Happy Valentine's Day!

I wanted to start showing my Valentines Day cards a few days ago, to spread them all out...but I am never quite that organized.  I don't go on my computer much on the weekends so I never got around to posting these, so now you get them all at once :)

I will start with this cutie for my husband.  This adorable hamster is Hamster Cupid from Lil' Inker Designs.  It's stamped on Flourishes Classic White card stock and colored with Copic markers.   I sponged inside the Spellbinders Standard Circle large die after cutting out the image.  I used the Big Scalloped Circle die to mat the image.  The heart and arrow, and the heart on the inside are from the die set Of The Heart Die and Stamp Set also from Lil' Inker Designs.  After I inserted the arrow into the heart I gave it a coating of Crystal Effects and glitter.  The gem hearts are Prima Crystal Hearts in shades of pink.  All of the paper is from MME A Happy Heart. 

 

 I tried not to make is too feminine so I used lots of gray and black and no ribbons of any kind.  I think the Christmas card I gave my husband contained enough pink to last him the whole year!   I stamped the image inside along with a sentiment from the Of The Heart Die and Stamp set.  I just wanna squeeze him!!!

This adorable image is from Tiddly Inks.  It's a digi image called Who Loves You. It's printed on Flourishes Classic White card stock and colored with Copics.  The sentiment is a play on words and I created it on the computer and printed it on the same card stock, cut it out, and popped it up on the main image panel.   This is for my 8 year old son, so I restricted the pink only to the hearts and used some masculine plaid paper from the Basic Gray Oxford paper pad. 

Last, but not least, is the card I made for my 6 year old son.  This adorable image from Whipper Snapper Designs (which you can purchase as one image too) is actually two separate stamps.  I stamped the frog first, then masked him and stamped the mushroom underneath and colored with Copics.  I used a green Spica pen to sparkle up his spots and Prismacolor Pencils and oms to shade around the image and grass.  The paper again is from the Basic Gray Oxford 6x6 pad.   The sentiment is also from WSD and I added a small heart button and bakers twine with a paper heart doily to finish it. 

I sneaked both of these cards into the boys snack bags along with a little bag of Hershey's Kisses...I hope the teacher lets them enjoy a little chocolate at snack time today :)  When they get home they will also get chocolate covered Oreo's from my favorite chocolatier, Bon Bons, yum!

 I hope you enjoyed these cards and that you are giving extra love to your loved ones today.  Check back tomorrow for another Color Throwdown challenge!  Have a great day! 

Wednesday’s Color Throwdown

Thought I got lost didn’t ya? Yeah, sorry, been busy and trying to get back on track…so here I am with another awesome color combo, this time brought to us by LeAnne!

These colors were inspired by the lovely Wisteria line of paper by Basic Grey…which I happily used!

I stamped this beautiful fairy image, On TipToe, from Lili of the Valley with Memento Ink on white card stock and colored it with Copics.

It’s matted and layered with Wisteria patterned paper and Stampin Up card stock. I added some lavender ribbon from my stash, a few Kaiser gems, and a lovely vintage Prima flower. I randomly added “fairy dust” glitter to the image.

Please come on over to the Color Throwdown and join this weeks challenge! Make sure you check out all the wonderful samples from our design team and guest designer! Have a great day!

LeAnne Pugliese - Wee Inklings

Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits

Broni Holcomb - Splashes of Watercolor

Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy

Kristin Bueter – Mindless Creativity

Teresa Kline, April Guest Designer - Enjoy the VA Sunshine

High Hopes Challenge #71

A really quick post today…it’s challenge #71 over at High Hopes and it’s to use two or more High Hopes images not including a sentiment. I pulled out some of my old favorites here!

I used Walkabout Wally and Stanley Snake and Jungle Leaf Corner which were all colored with Copics. The jungle leaves were cut out and popped up and the sentiment edges distressed and dressed with a bit of twine. The patterned paper is from the Archaic line by Basic Grey.

Pop on over to the High Hopes blog and join in this weeks challenge. We love to see your creations and you have a chance to win a fabulous prize! Enjoy today!

