Dotty Girlfriends

Hello everyone!  Just a quick post from me tonight.  I thought I would share a card I made for a friend's upcoming birthday. This Art Impressions stamp set so reminds me of us.  This set is from the Girlfriends line and I really love them all.  

 

I stamped these girls in Memento Ink and colored them with my Copics.  The patterned paper is from last month's SSS card kit.  The colors and patterns are so bright and cheery they just seemed to be fitting.  I punched a couple of flowers and threw on a couple of rhinestones and called it good.  There were a few mistakes that I had to work around, but all in all it still made me smile.  And that's what it's all about.  I hope it has the same effect on its recipient. 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge is We're Going Dotty.  I think this one fits the bill, so I'll be posting it over there.

Thanks for stopping by!

Gothic Pinup Flora

Happy 4th of July everyone!  It's been kind of a rainy, drizzly day here.  I hope the rest of you fared better.  Rainy days are good for something, though, and that's cardmaking!  Tiddly Inks has a Let's Go Gothic challenge going on right now and they are offering this little digi for free.  I love their images.  I'm not very practiced at the gothic feel.  I tend to make things cutesy.  Here is my attempt with Flora.

 

I printed her on Copic Xpress It Blending Card paper.  This was my first time printing on this paper and it did fine (I have an antiquated HP Photosmart, on some papers it does ok and some it does not).  I colored her with Copics.  She's on a 6x6 top fold card base made from CTMH black cardstock.  The printed paper for the background is from Gorjuss.  The striped paper is the Thistle striped paper from the CTMH fundamentals cardstock collection.  I used my dauber and went over it with Gypsy ink and then around the edges with Black.  The black leaves I cut using a new die set I have from Elizabeth Crafts called appropriately, Curvy Leaves.  I love it.  They are the perfect size for most of my leaf making needs. They were a part of my last Blitsy haul and were a great purchase. The roses are Recollections roses from my stash, as is the sparkly organza-like ribbon.  The sentiment is from Tiddly Inks, also, just from another set.  Last but not least, I made her sparkle a bit.  I  added some Wink of Stella to her feathers, some bitty rhinestones from CTMH on her hat, in her hair, and on her belt.  The black flourish is also from CTMH.  

That's it for me tonight.  I'll be posting this card in a few challenges, which I will list below. Thanks for stopping by! I wish everyone a happy, safe, and dry Fourth of July!

Challenges: 

Tiddly Inks Challenge Blog - Let's Go Gothic

The Corrosive Challenge Blog - Leave a little sparkle everywhere you go

Craft Your Passion Challenges - Anything Goes

Artbymiran Challenge - Anything Goes

 

Wings from the Dollhouse

Hello everyone!  Happy full moon Wednesday.  I don't know about you guys, but it's been a full moon kind of week.  Before anything else can go haywire, I wanted to share a couple more cards I had made this past weekend. 

A dear friend of mine entered a contest on facebook where you tag a friend and you both had a chance to win a gift certificate to Little Darlings Rubber Stamps Store.  And she won, and so did I! Yippee. Thank you Frankie!  Here's one of the stamps I bought with my winnings.  She's called Wings and she's a new release from the Dollhouse section of LDRS. 

 

This is a 6x6 top fold card.  I stamped her in Memento Tuxedo black and colored her up with my copics.  I took my color queues from the paper and used my new hex chart from Sandy Alnock to pick out my colors.  It has been a very helpful tool.  The papers are from Bo Bunny and the flowers are from my stash.  The sentiment is actually from a Tiddly inks stamp set.  It's hard to tell from the photo, but I used my Wink of Stella glitter pen to give her wings some extra sparkle.   I punched the butterflies out of some paper scraps from the paper pack.  The scalloped frame is from Spellbinders die set, Lacy Squares.  I used bitty opaques from CTMH for the bodies of my butterflies after I lightly colored them with my Copics.

The card below is on an A2 sized top fold card.  Again I took my color queues from my patterned paper and used my hex chart to color her with Copics.  The paper is from my stash and probably an old SSS card kit.  The sentiment is from a stamp set from Stampendous, called Friendship ( I think, forgive me if I'm wrong :)) I glittered her wings with Wink of Stella also.

That's it for me tonight.  I still have a few more cards to share with you, so check back soon.  There are few challenges I am going to post one or both of these cards in.  I'll list them below so you can check them out, too.

Thanks for stopping by!

Challenges: 

Craft Your Passion - Anything goes
Corrosive Challenge Blog - Leave a little sparkle everywhere you go
Crafty Time Challenge - Punches or dies
Artbymiran Challenge - Anything goes
Crafty Hazelnuts Patterned Paper Challenge - Use patterned paper

Whatever Floats By

Hello everyone!  This weekend I have been a busy bee in the craft room.  Finally, I got some time and got my mojo back on track.  We'll see how long it lasts.  I wanted to share with you a card I made with a TiddlyInks digital image, Whatever Floats By.  I really love the Tiddly Inks images.  They are so cute.  This one is from the gothic category, although it's not a very gothic scene.

