Wishing You Love

Howdy folks. Happy Hump Day! It's a dreary and rainy day here in Virginia. Yuck! The card I have to share today is my entry for a few challenges and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Friday Sketchers #85 - Sketch

Wags 'n Whiskers #8 - Hearts

Moxie Fab World - Start to Finish

Charisma Cardz #2 - Anything New

Raise The Bar #1 - New

And here is the card..  

 I used the adorable image titled With Love from Wags 'n Whiskers. Isn't she so cute!? I just got her about a week ago, hence the challenges to use something new. She was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Copics. I added some Diamond Stickles to the fuzzy trim of her boots. The card base is made from Papertrey Ink's Sweet Blush cardstock and the patterned paper is Basic Grey's Bittersweet. The sentiment, stamped in PTI Dark Chocolate ink, is from PTI's Wishing You set and the heart, stamped in PTI Sweet Blush ink, is also PTI - from the Love Songs set. I used the Martha Stewart Mini Heart border punch on the brown paper and also the bottom layer. I also decorated the inside of the card this time around. I didn't follow the same sketch but used the same papers so that it coordinates. You can click on the smaller images below for a bigger view.

Well, that is all for me today. Thank you for stopping by and also many thanks for all of the sweet comments you leave. They really make my day. Have a good one!! 

Love Birds

My first post of 2010. I meant to post earlier (I say that frequently huh?) but after taking a break during the Holidays it was slightly tough getting my mojo back. I finally found it yesterday and was able to get two cards done. Lots of pinks going on with this one. I think I went a little overboard.

The image is from High Hopes and I colored it with Copics. Other than that, oh and the Prima flower, everything else is Papertrey Ink. The cardstock is Hibiscus Burst and Raspberry Fizz. The patterned paper is the new Simple Valentine. I got the stack for Christmas. I love these papers! And to finish it off, PTI's vintage buttons.

I am entering this card in a few challenges:

High Hopes Stamps #57 - Sketch

A Spoonful of Sugar #85 - Hearts

Cute Card Thursday #94 - New

I hope you all have a great weekend. I actually have tomorrow off, which is a rarity. I want to go see Avatar. It looks really good. Maybe I'll get another card or two done as well. I'll be back soon with my entry for Dawn's latest Raspberry Suite Color Challenge. :)

Biking Angel

It's been over two months since my last post on here. Wow. I went through a major slump and lost all of my creative mojo. I tell ya what got me out of it too - Copics! About 2 weeks ago, I caved in and bought my first, about 12 or so. Loved 'em so much I placed another a week later. These markers are great and I really can see what everyone loves about them. I haven't quite gotten my blending down pat yet and I know it'll be a while before I work on my shading, but I love the results they give with just plain coloring. So fun! If you're on the fence or in the market for them, I highly recommend Oozak. They have the best prices I've seen and free (and fast) shipping on orders over $50.00. Make sure you register to see the lowest price. As soon as I got my first order I couldn't wait to get to work on an image. So for my first post back I'll be sharing my entry for this week's High Hopes Challenge. It is a fab sketch by DT member Lacey.
I found my new source for the adorable High Hopes stamps. 7 Kids has wonderful pricing and reasonable shipping too. This image is titled Lizabeth Biking Angel. Isn't she cute? I only have a limited number of Copics (about 32) so I have to choose my papers carefully. I know what I'll be asking for from Santa this year! Ha. The pattern papers are from K&Company's Citronella line. It has a lot of bright and fun papers. I added some Diamond Stickles to her wings for a little extra sparkle. Primas and skittles finish it all off. That is all for me for today. I photographed another card I finished today when I did this one so I hope to be back soon to share that with you all. I'm also off work tomorrow so hopefully I can get another card or two done. Thanks for stopping by!

Swimsuit Tilda

Hey everybody! I apologize for the lack of posting. I have been creating and my Google Reader is plum full of wonderful blogs that I greatly enjoy reading, but when it came to my blog I just lost interest. I'm still not entirely back into it, but I figured I could at least post my cards and their recipes even if I don't have much else to say. The card I have to share for this post I am entering in Cute Card Thursday's Challenge #74 - Lazy Days! All supplies used are listed below. I think this is one of my favorites cards I have created to date. I hope to start on some Christmas cards soon. Thanks for stopping by! :)

Recipe:
Stamps: Magnolia (Summer kit)
Ink: Staz-On Jet Black
Cardstock: PTI Summer Sunrise
Paper: MM Chloe's Closet
Accessories: Prismacolor Pencils, blending stumps, odorless mineral spirits, Stickles, dew drops, Nestabilities