Wednesday’s Color Throwdown #68

This week at the Color Throwdown our hostess Barbara was inspired by Origin’s paper from Basic Grey and has challenged us with these colors:

I used this adorable image from Stamping Bella called Sk8tr Boy

I’ve used Origins paper and colored my image with Copic markers. I used these Bella Dots in each corner. I just handwrote a sentiment and added it with a brown mat up on some adhesive dots. It will come in handy for one of the many birthday parties my boys have been attending lately!

Please come over to the Color Throwdown and join in the challenge and don’t forget to check out all the talented design team cards too!

LeAnne Pugliese - Wee Inklings

Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits

Broni Holcomb - Splashes of Watercolor

Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy

Kristin Bueter – Mindless Creativity

March Guest Designer - Pam

Wednesday's Color Throwdown

Welcome to Color Throwdown #82. Our hostess this week is LeAnne and she has this awesome color combo for us...


I used the stamp set Out to Sea from Papertrey Ink and paired it with patterned paper from the Boxer line by Basic Grey.


The anchor and sentiment are stamped in Night Sky VersaMagic chalk ink. The anchor was stamped again, cut out, and popped up on the main image. The image and mat are both cut out with new Nestabilities dies. I took a piece of rustic twine and wrapped it around the popped up anchor for a simple embellishment.

Make sure you head over to the CTD blog and check out all the wonderful samples from the design team and guest designer and please play along! Have a great day!!

Bellarific Challenge

This weeks challenge over at Bloggabella is to create a Valentine or Lovey Dovey themed card. I already had this super sweet Izzy stamped up just begging to be colored. She was just perfect for the theme with her heart shaped lolly and tiny heart on her hat!

She stamped on Bella's Bestest Paper in cream and I have only tried it with Copics so far, but it really is wonderful! I am looking forward to trying it out with my Prismacolor pencils. Originally when I stamped this image it was very crooked. I didn't think anything of it at the time figuring I would just use a die to cut it out when I was done. However when I went to do that I realized that I could not get the image straight inside the die because it was stamped too close to the bottom of the paper and I got an empty spot. Well, I twisted and I turned and I tried all different shapes to no avail. So I had to do some creative cutting. I trimmed the bottom straight to the image and then when straightening the sides it left parts of the image outside the frame-which is exactly what I did. Thank goodness for my Scor-pal! That thing is a lifesaver when it comes to getting those right angles!

I just added a tiny bit of glitter for some sparkle and layered it all on Basic Grey paper from the Sugared line. I just love how it came out! I wrote in 'Love' since it was a little off balance on the right side and just a simple Martha Stewart heart punch and a threaded button to finish it off. Voila!

Right now the snow is coming down with a vengeance! We already had about 4 inches before the storm really kicked in. They say some spots on the island could reach up to 18 inches! So glad that I don't have to shovel today! Hope you are all cozy inside!

Lets get Wired!

It's Sunday and that means it's High Hopes challenge #62! Karen has asked us to use wire on our cards this week. You can also use any metal in place of wire. Here I used some Wild Wire to make "balloon strings" for my image.


My image is Willy One Eye stamped on Neenah Solar Crest White Ultra Smooth card stock and colored with Copic markers. The stars are stamped on a Basic Grey scrap from the Origins line and cut out and attached to the end of the wires to represent balloons. The patterned paper is also from Origins and the cardstock, button, and ribbon from PTI.

Come join this weeks challenge and show us what you can do with wire or metal embellishments! You have a chance to win a prize from High Hopes too! Have a great Sunday!

The cutest king of the jungle

This adorable King of the Jungle stamp can be found in the tiddly inks sections of the stamp category on Stamping Bella.

He's stamped on Neenah Solar Crest White Ultra Smooth cardstock and colored up with Prismacolor pencils and oms. I stitched all around the image, after lightly inking the edges, and attached to a solid panel from the Archaic line from Basic Grey. The patterned paper is all from the Archaic line. I had originally pulled out some much softer, more baby like, paper, but forgot and used this instead. So now I have to make another one for a younger child with the other paper. The chipboard bone is also from the Archaic line and I just added a button, and a few more at the side for simple embellishments. We don't want any bows on a boy card!

