Yay!

Hello!
I hope everyone had an awesome holiday weekend!  We hung out with friends and did lots of yard work!  I love having Matthew home and when the weather is nice, it's like a double bonus!

We're starting a new challenge today at Tuesday Throwdown - Proud of You!  Our awesome sponsor is Sami Stamps!  She has provided everyone with adorable images to use.  I've chosen the Umbrella Pals image for my card:

 I started by coloring in my image with some Inktense pencils and covering the umbrellas with a little shimmer brush.  Then worked on my background by using the Zig Zag Dots Stencil from Simon Says Stamp and some white pigment ink.  I inked the stencil up over some Midnight Green cardstock.  Then grabbed a Lawn Fawn paper that worked perfectly from the Sweater Weather pack for my background.

I trimmed out my image, leaving a little white border around the edge.  This helps to separate your image from dark or busy backgrounds. 

To get my images lined up on my card panel where I wanted them, I put everything into a cd case (my make-shift "misti") and positioned it all on my card.  Then closed the lid so the stamps would transfer to that, and inked it up.  I first inked them with VersaMark, then with Hero Arts Black ink.  This allowed there to be a sticky top layer over the stamps so that I could apply clear embossing powder and heat set it.

Once that was embossed, I added my image with some foam tape and that was it!

I hope you will join us for this fun challenge!
Thanks for visiting! <3