Trick-or-Treat Makeup Challenge

Well Happy early Halloween to all of you! I hope that everyone has a fantastic weekend filled with way too much candy! My kids are both dressing as birds...I de-feathered two boas and individually glued on each feather to their costumes that my Mom put together. It was a whole lot of feathers and a whole lotta time...don't worry I will share pics after the weekend! My husband and I will be dressing as Trees for our two little birdies. Our costumes are not nearly as cute as my kids, but they should work!

Well to celebrate in Halloween style, the Makeup 4 the Weekend Challenge #48 this week has both a Trick and a Treat. The Trick is to include the color Chocolate into your creation and the Treat is to make a treat holder/box/bag. Well considering I like to give my son's teachers a little gift on Halloween, this was right up my alley. I don't have any true Halloween stamps from Paper Makeup Stamps, so I pulled out the newly released Moody for Chocolate...Halloween is about the candy right?! I stamped her on watercolor paper in Brilliance Graphite Black ink. The I watercolored (with an aquabrush and ink pads) her in Chocolate, Plum, and Orange to give it a Halloween feel...even made her hair purple...kinda diggin' it! Then I paper pieced her sweater with some orange patterned paper from SU's Halloween paper from last year. She was then cut out using the Labels 16 die and framed with some black patterned paper from the same collection. The "Treat Yourself" sentiment is the FREEbie that you get this month if you place an order at Paper Makeup Stamps.

The bag/box that I made was made-up on the spot based on the size I wanted it to be. It is 5" tall, 4" wide, and 1.25" deep. I filled a bag with some of the Hershey Bliss chocolates and tied a plum satin ribbon at the top. Hopefully the teachers like chocolate!

So now it is your turn! Join us in the Makeup 4 the Weekend Challenge #48 and use PMS stamps and you will be entered to win a free single image stamp of your choice! How cool is that?! Have fun getting inky and have a fun and happy Halloween! Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Moody for Chocolate, Treat Yourself sentiment - freebie (Paper Makeup Stamps); Ink - Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Chocolate Chip, Perfect Plum, Pumpkin Pie (SU!); Paper - Chocolate Chip, Perfect Plum, Cast-A-Spell DSP (SU!), watercolor paper; Accessories - Fire Circle Rhinestone Brads (SU!), Labels 14, Labels 16 Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Plum Satin Ribbon (Offray), dimensionals, aquabrush

Double Take

Well happy Friday to you! We have a busy weekend ahead of us. First date night for Hubby and I...my parents are in town, so we get the night off! What good movies are out right now? I literally have no idea! Then Saturday will bring us Kindergarten soccer, finding the perfect pumpkin, and then my son's gymnastics performance..haven't been able to watch him in awhile, so we are really excited for this! Then a birthday party for my Mother-in-Law on Sunday in which my son designed a cake for her (picture to come later...didn't feel like getting the camera out)...I executed, but I let him tell me how he wanted it done. He cracks me up sometimes! So I hope that all of you enjoy your upcoming weekend as well!

Now onto what we are really here for...the Makeup 4 The Weekend Challenge #47. The challenge is to make a card in any shape but a square or rectangle. I don't make non-rectangle cards much, so this was a fun challenge. I needed some more masculine cards, so I pulled out the newly released Leif Monster from Paper Makeup Stamps. I got my color combo for the first version from the SCS Color Challenge #293...Cherry Cobbler, Crushed Concord, and Old Olive...I only have one of the colors, so I went with Old Olive, Ruby Red, and Elegant Eggplant. Leif was stamped in Black Stazon ink on watercolor paper and colored with an aquabrush and ink pads. In my typical masculine fashion, I distressed some edges and added some hemp twine. The sentiment was stamped with a dollar aisle alphabet stamp set...the inside reads "from your birthday".

