Thursday, April 30, 2009

The Final Clue!


I have a VERY special sneak peek for you today from Club Anya and The Greeting Farm...a BRAND NEW Miss Anya set is going to be released on the 15th of this month! How exciting is that???
Even better? ONE lucky winner is going to receive this stamp set when the contest ends on Thursday evening. The WINNER will be announced THIS Friday, May 1st..that's almost TWO whole weeks before the actual release by the time the mailman delivers it!!!
All you have to do is play along with our little game this week! Head on over to the Club Anya blog to THIS post to start the game and to go over the official rules:
You will need to stop by certain Team Member's blogs on certain days to be given a series of clues. The official schedule is posted on the Club Anya blog. Each team member will be giving you a special sneak peek of this ADORABLE new set, and a clue for you, in the form of a letter in the alphabet.
Once you have collected ALL FOUR clues, you will have to DESCRAMBLE the letters to form a word. Once you guess what the word is, you will have until Thursday, April 30th, 2009 at 8pm CST to email Jessica with your guess. At that time, all of the correct guesses will be entered into a contest to WIN the BRAND NEW MISS ANYA SET!!!

Are you ready for your final clue?....

I have to say the I LOVE this set! Miss Anya is so stylish and fun!

This song immediately popped into my head when I saw this one so I typed it up and printed it off on the computer (the inside sentiment as well!) The DP for this card is Sassafrass Lass. I originally cut the cloud out of the same DP (it was part of the pattern, you can see a bit of one or two of them on the inside) but it was just too busy that way so I traced it onto the blue paper from the same line and used that instead. For the sun I used a Nestie to cut the circle then cut free hand rays. I backed them both with SU Chocolate Chip cardstock so they would stand out more. Miss Anya has Crystal Effects on her raincoat, boots and umbrella and I used clear Dew Drops for the rain.

She is colored with Copics:
Skin: R00,E00,E11,RV21
Hair & Boots: E43,E47,E49
Clothes: RV21,RV23,RV25, Y17,YR14,YR16
Umbrella: Y06,Y15,Y17

Good luck on the contest and whoever wins you are going to LOVE this set!
:-) Traci

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

My First Gorjuss Girl

Hi Everyone! How is your week so far? Mine's pretty good! I finally got that sunshine they've been promising, and I'm feeling gooood (ok, I admit, I just finished watching Adam Lambert sing on American Idol and now that is stuck in my head. I always loved that song anyway!)

This is my first card done with one of my new Gorjuss girls (available at Funky Kits). This one is "Just a Girl". I just love the art these stamps are based on by Suzanne Woolcott, too! You can check it out HERE if you are interested. All of the DP is Basic Grey - Bittersweet. The brads I made using the create your own brad kit from Stampin Up. The stitching is faux. And, look, I decorated the inside again! I know, not really that big of a deal, but it's a new step for me! I love how "complete" it seems (well, ok, except for the sentiment! I am always bad about leaving that off. I don't know what kind of card it wants to be yet!) She is colored with Copics:

Skin: Roo, E00, E11, RV21
Clothes and Hair: E71, E74,E77,E79, Rv21,RV13,RV14,R85,R89

Be sure to check out the Club Anya Blog. We have a great contest going on and the blog will tell you which DT member to visit to get your next clue for the contest! And be sure to visit me tomorrow for your last clue!

Thanks for visiting!
:-) Traci

More From the Faire!

Hi Everyone! How was your Monday? Well, I didn't get my sunny day like I wanted even though the weather man on the radio yesterday morning said it was going to be the warmest day yet! He was so wrong! Oh, well....


