CCEE Fairies

Frances challenged the CCEE Stampers to use a fairy image in our design today.  I got several free images, including this sweet Lili of the Valley fairy image, out of a Papercraft Inspirations (a UK publication) magazine last year and totally forgot I had them until I was searching for something else one day and came upon them.  I colored her with Copic markers and added turquoise stickles to sections of her wings and wand.

The crocheted flower was white, but I colored it with my Sage Bundle distress pad to match my Sage ribbon.  The button in the center is a dark eggplant color.

Here's a closer view of this sweet little image

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a blessed day!

Supplies I used:
Stamps:  Lili of the Valley
Paper:  White, Eggplant
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories:  Copic markers, crocheted flower, ribbon, button, Polkadots Card Creator die, Labels Seventeen Nestability

CCEE Flat Backed Treat Box

The CCEE Stampers' challenge this week is to make a Flat Backed Treat Box. Bonus points if we included a heart in our design.

 (click on image for larger view)

Splitcoaststampers (SCS) has a great tutorial on their website for this fun treat box.  I used some old designer paper from Stampin' Up (a part of my New Year's resolution to use my designer papers and ribbons!).  I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored it in with glitter gel pens.  I made a faux heart button for the red heart at the top, die cutting the heart three times out of Ridinghood Red card stock, gluing them together, piercing two button holes, and covering with Glossy Accents.  The hearts at the bottom right were stamped and punched with my heart trio punch.

Click here to check out the creations of the rest of the design team!

Supplies I used:
Stamps:  Love You Much (Stampin' Up)
Paper:  Ridinghood Red, Very Vanilla, designer paper
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories:  trio heart punch, corner dimple punch, heart die, paper piercer, glitter gel pens, dimensionals




 

Dolce Stamps & Cards and CCEE Challenges!

It's time for yet another Dolce Stamps & Cards challenge! I am the challenge hostess for this challenge, and I challenged the team to make their own designer paper by using all or a portion of their main image.

For my card, I used this beautiful poinsettia image by Stampendous.   I stamped the poinsettia image twice; first on white cardstock with black ink and then on vellum cardstock with gold ink.  I heat embossed the image on the vellum with gold and colored the image from behind and in front.  I cut out the vellum poinsettias and layered them on top of the white cardstock with dimensionals.  I also gold embossed this same image on the background white cardstock.  I used my "Joy" sentiment Sizzix die on gold glitter cardstock and looped it over these fun Candi brads.

I hope you'll join us in this challenge!  You can get all the challenge details at the Dolce Stamps and Cards blog, as well as see the creations the design team made!  The winner of the challenge will receive a $10.00 gift certificate to the Dolce Stamps and Cards online store which is full of all kinds of awesome stamping goodies. In addition, any order over $40.00 from a challenge winner will be credited back shipping fees!  Be sure to read all the challenge rules on the left sidebar on the Dolce Stamps and Cards blog so that you're eligible to win the prize!

Next up is my weekly CCEE Stampers challenge.  Tosha challenged us to use three different shapes on our card.  I used my classic circle, lacey circle, big scalloped square Nestabilities and Stampin' Up's Peekaboo die.  I used this week's MoJo sketch for my layout, and I used Verve's Petals & Stems stamp set. 

Here's a closer view of the cute little peekaboo window.  I made the little door handles by stamping the smallest dotted circle from Verve's Petals & Stems set three times, gluing them together, and then covering them with Glossy Accents.

Here's yet another closer view with the doors of the window open so you can see the sentiment inside.

I'm so glad you stopped by, and, as always, I appreciate your comments!  Have a SUPERB day!

Favorite Color Combo

Shirley is the hostess with the mostest for our October CCEE challenges.  For this first one in October, she challenged us to make a project using our favorite color combo.  It was hard for me to settle on just one, but I did finally, choosing pink, green, white and black .

I used my Rose Creations Nestabilities to create my flower out of Pink Pirouette, sponging the edges of the flower with Regal Rose.  The sentiment is by Verve from their Celebrating You set given to me by my friend JoJo, along with the coordinating dies (thanks, JoJo!).  The ribbon is May Arts.
Here's a close up of the flower.  Obviously, this kind of card is best hand delivered to the recipient.  The flower would also make a lovely decoration on a gift.

Check out our CCEE blog to see what Joanne, Shirley, Tosha, Cindy and Frances have to show you in terms of their favorite color combos.  Perhaps you'd like to play along with us, too!

Flowers, Flowers...Everywhere Flowers!

Hello, my stamping friends!  I love flowers and designing cards with them.  I have two cards to share with you today.

