Thoughts of You

It's time once again for a sketch challenge on Splitcoast and this one is again sponsored by Sweet 'n Sassy so I had to participate!  And it's one fun sketch...this one is going in to the sketch book for keeps!

 

Since we were in the middle of yet another snowstorm today (yes, this week it's officially spring this week and we just got hit with another eight inches of the white stuff!) I almost went with a snowman or snowflakes for today's card but while searching for some good designer paper I stumbled upon a piece of paper from the Place in Time collection from Graphic 45.  I threw caution to the wind and decided to put away the snowflake stamps and bring out the flowers!  Spring has to arrive eventually, right?  Please tell me I'm right...

 

I started by cutting my card base and deciding on the color scheme, which was easy since I was able to follow the colors from the paper.  The fun thing about this paper line is that it included tags and journal blocks that could be cut out from the cardstock.  I decided to grab the March journaling tag to house my stamped images. 

 

Once all of my pieces were cut and the cream cardstock was embossed, I stamped the flowers from the Long Stem Silhouette stamp set onto the journaling tag.  I used my Distress Markers to color directly onto the stamp before stamping on the paper.  That way I was able to have the flowers purple and the stems green.

 

Then I just assembled and added a rhinestone swirl.  Fun stuff!  Why don't you check out this week's sketch and play along!

 

Enjoy!

 

Thanks a Latte

Hey, lookie, I made a card and posted on my blog!  It's a good week!  Actually it was a good weekend, stock full of lots of crafty projects.  And making cards for the upcoming Sweet 'n Sassy release week celebration (starting on March 9th!) was high on the list!

 

So today...I'm giving you a tiny sneak peek at a soon-to-be-released stamp set!  This set features one of my favorite things...coffee, teas, and friendship!  Can't wait to share more...  My image is paired with paper from Carta Bella...Loving the grey, red, yellow color combo!  The cup is colored with Copics.

 

I'll also be submitting this card for this week's sketch challenge over on Splitcoast, which is being hosted by Korin, owner of Sweet 'n Sassy stamps!  Head on over and check out all of the loveliness!

Paradise

Paradise...I could use a little time on the beach this week!  It's been freezing here in New England, with temps down close to zero for days and days.  Brrrr...I'm ready for warmer weather!  And sunshine!  Is hibernation an ok thing for humans?  I'd like to get in on that deal...

Well I'll have to settle for cards featuring beach scenes for now.  Cards!  I've missed spending some time making cards and last night I finally had some free time to just create...just for fun.  Sweet 'n Sassy is featuring today's sketch challenge on Splitcoast and I just loved the sketch...Hello?  Banners?  Why yes, I'd love to play along!  I'm in love with banners lately!

I grabbed some summery feeling paper from My Minds Eye and my Ocean Paradise stamp from Sweet 'n Sassy and got crafty!  I started by cutting all of my cardstock.  This is what I love about sketches; I can cut all of the cardstock and have it ready to assemble when I'm finished with the main image panel...perfect!  I then stamped my beach scene, using black Memento Ink, and then grabbed my Distress Markers...'cause summer just seems to go with watercoloring, right?

To color the image, I first scribbled with my markers onto a non-stick craft sheet and then used a watercolor brush to pick up the color and apply it to the image.  This is my preferred watercolor method when using the markers as I feel like they don't bleed enough when you apply the color first to the paper and then try to blend with the brush.

Then I assembled and added a few tiny gold pearls...Easy peasy and oh so beachy!

Enjoy and why not try out today's sketch challenge...

God's Grace is Sufficient

Oh my...I'm posting twice in one week...it's a record!  Running little eP sure is time consuming and my crafting time has taken a serious hit!  However, I was ahead of schedule with this week's to do list so I had some time to create just for the joy of creating...love that!

