Flowers for Mother

Good Morning :) I have another Mother's day card to share with you today. This image is called Sunflower in Pitcher and it's by Northwoods. I really took this image beyond my own expectations! LOL I stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black ink, and embossed it with clear detail ep, then colored it with Tombows. I added some flower soft to the centers, added various shades of stickles for highlights and popped up a separate stamped butterfly on one of the flowers. If you click on the photo, you can see the detail of that butterfly.....it got lost in the colors of the flowers! I sponged the edges, then pierced and distressed them before matting. I pierced a tiny bit on the sentiment panel and added a long-hoarded Heidi Swapp gemstone. It sparkles way more than this photo shows.
Thanks for stopping by, and remember that Mother's Day is next week, so you'd better get those cards finished and in the mail soon!
Have a wonderful Thursday and thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and leave a comment :)

Carol

stamps - Northwoods Sunflower in Pitcher, Wonderful Favorites (sentiment)
papers - Pale Plum, Deep Tempting Tanzanite, wc paper
inks - Versafine Onyx Black, Pale Plum
accessories - Tombow markers, stickles, heather Flowersoft, oval punches, Heidi Swapp gemstone

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge 13

Cindy Haffner came up with this great sketch challenge today over at the Flourishes Newsletter blog. As soon as I saw it I couldn't resist playing along. I recently bought the Flourishes Sweet Pea stamp set and I just love coloring these awesome flowers, so I made another Mother's day card. I used some gorgeous Prism Azalea papers in the dark and medium shades. The embossed squares were done with a cuttlebug embossing folder, and I used Nesties and oval punches too. I wrapped it all up with some SU! taffeta ribbon (I LOVE this stuff). I might just add a tiny gemstone to the sentiment panel before I'm completely finished with this card.
Thanks for the great sketch Cindy, and thanks to Flourishes for the opportunity to play along each week! Thanks too for stopping by and have a wonderful day :)

Carol

MoJo84

This is my Mojo84 card for this week's challenge, but it didn't turn out like I imagined it would. I think my mojo took a vacation for a while! LOL I'm sure we all have days like this .......I know I have my share of them :) Maybe I can blame it on the sizzling heat wave we're having?
Anyway, I used PTI white, Old Olive and Spring Moss cardstocks and dsp. I embossed the olive with a stamp from the Carte Postale set using Versamark, and then embossed it with white ep. I enhanced the floral centers on the dsp with a white sharpie marker and added some Spring Moss dotted ribbon in the center of the card. I colored the Echoes of Kindness floral image with reinkers and a blender pen and added a few gemstones. I cut the circle with SU! and Marvy punches and added a piece of sheer, dotted ribbon. I stamped the sentiment with Verve stamps using Olive and Regal Rose inks. Hopefully my mojo will find it's way back home again soon.
Have a wonderful Monday everyone and thanks so much for stopping by:)

Carol

KSCC#12

I could hardly wait to play with my new Kitchen Sink Stamps, so what a better way to use them than to enter a Kitchen Sink Stamps challenge? That's how I got this set to begin with, by entering a KSS challenge! This week we're to alter/stamp a rolodex card, recipe/index card or library catalog card. I've had these recipe cards & index cards for ages and this was the perfect time to get them out and play around. I used the Lily stamp set and these flowers are much prettier than my photo shows! This is the 9th try for a decent picture! LOL The index cards have a shiny finish, so there's a glare on every picture I take. This was the best of the worst, so you get what you see:) I used mostly chalk inks on this because they didn't smear like regular inks did. It took some experimenting before I found what works. If you can't read the recipe, it's for garlic/dill pretzels that go over big whenever I make them. I'll type the recipe below in case anyone wants to try them. If you want a testimonial, just ask Heidi - she loves 'em :)
If you can believe it, it was so stinkin' hot here that we turned the central air on last night! Yes, in APRIL! What are we going to do when summer gets here?! Yikes!! 2 more days of 90 degree temps and then we're going back to a more normal 68, which is quite comfortable for me!
Thanks for stopping by today, enjoy your Sunday afternoon!
Carol

stamps - Kitchen Sink Stamps Lily
inks - pink, pretty in pink, orchid pastel, dk peony, maroon, olive, thyme, artichoke
accessories - mini pink ric-rac

The Recipe for Garlic Dill Pretzels
1 bag broken sourdough pretzels
1 envelope Ranch dip mix
1 cup oil
2 heaping T. dill weed
1-2 tsp. garlic powder

