Easter Tilda

Tilda and her little bunny want to wish you all a Happy Easter. I love this image, and I colored it two different ways. I'm not sure which I like better, but since they're going out as Easter cards, I just hope the recipients like them. I colored them with my Copics and used my "Textile" embossing folder for the Baja Breeze background. The little chicks are from Flourishes' "Signs of Spring". The butterfly on the yellow version is from my MS punch. I have another Tilda to post but I'll save it for another day. Hope you like them. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Monday.

Red, White & Black Color Challenge

This week's challenge for Magnolia vs. Stampavie was a color challenge using red, black and white, plus grey is allowed. I colored my Sarah Kay image in those colors and used my new Jenni Bowlin 4 x 4 papers from /Flourishes, plus red photo corners. I pondered further embellishments, like black half-pearls which you know I always love to use, but I decided that I didn't want to take away from the main image, so I left it as is. The card itself, Whisper White CS from SU, measures 5 x 5. Thanks for looking and have a wonderful rest of the week-end.

HM Bags and Boxes Challenge

The HM challenge for this week, as you can tell by the title, is Bags and Boxes. I decided to make a box. I used SU's Sweet Slumber DP and I used my Nestie to cut an opening in the top and attached clear cellophane to the inside. The sides are 2" deep, so I should be able to pack several Easter goodies inside. The image I used is called Basket of Friendship, and I colored my eggs with my Spica pens. You can't tell from the picture, but they're glittery and very pretty. The rest was colored with my Copic markers. Thanks for looking. The DT did some adorable projects, so be sure to check them out when you can. Yay, it's Friday!

OCC Color Challenge

I made this for the OCC Color challenge, which called for using Not Quite Navy, More Mustard and Bashful Blue. Interesting color combo, but be sure to take a look and the cards the DT did, because they're actually very striking. I stamped my gardening lady (from Alota Rubber Stamps) and the "Dig into Spring" sentiment (from Flourishes' Siberian Iris) with Not Quite Navy on More Mustard. I used the branches from SU's Thoughts and Prayers on the More Mustard paper for background. The Bashful Blue cardstock was embossed with my Argyle embossing folder. I used my MS lace punch for the More Mustard layer and I used Bashful Blue and Not Quite Navy for the flowers with a More Mustard brad. All of it is layered onto Not Quite Navy CS and I added a thin strip of NQN at the bottom of the Bashful Blue. Pretty simple, but I like how it turned out. Thanks for stopping by. I'll be out of pocket next week so I'm trying to participate in what I can this week. After that I should be able to stay put for awhile. Happy Thursday.

Welcome to Copic Challenge #1

Welcome to the first Copic Challenge, and the theme for our first challenge is "Faces." The image I chose is from Crafty Secrets' "Baby Girl" set. The colors I most often use for faces are E00 (Skin White) and E02 (Fruit Pink). I went back over parts of the face and neck on the mother with my Blender pen to lighten her skin just a tad. I used R14 (Light Rouge) just very lightly on their lips to add a wee bit of color, and I darkened their eyes and eye area with my Black Multi-liner pen, 0.1. The rest of the colors I used can be seen in the photograph of the markers. My DP's are from Basic Grey's "Euphoria" and the CS behind the image is Lovely Lilac from SU! I used my Kaiser Lavender half-pearls and a dotted swiss ribbon and Prima flower accent. I hope you can join us in the challenge and be sure to check out the beautiful creations by the rest of our Design Team. Our challenge is being sponsored by 7 Kids College Fund and they are offering a fabulous prize, so be sure to head over to the Copic Challenges blog and check it out. I'm looking forward to seeing many fabulous entries. Thanks so much for stopping by. Happy April and Happy Coloring.

Good to be Home

We had a wonderful time in the UK, but it's good to be home. I miss my son and I'm so glad he'll be back in the states this summer. We saw some incredible sites in Scotland and we loved visiting Christ Church in Oxford. This picture is of my son and me on the grounds at Christ Church. The weather that day was mild - quite a contrast to Edinburgh which was for the most part cold and very windy. Hopefully I can get in on some challenges this week. Don't forget this week starts the Copic Challenges on April 1 (no foolin'!) so please join us if you can. Happy Monday to you!

I Love My Computer....

I wanted to post one more card before leaving. I got this stamp set from There She Goes because I loved the sentiment. I will miss checking your blogs and doing the challenges, but I am definitely looking forward to a train ride from Oxford to Edinborough while over there. I will post some pictures at some point and wish you all a wonderful week next week. Carolyn, I'll be thinking of you as you enjoy being with your son again. Don't forget about the Copic Challenge starting in April - it's right around the corner. (You'd think I was leaving the country.....oh that's right..., I AM!) Big hugs,

HM Birthday Sketch

This week's HM challenge was a sketch challenge, sponsored by the talented girls at KL Stampin 'n Scrappin'. Their own DT posted cards to the challenge along with the regular HM DT. The cards are fabulous! I mean, they're always fabulous, but this week, with all the layers to the sketch, they're really fabulous! KLSNS is also offering a prize so be sure to check it out. The sketch involved many layers so this took a lot of thought. In fact I put together all of my layers before coloring my image to make sure it all went together. My DP's are all from Basic Grey's "Cupcake", but I backed my image with SU's Yo Yo Yellow to be sure it stood out. I wanted the papers to make it look festive because these little mousies look like they're about to really celebrate. Thanks for stopping by and I'll try to get up one more post before embarking on our big adventure to the UK. Wish I could meet up with my blogging friends over there, but unless you're willing to meet me in Edinborough, I don't think that will happen on this trip. Happy Wednesday.

