Masculine Love with Joy Clair Designs

 Well hello again :)  I have created another masculine card this month!  This time a Valentine's Day card in some neutral colors, using the Always in Style digital stamp set from Joy Clair Designs.

Happy Easter with Joy Clair Designs

 Good afternoon my crafty friends!  I have created a bright and super cute Easter card to share with you today using the Speckled Egg Background Digital Stamp from Joy Clair Designs!

Sweet Sentiment August Sketch Challenge

It's time for a new Sketch Challenge over at Sweet Sentiment!  This month I have created a mixed media tag with a fun Stamping Bella image :)

Kinda Cute by Patricia Alvarez Guest Design Project #3

Hello all!  Today is my last guest design post for Kinda Cute by Patricia Alvarez, and I created this card using the Dragon with Bird digital stamp.

Sweet Sentiment August Class and Kit Project

It's time to show my project using the August kit from Sweet Sentiment!

The kit for August includes this sweet gnome digital stamp from Kinda Cute by Patricia Alvarez and an awesome mushroom die and cloud stencil, both from CC Designs! :) I used the cloud stencil from CC Designs and my Distress Inks to create the background and added some of the mushroom die cuts to add more depth.  Then I fussy cut the gnomes and added them on top!  The sentiment is one I had in my stash.  All in all, a super cute but totally flat card you can send to a friend! If you are interested in this digital stamp and the class to color it in, go and visit the Sweet Sentiment website and join up!  But remember, the only way to guarantee yourself a kit is to subscribe :) Jammie Clark is the teacher behind the classes and she is just wonderful.  She makes it so easy to learn these techniques.

Kinda Cute by Patricia Alvarez Guest Design Project #2

Today is great! And sharing it with friends makes it that much better :)  I have another guest design project for you today for Kinda Cute by Patricia Alvarez using the super cute "Dragon and Gnome" digital stamp.

The Greeting Farm, Walk Through Wednesday and 7 Kids Crafts

Hello!  Leah here with a Greeting Farm card made with the "With Love" stamp set and some masking.  The Greeting Farm is this month's featured vendor over at 7 Kids Crafts, so use the code "TGF" to get 20% off your TGF order!

LDRS/Polkadoodles and 7 Kids Crafts

Good day everyone!  This month at 7 Kids Crafts, the featured category is anything flowers!  Use the code Flowers to get %20 off!  I have created a fun card using the LDRS/Polkadoodles Stamp & Cut set called "Daisy Daisy".

Friday Feature - Prima Marketing Water Color Pencils!

I am back with the last of the Watercolor Pencil Friday Features, but don't worry...next week I will start a new series of Friday feature cards featuring one of my favorite stamp sets and creating different cards with one set.

So for this week, I have my second most favorite card, and watercolor pencils.  These pencils are by Prima Marketing and they are great!  Very creamy and smooth :)

This card turned out so great!  I am very happy with it.  The flowers are from Stampin' Up although I don't know the name of the stamp...if you know it, let me know in the comments below!  The sentiment is also from Stampin' Up, from the "Yippee Skippee" set.

So that's all for the Watercolor Pencils Friday Features...and the winners are?  Definitely without a doubt...Derwent Inktense in first place and Prima Marketing a close second!  I'm loving them both, and next I wil try mixing them up to see if I can blend them together well....yay!

As I stated above, next week I will start the new Friday Features using one of my favorite stamp sets and creating different cards with the same set.  And I'm gonna leave it a surprise as to which stamp set it is hehehe.  See you next week!

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 :)

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 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 :)

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 :)

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 :)

Easter Eggs! With Joyclair!

It's coming soon!  Easter eggs will be scattered throughout your house (if you have young ones of course, lol) and yes, some will be forgotten behind couches lol, but such is the peril of having kids lol.

For my Joyclair project for this newly released stamp (Easter Eggs) set I have created a card in sweet soft colors:

I completed this card using Shades Dye Ink Spots from Sweet Stamps LLC in Latte, Deco Coral, Amaryllis, and Satin Rose, Crinkle Ribbon from Tim Holtz, and some adhesive pearls from my stash.

