Impression Obsession Red Color Challenge

Good morning everyone! It's time for another challenge over at the IO blog, this time it's the color RED! I usually only use red at Christmas and Valentine's Day, so this is a bit of 'challenge' for me. 

Now onto my card:

I decided I wanted to layer this Flower 2 (just released!)stamp several times, and the thought of coloring and blending each one many times over made me shudder, lol! So I white embossed them instead, and used a sponge dauber to apply the ink. I used Adirondack Cranberry and Watermelon inks, both pretty reds. I love the instant gradation of color you get with sponging ink on, so easy! Just lightly swirl your sponge in a circular motion starting from the center out and you get a natural shading effect. The leaves (Slihouette 7 and Silhouette 2) & behind the flowers were stamped first, in Antique Linen Distress ink. 

The polka dot DP was stamped as well, using Cover-a-Card background stamps. First I stamped the CAC Gradation in Antique Linen Distress Ink, then I stamped directly over it with the Large Polka Dot CAC in Cranberry.
Interesting color combo, eh? I knew that Red was a very strong color, so I used it sparingly and with lots of neutrals. I think it's pretty effective though, I'm liking this card a lot!

You can play along in our red challenge too, check out the details on the IO blog. There is a chance you could win some IO bucks, and trust me, there a bunch of new stamps you have got to see!
For more inspiration, check out the rest of the DT ladies' blogs:

1. Daniela Dobson
2. Deborah March
3. Dina Kowal
4. Jeanne Streiff
5. Jenny Gropp
6. Julie Koerber
7. Laura Fulcher
8. Rosemary Marino

This Sunday is Mother's Day!

This is the Mother's Day card my sweetheart chose for his Mom. I took a picture of it quickly before he sends it out. He always begs me to fill out his cards for him, claiming his handwriting stinks, but I refuse! A card is not personal unless it's filled out personally! I'm sure his mother won't care about his chicken scratch, lol!

I used this gorgeous wild rose stamp from the Just Rite stamp collection for the focal point, colored with some Copics. I stamped the flowers and borders on separate pieces of paper so I could cut them out with my Nesties individually and layer them. I love the medallion effect it creates.
I used some coordinating papers from Memory Box, I LOVE LOVE LOVE that they have matching solid color cardstock to go with their patterned papers. I wish ALL companies did this! I spend more time trying to find matching colors of Bazzill to go with my fave patterned papers that it ends up taking me soooo much longer to make cards than it really should! Maybe if they kept their Matchmaker site updated more often, I'd be able to use that as a resource and save time. But, they don't, so I really like using Memory Box, PTI and SU.

Well, I've got to get this card ready for mailing, and I better take pics of my Mom's 'card' so I can share it with you. But it'll have to wait till after Sunday, because I suspect she might check my blog every now and again...

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Just Rite, PTI

Ink: Memento, Perfect Match

Paper: Heavenly White, Memory Box, vellum

Accessories: Martha Stewart Quilted edge punch, Nestabilities, Fancy Tags, Copics, Stickles, pink satin ribbon

Joy in the little things

Just a simple, pretty card to share today. I am aching to grow some flowers of my own, but the nights are still getting pretty cold, so I am afraid to do any planting yet. I have my Begonia bulbs saved from last year, I hope they survived their winter rest in the garage. I'll have to go pull them out today. The Begonias are for the back deck planters, very shady but they flower like crazy anyway. That's why I save the bulbs year after year, it's not easy growing things in almost complete shade! This little beauty always has the sun shining on it's little head! I colored the bloom with my colored pencils and popped up one of the layers with foam tape for some dimension. I love doing this with flower images, makes it look so complicated!

Hope you have flowers as pretty as this one growing in your back yard... (I can't, the deer eat everything).

Stamp: SU

Ink: Memento

Paper: SU, Memory Box, PTI

Accessories: Spellbinders Labels & ovals dies, Martha Stewart edge punch, colored pencils, OMS, Stickles, seam binding, SU rub-on sentiment

Showers of Blessings

I have a quick, no-coloring card to share today using last month's Papertrey Ink color. I love Hawaiian Shores, such a gorgeous clean turquoise blue! I picked the colors from the patterned papers to stamps a Dot Spot background too.

