Whiff of Joy Challenge #32 --- Brown and Blue

The weekend is just about over, and so is the month of May already! I hope everyone had a fun weekend.

Before too many more days get past me I'd better post my card for the Whiff of Joy Challenge this week. The challenge this week is colors brown and blue. That's always been a favorite color combo for me. When I was a teenager my bedroom was done in blue and brown. No particular sketch this week but, of course, a Whiff of Joy image is a must. I chose this Willow image from the spring set and colored her with Copics.

I left the inside layout blank for a heartfelt personal note.

Materials used:

Papers: Colored card stock for card base; DP from DCWV Far East stack.

Copics: skin E00 and E11; hair E09; dress E33, E37, E41; bonnet and apron B00, B14, B24.

Tools: Nesties and Cuttlebug

Embellies: paper flowers, covered brads, and rick rack from my stash.

Thank you for stopping by! I invite you to leave a comment, even if just to say "Hello!"

House Mouse Challenge #39 --- Birthdays!

Hi, everyone! I hope you had a satisfying week and that you have some fun stuff planned for the weekend!

The House Mouse Challenge this week is birthdays. This is very good timing for me as I have many birthdays this month. So, I am actually going to show two cards. These cards won't be going into my shop, but actually sent out. On the off chance that the recipients take a look at this post I won't be identifying them (like they can't guess anyway! Ha!).

The first stamp is, of course, such a party image and I glitzed it up in the papers and ribbon. These little guys are so cute and if they don't get those party hats unstuck they won't be able to see the gifts behind them!

This card uses an image that is so versatile. I chose it for a masculine card, especially if one likes wine. Ok, so it is unfermented wine, but it looks like someone forgot to tell our little friend. He looks positively blitzed --- uh, blissful!!

A Jane Austen quote might seem a bit odd for a man's card, but the message is non-gender specific and timeless!

Both cards were colored with PrismaColors and blended with baby oil. The papers are actually scraps from previous projects. I used my Nesties for the die cuts and frame on the second card.

I hope you enjoy these cards, as I hope the birthday honorees will, too. Thank you for stopping by and I invite you to leave a comment, even if it is just to say "Hello!"

Cuter Than Cute!!

No new cards today. I was out of town for the holiday weekend and had a fantastic time with family. I have a grand-niece and 2 grand-nephews who I hadn't seen since November, so we had a blast catching up. They grow so fast!!

Just as any self-respecting (and doting) great-aunt would do, I took a LOT of photos of the kids. And just as any self-respecting (and proud) great-aunt would do, I am showing off my little munchkins.

This is Sienna who is 2 years 4 months old, and a self-declared princess! Who could disagree with this face? She loves to help serve desserts and prepare finger goodies in the kitchen. Sometimes shy, but always expressive!

This is our little champ Zander who is 2 years 6 months old and the sweetest, funniest little guy. Born with spina bifida, he wears braces for his ankles which don't slow him down one little bit! One look at him and he will steal your heart! Oh, and he has very good taste --- when he saw my black Avalanche he declared "Cool truck!" That's my boy!

This little Gerber baby is Dylan who is 9 months old and Zander's little brother. Another one who is very expressive, he is also quite the tease. As his mommy is telling him not to do something, he is grinning and doing it anyway. Already standing from a sitting position, he will be taking his first steps any day.

Now, I think these are pretty good excuses for not having any cards to show! Right?

Thanks for stopping by and allowing me to bust my buttons over these kids!

Sunday Sketch and Stamp --- Sketch #3

Can you believe we are introducing our third sketch at Sunday Sketch and Stamp? When we were getting ready to launch our blog the design team just couldn't wait, and now we are well on our way. We have exciting sponsors, too, so be sure to join in!


Here is the sketch for this fortnight beginning May 24 and ending June 6.


Here is my take on the sketch. We are featuring Mike and Lexi from Crafts 4 Eternity Digi Stamps. These kids are just too cool!

I colored these with PrismaColors, blended with baby oil. The papers are from the Basic Grey Marrakesh collection. The medallion on the right didn't photograph well, but it says "together".

We hope you join us for this fun sketch. Just pop on over to Sunday Sketch and Stamp and leave us the link to your post. There are prizes!!

Whiff of Joy Summer Stamp Kit

Before I take off for the weekend, I thought I'd post another of the new stamps from the Whiff of Joy summer kit. These stamps are so awesome and invite bright colors for the stamp coloring and papers.
This stamp is fun to color --- lots of shading and an endless choice of color combinations. She is colored with Copics: Skin E00 and E11, Hair E33 and E37, Dress Y08, B95, YR24, YG17, R27. She is framed on layers cut with the deckle Nesties on my Cuttlebug. The DP is K & Company Lemon Drops collection and the buttons are from Chloe's Closet by Making Memories.

