Splashes of Watercolor

Welcome to the November Angels Landing Blog Hop. If you missed the beginning, head over to Judi’s digital stamps blog and follow the links. Today the Design Team is introducing two new digital image sets for November, Polar Bear Cubs and Button Bugs.

I love the wonderful, sweet expressions that Judi gives her images and this polar bear is no exception.

**ETA - For those of you asking, the cocoa mix in a cone came premixed and prepackaged.  I did however find a mix recipe at the Nestle site HERE.  The only thing my prepackaged mix had that’s not mentioned in the recipe is some chocolate chips layered between the cocoa and the mini marshmallows. 

I decided to make a tag for this hot chocolate mix that I’ll give as a gift.  I added loads of sparkle  with Star Dust Stickles and also added Ranger Glossy Accents to the little cub’s eyes and nose to make them shine.  The words come as one sentiment but I cut them apart to place them on the tag.  As an added bonus, the tag can be removed and used as an ornament.

Your next stop on the Blog Hop is >>Cheryl’s blog<<
If you get lost along the way, check the master list on Judi’s digital stamps blog. Thanks for visiting, and I hope you’ll enjoy the rest of the hop.

And if you get a chance, you should really check out the fun Our Craft Lounge birthday bash challenges HERE!

• Stamps: Polar Bear Cubs (Angels Landing)
  
• Paper: Neenah white, real red
  
• Ink: computer
• Other: Labels 4 Nestabilities, Star Dust stickles, Tim Holtz Idea-ology grungeboard snowflake, Claudine Hellmuth Studio blank canvas paint and paintbrush, Ranger Glossy Accents, foam tape, rhinestone brad, Copic markers:
  

It’s Wednesday and I don’t know if it’s wacky yet (it’s a little early), but it’s definitely time for the Wacky Wednesday challenge at the Rubbernecker blog!

Joan is our hostess and she’s come up with a darn good challenge!  We’re supposed to take our inspiration from a past experience, memory, possession, style, etc.  Sounds like fun, huh?

At first I was a little apprehensive.  But I’ve got my high school reunion coming up in a couple of weeks, and I was asked if I had any photos I could contribute to a slide show.  I came across the photo that you see replicated below and thought it would serve to make a great altered piece of art.

The photo is of my best friend, Gloria, and myself on our very last day of high school.  I’ll be staying with Gloria the weekend of the reunion and will take this to her as a gift.  I used PSE to alter it a little and although its quality is really very poor, I think it still looks good enough in this content.

I started with an artist’s 5×7 canvas (thanks, Candy!) and painted the edges with charcoal black Studio Paint (from Claudine Hellmuth’s line).  I stamped the French Script background and the flower silhouette on the 7 Gypsies paper and then glued it to the canvas using Studio matte Multi-Medium (also from Claudine Hellmuth) and burnished it with a brayer.  Then I sanded the edges and sponged them with Ranger Distress black soot ink.  The entire canvas front was then painted with more of the Multi-Medium.  When this was all dry, I misted it with a mixture of water and bronze Perfect Pearls.

The blush colored Core’dinations cardstock was embossed with a CB Textile folder, sanded with a Tim Holtz sanding block, and sponged in Distress antique linen ink.

The flower is a piece of lace sewn into a circle (Thanks to Pam Hooten for the instructions!), and the button was a CHA freebie in a bag from Blumenthal Lansing.  Isn’t it gorgeous?

The sentiment from Flower Silhouettes (468) was stamped on a scrap of Core’dinations and glued to the Tim Holtz fragment using Ranger Glossy Accents.

I think the rest is self-explanatory.  Sorry for being so long-winded in this post!

Please head over to the Rubbernecker blog for more information on the challenge, and instructions on how you can play along.  We’d love to see how you “capture” your memories!!

Thanks for visiting today!  See you soon!

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• Stamps: Flower Silhouettes (468), French Script background (448)
  
• Paper: black, Core’dinations - Cauldron, 7 Gypsies - Gypsy Market Paper - Rye
• Ink: Ranger Distress - black soot, antique linen, Versafine - onyx black, Copic W7 marker
  
• Other: Studio paint (charcoal black), Studio artist brush and Studio matte Multi-Medium (Claudine Hellmuth), brayer, Tim Holtz sanding block, ink blending tool, Ranger Perfect Pearls, Ranger mini-mister, CB Textile folder, deckled rectangles Nestabilities, ribbon, May Arts ribbon, lace, vintage button, Tim Holtz fragment, Ranger Glossy Accents, EK Success morocco lace border punch, wonder tape, foam tape

How about another Color Throwdown challenge!?  This week is Tammy’s turn to be hostess, and she decided to venture into the new In Colors from Stampin’ Up!  Here are the colors that she chose:

(And just how do you like that SASSY piece of graphic design work by our very own Kisa??!)

