Honouring Jacqueline...

I am not sure how many of you know Jacqueline, but those who do are constantly inspired by her art work, in particular her grid cards, her collage cards, her beautiful tags and lots of other awesomeness.  I encourage you to visit her blog and just browse around, I am pretty sure you will leave wanting to try something that inspired you from her blog!  Here is an example of one of her beautiful cards:

I have been struggling for months now trying to put together a collage or grid card here and there and at least try to capture some of her essence!  But I think today is the day that I am going to leave this beautiful art work to her because I absolutely do not do it justice, and I think I would rather simply enjoy looking at Jacqueline's creations.

I tried today, believe it, I tried, to make a grid card, trying to do some stamping on patterned paper.  I know, how difficult can that be, it's not, but it's the pulling it all together to create a tableau of perfection, that's my missing link.  So Jacqueline, here is my, I think, final attempt.  I will be more than satisfied to continue being inspired by the underlying and overt beauty of your work!

Paper: Cardstock (PTI); Patterned Paper (Jacqueline)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black; Spun Sugar & Tumbled Glass & Shabby Shutters & Vintage Photo DI;
Stamps: Hero Arts
Other: Marcy square puch; EK Success Tag punch; Jute (Michaels)

I used a lot of different stamps to make this card!  I guess that's why Jacqueline always talks about using her "scraps"!  I think it's the only way, because to do all that work for only one card is a waste I think.

The end result is so plain in comparison to what I had envisaged, but it's ok, I will accept it as it is!

Thank you for putting up with my rattlings!  Hubby will be home for a few weeks this Sunday and then maybe I wont rattle on so much!

Tonight my daughter and I are going to her Kindergarten orientation night, I am so excited, she is becoming such a big girl!

Have a totally awesome day!

Flowery Hello

Here is a quick card I made using all PTI supplies except for the sentiment which is from Ali Edwards at Technique Tuesday and the pearls which are very old from South Africa.

Paper: PTI
Stamps: PTI (Flower Garden); Ali Edwards (sentiment)
Ink: Copic Marker; Versafine Onyx Black; Shabby Shutters DI
Other: Pearls; Corner Chomper

I really enjoyed paper piecing these flowers, it's not something I do often, simply because I don't think about it, not because I don't like it.

I simply wanted to share, nothing special, I just like the happy colours.

Birthday Girl

I don't know whose birthday it is but I wanted to highlight one of the girls in my card as the birthday girl, and if there was no way to paper piece her I was going to find another way....

Paper: Cardstock (PTI & Paper Studio); Neenah Solar White
Ink: Pumice Stone DI; Tombow markers; Versafine Onyx Black
Stamps: Hero Arts
Other: Ribbon (Recollections)

This card took me way too long, not to actually make it, but to sit and think about it!  I wanted the girl on the right to be the birthday girl and I needed to figure out a way of making the viewer know that.  First I tried to wrap my head around maybe paper piecing her and nearly decided to stamp her on the reverse side of some patterned paper, but then the dress most likely would have been reversed.  So I ditched that idea.

Finally, I inked my stamp with Pumice Stone and then very carefully wiped off the ink on her dress and basically coloured that part of the stamp with my Tombow yellow marker, and voila!  The rest is history and definitely does not require an explanation.

I seem to be more willing to explore a little more with my stamping lately, (like my curtain card before), and not as concerned about making errors (so I say, until I actually do make a mess and then I will probably be mad with myself!). Gosh, I hope there are no Psychologists visiting my blog, they would have a field day trying to look deep into why I am this way! No offencse!

Ok, off I go to have a small bite to eat, and then maybe post another card!  Thank you for making the time to visit, I totally cherish it!

Another Hero Arts 90 Minute Scramble

And you still have 30 minutes to play (or less) if you want, go HERE for the details!

Sharon is the hostess of this challenge today, (also a Hero Arts hostess), and she set a fabulous option - create something with a WINDOW.  I know that generally speaking this is a cut out window, but as a reflection of my current mood, (because I am really, really missing my husband), I decided to do my own version of a window, let me show you what I mean....

Paper: Neenah Solar White; Notecard (Hobby Lobby); Making Memories (patterned paper)
Ink: Tea Dye & Walnut Stain DI; Soft Leaf (HA Shadow Ink); Poppy (HA Chalk Ink)
Stamps: Hero Arts
Other: EK Success tab punch; Clea ep

I stamped the top of the white notecard with the Envelope background stamp using Tea Dye DI.  In the centre at the top I stamped the chandelier with Walnut Stain and clear embossed it.

To create the curtains I first stamped the Dots & Flowers background stamp using Poppy chalk ink on white paper.  Then I stamped those scalloped borders using Soft Leaf ink and cut them out.  I measured where the centre of the background piece was and glued the two scallops, then cut around them so that I had two seperate curtains.  I inked the edges with Tea Dye DI and used dimensional strips to pop the two curtains up.

The chair was stamped on patterned paper, cut out and adhered to the centre of the room.  And that is invisible me sitting in that chair, counting the days for hubby to come home!  And that also signifies the moment for me to snap out of this mood and now revert to making bright happy cards!

Thank you for looking!

Honouring Sally!

