BC92 - Hoppy Frog Greetings

Happy Friday or should I say, "Hoppy" Friday!   This week sure has flown by quickly.  It's time once again for the Blogger's Challenge.  This week the theme was, Tempting Templates or Die Cuts.  Now I must admit that I am so NOT a "template" type of person so naturally I decided to go with Die Cuts.  I've had this darling frog die cut for ages and finally had a chance to use it and I like how everything turned out and hopefully you will too.                      I started by cutting out my Frog with Kiwi Kiss card stock and then again with Summer Sun as I wanted my little bug to be yellow instead of green.  Next up I sponged on some Kiwi Kiss on the frog to give it some dimension and added some Key Lime Glitter (Art Institute) for the eyes.  Then I sponged More Mustard on the bug and highlighted the wings with Lemone' Glitter (AI)

Next up I used myNestabilities Rectangle Dies and cut out one in Not Quite Navy and the other in Whisper White.  To that I stamped the Cattails and colored them with Prisma Colored Pencils.  I stamped the sentiment with Not Quite Navy Ink.  From there I had my color scheme down and layered Not Quite Navy, Kiwi Kiss and Summer Sun card stock.  The later I ran through the Cuttlebug with the Houndstooth embossing folder and then brayered on some More Mustard Ink.  I layered on a piece of Houndstooth DP from the SU Urban Oasis collection.  Next up I added a piece of Kiwi Kiss that I used my new Wavy Dot Punch (EK Success) on and added 3 Not Quite Navy Brads and some Navy Grosgrain ribbon to complete the card. 

You can see how the frogs eyes and the bug really sparkle in this close-up.

Stamps Used:  Cattails - DJ Inkers,  Sending Smiles sentiment - Hero Arts

Ink: Basic Gray, Not Quite Navy, Kiwi Kiss, More Mustard

So now go check out the other members of the Challenge Group to view their projects and don't forget to leave them some "loving" via the comments button.

Have a fabulous weekend!

3CT - I've Never Seen A Purple Cow

I've Never Seen A Purple Cow.  I never hope to see one.  But I can tell you anyhow, I'd rather see then be one!

Welcome to Three Clover Thursday where the FUN never stops!  This week our challenge was 3-Fold.  First we had to use (Purple) then (Glitter) and lastly it had to be a (Birthday) card.  You see our illustrious leader, Kerry Donovan-Casey just happens to be celebrating her birthday April 1st and she loves the color purple and sparkly things.                                         For my card I chose to use shades of purple.  I had a hard time finding an designer paper in my stash that had purple in it.  I came up with this pattern by (Doodlebug Design).  I paired it with Green Galore, Gable Green, Lovely Lilac and an unknown piece of lavender card stock that I'm sure is not an SU color.  I ran that piece through the Cuttlebug with the Perfect Paisley embossing folder and then added the striped designer paper.  I layered this to the Gable Green and Lovely Lilac and added Lavender Stickles to the outside of the card in a random pattern.  Over the designer paper I added a piece of Green Galore that I used my new Dotted Wave Punch (EK Success) and raised it up using foam mounting tape.

I stamped the cow (The Greeting Farm - McSplendid Farm) and colored it with Prismacolor Pencils in various shades of purple/lavender and blended with Gamsol.  I added some Heather Glitter (Art Institute) to the cow/bulls forehead.  I mounted this to Gable Green and Lovely Lilac Nestabilitie Dies.  The Party Hat and Sentiment are from Studio G.  I added glitter (Heather and Key Lime) to the hat and raised it up with foam mounting tape as well.  The sentiment was embossed with Black EP and I added 3 Green Brads under it (Queen and Co.).

So drop on by Kerry's Blog and check out the other Design Team members cards and PLEASE stop by their blogs and leave them comments.  It makes us feel so much better when we know you enjoy our art work by leaving us a little lovin (via the comment section) on our blogs.  Hugs to you and have a great day.

BC91 - Spring is Here!

HAPPY SPRING!!!  

Wow there is a lot going on today.  It's the 1st (Official) day of Spring,  It's my birthday and it's Blogger Challenge Friday.  Our theme for this weeks was, "Think Spring!"

For my card I chose the tulips from a very old SU set called (Nice and Easy Notes) that was in the catalog for many, many years.  I got my inspiration from a card I received in a swap where the maker had layered the tulips and I thought it was just so clever that I decided to do the same thing myself. I stamped extra flowers and cut and raised them up using foam mounting tape.  (I can't wait for my Tulips to bloom.)   I didn't have any water color paper so I had to use Whisper White and even though I'm not the greatest at watercoloring I think it turned out quite well. 

My papers are from Imaginisce (For Peep's Sake) collection.  They are so pretty and have sparkle all over them that just makes it so cheery.

I layered my tulips on card stock from (Coordinations) and Whisper White that I used my Labels II Nestabilies Die on and watercolored the edge with So Saffron ink.  I added a piece of Certainly Celery Twill ribbon that I stamped the sentiment (Studio G) on with Palette Noir ink.  I also added a punched border of Pretty in Pink using my MS Lace Doily Punch and 3 Sugar Coated Brads (Doodlebug Design)  The card base is Kiwi Kiss and Pretty in Pink.

