Technology Frustration!!

Today did not start out the way I would have liked it to - when I tried to turn on my computer this morning nothing happened!!!  I pulled out the desk and played with all the cords and plug ins and nothing was helping - the tower was dead!  What a wonderful surprise - how would I surf, enter challenges, and most of all how would I post my cards as One Crazy Stampers Guest Designer for June.  Panic - so what can a Mom do but text a son at work ( and yes I actually sent a text for those of you who know how much I resist using my cell for anything but emergency calls ), and thankfully he called a little while later and said it sounded like the power source in the tower was burnt out.  So off I went to the parts store, and my son came over after work and installed the new part, and as you can tell IT WORKED!!  And my son just couldn't get over the fact that I actually knew how to text someone - days like this make me feel old.

Anyhow, I did some gardening, finished grouting the tiles in my bathroom, and then found the time to create this card featuring an LOTV image called Dandelion Clock.

The dp is from Kaiser Craft Magic Happens Collection, and the image was cut with a Spellbinders circle die and then framed with a Spellbinders Scalloped circle.  I used Smooch Pearlized Accent Coat on the wings, Viva Decor pearl pens on the buttons and the dots of the skirt, and flower soft on the dandelions.  I masked the image and then sprayed Tsukineko Goosebumps for texture around the fairy.  The sentiment is also from LOTV, lace was from my stash, and flourishes were cut with a Tim Holtz die.  I am entering this card into the following challenges:
ABC Challenge - V is for Violet
http://abc-challenge.blogspot.com/
Lili of the Valley Thursday Challenge - I Believe in Fairies
http://liliofthevalleythursdaychallenge.blogspot.com/

Trouble!!

Today was a good day - the sun was shining, I got the lawn mowed, and the class tonight was a nice get together ( so nice to finally have a class now that Indie has made it through her two weeks of quiet ).  While the girls were working on the featured cards tonight, I played with this LOTV image that was one of the first ones I purchased.  I colored with Copics, the dp is from Basic Grey Max & Whiskers, sentiment is from Hero Arts,  image mat is Spellbinders Labels 21, and I pulled out the old deckle scissors from Fiskars.  I am entering this card into the following challenges:
Creative Belli - #118 use an old or forgotten tool
http://www.bellichallenge.blogspot.com/
Alphabet Challenge - "D" is for dogs
http://alphabetchallengeblog.blogspot.com/
Party Time Tuesday's Challenge Blog
http://www.partytimetuesdays.blogspot.com/

Easy Rider

The rain has finally stopped, the reno team finished the tiling in the bathroom, and my son moved out today, now all I have to do is get the house ready to put on the market, and decide where I'm moving to.  Can't decide if I should stay in Calgary or maybe move to BC or PEI.  Since I now have only the four animals and myself to clean up after, I have lots of time to color and craft, so here's my card for today.
The card features the Penny Black image entitled Mimi - Easy Rider colored with Copics.  All three dp's are from My Mind's Eye Pretty Please Spring 6 x 6 paper pad that came free with a Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine last year.  Two of the dp's were punched with a Martha Stewart border punch, and the third paper was cut with Cherry Lynn Designs French Pastry Doily die.  The lace with pearls was airbrushed with Copics R81, flourishes were cut with a Sizzix die, and the sentiment and frame were stamped with Just Rite sets Let's Celebrate and Applique.  I am entering this card into the following challenges:
Fussy and Fancy - 3 papers, 2 embellishments, 1 ribbon
http://fussyandfancychallenge.blogspot.com/2011/05/fussy-and-fancy-friday-challenge-recipe.html
Totally Papercrafts - Pink & Girly
http://totallypapercrafts.blogspot.com/
Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Week #153 - One for the girls
http://pennybfriendssaturdaychallenge.blogspot.com/

Explosion Box

The Outlawz challenge this week is Anything Goes, so here's my first attempt at a card that is an explosion box as well.  The box is made with two patterned papers that were from my stash, the punch is from Martha Stewart, the red flower is from Bazzill and the white flower I made myself with ribbon.

When you open the box there is the adorable Stampavie image and several  sticker sentiments that pop up and wiggle ( they are all attached to the center of the box with clear acrylic strips ).

