Friday, July 31, 2009

Some "not new" but "new to the blog" cards for you (including 2 Tilda's!)

Hi Everyone,
Yesterday's "housework" developed into a fully fledged cleanout/rearrange of the laundry room and pantry and so the card I was hoping to make never happened.
Oh well at least I have a beautiful place to do the washing! LOL
I do however have some cards on eBay that you've not seen so I thought I'd pop them on here so you have something to see.



Sunflower Tilda

You can find her at Magnolia-licious and she is perfect for this time of year.



Fruity Tilda

You can also find Sweetheart Tilda at Diana's wonderful Magnolia-licious store.




A Hug is a Great Gift




Baby Girl Rocking Horse



Baby Boy Rocking Horse

Also I decided to list my CD of over 100 poems so anyone who needs a poem can have over 100 at their fngertips!
New Poem CD

I'm sorry I don't have a bumper challenge card for you today but a least you have something to see! LOL
BTW if you win anything from me on eBay be sure to let me know you visit my blog as I always include goodies for my friends ;)
Thanks for looking and have a great weekend!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Baking Up Some Holiday Fun!

Hello again!
You knew I couldn't really resist sneaking another card even though I should be cleaning! LOL
This really will be the last Christmas in July card and I hope you've enjoyed the ones in the last 2 weeks.
Today's card features another Tilda and this time she's been busy in the kitchen!
She covers the following 4 challenges:
One Stop Craft Challenges gave me the Christmas in July theme
If The Shoe Fits Scrap It wanted Cupcakes!
Paperlicious Designs asked for us to use Fun Flock which I addded to the frosting on the cupcakes
and finally I got the sketch over at
The Pink Elephant , I had to stretch it a little into a square card but the design is still the same I hope!




This wonderful Tilda is called Tilda With Cowberry Muffin that they have in stock over at Magnolia-licious.
I colored her with Copic's and added Fun Flock to the top of the cupcakes and Diamond Stickles to her wings and the cherries.
The dp is Daisy D's , a company I wish was still around, and the cupcake stamp is STudio G $1 spot at Michaels. The flowers are Prima and the pearls Recollections.
I used the Apron Lace border punch from Fiskars.



The inside is more dp and a coordinating punched trim.



These cupcakes look yummy and are enough to make anyone forget dieting!
I do have a card planned for tomorrow if all works well this afternoon but so far it only covers 3 challenges so I'll have to get searching for some more! LOL
Have a great rest of your Thursday.
Katie

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

A Kitty Cat Card and a bunch more challenges!

Happy Hump Day!
Today's card features one of the cutest Kitty cat images I've seen in a long while!
I'm a big cat lover and so working with this was a lot of fun!
And of course it was fun too to comb through the challenge blogs to find ones to combine in this card and today I found 8!
Friday Sketchers started me off with the sketch
Color Throwdown gave me the color combo of Rose Red, Bordering Blue and Pirouette Pink
Secret Saturday had a "recipe" of 3 buttons, 2 designer papers and 1 ribbon
Cute Card Thursday wanted eyelets and so I ran the ribbon through 2 heart shaped eyelets
Simon Says Stamp wanted some distressing so I sanded the edges of the mats and the card and then inked them
DRS Designs asked for Faux Stitching (I'm not sure if my card qualifies for this challenge as I couldn't see anywhere whether you needed to use a DRS stamp and as I don't have any of them I couldn't use one but I did do the challenge :))
Paper Blooms wanted a hidden sentiment so I popped mine into a glassine envelope and tucked it behind the image.
and finally
CCEE Stampers had a supply challenge and wanted you to use a floral dp and at least one brad.



This cute kitty is called Olive and she comes from Digi Stamp Boutique. She was colored with Copic's and I added a tiny button brad to her hair bow.
The dp are K&Co (blue pattern) and The Paper Studio (roses)
I colored a white flower with Copic's to match the flowers in the image and added tiny Dress It Up buttons to the bottom corner.




