Debi's Crazy Life;

Today my brother in law is dead. Whether by his own hand or the hand of another we do not know, and that really isn’t even what matters. What matters is that he is 16 years old and he is dead. And you and I and other people just like you and me are responsible. Chad was a forgotten child. He was the quiet boy that sat in the back of the classroom when he even showed up at all. His clothes where raggedy and sometimes dirty. Maybe you thought he didn’t care. Maybe you thought he was trouble. Did you ever look close enough to see his sweet, sweet soul or his pain. He loved to skateboard and he was pretty good at it too. He was quiet and shy and smart and funny. But he was hurt and angry and depressed and life at home was difficult. Maybe you knew that his life at home was bad, maybe you only suspected or maybe you didn’t care. But I cared. I won’t forget him. Do you know a Chad? I knew that Chad’s father was not around, unavailable and unable to sustain a loving relationsh...

Today's card again is made using the technique called "Poppin' Pastels". I used this technique to create the main image and the leaves. I inked my stamps with a versamark stamp pad, stamped on the vanilla card stock then rubbed pastels into the wet versamark with a sponge dauber. What I used: Seasonal Whimsy and Whimsy jumbo wheel chocolate chip, pumpkin pie and very vanilla card stock chocolate chip classic ink and Versamark ink pad pastels and sponge dauber wide chocolate grosgrain ribbon

Here is my card for today. I thought I would play around a little more with some of the "Boho Western" stuff. This card is really pretty simple but I think it came out wonderfully. The Sanded background is overstamped on the card body as well as over the main image. The main image and the medallion are both popped up. What I used. Wanted stamp set and Sanded background chocolate chip, really rust and confetti white card stock Outlaw designer paper chocolate chip classic ink vintage brad

All new products is what this card is all about. New Basic Grey card stock, classic ink and taffeta ribbon Wild Wasabi card stock, classic ink and stitched ribbon Wintergreen designer paper Sidekick Sayings stamp est and Polka Dot background If you have some spare time on your hands I encourage you to surf over to the Splitcoast Stampers gallery and check out all the fabulous cards being created by the many talented stampers for the "Dare to be Dirty" challenges that are running July 25th - 31st. That is dirty as in the Dirty Dozen, the top 12 designers on SCS know as dirty girls, not dirty-dirty. My designs are in my SCS gallery but I did want to share one with you. Texasjodylynn challenged us to get "Braddy" and use as many brad as possible and this is what I came up with. The card is inspired by a huge glut of these copper brads I have left over from may packages of the old vintage brads. There are also a bunch of new products in this card. Illuminations st...

A morning started with glitter has got to be a good day right? I just got this new stamp set and wheel in my latest shipment. The design is very different from anything I have ever owned before but I think I really like it. It is just a little funky. I have been meaning to try making one of these tent topper cards for a while now and this set seemed perfect for it. What I used: Seasonal Whimsy stamp set, Whimsy jumbo wheel blue bayou, soft sky and whisper white card stock blue bayou classic ink versamarker and iridescent ice embossing powder blue bayou double stitched grosgrain ribbon, white eyelets, ticket corner punch When I had this card all laid out it looked a little bland so I whipped out my versamarker, iridescent ice embossing powder and heat tool and gave it a little sparkle!

Just a quick and simple card this morning. What I used: Sidekick Sayings stamp set regal rose, pretty in pink, old olive, and whisper white card stock petals & paisley designer paper basic black ink old olive and regal rose stampin' write markers always artichoke grosgrain ribbon rich regal colored brad

Okay this challenge is not for the faint of heart. Try making a "Magic Card". My example is below. I used brocade blue, bashful blue, real red and whisper white card stock. The stamp sets I used are Circus Train, Hugs & Wishes and the Paisley background. Instead of me telling you how to do it I recommend that you follow Beate John's fabulous tutorial over on Splitcoast Stampers. This is what the card looks like closed... This is what it looks like open...

Today is all about monochromatic design. I chose to use regal rose and rose red as my colors. I used rose red classic ink to stamp the verse from Elegant Inspirations and regal rose craft ink to stamp the flowers. The scalloped oval is created using the coluzzle cutting system and the new 3/16 corner rounder. If I get time later I will do a tutorial on how to do the scalloped oval.

