Sending Love

Cleaning out my camera card, another card made months ago. This one was sent to my Dad. I used Lawn Fawn's Grand Greetings stamp set for the sentiment (which I cut apart and stacked), the You've Got Mail set for the envelope and mailbox and I think, the Good Fortune set for the tiny heart. The mailbox is paper pieced. I cut a tiny slit in the front of it to tuck one of my fussy-cut envelopes.

Thanks for visiting.

Watercolor Butterflies

I've been cleaning out my craft room and came across another old favorite. This butterfly is from the Stampendous Cling Jumbo Hydrangea set. Remember that one? Another great set but alas, it is no longer available.

Using Canson 140 lb Watercolor paper and Dr. Ph. Martin's Hydrus Fine Art Watercolors, I created a sort of tie-dyed panel. Quick tip: when making tie-dyed panels, fill a shallow rectangular pan with water (I used a disposable aluminum casserole tin that you get at the grocery) and submerge your panel for just a minute or so. This makes it so quick and easy to wick paint through the paper and blend with the other colors.

Dr. Martin's is my favorite brand of watercolor paint. It's a concentrated liquid that comes in a bottle with an eye dropper top. A drop is all you need to create vibrant color on your page. Because of the dropper top, it is also easy to create drips and splatters. I linked to Donna Downey's store where she sells them in kits and as single bottles. While you are there, check out some of the other unique and amazing stuff she has. BTW: Her customer service is amazing! And no, I don't get anything for sending you there. It's just my way of saying, "Thanks, Donna." She has given us all so much with her classes, videos and free tutorials.

After my panel was dry, I stamped the butterflies, using Ranger Archival Jet Black ink, fussy cut them and adhered them to the card. The sentiment is from another retired Stampendous set.

Thanks for visiting.

Teacher Appreciation Cards: You Are Awesum

Here's a thank you note for my son's math teacher.

Lots of product from different manufacturers was used.
chalk board - Lawn Fawn; writing on chalk board - Hero Arts; sentiment - Paper Smooches; girl - MFT; Copic Markers.

Thanks for visiting.

Teacher Appreciation Cards: With Gratitude

Another teacher thank you card. This one was given to my son's Social Studies teacher.

The image is from Stampendous but it is so old, I can't even tell you the name. It's still a favorite. The sentiment is Many Thanks from Paper Smooches and can be found at Ellen Hutson, LLC. Copic Markers were used.

Thanks for visiting.

Teacher Appreciation Cards: I Love Paris

A thank you card for my son's french teacher:

I stamped the Script, Impression Obsession Cover-a-Card stamp with Ranger Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber in Pearl on 2 pieces of Neenah card stock. After the paper was dry, I swiped Ranger Mowed Lawn and Peacock Feathers Distress ink pads onto my craft mat, spritzed with water and then ran the stamped paper through it. Once again, I set the paper aside to dry. I stamped the Stampendous, I Love Paris image with Ranger Archival Jet Black ink, colored the flowers with Prismacolor colored pencils and added highlights with a white Uni-ball Impact Gel Pen. All supplies can be found at Ellen Hutson, LLC except for the I Love Paris image which is retired.

Thanks for visiting.

Mother's Day

A little late, but here is the card I made for my mother for Mother's Day. I was inspired by her beautiful garden that is filled with Spring-blooming bulbs. The Copic colored image is from Flourishes.

Thanks for visiting.

It's A Good Day To Be Happy

Two cards in one month, it feels so good to get crafty again. There's something about it that cleanses the soul and makes everything ok, if only for a little while. It's a good day to be happy.

Even though I haven't been able to do much crafting this past year, I still somehow managed to buy lots of incredible products from my favorite companies, and of course, always with the best of intentions of finding the time to use them. I'm so glad I finally got the chance. This card is for my Dad's birthday.

I created my cloud masks by using the MFT Cloud Cover-Up Die-namics die. After running the die through my Big Shot, I adhered some of the clouds to a white panel using repositional tape and inked around them using Tsukineko Memento Summer Sky dye ink. Next, I removed the clouds and stamped the balloons and sentiment from this adorable Mama Elephant Up and Away clear stamp set. On a separate piece of Copic X-Press It paper, I stamped the balloon set again and the monkey. I used the coordinating Mama Elephant Creative Cuts dies on both the balloons and the monkey and then colored the images with my Copics (W0,W1, E40, E42, R00, B0000, B00, B01, B02, B04, B06, YG00, YG01, YG13, YG17). To assemble the card, I adhered the balloons and then used foam dimensional squares to adhere the monkey and a few of the leftover Cloud Cover-Up clouds. I stamped "Sending Birthday Hugs" on the inside, creating the sentiment from the Lawn Fawn So Much To Say clear stamp set.

I'm entering this card in this week's Cute Card Thursday Challenge, #318 Blue & Green

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my card.

Happy Birthday Dad! I love you.

Snowmen in April

It's hard to believe it's been a year since I posted a card and almost as long since I've made one. Don't you hate it when life gets in the way of crafting?

Here's the first Christmas card of the year created for this week's challenge over on the incredibly inspiring Merry Monday Christmas Challenge blog. This week is challenge 103 and you must use a snowman.

If you're looking for a great challenge with lots of inspiration, Merry Monday is the place to be. I just love what the design team shares each week, absolutely stunning creations.

So I inked my card panel to create a sky and snowbank then placed a stencil over it and created snowflakes by just coloring in the stencil with a white pen. On a separate piece of paper, I stamped the Stampendous Snowball Fight with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with my Copics. After adding a little sparkle with a clear Spica pen, I fussy-cut the image shaping the bottom into another snowbank, popped it up using dimensional foam tape and my card was done.

Wow, it's easy to get out of practice but this was great fun. Thanks for visiting.