Viva La Verve Week 1

I finally got a chance to play along with Verve's weekly challenge.  I'd wanted to play along last year, but somehow never got around to it.  Each week a new sketch is uploaded onto their Splitcoast Stamper's forum.  Here's the thread for week one.  And, here's what I came up with:

The background is made with several different grey and pink patterned papers edged with tea dye distress ink.  A brown ribbon loop behind my stamped image helps the image to pop a bit more.  Since Valentine's Day is around the corner, I decided to challenge myself to create Valentine's themed cards along with the sketches.

Stop by tomorrow for the next challenge card!  See ya later alligators!

Gettin Sketchy

Hi, I'm back with a second post today!  I know, I'm surprised too. :)  My Favorite Things has changed their weekly challenge to a weekly sketch challenge.  I had some extra time to stamp this weekend and I decided to play along.  Here's what I came up with:

The dancing girl is from MFT's Dancing the Night Away stamp set.  I colored her with copic markers, brushed her skirt with candlelight Shimmers paint and added a rhinestone belt to her dress.  Once my image was die cut, I sponged it with Aquatic Splash chalk ink and added just a touch of distress ink to the edges.  I sponged a scrap piece of paper doily with distress inks and finished off the card with three silver pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty.

Since I'm off from work until Thursday, I plan on playing along with Verve's Viva La Verve weekly challenge, too!  :)  Look for those later this week.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Square Cards

Hi guys!!  I'm back with a couple of card that I created with inspiration from this lovely card by Dawn McVey.  I love her clean yet colorful cards!!

For this first card, I stamped a strip of polka dots from PTI's polka dots basics II stamp set in Shabby Shutters distress ink.  Slightly above it, I attached a glimmer misted paper doily and added some satin ribbon right in between the dots and the doily.  I stamped a piece of simply chartreuse cardstock with PTI's library card in Fresh Snow ink and then die cut it using a nestie.  I die cut several layers of book print using PTI's Signature Series Butterfly die and then hand sewed them onto the card using embroidery floss.  A simple sentiment on the right hand corner finishes off this card.

For this card, I stamped a strip of text style II in peeled paint, used the other half of the glimmer misted doily, and swapped out the thicker ribbon for a brighter green ribbon and added a button to the bow for added detail.  This library card was printed onto craft cardstock, stamped with a flourish from the Embellishments stamp set and then glimmer misted.  I love how the glimmer mist made the distress ink run slightly to give it an aged look.  The dress form was die cut and stamped using PTI's Signature Series dress form.

I think these cards will make a great note card set for a quick hostess gift.  What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by!

Love is in the Air

Hi guys!!  I'm back with a new card to show today.  When Nicole sent me my first batch of stamps, she included this beauty with it.  I've been wanting to create a card with it since then, and I've only now gotten around to creating one.

I decided to keep the layout rather simple since the image is so large.  In order to accommodate the image, I decided to use a square base for my card.  

Prickley Pear will be hosting a 4 day blog hop starting January 29th.  Along the way, there will also be a chance to win new stamp sets each day.  Be sure to stop by and play along!

Thanks for stopping by.

Coming Soon

Hi peeps!!  I know I've been very quiet around here lately, but that's just because I'm gearing up for Prickly Pear's upcoming release.  Please stay tuned, these new stamps will knock your socks off!! ;)

Moments

Hi guys, as you're reading this I'll be on my way to El Paso for the holidays.  I have to admit, Christmas is my favorite time of the year.  I love all the cheesy Christmas songs on the radio and I love to wrap gifts!  So, right now, I'm probably wrapping gifts while singing some cheesy song, lol.  Okay, so here's today's card:

This card has lots of my favorite elements: embossed metal, a die cut flower, a pearl pin, velvet, and jumbo scallops.  I cut a piece of my favorite Ten Seconds metal and embossed it with a Tim Holtz embossing folder.  My flower was made using Tim's tattered florals die and aida cloth, with a pearl brad to finish it off.  My hat pin was made using extra pearls and spacers from my bead box.  The scallops were made from Graphic 45 paper using MFT's jumbo scallop border die.  Can you see how I lined up the pearls so they look continuous from one layer to another?  I love that!

If I don't make it back here before Christmas, I wish you all a safe and wonderful holiday season.  Merry Christmas!!

Warm Chocolate

We had a bit of a cold spell last week and it really made me crave some hot chocolate by the fireplace.  So, when I was stamping, I naturally gravitated towards this image.  It's my favorite from Whiff of Joy. 

I used Mercy's sketch from last week to make the card.  I must've had another card in mind when I colored this image because it was already sponged in blue.  I decided that it didn't bother me enough to stamp a new image and decided to add a bit of red to the edges to make it coordinate a bit more with the patterned paper.  I used some crinkly ribbon to make my ruffles and aged the doily with a bit of distress ink.

That's all I've got for today.  Enjoy a cup of hot chocolate for me :)

Holiday Cookin'

Good morning sunshines!!  I've got a cute card to share today that reminds me of all the holiday cooking I will NOT be doing this year!!  Lol! 

