Victorian Charm

This card was done with one of Flourishes newest sets, Cottage Home. My background paper is from Basic Grey's Two Scoops and it reminded me a little of Victorian wallpaper with the cherubs on it. The heart-slide is also from Flourishes and the ribbon is from SU. I used my Martha Stewart fence punch and matched it to a "cobblestone" sidewalk which is the Tiny Bubbles embossing folder for my Cuttlebug. I really like how this turned out, although the coloring took me awhile, mainly because I was deciding as I went what colors to make the house. Thanks for stopping by. I'm off to try another one of my new Flourishes sets and then finish some cute Halloween projects. Have a wonderful rest of the week-end.

Eldon has a Flower for You

Happy Friday morning! I want you to meet Eldon. He is this week's "freebie" from TMITA done by Nina May. I think he is adorable and he's on a special date, complete with flower. I have done so much with Fall colors lately that I went with the same idea in coloring Eldon. The challenge this week was from Curt and he called for adding ribbon and a bow. I cheated a bit and added a bow-tie instead of an actual bow. I used Basic Grey's "Acorn" from Indian Summer for the main DP and the orange piece is from Basic Grey's "Offbeat". The main CS is SU's Rich Razzleberry. The ribbon buckle is from Flourishes and the velvet ric-rac is from Sharon Johnson's Ribbon Store. I'm still pondering my sentiment. I'll probably make my own from my Just-Rite letters to say "A Flower for You" so that I can punch it out with my word window punch. Perhaps I'll just use "For You." Meanwhile, I thought I'd get this posted before my day gets busy and I fail to post it at all. I did want to share this in case you want to get your very own Eldon. He's available through Sunday I believe. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

A Not-Too-Scarey Halloween Card

When I first saw this card done up from My Favorite Things, I decided this set was a must-have. I just love these two little characters "twick or tweating" from "Trick or Treat with Who's That Girl". I paper-pieced "Who's That Girl's" dress and the rug from Basic Grey's "Mellow". The DP's are from the same paper pack. I embossed my sentiments in white EP and the pumpkin in black EP. I painted Shimmerz over the pumpkin and attached a gold half-bead to hang it from The bat is out of silver paper with MS's punch. I'm really tickled with this set and the end result. I don't ordinarily do much with Halloween but I'm sending this to my nephew's kids and I plan to make a few more for the grandkids and maybe some cutsie Halloween items for them to share with their friends at school. I hope you have a wonderful day as you start your week. Thanks for stopping by.

Flourishes Sketch Challenge

I actually jumped in on two challenges this week, besides Copics, of course. One was Flourishes' and they had a simple sketch challenge, but the cards the DT did were gorgeous and motivated me to get in on this. (It's one of those rare Saturdays when things aren't quite so busy.) I used Flourishes "All Wrapped Up" and my Wassail DP from Basic Grey. I cut out the packages from this paper, as well as the ribbon and bow, and then continued to use it for background paper. My main CS is gold from SU. The ribbon and buckle are both from Flourishes and I've been enjoying these gorgeous buckle embellishments. Be sure you check out the gorgeous cards the DT did and jump in on this one if you've got a bit of free time. Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a happy relaxing day and rest of your week-end.

Repeat Performance on House Mouse

House Mouse was the first challenge I ever participated in, and I was so excited because I loved these little guys. I'm sorry that I've had to let my participation slip some, but I can certainly join in this week since the challenge this week is to feature your favorite entry from the whole year of challenges. Wow, HM has been running challenges for a year already - where does the time go?! I think my favorite card, and a pretty challenging one, was this Chipboard challenge. I love the image, and I love how my chipboard ended up being the sun breaking through the rain. If you have a favorite that you've posted, pick it out and re-post it for this week's challenge. It's fun to revisit some favorites from the past. Then post it on the HM blog and while you're there check the updates to this wonderful challenge. Happy Anniversary, HM, and thanks for such wonderful challenges!! Have a wonderful Friday and week-end and thanks for stopping by.