First, here it is another Thursday already, which means it's time for another CCEE Stampers' challenge.  I am the August hostess and this week I'm challenging everyone to incorporate glass into their design whether it be a glass image, a cracked glass technique, or actual glass!  You can get all the juicy details and see Shirley's, Joanne's, Cindy's, and Frances's creations on our CCEE Stampers blog. 

I chose to make a bookmark for my design.  I love these beautiful Aztec Gold Sunflowers by Heartfelt Creations that I bought at the rubber stamping show last weekend!  There are actually three sizes in this stamp set, but I only needed the two smaller ones for this creation.  What's really cool about them is that they match the Blossom 2 Nestabilities!  Woot!

For the glass challenge, I used Vintage Glass Glitter for the center of my flower and around the Memory Glass frame laid over my friend to friend sentiment.  Once the glue dried, I colored the glass with my Sepia Copic marker. Here's a close up view.

The sentiment and weed stamp are by Rubbernecker.  The ribbon is actually made from the same blue and white gingham checked designer paper at the bottom of the bookmark.  I used a checkerboard embossing folder on the Brilliant Blue cardstock.

I'd also like to share with you the fourth card in a set I made for Dolce Stamps and Cards with JustRite's Beautiful Blossoms set.  Dolce Stamps and Cards has been featuring each card on their blog over the last month.  Today's daisy card is the last one in the set and all the details are outlined on their blog.

Here's the entire set I shared with you back in July.

These lovely stamps made for a beautiful gift set and are available at Dolce Stamps and Cards.  If you visit the blog to see my card, you'll see a link to the Dolce Stamps and Cards store at the upper right entitled Shop at Dolce Stamps and Cards.

Downhill Racers

Cindy Haffner is the CCEE challenge hostess for the month of November, and she has a terrific line up of challenges for us every Thursday.  She's kicking off this Thursday with the challenge to make a winter scene card.  What better for a winter scene than a big ol' polar bear sleddin' with his little bunny buddy?  Isn't this pair just too cute?  The set is called Downhill Racers by Rubbernecker from their Northpole collection, and I just love this darling image!

I used Fun Flock on my polar bear and iridescent ice for the snowy ground.  The designer paper is Snow Much Fun by 3BugsinaRug.  I watercolored the sled and scarves with Cherry Cobbler and Baja Breeze reinkers and the bunny was colored with Copic markers.  I used the large Stampin' Up snowflake punch for the red snowflake and a Martha Stewart punch for the smaller white snowflake.  I spritzed shimmer spray on the snowflakes for some added dazzle.

Please stop by our CCEE Stampers blog and check out the challenge details to play along with us and the wonderful designs of Tosha, Joanne, Frances, Cindy, and Shirley

Thanks for stopping by and your much appreciated comments!

CAS Fifth Avenue

Sorry I haven't been around much.  Work has been really crazy and demanding for several months now, and I think that has been wearing me down. I find I haven't been feeling the stamping mojo lately. I hope it's just a passing phase.

On a happier note, Terry and I were gone on vacation to beautiful Sevierville, Tennessee with his sister and her husband.  We had a lot of fun seeing the Smoky Mountains, shopping in Gatlinburg, eating way too much delicious Southern cooking, and just doing touristy things.   We went to the aquarium one day, and I got to see my beloved penguins at play!  They are so adorable and funny to watch. 
 

Shirley challenged the CCEE team to make a clean and simple card this week.  I love CAS cards, but I do find them difficult to make---thus, a challenge!  I watercolored Baja Breeze onto my Fifth Avenue Floral flowers, adding shading by drying my brush out a bit and dipping it back into the reinker.  The sentiment is from Simple Sayings II; I always use my stamp-a-ma-jig to line up sentiments when I stamp them directly onto cardstock.  I used Very Vanilla cardstock.

Please stop by our CCEE blog and see the fab creations my team mates Shirley, Cindy, Frances, Joanne, and Tosha made, as well as check out the details for playing along with us.

Fall Filtered Flower

Shirley (wannabcre8tive) is our October CCEE challenge hostess, and she's kicked off the month of October with a fabulous challenge to make our own flowers (ribbon, material, or paper). 

I used the frosted filter technique for my flower.  I dropped various colors of reinkers onto a coffee filter, crumpled it up, and let it dry.  I then took my three smallest scalloped circle Nestabilities for the layers of my flower.  The center of the flower is a boho blossoms punch out of More Mustard and topped off with a Ruby Red brad.  I used a toothpick to slightly roll the edges of my flower, and I separated each layer with thin dimensionals.  My leaves were hand cut, crimped, and scored down the center with Old Olive cardstock sponged with Always Artichoke ink on the edges.  My designer paper is from the Amber Autumn fall stack collection (matstack by DCWV).  I used a checkerboard embossing folder for the burgundy colored dp.  The sentiment is by Rubbernecker.

