Sweet 'n Sassy Farewell Blog Hop

Today SNS says farewell to several members of its current team--Cindy, Faith, Lorie, Sarah and me. {{hugs}} girlfriends! I've been so honored to serve with you! I'm excited to congratulate several team members who will move on to Sr Designer positions, and to welcome the stampers who are just joining the team!

As I think back over the last six months, I am overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude! I cannot believe how quickly time has passed and how dramatically life has changed in such a short period of time! It seems like it was only yesterday that I was squealing with delight because Korin had invited me to be a member of her Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps design team! I was SO thrilled! Now it's already time to say goodbye! How fun it has been, and how much I've learned! What a fantastic experience! It has been such a privilege to be part of this amazing group...it is much more like family than a design team, and it is very bittersweet to move on! Ecclesiastes says...to everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under Heaven. I pray that I can gracefully transition! I am such a sentimental, sensitive person that it isn't something I enjoy doing! I think my experiences as a Navy wife have made me that much more reluctant because I know firsthand how hard it is to maintain friendships after moving. Even with all of our good intentions, the hectic reality of life makes it very difficult.

Hehehe...isn't it appropriate then that my card for today is a little caterpillar inching his way along! I stamped him using Memento Rich Cocoa, then colored him with prismas and Gamsol. My card is constructed using Basic Grey 6 x 6 papers from the Boxer collection and this week's Sweet Stop sketch. All of the papers were distressed with Tim Holtz distress ink. I framed the sentiment with a couple of button-trimmed flowers and several sprigs of greenery punched with a MS fern punch...reminds me of the frilly parsley that the caterpillars devoured COMPLETELY several years ago! They didn't leave us even one tiny sprig!

Thank you Korin, and all of the rest of the Sweet 'n Sassy team, for welcoming me with open arms, for sharing your expertise and your love of stamping, and for your faithful witness of Christ. I have been so blessed by you! I sincerely hope that the bonds we've made during this time together will hold firm as we enter these new seasons of our lives. Blessings to you and yours, my friends!

Bling it On, Baby!

Our i {heart} papers design team was challenged to create a card with bling! Can there be TOO much bling?! This card is definitely blinging every which way, so the answer certainly could be yes!

The inspiration for this card came from two sources...this sparkly SEI Lovebirds designer paper and a Hero Arts stamp set that comes with its own bling right in the package! I stamped the image using Memento Rich Cocoa ink and colored it in with Copic markers in several shades of pink. I colored in a faint background using prismas and Gamsol. The butterfly and sentiment were stamped in Regal Rose. Then I used a matching marker to make a little twisting trail. All of the leaves and the butterfly's wings were colored with a clear Copic spica glitter pen to give them some sparkle to match the rest of the card. I used some circle nestabilities along with Labels 3 to cut and emboss the image. The pink rhinestones are from the stamp set (and there are still several colors of rhinestones left for more projects)! I used a lacy edge punch to dress up a strip of regal rose...even the pink and aqua ribbon trim is glitsy!

Be sure to visit my ihp DT mates' blogs to see all of their sparkling creations!

Amber * Carolyn * Cathleen * Dee * Kate
Loretta * Lori * Lynn * Meredith * Tracy

DRS Challenge--Dazzling Diamond Dust

I'm sure you're not surprised to see another coffee card! I actually had this one coffee cup left over from my other DRS coffee projects, and it goes perfectly with this paper, so I decided to dazzle it up with some Versamark and a mixture of clear EP, iridescent EP and glitter. The designer paper has flowers that are glossy, almost like enamel, and I thought this combination of textures would be really pretty together. I may try again in brighter light to see if I can capture it better on camera.

Lots of eye candy on the DRS blog today, so don't miss it!

Banana Split Sunday!

Today's Banana Split Challenge is to create a card from this summery beach image. I was stuck on patriotic when I first started to look at it, but then after coming across one of my favorite chickens, it began to come together.

I stamped Hawaiian Chicken with Memento Tuxedo Black, then colored him with prismas and Gamsol, using a Copic microliner to add in the stripes to his surf board so that it mimicked the slats of the chairs in the photo. I used small and large classic circle nestabilities to cut and emboss the image and mat. The Pacific Point card base was sponged with craft white ink using a scalloped circle as a mask. The Sahara *Sand* was stamped with versamark using a very old (probably one of my first stamps ever) sand dunes stamp.


To bring in some of the turquoise, I added a strip of *waves* with a striped ribbon accent to cover the seam. The sentiment was stamped in Real Red, and embellished with a small red flower-shaped button.

Makes me think of our days on the beach at Barber's Point, or Makaha! I loved living there! My friend Mary *just* moved back to Hawaii. They probably aren't even settled in yet. I miss her already! Can't wait to visit! Aloha a hui hou!

Coloring with Copics

I went to Asela's Copic marker class at A Small Cleverness on Thursday. It was SO much fun and I learned so much! She gave us several Penny Black images stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black to color, and showed us how to blend and shade using different techniques. I learned that I need to work more quickly and with a lighter touch to get the effect that I want. Also, I need to just STOP! I have a tendency to use too little contrast and to over-blend, so I am learning to add more color, blend a tiny bit and then quickly step away!