Hey, Joy over on Less Is More is having her first challenge and has asked that we select a person, and one of their creations, that we would like to honour and make something based off of that.  There are so many people out there in the crafting world that inspire me and I did not know where to start!  So instead of getting "my knickers completely in a knot" I decided to go and take a look at all the fabulous creations I am constantly adding to my Favourites over on Flickr.

And over and over again, no surprise, Sally's cards keep popping up (amongst many others which I will have to make a point of honouring sometime!).  Next was trying to choose one of Sally's creations!  Well, I cannot sew anything that will never come undone so I could not choose from any of her beautifully sewn creations, but I chose a beautiful card which you can find HERE.

Oh my goodness, I so love this card!  Butterflies that I totally adore!  I love that canvas stripe background in that beautiful pink and look at those little roses, and that beautiful bow with the pearl on it! I hope Sally does not mind, but apart from the bits I simply could not do for the lack of skills, I basically CASED her card!  Here is my version in honour of a great artist and crafter!

Paper: Dark Chocolate cs (PTI); Neenah Solar White
Ink: Victorian Velvet DI; Viva Pink Glimmer Mist; Versafine Onyx Black
Stamps: Hero Arts
Other: Swiss Dot CB Embossing Folder; Nestabilitie Die; Seam Binding (ribbon); Gems (old stash); Dryer Sheets; Clear EP; Stickles

As you can see, I basicaly CASED this card.  That background stamp was a cling stamp I won from Sally herself during a colour challenge she hosted, so what better time to use it!

 Ribbons and flowers are not my strong suite when it comes to having to make them, so it was nice to be able to use the seam binding, which I coloured with the glimmer mist spray.  The butterfly, after being embossed, was also coloured with the same glimmer mist.  Now for something interesting that I came across yesterday. You see that  "flower", well, it's made using dryer sheets!  Yes, the used ones from the laundry!  I guess one can just about recycle anything!  Alas, I cannot take credit for this at all, so please visit Gabrielle Pollaco , an awesome scrapbooker with equally awesome tutorials, for how to make this very simple flower! The cut circles were sprayed with Glimmer Mist, the edges were lightly coated with stickles, and when dry, each was mounted on the other with an added gem to finish it off!  So easy!

I hope I did you proud Sally! Your work truly inspires me, but more than that, it's the personality that shines through your work, something gentle and caring.

And thank you Joy for hosting this challenge!

Colour Splash #2

This is the second card I made for the challenge over at the Lawnscaping blog. Again I wanted to use Kraf and Cream as my neutrals.

Paper: PTI Cardstock; Neenah Solar White
Ink: Desert Sand Dye Ink (CTMH); Vintage Photo Distress Ink; Copic Markers
Stamps: Hero Arts; Lawn Fawn (sentiment)
Other: Corner Chomper; Diamond Stickles

A very simple design, I inked up the Three Ferns with the Desert Sand ink and applied a little Vintage Photo to the edges.  I coloured the butterfly with some Turquoise Copic Markers and also rubbed some stickles over it to give it a nice sparkle! When adhering the butterfly I popped up the one wing for some dimension on this rather flat card.

The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn.

Again, just very simple, but I like the clean design.

That is my third and last post for today.  I hope you are all having an enjoyable Sunday.  It's early in the morning here and already very  humid!  Was it not winter just the other day!!!

OWH Cards For Kid

I noticed over at the OWH Stars & Stamps blog that they were asking for Cards for Kids for the Heroes to be able to send home to their children.  So, what a perfect reason to use the Monster stamp set from Hero Arts.  Here are two versions of the same card, just something simple.

Paper: Hero Arts Notecards; Neenah Solar White; Patterned paper (from my stash)

Ink: Tumbled Glass, Faded Jeans, Broken China & Scattered Straw Distress Ink; Versafine Onyx Black
Stamps: Hero Arts
Other: Corner Chomper

I stamped that cute little monster on some patterned paper and cut him out before adhering him to the dotted panel.  That dotted panel is made using the Life of the Party Dots background stamp, which I am going to love!

Thank you for popping in!

Colour Splash #1

I am going to enter two cards to this weeks challenge over at Lawnscaping Colour Splash Challenge, but they will be in two different posts.  And I think I will enter this one for the Hero Arts monthly contest too.  Here is the inspirational photo from Lawnscaping.

Ok, so these challenges sometimes confuse me, because do they want black and white with one of the colour splashes used on the photo only?  Or can it also be any neutral colours like cream or kraft (I think we can call that neutral in this crafting world), and can the colour splash be a colour other than what is in this photo?  As I am typing this I am still in doubt, but there is no going back, I made my cards and that is what I am posting. 

Again, I am only using a Lawn Faw sentiment and banner as this is all I have for now.

Paper: PTI Cardstock; Nennah Solar White
Ink: Pumice Stone Distress Ink; Memento Tuxedo Black; Copic Markers
Stamps: Hero Arts; Lawn Fawn
Other: Gem; Circle Punch (for the corners)

I used the exquisite Butterfly Flowers stamp from Hero Arts and stamped it in Pumice Stone (Grey being the new black).  Thebanner was coloured using two shades of Prawn Copic markers.   I added a little gem which I coloured with the copics to match.

