Happy Friday!!!
It's cold and snowy here...what's it like by you?  I miss the sun so much...being able to go out for walks at 9 at night without freezing my tushy off, or just waking up in the morning and not feeling my feet freeze as soon as they hit the floor...I'm really ready for spring to get here now!

But unfortunately, I can't control the weather.  So I'll just stay nestled into my sweats and play with paper all day :)

With that, we have an awesome release this week from Sami Stamps!!!  It's all about Poodles, and man are they adorable!

I chose to use the Christmas Gift Poodle, and turned it into a birthday card.  I've been trying to focus on birthday cards a bit more lately since I have none in my stash...but it turns out my birthday stamp collection is kind of lacking...need to work on that :)

I went with a fun pink and green theme for my card.  Turns out, pink was the popular color among the design team for this release since we all used it!  Lol :)
I absolutely love how this card turned out!  There is something about the soft splatter wash behind the poodle that keeps drawing my attention.  I think I will need to use that on a few more cards!

The coloring was kept pretty simple on the pup with just a few pink and grey shades used.  I misted the splattered background with some shimmer mist so it has a nice sparkle to it.  So much fun!!
I followed the sketch at The Fusion Card Challenge.  They always have the best photo inspiration and sketch challenges, but I chose to just use the sketch this time.

So be sure to stop by Sami Stamps to see the rest of this release and all of the DT's pink poodles!!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
    Fusion Card Challenge-Heartful/Sketch

    Penny's Paper Crafty #212-Anything Goes
    Send a Smile 4 Kids-Anything Goes
    Simon Says Stamp-Anything Goes
    Word Art Wednesday #168-Anything Goes

Thanks for visiting! <3

Hey everyone!
Happy Thursday!

We are starting a super fun new challenge today at Meljen's Designs - Team Spirit!!  I had so much fun comping up with my card for this challenge!  Of course, it came together with a few suggestions from my sweet husband :)

Since the super bowl is this weekend, figured I should do something for that.  And if you've been around here for awhile, you know that my heart belongs in Seattle.  So of course I made a card to show my support for our Seattle Seahawks!!...sorry to any Patriots fans reading this :)

I am so stinking happy with how this card turned out!  I had thought for sure that Meljen's Designs had a birdie all dressed up in football gear, but when I couldn't find it, I had to rethink my idea.  Shared a few things with Matthew and he suggested turning the Little Puddle Duck into a Seahawks fan with mud on it's boots :)  So I got my artist on and drew out a simple rug for the ducky to walk across on his way to the match.

He even got a little crazy in his support by dying his feathers to match the Seahawks colors (kinda...I know their colors are a bit darker...but this is what I went with).

He needed to have something in his beak, so I cut out some ovals to represent balloons and colored them up to match the image.  Then glued some string behind them and poked holes around his beak to feed the string through.  It looks so cool!!

I inked up a simple panel in some tumbled glass and broken china and then splattered some water on to get that really cool faded water drop look.  Dried it really quick and then spritzed it with some shimmer mist so the whole panel sparkles.

The sentiment is printed on vellum and white heat embossed.  I did a couple layer so it's nice and thick.  The frame of the card is creatively cut with the Lawn Fawn Stitched Journaling Card die.  I cut the bottom of the blue panel with one of the Borderline Trios from Mama Elephant.  Finished the whole project off with some coordinating sequins!  Love it so much!!  And I do hope that the Seahawks win!  Best of luck to both teams :)

So be sure to stop by Meljen's Designs to see the other DT's creations, and then join in the fun!!!

And one last time - GO HAWKS!!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
    Addicted to Stamps #129-Clean and Simple
    Creative Fingers #64-Anything Goes
    Sentimental Sundays #243-Anything Goes
    Simon Says Stamp-Anything Goes

Thanks for visiting! <3

Hello hello!!
I apologize for being so quiet these last few weeks.  Been working on other projects and attempting to reorganize my supplies.  It's a never ending task, but I always feel like I could have a better set up to be more efficient in my work...not sure that will ever actually happen though but I try :)

So we have a new challenge starting today at Tuesday Throwdown, and it's Facets of Crafting!  We want to see anything that has facets on your creation!  So gems, sequins, glitter...etc.

Our awesome sponsor this week is A Day For Daisies and they have graciously provided the DT with gorgeous images!  I chose to use the super sweet Fairy Kitty image.

Are you surprised I chose a cat image?  Lol...of course you aren't!  Cats are my favorite and I love using them on my cards :)

I wanted to keep this cutie nice and soft.  She just looks so fluffy, I just want to smoosh her in my arms.  So I stuck with only a few light shades of grey for the shading, just enough to give her some depth and dimension without distracting from her cuteness.  Then I took a distress marker in evergreen bough I think...and watercolored in her wings.

I have totally fallen in love with this soft sea foam green.  It's so gorgeous!  Fortunately, I had some glittery ribbon that matched it almost perfectly!!  So I grabbed a square ribbon buckle and layered a couple of ribbons through it for some fun sparkle on the card.  I also added a couple of gems in the upper right corner because it was looking a little too empty up there.

