Make a Splash with Spesch Designer Stamps!

The new release from Spesch Designer Stamps is AMAZING!  To celebrate the upcoming hot weather - hard to believe it snowed just two days ago! - I decided to create a long, narrow, fun card with a new beauty from Spesch:

I love her big huge eyes!  The blue design paper really shimmers when you tilt it:

On an angle you can really enjoy all the dimension with the folded ribbon, popped up image, and Stampin' Up! crystal effects on the tube:

Check out the rest of the new Summer beauties at Spesch - some of the guys are just too hot!

Celebration of Mom

Sorry folks, this post is card-less.  But it does contain some amazing photos and an inspiring story about my Mom. 

Growing up I would never have considered my mother any sort of athlete.  Sure, she'd worked in a fitness gym when I was in elementary school, but she'd changed careers and slowly began to gain weight like the majority of us do as we age.  Most of my life Mom has been larger than me - both height and weight. 

She changed that. 

In her late forties she started walking.  She walk/ran her first half marathon at 52 and began participating in triathlons.  She started scuba diving (that's a different story!).  And at the age of fifty-five years she biked the Golden Triangle this past long weekend.  Way to go Mom!  To all of us who believe that if we have never been athletic in our younger years, that after forty or even fifty is too late to start - meet my Mother!

The Golden Triangle Banff is a three-day bicycle tour across the Great Divide between Castle Mountain Junction in Banff and the towns of Radium and Golden in BC.  And the scenery is amazing!

My Mom is quick to point out that she ONLY biked 258 km of the 300 km.  Ha.  ONLY?!!  At 55 years old I don't think I'll be biking 25 km let alone 258 km!!!

Hopefully my Mom's story can inspire some of us (especially me) to believe in ourselves and our ability to learn to embrace our athletic (hopefully thinner) selves.  My Mom is amazing - even if she's not a card maker!  Love you Mom.

Things That Make Me Smile All Over!

This post is a celebration of a few of the things that make me smile - card making, the amazingly cute things kids' say, cats, colouring, Meljen's Designs, and even sketch challenges!  It also celebrates the fact that even I can learn a new trick or two - I'm posting a card BEFORE the last minute!  Wow. 

This card features the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches and the image A Girl and Her Kitty.

These sentiments from Inkadinkado make me smile!  I popped up the image with foam squares to add dimension.

Remember to check out Meljen's DT blog on Thursday to see this week's challenge for your chance to win!

Thank you for looking!

Fangs or Fur?

Paper Sundaes Challenge Blog would like you to show off your favorite book, poem, or fairy tale.  Talk about an easy pick for me!  My copy of Twilight has been seriously abused after multiple readings and we won't discuss the equally bad state of the other books in the series!  Most twi-fans are firmly entrenched in Camp Jacob or Camp Edward which is what drew me to the beautiful Spesch image Bella and Cubs.  Bella is sitting nicely between a lion and a wolf cub - symbolizing the two rivals of her affection.

Lots of dimension is created with the Wild Orchid flowers, Kaiser pearls and ribbon.

Bella and Cubs will be entered into the following challenges:

Friday Sketchers - sketch (rotated)

Papertake Weekly - Say It With Flowers

Stampavie and More - Flower Power

Charisma Cardz - 3D

I look forward to seeing your card creation on Paper Sundaes and reading about your favorite book, poem or fairy tale!

Thank you for looking!

Meljen's Gone to the Dogs!

This week Meljen's Designs has released a series of eleven amazing images based on man's best friend.  As I celebrate one week of being a "dog" household after five years of no fur pets - this release really tugs at my heart strings.  In memory of Spotz, my parent's dalmation who recently moved on, I coloured Melissa's Darling Dalmation. 

To create the desired texture and dimension, I used stitching, buttons, and foam squares.

Spotz will be entered into the Everybody Art Challenge - sketch.

Poofy Pom playfully holding a dandelion inspired me to design the following card:

Poofy Pom will be entered into the challenges:

Cupcake Craft - Blooming Charming

Papertake Weekly - Say it with Flowers (punched flower and flower charm)

Secret Crafter Saturday - Metal (flower charm)

Please join us at Meljen's Designs Challenge Blog this week with your cards themed "Seeing Spots".  I look forward to seeing your creations!

