Our Craft Lounge--April Artist of the Month: And a Little Flower

Hi Friends, and Happy Monday to You!!! I've certainly been loving my Monday's this past month, but sadly, this is Week 5 of the Our Craft Lounge April Artist of the Month series, which means it's my last week there. :( And, here's my final AOM card:

To make this card, I used the May 2012 Week 1 Viva la Verve Sketch, turning it for a vertical cardbase. I sponged the edges of all the pieces with black Distress Ink and matted them on black cs. On the bg layer, I stamped a flourish and dot pattern from the In Flight stamp set.

I absolutely love all the stamps in the In Flight stamp set, but this is my favorite one. All those curlicues and ruffly wings feel so feminine. I stamped the butterfly on the Labels One panel, and again on another piece of white cs. I colored both butterflies, then fussy cut the extra one and glued the body of it to the other butterfly on the Labels One panel. I used black rhinestones for the head and antennae.

Here's the inside:

I used more of the black and white ribbon on the inside of the card and stamped another pretty flourish from the In Flight stamp set at the bottom.

Thanks, again, Kendra, Cami, and the entire Our Craft Lounge DT, for letting me join you this month. It was truly a fantastic experience!

And, thanks, to you, for stopping by. Have a fab week!

I'll be entering this card in the following challenges:

Viva la Verve May 2012 Week 1

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday #166: Bingo (pink, ribbon, die cut)

Little Darlings Challenge #22: Flowers

Moving Along With the Times: Garden or Flowers

Emergency Crafters: Bold and Bright

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: In Flight (Our Craft Lounge)
Paper: Out of Print (Basic Grey)
Ink: Distress Ink; Memento; Copics
Dies: Labels One (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Rhinestones; ribbon (Taylored Expressions); flower (Recollections)
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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Lavender Daisy and a Tote

Hello again...I'm baaaack! I've got one more card to share with you today, as well as a sewing project. I'll start with the sewing project, as I only have one photo for that.


I made this quilted tote bag for a friend I met when I first started my blog, about nine months ago--Hi, Heather! (I posted a similar tote bag here, where you can also find a link for the free pattern, but I used French seams inside this one so the seam edges are enclosed.) Heather probably has no idea how much she helped me back then, answering all kinds of questions, critiquing my blog, and giving me encouragement when I thought I was never going to get blogging or cardmaking figured out. I've still got a lot to learn, but at least now I know it's not impossible. Thanks for getting me through the hardest part, Girl!!! Couldn't have done it without you! :D I'll get this in the mail to you on Monday.


Now on to the card.

I used the colors from The Play Date Cafe Challenge #129, of Dusk, Magenta, and Seedling--a luscious palette!

I stamped the daisy with Staz On ink, then used chalk and a wet paintbrush to color it. The edges of the image panel were torn with a deckle ruler, then I sponged Distress Ink on it. The lavender and green panels are all dry embossed. The bg layer was embossed with a Sizzix embossing plate. It's subtle, but you can see the squares if you look closely.

I made an envelope for this card using my Martha Stewart Scoreboard. Because the paper is patterned, I added pieces of solid cardstock for the mailing address and return address, and the scalloped border is decorative.

The inside is partially lined with paper that coordinates with the card. I really like making matching envelopes for my cards, but they are too time-consuming to do it often. 

Well, that will do it for me tonight.

I'll be entering this card in the following challenges:

Play Date Cafe Challenge PDCC129: Dusk Magenta, Seedling

Simon Says Stamp: Anything Goes

Moving Along with the Times: Garden or Flowers

Pixie Dust Studio Challenge #124: Embossing

Little Darlings Challenges: Flower Challenge

Thanks for stopping by...again! :)

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Watercolor Daisy (Hampton Art)
Paper: Best of Brenda Walton (K&Co); watercolor paper
Ink: Distress Ink; Staz On
Accessories: Chalk; deckle ruler; Real Estate Sign Large punch, Scallop Diamond Edge punch (EK Success); Corner Chomper; Swiss Dot embossing folder, Script Texture embossing folder (Cuttlebug); Squares embossing plate (Sizzix); twine (The Twinery); foam dots; scoreboard (for envelope)
Size: A6 (4.5" x 6.25")

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Time With You

Hi Friends! Hope you're having a good weekend. I know it's still a while until it's here, but I've got a Father's Day card to share with you today.

