My Life - Pictures of the week

I am starting something new this week called, My Life - Pictures of the week. I hope to post every Sunday/Monday with photo's of my life.

First up today is a picture of Coleen that I took wearing a new outfit that Grandma just had to buy for her.

Next is a photo of our cat, Harley in one of his silly poses.

I'm following that with a trio of flower photo's from my flower garden.

After that is a picture of my niece Megan, her little boy Timothy and my mom. My niece is the one who had Type 2 Lymphoma while she was pregnant and underwent Chemo treatments. Her little boy is 19 months old now and at present my niece is over a year Cancer Free. They were up for a visit this past week and it was so fun to see how he's grown and how well my niece looks.

Lastly is another picture of Coleen this time she is trying to make Harley smile.

I hope you enjoy this little journey into my life and the things that I love.

MMSC3 - Sweet Coffee For You

Well here I am again today with another post (shocking huh?) - Sometime last week I received a very nice comment from Priscilla and an invitation to join in on the fun at her blog http://priscillastyles.blogspot.com/ Midnight Madness Tuesday Sketch challenge. So I thought why not give it a try and here is the result. I hope you like it.

Lately I've discovered that having a "Sketch" as a starting point has been a real help to me in designing cards. It really has sparked more creativity then I use to have when I had to figure out a layout on my own.

I recently purchased a stamp set from Inkadinkado (Best Friends) that had this wonderful Coffee Image in it and I hadn't yet inked it up so away I went.

I colored my image with Prismacolor Pencils blended with Gamsol. Then I added Crystal Effects to the Coffee and White Liquid Applique for the whipped cream (Yum!) I layered these with Labels2 Nestabilities Dies. I added 3 small green brads (Queen and Co.) The Designer Paper is from Die Cuts With A View and I added 3 Dew Drops (Grapes and Leaves). I found some Lavendar yarn/cording that someone sent me in one of my cans of assorted ribbons and found it fit my paper perfectly. Then I added a Prima Flower and a Purple Brad. My focal image was raised using foam mounting tape.

Card Stock: Lavender Lace, Certainly Celery, Whisper White

BC101 - Bonzo Goes To College...

and Apparently Graduates! Sorry I couldn't help myself, I've never actually seen the movie (It was made in 1952) but I've heard of it and since our Blogger's Challenge theme this week was, "Graduation" I couldn't resist the title.

At first I hadn't planned to participate since I have (or thought) I had zero graduation type stamps. I just don't normally have any use for them so they aren't stamps that I typically purchase. I did however remember that I had the SU Sock Monkey and Sock Monkey accessories stamp sets which included a Graduation Cap. Voila...I now had something to use for the theme.

Then I remembered that somewhere in my file folders I had some printed paper with a Graduation theme and I dug one out and found this Turquoise patterned paper that was perfect for my card. It's so old that I have no clue where I got it from.

Next up I picked out a sketch and chose this one from Mojo Monday

week 84. I don't always play along every Monday but I save the sketches and refer back to them when I need some inspiration.

I actually watercolored Sock Monkey with SU Watercolor Crayons on some water color paper that I found stashed at the bottom of a draw.I then cut the image out with a Nestabilities die and added 3 Turquoise brads and rolled up some printer paper and tied it with Turquoise thread that I cut off the side of some Grosgrain ribbon. I glued the "Diploma" down with Crystal Effects. I mounted this onto a square of Chocolate Chip card stock and used another pattern piece of DP (DCWV) and layered that onto Whisper White and tied some Chocolate Chip Twill ribbon around it before mounting onto my card base. The sentiment was computer generated and then layered onto a Tempting Turquoise scallop and pierced. I mounted this with foam mounting tpe and added the bow with a glue dot to complete my card.

Be sure to check out the other challenge members blogs (click on the Icon on my sidebar) and leave them some comment lovin!