I don't think I used this umbrella stamp more than once since I've gotten it, which is a shame because it's so pretty. I paper pieced it because I really didn't feel like coloring anything, which seems to be happening more often lately. I don't know if I've just burned out from coloring almost everything, or what, but I just don't feel like doing it much.

In the meantime, I've got plenty of no-coloring-necessary stamps to keep me going. It's better than not making cards at all. I love doing this too much to stop for too long...

BTW, if anyone is wondering about the Aqua felt I used for the flowers, no you didn't miss out on this color from PTI, they haven't come out with Aqua Mist felt yet. I hand dyed a ton of my own wool felt a looong time ago, so I'm well ahead of PTI as far their colors! It's really easy, so if you can't wait, you can dye your own too! I used Wilton cake colors, a pot of boiling water and some natural white wool felt. Simple!

Thanks for visiting, have a great day!

Impression Obsession Challenge- High School Colors!

It's Tax Day! Which is why you may need a card like this.....lol!

This is the card that almost wasn't.... This week's Impression Obsession Design Team Challenge was to use our High School colors. Ughh! I vaguely remembered maroon being one of our colors, but couldn't remember the gold. I had to Google it. So maroon and gold it was. This was indeed a challenge for me! I almost tossed this one right in the trash early on in the process. BUT, Distress Inks to the rescue! I stamped the background first, using the Flourishes CAC background stamp in a Cream pigment ink on SU Saffron cardstock. Pretty! I knew I wanted to use my 'What's Brewing' set for this card, so I added some stamped-off coffee beans to the BG too. OK, I'm thinking, still not bad. Then I decide the Saffron wasn't 'gold' enough, so I brayer on some Adirondack Butterscotch over the whole thing. Oh boy.... sure is bright...

I stamp the coffee cup and color that in with some Copics, add the 'Get Well' from the clear Sentiments II set and layer it all with some maroon and gold paper. This is the point I almost gave up on it and filed it!

Instead, I give myself a little pep talk, and try to tone down the colors a bit with some Distress Inks. Hmmmm......looking ok. Keep going. Some wide red/ivory striped ribbon, a funky brown button. Hey, this is looking pretty good!

In the end, I am happy with the result. It just goes to show a little challenge is a good thing. It helps me out of my safe little sphere of confidence to go forward and try something new.

Now it's your turn-Play along with our IO challenge for a chance to win some IO bucks! Read the rules on their blog, they're pretty simple. Then you can browse all the other ladies gorgeous creations:

• Deb
• Dina
• Jeanne
• Jenny
• Laura

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Impression Obsession

Ink: Memento, Distress, Adirondack, Perfect Match

Paper: SU, PTI, Gina K

Accessories: Stickles, Copics, Nestabilities, Spellbinders Labels, red/ivory wide ribbon, PTI button/twine, Mega Mount, brayer, Liquid Glass

Tilda Picking Peaches

Sorry I haven't been blogging as faithfully as I usually do. There are a few things I'm dealing with that have been distracting me from my hobby lately. Some of it good, some, not so good. I love my hobby though, and I am determined to stick with it despite 'life' getting in the way, LOL.

I thought I'd share this Tilda card today, which was rejected for publication. (Yes, one of the things distracting me from blogging, it's always been one of my goals to be published, and I've been submitting some projects lately! It's hard work I tell you!) I wasn't too upset about it because I've gotten some good news as well bad, so it all evens out! I'll share more when I can.

I used the Tilda Picking Peaches Magnolia stamp inked with Memento Cocoa ink. I've always used dark brown ink for my images, I think the look is a little more vintage, not as high-contrast. Just a personal preference. Tilda was colored entirely in Prismacolor pencils, blended with OMS. Despite all the other media I have for coloring, Gamsol Magic remains my favorite!

The DP is Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird. I did a zig zag stitch all the way around it with my little Janome machine. I even added a little bit of Stardust Stickles to some of the berries on the DP just to spice things up a bit.

