Tag, You're It!

Today on The Daily Dare, my friend Kendra is hosting a tag challenge for the 6th Day of Christmas...we each made samples using the Our Craft Lounge set, No Peeking, which is the prize for the day.  This set is obviously geared for Christmas, but with a substitution of a sentiment from another set, the gift box tag becomes much more versatile.  Here I colored it in non-traditional pink and green with a sentiment from another OCL set, Love Notes, which makes it appropriate for either Christmas or a romantic birthday from a guy to his girl.  It would have been just as easy to color it in masculine birthday colors or Valentine's Day pinks.  I love being able to get more mileage out of my holiday sets, and I'm sure you do too!

As I've mentioned before, this set is a great set to get in some practice with the Copic markers to improve your feathering skills!  I am excited to say that I just applied and was accepted to the intermediate Copic certification class, so I'll be on my way to CHA-LA at the end of January!  Wahoooooooo!

Notes:
No Peeking, Love Notes
Copic markers
silver metallic ribbon
silver metallic gel pen

Happy Holidays Sketch

I have hardly gotten to stamp at all for the last several weeks, and I'm behind even in playing The Daily Dare challenges that I've invited my friends to host for the 12 Days of Christmas. This card was made for Day 2, to make a card using purple...no bonus points for me because I left off the olive and grey, but  I still am pleased with the way this turned out, so soft and elegant.  I adore this snowflakes designer paper, and the SCS sketch from yesterday seemed perfect for showing off this lovely Lizzie Anne sentiment from December's mix, Warmest Wishes.  Everything was sponged lightly with Tim Holtz tea dye distress ink, which gives it a warm glow even though the design captures the chill of Winter!

Flower Soft Sprinkle Challenge and Blog Hop!

Welcome to this week's Flower Soft Sprinkle Challenge and blog hop! Maybe you made it here from Vicki's!

I am so thrilled that today, Jeanne, our design team coordinator, and my Flower Soft friends are joining me in celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas on The Daily Dare, and Flower Soft is providing a gorgeous prize package not only for two FS Sprinkle Challenge winners, as usual, but also for one special winner from The Daily Dare!

This week’s Flower Soft Sprinkle Challenge and Hop (FSC18) – Winter Chill!

My team mates have created some gorgeous inspiration for you, so visit the Flower Soft blog to begin the blog hop.  After you have finished hopping, visit The Daily Dare for information on how to have another chance to win a fabulous Flower Soft prize!!!   There are challenges for each of the 12 days of Christmas, each with wonderful inspiration from talented designers and fabulous prizes from some amazing sponsors.

As I previously mentioned, we’ll be choosing two winners this week (plus I will pick a third for The Daily Dare)...one random winner from someone who comments on one of the hop blogs and a SCS winner.  All winners will receive this prize:

SCS entries must be uploaded to the SCS gallery and use at least one Flower Soft product (Flower Soft, toppers, stamps) to be eligible to win. Please use the keyword FSC18 and flowersoft (one word) when uploading to the gallery so we can find your project. Entries will be accepted for the challenge until 6:00 am CT on January 7th. The SCS winner’s card will be featured on the Flower Soft blog on January 7th!

Please note that the challenge on The Daily Dare has its own separate keyword.  The winner of the 5th Day of Christmas challenge will be posted on January 10th on The Daily Dare along with the winners for each of the other 12 days.

Want even more inspiration? There is a new episode of Flower Soft TV every Friday. To register for announcements, contests and specials at Flower Soft TV go to http://www.flower-soft.tv/#information.html and then click green "REGISTER" button.

My card for today features a beautiful sepia Charlie's Ark card topper that I tinted with pale Copic markers.  I softly distressed the edges with distress ink, and added a bit of Flower Soft Diamond Range Polar White snow.  I just love the way these card toppers look, even "naked," but they also look lovely when a tiny bit of color is added, and they're so easy!  The images are so soft and sweet, and they capture the beauty of Winter so perfectly!

