Wild West West Headin Home

     If you are one of us crazies who loves to play with 'da Man' (sometimes known as the cowboy from the Wild Wild West  by Stampin' Up) - then you will appreciate this project.  'Da Man' does not usually appear without a story, seems there has long been, a feud of sorts, going on between a few Splicoast Sweeties who ink him up regularly, (catch the stories here) as well as a whole blog entitled Women of the Wild Wild West.  Yes, we have a thing for this cowboy.
      He has been retired for years, he arrived on the Stampin' Up scene in 2002 and was retired shortly afterward....I didn't even know of Stampin' Up until 2004 so I missed any opportunity to purchase him.  There is a movement afoot (here) to rally together and get Stampin' Up to bring him back, sigh, we can only hope.  With the help of the underground I was able to broker a deal through the Mudder out west and obtain a set of  'da Man' - cost me a pretty penny but was worth it.  Now when I get ideas on how to use him,(and oh girls I have soooo many ideas)  I don't have to reach out and ask a friend to stamp a few for me, I can 'play' at home with 'da Man' in my own little stamp room.  Yes, we stampers are a bit eccentric, but we is loveable.

An overview of the tissue box

'da Man' up close and personal

The West Ranch is next to the Bloom's Ranch

this leads to lots of stories I must say.....

What's a forest without a little wildlife.

     Of course, whenever one is inspired to do a project like this a mess ensues - LOL - while no Copic's were harmed in the making of this card (a disclaimer for Blooms) my work station turned into one heck of a mess......guess I'll spend today cleaning up.  Happy trail everyone!!

Materials:  CS, Cottage Cutz Die, Spellbinders Floral Oval, Martha Stewart punches, dimensionals, rhinestones, Copics, Stampin' Up (da Man), Computer, blood, sweat and lots of laughter.  

Challenges:  Simon Says Stamp Challenge, Anything Goes, Stampin' Sisters in Christ 158 

Out of the Box

    One of my co-workers is in charge of a church fund raiser, I told her I would make some cards and items to donate.  I already have my ornaments done, a set of cards and thought it would be fun to make this tissue box cover, and pair it up with some other things.  These are fun and easy to make - you can find directions with a video here, on Splitcoaststampers. They make a great gift to someone who is not feeling well with a card, and some tea bags.
    I used my new Cottage Cutz dies for the trees - while they look nice, they look even nicer when you add the piece that looks like the trunk of the tree, just didn't feel that was necessary for the look I was going for.  My scripture is from Stampin Up - 'Trust God' - a set I recently ordered and have used quite a bit.
     While I have made some of these with a patterned background paper, I like the simplicity of the blue run through an embossing folder, then highlighted with some silver paper....and or course a little bling for the Holidays!!

Supplies: CS, Spellbinders, Cottage Cutz, Recollections, Stampin' Up

Challenges:  Simon Says Stamp Challenges, Anything Goes, 

Vanity Plates

     I have no idea what came over me as I was walking the aisles of Hobby Lobby....I will say that I was listening to my usual country western station as I drove over, so I will blame Kip Moore and his song: Something 'Bout a Truck.  This little stamp - LOL - not so little, just hollered for me to bring it home.  Lordy, I thought, what do I need with a truck stamp......but as you can see those voices in my head won.
     This card turned out nothing like the original idea I had, but that's okay with me as I think what it evolved into was even better.  It also screamed out to be colored in red - ahhh, red Copics, a challenge to work with, but I got er done.  Then I just HAD to have vanity plates - at a recent craft fair I saw this saying and it stuck in my head so I printed it up and added it.  Step cards are always fun, this one looks so much better in person with the 3-D effect of the trees and the truck on pop ups to make them all stand out.  I have to tell you I had way too much fun putting this together, thinking of just the right person to send it to.

Materials:  Copics, Print Works Stamp, Computer, Cottage Cutz Die, Paper House American Road Paper

Bwah ha ha ha ha

     Oh my word, there are so many cards I SHOULD be working on but when I saw this tree stamp, as I ran through the craft shop, the idea for this card seemed so obvious I HAD to play.  And no, I didn't really run through the craft shop, if I did I might miss something....but I did stay focused and head to a few certain aisles to see if anything new had arrived.  My son is one of my biggest fans and supporters and making cards for him is always a pleasure.  So when I saw this stamp I decided to get a head start and make his Halloween card.  He is in his mid twenty's but has always been easy to spook - when I saw this tree I just knew it needed lots of spooky eyes peeking out from the night.
     This is a Step Card. To create the background for the tree I took cut a circle from some removable paper and placed it over my Brilliance CS.  Then I used my Color Duster brushes to repeatedly stipple over the page in Night of Navy, More Mustard, and some Summer Sun until I got it as dark and spooky as I wanted. Then I removed my circle, and with my Copic's, colored in the moon.  I cut a stencil for a cloud pattern and laid it down, using my sponge with Night of Navy, I dabbed the sponge over the edges while I  continually moved the stencil around to created a layered look in the background.  I then stamped several of my headstones, colored, and fussy cut them.  My fence die is pretty large so after running it through my Grand Calibur I cut the bottom and messy cut the tops.  My headstones in the background are popped up over the skeletons, and the headstones on the front are flat on the step, with the fence popped up over them.  Inside is the sentiment "BOO'.  I'm pretty sure he is going to like this ...  until it gets sent it will adorn my stamp room.

Materials:  Brilliance CS, Recollections Tree Stamp, Hampton Art Headstones, Memory Box Fence Die, Crafts Mart Skeleton Stamp, Embellishments, Copics

Challenges:  Dream Valley Something Old, Something New