I finally finished my cards representing the Red Court and the Green Court from my local Renaissance Festival (a few days ago I had the one for the Blue Court and a photo from the Faire). The Blue Court card came together so easily, but I really struggled with the Red and Green after I had finished altering and coloring the Baron's and Baroness' . I really thought I wanted to use some paper from the Once Upon a Time stack from DCWV, but even though the paper is gorgeous it just wasn't right with my coloring. I finally found this Digi image of a castle from In Style Stamps and decided to make both cards the same except for the Court figures. (It's a little funny to me - the Green court are the "bad" guys but even with an "evil" goatee, Ian still looks too cute!)
The frame behind the images was made by removing the guard from a decorative corner punch then punching repeatedly around a square of black cardstock. Once you go completely around the square the piece in the middle just kind of falls out. Both of the Baron's and Baroness' are altered Anya's and Ian's from the Dress Me set from The Greeting Farm. They are colored with Copics:

Red Court:
Skin: R00,E00,E11,R20
Hair: Y000, E50,Y21,Y26,Y28
Clothes: R24,R27,R29, C1,C3,C5,C7,C9

Green Court:
Skin: Same
Hair: C3,C5,C7,C9 and E21, E25, E27, E29
Clothes: G09,G19,G29, C1,C3,C5,C7,C9

If you haven't been to Club Anya to check out the contest and see whose blog you need to visit for your clue today, be sure you go HERE. You really want a chance to win this contest, believe me! :-)

Thanks so much for visiting me and for all of the lovely comments that are left. It really means a lot to me! I wish you a joyous day!
:-) Traci

Monday, April 27, 2009

Happy Monday!

Hi Everyone! I know, I'm not really supposed to put those two words together, right? But I have high hopes that the beginning of this week will be as good as the start of last week. The weather at the beginning of last week was so nice and it gave me all of this extra energy and put me in such a good mood (before it got all Fall-like by the end of the week!). But it's got to decide to fully be Spring sometime, right!?

Before I move on to my card for today, if you haven't been by Club Anya yet today you should head over. We are having a very cool contest and all of the details will be there. Believe me, you don't want to miss out on this!

My card today was done with Maisy, one of the Ketto stamps from Stamping Bella. I really like these stamps - so cute and kinda edgy! They look like they'd have a little attitude! The DP is DCWV, the Citrus Stack, and the ribbon is from Stampin Up. I colored her with Copics and added some Dazzling Diamonds glitter:

Skin: R00, E00, E11
Clothes and Hair: R02,R05,R08, Y11,Y15,Y17
C1,C3,C5,C7,C9

I am also showing the inside of my card because I really admire the beautiful insides (and outsides, too!) of Rosette's cards and she is inspiring me to think more of the inside as well. There is no sentiment yet because I don't know who this is going to or exactly what kind of card it wants to be yet!

Thanks for visiting me! I hope this is the beginning of a lovely week for you!
:-) Traci

Friday, April 24, 2009

The Blue Baron

Hi Guys! I am getting a late start today. I had my card all downloaded and everything last night but I was just too tired to post it. And this one needs a little explanation.


There is a Renaissance Faire here every summer (first two weekends in June) called The Three Baron's Renaissance Faire. I know there are some Faires that really strive towards accuracy and seriousness - ours is very fun and fantasy - like. The story is there are 3 Baron's - the Green Baron (and Baroness plus their Court) who are evil, the Red Baron (and Baroness plus their Court) who are good (sickeningly so!) and the Blue Baron (and his many wives and Court!) who are mysterious! My friends and I used to go every year, sometimes several times, so we decided to become Vendor's and we now have a craft booth at the fair. I usually make costume pieces but I have been spending much more time card-making this year and so I decided I had to make some cards in honor of the Baron's. I haven't finished the Red or Green Baron's cards, but this is in honor of the Blue Baron. This is the only picture I have with him in it from the last couple of years Faire's. The same guy has been the Blue Baron ever since I started going in the mid 90's and my card was based on my memories of him from then.


I also thought since I was showing Faire stuff I would show an older card of mine that has never been on my blog, based on a dress I made for my daughter for Faire. This is her in the summer of '07.


All of the stamped images are altered Dress Me Anya'a and Ian's from The Greeting Farm and the paper on all of the cards is DCWV. I'm sorry I don't have my list of Copics used on the Baron card this time, and the card with the purple dress used Prismacolor pencils and mineral spirits.

Thanks for coming to see me! I hope you have a great weekend!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

My first Twinkling Tuesday (on a Thursday!)

This is my first time playing along with the Twinkling Tuesday challenge (yes, I know it's now Thursday, I just don't work that fast!) I've wanted to do this for a while because it's such a neat idea to have the kids come up with the sketches (or other challenges). This week the sketch comes from Jessica's son Jack.


