Meow!

I was lucky enough to win the adorable Evie by Tickled Pink Stamps, and have been itching to ink her up. (Thank you, Kellie!) Isn't she purrfect? LOL!

Evie was colored with copic markers, and has diamond Stickles applied to her outfit for a bit of glitz. (Yes, you read that right. I used diamond Stickles for once. My bottle of stardust Stickles is empty, and I haven't ordered a new one yet. Waaa!!!) Evie was carefully cut out for layering, and glued to an oval that I embossed with a Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder. Before I attached her to the oval layer, I curled her tail, ears and paw over the edge of my finger to give the piece a little more dimension.

The paper is all retired SU, and the pretty ribbon and lace were a Hobby Lobby find. (Drool...) I airbrushed the roses to match the image, and applied more diamond Stickles to the flowers and ferns for even more sparkle.

Copics used:

Challenges I participated in with this card:
Tickled Pink Stamps - Girly Girly
Tickled Pink Stamps Monthly Challenges - sketch #1
Colour Create - baby pink and pastel blue
Crazy 4 Challenges - crazy for pleats
PaperPlay - flowers and sparkle

Crafty Sentiments - punch challenge

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone is having a great weekend! We lost power yesterday evening due to a transformer blowing nearby, so I'm afraid I am a little bit late with my blog post today. Since we've had nothing better to do with the power out, the hubby and I spent yesterday evening and most of today setting up a pool. Woo! I've been wanting a pool for ages, and was so excited about finally having one, that I actually got in when it was only half full and paddled around for a while until the ice cold water turned my toes numb.

On to today's Crafty Sentiments challenge. This week we are being sponsored by Debbie of The Crafty Pad Designs, and are challenging you to use punches on your card in some shape or form. Easy, right?

Today is my last day as a guest dt member, and I want to send a big Thank You!!! to Suzette for giving me the opportunity to work with her team for the past two months. It's been a lot of fun!

I've been in a summery mood lately, so for my project, I decided to use Amy from the April release. Isn't she adorable in her shorts outfit?

Amy was colored with copic markers, and has white dots added to her outfit with a Sakura Glaze pen in white.  For my punches, I used a corner rounder, horizontal slot punch, 1" circle punch, and a scalloped circle punch (to make the flower).

Copic markers used:

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamp Something - Recipe Challenge + candy winner!

Happy Friday! Are you ready for the latest Stamp Something challenge? This week, we are being sponsored by Paper Jewels, and have a recipe challenge for you. To play along, you will need to make something with designer paper, ribbon, a bow and a tag.

For my project, I decided to ink up Purple Comfort by Sweet Pea Stamps. Isn't she gorgeous?

Purple Comfort was colored with copic markers, and has stardust stickles on the lace of her gown as well as on the cat's wings. My designer paper is some SU from my stash, and my ribbon is a Big Lots find that perfectly matches SU Certainly Celery. I doubled over some of the ribbon on both sides of the center panel for a "bow" and also have bows in Purple Comfort's hair. My tag was cut by hand, and was outlined with a Sakura stardust pen for some shimmer. All of the pearls on the card were originally white, and were colored with a B34 copic to match the rest of the project.

Copic markers used:

Challenges I participated in with this card:

Stamp Something - recipe
Stamptacular Sunday - pearls and swirls
Everybody Art Challenge - fairytale
Charisma Cardz - going round in circles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope everyone enjoyed our birthday blog hop this week! The lucky winner of my mini candy is...

#3 - Sylvia from Minnesota!

Congrats, Sylvia! Please email me with your mailing address to claim your prize!

Wags 'n Whiskers Challenge #18 - scallops

I have some exciting news - Lacey at Wags 'n Whiskers invited me to be their guest designer for this weeks challenge! How fun is that? This weeks challenge is to make a project using scallops - Nestabilities, scallop punches, scalloped edges - you pick!

For my card, I decided to use the adorable Ryan's Chocolate Trouble to make a birthday card for my father. Think he'll like it?