The chair and sentiment stamps are from Flourishes, and the copper embellies are brads. I paper pieced the chair cushions and colored the rest with Copics. I used Distress Ink for the shadow under the chair.

I created the inside sentiment in Word and printed it directly onto the cardstock.

I'll be entering this card in the following challenges:

Crazy 4 Challenges C4C134: Paper Piecing

Simon Says Stamp: Anything Goes

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

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Chairs for You, Moments in Time (Flourishes)
Paper: Best of K&Co
Ink: Distress Ink; clear embossing ink; Copics
Dies: Small Labels, Large Labels, Curved Rectangles (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Antique copper brads (Making Memories); chocolate embossing powder (Zing); foam dots
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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It's a Hoot!

Hi Friends! Hope you are having an excellent week! I've been busy reading The Hunger Games series and haven't been able to pull myself away! Have you read it? What an exciting story! I can't believe it took me so long to finally get around to reading it. Now I can't wait to see the movie!

But, on to the good stuff, right? ;)

My SIL asked me to make a birthday card for her new DIL, who is enamored with owls. Ashley is so much fun to be around, I couldn't resist making a fun card for her. (I don't think she sees my blog often, but if you do, Ashley, just pretend the card is a surprise, okay) *~D

The Viva la Verve April 2012 Week 3 sketch and color palette from the ColourQ #134 challenge worked great together for this card.

I used Copics and lots of Stickles to dress the owl, and I sewed a line through the center of the leafy sprigs die cuts to give them added interest.

The main sentiment was typed in Word, printed on a transparency and rubbed onto the cardstock. Being an owl-lover, I'm hoping Ashley knows that a family of owls is called a parliament, but if not, I'll make sure my SIL knows, so she can explain it. The Happy Birthday sentiment is a stamp. 

I had a lot of fun making this card. Thanks for letting me share it with you.

I'll be entering this card in the following challenges:
Viva la Verve April 2012 Week 3 Sketch Challenge
ColourQ Challenge #134
Creative Craft Challenge 2: Animal Antics
Little Darlings Challenge 22: Flowers
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by and have a HOOT of a day! :D

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Gem Stone Birds (Inkadinkado); Greetings (TPC Studio)
Paper: Happily Lost (Lily Bee Design)
Ink: Distress Ink; Memento; Copics
Dies: Peony Nestie, Fair Isle Pendant, Curved Rectangle, Fancy Tags (Spellbinders); Leafy Sprigs (Verve)
Accessories: Paper Lace II embossing folder (Cuttlebug); seam binding (Hug Snug); mini round gems; flowers; foam dots; Stickles; sewing thread; transparency (to make rub on sentiment)
Size: A2 (5.5" x 4.25")

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Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge #143: Tinkerbell Birthday Card

Hi Friends, and Happy Tuesday! It's time for the Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge! Yaaaah! This week our sponsor is Sassy Studio Designs--isn't that Little Honey's Tinkerbell image sweet!

Our sketch, this week, is one that gives you a lot of room to play, adding as much or as little as you'd like.

I matted my layers with black cs, sewed one of the panels with a meandering stitch, and framed my image with pieces of a Parisian Accent border die cut. I love that diagonally striped dp that I used as the bg design.  It really frames the rest of the card nicely.

Tinkerbell is colored with Copics and I used Stickles on her wings, and a white opaque pen on her teeth and the highlights in her eyes. I'm still learning to color hair, and I was fairly pleased with how Tink's hair turned out here, but my DD informed me that Tink has yellow hair, not brown. :) I sponged Spun Sugar Distress Ink around the edges of the image layer while it was still in the die.

