Magnolia Down Under #56 - Christmas in July / Mojo Monday #149

Happy Saturday!

I missed the Christmas blog hop this month, but did not want to lose my Christmas card momentum. Fortunately, Magnolia Down Under has given me a chance to redeem myself. Their challenge this week is Christmas in July. The base of my card is inspired by Mojo Monday's sketch, seen here...

...and here is my Christmas in July card...

Stamp: Tilda With Christmas Tree (Magnolia)
Paper: Mellow Moss, designer papers from stash
Ink: Staz-On, Distress Ink
Accessories: Branch punch, Flowers, Lace, Stickles, Ribbon, Scallop Trim Border Punch

I colored my image using very soft colored distress inks.

I had most of the colors I wanted for my flowers, with the exception of the large flower, so I colored it with my Copics Airbrush System.

I hope the rest of your weekend is wonderful. Thanks for visiting!

DU2DS - Sketch Challenge / Sassy Cheryl's #22 Thinking of You

Happy Friday Y'all!

The challenge today over at Dare U 2 Digi Stamp is a sketch challenge. Here is the beautiful sketch...

...and here is my card...

Stamp: A Crabby Surprise (Sassy Cheryl's), Warmest Regards (SU!)
Paper: Pacific Point, Real Red and Pumpkin Pie (SU!), Citrus (DCWV)
Ink: Ink jet printer, Copics, distress ink (Tea Dye and Broken China)
Accessories: QuicKutz Nesting Flowers, sea shells, rhinestone brads, ribbon (SU!)

I colored my image with Copics, and used my distress inks to color the edge and the bottom of the white cardstock.

I have some sea shells that I got at hobby stores. I added them to the bottom of the image to carry on the beach theme. 

I am also entering this in Sassy Cheryl's Challenge #22, Thinking of You. I just love Sassy Cheryl's adorable digis.

Check back again tomorrow my Magnolia Down Under/Mojo Monday card. Have a great weekend!

Cute Card Thursday - Texting Crazy / Sketch Saturday #113

The challenge this week at Cute Card Thursday is Texting Crazy, which could make you reach for your cell phone. No, it is not about the phone, it is about the text. This week, we are focusing on the words we use on our cards, making the sentiment the focal point.

For my card, I used Sketch Saturday's sketch as my base. Here is the sketch...

My card this week was hard for me to make, not because of the challenges, but because this was made for the husband and daughters of a wonderful family friend who recently passed away. Just making the card made the reality of her passing hit very close to home. Here is the card...

The paper is SEI Moravia. The stamp is actually one I have had for years. I am not sure of the specifics on this stamp. I distressed all the papers and sewed the papers together.

Again, I have had the praying hands for so long, I am not sure who the manufacturer is. The frame is Hodgepodge Hardware from SU! (retired).

I will say that though the passing of our dear friend has made me sad, it was a blessing in disguise. She had been ill for so long and she is finally free of the torture of her disease and is in a better place with Jesus. I am taking comfort in that.

Check back tomorrow for my last Dare U 2 Digi Stamp guest designer card.

Have a great Thursday.

Little Mermaid Tilda - Just Magnolia Challenge #64 - Magnolia Down Under

I am SO excited. I got my summer kit from Magnolia Sweden the other day. They hit another home run! The stamps are so cute. I had to get them mounted and inked up right away. For a sketch base, I used Bev's sketch from Just Magnolia. Here is the sketch...

...and here is my card...

Stamps: Little Mermaid Tilda (Magnolia), Whimsical Words (SU!)
Paper: DCWV, white, Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point
Ink: Staz-On, Distress Ink,
Accessories: Ribbon Trends, Hodgepodge Hardware, flowers, leaves, Cricut, An Ocean of Words cartridge, Crystal Effects.

Little Mermaid Tilda is available for preorder at 7 Kids College Fund! Isn't she just the cutest! I colored her with Distress Ink.

I added glaze to make the bubbles stand out a bit.

I did a simple finish for the inside of the card.

I added just a little Seaweed to the inside of the card to carry over the theme. The Seaweed is also available for preorder at 7 Kids College Fund

Check back tomorrow for the Cute Card Thursday Challenge.

Have a great day!

Honey Tilda - Sketch Saturday

Happy Monday! Wow is it hot here! I can't wait for our summer thunderstorms to begin. Because we live in the mountains, we don't have air conditioning (big mistake at this time of year). However, we do have a little air conditioning unit in my craft room (Yeah craft rooms!). So, this weekend, I spent a lot of time in my craft room in the cool air. For one of my cards, I used the sketch from Sketch Saturday as the base for my card. Here is the sketch...

...and here is my card...

Stamps: Honey Tilda, Honey Jar, Riveting
Paper: Urban Prairie (Basic Grey), Hocus Pocus (Core'dinations Black Magic Collection), Basic Black and Bermuda Bay
Ink: Staz-On, Distress Ink, Bermuda Bay
Accessories: Sizzix scalloped circle, texture plate, sanding block, flowers, branch punch, Stickles, Build-a-Brad, rhinestones.

I colored Honey Tilda with distress inks. I cut out my image and layered it over a scallop circle, embossed with a texture plate. I used a piece of the Black Magic paper, which allowed me to sand off the black of my embossed circle, revealing the honeycomb.

I used a build-a-brad with a small circle punch of my patterned paper to embellish my sentiment. The outer border is Stickles.

7 Kids College Fund has a great selection of Magnolias, paper, flowers, Stickles, cutting dies, and everything else you need to create your masterpiece.

Magnolia Bracelet

I was inspired by the Magnolia Magazine to create a Magnolia bracelet. I wanted to represent our family, and this is what I came up with...

Gotta love that shrink plastic. You can find shrink plastic at 7 Kids College Fund. You can also find a great selection of Magnolias at great prices. We have a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and I have a stamp for him, so I was able to include him in our family portrait.

Here is a picture of the bracelet all laid out.

DU2DS (Dare U 2 Digi Stamp) #42 - Stitching

Dare U 2 Digi Stamp has a great challenge this week. It is "Stitching." This is whatever kind of stitching you want, real, faux, machine, hand-stitching.

I used the sketch from Sketch Saturday for layout inspiration, with a little adjustment. Here is the sketch...

...and here is my card...

Stamps: The Shoe (Sketching Stamper), Many Happy Returns (SU!)
Paper: DCWV textured cardstock, Not Quite Navy (SU!), SEI Moravia
Ink: Ink Jet Printer, Copics
Accessories: Hodgepodge Hardware, Lace, DC embroidery thread, Spellbinders Fancy Tags, Gold Paint Pen, Copper Stickles, Sewing Machine

This beautiful shoe comes from the incredibly talented Sketching Stamper, Chris Dark. Her designs are so detailed and amazing, you have to check them out!

When I saw this stamp, I really wanted to give it a florally 3-dimensional feel. This was the perfect challenge. I used my piercing tool to create some random holes, then used a simple embroidery knot in a couple of colors. To fill in the blank areas, I used a gold paint pen and some copper Stickles. I love how the stitching brings the shoe to life.

Go check out Dare U 2 Digi Stamp. They have great challenges. Who doesn't love a good challenge?

Have a great weekend!

Cute Card Thursday - Christmas

Sorry I have been out of commission this month. My family was camping for the July 4 holiday. While we were away, I actually received some incredible news...

I am so thrilled to announce that I have been invited to join two design teams this month, 7 Kids College Fund and Cute Card Thursday. What a surprise this was for me. I love 7 Kids College Fund. They have such a great selection, awesome prices, and great service. Cute Card Thursday has always been one of my favorite challenge blogs, so it is an incredible honor to me to join this team.

Here is my Christmas in July inspiration card.

Stamps: Willow With Lantern (Whiff of Joy), To You and Yours (SU!)
Paper: DCWV Textured Cardstock, Christmas Memories (Daisy D's)
Ink: Memento, Copics, Cranberry (SU!)
Accessories: Sewing Machine, flat-back pearls, leaf punch, branch punch, Spellbinders Curved Rectangles, flowers and lace

For this card, I used the Friday Sketchers sketch from the lovely Jacque...

Thanks for stopping by today. Check back tomorrow for my Dare U 2 Digi Stamp card.

Have a great day!

Wishes for Bella Blog Hop Week 4

Welcome to the Wishes for Bella Blog Hop Week 4. You should have arrived from Elizabeth's Blog. If you have just joined us, jump on over the beginning on Denise's Blog.

If you have not yet heard the story of Bella, visit Bella's Website. Bella is an incredibly brave 8-year-old girl who was stricken with a severe case of Streptococcus pneumoniae sepsis which led to a four-limb amputation. Many people around the country are rallying to help Bella and her family by sending cards and donations to show support for this sweet girl. You can send cards and donations to...

The Bella Tucker Fund

P.O. Box 199

Londonderry NH

03053 USA

This is the card I made for Bella...

Stamps: Tilda With Bee (Magnolia)
Paper: Urban Prairie (Basic Gray), Baja Breeze, DCWV textured cardstock.
Ink: Staz-On Black, Distress Ink, Copics
Accessories: Flower trim, Spellbinders Peonie, Embossing Plates, Flowers, Copics Airbrush System, branch punch

I colored Tilda With Bee (Magnolia) with Distress Ink

I had some white flowers that I wanted to color blue, so I used my Copics Airbrush System. You can find many of these items and a great selection of flowers at 7 Kids College Fund. 

One more thing...Erin is offering the opportunity to win some wonderful blog candy. For every card you send to Bella, you will be entered in the drawing for the fabulous prize. To learn more, visit Erin's Blog. The winner will be posted July 20. 

From here, you will hop on over to Tanya's Blog.

I hope you enjoy the blog hop and that you will join us in sending some love and prayers to Bella.

DU2DS (Dare U 2 Digi Stamp) #41 - The Great Outdoors

I am thrilled to have been invited to be the July guest designer for Dare U 2 Digi Stamp, a biweekly challenge blog for stampers who love their digi's.

The challenge this week is "The Great Outdoors." I am using Fox Cub from Sketching Stamper's Digi Stamps. The layout inspiration came from Mojo Monday #145. Here is the sketch...

...and here is my card...

Stamps: Fox Cub (Sketching Stamper's Digi Stamps, All Holidays (SU!)
Paper: SEI Moravia
Ink: Copics, light use of distress inks for shadowing, Versamark
Accessories: Seed grass, Spellbinders Peony dies, organza ribbon, Copper Tags Assortment 1 (SU! retired), flat-back pearls

I love this little fox. He reminds me of a fox we had on the hill in our back yard about two years ago. We sat at the window and watched that little cutie for so long.

I used some seed grass as an embellishment to tie to the grass in the image. I love seed grass because it adds dimension without being girly and flowery (for those guy cards).

This wonderful paper from SEI has copper foil incorporated into the design and looks so wonderfully elegant in the light (hard to see in the pictures). 

I used my new Bowdabra to create this bow out of wide organza ribbon. I stamped the sentiment in Versamark and embossed with copper embossing powder. I love the effect on the copper tag.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have a great weekend.