Another Double Challenge Friday!

Happy Friday! I am happy to tell you that the temperature has been steadily climbing and we should be at 22 C by Saturday. Crazy weather! Image going from snow to this in 4 days!

This week at Friday Sketchers, it was Claudia’s turn to provide us with a sketch and it is super fun to work with! Just to let you know that we are celebrating our 2nd Birthday over at Friday Sketchers and we will be having a special birthday blog bash next week…….complete with some surprises! I hope you will be able to  join us!

Heidi received this in her Spring Kit and very kindly stamped this and a few others for me. I think her Fairytale order is in so you won’t have to wait much longer to get your hands on this one! She will be sending the stamp my way too but sent me this in advance! She knows me all too well! Patience is something I struggle with……….especially when it comes to Magnolia stamps! I think this is probably now my favorite Tilda of all time and I loved coloring her up! Then sketch was just perfect to create an elegant card and really show-case this gorgeous image. I added some stickles around the edge of the cardstock, her head-piece and on the ground underneath and the sliders were some that I got from my friend Jacqueline’s store ->here<-

• Stamps: Magnolia Fairytale Collection: Lady Tilda soon available at The Stamp Shoppe for Canadians
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
• Paper: Papertrey Lavender Moon, SU Whisper White, DP is from stash
• Coloring: Copic Markers, Stickles
• Embellies: Papertrey Ribbon, Sliders from Cute Card’s & Stamps

Be sure to check out all the samples that my fellow DT sisters have created for your inspiration.  We hope  you will be able to play along and post your own creation on the Friday Sketcher blog . Our sponsor this week is Sew Many Cards.

Aud, Carole, Claudia, Tanja, Jacque, Janneke, Inge

 

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I also have my card for this week’s Wags ‘n Whiskers challenge to show you. It was my turn to pick a theme and I picked “April Showers bring May flowers”. So I want to see flowers on your project. I picked this theme a while ago and it is pretty ironic that in actual fact it snowed all over my beautiful tulips and daffodils earlier this week!

I used the super cute “Let’s Go Team” stamp from our last release. OMGosh she is a true fan, isn’t she? My middle son (who likes to peruse my projects everyday) really loves this one. I asked him what he liked. Perhaps my coloring? The clever use of flowers as her pom-poms? Maybe the bright paper? No, he told me she looks “crazy excited” and she must be cheering for our hockey team: The Montreal Canadians (who are playing brilliantly at the moment). I just laughed and told him she would make a good girlfriend for him since that is how he looks when he is watching a hockey game! He thought that was gross………….at the moment, girls in general are gross. Except me, but apparently I am not even a girl. I am his “mother”! Sorry, I am babbling, but that is the general level of conversation that I have most of the time.

• Stamps: Wags ‘n Whiskers: Let’s Go team available -->here<--
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
• Paper: SU Kraft, Cosmo Cricket Material Girl
• Coloring: Copic Markers
• Embellies: Papertrey ribbon, Prima flowers (that have been somewhat mutilated because they were too big)

I want to let you know that all the Wags’ Crissy Armstrong designs are currently 25% off! WhooHoo! You can purchase them  -->here<--

and….

since next week is our New Release,  this challenge will be open for 2 weeks. The DT will begin sneak peeks on Wednesday with a blog hop and release on Friday, May 7th! (I’ve seen the new images, I am working on them right now…..and they are fabulous!)

Please check the gorgeous cards that the Divas have created for your inspiration and I hope you will get the chance to join us and share your card on the Wags ‘s Whiskers Challenge blog!

Bree, Chris, Christa,  Debbie, Jacqui,  Karen, Lacey, Michelle, Nikki,  Sharon, Tina

Thanks for stopping by and for any of you who stuck with me and my super long post….I give you my thanks and a big hug!

 

Stamp Shoppe DT Card

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Happy Wednesday! I thought I would show you my poor wee flowers. These pictures were taken yesterday. Yes, we had snow and lots of it. On Monday it was 19 degrees, sunny and hot. The temperature shifted drastically during the night and when we woke up, it was to this. I don’t ever remember such strange weather. They are predicting 22 degrees on Saturday!

