Friday, March 30, 2012

Happy News!

I can finally spill the beans:  I have joined the Creative Inspirations Paint design team!  Have you seen their paints?  Oh. My. Goodness.  Check HERE to see the gazillion colors!  They also sell glittered and embossing powders, and jeweled and metallic inspirations (you can check out those pretty little things HERE).

For my first painted project, I chose Lavender, Plum and Fairy Dust paint colors to dress up a plain paper flower from the wedding aisle at AC Moore craft store.


The paint is concentrated, so a little goes a long way.  I used some recycled packaging as my palette, to place just a tiny dab of paint, then spritz it with water to help the paint go further. (you could use a plastic bag as your palette, too)



I painted the petals with the two shades of purple, and used the sheer, pearly Fairy Dust to shimmerize those leaves.  Pretty, huh?

There are at least 87 tutorials on ways to use these amazing products.  One day, I sat and looked through  many of them and feel so inspired.  :o)  I can't wait to show you more projects!

Creative Inspirations Paint has a weekly challenge, with chances to win some paints of your own.  Always check the right sidebar for their current challenge link.

I'm really excited to be part of the CIP team; thanks so much, ladies, for inviting me!


Thanks for joining me!



Dimensions: 4.25" x 5.5"
Stamps: Everyday Sayings - Hero Arts
Paper: Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke cardstock - SU; Picket Fence - Lily Bee Design
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Simply Khaki Glimmer Mist - Tattered Angels
Other: pearls; Plum, Lavender, Fairy Dust paints - Creative Inspirations Paint ; Branch with Leaves Sizzlit - Sizzix; Big Shot
  Pin It

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Play Date Cafe 125 - Inspired by Bedding

One morning, my daughter was on the computer and logged onto Kmart's home page.  Bedding was on the first page, and though I couldn't see the picture clearly from where I sat, an idea was born for this Play Date Cafe challenge:  Color Splash using Brown.


I ADORE this image Jax found!  It's one of the neatest bunny drawings I've ever seen.

Here's my Christmas-in-Spring card:


I used the ornament from Flourishes' All That Glitters, and the sentiment from Paperwhites.  The single brown ornament was stamped on a scrap piece of white cardstock, colored, trimmed and popped up on foam dimensional stickers.

Some lace and bling were in order, too:


Our sponsor this week is The Twinery.  Don't you just looove those gorgeous twine colors they sell?

I can't wait to see what you all do with this week's colors.  I believe I could do a dozen more cards in this palette!

Thanks for joining me.  :-)



Stamps: All That Glitters, Paperwhites - Flourishes
Paper: white - PTI; Early Espresso (border) - SU
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko
Fibers: laces - JoAnn's; silver elastic cord
Other: oval punch - SU; rhinestones; 1/8" punch - Fiskars; Copic markers
Dimensions: 4.25" x 5.5"
  Pin It

Monday, March 26, 2012

Viva La Verve #4

I'm back with the last sketch of the month for the Viva La Verve March challenge, hosted by my friend Andrea Ewen.  Thank you, Andrea, for making this one SO easy!



The turquoise paper is from DCWV's Garden Party stack, and I embossed it with my new Kassie's Brocade folder by Cuttlebug.  LOve it!  Also new to me is the Garden Trellis deep edge punch by Martha Stewart.


I adore the simple fonts used in the Small Phrases Verve set.  Because the K & Co. die cut sticker set (used on my Viva La Verve #3 card earlier today) was already out on my work area, I chose three small ones to accent the sentiment panel.  I also used Petal Pink Liquid Pearls to spiff up the center of the rose.

Did you see my new blog, bleu hydrangea?  It's a photo blog, to help me hone my photography skills.  There are two whole posts on there now!  Whoop-de-doo.  ;-)

If you haven't played with us at The Play Date Cafe yet this week, you still have until midnight tomorrow (Tuesday, March 27th).  Give those colors a try!

Later this week, I can finally share some "happy news" with you that is under wraps right now.  Can't wait to share!!

