Christmas Presents in July...

Hello all! Did you miss me? Sorry for the long time between posts. I started a new job this month, and between wrapping up things for my old job, settling into the new job, and all of the usual crazy summer activities, I just haven't had much time for crafting until now. My fingers have been itching to do some coloring though, so expect more regular posts in the future!

That being said, I have a card to show you today. Lil Lotita Boutique Challenges is having a Christmas in July challenge this week, and ABC Christmas Challenges is up to P for Presents this week, so I decided to use the adorable Lylah from Tickled Pink Stamps to combine the two challenges. And just to make things interesting, I also used the sketch from the Tickled Pink Monthly Challenge.

Lylah was colored with copic markers, and has clear spica pen on the ribbon on the gift & in her hair for a little sparkle. (If you click on the image to enlarge it, you can see the sparkle better.) The cardstock and ribbon are all SU, and the dp is from the My Mind's Eye Be Merry Collection (my all time favorite holiday paper, which I'm almost out of, waa!).

I like to make holiday cards with a specific recipient in mind so I can personalize it a bit for them. This one is going to a friend who loves to sew, hence the buttons and "thread". The thread (SU silver cord) is actually one long piece that I've threaded through the buttons. I cut thing strips off of a glue dot and rolled them into super-thin lines to use to get the loops in the thread to stay put. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, and think she will get a kick out of it.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Summer Somethings...

Happy Friday! Are you ready for the latest Stamp Something challenge? This week, we are being sponsored by La-la Land Crafts, and our theme is "Summer Somethings".

La-la Land Crafts was kind enough to provide the dt images to work with, and I got to play with Summer Bill and Maya. Aren't they fun? They remind me of summers at the beach with my parents, so I will be sending this card to them... shhh...

Bill and Maya were colored with copic markers, and cut out with a Nestabilities label 1 die. I gave Bill an interesting swimsuit by paperpiecing in a scrap of one of the dp's I used on the card. I added a red rhinestone to Maya's hat and a bit of crystal effects to the tube for a finishing touch.

The polka dot dp is by Bo Bunny, and the stripe is a no-namer from my scrap pile (sorry!). The flowers are primas, and were originally yellow before I used my handy dandy airbrush system on them (love that thing!). The leaves are a McGill fern punch, and were also airbrushed for a bit more dimension. I still haven't had a chance to replace my much beloved, and very empty, bottle of Stardust Stickles, so I used Stickles in Xmas Red and Orange Peel, and Studio G glitter glue in a lime shade on my flowers and ferns. (Gasp!)

Copic markers used:

Happy Somethings...

Happy Friday! Are you ready for the latest Stamp Something challenge? This week, we are being sponsored by Karen's Doodles, and our theme is "Happy Somethings".

Karen very generously allowed the dt to chose an image to work with this week, and I couldn't resist the adorable Princess Pony. Does she look happy, or what?

Princess Pony was colored with copic markers, and has diamond Stickles on her hat, skirt ruffle, and bridle. I decided she needed a little more sparkle, so I added iridescent Smooch to her skirt and shoes. I added a mini rhinestone to her hat and the pony's bridle for a finishing touch.

Copic markers used:

Thanks for stopping by!

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

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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!

Crafty Sentiments - Bride in Monochrome

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone has been having a good weekend. I managed to get some gardening done along with working on some craft projects.

Since it's Sunday, it's time for the latest challenge with Crafty Sentiments. This week, we are challenging you to make a project using the above sketch.

I used Bride2 for my card. Isn't she lovely?

I colored Bride2 with copic markers, and then used Smooch in Moonlight on the ribbon on her dress, and Smooch in Iridescent on her veil. My wedding dress was covered in lace, so I decided to try to recreate that effect on her dress. To do so, I used a white gel pen to draw in random squiggles all over the dress fabric, and then went back in with a Sakura Glaze pen in white (it has a raised texture when dry) and dotted in some "pearls". It didn't photograph all that well, but the finished "lace" looks lovely in person.

Copic markers used:

Challenges I participated in with this card:
Crafty Sentiments - sketch
Kaboodle Doodles - Monochromatic
Spoon full of Sugar - #104 cute & girly
Crafty Creations - encouragement / celebrations
Paperplay - wedding celebrations
Charisma Cardz - 3D
Secret Crafter - no patterned paper

Two of Something...

**Update** Candy is now closed!

Happy Friday! Did you have fun at the Stamp Something birthday blog hop yesterday? If not, be sure to go here to start the hop as you still have time to enter to win some fabulous prizes!

Seeing as it is Friday, it's time for our weekly Stamp Something Challenge. This week, we are being sponsored by Karen's Doodles, and are challenging you to make a project with "2 of something". Two buttons, two ribbons, two designer papers, two images, your choice!

I decided to stick with the birthday theme, and used It's My Birthday by Sweet Pea Stamps to make a card for my supervisor. (Happy Birthday Pat!)

She was colored with copic markers, and has lots of stardust stickles on her wings and tail. For my "two of something" I used two designer papers (SU in Lovely Lilac) from my stash. I received them in a RAK ages and ages ago, and keep forgetting to use them.

Copics used:

Challenges I participated in with this card:
Stamp Something - two of Something
ABC Challenge - U is for unused stash

Stamp Something Birthday Blog Hop!

Stamp Something is celebrating it's 2nd birthday today, and to celebrate, we are having a blog hop! If you came here from Janna's blog, you are right on target. If not, head on over to the Stamp Something blog so you can start the hop off right. Our monthly sponsor, Simon Says, has offered up a great prize for one lucky hopper, and several of my team mates are offering up candy of their own, so trust me, you don't want to miss any of the stops!

Since this is a birthday celebration, the team has been challenged to make something cake or cupcake related/inspired. I decided to make a masculine birthday card featuring a cupcake with some yummy frosting & sprinkles (more on that later...).

The cupcake image is from the Hero Art Cupcake set, and was colored with copic markers. The yummy frosting is Liquid Pearls in White Opal. While the Liquid Pearls were still wet, I sprinkled on some Twinklets Diamond Dust to mimic sugar crystal sprinkles. I thought it needed a little more color, so I made some custom red sprinkles by dumping some Twinklets in a jar and adding a few drops of SU Riding Hood Red reinker.

CANDY ALERT!!!

Would you like some custom red Twinklets of your own? I've added a bag of them to my birthday mini candy, so be sure to leave me a comment for a chance to win. Just for giggles, please share what your favorite birthday dessert is. Inquiring minds want to know!

The candy will close at 7pm EST on Thursday, May 27th, with the candy winner being announced in the following day's challenge post on the Stamp Something blog.

Now, what are you waiting for? Hop on over to Lols blog to see what she has in store for you!

Something to Celebrate...

Happy Friday! Are you ready for another challenge with Stamp Something? This week we are being sponsored by Motivet, and are challenging you to make something for a celebration - wedding, birthday, new baby, whatever you like!

Motivet was kind enough to donate images for the dt to work with this week, and I was lucky enough to get the oh, so sweet Summer Wedding. Aren't they adorable?

Summer Wedding was colored with copic markers, and has a bit of stardust stickles on the lace on her skirt for a little sparkle.


Copic markers used:

Challenges I participated in with this card:


Stamp Something - celebrations
Creative Card Crew - sketch
One Stop Craft Challenge - wedding wishes


Thanks for stopping by!