Crafty Ribbons Challenge-Tags!

Hello everyone, I have a fun post for you today for the new challenge at Crafty Ribbons.  The theme is create a tag, so I have created two for you.

I have created these mixed media tags using the following ribbons:

Patchwork Rose-Flowers
Handmade by Me
Swiss Dots
6mm Grosgrain in Cornflower

You can find all of these and more in the Crafty Ribbons online shop, and don't forget to come and join in the challenges!

Scripted Butterflies with Sweet Stamps LLC

Surprise!  It's Sweet Stamps inspiration time again, and this time, it's not watercolor!  Shocked, you are, I know, lol.

This is a fun technique card I created using the Framed Handwritten Words SS4406 stamp set, the AF1 French Script Artsy Fartsy stamp, the SC012b Flutterby #2 Sweet Cuts die, Shades Dye Ink in Amaryllis and Sweet Stamps Glastique.

Such a fun card to make :)  I dye cut the solid butterfly image from a scrap piece of paper, taking care to place them exactly where I wanted them.  Then I used the negative space as a stencil and colored the butterflies on my white card front piece with Shades Dye Ink in Amaryllis.  Then I masked off around the butterflies and stamped the French Script stamp inside the butterfly shapes.  Then I coated the shapes with Glastique to give them that wonderful glossy finish.  I cut the butterfly again from matching paper, and added Glastique to the solid image and glued the filigree image to the top.  I added some sequins and adhesive pearls, and voila!  A fun butterfly card :)

You can find all of the supplies I used on this card in the Sweet Stamps online shop, and come and join us for the two monthly challenges over on the Sweet Stamps blog, show us your fun creative side!

Hoppy Birthday with Joyclair Stamps :)

Hello everyone, I am here with another new release for Joyclair Stamps.  This one is called Hoppy Birthday :)

I colored this one with my Copic Markers and I am pleased with how it turned out.  More practice for sure, but it's not too bad LOL.

Visit the Joyclair website  for more wonderful stamps, with new releases every month :)

Spring Flowers with Joyclair Stamps

I have a fun card for you today for Joyclair Stamps.  This set is called Spring Flowers, and is a new release for Joyclair this month.

This was a fun card to create, with several different flowers and centers included in the set.  I stamped them all over, after placing the sentiment in the center of the card and then colored them with my copics.

You can find this stamp set along with all the other new releases this month in the online shop at JoyClair Stamps.

Join in next month for 8 more new releases and a blog hop!

It's an Easter Blog Hop! with Crafty Ribbons :)

Hello everyone!  Welcome to day 3 of Crafty Ribbons' Easter Parade Blog Hop!  The theme for this hop is Easter Bonnets!  There are some wonderful creations along this hop, and to be eligible for the prize, you must be able to tell us where you found the eggs :) Aaaand , of course, you must leave a comment on all of the blogs in the hop.  Think you can manage?  Yay!

Here is my creation for this fun hop:

I created this fun little card using a cute Easter image from Drawn with Character and some beautiful ribbon from Crafty Ribbons!  I used the Patchwork Rose - Dream Wish Believe ribbon, along with some Swiss Dots White/Candyfloss ribbon to top off this little cutie, and it was a perfect match!  The sentiment is from Joyclair Stamps Easter Eggs stamp set, and I colored this little cutie with my Copic markers.  Copics are not my usual medium by themselves, but I am proud of how this turned out.  A lot more practice and I'll be great lol.

OK, so...here's the hop list for you:  and the rules lol

To take part in our EASTER PARADE

you will need to visit our DT members' blogs and leave a comment on the DT creations which they have made for the parade  

There is also an egg sitting on a few of the girls blogs which you will need to take note of and then link up on that days post. and tell us on whose blog you found the egg.

if you take part every day and linkup  with the correct name  on each day you have extra chances of winning in the random draw from all three days.

if you only want to join in one day thats fine too!!

