Sunday, September 30, 2012

No Calorie Candy

Do you see that mega stash of blog candy? It could be yours (if I don't get it, that is -- grin). Bearly Mine is offering that huge box of goodies to some lucky person in celebration of both her birthday and Christmas. You have until November 30th to sign up for a chance, but you don't want to wait until the last minute, so run on over now and get in on the draw. Here are the rules:

Don't get confused there, eh? The UK only candy is NOT at the bottom of this (my) post, but at the bottom of Donna's post at Bearly Mine. Do not hesitate. Do not pass go. Do not go to jail -- oh wait, those are the directions for Monopoly -- but hey, they rather fit here, too. All you have to do to get there is click on the words Bearly Mine found (twice) on my blog here. I've made it easy for you with a direct link.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Vintage Feel

This week, at Card Crafter's Circle, our challenge is
 

VINTAGE!


So pull out the old stuff, the muted colours, the distressing inks, whatever, to create something with that vintage look/feel.

We also welcome back our sponsor Whoopsie Daisy... Linnie creates delightful sheets of hand-drawn images, with each sheet containing 4 images! And there are so many to choose from! Do visit her blog to see all her fabulous designs. Our randomly drawn challenge winner will receive their choice of two sheets of digital images (that is 8 images).
 
For my card, I have combined one of Linnie's images with some "vintage" papers. I've paper pieced her little dress with some Keeping Memories Alive (KMA) paper that I've had for over a decade, and the background paper is from a Heritage package (Paper Pizazz) that I've owned for at least half a decade.
 
I printed my image off and colored everything except the dress using Copic markers. I paper pieced the dress with the KMA paper, but then went back in with my Copic markers and created the "folds" in the skirt. I then cut the image portion out using a LifeStyle Crafts round doily die. My card base is a light tan which I layered with the Paper Pizazz heritage paper. I lightly inked around the doily with Ranger dusty concord distressing ink. Lastly, I added the roses by Wild Orchid Crafts. The roses and rose buds matched the roses in the paper exactly.
 
That's all there is to this little card. Not a lot of work (except for the paper piecing and coloring), but I think it turned out rather lovely. I did not add a sentiment at this time, but this card would be nice for a young girl's birthday, a wedding shower or as just a "thinking of you" card.
 
Please take a minute to pop over to Card Crafter's Circle to have a look at what the rest of the DT members have done this week. Lots of lovely vintageness there for your inspiration.

Challenges:
http://www.wordartwednesday.blogspot.com/ - Challenge 47

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Tilda in Kraft

I created this little Christmas card to enter in two challenges: the Tuesday Morning Sketch challenge, and the Cheery Lynn Designs Challenge. Using the sketch from Tuesday Morning, I added the requirement of a Cheery Lynn  die and kraft paper for this little Christmas card.

The base card is kraft brown card. I layered a DP by KMA (Keeping Memories Alive). The tree DP is from MME. The snowflakes and corners are cut from sparkly craft foam. The die on which little angel Tilda is layered upon is Cheery Lynn doily DL102 with a circle cut from Spellbinder classic circles. Tilda is colored with Copic markers, but her little blouse is paper pieced.

Here is the sketch I used: 

Thank you for dropping by and having a look.

Challenges:
http://cheerylynndesignschallenge.blogspot.fr/ - Keep it Krafty
http://tuesdaymorningsketches.blogspot.com/ - Sketch #165

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Butterfly in Pink and Brown

Welcome to another Flutter By Wednesday!! This week's challenge is your favorite--Open Challenge--anything goes as long as you have a butterfly or fairy!

Here's my fluttery inspiration for you ~



For this card, I once again used a decopage sheet and layered my butterfly. The sheet is by Crafty Designz Company and came with the base butterfly image and layered pieces which I cut out. It is hard to tell (sorry, should have taken a side angle photo for you), but the entire butterfly is cut and layered to the base image and then the top wings are cut and layered on top of the first two layers. I added the tiny pearls to the wings and then a slightly larger pearl for the head.

The base card is white with a layer of brown card. I then took a piece of pink card from my scraps and embossed it with a Provo Crafts dotty embossing folder for the top portion and a piece of Making Memories DP for the bottom portion. Across the section where the two meet, I added a narrow brown ribbon and tied a simple knot. The butterfly is on a pink square matted with brown which is turned to form a diamond shape. The sentiment is a chipboard sentiment which I also matted with the brown.