Thanks for coming by today.  :-)



Dimensions: 4.25" x 5.5"
Stamps: Small Phrases - Verve
Paper: Garden Party - DCWV; Paper Girl - Girls' Paperie; Whisper White, Regal Rose - SU
Ink: Broken China Distress - Ranger; Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko
Other: Serendipity die cut stickers - K & Co.; Garden Trellis punch - Martha Stewart; Big Shot; Fleur-de-lis Rectangles die - Spellbinders; Petal Pink Liquid Pearls; Kassie's Brocade embossing folder - Cuttlebug
  Pin It

Viva La Verve #3

For the Viva La Verve Sketch #3 for March, I broke out the Garden Party papers from DCWV.  So pretty!


'Tis a shame you can't see the shimmer on the paper.  Each flower has iridescent glitter on it (it comes that way).


I used a K & Co. die cut flower to top off my sentiment, which is from Verve.  It's a Winnie the Pooh quote; how cute is that??  I still have my stuffed Winnie from Sears, bought in the early 1970s.  He looks pretty good for as old as he is.

I forgot to tell you something about last week, when my mom was visiting.  It seems good fortune was smiling upon us two different times.  One day we went to Bobby's Burger Palace (owned by Chef Bobby Flay) for lunch and the men in front of us paid for our lunch!  (The tab was like $44.00)   The restaurant is a fast food place, and the construction workers who came in behind us asked if they could go ahead of us, while we looked over the menu on the wall.  We didn't mind at all.  When it was my turn to order and pay, the employee said, "It's taken care of."  I had trouble processing what she meant.  No stranger has ever paid for my meal before. I must've had a shocked look on my face, and she told me the men ahead of us felt bad for cutting, so they picked up the tab!

The second time this happened was on my mom's last full day with us.  We went to see "The Hunger Games" movie - opening day - in the morning.  At the booth where you pay, I recognized the young man working there as my neighbor's son.  I haven't seen him in a couple of years, and he looked so grown up.  As I made small talk with him, I saw him swipe his employee badge and then he handed me four tickets, gratis.  That saved us more than $20!

I fully believe in "paying it forward", and am glad to teach this lesson to my children.  Random Acts of Kindness are marvelous things, and make both you and the recipient feel good.

Thanks for joining me!



Dimensions: 4.25" x 5.5"
Stamps: Smallest Things - Verve
Paper: Garden Party - DCWV; white - PTI; Very Vanilla - SU
Ink: Scattered Straw Distress - Ranger; Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko
Fibers: Majesty Lace - Offray
Other: Doily Lace Trim punch - Martha Stewart; Serendipity die cut sticker - K & Co.; White Opal Liquid Pearls; pearls; Big Shot; Labels Thirteen die - Spellbinders
  Pin It

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Romantic Mini Card

Hello!  I've got a mini card for you today, just dripping with romantic tones.  It's being entered in the Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger challenge.  Here's the inspiration photo:


I was inspired by the color palette, of course, and these other things:

  • The dark vertical curtains (Eiffel Tower image on my card)
  • The carpet's swirls (my swirly die cut)
  • Accents of white in the room (white scalloped border punch)
  • Flowers on table (floral Webster's Pages paper)

I'm also entering this at Lily Pad Cards - use flowers.  Love that challenge!

My mom went home yesterday.  We miss her!  It was wonderful to spend time with her, and we probably won't see each other for another year.  :-(

Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!




Stamps: Artistic Etchings - SU
Paper: Pale Plum, Blush Blossom, Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Crumb Cake - SU; Webster's Pages
Ink: Crumb Cake, Basic Black - SU
Other: pearls; Dotted Scallop punch - EK Success; die cut - K &Co.
Dimensions: 3.5" x 4.25"
Pin It

Friday, March 23, 2012

Runway Inspired Challenge

What a beautiful week we've had here in New Jersey:  blue skies, warmer temps, cool breezes.  Ahh.  It was the perfect week for my mother's visit.  We had a wonderful time, shopping, visiting family and good eating.  :-)

I fit in some crafting time yesterday and today.  The withdrawal pangs were growing daily.  ;o)

The challenges:




Taking cues from the photo, I focused on the black belt, the black lace-against-skin, and the flower colors.  How 'bout that crazy hair-do on the model??

I used a new stamp set, bought while out with my mom this week.  It's Recollections brand from Michael's, half price, with no name.  Each damask flourish you see was individually stamped, using a Stampamajig placement tool.


