Bellarific Friday at Stamping Bella and an Announcement

Hello all!  Welcome back!  Today I'm sharing a card for Bellarific Friday at Stamping Bella.  This time we were asked to create a card using this inspiration pic you see above.  Immediately I was drawn to the colors on her vivid dress so that was the direction I went in.  

I used Uptown Girl Faith the Fairy.  You can find her in the Stamping Bella Shop along with all her sassy Sistahs.

Be sure to visit Blogabella so you can feast your eyes on the glorious creations from the design team. So much wonderful stuff to see!

Speaking of design teams...I have decided to take the Summer off.  My husband and I own a small BBQ Sauce and Spice Rub business, AlbuKirky Seasonings, and when the weather gets warm that's our time to shine.  Grilling/smoking season is in peak swing right now so we are up to our barbecue aprons in pork butts, ribs, briskets, chicken, and anything else you can toss onto hot coals, or into a smoker box.  Kirk has been demoing at as many stores as he can and we've been hitting the local Rail Yard Market every Sunday to sell our wares.  This weekend he'll be at a video shoot for Disc It.  A Disc-It is like an outdoor cooking wok and we LOVE ours.  Anything you can cook on top of the stove, you can cook outside on a Disc It.  Needless to say, I'll be blogging a lot more on his cooking blog.  You see, the one thing I love more than Copics, paper, stamps, buttons, ribbon, etc...is cooking, particularly baking bread.  There is no better feeling than sitting down with family and friends and sharing a meal that you created from scratch with them.  It's a culinary love letter letting them how important they are to you.

I'll be popping in from time to time with a card, but probably not with any regularity.  When Summer fades and gives way to cooler weather you may see me apply for some teams, but in the meantime you'll find me in the kitchen :)  Visit me at AlbuKirky Seasonings, the Blog.  

It's a Bombshell Sort of Day

Hello!  I hope your weekend was great!  Ours was super busy, but so fabulous.  Saturday morning I treated myself to a pedicure, which I desperately needed.  I was surprised that they didn't pull out a belt sander to work on my feet, but they were very kind and managed to make me look human again with only the normal pedi implements ;D  I feel like a new woman.  

That evening, Kirk and I attended a party that my buddy Chris threw in my honor for my birthday.  Actually, I had to share the honor with our friend Alex who also had a birthday earlier in the month.  I'm not really very good at sharing, but I let him bask in my limelight a wee bit out of courtesy...lol!  What a sweet gal I am ;D

Sunday, Kirk and I spent most of the day at the Disc-It video shoot.  Kirk was asked by the owner of the Disc-It company, here in Albuquerque, to shoot 2 cooking segments to promote the Disc-It.  For those of you who are not familiar with the Disc-It, it is sort of like a round grill that uses propane, but instead of a grate to cook on, it actually has a large, round, wok-like cast iron pan.  Anything that can be prepared on a grill or a stove top can be prepared on a Disc-It.  I'll post the videos when they air, but for now, here's a couple of behind the scenes shots.

Kirk used his special BBQ Rub to season lambchops for one segment and then roasted shrimp using the same seasoning in the second segment.  The photo above shows Kirk grilling up the remainder of the lambchops for some very hungry and impatient audience members...one of them being ME...lol!  Kirk's spice company is Albukirky Seasonings and you can find his amazing BBQ Rub in his shop.  Check out his blog for grilling tips and tricks.  

Before I get any more off topic than I already am, let me tell you about my card.  I used a fabulous Bombshell Stamps set called Rose's Portrait.  I just received this in the mail a couple of days ago and could not wait to get her inky.  I colored her with Copics using E13, E11, E00, and E000 to achieve a bit of a Latin skin tone.  Everything else is pretty much standard fair, but I did add a crackle stamp to my sentiment and then coat it liberally with dimensional lacquer to make it really shiny.  It might not be very noticeable in the photos, but in real like it looks very cool.  If you have not checked out Bombshell Stamps, you must do so right this very minute! I'm not kidding! Their images are edgy and retro, lots of bombshells (of course!), hot rods, motorcycles, and Dia de los Muertos (my favorite!).  Such a unique and fabulous selection. 

I'm sure I'll see you soon with something new!  Until then, stay crafty!