I placed my card topper over some Memory Box Mistletoe designer paper, accented with a strip of fabric-textured designer paper, some KaiserCraft lace, and a big Mitten Weather button.

Your next stop on our blog hop is Cibele's.  Can't wait to see what she's made!  Her stuff is always amazing!

On the First Day of Christmas...

This is a super simple recycled bag with an empty sleigh (Santa is pooped!) and punny sentiment using two Our Craft Lounge stamp sets.  This quick and easy project was made for the first of the challenges for the 12 Days of Christmas which are being hosted on The Daily Dare.  Please, join us!  You might win a prize!  Lots of fabulous stampers and wonderful companies are sharing inspiration and products!

ihp design team challenge

Don't you just LOVE dressing up for the holidays? I really love the rich colors, opulent fabrics, and sparkling jewels that are so frequently worn this season...it is the one time of year that it seems right to be lavish and dress a little over-the-top!  That's why I thought it would be fun for our December design team challenge to be "inspired by fashion!"

My project is actually a combination of ideas and I'm not so sure I really pulled them off...I'm hoping it will remind you of a little jewelry box or chest of drawers....the top is almost like a pretty holiday corsage!  I remember when every mom wore one!

It was my lingerie chest that inspired this shape using beautiful holiday prints and textures, and it just evolved as I was working.  It would work great as a presentation for jewelry or candy or just about any small gift!  Hehe...someone snarfed the nuggets that were supposed to go inside, so I had to finagle a little bit!  ;)

Here are the i {heart} papers supplies I used:
Memory Box Mistletoe designer paper
Tim Holtz distress ink
Shimmer Spray
May Arts sheer ribbon
Petaloo mulberry flowers (colored with Copic markers)
Petaloo velvet leaves

Take a peek at what my friends have made!
Carolyn
Cathleen
Gretchen
Kendra
Loretta
Lori
Lynn
Megan
Tracy
Kate

You CAN make it!

This past week has been a real whirlwind in our house, and I'm really feeling the need for a 2nd wind and some encouragement to persevere!  Can you relate? 

My card is made with banners4all, basic4abc, and a partially inked sentiment from invite2create, all from the {stamps} of Life.  I actually made it with a friend who is a runner in mind, but I think I'll hang onto it for a while before I send it on!  ;)

More LAD!

Here's another Lizzie Anne card made with last month's mix and an earlier sketch...there has been so much going with holidays that this one got lost in the shuffle, and it wasn't alone!  Playin' catch-up here, and I hope you can relate!

The stamps, of course, are from Lizzie Anne...the supplies I used are from i {heart} papers, and today, Friday, December 17, Kate is celebrating National Free Shipping Day.

Notes:
Lizzie Anne Warmest Wishes
Basic Grey Jovial designer paper
Spellbinders' snowflake (limited edition last year)
crinkle ribbon
embossing powder (mixture of iridescent ice and clear ep)
SU ink
Tim Holtz tea dye distress ink

Lizzie Anne Release!

It's time for another Lizzie Anne release...my card is another ultra clean and simple design using the apron, my favorite stamp from the new mix, Lucky in Love.  I stamped it with Memento ink, colored it with Copic markers, sponged it gently with tea-dye ink and popped the cut-out design up on dimensionals.  Very simple, but I think it is really cute with gingham ribbon to match.  I hope you like it too!

Visit the Lizzie Anne blog to find out more about our mix sets, and to find more inspiration from our amazing design team!

OCL Sketch

I'm not a huge football fan, but I decided that it would not be cool to let this Our Craft Lounge set sit un-inked when so many of the men in my family really love the sport!  This week's OCL sketch, with its dangling star embellishment, provided the motivation for me to get it out and see what I could come up with!  The result is very different than my typical style, and also quite different than I had envisioned it would be.  At first I was going to use some team colors (some striped designer paper), but instead, I decided to keep things neutral so the options for the receiver remain open (couldn't resist a corny pun :rolleyes:)!  It came out very retro but I kinda like it! 

