A Flowerpot For Christmas

Today's card was made for:

Cute Daisy Mae Challenge -- Red Christmas theme

Everybody Art -- Challenge #67: Christmas

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge -- FTTC43: Thank you, and/or Christmas theme

Papertake Weekly Challenge -- Christmas Crackers theme

Stamp, Scrap & Doodle Saturdays -- Week 17: Christmas theme

I'm having so much fun with flowerpot cards that I just have to make more!  Once again I've used more flower stamps from the Layers Of Color Flowering Gems set, embossing red on red for the flowers and green on green for the leaves.  I glued clear acrylic discs to the flower centers with Diamond Glaze, and used a glue pen and dots of glitter around the petals.

I stamped and embossed a sentiment on the flower-topped card that is removable by pulling up and out of the pot.

Here's what I used:

Burgundy card stock -- Neenah

Patterned card stock -- Cosmo Cricket

Green card stock -- Close To My Heart

Stamps -- Layers of Color: Flowering gemstones (flowers and leaves)

                Art Journey:  Christmas sentiment

Ink -- Versamark

Embossing Powder -- Ranger Industries: Rich red, and Evergreen

Ribbon -- Offray

Clear Acrylic Discs -- Michael's floral department

Glitter -- DecoArt: Glamour dust

Glue -- JudiKins: Diamond glaze

            Sakura: Quickie glue, pinpoint roller pen

            Scotch: Dimensional tape and double-stick tape

Until next time....

A Pot Of Flowers

Today's card was made for:
Stamp Scrap and Doodle -- Challenge #16: Flower Pots
Crafty Cardmakers -- Challenge #8: Clear As Day theme
Creative Card Crew -- Challenge #38: Favorite Things theme
Crazy 4 Challenges -- Challenge #13: Punch Happy
Gingersnap Creations -- GC#31: Monochromatic
Kraftin' Kimmie -- Challenge #8: Touchy-Feely

With Thanksgiving on Thursday, life was a little hectic this week.  And although I made two flower pot cards on Wednesday for the Stamp, Scrap and Doodle challenge, I gave one of them away without snapping a photo, and I didn't get around to scanning the second card (above) until today.  But even though that challenge is past and a new one has already been announced, I wanted to tell you all what a great time I had making these cards which look so difficult, but are truly fast and simple!  Go ahead and click on the link above to the SSD challenge where you'll find links to two tutorials for making these fun and pretty cards!  The flower pot is one piece by itself, and the flowers sit atop a separate insert (below).

A couple of things I must tell you about this card before I give the list of materials:  First of all, the flowers on top of my card are from the fabulous Layers of Color "flowering gems" collection, which is one of 9 new sets of art stamps designed by owner, Laura Campbell.  I'm still thrilling over winning all 9 sets in her draw, and I'm having so much fun playing with these new stamps!  Secondly, I've discovered packages of wonderful clear dots of plastic.  I have no idea what they are called, or even if they have a name.  Michael's sells them in large-ish packs for use in flower vases, but I've found that they can be colored with alcohol inks, or used clear and as-is (above), to let the color of the item below show through while slightly magnifying what's underneath.  This is what I've used for Crafty Cardmakers "clear as day" theme.  I used a border punch on the flower pot for Crazy 4's "punch happy" theme, and lots of Cuttlebug embossing for Kraftin' Kimmie's "touchy feely" theme.  And since flowers are one of my "favorite things",  my pot of flowers fits Creative Card Crew's challenge, as well.

Here's what I used:

Pumpkin card stock -- Neenah

Stamps -- Layers of Color: Flowering gemstones

Ink -- Versamark

Embossing powder -- Stampendous:  Fine line black

Ribbon -- Offray

Markers -- Faber-Castell: Manga color set

Clear Plastic Dots -- Michael's floral department

Embossing -- Cuttlebug: "Spots & Dots", "Swiss Dots", and "Feel Better" folders

Until next time....

