Pearly Sparkles June Challenge ~ For the Boys/Men

Hi Crafty Friends,
It's time to share my monthly challenge card for Pearly Sparkles.This month we want you to create something "for the boys (men)!"
This is a birthday card I made for my hubby.

I love this image from Stamp Anniething.  I just had to add the party hat! The layered sentiment is from Jaded Blossom and I colored using Copic Markers.
I hope you'll play along with us this month.

Cut it Up Challenge #247 ~ Celebrate Women's History

Hi Crafty Friends,
We're celebrating Women' History at Cut it Up and we can't wait to see how you interpret the challenge.
I decided to celebrate Girl Power, a message we raised our two daughters to believe in!

The "Celebrate" die is from our sponsor, CAS-ual Fridays.  The burst is from the Silhouette Design store.  I added an offset to create the yellow layer, added a font title, and then printed it out.The image and design papers are from Stamp AnnieThing.  I colored using Copic Markers.
Be sure to visit the Cut it Up blog to see all of the design team's interpretations of the theme.  There are some amazing projects.
We look forward to your entry and your chance to win a gift voucher from CAS-ual Fridays.

My Time to Craft #397 ~ Tag, You're It

Hi Crafty Friends,
I seem to be in a tag-making mood this month which is perfect since our challenge at My Time to Craft is "Tag, You're it."
For this challenge I made a birthday tag.

The image is Stamp AnnieThing's, Stacy, Sign Board.  I colored using Copic markers. The tag is Jaded Blossom's Luggage Tag die and the cupcake is from JB's Birthday dies.

Come on over to My Time to Craft and join our TAG challenge.  Just follow the link above.

Die Cuttin' Divas #411 ~ Pink and/or Cherry Blossoms

Hi Crafty Friends,
Can you feel it?  I think spring has finally arrived. Our challenge at Die Cuttin' Divas is Pink and/or Cherry Blossoms.
I used both!

I used this sweet Kelsey image from Stamp Annie Thing.  I colored using Copic Markers and Wink of Stella.  The butterflies and sun are from Jaded Blossom.  The grass and cherry blossom border are La La Land Crafts.  Everything was cut using the Gemini Jr.

I'm also entering this card in:

Stamp Anniething's Stampers Facebook challenge 39 - sequins and adornments

Crafty Friends Challenge Blog #105 - Ladies/Girls

Sweet Dreams

Hi Crafty Friends, I made this card for the Stamp Anniething's Stampers Facebook Group Challenge Week #38. The theme is Pretty in Pink.  I used the Holly - Sweet Dreams stamp from SAT.

The patterned papers are from American Crafts.  I colored Holly using Copic Markers and cut her out on my Scan N Cut2. Stamp Anniething's Stampers sponsors monthly challenges are the Facebook group. You must use a SAT product and follow the theme.
I'm also entering this card in A Gem of  a Challenge - Week 4 Anything Goes

Challenge Card for STAMP anniething Challenge #37

Hi Crafty Friends,
I've been wanting to enter more card challenges this year so today I'm sharing a card I make especially for the STAMP anniething challenge on Facebook.

For this "use a die" challenge (along with a STAMP anniething stamp) I used Gracie, How you bean? She's colored using Copic markers which was a bit of a challenge since I stamped her on basic card stock rather than Copic-friendly.  After stamping the image, I masked her off and used the Coffee Beans stencil to create the ombre background.  I also ran the stencil through my Gemini to achieve an embossed look on the Kraft mat paper.  The coffee cup is from the Jaded Blossom Coffee Dies set.
The Facebook challenge can be found HERE.

Celebrate Cut It Up Challenge Blog's 100th Post!

Hi Crafty Friends, Woohoo!  Today we're celebrating Cut It Up Challenge Blog's 100th post! Our challenge theme for this post is ANYTHING GOES.  Along with the current design team, we've invited back past designers so the blog post is brimming with great ideas.  You're invited to visit the blog to see our creations and then link your own project.  We have a lot of sponsors offering some great prizes for this challenge. The only rule for this challenge is to USE A DIE CUT. Here's my project.

This is a memory box to hold baby's first year treasures.  Since the parents coach softball and dad is a former baseball player I went with the baseball theme.  The papers are from Hobby Lobby.  The shoe is from the Silhouette online store (baby shoe).  The letters and numbers were cut using Jaded Blossom's Alphabet Dies.  I used Bazzill dotted ribbon around the edges and the "A" is chip board painted with acrylic paint then pearl water color paint and, finally, black chalk ink on the edges. This is the card I made to accompany the memory box.

After stamping this adorable image from Stamp Annie Thing, I scanned it into my Scan n Cut, created a shadow and then cut them both out.  The #1 is also from Jaded Blossom's Alphabet Dies. Here's a list of our sponsors and the prizes that they have graciously provided for our celebration - 

Trendy Twine - sampler pack of twine

Pink & Main Stamps - $20 gift certificate

The Cutting Cafe - One clear stamp set & any 3 sets from the cutting cafe digital site.

*My Creative Time: 3 winners will receive a Stamp Set

*DCWV: 6 Winners (Each winner will receive a 12x12 Paper Stack & a 6x8 Color Pad)

*Lawn Fawn: 6x6 paper pad & stamp set

*KBD (2) $5 gift certificate

* Bugaboo Digi Stamp: 7 Free Images

* Your Next Stamp: A $20 YNS gift certificate

* Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbon: $15 gift certificate

*SVG Attic: gift certificate

Come on over and join in our celebration!!!

Pencil Play

Hi Crafty Friends,
I'm still finding time to play with Prismacolor pencils.  Using pencils requires some new techniques but I think it's exciting to expand my crafty horizons so I'll keep trying.
I've used Diana, Here's the Scoop from Stamp Annie Thing and actually put it on a card I had already assembled.  I just swapped out the focal image.  I've made so many cards over the past years and I've decided that when I like a card layout but not necessarily the focal image, I'll just swap it out.   So here's my card.

I'm learning so much about using pencils especially layering and shading.   A lot has to do with the "tooth" of the paper and adding color without completely filling in the tooth.  Once that's done, it's difficult to add and blend color.  I'll just keep practicing.   Now, besides keeping my pattern papers sorted by theme and my card stock sorted by manufacturer - so I know what cuts best in my cutters, I have to keep my Copic papers, my water color papers, and my pencil papers separate since using the right paper makes a huge difference.  Good thing I love to sort and organize!!!
Thanks for sharing my creative journey.  

Happy Day

Hi Crafty Friends,
I love my Copic markers but I've really wanted to try different mediums on my stamped and digital images.  Years ago I purchased Prismacolor pencils but rarely used them.   More recently I've added different water colors to my toolbox and keep telling myself that I need to take the time to try these different things.  Well, today I sat down and gave my Prismacolor pencils a try.   I'm really happy with the results.  My early attempts involved using Gamsol to blend.  Today I used the Prismacolor blender pencil.  It's gives a different effect but I like it.  I did not blend the hair at all.  I wanted to see the strands.  I basically used my Copic techniques, thinking about color families and highlight, mid tones, and shadows.  I also applied the color with small circles or flicks.   My stamped image is Abigail from Stamp Annie Thing. The sentiment is from the SAT Trudy set.

I've also used Jaded Blossom's Scalloped Square dies and Stitched Square dies. The twine, patterned paper, and sequins are from Doodlebug Designs.