Just Fluttering By

Back in my craft room today with a new digi I bought from Tiddly Inks.  Christy Croll is the artist behind these stamps and digi images.  I became acquainted with her sweet style two years ago when I was taking  Creative Passion's self-paced Copic coloring class from Michelle Houghton.  We practiced on some of Christy's images and then I bought her stamps from Stamping Bella.

I just discovered her digi images two weeks ago and of course needed to make a purchase!   This one is called Fluttering By to Say Hi.  This card is going to my sweet granddaughter, Quinn.  I just got back from visiting her in CO.  We spent a lot of time stopping on our walks so she could get her face right up close to marvel at nature - just like this little girl.

I made this into a window card, which you can see a bit better in the close up below.  The dimension adds interest to the card.  I used Stickles on the girl's butterfly wings, shoes and headband. Rhinestones adorn her antennae, each of the die cut butterflies, and the outside of the circle.

Lots of Copics were used in my coloring.  I started out making her hair light blond, but didn't like it so I brought in some E's to give her a dark blonde or light brown hair color.  This is a new hair color for me, so I am glad I started light!

Hair:  Y02, 21 & E53, 55, 57, 13
Skin:  E00, 11, 13 & R20
Dress, shoes:  R11, 20, 22, 24
Butterfly wings:  BG11, 32, 34 & BV 02, 04, 07 & V05, 09
Flowers:  E13, 29, 49 & Y15, 18, 24
Grass: I pulled out lots of markers from the YG & G and just flicked in blades of grass.  I added some Y24 and R20 to tie in the colors I used on the girl and flowers.



Challenges entered:
Tiddly Inks -  Summer Treats and DT Call
Make It Monday - anything goes
A.R.T. Card Challenge - anything goes
Crazy 4 Challenges - picnic
Catered Crop - Summer Lovin'
613 Avenue Create - anything goes
Divas By Design - anything goes
Marker Pop! Challenge #27 - Lovely Locks
Party Time Tuesdays #131 - anything goes

Sketch Saturday - Sketch #269

This is the last weekend of my vacation.  I'm kind of feeling like the little monster in my card - a little down in the mouth!  I've had such a relaxing time and spent a good portion of it in my craft room! But, I have to work to pay for my card-making habit!

The digi company, Stamp Fairy is this week's Sketch Saturday sponsor.  My digi is from their Monsters Under My Bed collection.  I decided to take a different route this week and use paper piecing.  I printed the monster twice and used one of the images to cut up for the piecing.  I went in with my Copics and colored the green horns (YG 01, 03, 06) and gave him a touch of shading (W1, W3). Some of the papers I used are from deep in my stash - like six or seven years old! I adapted the sketch for an A6 card.

Hope you will play along with us at Sketch Saturday this week!

Challenges entered:
A.R.T. Challenge - anything goes
Use It Tuesday - What was I thinking?  - The green checked paper and the white and green polka dot paper are from a HUGE stack of 9 x 12" Lasting Memories paper that I bought on clearance for 10 cents each (and have hardly used any of them!!)

Sister Act Challenege #17

There's limited stamping on this card - only the black sentiment words.  All of the rest is die cut.  The three- part medallion die is from MFT.  I tried the inlaid technique with this card, so the circle is inlaid into the white and the rounded rectangle is inlaid into both the circle and the white.  It was fun and super-simple!  I would have done the letters too, but my Simon Says Stamps alphabet is still connected together.  (I'm afraid I will lose the little pieces in the usual chaos if my craft room!)  The card shape is die cute from Spellbinders Nesties and the little flowers are an old flower punch, using scraps of the other patterned papers.

Digi Darla Designs is the sponsor of this week's Sister Act Blog Challenge.  Our DT has great cards in store for you this week. Play along with us this week.  I'm looking forward to seeing your great creations!

