Lili of the Valley Thursday Challenge ANYTHING GOES!

Good morning one and all! It's time again for LOTV's weekly challenge, this was an easy one because anything goes. Of course I chose to work with the sweeter-than-sweet new images coming out next week, this one is Milly- Cuddle Time.

I went rather clean and simple for this card and I'll tell you why. I really wanted to used several different patterns from the Cosmo Cricket De Lovely paper pad, without too much else interfering with them. I find using too many patterns, colors, embellishments can be a bit overwhelming at times. Especially if the colors are very bold. 

Sooo, clean and simple it is, at least CAS for me, loL! 
Little Milly and her friends are colored with colored pencils, blended with OMS. I only used Copics for her skin. 
I may add a sentiment to this one, just not sure what. Suggestions?


Thanks for dropping by!


Stamps: Lili of the Valley
Paper: Neenah, Core'dinations, PTI, Cosmo Cricket
Tools & Accessories: PTI ribbon/button, EK Success tiny scallop punch, colored pencils, OMS

Happy Times

Good morning everyone! Now that Mother's Day is done it's time to start on Father's Day. Easy with the nice selection of masculine images from Lili of the Valley. This one is a new release called Happy Times. Now, I know many of you might think that these are little boy stamps and not for grown men, but I will have to disagree. When you think about it, we give the men in our lives cartoon cards, or humorous cards so I feel perfectly comfortable giving them these. Besides, most men are little boys in men's bodies anyway, lol.

I colored this little guy with my colored pencils to coordinate with the papers from Cosmo Cricket. I scored myself a great deal on the Biography Little Boys collection from Michael's the other day. I happened to look down the clearance aisle and the bright red and CC's signature blue caught my eye. I found two of these 8 x 8 paper kits for .99 each! I love bargains! I know they're kinda old, but I prefer older Cosmo Cricket anyway, so I'm a happy camper. 

No glitter and bows for this card, but I did sneak in some twill ribbon tied in a simple knot. I just can't seem to make a card without ribbon!


I've got to start cranking out those Father's Day cards, it'll be here before I know it!


Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Lili of the Valley- Happy Times and Happy Circular Sentiments
Ink: Memento
Paper: Heavenly White card base, Cosmo Cricket, Bazzill, SU
Tools & Accessories: PTI twill ribbon, colored pencils, OMS, Sakura glaze pen, McGill circle punch

Flying High

Ever since I made my first exploding box, I've been thinking of all different kinds of themes that I could incorporate into more boxes. The first thing that came to mind was an airplane or balloon box for a little boy and this is what I came up with.

The only airplane stamp I had was this adorable one from PTI, but it was perfect for what I had in mind. Cloud papers, die cut clouds, what little tyke wouldn't be simply amazed to open this up?!

I was thinking of putting in a hot air balloon too, but decided it would be too busy, so I just used a little one for the tag on top of the box. I might do a totally different box with just hot air balloons though! CUTE!

The papers are from Cosmo Cricket's Earth Love. Here's a closer look at the inside:

I love these boxes, they are so much fun to make.


Thanks for peeking in, have a great day!


Stamps: PTI
Ink: Memento, Distress, Perfect Match
Paper: Cosmo Cricket, Heavenly White, Core'dinations, Bazzill, acetate
Tools & Accessories: PTI cloud/Mat Stack dies, Scor Pal, Stickles, colored pencils, OMS, PTI ribbon

Sneak Peek.. New LOTV

Hold on to your hats Lili of the Valley addicts, prepare to get your socks knocked off! I've got a card to share with you with a new stamp coming out in January '11, and it is a stunner! Actually, they are ALL stunning, I was dancing with joy when I saw them. I am so grateful to be a part of this company's team, I just adore each and every stamp! Take a look at this darling image...

 Yes, since Christmas is nearly here, and I'm sure you all have gotten all your holiday projects done and mailed out (ahhhhhh!!) it is time to start planning for Valentine's Day. Well, actually I'm a bit relieved to take a break from Christmas cards, this card was a joy to create.

I colored this sweet image with Copics, and used some of my older Cosmo Cricket 'Everafter' papers. Haven't used them nearly enough and I am trying to refrain from buying more papers until I've used up some of my stash. Easier said than done, but I am making a real effort!