 

This card is for this week's sketch challenge over on Splitcoast.  And I decided to have a little fun with paint on this card.  Once my card layout was completed, using beautiful paper's from Authentique's Thankful line, I got to work on creating my tree.  I used the Tree Background stamp from Sweet 'n Sassy to stamp the branches in Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  Then I grabbed a few Adirondack Paint Dabbers, poured the paint on a paper plate, got an old toothbrush and went to town with creating "leaves" for the tree!  I dipped the toothbrush in the paint and then pounced the toothbrush up and down on the paper to get little splotches of color.  Abstract, no?  Once the paint was dry I just added the sentiment, from the Amazing Grace stamp set, and a few pearl embellishemnts.

 

What kind of projects have you created with paint?  Share!  And enjoy today's card!

You're the Best

Hey, guess what?  It's card sketch challenge day over on Splitcoast!  And I'm playing along with the challenge this week!

My card features fab paper from My Minds Eye and a darling butterfly stamp from Sweet 'n Sassy.  The butterfly and sentiment is from the Seeing Spots stamp set!!

Go...now...and check out the challenge and then create a card and play along!!

Moments

Hey guess what?  I had the opportunity to stamp last night...just for fun!  And for today's sketch challenge, hosted by Sweet 'n Sassy's very own Taylor!  It's been far too long since I've had the time to participate in a SCS challenge and I was excited to have time last night. 

Today's sketch is a fabulous one!  Isn't it different, loved it and thought it provided me with a graet opportunity to use some of my new pretty paper from Authentique (oh how I love Authentique!)  I also love this butterfly from the Sweet 'n Sassy set, Everyday Miracles.  This is seriously one of my favorite butterfly stamps of all time!  I simply stamped this beauty on cardstock, colored it with Copics, added a tiny bit of glitter, and popped it up with foam tape.  The sentiment was stamped on cardstock and I added a few felt flowers that I've had in my stash for more years than I can remember!  The twine on the top of the card is from The Twinery (love their stuff too!)

Enjoy today's card and be sure to check out the sketch challenge and play along!

Tiny Yawns & Sleepy Sighs

Hey guess what?  We're half way through the week already...can you believe it?  And true to form, my great schedule from Monday has already fallen by the wayside! LOL!  No worries, at least I had time this week to play along with this week's Splitcoast sketch.  PS - I confess that I added one tiny element to the sketch...that little bit of sentiment off to the left.  Once I had my main image on the card I realized that 1) I needed something on the left side of the card to balance out the image and 2) my sentiment was too large to fit with the moon...so I improvished!

This card features a darling baby-themed image is the Sweet Dreams digi from Sweet 'n Sassy.  I stamped the image on watercolor paper and then used my Distress Markers to color the moon and pillow.  The blanket was paper pieced from this fab new paper from My Minds Eye.  And then all those fab layers were assembled to complete the card!

Enjoy and be sure to check out the sketch today and play along!

I *Heart* You

Hi all!  It's rare that I post on a Sunday but I suddenly remembered that Paper Smooches has started a sketch challenge and the deadline is tonight!  I love Kim's designs but I don't often get much time to just play and tonight, combined with the challenge deadline, was a great opportunity for me to ink up some of my Paper Smooches stamps!

This sweet stamp, Love Monkey, was actually given to us during a class that Kim taught at Wholly Scrap!  How fun is that...not only a great Paper Smooches class but the attendees all received a free stamp!

Mr. Love Monkey was stamped on small grid paper, from My Minds Eye, and colored with Copics.  I stamped the balloons and the monkey's nose on a second sheet of paper, colored each piece with Copics, cut them out, and attached them with foam tape.  The blue background paper is also from My Minds Eye and that beautiful sentiment is from the Pretty Phrases set.

Enjoy today's card and head on over to the PS Sketch Challenge.  The next challenge will be posted on Monday!