This week we’re being sponsored by Simon Says Stamp!  Wow, what an awesome variety of product and stamps they carry!  And boy, do they have some cute little clear stamps!!  Case in point, this adorable little skunk standing on one of the cutest tree stumps I’ve seen.  These images and the sentiment are from the Deer with Forest Family stamp set.  Too cute!!  (AND they’re made in the good old USA, folks!)

My project today started by using the Label Shaped Box template from Mel McCarthy!  My, what a talented lady she is!

I colored the images with Copic markers and cut them all out.  The flowers were made using plain and scallop circle Nestabilities.  The stems and leaves were cut by hand and I did a lot of faux stitching on everything!  I used a tiny Kaiser Pearl in the center of the skunk’s little flower, and tied it all up with a beautiful raspberry fizz ribbon from Papertrey.

And why did I call this a “button box”?  Because I am using it to present a small plastic bag filled with a sampling of all the Papertrey buttons I purchased at CHA to my friend Karen, whose birthday I missed while I was gone.

Please check out all the details of the challenge at the Color Throwdown blog.  You don’t have to use these exact colors and there is a prize involved!  For more inspiration, please visit the design team’s blogs:

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Barbara * Cathy * Danielle * LeAnne * Tammy * Sylvia (Guest Designer/August)

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Thanks for checking in and please stay tuned for the Wacky Wednesday challenge coming up shortly!

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• Stamps: Deer with Forest Family - Simon Says
  
• Paper: white, kraft, melon mambo, crushed curry, chocolate chip, DCWV textured green, Basic Grey Urban Prairie - patchwork quilt
  
• Ink: Memento - tuxedo black
  
• Other: Label-shaped box template - Mel McCarthy, circle & scallop circle Nestabilities, raspberry fizz satin ribbon (PTI), Kaiser Pearl (SSS), Faber-Castell artist pen, 3M foam tape, wonder tape, black gel pen, Copic markers:

Just a few Christmas gifts I made this year……

Following the trend to CASE Anna’s snowflakes and banners (and birch candle idea):

My boss’s gift (all sugar free candy):

And finally some McD’s gift card holders for the grandkids, copying Jill Haddad’s cute punched Santa (that she copied from Samantha Parisi):

(Click on each photo to see a larger version.)

 Thanks so much for stopping by!  See you next year!

Today I wanted to share with you a gift I made for my daughter.  She’s a preschool teacher and will be receiving end-of-the-year gifts very soon from her students.  Consequently, she’ll need a few thank you cards.

I found this set of brightly colored/patterned note cards at Target on clearance for around $2.00!  I knew I could do something with them!  But they were such fun cards to start with, that I didn’t want to add too much or cover up too much of them.  So I just added 1 or 2 new elements to each.  Here is a group shot:

Aren’t they fun?  I almost didn’t want to give them up!

I pulled out several small stamps from different collections that I knew would look great using the fresh colors from the cards.

Gretchen’s favorite is the polka dot card with the pencil cup.  She’s already requested 2 more sets using this Lockhart image for her sons to give to their teachers.  And she wants them by next Wednesday!  Guess I know what I’ll be doing this weekend! 

Besides the image, which was colored with Prismacolor pencils and cut with a circle Nestabilities die, I only added the strip of ribbon.

This slice of lime card is one of my favorites.  I think I just love the freshness and the simplicity of it.  I stamped the lime from Stampin’ Up’s Tart & Tangy set in chalk ink and added the little thanks sentiment from Anna’s Posies for You stamp set from Whipper Snapper.

Here is an example of the third design of note card that I altered.  How about those big, beautiful flowers!  I didn’t want to overshadow them so I just used a piece of ribbon and the scalloped flower image from SU’s So Many Scallops stamped in chalk ink.  I topped it with a clear sticker.

The fourth design in the set of cards was so cute that it didn’t need any added stamped elements besides the thanks sentiment.  I did, however, decide to add a flower with a brad center over 1 of the flowers just for something a little different.

And here are some others, using the same lime and different images from Lockhart Stamps:

That’s it for today!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a fabulous Mother’s Day!!!

