Flower time for Mother's Day

Hi again!

I have a confession. I hadn't jumped on the Copic marker train because I wasn't sure I'd enjoy coloring. I was WRONG! Although there's not much time to craft, I can carry my markers anywhere and color. In fact, I took 'em to the dentist office the other day while the kids were busy getting their cleanings. I LOVE these markers!

I'm entering this card in several different challenges. The first is a Simon Says Stamp! botanical challenge. The second is the Less is More site. The challenge is to also use flowers but it needs to be a clean and simple design--which tends to be a hard one for me! And then I'm sharing it on the Word Art Wednesday site, too. It's an "anything goes" challenge that I always enjoy! Here's my card:

The stamp is from a company that I think isn't around anymore, Autumn Leaves. But the image was perfect for coloring and shading. I stamped the flower several times and then colored it in and cut out a panel. I felt the white space in between the flowers needed a punch of color so I did outline the flowers. Then I framed the panel in black cardstock and stamped the sentiment (from the dollar bin). It's a vibrant color that makes me think of spring and sunny days. This card was so much fun to color and I love how it turned out!

Thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Merry Christmas...in May!

Hi all!

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. Ours was busy but we're grateful the school year is winding down and the days will be a bit more relaxed. I'm popping in quickly to share a card I made for Christmas. Yes, Christmas. I have a couple of clients that have asked for Christmas cards so I've been making some cards off and on for the occasion. I'm also entering this card in the latest Simon Says Stamp! challenge which was to use dies on our cards. And, the lovely Word Art Wednesday has an "anything goes" challenge which is also fun to do. Here's my card:

I received a lovely poinsettia die set (Memory Box, I think) and I love using it! All you need are a few shades of red and green cardstock and then you assemble the card. I love that you can sit and do tons of die cutting and then assemble the poinsettias in little batches til you're ready to put them on the final card. For this card, I kept it very simple. I wanted the flower wreath to be the focus with the sentiment (Stampendous) right underneath.

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Life is Sweeter card

Hi everyone!

I know, it's been a long time since I've posted. I'm really looking forward to the homeschooling year being done so that I can have more time to play in my craft room. For the past week and a half, I've been taking the Online Card class that's all about watercolors. I'm loving the class--but wishing I had more time to play along. So, tonight I'm sharing the card I made for one of the very first days of class. It's a simple color wash for the background. I'll also enter this card into the Word Art Wednesday site that has an "anything goes" challenge. Last, but not least, V's Sweet Ideas' latest challenge was to use distress ink in some way. So, I'll enter my card there, too. Here's my card:

I LOVE this stamp...I just think it's the sweetest image! (It's from Technique Tuesday). I started out by masking off the sides of the watercolor paper. I then stamped the image in Versafine ink and used 4 different distress inks to do the background. (Squeezed Lemonade, Ripe Persimmons, Spiced Marmalade and Barn Door). This technique is SUPER easy...I LOVE it! The sentiment is from Hero Arts and I think it's paired perfectly with the image.

Anyway, I'm hoping to post more cards soon. Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!
Pat

A fun new die

Hi all! It's been awhile since I've posted but I've been busy getting cards prepped to show soon. I did want to stop in quickly, though, to share a card I'm entering in a couple of challenges. The first challenge is for the Party Time Tuesday site that asked us to use a die. The second site is the Word Art Wednesday site that has an "anything goes" challenge. Here's my card:

This was a fun card to work on. I used a QuicKutz die which was new for me and that gave me the beautiful polaroid cut. The main image is a reverse image stamp from Hero Arts so I stamped it using Memento Brilliance ink. To my surprise, the ink stayed wet enough so that I could add water to it and even out the color. I then colored the image using inktense watercolor pencils and distress markers. I stamped the sentiment and added some gems and the card was done! I will definitely be using this die many times!

Thanks for stopping by! And check out these challenges--there's still time to play along.
Pat

Thinking of You

Hi friends!

Just a quick post to share a card I made last night. I'm entering the card at the Unscripted Sketches site because they provided the fun sketch for the card. Here's the card and sketch.

I really wanted to use some perfect pearls for this one layer card. So, I chose a butterfly stamp (Teresa Collins) and a flourish (not sure which brand of stamps) and used the blue perfect pearl dust. I made sure to put some antistatic powder all over the card first, though, so that the perfect pearls wouldn't stick to anything except the image. After I added the perfect pearls, I used a swiffer dust rag to get the excess powder off and then used a slight mist on the card to set the pearls. I wanted a bit more color, though, so I put a small amount of red and gold perfect pearls on my work surface, added a bit of water to both of them and used my stylus to add some "random" dots and some gold on the butterfly. Super quick card to make--but a lot of fun b/c of the perfect pearls. There's tons of shine to this simple card.


Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!
Pat

Mother's Day

Hi everyone!

Yes, I'm here with a Mother's Day card. You can never start too early, right? :) I knew I needed to start working on it early because the next few weeks are going to be really busy. I used the sketch from the retro sketches site and really like how it turned out. Here's my card and the sketch:

I love cards that have tons of black in it with pops of color. I knew that I wanted to do some embossing and that I'd be using a die cut from Simon Says Stamp! I chose to use silver pigment ink and repeat the pattern (Penny Black Lace Trim) and then clear emboss it. I used DCWV's Metallic paper for the center panel (silver) and also for the die cut (a lovely magenta/fuschia color) to add even more shine to the card. Then I stamped the sentiment (dollar bin) and the card was done! Super quick but has tons of shine and texture.

Have a great weekend, everyone!
Pat

Special Birthday Card

Hi everyone!

I know, it's been a LONG time since I've posted. Sorry! I wish I had more time to just play but life gets in the way. But it's Spring Break and, even thought we homeschool, I really needed the break. I played in my room today and had loads of fun! I'm sharing this card on several websites. The first is the Simon Says Stamp! Wednesday Challenge site. Their challenge was to make a birthday card. The next site is V's Sweet Ideas. Their challenge was to use a favorite technique. And last, but not least, is the Word Art Wednesday site. They always have an "anything goes" challenge and I try to play along there whenever I can. Here's my card:

With my mom's birthday coming in a couple of weeks, I knew I needed to start working on a card. I've been playing with Copics lately and really enjoying the shading those markers allow. Plus, the vibrant colors can't be beat! Although I still need tons of practice, they've proven to be a lot of fun to play with! The stamps are from Penny Black. I wanted to add a strip of black to add some more contrast to the card and then added some faux stitching to the card, too. The sentiment is from the Recollections brand.

Although the card took a while to finish, it was so much fun! Thanks for stopping by!
Pat