Fishing You a Happy Birthday

Hey...I made a card last night and when I was finished I thought, "what's up with my color choices?!"  LOL!  Sometimes that happens, doesn't it?  I think it's because I started with one idea in my head (pick up the red and grey from the Authentique paper) and then I ended up with something different (fish don't look good colored red and grey and seaweed is usually green...)  Sigh...Well, nothing can take away from this darling fish image from the Happy Ocean Friends stamp set from Sweet 'n Sassy.  The past few days have been full of beautiful weather and sunshine, which has made me think of all things beachy (of course today it's pouring buckets!!)  so I wanted to use this set for today's sketch challenge over on Splitcoast.  Why not give today's sketch a try (but be careful with your color choices!  *giggle*)

Enjoy!

Guess Hoo Is Pretty Special

Hey look...it's a fun sketch challenge and a darling little owl! Today, Taylor Usry is hosting the sketch challenge on Splitcoast and she's got a fabulous layout posted! Check out all those circles...what fun! Click here to check it out! For my card, I used the brand new Owl Be There set from Sweet 'n Sassy and some fun retro paper from Taylored Expressions. Oh, and that sweet heart scallop border is from Sweet 'n Sassy too! You can find it here! Enjoy and be sure to check out today's sketch!

Sweet 'n Sassy Sponsorship

Do you know about the Card Positioning Systems (CPS) sketch challenges? If not, you should check out their site! Each week a new sketch is posted and you can be entered into a prize drawing if you participate by submitting a card using the sketch!

This week the sponsor is Sweet 'n Sassy and I'm pleased to be able to share a card using this week's sketch! Be sure to hop on over to the CPS site to learn more about the prizes that are available this week!

For this card I used a brand new Sweet 'n Sassy set, Warm Hello. Isn't that snowman adorable! I definitely have a thing for snowmen in the winter...hummm...maybe because I live in the great white north where we're typically surrounded by snow!

Before stamping my image, I sprayed the cardstock with Perfect Pearls for a great shimmery look. I just feel like you need a little something extra when you're dealing with a mostly white image on a white background and Perfect Pearls is the perfect solution! The image was then stamped and colored with Copics. My snowman is paired with this lovely wintery paper from Little Yellow Bicycle and grey fabric-covered buttons from SU!

Enjoy today's card and be sure to check out the sketch at CPS!

You & Me

Psst...did you know that Korin is now the Splitcoast Card Sketches Queen!! Seriously, how exciting is that!! Two of my favorite SCS challanges are the CAS challenge...and...wait for it...the sketch challenge! Nothing makes me happier than a good sketch and Korin always does an amazing job with sketches! I'm so excited for her and Sweet 'n Sassy!!

Since I had a few minutes last night I knew I had to sneak away and create a card for this week's sketch. (Check out all the details here and participate with us this week!) And I had to use this darling, and I do mean darling, new stamp set from SNSS called You & Me. I just love the cute images with their tiny faces and the sentiments in the set are so much fun!

Now...I know that this paper line, from October Afternoon, is more focused on a sewing theme but this paper reminded me of an old time diner, it has that antique look, doesn't it, so I thought it would be perfect with the salt and pepper shakers. (The little card that the S&P shakers are in was included with the October Afternoon Farmhouse paper pad)

I stamped the S&P shakers on a separate sheet of cardstock, colored them (and following Cathy's fabulous idea) I added a little salt and pepper to each container! I then cut them out and attached them to the little card with foam tape. (I stamped the image on the card so the sentiment would be on the card and then placed the colored shakers on top of the stamped image). Then I simply added the You & Me sentiment and a few brads! Fun set, fun card, and fun sketch!

Enjoy!

Sweet 'n Sassy Sketch Challenge

Hey, guess what? This week Sweet 'n Sassy is hosting the sketch challenge on Splitcoast! And the sketch is a super easy one...only three layers! It's perfect for either a CAS or super layered card. You can check out the details here.

I was thrilled to have time to create a card this afternoon. I opted to use the main image spapce to highlight a word stamp. This is the Psalm 23 stamp from Sweet 'n Sassy and it's an great stamp because it not only features the text from Psalm 23 but it also includes a short description about what the verses point to. For example, "I shall not want...that's supply."