Today we are paying attention to the corners of our designs. This is really just a quick little card but if you notice I have added just a couple extra details. Namely the piercings in the corners of the main image and the brads in the corners of the strip. I think that paying attention to the little extra details is what really makes a card "pop". What I used: Sassy Stems stamp set, Paisley and Linen backgrounds blue bayou, soft sky and whisper white card stock black stazon ink pad, soft sky, blue bayou and wild wasabi classic ink refills for watercoloring and soft sky and blue bayou classic ink pads for the backgrounds aquapainter for watercoloring, ice square rhinestone brads, white narrow grosgrain ribbon, piercing tool and mat pack for corner details

When I saw this sketch this morning I had a vision of what I want to do with it. It took me literally hours to make this card but I am finally satisfied with the results. What I used: Baroque Motifs stamp set, again chocolate chip, always artichoke, purely pomegranate card stock and brocade designer paper chocolate chip and purely pomegranate classic ink pads cutter kits distressing tool, sponges, rich regal colored brads, hodgepodge hardware and white grosgrain ribbon dyed purely pomegranate, heat tool How I did it: I started with the alway artichoke piece of card stock. I stamped the swirl from baroque motifs in chocolate chip ink. Distressed the edges with the cutter kit and sponged with chocolate chip ink. I then layered that on a piece of purely pomegranate card stock and distressed the edges of that as well. I had some scraps of brocade designer paper that I trimmed to the right size then layered on chocolate chip card stock and distressed the edges. I added the dou...

My friend Jules (check out her blog Stampin with Inky Fingers) has tagged me and I am to share 7 random things about myself and then tag 3 other bloggers, so here goes... Seven random things about myself: 1. In my mid twenties I started a list of things to do before I die. I add to the list periodically and have managed to check off a good portion of the list. Some of the thing on the list will have to wait until my children are older of course but I find that it helps me keep an eye on my goals and not get overwhelmed by the day to day business of raising children. 2. I got married as a teenager to the same man I took to my senior prom. We are still married after nearly 22 years and hey we even still like each other. I am very blessed that his strengths are my weaknesses and the same applies in the opposite diretion. He is very soft hearted about children, probably because of his job in law enforcement, which is a major reason for our foster parenting and large family. He is ...

It is so nice to have time to stamp again. You may or not have noticed that I have been offline for most of the last couple of weeks. Between my new catalog open house, which was so much fun, and my eldest son's graduation party I have been incredibly busy. We had family in from out of town as well. Well I am back to my normal crazy life and here is today's project. I have to say that I really love this set. I know, I know I have already told you that about a dozen times before but I do! Isn't this fun? Todays colors are Not Quite Navy, Bordering Blue and Mellow Moss. I think that they look wonderful together. What I used: Whisper White,Not Quite Navy, Bordering Blue and Mellow Moss card stock Not Quite Navy, Bordering Blue and Mellow Moss classic ink pads Mellow Moss narrow grosgrain ribbon, ice square rhinestone brad, ticket corner punch

One more card with Zoofari. Just a really simple one today. I started with a whisper white card base layered with some misc. 1/2 inch scraps of paper. The main image is stamped with basic black ink as is the greeting. I colored the main image with tempting turquoise, green galore and only orange ink and an aquapaint then layered it on real red and basic black card stock. The main image is popped up on foam dimensionals. Quick, easy and fun. What can you do with your scraps?

My new catalog celebration was this weekend. A bunch of my customers came over Saturday night and Sunday afternoon to check out the new Stampin' Up! catalog, do some terrific (even if I do say so myself) projects, eat chocolate and just generally have a stampin' good time. I thought I would share a couple of the projects we did. I made this sweet little 4x4 card for my new catalog celebration. I used the little jaguar from the new zoofari stamp set and the word welcome is from warm words. The jaguar was stamped with basic black classic ink and colored with various classic inks and a blender pen. I used the new soft sky prints designer paper as well as blue bayou, soft sky, not quite navy and whisper white card stock This card uses the new stamp set Double Line Doodle. I really like the paisleys in this set. I used basic black, soft sky and whisper white card stock. The images are stamped with basic black ink and the flower is colored in using a blender pen and soft sky ...

Today's card uses the new level 2 hostess set from Stampin' Up called Garden Silhouettes. Just another quick little card before all the family stuff starts around here. For this card I used Chocolate Chip, Old Olive and Whisper White card stock, some of the Petals & Paisley designer paper, Old Olive and Chocolate Chip classic ink and Pretty in Pink grosgrain ribbon. Have a great day!