I hope you will give our challenge a try this week. Just remember to add a butterfly or fairy to your card and then link it to this week's blog at Flutter By Wednesday.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Thinking of You

Good day everyone. We have a new challenge at the new Twist of Faith Card Challenges, and the theme is Thinking of You. Here is my DT card for this challenge:

Our sponsor this week is Clear Dollar Stamps, and they are generously giving our randomly picked winner a $15 gift certificate to purchase whatever beautiful images our winner desires from the Clear Dollar Stamps store. That will be no easy task because the images at Clear Dollar Stamps are wonderful, and narrowing down to just $15 dollars worth will be a real challenge!

My card uses a beautiful butterfly image which I colored with my Copic markers, then cut out. I pulled an image of a real butterfly up on my computer and sat in front of the monitor screen as I colored so that I could get the coloring as accurate as my feeble skills would allow. I think I did a pretty good job even if I say so myself (smile).

The verse is from Dee's Bugaboo Boutique site. She freely shares beautiful word art graphics weekly, and there are so many beautiful verses there that are just fantastic for use on cards. This one especially fit out theme this week and is also the inspiration verse on the Twist of Faith blog.

After coloring and cutting my butterfly image, I embossed a background of butterflies using a Life Style Craft's embossing folder. I embossed on white and then to make the embossed images "pop" a bit more, I lightly inked over the top with a Colorbox sky blue ink. I used the little "cat's eye" pad and swiped the pad lightly over the embossed panel directly.

I started with a white card base and added a layer of blue card then adhered the embossed panel on top of that. I then cut my verse using a Spellbinder's Labels Eight die. I then traced around the same die onto the blue card to get the mat for my saying which I then cut by hand. The three flowers came from a package of flowers I bought at Michael's Crafts, and the little pearl centers were already part of the flowers. I punched my green leaves using a punch which I've had for years and which does not have the manufacturer's name printed on it. I believe it might be by McGill.

I do hope my card will inspire you to have a go at the thinking of you challenge. Twist of Faith is a fairly new challenge blog, but I encourage you to have a look and to give the challenges a try. The sponsors lined up all have wonderful digital images and are being very generous with their prizes. The design team are wonderfully talented ladies, so you will enjoy seeing their work which you will find very inspirational.

Challenges:
Word Art Wednesday #46 - Friends
2 Sisters - Things with Wings




















































































Sunday, September 23, 2012

News About a Great Giveaway

 

My Crafting Channel is having a giveaway that you will definitely want to check out. If you want a multi-purpose machine that you can use in your crafting, then here is a fabulous opportunity to win a new Xyron Creatopia. Simply go to My Crafting Channel and follow the simple rules!


The Xyron Creatopia is a Multi-function crafting machine that fits media up to 12 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick Easy drop in components allow you to use this machine for cutting, laminating, embossing, die cutting and applying adhesive Works without heat, batteries or electricity; ideal for home, school or office applications.  Unit comes with 25 feet of permanent adhesive; components sold separately Measures approximately 10 by 22 by 8 inches.


How fun is that? You are asked to become a follower, but I think you will really enjoy Nana's blog, so plan on staying a follower and don't just sign up and not plan on staying. So what are yo u waiting for? Go on over to My Crafting Channel and sign up. You just might be a winner!

Friday, September 21, 2012

Ribbon and Roses

 
This week at Card Crafter's Circle, we have a beautiful theme which should be easy for everyone, so we'd like to see lots of lovely entries. Our theme for you this week is


RIBBON & ROSES

We would love to see Ribbon and Roses on your creations .... but any flower will do!

We are pleased to welcome back as our sponsor Happileigh Scrappin'! Leigh creates both coloured and uncoloured images, and they are lovely.  Do visit her store, as she always has a wonderful special available to all her customers -- if you buy three images, you get another one free!

One randomly drawn challenge winner will receive the fabulous selection of Happileigh Scrappin' digital images that our design team created with this week, so you are going to want to stop by Card Crafter's Circle and see all the beautiful cards the DT have provided for inspiration.