Preheat oven to 200. Spread the broken pretzel pieces on a foil-lined baking sheet with sides. Mix the remaining ingredients in a large measuring cup until well blended. Pour over pretzels and stir to coat all the pieces. Bake 20 minutes, stir, and continue baking for another 20 minutes. Cool and store in an airtight container. Enjoy :)

VLVApr05 challenge

I'm posting in the wee hours when I should be in bed, but I'm wide awake so I thought I'd make a card for the Viva La Verve challenge. I used groovy guava and certainly celery for this. I was so hoping I had a little piece of guava double-stitched ribbon for this, but boo-hoo! All gone :( I wish SU! would bring back that awesome ribbon. Anyhoo - I used celery ribbon instead. I used the corner rounder to make the scalloped border, and Nesties for the focal image. The stamp is Sweet Peas by Flourishes and I water colored it with Tombows. A few Kaiser Blush pearls, a stamped sentiment, and I was done!
We're heading for temps in the mid to high 80s tomorrow, so I won't be indoors stamping too much! Have a great weekend everyone!

Carol

Mother's Day

I loved this sketch so much that I made yet another Mother's day card in different colors. This time I used Pale Plum, Gray, and white, with touches of Eggplant. I thought I grabbed a scrap of Perfect Plum, but after a 2nd look, it looks more like Eggplant so that's what I'm calling it. The flowers are all from different punches, and so are the ferns and branches. The stamp is from Inkadinkado, and I used the Cuttlebug embossing folder for the background panels. Quick, Easy, and I just love the look of this sketch!
Have a great Friday - the weekend is finally here! I'm so looking forward to the Talledega race this Sunday! GO TONY!

Carol

Blog Award

Imagine my surprise when I received this blog award from Stampin' with Jessi and Rachel.
Thanks ladies! This award is given to a blogger who shows great attitude and gratitude. After receiving this award, this is what I'm supposed to do:

Comment on this blog

Cut and paste the logo and put on your own blog

Pass it along to other bloggers and link them to this post

Comment on their blogs to let them know that they received something from you

Link back to the person who gave the award to show appreciation

Here are the bloggers I'll pass this on to

Deanna

LeAnne

Sue

Thank you Jessi & Rachel for always leaving such sweet comments, and thank you to all of the wonderful bloggers out there who deserve gratitude for all they do as well!

Carol

Incredible Blog Candy Giveaway!

If you want to see some blog candy that will knock your socks off, go HERE. I've never seen anything like this! Debbie has a wonderful blog that you'll want to visit again and again. Hurry though, this blog candy ends April 30th!! Good luck!!

Cheesecake Party

Good Morning to you all on this Thursday!
I made this card from a stamped image Michelle sent me with my last order from Stampersdream.com. It's made by Penny Black and it's called Cheesecake Party. I dug this piece of K&Co dsp from my stash and pulled out the Tombows to color. I added some liquid applique to the frosting and tip of the candle, then sprinkled on some dazzling diamonds. After it dried, I hit it with the heatgun to puff it up. The sentiment is from a G Studio stamp and the ribbon was a piece from my stash. The corder is a diecut I made with my Quickutz and the gemstones are from Kaiser.
It's time to celebrate a nice spring day, so grab a cupcake and enjoy!

Carol

CTD39, SC225

First of all, I'd like to offer my sincere congratulations to Heidi on the birth of her beautiful new granddaughter Avery! She's just perfect and so adorable, and her big sister seems to be in love with her too. Heidi, you take all the time you need to love that sweet little baby and do all the work that spring requires of you. We'll all be waiting for your return to the stamping world to see your next creation, and no! I do NOT own this blog now! LOL I know I'll miss your posts, but we'll all welcome you back with open arms when you find the time to stamp.
On to today's card. This is a double challenge for the CTD39, and the SCS SC225 sketch challenge. The sketch challenge was so interesting to me that I couldn't resist, and the CTD challenge was to use Real Red, Black and Barely Bananna. I knew I could make the red and black work, but I wasn't sure about adding the banana to the mix. I was pleasantly surprised once I began making the card because the colors actually worked well together and I liked the finished look! I decided to make a mother's day card since that special day is just around the corner.
Thanks for stopping by today and have a great day........and Heidi, you can give that sweet grandbaby a great big hug from Aunt Carol :)

Carol

stamps - Inkadinkado
papers - Real Red, Basic Black, Barely Banana, PTI White
inks - Versafine Onyx Black
accessories - Cuttlebug EF, various flower punches, MS fern punch, EK rock fern punch, Kaiser black pearls, brads

