Just under the wire

When I visited my friend Sara last weekend, we spent some quality time with our copics, coloring away. I came home with colored images, all ready to be smacked down onto some cards. Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to find the time to do so. Or, if I had the time, my motivation just wasn't there. Enter the Mojo Monday sketch. I love playing along with sketches and this one is pretty awesome. So, I started rooting around in my papers (of which I have tons, so this took a while) and my colored images, trying to find an image that might work. When I found this cute little image from Whimsy and the papers to match her, I checked this week's Whimsy challenge and guess what? Ribbon and lace. Yeah, I can do that. The hard part about that is choosing which piece of ribbon and lace to use, since I have three huge drawers full. I'm a crafting hoarder. What can I say?

Anyway, with the Whimsy and Mojo Monday challenges in mind, an image I colored last weekend in hand and pretty papers on my desk, this is the creation that emerged:

For the following challenges:
Mojo Monday - sketch 300
Whimsy Inspirations - ribbon and lace

For all of my American friends, I hope you had an amazing 4th, and that while watching fireworks, you remembered our wonderful military who do so much for us.

So sweet, I can't believe I forgot about her!

Look at this cutie. I don't know how I did it. Maybe it was the insane amount of stamps that I have. Maybe it was that I purchased her so long ago, when she was first released (before her retirement). Maybe it was my fascination with my newer stamps. I don't know what insanity possessed me, but I forgot that this little sweetie was hanging out in my collection until Whimsy released their new stamps this month. She came out of retirement to be one of them (lucky girl!), and it just sparked my befuddled brain. I thought, "hey, wait! I think I have that one!" and sure enough, I found her hanging out with my other Elisabeth Bell stamps. Of course, I've got so many of them, she just got lost in the shuffle, poor little thing. Anyway, here she is, resurrected from the little stamp storage area in my scrap room. Isn't she darling? You can find her now at Whimsy stamps.

I colored her with copics. More specifically, E42,41,40 and R85,83,81 for her outfit, with a red stardust pen for some bling. I added pink frantage around the image, made my own little rosette out of lace, stuck pink rose ribbon through with a hatpins, added some old crochet, a vine die, butterflies, leaves, a charm, and a gingham ribbon, then perched her on some paper I made myself out of scraps. I love the look of patchwork, so I took a bunch of my scraps and made my own.

Sorry for the rather washed out picture. I'll try to get a better one later, before I gift her to a coworker on Monday. She needs the uplift; she's been dealing with some health issues and a bit of homesickness lately. Since she makes my days at work more fun, I decided I needed to do something for her, too.

This card is for the following challenges:
Whimsy Inspiration Challenge Blog - shaped card

I hope you're not tired yet! It's the second day of hopping along with Whimsy's New Stamp Release

Hello and welcome to the Whimsy Stamps June 2013 Release Day BLOG HOP! It's day 2, baby! Lots of good stuff from the talented Whimsy DT (I'm so honored to showcase my work alongside theirs. How cool is that?), plus fabulous new goodies in the Whimsy store. In case you missed it, Whimsy Stamps has released some brand new Rubber Stamps, Stamp Sets, Whimsy Shapeology Dies and Whimsy Designer Paper 6x6 packs. These new goodies are available to buy right now from the Whimsy Stamps store along with all your Whimsy favourites. Please visit the Whimsy blog for a full reveal of this month’s new release.

Today we are holding a New Release blog hop to share creations made with some of the brand new Crissy Armstrong, Elisabeth Bell, Meljens Designs and 2 Cute Ink stamps. Each blog hop during our new release has a prize of 2 new release stamps hidden somewhere along the way and you have 24hrs to enter each prize draw. To be entered into today's blog hop prize draw, be sure to leave a comment on ALL of the DT posts listed on the Whimsy blog by 12.00PM EST tomorrow.

Now let's get to the cuteness, shall we? For today’s card I used Elisabeth Bell's Tweetest Friends. Regular visitors to my blog know that I have been a huge fan of Elisabeth Bell for a long, long time. I can't even begin to count how many of her stamps I have inked up and loved, and I am happy to add this beautiful little girl and her birdie friend to my collection. Check her out:

Isn't she precious? I colored her with copics and then cut her out with some trusty Spellbinders dies. The sentiment is also from the new release; it's a set called "Seashells by the Seashore". I added some seam binding and a few other bits of eye candy before finally declaring this card to be done.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Don't forget to come back tomorrow to check out the final day of the new release. We've got good stuff in store. I promise!

