Whimsical Swirls...

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! The hubby and I decided to stay home this year instead of rushing here and there like usual, and it made for a very relaxing holiday. I even got in some crafting time while Hubby was busy playing the new Wii game Santa left under the tree for him.

While playing on PCP recently, I noticed a banner ad for Sweet Pea Stamps and had to go check them out. Anyone who knows me, knows I am crazy about cats, so as soon as I saw ching-chou kuik's Purple Woods stamp, it just had to go in my shopping cart. Isn't it lovely?

For today's card, I used the sketch from Whimsical Wednesdays for my layout, and also played along with the Charisma Cards Challenge (anything BUT Christmas), the Crafty Creations Challenge (no rules), the Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge (Sparkle, Baby!), and the Creative Crew Card Challenge (anything goes). Be sure to stop by and check them out!

The pretty blue paper I used is part of the Pink Petticoat Elegant Swirls digital paper collection. I embossed the white card stock with the Cuttlebug "Birds & Swirls" folder to match. The gemstones were originally clear, but I colored them with a BG78 copic so they would stand out more. I just love how versatile copics are!

I colored the image with copic markers, and then used a chocolate Atyou Spica pen to add highlights to her hair. I decided I wanted a lot of shimmer on this image to go with the fantasy feel, so I also used a Sakura Stardust pen on her dress and eyeshadow, and then finished it off with some Stickles on kitty's wings and on the leaves. You can see the glitter better in the above photo. I don't know about you, but glitter never wants to photograph well for me, at least not without washing out the rest of the project.

Copic markers used:

Thanks for stopping by!

Dreaming of a White Christmas...

Woo. This is the last Christmas card I needed to make to finish off my holiday card list this year! I'm so excited to finish with my cards... because that means it is time to start baking Christmas cookies! Mmmm...

For my card today, I decided to play along with the Mo's Digital Pencil challenge for this week- using only white on your card (other than on the image, of course).  I chose Door with Wreath for my image, and colored it in with copic markers. The family this card is going to has a blue house, so the blue around the door is supposed to be their siding. The wreath was covered with Flower Soft in Christmas Green and Shamrock Green, and has "berries" made from pearls that I colored with a R29 copic.

 

For the "snow," I made a custom blend of Twinklets and SU Dazzlin' Diamonds in a spare container for an extra sparkly effect, and attached it to the card with a bit of Zig 2 Way Glue. I know the photo doesn't do it justice, but trust me, if you saw this card in person, the snow sparkles like crazy!

Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

ISS - Love & Romance blog hop

Yes, I know, it's not the last Friday of the month, but this month InStyle Stamps is holding our blog hop a week early since we know everyone will be way too busy next Friday to blog hop. LOL.

The theme for this months blog hop is Love & Romance. If you've landed here from Jodi's blog than you are on the right track - continue on! If you've accidentally stumbled here on your own, take a moment go to the Instyle Stamps blog to start the hop off right. Trust me, you really don't want to miss any of the lovely projects the design team has in store for you! Be sure to visit each stop on the hop and leave a comment so we'll know you were here.

For my project today, I'll be showing you the soon-to-be-released digital image, Mitchel and Tiff. Aren't they sweet? I still needed to make a Christmas card for my hubby, and what could be more romantic than a Christmas kiss under the mistletoe?

Mitchel and Tiff were colored with Copic markers, and Tiff had a bit of eyeshadow added with a Sakura Stardust gelly roll pen. I used a Martha Stewart punch for the mistletoe, and went over it with Distressed Stickles in Peeled Paint. I kept the layout clean and simple since my hubby isn't a big fan of bling or frills. Think he'll like it?

Copic markers used:

On to the Blog Hop details...

We will be giving away a Grand Prize to one lucky Blog Hop participant and also have a prize for one lucky design team member. To enter, finish hopping through the design team’s blogs, (leaving a comment at each stop, of course!) and then go to the InStyle Stamps blog and vote for the designer who's project inspired you the most. (You're going to vote for me, right? LOL!) Then, in order to be entered into the drawing to win the grand prize, leave us a comment on that post.

Thanks for playing along with us today! Next you will head to Joy's blog to see what she has in store for you! Thanks so much for stopping by! Happy Holidays!

4 little angels...

I rarely make more than one of any given card, but I liked this one so much, that I made several, changing the color of the outfit and the angel's skin and hair based upon who the recipient was going to be. So, here's 1 card, four ways.

The first card was sent to my mother, who's favorite color is red. I colored the angel to look like my little neice, Anna. 

For the version I sent to my brother, the angel was colored to look like my nephew, Ryan, and so got a green outfit with lighter colored hair.

This version of the card was given to a co-worker (who has asked to remain nameless), and was colored to look like her daughter. I love the pink outfit on this one!

And the final version was also given to a co-worker, and was colored to look like her son. Her favorite color is red, so that determined the outfit color.

The adorable little angel is Michael by Mo's Digital Pencil. I love how he can be either a girl or a boy depending on how you color the image. So versatile! Each image was colored with Copic markers, and had Frosted Lace stickles added to the wings.

Thanks for stopping by!

2 challenges, and some exciting news...

I received some good news this week - I'll be a member of the Stamp Something design team starting in January! How exciting is that?!? Denise and Erin always have fun challenges each week, and I'm honored to be joining such a talented group of ladies!

