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Please click HERE to join in "Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday" challenge.


Please click HERE to join in "I Spy With My Little Eye" challenge.


Apr 26, 2016

Embossed Flowers

Happy Tuesday everyone, and thank you for visiting!

I didn't plan on sharing this card today, but blogger messed up when I was going to place the post in draft mode, and it got published. Here I thought I was working ahead for a post in June...and it would have been so perfect for that post too :-(

Well, since it's still some time until June, I just decided to share the card today instead, since many of you will have seen it now in your blog feed...


I used the stamp set " Sunny Wishes" to make my card. The image  has been heat embossed using versamark ink and white embossing powder. Watercoloring was done with the Zig Clean Color brush pens on Bristol Vellum card stock. 
I wanted to bring some of the color to the bottom portion of the card, so I embellished with a yellow butterfly which I adhered onto an orange half circle. Sentiment was stamped in espresso ink to match the brown card stock I used as a mat. (It looks kind of black or dark gray in the photo,  but is actually early espresso by SU.)

Below is a closeup! 
  
This beautiful floral stamp set is listed brand new in my Etsy shop, and I am getting ready to list the card as well, if you are interested. 

Playing along in these challenges:
Creative Card Crew - Embossing (wet or dry) 
Deep Ocean Challenge - Dots and/or Stripes
Going Grey With Scrap-Creations  - Spring/Flowers
Lemon Shortbread - Always Anything Goes
Tuesday Throwdown  -  Anything Goes
Artistic Inspirations -  Anything Goes
Dragonfly Journeys -Earn Your Stripes!
Stamping Sensations - One for the Girls
CAS on Sunday - Tic Tac Toe ( I used row on top) 

(hope my card counts as CAS - it is to me, but I understand if DT doesn't agree). 
 

Have a great day!!

Apr 25, 2016

An Elephant and Some Polka Dots

Hello and thanks for visiting!
I spent some time coloring with my new Zig clean color brush pens over the weekend, and this cutie from Whimsy Stamps (Springtime Elephant) was one of the things I colored up! 

I started out by first heat embossing the image using white embossing powder. I am no expert at water coloring, but definitely having fun with these pens. Love my copics and pencils but it's always fun to switch up coloring mediums so I am very happy that I got these!

The card is pretty CAS, after water coloring, I simply trimmed the edges and mounted onto melon mambo card stock then onto the designer paper. Sewed the edges before adhering it all onto the soft sky card base. The sentiment, also from Whimsy stamps (Everyday Moments), was also heat embossed with white embossing powder, and I added some more watercolor around the sentiment. 


This card is now also listed in my Etsy shop.

I am playing along here:
Amusing - Anything Goes

Alphabet Challenge -  D for Dots
PDE Linky Party - Anything Goes

Hope you're having a wonderful day with plenty of sunshine! Summery warm over here, but a thunderstorm is supposed to move in. Hope it won't be too bad!

Apr 23, 2016

Let's Color Linky Party 8

Happy weekend and welcome to another Let's Color Linky party :-)

The last two weeks went by so fast, I almost didn't get something done for today. I really admire all of you that get to create something every day,  or every other day, please tell me your tips on how you manage to get time for card making every single day! I am even a full time stay at home mom and it seems like I spend most of my mornings doing chores around the house and by the time I am done it's about time for the kids to come home from school. So I am seriously looking for tips on how to manage my time better!!



Thank you all that played along in the last Let's Color Linky Party. It was lots of fun visiting you all! Be sure to scroll down to see if your entry was one of the top choices!

 As usual, the theme here is
Anything Goes with Something Colored


And here is what I made using a cute stamp from Whimsy's Lee Holland collection

I used copic markers on xpress it blending card for coloring and I fussy cut the image to fit the design.
The sketch is from this week's MFT sketch challenge (sketch 277). I used designer papers from my stash (I am pretty sure they are all by SU but retired.) Sentiment is from Whimsy Stamps set Everyday Moments. 
A stencil was used to add a subtle dotted design on the white card front. I finished off the card by adding a button and some twine.

