Under The Weather

Today my goal was to create a card for the weekly challenge over at the Cricut Circle blog. But when reading the challenge back, I missed basically every part of what the requirements were. Ha! I guess that's just the way it goes sometimes. I had fun creating the card none-the-less.

The main shape for the Get Well stamp was

cut from Ashlyn's Alphabet.

White Solid Background - 4"

The solid green and pattern green frames were cut by

layering two of the same shape.

Solid Green - 2.25" inside of a 3.4"

Pattern Green - 2.5" inside of a 3.25"

The stamp is by PSX and was colored with the following Copics:

Y28

YG17, YG25

Y15, Y11



Green Flourishes were also cut from Ashlyn's Alphabet

at 3" tall and 2.5" tall.

When Inspiration Strikes

This afternoon my 10 year old daughter, Kaitlyn was playing with a Finding Nemo watercolor book.  She had turned the page to the backside and was just painting away.  In her mind she was "not doing the best" work, but to me I saw a stunning backdrop for a card.  I loved the way the colors eased from one to the next.  I asked her if it would be ok that I turn her painting into a card.  This card is what I ended up with.

Since this was done on the backside of a coloring book page, the dark lines were able to be seen through the paper when held next to another piece of paper.  To eliminate this I sprayed the paper down with Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst Spray and added a script stamp on top in Tim Holtz Aged Mahogony Distress Ink.

My next step was to cut a butterfly from the Ashlyn's Alphabet cartridge.  It was cut at 2" tall.  I wanted to see more of the body for the butterfly, so I actually snipped the wings and adhered them to the base shadow separately.  All of these pieces were also sprayed with the starburst spray.  The picture above shows a little bit of the shimmer, but really does no justice at all to this product.

At this point my card was "done".  But something just didn't feel complete so I ended up adding the detail at the top left corner.  This was cut from a Memory Box die and then double embossed using the Lindy's Stamp Gang embossing powder in Midnight Gold.  I can't believe how shiny and fantastic this embossing powder is.  It truly looks like actual metal without adding bulky weight to the card.  I did add some extra weight by using a Tim Holtz embellishment over the sentiment though.

I'm also very excited to announce that I am one of the new Design Team members over at Just-A-Scrappin.  I can't wait to get going on some new projects for the blog!  Hop on over and take a peek at some of their awesome posts

HERE

The Magical Bubble

My son is going to be turning three in just a couple of weeks.  It seems like only yesterday he was a little jelly bean unable to tell me which toy he wanted or whether his snack would be a banana or grapes.  These days there's not much I can do to keep the noise level below a dull roar.  But every once in a while Logan discovers something that enamours him and makes him pause even if just for a minute.  A couple of days ago he discovered a Christmas decoration that had been missed when everything else was put away.  He stared at the magical little world where a happy village lay beneath whirling and dancing snow.  And in one instant I got this idea for a card using a snow globe like the one he held in his hand.  So here I have my creation showing my version of the magic bubble where all dreams are possible.

The dome itself is a Stamps In Motion wood mounted stamp from 1997.  I found it on Ebay not too long ago and knew it would be an amazing backdrop for many different scenes.  But when I tried to decide what to put inside the globe for my card, I just couldn't get past the mental image of a ballerina.  So off I went to scour the internet for digital stamps of a dancer.  I then happened to fall smack dab in the middle of a stamper's heaven (also known as The Paper Shelter).  They have sooo many cute stamps that will be a blast to color.

This image is called The Lovely Ballerina and was printed at 3" tall.  I colored her with the following Copics:
Hair:  E55, E53, E50
Skin/Lips/Eyes:  E00/R22/B91
Outfit:  B45, B34, B32, B91
Tutu:  C3, C1

I used a dauber and Brilliance Ink in Pearlescent Sky Blue to color the background of the dome.  The base was then paper pieced and popped up with foam dots.

Talk about perfect timing---I will be using this card as an entry into the DT Call over at TPS.  I'll also be using it for the Tic Tac Toe challenge over at The Crazy Challenge blog.

Just A Card Makin

Tonight I've created a card for a design team call at the Just A Scrappin' blog.  I've used one of my new fairy images to create an all purpose card to have for my next "emergency" situation.  It never hurts to have a few cards on hand for the birthdays/anniversaries/etc that pop up (seemingly) out of nowhere.  I use an awesome website (http://www.bigdates.com/) to keep track of all important dates.  But sadly there are many times I don't remember an important date until I get the email from them to remind me.  And of course by then it's too late to make a card and get it in the mail in time.

Come Softly

It's been quite a while since I devoted some solid time to my Copic coloring.  And I'll be honest---I've really missed it!  There's something very soothing about coloring an image; no reason to rush and no one to tell you it's wrong.  And just when I needed a push to get back to my calm place, I discovered a brilliant artist by the name of Ching Chou Kuik.  Her designs are available through Sweet Pea Stamps and could not be more amazing or fun to color.  This image is titled Come Softly and I felt inclined to color it as such.  Lately my favorite go-to color combo has been aqua, teal and brown and I adore how it looks on this card.

Skin:  E11, E00, 0 (cheeks R11)

Hair:  E13, YR20, Y21, Y11

Lips:  RV11, RV10

Eyes:  B16, B14, B000, W1, W0

Moth:  E44, E42, B26, B16, B14, B12, G02, G00 (w/a little spica pen for sparkle)

Dress:  B16, B14

This cute little rosette was made by hand sewing a strip of fabric (1.5"x6") along the long edge and pulling it tightly. I then used hot glue to adhere it to the card and keep the two ends held together. It was topped off with a small gem glued to the middle.

Well Wishes for a Special Little Girl

Not too long ago a member of my family discovered that they have leukemia.  Sadly this family member is only 3 years old.  Samantha has been quite the trooper dealing with the chemo, pain, sickness, poking, and prodding.  I made this cute card and medal/ribbon in the hopes that it would make her crack a smile.  Feel free to drop by her Caring Bridge website and leave some words of encouragement.  Her mom has been amazing at keeping all of the family and friends updated with a daily journal entry.  I'd love to let her know how much it's appreciated and how many people are touched by the strength of one little girl.

SEPTEMBER 2011
A pic of Samantha before the meds had kicked in and made her a cutie with adorable little chipmunk cheeks.

OCTOBER 2011
Here's a pic after the meds made her face swell up.  As you can tell, she's wearing the cute little ribbon I made for her.

 http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/samanthanechanicky