I have a Magnolia card to show you. The 4th challenge this month for The Stamp Shoppe which is to create a card with a special fold. Heidi had also thought it would be fun to try out a highlighted background similar to the one shown in Magnolia Ink 2 magazine. I decided to try out the new technique instead of the fold. This is my interpretation.

I really love this Tilda from the Hoppy Easter collection. I think she can be used for many more occasions than just Easter. I stamped and colored her and then masked her. Then I stamped over her with my SU French Script background stamp and airbrushed using my Copic ABS. I then sponged the sides with Vintage photo distress ink. The sentiment is also from SU and I airbrushed and sponged it also.

• Stamps: Magnolia Tilda with Spring Bundler, Stampin Up French Script, Well Scripted
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Vintage Photo Distress Ink
• Paper: Magnolia Easter Line
• Coloring: Copic Markers
• Embellies: Papertrey Silk Ribbon, Crochet Lace, Prima Flowers, SU! Vanilla Hodge Podge Frame and Head-pin, Adhesive Pearls by Kaiser craft

The Stamp Shoppe is having a special SALE for this month! The entire collection of stamps from Chasing Butterflies and Lazy Summer Days is on sale for 15% off! Just use the coupon code: spring

Be sure to play along with any (or all) of the four April challenges for your chance to win 15% off your next order plus a mystery prize!! All you have to do is post a link to your card in Mr. Linky. You may enter as often as you like, each new card created will get you another ballot! See for complete rules and Mr. Linky, the previous post here.

Thanks for stopping by! Don’t forget to enter my blog candy. There are 3 different candies up for grabs. Click -->here< -- to go to the post.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Say A Prayer ~ Stamp & Create Product Spotlight

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend! I know that I got a lot accomplished in the back garden so I feel like I was productive. I also got a bunch of DT cards done as well so I feel happy about that too. I have 3 major releases happening in the next little while so I had to clear the way to be able to work on those. Very exciting things coming your way soon! So, I am now sipping on a cup of Timmie’s coffee and writing this post up!

This week the product spotlight at Stamp & Create is Wags ‘n Whiskers. This image is one of my very favorites both because of the sweetness of the image and because it is such a dream to color. I made a Criss-Cross pocket card (see video tutorial below) so that I can include a very special salutation inside. I used up bits of scrap paper and then used my favorite silk ribbon to tie it up. I LOVE this stuff. A couple of tiny prima flowers were added to the side of the image to soften the edge.

• Stamps: Wags ‘n Whiskers Say A Prayer
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
• Paper: SU! Kraft and Retired DP
• Coloring: Copic Markers, Angel Wings Shimmerz
• Embellies: Celery Silk Ribbon, Prima Flowers

Stamp & Create will be offering 25% off all the images from the Kidz 'n Pawz collection from Wags 'n  Whiskers! Don’t forget that they are also available as digital images as well!

Here is my video tutorial on a criss-cross pocket card:

High Hopes Challenge ~ A Bookmark

Happy Sunday! I am a little bit later to post today. I slept in a little.  I spent all of yesterday planting in my back garden. After our renovations last year the whole yard was totally destroyed. We are finally getting it sorted now. My back is aching but I am so proud of how it is starting to take shape. The kids helped out, in varying degrees of true helpfulness. The little guy spent most of his time looking for worms for his “worm pie”. Yuck!

This week the High Hopes Challenge is to create a bookmark. What a perfect way to use up all the scraps that we collect! I made this one for my son and pulled out this High Hopes  giraffe; Stretch and found some cool paper that matched up pretty well.

My bookmark measures 2.5” x 8” and the sentiment at the top is adhered with score-pal take just at the top. This way the bottom can slide onto the page of you book to mark your place.

I hope you have the chance to enter our little challenge. This week we are offering this lovely stamp:

If you are looking to purchase High Hopes stamps why not check out our Diva's stores.