I really enjoyed creating this project and these fun stamps allowed me to create my own background paper.  Not much else was needed to complete this project; the stamps are perfect and speak for themselves!

You can find this stamp set, and the rest of the eight new releases on the Joyclair website.  Don't forget to come and join the blog hop over at the Joyclair blog for loads of inspiration!

Piggyback Love Inspiration with the Paper Nest Dolls

It's time for some fun inspiration for the Paper Nest Dolls, and I have created a fun loving card using Piggyback Love :)

I completed this card using Crate Paper Notes & Things paper, a Joy Clair Sentiment Stamp, Sizzix Framelits Fancy Labels die set, some recollections adhesive bling and my Copics and Prismacolor Premiere pencils in the following colors:

Skin:  E000
PC927, 939, 1029
Hair:  E53, E99
PC947, 941, 948, 997, 1099
Clothes:  RV17, R81, B00, G00
PC1100, 1040, 920, 907, 903, 938, 1006, 994, 995, 931, KIN 14

You can find this and many other fun rubber stamp images to create with at the Paper Nest Dolls online shop.  And don't forget to come and join us at the challenge blog for our monthly Anything Goes challenge!

See you over there!

Thankful Crafty Ribbon Inspiration

I have some Crafty Ribbons inspiration for you today.  I have created a Thankful card using some beautiful lace.

I created this card using a lace stamp from Recollections, a sentiment stamp from Joyclair, Shades dye ink from Sweet Stamps and the Morlaix Cotton Lace in Ivory and the Handmade Ribbon Label in Cream from Crafty Ribbons.

Their ribbons and lace are fantastic quality and look so pretty on any project.  Come and join us for our bi-weekly challenges over at the Crafty Ribbons Challenge Blog for some fun and inspiration and a chance to win some of this great ribbon!

Some Mirabelle Decoupage Inspiration with Quick Creations

Hello everyone.  I have a different form of inspiration for you today for Noelle at Quick Creations.  It may not be new to you, but it is new to me :)  This is a decoupage set from Santoro's Mirabelle Collection.  The set includes six layers of an image, which you can then glue onto whatever base you choose.  I chose to do a card, go figure :)

I layered all six of these layers using dimensional adhesives to give it a very 3 dimensional look.  To finish it off I added some paper from the Mirabelle 2 paper collection also by Santoro/Trimcraft, and some lace from Crafty Ribbons.

You can find this kit in Noelle Martin's online shop at Quick Creations.  And don't forget to come and join us for the Monthly challenge over on the Quick Creations blog for a chance to win some prizes and have some fun :)

See you next time!

Merry Christmas! with Crafty Ribbons

Hello everyone, Christmas is slowly creeping towards us, but at a steady pace at least!  Are you ready yet?

I have created a fun Christmas card today for Crafty Ribbons, using the Christmas Charm Ribbon - Badges.

You can this and many other fun Christmas ribbons over at the Crafty Ribbons website.  Our 12 weeks of Christmas challenges are over for the year, but come back in January and join in the new bi-weekly challenges over on the Crafty Ribbons challenge blog!

Peace Joy Love Christmas Tags with Crafty Ribbons

I have been a busy little beaver lately, with the new job and Christmas is only 3 weeks away!  I still have to finish my Christmas shopping, plus...the holiday Craft Show season is upon us!  Phew, that'll keep a girl busier than usual that's for sure!

For my inspiration post for Crafty Ribbons this week, I have created some cute little Christmas tags, using watercolor and embossing powder, as well as the Peace Love Joy ribbon from Crafty Ribbons, I think this is my favorite of the new ribbons for 2015.  It is so classy looking and appropriate, especially given the amount of tragedy throughout the world.

You can find this ribbon and plenty more exclusive gorgeous ribbons on the Crafty Ribbons website!  And you can also come and join us for the bi-weekly challenges over on the challenge blog!  We are still in the midst of our 12 weeks of Christmas challenges, where we are having a new challenge every week, so hurry up and join us!