A Day that Sparkles

Hello – happy Thursday!  I have a quick card to share today – a birthday card for my beloved little girl!  I just got this brand-new Elisabeth Bell Aladin set and I could not wait to use this image for my daughter.

This was a pretty interesting image to color – the veil stumped me a little bit!   I added a bit of the lavender color to hair to accommodate the veil.  I hope it worked out.  I have yet to get into the habit of taking note of the Copics that I used to color, but if anyone is interested, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will figure it out for you. 

Thanks so much for visiting – see you again soon!

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink white cardstock, Stampin’ Up! Orchid Opulence and Lovely Lilac cardstock

Stamps:  Whiff of Joy/Elisabeth Bell Aladin set (girl image and sentiment), Inkadinkado Dot Flourishes set (swirls)

Ink: Stampin’ Up! Lovely Lilac

Accessories:  Cuttlebug – Spellbinders Nestabilities Label die, Textile Texture embossing folder; EK Success border punch;  Kaiser rhinestones; ribbon; dimensionals; Copic markers.

Love Warms Every Nest – FHF Sketch Challenge

Hello, everyone!  This week I played along with the latest Friends Having Fun sketch challenge.  As always, the lovely Dani came up with a great sketch to work with.

Want to see what I came up with?  This card gave me the chance to finally break out a stamp set I’ve had for a while and had been dying to use – an Elisabeth Bell set from Whiff of Joy.  Elisabeth Bell is AMAZINGLY talented – I just love her artwork so much.   It is so graceful and elegant.

I had to change up the sketch a bit to make it all fit on my card, including adding that heart-shaped sentiment piece.   Coloring this sweet girl’s image was so much fun, as was using the cheerful orange shades.  I used designer paper from K&Co. (my fave line) and Papertrey Ink’s melon berry cardstock (also a fave of mine). 

Thanks so much for visiting – see you again soon!

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink White and Melon Berry cardstock; K&Co. designer paper

Stamps:  Elisabeth Bell for Whiff of Joy Stamps; Crafty Secrets (sentiment)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Papertrey Ink Melon Berry

Accessories:  Cuttlebug: Sizzix embossing folder, Spellbinders Nestabilities Label die and heart die; Kaiser pearls, Papertrey Ink Melon Berry ribbon; dimensionals; Prismacolor pencils w/gamsol; Sakura Gelly Roll in Clear Star; corner rounder

Darque Obsession – Are You Obsessed Yet?

I am SO happy to post about my lovely and very dear friend Tonya‘s new stamp line called Darque Obsession!! How is THAT for a cool name?   Tonya has just released three beautiful images, that you can see below, with more to come!  Click the image below to visit Tonya’s store, the Stamp Happens Shop, to get your own Obsession on!

I am really excited for Tonya and her new venture, so I was so happy to be able to use this gorgeous image today.  The one I used is Darcy, and she’s so elegant and beautiful.  And here is my card —

I colored Darcy with Prismacolor pencils and added lots of glitter to the image, with Stickles (blue and silver) and with a Sakura Gelly Roll glitter pen.  I started out coloring her with Copics, but I ended up preferring the lighter touch that I could get from pencils.  I embossed the starry background on deep blue metallic cardstock and added a few blue rhinestones.   A “beautiful” sentiment, a Prima flower, and done!   I hope you like Darcy – I hope to feature the other Darque ladies sometime soon. 

Thanks so much for visiting today – and Happy Mother’s Day to all the lovely moms out there!!

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink white cardstock; The Paper Company blue metallic cardstock

Stamps:  Darcy from the Darque Obsession line from the Stamp Happens Shop; Autumn Leaves/Rhonna Farrer sentiment

Ink:  Brilliance in Sky Blue

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Fiskars stars texture plate; Prima flower; dimensionals; Prismacolor pencils; Stickles in Waterfall and Silver; Sakura Gelly Roll pen in Clear Star; blue rhinestones.

Friends Having Fun Color Challenge for May

Hey everyone!  Happy Monday!   Here is the second color challenge of the Kaleidoscope Krew for Friends Having Fun!   Here are the colors that Krew leader Alison has chosen for this month’s challenge.