Simon Says Stamp Challenge

I have been wanting to play in the Simon Says Stamp Challenge for quite some time and eventually I got around to it.  This weeks' challenge is to create something for Mother's Day or something Girlie.  I made a Mother's Day card and if I have more time later this weekend I will try to make something girlie too.

Paper: Hero Arts Notecard; Patterned Paper (from a friend); Neenah Solar White
Ink: Iris Chalk Ink (Hero Arts);Soft Leaf Shadow Ink (Hero Arts)
Stamps: Unity (Frame); Hero Arts (sentiment); PTI (Embellishment set)
Other: Corner Chomper; Gems; PTI Edgers Die #2

I have been wanting to use this Frame stamp since I got it and I thought it would add a nice touch to a Mother's Day card.  I am not entirely convinced about this card, but it's feminine and pretty in a way. I love that piec of patterned paper which I received from a special friend, Jacqueline, in the South of France.

Thank you for stopping by today.  Sorry for it being such a short post, but I have a few things on the go at the moment, although I will try to craft later today.  Have an awesome day!

And thank you to my new followers that continue to trickle through my blog, it's such  a nice feeling to wake up in the morning and see that someone decided they liked what I had to offer!  Thank You!

March CCC

Every month the amazing Deborah, whose BLOG you have to visit to brighten your day, hosts and manages a worlwide card challenge.  She provides the sketch, theme and colour combination, you choose to go with one or all, and then you send your card to person X and receive one from person Y.  It's wonderful, you get to meet so many different people and receive awesome cards!

I had the pleasure of sending my card to my friend Rosemary.

Paper: PTI Cardstock and patterned paper; Neenah Solar White
Ink: Copic Markers; Memento Tuxedo Black; CTMH (Juniper dye ink)
Stamps: Unity
Other: PTI Edgers Die #1; Corner Chomper; Brad (unknown)

This time around I went with Deborah's sketch and theme, not the colours.  I wanted something brighter.  Don't you love those lanterns and that sentiment from Unity's KOM? And how lucky was I to find a brad in my stash that had those exact colours!

The person who sent me a card was Joy (Dustypenny) . Here is her lovely colourful and happy card! It's so nice to receive brighter cards at this time of the year, they make me happy!

Thank you Joy!  And than you Deborah for all your organising!

A Simple Thank You

A very quick card today, which I actually made earlier this week.  I have not really had any time to craft these last two days for some reason, I seem to be running around or doing other things.

Paper: PTI cardstock; Neenah Solar White
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black; Adirondack Dye Ink (Denim)
Stamps: PTI; Lawn Fawn (sentiment)
Other: Pearls from my stash; Corner Chomper

The only two things I want to say about this card is that I love the colour combination,  and, I would really like to thank Lawn Fawn (Kelly Marie) for sending me that tiny "Thank You" sentiment as a gift for ordering some stamps from them.  Thank you, I really love that little stamp!

Feeling Lonely...

I was in such a "lonely" mood last night, hubby finally got away on his flight (he was supposed to fly out on Monday morning but was back home in the afternoon after they discovered computer problems for the wing flaps.  They tried to fly out on Tuesday and he was back again in the afternoon, they had to make an emergency stop whilst taxiing down the runway as the engine died!  Lucky try number three!).

And combined with that I have been thinking about my Mother and missing her, so I made two sentimental cards, one for my Mom and the second one, seeing as I cannot send it to OWH for obvious reasons once you see the sentiment - I will mail it blank to the first commenter (here or on Flickr) who tells me they can truly use it for someone special.  I don't like to hoard cards, so I would really love to give it away.

Ok, this one is for my Mom:

Paper: PTI cardstock; Neenah Solar White
Ink: Copic markers; Vintage Photo distress ink; Memento Tuxedo Black
Stamps: Hero Arts; Technique Tuesday (sentiment)
Other: Corner Chomper; Diamond Stickles; PTI Edgers Die #1

Isn't that rose from the "Two Birds" cling set (Hero Arts) really beautiful?  And once again, my favourite fonts by Ali Edwards over at Technique Tuesday.  The little butterfly is from the Antique Engravings set, I coloured it with Copics and then inked the edges with some Vintage Photo Distress ink.  The shape at the bottom of the card is made using the edgers die by PTI.

I have just received my Hero Arts winnings for January and February and immediately had a vision of making a card of a man, standing by an empty chair, thinking of the one he loves, who normally sits in that chair, but she is not there, perhaps she has gone away to visit family and this is the first time they are apart, perhaps they have been facing some challenges and have decided to be apart for a while, but he cannot face life without her....Ok, I was in a bit of a strange mood when I made it!   I really do miss my husband when he goes away!

Paper: PTI Cardstock; Neenah Solar white
Ink: Copic Markers; Chipped Sapphire distress ink; Memento Tuxedo black
Stamps: Hero Arts
Other: Corner Chomper

The blue panel in the background is white paper which I inked up with Chipped Sapphire, scrunched up and also splashed water on (tears of loneliness).  I stamped the chair from the Hero Arts set on blush coloured cardstock.  Then I used my copic markers to colour the legs and arms of the chair.  I also used my Prawn copic marker to colour the edge of the cushion and some of the flowers on the chair. I think it came out rather nicely.

