Poppies & Butterflies - Sneak Peek - SSS58

Can you believe today is the start of the Memorial Day Weekend already!  I'm finally getting to open my pool today.  Hopefully by Monday, when it's going to be in the 90's, I'll have the deck cleaned and sealed, and my flower beds planted. and I can enjoy a day in the sun.

Speaking of sun, my card is a bit of sunshine today with some bright yellow poppies. The poppy and butterflies are from two clear stamp sets being released by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps on Tuesday June 1st.  Be sure to stop by here then for the release Blog Hop. For those of you that LOVE digi's, these images are available now as digi's.  I love digi's, but I really missed the stamps. I'm so glad Sweet 'n Sassy is making both available to you all.
The images were colored in with Copic Markers. Yellow Stickles was added to the center of the poppies for a little extra sparkle and liquid glass was added to the butterflies. The colors of the butterflies didn't photograph very well. The poppy flowers actually have three layers for added dimension.

The inspiration for this card came from the Saturday sketch over at The Sweet 'n Sassy Sweet Stop Blog.  You can find some great sketches there. Come over and play along with us.

The Happy Birthday and the cute flower bunch above it is from a stamp set called "Fringed Phrases"  from Close to my Heart.  The papers are from CTMH also.

The Hand stitching around the card was done with matching enbroidery floss.

Sweet Peas - CPCmag - CASE Arftist Grace

This is my second post for today. I actually started this card last Saturday, but other obligations got in my way of finishing it. And today is the last day of the challenge at Christian Paper Crafts CASE Artist Saturday.

This is my first time playing in this challenge, but I have admired Grace’s artwork for a long time and as soon as I saw it was Case Grace, I had to play. You see, I had admired her Sweet Pea card and it was one of the reasons I actually got that stamp set, and then I never used it. So, this case was a no brainer. Here is her GORGEOUS card for you to check out. It's the second card. You can't miss it.

I used a Flourishes stamp set called Sweet Peas.
My cardstock is from Close to my Heart and the DP is Basic Grey, Porcelain.
I stamped with Memento Black Ink pad and colored with Copic Markers.
I also colored the half pearls with my Copics.

The Hand Stitching was done with matching embroidery floss. Yes, I know, Grace didn't have any stitching, but the hand stitching is actually my signature on my cards. I very seldom make a card without it. It's just something I LOVE to do.

Daisies and Butterflies Sneak Peek! - OCC

Today I have a Sneak Peek of two stamps sets being realeased by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. They are going back to selling clear stamps as well as Digi's. And the grand release Blog Hop and release party will be Tuesday June 1st. The release party will be on the SNR group. More detail and links on Tuesday.  You won't want to miss all the fun games and prizes!

My inspiration for my card today came from a great sketch over at Our Creative Corner Blog.

The images were stamped then colored with Copic Markers.  The daisies were actually stamped three times, colored, cut out and mounted for a 3D affect. I added stickles glitter to the daisies.

After the butterflies were colored and cut out, they were then coated with a coat of liquid glass to make the colors more vibrant and shiny. The colord are much prettier in person.     

The papers and ribbon is from Close to my Heart.

The hand stitching was done with matching embroidery floss.

Other Challenge Blogs that this cardwas made for:
C.R.A.F.T. - Blue and Green

Anemones and Butterflies - SSS57

Wow, it seems like it's been forever since I posted last. Where does the time go.

The inspiration for today card came from a sketch over at The Sweet Stop.  I flipped it 90° to accommodate my image.  If you need inspiration and haven't tried any of their sketches, you really need to hop on over and give them a try. I'm addicted to sketch challenges and they really help with my creativity.

I really love the color combination of green, yellow, and pink together. Maybe I need to start doing color challenges also to get away from my favorites. You never know what new favorites I might find.

All papers, ribbon and half pearls are from Close to my Heart.

The fantastic Digi Images are from Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps. The one is called “Anemone Flower”, and the Butterflies are from “Everyday Miracles.” I think you’re going to be seeing lots more cards from me with these two sets. I’m just so in love with them.
The Butterflies and Anemone's were printed twice, colored with Copic Markers, cut out and mounted for a 3D affect.

The light green panel was dry embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. It's eally hard to see in the photo, but there is Stickles glitter on the wings of the butterflies and the centers of the flowers.

The Hand Stitching was done with matching embroidery floss.

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to come by next week for some sneak peaks of the new “Clear Stamps” Sweet ‘n Sassy is releasing on June 1st. Those of you who love their images but don’t like Digi’s, you’re voice has been heard!!!

Here are a few other Challenge Blogs this card was made for:
Pixie Dust Studios - Pearls
The Play Date Cafe - Pale yellow, Light green & Pink
Digi Doodle Shop - Sparkle, Glitter, & Glitz
Clearly I Stamp - April showers bring May flowers

We have a winner.........

Thank you everyone for hopping along to Deedee's Grand opening Blog Hop.
Please be sure to stop by  Deedee's store to see her fantastic images, pick up a few and get creative.

