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Monday, April 30, 2012

Scrappy Challenge

Hello Friends!
I want to tell you about a brand new challenge blog called DATS Designing Divas. This blog is run by a good friend, Donna who is also the owner of DATS Scrapbooking here in Thunder Bay, ON. Donna and her Divas kicked off the new blog with a fabulous blog hop that had a super prize, and I won!

 So, I wanted to use the scrumptious goodies I won and could hardly wait to ink up this fabulous stamp that is the image of my card. You can see their 1st challenge, Happy Scrappy Day, and all of the fabulous samples from the DT. Be sure to stop by for a peak.

Here is the card I made using some of my awesome blog hop candy:


I am also entering this card in 365 Cards Day 56 - Loud. The bright colours I chose to work with on this card are fairly outside the box for me, lol. Simon Says Stamp has the challenge right now of Anything Goes so this card will definitely enter their as well.   I am also entering this card into Pile It On's Challenge #18 Mother's Day.....But....No Flowers; not even on the ribbon, patterned paper, nowhere.  Now THAT was very hard for me....lol. A card for a female but NO FLOWERS?!? I managed it, with great difficulty.
For this card I used the following items:
Recollections - pink & green cardstock
Jillibean Soup - patterned paper
Celebrate It - ribbon
Basic Grey - buttons
Stampin' Up - twine
Dollarama - gems
Wilton - doily
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps - "The Krafty Stamper" image
Copic Markers - B02, B06, B12, BG07, C1, C3, C5, E000, E23, E31, E33, R000, R46, RV06, Y06, YG41, YR07 & the Blender pen as well.

Thanks for stopping in to visit.
Hugs xo 

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Happy Birthday

Addicted To Stamps is celebrating their 1st Birthday with a blog hop and a card challenge. Guess what their first challenge is.....cake (of course) and/or stitching. I did both on my card and the stitching was even done by hand. I am also entering this card in this week's Pile It On challenge which is Sparkle & Shine. The cupcake patterned paper is very glittery although it doesn't show up in the picture.
The Crazy Challenge and Card Makin Mamas both want to see "Girly" cards so I will enter this card in both of their challenges as well. This card is also being entered into 365 Cards Day 55 - On The Fringes challenge where you had to have atleast 4 different 'fringes' on your card that you made yourself. Aren't edge punches awesome! They help add such dimension to our creations. Lets not forget Simon Says Stamp where the challenge this week is Anything Goes.

Here is the front of my card:

The inside with a good close up of my stitching:


Here is the full view of my card. As you can see, it is another easel card lol.

As it has been a long day and the surgical site on my neck is giving me a lot of pain tonight, I will be back later to list the materials I used.

Thanks for stopping by :)
Hugs xo

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Sparkle & Shine On a Sketch

Pile It On has a fantastic challenge for us this week; Challenge #17 - Sparkle & Shine. Here are the rules: Combine Pile It On's challenge with atleast one more current challenge (at the time of their posting) and link it to their blog by Saturday evening. It can be a card, scrapbook page, altered item, etc. Easy peasy! Who doesn't love adding Sparkle & Shine to their creations lol? I know I do! The Pile It On design team have posted their stunning creations on the blog for your viewing enjoyment. 
In addition to this week's challenge at Pile It On, my card today was made using the fabulous inspiration of Dawney's sketch. That is this week's challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Challenge. One of the product designers being showcased this week is Martha Stewart so I used one of her punches on my project too. The design team has some awesome creations for you to look at so be sure you have a peek.

Here is my take on Dawney's lovely sketch. I had so much fun making this card. 


Here is my card laying flat, ready for giving.

My monthly kit, "Graceful" from Created With Paper arrived last week and I couldn't wait to make something with it. I love the fabulous colours in the So Sophie papers from My Minds Eye. I used another Sarah Kay stamp, Isabelle with Puppy Coco, which I stamped with Momento Ink. I coloured my image with Copics using B21, B34, C1, C3, C5, E000, E23, E29, E33, R000, R01, RV25, RV29, Y06, YG63 & a Blender Pen. The flowers and rhinestones are from Prima and the ribbon is from my stash. For the lacy trim around the outside of my card, I used the Martha Stewart border punch, Doily Lace Trim. I have left the sentiment off when taking my pictures because I wouldn't want the recipient to see their card ahead of time if they happen to look at this post.
Well, I have a few things to get done this afternoon, so I am going to get my card linked up and get off this laptop. Catch you all later, and thanks for stopping by to visit.
Hugs xo


Saturday, April 21, 2012

Popping, Inking & a New Challenge Blog

Good Morning Bloggers!
I have finally recovered fom my neck surgery just enough to browse the web a bit; yay! While doing this, I stumbled upon a new challenge blog called Fashionista Challenge. They just started out  and have posted their first Challenge - Anything Goes For Girls. The blog is owned by Rina and she has chosen a fabulous design team consisting of herself and 9 other awesome creators. The design team has put together some gorgeous samples to get your creative juices flowing so be sure you pop over to this new inspiring blog and check it all out. You won't be disappointed.
I was able to get a card made up for this challenge and I hope to maybe squeeze out another card today before submissions are closed. 
The card I'm posting now also fits with the current challenge at Pile It On - Pop It Up. For this challenge, you have to make your card "POP" somehow. I used 3D foam to "pop out" the image of Lynette on the front of my card.
Lets go for a third challenge this card will go with. Pam, from 365 Cards, want us to Get Inky with her. The challenge; find atleast 2 different uses for your ink pad. I used an ink pad 3 different ways; I stamped my image, inked the edges of my papers and used an ink pad and dauber to apply some ink to the chipboard butterfly.
One card - 3 challenges.