Day 1:

MARIANNE

LAURA

CAROLE

CAROL

Day 2:

KATE 

LA VIKINGA 

KELLY

LYNSEY

Day 3:

LEAH *you are here* hahaha of course, lol

but, don't forget to leave a comment on all of the blogs in the hop (it's been running for three days), so you need to look at all of these fun creations :)

MARG

CHRISTELLE

CAROL

now back to CRAFTY RIBBONS  to add your link

Watercolor Wild Rose Bunch with Sweet Stamps LLC

Inspiration time for Sweet Stamps again and I have another fun watercolor card for you using the Wild Rose Bunch U7058GG stamp :)

For this card, I used my Kuretake Koi watercolors for the background and my Prima Watercolor Pencils for the flowers.  I used the Framed Handwritten Words SS4406 stamp set for the sentiment (this set is so versatile!) and added a bow with some white and navy blue ribbons.  I also masked this project so that my circle would be...well...a circle, lol.  I cut out the circle and the flowers together when they were dry and gave the card some added dimension by mounting it on foam tape.

Lesson learned today?  hmmmmmm, I can't think of one, I just thoroughly enjoyed creating, and perhaps that IS the lesson.  Enjoy the journey.  Everything you do is a learning experience, and as the saying goes:

Come and join us for the monthly challenges over on the Sweet Stamps blog, and share with us your creative journey!

Lala Land Crafts' Rose Faerie Marci with Quick Creations

Hello everyone, I hope you are all well and happy :)  I am so looking forward to spring, and it was almost here!  I say was...lol...because it happened again, like every year, it snowed again, just when the grass was beginning to show again.  A whole foot of snow!  Anyways, enough of my belly aching.

I have created a card using Rose Faerie Marci by Lala Land Crafts and some gorgeous Fairy Dust paper from Kaisercraft.

I was having so much fun with that gorgeous paper from Kaisercraft, that I couldn't stop at just this card, lol, so I CASed a recent card from Catherine Pooler and created this card :)

You can find the Rose Faerie Marci stamp from Lala Land Crafts and the Fairy Dust paper from Kaisercraft in Noelle Martins online shop at Quick Creations.

There is also a monthly challenge going on, and the theme is HEARTS!   Come and show us what you can come up with!

Tunnel of Love with Paper Nest Dolls :)

Hello everyone!  vAre you ready for Spring???  I am SO ready lol, but of course we got our usual mid-March snowstorm the other day, and had to shovel a whole other foot of snow lol.  Ah well, the joys of living in the north I guess.  I still wouldn't trade it for the world :)

I have chosen to create using the "Tunnel of Love" rubber stamp image from the Paper Nest Dolls this week for some inspiration for you :)

These two are just too adorable, and I couldn't resist coloring them up for my inspiration post this week ;)

You can find this sweet stamp in Christine's online store at Paper Nest Dolls.  Come and join in the fun over at the challenge blog for our monthly challenge, the theme is always Anything Goes!

See you again soon!

City Girl with Quick Creations :)

Hello everyone, it feels like so long since I have blogged lol, and I know what you're thinking...you're thinking I just had a post up the other day...but the truth is, I like to work ahead.  Well, except when life tends to get in the way lol.  Like it did the last couple of weeks.  So, for the next couple of weeks I will be busy working ahead again.

I have created a fun Hello card for you this week for Quick Creations and Noelle Martin.  I created this card using the "City Girl" rubber stamp image by Whimsy/Time for Tea Designs.  She is so cute :)

I love how this project came out.  I like to pick my colors from the paper, and orange totally is not my first choice hahahah.  But when I started coloring and matching colors to the paper Noelle sent me to create this project with, I became more and more enthusiastic about the project.  The colors really stretched my creativity out of the box.  For instance, highlighting the orange shirt with bright yellow....yummy!  I love how that worked out!

OK, enough of the chatter lol.  I colored her using my Copics, Prismacolor markers and Prismacolor Premiere pencils in the following colors:

Skin:  E00
PC927, 939, 1081
Hair:  YR24
PC943, 944, 1034
Clothes:  Y38, PB89
PC916, 1033, 1032, 1061, 1082, 948, 946, 1065
Purse/Shoes:  E23
PC1082, 947, 935

I completed the card using paper from the Fancy Pants "Summer Sun" collection, the CC Designs Vine die, the CC Designs Make a Card #5 die set, some ribbon from my stash and the sentiment is from the Avery Elle Peonies stamp set.

