Sunday, May 31, 2009

Tulip Jungle Two-Fer Challenge

Here's my card for this week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge. I bought my first Penny black Hedgie stamps a few months ago and just fell in love with them and all the other cute little animals. This is one of my newest purchases - Tulip Jungle. Just love that little kitty peeking out of the tulips. Isn't he the cutest? I'm also submitting it for the Banana Split Sunday challenge on 2RedBananas, which is "Tied up with ribbon". The only requirement was to use ribbon on the card. That's not too hard for me. :)

The Penny Black challenge this week is a sketch, which I have posted below. I rotated it to better fit the image, but otherwise, I followed it pretty closely.
After I got my image all colored, I realized that it was too big for my largest oval Nestie. I really didn't want to cut into the image, so I cut it out and then popped it with foam squares on top of the oval piece. I ran the white oval through my Big Kick with my D'Vine Swirls Cuttlebug folder for a little more interest.
The ribbon for the 2RB challenge comes in with the narrow strip on the sketch. For this piece I used some yellow "lattice" ribbon that I've had for a long, long time. I think it's really pretty, but it just never worked with anything. I think it turned out great with this sketch. I also used a sheer black/white polka dot ribbon down the center.
Supplies
Stamps: Tulip Jungle (Penny Black); sentiment (Hero Arts)
Paper: Yellow and white cardstock (DCWV); DP (Me and My big Ideas)
Embellishments: Classic and scalloped oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders); flowers (Prima and Making Memories); brads (unknown); ribbon (unknown); embossing folder - D'Vine Swirls (Cuttlebug); ribbon slide die (Cuttlebug); corner rounder punch
Technique: Prismacolor pencils blended with mineral spirits
Finished card size: 6" x 6" square

Saturday, May 30, 2009

A Summer White Card

I made this card for Chris's sketch challenge on the Papercrafts message forum on Creating Keepsakes this week. I am also thinking of using it for a white on white card swap I'm in on Splitcoaststampers. I haven't made the final decision on that yet.

I used three different Cuttlebug folders for this card. I can't remember the name of the one I used for the background. It's swirled vines with little birds on it. It's the first time I've used that one. I used Swiss Dots for the vertical piece and Textile for the squares. I punched the squares with my 1 1/4" square punch, then put them on 1 1/2" scalloped squares that I cut with my Nesties.

I used two stamps from the Inkadinkado Garden Flowers clear set for the main image. I embossed them in white, then cut the piece with my classic circle Nesties. I used a scalloped circle nestie for the mat. I finished it off with a white organza ribbon and three pearls.

I think the white on white cards are so pretty and elegant. I wished they photographed a little better. The card really looks much better in person.

Thanks for looking!

Friday, May 29, 2009

Cute Card Thursday and My Final Merry Go Round Card

Finally got the last card done for my Merry Go Round swap! If you aren't familiar with what a Merry Go Round swap is, I explained it in my House Mouse post on May 24th. I am also posting this card for this week's Cute Card Thursday Challenge - bit o' bling.


The object of this week's challenge is to use some sort of "bling" on your card. I didn't go crazy with it, but there's a little. I painted Stickles on the mousie flower petals. You will probably have to enlarge the image to see that very well. I also used a green square gem brad in the center of my flower, which I made by stacking five different Prima flowers. I just have to layer my flowers now. If I just use one is looks so .... blah... :)

I used Mojo Monday sketch 73 for the layout. I love this sketch, but was out of town when that challenge was posted, so I'm glad I finally got a chance to use it. I actually used my slot punch on the right side of the image and threaded the ribbon through it, but that got covered up with the flower. If I hadn't been making this card for a swap, I would have used a larger card size so that could be seen. Oh well...

If you are familiar with this House Mouse image, you may have noticed that I colored Amanda Mouse's ears (she's the one in the middle). I don't have this image myself, and even though I had seen it before, I apparently didn't pay close attention to the coloring. I didn't distinguish her ears from the petals so they got colored too. Ooops... I saw Mudpie's ears, but Amanda's looked like flower petals to me. :) Unfortunately, I only had one copy of this image. I think the person who sent them accidentally miscounted and I was one short so I didn't have an extra to fix the oopsie. She's a super sweetie so I think she'll forgive me. ;)

I just realized something - I think this is the first card I've made for quite some time that I didn't use at least one of my Nestabilities and/or border punches on.

