Just Sittin' Around in Orange and Pink

This card is for VC's Stamp Challenge this week, which is a color challenge using bright orange and hot (or dark) pink and white. I love this monkey - he's called "Monkey Flowers" and is available both as a digitial image and rubber stamp. I colored him with my Copics and used SU's "Sweet Always" and "Summer Picnic" DP's for my papers. The sentiment is from AMuse Artstamps, mounted with dimensionals and embellished with half-pearls. I think this little guy just looks so cute and totally cool. The DT came up with some great cards so be sure to take a look if you can. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful week.

Cute in any Color

Today's post features a House Mouse - YAY! (haven't done one in awhile) - for this week's challenge which is NOT TO COLOR THE IMAGE! Eeek!.....but this image actually lends itself to not being colored and I've already used it on the envelope of several get well cards. So, I made my card pretty much colorless, but I love it. My DP is Jenni Bowlin from Fourishes. My sentiment for the inside is from AMUSE Art Stamps and it say's "...feeling a little better?" Thanks, America, for the challenge. Not coloring a HM image is not easy, so thanks for the stretch. The DT did some great cards, as always, so be sure to check them out. Happy week-end and thanks for stopping by.

Sweet Hello

I just love this WOJ image (sent to me by Nancy) and I got out my Copics and finally colored it to participate in this week's WOJ challenge. The challenge this week is piercing, and hopefully you can see that the scallop on the bottom is pierced, (a Spellbinders Piercerabilities) as well as the photo corners at the top. I also wanted to do the sketch from Mojo Monday, so I did my best to make this a "twofer." Because the image is a bit large, my scalloped band ended up all the way at the bottom, but I think it still counts. I like how it turned out so I'm going with it. The DP is actually a print-out of a DP from a digital scrapbooking download from Digital Freebies, and by-the-way, they have an awesome new set out called Arizona. I wanted to work in this paper because I loved the colors in it. My ribbon is from Sharon Johnson's Ribbon Store and I love it and made the teeny, tiny bow with my Bowmaker, also from her store. The flower was also sent by Nancy - thank you so much Nancy - and I stamped the sentiment and flowers in the background from Flourishes Sweet Violets set. I think I've covered my bases. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful day.

Copic Creations Challenge #8

Well, here it is the middle of July already and it's time for our eighth Copic Creations Challenge. The theme for this challenge is Botanicals, and our sponsor is Flourishes. My card is made with the Stamp Simply Thank You set from Flourishes. I began by brayering my CS with Bashful Blue, Brocade Blue and Amethyst. I then stamped the "Thank You" sentiment and one tulip on the brayered CS and then colored three more tulips in the various colors, cut them out, and adhered them with dimensionals. (Please check the CC site for colors used.) I stamped the main Thank You sentiment and cut it out with a Labels Four Nestie, sponged lightly with Amethyst. Flourishes has some beautiful botanical stamp sets, and the CC DT has done some beautiful cards featuring their sets, so be sure to check them out and then grab some Copics and play along.
One more thing.....I have a new logo on the left side of my blog titled TMITA, and if you click on it you can participate in a chance to win some fabulous blog candy. The blog candy is from the very talented Nina of Having an Art Attack, and I encourage you to check out what she's giving away. Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you're having a wonderful week.

Sugar and Spice

I had some new things to play with, plus a need for a baby girl card, so here is what I came up with. I used Crafty Secrets' "Baby Girl" set and stamped the buggy with "Frayed Burlap" Distress Ink on a Labels One Nestie. I used a SU Colorless Blender to color in Pink Pirouette on the buggy. I then cut out the next size Label One Nestie and sponged it faintly with the "Frayed Burlap" and stamped the roses in the corner. I mounted the buggy with dimensionals in an offset manner on top of the larger cut-out. I used my Textile Embossing Folder on the Pink pirouette paper and then brayered the "Frayed Burlap" on top of that. This was mounted on a piece from Basic Grey's Urban Prairie and all of it on top of Close to Cocoa. There is one more piece of Pink Pirouette behind the Label One group stamped with some cute images from the same set and I added the smallest Pink half-pearls to the scallop at the bottom. I also used my new "Tulip" Borderabilities and ran my new Pink Satin ribbon through the punched-out tulips. The sentiment is "By Ones and By Two's" by SU. I love the satin ribbon and you can find it here. I really enjoyed making this and like how it turned out. I hope you like it too. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a wonderful week. Don't forget the next Copic Creations challenge starts on Wednesday.