Challenges entered:
Make It Monday - anything goes

Sketch Saturday - Sketch #268

 I made this card for a Summer Card Camp Class I am taking in July over at Online Card Classes.  I used colors from the first week when I put this sketch together.  The stamp is from MFT and the balloon is from Papertrey Ink's Birthday Style die set.  The flowers are part of their Mini Blooms set. You can't see it in the photo, but I used Stickles on them.  Cards that look simple actually take me as long to make as any card I color with Copics!!

Bunny Zoe's Crafts is sponsoring this week's challenge.  I hope you play along with us this week.

Sister Act Challenge # 16

Hope your July has been one of great weather.
It's hard to believe it's the middle of the month already.  We are back with another anything goes challenge over at the Sister Act Challenge Blog.  It has been amazing to see the number of people that participate in our weekly challenge.  I have loved visiting blogs from folks all around the world!  Google Translator is a wonderful tool.  I can get the gist of what has been written in Swedish, Polish, Finnish and a myriad of other languages.

My card is a Frankenstein-like creation from cleaning up all of the little piles on my desk!  I was determined to use some of the discards from other cards.  All of this week's card is recycled!  The Hero Arts birds were colored years ago (before I had Copics), the background paper was one I stamped and never used, the star was left from a card I made in March. And the polka dot panel was mounted in red and ready to use!  All I had to do was stamp the word celebrate, mount the birds, and decide on where to put those pesky sequins!  Not bad for a Frankenstein creation, right?

Can't wait to see what you have to share with us.  This week's sponsor is Resale Clip Art.

Mission Not So Impossible!

Today at Summer Card Camp, our mission (should we decide to accept it) was to take a Christmas stamp and use it in a non-Christmas card (sticking to the week's color palette). Truth be told, I don't have many Christmas stamps, so this might have been Mission Impossible for me.  However, tucked away in a little corner, I found my "Christmas Bough" set from Unity and the ideas began to flow.

I started out using watercolor paper with my new Distress Ink Markers over an embossed image (a couple of times).  They weren't quite what I was hoping for.  I wanted the bough to be downplayed a bit and this made it more of a feature.

Then I stamped off the bough one more time and pulled out some of my Copics and colored over the brown ink.  I cut it out, found this sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and called it a day!

Jump Right In!

Making a shaker card was an option at the Summer Card Camp 2 class today.  I've never made one before and became interested last week after reading a post on Laura Bassen's Blog, Doublestick Heaven.  Lauren was a guest instructor.  Lauren linked a great tutorial by Amy Rasavy about how to make shakers. They seemed fun, simple, and today was the day I finally got my act together!

I am thrilled with how this came out!!  I had some craft sequins that came in a variety of shapes and colors and found some seed beads super cheap at Marshall's, so they went in too!

This little cutie is from Doodle Pantry.  Jennifer Nilsson is the artist.  Her Etsy shop is fabulous! I've bought a few other images from her there, and have her Doodle Garden stamps from MFT.

I thought I would take a close up, to show his hair and goggles.  The hair was tricky to get it to look like a short boy haircut.  I love the goggles too.  I saw a tutorial a few weeks ago (I can't remember where) that showed how to color nylon stockings on a woman.  They colored the flesh tone first and then added the color on top.  I thought that same tip could apply to the goggles.  I'm not sure whether I'm happier about the shaker card or the coloring!

I have a feeling I will be spending part of tomorrow making a few more shakers!!





Challenge entries:
CMC Coloring Challenge #72 - anything goes
Make It Monday - anything goes
Tuesday Throwdown #156 - anything goes
Color Q Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Blog - by the sea
Crazy 4 Challenges #194 - marine life
613 Avenue Create - anything goes
Marker Pop! - anything goes
Oozak Blog - anything with textures

Embossed Sympathy

Through the Trees - PTI 

Today embossing was featured in our Summer Camp Card Class.  I used the embossed resist technique of stamping with dye ink and then restamping over the image with Versa Mark and clear embossing powder.  Then, additional color is created with a marker or ink by rubbed the color over the embossing. The embossed image resists the ink.