Hope she brightens your day a bit, thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Magnolia, sentiment from Papertrey Ink

Ink: Memento, Perfect Match

Paper: Papertrey Ink card base, Cosmo Cricket, Bazzill, SU

Accessories: Polka dot grosgrain ribbon, Flower button from Elzybells, Cuttlebug Frills embossing folder border set, Spellbinders Fancy Tags, SU oval punch

Spring Birthday

Hello everyone, sorry I've been so quiet. I went away for a little vacation again, this time to NC to visit my younger brothers. It's a loooong ride, but we had a fun time!

Anyway, here's one of the cards I made up before we went using PTI's new Year of Flowers set. I thought this card was perfect to share, especially because on the way down to NC Daffodils were everywhere! The center medians for the highways had tons of Daffodils growing, all the homes in my brothers neighborhood had their cheery little heads welcoming spring. NC is way ahead of us here in PA as far as spring.

I colored the flower with my colored pencils, and popped up the center with some dimensional tape.

The background paper was also stamped using one of my favorite new stamp sets ever, Dot Spot. I lovelovelove it! I actually stamped it on vellum because I love the way it softens the colors. That polka dot pattern just does something for me, I don't know why, it's not my usual style.

Anyway, hope you like it, thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink, sentiment from Studio G

Ink: Memento, Perfect Match

Paper: Papertrey Ink

Accessories: SU scallop border punch, Stickles, PTI ribbon

Impression Obsession Card Challenge- Celebrating Mom

This week's Impression Obsession Design team challenge theme is 'Mom'. Pretty simple for my Mom, anything flowery and beautiful suits her just fine! I've been seeing a lot of people using Basic Grey's new Green at Heart, and so am I! Such pretty summery colors.

I used this beautiful flower stamp called 'Frills' from IO's recent release. I wanted to try something different from my usual colored pencils, so I broke out my paintbrush and Distress Inks and water colored it. Especially with all the new yummy colors that recently Ranger came out with, I couldn't resist.
I printed 'Mother' out in a pretty font on my computer and added the little label below the image. The white bow is silk ribbon, sooooo pretty and delicate and soft. I love that stuff.

Don't forget you can join in on the challenge too for a chance at an IO gift certificate. Check out all the details here, on their blog. Then you can go check out all the other design team ladies' cards for more 'Mom' inspiration.

Thanks for stopping by!

Dina

Jeanne

Daniela

Jenny

Deborah

Julie

Laura

Stamps: Impression Obsession

Ink: Colorbox pigment ink, Distress Inks

Paper: Fabriano water color paper, Basic Grey, SU, PTI

Accessories: Fiskars heart scallop border punch, Spellbinders Labels 10, Nestabilities, Liquid Pearls, paintbrush, clear embossing powder, silk ribbon, SU modern label/word window punches, self stick pearls

Roses in kraft

Look at this pretty daisy stamp. Another wonderful image from JustRite's latest release. I do love daisies! You can't see the coloring very well in this picture, I was having a the devil of a time trying to get a decent shot. But I used two contrasting colors, a reddish violet and a pale, creamy yellow. I really should try and keep track of the colors I use, but I just keep forgetting. Besides, by the time I'm finished coloring, there are PILES of pencils all over my work area!
Anyway, I really wanted a fuzzy textured flower center, but of course, didn't have Flower Soft or flocking in the right color. So here's what I did; I took a pinch of my Polar White Flower Soft, dumped it in a plastic baggie, added a couple of drops of Adirondack reinker, a pinch of glitter, and spread it out on some paper to dry. Once it dried, I glued it on as usual. Pretty cool, huh? Necessity is the mother of all invention, I always say!

Thanks for dropping in!

Stamps: JustRite, PTI sentiment

Ink: Memento, Adirondack, Distress

Paper: PTI, My Mind's Eye, SU

Accessories: Martha Stewart lattice punch, Nestabilities, colored pencils, OMS, Flower Soft, PTI ribbon, McGill Label punch, pearls

Homework- Feel Better

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful comments during the JustRite Blog Hop! I loved reading them all. Don't forget to keep checking the JustRite blog for daily winners, there are some huge prizes you don't want to miss out on!

