Hello Daisy

I made this card for the current CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #50 to use flowers or trees. I used this cute Daisy stamp that's in a fun Unity stamp set called Cuckoo Clocks. The sentiment is from a Stampin' Up set called Hello Again. I colored the Daisy with Copics and used Nestabilities for the scallop circle and circles. The ink is Memento - Tuxedo Black. Thanks for stopping by!! (I've added a little about my dog Daisy at the bottom of this post)

Here's my card.

I've been wanting to use a Daisy for a while now. I've posted a lot about my dog Callie who passed away in January and of course Dusty who had her Leap Day birthday party in February. But, I do have another dog who is 13. She has never been an alpha girl and she's always stayed in the background and followed Callie's lead. Her main goal in life is to please me and do what she's supposed to do. How awesome is that? She has the best nature and is so easy going.

I was surprised at how "lost" she seemed without Callie - she wouldn't even "go out" at night without me for a few days. But, she has now made the adjustment and is spending a lot more time with me and she's figured out that being on the couch is awesome and I can now officially call her a "couch potato" - which she never was before. She has a heart murmur and I don't know how long she'll be with me, but while she's here I plan to spoil her (more) rotten. I've even included a little video of her after she licked up a big glob of ketchup - she loves ketchup. I'm not into videos, but I love it when she does this - I even added music. So this post is for you Daisy!

Sprinkle Love

I made this tag for the Tim Holtz Compendium of Curiosities 2 - Challenge 3 - Marbled Stains at Studio L3. The sponsor for the challenge this week is Eclectic Paperie - a super online store that I buy from frequently and highly recommend! This technique is described on p.46 and it's very easy and fun to do. To get my marbled stain background I used Spun Sugar, Milled Lavender, Tumbled Glass, Faded Denim and Dusty Concord Distress Stains. I also used Dyan Reaveley Dylusions stamps - Bags of Bunting, Birds on a Wire, and Ruby Rainbow.

I thought the background of blues & purples looked like a rainy day sky so I decided to use a "rain" theme. I stamped the raindrops in Memento ink in London Fog. The raindrop is from a Paper Smooches stamp set. The twine is Wisteria Wonder from Stampin' Up. The words are from Tim Holtz Chit Chat. I colored the images with PrismaColor pencils and blended with Gamsol. Thanks for taking a look!

Hero Arts Flickr 90 Min Scramble

I was able to participate in this week's Hero Arts Flickr Group 90 Min Scramble. The challenge was to use patterned paper and to have something go off the edge of the card. I used the Classic Bloom stamp and the sentiment is from Essential Messages. All the paper is Jubilee by the Girls Paperie. I used Versamark black ink. It was a fun challenge this week. Thanks for taking a look!

Ruby Rainbow's Page

Yes, I'm getting a little addicted to art journaling. It's just so fun and relaxing! I've started spraying the backgrounds before I go to work and then they're dry and ready when I get home and I don't have to use the heat gun which can warp the pages. I've also started doing only one page instead of the two page spreads because I can do them faster and fill the space easier.

The background on the this one is made from Dylusions Ink Sprays - London Blue, Vibrant Turquoise and Fresh Lime. To blend them use lots of water. The stamp sets I used are Bag of Bunting, Ruby Rainbow, Birds on a Wire, Right Up Your Street and The Right Words. I colored the images with colored pencils and blended with Gamsol. I've been asked what Gamsol is. It's odorless mineral spirits and when you put it on areas you colored with pencils it blends the color and makes it a little more vibrant. It's one of my favorite ways to color images now. Thanks for stopping by!

My Last Gel-a-tins Post

My 6 month term for Gel-a-tins Stamps is over this week. I'm so grateful to Bonnie and Jessica for having faith in me and asking me to be on their team - my first design team. I love the Gel-a-tin stamps and have had so much fun creating with them. I also want to say congratulations to the new design team that will be starting in May!

My project today is decorated gift box. I used a regular white jewelry box and stamped the Love Knots stamp on it for a pretty decorated gift box that does not need any wrapping paper! For more information check out the Gel-a-tins blog today. Thanks for taking a look.

I am an artist?

I'm not sure I would call myself an artist. But, Dyan Reaveley says if we make art journal pages we are artists! My brother got all the artistic and musical ability in my family. He can draw amazingly well and can stun people when he sits down and plays Mozart on the piano. Me - not so much. And of course, he spends all his time at a swimming pool! I wish he could just give me little of his artistic ability, but I guess it doesn't work that way.

Anyway, I'm on a Facebook group called Art Journaling for Women. Dyan Reaveley is very active in the group and she made a journal page that said I Am An Artist. And, I think other people started posting pages that said I Am An Artist. So she asked us to make pages that say that and e-mail them to her and she is going to blog about them. So, I didn't have a lot of time to make this very intricate, but I made this page today. For the background I used Dylusions Spray Inks in Bubblegum Pink, Purple, and Lime and a Dylusions stencil with acrylic ink for the border. I drew the letters with oil pastels and outlined them with a Sharpie Paint Pen. Once again, it was fun and relaxing page to make. Thanks for stopping by!!

