Welcome Baby Boy!

Hello there!  I need to apologize for not posting for a few weeks! We are having some computer trouble so it's taken longer than expected to get a lot of things done! I also apologize about the quality of the photo because I can't access my photo editing software right now :-/

Anyway, my parent's neighbor recently had a baby boy so I made a Welcome Baby card for their sweet littlest addition: 

I have been having a great time with my stencils and thought that hearts would be pretty perfect for this one :)  I used Distress Ink to dye my embossing paste before applying it to the stencil. I've used this technique in the past and it's worked pretty good for me. You can also easily control the shade and color that you want this way. I decided to take a break from the Copics on this card because there just isn't much to color, so I went for another favorite: Prismacolor Colored Pencils! After coloring, I die cut the image and  adhered it with dimensionals.  Super cute! I haven't heard anything yet but I'm hoping the new parents are happy with it :)

List of supplies:

Dremweaver Embossing Paste

Broken China Distress Ink

Antique Linen Distress Ink

Sponges

Welcome Baby Stamp (Inkadinkado)

Prismacolor Pencils in Light Aqua, Light Cerulean Blue and Peach

Spellbinders Romantic Rectangles

Big Kick

Simon Says Stamp Falling Hearts Stencil

Pop dots 

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you liked today's card!

Rays for ME Photo Inspiration Challenge

Hello, hello! I'm popping in today to share another fun card I made for the Mama Elephant Photo Inspiration Challenge.  I love all the challenges, but this one is extra exciting because the winner is on ME's design team for six months!! Their products are wonderfully made and so cute, and winning would be such an honor. Since it is a photo inspiration challenge, we have the following photo to work with: 

 I think it's such a beautiful picture with lots of beautiful colors going on. I was really drawn to how bright the photo was, so I took it more literally and made rays of sunshine:

So, what do you think?? I've never tried a card like this and it was a really cool process.  First, I stenciled the rays on the card using embossing paste that I dyed with ink.  While it was drying, I cut a little hill out of paper and covered it with flocking powder.  In real life, grass is not always perfect, so I made it a little sparse in some areas and fuller in others.  I colored these adorable bunnies with Copic markers and adhered them on top of the hill with dimensional adhesive.  Fun! Different from any card I've done in the past, but I'm really digging how cool it is!  

Here is the list of products that I used:

Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Mama Elephant Honey Bunny Stamp Set

Tim Holtz Rays Stencil

Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink

Squeezed Lemonade Distress Ink

Dreamweaver Embossing Paste

Martha Stewart Flocking Powder in Fennel

Copic Markers (W4, W6, W8)

Tombo Mono Aqua Liquid Glue

Scotch Mounting Tape

Thanks for stopping by!

Shaker Card for Mama Elephant Photo Inspiration Challenge

Hi there!  I am super excited for today's post!  Mama Elephant is having a Photo Inspiration Challenge and (surprise, surprise!) I am taking it on! I absolutely love the photo that we are using as inspiration! Look at all the fun elements:

I love how bright it is and I was really drawn to the blue and green colors, so I came up with this fun watercolor shaker card entry:

How cute is this?!? I love the bunny peeking his head around the corner of the mason jar.  I am so happy with how this card came about even though those little hearts keep sticking on the sides LOL!  To make this one, I used:

Honey Bunny Stamp Set

Summertime Charm Stamp Set  and Lawn Cuts (Lawn Fawn)

Copic Markers

Memento Ink in Lady Bug

Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean, Squeezed Lemonade Distress Ink

Strathmore Watercolor Paper

Copic Markers (T1, T2, T4, N4, N6, N8, RV25)

Sew Easy Floss

Transparency Sheets

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Happy Birthday Chicken--PKC 14-05

Hello, hello!  I am SO SO SO excited to share this card with you!  Because I love challenges, I made a birthday card for this month's Peachy Keen Stamps sketch challenge.  In these challenges, participants are given a sketch and a few ground rules, and the rest is up to us.  Here is the sketch that we were given this month....

And here is my take on it:

Holy cuteness!! I just love it!  The inside reads "You are still a spring chicken"!  I'm really looking forward to giving this one to the birthday girl!

