HAPPY Everything!

I have been fighting allergies or a cold, and went for almost an entire week without stamping! (heheh, didja miss me?!) I just didn't have energy or desire to do much of anything creative, or otherwise for that matter!  Finally on Monday I tried to stamp a bit...one card for both the CAS and TLC challenges.  Didn't even finish that one card until this morning. (Thank goodness yesterday's was already finished!).

The CAS was a cute sketch!  I decided to make an all occasion Happy Everything card using OCL's set Sunshine Cheer.  The happy colors were inspired by Basic Grey's Green at Heart.

I stamped four flowers with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, colored them with Copics, and cut/embossed three with a Nesties square.  The fourth I cut out to add dimension to the one in the center.  I stamped part of the sentiment in Pixie Pink ink and the rest in Tuxedo Black, coloring the little ladybug and adding shading and emphasis with my Copics.  This was cut out and embossed with a Nesties tag, and held in place with some wide satin ribbon.  Had to add a teeny button-embellished bow to bring some balance to the layout and give it more girly pink!  ;) 

I used a very light hand to sponge some Tim Holtz distress ink along the scalloped border to tone down the Old Olive just a bit.  For the TLC I brought the same colors and coordinating images to the inside.

This will be a fun surprise *just for* card to send someone!  I know just who!  ;)

Bow-nanza

Today is design team challenge day for the girls from the {stamps} of Life. We all LOVED this challenge, because it was easy...it's Bow-nanza!  For my card, I used a vibrant, wide RECYCLED silk that was originally on a Victoria's Secret package.  It was just too luscious to throw away!

The images in this card are from Thanks2You.  Those little blossoms remind me of miniature azaleas!  Ours are blooming right now, and they're so gorgeous!  They are one of THE signs of Spring for a girl raised in the South!  ;)

Please feel free to play along with us!  If you are playing along with the {stamps} of Life stamps or digital images please upload to the gallery on the site –> HERE <— with the keyword TSOLD07. Please link to one of our blogs so we can see your stuff!

Visit Jeanne, Vicki, and Joana to see more Bownanza creations!

Him in Our Hearts

Yesterday, my young friend Keri and I went to the LSS to stamp together.  I had these gorgeous primas from a previous purchase and wanted some pretty paper to go with them.  I fell in love with this iridescent TPC Studios Harvest Leaves paper...its rich colors are a perfect match for the amber and pink hues of these amazing flowers.

I stamped Lizzie Anne Designs' beautiful sentiment, Him in our Heart, on the gold iridescent flip side of the designer paper, tearing the edges (since all my border punches were not accessible to me at LSS!) and giving them a little distress ink to tone down the white core of the paper.  I found a beautiful Zva jewel swirl which I colored with a pale peach-toned Copic marker so that it coordinated with these papers and embellishments. 

I just LOVE how elegant and regal this card turned out!  Even though this paper isn't at all about bread and wine, it still makes me think of the Lord's supper!

Hope you're having a fabulous Tuesday!

I ♥ My Mom!

Mondays are sketch days at Lizzie Anne Designs...today's sketch is hosted by my friend and DT-mate Kendra.  I love Kendra's style and after seeing this sketch, I have been impatient to see her card!  I love the arrangement of all of the patterned papers inside and out, and the scalloped border!

Usually when new rubber arrives I ink it up immediately, but I've had this new LAD monthly mix for several days and this is the first time It's Good to be Queen has seen ink!  I have been having so much fun with Lucky You that I wasn't quite ready to move on! The March mix was perfect for several challenges during the last week! 

Change can be a good thing, though!  This new mix has its own fabulous images to fall in love with!  My mom adores elephants, so this sweet mom and babe would naturally be the first image that I would reach for!  I chose to pair it with an elegant designer paper (Pink Paislee's Bayberry Cottage) because I wanted a sophisticated, grown up look.  I stamped the image with Memento ink, colored it in with Copics in hues of gray with faint hints of lavender and even a tinge of green (for some reason it looks bluer here than IRL). I used some pale plum and almost amethyst to ink the scalloped edges of the card base and bring some of the colors of the image and designer paper onto the card stock.  Love that subtle, transparent color!

I stamped a coordinating sentiment, colored it with a tiny splash of Copic color, and then polished it with some shiny Glossy Accents.  Each of the dotted scallops along the bottom edge of the card was topped with a tiny gray pearl. 

