Spring is Here! (Until Friday . . .)

Inspiration Meadows - Unity Stamps

. . . and then winter is supposed to return!  What crazy spring weather we continue to have here in MN!

This card uses a Unity stamp that my SIL, Anette gave me.  It has a variety of flowers that don't need to be colored.  Having said that, I still managed to get out my Copics to add some depth to the flowers.  The gingham ribbon is from a spool I found at Marshalls for $1.99 (for 15 yards!!)  I used Stickles on the flowers and a pearl embellishment that I got on sale at Michaels.

I made the card for the Featured Stamper Challenge 325 at Splitcoast, His and Hers Online Card Class, and the Muse Card Challenge #15.  It also works for Make It Monday #138.

Sister Act Card Challenge #4

Antique Bicycle - digi by Milk Coffee

Welcome back to another Sister Act Card Challenge.  It's been great fun to make cards and visit the blogs of folks who post cards.  I am blown away by how the new blog has taken off.

This week we have two sponsor companies.  One is a company called Digi Darla Designs and the other is Milk Coffee, so be sure to post a card!  I used an image from Milk Coffee called Antique Bicycle.  This is the first bicycle I have colored - and it's a whole other style than coloring flowers and people!

Personally, I am just hoping that the last two days of spring-like weather in MN stays around so I can get my bike out and put the snow shovel away!

Sister Act Card Challenge #3 - Resale Clip Art

Resale Clip Art - digi image

This week's sponsor, Resale Clip Art sells digi clip art.  I remember how much I loved using clip art in my early years as a teacher.  This was a whole other level of clip art.  All I had to do was download the full-colored image, print it, and then compose my card!

I jazzed up the clip art by using pink Stickles on the scooter bumpers and the girl's bows.  I pulled out my Copics to ground the scooter with a W3 marker.  I used a doily that I swooped up from under a soup cup when I was on a lunch date with my husband!  It seemed like a great addition to this little girl image from Resale Clip Art's Paris collection.

Stop by the other DT members and see their ideas for using digital clip art images.

Sister Act Card Challenge #2 - Doodle Garden

Superhero Stanley - The Doodle Garden digi image

This week's sponsor over at the Sister Act Card Challenge blog is a wonderful company called The Doodle Garden.   I am in love with Jennifer Nilsson's images.  This little guy is a digi image called Superhero Stanley.   I have discovered a new benefit about digi images - you can make them as large or as small as you want.  Originally I thought this one was too big and planned to use him to practice coloring, but when I got out my alphabet die - he was the perfect size!  The blue polka dot background is actually a card set I bought years ago in the dollar bin at Michael's and haven't touched.  It's bold and the perfect backdrop for this super-sized superhero!  The three red dots are glitter dots and the red polka dot flags are washi tape.

See the "e" on my superhero's chest?  That's for my favorite superhero . . . my grandson Ellis!  He just had his 4th birthday and is crazy about his collection of superhero t-shirts! (The digi image has a star on his chest which I colored right over.)

Copics used:
Skin - E 000, 00, 11, R20
Hair - Y11, Y21, E55, E13
Cape - R20, 24, 29 with a touch of 59
Superhero onesie - *B24, 34, 37 and a touch of 39

*I needed to use some blending with the blues because my colors were too much of a jump, so I put the B37 on a CD cover and picked it up with the B34.  I did the same thing with the B34 and the B24.

This is printed on Georgia Pacific cardstock (from Walmart), so I had to color quickly and work from the darkest colors to the light colors.

There are more fun Doodle Garden images from the DT members.  I hope you'll take a look, and then play along with us this week.

This card uses lots of sticky stuff including washi tape, pop dots and glitter dots, so I entering him in the Use It Tuesday challenge.
The Digital Tuesday Challenge theme is "boys"; Great Impressions Monthly Challenge for April is "polka dots or pastels" so I linked him up in their challenges as well.
He's also going in Bugaboo Stamps Blog  and Through the Craftroom Door "Anything Goes" challenge this week.

More Poppies . . .

. . . and no wrangling (unlike yesterday's poppy card)!

Pretty Poppies - MFT

Hurrah - another card with MFT's Spring Poppies set, and this one was a breeze!  I love the set and this card!  It's going in the box I am putting together for Operation Write Home.

My initial idea came from a CASE of this card by Ellen Parker (this week's Featured Stamper Challenge at SCS.  When I saw Ellen's card, I knew I would break out the poppies again.  After all, I had my post-it masks all ready to go and wanted to put them to good use!  Everything is stamped except the flower centers, which I colored with my Copics (Y21, E41, 44, 47) - alside from masking, the card was super simple.

 I was thrilled to see that this week's Paper Players Challenge has a recycling theme.  Woo!  I used a number of elements that were recycled.  The little striped paper was sitting in a bowl on my desk.  (I heard a tip to keep striped paper handy because it can help with color choice on cards.)  I didn't have to do anything with it!  The bow has been in the same bowl, and the rhinestone I attached to the card were ones that I thought I was going to use on a card, but they didn't look right.  The bottom of a Memento Dew Drop ink is a perfect perfect holder for all of those little rhinestones and pearls that no longer have glue, but are still useable!

