Spellbinders Labels One and Petite Oval Nestabilities to keep with the same sketch I’ve been using.  I think this is my favorite out of the three.

• Stamps: Rubbernecker Fabulous 50’s Collection - T-bird SKU:268-01 from Rubbernecker Stamp Company
• Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; BasicGrey Boxer; SU Riding Hood Red and Night of Navy
• Ink: Ranger Vintage Photo Distress; Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black
• Accessories: Spellbinders Petite Oval and Labels One Nestabilities; Copic Markers; Sewing Machine; Tsukineko Sponge Dauber; Venture Foam Tape; Ranger Glossy Accents; Twill; Vintage Button; Black Twine; Brads

Just for fun, below are the first two in the series.  I’ve called them a series because I’ve used the same sketch for each, only changed the image and paper.

The Mustang

The Corvette

These cards could cover just about any occasion, can be serious or funny and have so many possibilities!

I guess that’s about all for today, since I’m now drawing a blank. Oh these memory lapses  . . . will they never end?  Just say yes, because I won’t remember tomorrow anyway!  Thanks for stopping by.

Wow!  It’s hard to believe that I haven’t been in the studio or made a post since last Wednesday.  So much has been going on around here, that the days have just slipped away.  It all started last Wednesday afternoon when I got a phone call from the sleep clinic.  I had an appointment for today actually, but they had an opening for Wednesday night.  I’ll fill you in more about this later.

Friday was mom’s birthday and all us girls went out to lunch.  It was such a great day and mom loved her card!  Since then, I’ve spent time walking the dogs and watching all the Daytona coverage on television.  Race season has started . . . boogity, boogity, boogity . . . and my favorite driver was the second fastest qualifier.  WOO HOO, Mark!

Today’s card is the second in the series of the all occasion guy cards.

The corvette was colored with Copic Markers and all edges were sponged with Ranger Vintage Photo.  The panels for the image and the background were cut with Spellbinders Nestabilities.  Once again, it’s a guy card so no ribbon . . . I used twine and tied it off with a button.

• Stamps: Rubbernecker Fabulous 50’s Collection - Corvette SKU:268-03 from Rubbernecker Stamp Company
• Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, BasicGrey Offbeat; SU Riding Hood Red and Chocolate Chip
• Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black; Ranger Vintage Photo Distress
• Accessories: Spellbinders Small and Large Petite Oval Nestabilities and Labels One Nestabilities; Copic Markers; Venture Foam Mounting Tape; Tsukineko Sponge Dauber; Sewing Machine; Twine; Button

Thanks for stopping by today!

Good morning!    I hope everyone had a nice weekend and got plenty of stamping time in.  I’m trying to remember what I did on Saturday and for the life of me, I just don’t remember.  For pity sake!  I do know that late afternoon I went down to the studio, straightened up a few things and started working on the card I’m going to show you today.  But other than that . . . .

After spending most of Sunday morning putzing around, I had to get my butt off the couch when I heard water dripping in the kitchen.  The snow and ice on the roof were thawing and melting faster than I can walk, and it was coming down the soffits in the kitchen.  I knew having tons of beach towels for the spa would come in handy . . . I piled them all over the counters and cabinets to catch the water.  Later in the afternoon I was out on the deck with the pups, and remembered that I hadn’t reset the temperature on the spa.  I stood on the steps, taking a look around and noticed what looked like a hole in the roof over the kitchen.  I’ll be darned that when the branch fell off the back tree, the end of it must have hit just right on the roof and knocked a fist-size hole in the roof.  Mr. Stodgy got up on the roof, got the hold patched for the time being, and ended up taking the chainsaw to the branch.  Of course I stood out on the deck with him so I would know if he fell off the roof.  Luckily he made it down safely only slipping once.

Anyhoo, to make a long story longer, I finally made it back down to the studio around 8:00 or so.  So here’s what I’m doing.  The last show I worked for Rubbernecker, I grabbed some stamps from the booth that I didn’t have and weren’t on the website.  They were only sold in the booth during shows, but guess what . . . . they are now up on the site . . . WOO HOO!  I had an idea not too long ago to make a series of cards with these images and asked Mr. Rubbernecker to put them up for me.  They are a mustang, corvette and thunderbird.  I must say that the mustang and t-bird are very close to my heart.  When Mr. Stodgy and I got married we had a blue mustang and who in their right mind doesn’t want a ‘55, ‘56 or ‘57 t-bird!  So here we go . . . the first in the All Occasion Guy Card Series.

