New Impression Obsession Stamps...ahhh spring!

Impression Obsession released some gorgeous new stamps for CHA. This wheelbarrow full of flowers is one of them. I colored the whole scene with colored pencils, blended with OMS. It took a while, there a dozens of tiny little flowers and leaves! But wasn't it soooooo worth it? Here's a closer look:
The papers are kind of masculine looking, although if it were meant to be a card for a man, I might not put a big gingham bow in it. What do you all think?

Regardless, I hope you like it and thanks for visiting me!

Stamps: Impression Obsession

Ink: Memento

Paper: My Mind's Eye, Bazzill, SU, Bristol vellum

Accessories: Fiskard edger punch. gingham ribbon, colored pencils, OMS, Copic Spica pen

Homegrown

Here's another attempt at a Joy Fold card, a technique I learned from my favorite place on the net-- Splitcoast Stampers! When I made a couple of Christmas cards using this beautiful card style, I wasn't sure I'd ever use it again. It just seemed too complicated, and I couldn't see anyone who is not a card maker figuring out how it opens, LOL! This one just has a simple bow sort of holding it closed, rather than the scalloped circle I used before. Opens/closes easier.
I love these Sugar Nellie Homegrown images, such sweet, nostalgic little girls. I colored her with a combination of colored pencils, and some Copics. The paper is an older collection from Cosmo Cricket-- 'Dutch Girl'.

That's all for now, thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Sugar Nellie

Ink: Memento

Paper: Cosmo Cricket, SU, The Paper Co.

Accessories: EK Success edger punch, grosgrain ribbon, PTI button, colored pencils, OMS, Copics, Sakura Glaze pen

Love is the flower...

I LOVE this digital collection of papers from Designer Digitals. They are so, so beautiful. Bellissimo! (That's the name of the paper pack, lol). And because the papers are so gorgeous, I had to use them to their fullest advantage by paper piecing this simple flower from one of Verve's newest stamp set. I like the way digital papers print best on matte photo paper, but it's pretty flimsy, so I 'laminated' them onto some sturdy watercolor paper before cutting them out.
Even the quote is beautiful, love those fonts! The only coloring I did on this card is the word 'Love'. I used some Copics just to coordinate it with the papers.

Not much else to it, simple and beautiful...

Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Verve

Ink: Memento

Paper: 'Bellissimo' digital paper pack from Designer Digitals, Heavenly White, matte photo paper, SU, Bazzill, water color paper

Accessories: Spellbinders Labels 1, pink satin ribbon, small pearl, Copics

Mmmmm...cupcake

Boy does it feel good to be working with spring colors! This cold, gray, wet, icy, muddy winter is really gettin' to me! I've had enough! 'Scuse the little tantrum there, it's early morning, half way through a cup of coffee, LOL!

Anyway, thought I'd share this little ray of sunshine with you all today. All pretty spring colors, flowery borders and big pink bow.
I colored her with my Prismacolor pencils, sponged a little background color with Marmalade Distress Ink. I left the long rectangle Nestie in place while I sponged, so a clean white border around the image would remain. I like that look. The punched floral border is from Martha Stewart.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Belles 'n Whistles

Ink: Memento, Distress

Paper: My Mind's Eye, SU

Accessories: Martha Stewart deep edger punch, silk ribbon, colored pencils, OMS, Copics (for skin)

Hugs & Kisses

Look at this pretty little lassie from Sugar Nellie, isn't she adorable?! I colored her in pretty pink and greens, one of my fave color combinations, using my Prismacolor pencils. I did her shoes with a black Sakura Glaze pen, to make them nice and shiny. Her skin is colored with Copics E0000, E00, and E11, I use these colors almost exclusively for skin tones. Much more realistic than anything in my colored pencil collection. I don't know why I can't get good skin tones with pencils!
The delish paper is from Imaginisce, which inspired the colors for her dress. I also punched out a couple of flowers from scrap DP with a Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch, and layered them to make the little floral embellishment. Covered the smaller flower with Stickles, of course! I adhered the flower on some layered circles cut out with Nestabilities. The circle sentiment is from Papertrey Ink. I almost always use a strip of cardstock to wrap my ribbon around (to hide the edges) and punch a border along one edge. This one is Fiskars Flowers.

Thanks for visiting, come back soon!

