Happy Mother's Day

Hi,  Today I'm sharing the card that I will be giving my mom on Sunday for Mother's Day.

 



Stamps:  Stitched Flower Trio - Hero Arts
Sentiment from Annabelle Stamps (Flowers for You)
Background Stamp: Woodgrain from Stampin'Up!
Card Stock: Real Red, Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink and Summer Sun.  Designer Paper (source unknown)
Ink:  Embossing Ink, Winter White EP (SU), Prismacolor Pencils.
Butterfly Die - Amuse Studio
Pink Baker's Twine
Blue Gem and Some Liquid Pearls complete the accessories.

MojoMonday162 - Peace on Earth

Hi!  -  I'm excited today because I've made a card totally out of my "Comfort" zone and I like it!  Yes,  I tried this weeks MojoMonday sketch and I made a Round card - My very first!

So without further ado here is my card:

For this card I used the new SU Color, Cherry Cobbler (my new favorite red for Christmas) and layered it with Very Vanilla which for some reason looks white in my photo but it's not.  I used some of the SU Designer Paper, (Jolly Holiday) and my favorite Annabelle Christmas set, (Holly Branch) as my stamp set.  I did slightly alter the sketch to fit in my Poinsettia but sketches are mainly "starting points" so I don't think a slight alteration really changes the sketch all that much.

The Felt Poinsettia is from, Hero Arts.  The leaves are from Annabelle Stamps, The Punch is Martha Stewart, Vanilla Brad-Pink Hedgehog and Olive Brads-SU.

New Challenge Blog and Prize

Hey have you heard the news...There's a NEW Challenge Blog out there,

Let's Ink It Up and there are Prizes being given away.  Here is one of them.  This prize is being offered by Andrea from Annabelle Stamps. So how foyou win this awesome prize?  Check out  this link for all the details.  

Have a wonderful day.  Now go spread the word!

Encouragement

Hello and welcome to the start of a new week.  Today I am sharing a card that I made for a couple that I have never met.  One of my stamping blog friends,  Allison had this post on her blog last week.  I asked for the address and made this card (and actually sent it!) to them.

I wanted to encourage both Sue and her husband even though I don't know them personally.  As a Christian it is important to uplift others who are in need and quite often I find myself guilty of neglecting to do this so I'm happy that I actually followed through this time.

Stamps used:  Sentimental Bluebells (Annabelle Stamps) - Aren't they gorgeous!  Annabelle Stamps is a relatively "NEW" stamp company in Australia so if you haven't yet visited Andrea's store be sure to do so.  She'd love to have you stop by and check out the new stamps which just came out.  They are wonderful to work with so please drop on over and maybe add a set or two (or three) to your stamp collection today!

Card Stock:  Handsome Hunter, Real Red, Bashful Blue and Very Vanilla
DP:  Scenic Route
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Prisma Color pencils.
Punch:  Swirl - EK Success,  Oval and Scallop Oval-SU
Nestabilitie Dies
Paper Piercing Tool, Prima Flowers (Colored with Copic markers to match DP), Brads from Pink Hedgehog

Say it With...Pearls

Welcome! - It's time for a new Annabelle challenge.  This week our theme is:              Say it With...Pearls.               I decided to use one of my all time favorite Annabelle Stamp sets: (Holly Branch) for my card.  It's not to early to start thinking about creating Christmas cards because all to soon the holiday season will be upon us so it's a good thing to think ahead.

Card Details:  Card Stock:  Old Olive, Groovy Guava, Bashful Blue, Bravo Burgundy

Ink: Bravo Burgundy, Old Olive (Aqua Painter)

Designer Paper - Eskimo Kisses by Basic Grey

Other: Pearls from Annabelle Stamps - NOTE, I dyed the blue pearls using a Copic Marker.

Scallop Punch - SU, Nestabilie Die, Paper Distressing Tool, Foam Mounting Tape.

Don't forget to check out the other DT members blogs - They are listed on my sidebar
Please let them know you enjoy their creations.
Don't forget there is still time to enter the current Sketch Challenge for a chance to win this gorgeous White Petals Kit.