I hope you all have a wonderful day.  I'll be celebrating the day by doing whatever I feel like and not having to cook all day long!!!

Check out the other Spring cards by clicking on the Bloggers Icon and leave them some love in the comments section. 

Owl Be There (TECC59)

Had a chance to play today and hopped on over to Taylor's Blog to check out the Cupcake Friday challenge sketch.  I don't often make square cards but I like the way they look and the fact they allow for a little more room to create then a standard card (4 1/4 x 5 1/2) has.                                                 I decided to use this adorable Owl image (The Greeting Farm) that I recently purchased.  I paired it up with some wonderful paper from Cosmo Cricket (Mr. Campy: Nature Walk.  I colored the owl image with Prisma Color Pencils blended with Gamsol.  For the eyes I stamped them again and highlighted the lids using Yellow Citrus Fluid Chalk ink and brushing it with Aztec Gold pearl-ex powder.  Then I lightly sponged some light teal ink around the image and used a scallop square punch (Marvy) Then I layered it to Close To Cocoa and Chocolate Chip.  I wanted the circle piece behind the image to resemble the "moon".  I achieved this look by using So Saffron cs and highlighting it the same way as I did the Owl's eyelids.  It's so shimmery in real life. I layered this circle to another of More Mustard and added 3 Rhinestone Jewels.  The middle layer is Chocolate Chip and the other side of the designer paper.  It looks like woodgrain.  I added some ribbon (May Arts) and stamped my seniment with Chocolate Chip ink on a Nestabilities Tag Die.  I added a bright red button and some teal thread.  The card base is Chocolate Chip layered with More Mustard and the designer paper.  The focal image and sentiment were raised using foram mounting tape. 

I love how this turned out and hope you do as well. 

Be sure to stop by Taylor's blog and click on Mr. Linky to view everyone else's cards using this fabulous sketch.                                                        

It's A Friday "Two-fer!"

Welcome to the Friday Blogger's Challenge...This week I combined "two" challenges into one card.  The Blogger's Challenge this week was (It's All About Texture) using texture/embossing plates.  I decided to combine the challenge with the Color Inspiration Challenge over at KWernerDesign as I really liked the color combo.  It's my very first time ever doing the Color Inspiration and I am really happy with how it turned out..             The colors were: Basic Black, Basic Gray and Whisper White.  I started with a Card Base of Basic Black and then Stamped the Flower from (Fifth Avenue Floral) with Basic Gray ink stamping some off once to create a slightly lighter flower.  I then added a strip of Basic Black cs ran through the Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dot embossing folder (my all time favorite).  Then I ran a piece of Basic Gray through the Cuttlebug using the Rows of Flowers and brushed them with Craft White ink.  I layered this to a piece of Whisper White that I had distressed the edges.  Next I stamped the sentiment (SU Sincere Salutations) with Basic Gray ink on Whisper White cs, punched it out with an Oval Punch (Marvy) and ran it through with the CB/Swiss Dot Embossing Folder.  I layered that to a Scallop Oval (Marvy) of Basic Gray cs and pierced the scallops.  I then stamped one flower with VersaMark and embossed it with Black Diamond EP from JudiKins - It sparkles in real life way more then it shows on the scan.  I colored some of the petals with a Copic Marker (Toner Gray No.5) and cut it out. I added a piece of Basic Gray Taffeta ribbon and mounted my images with foam mounting tape to complete the card. 

Please be sure to visit the other Blogger's Challenge members blogs and leave them some love via the comments section.  You can do so by clicking on the Icon on my sidebar.

Three Clover Thursday - Dare to be Inspired

Welcome to another installment of Three Clover Thursday Challenge. This week Kerry gave us an Inspiration Challenge. Our Inspiration had to come from this cake. Talk about a "challenge!" - Those colors are so bright you almost need sunglasses to look at the cake and my card(s) - Yep, I did 2 cards for this challenge.

My first card is based on a card that I saw here: by the talented Sharon L. Johnson. I loved the layout so I based my card around that. I also was inspired by the colors of the inspiration piece and the flowers and circles. I chose papers that had circular patterns and used floral stamps/embellishments to tie it all in. My next card is totally different but still inspired by the colors and flowers of the inspiration cake.

Details of Card One: Stamps: Studio G

Card Stock: Whisper White,Green Galore, Gable Green & Haiku Designer Paper (retired)

Ink: Green Galore, Gable Green, Pink Passion

Other: Embossing Folder/Cuttlebug, Brads (Queen and Co. and Pink Hedgehog Paper Crafts), Green Eyelet, Hot Pink Ribbon (source unknown), Nestabilitie Dies and foam mounting tape.

Details of Card Two: Stamps: Elzybells, Hero Arts

Card Stock: Only Orange, Green Galore, Gable Green, Whisper White, Designer Paper (Doodlebug)

Ink: Basic Black, Prisma Colored Pencils and Copic Markers

Other: Brads (Queen and Co.), RicRac (Madeko), Flower (Making Memories), Paper Piercer, Nestablitie Dies, and Foam Mounting Tape.