Now on to the project... For my card today, I decided to play along with the Stamp Something challenge (a card with a Winter Wonderland theme), as well as to use this week's sketch from Friday Sketchers.

I'm just about finished with my holiday cards, but needed something special for one of my officemates. She's the outdoorsy type, so I thought Fishing Penguin by Elzybells would be perfect for her card. Isn't he a cutie? The image was colored with Copic markers, and then I added Twinklet's for the icey pond. The top layer of the punched snowflakes is also covered with Twinklets for some extra sparkle.

I was in such a rush to get this card photographed so I could get it ready to send that I forgot to take a picture of the Copics I used. My apologies. If you scroll down to the previous post, the colors are identical, except I added B91 for the water and E57 for the fishing poll.

Thanks for stopping by!

Gift set...

Today I thought I would show you the gift set I made for a dear friend. She loves penguins, so I used Penguin Snowflakes by Elzybells for the image on the card and on the ornament.

Both images were colored with Copic markers, and then had Twinklets applied to the snowflakes and the ground for a nice wintery feel. (Have I mentioned my Twinklets addiction? LOL!) For the card, I decided to try my hand at an easel card (great photo instructions can be found here).

I know you are supposed to put a brad or some such in the middle to hold the card in place, but the three layers of card stock I used on the base seemed to work just as well. 

For the ornament, I used the same papers as I used on the card to decorate one of those little party favor tins by Wilton. I used them for a baby shower last year, and have a ton of them leftover, so I'm glad to finally find a use for them! 

I used a nestabilities circle die to cut out the image, added a bit of Elmer's glue to the inside bottom of the tin, and then smooshed the image in place. Once it was dry, I added some more Twinklets to the container to turn it into a shaker. Before I put the lid on, I added a line of Elmer's around the edge to hold it in place. The outside was covered with a stripe of designer paper, and then the front and back were decorated with more Nestie cut-outs.

My project does quadruple duty today, as I played along with the Elzybell's challenge 33 (making a gift), the Create4fun challenge (making an easel card), the Stampstacular Sunday challenge (not using red or green), and the Colour Create challenge (using purple, aqua, black and white).

Copic markers used:

Warm thoughts...

We are doing our Secret Santa gift exchange and holiday breakfast at work tomorrow. My person loves chocolate, so I used "Sweet tooth" by Mo's Digital Pencil for her card. Think she'll like it?

I decided to play along with this weeks Charisma Cards challenge (using red, green, white or silver), so that determined my color scheme. I colored the image with copic markers, and then added a bit of stickles for some bling. I did something a little different with the card this time around, and scored it to open in the middle.

Happy Birthday, Brandan!

My nephew's birthday was last week, and we are having the family over to celebrate this friday. When I saw Video Boy by Mo's Digital Pencil, I knew it would be perfect to use on Brandan's card as he is constantly playing the Wii or his gameboy.

Video Boy was colored with copic markers, and then I went over the metallic areas (watch, soda can, chip bag, candy wrapper) with a Sakura Stardust pen for a bit of a metallic sheen. I kept the layout very simple as an 11 year old boy isn't going to want any bling on his birthday card. LOL.

Copic markers used:

Wishing you joy...with 5 challenges!!!

Have you mailed out your holiday cards yet? I am hoping to do so this week, but still need to make a few for the special people in my life. My husband's parents are heading to Texas to spend the holiday with his brother next week, so their card was first on my list.

My in-laws are very much the traditional Christmas card kind of people, so Door w/ Wreath by Mo's Digital Pencil was perfect for their card. After coloring the image with copic markers, I added Twinklets to the door frame and snow for a realistic icy snow effect, and then painted the wreath and sled with Angel Wings Shimmerz for some added sparkle. The "berries" on the wreath are dew drops and mini pearls colored with a R29 copic marker. The holly leaves are a Martha Stewart punch, and were also painted with Shimmerz (in the retired Sagebrush color), and then finished off with a bit of Twinklets. For a final bit of sparkle, I colored the door handle with a silver Spica pen.

If anyone has some tips for photographing Shimmerz, please leave me a comment. This card sparkles like crazy in real life, but I just couldn't get it to show up very well in the photograph. Probably why I usually stick to my Stickles. LOL.

I did some holiday multi-tasking, and played along with 5 challenges with this card!!! The sketch is by Sketch Saturday, I have lots of "glitz" for Stamp Something, my colors (olive, red, brown/cream) are for Color Throwdown, I've got lots of sparkle for Digital Tuesday Challenges, and finally, I used traditional Christmas colors to make a card for someone special (my in-laws) for Mo's Digital Pencil. Woo! That's a lot of challenges!

Copics used:

InStyle Stamps guest designer call

It's time for the monthly Club Anime sketch challenge with InStyle Stamps, and this month, a spot on the guest design team for January and February is up for grabs! If you'd like to play along, head over to the Club Anime blog to check out all the details and get the sketch.

For my card, I took a break from all the holiday cards I've been working on lately to make a birthday card for a friend. I used Ava Sitting, one of my all time favorite images from InStyle Stamps, as the main image for my card.  Ava was colored with copic markers, and then I used Pearl Ex with Future Floor Wax to color in her wings. I just love the effect this gives you, and the way the floor wax seals in the Pearl Ex so it doesn't get all over everything. You can find a tutorial here if you aren't familiar with the technique.

Don't forget, you can save 5% off of your purchase at InStyle Stamps by following this link. Happy Shopping!