In class, the flower in this stamped image was colored a beautiful pale pink that I don't have...I ended up going monochromatic, since I had this paper (Piggy Tales' Sun and Up and Down) in mind. I used my blender pen with the same pale yellow and green to barely tint the flower petals. The center was colored and then given a layer of glitz with a gold Spica glitter pen. I colored over the petals with a clear Spica, so they have that pretty *sugary* look that petals often have in nature. Wish I could capture that in a photo! I cut and embossed the image and mat with small and large classic rectangle nestabilities.

My paper flower didn't really match, so I soaked it with blender solution and colored the edges with my Copic marker. That brightened it up a lot and really helped it stand out a bit more.

Every single time I make a card with frogs it makes me think of my friend, Shannon! :) Can't wait 'til CHA!

God Bless the USA!

Today's card is a combo card for SCS's Limited Supplies Challenge, "Chinese Take-out," and The Sweet Stop's sketch with a spin (red, white and blue) for this week. I was thrilled that they worked together! I used a Sweet 'n Sassy digital stamp, Celebrate America, resizing and flipping the image to fit the sketch (there's still one more day for you to play! There will be a new sketch tomorrow!) The rocket was colored with prismas and Gamsol, then shaded along one edge with a Copic blender pen and cool gray marker. I used a microliner to frame the image with a fine line and a few dot-dot-dots. The rest of my supplies are things that have been in my stash for ages...I think both prints came from a big stack of designer papers that my mom sent me forever ago, probably from Michael's or Hobby Lobby. I printed the sentiment, God Bless America, on some white cardstock, then matted it with red for the inside. Relatively clean and simple.

Simple Pleasures

I made this envelope card for today's DRS blog post. You can find out more about it here!

Color Dare #22

Today's Color Dare colors are Pink Passion, Kiwi Kiss, and Apricot Appeal. I knew this little soft-ball playing flamingo from 2RedBananas would be perfect for these colors, but the concept was much cuter in my head than the execution is IRL! I think if the sentiment were a bit lower, I'd be happier with the balance of this card. I actually had a big pink bow underneath the sentiment in the beginning, and that just didn't work. I'm to the point where I've been looking at it too long, struggling with it too much, and it's time now to go to bed! ;)

Hope you'll look at my DT-mates' cards and play along in the challenge!

2RB + House Mouse!

Today 2RedBananas is sponsoring the House Mouse Challenge, which is a fun sketch! I really LOVE sketch challenges! And what about this adorable bear!? This is the kind of summer we're all hoping to have! ;) Peeking at the calendar, it doesn't look like it is gonna be quite like that around here! It's all fun, it's all good, but it will definitely be all busy!

I had such a great time with this card! I colored it with my Copics...in fact, I colored and UNcolored those hammock strings quite a few times before I finally got them the way I wanted! LOVE that about Copics!

The card base is SU's More Mustard, inked heavily with Tim Holtz distress ink in Tea Dye and Vintage Photo. The bottom mat layer was passed through the Cuttlebug with a swirlie embossing folder, then inked up with distress ink to accent the texture. The next layer is a big bright circle of Summer *Sun*. I matted the bear image on a piece of Coredinations card stock...the bottom of both were torn, rolled and bent to break down the fibers and give them a time-worn, relaxed look, then also distress-inked. I love how the Coredinations allows that little peek of another color.

My image was a bit large to include the sketch's triplet accents across the top and bottom, so I added them alongside instead. I thought the cord mimicked the hammock strings so I tied it through a button and ran it diagonally across the corners, then added the smaller buttons above and below.

Make sure you visit the Banana Blog to see what the Banana Bunch did with this sketch! Play along with us, and then head over to the House Mouse Challenge Blog to leave your link so we can see what you came up with!

Banana Split Sunday!

Happy Father's Day! I know that you're probably celebrating with the man of the house, so I hope you're having a special day! My husband works hard to support our household, including my stamping habit, and I am very grateful for all he does!

Today is Banana Split Sunday and our challenge is to be inspired by Summer! June 21st is the longest day of the year, the official start of Summer, and my mother's birthday! Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you!

Of all of the new 2RB releases, no other stamp screams summer like this one! These journaling spots are fun for scrapbooking, but I thought it would be cool to use one for a card. During the school year we see our homeschooling friends on a fairly regular basis, but during summer we lose track of each other, so this is a fun way to set up a get-together for some ice cream and catch-up conversation, especially with a coupon tucked inside! No matter how young or old you are, you probably like that idea!

I used Memento ink and Copic markers to stamp and color my image. The designer papers are prints from a DCWV glitter pack...they really do match, but I think I ended up cutting off or covering up most of the orange by the time all was said and done!

Visit the Banana Blog to see what the rest of our team has created for today's inspiration. Remember to come back tomorrow for another 2RB treat!