If you are familiar with this stamp "Lynette" by Sarah Kay, you may notice that the garden part of the stamp is not on here. Because I only wanted the figure of Lynette, I only partially inked the stamp and then cut the image out after colouring it with some Copics. I used B06, B12, E000, E23, E29, G28, RV25 & RV34. The coloured ink, ribbons, brad and papers are all CTMH ( except the copic paper). The sentiment is from the CTMH "Say it in Style" stamp set. To make the lace edge I used the Doily Lace Trim punch from Martha Stuart and inked the edges of the trim before attaching it to my card. After I stamped my sentiment, I punched it out with a Scallop Oval punch from Stampin' Up. I decided to edge this oval with some copper shimmer from Making Memories to give my card some sparkle. The flowers, leaf and chipboard butterfly are from my stash. I used a dauber to apply Sorbet ink to the butterfly so it coordinated better with my cardstock.

Thank you for stopping by to visit. I hope you have enjoyed my card.
Hugs xo

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Spring Flowers

Don't you just love springtime, the birds are singing and the flowers are starting to pop up. The sun is getting warmer this time of year and you know it won't be too much longer before its time for short sleeves again. One of my favourite springtime flowers is tulips. They come in such a rainbow of colours and their scent is beautiful.
The current challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp Challenge blog fits perfectly with this time of year. This week you had to make a card that fits with the theme "April Showers Bring Spring Flowers". This week has been the first time I have been able to papercraft since my neck surgery so I was finally able to make an Easter card for this year. Yes, its a week late but what other choice did I have. I am also entering this card in the current challenge at the Pile It On blog. Their challenge this week is "Pop It Up" and I believe this card is a pop-up type. I just loved this stamp when I bought it and I was determined I would use it no matter what.
Here is the card I finally got to make:
The stamp is Tina Wenke's "Rabbit in Watering Can". Isn't this stamp cute? The cardstock is Core'dinations and the patterned paper is some left over paper in my scrap box. I inked the edges of the patterned paper with ink from Close To My Heart which is also where the sentiment is from. The image on my card was coloured with the following copic markers: C3, C5, RV11, RV34, V12, V15, V17, Y06, YG41 & YG67. I have 3 blendable violet copics now so I took a chance on blending the tulips on my card. As this is the very first time I have ever tried the blending technique with markers of any kind, I am super excited with the results.
Anyway, my neck is now screaming with pain at me after being on the computer for a bit getting my posts up so I am off to rest it again. I hope all of you are well. Thanks so much for stopping by to visit. Take care and stay safe.
Hugs xo

Bunny Love

Hello & Happy Spring!
I am so happy today as I was able to do some scrapbooking yesterday and I managed to make a card to share with you today. Yahoo!!
Pile It On posted their newest challenge this morning; #16, so I made sure I incorporated it in my card. This is what they have to say:
"This week at Pile It On we have a fun challenge for you, we want you to "Pop It Up!"You
can choose to make a Pop Up card or cut something out on your card and raise it
up wit Pop Dots, Foam Tape etc for more dimension and to give it some "POP!"
Because you have to incorporate more than 1 challenge in your entry to Pile It On, I also included 365 Cards Day 41 - Cute Critters. Pam's challenge says: "I love cards that include adorable little animals, bugs, and even imaginary creatures. For this challenge, we want to see at least two cute critters on your card."
Here is the card I made based on both of these challenges:
My wonderful friend Donna, owner of Dat's Scrapbooking, showed me how to make an easel card a while back and I finally got around to giving it a try. I love this new style and can't wait to make another one very soon.
The green cardstock is from Close To My Heart as are the stamps I used. I stamped the growing veggies multiple times so I could create a garden scene, then coloured it all in with Copic markers. I tore the paper to give it a rough edge then inked the edges. I cut my picket fence using Creative Memories Border Maker and brown cardstock from Core'dinations. I inked these edges as well. My patterned paper is from Imaginisce and has a bit of glitter on it. After stamping my bunnies, I coloured them with copics and cut them out. I used 3D foam tape to 'pop' out the cute pair of bunnies.
Thanks for stopping by to visit today.
Hugs xo

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Happy Easter

I want to wish all of you a very Happy Easter. I will be back later to share a couple of cards with you.
I must apologize for being absent as I had a major surgery on my neck 6 weeks ago and I have not been able to do much of anything, including looking down to see what I am working on. They have me in a rigid neck collar which I have to wear for another 6 weeks yet atleast. This has made it very difficult to work on any cards or scrapbook, which is very upsetting for me. But, they say things will get better so I am hanging on to that thought. Chat later friends.
Hugs xo