Child's Play

I don't know about you, but when I was young I spent hours on my swing. I can remember waking up before anyone else and going out and swinging. When I saw this digital download at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps I had to get it. I used papers from PTI including her paper-pieced dress. I used my oval Just Rite stamper for the sentiment and decorated scalloped edge and sponged it with River Rock. I attached some half-pearls and a few buttons next to the Nestie Lables One die cut and I liked it - simple, but it sure reminded me of those fun days. Yesterday I learned of a vendor called Stampscapes after looking at Scenes by Sandy ( thank you to Jenny Gropp for mentioning her in yesterday's post) and now I'm off in orbit. OMG, how incredible! It's a whole different dimension, but I'm aching to try her techniques. Hope your week is going well. See you again soon and thanks for stopping by.

Classy and Fabulous

Happy Birthday, Morgan! We love you and we're so proud of both you and Dan. So glad you'll be home soon. Hope your day is as fabulous as you are.
Today is our youngest DIL's birthday and she is what the title of the post says. She is far, far away in the UK and we are thrilled that she and our son will be moving back home in a month, so I am saving her card and present for when she gets home. This, however, is her card and I'm going to tell her she can see it here. My son finished up research that he did at Oxford on a scholarship. He will return home with a PhD in Biochemistry and we are very proud of him. Our DIL has had a fabulous job working with Harley-Davidson and has also finished up her English degree online while over there so she, too, is returning having earned her second degree, her first being in music. They'll be home a few days and then head off to start Medical School for my son and hope that my DIL can find a job while he goes to school. A little info on the card.....the image is "Suzie Q" from In-Style Stamps. The papers are from the June "Key Ingredients" kit from Taylored Expressions, and the little packaged-brad is from "Sweet Treat Boutique Brads" from Taylored Expressions. The sentiment is from "She's a Lady" from There She Goes. She is colored with Copics to match the fun DP from the kit. I made a double bow with my new "Bow Easy," (more about that later.) Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great week.

Fun at the Beach

Today's card was a fun card to do and I loved these images because they remind me of my three little ones (well, now there are 4, but couldn't work in the baby just yet) who live here and love the pool and the beach. The images are Sugarplums from C.C. Designs and they are called Seashell Trevor, Surfer Emma and Bathing Beauty Emma. I made my waves, sun and sand, added a sandcastle and sentiment from Gina K's Lazy Days of Summer and a "pet" crab from A Muse Artstamps. I attached a sheet of acrylic over the top for effect and to protect all the images that were adhered to the card. I'm loving working up the summer images, and believe me, it's definitely summer here. You can find this happy little trio here at All That Scraps. KL Stampin' and Scrappin' also has a few here. I hope you have a happy and safe "4th" and happy stamping, whenever you get the time.

Copic Creations Challenge #7

Welcome to our 7th posting of the Copic Creations Challenges. The theme for this one is brunettes and Diana Crick is providing our prize which is a Scor-Pal. This time our DT member Jami turned us onto the line art drawings of some wonderful artists. The artist for this line art is from Spain and can be found here. This is not something I would typically do, but I was fascinated with how gorgeous her drawings were and decided to stretch myself for this challenge. I also did another card, much more typical of me and you know how much I love Victoria Case Art Designs anyway. Be sure to look at the other entries from our wonderful DT because 3 of the girls did one of these line art drawings and they're absolutely beautiful. We also have some adorable Tildas from other DT members. The "brunette" Copic colors I used for "Enchanting" were Y21, E25, E27, E29 and E33. The colors for the VCAD image are R02, E25, E27, E33. I used Basic Grey's Marrakech for the DP's - I'm loving the colors in those papers. I love the way I can blend with my Copic markers - I really enjoy working with them. I hope you'll join us for this challenge. Thanks for stopping by and please be assured that I am always encouraged by your comments.

Fun on the Ice - in JUNE?

Today I want to post a winter/Holiday card from Janlynn's Stamps Happen line called "The Skaters". The artist is Claire Stoner and I think it is an adorable and fun image. Doesn't it just make you want to pick out your favorite scarf and mittens and go play in the snow. Well, maybe not now since it's just the beginning of summer, but give it a few months and all you skaters will be anxious to put those skates on. I colored this all with Copics and used an SU! DP from the retired Wintergreen set. I used Soft Sky and Hunter Green for the solid CS. The sentiment is from PTI's Mailbox Greetings. Love that set! Hope you like this fun image. Janlynn carries some beautiful craft stamps. Hope you can check them out. Thanks for stopping by. Hope you have a wonderful week.