3CT - Ship Shape Challenge #15

Hello and Welcome to the latest addition of Three Clover Thursday Design Challenge. This week our theme was,
"Ship Shape! - Shaped Cards, No Squares or Rectangles.
Now I must admit that making shaped cards is not my specialty and in fact I have a hard time thinking outside the box when it comes to shaped cards.

As luck would have it I was browsing through the latest addition of Paper Crafts magazine - and happened upon a cute package card that was made by Wendy Johnson (See Page 45) July/August 09 and thought, "Hey there's something that I can actually handle. Okay I know it's not rocket science to make a shaped card but some days my creative Mojo just isn't up to tackling something more daring then your standard card size. Now I will admit this is sort of "cheating" in that the card is square to a point but with the addition of the package top it now becomes something other then just a square card.

I pretty much cased the entire idea except for changing papers, ribbons and stamps. Anyway I like how it turned out and hope you do as well.

Details: Card Base - Whisper White layered with DP (Imaginisce - Dotted pattern) and (Paper Salon - Floral pattern, Certainly Celery for scallop and sentiment.
Ink: Chocolate Chip and Prisma Colored Pencils for the Flower blended with Gamsol
Stamps: Flower (Source Unknown)ETA - Flower Stamp from Impression Obsession and Papertrey Ink-Sentiment
Ribbon: Chocolate Chip Grosgrain SU
Brad SU

Please check out the other Design Team members blogs and let them know how much you enjoyed their creations by leaving them some comment love.

BC100 - Bursting With Pride

WOW 100 Blogger's Challenges already. Now that is exciting. - I am so happy to be part of this great group and I hope my readers enjoy seeing everyone's challenges each Friday. - This week our theme was,
"Patriotic." - I think with Memorial Day weekend here that we all should be Grateful and Thankful to those who have and do serve our country in the Military to protect our Freedom.

For my card I chose to use a 4th of July theme and went with pretty traditional images and color scheme.
I used the MojoMonday sketch for this card.

I found this cute little stamp set (Studio G) for $1 at JoAnn Fabric and just had to have it. Every since I was a kid and went to watch the Fireworks I can remember hearing and saying, (Ooo, Aah) when ever a pretty fireworks would explode and light up the sky. Of course I've always worn earplugs (yes it's true) when I watch the fireworks display as I absolutely hate those really loud bangs but I love the fireworks.

I've used some old retired SU products here as well on this card. My card base is Brilliant Blue layered with Whisper White embossed with the Distressed Stripes embossing folder. I added a piece of DP (My Minds Eye - Parade "Celebrate" stripes) which I just love and added a piece of Real Red that I cut with my Wavy Punch (EK Success). Then I added 3 Blue Star Eyelets (really old SU Stuff that I still have). I stamped the bursting Fireworks (Hero Arts) with Versamark ink and used some old SU Embossing powder called, Ritzy Red) on Whisper White and layered that to Brilliant Blue. The sentiment and rocket stamps are from (Studio G) and I stamped the sentiment with BB ink and then embossed the smaller fireworks with some old embossing powder that has red/blue glitter in it. I'm not even sure where that came from now as I've had it forever. The Rocket was stamped with Night of Navy ink and I colored the red portions with Prismacolor pencils. I high-lighted the tail with a blue spica glitter pen. This was mounted to Nested Circles of Whisper White and Brocade blue with foam mounting tape.

Be sure to stop by all the other challenge members blogs and leave them some "comment lovin." - You can do so by clicking on the Blogger Challenge icon on my sidebar.

I wish you all a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend.

3CT Country Chicken

Welcome to Three Clover Thursday Challenge day. - This week our challenge was (Black, White and one other color). I must admit that I struggled with this a great deal. Oh don't get me wrong I love Black/White together but when I started working on my card ideas my "Mojo" just wasn't there. I wanted to try and use something other then (Red) as my extra color

since that is quite often a combo that you see together. I started out with something totally different but didn't like it and then I decided to just go with the Black, White and Red color combo anyway. Then I wanted to use the Cupcake Friday sketch from Taylor' blog but nothing I was putting together was working. I worked until midnight on Monday and finally gave up. Then Tuesday morning I decided to go with this idea and it suddenly came together. I'm not sure where my Designer Paper is from but I like the "Country" feel it has so I decided to use the Rooster Image from the retired SU set, (Provencal) and I like how it all turned out. My flower was originally white but I dyed it black. (Note to self....Wear Gloves next time!!!) - I added Prima Flowers, a large Red Gingham brad, and black brads to complete my card.

