Quick Bday Card - World Cardmaking Day

Here is a birthday card I made for my grandmother's 90th birthday party yesterday. It was my first time coloring up the sweet TGF Cheeky Cherry Pie. I used the sketch from The Greeting Farm's Double Take Tuesday. I really am not a fan of how her hair turned out. I used E31, E33, and Y28. It did not blend well but oh well.

Here is the sketch I followed. This was the first time I followed a sketch so it was an interesting experience. Thanks for the inspiration!

I would like to add this card to the following challenge:

The Greeting Farm - Double Take Tuesday

Pink TGF

Hi, just a quick post today to enter the TGF Farm Fresh Friday Challenge before the deadline.

This is my first time coloring up Cheeky Geeky from The Greeting Farm. She is adorable! I'm really working on hair and I think I'm getting better. I've been watching some great tutorials that I will try and remember to share later.

Copic Colors Used:  YG03, RV00, RV02, RV04, E35, E37, E39, B00, B02, C3

Ingredients:

Paper - DCWV - Glitter Sweet Mat Stack

Ink - Memento Angel Pink

Glossy Accents for her glass lenses

Stamps: TGF Cheeky Geeky, CTMH D1003 "Girly Girl" and CTMH S1206 "Life is Tweet"

Sizzix Sizzlits Decorative Label Set 4

Sizzix Framelits Scallop Oval

I paper pieced her dress and then tried to color coordinate her to the paper.


I would like to enter the following challenges:

The Greeting Farm - Farm Fresh Friday Challenge (Pink)
Mad for Markers - Think Pink October Challenge
Oozak - Challenge #7 Die Cuts
A Breast Cancer Awareness Blog - Link up for Pink

Three Cards for the Price of One (blog entry)

Well it's definitely been a little while since I last posted. I'm trying to get all the preparations in order for my daughter's second birthday - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme. I've been scouring Pinterest for ideas and waking up early to work on mini projects. I will share pics after the party next month.

In the meantime, here are three cards I've recently done. I made my first Easel Card - and I love how easy it is to do! I found a dummy-proof tutorial here. It was late when I was doing this card so I had wanted to emboss the Happy Birthday image but didn't want to wake the kiddos by going into the craft/guest room or using the embossing tool (it's kinda loud for my light sleepers). My DD is not pleasant is she misses any of her beauty rest. :)

CARD #1

I have been dying to use my TGF Creeper Crew rubber stamps and Leslie was my first guinea pig. She was a blast to color. I wanted her hair to be black but I did not have C7 or C9 so settled for a dark grey. I just purchased the C7 and hopefully will be getting C9 soon because I adore coloring this type of hair.

Copics:  Jeans- BG70, BG72, BG75
             Hair - C1, C3, C7
             Shirt - YG06, C3, V12, V15, V17
             Button and Shoes - E29, E35, E37
             Skin - E000, E00, E11, R20 (V06 for eyeshadow)

Paper: DCWV Green Stack
Stamps: Leslie from Creeper Crew Kit and sentiment (same kit) - The Greeting Farm (TGF)

CARD #2

Copics: too many to list
Paper: DCWV Animal Crackers
Stamp Set: Penny Black Zoophabet

I would like to submit this card to the following challenges:

7KidsCollegeFund - Flower Power  (ok, it's a bit of a stretch but there is a flower on the "S" and the "H" is completely made up of flowers + the hat has a flower). You can get these Penny Black stamps (and a bunch more) at 7KidsCollegeFund. They operate right out of Phoenix. I want to try local pickup sometime.

MayzyArt Challenge - Silly

CARD #3
This next card was my first attempt at paper piecing. I stamped the balloons onto the glitter card stock and cut them out. Then I glued them to the image. I think it turned out pretty well. I can see doing this many times in my future - it was fun, easy, and adds a great dimension to the piece. Anya Lifts is a big stamp (as you can see). I do not even have an acrylic block big enough for her. I just inked the raw stamp (with EZ Mount already attached) and carefully placed it on my cardstock - it worked very well.