The challenge over at Avenue316's blog is a spring theme.  I think these poppies fit the theme quite well.  I'm only sorry there aren't spring poppies in MN.  We still have some snow - so spring flowers of any kind are a long way off around here.

Card Wrangling!

Pretty Poppies - MFT

This card should have been super-simple, but it was one of those days that I struggled for hours before finishing the card.  Yikes!  And it wasn't the poppies that were troublesome.

I was excited to ink up my new stamps from MFT.  These poppies are so great and easy.  I masked them, stamped the script background and colored the center with my Copics.  Bam! Done.  I made the card for a few challenges, the week's SCS Inspiration Challenge, and Unscripted Sketch Challenge #205.  Both utilized chevrons, so I was excited to break out my chevron dies and an MFT chevron background.  I also decided to use the ColourQ #183 this week (Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight, Blushing Bride, Soft Suede).  Chevrons and colors are where my troubles began.  Suffice to say that this isn't exactly what I pictured when I started making the card.  And I certainly didn't expect to be working on it for more than three hours after I had finished the focal point!  It wasn't like I was coloring an image!  After an hour break, I went back with a fresh eye and finished the card.  Whew!  GE (good enough), 'nuff wrangling for the night.

Debut of the Sister Act Card Challenge!

I am so excited - the day has finally arrived!  The Sister Act Card Challenge Blog is off and running!  You'll find an "anything goes" challenge each week, and Jennifer and Trish have already lined up sponsors for weekly prizes.  The Design Team is a great group of truly talented gals.  I am excited to see what they bring us each week.

Mia - digi image from Crafty Sentiments

This week's challenge sponsor is a UK company called Crafty Sentiments Designs.  They have a variety of images in both unmounted rubber stamps and digital images.  The DT used digital images.

I chose this sweet little girl.  I haven't worked with digital images before and wondered how my inkjet printer would work with my Copics.  As you can see, there was no problem!  I did heat set the ink before I started coloring.

This was the biggest head of hair I have colored, so it took some practice to get the movement and the shading.  Since I decided I was going to have her wear a raincoat, I got out my MFT die and gave her an umbrella.  The umbrella and the sentiment are mounted with pop dots.  I love the red and yellow together.  It's such a cheery combination.

Copics used:
Hair -  E33, 35, 37, 49
Skin - E11, 000, 00, R20
Coat and boots - Y13, 15, 19, 26 & a touch of 28
Leggings - R20, 24, 29 & BG000, 01, 05
W0, 01 & 03 for shading

Thanks for looking.   I hope you will stop by the other DT member blogs to see their creations . . .

This card is also going to be entered in this week's Friday Mash Up Challenge.

Hey Sailor!

Little Sailor Boy - Doodle Garden digi image

This is a digi image from an Etsy site, The Doodle Garden.   Jennifer Nilsson is the artist.  She is the same artist who has the new Doodle Garden stamp line at My Favorite Things.  My card uses her digi image called Little Sailor Boy.  I used SCS sketch 303 to compose the card. Color Challenge 420 fits the colors.  The big oval die and stars were a perfect match for the image.  The sentiment is from Clear and Simple Stamps.  Marker POP's Challenge #20 is an "anything goes" challenge, so this little sailor is on his way!

Coloring this cutie was fun.  The wider face and pant leg width gave me a chance to work on shading.  I was also coloring on Georgia Pacific cardstock, not Xpress-It.  I discovered that working from dark to light is better because the ink dries faster.  I have a great little boy in mind to send him to.  I loved Jennifer's digi images so much, I bought two others!

Copics used:
Pants:  B0000, 91, 94
Shirt:  Y11, 13, 15
Skin:  E11, 00, 000
Hair:  E50, 51, 53, 55, with a hint of 57

I just discovered that Operation Write Home has an Interactive Challenge Blog - an amazing endeavor by its founder, Sandy Allnook.  You have to check them out and view the cards on Pinterest.  Operation Write Home is an amazing undertaking and wonderful idea itself.  The cards sent to them go directly to folks serving in the armed forces overseas to send home to their families.  Right now they are in need of Father's Day cards.  This sailor card is too bulky for the project, but I am off to spend time making Father's Day cards that can be mailed home.

Thoughts of Spring

It was 40 degrees again in MN, so we are having to create our own spring thoughts right now.  This card is a combination of a few ideas coming together.  About a week ago, I came across this card on SCS made by Bridget Finlay.  I have the same stamp set, and never thought of using the flowers together the way Bridget did.  I've wanted to CASE it and tonight was the night!  I used the colors from the Playdate Cafe's Challenge and a sketch from Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 181.  This card makes me think warm weather is on its way!

Simply Soft - Stampin' Up!