It's a Fluttering Butterfly Day!

I'm fluttering and flitting myself today!! I am so excited to announce that I am joining the Flutter By Wednesday team starting today! For those who haven't discovered this awesome challenge yet, it is every Wednesday and the running theme is...you guessed it, butterflies! Danni started this super fun challenge, and if you haven't visited her blog, you need to go HERE now! In fact, this is her 51st challenge!

This week's challenge was to use butterflies (of course), but to also not use designer paper. Instead, you are to create your own background. This could be using stamps or your Cuttlebug or whatever you choose. The quote from the set Butterfly of Happiness by Stampin' Up is one of my favorites, especially since I am a Hawthorne fan. The card is simple, but I sometimes forget that simple can be really pretty, too! I love how the Purely Pomegranate gives it just the right POP!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing my great news! I feel like I finally got my big break in the biz...Oscars here I come! Please grab a beverage, sit and relax and head on over to the other team members' blogs to see their creations!

Danni

Ann

Ashley

Cassie

Cathy

Heather

Jodi

Kristie

Michelle

Card details:

Stamps: Butterfly of Happiness and Kind Thoughts by Stampin' Up

Paper: Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, Pink Piroette, Chocolate Chip, Purely Pomegranate, and Close to Cocoa by Stampin' Up

Ink: Close to Cocoa and Purely Pomegranate by Stampin' Up

Accessories: Angel Wings Shimmerz; MS butterfly punch; Cuttlebug embossing folder; ribbon

Twinkling with America's Sweethearts!

I've really gotten to love all of the challenges over at Madelynn's Twinkling Tuesdays, so it's fun to play with them when they come out! This week was an inspiration challenge. There was a picture of Minnie and Mickey Mouse and a sweet little story to go with it. You can read about it HERE. The code for this one is MTTSC16 if you upload it on SCS and PCP. The picture is below:

And, yes, these are America's sweethearts! When I saw the inspiration, I immediately thought of my new set from The Greeting Farm. What a wonderful excuse to ink it up!

Card details:

Stamps: Cup of Stuff by The Greeting Farm

Paper: Real Red cardstock and DSP, Basic Black cardstock by Stampin' Up

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark

Accessories: Marvy Uchida Mega scalloped oval punch; Organdy Ribbon; SU oval punch; Black embossing powder; Copic markers (C1, C3, B34, R29, RV02, RV06)

Got My Mojo Going!!

And, this is my second post of the day! When does that ever happen? Not very often in my world, but that is ok! The reason why I wanted to post is to say that I actually did the Mojo Monday sketch on Monday! Woohoo!!

Mojo 80 was a great sketch! My image was a little big, but I made it work. This Sugar Nellie had never been inked, so I decided it was time. Also, I wanted to use this new Bella Rose paper from Stampin' Up...it's pretty yummy! I worked in reverse of what I usually do...I selected the paper first, then I colored the image. It was a little bit of a constraint, but I dealt with it! Thanks for stopping by again today and sharing my obsession!

Card details:

Stamps: Nelly with Dotty Wellies and Plant by Sugar Nellie

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, and Pink Pirouette cardstock; Bella Rose DSP all by Stampin' Up

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: Stampin' Up grosgrain in Choc. Chip; Rhinestone stickers; Nestabilities (scalloped circles); Copic original and sketch markers (skin-R00, R01, R20; boots-RV11, R37; dress-RV11, RV34, R37, R39, E41; hair-E33, E57; flower pot-E13, YG95, RV11, R37)

My First Etsy Inspired Challenge (#29)

I keep seeing all of these super cute cards/projects done, and they keep referring to the Etsy Inspired Challenge. Well, because of my obsession with all things challenge related, I had to do some investigating. And, I think I've found a new challenge to be obsessed about! Imagine that! Here is the link to the Etsy Inspired challenge #29.

The shop on Etsy that was the inspiration for this challenge is Handmade by Rebecca. We were to visit her shop and choose an inspiration piece. I chose this item, the Asian Pearl ribbon bracelet. The flower on the ribbon caught my eye because it reminded me of the flower from the Stampin' Up set, Bella's Bloom. It is an adorable little set, so I love to use it. I didn't have a pearl brad like the one on the bracelet, so I had to improvise. I had a flat, round brad that was to be used with epoxy letter stickers. I took some rhinestone stickers and arranged them on the brad to make a whole lot of bling. I wanted the brad to look like a slide on the ribbon, so I used thread to tie the ribbon together, and I affixed the brad to it. To stamp the flower, I simply used Rose Red and Mellow Moss markers from Stampin' Up to color the image and stamped it. This card was simple, but it really reminds me of the bracelet!

