Exciting News!

I have some exciting news -  I was invited to be on the Sister Act Card Challenge Design Team!!  Woo-hoo!  Your luck and good wishes worked!

The Sister Act Card Challenge is a weekly, anything goes challenge.  Weekly sponsors and guest designers are sure to help keep things exciting.  I just spent time on the blogs of the other DT members, and they are fantastic and sure to inspire you.   April 5th is the first challenge.  Hope you will pop over and join us in the fun.

CAS Spring Flowers

Daisies - Stampendous, sentiment - PTI

I'm on Spring Break and there's no need to go any farther than my craft room for a vacation!

Today's card combines a number of challenges.  Three of them have been in my head tumbling around until this morning when my card came together.  Two are Splitcoast Stampers challenges.  Monday's CAS Challenge is a limited supply challenge and calls for using only outline stamps.  Daffodil Delight, More Mustard and Tempting Turquoise are the three colors in Tuesday's Color Challenge.  Use It Tuesday and Addicted to CAS both have spring themes for their challenges.  This card makes me think of spring.

Another challenge that influenced my card is from the Muse Card Blog.  A card is chosen to become a "muse" for creating a new card.  Ardyth Percy-Robb is this week's muse.

Ardyth's card

As I have mentioned before even though it's not my style, I am drawn to CAS cards.  Ardyth's card appealed to me right away - I loved the circles and the sentiment in the center.  The idea is reflected in my card.  The daisies on my card needed white space or the card quickly became to busy.  I went right to my collection of big sentiments and found this one from PTI.  The daisy stamps are about six years old.  They don't get much ink, but they do come in handy.  I also pulled them out for this card back in February!

I use white copy paper to plan my card, and it took several tries before I came to this layout.  Not being trained in art, I needed to remember the design principle of triangles in deciding where to place my daisies.  One layer cards panic me a bit!!  One mistake means starting over.  I sent up a silent prayer as I added the sentiment (which was my last stamp).  I would love to hear your comments and suggestions about my latest CAS attempt.

Playing with Patterns (Again)

Fancy Folk Art - PTI

I am still working on coloring on patterned papers and putting patterned papers together from the Pattern Play Online Card Class.  The image is stamped on PTI's Soft Stone patterned paper and colored with Copics.  The other paper is from Basic Grey's "knee highs" collection.

I used this week's Retro Sketch Challenge to put this card together, and am using it to participate in PTI's Blog Hop this month.  I don't have any sequins (which was the theme), so I pulled out my pink and clear Stickles.  I used Dynamic Duos Color Challenge for the card's colors.

Embossing on Patterned Paper

Harvest Berries - PTI & In Full Bloom-Stampin' Up

The lesson for Day 2 was about embossing on patterned paper.  I made two cards - I don't have any big background stamps, so I had to improvise using one the Gingko leaves from PTI's Harvest Berries.  I stamped them on patterned paper and clear embossed them, and then tool Old Olive craft ink on a sponge dauber and went over the paper.  Afterwards, the clear embossing is removed with paper and an iron.  (It reminded me of wax batik!)  Love the idea and how the leaves turned out.  Not sure about the card layout, but I was also trying a design element I saw in one of yesterday's videos (with the daisy circles).

I am trying to use some already stamped /colored images on my cards so I can concentrate on the patterned paper aspect of the card.  I had this daisy I colored with my Copics leftover.  It's hard to tell in the picture, but t is colored on patterned paper (soft stone from PTI).

Asian Fusion - PTI

I had the black and white polka dot paper on the floor and when I was going through my box of images "waiting to be chosen" for a card, I saw this  vase from  PTI's Asian Fusion set.  It was already embossed with black embossing powder with red Stickles in the center of the flowers.  I inked up my French Script background stamp with red ink and stamped over the black polka dot paper (next time I might experiment with embossing in red), and paired it with smaller red polka dots.  The solid black around the vase and the strip of red border provides contrast for the patterns.  I glued on a crocheted flower and a red button to mirror the vase.

Day 2 of the Pattern Play class

Playing with Patterns

One of Favorite My Peeps - MFT

Back again with one more of the MFT kids I colored a couple of weeks ago.  I am using this one in a card for a new class called Pattern Play over at the Online Card Class website.  This class is all about using patterned papers.

