Impression Obsession DT Challenge

Well, CHA is winding down, and the Impression Obsession Design Team wanted to continue showing you some of the new designs released at the show. This time the theme was "Spring." I decided to share a couple of Easter cards featuring images by IO's new stamp designer, Sarah Phelps. Aren't her designs cute?!

For the first card, I went with colors that aren't normally associated with Spring. In fact, I think it is the first Spring card I have ever made with dark brown and orange. I ran the tan background piece through my Cuttlebug machine two times using my dot border folder. I wanted to add some texture, but I didn't want to have dots over the entire card. I colored the bunny and carrots with Copic markers and then embellished it with an orange ribbon.

For the second card, I went with more traditional Spring colors and broke out my Copic airbrush system to create my background. I created the sky with the airbrush and a cloud template made by Rosie's Road show. I then masked the bottom of the card with a post-it note cut in the shape of a hill and sprayed it with a green Copic marker. The bunny and eggs were stamped and colored on a separate piece of paper. I then cut out each element and glued it to my meadow background.

Be sure to check out the other spring cards made by Julie, Dina, Kelli, and Daniela.

I hope you have enjoyed all these sneek peaks. They were sure fun to create!

On an unrelated note, one of the women I have met at the Hero Arts blog posts interviews with members every Wednesday. This week she interviewed me! If you have never read Deborah's "Society of Stamp and Scrap-aholics" blog, you should definitely check it out. It is one of the funniest blogs I have ever read.

On a second unrelated note, my Copics class this week was cancelled because of the weather. If you are interested in taking it, it was rescheduled for this Saturday from 10am-12pm.

All my best,

Coffee Anyone?

It is cold, cold, cold here in Virginia. As I am typing, I am listening to the sleet hitting the window and thinking about the sheet of ice that is supposed to be on my car in the morning. Sigh. I know I am going to need coffee....a lot of coffee.

So, on that note, I decided to post another of the new Impression Obsession Leigh Hannan designs. It is definitely one of my favorites. I stamped the coffee pot/cup onto white cardstock with black Memento ink and colored it with an assortment of Copic markers. I wanted the steam to be a grayish color, so I used both the W1 and W3 Copic markers. I chose the warm greys because they have a hint of brown to them, and I knew they would match the pot and background papers better than the Cool Grey markers would. Speaking of background paper, isn't it great? I have had this paper from Flair Designs for a long time and never used it. Nothing is more satisfying that using a supply you have had for a long time!

Have a warm day everyone (even if you have to buy your warmth at a coffee shop).

IO Design Team Challenge

It is time for another Design Team Challenge/Sneak Peek. This time the theme is....birthdays! The image I chose was a winter 2009 release rather than a CHA release. However, I have been dying to play with this stamp and seized the opportunity.

To make the card, I stamped the cupcake martini onto white cardstock using black Versafine ink and colored it with a variety of colored pencils. I then layered the martini onto some paper from Basic Grey's Bittersweet collection.

Here is a close up of the martini so that you can see how I colored the drink and the cupcakes:


I decided to color the base of the drink a bit darker than the top because I imagined the liqueur would sink the bottom of the glass. I then colored the rim of the glass with a light blue pencil so that it would match the blue in the patterned paper and so that it would stand out from the white of the cardstock.

Here is a close up of the bottom of the glass so you can see how I shaded the base with grey pencils to create a shadow:


Need more ideas? Check out what Michelle, Daniela, Kelli, Julie, and Dina created. After all who doesn't need inspiration for birthday cards?

Big Day

Well, today is Inauguration Day, and I had hoped to post something patriotic or symbolic of the event. Nope! I just didn't find the time. Instead, I am taking the easy way out and posting something I made for my other blog. If you would like to see the card instructions, they can be found here. My tree card doesn't have anything to do with the inauguration except it is a winter card and it reminds me of all the people freezing on the Mall today.

On a personal note, I was exited to participate (somewhat) in the inauguration when I went downtown Sunday to see the inauguration concert. I know everyone has differing political views, but for me, it was important to see what was happening in DC and to go hear Barack Obama speak. Plus, the concert was amazing!

Here is a picture of people headed to the Lincoln monument. A couple of people showed up for the event.

I watched some of the live MSNBC broadcast from the Mall. I might have been on tv. Did anyone see me? I was the one dressed warmly and waving. :)

I walked up to the Capitol Building. I took a picture of this bird standing on the Capitol reflecting pool to show you how cold it was that day. You can even see the Capitol reflected in the ice.


Finally, I am including a picture of the Capitol Building all decked out for the inauguration. It was really something to see.

DC is crazy right now with all the inauguration activity, but I am so glad I was able to be a part of it. I am really hoping for good things for all of us.

IO Sneak Peek

Time for another Impression Obsession Sneak Peek. I told you the Design Team had a lot of new cards to share with you! Technically, today's cards aren't part of a challenge. There isn't a theme; we just all picked something we wanted to share. Anyone surprised I picked a Leigh Hannan design?

Leigh Hannan calls the image above "Sweet Lemonade" and colors the hearts yellow and the liquid pink. When I saw the stamp, I decided I wanted to make it look like a watermelon with black seeds. I colored the drink with Copic markers and then picked cardstock that would match and continue the watermelon theme. I cut the seeds by hand, but I stacked four sheets of black cardstock on top of each other so that it didn't take that long to cut out my teardrop shaped pieces. I have to confess though that a teardrop paper punch would have been nice!

