Grow

I'm back! I made this card for my DD's principal, who is retiring after tomorrow. I'm sorry to see her go, because everything runs perfectly with her in charge, and my DD still has two more years to go to that school. The incoming principal for next year will have some big shoes to fill!

Is that not the sweetest face ever? I just love this stamp! It was a freebie from Krista at Saturated Canary, and it's my first time to color one of her images, but I guarantee you, it won't be my last time.

I colored the image with Copics and used a white charcoal pencil to do a little highlighting. There are two small dots of Stickles on her hair barrettes. I sponged the edges of the layers with Distress Ink, then used my Distrezz-It-All to scrape the edges of the panels, which are popped up with layers of crimped cs.

You can see the raised layers better in this picture.

This month's Verve Diva Dare is Stars & Stripes, so I added some glittery gold star-shaped brads. Once they were on the card, I realized that they look just like the gold stars I used to get on my school papers in grammar school. Given that this card is for an educator, I thought the stars were a nice detail.

This sentiment comes with the digital stamp. You can't see it very well in the photos, but after coloring the letters with Copics, I gave them a subtle shine with a Spica Pen.  I used the inside part of the Rounded Scalloped Frame die for the sentiment layer.

The inside is distressed to match the front of the card, and like the sentiment on the front, the stars here got some glimmer with a Spica pen.

The little girl on the card is holding a potted orchid, so I got one for my DD to give to her principal, too.

I don't think those blooms could be any more beautiful!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a chance to get inky this week! ;)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Viva la Verve - May 2013 Week 3 Sketch Challenge
Verve Stamps: Stars & Stripes May 2013 Diva Dare
ColourQ Challenge #190
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Flower Power
Simon Says Stamp & Show Challenge: Favorite Ink (mine is Distress Ink)

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Grow--Digital Stamp (Saturated Canary); Super Dad (Verve); Vertical Greetings (MFT Stamps)
Paper: Reunion (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Copics; Distress Ink; Spica marker; Memento
Dies: Rounded Scallop Frame Die (Verve)
Accessories: White charcoal pencil; Ribbon; star brads; rhinestones; Stickles; sewing thread; Distrezz-It-All
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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Butterfly Birthday

Hi there! I've got a birthday card using a simple, but fun technique, to share with you today--embossed resist.

The main image was heat embossed with white ep, then I painted all the open areas with Distress Inks. I love this technique because anyone can turn out something beautiful. I especially like how this one turned out with the white embossed bg, rather than black, which I've done in the past.

The inside is simple, with just a sentiment and a few stamped butterflies.

I'll be back in a little while with a super cute card I made for my DD to give to her school principal.

Thanks for stopping by, and I'll see you later tonight. :)

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge #221: Butterflies
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Flower Power
Simon Says Stamp & Show Challenge: Favorite Ink (mine is Distress Ink)

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: On Butterfly Wings (Hampton Art); Signature Greetings (PTI); Papillon Potpourri, From My Heart (SU!)
Paper: Summer Song (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Distress; Memento; Versamark 
Accessories: Embossing Powder (Zing); lace; Corner Chomper
Size: A6 (4.5" x 6.25")

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You Glow Girl

Happy Friday! Are you ready for the weekend? I sure am! We've got a big 25th anniversary celebration going on at church tonight, and my daughter is having a skating birthday party on Saturday (her birthday is actually July 5, but it's almost impossible for her to have a party in the middle of the summer with everyone on vacation, so we're celebrating early this year.) On top of that, school is out for the summer this coming Wednesday, so everybody is happy around my house! :)

My DD had a fantastic 3rd grade year, breaking the school record again in Accelerated Reader points, and exceeding expectations in every area on the standardized tests given at the end of the year. We are always so proud of her, and I made this card to give to her after Awards Day next week. She likes all my cards, but she especially likes the colorful ones, so this one should be perfect.

The sunflower was stamped in a light tan color so I could try my hand at no-line coloring with my Copics. I've attempted this kind of coloring before, without much success, but I did okay with this one. For the center of the flower, I added teeny little black pearls with a Pearl Pen. After I fussy cut the sunflower, I adhered it to the green circle, lifting up the top edge with layers of crimped cs. The sentiment is heat embossed.

There is a little bitty ladybug stamp in the Sunflowers stamp set, and I couldn't resist using it. I stamped it onto red cs, cut it out, then coated it with Glossy Accents. It almost looks like a real ladybug on the card.

Here's a look at the layers of the card, including the partially popped up flower.