Say it With....Pink and Brown (Annabelle Stamps)

Hi!  Hope you have been having a good week so far and are ready for the weekend.  I know I am.  Sunday is my 18th Wedding Anniversary so I'm looking forward to that. Although hubby and I did pick out our own gifts this year.  I got a new camera (Canon Power Shot) and he got a, (used Bass Guitar).  We will probably go out to dinner and maybe catch a movie.

For this weeks Annabelle cards our theme is, Say it With...Brown and Pink.

I chose images from the set, (Flowers With Love) and colored the flowers with Prisma Colored Pencils.  My paper is from two different retired Stampin'Up! series and right now I don't have the names handy.  I thought they went well together though.  I added some pink gems and brown pearls as well as some of the gorgeous new flowers that Andrea is carrying at the Annabelle store.  I also got to use one of my new EK Success punches that I bought with that last of my birthday money.

Don't forget to check out the other DT members blogs (they are listed on my sidebar) and see their lovely creations.

Also there is still time to participate in the Sketch Challenge and the PRIZE (package of new ribbons) that is available.

Say it with....Flowers (Annabelle Stamps)

Happy Friday and HAPPY EASTER...  For this weeks Annabelle Challenge the DT is using the theme...Say it with Flowers.  What a wonderful theme for those celebrating the arrival of Spring and of course Easter weekend.

For my card I chose to use some of the brand new ribbons, flowers and pearls available at Annabelle Stamps  Check them all out because I think you will like what you see.  I know I loved what I received from Andrea to work with.

My card base is: Garden Green layered with textured Pink Passion card stock and some designer paper from Die Cuts With a View. 

The Stamps I used are from one of the Floral sets available at Annabelle Stamps, (Flowers With Love).  I stamped the sentiment with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and the flower with Pink Passion ink (SU).

Other items used: Lace Punch (Martha Stewart) White Pigment Ink, Nestabilie Dies, Pearls & Flowers from Annabelle stamps.

Sorry for the short post but I am pressed for time. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me.  Hope you'll check out the other DT members blogs and don't forget to leave a comment to let them know you stopped by.

Have a truly wonderful Easter!

Say it in Green n Blue

Hi,  Hope you are all having a wonderful week.  It's time for this weeks Annabelle Challenge and our theme this week is,

"Say it in Green and Blue."  I did double duty with this card as it's my very first time doing the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge on Karen Giron's blog (SSSC60).  I loved this sketch and thought it would work well with these fun flowers from the Annabelle stamp line (Floral Stems) The sentiment is from: (Flowers With Love). 

My card stock colors are: Not Quite Navy, Kiwi Kiss, So Saffron and Very Vanilla.  The patterned paper is by (Cosmo Cricket).  I colored the flowers with Copic Markers (B21 Baby Blue, YR21 Cream, and YG00 Mimosa Yellow).  I added Olive Sprinkles to the flower centers.  The border strip is the Scallop Punch from SU) I added Olive Twill ribbon (SU retired) and some dark green embroidery thread tied in knots.

Please stop by the Annabelle Blog and check out the other DT members cards by clicking on their links.  Don't forget you still have 1 week left on the current Sketch Challenge and a chance to win the stamp set Flourishes available from Annabelle Stamps.

BC141 - Shamrock Blessings

If you are here for the Annabelle, "Say it with...Cake" challenge look here

Now on to the Blogger Challenge this week.  This week was a "color" challenge:
Greens/White (Neutrals as needed).

First up I used "Black" as my neutral color.
I won this wonderful stamp set, (Shamrock Blessings) from Our Craft Lounge and just had to ink it up for this challenge.

I stamped the shamrocks with Kiwi Kiss ink on Whisper White card stock and stamped the sentiment with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  Then I layered this onto Old Olive card stock cut with Labels 8 Nestabilitie Dies.
I added three 3mm Black Currant Sprinkles from (Annabelle Stamps)  These are so gorgeous you really need to see them in real life to truly appreciate how pretty they are.
My background papers are from Stampin'Up! I also embossed a piece of whisper white card stock with the Moroccan Screen embossing folder.  The ribbon is black velvet from a retired SU ribbon pack.