Notes:
Our Craft Lounge Football All Star
Memento Tuxedo Black ink
Tim Holtz tea dye distress ink
twill "yard tape" ribbon
black adhesive brads
chipboard star

Best Buds

It isn't often that a card just "falls together" for me, but this is one that did.  These cute little "best bud" birdies are part of a new Valentine set, hearts2love, from the {stamps} of Life, and the two sentiments I used with them are each from special release sets, minis4circles and invite2create.  I thought they would work perfectly with this already-decorated-for-Christmas Snow Day designer paper from Crate Paper.  I stamped them directly onto the printed paper with Memento Rich Cocoa ink and colored them with my Copic markers.  The edges were sponged with distress ink.  I used some gold metallic ink and a scrap of gold metallic paper to make a crown and hanger (monogram2build) for the ornament/sentiment, then tied on some sheer metallic gold ribbon for a simple Christmas invite.  Can you say homemade eggnog!  Mmmm-mmm!  :)

The {stamps} of Life releases monthly club sets on the 1st, and special release sets on the 11th, so all of these are available now!  One perk of club membership (besides saving money) is that special release sets are available early to club members on the 7th of each month.

CSS Blog Hop!

I'm so excited to be joining in this Gina K Designs Center Stage Spotlight Design Team blog hop! This time around we found our inspiration in a sketch by my talented friend Melissa Cash.  If you made it here from Cheri's, you're in the right spot!  To start at the beginning, visit the forum at StampTV.

My card is a very clean and simple design using Asela's set, Winter Wings.  I used a nestabilities  oval to cut a window from some kraft card stock to allow the sentiment to peek through from the layer underneath.  I stamped the bird to overhang the edge, and colored/cut another one from ivory card stock to pop up on dimensional dots to add even more depth.  The edges of the kraft card stock were inked with distress ink, but the ivory was left clean and bright like fresh snow for contrast.  It really would have been pretty to add some stamped snowflakes with Versamark or white craft ink, or even feathers from Asela's newest set, but time has been tight so I kept it super simple.  (I actually tried to add some lace, but liked it best without it after all!)

More Notes:

Copic markers

Martha Stewart snowflake punch

Diamond Range Polar White Flower Soft

buttons

jute thread

This photo angle is a little odd and makes the mat look uneven, but I actually took this picture outside the theatre as we were getting ready to go in to see Narnia on opening day!  Didn't want to make us late, so I actually (to the embarrassment of my fellas) took my foam board with me and went back out to the car to take it after we bought our tickets!  Matthew, sweet indulgent son that he is, held the whole set-up for me...it was just beginning to sprinkle, so we were crouched under the open window of the back of the Jeep to stay dry!  I feel lucky the picture turned out useable at all, and I'm glad my card survived!  I am planning to send it to a sweet friend from my church who recently lost her husband...I think it will make a nice sympathy card for her.  I love this verse from Ecclesiastes (are you singing it too?), and the little sparrow reminds me of His care for us.  That will hopefully bring comforting thoughts to Violet as she walks through this Winter of her life.  I would love if you'd whisper a prayer for her and her family, and for others in similar circumstances.  It is especially hard to lose a loved one so close to Christmas.

Thank you for your visit, and for your prayers!  Next on the hop is my friend Jen's!  Can't wait to see what she has for us to feast our eyes upon!

eta:  This card is one of two that I have made for the Order of the Opus Gluei! This week the challenge is to "Get Frosty!" 

Gnome Man's Land!

It's Lizzie Anne design team challenge day, and this month's challenge was to make a tag. Mine is a long tag that I intend to hang on my son's door knob for Christmas!  I really do think he's GREAT!  Of course, I love him no matter what, but he gives me lots of reasons to be proud of him!