A Summer Birthday Greeting

I've had an idea in my head for quite a while to create a scene using the MS fence punch with a tree behind it, and this is how that idea finally came to life. I double punched both sides of some cardstock with the fence punch to make it a little taller. I sponged the cardstock with greens, tans and blues to create a backdrop. The florals cascading over the fence were made with flowersoft. The bunny is from KitchenSinkStamps, and I drew in his eye and added his tail with liquid applique. I drew the birds in by hand and added the grass accents with a tiny stamp from the Hip Hop Accessories stamp set. The sentiment was cut out with a nestie tag die, and the gorgeous ribbon was a gift from Michelle with my last order from her fabulous online store.
I think this card is expressing my desire for warmer weather and the scent of those wonderful, familiar flowers that I love so much!
Thanks for stopping by today and have a wonderful Tuesday!

Carol

stamps - Thoughts and Prayers, Hip Hop Accessories, Kitchen Sink Stamps, Imaginisce
paper - cottonwood
inks - artichoke, wasabi, hunter, celery, caribbean, soft sky, bashful blue, caramel, brown, grey, black
accessories - MS fence punch, flowersoft, liquid applique, ribbon, Nesatabilities tag die, brown marker, black marker

MOJO 83

I had time to make a card for the MoJo83 sketch challenge before I have to run out. I bought this remnant of fabric some time ago and never used it, so today I cut a piece of it and used it for the ribbon. I rolled it over and secured it with a couple brads. I also threaded a couple pieces of it through 2 of the buttons. I paper pieced the bird and added another small brad on the flower. Quick and easy - I love it when that happens!

Thanks for stopping by on this rainy Monday - make it a good day wherever you are!

Carol

stamps - Heard from the Heart, Imaginisce

paper - PTI white, eggplant, artichoke, more mustard

inks - artichoke, versafine onyx black

accessories - cotton fabric, brads, buttons, MS checkered punch

VLVApr04 challenge with a twist

This is my take for the VLVApr04 challenge with a twist. The twist this week was to create your own designer paper with a stamp. I used a very old stamp set by Technique Tuesday called Metro Squares. The stamp I used is a small square, and you have to carefully align the edges to create this continuous pattern. Why do my hands shake when I'm trying to be so careful?! LOL Ah well, I'm not perfect and never will be. There are places where I missed but the fibers covered some of that up :) The star was cut in 3 colors using a Sizzlet and layered. I used the centers for the little stars that surround the main panel. The silver sticker stars were from a $1 bin. I used Eggplant and Prisma papers in the light majestic purple color. The sentiment is by Imaginise and was embossed with white EP.
Ok, that's it for me.........have a great weekend everyone and enjoy the return of spring!

Carol

Roses in Candle Glow

Happy Friday Everyone! We're going up to 70 degrees today, so spring really will be in the air!
I was playing around with the SU Manhattan Floral embossing folder yesterday and decided to trim around the edges and see what it would look like. I chose the Candle Glow prismatic papers because they perfectly matched the SU! saffron ribbon IRL, but in the photo, they don't match at all! Why does ribbon change it's colors like that? LOL Anyhoo......I used Cottonwood for the card base and used all 3 shades of the prism papers. I used a Marvy oval punch for the sentiment and pierced the scallops, then added one dew drop. This went together very quickly and I think I'm going to try making it in different colors.
Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day :)

Carol

Sweet Peas

I finally got my hands on this beautiful stamp set by Flourishes called Sweet Peas. I could hardly wait to color it because those flowers were just calling my name. I don't know what color sweet peas actually are, but this is how I saw them in my mind LOL. I used Tombow markers to color them and blended with a damp brush. I layered them on some gorgeous Azalea prismatic papers that really compliment the colors I used. The sentiment is from the stamp set, and I used a Nesties die cut tag with ribbon from a $1 bin at Michaels.
We're having a real spring-like day here today, so I need to get out and get some fresh air! Have a wonderful Thursday everyone and thanks so much for stopping by :)

Carol

Color Throwdown #38

Here's my card for today's CTD38, which is to use Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, and Ruby Red. Heidi sent me this stamped image quite a while ago (thanks Heidi), and I colored it and never used it. Today I was able to use the image to make a quick card since half the work was already done.
I used the MS fence punch and lots of Geo sparklers for interest. The sentiment is from a G Studio stamp set. The dsp is Baja Breeze, and the cardstocks are Ruby Red and Basic Gray.
Thanks to Broni for this great color combo this week!
It's raining in PA again today, but I'm visualizing all the beautiful flowers that will result from all this precipitation! Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Carol