The pink and orange flowers are Anna Griffin, stamped/colored/and trimmed.


I backed the wider, grosgrain ribbon with double-sided tape, then pleated as I laid the ribbon onto the card.

My new camera and I have not seen eye-to-eye yet on the macro detail shots.  I am hoping to get much closer, and did buy a new 50 mm macro lens for it, but still I'm not there.  Anyone have any tips?



Stamps: Recollections (damask); Anna Griffin (flowers)
Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Old Olive - SU
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko
Fibers: black grosgrain - Offray; thin black ribbon - SU
Other: Big Shot; Branches with Leaves Sizzlit - Sizzix; blue bling - Queen & Co.; die cuts - K & Co.; double sided adhesive
Dimensions: 4.25" x 5.5"
Pin It

Thursday, March 22, 2012

An Upcycled Mother's Day

Hello everyone!  It's time for another Play Date Cafe challenge!  We've softened the colors from last week a bit.  ;-)


The colors - as named by Jaclyn Miller, our color story coordinator - are Raspberry, Harbor and Honey Mustard.


This went together pretty quickly:  a blue card base, fluffy blue ribbon, and an upcycled-tag from the clothing store, Hollister.  I saw all three colors in that tag, but tried to cover up the tag's wording with chipboard pieces from Girls' Paperie.


The tag is mounted on a piece of raspberry cardstock, edges punched.  Real, honest-to-goodness bakery twine was used in the making of this tag!  (yum.)

Our sponsor this week is Mr. Cricut Crazy --

Check out the fab prize at The Play Date Cafe, and be inspired by all the creative goodness our team has to offer you.  :-)

Thanks for popping by!  I'll be around to visit your blogs when my mom goes back home this weekend.  In the meantime, we're shoppin' til we're droppin', and visiting extended family, too.  It's so much fun to see my mom again (it's been almost two years since our last visit).



Paper: Bashful Blue - SU; raspberry - DCWV
Fibers: twine (bakery)
Other: blue ribbon - Stamp Simply Ribbon Store; Deco Fan punch - Martha Stewart; chipboard letters - Girls' Paperie; pearl; metal clip - Mark's Finest Papers; tag - Hollister jeans
Dimensions: 4.25" x 5.5"
Pin It

Friday, March 16, 2012

Birthday Butterfly

Happy St. Patrick's Day a day early, everyone!  I've got a green birthday card to show you for this green kind of weekend.  :-)

The challenges I'm entering - Mojo Monday with this sketch:
...and DYSU challenge - Use Your Favorite Color.  I have several faves, green among them.


This is going into the kit of cards for my step-mom's birthday gift.  She likes to keep a supply of my cards on hand to give to others.  Hope she likes this one!



I didn't include any details on the making of this card, but if you have questions, feel free to ask away!  My email address is on the right sidebar, near the top.

Remember I mentioned that we had recently redone our bathroom?  I have pix to show you at my new blog, bleu hydrangea.  I'd love to have you visit.  :o)

My blog may be rather quiet for the next week.  My mom arrives for her week-long visit tomorrow, and we will be spending time with each other.  I'm sure I can sneak onto the computer a bit here and there, but probably won't be visiting blogs until after she goes home.

Thanks for joining me!  Have a wonderful week.



Stamps: Floral background, Something To Celebrate - SU; Butterflies - Lost Coast Designs; Old French Script - Hero Arts; Carpe Diem - Hampton Arts
Paper: Whisper White, Mellow Moss, Crumb Cake, patterned scraps - SU
Ink: Garden Green, Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake - SU; Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko
Fibers: Taupe grosgrain ribbon, twill tape - SU
Other: pearl; Scallop Dot punch - Martha Stewart
Dimensions:
  Pin It

Inspired by a Female Peacock

This week I have shown a couple of different cards using the new Blockheads stamp set, Proud as a Peacock {HERE, and HERE}.  They both featured brighter colors we think of when we picture a peacock.  I made this card in honor of the female peacock, whose colors are more subdued. 


I used two feather stamps - they are different sizes - and stamped off the edges for interest.


For each feather, I stamped in this order: Crumb Cake ink, Basic Brown ink, and White craft ink.  I staggered the images a little, too, not stamping directly one on top of another.  I moved the stamp slightly each time.  The sentiment is from the set.