You can check out the magnificent designs my friends Joanne, Tosh, Shirley, Frances, and Cindy made, as well as check out the challenge guidelines to play along with us, if you'd like, by going to our CCEE blog.  We'd love it if you joined us!

Happy Fall!

Arrrr! You'll Walk the Plank If....

Yes, Frances has the CCEE Stampers talking like pirates today in honor of International Talk Like a Pirate Day!  That was her challenge to us this week to make some kind of a pirate card.  I don't have anything pirate related in my stamping stash, so I went to an on-line coloring page and downloaded this pirate walking the plank and colored him with Copic markers.  I thought he was rather comical looking.  I generated my own sentiment on my computer which reads:  "Arrrr!  You'll walk the plank if....".  The rest of the sentiment is on the inside and reads "...you don't have a Happy Birthday!" 

Wanna see what my team mates Joanne, Frances, Cindy, Shirley and Tosh made and/or participate in this fun challenge with us?  Check out the details on our CCEE blog!

Teddy Bear Love

Frances has challenged the CCEE Stampers to make a card with a teddy bear on it in honor of Teddy Bear Day.  I adore this little Whipper Snapper called Li'l Standing Teddy.  I colored him with Copic markers and framed him with my tag punches and Spellbinder Shapeabilities.  I used this cute Jillibean designer paper for my topnote panel, and the ribbon is the retired Stampin' Up kraft taffeta.  Everything is popped up on dimensionals.  Oh, and that is the little heart punch from the trio heart punch that I glued to his li'l bear paw.

Please be sure to stop by our CCEE blog to see what my friends Frances, Tosha, Joanne, Shirley, and Cindy have made.  You can also get the challenge details there if you'd like to play along with us!

Sunflower Bookmark

Frances, aka StampOwl, is the CCEE hostess with the mostest for the month of September, and does she have some awesome challenges lined up for us.  She took her inspiration from the “September Holidays and Special Days” site. September is “Read A New Book” month. Of course most of us can’t read a whole book in one sitting so we need something to mark our place so we know where we left off. So this week the challenge is to create a bookmark!




For my bookmark, I cut a piece of cardboard to 2" x 6" and glued my 2" x 6" pieces of designer paper to it.  I'm not sure of the maker of this designer paper as I picked it up at a garage sale this summer and there is no marking on the back.  I can't swear to it, but it feels and looks like Basic Grey to me.  I sponged the outer edges of the dp with Always Artichoke, which also helped to color the sides of the cardboard.  I stamped my Serene Sunflowers in SU Summer Sun and Chocolate Chip and Adirondack Butterscotch, sponging Adirondack Ginger on the tips of the flowers after I fussy cut them.  My leaves were stamped in Adirondack Lettuce and sponged with SU Always Artichoke on the edges.  I spritzed the entire bookmark and flowers with gold Shimmer Spritz (Tsukineo) and it shimmers so beautifully.  I only wish I was able to capture it with my photograph.  I used my Cropadile to punch a hole at the top for my gold organdy and spring moss grosgrain ribbons, as well as the gold cord that holds the sunflower charm.  The charm was originally silver, but I touched it up with a gold Zig Painty pen.

I like this sentiment which reads, "True friends grow separately without growing apart."

We hope you'll join us in our challenge.  You can check out the details and see the other spectacular bookmarks my friends Tosha, Joanne, Frances, Shirley, and Cindy made on our CCEE blog.

Tosha has another beautiful sketch design for the CCEE team this week.  I used this beautiful pearlized metallic designer paper with the Create a Garden Sets 1 and 2 and the Garden Phrase set from Rubbernecker.

We'd love it if you'd play along with us.  You can get the challenge details and see the beautiful projects the CCEE team members--Cindy, Frances, Joanne, Tosha, and Shirley made on our CCEE blog.

Stamps:  Rubbernecker
Cardstock:  Blush Blossom, Whisper White, DCWV Luxury Stack
Ink:  Blush Blossom, Peeled Paint, Certainly Celery
Accessories:  ric rac punch, pearls

Woven Floral

Joanne (JoJot) gave us a beautiful woven sketch design challenge this week with flowers as the twist for our CCEE challenge.  The flowers can be the image, the background, an accent, on the ribbon, or any combination.   I love my new (new to me) Fifth Avenue Floral set and this flower image, in particular.  It's fun to stamp directly onto colored cardstock or patterned paper and sponge the edges for depth.