FTTC11_Flourishes Timeless Tuesday

I thought I'd give the Timeless Tuesday challenge a try over at Flourishes today. Becca Feeken challenges us this week to do some paper piercing. I received this cute little stamped image of Willow with Flower Basket with my order from Stampers Dream yesterday and of course I had to color it in and use it right away! I colored her with Tombow markers and wc pencils. I added some Smooch in her hair bows and details on her jeans and bracelet. This stuff is really fun to work with! The brush in the bottle is very tiny and pointed which means you can put the tiniest dab anywhere you choose. I need to get more colors of that great product! If you click the photo you'll see the scalloped piercing I did along the bottom, but it's difficult to see that detail without enlarging. It's raining here again in PA, and of late it seems every photograph I take indoors has a green haze to it. I'm not sure if that's a lighting problem or a camera operator problem! LOL The sentiment is by G studios, the tiny flowers in her basket were another gift from Michelle, and the butterfly is a MS punch. Pearls by Hero Arts, and the cardstock is cottonwood by the Paper Co.
Thanks for stopping by and thank-you Michelle for sending this sweet little image!
Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Carol

MoJo Monday 82

It's Monday again and that means it's time for another Mojo Monday sketch. This time I used some retired SU colors - Soft Sky and Blue Bayou. I still have a few snippets of ribbon left in some of those retired "in" colors, and I'm TRYING to use them up, but I still have a long way to go! I'm still quite fond of some of the retired colors and papers and I enjoy using them.
This was a fun sketch and I hope you'll give it a try if you have time. Julee always has the best sketches to work with! You can find the Mojo Monday challenge here.
Have a good Monday and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

stamps - Verve
papers - soft sky dsp and cardstock, blue bayou
inks - versafine onyx black, blue bayou (for sponging)
accessories - kaiser bliss pearls, su! ribbon, sizzix sizzlet, fiskars border punch

SSSC13

Hey everyone - I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Easter Sunday! I cooked today, but we ate early, and my company left by late afternoon, so I had time to make a card. I found a new challenge to play here. I needed to make another 50th birthday card, and the sketch looked like a good one to work with, so I pulled out some Apple Cider dsp and River Rock cardstock and made this card. I used the rectangle Just Rite stamper for the sentiment at the bottom, and a G Studio stamp for the candle sentiment at the top. I colored that with souffle and glitter pens. I used the MS fence punch for the border and made some black ribbon tabs from grosgrain ribbon. The river rock ribbon perfectly matches the cardstock, although the photo doesn't show it!
That's it for today - I'm chilling for the rest of the evening with my tv. Thanks for checking in :)

Carol

VLVApr03 sketch challenge with a twist

I finally got around to making my card for the Viva La Verve April challenge #3 found here.
The sketch was the easy part, but the twist was to use Baja Breeze, More Mustard, and Summer Sun. I had to give this a lot of thought because the colors just weren't working for me.......until I added some black! A friend called me earlier today and asked me to make her two 50th birthday cards, so this sketch was easy to make one of those cards with. That really is Baja breeze cardstock, although it looks turquoise in the photo. I used my Quickutz to diecut the numbers, and the rest is pretty much blah blah, yada yada.
Have a great evening and an even better Easter tomorrow! Thanks for dropping in :)

Carol

stamps - Verve (wonderful wishes)
paper - Black, More Mustard, Summer Sun, Baja Breeze
inks - Versafine Onyx Black
accessories - SU! ribbon, flowers, Quickutz number dies, circle punches, scallop punch, Kaiser black pearls, CB swiss dots ef. EK dotted scalloped border punch, piercing tool

Anniversary Wishes

Happy Saturday everyone!
I made this belated Anniversary card for my SIL and BIL who celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary earlier this week. WOW! 42 years is a long time!! I love this image and use it often for anniversary cards. I stamped it on w/c paper with Versafine Black Onyx ink, embossed it with clear ep and colored it with tombow markers. I sponged the edges with cool gray ink and layered it on 2 different colors of gray and added some dew drops for interest. The card base is some of my hoarded, retired Pomegranate that I just LOVE. I cut the twill ribbon so the two words would show and fastened them to the heart-shaped clip with white heart-shaped brads. The inside has a beautiful scripted font "Happy Anniversary" that's embossed with silver EP.
It's raining here in PA and that's going to ruin the Easter egg hunts for a lot of little ones around here, but I'm sure they'll still manage to have fun in spite of the weather!
Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Easter everyone!

