Sassy Cheryl's White on White Challenge/A Spoon Full of Sugar #101

This week, Sassy Cheryl's design team challenged us to a white on white challenge. Basically, the only thing that can have color is the image. No colored papers, embellishments, ribbons, etc. I loved the samples by the design team, so had to play with this challenge. Here is my card...


Stamp: Bubble Blower (Sassy Cheryl's)
Paper: White, white and white cardstock, and my image has some small snippets of Basic Grey
Ink: Ink jet printer, Copics
Accessories: Cuttlebug Embossing Folders, Spellbinders Scallop Oval, Butterfly Embosslit (SU!), feather, Copic Air Brush System, Crystal Effects

I love how the white on white makes the color in the image really POP! I am thankful for embossing folders, because they add so much character to an otherwise white card.


I incorporated paper piecing on my image with Basic Grey paper, which I had not tried yet with digis. I printed directly onto my BG paper and cut out the sweater, dress and bows. The paper I used for the dress turned out unusual, but really added some great character to the image.

I also added some Crystal Effects to the bubble to give it just a little shine.


I incorporated the challenge at A Spoon Full of Sugar which was 3-D something, and I made my image 3-dimensional. I printed several images for the dimensional effect. I also printed on regular printer paper so I could make a mask for my airbrushing. This card required a lot of cutting out, but I love the result.

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great weekend!

Magnolia-licious Highlites April Sketch Challenge

When I saw the sketch for Magnolia-licious Highlites, I thought it would make a perfect scrapbook page layout. So, I changed it up this month and used the sketch as my inspiration for this page.

Stamps: Tilda on Horseback (Magnolia)
Paper: Sultry (Basic Grey), DCWV textured cardstock
Ink: Memento, Copics
Accessories: Scor-Pal, sewing machine, MS Fence Punch, Spellbinders Scallop Oval, Cuttlebug embossing folders, Retro Flower Punch, Rhinestone brads

This is the sketch for the month of April.

I decided to show the actual picture as getting a picture of a picture tends to deplete the quality. I took this picture of my daughter last summer. We were walking up by her grandparents' house and came across some horses by a fence. She ran ahead and I caught some candid shots of her interacting with the horses. I particularly loved the way she was back lit and how she is gazing at the beautiful horse.


I love this image for a horse layout. I thought it was perfect. I tried to draw color inspiration for the image from the photo, particularly my daughter's shirt. I used rose pink colors to outline and left the center primarily white. For the pants and horse, and used C greys, and for the halter, saddle, boots and hair, I used E53 and E55.


Because of the sketch, I wanted to create a cool frame for the picture. I decided to use my Scor-Pal to create a folded frame. I cut my strips of DP to slightly less than 1 inch strips. I scored a 1 inch across the page, then went back and scored at 1/4 inch. I folded at the score lines and sewed the border to a black cardstock mat.


Here is another example of the border. I wanted to balance my page, so I added some simple flowers using the DP that I used across the bottom of the page and finished them off with rhinestone brads.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a great day!

Sweet 'n Sassy Peek-a-Boo Sophie / Mojo Monday #136

This is my final week as a Guest Designer for Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. I just want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Korin, Kim, and the entire design team for so kindly welcoming me for the month of April.

For my final card, I used the sketch from Mojo Monday. I really liked the circle card, and since I usually go with the square cards, I decided to change it up. Here are their sketch options...


...and here is my card...

Stamps: Peek-a-Boo Sophie (SNSS), All Holidays (SU!)
Paper: Cameo Corral and Garden Green (SU!), Twitterpated (Imaginisce)
Ink: In Jet Printer, Copics, Garden Green
Accessories: Ribbon, Slot Punch, Spellbinders scalloped circle

My mom and dad are visiting, and before they leave tomorrow, I wanted to get a Mother's Day card done for my mom. So, I decided to incorporate a Mother's Day sentiment into my Peek-a-Boo Sophie card.


I colored Sophie with Copics. I just love this image. So springy and fun. I love how she makes the flower "come to life."

I hope you have a great day. Thanks again to the SNSS design team for all your help and support! You guys are the best.

April Magnolia-licious Christmas All Year Long Blog Hop

Welcome to the fourth installment of our monthly Magnolia-licious Christmas All Year Long Blog Hop. This group was created for Magnolia lovers who want to get a jump on the Christmas season by creating a Christmas card each month. If you are visiting this blog hop, I hope it will inspire you to get ahead of the holiday season and join us in our endeavor.

The blog hop will start at Christmas All Year Long Magnolia-licious Yahoo Group. If you get lost, the list of all players will appear on that blog. From here, you will go to Annabelle's blog.