If you would like to play along all you have to do is create a card using the above challenge and upload it to your blog and/or to your SCS Gallery using the keyword CCEE1030. Please check out the beautiful creations my friends Joanne, Cindy, Shirley, Tosh and Frances made on our CCEE blog.

Christmas in July and still daring....

Actually, I love making Christmas cards any time of the year.  They are some of my favorite projects to do.  Joanne Grzelak, aka JoJot, challenged the CCEE gals to make a Christmas in July card using this fabulous sketch design.  Do you recognize the designer paper?  Yep, some of the retired SU True Thyme and Cranberry Crisp dp.  I had a few scraps of it left, so used it in my design.  We'd love it if you played along with us.  You can get all the deets right HERE as well as view the beautiful cards my team mates, Tosha, Joanne, Cindy, Shirley, and Frances have made.

And, yes, I'm still daring to get dirty with the Dirty Girls on Splitcoaststampers (SCS) by trying to participate in as many of the fabulous challenges they've come up with for the SCS Fan Club members. As a full-time working-outside-of-the-home gal, it's hard to keep up with all of them, and I so wish I could just stay home this week and play in EVERY challenge!!! The DD gals have really outdone themselves with some terrific challenges.

An Electic Mixture

Here are a few cards I've made this week and finally getting posted to my blog.

1.  This is for our weekly CCEE challenge hosted by JoJot to create a summer-themed project using this sketch design.  I love getting together with family and friends on a beautiful, summer day and having a cookout or picnic.  Please be sure to check out the designs my friends made on our CCEE blog; we'd love it if you played along with us, too!

2.  I made my next card for one of the "funnest" challenges ever on Splitcoaststampers (SCS) called Teapot Tuesday.  Mothermark is the challenge hostess, and man, is she funny!  She always has these terrific teapots for our inspiration and associates some pretty goofy stories to go along with them.  It's been great to see the number of challenge participants growing and how everyone gets into the goofy groove, as I call it.  We have so much fun!  You can get the details on this week's challenge here.

This week, we were going "dotty."  I stamped directly onto black and white polkadotted designer paper.  I hand drew the hills and outlined with slashes and x's, which is not my original idea.  I got the idea from Cathy (aka Mutnik) when she was featured stamper on SCS a while back..  I colored the entire scene (except for the sun) with a mixture of watercolor wonder crayons, followed by reinkers and blender pen.  The sun was made with my 3/4" circle and boho blossoms punches.

3.  My last card was for yesterday's sketch challenge on SCS, as well as using the distressed linen technique that Gina K demonstrated on Stamp TV.  Basically, you do an emboss resist technique on designer paper and then color with distress inks.  It was fun to do!  I started with a piece of Basic Grey's Nook and Pantry; I have a small piece of it laying at the base of my card so you can see how my background paper started out. I clear embossed this Rubbernecker shasta flower onto the designer paper, let it cool, then I sponged my distress inks (tattered rose and weathered wood) over that. I really like the effect of how you can still see the original designer paper pattern after you've embossed and sponged it with ink.

I stamped an extra shasta flower onto bordering blue, cut it out, rubbed wax paper over it to give it a little shimmer, sponged the outer edges with the weathered wood distress ink, bent back the edges of the flower with my bone folder, added hematite glitter to the center, and popped up on a dimensional.

I black embossed my sentiment (also by Rubbernecker) on vellum and adhered that to the back of my die cut oval panel. 

I always appreciate your visits and comments; thanks!  Have a great day!

Golfin' and Rockin'

Shirley has us making masculine cards for our CCEE challenge this week.  Masculine cards have always been a challenge for me; I probably just need more masculine stamps, huh? 

I pulled out my Let's Hear It for the Boys stamp set from My Favorite Things, using the sentiment, golf club and ball on the tee from the set.  I watercolored the grass and then stamped grass sprigs with a grass stamp from my Rubbernecker Kittie Kits Cause a Scene set.  Sponged the sky and used an embossing folder that reminds me of golfball dimples.

My friends and I from the CCEE team hope you'll join us in our challenge.  You can get the details and see my friends' projects on our CCEE blog.

This next card is one I made last night for the sketch challenge on Splitcoaststampers.

The diner, records, and sentiments are from the Fabulous 50's stamp set by Rubbernecker.  The diner was silver embossed and then colored with Copic markers to resemble the colors of the 1950s. Those are platinum records at the top of the design which were also embossed in silver.  I made this card for a family member who was born in 1950.  Since she's an Elvis fan, I'm going to tell her that these are Elvis's platinum records.

Thanks for swingin' by today; now, go rock someone's world and do something nice for them!!!