Cleaning My Craft Desk: Happy Easter Duckies

 Hello! Welcome to a new installment of my Cleaning My Craft Desk series!  

Believe it or not, the ducks were colored and die cut, the water was already die cut from a distress oxide background, the patterned paper was already trimmed out to card size.  All I needed to do was stamp and die cut the sentiment, and arrange the card.

And there! I cleaned up part of my craft desk!

I actually think I cut and colored those ducks when this Hero Arts kit came out.  Which was March 2017.  

The other stamps I used here are Art Impressions Sweet Easter set, and Close to My Heart Daisy Meadows.  

Have you cleaned your craft desk lately?

Rainbow Panda Birthday Card

Hello everyone!  It is hot where you are? I enjoyed our long spring, but as soon as the first day of summer hit, it did feel quite hot and summery!

I recently finished off this birthday card. I had done the rainbow background a couple weeks ago, and then decided to use these pandas as the main focal point. I tried to add colors to their paw pads and hats to go with the background.  

And then I finished off the inside with lots of colorful stamping.  That was fun and always feels great to use a lot of your supplies on a card.  

Stamps: Hero Arts Stitched Flowers background stamp, Art Impressions Panda-Tastic stamp set.

I’d love to enter Tuesday Throwdown’s Anything Goes challenge, Word Art Wednesday’s Anything goes challenge, Art Impressions Make Me Laugh challenge and SimonSaysStamp’s Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

Thank you so much for visiting today! I hope you have a super day!

Handmade Teacher Valentine - Gift Card Holder

Hello!  I thought that this little project would be a cute, very easy to make, Valentine for a teacher that holds a little gift card for coffee.  I got this idea from a video on YouTube.

Instructions:

Cut a sheet of cardstock to 8.5 x 3.5 inches.

Score at 2 inches and 6 inches.  

Fold, adding adhesive on the sides where the gift card will be held, and decorate.

I decorated mine with a cute coffee image from Art Impressions Sloth-some set over a die cut heart.  In the video, the gal uses a belly band to close it, which is a great idea, but I decided to just use temporary adhesive to close, since I will be putting this in an envelope.  

I added the matching thank you sentiment inside, as you should never miss an opportunity to thank a teacher for their hard work!

I’d like to enter Art Impressions Give it Away challenge and SimonSaysStamp’s Wednesday Challenge With Love.  

Thanks for visiting!

Who Loves You? - Owl Valentine

Hello all! I wanted to sneak in a post today to enter some challenges.  I had half of an idea on how to use this owl (which is actually from a Halloween set) with some other products in my stash to make a Valentine.  The rest of the idea came to me this morning.  

I die cut a heart in my pink cardstock and then embossed it with a woodgrain folder. I used a tan inkpad direct-to-paper to bring out the embossing.  I used some foiled pattered paper behind this, and then nestled my owl right in there.  

The inside of the card has a sentiment that I stamped out with an alphabet set.  

I think I know just the little girl to send this to.  

I’d love to enter Art Impressions Shades of Pink Challenge, ModSquad Challenge Animal Stamps, and SimonSaysStamp’s Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Supplies:  Art Impressions SC0735 Fright Night stamp and die set, Hero Arts Log Letters and Numbers alphabet stamp set,  Sizzix Thinlets Sentiment words dies, Firefly Hearts die set, Darice Woodgrain Embossing folder, Hero Arts Soft Sand ink, Gina K Dark Chocolate ink

Sloth Valentine Card

ETA 1/17/20:  Thank You Art Impressions for choosing my card as Top Spot!

I enjoy puns, and animals can’t be beat!  Especially for Valentines, this saying is sure to make just about anyone smile!  

I colored this stamp from Art Impressions’ Sloth-some set with alcohol markers, die cut out the panel and then just used patterned paper and a embossed piece of cardstock to create the layout.  I had some enamel dots with some arrow shapes, so I decided to add one to the card.  (I agonized over that detail, lol. Got to find some way to make it take a long time to finish!)

Supplies: Stamps Art Impressions Sloth-some, Die Gina K Designs, Embossing folder Darice

I would love to enter Art Impressions Hugs & Kisses challenge and Word Art Wednesday’s Anything Goes challenge.