• Amy Wegener - Stampin' Stuff based out of Australia
• Nikki Fairbairn - Bunny Zoe's Crafts based out of the UK/Europe
• Lacey Stephens - Stamp and Create based out of the US
• Amy Leggate - Paper Romance based out of Canada

Have a great rest of the weekend and thanks for taking the time to stop by!

Sweet Wishes ~ Sketch Saturday Challenge

Happy Saturday! Hope that you have a fantastic weekend! Today I would like to show you my DT card for this week’s Sketch Saturday. A lovely sketch that you can use over and over again. Love it!

I received this totally sweet CC Designs Cupcake Kiki stamp from Lacey the other day and she did not stay un-inked for very long! I colored her with Distress inks and paired her up with my favorite Basic Grey DP! Then I added a little bit of stickles to her yummy treat. On the sketch the two panels are bare but I just couldn’t resist adding some ribbon and two cute bows! Iused my favorite tag dies – fancy tags to create the sentiment.

The product spotlight over at Stamp & Create this week is CC Designs which means that they are all 25% off! OMGosh! That is just totally irresistible!

• Stamps: ATS Cupcake Kiki  available –> here<--  at Stamp & Create, Sentiment from Whiff of Joy
• Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
• Paper: Bazzill Cardstock, Basic Grey Porcelain DP
• Coloring: Distress Inks, Stickles (Cotton Candy)
• Embellies: Martha Stewart Pearls, Papertrey Grosgrain Ribbon

Thanks for stopping by! I hope that you will have the opportunity to get a little inky and play along with our challenge. Our wonderful sponsor this week is the Craft Barn. Don’t forget to stop by the Sketch Saturday Blog and see the lovely creations by my fellow DT!

Double Challenge Friday

Happy Friday! It’s Friday so that means I have two cards to show you today!

My first card is for Friday Sketchers Challenge and it was dear Carole’s turn to host. I loved her sketch and had the idea to have the bottom panel open up from the rest of the card. It seems a few of us had the very same idea. LOL!

I inked up my new Stampavie stamp by Sarah Kay. It is so beautiful. Lacey has a great selection of them over at her store. I used Designer Paper from Stampin Up that I have had for ages now. It is all retired and I have been hoarding it but I had to break down and use it. I am running out of space to store it all. I ran a piece of Celery silk ribbon along the top panel and then added another layer with some crochet lace and then added these gorgeous Prima flowers. I just love everything that I used on this card!

• Stamps: Stampavie Sarah Kay Zoe gazing at butterfly ~ available –>here <- from Stamp & Create
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
• Paper: SU River Rock, Baja Breeze, retired DP
• Coloring: Copic Markers
• Embellies: Prima Flowers, Silk Ribbon, Crochet lace all from Stamp & Create

Be sure to check out all the samples that my fellow DT sisters have created for your inspiration.  We hope  you will be able to play along and post your own creation on the Friday Sketcher blog. We are being sponsored this week by: Simon Says Stamp!!

Aud, Carole, Claudia, Tanja, Jacque, Janneke, Inge

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My second card for today is for the Wags ‘n Whiskers challenge. We have a wonderful sketch made by our lovely Guest Designer Bree. I inked up another cutie from the Let’s Play release. Doesn’t she look like she is going to fly right off the paper? I added some polka dots to her dress with my colorless blender pen. This is such an easy technique and really changes the look up! Again, I reached into my stash of hoarded papers and used some up and I added some more Prima flowers. Love them!

Stamps: Wags ‘n Whiskers~ Scooting By ~ available –>here <-

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper: SU River Rock, Chocolate Chip, Daisy Bucket DP

Coloring: Copic Markers

Embellies: Prima Flowers from Stamp & Create

Please check the gorgeous cards that the Divas have created for your inspiration and I hope you will get the chance to join us and share your card on the Wags ‘s Whiskers Challenge blog!

Bree, Chris, Christa,  Debbie, Jacqui,  Karen, Lacey, Michelle, Nikki,  Sharon, Tina

The Stamp Shoppe ~ Old and New Challenge

Happy Wednesday! Since it is Wednesday, it is time to post my Magnolia DT card for The Stamp Shoppe. This week the challenge is to use an older stamp with one from a new collection!

