Turtle Love

Today marks my last day as a Guest Designer for DRS Designs. So today I chose this cute turtle image that I hadn't had a chance to use yet. My colors were decided by the colors in the ric rac: Pixie Pink, Barely Banana, Certainly Celery and Pumpkin Pie.

I decided to use the same layout as I did yesterday -- what a totally different look with the different colors and images! I think my pet turtle would be proud! LOL

Some celebrations coming up later this week:
Tomorrow is my mom's 80th birthday and that will be a special day! I am so glad I get to spend the day with her!

Friday is May Day -- are you making any May baskets? I will have a fun tutorial and recipe for a simple May basket you can share!
Friday also marks New Release Day at Our Daily Bread designs and we will have a special challenge for you to join in and do!

Sunday, May 3, marks my second Blogaversary! Watch for some special fun things on that day too!
Have a good day!

A Simple Spring

Today's challenge at House Mouse & Friends was "Springtime." I have several images that I could have used that had more to them, but the first sign of spring to me is seeing the first robin in my yard! I think this little image is so sweet.

After stamping with Palette Noir Black, I watercolored my image using reinkers and an aqua brush. I was totally inspired by this gorgeous card of my stamping friend, Darleen, and I pretty much cased her in my card. Thanks, for the inspiration, Darleen!

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team did here and play along!

And for a totally different look, here is Sally the Snail, all ready for her Spring Snail Trail Dance, but she it taking it "One Day at a Time." The DRS Designs Challenge today was a color challenge: Chocolate Chip, Pink Passion and Summer Sun. What fun colors!


I substituted some Basic Grey Bittersweet DP for my Pink Passion and Chocolate Chip main panels. Sally is stamped in Black Stazon and is watercolored. Be sure to see what the rest of the DRS DT did with these awesome colors here and play along with this challenge too!

Thanks for stopping by today!

A Rose For You

I really wanted to make another card using the colors from this week's SCS Color Challenge -- the last one had so little pink and it's my favorite color! I used this cute little guy from DRS Designs. Doesn't he have the sweetest face? Well, he is a little shy, but he is wishing you a Happy Birthday......with love! I used Item No. G623 (Sweet Offering) and Item No. B250 (Happy Birthday) for my images. I added Crystal Stickles to his rose, and embossed the So Saffron panel with a Cuttlebug folder.

Inspired by Dawn's beautiful card HERE. Tomorrow is the last day to enter my Blog Candy giveaway!

Stamps: DRS Designs
Paper: Bordering Blue, Whisper White, So Saffron, Pink Pirouette
Ink: Palette Noir Black, plus Color Challenge colors and Creamy Caramel, Copic C-1
Accessories: Cuttlebug EF, paper flowers, brad, heart sticker, paper piercer, word window punch, Crystal Stickles, Nestabilities
Techniques: watercolor

Sweet Hogwash!

Today's House Mouse & Friends Challenge is "Something Sweet"! The Design Team created projects with something sweet on them! This could be using sweet wrappers, an image with something sweet on it (such as apples, strawberries, chocolate), or you could even use the word 'sweet' in your sentiment, as I did in my card. Come play along, and post your card link HERE.

Little Monica is all ready with her cute Easter egg!

Today over at the DRS Designs Blog the Design Team was challenged to make birthday creations.
DRS has a ton of birthday sentiments and in the last couple of months have come out with lots of images suitable for birthdays. They even have a whole line dedicated to the months of the year...images and sentiments to go with them so you're covered for a whole year of birthdays!

I used two new releases for my treat box and matching card: E722 Hogwash Greeting and D718 Leonard's Dance of Joy. Leonard is stamped with VersaFine Onyx Black ink and is watercolored with Pink Pirouette ink. My card is 4.25 inches square. The little treat box is filled with pink jelly beans.

Thanks for stopping by today!

DRS Blog Hop Stop #6

Welcome to today's DRS Designs Blog Hop! If you came here from Jessica's blog, you are in the right spot. To start at the beginning, click HERE.

There are several new images available tomorrow and DRS is offering HALF of them to two winners as Blog Candy (each winner will receive a different half)! The drawing will be on Monday, April 6th, so be sure to start at the beginning of the Hop to find out where it is and what to do to win!

My project today uses two images: Cattail Bridge (692LU) and Birthday Wishes Come True (508EU). I stamped the image in VersaFine Black Onyx Ink and then watercolored using reinkers and an aqua brush. I painted the underside of the bridge a little mottled to be a reflection of the water. Be sure to check out all the new designs HERE.

Now on to the next stop -- Vicki's blog -- to see what she has in store!

Come back later this afternoon to see what I have been working on for the new releases from Our Daily Bread designs! Check out this post!

And a last non-stamping comment - it's Opening Night for "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown"!
Check out this cute picture (my daughter is in the pink dress - she plays Sally):


More pictures to come!

I Like Challenges That Aren't Challenges!

I like challenges that aren't challenges! But then are they really a challenge? :)
For both of my design teams today we had challenges that really were challenging to me.

First up is my House Mouse card for the weekly challenge at House Mouse & Friends. We invite you to join in today and make a "shape card"! Any shape but a rectangle or square will do! I thought about hearts, and circles, but wanted to do something that was a little different. I had this darling Monica With Blankey stamp and decided to make a baby onesie card.
I used a circle punch for the neckline and leg holes, and then freely cut the sides and sleeves. I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder for the sleeve designs, and scored a fold at the bottom before I added my pink eyelet "snaps." Monica is stamped in Palette Noir Black and watercolored with Pink Pirouette and Basic Gray ink. A small Prima and a pearl and this standard-sized A2 baby card is ready to send!