Ryan was colored with copic markers, and then very carefully cut out. I glued his head and torso onto my white background paper, and then used glue dots to pop up his arms for a little dimension. I ended up chopping off his legs so I could place him in my scalloped frame (sorry, Ryan!), so I reused the chocolate wrappers that were at his feet to scatter at the bottom of my card.

Copic markers used:

Challenges I participated in with this card:

Wags 'n Whiskers - scallops
A Spoon Full of Sugar - one for the boys
Polka Doodles - birthday

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to pop on over to the Wags 'n Whiskers blog to see what the design team has in store for you today, and don't forget to check back here later in the morning to see what I created for this weeks Stamp Something Challenge (I'll give you a hint - it's VERY girly!).

TGF Battle Royale, Week 2

My team, the Faux Farmers, made it on to week 2 of the Battle Royale over at the Greeting Farm! Yeah! Thank you so much to everyone who voted for us last week!

This weeks challenge was to make a easel card, and team member Genetta Hutton rocked the challenge with this lovely card:

Isn't is gorgeous? All that lace and the colors she chose give it such a glamorous and vintage feel.

If you would consider popping on over here and voting for the Faux Farmers so we can move on to week 3, we'd really appreciate it! Remember, all you have to do to vote is leave a comment on our card in TGF galleria.

Thanks in advance!

Something doodled...

Happy Friday! Are you ready for another challenge with Stamp Something? This week, we are being sponsored by Simon Says, and are challenging you to use doodles on your project. Be sure to pop on over to the Stamp Something challenge blog to see what the rest of the dt has in store for you!

For my image, I combined 2 digital images by the Greeting Farm, Freaky Flutter, and WS Dressy Camille. I think Flutter has the cutest face, but find the cake body a little disturbing, so I love that I can swap out the cake for any of the other TGF outfits. Isn't she just the sweetest thing ever?

I colored "Fluttery Camille" with copic markers, and then went over the underskirt and hair bow with a Spica pen for some shimmer. For my layout, I CASED this great card by Jen Shults. It's so frilly and girly, and worked perfectly with "Fluttery Camille".

For the doodle, I made a background with the doodles from the SU set Doodle This. First, I stamped it in Blue Bayou ink, and then I added a second layer with Versamark & embossed it with SU Iridescent Ice EP. For a finishing touch, I used a white gel pen to dot along the contours of the doodles stamped in Blue Bayou.

Copics used:

Challenges I participated in with this card:
Stamp Something - doodles
Crafty Catz - white + one other color
One Stop Craft Challenge - let it shine
Creative Cottage - sparkles
Anyone for Anya? - eggstra special 
Pollycraft - sparkly things
Quixotic - monochrome
Thanks for stopping by!

Green and Cream Somethings...

Happy Friday! This week at Stamp Something, we are celebrating St. Patrick's Day a wee bit early by challenging you to make something Green and Cream. Be sure to pop on over to the Stamp Something challenge blog to see what the rest of the dt has in store for you, and to see how you can enter to win a great prize from this week's sponsor:

For my project, I used the adorable Madelynn by The Greeting Farm. I thought she looked like the perfect little Irish lass for a St. Patrick's Day card.

Madelynn was colored with copic markers, and had some sparkle added to her coat and scarf with copic spica pens in clear and sand.  I airbrushed two plain white brads to match the scarf, and used them in place of her buttons for a little interest.

I actually made the flower embellishment for her hat myself. All you need is a flower punch, paper of your choice, a brad or eyelet, and some stickles. Go here to watch Shaz's fabulous video tutorial. The tutorial itself is wonderful, and the comic relief offered by her young daughter will have you in stitches.

Copic markers used:

Challenges I participated in with this card:

Stamp Something - green and cream
The Pixie Cottage - green
Crafty Creations - make your own flowers
Copic Creations - green
Fussy & Fancy - green
Stampin Royalty - green

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday, Jamie!

My SIL's birthday is next week, and for once, I actually have a birthday card made a head of time! Jamie LOVES stars, so I thought "It's Your Birthday" by Sweet Pea Stamps was the perfect choice for her card.

