Going dotty

This adorable fairy from Stamping Bella was just too cute to refuse. I love the way her curly hair is flying behind her as she flutters around the flowers, lol! She's colored with my colored pencils.

I love creating patterned paper using Papertrey Ink's Dot Spot set. There's just something about it... I had to dig deep into my old inkpads to find the colors I wanted, Periwinkle, Pear green and a pretty Sky blue color from Paper Salon. When those pads dry up I will be very sad, I never got reinkers for them. Such pretty colors!

I created the little ribbon rosette from some polka dot ribbon. I just made a little running stitch along one edge of a length of ribbon and gathered it into a simple circle. A pretty green button for the center and a tiny tag completes it. Simple and sweet!

Hope you like her, thanks for dropping by!

Stamps: Stamping Bella, PTI
Ink: Memento, Paper Salon, Adirondack
Paper: PTI, Memory Box
Tools & Accessories: Colored pencils, OMS, Stickles, polka dot ribbon, PTI button, twill ribbon, SU jewelry tag punch

Baby Elephant

Here's a peek at another of the new LOTV release coming in a couple of weeks 'Blowing Bubbles'.  Just darling, isn't it? I knew I wanted to use it on a baby card, so I chose some pretty papers from PTI's baby collection. 

I colored the little guy in with colored pencils. I added some Liquid Glass to the bubbles to make them all shiny and more dimensional.

Notice the ribbon? I really wanted something striped but couldn't find anything that really coordinated well from my stash. I've seen some people color their ribbon with Copics, so I decided to give it a try. As you can see, it worked beautifully. I just used a ruler to add some yellow and purple stripes to the edges of white grosgrain. I did find that the Copics did bleed a little bit on the ribbon, but it actually looked really nice, like a much lighter stripe of lavender. So that was a happy accident, lol!

Thanks for all the lovely comments, hope you all have a nice relaxing Saturday!

Stamps: Lili of the Valley (coming 3/09/2011), PTI background
Ink: Versamark
Paper: Papertrey Ink, Neenah
Tools & Accessories: Colored pencils, OMS, Stickles, Liquid Glass, white embossing powder, grosgrain ribbon, PTI button, Martha Stewart large scallop punch

Pssst...new stamps coming from LOTV!

There are some amazing new images coming out March 9th (also my birthday, tee hee) from Lili of the Valley, some very different from what we've been seeing. I lovelovelove these adorable mice in the kitchen! There are quite a few different ones that you are going to love.

I used some new Memory Box papers 'Brioche' because they remind me of vintage kitchens and that's the look I wanted. I colored the image with my colored pencils.

Lots of stitching all along the rounded corners, some buttons and seam binding and you have a card reminiscent of Grandma's kitchen I think.

Little dabs of Liquid Glass to make the cherries shiny, Stickles on the cupcakes, and the awesome Birthday Recipe stamp completes this card.

Hope I got you all excited, thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Lili of the Valley
Ink: Distress
Papers: Memory Box, Heavenly White, Neenah
Tools & Accessories: Martha Stewart edge punch, sewing machine, Stickles, Liquid Glass, colored pencils, Copics, seam binding, PTI buttons

One Fine Day...

Good morning everyone! Finally a day off from work, no place to go, nothing to do but stay home and relax. Well, maybe I'll get a couple of chores done, not sure yet. Depends if I get in 'The Zone' making a card, lol!

Anyway, here's a card using a clear stamp set made by Pergamano that I have been waiting ages to get! I saw someone using these adorable little girls while blurfing a long time ago, immediately searched the web to order a set for myself, only to discover there was a GLOBAL shortage and no one had them! Very, very frustrating. I finally contacted the owner of A Touch of Grace and she was kind enough to let me know when she would have them back in stock. I love the delicate sweetness of these images, I'm just a sucker for girly things I guess!

The image was colored with colored pencils. I used an extra fine Sharpie white poster pen to add little highlights to the water.

Thanks for visiting, I hope you have a relaxing day too...

Stamps: Pergamano 'Flower Girls', Catslife Press
Ink: Memento, Distress, Perfect Match
Paper: Heavenly White, My Mind's Eye, PTI
Tools & Accessories: Spellbinders Labels & Nestabilities, PTI ribbon, colored pencils, OMS, Stickles, Adirondack dimensional pearls, Sharpie poster pen, Stickles, EK Success lg. scallop punch, Viva Decor pearl pen

PTI Make it Monday Challenge #2

Hello everyone! I have a different kind of card today, using my other obsession--all things PTI. I don't know what it is about their products, but I fall for them every time. Just when I think I've gotten it out of my system, I see something new that makes me have to have it! These pretty frames from the Mat Stack collection are a perfect example. I am a sucker for frames and labels. 

PLUS, I really wanted to play along with their new Make it Monday challenge, so I whipped out my supplies and got to work. The challenge was to create a card using a sentiment strip from vellum. 