Stamps: Sugar Nellie, PTI

Ink: Memento, Perfect Match

Paper: Imaginisce, Bazzill, bristol vellum

Accessories: Fiskars flowers border punch, striped pink ribbon, Nestabilities, colored pencils, OMS, Copics, Stickles, pearl, Martha Stewart Hydrangea punches, Sharpie extra fine white poster paint pen, Sakura Glaze pen

Simple Pleasures

I love, love, love this image. How relaxing does this whole scene look? I wish I had a big claw foot bath tub like this to soak away my troubles! I just have to pretend I do, lol! It's one of the new stamps from Impression Obsession called Sanctuary. I colored it with my Copics, and even added a little Liquid Glass to the bubble bath bottle, and the picture frame for dimension.
The background patterned paper I stamped myself using the new Cover-a-card Quilt stamp. I adore all of the CAC background stamps, they are gorgeous and stamp beautifully! I stamped it in Vintage Cream ink, dried it with my heat gun, then brayered over it with some dye ink. The pigment hybrid ink acts as a resist to the dye ink and creates a soft, muted tone on tone look. The sentiment is also IO and you can find it here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Impression Obsession

Ink: Memento, Perfect Match, Distress

Paper: Heavenly White, PTI, SU

Accessories: PTI ribbon/button/twine, Fiskars apron lace edger punch, Copics, Liquid Glass, corner rounder, Stickles, brayer

Impression Obsession Shaped Card Challenge

It's time for another IO challenge! This week it's to create a shaped card, anything but a rectangle. Check out the details on the IO blog. (Pssst.....there's a prize!) You can win a gift certificate for the IO store, and when you see the new stamps that have been released for Valentine's Day, AND the new stamps being released for CHA, you will want to win this! Here's the card I came up with for the challenge:

I used the baby girl dress template from Stampington. I printed it onto sturdy cardstock, then cut it out. I used some Papertrey Ink patterned papers to decorate the card inside and out. I stamped the sweet moon image from the Baby Items cling stamp set on vellum and embossed it in Vanilla embossing powder. I colored it in with some Stampin Up markers and a blender pen.
For the inside of the card I stamped the Sweet Little Baby poem and cut it out with my Spellbinders Labels die. The little hang tag was stamped with 'Baby Girl' from the Sentiments II clear stamp set. There are so many words included in this set, it a must-have for any stamper. You can pretty much create sentiments for any holiday/occasion. I love it! I cut the tag with the Martha Stewart mini tag punch.
I added some lace to the bottom of the dress with the Martha Stewart lace doily punch and some vellum. To get it to curve around the bottom, I simply cut some slits between each scallop so I could manipulate the vellum easily.

Now if you like this card, you have to check out the rest of the DT's blogs for their take on the shaped card challenge.

Shirley

Daniela
Jeanne
Dina
Jenny
Julie
Kelli
Deborah
Rosemary
Laura

Stamps: Impression Obsession

Ink: Versamark, Memento, Distress, Perfect Match

Paper: PTI, vellum

Accessories: Martha Stewart lace edger/mini tag punches, Spellbinders Labels 8, PTI ribbon/button, Prima Flowers, sticky pearls

Beautiful Blossoms

Here's another card I made using all digital patterned papers. This time it's a collection called 'Softly' from Two Peas in a Bucket. Here's another reason I like digital papers-I can print them whatever size I want so I don't waste much paper. I print mine at 5.5" square so I can use them for either a 6" card or like this one 5" x 7". AND, I don't have to print the ones I'm not crazy about. That's one thing that really irks me about paper collections, especially the 6" square sized ones. There's usually a lot of papers I'll never use.
I used the Beautiful Blossoms background stamp from Impression Obsession. I love Hydrangeas, they are my favorite flower. I cut my background stamp up though (eek!), so I could have all those pretty blooms individually to make my own bouquet, or to use one alone. Or, if I still want to use it as a background, I can just mount them all to my Mega Mount in pattern I like, and stamp them all at once.

The blooms were colored with my colored pencils, blended with OMS, the cut out and layered onto the patterned paper. Pretty, huh?

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Impression Obsession

Ink: Memento

Paper: Heavenly White, Digital paper collection from Two Peas, Digital matte photo paper, The Paper Co., Bazzill

Accessories: Spellbinders Labels, double faced satin ribbon, colored pencils, OMS

Lovely Tilda

Well, it has been a loooong time since I've colored up a Tilda! I guess I just got tired of them when I was on the design team, so I needed a good long break. But as I was flipping through my stamps a few days ago, I started looking through my very large Magnolia collection and saw this sweet heart. UNINKED! [gasp] How this could've happened, I don't know. But I immediately slapped some ink on her and got to work.
Inspired by the gorgeous colors from the digital paper kit 'Sweet Wishes' from Designer Digitals, I colored Tilda in pinks, greens and yellows. The paper is so pretty I didn't think the card needed much in the way of embellishments. A double twill bow, a heart stick pin, and I call it done!