So, what do you think, is this another acceptable use of this Plaid Person from Hero Arts?!

Let me know if you could use this card for that special someone, or give it to a man who could use it should I say.

Wishing you a wonderful day!  Give your loved ones close to you a hug today, it's simply no fun when they are away!

Masculine Birthday

I tried my hand at another masculinish birthday card. Not sure what I really think about it?  I may actually like the home made embellishment more than the card.

Paper: PTI cardstock; Neenah Solar White
Ink: Vitage Photo distress ink; Soft Leaf shadow ink (HA); Versafine Onyx Black
Stamps: Hero Arts
Other: Twine (The Twinery); Brad (Recollections); Corner Chomper

Not a difficult card to make as you can see.  The pale green panel was stamped using the lovely Hero Arts Large Fabric Design cling stamp and the Soft Leaf shadow ink.  I like the silky soft finish of that ink, beautiful!

I stamped the centre panel with the ever so popular Envelope Pattern stamp and distressed the edges a little before inking it up with some more distress ink.

That embelishment was fun to make!  I just added the brad on a cicular piece of paper which I had covered with glue, then I added the twine around it until it was the size I wanted.  I finished that off by inking it a little with the same distress ink so that it felt a little more masculine! The actual notecard also has some distress ink around the edges to complete the look.

Are you having a nice day? 

Lawn Fawn and Wee Memories Challenge

(This is my 3rd post today, so scroll down if you want!)

Lawn Fawn and Wee Memories have teamed up for a co-challenge, the theme is Cute &/or Cuddly" and if you don't have any Lawn Fawn stamps it's ok.

I am new to Lawn Fawn and very impressed with the quality of their stamps.  I used my only two sets to incorporate the sentiment into what I think is a cute card.

Paper: PTI Cardstock; Neenah Solar White
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black; Copic marker; Vintage Photo & Scattered Straw Distress Ink; Latte Chalk Ink (Hero Arts)
Stamps: Hero Arts (fox); Lawn Fawn (sentiment & Banner); PTI (plaid background on the fox)
Other: Nestabilitie die

I just love this little fox and the way she holds hercvhead! I stamped the fox twice.  Once I overstamped her with a plaid background from PTI's "Bitty Background Blocks"  using Latte chalk ink. The second image I basically coloured the tail end and the head piece with a Copic marker and then cut that out and glued it over the fox.

After stamping the banner I cut it out and mounted it on the card using dimensional strips.

This card is for my very special friend Lisa who lives three doors down from me.  I am not sure what our husbands think of us because we are constantly walking over to each other's houses to either share a card, show off some new stamps, and today, Lisa brought me over an Iced Chai Tea!  There are not many friends like that!  But, she does more than that, she is really "here" for me and I hope she feels the same about me. And with my hubby gone away to West Africa I am sure that she is going to be seeing a lot of me!!!

I encourage you to go over to the Lawnscaping and Wee Memories blogs and play along, it's fun!

Masculine Birthday

(This is my second post today, so if you are keen, scroll down for the first)

I thought it was time to break out the "Plaid Person" from Hero Arts.  His counterpart has had quite a bit of blog time, and she won a Fab 5 at Hero Arts just recently!  So, Mr.Plaid has been a bit lonely, and a tad jealous! 

Paper: PTI Cardstock; Neenah Solar White
Ink: Tumbled Glass & Vintage Photo Distress Ink; Versafine Onyx Black; Punch Chalk Ink;
Stamps: Hero Arts; Technique Tuesday (party hat)
Other: Corner Chomper; Glossy Accents

I wanted to add a pompom to his party hat but then he started really looking ridiculous, so I just left it as is with a bit of glossy accents in it.  I hope you like him.  I will have to figure out a few more things to do with him soon.

Thank you for coming by today!

Moxie Fab: Tuesday Trigger: A Citrus Celebration

I just love the fun colours over at Moxie Fab for this Tuesday trigger!  Look at this , total yumminess:

The moment I saw it I saw the card in my minds' eye!  It uses a cute little stamp from Imaginisce which I have had for a while, and today was the perfect day to ink it up and paper piece it! I was totally inspired by the bright colours, the polka dots and the ruffles on the cupcake edge!

Paper: PTI (white and orange cardstock); Patterned Paper (Hobby Lobby); other from my stash
Ink: Versamark Onyx Black; Copic marker
Stamps: Imaginisce; Hero Arts (sentiment)
Other: Paper flower and brad (from my stash), Stampin Up Border punch

The little flower was coloured over with a bright yellow copic marker and a little orange brad was added to the centre.  What do you think? Is she not the cutest Octopus ever!

Thinking of You

I have been admiring the Lawn Fawn stamps for quite some time, but I am always sceptic about trying out new stamps, I have had my fingers burned too many times!  Has that happened to you, you see a cute set, you purchase it and oops, no matter what you do it just will not stamp clearly!  That really frustrates me, especially since we all know that stamps are not inexpensive.

But, I have just been impressed over all with Kelly Marie, she seems like a genuinely lovely person, she creates some awesome cards and now that I have purchased two of her sets, I am happy to say that her stamps stamp beautifully.  I did not go with the cutesy images she has, (although I would love to have them all!), but instead decided to eventually purchase Sophie's Sentiment and Bannerific, it's versatile which means I can use it a lot.