I think my mom is gonna love this!  The only bad thing is that she subscribes to my blog, so it won't be much of a surprise!  Love you, Mom!

We're behind you!

Today's SCS Dirty Dozen/Dirty Dozen Alumni Challenge is all about the birds and the bees!  The challenge, hosted by Joanne Basile, is to use a bee or bird image but no border punches. I was surprised to see how many birds and bees stamps I have, and to discover how hard it was not to reach for the border punches!

I had my heart set on this particular Lizzie Anne image because I want to send this card to my former DD team mate Susan and her husband, Eric.  Eric was recently diagnosed with lymphoma and will soon start chemotherapy.  I thought this image would work with this sentiment from Card Quotations to convey the idea that "We're behind you!" 

I had already gotten a good start on my card when I saw this week's Sketch For You to Try.  Susan is a member of Jen's team, so this week's sketch is dedicated to her...it is so nice to see the members of stamping communities across the web rallying behind the Liles to show their love.  The road they're traveling is one that would be even more dreadfully difficult without the support of family and friends.
 
I probably should have let this card have its own way instead of trying to conform it to the sketch, but this is what I ended up with...I am still trying to decide what I think of it!  :P 

Visit the DD/DDA challenge gallery to see more birds and bees.  There are two galleries with cards for Susan...one by the DD/DDA friends for Susie, and this week's SFYTT slideshow gallery.

OCL Sketch!

It's Friday, which means a new sketch has been posted on the OCL blog!  This one, when I first saw it, stumped me, with its two identical image panels, but Jungle Love, available at i {heart} papers, came to my rescue!  I used the out-of-the-box technique for the lion so that the panels would remain the same size for each image.

I stamped my images with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, colored them with Copic markers, and then added a mix of Gold and Orange Sparkly Fluff to the lion's mane...so CUTE and it matched perfectly!

I stamped the banana again so that I could cut it out and pop it up,and then, using a multi-liner, I faux-stitched around the panels, omitting the adjacent edges to give the feeling of one panel and add emphasis to the idea of "hanging out with you!" Same with the Tim Holtz distress ink to the edges. A left-over prima flower and a tiny gold bow (May Arts 3/8" satin) add a little interest to this simple design.

We would love for you to join us in the challenge!  Post your link to the OCL blog so we can see your creation!

Lucky You!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  To celebrate, Lizzie Anne Designs is having a Going Green challenge, and a sale!  *SELECT* Little Bits sets and Singles will be 30% off for three days only...March 17th, 18th, and 19th!  And it gets even better!  If you sign up for the Monthly Mix Club during those three days you will be eligible to get the Mix Discount ON TOP of the sale Lizzie Anne is already having! That means an EXTRA 20% off of sale items! You'll receive a code via email once you've signed up.  That means more green can stay in your pocket!  ;)

Our challenge for today was to use lots of green!  My card uses scraps of Basic Grey and We R Memory Keepers papers in various shades of green with a pretty green Zva flower, some green glimmer and organdy ribbons, and a green pearl. The images are from Lucky You, our current monthly mix.  I stamped them with Memento and colored them with Copics, then cut one out to add to the fabric blossom.  Love this sentiment!  So true!

How about some St. Patrick's Day blog candy?!  Check out the Lizzie Anne Designs blog for information on how to become eligible to win!

eta:  My projects in this post and the next all fit the Raise the Bar challenge to use green (either the color or something recycled!)  Fun challenge!

ihp Design Team Challenge

Since tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day our i {heart} papers design team challenge is to go green! Not necessarily the color green, but the other green...the reduce, reuse, recycle kind.  And this was a challenge with a twist!  We are using this week's Paper Craft Planet sketch as inspiration for our cards! 


I had SO much fun with this challenge!  It all started with a cute little idea that I saw over the weekend during my trip to Ocala.  Theirs used a hinged acrylic package with a heart-shaped bubble filled with pastel candies...so adorable!  When I saw a package of buttons in a magnetic-bottomed watchmakers tin, I just had to have 'em, as much for the packaging as the product!  ;)

I used the insert from the package as a template to cut my Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety designer paper, then added a strip of ivory card stock punched with a scalloped border and stamped with a sentiment.  The cute gardener bunny from OCL's Hoppin' into Spring was stamped with Memento on a scrap of card stock, colored with Copics, cut out and glued onto the border.  (Since dh is Patrick and ds Matthew Patrick and it is the day before St. Patrick's Day, I figured he needed a green jacket!)  All the edges were inked with Tim Holtz distress ink...just goes along with the other quote in this cute set!