Okay so you see TWO cards here. My second card is one that I say in the magazine that SU Demo's receive and I just changed the color scheme to fit the challenge and added a couple of touches that weren't on the sample show. If you have any questions on how either of these cards were made feel free to email me and ask. Don't forget to visit the other Design Team members blogs and check out there cards as well.

BC99 - Case Yourself

Welcome to week #99 of the Blogger's Challenge Group. This week we were given the task of "Caseing" ourselves. We had to pick an old card and change at least 2 things about it. I had a hard time picking out which card I wanted to case but settled on this one. It's an old card that we did for one of my stamp club meetings about 2-3 years ago. I liked the layout and decided it would be fun to change it around a bit.

The card on the right is the new version. Yes, I changed more then 2 things. First I flipped the sketch on it's side. The most obvious change is that I used way different colors and a totally different stamp set. I also left off the ribbon on the new card as it just didn't fit the card.

I really like how this turned out. It also meets another requirement for another group I belong to where the challenge was to use Designer Paper. There are 4 different patterns on this card. The left panel, the strip down the middle, the large circle under the bird and the flowers on the branch are all done using different patterns from the Good Morning Sunshine series of DP from SU. I hope the partner that I am assigned will enjoy this card.

Don't forget to check out the other members blogs by clicking on the Bloggers Challenge Icon on my sidebar. Have a fantastic weekend.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Okay where I live right now it's probably more like May Showers bring June flowers as it's been a rather "Wet" month here. However for the Three Clover Design Team challenge this week our theme was, MAY FLOWERS so that's what I'm sticking with.

I went with the basic layout of a card done by Lisa Johnson that is found in the current issue of Stamp It Cards (Page50) but changed the colors, stamp set, and some of the layout.

I started with a base of Pacific Point Blue cs layered with Certainly Celery that I embossed the side with a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder and then added designer paper (Die Cuts With A View) and some ric-rac (JoAnn Fabric). I added circles of PPB cs and punched flowers of Bashful Blue cs with tiny green brad centers.

The focal flowers are from Papertrey Ink (Green Thumb) stamp set. I added stickles to the center of the small flowers and glitter to the center of the large flower

If you have any questions about how or what was used in any of my cards feel free to email me. - Be sure to stop by the other Challenge Team members blogs to check out their May Flower projects. I'm sure you'll be delighted.

Blog Candy at Story About a Girl

Hey, Christi over at Story About a Girl just celebrated her birthday and has some great Blog Candy to give away so head on over and check it out here:

BC98 - Celebrating Mothers

Happy Friday. - Time once again for the Blogger's Challenge Group to post their projects. In honor of Mother's this weeks challenge was of course to do something related to Mother's Day. I decided to go with a card.

I already had part of a card started from another challenge (http://faithartistry.blogspot.com/2009/04/bc95-color-combo-challenge-floral.html that I didn't finish up in time to post I decided to use the pieces I had finished and work them into a card for this challenge instead.

I'm still having some problems with my wrist hurting when I stamp a lot so it saved me some effort since most of this card was already completed.

My card base is Chocolate Chip layered with Sage Shadow. Then I stamped the Paisley Print BG (retired) with Always Artichoke ink on Sahara Sand cs. I added a punched piece of Always Artichoke and some Sage Shadow ribbon. I stamped the flower from Eastern Blooms with Sage Shadow ink on Whisper White cs and used Crystal Effects and Autumn Glitter (Art Institute) for the flower center. I cut the flower out and added the punched fronds (Martha Stewart) and then mounted this onto a circle of Chocolate Chip cs that was sprayed with a mixture of hairspray and Aztec Gold PearlX powder for some added shimmer. The sentiment was stamped with Chocolate Chip ink and highlighted with a strip of the CC cs that I pierced. - Okay I'll be honest my row of piercing was originally on the Sahara Sand card stock but it was crooked so I covered it up with the strip of cs and hey, it gave it a whole new look. I punched out 3 circles 3/4" of the CC cs also sprayed with my shimmer spray and punched out 3 Sage Shadow flowers and added centers with the Crystal Effects and the Autumn Glitter to complete the card.