I was hoping to have a few more to share this week, but currently I am headed to the bathroom to give the dog a bath! Fun, fun, fun! Just wait 'til she gets a load of the blow dryer-yeah!

Have a great day!

Shades of Gray

This weeks challenge over at Mo’s Challenge Blog is Shades of Gray. Wow, this was a difficult challenge for me! I had ideas about this image End of the Summer that I used that did not include using almost no color…but I am pleased with how it turned out.

After using Copics to color image with shades of Cool Gray I added colors to the flowers and touches of glitter to the centers and randomly around the image. I layered the image on a fabulous piece of Origins paper from Basic Grey. I sponged around the image panel with London Fog, a Memento Dew Drop dye ink. It’s simply adorned with a yellow ribbon and bow from Papertrey Ink.

Going to the dogs

Good Saturday morning! I have several Stamping Bella images that I’ve purchased over the last few months but never seemed to have inked up…and with a few more that arrived yesterday I thought I’d get going on them. Today I have Dogwalkabella to share.

This image is stamped on Neenah Solar Crest White Ultra Smooth card stock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. It’s colored with Prismacolor pencils and OMS (odorless mineral spirits). This is the first time I am also breaking out my Basic Grey Origins paper….I love it! I created this fun flower from a tutorial I saw on Dawn McVey’s blog. I had seen others using them and I really love them so I finally made one myself. The flower was so big and bold that I thought adding ribbon or a bow might be too much. I also didn’t have a sentiment handy for this, so I am leaving it blank for now-when I have a need to use this card I will add it then.

I hope everyone in the north is keeping warm today! It was 16 degrees as I stood at the bus stop with my 6 year old yesterday! The high reached 22 degrees but was much less with the wind chill factor-yikes! This morning I am sitting on the couch in front of the fire keeping cozy! I am soooo ready for spring!

I could use a fairy about now

I love this chubby fairy from Mo's Digital Pencil! She's just what I need, or rather my husband needs right now as he suffers from kidney stones. A little wave of the wand and it's all better!

She's colored with Copics on Neenah Solar Crest White Ultra Smooth card stock. The patterned paper is from the Wisteria collection from Basic Grey. There's some glitter on her wings and wand added with a Quickie Glue Pen. The ribbon is PTI and finished off with a tiny dragonfly charm that I picked up in a pack from the notions section in Walmart, which mimics the dragonfly print on the base pp, that you really can't see-oh well.

I hope this is a happy Thursday for you-one more day until the weekend!

Just a few more days...

to squeeze in the rest of my Christmas cards. I can't believe it's only 4 days away. I thought I would bake all day yesterday while I was snowed in, but since hubby was away I had to do the shoveling and when I went to bake my cookies the oven decided to stop working, again. At least I had already made one kind and had made my brownies earlier in the morning. I then made my truffles after dinner since they didn't require the oven. What a pain though!

Today's card features Wee and reindeer from Whiff of Joy. These gnomes are just so adorable! I have a few more but I didn't get around to them yet...next year maybe!

The image is stamped on Neenah Solar Crest White Ultra Smooth and colored with Copics. It's accented with glitter and matted on Basic Grey paper from the Wassail line. I sponged some color around the image and underneath as well. The holly punch is from Martha Stewart and the flat backed gem from Making Memories.

Did you get any snow? We got about 15 inches in my town and the further you went east on the island the higher it got. Where my sil lives they got 26 inches! Glad I didn't have to shovel that! I would love to share some pictures but my CF card wouldn't download. I think I may have lost them as the camera kept telling me there was a CF error and to replace the card. I had such cute pics of the dog in the snow too, oh well.

See ya tomorrow!

Are you snowed in?

I'll let you know in the morning! I had to force open the back door to let the dog out around 9pm and it's after midnight as I type this and it's still snowing. The drifts on my windows is obscuring my view, well that, and it's dark! Anyway, just wanted to share some more Christmas cards.

