Glittery Goodness

Oh, hi!  I'm back with not one. . . not two. . . but 3 cards today!  I had a grand time playing with some new dies AND glitter AND Copics AND Alcohol Ink.  By the time I was done, I was a sparkly, inky mess.

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Oh. . .and there's a video showing how I got all that glittery goodness, too!  Yep!  I finally got set up to do craft videos.  I'm pretty excited about that!  So, if you have 14 minutes and 8 seconds, please check it out and let me know what you think.  Feedback would greatly be appreciated being that this is my first video and all.

Ok . . on to the cards.  For all three cards I used Cool Diamond Silk Microfine Glitter and Double-Sided Adhesive Sheets by Elizabeth Craft Designs.

For the card above, I used the Lovely Lilacs Die by Spellbinders.  I love that it's a set of two dies because it makes it super easy to get all that glittery goodness.

After I glittered it up, I added color using R81, R83, R85 and G46 Copic Markers.  Then I cut an oval from Natural White Neenah card stock using my Large Classic Ovals Nestabilities and adhered that to a black scalloped oval that I cut using Fancy Edged Ovals dies.  The sentiment is from the Brushstroke Expressions set by My Favorite Things.

I used foam tape to pop up the flowers and the ovals on a panel of patterned paper, then adhered that to a black panel, and finally, added that to a top folding card from the same Natural White Neenah card stock.  Viola!  All done.

For the second card, I decided to try Tim Holtz Alcohol inks.  I figured if Copics worked, then they should too.  Ta-Da!  They do!

For this card, I used the Wagon Wheel Kaleidoscope die by Spellbinders.  I glittered it up and then applied Watermelon, Butterscotch, Meadow, and Aqua Alcohol Inks.  I adhered that to a white panel using Tombow Multi Mono Liquid Glue.

Those coffee cups are from the August My Monthly Hero* kit from Hero Arts.  I stamped them onto patterned paper and then cut them out.  I adhered the bigger mug onto a white circle using a tape runner.  Then I used foam tape for the smaller mug.  I thought the white circle needed a border, so I cut a circle from yellow card stock.

The sentiment is stamped on white card stock and I added a yellow frame to match the circle.  I used foam tape to adhere the circles and the sentiment on top of the Wagon Wheel die.  Then I adhered that to a yellow panel, and finally onto a white top folding card.  Ta-Da!  Finito!

*The August My Monthly Hero kit is already sold out, but these coffee stamps or these coffee stamps would work well, too.*

For the third card, I thought I'd try Copic Refills.  Lo and behold! They worked too!

For this card, I cut a black frame using Oval Dies from Spellbinders. For the glittered oval, I used the larger of the two oval dies.  The Bellina Butterfly Stem die is from Poppy Stamps.  I love how delicate it is.

I used G02 and BG34 Copic Refills and applied it using an Alcohol Ink Applicator Tool.  Easy Peasy, Quick and Easy!  I adhered the glittered oval to a white panel that was embossed with a Cuttlebug Folder.  Then adhered that to a black panel and finally, a white top folding card.  Viola!  All done.

And there ya have it!  Three cards full of glittery goodness!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Mushrooms & a Fairy

PoppyStamps has a monthly challenge going on to incorporate Patterned Paper into a project.  I was delighted to see that because I've been hoarding collecting patterned paper for a very long time.

And here's my card:

For this card I used the Thoughtful Faerie Die and the No Truffle at All stamp set.  That little butterfly in her hand is from the Blooming Chrysanthemum die from Memory Box.  I used Wink of Stella to add a little sparkle to her wing (because of course faeries have sparkly wings!)

Here's a close up picture:

I also used White Signo Gel Pen to add spots to the mushrooms.  As far as all the other inks and markers, well . . . here ya go:

Thanks for stopping by today!

Fairies en Pointe

I had intended on using this background for my Moon Flower card (see post here), but it didn't quite work out.

I set it aside and moved on the my next project.  I kept it on my table where I could see it.  Every time I looked at it, I thought of "night" . . . but with that light green at the bottom, I kept thinking "something magical."

I was in the kitchen washing dishes when the idea came to mind.  I remembered that I had the fairy dies from PoppyStamps. (You can see them here, here, and here.)  I don't think I even finished washing the dishes.

And they worked perfectly.

I created the background with Broken China, Peacock Feathers, and Cracked Pistachio Distress Oxide inks (and of course, splattered some water on there).

