Whimsical Wednesday Challenge --- Easel Card

As I was visiting favorite blogs this morning I stopped in at Sandra's at Paper Funtastics. She is a multi-talented artist; be sure to stop by and see her latest creations. One of her posts was an easel card for the Whimsical Wednesday Challenge. I like challenges and I love the easel cards, so, since I have a couple to post today, I thought I would join in this challenge and share it with you as well.

Both of these cards are made with the gorgeous dp Signature Christmas by My Mind's Eye. Pieces left over from one went into the other. No point in wasting such beautiful paper! The flower embellishments are all from a Prima collection. For the bases of the cards I used Bazzill 12x12 card stock, nice and sturdy and wonderfully textured.

The image on this card is the wonderful Sarah Kay Christmas Magic. I love the Old English look of this charming couple. They are colored with Copics and mounted on Nestabilities oval die cuts. And that exquisite ribbon along the bottom is from a box full of ribbons my mom gave me. (Isn't she sweet!) For the "door stop" I cut out the "2425" from scraps and 3D attached it.

The image on the second card is the adorable Henry Mouse with a Large Tea Cup from Whiff of Joy. I actually put hot chocolate in this mug and Henry is generous with the marshmallows! Copics was again my coloring of choice. The ribbon is a wonderful plaid woven that just happened to be a perfect match for the papers and Prima flower. Don't ya just love it when pieces just come together?

I am just crazy about the easel cards and folks I have shown them to love them as well. I think I will be making more in various sizes and shapes. I don't know who the original designer is, but I am eternally grateful!

Thank you for stopping by today! Please be sure to check out the Whimsical Wednesday Challenge and the fantastic designers there.

Barb

In God We Trust

Two Color Challenges --- Two Cards

With all the Christmas and Holiday cards I am making right now, there is no shortage of gorgeous papers, fantastic images, and creative sketches! Not to mention the visions of embellies and ribbons that dance in my dreams!

Today I have two cards, each one in answer to color challenges. The first card is for the Copic Creation Challenge to use golds. This was a challenge as in my stash of Copics I have only one that actually says "gold" on it, that is Y28. But I added Y21, Y11, and YG95 to color this adorable image of "Wee and Christmastree", the charming creation of Norma Fickel who is the newest illustrator for Whiff of Joy.

For the card I used gold metallic card stock, gorgeous winter tree ribbon from my stash, and gold cord wrapped around a piece of metallic holly dp. The sentiment is heat embossed on the gold metallic cs. The ornaments on the tree are small gold rhinestones. Lots of gold and lots of texture! It turned out pretty good, I think!

The second challenge is the Colour Create Challenge to work with blue, white and silver. This was much easier for me since I love to work with these colors at Christmastime. I had already colored the wonderful Santa with Gifts from Whiff of Joy and it needed just the right sketch. The sketch is my own which was created as I worked. (You should see the pile of materials after I finally decide what to use!)

The papers are mostly from my stash, and primarily scraps. The ribbon again from my stash. The snowflake flowers are glittery stick-on foam snow flakes attached to Prima flowers with glittery white brads for the centers. I love the swirl of rhinestones. It's like blowing snow. The charm didn't photograph well, but it says "Believe". I believe! How about you?

Other tools used for both cards are my cherished Nestabilities and Cuttlebug.

Thank you for stopping by! I sure hope your week is going well!

Barb

In God We Trust

Whiff of Joy Challenge #55 - Orange, Brown, and Ivory

The Whiff of Joy Challenge this week is a color combo: orange, brown, and ivory. Orange, huh? Hmmm. Orange is probably my least favorite color on the color wheel. Oh, what I won't do for WOJ! Here is my card, with plenty of orange!!

In my last post I mentioned how hooked I am on the easel card. So, yep, here is another one. And, as promised, it has a WOJ image on it. This beautiful image of Willow with a Basket was masked and stamped with the wooden fence background. It really does lend itself well to warm, fall colors and I've done several cards with this image already.

The composition of the card contains many pieces of scrapbook paper from my stash and a couple of blooms from a bunch of silk flowers. The sentiment is heat embossed and serves as the "door stop".