In addition, this month’s challenge is being sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps!  Be sure to go and check them out!  We appreciate their generosity in providing the Kaleidoscope Krew design team with images to use for our projects.  And speaking of the Krew – follow the links below to go and check out those projects!

Alison ~ Alyssa ~ Alex ~ Julie (you are here!) ~ Laura

And here is my project – I made a journal for today’s challenge and I have included lots of photos!  Here is the front cover, featuring Bugaboo Stamp’s Floral Tag 1 digital stamp, which is available for purchase here.  I colored the Floral Tag stamp with Copics and added in another stamp – the sentiment “Follow Your Bliss” from Cornish Heritage Farms.  The butterfly in the corner is from Prima, and I also added in a vintage die cut from Cuttlebug. 

Here is a close-up of the butterfly —

And a closer view of the Bugaboo stamp and the sentiment —

And the inside front cover —

And here is the back cover of the journal.

Thanks so much for visiting today!  See you again soon.

What I Used:

Paper:  K & Co.; Stampin’ Up! Ruby Red and Barely Banana cardstock; Papertrey Ink white cardstock

Stamps:  Bugaboo Stamps (floral frame); Cornish Heritage Farm (sentiment)

Ink:  Versafine Vintage Sepia

Accessories:  Prima Butterfly; Cuttlebug:  Vintage Corner die, Spellbinders Nestabilities Fancy Label die & Petite Circle die; Copic Markers.  Zutter Bind-it-All supplies:  8×8 chipboard covers, 1 inch vintage silver o-wires, and corner rounder; Copic Markers

Friends Having Fun Sketch Challenge Debut!

Happy Monday to you!  Hope you all had a lovely weekend! 

Today is the debut of the sketch challenge at at Friends Having Fun – whoohoo!  Who doesn’t love a good sketch?  The sketch team, called the Sketch Sorority Sisters, is led by the loveliest crafter you could ever meet, Dani (and I say this on good authority since I was lucky enough to meet Dani in person!).  So are you having fun yet?  Go over and check out the Friends Having Fun site and play along with us.  But no pressure – that is what this site is all about.

Here is this week’s sketch – a very pretty one!

And here’s my card – a very straight-forward interpretation of the sketch.  I loved using this one and will definitely keep this one in my arsenal to use at another time. 

This card is all about the designer paper I used (by Teresa Collins); the strip on the side is one of the edges from the 12×12” sheet.  I just had to find a way to use that beautiful border!  Since the paper was so prominent, I did not do my usual embossing – I actually only embossed the black label with a Cuttlebug folder.  This designer paper just happened to be a perfect match for one of my all-time favorite (and discontinued) Stampin’ Up! colors, Baja Breeze.  And they just announced that they are bringing that color back, which is great news.  I won’t have to feel tense every time I use the color now! 

Be sure to visit Friends Having Fun to see what the Sketch Sorority Sisters have in store for this week.  Thanks so much for visiting – see you again soon!

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink white and black cardstock, Stampin’ Up! Baja Breeze cardstock, Teresa Collins designer paper

Stamp:  Anna Griffin

Ink:  Stampin’ Up! Baja Breeze and Versafine Onyx Black

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Diamond embossing folder, Spellbinders Nestabilities labels 9 & petite circle die; Michaels brads; dimensionals

Bird Song

Hey everyone!  I’m back with a card to share today.  How’ve you all been? 

This card I made for my dear friend, the lovely Beth of StampInsanity.  I needed to thank Beth in a big way for a gift she had given me – the gift of THE BROTHERS.  She lent me her entire set of the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, and I adore them so much it’s not even funny.   If you haven’t read the books yet, READ THEM!  They’re amazing! 

If you’ve read the books, you might get my (admittedly vague) reference to the 5th book in the series, Lover Unbound, that I included in this card.  (Once I explain the reference, that is!  It’s not obvious – lol.)  I was really touched by the events in that book with Vishous and the birds – I will say no more for those who might want to read the book – and this card was inspired by that.   But hopefully it’s nice to look at if you have not read the books, too, so see below!

I absolutely love this stamp (the sentiment) by Verve and I was really excited about using it for this card, along with a bird stamp by Inkadinkado. 

I added a bird charm attached with a bit of chain and glittered up the bird image a bit – you can see that below.