I carried the dp inside and also faux stitched the mat to match the front.



I cut Olive with a label Nestie turned an angle and I think it gives a touch of whimsey to her.
Anyway this may be my last card this week as I have DT obligations that I have to do and I'm trying to get a fe weeks ahead as my Mum arrives from England next Thursday and I don't want to miss a moment with her!
Have a great rest of your Wednesday.
Katie

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Celebrate the Season with a Tilda Christmas card

Hello and welcome to what may be the last "Christmas in July" card I have you.
This time I'm back with the always cute Tilda and she's on her way to a party!
As always I've been combining challenges and this one fills the need of 6.
Magnolia-licious Highlites gave me the Christmas theme
Just Magnolia had a wonderful sketch
Scrappy Frogs wanted a Magnolia stamp used (that was easy :))
Stamp With Fun needed you to use pearls and would you believe it some jumped into my basket at Michaels just last week? hee hee!
Charisma Cardz wanted you to use a tag somewhere so I put the sentiment on one
and last but by no means least
Three Clovers needed a little bling so along with pearls I used ribbon with gold thread, edged the mats and card with a gold Prismacolor and finally added Diamond Stickles to Tilda herself.



You've seen me use this Tilda with Wine and Basket before but I only have one Christmas stamp and I think she looks good on her way to a Christmas party. The dp is Paper Adventures but it's discontinued now and I only had one sheet of each pattern :(
The sentiment is Daisy D's sadly another company that is no longer with us and the pearls are Recollections by Michaels.



I added another sentiment to the journal mat and more coordinating dp and gold pen work.



A close up of cute Tilda with her sparkly headband, bow and wings.
I hope you like her and I'll be back tomorrow with another new card.
Katie

BTW, scroll down to the next post to see a super caddy I found that is perfect for your Copic's!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Happy Monday and another Christmas Card! Plus my new Marker Caddy find!

Hello Everyone!
There were a couple more Christmas in July challenges that I wanted to do so this week I'll have two more cards for you to see.
This one covers 4 challenges:
Polka Doodles gave me the sketch and I rotated it a 1/4 turn
Paper Play wanted a card for a boy or man, I think the blues make this more boyish
The Cuttlebug Spot had the Christmas in July theme
and
Belli wanted metal tags.

I used a wonderful Dustin Pike Image that you find at Doodle Dragon and colored him with Copic's, cut him out and matted him on an oval that has been embossed with Cuttlebugs Swiss Dots folder.
The papers are Walmart from a couple of years ago but I love them!
I also embossed the border with the Snowflakes folder. I used Coredinations cardstock and sanded it to reveal the white center, I love that cardstock!!


The inside has more dp and an oval journal mat to coordinate with the one on the front.



As I mentioned on Friday I wanted to share a wonderful container that I found at Target. It was designed to hold beverages on your outdoor table but my daughter saw it and said "Mum that would work perfectly for your markers!". I had previously had the markers in hanging buckets which worked great apart from when I wanted to take them downstairs to work on a piece in the evening to be with everyone else. I used to have to get a try and balance 6 or 7 small buckets on it and make my way downstairs. Now I just grab the handle of one container and I'm fixed!
The best thing was it was originally $12.99 and I got it for 50% off so just $6.49!
I found it online too Caddy but it still full price there (I don't know why it says not available in stores either)





I think it looks like I need more Green markers, what do you think? ;)



So I can get all my Copic's, my Promarkers and Prismacolor markers in one caddy.
I hope you liked today's snowman and my new marker caddy.
Katie

Friday, July 24, 2009

Edwin at Christmas

Yet another Friday!
This ends my week of Christmas cards and I hope you've enjoyed it.
Todays card uses a stamp I've never made into a card before and if you are a Magnolia lover you'll know that poor Edwin often gets overlooked for his sister Tilda.
But I needed to use him for a challenge and I'm really glad I did :)
He covers 6 challenges:

Magnolia Down Under gave me the Christmas in July theme
Magnolia-licious Highlites wanted an Edwin card in celebration of their Blog Hop
Simon Says Stamp had a wondeful sketch form the talented Dawny P
Creative Inpirations asked us to distree our cards
Colour Throwdown gave me the color combo of Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip and Perfect Plum
and both
Tuesday Taggers
and
A Spoon Full of Sugar
wanted Swirls and Curls



This Edwin is Edwin with Lantern and I colored him with my Copic's. I matted him on y Nesties and distressed the edges slightly.
The background cardstock was embossed with the snowflakes Cuttlebug folder and then sanded and inked slightly. The poinsettia was colored with Copic's to match the papers and then sanded lightly too.
The swirls are a Big Shot die.




I left the inside fairly plain with a message mat made from the same Nestie as on the front.




A close up of Edwin. I find dark colors hard to shade with and I really don't have very many plum markers to work with.
I have a post tomorrow about a super container I found at Target on clearance that is perfect for my markers so be sure to check back.
Have a great rest of your Friday
Katie

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Would you like some Free Digital Stamps?

No card yet today, maybe later but more likely tomorrow.
If you've been wanting to try digital stamps but haven't yet then here maybe a chance for you.
My Grafico has a cute Candy set that is absolutely free!
Just download print and play!
These would be so cute paper pieced, simply flip the image in your editing program, print on the reverse side of you dp or cardstock, cut out and flip over to ink, chalk etc!
Also for the Magnolia friends here just think how cute Tilda or Edwin would look sitting on one of these candies! You can make them any size you need just print on scratch paper first to tweak the size to fit your Magnolia image.
I'll be posting more freebies as the weeks go on and would love you to give them a try.
Also be sure to check out the My Grafico Blog for a color challenge they are running this week and from August you'll be seeing my examples as part of their Design Team.
Katie

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Feeling the chill with this card :)

Hello and welcome to the 2nd card for today (there was a challenge I thought ended tomorrow but it ends today so I had to push the post up :))
It's definitely Christmas week here and I have another card to get you inspired to drag out your Christmas goodies!
This is another with a not so usual color combo but with it's Wintery feel I think it works great.
This card fills another 4 challenges:
Charisma Cardz gave me the sketch
Digital Tuesday had the Christmas in July theme
Colour Create had the color combo of Blue and White
and
Creative Card Crew needed some Polka Dots and the dp has dots in it's stripes and the girl has dots of her wellies!



I used a super cute image from Polly Craft from the Cherry Kisses Collection
I colored her with Copic's and the dp are DCWV. The flowers are Prima and the sentiments are from Walmart.



The inside has some more of the cute dp along with another of my poems.
I'll have to sign off now to make a card for tomorrow or it will be a bare blog! , hee hee!
Katie

Winter Wishes and a Tropical Cardinal!

Happy Hump Day!
Today's Christmas card is different in quite a few ways.
First I suppose it should be a winter card but sometimes we send cards at the Holidays to people who don't celebrate Christmas so I think it works.
Secondly it's not the usual Christmas colors and I used no Christmas dp.
And finally the image was actually a Tropical Bird that I tried to make into a Cardinal. I think it works ;)
This card covers just 4 challenges today (I must be slipping)
Cupcake Craft Challenges had the Christmas in July theme
Friday Sketchers gave me the sketch
Polka Doodles wanted you to use their Tropical Birdie freebie
and
Treehouse Stamps had a color combo of Certainly Celery, Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink.



The download for the image is available Here and it's completely free! I colored two of the birds and popped one on top with pop dots.
The dp is just mixed from my stash and the paper roses are Offray I think.



Another of my poems added to the inside and a journal spot for a personal message.
That's 3 Christmas cards done and check back tomorrow for another.
Katie

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Here's my news!