Paper: DCWV Mango Frost, DCWV Glitter Stack

Stamp: Anya Lifts (TGF)

Other: Recollections flowers, brads, forest green cardstock, and ribbon from stash

Copics: Sorry, did not record. I know her shirt has to be YG03, YG07, and YG63 as that is my favorite green combination.

I would like to submit this card to the following challenges:

The Pink Elephant Challenge - Embellishments

Oozak Challenge Blog - Fall Themed (2nd Entry)

TGF's Farm Fresh Friday - Birthday Theme

Cowgirl Love

I recently discovered this local digi artist (MayzyArt) on Etsy and wanted to share her with you. There are several of her creations that are on my wish list but I had to snag this cutie cowgirl right away. The best part about her shop - digis are almost all only $2 each! Very easy on the pocketbook.

I have to say that she was an absolute JOY coloring with my copic markers (sorry I didn't write down which ones this time). The lines on the digi were easy and there was enough detail to her outfit to play with the colors. I put her on a birthday card. 

Paper is DCWV "The Green Stack" - made from recycled paper. I have to admit, I bought this paper stack on a whim, but I have actually used it a TON in boy cards. The browns, blues, and greens are very masculine. With two little girls, most of my paper is very pink or purple (with sparkles). The stamp is from CTMH, brads are from Hobby Lobby (don't remember brand), and I used the Sizzix Sizzlits - Decorative Label Set #4.

The inside was fun. I'm really working on trying to dress up the insides to go with the theme of the card. It just gives it that extra special touch. I used my brown Hemptique bakers twine on the front and then I added a "lasso" to the inside of the card. I just adhered it with mini glue dots. Since I had already written in the sentiment before taking the photo, I covered it up with white paper for this picture.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Mad for Markers - Anything Goes
Crafty Catch Weekly Challenge - Anything Goes
Oozak Challenge #5 - Fall Themed (blue skies and fall leaves in the background of the card)

Anniversary - Lemonade Challenge

I was going to make an anniversary card for my Uncle and Aunt and wanted to use blue and yellow because those were the colors for their wedding. When the TGF Lemonade Challenge came up, it was a match made in heaven! I like to try and match my stamp personas to the people or person the card is going to so I made the girl's hair blond with darker highlights and the boy's hair slightly light grey (sorry Uncle!). I think he looks distinguished don't you?! I just used Copic Sketch C1 and the Colorless Blender on his hair and I think it turned out pretty well.

I used an older TGF digi stamp (50s Sweetheart) on my Copic Blending Card X-Press It paper. The other paper is just standard cardstock I  bought at Joanns and have accumulated over the years. I really love how a simple embossing folder can make plain cardstock just POP!

Here are my other crafty supplies:

I *heart* my CTMH stamps and am really digging this set!

And here is the finished card - A Festive Pink and Yellow Lemonade! Hope you enjoy!

As stated above, I would like to enter this card into TGF's Farm Fresh Friday Challenge - Pink Lemonade

Since it's also full of bright colors - Oozak.com challenge too!

Well, I finally got my X-Press It Paper. It is very smooth to the touch but, honestly, I'm not too sure I like how it blends. I created a card for a family member's birthday and while I was happy with the blending in the hair and face, the dress did not blend as nicely. I did have a great time coloring her though as I think Saturated Canary images are amazing! They are very fun to color! I'm still getting the hang of copics but I think I am improving. As stated, I used a brand new saturated canary image - isn't she beautiful! Her hair is fab!

I tried coloring her in all blues (BG70, BG72, BG75). I also used Martha Stewart Wintergreen glitter glue for some sparkle to her hair.

I blinged out the card with some rhinestones and glitter cardstock. Here is the finished card. The stamped phrase is from Close to My Heart C1458 Paper Lantern. I also used an embossing folder from Lifestyle Crafts.