My card this week is elegantly simple. I used two pearl finish papers only. The pearlized white is my base card, and I've simply layered borders cut with a Martha Stewart border punch. The borders are the white pearlized card and a pink pearlized card. After coloring my image, single rose, with Copic markers, I fussy cut it. I cut an oval from pink using my Spellbinder classic oval die and laid the fussy cut rose onto the oval. I added a pink ribbon that has a sparkly pearlish looking strip running down both sides of the sheer pink. Lastly, I added a single pearl to one of the rose petals, and three pearls to the upper left corner. My sentiment is a rubber stamp which I stamped using pink pigment ink (ColorBox), and embossed with an embossing powder called "bridal" (Personal Stamp Exchange). That embossing powder leaves a nice pearly effect which matches the rest of the pearlized look.

Hope you enjoy, and do go check out Card Crafter's Circle. We would like to see what you will do with ribbon and roses.

Challenges:
http://stampinfortheweekend.blogspot.com/2012/09/challenge-18-feeling-floral.html - Feeling Floral
http://creativecraftchallenges2.blogspot.com/2012/09/anything-goes.html - Anything Goes
 



Wednesday, September 19, 2012

FBW with Sketch

 
This week at Flutter By Wednesday, we are providing a sketch for you to use with your fluttery card. One of our talented DT members has designed a wonderful starting point for all of you creative people. Here it is:

FBW206
I used a Magnolia image colored with Copic markers for my card. The colors I used were: Hair - E35, 33, 31; Dress, socks, bow: G24, 21, 20; Hat, shoes: E53, 51, 50; Soles of shoes: E17, 15, 13.

The base card is white. I used a double sided paper (EK Sucess, Menthol/Jade) and a Friskars scalloped border punch. After cutting and punching 10 strips, I layered them on my white card, alternating the dark (jade) and light (menthol) sides of the paper and ending with a piece of the menthol green. I then adhered two pices of peach ribbon and a bow. I matted the Magnolia image on peach card and cut a peach butterfly using a Marianne Collectables Die. I added green gems to the four corners of the card and to the corners of my matted image.The sentiment came from a set of stickers that I got in a freebie from a UK magazine.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Fall Revisited

On Sunday, I quickly put a card together to enter in the Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge. I should know myself well enough after all these years to know that I was not going to be happy with something I did quickly. The card was not up to par, in my opinion, and looked rather incomplete. As much as I like the season, fall colors on my cards are not something I'm comfortable with. Even my daughter, who came over that evening, took a look at the card and did not care for it -- bless her heart, she was diplomatic about telling me that it was lacking.

So, this morning I went into my craft room with the determination to salvage as much of the card as I could. I removed the Magnolia image and the stamped leaves and replaced them with this little shaker ghost I found in my stash. I also added the little silver metal dots (I think those are called candy dots) to each corner. Lastly, I added he word Boo in the upper right "square." The card is still a bit plainer than my usual style of cards, but it will now make a cute Halloween card for my little granddaughter, and I am a bit more satisfied. (Still later in the evening, I found some cute little resin pumpkins in my stash that would have been cuter in the corners than the silver candy dots, but I opted to just save them for another time -- one revision is more than enough.)

Despite not being terribly thrilled with my challenge entry (original) card, I think things happen for a reason. If you visited me on Sunday, you will have read about my fnding a glue gun that I've been missing for over a year. If I had not been determined to enter the TMS challenge (you will also remember I made a card on Saturday to enter, but it did not meet the "fall" requirement), I would not have found the glue gun (I did so miss the long, thin nozzle for getting into tight places!). Yes, the sweet Hubs had bought me a replacement for my birthday (which we are going to exchange), but now I will get something else that I want rather than having two of the same thing -- double plus there (grin)!

So, just wanted to share the remake. Hope you enjoy. Drop back to see me again when you have time. I always enjoy visits with nice people -- and we all know that crafters are nice people!

In the Garden

 
IN THE GARDEN

He made all kinds of beautiful trees grow there and produce good fruit...
Genesis 2:9 GNT

Your card this week should follow our theme IN THE GARDEN... show us your idea of a garden or any aspect of one... trees, flowers, even the birds and little critters that one might find there. Remember the Garden of Eden where all manner of plants and animals dwelled?  Please use any scripture or inspirational quote/poem that offers a message of our theme.


Our sponsor this week is Soft Pencil Studios. At Soft Pencil Studios you will find a wonderful range of cute and lovable images suitable for many occasions, revolving around the sweetest children and animals. Our random prize winner will receive the three digital images that have been showcased for you by our design team.