Thanks for stopping by. I think I'm going to get these cards swapped out so I can get them back in the mail tomorrow. Hope you have a great weekend!

Supplies
Stamp: Spring Blossoms (House Mouse - Stampabilities)
Paper: Green cardstock (Archiver's); purple cardstock (DCWV); DP (My Mind's Eye)
Embellishments: Ribbon (unknown); flowers (Prima); gem brad (Paper Wishes); Stickles glitter glue; image is edged with Lime Chalk Ink (Colorbox)
Technique: Prismacolor pencils blended with mineral spirits
Finished Card Size: A2 (4 1/4" x 5 1/2")

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Make a Wish

I have mentioned several times that I love doing the challenge blogs. I could happily spend my days making cards and doing challenges. But I also must work and take care of my family, so I can only do so many challenges in a week. This week I got lucky - I managed to do four of them with this one card - House Mouse and Friends, Mojo Monday, Cupcake Craft Challenge and Simon Says Stamp Challenge.

The theme for this week's House Mouse and Friends Challenge is birthday. There are so many great House Mouse, Happy Hopper and Gruffies stamps with a birthday theme, that one was kind of tough to choose for. I chose Make a Wish - it's super cute, and it's small enough to fit the sketch I was using.

This week's Mojo Monday sketch is below. I don't think there has been a Mojo Monday sketch that I didn't like, This one is very versatile and super simple to work with. I think I will definitely use it again.
My third challenge for this card is the Cupcake Craft Challenge. The theme for this challenge is called "2-2-2". We were to use two colors (plus a neutral), two ribbons and two shapes. Technically, I don't know if I met the two colors or not. I mainly used green and blue, but I had to use a couple other colors for the mice :). For the ribbon I used a wide green ribbon and a more narrow blue and green ribbon in the center. I also created a bow with both. The two shapes are rectangles and circles.

The final challenge is Simon Says Stamp, which was just posted today. The theme this week is animals. That was probably the easiest of the challenges to meet.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps: Make a Wish (Stampabilities); Sentiment (My Sentiments Exactly)
Paper: Cardstock (DCWV); DP - Wild Asparagus (My Mind's Eye)
Embellishments: Circle and scalloped circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders); ribbon (unknown); blue brads (unknown)
Technique: Prismacolor pencils blended with mineral spirits
Finished card size: 4 1/2" x 6"

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

More Merry Go Round Cards

Here are a couple more cards I made for my Merry Go Round swap. I have two more that I haven't posted yet. One is finished, but I don't care much for how it turned out so I'm probably not going to post it. I sure hope the person I made it for isn't too disappointed. One more I still have to make but I'm stuck for an idea. Hopefully, I'll come up with something soon.

The image above is from Heidi. I think this was the hardest one for me. Whenever I see the Kliban Cats I think of the 70s - I think I had something back then with one of the cats on it - so I chose some retro colors and paper for it. I also decided to color the cat, even though I don't really remember the original images having the cats anything but black and white. It went with the paper. ;) The little ribbon slide thingie says "Laughter".

I had some trouble with the image above too. First, I was going to try to color it with my distress inks. I follow Rosette's blog and she does such pretty coloring with the distress inks. First I tried the aqua painter to pick up the ink, but I thought it was too wet. Then I tried one of my SU blender pens, but it kind of just shredded the paper. So I ended up going back to my tried and true Prismacolor pencils and mineral spirits. Maybe I'll try the distress inks again sometime. I chose an almost monochromatic color scheme with the ivory and golds. I added the green and gold ribbon to pick up the green in the image and provide a little more interest.

Monday, May 25, 2009

We Remember Moments

Here is another card that I made for my Merry Go Round swap. I also used this week's Card Positioning Systems sketch. This is my first entry for the CPS challenge. I really like their sketches, but I can only do so many challenges a week. :) I wish I could do all the ones I like. The sketch I used is posted toward the end of my post.

This image is not my style at all, but I have to say that I do like the way the card turned out. The image was stamped on watercolor paper. I considered coloring it with watercolors, but I don't have that many. I went with my usual Prismas to have more color choices. I think it still kind of looks like watercolor though. I printed the quote (one of my all-time favorites!) on the computer.