 

I colored her up with my Copics  and then cut her out.  The patterned papers are from my 6x6 stash and probably from a previous SSS card kit.  I just thought the cloud paper was perfect. The sentiment is from CTMH called Heartfelt Birthday Wish.  This is one of those great little $2.95 stamps.  I have really gotten some mileage out of this one.  I used my Copics and gave it just a hint of color. 

Here's a few challenges where I'll be posting this card:

Tiddly Inks -  Let's Go Gothic

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Crafty Hazelnuts  Patterned Paper June Challenge - Use Patterned Paper

Craft Your Passion Challenge 267 - Anything Goes

Crafty Time Challenges - Girls Girls Girls

I'll be back soon to share the rest of my creations. Thanks for stopping by!

Gorjuss with Zig

Hello everyone!  I thought I would share some cards I made with my new toys.  Everywhere I have been looking online lately has been talking about Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers.  I certainly wasn't going to be left out.  I put my order in as soon as I was convinced I needed some (about 2 videos worth of time..lol).   They came in last week.  I bought the 12 pack, for starters, to see how I would like them.  They offer some amazing vibrant colors.  The real brush tip is incredible for detailing. I really, really love these markers. 

As soon as I got them in, of course, I had to try them.  I had some brand new Gorjuss stamps I had yet to use.  These stamps have larger images, which I find much easier to color in watercolor.  I stamped the same image on two different watercolor papers.  The first I stamped on Strathmore Ready Cut 5x7 paper with Stazon black ink. 

 

I just love these vibrant colors.  I colored her hair, clothing and hearts with the Zig markers.  None of these colors are mixed, they are straight out of the marker.   Because I was scared to try to mix any of the 12 primary colors to get a skin tone, I used some new Prima pencils I have.  These are from the  Julie Nutting Hair & Skin Tones set.  This, too, is a great set.  I have a horrible time getting skin tones with watercolor.  I bought this set and problem solved.   The background and floor was done with distress markers in Weathered Wood and Broken China.  For the floor I colored directly onto the paper and then added water. I came back in with some of the grey from Zig to add some shadows.  The Broken China behind her I colored on my block and then using a water brush painted it onto my background. The sentiment is from the Happy to Be Friends set from CTMH and stamped in Versafine black onyx ink.

Here is the same stamp again. This time I stamped it on Distress Watercolor Cardstock that was precut to fit on an A2 card front.  

 

This one is colored in the same way. Distress markers for the background and floor and Prima pencils for the skin.  The rest is my new Zig markers.

So, for the big question, do I love these new markers?  Yes, I do. The colors are incredible.  They do act a little different, so there is a learning curve to be mastered, but they are awesome.  I will definitely be investing in more colors. I'm thinking the softer, pale colors will be something I would enjoy as well as these rich vibrant ones.  Will they replace all my other markers?  Nope.  I just don't feel you can have too many options when it comes to coloring :) But I think I will find myself reaching for these often. 

Over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, this week's challenge is to use your favorite technique or product.  Coloring is definitely  my favorite thing to do and these products are certainly on my favorite products list.  I'll be posting one of these Gorjuss girls over there.   

That's it for me today.  Have a great weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!

My Birthday Girl

Hello everyone!  How crazy has May been? It's always hectic in May for us.  It's the end of school, banquets and ceremonies, dance rehearsals, testing, etc, and most importantly to us is my daughter's birthday.  I always try to make her a card.  This year it was plain and simple even though it was somewhat of a monumental birthday.  She's 15! Yikes!

 

The image is from Saturated Canary.  I just love these little darlings.  They are so fun to color, too.  I colored her up with my Copics.  The sentiment is from CTMH's stamp set, Joyful Birthday.  It's one of my go-to sets for the Happy Birthday sentiment.  She is stamped on CTMH White Daisy and mounted on a piece of purple cardstock from my stash.  Of course, I couldn't resist putting a little wink of stella on her bow and balloon and I threw in a few sequins for good measure.

 That's it for me today.   Happy Belated Birthday to my baby girl.  Watch out motorists, there's a new student driver in town!

 Thanks for stopping by!

 

National Scrapbooking Day

Hello everyone!  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and a very productive National Scrapbooking Day.  I did not get anything I wanted to get done yesterday, but in commemoration of the day I thought I would share one of my most recent scrap projects.  As you know I am constantly working trying to keep my books up to date.  Thanks to Studio J, I have just about conquered that.  Throughout my books I have both Studio J and traditional pages.  I think they work well together.  Here's what I have been doing to keep up with her dance album. 

 

All of the portraits that are taken, other than those I take and we get in 5x7, I do a traditional page.  I had a stash of this retired paper from CTMH called Believe.  It went well enough with her Christmas recital costume.  I included the ticket to the show and a few die cut poinsettias.  I kept it very simple. This paper was great because it just so happens I was able to do the recital pictures in Studio J with the same paper.

 

It would have taken me forever to print, configure, and then scrap all these pictures.  But with Studio J, I did all three in a just a short while in one evening.    I love how these turned out.  


If you want to check out Studio J, just follow the links on this page, over in the margin, or the tab up top.  It's free to create, so go give it a whirl! 

That's it for me today.  I hope everyone has been able to celebrate NSD.  I think I shall continue to celebrate. I have some more dance pictures to do.  At the end of this month is our next recital, so there will be even more!

Happy Scrapping!