Anyway, keep your eyes peeled for these sweeties, I'll let you all know when I find out the actual release date. Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Lili of the Valley
Ink: Distress
Paper: PTI, Core'dinations, SU
Tools & Accessories: Fiskars heart edge punch, pearl heart stick pins, red grosgrain ribbon, SU embossing folder, Copics, Spica pens, Spellbinders Labels, Stickles

Holiday Sweets

Good morning everyone, I've got a vintage looking card to share with you today, using Papertrey Ink's Friendship Jar and Holiday Fillers sets. I find it amazing how much this set has grown on me, considering it didn't even faze me when I first saw it!
I wanted to try paper piecing the ruffle around the neck of the jar, to make it look like real scrap of homespun and the card practically made itself from there. Amazing how one simple element can inspire an entire card, I love when that happens!

After coloring all those individual peppermint candies (pheww!) I cut out the jar and covered the whole thing with Ultra Thick Embossing powder to make it look like glass. Not sure if it even shows in the picture, you'll just have to take my word for it!

The old Cosmo Cricket 'Be Good' collection fit perfectly with the peppermint candies, I'm almost out of that stuff...boo hoo!

Hope you like it, thanks for visiting!

Stamps: PTI, Catslife Press
Ink: Memento, DIstress, SU
Paper: PTI, Gina K, Cosmo Cricket
Tools and Accessories: Martha Stewart garlad punch, UTEE, colored pencils, OMS, tiny red rhinestone, natural twill ribbon, K & Co. paper lace, Spellbinders lacey circles/Labels 17

LOTV Thursday Challenge 'One for the Girls'

This week at the Lili of the Valley Thursday challenge blog it's 'One for the Girls'! (I know it's early here, but in the UK it's Thursday!) I've done the ultimate in girly cards in honor of the challenge, flowers, bows, scallops & pretty colors. This is one of the new stamps to be released at the NEC show Nov. 4th if you're lucky enough to be within shouting distance. Otherwise, the rest of us folks have to wait till Nov. 12th for the online store release. Aren't these little girls just stinkin' adorable?! I love their sweet little faces.

 I colored them with Copics, and for the polka dots I used a white Sakura Glaze pen. Love that thing, it's totally opaque on any color. The sentiment is another seal also from the new release.

Hop on over to the LOTV blog and check out all the gorgeousness from the rest of the DT. You can also play along with us at the challenge for a chance to win some stamps. All the rules are on the blog.

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: LOTV
Ink: Distress, Memento
Paper: PTI, Cosmo Cricket
Tools & Accessories: Spellbinders Nestabilities, PTI Beautiful Blooms II dies, Copics, Sakura Glaze pen, Martha Stewart scallop punch, paper piercer, PTI buttons, polka dot ribbon, Glamour Dust

Old Skates

A couple of weeks ago I was looking around for an ice skate stamp. I liked the new one PTI released, but wasn't gotta-have-it-crazy for it. I wanted something a little different. So I'm searching, and searching, finding a few but nothing I'm too crazy about. So I'm on Splitcoast, as usual, when I click on a message that has a picture attached of a card using this stamp. The poster was trying to identify the stamp maker. I knew as soon as I saw it, that was the ice skate stamp I wanted. To make a long story longer, it turns out the stamp was no longer being made, it was from several years ago. Well, I guess quite a few of us emailed the company (DRS Designs) asking about the stamp,  that they brought it back into production! How cool is that?! 

Anyway, here it is in all it's glory!

Pretty, huh? I don't know what it is, I just think they're so cute. I paper pieced them with some Cosmo Cricket Be Good paper, and matted them with these gorgeous Spellbinders Labels. The background paper is Cosmo Cricket Wonderland, gorgeousness!!

I colored the metal part of the skates with a silver Copic Spica pen, then went over it with some clear Liquid Glass. It looks like real shiny metal!

Thanks for the well wishes everyone, I'm still feeling under the weather, but feel a bit better. I tried to do too much yesterday, and immediately felt worse, so I crashed on the couch for the rest of the day. I'm definitely taking it easy today, I need to recuperate before resuming my usual hectic days!
TTFN!