The background paper is handmade. Through the various message boards I have participated in and through a swap group I hosted on Yahoo for awhile, I became acquainted with a lovely lady whose name is Ms. Lis. Ms. Lis makes beautiful handmade paper and sent me a few small pieces as a hostess gift for a swap I hosted. Believe it or not, this is the first time I have used any. I'm hoarding it because I probably won't get more. I have lost track of Lis - we aren't online in the same places anymore. Anyhoo - I looked through every piece of DP I have and just could not find the right one for this image. Finally, I found the handmade paper and thought it was just perfect.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend!
Supplies
Stamp: Stamping Up! (I don't know the name of the set); sentiment is computer generated
Paper: Yellow cardstock (DCWV); dark turquoise cardstock (Club Scrap); DP - handmade
Embellishments: circle and scalloped circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders); corner rounder punch (Hobby Lobby); ribbon (Hobby Lobby)
Technique: Prismacolor pencils blended with mineral spirits
Finished card size: A2 (4 1/4" x 5 1/2")

I Got a Blog Award!

I received this Lemonade Stand blog award from Emily. It's an award for bloggers that show great attitude and gratitude. Emily is a very sweet and talented lady. She leaves the nicest comments on my blog. I really enjoy her blog as well. She does some really nice work. You should check it out.

The rules for this award are:
*comment on this blog
*cut and paste the award logo and use it on your own blog
*nominate 5 to 10 blogs you feel show great attitude and gratitude
*link to your nominees within your blog post
*comment on their blogs to let them know they received the award*link back to the person who gave you the award to show your appreciation

So I happily accept this award from Emily and nominate the following blogs that I think exhibit great attitude and gratitude.

Susan - http://lilbitofme-susan.blogspot.com/
Susan is my dearest friend. We met through stamping and papercrafting three years ago and quickly became good friends. She inspires me through her art and her friendship. She is one of the most positive people I know.

Heidi - http://loveembossing.blogspot.com/
Heidi is a quite a talented crafter. She does beautiful dry embossing work. Her cards always make me smile.

Patti - http://myanthill.blogspot.com/
Patti is one of the nicest people I know. I have never heard her say a bad word about anyone. She's had some sadness in her family lately and hasn't been active on her blog. I sure hope she comes back soon because I miss her.

Janice - http://stampingwithjanice.blogspot.com/
Janice and I don't know each other well on a personal level, but we have been in several swaps together and follow each other's blogs. Janice makes some beautiful cards. She also always leaves very kind and encouraging comments on by blog.

Rosette - http://craftingmagic.blogspot.com/
I don't really know Rosette well. I was introduced to her blog by my friend Susan. Rosette is a religious sister who lives in Malta. Her work is just beautiful and very elaborate. I think it must take her hours to create each of her cards she puts so much detail in them. Even though we haven't gotten to know each other well yet, I see her beautiful spirit in all her work.

I hope all these ladies will accept my award. A big thanks to Emily for passing it along to me!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Thinking of You in Delft Blue

This is another card that I made for my Merry Go Round swap. I am also submitting it for this week's Banana Split Sunday challenge at 2 Red Bananas, which is May Flowers (using flowers on a card). I have never done the Banana Split challenge, so I wasn't sure if I had to use products from 2 Red Bananas shop or not. I couldn't find anything that said I did, so I am going to go ahead and submit it. I'm sure someone will let me know if I messed up. :)


When I received this image for the swap, the first thing I thought of was the beautiful blue and white Delftware from the Netherlands. I thought it would have been pretty embossed in blue on white paper. But since it didn't come that way, I decided to try to simulate the look with my Prismas. I used just one shade of blue to color the image, leaving most of the open areas white. I did not blend the pencil with this one because I wanted the blue to be crisp against the white like the Delftware. I trimmed the image to 3" square, then cut it into 9, 1" squares to simulate tile. I chose to use only blue and white on the card to stay with the Delftware look.

I'm really happy with how this turned out. I hope the person who sent me the image likes it too.