Thank you for looking!

 

Meljen's gets Whimsy with Riding Hood

Meljen's Designs has signed up with Whimsy Stamps to design fairy tales, bedtime stories, and nursery rhymes digi stamps to be sold exclusively by Whimsy Stamps.  Three are currently available for purchase including this little cutie, Riding Hood:

The sentiment is completed on the inside:

The other two images are Granny Wolf and Three Pigs.  My daughter recently received three stuffed pigs from a young lady who had outgrown them so expect to see a scrapbook layout in the near future featuring Melissa's beautiful piggies!

There are three more days left to enter the "Flowers & Blooms" challenge on the Meljen's Designs Challenges and Inspiration Blog!  Thursday brings a new challenge and a new release - check out Melissa's own blog for a sneak peek here!

Riding Hood will be entered into the following challenges:
Cupcake Craft - buttons
A Spoon Full of Sugar - Recipe: 3 DPs (2 featured on the front and one inside) and 3 buttons (flower centers)
Lili of the Valley - sketch
Basic Grey Challenge - punches (buttons are from Basic Grey Kioshi line)

Thank you for looking!

A Magnolia-licious Paper Sundaes Challenge!

Happy Sunday!  This week was an extremely exciting one - got my first pay cheque at my amazing new job - bought three new appliances - got a new six month old puppy - and got to play with Tilda!  This week's sponsor at Paper Sundaes Challenge Blog is Diana from Magnolia-licious who is offering the random winner their choice of one Magnolia image.  The challenge this week is to create an easel card.  I happily took up this challenge with my new Magnolias and new Kioshi paper pack!

Tilda shines in a sparkly pink dress and I continue to challenge myself with copic colouring by once again attempting dark flowing hair.

I designed the card to showcase all the Magnolia images whether it was popped up or laying flat. 

My trick to taking a nice picture with the front flat - adhesive!  I quickly snap the photo and then remove the adhesive tape before it gets a chance to permanently set.

I look forward to seeing your easel card on the Paper Sundaes Challenge Blog!

My easel card will also be entered into the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - Shiny, Sparkly, and Special

Cute Card Thursday - For someone special (my Mom)

Just Magnolia - One for the girls

Magnolia Stamp Lovers - Make It Dimensional

Thank you for looking!

Happy Anniversary with Spesch Designer Stamps

With my friend's anniversary arriving late May, the new release by Spesch Designer Stamps is timed perfectly!  Focusing on life changing events, Tracey has released two engagement images, two wedding, and one mum-to-be.  I selected one of the wedding images to utilize for the special occasion:

I typed the sentiments on the computer and finished the thought on the inside...

The paper is from the Spring collection by Dear Lizzy and American Crafts.  The lace was a gift from Alicia.

Thank you for looking!  Be sure to check out the fabulous creations by the rest of the Spesch Designer Stamps DT here!

 

Happy Birthday, Partner!

Hello Monday!  This week Karen's Doodles US Challenge Blog is focusing on birthdays and other celebrations.  My four year old niece loves ponies so I decided to take this opportunity to create a special birthday card for her upcoming summer birthday.  The image is Pony Love by Karen's Doodles. 

I followed the layout at Sketch Saturday and created lots of dimension by using foam squares.

The digital sentiments on the front are from Pink Cat Studio and I typed up a birthday message in Word to place on the inside.  I left a large writing area for my six year-old son and three year-old daughter to sign their names or make a picture for their cousin as they choose.

Please join us this week at Karen's Doodles US Challenge Blog with your birthday or celebration card!  Thank you for looking!

Celebrating Mother's Day with Paper Sundaes!

Happy Mother's Day and Happy Sunday!  What a terrific start to another week!  This week the challenge at Paper Sundaes Challenge Blog is a sketch and the sponsor is the utterly fabulous Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!  I am obsessed with the images from the Moonlight Whispers line and the fairies by the talented Crissy Armstrong.  I own all nine of her sentiment sets and love the cute antics of Cindy and Mindy - a girl and her teddy bear.

