Little Pieces of Quiet

 When I first saw this image, I knew I would get it to make a card for my sister. She has two little boys who are constantly around her demanding her attention. I colored this one to resemble her youngest who is 4.

One thing about close-ups, you can see the tiny spots I miss when coloring :) I stamped him (Penny Black image) with Memento ink and colored him with these markers:

I saw that the challenge this past Saturday on the Penny Black Challenge site was a sketch challenge so that is where my layout came from. It is a 6 by 6 square card (no worries as I will hand her the card Wednesday night) made with Bazzill cardstock. The patterned paper is new Basic Grey Oliver (brads too). I used my Nestie circle, scalloped circle and tiny tag sets to cut out my image. For the bottom piece I used my SU scalloped border punch.

The inside has the sentiment that reads “Just working on that piece of quiet you said you wanted.” I think she will like it. How can you stay upset with someone that cute?

Out of the box, err I mean Oval

 

That title caught your attention I bet. It has been a week since I have really been able to work on a card/challenge. Being out of town at a conference was part of my obstacle, but I have also strained a muscle in my lower back. Staying in one position for any length of time is painful. Today’s card is made for two purposes. It follows the sketch at 365 Cards and it will be my swap card for the animal theme on Thursday night at Stamp & Deliver. Let me show you the entire card:

 To explain the title of this post, take a look at my stamped image. I used my Large Scalloped Oval nesties, but didn’t want the bird’s wings cut off. I used the Out of the Box technique. Start by stamping your image. Lay the nestie on top and see what part of your image lays outside the edge. Trace the inside of the nestie close to the image. Using scissors, cut the image out that lays outside the nestie. When you place your die-cut back down on the image, flip the cut image on top of the metal die so it is not cut out. If this sounds confusing, please go to SCS, there is a tutorial on there. After cutting out the nestie, I colored the mouse with a base color and then mixed Toffee and Sand Flower soft to obtain the color I wanted. I also glued plain Sand down around his feet. I finished coloring the image with copic markers. I added some dashed lines around the oval to help it stand out. The card base is SU Almost Amethyst and the pp is SU Tea Party. I popped the oval up on foam tape and glued a few Robin’s Nest dew drops in the corners. Now to just make 3 more!

Lately I have seen bloggers showing pictures of their work space to see if they are “clean” crafters or “messy” crafters. You decide!

For you eye spy fans, can you find two entirely different types of candy? Leave me a comment with the correct candy names and I will send out some blog candy. I will take comments all week and announce the winner this weekend:)

Sunday sketch and MITI

 Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mom’s reading this! Today’s cards are for the Super Sketch at 365 Cards and from yesterday’s Make and Take at Stamp & Deliver. As always, Pam gave us a wonderful sketch to follow. I began by taking my new Basic Grey Max & Whiskers paper pad and choosing the papers. After looking at the colors of the paper, I thought the image stamp would look good in brown ink. The stamp is from Limited Editions and the sentiment is SU.

The following cards are those from the store. The theme this month was masculine cards and these really fit the bill.

 

They were all fun to create and it is always fun to get with the ladies at the store. The top card with the vintage car was super easy (no stamping). Just cut out the car and add some patterned paper. The next card (lighthouse) was stamped and then colored with pencils. The background paper really makes the card pop. The fishing martini was stamped twice and the top of the glass colored and cut out. We popped it up on foam. I added some diamond glaze to the glass when I got home. The final card (3 bird profiles) is very elegant. We stamped it in brown ink and used chalks to color. The background panel was run through a crimper and then the mulberry paper added on top. It is hard to see, but we used a gelly pen to outline the flowers and the squares. Now to decide which one my hubby gets for Father’s Day!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. We are heading to my son’s for a cookout. He has teriyaki glazed steaks, shrimp kabobs and twice baked potatoes! This from someone who doesn’t cook! Thank god for the butcher shop on the corner :)

Sketchy Sunday with Melissa Frances

 Today’s post is a card I made for 365 cards. Every Sunday Pam posts a sketch to follow. Here is what I created:

I began with one of my new Vintage Ephemera Stickers that I just picked up. After selecting the image I played with my nesties to see what shape would work well for the background layer. I settled on Labels 11. I cut it out from a piece of Applesauce Bazzill paper. I love this color! While the die cut was still around the paper, I sponged Antique Linen ink inside. My Fiskars Treading Water border punch was used on another piece of Bazzill to follow the sketch. I did end up flipping the sketch on it’s side. The beautiful pink paper is MF called Henrietta. I distressed this layer with my Tim Holtz distress tool. I sponged Antique Linen ink on the remaining layers including the card base. Sorry I don’t know the name of that piece, but it is Bazzill. I used my Spellbinder Floral Accents die to cut the pink flourishes. Here is a close up for you…

They were cut from some pink scraps that I had. I used some of my new roses from Wild Orchid Crafts and a few pearls from Kaiser. After putting the entire card together, I spritzed it with Tsukineko Sheer Shimmer mist in Frost. You can see a bit in the photo above but here is another view:

Click on the photo for a closer view and you will see it shine. It looks so pretty in real life! I might just make this into a Mother’s Day card.