For the matching card, I used another Garden Variety designer print, along with another green element, a strip of one of the corrugated wrappers that insulate a hot cup of coffee (this one is not the designer coffee variety!)  For the focal point, I inked only a portion of the sentiment, placing it alongside another image from Hoppin' into  Spring.  I added a couple of brads laced with some jute thread in hopes of adding to the garden atmosphere (as in pole-tied beans, etc.) and heavily distressed all the edges.  I used nesties small and large circles to cut and emboss the carrot, which mimics the designer print used on the candy container and therefore hopefully unifies the projects.

Here's some more eye candy for you!

• Carolyn
• Cathleen
• Gretchen
• Kendra
• Loretta
• Lori
• Lynn
• Megan
• Tracy
• Kate

The theme for this month's Dirty Dozen gallery is All Creatures Great and Small.  Several DDAlumni have started a special gallery honoring our friend and fellow alumnus Susan, and I've included my furry rabbit friend.  As you read about what she and her husband are facing, please say a prayer for them!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you'll come back again soon!

You ROCK!

The DT girls (and Miss Stephanie!) at the {stamps} of Life decided to throw out a bi-monthly challenge to each other.Please feel free to play along with us!

If you are playing along with the {stamps} of Life stamps or digital images please upload to the gallery on the site -HERE- with the keyword TSOLD05. Please link to one of our blogs so we can see your stuff!

Our challenge this week is “Button it Up!!” (TSOLD05). Make a card or project with buttons.  Mine is a very simple card using a single red button as the O in the sentiment You ROCK! Love this fun sentiment! So many of us lack self-confidence and have a tendency to discount our worth...these two little words can say thank you, congratulations, and so much more! I want my friends to know just how special they are, each one in their own unique way.

My card is made with some of my favorite Cosmo Cricket designer paper scraps, a Heidi Swapp ghost flower, and some recycled ribbon.  These bright,  colorful prints just make me happy!

Here are the rest of our challenge players.  I hope you'll play along too! 

Stephanie Barnard
Jennifer Buck
Vicki Garrett
Jeanne Streiff
Joana Studor
Laura Williams

A Whirlwind Weekend!

What a fabulous, fun weekend it was! (Why is it that the fun ones fly by and the others seem to last forever?!)

Saturday, Asela and I traveled to Ocala to meet with some friends and fellow members of the StampTV Florida group.  We met at a great store, Priceless Scrapbooks, and spent the day stamping and chatting and sharing tips and tools.  It was so much fun!

While we were there I worked on two projects.  The first is this card using an adorable stamp from Lizzie Anne Designs' monthly mix, Lucky You.  These little chickies all in a row are SO cute, and I just LOVE this Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety paper!  I colored my chicks with some pale yellow-red Copic markers.  Current Dirty Dozen designer Kelly Landers let me borrow her punch to create the border of grass in two colors of green that grounds (sorry, couldn't resist the pun!) the image.  Here you can see it a little closer...

My other project that I made while we were there is for tomorrow's i {heart} papers design team challenge...it came out so cute, so you need to be sure to come back to see it!  ;)

Sunday afternoon I made cards with the confirmation kids and their mentors.  For their service project, they decided (with zero influence from me, I promise!) to create hand-made cards for the nursing home residents who are not frequently visited, so we spent an hour before our usual Sunday evening class putting these together.  The kids did a great job, and after making their cards, they wrote scriptures and greetings inside.  Next Sunday we will be delivering them and visiting for a while with about 20 of the residents at the nursing home close to our church.

To close the weekend, we went with Clayton (our drummer), Jeremy (our youth pastor) and Cory (our pastor) to Hurricane Grill for the I Survived Category 5 hot wings challenge, and survive they did!  I'm not sure it was worth all that pain and agony just for a tee shirt!   

I am wondering how they're feeling this morning! It is probably a good thing that they have Mondays off!  ;)

Hope to see you back tomorrow!  Have a great week!

Kiss Me!