The sketch was specifically chosen to work with Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps:

One of my favorite things about KKS, in addition to their images and reasonable shipping rates, is that they are Canadian!  Not only am I supporting a Canadian company and even some Canadian artists when I purchase from them, but the shipping times are super fast!  I placed an order May 1st and received my goodies May 6th - so I am excited to feature the beautiful Queen Guinevere on my card: 

I really wanted to make her extra special for my Auntie, aka Mom #2, so I created her as an easel card.

Queen Guinevere is coloured with copics and features papers from Basic Grey's Bittersweet collection.  She will be entered into this week's challenge at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Challenge Blog - Neopolitan Colour Challenge - Pink, Chocolate and Vanilla.  She will also be entered into the challenge at The Pink Elephant (Mommy I Love You) while my Mom is alive and we are close, when my mom is unavailable (like now, currently sailing in the Virgin Islands), it's my Auntie who checks in on me and to whom I chat almost daily.  My Mom and Auntie are sisters and best friends and I am ultra lucky to have two "moms".  I know they both read my blog so I'll take this opportunity to just say "Love you Both"!

Thanks for looking!  I look forward to seeing your interpretation of my sketch this week at Paper Sundaes!

Delicious Candy from Spesch

Yummy!  Tracey from Spesch Designer Stamps is offering the following delicious delights:

Tracey has included the following in the candy:

- Spesch Stamps Bonnie Clear Stamp
- Spesch stamps up coming release clear stamps x 2 (not telling what they are).
- Mad for Markers Neenah Solar white small pack of 25
- 3x Copic markers - E000, E00, E21 (the colours I use for skin colouring).
- Memento ink pad (forgot to put in picture)
- 3 x Imaginisce clear stamps
- Delish 6x6 paper pack
- Pink Paislee 365degrees 6x6 paper pack
- 1 metre of lace
- 4x bunches of gardenia's
- 7x bunches of cherry blossoms
- Pearl pin pack.
- Bella pearls
- Bella ribbon slides
- Nellie Snellen leaf punch

Anyone hungry?  It is very simple to enter.


All you need to do is post this candy on your blog and leave a link with Mr Linky on this post. Tracey will draw a winner on the 15th of May - the same day as Spesch's next release.

This will close on the 15th May - remember that Spesch is over the big blue in Australia so keep in mind that according to your time zone it may be closing on May 14th.  Good Luck!

Mermaids and their Sea Creature Friends

A late welcome to Thursday!  Sorry for the long delay to post, it was kinda a sticky situation - ha ha ha.  I have to laugh otherwise I might cry.  Imagine three days into a project, final stage, and you grab the wrong polymer.  Instead of drying transparent, it dries opaque and waxy.  Wanna see?

So, not one to admit defeat, I scraped off all the polymer and most of the paint, lost both images, but managed to salvage the frame and shells.  So after re-painting, colouring, and re-adhering everything, we have a modified project completed.  (I think I'll do some research before I blindly try the technique I was trying to use again.) 

In celebration of this week's release at Meljen's Designs, I made a mermaid frame for my daughter using Little Mermaid and Seahorse Ride:

Please remember to join us this week at Meljen's Designs DT blog with your creation featuring a Sea Creature Friend!

I'll fill in the details later, right now I'm off to work!  Thanks for looking!

Pretty Princess Framed

Hello Monday!  This week Karen's Doodles US Challenge blog is participating in a joint challenge with all the Karen's Doodles challenge blogs - Netherlands, Scandanavian, and United Kingdom.  Design Team members from all four blogs will be showcasing 'Anything BUT a Card'.

In early April I began planning this week's creation after seeing Karen's gorgeous Butterfly Boy.  Papers picked, wooden box purchased, image printed...and then...  All my plans flew out the window when I saw one of Karen's latest releases - Pretty Princess.  Not only did I feel an overwhelming urge to have her and colour her - but I knew she needed to be framed for my three-year old princess' room! 

Our fabulous DT leader Sandy gently cautioned me about undertaking such a project last minute but I really never gave a thought to how long it would take to colour an image which would fit in an 8 x 10 frame.  I'm going to guess that Sandy has once attempted such a project because now all I can say is 'what was I thinking?!'  If you do decide to take the plunge, here are two tips: (1) start at the top and (2) keep a clean sheet of cardstock under your hand as you colour to protect coloured and non-coloured areas from the oils in your skin.

