Saturday, May 31, 2014

Speedy Fox & Friends - Vintage


Happy Saturday everyone!  Despite issues with toes and a watery eye that creates havoc with fine detail work today's card was finally created!

 Speedy Fox & Friends challenge this week is to create a vintage style card.  I never tire of how my creative process works!  Today's card began with a totally different plan and morphed into this!  I started by opening one of my favorite paper stacks.  As I flipped through the pages out fell a pretty MFP image I had stamped awhile back but didn't use.  I thought it would make a great vintage card until I looked at this week's SCS sketch challenge, SC490.  The image didn't work with the sketch as it was rectanglular shaped but I wanted to play along with the sketch so I placed the image once again unused, back in the paper stack and gave some thought to which MFP image I wanted to use.  As I was playing with the papers for the sketch, I remembered that I had heat embossed on vellum, several MFP butterflies for a card back in April and only used one of them.  Viola!  A card was born!


A quick inside, I stamped the butterfly a bit off the paper and used a sentiment from Hum Along.

You can find all the details on the challenge and see fabulous inspiration from the DT at Speedy Fox & Friends Challenge!

I am entering:

My List:
Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers & Stamps a HC - Today, Tomorrow and Always and Hum Along
Paper: MME Lost & Found Two - Blush, misc CS


Monday, May 26, 2014

Monday Inspiration - A Bouquet for a Friend


Good Monday Morning!  It's a lovely Monday at our house because it's the first Monday of Summer Vacation!  Woohoo!  The only down side is we aren't dashing off on a vacation as we do most years.  Steve actually has next week off and that week is jam packed with teen commitments. Ah, the um.....joys, yes joys of growing up kids!

For today's  Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps Monday Inspiration card I used one of the Embossing Folder prints I made a few weeks ago for my tutorial.  The  flower stamp from CLR047 Mini Vases Clear Set was inked with TH distress inks, then spritzed with water before stamping on the CS.  I love how distress inks blend!  I die cut and stamped the min vase with:  PPRS-D047 Mini Vases Die Set and CLR047 Mini Vases Clear Set


That's all for me today, I hope you will I hope you  will stop by PPRS blog for more Monday Inspiration from the talented Design Team!

I played along with SCS TLC482 with this card.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Speedy Fox & Friends #213 - Magic Masking

 

HAPPY SATURDAY!  Dancing a jig and smiling....well not really going to be dancing for a few days but I am on the inside!  We made it to the end of another school year.  Is there anything quite so sweet as that first day of summer break?

Well, I have a super quick post for you today because although I had the card created and photographed I didn't have the inside or the blog written before I went to the foot Dr. to see about a toe or two!

A bit of drama that I will spare you from but I am now supposed to have my foot elevated the rest of the day so ............here it is real quick!!!!

Our challenge for Speedy Fox & Friends is so easy yet makes a great background.  We are "Magic Masking" with masking tape this week!  I was hoping to make another card as well but ........well....a toe got in the way!  

It's been awhile since you have seen a Christmas card from me so I decided it was a perfect time to create one.  I am rather  behind my Christmas card goal with this being only #8.


I really like the fonts on the sentiments that come with the "Wise Men" set.


I hope you will head on over to Speedy Fox & Friends Challenge for some lovely DT inspiration and details on joining in the challenge!

A quick run down of supplies and I am off!  :)

Ink: Memento - Danube Blue, Summer Sky, MFT Kraft
Memory Box - Star of Wonder


Wednesday, May 21, 2014

WOYWW #258 - A card for Saturday

Hello! to my fellow WOYWWers and friends!!  I am joining in the fun with Julie at Stamping Ground and friends as we take a peep at what's on our desks!  I am enjoying getting to know the owners of some fabulous desks all around the world!   It's so fun to peep in and see all the crafty creations being created or organized.

So what do I have on my desk today?


Do you spy a Christmas stamp?  Yes, you are on the right WOYWW May post!  I usually create 5 Christmas cards a month but this year I have been hanging on by my fingernails as life whirls by and Christmas cards have not been high on the priority list so this is #8 for the year.

My sweetheart is home today for his day off and we enjoy hanging out together so I  decided last night to create my card for Saturday's MFP challenge, so as to free up date day!  For Saturday's challenge we are using a technique I love but don't use very often.  It makes for a very quick card.  I am happy with my quick work!  Aren't you curious?  Stop back by on Saturday if you would like to see.  :)

Now I am off to do a bit of hopping around the world to see what my fellow Deskers have on their desks!  

Happy Wednesday to you!

Monday, May 19, 2014

Prickley Pear Monday Inspiration - Any Man



Happy Monday!  I hope you had a good weekend!  It's a lovely Monday and I am happy to share a bit of Prickley Pear Monday Inspiration with you today!