Stamped the sweet sentiment and the card was done!!  Oh right, I added a bunch of stardust stickles to the wings for lots of sparkle :)

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
    Craft Your Passion #246-Anything Goes
    Fussy and Fancy #131-Things with Wings
    Robyn's Fetish #247-Animals
    Sentimental Sundays #243-Anything Goes
    Word Art Wednesday #167-Anything Goes

Be sure to stop by Tuesday Throwdown to see the rest of the design teams creations, and then join in the fun!!!

Thanks for visiting! <3

Happy Friday!
It's time for another fantastic release from Sami Stamps!  This weeks release is Floral Brides!  A great collection full of gorgeous brides!  I just love these images!

I chose to work with the Lily Bride image:

She is just so gorgeous.  Absolutely loved coloring her in.  I started by lightly shading in her dress with a very soft grey color and then blending it almost completely out.  I didn't want a lot of color but just enough to give some definition.  Then I took a clear/silver glitter pen and added little dot details around the bodice and lower hem to represent all the lovely bead and jewel work that is on so many wedding dresses.  It's not a lot of detail, but I think it adds the right amount of sparkle.

I didn't want the flowers to be too overpowering, so I just did some light pink and yellow blending on those and kept them really soft.  Once those were done, I went over the veil and the flowers with a glitter brush.

The background is really simple.  I die cut some heart borders from Joy! Crafts out of vellum and glued them down to a simple heart patterened paper.  I colored in a few of the hearts in the background with the same clear/silver pen I used on the dress.

Finished the card off with a sweet sentiment from the Clearly Besotted-Elegant Butterflies stamp set and a few pearls.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
    Crafty Catz #262-New Beginnings
    Fab n Funky #242-Something New
    The Paper Shelter #186-Punches or Dies

Be sure to stop by Sami Stamps to see the full release, along with with all of the DT's absolutely gorgeous creations!!  You will be left speechless :)

Thanks for visiting! <3

Happy Thursday!
Boy do we have quite the challenge for you today at Meljen's Designs...well it was a huge challenge for me anyhow.  Shabby Chic!  Oy...that is one style I have never been able to figure out.  That and vintage...they just don't pop into my mind as styles I would use.  So trying to step out of my comfort zone and put something together for this challenge was the ultimate task.

I still don't know if my card can qualify as shabby chic...I did the best I could with the info I was able to gather...let me know your thoughts :)

Everything I saw when I did a shabby chic search was soft colors and lacy edges.  I don't have much lace on hand and what I do have didn't really work.  This paper was purchased last year but it is one of my ultimate favorites.  I use it sparingly, but it seemed to fit this weeks theme so I pulled it out and did some stitching around the outside edge.

For my focal point, I used the Sweet Lace Heart from Meljen's Designs and printed it on vellum.  I did that so I could heat emboss it in white :)  The image was printed twice, once for the whole image, and once for just the inner heart.

I die cut a bunch of little hearts and stuck them between the two layers before hand stitching the zig zag design to seal the layers together.  It's cute and soft with some fun detail in the middle.  The hearts don't shake around really but that's ok.

I finished it off with a cute little wood cut piece I got from the dollar bin at Michaels.  Colored it with a pink marker so it would match the papers, and then added a few pearls.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
    Penny's Paper Crafty #210-Anything Goes
    Word Art Wednesday #166-Anything Goes

I hope you've enjoyed this card!  Please be sure to stop by Meljen's Designs and join in the challenge!!

Thanks for visiting! <3

Hello again!
We have a new challenge starting today at Tuesday Throwdown!  It's an awesome sketch!!

For my card, I decided to revisit my past blog posts and try to remake a card.  Our sponsor this week is The Cutting Cafe so I went way back to a post from my first few months of blogging and settled on remaking my Butterfly Hugs card.

I drew inspiration from the background papers, how they all had some sort of dot on them and used my new Simon Says Zig Zag Dots stencil.  I added sparkly embossing powder and heat set that once it was all dry.  To keep with the blue theme from my past card, I used some blue and teal watercolors over the background and let them moosh together.

While that dried, I cut out my doily type frame along with the scallops and image pieces.  I've used the Animal and Bug Love Stamp Set.  The butterflies are colored in with watercolor pencils and a shimmer water brush, along with glossy accents on the hearts.

I die cut out a banner and stamped/heat embossed my sentiment and then adhered it below my image.  In keeping with the frame of the original card, I cut out a scallop border base with my Silhouette.

While it is completely different from my original card, I totally love it!  The butterflies could be a little bit bolder...I should have added a few more layers of color..but other than that, the card is awesome!!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
    2 Cute Ink #121-Going Buggy
    Crafts 4 Eternity #208-Blue Tones
    Crafty Cardmakers #130-Something Old, Something New
    Crafty Catz #261-Polka Dots
    Word Art Wednesday #165-Anything Goes

So be sure to stop by Tuesday Throwdown and join in our fun sketch challenge!!