I used these images together thinking that it would be kinda like "gnome man's land" with this little guy hanging out in the woods with the reindeer.  Matthew's room used to be no man's land, but I am very happy to say that he has gotten the clean gene and has been into keeping it nice and straightened up lately!  Shhhh, don't say it too loud...don't wanna mess things up!  ;)

I realize the ribbon hanger is a little frilly but I really wanted to use it because it is elastic that will stretch to fit over the door knob...I loved the look of the frayed edges of those fiber blossoms against the spiky branches of the evergreen.  Since Matthew is into guitar and saxophone, I had to include a little bit of music!  I think he'll like it!  Gotta keep the spirit of Santa close to heart! 

Notes:
Warmest Wishes, It's Good to be Queen
Basic Grey Jovial designer paper
Memento ink
Copic markers
satin ribbon
Tim Holtz Trimmings (dyed with distress inks)
distress inks (fired brick, vintage photo, tea dye, peeled paint)
nestabilities rectangle
Flower Soft (ivory, polar white)
corner punch
brads

Be sure to visit the Lizzie Anne blog for little thumbnail peeks and links to all our designers' projects!  Join us in welcoming back the amazing Rose Ann Reynolds!

Flower Soft Sprinkle Challenge

It's been a kinda crazy week in the Felts household!  December is always filled with extra activities!  It is busy to begin with, and there are always surprises!  This week, my big surprise was that I was recruited to be an angel in the Christmas play!  Lots of lines to memorize!  The time that it will take was not part of the "original plan" but I felt it was important for me to say yes!  My schedule will just have to adjust!

Sometimes it is hard to find time to squeeze in some stamping time between all of the real life stuff that is going on...that's when these Flower Soft card toppers come in really handy!  A beautifully colored image on quality card stock can be inked and stitched and given a pretty bow (Tim Holtz Trimmings dyed in a not-quite traditional color with Ranger distress inks) for a simple but lovely card to add to the Christmas stash!  A bit of Diamond Range Polar White snow adds some beautiful, sparkly texture to this sweet scene!  This will be just perfect for one of my choir friends!

Last minute holiday cards are this week's Flower Soft Sprinkle Challenge on SCS.  Hope you'll play along!

Marshmallow Friends!

Love this adorable scarf-sportin' marshmallow fellow!  Isn't he darling?!  This is for this week's Lizzie Anne sketch!  Hope you'll play along and upload your card to the LAD FaceBook page! 

Notes: 
Warmest Wishes
Basic Grey Jovial designer paper
Copic markers
Nestabilities squares,eyelet squares
crochet cotton

Ultra-simple Elegance

I went shopping at the LSS and found this gorgeous BoBunny flower...could not resist making a very simple and sweet Valentine with it using this hearts2love sentiment from the {stamps} of Life.  The Copic marker that I used to color in the open letters perfectly matches the ribbon...so simple and simple, and yet absolutely lovely! 

Sweet Pea!

Here's a card made with an image from Lizzie Anne Designs' adorable set, Great Expectations.  I made this back in October when these card stock scraps were sitting on my desk from some Halloween projects, but I thought they would make a cute wee baby welcome.  I had hoped that they would be appropriate for either a boy or girl, but I've decided that this is definitely girlie after all!  I love the way the black really gives some punch to these beautiful colors.  :)

Hopefully it is a bit refreshing to find a baby card in the midst of everything Christmas!  Maybe it is also accidentally appropriate that I was so late posting this card...have you seen Jeni's gorgeous new baby boy, Max Arden Allen? He is SO precious!

Notes:  
Memento ink
Copic markers
Cuttlebug embossing folder
silk ribbon
jute thread
Basic Grey ribbon tape

Another Gina K Preview!

Welcome to Day 3 of Gina K's December release previews!  Our amazingly creative artists and illustrators are sharing projects made using Floral Wreath by Gina K, the "free with three" for this release. 

I thought this set would look lovely with this gorgeous floral print from Basic Grey's Curio designer paper pad.  These colors are so elegant and peaceful!  Some distress inking, machine stitching and lustrous pearls make for a graceful, elegant design.