I wish all you Mother's out the a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. - Be sure to stop by the fellow challenge members blogs and see their creations. Have a fantastic weekend.

3CT-Mother's Day

Welcome to another addition of Three Clover Thursday challenge. This week we were given the challenge of creating a card for:

Mothers/Women and to use lace or ribbon. I started out by finding a sketch to use and chose the newest Cupcake Sketch over on Taylor's blog to use. I find it so much easier to work on a card if I have an idea of how I want it to go together before I start.

Next up I chose my DP (My Minds Eye - Bloom and Grow collection). These colors are so bright and cheerful.

It's hard to see in the scan but I added Crystal Effects to the little circles around the flowers to look like dew drops falling on them. There is also shimmer to the lighter flowers and some glitter in the center of the largest flower.

Since Blogger wasn't cooperating with me last night while I was trying to upload I am not going to leave a lot of detail here this morning as I want to get this posted. If you need more information about this card feel free to email me.

Don't forget to check out the other Blog Challenge Design Teams blogs and check out their creations.

Have a great day. Ida

May Day Flowers for Mom - BC 97 Sketch Challenge

HAPPY MAY DAY! - I've been celebrating this holiday every since I was a kid in 1st Grade.  The very first bouquet I gave my mom for May Day I picked from a lady's garden on my way home from school.  She saw me picking her flowers but didn't say a word because she thought it was so sweet that I was picking a bouquet to take home on May Day.  I still take flower over to my moms and knock on her door then run and hide.  She knows the flowers are from me but we both still enjoy this fun tradition. 

The Blogger's Challenge this week was a Sketch - I always love these challenges as it helps to have a starting point for your card.  

  I've had this paper in my stash for a long time now and decided it was just to pretty not to use for this challenge.  The image I chose had similiar flower patterns so I decided to pair them up and I quite like the results.  I hope you do as well. Be sure to stop by the other Bloggers Challenge members blogs by clicking on the Icon on my sidebar and see their takes on this wonderful sketch.

Card Stock: Taken with Teal, Garden Green, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, DCWV Designer Paper

Ink: Palette Noir Black, Tangerine Chalk ink (Color Box).

Stamps: Inkadinkado - Sentiment was computer generated

Other:  Prisma Color Pencils, Brads (Queen and Co.), Nestabilitie Dies, Word Window Punch, Martha Stewart Embossing Petal Punch,  Foam Mounting Tape

Fluffles & Flowers - 3CT Sketch Challenge

Here we are again joining Kerry in this weeks 3CT Challenge.   This week the challenge was to use this sketch as the starting point for our cards.  I rarely work with (Square) cards although I like them as they do allow for a little more room to move things around on then a standard size card.  I'm not entirely sure I interpreted the sketch correctly since I don't have 2 different patterns of paper over the main card base.  Still I like how this turned out.  Besides I feel fortunate that I was able to participate this week having just had my CT surgery one week ago.

 On a "side note" things are going pretty well with the surgery.  I still have some numbness in one of my fingers and the inside of my hand feels stiff but I'm told eventually both of these things should go away completely.  My hand hurts a little when I move it certain directions and I think I may need to pace myself a little more as far as crafting goes right now but I'm happy that I had the surgery.

I adore "Fluffles" the cat (Stampedous) and since I already had this stamped image in my stack of stamped images waiting to be colored I decided to go with it for my card.  Then I picked out the Designer Paper, (Basic Grey - Sultry) and went from there with my color scheme.  On another "side-note" - It seems Kerry and I often have the same tastes as far as DP goes as you will note from her use of this same patterned paper on this card: and this isn't the first time I've discovered that we have the same DP (Great Minds Think Alike!).