Copic Creations Challenge #12

Good Tuesday morning to you all and welcome to our 12th Copic Creations challenge. This challenge is all about Fairies, Copics and colored pencils. We were furnished with these beautiful fairies from Janlynn, Stamps Happen. This one is Willow Flower Fairy from the Flower Fairies series. I am so impressed with the detail that these stamps have. I think they are so beautiful. I colored mine a bit differently than the image on the stamp suggested, but that's the beauty of stamping, isn't it. The challenge this time is to color with Copics AND colored pencils. If you happen to have a greater range of colored pencils than Copics, it's a great way to finish out your coloring. It's also helpful if you need to shade in such a tiny area that the Copics might not work. I did the mouth on my fairy with my Prismacolor Pencils. Had I been super careful and lighthanded, I probably could have used my Copic marker, but why chance it when you can add the pencil. There are several tutorials being offered, so check them out and give it a try. I hope you get to see what the rest of the DT came up with because these fairies are just so pretty and so are their cards. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

Autumn Blessings

I realize I have been MIA, but I am back and have some cards to share with you. We went to Arizona to see our son and his family and had a wonderful time with them. I have managed to crank out a few cards in the last few days with my newest Just-Rite stamper sets. Fall is such a colorful time of year and my daughter's favorite, so I couldn't way to play with this new set called Autumn Blessings. The DP with the leaves is from PTI, and the DP with the apples is from Basic Grey's Boxer in a single 12 x 12 sheet. The gingham ribbon is from Sharon Johnson and I've learned that these ovals fit the Large Classic Oval Nesties (not Petite), as shown in the card with the apples. The card in the top left was done with leaves from SU's Autumn Leaf Prints and the leaves at the bottom were embossed and cut out. I'm really enjoying this set, as well as the Merry Little Christmas set and Holiday Demi Phrases. What a wonderful way to personalize your cards. I'll try to post some of my projects made with those two sets before long. I hope you have a wonderful week and I'll be back with our next Copic Creations challenge on Tuesday.

Thank you Berry Much

Todays post was fun to make. I used Taylored Expression's "Berries and Cherries". This set has some great sentiments and images. I colored the bowl of cherries and cut it out. The circle used in all three images is part of the set stamped on Baja Breeze. I used Blush Blossom and my MS punch for the top border and a DP from Basic Grey's "Offbeat." The cherries at the bottom are all part of one stamp and I simply colored them with markers and stamped. This card has already gone off to my nephew and his wife for graciously offering their condo for us to stay in while attending the fabulous tea party of a few weeks back. I felt like we were at some fabulous time-share and we've been privileged to use it twice. Thank you for taking a look at this card made with such a fun set. Have a wonderful day.

Copic Creations Challenge #11

Today marks the 11th challenge for Copic Creations, and this challenge is sponsored by the very talented Maurie "Mo" Manning at "Digital Pencil Too." The DT were furnished with their choice of image based on their favorite colors to work with. I love the autumn colors so I chose "Kai in the Leaves" for mine. I have deemed her to be a little girl but I went with blues for her clothes to match her fashionable pumpkin sweater. Doesn't she look like she's having fun in those leaves. The Copic colors that I used for the leaves are Y15, Y17, YR04, YR24, E07. I stamped leaves along the outer edge of the CS in More Mustard, Really Rust and Close to Cocoa. I used leaves from PTI's First Fruits set. The sentiment is from PTI's "Mailbox Greetings". All of this is mounted on Garden Green CS from SU. I think the DT has outdone themselves this time, so be sure to check out their wonderful creations for this challenge. Thanks for stopping by and join us if you can. Have a wonderful day.

Miss Gigi on Holiday

It's another "magical" Monday and Nina has a great FREEbie for you over at "There's Magic in the Air." You've got to be sure to get in on this adorable image of Gigi, the Pig who doesn't appear to have a care in the world. We were challenged to paper piece this one, and I do love paper piecing. My DP's are Cosmo Cricket's Snorkel Collection from Taylored Expressions, found here, including her umbrella and floatie. I used my Dew Drops and the sentiment is from AMuse. My SIL has a birthday this week and she happens to love piggies, so this one is going to her with HB wishes. Today is my last post as Guest Designer, and I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of this great DT and new adventure for Nina. I plan to continue participating as I don't want to miss out on any upcoming images. I know there are some great ones to come. Thanks for stopping by to see Gigi and be sure to check out what the rest of the team has done as well. I hope you all have a wonderful week. Tomorrow is Copic Creations Challenge #11 so don't forget to see what's coming up. Our DT has been busy and having fun on this one. See you soon.