The winner of a FREE image from my blog for Deedee's Grand Opening Blog Hop is..........

# 25
mamichelle said...
Beautiful card! Love the design, your coloring, image, etc.

Congratulations!!!
Please contact Deedee at amiste@sonic.net for your free digi.

Waltzing Mouse 1st Birthday Blog Waltz

Well, it's that time of the month again. Time for another Waltzing Mouse Blog Waltz. This month is thier 1st Birthday, so the theme of the waltz is Birthdays. It's good I double checked before putting this together because my original Sentiment said Happy Anniversary.

I got my inspiration for this card from a sketch from The Pixie Cottage. They had another choice to distress elements of the card or make it vintage. I did some light sponging of Desert Sand Ink around the edges of all the pieces.
The black background was dry embossed with a cuttlebug folder.

Anyway, back to my stamps. The flowers are from a beautiful Waltzing Mouse stamp set called Spring Baskets. The floweres were stamped four times and colored with Copic Markers. I love the color red and combined it with some beautiful Close to my Heart papers of Black, Tan, & White, called Silhouette. The red crystals are also from CTMH but they were clear and I colored them with my matching red Copic Marker. There's a tiny one dotting the "i" in Birthday also.

I handstitched just the left side of the card this time with matching embroidery floss.

Other Challenges that fit this card:
Cowgirls' Sunday Challenge - Color Challenge - Red, Black & White.
Magical Crafts Challenge - Black, White + one more color.

Wonderful Friend - SSS56

Good Morning!
Well, it's a gorgeous day her in PA. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and there's a slight breeze in the air. But what makes it extra special is that I'm on my way to my friend Joyce's house to meet up with our old roomie from CTMH Conventions past, whom I haven't seen in four years. Debbie is from Oklahoma and Joyce, Debbie & I would spend a fun filled week, every year at convention, with sleepless nights and lots of laughing. Four years is a long time and I've missed her terribly.

So, before I leave, I'd better get this card posted. The inspiration for this card came from the Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge today. This weeks challenge also included a spin. It is to be for a guy. So, hop on over there and play along with us this week and gat a chance to win something fun from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.

I have this great CTMH June Stamp of the Month set called Wonderful Friend, that I used for my card. This is a great set for Birthdays or Father's Day.  I always struggle makiing masculine cards since I love to work with flowers. The sentiment, watch, argyle border, and even the green stamped corners are just a few of the stamps in this set.
The papers, big brads, and ribbon are also CTMH.

The Hand stitching was done with matching embroidery floss.

Lady Bug Hugs - Blog Hop for Deedee's Digi's

Good Morning and Happy Hopping!!!

Today is the official opening of Deedee's Digi Store. And, we are having a Blog Hop so you can see artwork with some of her fantastic Digi Stamps.
Use the line-up of DT at the top of my sidebar for hopping ease.

My card today was inspired by a sketch from Caardvarks.  They have two fabulous sketches this week so I really have to make time to work with the other one too.

My card features a new digi stamp from Deedee's digi's called Lady Bug Hugs. Isn't this just the cutest.
I hope my card looks better on your monitor then it does on mine. You really can tell they are lady bugs in person. It's hard to see that in the scan. The images were printed three times, colored with copic markers, cut out and mounted with foam tape for a 3D look.

The center of the flowers has flower soft for added dimension.

The top border was punched with a MS punch then cuttlebugged. The bottom was punched with a MS fence punch. I chose to put the bottom border on top of the image rather then behind as in the sketch.

The designer papers, liquid glass, and the ribbon are from Close to my Heart. The liquid glass was added to all the lady bugs for dimension and make them look shiny.

The hand stitching around the card was done with matching embroidery floss.

Leave a comment here on my blog, by Sunday evening, May 16th, to win a FREE DIGI of your choice from Deedee's store! To see what you have to choose from, CLICK HERE! THEN be sure to go through the entire BLOG HOP list and leave comments on the other designers' blogs as well for even MORE chances to win! OH, and the final STOP has a freebie digi to grab and has the GRAND PRIZE posted there too, so don't miss that!

GOOD LUCK!

Other Challenges with this card:
Pixie Dust Studio - Cut it Out
Digi Doodle - Ribbon
Meljen's Designs - Flowers & Blooms
Shelly's Images - Anything Goes
Shirley's 2 Girls - Ribbon
Dare U2 Digi Stamp - Anything goes

Pink Lily of the Valley

I love the sweet smell of Lily of the Valley. I only have a few and hope they soon start spreading. I have to find some pink ones to plant with them. I wonder if the pink ones smell as sweet as the white ones do.

This card was inspired by this Wednesday's Sketch at Splitcoast Stampers. I had to flip it slightly to make it work with my image.

The Lily of the Vally Digi image is from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. I colored them with Copic Markers. The flowers are a pale pink and then I added some diamond stickles to them for a little extra bling.