Don't forget to check out the other Design Team members blogs and leave them some comment lovin! You can view the DT cards by clicking on the 3CT Blinkie on my sidebar.

Other Products Used:  Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Garden Green Card Stock - SU

Ink: Basic Black, Garden Green, Pixie Pink, and a Chocolate Chip marker

Prismacolor Pencils/Gamsol and Blending Stumps

Hibiscus Burst Twill Ribbon (Papertreyink)

In A Stitch Pink Blossoms - (Sassafras)

Martha Stewart Punch - Branch

Pink Spica Glitter Pen

Baby's Breath Glitter (Art Institute)

Nestablities Rectangle Dies (Spellbinders)

Paper Piercing Tool

Foam Mounting Tape

3CT - It's A Zoo Around Here

Today is Three Clover Thursday challenge day.  I wasn't sure I'd be participating today because I was scheduled to have Carpal Tunnel surgery on Tuesday and I just didn't think I'd feel up to making a card.  So you might (or might not) be wondering how a card appears here today then.  Well you see my surgery was scheduled for 9:00 am and on Monday I got a call stating that I had to be "bumped" further back in the day to 1:00 pm.  Since I didn't want to sit around all morning thinking about the surgery I decided to use my time to create a card for Kerry's fun challenge:  It's A Zoo Around Here (Use Animals).  I started out by using the Cupcake Friday sketch from Taylor's blog which really helped speed the creating process right along. 

My all time favorite animal is a CAT and I just bet Kerry knew that I would have to use one if I participated in the challenge and she was right!  The image I used is from The Greeting Farm (McSplendid Farm).  Don't you just think that sweet little mouse and happy kitty are just adorable, I know I do.  Anyway I colored the image with Prisma Color Pencils.  The paper I used is from the Bloom and Grow pattern by My Mind's Eye.

Ribbons, Rick Rack and button are from Making Memories. Frosted Brads (Doodlebug Designs) small brads, (Queen and Co.)

So there you have it.  I should be home recovering from my surgery by the time you view this card.  I am not sure if I'll be able to stamp for a couple of weeks but if I can I'll sure give it my best try.  Hope you have a wonderful week and don't forget to view the other members cards.  You'll notice a new "blinkie" on my sidebar that will take you right to Kerry's Blog and you can see all the great art work from the other members there.  Don't forget to visit their blogs and leave them some "lovin" via the comments buttons.

My Soulmate - Happy Anniversary

April 18, 1992 - Wow 17 years have gone by already and what a "ride" it's been.  There have been "ups and downs" over the years but I am happy to report that this wonderful man is still my best friend, my soulmate, my endless love!!!                                                                                               We both look so young here (and so skinny!)  Looking forward to many more years together. 

BC95 - Color Combo Challenge Floral Silhouettes

Happy Friday! - This week was so trying on my nerves.  I screwed up the computer last Thursday and had to have it taken in to be worked on.  I was told it would be back by Tuesday but on Wednesday it still wasn't done and I finally found someone who managed to get the thing fixed (sort of) and back to me.  I have spent the last 2 days reinstalling several programs that were taken off while we had it worked on.  Then today I discover our Camera editing program is not working properly and I have to download a new program which I don't like as well as the old program.  At any rate this is the best I could figure out the program to post my card for the challenge.  - It's always something isn't it!

Our challenge this week was a color combo: (Always Artichoke, Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand and a Neutral of choice if needed.  I decided to just go with the colors as stated.  My card base is Chocolate Chip layered with Sage Shadow that I ran through the Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dot embossing folder. Then ribbon (Seaside Designer - retired SU) was wrapped around the layers.  Then I layered Always Artichoke, Designer Sage Shadow Paper and punched the border with a MS punch.  The flower were stamped with Always Artichoke ink on Sahara Sand card stock and punched out with 1 1/4" Cirlce Punch then layered on 1 3/8" circles of textured Chocolate Chip cs.  The sentiment was stamped in Chocolate Chip and punched out with the word window punch.  I added 2 Always Artichoke brads.

