12 Kits of Occasions - Marybeth Lopez!

 

This month our theme is "Song of the South" and Marybeth Lopez has presented us with a gorgeous selection of goodies with which we get to craft to our hearts content.  I really had too much fun, all the time imagining what each team member would do - wouldn't it be crazy if we all chose the same thing for our DT card?

Here is my first - I could not resist this regal gent... I'm sure my father-in-law will love being reminded that he can strut about the yard and doodle-do anything he pleases on Father's Day - and beyond! 

 

Thank you, Marybeth, for the gorgeous kit this month... I've more to show you... coffee/tea cups filled; maybe a sandwich?!

 

"... just how to mooooove me!"

Another gorgeous stamped image I received... with a familiar, fun sentiment.

 

"I brought the six pack!"

 

[There has to be cake with that six pack!]

 

"It doesn't matter what is on the menu, as long as you are on the guest list - won't you join us?"

 

Marybeth sent four pieces of this delicious graphic paper to me... I just couldn't stop myself - what do you think?



 

"Yes, I do think you are the berry best friend!"

And last, but not least...

 



"I said corny...no, that is a c.  But, I do like your optimism!"



 

Be sure you go to the 12 Kits of Occasions home blog to see what my fabulous friends have made... I know I can hardly wait - gotta run!  Thanks for stopping by! =]

Hmmm seems we have technical difficulties?

I'm trying this again, folks... seems Mr. Linky didn't like my photo?

For Fusion Cupcake Inspiration:

 

Hopefully, second time's the charm?

Fusion - Cupcake Inspiration

The cupcake in the Fusion Inspiration Challenge this week.. well, I didn't even notice the sketch... that cupcake wants to come to momma!!

 

I was so excited to receive my Neat N Tangled Scandinavian Flower set on Saturday! [Piping flowers with buttercream was a favorite day in the culinary classroom for me.]  Thanks to that set - perfect rolled roses!  See what you think:



The cupcake base is a BasicGrey Bitsy Cake stamp that I white embossed. I stamped three of each size of these darling roses onto watercolor cardstock with Versamark + a little Studio G yellow pigment ink, clear embossed them, and colored them with Tombow water-based brush pens + water, easily fussy-cut them with my new Fiskars spring-loaded scissors! I water-washed the background with a bit of Black Soot distress ink. With a few non-edible DCWV pearls for accents, wouldn't this make a perfect wedding card?

The Challenge - First Anniversary!

I have been asked to join those fun girls over at The Challenge as they celebrate their first anniversary with news - head over, won't you?  It is a really fun place to play cards!!

This week the theme is Anything Goes - with a prize: a $20 gift card from our fabulous sponsor:

I just won a gift certificate from Sugar Pea during the Spring Coffee Blog-Hop - sadly it hasn't arrived quite yet, but watch for a few cards when it does! Thanks again, Wendy Ramlakhan, for your oh so generous nature!

 

Okay... here's my card:

 

 

If it's your first visit to my blog, you'll find I am a bit late to the party on occasion... there is a trend I've been seeing around recently that I wanted to check out.

 

I tried my hand at velveteen stamping... the lighting wasn't cooperating, but you'll catch a bit of it in the background of the YAY stamp.  Here is a fabulous video from Shari Carroll on her Hero Arts YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/ZVryY_w297U  Shari will explain it much better than I ever could =]

 

Thanks, Lesley for inviting me, and to the team for giving me such a warm welcome!  Congratulations on your first of many, many celebrations to come =]



Inkspirational #79 - Colour Challenge - NEON, baby!

  

I am beyond happy to be guest designing for the Inkspirational Challenge this week. It really takes me back to the 60's baby. Love, music, flower-power, mini skirts, bell-bottoms - and the desire for Peace.

 

 

Here is my take on Inspirational NEON challenge #79. By the way, the sentiment rocks and wobbles with the use of a little Action Wobble Spring.

 

I hope you all "come together" in the gallery for this Neon challenge - I can't wait to see everything you create - even if you weren't even born in the '60's...believe me, it is all new again!

 

Thanks, Marina - you, and your team, totally rock! Peace out... =]



 

Supplies:

Scotch decorative Neon tape; Action Wobble spring under Reverse Confetti Sugary Sweet sentiment; enamel dot from MME; Lifestyle Crafts embossing folder embossed the Wplus9 circle die cut; Paper Smooches Reflections Leaves; Sizzix for Hero Arts Framelits flower; SSS Love Languages die.

Leigh Penner and CAS(E) this Sketch

Leigh has designed a really fun sketch for this week.  So I had a little fun with it =]

 

I used a SSS die from their Love Languages set, and the largest square from their Stitched Squares set, added a fun Hero Arts sentiment from my friend Chriss, a bit of embossed loveliness from Lifestyle Crafts, PTI Linen vellum, and bada bing...

 

 

This is just how I feel when sick... I'm betting you can all relate, right? 