I wanted to show you how I made this card.  The base is a little larger than the actual card.  Dimensions are listed at the end of this post.

Challenge entered:  Moxie Fab World's Fascination with Feathers.  How timely!

On another note, I wanted to share with you that I've lost 10 pounds recently.  Hooray!  I do have more to lose, though.  My husband and I joined LoseIt.com, a free site that helps you responsibly set your weight loss goals, and easily track your daily exercise and calorie intake.  We joined in February of this year.  I needed a push, and this site helps me keep an eye on how I'm doing each day.  Having a weight loss partner is helpful, too. ;-)

Thanks for joining me!



Stamps: Proud as a Peacock - Blockheads Paper Arts
Paper: Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip - SU
Ink: Basic Brown, Crumb Cake - SU; Frosted Crystal Antiquities ink - Ranger
Other: pearls
Dimensions: 6 5/8" x 3 3/8" base; 6 7/16" x 3 3/16" fold-over card

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Inspired by a Magazine Page

This is my second post of the day.  Please scroll down
one post for The Play Date Cafe challenge.

In the March 2012 issue of Real Simple magazine, page 166, you see this page:

Though this style is not "me", I immediately thought of stamping because of the patterns I saw.  The pillows feature yellow gingham, and the tan pillows have a pattern (kind of Moroccan) just like my Skipping Stones Designs stamp.  The floral could be represented with paper.

I'm playing in the Freshly Made Sketches challenge - here's the sketch:



The Gingham stamp is by Market Street Stamps, the Moroccan pattern by Skipping Stones, and the lush floral paper is Girls' Paperie.  The sentiment is Verve.


I used Liquid Pearls in yellow and white to surround the sentiment, and a bit of light yellow shading too.  Behind the circle die cut is a Parisian Motif die cut.

This card is headed north to one of my dearest friends, a stamping buddy.  She is very special to me.  We met here in Blogland and have grown close.  I still marvel at the generous, warm-hearted community of crafters I have met.  I count myself blessed to know you all.  Big hugs!



Stamps: Birthday Surprise - Verve; Gingham background - Market Street Stamps; Timeless Textures - Skipping Stones Designs
Paper: white - PTI; floral - Paper Girl - Girls' Paperie
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko; Summer Sun, Taken with Teal - SU
Fibers: twine - Creative Impressions
Other: Dotted Scallop punch - EK Success; Big Shot; Parisian Motifs die - Spellbinders; white, yellow Liquid Pearls - Ranger; blue button - Girls' Paperie; white button; pearl
Dimensions: 4.25" x 5.5"
Pin It

Play Date Cafe 123 - Happy Anniversary


Okay, are you ready for this bold, bright combo this week at the Play Date Cafe?  It's Teal, Electric Green, Tangerine, and Jeans.  And yes, that is a neon shade in the line up!  So glad I had some DeNami buttons on hand in those neon shades.  Whew!
Our sponsor this week is DRS Designs, and our DT was blessed with two stamps of our choice.  I chose the Polka Dot background and the gorgeous script sentiment.


I had a little trouble matching up colors with what I own, but wound up using these on the polka dots:  Not Quite Navy ink, Ocean Chalk Ink, and Poppy Parade marker.


See the orange button?  It's from DeNami.  I added some glue in the middle, and sprinkled with glitter.  (should have stopped there) When it was dry, I added a topping of Crystal Effects.  Unfortunately, it didn't dry clear, so I didn't take TOO close of a shot, 'cause it wasn't what I was going for.  

We'd love to see what you come up with for the Play Date Cafe this week!  Show us those bright creations.  :-)  

Thanks for coming by today; I love when you visit!




Stamps: Polka Dot background, Medium Script Anniversary - DRS Designs
Paper: white - PTI; Not Quite Navy - SU
Ink: Not Quite Navy - SU; Ocean - ColorBox Chalk Ink; Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko
Fibers: white polka dot ribbon - Stamp Simply Ribbon Store; green ribbon; Majesty Lace - Offray
Other: buttons - DeNami; Big Shot; Fancy Tags die - Spellbinders; Crystal Effects, Poppy Parade marker - SU;
Dimensions:
Pin It
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...