Thanks for stopping by today and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Mojo Monday meets 365 Cards

 I took the day off today to just relax and regroup. Part of regrouping was to spend an hour at my favorite LSS Stamp and Deliver. Here’s a shout out to Claire (the Store Owner). She had just received a shipment of Melissa Frances paper and other goodies. I purchased a few sheets of each design

plus a bunch of Bazzill paper. My card tonight is showing off the Rosaleen paper and I am not sure what color Bazzill as I didn’t write them down. I am going to submit this card to Mojo Monday 136 and also 365 cards circles 3 ways. The layout follows the mojo sketch and my three circles are: circle nestie, button and robins nest dew drops. The sentiment is from the new Justrite Hope set (did I mention I bought that today too?).

So tomorrow is National Scrapbooking Day….I am not a scrapper. Will it be horrible if I just try to work on some more cards?!

Enjoy today with a maggie

 Which little cutie is this? Can you tell from just this snippet of the image? Today my BSB (best stamping buddy) came over and we stamped images of each other’s magnolias. After looking at a few challenges today, I decided to use  - Tilda with birdcage!

The challenges that I am entering are:

365 cards color scheme for day 34  Here is a look at the colors we had to use

Week 49 at Just M agnolia is requiring 2 folds on your card

Basic Grey has a sketch to follow  Here is the sketch that Martine created

Now you know the requirements I had to comply with, here is my card creation:

I began with finding the paper for the color challenge. I pulled out my Basic Grey Green at Heart paper pack. Once the papers were chosen I colored in my darling Tilda with copic markers. I added scattered straw and frosted lace stickles to her dress, bow and the bird so they would shimmer. I cut the image and sentiment out with my Labels 4 from Spellbinders. I sponged the shapes with Versamagic Spanish Olive ink. Along with the BG paper, I used Marigold Morning from SU. To complete the sketch, I added buttons from BG and the middle one is from Tres Jolie. Isn’t the two toned button a perfect match? The flowers are by Prima with a couple Martha Stewart punched branches. To comply with the Just Magnolia challenge, the card is a gate-fold.

I have included the copics that I used in coloring my image

Thanks for taking the time to stop by.

Song inspired Mojo 129

 Today’s card fulfills two challenges. The first is the Mojo Monday sketch challenge and the second is from 365 Cards who gave us a song to be inspired by. The song is What a Wonderful World. I went with the first part of the song when Mr. Armstrong sings of the trees and roses. If you would like to hear the song, click on the blue words above that say 365 Cards and it will start playing for you.

The card itself is not very complicated. I was a bit pre-occupied when I made it last night. I had come home from a city council meeting and was playing catch up on some shows I missed last week. I began with just a plain white card base and put a layer of Sweet Blush from Papertrey Ink on top. The patterned papers are from Basic Grey. I stamped the roses (Hero Arts) and colored them with my copics. The sentiment is by Justrite. The ribbon is silk and the buttons are also from BG so the color matches perfectly! I tried layering the stamped panel on a few different shades of cardstock but none of them gave me the wow factor, so in the end I just used my Tim Holtz distresser and left it at that.

I hope you enjoy your Wednesday otherwise known as Hump Day! The week is all downhill from here:)

A few days for 365 Cards

I have tried to play catch up today. With our son getting into his new home, we have spent each evening with him doing small tasks. I have three cards tonight to show for some of this week’s challenges. First up is today’s Sunday Sketch by Pam. I began by using my new paper pack from  

SEI called Claire. All three patterned papers on the cover are from the pack. I used my new Labels 12 from Spellbinders to cut out the shapes. In keeping with the curve of the label, I used an SU label and a corner rounder that attempted to mimic the curve. A strip of silk ribbon and a few button from Dress It Up finish the bottom. I didn’t want to drag out my huge sewing machine for the stitches, so I used my paper piercer and created some faux stitches.