Stamps: DRS Designs, Gina K
Ink: Memento, Distress, Versamark
Paper: PTI, Gina K, Cosmo Cricket, Stardream
Tools & Accessories: Spellbinders Labels, Sizzix/Basic Grey embossing folder, PTI twill ribbon, PTI button, vanilla embossing powder, Copic sketch & Spica pen, Liquid Glass, cotton thread

Sharing Bear

Happy Halloween everyone! I don't have a spooky card to share with you all today, as I just am not feeling it this year. Yesterday at work I started feeling really crummy around mid morning, and it just got worse from there. Today it's the whole kit n kaboodle, sore throat, runny nose, chest cold....uggh.... 

BUT, I do have a cheery Christmas card to share. I just had to bring out some of my old Forever Friends bear stamps. I used them to death last year, but love them just as much this year. 

This time I decided to paper piece the little bear's coat and mittens with some of my favorite Cosmo Cricket Christmas papers, 'Be Good'. I really, really wish CC would keep doing some of the elegant vintage papers they used to do, although I like some of the newer collections, I like traditional colors better. I'm almost out of this paper, even though I stocked up on my fave patterns, I use it a lot!

The sentiment circle is one of the new seal stamps Lili of the Valley will be releasing soon. I love them all!

I hope everyone gets tons of candy, lots of tricks and most of all a fun, safe Halloween to all! Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Forever Friends, LOTV
Ink: Memento, Distress
Paper: Heavenly White, Gina K, SU, PTI
Tools & Accessories: Clever Lever snowflake punch, Martha Stewart edge & snowflake punches, Spellbinders Labels 17, Lacey Circles & Oval Nestabilities, McGill circle punch, Stickles, colored pencils,OMS, Jo Sonja Warm White acrylic paint, old toothbrush, PTI button

Reindeer Kisses

I really love using those Shake-it pouches from Impression Obsession, they make it so easy to create fun shaker cards. Here's one I used to fill with some Polar White Flower Soft with the leftover punched snowflakes from a Martha Stewart snowflake border punch. Can't throw those little bits away! I colored the Elzybells image with Copics with a little red glaze pen for his nose.

To create the frame for the Shake-it pouch, I just used two dies, one from the Lacy circles set, and one plain one. Then I cut another lacy circle in red to mat behind it. Aqua and red is such a pretty color combo, I see it used all the time, but this may be the first time I've tried it.

Another work/school week begins, so I'm off to get ready! Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Elzybells

Ink: Memento

Paper: Heavenly White, Cosmo Cricket, Core'dinations, Stardream

Accessories: Spellbinders Lacy cricles/plain circles dies, IO Shake-it pouch, Flower Soft, SU ribbon, Martha Stewart snowflake/bubbles punches, Copic sketch & Spica pens

First Day of School

Here's a card I made using one of the new stamps just released at Lili of the Valley, 'Back to School Girl'. Sweet! As soon as I saw her, I knew exactly which papers I was going to use. These are long retired papers from Cosmo Cricket, 'Gretel' collection. The kit included a bunch of die cut letters, which I knew would be perfect for a First Day of School card. 

I decided to make an easel card so I could use the huge letters and still have room for a sentiment.

I colored the image with my colored pencils and cut the whole thing out so I could layer it onto a piece of lined paper. I used one of the larger die cuts from the kit and just cut the lines out with PTI's notebook paper die. 

A little zig zag stitching around the edges, some Stickles on the letters, a pretty bow and there ya go!

Hope you like it, thanks for visiting me!

Stamps: Lili of the Valley, PTI
Ink: Memento, Distress
Paper: Core'dinations, Cosmo Cricket, PTI
Accessories: EK Success flourish edge punch, sewing machine, Stickles, colored pencils, OMS, twill ribbon, PTI notebook die, Copic sketch and Spica markers

LOTV Sneak Peek. 2 more days!

Here's another peek at one of the new stamps to be release on July 14th. It's called Star of Wonder. Isn't is just darling?!

It's very strange making Christmas/Winter cards in this heat, but it's fun to make something different from flowers and the usual summer themed cards. I chose Cosmo Cricket's Jolly by Golly paper collection for it's unusual winter color scheme. I wanted something other than the typical green/red combo. I colored this image with colored pencils in pinks/magenta/blue-greens to coordinate with the paper. And BG0000 Copic for the snow shadows.

A little Liquid Appliqué for the pom poms on her scarf and hat, with a little glitter on top of that. 