I've always loved this adorable OCL Fairy Dust set, but there could not have been a more perfect stamp and sentiment for today's Friday Free 4 All at SCS!  I wanted my card to look like a mix of princess frilliness and the crown jewels...along with a little hint of the kingdom's gold!  How do you think it turned out?!  How about a smooch!?  ;)

eta:  At SCS, Cathy (Mutnik) asked is the lipstick red?  I had to laugh...it is called FATALE!

Easter Blessings!

It has been a dreary day in Florida!  I managed to make a simple card for today's Ways to Use It challenge, but the sun didn't last long enough for a decent picture!  Hopefully these bright colors will still come shining through!

Today's challenge was to use something new...this is the first time this pretty Lizzie Anne Designs stamp has seen ink.  I just love the graceful font of this Easter blessings sentiment and the way it looks inked with markers of different colors.  I gave the butterfly wings a bit of clear Spica sparkle.  In keeping with today's challenge, I also used a brand spankin' new pack of pearls, the first blossom from an until now unopened pack of BoBunny flowers, and the MS punch I recently purchased. 

Tomorrow is supposed to be more rain...guess that means it will be a good day to do some indoor things that have been needing to be done, and to stamp some more!  I am happy for it to get it over with, because Saturday Asela and I are driving to Ocala to meet more Florida stampers to do a little paper crafts shopping and card-making.  I am really looking forward to it!

Happy Spring!

Yesterday was one of those days when it was busy, busy, busy but not much actually got accomplished! KWIM?! I started a card for the color challenge, but with all the interruptions and having to go here and there, I didn't get to finish it until today. 

Melon Mambo, Certainly Celery and Bashful Blue just screamed Spring to me, maybe because it has been so unseasonably cold in Florida and I'm so ready for the warmth of Spring to arrive!  This sweet flower and sentiment are from Lizzie Anne Designs' monthly mix, Lucky You.  The butterfly and smaller flowers in the background are from last month's mix, Singing in the Rain.  They're fun paired together, colored in bright Copic colors. 

It looks like today is gonna be a great day!  The sun is shining...we'll see how much I get accomplished!  ;)

Chicken Girl Designs Are Goin' Digi!

Kate and all of the i {heart} papers team members are so excited to announce that our exclusive Chicken Girl Design line is moving to digi stamps! This will allow more frequent releases, more seasonal releases and more flexibility overall. This month we’re launching 9 new images. Each individual image is only $2.50 or you can get all 9 images as the March Collection for $20. Our clear polymer sets will remain available until inventory is depleted.

There's more on Kate's blog about how to purchase and download these adorable designs. Lots of inspiration from the Chicken Girl's Design Team too!

Christy
Judy
Kate
Loretta
Lori
Shelly
Tammy

More Vintage Roses

My friend Holly hosts the Monday Technique Lover's Challenge, but she unexpectedly had to take her auntie to the hospital and therefore didn't get to work on her card for this week's challenge. She already had chosen her theme, Very Vintage, but needed a sample maker, and since I've been making a few vintage cards lately, she asked for my help.

I used another image from OCL's Vintage Roses colored with Copic markers.  I paired it with some beautiful toile designer paper, crocheted lace, and some lovely sheer ribbon embellished with tiny flowers.  I love the aged look that distress inking gives to a project like this!  

I hope you'll play along with this week's TLC!  I'm hoping to see your take on some lovely vintage style!

A Simple Thanks!

Today I am sharing with you a thank you card that, although it is quick and easy, is also simply elegant.  This card uses the newly released Thanks2You from the {stamps} of Life.  I stamped the agapanthus stems in green, the thanks sentiment in brown, then distress-inked all of the paper edges and added pearls to each of the dots at the ends of the flowers.  A pretty green bow brings another soft splash of color.

Hope you like it!  Be sure to visit the {stamps} of Life gallery to see previews of the soon-to-be-special-released sets Late4Bday, Quick2Border, and all4Moms!

Love...

What a fun challenge today's Friday Free 4 All was!  My friend DawnMercedes challenged us to make a free-standing pop-up card. 

My card features Lizzie Anne Designs' current monthly mix, Lucky You.  I think this little house is so darling, and the sentiment is perfectly sweet!  I colored it with Copics, cut it out and glued it over top of some Basic Grey cloud printed paper.

This would make a great house-warming card, or even a wedding card, don't you think?!  

