Fantabulous Cricut Top 5

Check out who made Top 5 at the Fantabulous Cricut "Love Is In The Air" challenge!  Check the cool blinkie I get too...woohoo!  I LOVE Top 5 honors because it means my item was chosen from the 134 entries as one of the 5 best.  That makes you want to run create more.

Here's the card that won...

Lots of Good News

Our beautiful new little grandson arrived October 19th. Such a lucky little boy to have two wonderful parents. Congrats kids!

His artwork was finished just in time too. Daddy and I hung it while Mommy directed and baby looked on. It worked out perfectly with the beautiful mural in the room.
Take a peek...


My cool ghoul Edwin made top honors at ABC Design Team's Challenge. Check it out and stop back for the new Christmas challenge that begins November 6th.

Hero Arts Holiday Card Challenge

This fun was a simple card to make but looks so elegant! I'm looking forward to making more of these for this year's batch of special handmade Christmas cards.

Hero Arts challenged us to make a holiday card with a non-holiday stamp. I chose my Blossom Art set of clear stamps and used only the leaf to create this wonderful poinsettia flower. I stamped and heat embossed 7 petals in silver on white vellum and fussy cut. I found it easiest to glue the petals to a punched green Bazzill CS star with Glossy Accents. A punched hole made quick work of assembling the poinsettia with a yellow crystal brad center.

The background is layers of: recycled corrugated cardboard; cream cardstock which was stamped using MS sentiments in aqua & clear heat embossed, 2 faux crystals separate words; 4.125" green Bazzill cs; 4" Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden dp were pop-dotted for some fun dimension; and finished with a tie of aqua netting.

Be sure to check out the fun, upcoming Hero Arts Challenges and Hero Arts Flickr group.

Halloween Treat Box - Bella BLVD Style!!

Well, it is officially Fall in the USA and nothing makes me feel it more than thinking HALLOWEEN! Check out one of my first project of the season...

I made this for my great niece's birthday gift this past weekend. I tucked a spot of cash, a bunch of Halloween pencils and a treat inside for this sweet little first grader. Wish I could be there when she goes shopping with her loot!

This cool pencil box was a gift from the kind folks at Bella BLVD. (I commented on their Facebook page during the last CHA and was the lucky winner of their giveaway.) Don't you just love this cute collection by Bella BLVD...it's called "Too Cute To Spook"?!! The cute little vampire came from the $1 bin of rubberstamps at my local Michaels store. I intended to give him a nice little Hero Arts haunted house but it ended up looking best punched and added to a spot of scalloped corrugated cardstock over some fun layers of black eyelash yarn and Cuttlebug stars and gems.

The kit I was sent was pre-cut so it took some doing to make this into my own version but I rather like the way it worked out. I colored the corners of the white cigar box with Memento tuxedo black with a little help from a black Copic marker. All the parts were antiqued with black too, black cardstock bottoms were added inside and out. I used the piece intended for the bottom on the back side (flip side with orange skulls & stripes showing) and beneath the "open at your own risk stamp. It was a challenge to make my own unique treasure with pre-cut pieces but I love the way it turned out!

Well, I'm running off to leave some love for Bella BLVD and enter my fun project in The Lily Pad's bling challenge. They say the challenge is for cards but since their DT made tags, I thought I'd give my box a go and see what happens!

Woohoo...Top 5 Badge at All That Scraps

I goofed on the end date for the Hot, Hot Days of Summer Challenge over at All That Scraps then along came an earthquake and a hurricane named Irene and I almost forgot to stop back entirely. So...imagine my surprise when I stopped over just now and see my cute little Pirate Tilda stairstep card sitting beneath top winner (and uber talented) Debbie Dolphin! In case I forget here it is again:

Stop back again soon to see what's new!

OWH K-9 Challenge Winner!

Hooray! Can't believe but my card won the K-9 Challenge honoring PFC Ciara. Check here and you'll see it's true but be sure to click on the home button at the top of the page to see more about the fun happenings for an OWH September.

