Sadly, there is no time for stamping today.  A quick ditty this morning is all I have time for. . . .. . .

A lady and her co-workers go to a bar after a hard days work to unwind.  As she is sitting there the most gorgeous man she has ever seen walked in.  She couldn’t help but take little glances at him out of the corner of her eye.  Much to her disbelief he walked over to her and said “for twenty dollars I’ll do any thing you ask me to do”.  She thought for a moment, reached down and got a twenty out of her purse and said “Clean my house”, lol.

 That’s how I’m feeling today.  Much to do in way of housework.  We are having a birthday party for my Grand Daughter this weekend and I have a messy house to get ready for company.

There are so many comments on yesterday’s post, I’m so very amazed!  I would love to know where everyone is from.  Give me a shout out today by commenting on this post telling me were you live.  I’ll start by telling you I’m from West Alexandria, Ohio.

If you are getting my blog updates by e-mail and you want to comment, please click this link to take you to my blog:   http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2008/07/17/no-stamping-for-me-today/

 Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow, Friday, I will be announcing the winner of yesterday’s blog candy.

May your day be a peaceful and relaxing one. 

Until my next post.. . . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Moo Cards ROCK!

I had so much fun making my sample Moo Cards for Innovative Stamp Creations Moo Card Challenge (see challenge details below).  Moo Cards are all the rage right now.  Moo cards are like Artist trading cards but measure 1 1/8″ x 2 3/4″.    These little cards are addictive.  At first, I was fretting about the small area I had to work with on the cards.  I’m a big scene type stamper if you hadn’t noticed, lol.  But once I got started I didn’t want to quit.  I even altered a tin for my moo cards to reside in.   You can even make magnets out of these cards and give them as a special gift. 

All images for my samples are by Innovative Stamp Creations.  Here is a link to their on line store:  http://www.innovativestampcreations.com/ischomepage.html

I was first introduced to Moo Cards at an Art & Soul Retreat I attended back in May.  I was so amazed at all of the creative variations people could achieve on such a little area.   People were trading them like crazy and there I was not even knowing what a Moo card was.  I apparently live a sheltered life here in my little stamp room, lol.  Did you all know about these cards?  Have you made any?

Here are the details for the challenge:

Innovative Stamp Creations Challenge C7   (key word ISCC7)

Moo cards are like Artist trading cards but measure 1 1/8″ x 2 3/4″.  Play along and upload your Moo card creations to your blog and/or an on line gallery for a chance to  WIN a FREE Innovative Stamp Creations Stamp Sheet “Art4Frames II” and Tin!  Super easy to enter, use Innovative Stamp Creations stamps only on your design, then post your link in the comments section on Innovative Stamp Creation’s Blog found here:  http://www.innovativestampcreations.blogspot.com/

A random name will be chosen and announced on the Innovative Stamp Creation’s blog on July 20, 2008.  I can’t wait to see what you come up with, play along!

One more thing, the WINNER OF TUESDAYS BLOG CANDY IS. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .  .

Robyn A, Who wrote:

Beautiful card Michelle, who wouldn’t be thrilled to receive it? Thanks for the opportunity to win it, it would be great to see your work in real life.

Robyn, congratulations and please e-mail your address to mzindorf@aim.com so I can mail this card right out to you.

Thanks to all who commented.  Stampers are the nicest people! Until my next post. . . . . . . . .

Quick post this morning.  I purchased this large dried gourd at a flea market for 75 cents, about 2 years ago.  Yep that’s right, it’s been hanging around in my stamp room for 2 years, lol.  My husband put a not so perfect hole in the front of it and drilled some small holes in the bottom for drainage and small holes in the top of the neck so I can run some twine through to hang it. 

This gourd is very blemished, even after sanding it with Sandpaper, so I decided to make it very rustic looking.   

No tutorial today since this was pretty much straight stamping.  I used Black Stazon ink to stamp the images. 

The images are by Innovative Stamp Creations :

http://www.innovativestampcreations.com/ischomepage.html

Since I was using unmounted stamps, I could using them without any mount and wrap the rubber around the gourd to stamp it.  I held the stamp in my hand, inked it and then pressed it to the gourd.   Where the images didn’t stamp as dark as I would like I colored them using a Black Faber-Castell marker.  The flower was colored in with a Brown Faber-Castell marker.  These markers are nice.  They are Indian ink and very fade resistant.

After stamping and coloring I finished it by spraying Clear High Gloss Polyurethane on it for protection.  My husband woke up this morning, saying what is that smell, lol.  Don’t worry folks I took it out side to spray it, but brought it in the house to dry.

It’s not the fanciest birdhouse ever created, but I like it’s rustic charm.  🙂  Hopefully some bird family will enjoy it too.

Hope your day is filled with peace and sunshine.

Until my next post. . . . . . . . .

Michelle

We have had so very much rain all this month, not even once have I had to water the gardens.  This is my third year at this house and so it is the third year for this garden.  My Sister the Master Gardener told me, when I started putting in my perennial gardens, the first year your plants will sleep, second year they creep and the third year they leap.  Well they are all leaping this year for sure!

It was such a beautiful morning, not to hot or cold.  So I took a walk with my camera to take some photos to share with everyone.   Please don’t look at the dead-heading of plants that hasn’t been done or the weeds that haven’t been pulled.  I’ve been making card tutorials and have been a bit neglectful of late.  🙂  The plants still seem to be so very happy this year.  They all seem to be two feet taller than they were last year this time.

Sweet Peas

Now here is my pal, Lucas behind the Day-lilies.  Note:  Lucas is over 100 lbs and he can almost hide behind them they have gotten so very huge.