 

Run over to CTS#116 to check out the fabulous cards from our design team... hope you will be playing cards with us this week! 

 

Thanks for stopping by!  It makes me =]



Time Out Challenge #27

The current Time Out Challenge is: Clean and Simple, with the optional twist of Black & White, plus a splash of one color. 

I've taken a liking to Sarah's card which is yellow, white, black and gorgeous. I've totally twisted things, however - somehow I don't think she'll mind.  There are many styles of CAS.  Here is my version - today:

Inside sentiment:

"Birds of a feather?  Or some bit of flocking nonsense? 

No. You're just simply amazing!"

 

Supplies: Feathers by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park.

          Sentiment by Wplus9; Bird by Dear Lizzy.

                       

 



The Muse Challenge #110

I could not wait to play cards with Tenia Nelson as our Muse this week... she really is a fantastic, jazz-making little card designer that I totally admire. 
 

This one's for you, Tenia!

 

How will you be interpreting her gorgeous card this week?  We can't wait to see them - at The Muse Challenge!

 



CASology Week 138: Blossom

Though the snow has nearly all melted, we are far from blooms in Michigan, sorry to say.  Very happy to see all the blooming beauty at CASology this week!
Here is my addition to the gallery this week... simple design, using swoon-worthy laser-cut wood veneer from Heidi Swapp... this is a 5" x 7" card, with a little slip of PTI vellum underneath, and a teensy little Dear Lizzy sentiment. 

I'll tuck this one away for a future wedding card.



The Card Concept #31

If you asked Tom about cupcakes, or cake for that matter... he'd say "it's all about the frosting!" Exactly what I was thinking when I saw the yummy Card Concept photo for challenge #31:

 

You won't find me reaching for the embossing paste very often, but this design just yearned for it.  Coupled with a bit of distress ink, and a gorgeous stencil from the generous Ms. Shery from her Stamplorations blog-post contest, I've fallen in love with it. Thanks again, Shery!

Thanks for stopping by... it truly makes my day! =]

CAS(E) this Sketch #115

Sam Simpson threw me a curveball this week - well it is time for Spring training!  Here is her fabulous sketch:

 

It is awesome, and pretty straight forward... left to my own imagination?  That's where things can get a little more tricky =\ There may be more, rather than less, in the "to be recycled later" file.

 

MFT to the rescue - can one go wrong with white? I hope Sam doesn't mind my butterfly stand-in. For CTS#115:

 

 

From MFT:  Polka Dot Cover-up plate, Gerbera Daisy Dies - centers stamped with an MFT background stamp, and Fuse Green hybrid ink used to emboss the sentiment.

Other supplies:  Willow Dragonfly from Memory Box.  Thank You sentiment from Technique Tuesday's Mama=Love set.



Out from under the rock... The Challenge #27

It is just amazing what a girl will discover when out from under her rock!  You all know I try to play cards at Fusion, and The Card Concept... who knew there are many more in this fabulous [Lesley Croghan] line-up of challenges?  Well.  I do now!!

Whilst I was in the "Shades of" mode, I created this little total-mash-up-between-the-sketch-and-colors card for The Challenge #27 =]

I adore this Anna Griffin: Olivia collection of papers - you've seen it before many times here. This time I used the SSS Stitched squares dies, a Memory Box Willow dragonfly, and another Mom from Technique Tuesday, and presto! I won't tell you how many hours it took to do this presto thing... you really don't want to know.

10 Shades of [why our hair turns] Grey - for OLS14

First things first: I am not sure what rock I've been living under. 

I didn't know about this cool little One-Layer Simplicity challenge, and I can think of only one other card I've made that was one-layered.

As I was perusing my update from Shona's blog, Twine Around - seriously talented, she is - I immediately had... well... a flashback+Stewie moment.  I think you'll understand when you see my card AND I'll be asking for an AMEN:

So. Can I hear an AMEN?

Enough said - oh!  Except the sentiments are from Technique Tuesdays Mom=Love set.  Inks are shades of SSS, MFT, and PTI greys.

No I don't watch Family Guy, but ROFLMAO at the commercial with Stewie - don't ask what they are selling =] 

Fusion Floral

The gorgeous Fusion Floral challenge brought me back to my paint chip stash... and a favorite little Martha punch that I've used again, and again!  Here is the inspiration photo:

Beautiful Anemones!

 

Oh I do wish I had an Anemone stamp, but hope this floral punch will do:

 

 

I've combined the photo and sketch, added a favorite Ali Edwards sentiment, and tiny dots of platinum for the stamens. I may be cheating on Ben Moore with a little Dutch Boy here... shhh, don't tell!!! =\

 

Thanks for stopping over... I love it when you do =]



 



Colour Me #62 - Striking

The Colour Me... Striking challenge #62 caught my eye with that fabulous collection of greens.

Perfect for tomorrow's celebration, right?