I decided to use this very sweet Dragonfly Tilda from the 2009 Chasing Butterfly collection with this cute Wilma Dog stamp that is part of the 2010 Raising the Ceiling collection.

I made a modified tent card (which is so funny because my fellow DT Irma did the same thing for her card……….great minds think alike, right?) You can get a better idea from the side view. I made my base quite narrow and the completed card measures 5”x5”.

• Stamps: Magnolia Dragonfly Tilda, Wilma with Rose
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
• Paper: SU Kraft, Black, DP was from my scrap drawer
• Coloring: Copic Markers, Shimmerz on the wings
• Embellies: Brqads from stash, Papertrey Ribbon, Magnolia flower

The Stamp Shoppe is having a special SALE for this month! The entire collection of stamps from Chasing Butterflies and Lazy Summer Days is on sale for 15% off! Just use the coupon code: spring

Be sure to play along with any (or all) of the four April challenges for your chance to win 15% off your next order plus a mystery prize!! All you have to do is post a link to your card in Mr. Linky. You may enter as often as you like, each new card created will get you another ballot! See for complete rules and Mr. Linky, the previous post here.

Thanks for stopping by! Don’t forget to enter my blog candy. There are 3 different candies up for grabs. Click -->here< -- to go to the post.

A little Spring-time Candy for you!

Happy Tuesday everyone! OMGosh! I had a look at my hit counter and it is already over 200,000! I just had to do something to say thank you to everyone for their support! I appreciate that you come and visit my little blog and all the wonderful comments that you leave me. I don’t know if you realize that this support is what motivates me and inspires me to publish almost daily. Thank you! I am really very lucky and feel very privileged to be part of some pretty amazing design teams. They have helped me out with this candy. As well as the stamps pictured, I will be adding some extras like patterned paper, flowers and bling.

I have 3 stamp candies up for grabs and so there will be 3 winners!
Candy #1 is generously being sponsored by Stamp & Create and contains:

• Wags ‘n Whiskers Snuzzle Love, Gemma & Bella’s Spring Fun, Let’s Do Lunch stamps
• Kraftin Kimmie Wagon Ride Stamps
• Assorted Charms

Candy #2 is generously being sponsored by Whiff of Joy and contains:

• Elisabeth Bell’s Willow with Champagne, Charlotte kissing Pigeon , Christmas Swirls Collection

Candy #3 is generously being sponsored by Wags ‘n Whiskers and contains:

• Let’s Play Baseball Stamp

What do you need to do to enter?

1. Enter via inlinkz provided below.
2. Please become a follower. This way you will not miss it when I announce the winners.
3. Spread the word. Can you link this up in your side-bar? This is not mandatory but I would certainly appreciate it if you did!

I will ship internationally and the candy will remain open until midnight (EST) May 4th. I will choose the winners via Random generator and I will announce the winners May 5th!

Stamp & Create Product Spotlight

Happy Monday! Well, after a really wet and cold week-end, there are two good things I can say. The grass is very green and I was able to get a lot accomplished in my craft room! I could say other things about 3 youngs boys who had far too much energy to be contained in one house………..but I won’t! LOL!

Today I want to show you a card I made using one of the new CC Designs Sugarplum images. I just love this cute little images.  This week Stamp & Create’s Product spotlight is CC Designs stamps from All That Scraps. You know what that mean! This week they will all be on sale over at Stamp & Create! Don’t wait too long because I have a feeling that they are going to go fast!

I used the wonderful sketch from the Truly Scrumptious challenge for my card. I just love a good sketch! I added little dots to my Sugarplums tummy by using my colorless blender after coloring it up. I added some stickles to the inner parts of her wings and covered over her antennae with a Sakura Stardust pen. I embossed the green cardstock with the Swiss Dots folder and sponged on some white ink over the top to highlight the dots a little more. The luxurious satin ribbon was the perfect shade and I used my bow easy to create the bow and added a prima flower in the center.