So pretty in pink, don't you think? lol

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Lili of the Valley

Paper: Cosmo Cricket, Stardream metallic, PTI, Heavenly White

Accessories: EK Success edge punch, Tonic corner rounder, Teal satin ribbon, Snowflake brad, Stickles, Liquid Applique

Fast Food

Good morning folks! I hope where ever you are it's cooler than it is here! We've been having a heat wave that just sucks the juice right out of you. Yesterday reached almost 97 degrees, which in the Poconos is pretty hot! 

Anyway, I have a sweet Lili of the Valley card to share with you using this adorable doggie running away with stolen franks. He's Fritz the dog from the Fritz and Fifi set. The stamps in this set are soo funny, highlighting all the mischievous antics our pets can get into!

I wanted to use a different coloring medium this time, getting kind of bored with the same old same old, so I broke out my Distress Inks and watercolored him. I remembered seeing a tutorial a while back from one of those gorgeous Scandinavian blogs where they showed how to deepen shading with Distress inks using a dry brushing technique. I can't for the life of me remember whose blog it was, but I did remember the technique, and used it for Fritz.

It works really beautifully for creating really dark shadows, which is kind of hard to do with watercoloring. At least it was for me, I used to have to go back over and over after each wash had dried and reapply the shadows to build them up. Well, dry brushing is much faster, I'll be doing this from now on.

Stay cool and thanks for visiting!

Stamps: LOTV
Ink: Memento, Distress Inks
Paper: Water color paper, Bazzill, Cosmo Cricket
Accessories: PTI ribbon/button/felt, Nestabilities, paint brushes

Tutorial: How to make your own doilies using corner punches

Happy Memorial day everyone, hope you had a safe, fun weekend!

I want to share a little tutorial with you all today. While browsing various blogs lately, I've seen a couple of crafters using small doilies from Martha Stewart in their paper projects. There was even a post about it on Splitcoast Stampers, and apparently they're hard to find in stores. Well, not too long ago I was experimenting with some new corner punches and had a lightbulb moment. Was it possible to make my own doilies with these corner punches? I set out to try. Sure enough, I had some success! I've only experimented with a few different kinds of punches, and some worked better than others. For example, this Layered Arch worked really well, while the Modern Garland wasn't the best looking in my opinion. The Quilted Corner worked really nicely, as well. 

Also, the size of the circle is really important too. For the Layered Arches, I used the Nestabilities small circle #1 and it worked out almost perfectly. I found that I could use the small circles with more success than the large. 

Here are a few pics that will illustrate how it's done. You can click on them to make them larger. 

Although the punches have these slide out tabs for easy alignment of corners, you can still slide your paper circle right over them without taking them apart like other corner punches. 

When lining the circle up along the edge of the circle, try to make sure the punch design is centered evenly. Be careful not to have it angled to the right or the left, instead, aim the center of the design towards the center of the circle. 

Each time you punch around the circle, make sure to line up the left side of the punch as close as you can to the previously punched design without actually overlapping. It takes some time, but I think the results are worth it! If you are careful, you will end up with a doily like the one pictured above, with small bit of paper still attached. Some corner punches don't come totally perfect, but it's close enough for government work, LOL! It's easy enough to snip these scraps off with small scissors, or a craft knife. 

That's it! Your own doily to coordinate with the edge punches! And you don't have to search high and low for the precut ones, because you can make different sizes on your own. 

So here's a finished card with one of the doilies:

        

Pretty, isn't it? Now dig out your corner punches and give it a try!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Stampavie

Ink: Memento

Paper: Heavenly White, Cosmo Cricket, Bazzill, PTI

Accessories: PTI twill ribbon, seam binding, Nestabilities, Martha Stewart punches, colored pencils, OMS

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

Cutie Pie

Here's the other card I made using Mel's tile background technique, this time for a kitchen scene. I stamped and colored Tilda with Prismacolor pencils, then cut her out. To make the tiles, I cut a bunch of squares using Nestabilities from Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird paper. I glued them onto a piece of cardstock in a tile pattern, then inked them with Versamark ink & embossed with clear embossing powder. Then I cut the whole thing out with Spellbinders Labels 9.
I even cut out a little oval for a little rug beneath Tilda, making little stitches around the edge. The strip behind the image was cut with the Fiskars Apron Lace border punch, all very fitting for this cooking themed card!