Carol

Last Minute Easter Cards

I suddenly realized today that I'd forgotten to make Easter cards for 3 different relatives/friends, so I spent the afternoon making these cards for them. This was the SCS challenge for this past Monday, and I'd love to give you the link, but I've been unable to get on SCS for the past hour or more. I used just about the last of my sweet always dsp for these, along with countless bits of scraps. Most flowers were punched or die cut and I added punched ferns, branches and leaves. Each was punched with a different border punch and each has a different colored ribbon. The word spring is from a G Studio stamp, and the insert cards have Happy Easter stamped on them.
Whew, I'm glad I got those finished up! Now I have to die some eggs and I should be just about finished for the big day on Easter!
Have a great weekend everyone!

Carol

ETA: You can find the instructions for making these pocket flower pot cards here

Kitchen Sink Challenge #11 Monochromatic Design

Good Evening! I found time this evening to do the Kitchen Sink Challenge #11, found HERE. Makiko, the hostess, has chosen to have us create a monochromatic design. Phew, this was tough! I love blue, so I went with those colors (plus it took 5 coordinating colors of blue ink to make the pansy). The designer paper is all SU Bashful Blue, and each square was run through a mini cuttlebug folder. The inks used were SU Night of Navy, Blue Bayou, Bordering Blue, Baja Breeze, and Bashful Blue. I then mounted each square on textured white cardstock, then SU Navy DP (at least I think that's what it was!) and then onto the card, which again was the white textured CS. I added a sheer blue ribbon, with a hint of silver running through it and the metal tag with the sentiment....BLISS.

Thanks for looking and have a wonderful day!

HEIDI

KSS Crew Challenge #11 - monochromatic

I made this card for the KSS Crew Challenge #11 hosted by Makiko. I really struggle to make monochromatic cards and I spent more time thinking about what I was going to do than actually making the card. This is a wonky photo with a greenish tint, but no matter how much light I added or how I positioned it, it still has that greenish look. The card is done in pinks. I used my Honey Bunny stamp set (thanks again for them Heidi) to make the flowers. I always assumed they were sunflowers, but the more I studied them, the more I realized they could be almost any flower and probably aren't sunflowers afterall! That's when I decided to go with pink and finally got the card finished. I used some raspberry tart dsp and punched it with my favorite punch, the EK Fleur de lis. I added a little piercing to the sentiment (if you click the picture you can see the details better) and a piece of Regal Rose ribbon to finish everything off.
Thanks for stopping by and thanks to KSS for another fun challenge (and this one really was a challenge for me!!)

Carol

stamps - KSS Honey Bunny
inks - blush, pink passion, coral, regal rose, rose red
papers - pink pirouette, white, raspberry tart dsp
accessories - EK punch, piercing tool, regal rose ribbon

CTD37 Fleur de lis

I'm posting a day late for the CTD37, but I guess the challenge police won't arrest me for that! LOL I loved the sketch challenge at SCS this week so much, that I used it again with this card in the CTD colors. I LOVE this color combo - it's so spring-like! I only had a couple scraps of Coral, so I dug into my stash of dsp scraps and used the raspberry tart which has Coral in it. I am going to have to hide my EK fleur de lis punch from myself, because I seem to reach for that every time I make a card! LOL I used some Kaiser pearls and some PTI aqua mist ribbon that's a very close match to the SU sage shadow.
Thanks for stopping by and thanks for all the wonderful inspirational samples the ladies at the CTD blog made for this week.

Carol

stamps - G Studio
paper - pink pirouette, raspberry tart dsp, sage shadow
inks - versafine onyx black
accessories - EK Fleur de lis punches (border and single image), large oval and word window punch, Kaiser Bliss pearls, PIT aqua mist ribbon

SC223 & Color Throwdown #37

Good Morning! Had alot of fun with these two challenges! Used the sketch challenge from SCS 223, even though I haven't posted on there in a long time. I actually did the card for the Wednesday, April 8th Color Throwndown #37, located HERE . I was thrown by the colors, once again, but what I love about this challenge is that it allows me to use colors I would not normally put together. This challenge was to use Pink Pirouette, Sage Shadow, and Cameo Coral. All paper I used were SU, except for the sage DP, behind the image. That awesome paper came from Carol, as did the GREAT new EK Success Punch, that I used on the edge of the Pink DP. THANKS CAROL!! The stamps are all Penny Black. Found buttons and floss to match perfectly, as well as a sheer ribbon I've been hoarding. Added some glitter to the flower. Image was colored in with Tombow watercolor markers, using a brush to blend, on heavy watercolor paper.