• Stamps: CC Designs L’ll Bug Emma
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
• Paper: SU! Kraft, Celery, Pink cardstock from stash, Basic Grey Lemonade DP
• Coloring: Copic Markers and Copic ABS
• Embellies: Satin Ribbon, Prima Flower from Stamp & Create

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day! I have a mountain of laundry to fold!

High Hopes Challenge ~

Happy Sunday! I took advantage of the rainy day yesterday and spent some time in my craft room and played with some of my the stamps and papers that I received in my DT packages. It was lovely.

Today’s High Hopes challenge idea was from Jeanne whose challenge is “Good enough to eat” so we need to have something food related on our cards this week. Hmmm…..I had a tough time……..I went through all my stamps and finally settled on these cute ones. I love this stand and there are a bunch of coordinating sentiments for the top. I stamped the little cutie first, masked her and then stamped the stand, then the words. The pot of flowers was stamped separately, cut out and popped up with some dimensionals. I also added some flower soft for the grass to add some texture and now it fits this week’s Cute Card Thursday challenge which is “touchy-feely”. Technically, lemonade is a drink but I hope the Divas will let this slide into the food category!

• Stamps: High Hopes: Thoughtful Kimberley, Country Stand, Lemonade sentiment 
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
• Paper: SU Chocolate Chip, Kraft, Cosmo Cricket Material Girl
• Coloring: Copic Markers
• Embellies: Gingham ribbon and Basic Grey Pearls from Stamp & Create , Flower Soft

If you are looking to purchase High Hopes stamps why not check out our Diva's stores.

• Amy Wegener - Stampin' Stuff based out of Australia
• Nikki Fairbairn - Bunny Zoe's Crafts based out of the UK/Europe
• Lacey Stephens - Stamp and Create based out of the US
• Amy Leggate - Paper Romance based out of Canada

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can join us this week!

Sketch Saturday

 

Happy Saturday! Hope your weekend is off to a lovely start! We have not major outings planned and I hope to relax and enjoy playing some board games with the kidlets. It is rainy and cold and the perfect day for just taking things slow. Something we have not had the chance to do in awhile. I also have some DT work that I would love to get to as well.

Today I have my card for Sketch Saturday to show you. I have used this gorgeous new Tilda and I broke out the distress inks for a little change from my copic markers.

 

The designer paper is actually felted so it has an amazing texture to it. Yummy. I distressed the edges of all my papers with vintage photo and also distressed the doily as it was too white and didn’t look right!I added tons of shimmerz to the dress and gloves and even the socks and shoes. I just love how that one simple step just adds the “wow” factor!

• Stamps: Magnolia Princess Tilda (Fairytale collection….available soon from The Stamp Shoppe), Sentiment from WOJ April Stamp Kit
• Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
• Paper: SU Vanilla, Bazzill pink cardstock, MME DP
• Coloring: Distress Inks, Angel Wings Shimmerz
• Embellies:  Lace Doily, Crown & spacers from Stamp & Create, Prima Flowers

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will get the chance to get a little inky with us at Sketch Saturday. Once again my fellow DT have created amazing cards for your inspiration. Don’t forget to check them out and maybe leave them a comment. It will brighten their day for sure. Our prize this week is from The Craft Garden. They can supply you with the most lovely flowers for your projects!

 

Double Challenge Friday

Happy Friday! Thank you so much for stopping by today! As this is Friday, I have a double challenge posting!

My first card is for Friday Sketchers and we are being hosted this week by dear Inge! She had provided the most gorgeous sketch to work with……….complete with her signature layers! I had pure fun working with this one!

This image was one that my dear friend Aud sent me. Isn’t she ever so sweet? I went with a vintage look and sponged my layers with distress ink.

