Tuesday, August 28, 2018

To Embellish

Even though my schedule is full today I was intrigued by this week's Teapot Tuesday Challenge at SCS which is to use older supplies that have not been used for projects since we first began stamping.  I have a drawer of supplies that I just don't use.  I never quite got the hang of combining embellishments on my cards.  Today's challenge was the perfect excuse to delve into the past and create something new!

I created a Double Pocket card and used papers and embellishments from the Flea Market kit by Crate Paper.  We get extra imaginary cookies at our tea party for more than one supply so I added the two resin roses, the ceramic rose pin, and the butterfly sticker.  

The sentiment on the tag and on the inside of the card is from the Simply Wonderful set by Picket Fence Studios.  I just love the sweet roses that are included in this beautiful set.  

You are simply wonderful and I am so delighted you stopped by today!!!



Friday, August 24, 2018

Sending Pawsitive Vibes

So you have never seen a blue cat?  You would be surprised how many blue cats show up in artwork!  One of the fun aspects of playing in the Inspiration Challenge at SCS is that we are taken to a different site every week and we get to view a great deal of art.   This week we are headed to One Kings Lane; I found my inspiration in the Vintage Art collection. The piece is called Blue Cat and it's a bargain at $769.00!  


I am also playing in My Favorite Things Stamps sketch challenge: MFTWSC399.  I used the adorable Meow Mix set for my images and sentiment and die cut the butterfly with Die-Namics Meow Mix.  I blended color around my Blue Cat with Distress Oxide inks in Spiced Marmalade and Cracked Pistachio with the Life Changing Blending Brushes


Thanks so much for stopping by today!  

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Dandelion Wishes

It's always fun to see how much interest can be created with a single layer.  Single layer cards are great because no extra postage is needed.  For today's card, I headed over to this week's Sketch Challenge at Splitcoaststampers.  The sketch calls for a narrow card so I created the card base to fit my A6 envelopes since I don't have a really tall envelope. The finished card is 6 1/4 x 4. To keep my design to a single layer I masked off the edges of the lower portion of the card and blended Distress Inks in Vintage Photo and Salty Ocean with the amazing Life Changing Blender Brushes.  I love how smoothly the ink glides across the paper with these brushes and no more sponges coming apart and leaving harsh lines!



I stamped one of the three dandelion images in the Dandelion Wishes set by Picket Fence Studios multiple times and for my sentiment went with (prayers sent for you) from the Neighborhood stamp set. 

SC711

Thanks so much for stopping by today!!!


Neighborhood                                                Dandelion Wishes 




Tuesday, August 21, 2018

One Cool Ghoul

The Project Bin has a new set out called Cool Ghoul.  The sentiments are a hoot plus there is two fun ghost dies to cut out the ghosts so no fussy cutting needed!   

Before starting this card I looked through my stash of backgrounds.  I believe I created this last year for a zombie card for The Project Bin but didn't use it.  I took one look and cracked myself up!  No plain white for this ghost, he is One. Cool. Ghoul. in groovy colors!   To showcase his colorful style to best advantage I placed him on a white background die cut with the Stitched Scallop Basic Edges Die-Namics.  


For the inside, I used the very last little bit of the background for a border and stamped the cute little ghost in the corner.  The little ghost needed a little help being scary so I added the BOO! sentiment next to him!


Thanks so much for looking!


Saturday, August 18, 2018

Polished Butterfly



Several weeks ago I created colorful backgrounds using the Nail Polish Marbling tutorial at Splitcoaststampers.  The results of the technique are quite stunning but it should be done in a well-ventilated area.  One of my friends tried it outside and the wind caught her polish and decorated her outdoor furniture so beware of the side effects of this technique!

For the IC663 challenge, Stacy has chosen the perfect site to inspire creations made with the Nail Polish Marbling technique.

I die cut the butterfly and sequins from one of my backgrounds.  Sadly the sequins die is retired and so is the Thank You sentiment.  The design was inspired by Case This Sketch #285.



Thanks so much for stopping by!

Friday, August 17, 2018

Never Give Up

Hope is my special word.  It's a pretty word, don't you think?  Four little letters make one powerful word.  Hope can get us through anything.  I love it that the super fun stamp set A Dose of Vitamin Sea by Picket Fence Studios includes the (never give up) sentiment which I paired with Jordan Girl. Jordan is one of the lovely stamp sets in the Beautiful Girls line in the Picket Fence Studios store.