Have a great day and Thanks for visiting!
Heidi

SC223 Sketch Challenge

When I saw this sketch challenge on SCS this morning, I knew I had to give this one a shot. It's as easy as can be, so this card went together very quickly! I used red, black and white since I'm really loving that color combo lately. I used the EK Fleur de lis border punch, and the matching single image punch, some ribbon, and some old scrapbook nails and a sentiment, and this card was done! I love when something goes together with no fuss! We have plans for this afternoon, but hopefully later today I'll get to play the CTD37 where LeAnne chose Pink Pirouette, Sage Shadow and Cameo Coral for today's colors. They're very cheery and spring-like and you should check out the lovely samples those ladies have made for you! All I can say is WOW!
Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!

Carol

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge 10

I had enough time to play along with the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge today, which is to use your favorite Flourishes stamp set. So far I only have one, so this is definitely my favorite! LOL If you don't own Flourish stamps, you can still play. Click on the above link and check the rules.
This stamp is from the Poppy set and I stamped it with Versafine Onyx black ink, and embossed it with clear EP. I colored the images with Tombow and SU! markers and a water brush. I used some Sweet Always dsp along with some Tangerine Tango cardstock for the base and mat. The sentiment is a G studio stamp that I enhanced with markers and layered on Chocolate Chip cardstock. Ribbon is by SU!
As always, thanks so much for checking in and have a wonderful Tuesday!

Carol

Birthday RAK

I made this card in response to a SCS member who requested birthday cards for a gentleman who's turning 94 next month. I stamped and embossed this image a few days ago and had it lying on my table, so I thought it would be perfect for the occasion. You can click on the photo to see more detail. I embossed the image with chocolate brown EP and then used a small brush and some bleach to lighten the cabin. I added a few punched reindeer to keep with the cabin-in-the-woods theme and then added a few antique brass eyelets for masculine interest. I hope this card brings a smile to a young-at-heart fellow whom I'll most likely never meet. RAK's are a great way to make people feel cared for :)
Have a wonderful Tuesday and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

stamps - stampscapes, Gina K
papers - kraft, chocolate, parisian breeze
inks - versamark, chocolate chip
accessories - MS deer punch, eyelets, MS fence punch, chocolate EP

MoJo 81

I had time to make another card today, so I did the Monday Mojo challenge found here. Julee always has the greatest sketches and I love playing along. For this card I used the flower from the the Fifth Avenue Floral set. I stamped them with versafine vintage sepia and embossed them with clear EP, then colored them with reinkers and a blending pen before cutting them out. They're layered on silk flowers with a Kaiser chocolate pearl in the center. I used a sentiment from Verve's wonderful wishes set and punched that with a marvy punch and layered it on chocolate chip cardstock that was punched with a SU scallop punch. I pierced the scallopes on both punched layers and added a few more pearls. The ribbon was from my stash and had no name on it.
Thanks for stopping by and taking time to leave a comment :)

Carol

Mojo Monday - Week 81 April 6, 2009

Thanks for another great sketch challenge! As soon as I saw it, I knew which stamp to use. I kept the background muted, as I wanted the bunnies to show off their cute "outfits".

Stamp: Stampabilities Eggcellant (masked off into 3 images)
Paper: SU Kraft, Chocolate Chip, DP Parisian Breeze
Ink: Black
Coloring was done with Tombow Markers and a brush on 90LB. Canson Watercolor Paper
The only accessories are the ribbon and the metallic dots. Used SU Scallop punch for the one image, the rest were just hand cut.

Thanks so much for looking and all the wonderful comments! You all inspire me so much!

Heidi

Spring Bouquet Pocket card

I decided to do the Technique Lover's Challenge over on SCS today. Lynn has a tutorial for making these cute little pocket flower pot cards. At first I thought it looked way too difficult, but I quickly learned they're easy to make! The flowers are on a piece of cardstock that slides out from the top and you can put your sentiment inside. They're just cute as can be and perfect for welcoming spring. I know I'll be making more of these, as it's a perfect way to use up those little scraps of dsp I have accumulated!
Have a great Monday and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

stamps - G studio
papers - kraft, artichoke, celery, olive, pirouette pink, SU dsp scraps
inks - artichoke
accessories - Quickutz flower die cuts, EK rock fern punch, MS fern punch, ticket stub punch, 5-petal punch, corner rounder punch, ribbon, button, kaiser pearl and gemstone

SSSC12 Challenge Sunday, April 5th

What a wonderful challenge this morning Karen! Okay, I'll fess up, I looked at the sketch very early and kept it in my head until about an hour ago. I made my card, went to Karen's site, and as usual, I've mucked this up! The card layout is right, just the proportions are off. Geez!