I've been holding this in for over 24 hours (not long but still :)) and now I can tell you that I've been chosen to be a member of the Design Team over at My Grafico Challenges!
The blog is spun off from the wonderful My Grafico site which has super digital stamps, clip art and other downloadable scrapping and stamping goodies.
Digital crafting is so wonderful as you no longer have to wait for your purchase to be mailed to you, it comes right to your email! The stamps can then be resized, flipped, layered and more within your editing program. Then you simply print on your favorite cardstock and color!
My Grafico has new sets every week and there is always something wonderful to find.
They also have a great community over at My Grafico Ning with galleries, forums, challenges and more.
So soon you'll be seeing my cards over at the My Grafico Challenge blog as well as here.
I'm really excited and just wanted to share :)
Katie

Waiting for Santa (and non traditional colors again)

Hi Everyone!
It's another rain cooled North Texas morning and I couldn't be happier! LOL
It's also another Christmas card for you to see today and again I used a non traditional color combination.
One thing I also added to the card today was one of my original poems.
I've been writing poems since I was a child and I even have an old newspaper clipping of one I had published in a local paper! LOL
When I started scrapbooking I was like many other people and was hestitant in my journaling so I went back to telling the story with a poem. They are a little "Hallmark" in style but of course now I'm making cards I'm finding them to be perfect. In fact I'm looking to release a collection of them on a CD on eBay so that other people can have them for their cards too.
Today's card works for 7 challenges.

Cute Card Thursday was the Christmas in July theme
Mojo Monday gave me the sketch
The Pink Elephant wanted Animals
My Grafico had the color combo of Teal and Brown
and
A Different Challenge A Week had that same combo
Creative Inspirations wanted real or faux stitching so I added silver faux stitches to the mat and the quilt and also inside
and finally
Dutch Dare wanted cutting dies and/or punches and I used a punch for the mat on the sentiment.



This little bear was again from the Cuddly Buddly Teddy Bear's Home collection. The dp is Basic Grey Dasher and I colored the red and green circles brown with my Copic's to match the color theme. The ribbon is Offray and the rhinestones are Michaels $1 spot, I love the new colors they have right now.



The inside is more dp with a circluar journaling spot that I added more faux stitching too with a silver Prismacolor marker. The poem is my own as I said above.
I hope you're enjoying my week of Holiday cards and maybe the different color combo's will give you some inspiration to think outside the box this year, I know it made me! LOL
Katie

Monday, July 20, 2009

Well it wouldn't be July without a Christmas card would it!

Hi and a Happy Monday to y'all!
If you've been anywhere on the challenge blogs this month you'll have seen many have the "Christmas in July" theme.
Well I was holding of doing any Christmas stuff yet as it's not very condusive weather here but I can't wait another longer and so I'll be doing Christmas cards for you to see this week!
I have at least 4 blogs on my list with the same theme so I'll be fixed for links this week :)
Today's card works for:
Three Clovers - Christmas in July (and Hanukkah too!)
Stamp with Fun - Sketch
Just Magnolia - Buttons
and
Dawn McVey Favorite Things - Color combo, Moss/Celery, Cream, Bright Pink and Dark Red



I know you've seen me use this Tilda before as she is one of my very favorite ones to color. But she comes from the Holiday 2008 collection and this is the first time I've used ger on a Holiday card! She is called Well Dressed Tilda and I can't find her any where to link to but I'm sure Diana at Magnolia-licious could order her for you.
She is colored with Copic's and is sitting in a Nestie oval.
The dp are KI Memories (the striped background) and some from a Christmas stack I got at Walmart (I shop for paper everywhere! LOL)
I added Making Memories Glittered Chipboard flowers and topped them with Paper Studio buttons.
I used the Apron Lace border punch on the angle and added tiny Jesse James buttons. The ribbon is the $1 spot from last year at Michaels. The sentiment is Tiny Tales Vellum by My Minds Eye.




The inside is more KI paper and another cute Tilda! I added an additional Paper Studio sentiment.