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I’m listing these ingredients strictly from memory, so please forgive me if I forget something or I’m not too specific~

Stamps: Garden Angel, Wildflowers, Pencil Cup - Lockhart Stamps; So Many Scallops, Tart & Tangy - Stampin’ Up; thanks! - Posies for You set from Whipper Snapper

Paper: white, note cards & envelopes - Target

Inks: Palette Hybrid Noir, various chalk inks

Accessories: Prismacolor pencils, Copic markers, ribbon, prima flower, brad, Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, clear sticker, scallop punch

I’ve had a blast coloring these images of Riley enjoying different phases of his summer day.  Earlier he was in his garden watering some new plants, but we’ll save that for another post!

I’ve always thought the way Michelle Wooderson and Lisa Zappa create groups of cards, using one image (or a series of similar ones) and the same DP was a great way to save time and increase the size of your stash.  That’s what I’ve done here, and in the process realized that these cards as a series could indeed depict a day in the “Life of Riley”.

Here’s the series:

To start his day, Riley decided he’d go surfing.  Lookin’ good there, Riley!  I don’t guess he can “hang ten”, can he?? (hehe)

So after lunch and at least a 15 minute rest (…yes, Mom!) he decided to splash around in the pool a little and possibly just float awhile, while soaking up some sun. 

Finally, a nice little siesta with a cool drink is just the way to end his day!

Looking back over the series, can you see how Riley is progressing with his tan?  I didn’t realize I was making him a different shade on each card, but it sure adds to the theme, huh?

I used my new Basic Grey cupcake 6×6 pad (from Jacksonbelle Embellishments) for the patterned paper layers.  All the papers sure are yummy!  The card bases are textured cardstock - one is Wild Wasabi and the others an unknown blue (not SU).  The Surfer Riley card started with Beate’s weekend sketch challenge from last Friday - WSC42.  Then I used the same layers but moved them around for the other 2 cards.  I used the same ribbon for each card and the same Dew Drops but placed them differently.  All of Riley’s faces are raised on pieces of mounting tape.  I also raised the tops of palm trees as well on the last card.  All the sentiments are from A Muse and are perfect to describe Riley’s day!

I hope you enjoyed this little look into Riley’s world!  Making these cards certainly did add a little sunshine to my day!Please come back to visit soon!

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Stamps: Surfer Riley, Swimmer Riley, Tropical Riley - Hanna Stamps, A Muse sentiments

Paper: white, red, textured wild wasabi, textured blue, Basic Grey Cupcake 6×6 pad

Ink: Ranger Distress ink - Black Soot 

Accessories: Copic markers, EK Curvy Cutter, giga Scallop circle punch, white gel pen, slot punch, ribbon, Dew Drops (flame), Tombo mono aqua glue, mounting tape

Hi, all!

This set was made for the Featured Stamper Challenge FS57 on Splitcoaststampers. Actually the card part of the set was. Today’s artist is Paris Otremba and here is her card that I chose for inspiration: the JOY of layers.

I kept the general layout, the theme of layers, the horizontal ribbon element, bright colors and the pop-ups in the main image (her dress is popped up). I changed the theme, the shape of the horizontal layer, added a sentiment, and tied the ribbon into a knot.

I just found this Clearly Wordsworth set on sale at Hobby Lobby. I’ve always thought the little stick people were so cute, and they really make coloring easy! After I made the card, I thought it would be neat to have a little note pad to match.

Here are photos of the pieces separately (click for a larger version):

My daughter and son-in-law are headed to Mexico tomorrow for a week to attend a wedding, so this set will go to them. Hopefully, Jen will keep this note pad with her and keep notes about their trip and about the photos she takes.

The letters on the pad are American Crafts thickers. They have a sticky backing already, but just to make sure they didn’t fall off I added some Tombow mono glue to the back.

As a side note……guess who’s keeping their 19 month old son while they’re away? Yup, me!!! So I don’t know just how much you’ll be hearing from me this week. I’ll try to stay on top of things! (Supportive thoughts and well-wishes requested!!)

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Stamps: Vacation - Clearly Wordsworth

Paper: white, wild wasabi, real red, brocade blue, Basic Grey Mellow 6×6 pad

Inks: Ranger Distress Black Soot

Accessories: Copic markers, rectangle and petite oval Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, horizontal slot punch, wild wasabi stitched ribbon, American Crafts thickers, Tombow mono glue, mounting tape