Season of Joy

I played with another Christmas card idea that was inspired by Sharon Johnson from "No Time to Stamp." I used the Vintage Cotton Scraps from Crafty Secrets that I purchased from Sharon's blog, plus my Just-Rite Merry Little Christmas set (also purchased from Sharon) to create this card. The papers are from SU! The yellow is So Saffron stamped with a pine bough from my Verve Ornament set from last year. I wanted to keep the vintage look so I stamped the "Joyeux Noel" in my Tim Holz Distress Antique Linen. I think I should have gone a bit darker, but I'm still experimenting. I colored the candles with Copics and made my bow with my Bow Easy. I'm not sure if it pops, but then I guess vintage doesn't really pop. The Just-Rite blog has some wonderful Christmas cards made up by their talented DT and they're really worth the look. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day and week-end..

The Big One

Yup, another post! I know y'all are shocked that I am managing to post 3 cards in as many days, but I've just got to share what I've been working on. This one is called The Big One, and this adorable little fella is haulin' away a whopper. I thought this would be cute to give to someone having a "significant" birthday, so that's just what I'm going to do with it. Most of you probably recognize the artwork as Mo's from Digital Pencil Too. She has had non-stop posts to PCP and the cards that have been posted are really worth seeing. I used colors from SU's Earth Elements and my Nesties dies. I borrowed the scallop with brads and half-circle with brad idea from Stacy's card that she posted on Monday. I loved it and you can see it here. I have even more to post (shocking, I know) so stay tuned and have a wonderful Wednesday. Thanks so much for dropping by.

"Let It Snow....."

I had fun making this card with stamps by artist Tara Reed from Janlynn, Stamps Happen.
The trees are called "Whimsical Trees" and can be found here, and our cute little snowman is called "Snowman Santa" and can be found here. I stamped the set of 3 trees twice and colored them to match the fun paper I picked out from Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients. The kit included all the papers you see here, the rick-rack, "snow" and ribbon. I thought it would be fun to do this in not-so-traditional holiday colors, and I did end up liking it a lot. I then cut out both sets of trees, stamped our jolly snowman, colored him and cut him out. I used my new Polar White Flower Soft for snow. The sentiment and Snowflake are from my new Just Rite "Merry Little Christmas" set. Janlynn has some awesome Holiday stamps, so do check them out if you have a bit of time to browse. You won't be disappointed. Thanks for stopping by and I'll be back with more Fall/Holiday cards for you. Have a wonderful day.

Could it be......Elvis?

Good Monday morning to you. It's time for another wonderful TMITA image and this week I'd like to introduce you to ELVIS......the adorable duck. The DT was given a color scheme to incorporate into their work-up of Elvis, and this is what I came up with. I paper-pieced his hat to match the background paper, which matches the colors in the challenge. I used a frame from a Nestie die-cut to go around Elvis, who is playing in a puddle on a somewhat cloudy day, but that doesn't bother him a bit. He's making the most of the rainy weather. I used my Crystal Effects for raindrops, if you can make them out. The sentiment is computer-generated. Be sure to get in on your FREE image from Nina at "There's Magic in the Air", and then check out what the rest of the DT did. Thanks for stopping by. I should have several more posts this week, hopefully, so stay tuned and have a wonderful week.

Tea Party Cards and Pics

This is going to be a lengthy post, or at least a lot of pics, so please bear with me. I volunteered to make "Name Tags" for the tea party given for my sister's birthday by her granddaughters. I made 22 cards and there were 20 of us there for the party. It was so much fun - we got to take our granddaughter Shelby along and her eyes grew so wide when she walked in and saw all the American Girl Doll tables and settings. She also got to run around in a Disney princess dress for most of the day, so what little girl wouldn't have a ball doing that. I got my idea from Debbie Olsen's post here, except I modified it and did several different versions of it. I also purchased two Sara Kay stamps with dolls from 7 Kids College Fund and colored each one to match the DP's. All of this happened in two weeks, and believe me, it took up much of the two weeks. Everyone loved them and I was so glad I did it. I made computer-generated name tags, cut them with my Nesties Labels and Tags and sponged them all. The two names bear the person's name and their doll. At the time of the pictures I had not adhered all the names, pending the advice of my nieces. The first picture shows the 8 different designs with DP. I did one of the papers for 8 cards and then two of each of the rest. I loved using my Cosmo Cricket papers and Basic Grey from two different sets. The teapot was from PTI, the bows were all made with my Bow Easy, and I used my Nesties for mounting my images on. I colored each of the images of the girl and doll to match the DP's. Hope you like them. Thanks so much for stopping by.