The inside reflects the layout of the front with blank space for a personal note.

This DP is so fun and I am quite certain that I will use up all the sheets in the stack!

Thank you for stopping by! If you are traveling or planning big things for the Memorial Day weekend, please be safe and watch out for the other guy in case he (or she) isn't watching at all. Most of all, sincere gratitude to our veterans who have gone before and fought for our freedom here and abroad. We must never forget history, so we won't repeat it.

Whiff of Joy Challenge #31 --- Sketch by Heather

It's already time for another Whiff of Joy Challenge, which gives me another chance to showcase one of the new summer stamps. Oh, they are all so fabulous! If you like these new stamps but did not pre-order, the single stamps are going on sale May 24 at Whiff of Joy.

This week's challenge is a wonderful sketch by Heather. She is an amazing designer, as is the whole team. Be sure to check out their cards, too --- after you look at mine, of course! :-)

I went with sort of a monochromatic color scheme, which really makes the image pop off the page. I colored this pretty girl with Copics and framed her on layers of CS cut with Nesties on my Cuttlebug. The flowers are from Prima Floral Embellishments and the "Faith" charm is from K & Company. Papers and ribbon are from my stash. Copics I used are: Skin E00 and E11; hair Y21, Y11, Yr24; dress YR00, R02, YG03, YG17; other R27, W1.

Here is Heather's sketch:

Thanks for stopping by! Now, go check out all the other great cards at Whiff of Joy Challenge.

Another New Whiff of Joy Summer Stamp

Last night I just couldn't stop making cards! I finished the one for the House Mouse Monday in my previous post, then I worked with this beauty from the Whiff of Joy summer stamp kit. She is so delicate and just seems to be enjoying a lovely summer day.

She is colored with Copics and placed on layers of Kraft paper and DP from the K & Company Margo collection cut with my Nesties on the Cuttlebug. The paper flowers are from Oriental Trading Company, accented with pearl brads from K & Company. Scattered around are three glitter dragonflies --- can you find them? The sentiment is from my stash.

Copic colors used: Skin: E00 and E11; Hair: E29 and 100; dress and hat: R39, RV11, YG25, E53.

The card is blank on the inside for a personal note.

As I said earlier, I was a card-making machine last night. So, I have 2 more cards to show in the coming days --- along with a couple of challenges, too. There are so many wonderful stamps coming out right now! Fun fun!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you come back often!

House Mouse Challenge #38 -- Sketch

Tonight I am participating in the House Mouse Monday Challenge #38. This week we have a great sketch and loads of fun.

Spring is well underway and even our temperatures are getting up there, reminding us that summer isn't far off. So I took this adorable image of the House Mice munching away on a rainbow sherbet bar. They look so happy! I colored the stamp with PrismaColors, blended with baby oil. The DP is from the DCWV Glitter Paper stack and the CS is also DCWV Glitter. The embellies on the outside as well as the inside are from K I Memories Juicy Summer collection.

And here is the sketch:
Thanks for stopping by and if you want to see some really fantastic cards for this sketch jump on over to House Mouse Monday and see what the Design Team came up with and, of course, other crafters.

A special note to Carolyn who got me hooked on these cute little critters: Hope you are feeling better --- and thanks for the inspiration.

New Whiff of Joy Summer Stamp Kit ---- Oh, Wow!!

Yesterday the mail brought me something very special!! I received the Whiff of Joy Summer Stamp Kit!! Woo Hoo!! I put in my pre-order way back on the first day it was available, even though, like the Spring Stamp Kit, I didn't know what the stamps looked like. And, like the Spring Kit, I was far from disappointed --- these images are beautiful!!! The best ever! No kidding.

Last night I had all the stamps trimmed and mounted, stamped several images of each, and colored 4 of the Willow images. Oh, they are so summery and with endless possibilities.

Tonight I made 2 cards and just couldn't wait to show them to you!

This one of Willow looks so thoughtful and serene. Her outfit is trimmed in apples and strawberries. Lusciousness!

Here is a closeup of her. You can almost feel the light breeze blowing her dress.
I kept the inside simple with room for a personal message.

The image is colored with copics and layered on Kraft paper and DP from K & Company Margo cut with Nesties Labels. The background is also from the K & Company Margo stack. The flowers are from Fabric Fancies. I forgot to take a photo of the Copics, so I will list them: the skin is E00 and E11; Hair - I forgot; in her outfit the greens are YG03 and Yg25, reds are R27 and R39, dress E41 and E53; the apron was left white with W1 for dimension.