Be sure to check out other sneak peeks by Deborah, Dina, Julie, and Kelli. Impression Obsession has all kinds of images that will be released for CHA.

Have a great rest of the weekend,

Impression Obsession DT Challenge

It has been a while, but it is time for another Impression Obsession Design Team Challenge! Woohoo! This time the theme was "Valentines."

For my card, I wanted to play with one of the newest Leigh Hannan images. What can I say, I'm a groupie. I stamped the heart flowerpots onto white cardstock using black Memento ink and then colored them with Copic markers. Afterwards I decided that the hearts needed a bit more color, so I added some pink chalk to the center of each heart using a Q-tip. Here is a close up picture so that you can see the heart centers better:

I layered all of the pieces onto some of Basic Grey's new Bittersweet collection and then finished it with a brown card base. If you are interested in more Valentine inspiration (and want to see some new IO images), check out what the other designers have created. Also, this is the first challenge by guest designer Michelle Giraud. Her work is fabulous, and I know you will be inspired.

Other designers participating:
Michelle Giraud
Daniela Dobson
Deborah March
Dina Kowal
Kelli Richardson

Hope you enjoyed this latest challenge,

Fungus Among Us

I'll just admit it. I love puns. I can't help myself. When I saw this new mushroom set from Hero Arts, I immediately thought I wanted to experiment with the "fun guy/ fungi" play on words. Don't worry, I know it is a bad pun. I am not proud.

To make this card, I used some of my Basic Grey Archaic paper and then picked some Copic markers that would match. I really wanted to make a card that would use browns, greens, and oranges because the colors are masculine and perfect for mushrooms. I added plenty of layers of paper because the Hero Arts challenge last week was layers and I wanted to try and add as many as I could.

Guess what?! My new Memory Box blog has launched!!! I am very excited. I named it "Color Whimsy," and you can check it out here. I posted the birthday card I made the other day, so the card will look familiar. I will be updating the site later today with a brand new card now that I am more comfortable working in Typepad.

I hope you like the new site,

Sneak Preview

I felt in the mood to post some flowers today. It is the middle of January, and I am already starting to think about spring. I have also been dying to show you some of the designs by Sarah Phelps, who is the latest stamp designer for Impression Obsession. Mitra, the owner of Impression Obsession, gave us the go-ahead to start posting some sneak peeks of the latest images, so I jumped at the chance. If you like Sarah's flowers, wait till you get to see her bunnies and chicks....so cute! But, that will have to wait for another post.

To make this card, I stamped the flowers onto some white paper using black Memento ink. I punched the circle out using a Marvy Giga punch and then layered it onto paper cut by the new Marvy Extra Giga Scallop Circle punch. What a mouthful! I colored the flowers with Copic markers and added a little of the C1 Cool Grey between each of the flowers for some shading. When I picked colors for my flowers, I first chose some patterned paper by Basic Grey and then looked for markers I had that matched the colors of the paper. I find that working this way is often easier than coloring and then trying to find paper that will match. I finished the by stamping "For You" in green ink next to the flowers. Using a generic saying is often a good idea because now I can use this card as an "emergency" card for many different occassions.

Thinking warm thoughts of spring,

Birthday and News!!

Is it wrong to post a birthday card in honor of your own birthday? I hope not because...."happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me...." Okay, I think I got that out of my system. No promises though.

Today's card is using Memory Box images as well as a couple of their new papers from the Sugardrop line (Bubblegum and Candy Wrapper). I wanted to highlight Memory Box products because I have some exiting news pertaining to their company. Dave Brethauer contacted me this week and asked if I would blog for Memory Box and teach Memory Box classes at Angela's Happy Stamper. Ummm.....let me think about that for a second.....YES! I am very excited about this opportunity. I am in the process of developing a separate blog through the Memory Box site that will pertain strictly to Memory Box samples and ideas. Of course, I will be continuing with my own blog as well. I expect to be a pretty busy lady! It's all good though when it is something you love. My first Memory Box class in February and will be a Valentine's Day class.

To make today's card, I stamped the "swish flower" onto pink metallic paper, cut out the image, and added a white pearl to the center. I then layered it onto my decorative paper and added a saying that was also accentuated with the same pink metallic paper. Normally when I use this flower stamp, I color it with mediums such as pencils, markers, or paints. Sometimes I just stamp it onto decorative paper and use the paper itself as a means to color the image. In this case, however, I had so many patterns in the background that I felt a simple pink flower was best.

I will let you know when the new blog is up and running as well as the date of my class when it is scheduled. I have to say, this news was a pretty cool birthday present.

Birthday Card

Well, it is time to start posting something other than holiday cards. Does anyone else go though holiday card overload? I thought I would instead post a card I made for my friend Melinda's birthday.

To make this card, I stamped a Hero Arts cupcake onto white cardstock using black Memento ink and colored it with Copic markers. I don't seem to be physically capable of making a cupcake card without liquid applique, and this card was no exception. I layered the applique onto the card and then heated it from underneath with a heat gun. If you let the applique completely dry (say overnight) before you heat it, your applique will puff up perfectly smooth. I wanted an uneven frosting look, so I heated it right away. To finish the card, I added some paper by Basic Grey and some white pearls as an accent.

Do you ever finish a card and then wish you did something different? I really wish that my black layering circle was smaller. However, I don't have a punch as small as I would have liked. Is it possible that I need to go shopping? :)