Now onto some sweetness:

Hard to believe, but I actually made a small card, lol! This is an A2 sized card. I know I don't usually put the size of my cards, but they are usually 5" x 7" or 6" square. I like 'em big, more room for pretty paper to show through, and big bows, buttons, punches, etc. But this one ended up small because I was too lazy to stamp a larger piece of the red background paper. I couldn't believe I didn't have any apple themed patterned paper, so I set about stamping my own with PTI's Fruitful apple stamps.
In order to get a really solid, matte black finish to the blackboard to make it look like a real one, I used acrylic paint and a paint brush. I think it was Delta Charcoal paint, and it covered in one quick coat. It dries in just a few minutes and I stamped the 'Feel Better' sentiment with Fresh Snow ink. I colored everything else with my beloved colored pencils.

This little cutie is sure to make anyone feel better! Thanks for looking...

Stamps: Pure Innocence from MFT

Ink: Memento, PTI

Paper: PTI, SU, Bristol vellum

Accessories: Fiskars floral border punch, PTI twill/button, colored pencils, OMS, acrylic paint, paintbrush, Sakura black glaze pen

While I was away...

Hi everyone! We're back from gorgeous Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, where we had a wonderful time! It was way too short a vacation, but it was so rejuvenating to my winter weary soul I am grateful to have had it at all! Take a look at a few of these gorgeous pictures:

The beach of course, was stunning. Crystal clear aquamarine water, soft tropical breezes and gentle swells felt so good in the sun.
Me and my sweetheart Jimmy, posing in front of the resort 'shops' doing a little shopping. We really had a fantastic time.

BUT, I did miss my hobby! One of the first things I did when we got there was to make sure we had internet access from our room, so I could make sure to place my order on Papertrey Ink's new release night! How obsessed is that?! I had gotten a gift certificate for my birthday the week before, so I had money burning a hole in my proverbial pocket. While I didn't miss the PTI party, I did miss out on Waltzingmouse Stamps blog hop. :-( I totally forgot to take pictures of my card so I could join in on the hop from Punta Cana. But, I am so fond of the card, and of course I couldn't resist Claire's beautiful shamrock digital drawing, so I'm sharing it with you all now.
Basic Grey's Origins collection was perfect for the St. Patrick's Day theme. I used quite a bit of Kraft cardstock to tone down all the green too. It's a very strong color.
I colored the image with my colored pencils, blended with some OMS, added some Stickles to sparkle things up a bit.

Hope you like it, thanks for visiting!

Stamps: WMS digital stamps

Ink: SU

Paper: Basic Grey, Heavenly White, PTI

Accessories: Spellbinders Labels 10/ovals dies, McGill punch, PTI scallop die, colored pencils, OMS, green pearls, twill ribbon, sheer polka dot ribbon, Stickles

Easter Wishes

This will be my last post for a while. We are leaving for our little vacation to Dominican Republic tomorrow morning. I won't be back till Thursday night, probably sunburned, and cranky from all the traveling! LOL.

Sooo, here's a gorgeous Easter image from Sugar Nellie that I snapped up when Funky Kits had a sale on them. I did a bit of paper piecing for her dress this time, because I love, love love Papertrey's Easter papers.
Most of the rest of the image was colored with Copics or colored pencils, I am starting to use them all together most of the time.

I decided to get a bunch of the Ranger crackle paints that came out a while ago, I've been eyeing them up for a while. I love the look of crackled paint. So I cut out some label shapes from chipboard and painted them. Very shabby chic! So easy to use, too!

I made the rose from crepe paper, it came out a bit bigger than I wanted, but so pretty I stuck it on there anyway. The leaves were cut out of green crepe paper, no pattern, I just folded a piece of it in half and cut out a leaf shape.

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back later next week with some more to share!