So, my first card shows a stamp from each set, and then I paired that up with some beautiful Hero Arts, and something else that is new, Inkadinkaclings! I cannot seem to find it on their website, but I saw this cute set of three little birdies at Archivers, and decided to try it out.  I am again happy to report that it stamps like a dream!

Paper: PTI (Spring Moss cardstock); Neenah Solar White; Patterned Paper (Hobby Lobby)
Ink: CTMH (Sorbet & Desert Sand); Shabby Shutters & Tea Dye Distress Inks; Versafine Onyx Black
Stamps: Hero Arts; Lawn Fawn; Inkadinkaclings

I first stamped the Silhouette Grass with two different colours.  The edges of the panel were inked up with some Distress Inks.  The birdies are paper pieced (I did cut off the legs and the little branch from the birdie on the left!). As for the banner, I first stamped it with the Envelope Pattern Stamp in a green shadow ink and then stamped the sentiment, cut it out and adhered it to the panel!

The next one is for you Michelle and Dawn, who said that they would not be bored if I showed them more of my butterfly cards (I may post another one tomorrow).

Paper: PTI cardstock; Neenah Solar White
Ink: Copics; Tea Dye Distress Ink; Memento Tuxedo Black
Stamps: Hero Arts
Other: Corner Chomper; Pearls (Hero Arts), EK Sucess border punch

The background is stamped with my second all time favourite stamp, the Envelope Pattern stamp.  The butterfly is coloured in with Copics.

That's it for now.  I need to get ready to take my daughter to school and then off to take my car in for repairs as a young kid decided it might be fun to drive into the rear of my car two weeks ago!

Wishing you a wonderful day!

Birthday Butterfly

Today I made a few CAS Birthday cards that I want to send off to OWH, but I am only sharing one here so that I don't bore you.  I stamped off a whole lot of my favourite butterfly from the Hero Arts Antique Engravings set and coloured them all in using my Copic markers.  Then I trimmed them all so that they could be ready to adhere to my cards as I needed them.

Paper: PTI Cardstock; Neenah Solar White
Ink: Copic markers; Versafine Onyx Black; Memento Tuxedo Black; Adirondack (Denim)
Stamps: Hero Arts (butterfly); Technique Tuesday (sentiment); PTI (Polka Dot Basics)
Other: Corner Chomper; Dimentional dots

Not only is this my favourite butterfly of all times, but I also just love the fonts that Ali Edwards comes up with.  You can find her magnificent stamps HERE.

The spring weather here in Houston is just absolutely gorgeous, but I know that the stiffling heat is just around the corner!  I can already feel it when I go running at 5am, I come back looking like a tomato!

Hoping you are all having a fabulous day!

This is it....

Here are the last 3 cards I want to show you from my Hero Arts Flickr friends. Hopefully after this I will get going in my craft room and make a few cards myself!

This is from someone that inspires me tremendously!  I totally love all of her creations, and I am sure that her beautiful creations are simply an extension of her innner beauty! Jacqueline, who lives in France sent me this tag along with another beautiful card and lots of pretty goodies which I think I have blogged about before.

This beautiful tag is made of some kind of wood like paper as it is very sturdy and you can see the woodgrain on the back side. Jacqueline loves buterflies, just as much as I do, so they always tend to make an appearance on her creations.  She also has the knack of adding those tiny little flowers with a little gem/bead in the centre, they are always so perfectly positioned!  I love it!

This is a card I received at Christmas time from Virginia who lives in Canada.  Not only does she make awesome cards but she has a wicked sense of humour and you can often find some hilarious pictures posted on her bog!  I love going to her blog to lighten up and have a good laugh (and to be inspired of course)!  I love how Virginia stamped that wreath with little snowflakes!

And last but not least, I received this surprise card on my Birthday from Linda W, as she is known on the Flickr site, a current Hero Arts hostess, we share the same birthday! I was so touched by this!  I love the shape of this card, and then the beautiful flower and the little heart lace under the sentiment, so pretty!

It was fun being able to share these with you!  No more excuses now, I need to get crafting too!

I will make the time to post a little bit about our wonderful trip to Banff!  It's simply breathtakingly beautiful there! 

Chat to you all soon again!  Have a wonderful Sunday!

Linda's 90 Minute Scramble!

Ok, I managed to get to do the 90 minute scramble over on the Hero Art Flickr site! Today Linda hosted it and provided us with the choice of either using a sketch she made or using acetate on our card.  I went with the sketch!  Here is what I decided to make:

Paper: Hero Arts notecard; Neenah Solar White
Ink: Copics, Memento Tuxedo Black, Colorbox white ink
Stamps: Hero Arts, Ali Edwards (sentiment)
Other: Circle punch, Sparkly gem (Recollections), green gem (stash), White Gel pen

I used the large and small flowers from the Hero Arts "3 Dotted Flowers" set and coloured them with Copics, cut them out, added a gem and adhered them to the notecard.

I then punched a circle out of the notecard and adhered my copic coloured butterfly to the inside of the card.  The sentiment was stamped with white Color Box ink, which I then had to overwrite with a white gel pen as I was not satisfied with the outcome.