Next up is a card for Day 6 stampin saturday. We were required to put ink on our stamps not color in a stamped image. Yikes! I rarely make a card without using my Copics anymore, this seemed so strange. I found this piece of background paper that was made with the shaving cream technique some time ago.

I looked at the colors I had used to create the background (Raisin, Butterscotch and Ginger) and dragged out my watercolor pencils. I used a stamp from Penny Black ( I just adore their floral stamps) and put the crayon color directly on the stamp then misted it with water. The sentiment is from SU and the flowers were punched from a SU floral punch. I added half pearls to their middles. Ladies, please close your dropped jaws, there are no nesties used on this card either. I went the old school way and just used my paper cutter to cut simple edged shapes.

For my last challenge, Day 5 Fancy Folds, I got out one of my wild card templates that I have had for years. Let me show you the card, then I will explain.

I began by using some material that was left over from the Wild Card class I had attended many moons ago. I glued the fabric onto some light cardstock and cut out the two templates that you see in the first and third picture of this section. Eyelets and copper leaves were attached to the third template. Inside is a small note card. The middle template is from a sheet of paper that I stamped a variety of leaves in Ranger Raisin ink. The top template has crushed velvet leaves on the four petals that open the envelope. Hopefully, the recipient doesn’t get tired of opening all the cards up to get to the sentiment inside!

It is time for a hot chocolate and a cinnamon raisin bagel while I catch up with some recorded shows from this week. I hope you all have a fun week coming up. If our schedule stays on track, we are driving up to Atlanta on Saturday to move our oldest. I will get to spend an evening with my sister and bring her Cuttlebug to her. She has been hearing about this machine for quite a while and I was able to get one for her quite cheaply.

Sunday’s cards to share with you

Happy Sunday to all of you. I worked a bit this afternoon and completed a total of 5 challenges with three cards. I finished 3 more challenges for SCS virtual stamp weekend. I also finished the two most recent challenges at 365 Cards. 

This first card was for Day 364 which was to copy DT Vicky’s style. She loves florals and soft colors. I began with stamping my Justrite Breath of Spring image and coloring it with my copics. I cut it out using my oval nesties. Next I stamped the oval with Versamark ink and covered it with Heat N Bond. Once it was all sticky, I covered the image with Ultrafine glitter. This made it eligible for the glitter challenge on SCS. To finish the card I cut strips from SU Tea Party paper pack and added a strip of So Saffron ribbon. The sentiment is from SU Warm Words. I used some foam tape to pop the oval up as Vicky also likes to do. Here is shot of the copics I used and a close-up of the image:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next card I have is for today’s challenge at 365 Cards and since it is Sunday, it is a sketch challenge by Pam.

I used the sketch layout, but also incorporated the triple inspiration challenge at SCS. We had to use three different ribbons on our card. I used ribbons to follow Pam’s sketch lines and instead of just having blunt ends, I cut each one in a different style. The flowers are very old Prima’s and the charm is also something I have been hanging onto for a while. The card base is from the Chocolate Coredinations pack. I needed a 12 by 12 sheet and didn’t have any plain brown paper that size. The front panel is from a new DCWV Linen Closet paper pack.

My third and final card this afternoon is for the first sketch challenge on Friday night which was to follow the shape of a Inuktuik. The Olympic symbol this year.

I began with a base of SU Taken with Teal cardstock. Next, I pulled out another new paper pack, DCWV Cafe Mediterranean. The colors are very vibrant and they went so well for the sketch. I used various papers from the pack to follow the sketch and finished it with turquoise rhinestones and new prima flowers. I have a fondness for Prima flowers and tend to purchase as many new types as they create. The corner sentiment is from Justrite Seeds of Kindness set. The bottom corner looked plain with something there.

I know this was a longer post for me, and I thank you now for reading to the bottom. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. I am switching gears and pulling out my cross-stitch project. The latest one is a baby quilt for a co-worker. Once I get a bit more finished, I will show you a picture of it.

Hooray for Mojo Monday!

 I had some new craft items that I have been wanting to play with and tonight I sat down while watching the American Idol results show. I went to 365 cards to see which designer was being showcased. Today is Amy and her style is fun, bright and whimsical. I next headed over to Mojo Monday to take a look at their current sketch. I really wanted to do the circle sketch, but the image was just a bit too large for my largest circle, so I went with the square.