Card details:

Stamps: Bella's Bloom by Stampin' Up

Paper: Chocolate Chip and Mellow Moss cardstock and Rose Red DSP by Stampin' Up

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: Brad and rhinestone stickers; SU satin ribbon; Rose Red and Mellow Moss markers by Stampin' Up

Stylish Tilda

The sun is finally shining today in the Carolinas...we've had our share of gloom lately. Raining Tilda is much better than real rain! This is the card that I made for the March raining group #2 over on the Magnolia-licious yahoo group. I actually played around with my pencils and gamsol this time instead of the copics. I realize that the more I practice, the better I get...imagine that! LOL! However, my supply of pencils is limited, so I have to pick and choose carefully which colors that I need. Also, I heard some chatter about how the prismacolor pencils are constantly breaking, and the sharpening gets a little tedious. Someone then suggested the polychromous pencils from Faber Castell. And, they were right, the prismas break all the time, and the Faber Castell don't. However, I do like the results with the prismas a tad better. Anyone else had this issue? Just my little testimonial!

I just love playing with these Tildas! I mostly have stamped images of them, but I am now the proud owner of a few them. They are expensive, but I will add to my collection slowly as they are the most darling things. Friends and family from home love them because we have such a strong Swedish heritage. On to the pertinent stuff! Thanks for stopping by today! I really appreciate all of your comments and your visits. I even marvel at the fact that I have 19 followers. How cool is that? (I realize there are blogs with hundreds, but give me the moment!!)

Details:

Stamps: Stylish Tilda by Magnolia stamps

Paper: Real Red and Pacific Point cardstock, Pacific Point and Real Red DSP by Stampin' Up

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: Scalloped oval nestabilities; SU In-color ribbon (Pacific Point); Precious Elements silver pen; Faber Castell polychromous pencils; Gamsol; EK Success border punch; Angel Wings Shimmerz for the small wings on Tilda

Flutterby Wednesday #50

Danni has a great challenge every week on her blog, and it is called Flutterby Wednesday. Every week she challenges people to do something new with a butterfly. Butterflies are always so hopeful to me...the whole idea that a caterpillar can become a beautiful butterfly always mystifies me. This particular challenge is especially great because there is candy involved. Butterflies AND candy...who could resist!! It is Danni's 50th challenge, so hop or flit on over to her blog and check it out!

I had fun with this challenge because it was a sketch. I lengthened the card a bit (7x4 1/4) to accommodate my image, but that is the beauty of a sketch (it can stretch!) I made a rhyme! The image is from DRS Designs, and it is so appropriate for this time of year!

Details:

Stamps: Butterfly with eggs by DRS Designs; fluorish from Delight in Life by Stampin' Up

Paper: Purely Pomegranate and Pink Pirouette by Stampin' Up; Euphoria by Basic Grey

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: EK Success border punch; Shimmerz (Sunflower, Pixie Dust, Pink, Deep Purple); Prima flowers; Glittery brad; Cuttlebug Embossing folder (swiss dot); Copic markers (Eggs-G24, G29, RV11, RV34, BV000, Y02; Butterfly-BV11, V17)

Twinking Tuesday on Wednesday!

My silly little girl!

I did finish this sketch last night, which was still Tuesday, but alas, I had to wait until today to post it! I just love the challenges on Twinkling Tuesdays, and it is all because it involves our other children sharing in our crafting passion. I love to have my 4 year old daughter crafting with me in my room. She even has her own desk. And, the first thing she thinks about when wanting to make people happy is to make them a card. How awesome is that? She is such a fabulous little girl!

The sketch this week is over on the Twinkling Tuesdays blog, and it is tagged MTTSC15, so you have to hop on over there and check out the sketch and all of the great creations from the design team! The funny thing about me is that I used the exact same fairy again for another sketch on the site...I must really be drawn to her!!

Details:

Stamps: Fairy Chloe by The Greeting Farm

Paper: Euphoria by Basic Grey; Pretty in Pink and Tempting Turquoise cardstock by Stampin' Up

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Purely Pomegranate by Stampin' Up

Accessories: Scalloped circle nesties; SU oval and word window punch; SU Purely Pomegranate stitched ribbon; rhinestone stickers; Cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder; Pixie Dust Blingz by Shimmerz; Copic original markers (skin-R00, R01; hair-Y21, E33; wings-E41; dress-B04, RV11, RV34)

It's Time to Bloom!!

