DP2 Challenge #127 --- Bling It On!

Mo Manning's DP2 Challenge this week calls for one of my favorite things --- BLING! I can't pass the rhinestone swirls at Michaels and Hobby Lobby --- especially when they are on sale!For my card I used Mo's Strawberry Girl.  With the coming of spring my tastebuds begin craving strawberries so this image is so scrumptious!

I used dp from the DCWV Farmer's Market stack.  I hope I never run out of these rich papers! The image and frame are cut with Nesties, the doily is the Italian Flourish by Cherry Lynn Designs.  I think I will be using this doily quite a bit, but making sure I show more of it on the cards!  The flowers are from my stash, mostly Primas and the flourish is by Recollections.  The image is colored with Copics.

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you are having a wonderful week.  Be sure to hop over to Mo's DP2 Challenge to see the fabulous projects by the design team.

Sassy Cheryl's Challenge #107 --- Think Spring!

Ahhhh! It is definitely spring around here! The red buds, dogwoods, Bradford pears and forsythia add their colors to the winter-drab landscape even before the trees start to show their tender green leaves.  I call this our fifth season because it has a beauty all its own from the other four.  

In celebration of spring Sassy Cheryl and her fantastic design team are showing their spring colors and challenge us to do the same.  Of course what would spring be without Easter, both in celebration of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus and the playfulness of the Easter Bunny and egg hunts.  To make up for my absence the past few weeks I have THREE cards to post today.  

This is Cheryl's "Dancing Easter Bunny".  She is just the happiest thing!  The image is colored with Copics and the white panel is embossed with a Sizzix folder I just picked up at Hobby Lobby.  The flower is made from a silk daisy that I removed the center from, added this K & Co. brad and leaves cut with the Nesties die. The border is Martha Stewart.  The bling was an after thought to add sparkle.

This is the "Wanna Be Bunny Girl".  Gotta love those floppy ears.  She is colored with Copics and mounted on a Nesties scalloped rectangle die cut.  The papers are scraps from a stack, but I don't remember which one.  The little silk flowers have a variety of patterned brads to go along with the polka dot ribbon.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up.  I wanted lots of color on this and I think I accomplished that!

This is "Wanna Be Bunny Boy".  I like that Cheryl has the matching boy and girl images here.  These make great cards for my grandniece and grandnephews.  The background paper is also a scrap and I kept this simple with just a bit of the red gingham rickrack and buttons.  The sentiment is the same Stampin' Up.  And, of course, he is colored with Copics.

So, there you have three of my cards to celebrate spring.  Now, you really owe yourself the fun of hopping over to Sassy Cheryl's to see what the design team has come up with! 

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a great week! 

Facebook Design D.I.V.A.S. Oldies But Goodies Blog Hop

 It's the third Wednesday of March already which means it's time for the Facebook chapter of the Design D.I.V.A.S. to have our Oldies But Goodies (OBD) Blog Hops. This is when we use neglected and forgotten items from our stashes.  The Design D.I.V.A.S. is a private Facebook group, which is a branch of the Original Design D.I.V.A.S. on the Splitcoaststampers website. The acronym for the D.I.V.A.S is, Divine, Inspirational, Virtuous, Artistic (or annointed) Sistahs. This is a very talented and supportive group, which I'm blessed to be a part of. Thank you for stopping by and we hope you enjoy the hop! If you came here from our awesome Sistah Sue at Sue's Sentiments then you are on the right track.  She kicked off this hop for us, and is always a tough act to follow, but I will give it a try!

I bought my Cricut way back when they first came on the market.  As much as I love it, the Cricut is probably the most neglected tool in my arsenal.  I think the last time I used it was to cut out letters for posters for my son's wedding back in July!  But since then I have acquired cartridges that I think will get much more use, especially for cards.  So, my Oldie But Goodie this month is my Cricut.

In a major diversion from my usual stamped-Copic-colored-embellishment-laden-multi-layered projects, I made these two notecard and tag sets using the Damask Decor cartridge which is full of beautiful designs perfect for cards like these.  They were so easy!

The cartridge includes patterns for envelopes for the cards, which measure 4" x 6", and the package says this can be used by all Cricuts.  However, my little ancient Cricut takes paper only 6" wide and I couldn't make the envelopes.  I think there might be an upgrade in my future!