That's it for this card, pretty easy card but I like the way it turned out. - Now check out the other members blogs to see how they used these colors.  You can do so by clicking on the Blogger's Icon on my sidebar.  Have a wonderful weekend.

BC94 - Pure Heart

Have you ever had "One of Those Days!"  You know the kind I'm talking about where nothing seems to go right and your get umpteen interruptions...Yeah you guessed it, that's the kind of day I seem to be having today.  I started working on my project for the Blogger's Challenge group late last night after my Stamp  Club was over but by 12:30 pm I decided it was time to head off to slumber land. This morning I got up fairly early and started working on my card again.  That's when things seemed to go all haywire...first I cut part of my original layer off and had to make it smaller.  Then the phone rang, (I kid you not 5 times within a 15 minute period)  Some days we never get calls but it figures when you are busy working on a project you get a bizarre number of calls.  I should just let the answering machine pick up but I'm just not one to do that if I'm home.  So enough "Whining" because I want to talk about my card.  - 

 It sort of took on a life of it's own as it wasn't what I started off with in my head but I think with this being Easter Weekend that it's very fitting to seek a Pure Heart and Steadfast spirit and what better time then Easter. I believe Christ's love for us and the Resurrection  gives up that hope for renewing our own lives if we seek Him out.             

Our challenge this week was: Technique of your choice.  Wow that left a wide range and while I'm not really a "Technique Type" of stamper I decided to do an easy but fun background technique using Saran Wrap.  It's so simple and yet creates such interesting and FUN backgrounds.  For this card I used Glossy Card stock and a Kaleidacolor Rainbow (Bouquet) Dye Ink Pad.  I just scrunched up a piece of Saran Wrap dabbed it onto my ink pad and pounced it on the card stock over and over to create my background.  Pretty Easy Peasy!

I used a sketch from the Clean and Simple blog found here - However I sort of added a couple extra layers and changed where the piercing was so it's not totally Clean and Simple but fairly close.

My card Base is Only Orange followed with a layer of Apricot Appeal and then my Background Piece.  To that I layered the same colors again and added my focal piece.  The stamp is one of the Plain Jane's from Verve Stamps.  I decided to use the background here as well and just stamped the sentiment and added a tiny flower with a crystal center.  The flower is from Hero Arts.  I layered this onto a piece of Green Galore card stock and they were cut out with Nestabilitie Dies (Label 2) and raised with foam mounting tape.  I added orange polka dot ribbon (source unknown).  I also distressed the edges of the Apricot cs with the cutter kit.

So now it's your turn to check out the other Bloggers Challenge members blogs to see what Techniques they used for their cards and projects.  Have a Blessed Easter Weekend.

3CT - Birds of Color

Good Morning! - Today is challenge day over on Kerry's Blog (Three Clover Designs) and this week the Design Team had a color challenge: ( Always Artichoke, Rose Red and So Saffron (Neutral of your choice if needed).  I was in  bit of a panic because I went through my stacks of DP and couldn't find any patterns with those colors.  Then I remembered that I had some SU Designer Paper that would meet the challenge.  I started with the So Saffron pattern from (Haiku-retired).  Then an idea hit me as I had recently purchased the Embossed Petals Border punch from Martha Stewart Crafts and thought that it would go grea with the pattern in the paper.  I punched it out on So Saffron and then edge the flowers with Yellow Citrus Fluid Chalk ink (Color Box) and added a strip of Rose Red cs to the back so it showed through the holes of the petals.  Then I added a small strip of Rose Red DP (from a Retired 6x6 pack that I don't recall the name of right now). 