Supplies
Stamps: Netherlands (Stampin Up! - I think); Sentiment (Hero Arts)
Paper: White cardstock (Georgia Pacific); Blue cardstock (scraps)
Embellishments: Flowers (Prima); ribbon (unknown); button (unknown); scalloped border punch (Fiskars)
Technique: Prismacolor pencils
Finished card size: A2 (4 1/4" x 5 1/2")

House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge #38

I'm squeaking this one in at the last minute - only two hours to go until the deadline. This week's House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge is a sketch, which I have posted further down the page.

I also made this card for a Merry Go Round swap that I am hosting. In a Merry Go Round swap, each participant sends enough copies of one image for each person in the swap. The images are sent to the participants to make cards. The completed cards are then sent back to the person who submitted the image so that they have a card from each other person made with their image. This image was sent by my friend Lucy. I hope she likes the card I made with it. :0)

I like this sketch. It's simple and I could easily adapt it to the A2 card size, which I had to use since it's for a swap. I don't make very many A2 cards anymore. I seem to be more comfortable with 6" square and A7 size now. Making the smaller size can be a little challenging for me in itself.
If you enjoy using the House Mouse, Happy Hopper and Gruffies images, I encourage you to check out the House Mouse and Friends challenge blog. It seems to me that participation in the challenge has been a little low lately. I'd love to see more people participatng. It's a really fun challenge.
Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend!
Supplies
Stamps: A Carrot Between Friends (Stampabilities); Sentiment (Hero Arts)
Paper: White cardstock (Georgia Pacific); orange and yellow cardstock (Bazzill); DP - Nana's Kitchen (DCWV)
Embellishments: circle and scalloped circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders); ribbon (scrap); brads (unknown)
Technique: Prismacolor pencils blended with mineral spirits
Finished Card Size: A2 (4 1/4" x 5 1/2")

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Happy 55th Annivesary!

I'm back from vacation and back in my craft room! This card is for my in-laws anniversary, which is today. They've been married 55 years! Pretty good track record I'd say. :) As luck would have it, this card also fits this week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Buttons Galore.


I received the cute little hedgie image in a swap. I tried to find the name, but I can't seem to find it anywhere. If you know, please let me know. The hearts on the right side are buttons. I put black floss through the holes. For some reason, it really bugs me to see buttons with nothing in the holes. I used a Mojo Monday sketch from several months ago for the layout. This is one of my favorite sketches and I've used it several times.

Thanks for stopping by. It's good to be back!

Supplies
Stamp: Penny Black (I don't know the name)
Paper: White cardstock (Georgia Pacific); black and red cardstock (scraps); DP (Me and My Big Ideas)
Embellishments: Circle and scalloped circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Swiss Dots Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug); flowers (Prima); heart buttons (unknown); heart brad (Making Memories); ribbon (unknown)
Technique: Prismacolor pencils blended with mineral spirits
Finished card size: A2 (4 1/4" x 5 1/2")

Friday, May 15, 2009

Leavin' on a Jet Plane


Well, actually, I'm leavin' in a Chevy Tahoe. :) We are headed out for a much needed week vacation in the beautiful Ozarks. I don't know if I will be able to be online while we are gone or not. If so, I'll be popping in my usual places. If not, then I'll see everyone in a week. I'm sure I'll be ready for more cardmaking by then. :o)

TTFN,
Judy

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Wish Big!

I made this card for my husband Bret. His birthday is next Tuesday. I know he won't see it early because he never looks at my blog. :) I'm also submitting this card for this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge, which is to make a card for a man or boy.

Of all the House Mouse stamps, I think the Gruffies lend themselves best to the masculine theme. I chose Cake Walk because it best fit the layout I wanted to do. The image was a little too big for the oval Nesties that I wanted to use, so I cut it out. Because of the fur, I couldn't cut the image closely, which left quite a bit of white. To get rid of that I used some Distress Ink. I also distressed the ivory oval and the sentiment to make them match. I thought it went well with the distressed look of the DP. I used foam squares on the Gruffie to pop him up a little.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamp: Gruffies - Calk Walk (House Mouse - Stampabilities); sentiment is computer generated
Paper: kraft, red cardstock, DP - all from Hobby Lobby
Embellishments: Ribbon (unknown); scallop border punch (Fiskars); oval and long rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders); buttons (Sticko)
Technique: Prismacolor pencils blended with mineral spirits
Finished card size: 6" x 6"

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day - Spoil Yourself Silly!!