Sympathy cards, not the easiest to make, especially when you are making them for people you do not know.  But I understand that any form of encouragement is something positive for the other person to receive, just to know that people are thinking of them.  So, this is one of a few that will be going out to people I do not know, who have been put in a heart wrenching situation.  My thoughts and prayers are with them!

More....

I promise that there will be only one more after this, but I have been wanting to post these cards for so long now, and what better time to do it than whilst I was away! (We are back now!)  So, here is some more deliciousness!

Barb is another Hero Arts Flickr group cyber friend!  She is super friendly and somehow, I don't know how, manages to find the time to comment on just about every body's cards!
I was the lucky recipient of this wonderful card from her!  I love those hearts with the scalloped edges and I can see that they were scrunched up and then inked to make them look nicely distressed!  Superb!

Kelly Booth makes awesomely cute cards and I was so lucky to receive this gorgeous card from her!  I just love the shape of the card, it was the first time I had seen one of these in real life!  And don't you love that little girl withe headphones and iPod!  It really does rock!

This last card, (for today), is from Janet in Mauritius!  This was my first Card Chain Challenge that I participated in, hosted by lovely Deborah each month (check it out) and Janet got to send me a card.  Again, this was a first for me, I had never seen an acetate card!  It's absolutely stunning!  I love the stamping that Janet did on the actual acetate to create the background!  So beautiful!

So, that's the three friend share for today!  Aren't these ladies phenomenal!  Tomorrow I will post my last "cards from friends".

Well, I see there is a 90 minute scramble over on the Hero Arts Flickr site, and I have a little bit of time in between loads and loads of washing, plus I need some cards for some people in need, and a sketch from Linda will come in very handy!  So, 5 minutes to go before it starts, let me get up to my craft room and see what I can do!  See you later! 

And More Cards from Friends

We are still in Banff, and we are having a great time! 

No cards from me today as I did not have a chance to pre-make any more, but I have something better.  Here are more beauties to feast your eyes on from some wonderful people!.

I received this beautiful card from my  Hero Arts flickr friend Rosemary, she must have picked up that this Hero Arts butterfly is my all time favourite!  I just love that blue and white against the kraft!

Another Flickr friend over at Hero Arts, Sanne.  Sanne was the first cyber friend that ever sent me a card, I was so touched when she flickr mailed me to ask for my snail mail as she wanted to thank me for the comments I had been leaving on her blog and her cards!  Again, my butterfly! I love the distressed background on this card, and the beautiful red and green on kraft!

And last but not least, Lai-Yoke, also from the Hero Arts Flickr site.  I just love these  happy colours and the design of this card!  And yes, my buterfly!

I think it is pretty safe to deduce that I love butterflies, in particular this Hero Arts butterfly, AND, that these three wonderful ladies know that I do!  It's also very true to say that the ladies over on the Hero Arts Flickr site are super friendly and totally awesome!  Thank you all!

It has just snowed here in Banff - super amazing site!  Oh my goodness, please do not let me fall in love with the cold, please!

More Cards from Friends

This spectacular card is one that I received from Linda from the Netherlands, and you can find her at R2Scrap! There are so many beautiful details on this card, you need to see it up close and personal to truly appreciate it.  The flowers are all sparkly!  She has added a very fine gold thread on the front.  Linda also added some white accents to the flower centres and leaves, and how about that antique piece of vellum with the sentiment stamped on it!  Just beautiful!  Thank you Linda.

This is a card I made for my OWH box and I used Cathy Fong's beautiful Ai digital stamp.  You can find Cathy at Fong Crafty Place.  This is one talented lady!  And she has been designing a few digis and giving them away for free for a limited time, so go and give her some crafty love!

Paper: Patterned Paper (unknown), PTI Cardstock, Neenah Solar White
Ink: Copic Markers, Versafine Onyx Black, Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink
Stamps: Hero Arts (sentiment), Cathy Fong
Other: Nestabilitie dies

Isn't she the cutest girl ever!  So fun to colour in!

Wishing you an awesome day!

Cards from Friends

This is my second day of posting some cards  I have received from some very special friends I have had the priveledge to meet over at the Hero Arts Flickr group.

This card is from Sally and you can find her here at Cinnamon Sally Designs.  Sally is also one of the current Hero Arts hostesses, an awesome one at that.  I had participated in a colour contest Sally had and won through a random draw, so Sally sent me a wonderful cling stamp, AND, this totally amazing, breathtakingly beautiful card!  Feast your eyes on this....

Ok, seriously, look at that flower, it is spectacular!  And this whole card with this beautiful Victorian Velvet pink ink (I am guessing here), on the white card, oh my goodness, awesome!  And look at that little sentiment, the way Sally stamped part of the background stamp on it, it is perfection!  Thank you!

Now, the cling stamp I won is the Hero Arts Flower Garden.  I created a very, very simple card just because  I had to ink up that stamp.  And then I thought of the pretty spring colours Shari published on the Hero Arts blog the other day and decided that I wanted to use them.  So here is my exceptionally simple card!