My inspiration for my card came from the Sketch Saturday Challenge #100. Here is their sketch...

...and here is my card...

Stamp: Unwrapped Tilda (Magnolia), Season's Greetings (SU!)
Paper: Garden Green and Red Riding Hood (SU!), cold press watercolor paper, designer paper from stash (sorry, I don't know who makes it)
Ink: Staz-On, Distress Ink
Accessories: Half back pearls, Flower Power Punch, Scallop Edge Punch (SU!), Spellbinders Scallop Oval, Oval cutter (Creative Memories), sewing machine


I used my oval cutter from Creative Memories to cut out the oval around my image. I stopped cutting at her legs and allowed her legs to extend beyond the oval. It gives her a nice 3-D feel.

I wanted something to help balance the card at the top, but wanted the card a little more simple and not too flowery. So, I used my new Flower Power punch to punch flowers out of my "gift" paper. I added a little distress ink around the edges to make it pop a bit and finished off with half back pearls.

I have to tell you, getting this card done this weekend was a real challenge. My parents are visiting, we babysat my great niece (3 months old) yesterday, shopped and cooked today, and tomorrow we will have a bunch for dinner. Fortunately, I had already picked my papers and colored my image. I just had to put it all together. I am thankful for the Sketch Saturday sketch, nice and simple and pretty easy to finish up. With that said, I am glad I have one more Christmas card done. That will be one less to make when it get really busy in the fall. Wouldn't you love to have a jump on the holiday season? Join us, make a Christmas card a month, and save yourself the stress at the holidays.

So, next in the blog hop, you will visit Annabelle's blog.

Magnolia-licious is a great resource for Magnolia stamps! They have a great selection and great service.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a great day!

Birds of Prey - SC276 - Simon Says Challenge

I needed to make a masculine card for a friend whose birthday is this weekend. I liked the Splitcoast Stampers sketch challenge because of the clean, simple feel of the sketches, and masculine cards are better when they are not too frilly. So, I used the sketch from last week. Here is the sketch...


...and here is my card...


Stamps: Birds of Prey (SU!)
Paper: K&Co, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Staz-On, distress ink
Accessories: Sewing machine, feathers (from Joann)


The challenge for Simon Says this week is Things With Wings. I figure this fits right in.

I have not practiced distress ink water coloring on images other than Magnolia's. It was fun to get to play with some wildlife water coloring. I love the Birds of Prey for masculine cards. They are so beautiful!

I found these feathers in the Mardi Gras section of Joann. I got a ton of them, and they are not expensive. What a great embellishment for a masculine "bird" card. It brings the card to life.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Sweet 'n Sassy Purrfect Friend - Simon Says Let's Go to the Movies

My card today features Purrfect Friend from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. This is a long post because I actually have two cards to show. The story of how I came up with these two cards is tied together, and the rest of the story will be continued below.


Stamps: Purrfect Friend (SNSS)
Paper: DCWV, Chocolate Chip and Pacific Point (SU!)
Ink: Ink Jet, Copics (Ws)
Accessories: Ribbon, Prima's, Sizzix die, Spellbinders Scallop Circle, Curly Label Punch, Sewing Machine, paper piercing tool, flat-back pearls, cuttlebug embossing folder


I had my first experience trying to stitch a circle. Not as easy as it would seem. I first try a zigzag stitch, but that did not work at all. I ended up pulling it out. Then I was left with a zigzag piercing pattern on my colored image. Always resourceful and hating to waste anything, I decided to go with it and textured the paper with my piercing tool. I went ahead and sewed it again with a straight stitch which worked better, though still tricky. I like the final effect. I also added some tiny flat-back pearls to make a collar for my kitty.


When I was working with the paper, I loved the dots down the side of the papers. I decided to punch out the holes and lace up the papers. I really love the effect.

To balance the card, I used my Sizzix die to cut a vine and added some Prima's and flat-back pearls. It provided a nice balance of white on the card.

I carried the lace-it-up idea to the inside of the card.

Now for the rest of the story...

This is the image I originally intended to use on my card...

...however, there was no way to place the image on the card without covering up the lace. I finally decided to redesign and came up with the card above. Then, I was left with this completed image. The idea was inspired by the Simon Says Challenge - Let's Go to the Movies. My idea was to create the Aristocats. I looked up pictures of the cats and colored mine based on the ones from the Disney movie. So, like I said, I started over, and here is what I came up with...