Since I liked how the first card turned out and I needed more masculine cards (slew of male birthdays right now!) I found the Color Throwdown Challenge #115 had a good color scheme...So Saffron, Dusty Durango, Perfect Plum...so I made the same card in these colors. Not sure which one I like better...think the first one. What do you think?

So now it is your turn to make a card...make sure that it is not a square or rectangle...and use a stamp from Paper Makeup Stamps to have a chance to win some free rubbah! Make sure to link it up to the Makeup 4 The Weekend Challenge post. Have fun getting inky and thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Leif Monster (Paper Makeup Stamps), Small Alphabet (unknown); Paper - Elegant Eggplant, Ruby Red, Old Olive (SU!), watercolor paper; Ink - Black Stazon, Elegant Eggplant, Ruby Red, Old Olive (SU!); Accessories - Large Scallop and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), hemp twine, scissors, dimensionals

Itching Yet?

Odd title I know...don't worry I will get to it. I normally use the first part of my posts for my "therapy sessions", but knowing it could get a little lengthy with this post, I thought I best put it towards the bottom. So if you want me to make you itch with two little words, read on below!

So leaves can make you itchy...like when you play in the leaves and get them stuck in your bra or underwear...seriously how do they find there way in there?! Imagine hiding in a pile because you were about to turn another year older. That is what I see little Leif doing here....only he isn't so good at it because his tail and horns are sticking out! So cute! Leif along with a sentiment and three leaves is one of the newly released images from Paper Makeup Stamps. For this card I decided to try my hand at a Clean and Simple (CAS) card based on Clean and Simple Challenge #89 on SCS. Basically it was a sketch challenge (which I turned upside down). I colored the stamp directly with markers and used a couple alphabet sets to create my own custom greeting. The inside reads "from your birthday". I gotta tell you that one reason I hate white CAS cards...I can't not get smudges on them...ugh...hopefully you can't seem them too much in the pictures.

So now, let's sit down on the couch and have a chat. Getting back to my title and one of the reasons I have been a little absent in the last week or so. So I bet I can make you instantly itch with two words! Let's give it a try...Head Lice! Yup you probably scratched your head just now. My kids were the lucky receipents of the little bugs...thankfully my husband and I didn't get them too (how I don't know), but we were both convinced that we were infested based on how itchy our heads felt! I am itching again just typing this! We treated them, did what feels like a million loads of laundry, and picked through their heads like gorillas on a nightly basis...but I think we got rid of them without too much trouble.

Then in addition to the head lice, my entire family seems to be in various stages of a cold...my husband actually was determined to have bronchitis. My daughter has sensitive lungs, so as soon as she starts a cold, we immediately need to start breathing treatments to get everything under control. So she was not sleeping well at all last week...like waking up for a couple hours at night...not so good for Mommy and Daddy!

But by the end of the week I finally got to have a little fun. One of my good friend's asked me to decorate a cake for her daughter's 2nd birthday. She bought a white frosted cake from a store and I decorated it with Curious George. I was so very pleased by how it turned out. I was so nervous when I started working on the George part because that was going to either make it or break it...but I think I did good.

Alright, I guess my couch time is up...thanks for listening (reading). Check back soon for the next Makeup 4 The Weekend Challenge and thanks for checking out my kind of engineering.

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Leif Monster (Paper Makeup Stamps), Random Alphabet Stamps (unkown); Paper - Basic White (Papertrey Ink); Ink - Soft Suede Marker, Real Red Marker, Pumpkin Pie Marker, More Mustard Marker, Brilliant Blue Marker (SU!); Accessories - scissors, dimensionals, ruler

Review in Hiding

Twelve years...seems like a lot right?! how about 18 years...whoa that definitely seems like a lot! Funny...both seem like they could be just a year or so...but the numbers by themselves seem huge! Today my wonderful husband and I celebrate our 12 year wedding anniversary...we have been together for 18 years (started dating in high school). So Happy Anniversary to my Love (as if he reads my blog)...love you today more than yesterday and I will love you even more tomorrow (unless you forget to put the dishes in the dishwasher!...just kiddin')!