I love this quote, and it seems so fitting for the occasion. ;)

Well, that's it for me for a few days. Thanks for stopping by, and go have yourself a fantastic weekend!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Viva la Verve May 2013 Week 1 Sketch Challenge (VLVMay2013)
Color Throwdown #242
Simon Says Stamp & Show Challenge: A Little Paper
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Flower Power

~Hugs,

Stamps: Sunflowers (Flourishes); Follow Your Heart (Impression Obsession)
Paper: Hello Summer (Echo Park); Journeys (Kathy Davis)
Ink: Copics; Distress; Memento; Versamark
Dies: Classic Rectangles Lg & Sm, Std. Circles Lg, Classic Scalloped Circles Lg
Accessories: Daisy edge punch (Martha Stewart); Zigzag Chain edge punch (EK Success); Glossy Accents); embossing powder (Ranger); pearls (Prima); Pearl Pen; sewing thread
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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Sweet Birthday Girl

Hi there! Are you having a good week so far? I hope so! Our air conditioner and the home theater system went out at the same time, so we've been dealing with service techs to try to get it all running again. Sometimes I miss the days of only 4 television channels and a TV that required nothing more than an electrical outlet and maybe a rabbit ear antenna.

In between service techs, I did find time to make my DD a birthday card. ;)

I just love this Chloe stamp. She looks so sweet, and reminds me of my DD. I colored her with Copics, and used a die cut negative to frame her. The frame is lifted off the image with layers of crimped cs, and the image is positioned behind it so that you can still see the little bee buzzing around. The diagonal stripes are Washi tape with Stickles. The sentiment is stamped on a Verve Floral Circle die cut, then popped up over a larger Floral Circle. The bling under the sentiment are Swarovski crystals. They sparkle so much more than other rhinestones.

The metal charms are on a chain necklace, which is wrapped once around the foam dot behind the sentiment, and the excess is draped over the top of the card and hangs down the back. It is easily removed so that my DD can wear it. One of the charms is a sunflower and the other says "Laugh Often" on one side and "Love Much" on the flip side.

A bit of Stickles sparkle on the red and white flowers. That's Distress Dry Glitter on the blue flower.

On the inside, I added Stickles to part of the sentiment and used red brads as an accent. You can't tell in the photo, but the sentiment panel has a puffy, pillow look. I used 3 layers of crimped cs behind the word, "BIRTHDAY," and glued just the outer edges down. It's a subtle detail, but it looks great IRL. :)

I mentioned last week that I had made 14 fabric-covered boxes for my DD's upcoming birthday party. I've finally gotten all the spray adhesive off nearly everything in my craft room (tip: never use spray adhesive indoors, even with a color catcher box for overspray--it gets airborne, and covers EVERYTHING!), so I thought you might like to see how they turned out.

With the boxes open, you can see that no two are alike.

I also made the birthday party invitations, using a La-La-Land digital stamp. I colored the stamp in my photo editing program, and made the disco ball using the pixelate effect. It's amazing how many tutorials are out there on how to make a disco ball. :)

Well, that's all I've got for now. Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a fantastic day!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Tuesday Morning Sketches #198 (Twist: use Flowers)
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday #220: Blue & Green (I used blue & green dp, Washi tape, and flowers)
Verve May Diva Dare: Stars & Stripes
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Things with Wings
Color Throwdown #242

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Chloe (Elisabeth Bell); Blue Skies (Verve); Birthday Sentiments (MFT Stamps)
Paper: Basics (Paper Studio)
Ink: Copics; Memento; white gel pen; Versafine; Distress
Dies: Labels 14 (Spellbinders); Floral Circles (Verve)
Accessories: Washi tape; flowers; Stickles; rhinestones (Swarovski); Glossy Accents; Distress Dry Glitter; brads; Glossy Accents; chain necklace; metal charms; foam dots; sewing thread
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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It's Your Day, Mom!

Happy Mother's Day! In honor of Mother's Day, I've got a Mom card to share with you.

I did some heavy distressing with my Distrezz-It-All, sandpaper, a rasp, ink, and water. I love distressing!!! All the dp, including the smaller rectangle with the text on it, came from an old K&Co. paper pad. I was following Color Throwdown's current color challenge and needed a rose color, and didn't have anything that was just right, so I went with the closest color, embossed it, sanded over that, then inked over it. The main sentiment is a Flourishes' stamp. The black matting behind it is a Splendid Circles die cut. I love that with the circle die cut inside and the black edges crimped up, it looks like a bottle cap. Neat! ;)

On the inside, I stamped one of the rose images from Flourishes Sweet Nature stamp set, by stamping off once first. I didn't worry about getting all the excess ink off, as I think the darker areas add to the distressed look. I decided not to put a sentiment inside yet, as I think would work for several "Mom" occasions.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a crafty week!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Mojo Monday #292 (MOJO 292)
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday #219 (Black Accents--I used black & white twine, black matting, and a black flag)
Color Throwdown #241 (CTD241)

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Sweet Nature, Tiny Flowers & Tags (Flourishes)
Paper: Life's Journey (K&Co)
Ink: Distress; Versafine; Versamark; Copics
Dies: Splendid Circles, Labels 14, Std. Circles Lg (Spellbinders); Banner Stacklets 1 (Taylored Expressions)
Accessories: Parisian Edger (EKSuccess); Corner Chomper; Decorative Tile embossing folder (Cuttlebug); sandpaper for distressing; embossing powder (Ranger & Adirondack); twine (The Twinery); pearls; brads; sewing thread; Distrezz-It-All; mini staples
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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