The second card is very bright and summery! Willow has on the cutest summer outfit!

The closeup shows her happy face and details of apples and oranges in her outfit.

Inside I repeated the heart shapes with a fun summer sentiment "A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows."

This image is also colored with Copics and layered on Hearts cut with Nesties. The embellies are K & I Memories Juicy Summer collection, perfect for these images. The DP is K & Company Lemon Drops stack. The buttons are from Oriental Trading Company. Again, I forgot to take a photo of the Copics, so here are the details: Skin: E00 and E11; hair: E37 and YR24; outfit is B24, R27, YG03, Y08, YR04

I will show more of these fun summer kids in the coming days. In the meantime, if you want to see more of the images, visit the Whiff of Joy Gallery where the Design Team has posted some gorgeous cards with the new images.

Thanks for stopping by! Please leave your comments --- I'd love to have your feedback!

Whiff of Joy Challenge #30 --- Friendship

It's time for Whiff of Joy Challenge #30! This week the card is for friendship. I like making friendship cards, especially with the stamps from the Spring Collection.

For this card I used Willow with Flowers and what friend doesn't love getting flowers from another friend. I colored this image with PrismaColors, blended with baby oil, rather than my usual Copics. After some practice I have to say I'm liking the Prismas, too. I just like to color, I guess!! Back to the card: the DP is from Basic Grey Marrakesh collection, as are the brads. The edges of the papers are sanded and distressed for texture. The sentiment is from a vellum collection.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you all have a great weekend!

K.I.S.S.!

Keep It Simple --- Sometimes!

Today I colored several images to use in cards for challenges this week. But since I don't have new cards tonight, I want to keep in touch with you all by showing some quick cards I made last month.

Sometimes I try to keep my cards simple, which is not easy for me. It seems I have this need to fill space. That goes for my home as well as my cards! So sometimes I just have to simplify --- my home and my cards!

Lynette at My Stamping Addiction is someone I admire (and envy) for her ability to make amazingly elegant cards that have a lot of "white" space. Please browse through her blog and I'm sure you will be as hooked as I am on her simply beautiful cards. She is my inspiration to K.I.S.S.!

Last month I just had to get some cards done quickly, so I went simple. Thanks to Xyron Creative Station, Nestabilities, border punches, stamps, and my stash of DP, flowers, and ribbons, I was able to put together 10 cards in just over an hour.

I've done more since then, mostly notecards, but don't have photos yet. They really are fun! I found the secret is to not over-think the layout. So, if you, like me, tend to fill up the spaces (which is ok --- really!) but sometimes want a little less, just K.I.S.S.!

Whiff of Joy Challenge #29 - 1 Challenge, 3 Cards!

The Whiff of Joy Challenge #29 is a fun one, as always, and comes from Katharina. So much fun that I made three cards! Actually, I had already colored three stamped images based on color combinations I found in summer patio chair cushions. The photo of those cushions is at the bottom of this post.

Here is Katharina's sketch:

Here is my first card. The lovely Melinda with Muffin Basket is colored with Copics then placed on layers of die cuts made with my Nesties. The DP is K & Company and the twill trim is from Chloe's Closet by Memory Makers. The scalloped border was done with the Martha Stewart punch and the flower buttons are also from Chloe's Closet.

Close up you can see I made the muffins blueberry. Mmmmm!

Copic colors are: Skin E00 and E11, Hair YR24 and E37, Jeans B95, Shirt YG03, Apron E41

The second card features Willow with Sunhat, also colored with Copics, and sitting on layers of die cuts with my Nesties. The DP is DCWV Far East, the patterned trim is K & Company, the scalloped punch is Fiskars. The ribbon and charm are from my stash.

Close up shows her oh-so-pretty face!

Copics used were: Skin E00 and E11, hair E29, Hat E41, Dress E41 & E53, Apron E08, Green trim G85.

The third card was so much fun to put together with the colors of black, green and orange. Oakley is colored with Copics. The cardstock used for the die cuts and embossed strips are scraps from my leftover drawer. The sentiment is a rub on from KI Memories and the buttons from Walmart.

I love Oakley's style!

Inside is left blank for a personal note.

Copics used are: Skin E00 and E11, Hair E37, Shirt YG03, Pullover YR04 and Y38, Pants 100

Here is the photo of the cushions that were my inspiration for the color schemes. When the creativity gets stale, or just for the fun of it, there are some terrific color combo ideas in catalogs.

So, there you have it. Three cards for one challenge! I almost didn't get these posted tonight because Blogger (or my laptop) was just chugging along. So, now I must clean up my mess and head for bed.

I hope your week has gotten off to a wonderful start! Thanks for stopping by. You are always welcome and appreciated!