I do like how this turned out, and I hope you do, too! Thanks for stopping by and leave a line or two in the comments so I know you were here. Have a wonderful week!

Barb

In God We Trust

My First Easel Card --- And I Am Hooked!!

The ingenious easel cards are all the rage right now, and with good reason: they are a fabulous way to display our treasured projects, cards that are "Made For Keeps"! So, I set everything else aside today to make one. The multi-talented Jacqui put together a terrific tutorial at the new Whiff of Joy Inspirations and Tutorial Blog. If you don't have this site on your favorites, now is the time to grab it. Go ahead.... I'll wait. Just be sure to come back here!!

After I took advantage of the WOJ tutorial, I realized I didn't use a WOJ image, which would have been the PC thing to do. But, everyone knows that my WOJ stamps will find their way on an easel card very soon! Promise!

So, here I have this adorable Noel Charity image from Sarah Kay, colored in Copics and mounted on two die cuts using Nestabilities Labels 4. The dp is from the Christmas Cheer collection by K&Company, which seems to be the first stack I turn to for a vintage-style holiday card. It worked really well for the easel card. The plain colors card stocks used for the base and layers are from my stash. I kept the embellishments to a minimum so this gorgeous dp wouldn't get covered up. Three simple Prima flowers with pearl centers, and a strip of satin ribbon -- that's it!

Of course the easel card would be a flat card if there wasn't something to hold up the face card. Something like a door stop, for lack of a better term. Once again I turned to the K&Company collection of goodies and found this very vintage (and sparkly) 3D sticker. Voila! Easy-peasy!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope your weekend is giving you lots of time for family, fun and creativity!

Barb

In God We Trust

Sparkling and Bright --- and Sexy!

After a couple of days without internet (aarrggghhh!) and then playing catch-up, I am back on-line with a couple of cards I made while out of touch with the blogosphere. I found out that there really is life without internet, but it's no fun when I can't "see" my friends and share new creations!

I did get lots of images colored, including these glitzy glamorous Sophisticated Ladies from Rubbernecker.

The first card is very sparkly with Miss Crystal colored with Copics B00, B000 and B0000. Then I added lots of Stickles Silver and Diamond. The dp is some I've had for a couple of years and just love the ornaments and colors. It is from Paper Heart. The gorgeous glittery aqua ribbon is from Michael's. This is one of my favorite colors.

I used two Nestabilities dies to showcase this lovely lady. Label 1 is turned at an angle with Label 2, embossed with Cuttlebug ornaments folder, on top.










Miss Holly is colored with Copics R59, R39 and R100. The presents are colored with the same reds as well as Lionet Gold Y28. Stickles Silver adds the sparkle to her dress. I used the Nestabilities Mega Curved Rectangle die to frame this lovely. Then cut red and gold papers with the new Poinsettia Nestie, held together with a sparkly brad. The ribbon is also from Michael's. The lovely gold holly dp in the background is from the Christmas Cheer Stack by K&Company.



























Inside the card is a gold poinsettia using the Nesties. I am so glad I bought this set of Nesties! What would Christmas be without poinsettias?

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you come back soon! I have all those freshly colored images --- including some new ones! --- to put on cards!

Now, back to my blog hopping! There is so much creativity out there to drool over! Have a wonderful and safe weekend!

Sunday Sketch & Stamp #15 - Maggie's Sketch

It's a good thing I looked at the calendar! I can't believe 2 weeks have passed already! It's time for Sunday Sketch and Stamp #15 --- Wow, 15! Every challenge we see more and more beautiful projects! Thank you for playing along with us!

Well, this fortnight our fearless leader Maggie has a fabulous sketch for us. I had fun with it and I'm sure you will, too. Here is my card:

I have to tell you about the designer paper! I just got it this week at Michael's. It is DCWV Farmers' Market. The stack has the most creative papers I've seen in a long time and is perfect for the adorable characters I like to use, like the wonderful Willow with a Basket on this card. Also, the paper is 70% recycled and has a wonderful buff color on the back side.

I used two Whiff of Joy images for the front of this card. Willow and the sheaf of corn and grapes for the corner embellishment. Both are colored with Copics.