There is definitely no rhyme or reason to the planting of my gardens.  Whatever I like gets shoved in somewhere.    I’m in the country for Pete’s sakes, so I have a country style garden.

I love Cone Flowers and so do the butterflies and Yellow Finches.  I’m sure to take some photos in the near future of all the butterflies, it’s to early in the morning for them just yet.

I still haven’t started digging my gardens that will go in front of this fence.  It’s an over whelming project that I just keep putting off. 🙂

Strawberry jar, yummmmm.

Come sit a while at one of our swings.. . . . . . .

A view from the swing this morning.  The corn fields are growing like made too.  Told you I was in the country.  There is no place like it.

I feed all the birds.  We have droves of Hummingbirds.

I have Lavender planted through out the gardens.  I love the smell as you walk by.

I’ll  leave you with the thoughts of the sweet, calming smell of Lavender, birds singing, corn stalks rustling in the breeze, morning sun on your face and the views from my swing. 

Have an absolutely lovely day!

Until my next post. . . . . . . . .

Michelle

SNEAK PEEK TIME EVERYONE!!!! 

Gina K. Designs is releasing new stamp sets on June 20th.  This card was made with one of the great images from the soon to be released set “Friendship Blooms”.  Check out that vase design, pretty wonderful, huh? 

Don’t miss out on the other sneak peeks and great tutorials going on at Gina K’s Blog, http://blog.ginakdesigns.com/

Also there are some fabulous sneak peeks on these Gina K. Design Team’s Blogs.  You won’t want to miss them either!  Here are the links, check them out 🙂

Julie Koerber  http://outtoimpress.blogspot.com/

Kurtis Amundson  http://www.stampinkub.com/blog/

Emily Giovanni  http://emilygiovanni.com/

Michelle Giraud  http://www.twisted-chick.blogspot.com/

Joanne  http://www.stampedbyhand.blogspot.com/

Linsey Rickett http://linseyrickett.blogspot.com/

Julie Buhler  http://paperpleasing.typepad.com/

Barb Schram  http://barbschram.blogspot.com/

Card information:

Supplies:

Stamps:  Gina K. Designs “Friendship Blooms”

Paper:  SU Whisper White, Taken With Teal, Really Rust

Ink:  Palette Noir Black, SU More Mustard & Really Rust

Accessories:  Ribbon, Brads, Versamark Marker, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Photo Corner Punch, White Gel Pen, Prismacolor Markers, Piercing Tools, SU More Mustard Marker, Brenda Walton Adhesive Rhinestones

Note:  The main image was stamped using Noir Black ink and colored in with Prismacolor markers.  It was then colored over with a Versamark Marker and heat embossed with clear embossing powder and a heat gun. 

Background was brayered in this order, brayered More Mustard ink over entire card stock, masked right side of card stock with a post it note.  Brayered on More Mustard ink.  Removed post it notes and brayered Really Rust ink at the bottom to make the counter top.

The shadow image was created by stamping the flower vase image with more mustard ink and then coloring it in with a More Mustard Marker 🙂

Hope your day is filled with sunshine and vases of flowers!

Until my next post. . . . . .

Michelle

You know I would rather be giving you tutorials instead of blog candy, but I will be busy the rest of the week on special secret projects (ohhhhh) that I can’t post.    I apparently like this Basic Grey Clear Stamp set “North Pole” so much I bought two of them.   Or it could be my CRS (Can’t remember Sh**)  kicking in, lol. 

To enter for a chance to win this great set, please leave a comment on this post below, or if you are getting this by e-mail, please click this link http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2008/06/17/blog-candy/

and then leave a comment.

My darling husband Russ will be randomly picking a number on Friday morning and I will announce the winner then.  🙂

Thank you for always leaving such wonderful comments on my posts.  You truely keep me creating on a regular basis!  Hugs to you all!

Oh yeah, I’ll be posting a Gina K. Designs sneak peek here on Thursday.  Shhhh don’t tell anyone.  🙂

Until my next post. . . . . . .

Michelle

Everyone keeps asking so here you go! 

I’m happy to announce that I have been invited to come teach 4 workshops at Lisa’s studio in Sunny San Jose, California August 1-3, 2008.   Each workshop will be limited to 6-8 people so everyone will have lots of one on one time with me.  I will be teaching 3 special projects using my style of brayering and emboss resist.  All materials will be provided.   

For more details visit Flat Fish Paper Arts, here is the link:  http://flatfishpaperarts.blogspot.com/
You can also contact Lisa at  itatani@yahoo.com for more information.

I would love to meet you all so come on out 🙂

Michelle
 

Check it out!  I’m so excited to get to do this. . . . . Here are two sneak peeks of Gina K. Designs “You Are My Sunshine”  and  a sneak peek of Rupa Shevde’s “Many Happy Returns” that is also manufactured by Gina K. Designs.  Both sets are due to release on May 20th along with three other very fabulous sets!!  Here is a link to Gina’s blog so you can get all of the juicy details of the new releases:  http://blog.ginakdesigns.com/

Until my next post. . . ..

Michelle

I’m not a blog candy kind of girl.  Meaning you won’t see me giving stuff away constantly in order to create traffic to my blog.  I would rather give you tutorials you can use.  But I stayed up way to late last night and I slept in this morning and find myself having two of these beautiful stamp sets Comfort & Peace from Gina K. Designs.  A gal only needs one set so the other one I am giving away as my first ever blog candy.  So leave a comment on this post telling me the things you would like to see in the future on my blog.  I will have my husband, Russ draw a random number tomorrow morning and that number will receive this set for free! 

Fair enough, I got to sleep in this morning and you have a chance at a beautiful free Gina K. Designs stamp set.

Hey, have a fabulous Friday!

Until my next post. . . . .

Michelle