I hope you enjoy seeing this project as much as I did creating it :)  You can find all of the linked items in Noelle's online shop at Quick Creations :)

And don't forget about our monthly challenge!  More info below ;)

Watercolor Butterfly with Sweet Stamps LLC

My inspiration for Sweet Stamps this week continues my journey with watercolors, and for my project this week, I used my Prima Watercolor pencils :P

I used the Flowery Butterfly 883 stamp set from Sweet Stamps, along with the Framed Handwritten Words SS4406 stamp set.

I enjoyed this project, and due to the thick black lines that the stamp affords, there wasn't a whole lot of waiting time when creating this card.  I was able to work in one spot and then go on to another right away as long as I kept the water inside the thick black lines :)

A very quick and easy card to make, I can see this being a good design and stamp set for creating multiples of this card.  And the watercolor pencils just make it so easy and mess free.

I haven't given many props to the sentiment stamps I use all the time for Sweet Stamps.  Let's do that now.  Framed Handwritten Words SS4406 is a very versatile stamp set.  It has sentiments for many occasions including Birthdays, Anniversaries, and Thank Yous :)  You can also pick up this stamp set in another font style here:  Framed Fancy Words.

Lessons learned for this project:  let your area dry well before you go in again with your watercolor pencil.  I rushed it through one spot, and regretted the harsh color line left by the pencil.  I couldn't soften that line no matter how hard I tried :P

Come and visit the online shop for a ton of possibilities with rubber stamps, and then after you create with them, come and join in the monthly challenges!

Letter to God with Joyclair Stamps

I have a bible journaling page for you today for Joyclair Stamps, using the Letter to God Stamps set.

I had a hard time with this stamps set, and maybe it's because I haven't spoken to God in quite some time.  So I created a little prayer with the stamps from this set to say thank you for our blessings, including a happy and secure home, just like in the verse from Isaiah 32:18.

"My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places."

This is one of 4 bible journaling stamps sets from Joyclair this month.  There will be four more next month!  Come back soon!

Christmas Sprightly with Crafty Ribbons

I have a Christmas card for you today for some Crafty Ribbons inspiration.  I know, I know...Christmas is long over, but I couldn't help myself, lol.  And besides, you can never have enough Christmas cards right?

I wanted to try this technique out, and I just gravitated towards the green background, so naturally, it became a Christmas card :)

I created this card by inking up my paper first with Peeled Paint and Shabby Shutters Distress Ink.  Then I stamped the Hero Arts Sprightly stamp in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder from Recollections.  When all was dry and cooled, I took my Memento Tuxedo Black Ink pad and went direct to paper to color the paper black, right over top of the embossed image and distressed background.  After this was dry, I took a wet wipe and wiped the black ink off the embossed image.  I was left with a great contrast of color on the black background.

I finished this card with an inside sentiment from Avery Elle's Noel stamp set, some adhesive pearls from my stash, and ribbons and lace from Crafty Ribbons:

35mm Satin Ribbon in Cypress
Christmas Charm Lace in Sage
Christmas Charm Lace in Scarlet

The Christmas Charm laces are new for Christmas this past year, and are a perfect match for the Christmas Charm Ribbon Collection :)

You can find these and many other beautiful lace and ribbon at the Crafty Ribbons online shop.  Don't forget to come and visit the challenge blog for a TON of Crafty Ribbons inspiration and a chance to win some CR goodies!

Watercolor Wild Rose Pair with Sweet Stamps LLC

For my Sweet Stamps inspiration this week, I created another watercolor card, this time mixing colors from my Cotman watercolor paints.  I used the beautiful Wild Rose Pair 7037 rubber stamp from Sweet Stamps, and paired it with a sweet sentiment from the Framed Handwritten Words Stamp set SS4406.

I love how this card turned out.  I mixed all my colors for this card to create the purples and the earthy greens.  I purchased only three colors of the Windsor & Newton Cotman Series 1 watercolor paints, so to get the colors I wanted, I had to take a risk and mix, lol.

I even used a different tool this time, and masked off the flowers with masking fluid before creating the background with a wash of blue.  That stuff is super cool!