I used Flutter Anya from the Greeting Farm. She is raised up on pop up dots. Her wings are actually partly cut apart and the top part of the wing has a double layer of dots to make them stand up even more. The DP is My Minds Eye and the brads are sugar coated brads from Doodlebug. She is colored with Copics:

Skin: R00, E00, E11, RV32
Clothes: RV32,RV34
Wings and Hair: BG11, BG32, BG34,BG49 then layered entirely over with B00, B02

Thanks for visiting with me today! I hope your day is great!
:-) Traci

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

A double CASE!


Hello! How has your week gone so far? I have to say, I have been great! I don't know if it's finally feeling better or the sunshine and Spring-like weather here but I have been in a very chipper mood! I kind of like it!

So, have you made a card for The Greeting Farm's Case of the Curious Card III Challenge? If not, you should head over Here to find the details and then get BUSY! You can win your choice of a free TGF stamp, but you need to enter by April 24! Now, my card actually CASEs two cards. The first, of course, is Jessica's card, which is the challenge. But I also CASEd this card by my 9 year old daughter, Ronnie:


She made this card over the weekend and I LOVED her idea of Anya relaxing with a facial and some cucumber slices over her eyes. (I'm not sure I get why you would do that while lying on the beach, but maybe that's something only 9 year olds would know!) I took mine a step farther and put a gooey white mask on her face!


I started with the Anya from the Dress Me set. I cut off most of her hair and drew a shower cap to cover it and a towel to cover her body. Her face mask is just white acrylic paint (I really wish I'd had something with a little more texture, like some puff paint, but that's all I had.) To make the cucumbers I just colored two spots light green, pulled a little color out with the colorless blender, then punched them out with a 1/4 inch circle punch. Then I just ran a darker green marker around the edges. I used DP from Little Yellow Bicycle. Everything is colored with Copics:

Skin: E00, E11, RV13
Towel and Shower Cap: RV13, RV14, YG11, YG25

Thanks for visiting me today!
:-) Traci

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Sweet Spring Picnic

Hi! Today it was in the mid-forties here and in Alaska in April that is getting rid of snowpants and snowbooots - wearing short sleeves - enjoying the sun on your face weather! I really had planned a different card to show you today but I didn't finish it before the sun went down and I couldn't get the picture to turn out right in the light I had. I think this one is a nice replacement since today was the first day that really felt like Spring here.


I used a Sara Kay image (Picnic of Daisies) that I got sent by a lovely lady I met on Splitcoaststampers. The DP is Basic Grey - Lily Kate. The big flower is from Imaginisce and the rest are punched with a Stampin Up punch. The ribbon is from Papertrey Ink. She is colored with Copics:

Skin: R00,E00,E11,R20
Hair:YR21,YR14,E15
Hat and Basket: Y00,E50,E30,E53, YG00,YG03
Clothes: Y00,Y02,Y06,Y08,B91,B93,B95
C1,C3

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Almost myself again....

Wow, it feels like forever since I've posted! I was so excited about the big blog hop last Wednesday with Club Anya and The Greeting Farm and wouldn't you know, the night before I started getting an itchy throat and cough. By mid afternoon on Wednesday I had a fever and just felt awful. I missed two days of work, but was feeling ok enough by Saturday to go see Spamalot (I have a Wonderful, Fabulous friend who got me and my DH tickets for Christmas!). That was fun! I feel almost normal again.


I haven't really felt up to crafting over the last couple of days, but I had made this card for my niece's birthday early last week. I know it borrows from a theme I've used before, but I just love the digi Unicorn and Princess Anya (both from The Greeting Farm) together! The DP on this card is Basic Grey. I used some little jewels from the jewelry making section of the craft store and some Prima flowers (I colored the large one with the same color Copic marker that I used on the dress although in the picture it doesn't look like the same color.) The images are colored with Copics:

Uni:V01,V04,V06
Skin: E00,E11,RV02
Hair: E50,Y000
Dress: RV04,RV06,RV09 RV91,RV93,RV95

Thanks for visiting me!
:-) Traci

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Happy Blog Hop!

Hello! As you are reading this I am hopefully hopping along, seeing all kinds of wonderful cards and getting lots of inspiration!