I used clear dollar stamps, from Joanne's. The card stock is SU Pretty in Pink and Pink Pirouette. The matting is metallic pink and metallic rose. DP is sparkly embossed DCWV paper, the Sweet stack. I colored the images with Tombows on watercolor paper and blended with a brush. This card is for my DIL, who is a "pink freak". Missy, I love ya!

The wonderful challenge is located here...SSSC12 Thanks again for a great challenge, next time I'll actually print the image out~ :)

Heidi

Kitchen Sink Crew Challenge #10 - ATC, Card

Sigh, no matter how hard I tried to get good photo's, it's just way too bright in the house today.
Click for a closer view, maybe then you can see the layering of colors.


Hello! I am finally done with all my Easter cards and baskets, so now I can become a regular at challenges again...YES! Carol told me Kitchen Sink Stamps was having a challenge, located here, so I thought I'd give it a shot today. I love my pansy set, as it reminds me of my Grandma, planting the flower beds at our home, when I was a little girl. She loved their little "faces" and all the colors, but the purple & yellow ones were her absolute favorite. So this card is dedicated to my Grandma. I wish she were still with us, as I miss her every day.

We were to make an ATC, so I stamped a couple of sizes of pansies, with 5 shades of ink each. The 2 types of leaves were 3 separate colors each. Alot of masking was done, to achieve the layered look. I then trimmed the ATC, leaving the blooms overlapping the matting. The butterfly is a MS punch, and was punched from another pansy I stamped, to bring in the exact colors. A little pearl accent, to the butterfly and blooms finished it off.

For the card, I used various designer papers...KC & Co. & Debbie Mumm. Added a few more pearls to add a little sparkle.

Hope you enjoy it...I sure did enjoy this challenge!

Thanks so much for looking!

Heidi

VLVApr02 challenge

I've had the incredible honor of being asked to guest design for the Viva La Verve April02 challenge this week by the extremely talented AmberDawn. Amber is a design diva for Verve stamps and runs the forum over on SCS. I haven't participated in these challenges in a long time, so I thought I'd give it a shot, and was I ever shocked with Amber's invitation! I'm still not sure if my feet are back on the ground yet! LOL
The sketch challenge this week had a twist to use a backgrounder stamp. I love the SU! stitched backgrounder, so I went with that one. I embossed the chocolate cardstock with pink EP and embossed the pink panel with chocolate EP. The sketch had a rounded panel on the end of a rectangle and this one stumped me for a while, until I pulled out my long-neglected coluzzle and rounded that end off. I embossed the sentiment in Chocolate EP and framed it with a negative scrap I had in my stash. A few punched borders and pearls later, this card came to life. That fabulous ribbon you see was a gift from Heidi some time ago, and I've been hoarding it because it's so gorgeous. This whole card began with that beautiful piece of ribbon, so thank-you again Heidi for that!
Thank you to everyone for your sweet and thoughtful comments all the time. Heidi and I really appreciate your feedback. I'd like to personally thank AmberDawn for this incredible honor and recognition as well. I'm feeling very lucky and fortunate today, and that's a great feeling!
Have a wonderful weekend!

Carol

stamps - Stitched, Echoes of Kindness
papers - Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Cameo Coral
inks - versamark
accessories - Chocolate and Pink EP's, Kaiser Chocolate and Blush Pearls, Fiskars border punch, Nesties, ribbon

No Time To Stamp Challenge #81

The assortment of stuff I made today. Click picture for a closer look.

Art impressions basket stamp, embossed in copper,
watercolored in (prism paper works great!), eggs are
paste embossing, with reinkers used as the colorant.
Snack bag is oval nestie, so are wings. Other nestie
forms the top, along with DP. Legs of "chick" are hand
drawn and cut, as are beak and tongue. Just drew crack
lines in with glitter pen.


These are just hinged plastic eggs, done with alcohol ink.
Turned out great, but I'm a mess!
Good Morning! Since today's challenge, at No Time To Stamp was to make the incredible egg, I decided to finish up stuff for our son and his wife. I still have 3 snack bags to make, (bunny, chick and lamb), but at least I got this done! They should enjoy getting an Easter basket, filled with goodies. I'll quickly describe each, under their photos, as my hands are full of embossing powder, adhesive, embossing paste and alcohol ink. Looks like I've been through a stamping marathon.