Lily Pad Inspirational Challenge

My card was inspired by Pia who was inspired by Janet. I guess mine's about a dead ringer for Pia's! I'm not used to being so inspired :-) Pia's card was just the inspiration I needed for an unfortunate trio of sympathy cards I needed to create but just couldn't muster the inspiration. Everything used on the cards came from my stash on hand and required no shopping trip except for plain white cardstock!

My kraft base card is an A2 size (4.25" x 5.5"). The front of this was stamped with a $1 bin clear single butterfly stamp in Brillance white, the white card stock piece was stamped in an aqua blue to match the printed paper mat beneath.

I finished the card with a vintage black grosgrain ribbon and couldn't find a suitable button so I made my own. Making the button was easy-peasy! I put a epoxy sticker on card stock and punched 2 holes then cut it out and antiqued the edges in black and tied it to the grosgrain ribbon with 1/8" black satin ribbon. What a simple way to avoid a trip to the craft store!

Hurry over to enter the Lily Pad Inspirational challenge. It ends August 11th.

OWH K-9 Challenge

I'm entering this card, destined for some far off land to help an American soldier stay in touch with home, in the Operation Write Home K-9 Challenge. This challenge honors PVT Ciara who just finished canine boot camp! Go Ciara...I have a couple canine cousins here who wouldn't cut the mustard at boot camp. They like to nap toooooo much.

My A2 size card (4.25" x 5.5") is layered in vintage unknown baseball & striped paper in patriotic colors with a little "Hello" tag slide on red/white polka-dot grosgrain ribbon. The dog is from a TPC set I purchased at Michaels just for making OWH cards but it's sure to get some extra use after my new little grandson arrives this Fall. The dog was colored with Copic markers and eyes & nose were coated with Glossy Affects for a wet look. I fussy cut the dog and adhered him with pop dots...I think it turned out pretty cool!

You needn't rush over to the Stars & Stamps blog...these can be made all year long for our troops.

Make a Side Step Card

Split Coast Stampers has a wonderful tutorial to make the side step card. Be sure to click the link and go there to get directions to make yours. It looks complicated but is so easy!

I've been dying to make one of these: CHECK BACK FOR MINE LATER THIS WEEKEND...but go ahead and get started on making yours.

Lily Pad is Tres Cool...a little blue too!!

I used a tiny stamp set from those $1 bins at the craft store for this card!
This cool set of stamps was my first purchase from Papertrey Ink.
I love them and the great dies!
I found a cool place to share...the Lily Pad. I've been enjoying their Youtube videos for ideas for fun quick cards for OWH. The cards are two I made for their challenge which will soon head off to OWH for our troops. I hope you enjoy and take a moment to stop by the Lily Pad too.

Bling It Emerald Faery Challenge

Hurry over and check out the 2nd challenge on the new Emerald Faery Garden challenge blog. You have until June 15th to upload your entry which could win you a terrific prize. The theme they've chosen for this challenge is "bling".

To "bling" my 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" card up a bit, I added several faux pink crystals with lots of diamond Stickles. The sparkly circle around Ally & Beeble was first given a rub down with a pale pink stamp pad then slathered it in tons of Stickles and allowed to dry. I moved on to my Whimsy Sentiment Tickets which were stamped with Ranger Distress Ink in fired brick and outlined in more Stickles. I handmade the large cardstock rose and gave it a dousing of diamond Stickles too. It always turns out my preferred form of "bling" is wonderful Stickles...I just LOVE the stuff!
To add a little more sparkle and shine I added Glossy Accents to give Beeble some dimension & my pink daisy a dewy look. The wings had a coating of Stickles and Glossy Accents! I used dimensional foam tape and squares to give Ally and my glittery circle a little interest and "lift".
The digi image was colored using the following Copic markers:

skin - E0000, E50, E00, R11, R20
hair - E0000, Y00, YR21
flower - R00, R11, R20, R22, G20, G82, YG00
clothes - B91, B95, C1, C3, RV25
wings - E0000, BG0000, RV000, B00

...a couple tiny Prima rosebuds nicely accent my handmade rose!
I'd also like to enter this in the following challenges:
Crafty Catz #84 Pink & Green Challenge which ends June 2nd.