So with the celebration of my anniversary going on, I nearly forgot about showing off this adorable monster named Leif by Paper Makeup Stamps. Totally love this little guy hiding out in the leaf pile! Makes me look forward to the nice raking day where the kids and I play in the leaves...then the novelty wears off and I still have much more raking to do! Anyway, stamped him on watercolor paper and colored him with an aquabrush and ink pads. I found this tree pattern paper that I based all of my colors off of. The watercolor paper was too white against that pattern paper, so I sponged all around the monster...I really like how that made his eyes pop out even more! The Leif Monster comes with a sentiment (didn't use it here) and technically has three leaves as part of the stamp...I chose to make the leaves separate so I could use them easier...such as to stamp leaves on my paper strips! The sentiment I did use was from the Little Moments set from Paper Makeup Stamps.

Make sure to see what the other designers are reviewing today over on the PMS Blog! Have a great Sunday and thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Leif Monster, Little Moments (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Old Olive, Really Rust, Elegant Eggplant (SU!), Tree pattern paper (gotta look this up...sorry!), watercolor paper; Ink - Really Rust, Elegant Eggplant, More Mustard, Old Olive, Sahara Sand, Bordering Blue (SU!), Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko); Accessories - Cool ribbon (no idea - came from my Big Sis), Square Nestabilities (Spellbinders), aquabrush, dimensionals

A Moody Blog Hop

Well here we are in October! Wow! Why is that time always goes by faster this time of year...really don't get it! We are busier now than in the summer time. Having new releases to look forward to every month from Paper Makeup Stamps makes time go even faster. And guess what?! The October Release is here!! You should be arriving here from the ever talented, Tina...wasn't Leif the cutest thing ever!! If you missed it, make sure you start at the Beginning...there is lots to see!

I got to ink up the Moody for Chocolate...one of two new Moodies for this release. I am sort of a chocolate freak...I can stay somewhat controlled, but I do want that little bit of chocolate every day. So I am totally lovin' this Moody...I can totally relate to having chocolate on the brain. Anyway I stamped her on watercolor paper with my Brilliance Graphite Black ink and watercolored her with an aquabrush and ink pads. My layout is one of the Verve Stamps World Card Making Day Sketches. I am all about the sentiment too...we all need to treat ourselves every once in awhile! That sentiment, by the way, is the Freebie sentiment (mine is shown using a digi version) with an order placed in October...and it goes with many of the October Release Stamps!

So now you are to head over to Randee and see what she has in store for you! Oh but before you go, you need to collect your letter from me...so here you go:

Make sure you collect all of the letters to get your code for 15% off the Entire Release! Have you been entering into the daily contests that happened for each Sneak Peek day...then you should definitely pop into the Paper Makeup Stamps Release Party tonight at 9 pm in the PMS Forum. There will be lots of chit-chat, some prizes, and even a challenge or two...plus the announcement of the winners! So go continue on the hop and thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineered Details

Stamps - Moody for Chocolate, October Release Freebie Sentiment (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Chocolate Chip, Ballet Blue, Creamy Caramel (SU!), striped brown paper (DCWV), watercolor paper; Ink - Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Ballet Blue, Real Red (SU!), Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko); Accessories - Red glitter Gelly Roll pen (Sakura), Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Red Circle Rhinestone Brads (SU!), Cuttlebug Textile Embossing Folder (Provo), aquabrush, dimensionals

A School Sneak Peek

Well I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. We had a low key weekend and enjoyed it even though is was cold out...so not ready for the really cold weather. Seriously, I cannot handle low temps anymore...I feel like I am freezing already and we are only in the upper 50's to low 60's! Even in the house I am feeling cold, so I go to check the thermostat because I am convinced that our ancient furnace has finally kicked it...and low and behold it is at the temp it is suppose to be! I swear it is because of age...now I see how my Mom has gotten to be where she will just about wear a sweater in 70 degree weather!