My last card for the Greeting Farm Sneak Peek is the wonderful, fabulous, Flutter By Anya! Isn't she ADORABLE!? Marie is SO talented and I swear she see's into my mind and heart to make the images that make me happiest! My little Flutter By is mounted on DP from DCWV. The blue butterflies are punched with a Martha Stewart punch. The buttons were almost the right shade, but not quite so I used my Copic markers in the same shade that I used on Anya to make them coordinate. The flowers are Prima and the sentiment comes from the Susie Suprise set (also by The Greeting Farm). I colored her with Copics:

Skin: E00,E11,RV21
Hair: RV21,RV23,RV25,RV29
Clothes: YG03,YG23,YG17, C3
Wings: Y02,Y08,Y15,B01,B02,B04

Feel free to join us in the Hopping fun! You can go to Club Anya for links to all of the Blogs!

Thanks for visiting!
:-) Traci

It's Blog Hop Day! Stay Tuned!

Hi Friends! Are you all excited about the Blog Hop tonight? I can not wait to see what everyone has done. I seriously think that fans of The Greeting Farm stamps are just the most creative people! So, just one last reminder to go to Club Anya at 6:30 PM Central time tonight to find the list of people participating in the blog hop, and hop along with us!

This is my third sneak peek for the stamps that will be released tonight at 10 PM Central time! (I'll have one more tonight during the Blog Hop!) Little Rescue Ian is SOOO Cute! I used some DP from Basic Grey, with some doodling and the sentiment from the Hero set (also from The Greeting Farm). He is colored with Copics (with some Crystal Effects on his hat and shoes!) :

Skin: E00,E11,R20
Hat: R24,R27,R29,C1,C3
Clothes: Y02,Y06,Y08, C5,C7,C9
Hair: E74,E77,E79

Thanks, and I hope to see you again tonight!
:-) Traci

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

It's Showtime!

Hi everyone! Are you ready for day 2 of the sneak peeks of the upcoming Greeting Farm releases? Today we have the fabulous "Showtime" set! I pretty much squealed with delight when I opened my package and saw this set! It is a Circus set, with Anya as the Ringmaster, an adorable elephant, some popcorn, and some cute sentiments. I could see it for kids birthday cards, or baby announcements using the cute elephant. But I also saw the ringmaster Anya as a Cabaret singer and that's how I did my first card! The background (white) was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder, although it's hard to see in this picture. I made stage curtains with some DP from DCWV, using a scallop border punch on the top. The top curtain and red CS under it are popped up on dimensional dots, too. I used Crystal Effects on her top hat and bow tie for some extra shine. And, speaking of shine, there is lots of silver glitter for an extra sparkly bodysuit! She is colored with Copics:

Skin: E00,E11,R20
Clothes: R22,R24,R29,R39,C1,C3,C5,C7,C9
Hair:E21,E25,E27,E29

This set was so cute, I just had to make a card with the elephant, too. Right away he made me think of a new baby boy card, so even though there is no sentiment that is what I had in mind. The DP is some older Basic Grey I had. I used Crystal Effects on this card, too, on his hat and shorts. He is colored with Copics:

B91,B93,YG03,YG25,YG17,Y15,Y17,Y36.

You can see the other DT members creations with the new stamps here:

Jessica Diedrich, Club Anya VP and DT Coordinator

Don't forget to join us tomorrow for the Big Blog Hop with Club Anya and The Greeting Farm, starting at 7:00 Central time (you can find a list of participants at Club Anya at 6:30)! There will be prizes awarded, and the new stamps go on sale at 10PM!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you tomorrow!

Monday, April 13, 2009

WOO HOO! A Sneak Peak of an Anya Release!

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend (and a great Easter holiday)! Today I get to show you a sneak peak of one of the new Anya (and Ian) releases at The Greeting Farm (available Wednesday night at 10PM Central time - but don't forget about the Giant Blog Hop leading up to the release. The details on the blog hop are HERE.) I have been so excited about these new stamps since I got them in the mail and I can't wait for you to see them all!