I love these Wild Rose stamps, and I have a couple more I'll be using in the near future :)

Lesson learned this project?  Hmmmmmm, I'm having trouble with that one right now.  Except maybe my lesson learned this week was the use of masking fluid and mixing colors.  Although I've been around colors my whole life (HA!) I think I need to learn how to mix brighter colors.  This purple turned out to be very muted.

Stay tuned next week, for more watercolor inspiration for Sweet Stamps and more lessons learned lol.  Come and join us on the Sweet Stamps blog for our two monthly challenges :)

Seeds of Faith with Joyclair Stamps

I have a bible journalling page for you today for Joyclair Stamps, using the Seeds of Faith stamp set.

I created this page to coincide with the verse from Matthew 17:20.

"He said to them, "Because of your little faith.  For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain 'move from here to there', and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.""

This is one of four bible journalling stamp sets from Joyclair Stamps this month and there will be more every month.  Check their blog soon to see more wonderful inspiration from the team!

Spring Medley with Quick Creations :)

It's coming, can you smell it ?  LOL!  I am so excited for Spring, and when Noelle at Quick Creations asked me to create with this image, I couldn't pass it up!  This is "Spring Medley" by A Random Fan.

Squeal!  I had fun with this one :)  I colored her using my Copics  and Prismacolor Premiere Pencils in the following colors:

Skin:  E00

PC927, 939, 1029

Hair: Y32

PC940, 1082, 946

Clothes: G00

PC920, 1006, 907, 938

Flowers: YG03, R81, Y11

PC1033, 929, 930, 911, 908

Shoes: R81

PC929, 930

To complete this project, I used paper from the Echo Park "Spring" collection, and a sentiment stamp and die from Mt Creative Time.

Noelle is always getting fun and new stuff in her shop at Quick Creations, worthy of a look-see!

See you soon!

A new challenge and some Love with Paper Nest Dolls

It's challenge time over at the Paper Nest Dolls :)
And I have created a card with the sweetest PND image, called "Love is in the Air".

I colored her using my Copics and Prismacolor Premiere pencils in the following colors:

Skin: E00
PC927, 939, 1029
Hair: E13
PC1082, 946, 948, 935
Clothes: R11, R22
PC1092, 1031, 1081, 938

I completed this project using paper from the My Mind's Eye Lost & Found - Blush collection, Spellbinders Decorative Accents Label Forty die, Spellbinders Shapeabilities Foliage Flourish die set, and Lala Land Crafts Hanging Hearts and Love Word Die set.

You can find this fun rubber stamp image in the online shop at Paper Nest Dolls :)  And don't forget to join in our new challenge :)  It's always Anything Goes :)

See you soon!

Watercolor Trees with Sweet Stamps LLC

Hello everyone, it's challenge time over at the Sweet Stamps Blog!  And, yes, I have continued my watercolor theme for the month, and created this card using  the  Tree #1 stamp from Sweet Stamps and my Shades Dye Ink to watercolor the trees :)

I stamped the trees three times, and I didn't bother to mask them because I knew the overlapping wouldn't be seen through the color.  I used Shades Dye Ink in Tank, Palm Grove, Duchess Rose and French Roast to create the greenerie on the trees, alternating between colors and layers to create shadows and depth.  Then I used French Roast and Brownie to create the tree trunks.  The ground was created using Palm Grove and Tank, and for the sky I had to break out my Cotman watercolors as I don't have a good Shades Dye Ink in Blue yet ;)  The sentiment is from the Framed Handwritten Words stamp set SS4406.

I will confess, lol, I created this card, and the next couple of cards all at the same time.  As I've mentioned before, the drying time between layers of watercolors can be tedious, so why not create more than one at a time?

And yes, I am just learning to paint with watercolor, and although I am thoroughly enjoying the journey, there are lessons to be learned with every venture.  Here are my lessons this week.  Don't create muddy colors :P  Some colors when you put them close together or on top of each other, create a color that closely resembles mud, hence the brownish trees, lol.  Try as I might to change them back to green again, it wasn't happening, lol,  Lesson learned.  Another lesson?  Sometimes Dye inks are not the best to watercolor with lol.  They are not as transparent as real watercolor paint, so they don't layer the same.  And your finished piece may not have the effect that you were hoping for.  Lesson learned , again, lol.