This card is all occasion to me because it could be for anything - Get Well: speedy recovery; Happy Birthday: to a real classic . . . well you get the idea.

The mustang was water colored on Canson Watercolor Paper with Ranger Distress Reinkers and to add some dimension to the image, I used Ranger Matte Accents on the headlights and windows.   I love the way that the Spellbinders dies emboss watercolor paper, so I made my image panels from the Spellbinders Petite Oval Nestabilities.  The panel behind that one is made from the Spellbinders Labels One Nestabilities.  Since this is a guy card, no ribbon.  For embellishments I went with plain twill and tons of hardware.

• Stamps: Rubbernecker Fabulous 50’s Collection Mustang fastback SKU:268-02 from Rubbernecker Stamp Company
• Paper: Canson Watercolor; BasicGrey Granola; SU Chocolate Chip and Night of Navy
• Ink: Ranger Vintage Photo, Frayed Burlap, Black Soot, Weathered Wood, Faded Jeans and Broken China Distress
• Accessories: Spellbinders Petite Oval and Labels One Nestabilities; Ranger Matte Accents; Tsukineko Sponge Dauber; Sewing Machine; Brads, Hardware; Venture Foam Tape; Watercolor Brush

Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for the next in the series.

Happy Thursday! So I woke up really early this morning – 6:00 a.m. The problem, I didn’t get to sleep last night until around maybe 1:30 a.m. I settled in on the couch with the pups and my coffee, and then before I knew it, it was 10:00. Mallory was up the dogs were running around, and I never heard a thing. Good nap!

We all know that Sunday is Mother’s Day. I have mom’s card done, but I still need to come up with something else. She said the other day she needed to come over and go through my cards. She has resorted to the two for a $1.00 at Dollar General. Now I don’t mind that she sends them, but it does upset me just a bit when she sends one to a good friend and/or a relative that would definitely appreciate one of my cards. I gave her all of my Millie’s from the Dirty Dozen Gallery for her birthday and she said she just couldn’t part with them, but I do think she may have sent one to my sister. She loves the little cowboy from Lizzie Anne, and absolutely loves the zany women that I come up with. So here’s what I thought I would do. Make her some little cards over the next few days and also go through my stash and make her up a bundle for Mother’s Day.

I started this one of the cowboy last night, had it laying out to finish today, when I saw today’s Ways to Use It Challenge on Splitcoast. It’s all about chipboard today and luckily I had not decided where my sentiment was going to go. Hello chipboard!

The image was colored with Copic Markers, the edges were sponged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink, and then roughed up a bit. I made the background panel using the Big Paisley from Lizzie Anne Designs, stamping it in Blue Bayou on Soft Sky paper. To make the photo corner and middle strip, I stamped the same image on Blue Bayou paper with Blue Bayou Ink. For the sentiment, I colored a piece of chipboard with River Rock, sponged the edges with Vintage Photo, and then stamped my sentiment.

Stamps: Simply Singles Big Paisley, Cowboy and Howdy from Lizzie Anne Designs

Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; SU Soft Sky and Blue Bayou; Prism Tawny Dark

Ink: Tsukineko Graphite Black; Ranger Archival Jet Black and Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink; SU Blue Bayou and River Rock

Accessories: Copic Markers; Chipboard; Tonic Tim Holtz Distress Tool; Tsukineko Sponge Dauber; SU Ribbon; Brads; Corner Punch; Mounting Tape

I’m off to finish up some cards for mom and work on Saturday’s Stamp Club samples. I hope each of you have a fabulous day!

Good Monday morning! I hope ya’ll enjoyed your weekend and got to do something you enjoy. I got Mallory home Friday around 7:30 and she has settled in fairly nicely so far. She had some friends in to spend the night on Saturday and she spent Sunday with Kate. Mom was at home doing her laundry – all six loads. Thank goodness I got my own laundry caught up before I left Friday. I’ve already made up my mind that I’ll get these loads caught up and then if it isn’t in the laundry room when I do laundry, tough! She’s on her own! I told her yesterday that I would have to acclimate her to the new house rules – BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! We have a mud room now (my old stamp room) and that’s where we leave bags, purses, shoes and coats. We don’t leave them spread out from room to room anymore. Actually, her dad and I never did – but I sure knew where Mallory had been as she moved through the house. As much as I might have missed her this school year, I sure haven’t missed her messes!