A Card and a Cake

Today we had a birthday party for my grandson who turned 1. We had six 1-year-olds, plus other kids and of course adults for a grand total of 29 people. I made my grandson a caterpillar cake because he loves the caterpillar on Baby Einstein, and then I fashioned a caterpillar card to go with it. Thanks Kristine for the reminder. Last week we took him shopping and bought all his presents and even gave him some early, so.... since I wasn't having to remember shopping or wrapping presents, I almost forgot to do his card. I know - that's unthinkable, but I had a lot going on to prepare for this and I just plain forgot. I have had this image from Victoria Case Art Designs ready to color for awhile now, so I used their sketch from this week's challenge so I could also post it to their challenge. I never do any cake decorating, so I was nervous about doing these little cakes justice, but it really was fun. In fact, I was running out of time and my DSIL asked if he could help. He said, "why not, I can spackle....", and so he piped the frosting, spread it (just like spackling, right?!) and dipped the pieces in the stuff right along with me. Before you go thinking this guy's a bit girly, you should know he's a Marine through and through. Just a willing Dad who's also talented working with his hands. I was proud of him and we got done just in time. Thanks, Richard. My daughter planned the whole party and prepared lunch for the whole crew, so I was proud of her, too. Anyway, long post but wanted to share the pictures of a wonderful party. Thanks so much for stopping by. Happy Sunday!

Just Magnolia Challenge-Happy Summer

I made this card for the Just Magnolia challenge and this week's challenge is a sketch. I find I can put cards together the quickest if I already have the layout. My basic CS is Lovely Lilac (SU), the yellow is from Basic Grey's "Two Scoops", the blue is from Basic Grey's Marrakech, Tilda's dress is cut from DCWV's "The Sweet Stack" and the scalloped strip is from Basic Grey's "Euphoria". The flower is from a sweet friend, so I'm not sure who made it. The sentiment is from a set I love from PTI called Mailbox Greetings. I offset it with two Kaiser half-pearls in "Bliss." The main image is called "Tilda in the Sea." I really love Magnolia images. Well, I love a lot of images, but Magnolias are definitely among my favorites. I had extra time in my craft room this week which was fun, so I have several cards coming up to share with you. Meanwhile, take a look at the fabulous cards posted to this challenge. Hope you have a wonderful week-end. Tomorrow is my grandson's first birthday party so I've got to get busy getting ready for hosting lots of little ones and their families. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Patriotism on Parade

I did this card for the special project that Flourishes is doing. It's for a great cause and there's a generous $50 Gift Certificate to Flourishes to the winner of the drawing and a generous $25 Gift Certificate to two runners-up. How do you win? They want cards to send to the troops, and each card you send them by August 1st qualifies your name to be added to the drawing. They don't have to be patriotic - they need all sorts of cards. Be sure to check the details here to make sure I'm stating all of this correctly. I loved this new set the moment I saw it, and with each purchase of this set Flourishes is donating a percentage to the Wounded Warriors fund. Be sure to check it out and play along if you can. Whether or not you're a prize-winner, you're still a winner if you donate to the men and women who so faithfully serve our country in the military. Thanks for stopping by. I posted this in my SCS gallery as well, in case you need to see how-to details. You can find it here. God bless the USA and God bless our troops. Thank you, all!

Featured Artist with a Challenge Card

The other night Shelby, (my granddaughter,) asked if she could color an image I was working on for a challenge, and since I had printed out more than one image I gave her one to color. She used mine as a guide, along with my COPICS, yes, my Copic markers, and did an amazing job coloring her image. In fact it's brighter than mine. I told her I thought I liked hers better and she said, "it's okay Grandma, I like yours too." Then, she proceeded to cut at least half of it out herself and then tell me what color CS she wanted to use and even cut the ribbon she wanted on her card. I'm blown away! I might as well turn my blog over to her.....she's smart enough to operate the computer and in no time she'd probably be leaving comments on all of your blogs. :) I am so proud of her artistry. I walked out of the room and in a little while she called me back to see her finished product. She even added her own shadows and highlighting - with my COPICS! Anyway, the challenge can be found on the Victoria Case Challenge Blog here, and the challenge is chocolate, ivory, and violet. Shelby had to leave before we actually assembled her card, although this is the way she layered it. I finished it so that I could post it to the challenge. I love Victoria Case designs - they're so much fun to color and to look at. She had a bunch of new images since the last time I checked, and that wasn't all that long ago. Well, I'd better end this. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for your encouraging comments. My wonderful SIL was the only family member that left a comment the last time I presented Shelby's work, so KUDOS to you Richard! I'll have to find some blog candy for you. :) BTW, here is a pic of my wonderful little guest artist. Grandma's just a wee bit proud.

Baby Card

I thought I'd post a card today that I did for a friend who requested a card a few weeks ago. She needed a baby girl card, and I had just looked at Jenny Gropp's adorable baby card that she did for a challenge, you can see it here, so I patterned my card after hers. I was very pleased with how it turned out and so was my friend. You should click on the link and check out the great card Jenny did. If I recall correctly, mine was all done with SU! (except for the half-pearls by Kaiser.) Thank you all for your encouraging comments in regard to Shelby's (my granddaughter) card. I've got another post coming up soon featuring her latest creation. She amazes me. I hope you have a wonderful week-end.