I will be back again soon to share more stuff – I have been working on SO MANY projects lately that I’m honestly losing track of all of them!  They’re all in various states of completion, which is why I have not been posting much lately.  Bringing them to completion – that is what I need to do right now!  I can’t stop myself from starting new things before I’m done with other projects.  It’s just too exciting – I HAVE to!  In any event, I hope to share more here soon. 

Thanks so much for visiting!

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink Rustic Cream cardstock; Stampin’ Up! Brocade Blue and So Saffron cardstock; Bo Bunny Summer Cottage designer paper

Stamps:  Verve Stamps (sentiment); Inkadinkado (bird)

Ink:  Stampin’ Up! Brocade Blue

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Victorian embossing folder, Spellbinders Nestabilities petite circle dies; brad; dimensionals; Sakura Jelly Roll pen in clear; chain and bird charm; Stampin’ Up! ticket corner punch

Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge: Touchy-Feely Valentine

Oh my goodness, I feel like I have been away for so long!  A little injury has slowed me (and my crafting!) down a lot lately, but things are improving now – yay!

So here is my better late than never project for this week’s Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge theme.  Donna has come up with this week’s theme, and here is what she has to say about it:

Craft Portion: Make a VALENTINE’S card/project for your favourite character or for YOUR valentine… but…. with texture!! That’s right I want you to add things like lace, raised embossing, distressed edges, fuzzy fibres, metal, cloth, cracked glass, leather, flower soft, sandpaper, anything that adds texture!

Comment Portion: Tell us your favourite Valentine’s story…Or if you haven’t got one, Tell us who you would like to snuggle up on Valentine’s day with from the Twilight Saga.

Click here for further details about the challenge and how to play along.  And as always, our Design Team has fantastic projects to display for this week’s challenge – please go and check them out!

Alison ~ Dani ~ Donna ~ Erica ~Jen ~ Jodi ~ Margie ~ Rebecca~ Tonya (who expects to be a little late)

And here is my card for this week – one that features fabric!  I have lots of fabric on hand since I often make fabric-covered journals, but I rarely use it on cards.  Donna’s challenge gave me a great opportunity to give it another go.

Here’s a closer look at the fabric heart.  I die-cut the fabric with a Spellbinders heart die and backed it with batting to give it lots of dimension.  I am loving the feel of this thing — it’s puffy like a little pillow!  I’m not sure that comes across in this photo, but hopefully you will take my word for it.    The background of the card is also embossed, adding in a little bit more texture.

Thanks very much for visiting – I’ll be back again soon!

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink Rustic Cream and Smokey Shadow cardstock; Stampin’ Up!  Riding Hood Red cardstock

Stamp:  Autumn Leaves/Rhonna Farrer

Ink:  Stampin’ Up!  Riding Hood Red

Other Materials:  Cuttlebug:  Sizzix embossing folder, Spellbinders Nestabilities heart die and curved rectangle die; fabric; batting; Sakura Jelly Roll pen in clear; buttons; ribbon; dimensionals.

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Stamp Happens Sketch Challenge, With a Chance to WIN!

My dear friends Tonya, of the Stamp Happens Shop, and Beth, of StampInsanity Stamps, are doing a joint Sketch Challenge, and this one has a PRIZE!  

A winner will be randomly selected from all challenge entrants and will receive a free StampInsanity set called Zeke & Maddie.  This set is adorable and perfect for Valentine’s Day – check it out here!

I love a good sketch – and this challenges happens to be all about love too!  That is the one rule to this challenge – to create something based on love or Valentine’s Day.  Oh, and to link back to the Stamp Happens Shop as well.  Click here for all the details and play along!

And here is my challenge card.  A very simple one at that, but definitely about love, in all its pink, Cupid-ish glory!   The designer paper on this card is BoBunny from their Persuasion line (and from Tonya’s shop).

Have a great day & thanks so much for visiting!