I didn’t get to stamp much last week. First off, I was totally exhausted after the trip to Akron and then I was on the road again Friday – hehe Willie Nelson. I tried to get into the stamp room this past weekend, but everywhere I turned and everything I did just didn’t seem to come out right. There was more in the trash than finished product. When Jeanne told us what Rubbernecker Blogger Challenge RBC08 was going to be this week, I was rather tickled. She decided on masking, and I knew I already had a sample done for the Akron show that I never posted. I’m still going to show that one to you today, but I’m also going to show you another one that I finished yesterday. I had a Sunday morning phone call with some of my best friends, and felt rejuvenated and ready to stamp when I got off the phone. I had to go make another sample!

So, here’s my first sample. I threw it together quickly one night right before the Akron show so that we would have a sample for the booth.

The images were colored with Copic Markers. I stamped the anchor first, masked it off, and then stamped the captain’s wheel. Simple, basic masking at it’s easiest. The edges of the image were sponged with Vintage Photo and Black Soot Distress Inks, and then distressed. I’m sorry to say, that I typed up all the details for this card when I first made it, and failed to keep them. Geeze I’m such a ditz sometimes! AND I don’t have the card anymore, just this picture!

Stamps: Rubbernecker Guy Stuff Collection Anchor SKU:175-06, Ship’s Wheel
SKU:175-11 and Real Classic Text SKU:175-07 from Rubbernecker Stamp Company

Paper: Georgia Pacific White; Prism Gray and Blue; BasicGrey Boxer

Ink: Ranger Adirondack Pitch Black, Tim Holtz Vintage Photo and Black Soot Distress Ink, Archival Jet Black

Accessories: Copic Markers; Tonic Tim Holtz Distressing Tool; Tsukineko Sponge Dauber; Notch Punch; Twill Tape; Brads; Mounting Tape

For my second sample today, I decided to get more complicated with my masking. Actually, I was inspired by Kittie to create a scene. I don’t often create little scenes, and really don’t think that it is something that I excel at, but yesterday I was inspired! If Kittie can step outside her box and do distressing, then I can certainly step off the ledge and create a scene. Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed making this card!

I stamped one cattail, masked it and then stamped a second (which ended up being cut off for the most part). I decided where I wanted the canoe to be, and then stamped the fishing basket. I masked the cattail and the basket, and then stamped the canoe. To get the cattails behind the canoe, I took a post-it note, and masked off the edge of the canoe and stamped the smaller ones at varying places. Once I had the scene stamped out, I colored it with Copic Markers. Since the basket was a larger stamp than the canoe, it needed to look like it was on the bank and thus sitting far enough in front of the canoe to be in dimension. Once I had the scene colored, I picked up my distress tool and as much as I actually hated to do it, I ran it along the edges. Yes, I took a deep breath before I did it, because I had spent so much time on the scene itself. But, this is a masculine card and it just had to be distressed with a bit of sponging. Because the scene was larger than I would have liked, I decided not to use designer paper. I stamped the background panel (which I hardly do any more and this makes me ask myself why I don’t do more of it), with a striped background. I stamped one way in Oregano and then the other in Vintage Photo, to make my own plaid. The edges of this panel were sponged in Oregano going more into the panel, and then I sponged just the edges with Vintage Photo to add some depth. I then ran the distress tool down the side with just one swipe and not working back and forth. The sign was stamped individually, colored and then cut out. The lure was colored with Copic Markers and then cut with Spellbinders Circle Nestabilities.

Stamps: Rubbernecker Guy Stuff Collection Canoe SKU:34-15,Cattail SKU:34-14, Fishing Basket SKU:34-18, Gone Fishin’ Sign SKU:34-20, Petite Cattail SKU:34-12, Striped Lure SKU:34-04; Background Collection Striped Background SKU:30-06 from Rubbernecker Stamp Company

Paper: Georgia Pacific White, Tan, Green and Brown

Ink: Ranger Adirondack Oregano and Tim Holtz Vintage Photo and Black Soot Distress Inks

Accessories: Copic Markers; Tonic Tim Holtz Distress Tool; Brads and Hardware; Twill Tape; Ribbon; Mounting Tape; Spellbinders Circle Nestabilities; Tsukineko Sponge Dauber

You can see more challenge samples created the Rubbernecker Design Team by visiting the blogs of Kittie, Shelly and Jeanne. I hope ya’ll have a great day, and I’m off to run a few errands!