Next up I had to decide on an image to use and I chose these lovely birds by Inkadinkado-Best Friends.  I colored them with Prisma Color Pencils on Naturals White cs with Basic Gray Ink and blended them with Gamsol.  Then I cut them out and mounted them to a Nestabilitie Die that I sponted on the clouds with Bashful Blue and a cloud stencil.  (I know blue wasn't part of the color scheme but it just felt right with my birds so I went with it anyway.) I sponged some So Saffron Ink around the edge of the die and mounted this to a square of Always Artichoke.  I also added Prima Flowers that I added glitter to and some matching brads in the color scheme.  The sentiment (Hero Arts) was stamped with Basic Gray ink and I pierced under it to high light the sentiment.  The birds and flower border piece were raised up using foam mounting tape.  I also added a small bit of sparkle on the birds with a pink Spica Glitter Pen.

Now don't forget to check out the other team members blogs and leave them a nice comment.  You can also participate in the challenge and then post your creations to Kerry's blog using the Mr. Linky feature there.

Have a great day!

BC93 - Butterfly Friendship

Friday has arrived and you all know what that means...Time for the Bloggers Challenge Group to post their cards/projects.  This week our leader (Lisa) provided us with a great sketch to use for our inspiration.  I just purchased the new (Great Friend) stamp set from the new Occasions Mini catalog.  I just love the Butterfly image in this set and had to have it.  I wanted to pair it with some brighter more spring like colors so I went with the Raspberry Tart DP for my color scheme.               My card base is Rose Red layered with Cameo Coral and the Designer Paper.  I added an embossed piece of Cameo Coral mounted to a scallop piece of Rose Red.  The sentiment was stamped in Basic Black ink before I ran it through the Cuttlebug.  I cut out a circle of Kiwi Kiss and then a piece of the designer paper with a scalloped circle.  I cut a smaller circle of Whisper White and sponged Cameo Coral ink on it and layered them.  My butterfly was stamped on Whisper White cs with Rose Red ink and colored with a Certainly Celery marker.  Then I cut it out and embossed it with the Versa Mark pad and Iridescent Ice EP.  I added 3 small clear jewels to the body and made antennae out of a piece of the Pretties Flower kit that I colored with a Certainly Celery marker.  I added some piercing to all my scallops and 3 Rhinestone brads that I cut the prongs off and glued on using glue dots. 

This is a great sketch  and I hope you give it a try.  For further inspiration click on the Bloggers Challenge Icon on my sidebar and check out what the other members created using this sketch.  Have a great weekend.

3CT - Penguin Paradise

Welcome to 3CT (Three Clover Design) Thursday challenge.  While it's not my week to participate as a Design Team member I really liked the theme this week (Eat It - Must contain a food image on your card) so I just had to participate.  It took me quite awhile to get my card going because I only got 3 hours sleep last night and had to take a nap and then it was time for dinner, and after that Bible Study so I didn't get started on this card until 10:00 pm. 

 At first I wasn't sure what I could use that had a food image on it and I went through most of my stamps and discovered that I indeed had several that actually had food images on them.  While they weren't the focus of the stamp they were food items.  However I settled on this adorable Penguin Image by Imaginesce and the Popsicle that is also in the set.  I recently purchased this paper (Serendipity - Whale of a Tale) and thought that the patterned matched the Penguins shorts pretty darn good so I went with it as my color scheme.

Details: Card Base, Ballet Blue, Apricot Appeal which I stamped the popsicle images on in a repeated pattern with AA ink.  The sentiment is from a StudioG stamp set and was stamped in Basic Black Ink.

I colored the Penguin and Popsicle with Copic Markers and Prismacolor Pencils and added some Crystal Glitter (Art Institute) to the popsicles.  I raised up the shorts with foam mounting tape and added 3 light peach brads (Queen and Co.) These were layered on Almost Amethyst and Lovely Lilace cs Nestabilities Circles.  Then I tied some lavender ribbon (May Arts) around the Apricot layer to complete the card. 

My hand is really bothering me again (Carpal Tunnel) so I've got to go ice it up again.  Hope you enjoy my card.  I love Cream Sicles YUM YUM!!!

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.