Paper: Neenah Solar White, Hero Arts layering paper (yellow& orange), Patterned paper (unknown)
Ink: Poppy Chalk ink (Hero Arts), Versafine Onyx Black, Baby Pink (CTMH)
Stamps: Hero Arts, Unity
Other: Gems (Hero Arts), Nestability Dies, Corner Chomper

I first stamped the notecard with the Envelope Stamp and pale pink ink.  I then added a strip of layering paper which I stamped using a butterfly from my Unity KOM and some Poppy Chalk Ink (you cannot see the butterfly in its entirety).  The centre yellow panel, which is a die cut, was stamped with the Flower Garden cling stamp using Poppy Chalk Ink.

I then stamped the sentiment and added a few pale pink gems.  I also rounded the bottom corners of the card.

I hope you are having a great day!  I am sure that I am!!!

Get Ready, Set ....

And GO, tomorrow morning!  I am so excited!  Snow, skiing, country side, lakes!  Can you tell I am excited?  We are off to Banff, Canada tomorrow morning early for Spring Break!

So I wanted to post one last time today (maybe one more later), and then also try to schedule some posts for the next few days show casing some beautiful cards I have received from some amazing people in the Hero Arts Flickr group!

First up, I want to give a shout out to my dear friend Lisa, without whom, living here, so far away from other friends and family, life would have been a bit tougher.  But she has made my life here more enjoyable, and continues to do so.  And actually, if you have the time, I would love for you to go and visit her on her blog, it's new, and some crafty friends would come in handy, you can find her at My Creative Endeavors.  And here is an awesome card she made me for Christmas! That is the most adorable Father Christmas ever!

And guess what, today she got the "Cream in My Coffee" award over at PDC for the colour splash challenge!  Isn't that fantastic!

This next card is from Martha and you can find her over on Flickr, this is her photostream as she does not have a blog (yet!!!).  Martha made me this most wonderfully encouraging accordian fold pocket card for when I ran the Houston Marathon, for this, I will be eternally grateful! The details of the inside of the card can be found on her photostream.

I too have a card for you today, it uses some of the layering technique for the current contest over at Hero Arts.

Paper: Cardstock (unknown), Neenah Solar White, Watercolour paper
Ink: Shabby Shutters, Tea Dye, Forest Moss and Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink, Versafine Onyx Black
Stamps: Hero Arts
Other: Nestability Die, Gems (Hero Arts)

I just love that tiny little dragonfly which I found in one of my Hero Arts stamp set, it's the most gorgeous thing!  I coloured the clear gems with a copic marker to try and get as close to the green shade as I could.

Ok, I guess I need to try and pack (I absolutely detest packing and unpacking, it frustrates me no end!). And now I need to pack goggles, and helmets and Michellin men snow suits, and snow boots and somewhere in between all that, some clothes! (ok, I'll stop moaning and get on with it, slowly, with perhaps a few crafty breaks in between!).

Take care and see you soon! I will be trying to sneak in some iPad time to at least comment on the beautiful creations from everyone over on Flickr, just at night time, you know, that last half hour before the eyes just have to close!

OWH Sketch 59

I used the current OWH Sketch to make this card to add to my box which needs to go SOON!  I did a bit of stamp layering as well, and I was also trying thinner watercolour paper (98lbs instead of 140lbs), and it does seem to absorb better.

I am not 100% sure of my choice of colours or even my patterned paper, but it's not all bad!

Paper: Kraft (PTI), Patterned paper(Bo Bunny), watercolour paper, brown cardstock (unknown)
Ink: Tea Dye, Brushed Corduroy, Spun Sugar, Shabby Shutters, Tumbled Glass, Versamark
Stamps: Hero Arts
Other: White Embossing Powder

To make the centre panel, I first stamped the Dictionary Definition on watercolour paper using versamark and then embossing with white embossing powder. I used my acrylic block with Spun Sugar ink and water and inked the background of the centre panel.  Then, I masked off all four sides with post-it notes and stamped the various images and finally inked the edges with Tea Dye Distress ink.  I then distressed the edges with a distressing tool.

I am going to continue practicing with this watercolour paper and various stamps to see what other looks I can achieve.

Wishing you all a wonderful day!  Two more days and we head for a trip to Canada!  Hooray, I am so excited!

Fabulous Birthday

I am still trying out the layering technique that Shari shared over on Hero Arts, with "some" success, but not total satisfaction!  I actually think that my watercolour paper is too thick and it's simply not absorbing the ink, the ink just sits on the paper!

However, I did manage to create this birthday card:

Paper: Note card (Hero Arts), Neenah Solar White, Watercolour paper
Ink: Victorian Velvet, Broken China, Peeled Paint & Tea Dye Distress Ink, Versafine Onyx Black, Versamark
Stamps: Hero Arts
Other: Martha Stewart Butterfly punch, Gem (Hero Arts), White embossing powder

For the centre panel, I first stamped the Old Letter Writing stamp using Versamark and embossing with white embossing powder.  Then I inked the background with Tea Dye ink using my acrylic block and pearlized water in  a spritzer.  I then inked up my Fabulous Flourish stamp with the 3 different inks, spritzed it and stamped the panel.  Once dry I stamped the envelope background over the entire panel with Tea Dye and then inked the edges with the same ink.

I matted the panel on a piece of white cardstock which I had inked up with Victorian Velvet Distress ink.  I finally added a little punched butterfly, a gem and the sentiment. (I think I am so clever that the sentiment goes with the name of the Flourish stamp!!!)