ABC & Hero Arts Fabulous Flowers Challenge

I've finally taken the time to use the wonderful Blossom Art Flowers CL495 set of Hero Arts stamps I got from ABC Crafts a long while ago. The combo of the daisy flower and my leftover parts of a digital image of Emerald Faerie Boo from my tutorial seen below. Sentiment is PTI.
(See Copic colors on the faery in tutorial below.) I haven't had much experience coloring flowers with Copics yet!

The daisies & leaves were colored with RV00, RV21, RV23, RV25, RV29, G20, G83, YG00, YR21, & YR23.


I used several fun techniques on the card, first being masking of the trio of HA flowers. To do this stamp a flower on paper, cut it out, lay/secure it over a stamped image, & stamp another. I then fussy cut the lower border of the flowers, sewed around the sides without flowers, matted it in pink and pop-dotted it over a trio of pink, green, & gingham layers. The faerie was fussy cut with an extra head and wings which were pop-dotted to the faerie, wings were coated with Stickles and Glossy Affects. I also covered the flower centers with Glossy Affects and sprinkled them with gold seed & bugle beads for some fun texture. The paper is all from my stash, with DP by Basic Grey & pastel pink embossed floral by Bazzill. This layer was sanded to make the embossing pop with a little white chalk around the edges. I added a little distressing here & there for interest and topped it all with a pink bow and vintage white organza ribbon.

I often admire the wonderful cards made by the Hero Arts designers but don't often join their challenges. It will be fun to enter this easel card.




Other challenges I'm honored to enter:
ABC DT Challenge - May Flowers(ends 5/21)
Word Play Weekend #3 - "Wing" challenge
Crafty Catz - Anything Goes(ends 5/26)
Crafty Creations #119 May Flowers(ends 5/25)

DT Card Classes at Emerald Faery Garden & Challenges Galore!

This was a fun project! Check out my card class for this card at the Emerald Faery Garden website. I used a digital image of Boo & Snookie which I altered for this card.
Digital images make altering so easy! I flopped & cropped mine and printed 2 so I could layer them for some fun dimension. I used Neenah Solar white cardstock and colored with Copic markers. Here's my recipe: Flesh - E0000, E00, E50, E21; R000, R20, R11. Hair - YR21, YR24. Hat - G20, G83, YG00. Pants - BG0000, B000, B01, B02, RV000, V000, V06. Wings - E0000, BG0000, RV000, G20, G83. The wings were highlighted with diamond Stickles & coated with Glossy Affects. I cut only wings and head on image 2 which were pop-dotted over the finished frame to give the illusion of the faery peeking out of the frame.

I loved working with the current Mojo Monday sketch and am entering my card in this week's challenge. Check out this wonderful sketch: I chose not to use a sentiment (substituted 3 purple pearls) because I'm just horrible with them!

Lots of Prima hydrangeas with Robin's Nest centers were arrange around the frame & May Arts green silk ribbon/bow. My ribbon was less than perfect after removing a row of gathering stitches from a prior craft project but I loved the look...it's accidentally distressed!! A pearl pick finished things nicely.
However, the finished card look a little plain to me so I jazzed up the frame with lots of diamond Stickles and a few purple pearls. I was satisfied in the end!