"It's Your Birthday" was colored with copic markers, and had a bit of sparkle added to her wings with spica pens. I added Ice Stickles in Lemon Ice to the flame and little stars, and I'm afraid I went a little overboard. This was my first time using the Ice Stickles, and they dry to a more solid finish than regular stickles do. I actually had to do in with a pin and scrap off some of them so you could actually see the stamped lines! So be warned if you're like me and haven't tried out Ice Stickles before - use a VERY light hand when applying them.

The sentiment is also by Sweet Pea Stamps, and I thought it went perfectly with the image. Jamie has been having a rough time of it lately, so I thought a nice inspirational saying would be appropriate.

Copic markers used:

Challenges I participated in with this card:
Sweet Pea Stamps - spring / color challenge / flowers
Paper Sundaes - color challenge
Magical Crafts - things with wings
By the Cute & Girly - spring is in the air
Stamp, Scrap & Doodle Saturdays - anything goes
Cute Card Thursday - celebrations
Cupcake Crafts - flower power
Stamp with Fun - Spring
Crafty Cardmakers - feminine form

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my MIL's birthday, and I thought I'd share the card I made for her.

I was the lucky winner of this adorable Teddy with Flowers image by Crafty Sentiments two weeks ago on the Crafty Sentiments challenge blog. It arrived yesterday, so I couldn't resist inking him up. Isn't he sweet? My in-laws live way out in the country, and often have bears come to visit, so I thought he would be perfect for her card.

I colored him with copic markers, and added some stickles to the flowers for a little sparkle. The pretty paper is For Peeps Sake - Pretty New Dress by Imaginisce. I've been hoarding it since last spring, and it kills me to cut into it - it's just so pretty!

The rose and leaves were airbrushed with the copic ABS, and also got the stickles treatment. LOL. The sentiment on the side of the image, "birthday wishes..." was hand written using a copic .01 multiliner pen.

Copics used:

Challenges I participated in with this card:
Midnight Madness - sketch 44
Stamp with Fun - spring
Cupcake Craft - flower power
Kaboodle Doodles - Happy Birthday
Simon Says - Mother's Day / Girly

Thanks for stopping by!

Something Girly...

Wow! Another week has just rushed by! Are you ready for another challenge with Stamp Something? This week, our challenge for you is to create Something Girly. Pinks, frills, anything Girly goes!

We're being sponsored by Sassy Studio Designs this week, and they very generously gave the dt images to work with. I chose Baby Bump, and used her to create a card for my sister who is expecting her second child this September.

Baby Bump was colored with copic markers and accented with Spica pens. I found the poem online, and printed it in my photo editing program. I cut it out with an oval nestabilities die, and then layered it on a labels 5 nestabilities die to create a frame. The pretty paper is another sheet from the Pocket full of Posies matstack by DCVW that I used in a previous post (I'm loving these papers!).

I finished off the card with a bow and button. My sister should receive it in the mail today, so I hope she likes it. Shhh... don't tell her, but I have a matching scrapbook page in the works...

Copics used:

Challenges participated in with this card:
Stamp Something - girly
Paper Jewels - cute & girly
CRAFT Challenge - Mother's day / flowers
Sassy Designs - lilac & aqua
Lexi's Creations - anything goes
Creative Card Crew - celebrations
Allsorts - mom
Simon Says - Mother's Day / girly
Papertake - buttons, bows, brads & bling
Totally Gorjuss - It's for you mom

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamp Something - a recipe challenge

Happy Friday! Are you ready for a new challenge with Stamp Something? This week, we have a recipe challenge for you: use designer paper, ribbon, and some buttons on your creation. We're being sponsored by Simon Says this week, so be sure to pop on over to the Stamp Something blog to link up your creations for a chance to win!

For my card, I used an adorable digital freebie by Becca Kay Designs. Isn't she cute? I just love the frills on her dress!

I colored her with copic markers and then used a white Glaze pen to add in the white highlights on her dress and the cloud. I went over her wings and the ruffle of her dress with a Lilac Spica pen, and used the Stardust Spica pen on her goggles. The flowers were created by layering 2 different sizes of the Martha Stewart hydrangea punches, and then adding a button to the center. The pretty spring-like designer paper is from the Pocket Full of Posies matstack by DCWV.