When we were assigned the "in the garden" theme, my mind immediately went to my Grandfather's favorite song, titled "In the Garden." He so enjoyed listening to the words:
"I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.

Refrain

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;"


Now I really liked those first two lines of the refrain. My Grandfather was a good and humble man who walked with God daily in all aspects of his life. However, I didn't like the next line which goes: "And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known."  I didn't like that lne because I thought it to be rather conceited and selfish. I've "analyzed" the line and considered that it might mean each person will feel the joy differently or that each experience will be unique to the person having it. I've considered the syntax from every angle, but the fact remains that when one knows God and walks with Him daily, as my Grandfather did, they will also know the joy, the peace and the assurance of being loved just like the person in the garden. That joy is not restricted to just a few. It is for all who accept knowing the Father.

After receiving my cute little image, my mind remembered words from a saying or poem (I don't remember which or the author's name) which go: "To plant a seed and watch it grow is to know God." I agree. I have never understood, when I look around and see all of the wonders of our world, how people cannot believe in God (or at least a higher spirtual being of some kind)!

Have a good day. God bless you.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Tueday Morning - Take Two

If you caught my blog last night, you know that I made a card to enter in the Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge, but forgot about the requirement to make a fall card. This is my second attempt, but I'll have to come back later today and tell you about this card. I pinky promise to do that.

OK, turns out that I was able to get back to this sooner than I thought. However, before I go into the description of my little card, let me share with you that this card has caused my sweet Hubs a bit of heart ache. A good many years back, I bought a very nice, expensive glue gun that came with various nozzels that I could switch out to allow for different flow. I have searched my craft room high and low for over a year trying to find that glue gun kit (it stores in a nice little plastic box). Every time I've needed to use my glue gun, I've had to resort to using the one that has only one permanent nozzel which always seems to be too big for whatever I'm doing. OK, hang with me a little longer. I AM getting to the heart ache part. Tomorrow is my birthday, and after listening to me fuss about the glue gun for about a year now, my sweet Hubs figured he had the perfect birthday present for me. Have you figured out where this story is going?

I wanted to use one of my leaf rubber stamps as background for my Magnolia image on my little card. Now, you have to invision that I have a gazillion stamps all stored in clear plastic boxes neatly labeled as to the type (birthday, flowers, leaves, etc.). While hunting for the stamp that I wanted, I found the long lost glue gun. My Hubs was so disappointed as he figured out that present over a month ago when he heard me, once again, fussing about my glue gun. Bless 'em little heart.

So, on to my card. I started with a tan base and layered terra cotta card on top. I cut the four rectangles from a stripy paper that came in a small 5x7" Halloween pack that I picked up a couple years ago from the dollar bin at Target. I then stamped two leaves (Personal Stamp Exchange) using terra cotta ink (Adirondack dye ink) and fussy cut them. I adhered the leaves using foam dots for some dimension. I then fussy cut my little Tilda by Magnolia stamps and adhered her atop the leaves.

There is a lot of orange, brown, gold and dark green on this card which definitely reminds me of the fall colors here in Georgia as the leaves start to change. We had a terribly LATE fall last year, but it looks as if this year is going to be on schedule. I can look out over our property and already see reds and golds.

Well, it was in the nick of time, but I did manage to get a card ready for Tuesday Morning Sketches. Shew! You can see the required sketch on my previous post (Stocking Full of Elf).



Challenge:
http://tuesdaymorningsketches.blogspot.com/ - Sketch plus fall

Stocking Full of Elf

I purchased and colored this little image by Loubyloo last year, but for some reason he got overlooked when I was making my cards. He is so sweet looking, and as I was making this card to enter in the Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge, he just seemed to fit. However, by using him and making my card for Christmas, I can't use it in the TMS challenge because I forgot the extra "twist" for this week is to do a fall card -- duh! No matter. I need Christmas cards anyway.

The sketch for this week at TMS is this:
 
 


I started with a white card and added a layer of red. My four rectangles are the green dotty paper. I adhered green ribbon across the middle and then layered two "snowflakes" on top of each other. The "snowflakes" are actually cut using the Spellbinder ironworks die and not with an actual snowflake. I then added small white rhinestones around the snowflake. I popped my litte image up using foam dots. I added Stickles to the "fur" areas on the little chap's hat and to the band at the top of the stocking for a little more bling (my granddaughter is starting to wear off on me), and there you have it.