Berry Much

Where has July gone? I can't believe it's already the 20th. I truly meant to post again before today - more like last week! Life just seems to get in the way. This week is sure to be a busy one as well. We leave on Saturday for VEGA$! It seems like just the other day the countdown was at 50 days. Now we have only 5 sleeps to go. We'll be staying at the Flamingo as both my Mom and I got comp'd rooms for the week there. I'm so excited! We will arrive in Vegas around 11:00 p.m. Saturday night & we depart at midnight the following Friday. Six full days - this could be trouble! I'll be happy if I leave even or only down by half! LOL! Of course, it would be nice to come back ahead. :)
The card I have to share today took no time to make. It follows this week's Simon Says Challenge - Summer Fruits! The sketch is from a Papertake Weekly challenge a couple of weeks ago. All products used are from Papertrey Ink. The colors are Lemon Tart, Berry Sorbet, and New Leaf. I think they look good together - a nice cheery, summer combo. The strawberry image and sentiment are from the My Punny Valentine set. I'm happy with the final result and my next post will actually feature a card using the same sketch and set. I'm free the rest of the day so I hope to get another card or two complete. I will definitely post again before I leave for vacation. Hope you all have a fab week! Ciao!

Recipe:
Stamps: My Punny Valentine
Cardstock: Lemon Tart, Berry Sorbet, New Leaf, Kraft
Ink: Berry Sorbet, New Leaf
Paper: Bitty Dot Basics
Other: Lemon Tart vintage buttons, Nestabilities

Surfer Edwin

I can finally say I'm the owner of a Magnolia. I received the Summer kit last week and all of the images are so cute. Now, I just wish I had some Copics to color them. That'll be my next big item purchase. Maybe some time next month I can get my first set.

Doesn't Edwin make a cute surfer? I thought these papers from DCWV's Tahiti stack worked well with him. I colored him with the limited amount of Prismacolor pencils that I have. I'm not too happy with the finished image, but it'll have to do. The sketch used for the card was Pretties Weekly Challenge #58. I really like this sketch and plan to use it again. The full recipe is below. Sorry for the quick post. It's only 8:00 and I can barely hold my eyes open! That could be a good thing, though, as I have to be at work by 6:30 tomorrow morning! I should be back before the weekend with another post. I got two cards made last night using another sketch challenge. Ciao!

Recipe: Stamps: Magnolia (Summer kit)
Cardstock: Smokey Shadow, True Black (PTI)
Paper: DCWV Tahiti Stack
Ink: Staz-On Jet Black, Smokey Shadow (PTI)
Accessories: Prismacolor Pencils, blending stumps, odorless mineral spirits, Nestabilities, dew drops, sponge dauber

enjoy Life

Evening folks! Another week has begun. Luckily, I had today off. The weather was beautiful. Bright sunshine, blue skies, a few puffy clouds, and a nice slight breeze to keep it from feeling too hot. I had planned to get a card or two done today, but alas I have yet to follow through. I did get this card finished last night. When I received my latest PTI package, I noticed these three colors laying together and I liked how they looked so I thought I'd give it a try with a card. The layout is from Sunday Sketch & Stamp's Challenge #5. I definitely plan to save it and use again for future cards.All products used are from Papertrey Ink. The colors are Hibiscus Burst, New Leaf, Smokey Shadow, and Vintage Cream. The stamp sets I used were both designed by the fabulous Lisa Johnson and are titled Life and Background Basics: Spots & Dots. I decorated the inside as well, but it's very simple. The card measures 5.25 squared. Alcohol-inked dew drops were added for a finishing touch. Well, that's all for me today. I hope you all have a beautiful week. Maybe I'll be back with another card within the next couple of days. Take care!

Bee Happy - PTI Blog Hop

Hi everyone! It's time for Papertrey Ink's monthly blog hop. This will be my first time participating. Where has June gone? This year is just flying by. The weather has been super hot here this week - up into the 90s! Work has been crazy busy so that explains my lack of posting and creating. The theme for this month is Summer Inspiration. When I think of summer, I think of flowers and gardening. My card was inspired by a painting titled Wildflowers by Brian Simons. [Click <-- Wildflowers for a photo of the painting] I don't quite recall how I came across his work, but I saved the link so I can take some time to look over each one at a later date. Isn't his work just stunning? I would love to have talent like that. I used PTI's Honey Bees set and had fun creating the flower and bee scene. One of the flowers, the Hibiscus Burst, is from Little Lady though. I plan to make a card using the coordinating papers for each of the flowers colors. This one is Ocean Tides. So far I've got Lemon Tart and Plum Pudding complete. For the layout, I used Stamp and Smiles Sketch Challenge #19. I hope I get some time to get some cards done soon. I have many challenges saved that I want to work on. Some are over two weeks old, but they're great to save for future sketchs and ideas. I do have Monday off, but I hope to squeeze in some time this weekend. I thank you for stopping by and hope you have a wonderful evening. Ciao!