The inside of the card is simple. I used an edge punch on the corners of the black cs--not my neatest job, but I'm learning to embrace non-perfection, ;) and I used scraps from the front of the card to cut the two die cut accent pieces. The sentiment is from the In the Park stamp set from Taylored Expressions.

Now, don't you want to come play with us at Tuesday Morning Sketches? It's always a blast! Head on over there and see what the rest of the DT has to inspire you and be sure to visit their blogs. Melissa has one of the best DT's around. I can't wait to see what you create!!!

I'll be entering this card in the following challenges:

Do You Stack Up Challenge #68: Stripes

Whimsy Stamps Challenge #35: Punches or Die Cuts

Little Darlings Challenge #21: Pastels

Crazy For Challenges 133: Use Black Cardstock

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy the rest of the week!

~Hugs!

 

Stamps: Little Honey's Tinkerbell digital stamp (Sassy Studio Designs); In the Park (Taylored Expressions)
Paper: Kissing Booth, Sweet Threads (Basic Grey); Fairy Flora (Prima)
Ink: Memento; Copics; Distress Ink; white opaque pen
Dies: Classic Ovals Sm and Lg, Parisian Accents, Curved Rectangles, Bird Flourishes, Lattice Pendant (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Morocco Lace Edge Punch (EK Success); ribbon (Taylored Expressions); rhinestones; sewing thread; Stickles; foam dots
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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Sweet Baby

For my Week 4 Our Craft Lounge April Artist of the Month post, click here.

Hi Friends! Hope you're having a great start for the week. The card I'm sharing with you today is a baby shower card. Four of my nieces are having babies before the end of the year, so I figured I better get busy making cards for them.

I don't know if the babies will be boys or girls, but I figured, out of four, at least one should be a girl, so I made this card pink.

I used the Viva la Verve April 2012 Week 4 sketch. Instead of the arrow shape, I went with scalloped ovals that look a bit like clouds.

I used Glossy Accents on the moon and Stickles on the stars.

Here's a look at the inside.

I'm going to try to make my posts a little shorter, so I won't go into how I made this card, but if you have any questions, please send me an email or post a comment and I'll get back to you quickly. Also, you will find links to some of the products I used at the end of this post.

I'll be entering this card in the following challenges:
Viva la Verve April 2012 Week 4
Color Throwdown #188
Crafty Friends Challenge #2: Use Two Die Cuts
Little Darlings Challenge #21: Pastels
Whimsy Stamps Challenge #35: Punches or Die Cuts

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful week!

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Moon Baby digital stamp (Pink Gem Designs); Tiny Flowers & Tags (Flourishes); Summer Afternoon (Taylored Expressions); Blessings (Michaels)
Paper: Splendid (Authentique); Vellum
Ink: Copic markers; Distress Ink; Memento
Dies: Blossom Nestie; Big Scalloped Ovals Sm (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Scallop Diamond Edge Punch (EK Success); ribbon; rhinestones; Stickles; Glossy Accents
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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Our Craft Lounge--April Artist of the Month: Proud as a Peacock

Hi Friends! It's that time again...Week 4 as the Our Craft Lounge April Artist of the Month, and I had a blast making today's card.

My DD's 2nd grade year is coming to a close soon, and for the second year in a row she will be setting her school's record for Accelerated Reader points (she had 500 points at the end of 1st grade, and is on track to beat that by over 100 more points this year!), so I wanted to make her a card to tell her how proud we are of her, and nothing says "proud" like a beautiful peacock!

I used the April 2012 Viva la Verve Week 1 sketch for this card, and followed it almost exactly, except for adding some gold corner stickers and a bird flourish die cut layer.

I dry embossed the green rectangle layer, then used several colors of distress ink over the raised areas and finished it off by adding a little gold embossing powder here and there to give it an aged look, finally inserting turquoise eyelets in the corners.

I colored the beautiful peacock with my Copic markers, then used Stickles on the tail, a Pearl Pen on the beak, Enamel Accents for the eye, and Sparkly Fluff on the body and neck. I didn't "fluff" the head because I didn't want to lose the detail on the eye and beak. To get all the different colors of fluff, I applied it similarly to glitter, gluing down one color at a time, then tapping off the excess and letting it dry between each color. I'm telling you, I just LOVE Sparkly Fluff. So far, I've used it as "dirt," as part of flowers, and now as feathers. That's some really versatile "fluff stuff." :) I used a Pearl Pen to make the copper pearls around the edge of the circle die cut.

Scraps, from the front of the card, dress up the inside, and the sentiments and tail feather stamps came from the same Proud as a Peacock stamp set.

I'll be entering this card in the following challenges:

Viva la Verve April 2012 Week 1 Sketch Challenge

Whimsy Stamp Challenge 35: Punches or Die Cuts

Crafty Friends Challenge 2: Use 2 die cuts 

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back tomorrow with a new sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches, and next Monday will be my final week as Artist of the Month at Our Craft Lounge. Wow, this month has just flown by. Have a great day!

~Hugs!

 

Stamps: Proud as a Peacock (Our Craft Lounge)
Paper: Reflections (Prima); Lost & Found (My Mind's Eye); Shimmer Stack (DCWV)
Ink: Memento; Copics; Distress Ink
Dies: Standard Circles Sm, Bird Flourishes, Classic Scalloped Circles Lg (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Love is in the Air embossing folder (Cuttlebug); gold embossing powder; Morocco Lace Edge Punch (EK Success); Starform stickers; Sparkly Fluff; eyelets; Stickles; Pearl Pen; Enamel Accents; sewing thread
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge #142: The Bottom Line

Hi Friends! Here we are again, with another Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge! Take a look at Melissa's sketch:

I love using lots of different patterned papers together, and this sketch is perfect for a little mix-n-match. And, you have got to check out this week's sponsor: Raisin Boat. Raisin Boat is a unique company, in that they offer 200+ exclusive sets of stamps for purchase, brand-new, or for rental on a month-to-month basis--or both. How cool is that!

Bobbi and Kim, co-owners of Raisin Boat, were kind enough to send the DT stamps for this week's challenge, and I received one called, "Undies in a Bunch." I had a lot of choices with this set because it has sentiments for birthdays and encouragement, and several "undie" choices. I opted to make a masculine encouragement card. 

I paper pieced the boxers and colored the clothespins with a Copic marker, and all the dp's I chose seemed like good patterns for boxer shorts. The sketch called for 3 embellies, but I opted to put eyelets in the three dp panels and lace them with twine.

I randomly stamped all the different undie stamps on the inside sentiment panel and stamped half the inside sentiment over them. The last half of the inside sentiment, I stamped in white ink, directly on the dp, and embossed it with white embossing powder. Aren't all those undies cute? :)

Be sure to check out the rest of the DT's blogs for lots of fun, inspiring ideas for this week's sketch (you can find links to their blogs on the Tuesday Morning Sketch blog), then get to work on your own creation and join us in the fun! You have until Sunday at 8PM EST to link up your project at the TMS blog. I can't wait to see what you create!!!

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great week!

~Hugs!

 

Stamps: Undies in a Bunch (Raisin Boat)
Paper: Farmhouse (Crate Paper); This & That (Lily Bee Design); Happy Go Lucky (Shabby Princess-digital)
Ink: Memento; Colorbox; Distress Ink; Copic Markers
Dies: Labels Lg, Labels Sm, Classic Rectangles Lg, Classic Ovals Sm, Curved Rectangles (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Seeing Spots embossing folder (Cuttlebug); white embossing powder; eyelets; sewing thread; foam dots; twine (The Twinery); Pearl Pen
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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