Challenges:











Challenges:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Friday, September 14, 2012

Gingham Girl


How many of your owned a Raggedy Ann doll when you were little? I'm not sure if I did or not, but I do know that both of my daughters had one. Those dolls were a comfort for little ones as they were soft and easy to cary. I also remember gingham dresses -- and even have pictures of both girls in little dresses similar to the one on my image above (except the dress portion was actually red and white gingham and not solid red). Ah, those walks down memory lane are becoming more and more dear the further away I get from the actual dates and event.

This week, at Card Crafter's Circle we are asking you to use gingham on your card. Any color gingham, red, pink, blue, green, yellow, it doesn't matter as long as it is that sweet little pattern of white and colored checks.

This week, we are enjoying another sponsorship visit by Kathryne of Stamp Art Designs by Kathryne! Kathryn is a free lance designer who has ventured into creating adorable digital images for the crafter to use. I have very much enjoyed usng Kathy's beautiful designs, and I know you will, too.
Our random prize winner will receive their choice of 4 SADK images.... so many to choose from ...see them all here at the Whimsy Store! Did you notice that generous number? Kathy is giving not one, not two, not three, but FOUR images. How sweet is that?
 
My image this week is Raggedy Girl with Pigtails. She is printed on Cryogen paper and colored up with Copic markers. I started with a white card onto which I layered yellow card and then green dotty paper. I layered a second DP onto a white mat and adhered that, slightly tilted, on top of the dotty paper. I then layered red gingham onto white and place a white dotty ribbon across the upper third. That was adhered across the entire card. I then matted my image with white and placed her slightly off center. I added my sentiment (a ticket shape) and my little yellow ribbon flower. I've had that flower for ages and was tickled it went so well with my card.
 
Hop on over to the CCC blog and have a look at other adorable images from Kathy that my DT teamies have made for your enjoyment and inspiration.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

It's Wednesday Again


It is time for another Flutter By Wednesday challenge, and this week we are offering a fantastic prize to the winner -- a $15 gift certificate for images from Paper Makeup Stamps. All you have to do to be in the running for this wonderful prize is create a card using a butterfly or fairy and use your favorite color, then link your card at our blog site.

My card doesn't actually use my favorite color, but it does use a complimentary color to mine an includes my younger daughter's favorite color. Well that's a lot of information. I could have just fibbed and said I've used my favorite color, but I try to always be truthful. I could have omitted the mention of my favorite color, but I don't think that would have been the right thing to do, either. Anyway, if you are still with me, and I haven't put you to sleep, I will confess that my favorite color is RED. I can't remember when it wasn't my favorite color. Don't know why I've always been drawn to that color, but I have. With that being said, you will notice that I've used green (complimentary color to red -- and by the way, my second favorite color) and orange (a derivative of red) - sigh - think it is time for me to move on.

My image was provided by our gracious sponsor (isn't he cute?) He has a bit of a Justin Bieber look about him, in my opinion, which should appeal to the preteen set (or is the Bieber still a hot item??). I printed the little fellow off on Cryogen card and colored him in with Copic marker. I used a white card as the base, a layer of black card, and then a layer of green DP. On top of that, I matted orange stripy DP onto black and mounted it catty-whompis on top of the green. Both DPs are by Piggy Tales. The reddish-orange ribbon is from my stash and was given to me in a Christmas present some years ago from my younger daughter. I don't know the brand, but it is self adhesive, and there were 3 shades of orange on the card (there was also a card with a blue, orange and yellow set in the package). The two buttons are from my stash.

The card was based on last week's sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches. I had to laugh at myself because I meticulously followed the sketch so that I could enter the challenge and then realized that I couldn't use this card as the sketch was for the week prior to this FBW challenge going live -- oops!

Anyway, hop on over to the Flutter By Wednesday blog and have a look at the lovely cards the other DTs have create for your inspiration and enjoyment. I know you won't be disappointed.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

The Old Pump

COMFORT


"The God who lives forever is your safe place.

His arms are always under you..."