We Fit Together

I made this card for the current CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #49. This week it's a sketch challenge. I punched the puzzle pieces from Crate Paper Random 6x6 papers and affixed them to the card with foam tape. The letters are from My Minds Eye - Lime Twist - Playful. Thanks for taking a look!

Pink Birthday Window Card

I made this card for the current A Blog Named Hero Challenge #2 Cards With a View. I created the window for the card with the scallop circle Spellbinders Nestabilities Die. I stamped the cupcake on a white circle and adhered it to the inside of the card. Then I stamped the sentiment and added the scallop dotted ribbon to the top and bottom of the card with double sided tape. Thanks for stopping by!

Materials

1. Card stock - Whisper White, Pretty in Pink - Stampin' Up

2. Ink - Pretty in Pink - Stampin' Up, Tuxedo Black - Memento

3. Ribbon - Pretty in Pink - Stampin' Up

4. Stamps - Sentiment - Essential Messages - Hero Arts, Cupcake - Wish Big - Hero Arts

5. Die - Spellbinders Nestabilties

Ooo la la

I made this card for the current Penny Black Saturday Challenge Week 198. I think it may be my first time participating in this challenge. This week the challenge is no patterned paper. I used the Mimi in Paris stamp set and colored it in with Copics. Thanks for taking a look!

She Decided to Leap - Art Journal Page

I wanted to use my other SheArt stamp - She Decided to Leap - and I colored her in colors I don't use much. Then I looked at her for a week or two. I finally made the background before I went to work yesterday using Dylusions sprays in Cut Grass, Fresh Lime, Lemon Zest and Pure Sunshine. Today I stamped on the background using stamps from the Dylusions sets Background Love and Further Around the Edge. Then I added some accents to the borders with Tim Holtz Distress Markers in Mustard Seed and Rusty Hinge. I colored in the SheArt stamp with Prismacolor markers and blended with Gamsol which is now one of my favorite ways to color - it's so fun. I had a few other images to add, but I decided this was enough for now.

So, here's a page outside of my usual colors and I really like it. If you haven't started art journaling yet I suggest diving right in. You can do whatever you want and you don't have to worry about deadlines or contests or anything. No rules, just what you feel like when you have the time and energy for it. I find it very relaxing and gratifying. Thanks for stopping by!

Super Exciting NEWS!!!

I am beyond excited to share with you the news that I've been asked to be a Private Blend Designer for The Play Date Cafe Challenge Blog!!! I am thrilled to be joining this wonderful group of amazingly talented and super friendly designers. I've been playing at the PDC for a long time now and I have grown to love their color challenges. I'm so grateful for this opportunity and I can't wait to get started. My first challenge will be Thursday, May 3.

If you've never played at the PDC I encourage you to check it out and join us. The challenges are announced on Thursday mornings along with the previous weeks' winners. You have until Tuesday at midnight to submit your entry. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

Wednesday Gel-a-tins - Love Knots Mini Card Set

Happy Wednesday! Today I've used the Gel-a-tins stamp Love Knots again. This time I made 4 cute and fun mini cards with matching ribbon and ink. The sentiment is from the Gel-a-tin stamp set called Merci. For more info check out the Gel-a-tins Blog. Thanks for stopping by!

Live & Learn Journal Page

Today I was talking to my friend at work about something that happened and I said "I guess I just have to live and learn." So, I felt like making a journal page about this today. I used Dyan Reavely Dylusions Spray Inks in Crushed Grape, Bubblegum Pink and Vibrant Turquoise and lots of water on the background. Then I used her small Chequered Dots stencil and water to finish the background. I made the words and doodles using oil pastels and a White Out pen. Thanks for stopping by!!

The Play Date Cafe Challenge #127

I made this card for the current Play Date Cafe color challenge. I couldn't wait to use my new Retro Beetle stamp from Claudine Hellmuth from a set called So Retro!! The colors are really fun this week. Thanks for stopping by!

Here's my card.

Materials

1. Cloud paper - Lime Twist - MME

2. Green Card stock - SU

3. Paper Sun - Good Day Sunshine - MME

4. Stamps - Beetle - So Retro - Claudine Hellmuth; Sentiment - Paper Smooches

5. Grass Punch - Fiskars

6. Ink - Tuxedo Black - Memento

7. Markers - Assorted Colors - Copic

8. Foam Tape - Stampin' Dimensionals

Another Art Journal Page

I finally got a chance to work on this page today. I've had the background for awhile. I just got this fun SheArt stamp and thought I would use it. The other stamps, stencils, and sprays are all Dyan Reaveley's Dylusions.

