Creative Knockouts #145 - Outside Fun

Back for another Creative Knockouts Challenge.  This week's theme Outside Fun and Lacy Sunshine is our sponsor.  I'm using their image, Fairy Godmother Sugi.  Isn't she darling??

Take a peek at the other DT creations here and play along with us this week.  Hope to see you in the gallery!

Challenges Entered:
Kraftin' Kimmy - March 30/AG
Addicted to Stamps #187 - Make Your Mark
Crafty Gals #65 - AG
Penny's Challenge #271- AG
As You Like It Bingo 3/24 - Pearls, purple, ribbon WHY? Love the way it looks on this card by making the ribbon into a flower.

A Day for Daisies Challenge #144 - Glitter

I'm using another of Tammy's Forest Friends images from 201, called Peace and Quiet for our newest A Day for Daisies challenge - which is all about the sparkle!  My sparkle is there, just not captured well by my camera.   took my cue from the image and because she is so peaceful, rather than glitter, I used Wink of Stella on the little fairy and her wings.

This is one of those cards that turned out even better than I imagined in my head as I was creating.  The card back started its life as another card with a horizontal orientation.  I ended up trashing that card - it was becoming overworked.  Originally, I pictured an oval frame for the fairy but my oval dies were too wide, so I decided on a fishtail.  Google came to the rescue when I started coloring the cone flower!  I noticed the center of many cone flowers had quite a variety of colors, so I captures the color dimension using stippling rather than strict shading.



The cone flower's center uses a variety of Copic E markers - it's based in 33, and stippled with 29, 35, 41, 44, 47, 49, 77, R 24, YG01, and even BG72 .  I based the petals in RV000 and shaded with R20, 21, 24 and a touch of E29.  I'm getting better at using dark colors to bring in contrast as I color.  The deepest shading around the fairy and flower is BG72, which truly made her pop. Her dress is BG11, 34, and 57!  I don't want to give her away yet - but she is going in the mail to my SIL for her birthday.

Take a peek at the rest of the DT's work here and play along with our new ADFD Blog challenge.  Tammy's images are so inspiring - you will be happy you did!!


Challenges Entered:
Digi Chooseday #12 - Flower Frenzy
Addicted to Stamps & More #186 - AG
Crafting By Designs for 3/23/16 - 3 or more Layers
Creative Inspirations #247 - Nature
Little Red Wagon #334 - Easter/Spring
Always Playing with Paper #65 - photo inspiration
 Crafty Girls Challenge #17 - AG
 Craft Rocket #11 - AG

Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop - Entry #3

I'm loving this Blog Hop and grateful to the organizers!  There are so many fun coffee images out there.  I'm having as much fun looking in the gallery and hopping as I am making cards.  What's better than coffee alone?  How about some coffee and shopping?  Coffee provides encouragement to keep going!  This is a Kenny K image, called Shop Til Ya Drop.  

Crafting By Designs GDT - 3 or More Layers Challenge

I'm a Guest DT member this week for Crafting By Designs and using a image from Sandra Caldwell for their Three or More Layers Challenge.  It's always an honor to be invited to be a GDT member.  Take a peek at the DT inspiration here and play along with us!

Vacation Day 2 = Time for a Double Post!

I'm slowly putting things away in my craft room as I have created new cards the past two days. That's the surface clean portion and hopefully a big organization event will happen too while I'm on vacation.  My Copics are in need of cleaning and my scrap drawers need culling out so I stay motivated to cut into my stash of paper!!


My first card today is another one for the Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.  I embossed the background and used an old MFT Set called Tea Time.  I love it's simple look and don't ink it up enough.  I did some paper piecing for the dress, so it's potentially a quick, easy card.  (That's not how it worked out in reality, but if I wanted to mass produce a few - easy-peasy!!)  The Hop runs until the 25th of March, so you have some time to play along!

One of my grandson's turns 7 on Easter Sunday, so I used this adorable digi, Buddy Bunny,  from Sandra Caldwell's Etsy shop for his card.  I love how the bunny turned out.  It's hard to tell from the photo, but I used Crystal Effects on his glasses.

I am currently obsessed with Sandra's images.  There is something about her style that is stretching my coloring skills in a new way, which is always a good thing.  She has a Facebook Group - complete with challenges.  Check her out:  Sandra Caldwell Stamp Fans


Challenges Entered for this card:
Crafty Cardmaker #160 - Easter
Dream Valley #127 /- Birthday
Fantastic Tuesday 22 March - AG/ Cute Critters
Inky Chicks #64  - Easter

Coffee Lovers Spring Blog Hop

Today's been the best morning.  I am on vacation and spent time in my craft room playing! I am sipping my second cup of the day as I post this.  My first cup kept me going as I colored and created a card for the Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop!

I used an adorable image from Sandra Caldwell - an artist who is new to me, but I LOVE her whimsical style.  I decided to fussy cut using a scrap of patterned paper.

Muse Challenge #158 inspired my design.  I popped the image out off the page on the corner and used a computer generated and then doodled around sentiment.

I'm so excited about how this turned out, . . one of those cards that matches the picture in my head as I created it.  It's going to my DIL, who is on week three of sleep deprivation with a new baby!!