Deuteronomy 33:27a NLV

Our second challenge at Twist of Faith is "comfort." Your card creation is to offer comfort in some manner...the above scripture is for inspiration only. Please use any scripture or quote that offers a message of our theme... comfort. Remember, you do not have to use a Bible verse, but it must be positive, uplifting, and theme appropriate.

Our sponsor this week is Beccy's Place! Our random prize winner will receive three digital images of their choice from Beccy. We're thrilled to have her beautiful hand drawn images grace our pages ... they are created by Beccy Muir...






 
My card this week uses Beccys image, "Old Well." The image conjures up several memories for me, but one specifically is dear. My great grandparents on my mother's side owned a huge farm. It was a gathering place for family during holidays and often weekends during the summers. There was an old, workng pump like the one in my image near the back door. Summers in Georgia can be hot, and I do remember us children gathering around the pump during the day refreshing ourselves from hard play. Someone (usually one of the older kids) would prime the pump and work the handle while the others drank. Then someone would switch off so the pumper could take their turn to drink. I remember cupping my hands together to catch the deliciously cool, refreshing water and drinking my fill. Our thirsts were quenched, and we were ready to contnue playing.

When my soul is thirsty, the words and promises of our Lord are like the water pump. The faithful are not without sorrow or trials, but I am positive that if I prime the pump through my faith and prayers, He will provide refreshing "water" to quench my thirst.


On to my card -- I have printed my image to Cryogen card and colored it with Copic markers. My base card is brown kraft card, and all matting is done with black card. The DPs are from a 6x6" pad called Lost & Found Two, "Sunshine."  My black and white ribbon is by Offray. My Bible verse, Jeremiah 31:11-13, is computer generated and printed to white card.

We hope that you will discover our new challenge blog, Twist of Faith, and will be inclined to create a positive and comforting card that you will share with us. The DT cards there this week are absolutely beautiful and full of  inspiration.

God bless.

Challenges:

http://cardsformen.blogspot.com/ - Male
http://ibrakeforchallenges.blogspot.com/ - Digital stamp
http://paper-craftingjourney.blogspot.com/ - Anything goes
http://digidarlas.blogspot.com/ - Sympathy
http://lovetocreatechallenge.blogspot.com/ - Ribbon
http://bearlymine-challenges.blogspot.com/ - Anything Goes

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Christmas Wishes

Another Christmas card under my belt -- yeah! I need to keep at it. Don't send out an overly huge amount of cards, but the pitiful stack I've got right now isn't going to cut it at all (grin). I used the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches and a cute little Tilda from the new Christmas 2012 releases. I stamped Tilda onto X-Press It brand card and coloured her up with my Copics.

The card base is white with a layer of cranberry card (I think that is from CTMH) and then two DPs from my stash (sorry, manufacturer name is gone). The bottom DP has subtle snowflakes while the second DP is soft green on white images of various vintage Christmas scenes (horse drawn sleigh, tree in parlour, etc.) I matted the second DP with the same cranberry as the first. Then I matted my little image with green (DCWV). I added a row of white lace and then two heart shaped buttons. I glued the red button to the green using glue dots. The sentiment is a round stamp, and I cut the inside circle (with sentiment) from the larger circle of the overall design so that it would better fit the top of my card. I matted it onto cranberry and added two small red pearls (Recollections) between the holly leaves. I then added three graduating green pearls to the bottom right to give that visual triangle to the composition. Oh, and one last thing, I added a light coat of Diamond Dust to her little wings. Unfortunately this is a poor photo (really need to try to get a better one), so the light sparkles are not showing at all.

I will enter this card in:
http://www.tuesdaymorningsketches.blogspot.com/ - Sketch
http://anythingchallenge.blogspot.com/ - Early Christmas
http://7kidschallengeblog.blogspot.com/ - Anything Goes

Friday, September 7, 2012

Oh Pickle! I Forgot.

I have to admit that my head has been on backwards for the past week or so. I don't have any excuse -- nothing happening that would cause the addledness -- just haven't been thinking straight. I totally forgot about posting my Card Crafter's Circle card and blog entry for today. (Sigh!) So, without further delay, here is this week's card!

This week's challenge is "Sweet as Cherry Pie," and we received some of the cutest images from our sponsor with which to work our magic. I hope I did this little chef justice because he really is a cutie.

