High Hopes Sketch Challenge

It's another High Hopes challenge and this week it's a sketch brought to us by Jeannette.

Here I used this adorable High Hopes nutcracker soldier. He's colored with Copics on Neenah white card stock and cut out and popped up on a kraft circle and Bazzill mat cut with Nesties. I used Ivory Flower Soft on his hair, beard, and mustache and some white flock on the feather in his hat.

Head on over to the High Hopes blog and check out the sketch for this weeks challenge and play along for a chance to win a great image! You will also find links to stores where you can purchase High Hopes stamps.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving. I brined my turkey for the first time ever and it was so good! It's always so much work for such quick work at the table, but it was worth the leftovers that we've had twice already! One more day off then back to the old grind. Enjoy your Sunday!

It's Color Throwdown Wednesday

Good morning everyone and welcome to Wednesdays Color Throwdown. This week our lovely hostess Bar has chosen some rich fall colors to work with.


I decided yesterday was my last fall card though so I used these colors to make a winter card instead. It was surely a challenge with Dusty Durango!!


I chose to use this adorable image from Mo's Digital Pencil called Toboggan. Mo's art is like a drug! I swear I download more images than I can possibly color in a season but I can't help it! I hope I get to show you all my holiday and winter images before the spring comes, lol!

This image is printed on Neenah Solar Crest White Ultra Smooth card stock and colored with Copics. I glittered it like crazy with Stickles and irridescent glitter and a Quickie Glue Pen too. Bella's hat brim is covered in Ivory Flower Soft and the ground and all around is accented with Polar White Flower Soft. I used the swirls cuttlebug embossing folder on the Dusty Durango panel and then ran a Brilliance white ink pad over the swirls to make them pop. The snowflakes are Martha Stewart and Marvy punches coated in Diamond Glaze and Polar White Flower Soft and irridescent glitter from Judikins, finishing it with a flat backed pearl from EK Success and some pine punched pieces from Martha Stewart.

Oh, lets not forget that luscious ribbon! Pure silk from Flourishes-isn't it gorgeous! The cards always look a bit flat on the blog, but irl this is so bright and sparkly!

Whew, okay enough from me. Get the details to play along on our blog! Have a great Thanksgiving! Gobble Gobble!

One more Thanksgiving card

Please excuse this poor excuse for a bow! It really didn't look that bad irl, and since it's already been mailed their ain't no going back to fix it. It really looks terrible in this photo, oh well!

The image on the other hand is stinkin' cute! I love this squirrel from Whipper Snapper! He's stamped on Neenah Solar Crest White Ultra Smooth card stock and colored with Copics. I inked around the main panel with a sponge and Distress Ink in Brushed Corduroy. The dp is from Nutmeg from the Cosmo Cricket mini deck. Love it! I used an acorn punch and two different scraps of card stock to make my acorn that adorns my awful bow...which is PTI ribbon.

On this inside of the card I wrote "is it Thanksgiving already?!" I'll be back tomorrow for the weekly Color Throwdown. Have a great day!

Santa Challenge from High Hopes

Good morning and welcome to High Hopes Challenge #54. Our hostess Michelle wants you to use High Hopes Santas. This one is my favorite!

I stamped Woodland Santa on PTI white card stock and colored with Copics. His hat trim is treated with Marvy Liquid Applique. His beard is Ivory Flowersoft. I used Polar White Flower Soft on the tree, ground, and as falling snow around the image. It's all so soft and sparkly!

The red snowflake paper is from Imaginisce and the green dot is the reverse side. The green mat and card base are Prism. I made a tab and added a button using PTI products. The twine inside the buttons are also from PTI. The snowflakes were made using Marvy and Martha Stewart punches. They were coated with Diamond Glaze and then Diamond Dust.

Please visit the blog and see all the lovely samples and join in the challenge. There is always a great stamp prize for one lucky winner each week! Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

My favorite scarecrow

It truly is my favorite scarecrow stamp image. There are lots of cute ones, and I own a few, but I always come back to this guy.


This Whipper Snapper Friendly Scarecrow is stamped on Neenah Solar Crest White Ultra Smooth card stock and colored with Copics. I used a piece of Cosmo Cricket Nutmeg dp with woodgrain on top of a Bazzill card stock mat. The same mat paper I used under the main image panel and punch the edge with the new Martha Stewart loops punch set. I cut two small leaves from Prism card stock using the Nesties Leaf dies. They are lightly sponged on the edges like the main image panel. I adhered them with a fall brad with I think came from the $1 spot in Target and some twine from PTI. The sentiment is from the Anna Wight set Harvest Blessings.

Happy Thursday!

Week #69 with The Color Throwdown and Flourishes

Good Wednesday morning! Our awesome host for this weeks Color Throwdown is Cathy! Her challenge to use Cream, Dark Red, Chocolate, and Olive (optional) is being sponored by Flourishes. Woo hoo!

I used this gorgeous set called Gerber Daisies. Gerbera's are one of my favorite flowers and my hubby buys them for me in all different colors depending on the season. Okay, not recently, but when he used to bring me flowers more often, lol! I stamped the image on Neenah Solar Crest Ultra Smooth cream card stock and colored it with Copics. I stamped it again all the same and colored three flowers which I used to pop up on the main panel. The middle flower is up a little higher than the ones above and below. After coloring them I deepened the shading and added shimmer with Twinkling H2O's. I also used Distress Stickles in Antique Linen and Stickles in Cinnamon to add sparkle and texture to the flower centers. I also used the Cinnamon Stickles to make random dots around the flowers. I did ink up the edges of the cream panel with a bit of Distress Ink in Brushed Corduroy too, but it's fairly subtle and doesn't show really well in the photo.

The olive paper is Bazzill, the red dot from Bo Bunny, and the solid red from Prism. How's that for variety?! The ribbon is one I have in my stash and I have no idea where it came from, but boy it coordinated perfectly with these colors!

Please join us with week and get in the running to win a Flourishes stamp set! You can see all the gorgeous creations from the design team and our guest designer this month on the Color Throwdown!

LeAnne Pugliese - Wee Inklings

Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits

Broni Holcomb - Splashes of Watercolor

Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy

Cathy Indelicato - Crafty Thoughts

Elise Durenberger/November GD - Mamacow Creations

Wedding Card and an announcement

This is the card that I made for my husbands niece's wedding we attended at the end of October.


I cannot remember who makes the dp...it's a piece I had in my "valentines/romance" stash for some time. I stitched it to a Basic Grey pp mat then distressed the edges and added a pearl to each corner. I trimmed it so that FOREVER would appear in the bottom right corner. I used some pink silk ribbon I've also had in my stash for way too long and wrapped it around the mat and created a triple bow. I also tied a piece of coordinating fiber under the bow. I then inked up a chipboard heart with white pigment ink and embossed with clear ep before coating with Diamond Glaze and Diamond Dust glitter. It's really sparkly and pretty irl!

Just thought I'd take a quick break from fall cards...but not for long!

I also have made the decision to step down from the Wags 'n Whiskers design team. It's been difficult to maintain three DT positions, work full time, and spend time with my family...especially with the holiday's coming. It was an honor to serve with those talented Diva's! Make sure you head over to the WnW blog and keep up with all the great projects and new releases!

Have a great day!