Tracey Mc Neely's Card
- Muse #158

Challenges Entered:
Muse Challenge #158 - Tracey McNeely
Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop (open until 3/29/16)  
Paper Sweeties #41 - March AG

Sketch Saturday - Sketch #404

Good Morning Saturday Sketchers,

Lesley is the designer of this week's fun and fabulous sketch.  It's a great one to work with. Bunny Zoe Crafts is sponsoring this week's prize.  Sadly, Bunny Zoe has made the hard decision to close up shop soon and offering 30% or more off everything in the store.  This would be a good time to take a look at everything they have to offer, especially to folks in the UK and Ireland.  Bunny Zoe has been a longtime sponsor of Sketch Saturday and we will miss them.
Take a look at the DT samples here and play along with us this week.I trust that may folks share my paper-hoarding affliction.  I have a stack of uncut 12x12 paper six inches thick and then there's my growing pile of 6x6 pads!! The theme at Clear It Out this week is using patterned paper over a year old, so I actually cut into a 12x12 sheet!!  I dare you to play along with their challenge too!  My paper was so happy to actually be used!

Challenges Entered:
Let's Color Linky Party #5/
Clear It Out/ - Patterned Paper over a year old
Craft Your Passion #303/ - AG
Little Miss Muffet #133/ - AG
Southern Girls/ - Nature
Craft Rocket #11 - AG
All Dressed Up #51/ - AG

A Day for Daisies - Showcase Week

We're bringing back some of Tammy's image from September 2011 this week at ADFD.  My card features her image, Little Darling - and what a little darling she is!  Lots of fussy-cutting on this card, which was fun to do!

You still have a week to play along with the current challenge.  Check out the details on the blog, here.

Thanks to Melissa at Tuesday Morning Sketches for the card plan.


Challenges Entered:
Let's Color Linky Party #5/ - AG
Crazy 4 Challenges #327/ - AG
My Sherri Crafts #177/ - Spring Themed
My Time to Craft #317/ - Flowers

DT Favorite Card

Dream Valley #127/ - All About Birthdays
Tuesday Morning Sketches #343/

Copics used:  Skirt- R20, 22, Y38; berries- B21, 24, 29

Creative Knockouts #143 - Spring Is On the Way

With spring comes new babies and this card will help round out my stash.  I've used a very old wood block stamp, which never fails to create a great card.

Join our Spring Is On the Way Challenge at Creative Knockouts.  Di's Digi's is our sponsor.  I can't wait to see what you post in the gallery.

A Day for Daisies - Challenge #143 Use Pearls

Another week featuring Tammy's glamorous vintage mermaids.  This one is called Vintage Black Lingerie Mermaid.  She is on sale for $2.00 this week in the ADFD Shop!! The photo doesn't capture the card's background well, but I used my jar of SU's Iridescent Ice to give some sparkle to the flowers from PTI's Beautiful Blooms.  I inlaid the die cut words (from MFT).

I hope you will join us for our Add Pearls Challenge.  The ADFD blog posts a free image so you can play along with all of our challenges.  Hope to see you in the gallery!

Sketch Saturday - Sketch #402

Kenny K is this week's Sketch Saturday sponsor.  I've used their fun image, Shop 'Til Ya Drop for my card today.  Guilty confession - I've had many shop-til-you-drop days in my life, especially when I am in the company of my SIL, Peggy!  Our husbands know if we leave "for a bit" there's no telling what time we will be home!!
Here's some DT inspiration for you. Hope you will come join our challenge this week!

Challenge Entered:
Seize the Birthday/ - AG
Southern Girls/ - Getting Wordy
Crafty Catz #314/ - 3 different papers
Creative Fingers #104 - AG

A Day for Daisies - March Club Kit

Tammy has completely outdone herself with the glamorous gals she has created this month.  I could hardly wait to get my Copics out and start coloring!  I used Mermaid Vintage White Lingerie for my card.  My card is 3.75 x 7.5, so it will fit in a legal size envelope.  I wanted to keep this mermaid tall.   Freshly Made Sketches inspired the card design and the extra flowers are from Verve stamps. You simply must go to the ADFD Blog to see the rest of the the images and what the DT did with them!

Challenges Entered:
Freshly Made Sketches #226/
Cards In Envy/ - Tickled Pink
Crafty Girls #15/ - AG
In the Pink #89/ - For a Special Lady
Crafting By Designs March - AG

Creative Knockouts #141 - Flower Power

I may have take our Flower Power challenge theme a little too far for this card, but I had an idea and decided to run with it!  Do you know those wonderful 3-D sugar eggs with the scene inside? Well, I tried to create one with my card, complete with lots of Stickles to emulate the sugar!  The cute Egg Bunny image from our sponsor, Sami Stamps is flat against the card back and the white egg with the flowers glued all around is popped up to give it some dimension.  The flowers are supposed to be the icing that's piped all around the hole.  I think I have some more playing around to really get this down.  I am planning to try it again using a smaller image which will allow me to make a smaller cut opening so more of the egg is visible.  If I get it "right", I'll post it on my blog.  I hope you will hop on over to the Creative Knockouts Blog and play along with us this week.  I can't wait to see what you do with the Flower Power theme!

Challenges Entered:
Cards in Envy/ - Tickled Pink
Fantastic Tuesday #126/ - AG/twist - for a child
Tuesday Throwdown #283/- Frame It
Crafter's Cafe #144/ - Inspired by a Song (Peter Cottontail)
Crafty Friends #26/ - Floral