We are always excited to have this sponsor, the super Bugaboo Stamps, on our blog! Not only are the images absolutely delightful, but Bugaboo is always so very generous with prizes.  Our randomly drawn challenge winner will receive their choice of 7 Bugaboo images! Yes, you read that correctly -- SEVEN -- images.
 
As I said, my image was the little chef, and I chose to color his checked apron and his neck scarf using red. I have to admit that red is my favorite colour, but it also went along with the cherry theme. I happened to have this wonderful cherry paper in a pad called Cupcakes & Cherries by Paperage that I bought on sale several years ago (how fortuitous was that?). Although there were several papers in the pad that complimented the paper I used, I decided to use red gingham as the only other DP. I set off each layer with either a mat of white or red card. I lined up the two layers using the cherry DP so that the design on the top piece matched up to the design on the bottom piece (especially noticeable at the top where the stems match, but also on the bottom, bits of the cherries match up).
 
I did fussy cut my little chef so that I could pop him up a bit from the white background using foam dots. My only other embellishments are the white satin ribbon and bow, and a small jeweled cluster of 2 cherries and a leaf just under the bow (unfortunately, the photo is not great, so you do have to look closely to see the little cherries).
 
So there you have it, my sweet as cherry pie card. Now let's see your interpretation of the theme. You don't have to actually use a cherry pie or a chef; you can interpret the theme to fit your own needs and your own stamps. If, however, you are so inclined to get a new stamp to use, do check out our sponsor's store. She has a number of little cooks that are perfect.
 
Have a blessed day.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Flutter By Birthday

This week the new challenge at Flutter By Wednesday is to create a birthday card using either fairies, butterflies or both. I've used an A Day for Daisies image called "Blessing the Flowers" for my card. The image is coloured using Copic markers on Cryogen card and cut using the decorative square from Life Style Crafts. The photo does not show that I added Stickles to the wings and Pearl Ex around the edge and to the middle of the flower. The Stickles add a glitter while the Pearl Ex adds a soft glow.

I started with a white card base and layered a yellow card and then a piece of DP from My Mind's Eye. The green strip aross the paper under the image is from the same DP pad by My Mind's Eye. I cut the bottom portion of yellow card using a Martha Stewart punch, added the green, and then trimmed the top 1/6". The two flowers (yellow on top of cream) are both by Recollections. I finished off the card using pearls in each of the corners.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Rejoice and Be Happy

Hello my blogger friends. Today is the beginning of a new challenge blog called "Twist of Faith." I had the honor of being asked to be a DT member.  Twist of Faith will be where we invite you to share your uplifting, healing, inspirational and scriptural card creations. As this is a 100% family friendly blog, we will not display saucy, risque or questionable images/text. Our wonderful leader, and owner of the blog, will offer an inspirational Bible verse or uplifting poem each week to inspire you, but you are not required to use them on your card (optional choice). You could use other scriptures, uplifting quotes, poetry....anything that is based on Christian values, and will bring a smile to the recipients face.....isn't that awesome?

Today is the first challenge, and the inspirational verse is

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24 NIV
 

Our first sponsor is The Doodle Garden! Jennifer has a wonderful selection of whimsical hand-drawn images for all occasions in her Doodle Garden etsy shop... we invite you to come on in and stay a while to look around The Doodle Garden!

The prize offered to our randomly drawn prize winner, consists of two brand new images that haven't been released yet! The images are named Autumn Fellow, and Garden Angel. Stay tuned to The Doodle Garden blog for their release!

 
My card is a birthday card. What day is more joyful than one's birthday -- especially to a child? I used the Garden Angel image, colored her up with Copics and then fussy cut her (leaving off the watering can). I layered various papers and card onto a white base. I then typed "Its your birthday, rejoice and be glad" onto white card and cut it using one of my Spellbinder label dies. I added buttons, flowers and butterflies (one insect I always find joyful).

Copic colors used: Hair - E35, 33, YR23; Boots - E43, 42, 42 29, 25 23; Apron - YG25, 23, 21; Skirt and headband - YR 02, 01, 00 and B02, 00, 000; Blouse - B02, 00, 000; Skin - E01, 00, 000, E93; Wings - C1, 00 and Star Dust Stickles.
 
I do hope you will take a few minutes to visit the new blog and to join us in the weekly challenges. If nothing else, you will enjoy seeing the beautiful work of the DT members and be inspired by their creativity. Remember, this is a new day, rejoice in it and all that you enjoy.