 

Even though we're not Irish, I do consider myself lucky in love =]

 

For Colour Me, and a cute-as-a-button four-leaf-clover:

 

 

A little shamrock created with a tiny Paper Smooches heart.

Lucky sentiment from Verve; feeling from W+9.

One of my new embossing folders provides those gorgeous stripes on the PTI Ivory cardstock.



CASology Week 137 - and a funny thing happened...

...on my way to the Tropics.  Oh! First things first - the cue word is Tropical! at CASology this week! You must know at this point I live so far from anything tropical, it isn't even possible for me to imagine it! 

I've never been to an island... not even Mackinac! However, to get through this horrid Winter, I have been fantasizing about visiting a little hula-loving, card making wizard by the name of DONNA Mikasa - you all know her, right?  Donna lives in Hawaii- always a dream destination for me. So, this one's for you, dear Donna!

 

Here is how this embossed base happened: I used a lovely, but much thinner cardstock and discovered, after embossing, that the folder had actually cut through in several places. I always try to accentuate the negative in all things, so went about making a few more strategically placed cuts of my own using a craft blade. The perfect sentiment comes by way of PTI, and I've die-cut the aloha letters from MFT.

 

I love the look, and hope you do, too!

 

Edited to say this is on its way over to Virginia's View embossing challenge!!

CAS(E) this Sketch #114 [literally =]

Gayatri Murali has created a gorgeous sketch for this week's CAS(E)- enough said, you'll see what I mean:

 

I just couldn't wait to create a card! I can't imagine why I'm dreaming of Springtime in Paris... then again,why not?

Gayatri's sketch just says toile to me! You know those fabulous French prints that often depict a scene? I've seen them printed in blues, and greens, and often red... but black on white just does it for me.



Using the new Mama E. Freestyle Florals again - I don't think I'll ever tire of them - I simply stamped, masked and stamped again, a few of the many choices from the set.  Add a Mama E. Hello from Raspberry PTI card-stock, a frame from SSS, and VOILA: TOILE DE JOUY ... my way.

Hope you take time to frame a bit of something wonderful this week using our sketch - we love it when you do - and you do it so well! =]

Muse #108

It's my turn at Muse this week!  Be ready to get your brushes wet, my crafty friends!  Oh, now don't panic... you can be as rudimentary as you'd like, as I was here:

The last little bit of this particular patterned paper from the SSS March card kit... hope you haven't tired of seeing these gorgeous yellows, blacks, and greys? I've used the Ranunculi stamp from Stampendous. Choosing one of the flowers to highlight with water-color.  It brings to my mind those wonderful black and white films that choose one precise moment to draw your eye to a key bit by adding color! 

 

Won't you join me? I can't wait to see what little item you choose to highlight at Muse!

 

[Side-note to Anita - fingers crossed!!] 

CASology: Week 136: Basket

When I saw the cue word this week at CASology was BASKET,I knew exactly where I wanted to go with it... and I smiled at the comment that asked "Wow, am I the only one who immediately thought...case?" No, Christine, you weren't!

Now putting it on paper was a different story.

I realized the answer was literally staring me in the face: my new buddies, the Mama Elephant Three Amigos!!

I know! My handwriting is atrocious, but not a single one of my word stamps was small enough to fit on his sweet little sign. There are many, many phrase options in the set, but not the ones I wanted in this case - pun intended.

It did give me the opportunity to try out my new EK Tools journaling pens found at a craft shop. The kit included five pens in varying sizes so I'll be able to add fine doodling lines. Now if I could only add Copics to my entourage - my coloring here? I apologize.

Hope this turns out to be a great week for you all... thanks again for stopping over!

Sprinkle!!

The current Inkspirational Challenge #77 is the word Sprinkle! It conjures rain in my mind, with visions and yearning of green grass sprouting in the yard, bulbs popping through the earth, and thunder storms!!  Oh yes, I'm so ready! I'd even enjoy a worm or two. =]

Here is my version of Sprinkle using the darling Abby from SSS and very, very, simply water-colored. I cut and pasted the hat and umbrelly:

"Rain, rain, come my way - make that yucky snow go away!!"

That little sweetie has the right idea, doesn't she? Love those galoshes!

While I'm sharing... I was quite remiss in my last post of the card for my friend, Dolores! It featured two of my new "besties" from Mama Elephants Three Amigos!!



Muse #107

Vicki Dutcher is our Muse this week, and she has really tested my paper matching abilities this time... I am awful at choosing papers - even when they are a collection!!

Thankfully, I've fallen in love with the collection of papers that were included in my SSS March Card Kit... ooo, la la! and Tah Da!

Thanks, Ms. Vicki for the true challenge this week!

While here, I wanted to share the card I made for my friend Dolores... do you recall the last card I made for my sweet friend?  You can revisit it here - I miss her so much... and totally dropped the ball with her birthday card this year!!!  Maybe I would be a good candidate for one of those planners??
=\  

"... only a little late!"