Supplies used:

Peachy Keen Stamps Faceless Chickens

Peachy Keen Stamps Chickie Faces

Peachy Keen Stamps Clucks Sentiments

Pumice Stone Distress Ink

Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink

Martha Stewart Traditional Scallop Edger

Nestabilities Classic Oval Dies

Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder
Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper
My Mind's Eye Card Stock
Neenah Solar White Card Stock

Copic Markers (Y 02, 06, 08; B 04; R 12, 14, 17, 20; Y 36)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

PS Guest Designer Search--Watercolor Unicorn

Hello, hello!  Paper Smooches is having another Guest Designer Search for May, and of course, I decided to enter!  I initially made the magic card for my friend's daughter, but since it was quite involved, I decided to keep it as a template for future cards and make something else. I thought it would be really cool to try watercolors even though I haven't been too successful with them in the past and this time they turned out super cool!  I have liked the look of paint splatter since I was a little girl and this took me back :)

This was such an amazing transformation for me and looking back, I wish I would have taken pictures of the process.  It started off with a sheet of watercolor paper and I was able to use Distress Inks to make this really cool splattered paint effect.  After the paper dried, I added some more splatters to parts that looked a little bare, then had to let it dry again before adhering it to a card base.  I colored the adorable unicorn with Copic markers, then embossed the Happy Birthday stamp in the corner.  I love this stamp! It was another one of my yard sale finds :) Man, I love yard sales because I can find the best bargains!

Here's a supply list of what I used:

Canson Watercolor Paper

Spectrum Stamp Set (Paper Smooches)

Copic Markers 

Distress Inks

Happy Birthday Stamp (Inkadinkado)

Versamark

Embossing Powder

Heat Tool

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you liked the card!

Cheers!

Stencils still make little kids happy :)

Hi everyone :) I have awesome friends named Nick and Angie who are so much fun and have a great sense of humor.  They are genuinely good people and I know that every time they need a card, it's going to be a fun challenge. This time was no exception.  One of Nick's closest friends is going through a divorce and it's really hard on her daughter. Being the nice people that they are, they asked me to make a card saying how awesome she is. Nick gave me the words to use and left the creativity up to me.  Here's what I came up with:

I didn't have a stamp for the outside, so I just used my printer.  I wanted to keep the front cute and simple so it didn't take away from the most important part...the inside:  

There is a small mirror inside that I framed with the same stars pattern that is on the front of the card. It reads simply "....YOU!"  The little girl was SO excited to get the card. Her mom sent me a nice email saying how much it was appreciated, so without a doubt, mission accomplished. I was really happy to see that she loved it and that Nick and Angie loved it, too :) 

Here is a list of products that I used for this one:

MPD Graduated Stars Stencil (My Favorite Things)

Tim Holtz Mirrored Sheets

Colorbox Cat's Eye Ink Pad in Chiffon White

Victorian Velvet Distress Ink

Impression Obsession Make Me Happy

Nestabilities 7 Large Classic Square Dies

110 lb.card stock

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed it :)

Masculine Birthday Card Using DIY Stencils--PS SPARKS Challenge

Hi there :) I didn't get to submit this card for the Paper Smooches Guest Designer Search like I had intended because some unexpected things popped up and I missed the deadline, so I decided to submit it for their SPARKS challenge instead! Since it is an "Anything Goes" challenge this week, I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone. I always struggle coming up with masculine cards, probably because I am a woman, so I decided to embrace it and challenge myself to try a new technique on a masculine card and the result is darling!  I'm so excited to give this to someone!

One of the techniques I wanted to try was making my own stencils, so I grabbed my balloon dies and went for it! I am so happy with how it turned out! I was initially going for a blue and yellow theme, but I colored the embossing paste myself and after falling in love with this shade, I decided to hold off on the yellow.

After stenciling the balloons, I sprinkled them with glitter embossing powder, then let them dry before using my heating tool.  The balloon strings were drawn on with a black Sharpie and I used black floss for the bow. I don't often make cards have a little something hanging off the side and I don't really know why. I should probably do it more often because I really like the way it looks. I walked into this card challenge with a challenge for myself and I'm really happy with the final outcome :)

Here is a list of supplies that I used:

Paper Smooches Balloon Dies

Sizzix Big Kick

Broken China Distress Ink

Dreamweaver Stencils Embossing Paste

Recollections Glitter Embossing Powder

Heat Tool

Black Fine Point Sharpie Marker

Fiskar's Apron Lace Border Punch

Sew Easy Black Floss

Pop Dots

Indie Chic "Nutmeg" 6x6 Paper Pad

We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you liked it :)