Stamps: Purrfect Friend
Paper: Chocolate Chip (SU!), DCWV
Ink: Ink jet, Prismacolor Pencils
Accessories: Sizzix die cut, DMC floss, Branch punch, Prima's flowers, Copics Airbrush System, Build-a-Brad, Vintage brads.

Since I had already completed my image, the card came together very quickly. The one challenge I had was finding the right flowers. I finally chose some white Prima's and colored them with my Copics Airbrush System. I finished off my flower with a Build-a-Brad and a piece of my DCWV paper that matched the frames.

The great thing is, this will be a perfect card for our friends' soon to be 7-year-old daughter who just LOVES kitties. I can't wait to send it to her.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you have a great day!

Mojo Monday #134 - Tilda with Pets

The sketch for Mojo Monday this week was very inspiring for me. Here is the sketch...

...and here is my card...


Stamps: Tilda With Cat, Tilda With Puppy, Whimsical Words (SU!), Flourish stamps (MS)
Paper: Nana's Nursery - Baby Girl, Textured Cardstock (DCWV)
Ink: Staz-On, Distress Ink, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Flowers and Leaves (Prima's and Wild Orchid), Branch Punch (MS), Rhinestones, Round Tab Punch, Scallop Trim Border (SU!), Spellbinders Label


The sketch inspired me to hinge the front of the card with the round tab punch. I wanted my images to correspond, so I chose Tilda with Cat and Tilda with Puppy.


I am continuing to refine my style with distress inks. I can't get over the effect of blending colors. I just wish the photographs did justice to what the images are like in person.


I wanted to use Becca's technique for bow tying. I struggled a bit because the bow kept covering my image. I finally ended up with a bow tie.

I can't make a card without some kind of flower bouquet. Gotta love those flowers.

So, do you ever finish a card, and think, "Why is this not quite right?" I felt that way with this card. I like it, but I think I would have liked the bow a little higher. What do you think? I am always trying to improve, so your comments are always appreciated.

Well, I hope you have a great weekend!

Sweet 'n Sassy Campsite - SC275

My card today was made for a friend's teenage son. So, my normal flowery, foo foo card wouldn't work so well. I need to preface this with the fact that these are our camping buddies, so this card is perfect for their son...

Stamps: Campsite (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps), Upsy Daisy (SU!)
Paper: River Rock (Provo Craft), Always Artichoke, Basic Black
Ink: Ink jet printer, Copics
Accessories: Seed grass, Adhesive Bubble Icon (JoAnn)


I colored by image with copics, and added Copics gold Spica pen for the moon and the stars to make them shine. This digi makes me long for summer. We love to camp with our friends, and we can't wait for camping season again.


I normally like to use flowers, but for a teenage boy, flowers just would not do. However, I wanted some kind of embellishment. I had this seed grass in my stash, so I took a piece of the seed grass, cut it into approximately 1-1/2 inch pieces, and then glued them to the card, covering the glue with this acrylic bubble icon.


For my post today, I used Split Coast Stampers sketch challenge #SC275. This is perfect for a simple card that will mail easily (without standing in line at the post office).

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great Tuesday!

Tilda - Live With Passion

For today's card, I used another sketch from Hanna's Hobbyblogg. I also incorporated two challenges into this card...

Magnolia Down Under - Olden Days
Cute Card Thursday - Mono Mania

Here is Hanna's sketch...

...and here is my card...


Stamps: Charleston Tilda, Inspired By Nature (SU!), Fancy That (Inkadoo)
Paper: Paper from stash (purchased as a paper stack at Hobby Lobby), DCWV
Ink: Memento, Copics (almost all W's), Distress Inks
Acdcessories: Wild Orchid flowers, Rose Leaf punch, Branch punch, flat-back pearls

For the Magnolia Down Under Challenge (Olden Days), the challenge is to color the image in black, white and greys and have colourful, vintage (what ever you like) papers. I wanted to use warm greys to give it a vintage feel, so my image is colored with a variety of Copics W's from W00 to W07. I was a little nervous starting this process because, without color, it is all shadows. However, I love the result. I added just a hint of pink to her flower to make it like a colored black and white photo. For the Cute Card Thursday challenge, we are supposed to use black, white, grey, and one color. There is a little green because of the leaves. I hope that is okay with the challenge leaders.


The great thing about vintage is the flowers. I just love these flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts. I am hooked. I so enjoyed creating these bouquets, and love the result. Again, I did use my Copics Airbrush System to add the right shade of pink to the flowers.












And here is one last picture. I love the result. Great challenges.

I hope you come back tomorrow for my Sweet 'n Sassy card.