I decided to make my first sneak peak using Wild West Anya! Ain't she the cutest? I used DP from My Mind's Eye and colored her with Copics:

Skin: E00,E11,RV13
Hair: Y17,YR14,E08
Hat and Boots: E25,e27,e29
Clothes: RV13,RV14,RV25, BG32, BG34, BG49

Some of the other DT member have chosen a different set to do their sneak peak with so if you haven't visited their blogs you should go take a look (I can't wait to see what they have done!)

Jessica, Club Anya VP and DT Coodinator

Jacquie

Janna

Kristine

Michelle – Guest Designer


We all will have another surprise set to show you tomorrow, too!
Thanks for visiting!
;-) Traci

Saturday, April 11, 2009

After Some Technical Difficulties...Happy Weekend!

Hi Everyone! I really intended to post this for Friday, but I was having problems getting my pictures to turn out decently. My DH has a great camera, thanks to me ( I talked him into getting it last year because he has always loved photography) which I use to photograph my cards. I don't know a thing about the camera - my brain only has so much space and I have decided not to waste it with camera knowledge when I can just use my DH's brain (just kidding, but really it's so much easier just to have him fix all of the settings!) Every time I needed to photograph a card I set a box up on the couch, under my OTT light, draped it with a white pillow case, set up the tripod (fussing for 5 to 10 minutes everytime to set it to the right height) then snapped the picture. All of a sudden all of the pictures looked awful. Plus it took forever for one picture because of all of the set-up. I made a change today that is better, but not perfect. I bought a white plastic storage container about the size of a shoe-box that I can easily sit on the table next to the window (and that height is much better for the tripod, too.) How do the rest of you take your card photo's?

The other issue I am having today is that Blogger reader is not updating any of the blogs I am following. It says there is nothing new when I can see there is something new that i haven't read. THis is all new to me, so if someone else has had this problem and knows what is wrong, please let me know!

So, on to my card for today!


I used Susie Suprise, one of the new releases from The Greeting Farm. I love her delighted expression! THe DP on the card is Shabby Princess ( red polka dot) and Daisy D's (large polka dot and stripe). I colored Susie with Copics:

Skin: E00,E11,R81
Hair: E25,E27,E29
Clothes and Balloons: R81,R83,R27,R29,BG11,BG45,BG72,Y000,Y00,Y02, C1,C3

Also, I just want to remind everyone about the big New Release Blog Hop from The Greeting Farm and Club Anya on the 15th. If you haven't signed up to participate, or want more details go HERE.

Thanks for visiting - have a great weekend!
:-) Traci

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Mother's Day Cards!

Hi Everyone! I have been working on Mother's Day cards today. I have the one I made for my mother and the one for my mother-in-law to show you. Hopefully, because I have these made already I will manage to get them to them before Mother's Day! I am the worst for having a gazillion cards made up, but just not the "right one" for the person I need to send one, so I am always late!


My first card is for my mother. She loves baseball and still plays softball at 57 (hopefully she won't be mad at me for saying her age!) I am just so proud of her athleticism! So, I turned Baseball Ian from The Greeting Farm into Baseball Anya. I had to do the card with lots of yellow because that is her favorite color. The DP is Sassafras Lass, and the sentiment is retired SU. I colored the ribbon and the brads with Copics! The image is also colored with Copics:

Skin: E00,E11,R20
Hair and Bat: E21,E25,E27,E29
Clothes: Y11,Y15, Y17, G05, G09, G17
C1,C3,C5,C7,C9



The second card is for my mother-in-law. She likes things that are much more girly than my mother does and I think this sort of old-fashioned sweet little girl (Daisy from Sugar Nellies) is perfect for her. The DP is Crate Paper, the flowers are Prima, and the brads are Doodlebug sugar coated brads. Also, I printed out a bunch of sketches the other day and this is from one of the online sketch challenges but I didn't write it down. As soon as I have a chance I will find out where it came from and put it on here. (ok, I found it. It is from A Spoon Full of Sugar challenge #21) The image is colored with Copics:

Skin: E00,E11,R81
Shirt: RV91,R81,R83
Pants: B63,BV13,BV17
Grass: YG11, YG17
Flowers: V93,V95,V99

One last thing - Club Anya and the Greeting Farm are going to have a very cool Blog Hop that you (with YOUR blog) can participate in to celebrate the new release on the 15th. You can go here to get all of the details and to sign up (you don't want to miss seeing the new sets - the are fantastic!)