I just wanted to show a close up of my favorite Tilda.
Be sure to check back all week for more Christmas cards, if I get working on them of course!
And finally I have some exciting news that I'm bursting to tell but you'll have to checking back to see what it is! LOL
Katie

Sunday, July 19, 2009

OK, I really think a 12 step program may be in order......

I'm sorry to say that I may soon be standing up and saying "My name is Katie and I'm a Challenge-aholic". Every day I spend some time going through peoples blogs and if I see a new challenge that's not in my journal then I get all excited and scribble it down. And when it comes to creating a card I sit down at my screen clicking from page to page finding things that work together.
This morning I had time to do a little playing and somehow (with encouragement from my daughter) I managed to find 12, yes 12, challenges to combine! LOL
So here comes mr reason for needing a 12 step program!

Sketch Saturday - Sketch
Pile It On - Mostly Orange ( I had to manipulate and color over the yellow flowers with an orange Copic)
Our Creative Companion - A triple play, 3 embellishments from a list and I chose Ribbon, Buttons and Brads
Paperplay - Your favorite nibble. I chose a Terry's Chocolate Orange as Christmas wouldn't be the same without it.
PollyCraft - Arrows (and I used a Pollycraft image although you don't need to)
My Time To Craft - A Bird in the Hand
Secret Saturday Crafter - Spots and Stripes, I used spotty buttons and paper and stripy brads.
ABC - W is for Window
Belli - Texture, I embossed the background and used different ribbons for more "feel"
The Cuttlebug Spot - The Inside Counts (easy for me as I always finish the inside)
Daring Cardmakers - Away with the Fairies
Tuesday Taggers - more Texture




I used a cute Twiddly Wings from Polly Craft Designs and colored her with my Copic's. I cut the window with a Nestie and made a frame with the next size up Nestie. I embossed the yellow paper with my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder. The brads and buttons are Paper Studio and the dp are K & Co. The arrow is a chipboard one that I colored with my Copic to match (and thanks to Georgia who searched through a drawer to find the last one left of these arrows)



Hopefully you can see through the "window" to the image.



I added ribbon across both sides of the inside as I couldn't do much to the window side.



In case you couldn't see Twiddly closely I added another shot of her.
Anyway my fingers hurt from all the links so I'm signing off right now!
Have a great Sunday!
Katie

Saturday, July 18, 2009

How To Become a Combining Queen! (long but should be worth it :))

Happy Saturday Everyone!
No card for you today but I just wanted to share a few guidelines I go by when I'm making a card and combining challenges.
Over the past few weeks I've been showing you cards that combine anything between 2 and 8 challenges in one.
Many of you have asked me how I've done it and I know many others want to ask but haven't ;)
There are many ways to do this but these are a few pointers that I've found make it easier.

1. Do some searching and create yourself a list of challenge blogs, my list has over 100. I'm looking at making a spreadhseet with the challenges that start on each day of the week and if I do I'll get it in a form that I can share with you.
2. Most blogs do 1 of 3 different challenge themes. These are sketches, color combos and technique/embellishment addition. These aren't set in stone every week as some blogs switch and change around but there are many you can rely on to give you the same type of challenge every week.
3. To start on combining chose one sketch, one color combo and one other. It is hard to combine more than 1 sketch and colors can't usually be combined either.
4. Next see if any blogs are doing the same technique challenge. For example in the last month Paper Piecing has been a popular challenge and so if you added that to your card you could automatically get combining, other popular ones are buttons, bows and ribbons.
5. Then see if anyone has a theme challenge like birthdays, weddings or baby, maybe you have a theme that goes with a color challenge.