If you've never tried digital papers, you really should. I'm not affiliated with any digital company, I just love the idea of buying instant patterned papers, downloading them, printing them and using them on my cards. If I could stop buying regular patterned paper, you know how much room I could save in my craft space?! lol... I doubt it'll happen, but it's a nice dream.

Thanks for stopping by, it's back to work this morning for me!

Stamps: Magnolia

Ink: Memento

Paper: Sweet Wishes digital paper kit from Designer Digitals printed on HP matte photo paper, SU, Gina K

Accessories: Fiskars edge punch, heart stick pin, PTI twill ribbon, Prisma colored pencils, OMS, Copic Spica pen, Copics (E0000, E00, E11 for skin)

Spread your Wings....

I was random blog hopping through some of my favorite stamp/paper makers last week, when I had sudden inspiration from the Memory Box blog to make a card like this. I loved the two stamps (tree and bird) and I wanted to stamp them right onto the patterned paper, and color them in. I knew if I stamped it onto regular paper, cutting out the tree branch would be torturous. Then I thought I would stamp it onto vellum and cut it out. Didn't like that at all. I thought and thought, how to color onto a pattern paper without being too dark? Then suddenly it hit me. A little while ago I did a technique called Black Magic, where you stamp a solid image in white pigment ink onto a dark cardstock, then color in the white areas with colored pencils. Maybe I could use a similar concept with this card. I stamped the images directly onto the DP, then embossed with Ranger Espresso EP. I then took a bit of Gesso, watered down a little bit and colored in all the areas of the tree branch and bird with a tiny paintbrush. Because I had embossed the images, I didn't have to worry about going outside the lines.
Then it was just a matter of waiting for it to dry a bit, and I colored it in with my colored pencils like usual. I love the effect! This opens up a whole new world of possibilities for me! I'll definitely be trying this technique again soon.

Hope it inspires!

Stamps: Memory Box, Papertrey Ink sentiment

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Memory Box, Heavenly White, PTI, vellum

Accessories: Martha Stewart deep edge punch, SU taffeta ribbon, Gesso, Embossing Powder, colored pencils, OMS, Stickles, Tiny flower punch from The Punch Bunch, pearls

Abby's Celebrating!

Look at the pure joy in this girl's face! I love the way Mo Manning captures emotion in her character's faces and body language. What an incredible artist! I colored Abby with my Prisma colored pencils. I added the red polka dots on the hem of her dress with a Copic Spica pen for a little shimmer. I then cut the entire image out very carefully and mounted it to some shimmery blue cardstock I cut out with my Labels 1 die. To get a narrower border between the 2 labels layers, I simply traced outside the first die onto my pink paper and cut it out by hand. I do this a lot, because I prefer the smaller border. I applied some Liquid Glass to the balloons, although you can't see it in the pictures. :-(
Since her shoes have to be black patent leather, I colored them in using a Sakura Glaze pen, so they have a raised, shiny surface, just like patent shoes. The striped ribbon is adhered to a strip of cardstock that I punched with my Fiskars sunburst punch. The sentiment is computer generated and cut out with SU punches.

I wish I got birthday cards like this....LOL!

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Digital Pencil

Paper: Basic Grey Urban Couture, The Paper Co. Heavenly White, Bristol vellum

Accessories: Sizzix texture plate, Fiskars border punch, striped ribbon, Spellbinders Labels 1, colored pencils, OMS, Copics (E0000, E00, E11 for flesh), Red Spica pen, Liquid Glass

If raindrops were kisses...

I love this little sentiment! 'If raindrops were kisses, I'd send you a storm.' How cute is that?! When I saw this new stamp from MFT released last week, I immediately knew I had to make a card using it with the sentiment. I love making mooshy-gooshy cards, lol.

I don't use this paper piecing technique too often, but I love the effect when I see others do it. I decided to give it a try. The paper is the 'Be Loved' collection from My Mind's Eye.
I made a panel of embossed raindrops to adhere the sweet little girl to, using an old Fiskars texture plate. Of course, I highlighted some of the drops with Star Dust Stickles, and added some of these sweet little pearl hearts from Hero Arts. I distressed some white twill ribbon with Antique Linen Distress ink and made a double bow with it. White was just too stark for this card.

Hope you like it, thanks for visiting!