I finally inked this adorable fairy from Paper Makeup Stamps, and her name is Kirsten. I think I would call her the tomboy of the fairy world. I can imagine her climbing trees and getting dirty, forever curious. The sketch is on the PMS blog this week--PMSSC03--and it was fun to work on a larger scale this week. My card measures 5 1/2 inches square. Sometimes you just need a larger card size to accommodate a great stamp!! The sentiment is from Stampin' Up's set, Bella's Blooms, and it just fit perfectly with my little scene. I also dusted off some retired SU ribbon that matched a past in color, True Thyme. It worked fairly well with this Kraft designer paper.

Do you color the image first or pick your colors/paper first? We were talking about this on PCP lately, and I guess that I never really thought about my process. After I did ponder the question, I realized that mostly I color the image first and pick the paper to match it later. The only exceptions are when I am trying to do a color challenge of some kind or I just have to use some new paper! I have an ever growing supply of Copic markers and polychromous pencils, but I am amazed that I always seem to not have the exact color that I am looking for. I have so many brown tones, but I can never find the right now. So, that is my quest...to own it all then I won't have that problem! Just kidding (well, maybe not...[hides head in shame])!!

Enough of my ramblings, here's the important stuff:

Details:

Stamps: Kirsten by Paper Makeup; sentiment from Bella's Bloom by Stampin' Up (p. 83 IBC-Spring/Summer 2009)

Paper: Kraft DSP, Elegant Eggplant, Wild Wasabi by Stampin' Up

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Elegant Eggplant by Stampin' Up

Accessories: SU True Thyme stitched ribbon; EK Success border punch; decorative brads; SU oval punches; Pixie Dust Blingz and Angel Wings by Shimmerz; Copic original (skin-R00,R01, R20; hair-E33, E57; Wings-E41; Shoes-E33, E57; Shorts-E13, E21, V17; Shirt-BV00, V17; Leg warmers-V17; Grass-YG17, G29, 0)

He Really is a Gentle Bear!

Wouldn't you just love to pick him up and squeeze him? This is Gentle Bear from High Hopes Stamps. I fell in love with him, and I had to have him. While the ordering process is quite lengthy with High Hopes, he and the other stamps I received were well worth the wait. They achieve a whole new level of cuteness. I wanted to finally be able to do another Mojo Monday sketch, so I was actually able to finish #79 on this Monday!! How amazing is that for me? After a variety of mishaps in the craft room (I dumped an entire box of paper, burned my finger on my lamp, and got glue on my shirt), I combined this week's sketch with the Color Throwdown #34 from last week and Voila, a card is born!

I'm sorry if I get a little disjointed with this post...I'm trying to watch the new ABC show Castle, so I'm typing on the commercials. I know, yes, I stamp and watch TV...it keeps me company!! Anyway, I digress! Here are the particulars of this card, but watch out, you may fall in love with him, too!

Details:

Stamp: Gentle Bear by High Hopes Stamps

Paper: Blush Blossom, Not Quite Navy, and Kiwi Kiss cardstock by Stampin' Up; Urban Prairie by Basic Grey

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: Basic Grey velvet rickrack; American Crafts Rubons; SU oval punches; EK Success border punch; Cuttlebug embossing folder; Copics (E21, E33, E37, N5)

Inky Impressions 1st Design Team Call

I just keep getting back up on the horse! LOL!! This card is for a design team call for a brand new stamp company called Inky Impressions, and the sneak peaks of these images have been awesome! I can't wait to see what more images that they come up with for the coloring fanatics in all of us! The level of cuteness on the little girl is over the moon...she is adorable! For this challenge, I had to ink up this adorable bunny from High Hopes, especially now that spring is officially here. He is just begging to be colored! And, my favorite fairy from Paper Makeup is here, too! I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Details Card One:

Stamps: Elle by Paper Makeup Stamps

Paper: Rose Red and Kiwi Kiss by Stampin' Up; Sultry by Basic Grey

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: Noteworthy cartridge for Slice; Grosgrain ribbon; rhinestone stickers; Pixie Dust Shimmerz Blingz; Copics (Skin-E00, R20; Dress-RV11, RV34; Hair-Y21, E33; Wings-E41 and Shimmerz; Egg-Y02, Y04)

Details Card Two:

Stamps: Bunny Blooms by High Hopes Stamps

Paper: Urban Prairie by Basic Grey, Wild Wasabi and Regal Rose cardstock by Stampin' Up

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: SU rubons, Basic Grey ribbon, EK Success border punch, pearl stickers, Angel Wings Shimmerz, Nestabilities Label 2, Copics Original (Bunny-C3, N5, RV02, RV34, R20, 0; Flowers-G24, RV11, RV34, BV00, Y02, Y08, G29)