I kept the inside very simple and clean using CTMH S1206 Life is Tweet stamps and a few heart punches using my recollections punch from the glitter cardstock.

I would like to add this card into the following:

Mad for Markers - Winter Blues

Saturated Canary - Bling it Out!

Copic fun and The Greeting Farm

After the kids finally went to bed I had some time to finally catch up on my cards. I decided to use digital stamps I just ordered from The Greeting Farm. So far I absolutely love coloring them. Even a copic novice like me can make them look good.

This first one is an anniversary card for a friend. Her wedding colors were black and red. I used the digital image 50s Sweetheart from TGF. Copic colors for the dress and bow were R20, R22 and R24. I really need to get a deeper red. I wasn't able to get it as dark as I would have liked. I used C1 on the boy's jacket and C1, C5 on the pants. I'm still waiting for C3 to come in the mail. The background is an embossed image from Cuttlebug.

My second card is for the loss of a pet. When I saw the Navajo Anya digi from The Greeting Farm, I could imagine all the possibilities for her. She would be great for harvest, Thanksgiving, or any solemn occasion. I went online and found a bunch of Native American inspirational quotes to use with her. She is really beautiful and I had a great time coloring her.

Copics:
Outfit/feather: YR00, YR04, YR07, YG03, YG63, YG67
Cuttlebug embossing folder
Dog stamp set from Michaels

Challenge - The Pink Elephant (Orange)
Challenge - Perfect Sentiments (Anything Goes)

The Princesses

Introducing....my pair of princesses

These girls make everything worthwhile. I'm a working mom with a husband, two princesses, (and you guessed it - a poodle). There's also the cat but that's another story. :)

My dreams are for the girls to love arts and crafts as much as me. I'll settle for coloring with the oldest princess for now. She with her crayons and coloring book and I with my copics and stamps. Yes, she does try to steal my markers all the time. I love to share with her but not my precious markers! Besides, she is in that stage where sometimes she likes to color and sometimes she likes to taste her coloring instruments (yuck). This too shall pass.

Just Beginning with Copics

I've just started copics and now I'm completely obsessed! I was afraid to try them because I don't consider myself to be terribly artistic and I love stamping. I always steered away from the stamps that required coloring. Well, now I am going in the complete opposite direction. Copics are fun! Thank you eBay for making copics more affordable. Here is my first stash from eBay. I had to get some Memento Dew Drops too since they are the best for quick drying and stamping.

With my now slim collection of copics I tried coloring that very night with some Disney Princess Clear Stamps I had. I think I like coloring the less realistic hair. Don't you think Ariel looks amazing with purple hair! I can't wait to buy some pink and bright blue copics to do funky hair! I'm also watching YouTube videos on how to color skin so I tried some different versions of skin tones on Snow White. I think I actually like her with a more Latina vibe. I gave Ariel a suntan in the third stamp from the left but the effect was a bit blotchy. I'm using Georgia Pacific Paper from Walmart. It's cheap for sure but the paper soaks up the ink so quickly that you have to move fast to blend. I've ordered some Copic X-Press It Paper and will be experimenting soon when that finally arrives in my mail box.

I truly hope this blog will show a progression of my copic technique. My thoughts so far on it is that it's actually super easy and very relaxing. I can do it before bed while watching TV with the kiddos. Now if only I could bring my whole craft area into the living room too!

Dante - The Poodle

Introducing...the poodle. This is Dante - a 3.5 year old standard poodle and my first child. He loves snuggles and whines when any four-legged creature appears on the television - whether real or cartoon. He wants to play with everyone and has the most amazing spirit. Now that the two princesses are around, he is definitely moved down in the rank in the house but not in our hearts. Of the three, he is the only one who lets me paper craft in peace. This blog will be hopefully the story of my princesses, my start at crafting, and poodle pranks.