Third time's the charm!

Or wait, is it the fourth time for me? Hmmm....I can't remember. Anyway, I'm trying out once again to be a GDT on the Whimsy Team. There's a multitude of reasons to give this spot another shot, but I'll just give you a few: 1) they're talented, which means it'd be an honor to have my work showcased with theirs; 2) it's a chance to express my creativity on a wider scale; 3) I love Whimsy's products. They have wonderful artists designing for them, with things like adorable stamps, pretty papers, and fun dies. It'd be fun to play along with all of the cool new products!

I made this card below with one of their newer stamps, illustrated by the immensely talented Elisabeth Bell. As you know, I've been a fan of hers for a really long time. My dear friend Sara blessed me with this stamp for my birthday. Isn't she too cute? And even though she has a little bunny and chick friends, I think she's great for occasions other than Easter. In this case, she's showcased on a Mother's Day card:

In real life, the colors are a little brighter, but it's too dark right now to get a picture in natural light and I won't have a chance to do so before the DT call is over. Darn work, expecting me to be there during the day! LOL. Anyway, this cutie is called Strawberry Swing, and you can find her HERE. I colored her with copics. Flowers are Prima and the Dollar Store. Papers are Fruit Stand from Doodlebug. The bow is seam binding. I used  die to cut the vines and I got the doily in a lot off of ebay. I think that about covers it!

This card is also for the following challenges:
Critter Sketch: use buttons
Cardabilities: sketch #73
7 Kids Challenge: April Showers bring May Flowers
Simon Says: Anything Goes
Totally Gorjuss: Ribbons and Pearls

As always, thanks for looking. I hope you had a fantastic weekend! (Oh, and wish me luck, please!)

Edited to add: Many thanks to those of you who clicked on the link to my card for the Cardabilities challenge. Thanks to you, I was a featured designer. You rock! THANKS!

Love is in the air!

...and all of that sappy stuff. My adopted baby brother is getting married in less than a week. I call him my "adopted" brother because he is really my brother-in-law and I have sort of taken to calling him my second younger brother. I love the guy and I am so happy for him. He gets upset with me if I don't make him a card; I never hear the end of it if he gets a store bought card from me. So, tonight I set about making him and his bride Kerry a card just for them.

This is what happened when I sat down in my craft room, music playing, a cat at my feet, and just let things come as they would:

Papers are My Mind's Eye Breeze. I chose them because the wedding colors are yellow and grey. I added the pop of red flowers with the flower soft, since he requested some red in their wedding. I'm not sure how Kerry has adopted this color into the scheme. I guess I'll find out on Saturday! Anyway, the cardstock is Bazzill. The image is Sarah Kay for Stampavie. I bought it simply because it reminded me of Kerry and Squid (that's my nickname for him). I purchased it and the grass and tiny flower stamps from my favorite stamping store in PA, Stamp Hideaway. Heidi's store is well worth a visit. She makes her own stamps there; the little grass and tiny red flowers are exclusive to her store.

I'm digressing again. That's nothing new, I know. The image was colored with copics. I mainly used Y13,11, and 00 as well as C5,3,1,and 00 for their outfits. I cut out a lot of shapes with my dies and punches, threw on some buttons, lace, and pearls, tied a bow with some seam binding, and ta-da!

Thanks for visiting. I hope you had a fabulous weekend. This card is for the following challenges:
Oozak - anything goes with pearls, lace and ribbon
Simon Says Stamp Challenge - April Showers OR spring flowers (I obviously used spring flowers)
Papertake Weekly - Bingo. I chose punches, free space, and ribbon

Seas the Day

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. I normally spend Easter Sunday at my aunt's house, then rush over to my inlaws' for dinner. Unfortunately, my aunt was not able to host this year due to multiple circumstances beyond her control. I was pretty disappointed, but totally understood her dilemma. I decided to turn the day into something good, which means I slept in, lazed around a bit, and did some crafting.

I have awesome friends who remind me in many ways of how amazing and thoughtful they are. My friend Sara is one of those. For my birthday, she gifted me with two stamps that I really wanted from a recent release at Whimsy. Shelly is one of those. She just makes me smile, chillin' on the rock with her little turtle friend. I was able to visit Sara a few weeks ago, where I stamped off my new images and colored them up. However, I didn't get the time until yesterday to put her on a card. Check her out:

Isn't she precious? As usual, she's stamped with Memento Ink on XPress It paper, then colored with copics. Patterned papers are a mix of American Crafts and Simple Stories. The cardstock is Bazzill. Sentiments are from CC Designs and Whimsy. I also used multiple dies on this card, some magic mesh, ribbon from my stash, and cheesecloth.  

Here's a close-up of the image, because she's just too cute:

I added bling to her hair and fins, glossy accents to the turtle shell, and liquid pearls to her hair and the rock. I also threw on a few adhesive pearls and used a sharpie pen on their cheeks.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Pretty Little Ribbon - spring is in the air (to me, this image says warm weather and I hope the colors make you think of spring)
Cutie Pie Challenge Blog - Favorite Film (I love anything by Disney, so the Little Mermaid it is!)
Simon Says - Anything Goes
Sweet Stampin' - Go Girly


As always, thanks for stopping by! Happy spring!