I'm sorry, but I don't have a photo of the copics I used this time around. I did take one, but I accidentally deleted the photo from my memory card without first transferring it to my computer. Oops! I've ordered a new digital camera, as my 7 year old Canon is starting to act up a bit, so I've been trying to clean up all of my memory cards before it arrives.

Challenges participated in with this card:
Stamp Something - recipe challenge
Crafty Sentiments - sketch
Cute Card Thursday - Ribbon-tastic

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

A Touch of Spring...

Happy Friday! Are you ready for another challenge with Stamp Something? Janna is hosting this week, and she has chosen the following theme:

A touch of Spring

I don't know about you, but after all the snow we've been getting lately, a bit of spring sounds very appealing! Be sure to check out the Stamp Something blog to see what the rest of the dt has in store for you, and to check out how you can win a delightful prize from this week's sponsor, Whiff of Joy.

When I think of Spring, I tend to think of weddings, so I decided to create a cute little favor bag to show you today. The vellum bag is from a Martha Stewart wedding favor kit I've had kicking around forever and keep forgetting to use. I replaced the topper that came with it with a piece of pretty designer paper from my scrap pile and tied it all together with some pink grosgrain.

I used Wedding Carriage by Whiff of Joy for the tag. It was colored with copic markers and accented with Stardust Stickles. I cut it out with a circle Nestabilities die, and then layered it on a piece of SU Pink Pirouette that was cut with a Nestabilities Labels 5 die. The flower to the side was originally white, so I airbrushed it with the copic ABS and a R81 marker and added stickles to the petals for more interest.

Challenges I participated in with this project:
Stamp Something - touch of spring
A Spoonful of Sugar - springtime
Pink Elephant - ribbon
Our Creative Corner - making something new out of something old
Crafty Angels - flowers
Copic Creations - coloring embellies with your copics

**I'll be posting some blog candy this weekend to celebrate 20,000 hits, so be sure to stop back to check it out!**

Have a great weekend!

With Deepest Sympathy...

One of my co-worker's lost her dear grandmother last week, so I made a sympathy card for her.

For the image, I used Wild Rose, a digital freebie by Mel's Stampz. The image is very sweet, and I thought it would be perfect for a sympathy card. The sentiment is computer generated, and after cutting it out with a Nestabilities Labels 4 die, I left it in the die to airbrush the center with a copic RV93. I ran a copic YG63 around the edge of the tag to make it stand out a bit from the background.

I colored the image with copic markers, and then went over the black lines on the roses with a Sakura Stardust pen to add a little sparkle. The centers of each rose are petite glass seed beads by Mill Hill from my cross stitching supplies. I used a 2-Way glue pen to attach them, and got them in place by using a needle (they're too tiny to use your fingers).

Challenges entered with this card:
Fussy & Fancy Friday's #4 - dazzle us
Quixotic Challenges #13 - tag it

Copic Markers used:

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Something Cute

It's Friday, and you know what that means... It's time for a new challenge with Stamp Something! Our challenge this week is to create "something cute", and is being sponsored by Wags 'n Whiskers Stamps. Wags 'n Whiskers is having a new release blog hop today, and generously provided the Stamp Something dt with some of the new images so we could play along.

For my project, I got to play with the new release, "Let's do lunch." Isn't she cute?

She was colored with copic markers, and layered on Berry Sorbet cs by PTI. The fun designer paper is from an ancient paper pad by K&Co that I've had in my stash forever, and I used the sketch from Paper Sundaes challenge #4 for my layout.

Copic markers used:

Be sure to head on over to the Stamp Something Challenge blog to see the cute creations the rest of the dt has for you. And don't forget to pop over to Wags 'n Whiskers to check out their blog hop. The new stamps are adorable!

Thanks for stopping by!

Love Somethings...