With the details of the dp I kept the embellishments pretty simple. Just a simple flower in the upper right corner and twine wrapped around the lower part of the card. I like the country harvest feel of this project and I can't wait to use more of the papers!

The inside of the card is quite simple, but I wanted to show the lovely buff color. The tag was cut out from one of the papers in the collection.

Here is Maggie's sketch. Try it --- you'll love it! I hope to see you all in our list of participants. Please be sure to hop on over to the Sunday Sketch and Stamp challenge blog and see the rest of the designers' and guest designers' inspiring projects.

Thanks for stopping by. I'll be hopping around looking at your projects, too!

Barb

In God We Trust

Whiff of Joy Challenge #54 - Jane's Sketch

Whiff of Joy Challenge #54 is a versatile sketch by designer Jane. It has a bit of a surprise attached! Here is my card:

Here is Jane's sketch:Here is the surprise..... the tag pulls out!

I took Jane's lead and cut out the upper right corner of the sketch to reveal the inside of the card. The sentiment on the tag is heat embossed.

I put a corner pocket inside the card to hold the tag. But you just HAVE to look at Jane's card!! It is a masterpiece, inside and out!

Here is the close-up of the lovely Willow with Muff. She is colored with Copics. I love this image and never tire of coloring her.

Materials:

Image: WOJ Willow with Muff stamped on Papertrey white with Memento Tuxedo Black; colored with Copics.

DP: Signature Christmas from My Mind's Eye

Card Stock: First Blush Collection from Prima

Snowflakes: Hobby Lobby

All in all, the card is free of a lot of embellishments. It was better to let this gorgeous paper take the stage. The sketch, with the cut out, has so much depth.

Jane, thank you for such a fun sketch and the inspiration! I hope I did it justice and I know I will use it again!

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to hop over to the WOJ challenge blog and see all the wonderful projects from the DT. Don't stop there! WOJ has fabulous new winter and holiday stamps. Take a look here!

It's a beautiful sunny 70s day here in the Missouri Ozarks. I hope you are having a beautiful weekend, too!

Barb

In God We Trust

Winter Blues

Even though I named this post "Winter Blues" it is by no means sad. I just love blue as a winter color. This is also one of the rare times that I colored an image for the dp, rather than find the dp to match a colored image! What a concept! The paper is from the Signature Christmas stack by My Mind's Eye and is very silvery and blue. So I colored this adorable image in, what else, BLUE! The ribbon and embellies are silver. I don't have a sentiment on here yet. It will depend on who I send this to.

Recipe:

Image: Sugar Nellie colored with Copics

DP: My Mind's Eye

Dies: Nestibilities

Snow Flake embellies: Michael's

Border punch: Martha Stewart

Silver Ribbon: Hobby Lobby

I don't think I've mentioned this in my recipes before, but I always stamp the images with Memento Tuxedo Black on Papertrey white card stock. Perfect for Copics!

Thanks for stopping by! I'm always glad to have visitors. Comments are welcome, too!

Barb

In God We Trust

Inky Impressions Challenge #21 --- Stitching But No DP

Inky Impressions Challenges are always fun --- and creative! This week there is no sketch, but there are two requirements: No designer paper (what!!! no dp? What will I do; what will I do?) AND stitching, real or faux. Well, I guess I go simple -- not easy for me! I love layers and embellies. But, I also love my Cuttlebug and embossing folders. So, here is my card.............

Requirement #1: No designer paper. Ok. I used Papertrey white cardstock and made a simple top fold note card.

Requirement #2: Stitching, real or faux. Well, my sewing machine is still crated away somewhere (I must go on a search for that soon), but the Cuttlebug embossing borders set called "Just My Type" has this great zig-zag and buttons. So, some simple runs through the 'bug, tracing with Sharpies and I have faux zig-zag. Then some colored pen magic and I have sewn on buttons. Ta-da!

Requirement #3: Of course, Inky Impressions Lili, colored with Copics and mounted on a pretty purple card stock.