Are you making Valentines this year?

Thanks for visiting!

Slothie Coffee Card

I am squeezing one more coffee card into the mix for the Coffee Lover’s Blog Hop today!  After this, I am going to do my best to finish commenting on them, but there are over 1000 entries this time! WOW!

I colored my CUTE sloth-in-a-mug and then trimmed it out to pop up over my patterned paper. A sentiment and a few enamel dots finish off my clean and simple card.  I don’t always do clean and simple, but it really is fun to do.

Supplies: Art Impressions Sloth-Some stamp set, Memento and Versafine black inks, paper is a scrap and I don’t know which pad it was, Recollections enamel dots, Frantic Stamper Stitched Edge dies.

Thank you for visiting!  I hope I will see you again soon!

Here comes the Easter Bunny - handmade card

ETA 3/17/19: Thanks to Cupcake Inspirations for choosing my card as a favorite!

AND Thanks to Tuesday Morning Sketches for choosing this card as a favorite, too!

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Happy Friday everyone!  Today I have a card that I made for a few challenges!  I sometimes write too much, I think, so today, just the card!!

Supplies: Art Impressions Sweet Easter stamp set, Memento and Versafine Black inks, Spectrum Noir alcohol markers, EK Success edge punch,  American Crafts Everyday 6x6 paper pad, other supplies from my stash.

I would love to enter these challenges:

Tuesday Morning Sketches #494

Word Art Wednesday- Anything Goes

Cupcake Inspirations: Plaid

Art Impressions - Cutting Edge

I really appreciate your visiting my blog today!!!

Some Bunny Loves You - Handmade Easter Card

Hello everyone!  This past weekend, I had the chance to work at a Stamping  Show.  I did the make n takes for Just for Fun, and it was a really great experience.  I enjoyed meeting different people, and chatting about what we like to make.  (It was also a little fun to get a behind-the-scenes look!)

  I highly recommend going to any of the Stamping Conventions/Shows that are remotely near you.  It is just a special treat to be able to see the demos, and try some of the products before you buy, or maybe find a new favorite company that you might not have seen otherwise!  I have never set foot in a stamping store, as they have mostly all closed, so supporting this kind of show is important if we want to maintain the diversity in the papercrafting world.

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Also I had fun coloring this super cute Easter image this morning.  I did just a bit of masking to add the eggs in front of the flower pot.  I especially like that the sentiment  that came with it is typed, easier for the little ones to read.

Supplies: Art Impressions Sweet Easter stamp set, Memento and Versafine Black inks, Spectrum Noir alcohol markers, Die Namics Pierce Square dies, EK Success Square punch.

I would love to enter Art Impressions Challenge #251 - Floral Cards and WordArtWednesday’s Anything Goes.

Thanks, as always, for your visit! If you aren’t already a follower, I hope you will consider it!  I am always trying to find ways to comment back, so I hope your profile is linked to your blog. 

Fairy Garden Card

ETA (2/28/19) I am so pleased that Art Impressions chose my card for an Honorable Mention for their challenge! Thank you!

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Let me start out by saying that this was not the card I sat down to create last night.  I had planned to work on a cute little watercolor scene using the Art Impressions watercolor stamps.  While I did use their little house stamp, other supplies that were out on my desk inspired an idea for an imaginary little fairy garden.

That is really what I like best about making card, just getting to be creative and let my mind run with an idea.  

So the background is a stamp that I colored with markers, and then spritzed with water and stamped out onto watercolor paper.  I then stamped and watercolored the house, cut it out and popped it into my scene. I did add some of the little grasses to ground it.  I do not know where the die cut leaves came from, but I cut them up and added them to my card base.  

Supplies: Art Impressions Watercolor Series structures, Grass from the foliage set, Just for Fun Rubber Stamps Floral Silhouette,  Tombow Water based markers, Versafine Onyx black ink, other items from my stash.

I would love to play along with Art Impressions Challenge 250 Cottage or House.  

Thanks very much for visiting today!  Hope you have time for papercraft today or soon!

