Speak the Truth

Hi Friends! I'm so excited! I'll have another badge in my sidebar soon!!! I won the Gilded Lily Award over at Lily Pad Cards for Kathy’s Lily Pad Palette Challenge sponsored by Tiffany Doodles! Actually, I've been on a winning streak lately. I won a judged challenge at Tuesday Morning Sketches on October 17, then the following week, I won a random drawing at TMS, then this morning I found out that I also won the TMS Think Pink blog candy for having participated in all the Think Pink challenges for the month of October (they had a few extra rules this month, besides just following the sketches). Whew! Isn't that amazing! Fun, too!!! :~D

I finished another challenge card, so I thought I'd just go ahead and post it now since, between dance lessons, homework, supper, and trick or treating tonight, I might not get back to my craft room again until sometime tomorrow. This one is the Viva la Verve October 2011 Week 5 sketch.

I have no idea how I ended up with this color combination, and at first I wasn't too sure about it, but it grew on me as I worked on it, and now I like it a lot. It's a simple card, with just a couple of things to share about it that might not be obvious.

First of all, the silver die cut behind the sentiment panel is cut using a die from the Ironwork Motifs Spellbinders set. I taped silver duct tape onto cardstock, then ran it through my Big Shot. It cut like butter. I was so surprised, and extremely happy with how it looked when it came out. I punched two small holes at either end and used silver brads that have clear rhinestones in them.

Secondly, the sentiment panel is just white cardstock with a Hero Arts leaf stamp in a pale blue color stamped randomly. I don't remember what color I used because I've had this for some time and found it in my scraps.

Here's the inside. I almost threw it out because of the little bump in the stitching to the left of the words, but it does say, "be you," so I decided to let it go and call it my "signature" mark. I'm just being me! :D 

  

And, finally, I have a little tip to share with you. It may be old news to those of you who have been papercrafting for awhile, but just in case there is even one person out there with the same die cutting problem I was having, here it is:

If you are having trouble getting the cs out of your dies, particularly the detailed, scrolly-type dies, just sandwich a piece of wax paper between the die and the cs before cutting. It should pop out easily, with no tears or creases. Works for me every time.

And, I'm outta here. Thanks for stopping by. Have fun tonight and come back to visit me again soon!

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Words of Wisdom (Verve); Delicate Leaf Clusters (Hero Arts)
Paper: Stella & Rose (My Mind's Eye); Welcome to the Wood-digital (BSH Papers); Happy Go Lucky Blue-digital (Shabby Princess); Que Sera Sera (K&Co)
Ink: Colorbox; Tim Holtz Distress Ink
Dies: Curvy Bookplate Die (Verve); Ironworks Motifs, Labels Fourteen (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Gem Brads (Making Memories); Stickles; Duct Tape; Memory Thread (DMC); button; foam dots
Size: 4.25" square

Thanks for visiting my blog!

To have Ink Up delivered to your inbox,

subscribe in the box at the top right of the page.

Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps: Owls and Cats

BOO! Did that scare you? :D

Hello Friends, and a Happy Halloween to you! Are you dressing up tonight? I'm not, but my daughter is going trick or treating as the Greek goddess, Pandora. If you're not familiar with the story, Pandora is given a box with evils in it and she accidentally opens it, releasing the evils into the human world. By the time she slams the box shut, the only thing left inside is Hope. There are lots of versions of that story, but my DD wanted to base her costume on a series of books she read by Carolyn Hennesy. Here's my little goddess all decked out. 

And, here are closeups of her box of evils. Inside are seven "evils" written on tags and attached to the bottom of the box with springs. (Thanks to Linda at The Paper Boutique for the wobble springs tutorial). When the box is opened, the evils jump out of the box. "Hope" is stamped onto a piece of cardstock and glued inside the lid of the box, since it is supposed to remain in there.

Now on to my card. In keeping with the day, I decided to squeeze in one last Halloween card this year because I wanted to use this super cute Owl and Cat Tree stamp from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps. I love those sneaky looking cats and a tree full of owls is just cool (although I wouldn't want to see something like that in my backyard--owls freak me out with their giant staring eyes). 

I created the "Happy Haunting" words on the computer, printed them in mirror image onto a transparency and rubbed them onto the cardstock.

Here's a look at the inside.

Well, I hope you get more treats than tricks tonight! Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Halloween!!!

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Owl and Cat Tree (Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps)
Paper: Midnight Magic (Recollections)
Ink: Memento; Tim Holtz Distress Ink
Dies: Curved Rectangles (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Glitter ribbon (Wyla); seam binding (Hug Snug); Scary Fence border punch (Martha Stewart); rhinestones; flower (Recollections); Stickles; transparency (for computer generated rub on words)
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

Thanks for visiting my blog!

To have Ink Up delivered to your inbox,

subscribe in the box at the top right of the page.