As you can tell, I'm still totally in love with my new a la mode stamps from MFT.  I stamped this card a while back but forgot to edit it until earlier this week. The picture doesn't show it well, but I added crystal glaze to the bowl with a brush to give it a glazed ceramic look that's wonderful in person.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Christmas SFYTT

Howdy bloggers, how's the holiday season treating you?  Surprisingly, I'm more than halfway done with my Christmas list and I already know what I'm getting for the rest of the people on my list.  Yay, me!!  So with a little bit of extra time on my hands, I decided to participate in this week's SFYTT.  Luckily, this week's challenge was to use one of their older sketches so I was able to pick the one that suits my pre-stamped image.

This cute little bear is from The Cat's Pajamas and he's colored with my copics.  I added stardust to both bows and crystal glaze to his honey jar and this candy cane.  I stamped my background with red barn distress ink on kraft paper using PTI's Polka Dots background stamp.  I die cut the snowflakes using an MFT die out of red cardstock and vellum.

Here's to a wonderful season with plenty of elves to help you complete your Christmas shopping!  Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas

Most of my cards I've made these past few weeks are quite festive and today's card is no exception. 

I made this card using last week's Mojo Monday sketch.  I made it last Monday but due the earlier sunsets I couldn't photograph it until Saturday morning.  I was surprised once I finished the card to realize it has no stamping on it.  I also finished it in about 10 minutes.  I used several long neglected stickers, some new crinkly ribbon, a pearl strip, and bells to create this card.  Easy peasy.  How do you create 10 minute cards?

Thanks for stopping by!

It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Ack!!  Christmas is just around the corner and, as usual, I've left holiday shopping until the last minute.  It's time to start getting organized and making my To Do lists.  So to help me out, I decided to make a little notepad holder.

I made the cover just a smidge longer and wider than the notepad so the edges won't get yucky on the notepad.  I also added a small pocket to the inside for tucking in receipts, cards, etc.

I used my new Graphic 45 and Pink Paislee Christmas papers for my front panel.  My snowflakes were made with MFT's Let It Snowflake die-namic using red felt and white cardstock.  A pair of tiny bells finished out my bow.  The girl's boots and earmuffs are covered in chocolate flock and I added liquid applique to her hat.

Now I'm ready to do some Christmas shopping!  Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday Girl

Hi guys!!  Did you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday?  We had a great time celebrating with my family!  A few weeks before going home, my aunt celebrated her birthday.  So I made a card for her, but I didn't post it here because I know she likes to stop by every once in a while.

I made this card CASEing THIS gorgeous card by Melody Rupple.  She has the most amazing, romantic style ever!  I love her use of layers, lace, and sponging.  These cute a la mode girls are currently some of my favorite stamps! 

Thanks for stopping by!

What's Cookin'

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!  I decided to post this card in honor of today's cooking and eating frenzy! Lol.  Although I won't be cooking up a storm today, since we'll be driving into El Paso, I WILL be indulging in the eating frenzy part of it. :) 

I made this cute card using MFT's a la mode girl, called What's Cooking.  Aren't these a la mode girls just the cutest!!  I've been stamping and coloring up a storm with them, so you can expect to see lots of a la modes for a while.

I pulled out my long neglected Prismacolors and OMS to color her in.  Her apron is paper pieced using some patterned paper from my new Circa 1934 paper pad.  I added some liquid applique to her ruffle and used Paula's glitter technique for her bowl.  I added a  few cream pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty to the patterned paper for some interest.  The vanilla and red stripped ribbon in from Stampin Up and the hat pins are from Maya Road.

I hope everyone has a wonderfully blessed day!  Thanks for stopping by!

Fall Bird

When I first posted about this beautiful stamp from Prickley Pear, I mentioned that with the right colored bling, you could transform this card to fit any season.  This one is my interpretation of fall.

I used some beautiful Webster's patterned paper for my background and added some burlap in the form of an accent strip and flower for a more rustic feel.  I stamped my image onto cream cardstock using brown ink and blinged it up with several goodies from Pizzazz Aplenty.  I pulled out some peridot rhinestones, orange frosted pearls, and pearls in peridot, brown, and orange. 

Pizzazz Aplenty sells a gel stick that is perfect for picking up these small embellishments and helping you position them right where you want them.  To get them to stick, I squeeze out a dab of crystal effects onto some scrap paper and add the glue got the back of my rhinestones with a toothpick.  Just a tiny dab provides the right amount of hold for my rhinestones and pearls.

Thanks for stopping by!

SFYTT Birthday Card

Good morning sunshines!!  It's a beautiful Saturday morning here in North Texas.  I've got plans to do some Christmas shopping and then hang out with Aldo's cousins in the evening, I'm looking forward to a great day!  Last night I stayed up until 2 in the morning playing in my scrappy room and then suddenly remembered Jen's SFYTT and decided to use it to make my dad's birthday card.  Here's this week's sketch:

And here's what I came up with:

As you can tell, I changed it a bit, but that's the beauty of a sketch, it's just a guideline for your imagination!  I rotated the sketch onto it's side, changed the layering and the shape of the rectangle to a circle and changed the square into a rectangle.  I pulled out some Graphic 45 and MME paper that I've been hoarding and gladly cut into it.  Originally, I had envisioned the card with a bluer motif, but I'm really happy with the results.  I stamped my image using vintage photo distress ink and die cut it with a nestie.

That's all I've got today, I hope you have a wonderful weekend!