Pastel Chris-mouse Card

Hello!  I hope you are well. It is very cold with just a touch of snow on the ground here.  It definitely feels like winter.  I have my first Christmas card of the year to share with you.  My regular readers know that I make Christmas cards year-round, however, I definitely didn’t intend to start making them this early.  However, I have been mulling over a few blog challenges, and this is just the card that evolved with the inspiration.

I paper pieced the mouse’s pj’s with some scrap patterned paper from a Christmas pack, then colored her with pencils.  I matted the image with some glitter cardstock that looked white until I used it on this project, and now it looks pink!  

The background stamp was inked up in Distress Oxide ink.  I then stamped the saying and used loose glitter around the edge of this.  My snowflake punch seemed to be the right embellishment for this.  

Supplies:  Art Impressions Chris-Mouse Mini Shaker stamp set, Hero Arts Berry Background stamp, Versafine Black ink, Distress Oxide Tattered Rose Ink, Crate Paper Peppermint paper pad, LoveNicole glitter cardstock, EK Success Snowflake and Square punch, other items from my stash

I would love to play in Art Impressions Pretty Pastel challenge, Pixie’s Snippets Playground Anything Goes with scraps challenge,  and Tuesday Throwdowns Winter Sparkle challenge.

Thank you for your kind visit!  I truly love reading every comment!

Elf Christmas Card

Hello!  I am really surprised how many cards I am making in December. I have a cute elf card to share with you today that uses one of those Action Wobbles.  

I stamped and colored the main image and then there is a separate image in the set that is just the present.  I stamped the latter onto patterned paper.  I added white flocking to portions of the images and also some wink of Stella glitter pen.  I don’t think you can really see the impact of the dimension popping the gift up in the photo, so I added a couple more photos from other angles.  It really looks like the elf is reaching out and giving you the present.  The wobbly effect is an extra fun thing.

Supplies: Art Impressions Elf Shaker set and action wobblers, Memento and Versafine Black inks, Spectrum Noir alcohol markers, Wink of Stella glitter pen, Inkadinkado white flocking, Avery Elle Wonky Stitched rectangles die, other items from my stash.  

I would love to enter this in Art Impressions Anything Goes challenge!

 I know the season is getting busy so I especially appreciate all the time to you take to visit and comment.

Christmas Snowmen and Using up Scraps

Updated: Thanks to Art Impressions for choosing this card as Top Spot in their Circle Elements Challenge!

Hello everyone!  How have you been lately? I am hoping all of you that were in the path of the hurricane weathered the storm okay.  We just got a little rain from it, no big deal.

I have been busy making a lot of cards, and will be sharing them probably over the next two weeks.  Hopefully I can keep up on this pace of cardmaking - I am enjoying myself!

You might have seen the cute monster card I posted last week.  Well, when I was doing that background, I also started with this Christmas background in the same design.  I added a cute snowman to it, adding white flocking to parts of the image how I like to.

Well, then I happened to see Art Impressions new challenge which is circle elements.  Well, as my little snowman is from their company, I thought why not try a similar card with scraps, but punch circles.  (This is what I really love about card challenges!) This next card is what I came up with.

I was happy to use up so many paper scraps. I knew I was saving them for a reason! LOL!
I’d also like to add this to Pixie’s Crafty Workshop’s Snippets challenge #335.

Supplies:  Art Impressions Christmas Snowman SC0738 stamp and die set, Memento and Versafine Black inks, Spectrum Noir alcohol markers, various patterned paper scraps, EK Success 1.25 inch square punch and 1 inch circle punch, Inkadinkado white flocking.

Thank you so much for your visit today, and double thanks if you had time to leave a comment. If there is a link through your comment to your blog, I always like to visit you and see what you are making, too.  Have a great day!

A “Deep Breath” Kind of Birthday Card (and a fix for blogger slow comments)

I have noticed as I am getting older, my friends aren’t looking forward to their birthdays so much.  Who knew!?  But, many of them do look forward to getting a handmade card from me, so I sometimes enjoy using some punny sentiments like in this card!