This card is listed in my Etsy shop if you're interested.
 
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Now onto the top choices from last week, it's always hard to choose but I did manage, so here are my top choices in no particular order.

Julie 
 

Deborah

Francesca
 

Congratulations ladies! Below is your top choice logo, if you'd like to place it on your side bars. 

Now it's time to get coloring again!
Can't wait to see what you do this time! You have until Friday May 6th 10am CST to link up. 

Just a few reminders:
Must include something colored
Blog post must include link back here
Unlimited entries and feel free to combine with other challenges
Anything goes with something colored

ETA 5/20/18:

To protect the privacy of those who entered this challenge, the linky tool has now been removed.

Apr 18, 2016

Brushstroke Flower

Good morning! I have another Brushstroke card to share with you today. This one I made for my mid-month creation for Penny Black and More. If you haven't played along yet, then come join us, our theme this month is Birthdays. And don't forget you can enter up to 3 times for more chances to win! We  have some great prizes up for grabs again!

I can't believe how easy it was to create this card! And fast too!
I simply inked the stamp with distress markers using 3 different colors, spritzed with water and then stamped onto watercolor paper. After it dried, I used a zig clean color brush pen and an aquapainter to add blue shading around the image. The sentiment was stamped onto vellum just like I did on my brushstroke birds card that I made a few days ago. (Just scroll down if you'd like to see that one.) A few sequins were added and and a strip of washi tape to finish it off.



I would like to also play along here:
Alphabet Challenge -  D for Dots (dots on washi tape)
PDE Linky Party  Anything Goes
Seize The Birthday - Birthday + Optional Topping: Floral
Fresh Brewed Designs -  Flowers

Thank you so much for stopping by! Hope you're having a great week! 

Apr 15, 2016

Brushstroke Birds

Happy Friday :-)

I received a shipment of some brushstroke stamps a little while ago, and finally I made my first card with one of these pretty stamps. I had already stamped it a week or so ago just to try out the stamp, but it was just laying on my desk waiting to be used.  I wasn't sure I liked all the colors I used on the birds, but didn't want to waste my good watercolor paper, so I just hung on to it.
 I used different colors of distress markers for coloring directly onto the stamps, then lightly spritzed it with water before stamping onto Winsor & Newton watercolor marker paper. 
Yesterday I realized I needed an anniversary card for my aunt and uncle, and then I thought this image was perfect for this occasion.
I used a zig clean color brush pen to add some blue shading around the image. I also wanted to add some stenciling to be able to play along in the CAS Mix up challenge, where the theme is stamping, stenciling and choose one more from their side bar list. For my stencil I used "Hypnotic" by Penny Black in two of the corners. It's hard to tell I used a stencil, it blends too well with the shading I did around the image. Stitching was the other option I chose from the challenge blog's side bar. I am not sure if my design is clean enough, as I ended up stamping some music notes onto the card...




I finished off the card by adding the sentiment which was stamped onto vellum paper.

By the way I have this stamp listed brand new in my Etsy shop, along with a few other brushstroke stamps if you are interested.

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Enjoy your weekend! It's finally nice and sunny over here!

Apr 14, 2016

Whimsy Stamps - Day 2 Rubber Stamp Release

Hello!
It's day two of the Whimsy Stamps rubber stamp release inspiration posts, and today I am sharing a masculine card using another one of Crissy Armstrong's Whimsy stamp sets - Man's Best Friend.

I started out by stamping the dog image on xpress it blending card and colored with copic markers. Next I stamped the image again on a post it note, cut it out to use as a mask and also used post it notes to create the sky/lake. SU and distress inks were used for the background.
Designer papers are from MME. Machine sewing was done along the image panel. I messed up in one of the corners so I decided to add the little triangles to each corner and since it's a masculine card, I decided to add a staple into each corner. The sentiment is part of the set.
Be sure to visit the Whimsy blog to enter into this month's new release prize drawing, super easy to enter!