Twilight Tilda

Today's card was made for:

C4E -- Recipe challenge #8: Sketch, flowers & glitter
Crafty Calendar -- Challenge #2:  Weather theme
Creative Inspirations -- Challenge #36:  Sparkle
Just Magnolia -- Week #32: Masking
One Stop Craft Challenge -- #56: Snowflakes
Stampin' B's -- Challenge #33: Red, black, white & a moon

I keep thinking that Tilda must be awfully cold sitting in the snow with her bare legs and hands, but maybe the night is warmer than it looks.  I stamped and masked Tilda first, then stamped the trees and the ground and embossed them with glittery powder which acted as a resist for the grey watercolor washes of the night sky.  I removed a half circle of watercolor with a paper towel for the moon while the paint was still wet, then colored Tilda and assembled the card.

Here's what I used:

Patterned papers -- Dovecraft
Stamped images -- Magnolia: Tilda with Christmas stockings
                              Inkadinkado:  Winter trees
Ink -- Versamark
Embossing powder -- JudiKins: Diamond Sparkle
Flowers -- Prima
Ribbon -- Offray
Paint -- Winsor & Newton pan watercolor
Pencils -- Prismacolor Premier
Pens -- Marvy Le PlumeII: #46 Crimson lake
            Faber-Castell: Pitt shades of grey
Sparkle dots -- Stampendous: Class A'peel dot sparklers silver

Until next time....

Princess Tilda

Today's card was made for:

MyGrafico Challenge #25 -- "Pink, Green and Orange" theme
Friday Sketchers #79 -- Sketch

It was fun to take a break from Christmas cards and use these bright colors, although I couldn't help sneaking in the snowflake paper to coordinate with Tilda's outfit.   I've left the sentiment for the inside of the card, and I am having hard time choosing one.  Any suggestions?

As always, if you know of any blog challenges that are not included on my sidebar, please feel free to send me links via email, or in a comment to this post, and thank you to all of you who have added to my growing list!

Here's what I used for this card:

Patterned Papers -- Pink Petticoat
Image -- Magnolia: Tilda with Christmas Stockings
Flowers -- Prima
Crown -- Lisa's Altered Art
Pearls -- Michael's
Prismacolor Premier pencils
Sakura white gelly roll pen

Until next time....

Thank you Laura! I WON THE GRAND PRIZE...

...All Nine Sets of New Release Layers Of Color Art Stamps!!!  Wooo hoo!

Please bear with me!  I am so thrilled right now, I'm probably not making sense!  I just got an email from Laura of Layers of Color art stamps, saying I had won the first prize--all nine sets of her newest release stamps!!!  I cannot tell you how over-the-top thrilled I am, especially since it has been a dream of mine to own her entire collection!  These are stamps are some of the most beautiful, and the highest quality available anywhere, and each one is lovingly hand-drawn by Laura, herself.  You owe it to yourself to stop by the Layers of Color blog, or the store website, and take a look at these!!  There's a button on my sidebar that will take you there, or you can click the links in this post.
The card above was created using one of the LOC architectural block stamps.  Below is a collage of mine using the same stamp set in an altogether different way.  You can read about this collage by clicking HERE.

Thank you so much, Laura!!  This is a dream come true!!

Big Hugs

Today's card was made for:

Creative Inspirations Challenge #35-- "New or Neglected" theme
Gingersnap Creations GC30 -- "Spicy Supply - Buttons" theme
La La Weekly Challenge #12 -- "Getting Punchy" theme
MyGrafico Challenge #24 -- "Stitching" theme
Sketch and Stash Challenge #23 -- sketch
SPCC -- Color Combo #23

In my last post I told you how much fun I had making my first easel card, so I've made this card into another one!  The top photo is the most accurate of the two, as I shot the second pic tonight in bright indoor light and didn't take time to make corrections.  If you look very carefully in the second pic, you can see the faux stitching on the bottom sentiment.  The image from MyGrafico is my "new" item, and the pink button has been sitting in my stash for years, so it's the "neglected" one.

Here's what I used:

All Papers -- Pink Petticoat
Image -- MyGrafico
Flowers -- Prima
Faux Stitches and Sentiment -- Pilot Razor Point extra fine line black ink pen
Punch -- Martha Stewart
Die Cut -- Spellbinders

Until next time....