Under the Mistletoe

Hi, Friends! Well, Halloween is almost behind us and this is the time of year when it seems like the days really start to fly by, with lots of preparations for get-togethers with family and friends. Busy, busy! So, I'll be working on Christmas cards more often for awhile, so they'll be ready on time.

Today's card is made using the Viva la Verve October 2011 Week 3 sketch and Flourishes' Timeless Tuesday challenge #141, to use trees or leaves as a focal point. I received the Under the Mistletoe stamp set from Flourishes just in time for the leaf challenge. What a fabulous set--beautiful images and lots of sentiments!

I had so much fun making the front of the card, I wanted to do a little bit extra on the inside, too.

Viva la Verve has five sketches for this month's challenge, and I've got two more to go, so I'm off to make more cards!

Thanks for visiting today, and have a good one!

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Under the Mistletoe (Flourishes)
Paper: Lost & Found Christmas (My Mind's Eye); Welcome to the Wood (BSH Papers-digital)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink; Memento; Copic markers; Staz-On
Dies: Ironwork Motifs, Std Circles Lg, Holly Accents, Lacy Squares (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Ribbon (Michaels); Corner Chomper; Pearls; Glossy Accents; Liquid Pearls; sewing thread; button; twine (Twinery)
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

Thanks for visiting my blog!

To have Ink Up delivered to your inbox,

subscribe in the box at the top right of the page.

CR84FN41, Week 2: Birdcage Birthday

Hello Friends! I can't believe how fast this month has come and gone, and that this is my last post as the October Guest Designer for CR84FN Color Challenge. I have had so much fun being a part of this amazing team, creating cards based on Mona's beautiful color palettes, and seeing and commenting on all the spectacular entries in the challenges. Wow, you guys are talented! A huge THANK YOU to Mona and the entire DT at CR84FN Color Challenge for inviting me to play along and for giving me such a warm welcome. Ladies, it has been an honor and a pleasure! :D 

We are in Week 2 of the fabulous CR84FN41 colors of steel blue, gray, and yellow, and for this week's card, I used the Viva La Verve October 2011 Week 4 sketch.

I made this card for a good friend whose birthday is coming up soon. I went with a typewriter image because we met about seven years ago in a writer's workshop, and our friendship initially grew out of our love of creative writing. Does the Beaded Circle die cut look like a typewriter daisy wheel to you? Do you even know what a daisy wheel is, or have I seriously dated myself here??? LOL! I've included a photo, for those of you who were born post-typewriter days. Wow, I remember thinking how cool it was to be able to change fonts and font sizes by just snapping one of these babies in. It was the wave of the future!

Anyway, I thought the die cut did resemble a daisy wheel, so I stamped letters on each of the "petals." The paper in the typewriter was paper pieced and only glued at the bottom edge of the paper. This particular stamp has the words "Old School" showing on the paper in the typewriter, but I masked that out and used my Word program to create the Happy Birthday sentiment.

I colored the teeny little heart on the typewriter image with a red Copic and covered that with Glossy Accents. I like that one tiny touch of red on the card! :)

I love that itty bitty blue bird on the birdcage. It's from Verve's Making a Statement stamp set. I stamped her on dp, fussy cut, and added a drop of yellow Liquid Pearls to her beak. There is another, smaller one, on the inside of the card.

Inside the card, grey cs is embossed with the same Paper Lace II embossing folder and I sponged Mustard Seed and Tea Dye inks around the edges of the "friends" panel, before stamping the sentiment and adhering the little bird.

So, now that you've seen my take on this gorgeous color combo, check out the rest of the design team's awesome creations, then show off your style by playing along with us at CR84FN41 Color Challenge!

Mona

Suzanne

Deborah

Stephanie

Heather

Sue

Andrea

Lisa  

Thanks for stopping by, and have a fantastic, colorful day!

 

Stamps: Making a Statement (Verve); Objects (Heidi Grace Designs); Alphabet (Studio G)
Paper: Stella & Rose (My Mind's Eye); Happily Lost (Lily Bee Designs)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink; Staz-on; Copic markers
Dies: Beaded Circles; Large Labels (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Paper Lace II embossing folder (Cuttlebug); lace (Joann's); seam binding-dyed with reinker (Hug Snug); sewing thread; flower (Recollections); Mini Round Gems (Recollections); Stickles; Liquid Pearls; Foam Dots
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

Thanks for visiting my blog!

To have Ink Up delivered to your inbox,

subscribe in the box at the top right of the page.



Copics in a Can, Purple

I'm still working on those cans for my Copic markers. Here's purple. One more to go!!!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you again soon! Have a fantastic day!

~Hugs,

 

For a materials list, see my Blue Copic Can post. 

Thanks for visiting my blog!

To have Ink Up delivered to your inbox,

subscribe in the box at the top right of the page.