A Walk in the Park

This image is "Michelle and Bonnie" from Alota Rubber Stamps. I was so excited to have won this one and one other from posting a card to their Valentine challenge on PCP. They are having a color challenge over there right now using the colors pink, purple and green. You'll notice that Michelle is always stylin' in her green plaid skirt even when walking Bonnie, who also happens to be rather stylish in her plaid cover-up. I am also going to submit this card to the OCC challenge for this week which is a Limited Supply challenge. It calls for 3 layers only, plus one kind of embellishment. Now technically, if you count the paper-piecing, I suppose this would be 4 layers, but since Michelle loves this skirt, she asked that we not count that layer and begged me to let her wear it. I have a lot to do this week to leave for the UK and Scotland - woohoo! - on Thursday, so I'm sorry to do another twofer on the challenges. My DP's are "Banbury" from SU, the CS is Perfect Plum, and the flowers are Primas. Since I watch my precious grandson a lot while my daughter teaches, I thought this would be cute to give her with a computer-generated sentiment saying "Taking care of Ethan is a Walk in the Park". It's true - he's such a good baby and I love him to pieces. I'm not sure if the LS challenge was harder or the one HM is doing right now with many, many layers. It's a sketch challenge and their DT cards are awesome! Check it out when you can and have a wonderful Monday.

Exciting News

I have some great news for all of you Copic lovers, and soon-to-be Copic lovers. There is a new challenge beginning April 1st to allow you to post your creations done with Copic markers. There will be 2 challenges per month and will feature a different theme for each challenge. We even have a sponsor for our first challenge which is 7 Kids College Fund. To learn more about this, you can read about it here. To add to the excitement for me, I have been asked to be on the design team for this blog. Needless to say I am VERY excited about this and hope we have lots of people who want to participate to share their talents and learn from the talents of others. Mary Giemza from My Cardz, My Passion, a very talented lady, has put this together and I'm thrilled and honored to be asked to be on the team. I will be posting a blinkie on my blog that will take you to these wonderful challenges, so be sure to check out our first challenge on April 1.

Sweet Puppy Hugs

I love this image from Sara Kay and I decided to use it for two challenges. OCC's challenge this week is "Add a Doodle", so I added doodles around the image and around the scallop of the circle. Magnolia vs. Stampavie had a sketch for this week's challenge so I put this together for their sketch challenge as well. I colored this sweet little girl with my Copic markers and punched out the "lace border" with my new MS punch. The yellow scallop paper is from PTI and so is the yellow ribbon. The flower is from a gorgeous tin of Caboodles Prima Flowers. I put my sentiment together with my Just-Rite Stampers letters. I'm happy with how this turned out, although it took me awhile to work out the circle and the doodles. Thanks so much for stopping by. I've got some exciting news to share with you soon. Have a wonderful Friday.

Timeless Tuesday Sketch Challenge

This is my post for Flourishes' Timeless Tuesday Challenge for this week. The sketch was fairly simple, and I decided to debut an image from the set they gave us for attending the Stamper's Dream Week-end. I used Basic Grey's "Offbeat" again for the DP and the rest is pretty self-explanatory. Flourishes is releasing their March sets on Friday, so be sure you catch their sneak peaks over at their blog. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Thursday.

HM Masculine Card

This week's HM challenge was to do a masculine card, so I was so thankful that I had Muzzie in his running shoes and this sentiment that I also purchased from House-Mouse. My husband has done a good bit of running in his lifetime, and my boys all ran cross country and track, and they still like to run local events when they can. I decided to try to simulate a track event, because this is actually a card I would give to any one of them if they were to compete in a running event. I stamped Muzzie once and then part of him again. I drew my own track (I know you're thinking "DUH") and I sponged in some "grass and sky". The CS is Baja Breeze and the DP is from Basic Grey's "Offbeat." I punched out 3 stars and attached half-pearls onto them. (Do I do any cards without those half-pearls?......I don't think so.) Hope this passes for a masculine card. It's hard to combine these cute little mousies, or even the Hoppers and Gruffies, with masculine, so this was another great challenge. Thanks for looking and see you again soon.

Toddler Birthday Card

Good Monday morning to all of you! I wanted to share this card that I made for our neighbor's little one. Hardly seems like a year has gone by already. I saw a different version of this card a few weeks ago by Linda Duke and since my grandbabies will be 1 in May and June, my daughter and I fell in love with this set she used from Crafty Secrets and decided we had to have it. There are many possibilities with this set and it's perfect for a little one. My DP is from "Flowers for You" from SU and I colored her with my Copic markers. The sentiment in the corner is from SU's "Wow Flowers" and I added a half pearl to it. I popped up my little balloons on dimensionals. The background is "airbrushed" using SU's ""Color "Spritzer Tool." It's not as smooth as using the airbrushing system from Copic, but it worked for this card. Thanks for taking a look and I hope you all have a wonderful Monday. Today is HM's new challenge for this week, so I'm on my way over there to see what's in store for us. Hugs,

Week-end Sketch Challenge and tutorial

The WSC, hosted by Sharon Harnist, (Paperfections) is a simple layout, so I decided to use it with the medallion from SU's "True Friend" that I made prompted by Leslie Miller's (Running with Scissors) tutorial from this week. I love how it turned out and it seems to go quite well with this layout Sharon gave us. I used my Textile EF on the black CS, and the rose-colored paper is from SU's "Holiday Harmony" from '07. Be sure to check out Leslie's blog for the tutorial. It's a great technique. Thanks for looking and thank's to Sharon for hosting the challenge.