Here's a close up of the Stampavie "Mouse Holding Ice Cream" image.  I added flocking, glitter, matte accents dimensional glue, mini beads, stickles, distress paint and diamond glaze to the image to bring the mouse and ice cream to life.

I am entering this card into the following challenge:

http://outlawzchallenges.ning.com/group/copicchallenge/forum/topics/copicpromarker-challenge-may-2

A Father's Day Card

Wow, a card with no coloring and no dp!  This is the card I have made for my Dad featuring images from the Flourishes stamp sets entitled "A Guiding Light" and "Antique Map".  For the front of the card I stamped the image with Versamark, embossed with black, then using Rangers Ink Blending tool I rubbed several colors of distress ink over the paper.  I stamped the ship and sentiment on light tan cardstock, inked the edges and then popped both up with pop dots.  The ribbon was from my stash.  For the inside of the card I stamped both the image and sentiment and then inked the edges.  I am entering this card into One Crazy Stampers challenge at http://onecrazystampercom.blogspot.com/

Welcome Surprise

In the midst of my dog Indie's battle with a spontaneous pneumothroax, I got a wonderful surprise that couldn't have come at a better time.  I was invited to be the guest designer for a fantastic blog and an awesome on line store here in Canada - One Crazy Stamper!!  Wow, thank you so much to Lora ( owner and a great lady ) and Jacilynn ( the DT coordinator ) for this wonderful opportunity!!  I got right to work, and on June 1 one of my cards will be featured on the blog along with all of the beautiful Design team projects.  Here's a sneak peek!

Check out the store at http://www.onecrazystamper.com/ and the store blog at http://www.onecrazystampercom.blogspot.com/

Magical Birthday

Still raining here, so more coloring and card making was the order of the day.  This time the image is from Teddy Bo and is, as always colored with Copics.  I gave the girl bear texture with blender solution and an old terry towel, and used my Copic Blender pen to add dots to her dress.  The dp's are all from Fancy Pants, Sweet Nothings and Lovebird from the Aged Floral line, and Appealing from Floral Chic.  The sentiment scalloped circle is an EK Success punch and the sentiment itself is from Lili of the Valley.  The ribbon and flowers are all from my stash.  I added some sparkle to her wings and around the star with Sakura's Clear Star Gelly Roll pen ( here's a close up ).

 I am entering this card into the following challenges:

A Spoonful Of Sugar - #153 Things with Wings  http://aspoonfullofsugarchallenge.blogspot.com/

Anything Goes Challenge - #41 BINGO ( punches, flowers, ribbon)http://www.anythingchallenge.blogspot.com

Claudia & Co - #82 Girls Birthday http://www.claudiaandcompany.blogspot.com/

Everybody Art Challenge - #143 Sketch

http://www.everybody-art-challenge.blogspot.com/

Going Grey with Scrap Creations - Use at least 3 Different DP's 

 http://scrap-creations1.blogspot.com/

Ladybug Crafts Ink TLT Challenge - Animals http://ladybugscraftsinkchallengeblog.blogspot.com/

Tinest Thing

Another card to enter into a challenge - I'm on a roll.  It's raining so much here that yard work is on hold, so what else can a woman do but color!!

This card features a Lili of the Valley image called Fairies - On Tiptoe, and challenge #97 this week at LOTV is Here Comes Summer.  What says summer more than the beautiful scents of the flowers in bloom!  I colored the image with Copics, the dp is from Nikki Sivils Bella Blue & Oscar Too 6 x 6 collection, and the scalloped edges of the card are cut using Spellbinders Floral Doily Accents.  I added shimmer to her wings with Smooch Pearlized Top Coat, and the centers of the flowers all have a pearl created with Viva Decor Pearl Pens.  The sentiment is from Flourishes Humming Along stamp set. 

http://liliofthevalleythursdaychallenge.blogspot.com/

Little One

Painting with Copics Blending solution - I have only done two other cards using this technique, but I like the watercolor effect that you get.  The image (from Whiff of Joy) is stamped onto watercolor paper with Memento Ink, and then using the palette method and an aqua brush filled with blender solution you paint with your Copic colours.  For this image I used the following colors - B21, E000, E01, R20, G40, G82, E39, YR24.  The dp is "Romance" from Prima's Botanical Collection and the rose is also from Prima.  I cut the image out using Spellbinders Beaded Oval die and mounted it onto a Cheery Lynn Doily Die called Italian Flourish.  The pearls were made with a Viva Decor Pearl Pen - Light Green.  I am entering this card into The Outlawz Friday Copic Challenge for May 20 - Colorless Blender Techniques at  http://outlawzchallenges.ning.com/group/copicchallenge.