For my 2nd card I was inspired by a card from the current Paper Crafts magazine (March/April) issue made by Maile Belles (Page 63).

I liked the layout but changed a few things to make this card my own.

Again I used the Shamrock Blessings stamp set from Our Craft Lounge.

For this card I chose, Kraft card stock as my Neutral color.  I stamped the shamrocks in, Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive and Always Artichoke inks and punched them out with a square punch and mounted them onto matching card stock.  I embossed a piece of Kraft card stock with the Houndstooth embossing folder.  The sentiment was stamped with Kiwi Kiss and the "Lucky" portion colored with an Always Artichoke marker.  I added a piece of DP from SU and tied some Linen thread around it.  Then I used an Old Olive Felt flower, a White Flower and a Button (all SU) as an embellishment.

I really had fun with both these cards and hope you enjoy them.  Be sure to stop by the BC members blogs (click on the icon on my sidebar) and check out their great cards as well using this color scheme.

Say it With....Cake and CIC48

"Strawberry Fields Forever"

Hello!  It's time for this weeks Annabelle Challenge and we are doing something different this week.  Since we are now doing the "Sketch" challenge (bimonthly) on the opposite weeks we will be doing cards based on themes, color schemes etc...to start off we have the theme:  Say It With....Cake.

I'm also combining this challenge with this weeks Cupcake Inspiration Challenge on Hope Stamps Eternal.  Aren't those cupcakes divine!  What could be more yummy then ripe, juicy red strawberries.  Make's my mouth water just thinking about it.  Of course those who know me well know that I am a HUGE fan of the fruit and that I picked them to earn money every summer from the time I was 11 till I graduated from High School.  That's a lot of strawberry picking but you know I never got tired of the fruit even after spending my summers out in the hot sun or having to pick in a wet field after it rained.  I can't wait each summer for the berries to riped so we can enjoy delicious Strawberry shortcake.

My card features the awesome Annabelle Stamp set,  Jasmine's Cupcake.  I think she's perfect for both challenges. She's mainly colored with Copic Markers (the few that I have) and yes I need lots of work using them.  Her hair though was colored with an SU Marker (Creamy Caramel) as the only brown Copic I have was much to dark for what I wanted.  I paper pieced the dress with a piece of DP from (Cut-it-Up) called Green Salt.  To make the frosting fluffy I used Light Pink Puff Stitch by Color Point and some Candy Pink Glitter (Art Institute).  The bows were raised using foam mounting tape.

I punced 3 flowers with my SU punch and added yellow brads.  They go perfect with the blossoms from the inspiration cupcake.  I'm not sure who makes the red/white polka dot dp (wish I could give you the source) and I added dots to the Real Red piece with the Swiss Dot embossing Folder.

Other Colors, Pretty in Pink, Glorious Green, Whisper White.

Ric-Rac (isn't that pretty) from JoAnns for only $1 for 9 feet! 

Be sure to visit the Annabelle Blog as there is still time to participate in last weeks Sketch Challenge - Up for grabs is the fun stamp set,  I Can Fly  and you can also join in on our theme this week using any stamps you have as long as you use "cake" of some kind on your card.  Leave us a link via Mr. Linky so we can check out your delicious creations.

Joy To The World

It's RELEASE DAY! - Yes, there are new stamps from Annabelle Stamps

The set I'm showcasing today is Holly Branch. It's a wonderful set with several different Holly Branches, and some wonderful sentiments.

For my card I chose the Stamping 411 Sketch found here:

I started with a card base of Handsome Hunter then layered Textured Ruby Red cs with DP from (DCWV - Holiday Collection). I stamped the trio of Holly Branches with Palette Noir Black ink on Shimmery White cs and watercolored the leaves with Old Olive ink and an Aqua Painter. For the berries I used some of the new Mini Sprinkles available from AB Stamps (Chilli). I stamped the sentiment with Ruby Red ink and a Basic Black marker. I mounted this piece onto another piece of Handsome Hunter and added a strip of the DP - I also Distressed the edges of these two pieces. As a finishing touch I added a piece of plaid ribbon (JoAnn's) in the lower left corner.