You can't tell from the photo, but I embossed the tree trunk and leaves.  If you look carefully, the white that surrounds the leaves is actually the embossing! The acrylic block really distorted my placement.  I think it's also harder to line up a small, detailed image that a bigger one like the trunk.  It still looks okay and perhaps even intentional?!?

I used my Copics to add grass and then created a folded banner with my Score Buddy.  They are super easy (and one less die that I have to buy!)

I set out to make a male card today and found the darker blue and using lots of brown neutralized the potentially feminine color palette we are working with this week.

CAS Congratulations

It's the second week of Summer Card Camp and we have new colors and three new sketches to work with this week. I used the colors, but not the sketches today.

It's another CAS card that is clean, but wasn't simple for me to put together. There were lots of things to figure out once I settled on using the Modern Basics set from PTI.  I had a flower or two left over from another card (using W Plus 9's Fresh Flower Bouquet set) which I added next to the word so.  I wasn't sure about all of the white space, and toyed around with stamping, but in the end it looked better this way.

My nephew proposed to his girlfriend this weekend, so I plan to send them this card.   Thanks for popping by and looking!

Sketch Saturday - Sketch #267

 Jen is this week's sketch master.


I had a great time with this one!  I went through my pile of patterned paper this week and decided to break into some new pieces that I've had around for a while.  I loved the flowered background with the polka dot.  The card is mounted on PTI's soft stone, which was a beautiful compliment to the patterned papers.

Thanks to one of the blogs I visited a few weeks ago, I discovered the Dilly Beans Blog which sells digis by artist Megan K. Suarez.  Go check her out!  Her work is fabulous and she is a sweetie, too.  This angel is from her "big-eyed girl" collection.  Love it!!

My angel is colored with Copics and popped out on top of the oval.  You can't tell from the photo, but I used Smoosh ink on her wings to give them a little pearly shine.  I used the Courier New font on my computer for the words.


Simon Says Stamp!  is our sponsor this week.  Hope you will make some time to play along with us!

Challenge Entries:
Use It Tuesday - Birthdays
Sister Act Challenge #15 - anything goes
Cute Card Thursday - Lucky Charm
Totally Papercrafts - All A Flutter
Hiding in My Craft Room - Use your scraps
Moxie Fab World - Birthday
Marker Pop! - Anything goes
Oozak Blog - Anything goes with a girlie theme
Clear It Out Tuesday - Make someone's day; use something sparkly

Sister Act Card Challenge #15

Card made with PTI dies

This week, we welcome two new members to our DT - Sonia and Angeline, and say farewell to our friend, Lisa.  New members mean new perspectives and styles, which is a nice thing.

I have a card with no coloring this week for you - something usual for me!  I have had fun with Summer Card Camp 2 over at Online Card Classes, and this is a card I made on Day 3.  It uses the colors for the week and one of their suggested sketches.  One of the techniques I was playing around with was the look of watercolors. With no watercolor paints in my house, I used things I had on hand - my old Stampin' Up! markers and watercolor paper.  The result was a fun afternoon of experimenting to get the look I was after - such as laying down some color and then spritzing the paper with water, or coloring and using a wet brush, or spritzing and then coloring on the wet paper.  At one point, I had about 10 sheets of paper drying on the floor of my craft room!  (Nice to be on vacation and have loads of time!)

The other thing I learned from the summer camp is making a "custom" chipboard piece (the present).  All you have to do is die cut 4-6 extra shapes and glue them on top of each other.  The patterned paper goes on top, and then the side edges were colored with a BG11 Copic marker and viola - dimension!

Looby Lou is the sponsor  for our Sister Act Blog challenge this week.  It's an anything goes challenge, so link your card up and enter!

Challenge entries:
Clear It Out Tuesday - Theme:  make someone's day/ Stash: something sparkly

Ten Minute Card?!?!

Today's challenge for the Summer Card Camp Class is a 10 minute card.  All I can say is my cards had the potential to be done in 10 minutes.  They are certainly simple enough.  Full disclosure - it was way longer than 10 minutes.  I had such high hopes, but didn't meet the timeframe of the challenge.