Thanks for visiting me! :-) Traci

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Have a Fintastic Tuesday!

Hi Everyone! How is your week so far? Mine is moving along just fine..... My daughter has taken swimming lessons for the past year or so. It's the only sport-type activity she really likes, although she's not on the swim team or anything. She has not advanced to that point yet. With her lessons you pay for the next month right at the end of the current lessons, but the lessons don't always start and end at the same time each month. Because of how it's done, it is sometimes hard to get in to the next session if your not already signed up (if that makes any sense). This is a very long story to say I took her out of lessons in December because we were going on vacation and it took me until now to get her back in. She had her first swim class since November yesterday and she is so excited to be back in the water. So when I came home, I had to stamp this little fishy!


I had so much fun making this card. It was one of those times where everything just came together so easily and I am so happy with the finished card! The DP is K&Co, the cardstock is SU - Kiwi Kiss and Night of Navy, and the ribbon is SU. The seaweed was made with a Martha Stewart oak leaf punch and I used Dew Drops and Crystal Effects for the bubbles. The fish and the sentiment were colored with Copics:

Y35, Y38, YR04, YR07, YR09, R27, R29

Thanks for stopping by!
Traci

Monday, April 6, 2009

Club Anya Card Carrying VIP Member Swap

Hi everyone! How was your weekend? Mine was very busy and I got way too little sleep! Because of that I am going to make this very quick and then I am off to bed!


Over at Paper Craft Planet in the Club Anya group Cassie started a Club Anya Card Carrying VIP Member Swap. Everyone who signs up makes a 3 1/2 by 4 1/2 "Club Anya Membership Card" to swap. Right now I think we are still 4 people short of my group being full. Anyway, this is my card for the swap. I don't think I recall reading that they were supposed to be kept secret. This was all I had a chance to work on this weekend, so it was the only thing I had to show you today! I used Rockstar Anya from The Greeting Farm because she is still my favorite (so far - wait until you see the new releases for the 15th! I am such a tease, I know!) The DP is Creative Imaginations and DCWV and the ribbon is Creative Imaginations. She is colored with Copics:

Skin: E00, E11, R81
Hair: BG000, RV00, R81, R83, RV34
Guitar: RV00, R81,R83, RV34, C1, C3, C5
Clothes: C1, C3, C5, C7, SB110

Thanks for stopping by!
:-) Traci

Friday, April 3, 2009

Mermaid Anya at the Beach

Hi Everyone! Yeah, it's Friday! Do you have any plans for this weekend? I have to admit, for me the absolute best "plans" are to have nothing at all to do! I am a homebody and I love to have nothing that has to get done. Right now, I can't think of anything that HAS to get done this weekend, besides maybe a few things around the house, so YEAH!

On a different subject, I am really struggling with lay-outs for my cards lately. I think I need to find some sketches and maybe also do some sketch challenges. I kind of by-passed that with this card by just stamping a background (Doodlefactory Tropical Backdrop, which I bought at Starving Artist Stamps ) for Mermaid Anya (The Greeting Farm). As soon as I saw this background I imagined her sunning herself on a big rock near the shoreline....


The only " extras" on this card are some small stick-on pearls in her hair and her tail has clear Spica glitter on it. Everything is colored with Copics:

(I am just going to give the colors used on the Mermaid, because the list is really long for the background!)
Skin- E50, E53, RV21
Hair- BV000, BV02, BV04, BV08
Top-B000, B02
Tail- G02, G05, G07

Thanks for looking and I hope your weekend is Fabulous!
:-) Traci

Thursday, April 2, 2009

A Cute Little Monster


Today's post is going to be really short. I just wanted to show you a card I did with this cute little monster named Dreck from Paper MakeUp Stamps. The DP is DCWV and the sentiment is retired Stampin Up. I used Copics to color him:

Body:YG00, YG03, YG17
Horns: Y11, Y15, Y17
Spots: B00, B01, B02
Eye: RV21, RV23, RV25

Thanks for stopping by!
:-) Traci