I knew I wanted to use this image by Hero Arts so I pulled out my new Basic Grey paper pack Sugar Rush and looked through the pages. I choose two that were similar in brightness to Amy’s color choices. I used a scallop square nestie to layer the image in Almost Amethyst. The ribbon is from May Arts that has a nice shimmer to it IRL. I choose square brads for the corner since I made a square card and the color is almost spot on. To finish, I took my new pot of Citrus Crush Ultrafine Flower Soft and covered the flowers. The color blend fit the colors in my background paper perfectly. I couldn’t ask for a better match. And for those inquiring minds….

here is the handful of copics I used to color the little gal.

Be sure to enjoy your Friday and the last remaining days of February:)

Can you say sketch challenge?

Let me start with a quick health update…our son is over the nasty stomach virus and feeling great. He unfortunately shared it with us first and we are still trying to get our strength back!  

I needed to finish the gift set for my co-worker. Her birthday is this week and I was hoping for at least 6 general occasion cards to give her along with the cross-stitch project that you can see in this post. I noticed that it was sketch week on 365 Cards this week so I choose three sketches to make a few more cards from. First up is Vicky's sketch. I kept the same papers and color scheme from my first three cards and worked them into the sketches. The fabulous lace was a find on Monday at JoAnn’s. Instead of adding two different papers like the sketch, I let the lace and sentiment take their place. The image is from Justrite and colored with copics.

My second card followed Amy's sketch. I decided to use a cut out scalloped oval to place my image inside. I did use some foam tape to raise the image oval up so it is noticed a bit better. Robin’s Nest dew drops are in the corners and I wound scrapper’s floss on the sides. (I have had that for years and finally found a time to use it.)

For the third card I followed Kristies's sketch and made this one:

  The buttons are from Jesse James Dress it Up Heirloom Collection. I have had these since last summer and their color was perfect for this. I debated about stamping the image in versamark on the purple strips, but didn’t like how it came out so in the end, I kept them blank.

I do want to show you a great find from Monday. We went into this vintage consignment shop called Top Drawer in College Park, FL. They had everything from designer clothes to fine china, furniture and these:

 

My husband took one look at them and said “Oh look, butterfly ashtrays.” I was like “They are not, they are glass dishes, there are no indentations where a cigarette would sit!”  I plan to use them to hold charms (see above) and buttons, brads or eyelets. At any rate, they will fill a special place on my work desk. I was excited when I saw them and promptly picked them up. All the above charms were bought on my shopping spree Monday also. They are all by Blue Moon Beads.

If you are still reading this, thanks for staying with me. My posts are not usually this long. I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend:)

Love is in the Air

Can you believe it? Two posts in one day!! Today’s challenge at 365 Cards is to use the word Love somewhere on our card. I accomplished that

not once but twice! When I saw the name of the challenge I remembered I had this adorable Fluffles stamp. He doesn’t see ink as often as he should. The card layout came from today’s challenge at A Spoonful of Sugar. I flipped the sketch as I already had the white curvy rectangle cut out. The rose striped paper is from Colorbox which is two sided. I used the flip side of the paper to make a curvy frame and embossed heart. That heart was made from a Cuttlebug set called Textile Hearts. The sentiment in the circle is from Justrite Romantic Sentiments. Here is a close up of the image

so you can see I added some Stickles on the fish and diamond glaze on the hearts. A little bling looks good on just about any card don’t cha think?!

Tomorrow is Wednesday, otherwise known as hump day. I hope the rest of your week goes smoothly.

Cute Little Tilda

Isn’t she cute? Ok so you can’t see all of her just yet.

Yesterday’s challenge at 365 Cards was a color challenge. You had to use red, white, pinks and purple. Since I am still in Valentine making mode, I made another one for the challenge. I used the sketch from this week’s Mojo Monday. 

I began with a layer of purple cardstock and a piece of pink dotted paper. I was able to use some new goodies: the Tilda image and the white prima roses. I used my curvy rectangle nestie to stamp the image on. I colored her in using the following markers:

  I finally got to use my fancy tag nestie set that I have had since before Christmas but sadly never opened until today. I tucked it behind the image so just a portion showed. As finishing touches, I wrapped a piece of ribbon around the card and put the prima flowers on top. There is a hint of Fruit Punch Stickles on Tilda’s bow in her hair. Don’t go scouring the Internet looking for the stamp that says Sweetie, you won’t find it. That is my handwriting which I usually don’t like, but practice will get you everywhere!

The next item I want to share with you is one of the projects I mentioned over the weekend. I finished the co-worker’s birthday gift. Let me say, it was very difficult to get the correct lighting to use on it.