• Stamps: Stamp from SCACD
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
• Paper: SU! Very Vanilla & Chocolate Chip, K&Co Ancestry pack
• Coloring: Copic Markers
• Embellies: Prima Flowers, Crochet Lace, $ store adhesive pearls, leaves made with MS punch

Be sure to check out all the samples that my fellow DT sisters have created for your inspiration. We hope you will be able to play along and post your own creation on the Friday Sketcher blog . Our wonderful sponsor this week is

Carole, Claudia, Tanja, Janneke, Inge

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My second card is for the Wags ‘n Whiskers Challenge which this week is to us ribbon on your project. I knew three things right away when I started working on this one. This cutie HAD to be colored in PINK , I HAD to use my luscious silk ribbon from Stamp & Create, and I HAD the perfect sentiment to go with the image! LOL! It basically made itself!

The thing I love the most about Cris de Lara’s Wags images is that there is such a sense of movement in her lines. They are really exceptional.

BTW! Did you hear the news? The first two Wags releases are now available as digi images! Just click the banner below to find out how to get yours! Now it will be easier to compete in our challenges. The images will be just a few clicks away!

• Stamps: Wags ‘n Whiskers Tiny Dancer available -->here<--
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
• Paper: SU! White, Pink cardstock from stash
• Coloring: Copic Markers, Angel Wings Shimmerz
• Embellies: Silk ribbon from Stamp & Create

Please check the gorgeous cards that the Divas have created for your inspiration and I hope you will get the chance to join us and share your card on the Wags ‘s Whiskers Challenge blog!

Bree, Chris, Christa, Debbie, Karen, Lacey, Michelle, Nikki, Sharon, Tina

Have a great day and thanks for your comments! They make me smile and give me purpose!

WOJ Claudia ~ Inge ~ Jeanette Challenge

Happy Thursday! Thank you for stopping by today! Today I have posted a little video tutorial on the Whiff of Joy Inspiration and Tutorial Blog that shows how to make a criss-cross pocket card.You can see it –> here <-- .

I have challenged my wonderful friends and enormously talented fellow DT~sisters; Claudia & Inge to make one as well! We have started a challenge between the three of us and once a month, we will take turns challenging one another and providing a tutorial for our project on the WOJ blog! You can see their magnificent creations by clicking on these links: Claudia’s card and Inge’s card.

I was inspired by the gorgeous images in the April Stamp kit: 1001 Nights or Scheherazade. They are so exotic and I am going to admit right here that whenever I work with them, I start to sing the I Dream of Jeannie theme song. OMGosh! I used to wear my hair in a pony-tale just like that! Yup! My hair was so fine and got so tangled that my Mum would either pull it back like that or else make two long braids. I used to hate the torture of having it done every morning!

I embossed the image on the insert and the sentiment with gold embossing powder and I even added it to the edge of my cardstock too.

• Stamps: Whiff of Joy April Kit: 1001 Nights or Scheherazade, WOJ swirls
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamerk and Gold Embossing powder
• Paper: SU Kraft, Black & White cradstoick, Bo Bunny Glitter paper
• Coloring: Copic Markers, Sakura star-dust pen
• Embellies: SU Ruffle ribbon, Heart slider from Cute Cards & Stamps

Have a great day!

The Stamp Shoppe DT Card ~ A Different Shape

Happy Wednesday! I have my DT card for The Stamp Shoppe to show you today. I know that Easter is over but I couldn’t resist this cute little Chicken Tilda, although to me she looks like a little duckling! I went a little bright but I love how it contrasts with the dotted background.

Since this week the challenge is create a shaped card (not a square or a rectangle) I thought I would use my Stampin’Up Top Notz die to create the card. It is small but very cute. I used my oval nesties to create the frame for my image and a touch of Magnolia designer paper and some ribbon and I was done.

The Stamp Shoppe is having a special SALE for this month! The entire collection of stamps from Chasing Butterflies and Lazy Summer Days is on sale for 15% off! Just use the coupon code: spring

Be sure to play along with any (or all) of the four April challenges for your chance to win 15% off your next order plus a mystery prize!! All you have to do is post a link to your card in Mr. Linky. You may enter as often as you like, each new card created will get you another ballot! See for complete rules and Mr. Linky, the previous post here.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have the chance to get a little inky today!