Be sure to visit Andrea's Blog and then the new Annabelle Stamps Blog as there is CANDY available there that you don't want to miss out on.

Jasmine's Cupcake

Hello and Happy Monday (yes you can be happy on a Monday even though it's the start of a new work week for most) - Today I'm showing you a card I made using my new Annabelle Stamp set, Jasmine's Cupcake
I absolutely love how pretty this stamp is. If you know me you also know how much I love strawberries and can hardly wait each summer for the local berries to ripen. We eat tons of them during the summer. I'm not so thrilled with the store bought variety as they just don't seem to have the same fresh flavor as the local berries do. It seems "odd" to be creating a card now with Strawberries on it since we are heading into Fall but over in Australia they are heading into spring and probably planting their strawberry plants in anticipation of summer harvest.

For this card I colored my focal image with.......Stampin'Pastels! (are you shocked) My normal preference are my Prisma's but I also love using chalks so I thought I'd do something different for a change of pace. I goofed a little when I colored the package as I had pencils laying out on my desk and forgot that I'd colored the main image with the chalks so you get a little of both mediums on this card.
I paper pieced Jasmine's dress using some gorgeous red/white polka dot paper (Bo Bunny) and then I colored only the bows on another image and cut them out and popped them up with foam tape as I did the package. I added ribbon from American Crafts, Jewels from Me and My Big Idea, a punched lace border (SU punch)and some clear glitter (Art Institute).

Don't forget that you can buy this gorgeous stamp set by visiting the link above.

CIC28 Jasmine's Garden

Welcome! - I hope everyone has been having a wonderful weekend so far. It's time for Hope Cupcake Inspiration Challenge and just get a good look at that YUMMY cupcake today. Isn't that just gorgeous! - I'm excited to play again today. I was sort of stumped at first when I saw this cupcake because I thought, What on earth am I going to use for inspiration. Then it hit me I had the perfect stamp from Annabelle Stamps called, My Garden It's one of the new (Singles) in the Annabelle line. I think Jasmine is just beautiful. She reminds me of a princess spending time in her royal flower garden dreaming of a handsome prince. I colored my image with (yes you guessed it, Prisma Color Pencils) and masked her then stenciled on the clouds and sponged in the grass. I also popped up a few of the flowers with foam tape and added some shimmer to the centers of all the flowers with various Spica Glitter Pens (to bad it's hard to see in a scan because it's really pretty in real life).

The paper I used is from Basic Grey's Lemonade line. I think it's really cheery and a pretty good match to the colors of the inspiration cupcake. I added some of those divine "Sprinkles" above my punched border. Then I tied on some Cream Grosgrain ribbon. The sentiment is part of another Annabelle set, (Swirl Tree) and the wonderful thing about clear stamps is that you can maneuver them like I did and position the words any way you want as this stamp is actually in a straight line but I masked it off and stamped the (of you) part underneath.

Be sure to stop by all the Sweetie's Blogs for further inspiration and give this challenge a try yourself. Post your entry using the Mr. Linky features. It's really a lot of fun and challenges you as a stamper to see things in new and different ways so why not give it a try and see how you are inspired.

Card Stock: Rich Razzleberry, Apricot Appeal, Regal Rose, Whisper White

3CT33 - Diva in Pink

Good Morning! - Can you believe it's October already? This year is zipping by quickly and I'm so not ready for the holiday rush but ready or not it will be here before we know it.
In the mean time October is (Breast Cancer Awareness) month so for this weeks challenge Kerry asked us to, "Think Pink!" - I don't really own any of the great sets out there that help promote BC Awareness but I believe in the cause and this month I'm eating lots of Yoplait Yogurt so I can send in the lids to help fight this terrible disease.
My card for this week is on a more "cheery" note though as I chose to use a Birthday theme for my card. The image is from the (Diva stamp set by Annabelle Stamps) found here: Isn't she "spunky" and "cute"! I colored her with Prisma Color pencils and added some ground using an oval mask and Certainly Celery ink. I also added the wand that comes in the set and used Glitter on her top and the wand. The sketch was a Timeless Tuesday sketch which can be found here:
Other card details:
Card Stock: Pixie Pink, Whisper White, Shimmery White, Basic Black, DP-Basic Grey
Ink: Palette Noir Black, Prisma Color Pencils
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder
Make A Wish Sentiment - Computer Generated
Sprinkles (Blossom) from Annabelle Stamps
Ribbon: May Arts