 

As an aside, I'm entering this card in:

Elisabeth Bell's World Challenge (6/22)

Just because I felt like it

It seems like I usually make cards with a specific person in mind, which means I'll pick the image just for them. You know, one that speaks to me and says something like, "so-and-so would love her!". Then I might color that image in the proposed recipient's favorite colors and find papers to match, then set about making the card. And then there are other times when I just color an image because I like to color and I just make a card with that image because I like to create. Monday was one of those times. I was waiting for a friend to visit and I was too pumped up to sit and read or watch tv, so I got lost at my craft desk once again. This is what emerged after I was done, amidst the sea of paper scraps, half empty embellishment packets and ribbon pieces:

Luckily for me, I know several people with special occasions coming up who would love her, even if yellow is not their favorite color. I mean, who wouldn't love a little girl with a toddler chub tummy and stocky little toddler legs, loving on her teddy bear? She is illustrated by Elisabeth Bell for Belles N Whistles. I colored her with copics. For now, she'll sit in my stash and wait for that special person to call for her. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Oh, yeah. The challenge list before I forget. This card is for the following challenges:
Challenges 4 Everybody (6/7)- Anything Goes
Clear it out (6/3) - Critters (teddy bear fits, I hope) and earth tones (lots of yellow in my card)
Creatalicious Challenges (6/13) - for the girls
Cute Card Thursday (5/29)- Tie it up
Elisabeth Bell's World (6/22) - new beginnings (I think this would make a cute baby card)
Elphine House (6/12) - Welcome, Little One
Kaboodle Doodles (6/2) - Anything Goes
Oozak (5/31)- Anything Goes with Earth Tones
Simon Says (6/4) - Anything Goes
The Squirrel and The Fox (5/31) - Here come the girls
Sweet Stampin'  (6/1) - Doilies and Dies

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!

Whimsy DT Application for March

So, as you can see, I decided to keep this title free of puns or otherwise potentially confusing wording. For once, my title is very cut-and-dried, can't-miss-what-I-mean. I didn't want anyone on the Whimsy Team to miss it. :)

If you can't guess from the straightforward title (I know, it's confusing because I'm just not usually so...well...dry with my titles, unless we're discussing dry humor), I am applying to be on the Whimsy DT as a guest designer for March.

I've been a fan of Whimsy Stamps for a while. I love the fact that you can find so many things there, from beautiful digi papers, to adorable and fun stamps in both rubber and digi to shaped sentiments with special dies just to cut them out. How cool is that, and so super easy, too? They even have personalized stamps, as I know because I just got one. LOVE! I used it for the first time on the back of my card below. I think it was appropriate to break it in with a Whimsy image, don't you?

So, this is my brand spankin' new card that I just made tonight, with this DT call and my friend Barb in mind. This sweet girl is from Elisabeth Bell's Cottage Cuties collection and her name is SkippyDee. We can't forget her furry little friend, too. That's Bella. I'm a cat person, so I love when Elisabeth puts Bella with her images.

The design is based on sketch #54 at CLP Challenge Blog. Papers are Prima Songbird that I distressed and inked. Embellishments from my stash. I colored SkippyDee and Bella with copics. Here goes with the colors (I tend to use a lot, so this could take a while):

Skin: E11, E00, E000 and R20 for the cheeks

Hair: E25, E31, E50

Hat: E40, E41, E42

Scarf: R20, R21, R22 and a green spica pen for the polka dots

Shirt: G20, G21, G24 (it's a lot more muted than it looks like in this pic)

Pants: E41, E42, E44

Bella: Y28 (bell), C1, C3, C5

Log: E23, E57, E59

 

I think it would be so much fun to participate as a guest DT for the March new release. Not only because I'd get to work alongside some amazing artists (truth, not brown-nosing, just so you know), but let's be honest - I'd get a huge kick out of being one of the first to see the new products. Don't fib; you know you'd want to have that honor, too. Plus, their products always inspire me to create. I wasn't much good at work today; I kept picturing cards to make in my head. Good thing it was a slow Friday.

 

Just in case my new card doesn't showcase enough of my crafting style for the DT to make a decision, here are two of my older creations:



I recently purchased some Sylvia Zet stamps, too, and hope to create with those later this weekend, so keep your eyes peeled!

Pssssstttt....Whimsy Team, March is my birthday month. Don't you think it'd be a great gift to let me design for your team? Not that there's any pressure or guilt tripping going on or anything. Really.

My first card is also for the following challenges:
CLP: sketch 54
Elphine House: vintage
Elisabeth Bell's World: vintage Valentine

Playing along at Elisabeth Bell's World and first snow of the season

I can't believe it snowed on Christmas Eve. I think it's the first time we've had snow here near Annapolis, MD at this time of year in, well...years. Mind you, it didn't really accumulate, but it sure was pretty as it came down. So white and fluffy! And that really non-subtle statement takes me into the next thing. I'm a guest DT for Elisabeth Bell's World challenge this month, which is "fluffy white snowflakes". I am so excited, because I love Elisabeth Bell's work. She is amazingly talented. Anyway, what a fun challenge for the month, don't you think? I know that Christmas cards are mostly mailed, but you can start on your cards for next year or even make any kind of wintry card for those winter birthdays, thinking of you, whatever occasion you've got coming up. Just make sure to use an Elisabeth Bell image and snowflakes, and upload your card to the challenge blog. Details HERE. And while you're there, check out the beautiful cards but the EBW DT. I always find their stuff to be very inspiring and stunning.