The ribbon is from my stash of fun patterned ribbons. Simple is good, and fun, and cute! For more good, fun and cute, hop on over to Inky Impressions and have a look at the design teams' projects. Join in the fun, too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Barb

In God We Trust

House Mouse Challenge #55 -- Peek-A-Boo Card

The House Mouse Challenge #55 calls for "aperture". In other words a "peek-a-boo" hole. The design team has some amazing projects that are "must-see"!

I've had some holiday images colored for awhile but not yet made into cards. I was waiting for just the right sketch challenge. Then here comes an unexpected theme. Well, one image immediately came to mind and I knew I could make a simply elegant holiday card..............

........... with a chuckle inside!! I love this little guy roasting the marshmallow over the candle! How fun is this!!

The image is colored with Copics and PrismaColors for accent. The dp is K&Company Christmas Cheer selection and is just scrumptious! The reds and greens are so rich! The gold-trimmed poinsettias are stripped from stems I bought in Michael's floral department. The bloom on the front of the cards has a pearl brad center and the partial bloom inside is accented with small stick-on pearls.

This is one of my favorite Christmas cards so far this year. I guess I like the element of surprise inside.

Be sure to hop over to the House Mouse challenge blog, not only to see the cards, but also to see who their new designers are!

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you've had a terrific weekend!

Barb

In God We Trust

Whiff of Joy Challenge #53 --- Red, Cream and ?

The Whiff of Joy Challenge this week is to use the colors RED and CREAM plus ONE MORE COLOR. So I chose one of my favorite Whiff of Joy images and colored her with Copics R59 Cardinal Red, YR21 Cream, and YG95 Pale Olive. This combination was a beautiful match for the K&Company Christmas Cheer papers. I love the subdued colors in this collection and the scrapbook sized papers have designs perfect for cutting and pasting onto cards.

I cut out the holly from a corner of the dp and placed it on the background piece. I used another holly piece for the Nestibilities Large Label 4 then set that on an XL Label 4 in red. A strip of ribbon provides a perch for Willow. Embellishments include poinsettias and white flowers from Prima, ruby jewels and a sentiment cut from the dp.

I liked working with these colors and they just might show up again as I work through this stack of gorgeous Christmas papers.

WOJ is growing! If you haven't seen the new Christmas Gnome stamps click here!! WOJ has a very talented new illustrator, Norma Fickel, and her adorable gnomes are a must-have!

The weekend is here and I hope you all have a chance to create, rest, and spend time with those you love, not necessarily in that order!

Barb

In God We Trust

Busy Beauties Halloween Bride

Happy Halloween!!

The Busy Beauties team is celebrating Halloween by making cards using the new "Here Comes the Bride". My bride is crazy about chocolate!!! So hand over the chocolate and nobody gets hurt! bwaahahahah! Don't forget, she has a really big, really crazy boyfriend!

This card was really simple. I colored the image with Copics. The M&Ms and Hershey's papers are stacked on a card blank of Kraft card stock. From "The Print Shop" I pulled images of a candy bar and Frankie then added the text.

I hope you and your kiddies have a safe and happy Halloween. My treat will be a fancy dinner with my hubby.

Barb

In God We Trust

Christmas Cookies

Recently, while shopping at Hobby Lobby, I found a bag FULL of cute holiday embellishments, like buttons, snowflakes, and other fun items. When I found the cookie cutter and the serving board I knew exactly what image to use for a yummy Christmas card.

Here is Whiff of Joy Willow with a plate of warm cookies. Yummmmm! She is colored with Copics and mounted on a piece of red holiday ribbon wrapped around a square of shimmery card stock embossed with Cuttlebug snowflakes. The red checked background is from scrapbook paper I've had for quite awhile. Then little poinsettias provide the background for the embellishments. The sentiment is computer generated.

So, how many of you have started your holiday baking? Don't ask me; I'm busy with holiday cards. But I know a great bakery for the edible goodies!

It is so hard to believe that Christmas is less than 2 months away! So much going on this time of year. Don't ya just love it!!

Thank you for stopping by!

Barb

In God We Trust

Copic Creations Challenge #14 --- Black

Working an image in monochromatic of any color is a challenge I like to take on. Copic Creations Challenge is to use just black. I have used just black before, but in PrismaColors as I found it easier to blend to grey. Well, not one to give up on my Copics, I decided to take on this challenge.