Today is Mother's Day here in the U.S., and I want to wish a happy one to all my blog buddies! I hope everyone has a fabulous day! I'm just enjoying my day by relaxing and doing a little crafting. My DH is making one of my favorites for dinner - BBQ! Yum - can't wait!

I thought this card was an appropriate wish for Mother's Day. I'm also taking care of three of my favorite weekly challenges with this one - Penny Black Saturday Challenge, Sketch Saturday Challenge, and Simon Says Stamp Challenge.

This week's Penny Black challenge was to use black, white and one other color. This is one of my favorite color combinations, and I love it with pink, red, yellow, green and on and on. For this one I chose blue. I thought it was going to be a pretty easy challenge until I tried to figure out what image I wanted to use. It was very difficult to use only shades of black or blue on any of the images I have. For almost all of them, I needed at least one other color besides the three I was supposed to use. I finally got as close as I could with this one by coloring the cat and mouse in shades of gray and using the blue for the tub and bowl. I still had to use a tiny bit of pink for the ears and noses, but not as much as I would have had to use of other colors on the other images I have. I do have some images that I could have left uncolored, but nothing was really coming together for me on those, so this one will have to do.

The image above is this week's Sketch Saturday sketch. I pretty much followed it to the letter this time. For the circular elements, I created flowers using my punches and the different papers from the card.
For the centers of the flowers I used buttons, which leads me to the third of my challenges - Simon Says Stamp. This challenge was a 3-2-1 recipe, which called for 3 buttons, 2 papers and 1 ribbon. I'm never quite sure if the 2 papers is supposed to include the cardstock or it means 2 different patterns of designer paper. I interpreted it as the latter and used the black and white leafy swirl paper and black with white polka dots. I also used white, blue and black cardstock, so if I was only supposed to use two total, I blew it. :) Hopefully they'll still like my card.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope all the moms out there have a wonderful and joy-filled day!!
Supplies
Stamps: Image (It's Your Day) and sentiment (Penny Black)
Ink: Onyx Black (VersaFine)
Paper: White cardstock (Georgia Pacific); black cardstock (scraps); blue cardstock (DCWV); DP (Me and My Big Ideas)
Embellishments: ribbon (Hobby Lobby); buttons (from my stash); flower punches (EK Success); square and long rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders); scallop border punch (Fiskars)
Technique: Prismacolor pencils blended with mineral spirits
Finished Card Size: 5 1/2" square

Friday, May 8, 2009

You Make Me Smile

The theme for this week's Cute Card Thursday challenge is Happy Mail -to make a card to cheer someone up or make their day. I know if I received this card with adorable Lily it would make me smile. This is another image that I received as a RAK from my wonderful friend Susan. I think she's just too cute!
I used another Mojo Monday sketch for my layout. This one was from way back in February. I chose it for the ability to use the three different papers on it. It also fit well with the image and sentiment.

I kept my embellishments fairly simple. Just a piece of ribbon and a flower that I made myself from punches and a scalloped circle Nestie. I ran them through the Big Kick with my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder and put a gem brad in the center. I also added some tiny red gems to the centers of the stars in the image. You'll probably have to enlarge the picture to see them.

I haven't decided yet who I will send this happy mail to. The Cute Card Thursday blog provides information about a charitable organization in the UK that sends mail to children with serious illnesses. I'm sure there must be a similar organization here in the US. Or I might send it to a friend or someone else. I'll have to think about that one.

Supplies
Stamps: Lily Magic Fairy Ladybug Mushroom (Rachelle Anne Miller - Stampavie); sentiment (Hero Arts)
Paper: Cardstock and DP - Spring Stack (DCWV)
Embellishments: ribbon (unknown); circle and scallop circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders); flower punches (EK Success); Swiss Dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug); gem brad (Making Memories); red gems (Hobby Lobby)
Technique: Prismacolor pencils blended with mineral spirits
Finished Card Size: A7 (5" x 7")

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Magnolia Mojo

I made this card with sweet Tilda for this week's Mojo Monday sketch. I colored this image some time ago and had planned to use it for a different challenge that I never got around to doing. When I saw this week's sketch, I thought it fit right in.