Friday Sketchers 46

This is my first time entering the Friday Sketchers 46 challenge. Michelle Rodgers from Stampers Dream sent me this beautiful stamped image recently, so all I had to do was color it. I used an EK dotted scallop punch for the borders and ran some embroidery thread through the holes for added interest. The sentiment was stamped and punched with the word window punch so I could fit it on the bottom of the card.
It's raining here in PA, but April showers bring May flowers, so I'm not complaining. I hope you have a great Friday wherever you live!

Carol

stamps - Friendship Blooms, Sarah Kay by Stampavie
papers - Pink Pirouette, Basic Grey 2 scoops, wc paper
inks - Versafine Onyx Black
accessories - Tombow markers, EK rock fern and dotted scallop punches, MS fern punch, SU word window punch, primas, Kaiser gemstones, embroidery thread, dimensionals, ribbon

3 Clovers Challenge #7 - Just Eat It!

I made this card for the 3 clovers challenge #7 to use a food image. I don't own a lot of food images, but I dug through my stamp collection and found this bunny happily spitting out watermelon seeds! I've always loved this adorable image and now I'm hungry for watermelon! LOL

Carol

stamps - Seed Shooter (Stampabilities), G Studio (sentiment)
papers - wc paper, Ruby Red, Pirouette Pink, SU Candy Lane dsp
inks - Ruby Red
accessories - SU ribbon, dew drops, Derwent wc pencils, circle and scallop punches, black marker, pink souffle pen, ED dotted scallop border punch

Watering Can Easter Bunny

Good Morning and a very happy Thursday :)
I worked on this card into the wee hours last night, trying to finish up all my Easter cards in time. This one is going to my great aunt who just happens to be 104 years young! She loves hand made cards and still writes all of her own correspondence in spite of her severe arthritis. I just love that sweet woman! Anyway, on to the card.
This great stamp is one my DH bought for me on a trip to the (now-closed) Rubber Buggy stamp store last year. He thought it was cute and picked it up and paid for it while I shopped. I didn't even know about it until we got to the car and he showed it to me and asked if I liked it. Of course I love it, and every year I make Easter cards with it.
I stamped the image with Versafine black onyx ink, then embossed it with clear ep. I colored it with Tombow markers and wc pencils. The rest is pretty self-explanatory. I hope the bunny on this card brings a smile to your face like he does to mine everytime I see him :)
Thanks for dropping by and have a super day!

Carol

stamps - impression obsession, G studio (sentiment)
paper - not quite navy, Basic Grey 2 scoops, wc paper
inks - so saffron, versafine onyx black, not quite navy
accessories - SU! ribbon, circle punches, scallop punch, white gel pen, red & blue glitter pens, yellow souffle pen, Tombow markers, Derwent wc pencils

CTD36_ HaPea Easter

Here's my entry for this week's CTD36, which is to use orange, pink and turquoise. I was seriously challenged on this color combo! I pulled out a piece of Sweet Always dsp because it's pink and orange, but I don't have turquoise cardstock or ink, so I had to think hard on this one! I did find a small scrap of turquoise cardstock among my many leftover pieces and it was big enough to mat with my image. I also had a little bit of turquoise ribbon, so I layered that on top of a piece of Tangerine Tango ribbon and made a little bow. I colored the Penny Black stamped image with markers and doodled around the edges. The pink cardstock is called Peppermint from the Paper Co. and the image is matted with Tangerine Tango. A prima and Kaiser gemstone finshed off my card. Thanks for the great challenge ladies - I love doing this one each week!

Carol

Color Throwdown #36

C


Good Morning! Have to go shopping today (groan) so I was up at 5:30 to do the
Color Throwdown Challenge #36. The colors sure woke me up....pink, orange and turquoise. What to do, what to do? Okay, I used SU colors for card stock, and tried to match my tombow markers to the colors. Added a bit of pearl ex to the markers, to bring out some sheen. Stamped my background using SU set Burst into Bloom, which I haven't used in a long time. The flower stamp, that goes into the basket is one I picked up at our local dollar store. They sell wood mounted stamps for...a dollar! The basket stamp, which is embossed in copper, is from Limited Edition stamps. It is a dimensional stamp, that actually forms a basket. Used white eyelets (must be this challenge that brings out the eyelets in me) to add something to the card. I'm not at my best at this early hour, but this was FUN!!! A turquoise brad attaches the hello to the basket. Designed it so the blooms come out of the basket for a fun element. Thanks again for the awesome challenge. Now, off in the wind, snow, shopping I will go!

Heidi