I colored the image with alcohol markesr.  This is my second attempt.  The first one was far too colorful.  I enjoy coloring and hope to play along with the 30 Day Coloring challenge (link below) quite a bit this month!

Supplies:  Art Impressions Deep Breath Birthday stamp set, Memento Black ink, Spectrum Noir alcohol markers.  Gina Marie X Stitched Rectangles dies, Crate Paper DIY Shop 6x6 Patterned paper, Gina K Designs Jelly Bean Green cardstock, Goosebumps embellishments.

I would love to play along with these challenges:

Art Impressions Anything Goes Challenge

Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge

SimonSaysStamp Wednesday Challenge Patterned Paper

I have been noticing that it is taking lots of clicks and extra time to get Blogger to post some comments.  How annoying!?  I changed my settings to open a pop-up window for comments and that seems to solve the problem.  (Credit to Viv for this idea.)

Thank you to everyone for taking the time to make comments! I always try my best to return visits.  The blogging community of stampers cannot survive unless we interact with each other, so I always strive to visit other blogs to admire your work and find inspiration!  

Have a great day!

Santa’s “Twinkle in a Tangle” card

Hello stamping friends!  Thanks for stopping by during this busy season.  I have been trying to catch up visits to everyone’s blogs and I finally also got in some crafting time today.  I really recommend crafting during the holiday season, it does help take away some of the stress for a little bit.

I colored this image with alcohol markers. It was the first time I colored it, so I did follow the colors on the Art Impressions packaging.  That helped speed it up quite a bit.  

From this angle you can see the sparkle from the wink of stella and stardust gelly roll pens that I added just to the ornaments. 

Supplies: Art Impressions Twinkle In Tangle stamp set, Memento black ink, Spectrum Noir alcohol markers, Spellbinders Heart circles dies, Avery Elle Wonky Stitched Rectangles dies, American Crafts WishList 6x6 paper pad, Wink of Stella clear pen, Gelly Roll stardust glitter pen

I would love to play along with these challenges and thank you for the opportunity:

Art Impressions Funny and Punny

DiesRUs Challenge Christmas Carols (It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year)

Tuesday Throwdown Christmas Scene

Pixie’s Snippets Playground Anything Goes with snippets/scraps
Cute Card Thursday Anything Goes

Thanks for your visit! 

Snowmen!!!!!!

I have been wanting a new snowman stamp, and I recently found the cutest set!  I stamped out a bunch of these and colored them this weekend. Then I paired them up to make a card and a tag.  Oh what fun!

These are the cheaper acrylic stamp material and I always get great results with these using my Versafine ink.  Because I used that ink, I used my Prismacolor pencils and the pencil blender for coloring.

I did add some close up photos here because I hope you can see that I added some FLOCKING to the mittens and hat.  I know flocking has been out of style for ages, but I really think the white in my stash is well-used with Christmas cards. (I just need to be patient as the glue dries!)

Supplies: Art Impressions Warm Wishes Stamp and die set, Versafine Onyx Black ink, Prismacolor pencils, EK Success flocking, Heidi Swap Marquee Love and Pebbles Home for Christmas patterned papers, Stickles glitter glue, Sixxiz Tim Holtz Tag die, Avery Elle Wonky Stitched Rectangles dies

I would love to play along with Art Impressions Tag It Challenge, Cute Card Thursday Sparkles Challenge and SimonSaysStamp Wednesday Challenge blog Snow White challenge.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Lakeside Cabin Watercolor

Hello stamping friends!  It is a rainy Monday, but pleasantly warm -- and we really need the rain.  I hope you are having a good day today.

I have a pretty little watercolored scene to share with you today using my Art Impressions stamps.  After I did the scene, it took me quite a while to finish the card.  That happens to me a lot, I'm afraid!  

Supplies:  Art Impressions Cottage by the Beach, Foliage and Flowers, Trees stamps sets, Tombow Water based markers, Watercolor paper, Pebbles Family Ties paper pad, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Gina Marie designs X Stitched Circle dies. 

I would love to enter the. SimonSaysStamp World Cardmaking day challenge..

Thank you for stopping by my blog today!!