 

 Thanks for visiting!! <3

Hello hello!
It's my day to post over at Meljen's Designs!  If I haven't said it before, I just love being a part of this team!  The ladies there are just amazing, and the images Melissa draws up melt my heart every time.  It actually makes it a little difficult to decide what image to use for my challenge and DT day cards.  I usually run through about 4 or 5 card ideas before finally settling on one to work up.

That was totally the case with this card. I had so many ideas in my head that I didn't get this one finished until late last night because it took me so long to decide what to do!  Lol...but it turned out perfect!

The only thing I'm not happy with is the fact that the watercolor paper isn't white...I love the Strathmore watercolor paper...but the slightly off/cream color that it has is a struggle for me because I like having bright whites on my cards.  I usually try to cover it all up with another color if I'm going to have patterned papers on the card, but it didn't really work out for this card.

I started this card by die cutting the striped panel in the background with the Falling Hearts Die from Simon Says Stamp.  I got this for Christmas and absolutely love it!!  I lined that sheet with some black cardstock so the hearts would pop out a bit from the busy colored stripes.

Printed off the XOXO Stitches image and colored it in with some watercolor pencils.  I used my wink of stella glitter brush pen (refilled with water) and spread the watercolor around to give a nice shaded look.  The whole thing is so sparkly!  I love it!  I did use a really soft pink around the whole outside of the image to try and cover up the cream paper, but it was so light that it just kind of got lost back there...

To decorate the card, I added a few scallops cut with my Borderlines Trio die from Mama Elephant.  I cut out a little notch in the top corner and added a little scallop oval and a button, and then finished everything off with some black and white twine.

I had planned on this card being more masculine, but it's not really.. Just a perfect card for Valentine's Day :)

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
    Send a Smile 4 Kids-Valentine's/Love 
    Simon Says Stamp-Something New
    SugarPea Designs Sketch 18
    The Crazy Challenge #188-Buttons

Thanks for stopping by!!  Have a fabulous day! <3

Happy Saturday!!
I hope your weekend has started out awesomely! :)
We did a little shopping and then settled into our pajamas!  There's a lot of snow outside and the temps are close to being unbearable, so jammies and relaxing at home were the perfect solution.

I haven't done much crafting lately...to be honest.  I've been trying to figure out what my focus will be.  This whole craft adventure was a way for me to work with my passion daily once we moved to Montreal.  It's been so much fun, but taken a little bit of a toll...I think I put too much pressure on being perfect instead of enjoying the fun that is to had with crafting.  I still don't know what direction I'm going, or what my focus will be.  I know for sure that I want to keep exploring, experimenting, and improving my watercolor skills.  That was something that I completely fell in love with in my first art class in high school and that love was re-awakened this past year into my cards, and I love that!  So I'm sure you will see many more watercolor pieces showing up on my blog.  Including today's card :)

When I saw that Newton's Nook was having a flash challenge, I knew I had to join in since I just adore that company!

I combined a few of their stamps:  Newton's Antics and Newton's Daydream.  They have been watercolored to resemble my little Storm and Cloud.  Those two used to be best buds until we adopted Ezio.  They still get along, but Cloud tends to stay away from both of the boys now.  But I can't ever resist coloring them together on my cards.

The watercolors didn't turn out quite how I wanted them.  The black was a little hard to work with, and the colors on Cloud just sort of mushed all together into a blob...
But they are still adorable and it just gives me something to keep working on :)

The background was made with the Triangle Pattern background die from Simon Says Stamp.  This particular piece was actually used as a stencil to make a bunch of cards for Christmas gifts, and at the end all that pretty blue looked so good, I just couldn't throw it away.  It had to go on a card.  And it was perfect for this one!

I followed the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches, and combined a few patterned papers to go behind my kitties.  I stamped the sweet sentiment from the Lots of Thanks stamp set from Simon Says into the thought bubble from the Newton's Daydream set and cut that out.  I added a little light blue watercolor to make it fit in with the sky a little.  Finished the whole thing off with some Simon Says Stamp Moonshine sequins.  I turned some upside down to be the centers of the flowers too!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
    Freshly Made Sketches #168

    Newton's Nook-Thank You
    Simon Says Stamp-Something New (both the triangle background die, and the thank you stamps are new!  Got them for Christmas :) )

I hope you enjoyed this card!!  Thanks so much for stopping by and have a fabulous weekend! <3

Happy New Year!
Hard to believe it is already 2015!  The start of the new year brings new challenges your way as well!  Starting with Meljen's Designs!  We've made this weeks challenge easy for you since we probably all are still recuperating from holiday vacations, so it's Anything Goes!

I kept my card pretty simple.  Been fighting a head cold the last few days and didn't have much energy to stand around too long.  But I still wanted to play with some of the new goodies I received for Christmas :)

I pulled out the Falling Hearts die from Simon Says and created a stencil with it so I could ink up the hearts and also add a layer of clear embossing powder over top so they would shine.

The image I've used is the adorable new Fluffy Baby Penguin.  I just love this cutie!!!  Colored him all up with my markers and added some glitter pen to the heart and his cheeks.  A couple of stripes of glitter ribbon behind the image finish off the card nicely.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you will join in this fun challenge!!  <3