This particular sentiment is my favorite of the three that are included in the set, although I'm sure the other two will see ink equally often! It is easy to use a nestabilities circle to cut a perfectly aligned sentiment from the image and elevate it on foam tape to add dimension and color to your design.

Notes:
Basic Grey Curio designer paper
Pure luxury card stock
Memento ink
Tim Holtz tea dye distress ink
Copic markers
Sakura gold glitter pen (for the centers of the flowers)
circle nestabilities
sheer ribbon from the Spring Assortment
pearls (tinted with Copic markers)

Here are the links to other designers previewing this beautiful set!

• AJ Otto
• Asela Hopkins
• Carolina Buchting
• Carolyn King
• Cathy Tidwell
• Colleen Schaan
• Emily Giovanni
• Gina K
• Giovana Smith
• Lee Murphy
• Melanie Muenchinger
• Theresa Momber
• Tina Gilliland

Remember, the release party is tonight at 8 EST in the StampTV forum! Hope to see you there!

Home, Sweet Home!

Here are two new Lizzie Anne Designs singles that are absolutely adorable!  Love this sentiment!  I kept this card simple and sweet...if I could find the little red heart buttons that I know I have, I might still add one or two!

So thankful for my home, sweet home!  Love, family, friends, and rest!  Thank you, Lord!  Amen!  :)

Flower Soft Blog Hop!

Ready to Celebrate? 

This week’s Flower Soft Sprinkle Challenge (FSC14) – Winter Wonderland!

The Flower Soft designers will be featuring cards today using the Charlie’s Ark Creative Kits.

This week we’ll be giving away TWO prize packages! One prize package will be given away on the blog hop and another will be chosen among people who make a card using Flower Soft and post it in the Splitcoast Gallery using the keyword FSC14. Both prize winners will be chosen and announced on the Flower Soft blog on December 10. The winner of the Splitcoast Gallery challenge will have their card featured on the Flower Soft Blog on December 10th!!!

If you didn’t start at the beginning of the hop please go to the beginning at the Flower Soft Blog.

As you make your way through the hop make sure you comment on each and every post. There will be a prize winner chosen randomly among the blogs. The prizes (one set for Splitcoast players and one set for the blog hop!)

My card for today uses Charlie's Ark "Christmas with Friends" Creative Kit.  The images in this kit are so sweet!  They capture a child's excitement and wonder at the magic and meaning of Christmas...with the addition of the appropriate sentiment, they would make the perfect greeting card for a baby's first Christmas, especially with the soft pastel colors in this particular image! Today, though, I chose to go with a completely traditional card.

I *must* say...I am like Sheena (have you watched any Flower Soft TV episodes?)...I am not so fond (maybe I should say "so NOT fond!") of cutting lots of intricately shaped teeny tiny pieces, so I was really thrilled to see how easy the pieces of these layered images punch out and stack together to create an image with lovely dimension!  She uses diluted ink to shade hers...I used a pale gray Copic marker, then some Tim Holtz tea dye distress ink to warm the edges of the papers (for this card I trimmed off the pastel frame).  I matted the sentiment with a couple of layers of card stock cut with nestabilities circles, and added a stitched grosgrain bow and a few buttons.  I don't think it could have gotten any easier than that!  Isn't he SO cute?  Reminds me of my nephew, Nathan, when he was a wee boy!

Want even more inspiration? Do you like video tutorials? Make sure and visit Flower Soft TV!

****Next on the hop is my sweet friend, Cibele Glazer

New Club Set!

It's the first of December! Can you believe it?!  The first means a new release...here's a deep red Valentine using hearts2love, the new club set from the {stamps} of Life.  A little bit of his and hers love talk!

The birds were stamped with Memento ink, colored with Copic markers, cut/embossed with a nestabilities heart and scalloped heart mat, then given a little of PKGlitz sparkle!  They are nestled among the branches of some Basic Grey Indian Summer designer paper, with a little tulle and paper flower, a sheer black bow and some sexy black lace!