Today's tip was using a combination of a bold pattern with a smaller pattern and a solid.  One of the other tips I found helpful was how striped papers are great for choosing a color palette.   I was excited to look through my stash of paper to find patterns I've had for a while, but thought they were too busy - and then look for a striped paper!  Easy lessons, but it still took a while to put the card together.  I think I'll get lots of practice this week!

I used the sketch from another challenge blog I found called Unscripted Sketches. This is my first time playing with them.  This week's sketch is  Unscripted Sketches #202.  I thought the stripes looked like the rectangles on the right side of the sketch.

Design Team Tryout

There's a new challenge blog starting, called the Sister Act Card Challenge.  Love the title - this blog is being started by two sister-in-law (not Whoopie Goldberg or nuns!).  They are looking for folks to be on their design team and ask that people trying out post three cards.  It's an "anything goes" challenge each week.  I'm giving it a try.  I wanted she show my range in the three cards I chose.

Copic coloring is one of my true loves, so I chose these first two cards:
Rosie Posie shows how I color people, and shading that is involved with coloring clothing, skin and hair.  Most of my cards have multiple layers as well.















My Tulips and Boots card uses Copics as well.  It's a different kind of coloring and brings in the embossing folders I love to use when I make cards.  I masked the boots to stamp the bucket of tulips and then added the tulip stems.














My third card is a Clean and Simple card.  I have been honing my skill with CAS cards.  This one uses white embossing powder and brings in an embossing folder as a border.

                                                                                                                                                                             

                                                 Whether I am chosen to be on their team or not,
                                                               it should be a fun new challenge blog.                                          
                                                                                                    Wish me luck!

Chalkboard Inspired

Movers & Shakers - PTI, April Showers - Flourishes 

This card is inspired by the chalkboard trend.  I am combining a few challenges for this card.  One is the Friday Mash Up #101.  I mashed the chalkboard look with stamps from two companies.  The sentiment is from PTI's Movers and Shakers Sentiment stamps and the tulips are from Flourishes April Showers set.  I decided to color over the tulips with yellow and the stems with green because it looked like colored chalk does on a chalkboard - often a little pale.  The umbrella is a die from MFT.

The second challenge this was designed for is Dynamic Duos Challenge #44 - using black and So Saffron.  And finally, Splitcoast Stampers Inspiration Challenge 380. The Inspiration is a company called Spoonflower.  What an amazing site!  I used this fabric as my inspiration.

I hope you'll leave a comment and follow my blog.  I'm hoping for 100 followers - 25 at a time!!

Buttons and Flowers

Bittybloom- Stamping Bella

Back again with another card that I am using for two challenges this week.  The first is a
Papertake Weekly challenge, called 1-2-3.  Use 1 of one thing, 2 of two things and three of something else.  In this card I uses one colored figure, two flowers and three buttons.

The second challenge is Use It Tuesday's  using your stash of dies, punches and cutouts.  The center square is die cut from a simple square nestie, as it the patterned blue paper behind it.  The bottom of the card is one of those border dies that I again "had to have" and it sits in the drawer more than it is used!

MFT - Part Deux

Back in MN from my trip to New York, where I was temporarily spoiled (yesterday) with spring-like temps in the mid 50s.  Landing back in Minne this morning, I was reminded it's still winter here ~ but thoughts of spring aren't far away.  No better way to combat a cold, gray day than spend some time making a card!

Being Cute Is What I Do - MFT

Today's post idea comes from a challenge site that's new to me, called the Friday Mash-Up!  (I love the name!)  They are celebrating their 100th challenge by having people choose one of their previous challenges.  I took the "mash-up" part seriously and combined a few.  Challenge #21 was dry embossing (a "regular" in my card making), and Challenge #32 was a girlie theme and favorite technique (Copic coloring).  Quite a mash, eh?!?!

The card uses one more of the MFT kids I colored last week . . .  in this one, I focused on creating the idea of ripples in her top in my coloring.  I cropped the image and framed her with a PTI die.