What I love about this project is that it is a beautiful piece created with love for my daughter's room.  You never know with cards, where they end up once they are given away.  This project also emphasizes one of the great things about digital stamps - you can resize the image to fit your needs!  I print large colouring sheets for my little princess and smaller images for my son who is six years old.  Depending on my needs, the size I print changes too.  So, without any further jibbering, here is Pretty Princess:

I used mod podge to adhere the paper from Bo Bunny's Gift of Love line to the front of the Ikea frame.  The frame was larger than the 12 inch paper, so the top edge is hidden with ribbon.  I attached three Wild Orchid flowers to the frame but otherwise kept it fairly simple due to household allergies.  I might attack the tall, purple flowers with lavendar flowersoft later and potentially add a few stickles or Dazzling Diamonds to her wand and flower centers.  Right now, I am just in awe of this beautiful image that I coloured taking a spot in my little girl's room on a shelf - a reminder of how much Mommy loves her!

She was coloured with copic markers and I remembered to take their picture:

Please join us this week at Karen's Doodles US Challenge Blog with your 'Anything BUT a Card' Creation!  Thank you for looking!

Spring Cleaning? What's That?!

***Click HERE if you are hopping with Spesch Designer Stamps***

Welcome to another fabulous Sunday with Paper Sundaes Challenge Blog!  Anyone who knows me will be smiling over that title.  I am NOT, nor have I ever been, known for the cleanliness of my house.  Much to the despair of my mother and aunt who try to convince me that a woman's worth is directly tied to her ability to clean and maintain a household (they are a tad old fashioned!), I would much prefer to create.  Create cards or create scrapbook layouts - for me it leads to the same result - I create a mess.  Sadly right now my craft room is under siege and I've taken over the dining room table to colour and make cards.   

There is a point to this story...and that is how much I LOVE Elisabeth Bell and the Belles 'n Whistles latest release!!!  Especially the Spring Cleaning line.  Having not pushed a vacuum since I got married (granted we have only hardwood and lino in our house - wonder why?!), I immediately wanted Belle Vaccuming.  I knew the exact quote I would use for her on a card.

Of course I finished the quote on the inside of the card:

Tonight I was on a roll with picture taking and I even remembered to take a picture of the copics I used:

This week's challenge at Paper Sundaes is a colour combination of green, yellow, and red.  Use a little of each or a lot - as long as all three colours are visible on your card, we're happy!  I love the bright colours I found on the Garden Variety line by Cosmo Cricket.  The cardstock was a retired incolor from Stampin' Up!

Belle Vacuuming will be entered into the challenges at Roses on Paper (sketch), Diedrich Dare (Spring), and  Lili of the Valley (Summer - bright and colourful papers).

Please check out the rest of the fabulous DT creations featuring images from the talented Elisabeth Bell on the Paper Sundaes Challenge Blog.  I look forward to seeing what you create with this week's colour combination!  This week marks the first week participants will be eligible to win the Paper Sundaes Top Three blog badge!

Thank you for looking!

A Fancy Butterfly AND a Winner from Meljen's Designs?!

***Click HERE if you are hopping along with Spesch Designer Stamps***

I've been working on my Meljen's Designs card for this week, trying hard to stay on track because I am just itching to create my "thing" for next week - the upcoming new release is fantastical!  Still, have to focus so I finally found a sketch and some papers I love and coloured the beautiful Fancy Butterfly from an earlier release.

This line from Crate Paper has to be one of my favorites.  In fact, I've been hording it for a long time waiting for just the right inspiration - and Melissa's butterfly was my muse!  Fancy Butterfly will be entered into the following challenges:

Flutter By Wednesday: Open

Deidrich Dare: Spring

Lili of the Valley: Summer

Charisma Cardz: Girly Cards with Flowers

Sketch Saturday: Sketch

Everybody Art Challenge: Song Lyrics (Butterfly Fly Away by Miley Cyrus)

Now that my card was finished and loaded, I zipped over to Random.org to draw the winner for my blog candy for the Paper Sundaes Sponsor Celebration Blog Hop.  Out of 49 possible entrants, it drew number 40 aka Cheryl, a member of Meljen's Designs DT!!  Congratulations Cheryl - I hope you enjoy Bonnie!

Thank you for looking!  See you all tomorrow!