Dragonfly Sparkle

I've had this finished image kicking around for a few weeks, but hadn't found time to make it into a finished card and then I saw the theme for this week's Simon Says Stamp Challenge -"Sparkle and Shine".  The image is called "Dragonfly Circle" from Stamp Oasis and I used Staz On ink to stamp it onto a sheet of acrylic.  On the back side of the acrylic I used Art Institute Dries Clear Adhesive, and various Art Institute Microfine glitter colors to define all of the different parts of the image.  The finished image was then placed behind a scalloped circle, cut from embossed paper using a Spellbinders die, and popped up with foam dots onto the card face.  The embellishments were cut from several Marianne D dies. I am entering this card into the following challenge:

http://www.simonsaysstampschallenge.blogspot.com/

Yee Haw!!

Another Mo's Digital Pencil image today, this one is called "Wyett" and I used almost all of my E Copic Markers to color him.  The sentiments are from Waltzingmouse Stamps Back in the Saddle set, and the dp is from Cosmo Cricket's Wanted line.  The braided leather trim and buckle are from my stash.  To distress the image I ripped the edge of the paper and then inked over that, and then after stamping the sentiment with three colors of ink, I crumpled and ripped and inked again.  The challenges I am entering this card into are Mo's Digital Challenge #83 Distress at http://mosdigitalchallenge.blogspot.com/ and Colour Create's Challenge #71 - White, Cream and Brown at http://colourcreatechallenge.blogspot.com/.

Sassy Punk

The Paper Shelter's challenge this week is "Distress to Impress" and I just happened to have this image colored and ready to go.  Her name is "Punk Lolly" and she has attitude!!  She is colored with Copics and her belt and Sassy sentiment have added shine and dimension with the addition of Diamond Glaze.  The background was embossed with an older Cuttlebug embossing folder, and then I distressed it by inking and sanding the raised images to make them stand out.  Pearls were made with Viva Decor Pearl pens and the ribbon and charm were in my stash.  All of the edges of the card were distressed with a distressing tool.  I am entering this card in the following challenge - Challenge #14 Distress to impress at http://thepapershelter.blogspot.com/

Teddy Bear's at Play

I'm on a roll this week - this is my third challenge card and I love how the finished card turned out.  The card is a side step design featuring two bear images.  Both images are from Lili of the Valley - Top Chef and Birthday Bumps, and are colored with Copics. The dp is from Kaiser Crafts Jungle Bug collection.  Wouldn't you just love to picnic with these cuties?  The challenges I am entering are Crafty Calendar May challenge "Teddy Bear" and Allsorts "Week 103 Teddy Bear Picnic".
http://craftycalendarchallenge.blogspot.com
http://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/

Little Ballerina

Another challenge to enter - this time it's Lili of the Valley's Thursday challenge #96 - Ribbon and Bows.  I used the Little Ballerina image and colored her with Copics then cut her out using Spellbinders Label 18.  All of the ribbon is from my stash and the dp is from the Memory Box Gossamer collection.  The sentiment is from Whimsy Stamps Spring Letter Seals set.  The challenge is at http://liliofthevalleythursdaychallenge.blogspot.com/.
Hopefully you can see the glimmer on her tutu in this close up that I added using Smooch Pearlized Top Coat.

Summer Days

I have been absent for a couple of weeks, dealing with a very sick puppy who is thankfully on the mend now, so it's time to get back to creating.  The very first digital image that I ever purchased came from Mo's Digital Pencil, and I adore her images and have added many to my collection.  This week over at Mo's Digital Challenge the theme is "Here Comes Summer", so I went through my images and selected the cute "Lollypop - Brady and Chloe".  These cuties were colored with copics then cut out using Spellbinders Reverse Wonky Rectangles.  The sentiment is from Lili of the Valley, the dp is Fancy Pants Beach Babe, pearls are made using a Viva Decor Pearl Pen, and the lollypops were given dimension with Diamond Glaze.  Take a peek at the other entries at http://mosdigitalchallenge.blogspot.com/.