Stamps: My Favorite Things

Ink: Memento , Distress

Paper: Heavenly White, My Mind's Eye, SU, Coredinations

Accessories: Martha Stewart Simple Scallop punch, SU Modern Label Punch, Twill ribbon, PTI button, Prismacolor colored pencils, OMS, Copics (E0000, E00, E11, R01 for skin), Sizzix texture plate

I followed my heart....

Another adorable Mo Manning digi stamp. I really, really wanted to use the new paper collection from Basic Grey 'Origins', and in the Basic Grey newsletter there was a Valentine card using these papers, with a similar layout that inspired me to make this card. The colors were so unique, I had to try it myself. I decided on this little guy holding a big heart. And not a speck of red or pink anywhere! This could be a cross between a Valentine's Day or St. Patrick's Day card!
I colored him all in my Prismacolor pencils, blending everything with OMS. I used a Spica pen to outline the heart, just for a little sparkle. I love those pens, they have such a subtle shimmer, but add so much to a card! The white borders were punched out using Martha Stewart's scalloped dot punch. I printed the sentiment on my computer and stamped a little heart onto a scrap of BG paper, then covered it with Star Dust Stickles. I LOVE-me-do this card, it's going into my favorites bin. Who will be the lucky recipient, I don't know. Maybe I'll keep it...hee hee.

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Digital Pencil, PTI heart

Paper: Basic Grey, Heavenly White, SU

Accessories: MS edge punch, Stickles, brown satin ribbon, colored pencils, OMS, Copic Spica pen

Wynken, Blynken and Nod

Love this image from my favorite digital artist Mo Manning! I love coloring her art work, the characters are so lively and unique! And the fact that many of them are inspired by our favorite favorite fairy tales and nursery rhymes makes them even more fun. This one of Wynken, Blynken and Nod is perfect for a baby boy. At least that was my vision.

I colored them with my trusty Prismacolor pencils, blended with OMS. I added little white stars with a white Sakura Glaze pen and of course added some shimmering starlight with Star Dust Stickles.

I printed out part of the nursery rhyme in fancy fonts and cut it out with my Petite Ovals Nesties. The textured band of cardstock I wrapped my ribbon around is embossed with the D'vine Swirls Cuttlebug folder. The paper is from My Mind's Eye.

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Mo's Digital Pencil

Paper: My Mind's Eye, Papertrey Ink, SU, Heavenly White

Accessories: Nestabilities, grosgrain ribbon, star button, Stickles, colored pencils, OMS, Sakura Glaze pen, Cuttlebug EF

IODT Love-Spring Challenge

The Impression Obsession design team is up to another challenge this week! You can play along as well, just check out all the details on the IO blog. While you're there, be sure and check out some of the sneak peaks of new stamps coming out real soon, they are to-die-FOR!

Isn't this sentiment stamp just the most beautiful thing ever?! I love the saying, and I love the combination of fonts! I stamped it on some shimmer white cardstock just to add some sparkle.

Now how about the floral border on the left? I am lovin' this clear stamp set, Wreaths & Garlands-Floral. Such pretty vines and little flowers to put together in endless combinations. I used the 'black magic' technique again, stamped everything in white pigment ink, then colored over with colored pencils. I added some little pearly dots with Liquid Pearls for added dimension, too.

Need more? Go check out the other IODT ladies' blogs for more love/spring inspiration:

Jeanne

Dina

Jenny

Deborah

Julie

Laura

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Impression Obsession

Ink: Memento, Perfect Match

Paper: Basic Grey, PTI shimmer white & chocolate, Gina K, Heavenly White, Bazzill

Accessories: Fiskars edge punch, satin ribbon, Spellbinders Labels die, Liquid Pearls, colored pencils

Spring Planting

I am lovin' making spring cards! It's been freezing cold and windy lately, so the thought of warm breezes and colorful flowers is just what I want to focus on. This new Elisabeth Bell stamp 'Flowers with a Wish' from Ladybug and Friends was just what I needed! I colored it with my colored pencils, blended with OMS. I added little yellow and purple flower centers with Sakura glaze pens.
It seems I can't make a card without using an edger punch lately, lol! I LOVE 'em! They make a perfect strip to wrap my ribbon around, so the edges don't show. My fave trick for ribbons. The paper is Basic Grey Wisteria collection.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Ladybug & Friends

Ink: Memento

Paper: Bristol vellum, Heavenly White, Basic Grey, Memory Box, SU

Accessories: Prima Say it with Pearls, satin ribbon, Martha Stewart arch lattice punch, colored pencils, OMS, Sakura Glaze pens