Recipe:
Stamps: Honey Bees, Little Lady, Background Basics: Spots & Dots
Cardstock: Kraft, Ocean Tides
Patterned Paper: Bitty Dot Basics
Ink: Jet Black (Staz-On), Lemon Tart, Summer Sunrise, Plum Pudding, Ripe Avocado, Ocean Tides, Hibiscus Burst

Wishing You... 3 Card Set

Hola! The weather here in Virginia is beautiful. The sun is shining bright and it is hot! Days like today make me definitely appreciate air conditioning. I am off today so I had some time to take pictures of my latest creation. Early I voted and ran some errands. We have our Governor and Lt. Gov. primaries today. I hope to sit down in a little while and work on some cards. Just gotta get the mojo flowing. There are a lot of challenges I hope to complete so that helps with the motivation. This set of three cards were something I came up with as I went along. I was sorting through my Papertrey Ink cardstock and these three colors were laying together. I liked how they looked together so it all started from there. The only difference between the three are the sentiments.

I pulled out my favorite Wishing You set once again for the tulips and sentiments. The spotted lines are from Background Basics: Spots & Dots. I used Bitty Dot Basics paper in Ripe Avocado for the image's frame. For a little sparkle, fine glitter was added to the larger tulip and, also, the dragonfly's trail on the inside. The sentiments say: Wishing You Happiness, Peace, & the Best. It's hard to believe PTI has another release just around the corner on the 15th. I am loving all of the sneak peeks so far. Well, I hope to be back soon with another post. Have a great day! Adios.

Recipe:
Stamps: Wishing You, Background Basics: Spots & Dots (PTI)
Ink: Berry Sorbet, Plum Pudding, Ripe Avocado (PTI)
Cardstock: Berry Sorbet, Plum Pudding, Ripe Avocado
Patterned Paper: Bitty Dot Basics (PTI)
Accessories: Nestabilities, sponge dauber, Quickie glue pen, Martha Stewart fine glitter

Warm & Cozy

Happy Hump Day! I hope you all are warm and cozy, especially if you're on the east coast. We were in the path of the big snow storm. We only get a decent accumulation if it comes from the south. The mountains always seem to block it coming from the west. We got around 3.5 inches. It sure was pretty coming down. Schools were closed for two days. The card I have to share today, believe it or not, follows five challenges. Yup, five! That's definitely a record for me.


The layout of the card was inspired by Taylored Expressions' Cupcake Challenge #57 sketch. The dry embossing completed Janette's RP Challenge SNSEC22709 and the use of nestabilities worked with Flourishes Newsletter's Timeless Tuesday challenge FTTC5. Since I used Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits to color my image, stampTV's challenge STVTC3 was completed as well. And finally - the theme of the card. Stamp Something's challenge this week was to make something that reminded us of the cold, winter wind and I think this stamp does just that! Woo - that's a lot, but somehow they all worked. I'm happy with the end result.

This sweet little bird as well as the cute sentiment is from a Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps set titled Cozy Feathered Friends. It's an adorable set and is perfect for the winter season. All of the patterned paper is from DCWV's 2008 Christmas stack. It may be hard to tell from the picture but the blue, embossed paper is from the stack. It has faint snowflakes as a background. It was embossed using my Cuttlebug and their Snowflakes folder. The flowers are from Prima and blue skittles/dew drops were also used as an embellisment. I used Stickles on the birds scarf and stocking cap, which didn't photograph well, and also in the center of the flowers under the skittle/dew drop. I believe that all takes care of the card's recipe and I will end this post with that. Ciao!

Snail & Fluffles - Sketch #37

Good day all. Hope you all are staying warm. It's blowing flurries outside right now. and the highs for the next two days are expected to be low-30s. Brr! Then by Friday the temperatures are supposed to get up to the high 50s. Crazy.
I have a card to share with you all. I used Friday Sketcher's Sketch #37 for my inspiration. It's always helpful for me to have a sketch to work with.