I added a strip of black cardstock to give the fairies something stand on.  After I die-cut the fairies, I ran them through my little Xyron to make sure I had adhesive on those delicate wings.  Finished it up by stamping the sentiment (Hampton Arts) with Onyx Black VersaFine ink.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday Hippo

I recently got my hands on the super cute Happy Hippos stamp set from MFT and when I saw the inspiration board for this weeks Tic Tac Toe Challenge, I just knew I had to use them along with the Celebration Balloon Collage from PoppyStamps.

I chose the diagonal from the bottom left going up to the top right.


I wasn't planning on posting a "how-to," but there were a few steps involved to get those yellow balloons.  And, I apologize in advance for the really bad pictures; I had initially taken them so I would remember how I made the card.

So, the first thing I did was cut a piece of patterned cardstock to 4" x 5 1/4" and then placed the Celebration Balloon Collage die in the center and ran it through my Big Shot.

Then I cut it again from a piece of yellow cardstock.

I cut the balloons away from the frame.  As you can see, I wasn't too neat about it because I knew I was going to put a frame over it.

Now to get that black frame to fit around the Balloon Collage die, I did a little dance with my Cricut machine.  If you would like to know which image I used and the measurements, drop me a comment and I'll gladly share it with you.

And finally, I cut a piece of white card stock just a tad bit smaller than the patterned card stock to "fill in" the frame.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Poppystamps Framed Challenge

Ah yes. . . challenges . . . they most definitely give me a creative jump start.

For the month of April, the challenge over at Poppystamps is "Framed."  Here's what I came up with:

To create the frame, I used two nested circle dies.  I cut the confetti paper the same size as the larger of two circles for a perfect fit and used (a ridiculous amount of) foam tape to add dimension.

The bunny, balloon, cupcakes, and sentiment are from the Cupcake Party Stamp & Die set and the cupcakes are sitting on the Stitched Cake Plates craft die.

Here are the markers I used:

Thanks for visiting!

The Last Two Years . . .

. . . have been a whirlwind.  And I have definitely slacked on keeping this little blog o'mine up to date.  But ya know what?  My blog(s) have always been crafty blogs . . . mostly stamping and card making, with an occasional art journal page and paper crafting project thrown in for good measure.

And I've wanted to get back to a crafty blog . . .sooooooooo, I'm going to sum up the last two years using bullet points (so as not leave you hanging) . . .you know. . . like bullet journaling . .. only on a blog.

Ready?  Here we go:

* We lived in a hotel for six weeks until we found the cutest little house that is perfect for us.

* Six weeks later my beloved car of 17 years, Emily finally gave out.

* Two weeks later, our sweet little Jacob found us. . . Morgan got a brother!

* Two weeks after that, we celebrated our first Christmas in Texas.

* Three months later, our sweet little Jacob got sick. . .very, very sick.  He caught Leptospirosis and spent a whole week in the hospital.

* We were so happy (and relieved) when he finally got to come home.

* I finally decided on furniture for my craft room . . . I think that was the most difficult room to unpack and put together . . . and it took a really long time to get things organized and put away. . .

Once I did though . . . I started crafting right away . . . but all those will be posted a bit later. . .

*Spring 2016, Morgan blew out her knee . . .we opted not to put her through the surgery due to her age and she has anxiety issues, too.  Since she injured her knee, we had to shorten our walks. . . until we got her a cart.

At first, they weren't too sure about it, but they got used to it pretty quickly.

* One of the things we like to do is go on long walks down by the river . . . spring is the perfect time, because, well . . .summers are definitely hot here.

I gotta tell ya . . . the wildflowers here are absolutely beautiful.

Summer 2016, because it does get so hot, I learned how to make lemonade concentrate from scratch.. . it turned out amazing!  And, I tend to cook outside during the summer . . .and Jacob proudly watches over whatever is cooking.  And, I finally got a flag for the front of the house.

Fall 2016 . . .  Fall is definitely my favorite season . . . I love a good thunderstorm, and of course Halloween . . . oh, and, after almost a year of being without one. . . we finally bought a car.

Winter 2016 . . . We have been in our house a little over a year and absolutely love living here.  We've settled in to a "routine" as it were.   And I started stamping more and more since we were finally settled in.

Jan. - Mar. 2017 . . . 

April - June 2017 . . .

July - Sept, 2017...

I decided to take a Yoga Teacher Training Class that was offered at YogaPod . . . it was 200 hours in nine weeks.  It was intense . . . but the instructors were absolutely amazing . . . and my classmates were awesome, too!  Beautiful souls . . .each and every one of them.   

And . . . I got some stamping and coloring squeezed in there, too . . .

 And we also went to our first Baylor game . . . it was sooooo much fun!

Oct. - Dec. 2017 . . . 

And we finished out 2017 with snow. . . 

And there you have it . . . two years in one very long post.

Thanks for stopping by!