As you can see from the sketch, which I posted below, I flip-flopped the images around. I thought they fit together better that way. I also moved them down somewhat so that I could put the ribbon and bow above the sentiment. To fill the space above Tilda, I made the little flower embellishments. They are just two small flower punches put together with an antique copper brad. If you squint a little, they look kinda like sunflowers. :)
One thing that didn't quite turn out like I planned is the sentiment. I colored in the borders with marker, then I used my Souffle pen to make the white dots. I guess it picked up some of the red marker so they really look more pink. It wasn't bad enough to make me do it over though.
Thanks for taking a look. I'm sure I'll be back with another card in a day or two. In the meantime, check out the other great cards on the Mojo Monday blog. It's probably my favorite place for inspirational sketches.
Supplies
Stamps: Tilda with Sunflower (Magnolia); Sentiment (Hero Arts)
Paper: Yellow cardstock (DCWV); red cardstock (Hobby Lobby); DP - Front Porch Collection (My Mind's Eye)
Embellishments: border punches (Fiskars); flower punch (EK Success); copper brads (Making Memories); ribbon (unknown); white souffle pen (Sakura); red marker (SU); yellow marker (Tombow)
Technique: Prismacolor pencils blended with mineral spirits
Finished card size: A7 (5" x 7")

Monday, May 4, 2009

Wishing You Joy - A Mother's Day Card

This coming Sunday is Mother's Day here in the US. I made this card for my mom and also for this week's House Mouse and Friends challenge. The challenge for this week is to make a gate fold card. I love to use different types of folds and the gatefold is really easy to do.


The image I chose is Throwing Daisy Petals. This is one of the many, many House Mouse images that I love - but don't own. My friend Susan gave it to me. I just think Monica throwing her daisy petals around looks just about as happy as she can be. Daisies also happen to also be my mother's favorite flower, and I always try to get a daisy on her card somewhere. In addition to the image I also used a couple of daisies in the flower embellishment and on the sentiment, so she should be happy. :)

I printed both the outside and inside sentiments on the computer. The reason I added the flowers to the outside sentiment is that I didn't get it quite centered in my Nestie when I cut it out and I needed to even it up a little. The outside sentiment is attached with foam squares and also helps to keep the card closed. The photo below shows the card open with the inside sentiment showing. The sentiment just came from my heart. I didn't copy it from anywhere - It's just how I feel about my mom. She's an amazing lady.


Thanks for stopping by. If you love House Mouse, Happy Hoppers and Gruffies as much as I do, be sure to check out the other great creations at the House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge blog. There's lots of talent there.

Supplies
Stamp: Throwing Daisy Petals (House Mouse - Stampabilities); sentiments are computer generated
Paper: Green cardstock (Archiver's); purple cardstock (unknown); DP - 29th Street Collection (My Mind's Eye)
Embellishments: Ribbon (unknown); flowers (Prima); gems (Hobby Lobby); circle, scalloped circle and rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)
Technique: Prismacolor pencils blended with mineral spirits; gate fold card
Finished Card Size: 5 1/2" square

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Pinky Joy - Penny Black Saturday Challenge

Here I am with my second card of the day. This one is for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge. I love Penny Black stamps. Their animal images are really cute, and they have some very pretty elegant style stamps as well. For this one I chose my new Pinky Joy stamp. This is the first piggy stamp I have ever purchased. That's actually unusual because I used to collect pig theme stuff. I still have my collection, but haven't added to it for quite awhile.

The theme for this week's challenge is shapes, and we were to use three different shapes on our cards, not including the card itself or shapes within the image. I actually have four shapes - rectangles, circles, flowers and hearts. The hearts are a little hard to see. They are the centers of the flower embellishments that I put together. I am really enjoying putting my own little flower embellishments together. These are made from a small flower punch, 1/4" heart punch and a tiny pink gem in the center.

If the layout of this card looks familiar, I used a Mojo Monday sketch from several weeks ago. I love Mojo Monday sketches. When I'm stuck for a layout idea, they always help me out.