For my paper I used some beautiful designs from the Cosmo Cricket Cira 1934 paper stack. Love the colors and designs in this set! I then created a color background, using Distress Ink and sponges, for the image. (The dots are created by dropping water on to the ink paper; the water acts as bleach.) I simply added a few rhinestones and a butterfly.

Enjoy and be sure to check out the sketch challenge...Maybe even play along this week!

Sweet 'n Sassy Sketch Challenge

Hey guess what? Sweet 'n Sassy is hosting the Splitcoast Sketch Challenge today! Woot! Woot! Or...maybe I should say...Gobble! Gobble! I'm a huge fan of sketches, they make those cards come together so easily...ahhh...which is perfect for busy crafters! :-) Today my card features this charming little turkey image from the brand new Gobble Gobble acrylic set from SNSS. Isn't he cute as a button? We saw some real turkeys over the weekend at a local farm...umm...yeah...they're not really this cute in real life! (They're kind of ugly...even if they do have some lovely feathers!) My image is paired with some brand spanking new paper from Imaginisce...I love their paper lines, which always have a bit of sparkle or shine on each sheet. Very fun! And I am in love with these Fall designs - delightful! And for today's card, I decided to decorate the inside of the card because...

I simply had to share one of the sentiments from the Gobble Gobble set...it's hysterical!! You should be able to read it ok in the photo...click on the photo for a larger image! Well my friends, if you get a chance hop on over to SCS and participate in today's sketch challenge...we'd love to see what you come up with!! Enjoy!

A Little Birdie Told Me...

I recently started following the blog of Claire Brennen, owner of Waltzingmouse Stamps. I've know of Waltzingmouse Stamps pretty much since the beginning, thanks to my buddy Julie who is always in the know! However, I had never used a set until the Stamping Around NH event earlier this year. The result? I love them!! We used the Sewing Box Hugs set at the SA event and I was fortunate enough to have received one of the sets that Claire generously donated for the class. Thank you Claire!! I used the bird and sentiment from that set for today's card... Turns out that this week Claire launched a sketch challenge blog...And what do we know about me and sketches? Right...I love them! Since I managed to get a lot of this week's design stamping work done early, I had time to play a bit last night and this is the card I came up with for the first challenge. The designer paper used on the card is from Jillibean Soup and it's a farm-themed paper, perfect for my farm fresh birdie (who I'd like to say is really a chicken). Did I tell you about our chickens? Ah, that's for another post. :-) I embossed the frame with the Swiss Dot embossing folder and used the tolle technique for my bird, ahem, chicken. A little rhinestone eye and lovely green button from Papertreyink were the finishing pieces. Head on over to the new challenge blog and check it out...You can use any stamps and sometimes there are prizes... Enjoy!

Sketch Challenge and Basic Grey

I took a trip to my local scrapbook store today, Wholly Scrap (how's that for a name? LOL!), and was enticed by some beautiful Basic Grey paper....so...I bought it! Then I quickly drove home, put the kids down for their naps, and ran down to my studio to cut up my new paper to make a card! Since I was in somewhat of a hurry, I decided to check out the latest Splitcoast Sketch Challenge. It's actually last week's challenge but it's a clean and simple design so I hoped I could finish my card before any little ones stirred. I tipped the card on it's side, creating a vertical box (vs. horizontal, which was in the online sketch) for my layout. The stamp set used is from Stampin' Up! (and one of these days I'll actually remember to write down the name of the sets!) and that oh so lovely paper in the background is Basic Grey...isn't it yummy? I popped up a few of the flowers, the "dreams" banner, and the butterfly. (You can click on the image for a larger view.) And because I can't live with too much white space and Jodi does such a great job with piercing to "fill" in the space (her designs rock BTW)...I did just that! You know what, a little piercing sure does do the trick!

Enjoy!