In real life, the checkerboard border is a lovely shade of soft greens. It is a Daydreams kit by Debbie Mumm. The finished size is 8 by 8. I plan to make her a few note cards with my new Justrite garden stamps to go along with it. People who drink coffee should still appreciate a stitched teapot right? Gosh I hope so:)

Barrelful of love

 Today is Sunday so Pam at 365 cards has another sketch to follow. With February starting tomorrow I thought it would be a good time to start making a few Valentine’s cards.

The patterned paper is from Little Yellow Bicycle and I have used both sides. Center image is from Great Impressions colored with my copics. The eyelet border was made with my SU punch and I again used the patterned paper for that. (I just couldn’t get the right match in my cardstock). The sentiment is a rub-on I have had for ages. Rain dot hearts and Kaiser pearls were added in the corners (grouped in 3’s Ms. Stamp Temptress) wink ;).

Make the most of your Sunday. It is a cold, windy grey day here in Florida, so I am staying inside and will cook up a couple of Shepherd pies for dinner tonight.

You are my sunshine

 Well we haven’t been seeing or feeling the sunshine here in FL too much lately. Winter has set in and is in no hurry to leave. Our temperature has been a high of 43 if we are lucky. Our heater is working overtime to keep the house comfortable. Notice I didn’t say warm!

Today’s card is for week 83 sketch challenge over at Penny Black Challenge Blog. My son’s girlfriend loves hedgehogs (she got a live one for Christmas) so I enjoy making her cards when  I can. The image

is from the Wonderful clear set as is the sentiment on the inside. The sentiment on the outside is from Justrite. This is my first attempt at an easel card and it was really very easy. The patterned paper is from DCWV Sweet mat pack. The circles were cut using my nesties and Cuttlebug. The inside white strip that holds my card upright was cut from a border punch by SU. I spread my love of stamping around to many companies:)

I hope this is the start of a great week for you. It is a short work week for me as I have a conference to attend Wed. thru Friday. Unfortunately, the hotel is inside the Orlando Airport. What fun is that…

A green snowflake?

 What? You mean you have never seen a green snowflake before? Well this is all we really get in Florida! You can’t really blame me. I made this card to fit into 4 different challenges and the color scheme at Copic color challenge was YG03, BV02 and B93. I had to fudge a bit and used BV01.

The card also completes sketch challenge 82 at A Spoonful of Sugar, week 80 at Penny Black was to use a charm and finally Day 306 at 365 cards asked us to Dig Deep into our stash to use something we have hoarded. The sketch challenge is self explanatory. My “charm” is also my hoarded item. I must confess, it is really a brad with its points cut off. I looked through all my stash and couldn’t find any more charms in a Christmas theme, so I improvised. The image is by Penny Black from the Christmas Critters clear set. The green snowflake is a Spellbinders die from the Snowflake Wonder set. Here is a close-up of the adorable hedgie. I used Polar White flower soft on the stocking. The following copics were used to color: YG03, BV01, B93, E11, G28, R29, RV10, E00, W1, the blender and a clear spica pen.

It is 11:30pm as I am posting this so let me wish you all a very Happy New Year. I am going to head to the living room to watch the ball drop with the family.

Long time no Blog!

 It has been a long time since I have posted anything. If I am being honest, it took a lot to create this card tonight. My last post was right after my son had surgery. He has healed perfectly but still can’t lift extra heavy objects until Thanksgiving. We left to babysit for my nephews in Atlanta over the weekend. The boys were great but I really didn’t look forward to riding in the car for 8 hours. After the long weekend, we came back home and my family promptly got the flu! We didn’t physically go to the doctor, but from what I hear there is no seasonal flu going around right now, we had a mild case of H1N1. We all felt like crap for about a week. Once the crappiness leaves, you still have NO energy and a lasting cough. To add to my ailments, I pulled a muscle in my lower back from coughing!

So when I say it has taken all my energy to sit here and work on a card, it really has. I decided to play catch up at 365 Cards Super sketchy Sunday.

I picked up this new set from The Cat’s Pajamas while I was in Georgia. I thought it would work well with the sketch this week. I began by using papers from My Mind’s Eye. Next I stamped the image and sentiment using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and cutting them out using my Labels 1 nesties. I colored the image with my copics then distressed the edges with Tea Dye ink. I added a touch of Polar White Flower Soft and a hint of diamond glaze to the candy cane. Here is a closer view of the cute bear -

If you click on the image it will enlarge to give you a closer look. Hopefully my creative itch will beat out my lack of energy and I can create a few more things this week. See ya soon :)