Watercolor Birdhouse Card

Edited to add: I was so happy to be chosen as the TOP SPOT at Art Impressions Flowers and Foliage challenge.  Thanks so much!

Hello and happy Saturday!  I hope you are doing well today.  Last night, I got out my Art Impressions watercolor stamps and got working.  It usually takes me a little practice to get back into the technique, but it does not take a long time, and luckily, watercolor paper is very forgiving because you can stamp on both sides.

I used stamps from several sets, and then added two straight lines to make the pole for the birdhouse to sit on.  I like to use dry embossing, using my scoreboard, to create a frame on my mats.

I am including a little photo of my practice attempts, too.  I wanted to share a tip and tell you how I went wrong in these.  First off, I was adding too much marker and too much water.  I learned  to be careful with the marker (or stamp off once) and to really keep the brush dry.  My tip is to use a fine liner brush when working with the little animals. (You can see how many times I practiced the bird to get it right!) That way, you do not lose the detail.  Also, I used a black marker to emphasize the bird's eye.  It makes a difference.

If you have some AI stamps and have any trouble at all, I hope these tips might help.  But definitely watch their YouTube channel and then go practice!  

Supplies:  Art Impressions Bird Bath set, Flowers and Foliage set, Tombow water-based markers, Pebbles Family Ties 6x6 paper pad, Spellbinders Labels 4 dies

I would love to play along with the Art Impressions Flowers and Foliage challenge and The Flower Challenge Tic Tac Toe Challenge (I used embossing, watercolor and blue).  

Thanks for stopping by! 

Watercolor Window

Hello and thank you for visiting!  I have been working on watercoloring with Art Impressions stamps today.  I definitely need more practice, but it doesn't take long so it is fun!

I used my Tombow markers and the Marvy LePlume sepia marker.  I love that particular sepia marker because when you add water to it, it separates out into several lovely, earthy colors.  I wanted to use the brown polka dot paper to accent those same colors that are in the window box that I panted to be terracotta, BUT I then needed to add the purple/periwinkle stripe to brighten things up.

Supplies: Art Impressions WC Series 5 set 1 (Window, Tiny vine, hummingbird), Flower set (daisy bunch), Tombow and Marvy water based markers, watercolor paper, MFT Pierced Square dies, Crate Paper Party Day paper, other papers from my stash, Hero Arts CL342 sentiment, Versafine Vintage Sepia ink.

I would love to participate in the following challenges:

Art Impressions Let's Watercolor

Dies R Us - Borders and/or Edges

SimonSaysStamp Wednesday Challenge- Bit O Green

Double D Challenges - Things that Fly

Cute Turtle Card

I have used this sweet turtle stamp before, but today I just wanted to do something different and use just a portion of the stack of turtles.  So I inked it up with a marker and just stamped the one.

I then just colored him up, mixed in some patterned paper and called it a card.

Supplies: Art Impressions Turtle Stackers stamps, Water-based markers from Tombow and Marvy, Strathmore mixed media paper, Theresa Collins World Traveler paper pack, Hero Arts sentiment, Versafine Onyx black ink, MFT Die-namics pierced squares dies, other materials from my stash.

I would love to play along with the following challenges:

Art Impressions Card Resolutions

Cute Card Thursday Buttons

I really appreciate your visit today!  

Fun Birthday Card for a kid!

Hello and I hope you are enjoying the last couple days of the year!  We have been hit with several illnesses during the holidays, so we are taking it easy. I am hoping everyone will be set to go back to work and school in the New Year.

Here is a card that I made for a little boy last month. 

I colored the image a while ago with alcohol markers and then added glitter all over with my wink of stella pen.  

Knowing a card is for a child allowed me to use some fun embellishments like these glitter foam stars and the glittery enamel dots. This card did go over well - he thought it was really fun.  

Supplies:  Art Impressions Deep Breath Birthday stamp set, Memento black inks, Specturm Noir markers, Wink of Stella glitter pen, My Mind's Eye Hootenanny 6x6 paper pad, Avery Elle Wonky rectangles dies, embellishments from my stash

I would love to participate in the following challenges:

Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes

SimonSaysStamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes