Colorful Life

I'm back with a simple card that might look like it needs a little something else, but I left it very clean on the front on purpose. ;)

I colored this Pure Innocence sweetie with Copics. I'm trying to learn to color pleats and folds in clothing, so this image, with all it's large open spaces in the shirt and skirt, was a good one to practice on. To make the polka dots on the shirt, I just used the brush tip on my colorless blender. To color the background, I masked the image completely, then airbrushed with a blue Copic. I went with a solid white card base and sentiment stamped in black to compliment the "colorless" clothing. Then, when you open the card...

the same image is colored in extremely vibrant colors, and I added a colorful, doodled border with extra fine Sharpie markers! I just love the contrast between the front and the inside of the card! FUN!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a colorful day!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Sugar Pea Designs Challenge SPD06: Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: W is for White
Paper Issues: In the Navy

~Hugs,

Supplies Used:

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Every Day a Picnic

Hello there! We just got in from an Orlando vacation, late, late last night, after driving 9 hours with no air conditioner! OMGosh, how in the world we did that when I was a kid, I'll never know! It was miserable! But, the rest of the vacation was great! I was able to meet up with friends and go to StampFest in Orlando while we were there, and, my DH, DD, and I spent four days in the parks. My DD, who turns 10 this week, rode her first "big kid" roller coaster, the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, in Universal Studios, and now she is a roller coaster fanatic! If you haven't seen that coaster, you MUST check it out! It starts out climbing 17 stories straight up...YES, straight up! Then the big drop, followed by a loop that you actually spiral around! I was scared to death that my DD was going to go flying out, but she not only stayed in, she was grinning ear to ear at the end of the ride. Here's a good video of the ride, if you're interested in seeing what crazy people do on vacation! ;D

While we were gone, I was able to do quite a bit of coloring. This is a MFT stamp, colored with Copics. I airbrushed the sky with a Copic marker.

The inside is simple. I just love this sentiment. I have so many people I'd like to send this to. 

Hope you are having a wonderful summer!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
MFT Wednesday Stamp Club 182
Corrosive Challenge #202: Color Me Happy
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes
613 Avenue Create Challenge #78: Anything Goes

~Hugs,

Supplies Used:

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It's No Fun :(

I don't usually make scenes on my cards, but I couldn't resist this sweet stamp and die set from My Favorite Things. And, it was perfect for my daughter's friend, who just had her tonsils removed, and is feeling a little puny today. :(

The background is Bo Bunny paper. I don't have a grass die, so I used a punch and some fun green chevron paper to make a grassy border. The images, from the Let's Hang Out stamp set, are colored with Copics and cut with the coordinating dies. You can't tell in the picture, but I embossed the tire with a stylus from the back and glued it with 3D glue, giving it a rounded look and feel. The shoes are scuffed with a white gel pen, I gave her overalls a denim look with colorless blender and a piece of denim, and added texture to her hat with terry cloth.

I used a cloud stencil from Inky Antics to sponge the clouds on the inside of the card, added another punched border, and stamped the sentiment and smiley face with stamps from a Hero Arts sentiment set.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful week!

Get well, Jayden!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
TCP Tuesday #267: Anything Goes
Paper Issues: The World is a Circle
613 Avenue Create: Anything Goes/Best Friends Day
Sentimental Sundays Challenge 210: Anything Goes

~Hugs,

Supplies Used:

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Father's Day Metal

Ever since I made my Faux Metal Art project, I have been looking for ways to incorporate Inka Gold into my creations. (Eventually, I'll get around to posting those creations.) ;) Well, Father's Day is almost here, so a manly card is in order, and what better time to add a little faux metal, right? ;-)

This card's design is from the Viva la Verve May 2014 Week 5 sketch, and I have to admit, when I saw that sketch, I almost decided to just skip it and let this month's VLV challenge go. But, then I saw a really cool die from MFT stamps that reminded me of riveted steel. Perfect! I cut the strips from kraft cs, added several colors of Inka Gold, gave them a good buff, and voila! Faux metal! For the Father's Day banner, I first covered a piece of kraft cs with Inka Gold, buffed it, then heat embossed the Father's Day sentiment with copper ep. To give it a little more dimension, I curved the center of the banner a little and attached it with Coll-All 3D glue. I used Coll-All to attach the "metal" strips, too. The bg was distressed by inking the edges of the paper, tearing it in a couple of places, and adding more age with a few splatters of watered down Inka Gold, and random stamping using Gathered Twigs Distress Ink and a couple of pieces of wrapped candy. Yep, you read that right...wrapped candy. I had a square of Dove chocolate and a wrapped Jolly Rancher candy in a basket on my table, so I inked up the bottom of the chocolate piece and the crinkly twisted end of the Jolly Rancher and stamped just like using a regular stamp. 

The circular images were heat embossed in silver, onto paper that I had first watercolored with Inka Gold. To distress them, I tapped a little Versamark in a few places, then dipped them in Distress Embossing Powder.

I did minimal stamping on the inside of the card, and threw in another faux metal strip to "anchor" the white panel. This card was quite fun to make! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Viva la Verve May 2014 Week 5 Sketch Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes
Paper Issues: The World is a Circle
The Paper Shelter Challenge #160: Make it Manly

~Hugs,

Supplies Used:

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Alleluia!

I got a new Our Daily Bread stamp on Saturday, and, unlike a lot of stamps that just get stacked on a counter until I'm ready to use them, this one saw action right away! :) It's pretty, all on it's own, but, OMGosh, I can't get over how gorgeous it is with color!

I needed a card for my DD's baptism yesterday, and I hadn't been able to find a stamp that I thought was right for a 9-year old. I "settled" for this cathedral window image, but once I had finished the card, I couldn't believe I almost passed this stamp up! It's gorgeous! I wanted to emboss it onto acetate and color the back so it would look more like stained glass, but for some reason, the acetate couldn't stand up to the heat, so instead I stamped it onto white cs, colored, then fussy cut it, went over all the stained glass lines with a black Spica pen, then added Glossy Accents to all the windows. I topped it with a couple of bows, a sweet mini doily die cut, which I embossed with black embossing powder, and a gold, heat embossed cross image, that I found in Michael's dollar bin a couple of years ago. The Alleluia sentiment is also heat embossed, and the green flourish die cuts are coated in clear glitter. I wanted just a little something in the upper corners, so I transferred the negative pieces of an outline sticker.

To give the personalization panel on the inside the look of crumpled paper, I sponged Dusty Concord Distress Ink around the edges, then tapped the edge of my inked sponge tool randomly across the cs. The Bible verse is stamped in Pear Tart Memento ink, and the page dividers in Dusty Concord. The perforated lines on the outer edges of the dp mat were made with an MFT die. 

The window stamp ended up being perfect for a Baptism, and my DD loves her card! But, don't you think this would be perfect as an Easter card, too! :-)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Happy Easter and/or Sweet Treats

Corrosive Challenge #197: Pretty Pastels

The Paper Shelter Challenge #153: Easter Time

Thanks for stopping by, and have a blessed week!

~Hugs,

Supplies Used:

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A Better World

Well, it looks like our snow is going to be gone within the next couple of days. My DD is devastated. I am thrilled! Maybe when I was her age, I wanted snow, but I sure can't remember ever feeling that way. While she and her dad were outside in the snow, I had time to make another card.

I used this week's My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club sketch for this one, and as I usually do, for some reason, I turned it on it's side.

I kept this one pretty simple. The globe on the bg was part of the dp, and I added the MFT sentiment in Olive Grove ink. The chevron layer was cut with a Spellbinders die, the strip that has a map on it is a piece of paper tape (not Washi tape) that I've had forever--probably 10 years before I started stamping. I have no idea why I bought it, and I hardly ever use it now, but it worked well here, I thought. Over the striped ribbon, I put a rolled felt flower and leaves, as well as a red flourish, all made with MFT dies. I finally bought a melting pot the other day and needed to make sure it worked, so I heated it up and dipped the red flourish in the melted UTEE to get a glossy look. I can already see that I'm going to use my melting pot often. :) 

On the inside, I sponged Crushed Olive Distress Ink, then used a Tim Holtz thank you stamp. The map image is the Antique Map background stamp from Flourishes. I had to use it since it literally just arrived from halfway around the world! Yep, you read that right--I ordered the stamp from a shop in Singapore! It took about 3 weeks to arrive and cost me almost twice what it would have at Flourishes, but I waited too long to get it directly from Flourishes, and by then it was sold out, and the ONLY place I could find it was a store in Singapore called Maple Treehouse. I was a little concerned about buying something from so far away, but it turns out the store is a good one, and the shipping was reasonable, too. Moral of that story: don't wait! ;)

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
MFT Wednesday Stamp Club #163
Simon Says Monday Challenge: We Love Stamps

~Hugs to ya,

 

Supplies:

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It's Your Day...Smile!

I saw a pretty color palette today over at Designs by Dragonfly, and used it to make a birthday card for a friend.

I used this week's Mojo Monday sketch (#327) for the card layout, and used a mix of stamps and dies from several different companies.

On the inside, I used a Sizzix diffuser when I embossed the white panel, to keep the center flat. Also, the yellow ink that I sponged inside the oval isn't nearly as vivid IRL as it is in the photo, but for the life of me, I couldn't get it toned down in the pic!

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

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Mojo Monday #327
Simon Says Monday Challenge: Blues
613 Avenue Create: Anything Goes/Optional Theme: Party/Celebrate
Challenges 4 Everybody #37: Anything Goes

~Hugs,

 

Supplies:

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Let's Celebrate!

Happy Monday! I needed a masculine birthday card this week, so I pulled out one of Tim Holtz's Birthday Blueprint stamps and whipped this card up in no time!

I think this card is self-explanatory, so I won't add unnecessary details. If you have any questions about something on the card, just shoot me an email. :)

Inside the card, I attempted to created a shadow on the sentiment. It worked, but maybe too good. The sentiment seems to be hovering over the cs, which makes my eyes a little crazy. But, it's still a cool technique.

Gotta run...I'm going to meet a friend for breakfast, and some stampers for lunch. This will be a good day!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a good day, too! :)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes
Color Me Creative Challenge #80: Dudes, Guys, Masculine (DUDES13)
Catch the Bug Challenge: November-Anything Goes
Corrosive Challenge #186: Tic-Tac-Toe (I used patterned paper, a stamped image, & a sentiment)
Challenges 4 Everybody #32: Anything Goes
613 Avenue Create Challenge #44: Anything Goes/No Optional Twist

~Hugs,

 

Supplies:

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Best Year Ever!

Julee, from Verve Stamps, posted a fab card this week for the Verve Diva Dare challenge, and as soon as I saw it, I knew I was going to have to CASE it for a masculine birthday card (you can find Julee's card here).

One of the first things that caught my eye on Julee's card was all the die cut negatives. I don't have many small sizes of star dies, so I made do with what I have, and I really like how my die cut stars turned out. With the brown ink and Stickles on the edges of both the positive and the negative die cuts, it looks like the stars just burned themselves right out of the paper. ;) The stars that I cut out also have a gold embossed star in the center of each one (from the Verve Super Dad stamp set), and a few of those same embossed stars are directly on the card, too. The smallest stars are brads. Besides the negative die cuts, I also CASEd Julee's layout, color palette, and distressing.

I used the same dp on the inside of the card, in a different configuration.