Stamps: Sugar Nellie, PTI sentiment

Ink: Memento, Versamark

Paper: Papertrey Ink, chipboard, Heavenly White, crepe paper

Accessories: PTI ribbon, White embossing powder, Copics, colored pencils, OMS, Ranger Crackle Paint, Sakura Glaze pen, Spellbinders labels/ovals dies.

Sweet Dreams

Here's another card I made using those adorable Fairy Doodle stamps from Buzzcraft. I also used last months new background stamp from Papertrey Ink to create this fun polka dot patterned paper. I love the simple tone on tone color. I just used Fresh Snow ink on Ocean Tides cardstock, one of my most favorite PTI colors!
Circles were the theme for this card (inspired by a sketch from Mojo Monday). I made the flower using Spellbinders petite scalloped circle dies, distressing the edges to give it some dimension and texture.

Hope you like it, thanks for looking!

Stamps: Buzzcraft, Papertrey Ink

Ink: Memento, Perfect Match

Paper: Papertrey Ink, Bristol vellum

Accessories: Martha Stewart edger punch, colored pencils, OMS, Stardust Stickles, PTI button/ribbon, Spellbinders classic circle/scalloped circle dies.

Bubble your troubles away...

I love the pretty soft colors in this new Spearmint collection from Memory Box. Reminded me of bubble baths and sweet smelling soaps, so this adorable digi stamp from Heather Ellis was a perfect fit. I used one of Impression Obsession's Shake it pouches so I could put a bunch of clear beads and Dew Drops to surround the bath tub. I made a scalloped frame to cover the edges of the self-stick Shake it pouch using square Nestabilities.
The image was very simple to color, with the lightest of Copics (B0000, BG0000, BG10), and of course my favorite flesh tones (E0000, E00, E11). I didn't have a coordinating sentiment, so I made my own using Photoshop. I just printed it out and cut it out with some circle Nesties. I made the crepe paper rose for the center of the circle embellishment. I found this video on You Tube that shows how to make gorgeous roses from crepe paper. They're really simple!

Hope you like it, come visit me again soon!

Stamps: Heather Ellis digital stamp

Paper: Heavenly White, Memory Box, PTI

Accessories: Impression Obsession Shake it Pouch, tafetta ribbon, Spellbinders square/scalloped square & circle Nestabilities, Copics, seed beads, Dew Drops, Liquid Glass

Best Friends

This beautiful stamp is also from the UK company called Buzzcraft. There's a whole line of adorable images of these little boys and girls called Oliver's Orchard. I fell in love with them a long time ago and finally purchased a couple of sets. There's a lot to color with these stamps. Takes a bit of time, but the end result is to die for!
Since the image is reminiscent of the lazy days of summer, I used Basic Grey's Lemonade papers and bright pink ribbon to tie it all together. You can't see it in the picture, but I also added some accents to the water with a clear glaze pen.

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Buzzcraft

Ink: Memento

Paper: Heavenly White, Basic Grey, SU

Accessories: colored pencils, OMS, PTI ribbon, Sakura glaze pen, Spica pens

Spring Bunny

How about a perfect spring/Easter card? If this doesn't make you long for the warmth of the sun, I don't know what will! This is another older Penny Black stamp that I found on the PB Stamps web site. If you're ever on the lookout for what you think is a discontinued Penny Black stamp, look at this store first. More than likely, Dick can still get it for you!
I stamped the pretty lavender background paper with one Papertrey Ink's newer background stamps, then embossed it with white embossing powder. The other patterned paper strip behind the twill ribbon is also PTI, from their new Easter paper collection. I can't get enough of PTI, they just keep coming out with more deliciousness every month! And I just saw a sneak peek of their new floral set coming out later this month, and ohh, ahhhh... I think I'm in trouble. LOL!

Well, hope you like it, thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Penny Black, Papertrey Ink

Ink: Memento, Versamark

Paper: Papertrey Ink

Accessories: Martha Stewart scallop punch, SU scallop punch, PTI ribbon, Nestabilities, colored pencils, OMS, white embossing powder

Flying by to say hi...