Thanks for looking. I think I'm done making cards today. It's back to work tomorrow - I'm so excited - NOT! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Supplies
Stamp: Pinky Joy (Penny Black)
Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine); White Souffle pen (dots) (Sakura)
Paper: Light pink (Bazzill); brown (Hobby Lobby); dark pink (DCWV); DP - Garden Party (DCWV)
Embellishments: Circle and scallop circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders); flower punch (EK Success); heart punch (Fiskars); scallop border punch (Fiskars); gems (Hobby Lobby); ribbon (Hobby Lobby)
Technique: Prismacolor pencils blended with mineral spirits
Finished Card Size: A7 (5" x 7")

Tilda with Tulips - Just Magnolia Challenge #3

I created this card for the Just Magnolia challenge. I chose the image Tilda with Tulips because we are finally having two or more warm days in a row here. I think Spring finally made it to stay for awhile. It's been a really chilly and wet one so far. I actually think our tulips bloomed several weeks ago, but they are still one of my favorite spring flowers and I just love this sweet image of Tilda.
This week's challenge was a sketch, which I have posted below. A lot of the DT members used a swirly die for the top right corner, but I used a stamp because I don't have one of those cool dies yet. I think my friend Susan bought the last one on earth. :) I used gems for the upper left and lower right corners. I don't think they look as big in person as they do in the picture. I also used gems in the centers of all the flowers. Still a little more bling than usual for me, but not quite so much as my Anya card I posted the other day. She had to be over the top though. She's a rock star after all.
Thanks for stopping by. Check out the other awesome cards posted for the Just Magnolia challenge this week. I always find them inspirational and I think you will to.
Supplies
Stamps: Tilda with Tulips (Magnolia); swirl (Autumn Leaves)
Ink: Black (unknown); Pink Pastel Chalk (Colorbox)
Paper: Yellow card base (Bazzill); DP - Two Scoops (Basic Grey); all other paper is scraps from my stash
Embellishments: flowers (most are Prima; a couple are silk flowers from my stash); gems (unknown); oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders); edge punches (Martha Stewart and Fiskars); ribbon scrap
Technique: Prismacolor pencils blended with mineral spirits

Friday, May 1, 2009

I Love Rock N Roll

I haven't been too much in the card making mode this week. Work has been crazy busy. I'm am Web designer so I mess around with images and graphics all day. I think I've been on graphics overload, so when I get home I don't really want to do layouts. I decided it was about time to do another card anyway, so I came up with this one for this week's Cute Card Thursday challenge.

The theme for this week is "Mirror, mirror," and the object is to use something shiny. It may not look like it in the picture, but this card is pretty darn shiny. I used my new Rock Star Anya stamp. Her guitar is colored with Sakura Glaze Pens. The paper I used in the circle behind Anya and for the flower in the top right corner is called "glittery sequins" and it's very sparkly. The red heart paper is also a shiny speciality paper. I addes some red heart gems, silver heart brads and metallic silver ribbon for more sparkle. I also colored Anya's headband with a blue glitter marker. I used foam squares to attach Anya for more dimension.

I don't know if this is my favorite card ever. I really never use that much "bling" on one card. I like a few gems or some well-placed glitter, but this card is a little over the top as far as my usual style goes. I was in the mood to make a card, I love doing the Cute Card Thursday challenge and I wanted to use my new stamp, so I decided to just go all the way with the shiny idea. I think it's a good idea to go outside our usual styles once in awhile though. It keeps things fresh.

I also thought of adding a sentiment like "You Rock", but to be honest I was just too lazy to print one up and I don't have a stamp that says that. I will most likely add that to the inside when I decide to send the card.

Thanks for stopping by. I have a Magnolia card brewing that I'll probably post tomorrow or Sunday. That one will be more "me". Hope you have a great weekend!

Supplies
Stamp: Rockstar Anya (The Greeting Farm)
Ink: Onyx black (VersaFine); Glaze Pens (Sakura); Blue glitter marker (American Crafts)
Paper: Blue cardstock (DCWV); black cardstock, red hearts speciality paper (Hobby Lobby), glittery sequins speciality paper (Hobby Lobby)
Embellishments: red heart gems (Hobby Lobby); silver heart brads (unknown); flower punch (EK Success); ribbon (uknown); circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)
Technique: Prismacolor pencils blended with turpenoid
Finished card size: 6" x 6"