The papers, ribbon and buttons I used are from Close to my Heart.
I distressed the edges of all pieces very lightly with Desert Sand Ink.
The sentiment and matting was cut from Labels Nine Nesties.
The Hand Stitching was done with matching embroidery floss.

Other Challenges that inspired the making of this card:
Clearly I Stamp - April Showers bring May Flowers
A Spoonful of Sugar - 3 Designer papers & 3 Buttons
Doodle Palace - 3 buttons, 2 papers, 1 ribbon
Papertake Weekly Challenge - Shiny, Sparkly & Special
Craft Your Passion - Pink & Green
Crafty Cardmaker - Distressing
Cupcake Craft Challenge - Buttons
Paper, Scissors & Rocks - Die Cuts
Digi Doodle - Ribbon

Poppy Field - SSS55

Happy Mother's Day

I know I'm a day early, but this is just in case I don't get a chance to post anything tomorrow.

I hope you all have a wonderful and Blessed Mother's Day tomorrow.

My inspiration today came form a sketch Challenge over at The Sweet Stop. If you like sketches then you will love the ones there.

I used the new Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Stamp called "Poppies" again. Since the image area on this sketch was bigger then most times, I thought I would try to make it resemb;e a poppy field. The original image is three poppies and a bud.
I printed the image out numerous times and even did it as a mirror image.
They were colored with Copic Markers then many of the flowers were cut out and mounted with foam tape for a 3D affect. The centers of the flowers has black glitter.

I thought it really needed some butterflies too.
The designer paper is from a new Paper Pack from Close to mY Heart called Cherry-O. And the Big button is from the new Tulip Mini Medlies.

The hand stitching was done with matching embroidery floss.

Here are more Challenges with this card:
Stampin' Sisters in Christ - Stitching
Lily of the Valley - Here comes Summer
Tellen's Place - Butterflies
Clearly I Stamp - Flowers
Dare You To Digi Stamp - Anything goes
If the Shoe Fits, Scrap It - Monther's Day

Forget-Me-Nots - SCS Wed. Sketch Challenge

I made this card on Wednesday for the Splitcoast Stampers Sketch challenge and forgot to put it on my blog. So, here it is now.


I use the Digi Stamp from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, called Forget-Me-Not.  This is an old but a goodie and I use it a lot. It was printed twice, colored with copic markers and some flowers cut out and mounted with foam tape for dimension. The centers have a yellow/gold glitter.


The papers are from a new pack callede Splendor from Close to my Heart.
I used Goldrush Organdy ribbon and blue and green Dew Drops.


The hand stitching around the card was done with matching embroidery floss.

Poppies - Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #52

Good Morning and Happy Thursday!!!

Today is Digi Day for Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps over at SNR and Paper Craft Planet. The theme for this week is "Let's Get Lacey." So, if you like challenges and want to pick up a FREE Digi Stamp then head on over to one of these places and play along before midnight tonight. You will also get a coupon for 25% off of anything in their store if you play along before Midnight Wednesday May 12th.

The inspiration for my card today came from Midnight Madness Sketch Challeng #52. Priscilla gives you a choice of two sketches and of course I used the more elaborate one. When I finished my card, I could have kicked myself because I covered up all the gorgeous paper from K & Co.

The Digi Image I used is called "Poppies", from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.
I printed my first image three times so I could cut and layer the flowers for a 3D affect. I then made the image smaller and printed it again with a mirror image. This was cut out and mounted with foam tape for more dimension. This is the two smaller poppies towards the bottom. I just eanted to give it a fuller look and by printing a mirrow image, it ballances out the focal point.  They were all colored with Copic Markers.

The tag was dry embossed and is not removable. It's just there to be decorative.
I followed the theme of lace for todays digi challenge by using a Martha Stewart border punch and also some lace ribbon from Close to my Heart. I think the corners I added also add a lacy feel.

The Hand Stitching around the card was done with matching Embtoidery Floss.

Other Challenges for this Card:
Creative Belli Blog - Birthday
C.R.A.F.T. Challenge 49 -Wedding/Birthday
Delightful Sketches - Punches

Spring Baskets - Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge

Wow, what I wouldn't do for the chance to win all EIGHT new release stamp sets from The Waltzing Mouse.  It's going on 3:00 AM and I was determined to play along. I just had so many other things that needed to be done this week and it didn't happen before this. The deadline is 12:00 noon Ireland time, which is 7:00 AM my time. Whew, 4 hours to spare. I hope to get a better picture as soon as there's daylight.

My card uses the Spring Baskets stamp set from Waltzing Mouse.  They are celebrating their first anniversary and are celebrating with a new release and sketch challenge.
I stasmped the flower bunch numerous times then colored them with copic markers, cut them out and mounted them with foam take for a more dimensional lood.

I added bitty sparkles to each of the three butterflies and stickles to the center of the flowers fo some added Bling!

The hand stitching around the card was done with white embroidery floss.
Well, I'm going to bed. I'll check for typo's in the morning. I really don't like this version of blogger because they took the spell check away.