Be sure to visit Kerry's Blog and all the other design team members to see how they were inspired and then join in the fun and come up with your own inspired creation based on the cake.

Blog Candy Alert - Check it out

Check this out...Kerry over at Three Clovers Design is offering up some Yummy Blog goodies. So hurry on over for your chance to win.

It's been awhile since I've posted any pictures of my granddaughter, Coleen so I thought this would be a good chance. Here she is with our cat, Harley. Don't they make a delightful pair!

TECC58 - Spring Has Sprung!

I have a confession to make.  I "cheated" on today's sketch for Taylor's Cupcake Friday challenge.  Can anyone figure out what I did?  -  You see I have an extremely difficult time cutting squares evenly and not only that but all the images I tried were either to big or two small for what I wanted to do.  Then I remembered that I had this cool stamp (Magenta) that already had 9 square panels built right into the actual stamp.  So I colored all three panels and then cut them out and mounted them onto a background square of Lovely Lilac cs.  I colored the flowers wit Prisma Colored Pencils and cut out and layered the middle flower only.  I highlighted the flowers with a Yellow and Orange Spica Glitter Pen.

I'm also going to confess that this isn't my favorite card that I've ever done and in fact I'm not even sure I like it much at all but after several hours of working on it and the fact that my fingers are pretty much numb now (due to my Carpal Tunnel issues) I'm going to call it a day and post it anyway.  I hope it brightens your day.

Card Stock: Lovely Lilac - Kiwi Kiss, Designer Paper (DCWV), Whisper White

Stamps: Flower Trio Panel - Magenta, Sentiment from Studio G

Other: Nestabilies Tag Die, Flower (Hero Arts), Dew Drops, Ribbon (source unknown)

Inks: Palette Noir Black, Prisma Color Pencils

BC89 - Irish Blessings Color Challenge

Happy Friday! - Time once again for the Blogger's Challenge members to post their projects for this weeks challenge (Brown, Sage and any "Neutral" color)          I got the inspiration for my card from this card by Jackie Pedro (Scalloped Edge) - I love the layout and thought it would work great with a new stamp set (Blessings 09-0035) that I recently acquired in a Blog Hop  contest sponsored by Jessica Knutsen (There She Goes).  I was thrilled when my name was chosen to win this wonderful set and it arrived yesterday which was perfect timing for this weeks challenge.  I just love the gorgeous Cross in this set so I decided to use it as the focal point of my card.                                                 My card Base is Close To Cocoa that I layered with my neutral color, Naturals Ivory that I distressed with Close to Cocoa ink. I layered Sage Shadow card stock next and stamped the Sentiment with Chocolate Chip ink and the Shamrocks with Sage Shadow ink. Then I pierced a row under neath the sentiment with the Crafters Tool Kit.

I emobssed the Celtic Cross on the Ivory cs with Woven Tapestry EP (Personal Stamp Exchange) and cut it out.  This powder has some copper sparkle to it.  Sadly PSX is no longer in business but I still have several of their embossing powders so from time to time I get them out and use them.  I layered the cross on Sage Shadow cs and Close to Cocoa cut with the Labels I Nestabilites Die. The dark green brads are from (Queen and Co.).  This was then mounted onto a piece of designer paper (SU Autumn Vine - Retired) and tied with some Chocolate Chip Twill ribbon (also retired). Focal image mounted with foam mounting tape.

This was a great color combo so be sure to check out how the other members used it.  You can do so by clicking on the Bloggers Challenge Icon on my sidebar.

40 Shades of Green - 3CDT Challenge

Happy 3 Clovers Thursday everyone...Kerry planned another FUN challenge this week and even though it's the (Odd Teams) week to post I thought I'd participate too. 
The challenge this week was GREEN and Embellishments, (3) different ones to be exact.  Now I know my card does have some other colors but "Green" was suppose to be the main color and I think this qualifies.

I started with a base of Garden Green layered with Green Galore and designer paper (thehoney-tree.com)  You may recognize this sketch as it is pretty much the same as the sketch used for this weeks Cupcake challenge over on Taylor's Blog except that I extended the left piece all the way to the bottom.

I stamped my frog (Penny Black Inc.) with Palette Noir Black ink and colored it with Prisma Color Pencils.  Then I added some Crystal Effects to the ballon.  I layered this to a piece of Gable Green cs and wrapped some pretty Green Swiss Dot ribbon (May Arts) around it.  Then I added a punched flower of Green Galore along with a Purple Flower (Hero Arts) and an Apricot brad (Queen and Co.).  The side piece is Garden Green and Apricot Appeal cs that I faux stitched with a White Gel Pen.  I added 3 Crystals (Hero Arts).  The sentiment is from (SU - Lots of Thoughts) and was stamped with Garden Green ink. 

Hope this cheers your day.  Don't forget to check out the other Challenge Team members blogs and leave them some love.  You can also participate in the challenge and create your own Green sensation.