I colored all the images with PrismaColor Colored Pencils and blended with Gamsol. I doodled a little on the leaves and I used a white paint pen on the flowers on the bottom. I think the birds might be a little too big for the page, but it's just a journal page - I'll work it out better next time. Thanks for taking a look!

Thank You

I've been working on some publication submissions the last couple of weeks so I haven't had too much to share lately. But, today I thought I would share a Thank You card that was in the March issues of CARDS Magazine. I really like these papers with the brown letter. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Friday the 13th!

More Fun With Dylusions!!

I made these two card with my Dyan Reaveley Dylusions stamps. I will be teaching a class where we make both of the cards May 19 at 10:30 am at The Stamping Place in West Columbia. The one with the purple background uses Distress Inks on the background and the one with the polka dots uses Distress Stains for the background.

I colored all the images with my PrismaColor Pencils and blended them with Gamsol. It's so much fun using these bright colors with these fun and funky images. The stamp sets I used were Doolally Dorris, Lovestruck Lucy, Quintessential Quotes, The Right Words. Thanks for taking a look and check The Stamping Place web site for this class and my other upcoming classes!

A Blog Named Hero Challenge #1 - Playing Favorites

I made this card for the first challenge at A Blog Named Hero. The challenge is to use our favorite Hero Arts products. I just got this big flower and I LOVE it. I love all the shading and the graphic nature of the flower. It's so beautiful it doesn't need much else to detract from it. I also used the Merci stamp from on of my favorite Hero Arts sets called Paris. Finally, I stamped this flower in my favorite color, purple!! The ink and paper are Elegant Eggplant from Stampin' Up.Thanks for stopping by!!

Here's my card.

Happy Easter!

I just thought I would pop in today and share with you my "mass-produced" Easter card. I loved this bunny die from Tim Holtz and couldn't resist making tons of bunnies and adding Distress Stickles to them. The rest of the card uses Tim Holtz papers. All the cards were slightly different with different colors of papers. I really wanted to use as much of a paper pack as possible - it seems like I never use up anything!!

Today is bittersweet for me. It's the last day of Spring Break and I'm off to work tomorrow after a very relaxing and productive week off. This morning I'm having breakfast with my family and then we're going to the funeral of my aunt this afternoon. I guess that's just how life is.

I hope you have a very Happy Easter and are able to spend some quality time with your friends and family!!

May 1st Giveaway Post!!

As promised, I'm getting the post up a little earlier this month. I'm also giving away a few more items. I've been very lucky this week and I've gotten to pick out 3 Unity Stamp Kits and 2 Lawn Fawn stamp sets as publication incentives!!! So, I've got to make room for my new goodies. As much as I would like to, I just can't keep it all. This month, the doggie is Pointer the Springer Spaniel and the stamp sets are Cute by the Inch and Playful Pieces which are both Stampin' Up hostess items. The other set is Wild Things by Gel-a-tins. This month the lucky winner will get well over 50 stamps!!! Remember, when I hit 200 followers I'll be giving away another huge Blog Candy so tell your friends to come over and say Hi.

To be entered for this prize, just comment on this post and make sure you are follower of this blog. Comments must be made before midnight EST on April 30th. The winner will be announced May 1. That's it - easy peasy. Good luck and Happy Easter!

CAS-ual Fridays - Let the Hunt Begin

I made this card for the current CAS-ual Fridays Challenge - to put something on your card you would find in an Easter Basket. I haven't used this stamp set yet this year, so I decided to pull out this cute little hatchling from the Stampin' Up set called A Good Egg. I colored him with Copics and used a the scalloped oval from Spellbinders Nestabilities -  a simple card. The polka dot paper is from We-R-Memory Keepers Cotton Tail 6x6 paper pad. I just love using polka dots and oval shapes for my Easter cards!! Thanks for taking a look!

Here's my card. 

Wednesday Gel-a-tins - Love Knots Card

This is my Wednesday Gel-a-tins post. This month I'm using the Love Knots stamp. For all the details check out the Gel-a-tins Blog. Thanks for stopping by!!

Play Date Cafe - Splash of Brown

I made this card for the current Play Date Cafe Challenge - black & white and a splash of brown. I used the new Hero Arts/Studio Calico stamp called Plano to make this graphic masculine birthday card. I randomly colored in some areas brown. The little arrow stamp that says Happy on it is from Unity Stamp Company. My brother's birthday is April 6 so I think I'll send this one to him. My mom's is also April 6 so I've got to get one ready for her next! Thanks for stopping by!!

Here's my card. 

April Giveaway Winner (No Joke!)

Today, I'm announcing the winner of the April Giveaway. The lucky winner is Lisa from Lisa's Creative Niche. Congratulations Lisa! Be sure to check back for the May 1 Giveaway post. Just comment on the May Giveaway post, make sure you're a follower and you're entered for a chance to win. I'm on Spring Break this week so it's likely to be posted early this month!