Check back tomorrow to learn how to make the fun embossed framed I used on this card!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges too:
ABC May Flowers Challenge(5/21)
Flutter By Wednesday Challenge #153(5/10)
Creative Inspiration Embossing(5/10)
PaperTake Weekly

EMERALD FAERY GARDEN CHALLENGE

The theme this week in the Emerald Faery Garden is ANYTHING GOES...my personal favorite! I hope you find my pop-up tag card fun and something you'd like to try. The instructions are very easy and available at Splitcoast Stampers. It is interactive and sure to tickle anyone! Of course, you'll want to run right over to the brand new Emerald Faery Garden Challenge Blog for this first challenge too. AND best of all...you can win 4 digi stamps of these wonderful little creatures!

The card was made with a digi stamp of Emerald Faeries Kenz & Tilly, Bazzill embossed cardstock, Basic Grey cardstock, May Arts striped twill ribbon. Flowers were cut using the Cricut Accent Essentials cartridge with self-adhesive pearls. Sturdy double stick red tape in 1/4" and 1/8" widths hold everything together.

I chose Kenz & Tilly for my Mother's Day version because it so sweetly depicts a mother's love to me. The faeries were colored with Copic markers: flesh - E00, 50, R00, 11, 20; dress - R00, 02, RV21, 23, 25, C1; scarf - R00, 02, RV21, 23, 25; hat - G20, 82, YG00; shoes - RV23, 25, 29, pants - C1, 3, 5; stripe pants - G20, 82, E50; hair - Y00, E50, YR21; wings - YG00, BG0000, RV000, G20. Lots of coloring, for sure!!

To make it possible to add a note for mom, I made my tag into a pocket by adding a thumb notch on the top with a circle punch. A square piece of white cardstock was scored and folded in half then corners rounded an eyelet added on the front of one half and a May Arts ribbon tied for easy moving in and out of the pocket...I think this would work well for a gift card holder too. Mom will love you for this imaginative card!

BLOG CANDY WINNER!

Congrats to Pookie for winning the Emerald Faery blog candy in celebration of the Emerald Faery blog hop a week ago. Pookie, if you're stopping by...kudos and thanks for playing!!

Visitors...click on the Emerald Faery stamp to go shopping or visit the blog!

Some Hippity Hoppity Challenges

Hi everyone...happy Spring, Passover and Easter to one and all! It was so nice to return from our Caribbean cruise to sunshine and Spring-like weather after being cold for so long...but with Spring comes rain too. Who cares after the crazy winter we've all had in this hemisphere! This sunny Easter card was made from ingredients gifted to me over at the Yahoo Group Magnoliacardkitandswap board in their Hippity Hoppity kit swap.

Copics used: skin - E50, 33, 00, R00, 20, 11; hair - E50, 33, 25, 99;
dress - BG0000, 01, 05; boots/bow - BG0000, 01, 05, G20, 82, 02; basket - E50, 33, 99. Colored fronds with Copic BG0000, 01, 05 and walnut with glaze in Rock Candy Stickles.All materials were provided in a kit for the card. My sewing, coloring and assembly plus an eyelet, Nestibilities die, green gingham paper, yellow scallop trim, & green cardstock were added/used from my stash. It came together nicely!
I hope to enter it in the following challenges:
Magnoliacardandkits Yahoo Groups
All That Scraps Magnolia Challenge #9
Magnolia's Down Under Easter Challenge
Magnolia Stamp Lovers Easter Challenge
7 Kid Easter Challenge
ABC DT Easter Challenge
Flutterby Wednesday Challenge

Emerald Faery DT Challenge

Deb is having a challenge featuring the Emerald Faeries. If you don't have an Emerald Faery yet, click on the EF link to go get yourself a digital stamp!
I'm having a love affair with lady bugs so I chose Ally & Beeble for my entry. Here are a few more shots...
I glazed the ladybugs with Glossy Effects and colored the images with Copic markers. Wings were blinged with Stickles. I used the jar & ladybug stamp from an old SU set I bought second hand ages ago! The postage stamp sentiment is an i.Cling from Studio G. I'm thankful for finally using this cool SU set I bought on eBay.





Hop on over to enter your card!