Pure Innocence

I've been seeing these adorable little girl stamps for a little while from My Favorite Things. I thought they were the sweetest things ever right from the start, but kept putting off getting some for myself. Well, my resolve finally caved, and I ordered a couple. They came the other day, and I colored this little beauty right away. I colored her with my limited collection of Copics. She's a fairy so of course I had to add lots of sparkle to her. I used Star Dust Stickles for her wand and shoes, and Starry Night Stickles for her wings.
The soft blue sky behind and around the image was done with a colored pencil, blended with OMS. I broke out my new Basic Grey Sugar Rush paper pad for this card, such pretty colors in that collection!

I hope you like it, thanks for visiting!

Stamps: MFT

Ink: Memento

Paper: Heavenly White, Basic Grey, Prism, PTI

Accessories: PTI ribbon, Copics, colored pencil, OMS, Stickles, Liquid Glass, Fiskars edger punch, Scor-tape (to adhere ribbon)

New Technique (For me)

While perusing the Splitcoast gallery a little while ago, I came across a card from Karen B. Barber's gallery. Her card was done using the 'Black Magic' technique, which I had never heard of. I proceeded to her blog to find out how it was done, and Wow! I was hooked! I had to try it myself. Now this technique works best with solid images, which I used to use a lot more before I got addicted to coloring, so I was ready to go. I picked Papertrey Ink's CHA exclusive set Floral Fusion and set to work. I stamped the flowers and leaves onto brown cardstock with white pigment ink and heated it to dry it more quickly. Then I colored the white areas in with my Prismacolor colored pencils.
You can see how gorgeous the effect is in this close up photo. I highlighted some areas of the flowers and leaves with an extra fine Sharpie poster paint pen. I have found this to be the best white pen I have ever used. It never skips like the many other gel type pens I've tried. The white is super opaque, and smooth.

I LOVE this technique, thank you Karen for sharing! I'm sure if you try it, you will love it as well!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink

Ink: Perfect Match, Memento

Paper: PTI

Accessories: Fiskars edger punch, SU designer label punch, colored pencils, Sharpie poster paint pen, PTI ribbon

Sweetheart

My supply of Valentine's Day patterned paper is seriously lacking, I'm not finding designs I LOVE. Solution? Make my own...

Back to my trusty Giga Guide Lines from PTI. I pick colors I want to work with, stamp them out with the background element stamps, add a few hearts from 'Simple Valentine' and voila! My very own custom Valentine paper.
This sweet Gorjuss girl from Sugar Nellie with her little love envelope was the perfect main image. I colored her up with some Copics, and highlighted the polka dots on her dress with a white Sakura Glaze pen. I'm loving the oval Nestability layers on top of the Labels 4 die cuts. Perfect fit!

A real sweetheart of a card, don't you think? I like it...

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Sugar Nellie, Papertrey Ink sentiment

Ink: Memento, PTI, Distress

Paper: PTI

Accessories: Nestabilities, Spellbinders Labels 4, Fiskars edger punch, PTI button, striped ribbon, Copics, Sakura Glaze pen, McGill label punch, Liquid Pearls

Three Valentine Cards {Papertrey Style}

I'm always amazed when I make several cards using the same stamp sets, with different color schemes how totally unique they are! Just because I use the same stamps, doesn't mean they all look cookie cutter alike! For me, this makes my stamps more versatile, because I can use them again and again without getting bored. My first card is very pretty, elegant and feminine. This second card, is very different...
It's more modern and hip. Not my usual card style, but I like to change things up once in a while. The last card is super-cute, sweet and perfect for a young girl.
And actually, I added the leaves from a different stamp set for the first card, but you see what I mean. I think it's pretty neat! So even if you are a budding stamper and your stamp collection is limited, try them using totally different styles and colors and it will seem like each card used a totally different set of stamps.

Hope they inspire, thanks for looking!

All stamps/inks are Papertrey Ink

All papers are PTI except Card #1 I used Basic Grey, too.

Accessories: Papertrey Ink ribbons, Strano Designs polka dot ribbon, Fiskars & Martha Stewart edger punches, PTI buttons, Nestabilities, DMC floss, Prima daisy, Stickles & Liquid Pearls

Some News!

I just had to post quickly to let you all know that I was selected to be on the 7 Kids College Fund design team! Yeee haw!! I am so excited! Thanks 7 Kids! One of my fave places to shop! What an awesome way to ring in the new year....

I look forward to working with the other DT gals!