All in all, after I completed this piece, I came to realize that it is what it is, and I enjoyed the journey, so why not enjoy the finished product?  Everyone else seems to enjoy the outcome of this card, so why shouldn't I?  I will try not to be my worst critic any more, ya right...but I can try lol.

Next week, another watercolor card, with a different watercolor medium.  But in the meantime, why not come and join us on the Sweet Stamps blog for one of our monthly challenges?  This week the theme is Anything Goes!  Doesn't that just open up a whole realm of possibilities :)

JoyClair New Release Blog Hop :)

Hello everyone, it's time for another new release Blog Hop for Joyclair Stamps!  Remember in order to be in the running for a prize, you must leave a comment on all of the blogs in the hop.  I am sure you will find some stunning inspiration from this fabulous team, so don't skip any along the way!

I have created a bible-journaling page and a card for this hop today :)

I created this bible journaling page using the stamps set Lion and the Lamb.  I chose to match it with the verse from Proverbs 28:1.

"The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion."

This card was created using the Funny Foods stamp set.  Such a fun and simple set, but it makes me smile and I hope it does for you too :)

Remember, you must follow these rules to be able to win the prize:

1. Be a follower and leave a comment!
2. Follow us on Facebook and share about the release with your friends!  (leave another comment)
3. Follow Joy Clair on Twitter and tweet about our release, use @JoyClairStamps! (leave another comment)
4. Follow Joy Clair on Instagram and repost about our release! Use #joyclairstamps and #jccolorbyfaith (leave another comment)
5. Follow Joy Clair on Pinterest. Pin your favorite pin!

You have until Monday, March 7th, at 5pm EST to leave your comment below for your chance to win the entire release.

The lineup for the Blog Hop is here:

JC Blog

Crystal T.

Martha

Jessica

Dawn

Cornelia

Alicia

Steph

Monica

Donna

Crystal R.

Leah  **You are Here**

LeeAnn

Penny Have fun!

A Monochromatic Challenge at Crafty Ribbons!

This weeks new challenge is up over at the Crafty Ribbons Challenge blog, and the theme is monochromatic.  I have created this multi-layered tag in browns/bronze with some fun ribbons too :)

To complete this tag, I water colored and die cut and had some fun with the following ribbons from Crafty Ribbons :)

Vintage Butterfllies - French Latte
Vintage Butterflies - Bikes Latte
Vintage Butterflies - Birds Latte
Handmade Ribbon - Cream

You can find all of these fabulous ribbons in the Crafty Ribbons online store.  And don't forget, this post marks the start of a new challenge over on the Crafty Ribbons Challenge Blog!  The theme this challenge is Monochromatic!

Watercolor Poppies with Sweet Stamps LLC

Hello everyone, I hope your March is great and snow starts to melt :)  For Sweet Stamps, I have started this month with watercolor, and I think I may just continue that theme throughout the month.  I am learning how to watercolor, and I'm really enjoying it.  I have been an acrylic painter for years, so I'm no stranger to a brush, but it is a task to learn a new medium.  I find myself attempting to make acrylic rules  work for watercolor lol, and that's not how it's supposed to be done, lol.

For this project, I made two cards, essentially identical, except for the colors.

I stamped the image using Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Antique Linen, so the lines were barely visible.  Then I painted them with my Cotman watercolors.  The background is dry embossed using my Cuttlebug.  The floral image is Poppies ATC 1007 by Sweet Stamps, and the sentiment is Beautiful Day 919 from Sweet Stamps.

This image is so versatile, and poppies come in all kinds of colors, not just the red that we see all the time, and associate with poppies :)  So why  not go out of my comfort zone and try a blue one too?

There are two lessons I learned while creating these cards: one is that when painting watercolor images, there is a lot of waiting time, so creating more than one card at a time is very beneficial, and efficient!  The second lesson is that I should have painted a background before starting to paint the focal image.  After the image was painted, I decided I wanted a background, but was worried about ruining the flowers that I had already painted.  Lessons learned lol.

Come back and visit often for more Sweet Stamps inspiration, and you can visit the Sweet Stamps blog for tons more inspiration from the rest of the talented design team!  Visit the shop for tons of great stamps and other papercrafting tools and stamps :)