Now it's time to hop on over to our lovely Sistah Heather's at Heather's Coffee Break for a cuppa and a whole lot of inspiration.  Thanks for stopping by today and enjoy the hop!

DP2 Challenge #125 --- Something New

Mo's challenge this week is to use something new or a new technique.  I had just finished making a wedding card for a friend I met through blogging, so I am going to use that.  But first, I have to wax nostalgic for a minute.  

I have found our blogging community to be a very friendly place.  How about you?  Comments lead to emails and on to phone calls and even meeting in person.  I have had the privilege of meeting several blogging buddies and building life-long friendships.  One of those is my friend Nancy.  Our in-person meeting resulted from a "dare".  Silly me, I facebooked about new ziplines going up here in Branson and she said how much she loved ziplining.  I'm more of a 'fraidy-cat but when she suggested that she and her daughter Shelbie stop by on their road trip and we can take a zip-ride I just couldn't say no.  So, that's how we met and we had so much fun they stayed with us for a couple of days!  We have since hosted Shelbie and her fiance, Ryan, too, and absolutely love them all.  This Saturday is their wedding and it is for them I made this card.

The card base is ivory card stock covered with scrapbook paper I've had for ages.  It is a field of white roses.  Keeping with a touch of vintage elegance, I used this gorgeous swirl of rhinestones and antique-colored pearls along with pearl-like flowers and brads.  So what is new about this card?  The swirl was new and the Nesties label the image is mounted on is new.  Not to mention that we are congratulating newlyweds as they start a new phase of their life together.

The image is Mo's "Bride and Groom", one of my favorites and so perfect for wedding cards.  It is colored with Copics, keeping with the pearl theme.

Here is a close-up of the swirl and the rose paper.  

Nancy, Shelbie, and Ryan --- we love you and look forward to meeting Tyler someday!  Shelbie and Ryan, best wishes for a happy life together!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit DP2 challenge for more inspiration from the design team.

Sassy Cheryl's Challenge #105 --- Sketch Time

"My Easter basket is THIS big!

This week Jackie of Sassy Cheryl's design team gave us this great sketch to play with. 

So I grabbed this adorable digi called "I Love You This Much", changed the sentiment to fit in with Easter, and had fun with the lively color scheme. 

The red and teal color combo is one I have seen used by many creative folks out there, but never worked it myself.  I'm glad I did!  These are two "high octane" colors and I think I will be using them more.  As it turned out I had dp from the DCWV Farmer's Market stack that worked well with the image, which I had already colored.  Now, there is one little piece that is not your typical cardstock.  The sentiment is mounted on a PAINT CHIP!  It wouldn't take the ink from the printer so I used it as a background.  See, we NEVER throw anything away!

Gotta get me a hat like this!!  The image is colored with Copics, laid on pretty thick, especially the red.

I really enjoyed using this sketch and have four more Sassy images colored and ready to go.  They will look great on this sketch, so check back later........... there will be more!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to hop over to Sassy Cheryl's Challenge #105 for the sketch and more inspiration from the uber-talented design team.

DP2 Challenge #124 --- Anything Goes!

This week Mo's amazing design team gave us a super simple challenge --- anything goes!  Actually, I was very relieved because I didn't get the entry in for last week's challenge, which was to include lace, so I can now post it.  I'm focusing on Easter cards right now so I used Mo's new image Easter Carly.

The dp is coordinated sheets from the Watercolor Bouquet stack by K & Co.  The dark purple is Bazzill card stock and the flowers are a combination of silk stems and Prima ivory roses.  The leaves are Spellbinders Shapeabilities and the lace is from my stash.  The sentiment is a rubber stamp.

Lovely Carly is colored with Copics.  I tried for a taffeta-like sheen on the dress and I think I came pretty close.  What do you think?

I just want to say that my heart goes out to all the areas devastated by tornadoes and severe weather this past week.  Here in Branson clean up efforts are moving along quickly due in large part to private citizens jumping in and helping their neighbors; even folks from Joplin who sustained unimaginable damage last May, jumped in their cars and came down to help.  This same scenario can be seen throughout the midwest and south.  If only we could recover those who were lost, but we can keep the prayers going Heavenward for healing and hope in the wake of these terrible storms.

Thanks for stopping by.  Keep safe, keep your eyes to the sky, and keep the faith.