Anyway, you aren't here to hear about my aging woes (or maybe you are and are just laughing at me!) you are here to see what is coming this month from Paper Makeup Stamps! It is once again another great release (how does Katie do it?!) and this school girl fairy is just one of the cute stuff being released. Hint, hint...there is a school boy fairy too! I chose to use the Verve Stamps World Card Making Day Sketch Challenge #3 for my layout. I had bought the cool orangy-red pattern paper awhile back and had yet to break into it, so I broke it out here.

Since it was a school fairy, I stamped her on some notebook paper from the Basics White Basic Grey paper pad and just colored her in with markers...I know totally old-school and not very professional, but I thought it fit...like the girl was drawn and colored on a notebook page by a kid that was suppose to be listening in class. I had to layer some colors on her hair to get it to match nicely with the paper (Ruby Red with a little Pumpkin Pie on top). Finished it off with some dyed ribbon and the "Way 2 Go" tag from the Little Moments set by Paper Makeup Stamps.

So would you like a chance to win this stamp or one of the others being shown today? Head on over to the PMS Blog, check out what the other designers came up with, and then leave a comment there! The winners will be announced at the PMS Release Party in the PMS Forum on October 7 starting at 9 pm EST...oh and check out this POST to win even more stamps!! Good luck and thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - School Girl Fairy, Little Moments (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Soft Suede (SU!), Basics White Paper Pad (Basic Grey), Kitchen Spice Cinnamon (BoBunny); Ink - Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Sage Shadow, Sage Shadow marker, Soft Suede marker, Ruby Red marker, Pumpkin Pie marker (SU!); Accessories - Clear Stars Gelly Roll Pen (Sakura), white taffeta ribbon (SU!), Square and Scallop Square Nestabilities (Spellbinders), 1/4" Circle Punch, Slot Punch, dimensionals

Inspired Makeup Challenge

I am just about to enter a new phase with my son...his first tooth is very close to falling out! How did he get to be so big?! It is very wiggly right now, but he isn't playing with it too much, so we will see. It seems that the going rate for the tooth fairy is pretty wide, but we liked one suggestion we were given. We decided the tooth fairy would be bringing gold color dollar coins. They are pretty cool and we know he likes coins. Dollar bills don't mean much to him, so cash just didn't feel right and we liked the specialness of a different type of coin. So now I should hurry up and decorate a little tooth fairy box for him so we are ready for the day it comes out!

So this card is for the Makeup 4 The Weekend Challenge #44 which was to be inspired by the photo...a very cool and funky necklace that I would have no idea how to wear!! So I picked up some of the colors, but mostly I picked up the tied ribbon and gold balls for my inspiration.

I used the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge #158. I stamped The Most Beautiful Things Wordart stamp by Paper Makeup Stamps in Basic Gray ink. Actually I inked it in Versamark and then Basic Gray before stamping it so I could then emboss it with crystal clear embossing powder. Then I washed some color over the two words and colored in the heart with a gold gelly roll pen. The purple panel was embossed with the Heart Blocks embossing folder. I finished it off with some dyed ribbon tied around a white ribbon and gold half pearls.

So now is your chance to win some free rubbah! All you have to do is particpate in the Makeup 4 The Weekend Challenge #44 AND use a PMS stamp...then link it up to the Challenge post and cross your fingers! Be on the lookout for the upcoming October Release too...it is a fun one!! Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - The Most Beautiful Things Wordart (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Basic Gray, Elegant Eggplant, Rose Red, Whisper White (SU!), Basics White Paper Pad (Basic Grey); Ink - Basic Gray, Rose Red, Elegant Eggplant (SU!), Versamark; Accessories - Gold Gelly Roll Pen (Sakura), white taffeta ribbon (SU!), gold half pearls (Oriental Trading), Heart Blocks embossing folder (Provo Craft), dimensionals