The sentiment was printed from my computer and cut out with the double ended tag die from Spellbinders.

I had lots of fun making this card, hope you enjoy it as well, thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Magnolia (from A Little Yummy for your Tummy collection)

Ink: Memento, Versamark, Distress Antique Linen

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

Accessories: Nestabilities, Fiskars punch, twill ribbon, clear EP, half pearls, Red Copic Spica pen, White Sakura Glaze 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

Alice says Happy Birthday

Isn't this girl a beauty?! I love the sweet, innocent expression on her face. It is, of course another digi image from Mo's Digital Pencil. I absolutely love her art work! I'm so proud of myself, I actually colored her entirely with Copics! (Well, except for her shoes, I don't have any blacks yet). They really are wonderful to work with, and although I don't think I will use them exclusively, sometimes I prefer them to colored pencils.
The darling cherry pattern paper is from Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird collection. Very vintage chic! Reminds me of a tablecloth my grandmother used to have on her kitchen table. I added some Liquid Glass to some of the cherries, just to make them 'pop' a bit.

Thanks for visiting, come back soon!

Stamps: Mo's Digital Pencil, Papertrey Ink

Ink: Memento, Perfect Match

Paper: Heavenly White, Bazzill, Cosmo Cricket

Accessories: Copic markers, PTI ribbon, Fiskars border punch, Liquid Glass, SU oval punches

My Dolly

I fell in love with this adorable digital image from Digital Pencil Too -'Sophie'. Isn't she the sweetest little thing? I love her little pigtails!
I colored her skin with Copics and the rest of her with colored pencils. The paper is Cosmo Cricket. I added a little stitching to go with the 'cross stitch' pattern on the DP.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Mo's Digital Pencil, PTI sentiment

Ink: Distress

Paper: Heavenly White, Cosmo Cricket, Bazzill

Accessories: Martha Stewart doily lace punch, Copics, colored pencils, OMS, pearls, sewing machine, grosgrain ribbon, PTI button, SU modern label/word window punches

Mouse on a Daisy

Almost forgot all about this little guy from Stampavie! Isn't he sweet? When I saw those little puffball flowers, I immediately thought of using Flower Soft for them. But I only have white, so I HAD to try to color it. How? With reinkers! I simply took a piece of cling wrap, scooped a bit onto it, added a couple of drops of reinkers, smooshed it around and let it dry a bit before gluing it on. Dried pretty quickly though. And it colored beautifully. So now I know I don't hav eto buy every color of Flower Soft! I don't have the room for it anyway.

The papers are from Cosmo Cricket's Nutmeg collection. I love the colors! And actually, believe it or not I colored almost the whole image with Copics. I've been collecting some colors that seem to be 'missing' from my vast collection of colored pencils. I'm not fond of the flesh tones in colored pencil, so I started getting some in Copic markers. Then certain blue greens and pale aqua's weren't very good, so I added more Copics, LOL. Before I knew it I had enough to actually color an entire image. I'm still undecided about them, though, I don't think I'll be replacing my colored pencils any time soon.

Oh, and I made this card for the Stampavie design team call. Try, try again! Wish me luck!

Thanks for looking!

Stamps: Stampavie, PTI sentiment
Ink: Memento, SU
Paper: Heavenly White, Cosmo Cricket, PTI, SU
Accessories: McGill Label punch, SU scallop punch, Copics, colored pencils, OMS, Flower soft, Liquid Glass, Prima Flowers, pearl, brown satin ribbon

Tania Baking a Cake

When I saw this new paper from Cosmo Cricket- 'Nutmeg' collection, it reminded me of warm, spicy baked goods. Well, that's perfect for this sweet little darling, 'cause she's baking a cake! Elisabeth Bell has the most beautiful illustrations of children, I just adore them.

I've colored her with my colored pencils, blended with OMS. I added a little sparkle to the flowers on her blouse with a green Copic Spica pen. But that's about it for 'bling', I wanted to keep it muted.

Hope you like it, thanks for looking!

Stamps: Belles 'n Whistles, Papertrey Ink

Ink: Memento, Perfect Match, Distress

Paper: Bristol vellum, Cosmo Cricket, Coredinations, Heavenly White

Accessories: Martha Stewart border punch, Nestabilities, grosgrain ribbon, PTI button, colored pencils, OMS, Copics