These two images are Forever Friends and they were stamped images sent to me by my friend Tammi. They are just so cute! I kept the designs super simple so the focus would be on the bears. Ok, that and it was late and I was tired and I was rushing to get them into the mail so the recipients would get them before Christmas. You're gonna see more like this over the next couple of days!



Both images were colored with Copic markers and are paired with Wassail paper from Basic Grey. The holly punch is from Martha Stewart and I used some tiny gems for berries. There is Polar Ice Flower Soft on both cards and I used some Diamond Glaze on the lantern to make it look like glass.

I hope I can get my door open in the morning and take some snow pictures to share you with. My hubby took the boys upstate for the weekend and while it's been quiet here and I got tons done today, I don't have anyone to shovel! Guess, I'll be getting a workout with that shovel...

My late Color Throwdown post

Sorry folks that I am so late with this weeks challenge. I have been sick (hubs too) since Monday and out of work. I am hoping my hubby and I can get into see the doctor today. I thought I was getting better when I suddenly got worse. Really knocked me off my feet. But right now I am going to get my card posted while I have a bit of energy!



This weeks sponsor is My Favorite Things! I absolutely adore the Rainy Day Friends set that Kim Van Der Sanden sent to me! Here's my creation.

Broni is the super hostess this week and the colors she chose colors inspired by the Eskimo Kisses line from Basic Grey. I made my card using those BG papers then realized that I should have used red instead of magenta but it's close enough, right? I paper pieced her raincoat, pockets, boots and the frog. The rest is colored with Copics. The cardstock is Prism and Neenah solar crest white. I stamped the background of the image panel with swirls from the set in Versamagic Dew Drop Arctic Blue and then accented with Stardust Stickles. The buttons on her raincoat are swarovski crystals from Jolee.

Head on over to the Color Throwdown blog and join us for a chance to win a prize and have some fun!

Deer Santa...I can explain!

Yuck, it's Monday and back to work, sigh. I did accomplish quite a bit of Christmas shopping and made a huge dent in my Christmas cards over this long weekend though. Now maybe I can catch up on my Google Reader, yikes it's huge! I miss everyone and will be visiting soon, I promise!

How sweet is this mouse?! I love the art of Mo's Digital Pencil. Her images are fun and whimsical and so endearing. Ah, what sweet dreams he's having!

I colored this mouse with Copics on Neenah Solar Crest White Ultra Smooth card stock. It's matted with some Bo Bunny dot paper and layered on pattern paper from the Wassail line of Basic Grey. The green card base is Prism and the ribbon from PTI. I also had these great fabric poinsettia's from Prima that I bought last year and hadn't used yet finished with a glittery brad in the center.

Be back on Wednesday with a new Color Throwdown challenge! Have a great day!

Color Throwdown #66

Happy Wednesday! I have a splitting headache so I'm gonna make this quick! This weeks challenge is being hosted by LeAnne and these are the gorgeous colors she picked:


I chose to use my new Predictabella from Stamping Bella. She's colored with Prisma's and oms and layered with dp from the Basic Grey Wisteria line. I added lots of sparkle with prisma glitter from Judikins.


Please come over to the blog and join us for another fun week! Don't forget to check out all the awesome samples from the design team! Have a great day!

LeAnne Pugliese - Wee Inklings

Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits

Broni Holcomb - Splashes of Watercolor

Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy

Cathy Indelicato - Crafty Thoughts

Lisa Kind/Guest Designer - Kind Creations

Color Throwdown #65 with Stamping Bella

I am hosting this weeks Color Throwdown which is being sponsored by Stamping Bella! I have chosen Certainly Celery, Purely Pomegranate, and Taken with Teal which was inspired by the Lemonade paper line by Basic Grey. You can use any similar colors to join in the fun...these are just a guideline!


I used this image called Addy'tude is on top of the world found under the Tiddly Inks category of stamps. She's colored with Prisma pencils and oms. The dp is Basic Grey's Lemonade, and cardstock is Prism...I didn't have any Purely Pomegranate, oops. I used some Magenta Stickles around the frame and on her earrings and some diamond glaze on her sunglasses. Too bad I added the Diamond Glaze before I colored them...because trying to wipe it off and then color them didn't work out so well, and of course this was almost the very last thing I did to the image so I didn't want to do it over, ugh. I added some flat backed pearls from Prima under the sentiment and viola!

So make sure you head over to the Color Throwdown and join in the challenge. You have a chance to win Bella Bucks and have lots of fun!

Make sure you check out our great DT too!

LeAnne Pugliese - Wee Inklings

Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits

Broni Holcomb - Splashes of Watercolor

Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy

Cathy Indelicato - Crafty Thoughts

Lisa Kind/Guest Designer - Kind Creations

That's a lot of ice cream!

One can never have too much ice cream, right? Here's another image from the Whipper Snapper 2009 Fall/Winter collection. This one is called Haagen-Daz Bear. He does love his Haagen-Daz!


The image is stamped on Neenah Solar Crest White Ultra Smooth cardstock and colored with Copics. I did add a bit of sparkle with my Sakura Stardust gelly roll pen, but again you can't really see it in the picture, sigh. I paired him up with this pretty plaid paper from the Lemonade collection by Basic Grey. The pink cardstock and ribbon are both from PTI.

I just noticed...funny how we overlook these things...that many of my Whipper Snapper images have no sentiments. I actually do that a lot, so that I can customize the card when I am ready to use it. This could be for a birthday, get well, cheer up, sayin HI...anything. But in my haste ( and being the busiest summer ever!) I did it a bit more than I normally do. In any case, I hope you enjoy the image!

We had a splendid weekend and I hope everyone enjoyed theirs as much as I did mine. Now it's back to the old grind...which is a good thing for me! Happy Tuesday!

Color Throwdown #56 with Rubbernecker

Good morning and welcome to Color Throwdown #56! This week our sponsor is the one and only Rubbernecker! They are offering a prize for this weeks random winner!

Our awesome color combo came from our host Broni and inspired by Basic Grey's Marrakech line. These were really fun colors to work with and different than I would normally choose and they are just beautiful!

I chose to use this Olive Jar from the Happy Hour collection by Rubbernecker as my main image. After coloring with Copics, I cut it out and popped it up over the fun sentiment. I also cut out the olive and adhered it to a toothpick which I shortened and added some mica glitter flakes to the end to make it a party pick!


In the picture below I tried to capture the shine of the glass jar I created by painting Diamond Glaze over the image with a paint brush. I didn't want to squeeze it on like I normally do because I didn't really want to give the jar dimension, just shine. I would have used my clear gelly roll pen but it ran out about half way through!

I followed Broni's lead and I used some BG paper from the Marrakech line and some lovely satin ribbon from PTI. I cut out the sentiment with a rectangle Nestability and sponged on some Brushed Cordouroy Distress Ink from Ranger while it was still in the die. I also stamped a small margarita glass on the inside which you can see a bit here. It was much smaller than the olive jar and olive so I thought it would be a fun addition to the inside.

I hope you join us this week and try out these lovely colors! You will also be in the running for Featured Stamper and possibly Guest Designer...and you also might win a prize! Check out all the lovely samples from the ladies below!

LeAnne Pugliese - Wee Inklings
Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits
Broni Holcomb - Splashes of Watercolor
Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy
Cathy Indelicato - Crafty Thoughts

August Guest Designer, Sylvia Nelson - Sylvia's Stamping Corner

It's a Pixie

I just adore these cutie pies from CC Designs. You can find this Swiss Pixie and others at All That Scraps. I sent this to LeAnne for her birthday...and I hope she has it already!

I paired her with this great Basic Grey Lemonade paper. I thought I'd go a bit funky with her and paper piece her dress and boots in a fun pattern. She's colored with Copics and I glittered her wings with Diamond Glaze and ultra fine irridescent glitter. I added a piece of vellum between the layers which I edged with the SU scallop punch and added some fun flat backed Kaiser pearls to each scallop. She even has two tiny ones for pig tail holders. The cardstock and ribbon are both from PTI. In the photo below you can see some of the sparkly on her wings and that I added to her hair with a Sakura Stardust pen.


It's a lovely day here on Long Island and I am taking the day off to get some things done...including a pedicure! Ooh one of my favorites! Have a great day!