Well, originally this card did have a sentiment right on the vellum, but it just didn't show up well with the green ink I used, so I stamped it on a banner instead.

The daffodil was colored using my pencils and cut out to layer right onto the vellum scalloped circle. I also finally tried my hand at making a clear acetate card base and it looks so unique and beautiful I may have to do it more often.

All supplies are from PTI except for colored pencils and Stickles.

Thanks for looking!

Lili of the Valley Thursday Challenge Favorite Colors

 Good morning everyone! Time for the Lily of the Valley Thursday challenge. This week we are using our favorite colors, and mine are blue and green. Specifically light blue-greens and spring green. I just love these colors together, so fresh and soothing. Perfect for this Easter card!

I colored 'Bunny with Chicks' in colored pencils, I even added a bit of Polar White Flower Soft to his tail for extra fluffiness! 

Feeling inspired? Create your own card and join in on the challenge, then add your link to the LOTV blog for a chance to win some LOTV cash.

Thanks for stopping in!

Stamps: Lili of the Valley
Ink: Memento, Distress
Paper: Neenah, SU, My Mind's Eye, PTI
Tools & Accessories: Martha Stewart doily edge and leaf punches, Prima flowers, satin ribbn, Stickles, colored pencils, OMS

Hoppy Bunny

Good morning everyone. I'm loving these bunnies and daffodils, makes me feel like there's hope for spring yet! It was actually pretty nice here yesterday, although a bit windy, the ice and snow started melting and flooded the garage a little, lol! I can't wait till it's all gone...

I colored this little guy with colored pencils, and this patterned paper from Stampin Up (can't remember what it's called) was perfect for a spring card. Love the yellows and greens.

I cut a little flower out of my own dyed wool felt with one of PTI's flower die sets, and embellished the polka dot bow with it.

Hope it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, thanks for dropping by!

Stamps: Lili of the Valley 'Spring Bunny with Daffodils', 'Dreamy Days Sentiments'

Ink: Memento, SU

Paper: Neenah classic crest, SU, Heavenly White 

Tools and Accessories: Martha Stewart deep edger punch, Spellbinders Labels and Nestabilities, polka dot ribbon, brads, colored pencils, OMS, Stickles

Cards for Impression Obsession at CHA

I thought I'd share some of the cards I made for Impression Obsession's booth at the recent CHA show. These all use the newest stamps released from IO. I water colored all of the images with Distress inks, just seemed to suit them all perfectly. 

This pretty Wire Garden Bench was embossed with black EP first to make it look more like real wrought iron. The sentiment is also new,  Precious Privilege, one of my favorite quotes. 

The next one is an adorable Chickadee sitting on a Budding Branch. The background was stamped with their sheet Music Cover-a-Card stamp. 

And finally, another card using Chickadees, because I love them so much! This one was super simple, but so dramatic. I chose the paper specifically with these birds in mind, from Memory Box. I used the My Little Chickadees stamp for this one as well as the large. The sentiment was stamped directly onto the patterned paper, called Warming Spring.

So there you go! I'm in the mood for spring and these cards certainly show that!

Thanks for dropping by!

Stamps: Impression Obsession
Ink: Versamark, Memento, Distress
Papers: Heavenly White, Memory Box, K & Co., PTI, watercolor, SU
Tools & Accessories: Black & Brown embossing powder, Spellbinders Labels, water brush, seam binding, buttons, satin ribbon, Stickles, Martha Stewart doily lace punch

Lili of the Valley sketch challenge...Egg-stra Special

Hello everyone! It's challenge time at Lili of the Valley, we have a lovely sketch by Dawny to work with. I dug back through some of my older images that I haven't even used yet (yikes!). This one is 'Spring Bunny with Eggs'. I know I'm pretty early for Easter cards, but I just couldn't resist this little guy! 

Back to my old stand by, colored pencils with Odorless Mineral Spirits. I feel I can get much better texture, for furry Mr. Bunny-- with colored pencils than anything else. I'm sure there's a way to do it with Copics, or even water color, but I haven't figured it out yet, lol!

The papers are from a Papertrey Ink patterned paper pad.

So, if you're feeling inspired --dig through your collection of LOTV stamps, whip up a card and enter it for a chance to win some LOTV bucks. All the details are on the challenge blog.

Thanks for 'hopping' by!

Stamps: Lili of the Valley, PTI sentiment
Ink: Perfect Match
Papers: Papertrey Ink, Neenah
Tools & Accessories: EK Success butterfly edge punch, SU ribbon, colored pencils, OMS, Glamour Dust, Tonic corner rounder

Love Grows...

Good morning all! I have another Valentine card to show you today, an easel card using Lili of the Valley's 'Love Grows'. I love the different patterns in this paper collection, so I chose to showcase them with an easel card. You can get a lot more bang for your buck with this style of card, as there are two panels to display. 