Next is the challenge over at DRS Designs. This week the Design Team was asked to make a one-layer card. Definitely not my forte! I am getting into the spring mode, however, and wanted to use these little sheep so I gave it a go!

I scored two lines perpendicular to each other with my Scor-Pal, and then stamped the sheep in Palette Noir Black in the opposite corner. They are standing in a Pink Pirouette field, and colored with Copic C-1 on their hooves, horns, and faces. The flowers are by Hero Arts, with Martha Stewart providing the branches. Here is a close-up of the little silver charm, by Charm Me, which says "The Lord be with you." It is so shiny that it's hard to get a decent picture that isn't so "black" on the charm.


Be sure to check out what the other design team members at each site have done! Play along! Thanks for stopping by today!

Remember Your First Love?

Isn't this a sweet image? It's called First Love and is one of the Cutie Pie Kids by DRS Designs. I stamped the image on watercolor paper and then watercolored with reinkers and an aqua brush to blend the color. The sentiment is All About You Birthday. I just used the top part and then only inked the part of the words that I wanted. It can be for just about any occasion now!

My paper is from Basic Grey's Two Scoops collection, and the flowers are by The Paper Studio.
The ribbon is Blue Bayou (retired SU!).

A short post, as I am actually in Arizona right now - hopefully having yummy, authentic Mexican food before I come back to the Plains!
Thanks for stopping by today!

Happy Birthday to My Daughter!

Today I want to say a very Happy 16th Birthday to my daughter!! Driver's License - here we come!

Today's creation comes from a challenge that the DRS Design Team had - to make a Stained Glass card. I made this:
This was a real challenge for me, as I had never made a card quite like this before! I used Lots of Dots Butterfly and Large Rectangle Stained Glass, both available at DRS Designs. To see a sample demonstration of how I made this card, click HERE. To see the other DT members' projects, click HERE.
I embossed the butterfly with Clear EP, and after coloring, added Crystal Stickles all over the wings. I pierced the butterfly at each dot, and then watercolored in the rest of the stained glass with Gable Green and Bashful Blue ink. A little heated organdy ribbon, and some flowers and hardware from Stampin' Up! and I was all done!

Thanks for coming by today! House Mouse fans, be sure to check back later for my Mousie card!! Off to a birthday celebration!

Sweet Chickies and a New Release!

Well, yesterday it was 72 here! Doesn't matter that tomorrow is supposed to be in the thirties. For one glorious day, it was SPRING! And my little chicks are excited to get out and enjoy it!

I made this for the SCS Limited Supplies Challenge: On Your Mark, Get Set, Go! My 30 minute card uses a darling new release by DRS Designs called Easter Sleepover. You can see all the new DRS Designs releases HERE. Be sure to check out the DRS Blog for lots of fun projects by the Design Team HERE.

This card is 5 inches square. There are three scored lines on the left side, which I alternated (scoring on the front and back) for added interest.

One little thing I learned today! White gel pen sticks to ribbon! Part of the silk-screened white dots had come off of my ribbon, and I just colored it in with my white gel pen! It dried right away and didn't smear!

This was a tough challenge for me, as I take forever to make my cards, but I think most of it is the "thinking" part! Thanks for coming to look!


Stamps: Easter Sleepover (L600) by DRS Designs
Paper: Green Galore, Whisper White, Barely Banana, DP by Provo Craft
Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black, Yoyo Yellow, Green Galore, Bliss Blue, Almost Amethyst, Certainly Celery
Accessories: giant brad (The Paper Studio), dotted grosgrain ribbon (Hobby Lobby), Scor-Pal, Paper Frills (Doodlebug), Nestabilities, white gel pen
Techniques: watercolor

Make a Wish!

Today I want to share a project I made for my daughter's sixteenth birthday. I can't even believe I am writing that; time has gone by so fast and it seems she was just six! She is a real joy and such a talented young lady. In two years she will be off to college (out of state, no doubt), and I know I will miss her a lot! Her birthday is the 9th.

I made this little box for a special gift for her. Now if you follow my blog at all, you will know that I am not a 3D kind of person. I like to stick with cards! But this little box was calling my name, and it's really easy! You can print the pattern right on your cardstock, cut, decorate, adhere, and voila! A little gift box for something special. I got the pattern from a Technique Challenge on Splitcoaststampers, and you can download it HERE.

I used the fun and festive Birthday Candle Burst by DRS Designs and colored each candle using markers, reinkers, and an aqua brush. Then I added Crystal Stickles to the candles and the fun swirl that is holding them all together and punched the corners with a ticket corner punch. Here is a close-up:

Since the actual stamp was a little too long for my box, I cut apart the candles and sentiment, and added them to the top of my box. I punched holes in the top with a 1/4" circle punch and ran different fun ribbons through, using glue dots to adhere them. You could also use colored staples for another option and fun look. I cut a strip of hot pink cardstock and ran it through my crimper (I had to think for a minute to remember where it was! When is the last time you used yours? LOL), and added that as a layer before I adhered my main panel with pop dots.

I think she will like what is in the bottom of this box. It's small and can fit into your hand. Remember, she is going to be 16...... Can you guess what is inside?