Crafty Ribbons Inspiration week

It's my inspiration day at Crafty Ribbons, and I have made a Happy Birthday card for you:)  I have used the Swiss Dots grosgrain ribbon in Cappuccino and pink.

I have been experimenting with watercolor backgrounds lately and really enjoying it :)

So here you go!

Cheeky New Release from The East Wind :)

It's new release day at The East Wind !  This time, Unky has created for you a new Diva Lisa image, called Cheeky II.  She is gorgeous!

I colored her with my favorite medium, Prismacolor Premiere Pencils (of course :) And added some paper blocks and a Cheery Lynn die cut, but she really doesn't need a lot of embellishment.

To find this and many more original and awesome images by Unky Lastrange, please visit The East Wind Etsy shop or website.  Don't forget about the FB challenges!  You can also find The East Wind on Instagram!

Happy Easter and a Challenge and Blog Hop at Crafty Ribbons!

Happy Easter is coming soon and with it comes a new challenge over at the Crafty Ribbons Challenge Blog :)

The theme for this weeks challenge is EASTER!  Awesome challenge theme don't ya think?  It finally feels like spring is coming over here in my neck of the woods...how about a Blog Hop to celebrate!  There are 12 stops along the hop, and at each stop a letter will be revealed for you :)  At the end of the hop you should be able to unscramble all letters to reveal a word (s).  A nifty prize pack from Crafty Ribbons is just waiting for you to win!

I have used the Clermont Lace and some striped ribbon from the Crafty Ribbons shop for this piece.  The background is done with watercolor, and the Altenew stamp is heat embossed with Champagne embossing powder.

My letter is O

You should have arrived here from Carol's blog and your next hop will take you to Marg.  Thanks for stopping by, have a great day and a fabulous hop!  Good Luck!

Never Have A Sympathy Card When You Need One...

A terrible tragedy overtook a family in my area a couple weeks ago.  The family had been out of town for a hockey tournament, and on the way home, the grandfather had a stroke while driving the van, carrying his daughter and two grand daughters and grand son.  The two grand daughters and the grand father passed away, leaving the mother and the grandson in critical condition in the hospital in Toronto.  I knew the older girl, she went to school where I work, and the whole school community felt such a deep loss.  During this time, I thought to myself, I never have a sympathy card when I need one.  We don't like to think we will ever need them, but we do, and we will.

So I poured my heart and soul into this watercolor sympathy card and I will have it on hand when I need, should I need it, and yes, I know....at some point...I will need it.  Sad as it is :(

I used an Altenew stamp that I just adore and heat embossed the image with clear embossing powder.  The I used my brand new Zig watercolors to paint - inside the lines so-to-speak.  I love the outcome of this, so perfect and classy.  I used a stamp from my stash for the sentiment (sorry I don't know what company the stamp is from) and added dew drops with my Ranger Glossy Accents.

I am supremely impressed with this new stamp company.  The Altenew stamps are so crisp and clear and don't seem to require any conditioning at all.  I will definitely be ordering from them again soon :)

A special gift from Fairy Avery and The Paper Nest Dolls

It's a good day to be a fairy :)  The sun is shining, finally there is no wind and the snow is melting.  It is a good day to be anybody! lol

I have chosen Fairy Avery with gift for my challenge piece this week for The Paper Nest Dolls.  And I have colored her up in nice bright colors.  The only problem came when I went to build her a card, lol.  I am in the process of moving, and realized that I had packed all of my nice bright patterned paper.  So I used what I had on hand, and I think she turned out ok :)

Fairy Avery with Gift by The Paper Nest Dolls

I colored her using my Prismacolor Premiere Pencils.  They are my favorite medium, however, I have been experimenting with new mediums...copics and watercolors!  Loving every single one I try, which is not always a good thing, lol...as my bank account to attest to :P

Fairy Avery with Gift by The Paper Nest Dolls

As always the challenges are Anything Goes :)  And Christine always has a great prize pack for the winner.  You can find the rules and inlinkz doohickey at the challenge blog here :)

AND...
there's a special party coming up on 12th of April to celebrate some new releases!  Along with new dolls to see, there will also be prizes!  Don't forget to mark your calenders!

A favourite new technique and Quick Creations :)

One of my favorite new techniques is the white pencil crayon on black card stock :)  And this is the first image I tried it with.  This is Bella with Daisy by Wild Rose Studio for Quick Creations and Noelle Martin (she's such a sweetie-pie).

I love the simplicity of this technique (plus it cuts down on the amount of supplies to bring with you if yer on the move :), and the starkness of the white on black just makes the image stand out that bit more.  I prefer to use pencil for this technique, although I'm sure you could achieve it with other mediums, because it allows me to add the shading by softening my pressure on the pencil.

You can find this awesome rubber stamp image in Noelle's online store at Quick Creations :)  Don't forget about the monthly challenges for a chance to win a gift certificate the store!

Other products used in this project include ribbon from Crafty Ribbons :)

The East Wind Newsletter Freebie

It's April 1st, and do you know what that means???  It's newsletter freebie day at The East Wind!  If you haven't signed up for the newsletter yet, go here right now and get it done :)

This month's newsletter freebie is Aurora Summer Breeze and she is dreamy.

Aurora Summer Breeze by The East Wind

 I colored this beauty with my Prismacolor Premiere Pencils in the following colors:

Skin - PC927, 939, 1029
Hair - PC1070, 1072, 1074, 1076, 935
Lips - PC1014, 1029
Eyes - PC1096, 908, 935
Dress - PC1089, 1096, 908, 938
Flowers - PC1043

Aurora Summer Breeze by The East Wind

You can find many more awesome images from The East Wind over at the Etsy shop :)  Don't forget to join in the Facebook Challenges and find TEW on Instagram too!