I think the card is ok, but I am going to try some thinner watercolour paper and see what kind of results I get.

Wishing you all a Happy Day!

An Idea in Yellow

That's the title of this weeks' trigger over on Moxie Fab World!  Did you play along!  It is such a fresh and clean picture.

What really captured my attention, besides that beautiful shade of yellow and the weathered look of the door, is the glass in the door and window!  For me, it speaks to the title of my blog, the promise of infinite possibilities beyond that door!  So, that is what inspired me to create a card that represents a window, hence the use of vellum, and the beautiful treasures that await us beyond, if we are willing to explore and take a risk!

Here is my card:

Paper: PTI Cardstock, Neenah Solar White
Ink: CTMH (Blush & Garden Green Dye ink), Stazon Cotton White, Versafine Onyx Black, Color Box Frost White, Scattered Straw Distress Ink
Stamps: Hero Arts, PTI
Other: Vellum, Nestabilities Die, Twine

I first cut out the "window" panel using two nestabilitie dies of different sizes. The window was then stamped very lightly with a woodgrain stamp from PTI using white ink.

The inside panel was stamped with some green foliage and I added small little pink flowers (the flower comes from a PTI set, Beautiful Blooms II). I inked the edges very lightly with Scattered Straw Distress ink. I then adhered a piece of translucent vellum over that which I had stamped with some additional foliage, it's very lightly stamped, with white stazon ink, to give the window feel.

The final touch was the little sentiment from the "Way to Go Kiddo" PTI stamp set, and that was tied on using some twine just for the rustic feel of the trigger that I saw through the wood.

Just a soft delicate card!  Thanks for coming by, leave me some comments if you want, I just love reading them all!

Birthday Flower

I made another Birthday themed card for the March Hero Arts contest.  I went totally CAS here except for one gem.

Paper: Notecard (Hero Arts), Neenah Solar White
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, ColorBox Frost White, Broken China Distress Ink, White Gel Pen
Stamps: Hero Arts
Other: Brad (Recollections), Stampin Up Scalloped Border Punch

Easy enough card right, and I think that it's quite interesting.  I wanted to see if I felt comfortable with just putting a strip of either patterned paper, or "home made" patterned paper, as is the case here, on my card, just alone like that in an abstract kind of way.  I have seen so many cards made with either just random strips of Washi Tape or patterned paper, and I have always admired it in others, but just felt a bit awkward about doing it on one of my cards, until today.

So that strip at the bottom was stamped with the Hero Arts Antique Brocade cling stamp in Broken China.  The Stencil Flower was stamped with white ink, but I really was not happy with the result, and I was touching it up here and there with my white gel pen, and before I knew it I basically had retraced the entire flower, simply because I wanted it very white without having to emboss it. 

If anyone has had any luck with white ink that is really WHITE, please let me know.  I understand from a lot of crafters that the best out there is this Color Box ink, but that it could be better.

The gem in the centre of the flower is actually a brad and I just nipped off the two prongs in the back and adhered the "gem" with glossy accent.

Lots of great things happening in the Hero Arts Flickr Pool today!  We reached an amazing 50,000 cards in the pool milestone!  Isn't that just awesome!  Plus they had a 90 minute scramble challenge, and there is a gem hunt going on!  Wow, lots of great activities.  Pop on over and check it out for yourself.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend so far.  We went to visit my in-laws in Round Rock yesterday and stayed overnight.  It's just so nice to get out of Houston, and even nicer because my husbands parents are really fantastic people.  And my daughter just loves to play with her grandma and grandpa!  My husband and I went for a run there this morning, I needed some hills, and I loved it, even though we ran in winds of up to 33mph!  At one stage the wind was blowing so hard that it blew my one foot into the opposite leg as I was taking a stride, and another time it kind of "lifted" us off our feet!  But oh man, just so great to be outdoors! (Not sure my husband was too happy about all this!).

Well, I want to make a few more cards tonight, so I better get another cup of coffee and get going!  See you all again soon.

Me & The Polka Dot Person

(This is my second post for today, so please scrol down if you want to see more)

This Polka Dot Person stamp from Hero Arts was given to me to challenge me!  Well, it's not going to get the better of me!  So it sits in my craft room where I can see it every day.  And once again, I have been staring at it, incessantly, because I knew I needed to do something with it for the March Contest over at Hero Arts!

The March contest is to produce something with either a Birthday theme, or stamped envelopes or the layered background technique, alone or together, however you want.

So, Mrs. Polka Dots is going to a birthday and cannot go empty handed.  I apologise up front, but the hands had to come off and then be put back on again .....at an angle!

Paper: PTI, Neenah Solar White, W&M (pp from South Africa)
Ink: Baby Pink Dye Ink (CTMH), Memento Tuxedo Black, Spun Sugar Distress Ink, Copics, Spica Glitter pen
Stamps: Hero Arts
Other: Dimensional dots, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Nestabilitie Die

It's a simple design.  I just needed to get a bit creative with Mrs. Polka Dot!  I also used the tiny cup cake in one of the Hero Arts birthday sentiment sets and popped that up in her hands to take to the party!

Ok, ok, I was feeling silly, again!  Enjoy!