I have a Fairy Doodles card to share with you today, love these little characters! The mushroom reminded me that I had this Cosmo Cricket paper that I haven't used very much, also with a mushroom pattern on it. Pretty, earthy colors that I incorporated into my coloring.
I did some faux stitching around the edges of the Spellbinders Label with an extra fine Sharpie poster paint pen. I have trouble making complicated curves with my sewing machine, so I chose to simulate stitching instead, lol! Sometimes that's all it takes to tie a whole card together.

Hope the little fairy makes you smile, thanks for flying by!

Stamps: Buzzcraft, PTI sentiment

Ink: Memento

Paper: Bristol vellum, Cosmo Cricket, Core'dinations, PTI

Accessories: Martha Stewart edger punch, polka dot ribbon, PTI button, Spellbinders Labels die, Sharpie pen, Stickles, white Sakura glaze pen

Easter Chicky

I did not know that the artist (Heather Ellis) who creates the designs for MFT's Pure Innocence stamps also has an Etsy shop where she has more Pure Innocence designs available in digital format! I really wish I had known because I would rather have had some of those stamps as digital rather than clear. Not only easier on the pocketbook, but you get them instantly! Well, anyway, I now have a bunch of her digital designs and here's one of them.
She's got her pretty Easter hat on, and her little chicky just hatched, how sweet! I just love that pure, innocent little expression on her face, it just makes me smile!

She's been colored with colored pencils (except for her skin, I always do skin tones with Copics, usually E0000, E000 and E11). The gorgeous papers are from a Brenda Walton paper pad made by K & Co. The scallop borders are done with a Martha Stewart lace doily punch.

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Heather Ellis

Paper: K & Co., PTI, SU, Bazzill

Accessories: Martha Stewart punch, seam binding ribbon, Stickles, colored pencils

Peonies

Just popping in really quick before I head out to work to share this Peony card I made with the new Justrite garden oval stampers. Peonies are one of my favorite flowers, I used to have tons of them growing in front of my old house. Sadly, the only gardening I do anymore is container gardening on our front and back decks, the deer chomp up any and everything else planted in the yard.
I thought this would be perfect for a Mother's birthday card, or Mother's Day of course. But I intentionally left off any reference to the holiday so it could be used as a birthday card. My mom's birthday is in May too, and I don't want to be left unprepared in case I get distracted and don't make another card specifically for her.

I love this Martha Stewart Lattice punch around the page set. So delicate and pretty!

Hope you like it, come back soon!

Stamps: Justrite, Papertrey Ink sentiment

Ink: Brilliance, Memento

Paper: Heavenly White, Bristol vellum, Memory Box, Incandescent cardstock

Accessories: Martha Stewart edge/corner punches, sheer ribbon, colored pencils, OMS, Nestabilities, clear embossing powder

Colorful Cutie

We're snowed in again..uggghhh! I am sick to death of snow! School was closed early on Tuesday, then closed yesterday, today, and again tomorrow! We've got another foot of the evil white powdery stuff again, on TOP of what was there from Tuesday. The wind is howling now, and the temp is dropping. My sweetie and I are going on a short vacation to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in a couple of weeks, and I can't wait!

Anyway, onto my card:

The problem with blurfing (is that a word? Surely not! But it seemed easier than saying blog surfing, LOL!) is that I'm always seeing new-to-me stamps that I just must have. I discovered these cuties from a UK store called Lili of the Valley stamps thanks to another blog I frequently visit. Can't remember whose blog it was, unfortunately. They are so adorable, though, I wanted to buy them all!I used very bright, cheery colors to color the little lassie with, to coordinate with SU's Kaleidescope DP. Beautiful stuff! This card just makes me happy... Kinda makes me think of turquoise seas, Hibiscus flowers the size of dinner plates and balmy breezes! I've got tropical islands on the brain!

Thanks for dropping in!

Stamps: Lili of the Valley, PTI sentiment

Ink: Memento, Perfect Match

Paper: SU, Gina K, Bristol vellum

Accessories: Fiskars sunburst edger punch, Spellbinders Labels die, PTI ribbon, colored pencils, OMS, Stickles, pearls