This is the card I created for the challenge. Notice all of the little snowflakes hiding in the flowers?

Just in case you need a closer look at this adorable little angel, here she is in all of her glory:

I colored her with copics, added some liquid pearls, and then cut her out with a spellbinders die. Note to self: next time, cut the image first, before adding the liquid pearls. Duh.

I'm headed out to WV today to visit the cemetary where my husband is buried. Well, that's the hope, anyway. Depends on the weather. Right now, the snow has stopped and things are looking clear, so I might be taking a drive. It's a beautiful drive and always brings me a measure of peace to "visit" his final resting place. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas full of peace, love, family and friends. Huge holiday extended bear hugs (and in case you don't know me, that's saying something. I'm not big on that extended hug thing! I'm a grab 'em quick and let 'em go girl, usually). Merry Christmas!!!

FINALLY! Done, de done, done...DONE!

I am finally finished all of my Christmas cards. Ok, I probably spoke too soon. I will probably receive a card from someone and need to throw another one together quickly to return the sentiment. But, for now, I can feel happy, relieved and de-stressed because I am done (at least for now)!

My house needs cleaned, but I didn't have the energy for that today. Frankly, I didn't have much energy at all, as I'm still not feeling 100%. However, I pushed past the light-headedness, low energy, and headache to finish up my cards. Here's a few that I managed to knock out today:

If nothing else, I had fun coloring with my copics and playing with pretty papers. I have way more Christmas paper than I ever thought I could possibly buy. I just seem to gravitate towards it. As you can see, I also had some fun playing with my Nestabilities and some embellishments. I even found a few stickers in my stash that worked well (who knew? I thought I'd pretty much gotten rid of all of them).

Now it's time to get crackin' on the calendars I have to finish before my family comes over on December 22nd. What was that I said earlier about feeling relieved and de-stressed? I think I lied.

Chloe is definitely a cutie!

I first saw this Elisabeth Bell image on her blog a while ago. I asked her if she was going to sell her as a stamp, and she told me that a company would have to "pick her up". Not too much later, Whimsy Stamps did just that! Chloe and the other Cottage Cuties came out just in time for my birthday. Imagine my excitement when my mom gave me a gift card to Whimsy that allowed me to get the first four cuties. Yes, I admit it. I was dancing all around and clapping my hands like the overgrown child that I am. And yes, I treated myself to the other two today, so now I will have them all. Anyway, despite the total and utter cuteness that is every single one of the Cottage Cuties (they're so aptly named), Chloe remains my favorite. Needless to say, I had to color her up first.

I tried some rolled roses with paper this time. Well, let's just say that they are SO MUCH easier with felt. The paper was just heavy and stiff. Perhaps I should get it slightly damp next time? But then wouldn't it stick together? Yeah, I think I'll just go back to felt. I colored sweet little Chloe with my copics (of course. Let's face it. I'm addicted). Here's a closer look at her adorable self:

Dontcha wanna go grab some apples with her? She reminds me so much of my niece Gabby, who also has flyaway hair, adorable freckles, and big eyes that grab you.

Papers are My Mind's Eye Howdy Doody (Miss Caroline). Love them! Everything else is pretty much from my stash. I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Sketch Saturday: sketch (3/24)
Simon Says Stamp: bingo - lace, ribbon, flowers (3/28)
Stamptacular Sunday: use buttons. I used three (as flower centers) (3/24)
Elphine House: rain or shine. I chose sunshine! If you look closely, you can even see the little bit of yellow in the upper left corner of the image (sun rays peeking through the clouds; I used chalks to make the sky and rays).
Whimsy Stamps: Anything Goes (3/26)
Outlawz Monday Greeting Card: recipe challenge to use flowers, patterned paper, and ribbon (3/26)

As always, thanks for looking!

Butterflies and things

It's time for a new challenge at Belles n' Whistles. I am lucky enough to be their guest DT member for this month and next month. How exciting! This month, Audhild is challenging us to use butterflies. Not hard, since I love them. It was harder to stop adding them as I was making the card. After all, it is all about showing off this adorable image called "Ice cream butterfly".

Isn't she cute? I colored her with copics and used chalks to add a light sky behind her (it shows up better in real life). If you want this image for your very own (of course you do!), you can find her HERE.

Flowers are Wild Orchid Crafts. The shape around the image and sentiment are both from Spellbinders dies. The little cameo is actually an old earring; I just cut off the hook. Papers are Graphic 45 Little Darlings collection. The butterflies were punched with a Martha Stewart punch. I got the lace corner from my friend, Tracy. I'm almost out of them, darnit! I want more! I got the square doily behind the papers from a bulk sale on ebay. I think that about covers it!

Thanks for looking. Now go on over to the Belles n Whistles challenge blog to see what the awesome DT has created. And while you're at it, why not give this fun challenge a shot?