These are the main things I do to start combining the challenges.
However there are other very important things to do before you start to create your card;
1. Check that the blog allows combining, most do but there are some that say no combining or that you can combine their challenge with one other.
2. Check whether the blog needs you to use a specific company stamp, lots do.
3. See if they state what type of image they want you to use. Some want just rubber stamped images, some also allow digitally printed images and some allow "created" images with no stamping/coloring needed.
4. See if they state you can manipulate their shetch. Most allow you to change the main shape in the sketch or to rotate but some want you to follow the sketch "to the letter". The examples given on the blog by the DT will usually let you know if they allow a little tweaking but if you're not sure just contact the blog owner, you don't to presume and then have your hard work disqualified.
5. CHECK THE DEADLINE DATE! It is easy to forget this when you are busy working out which challenge works with another and very frustrating when you realize the deadline was yesterday.
There are other things that I do personally that may or may not work for you. On a Monday morning I go through my favorite sketch blogs and do a rough copy of the ones I like on a piece of scratch paper with the name of the blog next to it. I also add the deadline day so I can work on the first one finishing first.
Then I get my white board and note down my favorite color combos, then I add technique/embellishment challenges with each color combo again adding the deadline days. So then I have easily at hand the challenges I want to do. When I've completed a card, added it to my blog, linked and linked back to the challenge blogs I erase the notes from the board.
Anyway if you've made it all this way and like what you read be sure to save the link to this page to help you become a "Combining Queen"! I'd love to hear what you think and to see how well combining works for you!
Katie

Friday, July 17, 2009

All You Need is Love (and a little help from a sketch!)

Another Friday is upon us and I just don't know where the time is going.
You may have noticed a new blinkie on my side, if you haven't I'm happy to say that I was asked to a Guest Designer for Pile It On for the month of October!
If you've never been to Pile It On I highly suggest you do, it was the inspiration for me to combine challenges as that is what they want you to do!
Each Sunday they give you a challenge of their own and to enter you do their's combined with any other current one from another site. Of course I can't usually stop at one extra! LOL
Be sure to check back tomorrow as I have a checklist that may help you start to combine like a pro!
Of course it would be today that the card has just 3 challenges! LOL

Pile It On gave me the sketch

The Pink Elephant gave me the color combo of Red, Light Blue and Darker Blue.
and
Lili of the Valley wanted Animals.




This cute image is another from Cuddly Buddly this time from the Teddy Bear's Home collection. This is another mega collection with already colored versions and the line art images for you to color yourself! Downloads are available the instant you pay for them and they are super value at over 20 images for just $6.50! I colored the image with my Copic's and the dp are DCVW. The flowers are Prima and the fabric brads are Paper Studio, I can't remember where the sentiment vellum sticker came from. The border punch is Apron Lace from Fiskars and the bow is Offray.




The inside is just more of the same dp and a coordinating journaling mat with a punched border.



I just wanted to give you a close up of these super cute bears!
Have a wonderful rest of your Friday and be sure to check out Pile It On and you still have time to join in this weeks sketch challenge :)
Katie

Thursday, July 16, 2009

OMG It's naked!!!

Hello everyone and those with your mouth aghast I only mean today's card has no sentiment! Hee Hee!!
You know that every card of mine has a sentiment, I think it stems from the fact that I'm a scrapbooker first and to me my page is not complete without a title.
Well when I progressed to card making it seemed as though every card needed a "title" too. It feels funny to not have a quote or message on the card, it just feels naked!
But this one is so generic that I couldn't come with a generic title so if will remain a little bare (and when you see it you'll realize the ppun in that :))
On to the card, I will honestly say it was the most complex image I've ever colored and it took me two hours to finish just the coloring!
As usual it covers lots of challenges, 5 today.

A Spoonfull of Sugar gave me the sketch (although I had to do a square as the image was so large)
Color Throwdown gave me the colr combo of Lavender Lace, Garden Green and So Saffron
My Grafico was asking for Fruits
Simon Say Stamp wanted Summer Fruits
and finally
Cute Daisy May wanted 3 of a kind (I did 3 small strawberries together and 2 groups of 3 brads>



This fantastic image came from Teddy Bear's Picnic that you can find at Cuddly Buddly
This is a super set as you get the colored images that you can just cut out and also all the black and white line art versions to color yourself! I colored the whole thing with my Copic's and although it took two hours I'm so pleased with how it turned out. The dp are DCWV, Garden Party and Nana's Nursery Baby Boy.The brads are Paper Studio. I made the strawberries from Coredinations cardstock that I embossed with my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder and then sanded lightly for the white "seeds" to show. I then punched them with a heart punch and used my corner rounder to soften the bottom edge.Finally I inked the edges and added tiny punched leaves. My first love in srapbooking was always punch art and I taught classes for two years when it was super popular. I still have all my punches (over 1000 ) and use them whenever I can.