Thanks for stopping by, and have yourself a crafty week!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Verve - May Diva Dare (Stars and Stripes) (I used the Super Dad stamp set by Verve)
Really Reasonable Ribbon #72: Red, White, Blue, and Ribbon theme
Simon Says Stamp & Show Challenge: Into the Woods (I used a wood grain dp)

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Birthday Sentiments (MFT Stamps); Super Dad (Verve); Signature Greetings II (PTI)
Paper: A Little Beachy (Sara Sullivan, Design House Digital); Sailing (Tia Hoffman, Design House Digital)
Ink: Distress Ink; Zig marker; Sharpie marker
Dies: Stars Five (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Garden Rail edge punch (Martha Stewart); embossing powder (Recollections); ribbon; pearls; star brads; mini staples; Stickles; paper piercer; Washi tap; sewing thread
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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Friendship Matchbox Dresser

Hi Friends! I've been working on a project for the past 4-5 days, and the die I was waiting for arrived early yesterday, so I'm finally finished with it, and am ready to show it to you. You may have seen the tutorial on the Splitcoast Stampers site, but if you didn't, here is a link to it: Matchbox Dresser. And, here's my version...

This was so much fun to make! I used this month's Viva la Verve color inspiration photo to help me choose my color scheme, and at first I wasn't too sure about the eye-popping vividness, but once it was put together, I loved it.  

Here's a better view of the top of the dresser. I like making cards, but it sure is nice to be able to pile on the embellies without worrying about how high everything sticks up. I used the Week 1 Viva la Verve January 2013 sketch for this, but I added so many flowers, it covered up a lot of it. :) I made all the flowers except the green one and the orange flower with the glittery center, and all of them are MFT flower dies except the big blue flower which is a Spellbinders die.

I started making my own pins a few months ago. It's great to be able to match anything. The blue cs behind the pins is what I used to cover both the top and the base of the dresser. It started out a solid color, but I stamped it with a splatter stamp in green ink to give it a little more interest.

The medallions are cut with a new Spellbinders die and backed with a square of the same blue cs that I used for the top and base of the dresser. I left the cs behind the medallions plain. I tried it with the stamped cs, but it took away from the pretty details in the die cut.

Look at all those drawers...24 in all, and aren't they adorable! Remember I said I was waiting on a new die to be able to finish this project? Well, I couldn't have done this project without it. The Stampin Up Matchbox Die has been discontinued, but I found one on ebay and snatched it right up. It sure makes making matchboxes a lot easier, especially since every single box had to be identical. I did have a few complications I had to work out, like how to get a 12" x 12" piece of cs to work on a die that is 13" long, but once I got all the "figuring" out of the way, I was able to work pretty fast. (Patty Bennett's YouTube video here, is a must-see if you have this die).

My biggest problem with this project was the drawer pulls. In the tutorial for the dresser, Lydia used Tim Holtz Hitch Fasteners, which have been discontinued (due to high demand, he is bringing the fasteners back in 2013, but I needed them NOW.) I searched high and low to try to find hitch fasteners somewhere else, and found out that they are used in leather work and are called Sam Browne Studs. But...then, I saw that they are about $2.00 apiece, and I needed 24, so that option was totally out for me. I thought about just gluing something to the front of each drawer, but, nah, I like to make things hard for myself, so I ended up getting some pretty beads, figuring (there I go, figuring again) that they would be easy to attach since they have holes in them. Not so. Those suckers were almost a deal-breaker for this entire project! By the time I was finished making 24 drawer pulls--not attaching them, just making them--I thought my fingers were going to split open, even though I used several pair of pliers to do it. But, in the end, it was worth it, and after making 24 of them, I think it will be easier the next time I do it. Want to see how I attached them?

This is what is on the inside of the box, directly behind the bead. The black disc is just two layers of black chipboard glued together, and the wire is a head pin. I ran the wire through the bead, then using round nose pliers, I bent both ends of the wire so that they hugged the bead and came together in the back. Then, I gave the wires one twist to keep the wires together, and trimmed the wire so that, once it was inserted through the drawer front and black disc, only 1/4" showed. Then, I used the round nose pliers again and curved each wire down until the ends pressed into the chipboard, which help the bead snugly against the drawer front. It sounds pretty easy, but I had to make a few complete drawers before I got all the logistics straight. If you do this, you need to attach the dp strip to the front of the drawer and the disc to the inside of the drawer AND punch a hole through them before ever assembling anything. Then, assemble the entire box, except for the back end of the drawer. Then, attach the "handle." After that you can finally finish assembling the drawer--24 times!

One last thing about the construction of this project. In the future, I am going to add one layer of chipboard in between the base and drawers, and between the top and drawers, because when you open the top drawers or the bottom drawers they drag against the top and the base. 

I can't say that this project was easy, but without a doubt, I can say it was worth it. Good thing, because I promised my DD that I'd make her one, too! 

I made this dresser for a friend who has invited me to stay with her this weekend for a stamp club meeting at Tybee Island. These are the same girls I met in Greenville in September at a stamping convention, only this time, I get to meet the rest of the group, AND stamp with them! Inside each drawer is a little surprise: chocolate, buttons, ribbon, charms, more chocolate, a few of my pins...well, you get the idea. I hope she likes it!

I'd like to enter this project in the following challenges:

Viva la Verve VLVJan 2013 - Week 1: Sketch and color inspiration

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday #202: Make something new 

Simon Says Stamp Challenge: New Something
Tuesday Throwdown #129: Shiny and New

Thanks for stopping by my blog, and have a fantastic week!

~Hugs, 

 

Stamps: Sweetness of Friendship (Flourishes); Splatter (Impression Obsession)
Paper: Breathe Paper Collection (Prima); Bright Pattern Pack (Colorbok) 
Ink: Memento; Distress; gold caligraphy pen
Dies: Loopy Bloom, Lg Royal Rose, Rolled Daisy, Rolled Mum (MFT); Fantastic Flourish Three, Medallion Five, Daisy Heads (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Felt; brads; beads; Perfect Pearls Mist; button; Perle Cotton; head pins; chipboard scraps; flowers; pearls & gemstones; Distress Stickles Dry Glitter
Size: 6" x 6" x 5" high

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TMS #165: Trust Your Crazy Ideas

Hello Friends! I am so excited to share the project I made for today's Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge! As with the mini album I made a couple of weeks ago, I took a simple idea and went crazy with it.



My DT buddy, Theresa, came up with this fab sketch--an oval, two ribbon banners, and four stars, or other embellies. It's a well-balanced design, that, just as it is, would result in a fantastic card. I love that the oval is large enough to be able to accommodate just about any image you'd want to use, too.

That said, however, I don't seem to be able to stick with the plan these days! :)

See what I mean! I altered an inexpensive composition notebook, and all the basic elements are there...but so are LOTS of others!!! Of course, I have a great excuse--I just had to use some of the new goodies I picked up at the stamp convention. ;) Don't you just love that sentiment? Seemed perfect for an art journal.

The dragonfly stamp is from a Stampers Anonymous set called, Classics #1. Beautiful. But, as nice as that is, what I really want to show you is the background. I picked up some Dylusions Ink Sprays, and they are amazing. The colors are SO vivid! It's going to take some practice to get good at combining different colors, but I was pretty pleased with how this one turned out (after 3 previous tries went into the trash). :) Oh, and see that white diamond pattern on the left side? I used a stencil and sponged white ink there. As with most everything I do, I had no idea what it would look like when I did it, but I love the depth it added--it almost looks like a reflection on glass. I just love all the fun surprises I get when I'm crafting!

The "Faith" label, is new, too. It's from a Spellbinders die set called, Girlie Grunge Labels by Donna Salazar. I got lucky--it was in a sale bin for just $10! I've used several of the labels on this project. I cut and embossed them on white cs, and inked the letters while still in the die. I then used a different Distress Ink to color the bg of each one. After gluing the labels to the project, I added Glossy Accents to give them some dimension.

The dragonfly die cut is one I already had, but had never used. I inked it while in the die, but wasn't pleased at all with how it looked, so I spritzed it with Perfect Pearls Mist, and that fixed it right up. It's hard to tell here, but the dragonfly is raised in the center with a foam dot, and the wings are curved up slightly.

I think I'm hooked on stencils! The texts here are all from the same stencil, called Funky Words. I stenciled them, then doodled on them a little bit, with Stickles, a while gel pen, and Sharpie markers. You can also see more of the Girlie Grunge Labels, as well as a couple of the buttons I added. I used waxed linen thread in the buttons, and after attaching them to the front of the project, I separated the strands of the tails to give them a softer look.

I bought several MFT Die-namic Rolled Flower dies awhile back, and now I have some of their felt, too, thanks to Melissa, who visited their brick and mortar store and picked up a few colors for me. 8~D OMGosh, MFT felt cuts beautifully! I had been using some felt from Joann that doesn't have any wool in it, and it was almost impossible to get it to cut cleanly. The two blue flowers were cut out of Joann felt, the other two are from MFT felt. The edges of the MFT felt are noticeably crisp, while the Joann felt is fuzzy on the edges. I definitely need more MFT felt!

In this photo, you can also see a little bit of the spine of the book. Notice the crisp edge--no fraying? From my bookbinding days, I learned to use Heat n Bond on my fabric before applying glue. The Heat n Bond helps prevent fraying and also keeps the glue from seeping through the fabric.

I covered the back of the notebook, too. The paper is so pretty, I decided to let it do most of the work, and just added the one sentiment stamp--another convention find!

Here's one more look at the front, at an angle, so you can see all the dimension.

Now, it's your turn! Head on over to the Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge, see what the rest of the DT has to inspire you, then get creative! The prize this week comes from our awesome sponsor, There She Goes Stamps, which has everything from elegant to playful--both stamps and dies! Wouldn't it be great if you won? Well, you can't if you don't play, so get busy!!!

Thanks for stopping by today, and have a wonderful, crafty week!

I'd like to enter this project in the following challenges:
Creative Craft Challenges 2: Anything Goes
Fab & Funky Challenge #139: Things With Wings
Digi Doodle Shop Final Challenge #125: Anything Goes
Do You Stack Up #90: Flags
Fat Pages & Cards With Attitude #23: Anything Goes
Simply Create Too #22: Anything Goes
Stampin' For the Weekend #18: Feeling Floral
Whimsy Inspirations Challenge #51: Anything Goes
MilkCoffee Challenge: At Least 2 Different Shapes
Crafting For All Seasons Challenge #36: Things With Wings
Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge: For the Love of Sparkle

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Classics #1, Admit One (Stampers Anonymous); The Right Words (Dylusions)
Paper: Abrianna (K&Co)
Ink: Distress Ink; Memento; Colorbox; white gel pen; Sharpie markers; Dylusions Ink Spray
Dies: Labels Three, Floral Ovals, Marvelous Squares, Girlie Grunge Labels: Donna Salazar, Flying Beauties (Spellbinders); Circle Border (Memory Box); Rolled Daisy, Rolled Mum, Mini Royal Roses, Royal Leaves, Loopy Blooms (My Favorite Things Die-namics Dies)
Accessories: Mini Harlequin stencil (TCW); Funky Words stencil (Wendy Vecchi-Studio 490); Fabric; Heat n Bond; felt (MFT Stamps & Joann); sanding block; Mod Podge; waxed linen thread; Mini Round Gems (Recollections); buttons; foam dots; Glossy Accents; Stickles; Pearl Pen; Perfect Pearls Mist; composition book; Scor-Tape
Size: 7.5" x 9.75" 

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