Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Mini Break

Hey guys, I'm going to take a mini break from posting for a while. I am not currently in my own home with my own supplies, and I am having a hard time shaking an ear infection. So, I am going to take a mini break till things are back to normal.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

IO Challenge- Summer

It's time for another Impression Obsession Design Team challenge, and this time the theme was "summer, summer, summer." I decided to make a set of notecards using the new Sarah Phelps clear set called "Fun in the Sun" (CL233). I stamped various images from the set onto white notecards and then colored them with Prismacolor pencils. I then added some words from CL126 Spring /Summer borders. I intended to photograph the cards with their bright envelopes, but I managed to leave the envelopes at the house where I am dog/housesitting. You will just have to imagine the cute turquoise, keylime, and lemon envelopes instead of the black background! Here is the layout of each of the cards:


Need a little more summer inspiration? Check out the cards by Daniela, Dina, Jeanne, Julie, Kelli, Shirley, and Tina have created.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

More Dots


I am posting a second card from the Hero Arts dot card challenge. This one can definitely be considered "quick and easy." All I did was stamp an assortment of dots in all sorts of colors then added a ribbon, a button, and a saying. Done!

On an unrelated note, I had to chance to visit my family last weekend and see Wicked. Has anyone seen it? Wow! That is one amazing musical. I think it may have been the best I've ever seen. I didn't get to see the beach this visit, but maybe next time....

Monday, May 18, 2009

Raccoon Rockettes

I showed this card to my friend Chrisi, and the first thing she said was, "Those are raccoon Rockettes!" I didn't even see the resemblance till she said that. Now I can't look at it without thinking of them as Rockettes.

The Hero Arts challenge last week was to create a card featuring dots. I decided to stamp a bunch of raccoons and make one of them "one of a kind." I had a headband as a child that had heart antennae. I loved to wear it! I recreated it for this card by stamping the hearts and then drawing lines to the raccoon as if they were antennae. The raccoons were all colored with gray Prismacolor pencils.

For the band of dots, I masked off an area with Eclipse tape and then stamped a variety of dots in an assortment of colors. I removed the masks and then stamped my saying at the bottom of the card using black VersaFine ink.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Cardvaarks Challenge


The latest Caardvarks challenge was to highlight a quote on your card. I decided to feature one of my favorite quotes to make sympathy cards. It is by Inky Antics, and I find that it is refreshing to make a sympathy card that doesn't feature flowers.

To make the card, I did a Twinkling H2O wash onto heavyweight watercolor paper and then stamped the saying with Majestic Blue VersaFine ink. The seashells are from a Just For Fun shell cube and were also colored with Twinkling H2O. To finish the card, I added a ribbon, coated the tops of the shells with Stickles, and added rhinestone "pearls."

Here is a close-up of the saying so that you can actually read it:


Friday, May 15, 2009

Happy Birthday Mitra!

Today is a special Impression Obsession Design Team Challenge. You see, it is a surprise challenge for Mitra, the owner of IO. Today is Mitra's birthday, and we all decided to design birthday cards to wish her well on her special day. Happy Birthday Mitra!

I decided to use a card that uses two of Impression Obsession's hydrangea stamps. I used the Small Hydrangea Sprig (D6729) as well as the Solid Hydrangea Stem (D8266). To create the background, I colored the solid hydrangea with watercolor crayons, spitzed it, and stamped it onto 90lb watercolor paper. I repeated the process again and again until I had a watercolor background that hinted that it was a hydrangea bush. To add some definition to the flowers, I overstamped my watercolor background with the open hydrangea image. I inked it with purple and green pigment inks and then stamped it repeatedly on top of the background. Then, I added just a touch of green colored pencil to the stems to make them stand out better.

Here is a closeup of the watercolor background with the overstamped hydrangeas:



To finish the card, I added a strip of paper from Basic Grey's Wisteria collection as well as some frost pearls from Memory Box.

I'm thinking this card would be a good one to turn into video 3 for my blog, but I don't have a lot of extra time this week. Look for it in the next week or two!

I encourage you to check out the other DT member samples. Personally, I know am always searching for birthday card inspiration! Daniela, Deborah, Dina, Jeanne, Julie, Kelli, Shirley, and Tina are all posting cards. Pay special attention to Tina's blog as she has some blog candy where you can win a $25 Impression Obsession gift certificate!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Second Video



In case you haven't seen it, I thought I would go ahead and post a link to the second video I made. This one was for my Memory Box blog and features Copic markers. Speaking of my other blog, I have a contest going on there where you can win some daffodil colored pearls. The information can be found here. Good luck!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

IO DT Challenge

Greetings! It is time for another Impression Obsession Design Team challenge. I sure do look forward to these challenges. It is always so much fun to see what everyone creates. This particular challenge was a color challenge, and we were to incorporate robin's egg blue, butter yellow, and spring green into our projects. For both of my cards, I used the Sweetbay paper pack from Memory Box because that pack just happens to use the colors of the challenge.

For the first card, I stamped Leigh Hannan's birdcages (F2336) onto some Sweetbay paper using black VersaFine ink. I then highlighted the birds and part of the cage with a yellow prismacolor pencil. To finish the card, I added some yellow pearls, a blue ribbon, and stamped a saying from the CL43 Anytime Sentiments set.

For my second card, I stamped the garden birdhouse (E6674) onto white cardstock using black Memento ink. I then colored it with various Copic markers (Y00, BG10, YG03, and W1). I added some of my blender pen over top of the yellow marker to lighten it and to give the birdhouse a more weathered look. I then cut out the birdhouse, glued it to some patterned paper, and attached some Sweetpea and Lemon Flower Soft to the branches and house to make it look like blooming flowers.

Need some more inspiration? Check out what Daniela, Deborah, Dina, Jeanne, Shirley, and Tina have created.

On an unrelated note, I have had several inquires about my new camera. I ended up getting the Canon SD1100 IS, and I am very happy with it. I use it for the photos for my blog as well as the videos I have started posting on my two sites. It really is a pretty good camera for the money.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Taylored Expression Challenge


I'm trying to get caught up on some birthday cards and thought I might as well make a card that was also a challenge card. Today's card follows the sketch provided at Taylored Expressions and uses Basic Grey's Lime Rickey papers. I just love the bright colors in this collection!

I colored the Hero Arts cupcakes with Copic markers and then covered the "frosting" with some Stickles for sparkle. I added a saying from Impression Obsession and some red jewels from Memory Box to finish the card.

Here is a close up of the sparkle:

Here is the sketch that I was following:

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!