Happy Friday! Valentine's Day is just a little over a week away - are you ready? Just in case you're not, this week at Stamp Something, we are challenging you to make a project using a "love" theme. This week our challenge is being sponsored by Bunny Zoe Crafts, so don't forget to pop on over to the Stamp Something challenge blog and leave us a link to your project to be in the running for the prize.

For my card, I decided to use Midnight Waiting by Sweet Pea Stamps. Isn't she gorgeous?

Midnight Waiting was colored with copic markers, and then had Stardust Stickles added to her wings and hair jewelry. I kept the card layout nice and clean so as not to detract from the image.

Now head on over to the Stamp Something challenge blog to see the lovely creations the rest of the dt has in store for you!

Challenges I participate in with this card:
Stamp Something - love
Crafty Creations - wings
Creative Card Crew - Valentine's Day
By the Cute and Girly - love
Papertake Weekly - love
Quixotic Challenges - fairies
Charisma Cardz - love

Copic Colour Challenge #50
Paper Sundaes - Valentine's Day
Pollycraft Monday Challenge #33 - things with wings

Love you to the Moon...

Back when we were first dating, my husband gave me a book on the moon for my birthday. It's filled with gorgeous photos, but the very best part about it is the inscription he wrote inside the front cover: "I'll love you to the moon and back." There was more to it than that, of course, but that was the phrase that stuck in my head.

  

When I saw ching chou kuik's Red Hearts by Sweet Pea Stamps, it immediately made me think of that book, so I decided to use it on a Valentine's Day card for my husband.

The image was colored with copic markers as usual. I wanted to do something a bit different for the background, so I randomly scribbled on color with a R81 and my custom pale YR21* (I have two of these - this one was the darker of the two). I then used my custom pale R81* and custom super pale YR21* to blend the darker shades together. After I was finished with that, I dotted the whole thing with the copic colorless blender pen to give it an interesting texture. Note that you don't have to be too precise when coloring because the clolorless blender pen hides any less than perfect areas. I really like the effect, so don't be surprised if you see it again with different color combinations.

I always get asked about my custom markers, so I did a color comparision swatch for you so you can see the difference between the original copic color and my custom blends.

 

*The formula's for my custom pale markers are as follows:

pale YR21: 5cc's blender fluid + 80 drops YR21 refill

super pale YR21: 5cc's blender fluid + 30 drops YR21 refill

pale R81: 5cc's blender fluid + 35 drops R81 refill

Challenges participated in with this card:

Charisma Cardz #3 - fruity colors (raspberry, banana, and blueberry)

Crafty Creations #51 - Valentine's or Love

Creative Card Crew #43 - punch it (Martha Stewart Lace Heart punch)

Midnight Madness #37 - sketch (MMSC37)

A Spoonful of Sugar #87 - Lots of Layering

Copic Buzz Weekend Technique #1 - using your blender pen to create texture

Simon Says Stamp - punch it! (Martha Stewart Lace Heart punch)

Thanks for stopping by!

Funny Somethings...

Happy Friday! Are you ready for another challenge with Stamp Something? This week we are challenging you to stamp something funny or something that makes you giggle in honor of our sponsor, Sunshine and Giggles Stamps.

For my card, I used the adorable "Molly in a box" stamp by Wild Rose Studio. This image makes me giggle because it reminds me of my kitty, Emmalee. Emmalee LOVES boxes. It doesn't matter what kind of box it is, she's all over it. She gets so excited when we get packages, because it means she gets a new BOX!!!! to play in.

Looking cute in PawPaw's box from a class project...

 

 

All tuckered out after "helping" open holiday gifts...

 

And the ever undignified, "I know there's a mousie in here somewhere!!!" LOL! Yes, Emmalee loves her boxes!

Molly in a box is supposed to be a Christmas image, but she's so cute, I couldn't leave her on a shelf for most of the year. To make her into a birthday kitty, I added the party hat and mouse from the SU set "Here, Kitty Kitty" and the balloons are a Studio G stamp (stamped repeatedly). All of the images were colored with copic markers, and have sparkle added with a Sakura Stardust pen (LOVE that pen!).

Copic Markers used:

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to head on over to the Stamp Something challenge blog for some giggles from the rest of the design team!