 I created a masculine card, great for Father's Day, birthday or just a "dad" appreciation occasion!


I used FF0172 Any Man Can for the sentiment and then stamped and die cut the fun gears:  CLR025 Steampunk Gears clear set and PPRS-D025 Steampunk Gears Die.

I hope you will hop on by PPRS Blog and see all the lovely inspiration the DT has for you today!

TFL
&
Have a great week!


Saturday, May 17, 2014

Speedy Fox & Friends #212 - No DP



Ahhhhh!  Saturday!  We are down to the last weekend of the school year which means  CRAZY TIME at our house!   In the midst of all the year end dashing I always find myself pushing through  a bit of sadness as I realize that somehow another year has whizzed by and my children are a year closer to leaving the nest!  Having a sophomore in high school has really driven that point home this year!  So many changes!!!  Perhaps that's why I once again turned to this peaceful image for my   Speedy Fox & Friends sample.  

Our challenge this week at Speedy Fox & Friends is to create a card without using any designer paper.  



This stamp design has one butterfly image at the top of the design but I thought it might be fun to add a few more.  I stamped and colored a total of three extra butterflies, fussy cut them then popped one over the top of the printed butterfly within the design and randomly placed the other two.  I have once again used a sentiment from the Columns & Topiaries 

You can find all the details on the challenge and see fabulous inspiration from the DT at Speedy Fox & Friends Challenge 

I am entering the following challenges:
Splitcoaststampers challenge WT479 - To send our cards to someone we don't know.  I am choosing "May Cards for a Cause".

Simon Says Stamp - Die Cuts(I die cut the image with Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Circles and layered with Spellbinders Lacy Circles.)
Word Art Wednesday - Anything Goes

TFL!

My List:
Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers & Stamps a HC - Oriental Joy, Columns & Topiaries
Paper: MFP 140lb Premium white paper and Misc peach CS
Acces: Spellbinders Lacey Circles, Spiral clip, ribbon, pearls

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

PPRS Tutorial Day! Embossing Folder Water Color Background


 Hi!  Today I am going to share with you a background technique that I recently spotted in an online gallery and couldn't wait to try out for myself!  For my background samples I used Distress Ink but you can use any water soluble color medium.   

You will need the following:
Water soluble color medium in one or more colors
water spritzer
embossing folder
paper

For the first step, ink up an  embossing folder.  Experiment to see which side of the folder works best for the project.  For my samples I chose the side that usually has the Manufactures name stamped. 



After the folder is inked, spritz folder liberally with water and place paper on top of wet folder.



Take your fingers and rub over entire piece of card stock or water color paper.  You will NOT place the folder through your die cutting machine.

(I borrowed my daughters hands for this photo! )   :)

Pick up paper and place face up to dry.  Drying process can be sped up by using a heat gun!

Here are a few of my samples.  I used the same two inks on all the samples but I achieved different looks by using different weights of paper including a piece of water color paper.

For the finished card I stamped  the text butterfly from CLR001 Butterflies Clear Stamp Set then fussy cut and sponged distress ink around wings and added the sentiment.


Happy Stamping!

WOYWW #258 - Finished Projects and Paper Bits


Do you know what day it is??  It's Wednesday and that means it's time for the weekly segment: What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday!

Julie at Stamping Ground is our fearless leader for WOYWW  and in just a few weeks she will be celebrating Five years of WOYWW!

I am playing along today with a photo of an almost clean desk.


Hiding beneath my stamp sets is a card I just finished for June 6th & 7th's VSN at Splitcoaststampers.  I am hostessing a fun challenge if you want to drop by and play along!  :)  The stamp sets were piled up as I thumbed through them to find just the right sentiment for the card.

I also created a fun tutorial this week. As you can see by the stack of backgrounds I got carried away experimenting with different looks.  The finished card can be viewed a little easier in my second post of the day. If you care to take a look, just scroll up!  :)

My acrylic blocks stacked up, so easily disappear when I am in the throes of crafting and two sentiment banners that didn't quite make the cut for my VSN card finish off the tour of my desk today.  Just pretend you don't see all the tiny bits of debris that I haven't cleaned up yet.  This is the best my desk has looked all week and in just a few hours will probably be covered up again!

I hope you have a fabulous Wednesday!



Monday, May 12, 2014

PPRS Monday Inspiration - A Small Poppy Garden



Happy Monday and welcome to Prickley Pear Monday Inspiration!

I enjoyed playing with dies for this card!  I die cut the flourish die twice and placed it behind the image.  The image was stamped directly on the Scallop circle then adhered to layers of Scallop Circle Nesting die cuts, one in red and one in white.   Heidi had a "circle/oval die focus" post in March that you can find HERE,  which inspired my use of the scallop dies.
 Here's my list of PPRS items used:

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a great week and don't forget to stop by  PPRS blog for more Monday Inspiration from the talented Design Team!