The papers are from My Mind's Eye, and I picked the Copic colors from them to coordinate. It's the second thing I do when planning a new card, first pick the image, then choose which medium to color it with. I found the colors were closest from my Copics, and I HATE mixing colors on my own, so I chose them.

I used a white Sakura Glaze pen to make the white dots on the flower pot, that stuff is really opaque!

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Lili of the Valley
Ink: Distress
Paper: My Mind's Eye, PTI, Core'dinations
Tools & Accessories: Spellbinders fancy labels, Fiskars heart edge punch, Sakura Glaze pen, Copics, Stickles, sewing machine, PTI ribbon/button

Impression Obsession challenge, Is it Spring yet?

Good morning everyone! It's time for another Thursday challenge at Impression Obsession. This week's theme - Is it spring yet? Same question I've been asking lately, lol! 

I wanted to ink up the new Lantern stamp, because it totally reminds me of warm, spring (and summer) evening under a beautiful tree lit with pretty lanterns. Instead of coloring it with my usual pencils or Copics, I opted to play with the Glimmer Mists again. I embossed the image with white embossing powder and I knew I wanted a pretty blue for the evening sky and a warm golden yellow for the lights from the lanterns, so I sprayed the water color paper with a mixture of the two colors. Where the blue and yellow mixed together, it created a perfect greenish tint for the leaves of the tree.

 I did go back after it was dry and added some brown Distress ink for the trunk of the tree and a bit of Moss green for the grassy area. This was a very quick and easy way to quickly color an image with minimal effort, and I love the soft, shimmery effect.

I went back with some Liquid Pearls to add the berries/flowers on the tree, and used a yellow Sakura glaze pen over the lanterns.
Because I thought the image was so pretty, I opted to just mat it on a plain white card base with a pretty striped ribbon.

Feeling inspired to create your own Spring card? Submit your card on the IO blog for a chance to win an IO gift certificate.

Here are the links to the other DT's members blogs who are playing along:


Jeanne

Jenny

Julie

Daniela

Dina

Laura

Deb

Shirley

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Impression Obsession
Ink: Versamark, Glimmer Mists, Distress
Paper: Water color paper, Stardream, Prism
Tools & Accessories: striped ribbon, Sakura Glaze pen, white EP, water brush, Liquid Pearls

Lili of the Valley Thursday Challenge~ Romance

Hello everyone, I've got a card to share with you for the LOTV challenge, Romance is in the air! I chose to use 'The little things' for this card. Look at the surprised expression on the little girl's face, so sweet! I'm telling you honestly, you all may be getting tired of seeing me use so many LOTV stamps, but I NEVER get tired of using them, lol! I know using new stamps is exciting, but after I've used almost all of them, I find myself going back to the older ones to color again. That's just how much I love them.

Anyway, I colored this with my Copics again in pretty spring-y colors to match the Two Scoops papers from Basic Grey.

Don't forget you can enter a card using a LOTV stamp for a chance to win some LOTV bucks for the store. Read the details on the blog.

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Lili of the Valley
Ink: Memento
Paper: Heavenly White, PTI, Basic Grey
Tools & Accessories: Spellbinders lacy circles & labels dies, Copics, Stickles, SU ribbon, Fiskars apron lace punch, self stick pearls

Raining hearts.

I love this little cutie pie from Tiddly Inks! Fun to color, not too much tiny detail that it's hard to color in the lines, lol! Although I love detailed, beautifully drawn stamps and digis, sometimes I just like to keep it simple. 

I find myself drawn more and more to digital images, they are so easy, just download and print and I don't have to worry about where am I going to store them?! Until now, I've mostly stored my unmounted and clear stamps in CD cases, but as my collection grows I find it's hard to find what I need. I suppose I need to make an index of all the stamps I own, but it seems so daunting a task. I'm not sure I like the CD cases anymore and am trying to research a different storage system. I'm starting to lean towards the plastic binder boxes with the storage panels, but I'm not sure yet. If you use this system, please share your thoughts. Pros? Cons? If you use a different system for storing both your clear and UM rubber, please share that as well, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

Also, I have a well loved Scor Pal, the old style with the 1/2" grooves up for grabs. Still in great shape with the original scoring tool. If you don't have one already and think you could use it, I'd be happy to send it to you. Just send me an email using the link in my right sidebar. It's been such an invaluable tool for several years for me that I hate to just throw it away. First request gets it!

Thanks for dropping by!

Stamps: Tiddly Ink digital image, LOTV sentiment seal
Ink: Perfect Match, Distress
Paper: Heavenly White, October Afternoon, Bazzill, Hammermill color copy
Tools & Accessories: McGill circle punch, Spellbinders lacy circles, Copics, Liquid Glass, Stickles, PTI ribbon & button, Martha Stewart edge punch