I actually did two cards, but by the time I finished one of them it no longer technically qualified as a Copic image. I'll show that one at the bottom of this post, just because I like it and it is in black.

This card with Whiff of Joy's Charlie with Snowballs image is colored with Copics. The image is cut out with Nestibilities Label Four. Primarily using black, I supplemented with some of the Cool Grey neutrals and highlighted with the Blender.

The papers are from the SEI Black Orchid Collection and silver metallic. Keeping the card fairly simple, I added a few fun stick-on snowballs and a computer-generated sentimented. After this card, I think I might try some more --- it was fun!

Now, on to the one that isn't technically Copics image. This gorgeous Fashion Lady from Rubbernecker is very fun to color. I originally colored her gown in shades of black Copics, but thought she needed some glitz. But I got carried away with the glitter and totally covered the beautiful Copics coloring underneath. (Trust me, it was beautiful coloring!) I do like all the glitter, though.

The papers are, once again, SEI Black Orchid and silver metallic. The image is on a Nestibilities large curved rectangle die cut and I used the new Nestibilities poinsettia dies to cut the flowers and attached them with coordinating brads. The sentiment is computer-generated.

Black and white is striking and beautiful! I see so many amazing creations in b & w. To see more, hop on over to Copic Creations Challenge and see the DT's awesome projects!

Thank you for visiting and taking a look at my creations. Your time and comments are very much appreciated!

Barb

In God We Trust

Another Fall Card

We've had such a beautiful autumn here and the colors have inspired so many pretty cards. I just had to do another one. Maybe the last for this year --- maybe not!

The image is, once again, Whiff of Joy Charlotte walking through the leaves. This is very appropriate right now since so many leaves have fallen on our country road it is hard to see the edge of the pavement! And I love to hear the crispy crunch and see them swirling into the air behind the car.

Charlotte and the leaves are colored with Copics, all the richest oranges, greens, and yellows I have. I cut the image with the Nestibilities die on my Cuttlebug. The card blank is golden yellow Bazzill card stock. On the front is a piece of scrapbook paper of gorgeous leaves. I like to use wide ribbon, especially when I don't want to detract from the paper. The ribbon on this card is sheer copper-colored with gold along the edges. I found I have several rolls of wide ribbon, then my mom cleaned out her craft room and gave me a bag full of holiday ribbons --- all wide!! She used to make bows for floral arrangements, and these ribbons are beautiful!

I finished the card with a few little Prima flowers and a K & Company sticker.


Whiff of Joy will soon be sending out the Winter 2009 Stamp Kit that I pre-ordered and I can't wait to get it!! I know I won't be disappointed! With that I will be in full Christmas and Holiday mode for sure!

I'm so glad you stopped by and I hope you are having a terrific week!

Barb

In God We Trust

Quiet Moments

Well, tonight is a bit of a break from Halloween and Holidays. I love this Sarah Kay "Quiet Moments" so much. This is the first time I colored it and I loved all the details. Just that much more depth to put into it! And, of course, I used Copics --- lots of Copics!

The papers are bits and pieces of scrapbook papers for a soft collage look. And I love the Prima flowers on just about anything! Add a touch of ribbon and a butterfly charm and this card is a nice quiet moment for friend or family member.

Thank you for stopping by!! I love visitors and really appreciate your comments.

Barb

In God We Trust

Busy Beauty and Bubbles!

Last week was a busy one, so today was a lazy one. It looks like the coming week will be busy, too. But I wouldn't want it any other way!

So when I think about ways to relax, a bubble bath comes to mind. Remember the Busy Beauties introduced by Carolyn Bounds ? (here is my post from that blog hop) I don't want you to forget them! This Beauty in Bubbles image is great! I colored her with Copics then jazzed up the bubbles with some iridescent jewels. I used a glitter paper background and a faux mirror and .... butterflies!! I love these stickers from K & Company and they just seemed to be perfect for this card. How calming would that be? A bubble bath surrounded by delicate beauty!

I had fun with this card, though I haven't taken my own advice and filled the tub yet. It's really tempting, tho'!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope your coming week is terrific! Don't forget, the goblins are comin', too!

Barb

In God We Trust