This was my first try.  I decided to dry emboss the top portion of my shape card, and then felt it needed a border.  (Not so sure it was necessary in the end, but I was already glued and not coming off!!)  Mounting the word thank stumped me for the longest time.  It needed something behind the orange letters. And then there was a decision about the center of the flower!   What color?  Buttons?  Yikes!  After toying around with double mounted buttons, I saw the jewel I had colored orange on my desk.  Finally - done!

My yellow card came about because at one point I discarded the turquoise card and started again.  I ended up stamping the background with PTI's Mini Blooms set in Lemon Tart.  I used Melon Mambo embossing powder for the word you, and was planning to use the die cut letters for thank, but no good - wrong placement, so I went back to the first card! Not wanting to leave this card undone, I added the border strip down the side and then found a flower on a scrap of paper left from Tuesday's card, cut it out and mounted it with foam.

The thank you sentiment is from PTI and the die cut letters are from Simon Says Stamp.

See - the potential is there for a 10 minute card!  Which one do you like better?

Summer Card Class - Day 1 is Finally Here!

 I'm on vacation, so can I tell you how excited I am that it's the first day of Online Card Classes' Summer Card Camp?!?   I can spend the whole day in my craft room if I want!!

The Summer Card Camp week's color focus for week 1 and a few sketches to play with were revealed today.  The featured colors are: white, turquoise, red, yellow and orange; the challenge to use four of the five colors.

For my card, I chose a digi from the Dilly Beans Blog by artist Megan K. Suarez.  Megan's work is new to me and I quickly found four adorable images to buy.   I adapted her angel by removing the wings and giving her a full eyebrow so I could create a Frida Kahlo card.  I used clear embossing powder for my Woodland Park  background stamp (by October Afternoon) and then rubbed red, yellow and turquoise inks over it to create my background.  Farida is colored with Copics and cut out.  I created the words on my computer using Courier New font and then doodled boxes around them.  The diagonal yellow paper is popped out in front of Frida.

This isn't my usual style, but I love how she turned out!

Card Challenge entries:
Dilly Beans Challenge Blog - Frida Kahlo
Catered Crop - Button Up
CMC Copic Challenge Group - anything goes
Designed to Color - recipe challenge
Muse Monday - Muse #25 Therese Calvird
Marker Pop! Challenge #26 - Anything Goes

This card won the Dilly Beans Challenge - Frida Kahlo (Woo!)

Sketch Saturday - Sketch #266

                                                                                                                         It's Alex's week over at Sketch Saturday and she has arranged for Sassy Cheryl Stamps to be this    week's sponsor.  This is such a sweet little girl! Sassy Cheryl is a new company to me; I love her artwork. I'll be going back to buy some of her digital images!  Hope you will come and play with us this week!

                                                                                                  

 






                                                                              

                                                                           

Challenge entry for:

Friday Mash Up- bingo of flowers, buttons and ribbon
Card Crafters Circle - winter or summer creation
Designed to Color Challenge - recipe challenge
Marker Pop! Challenge #25 - summer
CMC Copic Challenge Group - Anything goes
Art Impressions Blog - flowers
Oozak Blog - anything goes with a girlie theme
Desert Island Crafters - Itinerary - #1 Outside, #2 Flowers, #6 Ribbon or twine, #9 Dies and punches

Sister Act Challenge #14

Fleur Belle - Stampotique Originals

This week I am using an image from a company called Stampotique Originals.  This gal is called Fleur Belle from artist Janet Klein.  Isn't she cute?  I loved cutting her hair outside of the rectangle.

Lots of old papers from my scrap drawer were used and an embossing folder on the blue paper.  She's colored with Copics and paired with a sentiment from Papertrey Ink (PTI).

Stop by the Sister Act Blog and playing along with our anything goes challenge.  QKR Stampede is this week's sponsor.