Easel-y Done!

Today's card was made for:

Card Patterns -- Sketch

Crazy 4 (C4C10) -- "Easel Card" theme

One Stop Craft Challenge -- "Cards For Kids" theme

Secret Crafter -- "Easel Card" theme

Stamp, Scrap & Doodle -- "Special Folds" theme

Easel cards are really a hit this season.  I've been seeing them in all the magazines and on lots of blogs, so I thought I'd try my hand at making a children's Christmas easel card.  It turned out to be more fun and much easier to construct than I thought it would be.   Now I'm anxious to make more!

I used:

Patterned Papers -- Scenic Route

Solid Papers -- Close To My Heart

Snowman Image -- Cute Daisy Mae

Snow -- DecoArt, Snow-Tex

Glitter -- DecoArt, Glamour Glitter Dust

Text Stamp -- PSX

Until next time....

Merry And Bright

I made today's card for:

A Spoon Full Of Sugar -- Sketch
Crafty Cardmakers -- "Stamp Something" theme
Creative Card Crew -- "Ribbons and Gems" theme
Cute Daisy Mae -- "Blue Christmas" theme and digi-stamp
Die Cuts R Us --"Nest Something" theme
My Time To Craft -- "So Many Scallops" theme

A big hug and a huge thank you to all who have emailed me with links to blog challenges!  I'm hoping to turn the list of challenges on my side bar into one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date on the web, so please email me if you know of one that you don't see here, and I'll be sure to add it!

Also, if you haven't already done so, please click on the "I helped spread the love" widget to learn about what you can do to ease the pain in a little girl's life by making and sending a card to Jaimie.

Until next time....

A Favorite Of Mine

Zapfino is one of my favorite fonts, and I've used it on this simple Thank You card for Cuttlebug Challenge's "your favorite" theme.

I'm pressed for time, so this is short and simple.

Until next time....

First Things First

Something for Jaimie:

Sometimes in life when you think you are doing something for one reason,  you find that what you've done can serve another purpose also.

When I made this card, the original intention was to let everyone know about the celebration that will be taking place on November 14th and 15th at  Layers Of Color  art stamps, and the fabulous give-aways of some of the most beautiful and highest quality art stamps on the market, all hand drawn by Laura Campbell (see the link on my sidebar).   The card above uses LOC stamps from the architectural blocks set.

Then late last night when I was putting the final touches on this brand new blog and getting ready to post the card, I got an email from Laura about the Spread The Love blog hop.  I clicked the link in her message, and read about the horror and sadness in this 11 year old NH girl's life, and about the mom's who want to do what they can to help make a difference, no matter how small, in easing her pain.  As soon as I'm finished with this first post, I'll be participating in the Stamp Something For Jaimie blog hop, and this card will be in the mail to Jaimie.  Please click the link in this post or on my sidebar and read about this effort to let a little girl know that she's not alone.   Maybe you'll even want to send a card of your own.

A Little Something About Me and My New Blog:

I'm a mixed-media artist who works mostly in acrylics, collage and assemblage, but I LOVE to unwind with cards and crafts!  For awhile I tried putting both types of art and craft on my Typepad blog, but it just didn't seem to work for me.  I wanted a home on the web where my cards and crafts could stand on their own.  So last week I got busy creating a new banner and a simple format, searched high and low for what I hope will evolve into one of the most comprehensive lists of blog challenge sites for my sidebar, and in the process, found the Charisma Cardz challenge, which was another place this card was headed even before I got the email about the blog hop for Jaimie.

Credits:

Banner:

Fancy Blog Banner Letters:  Pink Petticoat

Card:

Stamps:  Layers of Color

Paper:  Pink Petticoat

Image:  Lisa's Altered Art

And A Little Favor,  If You Don't Mind My Asking:

If you know of any craft or card challenge sites that do not already appear on my blog, please feel free to email me with links!  It would help me in my search for the perfect challenge, and will help me with my goal to make this blog one of the best stops on the web to find a challenge!  Thanks!

Until next time....