I already had my image, colors, and DP picked out, but just wasn't sure how to put it all together. I thought Sketch #37 really worked well. I had saw a tutorial on heat embossing a few months ago and was intrigued. I know - I'm behind. I had a 50% off coupon for Michael's burning a whole in my wallet so I used it on a heat gun. I love this technique. The stamp I used is called Snail Fluffles. I stamped the image with Brilliance ink and used my Prismacolor pencils, blending stumps, and odorless mineral spirits to color it. The blue cardstock is from DCWV. The DP is from Making Memories's Chloe's Closet collection. I love this stack. The ribbon is from American Crafts. I used Stickles for the center of the flowers and the snail's shell.

Well that's all for me today. I got Brideshead Revisited in the mail today from Netflix so I think I'll pop that in this evening. Ciao!

"Watermelon Bee" SNSSC1209

Happy New Year! Hope everyone is having a great 2009 so far. I began the year with a few stamping/paper-crafting goals and so far I'm failing miserably. One was to buy less and use more. How can one accomplish this with Michael's having a 50% off paper sale? If only they would put out the Martha Stewart and K&Co. Valentine's items. I also had to take advantage of the amazing sale H&M stamps had on the 6th & 7th. They had all of their stamp sets marked $5.00 (or maybe 6) or less. Fantastic deal, right? Who could pass that up? I picked up the adorable My Favorite Valentine set. I can't wait to get it. I really don't have any V-Day style stamps. There have been so many incredibly new releases this past week or so. It's so hard to resist. Another goal was to blog more - at least 3 times a week. Not doing so well with that one either so far.

Anyway, I do have a card to share. I followed Sweet N Sassy Stamps weekly sketch (SNSSC1209) for this one and I'm pretty happy with the finished product. I love this stamp. It's from Stampendous' "Bee Happy Collection" and is called Watermelon Bee. I colored the image using my Prismacolor pencils, odorless mineral spirits, and blending stumps then I cut and layered it with Nestabilities. The printed paper is from DCWV's Summer Stack. I thought it was perfect for this image. I'm not sure what brand the green and deep red cardstock is. I used two of my Christmas presents on this one as well - the Cuttlebug & Scor-Pal. I love them both! I don't know how I paper-crafted without them before. For accessories, I added some Primas and skittles. For the salt, wings, and antennas I added some sparkle with Stickles.

Before I go, I want to mention some blog candy! Michelle over at Stamps, Paper, Scissors, and Donkey Smiles is giving away a great assortment of goodies perfect for any Valentine's Day crafting. So head on over and check out her awesome blog for your chance to win. You have until January 15th. Also, Lim at The Voices in my Head... Lim's blog is sharing some fantastic candy as well. Wow, how kind is she?! I just adore those cute Hanglars. I wish they were available for purchase here in the U.S. So hop on over to her blog to find out how to win, you have until the 24th.

Well, that is it for me today. I hope to spend a lot of time working on some cards tomorrow. There are a few other challenges I want to try before the week is out. Take care everyone!

Hedgehog in Poppy Field

'Friend' Garden Gossip

Stamps: Penny Black ("Garden Gossip"), Studio G (Series 16/19)
Ink: Staz-On (Jet Black)
Technique: MCPT aka: Gamsol Magic
Paper: DCWV, Provo Craft, Georgia Pacific
Embellishments: Primas, Skittles, Stickles

"Hobble & Cuddle" Penny Black Hedgie

Stamp: Penny Black ("Hobble & Cuddle") and Studio G
Paper: DCWV (Printed), Provo Craft (Orange CS), Georgia Pacific (White CS inside)
Technique: Magic Color Pencil Technique aka: Gamsol Magic
Embellishments: Stickles, Skittles, Prima Flowers

Friends - Hedgehog Happiness SU!

Stamps: Stampin' Up (Hedgehog Happiness) & Studio G
Technique: Magic Color Pencil Technique aka: Gamsol Magic
Paper: Printed Paper (DCWV), Green/Blue CS (Provocraft), White CS inside (Georgia Pacific)
Embellishments: Primas, Skittles, Stickles

Changito Monkey - Any Occassion, Love

Stamp: Stampendous (Changito's Love Balloon), Studio G
Paper: Printed (DCWV), Red Cardstock (Provo Craft), White Cardstock (inside - Georgia Pacific)
Embellisments: Primas, Buttons, Skittles
Technique: MCPT/Gamsol Magic

Butterfly - Any Occasion