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Speedy Fox & Friends 211 - Use a Punch



Hello and Happy Saturday to you!

Today I am sneaking peeking another image from the upcoming release: "Oriental Joy".  When I saw the sketch challenge at SCS I knew exactly what image I wanted to use for our Speedy Fox Challenge this week!

Our challenge at  Speedy Fox & Friends this week is to use a punch so even though there are pretty flowers in this image, I added a few more with my MS punch!


I chose the birthday sentiment from "Island Life" because I never seem to have enough birthday cards on hand!  

You can find all the details on the challenge and see fabulous inspiration from the DT at Speedy Fox & Friends Challenge 

I am entering this card to Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - add flowers

I combined this week's SCS color challenge CC477 and sketch challenge SC487 for this card.

Thanks for Looking and have a great weekend!

Monday, May 5, 2014

Prickley Pear Monday Inspiration



Happy Monday and welcome to Prickley Pear Monday Inspiration!  I hope you had a great weekend!

Today I have a card to share with you that was inspired by IC438 at SCS.  I chose a photo of pretty colored collapsible vases.  I die cut the vase with PPRS-D047 Mini Vases Die Set and used Copic markers to create lines to mimic the photo.  As a final touch, I ran a black marker around the edges of the die-cut to give just a hint of definition.  There are so many pretty flowers to choose from with CLR047 Mini Vases Clear Set that it was easy to find flowers that reminded me of the photo. 


I hope you will stop by the PPRS blog for more Monday Inspiration from the talented Design Team!

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Speedy Fox & Friends #210 - Flowers




Happy Saturday!!!  After a wild week of stormy weather, it's a beautiful day here today.  I hope you are enjoying a pretty day and maybe even have some stampy time planned in your day. 

   Mark's Finest Papers & Stamps a HC, May blog hop is just around the corner so I hope you will mark your calendar!



This week at  Speedy Fox & Friends we are adding FLOWERS to our projects!  I am sure everyone will enjoy working with cheery brightly colored flowers this week!  I am sharing a sneak peek today of one of the new releases: "Oriental Joy".  This is a gorgeous set you will want to have in your stamp collection!

As many of you know, it can take me all day to create a card so I am delighted to tell you that this image produces beautiful detail and speedy quick card creation! 

I used MFP 140lb Premium white paper and colored the image with Inktense pencils.  With the heavy weight CS you can add a bit of water to the color and the paper won't pill! 

The "Peace" sentiment was added from "Columns & Topiaries" set.

For the butterfly I colored the stamped image then stamped the butterfly again, fussy cut and colored it.  While it was still damp from adding water to the ink I curled the edges to add a bit of dimension.


The inside is super simple using a sentiment from another May release "Tiger Lily".


Thanks so much for looking and I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers & Stamps a HC - Oriental Joy, Columns & Topiaries, and Tiger Lily
Paper: MFP 140lb Premium white paper
Acces: gems

I am entering this card into Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Friday, May 2, 2014

Mini VSN - Summer Vacation!



It's Virtual Stamp Night at Splitcoaststampers tonight so I joined in the fun.  The first challenge is brought to us by TJoy (Tricia) and it has us thinking about melting!  Ice cream melts FAST on a hot day so I pulled out my MFT "Here's the Scoop" set.

I had a blast playing with my TH Distress markers and water.

On my craft mat I scribbled a bit of marker, then added a tiny dab of glass beads medium.  Doesn't it make the strawberry topping look yummy!!!

I kept the inside short and sweet, ha, pun intended!  I scribbled a bit of marker and then spritzed water on the ink to get a fun Dusty Concord puddle.

The card design was inspired by Mod Squad Challenge to create a One Layer Wonder.





Our second challenge is brought to us by Scraperwannabe (Misti) and it's all about water!


Again, I had some fun with water color! 

 I stenciled the bg with a Prima stencil and TH Broken China Distress ink then spritzed with water.  I used Inktense pencils and water  for the frog and his pond.

For this card I used a Penny Black stamp set "toadily"

Thanks so much for looking and if you love challenges I hope you will play along with VSN (deadline for posting is 10 P. M. EST ON Saturday, May 10th) and Mod Squad Challenge (deadline for posting is Monday May 5th)

TFL and Happy Crafting!

I am adding the yummy Ice Cream card to the Simon Says Challenge - Anything Goes


Posies & More - Day 2 of IO March Release & Hop

Today is day two of the March Impression Obsession Release & Hop. First, I am featuring these pretty Layered Posies . This set is fun be...