Playing along in these challenges:
The weather actually got really nice yesterday, and it looks like we're going to have a few nice days coming up. My tulips started blooming yesterday too, and here is photo with one of my kitties, the one who thinks he is the man of the house :-) . I really need to do some garden clean up soon...

Have a great day!!

Apr 13, 2016

Whimsy Stamps - April Rubber Stamp Release

Happy Wednesday everyone! Hope you're having a good week so far and some nice spring weather. It's still a little bit too chilly over here, especially in the mornings, but I am sure it'll warm up soon enough.

Today is the Rubber Stamp Release at Whimsy Stamps The design team has been busy creating with these new stamps and we are going to share our creations over the next three days. There are also prizes to give away and it's really easy to enter. You can read all about that on the Whimsy Inspirations blog. There you will also see all of the new stamps in one place.

The cute stamp set I used today is called "Kitty-ology and you can find it in the Crissy Armstrong collections. I just love the look on this kitty's face, reminds me a lot of my cats, although I don't think they ever let anyone put glasses on them :-) But I did see a funny video the other day where this cat was putting on a pair of sunglasses and just kept them on. (I admit, I find cat videos pretty entertaining LOL)

I colored the image using the Zig Clean Color Brush pens on Bristol Vellum card stock and I used a Zig detailer waterbrush. Designer paper is by MME. The Spiral Notebook Border Die also from Whimsy Stamps was used for the black notebook border. Sentiment is part of this set. I used one of the dies from the Stitched die set also by Whimsy. Wink of stella clear brush was used on the eyeglass frame and the heart, but it's not really visible in the photo. The tag was tied onto the card using some Jute twine and did some sewing before adhering to a wild wasabi card base.
A little close up below..

I am entering my card here:
Creative Card Crew -Die Cut -
Die Cuttin' Divas- Library Day - Use a Book
Crafting from the Heart - Always Anything Goes
Make My Monday - Pets
That would be all for today. Don't forget to stop by the Whimsy blog to enter into the prize drawing. I will be back again tomorrow with my second new release creation!
Have a great day!!

Apr 9, 2016

Let's Color - Linky Party 7



Good Morning and Welcome to the new Let's Color Linky Party! 

Wonderful entries again over the last two weeks, thanks so much to everyone that played along! Be sure to scroll down to see if your entry was chosen as a top pick! I just completed visiting you all, if you haven't received a comment from me it's because commenting required a google plus account or I am not a member of the gallery you posted your creation to. But I am pretty sure I was able to leave a comment on each entry this time :-)

As always the theme is
Anything Goes with Something Colored

Here is what I made:

For my card today I inked up the cute stamp set "Jillian and Friends" from Whimsy Stamps' March release. 
I used mainly copics for coloring, but also used two colored pencils for her hair, in addition to copic marker E50. I like to use this technique when the image is very detailed, to prevent ink from the copic marker bleeding out of the lines.  I used memento ink on xpress it blending card for the image.
All other papers are from Stampin up. 
Sentiment is part of the Whimsy Stamp set. I embellished with some ribbon and twine and a button. 

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It is never easy to choose the top picks, but I did manage, and here they are in no particular order:

Pat 
 

Sanja



Donna 
 

Well done everyone, below is your Top Pick badge!
 

Can't wait to see what everyone is going to be coloring this time!!
You have until April 22nd 10AM EST to play along!

Just a few reminders:
Must include something colored
Blog post must include link back here
Unlimited entries and feel free to combine with other challenges
Anything goes with something colored

ETA 5/20/18:

To protect the privacy of those who entered this challenge, the linky tool has now been removed.

Apr 4, 2016

Critters and Creatures Linky Party 3

Hello and welcome to the new - April -
Critters and Creatures Linky party!!