Copics Used:
Hair: E50, 51, 53, 57
Dress:  Y11, 13 15
Skin:  E00, 11, 13, R20

The die cut flower with the button in the middle mirrors the flowered background paper.  Don't the soft colors of this card make you think of spring?

Taking the Plunge . . .

Being Cute Is What I Do - MFT

. . . so wish me luck!
I am super-excited about today's posting.  I have decided to take the plunge and enter MFT's  March Guest Design Team contest!  I have toyed around with trying out for a design team for a while and think a one month guest role would be fun.  MFT is a great company and their stamps are perfect for honing my coloring skills.

 For this sweet little girl, I used a combination of paper piecing and Copic coloring.  Her face uses E000, 00, 11 & R20.  Her hair - E50, 51, 53, & 57. 

If you look closely, you can see the flower on her shirt has a center that's a French knot.  Her legs and feet use the "outside the box" technique and extend beyond the circle die.  I found that old felt scraps are the perfect barrier to slip under the edge of the die so it doesn't cut through the image.

The white card base uses a dotted swiss embossing folder, and all of the patterned pieces are layered on white paper.  

I've been coloring MFT images like crazy lately. You can see a different version of this same girl colored in the post below this one.  There's an adorable boy snowboarding two posts down!

This month's Guest DT sketch

I don't know where this will lead, but it has been fun to push myself to take a risk and try!  Cross you fingers and send good wishes my way.  The contest closes next week.  I'll keep you posted!


P.S.  I'm going out of town for a few days to the Big Apple!  (Mostly work and a little fun.)  I'll post a card when I come back on Sunday.

An Extra Day to Play!

Cute Is What I Do - MFT

We were dumped on with snow in MN today.  Our school had a snow day, so I got to spend the day in my craft room working on cards.

One of my favorites that I made was for the Designed to Color Challenge.    I loved the sketch and the MFT gal is perfect for coloring.  I tried to give her top some movement at the bottom.  I started subscribing to Designed to Color's quarterly publication a few months ago to help my coloring.  It's been fun to read.

Copic Colors Used:
shirt:  R20, 21, 22, 24
pants:  C1, 3, 5
grass:  G20, 24, 28, YG23
hair:  E50, 51, 53, 57
skin:  E000, 00, 11, R20

One of My Favorite Peeps - MFT

The sketch left me with half of a circle, so I made a second card.  This one is going to first grade girl who is moving to Illinois in a couple of weeks.  She's a real sweetie.

Copics and Paper Piecing

Snowboard Boy - MFT

Back again with another card.  This one is for the MFT Sketch Challenge.  I decided to paper piece the snow attire, but wanted to show dimension, so used my Copics to shade over the top of the patterned paper.  The boots and mittens are colored with Copics.  I used C3, C5 & C9 for the boots and E44, E47, & E49 for the mittens.  The snowboard is G40, 43 & 46.  Skin is E000, E00, E11, & R20 for the cheeks.

In putting the card together, I used the Cute Card Thursday challenge of "something old".  I interpreted the challenge as using old things from my supplies.  I rooted around in my scrap drawers and came up with some paper I have had in there for close to five years!!  Seriously - the brown paper was a scrap of about 4" x 8" and I loved it at the time.  The polka dot was about twice the size of the one I have used in my card.  Both have been passed over with the thought, "I can't use that one - what if I need it?!?"  The metal embellishments have been sitting around for years too.  It kind feels good to use some of this stuff I have been collecting!  I also think this card will work for the Papertake Weekly Anything Goes challenge this week.

One more thing to point out - the number 4 is actually cut from an embossing folder I have.  I don't have any letter dies, so I improvised.   This is a great birthday card for a little boy who took up skiing this winter, a.k.a. - my grandson, Ellis.

Serene and Simple

Modern Basics - PTI

Back again with another CAS card.  I combined three challenges for this card.  Splitcoast Stampers' Saturday Challenge is an inspiration challenge.  I used this clock from the featured Etsy shop.  I just got some Memory Box dies this week and was itching to break them open.  The poppy die was the first to be used!  I also used CAS-ual Friday's challenge to "stamp your own background" (which I did with PTI's Modern Basics) and Play Date Cafe's color challenge of tangerine, apricot, and mint.  This went together pretty quickly.  There is something comforting in the simplicity of this card.