The sentiment simply looks like it's made to go with Jordan Girl.  I think she is beautiful and the pretty butterfly reminds her to never give up hope!  I went with super simple coloring.  I kept Jordan in black and white to show off her gorgeous lines and added pops of vibrant red tones to accent her bold spirit!


I am super delighted to have the opportunity to create art with the wonderful products in the Picket Fence Studios line as part of the Design Team!!!  I am up on the Picket Fence Studios blog today!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

                                      Jordan Girl                                               A Dose of Vitamin Sea                        


Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Butterflies, Dots and Beautiful

A few weeks ago I created some backgrounds with the Nail Polish Marbling technique.  It's a very smelly technique but the results are stunning.  For this week's Project Bin card I took one of the backgrounds and die cut a butterfly and circles.  The sentiment I used is one of my favorites from  #bff by The Project Bin.  


I used this week's CTS#284 sketch for my layout.





Here is a look at all the sentiments included in the #bff  stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by and stay Crafty!

Monday, August 13, 2018

Amazing!

Dare to Get Dirty 2018 is done.  There is still time to upload before the galleries are closed but the daily challenges are done.  41 challenges in 7 days and there are quite a few gals that finished them all!  Amazing!  The week of DTGD is so fun because we are all in it together, getting inky, staying up later, our desks overflowing with paper, paints, and ink!  I love the chat and getting to know other artists better.  One of the super fun aspects of a week like DTGD is stepping out of our comfort zones and trying new things. 

When I saw this challenge pop up and read the hostess chatter about this one, I thought, "Nope. Just Nope.  Not going to try it."  Well, usually when I tell myself nope, I go right ahead and do the opposite!  I am so glad I didn't listen to myself.  I think this is the most interesting card I made all week!  There's just something about it.  It doesn't hurt that it's pink, either!  LOL


I just loved how my next card turned out!  Janine sent me this gorgeous stencil. Janine and Janeen are amazing people and I count myself very fortunate to have met them!  This card was extra fun to create because of the ease of adding color with the Life Changing Blender Brush set.  I am telling you, the brushes are amazing!  The brushes simply float across the paper and stencil!  No more sponges coming apart and leaving odd marks on the paper!  


I rarely make square cards and I didn't make these on the same day but pink looks great on a square, don't you think?

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Saturday, August 11, 2018

Choose Happy

On the first day of December last year I was in an auto accident.  I was banged up and needed physical therapy with continued exercises that I do to this day.  One of the ugly side effects of the accident was the impact on my sense of well being. I had to dig deep and find restful places for my thoughts.  Psalm 23 was especially helpful.  I am still continuing to grow in choosing HAPPY!  It is a choice.  No matter what traumas come our way (and I have survived my share) at some point we have to decide to take that first step to think on good things!  

I was not looking for "happy" when I went searching for this week's inspiration challenge site at Splitcoaststampers.  I was simply looking for a "National Day" to inspire our inspiration challenge theme when I found the Secret Society of Happy People.  I hope you will check out this fun site, she even has a daily calendar for the month of August with suggestions on doing fun things for others which ultimately brings us happiness!

You can check out my challenge HERE to see which site and photo, I chose to inspire our creations this week.  Hint, it's a site to celebrate that life is good.

I chose the dragonfly from Unity Stamp Co. - KOTM 1/17 When you Smile for my focal point.  I sprinkled a bit of Brusho powders on the background and misted with water.  How cool is that the kit includes this happy sentiment, just right for our challenge,


Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to set your mind on something happy today!

Friday, August 10, 2018

All the Fish in the Sea and Something New!

What a wonderfully creative week it has been.  Just what I needed to keep my mind off this first week of Senior year for our youngest!  The week has been packed with creative challenges and camaraderie over at Splitcoaststampers.  A majority of the cards, I created this week featured stamps and sentiments from Picket Fence Studios.  I have fallen in love with their designs and sentiments so it is with great excitement that I get to announce I am part of the new design team for Picket Fence Studios!  You can read all about the team HERE!




To celebrate this special day I created a card. Imagine that!  I used the gorgeous Ocean Dreams background stamp to create my sea.  Next, I stamped the whale and sentiment from A Dose of Vitamin Sea on a separate piece of cardstock and used the "out of the box" cutting technique.  I had so much fun creating this!  I will be entering this into Kia's DTGD18kiagcB challenge.