 It was great seeing so many of you play along last month! I ran a little behind visiting you all (kids and hubby were both home last week from school and work), but I finally did catch up. So many wonderful critter entries! Be sure to scroll down to see if your entry was one of my top picks.

As always for this linky party
anything goes but the focal point must be a critter or creature.


Here is what I made .
This was the first image I colored with my new Zig Clean Color brush pens. They are so much fun to use, but I find not all images are equally easy to color with these pens, at least for me. These Penny Black critters were easy for me because of their sketchy style.
I kept the card CAS, just embellished with a little flower and brad and did some machine sewing.

Products used:
Critter fun (available in my Etsy shop)
Winsor & Newton watercolor marker pad
Snap Designer Paper Pad (from Hobby Lobby)
Zig Clean Color brush pens
Zig details waterbrush
prima flower and brad




In case you are interested in brushstroke stamps,
 I just recently added one of each of these to my etsy



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Now onto last month's top choices,  there were so many wonderful entries and it was really hard to choose. But I did manage to narrow it down finally, so here are my top choices in no particular order:

Nela


Janis

Henriette
 

Congratulations to the 3 of you! Below is your Top Pick logo in case you'd like to add it to your side bars.
 
Image on logo has been used by written permission from Penny Black, inc. 

Can't wait to see what critter or creature everyone is inking up for this linky party!
You have until Saturday, April 30th, 10AM CST to play along.

A few things to remember:
Main focus must be a Critter or Creature
Blog Post must include a link back here
Use any stamp company
Unlimited entries but they must be new posts (no back linking)
Combine with any other challenges

ETA 5/20/18:
To protect the privacy of those who entered this challenge, the linky tool has now been removed.

Apr 3, 2016

Penny Black and More - April Challenge

Good Morning and Happy Sunday!
First Sunday of April already (where does the time go???) and so it's time for the new challenge at Penny Black and More. This month it's all about Birthdays. Should be an easy one for everyone, so hopefully you'll come join us. We have some great prizes again, this time from Penny Black, Crafty Ribbons, Be Creative and Stix 2 - lots of chances to win! As always you don't have to use a Penny Black stamp to play along, any company works just no digi stamps.


I came across this really cute card on Pinterest where the card maker used a mini envelope as the focal point. I really liked that idea but decided to add a little critter to my card and I switched up the sketch and colors. 
Background was embossed using an old Cuttlebug embossing folder. A retired Whimsy Stamps envelope die was used for the envelope and the cute image is from the set "Smile All Day" by Penny Black. It's been colored using Faber Castell Polychromos and then fussy cut. 
I used a Martha Steward butterfly punch for the butterflies and sentiment is from Whimsy Stamps - Everyday Button Sentiments.  These sentiments fit a circle 1 1/4 inch punch. 


Well, that is all from me for today. Thanks so much for visiting! 


Apr 1, 2016

Whimsy Stamps - New E-Magazine

Hello and Happy April Fools Day :-)

Did you hear the happy news yet? Whimsy Stamps is publishing their FREE online magazine once again! No, I am not trying to fool you :-)  Be sure to subscribe to it, this is a free publication packed with Whimsy Inspiration. Click this link to go directly to the magazine.

Today's card was one of the cards featured in the magazine.


I used the super adorable stamp "Wee Bonnie" illustrated by the super talented Sylvia Zet, available in rubber only at Whimsy Stamps. 
Bonnie has been colored with copic markers and Faber Castell Polychromos pencils. The banner sentiment is part of this cute set.
I used the stitched border trio die set along the edges. This specific part of the die set actually just embosses the stitch lines, so it's perfect if you only want to add a stitched border without cutting anything. I used papers I recently purchased along the edges and the top scallop border. An old SU punch was used for the scallop border. Tiny dots of glitter finish off this cute CAS card.

That would be all for today, I hope you liked today's card. Be sure to check out the magazine to see all the other amazing creations made by the Whimsy team. You won't regret it!

Have a great day everyone!!