Annabelle Stamps - A Cup of Friendship

Today I'm showcasing another stamp set from the new Australian stamp company, Annabelle Stamps called, Swirl Tree I chose to use one image from the set and a sentiment. There is a wonderful swirl tree in the set but I went with something entirely different as you can see for this card. I chose to use the Cup image for my card.

I paired it with some really pretty and fun designer paper (DCWV - Indian Summer)and used that as the basis for my color scheme. I started by stamping one of the cups with Palette Noir black ink and created a mask then stamped 3 more cups on top masking each as I went along. I colored these with various colors using Prisma Color Pencils and then cut them out. Next I stamped a row of the cups using the following colors (Melon Mambo, Kiwi Kiss, Tempting Turquoise, Only Orange).

The sentiment was stamped with Palette Noir Black ink as was the coffee steam which I also high lighted with a Silver Spica Glitter Pen.

Card Base: Melon Mambo - Kiwi Kiss and Naturals Ivory cs

I added the DP along with a loopy punched border of Rich Razzleberry and some orange ribbon. Then I added 3 Blossom Sprinkles to complete my card.
Speaking of those gorgeous sprinkles Andrea has a little Freebie Friday giveaway going on so be sure to check it out here:

Mojo Monday meets Annabelle

ARE YOU READY FOR A PARTY!!! - Introducing, Helen's Party from a brand new stamp company, AnnaBelle Stamps

Isn't she adorable! - I was so thrilled and excited when Andrea sent the email saying that I had been picked as one of her new Design Team members. I couldn't wait to get my stamps and get started creating with them. (Patience)has never been one of my virtues. The package arrived on Thursday and I worked really hard yesterday creating this fun card.

Andrea had sent us some papers (as a added bonus) and while we aren't required to use them on our projects I fell in love with one of the patterns and decided to use it for my first card. The paper is, Sugar Petals from Scrabble paper and while it's not available right now you can find the pattern here:
I like to work with sketches a lot (it lessens the time of trying to figure out a layout) so I chose this weeks MoJo Monday sketch found here

You can see that I altered the sketch slighty by reversing the position of the smaller circle. Otherwise I could not have added my balloon nor sentiment but it' still pretty much the same.

I colored my image with Prismacolor Pencils blended with Gamsol and then paper pieced her outfit with the reverse side of the pattern DP. The colors of the paper really matched well with some of the new "in-colors" and a few retired in-colors as well. See list below.
I added a nice shiny balloon by using Crystal Effects and popped up the bow on the package. You'll also notice those wonderful little gems on the right side that resemble Dew Drops except that these are called Sprinkles and they have a foil backing which makes them really sparkle/shine in real life. I LOVE THEM! Best of all Andrea sells these at AnnaBelle stamps and they come in, 24 Colors! I can't wait to get more of these babies as they are so pretty. They come in little cases that are stackable as well so you can save storage space if needed. Be sure to check them out.

So here is a list of the products used for this card:
Stamps: Helen's Party (AnnaBelle Stamps)
Ink: Palette Noir Black (PaperTrey Ink)
Prisma Colored Pencils, Gamsol
Card Stock: Always Artichoke, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Melon Mambo and Whisper White.
Other: Crystal Effects, Kiwi Kiss Twill ribbon (retired SU), Olive Sprinkles (AnnaBelle Stamps), Linen Thread, Nestablitie Circle Dies and foam mounting tape.

I'll be back again next week with another fun card using one of the other new sets from AnnaBelle stamps. All her products are now available at her store so head on over and do some shopping!