Thursday, August 9, 2018

Thank You

I really wanted to create this as a sample for Janine's DTGD18JayBee challenge at Splitcoaststampers but our son has been surprising us with several visits before he starts back to college.  If I wasn't hanging out with him, I was my daughter's passenger as she gets in driving practice.  Still,  I took a little time out and played with Brushos and my new Neighborhood stamp set by Picket Fence Studios.

The neighborhood is actually about 5 1/2" x 3 1/4" but for this card, I decided to use just a portion of the image.  I think this would make a fun thank you to send after visiting friends or relatives.


The neighborhood looks fabulous on the inside without any coloring at all. 


I am playing along with Word Art Wednesday - Anything Goes.  The scripture this week is Psalm 92:4

Here's a full look at the Neighborhood stamp set with sentiments.


Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

You are Fantastic

I have been enjoying the Dare to get Dirty challenges at Splitcoaststampers this week.  Many of my all-time favorite cards have been inspired by a stamping event and I think this event has inspired a few more!

For Joyce's DTGD18Ashjoy challenge I pulled out the gorgeous Succulent Floral image from Picket Fence Studios and colored it with Chameleon Color Tone pens and Color Tops.  I love the smooth blending that can be achieved with these pens.  I just love the font on this sweet sentiment from the Simply Wonderful stamp set also by Picket Fence Studios.


 I was actually inspired by three different challenges for this one!   I am posting it today for Ceal's  DTGD18Simplybeautiful Challenge.  I really like this sentiment from It's Going to Be OK by Picket Fence Studios.  I love someone sweet that tends to let a bad moment make the whole day bad so when I saw this sentiment I had to have the set!  When we are going through tough things it's good to remember that it's just a bad day not a bad life!


Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you feel inspired to get inky!

Here's a look at the fun stamps sets featured today:








Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Hugs!

It's Dare to get Dirty week at Splitcoaststampers and I have the privilege of hosting a challenge today!  I can't tell you what the challenge is unless you are a Fan Club Member but I can tell you it's lots of fun!  I hope you will stop by Splitcoaststampers this week and join the fun!!!  

For added drama, I adhered white and black layers bordered with the MFT Die-Namics Stitched Scallop Basic Edges die then die cut the sentiment from MFT Die-Namics Twice the Hugs in black.  The cute little flower was die cut twice from Die-namics Stitched Blooms.


Thanks for stopping by!  :)

Welcome, Baby!

Today I am featuring another sweet image and sentiment from the Many More stamp set by The Project Bin.  I pulled out paper from a K&Co paper stack called Hopscotch. I love using it on projects for boys. I paper pieced the cute little rocking chair and die cut it with the Die-Namics Wonky Stitched Square Stax die.   


For the inside, I added another strip of patterned paper and a sentiment on the inside.


With this card, I am playing along with the  DTGD18abbysmom2198 challenge at Splitcoaststampers.  I can't tell you what the challenge is but you can find out more HERE.

I also used Case This Sketch! #283 for my layout inspiration.


Thanks for stopping by today!!


Saturday, August 4, 2018

Pink, Always Fabulous


Happy Saturday!  Our daughter's last, first day of school was yesterday and for us, that signals the end of summer but I am holding onto sunny days with a beach card!  

Julie is taking us to Brit+co for our IC661 challenge at Splitcoaststampers this week.  This site is so cool that every time I stopped by to search for a photo to inspire a card I found myself behaving like the little dog chasing squirrels in the movie UP!  

A colorful flamingo video caught my eye which made me think of the new stamp sets I have received from Picket Fence Studios.  For the ocean background, I swished cardstock through Distress Inks spritzed with water then after the layer was dry, I stamped the Ocean Dreams background stamp.  To create the sand I cut a wavy beach then stamped the perfect sentiment for any pink lover!  The sentiment and cute flamingos are part of the What a Flock stamp set from Picket Fence Studios.   To give my beach a sandy look I added dots with Copic markers then brushed on Tea Dye Distress Ink.  Yep, I brushed on the ink instead of sponging!  These amazing brushes are just what their name says they are.  No more uneven sponged ink or hard lines when my hand slips!  After using them just once, I am passionate about the "Life Changing" Blender Brush Set. Quick Tip: Hide them from your teen daughters!


With my beach card, I am entering this week's Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge -Make Your Own Background

I am also entering this in the DTGD18maryr917 challenge at Splitcoaststampers.






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...