I used the pattern on the dp as one of the inside pages and added coordinating punched strawberries to the journaling mat that I cut with my nesties.
It sure took a while to complete but I think it was worth it and I hope you do too.
Have a great rest of your Thursday!
Katie

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

You'll need your sunglasses for this one!

Happy Wednesday!
Todays card is certainly a bright one! LOL
A little more whimsical than my usual style but those Dustin Pike images I told you about last week sneaked into my shopping cart and they are too cute to sit not printed and colored for long.
As usual I've been combining challenges and this one covers 6 different ones.
BTW I've been creating a list of challenge blogs and so far I have over 100 so I should never be short of ideas!LOL

The Next Level gave me a wonderful sketch by Jacque
Scrap Masters gave me the color combo of Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze and Rich Razzleberry. I'll admit that I don't have any Stampin' Up stuff so I have to try and chose colors that look similar.
Paper Blooms asked for Animals and a Punny Sentiment (I think I did that :))
Our Creative Companion wanted Pets/Animals as well
Creative Card Crew were looking for you to create a scene
Cupcake Crafts wanted you to include Blossoms and Butterflies.



This cute image from Dustin Pike was colored with Copic's and I added Diamond Stickles to his wings. I cut it out and popped it up as the sketch also required a 3D image. I added a butterfly made with two layers made from a Marvy punch. I tore some Cordinations cardstock to make the grass. The flowers are Prima, the dp is KMA (no longer making their own papers :()



The inside just has more dp and a journaling mat with the same ribbon as the on the front.



I hope you can see the Stickles and the 3D popped image.
So that is todays creation and I hope you like him!
Katie

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

This one's for the girls!

Happy Tuesday everyone!
Wow another baking hot weekend and yesterday was the hottest day of the year so far, I'd be happy with a day that didn't reach 100F! LOL
I've been busy piling challenge upon challenge and todays card covers 8 (I'm determined to break past that 8 barrier soon though ;))
This one is entered into the following:
Friday Sketchers - The sketch
Dare U2 Digi - Color challenge, Pink, Black and White.
Paper Play - Fashion
Simon Says Stamp - Paper Piecing
Creative Inspirations - Gems and Pearls
Use It - 2 punches (I used a border punch and corner rounder punch), texture (I embossed the back panel with my cuttlebug), favorite paper (I'm so fickle it changes every week but I love this paper from Dovecraft that I got for winning blog candy at Suzannes blog), bonus items was pearls.
Digital Tuesday - 1, 2, 3 recipe, 1 digital image, 2 dp (one inside and one outside for me) and 3 different embellishments (for me gems, pearls and flowers)
and finally
Stamp With Fun - Punches
Now that was a long list and now you get to see the card.....




Please meet Lola Rose, she is a fantastic digital image that I got at Pink Petticoat and I just love her! I paper pieced her dress which is so easy with digital stamps, you simply flip the original image and print on the back of your dp and cut it out, perfect and no lines! I used a Martha Stewart border punch on the back mat and embossed it with a Quickutz folder (BTW I spotted them on sale at Remember When and they work just the same as Cuttlebug). The cardstock is Coredinations and after embossing I sanded it lightly for the white core to show through. The dp is Dovecraft courtesy of the wonderful blog candy I won from Suzanne at Scrap Bitz. The pearls are Martha Stewart Wedding and the gems from the $1 spot at Michaels.




The inside is just more dp from the same collection and a little more ribbon to coordinate with the front.




I just thought she was so cute and wanted to give you another look.
I colored her skin and hair with Copic's and added Diamond Stickles to her dress, bag and shoes.

I hope you like her and have a great rest of your day!
Katie

Monday, July 13, 2009

Some Super blog candy from Jacque

The fabulously talened Jacque is offering a huge blog candy to celebrate both her birthday and her 3 month blogiversary!
All the deets can found here and while your there be sure check out all her wonderful work, she is a super cardmaker and a super nice person too!
Happy Birthday Jacque!
Katie

Friday, July 10, 2009

A Super Deal for Digi Stamp fans!

I know many of you are die hard rubber fans but I love digis and one of my favorites is Dustin Pike.
He has a FANTASTIC deal right where you can buy his whole store, 118 images!, for just $25!
You can get to the deal by clicking HERE
You can see all his store Right Here
His designs are super cute and whimsical and they print out a dream.
I use Georgia Pacific cardstock in my Kodak printer and then color with my Copic's.
They don't smear at all and I love that you can resize and flip and layer to your hearts content.
Like yesterdays deal, I have no affliation other than being a very happy customer :)
Have fun!
Katie

Paradise Found (in a card?) maybe, maybe not!

Wow is it Friday already?
I don't know about you but this Summer is whizzing by and I can't believe another week is almost over. When you see 10+ weeks of 3 children 24-7 stretching ahead of you it seems like an eternity but this time before we've known it it's almost 1/2 way gone!
It it still so hot here in TX, Wednesday the area broke a record for electric use so I can't bear to think about my utility bill :(
Anyway enough of my ramblings on to todays card.
This one caused my all sorts of headaches.
First I've never done a shaped card before and so I broke out my Wild Card Cricut cart (thanks for the reminder I had it Sharon :)). That sounds easy huh? well it would be but it took me a while to work out how to make it the right size, thank goodness for the "fit to page" option!
Then I needed a sea image. Well I was going to use a lighthouse stamp that I have but it didn't really fit with a shaped card.
So I went on a hunt through my digital site links, luckily I have a folder full of bookmarks from my digi travels.
I ventured over to the land of etsy and found the perfect image but of course I almost messed up my Paypal account in the process (my fault completely) so that was another near miss.
Then I colored the image and decided to cut out the fish, tiny goobers that they are it hurt my fingers. Of course then the pop dots were too big so I had to trim them.
Then I couldn't find a sentiment small enough to fit and you know I can't bear to leave a card "unspoken".
Then I added the dewdrops (thought they looked like bubbles) and glossy accents to the bubbles and the visor, I mounted the image and all was done, yes?...no
I asked my son if it looked "sealike enough" and he said "no Mum it needs more blue all around" (I had only shadowed the bear at that point)
Well once I commited to coloring the whole thing (I don't have an air brush you see) I didn't stop to think I may run out of ink. I struggled and then then this morning I managed to make it look decent enough I think (not all water is crystal clear is it?)
Still with me? I still wasn't finished and so I added the bling just minutes before photographing.
I'm still not completely happy with him but if I don't put him down I'll be a wreck.
So I don't really think he's Paradise Found but he'll have to do!LOL (plus he covers 6 challenges in one which I'll link to after you finally get to see him)



The image is from Doodle Palace and I colored him with my Copic's. Dewdrops from the floral dept and the rhinestones from Michaels $1 spot. The sentiment is Reminisce.



The inside is simple (after everything the front took my me!), the sentiment is another from the same sticker sheet.



I don't know if you can see the Glossy Accents on the bubbles, fish eyes and visor but they are there.

The challenges he covers are:
Flourishes - A feel of the sea
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday - Pop it up!
Scrappy Frogs - Under the sea!
Color Throwdown - Real Red, Tempting Turquoise and Kiwi Kiss
Paper Blooms - Shaped Cards
All Sorts - Shaped Cards

If you got through all my ramblings then well done, pat yourself on the back and go and make yourself a nice cup of tea!
Have a great Friday!
Katie