What I Used:

Paper: Papertrey Ink white cardstock, Stampin’ Up! Regal Rose cardstock, BoBunny Persuasion designer paper

Stamps:  Pink Paislee

Ink:  Stampin’ Up! Regal Rose

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Sizzix embossing folder and Spellbinders Nestabilities curved rectangles dies; dimensionals, Kaiser pearls

Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge – Seeing Red

Hey – it’s Twilight Tuesday time! Our Design Team member Erica has chosen today’s challenge theme, and it’s all about the color red.  Here’s what Erica has to say:

Create a project either using the color red or expressing what red means to you. Comment portion: Tell your best “red” story.  Is it that great red dress that caught everyone’s attention?  Have you “seen red” before?  Anyone like Red Velvet Cake?  Anything goes!

Click here for further details about the challenge and how to play along.  And as always, our Design Team has fantastic projects to display for this week’s challenge – please go and check them out!

Alison ~ Dani ~ Donna ~ Erica ~Jen ~ Jodi ~ Margie ~ Rebecca~ Tonya

Here’s my project for today – lots of red here!  And lots of photos too, so you can get a closer look at some of the details.  I used this week’s Mojo Monday sketch for this card as well.  (Sketch + deadline = a big help!)

A closer look at the stamped portion —

And the beaded pin —

Thanks so much for visiting – have a great day!

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink white cardstock, Bazzill Bling Red Carpet; Basic Grey Wassail designer paper

Stamps:  Cornish Heritage Farm

Ink:  Stampin’ Up! Riding Hood Red

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Victorian embossing folder; Vintage corner die; Spellbinders Nestabilities petite circles dies; ribbon; dimensionals; Kaiser pearls; beads, wire. 

Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge – Our First Color Challenge!

Happy Tuesday!  Twilight Tuesday has a really cool thing happening for today – our very first Color Challenge!  The challenge colors for this week feature the colors of lovely Edward’s features.  Alison is our hostess this week; check out her description below: 

The first color is Butterscotch for his eyes (when he isn’t hungry!), second is Alabaster for his pale, pale skin, and third is Reddish-Brown for his fabulous hair!

As always, be sure to visit the lovely members of our Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge Design Team to see what they have in store for this week’s challenge! 

Alison ~ Beth ~ Dani ~ Donna ~Erica ~ Jen ~ Jodi ~Margie ~ Rebecca

And here is my project for this week – an ode to Edward.  Hehe.  It seems that every so often I need to do an ode to Edward, and this is my New Moon-era version. 

This card looks better in person – I could never get an accurate photo of all the glitter!  But see that glitter cardstock there?  This stuff is the nicest glitter paper EVER.  I transported this stuff home with me all the way from Texas!  (Tonya!  Hey girl!)  During my visit with Tonya,  of course we had to do a little crafty shopping, and I found this glitter paper at a store local to her.  It’s the BEST – it’s sort of soft to the touch and the glitter does not fall off of the paper.  I don’t know how they do it – you’re usually covered with glitter when you use paper like this! The paper is made by a company called Best Creation – look for it!  Trust me – it’s amazing stuff – SO bright and sparkly! 

I only wish you could see the glitter better on this card!  It is so very bright and shiny in real life that I had to stop myself from embellishing the card any further!  I used a gold glitter cardstock (covering the Butterscotch for Edward’s eyes) and a bronze glitter shade (for the Reddish-Brown of his hair).  Some Bazzill Bling paper in an “Alabaster” shade called String of Pearls stands in for that pale Cullen skin tone.  That is the shade of the embossed background of the card.

I was absolutely THRILLED with this sentiment (Beauty is Soul-Deep) for Edward – does that capture him or what?  He doesn’t seem to fully comprehend his beauty, nor does he really believe (at some points in the books, at least) that he is capable of having a soul.   But we, the readers, know better, don’t we?  Of course we do!

Thanks so much for visiting – have a great day!

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream cardstock; Stampin’ Up! Creamy Caramel cardstock; Best Creation glitter cardstock in gold and bronze; Bazzill Bling in String of Pearls

Stamps:  Artful INKables from the Fictionally Inspired set (Edward name stamp); sentiment from Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink:  Brilliance Ink in Coffee Bean, Papertrey Ink Vintage Touch distressing inks

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Sizzix embossing folder, Cuttlebug tag die, Cuttlebug Vintage corner die, Spellbinders Fancy Tag die, and Spellbinders Nestabilities petite oval die; brad; EK Success corner punch.

Photo of Robert Pattinson from The Twilight Saga: New Moon, property of Summit Entertainment