Vintage Roses

I just fell in love with Vintage Roses at CHA because of Pam Hooten's beautiful samples, and I was thrilled when Kate gifted me with the set! It reminds me of the pictures on the front of those old pattern packets my mom used to buy when I was a little girl.  She shared her love of sewing and other crafts with me, and now they're such a huge part of my daily life...they bring me such joy and creative fulfillment.  Love you, Mom!

I have made two cards pairing Vintage Roses with some beautiful patterned papers from Graphic 45's 8 x 8 pack, Le Romantique.  The first is for today's OCL Sketch Challenge, a simple, unfussy card.  I used circle and scalloped circle nestabilities to cut and emboss the image.  All the edges were distress inked with Tim Holtz tea dye and vintage photo inks.

The other was made on a girls' night out with my young friend, Keri, and although that usually equals limited supplies challenge (no punches, nesties, etc.) I still think this torn-paper and velvet version turned out to be the more formal of the two.  I used Copics to color both, including the little ivory roses on the second card.  I really love them both....so soft and feminine!

Quit Counting!

Today's Ways to Use It Challenge is entitled "Let's Play!" Julia asked us to design our cards around things you play...maybe sports, puzzles or games.

My card is also for Our Craft Lounge's Friday Sketch Challenge.  This challenge is only its second week...you can read all about how to play on the OCL blog.  A new sketch (OCLDT03) will be uploaded in the morning, but you still have lots of time to play OCLDT02...and if you play along, you will be eligible to win an OCL set!  One winner will be drawn each month, so the more you play, the better your chances!

This week's sketch was a very simple one, just perfect for one of the images and sentiments from Golfing Gramps.  I colored my image with Copic markers, cut and embossed it with nestabilities long classic and scalloped rectangles (passed through twice to shorten it to fit the image) and embellished with an Edwin Watts Golf tee tied onto a Basic Grey button with jute thread.  The *green* (a challenge play on words) is a scrap of Basic Grey Nook and Pantry designer paper.

Edwin Watts Golf sponsors our church youth group's big annual fundraiser every year.  They donate lots of big prizes which entice players to come to play and win...the proceeds fund an entire year of programs for our kids!  They deserve a shout out for all they do for FIUMC youth!

NoBunny like you!

Today's challenge at Splitcoaststampers is a fun sketch that is just perfect for using up scraps of designer paper! This adorable bunny is one of my current favorite Spring stamp sets (Hoppin' into Spring)...I just love coloring images like this with my Copic markers!  Kate is expecting this Our Craft Lounge set (recently released at CHA) to be arriving at i {heart} papers any day now!

It was early (about 6:30, and still pretty dark outside) when I was working on this card...looking at it now, the Cameo Coral looks a little bright for the rest of the colors in the scraps of Cosmo Cricket Nutmeg designer paper that I used, but it's all already glued together now, so I'm stickin' with the original plan! ;) I'll probably work on another card using this image soon, because at noon today my box from i {heart} papers arrived, and it had two more new packs of Cosmo Cricket paper (Garden Variety and Joy Ride)along with some new stamps!  Can't wait to play some more!  The Garden Variety 6 x 6 pad has a CARROT-printed paper that will be so cute with this guy!

I kept this card exactly to the sketch, and embellished sparingly, using only this great velvet corduroy ribbon with a little Junkitz ribbon buckle that I've been hoarding forever for just the right project!  Happy to finally use it!

More Notes:

• Memento Rich Cocoa ink
• Nestability small and large rectangles

Thank You!

I'm so grateful for my friends!  How very blessed I am to have so many sweet, caring, generous, encouraging friends!  Just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your kind words!  I cherish them, and I cherish YOU!

Yes, I was disappointed not to make the Spellbinders' team, but I am confident (as so many of you have reminded me) that God has something wonderful in mind for me...to put it in some rather famous words, "When God closes a door, somewhere He opens a window!"

My final round for Spellbinders used the film strip die, and here I have used the *negatives* (the rectangles that were punched from where the actual photos would go) as the base for a Melissa Francis glittered chipboard heart.  I added a few adhesive rhinestones to opposing corners for added interest. 

The "from the bottom of my heart" sentiment is from the Thanks2You stamp set released today by the {stamps} of Life.  Our designers have recently uploaded lots of amazing cards featuring this set to the SoL gallery, and throughout the month more cards will be added by customers as well, so it's a great source for inspiration!

eta:  Check out the 1st song on my playlist!  That's where I am today!  The words from the *bridge* were just perfect for me!